[illustration: _the genie immediately returned with a tray bearing dishes of the most delicious viands. page ._] the windermere series the arabian nights entertainments with illustrations by milo winter rand mcnally & company chicago new york _copyright, , by_ rand mcnally & company * * * * * the introduction the _arabian nights_ was introduced to europe in a french translation by antoine galland in , and rapidly attained a unique popularity. there are even accounts of the translator being roused from sleep by bands of young men under his windows in paris, importuning him to tell them another story. the learned world at first refused to believe that m. galland had not invented the tales. but he had really discovered an arabic manuscript from sixteenth-century egypt, and had consulted oriental story-tellers. in spite of inaccuracies and loss of color, his twelve volumes long remained classic in france, and formed the basis of our popular translations. a more accurate version, corrected from the arabic, with a style admirably direct, easy, and simple, was published by dr. jonathan scott in . this is the text of the present edition. the moslems delight in stories, but are generally ashamed to show a literary interest in fiction. hence the world's most delightful story book has come to us with but scant indications of its origin. critical scholarship, however, has been able to reach fairly definite conclusions. the reader will be interested to trace out for himself the similarities in the adventures of the two persian queens, schehera-zade, and esther of bible story, which m. de goeje has pointed out as indicating their original identity (_encyclopædia britannica_, "thousand and one nights"). there are two or three references in tenth-century arabic literature to a persian collection of tales, called _the thousand nights_, by the fascination of which the lady schehera-zade kept winning one more day's lease of life. a good many of the tales as we have them contain elements clearly indicating persian or hindu origin. but most of the stories, even those with scenes laid in persia or india, are thoroughly mohammedan in thought, feeling, situation, and action. the favorite scene is "the glorious city," ninth-century bagdad, whose caliph, haroun al raschid, though a great king, and heir of still mightier men, is known to fame chiefly by the favor of these tales. but the contents (with due regard to the possibility of later insertions), references in other writings, and the dialect show that our _arabian nights_ took form in egypt very soon after the year . the author, doubtless a professional teller of stories, was, like his schehera-zade, a person of extensive reading and faultless memory, fluent of speech, and ready on occasion to drop into poetry. the coarseness of the arabic narrative, which does not appear in our translation, is characteristic of egyptian society under the mameluke sultans. it would have been tolerated by the subjects of the caliph in old bagdad no more than by modern christians. more fascinating stories were never told. though the oath of an oriental was of all things the most sacred, and though schah-riar had "bound himself by a solemn vow to marry a new wife every night, and command her to be strangled in the morning," we well believe that he forswore himself, and granted his bride a stay of execution until he could find out why the ten polite young gentlemen, all blind of the right eye, "having blackened themselves, wept and lamented, beating their heads and breasts, and crying continually, 'this is the fruit of our idleness and curiosity.'" to be sure, when the golden door has been opened, and the black horse has vanished with that vicious switch of his tail, we have a little feeling of having been "sold,"--a feeling which great art never gives. but we are in the best of humor; for were we not warned all along against just this foible of curiosity, and is not the story-teller smiling inscrutably and advising us to be thankful that we at least still have our two good eyes? beside the story interest, the life and movement of the tales, the spirits that enter and set their own precedents, there is for us the charm of mingling with men so different from ourselves: men adventurous but never strenuous, men of many tribulations but no perplexities. fantastic, magnificent, extravagant, beautiful, gloriously colored, humorous--was ever book of such infinite contrasts? * * * * * the contents the sultan and his vow the story of the merchant and the genie the three calenders, sons of kings, and the five ladies of bagdad the story of the three sisters the story of aladdin; or, the wonderful lamp the history of ali baba, and of the forty robbers killed by one slave the story of sindbad the sailor [illustration] * * * * * the illustrations _the genie immediately returned with a tray bearing dishes of the most delicious viands_ frontispiece _he had the gift of understanding the language of beasts_ _he was chained to the spot by the pleasure of beholding three such beauties_ _these ladies vied with each other in their eager solicitude to do me all possible service_ _the gardener, with the rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal_ _he presently discovered a gold box, about a foot square, which he gave into the princess's hands_ _she drew the poniard, and, holding it in her hand, began a dance_ _having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with the two oars i had made_ [illustration] * * * * * the arabian nights the sultan and his vow it is written in the chronicles of the sassanian monarchs that there once lived an illustrious prince, beloved by his own subjects for his wisdom and his prudence, and feared by his enemies for his courage and for the hardy and well-disciplined army of which he was the leader. this prince had two sons, the elder called schah-riar, and the younger schah-zenan, both equally good and deserving of praise. when the old king died at the end of a long and glorious reign, schah-riar, his eldest son, ascended the throne and reigned in his stead. schah-zenan, however, was not in the least envious, and a friendly contest soon arose between the two brothers as to which could best promote the happiness of the other. schah-zenan did all he could to show his loyalty and affection, while the new sultan loaded his brother with all possible honors, and in order that he might in some degree share the sultan's power and wealth, bestowed on him the kingdom of great tartary. schah-zenan immediately went to take possession of the empire allotted him, and fixed his residence at samarcand, the chief city. after a separation of ten years schah-riar so ardently desired to see his brother, that he sent his first vizier,[ ] with a splendid embassy, to invite him to revisit his court. as soon as schah-zenan was informed of the approach of the vizier, he went out to meet him, with all his ministers, in most magnificent dress, and inquired after the health of the sultan, his brother. having replied to these affectionate inquiries, the vizier told the purpose of his coming. schah-zenan, who was much affected at the kindness and recollection of his brother, then addressed the vizier in these words: "sage vizier, the sultan, my brother, does me too much honor. it is impossible that his wish to see me can exceed my desire of again beholding him. you have come at a happy moment. my kingdom is tranquil, and in ten days' time i will be ready to depart with you. meanwhile pitch your tents on this spot, and i will order every refreshment and accommodation for you and your whole train." [footnote : vazir, vezir--literally, a porter, that is, the minister who bears the principal burden of the state.--d'herbelot, _bibliotheque orientale._] at the end of ten days everything was ready, and schah-zenan took a tender leave of the queen, his consort. accompanied by such officers as he had appointed to attend him, he left samarcand in the evening and camped near the tents of his brother's ambassador, that they might proceed on their journey early the following morning. wishing, however, once more to see his queen, whom he tenderly loved, he returned privately to the palace, and went directly to her apartment. there, to his extreme grief, he found her in the company of a slave whom she plainly loved better than himself. yielding to the first outburst of his indignation, the unfortunate monarch drew his scimitar, and with one rapid stroke slew them both. he then went from the city as privately as he had entered it, and returned to his pavilion. not a word did he say to any one of what had happened. at dawn he ordered the tents to be struck, and the party set forth on their journey to the sound of drums and other musical instruments. the whole train was filled with joy, except the king, who could think of nothing but his queen, and he was a prey to the deepest grief and melancholy during the whole journey. when he approached the capital of persia he perceived the sultan schah-riar and all his court coming out to greet him. as soon as the parties met the two brothers alighted and embraced each other; and after a thousand expressions of regard, remounted and entered the city amid the shouts of the multitude. the sultan there conducted the king his brother to a palace which had been prepared for him. this palace communicated by a garden with the sultan's own and was even more magnificent, as it was the spot where all the fêtes and splendid entertainments of the court were given. schah-riar left the king of tartary in order that he might bathe and change his dress; but immediately on his return from the bath went to him again. they seated themselves on a sofa, and conversed till supper time. after so long a separation they seemed even more united by affection than by blood. they ate supper together, and then continued their conversation till schah-riar, perceiving the night far advanced, left his brother to repose. the unfortunate schah-zenan retired to his couch; but if in the presence of the sultan he had for a while forgotten his grief, it now returned with doubled force. every circumstance of the queen's death arose to his mind and kept him awake, and left such a look of sorrow on his face that next morning the sultan could not fail to notice it. he did all in his power to show his continued love and affection, and sought to amuse his brother with the most splendid entertainments, but the gayest fêtes served only to increase schah-zenan's melancholy. one morning when schah-riar had given orders for a grand hunting party at the distance of two days' journey from the city, schah-zenan requested permission to remain in his palace on account of a slight illness. the sultan, wishing to please him, consented, but he himself went with all his court to partake of the sport. the king of tartary was no sooner alone than he shut himself up in his apartment, and gave way to his sorrow. but as he sat thus grieving at the open window, looking out upon the beautiful garden of the palace, he suddenly saw the sultana, the beloved wife of his brother, meet a man in the garden with whom she held an affectionate conversation. upon witnessing this interview, schah-zenan determined that he would no longer give way to such inconsolable grief for a misfortune which came to other husbands as well as to himself. he ordered supper to be brought, and ate with a better appetite than he had before done since leaving samarcand. he even enjoyed the fine concert performed while he sat at table. schah-riar returned from the hunt at the close of the second day, and was delighted at the change which he soon found had taken place in his brother. he urged him to explain the cause of his former depression and of his present joy. the king of tartary, feeling it his duty to obey his suzerain lord, related the story of his wife's misconduct, and of the severe punishment which he had visited on her. schah-riar expressed his full approval of his brother's conduct. "i own," he said, "had i been in your place i should have been less easily satisfied. i should not have been contented to take away the life of one woman, but should have sacrificed a thousand to my resentment. your fate, surely, is most singular. since, however, it has pleased god to afford you consolation, which, i am sure, is as well founded as was your grief, inform me, i beg, of that also." schah-zenan was very reluctant to relate what he had seen, but at last yielded to the urgent commands and entreaties of his brother, and told him of the faithlessness of his own queen. at this unexpected news, the rage and grief of schah-riar knew no bounds. he far exceeded his brother in his invectives and indignation. not only did he sentence to death his unhappy sultana but bound himself by a solemn vow that, immediately on the departure of the king his brother, he would marry a new wife every night, and command her to be strangled in the morning. schah-zenan soon after had a solemn audience of leave, and returned to his own kingdom, laden with the most magnificent presents. when schah-zenan was gone the sultan began to carry out his unhappy oath. every night he married the daughter of some one of his subjects, and the next morning she was ordered out and put to death. it was the duty of the grand vizier to execute these commands of the sultan's, and revolting as they were to him, he was obliged to submit or lose his own head. the report of this unexampled inhumanity spread a panic of consternation throughout the city. instead of the praises and blessings with which, until now, they had loaded their monarch, all his subjects poured out curses on his head. the grand vizier had two daughters, the elder of whom was called schehera-zade, and the younger dinar-zade. schehera-zade was possessed of a remarkable degree of courage. she had read much, and had so good a memory that she never forgot anything she had once read or heard. her beauty was equaled only by her virtuous disposition. the vizier was passionately fond of her. one day as they were talking together, she made the astonishing request that she might have the honor of becoming the sultan's bride. the grand vizier was horrified, and tried to dissuade her. he pointed out the fearful penalty attached to the favor she sought. schehera-zade, however, persisted, telling her father she had in mind a plan which she thought might put a stop to the sultan's dreadful cruelty. "i am aware of the danger i run, my father," she said, "but it does not deter me from my purpose. if i die, my death will be glorious; if i succeed, i shall render my country an important service." still the vizier was most reluctant to allow his beloved child to enter on so dangerous an enterprise, and attempted to turn her from her purpose by telling her the following story: the fable of the ass, the ox, and the laborer a very rich merchant had several farmhouses in the country, where he bred every kind of cattle. this merchant understood the language of beasts. he obtained this privilege on the condition of not imparting to any one what he heard, under penalty of death. by chance[ ] he had put an ox and an ass into the same stall; and being seated near them, he heard the ox say to the ass: "how happy do i think your lot. a servant looks after you with great care, washes you, feeds you with fine sifted barley, and gives you fresh and clean water; your greatest task is to carry the merchant, our master. my condition is as unfortunate as yours is pleasant. they yoke me to a plow the whole day, while the laborer urges me on with his goad. the weight and force of the plow, too, chafes all the skin from my neck. when i have worked from morning till night, they give me unwholesome and uninviting food. have i not, then, reason to envy your lot?" [footnote : the ass and the ox in the east were subject to very different treatment; the one was strong to labor, and was little cared for--the other was reserved for princes and judges to ride on, and was tended with the utmost attention.] when he had finished, the ass replied in these words: "believe me, they would not treat you thus if you possessed as much courage as strength. when they come to tie you to the manger, what resistance, pray, do you ever make? do you ever push them with your horns? do you ever show your anger by stamping on the ground with your feet? why don't you terrify them with your bellowing? nature has given you the means of making yourself respected, and yet you neglect to use them. they bring you bad beans and chaff. well, do not eat them; smell at them only and leave them. thus, if you follow my plans, you will soon perceive a change, which you will thank me for." the ox took the advice of the ass very kindly, and declared himself much obliged to him. early the next morning the laborer came for the ox, and yoked him to the plow, and set him to work as usual. the latter, who had not forgotten the advice he had received, was very unruly the whole day; and at night, when the laborer attempted to fasten him to the stall, he ran bellowing back, and put down his horns to strike him; in short, he did exactly as the ass had advised him. on the next morning, when the man came, he found the manger still full of beans and chaff, and the ox lying on the ground with his legs stretched out, and making a strange groaning. the laborer thought him very ill, and that it would be useless to take him to work; he, therefore, immediately went and informed the merchant. the latter perceived that the bad advice of the ass had been followed; and he told the laborer to go and take the ass instead of the ox, and not fail to give him plenty of exercise. the man obeyed; and the ass was obliged to drag the plow the whole day, which tired him the more because he was unaccustomed to it; besides which, he was so beaten that he could scarcely support himself when he came back, and fell down in his stall half dead. * * * * * here the grand vizier said to schehera-zade: "you are, my child, just like this ass, and would expose yourself to destruction." "sir," replied schehera-zade, "the example which you have brought does not alter my resolution, and i shall not cease importuning you till i have obtained from you the favor of presenting me to the sultan as his consort." [illustration: _he had the gift of understanding the language of beasts page _] the vizier, finding her persistent in her request, said, "well then, since you will remain thus obstinate, i shall be obliged to treat you as the rich merchant i mentioned did his wife." being told in what a miserable state the ass was, he was curious to know what passed between him and the ox. after supper, therefore, he went out by moonlight, accompanied by his wife, and sat down near them; on his arrival, he heard the ass say to the ox, "tell me, brother, what you mean to do when the laborer brings you food to-morrow!" "mean to do!" replied the ox. "why, what you taught me, to be sure." "take care," interrupted the ass, "what you are about, lest you destroy yourself; for in coming home yesterday evening, i heard our master say these sad words: 'since the ox can neither eat nor support himself, i wish him to be killed to-morrow; do not, therefore, fail to send for the butcher.' this is what i heard; and the interest i take in your safety, and the friendship i have for you, induces me to mention it. when they bring you beans and chaff, get up, and begin eating directly. our master, by this, will suppose that you have recovered, and will, without doubt, revoke the sentence for your death; in my opinion, if you act otherwise, it is all over with you." this speech produced the intended effect; the ox was much troubled, and lowed with fear. the merchant, who had listened to everything with great attention, burst into a fit of laughter that quite surprised his wife. "tell me," said she, "what you laugh at, that i may join in it. i wish to know the cause." "that satisfaction," replied the husband, "i cannot afford you. i can only tell you that i laughed at what the ass said to the ox; the rest is a secret, which i must not reveal." "and why not?" asked his wife. "because, if i tell you, it will cost me my life." "you trifle with me," added she; "this can never be true; and if you do not immediately inform me what you laughed at, i swear by allah that we will live together no longer." in saying this, she went back to the house in a pet, shut herself up, and cried the whole night. her husband, finding that she continued in the same state all the next day, said, "how foolish it is to afflict yourself in this way! do i not seriously tell you, that if i were to yield to your foolish importunities, it would cost me my life?" "whatever happens rests with allah," said she; "but i shall not alter my mind." "i see very plainly," answered the merchant, "it it not possible to make you submit to reason, and that your obstinacy will kill you." he then sent for the parents and other relations of his wife; when they were all assembled, he explained to them his motives for calling them together, and requested them to use all their influence with his wife, and endeavor to convince her of the folly of her conduct. she rejected them all, and said she had rather die than give up this point to her husband. when her children saw that nothing could alter her resolution, they began to lament most bitterly--the merchant himself knew not what to do. a little while afterward he was sitting by chance at the door of his house, considering whether he should not even sacrifice himself in order to save his wife, whom he so tenderly loved, when he saw his favorite dog run up to the cock in the farmyard, and tell him all the circumstances of the painful situation in which he was placed. upon which the cock said, "how foolish must our master be. he has but one wife, and cannot gain his point, while i have fifty, and do just as i please. let him take a good-sized stick, and not scruple to use it, and she will soon know better, and not worry him to reveal what he ought to keep secret." the merchant at once did as he suggested, on which his wife quickly repented of her ill-timed curiosity, and all her family came in, heartily glad at finding her more rational and submissive to her husband. * * * * * "you deserve, my daughter," added the grand vizier, "to be treated like the merchant's wife." "do not, sir," answered schehera-zade, "think ill of me if i still persist in my sentiments. the history of this woman does not shake my resolution. i could recount, on the other hand, many good reasons which ought to persuade you not to oppose my design. pardon me, too, if i add that your opposition will be useless; for if your paternal tenderness should refuse the request i make, i will present myself to the sultan." at length the vizier, overcome by his daughter's firmness, yielded to her entreaties; and although he was very sorry at not being able to conquer her resolution, he immediately went to schah-riar, and announced to him that schehera-zade herself would be his bride on the following night. the sultan was much astonished at the sacrifice of the grand vizier. "is it possible," said he, "that you can give up your own child?" "sire," replied the vizier, "she has herself made the offer. the dreadful fate that hangs over her does not alarm her; and she resigns her life for the honor of being the consort of your majesty, though it be but for one night." "vizier," said the sultan, "do not deceive yourself with any hopes; for be assured that, in delivering schehera-zade into your charge to-morrow, it will be with an order for her death; and if you disobey, your own head will be the forfeit." "although," answered the vizier, "i am her father, i will answer for the fidelity of this arm in fulfilling your commands." when the grand vizier returned to schehera-zade, she thanked her father; and observing him to be much afflicted, consoled him by saying that she hoped he would be so far from repenting her marriage with the sultan that it would become a subject of joy to him for the remainder of his life. before schehera-zade went to the palace, she called her sister, dinar-zade, aside, and said, "as soon as i shall have presented myself before the sultan, i shall entreat him to suffer you to sleep in the bridal chamber, that i may enjoy for the last time your company. if i obtain this favor, as i expect, remember to awaken me to-morrow morning an hour before daybreak, and say, 'if you are not asleep, my sister, i beg of you, till the morning appears, to recount to me one of those delightful stories you know.' i will immediately begin to tell one; and i flatter myself that by these means i shall free the kingdom from the consternation in which it is." dinar-zade promised to do with pleasure what she required. within a short time schehera-zade was conducted by her father to the palace, and was admitted to the presence of the sultan. they were no sooner alone than the sultan ordered her to take off her veil. he was charmed with her beauty; but perceiving her tears, he demanded the cause of them. "sire," answered schehera-zade, "i have a sister whom i tenderly love--i earnestly wish that she might be permitted to pass the night in this apartment, that we may again see each other, and once more take a tender farewell. will you allow me the consolation of giving her this last proof of my affection?" schah-riar having agreed to it, they sent for dinar-zade, who came directly. the sultan passed the night with schehera-zade on an elevated couch, as was the custom among the eastern monarchs, and dinar-zade slept at the foot of it on a mattress prepared for the purpose. dinar-zade, having awakened about an hour before day, did what her sister had ordered her. "my dear sister," she said, "if you are not asleep, i entreat you, as it will soon be light, to relate to me one of those delightful tales you know. it will, alas, be the last time i shall receive that pleasure." instead of returning any answer to her sister, schehera-zade addressed these words to the sultan: "will your majesty permit me to indulge my sister in her request?" "freely," replied he. schehera-zade then desired her sister to attend, and, addressing herself to the sultan, began as follows: [illustration] the story of the merchant and the genie there was formerly, sire, a merchant, who was possessed of great wealth, in land, merchandise, and ready money. having one day an affair of great importance to settle at a considerable distance from home, he mounted his horse, and with only a sort of cloak-bag behind him, in which he had put a few biscuits and dates, he began his journey. he arrived without any accident at the place of his destination; and having finished his business, set out on his return. on the fourth day of his journey he felt himself so incommoded by the heat of the sun that he turned out of his road, in order to rest under some trees by which there was a fountain. he alighted, and tying his horse to a branch of the tree, sat down on its bank to eat some biscuits and dates from his little store. when he had satisfied his hunger he amused himself with throwing about the stones of the fruit with considerable velocity. when he had finished his frugal repast he washed his hands, his face, and his feet, and repeated a prayer, like a good mussulman.[ ] he was still on his knees, when he saw a genie,[ ] white with age and of an enormous stature, advancing toward him, with a scimitar in his hand. as soon as he was close to him he said in a most terrible tone: "get up, that i may kill thee with this scimitar, as thou hast caused the death of my son." he accompanied these words with a dreadful yell. [footnote : mussulman signifies resigned, or "conformed to the divine will." the arabic word is moslemuna, in the singular, moslem; which the mohammedans take as a title peculiar to themselves. the europeans generally write and pronounce it mussulman.--sale's _koran_, c. ii, p. . to, .] [footnote : these tales are furnished throughout with a certain imaginary machinery. they have, as their foundation, the perpetual intervention of certain fantastic beings, in most cases superior to man, but yet subordinate to the authority of certain favored individuals. these beings may, for our purpose, be generally divided into genies, whose interference is generally for evil; peris, whose presence indicates favorable issues to those whom they befriend; and ghouls, monsters which have a less direct control over man's affairs, but represent any monster repugnant or loathsome to mankind.] the merchant, alarmed by the horrible figure of this giant, as well as by the words he heard, replied in trembling accents: "how can i have slain him? i do not know him, nor have i ever seen him." "didst thou not," replied the giant, "on thine arrival here, sit down, and take some dates from thy wallet; and after eating them, didst thou not throw the stones about on all sides?" "this is all true," replied the merchant; "i do not deny it." "well, then," said the other, "i tell thee thou hast killed my son; for while thou wast throwing about the stones, my son passed by; one of them struck him in the eye, and caused his death,[ ] and thus hast thou slain my son." [footnote : "now this, at first sight, seems a singular, if not a ridiculous thing; but even this has its foundation in an eastern custom. it is in this manner that prisoners are sometimes put to death; a man sits down at a little distance from the object he intends to destroy, and then attacks him by repeatedly shooting at him with the stone of the date, thrown from his two forefingers, and in this way puts an end to his life."--preface to forster's edition of _arabian nights._] "ah, sire, forgive me," cried the merchant. "i have neither forgiveness nor mercy," replied the giant; "and is it not just that he who has inflicted death should suffer it?" "i grant this; yet surely i have not done so: and even if i have, i have done so innocently, and therefore i entreat you to pardon me, and suffer me to live." "no, no," cried the genie, still persisting in his resolution, "i must destroy thee, as thou hast killed my son." at these words, he took the merchant in his arms, and having thrown him with his face on the ground, he lifted up his saber, in order to strike off his head. * * * * * schehera-zade, at this instant perceiving it was day, and knowing that the sultan rose early to his prayers,[ ] and then to hold a council, broke off. [footnote : "the mohammedans divide their religion into two parts--imana, faith; and din, practice. the first is the confession, 'there is no god but the true god, and mohammed is his prophet.' under this are comprehended six distinct tenets,-- . belief in god; . in his anger; . in his scriptures; . in his prophets; . in the resurrection and day of judgment; . god's absolute decree and predetermination of all events, good or evil. the points of practice are,-- . prayer and purification; . alms; . fasting; . pilgrimage to mecca."--sale's _preliminary discourse_, p. .] "what a wonderful story," said dinar-zade, "have you chosen!" "the conclusion," observed schehera-zade, "is still more surprising, as you would confess if the sultan would suffer me to live another day, and in the morning permit me to continue the relation." schah-riar, who had listened with much pleasure to the narration, determined to wait till to-morrow, intending to order her execution after she had finished her story. he arose, and having prayed, went to the council. the grand vizier, in the meantime, was in a state of cruel suspense. unable to sleep, he passed the night in lamenting the approaching fate of his daughter, whose executioner he was compelled to be. dreading, therefore, in this melancholy situation, to meet the sultan, how great was his surprise in seeing him enter the council chamber without giving him the horrible order he expected! the sultan spent the day, as usual, in regulating the affairs of his kingdom, and on the approach of night, retired with schehera-zade to his apartment.[ ] [footnote : in the original work, schehera-zade continually breaks off to ask the sultan to spare her life for another day, that she may finish the story on which she is engaged, and he as regularly grants her request. these interruptions are omitted as interfering with the continued interest of the numerous stories told by the patriotic schehera-zade.] on the next morning, the sultan did not wait for schehera-zade to ask permission to continue her story, but said, "finish the tale of the genie and the merchant. i am curious to hear the end of it." schehera-zade immediately went on as follows: when the merchant, sire, perceived that the genie was about to execute his purpose, he cried aloud: "one word more, i entreat you; have the goodness to grant me a little delay; give me only one year to go and take leave of my dear wife and children, and i promise to return to this spot, and submit myself entirely to your pleasure." "take allah to witness of the promise thou hast made me," said the other. "again i swear," replied he, "and you may rely on my oath." on this the genie left him near the fountain, and immediately disappeared. the merchant, on his reaching home, related faithfully all that had happened to him. on hearing the sad news, his wife uttered the most lamentable groans, tearing her hair and beating her breast; and his children made the house resound with their grief. the father, overcome by affection, mingled his tears with theirs. the year quickly passed. the good merchant having settled his affairs, paid his just debts, given alms to the poor, and made provision to the best of his ability for his wife and family, tore himself away amid the most frantic expressions of grief; and mindful of his oath, he arrived at the destined spot on the very day he had promised. while he was waiting for the arrival of the genie, there suddenly appeared an old man leading a hind, who, after a respectful salutation, inquired what brought him to that desert place. the merchant satisfied the old man's curiosity, and related his adventure, on which he expressed a wish to witness his interview with the genie. he had scarcely finished his speech when another old man, accompanied by two black dogs, came in sight, and having heard the tale of the merchant, he also determined to remain to see the event. soon they perceived, toward the plain, a thick vapor or smoke, like a column of dust raised by the wind. this vapor approached them, and then suddenly disappearing, they saw the genie, who, without noticing the others, went toward the merchant, scimitar in hand. taking him by the arm, "get up," said he, "that i may kill thee, as thou hast slain my son." both the merchant and the two old men, struck with terror, began to weep and fill the air with their lamentations. when the old man who conducted the hind saw the genie lay hold of the merchant, and about to murder him without mercy, he threw himself at the monster's feet, and, kissing them, said, "lord genie, i humbly entreat you to suspend your rage, and hear my history, and that of the hind, which you see; and if you find it more wonderful and surprising than the adventure of this merchant, whose life you wish to take, may i not hope that you will at least grant me one half part the blood of this unfortunate man?" after meditating some time, the genie answered, "well then, i agree to it." the history of the first old man and the hind the hind, whom you, lord genie, see here, is my wife. i married her when she was twelve years old, and we lived together thirty years, without having any children. at the end of that time i adopted into my family a son, whom a slave had borne. this act of mine excited against the mother and her child the hatred and jealousy of my wife. during my absence on a journey she availed herself of her knowledge of magic to change the slave and my adopted son into a cow and a calf, and sent them to my farm to be fed and taken care of by the steward. immediately on my return i inquired after my child and his mother. "your slave is dead," said she, "and it is now more than two months since i have beheld your son; nor do i know what has become of him." i was sensibly affected at the death of the slave; but as my son had only disappeared, i flattered myself that he would soon be found. eight months, however, passed, and he did not return; nor could i learn any tidings of him. in order to celebrate the festival of the great bairam,[ ] which was approaching, i ordered my bailiff to bring me the fattest cow i possessed, for a sacrifice. he obeyed my commands. having bound the cow, i was about to make the sacrifice, when at the very instant she lowed most sorrowfully, and the tears even fell from her eyes. this seemed to me so extraordinary that i could not but feel compassion for her, and was unable to give the fatal blow. i therefore ordered her to be taken away, and another brought. [footnote : bairam, a turkish word, signifies a feast day or holiday. it commences on the close of the ramadan--or the month's fast of the mohammedans. at this feast they kill a calf, goat, or sheep; and after giving a part to the poor, eat the rest with their friends. it commences with the new moon, and is supposed to be instituted in memory of the sacrifice of his son by abraham. the observance of the lesser bairam is confined to mecca.] my wife, who was present, seemed very angry at my compassion, and opposed my order. i then said to my steward, "make the sacrifice yourself; the lamentations and tears of the animal have overcome me." the steward was less compassionate, and sacrificed her. on taking off the skin we found hardly anything but bones, though she appeared very fat. "take her away," said i to the steward, truly chagrined, "and if you have a very fat calf, bring it in her place." he returned with a remarkably fine calf, who, as soon as he perceived me, made so great an effort to come to me that he broke his cord. he lay down at my feet, with his head on the ground, as if he endeavored to excite my compassion, and to entreat me not to have the cruelty to take away his life. "wife," said i, "i will not sacrifice this calf, i wish to favor him. do not you, therefore, oppose it." she, however, did not agree to my proposal; and continued to demand his sacrifice so obstinately that i was compelled to yield. i bound the calf, and took the fatal knife to bury it in his throat, when he turned his eyes, filled with tears, so persuasively upon me, that i had no power to execute my intention. the knife fell from my hand, and i told my wife i was determined to have another calf. she tried every means to induce me to alter my mind; i continued firm, however, in my resolution, in spite of all she could say; promising, for the sake of appeasing her, to sacrifice this calf at the feast of bairam on the following year. the next morning my steward desired to speak with me in private. he informed me that his daughter, who had some knowledge of magic, wished to speak with me. on being admitted to my presence, she informed me that during my absence my wife had turned the slave and my son into a cow and calf, that i had already sacrificed the cow, but that she could restore my son to life if i would give him to her for her husband, and allow her to visit my wife with the punishment her cruelty had deserved. to these proposals i gave my consent. the damsel then took a vessel full of water, and pronouncing over it some words i did not understand, she threw the water over the calf, and he instantly regained his own form. "my son! my son!" i exclaimed, and embraced him with transport. "this damsel has destroyed the horrible charm with which you were surrounded. i am sure your gratitude will induce you to marry her, as i have already promised for you." he joyfully consented; but before they were united the damsel changed my wife into this hind, which you see here. since this, my son has become a widower, and is now traveling. many years have passed since i have heard anything of him. i have, therefore, now set out with a view to gain some information; and as i did not like to trust my wife to the care of any one during my search, i thought proper to carry her along with me. this is the history of myself and this hind. can anything be more wonderful? "i agree with you," said the genie, "and in consequence, i grant to you a half of the blood of this merchant." as soon as the first old man had finished, the second, who led the two black dogs, made the same request to the genie for a half of the merchant's blood, on the condition that his tale exceeded in interest the one that had just been related. on the genie signifying his assent, the old man began. the history of the second old man and the two black dogs great prince of the genies, you must know that these two black dogs, which you see here, and myself, are three brothers. our father, when he died, left us one thousand sequins each. with this sum we all embarked in business as merchants. my two brothers determined to travel, that they might trade in foreign parts. they were both unfortunate, and returned at the end of two years in a state of abject poverty, having lost their all. i had in the meanwhile prospered. i gladly received them, and gave them one thousand sequins each, and again set them up as merchants. my brothers frequently proposed to me that i should make a voyage with them for the purpose of traffic. knowing their former want of success, i refused to join them, until at the end of five years i at length yielded to their repeated solicitations. on consulting on the merchandise to be bought for the voyage, i discovered that nothing remained of the thousand sequins i had given to each. i did not reproach them; on the contrary, as my capital was increased to six thousand sequins, i gave them each one thousand sequins, and kept a like sum myself, concealing the other three thousand in a corner of my house, in order that if our voyage proved unsuccessful we might be able to console ourselves and begin our former profession. we purchased our goods, embarked in a vessel, which we ourselves freighted, and set sail with a favorable wind. after sailing about a month, we arrived, without any accident, at a port, where we landed, and had a most advantageous sale for our merchandise. i, in particular, sold mine so well that i gained ten for one. about the time that we were ready to embark on our return, i accidentally met on the seashore a female of great beauty, but very poorly dressed. she accosted me by kissing my hand, and entreated me most earnestly to permit her to be my wife. i stated many difficulties to such a plan; but at length she said so much to persuade me that i ought not to regard her poverty, and that i should be well satisfied with her conduct, i was quite overcome. i directly procured proper dresses for her, and after marrying her in due form, she embarked with me, and we set sail. during our voyage i found my wife possessed of so many good qualities that i loved her every day more and more. in the meantime my two brothers, who had not traded so advantageously as myself, and who were jealous of my prosperity, began to feel exceedingly envious. they even went so far as to conspire against my life; for one night, while my wife and i were asleep, they threw us into the sea. i had hardly, however, fallen into the water, before my wife took me up and transported me to an island. as soon as it was day she thus addressed me: "you must know that i am a fairy, and being upon the shore when you were about to sail, i wished to try the goodness of your heart, and for this purpose i presented myself before you in the disguise you saw. you acted most generously, and i am therefore delighted in finding an occasion of showing my gratitude, and i trust, my husband, that in saving your life i have not ill rewarded the good you have done me. but i am enraged against your brothers, nor shall i be satisfied till i have taken their lives." i listened with astonishment to the discourse of the fairy, and thanked her, as well as i was able, for the great obligation she had conferred on me. "but, madam," said i to her, "i must entreat you to pardon my brothers." i related to her what i had done for each of them, but my account only increased her anger. "i must instantly fly after these ungrateful wretches," cried she, "and bring them to a just punishment; i will sink their vessel, and precipitate them to the bottom of the sea." "no, beautiful lady," replied i, "for heaven's sake moderate your indignation, and do not execute so dreadful an intention; remember, they are still my brothers, and that we are bound to return good for evil." no sooner had i pronounced these words, than i was transported in an instant from the island, where we were, to the top of my own house. i descended, opened the doors, and dug up the three thousand sequins which i had hidden. i afterward repaired to my shop, opened it, and received the congratulations of the merchants in the neighborhood on my arrival. when i returned home i perceived these two black dogs, which came toward me with a submissive air. i could not imagine what this meant, but the fairy, who soon appeared, satisfied my curiosity. "my dear husband," said she, "be not surprised at seeing these two dogs in your house; they are your brothers." my blood ran cold on hearing this, and i inquired by what power they had been transformed into that state. "it is i," replied the fairy, "who have done it, and i have sunk their ship; for the loss of the merchandise it contained i shall recompense you. as to your brothers, i have condemned them to remain under this form for ten years, as a punishment for their perfidy." then informing me where i might hear of her, she disappeared. the ten years are now completed, and i am traveling in search of her. this, o lord genie, is my history; does it not appear to you of a most extraordinary nature? "yes," replied the genie, "i confess it is most wonderful, and therefore i grant you the other half of this merchant's blood," and having said this, the genie disappeared, to the great joy of the merchant and of the two old men. the merchant did not omit to bestow many thanks upon his liberators, who, bidding him adieu, proceeded on their travels. he remounted his horse, returned home to his wife and children, and spent the remainder of his days with them in tranquillity. [illustration] the three calenders, sons of kings, and the five ladies of bagdad in the reign of caliph haroun al raschid there was at bagdad a porter, who was a fellow of infinite wit and humor. one morning as he was at the place where he usually waited for employment, with a great basket before him, a handsome lady, covered with a great muslin veil, accosted him, and said with a pleasant air, "hark you, porter, take your basket[ ] and follow me." [footnote : baskets, panniers made of leaves of palm, used in conveying fruits and bread, while heavier articles are carried in bags of leather or skin.] the delighted porter took his basket immediately, set it on his head, and followed the lady, exclaiming, "oh, happy day! oh, day of good luck!" in a short time the lady stopped before a gate and knocked: a christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened it, and she put money into his hand without speaking; but the christian, who knew what she wanted, went in, and shortly after brought out a large jar of excellent wine. "take this jar," said the lady to the porter, "and put it into the basket." this being done, she desired him to follow her, and walked on; the porter still exclaiming, "oh, day of happiness! oh, day of agreeable surprise and joy!" the lady stopped at a fruit shop, where she bought some apples, apricots, peaches, lemons, citrons, oranges, myrtles, sweet basil, lilies, jassamine, and some other plants. she told the porter to put all those things into his basket and follow her. passing by a butcher's shop, she ordered five and twenty pounds of his finest meat to be weighed, which was also put into the porter's basket. at another shop she bought capers, small cucumbers, parsley, and other herbs; at another, some pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, kernels of the pine, and other similar fruits; at a third, she purchased all sorts of almond patties. the porter, in putting all these things into his basket, said, "my good lady, you should have told me that you intended buying so many things, and i would have provided a camel to carry them, for if you buy ever so little more, i shall not be able to bear it." the lady laughed at the fellow's pleasant humor, and ordered him still to follow her. she then went to a druggist's, where she furnished herself with all manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a great piece of ambergris, and several other indian spices; this quite filled the porter's basket and she ordered him to follow her. they walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned with fine columns, and had a gate of ivory. there they stopped, and the lady knocked softly. another lady soon came to open the gate, and all three, after passing through a handsome vestibule, crossed a spacious court, surrounded by an open gallery which communicated with many magnificent apartments, all on the same floor. at the end of this court there was a dais richly furnished, with a couch in the middle, supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls of an extraordinary size, and covered with red satin, relieved by a bordering of indian gold. in the middle of the court there was a large basin lined with white marble, and full of the finest transparent water, which rushed from the mouth of a lion of gilt bronze. but what principally attracted the attention of the porter, was a third most beautiful lady, who was seated on the couch before mentioned. this lady was called zobeide, she who opened the door was called safie, and the name of the one who had been for the provisions was amina. then said zobeide, accosting the other two, "sisters, do you not see that this honest man is ready to sink under his burden? why do you not ease him of it?" then amina and safie took the basket, the one before and the other behind; zobeide also assisted, and all three together set it on the ground, and then emptied it. when they had done, the beautiful amina took out money and paid the porter liberally. the porter was well satisfied, but when he ought to have departed he was chained to the spot by the pleasure of beholding three such beauties, who appeared to him equally charming; for amina, having now laid aside her veil, proved to be as handsome as either of the others. what surprised him most was that he saw no man about the house, yet most of the provisions he had brought in, as the dry fruits and the several sorts of cakes and confections, were adapted chiefly for those who could drink and make merry. "madam," said he, addressing zobeide, "i am sensible that i act rudely in staying longer than i ought, but i hope you will have the goodness to pardon me, when i tell you that i am astonished not to see a man with three ladies of such extraordinary beauty; and you know that a company of women without men is as melancholy as a company of men without women." to this he added some pleasantries in proof of what he advanced; and did not forget the bagdad proverb, "that the table is not completely furnished, except there be four in company"; so concluded, that since they were but three, they wanted another. the ladies fell a-laughing at the porter's reasoning; after which zobeide gravely addressed him, "friend, you presume rather too much; and though you do not deserve it, i have no objection to inform you that we are three sisters, who transact our affairs with so much secrecy that no one knows anything of them. a good author says, 'keep thy own secret, and do not reveal it to any one. he that maketh his secret known is no longer its master. if thy own breast cannot keep thy counsel, how canst thou expect the breast of another to be more faithful?'" "permit me, i entreat thee, to say, that i also have read in another a maxim, which i have always happily practiced: 'conceal thy secret,' he says, 'only from such as are known to be indiscreet, and who will abuse thy confidence; but make no difficulty in discovering it to prudent men, because they know how to keep it.' the secret, then, with me, is as safe as if locked up in a cabinet, the key of which is lost and the door sealed." the porter, notwithstanding his rhetoric, must, in all probability, have retired in confusion if amina had not taken his part, and said to zobeide and safie, "my dear sisters, i conjure you to let him remain; he will afford us some diversion. were i to repeat to you all the amusing things he addressed to me by the way, you would not feel surprised at my taking his part." at these words of amina the porter fell on his knees, kissed the ground at her feet, and raising himself up, said, "most beautiful lady, you began my good fortune to-day, and now you complete it by this generous conduct. i cannot adequately express my acknowledgments. as to the rest, ladies," said he, addressing himself to all the three sisters, "since you do me so great an honor, i shall always look upon myself as one of your most humble slaves." when he had spoken these words he would have returned the money he had received, but zobeide ordered him to keep it. "what we have once given," said she, "we never take back. we are willing, too, to allow you to stay on one condition, that you keep secret and do not ask the reason for anything you may see us do. to show you," said zobeide, with a serious countenance, "that what we demand of you is not a new thing among us, read what is written over our gate on the inside." the porter read these words, written in large characters of gold: "he who speaks of things that do not concern him, shall hear things that will not please him." "ladies," said he, "i swear to you that you shall never hear me utter a word respecting what does not relate to me, or wherein you may have any concern." these preliminaries being settled, amina brought in supper, and after she had lighted up the room with tapers made of aloewood and ambergris, which yield a most agreeable perfume as well as a delicate light, she sat down with her sisters and the porter. they began again to eat and drink, to sing, and repeat verses. the ladies diverted themselves by intoxicating the porter, under pretext of making him drink their healths, and the repast was enlivened by reciprocal sallies of wit. when they were all as merry as possible, they suddenly heard a knocking at the gate. [illustration: _he was chained to the spot by the pleasure of beholding three such beauties page _] safie, whose office it was, went to the porch, and quickly returning, told them thus: "there are three calenders[ ] at the door, all blind of the right eye, and have their heads, beards, and eyebrows shaved. they say that they are only just arrived at bagdad, where they have never been before; and, as it is dark, and they know not where to lodge, they knocked at our door by chance and pray us to show compassion, and to take them in. they care not where we put them, provided they obtain shelter. they are young and handsome; but i cannot, without laughing, think of their amusing and exact likeness to each other. my dear sisters, pray permit them to come in; they will afford us diversion enough, and put us to little charge, because they desire shelter only for this night, and resolve to leave us as soon as day appears." [footnote : calender, a sort of privileged beggar or fakir among the mohammedans, who wore a dress of sheepskin, with a leathern girdle about his loins, and collected alms. a dervish is a poor man, who is not bound by any vow of poverty to abstain from meat, and may relinquish his profession at will.] "go, then," said zobeide, "and bring them in, but make them read what is written over the gate." safie ran out with joy, and in a little time after returned with the three calenders. at their entrance they made a profound obeisance to the ladies, who rose up to receive them and told them courteously that they were welcome, that they were glad of the opportunity to oblige them and to contribute toward relieving the fatigues of their journey, and at last invited them to sit down with them. the magnificence of the place, and the civility they received, inspired the calenders with high respect for the ladies; but before they sat down, having by chance cast their eyes upon the porter, whom they saw clad almost like those devotees with whom they have continual disputes respecting several points of discipline, because they never shave their beards nor eyebrows,[ ] one of them said, "i believe we have got here one of our revolted arabian brethren." the porter, having his head warm with wine, took offense at these words, and with a fierce look, without stirring from his place, answered, "sit you down, and do not meddle with what does not concern you. have you not read the inscription over the gate? do not pretend to make people live after your fashion, but follow ours." "honest man," said the calender, "do not put yourself in a passion. we should be sorry to give you the least occasion. on the contrary, we are ready to receive your commands." upon which, to put an end to the dispute, the ladies interposed, and pacified them. when the calenders were seated, the ladies served them with meat; and safie, being highly pleased with them, did not let them want for wine. [footnote : this may probably be an allusion to the two great divisions prevailing among the mohammedans, the soonnis and the shiites. the former upheld the legitimacy of the three first successions of mohammed; the latter maintained the right of his cousin and son-in-law, ali, and his descendants, called fatemites or ismaelites. they both received the koran, but the one added to it the sonna, or certain oral traditions attributed to mohammed, which the other rejected.] when the calenders had finished their repast, they signified to the ladies that they wished to entertain them with a concert of music, if they had any instruments in the house, and would cause them to be brought. the ladies willingly accepted the proposal, and safie went to fetch the instruments. each man took the instrument he liked, and all three together began to play a tune. the ladies, who knew the words of a merry song that suited the air, joined the concert with their voices; but the words of the song made them now and then stop, and fall into excessive laughter. while their amusement was at its height, there was a knock of unwonted loudness at their gate. now, it was the custom of the sultan haroun al raschid sometimes during the night to go through the city in disguise, in order to discover whether everything was quiet. on this evening he set out from his palace accompanied by giafar, his grand vizier, and mesrour, chief of the household, all three disguised as merchants. he it was, who, in passing through the street, was attracted by the noise of the music and of the peals of loud laughter, and had desired his grand vizier to knock at the gate, and to demand shelter and admittance as for three strangers who knew not where to seek shelter for the night. safie, who had opened the door, came back and obtained permission of her sisters to admit the newly arrived strangers. the caliph and his attendants, upon their entrance, most courteously made obeisance to the ladies and to the calenders. the ladies returned their salutations, supposing them to be merchants. zobeide, as the chief, addressed them with a grave and serious countenance and said, "you are welcome. but while you are here you must have eyes but no tongues; you must not ask the reason of anything you may see, nor speak of anything that does not concern you, lest you hear and see what will by no means please you." "madam," replied the vizier, "you shall be obeyed. it is enough for us to attend to our own business, without meddling with what does not concern us." after this, each seated himself, and the conversation became general, and they drank to the health of the new guests. while the vizier giafar entertained them, the caliph ceased not from admiring the beauty, elegance, and lively disposition of the ladies; while the appearance of the three calenders, all blind of the right eye, surprised him very much. he anxiously wished to learn the cause of this singularity, but the conditions they had imposed upon him and his companions prevented any inquiry. besides all this, when he reflected upon the richness of the services and furniture, with the regularity and arrangement everywhere apparent, he could hardly persuade himself it was not the effect of enchantment. the guests continued their conversation, when, after an interval, zobeide rose up, and taking amina by the hand, said to her, "come, sister, the company shall not prevent us from doing as we have always been accustomed." amina, who perfectly understood what her sister meant, got up, and took away the dishes, tables, bottles, glasses, and also the instruments on which the calenders had played. nor did safie remain idle; she snuffed the candles, and added more aloewood and ambergris. having done this, she requested the three calenders to sit on a sofa on one side, and the caliph and his company on the other. "get up," said she then to the porter, looking at him, "and be ready to assist in whatever we want of you." a little while after, amina came in with a sort of seat, which she placed in the middle of the room. she then went to the door of a closet, and having opened it, she made a sign to the porter to approach. "come and assist me," she cried. he did so, and went in with her, and returned a moment after, followed by two black dogs, each of them secured by a collar and chain. they appeared as if they had been severely whipped with rods, and he brought them into the middle of the apartment. zobeide, rising from her seat between the calenders and the caliph, moved very gravely toward the porter. "come," said she, heaving a deep sigh, "let us perform our duty." she then tucked up her sleeves above her elbows, and receiving a rod from safie, "porter," said she, "deliver one of the dogs to my sister amina, and bring the other to me." the porter did as he was commanded. upon this, the dog that he held in his hand began to howl, and, turning toward zobeide, held her head up in a supplicating posture; but zobeide, having no regard to the sad countenance of the animal, which would have moved any one else to pity, nor to its cries that resounded through the house, whipped her with the rod till she was out of breath; and having spent her strength, threw down the rod, and taking the chain from the porter, lifted up the dog by her paws, and looking upon her with a sad and pitiful countenance, they both wept. after this zobeide, with her handkerchief, wiped the tears from the dog's eyes, kissed her, returned the chain to the porter, and desired him to carry the dog to the place whence he took her, and to bring the other. then taking the whip, she served this in the same manner; she then wept with it, dried its tears, kissed it, and returned it to the porter. the three calenders, with the caliph and his companions, were extremely surprised at this exhibition, and could not comprehend why zobeide, after having so furiously beaten those two dogs, that by the mussulman religion are reckoned unclean[ ] animals, should weep with them, wipe off their tears, and kiss them. they muttered among themselves; and the caliph, who, being more impatient than the rest, longed exceedingly to be informed of the cause of so strange a proceeding, could not forbear making signs to the vizier to ask the question. the vizier turned his head another way; but being pressed by repeated signs, he answered by others, that it was not yet time for the caliph to satisfy his curiosity. [footnote : the dog is in great disrepute among the mohammedans. mohammed is reported to have said, "no angel enters where a dog is." cats, on the contrary, are great favorites, and sometimes accompany their masters when they go to their mosque. the mohammedans are under certain restrictions in food; they are forbidden to eat the hare, wolf, the cat, and all animals forbidden by the law of moses. the shrimp is forbidden among fish.--bernard picard.] zobeide sat still some time in the middle of the room, where she had whipped the two dogs, to recover herself of her fatigue; and safie called to her, "dear sister, will you not be pleased to return to your place, that i may also act my part?" "yes, sister," replied zobeide, and then went and sat down upon the sofa, having the caliph, giafar, and mesrour on her right hand, and the three calenders, with the porter, on her left. the whole company remained silent for some time. at last safie, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, spoke to her sister amina: "dear sister, i conjure you to rise; you know what i would say." amina rose, and went into another closet near to that where the dogs were, and brought out a case covered with yellow satin, richly embroidered with gold and green silk. she went toward safie and opened the case, from whence she took a lute, and presented it to her; and after some time spent in tuning it, safie began to play, and, accompanying the instrument with her voice, sang a song about the torments that absence creates to lovers. having sung with much passion and action, she said to amina, "pray take it, sister, for my voice fails me; oblige the company with a tune and a song in my stead." "very willingly," replied amina, who, taking the lute from her sister safie, sat down in her place. having sung most delightfully, the caliph expressed his admiration. while he was doing so, amina fainted away; and on opening her robe to give her air, they discovered that her breast was covered with fearful scars. while zobeide and safie ran to assist their sister, the caliph inquired of the calender, "cannot you inform me about these two black dogs, and this lady, who appears to have been so ill-treated?" "sir," said the calender, "we never were in this house before now, and entered it only a few minutes sooner than you did." this increased the astonishment of the caliph. "perhaps," said he, "the man who is with you can give you some information?" the calender made signs to the porter to draw near, and asked him if he knew why the black dogs had been beaten, and why the bosom of amina was so scarred. "sir," replied the porter, "if you know nothing of the matter, i know as little as you do. i never was in the house until now; and if you are surprised to see me here, i am as much so to find myself in your company." the caliph, more and more perplexed at all he heard, determined that he would have the information he required for the explaining these mysterious proceedings. but the question was, who should first make the inquiry? the caliph endeavored to persuade the calenders to speak first, but they excused themselves. at last they all agreed that the porter should be the man. while they were consulting how to put the question, zobeide herself, as amina had recovered from her fainting, approached them, and inquired, "what are you talking of? what is your contest about?" the porter then addressed her as follows: "these gentlemen, madam, entreat you to explain why you wept with those dogs, after having treated them so ill, and how it has happened that the lady who fainted has her bosom covered with scars." at these words zobeide put on a stern look, and turning toward the caliph and the rest of the company: "is it true, gentlemen," said she, "that you desired him to ask me these questions?" all of them, except the vizier giafar, who spoke not a word, answered "yes." she thereupon exclaimed, in a tone of resentment: "before we granted you the favor of receiving you into our house, and to prevent all occasion of inquiry from you, we imposed the condition that you should not speak of anything that did not concern you, lest you might hear that which would not please you; and yet, after having received our entertainment, you make no scruple to break your promise. our easy compliance with your wishes may have occasioned this, but that shall not excuse your rudeness." as she spoke these words, she gave three stamps with her foot, and clapping[ ] her hands as often together, cried, "come quickly!" upon this a door flew open, and seven black slaves[ ] rushed in; each one seized a man, threw him to the ground, and dragged him into the middle of the room, brandishing a scimitar over his head. [footnote : this is the ordinary mode in the east of calling the attendants in waiting.] [footnote : in this manner the apartments of ladies were constantly guarded.--beckford's _vathek_, notes to p. .] we can easily conceive the alarm of the caliph. he repented, but too late, that he had not taken the advice of his vizier, who, with mesrour, the calenders, and porter, were, from his ill-timed curiosity, on the point of forfeiting their lives. before they gave the fatal stroke, one of the slaves said to zobeide and her sisters, "would it not be right to interrogate them first?" on which zobeide, with a grave voice, said: "answer me, and say who you are, otherwise you shall not live one moment longer. i cannot believe you to be honest men, or persons of authority or distinction in your own countries; for, if you were, you would have been more modest and more respectful to us." the caliph, naturally warm, was infinitely more indignant than the rest, to find his life depending upon the command of a woman: but he began to conceive some hopes, when he found she wished to know who they all were; for he imagined that she would by no means take away his life when she should be informed of his rank. he whispered to his vizier, who was near him, instantly to declare who he was. but this wise vizier, being more prudent, resolved to save his master's honor, and not let the world know the affront he had brought upon himself by his own imprudence; and therefore answered, "we have what we deserve." but if he had intended to speak as the caliph commanded him, zobeide would not have allowed him time: for having turned to the calenders, and seeing them all blind with one eye, she asked if they were brothers. one of them answered, "no, madam, no otherwise than as we are calenders; that is to say, as we observe the same rules." "were you born blind of the right eye?" continued she. "no, madam," answered he; "i lost my eye in such a surprising adventure, that it would be instructive to every one to hear it." zobeide put the same question to the others in their turn, when the last she addressed replied, "pray, madam, show some pity on us, for we are all the sons of kings. although we have never seen each other before this evening, we have had sufficient time to become acquainted with this circumstance; and i can assure you that the kings who have given us birth have made some noise in the world!" during this speech zobeide became less angry, and said to the slaves, "give them their liberty a while, but remain where you are. those who tell us their history, and the occasion of their coming, do them not hurt, let them go where they please; but do not spare those who refuse to give us that satisfaction." the three calenders, the caliph, the grand vizier giafar, the captain of his guards, and the porter were all in the middle of the hall, seated upon a carpet in the presence of the three ladies, who reclined upon a sofa, and the slaves stood ready to do whatever their mistresses should command. the porter spoke first, and briefly related the adventures of the morning with amina, and the kind favors to him of herself and her fair sisters in the evening, which he declared to be the whole of his history. when the porter had concluded, zobeide said, "save thyself and begone, nor ever let us see thee again." "i beg of you, madam," replied he, "to let me remain a little longer. it would be unfair that i should not hear their histories, after they have had the pleasure of hearing mine." saying this, he took his place at the end of the sofa, truly delighted at finding himself free from the danger which so much alarmed him. one of the calenders, addressing himself to zobeide, next spoke. the history of the first calender madam, i am the son of a sultan. my father had a brother, who reigned over a neighboring kingdom. his son, my cousin, and i were nearly of the same age. i went regularly every year to see my uncle, at whose court i amused myself for a month or two, and then returned home. on one occasion i arrived at my father's capital, where, contrary to custom, i found a numerous guard at the gate of the palace. they surrounded me as i entered. the commanding officer said, "prince, the army has proclaimed the grand vizier sultan, instead of your father, who is dead, and i take you prisoner in the name of the new sultan." this rebel vizier had long entertained a mortal hatred toward me. when i was a boy i loved to shoot with a crossbow. being one day upon the terrace of the palace, and a bird happening to come by, i shot but missed him, and the ball by misfortune hit the vizier, who was taking the air upon the terrace of his own house, and put out one of his eyes. he never forgave me, and, as opportunity offered, made me sensible of his resentment. but now that he had me in his power he came to me like a madman, and thrusting his finger into my right eye, pulled it out, and thus i became blind of one eye. his cruelty did not stop here; he commanded the executioner to cut off my head, and leave me to be devoured by birds of prey. the executioner conveyed me to the place of execution to complete this barbarous sentence, but by my prayers and tears, i moved the man's compassion: "go," said he to me, "get you speedily out of the kingdom, and never return, or you will destroy yourself and me." i thanked him, and as soon as i was left alone, comforted myself for the loss of my eye by considering that i had very narrowly escaped a much greater evil. being thus surrounded with sorrows and persecuted by fortune, i had recourse to a stratagem, which was the only means left me to save my life: i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and putting on a calender's habit, i passed, unknown by any, out of the city. i avoided the towns till i arrived in the empire of the commander of the faithful, the renowned caliph haroun al raschid, when i ceased to fear. i resolved to come to bagdad and throw myself at the feet of this great monarch. i shall move him to compassion, said i to myself, by the relation of my uncommon misfortunes, and without doubt he will take pity on a persecuted prince, and not suffer me to implore his assistance in vain. in short, after a journey of several months, i arrived to-day at the gate of this city, into which i entered at dusk: and as i entered, another calender came up. he saluted me, and i him. "you appear," said i, "to be a stranger, as i am." "you are not mistaken," replied he. he had no sooner returned this answer, than a third calender overtook us. he saluted us, and told us he was a stranger newly come to bagdad; so that as brethren we joined together, resolving not to separate from one another. it was now late, and we knew not where to seek a lodging in the city, where we had never been before. but good fortune having brought us to your gate, we made bold to knock, when you received us with so much kindness that we are incapable of rendering suitable thanks. this, madam, is, in obedience to your commands, the account i was to give how i lost my right eye, wherefore my beard and eyebrows are shaved, and how i came to be with you at this time. * * * * * "it is enough," said zobeide; "you may retire to what place you think fit." the calender begged the ladies' permission to stay till he had heard the relations of his two comrades, "whom i cannot," said he, "leave with honor"; and that he might also hear those of the three other persons in company. the history of the first calender appeared very surprising to the whole company, and particularly to the caliph. the presence of the slaves, armed with their scimitars, did not prevent him from saying in a whisper to the vizier, "as long as i can remember, i never heard anything to compare with this history of the calender, though i have been all my life in the habit of hearing similar narratives." he had no sooner finished than the second calender began, and addressing himself to zobeide, spoke as follows: the history of the second calender madam, to obey your commands, and to show you by what strange accident i became blind of the right eye, i must give you the account of my life. i was yet a youth when the sultan, my father (for you must know i am a prince by birth), perceived that i was endowed with good natural ability, and spared nothing proper for improving it. no sooner was i able to read and write than i learned the koran from beginning to end by heart, all the traditions collected from the mouth of our prophet, and the works of poets. i applied myself to geography, chronology, and to speak the arabian language in its purity; not forgetting in the meantime all such exercises as were proper for a prince to understand. but one thing which i was fond of, and succeeded in, was penmanship. in this i surpassed all the celebrated scribes of our kingdom. the fame of my learning reached the emperor of hindustan, who sent an embassy with rich presents to my father and invited me to his court. i returned with the ambassador. we had been about a month on our journey when we saw in the distance an immense cloud of dust, and soon after we discovered fifty fierce horsemen, sons of the desert, well armed. not being able to repel force by force, we told them we were the ambassadors of the sultan of india; but the sons of the desert insolently answered, "why do you wish us to respect the sultan, your master? we are not his subjects, nor even within his realm." they attacked us on all sides. i defended myself as long as i could, but finding that i was wounded, and that the ambassador and all our attendants were overthrown, i took advantage of the remaining strength of my horse, and escaped. my horse was wounded and suddenly fell dead under me. alone, wounded, and a stranger, i bound up my own wound and walked on the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where i perceived, as the sun set, a cave; i went in, and stayed there that night, after i had eaten some fruits that i gathered by the way. i continued my journey for several successive days without finding any place of abode; but after a month's time i came to a large town, well inhabited. it was surrounded by several streams, so that it seemed to enjoy perpetual spring. my face, hands, and feet were black and sunburnt; and by my long journey, my boots were quite worn out, so that i was forced to walk barefooted; and my clothes were all in rags. i entered the town to inform myself where i was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop. he made me sit down by him, and asked me who i was, from whence i came, and what had brought me thither. i did not conceal anything that had befallen me, nor made i any scruple to reveal to him my rank. the tailor listened to me with attention; then he brought me something to eat, and offered me an apartment at his house, which i accepted. some days after my arrival the tailor asked me if i knew anything by which i could acquire a livelihood. i told him that i was well versed in the science of laws, both human and divine; that i was a grammarian, a poet, and, above all, that i wrote remarkably well. "none of these things will avail you here. if you will follow my advice," he added, "you will procure a short jacket, and as you are strong and in good health, you may go into the neighboring forest and cut wood for fuel. you may then go and expose it for sale in the market. by these means you will be enabled to wait till the cloud which hangs over you, and obliges you to conceal your birth, shall have blown over. i will furnish you with a cord and hatchet." the next day the tailor brought me a rope, a hatchet, and a short jacket, and recommended me to some poor people who gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. they conducted me to the wood, and the first day i brought in as much upon my head as procured me half a piece of gold of the money of that country; for though the wood was not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce, by reason that few would be at the trouble of fetching it for themselves. i gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had loaned me. i continued this way of living for a whole year. one day, having by chance penetrated farther into the wood than usual, i happened to light on a pleasant spot, where i began to cut. in pulling up the root of a tree i espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap door of the same metal. i took away the earth that covered it, and having lifted it up, discovered a flight of stairs, which i descended with my ax in my hand. when i had reached the bottom i found myself in a palace, which was as well lighted as if it had been above ground in the open air. i was going forward along a gallery supported by pillars of jasper, the base and capitals being of massy gold, when i saw a lady of a noble and graceful air, and extremely beautiful, coming toward me. i hastened to meet her; and as i was making a low obeisance she asked me, "are you a man, or a genie?" "a man, madam," said i. "by what adventure," said she, fetching a deep sigh, "are you come hither? i have lived here for twenty-five years, and you are the first man i have beheld in that time." her great beauty, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, emboldened me to say, "madam, before i satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to say that i am infinitely gratified with this unexpected meeting, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity of making you also more happy than you are." i then related my story to her from beginning to end. "alas! prince," she replied, sighing, "the most enchanting spots cannot afford delight when we are there against our will. but hear now my history. i am a princess, the daughter of a sultan, the king of the ebony island, to which the precious wood found in it has given its name. "the king, my father, had chosen for my husband a prince, who was my cousin; but on the very night of the bridal festivities, in the midst of the rejoicings of the court, a genie took me away. i fainted with alarm, and when i recovered i found myself in this place. i was long inconsolable; but time and necessity have reconciled me to see the genie. twenty-five years i have passed in this place, in which i have everything necessary for life and splendor. "every ten days," continued the princess, "the genie visits me. in the meantime, if i have any occasion for him, i have only to touch a talisman, and he appears. it is now four days since he was here, and i have therefore to wait six days more before he again makes his appearance. you, therefore, may remain five with me, if it be agreeable to you, in order to keep me company; and i will endeavor to regale and entertain you equal to your merit and dignity." the princess then conducted me to a bath, the most commodious, and the most sumptuous imaginable; and when i came forth, instead of my own clothes i found a costly robe, which i did not esteem so much for its richness as because it made me appear worthy to be in her company. we sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions of the rarest indian brocade; and some time after she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. we ate, and passed the remaining part of the day, as also the evening, together very pleasantly. the next day i said to her, "fair princess, you have been too long buried alive in this subterranean palace; pray rise--follow me and enjoy the light of day, of which you have been deprived so many years." "prince," replied she, with a smile, "if you out of ten days will grant me nine, and resign the tenth to the genie, the light of day would be nothing to me." "princess," said i, "the fear of the genie makes you speak thus. for my part, i regard him so little that i will break in pieces his talisman, with the spell that is written about it. let him come; and how brave or powerful he be, i will defy him." on saying this i gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in pieces. the talisman was no sooner broken than the whole palace shook as if ready to fall to atoms, and the walls opened to afford a passage to the genie. i had no sooner felt the shock than, at the earnest request of the princess, i took to flight. having hastily put on my own robe, i ascended the stairs leading to the forest, and reached the town in safety. my landlord, the tailor, was very glad to see me. in my haste, however, i had left my hatchet and cord in the princess's chamber. shortly after my return, while brooding over this loss and lamenting the cruel treatment to which the princess would be exposed, the tailor came in and said, "an old man, whom i do not know, brings your hatchet and cords, and wishes to speak to you, for he will deliver them to none but yourself." at these words i changed color, and fell a-trembling. while the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber door opened, and the old man, having no patience to stay, appeared with my hatchet and cords. "i am a genie," said he, speaking to me, "a grandson of eblis,[ ] prince of genies. is not this your hatchet and are not these your cords?" [footnote : eblis, or degial, the evil spirit, who, according to the koran, betrayed adam to transgression, and yet seeks to inflict injury on his race.] after the genie had put these questions to me he gave me no time to answer. he grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and mounting into the air carried me up to the skies with extraordinary swiftness. he descended again in like manner to the earth, which on a sudden he caused to open with a stroke of his foot, when i found myself in the enchanted palace, before the fair princess of the isle of ebony. but, alas! what a spectacle was there! i saw what pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was weltering in her blood, and lay upon the ground, more like one dead than alive, with her cheeks bathed in tears. the genie, having loaded us both with many insults and reproaches, drew his scimitar and declared that he would give life and liberty to either of us who would with his scimitar cut off the head of the other. we both resolutely declined to purchase freedom at such a price, and asserted our choice to be to die rather in the presence of each other. "i see," said the genie, "that you both outbrave me, but both of you shall know by my treatment of you of what i am capable." at these words the monster took up the scimitar and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other that she bade me forever adieu; and then she died. i fainted at the sight. when i was come to myself again, i cried, "strike, for i am ready to die, and await death as the greatest favor you can show me." but instead of killing me, he said, "behold how genies revenge themselves on those who offend them. thou art the least to blame, and i will content myself with transforming thee into a dog, ape, lion, or bird; take thy choice of any of these. i will leave it to thyself." these words gave me some hopes of being able to appease him. "o genie," said i, "restrain your rage, and since you will not take away my life, pardon me freely, as a good dervish pardoned one who envied him." "and how was that?" said he. i answered as follows: the history of the envious man and of him who was envied in a certain town there were two men, neighbors, who lived next door to each other. one of them was so excessively envious of the other that the latter resolved to change his abode and go and reside at some distance from him. he therefore sold his house, and went to another city at no great distance, and bought a convenient house. it had a good garden and a moderate court, in which there was a deep well that was not now used. the good man, having made this purchase, put on the habit of a dervish, and in a short time he established a numerous society of dervishes.[ ] he soon came to be known by his virtues, through which he acquired the esteem of many people, as well of the commonalty as of the chief of the city. in short, he was much honored and courted by all ranks. people came from afar to recommend themselves to his prayers; and all who visited him, published what blessings they received through his means. [footnote : sir paul ricaut gives this account of the dress of the dervish. "their shirts are of coarse linen, with a white plaid or mantle about their shoulders. their caps are like the crown of a hat of the largest size. their legs are always bare, and their breasts open, which some of them burn or scar in token of greater devotion. they wear a leathern girdle, with some shining stone upon the buckle before. they always carry a string of beads, which they call tesbe, and oftener run them over than our friars do their rosary, at every bead repeating the name of god."--_history of ottoman empire_, p. . "their order has few rules, except of performing their fantastic rites every tuesday and friday. they meet in a large hall, where they all stand with their eyes fixed on the ground, and their arms crossed, while the imaun or preacher reads part of the koran from a pulpit, and after a short exposition on what he has read, they stand around their superior, and tying their robe, which is very wide, round their waist, begin to turn round with an amazing swiftness, moving fast or slow as the music is played. this lasts above an hour, without any of them showing the least appearance of giddiness, which is not to be wondered at when it is considered they are used to it from their infancy. there were among them some little dervishes, of six or seven years old, who seemed no more disordered by that exercise than the others. at the end of the ceremony they shout out, 'there is no other god but god, and mohammed is his prophet'; after which they kiss the superior's hand and retire. the whole is performed with the most solemn gravity." lady m. w. montague's _letters_, vol. ii, p. .] the great reputation of this honest man having spread to the town from whence he had come, it touched the envious man so much to the quick that he left his own house and affairs with a resolution to ruin him. with this intent he went to the new convent of dervishes, of which his former neighbor was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of friendship. the envious man told him that he was come to communicate a business of importance, which he could not do but in private; "and that nobody may hear us," he said, "let us take a walk in your court; and seeing night begins to draw on, command your dervishes to retire to their cells." the chief of the dervishes did as he was requested. when the envious man saw that he was alone with this good man, he began to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court, till he saw his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well, he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it. this old well was inhabited by peris[ ] and genies, which happened luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt. he perceived that there was something extraordinary in his fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; but he neither saw nor felt anything. [footnote : the word peri, in the persian language, signifies that beautiful race of creatures which constitutes the link between angels and men.] he soon heard a voice, however, which said, "do you know what honest man this is, to whom we have done this service?" another voice answered, "no." to which the first replied, "then i will tell you. this man, out of charity, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbors of the envy he had conceived against him; he had acquired such a general esteem that the envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him; and he would have accomplished his design had it not been for the assistance we have given this honest man, whose reputation is so great that the sultan, who keeps his residence in the neighboring city, was to pay him a visit to-morrow, to recommend the princess his daughter to his prayers." another voice asked, "what need had the princess of the dervish's prayers?" to which the first answered, "you do not know, it seems, that she is possessed by a genie. but i well know how this good dervish may cure her. he has a black cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the bigness of a small piece of arabian money; let him only pull seven hairs out of the white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with the fumes. she will not only be immediately cured, but be so safely delivered from the genie that he will never dare approach her again." the head of the dervishes remembered every word of the conversation between the fairies and the genies, who remained silent the remainder of the night. the next morning, as soon as daylight appeared, and he could discern the nature of his situation, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole, by which he crept out with ease. the other dervishes, who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see him. he gave them a brief account of the wickedness of the man to whom he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired into his cell. shortly after, the black cat, which the fairies and genies had mentioned the night before, came to fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do; he took her up, and pulled seven hairs from the white spot that was upon her tail, and laid them aside for his use when occasion should serve. soon after sunrise the sultan, who would leave no means untried that he thought likely to restore the princess to perfect health, arrived at the gate of the convent. he commanded his guards to halt, while he with his principal officers went in. the dervishes received him with profound respect. the sultan called their chief aside, and said, "good sheik,[ ] you may probably be already acquainted with the cause of my visit." [footnote : sheiks are the chiefs of the societies of dervishes; cadis, the magistrate of a town or city.--notes on vathek, p. .] "yes, sir," replied he gravely, "if i do not mistake, it is the disease of the princess which procures me this unmerited honor." "that is the real case," replied the sultan. "you will give me new life if your prayers, as i hope they may, restore my daughter's health." "sir," said the good man, "if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, i am in hopes, through god's assistance, that she will be effectually cured." the prince, transported with joy, sent immediately for his daughter, who soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and attendants, veiled, so that her face was not seen. the chief of the dervishes caused a carpet to be held over her head, and he had no sooner thrown the seven hairs upon the burning coals than the genie uttered a great cry and, without being seen, left the princess at liberty; upon which she took the veil from her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, "where am i, and who brought me hither?" at these words, the sultan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced his daughter and kissed her eyes; he also kissed the sheik's hands, and said to his officers, "what reward does he deserve that has thus cured my daughter?" they all cried, "he deserves her in marriage." "that is what i had in my thoughts," said the sultan; "and i make him my son-in-law from this moment." some time after, the prime vizier died, and the sultan conferred the office on the dervish. then the sultan himself died, without heirs male; upon which the religious orders and the army consulted together, and the good man was declared and acknowledged sultan by general consent. the honest dervish ascended the throne of his father-in-law. one day as he was in the midst of his courtiers on a march, he espied the envious man among the crowd that stood as he passed along. calling one of the viziers that attended him, he whispered in his ear, "go bring me that man you see there; but take care you do not frighten him." the vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his presence the sultan said, "friend, i am extremely glad to see you." then he called an officer. "go immediately," said he, "and cause to be paid to this man out of my treasury,[ ] one hundred pieces of gold. let him have also twenty loads of the richest merchandise in my storehouses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house." [footnote : a favorite story is related of the benevolence of one of the sons of ali. in serving at table, a slave had inadvertently dropped a dish of scalding broth on his master. the heedless wretch fell prostrate to deprecate his punishment, and repeated a verse of the koran: "paradise is for those who command their anger." "i am not angry." "and for those who pardon offenses." "i pardon your offense." "and for those who return good for evil." "i give you your liberty, and four hundred pieces of silver."--gibbon's _decline and fall._] after he had given this charge to the officer he bade the envious man farewell, and proceeded on his march. * * * * * when i had finished the recital of this story to the genie i employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so good an example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible to move his compassion. "all that i can do for thee," said he, "is to grant thee thy life, but i must place thee under enchantments." so saying, he seized me violently, and carried me through the arched roof of the subterranean palace, which opened to give him passage. he ascended with me into the air to such a height that the earth appeared like a little white cloud. he then descended again like lightning, and alighted upon the summit of a mountain. here he took up a handful of earth, and, muttering some words which i did not understand, threw it upon me. "quit," said he, "the form of a man, and take that of an ape." he instantly disappeared, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, and overwhelmed with sorrow, in a strange country, not knowing whether i was near or far from my father's dominions. i descended the mountain, and entered a plain, level country, which took me a month to travel over, and then i came to the seaside. it happened at the time to be perfectly calm, and i espied a vessel about half a league from the shore. unwilling to lose so good an opportunity, i broke off a large branch from a tree, carried it into the sea, and placed myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand, to serve me for oars. i launched out on this frail bark, and rowed toward the ship. when i had approached sufficiently near to be seen, the seamen and passengers on the deck regarded me with astonishment. in the meantime i got on board, and laying hold of a rope, jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech, i found myself in great perplexity. and indeed the risk i ran was not less than when i was at the mercy of the genie. the merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, thought if they received me on board i should be the occasion of some misfortune to them during their voyage. on this account they said, "let us throw him into the sea." some one of them would not have failed to carry this threat into execution had i not gone to the captain, thrown myself at his feet, and taken hold of his skirt in a supplicating posture. this action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion. he took me under his protection, and loaded me with a thousand caresses. on my part, though i had not power to speak, i showed by my gestures every mark of gratitude in my power. the wind that succeeded the calm continued to blow in the same direction for fifty days, and brought us safe to the port of a city, well peopled, and of great trade, where we cast anchor. our vessel was instantly surrounded with multitudes of boats full of people. among the rest, some officers of the sultan came on board, and said "our master rejoices in your safe arrival, and he beseeches each of you to write a few lines upon this roll. the prime vizier, who, besides possessing great abilities for the management of public affairs, could write in the highest perfection, died a few days since, and the sultan has made a solemn vow not to give the place to any one who cannot write equally well. no one in the empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place." those of the merchants who thought they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity wrote one after another what they thought fit. after they had done, i advanced, and took the roll, but all the people cried out that i would tear it or throw it into the sea, till they saw how properly i held the roll, and made a sign that i would write in my turn. their apprehensions then changed into wonder. however, as they had never seen an ape that could write, and could not be persuaded that i was more ingenious than others of my kind, they wished to take the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. "let him alone," said he; "allow him to write." perceiving that no one opposed my design, i took the pen, and wrote six sorts of hands used among the arabians, and each specimen contained an extemporary distich or quatrain (a stanza of four lines) in praise of the sultan. when i had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan. the sultan took little notice of any of the writings except mine, which pleased him so much that he said to the officers, "take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest trappings, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade to put on the person who wrote the six hands, and bring him hither." at this command the officers could not forbear laughing. the sultan was incensed at their rudeness, and would have punished them, had they not explained. "sir," said they, "we humbly beg your majesty's pardon. these hands were not written by a man, but by an ape." "what do you say?" exclaimed the sultan. "those admirable characters, are they not written by the hands of a man?" "no, sir," replied the officers; "we assure your majesty that it was an ape, who wrote them in our presence." the sultan was too much surprised at this account not to desire a sight of me, and therefore said, "do what i command you, and bring me speedily that wonderful ape." the officers returned to the vessel, and showed the captain their order, who answered, "the sultan's command must be obeyed." whereupon they clothed me with the rich brocade robe, and carried me ashore, where they set me on horseback, while the sultan waited for me at his palace with a great number of courtiers. the procession commenced; the harbor, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses were filled with an infinite number of people of all ranks, who flocked from every part of the city to see me; for the rumor was spread in a moment that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier; and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, i arrived at the sultan's palace. i found the prince on his throne in the midst of the grandees; i made my obeisance three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterward took my seat in the posture of an ape. the whole assembly viewed me with admiration, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should so well understand how to pay the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any. in short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete, could i have added speech to my behavior. the sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but the chief of the attendants of the palace, a little young slave, and myself. he went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. as he sat at table, he made me a sign to approach and eat with them. to show my obedience, i kissed the ground, arose, and placed myself at the table, and ate. before the table was cleared, i espied a standish, which i made a sign to have brought me; having got it, i wrote upon a large peach some verses expressive of my acknowledgment to the sultan; who, having read them, after i had presented the peach to him, was still more astonished. when the things were removed, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a glass. i drank, and wrote upon the glass some new verses, which explained the state of happiness i was now in, after many sufferings. the sultan read these likewise, and said, "a man that was capable of composing such poetry would rank among the greatest of men." the sultan caused to be brought to him a chessboard,[ ] and asked me by a sign if i understood that game, and would play with him. i kissed the ground; and laying my hand upon my head, signified that i was ready to receive that honor. he won the first game; but i won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at my success, i made a stanza to pacify him, in which i told him that two potent armies had been fighting furiously all day, but that they concluded a peace toward the evening, and passed the remaining part of the night very amicably together upon the field of battle. [footnote : chess is said to have had its origin in the east, and to have been introduced into europe after the crusades.] so many circumstances appearing to the sultan beyond what had ever either been seen or known of apes, he determined not to be the only witness of these prodigies himself, but having a daughter, called the lady of beauty, sent for her, that she should share his pleasure. the princess, who had her face unveiled, no sooner came into the room than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, "sir, i am surprised that you have sent for me to appear before a man. that seeming ape is a young prince, son of a powerful sultan, and has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. when i was just out of the nursery, an old lady who waited on me was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic. by this science i know all enchanted persons at first sight: i know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted; therefore do not be surprised if i should forthwith restore this prince, in spite of the enchantments, to his own form." "do so, then," interrupted the sultan, "for you cannot give me greater pleasure, as i wish to have him for my grand vizier, and bestow you upon him for a wife." "i am ready, sire," answered the princess, "to obey you in all things you please to command." the princess, the lady of beauty, went into her apartment, and brought thence a knife, which had some hebrew words engraved on the blade: she made the sultan, the little slave, and myself, descend into a private court of the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. she placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in ancient arabian characters. when she had finished and prepared the circle, she placed herself in the center of it, where she began incantations, and repeated verses of the koran. the air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night; we found ourselves struck with consternation, and our fear increased when we saw the genie appear suddenly in the shape of a lion[ ] of gigantic size. [footnote : this same power of changing the form has found a place in ancient and modern story. the proteus of heathen mythology ever found means of safety and protection by his sudden assumption of some new form and shape.] "thou shalt pay dearly," said the lion, "for the trouble thou hast given me in coming here." in saying this, he opened his horrible jaws, and advanced to devour her; but she, being on her guard, jumped back, and had just time to pluck out a hair; and pronouncing two or three words, she changed it into a sharp scythe, with which she immediately cut the lion in two pieces, through the middle. the two parts of the lion directly disappeared, and the head changed into a large scorpion. the princess then took the form of a serpent, and fought the scorpion, which, finding itself defeated, changed into an eagle, and flew away. but the serpent then became another eagle, black, and very large, and went in pursuit of it. we now lost sight of them for some time. shortly after they had disappeared, the earth opened before us, and a black and white cat appeared, the hairs of which stood quite on end, and which made a most horrible mewing. a black wolf directly followed after her, and gave her no time to rest. the cat, being thus hard pressed, changed into a worm, and hid itself in a pomegranate which lay by accident on the ground; but the pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, lifting itself up to the roof of the gallery, rolled there for some time backward and forward; it then fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces. the wolf had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a cock, and now fell to picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another; but finding no more, he came toward us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there were any more seed. there was one lying on the brink of the canal, which the cock perceiving as he went back, ran speedily thither; but just as he was going to pick it up the seed rolled into a fountain and turned into a little fish. the cock, flying toward the fountain, turned into a pike, and pursued the small fish; they both continued under water above two hours, and we knew not what was become of them; but suddenly we heard terrible cries, which made us tremble, and a little while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. they threw ashes of fire out of their mouths at each other, till they came to close combat; then the two fires increased, with a thick, burning smoke, which mounted so high that we had reason to apprehend it would set the palace on fire. but we very soon had a more pressing occasion of fear, for the genie, having got loose from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew flames of fire upon us. we must all have perished had not the princess, running to our assistance, forced him to retire, and to defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all her exertions, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being burned, and his face scorched, and a spark from entering my right eye, and making it blind. the sultan and i expected nothing but death, when we heard a cry of "victory, victory!" and instantly the princess appeared in her natural shape; but the genie was reduced to a heap of ashes. the princess approached us and hastily called for a cupful of water, which the young slave, who had received no hurt, brought her. she took it, and after pronouncing some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, "if thou art become an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man, which thou hadst before." these words were hardly uttered when i again became a man in every respect as i was before my transformation, excepting the loss of my eye. i was preparing to return the princess my thanks, but she prevented me by addressing herself to her father: "sire, i have gained the victory over the genie; but it is a victory that costs me dear. i have but a few minutes to live; the fire has pierced me during the terrible combat, and i find it is gradually consuming me. this would not have happened had i perceived the last of the pomegranate seeds, and swallowed it, as i did the others when i was changed into a cock; the genie had fled thither as to his last intrenchment, and upon that the success of the combat depended. this oversight obliged me to have recourse to fire, and to fight with those mighty arms as i did, between heaven and earth, in your presence; for in spite of all, i made the genie know that i understood more than he; i have conquered, and reduced him to ashes, but i cannot escape death, which is approaching." suddenly the princess exclaimed, "i burn, i burn!" she found that the fire had at last seized upon her vital parts, which made her still cry, "i burn!" until death had put an end to her intolerable pain. the effect of that fire was so extraordinary, that in a few moments she was wholly reduced to ashes, as the genie had been. i cannot tell you, madam, how much i was grieved at so dismal a spectacle; i had rather all my life have continued an ape or a dog, than to have seen my benefactress thus miserably perish. the sultan cried piteously, and beat himself on his head and breast, until, being quite overcome with grief, he fainted away. in the meantime, the attendants and officers came running at the sultan's lamentations, and with much difficulty brought him to himself. when the knowledge of the death of the princess had spread through the palace and the city, all the people greatly bewailed. public mourning was observed for seven days, and many ceremonies were performed. the ashes of the genie were thrown into the air; but those of the princess were collected into a precious urn, to be preserved; and the urn was deposited in a superb mausoleum[ ] constructed for that purpose on the spot where the princess had been consumed. the grief of the sultan for the loss of his daughter confined him to his chamber for a whole month. before he had fully recovered his strength, he sent for me and said, "you are the cause of all these misfortunes; depart hence therefore in peace, without further delay, and take care never again to appear in my dominions on penalty of thy life." i was obliged to quit the palace, again cast down to a low estate, and an outcast from the world. before i left the city i went into a bagnio, where i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and put on a calender's robe. i passed through many countries without making myself known; at last i resolved to visit bagdad, in hopes of meeting with the commander of the faithful, to move his compassion by relating to him my unfortunate adventures. i arrived this evening; and the first man i met was this calender, our brother, who spoke before me. [footnote : the erection of these tombs over the supposed effigy, or the real remains, of the deceased, is often mentioned in these tales. the same type of tomb, with its dome or cupola, prevails throughout. a structure of a similar fashion is celebrated in history as the taj mahal at agra, erected by the shah jehan, in memory of his queen, mumtaz mahal. it stands on a marble terrace over the jamna, and is surrounded by extensive gardens. the building itself on the outside is of white marble, with a high cupola and four minarets. in the center of the inside is a lofty hall of a circular form under a dome, in the middle of which is the tomb, inclosed within an open screen of elaborate tracery formed of marble and mosaics. the materials are lapis lazuli, jasper, bloodstone, a sort of golden stone (not well understood), agates, carnelian, jade, and various other stones. a single flower in the screen contains a hundred stones; "and yet," says bishop heber; "though everything is finished like an ornament for a drawing-room chimney-piece, the general effect is rather solemn and impressive than gaudy."--elphinstone's _india_, p. ; and _asiatic researches_, vol. v, p. .] you know the remaining part, madam, and the cause of my having the honor to be here. * * * * * when the second calender had concluded his story, zobeide, to whom he had addressed his speech, said, "it is well; you are at liberty": but instead of departing he also petitioned the lady to show him the same favor vouchsafed to the first calender, and went and sat down by him. then the third calender, knowing it was his turn to speak, addressed himself, like the others, to zobeide, and began his history as follows: the history of the third calender my story, o honorable lady, differs from those you have already heard. the two princes who have spoken before me have each lost an eye by events beyond their own control; but i lost mine through my own fault. my name is agib. i am the son of a sultan. after his death i took possession of his dominions, and continued in the city where he had resided. my kingdom is composed of several fine provinces upon the mainland, besides a number of valuable islands. my first object was to visit the provinces. i afterward caused my whole fleet to be fitted out, and went to my islands to gain the hearts of my subjects by my presence, and to confirm them in their loyalty. these voyages gave me some taste for navigation, in which i took so much pleasure that i resolved to make some discoveries beyond my own territories; to which end i caused ten ships to be fitted out, embarked, and set sail. our voyage was very pleasant for forty days successively; but on the forty-first night the wind became contrary, and so boisterous that we were nearly lost. i gave orders to steer back to my own coast; but i perceived at the same time that my pilot knew not where we were. upon the tenth day a seaman, being sent to look out for land from the masthead, gave notice that he could see nothing but sky and sea, but that right ahead he perceived a great blackness. the pilot changed color at this account, and throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other, cried, "o sir, we are all lost; not one of us can escape; and with all my skill it is not in my power to effect our deliverance." i asked him what reason he had thus to despair. he exclaimed, "the tempest has brought us so far out of our course that to-morrow about noon we shall be near the black mountain, or mine of adamant, which at this very minute draws all your fleet toward it by virtue of the iron in your ships; and when we approach within a certain distance the attraction of the adamant will have such force that all the nails will be drawn out of the sides and bottoms of the ships, and fasten to the mountain, so that your vessels will fall to pieces and sink. this mountain," continued the pilot, "is inaccessible. on the summit there is a dome of fine brass, supported by pillars of the same metal, and on the top of that dome stands a horse, likewise of brass, with a rider on his back, who has a plate of lead fixed to his breast, upon which some talismanic characters are engraved. sir, the tradition is, that this statue is the chief cause why so many ships and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever continue to be fatal to all those who have the misfortune to approach, until it shall be thrown down." the pilot having finished his discourse, began to weep afresh, and all the rest of the ship's company did the same, and they took farewell of each other. the next morning we distinctly perceived the black mountain. about noon we were so near that we found what the pilot had foretold to be true; for all the nails and iron in the ships flew toward the mountain, where they fixed, by the violence of the attraction, with a horrible noise; the ships split asunder, and their cargoes sank into the sea. all my people were drowned, but god had mercy on me and permitted me to save myself by means of a plank, which the wind drove ashore just at the foot of the mountain. i did not receive the least hurt; and my good fortune brought me to a landing place where there were steps that led up to the summit of the mountain. at last i reached the top, without accident. i went into the dome, and, kneeling on the ground, gave god thanks for his mercies. i passed the night under the dome. in my sleep an old grave man appeared to me, and said, "hearken, agib; as soon as thou art awake dig up the ground under thy feet: thou wilt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead. shoot the three arrows at the statue, and the rider and his horse will fall into the sea; this being done, the sea will swell and rise to the foot of the dome. when it has come so high, thou wilt perceive a boat, with one man holding an oar in each hand; this man is also of metal, but different from that thou hast thrown down; step on board, but without mentioning the name of god, and let him conduct thee. he will in ten days' time bring thee into another sea, where thou shalt find an opportunity to return to thy country, provided, as i have told thee, thou dost not mention the name of god during the whole voyage." when i awoke i felt much comforted by the vision, and did not fail to observe everything that the old man had commanded me. i took the bow and arrows out of the ground, shot at the horseman, and with the third arrow i overthrew him and the horse. in the meantime the sea swelled and rose up by degrees. when it came as high as the foot of the dome upon the top of the mountain, i saw, afar off, a boat rowing toward me, and i returned god thanks. when the boat made land i stepped aboard, and took great heed not to pronounce the name of god, neither spoke i one word. i sat down, and the man of metal began to row off from the mountain. he rowed without ceasing till the ninth day, when i saw some islands, which gave me hopes that i should escape all the danger that i feared. the excess of my joy made me forget what i was forbidden: "god is great! god be praised!" said i. i had no sooner spoken than the boat and man sank, casting me upon the sea. i swam until night, when, as my strength began to fail, a wave vast as a mountain threw me on the land. the first thing i did was to strip, and to dry my clothes. the next morning i went forward to discover what sort of country i was in. i had not walked far before i found i was upon a desert, though a very pleasant island, abounding with trees and wild shrubs bearing fruit. i recommended myself to god, and prayed him to dispose of me according to his will. immediately after, i saw a vessel coming from the mainland, before the wind, directly toward the island. i got up into a very thick tree, from whence, though unseen, i might safely view them. the vessel came into a little creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying a spade and other instruments for digging up the ground. they went toward the middle of the island, where they dug for a considerable time, after which they lifted up a trapdoor. they returned again to the vessel, and unloaded several sorts of provisions and furniture, which they carried to the place where they had been digging; they then descended into a subterranean dwelling. i saw them once more go to the ship, and return soon after with an old man, who led a handsome lad of about fifteen years of age. they all descended when the trapdoor had been opened. after they had again come up, they let down the trapdoor, covered it over with earth, and returned to the creek where the ship lay; but i saw not the young man in their company. this made me believe that he had stayed behind in the subterranean cavern. the old man and the slaves went on board, and steered their course toward the mainland. when i perceived they had proceeded to such a distance that i could not be seen by them, i came down from the tree, and went directly to the place where i had seen the ground broken. i removed the earth by degrees, till i came to a stone two or three feet square. i lifted it up, and found that it covered the head of a flight of stairs, also of stone. i descended, and at the bottom found myself in a large room, brilliantly lighted, and furnished with a carpet, a couch covered with tapestry, and cushions of rich stuff, upon which the young man sat. the young man, when he perceived me, was considerably alarmed; but i made a low obeisance, and said to him, "sir, do not fear. i am a king, and i will do you no harm. on the contrary, it is probable that your good destiny may have brought me hither to deliver you out of this tomb, where it seems you have been buried alive. but what surprises me (for you must know that i have seen all that hath passed since your coming into this island) is, that you suffered yourself to be entombed in this place without any resistance." the young man, much assured at these words, with a smiling countenance requested me to seat myself by him. as soon as i was seated he said: "prince, my story will surprise you. my father is a jeweler. he has many slaves, and also agents at the several courts, which he furnishes with precious stones. he had been long married without having issue when he dreamed that he should have a son, though his life would be but short. some time after, i was born, which occasioned great joy in the family. my father, who had observed the very moment of my birth, consulted astrologers about my nativity, and was answered, 'your son shall live happily till the age of fifteen, when his life will be exposed to a danger which he will hardly be able to escape. but if his good destiny preserve him beyond that time, he will live to a great age. it will be,' said they, 'when the statue of brass, that stands upon the summit of the mountain of adamant, shall be thrown into the sea by prince agib, and, as the stars prognosticate, your son will be killed fifty days afterward by that prince.' "my father took all imaginable care of my education until this year, which is the fifteenth of my age. he had notice given him yesterday that the statue of brass had been thrown into the sea about ten days ago. this news alarmed him much; and, in consequence of the prediction of the astrologers, he took the precaution to form this subterranean habitation to hide me in during the fifty days after the throwing down of the statue; and therefore, as it is ten days since this happened, he came hastily hither to conceal me, and promised at the end of forty days to return and fetch me away. for my own part, i am sanguine in my hopes, and cannot believe that prince agib will seek for me in a place under ground, in the midst of a desert island." he had scarcely done speaking when i said to him, with great joy: "dear sir, trust in the goodness of god, and fear nothing. i will not leave you till the forty days have expired, of which the foolish astrologers have made you apprehensive; and in the meanwhile i will do you all the service in my power; after which, with leave of your father and yourself, i shall have the benefit of getting to the mainland in your vessel; and when i am returned into my kingdom, i will remember the obligations i owe you, and endeavor to demonstrate my gratitude by suitable acknowledgments." this discourse encouraged the jeweler's son, and inspired him with confidence. i took care not to inform him i was the very agib whom he dreaded, lest i should alarm his fears. i found the young man of ready wit, and partook with him of his provisions, of which he had enough to have lasted beyond the forty days though he had had more guests than myself. in short, madam, we spent thirty-nine days in this subterranean abode in the pleasantest manner possible. the fortieth day appeared; and in the morning, when the young man awoke, he said to me, with a transport of joy that he could not restrain, "prince, this is the fortieth day, and i am not dead, thanks to god and your good company. my father will not fail to make you, very shortly, every acknowledgment of his gratitude for your attentions, and will furnish you with every necessary for your return to your kingdom. but," continued he, "while we are waiting his arrival, dear prince, pray do me the favor to fetch me a melon and some sugar,[ ] that i may eat some to refresh me." out of several melons that remained i took the best, and laid it on a plate; and as i could not find a knife to cut it with, i asked the young man if he knew where there was one. "there is one," said he, "upon this cornice over my head." i accordingly saw it there, and made so much haste to reach it that, while i had it in my hand, my foot being entangled in the carpet, i fell most unhappily upon the young man, and the knife pierced his heart. at this spectacle i cried out with agony. i beat my head, my face, my breast; i tore my clothes; i threw myself on the ground with unspeakable sorrow and grief. [footnote : sugar has been traced to the arabic "succar," which is the persian "shachar." the sugar-cane is a jointed reed, crowned with leaves or blades; it contains a soft, pithy substance, full of sweet juice. the people of egypt eat a great quantity of the green sugar-canes, and make a coarse loaf-sugar, and also sugar-candy and some very fine sugar, sent to constantinople to the grand signor, which is very dear, being made only for that purpose.--dr. richard pocock, _travels_, vol. i, p. .] i would have embraced death without any reluctance, had it presented itself to me. "but what we wish, whether it be good or evil, will not always happen according to our desire." nevertheless, considering that all my tears and sorrows would not restore the young man to life, and, the forty days being expired, i might be surprised by his father, i quitted the subterranean dwelling, laid down the great stone upon the entrance, and covered it with earth. i again ascended into the tree which had previously sheltered me, when i saw the expected vessel approaching the shore. the old man with his slaves landed immediately, and advanced toward the subterranean dwelling, with a countenance that showed some hope; but when they saw the earth had been newly removed, they changed color, particularly the old man. they lifted up the stone, and descended the stairs. they called the young man by his name, but no answer was returned. their fears redoubled. they searched about, and at last found him stretched on his couch, with the knife through his heart, for i had not had the courage to draw it out. on seeing this, they uttered such lamentable cries that my tears flowed afresh. the unfortunate father continued a long while insensible, and made them more than once despair of his life; but at last he came to himself. the slaves then brought up his son's body, dressed in his best apparel, and when they had made a grave they buried it. the old man, supported by two slaves, and his face covered with tears, threw the first earth upon the body, after which the slaves filled up the grave. this being done, all the furniture was brought up, and, with the remaining provisions, put on board the vessel. the old man, overcome with sorrow, was carried upon a litter to the ship, which stood out to sea, and in a short time was out of sight. after the old man and his slaves were gone i was left alone upon the island. i lay that night in the subterranean dwelling, which they had shut up, and when the day came, i walked round the island. i led this wearisome life for a whole month. at the expiration of this time i perceived that the sea had sunk so low that there remained between me and the continent but a small stream, which i crossed, and the water did not reach above the middle of my leg. at last i got upon more firm ground. when i had proceeded some distance from the sea i saw a good way before me something that resembled a great fire, which afforded me some comfort; for i said to myself, i shall here find some persons, it not being possible that this fire should kindle of itself. as i drew nearer, however, i found my error, and discovered that what i had taken for a fire was a castle of red copper, which the beams of the sun made to appear at a distance like flames. as i wondered at this magnificent building, i saw ten handsome young men coming along; but what surprised me was that they were all blind of the right eye. they were accompanied by an old man, very tall, and of a venerable aspect. as i was conjecturing by what adventure these men could come together, they approached, and seemed glad to see me. after we had made our salutations, they inquired what had brought me thither. i told them my story, which filled them with great astonishment. after i had concluded my account, the young men prayed me to accompany them into the palace, and brought me into a spacious hall, where there were ten small blue sofas set round, separate from one another. in the middle of this circle stood an eleventh sofa, not so high as the rest, but of the same color, upon which the old man before mentioned sat down, and the young men occupied the other ten. but as each sofa could only contain one man, one of the young men said to me, "sit down, friend, upon that carpet in the middle of the room, and do not inquire into anything that concerns us, nor the reason why we are all blind of the right eye." the old man, having sat a short time, arose, and went out; but he returned in a minute or two, brought in supper, distributed to each man separately his proportion, and likewise brought me mine, which i ate apart, as the rest did; and when supper was almost ended, he presented to each of us a cup of wine. one of the young men observing that it was late, said to the old man, "you do not bring us that with which we may acquit ourselves of our duty." at these words the old man arose, and went into a closet, and brought out thence upon his head ten basins, one after another, all covered with black stuff; he placed one before every gentleman, together with a light. they uncovered their basins, which contained ashes and powdered charcoal; they mixed all together, and rubbed and bedaubed their faces with it; and having thus blackened themselves, they wept and lamented, beating their heads and breasts, and crying continually, "this is the fruit of our idleness and curiosity." [illustration: _these ladies vied with each other in their eager solicitude to do me all possible service page _] they continued this strange employment nearly the whole of the night. i wished a thousand times to break the silence which had been imposed upon me, and to ask the reason of their strange proceedings. the next day, soon after we had arisen, we went out to walk, and then i said to them, "i cannot forbear asking why you bedaubed your faces with black--how it has happened that each of you has but one eye. i conjure you to satisfy my curiosity." one of the young men answered on behalf of the rest, "once more we advise you to restrain your curiosity; it will cost you the loss of your right eye." "no matter," i replied; "be assured that if such a misfortune befall me, i will not impute it to you, but to myself." he further represented to me that when i had lost an eye i must not hope to remain with them, if i were so disposed, because their number was complete, and no addition could be made to it. i begged them, let it cost what it would, to grant my request. the ten young men, perceiving that i was so fixed in my resolution, took a sheep, killed it, and after they had taken off the skin, presented me with a knife, telling me it would be useful to me on an occasion, which they would soon explain. "we must sew you in this skin," said they, "and then leave you; upon which a bird of monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, and, taking you for a sheep, will pounce upon you, and soar with you to the sky. but let not that alarm you; he will descend with you again, and lay you on the top of a mountain. when you find yourself on the ground, cut the skin with your knife, and throw it off. as soon as the roc sees you, he will fly away for fear, and leave you at liberty. do not stay, but walk on till you come to a spacious palace, covered with plates of gold, large emeralds, and other precious stones. go up to the gate, which always stands open, and walk in. we have each of us been in that castle, but will tell you nothing of what we saw, or what befell us there; you will learn by your own experience. all that we can inform you is, that it has cost each of us our right eye; and the penance which you have been witness to, is what we are obliged to observe in consequence of having been there; but we cannot explain ourselves further." when the young man had thus spoken, i wrapped myself in the sheep's skin, holding fast to the knife which was given me; and after the young men had been at the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me alone. the roc they spoke of soon arrived; he pounced upon me, took me in his talons like a sheep, and carried me up to the summit of the mountain. when i found myself on the ground i cut the skin with the knife, and throwing it off, the roc at the sight of me flew away. this roc is a white bird of a monstrous size; his strength is such that he can lift up elephants from the plains, and carry them to the tops of mountains, where he feeds upon them. being impatient to reach the palace, i lost no time, but made so much haste that i got thither in half a day's journey; and i must say that i found it surpassed the description they had given me of its magnificence. the gate being open, i entered a square court, so large that there were around it ninety-nine gates of sandalwood and wood of aloes, and one of gold, without reckoning those of several superb staircases that led to apartments above, besides many more which i could not see. i saw a door standing open just before me, through which i entered into a large hall. here i found forty young women, of such perfect beauty as imagination could not surpass; they were all most sumptuously appareled. as soon as they saw me they arose, and without waiting my salutations, said to me, with tones of joy, "welcome! welcome! we have long expected you. you are at present our lord, master, and judge, and we are your slaves, ready to obey your commands." after these words were spoken, these ladies vied with each other in their eager solicitude to do me all possible service. one brought hot water to wash my feet; a second poured sweet-scented water on my hands; others brought me all kinds of necessaries and change of apparel; others again brought in a magnificent collation; and the rest came, with glasses in their hands, to pour me delicious wines, all in good order, and in the most charming manner possible. some of the ladies brought in musical instruments, and sang most delightful songs; while others danced before me, two and two, with admirable grace. in short, honored madam, i must tell you that i passed a whole year of most pleasurable life with these forty ladies. at the end of that time i was greatly surprised to see these ladies with great sorrow impressed upon their countenances, and to hear them all say, "adieu, dear prince, adieu! for we must leave you." after they had spoken these words, they began to weep bitterly. "my dear ladies," said i, "have the kindness not to keep me any longer in suspense. tell me the cause of your sorrow." "well," said one of them, "to satisfy you, we must acquaint you that we are all princesses, daughters of kings. we live here together in the manner you have seen; but at the end of every year we are obliged to be absent forty days, for reasons we are not permitted to reveal; and afterward we return again to this palace. before we depart we will leave you the keys of everything, especially those of the hundred doors, where you will find enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to relieve your solitude during our absence. but we entreat you to forbear opening the golden door; for if you do, we shall never see you again; and the apprehension of this augments our grief." we separated with much tenderness; and after i had embraced them all they departed, and i remained alone in the castle. i determined not to forget the important advice they had given me, not to open the golden door; but as i was permitted to satisfy my curiosity in everything else, i took the first of the keys of the other doors, which were hung in regular order. i opened the first door, and entered an orchard, which i believe the universe could not equal. i could not imagine anything to surpass it. the symmetry, the neatness, the admirable order of the trees, the abundance and diversity of unknown fruits, their freshness and beauty, delighted me. nor must i neglect to inform you that this delightful garden was watered in a most singular manner; small channels, cut out with great art and regularity, and of different lengths, carried water in considerable quantities to the roots of such trees as required much moisture. others conveyed it in smaller quantities to those whose fruits were already formed; some carried still less; to those whose fruits were swelling; and others carried only so much as was just requisite to water those which had their fruits come to perfection, and only wanted to be ripened. they far exceeded in size the ordinary fruits in our gardens. i shut the door, and opened the next. instead of an orchard, i found here a flower garden, which was no less extraordinary in its kind. the roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils, hyacinths, anemones, tulips, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of flowers, which do not grow in other places except at certain times, were there flourishing all at once; and nothing could be more delicious than the fragrant smell which they emitted. i opened the third door, and found a large aviary, paved with marble of several fine and uncommon colors. the trellis work was made of sandalwood and wood of aloes. it contained a vast number of nightingales, goldfinches, canary birds, larks, and other rare singing birds, and the vessels that held their seed were of the most sparkling jasper or agate. the sun went down, and i retired, charmed with the chirping notes of the multitude of birds, who then began to perch upon such places as suited them for repose during the night. i went to my chamber, resolving on the following days to open all the rest of the doors, excepting that of gold. the next day i opened the fourth door. i entered a large court, surrounded with forty gates, all open, and through each of them was an entrance into a treasury. the first was stored with heaps of pearls; and, what is almost incredible, the number of those stones which are most precious, and as large as pigeon's eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size. in the second treasury,[ ] there were diamonds, carbuncles, and rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; and in the two following, money. the rest contained amethysts, chrysolites, topazes, opals, turquoises, agate, jasper, cornelian, and coral, of which there was a storehouse filled, not only with branches, but whole trees. [footnote : these tales were written shortly after the conquest of persia, the riches of which country may be reflected in these narratives. "the naked robbers of the desert were suddenly enriched, beyond the measure of their hope and knowledge. each chamber revealed a new chamber secreted with art, or ostentatiously displayed; the gold and silver, the various wardrobes and precious furniture, surpassed (says abulfeda) the estimate of fancy or numbers, and another historian defines the untold and almost infinite mass by the fabulous computation of thousands of thousands of pieces of gold."--gibbon's _decline and fall._] thus i went through, day by day, these various wonders. thirty-nine days afforded me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so that there was only the hundredth door left, which i was forbidden to open. the fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses arrived, and had i but retained so much self-command as i ought to have had, i should have been this day the happiest of all mankind, whereas now i am the most unfortunate. but through my weakness, which i shall ever repent, and the temptations of an evil spirit, i opened that fatal door! but before i had moved my foot to enter, a smell, pleasant enough but too powerful for my senses, made me faint away. however, i soon recovered; but instead of taking warning from this incident to close the door and restrain my curiosity, i entered, and found myself in a spacious vaulted apartment, illuminated by several large tapers placed in candlesticks of solid gold. among the many objects that attracted my attention was a black horse, of the most perfect symmetry and beauty. i approached in order the better to observe him, and found he had on a saddle and bridle of massive gold, curiously wrought. one part of his manger was filled with clean barley, and the other with rose water. i laid hold of his bridle, and led him out to view him by daylight. i mounted, and endeavored to make him move; but finding he did not stir, i struck him with a switch i had taken up in his magnificent stable. he had no sooner felt the whip than he began to neigh in a most horrible manner, and, extending wings, which i had not before perceived, flew up with me into the air. my thoughts were fully occupied in keeping my seat; and, considering the fear that had seized me, i sat well. at length he directed his course toward the earth, and lighting upon the terrace of a palace, without giving me time to dismount, he shook me out of the saddle with such force as to throw me behind him, and with the end of his tail he struck out my eye. thus it was i became blind of one eye. i then recollected the predictions of the ten young gentlemen. the horse again took wing, and soon disappeared. i got up, much vexed at the misfortune i had brought upon myself. i walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then descended, and entered into a hall. i soon discovered, by the ten sofas in a circle and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the rest, that i was in the castle whence i had been carried by the roc. the ten young men seemed not at all surprised to see me, nor at the loss of my eye; but said, "we are sorry that we cannot congratulate you on your return, as we could wish; but we are not the cause of your misfortune." "i should do you wrong," i replied, "to lay it to your charge; i have only myself to accuse." "if," said they, "it be a subject of consolation to the afflicted to know that others share their sufferings, you have in us this alleviation of your misfortune. all that has happened to you we also have endured; we each of us tasted the same pleasures during a year; and we had still continued to enjoy them had we not opened the golden door when the princesses were absent. you have been no wiser than we, and have incurred the same punishment. we would gladly receive you into our company, to join with us in the penance to which we are bound, the duration of which we know not. but we have already stated to you the reasons that render this impossible; depart, therefore, and proceed to the court of bagdad,[ ] where you will meet with the person who is to decide your destiny." [footnote : bagdad was founded in the th year of the hejira or flight of mohammed to medina, . it was destroyed by hulakoo, grandson of gengis khan, in the th of the hejira, a.d. , when the dynasty of the ambassides was terminated.] after they had explained to me the road i was to travel, i departed. on the road i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaven, and assumed a calender's habit. i have had a long journey, but at last i arrived this evening, and met these my brother calenders at the gate, being strangers as well as myself. we were mutually surprised at one another, to see that we were all blind of the same eye; but we had not leisure to converse long on the subject of our misfortunes. we have only had time enough to bring us hither, to implore those favors which you have been generously pleased to grant us. * * * * * the third calender having finished this relation of his adventures, zobeide addressed him and his fellow-calenders thus: "go wherever you think proper; you are at liberty." but one of them answered, "madam, we beg you to pardon our curiosity, and permit us to hear the stories of your other guests who have not yet spoken." then the lady turned to the caliph, the vizier giafar, and mesrour, and said to them, "it is now your turn to relate your adventures; therefore speak." the grand vizier, who had all along been the spokesman, answered zobeide: "madam, in order to obey you, we need only repeat what we have already said to the fair lady who opened for us the door. we are merchants come to bagdad to sell our merchandise, which lies in the khan[ ] where we lodge. we dined to-day with several other persons of our condition, at a merchant's house of this city; who, after he had treated us with choice dainties and excellent wines, sent for men and women dancers and musicians. the great noise we made brought in the watch, who arrested some of the company, but we had the good fortune to escape. but it being already late, and the door of our khan shut up, we knew not whither to retire. we chanced, as we passed along this street, to hear music at your house, which made us determine to knock at your gate. this is all the account that we can give you, in obedience to your commands." [footnote : "khan, or caravansary, a large building of a quadrangular form, being one story in height. the ground floor serves for warehouses and stables, while the upper is used for lodgings. they always contain a fountain, and have cook shops and other conveniences attached to them in town. the erection of them is considered meritorious both among hindus and mussulmans. they are erected on the sides of public highways, and are then only a set of bare rooms and outhouses."--_popular cyclopedia_, vol. ii, p. .] "well, then," said zobeide, "you shall all be equally obliged to me; i pardon you all, provided you immediately depart!" zobeide having given this command, the caliph, the vizier, mesrour, the three calenders, and the porter, departed; for the presence of the seven slaves with their weapons awed them into silence. as soon as they had quitted the house, and the gate was closed after them, the caliph said to the calenders, without making himself known, "you, gentlemen, who are newly come to town, which way do you design to go, since it is not yet day?" "it is this," they replied, "that perplexes us." "follow us," resumed the caliph, "and we will convey you out of danger." he then whispered to the vizier: "take them along with you, and to-morrow morning bring them to me." the vizier giafar took the three calenders along with him; the porter went to his quarters, and the caliph and mesrour returned to the palace. on the following morning, as the day dawned, the sultan haroun al raschid arose and went to his council chamber, and sat upon his throne. the grand vizier entered soon after, and made his obeisance. "vizier," said the caliph, "go, bring those ladies and the calenders at the same time; make haste, and remember that i impatiently expect your return." the vizier, who knew his master's quick and fiery temper, hastened to obey, and conducted them to the palace with so much expedition that the caliph was much pleased. when the ladies had arrived the caliph turned toward them and said, "i was last night in your house, disguised in a merchant's habit; but i am at present haroun al raschid, the fifth caliph of the glorious house of abbas, and hold the place of our great prophet. i have sent for you only to know who you are, and to ask for what reason one of you, after severely whipping the two black dogs, wept with them. and i am no less curious to know why another of you has her bosom so full of scars." upon hearing these words, zobeide thus related her story: the story of zobeide commander of the faithful, my story is truly wonderful. the two black dogs and myself are sisters by the same father and mother. the two ladies who are now here are also my sisters, but by another mother. after our father's death, the property that he left was equally divided among us. my two half sisters left me, that they might live with their mother. my two sisters and myself resided with our own mother. at her death she left us three thousand sequins each. shortly after my sisters had received their portions, they married; but their husbands, having spent all their fortunes, found some pretext for divorcing them, and put them away. i received them into my house, and gave them[ ] a share of all my goods. at the end of a twelvemonth my sisters again resolved to marry, and did so. after some months were passed, they returned again in the same sad condition; and as they accused themselves a thousand times, i again forgave them, and admitted them to live with me as before, and we dwelt together for the space of a year. after this i determined to engage in a commercial speculation. for this purpose i went with my two sisters to bussorah,[ ] where i bought a ship ready fitted for sea, and laded her with such merchandise[ ] as i had carried with me from bagdad. we set sail with a fair wind, and soon cleared the persian gulf; when we had reached the open sea we steered our course to the indies, and on the twentieth day saw land. it was a very high mountain, at the bottom of which we perceived a great town; having a fresh gale, we soon reached the harbor, and cast anchor. [footnote : "the giving of alms is commanded in the koran. hasan, the son of ali, grandson of mohammed, is related to have thrice in his life divided his substance equally between himself and the poor."--sale's _preliminary dissertation_, p. .] [footnote : "at the distance of fourscore miles from the persian gulf, the euphrates and tigris unite in a broad and direct current. in the midway, between the junction and the mouth of these famous streams, the new settlement of bussorah was planted on the western bank; the first colony was composed of eight hundred moslems; but the influence of the situation soon reared a flourishing and populous capital. the air, though excessively hot, is pure and healthy; the meadows are filled with palm trees and cattle; and one of the adjacent valleys has been celebrated among the four paradises or gardens of asia. under the first caliphs, the jurisdiction of this arab colony extended over the southern provinces of persia; the city has been sanctified by the tombs of the companions and martyrs and the vessels of europe still frequent the port of bussorah, as a convenient station and passage of the indian trade."--gibbon's _decline and fall_, , c.] [footnote : bussorah was built by the caliph omar. the city has four kinds of inhabitants--jews, persians, mohammedans, and christians. it is looked upon by the arabs as one of the most delightful spots in asia. the commerce of bussorah consisted in the interchange of rice, sugar, spices from ceylon, coarse white and blue cottons from coromandel, cardamom, pepper, sandalwood from malabar, gold and silver stuffs, brocades, turbans, shawls, indigo from surat, pearls from bahara, coffee from mocha, iron, lead, woolen cloths, etc.] i had not patience to wait till my sisters were dressed to go along with me, but went ashore alone in the boat. making directly to the gate of the town, i saw there a great number of men upon guard, some sitting, and others standing with weapons in their hands; and they had all such dreadful countenances that i was greatly alarmed; but perceiving they remained stationary, and did not so much as move their eyes, i took courage and went nearer, when i found they were all turned into stone. i entered the town, and passed through several streets, where at different intervals stood men in various attitudes, but all motionless and petrified. in the quarter inhabited by the merchants i found most of the shops open; here i likewise found the people petrified.[ ] [footnote : "there is a city in upper egypt (ishmonie), called the petrified city, on account of a great number of statues of men, women, and children, and other animals, which are said to be seen thereat this day; all which, as it is believed by the inhabitants, were once animated beings, but were miraculously changed into stone in all the various positions of falling, standing, eating, sitting, which they acted at the instant of their supposed transubstantiation. we did not fail to inquire after these things, and desired to have a sight of them; but they told us they were in a certain part, pointing westward, but were too sacred to be seen by any except believers."--perry's _view of the levant._] having reached a vast square, in the heart of the city, i perceived a large folding gate, covered with plates of gold, which stood open; a curtain of silk stuff seemed to be drawn before it; a lamp hung over the entrance. after i had surveyed the building, i made no doubt but it was the palace of the prince who reigned over that country; and being much astonished that i had not met with one living creature, i approached in hopes of finding some. i lifted up the curtain, and was surprised at beholding no one but the guards in the vestibule, all petrified. i came to a large court. i went from thence into a room richly furnished, where i perceived a lady turned into a statue of stone. the crown of gold on her head, and a necklace of pearls about her neck, each of them as large as a nut, proclaimed her to be the queen. i quitted the chamber where the petrified queen was, and passed through several other apartments richly furnished, and at last came into a large room where there was a throne of massy gold, raised several steps above the floor, and enriched with large enchased emeralds, and upon the throne there was a bed of rich stuff embroidered with pearls. what surprised me most was a sparkling light which came from above the bed. being curious to know whence it proceeded, i ascended the steps, and, lifting up my head, saw a diamond as large as the egg of an ostrich, lying upon a low stool; it was so pure that i could not find the least blemish in it, and it sparkled with so much brilliancy that when i saw it by daylight i could not endure its luster. at the head of the bed there stood on each side a lighted flambeau, but for what use i could not comprehend; however, it made me imagine that there must be some one living in the place; for i could not believe that the torches continued thus burning of themselves. the doors being all open, i surveyed some other apartments, that were as beautiful as those i had already seen. in short, the wonders that everywhere appeared so wholly engrossed my attention that i forgot my ship and my sisters, and thought of nothing but gratifying my curiosity. in the meantime night came on, and i tried to return by the way i had entered, but i could not find it; i lost myself among the apartments; and perceiving i was come back again to the large room, where the throne, the couch, the large diamond, and the torches stood, i resolved to take my night's lodging there, and to depart the next morning early, to get aboard my ship. i laid myself down upon a costly couch, not without some dread to be alone in a desolate place; and this fear hindered my sleep. about midnight i heard a man reading the koran,[ ] in the same tone as it is read in our mosques. i immediately arose, and taking a torch in my hand passed from one chamber to another, on that side from whence the voice proceeded, until looking through a window i found it to be an oratory. it had, as we have in our mosques, a niche,[ ] to direct us whither we are to turn to say our prayers; there were also lamps hung up, and two candlesticks with large tapers of white wax burning. [footnote : koran (derived from the word karaa, to read) signifies "the reading--that which ought to be read." it is the collection of revelations supposed to be given from heaven to mohammed during a period of twenty-three years. some were given at mecca, and some at medina. each was regarded by some as a mystery full of divine meaning. it is divided into thirty parts; and as each mosque has thirty readers, it is read through once a day. these readers chant it in long lines with rhythmical ending, and in the absence of definite vowels they alone know the right pronunciation of the koran.--sale's _preliminary dissertation_, p. .] [footnote : this is the _kaaba_ or _kebla_, a sacred stone in the center of the temple at mecca, over which is a lofty building, from which the name is by some said to be derived--caaba, high. mr. ferguson, in his account of "the holy sepulcher," thus describes it: "the precept of the koran is, that all men, when they pray, shall turn toward the _kaaba_, or holy house, at mecca; and consequently throughout the moslem world, indicators have been put up to enable the faithful to fulfill this condition. in india they face west, in barbary east, in syria south. it is true that when rich men, or kings, built mosques, they frequently covered the face of this wall with arcades, to shelter the worshiper from the sun or rain. they inclosed it in a court that his meditations might not be disturbed by the noises of the outside world. they provided it with fountains, that he might perform the required ablutions before prayer. but still the essential part of the mosques is the _mihrab_ or niche, which points toward mecca, and toward which, when he bows, the worshiper knows that the _kaaba_ also is before him." the holy house erected over the _kaaba_ was decorated annually with rich tapestries and a deep golden band, at the cost of the caliphs.] i saw a little carpet laid down like those we have to kneel upon when we say our prayers, and a comely young man sat on this carpet, with great devotion reading the koran, which lay before him on a desk. at this sight i was transported with admiration. i wondered how it came to pass that he should be the only living creature in a town where all the people were turned into stone, and i do not doubt but there was something in the circumstance very extraordinary. the door being only half shut i opened it, went in, and standing upright before the niche, i exclaimed, "bismillah![ ] praise be to god." the young man turned toward me, and, having saluted me, inquired what had brought me to this desolate city. i told him in a few words my history, and i prayed him to tell me why he alone was left alive in the midst of such terrible desolation. at these words he shut the koran, put it into a rich case, and laid it in the niche. then he thus addressed me: [footnote : bismillah. all the chapters of the koran, except nine, begin with this word. its meaning is, "in the name of the merciful god." it is said to be frequently used in conversation by the arabs.--sale's _preliminary dissertation_, p. .] "know that this city was the metropolis of a mighty kingdom, over which the sultan, who was my father, reigned. that prince, his whole court, the inhabitants of the city, and all his other subjects, were magi, worshipers of fire instead of god. "but though i was born of an idolatrous father and mother i had the good fortune in my youth to have a nurse who was a good mussulman, believing in god and in his prophet. 'dear prince,' would she oftentimes say, 'there is but one true god; take heed that you do not acknowledge and adore any other.' she taught me to read arabic, and the book she gave me to study was the koran. as soon as i was capable of understanding it, she explained to me all the passages of this excellent book, unknown to my father or any other person. she died, but not before she had perfectly instructed me in the mussulman religion. after her death, i persisted in worshiping according to its directions; and i abhor the adoration of fire. "about three years and some months ago, a thundering voice was suddenly sounded so distinctly through the whole city that nobody could miss hearing it. the words were these: 'inhabitants, abandon the worship of fire, and worship the only god who shows mercy.' this voice was heard three years successively, but no one was converted. on the last day of that year, at the break of day, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, each one in the condition and posture in which he happened to be. the sultan, my father, and the queen, my mother, shared the same fate. "i am the only person who did not suffer under that heavy judgment, and ever since i have continued to serve god with more fervency than before. i am persuaded, dear lady, that he has sent you hither for my comfort, for which i render him infinite thanks, for i must own that i have become weary of this solitary life." on hearing these words, i said, "prince, who can doubt that providence has brought me into your port, to afford you an opportunity of withdrawing from this dismal place? i am a lady at bagdad, where i have considerable property; and i dare engage to promise you sanctuary there, until the mighty commander of the faithful, caliph of our prophet, whom you acknowledge, shows you the honor that is due to your merit. this renowned prince lives at bagdad, and as soon as he is informed of your arrival in his capital you will find it not in vain to implore his assistance. stay no longer in a city where you can only renew your grief; my vessel is at your service, which you may absolutely command as you shall think fit." he accepted the offer, and as soon as it was day we left the palace, and went aboard my ship, where we found my sisters, the captain, and the slaves, all much troubled at my absence. after i had presented my sisters to the prince, i told them what had hindered my return the day before, how i had met with the young prince, his story, and the cause of the desolation of so fine a city. the seamen were taken up several days in unloading the merchandise i brought with me, and embarking in its stead many of the precious things in the palace, especially jewels, gold, and money. we left the furniture and goods, which consisted of an infinite quantity of silver vessels, because our vessel could not carry it, for it would have required several vessels more to convey to bagdad all the riches that we might have taken with us. after we had laden the vessel with what we thought most desirable, we took such provisions and water aboard as were necessary for our voyage. at last we set sail with a favorable wind. the young prince, my sisters, and myself passed our time very agreeably. but, alas! this good understanding did not last long, for my sisters grew jealous of the friendship between the prince and myself, and maliciously asked me, one day, what we should do with him when we came to bagdad. resolving to put this question off with a joke, i answered, "i will take him for my husband." upon that, turning myself to the prince, i said, "sir, i humbly beg of you to give your consent, for as soon as we come to bagdad i design to offer you my person to be your slave, to do you all the service that is in my power, and to resign myself wholly to your commands." the prince replied, "i know not, madam, whether you be in jest or no; but for my part, i seriously declare before these ladies, your sisters, that from this moment i heartily accept your offer, not with any intention to have you as a slave, but as my lady and wife." at these words my sisters changed color, and i could perceive afterward that they did not love me as before. we entered the persian gulf, and had come within a short distance of bussorah (where i hoped, considering the fair wind, we might have arrived the day following), when, in the night, while i was asleep, my sisters watched their opportunity and threw me overboard. they did the same to the prince, who was drowned. i floated some minutes on the water, and by good fortune, or rather miracle, i felt ground. i went toward a dark spot, that, by what i could discern, seemed to be land, and which, when day appeared, i found to be a desert island, lying about twenty miles from bussorah. i soon dried my clothes in the sun, and as i walked along i found several kinds of fruit, and likewise fresh water, which gave me some hopes of preserving my life. i had just laid myself down to rest in a shade, when i perceived a very large winged serpent coming toward me, with an irregular waving movement, and hanging out its tongue, which induced me to conclude it had received some injury. i instantly arose, and perceived that it was pursued by a larger serpent which had hold of its tail, and was endeavoring to devour it. this perilous situation of the first serpent excited my pity; and instead of retreating, i took up a stone that lay near me, and threw it with all my strength at its pursuer, whom i hit upon the head and killed. the other, finding itself at liberty, took wing and flew away. i looked after it for some time till it disappeared. i then sought another shady spot for repose, and fell asleep. judge what was my surprise, when i awoke, to see standing by me a black woman of lively and agreeable features, who held in her hand two dogs of the same color, fastened together. i sat up, and asked her who she was. "i am," said she, "the serpent whom you lately delivered from my mortal enemy, and i wish to requite the important services you have rendered me. these two black dogs are your sisters, whom i have transformed into this shape. but this punishment will not suffice; and my will is that you treat them hereafter in the way i shall direct." as soon as she had thus spoken the fairy took me under one of her arms, and the two black dogs under the other, and conveyed us to my house in bagdad, where i found in my storehouses all the riches with which my vessel had been laden. before she left me, she delivered to me the two dogs, and said, "if you would not be changed into a similar form, i command you to give each of your sisters every night one hundred lashes with a rod, as the punishment of the crime they have committed against yourself and the young prince, whom they have drowned." i was forced to promise obedience. since that time i have whipped them every night, though with regret, whereof your majesty has been a witness. my tears testify with how much sorrow and reluctance i perform this painful duty. if there be anything else relating to myself that you desire to know, my sister amina will give you full information in the relation of her story. * * * * * after the caliph had heard zobeide with much astonishment, he desired his grand vizier to request amina to acquaint him wherefore her breast was disfigured with so many scars. the history of amina commander of the faithful, that i may not repeat those things which your majesty has already been informed of by my sister, i will only mention that my mother, having taken a house to pass her widowhood in private, first bestowed me in marriage on the heir of one of the richest men in this city. i had not been married quite a year before my husband died. i thus became a widow, and was in possession of all his property, which amounted to above ninety thousand sequins. when the first six months of my mourning was over, i caused to be made for me ten different dresses, of such magnificence that each came to a thousand sequins; and at the end of the year i began to wear them. one day, while i was alone, a lady[ ] desired to speak to me. i gave orders that she should be admitted. she was a very old woman. she saluted me by kissing the ground, and said to me, kneeling, "dear lady, the confidence i have in your charity makes me thus bold. i have an orphan daughter, whose wedding is on this night. she and i are both strangers, and have no acquaintance in this town, which much perplexes me. therefore, most beautiful lady, if you would vouchsafe to honor the wedding with your presence, we shall be infinitely obliged, because the family with whom we shall be allied will then know that we are not regarded here as unworthy and despised persons. but, alas, madam, if you refuse this request, how great will be our mortification! we know not where else to apply." [footnote : for the choice of a wife a man generally relies on his mother, or some other near relation, or a professional female betrother (who is called, _khatebeh_), for there are women who perform this office for hire.--lane's notes to the _arabian nights_, vol. i, iv, p. .] this poor woman's address, which she spoke with tears, moved my compassion. "good woman," said i, "do not afflict yourself; i will grant you the favor you desire. tell me whither i must go, and i will meet you as soon as i am dressed." the old woman was so transported with joy at my answer that she kissed my feet before i had time to prevent her. "compassionate lady," said she, rising, "god will reward the kindness you have shown to your servants, and make your heart as joyful as you have made theirs. you need not at present trouble yourself; i will call for you in the evening." as soon as she was gone i took the suit i liked best, with a necklace of large pearls, bracelets, pendants for my ears, and rings set with the finest and most sparkling diamonds, and prepared to attend the ceremony. when the night closed in, the old woman called upon me, with a countenance full of joy, and said, "dear lady, the relations of my son-in-law, who are the principal ladies of the city, are now met together. you may come when you please; i am ready to conduct you." we immediately set out; she walked before me, and i was followed by a number of my women and slaves, richly robed for the occasion. we stopped in a wide street, newly swept and watered, at a spacious gate with a lamp, by the light of which i read this inscription, in golden letters, over the entrance: "this is the continual abode of pleasure and joy." the old woman knocked, and the gate was opened immediately. i was conducted toward the lower end of the court, into a large hall, where i was received by a young lady of exceeding beauty. she drew near, and after having embraced me, made me sit down by her upon a sofa, on which was raised a throne of precious wood set with diamonds. "madam," said she, "you are brought hither to assist at a wedding; but i hope it will be a different wedding from what you expected. i have a brother, one of the handsomest men in the world. his fate depends wholly upon you, and he will be the unhappiest of men if you do not take pity on him. if my prayers, madam, can prevail, i shall join them with his, and humbly beg you will not refuse the proposal of being his wife." after the death of my husband i had not thought of marrying again; but i had no power to refuse the solicitation of so charming a lady. as soon as i had given consent by my silence, accompanied with a blush, the young lady clapped her hands, and immediately a curtain was withdrawn, from behind which came a young man of so majestic an air, and so graceful a countenance, that i thought myself happy to have made such a choice. he sat down by me, and i found from his conversation that his merits far exceeded the account of him given by his sister. when she perceived that we were satisfied with one another, she clapped her hands a second time, and a cadi[ ] with four witnesses, entered, who wrote and signed our contract of marriage. [footnote : marriage among the mohammedans is an exclusively civil ceremony; and therefore the cadi, a civil judge, and not an imaun, or minister of religion, was summoned.] there was only one condition that my new husband imposed upon me, that i should not be seen by nor speak to any other man but himself; and he vowed to me that, if i complied in this respect, i should have no reason to complain of him. our marriage was concluded and finished after this manner; so i became the principal actress in a wedding to which i had only been invited as a guest. about a month after our marriage, having occasion for some stuffs, i asked my husband's permission to go out to buy them, which he granted; and i took with me the old woman of whom i spoke before, she being one of the family, and two of my own female slaves. when we came to the street where the merchants reside, the old woman said, "dear mistress, since you want silk stuffs, i must take you to a young merchant of my acquaintance, who has a great variety; and that you may not fatigue yourself by running from shop to shop, i can assure you that you will find in his what no other can furnish." i was easily persuaded, and we entered a shop belonging to a young merchant. i sat down, and bade the old woman desire him to show me the finest silk stuffs he had. the woman desired me to speak myself; but i told her it was one of the articles of my marriage contract not to speak to any man but my husband, which i ought to keep. the merchant showed me several stuffs, of which one pleased me better than the rest; and i bade her ask the price. he answered the old woman: "i will not sell it for gold or money; but i will make her a present of it, if she will give me leave to kiss her cheek." i ordered the old woman to tell him that he was very rude to propose such a freedom. but instead of obeying me, she said, "what the merchant desires of you is no such great matter; you need not speak, but only present him your cheek." the stuff pleased me so much that i was foolish enough to take her advice. the old woman and my slaves stood up, that nobody might see, and i put up my veil;[ ] but instead of kissing me, the merchant bit me so violently as to draw blood. [footnote : "no woman, of what rank soever, is permitted to go into the streets without two muslins; one that covers her face all but her eyes, and another that hides the whole dress of her head, and hangs halfway down her back. their shapes are also wholly concealed by a thing they call a _ferigee_, which no woman appears without. this has straight sleeves, that reach to their finger ends, and it laps all round them, not unlike a riding-hood. in winter it is of cloth, and in summer, of plain stuff or silk."--lady m. w. montague's _letters_, vol. vii, p. .] the pain and my surprise were so great that i fell down in a swoon, and continued insensible so long that the merchant had time to escape. when i came to myself i found my cheek covered with blood. the old woman and my slaves took care to cover it with my veil, and the people who came about us could not perceive it, but supposed i had only had a fainting fit. the old woman who accompanied me being extremely troubled at this accident, endeavored to comfort me. "my dear mistress," said she, "i beg your pardon, for i am the cause of this misfortune, having brought you to this merchant, because he is my countryman; but i never thought he would be guilty of such a villainous action. but do not grieve. let us hasten home, and i will apply a remedy that shall in three days so perfectly cure you that not the least mark shall be visible." the pain had made me so weak that i was scarcely able to walk. but at last i got home, where i again fainted, as i went into my chamber. meanwhile, the old woman applied her remedy. i came to myself, and went to bed. my husband came to me at night, and seeing my head bound up, asked me the reason. i told him i had the headache, which i hoped would have satisfied him; but he took a candle, and saw my cheek was hurt. "how comes this wound?" he said. though i did not consider myself as guilty of any great offense, yet i could not think of owning the truth. besides, to make such an avowal to a husband, i considered as somewhat indecorous. i therefore said, "that as i was going, under his permission, to purchase a silk stuff, a camel,[ ] carrying a load of wood, came so near to me in a narrow street, that one of the sticks grazed my cheek, but had not done me much hurt." "if that is the case," said my husband, "to-morrow morning, before sunrise, the grand vizier giafar shall be informed of this insolence, and cause all the camel drivers to be put to death." "pray, sir," said i, "let me beg of you to pardon them, for they are not guilty." [footnote : the streets of eastern cities are often so narrow as to be blocked up with a wide camel load, or to prevent two horsemen riding abreast. this is the cause of those footmen who run before great men to prepare the way for them.] "how, madam," he demanded, "what, then, am i to believe? speak; for i am resolved to know the truth from your own mouth." "sir," i replied, "i was taken with a giddiness, and fell down, and that is the whole matter." at these words my husband lost all patience. "i have," said he, "too long listened to your tales." as he spoke, he clapped his hands, and in came three slaves. "strike," said he; "cut her in two, and then throw her into the tigris. this is the punishment i inflict on those to whom i have given my heart, when they falsify their promise." i had recourse to entreaties and prayers; but i supplicated in vain, when the old woman, who had been his nurse, coming in just at that moment, fell down upon her knees and endeavored to appease his wrath. "my son," said she, "since i have been your nurse, and brought you up, let me beg you to consider, 'he who kills shall be killed,' and that you will stain your reputation and forfeit the esteem of mankind." she spoke these words in such an affecting manner, accompanied with tears, that she prevailed upon him at last to abandon his purpose. "well, then," said he to his nurse, "for your sake i will spare her life; but she shall bear about her person some marks to make her remember her offense." when he had thus spoken, one of the slaves, by his order, gave me upon my sides and breast so many blows[ ] with a little cane, that he tore away both skin and flesh, which threw me into a swoon. in this state he caused the same slaves, the executioners of his will, to carry me into the house, where the old woman took care of me. i kept my bed for four months. at last i recovered. the scars which, contrary to my wish, you saw yesterday, have remained ever since. [footnote : the mussulmans are allowed by the koran to beat their wives, so long as they do not make a bruise. the husband on this occasion must have broken the law. some such permission was given by an english judge, sir john buller; who declared the stick used must not be thicker than his thumb, from whence he obtained the sobriquet of "thumb buller."] as soon as i was able to walk and go abroad, i resolved to retire to the house which was left me by my first husband, but i could not find the site whereon it stood, as my second husband had caused it to be leveled with the ground. being thus left destitute and helpless, i had recourse to my dear sister zobeide. she received me with her accustomed goodness, and advised me to bear with patience my affliction, from which, she said, none are free. in confirmation of her remark, she gave me an account of the loss of the young prince her husband, occasioned by the jealousy of her two sisters. she told me also by what accident they were transformed into dogs; and in the last place, after a thousand testimonials of her love toward me, she introduced me to my youngest sister, who had likewise taken sanctuary with her after the death of her mother; and we have continued to live together in the house in which we received the guests whom your highness found assembled on your visit last night. * * * * * the caliph publicly expressed his admiration of what he had heard, and inquired of zobeide, "madam, did not this fairy whom you delivered, and who imposed such a rigorous command upon you, tell you where her place of abode was, or that she would restore your sisters to their natural shape?" "commander of the faithful," answered zobeide, "the fairy did leave with me a bundle of hair, saying that her presence would one day be of use to me; and then, if i only burned two tufts of this hair, she would be with me in a moment." "madam," demanded the caliph, "where is the bundle of hair?" she answered, "ever since that time i have been so careful of it that i always carry it about me." upon which she pulled it out of the case which contained it, and showed it to him. "well, then," said the caliph, "let us bring the fairy hither; you could not call her in a better time, for i long to see her." zobeide having consented, fire was brought in, and she threw the whole bundle of hair into it. the palace at that instant began to shake, and the fairy appeared before the caliph in the form of a lady very richly dressed. "commander of the faithful," said she to the prince, "you see i am ready to receive your commands. at your wish i will not only restore these two sisters to their former shape, but i will also cure this lady of her scars, and tell you who it was that abused her." the caliph sent for the two dogs from zobeide's house, and when they came a glass of water was brought to the fairy by her desire. she pronounced over it some words, which nobody understood; then, throwing some part of it upon amina and the rest upon the dogs, the latter became two ladies of surprising beauty, and the scars that were upon amina disappeared. after this the fairy said to the caliph, "commander of the faithful, i must now discover to you the unknown husband you inquire after. he is prince amin, your eldest son, who by stratagem brought this lady to his house, where he married her. as to the blows he caused to be given her, he is in some measure excusable; for this lady, his spouse, by the excuses she made, led him to believe she was more in fault than she really was." at these words she saluted the caliph, and vanished. the caliph, much satisfied with the changes that had happened through his means, acted in such a manner as will perpetuate his memory to all ages. first, he sent for his son amin, and told him that he was informed of his secret marriage and how he had ill-treated amina upon a very slight cause. upon this, the prince, upon his father's commands, received her again immediately. after which haroun al raschid declared that he would give his own heart and hand to zobeide, and offered the other three sisters to the calenders, sons of sultans, who accepted them for their brides with much joy. the caliph assigned each of them a magnificent palace in the city of bagdad, promoted them to the highest dignities of his empire, and admitted them to his councils. the chief cadi of bagdad being called, with witnesses, he wrote the contracts of marriage; and the caliph, in promoting by his patronage the happiness of many persons who had suffered such incredible calamities, drew a thousand blessings upon himself. story of the three sisters there was an emperor of persia, named khoonoo-shah. he often walked in disguise through the city, attended by a trusty minister, when he met with many adventures. on one of these occasions, as he was passing through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner sort, he heard some people talking very loud; and going close to the house whence the noise proceeded, he perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing together after supper. by what the eldest said, he presently understood the subject of their conversation was wishes: "for," said she, "since we have got upon wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan's baker for my husband, for then i shall eat my fill of that bread which by way of excellence is called the sultan's. let us see if your tastes are as good as mine." "for my part," replied the second sister, "i wish i was wife to the sultan's chief cook, for then i should eat of the most excellent dishes; and, as i believe the sultan's bread is common in the palace, i should not want any of that. therefore, you see," addressing herself to her eldest sister, "that i have better taste than you." the youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit than the two elder, spoke in her turn: "for my part, sisters," said she, "i shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight; and since we are upon wishing, i wish to be the emperor's queen consort. i would make him father of a prince whose hair should be gold on one side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cried, the tears from his eyes should be pearl; and when he smiled, his vermilion lips should look like a rose-bud fresh blown." the three sisters' wishes, particularly that of the youngest, seemed so singular to the sultan that he resolved to gratify them in their desires; but without communicating his design to his grand vizier he charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three sisters before him the following day. the grand vizier, in executing the emperor's orders, would give the sisters but just time to dress themselves to appear before him, without telling them the reason. he brought them to the palace and presented them to the emperor, who said to them, "do you remember the wishes you expressed last night, when you were all in so pleasant a mood? speak the truth; i must know what they were." at these unexpected words of the emperor the three sisters were much confounded. they cast down their eyes and blushed. modesty, and fear lest they might have offended the emperor by their conversation, kept them silent. the emperor, perceiving their confusion, said, to encourage them, "fear nothing; i did not send for you to distress you; and since i see that, without my intending it, is the effect of the question i asked, as i know the wish of each i will relieve you from your fears. you," added he, "who wished to be my wife shall have your desire this day; and you," continued he, addressing himself to the two elder sisters, "shall also be married, to my chief baker and cook." [illustration: _the gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal page _] the nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the emperor had resolved, but in a different manner. the youngest sister's were solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the emperors of persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan's chief baker, and the other as head cook. the two elder sisters felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that of their younger sister. this consideration made them far from being content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their late wishes, and much beyond their hopes. they gave themselves up to an excess of jealousy, and frequently met together to consult how they might revenge themselves on the queen. they proposed a great many ways, which they could not accomplish, but dissimulated all the time to flatter the queen with every demonstration of affection and respect. some months after her marriage, the queen gave birth to a young prince, as bright as the day; but her sisters, to whom the child was given at his birth, wrapped him up in a basket and floated it away on a canal that ran near the palace, and declared that the queen had given birth to a little dog. this made the emperor very angry. in the meantime, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was carried by the stream toward the garden of the palace. by chance the intendant of the emperor's gardens, one of the principal and most considerable officers of the kingdom, was walking by the side of this canal, and perceiving a basket floating called to a gardener, who was not far off, to bring it to shore that he might see what it contained. the gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him. the intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a child, which, though he knew it could be but just born, had very fine features. this officer had been married several years, but though he had always been desirous of having children, heaven had never blessed him with any. he made the gardener follow him with the child; and when he came to his own house, which was situated at the entrance into the gardens of the palace, went into his wife's apartment. "wife," said he, "as we have no children of our own, god hath sent us one. i recommend him to you; provide him a nurse, and take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this moment, i acknowledge him as such." the intendant's wife received the child with great joy. the following year the queen consort gave birth to another prince, on whom the unnatural sisters had no more compassion than on his brother; but exposed him likewise in a basket, and set him adrift in the canal, pretending this time that the sultaness was delivered of a cat. it was happy also for this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal side. he carried this child to his wife, and charged her to take as much care of it as of the former, which was as agreeable to her inclination as it was to that of the intendant. this time the emperor of persia was more enraged against the queen than before, and she had felt the effects of his anger, as the grand vizier's remonstrances had not prevailed. the next year the queen gave birth to a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as the princes her brothers; for the two sisters, being determined not to desist from their detestable schemes till they had seen the queen their younger sister at least cast off, turned out, and humbled, exposed this infant also on the canal. but the princess, as had been the two princes her brothers, preserved from death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens. to this inhumanity the two sisters added a lie and deceit, as before. they procured a piece of wood, of which they said the queen had been delivered. khoonoo-shah could no longer contain himself at this third disappointment. he ordered a small shed to be built near the chief mosque, and the queen to be confined in it, so that she might be subjected to the scorn of those who passed by; which usage, as she did not deserve it, she bore with a patient resignation that excited the admiration as well as compassion of those who judged of things better than the vulgar. the two princes and the princess were in the meantime nursed and brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife with all the tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all showed marks of superior dignity, by a certain air which could only belong to exalted birth. all this increased the affection of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest prince bahman, and the second perviz, both of them names of the most ancient emperors of persia, and the princess perie-zadeh, which name also had been borne by several queens and princesses of the kingdom.[ ] [footnote : parizadeh, the parisatis of the greeks, signifies born of a fairy.--d'herbelot.] as soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess, their sister, who was often with them--showing a great desire to learn--the intendant, pleased with her quickness, employed the same master to teach her also. her emulation, vivacity, and wit made her in a little time as proficient as her brothers. at the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing and to play upon all sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride, she would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through all the exercises with them, learning to ride also, to bend the bow, and dart the reed or javelin, and oftentimes outdid them in the race and other contests of agility. the intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted children so well requited the expense he had been at in their education, that he resolved to be at a still greater; for as he had till then been content only with his lodge at the entrance to the garden, and kept no country house, he purchased a country seat at a short distance from the city, surrounded by a large tract of arable land, meadows, and woods, and furnished it in the richest manner, and added gardens, according to a plan drawn by himself, and a large park, stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and princess might divert themselves with hunting when they chose. when this country seat was finished, the intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the emperor's feet, and after representing his long service and the infirmities of age, which he found growing upon him, begged permission to resign his charge and retire. the emperor gave him leave, and asked what he should do to recompense him. "sire," replied the intendant of the gardens, "i have received so many obligations from your majesty and the late emperor your father, of happy memory, that i desire no more than the honor of being assured of your continued favor." he took his leave of the emperor, and retired with the two princes and the princess to the country retreat he had built. his wife had been dead some years, and he himself had not lived in his new abode above six months when he was surprised by so sudden a death that he had not time to give them the least account of the manner in which he had saved them from destruction. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, who knew no other father than the intendant of the emperor's gardens, regretted and bewailed him as such, and paid all the honors in his funeral obsequies which love and filial gratitude required of them. satisfied with the plentiful fortune he had left them, they lived together in perfect union, free from the ambition of distinguishing themselves at court, or aspiring to places of honor and dignity, which they might easily have obtained. one day when the two princes were hunting, and the princess had remained at home, an old woman, a devotee, came to the gate, and desired leave to go in to say her prayers, it being then the hour. the servants asked the princess's permission, who ordered them to show her into the oratory, which the intendant of the emperor's gardens had taken care to fit up in his house, for want of a mosque in the neighborhood. after the good woman had finished her prayers, she was brought before the princess in the great hall, which in beauty and richness exceeded all the other apartments. as soon as the princess saw the devout woman, she asked her many questions upon the exercise of devotion which she practiced, and how she lived; all which were answered with great modesty. talking of several things, at last she asked the woman what she thought of the house, and how she liked it. "madam," answered the devout woman, "if you will give me leave to speak my mind freely, i will take the liberty to tell you that this house would be incomparable if it had three things which are wanting to complete it. the first of these three things is the speaking-bird, so singular a creature that it draws around it all the singing-birds in the neighborhood, which come to accompany his song. the second is the singing-tree, the leaves of which are so many mouths, which form an harmonious concert of different voices, and never cease. the third is the yellow-water of a gold color, a single drop of which being poured into a vessel properly prepared, it increases so as to fill it immediately, and rises up in the middle like a fountain, which continually plays, and yet the basin never overflows." "ah! my good mother," cried the princess, "how much am i obliged to you for the knowledge of these curiosities! they are surprising, and i never before heard there were such wonderful rarities in the world; but as i am persuaded that you know, i expect that you will do me the favor to inform me where they are to be found." "madam," replied the good woman, "i am glad to tell you that these curiosities are all to be met with in the same spot on the confines of this kingdom, toward india. the road lies before your house, and whoever you send needs but follow it for twenty days, and on the twentieth let him only ask the first person he meets where the speaking-bird, singing-tree, and yellow-water are, and he will be informed." after saying this she rose from her seat, took her leave, and went her way. the princess perie-zadeh's thoughts were so absorbed in her desire to obtain possession of these three wonders, that her brothers, on their return from hunting, instead of finding her lively and gay, as she used to be, were amazed to see her pensive and melancholy, and weighed down by some trouble. "sister," said prince bahman, "what has become of all your mirth and gayety? are you not well? or has some misfortune befallen you? tell us that we may give you some relief." the princess at first returned no answer to these inquiries; but on being pressed by her brothers, thus replied: "i always believed that this house which our father built us was so complete that nothing was wanting. but this day i have learned that it wants three rarities, the speaking-bird, the singing-tree, and the yellow-water. if it had these, no country seat in the world could be compared with it." then she informed them wherein consisted the excellency of these rarities, and requested her brothers to send some trustworthy person in search of these three curiosities. "sister," replied prince bahman, "it is enough that you have an earnest desire for the things you mention to oblige us to try to obtain them. i will take that charge upon myself; only tell me the place, and the way to it, and i will set out to-morrow. you, brother, shall stay at home with our sister, and i commend her to your care." prince bahman spent the remainder of the day in making preparations for his journey, and informing himself from the princess of the directions which the devout woman had left her. the next morning he mounted his horse, and perviz and the princess embraced him and wished him a good journey. but in the midst of their adieus, the princess recollected what she had not thought of before. "brother," said she, "i had quite forgotten the perils to which you may be exposed. who knows whether i shall ever see you again! alight, i beseech you, and give up this journey. i would rather be deprived of the sight and possession of the speaking-bird, singing-tree, and yellow-water, than run the risk of never seeing you more." "sister," replied bahman, smiling at the sudden fears of the princess, "my resolution is fixed, and you must allow me to execute it. however, as events are uncertain, and i may fail in this undertaking, all i can do is to leave you this knife. it has a peculiar property. if when you pull it out of the sheath it is clean as it is now, it will be a sign that i am alive; but if you find it stained with blood, then you may believe me to be dead." the princess could prevail nothing more with bahman. he bade adieu to her and prince perviz for the last time, and rode away. when he got into the road, he never turned to the right hand nor to the left, but went directly forward toward india. the twentieth day he perceived on the roadside a very singular old man, who sat under a tree some small distance from a thatched house, which was his retreat from the weather. his eyebrows were as white as snow, as was also his beard, which was so long as to cover his mouth, while it reached down to his feet. the nails of his hands and feet were grown to an immense length; a flat broad umbrella covered his head. he wore no clothes, but only a mat thrown round his body. this old man was a dervish, for many years retired from the world, and devoted to contemplation, so that at last he became what we have described. prince bahman, who had been all that morning expecting to meet some one who could give him information of the place he was in search of, stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in conformity to the directions which the devout woman had given the princess perie-zadeh, and, leading his horse by the bridle, advanced toward him, and saluting him, said, "god prolong your days, good father, and grant you the accomplishment of your desires." the dervish returned the prince's salutation, but spoke so unintelligibly that he could not understand one word he said. prince bahman perceiving that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's hair hanging over his mouth, and unwilling to go any farther without the instructions he wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about him, and having tied his horse to a branch of the tree, said, "good dervish, i want to have some talk with you, but your hair prevents my understanding what you say, and if you will consent, i will cut off some part of it and of your eyebrows, which disfigure you so much that you look more like a bear than a man." the dervish did not oppose the offer; and when the prince had cut off as much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a good complexion, and that he did not seem so very old. "good dervish," said he, "if i had a glass i would show you how young you look: you are now a man, but before nobody could tell what you were." the kind behavior of prince bahman made the dervish smile, and return his compliment. "sir," said he, "whoever you are, i am obliged by the good office you have performed, and am ready to show my gratitude by doing anything in my power for you. tell me wherein i may serve you." "good dervish," replied prince bahman, "i am in search of the speaking-bird, the singing-tree, and the yellow-water. i know these three rarities are not far from here, but cannot tell exactly the place where they are to be found; if you know, i conjure you to show me the way, that i may not lose my labor after so long a journey." the prince, while he spoke, observed that the dervish changed countenance, held down his eyes, looked very serious, and instead of making any reply, remained silent: which obliged him to say to him again, "good father, tell me whether you know what i ask you, that i may not lose my time, but inform myself somewhere else." at last the dervish broke silence. "sir," said he to prince bahman, "i know the way you ask of me; but the danger you are going to expose yourself to is greater than you may suppose. a number of gentlemen of as much bravery and courage as yourself have passed this way, and asked me the same question. i can assure you they have all perished, for i have not seen one come back. therefore, if you have any regard for your life, take my advice, go no farther, but return home." "nothing," replied prince bahman to the dervish, "shall make me change my intention. whoever attacks me, i am brave and well armed." "but they who will attack you are not to be seen," said the dervish. "how will you defend yourself against invisible persons?" "it is no matter," answered the prince; "all you can say shall not persuade me to forego my purpose. since you know the way, i once more conjure you to inform me." when the dervish found he could not prevail upon prince bahman to relinquish his journey, he put his hand into a bag that lay by him and pulled out a bowl, which he presented to him. "since you will not be led by my advice," said he, "take this bowl: when you have mounted your horse, throw it before you, and follow it to the foot of a mountain. there, as soon as the bowl stops, alight, leave your horse with the bridle over his neck, and he will stand in the same place till you return. as you ascend you will see on your right and left a great number of large black stones, and will hear on all sides a confusion of voices, which will utter a thousand injurious threats to discourage you, and prevent your reaching the summit of the mountain. be not afraid; but above all things, do not turn your head to look behind you; for in an instant you will be changed into such a black stone as those you see, which are all youths who have failed in this enterprise. if you escape the danger, of which i give you but a faint idea, and get to the top of the mountain, you will see a cage, and in that cage is the bird you seek; ask him which are the singing-tree and the yellow-water, and he will tell you. i have nothing more to say, except to beg you again not to expose your life, for the difficulty is almost insuperable." after these words, the prince mounted his horse, took his leave of the dervish with a respectful salute, and threw the bowl before him. the bowl rolled away unceasingly, with as much swiftness as when prince bahman first hurled it from his hand, which obliged him to put his horse to the gallop to avoid losing sight of it, and when it had reached the foot of the mountain it stopped. the prince alighted from his horse, laid the bridle on his neck, and, having first surveyed the mountain and seen the black stones, began to ascend. he had not gone four steps before he heard the voices mentioned by the dervish, though he could see nobody. some one said, "where is he going?" "what would he have?" "do not let him pass"; others, "stop him," "catch him," "kill him"; and others, with a voice like thunder, "thief!" "assassin!" "murderer!" while some, in a gibing tone, cried, "no, no, do not hurt him; let the pretty fellow pass. the cage and bird are kept for him." notwithstanding all these troublesome voices, prince bahman ascended with courage and resolution for some time, but the voices redoubled with so loud a din near him, both behind, before, and on all sides, that at last he was seized with dread, his legs trembled under him, he staggered, and finding that his strength failed him, he forgot the dervish's advice, turned about to run down the hill, and was that instant changed into a black stone. his horse likewise, at the same moment, underwent the same change. from the time of prince bahman's departure, the princess perie-zadeh always wore the knife and sheath in her girdle, and pulled it out several times a day, to know whether her brother was yet alive. she had the consolation to find he was in perfect health, and to talk of him frequently with prince perviz. on the fatal day that prince bahman was transformed into a stone, as prince perviz and the princess were talking together in the evening, as usual, the prince desired his sister to pull out the knife to know how their brother did. the princess readily complied, and seeing the blood run down the point, was seized with so much horror that she threw it down. "ah! my dear brother," cried she, "woe's me! i have been the cause of your death, and shall never see you more! why did i tell you of the speaking-bird, the singing-tree, and yellow-water! why did i allow my peace to be disturbed by the idle tales of a silly old woman!" prince perviz was as much afflicted at the death of prince bahman as the princess; but as he knew that she still passionately desired possession of the speaking-bird, the singing-tree, and the golden-water, he interrupted her, saying, "sister, our regret for our brother is vain and useless; our grief and lamentations cannot restore him to life. it is the will of god. we must submit to it, and adore the decrees of the almighty without searching into them. why should you now doubt of the truth of what the holy woman told you? our brother's death is probably owing to some error on his part. i am determined to know the truth, and am resolved myself to undertake this search. to-morrow i shall set out." the princess did all she could to dissuade prince perviz, conjuring him not to expose her to the danger of losing two brothers; but all the remonstrances she could urge had no effect upon him. before he went, that she might know what success he had, he left her a string of a hundred pearls, telling her, that if they would not run when she should count them upon the string, but remain fixed, that would be a certain sign he had undergone the same fate as his brother; but at the same time told her he hoped it would never happen, but that he should have the happiness to see her again to their mutual satisfaction. prince perviz, on the twentieth day after his departure, met the same dervish in the same place as had his brother bahman before him, and asked of him the same question. the dervish urged the same difficulties and remonstrances as he had done to prince bahman, telling him that a young gentleman, who very much resembled him, was with him a short time before, and had not yet returned. "good dervish," answered prince perviz, "i know whom you speak of; he was my elder brother, and i am informed of the certainty of his death, but know not the cause." "i can tell you," replied the dervish. "he was changed into a black stone, as all i speak of have been; and you must expect the same fate unless you observe more exactly than he has done the advice i gave him; but i once more entreat you to renounce your resolution." "dervish," said prince perviz, "i cannot sufficiently express how much i am obliged to you for your kind caution; but i cannot now relinquish this enterprise; therefore i beg of you to do me the same favor you have done my brother." on this the dervish gave the prince a bowl with the same instructions he had delivered to his brother, and so let him depart. prince perviz thanked the dervish, and when he had remounted, and taken leave, threw the bowl before his horse, and spurring him at the same time, followed it. when the bowl came to the bottom of the hill it stopped, the prince alighted, and stood some time to recollect the dervish's directions. he encouraged himself, and then began to walk up with a determination to reach the summit; but before he had gone above six steps, he heard a voice, which seemed to be near, as of a man behind him, say in an insulting tone, "stay, rash youth, that i may punish you for your presumption." upon this affront, the prince, forgetting the dervish's advice, clapped his hand upon his sword, drew it, and turned about to avenge himself; but had scarcely time to see that nobody followed him before he and his horse were changed into black stones. in the meantime, the princess perie-zadeh, several times a day after her brother's departure, counted her chaplet. she did not omit it at night, but when she went to bed put it about her neck; and in the morning when she awoke counted over the pearls again to see if they would slide. the day that prince perviz was transformed into a stone she was counting over the pearls as she used to do, when all at once they became immovably fixed, a certain token that the prince, her brother, was dead. as she had determined what to do in case it should so happen, she lost no time in outward demonstrations of grief, but proceeded at once to put her plan into execution. she disguised herself in her brother's robes, and having procured arms and equipment she mounted her horse the next morning. telling her servants she should return in two or three days, she took the same road as her brothers. on the twentieth day she also met the dervish as her brothers had done, and asked him the same question and received from him the same answer, with a caution against the folly of sacrificing her life in such a search. when the dervish had done, the princess replied, "by what i comprehend from your discourse, the difficulties of succeeding in this affair are, first, the getting up to the cage without being frightened at the terrible din of voices i shall hear; and, secondly, not to look behind me. for this last direction, i hope i shall be mistress enough of myself to observe it. as to the first, i desire to know of you if i may use a stratagem against those voices which you describe, and which are so well calculated to excite terror." "and what stratagem is it you would employ?" said the dervish. "to stop my ears with cotton," answered the princess, "that the voices, however loud and terrible, may make the less impression upon my imagination, and my mind remain free from that disturbance which might cause me to lose the use of my reason." "princess," replied the dervish, "if you persist in your design, you may make the experiment. you will be fortunate if it succeeds; but i would advise you not to expose yourself to the danger." after the princess had thanked the dervish, and taken her leave of him, she mounted her horse, threw down the bowl which he had given her, and followed it till it stopped at the foot of the mountain. the princess alighted, stopped her ears with cotton, and after she had well examined the path leading to the summit, began with a moderate pace, and walked up with intrepidity. she heard the voices, and perceived the great service the cotton was to her. the higher she went, the louder and more numerous the voices seemed; but they were not capable of making any impression upon her. she heard a great many affronting speeches and insulting accusations, which she only laughed at. at last she saw the cage and the bird, while at the same moment the clamor and thunders of the invisible voices greatly increased. the princess, encouraged by the sight of the object of which she was in search, redoubled her speed, and soon gained the summit of the mountain, where the ground was level; then running directly to the cage, and clapping her hand upon it, cried, "bird, i have you, and you shall not escape me." at the same moment the voices ceased. while perie-zadeh was pulling the cotton out of her ears the bird said to her, "heroic princess, since i am destined to be a slave, i would rather be yours than any other person's, since you have obtained me so courageously. from this instant i pay an entire submission to all your commands. i know who you are, for you are not what you seem, and i will one day tell you more. in the meantime, say what you desire, and i am ready to obey you." "bird," said perie-zadeh, "i have been told that there is not far off a golden-water, the property of which is very wonderful; before all things, i ask you to tell me where it is." the bird showed her the place, which was just by, and she went and filled a little silver flagon which she had brought with her. she returned to the bird, and said, "bird, this is not enough; i want also the singing-tree. tell me where it is." "turn about," said the bird, "and you will see behind you a wood, where you will find this tree. break off a branch, and carry it to plant in your garden; it will take root as soon as it is put into the earth, and in a little time will grow to a fine tree." the princess went into the wood, and by the harmonious concert she heard, soon discovered the singing-tree. when the princess had obtained possession of the branch of the singing-tree, she returned again to the bird, and said, "bird, what you have yet done for me is not sufficient. my two brothers, in their search for thee, have been transformed into black stones on the side of the mountain. tell me how i may obtain their dis-enchantment." the bird seemed most reluctant to inform the princess on this point; but on her threatening to take his life, he bade her sprinkle every stone on her way down the mountain with a little of the water from the golden fountain. she did so, and every stone she thus touched resumed the shape of a man or of a horse ready caparisoned. among these were her two brothers, bahman and perviz, who exchanged with her the most affectionate embraces. having explained to her brothers and the band of noble youths who had been enchanted in their search after these three wonders, the means of their recovery, perie-zadeh placed herself at their head, and bade them follow her to the old dervish, to thank him for his reception and wholesome advice, which they had all found to be sincere. but he was dead, whether from old age or because he was no longer needed to show the way to the obtaining the three rarities which the princess perie-zadeh had secured, did not appear. the procession, headed by perie-zadeh, pursued its route, but lessened in its numbers every day. the youths, who had come from different countries, took leave of the princess and her brothers one after another, as they approached the various roads by which they had come. as soon as the princess reached home, she placed the cage in the garden; and the bird no sooner began to warble than he was surrounded by nightingales, chaffinches, larks, linnets, goldfinches, and every species of birds of the country. and the branch of the singing-tree was no sooner set in the midst of the parterre, a little distance from the house, than it took root, and in a short time became a large tree, the leaves of which gave as harmonious a concert as those of the tree from which it was gathered. a large basin of beautiful marble was placed in the garden; and when it was finished the princess poured into it all the yellow-water from the flagon, which instantly increased and swelled so much that it soon reached up to the edges of the basin, and afterward formed in the middle a fountain twenty feet high which fell again into the basin perpetually without running over. the report of these wonders was presently spread abroad, and as the gates of the house and those of the gardens were shut to nobody, a great number of people came to admire them. some days after, when the princes bahman and perviz had recovered from the fatigue of their journey, they resumed their former way of living; and as their usual diversion was hunting, they mounted their horses and went for the first time since their return, not to their own demesne, but two or three leagues from their house. as they pursued their sport, the emperor of persia came in pursuit of game upon the same ground. when they perceived by the number of horsemen in different places that he would soon be up, they resolved to discontinue their chase, and retire to avoid encountering him; but in the very road they took they chanced to meet him in so narrow a way that they could not retreat without being seen. in their surprise they had only time to alight, and prostrate themselves before the emperor. he stopped and commanded them to rise. the princes rose up, and stood before him with an easy and graceful air. the emperor, after he had admired their good air and mien, asked them who they were, and where they lived. "sire," said prince bahman, "we are the sons of the late intendant of your majesty's gardens, and live in a house which he built a little before he died, till it should please you to give us some employment." "by what i perceive," replied the emperor, "you love hunting." "sire," replied prince bahman, "it is our common exercise, and what none of your majesty's subjects who intend to bear arms in your armies ought, according to the ancient custom of the kingdom, to neglect." the emperor, charmed with so prudent an answer, said, "it is so, and i should be glad to see your expertness in the chase; choose your own game." the princes mounted their horses again, and followed the emperor; but had not gone far before they saw many wild beasts together. prince bahman chose a lion, and prince perviz a bear; and pursued them with so much intrepidity, that the emperor was surprised. they came up with their game nearly at the same time, and darted their javelins with so much skill and address, that they pierced, the one the lion and the other the bear, so effectually that the emperor saw them fall one after the other. immediately afterward prince bahman pursued another bear, and prince perviz another lion, and killed them in a short time, and would have beaten out for fresh game, but the emperor would not let them, and sent to them to come to him. when they approached, he said, "if i would have given you leave, you would soon have destroyed all my game; but it is not that which i would preserve, but your persons; for i am so well assured your bravery may one time or other be serviceable to me, that from this moment your lives will be always dear to me." the emperor, in short, conceived so great a fondness for the two princes that he invited them immediately to make him a visit; to which prince bahman replied, "your majesty does us an honor we do not deserve; and we beg you will excuse us." the emperor, who could not comprehend what reason the princes could have to refuse this token of his favor, pressed them to tell him why they excused themselves. "sire," said prince bahman, "we have a sister younger than ourselves, with whom we live in such perfect union that we undertake nothing before we consult her, nor she anything without asking our advice." "i commend your brotherly affection," answered the emperor. "consult your sister, then meet me here to-morrow, and give me an answer." the princes went home, but neglected to speak of their adventure in meeting the emperor, and hunting with him, and also of the honor he had done them by asking them to go home with him; yet did not the next morning fail to meet him at the place appointed. "well," said the emperor, "have you spoken to your sister? and has she consented to the pleasure i expect of seeing you?" the two princes looked at each other and blushed. "sire," said prince bahman, "we beg your majesty to excuse us; for both my brother and i forgot." "then remember to-day," replied the emperor, "and be sure to bring me an answer to-morrow." the princes were guilty of the same fault a second time, and the emperor was so good-natured as to forgive their negligence; but to prevent their forgetfulness the third time, he pulled three little golden balls out of a purse, and put them into prince bahman's bosom. "these balls," said he, smiling, "will prevent you forgetting a third time what i wish you to do, since the noise they will make by falling on the floor, when you undress, will remind you, if you do not recollect it before." the event happened just as the emperor foresaw; and without these balls the princes had not thought of speaking to their sister of this affair. for as prince bahman unloosened his girdle to go to bed the balls dropped on the floor, upon which he ran into prince perviz's chamber, when both went into the princess perie-zadeh's apartment, and after they had asked her pardon for coming at so unseasonable a time, they told her all the circumstances of their meeting the emperor. the princess was somewhat surprised at this intelligence. "it was on my account, i know," she said, "you refused the emperor, and i am infinitely obliged to you for doing so. for, my dear brothers, i know by this your affection for me is equal to my own. but you know monarchs will be obeyed in their desires, and it may be dangerous to oppose them; therefore, if to follow my inclination i should dissuade you from showing the complaisance the emperor expects from you, it may expose you to his resentment, and may render myself and you miserable. these are my sentiments; but before we conclude upon anything let us consult the speaking-bird, and hear what he says; he is wise, and has promised his assistance in all difficulties." the princess sent for the cage, and after she had related the circumstances to the bird in the presence of her brothers, asked him what they should do in this perplexity. the bird answered,[ ] "the princes, your brothers, must conform to the emperor's pleasure, and in their turn invite him to come and see your house." [footnote : to understand the language of birds was peculiarly one of the boasted sciences of the arabians, who pretend that many of their countrymen have been skilled in the knowledge of the language of birds ever since the time of king solomon. their writers relate that balkis, the queen of sheba, had a bird called hudhud, that is, lapwing, which was her trusty messenger to king solomon. d'herbelot tells this story of athejaj, a famous arabian commander: while he and a camel driver were talking together, a bird flew over their heads, making, at the same time, an unusual sort of noise, which the camel driver hearing, looked steadfastly on athejaj, and demanded who he was. athejaj, not choosing to answer, desired to know the reason of that question. "because," replied the camel driver, "this bird assured me that a company of people is coming this way, and that you are the chief of them." while he was speaking, athejaj's attendants arrived.--_warton's history of poetry_, vol. ii, p. . ed. .] next morning the princes met the emperor again, who called and asked them, while they were yet afar off, if they had remembered to speak to their sister. prince bahman approached, and answered, "sire, your majesty may dispose of us as you please. we are ready to obey you; for we have not only obtained our sister's consent with great ease, but she took it amiss that we should pay her that deference in a matter wherein our duty to your majesty was concerned. but if we have offended, we hope you will pardon us." "do not be uneasy on that account," replied the emperor. "so far from taking amiss what you have done, i highly approve of your conduct, and hope you will have the same deference and attachment to my person, if i have ever so little share in your friendship." the princes, confounded at the emperor's goodness, returned no other answer but a low obeisance, to show the great respect with which they received it. the emperor gave orders to return at once to his palace. he made the princes ride one on each side of him, an honor which grieved the grand vizier, who was much mortified to see them preferred before him. when the emperor entered his capital, the eyes of the people, who stood in crowds in the streets, were fixed upon the two princes bahman and perviz; and they were earnest to know who they might be, whether foreigners or natives, and many wished that the emperor had been blessed with two such handsome princes. [illustration: _he presently discovered a gold box, about a foot square, which he gave into the princess's hands page _] the first thing that the emperor did when he arrived at his palace was to conduct the princes into the principal apartments. with due discrimination, like persons conversant in such matters, they praised the beauty and symmetry of the rooms, and the richness of the furniture and ornaments. afterward, a magnificent repast was served up, and the emperor made them sit with him, and was so much pleased with the wit, judgment, and discernment shown by the two princes that he said, "were these my own children, and i had improved their talents by suitable education, they could not have been more accomplished or better informed." when night approached, the two princes prostrated themselves at the emperor's feet; and having thanked him for the favors he had heaped upon them, asked his permission to retire, which was granted by the emperor. before they went out of the emperor's presence, prince bahman said, "sire, may we presume to request that you will do us and our sister the honor to visit us the first time you take the diversion of hunting in that neighborhood? our house is not worthy your presence; but monarchs sometimes have vouchsafed to take shelter in a cottage." "my children," replied the emperor, "your house cannot be otherwise than beautiful, and worthy of its owners. i will call and see it with pleasure, which will be the greater for having for my hosts you and your sister, who is already dear to me from the accounts you give me of the rare qualities with which she is endowed; and this satisfaction i will defer no longer than to-morrow. early in the morning i will be at the place where i shall never forget that i first saw you. meet me, and you shall be my guides." when the princes bahman and perviz had returned home they gave the princess an account of the distinguished reception the emperor had accorded them, and told her that he would call at their house the next day. "if it be so," replied the princess, "we must think of preparing a repast fit for his majesty; and for that purpose i think it would be proper we should consult the speaking-bird; he will tell us perhaps what meats the emperor likes best." the princes approved of her plan, and after they had retired, she consulted the bird alone. "bird," said she, "the emperor will to-morrow come to see our house, and we are to entertain him. tell us what we shall do to acquit ourselves to his satisfaction." "good mistress," replied the bird, "you have excellent cooks; let them do the best they can. but above all things, let them prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, which must be set before the emperor in the first course, before all the other dishes." "cucumbers stuffed full of pearls!" cried princess perie-zadeh, with amazement. "surely, bird, you do not know what you say. it is an unheard-of dish! besides, all the pearls i possess are not enough for such a dish." "mistress," said the bird, "do what i say, and as for the pearls, go early to-morrow morning to the foot of the first tree on your right hand in the park, dig under it, and you will find more than you want." the princess immediately ordered a gardener to be ready to attend her in the morning, and led him at daybreak to the tree which the bird had told her of, and bade him dig at its foot. when the gardener came to a certain depth, he found some resistance to the spade, and presently discovered a gold box, about a foot square, which he gave into the princess's hands. as it was fastened only with neat little hasps, she soon opened it, and found it full of pearls. very well satisfied with having found this treasure, after she had shut the box again she put it under her arm, and went back to the house; while the gardener threw the earth into the hole at the foot of the tree as it had been before. the princess, as she returned to the house, met her two brothers and gave them an account of her having consulted the bird, and the answer he had given her to prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, and how he had told her where to find this box. the princes and princess, though they could not by any means guess at the reason of the bird ordering them to prepare such a dish, yet agreed to follow his advice exactly. as soon as the princess entered the house she called for the head cook; and after she had given him directions about the entertainment for the emperor, said to him, "besides all this, you must dress an extraordinary dish to set before the emperor himself. this dish must be of cucumbers stuffed with these pearls." and at the same time she opened the box and showed him the pearls. the chief cook, who had never heard of such a dish, started back, and could make no reply, but took the box and retired. afterward the princess gave directions to all the domestics to have everything in order, both in house and gardens, to receive the emperor. next day the two princes went to the place appointed; and as soon as the emperor of persia arrived the chase began, which lasted till the heat of the sun obliged him to leave off. while prince bahman stayed to conduct the emperor to their house, prince perviz rode before to show the way, and when he came in sight of the house, spurred his horse, to inform the princess perie-zadeh that the emperor was approaching; but she had been told by some attendants whom she had placed to give notice, and the prince found her waiting ready to receive him. when the emperor had entered the courtyard, and alighted at the portico, the princess came and threw herself at his feet. the emperor stooped to raise her, and after he had gazed some time on her beauty, said, "the brothers are worthy of the sister, and she is worthy of them. i am not amazed that the brothers would do nothing without their sister's consent; but," added he, "i hope to be better acquainted with you, my daughter, after i have seen the house." the princess led the emperor through all the rooms except the hall; and after he had considered them very attentively and admired their variety, "my daughter," said he to the princess, "do you call this a country house? the finest and largest cities would soon be deserted if all country houses were like yours. i am no longer surprised that you take so much delight in it, and despise the town. now let me see the garden, which i doubt not is answerable to the house." the princess opened a door which led into the garden; and conducted him to the spot where the harmonious tree was planted, and there the emperor heard a concert, different from all he had ever heard before. stopping to see where the musicians were, he could discern nobody far or near, but still distinctly heard the music, which ravished his senses. "my daughter," said he to the princess, "where are the musicians whom i hear? are they underground, or invisible in the air? such excellent performers will lose nothing by being seen; on the contrary, they would please the more." "sire," answered the princess, smiling, "they are not musicians, but the leaves of the tree your majesty sees before you, which form this concert; and if you will give yourself the trouble to go a little nearer, you will be convinced, for the voices will be the more distinct." the emperor went nearer, and was so charmed with the sweet harmony that he could never have been tired with hearing it. "daughter," said he, "tell me, i pray you, whether this wonderful tree was found in your garden by chance, or was a present made to you, or have you procured it from some foreign country? it must certainly have come from a great distance, otherwise, curious as i am after natural rarities, i should have heard of it. what name do you call it by?" "sire," replied the princess, "this tree has no other name than that of the singing-tree, and is not a native of this country. its history is connected with the yellow-water and the speaking-bird, which came to me at the same time, and which your majesty may see after you have rested yourself. and if it please you, i will relate to you the history of these rarities." "my daughter," replied the emperor, "my fatigue is so well recompensed by the wonderful things you have shown me, that i do not feel it the least. i am impatient to see the yellow-water and to admire the speaking-bird." when the emperor came to the yellow-water his eyes were fixed so steadfastly upon the fountain that he could not take them off. at last, addressing himself to the princess, he said, "whence is this wonderful water? where its source? by what art is it made to play so high that nothing in the world can be compared to it? i conclude that it is foreign, as well as the singing-tree." "sire," replied the princess, "it is as your majesty conjectures; and to let you know that this water has no communication with any spring, i must inform you that the basin is one entire stone, so that the water cannot come in at the sides or underneath. but what your majesty will think most wonderful is, that all this water proceeded but from one small flagon, emptied into this basin, which increased to the quantity you see, by a property peculiar to itself, and formed this fountain." "well," said the emperor, going from the fountain, "this is enough for one time. i promise myself the pleasure to come and visit it often. now let us go and see the speaking-bird." as he went toward the hall, the emperor perceived a prodigious number of singing-birds in the trees around, filling the air with their songs and warblings, and asked why there were so many there, and none on the other trees in the garden. "the reason, sire," answered the princess, "is, because they come from all parts to accompany the song of the speaking-bird, which your majesty may see in a cage in one of the windows of the hall we are approaching; and if you attend, you will perceive that his notes are sweeter than those of any of the other birds, even the nightingale's." the emperor went into the hall; and as the bird continued singing, the princess raised her voice, and said, "my slave, here is the emperor. pay your compliments to him." the bird left off singing that instant, all the other birds ceasing also, and it said, "god save the emperor. may he long live!" as the entertainment was served at the sofa near the window where the bird was placed, the sultan replied, as he was taking his seat, "bird, i thank you, and am overjoyed to find in you the sultan and king of birds." as soon as the emperor saw the dish of cucumbers set before him, thinking it was stuffed in the best manner, he reached out his hand and took one; but when he cut it, was in extreme surprise to find it stuffed with pearls. "what novelty is this?" said he. "and with what design were these cucumbers stuffed thus with pearls, since pearls are not to be eaten!" he looked at the two princes and the princess to ask them the meaning; when the bird, interrupting him, said, "can your majesty be in such great astonishment at cucumbers stuffed with pearls, which you see with your own eyes, and yet so easily believe that the queen your wife was the mother of a dog, a cat, and of a piece of wood?" "i believed those things," replied the emperor, "because the nurses assured me of the facts." "those nurses, sire," replied the bird, "were the queen's two sisters, who, envious of her happiness in being preferred by your majesty before them, to satisfy their envy and revenge have abused your majesty's credulity. if you interrogate them, they will confess their crime. the two brothers and the sister whom you see before you are your own children, whom they exposed, and who were saved by the intendant of your gardens, who adopted and brought them up as his own children." "bird," cried the emperor, "i believe the truth which you discover to me. the inclination which drew me to them told me plainly they must be my own kin. come then, my sons, come, my daughter, let me embrace you, and give you the first marks of a father's love and tenderness." the emperor then rose, and after having embraced the two princes and the princess, and mingled his tears with theirs, said, "it is not enough, my children. you must embrace each other, not as the children of the intendant of my gardens, to whom i have been so much obliged for preserving your lives, but as my own children, of the royal blood of the monarchs of persia, whose glory, i am persuaded, you will maintain." after the two princes and the princess had embraced mutually with new satisfaction, the emperor sat down again with them, and finished his meal in haste; and when he had done, said, "my children, you see in me your father; to-morrow i will bring the queen your mother. therefore prepare to receive her." the emperor afterward mounted his horse, and returned with expedition to his capital. the first thing he did, as soon as he had alighted and entered his palace, was to command the grand vizier to seize the queen's two sisters. they were taken from their houses separately, convicted and condemned, and the fatal sentence was put in execution within an hour. in the meantime the emperor khoonoo-shah, followed by all the lords of his court who were then present, went on foot to the door of the great mosque; and after he had taken the queen out of the strict confinement she had languished under for so many years, embracing her in the miserable condition to which she was then reduced, he said to her, with tears in his eyes: "i come to entreat your pardon for the injustice i have done you, and to make you the reparation i ought. i have punished your cruel sisters who put the abominable cheat upon me; and i hope soon to present to you two accomplished princes and a lovely princess, our children. come and resume your former rank, with all the honors which are your due." all this was done and said before great crowds of people, who flocked from all parts at the first news of what was passing, and immediately spread the joyful intelligence through the city. next morning early the emperor and queen, whose mournful humiliating dress was changed for magnificent robes, went with all their court to the house built by the intendant of the gardens, where the emperor presented the princes bahman and perviz and the princess perie-zadeh to their enraptured mother. "these, much injured wife," said he, "are the two princes your sons, and this the princess your daughter; embrace them with the same tenderness i have done, since they are worthy both of me and you." the tears flowed plentifully down the cheeks of all, but especially of the queen, from her exceeding joy at having two such princes for her sons, and such a princess for her daughter, on whose account she had so long endured the severest afflictions. the two princes and the princess had prepared a magnificent repast for the emperor and queen and their court. as soon as that was over, the emperor led the queen into the garden, and showed her the harmonious-tree and the beautiful yellow-fountain. she had already seen and heard the speaking-bird in his cage, and the emperor had spared no panegyric in his praise during the repast. when there was nothing to detain the emperor any longer, he took horse, and with the princes bahman and perviz on his right hand, and the queen and the princess at his left, preceded and followed by all the officers of his court according to their rank, returned to his capital. crowds of people came out to meet them, and with acclamations of joy ushered them into the city, where all eyes were fixed not only upon the queen, the two princes, and the princess, but also upon the bird which the princess carried before her in his cage, admiring his sweet notes which had drawn all the other birds about him, which followed him, flying from tree to tree in the country, and from one housetop to another in the city. the princes bahman and perviz and the princess perie-zadeh were at length brought to the palace with this pomp, and nothing was to be seen or heard all that night but illuminations and rejoicings both in the palace and in the utmost parts of the city, which lasted for many days, and extended throughout the empire of persia. the story of aladdin; or, the wonderful lamp in one of the large and rich cities of china there once lived a tailor named mustapha. he was very poor. he could hardly, by his daily labor, maintain himself and his family, which consisted only of his wife and a son. his son, who was called aladdin,[ ] was a very careless and idle fellow. he was disobedient to his father and mother, and would go out early in the morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own age. [footnote : aladdin signifies "the nobility of the religion."--lane, vol. ii, p. .] when he was old enough to learn a trade his father took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle; but all his father's endeavors to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was his back turned than the boy was gone for that day. mustapha chastised him, but aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness. he was so much troubled about him, that he fell sick and died in a few months. aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, gave himself over entirely to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. this course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. as he was one day playing in the street with his evil associates, according to custom, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. this stranger was a sorcerer, known as the african magician, as he had been but two days arrived from africa, his native country. the african magician, observing in aladdin's countenance something which assured him that he was a fit boy for his purpose, inquired his name and history of his companions. when he had learned all he desired to know, he went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, "child, was not your father called mustapha the tailor?" "yes, sir," answered the boy, "but he has been dead a long time." at these words the african magician threw his arms about aladdin's neck, and kissed him several times, with tears in his eyes, saying, "i am your uncle. your worthy father was my own brother. i knew you at first sight, you are so like him." then he gave aladdin a handful of small money, saying, "go, my son, to your mother. give my love to her, and tell her that i will visit her to-morrow, that i may see where my good brother lived so long, and ended his days." aladdin ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. "mother," said he, "have i an uncle?" "no, child," replied his mother, "you have no uncle by your father's side or mine." "i am just now come," said aladdin, "from a man who says he is my uncle, and my father's brother. he cried, and kissed me, when i told him my father was dead, and gave me money, sending his love to you, and promising to come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my father lived and died in." "indeed, child," replied the mother, "your father had no brother, nor have you an uncle." the next day the magician found aladdin playing in another part of the town, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, and said to him, "carry this, child, to your mother. tell her that i will come and see her to-night, and bid her get us something for supper. but first show me the house where you live." aladdin showed the african magician the house, and carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, who went out and bought provisions; and considering she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her neighbors. she spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at night, when it was ready, said to her son, "perhaps the stranger knows not how to find our house; go and bring him, if you meet with him." aladdin was just ready to go, when the magician knocked at the door, and came in loaded with wine and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a dessert. after he had given what he brought into aladdin's hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to show him the place where his brother mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so done, he fell down, and kissed it several times, crying out, with tears in his eyes, "my poor brother! how unhappy am i, not to have come soon enough to give you one last embrace!" aladdin's mother desired him to sit down in the same place, but he declined. "no," said he, "i shall not do that; but give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although i see not the master of a family so dear to me, i may at least behold the place where he used to sit." when the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to enter into discourse with aladdin's mother. "my good sister," said he, "do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have been married to my brother mustapha of happy memory. i have been forty years absent from this country, which is my native place as well as my late brother's. during that time i have traveled into the indies, persia, arabia, and syria, and afterward crossed over into africa, where i took up my abode in egypt. at last, as it is natural for a man, i was desirous to see my native country again, and to embrace my dear brother; and finding i had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, i made the necessary preparations, and set out. nothing ever afflicted me so much as hearing of my brother's death. but god be praised for all things! it is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." the african magician, perceiving that the widow wept at the remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning toward her son, asked him, "what business do you follow? are you of any trade?" at this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little abashed when his mother answered, "aladdin is an idle fellow. his father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all i can say to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not make him ashamed of it, i despair of his ever coming to any good. for my part, i am resolved, one of these days, to turn him out of doors, and let him provide for himself." after these words, aladdin's mother burst into tears; and the magician said, "this is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself, and getting your livelihood. there are many sorts of trades; perhaps you do not like your father's, and would prefer another; i will endeavor to help you. if you have no mind to learn any handicraft, i will take a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and then with the money you make of them you can lay in fresh goods, and live in an honorable way. tell me freely what you think of my proposal; you shall always find me ready to keep my word." this plan just suited aladdin, who hated work. he told the magician he had a greater inclination to that business than to any other, and that he should be much obliged to him for his kindness. "well, then," said the african magician, "i will carry you with me to-morrow, clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterward we will open a shop as i mentioned." the widow, after his promise of kindness to her son, no longer doubted that the magician was her husband's brother. she thanked him for his good intentions; and after having exhorted aladdin to render himself worthy of his uncle's favor, she served up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent matters; and then the magician took his leave and retired. he came again the next day, as he had promised, and took aladdin with him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and ranks, ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs, and bade aladdin choose those he preferred, which he paid for. when aladdin found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his uncle thanks, who thus addressed him: "as you are soon to be a merchant, it is proper you should frequent these shops, and become acquainted with them." he then showed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans or inns where the merchants and travelers lodged, and afterward to the sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at last brought him to his own khan, where, meeting with some merchants he had become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. this entertainment lasted till night, when aladdin would have taken leave of his uncle to go home. the magician would not let him go by himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magician. early the next morning the magician called again for aladdin, and said he would take him to spend that day in the country, and on the next he would purchase the shop. he then led him out at one of the gates of the city, to some magnificent palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody might enter. at every building he came to he asked aladdin if he did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to answer, when any one presented itself, crying out, "here is a finer house, uncle, than any we have yet seen." by this artifice the cunning magician led aladdin some way into the country; and as he meant to carry him farther, to execute his design, pretending to be tired, he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens, on the brink of a fountain of clear water which discharged itself by a lion's mouth of bronze into a basin. "come, nephew," said he, "you must be weary as well as i. let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to pursue our walk." the magician next pulled from his girdle a handkerchief with cakes and fruit, and during this short repast he exhorted his nephew to leave off bad company, and to seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their conversation. "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, and you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." when they had eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk through gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which marked out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. by this means the african magician drew aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. at last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height and equal size, divided by a narrow valley, where the magician intended to execute the design that had brought him from africa to china. "we will go no farther now," said he to aladdin. "i will show you here some extraordinary things, which, when you have seen, you will thank me for; but while i strike a light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." aladdin found so many dried sticks that he soon collected a great heap. the magician presently set them on fire; and when they were in a blaze he threw in some incense, pronouncing several magical words, which aladdin did not understand. he had scarcely done so when the earth opened just before the magician, and disclosed a stone with a brass ring fixed in it. aladdin was so frightened that he would have run away, but the magician caught hold of him, and gave him such a box on the ear that he knocked him down. aladdin got up trembling, and, with tears in his eyes, said to the magician, "what have i done, uncle, to be treated in this severe manner?" "i am your uncle," answered the magician; "i supply the place of your father, and you ought to make no reply. but, child," added he, softening, "do not be afraid; for i shall not ask anything of you, but that, if you obey me punctually, you will reap the advantages which i intend you. know, then, that under this stone there is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the greatest monarch in the world. no person but yourself is permitted to lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what i may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and to me." aladdin, amazed at all he saw and heard, forgot what was past, and rising said, "well, uncle, what is to be done? command me. i am ready to obey." "i am overjoyed, child," said the african magician, embracing him. "take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "indeed, uncle," replied aladdin, "i am not strong enough; you must help me." "you have no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if i help you, we shall be able to do nothing. take hold of the ring, and lift it up; you will find it will come easily." aladdin did as the magician bade him, raised the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. when the stone was pulled up there appeared a staircase about three or four feet deep, leading to a door. "descend those steps, my son," said the african magician, "and open that door. it will lead you into a palace, divided into three great halls. in each of these you will see four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; but take care you do not meddle with them. before you enter the first hall, be sure to tuck up your robe, wrap it about you, and then pass through the second into the third without stopping. above all things, have a care that you do not touch the walls so much as with your clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. at the end of the third hall you will find a door which opens into a garden planted with fine trees loaded with fruit. walk directly across the garden to a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. take the lamp down and put it out. when you have thrown away the wick and poured out the liquor, put it in your waistband and bring it to me. do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil, and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out." after these words the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on one of aladdin's, saying, "it is a talisman against all evil, so long as you obey me. go, therefore, boldly, and we shall both be rich all our lives." aladdin descended the steps, and, opening the door, found the three halls just as the african magician had described. he went through them with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire, crossed the garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in his waistband. but as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly dry, he stopped in the garden to observe the trees, which were loaded with extraordinary fruit of different colors on each tree. some bore fruit entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow; in short, there was fruit of all colors. the white were pearls; the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, ballas rubies[ ]; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, amethysts; and the yellow, sapphires. aladdin, ignorant of their value, would have preferred figs, or grapes, or pomegranates; but as he had his uncle's permission, he resolved to gather some of every sort. having filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes, he wrapped some up in the skirts of his vest, and crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. [footnote : ballas rubies are rubies of the brightest color.] aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches of which he knew not the value, returned through the three halls with the utmost precaution, and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the african magician awaited him with the utmost impatience. as soon as aladdin saw him, he cried out, "pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "give me the lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you." "indeed, uncle," answered aladdin, "i cannot now; but i will as soon as i am up." the african magician was determined that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and aladdin, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused to give it to him till he was out of the cave. the african magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into the fire, and pronounced two magical words, when the stone which had closed the mouth of the staircase moved into its place, with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the magician and aladdin. this action of the magician plainly revealed to aladdin that he was no uncle of his, but one who designed him evil. the truth was that he had learned from his magic books the secret and the value of this wonderful lamp, the owner of which would be made richer than any earthly ruler, and hence his journey to china. his art had also told him that he was not permitted to take it himself, but must receive it as a voluntary gift from the hands of another person. hence he employed young aladdin, and hoped by a mixture of kindness and authority to make him obedient to his word and will. when he found that his attempt had failed, he set out to return to africa, but avoided the town, lest any person who had seen him leave in company with aladdin should make inquiries after the youth. aladdin, being suddenly enveloped in darkness, cried, and called out to his uncle to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp. but in vain, since his cries could not be heard. he descended to the bottom of the steps, with a design to get into the palace, but the door, which was opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. he then redoubled his cries and tears, sat down on the steps without any hopes of ever seeing light again, and in an expectation of passing from the present darkness to a speedy death. in this great emergency he said, "there is no strength or power but in the great and high god"; and in joining his hands to pray he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger. immediately a genie of frightful aspect appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee. i serve him who possesses the ring on thy finger; i, and the other slaves of that ring." at another time aladdin would have been frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure, but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation, "whoever thou art, deliver me from this place." he had no sooner spoken these words than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had last left him, and no sign of cave or opening, nor disturbance of the earth. returning thanks to god for being once more in the world, he made the best of his way home. when he got within his mother's door, joy at seeing her and weakness for want of sustenance made him so faint that he remained for a long time as dead. as soon as he recovered, he related to his mother all that had happened to him, and they were both very vehement in their complaints of the cruel magician. aladdin slept very soundly till late the next morning, when the first thing he said to his mother was, that he wanted something to eat, and wished she would give him his breakfast. "alas! child," said she, "i have not a bit of bread to give you; you ate up all the provisions i had in the house yesterday; but i have a little cotton which i have spun; i will go and sell it, and buy bread and something for our dinner." "mother," replied aladdin, "keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp i brought home with me yesterday. i will go and sell it, and the money i shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." aladdin's mother took the lamp and said to her son, "here it is, but it is very dirty. if it were a little cleaner i believe it would bring something more." she took some fine sand and water to clean it. but she had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice of thunder, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when aladdin, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "i am hungry. bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered dishes of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; six large white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. all these he placed upon a carpet and disappeared; this was done before aladdin's mother recovered from her swoon. aladdin had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face to recover her. whether that or the smell of the meat effected her cure, it was not long before she came to herself. "mother," said aladdin, "be not afraid. get up and eat. here is what will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme hunger." his mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savory odor which exhaled from the dishes. "child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality? has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "it is no matter, mother," said aladdin. "let us sit down and eat; for you have almost as much need of a good breakfast as i myself. when we have done, i will tell you." accordingly, both mother and son sat down and ate with the better relish as the table was so well furnished. but all the time aladdin's mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, though she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the novelty more than the value attracted her attention. the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner time, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together. yet, after this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day. when aladdin's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, "i expect now that you will satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while i was in a swoon." he readily complied with her request. she was in as great amazement at what her son told her as at the appearance of the genie, and said to him, "but, son, what have we to do with genies? i never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. how came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "mother," answered aladdin, "the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me. if you remember, he that i first saw called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand; but i believe you did not hear him, for i think you fainted as soon as he began to speak." "what!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that cursed genie's addressing himself to me rather than to you? ah! my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. i had rather you would sell it than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it; and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." "with your leave, mother," replied aladdin, "i shall now take care how i sell a lamp which may be so serviceable both to you and me. that false and wicked magician would not have undertaken so long a journey to secure this wonderful lamp if he had not known its value to exceed that of gold and silver. and since we have honestly come by it, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great show and exciting the envy and jealousy of our neighbors. however, since the genies frighten you so much, i will take it out of your sight, and put it where i may find it when i want it. the ring i cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had never seen me again; and though i am alive now, perhaps, if it were gone, i might not be so some moments hence. therefore i hope you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger." aladdin's mother replied that he might do what he pleased; for her part, she would have nothing to do with genies, and never say anything more about them. by the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought; and the next day aladdin, who could not bear the thought of hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out early to sell it. addressing himself to a jew whom he met in the streets, he took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. the cunning jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found that it was good silver, asked aladdin at how much he valued it. aladdin, who had never been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honor. the jew was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether aladdin understood the material or the full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. aladdin, taking the money very eagerly, retired with so much haste that the jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavor to get some change out of the piece of gold. but the boy ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible to overtake him. before aladdin went home he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some time. after this manner they lived, until aladdin had sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a bargain. when he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, where, after the jew had examined the weight of the tray, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which aladdin was very well satisfied. when all the money was spent, aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. he took it in his hands, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, and rubbed it also. the genie immediately appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." "i am hungry," said aladdin. "bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared, and presently returned with a tray holding the same number of covered dishes as before, set it down, and vanished. as soon as aladdin found that their provisions were again expended, he took one of the dishes, and went to look for his jew chapman. but as he was passing by a goldsmith's shop, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, and said, "my lad, i imagine that you have something to sell to the jew, whom i often see you visit. perhaps you do not know that he is the greatest rogue even among the jews. i will give you the full worth of what you have to sell, or i will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you." this offer induced aladdin to pull his plate from under his vest and show it to the goldsmith. at first sight he perceived that it was made of the finest silver, and asked if he had sold such as that to the jew. when aladdin told him he had sold him twelve such, for a piece of gold each, "what a villain!" cried the goldsmith. "but," added he, "my son, what is past cannot be recalled. by showing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, i will let you see how much the jew has cheated you." the goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and assured him that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to pay down immediately. aladdin thanked him for his fair dealing, and never after went to any other person. though aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with the same frugality as before, and it may easily be supposed that the money for which aladdin had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to maintain them some time. during this interval, aladdin frequented the shops of the principal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk stuffs, and jewelry, and, oftentimes joining in their conversation, acquired a knowledge of the world, and a desire to improve himself. by his acquaintance among the jewelers, he came to know that the fruits which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of colored glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to mention this to any one, not even to his mother. one day as aladdin was walking about the town he heard an order proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, and keep within doors while the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, went to the bath and returned. this proclamation inspired aladdin with eager desire to see the princess's face, which he determined to gratify by placing himself behind the door of the bath, so that he could not fail to see her face. aladdin had not long concealed himself before the princess came. she was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, and mutes, who walked on each side and behind her. when she came within three or four paces of the door of the bath, she took off her veil, and gave aladdin an opportunity of a full view of her face. the princess was a noted beauty; her eyes were large, lively, and sparkling; her smile bewitching; her nose faultless; her mouth small; her lips vermilion. it is not therefore surprising that aladdin, who had never before seen such a blaze of charms, was dazzled and enchanted. after the princess had passed by, and entered the bath, aladdin quitted his hiding place, and went home. his mother perceived him to be more thoughtful and melancholy than usual, and asked what had happened to make him so, or if he were ill. he then told his mother all his adventure, and concluded by declaring, "i love the princess more than i can express, and am resolved that i will ask her in marriage of the sultan." aladdin's mother listened with surprise to what her son told her. when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she laughed aloud. "alas! child," said she, "what are you thinking of? you must be mad to talk thus." "i assure you, mother," replied aladdin, "that i am not mad, but in my right senses. i foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and extravagance; but i must tell you once more that i am resolved to demand the princess of the sultan in marriage; nor do i despair of success. i have the slaves of the lamp and of the ring to help me, and you know how powerful their aid is. and i have another secret to tell you; those pieces of glass, which i got from the trees in the garden of the subterranean palace, are jewels of inestimable value, and fit for the greatest monarchs. all the precious stones the jewelers have in bagdad are not to be compared to mine for size or beauty; and i am sure that the offer of them will secure the favor of the sultan. you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, when we have arranged them according to their different colors." aladdin's mother brought the china dish. then he took the jewels out of the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order, according to his fancy. but the brightness and luster they emitted in the daytime, and the variety of the colors, so dazzled the eyes both of mother and son that they were astonished beyond measure. aladdin's mother, emboldened by the sight of these rich jewels, and fearful lest her son should be guilty of greater extravagance, complied with his request, and promised to go early the next morning to the palace of the sultan. aladdin rose before daybreak, awakened his mother, pressing her to go to the sultan's palace and to get admittance, if possible, before the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great officers of state went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always attended in person. aladdin's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels the day before, wrapped it in two fine napkins, and set forward for the sultan's palace. when she came to the gates the grand vizier, the other viziers, and most distinguished lords of the court were just gone in; but notwithstanding the crowd of people was great, she got into the divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. she placed herself just before the sultan, and the grand vizier and the great lords, who sat in council on his right and left hand. several causes were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan, rising, returned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did all those whose business had called them thither. aladdin's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go home. on her arrival she said, with much simplicity, "son, i have seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me, too, for i placed myself just before him; but he was so much taken up with those who attended on all sides of him that i pitied him, and wondered at his patience. at last i believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to speak to him, but went away, at which i was well pleased, for indeed i began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying so long. but there is no harm done; i will go again to-morrow. perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." the next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present as early as the day before; but when she came there, she found the gates of the divan shut.[ ] she went six times afterward on the days appointed, placed herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little success as the first morning. [footnote : sir paul ricaut says that the divan is not held on two successive days.] on the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when the sultan returned to his own apartment he said to his grand vizier: "i have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly every day that i give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin; she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the audience, and effects to place herself just before me. if this woman comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that i may hear what she has to say." the grand vizier made answer by lowering his hand, and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. on the next audience day, when aladdin's mother went to the divan, and placed herself in front of the sultan as usual, the grand vizier immediately called the chief of the mace-bearers, and pointing to her bade him bring her before the sultan. the old woman at once followed the mace-bearer, and when she reached the sultan, bowed her head down to the carpet which covered the platform of the throne, and remained in that posture until he bade her rise. she had no sooner done so, than he said to her, "good woman, i have observed you to stand many days from the beginning to the rising of the divan. what business brings you here?" at these words, aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time, and when she arose, said, "monarch of monarchs, i beg of you to pardon the boldness of my petition, and to assure me of your pardon and forgiveness." "well," replied the sultan, "i will forgive you, be it what it may, and no hurt shall come to you. speak boldly." when aladdin's mother had taken all these precautions, for fear of the sultan's anger, she told him faithfully the errand on which her son had sent her, and the event which led to his making so bold a request in spite of all her remonstrances. the sultan hearkened to this discourse without showing the least anger. but before he gave her any answer, he asked her what she had brought tied up in the napkin. she took the china dish which she had set down at the foot of the throne, untied it, and presented it to the sultan. the sultan's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the dish. he remained for some time lost in admiration. at last, when he had recovered himself, he received the present from aladdin's mother's hand, saying, "how rich, how beautiful!" after he had admired and handled all the jewels one after another, he turned to his grand vizier, and showing him the dish, said, "behold, admire, wonder! and confess that your eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." the vizier was charmed. "well," continued the sultan, "what sayest thou to such a present? is it not worthy of the princess my daughter? and ought i not to bestow her on one who values her at so great a price?" "i cannot but own," replied the grand vizier, "that the present is worthy of the princess; but i beg of your majesty to grant me three months before you come to a final resolution. i hope, before that time, my son, whom you have regarded with your favor, will be able to make a nobler present than this aladdin, who is an entire stranger to your majesty." the sultan granted his request, and he said to the old woman, "good woman, go home, and tell your son that i agree to the proposal you have made me; but i cannot marry the princess my daughter for three months. at the expiration of that time, come again." aladdin's mother returned home much more gratified than she had expected, and told her son with much joy the condescending answer she had received from the sultan's own mouth; and that she was to come to the divan again that day three months. at hearing this news, aladdin thought himself the most happy of all men, and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the good success of which was of so great importance to his peace that he counted every day, week, and even hour as it passed. when two of the three months were passed, his mother one evening, having no oil in the house, went out to buy some, and found a general rejoicing--the houses dressed with foliage, silks, and carpeting, and every one striving to show his joy according to his ability. the streets were crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. aladdin's mother asked the oil merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of public festivity. "whence came you, good woman," said he, "that you don't know that the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, to-night? she will presently return from the bath; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnized." aladdin's mother, on hearing this news, ran home very quickly. "child," cried she, "you are undone! the sultan's fine promises will come to naught. this night the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor." at this account aladdin was thunderstruck. he bethought himself of the lamp, and of the genie who had promised to obey him; and without indulging in idle words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he determined, if possible, to prevent the marriage. when aladdin had got into his chamber he took the lamp, and rubbing it in the same place as before, immediately the genie appeared, and said to him, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." "hear me," said aladdin. "thou hast hitherto obeyed me, but now i am about to impose on thee a harder task. the sultan's daughter, who was promised me as my bride, is this night married to the son of the grand vizier. bring them both hither to me immediately they retire to their bedchamber." "master," replied the genie, "i obey you." aladdin supped with his mother as was their wont, and then went to his own apartment, and sat up to await the return of the genie, according to his commands. in the meantime the festivities in honor of the princess's marriage were conducted in the sultan's palace with great magnificence. the ceremonies were at last brought to a conclusion, and the princess and the son of the vizier retired to the bedchamber prepared for them. no sooner had they entered it, and dismissed their attendants, than the genie, the faithful slave of the lamp, to the great amazement and alarm of the bride and bridegroom took up the bed, and by an agency invisible to them, transported it in an instant into aladdin's chamber, where he set it down. "remove the bridegroom," said aladdin to the genie, "and keep him a prisoner till to-morrow dawn, and then return with him here." on aladdin being left alone with the princess, he endeavored to assuage her fears, and explained to her the treachery practiced upon him by the sultan her father. he then laid himself down beside her, putting a drawn scimitar between them, to show that he was determined to secure her safety, and to treat her with the utmost possible respect. at break of day, the genie appeared at the appointed hour, bringing back the bridegroom, whom by breathing upon he had left motionless and entranced at the door of aladdin's chamber during the night, and at aladdin's command transported the couch, with the bride and bridegroom on it, by the same invisible agency, into the palace of the sultan. at the instant that the genie had set down the couch with the bride and bridegroom in their own chamber, the sultan came to the door to offer his good wishes to his daughter. the grand vizier's son, who was almost perished with cold, by standing in his thin under-garment all night, no sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, and ran into the robing-chamber, where he had undressed himself the night before. the sultan, having opened the door, went to the bed-side, and kissed the princess on the forehead, but was extremely surprised to see her look so melancholy. she only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction. he suspected there was something extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told her in what a state he found the princess, and how she had received him. "sire," said the sultaness, "i will go and see her. she will not receive me in the same manner." the princess received her mother with sighs and tears, and signs of deep dejection. at last, upon her pressing on her the duty of telling her all her thoughts, she gave to the sultaness a precise description of all that happened to her during the night; on which the sultaness enjoined on her the necessity of silence and discretion, as no one would give credence to so strange a tale. the grand vizier's son, elated with the honor of being the sultan's son-in-law, kept silence on his part, and the events of the night were not allowed to cast the least gloom on the festivities on the following day, in continued celebration of the royal marriage. when night came, the bride and bridegroom were again attended to their chamber with the same ceremonies as on the preceding evening. aladdin, knowing that this would be so, had already given his commands to the genie of the lamp; and no sooner were they alone than their bed was removed in the same mysterious manner as on the preceding evening; and having passed the night in the same unpleasant way, they were in the morning conveyed to the palace of the sultan. scarcely had they been replaced in their apartment, when the sultan came to make his compliments to his daughter. the princess could no longer conceal from him the unhappy treatment she had been subjected to, and told him all that had happened, as she had already related it to her mother. the sultan, on hearing these strange tidings, consulted with the grand vizier; and finding from him that his son had been subjected by an invisible agency to even worse treatment, he determined to declare the marriage canceled, and all the festivities, which were yet to last for several days, countermanded and terminated. this sudden change in the mind of the sultan gave rise to various speculations and reports. nobody but aladdin knew the secret, and he kept it with the most scrupulous silence. neither the sultan nor the grand vizier, who had forgotten aladdin and his request, had the least thought that he had any hand in the strange adventures that befell the bride and bridegroom. on the very day that the three months contained in the sultan's promise expired, the mother of aladdin again went to the palace, and stood in the same place in the divan. the sultan knew her again, and directed his vizier to have her brought before him. after having prostrated herself, she made answer, in reply to the sultan: "sire, i come at the end of three months to ask of you the fulfillment of the promise you made to my son." the sultan little thought the request of aladdin's mother was made to him in earnest, or that he would hear any more of the matter. he therefore took counsel with his vizier, who suggested that the sultan should attach such conditions to the marriage that no one of the humble condition of aladdin could possibly fulfill. in accordance with this suggestion of the vizier, the sultan replied to the mother of aladdin: "good woman, it is true sultans ought to abide by their word, and i am ready to keep mine, by making your son happy in marriage with the princess my daughter. but as i cannot marry her without some further proof of your son being able to support her in royal state, you may tell him i will fulfill my promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of massy gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already made me a present of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. on these conditions i am ready to bestow the princess my daughter upon him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and i will wait till you bring me his answer." aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's throne, and retired. on her way home, she laughed within herself at her son's foolish imagination. "where," said she, "can he get so many large gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? it is altogether out of his power, and i believe he will not be much pleased with my embassy this time." when she came home, full of these thoughts, she told aladdin all the circumstances of her interview with the sultan, and the conditions on which he consented to the marriage. "the sultan expects your answer immediately," said she; and then added, laughing, "i believe he may wait long enough!" "not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied aladdin. "this demand is a mere trifle, and will prove no bar to my marriage with the princess. i will prepare at once to satisfy his request." aladdin retired to his own apartment and summoned the genie of the lamp, and required him to immediately prepare and present the gift, before the sultan closed his morning audience, according to the terms in which it had been prescribed. the genie professed his obedience to the owner of the lamp, and disappeared. within a very short time, a train of forty black slaves, led by the same number of white slaves, appeared opposite the house in which aladdin lived. each black slave carried on his head a basin of massy gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. aladdin then addressed his mother: "madam, pray lose no time; before the sultan and the divan rise, i would have you return to the palace with this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence and exactness of the ardent and sincere desire i have to procure myself the honor of this alliance." as soon as this magnificent procession, with aladdin's mother at its head, had begun to march from aladdin's house, the whole city was filled with the crowds of people desirous to see so grand a sight. the graceful bearing, elegant form, and wonderful likeness of each slave; their grave walk at an equal distance from each other, the luster of their jeweled girdles, and the brilliancy of the aigrettes of precious stones in their turbans, excited the greatest admiration in the spectators. as they had to pass through several streets to the palace, the whole length of the way was lined with files of spectators. nothing, indeed, was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the sultan's palace, and the richest robes of the emirs of his court were not to be compared to the costly dresses of these slaves, whom they supposed to be kings. as the sultan, who had been informed of their approach, had given orders for them to be admitted, they met with no obstacle, but went into the divan in regular order, one part turning to the right and the other to the left. after they were all entered, and had formed a semi-circle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the carpet with their foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did the same. when they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts. in the meantime, aladdin's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, and having prostrated herself, said to the sultan, "sire, my son knows this present is much below the notice of princess buddir al buddoor; but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it, and make it agreeable to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he has endeavored to conform to the conditions you were pleased to impose." the sultan, overpowered by the sight of such more than royal magnificence, replied without hesitation to the words of aladdin's mother: "go and tell your son that i wait with open arms to embrace him; and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess my daughter from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me." as soon as aladdin's mother had retired, the sultan put an end to the audience. rising from his throne, he ordered that the princess's attendants should come and carry the trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his leisure. the fourscore slaves were conducted into the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent apparel, ordered them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see through the lattices he had not exaggerated in his account of them. in the meantime aladdin's mother reached home, and showed in her air and countenance the good news she brought to her son. "my son," said she, "you may rejoice you are arrived at the height of your desires. the sultan has declared that you shall marry the princess buddir al buddoor. he waits for you with impatience." aladdin, enraptured with this news, made his mother very little reply, but retired to his chamber. there he rubbed his lamp, and the obedient genie appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "convey me at once to a bath, and supply me with the richest and most magnificent robe ever worn by a monarch." no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, and transported him into a hummum[ ] of the finest marble of all sorts of colors; where he was undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. he was then well rubbed and washed with various scented waters. after he had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out quite a different man from what he was before. his skin was clear as that of a child, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, he found, instead of his own poor raiment, a robe, the magnificence of which astonished him. the genie helped him to dress, and when he had done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he had any other commands. [footnote : a turkish word for a bath.] "yes," answered aladdin, "bring me a charger that surpasses in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables; with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons to correspond with his value. furnish also twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried the present to the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and twenty more to go before me in two ranks. besides these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the princess buddir al buddoor's, each carrying a complete dress fit for any sultaness. i want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go, and make haste." as soon as aladdin had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for aladdin's mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all to aladdin. he presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her they were her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for her use. of the ten purses aladdin took four, which he gave to his mother, telling her those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's palace. the six slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to march before him, three on the right hand and three on the left. when aladdin had thus prepared himself for his first interview with the sultan, he dismissed the genie, and immediately mounting his charger, began his march, and though he never was on horseback before, appeared with a grace the most experienced horseman might envy. the innumerable concourse of people through whom he passed made the air echo with their acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. on aladdin's arrival at the palace, the sultan was surprised to find him more richly and magnificently robed than he had ever been himself, and was impressed with his good looks and dignity of manner, which were so different from what he expected in the son of one so humble as aladdin's mother. he embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy, and when he would have fallen at his feet, held him by the hand, and made him sit near his throne. he shortly after led him, amidst the sounds of trumpets, hautboys, and all kinds of music, to a magnificent entertainment, at which the sultan and aladdin ate by themselves, and the great lords of the court, according to their rank and dignity, sat at different tables. after the feast, the sultan sent for the chief cadi, and commanded him to draw up a contract of marriage between the princess buddir al buddoor and aladdin. when the contract had been drawn, the sultan asked aladdin if he would stay in the palace and complete the ceremonies of the marriage that day. "sire," said aladdin, "though great is my impatience to enter on the honor granted me by your majesty, yet i beg you to permit me first to build a palace worthy to receive the princess your daughter. i pray you to grant me sufficient ground near your palace, and i will have it completed with the utmost expedition." the sultan granted aladdin his request, and again embraced him. after which he took his leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always lived at court. aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. as soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and summoned the genie as usual, who professed his allegiance. "genie," said aladdin, "build me a palace fit to receive the princess buddir al buddoor. let its materials be made of nothing less than porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, and the finest marble. let its walls be massive gold and silver bricks and laid alternately. let each front contain six windows, and let the lattices of these (except one, which must be left unfinished) be enriched with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, so that they shall exceed everything of the kind ever seen in the world. let there be an inner and outer court in front of the palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, provide a safe treasure house, and fill it with gold and silver. let there be also kitchens and storehouses, stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage, officers, attendants, and slaves, both men and women, to form a retinue for the princess and myself. go and execute my wishes." when aladdin gave these commands to the genie, the sun was set. the next morning at daybreak the genie presented himself, and, having obtained aladdin's consent, transported him in a moment to the palace he had made. the genie led him through all the apartments, where he found officers and slaves, habited according to their rank and the services to which they were appointed. the genie then showed him the treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, where aladdin saw large vases of different sizes, piled up to the top with money, ranged all around the chamber. the genie thence led him to the stables, where were some of the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing them; from thence they went to the storehouses, which were filled with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. when aladdin had examined every portion of the palace, and particularly the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found it far to exceed his fondest expectations, he said, "genie, there is one thing wanting, a fine carpet for the princess to walk upon from the sultan's palace to mine. lay one down immediately." the genie disappeared, and aladdin saw what he desired executed in an instant. the genie then returned, and carried him to his own home. when the sultan's porters came to open the gates, they were amazed to find what had been an unoccupied garden filled up with a magnificent palace, and a splendid carpet extending to it all the way from the sultan's palace. they told the strange tidings to the grand vizier, who informed the sultan. "it must be aladdin's palace," the sultan exclaimed, "which i gave him leave to build for my daughter. he has wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders can be done in only one night." aladdin, on his being conveyed by the genie to his own home, requested his mother to go to the princess buddir al buddoor, and tell her that the palace would be ready for her reception in the evening. she went, attended by her women slaves, in the same order as on the preceding day. shortly after her arrival at the princess's apartment the sultan himself came in, and was surprised to find her, whom he knew only as his suppliant at his divan in humble guise, more richly and sumptuously attired than his own daughter. this gave him a higher opinion of aladdin, who took such care of his mother, and made her share his wealth and honors. shortly after her departure, aladdin, mounting his horse and attended by his retinue of magnificent attendants, left his paternal home forever, and went to the palace in the same pomp as on the day before. nor did he forget to take with him the wonderful lamp, to which he owed all his good fortune, nor to wear the ring which was given him as a talisman. the sultan entertained aladdin with the utmost magnificence, and at night, on the conclusion of the marriage ceremonies, the princess took leave of the sultan her father. bands of music led the procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of black mutes, in two files, with their officers at their head. four hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and aladdin's palaces, made it as light as day. in this order the princess, conveyed in her litter, and accompanied also by aladdin's mother, carried in a superb litter and attended by her women slaves, proceeded on the carpet which was spread from the sultan's palace to that of aladdin. on her arrival aladdin was ready to receive her at the entrance, and led her into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, where a noble feast was served up. the dishes were of massy gold, and contained the most delicate viands. the vases, basins, and goblets were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable to this display. the princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected in one place, said to aladdin, "i thought, prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight of this hall alone is sufficient to show i was mistaken." when the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers,[ ] who performed, according to the custom of the country, singing at the same time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. about midnight aladdin's mother conducted the bride to the nuptial apartment, and he soon after retired. [footnote : these were the "nautch girls," attached to this day to all eastern courts.] the next morning the attendants of aladdin presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another habit, as rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. he then ordered one of the horses to be got ready, mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace to entreat him to take a repast in the princess's palace, attended by his grand vizier and all the lords of his court. the sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great lords of his court, accompanied aladdin. the nearer the sultan approached aladdin's palace, the more he was struck with its beauty; but when he entered it, when he came into the hall and saw the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large perfect stones, he was completely surprised, and said to his son-in-law, "this palace is one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the world besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and silver, and diamonds, rubies, and emeralds composing the windows? but what most surprises me is that a hall of this magnificence should be left with one of its windows incomplete and unfinished." "sire," answered aladdin, "the omission was by design, since i wished that you should have the glory of finishing this hall." "i take your intention kindly," said the sultan, "and will give orders about it immediately." after the sultan had finished this magnificent entertainment, provided for him and for his court by aladdin, he was informed that the jewelers and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and showed them the window which was unfinished. "i sent for you," said he, "to fit up this window in as great perfection as the rest. examine them well, and make all the dispatch you can." the jewelers and goldsmiths examined the three-and-twenty windows with great attention, and after they had consulted together, to know what each could furnish, they returned, and presented themselves before the sultan, whose principal jeweler, undertaking to speak for the rest, said, "sire, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to obey you; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for so great a work." "i have more than are necessary," said the sultan. "come to my palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." when the sultan returned to his palace he ordered his jewels to be brought out, and the jewelers took a great quantity, particularly those aladdin had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making any great advance in their work. they came again several times for more, and in a month's time had not finished half their work. in short, they used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half done. aladdin, who knew that all the sultan's endeavors to make this window like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewelers and goldsmiths, and not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the sultan and to the vizier. they undid in a few hours what they had been six weeks about, and retired, leaving aladdin alone in the hall. he took the lamp, which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i ordered thee to leave one of the four-and-twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and thou hast executed my commands exactly; now i would have thee make it like the rest." the genie immediately disappeared. aladdin went out of the hall, and returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like the others. in the meantime the jewelers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, and were introduced into the sultan's presence, where the chief jeweler presented the precious stones which he had brought back. the sultan asked them if aladdin had given them any reason for so doing, and they answering that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he mounted, and rode to his son-in-law's palace, with some few attendants on foot, to inquire why he had ordered the completion of the window to be stopped. aladdin met him at the gate, and without giving any reply to his inquiries conducted him to the grand saloon, where the sultan, to his great surprise, found that the window, which was left imperfect, corresponded exactly with the others. he fancied at first that he was mistaken, and examined the two windows on each side, and afterward all the four-and-twenty; but when he was convinced that the window which several workmen had been so long about was finished in so short a time, he embraced aladdin and kissed him between his eyes. "my son," said he, "what a man you are to do such surprising things always in the twinkling of an eye! there is not your fellow in the world; the more i know, the more i admire you." the sultan returned to the palace, and after this went frequently to the window to contemplate and admire the wonderful palace of his son-in-law. aladdin did not confine himself in his palace, but went with much state, sometimes to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the grand vizier or the principal lords of the court. every time he went out he caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the streets and squares. this generosity gained him the love and blessings of the people, and it was common for them to swear by his head.[ ] thus aladdin, while he paid all respect to the sultan, won by his affable behavior and liberality the affection of the people. [footnote : there is a trace of this custom in joseph swearing to his brethren, "by the life of pharaoh, ye are spies!"] aladdin had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the african magician, who had for some years dismissed him from his recollection, determined to inform himself with certainty whether he perished, as he supposed, in the subterranean cave or not. after he had resorted to a long course of magic ceremonies, and had formed a horoscope by which to ascertain aladdin's fate, what was his surprise to find the appearances to declare that aladdin, instead of dying in the cave, had made his escape, and was living in royal splendor by the aid of the genie of the wonderful lamp! on the very next day the magician set out, and traveled with the utmost haste to the capital of china, where, on his arrival, he took up his lodgings in a khan. he then quickly learned about the wealth, charities, happiness, and splendid palace of prince aladdin. directly he saw the wonderful fabric, he knew that none but the genies, the slaves of the lamp, could have performed such wonders, and, piqued to the quick at aladdin's high estate, he returned to the khan. on his return he had recourse to an operation of geomancy to find out where the lamp was--whether aladdin carried it about with him, or where he left it. the result of his consultation informed him, to his great joy, that the lamp was in the palace. "well," said he, rubbing his hands in glee, "i shall have the lamp, and i shall make aladdin return to his original mean condition." the next day the magician learned from the chief superintendent of the khan where he lodged that aladdin had gone on a hunting expedition which was to last for eight days, of which only three had expired. the magician wanted to know no more. he resolved at once on his plans. he went to a coppersmith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps; the master of the shop told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have patience till the next day he would have them ready. the magician appointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be handsome and well polished. the next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his full price, put them into a basket hanging on his arm, and went directly to aladdin's palace. as he approached, he began crying, "who will exchange old lamps for new?" and as he went along, a crowd of children collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool to offer to exchange new lamps for old. the african magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they could say to him, but still continued crying, "who will exchange old lamps for new?" he repeated this so often, walking backward and forward in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the hall of the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, and seeing a great mob crowding about him, sent one of her women slaves to know what he cried. the slave returned, laughing so heartily that the princess rebuked her. "madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear laughing, to see an old man with a basket on his arm, full of fine new lamps, asking to exchange them for old ones? the children and mob, crowding about him so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in derision of him." another female slave, hearing this, said, "now you speak of lamps, i know not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one upon a shelf of the prince aladdin's robing room, and whoever owns it will not be sorry to find a new one in its stead. if the princess chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this old man is so silly as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking anything for the exchange." the princess, who knew not the value of the lamp and the interest that aladdin had to keep it safe, entered into the pleasantry and commanded a slave to take it and make the exchange. the slave obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to the palace gates than he saw the african magician, called to him, and showing him the old lamp, said, "give me a new lamp for this." the magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. there could be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. he snatched it eagerly out of the slave's hand, and thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade him choose which he liked best. the slave picked out one and carried it to the princess; but the change was no sooner made than the place rang with the shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. the african magician stayed no longer near the palace, nor cried any more, "new lamps for old," but made the best of his way to his khan. his end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children and the mob. as soon as he was out of sight of the two palaces he hastened down the least-frequented streets. having no more occasion for his lamps or basket, he set all down in a spot where nobody saw him; then going down another street or two, he walked till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at length he reached a lonely spot, where he stopped till the darkness of the night, as the most suitable time for the design he had in contemplation. when it became quite dark, he pulled the lamp out of his breast and rubbed it. at that summons the genie appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; both i and the other slaves of the lamp." "i command thee," replied the magician, "to transport me immediately, and the palace which thou and the other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, with all the people in it, to africa." the genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other genies, the slaves of the lamp, immediately transported him and the palace, entire, to the spot whither he had been desired to convey it. early the next morning when the sultan, according to custom, went to contemplate and admire aladdin's palace, his amazement was unbounded to find that it could nowhere be seen. he could not comprehend how so large a palace, which he had seen plainly every day for some years, should vanish so soon and not leave the least remains behind. in his perplexity he ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition. the grand vizier, who, in secret, bore no good will to aladdin, intimated his suspicion that the palace was built by magic, and that aladdin had made his hunting excursion an excuse for the removal of his palace with the same suddenness with which it had been erected. he induced the sultan to send a detachment of his guard, and to have aladdin seized as a prisoner of state. on his son-in-law being brought before him, the sultan would not hear a word from him, but ordered him to be put to death. but the decree caused so much discontent among the people, whose affection aladdin had secured by his largesses and charities, that the sultan, fearful of an insurrection, was obliged to grant him his life. when aladdin found himself at liberty, he again addressed the sultan: "sire, i pray you to let me know the crime by which i have thus lost the favor of thy countenance." "your crime!" answered the sultan. "wretched man, do you not know it? follow me, and i will show you." the sultan then took aladdin into the apartment from whence he was wont to look at and admire his palace, and said, "you ought to know where your palace stood; look, mind, and tell me what has become of it." aladdin did so, and being utterly amazed at the loss of his palace, was speechless. at last recovering himself, he said, "it is true, i do not see the palace. it is vanished; but i had no concern in its removal. i beg you to give me forty days, and if in that time i cannot restore it, i will offer my head to be disposed of at your pleasure." "i give you the time you ask, but at the end of the forty days forget not to present yourself before me." aladdin went out of the sultan's palace in a condition of exceeding humiliation. the lords who had courted him in the days of his splendor now declined to have any communication with him. for three days he wandered about the city, exciting the wonder and compassion of the multitude by asking everybody he met if they had seen his palace, or could tell him anything of it. on the third day he wandered into the country, and as he was approaching a river he fell down the bank with so much violence that he rubbed the ring which the magician had given him so hard, by holding on to the rock to save himself, that immediately the same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had left him. "what wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on their finger; both i and the other slaves of the ring." aladdin, agreeably surprised at an offer of help so little expected, replied, "genie, show me where the palace i caused to be built now stands, or transport it back where it first stood." "your command," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; i am only the slave of the ring, and not of the lamp." "i command thee, then," replied aladdin, "by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the world soever it may be." these words were no sooner out of his mouth than the genie transported him into africa, to the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood at no great distance from a city, and, placing him exactly under the window of the princess's apartment, left him. now it so happened that shortly after aladdin had been transported by the slave of the ring to the neighborhood of his palace, that one of the attendants of the princess buddir al buddoor, looking through the window, perceived him and instantly told her mistress. the princess, who could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, and seeing aladdin, immediately opened it. the noise of opening the window made aladdin turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess, he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. "to lose no time," said she to him, "i have sent to have the private door opened for you; enter, and come up." the private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was soon opened, and aladdin was conducted up into the chamber. it is impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so cruel a separation. after embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat down, and aladdin said, "i beg of you, princess, to tell me what is become of an old lamp which stood upon a shelf in my robing chamber." "alas!" answered the princess, "i was afraid our misfortune might be owing to that lamp; and what grieves me most is that i have been the cause of it. i was foolish enough to exchange the old lamp for a new one, and the next morning i found myself in this unknown country, which i am told is africa." "princess," said aladdin, interrupting her, "you have explained all by telling me we are in africa. i desire you only to tell me if you know where the old lamp now is." "the african magician carries it carefully wrapped up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this i can assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and showed it to me in triumph." "princess," said aladdin, "i think i have found the means to deliver you and to regain possession of the lamp, on which all my prosperity depends. to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the town. i shall return by noon, and will then tell you what must be done by you to insure success. in the meantime, i shall disguise myself, and i beg that the private door may be opened at the first knock." when aladdin was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him. when he had overtaken him, he made a proposal to him to change clothes, which the man agreed to. when they had made the exchange, the countryman went about his business, and aladdin entered the neighboring city. after traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where the merchants and artisans had their particular streets according to their trades.[ ] he went into that of the druggists; and entering one of the largest and best furnished shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder, which he named. [footnote : this location of persons of one trade in one part of a town was once common in england. hence the "draper's lane" and "butcher's row," found in many of our large towns; and the "old jewry," "lombard street," and "cheapside," of london.] the druggist, judging aladdin by his habit to be very poor, told him he had it, but that it was very dear; upon which aladdin, penetrating his thoughts, pulled out his purse, and showing him some gold, asked for half a dram of the powder, which the druggist weighed and gave him, telling him the price was a piece of gold. aladdin put the money into his hand, and hastened to the palace, which he entered at once by the private door. when he came into the princess's apartment he said to her, "princess, you must take your part in the scheme which i propose for our deliverance. you must overcome your aversion for the magician, and assume a most friendly manner toward him, and ask him to oblige you by partaking of an entertainment in your apartments. before he leaves, ask him to exchange cups with you, which he, gratified at the honor you do him, will gladly do, when you must give him the cup containing this powder. on drinking it he will instantly fall asleep, and we will obtain the lamp, whose slaves will do all our bidding, and restore us and the palace to the capital of china." the princess obeyed to the utmost her husband's instructions. she assumed a look of pleasure on the next visit of the magician, and asked him to an entertainment, which he most willingly accepted. at the close of the evening, during which the princess had tried all she could to please him, she asked him to exchange cups with her, and giving the signal, had the drugged cup brought to her, which she gave to the magician. out of compliment to the princess he drank it to the very last drop, when he fell back lifeless on the sofa. the princess, in anticipation of the success of her scheme, had so placed her women from the great hall to the foot of the staircase that the word was no sooner given that the african magician was fallen backward, than the door was opened, and aladdin admitted to the hall. the princess rose from her seat, and ran, overjoyed, to embrace him; but he stopped her, and said, "princess, retire to your apartment; and let me be left alone, while i endeavor to transport you back to china as speedily as you were brought from thence." when the princess, her women, and slaves were gone out of the hall, aladdin shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of the magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp, which was carefully wrapped up, and rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i command thee to transport this palace instantly to the place from whence it was brought hither." the genie bowed his head in token of obedience, and disappeared. immediately the palace was transported into china, and its removal was felt only by two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short interval of time. on the morning after the restoration of aladdin's palace the sultan was looking out of his window, mourning over the fate of his daughter, when he thought that he saw the vacancy created by the disappearance of the palace to be again filled up. on looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt that it was his son-in-law's palace. joy and gladness succeeded to sorrow and grief. he at once ordered a horse to be saddled, which he mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the place. aladdin rose that morning by daybreak, put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and went up into the hall of the twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived the sultan approaching, and received him at the foot of the great staircase, helping him to dismount. he led the sultan into the princess's apartment. the happy father embraced her with tears of joy; and the princess, on her side, afforded similar testimonies of her extreme pleasure. after a short interval, devoted to mutual explanations of all that had happened, the sultan restored aladdin to his favor, and expressed his regret for the apparent harshness with which he had treated him. "my son," said he, "be not displeased at my proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love, and therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me." "sire," replied aladdin, "i have not the least reason to complain of your conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty required. this infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause of my misfortune." the african magician, who was thus twice foiled in his endeavor to rain aladdin, had a younger brother, who was as skillful a magician as himself and exceeded him in wickedness and hatred of mankind. by mutual agreement they communicated with each other once a year, however widely separate might be their place of residence from each other. the younger brother, not having received as usual his annual communication, prepared to take a horoscope and ascertain his brother's proceedings. he, as well as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him; he prepared the sand,[ ] cast the points, and drew the figures. on examining the planetary crystal, he found that his brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he was in the capital of the kingdom of china; also, that the person who had poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess, a sultan's daughter. [footnote : reml or raml signifies "sand prepared," or a preparation of sand on which are marked certain figures serving for a kind of divination, which we call geomancy; and the arabs and turks _kikmut al reml_. these disposed in a certain number on many unequal lines, are described also with a pen on paper; and the person who practices divination by this art is called _rammal_.--d'herbelot, art. "raml."] when the magician had informed himself of his brother's fate he resolved immediately to avenge his death, and at once departed for china; where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long tract of country without delay, he arrived after incredible fatigues. when he came to the capital of china he took a lodging at a khan. his magic art soon revealed to him that aladdin was the person who had been the cause of the death of his brother. he had heard, too, all the persons of repute in the city talking of a woman called fatima, who was retired from the world, and of the miracles she wrought. as he fancied that this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he had conceived, he made more minute inquiries, and requested to be informed more particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of miracles she performed. "what!" said the person whom he addressed, "have you never seen or heard of her? she is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her austerities, and her exemplary life. except mondays and fridays, she never stirs out of her little cell; and on those days on which she comes into the town she does an infinite deal of good; for there is not a person who is diseased but she puts her hand on him and cures him." having ascertained the place where the hermitage of this holy woman was, the magician went at night, and plunged a poniard into her heart--killed this good woman. in the morning he dyed his face of the same hue as hers, and arraying himself in her garb, taking her veil, the large necklace she wore round her waist, and her stick, went straight to the palace of aladdin. as soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him to be, they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. some begged his blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, kissed only the hem of his garment; while others, suffering from disease, stooped for him to lay his hands upon them; which he did, muttering some words in form of prayer, and, in short, counterfeiting so well that everybody took him for the holy woman. he came at last to the square before aladdin's palace. the crowd and the noise were so great that the princess, who was in the hall of the four-and-twenty windows, heard it, and asked what was the matter. one of her women told her it was a great crowd of people collected about the holy woman to be cured of diseases by the imposition of her hands. the princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had never seen her, was very desirous to have some conversation with her. the chief officer perceiving this, told her it was an easy matter to bring the woman to her if she desired and commanded it; and the princess expressing her wishes, he immediately sent four slaves for the pretended holy woman. as soon as the crowd saw the attendants from the palace, they made way; and the magician, perceiving also that they were coming for him, advanced to meet them, overjoyed to find his plot succeed so well. "holy woman," said one of the slaves, "the princess wishes to see you, and has sent us for you." "the princess does me too great an honor," replied the false fatima; "i am ready to obey her command." and at the same time he followed the slaves to the palace. when the pretended fatima had made his obeisance, the princess said, "my good mother, i have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; it is, to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of living, and that i may learn from your good example." "princess," said the counterfeit fatima, "i beg of you not to ask what i cannot consent to without neglecting my prayers and devotion." "that shall be no hindrance to you," answered the princess; "i have a great many apartments unoccupied; you shall choose which you like best, and have as much liberty to perform your devotions as if you were in your own cell." the magician, who really desired nothing more than to introduce himself into the palace, where it would be a much easier matter for him to execute his designs, did not long excuse himself from accepting the obliging offer which the princess made him. "princess," said he, "whatever resolution a poor wretched woman as i am may have made to renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, i dare not presume to oppose the will and commands of so pious and charitable a princess." upon this the princess, rising up, said, "come with me. i will show you what vacant apartments i have, that you may make choice of that you like best." the magician followed the princess, and of all the apartments she showed him, made choice of that which was the worst, saying that was too good for him, and that he only accepted it to please her. afterward the princess would have brought him back again into the great hall to make him dine with her; but he, considering that he should then be obliged to show his face, which he had always taken care to conceal with fatima's veil, and fearing that the princess would find out that he was not fatima, begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desiring to eat that slight repast in his own apartment. the princess granted his request, saying, "you may be as free here, good mother, as if you were in your own cell: i will order you a dinner, but remember, i expect you as soon as you have finished your repast." after the princess had dined, and the false fatima had been sent for by one of the attendants, he again waited upon her. "my good mother," said the princess, "i am overjoyed to see so holy a woman as yourself, who will confer a blessing upon this palace. but now i am speaking of the palace, pray how do you like it? and before i show it all to you, tell me first what you think of this hall." upon this question, the counterfeit fatima surveyed the hall from one end to the other. when he had examined it well, he said to the princess, "as far as such a solitary being as i am, who am unacquainted with what the world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly admirable; there wants but one thing." "what is that, good mother?" demanded the princess; "tell me, i conjure you. for my part, i always believed, and have heard say, it wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be supplied." "princess," said the false fatima, with great dis-simulation, "forgive me the liberty i have taken; but my opinion is, if it can be of any importance, that if a roc's egg were hung up in the middle of the dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and your palace would be the wonder of the universe." "my good mother," said the princess, "what is a roc, and where may one get an egg?" "princess," replied the pretended fatima, "it is a bird of prodigious size, which inhabits the summit of mount caucasus; the architect who built your palace can get you one." after the princess had thanked the false fatima for what she believed her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; but she could not forget the roc's egg, which she resolved to request of aladdin when next he should visit his apartments. he did so in the course of that evening, and shortly after he entered, the princess thus addressed him: "i always believed that our palace was the most superb, magnificent, and complete in the world: but i will tell you now what it wants, and that is a roc's egg hung up in the midst of the dome." "princess," replied aladdin, "it is enough that you think it wants such an ornament; you shall see by the diligence which i use in obtaining it, that there is nothing which i would not do for your sake." aladdin left the princess buddir al buddoor that moment, and went up into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where, pulling out of his bosom the lamp, which after the danger he had been exposed to he always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i command thee, in the name of this lamp, bring a roc's egg to be hung up in the middle of the dome of the hall of the palace." aladdin had no sooner pronounced these words than the hall shook as if ready to fall; and the genie said, in a loud and terrible voice, "is it not enough that i and the other slaves of the lamp have done everything for you, but you, by an unheard-of ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and hang him up in the midst of this dome? this attempt deserves that you, the princess, and the palace should be immediately reduced to ashes; but you are spared because this request does not come from yourself. its true author is the brother of the african magician, your enemy whom you have destroyed. he is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman fatima, whom he has murdered; at his suggestion your wife makes this pernicious demand. his design is to kill you; therefore take care of yourself." after these words the genie disappeared. aladdin resolved at once what to do. he returned to the princess's apartment, and without mentioning a word of what had happened, sat down, and complained of a great pain which had suddenly seized his head. on hearing this, the princess told him how she had invited the holy fatima to stay with her, and that she was now in the palace; and at the request of the prince, ordered her to be summoned to her at once. when the pretended fatima came, aladdin said, "come hither, good mother; i am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time. i am tormented with a violent pain in my head, and request your assistance, and hope you will not refuse me that cure which you impart to afflicted persons." so saying, he arose, but held down his head. the counterfeit fatima advanced toward him, with his hand all the time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his gown. observing this, aladdin snatched the weapon from his hand, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the floor. "my dear prince, what have you done?" cried the princess, in surprise. "you have killed the holy woman!" "no, my princess," answered aladdin, with emotion, "i have not killed fatima, but a villain who would have assassinated me, if i had not prevented him. this wicked man," added he, uncovering his face, "is the brother of the magician who attempted our ruin. he has strangled the true fatima, and disguised himself in her clothes with intent to murder me." aladdin then informed her how the genie had told him these facts, and how narrowly she and the palace had escaped destruction though his treacherous suggestion which had led to her request. thus was aladdin delivered from the persecution of the two brothers, who were magicians. within a few years the sultan died in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess buddir al buddoor succeeded him, and she and aladdin reigned together many years, and left a numerous and illustrious posterity. [illustration] the history of ali baba, and of the forty robbers killed by one slave there once lived in a town of persia two brothers, one named cassim and the other ali baba. their father divided a small inheritance equally between them. cassim married a very rich wife, and became a wealthy merchant. ali baba married a woman as poor as himself, and lived by cutting wood, and bringing it upon three asses into the town to sell. one day, when ali baba was in the forest and had just cut wood enough to load his asses, he saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which seemed to approach him. he observed it with attention, and distinguished soon after a body of horsemen, whom he suspected might be robbers. he determined to leave his asses to save himself. he climbed up a large tree, planted on a high rock, whose branches were thick enough to conceal him, and yet enabled him to see all that passed without being discovered. the troop, who were to the number of forty, all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of the rock on which the tree stood, and there dismounted. every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn which they had brought behind them. then each of them took off his saddle-bag, which seemed to ali baba from its weight to be full of gold and silver. one, whom he took to be their captain, came under the tree in which ali baba was concealed; and making his way through some shrubs, pronounced these words: "open, sesame!"[ ] as soon as the captain of the robbers had thus spoken, a door opened in the rock; and after he had made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut again of itself. [footnote : "sesame" is a small grain.] the robbers stayed some time within the rock, during which ali baba, fearful of being caught, remained in the tree. at last the door opened again, and as the captain went in last, so he came out first, and stood to see them all pass by him; when ali baba heard him make the door close by pronouncing these words, "shut, sesame!" every man at once went and bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again. when the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come. ali baba followed them with his eyes as far as he could see them; and afterward stayed a considerable time before he descended. remembering the words the captain of the robbers used to cause the door to open and shut, he had the curiosity to try if his pronouncing them would have the same effect. accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood before it, and said, "open, sesame!" the door instantly flew wide open. ali baba, who expected a dark, dismal cavern, was surprised to see a well-lighted and spacious chamber, which received the light from an opening at the top of the rock, and in which were all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and valuable carpeting, piled upon one another, gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. the sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one another. ali baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, as he thought his three asses could carry. when he had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over them in such a manner that they could not be seen. when he had passed in and out as often as he wished, he stood before the door, and pronouncing the words, "shut, sesame!" the door closed of itself. he then made the best of his way to town. when ali baba got home he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the panniers, carried the bags into his house, and ranged them in order before his wife. he then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold as dazzled his wife's eyes, and then he told her the whole adventure from beginning to end, and, above all, recommended her to keep it secret. the wife rejoiced greatly at their good fortune, and would count all the gold piece by piece. "wife," replied ali baba, "you do not know what you undertake, when you pretend to count the money; you will never have done. i will dig a hole, and bury it. there is no time to be lost." "you are in the right, husband," replied she, "but let us know, as nigh as possible, how much we have. i will borrow a small measure, and measure it, while you dig the hole." away the wife ran to her brother-in-law cassim, who lived just by, and addressing herself to his wife, desired that she lend her a measure for a little while. her sister-in-law asked her whether she would have a great or a small one. the other asked for a small one. she bade her stay a little, and she would readily fetch one. the sister-in-law did so, but as she knew ali baba's poverty, she was curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to her, with an excuse that she was sorry that she had made her stay so long, but that she could not find it sooner. ali baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold, filled it, and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done, when she was very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to so many as they did, and went to tell her husband, who had almost finished digging the hole. when ali baba was burying the gold, his wife, to show her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the measure back again, but without taking notice that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom. "sister," said she, giving it to her again, "you see that i have not kept your measure long. i am obliged to you for it, and return it with thanks." as soon as ali baba's wife was gone, cassim's looked at the bottom of the measure, and was in inexpressible surprise to find a piece of gold sticking to it. envy immediately possessed her breast. "what!" said she, "has ali baba gold so plentiful as to measure it? whence has he all this wealth?" cassim, her husband, was at his counting house. when he came home his wife said to him, "cassim, i know you think yourself rich, but ali baba is infinitely richer than you. he does not count his money, but measures it." cassim desired her to explain the riddle, which she did, by telling him the stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and showed him the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined. cassim, after he had married the rich widow, had never treated ali baba as a brother, but neglected him; and now, instead of being pleased, he conceived a base envy at his brother's prosperity. he could not sleep all that night, and went to him in the morning before sunrise. "ali baba," said he, "i am surprised at you. you pretend to be miserably poor, and yet you measure gold. my wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday." by this discourse, ali baba perceived that cassim and his wife, through his own wife's folly, knew what they had so much reason to conceal; but what was done could not be undone. therefore, without showing the least surprise or trouble, he confessed all, and offered his brother part of his treasure to keep the secret. "i expect as much," replied cassim haughtily; "but i must know exactly where this treasure is, and how i may visit it myself when i choose. otherwise i will go and inform against you, and then you will not only get no more, but will lose all you have, and i shall have a share for my information." ali baba told him all he desired, even to the very words he was to use to gain admission into the cave. cassim rose the next morning long before the sun, and set out for the forest with ten mules bearing great chests, which he designed to fill, and followed the road which ali baba had pointed out to him. he was not long before he reached the rock, and found out the place, by the tree and other marks which his brother had given him. when he reached the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words, "open, sesame!" the door immediately opened, and, when he was in, closed upon him. in examining the cave, he was in great admiration to find much more riches than he had expected from ali baba's relation. he quickly laid as many bags of gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern; but his thoughts were so full of the great riches he should possess that he could not think of the necessary word to make it open, but instead of "sesame," said, "open, barley!" and was much amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. he named several sorts of grain, but still the door would not open. cassim had never expected such an incident, and was so alarmed at the danger he was in, that the more he endeavored to remember the word "sesame," the more his memory was confounded, and he had as much forgotten it as if he had never heard it mentioned. he threw down the bags he had loaded himself with, and walked distractedly up and down the cave, without having the least regard to the riches that were around him. about noon the robbers visited their cave. at some distance they saw cassim's mules straggling about the rock, with great chests on their backs. alarmed at this, they galloped full speed to the cave. they drove away the mules, who strayed through the forest so far that they were soon out of sight, and went directly, with their naked sabers in their hands, to the door, which, on their captain pronouncing the proper words, immediately opened. cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet, at once guessed the arrival of the robbers, and resolved to make one effort for his life. he rushed to the door, and no sooner saw the door open, than he ran out and threw the leader down, but could not escape the other robbers, who with their scimitars soon deprived him of life. the first care of the robbers after this was to examine the cave. they found all the bags which cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to load his mules, and carried them again to their places, but they did not miss what ali baba had taken away before. then holding a council, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they guessed that cassim, when he was in, could not get out again, but could not imagine how he had learned the secret words by which alone he could enter. they could not deny the fact of his being there; and to terrify any person or accomplice who should attempt the same thing, they agreed to cut cassim's body into four quarters--to hang two on one side, and two on the other, within the door of the cave. they had no sooner taken this resolution than they put it in execution; and when they had nothing more to detain them, left the place of their hoards well closed. they mounted their horses, went to beat the roads again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. in the meantime, cassim's wife was very uneasy when night came, and her husband was not returned. she ran to ali baba in great alarm, and said, "i believe, brother-in-law, that you know cassim is gone to the forest, and upon what account. it is now night, and he has not returned. i am afraid some misfortune has happened to him." ali baba told her that she need not frighten herself, for that certainly cassim would not think it proper to come into the town till the night should be pretty far advanced. cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned her husband to keep the business secret, was the more easily persuaded to believe her brother-in-law. she went home again, and waited patiently till midnight. then her fear redoubled, and her grief was the more sensible because she was forced to keep it to herself. she repented of her foolish curiosity, and cursed her desire of prying into the affairs of her brother and sister-in-law. she spent all the night in weeping; and as soon as it was day went to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her coming. ali baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to desire him to go to see what was become of cassim, but departed immediately with his three asses, begging of her first to moderate her grief. he went to the forest, and when he came near the rock, having seen neither his brother nor his mules on his way, was seriously alarmed at finding some blood spilt near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but when he had pronounced the word, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal sight of his brother's body. he was not long in determining how he should pay the last dues to his brother; but without adverting to the little fraternal affection he had shown for him, went into the cave, to find something to enshroud his remains. having loaded one of his asses with them, he covered them over with wood. the other two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them with wood also as before; and then, bidding the door shut, he came away; but was so cautious as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that he might not go into the town before night. when he came home he drove the two asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the care of unloading them to his wife, while he led the other to his sister-in-law's house. ali baba knocked at the door, which was opened by morgiana, a clever, intelligent slave, who was fruitful in inventions to meet the most difficult circumstances. when he came into the court he unloaded the ass, and taking morgiana aside, said to her, "you must observe an inviolable secrecy. your master's body is contained in these two panniers. we must bury him as if he had died a natural death. go now and tell your mistress. i leave the matter to your wit and skillful devices." ali baba helped to place the body in cassim's house, again recommended to morgiana to act her part well, and then returned with his ass. morgiana went out early the next morning to a druggist and asked for a sort of lozenge which was considered efficacious in the most dangerous disorders. the apothecary inquired who was ill. she replied, with a sigh, her good master cassim himself; and that he could neither eat nor speak. in the evening morgiana went to the same druggist again, and with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence which they used to give to sick people only when in the last extremity. "alas!" said she, taking it from the apothecary, "i am afraid that this remedy will have no better effect than the lozenges; and that i shall lose my good master." on the other hand, as ali baba and his wife were often seen to go between cassim's and their own house all that day, and to seem melancholy, nobody was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable shrieks and cries of cassim's wife and morgiana, who gave out everywhere that her master was dead. the next morning at daybreak, morgiana went to an old cobbler whom she knew to be always ready at his stall, and bidding him good morrow, put a piece of gold into his hand, saying, "baba mustapha, you must bring with you your sewing tackle, and come with me; but i must tell you, i shall blindfold you when you come to such a place." baba mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these words. "oh! oh!" replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience, or against my honor?" "god forbid," said morgiana, putting another piece of gold into his hand, "that i should ask anything that is contrary to your honor! only come along with me, and fear nothing." baba mustapha went with morgiana, who, after she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief at the place she had mentioned, conveyed him to her deceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes till he had entered the room where she had put the corpse together. "baba mustapha," said she, "you must make haste and sew the parts of this body together; and when you have done, i will give you another piece of gold." after baba mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece of gold as she had promised, and recommending secrecy to him, carried him back to the place where she first bound his eyes, pulled off the bandage, and let him go home, but watched him that he returned toward his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for fear he should have the curiosity to return and dodge her; she then went home. morgiana, on her return, warmed some water to wash the body, and at the same time ali baba perfumed it with incense, and wrapped it in the burying clothes with the accustomed ceremonies. not long after the proper officer brought the bier, and when the attendants of the mosque, whose business it was to wash the dead, offered to perform their duty, she told them it was done already. shortly after this the imaun and the other ministers of the mosque arrived. four neighbors carried the corpse to the burying-ground, following the imaun, who recited some prayers. ali baba came after with some neighbors, who often relieved the others in carrying the bier to the burying-ground. morgiana, a slave to the deceased, followed in the procession, weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair. cassim's wife stayed at home mourning, uttering lamentable cries with the women of the neighborhood, who came, according to custom, during the funeral, and joining their lamentations with hers filled the quarter far and near with sounds of sorrow. in this manner cassim's melancholy death was concealed and hushed up between ali baba, his widow, and morgiana his slave, with so much contrivance that nobody in the city had the least knowledge or suspicion of the cause of it. three or four days after the funeral, ali baba removed his few goods openly to his sister's house, in which it was agreed that he should in future live; but the money he had taken from the robbers he conveyed thither by night. as for cassim's warehouse, he intrusted it entirely to the management of his eldest son. while these things were being done, the forty robbers again visited their retreat in the forest. great, then, was their surprise to find cassim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold. "we are certainly discovered," said the captain. "the removal of the body and the loss of some of our money, plainly shows that the man whom we killed had an accomplice: and for our own lives' sake we must try to find him. what say you, my lads?" all the robbers unanimously approved of the captain's proposal. "well," said the captain, "one of you, the boldest and most skillful among you, must go into the town, disguised as a traveler and a stranger, to try if he can hear any talk of the man whom we have killed, and endeavor to find out who he was, and where he lived. this is a matter of the first importance, and for fear of any treachery i propose that whoever undertakes this business without success, even though the failure arises only from an error of judgment, shall suffer death." without waiting for the sentiments of his companions, one of the robbers started up, and said, "i submit to this condition, and think it an honor to expose my life to serve the troop." after this robber had received great commendations from the captain and his comrades, he disguised himself so that nobody would take him for what he was; and taking his leave of the troop that night, he went into the town just at daybreak. he walked up and down, till accidentally he came to baba mustapha's stall, which was always open before any of the shops. baba mustapha was seated with an awl in his hand, just going to work. the robber saluted him, bidding him good morrow; and perceiving that he was old, said, "honest man, you begin to work very early; is it possible that one of your age can see so well? i question, even if it were somewhat lighter, whether you could see to stitch." "you do not know me," replied baba mustapha; "for old as i am, i have extraordinary good eyes; and you will not doubt it when i tell you that i sewed the body of a dead man together in a place where i had not so much light as i have now." "a dead body!" exclaimed the robber, with affected amazement. "yes, yes," answered baba mustapha. "i see you want me to speak out, but you shall know no more." the robber felt sure that he had discovered what he sought. he pulled out a piece of gold, and putting it into baba mustapha's hand, said to him, "i do not want to learn your secret, though i can assure you you might safely trust me with it. the only thing i desire of you is to show me the house where you stitched up the dead body." "if i were disposed to do you that favor," replied baba mustapha, "i assure you i cannot. i was taken to a certain place, whence i was led blindfold to the house, and afterward brought back in the same manner. you see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing what you desire." "well," replied the robber, "you may, however, remember a little of the way that you were led blindfold. come, let me blind your eyes at the same place. we will walk together; perhaps you may recognize some part, and as every one should be paid for his trouble here is another piece of gold for you; gratify me in what i ask you." so saying, he put another piece of gold into his hand. the two pieces of gold were great temptations to baba mustapha. he looked at them a long time in his hand, without saying a word, but at last he pulled out his purse and put them in. "i cannot promise," said he to the robber, "that i can remember the way exactly; but since you desire, i will try what i can do." at these words baba mustapha rose up, to the great joy of the robber, and led him to the place where morgiana had bound his eyes. "it was here," said baba mustapha, "i was blindfolded; and i turned this way." the robber tied his handkerchief over his eyes, and walked by him till he stopped directly at cassim's house, where ali baba then lived. the thief, before he pulled off the band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which he had ready in his hand, and then asked him if he knew whose house that was; to which baba mustapha replied that as he did not live in that neighborhood, he could not tell. the robber, finding that he could discover no more from baba mustapha, thanked him for the trouble he had taken, and left him to go back to his stall, while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he should be very well received. a little after the robber and baba mustapha had parted, morgiana went out of ali baba's house upon some errand, and upon her return, seeing the mark the robber had made, stopped to observe it. "what can be the meaning of this mark?" said she to herself. "somebody intends my master no good. however, with whatever intention it was done, it is advisable to guard against the worst." accordingly, she fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or three doors on each side in the same manner, without saying a word to her master or mistress. in the meantime the robber rejoined his troop in the forest, and recounted to them his success, expatiating upon his good fortune in meeting so soon with the only person who could inform him of what he wanted to know. all the robbers listened to him with the utmost satisfaction. then the captain, after commending his diligence, addressing himself to them all, said, "comrades, we have no time to lose. let us set off well armed, without its appearing who we are; but that we may not excite any suspicion, let only one or two go into the town together, and join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great square. in the meantime, our comrade who brought us the good news and i will go and find out the house, that we may consult what had best be done." this speech and plan was approved of by all, and they were soon ready. they filed off in parties of two each, after some interval of time, and got into the town without being in the least suspected. the captain, and he who had visited the town in the morning as spy, came in the last. he led the captain into the street where he had marked ali baba's residence; and when they came to the first of the houses which morgiana had marked, he pointed it out. but the captain observed that the next door was chalked in the same manner, and in the same place; and showing it to his guide, asked him which house it was, that, or the first. the guide was so confounded, that he knew not what answer to make; but he was still more puzzled when he and the captain saw five or six houses similarly marked. he assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so that he could not distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at. the captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went directly to their place of rendezvous, and told his troop that they had lost their labor, and must return to their cave. he himself set them the example, and they all returned as they had come. when the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy of death. he condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who was appointed to cut off his head. but as the safety of the troop required the discovery of the second intruder into the cave, another of the gang, who promised himself that he should succeed better, presented himself, and his offer being accepted he went and corrupted baba mustapha as the other had done; and being shown the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight, with red chalk. not long after, morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before, marked the other neighbors' houses in the same place and manner. the robber, on his return to his company, valued himself much on the precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of distinguishing ali baba's house from the others; and the captain and all of them thought it must succeed. they conveyed themselves into the town with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain came to the street, they found the same difficulty; at which the captain was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and much more dissatisfied; while the robber who had been the author of the mistake underwent the same punishment, which he willingly submitted to. the captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the residence of their plunderer. he found by their example that their heads were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore resolved to take upon himself the important commission. accordingly, he went and addressed himself to baba mustapha, who did him the same service he had done to the other robbers. he did not set any particular mark on the house, but examined and observed it so carefully, by passing often by it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it. the captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and informed of what he wanted to know, returned to the forest: and when he came into the cave, where the troop waited for him, said, "now, comrades, nothing can prevent our full revenge, as i am certain of the house; and on my way hither i have thought how to put it into execution, but if any one can form a better expedient, let him communicate it." he then told them his contrivance; and as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large leather jars, one full of oil, and the others empty. in two or three days' time the robbers had purchased the mules and jars, and as the mouths of the jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, the captain caused them to be widened, and after having put one of his men into each, with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving open the seam which had been undone to leave them room to breathe, he rubbed the jars on the outside with oil from the full vessel. things being thus prepared, when the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their driver, set out with them, and reached the town by the dusk of the evening, as he had intended. he led them through the streets, till he came to ali baba's, at whose door he designed to have knocked; but was prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a little fresh air. he stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and said, "i have brought some oil a great way, to sell at tomorrow's market; and it is now so late that i do not know where to lodge. if i should not be troublesome to you, do me the favor to let me pass the night with you, and i shall be very much obliged by your hospitality." though ali baba had seen the captain of the robbers in the forest, and had heard him speak, it was impossible to know him in the disguise of an oil merchant. he told him he should be welcome, and immediately opened his gates for the mules to go into the yard. at the same time he called to a slave, and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, to put them into the stable, and to feed them; and then went to morgiana, to bid her get a good supper for his guest. after they had finished supper, ali baba, charging morgiana afresh to take care of his guest, said to her, "to-morrow morning i design to go to the bath before day; take care my bathing linen be ready, give them to abdalla (which was the slave's name), and make me some good broth against i return." after this he went to bed. in the meantime the captain of the robbers went into the yard, and took off the lid of each jar, and gave his people orders what to do. beginning at the first jar, and so on to the last, he said to each man: "as soon as i throw some stones out of the chamber window where i lie, do not fail to come out, and i will immediately join you." after this he returned into the house, when morgiana, taking up a light, conducted him to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put the light out soon after, and laid himself down in his clothes, that he might be the more ready to rise. morgiana, remembering ali baba's orders, got his bathing linen ready, and ordered abdalla to set on the pot for the broth; but while she was preparing it the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house, nor any candles. what to do she did not know, for the broth must be made. abdalla, seeing her very uneasy, said, "do not fret and tease yourself, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of one of the jars." morgiana thanked abdalla for his advice, took the oil pot, and went into the yard; when, as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within said softly, "is it time?" though naturally much surprised at finding a man in the jar instead of the oil she wanted, she immediately felt the importance of keeping silence, as ali baba, his family, and herself were in great danger; and collecting herself, without showing the least emotion, she answered, "not yet, but presently." she went quietly in this manner to all the jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. by this means morgiana found that her master ali baba had admitted thirty-eight robbers into his house, and that this pretended oil merchant was their captain. she made what haste she could to fill her oil pot, and returned into the kitchen, where, as soon as she had lighted her lamp, she took a great kettle, went again to the oil jar, filled the kettle, set it on a large wood fire, and as soon as it boiled, went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber within. when this action, worthy of the courage of morgiana, was executed without any noise, as she had projected, she returned into the kitchen with the empty kettle; and having put out the great fire she had made to boil the oil, and leaving just enough to make the broth, put out the lamp also, and remained silent, resolving not to go to rest till, through a window of the kitchen, which opened into the yard, she had seen what might follow. she had not waited long before the captain of the robbers got up, opened the window, and, finding no light and hearing no noise or any one stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing little stones, several of which hit the jars, as he doubted not by the sound they gave. he then listened, but not hearing or perceiving anything whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, he began to grow very uneasy, threw stones again a second and also a third time, and could not comprehend the reason that none of them should answer his signal. much alarmed, he went softly down into the yard, and going to the first jar, while asking the robber, whom he thought alive, if he was in readiness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of the jar. hence he knew that his plot to murder ali baba and plunder his house was discovered. examining all the jars, one after another, he found that all his gang were dead; and, enraged to despair at having failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led from the yard to the garden, and climbing over the walls made his escape. when morgiana saw him depart, she went to bed, satisfied and pleased to have succeeded so well in saving her master and family. ali baba rose before day, and, followed by his slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the important event which had happened at home. when he returned from the baths he was very much surprised to see the oil jars, and to learn that the merchant was not gone with the mules. he asked morgiana, who opened the door, the reason of it. "my good master," answered she, "god preserve you and all your family. you will be better informed of what you wish to know when you have seen what i have to show you, if you will follow me." as soon as morgiana had shut the door, ali baba followed her, when she requested him to look into the first jar, and see if there was any oil. ali baba did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and cried out. "do not be afraid," said morgiana; "the man you see there can neither do you nor anybody else any harm. he is dead." "ah, morgiana," said ali baba, "what is it you show me? explain yourself." "i will," replied morgiana. "moderate your astonishment, and do not excite the curiosity of your neighbors; for it is of great importance to keep this affair secret. look into all the other jars." ali baba examined all the other jars, one after another; and when he came to that which had the oil in it, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood for some time motionless, sometimes looking at the jars and sometimes at morgiana, without saying a word, so great was his surprise. at last, when he had recovered himself, he said, "and what is become of the merchant?" "merchant!" answered she; "he is as much one as i am. i will tell you who he is, and what is become of him; but you had better hear the story in your own chamber; for it is time for your health that you had your broth after your bathing." morgiana then told him all she had done, from the first observing the mark upon the house, to the destruction of the robbers, and the flight of their captain. on hearing of these brave deeds from the lips of morgiana, ali baba said to her--"god, by your means, has delivered me from the snares of these robbers laid for my destruction. i owe, therefore, my life to you; and, for the first token of my acknowledgment, i give you your liberty from this moment, till i can complete your recompense as i intend." ali baba's garden was very long, and shaded at the farther end by a great number of large trees. near these he and the slave abdalla dug a trench, long and wide enough to hold the bodies of the robbers; and as the earth was light, they were not long in doing it. when this was done, ali baba hid the jars and weapons; and as he had no occasion for the mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in the market by his slave. while ali baba was taking these measures the captain of the forty robbers returned to the forest with inconceivable mortification. he did not stay long; the loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to him. he determined, however, to avenge the death of his companions, and to accomplish the death of ali baba. for this purpose he returned to the town, and took a lodging in a khan, disguising himself as a merchant in silks. under this assumed character he gradually conveyed a great many sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the cavern, but with all the necessary precautions to conceal the place whence he brought them. in order to dispose of the merchandise, when he had thus amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which happened to be opposite to cassim's, which ali baba's son had occupied since the death of his uncle. he took the name of cogia houssain, and, as a newcomer, was, according to custom, extremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants his neighbors. ali baba's son was, from his vicinity, one of the first to converse with cogia houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship more particularly. two or three days after he was settled, ali baba came to see his son, and the captain of the robbers recognized him at once, and soon learned from his son who he was. after this he increased his assiduities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, made him some small presents, and often asked him to dine and sup with him, when he treated him very handsomely. ali baba's son did not choose to lie under such obligation to cogia houssain; but was so much straitened for want of room in his house that he could not entertain him. he therefore acquainted his father, ali baba, with his wish to invite him in return. ali baba with great pleasure took the treat upon himself. "son," said he, "to-morrow being friday, which is a day that the shops of such great merchants as cogia houssain and yourself are shut, get him to accompany you, and as you pass by my door, call in. i will go and order morgiana to provide a supper." the next day ali baba's son and cogia houssain met by appointment, took their walk, and as they returned, ali baba's son led cogia houssain through the street where his father lived, and when they came to the house, stopped and knocked at the door. "this, sir," said he, "is my father's house, who, from the account i have given him of your friendship, charged me to procure him the honor of your acquaintance; and i desire you to add this pleasure to those for which i am already indebted to you." though it was the sole aim of cogia houssain to introduce himself into ali baba's house, that he might kill him without hazarding his own life or making any noise, yet he excused himself, and offered to take his leave; but a slave having opened the door, ali baba's son took him obligingly by the hand, and, in a manner, forced him in. ali baba received cogia houssain with a smiling countenance, and in the most obliging manner he could wish. he thanked him for all the favors he had done his son; adding, withal, the obligation was the greater as he was a young man, not much acquainted with the world, and that he might contribute to his information. cogia houssain returned the compliment by assuring ali baba that though his son might not have acquired the experience of older men, he had good sense equal to the experience of many others. after a little more conversation on different subjects, he offered again to take his leave, when ali baba, stopping him, said, "where are you going, sir, in so much haste? i beg you will do me the honor to sup with me, though my entertainment may not be worthy your acceptance. such as it is, i heartily offer it." "sir," replied cogia houssain, "i am thoroughly persuaded of your good will; but the truth is, i can eat no victuals that have any salt in them; therefore judge how i should feel at your table." "if that is the only reason," said ali baba, "it ought not to deprive me of the honor of your company; for, in the first place, there is no salt ever put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have to-night, i promise you there shall be none in that. therefore you must do me the favor to stay. i will return immediately." [illustration: _she drew the poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance page _] ali baba went into the kitchen, and ordered morgiana to put no salt to the meat that was to be dressed that night; and to make quickly two or three ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure to put no salt in them. morgiana, who was always ready to obey her master, could not help being surprised at his strange order. "who is this strange man," said she, "who eats no salt with his meat? your supper will be spoiled, if i keep it back so long." "do not be angry, morgiana," replied ali baba. "he is an honest man, therefore do as i bid you." morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, and had a curiosity to see this man who ate no salt. to this end, when she had finished what she had to do in the kitchen, she helped abdalla to carry up the dishes; and looking at cogia houssain, she knew him at first sight, notwithstanding his disguise, to be the captain of the robbers, and examining him very carefully, perceived that he had a dagger under his garment. "i am not in the least amazed," said she to herself, "that this wicked man, who is my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with him, since he intends to assassinate him; but i will prevent him." morgiana, while they were at supper, determined in her own mind to execute one of the boldest acts ever meditated. when abdalla came for the dessert of fruit, and had put it with the wine and glasses before ali baba, morgiana retired, dressed herself neatly with a suitable headdress like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to which there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the same metal, and put a handsome mask on her face. when she had thus disguised herself, she said to abdalla, "take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his son's friend, as we do sometimes when he is alone." abdalla took his tabor, and played all the way into the hall before morgiana, who, when she came to the door, made a low obeisance by way of asking leave to exhibit her skill, while abdalla left off playing. "come in, morgiana," said ali baba, "and let cogia houssain see what you can do, that he may tell us what he thinks of your performance." cogia houssain, who did not expect this diversion after supper, began to fear he should not be able to take advantage of the opportunity he thought he had found; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to secure it another time, by keeping up a friendly correspondence with the father and son; therefore, though he could have wished ali baba would have declined the dance, he pretended to be obliged to him for it, and had the complaisance to express his satisfaction at what he saw, which pleased his host. as soon as abdalla saw that ali baba and cogia houssain had done talking, he began to play on the tabor, and accompanied it with an air, to which morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced in such a manner as would have created admiration in any company. after she had danced several dances with much grace, she drew the poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance in which she outdid herself by the many different figures, light movements, and the surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with which she accompanied it. sometimes she presented the poniard to one breast, sometimes to another, and oftentimes seemed to strike her own. at last, she snatched the tabor from abdalla with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her right presented the other side of the tabor, after the manner of those who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality of the spectators. ali baba put a piece of gold into the tabor, as did also his son; and cogia houssain, seeing that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse out of his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his hand into it, morgiana, with a courage and resolution worthy of herself, plunged the poniard into his heart. ali baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried out aloud. "unhappy woman!" exclaimed ali baba, "what have you done, to ruin me and my family?" "it was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered morgiana; "for see here," continued she, opening the pretended cogia houssain's garment, and showing the dagger, "what an enemy you had entertained! look well at him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious oil merchant, and the captain of the gang of forty robbers. remember, too, that he would eat no salt with you; and what would you have more to persuade you of his wicked design? before i saw him, i suspected him as soon as you told me you had such a guest. i knew him, and you now find that my suspicion was not groundless." ali baba, who immediately felt the new obligation he had to morgiana for saving his life a second time, embraced her: "morgiana," said he, "i gave you your liberty, and then promised you that my gratitude should not stop there, but that i would soon give you higher proofs of its sincerity, which i now do by making you my daughter-in-law." then addressing himself to his son, he said, "i believe you, son, to be so dutiful a child, that you will not refuse morgiana for your wife. you see that cogia houssain sought your friendship with a treacherous design to take away my life; and if he had succeeded, there is no doubt but he would have sacrificed you also to his revenge. consider, that by marrying morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and your own." the son, far from showing any dislike, readily consented to the marriage; not only because he would not disobey his father, but also because it was agreeable to his inclination. after this they thought of burying the captain of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so privately that nobody discovered their bones till many years after, when no one had any concern in the publication of this remarkable history. a few days afterward, ali baba celebrated the nuptials of his son and morgiana with great solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that his friends and neighbors, whom he invited, had no knowledge of the true motives of the marriage; but that those who were not unacquainted with morgiana's good qualities commended his generosity and goodness of heart. ali baba did not visit the robber's cave for a whole year, as he supposed the other two, whom he could get no account of, might be alive. at the year's end, when he found they had not made any attempt to disturb him, he had the curiosity to make another journey. he mounted his horse, and when he came to the cave he alighted, tied his horse to a tree, and approaching the entrance, pronounced the words, "open, sesame!" and the door opened. he entered the cavern, and by the condition he found things in, judged that nobody had been there since the captain had fetched the goods for his shop. from this time he believed he was the only person in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, and that all the treasure was at his sole disposal. he put as much gold into his saddle-bag as his horse would carry, and returned to town. some years later he carried his son to the cave, and taught him the secret, which he handed down to his posterity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, lived in great honor and splendor. [illustration] the story of sindbad the sailor [ ] in the reign of the same caliph, haroun al raschid, of whom we have already heard, there lived at bagdad a poor porter, called hindbad. one day, when the weather was excessively hot, he was employed to carry a heavy burden from one end of the town to the other. being much fatigued, he took off his load, and sat upon it, near a large mansion. he was much pleased that he stopped at this place, for the agreeable smell of wood of aloes and of pastils, that came from the house, mixing with the scent of the rose water, completely perfumed and embalmed the air. besides, he heard from within a concert of instrumental music, accompanied with the harmonious notes of nightingales and other birds. this charming melody, and the smell of several sorts of savory dishes, made the porter conclude there was a feast, with great rejoicings within. his business seldom leading him that way, he knew not to whom the mansion belonged; but he went to some of the servants, whom he saw standing at the gate in magnificent apparel, and asked the name of the proprietor. "how," replied one of them, "do you live in bagdad, and know not that this is the house of sindbad the sailor, that famous voyager, who has sailed round the world?" [footnote : these voyages of sindbad are among the most curious of the tales contained in the arabian nights. they deserve a passing word of remark. mr. richard hole of exeter, about a century since, wrote a treatise upon them. he shows that while they must be regarded in many respects as fabulous, yet that they illustrate the early stories prevalent about strange countries. the earlier writers, as plutarch, aelian, diodorus siculus, and pliny, mention the incidents related in these tales, as also do the earliest modern travelers, the venetian marco polo, and the english sir john mandeville.] the porter lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, loud enough to be heard, "almighty creator of all things, consider the difference between sindbad and me! i am every day exposed to fatigues and calamities, and can scarcely get coarse barley bread for myself and my family, while happy sindbad profusely expends immense riches, and leads a life of continual pleasure. what has he done to obtain from thee a lot so agreeable? and what have i done to deserve one so wretched?" while the porter was thus indulging his melancholy, a servant came out of the house, and taking him by the arm, bade him follow him, for sindbad, his master, wanted to speak to him. the servant brought him into a great hall, where a number of people sat round a table covered with all sorts of savory dishes. at the upper end sat a comely, venerable gentleman, with a long white beard, and behind him stood a number of officers and domestics, all ready to attend his pleasure. this person was sindbad. hindbad, whose fear was increased at the sight of so many people, and of a banquet so sumptuous, saluted the company, trembling. sindbad bade him draw near, and seating him at his right hand, served him himself, and gave him excellent wine, of which there was abundance upon the sideboard. now sindbad had himself heard the porter complain through the window, and this it was that induced him to have him brought in. when the repast was over, sindbad addressed his conversation to hindbad, and inquired his name and employment, and said, "i wish to hear from your own mouth what it was you lately said in the street." at this request, hindbad hung down his head in confusion, and replied, "my lord, i confess that my fatigue put me out of humor and occasioned me to utter some indiscreet words, which i beg you to pardon." "do not think i am so unjust," resumed sindbad, "as to resent such a complaint. but i must rectify your error concerning myself. you think, no doubt, that i have acquired without labor and trouble the ease and indulgence which i now enjoy. but do not mistake; i did not attain to this happy condition without enduring for several years more trouble of body and mind than can well be imagined. yes, gentlemen," he added, speaking to the whole company, "i assure you that my sufferings have been of a nature so extraordinary as would deprive the greatest miser of his love of riches; and as an opportunity now offers, i will, with your leave, relate the dangers i have encountered, which i think will not be uninteresting to you." the first voyage of sindbad the sailor my father was a wealthy merchant of much repute. he bequeathed me a large estate, which i wasted in riotous living. i quickly perceived my error, and that i was misspending my time, which is of all things the most valuable. i remembered the saying of the great solomon, which i had frequently heard from my father, "a good name is better than precious ointment," and again, "wisdom is good with an inheritance." struck with these reflections, i resolved to walk in my father's ways, and i entered into a contract with some merchants, and embarked with them on board a ship we had jointly fitted out. we set sail, and steered our course toward the indies, through the persian gulf, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, and by those of persia on the left. at first i was troubled with seasickness, but speedily recovered my health, and was not afterward subject to that complaint. in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, while under sail, we were becalmed near a small island, but little elevated above the level of the water, and resembling a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and permitted such persons as were so inclined to land; of this number i was one. but while we were enjoying ourselves in eating and drinking, and recovering ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island on a sudden trembled, and shook us terribly. the trembling of the island was perceived on board the ship, and we were called upon to reëmbark speedily, or we should all be lost; for what we took for an island proved to be the back[ ] of a sea monster. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but as for myself, i was still upon the island when it disappeared into the sea, and i had only time to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship to make a fire. meanwhile the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to improve the favorable gale that had just risen, and hoisting his sails pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible for me to recover the ship. [footnote : milton thus describes the leviathan: "how haply slumbering on the norway foam, the pilot of some small night-founder'd skiff, deeming some island, oft as seamen tell, with fixed anchor in his scally rind moors by his side."] thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves all the rest of the day and the following night. by this time i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when happily a wave threw me against an island. the bank was high and rugged, so that i could scarcely have got up had it not been for some roots of trees which i found within reach. when the sun arose, though i was very feeble, both from hard labor and want of food, i crept along to find some herbs fit to eat, and had the good luck not only to procure some, but likewise to discover a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to recover me. after this i advanced farther into the island, and at last reached a fine plain, where i perceived some horses feeding. i went toward them, when i heard the voice of a man, who immediately appeared, and asked me who i was. i related to him my adventure, after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. i partook of some provisions which they offered me. i then asked them what they did in such a desert place; to which they answered that they were grooms belonging to the maharaja, sovereign of the island, and that every year they brought thither the king's horses for pasturage. they added that they were to return home on the morrow, and had i been one day later i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was a great distance off, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. next morning they returned to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to the maharaja. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i had come into his dominions. after i had satisfied him, he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want for nothing; which commands his officers were so generous and careful as to see exactly fulfilled. being a merchant, i frequented men of my own profession, and particularly inquired for those who were strangers, that perchance i might hear news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return. for the maharaja's capital is situated on the seacoast, and has a fine harbor, where ships arrive daily from the different quarters of the world. i frequented also the society of the learned indians, and took delight to hear them converse; but withal, i took care to make my court regularly to the maharaja, and conversed with the governors and petty kings, his tributaries, that were about him. they put a thousand questions respecting my country; and i, being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, asked them concerning everything which i thought worth knowing. there belongs to this king an island named cassel. they assured me that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of gegial. i determined to visit this wonderful place, and in my way thither saw fishes of one hundred and two hundred cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt; for they are so timorous that they will fly upon the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fish, about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. as i was one day at the port after my return, the ship arrived in which i had embarked at bussorah. i at once knew the captain, and i went and asked him for my bales. "i am sindbad," said i, "and those bales marked with his name are mine." when the captain heard me speak thus, "heavens!" he exclaimed, "whom can we trust in these times! i saw sindbad perish with my own eyes, as did also the passengers on board, and yet you tell me you are that sindbad. what impudence is this! and what a false tale to tell, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you!" "have patience," replied i. "do me the favor to hear what i have to say." the captain was at length persuaded that i was no cheat; for there came people from his ship who knew me, paid me great compliments, and expressed much joy at seeing me alive. at last he recollected me himself, and embracing me, "heaven be praised," said he, "for your happy escape! i cannot express the joy it affords me. there are your goods; take and do with them as you please." i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented them to the maharaja, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities. i acquainted him with the circumstance of their recovery. he was pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and in return gave me one much more considerable. upon this i took leave of him, and went aboard the same ship after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of that country. i carried with me wood of aloes, sandals, camphor, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at bussorah, from whence i came to this city, with the value of one hundred thousand sequins. * * * * * sindbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to proceed with their concert, which the story had interrupted. when it was evening, sindbad sent for a purse of one hundred sequins, and giving it to the porter, said, "take this, hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear more of my adventures." the porter went away, astonished at the honor done him, and the present made him. the account of this adventure proved very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return thanks for what providence had sent them by the hand of sindbad. hindbad put on his best robe next day, and returned to the bountiful traveler, who received him with a pleasant air, and welcomed him heartily. when all the guests had arrived, dinner was served, and continued a long time. when it was ended, sindbad, addressing himself to the company, said, "gentlemen, be pleased to listen to the adventures of my second voyage. they deserve your attention even more than those of the first." upon which every one held his peace, and sindbad proceeded. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor i designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad, but it was not long ere i grew weary of an indolent life, and i put to sea a second time, with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and, after recommending ourselves to god, set sail. we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed on an island covered with several sorts of fruit trees, but we could see neither man nor animal. we walked in the meadows, along the streams that watered them. while some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and others fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down near a stream betwixt two high trees, which formed a thick shade. i made a good meal, and afterward fell sleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but when i awoke the ship was gone. in this sad condition i was ready to die with grief. i cried out in agony, beat my head and breast, and threw myself upon the ground, where i lay some time in despair. i upbraided myself a hundred times for not being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might have sufficed me all my life. but all this was in vain, and my repentance came too late. at last i resigned myself to the will of god. not knowing what to do, i climbed to the top of a lofty tree, from whence i looked about on all sides, to see if i could discover anything that could give me hope. when i gazed toward the sea i could see nothing but sky and water; but looking over the land, i beheld something white; and coming down, i took what provision i had left and went toward it, the distance being so great that i could not distinguish what it was. as i approached, i thought it to be a white dome, of a prodigious height and extent; and when i came up to it, i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top, as it was so smooth. it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it was occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. i remembered that i had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird called the roc,[ ] and conceived that the great dome which i so much admired must be its egg. in short, the bird alighted, and sat over the egg. as i perceived her coming, i crept close to the egg, so that i had before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. i tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc next morning would carry me with her out of this desert island. after having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high that i could not discern the earth; she afterward descended with so much rapidity that i lost my senses. but when i found myself on the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. the spot where it left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. this was a new perplexity; so that when i compared this place with the desert island from which the roc had brought me, i found that i had gained nothing by the change. [footnote : mr. more, in his account of these voyages, says that marco polo, in his _travels_, and father martini, in his _history of china_, speak of this bird, called _ruch_, and say it will take up an elephant and a rhinoceros. it is as fabulous as the dodo, the salamander, or the phoenix.] as i walked through this valley, i perceived it was strewn with diamonds, some of which were of surprising bigness. i took pleasure in looking upon them; but shortly i saw at a distance such objects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, and which i could not view without terror, namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the daytime to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and came out only in the night. i spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at times in such places as i thought most convenient. when night came on i went into a cave, where i thought i might repose in safety. i secured the entrance, which was low and narrow, with a great stone, to preserve me from the serpents; but not so far as to exclude the light. i supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began hissing round me, put me into such extreme fear that i did not sleep. when day appeared the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave, trembling. i can justly say that i walked upon diamonds without feeling any inclination to touch them. at last i sat down, and notwithstanding my apprehensions, not having closed my eyes during the night, fell asleep, after having eaten a little more of my provisions. but i had scarcely shut my eyes when something that fell by me with a great noise awakened me. this was a large piece of raw meat; and at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. i had always regarded as fabulous what i had heard sailors and others relate of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by merchants to obtain jewels from thence; but now i found that they had stated nothing but the truth. for the fact is, that the merchants come to the neighborhood of this valley, when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the precipices of the rocks to feed their young: the merchants at this time run to their nests, disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. i perceived in this device the means of my deliverance. having collected together the largest diamonds i could find, and put them into the leather bag in which i used to carry my provisions, i took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground, with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being made fast to my girdle. i had scarcely placed myself in this posture when one of the eagles, having taken me up with the piece of meat to which i was fastened, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants immediately began their shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where i was. he was much alarmed when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of inquiring how i came thither, began to quarrel with me, and asked why i stole his goods. "you will treat me," replied i, "with more civility when you know me better. do not be uneasy; i have diamonds enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. whatever they have they owe to chance; but i selected for myself, in the bottom of the valley, those which you see in this bag." i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came crowding about us, much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story. they conducted me to their encampment; and there, having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that they had never seen any of such size and perfection. i prayed the merchant who owned the nest to which i had been carried (for every merchant had his own) to take as many for his share as he pleased. he contented himself with one, and that, too, the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury, "no," said he, "i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will raise as great a fortune as i desire." i spent the night with the merchants, to whom i related my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned. i thought myself in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself out of danger. the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days; and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place the next morning, and traveled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took shipping at the first port we reached, and touched at the isle of roha, where the trees grow that yield camphor. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that one hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice, of which the camphor is made, exudes from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, and is received in a vessel, where it thickens to a consistency, and becomes what we call camphor. after the juice is thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies. in this island is also found the rhinoceros, an animal less than the elephant but larger than the buffalo. it has a horn upon its nose, about a cubit in length; this horn is solid, and cleft through the middle. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his belly,[ ] and carries him off upon his head; but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his eyes and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and then, strange to relate, the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws, for food for her young ones. i pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest i should weary you. here i exchanged some of my diamonds for merchandise. from hence we went to other islands, and at last, having touched at several trading towns of the continent, we landed at bussorah, from whence i proceeded to bagdad. there i immediately gave large presents to the poor, and lived honorably upon the vast riches i had brought, and gained with so much fatigue. [footnote : captain marryat, in his _bushboys_, gives an account of this contest, in which the rhinoceros came off victorious. he also gives, in the same amusing volume, an account of a bird taking up a serpent into the air. the scene of the adventures of the _bushboys_ is south africa.] thus sindbad ended the relation of the second voyage, gave hindbad another hundred sequins, and invited him to come the next day to hear the account of the third. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor i soon again grew weary of living a life of idleness, and hardening myself against the thought of any danger, i embarked with some merchants on another long voyage. we touched at several ports, where we traded. one day we were overtaken by a dreadful tempest, which drove us from our course. the storm continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor. when we had furled our sails the captain told us that this and some other neighboring islands were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but dwarfs we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one, they would all fall upon us and destroy us. we soon found that what the captain had told us was but too true. an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, about two feet high, covered all over with red hair, came swimming toward us, and encompassed our ship. they chattered as they came near, but we understood not their language. they climbed up the sides of the ship with such agility as surprised us. they took down our sails, cut the cable, and hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterward carried the ship into another island, from whence they had come. as we advanced, we perceived at a distance a vast pile of building, and made toward it. we found it to be a palace, elegantly built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony of two leaves, which we opened. we saw before us a large apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of human bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and were seized with deadly apprehension, when suddenly the gate of the apartment opened with a loud crash, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as tall as a lofty palm tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it blazed bright as a burning coal. his foreteeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of his mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse. his upper lip hung down upon his breast. his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at the sight of so frightful a genie we became insensible, and lay like dead men. at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch looking at us. when he had considered us well, he advanced toward us, and laying his hand upon me, took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned me around, as a butcher would do a sheep's head. after having examined me, and perceiving me to be so lean that i was nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest one by one, and viewed them in the same manner. the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i would do a sparrow, and thrust a spit through him; he then kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his supper. having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder. he slept thus till morning. as for ourselves, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest, so that we passed the night in the most painful apprehension that can be imagined. when day appeared the giant awoke, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. the next night we determined to revenge ourselves on the brutish giant, and did so in the following manner. after he had again finished his inhuman supper on another of our seamen, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded[ ] him. the pain made him break out into a frightful yell: he started up, and stretched out his hands in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage, but we ran to such places as he could not reach; and after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate, and went out, howling in agony. [footnote : the youthful student will find in these references passages which will remind in some degree of the incidents mentioned in these tales: homer's _odyssey_, book iv, lines - ; _iliad_, book xx, line ; book xiii, lines - ; virgil, _aeneid_, iii, lines - .] we immediately left the palace, and came to the shore, where with some timber that lay about in great quantities, we made some rafts, each large enough to carry three men. we waited until day to get upon them, for we hoped if the giant did not appear by sunrise, and give over his howling, which we still heard, that he would prove to be dead; and if that happened to be the case, we resolved to stay on that island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts. but day had scarcely appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy, with two others, almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming before him at a quick pace. we did not hesitate to take to our rafts, but put to sea with all the speed we could. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore they entered the water up to the middle, and threw so exactly that they sank all the rafts but that i was upon; and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants. but when we got out to sea we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and spent that day and the following night under the most painful uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good fortune to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit, which afforded us great relief, and recruited our strength. at night we went to sleep on the seashore; but were awakened by the noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling noise as he wound himself along. it swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries and the efforts he made to extricate himself from it. dashing him several times against the ground, it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor fellow's bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance. the following day, to our great terror, we saw the serpent again, when i exclaimed, "o heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! we rejoiced yesterday at having escaped from the cruelty of a giant and the rage of the waves; now are we fallen into another danger equally dreadful." as we walked about, we saw a large tall tree, upon which we designed to pass the following night for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it accordingly. shortly after, the serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree, raised itself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off. i remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate as had befallen my two companions. this filled me with horror, and i advanced some steps to throw myself into the sea; but i withstood this dictate of despair, and submitted myself to the will of god, who disposes of our lives at his pleasure. in the meantime i collected together a great quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, and making them up into fagots, made a wide circle with them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done this, when the evening came i shut myself up within this circle, with the melancholy satisfaction that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made; so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has fortunately reached a place of safety. when day appeared, he retired, but i dared not leave my fort until the sun arose. god took compassion on my hopeless state; for just as i was going, in a fit of desperation, to throw myself into the sea, i perceived a ship in the distance. i called as loud as i could, and unfolding the linen of my turban, displayed it, that they might observe me. this had the desired effect. the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. as soon as i came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me, to know how i came into that desert island; and after i had related to them all that had befallen me, the oldest among them said they had several times heard of the giants that dwelt on that island, and that they were cannibals; and as to the serpents, they added that there were abundant in the island; that they hid themselves by day, and came abroad by night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of their provisions; and took me before the captain, who, seeing that i was in rags, gave me one of his own suits. looking steadfastly upon him, i knew him to be the person who, on my second voyage, had left me in the island where i fell asleep, and had sailed without me, or without sending to seek for me. i was not surprised that he, believing me to be dead, did not recognize me. "captain," said i, "look at me, and you may know that i am sindbad, whom you left in that desert island." the captain, having considered me attentively, recognized me. "god be praised!" said he, embracing me; "i rejoice that fortune has rectified my fault. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve." i took them from him, and made him my acknowledgments for his care of them. we continued at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat,[ ] where sandalwood is obtained, which is much used in medicine. [footnote : sandalwood. the wood of a low tree, the santalum album, resembling the privet, and growing on the coast of malabar, in the indian archipelago, etc. the hard yellow wood in the center of the old sandal tree is highly esteemed for its fragrant perfume and is much used for cabinetwork, etc.] from the isle of salabat we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from this island we saw a tortoise twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also an amphibious animal like a cow, which gave milk;[ ] its skin is so hard, that they usually make bucklers of it. i saw another, which had the shape and color of a camel.[ ] [footnote : the hippopotamus.] [footnote : the giraffe.] in short, after a long voyage i arrived at bussorah, and from thence returned to bagdad with so much wealth that i knew not its extent. i gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another considerable estate. * * * * * thus sindbad finished the history of his third voyage. he gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, and invited him to dinner again the next day, to hear the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor after i had rested from the dangers of my third voyage, my passion for trade and my love of novelty soon again prevailed. i therefore settled my affairs, and provided a stock of goods fit for the traffic i designed to engage in. i took the route to persia, traveled over several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. on putting out to sea, we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of wind as obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. but all was in vain; our endeavors had no effect. the sails were split in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded, several of the merchants and seamen were drowned, and the cargo was lost. i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get upon some planks, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us. there we found fruit and spring water, which preserved our lives. we stayed all night near the place where we had been cast ashore. next morning, as soon as the sun was up, we explored the island, and saw some houses, which we approached. as soon as we drew near we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who seized us, shared us among them, and carried us to their respective habitations. i and five of my comrades were carried to one place; here they made us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to eat. my comrades, not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it themselves, thought only of satisfying their hunger, and ate with greediness. but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in a little time after i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me they knew not what they said. the negroes fed us afterward with rice, prepared with oil of coconuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i also partook of it, but very sparingly. they gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they supplied us with rice to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. this accordingly happened, for they devoured my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat, as the rest did, i grew leaner every day. the fear of death turned all my food into poison. i fell into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the negroes, having killed and eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death. meanwhile i had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice was taken of what i did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. an old man who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but instead of obeying him, i redoubled my speed, and quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to return till night, which was usual with them. therefore, being sure that they could not arrive in time to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had secured; but i speedily set forward again, and traveled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon coconuts, which served me both for meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and saw some white people, like myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place. this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. the people who gathered pepper came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in arabic who i was and whence i came. i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and i satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the negroes. "those negroes," replied they, "eat men; and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty?" i related to them the circumstances i have just mentioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised. i stayed with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they had come. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince. he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him; and he afterward gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. the island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the capital a place of great trade. this agreeable retreat was very comfortable to me after my misfortunes, and the kindness of this generous prince completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favor with him than myself, and consequently every man in court and city sought to oblige me; so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. i observed one thing, which to me appeared very extraordinary. all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without bridle or stirrups. i went one day to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterward went to a smith, who made me a bit, according to the pattern i showed him, and also some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so pleased with them that he testified his satisfaction by large presents. i made several others for the ministers and principal officers of his household, which gained me great reputation and regard. as i paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day, "sindbad, i love thee. i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant. i have a mind thou shouldst marry, that so thou mayst stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own country." i durst not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with my wife, and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. i was not, however, satisfied with my banishment. therefore i designed to make my escape at the first opportunity, and to return to bagdad, which my present settlement, how advantageous soever, could not make me forget. at this time the wife of one of my neighbors, with whom i had contracted a very strict friendship, fell sick and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him absorbed in sorrow, i said to him, as soon as i saw him, "god preserve you, and grant you a long life." "alas!" replied he, "how do you think i should obtain the favor you wish me? i have not above an hour to live, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law on this island. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband." while he was giving me an account of this barbarous custom, the very relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred, friends, and neighbors came to assist at the funeral. they dressed the corpse of the woman in her richest apparel and all her jewels, as if it had been her wedding day; then they placed her on an open bier, and began their march to the place of burial. the husband walked first, next to the dead body. they proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached the place of their destination they took up a large stone which formed the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the body with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband, embracing his kindred and friends, without resistance suffered himself to be placed on another bier, with a pot of water and seven small loaves, and was let down in the same manner. the ceremony being over, the mouth of the pit was again covered with the stone, and the company returned. i mention this ceremony the more particularly because i was in a few weeks' time to be the principal actor on a similar occasion. alas! my own wife fell sick and died. i made every remonstrance i could to the king not to expose me, a foreigner, to this inhuman law. i appealed in vain. the king and all his court, with the most considerable persons of the city, sought to soften my sorrow by honoring the funeral ceremony with their presence; and at the termination of the ceremony i was lowered into the pit with a vessel full of water, and seven loaves. as i approached the bottom i discovered, by the aid of the little light that came from above, the nature of this subterranean place; it seemed an endless cavern, and might be about fifty fathoms deep. i lived for some time upon my bread and water, when, one day, just as i was on the point of exhaustion, i heard something tread, and breathing or panting as it moved. i followed the sound. the animal seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and breathed hard as i approached. i pursued it for a considerable time, till at last i perceived a light, resembling a star; i went on, sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came through a hole[ ] in the rock, which i got through, and found myself upon the seashore, at which i felt exceeding joy. i prostrated myself on the shore to thank god for this mercy, and shortly afterward i perceived a ship making for the place where i was. i made a sign with the linen of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as i could. they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board. it was fortunate for me that these people did not inspect the place where they found me, but without hesitation took me on board. [footnote : "aristomenes, the messenian general, thus escaped from a cave. he perceived a fox near him gnawing a dead body; with one hand he caught it by the hind leg, and with the other held its jaws, when it attempted to bite him. following, as well as he could, his struggling guide to the narrow crevice at which he entered, he there let him go, and soon forced a passage through it to the welcome face of day."--hole, . sancho's escape from the pit into which he tumbled with daffle is somewhat similar.] we passed by several islands, and among others that called the isle of bells, about ten days' sail from serendib with a regular wind, and six from that of kela, where we landed. lead mines are found in the island; also indian canes, and excellent camphor. the king of the isle of kela is very rich and powerful, and the isle of bells, which is about two days' journey away, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our traffic in that island we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports; at last i arrived happily at bagdad. out of gratitude to god for his mercies, i contributed liberally toward the support of several mosques and the subsistence of the poor, and enjoyed myself with my friends in festivities and amusements. * * * * * here sindbad made a new present of one hundred sequins to hindbad, whom he requested to return with the rest next day at the same hour, to dine with him and hear the story of his fifth voyage. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor all the troubles and calamities i had undergone could not cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. i therefore bought goods, departed with them for the best seaport, and there, that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i remained till one was built on purpose, at my own charge. when the ship was ready i went on board with my goods; but not having enough to load her, i agreed to take with me several merchants of different nations, with their merchandise. we sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long navigation the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found the egg of a roc, equal in size to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc in it, just ready to be hatched, and its beak had begun to break the egg. the merchants who landed with me broke the egg with hatchets, and making a hole in it, pulled out the young roc piecemeal, and roasted it. i had in vain entreated them not to meddle with the egg. scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared in the air, at a considerable distance, two great clouds.[ ] the captain of my ship, knowing by experience what they meant, said they were the male and female parents of the roc, and pressed us to reëmbark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. [footnote : mr. marsden, in his notes to his translation of marco polo's _voyages_, supposes the roc to be a description of the albatross or condor, under greatly exaggerated terms.] the two rocs approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. they flew back in the direction they had come, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could in the endeavor to prevent that which unhappily befell us. they soon returned, and we observed that each of them carried between its talons an enormous rock. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let go his rock; but by the dexterity of the steersman it missed us and fell into the sea. the other so exactly hit the middle of the ship as to split it into pieces. the mariners and passengers were all crushed to death or fell into the sea. i myself was of the number of the latter; but, as i came up again, i fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming, sometimes with one hand and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast the plank, the wind and the tide favoring me, i came to an island, and got safely ashore. i sat down upon the grass, to recover myself from my fatigue, after which i went into the island to explore it. it seemed to be a delicious garden. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water. i ate of the fruits, which i found excellent; and drank of the water, which was very light and good. when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man, who appeared very weak and infirm. he was sitting on the bank of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went toward him and saluted him, but he only slightly bowed his head. i asked him why he sat so still; but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook. i believed him really to stand in need of my assistance, took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with ease; but instead of doing so (which i laugh at every time i think of it), the old man, who to me appeared quite decrepit, threw his legs nimbly about my neck. he sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight that i thought he would have strangled me, and i fainted away. notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow still kept his seat upon my neck. when i had recovered my breath, he thrust one of his feet against my side, and struck me so rudely with the other that he forced me to rise up, against my will. having arisen, he made me carry him under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, that he might gather and eat fruit. he never left his seat all day; and when i lay down to rest at night he laid himself down with me, still holding fast about my neck. every morning he pinched me to make me awake, and afterward obliged me to get up and walk, and spurred me with his feet. one day i found several dry calabashes that had fallen from a tree. i took a large one, and after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island. having filled the calabash, i put it by in a convenient place, and going thither again some days after, i tasted it, and found the wine so good that it gave me new vigor, and so exhilarated my spirits that i began to sing and dance as i carried my burden. the old man, perceiving the effect which this had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than before, made me a sign to give him some of it. i handed him the calabash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it off. there being a considerable quantity of it, he soon began to sing, and to move about from side to side in his seat upon my shoulders, and by degrees to loosen his legs from about me. finding that he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion. i then took up a great stone and slew him. i was extremely glad to be thus freed forever from this troublesome fellow. i now walked toward the beach, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor, to take in water. they were surprised to see me, but more so at hearing the particulars of my adventures. "you fell," said they, "into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first who ever escaped strangling by his malicious embraces. he never quitted those he had once made himself master of, till he had destroyed them, and he has made this island notorious by the number of men he has slain." they carried me with them to the captain, who received me with great kindness. he put out again to sea, and after some days' sail we arrived at the harbor of a great city, the houses of which overhung the sea. one of the merchants, who had taken me into his friendship, invited me to go along with him. he gave me a large sack, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather coconuts, desired them to take me with them. "go," said he, "follow them, and act as you see them do; but do not separate from them, otherwise you may endanger your life." having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. we came to a thick forest of coco palms,[ ] very lofty, with trunks so smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches that bore the fruit. when we entered the forest we saw a great number of apes of several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed to the tops of the trees with amazing swiftness. [footnote : coco palms bear their fruit at the top.] the merchants with whom i was gathered stones, and threw them at the apes on the trees. i did the same; and the apes, out of revenge, threw coconuts at us so fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment. we gathered up the coconuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with coconuts. i thus gradually collected as many coconuts as produced me a considerable sum. having laden our vessel with coconuts, we set sail, and passed by the islands where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari, where the best species of wood of aloes grows. i exchanged my coconuts in those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants pearl fishing.[ ] i hired divers, who brought me up some that were very large and pure. i embarked in a vessel that happily arrived at bussorah; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i realized vast sums from my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from my other voyages, and rested from my fatigues. [footnote : marco polo, a famous voyager ( ), gives an account of this pearl fishery.] * * * * * sindbad here ordered one hundred sequins to be given to hindbad, and requested him and the other guests to dine with him the next day, to hear the account of his sixth voyage. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor i know, my friends, that you will wish to hear how, after having been shipwrecked five times, and escaped so many dangers, i could resolve again to tempt fortune, and expose myself to new hardships. i am myself astonished at my conduct when i reflect upon it, and must certainly have been actuated by my destiny, from which none can escape. be that as it may, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the entreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all in their power to dissuade me. instead of taking my way by the persian gulf i traveled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a seaport. here i embarked in a ship, the captain of which was bound on a long voyage, in which he and the pilot lost their course. suddenly we saw the captain quit his rudder, uttering loud lamentations. he threw off his turban, pulled his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason; and he answered that we were in the most dangerous place in all the ocean. "a rapid current carries the ship along with it, and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this peril. we cannot escape, if he do not take pity on us." at these words he ordered the sails to be lowered; but all the ropes broke, and the ship was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she struck and went to pieces; yet in such a manner that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. the mountain at the foot of which we were was covered with wrecks, with a vast number of human bones, and with an incredible quantity of goods and riches of all kinds, these objects served only to augment our despair. in all other places it is usual for rivers to run from their channels into the sea; but here a river of fresh water[ ] runs from the sea into a dark cavern, whose entrance is very high and spacious. what is most remarkable in this place is that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen,[ ] that runs into the sea, which the fish swallow, and evacuate soon afterward, turned into ambergris[ ]; and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. trees also grow here, most of which are of wood of aloes,[ ] equal in goodness to those of comari. [footnote : mr. ives mentions wells of fresh water under the sea in the persian gulf, near the island of barien.--hole.] [footnote : "such fountains are not unfrequent in india and in ceylon; and the mohammedan travelers speak of ambergris swallowed by whales, who are made sick and regorge it."--hole.] [footnote : "ambergris--a substance of animal origin, found principally in warm climates floating on the sea, or thrown on the coast. the best comes from madagascar, surinam, and java. when it is heated or rubbed, it exhales an agreeable odor."--knight's _english cyclopædia_, vol. i, p. .] [footnote : "camphor is the produce of certain trees in borneo, sumatra, and japan. the camphor lies in perpendicular veins near the center of the tree, or in its knots, and the same tree exudes a fluid termed oil of camphor. the venetians, and subsequently the dutch, monopolized the sale of camphor."--_encyclopædia metropolitana_, vol. iii, p. . gibbons, in his notes to the _decline and fall_, says: "from the remote islands of the indian ocean a large provision of camphor had been imported, which is employed, with a mixture of wax, to illuminate the palaces of the east."] to finish the description of this place, it is not possible for ships to get off when once they approach within a certain distance. if they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current impel them; and if they come into it when a land wind blows, which might seem to favor their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current carries them ashore; and what completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility of ascending the mountain, or of escaping by sea. we continued upon the shore, at the foot of the mountain, in a state of despair, and expected death every day. on our first landing we had divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus every one lived a longer or a shorter time, according to his temperance, and the use he made of his provisions. [illustration: _having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with two oars i had made page _] i survived all my companions; and when i buried the last i had so little provisions remaining that i thought i could not long survive, and i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it because there was no one left to pay me the last offices of respect. but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cavern. considering its probable course with great attention, i said to myself, "this river, which runs thus underground, must somewhere have an issue. if i make a raft, and leave myself to the current, it will convey me to some inhabited country, or i shall perish. if i be drowned, i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another." i immediately went to work upon large pieces of timber and cables, for i had a choice of them from the wrecks, and tied them together so strongly that i soon made a very solid raft. when i had finished, i loaded it with some chests of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and bales of rich stuffs. having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with two oars that i had made, and leaving it to the course of the river, resigned myself to the will of god. as soon as i entered the cavern i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i floated on in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it very nearly touched my head, which made me cautious afterward to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding my frugality, all my provisions were spent. then i became insensible. i cannot tell how long i continued so; but when i revived, i was surprised to find myself on an extensive plain on the brink of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them, and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited the following words in arabic aloud: "call upon the almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about anything else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good." one of the negroes, who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came toward me, and said, "brother, be not surprised to see us; we are inhabitants of this country, and water our fields from this river, which comes out of the neighboring mountain. we saw your raft, and one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. pray tell us your history. whence did you come?" i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food, and when i had satisfied my hunger i related all that had befallen me, which they listened to with attentive surprise. as soon as i had finished, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic and interpreted to them what i said, that i must go along with them, and tell my story to their king myself, it being too extraordinary to be related by any other than the person to whom the events had happened. they immediately sent for a horse, and having helped me to mount, some of them walked before to show the way, while the rest took my raft and cargo and followed. we marched till we came to the capital of serendib, for it was on that island i had landed. the negroes presented me to their king; i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet. the prince ordered me to rise, received me with an obliging air, and made me sit down near him. i concealed nothing from the king, but related to him all that i have told you. at last my raft was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that equaled them. observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them, one after another, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, "sire, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the raft, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own." he answered me with a smile, "sindbad, i will take nothing of yours; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you quit my dominions without marks of my liberality." he then charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own expense. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his commission, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. i went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in viewing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. the capital of serendib stands at the end of a fine valley, in the middle of the island, encompassed by high mountains. they are seen three days' sail off at sea. rubies and several sorts of minerals abound. all kinds of rare plants and trees grow there, especially cedars and coconut. there is also a pearl fishery in the mouth of its principal river, and in some of its valleys are found diamonds. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of the mountain. when i returned to the city i prayed the king to allow me to return to my own country, and he granted me permission in the most obliging and honorable manner. he would force a rich present upon me; and at the same time he charged me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, "i pray you give this present from me, and this letter, to the caliph haroun al raschid, and assure him of my friendship." the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, very scarce, and of a yellowish color. the characters of this letter were of azure, and the contents as follows: "the king of the indies, before whom march one hundred elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroun al raschid. "though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it, however, as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear for you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, as we are both kings. we send you this letter as from one brother to another. farewell." * * * * * the present consisted ( ) of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a dram each. ( ) the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as bright as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it.[ ] ( ) fifty thousand drams of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphor as big as pistachios. and ( ) a female slave of great beauty, whose robe was covered with jewels. [footnote : "there is a snake in bengal whose skin is esteemed a cure for external pains by applying it to the part affected."--hole.] the ship set sail, and after a very successful navigation we landed at bussorah, and from thence i went to the city of bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. i took the king of serendib's letter, and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my obeisance, and presented the letter and gift. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me if that prince were really so rich and potent as he represented himself in his letter. i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, said, "commander of the faithful, i can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth. i bear him witness. nothing is more worthy of admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public,[ ] he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and rides betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favorites, and other people of his court. before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance[ ] in his hand; and behind him there is another, who stands with a rod of gold, on the top of which is an emerald, half a foot long and an inch thick. he is attended by a guard of one thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. the officer who is before him on the same elephant, cries from time to time, with a loud voice, 'behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, the monarch greater than solomon, and the powerful maharaja.' after he has pronounced those words, the officer behind the throne cries, in his turn, 'this monarch, so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die.'[ ] and the officer before replies, 'praise alone be to him who liveth forever and ever.'" [footnote : "the king is honorably distinguished by various kinds of ornaments, such as a collar set with jewels, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies of immense value."--marco polo, p. .] [footnote : "throwing the lance was a favorite pastime among the young arabians, and prepared them for the chase or war."--notes to _vathek_, p. .] [footnote : thus the roman slave, on the triumph of an imperator, "respice post te, hominem te esse memento"; or the page of philip of macedonia, who was made to address him every morning, "remember, philip, thou art mortal."] the caliph was much pleased with my account, and sent me home with a rich present. * * * * * here sindbad commanded another hundred sequins to be paid to hindbad, and begged his return on the morrow to hear his seventh and last voyage. the seventh and last voyage of sindbad the sailor on my return home from my sixth voyage i had entirely given up all thoughts of again going to sea; for, besides that my age now required rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as i had encountered, so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. one day, however, an officer of the caliph's inquired for me. "the caliph," said he, "has sent me to tell you that he must speak with you." i followed the officer to the palace, where, being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. "sindbad," said he to me, "i stand in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present to the king of serendib." this command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder. "commander of the faithful," i replied, "i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone. i have also made a vow never to leave bagdad." perceiving that the caliph insisted upon my compliance, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased, and ordered me one thousand sequins for the expenses of my journey. i prepared for my departure in a few days. as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to bussorah, where i embarked, and had a very prosperous voyage. having arrived at the isle of serendib, i was conducted to the palace with much pomp, when i prostrated myself on the ground before the king. "sindbad," said the king, "you are welcome. i have many times thought of you; i bless the day on which i see you once more." i made my compliments to him, and thanked him for his kindness, and delivered the gifts from my august master. the caliph's letter was as follows: "greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, from the servant of god, haroun al raschid, whom god hath set in the place of vice-regent to his prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to the potent and esteemed raja of serendib. "we received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial residence, the garden of superior wits. we hope, when you look upon it, you will perceive our good intention, and be pleased with it. farewell." the caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, valued at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez, and alexandria; a vessel of agate, more broad than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bas-relief a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. he sent him also a rich tablet, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the king of serendib was highly gratified at the caliph's acknowledgment of his friendship. a little time after this audience i solicited leave to depart, and with much difficulty obtained it. the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so speedily as i had hoped. god ordered it otherwise. three or four days after my departure we were attacked by pirates, who easily seized upon our ship because it was not a vessel of war. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but for myself and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the pirates saved us, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, took me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely as a slave. some days after, he asked me if i understood any trade. i answered that i was no mechanic, but a merchant, and that the pirates who sold me had robbed me of all i possessed. "tell me," replied he, "can you shoot with a bow?" i answered, that the bow was one of my exercises[ ] in my youth. he gave me a bow and arrows, and taking me behind him on an elephant, carried me to a thick forest some leagues from the town. we penetrated a great way into the wood, and when he thought fit to stop, he bade me alight; then showing me a great tree, "climb up that," said he, "and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall come and give me notice." having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and returned to the town, and i continued upon the tree all night. [footnote : "the use of a bow was a constituent part of an eastern education."--notes to _vathek_, p. . see the account of cyrus's education--xenophon's _cyclopædia._] i saw no elephant during the night, but next morning, at break of day, i perceived a great number. i shot several arrows among them; and at last one of the elephants fell, when the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my success. when i had informed him, he commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. we went afterward together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant, my patron designing to return when it was rotten, and take his teeth to trade with. i continued this employment for two months. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived with extreme amazement that, instead of passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, and in such numbers that the plain was covered and shook under them. they surrounded the tree in which i was concealed, with their trunks uplifted, and all fixed their eyes upon me. at this alarming spectacle i continued immovable, and was so much terrified that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand. my fears were not without cause; for after the elephants had stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and threw it on the ground. i fell with the tree, and the elephant, taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. he put himself at the head of the rest, who followed him in line one after the other, carried me a considerable way, then laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered with the bones and teeth of elephants. i doubted not but that this was the burial place of the elephants, and that they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to kill them, as now i knew where to get their teeth without inflicting injury on them. i did not stay on the hill, but turned toward the city; and after having traveled a day and a night, i came to my patron. as soon as my patron saw me, "ah, poor sindbad," exclaimed he, "i was in great trouble to know what was become of you. i have been to the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and your bow and arrows on the ground, and i despaired of ever seeing you more. pray tell me what befell you." i satisfied his curiosity, and we both of us set out next morning to the hill. we loaded the elephant which had carried us with as many teeth as he could bear; and when we were returned, my master thus addressed me: "hear now what i shall tell you. the elephants of our forest have every year killed us a great many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. for all the cautions we could give them, these crafty animals destroyed them one time or other. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favor upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has some use for your service in the world. you have procured me incredible wealth; and now our whole city is enriched by your means, without any more exposing the lives of our slaves. after such a discovery, i can treat you no more as a slave, but as a brother. god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i henceforth give you your liberty; i will also give you riches." to this i replied, "master, god preserve you. i desire no other reward for the service i had the good fortune to do to you and your city, but leave to return to my own country." "very well," said he, "the monsoon[ ] will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will then send you home." [footnote : periodical winds blowing six months from the same quarter or point of the compass, then changing, and blowing the same time from the opposite quarter.] i stayed with him while waiting for the monsoon; and during that time we made so many journeys to the hill that we filled all our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants who traded in it did the same; for my master made them partakers of his good fortune. the ships arrived at last, and my master himself having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, loaded half of it with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my passage, and besides obliged me to accept a present of some curiosities of the country of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favors, i went aboard. we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions. our vessel being come to a port on the mainland in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to bussorah, i landed my portion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i realized vast sums by my ivory, bought several rarities, which i intended for presents, and when my equipage was ready, set out in company with a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the journey, and suffered much, but was happy in thinking that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, or from the other perils to which i had been exposed. i at last arrived safe at bagdad, and immediately waited upon the caliph, to give him an account of my embassy. he loaded me with honors and rich presents, and i have ever since devoted myself to my family, kindred, and friends. * * * * * sindbad here finished the relation of his seventh and last voyage, and then addressing himself to hindbad, "well, friend," said he, "did you ever hear of any person that suffered so much as i have done? is it not reasonable that, after all this, i should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life?" as he said these words, hindbad kissed his hand, and said, "sir, my afflictions are not to be compared with yours. you not only deserve a quiet life but are worthy of all the riches you possess, since you make so good a use of them. may you live happily for a long time." sindbad ordered him to be paid another hundred sequins, and told him to give up carrying burdens as a porter, and to eat henceforth at his table, for he wished that he should all his life have reason to remember that he henceforth had a friend in sindbad the sailor. * * * * * none none text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the first. delhi edition contents of the first volume. breslau text. . asleep and awake a. story of the lackpenny and the cook . the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets . el hejjaj and the three young men . haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides . the ten viziers; or the history of king azadbekht and his son a. of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune i. story of the unlucky merchant b. of looking to the issues of affairs i. story of the merchant and his sons c. of the advantages of patience i. story of abou sabir d. of the ill effects of precipitation i. story of prince bihzad e. of the issues of good and evil actions i. story of king dadbin and his viziers f. of trust in god i. story of king bexhtzeman g. of clemency i. story of king bihkerd h. of envy and malice i. story of ilan shah and abou temam i. of destiny or that which is written on the forehead i. story of king abraham and his son j. of the appointed term, which, if it be advanced, may not be deferred and if it be deferred, may not be advanced i. story of king suleiman shah and his sons k. of the speedy relief of god i. story of the prisoner and how god gave him relief . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside . er reshid and the barmecides . ibn es semmak and er reshid . el mamoun and zubeideh . en numan and the arab of the benou tai . firouz and his wife . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan a. story of the man of khorassan, his son and his governor b. story of the singer and the druggist c. story of the king who knew the quintessence of things d. story of the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man e. story of the rich man and his wasteful son f. the king's son who fell in love with the picture g. story of the fuller and his wife h. story of the old woman, the merchant and the king i. story of the credulous husband j. story of the unjust king and the tither i. story of david and solomon k. story of the thief and the woman l. story of the three men and our lord jesus i. the disciple's story m. story of the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restorfd to him n. story of the man whose caution was the cause of his death o. story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not p. story of the idiot and the sharper q. story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man breslau text. asleep and awake[fn# ] there was once [at baghdad], in the khalifate of haroun er reshid, a man, a merchant, who had a son by name aboulhusn el khelia.[fn# ] the merchant died and left his son great store of wealth, which he divided into two parts, one of which he laid up and spent of the other half; and he fell to companying with persians[fn# ] and with the sons of the merchants and gave himself up to good eating and good drinking, till all that he had with him of wealth[fn# ] was wasted and gone; whereupon he betook himself to his friends and comrades and boon-companions and expounded to them his case, discovering to them the failure of that which was in his hand of wealth; but not one of them took heed of him neither inclined unto him. so he returned to his mother (and indeed his spirit was broken), and related to her that which had happened to him and what had betided him from his friends, how they, had neither shared with him nor requited him with speech. "o aboulhusn," answered she, "on this wise are the sons[fn# ]of this time: if thou have aught, they make much of thee,[fn# ] and if thou have nought, they put thee away [from them]." and she went on to condole with him, what while he bewailed himself and his tears flowed and he repeated the following verses: an if my substance fail, no one there is will succour me, but if my wealth abound, of all i'm held in amity. how many a friend, for money's sake, hath companied with me! how many an one, with loss of wealth, hath turned mine enemy! then he sprang up [and going] to the place wherein was the other half of his good, [took it] and lived with it well; and he swore that he would never again consort with those whom he knew, but would company only with the stranger nor entertain him but one night and that, whenas it morrowed, he would never know him more. so he fell to sitting every night on the bridge[fn# ] and looking on every one who passed by him; and if he saw him to be a stranger, he made friends with him and carried him to his house, where he caroused with him till the morning. then he dismissed him and would never more salute him nor ever again drew near unto him neither invited him. on this wise he continued to do for the space of a whole year, till, one day, as he sat on the bridge, according to his custom, expecting who should come to him, so he might take him and pass the night with him, behold, [up came] the khalif and mesrour, the swordsman of his vengeance, disguised [in merchants' habits] as of their wont. so he looked at them and rising up, for that he knew them not, said to them, "what say ye? will you go with me to my dwelling-place, so ye may eat what is ready and drink what is at hand, to wit, bread baked in the platter[fn# ] and meat cooked and wine clarified?" the khalif refused this, but he conjured him and said to him, "god on thee, o my lord, go with me, for thou art my guest this night, and disappoint not my expectation concerning thee!" and he ceased not to press him till he consented to him; whereat aboulhusn rejoiced and going on before him, gave not over talking with him till they came to his [house and he carried the khalif into the] saloon. er reshid entered and made his servant abide at the door; and as soon as he was seated, aboulhusn brought him somewhat to eat; so he ate, and aboulhusn ate with him, so eating might be pleasant to him. then he removed the tray and they washed their hands and the khalif sat down again; whereupon aboulhusn set on the drinking vessels and seating himself by his side, fell to filling and giving him to drink and entertaining him with discourse. his hospitality pleased the khalif and the goodliness of his fashion, and he said to him, "o youth, who art thou? make me acquainted with thyself, so i may requite thee thy kindness." but aboulhusn smiled and said, "o my lord, far be it that what is past should recur and that i be in company with thee at other than this time!" "why so?" asked the khalif. "and why wilt thou not acquaint me with thy case?" and aboulhusn said, "know, o my lord, that my story is extraordinary and that there is a cause for this affair." quoth the khalif, "and what is the cause?" and he answered, "the cause hath a tail." the khalif laughed at his words and aboulhusn said, "i will explain to thee this [saying] by the story of the lackpenny and the cook. know, o my lord, that story of the lackpenny and the cook. one of the good-for-noughts found himself one day without aught and the world was straitened upon him and his patience failed; so he lay down to sleep and gave not over sleeping till the sun burnt him and the foam came out upon his mouth, whereupon he arose, and he was penniless and had not so much as one dirhem. presently, he came to the shop of a cook, who had set up therein his pans[fn# ] [over the fire] and wiped his scales and washed his saucers and swept his shop and sprinkled it; and indeed his oils[fn# ] were clear[fn# ] and his spices fragrant and he himself stood behind his cooking-pots [waiting for custom]. so the lackpenny went up to him and saluting him, said to him, 'weigh me half a dirhem's worth of meat and a quarter of a dirhem's worth of kouskoussou[fn# ] and the like of bread.' so the cook weighed out to him [that which he sought] and the lackpenny entered the shop, whereupon the cook set the food before him and he ate till he had gobbled up the whole and licked the saucers and abode perplexed, knowing not how he should do with the cook concerning the price of that which he had eaten and turning his eyes about upon everything in the shop. presently, he caught sight of an earthen pan turned over upon its mouth; so he raised it from the ground and found under it a horse's tail, freshly cut off, and the blood oozing from it; whereby he knew that the cook adulterated his meat with horses' flesh. when he discovered this default, he rejoiced therein and washing his hands, bowed his head and went out; and when the cook saw that he went and gave him nought, he cried out, saying, 'stay, o sneak, o slink-thief!' so the lackpenny stopped and said to him, 'dost thou cry out upon me and becall [me] with these words, o cuckold?' whereat the cook was angry and coming down from the shop, said, 'what meanest thou by thy speech, o thou that devourest meat and kouskoussou and bread and seasoning and goest forth with "peace[fn# ][be on thee!]," as it were the thing had not been, and payest down nought for it?' quoth the lackpenny, 'thou liest, o son of a cuckold!' wherewith the cook cried out and laying hold of the lackpenny's collar, said, 'o muslims, this fellow is my first customer[fn# ] this day and he hath eaten my food and given me nought.' so the folk gathered together to them and blamed the lackpenny and said to him, 'give him the price of that which thou hast eaten.' quoth he, 'i gave him a dirhem before i entered the shop;' and the cook said, 'be everything i sell this day forbidden[fn# ] to me, if he gave me so much as the name of a piece of money! by allah, he gave me nought, but ate my food and went out and [would have] made off, without aught [said i]' 'nay,' answered the lackpenny, 'i gave thee a dirhem,' and he reviled the cook, who returned his abuse; whereupon he dealt him a cuff and they gripped and grappled and throttled each other. when the folk saw them on this wise, they came up to them and said to them, 'what is this strife between you, and no cause for it?' 'ay, by allah,' replied the lackpenny, 'but there is a cause for it, and the cause hath a tail!' whereupon, 'yea, by allah,' cried the cook, 'now thou mindest me of thyself and thy dirhem! yes, he gave me a dirhem and [but] a quarter of the price is spent. come back and take the rest of the price of thy dirhem.' for that he understood what was to do, at the mention of the tail; and i, o my brother," added aboulhusn, "my story hath a cause, which i will tell thee." the khalif laughed at his speech and said, "by allah, this is none other than a pleasant tale! tell me thy story and the cause." "with all my heart," answered aboulhusn. "know, o my lord, that my name is aboulhusn el khelia and that my father died and left me wealth galore, of which i made two parts. one i laid up and with the other i betook myself to [the enjoyment of the pleasures of] friendship [and conviviality] and consorting with comrades and boon-companions and with the sons of the merchants, nor did i leave one but i caroused with him and he with me, and i spent all my money on companionship and good cheer, till there remained with me nought [of the first half of my good]; whereupon i betook myself to the comrades and cup-companions upon whom i had wasted my wealth, so haply they might provide for my case; but, when i resorted to them and went round about to them all, i found no avail in one of them, nor broke any so much as a crust of bread in my face. so i wept for myself and repairing to my mother, complained to her of my case. quoth she, 'on this wise are friends; if thou have aught, they make much of thee and devour thee, but, if thou have nought, they cast thee off and chase thee away.' then i brought out the other half of my money and bound myself by an oath that i would never more entertain any, except one night, after which i would never again salute him nor take note of him; hence my saying to thee, 'far be it that what is past should recur!' for that i will never again foregather with thee, after this night." when the khalif heard this, he laughed heartily and said, "by allah, o my brother, thou art indeed excused in this matter, now that i know the cause and that the cause hath a tail. nevertheless if it please god, i will not sever myself from thee." "o my guest," replied aboulhusn, "did i not say to thee, 'far be it that what is past should recur! for that i will never again foregather with any'?" then the khalif rose and aboulhusn set before him a dish of roast goose and a cake of manchet-bread and sitting down, fell to cutting off morsels and feeding the khalif therewith. they gave not over eating thus till they were content, when aboulhusn brought bowl and ewer and potash[fn# ] and they washed their hands. then he lighted him three candles and three lamps and spreading the drinking-cloth, brought clarified wine, limpid, old and fragrant, the scent whereof was as that of virgin musk. he filled the first cup and saying, "o my boon-companion, by thy leave, be ceremony laid aside between us! i am thy slave; may i not be afflicted with thy loss!" drank it off and filled a second cup, which he handed to the khalif, with a reverence. his fashion pleased the khalif and the goodliness of his speech and he said in himself, "by allah, i will assuredly requite him for this!" then aboulhusn filled the cup again and handed it to the khalif, reciting the following verses: had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice have poured thee out heart's blood or blackness of the eyes; ay, and we would have spread our bosoms in thy way, that so thy feet might fare on eyelids, carpet-wise. when the khalif heard his verses, he took the cup from his hand and kissed it and drank it off and returned it to aboulhusn, who made him an obeisance and filled and drank. then he filled again and kissing the cup thrice, recited the following verses: thy presence honoureth us and we confess thy magnanimity; if thou forsake us, there is none can stand to us instead of thee. then he gave the cup to the khalif, saying, "drink [and may] health and soundness [attend it]! it doth away disease and bringeth healing and setteth the runnels of health abroach." they gave not over drinking and carousing till the middle of the night, when the khalif said to his host, "o my brother, hast thou in thy heart a wish thou wouldst have accomplished or a regret thou wouldst fain do away?" "by allah," answered he, "there is no regret in my heart save that i am not gifted with dominion and the power of commandment and prohibition, so i might do what is in my mind!" quoth the khalif, "for god's sake, o my brother, tell me what is in thy mind!" and aboulhusn said, "i would to god i might avenge myself on my neighbours, for that in my neighbourhood is a mosque and therein four sheikhs, who take it ill, whenas there cometh a guest to me, and vex me with talk and molest me in words and threaten me that they will complain of me to the commander of the faithful, and indeed they oppress me sore, and i crave of god the most high one day's dominion, that i may beat each of them with four hundred lashes, as well as the imam of the mosque, and parade them about the city of baghdad and let call before them, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso exceedeth [in talk] and spiteth the folk and troubleth on them their joys.' this is what i wish and no more." quoth the khalif, "god grant thee that thou seekest! let us drink one last cup and rise before the dawn draw near, and to-morrow night i will be with thee again." "far be it!" said aboulhusn. then the khalif filled a cup and putting therein a piece of cretan henbane, gave it to his host and said to him, "my life on thee, o my brother, drink this cup from my hand!" "ay, by thy life," answered aboulhusn, "i will drink it from thy hand." so he took it and drank it off; but hardly had he done so, when his head forewent his feet and he fell to the ground like a slain man; whereupon the khalif went out and said to his servant mesrour, "go in to yonder young man, the master of the house, and take him up and bring him to me at the palace; and when thou goest out, shut the door." so saying, he went away, whilst mesrour entered and taking up aboulhusn, shut the door after him, and followed his master, till he reached the palace, what while the night drew to an end and the cocks cried out, and set him down before the commander of the faithful, who laughed at him. then he sent for jaafer the barmecide and when he came before him, he said to him, "note this young man and when thou seest him to-morrow seated in my place of estate and on the throne of my khalifate and clad in my habit, stand thou in attendance upon him and enjoin the amirs and grandees and the people of my household and the officers of my realm to do the like and obey him in that which he shall command them; and thou, if he bespeak thee of anything, do it and hearken unto him and gainsay him not in aught in this coming day." jaafer answered with, "hearkening and obedience,"[fn# ] and withdrew, whilst the khalif went in to the women of the palace, who came to him, and he said to them, "whenas yonder sleeper awaketh to-morrow from his sleep, kiss ye the earth before him and make obeisance to him and come round about him and clothe him in the [royal] habit and do him the service of the khalifate and deny not aught of his estate, but say to him, 'thou art the khalif.'" then he taught them what they should say to him and how they should do with him and withdrawing to a privy place, let down a curtain before himself and slept. meanwhile, aboulhusn gave not over snoring in his sleep, till the day broke and the rising of the sun drew near, when a waiting-woman came up to him and said to him, "o our lord [it is the hour of] the morning- prayer." when he heard the girl's words, he laughed and opening his eyes, turned them about the place and found himself in an apartment the walls whereof were painted with gold and ultramarine and its ceiling starred with red gold. around it were sleeping-chambers, with curtains of gold-embroidered silk let down over their doors, and all about vessels of gold and porcelain and crystal and furniture and carpets spread and lamps burning before the prayer-niche and slave-girls and eunuchs and white slaves and black slaves and boys and pages and attendants. when he saw this, he was confounded in his wit and said, "by allah, either i am dreaming, or this is paradise and the abode of peace!"[fn# ] and he shut his eyes and went to sleep again. quoth the waiting-woman, "o my lord, this is not of thy wont, o commander of the faithful!" then the rest of the women of the palace came all to him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when he found himself upon a couch, stuffed all with floss-silk and raised a cubit's height from the ground.[fn# ] so they seated him upon it and propped him up with a pillow, and he looked at the apartment and its greatness and saw those eunuchs and slave-girls in attendance upon him and at his head, whereat he laughed at himself and said, "by allah, it is not as i were on wake, and [yet] i am not asleep!" then he arose and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed at him and hid [their laughter] from him; and he was confounded in his wit and bit upon his finger. the bite hurt him and he cried "oh!" and was vexed; and the khalif watched him, whence he saw him not, and laughed. presently aboulhusn turned to a damsel and called to her; whereupon she came to him and he said to her, "by the protection of god, o damsel, am i commander of the faithful?" "yes, indeed," answered she; "by the protection of god thou in this time art commander of the faithful." quoth he, "by allah, thou liest, o thousandfold strumpet!" then he turned to the chief eunuch and called to him, whereupon he came to him and kissing the earth before him, said, "yes, o commander of the faithful." "who is commander of the faithful?" asked aboulhusn. "thou," replied the eunuch and aboulhusn said, "thou liest, thousandfold catamite that thou art!" then he turned to another eunuch and said to him, "o my chief,[fn# ] by the protection of god, am i commander of the faithful?" "ay, by allah, o my lord!" answered he. "thou in this time art commander of the faithful and vicar of the lord of the worlds." aboulhusn laughed at himself and misdoubted of his reason and was perplexed at what he saw and said, "in one night i am become khalif! yesterday i was aboulhusn the wag, and to-day i am commander of the faithful." then the chief eunuch came up to him and said, "o commander of the faithful, (the name of god encompass thee!) thou art indeed commander of the faithful and vicar of the lord of the worlds!" and the slave-girls and eunuchs came round about him, till he arose and abode wondering at his case. presently, one of the slave-girls brought him a pair of sandals wrought with raw silk and green silk and embroidered with red gold, and he took them and put them in his sleeve, whereat the slave cried out and said, "allah! allah! o my lord, these are sandals for the treading of thy feet, so thou mayst enter the draught-house." aboulhusn was confounded and shaking the sandals from his sleeve, put them on his feet, whilst the khalif [well-nigh] died of laughter at him. the slave forewent him to the house of easance, where he entered and doing his occasion, came out into the chamber, whereupon the slave- girls brought him a basin of gold and an ewer of silver and poured water on his hands and he made the ablution. then they spread him a prayer-carpet and he prayed. now he knew not how to pray and gave not over bowing and prostrating himself, [till he had prayed the prayers] of twenty inclinations,[fn# ] pondering in himself the while and saying, "by allah, i am none other than the commander of the faithful in very sooth! this is assuredly no dream, for all these things happen not in a dream." and he was convinced and determined in himself that he was commander of the faithful; so he pronounced the salutation[fn# ] and made an end[fn# ] of his prayers; whereupon the slaves and slave-girls came round about him with parcels of silk and stuffs[fn# ] and clad him in the habit of the khalifate and gave him the royal dagger in his hand. then the chief eunuch went out before him and the little white slaves behind him, and they ceased not [going] till they raised the curtain and brought him into the hall of judgment and the throne-room of the khalifate. there he saw the curtains and the forty doors and el ijli and er recashi[fn# ] and ibdan and jedim and abou ishac [fn# ] the boon-companions and beheld swords drawn and lions [fn# ] encompassing [the throne] and gilded glaives and death-dealing bows and persians and arabs and turks and medes and folk and peoples and amirs and viziers and captains and grandees and officers of state and men of war, and indeed there appeared the puissance of the house of abbas [fn# ] and the majesty of the family of the prophet. so he sat down upon the throne of the khalifate and laid the dagger in his lap, whereupon all [present] came up to kiss the earth before him and called down on him length of life and continuance [of glory and prosperity]. then came forward jaafer the barmecide and kissing the earth, said, "may the wide world of god be the treading of thy feet and may paradise be thy dwelling-place and the fire the habitation of thine enemies! may no neighbour transgress against thee nor the lights of fire die out for thee, [fn# ] o khalif of [all] cities and ruler of [all] countries!" therewithal aboulhusn cried out at him and said, "o dog of the sons of bermek, go down forthright, thou and the master of the police of the city, to such a place in such a street and deliver a hundred dinars to the mother of aboulhusn the wag and bear her my salutation. [then, go to such a mosque] and take the four sheikhs and the imam and beat each of them with four hundred lashes and mount them on beasts, face to tail, and go round with them about all the city and banish them to a place other than the city; and bid the crier make proclamation before them, saying, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso multiplieth words and molesteth his neighbours and stinteth them of their delights and their eating and drinking!'" jaafer received the order [with submission] and answered with ["hearkening and] obedience;" after which he went down from before aboulhusn to the city and did that whereunto he had bidden him. meanwhile, aboulhusn abode in the khalifate, taking and giving, ordering and forbidding and giving effect to his word, till the end of the day, when he gave [those who were present] leave and permission [to withdraw], and the amirs and officers of state departed to their occasions. then the eunuchs came to him and calling down on him length of life and continuance [of glory and prosperity], walked in attendance upon him and raised the curtain, and he entered the pavilion of the harem, where he found candles lighted and lamps burning and singing-women smiting [on instruments of music]. when he saw this, he was confounded in his wit and said in himself, "by allah, i am in truth commander of the faithful!" as soon as he appeared, the slave-girls rose to him and carrying him up on to the estrade,[fn# ] brought him a great table, spread with the richest meats. so he ate thereof with all his might, till he had gotten his fill, when he called one of the slave-girls and said to her, "what is thy name?" "my name is miskeh," replied she, and he said to another, "what is thy name?" quoth she, "my name is terkeh." then said he to a third, "what is thy name?" "my name is tuhfeh," answered she; and he went on to question the damsels of their names, one after another, [till he had made the round of them all], when he rose from that place and removed to the wine-chamber. he found it every way complete and saw therein ten great trays, full of all fruits and cakes and all manner sweetmeats. so he sat down and ate thereof after the measure of his sufficiency, and finding there three troops of singing-girls, was amazed and made the girls eat. then he sat and the singers also seated themselves, whilst the black slaves and the white slaves and the eunuchs and pages and boys stood, and the slave-girls, some of them, sat and some stood. the damsels sang and warbled all manner melodies and the place answered them for the sweetness of the songs, whilst the pipes cried out and the lutes made accord with them, till it seemed to aboulhusn that he was in paradise and his heart was cheered and his breast dilated. so he sported and joyance waxed on him and he bestowed dresses of honour on the damsels and gave and bestowed, challenging this one and kissing that and toying with a third, plying one with wine and another with meat, till the night fell down. all this while the khalif was diverting himself with watching him and laughing, and at nightfall he bade one of the slave-girls drop a piece of henbane in the cup and give it to aboulhusn to drink. so she did as he bade her and gave aboulhusn the cup, whereof no sooner had he drunken than his head forewent his feet [and he fell down, senseless]. therewith the khalif came forth from behind the curtain, laughing, and calling to the servant who had brought aboulhusn to the palace, said to him, "carry this fellow to his own place." so mesrour took him up [and carrying him to his own house], set him down in the saloon. then he went forth from him and shutting the saloon-door upon him, returned to the khalif, who slept till the morrow. as for aboulhusn, he gave not over sleeping till god the most high brought on the morning, when he awoke, crying out and saying, "ho, tuffaheh! ho, rahet el culoub! ho, miskeh! ho, tuhfeh!" and he gave not over calling upon the slave-girls till his mother heard him calling upon strange damsels and rising, came to him and said, "the name of god encompass thee! arise, o my son, o aboulhusn! thou dreamest." so he opened his eyes and finding an old woman at his head, raised his eyes and said to her, "who art thou?" quoth she, "i am thy mother;" and he answered, "thou liest! i am the commander of the faithful, the vicar of god." whereupon his mother cried out and said to him, "god preserve thy reason! be silent, o my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and the spoiling of thy wealth, [as will assuredly betide,] if any hear this talk and carry it to the khalif." so he rose from his sleep and finding himself in his own saloon and his mother by him, misdoubted of his wit and said to her, "by allah, o my mother, i saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave-girls and servants about me and in attendance upon me, and i sat upon the throne of the khalifate and ruled. by allah, o my mother, this is what i saw, and verily it was not a dream!" then he bethought himself awhile and said, "assuredly, i am aboulhusn el khelia, and this that i saw was only a dream, and [it was in a dream that] i was made khalif and commanded and forbade." then he bethought himself again and said, "nay, but it was no dream and i am no other than the khalif, and indeed i gave gifts and bestowed dresses of honour." quoth his mother to him, "o my son, thou sportest with thy reason: thou wilt go to the hospital and become a gazing-stock. indeed, that which thou hast seen is only from the devil and it was a delusion of dreams, for whiles satan sporteth with men's wits in all manner ways." then said she to him, "o my son, was there any one with thee yesternight?" and he bethought himself and said, "yes; one lay the night with me and i acquainted him with my case and told him my story. doubtless, he was from the devil, and i, o my mother, even as thou sayst truly, am aboulhusn el khelia." "o my son," rejoined she, "rejoice in tidings of all good, for yesterday's record is that there came the vivier jaafer the barmecide [and his company] and beat the sheikhs of the mosque and the imam, each four hundred lashes; after which they paraded them about the city, making proclamation before them and saying, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso lacketh of goodwill to his neighbours and troubleth on them their lives!' and banished them from baghdad. moreover, the khalif sent me a hundred dinars and sent to salute me." whereupon aboulhusn cried out and said to her, "o old woman of ill-omen, wilt thou contradict me and tell me that i am not the commander of the faithful? it was i who commanded jaafer the barmecide to beat the sheikhs and parade them about the city and make proclamation before them and who sent thee the hundred dinars and sent to salute thee, and i, o beldam of ill-luck, am in very deed the commander of the faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make me out a dotard." so saying, he fell upon her and beat her with a staff of almond-wood, till she cried out, "[help], o muslims!" and he redoubled the beating upon her, till the folk heard her cries and coming to her, [found] aboulhusn beating her and saying to her, "o old woman of ill-omen, am i not the commander of the faithful? thou hast enchanted me!" when the folk heard his words, they said, "this man raveth," and doubted not of his madness. so they came in upon him and seizing him, pinioned him and carried him to the hospital. quoth the superintendant, "what aileth this youth?" and they said, "this is a madman." "by allah," cried aboulhusn, "they lie against me! i am no madman, but the commander of the faithful." and the superintendant answered him, saying, "none lieth but thou, o unluckiest of madmen!" then he stripped him of his clothes and clapping on his neck a heavy chain, bound him to a high lattice and fell to drubbing him two bouts a day and two anights; and on this wise he abode the space of ten days. then his mother came to him and said, "o my son, o aboulhusn, return to thy reason, for this is the devil's doing." quoth he, "thou sayst sooth, o my mother, and bear thou witness of me that i repent [and forswear] that talk and turn from my madness. so do thou deliver me, for i am nigh upon death." so his mother went out to the superintendant and procured his release and he returned to his own house. now this was at the beginning of the month, and when it was the end thereof, aboulhusn longed to drink wine and returning to his former usance, furnished his saloon and made ready food and let bring wine; then, going forth to the bridge, he sat there, expecting one whom he should carouse withal, as of his wont. as he sat thus, behold, up came the khalif [and mesrour] to him; but aboulhusn saluted them not and said to them, "no welcome and no greeting to the perverters![fn# ] ye are no other than devils." however, the khalif accosted him and said to him, "o my brother, did i not say to thee that i would return to thee?" quoth aboulhusn, "i have no need of thee; and as the byword says in verse: 'twere fitter and better my loves that i leave, for, if the eye see not, the heart will not grieve. and indeed, o my brother, the night thou camest to me and we caroused together, i and thou, it was as if the devil came to me and troubled me that night." "and who is he, the devil?" asked the khalif. "he is none other than thou," answered aboulhusn; whereat the khalif smiled and sitting down by him, coaxed him and spoke him fair, saying, "o my brother, when i went out from thee, i forgot [to shut] the door [and left it] open, and belike satan came in to thee." quoth aboulhusn, "ask me not of that which hath betided me. what possessed thee to leave the door open, so that the devil came in to me and there befell me with him this and that?" and he related to him all that had befallen him, from first to last, aud there is no advantage in the repetition of it; what while the khalif laughed and hid his laughter. then said he to aboulhusn, "praised be god who hath done away from thee that which irked thee and that i see thee in weal!" and aboulhusn said, "never again will i take thee to boon-companion or sitting-mate; for the byword saith, 'whoso stumbleth on a stone and returneth thereto, blame and reproach be upon him.' and thou, o my brother, nevermore will i entertain thee nor use companionship with thee, for that i have not found thy commerce propitious to me."[fn# ] but the khalif blandished him and conjured him, redoubling words upon him with "verily, i am thy guest; reject not the guest," till aboulhusn took him and [carrying him home], brought him into the saloon and set food before him and friendly entreated him in speech. then he told him all that had befallen him, whilst the khalif was like to die of hidden laughter; after which aboulhusn removed the tray of food and bringing the wine-tray, filled a cup and emptied it out three times, then gave it to the khalif, saying, "o boon-companion mine, i am thy slave and let not that which i am about to say irk thee, and be thou not vexed, neither do thou vex me." and he recited these verses: no good's in life (to the counsel list of one who's purpose-whole,) an if thou be not drunken still and gladden not thy soul. ay, ne'er will i leave to drink of wine, what while the night on me darkens, till drowsiness bow down my head upon my bowl. in wine, as the glittering sunbeams bright, my heart's contentment is, that banishes hence, with various joys, all kinds of care and dole. when the khalif heard these his verses, he was moved to exceeding delight and taking the cup, drank it off, and they ceased not to drink and carouse till the wine rose to their heads. then said aboulhusn to the khalif, "o boon-companion mine, of a truth i am perplexed concerning my affair, for meseemed i was commander of the faithful and ruled and gave gifts and largesse, and in very deed, o my brother, it was not a dream." "these were the delusions of sleep," answered the khalif and crumbling a piece of henbane into the cup, said to him, "by my life, do thou drink this cup." and aboulhusn said, "surely i will drink it from thy hand." then he took the cup from the khalifs hand and drank it off, and no sooner had it settled in his belly than his head forewent his feet [and he fell down senseless]. now his parts and fashions pleased the khalif and the excellence of his composition and his frankness, and he said in himself, "i will assuredly make him my cup- companion and sitting-mate." so he rose forthright and saying to mesrour, "take him up," [returned to the palace]. accordingly, mesrour took up aboulhusn and carrying him to the palace of the khalifate, set him down before er reshid, who bade the slaves and slave- girls encompass him about, whilst he himself hid in a place where aboulhusn could not see him. then he commanded one of the slave-girls to take the lute and strike it at aboulhusn's head, whilst the rest smote upon their instruments. [so they played and sang,] till aboulhusn awoke at the last of the night and heard the noise of lutes and tabrets and the sound of the pipes and the singing of the slave-girls, whereupon he opened his eyes and finding himself in the palace, with the slave-girls and eunuchs about him, exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! verily, i am fearful of the hospital and of that which i suffered therein aforetime, and i doubt not but the devil is come to me again, as before. o my god, put thou satan to shame!" then he shut his eyes and laid his head in his sleeve and fell to laughing softly and raising his head [bytimes], but [still] found the apartment lighted and the girls singing. presently, one of the eunuchs sat down at his head and said to him, "sit up, o commander of the faithful, and look on thy palace and thy slave-girls." quoth aboulhusn, "by the protection of god, am i in truth commander of the faithful and dost thou not lie? yesterday, i went not forth neither ruled, but drank and slept, and this eunuch cometh to rouse me up." then he sat up and bethought himself of that which had betided him with his mother and how he had beaten her and entered the hospital, and he saw the marks of the beating, wherewithal the superintendant of the hospital had beaten him, and was perplexed concerning his affair and pondered in himself, saying, "by allah, i know not how my case is nor what is this that betideth me!" then he turned to a damsel of the damsels and said to her, "who am i?" quoth she, "thou art the commander of the faithful;" and he said, "thou liest, o calamity![fn# ] if i be indeed the commander of the faithful, bite my finger." so she came to him and bit it with her might, and he said to her, "it sufficeth." then he said to the chief eunuch, "who am i?" and he answered, "thou art the commander of the faithful." so he left him and turning to a little white slave, said to him, "bite my ear;" and he bent down to him and put his ear to his mouth. now the slave was young and lacked understanding; so he closed his teeth upon aboulhusn's ear with his might, till he came near to sever it; and he knew not arabic, so, as often as aboulhusn said to him, "it sufficeth," he concluded that he said, "bite harder," and redoubled his bite and clenched his teeth upon the ear, whilst the damsels were diverted from him with hearkening to the singing-girls, and aboulhusn cried out for succour from the boy and the khalif [well-nigh] lost his senses for laughter. then he dealt the boy a cuff and he let go his ear, whereupon aboulhusn put off his clothes and abode naked, with his yard and his arse exposed, and danced among the slave-girls. they bound his hands and he wantoned among them, what while they [well-nigh] died of laughing at him and the khalif swooned away for excess of laughter. then he came to himself and going forth to aboulhusn, said to him, "out on thee, o aboulhusn! thou slayest me with laughter." so he turned to him and knowing him, said to him, "by allah, it is thou slayest me and slayest my mother and slewest the sheikhs and the imam of the mosque!" then the khalif took him into his especial favour and married him and bestowed largesse on him and lodged him with himself in the palace and made him of the chief of his boon-companions, and indeed he was preferred with him above them and the khalif advanced him over them all. now they were ten in number, to wit, el ijli and er recashi and ibdan and hassan el feresdec and el lauz and es seker and omar et tertis and abou nuwas[fn# ] and abou ishac en nedim and aboulhusn el khelia, and by each of them hangeth a story that is told in other than this book. and indeed aboulhusn became high in honour with the khalif and favoured above all, so that he sat with him and the lady zubeideh bint el casim and married the latter's treasuress, whose name was nuzhet el fuad. aboulhusn abode with his wife in eating and drinking and all delight of life, till all that was with them was spent, when he said to her, "harkye, o nuzhet el fuad!" "at thy service," answered she, and he said, "i have it in mind to play a trick on the khalif and thou shalt do the like with the lady zubeideh, and we will take of them, in a twinkling, two hundred dinars and two pieces of silk." "as thou wilt," answered she; "but what thinkest thou to do?" and he said,"we will feign ourselves dead and this is the trick. i will die before thee and lay myself out, and do thou spread over me a kerchief of silk and loose [the muslin of] my turban over me and tie my toes and lay on my heart a knife, and a little salt.[fn# ] then let down thy hair and betake thyself to thy mistress zubeideh, tearing thy dress and buffeting thy face and crying out. she will say to thee, 'what aileth thee?' and do thou answer her, saying, 'may thy head outlive aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." she will mourn for me and weep and bid her treasuress give thee a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and will say to thee, 'go lay him out and carry him forth [to burial].' so do thou take of her the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and come back, and when thou returnest to me, i will rise up and thou shalt lie down in my place, and i will go to the khalif and say to him, 'may thy head outlive nuzhet el fuad!' and tear my dress and pluck at my beard. he will mourn for thee and say to his treasurer, 'give aboulhusn a hundred dinars and a piece of silk.' then he will say to me, 'go; lay her out and carry her forth;' and i will come back to thee." therewith nuzhet el fuad rejoiced and said, "indeed, this is an excellent device." [then aboulhusn stretched himself out] forthright and she shut his eyes and tied his feet and covered him with the kerchief and did what [else] her lord had bidden her; after which she rent her dress and uncovering her head, let down her hair and went in to the lady zubeideh, crying out and weeping, when the princess saw her in this case, she said to her, "what plight is this [in which i see thee]? what is thy story and what maketh thee weep?" and nuzhet el fuad answered, weeping and crying out the while, "o my lady, may thy head live and mayst thou survive aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." the lady zubeideh mourned for him and said, "alas for aboulhusn el khelia!" and she wept for him awhile. then she bade her treasuress give nuzhet el fuad a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to her, "o nuzhet el fuad, go, lay him out and carry him forth." so she took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and returned to her dwelling, rejoicing, and went in to aboulhusn and told him what had befallen, whereupon he arose and rejoiced and girt his middle and danced and took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and laid them up. then he laid out nuzhet el fuad and did with her even as she had done with him; after which he rent his clothes and plucked out his beard and disordered his turban [and went forth] and gave not over running till he came in to the khalif, who was sitting in the hall of audience, and he in this plight, beating upon his breast. quoth the khalif to him, "what aileth thee, o aboulhusn!" and he wept and said, "would thy boon-companion had never been and would his hour had never come!" "tell me [thy case,]" said the khalif; and aboulhusn said, "o my lord, may thy head outlive nuzhet el fuad!" quoth the khalif, "there is no god but god!" and he smote hand upon hand. then he comforted aboulhusn and said to him, "grieve not, for we will give thee a concubine other than she." and he bade the treasurer give him a hundred dinars and a piece of silk. so the treasurer gave him what the khalif bade him, and the latter said to him,"go, lay her out and carry her forth and make her a handsome funeral." so aboulhusn took that which he had given him and returning to his house, rejoicing, went in to nuzhet el fuad and said to her, "arise, for the wish is accomplished unto us." so she arose and he laid before her the hundred dinars and the piece of silk, whereat she rejoiced, and they added the gold to the gold and the silk to the silk and sat talking and laughing at one another. meanwhile, when aboulhusn went out from the presence of the khalif and went to lay out nuzhet el fuad, the prince mourned for her and dismissing the divan, arose and betook himself, leaning upon mesrour, the swordsman of his vengeance, [to the pavilion of the harem, where he went in] to the lady zubeideh, that he might condole with her for her slave-girl. he found the princess sitting weeping and awaiting his coming, so she might condole with him for [his boon-companion] aboulhusn el khelia. so he said to her, "may thy head outlive thy slave-girl nuzhet el fuad!" and she answered, saying, "o my lord, god preserve my slave-girl! mayst thou live and long survive thy boon-companion aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." the khalif smiled and said to his eunuch, "o mesrour, verily women are little of wit. i conjure thee, by allah, say, was not aboulhusn with me but now?" ["yes, o commander of the faithful," answered mesrour] quoth the lady zubeideh, laughing from a heart full of wrath, "wilt thou not leave thy jesting? is it not enough that aboulhusn is dead, but thou must kill my slave-girl also and bereave us of the two and style me little of wit?" "indeed," answered the khalif, "it is nuzhet el fuad who is dead." and zubeideh said, "indeed he hath not been with thee, nor hast thou seen him, and none was with me but now but nuzhet el fuad, and she sorrowful, weeping, with her clothes torn. i exhorted her to patience and gave her a hundred dinars and a piece of silk; and indeed i was awaiting thy coming, so i might condole with thee for thy boon- companion aboulhusn el khelia, and was about to send for thee." the khalif laughed and said, "none is dead but nuzhet el fuad;" and she, "no, no, my lord; none is dead but aboulhusn." with this the khalif waxed wroth, and the hashimi vein[fn# ] started out from between his eyes and he cried out to mesrour and said to him, "go forth and see which of them is dead." so mesrour went out, running, and the khalif said to zubeideh, "wilt thou lay me a wager?" "yes," answered she; "i will wager, and i say that aboulhusn is dead." "and i," rejoined the khalif, "wager and say that none is dead save nuzhet el fuad; and the stake shall be the garden of pleasance against thy palace and the pavilion of pictures." so they [agreed upon this and] abode awaiting mesrour, till such time as he should return with news. as for mesrour, he gave not over running till he came to the by-street, [wherein was the house] of aboulhusn el khelia. now the latter was sitting reclining at the lattice, and chancing to look round, saw mesrour running along the street and said to nuzhet el fuad, "meseemeth the khalif, when i went forth from him, dismissed the divan and went in to the lady zubeideh, to condole with her [for thee;] whereupon she arose and condoled with him [for me,] saying, 'god greaten thy recompence for [the loss of] aboulhusn el khelia!' and he said to her, 'none is dead save nuzhet el fuad, may thy head outlive her!' quoth she, 'it is not she who is dead, but aboulhusn el khelia, thy boon-companion.' and he to her, 'none is dead but nuzhet el fuad.' and they gainsaid one another, till the khalif waxed wroth and they laid a wager, and he hath sent mesrour the sword- bearer to see who is dead. wherefore it were best that thou lie down, so he may see thee and go and acquaint the khalif and confirm my saying." so nuzhet el fuad stretched herself out and aboulhusn covered her with her veil and sat at her head, weeping. presently, in came mesrour the eunuch to him and saluted him and seeing nuzhet el fuad stretched out, uncovered her face and said, "there is no god but god! our sister nuzhet el fuad is dead. how sudden was the [stroke of] destiny! may god have mercy on thee and acquit thee of responsibility!" then he returned and related what had passed before the khalif and the lady zubeideh, and he laughing. "o accursed one,' said the khalif, "is this a time for laughter? tell us which is dead of them." "by allah, o my lord," answered mesrour, "aboulhusn is well and none is dead but nuzhet el fuad." quoth the khalif to zubeideh, "thou hast lost thy pavilion in thy play," and he laughed at her and said to mesrour, "o mesrour, tell her what thou sawest." "verily, o my lady," said the eunuch, "i ran without ceasing till i came in to aboulhusn in his house and found nuzhet el fuad lying dead and aboulhusn sitting at her head, weeping. i saluted him and condoled with him and sat down by his side and uncovered the face of nuzhet el fuad and saw her dead and her face swollen. so i said to him, 'carry her out forthright [to burial], so we may pray over her.' he answered, 'it is well;' and i left him to lay her out and came hither, that i might tell you the news." the khalif laughed and said, "tell it again and again to thy lady lack-wit." when the lady zubeideh heard mesrour's words [and those of the khalif,] she was wroth and said, "none lacketh wit but he who believeth a black slave." and she reviled mesrour, whilst the khalif laughed. mesrour was vexed at this and said to the khalif, "he spoke sooth who said, 'women lack wit and religion.'" then said the lady zubeideh to the khalif, "o commander of the faithful, thou sportest and jestest with me, and this slave hoodwinketh me, to please thee; but i will send and see which is dead of them." and he answered, saying, "send one who shall see which is dead of them." so the lady zubeideh cried out to an old woman, a stewardess, and said to her, "go to the house of nuzhet el fuad in haste and see who is dead and loiter not." and she railed at her. the old woman went out, running, whilst the khalif and mesrour laughed, and gave not over running till she came into the street. aboulhusn saw her and knowing her, said to his wife, "o nuzhet el fuad, meseemeth the lady zubeideh hath sent to us to see who is dead and hath not given credence to mesrour's report of thy death; so she hath despatched the old woman, her stewardess, to discover the truth; wherefore it behoveth me to be dead in my turn, for the sake of thy credit with the lady zubeideh." accordingly, he lay down and stretched himself out, and she covered him and bound his eyes and feet and sat at his head, weeping. presently, the old woman came in to her and saw her sitting at aboulhusn's head, weeping and lamenting; and when she saw the old woman, she cried out and said to her, "see what hath betided me! indeed, aboulhusn is dead and hath left me alone and forlorn!" then she cried out and tore her clothes and said to the old woman, "o my mother, how good he was!" quoth the other, "indeed thou art excused, for thou wast used to him and he to thee." then she considered what mesrour had reported to the khalif and the lady zubeideh and said to her, "indeed, mesrour goeth about to sow discord between the khalif and the lady zubeideh." "and what is the [cause of] discord, o my mother?" asked nuzhet el fuad. "o my daughter," answered the old woman, "mesrour came to the khalif and the lady zubeideh and gave them news of thee that thou wast dead and that aboulhusn was well. "and nuzhet el fuad said to her, "o my aunt, i was with my lady but now and she gave me a hundred dinars and a piece of silk; and now see my condition and that which hath befallen me! indeed, i am bewildered, and how shall i do, and i alone, forlorn? would god i had died and he had lived!" then she wept and the old woman with her and the latter went up to aboulhusn and uncovering his face, saw his eyes bound and swollen for the binding. so she covered him again and said, "indeed, o nuzhet el fuad, thou art afflicted in aboulhusn!" then she condoled with her and going out from her, ran without ceasing till she came in to the lady zubeideh and related to her the story; and the princess said to her, laughing, "tell it over again to the khalif, who maketh me out scant of wit and lacking of religion, and to this ill-omened slave, who presumeth to contradict me." quoth mesrour, "this old woman lieth; for i saw aboulhusn well and nuzhet el fuad it was who lay dead." "it is thou that liest," rejoined the stewardess, "and wouldst fain sow discord between the khalif and the lady zubeideh." and he said, "none lieth but thou, o old woman of ill-omen, and thy lady believeth thee, and she doteth." whereupon the lady zubeideh cried out at him, and indeed she was enraged at him and at his speech and wept. then said the khalif to her, "i lie and my eunuch lieth, and thou liest and thy waiting-woman lieth; so methinks we were best go, all four of us together, that we may see which of us telleth the truth." quoth mesrour, "come, let us go, that i may put this ill-omened old woman to shame[fn# ] and deal her a sound drubbing for her lying." and she answered him, saying, "o dotard, is thy wit like unto my wit? indeed, thy wit is as the hen's wit." mesrour was incensed at her words and would have laid violent hands on her, but the lady zubeideh warded him off from her and said to him, "her sooth-fastness will presently be distinguished from thy sooth-fastness and her leasing from thy leasing." then they all four arose, laying wagers with one another, and went forth, walking, from the palace-gate [and fared on] till they came in at the gate of the street in which aboulhusn el khelia dwelt. he saw them and said to his wife nuzhet el fuad, "verily, all that is sticky is not a pancake and not every time cometh the jar off safe.[fn# ]' meseemeth the old woman hath gone and told her lady and acquainted her with our case and she hath disputed with mesrour the eunuch and they have laid wagers with one another about our death and are come to us, all four, the khalif and the eunuch and the lady zubeideh and the old woman." when nuzhet el fuad heard this, she started up from her lying posture and said, "how shall we do?" and he said, "we will both feign ourselves dead and stretch ourselves out and hold our breath." so she hearkened unto him and they both lay down on the siesta[-carpet] and bound their feet and shut their eyes and covered themselves with the veil and held their breath. presently, up came the khalif and the lady zubeideh and mesrour and the old woman and entering, found aboulhusn and his wife both stretched out [apparently] dead; which when the lady zubeideh saw, she wept and said, "they ceased not to bring [ill] news of my slave- girl, till she died; methinketh aboulhusn's death was grievous to her and that she died after him."[fn# ]. quoth the khalif, "thou shalt not forestall me with talk and prate. she certainly died before aboulhusn, for he came to me with his clothes torn and his beard plucked out, beating his breast with two bricks, and i gave him a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to him, 'go, carry her forth [and bury her] and i will give thee a concubine other than she and handsomer, and she shall be in stead of her.' but it would appear that her death was no light matter to him and he died after her;[fn# ] so it is i who have beaten thee and gotten thy stake." the lady zubeideh answered him many words and the talk waxed amain between them. at last the khalif sat down at the heads of the pair and said, "by the tomb of the apostle of god (may he bless and preserve him!) and the sepulchres of my fathers and forefathers, whoso will tell me which of them died before the other, i will willingly give him a thousand dinars!" when aboulhusn heard the khalifs words, he sprang up in haste and said, "i died first, o commander of the faithful! hand over the thousand dinars and quit thine oath and the conjuration by which thou sworest." then nuzhet el fuad rose also and stood up before the khalif and the lady zubeideh, who both rejoiced in this and in their safety, and the princess chid her slave-girl. then the khalif and the lady zubeideh gave them joy at their well-being and knew that this [pretended] death was a device to get the money; and the princess said to nuzhet el fuad, "thou shouldst have sought of me that which thou desiredst, without this fashion, and not have consumed my heart for thee." and she said, "indeed, i was ashamed, o my lady." as for the khalif, he swooned away for laughing and said, "o aboulhusn, thou wilt never cease to be a wag and do rarities and oddities!" quoth he, "o commander of the faithful, i played off this trick, for that the money was exhausted, which thou gavest me, and i was ashamed to ask of thee again. when i was single, i could never keep money; but since thou marriedst me to this damsel here, if i possessed thy wealth, i should make an end of it. so, when all that was in my hand was spent, i wrought this trick, so i might get of thee the hundred dinars and the piece of silk; and all this is an alms from our lord. but now make haste to give me the thousand dinars and quit thee of thine oath." the khalif and the lady zubeideh laughed and returned to the palace; and he gave aboulhusn the thousand dinars, saying, "take them as a thank-offering for thy preservation from death," whilst the princess did the like with nuzhet el fuad. moreover, the khalif increased aboulhusn in his stipends and allowances, and he [and his wife] ceased not [to live] in joy and contentment, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who layeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs. the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets.[fn# ] it is said that, when the khalifate devolved on omar ben abdulaziz[fn# ] (of whom god accept), the poets [of the time] resorted to him, as they had been used to resort to the khalifs before him, and abode at his door days and days, but he gave them not leave to enter, till there came to omar adi ben artah,[fn# ] who stood high in esteem with him. jerir[fn# ] accosted him and begged him to crave admission for them [to the khalif]. "it is well," answered adi and going in to omar, said to him, "the poets are at thy door and have been there days and days; yet hast thou not given them leave to enter, albeit their sayings are abiding[fn# ] and their arrows go straight to the mark." quoth omar, "what have i to do with the poets?" and adi answered, saying, "o commander of the faithful, the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) was praised [by a poet] and gave [him largesse,] and therein[fn# ] is an exemplar to every muslim." quoth omar, "and who praised him?" "abbas ben mirdas[fn# ] praised him," replied adi, "and he clad him with a suit and said, 'o bilal,[fn# ] cut off from me his tongue!'" "dost thou remember what he said?" asked the khalif; and adi said, "yes." "then repeat it," rejoined omar. so adi recited the following verses: i saw thee, o thou best of all the human race, display a book that came to teach the truth to those in error's way. thou madest known to us therein the road of righteousness, when we had wandered from the truth, what while in gloom it lay. a dark affair thou littest up with islam and with proof quenchedst the flaming red-coals of error and dismay. mohammed, then, i do confess, god's chosen prophet is, and every man requited is for that which he doth say. the road of right thou hast made straight, that erst was crooked grown; yea, for its path of old had fall'n to ruin and decay. exalted mayst thou be above th' empyrean heaven of joy and may god's glory greater grow and more exalted aye! "and indeed," continued adi, "this ode on the prophet (may god bless and keep him!) is well known and to comment it would be tedious." quoth omar, "who is at the door?" "among them is omar ibn [abi] rebya the cureishite,"[fn# ] answered adi, and the khalif said, "may god show him no favour neither quicken him! was it not he who said ... ?" and he recited the following verses: would god upon that bitterest day, when my death calls for me, what's 'twixt thine excrement and blood[fn# ] i still may smell of thee! yea, so but selma in the dust my bedfellow may prove, fair fall it thee! in heaven or hell i reck not if it be. "except," continued the khalif, "he were the enemy of god, he had wished for her in this world, so he might after [repent and] return to righteous dealing. by allah, he shall not come in to me! who is at the door other than he?" quoth adi, "jemil ben mamer el udhri[fn# ] is at the door;" and omar said, "it is he who says in one of his odes" ... [and he recited the following:] would we may live together and when we come to die, god grant the death-sleep bring me within her tomb to lie! for if "her grave above her is levelled" it be said, of life and its continuance no jot indeed reck i. "away with him from me! who is at the door?" "kutheiyir azzeh,"[fn# ] replied adi, and omar said, "it is he who says in one of his odes ... " [and he repeated the following verses:] some with religion themselves concern and make it their business all; sitting,[fn# ] they weep for the pains of hell and still for mercy bawl! if they could hearken to azzeh's speech, as i, i hearken to it, they straight would humble themselves to her and prone before her fall. "leave the mention of him. who is at the door?" quoth adi, "el akhwes el ansari."[fn# ] "god the most high put him away and estrange him from his mercy!" cried omar. "is it not he who said, berhyming on a man of medina his slave-girl, so she might outlive her master ... ?" [and he repeated the following line:] god [judge] betwixt me and her lord! away with her he flees me and i follow aye. "he shall not come in to me. who is at the door, other than he?" "heman ben ghalib el ferezdec,"[fn# ] answered adi; and omar said, "it is he who saith, glorying in adultery ..." [and he repeated the following verses:] the two girls let me down from fourscore fathoms' height, as swoops a hawk, with wings all open in full flight; and when my feet trod earth, "art slain, that we should fear," quoth they, "or live, that we may hope again thy sight?" "he shall not come in to me. who is at the door, other than he?" "el akhtel et teghlibi,"[fn# ] answered adi; and omar said, "he is the unbeliever who says in his verse ..." [and he repeated the following:] ramazan in my life ne'er i fasted, nor e'er have i eaten of flesh, save in public[fn# ] it were. no exhorter am i to abstain from the fair, nor to love mecca's vale for my profit i care; nor, like others a little ere morning appear who bawl, "come to safety!"[fn# ] i stand up to prayer. nay, at daybreak i drink of the wind-freshened wine and prostrate me[fn# ] instead in the dawn-whitened air. "by allah, he treadeth no carpet of mine! who is at the door other than he?" "jerir ibn el khetefa," answered adi; and omar said, "it is he who saith ... " [and he recited as follows:] but for the spying of the eyes [ill-omened,] we had seen wild cattle's eyes and antelopes' tresses of sable sheen. the huntress of th' eyes[fn# ] by night came to me. "turn in peace," [quoth i to her;] "this is no time for visiting, i ween." "if it must be and no help, admit jerir." so adi went forth and admitted jerir, who entered, saying: he, who mohammed sent, as prophet to mankind, hath to a just high-priest[fn# ] the khalifate assigned. his justice and his truth all creatures do embrace; the erring he corrects and those of wandering mind. i hope for present[fn# ] good [and bounty at thy hand,] for souls of men are still to present[fn# ] good inclined. quoth omar, "o jerir, keep the fear of god before thine eyes and say nought but the truth." and jerir recited the following verses: how many, in yemameh,[fn# ] dishevelled widows plain! how many a weakling orphan unsuccoured doth remain, for whom is thy departure even as a father's loss! to fly or creep, like nestlings, alone, they strive in vain. now that the clouds have broken their promise to our hope, we trust the khalif's bounty will stand to us for rain.[fn# ] when the khalif heard this, he said, "by allah, o jerir, omar possesseth but a hundred dirhems."[fn# ] [and he cried out to his servant, saying,] "ho, boy! give them to him." moreover, he gave him the ornaments of his sword; and jerir went forth to the [other] poets, who said to him, "what is behind thee?"[fn# ] and he answered, "a man who giveth to the poor and denieth the poets, and i am well-pleased with him."[fn# ] el hejjaj and the three young men.[fn# ] they tell that el hejjaj[fn# ] once commanded the master of police [of bassora] to go round about [the city] by night, and whomsoever he found [abroad] after nightfall, that he should strike off his head. so he went round one night of the nights and came upon three youths staggering from side to side, and on them signs of [intoxication with] wine. so the officers laid hold of them and the captain of the watch said to them, "who are ye that ye transgress the commandment of the [lieutenant of the] commander of the faithful and come abroad at this hour?" quoth one of the youths, "i am the son of him to whom [all] necks[fn# ] abase themselves, alike the nose-pierced[fn# ] of them and the [bone-]breaker;[fn# ] they come to him in their own despite, abject and submissive, and he taketh of their wealth[fn# ] and of their blood." the master of police held his hand from him, saying, "belike he is of the kinsmen of the commander of the faithful," and said to the second, "who art thou?" quoth he, "i am the son of him whose rank[fn# ] time abaseth not, and if it descend[fn# ] one day, it will assuredly return [to its former height]; thou seest the folk [crowd] in troops to the light of his fire, some standing around it and some sitting." so the master of the police refrained from slaying him and said to the third, "who art thou?" quoth he, "i am the son of him who plungeth through the ranks[fn# ] with his might and correcteth[fn# ] them with the sword,[fn# ] so that they stand straight;[fn# ] his feet are not loosed from the stirrup,[fn# ] whenas the horsemen on the day of battle are weary." so the master of police held his hand from him also, saying, "belike, he is the son of a champion of the arabs." then he kept them under guard, and when the morning morrowed, he referred their case to el hejjaj, who caused bring them before him and enquiring into their affair, found that the first was the son of a barber-surgeon, the second of a [hot] bean-seller and the third of a weaver. so he marvelled at their readiness of speech[fn# ] and said to his session-mates, "teach your sons deportment;[fn# ] for, by allah, but for their ready wit, i had smitten off their heads!" haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides.[fn# ] they tell that haroun er reshid was sitting one day to do away grievances, when there came up to him a woman and said to him, "o commander of the faithful, may god accomplish thine affair and cause thee rejoice in that which he hath given thee and increase thee in elevation! indeed, thou hast done justice[fn# ] and wrought equitably."[fn# ] quoth the khalif to those who were present with him, "know ye what this woman meaneth by her saying?" and they answered, "of a surety, she meaneth not otherwise than well, o commander of the faithful." "nay," rejoined haroun; "she purposeth only in this an imprecation against me. as for her saying, 'god accomplish thine affair!' she hath taken it from the saying of the poet, 'when an affair is accomplished, its abatement[fn# ] beginneth. beware of cessation, whenas it is said, "it is accomplished."' as for her saying 'god cause thee rejoice in that which he hath given thee,' she took it from the saying of god the most high, 'till, whenas they rejoiced in that which they were given, we took them suddenly and lo, they were confounded!'[fn# ] as for her saying, 'god increase thee in elevation!' she took it from the saying of the poet, 'no bird flieth and riseth up on high, but, like as he flieth, he falleth.' and as for her saying, 'indeed, thou hast done justice and wrought equitably,' it is from the saying of the most high, '[if ye deviate[fn# ] or lag behind or turn aside, verily, god of that which ye do is aware;'[fn# ] and] 'as for the transgressors,'[fn# ] they are fuel for hell[-fire]."[fn# ] then he turned to the woman and said to her, "is it not thus?" "yes, o commander of the faithful," answered she; and he said, "what prompted thee to this?" quoth she, "thou slewest my father and my mother and my kinsfolk and tookest their goods." "whom meanest thou?" asked the khalif, and she replied, "i am of the house of bermek."[fn# ] then said he to her, "as for the dead, they are of those who are past away, and it booteth not to speak of them; but, as for that which i took of wealth, it shall be restored to thee, yea, and more than it." and he was bountiful to her to the utmost of munificence. the ten viziers; or the history of king azadbekht and his son.[fn# ] there was once, of old days, a king of the kings, whose name was azadbekht; his [capital] city was called kuneim mudoud and his kingdom extended to the confines of seistan and from the frontiers of hindustan to the sea he had ten viziers, who ordered his state and his dominion, and he was possessed of judgment and exceeding wisdom. one day he went forth with certain of his guards to the chase and fell in with an eunuch on horseback, holding in his hand the halter of a mule, which he led along. on the mule's back was a litter of gold-inwoven brocade, garded about with an embroidered band set with gold and jewels, and over against the litter was a company of horsemen. when king azadbekht saw this, he separated himself from his companions and making for the mule and the horsemen, questioned the latter, saying, "to whom belongeth this litter and what is therein?". the eunuch answered, (for he knew not that he was king azadbekht,) saying, "this litter belongeth to isfehend, vizier to king azadbekht, and therein is his daughter, whom he purposeth to marry to zad shah the king." as the eunuch was speaking with the king, behold, the damsel raised a corner of the curtain that shut in the litter, so she might look upon the speaker, and saw the king. when azadbekht beheld her and noted her fashion and her loveliness (and indeed never set story-teller[fn# ] eyes on her like,) his soul inclined to her and she took hold upon his heart and he was ravished by her sight. so he said to the eunuch, "turn the mule's head and return, for i am king azadbekht and i will marry her myself, for that isfehend her father is my vizier and he will accept of this affair and it will not be grievous to him." "o king," answered the eunuch, "may god prolong thy continuance, have patience till i acquaint my lord her father, and thou shalt take her in the way of approof, for it befitteth thee not neither is it seemly unto thee that thou take her on this wise, seeing that it will be an affront to her father if thou take her without his knowledge." quoth azadbekht, "i have not patience [to wait] till thou go to her father and return, and no dishonour will betide him, if i marry her." "o my lord," rejoined the eunuch, "nought that is done in haste is long of durance nor doth the heart rejoice therein; and indeed it behoveth thee not to take her on this foul wise. whatsoever betideth thee, destroy not thyself with [undue] haste, for i know that her father's breast will be straitened by this affair and this that thou dost will not profit thee." but the king said, "verily, isfehend is [my boughten] servant and a slave of my slaves, and i reck not of her father, if he be vexed or pleased." so saying, he drew the reins of the mule and carrying the damsel, whose name was behrjaur, to his house, married her. meanwhile, the eunuch betook himself, he and the horsemen, to her father and said to him, "o my lord, the king is beholden to thee for many years' service and thou hast not failed him a day of the days; and now, behold, he hath taken thy daughter against thy wish and without thy permission." and he related to him what had passed and how the king had taken her by force. when isfehend heard the eunuch's story, he was exceeding wroth and assembling many troops, said to them, "whenas the king was occupied with his women [and concerned not himself with the affairs of his kingdom], we took no reck of him; but now he putteth out his hand to our harem; wherefore methinketh we should do well to look us out a place, wherein we may have sanctuary." then he wrote a letter to king azadbekht, saying to him, "i am a servant of thy servants and a slave of thy slaves and my daughter is a handmaid at thy service, and may god the most high prolong thy days and appoint thy times [to be] in delight and contentment! indeed, i still went girded of the waist in thy service and in caring for the preservation of thy dominion and warding off thine enemies from thee; but now i abound yet more than before in zeal and watchfulness, for that i have taken this to charge upon myself, since my daughter is become thy wife." and he despatched a messenger to the king with the letter and a present. when the messenger came to king azadbekht and he read the letter and the present was laid before him, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and occupied himself with eating and drinking, hour after hour. but the chief vizier of his viziers came to him and said, " king, know that isfehend the vizier is thine enemy, for that his soul liketh not that which thou hast done with him, and the message that he hath sent thee [is a trick; so] rejoice thou not therein, neither be thou deluded by the sweetness of his words and the softness of his speech." the king hearkened [not] to his vizier's speech, but made light of the matter and presently, [dismissing it from his thought], busied himself with that which he was about of eating and drinking and merrymaking and delight meanwhile, isfehend the vizier wrote a letter and despatched it to all the amirs, acquainting them with that which had betided him with king azadbekht and how he had taken his daughter by force and adding, "and indeed he will do with you more than he hath done with me." when the letter reached the chiefs [of the people and troops], they all assembled together to isfehend and said to him, "what is to do with him?"[fn# ] so he discovered to them the affair of his daughter and they all agreed, of one accord, that they should endeavour for the slaughter of the king and taking horse with their troops, set out, intending for him. azadbekht knew not [of their design] till the noise [of the invasion] beset his capital city, when he said to his wife behrjaur, "how shall we do?" and she answered, saying, "thou knowest best and i am at thy commandment." so he let bring two swift horses and bestrode one himself, whilst his wife mounted the other. then they took what they might of gold and went forth, fleeing, in the night, to the desert of kerman; what while isfehend entered the city and made himself king. now king azadbekht's wife was big with child and the pains of labour took her in the mountain; so they alighted at the mountain-foot, by a spring of water, and she gave birth to a boy as he were the moon. behrjaur his mother pulled off a gown of gold-inwoven brocade and wrapped the child therein, and they passed the night [in that place], what while she gave him suck till the morning. then said the king to her, "we are hampered by this child and cannot abide here nor can we carry him with us; so methinks we were better leave him here and go, for allah is able to send him one who shall take him and rear him." so they wept over him exceeding sore and left him beside the spring, wrapped in the gown of brocade: then they laid at his head a thousand dinars in a bag and mounting their horses, departed, fleeing. now, by the ordinance of god the most high, a company of thieves fell in upon a caravan hard by that mountain and made prize of that which was with them of merchandise. then they betook themselves to the mountain, so they might share their booty, and looking at the foot thereof, espied the gown of brocade. so they descended, to see what it was, and finding the child wrapped therein and the gold laid at his head, marvelled and said, "extolled be the perfection of god! by what wickedness cometh this child here?" then they divided the money between them and the captain of the thieves took the boy and made him his son and fed him with sweet milk and dates, till he came to his house, when he appointed him a nurse, who should rear him. meanwhile, king azadbekht and his wife stayed not in their flight till they came to [the court of] the king of fars,[fn# ] whose name was kutrou.[fn# ] when they presented themselves to him, he entreated them with honour and entertained them handsomely, and azadbekht told him his story, first and last. so he gave him a great army and wealth galore and he abode with him some days, till he was rested, when he made ready with his host and setting out for his own dominions, waged war upon isfehend and falling in upon the capital, defeated the rebel vizier and slew him. then he entered the city and sat down on the throne of his kingship; and whenas he was rested and the kingdom was grown peaceful for him, he despatched messengers to the mountain aforesaid in quest of the child; but they returned and informed the king that they had not found him. as time went on, the boy, the son of the king, grew up and fell to stopping the way[fn# ] with the thieves, and they used to carry him with them, whenas they went a-thieving. they sallied forth one day upon a caravan in the land of seistan, and there were in that caravan strong and valiant men and with them merchandise galore. now they had heard that in that land were thieves; so they gathered themselves together and made ready their arms and sent out spies, who returned and gave them news of the thieves. accordingly, they prepared for battle, and when the robbers drew near the caravan, they fell in upon them and they fought a sore battle. at last the folk of the caravan overmastered the thieves, by dint of numbers, and slew some of them, whilst the others fled. moreover they took the boy, the son of king azadbekht, and seeing him as he were the moon, possessed of beauty and grace, brightfaced and comely of fashion, questioned him, saying, "who is thy father, and how camest thou with these thieves?" and he answered, saying, "i am the son of the captain of the thieves." so they took him and carried him to the capital of his father king azadbekht when they reached the city, the king heard of their coming and commanded that they should attend him with what befitted [of their merchandise]. so they presented themselves before him, [and the boy with them,] whom when the king saw, he said to them, "to whom belongeth this boy?" and they answered, "o king, we were going in such a road, when there came out upon us a sort of robbers; so we made war upon them and overcame them and took this boy prisoner. then we questioned him, saying, 'who is thy father?' and he answered, 'i am the captain's son of the thieves.'" quoth the king, "i would fain have this boy." and the captain of the caravan said, "god maketh thee gift of him, o king of the age, and we all are thy slaves." then the king dismissed [the people of] the caravan and let carry the youth into his palace and he became as one of the servants, what while his father the king knew not that he was his son. as time went on, the king observed in him good breeding and understanding and knowledge[fn# ] galore and he pleased him; so he committed his treasuries to his charge and straitened the viziers' hand therefrom, commanding that nought should be taken forth therefrom except by leave of the youth. on this wise he abode a number of years and the king saw in him nought but fidelity and studiousness in well-doing. now the treasuries aforetime had been in the viziers' hand, so they might do with them what they would, and when they came under the youth's hand, that of the viziers was straitened from them, and the youth became dearer to the king than a son and he could not brook to be separated from him. when the viziers saw this, they were jealous of him and envied him and cast about for a device against him whereby they might oust him from the king's favour, but found no opportunity. at last, when came the destined hour,[fn# ] it chanced that the youth one day drank wine and became drunken and wandered from his wits; so he fell to going round about within the palace of the king and fate led him to the lodging of the women, in which there was a little sleeping-chamber, where the king lay with his wife. thither came the youth and entering the chamber, found there a couch spread, to wit, a sleeping place, and a candle burning. so he cast himself on the couch, marvelling at the paintings that were in the chamber, and slept and slumbered heavily till eventide, when there came a slave-girl, bringing with her all the dessert, eatables and drinkables, that she was wont to make ready for the king and his wife, and seeing the youth lying on his back, (and none knowing of his case and he in his drunkenness unknowing where he was,) thought that he was the king asleep on his bed; so she set the censing-vessel and laid the essences by the couch, then shut the door and went away. presently, the king arose from the wine-chamber and taking his wife by the hand, repaired with her to the chamber in which he slept. he opened the door and entering, saw the youth lying on the bed, whereupon he turned to his wife and said to her, "what doth this youth here? this fellow cometh not hither but on thine account." quoth she, "i have no knowledge of him." with this, the youth awoke and seeing the king, sprang up and prostrated himself before him, and azadbekht said to him, "o vile of origin,[fn# ] o lack-loyalty, what hath prompted thee to outrage my dwelling?" and he bade imprison him in one place and the woman in another. the first day. of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune. when the morning morrowed and the king sat on the throne of his kingship, he summoned the chief of his viziers and said to him, "what deemest thou of this that yonder robber-youth hath done? behold, he hath entered my house and lain down on my bed and i fear lest there be an intrigue between him and the woman. how deemest thou of the affair?" "god prolong the king's continuance!" replied the vizier. "what sawest thou in this youth [to make thee trust in him]? is he not vile of origin, the son of thieves? needs must a thief revert to his vile origin, and whoso reareth the young of the serpent shall get of them nought but biting. as for the woman, she is not at fault; for, since [the] time [of her marriage with thee] till now, there hath appeared from her nought but good breeding and modesty; and now, if the king give me leave, i will go to her and question her, so i may discover to thee the affair." the king gave him leave for this and the vizier betook himself to the queen and said to her, "i am come to thee, on account of a grave reproach, and i would have thee be truthful with me in speech and tell me how came the youth into the sleeping-chamber." quoth she, "i have no knowledge whatsoever [of it]" and swore to him a solemn oath thereof, whereby he knew that she had no knowledge of the matter and that she was not at fault and said to her, "i will teach thee a device, where- with thou mayst acquit thyself and thy face be whitened before the king." "what is it?" asked she; and he answered, saying, "when the king calleth for thee and questioneth thee of this, say thou to him, 'yonder youth saw me in the privy-chamber and sent me a message, saying, "i will give thee a hundred jewels, to whose price money may not avail, so thou wilt suffer me to foregather with thee." i laughed at him who bespoke me with these words and rebuffed him; but he sent again to me, saying, "an thou fall not in with my wishes, i will come one of the nights, drunken, and enter and lie down in the sleeping-chamber, and the king will see me and kill me; so wilt thou be put to shame and thy face will be blackened with him and thine honour abased."' be this thy saying to the king, and i will presently go to him and repeat this to him." quoth the queen, "and i also will say thus." so the vizier returned to the king and said to him, "verily, this youth hath merited grievous punishment, after abundance of bounty [bestowed on him], and it may not be that a bitter kernel should ever become sweet; but, as for the woman, i am certified that there is no fault in her." then he repeated to the king the story which he had taught the queen, which when azadbekht heard, he rent his clothes and bade fetch the youth. so they brought him and stationed him before the king, who let bring the headsman, and the folk all fixed their eyes upon the youth, so they might see what the king should do with him. then said azadbekht to him (and indeed his words were [prompted] by anger and those of the youth by presence of mind and good breeding), "i bought thee with my money and looked for fidelity from thee, wherefore i chose thee over all my grandees and servants and made thee keeper of my treasuries. why, then, hast thou outraged my honour and entered my house and played the traitor with me and tookest no thought unto that which i have done thee of benefits?" "o king," answered the youth, "i did this not of my choice and freewill and i had no [evil] intent in being there; but, of the littleness of my luck, i was driven thither, for that fate was contrary and fair fortune lacking. indeed, i had striven with all endeavour that nought of foul should proceed from me and kept watch over myself, lest default appear in me; but none may avail to make head against ill fortune, nor doth endeavour profit in case of lack of luck, as appeareth by the example of the merchant who was stricken with ill luck and his endeavour profited him not and he succumbed to the badness of his fortune." "what is the story of the merchant," asked the king, "and how was his luck changed upon him by the sorriness of his fortune?" "may god prolong the king's continuance!" answered the youth. story of the unlucky merchant. "there was once a man, a merchant, who was fortunate in trade, and at one time his [every] dirhem profited [him] fifty. presently, his luck turned against him and he knew it not; so he said in himself, 'i have wealth galore, yet do i weary myself and go round about from country to country; i were better abide in my own country and rest myself in my house from this travail and affliction and sell and buy at home.' then he made two parts of his money, with one whereof he bought wheat in summer, saying, 'when the winter cometh, i will sell it at a great profit.' but, when the winter came, wheat became at half the price for which he had bought it, whereat he was sore concerned and left it till the next year. however, next year, the price fell yet lower and one of his friends said to him, 'thou hast no luck in this wheat; so do thou sell it at whatsoever price.' quoth the merchant, 'this long while have i profited and it is allowable that i lose this time. god is all- knowing! if it abide [with me] half a score years, i will not sell it save at a profit.' then, in his anger, he walled up the door of the granary with clay, and by the ordinance of god the most high, there came a great rain and descended from the roofs of the house wherein was the wheat [so that the latter rotted]; and needs must the merchant give the porters five hundred dirhems from his purse, so they should carry it forth and cast it without the city, for that the smell of it was noisome. so his friend said to him, 'how often did i tell thee thou hadst no luck in wheat? but thou wouldst not give ear to my speech, and now it behoveth thee to go to the astrologer and question him of thy star.' accordingly the merchant betook himself to the astrologer and questioned him of his star, and the astrologer said to him, 'thy star is unpropitious. put not thy hand to any business, for thou wilt not prosper therein.' however, he paid no heed to the astrologer's words and said in himself, 'if i do my occasion,[fn# ] i am not afraid of aught.' then he took the other part of his money, after he had spent therefrom three years, and built [therewith] a ship, which he loaded with all that seemed good to him and all that was with him and embarked on the sea, so he might travel. the ship tarried with him some days, till he should be certified what he would do,[fn# ] and he said, 'i will enquire of the merchants what this merchandise profiteth and in what country it lacketh and how much is the gain thereon.' [so he questioned them and] they directed him to a far country, where his dirhem should profit a hundredfold. accordingly, he set sail and steered for the land in question; but, as he went, there blew on him a tempestuous wind and the ship foundered. the merchant saved himself on a plank and the wind cast him up, naked as he was, on the sea-shore, hard by a town there. so he praised god and gave him thanks for his preservation; then, seeing a great village hard by, he betook himself thither and saw, seated therein, a very old man, whom he acquainted with his case and that which had betided him. the old man grieved sore for him, when he heard his story, and set food before him. so he ate and the old man said to him, 'abide here with me, so i may make thee my steward and factor over a farm i have here, and thou shall have of me five dirhems [fn# ] a day.' 'god make fair thy reward,' answered the merchant, 'and requite thee with benefits!' so he abode in this employ, till he had sowed and reaped and threshed and winnowed, and all was sheer in his hand and the owner appointed neither inspector nor overseer, but relied altogether upon him. then he bethought himself and said, '_i_* misdoubt me the owner of this grain will not give me my due; so i were better take of it, after the measure of my hire; and if he give me my due, i will restore him that which i have taken.' so he took of the grain, after the measure of that which fell to him, and hid it in a privy place. then he carried the rest to the old man and meted it out to him, and he said to him, 'come, take [of the grain, after the measure of] thy hire, for which i agreed with thee, and sell it and buy with the price clothes and what not else; and though thou abide with me half a score years, yet shall thou still have this wage and i will acquit it to thee thus.' quoth the merchant in himself, 'indeed, i have done a foul thing in that i look it without his leave.' then he went to fetch that which he had hidden of the grain, but found it not and returned, perplexed and sorrowful, to the old man, who said to him, 'what aileth thee to be sorrowful?' and he answered, 'methought thou wouldst not pay me my due; so i took of the grain, after the measure of my hire; and now thou hast paid me my due and i went to bring back to thee that which i had hidden from thee, but found it gone, for those who had happened upon it had stolen it.' the old man was wroth, when he heard this, and said to the merchant, 'there is no device [can cope] with ill luck! i had given thee this, but, of the sorriness of thy luck and thy fortune, thou hast done this deed, o oppressor of thine own self! thou deemedst i would not acquit thee thy wage; but, by allah, nevermore will i give thee aught.' and he drove him away from him. so the merchant went forth, afflicted, sorrowful, weeping, [and wandered on along the sea-shore], till he came to a sort of divers diving in the sea for pearls. they saw him weeping and mourning and said to him, 'what is thy case and what maketh thee weep?' so he acquainted them with his history, from first to last, whereby they knew him and said to him, 'art thou [such an one] son of such an one?' 'yes,' answered he; whereupon they condoled with him and wept sore for him and said to him, 'abide here till we dive for thy luck this next time and whatsoever betideth us shall be between us and thee.' accordingly, they dived and brought up ten oysters, in each two great pearls; whereat they marvelled and said to him, 'by allah, thy luck hath returned and thy good star is in the ascendant!' then they gave him ten pearls and said to him, 'sell two of them and make them thy capital [whereon to trade]; and hide the rest against the time of thy straitness.' so he took them, joyful and contented, and addressed himself to sew eight of them in his gown, keeping the two others in his mouth; but a thief saw him and went and advertised his mates of him; whereupon they gathered together upon him and took his gown and departed from him. when they were gone away, he arose, saying, 'these two pearls [in my mouth] will suffice me,' and made for the [nearest] city, where he brought out the pearls [and repairing to the jewel- market, gave them to the broker], that he might sell them. now, as destiny would have it, a certain jeweller of the town had been robbed of ten pearls, like unto those which were with the merchant; so, when he saw the two pearls in the broker's hand, he said to him, 'to whom do these pearls belong?' and the broker answered, 'to yonder man.' [the jeweller looked at the merchant and] seeing him in sorry case and clad in tattered clothes, misdoubted of him and said to him (purposing to surprise him into confession), 'where are the other eight pearls?' the merchant thought he asked him of those which were in the gown and answered, 'the thieves stole them from me.' when the jeweller heard his reply, he doubted not but that it was he who had taken his good; so he laid hold of him and haling him before the chief of the police, said to him, 'this is the man who stole my pearls: i have found two of them upon him and he confesseth to the other eight.' now the magistrate knew of the theft of the pearls; so he bade clap the merchant in prison. accordingly they imprisoned him and flogged him, and he abode in the prison a whole year, till, by the ordinance of god the most high, the master of police arrested one of the divers aforesaid and imprisoned him in the prison where the merchant lay. he saw the latter and knowing him, questioned him of his case; whereupon he told them his story and that which had befallen him, and the diver marvelled at the sorriness of his luck. so, when he came forth of the prison, he acquainted the sultan with the merchant's case and told him that it was he who had given him the pearls. the sultan bade bring him forth of the prison and questioned him of his story, whereupon he told him all that had befallen him and the sultan pitied him and assigned him a lodging in his own palace, together with an allowance for his living. now the lodging in question adjoined the king's house, and whilst the merchant was rejoicing in this and saying, 'verily, my luck hath returned and i shall live in this king's shadow the rest of my life,' he espied an opening walled up with stones and clay. so he pulled out the stones and clearing away the earth from the opening, found that it was a window giving upon the lodging of the king's women. when he saw this, he was affrighted and rising in haste, fetched clay and stopped it up again. but one of the eunuchs saw him and misdoubting of him, repaired to the sultan and told him of this. so he came and seeing the stones pulled out, was wroth with the merchant and said to him, 'is this my recompense from thee, that thou seekest to violate my harem?' and he bade pluck out his eyes. so they did as he commanded and the merchant took his eyes in his hand and said, 'how long [wilt thou afflict me], o star of ill-omen? first my wealth and now my life!' and he bewailed himself, saying, 'endeavour profiteth me nought against evil fortune. the compassionate aided me not and endeavour was useless.' on like wise, o king," continued the youth, "whilst fortune was favourable to me, all that i did came to good; but now that it is grown contrary to me, everything turneth against me." when the youth had made an end of his story, the king's anger subsided a little and he said, "restore him to the prison, for the day draweth to an end, and tomorrow we will took into his affair." of looking to the issues of affairs. when it was the second day, the second of the king's viziers, whose name was beheroun, came in to him and said, "god advance the king! this that yonder youth hath done is a grave matter and a foul deed and a heinous against the household of the king." so azadbekht bade fetch the youth, because of the saying of the vizier; and when he came into his presence, he said to him, "out on thee, o youth! needs must i slay thee by the worst of deaths, for indeed thou hast committed a grave crime, and i will make thee a warning to the folk." "o king," answered the youth, "hasten not, for the looking to the issues of affairs is a pillar of the realm and [a cause of] continuance and sure stablishment for the kingship. whoso looketh not to the issues of affairs, there befalleth him that which befell the merchant, and whoso looketh to the issues of affairs, there betideth him of joyance that which betided the merchant's son." "and what is the story of the merchant and his son?" asked the king. "o king," answered the youth, story of the merchant and his sons. "there was once a man, a merchant, who had a wife and abundant wealth. he set out one day on a journey with merchandise, leaving his wife big with child, and said to her, 'if it be the will of god the most high, i will return before the birth of the child.' then he took leave of her and setting out, journeyed from country to country till he came to the court of one of the kings and foregathered with him. now this king was in need of one who should order his affairs and those of his kingdom and seeing the merchant well-bred and intelligent, he charged him abide with him and entreated him with honour and munificence. after awhile, he sought of the king leave to go to his own house, but the latter would not consent to this; whereupon he said to him, 'o king, suffer me go and see my children and come again.' so he gave him leave for this and took surety of him for his return. moreover, he gave him a purse, wherein were a thousand gold dinars, and the merchant embarked in a ship and set sail, intending for his own country. meanwhile, news came to his wife that her husband had taken service with king such-an-one; so she arose and taking her two sons, (for she had given birth to twin boys in his absence,) set out for those parts. as fate would have it, they happened upon an island and her husband came thither that very night in the ship. [when the woman heard of the coming of the ship], she said to her children, 'this ship cometh from the country where your father is; so go ye to the sea-shore, that ye may enquire of him.' so they repaired to the sea-shore and [going up into the ship], fell to playing about it and occupied themselves with their play till the evening. now the merchant their father lay asleep in the ship, and the crying of the boys troubled him; so he rose to call out to them [and silence them] and let the purse [with the thousand dinars therein] fall among the bales of merchandise. he sought for it and finding it not, buffeted his head and seized upon the boys, saying, 'none took the purse but you. ye were playing about the bales, so ye might steal somewhat, and there was none here but you.' then he took a staff and laying hold of the children, fell to beating them and flogging them, whilst they wept, and the sailors came round about them and said, 'the boys of this island are all thieves and robbers.' then, of the greatness of the merchant's wrath, he swore that, if they brought not out the purse, he would drown them in the sea; so when [by reason of their denial] his oath became binding upon him, he took the two boys and lashing them [each] to a bundle of reeds, cast them into the sea. presently, the mother of the two boys, finding that they tarried from her, went searching for them, till she came to the ship and fell to saying, 'who hath seen two boys of mine? their fashion is thus and thus and their age thus and thus.' when they heard her words, they said, 'this is the description of the two boys who were drowned in the sea but now.' their mother heard and fell to calling on them and saying, 'alas, my anguish for your loss, o my sons! where was the eye of your father this day, that it might have seen you?' then one of the crew questioned her, saying, 'whose wife art thou?' and she answered, 'i am the wife of such an one the merchant. i was on my way to him, and there hath befallen me this calamity.' when the merchant heard her speech, he knew her and rising to his feet, rent his clothes and buffeted his head and said to his wife, 'by allah, i have destroyed my children with mine own hand! this is the end of whoso looketh not to the issues of affairs.' then he fell a-wailing and weeping over them, he and his wife, and he said, 'by allah, i shall have no ease of my life, till i light upon news of them!' and he betook himself to going round about the sea, in quest of them, but found them not. meanwhile, the wind carried the two children [out to sea and thence driving them] towards the land, cast them up on the sea-shore. as for one of them, a company of the guards of the king of those parts found him and carried him to their master, who marvelled at him with an exceeding wonderment and adopted him to his son, giving out to the folk that he was his [very] son, whom he had hidden,[fn# ] of his love for him. so the folk rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy, for the king's sake, and the latter appointed him his heir-apparent and the inheritor of his kingdom. on this wise, a number of years passed, till the king died and they crowned the youth king in his room. so he sat down on the throne of his kingship and his estate flourished and his affairs prospered. meanwhile, his father and mother had gone round about all the islands of the sea in quest of him and his brother, hoping that the sea might have cast them up, but found no trace of them; so they despaired of finding them and took up their abode in one of the islands. one day, the merchant, being in the market, saw a broker, and in his hand a boy he was calling for sale, and said in himself, 'i will buy yonder boy, so i may console myself with him for my sons.' so he bought him and carried him to his house; and when his wife saw him, she cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my son!' so his father and mother rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and questioned him of his brother; but he answered, 'the sea parted us and i knew not what became of him.' therewith his father and mother consoled themselves with him and on this wise a number of years passed. now the merchant and his wife had taken up their abode in a city in the land whereof their [other] son was king, and when the boy [whom they had found] grew up, his father assigned unto him merchandise, so he might travel therewith. so he set out and entered the city wherein his brother was king. news reached the latter that there was a merchant come thither with merchandise befitting kings. so he sent for him and the young merchant obeyed the summons and going in to him, sat down before him. neither of them knew the other; but blood stirred between them and the king said to the young merchant, 'i desire of thee that thou abide with me and i will exalt thy station and give thee all that thou desirest and cravest.' so he abode with him awhile, quitting him not; and when he saw that he would not suffer him to depart from him, he sent to his father and mother and bade them remove thither to him. so they addressed them to remove to that island, and their son increased still in honour with the king, albeit he knew not that he was his brother. it chanced one night that the king sallied forth without the city and drank and the wine got the mastery of him and he became drunken. so, of the youth's fearfulness for him, he said, 'i will keep watch myself over the king this night, seeing that he deserveth this from me, for that which he hath wrought with me of kindnesses.' so he arose forthright and drawing his sword, stationed himself at the door of the king's pavilion. now one of the royal servants saw him standing there, with the drawn sword in his hand, and he was of those who envied him his favour with the king; so he said to him, 'why dost thou on this wise at this season and in the like of this place?' quoth the youth, 'i am keeping watch over the king myself, in requital of his bounties to me.' the servant said no more to him, but, when it was morning, he acquainted a number of the king's servants with this and they said, 'this is an opportunity for us. come let us assemble together and acquaint the king with this, so the young merchant may lose favour with him and he rid us of him and we be at rest from him.' so they assembled together and going in to the king, said to him, 'we have a warning we would give thee.' quoth he, 'and what is your warning?' and they said, 'yonder youth, the merchant, whom thou hast taken into favour and whose rank thou hast exalted above the chiefs of the people of thy household, we saw yesterday draw his sword and offer to fall upon thee, so he might slay thee.' when the king heard this, his colour changed and he said to them, 'have ye proof of this?' quoth they, 'what proof wouldst thou have? if thou desire this, feign thyself drunken again this night and lie down, as if asleep, and watch him, and thou wilt see with thine eyes all that we have named to thee.' then they went to the youth and said to him, 'know that the king thanketh thee for thy dealing yesternight and exceedeth in [praise of] thy good deed;' and they prompted him to do the like again. so, when the next night came, the king abode on wake; watching the youth; and as for the latter, he went to the door of the pavilion and drawing his sword, stood in the doorway. when the king saw him do thus, he was sore disquieted and bade seize him and said to him, 'is this my requital from thee? i showed thee favour more than any else and thou wouldst do with me this vile deed.' then arose two of the king's servants and said to him, 'o our lord, if thou command it, we will strike off his head.' but the king said, 'haste in slaying is a vile thing, for it[fn# ] is a grave matter; the quick we can slay, but the slain we cannot quicken, and needs must we look to the issue of affairs. the slaying of this [youth] will not escape us.'[fn# ] therewith he bade imprison him, whilst he himself returned [to the city] and despatching his occasions, went forth to the chase. then he returned to the city and forgot the youth; so the servants went in to him and said to him, 'o king, if thou keep silence concerning yonder youth, who would have slain thee, all thy servants will presume upon thee, and indeed the folk talk of this matter.' with this the king waxed wroth and saying, 'fetch him hither,' commanded the headsman to strike off his head. so they [brought the youth and] bound his eyes; and the headsman stood at his head and said to the king, 'by thy leave, o my lord, i will strike off his head.' but the king said, 'stay, till i look into his affair. needs must i put him to death and the slaying of him will not escape [me].' so he restored him to the prison and there he abode till it should be the king's will to put him to death. presently, his father and his mother heard of the matter; whereupon the former arose and going up to the place, wrote a letter and [presented it to the king, who] read it, and behold, therein was written, saying, 'have pity on me, so may god have pity on thee, and hasten not in the slaughter [of my son]; for indeed i acted hastily in a certain affair and drowned his brother in the sea, and to this day i drink the cup of his anguish. if thou must needs kill him, kill me in his stead.' therewith the old merchant prostrated himself before the king and wept; and the latter said to him, 'tell me thy story.' 'o my lord,' answered the merchant, 'this youth had a brother and i [in my haste] cast them both into the sea.' and he related to him his story from first to last, whereupon the king cried out with an exceeding great cry and casting himself down from the throne, embraced his father and brother and said to the former, 'by allah, thou art my very father and this is my brother and thy wife is our mother.' and they abode weeping, all three. then the king acquainted the people [of his court] with the matter and said to them,' o folk, how deem ye of my looking to the issues of affairs?' and they all marvelled at his wisdom and foresight. then he turned to his father and said to him, 'hadst thou looked to the issue of thine affair and dealt deliberately in that which thou didst, there had not betided thee this repentance and grief all this time.' then he let bring his mother and they rejoiced in each other and lived all their days in joy and gladness. what then," continued the young treasurer, "is more grievous than the lack of looking to the issues of affairs? wherefore hasten thou not in the slaying of me, lest repentance betide thee and sore concern." when the king heard this, he said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair; for that deliberation in affairs is advisable and the slaughter of this [youth] shall not escape [us]." the third day. of the advantages of patience. when it was the third day, the third vizier came in to the king and said to him, "o king, delay not the affair of this youth, for that his deed hath caused us fall into the mouths of the folk, and it behoveth that thou slay him presently, so the talk may be estopped from us and it be not said, 'the king saw on his bed a man with his wife and spared him.'"* the king was chagrined by this speech and bade bring the youth. so they brought him in shackles, and indeed the king's anger was roused against him by the speech of the vizier and he was troubled; so he said to him, "o base of origin, thou hast dishonoured us and marred our repute, and needs must i do away thy life from the world." quoth the youth, "o king, make use of patience in all thine affairs, so wilt thou attain thy desire, for that god the most high hath appointed the issue of patience [to be] in abounding good, and indeed by patience abou sabir ascended from the pit and sat down upon the throne." "who was abou sabir," asked the king, "and what is his story?" and the youth answered, saying, "o king, story of abou sabir. there was once a man, a headman [of a village], by name abou sabir, and he had much cattle and a fair wife, who had borne him two sons. they abode in a certain village and there used to come thither a lion and devour abou sabir's cattle, so that the most part thereof was wasted and his wife said to him one day, 'this lion hath wasted the most part of our cattle. arise, mount thy horse and take thy men and do thine endeavour to kill him, so we may be at rest from him.' but abou sabir said, 'have patience, o woman, for the issue of patience is praised. this lion it is that transgresseth against us, and the transgressor, needs must allah destroy him. indeed, it is our patience that shall slay him, and he that doth evil, needs must it revert upon him.' a little after, the king went forth one day to hunt and falling in with the lion, he and his troops, gave chase to him and ceased not [to follow] after him till they slew him. this came to abou sabir's knowledge and he said to his wife, 'said i not to thee, o woman, that whoso doth evil, it shall revert upon him? belike, if i had sought to slay the lion myself, i had not availed against him, and this is the issue of patience.' it befell, after this, that a man was slain in abou sabir's village; wherefore the sultan caused plunder the village, and they plundered the headman's goods with the rest so his wife said to him, 'all the sultan's officers know thee; so do thou prefer thy plaint to the king, that he may cause thy beasts to be restored to thee.' but he said to her, 'o woman, said i not to thee that he who doth evil shall suffer it? indeed, the king hath done evil, and he shall suffer [the consequences of] his deed, for whoso taketh the goods of the folk, needs must his goods be taken.' a man of his neighbours heard his speech, and he was an envier of his; so he went to the sultan and acquainted him therewith, whereupon he sent and plundered all [the rest of] his goods and drove him forth from the village, and his wife [and children] with him. so they went wandering in the desert and his wife said to him, 'all that hath befallen us cometh of thy slothfulness in affairs and thy default.' but he said to her, 'have patience, for the issue of patience is good.' then they went on a little, and thieves met them and despoiling them of that which remained with them, stripped them of their raiment and took the children from them; whereupon the woman wept and said to her husband, 'o man, put away from thee this folly and arise, let us follow the thieves, so haply they may have compassion on us and restore the children to us.' 'o woman,' answered he, 'have patience, for he who doth evil shall be requited with evil and his wickedness shall revert upon him. were i to follow them, most like one of them would take his sword and smite off my head and slay me; but have patience, for the issue of patience is praised.' then they fared on till they drew near a village in the land of kirman, and by it a river of water. so he said to his wife, 'abide thou here, whilst i enter the village and look us out a place wherein we may take up our lodging.' and he left her by the water and entered the village. presently, up came a horseman in quest of water, so he might water his horse. he saw the woman and she was pleasing in his sight; so he said to her, 'arise, mount with me and i will take thee to wife and entreat thee kindly.' quoth she, 'spare me, so may god spare thee! indeed, i have a husband.' but he drew his sword and said to her, 'an thou obey me not, i will smite thee and kill thee.' when she saw his malice, she wrote on the ground in the sand with her finger, saying, 'o abou sabir, thou hast not ceased to be patient, till thy wealth is gone from thee and thy children and [now] thy wife, who was more precious in thy sight than everything and than all thy wealth, and indeed thou abidest in thy sorrow all thy life long, so thou mayst see what thy patience will profit thee.' then the horseman took her, and setting her behind him, went his way. as for abou sabir, when he returned, he saw not his wife and read what was written on the ground, wherefore he wept and sat [awhile] sorrowing. then said he to himself, 'o abou sabir, it behoveth thee to be patient, for belike there shall betide [thee] an affair yet sorer than this and more grievous;' and he went forth wandering at a venture, like to the love-distraught, the madman, till he came to a sort of labourers working upon the palace of the king, by way of forced labour. when [the overseers] saw him, they laid hold of him and said to him, 'work thou with these folk at the palace of the king; else will we imprison thee for life.' so he fell to working with them as a labourer and every day they gave him a cake of bread. he wrought with them a month's space, till it chanced that one of the labourers mounted a ladder and falling, broke his leg; whereupon he cried out and wept. quoth abou sabir to him, 'have patience and weep not; for thou shall find ease in thy patience.' but the man said to him, 'how long shall i have patience?' and he answered, saying, 'patience bringeth a man forth of the bottom of the pit and seateth him on the throne of the kingdom.' now the king was seated at the lattice, hearkening to their talk, and abou sabir's words angered him; so he bade bring him before him and they brought him forthright. now there was in the king's palace an underground dungeon and therein a vast deep pit, into which the king caused cast abou sabir, saying to him, 'o lackwit, now shall we see how thou wilt come forth of the pit to the throne of the kingdom.' then he used to come and stand at the mouth of the pit and say, 'o lackwit, o abou sabir, i see thee not come forth of the pit and sit down on the king's throne!' and he assigned him each day two cakes of bread, whilst abou sabir held his peace and spoke not, but bore with patience that which betided him. now the king had a brother, whom he had imprisoned in that pit of old time, and he had died [there]; but the folk of the realm thought that he was alive, and when his [supposed] imprisonment grew long, the king's officers used to talk of this and of the tyranny of the king, and the report spread abroad that the king was a tyrant, wherefore they fell upon him one day and slew him. then they sought the well and brought out abou sabir therefrom, deeming him the king's brother, for that he was the nearest of folk to him [in favour] and the likest, and he had been long in the prison. so they doubted not but that he was the prince in question and said to him, 'reign thou in thy brother's room, for we have slain him and thou art king in his stead.' but abou sabir was silent and spoke not a word; and he knew that this was the issue of his patience. then he arose and sitting down on the king's throne, donned the royal raiment and discovered justice and equity and the affairs [of the realm] prospered [in his hand]; wherefore the folk obeyed him and the people inclined to him and many were his troops. now the king, who had plundered abou sabir['s goods] and driven him forth of his village, had an enemy; and the latter took horse against him and overcame him and captured his [capital] city; wherefore he addressed himself to flight and came to abou sabir's city, craving protection of him and seeking that he should succour him. he knew not that the king of the city was the headman whom he had despoiled; so he presented himself before him and made complaint to him; but abou sabir knew him and said to him, 'this is somewhat of the issue of patience. god the most high hath given me power over thee.' then he bade his guards plunder the [unjust] king and his attendants; so they plundered them and stripping them of their clothes, put them forth of his country. when abou sabir's troops saw this, they marvelled and said, 'what is this deed that the king doth? there cometh a king to him, craving protection, and he despoileth him! this is not of the fashion of kings.' but they dared not [be]speak [him] of this. after this, news came to the king of robbers in his land; so he set out in quest of them and ceased not to follow after them, till he seized on them all, and behold, they were the [very] thieves who had despoiled him [and his wife] by the way and taken his children. so he bade bring them before him, and when they came into his presence, he questioned them, saying, 'where are the two boys ye took on such a day?' quoth they, 'they are with us and we will present them to our lord the king for slaves to serve him and give him wealth galore that we have gotten together and divest ourselves of all that we possess and repent from sin and fight in thy service.' abou sabir, however, paid no heed to their speech, but took all their good and bade put them all to death. moreover, he took the two boys and rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy, whereat the troops murmured among themselves, saying, 'verily, this is a greater tyrant than his brother! there come to him a sort of robbers and seek to repent and proffer two boys [by way of peace-offering], and he taketh the two boys and all their good and slayeth them!' after this came the horseman, who had taken abou sabir's wife, and complained of her to the king that she would not give him possession of herself, avouching that she was his wife. the king bade bring her before him, that he might hear her speech and pronounce judgment upon her. so the horseman came with her before him, and when the king saw her, he knew her and taking her from her ravisher, bade put the latter to death. then he became aware of the troops, that they murmured against him and spoke of him as a tyrant; so he turned to his officers and viziers and said to them, 'as for me, by god the great, i am not the king's brother! nay, i am but one whom the king imprisoned upon a word he heard from me and used every day to taunt me therewith. ye think that i am the king's brother; but i am abou sabir and god hath given me the kingship in virtue of my patience. as for the king who sought protection of me and i despoiled him, it was he who first wronged me, for that he despoiled me aforetime and drove me forth of my native land and banished me, without due [cause]; wherefore i requited him with that which he had done to me, in the way of lawful vengeance. as for the thieves who proffered repentance, there was no repentance for them with me, for that they began upon me with foul [dealing] and waylaid me by the road and despoiled me and took my good and my sons. now these two boys, that i took of them and whom ye deemed slaves, are my very sons; so i avenged myself on the thieves of that which they did with me aforetime and requited them with equity. as for the horseman whom i slew, the woman i took from him was my wife and he took her by force, but god the most high hath restored her [to me]; so this was my right, and my deed that i have done was just, albeit ye, [judging] by the outward of the matter, deemed that i had done this by way of tyranny.' when the folk heard this, they marvelled and fell prostrate before him; and they redoubled in esteem for him and exceeding affection and excused themselves to him, marvelling at that which god had done with him and how he had given him the kingship by reason of his longsuffering and his patience and how he had raised himself by his patience from the bottom of the pit to the throne of the kingdom, what while god cast down the [late] king from the throne into the pit.[fn# ] then abou sabir foregathered with his wife and said to her, 'how deemest thou of the fruit of patience and its sweetness and the fruit of haste and its bitterness? verily, all that a man doth of good and evil, he shall assuredly abide.' on like wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "it behoveth thee to practise patience, whenas it is possible to thee, for that patience is of the fashion of the noble, and it is the chiefest of their reliance, especially for kings." when the king heard this from the youth, his anger subsided; so he bade restore him to the prison, and the folk dispersed that day. the fourth day. of the ill effects of precipitation. when it was the fourth day, the fourth vizier, whose name was zoushad, made his appearance and prostrating himself to the king, said to him, "o king, suffer not the talk of yonder youth to delude thee, for that he is not a truth-teller. so long as he abideth on life, the folk will not give over talking nor will thy heart cease to be occupied with him." "by allah," cried the king, "thou sayst sooth and i will cause fetch him this day and slay him before me." then he commanded to bring the youth; so they brought him in shackles and he said to him, "out on thee! thinkest thou to appease my heart with thy prate, whereby the days are spent in talk? i mean to slay thee this day and be quit of thee." "o king," answered the youth, "it is in thy power to slay me whensoever thou wilt, but haste is of the fashion of the base and patience of that of the noble. if thou put me to death, thou wilt repent, and if thou desire to bring me back to life, thou wilt not be able thereunto. indeed, whoso acteth hastily in an affair, there befalleth him what befell bihzad, son of the king." quoth the king, "and what is his story?" "o king," replied the young treasurer, story of prince bihzad. "there was once, of old time, a king and he had a son [named bihzad], there was not in his day a goodlier than he and he loved to consort with the folk and to sit with the merchants and converse with them. one day, as he sat in an assembly, amongst a number of folk, he heard them talking of his own goodliness and grace and saying, 'there is not in his time a goodlier than he.' but one of the company said, 'indeed, the daughter of king such-an-one is handsomer than he.' when bihzad heard this saying, his reason fled and his heart fluttered and he called the last speaker and said to him, 'repeat to me that which thou saidst and tell me the truth concerning her whom thou avouchest to be handsomer than i and whose daughter she is.' quoth the man, 'she is the daughter of king such-an-one;' whereupon bihzad's heart clave to her and his colour changed. the news reached his father, who said to him, 'o my son, this damsel to whom thy heart cleaveth is at thy commandment and we have power over her; so wait till i demand her [in marriage] for thee.' but the prince said, 'i will not wait.' so his father hastened in the matter and sent to demand her of her father, who required of him a hundred thousand dinars to his daughter's dowry. quoth bihzad's father, 'so be it,' and paid down what was in his treasuries, and there remained to his charge but a little of the dower. so he said to his son, 'have patience, o my son, till we gather together the rest of the money and send to fetch her to thee, for that she is become thine.' therewith the prince waxed exceeding wroth and said, 'i will not have patience;' so he took his sword and his spear and mounting his horse, went forth and fell to stopping the way, [so haply that he might win what lacked of the dowry]. it chanced one day that he fell in upon a company of folk and they overcame him by dint of numbers and taking him prisoner, pinioned him and carried him to the lord of that country. the latter saw his fashion and grace and misdoubting of him, said, 'this is no robber's favour. tell me truly, o youth, who thou art.' bihzad thought shame to acquaint him with his condition and chose rather death for himself; so he answered, 'i am nought but a thief and a bandit.' quoth the king, 'it behoveth us not to act hastily in the matter of this youth, but that we look into his affair, for that haste still engendereth repentance.' so he imprisoned him in his palace and assigned him one who should serve him. meanwhile, the news spread abroad that bihzad, son of the king, was lost, whereupon his father sent letters in quest of him [to all the kings and amongst others to him with whom he was imprisoned]. when the letter reached the latter, he praised god the most high for that he had not anydele hastened in bihzad's affair and letting bring him before himself, said to him, 'art thou minded to destroy thyself?' quoth bihzad, '[i did this] for fear of reproach;' and the king said, 'an thou fear reproach, thou shouldst not practise haste [in that thou dost]; knowest thou not that the fruit of haste is repentance? if we had hasted, we also, like unto thee, we had repented.' then he conferred on him a dress of honour and engaged to him for the completion of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him the glad news and comforting his heart with [the tidings of] his son's safety; after which he said to bihzad, arise, o my son, and go to thy father.' 'o king,' rejoined the prince, 'complete thy kindness to me by [hastening] my going-in to my wife; for, if i go back to my father, till he send a messenger and he return, promising me, the time will be long.' the king laughed and marvelled at him and said to him, 'i fear for thee from this haste, lest thou come to shame and attain not thy desire.' then he gave him wealth galore and wrote him letters, commending him to the father of the princess, and despatched him to them. when he drew near their country, the king came forth to meet him with the people of his realm and assigned him a handsome lodging and bade hasten the going-in of his daughter to him, in compliance with the other king's letter. moreover, he advised the prince's father [of his son's coming] and they busied themselves with the affair of the damsel. when it was the day of the going-in,[fn# ] bihzad, of his haste and lack of patience, betook himself to the wall, which was between himself and the princess's lodging and in which there was a hole pierced, and looked, so he might see his bride, of his haste. but the bride's mother saw him and this was grievous to her; so she took from one of the servants two red-hot iron spits and thrust them into the hole through which the prince was looking. the spits ran into his eyes and put them out and he fell down aswoon and joyance was changed and became mourning and sore concern. see, then, o king," continued the youth, "the issue of the prince's haste and lack of deliberation, for indeed his haste bequeathed him long repentance and his joy was changed to mourning; and on like wise was it with the woman who hastened to put out his eyes and deliberated not. all this was the doing of haste; wherefore it behoveth the king not to be hasty in putting me to death, for that i am under the grasp of his hand, and what time soever thou desirest my slaughter, it shall not escape [thee]." when the king heard this, his anger subsided and he said, "carry him back to prison till to-morrow, to we may look into his affair." the fifth day of the issues of good and evil actions. when it was the fifth day, the fifth vizier, whose name was jehrbaur, came in to the king and prostrating himself before him, said, "o king, it behoveth thee, if thou see or hear that one look on thy house,[fn# ] that thou put out his eyes. how then should it be with him whom thou sawest midmost thy house and on thy very bed, and he suspected with thy harem, and not of thy lineage nor of thy kindred? wherefore do thou away this reproach by putting him to death. indeed, we do but urge thee unto this for the assurance of thine empire and of our zeal for thy loyal counselling and of our love to thee. how can it be lawful that this youth should live for a single hour?" therewith the king was filled with wrath and said, "bring him forthright," so they brought the youth before him, shackled, and the king said to him, "out on thee! thou hast sinned a great sin and the time of thy life hath been long;[fn# ] but needs must we put thee to death, for that there is for us no ease in thy life after this," "o king," answered he, "know that i, by allah, am guiltless, and by reason of this i hope for life, for that he who is guiltless of offence goeth not in fear of punishment neither maketh great his mourning and his concern; but whoso hath sinned, needs must his sin be expiated upon him, though his life be prolonged, and it shall overtake him, even as it overtook dadbin the king and his vizier." "how was that?" asked azadbekht, and the youth said, story of king dadbin and his viziers. "there was once a king in the land of teberistan, by name dadbin, and he had two viziers, called one zourkhan and the other kardan. the vizier zourkhan had a daughter, there was not in her time a handsomer than she nor yet a chaster nor a more pious, for she was a faster, a prayer and a worshipper of god the most high, and her name was arwa. now dadbin heard tell of her charms; so his heart clave to her and he called the vizier [her father] and said to him, 'i desire of thee that thou marry me to thy daughter.' quoth zourkhan, 'allow me to consult her, and if she consent, i will marry thee with her.' and the king said, 'hasten unto this.' so the vizier went in to his daughter and said to her, 'o my daughter, the king seeketh thee of me and desireth to marry thee.' 'o my father,' answered she 'i desire not a husband and if thou wilt marry me, marry me not but with one who shall be below me in rank and i nobler than he, so he may not turn to other than myself nor lift his eyes upon me, and marry me not to one who is nobler than i, lest i be with him as a slave-girl and a serving-woman.' so the vizier returned to the king and acquainted him with that which his daughter had said, whereat he redoubled in desire and love-liking for her and said to her father, 'an thou marry me not to her of good grace, i will take her by force in thy despite.' the vizier again betook himself to his daughter and repeated to her the king's words, but she replied, 'i desire not a husband.' so he returned to the king and told him what she said, and he was wroth and threatened the vizier, whereupon the latter took his daughter and fled with her. when this came to the king's knowledge, he despatched troops in pursuit of zourkhan, to stop the road upon him, whilst he himself went out and overtaking the vizier, smote him on the head with his mace and slew him. then he took his daughter by force and returning to his dwelling-place, went in to her and married her. arwa resigned herself with patience to that which betided her and committed her affair to god the most high; and indeed she was used to serve him day and night with a goodly service in the house of king dabdin her husband. it befell one day that the king had occasion to make a journey; so he called his vizier kardan and said to him, 'i have a trust to commit to thy care, and it is yonder damsel, my wife, the daughter of the vizier [zourkhan], and i desire that thou keep her and guard her thyself, for that there is not in the world aught dearer to me than she.' quoth kardan in himself, 'of a truth, the king honoureth me with an exceeding honour [in entrusting me] with this damsel.' and he answered 'with all my heart.' when the king had departed on his journey, the vizier said in himself, 'needs must i look upon this damsel whom the king loveth with all this love.' so he hid himself in a place, that he might look upon her, and saw her overpassing description; wherefore he was confounded at her and his wit was dazed and love got the mastery of him, so that he said to her, saying, 'have pity on me, for indeed i perish for the love of thee.' she sent back to him, saying, 'o vizier, thou art in the place of trust and confidence, so do not thou betray thy trust, but make thine inward like unto thine outward[fn# ] and occupy thyself with thy wife and that which is lawful to thee. as for this, it is lust and [women are all of] one taste.[fn# ] and if thou wilt not be forbidden from this talk, i will make thee a byword and a reproach among the folk.' when the vizier heard her answer, he knew that she was chaste of soul and body; wherefore he repented with the utmost of repentance and feared for himself from the king and said, 'needs must i contrive a device wherewithal i may destroy her; else shall i be disgraced with the king.' when the king returned from his journey, he questioned his vizier of the affairs of his kingdom and the latter answered, 'all is well, o king, save a vile matter, which i have discovered here and wherewith i am ashamed to confront the king; but, if i hold my peace thereof, i fear lest other than i discover it and i [be deemed to] have played traitor to the king in the matter of my [duty of] loyal warning and my trust.' quoth dabdin, 'speak, for thou art none other than a truth-teller, a trusty one, a loyal counsellor in that which thou sayest, undistrusted in aught.' and the vizier said, 'o king, this woman to whose love thy heart cleaveth and of whose piety thou talkest and her fasting and praying, i will make plain to thee that this is craft and guile.' at this, the king was troubled and said, 'what is to do?' 'know,' answered the vizier, 'that some days after thy departure, one came to me and said to me, "come, o vizier, and look." so i went to the door of the [queen's] sleeping-chamber and beheld her sitting with aboulkhair, her father's servant, whom she favoureth, and she did with him what she did, and this is the manner of that which i saw and heard.' when dabdin heard this, he burnt with rage and said to one of his eunuchs,[fn# ] 'go and slay her in her chamber.' but the eunuch said to him, 'o king, may god prolong thy continuance! indeed, the killing of her may not be at this time; but do thou bid one of thine eunuchs take her up on a camel and carry her to one of the trackless deserts and cast her down there; so, if she be at fault, god shall cause her to perish, and if she be innocent, he will deliver her, and the king shall be free from sin against her, for that this damsel is dear to thee and thou slewest her father by reason of thy love for her.' quoth the king, 'by allah, thou sayst sooth!' then he bade one of his eunuchs carry her on a camel to one of the far-off deserts and there leave her and go away, and he forbade [him] to prolong her torment. so he took her up and betaking himself with her to the desert, left her there without victual or water and returned, whereupon she made for one of the [sand-]hills and ranging stones before her [in the form of a prayer-niche], stood praying. now it chanced that a camel-driver, belonging to kisra the king, lost certain camels and the king threatened him, if he found them not, that he would slay him. so he set out and plunged into the deserts till he came to the place where the damsel was and seeing her standing praying, waited till she had made an end of her prayer, when he went up to her and saluted her, saying, 'who art thou?' quoth she, 'i am a handmaid of god.' 'what dost thou in this desolate place?' asked he, and she said, 'i serve god the most high.' when he saw her beauty and grace, he said to her, 'harkye! do thou take me to husband and i will be tenderly solicitous over thee and use thee with exceeding compassion and i will further thee in obedience to god the most high.' but she answered, saying, 'i have no need of marriage and i desire to abide here [alone] with my lord and his service; but, if thou wouldst deal compassionately with me and further me in the obedience of god the most high, carry me to a place where there is water and thou wilt have done me a kindness.' so he carried her to a place wherein was running water and setting her down on the ground, left her and went away, marvelling at her. after he left her, he found his camels, by her blessing, and when he returned, king kisra asked him, 'hast thou found the camels?' ['yes,' answered he] and acquainted him with the affair of the damsel and set out to him her beauty and grace; whereupon the king's heart clave to her and he mounted with a few men and betook himself to that place, where he found the damsel and was amazed at her, for that he saw her overpassing the description wherewith the camel-driver had described her to him. so he accosted her and said to her, 'i am king kisra, greatest of the kings. wilt thou not have me to husband?' quoth she, 'what wilt thou do with me, o king, and i a woman abandoned in the desert?' and he answered, saying, 'needs must this be, and if thou wilt not consent to me, i will take up my sojourn here and devote myself to god's service and thine and worship him with thee.' then he bade set up for her a tent and another for himself, facing hers, so he might worship god with her, and fell to sending her food; and she said in herself, 'this is a king and it is not lawful for me that i suffer him forsake his subjects and his kingdom for my sake. so she said to the serving-woman, who used to bring her the food, 'speak to the king, so he may return to his women, for he hath no need of me and i desire to abide in this place, so i may worship god the most high therein.' the slave-girl returned to the king and told him this, whereupon he sent back to her, saying, 'i have no need of the kingship and i also desire to abide here and worship god with thee in this desert.' when she found this earnestness in him, she consented to his wishes and said, 'o king, i will consent unto thee in that which thou desirest and will be to thee a wife, but on condition that thou bring me dadbin the king and his vizier kardan and his chamberlain[fn# ] and that they be present in thine assembly, so i may speak a word with them in thy presence, to the intent that thou mayest redouble in affection for me.' quoth kisra, 'and what is thine occasion unto this?' so she related to him her story from first to last, how she was the wife of dadbin the king and how the latter's vizier had miscalled her honour. when king kisra heard this, he redoubled in loveliking for her and affection and said to her, 'do what thou wilt.' so he let bring a litter and carrying her therein to his dwelling-place, married her and entreated her with the utmost honour. then he sent a great army to king dadbin and fetching him and his vizier and the chamberlain, caused bring them before him, unknowing what he purposed with them. moreover, he caused set up for arwa a pavilion in the courtyard of his palace and she entered therein and let down the curtain before herself. when the servants had set their seats and they had seated themselves, arwa raised a corner of the curtain and said, 'o kardan, rise to thy feet, for it befitteth not that thou sit in the like of this assembly, before this mighty king kisra.' when the vizier heard these words, his heart quaked and his joints were loosened and of his fear, he rose to his feet. then said she to him, 'by the virtue of him who hath made thee stand in this place of standing [up to judgment], and thou abject and humiliated, i conjure thee speak the truth and say what prompted thee to lie against me and cause me go forth from my house and from the hand of my husband and made thee practise thus against a man,[fn# ] a true believer, and slay him. this is no place wherein leasing availeth nor may prevarication be therein.' when the vizier was ware that she was arwa and heard her speech, he knew that it behoved him not to lie and that nought would avail him but truth-speaking; so he bowed [his head] to the ground and wept and said, 'whoso doth evil, needs must he abide it, though his day be prolonged. by allah, i am he who hath sinned and transgressed, and nought prompted me unto this but fear and overmastering desire and the affliction written upon my forehead;[fn# ] and indeed this woman is pure and chaste and free from all fault.' when king dadbin heard this, he buffeted his face and said to his vizier, 'god slay thee! it is thou that hast parted me and my wife and wronged me!' but kisra the king said to him, 'god shall surely slay thee, for that thou hastenedst and lookedst not into thine affair and knewest not the guilty from the guiltless. hadst thou wrought deliberately, the false had been made manifest to thee from the true; so where was thy judgment and thy sight?" then said he to arwa, "what wilt thou that i do with them?" and she answered, saying, "accomplish on them the ordinance of god the most high;[fn# ] the slayer shall be slain and the transgressor transgressed against, even as he transgressed against us; yea, and the well-doer, good shall be done unto him, even as he did unto us." so she gave [her officers] commandment concerning dadbin and they smote him on the head with a mace and slew him, and she said, "this is for the slaughter of my father." then she bade set the vizier on a beast [and carry him] to the desert whither he had caused carry her [and leave him there without victual or water]; and she said to him, "an thou be guilty, thou shalt abide [the punishment of] thy guilt and perish of hunger and thirst in the desert; but, if there be no guilt in thee, thou shalt be delivered, even as i was delivered." as for the eunuch, the chamberlain, who had counselled king dadbin [not to slay her, but] to [cause] carry her to the desert [and there abandon her], she bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and said to him, "the like of thee it behoveth kings to hold in favour and set in high place, for that thou spokest loyally and well, and a man is still requited according to his deed." and kisra the king invested him with the governance of one of the provinces of his empire. know, therefore, o king," continued the youth, "that whoso doth good is requited therewith and he who is guiltless of sin and reproach feareth not the issue of his affair. and i, o king, am free from guilt, wherefore i trust in god that he will show forth the truth and vouchsafe me the victory over enemies and enviers." when the king heard this, his wrath subsided and he said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the sixth day of trust in god. when it was the sixth day, the viziers' wrath redoubled, for that they had not compassed their desire of the youth and they feared for themselves from the king; so three of them went in to him and prostrating themselves before him, said to him, "o king, indeed we are loyal counsellors to thy dignity and tenderly solicitous for thee. verily, thou persistest long in sparing this youth alive and we know not what is thine advantage therein. every day findeth him yet on life and the talk redoubleth suspicions on thee; so do thou put him to death, that the talk may be made an end of." when the king heard this speech, he said, "by allah, indeed, ye say sooth and speak rightly!" then he let bring the young treasurer and said to him, "how long shall i look into thine affair and find no helper for thee and see them all athirst for thy blood?" "o king," answered the youth, "i hope for succour only from god, not from created beings: if he aid me, none can avail to harm me, and if he be with me and on my side, because of the truth, who is it i shall fear, because of falsehood? indeed, i have made my intent with god a pure and sincere intent and have severed my expectation from the help of the creature; and whoso seeketh help [of god] findeth of his desire that which bekhtzeman found." quoth the king, "who was bekhtzeman and what is his story?" "o king," replied the youth, story of king bekhtzeman. "there was once a king of the kings, whose name was bekhtzeman, and he was a great eater and drinker and carouser. now enemies of his made their appearance in certain parts of his realm and threatened him; and one of his friends said to him, 'o king, the enemy maketh for thee: be on thy guard against him.' quoth bekhtzeman, 'i reck not of him, for that i have arms and wealth and men and am not afraid of aught.' then said his friends to him, 'seek aid of god, o king, for he will help thee more than thy wealth and thine arms and thy men.' but he paid no heed to the speech of his loyal counsellors, and presently the enemy came upon him and waged war upon him and got the victory over him and his trust in other than god the most high profited him nought. so he fled from before him and seeking one of the kings, said to him, 'i come to thee and lay hold upon thy skirts and take refuge with thee, so thou mayst help me against mine enemy.' the king gave him money and men and troops galore and bekhtzeman said in himself, 'now am i fortified with this army and needs must i conquer my enemy therewith and overcome him;' but he said not, 'with the aid of god the most high.' so his enemy met him and overcame him again and he was defeated and put to the rout and fled at a venture. his troops were dispersed from him and his money lost and the enemy followed after him. so he sought the sea and passing over to the other side, saw a great city and therein a mighty citadel. he asked the name of the city and to whom it belonged and they said to him, 'it belongeth to khedidan the king.' so he fared on till he came to the king's palace aud concealing his condition, passed himself off for a horseman[fn# ] and sought service with king khedidan, who attached him to his household and entreated him with honour; but his heart still clave to his country and his home. presently, it chanced that an enemy attacked king khedidan; so he sent out his troops to him and made bekhtzeman head of the army. then they went forth to the field and khedidan also came forth and ranged his troops and took the spear and sallied out in person and fought a sore battle and overcame his enemy, who fled, he and his troops, ignominiously. when the king and his army returned in triumph, bekhtzeman said to him, 'harkye, o king! meseemeth this is a strange thing of thee that thou art compassed about with this vast army, yet dost thou apply thyself in person to battle and adventurest thyself.' quoth the king, 'dost thou call thyself a cavalier and a man of learning and deemest that victory is in abundance of troops?' 'ay,' answered bekhtzeman; 'that is indeed my belief.' and khedidan said, 'by allah, then, thou errest in this thy belief! woe and again woe to him whose trust is in other than god! indeed, this army is appointed only for adornment and majesty, and victory is from god alone. i too, o bekhtzeman, believed aforetime that victory was in the multitude of men, and an enemy came out against me with eight hundred men, whilst i had eight hundred thousand. i trusted in the number of my troops, whilst mine enemy trusted in god; so he defeated me and routed me and i was put to a shameful flight and hid myself in one of the mountains, where i met with a recluse, [who had] withdrawn [himself from the world]. so i joined myself to him and complained to him of my case and acquainted him with all that had befallen me. quoth he, "knowest thou why this befell thee and thou wast defeated?" "i know not," answered i, and he said, "because thou puttest thy trust in the multitude of thy troops and reliedst not upon god the most high. hadst thou put thy trust in god and believed in him that it is he [alone] who advantageth and endamageth thee, thine enemy had not availed to cope with thee. return unto god." so i returned to myself and repented at the hands of the solitary, who said to me, "turn back with what remaineth to thee of troops and confront thine enemies, for, if their intents be changed from god, thou wilt overcome them, wert thou alone." when i heard these words, i put my trust in god the most high, and gathering together those who remained with me, fell upon mine enemies at unawares in the night. they deemed us many and fled on the shamefullest wise, whereupon i entered my city and repossessed myself of my place by the might of god the most high, and now i fight not but [trusting] in his aid.' when bekhtzeman heard this, he awoke from his heedlessness and said, 'extolled be the perfection of god the great! o king, this is my case and my story, nothing added and nought diminished, for i am king bekhtzeman and all this happened to me; wherefore i will seek the gate of god['s mercy] and repent unto him.' so he went forth to one of the mountains and there worshipped god awhile, till one night, as he slept, one appeared to him in a dream and said to him, 'o bekhtzeman, god accepteth thy repentance and openeth on thee [the gate of succour] and will further thee against thine enemy.' when he was certified of this in the dream, he arose and turned back, intending for his own city; and when he drew near thereunto, he saw a company of the king's retainers, who said to him, 'whence art thou? we see that thou art a stranger and fear for thee from this king, for that every stranger who enters this city, he destroys him, of his fear of king bekhtzeman.' quoth bekhtzeman, 'none shall hurt him nor advantage him save god the most high.' and they answered, saying, 'indeed, he hath a vast army and his heart is fortified in the multitude of his troops.' when king bekhtzeman heard this, his heart was comforted and he said in himself, 'i put my trust in god. if he will, i shall overcome mine enemy by the might of god the most high.' so he said to the folk, ' know ye not who i am?' and they answered, ' no, by allah.' quoth he, 'i am king bekhtzeman.' when they heard this and knew that it was indeed he, they dismounted from their horses and kissed his stirrup, to do him honour, and said to him, 'o king, why hast thou thus adventured thyself?' quoth he, 'indeed, my life is a light matter to me and i put my trust in god the most high, looking to him for protection.' and they answered him, saying, 'may this suffice thee! we will do with thee that which is in our power and whereof thou art worthy: comfort thy heart, for we will succour thee with our goods and our lives, and we are his chief officers and the most in favour with him of all folk. so we will take thee with us and cause the folk follow after thee, for that the inclination of the people, all of them, is to thee.' quoth he, 'do that unto which god the most high enableth you.' so they carried him into the city and hid him with them. moreover, they agreed with a company of the king's chief officers, who had aforetime been those of bekhtzeman, and acquainted them with this; whereat they rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then they assembled together to bekhtzeman and made a covenant and handfast [of fealty] with him and fell upon the enemy at unawares and slew him and seated king bekhtzeman again on the throne of his kingship. and his affairs prospered and god amended his estate and restored his bounty to him, and he ruled his subjects justly and abode in the obedience of the most high. on this wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "he with whom god is and whose intent is pure, meeteth nought but good. as for me, i have no helper other than god, and i am content to submit myself to his ordinance, for that he knoweth the purity of my intent." with this the king's wrath subsided and he said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the seventh day. of clemency. when it was the seventh day, the seventh vizier, whose name was bihkemal, came in to the king and prostrating himself to him, said, "o king, what doth thy long-suffering with this youth advantage thee? indeed the folk talk of thee and of him. why, then, dost thou postpone the putting him to death?" the vizier's words aroused the king's anger and he bade bring the youth. so they brought him before him, shackled, and azadbekht said to him, "out on thee! by allah, after this day there abideth no deliverance for thee from my hand, for that thou hast outraged mine honour, and there can be no forgiveness for thee." "o king," answered the youth, "there is no great forgiveness save in case of a great crime, for according as the offence is great, in so much is forgiveness magnified and it is no dishonour to the like of thee if he spare the like of me. verily, allah knoweth that there is no fault in me, and indeed he commandeth unto clemency, and no clemency is greater than that which spareth from slaughter, for that thy forgiveness of him whom thou purposest to put to death is as the quickening of a dead man; and whoso doth evil shall find it before him, even as it was with king bihkerd." "and what is the story of king bihkerd?" asked the king. "o king," answered the youth, story of king bihkerd. "there was once a king named bihkerd aed he had wealth galore and many troops; but his deeds were evil and he would punish for a slight offence and never forgave. he went forth one day to hunt and one of his servants shot an arrow, which lit on the king's ear and cut it off. quoth bihkerd, 'who shot that arrow?' so the guards brought him in haste the offender, whose name was yetrou, and he of his fear fell down on the ground in a swoon. then said the king, 'put him to death;' but yetrou said, 'o king, this that hath befallen was not of my choice nor of my knowledge; so do thou pardon me, in the hour of thy power over me, for that clemency is of the goodliest of things and belike it shall be [in this world] a provision and a good work [for which thou shall be requited] one of these days, and a treasure [laid up to thine account] with god in the world to come. pardon me, therefore, and fend off evil from me, so shall god fend off from thee evil the like thereof.' when the king heard this, it pleased him and he pardoned the servant, albeit he had never before pardoned any. now this servant was of the sons of the kings and had fled from his father, on account of an offence he had committed. then he went and took service with king bihkerd and there happened to him what happened. after awhile, it chanced that a man recognized him and went and told his father, who sent him a letter, comforting his heart and mind and [beseeching him] to return to him. so he returned to his father, who came forth to meet him and rejoiced in him, and the prince's affairs were set right with him. it befell, one day of the days, that king bihkerd embarked in a ship and put out to sea, so he might fish; but the wind blew on them and the ship foundered. the king won ashore on a plank, unknown of any, and came forth, naked, on one of the coasts; and it chanced that he landed in the country whereof the father of the youth aforesaid, [his sometime servant], was king. so he came in the night to the gate of the latter's city and [finding it shut], took up his lodging [for the night] in a burying-place there. when the morning morrowed and the folk came forth of the city, they found a murdered man cast down in a corner of the burial-ground and seeing bihkerd there, doubted not but it was he who had slain him; so they laid hands on him and carried him up to the king and said to him, 'this fellow hath slain a man.' the king bade imprison him; [so they clapped him in prison] and he fell a-saying in himself, what while he was in the prison, 'all that hath befallen me is of the abundance of my sins and my tyranny, for, indeed, i have slain much people unrighteously and this is the requital of my deeds and that which i have wrought aforetime of oppression.' as he was thus pondering in himself, there came a bird and lighted down on the coign of the prison, whereupon, of his much eagerness in the chase, he took a stone and cast it at the bird. now the king's son was playing in the exercise-ground with the ball and the mall, and the stone lit on his ear and cut it off, whereupon the prince fell down in a swoon. so they enquired who had thrown the stone and [finding that it was bihkerd,] took him and carried him before the prince, who bade put him to death. accordingly, they cast the turban from his head and were about to bind his eyes, when the prince looked at him and seeing him cropped of an ear, said to him, 'except thou wert a lewd fellow, thine ear had not been cut off.' 'not so, by allah!' answered bihkerd. 'nay, but the story [of the loss] of my ear is thus and thus, and i pardoned him who smote me with an arrow and cut off my ear.' when the prince heard this, he looked in his face and knowing him, cried out and said, 'art thou not bihkerd the king?' 'yes,' answered he, and the prince said to him 'what bringeth thee here?' so he told him all that had betided him and the folk marvelled and extolled the perfection of god the most high. then the prince rose to him and embraced him and kissed him and entreated him with honour. moreover, he seated him in a chair and bestowed on him a dress of honour; and he turned to his father and said to him, 'this is the king who pardoned me and this is his ear that i cut off with an arrow; and indeed he deserveth pardon from me, for that he pardoned me.' then said he to bihkerd, 'verily, the issue of clemency hath been a provision for thee [in thine hour of need].' and they entreated him with the utmost kindness and sent him back to his own country in all honour and worship know, then, o king," continued the youth, "that there is no goodlier thing than clemency and that all thou dost thereof, thou shalt find before thee, a treasure laid up for thee." when the king heard this, his wrath subsided and he said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the eighth day. of envy and malice. when it was the eighth day, the viziers all assembled and took counsel together and said, "how shall we do with this youth, who baffleth us with his much talk? indeed, we fear lest he be saved and we fall [into perdition]. wherefore, let us all go in to the king and unite our efforts to overcome him, ere he appear without guilt and come forth and get the better of us." so they all went in to the king and prostrating themselves before him, said to him, "o king, have a care lest this youth beguile thee with his sorcery and bewitch thee with his craft. if thou heardest what we hear, thou wouldst not suffer him live, no, not one day. so pay thou no heed to his speech, for we are thy viziers, [who endeavour for] thy continuance, and if thou hearken not to our word, to whose word wilt thou hearken? see, we are ten viziers who testify against this youth that he is guilty and entered not the king's sleeping-chamber but with evil intent, so he might put the king to shame and outrage his honour; and if the king slay him not, let him banish him his realm, so the tongue of the folk may desist from him." when the king heard his viziers' words, he was exceeding wroth and bade bring the youth, and when he came in to the king, the viziers all cried out with one voice, saying, "o scant o' grace, thinkest thou to save thyself from slaughter by craft and guile, that thou beguilest the king with thy talk and hopest pardon for the like of this great crime which thou hast committed?" then the king bade fetch the headsman, so he might smite off his head; whereupon each of the viziers fell a-saying, "i will slay him;" and they sprang upon him. quote the youth, "o king, consider and ponder these men's eagerness. is this of envy or no? they would fain make severance between thee and me, so there may fall to them what they shall plunder, as aforetime." and the king said to him, "consider their testimony against thee." "o king," answered the young man, "how shall they testify of that which they saw not? this is but envy and rancour; and thou, if thou slay me, thou wilt regret me, and i fear lest there betide thee of repentance that which betided ilan shah, by reason of the malice of his viziers." "and what is his story?" asked azadbekht. "o king," replied the youth, story of ilan shah and abou temam. "there was once a merchant named abou temam, and he was a man of understanding and good breeding, quick-witted and truthful in all his affairs, and he had wealth galore. now there was in his land an unjust king and a jealous, and abou temam feared for his wealth from this king and said, 'i will remove hence to another place where i shall not be in fear.' so he made for the city of ilan shah and built himself a palace therein and transporting his wealth thither, took up his abode there. presently, the news of him reached king ilan shah; so he sent to bid him to his presence and said to him, 'we know of thy coming to us and thine entry under our allegiance, and indeed we have heard of thine excellence and wit and generosity; so welcome to thee and fair welcome! the land is thy land and at thy commandment, and whatsoever occasion thou hast unto us, it is [already] accomplished unto thee; and it behoveth that thou be near our person and of our assembly.' abou temam prostrated himself to the king and said to him, 'o king, i will serve thee with my wealth and my life, but do thou excuse me from nearness unto thee, for that, [if i took service about thy person], i should not be safe from enemies and enviers.' then he addressed himself to serve the king with presents and largesses, and the king saw him to be intelligent, well-bred and of good counsel; so he committed to him the ordinance of his affairs and in his hand was the power to bind and loose. now ilan shah had three viziers, in whose hands the affairs [of the kingdom] were [aforetime] and they had been used to leave not the king night nor day; but they became shut out from him by reason of abou temam and the king was occupied with him to their exclusion. so they took counsel together upon the matter and said, 'what counsel ye we should do, seeing that the king is occupied from us with yonder man, and indeed he honoureth him more than us? but now come, let us cast about for a device, whereby we may remove him from the king.' so each of them spoke forth that which was in his mind, and one of them said, 'the king of the turks hath a daughter, whose like there is not in the world, and whatsoever messenger goeth to demand her in marriage, her father slayeth him. now our king hath no knowledge of this; so, come, let us foregather with him and bring up the talk of her. when his heart is taken with her, we will counsel him to despatch abou temam to seek her hand in marriage; whereupon her father will slay him and we shall be quit of him, for we have had enough of his affair." accordingly, they all went in to the king one day (and abou temam was present among them,) and mentioned the affair of the damsel, the king's daughter of the turks, and enlarged upon her charms, till the king's heart was taken with her and he said to them, 'we will send one to demand her in marriage for us; but who shall be our messenger?' quoth the viziers, 'there is none for this business but abou temam, by reason of his wit and good breeding;' and the king said, 'indeed, even as ye say, none is fitting for this affair but he.' then he turned to abou temam and said to him, 'wilt thou not go with my message and seek me [in marriage] the king's daughter of the turks?' and he answered, 'hearkening and obedience, o king.' so they made ready his affair and the king conferred on him a dress of honour, and he took with him a present and a letter under the king's hand and setting out, fared on till he came to the [capital] city of turkestan. when the king of the turks knew of his coming, he despatched his officers to receive him and entreated him with honour and lodged him as befitted his rank. then he entertained him three days, after which he summoned him to his presence and abou temam went in to him and prostrating himself before him, as beseemeth unto kings, laid the present before him and gave him the letter. the king read the letter and said to abou temam, "we will do what behoveth in the matter; but, o abou temam, needs must thou see my daughter and she thee, and needs must thou hear her speech and she thine.' so saying, he sent him to the lodging of the princess, who had had notice of this; so that they had adorned her sitting-chamber with the costliest that might be of utensils of gold and silver and the like, and she seated herself on a throne of gold, clad in the most sumptuous of royal robes and ornaments. when abou temam entered, he bethought himself and said, 'the wise say, he who restraineth his sight shall suffer no evil and he who guardeth his tongue shall hear nought of foul, and he who keepeth watch over his hand, it shall be prolonged and not curtailed.'[fn# ] so he entered and seating himself on the ground, [cast down his eyes and] covered his hands and feet with his dress.[fn# ] quoth the king's daughter to him, 'lift thy head, o abou temam, and look on me and speak with me.' but he spoke not neither raised his head, and she continued, 'they sent thee but that thou mightest look on me and speak with me, and behold, thou speakest not at all. take of these pearls that be around thee and of these jewels and gold and silver. but he put not forth his hand unto aught, and when she saw that he paid no heed to anything, she was angry and said, 'they have sent me a messenger, blind, dumb and deaf.' then she sent to acquaint her father with this; whereupon the king called abou temam to him and said to him, 'thou camest not but to see my daughter. why, then, hast thou not looked upon her?' quoth abou temam, 'i saw everything.' and the king said, 'why didst thou not take somewhat of that which thou sawest of jewels and the like? for they were set for thee.' but he answered, 'it behoveth me not to put out my hand to aught that is not mine.' when the king heard his speech, he gave him a sumptuous dress of honour and loved him exceedingly and said to him, 'come, look at this pit.' so abou temam went up [to the mouth of the pit] and looked, and behold, it was full of heads of men; and the king said to him, 'these are the heads of ambassadors, whom i slew, for that i saw them without loyalty to their masters, and i was used, whenas i saw an ambassador without breeding, [fn# ] to say, "he who sent him is less of breeding than he, for that the messenger is the tongue of him who sendeth him and his breeding is of his master's breeding; and whoso is on this wise, it befitteth not that he be akin to me."[fn# ] so, because of this, i used to put the messengers to death; but, as for thee, thou hast overcome us and won my daughter, of the excellence of thy breeding; so be of good heart, for she is thy master's.' then he sent him back to king ilan shah with presents and rarities and a letter, saying, 'this that i have done is in honour of thee and of thine ambassador.' when abou temam returned with [news of] the accomplishment of his errand and brought the presents and the letter, king ilan shah rejoiced in this and redoubled in showing him honour and made much of him. some days thereafterward, the king of turkestan sent his daughter and she went in to king ilan shah, who rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy and abou temam's worth was exalted in his sight. when the viziers saw this, they redoubled in envy and despite and said, 'an we contrive us not a device to rid us of this man, we shall perish of rage.' so they bethought them [and agreed upon] a device they should practise. then they betook themselves to two boys affected to the [special] service of the king, who slept not but on their knee,[fn# ] and they lay at his head, for that they were his pages of the chamber, and gave them each a thousand dinars of gold, saying, 'we desire of you that ye do somewhat for us and take this gold as a provision against your occasion.' quoth the boys, 'what is it ye would have us do?' and the viziers answered, 'this abou temam hath marred our affairs for us, and if his case abide on this wise, he will estrange us all from the king's favour; and what we desire of you is that, when ye are alone with the king and he leaneth back, as he were asleep, one of you say to his fellow, "verily, the king hath taken abou temam into his especial favour and hath advanced him to high rank with him, yet is he a transgressor against the king's honour and an accursed one." then let the other of you ask, "and what is his transgression?" and the first make answer, "he outrageth the king's honour and saith, 'the king of turkestan was used, whenas one went to him to seek his daughter in marriage, to slay him; but me he spared, for that she took a liking to me, and by reason of this he sent her hither, because she loved me.'" then let his fellow say, "knowest thou this for truth?" and the other reply, "by allah, this is well known unto all the folk, but, of their fear of the king, they dare not bespeak him thereof; and as often as the king is absent a-hunting or on a journey, abou temam comes to her and is private with her."' and the boys answered, 'we will say this.' accordingly, one night, when they were alone with the king and he leant back, as he were asleep, they said these words and the king heard it all and was like to die of rage and said in himself, 'these are young boys, not come to years of discretion, and have no intrigue with any; and except they had heard these words from some one, they had not spoken with each other thereof.' when it was morning, wrath overmastered him, so that he stayed not neither deliberated, but summoned abou temam and taking him apart, said to him, 'whoso guardeth not his lord's honour,[fn# ] what behoveth unto him?' quoth abou temam, 'it behoveth that his lord guard not his honour.' 'and whoso entereth the king's house and playeth the traitor with him,' continued the king, 'what behoveth unto him?' and abou temam answered, 'he shall not be left on life.' whereupon the king spat in his face and said to him, 'both these things hast thou done.' then he drew his dagger on him in haste and smiting him in the belly, slit it and he died forthright; whereupon the king dragged him to a well that was in his palace and cast him therein. after he had slain him, he fell into repentance and mourning and chagrin waxed upon him, and none, who questioned him, would he acquaint with the cause thereof, nor, of his love for his wife, did he tell her of this, and whenas she asked him of [the cause of] his grief, he answered her not. when the viziers knew of abou temam's death, they rejoiced with an exceeding joy and knew that the king's grief arose from regret for him. as for ilan shah, he used, after this, to betake himself by night to the sleeping-chamber of the two boys and spy upon them, so he might hear what they said concerning his wife. as he stood one night privily at the door of their chamber, he saw them spread out the gold before them and play with it and heard one of them say, 'out on us! what doth this gold profit us? for that we cannot buy aught therewith neither spend it upon ourselves. nay, but we have sinned against abou temam and done him to death unjustly.' and the other answered, 'had we known that the king would presently kill him, we had not done what we did.' when the king heard this, he could not contain himself, but rushed in upon them and said to them, 'out on you! what did ye? tell me.' and they said, 'pardon, o king.' quoth he, 'an ye would have pardon from god and me, it behoveth you to tell me the truth, for nothing shall save you from me but truth-speaking.' so they prostrated themselves before him and said, 'by allah, o king, the viziers gave us this gold and taught us to lie against abou teman, so thou mightest put him to death, and what we said was their words.' when the king heard this, he plucked at his beard, till he was like to tear it up by the roots and bit upon his fingers, till he well-nigh sundered them in twain, for repentance and sorrow that he had wrought hastily and had not delayed with abou temam, so he might look into his affair. then he sent for the viziers and said to them, 'o wicked viziers, ye thought that god was heedless of your deed, but your wickedness shall revert upon you. know ye not that whoso diggeth a pit for his brother shall fall into it? take from me the punishment of this world and to-morrow ye shall get the punishment of the world to come and requital from god.' then he bade put them to death; so [the headsman] smote off their heads before the king, and he went in to his wife and acquainted her with that wherein he had transgressed against abou temam; whereupon she grieved for him with an exceeding grief and the king and the people of his household left not weeping and repenting all their lives. moreover, they brought abou temam forth of the well and the king built him a dome[fn# ] in his palace and buried him therein. see, then, o august king," continued the youth, "what envy doth and injustice and how god caused the viziers' malice revert upon their own necks; and i trust in god that he will succour me against all who envy me my favour with the king and show forth the truth unto him. indeed, i fear not for my life from death; only i fear lest the king repent of my slaughter, for that i am guiltless of offence, and if i knew that i were guilty of aught, my tongue would be mute." when the king heard this, he bowed [his head] in perplexity and confusion and said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the ninth day of destiny or that which is written on the forehead. when it was the ninth day, the viziers [foregathered and] said, one to another, "verily, this youth baffleth us, for as often as the king is minded to put him to death, he beguileth him and ensorcelleth him with a story; so what deem ye we should do, that we may slay him and be at rest from him?" then they took counsel together and were of accord that they should go to the king's wife [and prompt her to urge the king to slaughter the youth. so they betook themselves to her] and said to her, "thou art heedless of this affair wherein thou art and this heedlessness will not profit thee; whilst the king is occupied with eating and drinking and diversion and forgetteth that the folk beat upon tabrets and sing of thee and say, 'the king's wife loveth the youth;' and what while he abideth on life, the talk will increase and not diminish." quoth she, "by allah, it was ye set me on against him, and what shall i do [now]?" and they answered, "do thou go in to the king and weep and say to him, 'verily, the women come to me and tell me that i am become a byword in the city, and what is thine advantage in the sparing of this youth? if thou wilt not slay him, slay me, so this talk may be estopped from us.'" so she arose and tearing her clothes, went in to the king, in the presence of the viziers, and cast herself upon him, saying, "o king, falleth my shame not upon thee and fearest thou not reproach? indeed, this is not of the behoof of kings that their jealousy over their women should be thus [laggard]. thou art heedless and all the folk of the realm prate of thee, men and women. so either slay him, that the talk may be cut off, or slay me, if thy soul will not consent to his slaughter." thereupon the king's wrath waxed hot and he said to her, "i have no pleasure in his continuance [on life] and needs must i slay him this day. so return to thy house and comfort thy heart." then he bade fetch the youth; so they brought him before him and the viziers said, "o base of origin, out on thee! thy term is at hand and the earth hungereth for thy body, so it may devour it." but he answered them, saying, "death is not in your word nor in your envy; nay, it is an ordinance written upon the forehead; wherefore, if aught be written upon my forehead, needs must it come to pass, and neither endeavour nor thought-taking nor precaution will deliver me therefrom; [but it will surely happen] even as happened to king ibrahim and his son." quoth the king, "who was king ibrahim and who was his son?" and the youth said, "o king, story of king ibrahim and his son. there was once a king of the kings, by name ibrahim, to whom the kings abased themselves and did obedience; but he had no son and was straitened of breast because of this, fearing lest the kingship go forth of his hand. he ceased not vehemently to desire a son and to buy slave-girls and lie with them, till one of them conceived, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and gave gifts and largesse galore. when the girl's months were accomplished and the season of her delivery drew near, the king summoned the astrologers and they watched for the hour of her child-bearing and raised astrolabes [towards the sun] and took strait note of the time. the damsel gave birth to a male child, whereat the king rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and the people heartened each other with the glad news of this. then the astrologers made their calculations and looked into his nativity and his ascendant, whereupon their colour changed and they were confounded. quoth the king to them, 'acquaint me with his horoscope and ye shall have assurance and fear ye not of aught' 'o king,' answered they, 'this child's nativity denotes that, in the seventh year of his age, there is to be feared for him from a lion, which will attack him; and if he be saved from the lion, there will betide an affair yet sorer and more grievous.' 'what is that?' asked the king; and they said, 'we will not speak, except the king command us thereto and give us assurance from [that which we] fear.' quoth the king, 'god assure you!' and they said, 'if he be saved from the lion, the king's destruction will be at his hand.' when the king heard this, his colour changed and his breast was straitened; but he said in himself, 'i will be watchful and do my endeavour and suffer not the lion to eat him. it cannot be that he will kill me, and indeed the astrologers lied.' then he caused rear him among the nurses and matrons; but withal he ceased not to ponder the saying of the astrologers and indeed his life was troubled. so he betook himself to the top of a high mountain and dug there a deep pit and made in it many dwelling-places and closets and filled it with all that was needful of victual and raiment and what not else and made in it conduits of water from the mountain and lodged the boy therein, with a nurse who should rear him. moreover, at the first of each month he used to go to the mountain and stand at the mouth of the pit and let down a rope he had with him and draw up the boy to him and strain him to his bosom and kiss him and play with him awhile, after which he would let him down again into the pit to his place and return; and he used to count the days till the seven years should pass by. when came the time [of the accomplishment] of the foreordered fate and the fortune graven on the forehead and there abode for the boy but ten days till the seven years should be complete, there came to the mountain hunters hunting wild beasts and seeing a lion, gave chase to him. he fled from them and seeking refuge in the mountain, fell into the pit in its midst. the nurse saw him forthright and fled from him into one of the closets; whereupon the lion made for the boy and seizing upon him, tore his shoulder, after which he sought the closet wherein was the nurse and falling upon her, devoured her, whilst the boy abode cast down in a swoon. meanwhile, when the hunters saw that the lion had fallen into the pit, they came to the mouth thereof and heard the shrieking of the boy and the woman; and after awhile the cries ceased, whereby they knew that the lion had made an end of them. presently, as they stood by the mouth of the pit, the lion came scrambling up the sides and would have issued forth; but, as often as he showed his head, they pelted him with stones, till they beat him down and he fell; whereupon one of the hunters descended into the pit and despatched him and saw the boy wounded; after which he went to the cabinet, where he found the woman dead, and indeed the lion had eaten his fill of her. then he noted that which was therein of clothes and what not else, and advising his fellows thereof, fell to passing the stuff up to them. moreover, he took up the boy and bringing him forth of the pit, carried him to their dwelling-place, where they dressed his wounds and he grew up with them, but acquainted them not with his affair; and indeed, when they questioned him, he knew not what he should say, for that he was little, when they let him down into the pit. the hunters marvelled at his speech and loved him with an exceeding love and one of them took him to son and abode rearing him with him [and instructing him] in hunting and riding on horseback, till he attained the age of twelve and became a champion, going forth with the folk to the chase and to the stopping of the way. it chanced one day that they sallied forth to stop the way and fell in upon a caravan in the night; but the people of the caravan were on their guard; so they joined battle with the robbers and overcame them and slew them and the boy fell wounded and abode cast down in that place till the morrow, when he opened his eyes and finding his comrades slain, lifted himself up and rose to walk in the way. presently, there met him a man, a treasure-seeker, and said to him, 'whither goest thou, o youth?' so he told him what had betided him and the other said, 'be of good heart, for that [the season of] thy fair fortune is come and god bringeth thee joy and solace. i am one who am in quest of a hidden treasure, wherein is vast wealth. so come with me, that thou mayst help me, and i will give thee wealth, wherewith thou shalt provide thyself thy life long.' then he carried the youth to his dwelling and dressed his wound, and he abode with him some days, till he was rested; when he took him and two beasts and all that he needed, and they fared on till they came to a precipitous mountain. here the treasure-seeker brought out a book and reading therein, dug in the crest of the mountain five cubits deep, whereupon there appeared to him a stone. he pulled it up and behold, it was a trap-door covering the mouth of a pit. so he waited till the [foul] air was come forth from the midst of the pit, when he bound a rope about the boy's middle and let him down to the bottom, and with him a lighted flambeau. the boy looked and beheld, at the upper end of the pit, wealth galore; so the treasure-seeker let down a rope and a basket and the boy fell to filling and the man to drawing up, till the latter had gotten his sufficiency, when he loaded his beasts and did his occasion, whilst the boy looked for him to let down to him the rope and draw him up; but he rolled a great stone to the mouth of the pit and went away. when the boy saw what the treasure-seeker had done with him he committed his affair to god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) and abode perplexed concerning his case and said, 'how bitter is this death!' for that indeed the world was darkened on him and the pit was blinded to him. so he fell a-weeping and saying, 'i was delivered from the lion and the thieves and now is my death [appointed to be] in this pit, where i shall die lingeringly.' and he abode confounded and looked for nothing but death. as he pondered [his affair], behold, he heard a sound of water running with a mighty noise; so he arose and walked in the pit, following after the sound, till he came to a corner and heard the mighty running of water. so he laid his ear to the sound of the current and hearing it a great strength, said in himself, 'this is the running of a mighty water and needs must i die in this place, be it to-day or to-morrow; so i will cast myself into the water and not die a lingering death in this pit.' then he braced up his courage and gathering his skirts about him, threw himself into the water, and it bore him along with an exceeding might and carrying him under the earth, stayed not till it brought him out into a deep valley, wherethrough ran a great river, that welled up from under the earth. when he found himself on the surface of the earth, he abode perplexed and dazed all that day; after which he came to himself and rising, fared on along the valley, till he came to an inhabited land and a great village in the dominions of the king his father. so he entered the village and foregathered with its inhabitants, who questioned him of his case; whereupon he related to them his history and they marvelled at him, how god had delivered him from all this. then he took up his abode with them and they loved him exceedingly. to return to the king his father. when he went to the pit, as of his wont, and called the nurse, she returned him no answer, whereat his breast was straitened and he let down a man who [found the nurse dead and the boy gone and] acquainted the king therewith; which when he heard, he buffeted his head and wept passing sore and descended into the midst of the pit, so he might see how the case stood. there he found the nurse slain and the lion dead, but saw not the boy; so he [returned and] acquainted the astrologers with the verification of their words, and they said, 'o king, the lion hath eaten him; destiny hath been accomplished upon him and thou art delivered from his hand; for, had he been saved from the lion, by allah, we had feared for thee from him, for that the king's destruction should have been at his hand.' so the king left [sorrowing for] this and the days passed by and the affair was forgotten. meanwhile, the boy [grew up and] abode with the people of the village, and when god willed the accomplishment of his ordinance, the which endeavour availeth not to avert, he went forth with a company of the villagers, to stop the way. the folk complained of them to the king, who sallied out with a company of his men and surrounded the highwaymen and the boy with them, whereupon the latter drew forth an arrow and launched it at them, and it smote the king in his vitals and wounded him. so they carried him to his house, after they had laid hands upon the youth and his companions and brought them before the king, saying, 'what biddest thou that we do with them?' quoth he, 'i am presently in concern for myself; so bring me the astrologers.' accordingly, they brought them before him and he said to them, 'ye told me that my death should be by slaying at the hand of my son: how, then, befalleth it that i have gotten my death-wound on this wise of yonder thieves?' the astrologers marvelled and said to him, 'o king, it is not impossible to the lore of the stars, together with the fore-ordinance of god, that he who hath smitten thee should be thy son.' when ibrahim heard this, he let fetch the thieves and said to them, 'tell me truly, which of you shot the arrow that wounded me.' quoth they, 'it was this youth that is with us.' whereupon the king fell to looking upon him and said to him, 'o youth, acquaint me with thy case and tell me who was thy father and thou shalt have assurance from god.' 'o my lord,' answered the youth, 'i know no father; as for me, my father lodged me in a pit [when i was little], with a nurse to rear me, and one day, there fell in upon us a lion, which tore my shoulder, then left me and occupied himself with the nurse and rent her in pieces; and god vouchsafed me one who brought me forth of the pit.' then he related to him all that had befallen him, first and last; which when ibrahim heard, he cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my very son!' and he said to him, 'uncover thy shoulder.' so he uncovered it and behold, it was scarred. then the king assembled his nobles and commons and the astrologers and said to them, 'know that what god hath graven upon the forehead, be it fair fortune or calamity, none may avail to efface, and all that is decreed unto a man he must needs abide. indeed, this my caretaking and my endeavour profited me nought, for that which god decreed unto my son, he hath abidden and that which he decreed unto me hath betided me. nevertheless, i praise god and thank him for that this was at my son's hand and not at the hand of another, and praised be he for that the kingship is come to my son!' and he strained the youth to his breast and embraced him and kissed him, saying, 'o my son, this matter was on such a wise, and of my care and watchfulness over thee from destiny, i lodged thee in that pit; but caretaking availed not.' then he took the crown of the kingship and set it on his son's head and caused the folk and the people swear fealty to him and commended the subjects to his care and enjoined him to justice and equity. and he took leave of him that night and died and his son reigned in his stead. on like wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "is it with thee. if god have written aught on my forehead, needs must it befall me and my speech to the king shall not profit me, no, nor my adducing to him of [illustrative] instances, against the fore-ordinance of god. so with these viziers, for all their eagerness and endeavour for my destruction, this shall not profit them; for, if god [be minded to] save me, he will give me the victory over them." when the king heard these words, he abode in perplexity and said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair, for the day draweth to an end and i mean to put him to death on exemplary wise, and [to-morrow] we will do with him that which he meriteth." the tenth day. of the appointed term,[fn# ] which, if it be advanced, may not be deferred and if it be deferred, may not be advanced. when it was the tenth day, (now this day was called el mihrjan[fn# ] and it was the day of the coming in of the folk, gentle and simple, to the king, so they might give him joy and salute him and go forth), the counsel of the viziers fell of accord that they should speak with a company of the notables of the city [and urge them to demand of the king that he should presently put the youth to death]. so they said to them, "when ye go in to-day to the king and salute him, do ye say to him, 'o king, (to god be the praise!) thou art praiseworthy of policy and governance, just to all thy subjects; but this youth, to whom thou hast been bountiful, yet hath he reverted to his base origin and wrought this foul deed, what is thy purpose in his continuance [on life]? indeed, thou hast prisoned him in thy house, and every day thou hearest his speech and thou knowest not what the folk say.'" and they answered with "hearkening and obedience." so, when they entered with the folk and had prostrated themselves before the king and given him joy and he had raised their rank, [they sat down]. now it was the custom of the folk to salute and go forth, so, when they sat down, the king knew that they had a word that they would fain say. so he turned to them and said, "ask your need." and the viziers also were present. accordingly, they bespoke him with all that these latter had taught them and the viziers also spoke with them; and azadbekht said to them, "o folk, i know that this your speech, there is no doubt of it, proceedeth from love and loyal counsel to me, and ye know that, were i minded to slay half these folk, i could avail to put them to death and this would not be difficult to me; so how shall i not slay this youth and he in my power and under the grip of my hand? indeed, his crime is manifest and he hath incurred pain of death and i have only deferred his slaughter by reason of the greatness of the offence; for, if i do this with him and my proof against him be strengthened, my heart is healed and the heart of the folk; and if i slay him not to-day, his slaughter shall not escape me to-morrow." then he bade fetch the youth and when he was present before him, he prostrated himself to him and prayed for him; whereupon quoth the king to him, "out on thee! how long shall the folk upbraid me on thine account and blame me for delaying thy slaughter? even the people of my city blame me because of thee, so that i am grown a talking-stock among them, and indeed they come in to me and upbraid me [and urge me] to put thee to death. how long shall i delay this? indeed, this very day i mean to shed thy blood and rid the folk of thy prate." "o king," answered the youth, "if there have betided thee talk because of me, by allah, by allah the great, those who have brought on thee this talk from the folk are these wicked viziers, who devise with the folk and tell them foul things and evil concerning the king's house; but i trust in god that he will cause their malice to revert upon their heads. as for the king's menace of me with slaughter, i am in the grasp of his hand; so let not the king occupy his mind with my slaughter, for that i am like unto the sparrow in the hand of the fowler; if he will, he slaughtereth him, and if he will, he looseth him. as for the delaying of my slaughter, it [proceedeth] not [from] the king, but from him in whose hand is my life; for, by allah, o king, if god willed my slaughter, thou couldst not avail to postpone it, no, not for a single hour. indeed, man availeth not to fend off evil from himself, even as it was with the son of king suleiman shah, whose anxiety and carefulness for the accomplishment of his desire of the new-born child [availed him nothing], for his last hour was deferred how many a time! and god saved him until he had accomplished his [foreordained] period and had fulfilled [the destined term of] his life." "out on thee!" exclaimed the king. "how great is thy craft and thy talk! tell me, what was their story." and the youth said, "o king, story of king suleiman shah and his sons. there was once a king named suleiman shah, who was goodly of polity and judgment, and he had a brother who died and left a daughter. so suleiman shah reared her on the goodliest wise and the girl grew up, endowed with reason and perfection, nor was there in her time a fairer than she. now the king had two sons, one of whom he had appointed in himself that he would marry her withal, and the other purposed in himself that he would take her. the elder son's name was belehwan and that of the younger melik shah, and the girl was called shah khatoun. one day, king suleiman shah went in to his brother's daughter and kissing her head, said to her, 'thou art my daughter and dearer to me than a child, for the love of thy father deceased; wherefore i am minded to marry thee to one of my sons and appoint him my heir apparent, so he may be king after me. look, then, which thou wilt have of my sons, for that thou hast been reared with them and knowest them.' the damsel arose and kissing his hand, said to him, 'o my lord, i am thine handmaid and thou art the ruler over me; so whatsoever pleaseth thee, do, for that thy wish is higher and more honourable and nobler [than mine] and if thou wouldst have me serve thee, [as a handmaid], the rest of my life, it were liefer to me than any [husband].' the king approved her speech and bestowed on her a dress of honour and gave her magnificent gifts; after which, for that his choice had fallen upon his younger son, melik shah, he married her with him and made him his heir apparent and caused the folk swear fealty to him. when this came to the knowledge of his brother belehwan and he was ware that his younger brother had been preferred over him, his breast was straitened and the affair was grievous to him and envy entered into him and rancour; but he concealed this in his heart, whilst fire raged therein because of the damsel and the kingship. meanwhile shah khatoun went in to the king's son and conceived by him and bore a son, as he were the resplendent moon. when belehwan saw this that had betided his brother, jealousy and envy overcame him; so he went in one night to his father's house and coming to his brother's lodging, saw the nurse sleeping at the chamber-door, with the cradle before her and therein his brother's child asleep. belehwan stood by him and fell to looking upon his face, the radiance whereof was as that of the moon, and satan insinuated himself into his heart, so that he bethought himself and said, 'why is not this child mine? indeed, i am worthier of him than my brother, [yea], and of the damsel and the kingship.' then envy got the better of him and anger spurred him, so that he took out a knife and setting it to the child's gullet, cut his throat and would have severed his windpipe. so he left him for dead and entering his brother's chamber, saw him asleep, with the damsel by his side, and thought to slay her, but said in himself, 'i will leave the damsel for myself.' then he went up to his brother and cutting his throat, severed his head from his body, after which he left him and went away. therewithal the world was straitened upon him and his life was a light matter to him and he sought his father suleiman shah's lodging, that he might slay him, but could not win to him. so he went forth from the palace and hid himself in the city till the morrow, when he repaired to one of his father's strengths and fortified himself therein. meanwhile, the nurse awoke, that she might give the child suck, and seeing the bed running with blood, cried out; whereupon the sleepers and the king awoke and making for the place, found the child with his throat cut and the cradle running over with blood and his father slain and dead in his sleeping chamber. so they examined the child and found life in him and his windpipe whole and sewed up the place of the wound. then the king sought his son belehwan, but found him not and saw that he had fled; whereby he knew that it was he who had done this deed, and this was grievous to the king and to the people of his realm and to the lady shah katoun. so the king laid out his son melik shah and buried him and made him a mighty funeral and they mourned passing sore; after which he addressed himself to the rearing of the infant as for belehwan, when he fled and fortified himself, his power waxed amain and there remained for him but to make war upon his father, who had cast his affection upon the child and used to rear him on his knees and supplicate god the most high that he might live, so he might commit the commandment to him. when he came to five years of age, the king mounted him on horseback and the people of the city rejoiced in him and invoked on him length of life, so he might take his father's leavings[fn# ] and [heal] the heart of his grandfather. meanwhile, belehwan the froward addressed himself to pay court to caesar, king of the greeks,[fn# ] and seek help of him in making war upon his father, and he inclined unto him and gave him a numerous army. his father the king heard of this and sent to caesar, saying, 'o king of illustrious might, succour not an evil-doer. this is my son and he hath done thus and thus and cut his brother's throat and that of his brother's son in the cradle.' but he told not the king of the greeks that the child [had recovered and] was alive. when caesar heard [the truth] of the matter, it was grievous to him and he sent back to suleiman shah, saying, 'if it be thy will, o king, i will cut off his head and send it to thee.' but he made answer, saying, 'i reck not of him: the reward of his deed and his crimes shall surely overtake him, if not to-day, then to-morrow.' and from that day he continued to correspond with caesar and to exchange letters and presents with him. now the king of the greeks heard tell of the damsel[fn# ] and of the beauty and grace wherewith she was gifted, wherefore his heart clave to her and he sent to seek her in marriage of suleiman shah, who could not refuse him. so he arose and going in to shah khatoun, said to her, 'o my daughter, the king of the greeks hath sent to me to seek thee in marriage. what sayst thou?' she wept and answered, saying, 'o king, how canst thou find it in thy heart to bespeak me thus? abideth there husband for me, after the son of my uncle?' 'o my daughter,' rejoined the king, 'it is indeed as thou sayest; but let us look to the issues of affairs. needs must i take account of death, for that i am an old man and fear not but for thee and for thy little son; and indeed i have written to the king of the greeks and others of the kings and said, "his uncle slew him," and said not that he [hath recovered and] is living, but concealed his affair. now hath the king of the greeks sent to demand thee in marriage, and this is no thing to be refused and fain would we have our back strengthened with him."[fn# ] and she was silent and spoke not. so king suleiman shah made answer unto caesar with 'hearkening and obedience.' then he arose and despatched her to him, and cassar went in to her and found her overpassing the description wherewithal they had described her to him; wherefore he loved her with an exceeding love and preferred her over all his women and his love for suleiman shah was magnified; but shah khatoun's heart still clave to her son and she could say nought. as for suleiman shah's rebellious son, belehwan, when he saw that shah khatoun had married the king of the greeks, this was grievous to him and he despaired of her. meanwhile, his father suleiman shah kept strait watch over the child and cherished him and named him melik shah, after the name of his father. when he reached the age of ten, he made the folk swear fealty to him and appointed him his heir apparent, and after some days, [the hour of] the old king's admission [to the mercy of god] drew near and he died. now a party of the troops had banded themselves together for belehwan; so they sent to him and bringing him privily, went in to the little melik shah and seized him and seated his uncle belehwan on the throne of the kingship. then they proclaimed him king and did homage to him all, saying, 'verily, we desire thee and deliver to thee the throne of the kingship; but we wish of thee that thou slay not thy brother's son, for that on our consciences are the oaths we swore to his father and grandfather and the covenants we made with them.' so belehwan granted them this and imprisoned the boy in an underground dungeon and straitened him. presently, the heavy news reached his mother and this was grievous to her; but she could not speak and committed her affair to god the most high, daring not name this to king caesar her husband, lest she should make her uncle king suleiman shah a liar. so belehwan the froward abode king in his father's room and his affairs prospered, what while the young melik shah lay in the underground dungeon four full-told years, till his charms faded and his favour changed. when god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) willed to relieve him and bring him forth of the prison, belehwan sat one day with his chief officers and the grandees of his state and discoursed with them of the story of king suleiman shah and what was in his heart. now there were present certain viziers, men of worth, and they said to him, 'o king, verily god hath been bountiful unto thee and hath brought thee to thy wish, so that thou art become king in thy father's stead and hast gotten thee that which thou soughtest. but, as for this boy, there is no guilt in him, for that, from the day of his coming into the world, he hath seen neither ease nor joyance, and indeed his favour is faded and his charms changed [with long prison]. what is his offence that he should merit this punishment? indeed, it is others than he who were to blame, and god hath given thee the victory over them, and there is no fault in this poor wight.' quoth belehwan, 'indeed, it is as ye say; but i am fearful of his craft and am not assured from his mischief; belike the most part of the folk will incline unto him.' 'o king,' answered they, 'what is this boy and what power hath he? if thou fear him, send him to one of the frontiers.' and belehwan said, 'ye say sooth: we will send him to be captain over such an one of the marches.' now over against the place in question was a host of enemies, hard of heart, and in this he purposed the youth's slaughter. so he bade bring him forth of the underground dungeon and caused him draw near to him and saw his case. then he bestowed on him a dress of honour and the folk rejoiced in this. moreover, he tied him an ensign[fn# ] and giving him a numerous army, despatched him to the region aforesaid, whither all who went were still slain or made prisoners. so melik shah betook himself thither with his army and when it was one of the days, behold, the enemy fell in upon them in the night; whereupon some of his men fled and the rest the enemy took; and they took melik shah also and cast him into an underground dungeon, with a company of his men. there he abode a whole year in evil plight, whilst his fellows mourned over his beauty and grace. now it was the enemy's wont, at every year's end, to bring forth their prisoners and cast them down from the top of the citadel to the bottom. so they brought them forth, at the end of the year, and cast them down, and melik shah with them. however, he fell upon the [other] men and the earth touched him not, for his term was [god-]guarded. now those that were cast down there were slain and their bodies ceased not to lie there till the wild beasts ate them and the winds dispersed them. melik shah abode cast down in his place, aswoon, all that day and night, and when he recovered and found himself whole, he thanked god the most high for his safety [and rising, fared on at a venture]. he gave not over walking, unknowing whither he went and feeding upon the leaves of the trees; and by day he hid himself whereas he might and fared on all his night at hazard; and thus he did some days, till he came to an inhabited land and seeing folk there, accosted them and acquainted them with his case, giving them to know that he had been imprisoned in the fortress and that they had cast him down, but god the most high had delivered him and brought him off alive. the folk took compassion on him and gave him to eat and drink and he abode with them awhile. then he questioned them of the way that led to the kingdom of his uncle belehwan, but told them not that he was his uncle. so they taught him the way and he ceased not to go barefoot, till he drew near his uncle's capital, and he naked and hungry, and indeed his body was wasted and his colour changed. he sat down at the gate of the city, and presently up came a company of king belehwan's chief officers, who were out a-hunting and wished to water their horses. so they lighted down to rest and the youth accosted them, saying, 'i will ask you of somewhat, wherewith do ye acquaint me.' quoth they, 'ask what thou wilt.' and he said, 'is king belehwan well?' they laughed at him and answered, 'what a fool art thou, o youth! thou art a stranger and a beggar, and what concern hast thou with the king's health?' quoth he, 'indeed, he is my uncle;' whereat they marvelled and said, 'it was one question[fn# ] and now it is become two.' then said they to him, 'o youth, it is as thou wert mad. whence pretendest thou to kinship with the king? indeed, we know not that he hath aught of kinsfolk, except a brother's son, who was prisoned with him, and he despatched him to wage war upon the infidels, so that they slew him.' 'i am he,' answered melik shah, 'and they slew me not, but there betided me this and that.' they knew him forthright and rising to him, kissed his hands and rejoiced in him and said to him, 'o our lord, in good sooth, thou art a king and the son of a king, and we desire thee nought but good and beseech [god to grant] thee continuance. consider how god hath rescued thee from this thy wicked uncle, who sent thee to a place whence none came ever off alive, purposing not in this but thy destruction; and indeed thou fellest into [peril of] death and god delivered thee therefrom. so how wilt thou return and cast thyself again into thine enemy's hand? by allah, save thyself and return not to him again. belike thou shall abide upon the face of the earth till it please god the most high [to vouchsafe thee relief]; but, if thou fall again into his hand, he will not suffer thee live a single hour.' the prince thanked them and said to them, 'god requite you with all good, for indeed ye give me loyal counsel; but whither would ye have me go?' quoth they, 'get thee to the land of the greeks, the abiding-place of thy mother.' and he said, 'my grandfather suleiman shah, when the king of the greeks wrote to him, demanding my mother in marriage, concealed my affair and hid my secret; [and she hath done the like,] and i cannot make her a liar.' 'thou sayst sooth,' rejoined they; 'but we desire thine advantage, and even if thou tookest service with the folk, it were a means of thy continuance [on life].' then each of them brought out to him money and gave to him and clad him and fed him and fared on with him a parasang's distance till they brought him far from the city, and giving him to know that he was safe, departed from him, whilst he fared on till he came forth of the dominions of his uncle and entered those [of the king] of the greeks. then he entered a village and taking up his abode therein, betook himself to serving one there in ploughing and sowing and the like. as for his mother, shah khatoun, great was her longing for her son and she [still] thought of him and news of him was cut off from her, wherefore her life was troubled and she forswore sleep and could not make mention of him before king caesar her husband. now she had an eunuch who had come with her from the court of her uncle king suleiman shah, and he was intelligent, quickwitted, a man of good counsel. so she took him apart one day and said to him, 'thou hast been my servant from my childhood to this day; canst thou not therefore avail to get me news of my son, for that i cannot speak of his matter?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'this is an affair that thou hast concealed from the first, and were thy son here, it would not be possible for thee to harbour him, lest thine honour fall into suspicion with the king; for they would never credit thee, since the news hath been spread abroad that thy son was slain by his uncle.' quoth she, 'the case is even as thou sayst and thou speakest truly; but, provided i know that my son is alive, let him be in these parts pasturing sheep and let me not see him nor he me.' and he said to her, 'how shall we contrive in this affair?' 'here are my treasures and my wealth,' answered she. 'take all thou wilt and bring me my son or else news of him.' then they agreed upon a device between them, to wit, that they should feign an occasion in their own country, under pretext that she had there wealth buried from the time of her husband melik shah and that none knew of it but this eunuch who was with her, wherefore it behoved that he should go and fetch it. so she acquainted the king her husband with this and sought of him leave for the eunuch to go: and the king granted him permission for the journey and charged him cast about for a device, lest any get wind of him. accordingly, the eunuch disguised himself as a merchant and repairing to belehwan's city, began to enquire concerning the youth's case; whereupon they told him that he had been prisoned in an underground dungeon and that his uncle had released him and dispatched him to such a place, where they had slain him. when the eunuch heard this, it was grievous to him and his breast was straitened and he knew not what he should do. it chanced one day that one of the horsemen, who had fallen in with the young melik shah by the water and clad him and given him spending-money, saw the eunuch in the city, disguised as a merchant, and recognizing him, questioned him of his case and of [the reason of] his coming. quoth he, 'i come to sell merchandise.' and the horseman said, 'i will tell thee somewhat, if thou canst keep it secret.' 'it is well,' answered the eunuch; 'what is it?' and the other said, 'we met the king's son melik shah, i and certain of the arabs who were with me, and saw him by such a water and gave him spending-money and sent him towards the land of the greeks, near his mother, for that we feared for him, lest his uncle belehwan should kill him.' then he told him all that had passed between them, whereupon the eunuch's countenance changed and he said to the cavalier, 'assurance!' 'thou shalt have assurance,' answered the other, 'though thou come in quest of him.' and the eunuch rejoined, saying, 'truly, that is my errand, for there abideth no repose for his mother, lying down or rising up, and she hath sent me to seek news of him.' quoth the cavalier, 'go in safety, for he is in a [certain] part of the land of the greeks, even as i said to thee.' the eunuch thanked him and blessed him and mounting, returned upon his way, following the trace, whilst the cavalier rode with him to a certain road, when he said to him, 'this is where we left him.' then he took leave of him and returned to his own city, whilst the eunuch fared on along the road, enquiring of the youth in every village he entered by the description which the cavalier had given him, and he ceased not to do thus till he came to the village where the young melik shah was. so he entered and lighting down therein, made enquiry after the prince, but none gave him news of him; whereat he abode perplexed concerning his affair and addressed himself to depart. accordingly he mounted his horse [and set out homeward]; but, as he passed through the village, he saw a cow bound with a rope and a youth asleep by her side, with the end of the halter in his hand; so he looked at him and passed on and took no heed of him in his heart; but presently he stopped and said in himself; 'if he of whom i am in quest be come to the like [of the condition] of yonder sleeping youth, by whom i passed but now, how shall i know him? alas, the length of my travail and weariness! how shall i go about in quest of a wight whom i know not and whom, if i saw him face to face, i should not know?' then he turned back, pondering upon that sleeping youth, and coming to him, as he slept, lighted down from his horse and sat down by him. he fixed his eyes upon his face and considered him awhile and said in himself, 'for aught i know, this youth may be melik shah.' and he fell a-hemming and saying, 'harkye, o youth!' whereupon the sleeper awoke and sat up; and the eunuch said to him, 'who is thy father in this village and where is thy dwelling?' the youth sighed and answered, 'i am a stranger;' and the eunuch said, 'from what land art thou and who is thy father?' quoth the other, 'i am from such a land,' and the eunuch ceased not to question him and he to answer him, till he was certified of him and knew him. so he rose and embraced him and kissed him and wept over his case. moreover, he told him that he was going about in quest of him and informed him that he was come privily from the king his mother's husband and that his mother would be content [to know] that he was alive and well, though she saw him not. then he re-entered the village and buying the prince a horse, mounted him thereon and they ceased not going, till they came to the frontier of their own country, where there fell robbers upon them by the way and took all that was with them and pinioned them; after which they cast them into a pit hard by the road and went away and left them to die there, and indeed they had cast many folk into that pit and they had died. the eunuch fell a-weeping in the pit and the youth said to him, 'what is this weeping and what shall it profit here?' quoth the eunuch, 'i weep not for fear of death, but of pity for thee and the sorriness of thy case and because of thy mother's heart and for that which thou hast suffered of horrors and that thy death should be this abject death, after the endurance of all manner stresses.' but the youth said, 'that which hath betided me was forewrit to me and that which is written none hath power to efface; and if my term be advanced, none may avail to defer it.'[fn# ] then they passed that night and the following day and the next night and the next day [in the pit], till they were weak with hunger and came near upon death and could but groan feebly. now it befell, by the ordinance of god the most high and his providence, that caesar, king of the greeks, the husband of melik shah's mother shah khatoun, [went forth to the chase that day]. he started a head of game, he and his company, and chased it, till they came up with it by that pit, whereupon one of them lighted down from his horse, to slaughter it, hard by the mouth of the pit. he heard a sound of low moaning from the bottom of the pit} so he arose and mounting his horse, waited till the troops were assembled. then he acquainted the king with this and he bade one of his servants [descend into the pit]. so the man descended and brought out the youth [and the eunuch], aswoon. they cut their bonds and poured wine into their gullets, till they came to themselves, when the king looked at the eunuch and recognizing him, said, 'harkye, such an one!' 'yes, o my lord the king,' replied the man and prostrated himself to him; whereat the king marvelled with an exceeding wonder and said to him, 'how earnest thou to this place and what hath befallen thee?" quoth the eunuch, 'i went and took out the treasure and brought it hither; but the [evil] eye was behind me and i unknowing. so the thieves took us alone here and seized the money and cast us into this pit, so we might die of hunger, even as they had done with other than we; but god the most high sent thee, in pity to us.' the king marvelled, he and his company, and praised god the most high for that he had come thither; after which he turned to the eunuch and said to him, 'what is this youth thou hast with thee?' 'o king,' answered he, 'this is the son of a nurse who belonged to us and we left him little. i saw him to-day and his mother said to me, 'take him with thee.' so i brought him with me, that he might be a servant to the king, for that he is an adroit and quickwitted youth.' then the king fared on, he and his company, and the eunuch and the youth with them, what while he questioned the former of belehwan and his dealing with his subjects, and he answered, saying, 'as thy head liveth, o king, the folk with him are in sore straits and not one of them desireth to look on him, gentle or simple.' [when the king returned to his palace,] he went in to his wife shah khatoun and said to her, 'i give thee the glad news of thine eunuch's return.' and he told her what had betided and of the youth whom he had brought with him. when she heard this, her wits fled and she would have cried out, but her reason restrained her, and the king said to her, 'what is this? art thou overcome with grief for [the loss of] the treasure or [for that which hath befallen] the eunuch?' 'nay, as thy head liveth, o king!' answered she. 'but women are fainthearted.' then came the servant and going in to her, told her all that had befallen him and acquainted her with her son's case also and with that which he had suffered of stresses and how his uncle had exposed him to slaughter and he had been taken prisoner and they had cast him into the pit and hurled him from the top of the citadel and how god had delivered him from these perils, all of them; and he went on to tell her [all that had betided him], whilst she wept. then said she to him, 'when the king saw him and questioned thee of him, what saidst thou to him?' and he answered, 'i said to him, "this is the son of a nurse who belonged to us. we left him little and he grew up; so i brought him, that he might be servant to the king,"' quoth she, 'thou didst well.' and she charged him to be instant in the service of the prince. as for the king, he redoubled in kindness to the eunuch and appointed the youth a liberal allowance and he abode going in to the king's house and coming out therefrom and standing in his service, and every day he grew in favour with him; whilst, as for shah khatoun, she used to stand a-watch for him at the windows and balconies and gaze upon him, and she on coals of fire on his account, yet could she not speak. on this wise she abode a great while and indeed yearning for him came nigh to slay her; so she stood and watched for him one day at the door of her chamber and straining him to her bosom, kissed him on the cheek and breast. at this moment, out came the master of the king's household and seeing her embracing the youth, abode amazed. then he asked to whom that chamber belonged and was answered, 'to shah khatoun, wife of the king,' whereupon he turned back, trembling as [one smitten by] a thunderbolt. the king saw him quaking and said to him, 'out on thee! what is the matter?' 'o king,' answered he, 'what matter is graver than that which i see?' 'what seest thou?' asked the king and the officer said, 'i see that yonder youth, who came with the eunuch, he brought not with him but on account of shah khatoun; for that i passed but now by her chamber door, and she was standing, watching; [and when the youth came up,] she rose to him and clipped him and kissed him on his cheek.' when the king heard this, he bowed [his head] in amazement and perplexity and sinking into a seat, clutched at his beard and shook it, till he came nigh to pluck it out. then he arose forthright and laid hands on the youth and clapped him in prison. moreover, he took the eunuch also and cast them both into an underground dungeon in his house, after which he went in to shah khatoun and said to her, 'thou hast done well, by allah, o daughter of nobles, o thou whom kings sought in marriage, for the excellence of thy repute and the goodliness of the reports of thee! how fair is thy semblance! may god curse her whose inward is the contrary of her outward, after the likeness of thy base favour, whose outward is comely and its inward foul, fair face and foul deeds! verily, i mean to make of thee and of yonder good-for-nought an example among the folk, for that thou sentest not thine eunuch but of intent on his account, so that he took him and brought him into my house and thou hast trampled my head with him; and this is none other than exceeding hardihood; but thou shall see what i will do with you.' so saying, he spat in her face and went out from her; whilst shah khatoun made him no answer, knowing that, if she spoke at that time, he would not credit her speech. then she humbled herself in supplication to god the most high and said, 'o god the great, thou knowest the hidden things and the outward parts and the inward' if an advanced term[fn# ] be [appointed] to me, let it not be deferred, and if a deferred one, let it not be advanced!' on this wise she passed some days, whilst the king fell into perplexity and forswore meat and drink and sleep and abode knowing not what he should do and saying [in himself], 'if i kill the eunuch and the youth, my soul will not be solaced, for they are not to blame, seeing that she sent to fetch him, and my heart will not suffer me to slay them all three. but i will not be hasty in putting them to death, for that i fear repentance.' then he left them, so he might look into the affair. now he had a nurse, a foster-mother, on whose knees he had been reared, and she was a woman of understanding and misdoubted of him, but dared not accost him [with questions]. so she went in to shah khatoun and finding her in yet sorrier plight than he, asked her what was to do; but she refused to answer. however, the nurse gave not over coaxing and questioning her, till she exacted of her an oath of secrecy. so the old woman swore to her that she would keep secret all that she should say to her, whereupon the queen related to her her history from first to last and told her that the youth was her son. with this the old woman prostrated herself before her and said to her, 'this is an easy matter.' but the queen answered, saying, 'by allah, o my mother, i choose my destruction and that of my son rather than defend myself by avouching a thing whereof they will not credit me; for they will say, "she avoucheth this, but that she may fend off reproach from herself" and nought will avail me but patience.' the old woman was moved by her speech and her intelligence and said to her, 'indeed, o my daughter, it is as thou sayst, and i hope in god that he will show forth the truth. have patience and i will presently go in to the king and hear what he saith and contrive somewhat in this matter, if it be the will of god the most high.' then she arose and going in to the king, found him with his head between his knees, and he lamenting. so she sat down by him awhile and bespoke him with soft words and said to him, 'indeed, o my son, thou consumest mine entrails, for that these [many] days thou hast not mounted to horse, and thou lamentest and i know not what aileth thee.' 'o my mother,' answered he, '[this my chagrin] is due to yonder accursed woman, of whom i still deemed well and who hath done thus and thus.' then he related to her the whole story from first to last, and she said to him, 'this thy concern is on account of a worthless woman.' quoth he, 'i was but considering by what death i should slay them, so the folk may [be admonished by their fate and] repent.' and she said, 'o my son, beware of haste, for it engendereth repentance and the slaying of them will not escape [thee]. when thou art assured of this affair, do what thou wilt.' 'o my mother,' rejoined he; 'there needeth no assurance concerning him for whom she despatched her eunuch and he fetched him.' but she said, 'there is a thing wherewith we will make her confess, and all that is in her heart shall be discovered to thee.' 'what is that?' asked the king, and she answered, 'i will bring thee a hoopoe's heart,[fn# ] which, when she sleepeth, do thou lay upon her heart and question her of all thou wilt, and she will discover this unto thee and show forth the truth to thee." the king rejoiced in this and said to his nurse, 'hasten and let none know of thee.' so she arose and going in to the queen, said to her, 'i have done thine occasion and it is on this wise. this night the king will come in to thee and do thou feign thyself asleep; and if he ask thee of aught, do thou answer him, as if in thy sleep.' the queen thanked her and the old woman went away and fetching the hoopoe's heart, gave it to the king. hardly was the night come, when he went in to his wife and found her lying back, [apparently] asleep; so he sat down by her side and laying the hoopoe's heart on her breast, waited awhile, so he might be certified that she slept. then said he to her, 'shah khatoun, shah khatoun, is this my recompense from thee?' quoth she, 'what offence have i committed?' and he, 'what offence can be greater than this? thou sentest after yonder youth and broughtest him hither, on account of the desire of thy heart, so thou mightest do with him that for which thou lustedst.' 'i know not desire,' answered she. 'verily, among thy servants are those who are comelier and handsomer than he; yet have i never desired one of them.' 'why, then,' asked he, 'didst thou lay hold of him and kiss him!' and she said, 'this is my son and a piece of my heart; and of my longing and love for him, i could not contain myself, but sprang upon him and kissed him.' when the king heard this, he was perplexed and amazed and said to her, 'hast thou a proof that this youth is thy son? indeed, i have a letter from thine uncle king suleiman shah, [wherein he giveth me to know] that his unck belehwan cut his throat.' 'yes,' answered she, 'he did indeed cut his throat, but severed not the windpipe; so my uncle sewed up the wound and reared him, [and he lived,] for that his hour was not come.' when the king heard this, he said, 'this proof sufficeth me,' and rising forthright in the night, let bring the youth and the eunuch. then he examined the former's throat with a candle and saw [the scar where] it [had been] cut from ear to ear, and indeed the place had healed up and it was like unto a stretched-out thread. therewithal the king fell down prostrate to god, [in thanksgiving to him] for that he had delivered the prince from all these perils and from the stresses that he had undergone, and rejoiced with an exceeding joy for that he had wrought deliberately and had not made haste to slay him, in which case sore repentance had betided him. as for the youth," continued the young treasurer, "he was not saved but because his term was deferred, and on like wise, o king, is it with me; i too have a deferred term, which i shall attain, and a period which i shall accomplish, and i trust in god the most high that he will give me the victory over these wicked viziers." when the youth had made an end of his speech, the king said, "carry him back to the prison;" and when they had done this, he turned to the viziers and said to them, "yonder youth looseth his tongue upon you, but i know your affectionate solicitude for the welfare of my empire and your loyal counsel to me; so be of good heart, for all that ye counsel me i will do." when they heard tnese words, they rejoiced and each of them said his say then said the king, "i have not deferred his slaughter but to the intent that the talk might be prolonged and that words might abound, and i desire [now] that ye sit up for him a gibbet without the town and make proclamation among the folk that they assemble and take him and carry him in procession to the gibbet, with the crier crying before him and saying, 'this is the recompense of him whom the king delighted to favour and who hath betrayed him!'" the viziers rejoiced, when they heard this, and slept not that night, of their joy; and they made proclamation in the city and set up the gibbet. the eleventh day. of the speedy relief of god. when it was the eleventh day, the viziers betook them early in the morning to the king's gate and said to him, "o king, the folk are assembled from the king's gate to the gibbet, so they may see [the execution of] the king's commandment on the youth." so the king bade fetch the prisoner and they brought him; whereupon the viziers turned to him and said to him, "o vile of origin, doth any hope of life remain with thee and lookest thou still for deliverance after this day?" "o wicked viziers," answered he, "shall a man of understanding renounce hope in god the most high? indeed, howsoever a man be oppressed, there cometh to him deliverance from the midst of stress and life from the midst of death, [as is shown by the case of] the prisoner and how god delivered him." "what is his story?" asked the king; and the youth answered, saying, "o king, they tell that story of the prisoner and how god gave him relief. there was once a king of the kings, who had a high palace, overlooking a prison of his, and he used to hear in the night one saying, 'o ever-present deliverer, o thou whose relief is nigh, relieve thou me!' one day the king waxed wroth and said, "yonder fool looketh for relief from [the consequences of] his crime. 'then said he to his officers, 'who is in yonder prison?' and they answered, 'folk upon whom blood hath been found.'[fn# ] so the king bade bring the man in question before him and said to him, 'o fool, little of wit, how shall thou be delivered from this prison, seeing that thine offence is great?' then he committed him to a company of his guards and said to them, 'take this fellow and crucify him without the city.' now it was the night-season. so the soldiers carried him without the city, thinking to crucify him, when, behold, there came out upon them thieves and fell in on them with swords and [other] weapons. thereupon the guards left him whom they purposed to put to death [and took to flight], whilst the man who was going to slaughter fled forth at a venture and plunging into the desert, knew not whither he went before he found himself in a thicket and there came out upon him a lion of frightful aspect, which snatched him up and set him under him. then he went up to a tree and tearing it up by the roots, covered the man therewith and made off into the thicket, in quest of the lioness. as for the man, he committed his affair to god the most high, relying upon him for deliverance, and said in himself, 'what is this affair?' then he did away the leaves from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men's bones there, of those whom the lion had devoured. he looked again and saw a heap of gold lying alongside a girdle;[fn# ] whereat he marvelled and gathering up the gold in his skirts, went forth of the thicket and fled in affright at hazard, turning neither to the right nor to the left, in his fear of the lion; till he came to a village and cast himself down, as he were dead. he lay there till the day appeared and he was rested from his fatigue, when he arose and burying the gold, entered the village. thus god gave him relief and he came by the gold." then said the king, "how long wilt thou beguile us with thy prate, o youth? but now the hour of thy slaughter is come." and he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. [so they carried him to the place of execution] and were about to hoist him up [upon the cross,] when, behold, the captain of the thieves, who had found him and reared him,[fn# ] came up at that moment and asked what was that assembly and [the cause of] the crowds gathered there. they told him that a servant of the king had committed a great crime and that he was about to put him to death. so the captain of the thieves pressed forward and looking upon the prisoner, knew him, whereupon he went up to him and embraced him and clipped him and fell to kissing him upon his mouth. then said he, "this is a boy whom i found under such a mountain, wrapped in a gown of brocade, and i reared him and he fell to stopping the way with us. one day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight and wounded some of us and took the boy and went their way. from that day to this i have gone round about the lands in quest of him, but have not lighted on news of him [till now;] and this is he." when the king heard this, he was certified that the youth was his very son; so he cried out at the top of his voice and casting himself upon him, embraced him and wept and said, "had i put thee to death, as was my intent, i should have died of regret for thee." then he cut his bonds and taking his crown from his head, set it on that of his son, whereupon the people raised cries of joy, whilst the trumpets sounded and the drums beat and there befell a great rejoicing. they decorated the city and it was a glorious day; the very birds stayed their flight in the air, for the greatness of the clamour and the noise of the crying. the army and the folk carried the prince [to the palace] in magnificent procession, and the news came to his mother behrjaur, who came forth and threw herself upon him. moreover, the king bade open the prison and bring forth all who were therein, and they held high festival seven days and seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing; whilst terror and silence and confusion and affright fell upon the viziers and they gave themselves up for lost. after this the king sat, with his son by his side and the viziers sitting before him, and summoned his chief officers and the folk of the city. then the prince turned to the viziers and said to them, "see, o wicked viziers, that which god hath done and the speedy [coming of] relief." but they answered not a word and the king said, "it sufficeth me that there is nothing alive but rejoiceth with me this day, even to the birds in the sky, but ye, your breasts are straitened. indeed, this is the greatest of ill-will in you to me, and had i hearkened to you, my regret had been prolonged and i had died miserably of grief." "o my father," quoth the prince, "but for the fairness of thy thought and thy judgment and thy longanimity and deliberation in affairs, there had not bedded thee this great joyance. hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance would have been sore on thee and long grief, and on this wise doth he who ensueth haste repent." then the king sent for the captain of the thieves and bestowed on him a dress of honour,[fn# ] commanding that all who loved the king should put off [their raiment and cast it] upon him.[fn# ] so there fell dresses of honour [and other presents] on him, till he was wearied with their much plenty, and azadbekht invested him with the mastership of the police of his city. then he bade set up other nine gibbets beside the first and said to his son, "thou art guiltless, and yet these wicked viziers endeavoured for thy slaughter." "o my father," answered the prince, "i had no fault [in their eyes] but that i was a loyal counsellor to thee and still kept watch over thy good and withheld their hands from thy treasuries; wherefore they were jealous and envied me and plotted against me and sought to slay me," quoth the king, "the time [of retribution] is at hand, o my son; but what deemest thou we should do with them in requital of that which they did with thee? for that they have endeavoured for thy slaughter and exposed thee to public ignominy and soiled my honour among the kings." then he turned to the viziers and said to them, "out on ye! what liars ye are! what excuse is left you?" "o king," answered they, "there abideth no excuse for us and our sin hath fallen upon us and broken us in pieces. indeed we purposed evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us, and we plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we digged a pit for him and have fallen ourselves therein." so the king bade hoist up the viziers upon the gibbets and crucify them there, for that god is just and ordaineth that which is right. then azadbekht and his wife and son abode in joyance and contentment, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and they died all; and extolled be the perfection of the [ever-]living one, who dieth not, to whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever and ever! amen. jaafer ben yehya and abdulmeilik ben salih the abbaside.[fn# ] it is told of jaafer ben yehya the barmecide that he sat down one day to drink and being minded to be private (with his friends), sent for his boon-companions, in whom he delighted, and charged the chamberlain[fn# ] that he should suffer none of the creatures of god the most high to enter, save a man of his boon-companions, by name abdulmelik ben salih,[fn# ] who was behindhand with them. then they donned coloured clothes,[fn# ] for that it was their wont, whenas they sat in the wine-chamber, to don raiment of red and yellow and green silk, and sat down to drink, and the cups went round and the lutes pulsed. now there was a man of the kinsfolk of the khalif [haroun er reshid], by name abdulmelik ben salih ben ali ben abdallah ben el abbas,[fn# ] who was great of gravity and piety and decorousness, and er reshid was used instantly to require of him that he should keep him company in his carousals and drink with him and had proffered him, to this end, riches galore, but he still refused. it chanced that this abdulmelik es salih came to the door of jaafer ben yehya, that he might bespeak him of certain occasions of his, and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was the abdulmelik ben salih aforesaid, whom jaafer had charged him admit and that he should suffer none but him to enter, allowed him to go in to his master. when jaafer saw him, his reason was like to depart for shame and he knew that the chamberlain had been deceived by the likeness of the name; and abdulmelik also perceived how the case stood and confusion was manifest to him in jaafer's face. so he put on a cheerful favour and said, "no harm be upon you![fn# ] bring us of these dyed clothes." so they brought him a dyed gown[fn# ] and he put it on and sat discoursing cheerily with jaafer and jesting with him. then said he, "give us to drink of your wine." so they poured him out a pint and he said, "be ye indulgent with us, for we have no wont of this." then he chatted and jested with them till jaafer's breast dilated and his constraint ceased from him and his shamefastness, and he rejoiced in this with an exceeding joy and said to abdulmelik, "what is thine errand?" quoth the other, "i come (may god amend thee!) on three occasions, whereof i would have thee bespeak the khalif; to wit, firstly, i have on me a debt to the amount of a thousand thousand dirhems,[fn# ] which i would have discharged; secondly, i desire for my son the office of governor of a province, whereby his rank may be raised; and thirdly, i would fain have thee marry him to a daughter of the khalif, for that she is his cousin and he is a match for her." and jaafer said, "god accomplished! unto thee these three occasions. as for the money, it shall presently be carried to thy house; as for the government, i make thy son viceroy of egypt; and as for the marriage, i give him to wife such an one, the daughter of our lord the commander of the faithful, at a dowry of such and such a sum. so depart in the assurance of god the most high." so abdulmelik went away to his house, whither he found that the money had foregone him, and on the morrow jaafer presented himself before the khalif and acquainted him with what had passed and that he had appointed abdulmelik's son governor of egypt and had promised him his daughter in marriage. er reshid approved of this and confirmed the appointment and the marriage. [then he sent for the young man] and he went not forth of the palace of the khalif till he wrote him the patent [of investiture with the government] of egypt; and he let bring the cadis and the witnesses and drew up the contract of marriage. er reshid and the barmecides.[fn# ] it is said that the most extraordinary of that which happened to er reshid was as follows: his brother el hadi,[fn# ] when he succeeded to the khalifate, enquired of a seal-ring of great price, that had belonged to his father el mehdi,[fn# ] and it came to his knowledge that er reshid had taken it. so he required it of the latter, who refused to give it up, and el hadi insisted upon him, but he still denied the seal-ring of the khalifate. now this was on the bridge [over the tigris], and he threw the ring into the river. when el hadi died and er reshid succeeded to the khalifate, he came in person to that bridge, with a seal-ring of lead, which he threw into the river at the same place, and bade the divers seek it. so they did [his bidding] and brought up the first ring, and this was reckoned [an omen] of er reshid's good fortune and [a presage of] the continuance of his reign.[fn# ] when er reshid came to the throne, he invested jaafer ben yehya ben khalid el bermeki[fn# ] with the vizierate. now jaafer was eminently distinguished for generosity and munificence, and the stories of him to this effect are renowned and are written in the books. none of the viziers attained to the rank and favour which he enjoyed with er reshid, who was wont to call him brother[fn# ] and used to carry him with him into his house. the period of his vizierate was nineteen years,[fn# ] and yehya one day said to his son jaafer, "o my son, what time thy reed trembleth, water it with kindness."[fn# ] opinions differ concerning the reason of jaafer's slaughter, but the better is as follows. er reshid could not brook to be parted from jaafer nor from his [own] sister abbaseh, daughter of el mehdi, a single hour, and she was the loveliest woman of her time; so he said to jaafer, "i will marry thee to her, that it may be lawful to thee to look upon her, but thou shalt not touch her." [accordingly, they were married] and they used both to be present in er reshid's sitting chamber. now the khalif would rise bytimes [and go forth] from the chamber, and they being both young and filled with wine, jaafer would rise to her and swive her. she conceived by him and bore a handsome boy and fearing er reshid, despatched the newborn child by one of her confidants to mecca the holy, may god the most high advance it in honour and increase it in venerance and nobility and magnification! the affair abode concealed till there befell despite between abbaseh and one of her slave-girls, whereupon the latter discovered the affair of the child to er reshid and acquainted him with its abiding-place. so, when the khalif made the pilgrimage, he despatched one who brought him the boy and found the affair true, wherefore he caused befall the barmecides that which befell.[fn# ] ibn es semmak and er reshid.[fn# ] it is related that ibn es semmak[fn# ] went in one day to er reshid and the khalif, being athirst, called for drink. so his cup was brought him, and when he took it, ibn es semmak said to him, "softly, o commander of the faithful! if thou wert denied this draught, with what wouldst thou buy it?" "with the half of my kingdom," answered the khalif; and ibn es semmak said, "drink and god prosper it to thee!" then, when he had drunken, he said to him, "if thou wert denied the going forth of the draught from thy body, with what wouldst thou buy its issue?" "with the whole of my kingdom," answered er reshid: and ibn es semmak said, "o commander of the faithful, verily, a kingdom that weigheth not in the balance against a draught [of water] or a voiding of urine is not worth the striving for." and haroun wept. el mamoun and zubeideh[fn# ] it is said that el mamoun[fn# ] came one day upon zubeideh, mother of el amin,[fn# ] and saw her moving her lips and muttering somewhat he understood not; so he said to her, "o mother mine, dost thou imprecate [curses] upon me, for that i slew thy son and despoiled him of his kingdom?" "not so, by allah, o commander of the faithful!" answered she, and he said, "what then saidst thou?" quoth she, "let the commander of the faithful excuse me." but he was instant with her, saying, "needs must thou tell it." and she replied, "i said, 'god confound importunity!'" "how so?" asked the khalif, and she said, "i played one day at chess with the commander of the faithful [haroun er reshid] and he imposed on me the condition of commandment and acceptance.[fn# ] he beat me and bade me put off my clothes and go round about the palace, naked; so i did this, and i incensed against him. then we fell again to playing and i beat him; so i bade him go to the kitchen and swive the foulest and sorriest wench of the wenches thereof. [i went to the kitchen] and found not a slave-girl fouler and filthier than thy mother;[fn# ] so i bade him swive her. he did as i bade him and she became with child by him of thee, and thus was i [by my unlucky insistance] the cause of the slaying of my son and the despoiling him of his kingdom." when el mamoun heard this, he turned away, saying, "god curse the importunate!" to wit, himself, who had importuned her till she acquainted him with that matter. en numan and the arab of the benou tai.[fn# ] it is said that en numan[fn# ] had two boon-companions, one of whom was called ibn saad and the other amrou ben el melik, and he became one night drunken and bade bury them alive; so they buried them. when he arose on the morrow, he enquired for them and was acquainted with their case, whereupon he built over them a monument and appointed to himself a day of ill-luck and a day of good-luck. if any met him on his day of ill-omen, he slew him and with his blood he washed the monument aforesaid, the which is a place well known in cufa; and if any met him on his day of grace, he enriched him. now there accosted him once, on his day of ill-omen, an arab of the benou tai,[fn# ] and en numan would have put him to death; but the arab said, "god quicken the king! i have two little girls and have made none guardian over them; so, if the king see fit to grant me leave to go to them, i will give him the covenant of god[fn# ] that i will return to him, whenas i have appointed them a guardian." en numan had compassion on him and said to him, "if a man will be surety for thee of those who are with us, [i will let thee go], and if thou return not, i will put him to death." now there was with en numan his vizier sherik ben amrou; so the tai[fn# ] looked at him and said, sherik ben amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay? o brother of the brotherless, brother of all th' afflicted, say. brother of en numan, with thee lies an old man's anguish to allay, a graybeard slain, may god make fair his deeds upon the reckoning-day! quoth sherik, "on me be his warranty, may god assain the king!" so the tai departed, after a term had been assigned him for his coming. when the appointed day arrived, en numan sent for sherik and said to him, "verily the first part of this day is past." and sherik answered, "the king hath no recourse against me till it be eventide." when it evened, there appeared one afar off and en numan fell to looking upon him and on sherik, and the latter said to him, "thou hast no right over me till yonder fellow come, for belike he is my man." as he spoke, up came the tai in haste and en numan said "by allah, never saw i [any] more generous than you two! i know not whether of you is the more generous, this one who became warrant for thee in [danger of] death or thou who returnest unto slaughter." then said he to sherik, "what prompted thee to become warrant for him, knowing that it was death?" and he said, "[i did this] lest it be said, 'generosity hath departed from viziers.'" then said en numan to the tai, "and thou, what prompted thee to return, knowing that therein was death and thine own destruction?" quoth the arab, "[i did this] lest it be said, 'fidelity hath departed from the folk.'" and en numan said, "by allah, i will be the third of you,[fn# ] lest it be said, 'clemency hath departed from kings.'" so he pardoned him and bade abolish the day of ill-omen; whereupon the arab recited the following verses: full many a man incited me to infidelity, but i refused, for all the talk wherewith they set on me. i am a man in whom good faith's a natural attribute; the deeds of every upright man should with his speech agree. quoth en numan, "what prompted thee to keep faith, the case being as thou sayest?" "o king," answered the arab, "it was my religion." and en numan said, "what is thy religion?" "the christian," replied the other. quoth the king, "expound it unto me." [so the tai expounded it to him] and en numan became a christian.[fn# ] firouz and his wife[fn# ] a certain king sat one day on the roof of his palace, diverting himself with looking about him, and presently, chancing to look aside, he espied, on [the roof of] a house over against his palace, a woman, never saw his eyes her like. so he turned to those who were present and said to them, "to whom belongeth yonder house?" "to thy servant firouz," answered they, "and that is his wife." so he went down, (and indeed love had made him drunken and he was passionately enamoured of her), and calling firouz, said to him, "take this letter and go with it to such a city and bring me the answer." firouz took the letter and going to his house, laid it under his head and passed that night. when the morning morrowed, he took leave of his wife and set out for the city in question, unknowing what the king purposed against him. as for the king, he arose in haste and disguising himself, repaired to the house of firouz and knocked at the door. quoth firouz's wife, "who is at the door?" and he answered, saying, "i am the king, thy husband's master." so she opened the door and he entered and sat down, saying, "we are come to visit thee." quoth she, "i seek refuge [with god] from this visitation, for indeed i deem not well thereof." and the king said, "o desire of hearts, i am thy husband's master and methinks thou knowest me not." "nay," answered she, "i know thee, o my lord and master, and i know thy purpose and that which thou seekest and that thou art my husband's lord. i understand what thou wishest, and indeed the poet hath forestalled thee in his saying of the following verses, in reference to thy case: your water i'll leave without drinking, for there too many already have drunken whilere. when the flies light on food, from the platter my hand i raise, though my spirit should long for the fare; and whenas the dogs at a fountain have lapped, the lions to drink of the water forbear." then said she, "o king, comest thou to a [watering-]place whereat thy dog hath drunken and wilt thou drink thereof?" the king was abashed at her and at her words and went out from her, but forgot his sandal in the house. as for firouz, when he went forth from his house, he sought the letter, but found it not; so he returned home. now his return fell in with the king's going forth and he found the latter's sandal in his house, whereat his wit was dazed and he knew that the king had not sent him away but for a purpose of his own. however, he held his peace and spoke not a word, but, taking the letter, went on his errand and accomplished it and returned to the king, who gave him a hundred dinars. so firouz betook himself to the market and bought what beseemeth women of goodly gifts and returning to his wife, saluted her and gave her all that he had brought and said to her, "arise [go] to thy father's house." "wherefore?" asked she, and he said, "verily, the king hath been bountiful to me and i would have thee show forth this, so thy father may rejoice in that which he seeth upon thee." "with all my heart," answered she and arising forthright, betook herself to the house of her father, who rejoiced in her coming and in that which he saw upon her; and she abode with him a month's space, and her husband made no mention of her. then came her brother to him and said, "o firouz, an thou wilt not acquaint me with the reason of thine anger against thy wife, come and plead with us before the king." quoth he, "if ye will have me plead with you, i will do so." so they went to the king and found the cadi sitting with him; whereupon quoth the damsel's brother, "god assist our lord the cadi! i let this man on hire a high-walled garden, with a well in good case and trees laden with fruit; but he beat down its walls and ruined its well and ate its fruits, and now he desireth to return it to me." the cadi turned to firouz and said to him, "what sayst thou, o youth?" and he answered, "indeed, i delivered him the garden in the goodliest of case." so the cadi said to the brother, "hath he delivered thee the garden, as he saith?" and the other replied, "no; but i desire to question him of the reason of his returning it." quoth the cadi, "what sayst thou, o youth?" and firouz answered, "i returned it in my own despite, for that i entered it one day and saw the track of the lion; wherefore i feared lest, if i entered it again, the lion should devour me. so that which i did, i did of reverence to him and for fear of him." now the king was leaning back upon the cushion, when he heard the man's words, he knew the purport thereof; so he sat up and said, "return to thy garden in all assurance and ease of heart; for, by allah, never saw i the like of thy garden nor stouter of ward than its walls over its trees!" so firouz returned to his wife, and the cadi knew not the truth of the affair, no, nor any of those who were in that assembly, save the king and the husband and the damsel's brother.[fn# ] king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king of the kings of the time, by name shah bekht, who had troops and servants and guards galore and a vizier called er rehwan, who was wise, understanding, a man of good counsel and a cheerful acceptor of the commandments of god the most high, to whom belong might and majesty. the king committed to him the affairs of his kingdom and his subjects and said according to his word, and on this wise he abode a long space of time. now this vizier had many enemies, who envied him his high place and still sought to do him hurt, but found no way thereunto, and god, in his fore-knowledge and his fore-ordinance from time immemorial, decreed that the king dreamt that the vizier er rehwan gave him a fruit from off a tree and he ate it and died. so he awoke, affrighted and troubled, and when the vizier had presented himself before him [and withdrawn] and the king was alone with those in whom he trusted, he related to them his dream and they counselled him to send for the astrologers and interpreters [of dreams] and commended to him a sage, for whose skill and wisdom they vouched. so the king sent for him and entreated him with honour and made him draw near to himself. now there had been private with the sage in question a company of the vizier's enemies, who besought him to slander the vizier to the king and counsel him to put him to death, in consideration of that which they promised him of wealth galore; and he agreed with them of this and told the king that the vizier would slay him in the course of the [ensuing] month and bade him hasten to put him to death, else would he surely slay him. presently, the vizier entered and the king signed to him to cause avoid the place. so he signed to those who were present to withdraw, and they departed; whereupon quoth the king to him, "how deemest thou, o excellent vizier, o loyal counsellor in all manner of governance, of a vision i have seen in my sleep?" "what is it, o king?" asked the vizier, and shah bekht related to him his dream, adding, "and indeed the sage interpreted it to me and said to me, 'an thou put not the vizier to death within a month, he will slay thee.' now i am exceeding both to put the like of thee to death, yet do i fear to leave thee on life. what then dost thou counsel me that i should do in this matter?" the vizier bowed his head awhile, then raised it and said, "god prosper the king! verily, it skills not to continue him on life of whom the king is afraid, and my counsel is that thou make haste to put me to death." when the king heard his speech, he turned to him and said, "it is grievous to me, o vizier of good counsel." and he told him that the [other] sages testified [to the correctness of their fellow's interpretation of the dream]; whereupon er rehwan sighed and knew that the king went in fear of him; but he showed him fortitude and said to him, "god assain the king! my counsel is that the king accomplish his commandment and execute his ordinance, for that needs must death be and it is liefer to me that i die, oppressed, than that i die, an oppressor. but, if the king see fit to defer the putting of me to death till the morrow and will pass this night with me and take leave of me, when the morrow cometh, the king shall do what he will." then he wept till he wet his gray hairs and the king was moved to compassion for him and granted him that which he sought and vouchsafed him that night's respite. the first night of the month when it was eventide, the king caused avoid his sitting chamber and summoned the vizier, who presented himself and making his obeisance to the king, kissed the earth before him and bespoke him as follows: story of the man of khorassan, his son and his governor. "there was once a man of khorassan and he had a son, whose improvement he ardently desired; but the young man sought to be alone and to remove himself from his father's eye, so he might give himself up to pleasance and delight. so he sought of his father [leave to make] the pilgrimage to the holy house of god and to visit the tomb of the prophet (whom god bless and keep!). now between them and mecca was a journey of five hundred parasangs; but his father could not gainsay him, for that the law of god made this[fn# ] incumbent on him and because of that which he hoped for him of improvement [therefrom]. so he joined unto him a governor, in whom he trusted, and gave him much money and took leave of him. the son set out on the holy pilgrimage[fn# ] with the governor and abode on that wise, spending freely and using not thrift. now there was in his neighbourhood a poor man, who had a slave-girl of surpassing beauty and loveliness, and the youth became enamoured of her and suffered grief and concern for the love of her and her loveliness, so that he was like to perish for passion; and she also loved him with a love yet greater than his love for her. so she called an old woman who used to visit her and acquainted her with her case, saying, 'an i foregather not with him, i shall die.' the old woman promised her that she would do her endeavour to bring her to her desire; so she veiled herself and repairing to the young man, saluted him and acquainted him with the girl's case, saying, 'her master is a covetous man; so do thou invite him [to thy lodging] and tempt him with money, and he will sell thee the damsel.' accordingly, he made a banquet, and stationing himself in the man's way, invited him and carried him to his house, where they sat down and ate and drank and abode in discourse. presently, the young man said to the other, 'i hear that thou hast with thee a slave-girl, whom thou desirest to sell.' and he answered, saying, 'by allah, o my lord, i have no mind to sell her!' quoth the youth, 'i hear that she cost thee a thousand dinars, and i will give thee six hundred, to boot.' and the other said, 'i sell her to thee [at that price].' so they fetched notaries, who drew up the contract of sale, and the young man counted out to the girl's master half the purchase money, saying, 'let her be with thee till i complete to thee the rest of the price and take my slave-girl.' the other consented to this and took of him a bond for the rest of the money, and the girl abode with her master, on deposit. as for the youth, he gave his governor a thousand dirhems and despatched him to his father, to fetch money from him, so he might pay the rest of the girl's price, saying to him, 'be not [long] absent.' but the governor said in himself, 'how shall i go to his father and say to him, "thy son hath wasted thy money and wantoned it away"?[fn# ] with what eye shall i look on him, and indeed, i am he in whom he confided and to whom he hath entrusted his son? indeed, this were ill seen. nay, i will fare on to the pilgrimage[fn# ] [with the caravan of pilgrims], in despite of this fool of a youth; and when he is weary [of waiting], he will demand back the money [he hath already paid] and return to his father, and i shall be quit of travail and reproach.' so he went on with the caravan to the pilgrimage[fn# ] and took up his abode there. meanwhile, the youth abode expecting his governor's return, but he returned not; wherefore concern and chagrin waxed upon him, because of his mistress, and his longing for her redoubled and he was like to slay himself. she became aware of this and sent him a messenger, bidding him to her. so he went to her and she questioned him of the case; whereupon he told her what was to do of the matter of his governor, and she said to him, 'with me is longing the like of that which is with thee, and i misdoubt me thy messenger hath perished or thy father hath slain him; but i will give thee all my trinkets and my clothes, and do thou sell them and pay the rest of my price, and we will go, i and thou, to thy father.' so she gave him all that she possessed and he sold it and paid the rest of her price; after which there remained to him a hundred dirhems. these he spent and lay that night with the damsel in all delight of life, and his soul was like to fly for joy; but when he arose in the morning, he sat weeping and the damsel said to him, 'what aileth thee to weep?' and he said, 'i know not if my father be dead, and he hath none other heir but myself; and how shall i win to him, seeing i have not a dirhem?' quoth she, 'i have a bracelet; do thou sell it and buy small pearls with the price. then bray them and fashion them into great pearls, and thereon thou shalt gain much money, wherewith we may make our way to thy country.' so he took the bracelet and repairing to a goldsmith, said to him, 'break up this bracelet and sell it.' but he said, 'the king seeketh a good[fn# ] bracelet; i will go to him and bring thee the price thereof.' so he carried the bracelet to the sultan and it pleased him greatly, by reason of the goodliness of its workmanship. then he called an old woman, who was in his palace, and said to her, 'needs must i have the mistress of this bracelet, though but for a single night, or i shall die.' and the old woman answered, 'i will bring her to thee.' so she donned a devotee's habit and betaking herself to the goldsmith, said to him, 'to whom belongeth the bracelet that is in the king's hand?' quoth he, 'it belongeth to a man, a stranger, who hath bought him a slave-girl from this city and lodgeth with her in such a place.' so the old woman repaired to the young man's house and knocked at the door. the damsel opened to her and seeing her clad in devotee's apparel,[fn# ] saluted her and said to her, ' belike thou hast an occasion with us?' 'yes,' answered the old woman; 'i desire privacy and ablution.'[fn# ] quoth the girl, 'enter.' so she entered and did her occasion and made the ablution and prayed. then she brought out a rosary and began to tell her beads thereon, and the damsel said to her, 'whence comest thou, o pilgrim?'[fn# ] quoth she '[i come] from [visiting] the idol[fn# ] of the absent in such a church.[fn# ] there standeth up no woman [to prayer] before him, who hath an absent friend and discovereth to him her need, but he acquainteth her with her case and giveth her tidings of her absent one.' 'o pilgrim,' said the damsel, 'we have an absent one, and my lord's heart cleaveth to him and i desire to go to the idol and question him of him.' quoth the old woman, '[wait] till to-morrow and ask leave of thy husband, and i will come to thee and go with thee in weal.' then she went away, and when the girl's master came, she sought his leave to go with the old woman and he granted her leave. so the beldam took her and carried her to the king's door. the damsel entered with her, unknowing whither she went, and beheld a goodly house and chambers adorned [with gold and colours] that were no idol's chambers. then came the king and seeing her beauty and grace, went up to her, to kiss her; whereupon she fell down in a fit and strove with her hands and feet. when he saw this, he was solicitous for her and held aloof from her and left her; but the thing was grievous to her and she refused meat and drink, and as often as the king drew near her, she fled from him in affright, wherefore he swore by allah that he would not approach her, save with her consent, and fell to guerdoning her with trinkets and raiment, but she only redoubled in aversion to him. meanwhile, the youth her master abode expecting her; but she returned not and his heart forbode him of the draught [of separation]; so he went forth at hazard, distraught and knowing not what he should do, and fell to strewing dust upon his head and crying out, 'the old woman hath taken her and gone away!' the boys followed him with stones and pelted him, saying, 'a madman! a madman!' presently, the king's chamberlain, who was a man of age and worth, met him, and when he saw his youth, he forbade the boys and drove there away from him, after which he accosted him and questioned him of his case. so he told him how it was with him and the chamberlain said to him, 'fear not: all shall yet be well with thee. i will deliver thy slave-girl for thee: so calm thy trouble.' and he went on to speak him fair and comfort him, till he put faith in his speech. then he carried him to his house and stripping him of his clothes, clad him in rags; after which he called an old woman, who was his stewardess, and said to her. 'take this youth and clap on his neck this iron chain and go round about with him in all the thoroughfares of the city; and when thou hast made an end of this, go up with him to the palace of the king.' and he said to the youth, 'in whatsoever place thou seest the damsel, speak not a syllable, but acquaint me with her place and thou shall owe her deliverance to none but me.' the youth thanked him and went with the old woman on such wise as the chamberlain bade him. she fared on with him till they entered the city [and made the round thereof]; after which she went up to the palace of the king and fell to saying, 'o people of affluence, look on a youth whom the devils take twice in the day and pray for preservation from [a like] affliction!' and she ceased not to go round about with him till she came to the eastern wing[fn# ] of the palace, whereupon the slave-girls came out to look upon him and when they saw him they were amazed at his beauty and grace and wept for him. then they told the damsel, who came forth and looked upon him and knew him not. but he knew her; so he bowed his head and wept. she was moved to compassion for him and gave him somewhat and returned to her place, whilst the youth returned with the stewardess to the chamberlain and told him that she was in the king's house, whereat he was chagrined and said, 'by allah, i will assuredly contrive a device for her and deliver her!' whereupon the youth kissed his hands and feet. then he turned to the old woman and bade her change her apparel and her favour. now this old woman was goodly of speech and nimble of wit; so he gave her costly and delicious perfumes and said to her, 'get thee to the king's slave girls and sell them these [perfumes] and make thy way to the damsel and question her if she desire her master or not.' so the old woman went out and making her way to the palace, went in to the damsel and drew near her and recited the following verses: god keep the days of love-delight! how dearly sweet they were! how joyous and how solaceful was life in them whilere! would he were not who sundered us upon the parting day! how many a body hath he slain, how many a bone laid bare? sans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and beggared me of him i love, yet for himself gained nought thereby whate'er. when the damsel heard these verses, she wept till her clothes were drenched and drew near the old woman, who said to her, 'knowest thou such an one?' and wept and said, 'he is my lord. whence knowest thou him?' 'o my lady,' answered the old woman, 'sawst thou not the madman who came hither yesterday with the old woman? he was thy lord. but this is no time for talk. when it is night, get thee to the top of the palace [and wait] on the roof till thy lord come to thee and contrive for thy deliverance.' then she gave her what she would of perfumes and returning to the chamberlain, acquainted him with that which had passed, and he told the youth. when it was eventide, the chamberlain let bring two horses and great store of water and victual and a saddle-camel and a man to show them the way. these he hid without the town, whilst he and the young man took with them a long rope, made fast to a staple, and repaired to the palace. when they came thither, they looked and beheld the damsel standing on the roof. so they threw her the rope and the staple; whereupon she [made the latter fast to the parapet and] wrapping her sleeves about her hands, slid down [the rope] and landed with them. they carried her without the town, where they mounted, she and her lord, and fared on, whilst the guide forewent them, directing them in the way, and they gave not over going night and day till they entered his father's house. the young man saluted his father, who rejoiced in him, and he related to him all that had befallen him, whereupon he rejoiced in his safety. as for the governor, he wasted all that was with him and returned to the city, where he saw the youth and excused himself to him. then he questioned him of what had befallen him and he told him, whereat he marvelled and returned to companionship with him; but the youth ceased to have regard for him and gave him not stipends, as of his [former] wont, neither discovered to him aught of his secrets. when the governor saw that there was no profit for him with the young khorassani, he returned to the king, the ravisher of the damsel, and told him what the chamberlain had done and counselled him to slay the latter and incited him to recover the damsel, [promising] to give his friend to drink of poison and return. so the king sent for the chamberlain and upbraided him; whereupon he fell upon him and slew him and the king's servants fell upon the chamberlain and slew him. meanwhile, the governor returned to the youth, who questioned him of his absence, and he told him that he had been in the city of the king who had taken the damsel. when the youth heard this, he misdoubted of the governor and never again trusted him in aught, but was still on his guard against him. then the governor made great store of sweetmeats and put in them deadly poison and presented them to the youth. when the latter saw the sweetmeats, he said in himself, 'this is an extraordinary thing of the governor! needs must there be mischief in this sweetmeat, and i will make proof of it upon himself.' so he made ready victual and set on the sweetmeat amongst it and bade the governor to his house and set food before him. he ate and amongst the rest, they brought him the poisoned sweetmeat; so he ate thereof and died forthright; whereby the youth knew that this was a plot against himself and said, 'he who seeketh his fortune of his own [unaided] might[fn# ] attaineth it not.' nor (continued the vizier) is this, o king of the age, more extraordinary than the story of the druggist and his wife and the singer." when king shah bekht heard his vizier's story, he gave him leave to withdraw to his own house and he abode there the rest of the night and the next day till the evening. the second night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy sitting-chamber and his mind was occupied with the story of the singer and the druggist. so he called the vizier and bade him tell the story. "it is well," answered he, "they tell, o my lord, that story of the singer and the druggist. there was once in the city of hemadan[fn# ] a young man of comely aspect and excellently skilled in singing to the lute, and he was well seen of the people of the city. he went forth one day of his city, with intent to travel, and gave not over journeying till his travel brought him to a goodly city. now he had with him a lute and what pertained thereto,[fn# ] so he entered and went round about the city till he fell in with a druggist, who, when he espied him, called to him. so he went up to him and he bade him sit down. accordingly, he sat down by him and the druggist questioned him of his case. the singer told him what was in his mind and the other took him up into his shop and brought him food and fed him. then said he to him, 'arise and take up thy lute and beg about the streets, and whenas thou smellest the odour of wine, break in upon the drinkers and say to them, "i am a singer." they will laugh and say, "come, [sing] to us." and when thou singest, the folk will know thee and bespeak one another of thee; so shall thou become known in the city and thine affairs will prosper.' so he went round about, as the druggist bade him, till the sun grew hot, but found none drinking. then he entered a by-street, that he might rest himself, and seeing there a handsome and lofty house, stood in its shade and fell to observing the goodliness of its ordinance. as he was thus engaged, behold, a window opened and there appeared thereat a face, as it were the moon. quoth she,[fn# ] 'what aileth thee to stand there? dost thou want aught?' and he answered, 'i am a stranger,' and acquainted her with his case; whereupon quoth she, 'what sayst thou to meat and drink and the enjoyment of a fair-face[d one] and getting thee what thou mayst spend?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'this is my desire and that in quest whereof i am going about.' so she opened the door to him and brought him in. then she seated him at the upper end of the room and set food before him. so he ate and drank and lay with her and swived her. then she sat down in his lap and they toyed and laughed and kissed till the day was half spent, when her husband came home and she could find nothing for it but to hide the singer in a rug, in which she rolled him up. the husband entered and seeing the place disordered[fn# ] and smelling the odour of wine, questioned her of this. quoth she, 'i had with me a friend of mine and i conjured her [to drink with me]; so we drank a jar [of wine], she and i, and she went away but now, before thy coming in.' her husband, (who was none other than the singer's friend the druggist, that had invited him and fed him), deemed her words true and went away to his shop, whereupon the singer came forth and he and the lady returned to their sport and abode on this wise till eventide, when she gave him money and said to him, 'come hither to-morrow in the forenoon.' 'it is well,' answered he and departed; and at nightfall he went to the bath. on the morrow, he betook himself to the shop of his friend the druggist, who welcomed him and questioned him of his case and how he had fared that day. quoth the singer, 'may god requite thee with good, o my brother! for that thou hast directed me unto easance!' and he related to him his adventure with the woman, till he came to the mention of her husband, when he said, 'and at midday came the cuckold her husband and knocked at the door. so she wrapped me in the mat, and when he had gone about his business, i came forth and we returned to what we were about.' this was grievous to the druggist and he repented of having taught him [how he should do] and misdoubted of his wife. so he said to the singer, 'and what said she to thee at thy going away?' and the other answered, 'she bade me come back to her on the morrow. so, behold, i am going to her and i came not hither but that i might acquaint thee with this, lest thy heart be occupied with me.' then he took leave of him and went his way. as soon as the druggist was assured that he had reached the house, he cast the net over his shop[fn# ] and made for his house, misdoubting of his wife, and knocked at the door. now the singer had entered and the druggist's wife said to him, 'arise, enter this chest.' so he entered it and she shut the lid on him and opened to her husband, who came in, in a state of bewilderment, and searched the house, but found none and overlooked the chest. so he said in himself, 'the house [of which the singer spoke] is one which resembleth my house and the woman is one who resembles my wife,' and returned to his shop; whereupon the singer came forth of the chest and falling upon the druggist's wife, did his occasion and paid her her due and weighed down the scale for her.[fn# ] then they ate and drank and kissed and clipped, and on this wise they abode till the evening, when she gave him money, for that she found his weaving good,[fn# ] and made him promise to come to her on the morrow. so he left her and slept his night and on the morrow he repaired to the shop of his friend the druggist and saluted him. the other welcomed him and questioned him of his case; whereupon he told him how he had fared, till he came to the mention of the woman's husband, when he said, 'then came the cuckold her husband and she clapped me into the chest and shut the lid on me, whilst her addlepated pimp of a husband went round about the house, top and bottom; and when he had gone his way, we returned to what we were about.' with this, the druggist was certified that the house was his house and the wife his wife, and he said, 'and what wilt thou do to-day?' quoth the singer, 'i shall return to her and weave for her and full her yarn,[fn# ] and i came but to thank thee for thy dealing with me.' then he went away, whilst the fire was loosed in the heart of the druggist and he shut his shop and betaking himself to his house, knocked at the door. quoth the singer, 'let me get into the chest, for he saw me not yesterday.' 'nay,' answered she, 'wrap thyself up in the rug.' so he wrapped himself up in the rug and stood in a corner of the room, whilst the druggist entered and went straight to the chest, but found it empty. then he went round about the house and searched it from top to bottom, but found nothing and no one and abode between belief and disbelief, and said in himself, 'belike, i suspect my wife of that which is not in her.' so he was certified of her innocence and returned to his shop, whereupon out came the singer and they abode on their former case, as of wont, till eventide, when she gave him one of her husband's shirts and he took it and going away, passed the night in his lodging. on the morrow, he repaired to the druggist, who saluted him and came to meet him and rejoiced in him and smiled in his face, deeming his wife innocent. then he questioned him of his yesterday's case and he told him how he had fared, saying, 'o my brother, when the cuckold knocked at the door, i would have entered the chest; but his wife forbade me and rolled me up in the rug. the man entered and thought of nothing but the chest; so he broke it open and abode as he were a madman, going up and coming down. then he went his way and i came out and we abode on our wonted case till eventide, when she gave me this shirt of her husband's; and behold, i am going to her.' when the druggist heard the singer's words, he was certified of the case and knew that the calamity, all of it, was in his own house and that the wife was his wife; and he saw the shirt, whereupon he redoubled in certainty and said to the singer, 'art thou now going to her?' 'yes, o my brother,' answered he and taking leave of him, went away; whereupon the druggist started up, as he were a madman, and ungarnished his shop.[fn# ] whilst he was thus engaged, the singer won to the house, and presently up came the druggist and knocked at the door. the singer would have wrapped himself up in the rug, but she forbade him and said to him, 'get thee down to the bottom of the house and enter the oven[fn# ] and shut the lid upon thyself.' so he did as she bade him and she went down to her husband and opened the door to him, whereupon he entered and went round about the house, but found no one and overlooked the oven. so he stood meditating and swore that he would not go forth of the house till the morrow. as for the singer, when his [stay in the oven] grew long upon him, he came forth therefrom, thinking that her husband had gone away. then he went up to the roof and looking down, beheld his friend the druggist; whereat he was sore concerned and said in himself, 'alas, the disgrace of it! this is my friend the druggist, who dealt kindly with me and wrought me fair and i have requited him with foul' and he feared to return to the druggist; so he went down and opened the first door and would have gone out; but, when he came to the outer door, he found it locked and saw not the key. so he stole up again to the roof and cast himself down into the [next] house. the people of the house heard him and hastened to him, deeming him a thief. now the house in question belonged to a persian; so they laid hands on him and the master of the house began to beat him, saying to him, 'thou art a thief.' 'nay,' answered he, 'i am no thief, but a singing-man, a stranger. i heard your voices and came to sing to you.' when the folk heard his words, they talked of letting him go; but the persian said, 'o folk, let not his speech beguile you. this fellow is none other than a thief who knoweth how to sing, and when he happeneth on the like of us, he is a singer.' 'o our lord,' answered they, 'this man is a stranger, and needs must we release him.' quoth he, 'by allah, my heart revolteth from this fellow! let me make an end of him with beating.' but they said, 'thou mayst nowise do that' so they delivered the singer from the persian, the master of the house, and seated him amongst them, whereupon he fell to singing to them and they rejoiced in him. now the persian had a mameluke,[fn# ] as he were the full moon, and he arose [and went out], and the singer followed him and wept before him, professing love to him and kissing his hands and feet. the mameluke took compassion on him and said to him, 'when the night cometh and my master entereth [the harem] and the folk go away, i will grant thee thy desire; and i lie in such a place.' then the singer returned and sat with the boon-companions, and the persian rose and went out, he and the mameluke beside him. [then they returned and sat down.][fn# ] now the singer knew the place that the mameluke occupied at the first of the night; but it befell that he rose from his place and the candle went out. the persian, who was drunken, fell over on his face, and the singer, supposing him to be the mameluke, said, 'by allah, it is good!' and threw himself upon him and clipped him, whereupon the persian started up, crying out, and laying hands on the singer, pinioned him and beat him grievously, after which he bound him to a tree that was in the house.[fn# ] now there was in the house a fair singing-girl and when she saw the singer pinioned and bound to the tree, she waited till the persian lay down on his couch, when she arose and going to the singer, fell to condoling with him over what had betided him and ogling him and handling his yard and rubbing it, till it rose on end. then said she to him, 'do thou swive me and i will loose thy bonds, lest he return and beat thee again; for he purposeth thee evil.' quoth he, 'loose me and i will do.' but she said, 'i fear that, [if i loose thee], thou wilt not do. but i will do, and thou standing; and when i have done, i will loose thee.' so saying, she pulled up her clothes and sitting down on the singer's yard, fell to going and coming. now there was in the house a ram, with which the persian used to butt, and when he saw what the woman did, he thought she would butt with him; so he broke his halter and running at her, butted her and broke her head. she fell on her back and cried out; whereupon the persian started up from sleep in haste and seeing the singing-girl [cast down on her back] and the singer with his yard on end, said to the latter, 'o accursed one, doth not what thou hast already done suffice thee?' then he beat him soundly and opening the door, put him out in the middle of the night. he lay the rest of the night in one of the ruins, and when he arose in the morning, he said, 'none is to blame. i sought my own good, and he is no fool who seeketh good for himself; and the druggist's wife also sought good for herself; but destiny overcometh precaution and there remaineth no abiding for me in this town.' so he went forth from the city. nor (added the vizier) is this story, extraordinary though it be, more extraordinary than that of the king and his son and that which bedded them of wonders and rarities." when the king heard this story, he deemed it pleasant and said, "this story is near unto that which i know and meseemeth i should do well to have patience and hasten not to slay my vizier, so i may get of him the story of the king and his son." then he gave the vizier leave to go away to his own house; so he thanked him and abode in his house all that day. the third night of the month when it was the time of the evening meal, the king repaired to the sitting-chamber and summoning the vizier, sought of him the story he had promised him; and the vizier said, "they avouch, o king, that story of the king who knew the quintessence[fn# ] of things. there came to a king of the kings, in his old age, a son, who grew up comely, quick-witted and intelligent, and when he came to years of discretion and became a young man, his father said to him, 'take this kingdom and govern it in my stead, for i desire to flee [from the world] to god the most high and don the gown of wool and give myself up to devotion.' quoth the prince, 'and i also desire to take refuge with god the most high.' and the king said, 'arise, let us flee forth and make for the mountains and worship in them, for shamefastness before god the most high.' so they gat them raiment of wool and clothing themselves therewith, went forth and wandered in the deserts and wastes; but, when some days had passed over them, they became weak for hunger and repented them of that which they had done, whenas repentance profited them not, and the prince complained to his father of weariness and hunger. 'dear my son,' answered the king, 'i did with thee that which behoved me,[fn# ] but thou wouldst not hearken to me, and now there is no means of returning to thy former estate, for that another hath taken the kingdom and become its defender; but i will counsel thee of somewhat, wherein do thou pleasure me.' quoth the prince, 'what is it?' and his father said, 'take me and go with me to the market and sell me and take my price and do with it what thou wilt, and i shall become the property of one who will provide for my support,' 'who will buy thee of me,' asked the prince, 'seeing thou art a very old man? nay, do thou rather sell me, for the demand for me will be greater.' but the king said, 'an thou wert king, thou wouldst require me of service.' so the youth obeyed his father's commandment and taking him, carried him to the slave-dealer and said to the latter, 'sell me this old man.' quoth the dealer, 'who will buy this fellow, and he a man of fourscore?' then said he to the king, 'in what crafts dost thou excel?' quoth he, 'i know the quintessence of jewels and i know the quintessence of horses and that of men; brief, i know the quintessence of all things.' so the dealer took him and went about, offering him for sale to the folk; but none would buy. presently, up came the overseer of the [sultan's] kitchen and said, 'what is this man?' and the dealer answered, 'this is a slave for sale.' the cook marvelled at this and bought the king for ten thousand dirhems, after questioning him of what he could do. then he paid down the money and carried him to his house, but dared not employ him in aught of service; so he appointed him an allowance, such as should suffice for his livelihood, and repented him of having bought him, saying, 'what shall i do with the like of this fellow?' presently, the king [of the city] was minded to go forth to his garden,[fn# ] a-pleasuring, and bade the cook forego him thither and appoint in his stead one who should dress meat for the king, so that, when he returned, he might find it ready. so the cook fell a-considering of whom he should appoint and was bewildered concerning his affair. as he was on this wise, the old man came to him and seeing him perplexed how he should do, said to him, 'tell me what is in thy mind; belike, i may avail to relieve thee.' so he acquainted him with the king's wishes and he said, 'have no care for this, but leave me one of the serving-men and go thou in peace and surety, for i will suffice thee of this.' so the cook departed with the king, after he had brought the old man what he needed and left him a man of the guards. when he was gone, the old man bade the trooper wash the kitchen-vessels and made ready passing goodly food. when the king returned, he set the meat before him, and he tasted food whose like he had never known; whereat he marvelled and asked who had dressed it. so they acquainted him with the old man's case and he summoned him to his presence and awarded him a handsome recompense.[fn# ] moreover, he commanded that they should cook together, he and the cook, and the old man obeyed his commandment. awhile after this, there came two merchants to the king with two pearls of price and each of them avouched that his pearl was worth a thousand dinars, but there was none who availed to value them. then said the cook, 'god prosper the king! verily, the old man whom i bought avouched that he knew the quintessence of jewels and that he was skilled in cookery. we have made proof of him in cookery and have found him the skilfullest of men; and now, if we send after him and prove him on jewels, [the truth or falsehood of] his pretension will be made manifest to us.' so the king bade fetch the old man and he came and stood before the sultan, who showed him the two pearls. quoth he, 'as for this one, it is worth a thousand dinars.' and the king said, 'so saith its owner.' 'but for this other,' continued the old man, 'it is worth but five hundred.' the folk laughed and marvelled at his saying, and the merchant, [the owner of the second pearl], said to him, 'how can this, which is greater of bulk and purer of water and more perfect of rondure, be less of worth than that?' and the old man answered, 'i have said what is with me.'[fn# ] then said the king to him, 'indeed, the outward appearance thereof is like unto that of the other pearl; why then is it worth but the half of its price?' 'yes,' answered the old man, '[its outward resembleth the other]; but its inward is corrupt.' 'hath a pearl then an outward and an inward?' asked the merchant, and the old man said, 'yes. in its inward is a boring worm; but the other pearl is sound and secure against breakage.' quoth the merchant, 'give us a token of this and prove to us the truth of thy saying.' and the old man answered, 'we will break the pearl. if i prove a, liar, here is my head, and if i speak truth, thou wilt have lost thy pearl.' and the merchant said, 'i agree to that.' so they broke the pearl and it was even as the old man had said, to wit, in its midst was a boring worm. the king marvelled at what he saw and questioned him of [how he came by] the knowledge of this. 'o king,' answered the old man, 'this [kind of] jewel is engendered in the belly of a creature called the oyster and its origin is a drop of rain and it is firm to the touch [and groweth not warm, when held in the hand]; so, when [i took the second pearl and felt that] it was warm to the touch, i knew that it harboured some living thing, for that live things thrive not but in heat.'[fn# ] so the king said to the cook, 'increase his allowance.' and he appointed to him [fresh] allowances. awhile after this, two merchants presented themselves to the king with two horses, and one said, 'i ask a thousand dinars for my horse,' and the other, 'i seek five thousand for mine.' quoth the cook, 'we have experienced the old man's just judgment; what deemeth the king of fetching him?' so the king bade fetch him, and when he saw the two horses, he said, 'this one is worth a thousand and the other two thousand dinars.' quoth the folk, 'this [horse that thou judgeth the lesser worth] is an evident thoroughbred and he is younger and swifter and more compact of limb than the other, ay, and finer of head and clearer of skin and colour. what token, then, hast thou of the truth of thy saying?' and the old man said, 'this ye say is all true, but his sire is old and this other is the son of a young horse. now, when the son of an old horse standeth still [to rest,] his breath returneth not to him and his rider falleth into the hand of him who followeth after him; but the son of a young horse, if thou put him to speed and make him run, [then check him] and alight from off him, thou wilt find him untired, by reason of his robustness.' quoth the merchant, 'indeed, it is as the old man avoucheth and he is an excellent judge.' and the king said, 'increase his allowance.' but the old man stood still and did not go away. so the king said to him, 'why dost thou not go about thy business?' and he answered, 'my business is with the king.' 'name what thou wouldst have,' said the king, and the other replied, 'i would have thee question me of the quintessences of men, even as thou hast questioned me of the quintessences of horses.' quoth the king, 'we have no occasion to question thee of [this].' but the old man replied, 'i have occasion to acquaint thee.' 'say what thou pleasest,' rejoined the king, and the old man said, 'verily, the king is the son of a baker.' quoth the king 'how knowest thou that?' and the other replied, 'know, o king, that i have examined into degrees and dignities[fn# ] and have learnt this.' thereupon the king went in to his mother and questioned her of his father, and she told him that me king her husband was weak;[fn# ] 'wherefore,' quoth she, 'i feared for the kingdom, lest it pass away, after his death; so i took to my bed a young man, a baker, and conceived by him [and bore a son]; and the kingship came into the hand of my son, to wit, thyself.' so the king returned to the old man and said to him, 'i am indeed the son of a baker; so do thou expound to me the means whereby thou knewest me for this.' quoth the other, 'i knew that, hadst thou been a king's son, thou wouldst have given largesse of things of price, such as rubies [and the like]; and wert thou the son of a cadi, thou hadst given largesse of a dirhem or two dirhems, and wert thou the son of a merchant, thou hadst given wealth galore. but i saw that thou guerdonest me not but with cakes of bread [and other victual], wherefore i knew that thou wast the son of a baker.' quoth the king, 'thou hast hit the mark.' and he gave him wealth galore and advanced him to high estate." this story pleased king shah bekht and he marvelled thereat; but the vizier said to him, "this story is not more extraordinary than that of the rich man who married his fair daughter to the poor old man." the king's mind was occupied with the [promised] story and he bade the vizier withdraw to his lodging. so he [returned to his house and] abode there the rest of the night and the whole of the following day. the fourth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king withdrew to his privy sitting-chamber and bade fetch the vizier. when he presented himself before him, he said to him, "tell me the story of the wealthy man who married his daughter to the poor old man." "it is well," answered the vizier. "know, o puissant king, that story of the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man. a certain wealthy merchant had a fair daughter, who was as the full moon, and when she attained the age of fifteen, her father betook himself to an old man and spreading him a carpet in his sitting-chamber, gave him to eat and caroused with him. then said he to him, 'i desire to marry thee to my daughter.' the other excused himself, because of his poverty, and said to him, 'i am not worthy of her nor am i a match for thee.' the merchant was instant with him, but he repeated his answer to him, saying, 'i will not consent to this till thou acquaint me with the reason of thy desire for me. if i find it reasonable, i will fall in with thy wish; and if not, i will not do this ever.' 'know, then,' said the merchant, 'that i am a man from the land of china and was in my youth well-favoured and well-to-do. now i made no account of womankind, one and all, but followed after boys, and one night i saw, in a dream, as it were a balance set up, and it was said by it, "this is the portion of such an one." presently, i heard my own name; so i looked and beheld a woman of the utmost loathliness; whereupon i awoke in affright and said, "i will never marry, lest haply this loathly woman fall to my lot." then i set out for this city with merchandise and the voyage was pleasant to me and the sojourn here, so that i took up my abode here awhile and got me friends and factors, till i had sold all my merchandise and taken its price and there was left me nothing to occupy me till the folk[fn# ] should depart and depart with them. one day, i changed my clothes and putting money in my sleeve, sallied forth to explore the holes and corners of this city, and as i was going about, i saw a handsome house. its goodliness pleased me; so i stood looking on it, and behold, a lovely woman [at the lattice]. when she saw me, she made haste and descended, whilst i abode confounded. then i betook myself to a tailor there and questioned him of the house and to whom it belonged. quoth he, "it belongeth to such an one the notary, may god curse him!" "is he her father?" asked i; [and he replied, "yes."] so i repaired in haste to a man, with whom i had been used to deposit my goods for sale, and told him that i desired to gain access to such an one the notary. accordingly he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to the notary's house. when we came in to him, we saluted him and sat with him, and i said to him, "i come to thee as a suitor, desiring the hand of thy daughter in marriage." quoth he, "i have no daughter befitting this man." and i rejoined, "god aid thee! my desire is for thee and not for her."[fn# ] but he still refused and his friends said to him, "this is an honourable man and thine equal in estate, and it is not lawful to thee that thou hinder the girl of her fortune." quoth he to them, "verily, my daughter whom ye seek is passing foul-favoured and in her are all blameworthy qualities." and i said, "i accept her, though she be as thou sayest." then said the folk, "extolled be the perfection of god! a truce to talk! [the thing is settled;] so say the word, how much wilt thou have [to her dowry]?" quoth he, "i must have four thousand dinars." and i said, "hearkening and obedience." so the affair was concluded and we drew up the contract of marriage and i made the bride-feast; but on the wedding-night i beheld a thing[fn# ] than which never made god the most high aught more loathly. methought her people had contrived this by way of sport; so i laughed and looked for my mistress, whom i had seen [at the lattice], to make her appearance; but saw her not. when the affair was prolonged and i found none but her, i was like to go mad for vexation and fell to beseeching my lord and humbling myself in supplication to him that he would deliver me from her. when i arose in the morning, there came the chamber-woman and said to me, "hast thou occasion for the bath?" "no," answered i; and she said, "art thou for breakfast?" but i replied, "no;" and on this wise i abode three days, tasting neither meat nor drink. when the damsel[fn# ] saw me in this plight, she said to me, "o man, tell me thy story, for, by allah, an i may avail to thy deliverance, i will assuredly further thee thereto." i gave ear to her speech and put faith in her loyalty and told her the story of the damsel whom i had seen [at the lattice] and how i had fallen in love with her; whereupon quoth she, "if the girl belong to me, that which i possess is thine, and if she belong to my father, i will demand her of him and deliver her to thee." then she fell to calling slave-girl after slave-girl and showing them to me, till i saw the damsel whom i loved and said, "this is she." quoth my wife, "let not thy heart be troubled, for this is my slave-girl. my father gave her to me and i give her to thee. so comfort thyself and be of good heart and cheerful eye." then, when it was night, she brought her to me, after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said to her, "gainsay not this thy lord in aught that he shall seek of thee." when she came to bed with me, i said in myself, "verily, this damsel[fn# ] is more generous than i!" then i sent away the slave-girl and drew not nigh unto her, but arose forthright and betaking myself to my wife, lay with her and did away her maidenhead. she straightway conceived by me and accomplishing the time of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear little daughter; in whom i rejoiced, for that she was lovely to the utterest, and she hath inherited her mother's wit and her father's comeliness. indeed, many of the notables of the people have sought her of me in marriage, but i would not marry her to any, for that, one night, i saw, in a dream, the balance aforesaid set up and men and women being weighed, one against the other, therein, and meseemed i saw thee [and her] and it was said to me, "this is such a man,[fn# ] the allotted portion of such a woman."[fn# ] wherefore i knew that god the most high had allotted unto her none other than thyself, and i choose rather to marry thee to her in my lifetime than that thou shouldst marry her after my death.' when the poor man heard the merchant's story, he became desirous of marrying his daughter. so he took her to wife and was vouchsafed of her exceeding love. nor," added the vizier, "is this story more extraordinary than that of the rich man and his wasteful heir." when the king heard his vizier's story, he was assured that he would not slay him and said, "i will have patience with him, so i may get of him the story of the rich man and his wasteful heir." and he bade him depart to his own house. the fifth night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy closet and summoning the vizier, required of him the promised story. so er rehwan said, "know, o king, that story of the rich man and his wasteful son. there was once a sage of the sages, who had three sons and sons' sons, and when they waxed many and their posterity multiplied, there befell dissension between them. so he assembled them and said to them, 'be ye one hand[fn# ] against other than you and despise[fn# ] not [one another,] lest the folk despise you, and know that the like of you is as the rope which the man cut, when it was single; then he doubled [it] and availed not to cut it; on this wise is division and union. and beware lest ye seek help of others against yourselves[fn# ] or ye will fall into perdition, for by whosesoever means ye attain your desire,[fn# ] his word[fn# ] will have precedence of[fn# ] your word. now i have wealth which i will bury in a certain place, so it may be a store for you, against the time of your need.' then they left him and dispersed and one of the sons fell to spying upon his father, so that he saw him hide the treasure without the city. when he had made an end of burying it, he returned to his house; and when the morning morrowed, his son repaired to the place where he had seen his father bury the treasure and dug and took it and went his way. when the [hour of the] old man's admission [to the mercy of god] drew nigh, he called his sons to him and acquainted them with the place where he had hidden his riches. as soon as he was dead, they went and dug up the treasure and found wealth galore, for that the money, which the first son had taken by stealth, was on the surface and he knew not that under it was other money. so they took it and divided it and the first son took his share with the rest and laid it to that which he had taken aforetime, behind [the backs of] his father and his brethren. then he took to wife the daughter of his father's brother and was vouchsafed by her a male child, who was the goodliest of the folk of his time. when the boy grew up, his father feared for him from poverty and change of case, so he said to him, 'dear my son, know that in my youth i wronged my brothers in the matter of our father's good, and i see thee in weal; but, if thou [come to] need, ask not of one of them nor of any other, for i have laid up for thee in yonder chamber a treasure; but do not thou open it until thou come to lack thy day's food.' then he died, and his wealth, which was a great matter, fell to his son. the young man had not patience to wait till he had made an end of that which was with him, but rose and opened the chamber, and behold, it was [empty and its walls were] whitened, and in its midst was a rope hanging down and half a score bricks, one upon another, and a scroll, wherein was written, 'needs must death betide; so hang thyself and beg not of any, but kick away the bricks, so there may be no escape[fn# ] for thee, and thou shall be at rest from the exultation of enemies and enviers and the bitterness of poverty.' when the youth saw this, he marvelled at that which his father had done and said, 'this is a sorry treasure.' then he went forth and fell to eating and drinking with the folk, till nothing was left him and he abode two days without tasting food, at the end of which time he took a handkerchief and selling it for two dirhems, bought bread and milk with the price and left it on the shelf [and went out. whilst he was gone,] a dog came and took the bread and spoiled the milk, and when the man returned and saw this, he buffeted his face and went forth, distraught, at a venture. presently, he met a friend of his, to whom he discovered his case, and the other said to him, 'art thou not ashamed to talk thus? how hast thou wasted all this wealth and now comest telling lies and saying, "the dog hath mounted on the shelf," and talking nonsense?' and he reviled him. so the youth returned to his house, and indeed the world was grown black in his eyes and he said, 'my father said sooth.' then he opened the chamber door and piling up the bricks under his feet, put the rope about his neck and kicked away the bricks and swung himself off; whereupon the rope gave way with him [and he fell] to the ground and the ceiling clove in sunder and there poured down on him wealth galore, so he knew that his father meant to discipline[fn# ] him by means of this and invoked god's mercy on him. then he got him again that which he had sold of lands and houses and what not else and became once more in good case. moreover, his friends returned to him and he entertained them some days. then said he to them one day, 'there was with us bread and the locusts ate it; so we put in its place a stone, a cubit long and the like broad, and the locusts came and gnawed away the stone, because of the smell of the bread.' quoth one of his friends (and it was he who had given him the lie concerning the dog and the bread and milk), 'marvel not at this, for mice do more than that.' and he said, 'go to your houses. in the days of my poverty, i was a liar [when i told you] of the dog's climbing upon the shelf and eating the bread and spoiling the milk; and to-day, for that i am rich again, i say sooth [when i tell you] that locusts devoured a stone a cubit long and a cubit broad.' they were confounded at his speech and departed from him; and the youth's good flourished and his case was amended.[fn# ] nor," added the vizier,"is this stranger or more extraordinary than the story of the king's son who fell in love with the picture." quoth the king, "belike, if i hear this story, i shall gain wisdom from it; so i will not hasten in the slaying of this vizier, nor will i put him to death before the thirty days have expired." then he gave him leave to withdraw, and he went away to his own house. the sixth night of the month when the day departed and the evening came, the king sat in his privy chamber and summoned the vizier, who presented himself to him and he questioned him of the story. so the vizier said, "know, o august king, that the king's son who fell in love with the picture. there was once, in a province of persia, a king of the kings, who was mighty of estate, endowed with majesty and venerance and having troops and guards at his command; but he was childless. towards the end of his life, his lord vouchsafed him a male child, and the boy grew up and was comely and learned all manner of knowledge. he made him a private place, to wit, a lofty palace, builded with coloured marbles and [adorned with] jewels and paintings. when the prince entered the palace, he saw in its ceiling the picture [of a woman], than whom he had never beheld a fairer of aspect, and she was compassed about with slave-girls; whereupon he fell down in a swoon and became distraught for love of her. then he sat under the picture, till, one day, his father came in to him and finding him wasted of body and changed of colour, by reason of his [continual] looking on that picture, thought that he was ill and sent for the sages and physicians, that they might medicine him. moreover, he said to one of his boon- companions, 'if thou canst learn what aileth my son, thou shalt have of me largesse.' so the courtier went in to the prince and spoke him fair and cajoled him, till he confessed to him that his malady was caused by the picture. then he returned to the king and told him what ailed his son, whereupon he transported the prince to another palace and made his former lodging the guest-house; and whosoever of the arabs was entertained therein, he questioned of the picture, but none could give him tidings thereof. one day, there came a traveller and seeing the picture, said, 'there is no god but god! my brother wrought this picture.' so the king sent for him and questioned him of the affair of the picture and where was he who had wrought it. 'o my lord,' answered the traveller, 'we are two brothers and one of us went to the land of hind and fell in love with the king's daughter of the country, and it is she who is the original of the portrait. in every city he entereth, he painteth her portrait, and i follow him, and long is my journey.' when the king's son heard this, he said,'needs must i travel to this damsel.' so he took all manner rarities and store of riches and journeyed days and nights till he entered the land of hind, nor did he win thereto save after sore travail. then he enquired of the king of hind and he also heard of him. when the prince came before him, he sought of him his daughter in marriage, and the king said, 'indeed, thou art her equal, but none dare name a man to her, because of her aversion to men.' so the prince pitched his tents under the windows of the princess's palace, till one day he got hold of one of her favourite slave-girls and gave her wealth galore. quoth she to him, 'hast thou a wish?' â��yes,' answered he and acquainted her with his case; and she said, 'indeed thou puttest thyself in peril.' then he abode, flattering himself with false hopes, till all that he had with him was gone and the servants fled from him; whereupon quoth he to one in whom he trusted, 'i am minded to go to my country and fetch what may suffice me and return hither.' and the other answered, 'it is for thee to decide.' so they set out to return, but the way was long to them and all that the prince had with him was spent and his company died and there abode but one with him, on whom he loaded what remained of the victual and they left the rest and fared on. then there came out a lion and ate the servant, and the prince abode alone. he went on, till his beast stood still, whereupon he left her and fared on afoot till his feet swelled. presently he came to the land of the turks,[fn# ] and he naked and hungry and having with him nought but somewhat of jewels, bound about his fore-arm. so he went to the bazaar of the goldsmiths and calling one of the brokers, gave him the jewels. the broker looked and seeing two great rubies, said to him, 'follow me.' so he followed him, till he brought him to a goldsmith, to whom he gave the jewels, saying, 'buy these.' quoth he, 'whence hadst thou these?' and the broker replied, 'this youth is the owner of them.' then said the goldsmith to the prince, 'whence hadst thou these rubies?' and he told him all that had befallen him and that he was a king's son. the goldsmith marvelled at his story and bought of him the rubies for a thousand dinars. then said the prince to him, 'make ready to go with me to my country.' so he made ready and went with the prince till he drew near the frontiers of his father's kingdom, where the people received him with the utmost honour and sent to acquaint his father with his son's coming. the king came out to meet him and they entreated the goldsmith with honour. the prince abode awhile with his father, then set out, [he and the goldsmith] to return to the country of the fair one, the daughter of the king of hind; but there met him robbers by the way and he fought the sorest of battles and was slain. the goldsmith buried him and marked his grave[fn# ] and returned, sorrowing and distraught to his own country, without telling any of the prince's death. to return to the king's daughter of whom the prince went in quest and on whose account he was slain. she had been used to look out from the top of her palace and gaze on the youth and on his beauty and grace; so she said to her slave-girl one day, 'harkye! what is come of the troops that were encamped beside my palace?' quoth the maid, 'they were the troops of the youth, the king's son of the persians, who came to demand thee in marriage, and wearied himself on thine account, but thou hadst no compassion on him.' 'out on thee!' cried the princess. 'why didst thou not tell me?' and the damsel answered, 'i feared thy wrath.' then she sought an audience of the king her father and said to him, 'by allah, i will go in quest of him, even as he came in quest of me; else should i not do him justice.' so she made ready and setting out, traversed the deserts and spent treasures till she came to sejestan, where she called a goldsmith to make her somewhat of trinkets. [now the goldsmith in question was none other than the prince's friend]; so, when he saw her, he knew her (for that the prince had talked with him of her and had depictured her to him) and questioned her of her case. she acquainted him with her errand, whereupon he buffeted his face and rent his clothes and strewed dust on his head and fell a-weeping. quoth she, 'why dost thou thus?' and he acquainted her with the prince's case and how he was his comrade and told her that he was dead; whereat she grieved for him and faring on to his father and mother, [acquainted them with the case]. so the prince's father and his uncle and his mother and the grandees of the realm repaired to his tomb and the princess made lamentation over him, crying aloud. she abode by the tomb a whole month; then she let fetch painters and caused them limn her portraiture and that of the king's son. moreover, she set down in writing their story and that which had befallen them of perils and afflictions and set it [together with the pictures], at the head of the tomb; and after a little, they departed from the place. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary, o king of the age, than the story of the fuller and his wife and the trooper and what passed between them." with this the king bade the vizier go away to his lodging, and when he arose in the morning, he abode his day in his house. the seventh night of the month. at eventide the king sat [in his privy sitting-chamber] and sending for the vizier, said to him, "tell me the story of the fuller and his wife." "with all my heart," answered the vizier. so he came forward and said, "know, o king of the age, that story of the fuller and his wife. there was once in a certain city a woman fair of favour, who had to lover a trooper. her husband was a fuller, and when he went out to his business, the trooper used to come to her and abide with her till the time of the fuller's return, when he would go away. on this wise they abode awhile, till one day the trooper said to his mistress, 'i mean to take me a house near unto thine and dig an underground passage from my house to thy house, and do thou say to thy husband, "my sister hath been absent with her husband and now they have returned from their travels; and i have made her take up her sojourn in my neighbourhood, so i may foregather with her at all times. so go thou to her husband the trooper and offer him thy wares [for sale], and thou wilt see my sister with him and wilt see that she is i and i am she, without doubt. so, allah, allah, go to my sister's husband and give ear to that which he shall say to thee."' accordingly, the trooper bought him a house near at hand and made therein an underground passage communicating with his mistress's house. when he had accomplished his affair, the wife bespoke her husband as her lover had lessoned her and he went out to go to the trooper's house, but turned back by the way, whereupon quoth she to him, 'by allah, go forthright, for that my sister asketh of thee.' so the dolt of a fuller went out and made for the trooper's house, whilst his wife forewent him thither by the secret passage, and going up, sat down beside her lover. presently, the fuller entered and saluted the trooper and his [supposed] wife and was confounded at the coincidence of the case.[fn# ] then doubt betided him and he returned in haste to his dwelling; but she forewent him by the underground passage to her chamber and donning her wonted clothes, sat [waiting] for him and said to him, 'did i not bid thee go to my sister and salute her husband and make friends with them?' quoth he, 'i did this, but i misdoubted of my affair, when i saw his wife.' and she said, 'did i not tell thee that she resembleth me and i her, and there is nought to distinguish between us but our clothes? go back to her.' so, of the heaviness of his wit, he believed her and turning back, went in to the trooper; but she had foregone him, and when he saw her beside her lover, he fell to looking on her and pondering. then he saluted her and she returned him the salutation; and when she spoke, he was bewildered. so the trooper said to him, 'what ails thee to be thus?' and he answered, 'this woman is my wife and the voice is her voice.' then he rose in haste and returning to his own house, saw his wife, who had foregone him by the secret passage. so he went back to the trooper's house and saw her sitting as before; whereupon he was abashed before her and sitting down in the trooper's sitting-chamber, ate and drank with him and became drunken and abode without sense all that day till nightfall, when the trooper arose and shaving off some of the fuller's hair (which was long and flowing) after the fashion of the turks, clipped the rest short and clapped a tarboush on his head. then he thrust his feet into boots and girt him with a sword and a girdle and bound about his middle a quiver and a bow and arrows. moreover, he put money in his pocket and thrust into his sleeve letters-patent addressed to the governor of ispahan, bidding him assign to rustem khemartekeni a monthly allowance of a hundred dirhems and ten pounds of bread and five pounds of meat and enrol him among the turks under his commandment. then he took him up and carrying him forth, left him in one of the mosques. the fuller gave not over sleeping till sunrise, when he awoke and finding himself in this plight, misdoubted of his affair and imagined that he was a turk and abode putting one foot forward and drawing the other back. then said he in himself, 'i will go to my dwelling, and if my wife know me, then am i ahmed the fuller; but, if she know me not, i am a turk.' so he betook himself to his house; but when the artful baggage his wife saw him, she cried out in his face, saying, 'whither away, o trooper? wilt thou break into the house of ahmed the fuller, and he a man of repute, having a brother-in-law a turk, a man of high standing with the sultan? an thou depart not, i will acquaint my husband and he will requite thee thy deed.' when he heard her words, the dregs of the drunkenness wrought in him and he imagined that he was indeed a turk. so he went out from her and putting his hand to his sleeve, found therein a scroll and gave it to one who read it to him. when he heard that which was written in the scroll, his mind was confirmed in the false supposition; but he said in himself, 'maybe my wife seeketh to put a cheat on me; so i will go to my fellows the fullers; and if they know me not, then am i for sure khemartekeni the turk.' so he betook himself to the fullers and when they espied him afar off, they thought that he was one of the turks, who used to wash their clothes with them without payment and give them nothing. now they had complained of them aforetime to the sultan, and he said, 'if any of the turks come to you, pelt them with stones.' so, when they saw the fuller, they fell upon him with sticks and stones and pelted him; whereupon quoth he [in himself], 'verily, i am a turk and knew it not.' then he took of the money in his pocket and bought him victual [for the journey] and hired a hackney and set out for ispahan, leaving his wife to the trooper. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the merchant and the old woman and the king." the vizier's story pleased king shah bekht and his heart clave to the story of the merchant and the old woman; so he bade er rehwan withdraw to his lodging, and he went away to his house and abode there the next day. the eight night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy chamber and bade fetch the vizier, who presented himself before him, and the king required of him the promised story. so the vizier answered, "with all my heart. know, o king, that story of the old woman, the merchant and the king. there was once in a city of khorassan a family of affluence and distinction, and the townsfolk used to envy them for that which god had vouchsafed them. as time went on, their fortune ceased from them and they passed away, till there remained of them but one old woman. when she grew feeble and decrepit, the townsfolk succoured her not with aught, but put her forth of the city, saying, 'this old woman shall not harbour with us, for that we do her kindness and she requiteth us with evil.' so she took shelter in a ruined place and strangers used to bestow alms upon her, and on this wise she abode a while of time. now the uncle's son of the king of the city had aforetime disputed [the kingship] with him, and the people misliked the king; but god the most high decreed that he should get the better of his cousin. however, jealousy of him abode in his heart and he acquainted the vizier, who hid it not and sent [him] money. moreover, he fell to summoning [all strangers who came to the town], man after man, and questioning them of their faith and their worldly estate, and whoso answered him not [to his liking], he took his good.[fn# ] now a certain wealthy man of the muslims was on a journey and it befell that he arrived at that city by night, unknowing what was to do, and coming to the ruin aforesaid, gave the old woman money and said to her, 'no harm upon thee.' whereupon she lifted up her voice and prayed [for him], he set down his merchandise by her [and abode with her] the rest of the night and the next day. now thieves had followed him, so they might rob him of his good, but availed not unto aught; wherefore he went up to the old woman and kissed her head and exceeded in munificence to her. then she [warned him of that which awaited strangers entering the town and] said to him, 'i like not this for thee and i fear mischief for thee from these questions that the vizier hath appointed for the confrontation of the ignorant.' and she expounded to him the case according to its fashion. then said she to him, 'but have no concern: only carry me with thee to thy lodging, and if he question thee of aught, whilst i am with thee, i will expound the answers to thee.' se he carried her with him to the city and established her in his lodging and entreated her kindly. presently, the vizier heard of the merchant's coming; so he sent to him and let bring him to his house and talked with him awhile of his travels and of that which he had abidden therein, and the merchant answered him thereof. then said the vizier, 'i will put certain questions to thee, which if thou answer me, it will be well [for thee].' and the merchant rose and made him no answer. quoth the vizier, 'what is the weight of the elephant?' the merchant was perplexed and returned him no answer and gave himself up for lost. then said he, 'grant me three days' time.' so the vizier granted him the delay he sought and he returned to his lodging and related what had passed to the old woman, who said, 'when the morrow cometh, go to the vizier and say to him, "make a ship and launch it on the sea and put in it an elephant, and when it sinketh in the water, [under the beast's weight], mark the place to which the water riseth. then take out the elephant and cast in stones in its place, till the ship sink to the mark aforesaid; whereupon do thou take out the stones and weigh them and thou wilt know the weight of the elephant"' so, when he arose in the morning, he repaired to the vizier and repeated to him that which the old woman had taught him; whereat the vizier marvelled and said to him, 'what sayst thou of a man, who seeth in his house four holes, and in each a viper offering to come out and kill him, and in his house are four staves and each hole may not be stopped but with the ends of two staves? how shall he stop all the holes and deliver himself from the vipers?' when the merchant heard this, there betided him [of concern] what made him forget the first and he said to the vizier, 'grant me time, so i may consider the answer.' 'go out,' replied the vizier, 'and bring me the answer, or i will seize thy good.' the merchant went out and returned to the old woman, who, seeing him changed of colour, said to him, 'what did he ask thee, [may god confound] his hoariness?' so he acquainted her with the case and she said to him, 'fear not; i will bring thee forth of this [strait].' quoth he, 'god requite thee with good!' and she said, 'to-morrow go to him with a stout heart and say, "the answer to that whereof thou askest me is that thou put the heads of two staves into one of the holes; then take the other two staves and lay them across the middle of the first two and stop with their heads the second hole and with their butts the fourth hole. then take the butts of the first two staves and stop with them the third hole."'[fn# ] so he repaired to the vizier and repeated to him the answer; and he marvelled at its justness and said to him, 'go; by allah, i will ask thee no more questions, for thou with thy skill marrest my foundation.'[fn# ] then he entreated him friendly and the merchant acquainted him with the affair of the old woman; whereupon quoth the vizier, 'needs must the man of understanding company with those of understanding.' thus did this weak woman restore to that man his life and good on the easiest wise. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the credulous husband." when the king heard this story, he said, "how like is this to our own case!" then he bade the vizier retire to his lodging; so he withdrew to his house and on the morrow he abode at home [till the king should summon him to his presence.] the ninth night of the month. when the night came, the king sat in his privy chamber and sending after the vizier, sought of him the promised story; and he said, "know, o august king, that story of the credulous husband there was once of old time a foolish, ignorant man, who had wealth galore, and his wife was a fair woman, who loved a handsome youth. the latter used to watch for her husband's absence and come to her, and on this wise he abode a long while. one day, as the woman was private with her lover, he said to her, 'o my lady and my beloved, if thou desire me and love me, give me possession of thyself and accomplish my need in thy husband's presence; else will i never again come to thee nor draw near thee, what while i abide on life.' now she loved him with an exceeding love and could not brook his separation an hour nor could endure to vex him; so, when she heard his words, she said to him, ['so be it,] in god's name, o my beloved and solace of mine eyes, may he not live who would vex thee!' quoth he, 'to-day?' and she said, 'yes, by thy life,' and appointed him of this. when her husband came home, she said to him, 'i desire to go a-pleasuring.' and he said, ' with all my heart.' so he went, till he came to a goodly place, abounding in vines and water, whither he carried her and pitched her a tent beside a great tree; and she betook herself to a place beside the tent and made her there an underground hiding-place, [in which she hid her lover]. then said she to her husband, 'i desire to mount this tree.' and he said, 'do so.' so she climbed up and when she came to the top of the tree, she cried out and buffeted her face, saying, 'lewd fellow that thou art, are these thy usages? thou sworest [fidelity to me] and liedst.' and she repeated her speech twice and thrice. then she came down from the tree and rent her clothes and said, 'o villain, if these be thy dealings with me before my eyes, how dost thou when thou art absent from me?' quoth he, 'what aileth thee?' and she said, 'i saw thee swive the woman before my very eyes.' 'not so, by allah!' cried he. 'but hold thy peace till i go up and see.' so he climbed the tree and no sooner did he begin to do so than up came the lover [from his hiding-place] and taking the woman by the legs, [fell to swiving her]. when the husband came to the top of the tree, he looked and beheld a man swiving his wife. so he said, 'o strumpet, what doings are these?' and he made haste to come down from the tree to the ground; [but meanwhile the lover had returned to his hiding- place] and his wife said to him, 'what sawest thou?' 'i saw a man swive thee,' answered he; and she said, 'thou liest; thou sawest nought and sayst this but of conjecture.' on this wise they did three times, and every time [he climbed the tree] the lover came up out of the underground place and bestrode her, whilst her husband looked on and she still said, 'o liar, seest thou aught?' 'yes,' would he answer and came down in haste, but saw no one and she said to him, 'by my life, look and say nought but the truth!' then said he to her, 'arise, let us depart this place,[fn# ] for it is full of jinn and marids.' [so they returned to their house] and passed the night [there] and the man arose in the morning, assured that this was all but imagination and illusion. and so the lover accomplished his desire.[fn# ] nor, o king of the age," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the king and the tither." when the king heard this from the vizier, he bade him go away [and he withdrew to his house]. the tenth night of the month. when it was eventide, the king summoned the vizier and sought of him the story of the king and the tither, and he said, "know, o king, that story of the unjust king and the tither. there was once a king of the kings of the earth, who dwelt in a populous[fn# ] city, abounding in good; but he oppressed its people and used them foully, so that he ruined[fn# ] the city; and he was named none other than tyrant and misdoer. now he was wont, whenas he heard of a masterful man[fn# ] in another land, to send after him and tempt him with money to take service with him; and there was a certain tither, who exceeded all his brethren in oppression of the people and foulness of dealing. so the king sent after him and when he stood before him, he found him a mighty man[fn# ] and said to him, 'thou hast been praised to me, but meseemeth thou overpassest the description. set out to me somewhat of thy sayings and doings, so i may be dispensed therewith from [enquiring into] all thy circumstance.' 'with all my heart,' answered the other. 'know, o king, that i oppress the folk and people[fn# ] the land, whilst other than i wasteth[fn# ] it and peopleth it not.' now the king was leaning back; so he sat up and said, 'tell me of this.' 'it is well,' answered the tither. 'i go to the man whom i purpose to tithe and circumvent him and feign to be occupied with certain business, so that i seclude myself therewith from the folk; and meanwhile the man is squeezed after the foulest fashion, till nothing is left him. then i appear and they come in to me and questions befall concerning him and i say, "indeed, i was ordered worse than this, for some one (may god curse him!) hath slandered him to the king." then i take half of his good and return him the rest publicly before the folk and send him away to his house, in all honour and worship, and he causeth the money returned to be carried before him, whilst he and all who are with him call down blessings on me. so is it published in the city that i have returned him his money and he himself saith the like, so he may have a claim on me for the favour due to whoso praiseth me. then i feign to forget him till some time[fn# ] hath passed over him, when i send for him and recall to him somewhat of that which hath befallen aforetime and demand [of him] somewhat privily. so he doth this and hasteneth to his dwelling and sendeth what i bid him, with a glad heart. then i send to another man, between whom and the other is enmity, and lay hands upon him and feign to the first man that it is he who hath traduced him to the king and taken the half of his good; and the people praise me.'[fn# ] the king marvelled at this and at his dealing and contrivance and invested him with [the control of] all his affairs and of his kingdom and the land abode [under his governance] and he said to him, 'take and people.'[fn# ] one day, the tither went out and saw an old man, a woodcutter, and with him wood; so he said to him, 'pay a dirhem tithe for thy load.' quoth the old man, 'behold, thou killest me and killest my family.' 'what [meanest thou]?' said the tither. 'who killeth the folk?' and the other answered, 'if thou suffer me enter the city, i shall sell the wood there for three dirhems, whereof i will give thee one and buy with the other two what will support my family; but, if thou press me for the tithe without the city, the load will sell but for one dirhem and thou wilt take it and i shall abide without food, i and my family. indeed, thou and i in this circumstance are like unto david and solomon, on whom be peace!' ['how so?' asked the tither, and the woodcutter said], 'know that story of david and solomon. certain husbandmen once made complaint to david (on whom be peace!) against certain owners of sheep, whose flocks had fallen upon their crops by night and devoured them, and he bade value the crops [and that the shepherds should make good the amount]. but solomon (on whom be peace!) rose and said, "nay, but let the sheep be delivered to the husbandmen, so they may take their milk and wool, till they have repaid themselves the value of their crops; then let the sheep return to their owners." so david withdrew his own ordinance and caused execute that of solomon; yet was david no oppressor; but solomon's judgment was more pertinent and he showed himself therein better versed in jurisprudence.'[fn# ] when the tither heard the old man's speech, he relented towards him and said to him, 'o old man, i make thee a present of that which is due from thee, and do thou cleave to me and leave me not, so haply i may get of thee profit that shall do away from me my errors and guide me into the way of righteousness.' so the old man followed him, and there met him another with a load of wood. quoth the tither to him, 'pay what is due from thee.' and he answered, 'have patience with me till to-morrow, for i owe the hire of a house, and i will sell another load of wood and pay thee two days' tithe.' but he refused him this and the old man said to him, 'if thou constrain him unto this, thou wilt enforce him quit thy country, for that he is a stranger here and hath no domicile; and if he remove on account of one dirhem, thou wilt lose [of him] three hundred and threescore dirhems a year. thus wilt thou lose the much in keeping the little.' quoth the tither, 'i give him a dirhem every month to the hire of his lodging.' then he went on and presently there met him a third woodcutter and he said to him, 'pay what is due from thee.' and he answered, 'i will pay thee a dirhem when i enter the city; or take of me four danics[fn# ] [now].' quoth the tither, 'i will not do it,' but the old man said to him, 'take of him the four danics presently, for it is easy to take and hard to restore.' 'by allah,' quoth the tither, 'it is good!' and he arose and went on, crying out, at the top of his voice and saying, 'i have no power to-day [to do evil].' then he put off his clothes and went forth wandering at a venture, repenting unto his lord. nor," added the vizier, "is this story more extraordinary than that of the thief who believed the woman and sought refuge with god against falling in with her like, by reason of her cunning contrivance for herself." when the king heard this, he said in himself, "since the tither repented, in consequence of the admonitions [of the woodcutter], it behoves that i spare this vizier, so i may hear the story of the thief and the woman." and he bade er rehwan withdraw to his lodging. the eleventh night of the month. when the evening came and the king sat in his privy chamber, he summoned the vizier and required of him the story of the thief and the woman. quoth the vizier, "know, o king, that story of the thief and the woman. a certain thief was a [cunning] workman and used not to steal aught, till he had spent all that was with him; moreover, he stole not from his neighbours, neither companied with any of the thieves, lest some one should come to know him and his case get wind. on this wise he abode a great while, in flourishing case, and his secret was concealed, till god the most high decreed that he broke in upon a poor man, deeming that he was rich. when he entered the house, he found nought, whereat he was wroth, and necessity prompted him to wake the man, who was asleep with his wife. so he aroused him and said to him, 'show me thy treasure.' now he had no treasure; but the thief believed him not and insisted upon him with threats and blows. when he saw that he got no profit of him, he said to him, 'swear by the oath of divorce from thy wife[fn# ] [that thou hast nothing].' so he swore and his wife said to him, 'out on thee! wilt thou divorce me? is not the treasure buried in yonder chamber?' then she turned to the thief and conjured him to multiply blows upon her husband, till he should deliver to him the treasure, concerning which he had sworn falsely. so he drubbed him grievously, till he carried him to a certain chamber, wherein she signed to him that the treasure was and that he should take it up. so the thief entered, he and the husband; and when they were both in the chamber, she locked on them the door, which was a stout one, and said to the thief, 'out on thee, o fool! thou hast fallen [into the trap] and now i have but to cry out and the officers of the police will come and take thee and thou wilt lose thy life, o satan!' quoth he, 'let me go forth;' and she said, 'thou art a man and i am a woman; and in thy hand is a knife and i am afraid of thee.' quoth he, 'take the knife from me.' so she took the knife from him and said to her husband, 'art thou a woman and he a man? mar his nape with beating, even as he did with thee; and if he put out his hand to thee, i will cry out and the police will come and take him and cut him in sunder.' so the husband said to him, 'o thousand-horned,[fn# ] o dog, o traitor, i owe thee a deposit,[fn# ] for which thou dunnest me.' and he fell to beating him grievously with a stick of live-oak, whilst he called out to the woman for help and besought her of deliverance; but she said, 'abide in thy place till the morning, and thou shalt see wonders.' and her husband beat him within the chamber, till he [well- nigh] made an end of him and he swooned away. then he left beating him and when the thief came to himself, the woman said to her husband, 'o man, this house is on hire and we owe its owners much money, and we have nought; so how wilt thou do?' and she went on to bespeak him thus. quoth the thief, 'and what is the amount of the rent?' 'it will be fourscore dirhems,' answered the husband; and the thief said, 'i will pay this for thee and do thou let me go my way.' then said the wife, 'o man, how much do we owe the baker and the greengrocer?' quoth the thief, 'what is the sum of this?' and the husband said, 'sixscore dirhems.' 'that makes two hundred dirhems,' rejoined the other; 'let me go my way and i will pay them.' but the wife said, 'o my dear one, and the girl groweth up and needs must we marry her and equip her and [do] what else is needful' so the thief said to the husband, 'how much dost thou want?' and he answered, 'a hundred dirhems, in the way of moderation.'[fn# ] quoth the thief, 'that makes three hundred dirhems.' and the woman said, 'o my dear one, when the girl is married, thou wilt need money for winter expenses, charcoal and firewood and other necessaries.' 'what wouldst thou have?' asked the thief; and she said, 'a hundred dirhems.' 'be it four hundred dirhems,' rejoined he; and she said, 'o my dear one and solace of mine eyes, needs must my husband have capital in hand, wherewith he may buy merchandise and open him a shop.' 'how much will that be?' asked he, and she said, 'a hundred dirhems.' quoth the thief, '[that makes five hundred dirhems; i will pay it;] but may i be divorced from my wife if all my possessions amount to more than this, and that the savings of twenty years! let me go my way, so i may deliver them to thee.' 'o fool,' answered she, 'how shall i let thee go thy way? give me a right token.' [so he gave her a token for his wife] and she cried out to her young daughter and said to her, 'keep this door.' then she charged her husband keep watch over the thief, till she should return, and repairing to his wife, acquainted her with his case and told her that her husband the thief had been taken and had compounded for his release, at the price of seven hundred dirhems, and named to her the token. so she gave her the money and she took it and returned to her house. by this time, the dawn had broken; so she let the thief go his way, and when he went out, she said to him, 'o my dear one, when shall i see thee come and take the treasure?' 'o indebted one,' answered he, 'when thou needest other seven hundred dirhems, wherewithal to amend thy case and that of thy children and to discharge thy debts.' and he went out, hardly believing in his deliverance from her. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the three men and our lord jesus." and the king bade him depart to his own house. the twelfth night of the month. when it was eventide, the king summoned the vizier and bade him tell the [promised] story, "hearkening and obedience," answered he. "know, o king, that story of the three men and our lord jesus. three men once went out in quest of riches and came upon a block of gold, weighing a hundred pounds. when they saw it, they took it up on their shoulders and fared on with it, till they drew near a certain city, when one of them said, 'let us sit in the mosque, whilst one of us goes and buys us what we may eat." so they sat down in the mosque and one of them arose and entered the city. when he came therein, his soul prompted him to play his fellows false and get the gold for himself alone. so he bought food and poisoned it; but, when he returned to his comrades, they fell upon him and slew him, so they might enjoy the gold without him. then they ate of the [poisoned] food and died, and the gold abode cast down over against them. presently, jesus, son of mary (on whom be peace!) passed by and seeing this, besought god the most high for tidings of their case; so he told him what had betided them, whereat great was his wonderment and he related to his disciples what he had seen. quoth one of them, 'o spirit of god,[fn# ] nought resembleth this but my own story.' 'how so?' asked jesus, and the other said, the disciple's story. 'i was aforetime in such a city and hid a thousand dirhems in a monastery there. after awhile, i went thither and taking the money, bound it about my middle. [then i set out to return] and when i came to the desert, the carrying of the money was burdensome to me. presently, i espied a horseman pricking after me; so i [waited till he came up and] said to him, "o horseman, carry this money [for me] and earn reward and recompense [from god]." "nay," answered he; "i will not do it, for i should weary myself and weary my horse." then he went on, but, before he had gone far, he said in himself, "if i take up the money and spur my horse and forego him, how shall he overtake me?" and i also said in myself, "verily, i erred [in asking him to carry the money]; for, had he taken it and made off, i could have done nought." then he turned back to me and said to me, "hand over the money, that i may carry it for thee." but i answered him, saying, "that which hath occurred to thy mind hath occurred to mine also; so go in peace."' quoth jesus (on whom be peace!), 'had these dealt prudently, they had taken thought for themselves; but they neglected the issues of events; for that whoso acteth prudently is safe and conquereth,[fn# ] and whoso neglecteth precaution perisheth and repenteth.' nor," added the vizier," is this more extraordinary nor goodlier than the story of the king, whose kingdom was restored to him and his wealth, after he had become poor, possessing not a single dirhem." when the king heard this, he said in himself "how like is this to my own story in the matter of the vizier and his slaughter! had i not used precaution, i had put him to death." and he bade er rehwan depart to his own house. the thirteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sent for the vizier to his privy sitting chamber and bade him [tell] the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. they avouch, o king, that story of the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to him. there was once, in a city of hind, a just and beneficent king, and he had a vizier, a man of understanding, just in his judgment, praiseworthy in his policy, in whose hand was the governance of all the affairs of the realm; for he was firmly stablished in the king's favour and high in esteem with the folk of his time, and the king set great store by him and committed himself to him in all his affairs, by reason of his contrivance for his subjects, and he had helpers[fn# ] who were content with him. now the king had a brother, who envied him and would fain have been in his place; and when he was weary of looking for his death and the term of his life seemed distant unto him, he took counsel with certain of his partisans and they said, 'the vizier is the king's counsellor and but for him, there would be left the king no kingdom.' so the king's brother cast about for the ruin of the vizier, but could find no means of accomplishing his design; and when the affair grew long upon him, he said to his wife, 'what deemest thou will advantage us in this?' quoth she, 'what is it?' and he replied, 'i mean in the matter of yonder vizier, who inciteth my brother to devoutness with all his might and biddeth him thereto, and indeed the king is infatuated with his counsel and committeth to him the governance of all things and matters.' quoth she, 'thou sayst truly; but how shall we do with him?' and he answered, 'i have a device, so thou wilt help me in that which i shall say to thee.' quoth she, 'thou shall have my help in whatsoever thou desirest.' and he said, 'i mean to dig him a pit in the vestibule and dissemble it artfully.' so he did this, and when it was night, he covered the pit with a light covering, so that, whenas the vizier stepped upon it, it would give way with him. then he sent to him and summoned him to the presence in the king's name, and the messenger bade him enter by the privy door. so he entered in thereat, alone, and when he stepped upon the covering of the pit, it gave way with him and he fell to the bottom; whereupon the king's brother fell to pelting him with stones. when the vizier saw what had betided him, he gave himself up for lost; so he stirred not and lay still. the prince, seeing him make no motion, [deemed him dead]; so he took him forth and wrapping him up in his clothes, cast him into the billows of the sea in the middle of the night. when the vizier felt the water, he awoke from the swoon and swam awhile, till a ship passed by him, whereupon he cried out to the sailors and they took him up. when the morning morrowed, the people went seeking for him, but found him not; and when the king knew this, he was perplexed concerning his affair and abode unknowing what he should do. then he sought for a vizier to fill his room, and the king's brother said, 'i have a vizier, a sufficient man.' 'bring him to me,' said the king. so he brought him a man, whom he set at the head of affairs; but he seized upon the kingdom and clapped the king in irons and made his brother king in his stead. the new king gave himself up to all manner of wickedness, whereat the folk murmured and his vizier said to him, 'i fear lest the indians take the old king and restore him to the kingship and we both perish; wherefore, if we take him and cast him into the sea, we shall be at rest from him; and we will publish among the folk that he is dead.' and they agreed upon this. so they took him up and carrying him out to sea, cast him in. when he felt the water, he struck out, and gave not over swimming till he landed upon an island, where he abode five days, finding nothing which he might eat or drink; but, on the sixth day, when he despaired of himself, he caught sight of a passing ship; so he made signals to the crew and they came and took him up and fared on with him to an inhabited country, where they set him ashore, naked as he was. there he saw a man tilling; so he sought guidance of him and the husbandman said, 'art thou a stranger?' 'yes,' answered the king and sat with him and they talked. the husbandman found him quickwitted and intelligent and said to him, 'if thou sawest a comrade of mine, thou wouldst see him the like of what i see thee, for his case is even as thy case, and he is presently my friend.' quoth the king, 'verily, thou makest me long to see him. canst thou not bring us together?' 'with all my heart,' answered the husbandman, and the king sat with him till he had made an end of his tillage, when he carried him to his dwelling-place and brought him in company with the other stranger, aud behold, it was his vizier. when they saw each other, they wept and embraced, and the husbandman wept for their weeping; but the king concealed their affair and said to him, 'this is a man from my country and he is as my brother.' so they abode with the husbandman and helped him for a wage, wherewith they supported themselves a long while. meanwhile, they sought news of their country and learned that which its people suffered of straitness and oppression. one day, there came a ship and in it a merchant from their own country, who knew them and rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy and clad them in goodly apparel. moreover, he acquainted them with the manner of the treachery that had been practised upon them and counselled them to return to their own land, they and he with whom they had made friends,[fn# ] assuring them that god the most high would restore them to their former estate. so the king returned and the folk joined themselves to him and he fell upon his brother and his vizier and took them and clapped them in prison. then he sat down again upon the throne of his kingship, whilst the vizier stood before him, and they returned to their former estate, but they had nought of the [goods of the world]. so the king said to his vizier, 'how shall we avail to abide in this city, and we in this state of poverty?' and he answered, 'be at thine ease and have no concern.' then he singled out one of the soldiers[fn# ] and said to him, 'send us thy service[fn# ] for the year.' now there were in the city fifty thousand subjects[fn# ] and in the hamlets and villages a like number; and the vizier sent to each of these, saying, 'let each of you get an egg and lay it under a hen.' so they did this and it was neither burden nor grievance to them. when twenty days had passed by, each [egg] was hatched, and the vizier bade them pair the chickens, male and female, and rear them well. so they did this and it was found a charge unto no one. then they waited for them awhile and after this the vizier enquired of the chickens and was told that they were become fowls. moreover, they brought him all their eggs and he bade set them; and after twenty days there were hatched from each [pair] of them thirty or five-and-twenty or fifteen [chickens] at the least. the vizier let note against each man the number of chickens that pertained to him, and after two months, he took the old hens and the cockerels, and there came to him from each man nigh half a score, and he left the [young] hens with them. on like wise he sent to the country folk and let the cocks abide with them. so he got him young ones [galore] and appropriated to himself the sale of the fowls, and on this wise he got him, in the course of a year, that which the regal estate required of the king and his affairs were set right for him by the vizier's contrivance. and he peopled[fn# ] the country and dealt justly by his subjects and returned to them all that he took from them and lived a happy and prosperous life. thus good judgment and prudence are better than wealth, for that understanding profiteth at all times and seasons. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the man whose caution slew him." when the king heard his vizier's words, he marvelled with the utmost wonderment and bade him retire to his lodging. [so er rehwan withdrew to his house and abode there till eventide of the next day, when he again presented himself before the king.] the fourteenth night of the month. when the vizier returned to the king, the latter sought of him the story of the man whose caution slew him and be said, "know, o august king, that story of the man whose caution was the cause of his death. there was once a man who was exceeding cautious over himself, and he set out one day on a journey to a land abounding in wild beasts. the caravan wherein he was came by night to the gate of a city; but the warders refused to open to them; so they passed the night without the city, and there were lions there. the man aforesaid, of the excess of his caution, could not fix upon a place wherein he should pass the night, for fear of the wild beasts and reptiles; so he went about seeking an empty place wherein he might lie. now there was a ruined building hard by and he climbed up on to a high wall and gave not over clambering hither and thither, of the excess of his carefulness, till his feet betrayed him and he slipped [and fell] to the bottom and died, whilst his companions arose in the morning in health [and weal]. now, if he had overmastered his corrupt[fn# ] judgment and submitted himself to fate and fortune fore-ordained, it had been safer and better [for him]; but he made light of the folk and belittled their wit and was not content to take example by them; for his soul whispered him that he was a man of understanding and he imagined that, if he abode with them, he would perish; so his folly cast him into perdition. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not" when the king heard this, he said, "i will not isolate myself from the folk and slay my vizier." and he bade him depart to his dwelling. the fifteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king let fetch the vizier and required of him the [promised] story. so he said, "know, o king, that story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not. there was once an arab of [high] rank and [goodly] presence, a man of exalted generosity and magnanimity, and he had brethren, with whom he consorted and caroused, and they were wont to assemble by turns in each other's houses. when it came to his turn, he made ready in his house all manner goodly and pleasant meats and dainty drinks and exceeding lovely flowers and excellent fruits, and made provision of all kinds of instruments of music and store of rare apothegms and marvellous stories and goodly instances and histories and witty anedotes and verses and what not else, for there was none among those with whom he was used to company but enjoyed this on every goodly wise, and in the entertainment he had provided was all whereof each had need. then he sallied forth and went round about the city, in quest of his friends, so he might assemble them; but found none of them in his house. now in that town was a man of good breeding and large generosity, a merchant of condition, young of years and bright of face, who had come to that town from his own country with great store of merchandise and wealth galore. he took up his abode therein and the place was pleasant to him and he was lavish in expenditure, so that he came to the end of all his good and there remained with him nothing save that which was upon him of raiment. so he left the lodging wherein he had abidden in the days of his affluence, after he had wasted[fn# ] that which was therein of furniture, and fell to harbouring in the houses of the townsfolk from night to night. one day, as he went wandering about the streets, he espied a woman of the utmost beauty and grace, and what he saw of her charms amazed him and there betided him what made him forget his present plight. she accosted him and jested with him and he besought her of foregathering and companionship. she consented to this and said to him, 'let us go to thy lodging.' with this he repented and was perplexed concerning his affair and grieved for that which must escape him of her company by reason of the straitness of his hand,[fn# ] for that he had no jot of spending money. but he was ashamed to say, 'no,' after he had made suit to her; so he went on before her, bethinking him how he should rid himself of her and casting about for an excuse which he might put off on her, and gave not over going from street to street, till he entered one that had no issue and saw, at the farther end, a door, whereon was a padlock. so he said to her, 'do thou excuse me, for my servant hath locked the door, and who shall open to us?' quoth she, 'o my lord, the padlock is worth [but] half a score dirhems.' so saying, she tucked up [her sleeves] from fore-arms as they were crystal and taking a stone, smote upon the padlock and broke it. then she opened the door and said to him, 'enter, o my lord.' so he entered, committing his affair to god, (to whom belong might and majesty,) and she entered after him and locked the door from within. they found themselves in a pleasant house, comprising all[fn# ] weal and gladness; and the young man went on, till he came to the sitting-chamber, and behold, it was furnished with the finest of furniture [and arrayed on the goodliest wise for the reception of guests,] as hath before been set out, [for that it was the house of the man aforesaid]. he [seated himself on the divan and] leant upon a cushion, whilst she put out her hand to her veil and did it off. then she put off her heavy outer clothes and discovered her charms, whereupon he embraced her and kissed her and swived her; after which they washed and returned to their place and he said to her, 'know that i have little knowledge [of what goes on] in my house, for that i trust to my servant; so arise thou and see what the boy hath made ready in the kitchen.' accordingly, she arose and going down into the kitchen, saw cooking pots over the fire, wherein were all manner of dainty meats, and manchet-bread and fresh almond-and-honey cakes. so she set bread on a dish and ladled out [what she would] from the pots and brought it to him. they ate and drank and sported and made merry awhile of the day; and as they were thus engaged, up came the master of the house, with his friends, whom he had brought with him, that they might carouse together, as of wont. he saw the door opened and knocked lightly, saying to his friends, 'have patience with me, for some of my family are come to visit me; wherefore excuse belongeth [first] to god the most high, and then to you.'[fn# ] so they took leave of him and went their ways, whilst he gave another light knock at the door. when the young man heard this, he changed colour and the woman said to him, 'methinks thy servant hath returned.' 'yes,' answered he; and she arose and opening the door to the master of the house, said to him, 'where hast thou been? indeed, thy master is wroth with thee.' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'i have but been about his occasions.' then he girt his middle with a handkerchief and entering, saluted the young merchant, who said to him, 'where hast thou been?' quoth he, 'i have done thine errands;' and the youth said, 'go and eat and come hither and drink.' so he went away, as he bade him, and ate. then he washed and returning to the saloon, sat down on the carpet and fell to talking with them; whereupon the young merchant's heart was comforted and his breast dilated and he addressed himself to joyance. they abode in the most delightsome life and the most abounding pleasance till a third part of the night was past, when the master of the house arose and spreading them a bed, invited them to lie down. so they lay down and the youth abode on wake, pondering their affair, till daybreak, when the woman awoke and said to her companion, 'i wish to go.' so he bade her farewell and she departed; whereupon the master of the house followed her with a purse of money and gave it to her, saying, 'blame not my master,' and made his excuse to her for the young merchant. then he returned to the youth and said to him, 'arise and come to the bath.' and he fell to shampooing his hands and feet, whilst the youth called down blessings on him and said, 'o my lord, who art thou? methinks there is not in the world the like of thee, no, nor a pleasanter than thy composition.' then each of them acquainted the other with his case and condition and they went to the bath; after which the master of the house conjured the young merchant to return with him and summoned his friends. so they ate and drank and he related to them the story, wherefore they praised the master of the house and glorified him; and their friendship was complete, what while the young merchant abode in the town, till god vouchsafed him a commodity of travel, whereupon they took leave of him and he departed; and this is the end of his story. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this more marvellous than the story of the rich man who lost his wealth and his wit." when the king heard the vizier's story, it pleased him and he bade him go to his house. the sixteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sat in his sitting- chamber and sending for his vizier, bade him relate the story of the wealthy man who lost his wealth and his wit. so he said, "know, o king, that story of the idiot and the sharper. there was once a man of fortune, who lost his wealth, and chagrin and melancholy got the mastery of him, so that he became an idiot and lost his wit. there abode with him of his wealth about a score of dinars and he used to beg alms of the folk, and that which they gave him he would gather together and lay to the dinars that were left him. now there was in that town a vagabond, who made his living by sharping, and he knew that the idiot had somewhat of money; so he fell to spying upon him and gave not over watching him till he saw him put in an earthen pot that which he had with him of money and enter a deserted ruin, where he sat down, [as if] to make water, and dug a hole, in which he laid the pot and covering it up, strewed earth upon the place. then he went away and the sharper came and taking what was in the pot, covered it up again, as it was. presently, the idiot returned, with somewhat to add to his hoard, but found it not; so he bethought him who had followed him and remembered that he had found the sharper aforesaid assiduous in sitting with him and questioning him. so he went in quest of him, assured that he had taken the pot, and gave not over looking for him till he espied him sitting; whereupon he ran to him and the sharper saw him. [then the idiot stood within earshot] and muttered to himself and said, 'in the pot are threescore dinars and i have with me other score in such a place and to-day i will unite the whole in the pot.' when the sharper heard him say this to himself, muttering and mumbling after his fashion, he repented him of having taken the dinars and said, 'he will presently return to the pot and find it empty; wherefore that[fn# ] for which i am on the look-out will escape me; and meseemeth i were best restore the dinars [to their place], so he may see them and leave all that is with him in the pot, and i can take the whole.' now he feared [to return to the pot then and there], lest the idiot should follow him to the place and find nothing and so his plan be marred. so he said to him, 'o ajlan,[fn# ] i would have thee come to my lodging and eat bread with me." so the idiot went with him to his lodging and he seated him there and going to the market, sold somewhat of his clothes and pawned somewhat from his house and bought dainty food. then he betook himself to the ruin and replacing the money in the pot, buried it again; after which he returned to his lodging and gave the idiot to eat and drink, and they went out together. the sharper went away and hid himself, lest the idiot should see him, whilst the latter repaired to his hiding- place and took the pot presently, the sharper came to the ruin, rejoicing in that which he deemed he should get, and dug in the place, but found nothing and knew that the idiot had tricked him. so he buffeted his face, for chagrin, and fell to following the other whithersoever he went, so he might get what was with him, but availed not unto this, for that the idiot knew what was in his mind and was certified that he spied upon him, [with intent to rob him]; so he kept watch over himself. now, if the sharper had considered [the consequences of] haste and that which is begotten of loss therefrom, he had not done thus. nor," continued the vizier, "is this story, o king of the age, rarer or more extraordinary or more diverting than the story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man and that which befell between them." when the king heard this story, he renounced his purpose of putting the vizier to death and his soul prompted him to continue him on life. so he bade him go away to his house. the seventeenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier, and when he presented himself, he required of him the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o august king, that story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man. there was once a man hight khelbes, who was a lewd fellow, a calamity, notorious for this fashion, and he had a fair wife, renowned for beauty and loveliness. a man of his townsfolk fell in love with her and she also loved him. now khelbes was a crafty fellow and full of tricks, and there was in his neighbourhood a learned man, to whom the folk used to resort every day and he told them stories and admonished them [with moral instances]; and khelbes was wont to be present in his assembly, for the sake of making a show before the folk. now this learned man had a wife renowned for beauty and loveliness and quickness of wit and understanding and the lover cast about for a device whereby he might win to khelbes's wife; so he came to him and told him, as a secret, what he had seen of the learned man's wife and confided to him that he was enamoured of her and besought him of help in this. khelbes told him that she was distinguished to the utterest for chastity and continence and that she exposed herself not to suspicion; but the other said, 'i cannot renounce her, [firstly,] because the woman inclineth to me and coveteth my wealth, and secondly, because of the greatness of my love for her; and nothing is wanting but thy help.' quoth khelbes, 'i will do thy will;' and the other said, 'thou shalt have of me two dirhems a day, on condition that thou sit with the learned man and that, when he riseth from the assembly, thou speak a word notifying the breaking up of the session.' so they agreed upon this and khelbes entered and sat in the assembly, whilst the lover was assured in his heart that the secret was safe with him, wherefore he rejoiced and was content to pay the two dirhems. then khelbes used to attend the learned man's assembly, whilst the other would go in to his wife and abide with her, on such wise as he thought good, till the learned man arose from his session; and when khelbes saw that he purposed rising, he would speak a word for the lover to hear, whereupon he went forth from khelbes's wife, and the latter knew not that calamity was in his own house. at last the learned man, seeing khelbes do on this wise every day, began to misdoubt of him, more by token of that which he knew of his character, and suspicion grew upon him; so, one day, he advanced the time of his rising before the wonted hour and hastening up to khelbes, laid hold of him and said to him, 'by allah, an thou speak a single syllable, i will do thee a mischief!' then he went in to his wife, with khelbes in his grasp, and behold, she was sitting, as of her wont, nor was there about her aught of suspicious or unseemly. the learned man bethought him awhile of this, then made for khelbes's house, which adjoined his own, still holding the latter; and when they entered, they found the young man lying on the bed with khelbes's wife; whereupon quoth he to him, 'o accursed one, the calamity is with thee and in thine own house!' so khelbes put away his wife and went forth, fleeing, and returned not to his own land. this, then," continued the vizier, "is the consequence of lewdness, for whoso purposeth in himself craft and perfidy, they get possession of him, and had khelbes conceived of himself that[fn# ] which he conceived of the folk of dishonour and calamity, there had betided him nothing of this. nor is this story, rare and extraordinary though it be, more extraordinary or rarer than that of the pious woman whose husband's brother accused her of lewdness." when the king heard this, wonderment gat hold of him and his admiration for the vizier redoubled; so he bade him go to his house and return to him [on the morrow], according to his wont. accordingly, the vizier withdrew to his lodging, where he passed the night and the ensuing day. end of vol. i. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] breslau text, vol. iv. pp. - , nights cclxxii.-ccxci. this is the story familiar to readers of the old "arabian nights" as "abon hassan, or the sleeper awakened" and is the only one of the eleven tales added by galland to his version of the (incomplete) ms. of the book of the thousand nights and one night procured by him from syria, the arabic original of which has yet been discovered. (see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. pp. et seq.) the above title is of course intended to mark the contrast between the everyday (or waking) hours of aboulhusn and his fantastic life in the khalif's palace, supposed by him to have passed in a dream, and may also be rendered "the sleeper and the waker." [fn# ] i.e. the wag. [fn# ] always noted for debauchery. [fn# ] i.e. the part he had taken for spending money. [fn# ] i.e. "those," a characteristic arab idiom. [fn# ] lit. draw thee near (to them). [fn# ] i.e. that over the tigris. [fn# ] "platter bread," i.e. bread baked in a platter, instead of, as usual with the arabs, in an oven or earthen jar previously heated, to the sides of which the thin cakes of dough are applied, "is lighter than oven bread, especially if it be made thin and leavened."--shecouri, a medical writer quoted by dozy. [fn# ] or cooking-pots. [fn# ] or fats for frying. [fn# ] or clarified. [fn# ] taam, lit. food, the name given by the inhabitants of northern africa to the preparation of millet-flour (something like semolina) called kouskoussou, which forms the staple food of the people. [fn# ] or "in peace." [fn# ] eastern peoples attach great importance, for good or evil omen, to the first person met or the first thing that happens in the day. [fn# ] or "attributed as sin." [fn# ] a common eastern substitute for soap. [fn# ] this common formula of assent is an abbreviation of "hearkening and obedience are due to god and to the commander of the faithful" or other the person addressed. [fn# ] dar es selam, one of the seven "gardens" into which the mohammedan paradise is divided. [fn# ] i.e. a mattrass eighteen inches thick. [fn# ] complimentary form of address to eunuchs, generally used by inferiors only. [fn# ] the morning-prayer consists of four inclinations (rekäat) only. a certain fixed succession of prayers and acts of adoration is called a rekah (sing, of rekäat) from the inclination of the body that occurs in it. [fn# ] i.e. the terminal formula of prayer, "peace be on us and on all the righteous servants of god!" [fn# ] i.e. said "i purpose to make an end of prayer." [fn# ] or "linen." [fn# ] a well-known poet of the time. [fn# ] i.e. ibrahim of mosul, the greatest musician of his day. [fn# ] i.e., doughty men of war, guards. [fn# ] the abbaside khalifs traced their descent from abbas, the uncle of mohammed, and considered themselves, therefore, as belonging to the family of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. may thy dwelling-place never fall into ruin. [fn# ] i.e. the raised recess situate at the upper end of an oriental saloon, wherein is the place of honour. [fn# ] ie, the necromancers. [fn# ] lit. i have not found that thou hast a heel blessed (or propitious) to me. [fn# ] i.e. o thou who art a calamity to those who have to do with thee! [fn# ] abou nuwas ibn hani, the greatest poet of the time. [fn# ] as a charm against evil spirits. [fn# ] i.e. the vein said to have been peculiar to the descendants of hashim, grandfather of abbas and great-grandson of mohammed, and to have started out between their eyes in moments of anger. [fn# ] lit. that i may do upon her sinister deeds. [fn# ] "the pitcher comes not always back unbroken from the well."--english proverb. [fn# ] i.e. of sorrow for his loss. [fn# ] i.e. of grief for her loss. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vl. pp. - , nights ccccxxxii-ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] the eighth khalif (a.d. - ) of the house of umeyyeh and the best and most single-hearted of all the khalifs, with the exception of the second, omar ben khettab, from whom he was descended. [fn# ] a celebrated statesman of the time, afterwards governor of cuia* and bassora under omar ben abdulaziz. [fn# ] the most renowned poet of the first century of the hegira. he is said to have been equally skilled in all styles of composition grave and gay. [fn# ] or eternal. [fn# ] or "in him." [fn# ] chief of the tribe of the benou suleim. et teberi tells this story in a different way. according to him, abbas ben mirdas (who was a well-known poet), being dissatisfied with the portion of booty allotted to him by the prophet, refused it and composed a lampoon against mohammed, who said to ali, "cut off this tongue which attacketh me," i.e. "silence him by giving what will satisfy him," whereupon ali doubled the covetous chief's share. [fn# ] bilal ibn rebeh was the prophet's freedman and crier. the word bilal signifies "moisture" or (metonymically) "beneficence" and it may well be in this sense (and not as a man's name) that it is used in the text. [fn# ] said to have been the best poet ever produced by the tribe of cureish. his introduction here is an anachronism, as he died a.d. , five years before omar's accession. [fn# ] i.e. odorem pudendorum amicæ? [fn# ] a famous poet of the tribe of the benou udhreh, renowned for their passionate sincerity in love-matters. he is celebrated as the lover of butheineh, as petrarch of laura, and died a.d. , sixteen years before omar's accession. [fn# ] a friend of jemil and a poet of equal renown. he is celebrated as the lover of azzeh, whose name is commonly added to his, and kept a grocer's shop at medina. [fn# ] i.e. in the attitude of prayer. [fn# ] a famous satirical poet of the time, afterwards banished by omar for the virulence of his lampoons. his name is wrongly given by the text; it should be el ahwes. he was a descendant of the ansar or (medinan) helpers of mohammed. [fn# ] a famous poet of the tribe of the benou temim and a rival of jerir, to whom he was by some preferred. he was a notorious debauchee and jerir, in one of the satires that were perpetually exchanged between himself and el ferezdec, accuses his rival of having "never been a guest in any house, but he departed with ignominy and left behind him disgrace." [fn# ] a christian and a celebrated poet of the time. [fn# ] the poet apparently meant to insinuate that those who professed to keep the fast of ramazan ate flesh in secret. the word rendered "in public," i.e. openly, avowedly, may also perhaps be translated "in the forenoon," and in this el akhtel may have meant to contrast his free-thinking disregard of the ordinances of the fast with the strictness of the orthodox muslim, whose only meals in ramazan-time are made between sunset and dawn-peep. as soon as a white thread can be distinguished from a black, the fast is begun and a true believer must not even smoke or swallow his saliva till sunset. [fn# ] prominent words of the muezzin's fore-dawn call to prayer. [fn# ] i.e. fall down drunk. [fn# ] i.e. she who ensnares [all] eyes. [fn# ] imam, the spiritual title of the khalif, as head of the faith and leader (lit. "foreman") of the people at prayer. [fn# ] or "worldly." [fn# ] or "worldly." [fn# ] a town and province of arabia, of which (inter alia) omar ben abdulaziz was governor, before he came to the khalifate. [fn# ] syn. munificence. [fn# ] about pounds sterling s. [fn# ] i.e. what is thy news? [fn# ] or "i approve of him." [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , night ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] el hejjaj ben yousuf eth thekefi, a famous statesman and soldier of the seventh and eighth centuries. he was governor of chaldaea (irak arabi), under the fifth and sixth khalifs of the ommiade dynasty, and was renowned for his cruelty, but appears to have been a prudent and capable administrator, who used no more rigour than was necessary to restrain the proverbially turbulent populations of bassora and cufa, most of the anecdotes of his brutality and tyranny, which abound in arab authors, are, in all probability, apocryphal. [fn# ] used, by synecdoche, for "heads." [fn# ] i.e. the governed, to wit, he who is led by a halter attached (metaphorically of course) to a ring passed through his nose, as with a camel. [fn# ] i.e. the governor or he who is high of rank. [fn# ] i.e. their hair, which may be considered the wealth of the head. this whole passage is a description a double-entente of a barber-surgeon. [fn# ] syn. cooking-pot. [fn# ] syn. be lowered. this passage is a similar description of an itinerant hot bean-seller. [fn# ] the rows of threads on a weaver's loom. [fn# ] syn. levelleth. [fn# ] i.e. that of wood used by the oriental weaver to govern the warp and weft. [fn# ] syn. behave aright. [fn# ] the loop of thread so called in which the weaver's foot rests. [fn# ] syn. eloquence. [fn# ] adeb, one of the terribly comprehensive words which abound in arabic literature for the confusion of translators. it signifies generally all kinds of education and means of mental and moral discipline and seems here to mean more particularly readiness of wit and speech or presence of mind. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , night ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] syn. (koranic) "thou hast swerved from justice" or "been unjust" (adeita). [fn# ] syn. (koranic) "thou hast transgressed" (caset-ta). [fn# ] or falling-away. [fn# ] koran vi. . [fn# ] or do injustice, tadilou (syn. do justice). [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] el casitouna (syn. those who act righteously or equitably). [fn# ] koran lxxii. . [fn# ] name of the persian ancestor of the barmecide (properly bermeki) family. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , nights ccccxxv-cccclxxxvii. this is the arab version of the well-known story called, in persian, the bekhtyar nameh, i.e. the book of bekhtyar, by which name the prince, whose attempted ruin by the envious viziers is the central incident of the tale, is distinguished in that language. the arab redaction of the story is, to my mind, far superior to the persian, both in general simplicity and directness of style and in the absence of the irritating conceits and moral digressions with which persian (as well as indian) fiction is so often overloaded. the persian origin of the story is apparent, not only in the turn of the incidents and style and the names of the personages, but in the fact that not a single line of verse occurs in it. [fn# ] rawi; this is probably a copyist's mistake for raai, a beholder, one who seeth. [fn# ] lit. what was his affair? it may be here observed that the word keif (how?) is constantly used in the breslau text in the sense of ma (what?). [fn# ] a district of persia, here probably persia itself. [fn# ] probably a corruption of kisra (chosroës). [fn# ] i.e. waylaying travellers, robbing on the high road. [fn# ] or skill. [fn# ] lit. the descended fate. [fn# ] the arabs attribute to a man's parentage absolute power in the determination of his good and evil qualities; eg. the son of a slave, according to them, can possess none of the virtues of the free-born, whilst good qualities are in like manner considered congenitally inherent in the latter. [fn# ] or "business." [fn# ] i.e. whither he should travel. [fn# ] about half-a-crown. [fn# ] it is a common practice with eastern nations to keep a child (especially a son and one of unusual beauty) concealed until a certain age, for fear of the evil eye. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iii. p. ; vol. ix. p. , etc., etc. [fn# ] i.e. killing a man. [fn# ] i.e., it will always be in our power to slay him, when we will. [fn# ] i.e. the grave. [fn# ] i.e. the wedding-day. [fn# ] i.e. thy women [fn# ] i.e. hath been unduly prolonged. [fn# ] i.e. let thy secret thoughts and purposes be righteous, even as thine outward profession. [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. . [fn# ] afterwards called his "chamberlain," i.e. the keeper of the door of the harem or chief eunuch. see post, p. iii. [fn# ] i.e. the eunuch who had dissuaded dadbin from putting her to death. [fn# ] apparently referring to aboulkhair (see ante p. ), whom dabdin would seem to have put to death upon the vizier's false accusation, although no previous mention of this occurs. [fn# ] the arabs believe that each man's destiny is charactered, could we decipher it, in the sutures of his skull. [fn# ] ie. the lex talionis, which is the essence of muslim jurisprudence. [fn# ] i.e. a soldier of fortune, going about from court to court, in quest of service. [fn# ] this phrase refers to the arab idiom, "his hand (or arm) is long or short," i.e. he is a man of great or little puissance. [fn# ] the arabs consider it a want of respect to allow the hands or feet to remain exposed in the presence of a superior. [fn# ] adeb. see ante, p. , note . [fn# ] i.e. that he become my son-in-law. [fn# ] it is a common eastern practice to have the feet kneaded and pressed (shampooed) for the purpose of inducing sleep, and thus the king would habitually fall asleep with his feet on the knees of his pages. [fn# ] syn. whoso respecteth not his lord's women. [fn# ] i.e. a domed tomb. [fn# ] of a man's life. the muslims believe each man's last hour to be written in a book called "the preserved tablet." [fn# ] i.e, the autumnal equinox, one of the two great festival days (the other being the new year) of the persians. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] i.e. heritage. [fn# ] i.e. the emperor of the romans of the lower empire, so called by the arabs. "caesar" is their generic term for the emperors of constantinople, as is kisra (chosroës) for the ancient kings of persia. [fn# ] i.e. shah khatoun. [fn# ] i.e. our power increased by his alliance, a. familiar arab idiom. [fn# ] in token of deputation of authority, a ceremony usual on the appointment of a governor of a province. [fn# ] or enigma. [fn# ] i.e. if my death be ordained of destiny to befall on an early day none may avail to postpone it to a later day. [fn# ] of life. see supra, note, p. . [fn# ] the hoopoe is fabled by the muslim chroniclers to have been to solomon what odin's ravens were to the norse god. it is said to have known all the secrets of the earth and to have revealed them to him; hence the magical virtues attributed by the mohammedans to its heart. [fn# ] this phrase may be read either literally or in its idiomatic sense, i.e., "folk convicted or suspected of murder or complicity in murder." [fn# ] or purse-belt. [fn# ] see supra, p. . [fn# ] khilaah, lit. that which one takes off from one's own person, to bestow upon a messenger of good tidings or any other whom it is desired especially to honour. the literal meaning of the phrase, here rendered "he bestowed on him a dress of honour," is "he put off on him [that which was upon himself." a khilaah commonly includes a horse, a sword, a girdle or waist-cloth and other articles, according to the rank of the recipient, and might more precisely be termed "a complete equipment of honour." [fn# ] an economical mode of rewarding merit, much in favour with eastern monarchs. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxv. [fn# ] syn. doorkeper (hajib). [fn# ] ibn khelbkan, who tells this story in a somewhat different style, on the authority of er reshid's brother ibrahim ben el mehdi, calls the person whom jaafer expected "abdulmelik ben behran, the intendant of his demesnes." [fn# ] the wearing of silk and bright colours is forbidden to the strict muslim and it is generally considered proper, in a man of position, to wear them only on festive occasions or in private, as in the text. [fn# ] the abbasides or descendants of el abbas, the prophet's uncle, were noted for their excessive pride and pretensions to strict orthodoxy in all outward observances. abdulmelik ben salih, who was a well-known general and statesman of the time, was especially renowned for pietism and austerity of manners. [fn# ] i.e. do not let my presence trouble you. [fn# ] as a member of the reigning family, he of course wore black clothes, that being the especial colour of the house of abbas, adopted by them in opposition to the rival (and fallen) dynasty of the benou umeyyeh, whose family colour was white, that of the house of ali being green. [fn# ] about £ , . ibn khellikan makes the debt four millions of dirhems or about £ , [fn# ] breslau text, vol vii, pp. - , night dlxvii. [fn# ] fourth khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] third khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] the following is et teberi's version of this anecdote. el mehdi had presented his son haroun with a ruby ring, worth a hundred thousand dinars, and the latter being one day with his brother [the then reigning khalif], el hadi saw the ring on his finger and desired it. so, when haroun went out from him, he sent after him, to seek the ring of him. the khalif's messenger overtook er reshid on the bridge over the tigris and acquainted him with his errand; whereupon the prince enraged at the demand, pulled off the ring and threw it into the river. when el hadi died and er reshid succeeded to the throne, he went with his suite to the bridge in question and bade his vizier yehya ben khalid send for divers and cause them make search for the ring. it had then been five months in the water and no one believed it would be found. however, the divers plunged into the river and found the ring in the very place where he had thrown it in, whereat haroun rejoiced with an exceeding joy, regarding it as a presage of fair fortune. [fn# ] this is an error. jaafer's father yehya was appointed by haroun his vizier and practically continued to exercise that office till the fall of the barmecides (a.d. ), his sons fezl and jaafer acting only as his assistants or lieutenants. see my essay on the history and character of the book of the thousand nights and one night. [fn# ] another mistake. it was fezl, the khalif's foster-brother, to whom he used to give this title. [fn# ] a third mistake. the whole period during which the empire was governed by yehya and his sons was only seventeen years, i.e. a.d - , but see my essay. [fn# ] the apparent meaning of this somewhat obscure saying is, "since fortune is uncertain, conciliate the favour of those with whom thou hast to do by kind offices, so thou mayst find refuge with them in time of need." [fn# ] for a detailed account of the barmecides and of their fall, see my essay. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxviii. [fn# ] aboulabbas mohammed ibn sabih, surnamed ibn es semmak (son of the fishmonger), a well-known cufan jurisconsult and ascetic of the time. he passed the latter part of his life at baghdad and enjoyed high favour with er reshid, as the only theological authority whom the latter could induce to promise him admission to paradise. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxviii. [fn# ] seventh khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] sixth khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - , a sanguinary and incapable prince, whose contemplated treachery against his brother el mamoun, (whom, by the advice of his vizier, the worthless intriguer fezl ben rebya, the same who was one of the prime movers in the ruin of the illustrious barmecide family and who succeeded yehya and his sons in the vizierate (see my essay), he contemplated depriving of his right of succession and murdering,) was deservedly requited with the loss of his own kingdom and life. he was, by the way, put to death by el mamoun's general, in contravention of the express orders of that generous and humane prince, who wished his brother to be sent prisoner to him, on the capture of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. forfeits. it is a favourite custom among the arabs to impose on the loser of a game, in lieu of stakes, the obligation of doing whatsoever the winner may command him. for an illustration of this practice, see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - , story of the sandalwood merchant and the sharpers. [fn# ] el mamoun was of a very swarthy complexion and is said to have been the son of a black slave-girl. zubeideh was er reshid's cousin, and el amin was, therefore, a member of the house of abbas, both on the father's and mother's side. of this purity of descent from the prophet's family (in which he is said to have stood alone among the khalifs of the abbaside dynasty) both himself and his mother were exceedingly proud, and it was doubtless this circumstance which led er reshid to prefer el amin and to assign him the precedence in the succession over the more capable and worthier el mamoun. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. viii. pp. - , nights dclx-i. [fn# ] a pre-mohammedan king of the arab kingdom of hireh (a town near cufa on the euphrates), under the suzerainty of the chosroes of persia, and a cruel and fantastic tyrant. [fn# ] the tribe to which belonged the renowned pre-mohammedan chieftain and poet, hatim tal, so celebrated in the east for his extravagant generosity and hospitality. [fn# ] i.e. i will make a solemn covenant with him before god. [fn# ] i.e. he of the tribe of tai. [fn# ] in generosity. [fn# ] a similar anecdote is told of omar ben el khettab, second successor of mohammed, and will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] breslau text, vol. viii. pp. - , nights dclxxv--vi. [fn# ] a similar story will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night", vol. v. p. . [fn# ] breslau text, vol xi. pp. - , nights dccclxxv-dccccxxx. [fn# ] i.e. a pilgrimage. pilgrimage is one of a muslim's urgent duties. [fn# ] by a rhetorical figure, mecca is sometimes called el hejj (the pilgrimage) and this appears to be the case here. it is one of the dearest towns in the east and the chief occupation of its inhabitants a the housing and fleecing of pilgrims. an arab proverb says, "there is no place in which money goes [so fast] as it goes in mecca." [fn# ] lit. loved with it. [fn# ] it is not clear what is here meant by el hejj; perhaps medina, though this is a "visitation" and not an obligatory part of the pilgrimage. the passage is probably corrupt. [fn# ] it is not clear what is here meant by el hejj; perhaps medina, though this is a "visitation" and not an obligatory part of the pilgrimage. the passage is probably corrupt. [fn# ] syn. whole or perfect (sehik). [fn# ] i.e. in white woollen garments. [fn# ] i.e. i desire a privy place, where i may make the preliminary ablution and pray. [fn# ] it is customary in the east to give old men and women the complimentary title of "pilgrim," assuming, as a matter of course, that they have performed the obligatory rite of pilgrimage. [fn# ] or saint. [fn# ] keniseh, a christian or other non-muslim place of worship. [fn# ] apparently the harem. [fn# ] i.e. otherwise than according to god's ordinance. [fn# ] a city of persian irak. [fn# ] lit. its apparatus, i.e. spare strings, etc.? [fn# ] i.e. the woman whose face he saw. [fn# ] lit. the place of battle, i.e. that where they had lain. [fn# ] a common eastern fashion of securing a shop, when left for a short time. the word shebekeh (net) may also be tendered a grating or network of iron or other metal. [fn# ] i.e. gave her good measure. [fn# ] i.e. she found him a good workman. equivoque erotique, apparently founded on the to-and-fro movement of the shuttle in weaving. [fn! ] equivoque érotique. [fn# ] i.e. removed the goods exposed for sale and laid them up in the inner shop or storehouse. [fn# ] the eastern oven is generally a great earthenware jar sunken in the earth. [fn# ] i.e. a boughten white slave (memlouk). [fn# ] apparently changing places. the text is here fearfully corrupt and (as in many other parts of the breslau edition) so incoherent as to be almost unintelligible. [fn# ] i.e. in the (inner) courtyard. [fn# ] i.e. the essential nature, lit. jewel. [fn# ] i.e. in proffering thee the kingship. [fn# ] without the city. [fn# ] according to the conclusion of the story, this recompense consisted in an augmentation of the old man's allowances of food. see post, p. . [fn# ] i.e. i have given my opinion. [fn# ] this passage is evidently corrupt. i have amended it, on conjecture, to the best of my power. [fn# ] the words ruteb wa menazil, here rendered "degrees and dignities," may also be rendered, "stations and mansions (of the moon and planets)." [fn# ] syn. "ailing" or "sickly." [fn# ] i.e. the caravan with which he came. [fn# ] i.e. i seek to marry thy daughter, not for her own sake, but because i desire thine alliance. [fn# ] i.e. the face of his bride. [fn# ] i.e. his wife. [fn# ] i.e. his wife. [fn# ] naming the poor man. [fn# ] naming his daughter. [fn# ] i.e. united. [fn# ] or "humble." [fn# ] i.e. one another. [fn# ] or "conquer." [fn# ] or "commandment." [fn# ] lit. "will be higher than." [fn# ] syn. device or resource (hileh). [fn# ] syn. chasten or instruct. [fn# ] students of our old popular poetry will recognize, in the principal incident of this story, the subject of the well-known ballad, "the heir of linne." [fn# ] i.e. turcomans; afterwards called sejestan. [fn# ] with a pile of stones or some such landmark. [fn# ] i.e. the extraordinary resemblance of the supposed sister to his wife. [fn# ] the foregoing passage is evidently very corrupt and the meaning is by no means plain, but, in the absence of a parallel version, it is impossible to clear up the obscurity of the text. [fn# ] this appears to be the sense of the text; but the whole passage is to obscure and corrupt that it is impossible to make sure of its exact meaning. [fn# ] meaning apparently, "thou puttest my devices to nought" or (perhaps) "thou art so skilful that i fear lest thou undermine my favour with the king and oust me from my post of vizier." [fn# ] lit. "land;" but the meaning is evidently as in the text. [fn# ] the reader will recognize the well-known story used by chaucer, boccaccio and la fontaine. [fn# ] syn. flourishing. [fn# ] syn. depopulated. [fn# ] lit. an oppressor. [fn# ] i.e. a man of commanding presence. [fn# ] syn. cause flourish. [fn# ] syn. depopulateth. [fn# ] lit. the year. [fn# ] the whole of the tither's account of himself is terribly obscure and so corrupt that it is hardly possible to make sense of it. the same remark applies to much of the rest of the story. [fn# ] or "cause flourish." [fn# ] lit. a better theologian. the muslim law being entirely based on the koran and the traditions of the prophet, the terms "lawyer" and "theologian" are necessarily synonymous among mohammedan peoples. [fn# ] a danic is the sixth of a dirhem, i.e. about one penny. [fn# ] i.e. say, "may i be [triply] divorced from my wife, if etc.!" by the muslim law, a divorce three times pronounced is irrevocable, and in case of its appearing that the user of such an oath as the above had sworn falsely, his wife would become divorced by operation of law, without further ceremony. hence the frequency and binding nature of the oath in question. [fn# ] i.e. thousandfold cuckold. [fn# ] i.e. the blows which the thief had given him. [fn# ] i.e. at least, at the most moderate reckoning. [fn# ] or "breath of god," a title given to jesus by the mohammedans. [fn# ] i.e. attaineth his desire. [fn# ] syn. guards. [fn# ] i.e. the husbandman. [fn# ] i.e. those bound to render suit and service to the king, as holders of fiefs. [fn# ] syn. the revenue or rent-charge of thy fief. [fn# ] heads of families? [fn# ] or "caused flourish." [fn# ] or froward. [fn# ] i.e. sold and spent the price of. [fn# ] i.e. his lack of means to entertain her. [fn# ] i.e. all that can conduce to. [fn# ] i.e. it is for you (after god) to excuse me. [fn# ] i.e. the [supposed] rest of his hoard. [fn# ] apparently the idiot's name. [fn# ] i.e. had he been on his own guard against that, etc. alaeddin and the enchanted lamp; zein ul asnam and the king of the jinn: two stories done into english from the recently discovered arabic text by john payne london to captain sir richard francis burton, k.c.m.g., h.b.m. consul, trieste. my dear burton, i give myself the pleasure of placing your name in the forefront of another and final volume of my translation of the thousand and one nights, which, if it have brought me no other good, has at least been the means of procuring me your friendship. believe me, yours always, john payne. twelve years this day,--a day of winter, dreary with drifting snows, when all the world seemed dead to spring and hope,--it is since, worn and weary of doubt within and strife without, i fled from the mean workday miseries of existence, from spites that slander and from hates that lie, into the dreamland of the orient distance under the splendours of the syrian sky, and in the enchanted realms of eastern story, far from the lovelessness of modern times, garnered the rainbow-remnants of old glory that linger yet in those ancestral climes; and now, the tong task done, the journey over, from that far home of immemorial calms, where, as a mirage, on the sky-marge hover the desert and its oases of palms, lingering, i turn me back, with eyes reverted to this stepmother world of daily life, as one by some long pleasant dream deserted, that wakes anew to dull unlovely strife: yet, if non' other weal the quest have wrought me. the long beloved labour now at end, this gift of gifts the untravelled east hath brought me, the knowledge of a new and valued friend. th feb. . introduction. i. the readers of my translation of the book of the thousand nights and one night will remember that, in the terminal essay ( ) on the history and character of the collection, i expressed my conviction that the eleven (so-called) "interpolated" tales, [ ] though, in my judgment, genuine oriental stories, had (with the exception of the sleeper awakened and aladdin) no connection with the original work, but had been procured by galland from various (as yet) unidentified sources, for the purpose of supplying the deficiencies of the imperfect ms. of the nights from which he made his version. [ ] my opinion as to these talcs has now been completely confirmed by the recent discovery (by m. zotenberg, keeper of oriental mss. in the bibliotheque nationale at paris) of two arabic mss. of the nights, both containing three of the missing stories, i.e. ( ) zeyn alasnam, ( ) the sleeper awakened and ( ) aladdin, and by the publication (also by m. zotenberg) of certain extracts from galland's diary, giving particulars of the circumstances under which the "interpolated" tales were incorporated with his translation of the arabian nights. the arabic text of the story of aladdin, as given by the completer and more authentic of the newly-discovered mss., has recently been made by m. zotenberg the subject of a special publication, [ ] in the preface to which (an exhaustive bibliographical essay upon the various texts of the thousand and one nights, considered in relation to galland's translation) he gives, in addition to the extracts in question from galland's diary, a detailed description of the two mss. aforesaid, the more interesting particulars of which i now proceed to abstract for the benefit of my readers. ii. the first ms. commences precisely where the third volume of galland's ms. ends, to wit, (see my terminal essay, p. , note ) with the st night, in the middle of the story of camaralzaman [ ] and contains, (inter alia) besides the continuation of this latter (which ends with night cccxxix), the stories of the sleeper awakened (nights cccxxx-cccc), ganem (nights ccccxxviii-cccclxx v), zeyn alasnam (nights cccclxxv-ccccxci), aladdin (nights ccccxcii-dlxix) and three others not found in galland's version. the ms. ends in the middle of the st night with the well-known story of king bekhtzad (azadbekht) and his son or the ten viziers, (which will be found translated in my "tales from the arabic," vol. i. pp. et seq.) and contains, immediately after night ccccxxvii and before the story of ganem, a note in arabic, of which the following is a translation: "the fourth volume of the wonders and marvels of the stories of the thousand nights and one night was finished by the hand of the humblest of his' servants in the habit of a minister of religion (kahin, lit. a diviner, cohen), the [christian] priest dionysius shawish, a scion (selil) of the college of the romans (greeks, europeans or franks, er roum), by name st. athanasius, in rome the greatest [ ] (or greater, utsma, fem. of aatsem, qu re constantinople?) on the seven-and-twentieth of the month shubat (february) of the year one thousand seven hundred fourscore and seven, [he being] then teacher of the arabic tongue in the library of the sultan, king of france, at paris the greatest." from this somewhat incoherent note we may assume that the ms. was written in the course of the year by the notorious syrian ecclesiastic dom denis chavis, the accomplice of cazotte in the extraordinary literary atrocity shortly afterward perpetrated by the latter under the name of a sequel or continuation of the thousand and one nights [ ] (v. cabinet des fees, vols. xxxviii--xli), [ ] and in all probability (cf. the mention in the above note of the first part, i.e. nights cclxxxi-ccccxxvii, as the fourth volume) to supply the place of galland's missing fourth volume for the bibliotheque royale; but there. is nothing, except a general similarity of style and the occurrence in the former of the rest of camaralzaman and (though not in the same order) of four of the tales supposed to have been contained in the latter, to show that dom chavis made his copy from a text identical with that used by the french savant. in the notes to his edition of the arabic text of aladdin, m. zotenberg gives a number of extracts from this ms., from which it appears that it is written in a very vulgar modern syrian style and abounds in grammatical errors, inconsistencies and incoherences of every description, to say nothing of the fact that the syrian ecclesiastic seems, with the characteristic want of taste and presumption which might be expected from the joint-author of "les veillees persanes," to have, to a considerable extent, garbled the original text by the introduction of modern european phrases and turns of speech a la galland. for the rest, the ms. contains no note or other indication, on which we can found any opinion as to the source from which the transcriber (or arranger) drew his materials; but it can hardly be doubted, from internal evidence, that he had the command of some genuine text of the nights, similar to, if not identical with, that of galland, which he probably "arranged" to suit his own (and his century's) distorted ideas of literary fitness. the discovery of the interpolated tales contained in this ms. (which has thus presumably lain unnoticed for a whole century, under, as one may say, the very noses of the many students of arabic literature who would have rejoiced in such a find) has, by a curious freak of fortune, been delayed until our own day in consequence of a singular mistake made by a former conservator of the paris bibliotheque, the well-known orientalist, m. reinaud, who, in drawing up the catalogue of the arabic mss. in the collection described (or rather misdescribed) it under the following heading: "supplement arabe . thousand and one nights, rd and th parts. this volume begins with night cclxxxii and ends with night dcxxxi. a copy in the handwriting of chavis. it is from this copy and in accordance with the instructions (d'apres la indications) of this syrian monk that cazotte composed (redigea) the sequel to the thousand and one nights, cabinet des fees, xxxvii et xl (should be tt. xxxviii-xli)." it is of course evident that m. reinaud had never read the ms. in question nor that numbered in the supplement arabe, or he would at once have recognized that the latter, though not in the handwriting of the syrian ecclesiastic, was that which served for the production of the "sequel" in question; but, superficial as was the mistake, it sufficed to prevent the examination by students of the ms. no. and so retarded the discovery of the arabic originals of aladdin and its fellows till the acquisition (some two years ago) by the bibliotheque nationale of another (and complete) ms. of the thousand and one nights, which appears to have belonged to the celebrated orientalist m. caussin de perceval, although the latter could not have been acquainted with it at the time ( ) he published his well-known edition and continuation of galland's translation, in the eighth and ninth volumes of which, by the by, he gives a correct version of the tales so fearfully garbled by chavis and cazotte in their so-called translation as well nigh to defy recognition and to cause orientalists in general to deny the possibility of their having been derived from an oriental source until the discovery of the actual arabic originals so barbarously maltreated [ ] this ms. is in the handwriting of of sebbagh, the well-known syrian collaborator of silvestre de sacy, and is supposed to have been copied by him at paris between the years and for some european orientalist (probably de perceval himself) from a baghdad ms. of the early part of the th century, of which it professes to be an exact reproduction, as appears from a terminal note, of which the following is a translation: "and the finishing of it was in the first tenth (decade) of jumada the latter [in the] year one thousand one hundred and fifteen of the hegira (october, ) in the handwriting of the neediest of the faithful [ ] unto god [ ] the most high, ahmed ibn mohammed et teradi, in the city of baghdad, and he the shafiy by sect and the mosuli by birth and the baghdadi by sojourn, and indeed he wrote it for himself and set upon it his seal, and god bless and keep our lord mohammed and his companions! kebikej [ ] (ter)." this ms. contains the three "interpolated" tales aforesaid, i.e. the sleeper awakened (nights cccxxxvii-lxxxvi), zeyn alasnam (nights ccccxcvii-dxiii) and aladdin (nights dxiv-xci), the last two bearing traces of a syrian origin, especially aladdin, which is written in a much commoner and looser style than zeyn alasnam. the two tales are evidently the work of different authors, zeyn alasnam being incomparably superior in style and correctness to aladdin, which is defaced by all kinds of vulgarisms and solecisms and seems, moreover, to have been less correctly copied than the other. nevertheless, the sebbagh text is in every respect preferable to that of shawish (which appears to abound in faults and errors of every kind, general and particular,) and m. zotenberg has, therefore, exercised a wise discretion in selecting the former for publication. iii. perhaps the most noteworthy feature of m. zorenberg's long and interesting introduction is a series of extracts from the (as yet unpublished) ms. diary regularly kept by galland, the last four volumes ( - ) of which are preserved in the bibliotheque nationale. these extracts effectually settle the question of the origin of the interpolated tales, as will be seen from the following abstract. on the th march, , galland records having that day made the acquaintance of a maronite scholar, by name youhenna diab, [ ] who had been brought from aleppo to paris by paul lucas, the celebrated traveller, and with whom he evidently at once broached the question of the nights, [ ] probably complaining to him of the difficulty (or rather impossibility) of obtaining a perfect copy of the work; whereupon hanna (as he always calls him) appears to have volunteered to help him to fill the lacune by furnishing him with suitable oriental stories for translation in the same style as those already rendered by him and then and there (says galland) "told me some very fine arabian tales, which he promised to put into writing for me." there is no fresh entry on the subject till may following, when (says galland) "the maronite hanna finished telling me the tale of the lamp." [ ] hanna appears to have remained in paris till the autumn of the year and during his stay, galland's diary records the communication by him to the french savant of the following stories, afterwards included in the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth volumes of the latter's translation, (as well as of several others which he probably intended to translate, had he lived,) [ ] i.e. (may , ) "babe abdalla" and "sidi nouman," (may , ) "the enchanted horse," (may , ) "prince ahmed and pari banou," (may , ) "the two sisters who envied their younger sister," (may , ) "all baba and the forty thieves," (may , ) "cogia hassan alhabbal" and (may , ) "ali cogia." the maronite seems to have left for the east in october, , (galland says under date october , "received this evening a letter from hanna, who writes me from marseilles, under date the th, in arabic, to the effect that he had arrived there in good health,") but not without having at least in part fulfilled his promise to put in writing the tales communicated by him to galland, as appears by the entry of november , , "began yesterday to read the arabian story of the lamp, which had been written me in arabic more than a year ago by the maronite of damascus [ ] whom m. lucas brought with him, with a view to putting it into french. finished reading it this morning. here is the title of this tale, 'story of aladdin, son of a tailor, and that which befell him with an african magician on account of (or through) a lamp.'" (the diary adds that he began that evening to put his translation into writing and finished it in the course of the ensuing fortnight.) and that of january , , "finished the translation of the tenth volume of the nights after the arabic text which i had from the hand (de la main) of hanna or jean dipi, [ ] whom m. lucas brought to france on his return from his last journey in the levant." the only other entry bearing upon the question is that of august , , in which galland says, "being quit of my labours upon the translation etc. of the koran, i read a part of the arabian tales which the maronite hanna had told me and which i had summarily reduced to writing, to see which of them i should select to make up the eleventh volume of the thousand and one nights." from these entries it appears beyond question that galland received from the maronite hanna, in the spring and summer of , the arabic text of the stories of aladdin, baba abdalla, sidi nouman and cogia hassan alhabbal, i.e. the whole of the tales included in his ninth and tenth volumes (with the exception of the sleeper awakened, of which he does not speak) and that he composed the five remaining tales contained in his eleventh and twelfth volumes (i.e. ali baba, ali cogia, the enchanted horse, prince ahmed and pari banou and the two sisters who envied their younger sister,) upon the details thereof taken down from hanna's lips and by the aid of copious summaries made at the time. these entries in galland's diary dispose, therefore, of the question of the origin of the "interpolated" tales, with the exception ( ) of the sleeper awakened (with which we need not, for the present, concern ourselves farther) and ( ) of nos. and a and b, i.e. zeyn alasnam, codadad and his brothers and the princess of deryabar (forming, with ganem, his eighth volume), as to which galland, as i pointed out in my terminal essay (p. ), cautions us, in a prefatory note to his ninth volume, that these two stories form no part of the thousand and one nights and that they had been inserted and printed without the cognizance of the translator, who was unaware of the trick that had been played him till after the actual publication of the volume, adding that care would be taken to expunge the intrusive tales from the second edition (which, however, was never done, galland dying before the republication and it being probably found that the stranger tales had taken too firm a hold upon public favour to be sacrificed, as originally proposed); and the invaluable diary supplies the necessary supplemental information as to their origin. "m. petis de la croix," says galland under date of january , , "professor and king's reader of the arabic tongue, who did me the honour to visit me this morning, was extremely surprised to see two of the turkish [ ] tales of his translation printed in the eighth volume of the nights, which i showed him, and that this should have been done without his participation." petis de la croix, a well-known orientalist and traveller of the time, published in the course of the same year ( ) the first volume of a collection of oriental stories, similar in form and character to the nights, but divided into "days" instead of "nights" and called "the thousand and one days, persian tales," the preface to which (ascribed to cazotte) alleges him to have translated the tales from a persian work called hezar [o] yek roz, i.e. "the thousand and one days," the ms. of which had in been communicated to the translator by a friend of his, by name mukhlis, (cazotte styles him "the celebrated dervish mocles, chief of the soufis of ispahan") during his sojourn in the persian capital. the preface goes on to state that mukhlis had, in his youth, translated into persian certain indian plays, which had been translated into all the oriental languages and of which a turkish version existed in the bibliotheque royale, under the title of alfaraga badal-schidda (i.e. el ferej bad esh shiddeh), which signified "joy after affliction"; but that, wishing to give his work an original air, he converted the aforesaid plays into tales. cazotte's story of the indian plays savours somewhat of the cock and the bull and it is probable that the hezar o yek roz (which is not, to my knowledge, extant) was not derived from so recondite a source, but was itself either the original of the well-known turkish collection or (perhaps) a translation of the latter. at all events, zeyn alasnam, codadad and the princess of deryabar occur in a copy (cited by m. zotenberg), belonging to the bibliotheque nationale, of el ferej bad esh shidded (of which they form the eighth, ninth and sixth stories respectively) and in a practically identical form, except that in galland's vol. viii. the two latter stories are fused into one. sir william ouseley is said to have brought from persia a ms. copy of a portion of the hezar o yek roz which he describes as agreeing with the french version, but, in the absence of documentary proof and in view of the fact that, notwithstanding the unauthorized incorporation of three of the tales of his original with galland's vol. viii, the published version of the thousand and one days is apparently complete and shows no trace of the omission, i am inclined to suspect petis de la croix of having invented the division into days, in order to imitate (and profit by the popularity of) his fellow savant's version of the thousand and one nights. galland's publisher was doubtless also that of petis de la croix and in the latter capacity had in hand a portion of the ms. of the days, from which, no doubt weary of waiting till galland (who was now come to the end of his genuine arabic ms. of the nights and was accordingly at a standstill, till he met with hanna,) should have procured fresh material to complete the copy for his eighth volume, of which ganem only was then ready for publication, he seems to have selected (apparently on his own responsibility, but, it must be admitted, with considerable taste and judgment,) the three tales in question from the ms. of the days, to fill up the lacune. it does not appear whether he found codadad and the princess of deryabar arranged as one story ready to his hand or himself performed (or procured to be performed) the process of fusion, which, in any case, was executed by no unskilful hand. be this as it may, galland was naturally excessively annoyed at the publisher's unceremonious proceeding, so much so indeed as for a time to contemplate renouncing the publication of the rest of the work, to spare himself (as he says in his diary, under date of dec. , ) similar annoyances (mortifications) to that which the printing of the eighth volume had caused him. indeed, the effect of this incident was to induce him, not only to change his publisher, but to delay the publication of the next volume (which, as we learn from the diary, was ready for the press at the end of november or the beginning of december, ) for a whole year, at the end of which time (diary, november , ) he made arrangements with a new (and presumably more trustworthy) publisher, m. florentin de laune, for the printing of vol. ix. iv. notwithstanding the discovery, as above set out, of three of the doubtful tales, zeyn alasnam, aladdin and the sleeper awakened, in two mss. (one at least undoubtedly authentic) of the thousand nights and one night, i am more than ever of opinion that none of the eleven "interpolated" stories properly belongs to the original work, that is to say, to the collection as first put into definite form somewhere about the fourteenth century. [ ] "the sleeper awakened" was identified by the late mr. lane as a historical anecdote given by the historian el ishaki, who wrote in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, and the frequent mention of coffee in both mss. of aladdin justifies us in attributing the composition of the story to (at earliest) the sixteenth century, whilst the modern vulgarisms in which they abound point to a still later date. zeyn alasnam (in the sebbagh ms. at least) is written in a much purer and more scholarly style than aladdin, but its pre-existence in el ferej bad esh shiddeh (even if we treat as apocryphal petis de la croix's account of the hezar o yek roz) is sufficient, in the absence of contrary evidence, to justify us in refusing to consider it as belonging to the thousand nights and one night proper. as shown by galland's own experience, complete copies of the genuine work were rarely to be met with, collections of "silly stories" (as the oriental savant, who inclines to regard nothing in the way of literature save theology, grammar and poetry, would style them), being generally considered by the arab bibliographer undeserving of record or preservation, and the fragmentary copies which existed were mostly in the hands of professional story-tellers, who were extremely unwilling to part with them, looking upon them as their stock in trade, and were in the habit of incorporating with the genuine text all kinds of stories and anecdotes from other sources, to fill the place of the missing portions of the original work. this process of addition and incorporation, which has been in progress ever since the first collection of the nights into one distinct work and is doubtless still going on in oriental countries, (especially such as are least in contact with european influence,) may account for the heterogeneous character of the various modern mss. of the nights and for the immense difference which exists between the several texts, as well in actual contents as in the details and diction of such stories as are common to all. the tunis ms. of the nights (which is preserved in the breslau university library and which formed the principal foundation of habicht's edition of the arabic text) affords a striking example of this process, which we are here enabled to see in mid-operation, the greater part of the tales of which it consists having not yet been adapted to the framework of the nights. it is dated a.h. (a.d. ) and of the ten volumes of which it consists, i, ii (nights i--ccl) and x (nights dccclxxxv-mi) are alone divided into nights, the division of the remaining seven volumes (i.e. iii--ix, containing, inter alia, the story of the sleeper awakened) being the work of the german editor. it is my belief, therefore, that the three "interpolated" tales identified as forming part of the baghdad ms. of are comparatively modern stories added to the genuine text by rawis (story-tellers) or professional writers employed by them, and i see no reason to doubt that we shall yet discover the arabic text of the remaining eight, either in hanna's version (as written down for galland) or in some as yet unexamined ms. of the nights or other work of like character. v. m. zotenberg has, with great judgment, taken as his standard for publication the text of aladdin given by the sebbagh ms., inasmuch as the shawish ms. (besides being, as appears from the extracts given. [ ] far inferior both in style and general correctness,) is shown by the editor to be full of modern european phrases and turns of speech and to present so many suspicious peculiarities that it would be difficult, having regard, moreover, to the doubtful character and reputation of the syrian monkish adventurer who styled himself dom denis chavis, to resist the conviction that his ms. was a forgery, i.e. professedly a copy of a genuine arabic text, but in reality only a translation or paraphrase in that language of galland's version,--were it not that the baghdad ms. (dated before the commencement, in , of galland's publication and transcribed by a man--mikhail sebbagh--whose reputation, as a collaborator of silvestre de sacy and other distinguished orientalists, is a sufficient voucher for the authenticity of the copy in the bibliotheque nationale,) contains a text essentially identical with that of shawish. moreover, it is evident, from a comparison with galland's rendering and making allowance for the latter's system of translation, that the arabic version of aladdin given him by hanna must either have been derived from the baghdad text or from some other practically identical source, and it is therefore probable that shawish, having apparently been employed to make up the missing portion of galland's arabic text and not having the hanna ms. at his command, had (with the execrable taste and want of literary morality which distinguished cazotte's monkish coadjutor) endeavoured to bring his available text up to what he considered the requisite standard by modernizing and gallicizing its wording and (in particular) introducing numerous european phrases and turns of speech in imitation of the french translator. the whole question is, of course, as yet a matter of more or less probable hypothesis, and so it must remain until further discoveries and especially until the reappearance of galland's missing text, which i am convinced must exist in some shape or other and cannot much longer, in the face of the revived interest awakened in the matter and the systematic process of investigation now likely to be employed, elude research. m. zotenberg's publication having been confined to the text of aladdin, i have to thank my friend sir r. f. burton for the loan of his ms. copy of zeyn alasnam, (the arabic text of which still remains unpublished) as transcribed by m. houdas from the sebbagh ms. zein ul asnam and the king of the jinn. there [ ] was [once] in the city of bassora a mighty sultan and he was exceeding rich, but he had no child who should be his successor [ ] after him. for this he grieved sore and fell to bestowing alms galore upon the poor and the needy and upon the friends [ ] of god and the devout, seeking their intercession with god the most high, so he to whom belong might and majesty should of his favour vouchsafe him a son. and god accepted his prayer, for his fostering of the poor, and answered his petition; so that one night of the nights he lay with the queen and she went from him with child. when the sultan knew this, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and as the time of her child-bearing drew nigh, he assembled all the astrologers and those who smote the sand [ ] and said to them, "it is my will that ye enquire concerning the child that shall be born to me this month, whether it will be male or female, and tell me what will betide it of chances and what will proceed from it." [ ] so the geomancers smote their [tables of] sand and the astrologers took their altitudes [ ] and observed the star of the babe [un]born and said to the sultan, "o king of the age and lord of the time and the tide, the child that shall be born to thee of the queen is a male and it beseemeth that thou name him zein ul asnam." [ ] and as for those who smote upon the sand, they said to him, "know, o king, that this babe will become a renowned brave, [ ] but he shall happen in his time upon certain travail and tribulation; yet, an he endure with fortitude against that which shall befall him, he shall become the richest of the kings of the world." and the king said to them, "since the babe shall become valiant as ye avouch, the toil and travail which will befall him are nought, for that tribulations teach the sons of kings." accordingly, after a few days, the queen gave birth to a male child, extolled be the perfection of him who created him surpassing in grace and goodliness! his father named him zein ul asnam, and he was as say of him certain of his praisers [ ] in verse: [ ] he shows and "now allah be blessed!" men say: "extol we his maker and fashioner aye! the king of the fair [ ] this is, sure, one and all; ay, his thralls, every one, and his liegemen are they." the boy grew and flourished till he came to the age of five [ ] years, when his father the sultan assigned him a governor skilled and versed in all sciences and philosophies, and he proceeded to teach him till he excelled in all manner of knowledge and became a young man. [ ] then the sultan bade bring him before himself, and assembling all the grandees of his realm and the chiefs of his subjects, proceeded to admonish him before them, saying to him, "o my son zein ul asnam, behold, i am grown stricken in years and am presently sick; and belike this sickness will be the last of my life in this world and thou shalt sit in my stead; [wherefore i desire to admonish thee]. beware, o my son, lest thou oppress any or turn a deaf ear to the complaining of the poor; but do thou justify the oppressed after the measure of thy might. and look thou believe not all that shall be said to thee by the great ones of the people, but trust thou still for the most part to the voice of the common folk; for the great will deceive thee, seeing they seek that which befitteth themselves, not that which befitteth the subject." then, after a few days, the sultan's sickness redoubled on him and he accomplished his term and died; and as for his son zein ul asnam, he arose and donning the raiment of woe, [mourned] for his father the space of six days. on the seventh day he arose and going forth to the divan, sat down on the throne of the sultanate and held a court, wherein was a great assemblage of the folk, [ ] and the viziers came forward and the grandees of the realm and condoled with him for his father and called down blessings upon him and gave him joy of the kingship and the sultanate, beseeching god to grant him continuance of glory and prosperity without end. when [ ] zein ul asnam saw himself in this great might and wealth, and he young in years, he inclined unto prodigality and to the converse of springalds like himself and fell to squandering vast sums upon his pleasures and left governance and concern for his subjects. the queen his mother proceeded to admonish him and to forbid him from his ill fashions, bidding him leave that manner of life and apply himself governance and administration and the ordinance of the realm, lest the folk reject him and rise up against him and expel [ ] hira; but he would hear not a word from her and abode in his ignorance and folly. at this the people murmured, for that the grandees of the realm put out their hands unto oppression, whenas they saw the king's lack of concern for his subjects; so they rose up in rebellion against zein ul asnam and would have laid violent hands upon him, had not the queen his mother been a woman of wit and judgment and address, and the people loved her; so she appeased the folk and promised them good. then she called her son zein ul asnam to her and said to him, "see, o my son; said i not to thee that thou wouldest lose thy kingship and eke thy life, an thou persistedst in this thine ignorance and folly, in that thou givest the ordinance of the sultanate into the hands of raw youths and eschewest the old and wastest thy substance and that of the realm, squandering it all upon lewdness and the lust of thy soul?" zein ul asnam hearkened to his mother's rede and going out forthright to the divan, committed the manage of the realm into the hands of certain old men of understanding and experience; save that he did this only after bassora had been ruined, inasmuch as he turned not from his folly till he had spent and squandered all the treasures of the sultanate and was become exceeding poor. then he betook himself to repentance and to sorrowing over that which he had done, [ ] so that he lost the solace of sleep and eschewed meat and drink, till one night of the nights,--and indeed he had spent it in mourning and lamentation and melancholy thought until the last of the night,--his eyes closed for a little and there appeared to him in his sleep a venerable old man, who said to him, "o zein ul asnam, grieve not, for that nought followeth after grief save relief from stress, and an thou desire to be delivered from this thine affliction, arise and betake thee to cairo, where thou wilt find treasuries of wealth which shall stand thee in stead of that thou hast squandered, ay, and twofold the sum thereof." when he awoke from his sleep, he acquainted his mother with all that he had seen in his dream, and she fell to laughing at him; but he said to her, "laugh not, for needs must i journey to cairo." "o my son," answered she, "put not thy trust in dreams, for that they are all vain fancies and lying imaginations." and he said to her, "nay, my dream was a true one and the man whom i saw is of the friends of god [ ] and his speech is very sooth." accordingly, he left the sultanate and going forth a-journeying one night of the nights, took the road to egypt [and fared on] days and nights till he came to the city of cairo. so he entered it and saw it a great and magnificent city; then, being perished for weariness, he took shelter in one of its mosques. when he had rested awhile, he went forth and bought him somewhat to eat; and after he had eaten, he fell asleep in the mosque, of the excess of his weariness, nor had he slept but a little when the old man appeared to him in his sleep and said to him, "o zein ul assam, [ ] thou hast done as i said to thee, and indeed i made proof of thee, that i might see an thou wert valiant or not; but now i know thee, inasmuch as thou hast put faith in my rede and hast done according thereto. so now return to thine own city and i will make thee a king rich after such a measure that neither before thee nor after thee shall [any] of the kings be like unto thee." so zein ul asnam arose from his sleep and said, "in the name of god the compassionate, the merciful! what is this old man who hath wearier me, so that i came to cairo, [ ] and i trusted in him and deemed of him that he was the prophet (whom god bless and keep) or one of the pious friends of god? but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme. by allah. i did well in that i acquainted none with my sallying forth neither related my dream unto any! [ ] indeed. i believed in this old man and meseemed by that which appeared to me, he was none of mankind, [ ] extolled be his perfection and magnified be he who [alone] knoweth the truth! by allah, i will leave trusting in this old man [neither will i comply with him] in that which he would have me do!" accordingly, he lay [the rest of] that night [in the mosque] and at daybreak he arose and mounting his courser, set out on his return to bassora, [the seat of] his kingship, where, after a few days, he arrived and went in that same night to his mother, who asked him if aught had befallen him of that which the old man had promised him. he acquainted her with that which he had seen [in his sleep] and she fell to condoling with him and comforting him, saying, "grieve not, o my son, for, an god the most high have appointed thee aught of [good] fortune, thou wilt attain thereto without either travail or toil; but i would have thee be understanding and discreet and leave these things which have brought thee to poverty, o my son, and eschew singing-wenches and the commerce of youths and women; all this is for the baser sort, not for kings' sons like thee." and he swore to her that he would never more gainsay her commandment, but would observe all that she should say to him and would turn his mind to the governance and the kingship and leave that wherefrom she forbade him. then he slept that night and what while he was on sleep, the old man appeared to him and said to him, "o zein ul asnam, o valiant one, whenas thou arisest from thy sleep this day, i will accomplish my promise to thee; wherefore take thou a pickaxe and go to the palace of thy father such-an-one [ ] in such a place and dig there in the earth and thou wilt find that which shall enrich thee." when zein ul asnam awoke from his sleep, he hastened to his mother, rejoicing, and acquainted her with his dream; whereupon she fell again to laughing at him and said to him, "o my son, indeed this old man laugheth at thee, nought else; wherefore do thou turn thy thought from him." but he said to her, "nay, mother mine, indeed he is soothfast and lieth not; for that, in the first of his dealing, he tried me and now his intent is to accomplish unto me his promise." "in any case," rejoined she, "the thing is not toilsome; [ ] so do that which thou wilt, even as he said to thee, and make proof of the matter, and god willing, thou shalt [ ] return to me rejoicing; but methinketh thou wilt return to me and say, 'thou saidst sooth, o my mother, in thy rede."' the prince accordingly took a pickaxe and going down to the palace where his father was buried, fell a-delving in the earth; nor had he dug long when, behold, there appeared to him a ring fixed in a slab of marble. he raised the slab and seeing a stair, descended thereby and found a great vault, all builded with columns of marble and alabaster; then, proceeding innerward, he found within the vault a hall which ravished the wit, and therein eight jars of green jasper; [ ] and he said, "what be these jars and what is in them?" so [ ] he went up and uncovering them, found them all full of old gold; [ ] whereupon he took a little in his hand and going to his mother, gave her thereof and said to her, "thou seest, o my mother." she marvelled at this thing and said to him, "beware, o my son, lest thou squander it, like as thou squanderedst other than this." and he swore to her, saying, "be not concerned, o my mother, and let not thy heart be other than easy on my account, for i would fain have thee also content with me." [ ] then she arose and went with him, and they descended into the vault and entered the [underground] hall, [ ] where she beheld that which ravished the wit and saw the jars of gold. what while they diverted themselves with gazing upon these latter, behold, they espied a little jar of fine jade; so zein ul asnam opened it and found in it a golden key. whereupon quoth his mother to him, "o my son, needs must there be a door here which this key will open." accordingly they sought in all parts of the vault and the hall, so they might see an there were a door or what not else to be found there, and presently espied a bolted lock, to which they knew that this must be the key. so zein ul asnam went up and putting the key in the lock, turned it and opened a door which admitted them into a second hall, [ ] more magnificent than the first; and it was all full of a light which dazzled the sight, yet was there no flambeau kindled therein, no, nor any window [ ] there, whereat they marvelled and looking farther, saw eight images of jewels, each one piece, and that of noble jewels, pure and precious. zein ul asnam was amazed at this and said to his mother, "how came my father by these things?" and they fell to looking and considering, till presently the queen espied a curtain of silk, whereon were these words written: "o my son, marvel not at these great riches, whereto i have won by dint of sore travail; but know that there existeth also another image whose worth is more than that of these [eight] images twenty times told. wherefore, an thou wouldst come thereby, get thee to cairo, where thou wilt find a slave of mine, by name mubarek, who will take thee and bring thee in company [ ] with the ninth image. when thou enterest cairo, the first man whom thou encounterest will direct thee to mubarek's house, for he is known in all egypt." [ ] when zein ul asnam read this inscription, he said, "o my mother, it is my wish to journey to cairo, so i may make search for the ninth image. tell me, how deemest thou of my dream? was it true or was it not? wilt thou still say [ ] to me, 'these be idle tales'? but i, o my mother, needs must i journey to cairo." "o my son," answered the queen, "since thou art under the safeguard of the apostle of god [ ] (whom god bless and keep), go thou in peace, and i [and] thy vizier, we will govern the realm in thine absence, against thou shalt return." so zein ul asnam went forth and equipping himself [for travel, set out] and journeyed till he came to cairo, where he enquired for mubarek's house and the folk said to him, "o my lord, this is a man than whom there is none richer in [all cairo]; no, nor is there a more abounding than he in bounty and beneficence, and his house is [still] open to the stranger." so they directed him thither and he went till he came to the house and knocked at the door; whereupon there came out to him one of mubarek's slaves and [ ] opening the door, said to him, "who art thou and what wiliest thou?" quoth zein ul asnam, "i am a stranger, a man from a far country, and i heard tell of your lord, mubarek, and how he is renowned for hospitality and beneficence; so i came to him, that i may be a guest with him." the slave entered and told his lord mubarek; then returned and said to zein ul asnam, "o my lord, blessing hath descended upon us in thy coming. [ ] enter, for my lord mubarek awaiteth thee." so zein ul asnam entered into a courtyard, exceeding spacious and all [full] of trees and waters, and the slave brought him into the pavilion [ ] where mubarek sat. when he entered, the latter arose forthright and coming to meet him, received him with cordiality and said to him, "blessing hath descended upon us and this night is the most auspicious of nights in thy coming to us! but who art thou, o youth, and whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?" the prince answered him, saying, "i am zein ul asnam and i seek mubarek, slave to the sultan of bassora, who died a year agone and whose son i am." "what sayst thou?" cried mubarek. "art thou the king's son of bassora?" "yea, verily," replied zein ul asnam; "i am his son." quoth mubarek, "nay, my lord the king of bassora left no son; but what is thine age, o youth?" "about twenty years," replied zein ul asnam. "and thou," added he, "how long is it since thou wentest out from my father's house?" "i went out eighteen years agone," answered mubarek. "but, o my son zein ul asnam, by what token canst thou certify me that thou art the son of my lord the king of bassora?" quoth zein ul asnam, "thou knowest that my father builded under his palace a vault and therein [a hall in which] he set forty [ ] jars of fine jade and filled them with ancient gold; [ ] and within this hall he made a second hall, wherein he placed eight images of precious stones, each wroughten of a single jewel and seated upon a throne of virgin gold. [ ] moreover, he wrote upon a curtain of silk there and i read the writ, whereby i found that he bade me come to thee, saying that thou wouldst acquaint me of the ninth image and where it is, the which, said he, was worth the eight, all of them." when mubarek heard these words, he threw himself at zein ul asnam's feet and fell to kissing them and saying, "pardon me, o my lord! verily, thou art the son of my lord." then said he to the prince, "o my lord, i make to-day a banquet unto all the chief men of cairo and i would fain have thy highness honour me [with thy presence] thereat." and zein ul asnam said, "with all my heart." [ ] so mubarek arose and foregoing zein ul asnam, brought him into the saloon, which was full of the chief men of cairo, assembled therein. there he sat down and seating the prince in the place of honour, called for the evening-meal. so they laid the tables and mubarek stood to serve zein ul asnam, with his hands clasped behind him [ ] and whiles seated upon his knees [and heels]. [ ] the notables of cairo marvelled at this, how mubarek, the chiefest of them, should serve the youth, and [ ] were sore amazed thereat, knowing not [who or] whence he was. but, after they had eaten and drunken and supped and were of good cheer, mubarek turned to the company and said to them, "o folk, marvel not that i serve this youth with all worship and assiduity, for that he is the son of my lord the sultan of bassora, whose slave i was, for that he bought me with his money and died without setting me free; wherefore it behoveth me serve my lord, and all that my hand possesseth of monies and gear is his, nor is anywhit thereof mine." when the notables of cairo heard this speech, they arose to zein ul asnam and did him exceeding great worship and saluted him with all reverence and prayed for him; [ ] and he said, "o company, i am before your presence and ye are witnesses [of that which i am about to do." then, turning to his host,] "o mubarek, [quoth he,] thou art free and all that is with thee of monies and gear appertaining unto us shall henceforth be thine and thou art altogether acquitted thereof [ ] and of every part thereof. moreover, do thou ask of me whatsoever thou desirest by way of boon, [ ] for that i will nowise gainsay thee in aught thou mayst seek." [ ] thereupon mubarek arose and kissed the prince's hand and thanked him, saying, "o my lord, i will nought of thee save that thou be well; for indeed the wealth that i have is exceeding abundant upon me." so zein ul asnam abode with mubarek four days and every day the chief men of cairo came to salute him, whenas it reached them that this was mubarek's lord, the sultan of bassora; then, after he was rested, he said to his host, "o mubarek, indeed the time is long upon me;" [ ] and mubarek said to him, "thou must know, o my lord, that this whereof thou art come in quest is a hard [ ] matter, nay, even unto danger of death, and i know not if thy fortitude may suffice thee for the achievement thereof." [ ] "know, o mubarek," rejoined zein ul asnam, "that wealth [is gotten] by blood [ ] and there betideth a man nought except by the will and foreordinance of the creator (to whom belong might and majesty ); so do thou take heart and concern not thyself on my account." accordingly mubarek forthright commended his slaves equip them for travel; so they made all ready and taking horse, journeyed days and nights in the foulest of deserts, [ ] witnessing daily things and matters which confounded their wits,--things such as never in their time had they seen,--until they drew near the place [of their destination]; whereupon they lighted down from their steeds and mubarek bade the slaves and servants abide there, saying to them, "keep watch over the beasts of burden and the horses till we return to you." then the twain set out together afoot and mubarek said to zein ul asnam, "o my lord, now behoveth fortitude, for that thou art in the land of the image whereof thou comest in quest." and they gave not over walking till they drew near a great lake and a wide, whereupon quoth mubarek to zein ul asnam, "know, o my lord, that there will presently come to us a little boat, bearing a blue flag and builded all with planks of sandal and comorin aloes-wood of price; and [thereanent] i have a charge to give thee, which it behoveth thee observe." "what is this charge?" asked the prince and mubarek said to him, "in this boat thou wilt see a boatman, [ ] but his make is monstrous; [ ] wherefore be thou ware and again, i say, beware lest thou speak aught, for that he will incontinent drown us; and know that this place appertaineth to the king of the jinn and that all thou seest is their handiwork." then [ ] they came to the lake and behold, a little boat with planks of sandal and comorin aloes-wood and in it a boatman, whose head was [as] the head of an elephant and the rest of his body [as that of] a wild beast. [ ] when he drew near them, he wrapped his trunk about them both and taking them with him into the boat, rowed out with them to the midst of the lake, then fared on with them [ ] till he brought them to the other shore, where they landed and walking on, saw there trees of ambergris [ ] and aloes and sandal-wood and cloves and jessamine, [ ] full-grown and laden with ripe fruits and flowers [ ] whose fragrance dilated the breast and cheered the spright; and there [they heard] the voices of the birds twittering their various notes and ravishing the wit with their warblings. so mubarek turned to zein ul asnam and said to him, "how deemest thou of this place, o my lord?" and the prince answered him, saying, "methinketh, o mubarek, this is the paradise which the prophet (whom god bless and keep) promised us withal." then they fared on till they came to a magnificent palace, builded all with stones of emerald and rubies, and its doors were of sheer gold. before it was a bridge, the length whereof was an hundred and fifty cubits and its breadth fifty cubits, and it was [wroughten] of the rib of a fish; whilst at the other end of the bridge were many warriors [ ] of the jinn, gruesome and terrible of aspect, and all of them bore in their hands javelins of steel that flashed in the sun like winter lightning. [ ] quoth zein ul asnam to mubarek, "this is a thing that taketh the wits;" and mubarek said to him, "it behoveth us abide in our place neither fare forward, lest a mischance betide us. o god, [vouchsafe us] safety!" therewith he brought out of his pocket four pieces of yellow silken stuff and girded himself with one thereof; the second he laid on his shoulders and gave zein ul asnam other two pieces, with which he girded himself [and covered his shoulders] on like wise. moreover, he spread before each of them a sash of white silk and bringing forth of his pocket precious stones and perfumes, such as ambergris and aloes-wood, (set them on the edges thereof) [ ] after which they sat down, each on his sash, and mubarek taught zein ul asnam these words, which he should say to the king of the jinn, to wit: "o my lord king of the jinn, we are in thy safeguard." and zein ul asnam said to him, "and i will instantly conjure him that he accept of us." then said mubarek, "o my lord, by allah, i am exceeding fearful. but now hearken; an he be minded to accept of us without hurt, he will come to us in the semblance of a man accomplished in grace and goodliness; but, an he have no mind to us, he will come to us in a gruesome and a frightful aspect. an thou see him surpassing in beauty, arise forthright and salute him, but beware lest thou overpass thy sash." and zein ul asnam said to him, "hearkening and obedience." "and be this thy salutation to him," continued mubarek; "thou shalt say, 'o king of the jinn and lord of the earth, my father, the sultan of bassora, the angel of death hath removed, as indeed is not hidden from thee. now thy grace was still wont to take my father under thy protection, and i come to thee likewise to put myself under thy safeguard, even as did he.' moreover, [ ] o my lord zein ul asnam," added he, "an the king of the jinn receive us with a cheerful favour, he will without fail ask thee and say to thee, 'seek of me that which thou wiliest and thou shalt forthright be given [it].' [ ] so do thou seek of him and say to him, 'o my lord, i crave of thy grace the ninth image, than which there is not the world a more precious; and indeed thy grace promised my father that thou wouldst give it to me."' having thus taught his lord how he should speak with the king of the jinn and seek of him the ninth image and how he should make his speech seemly and pleasant, mubarek fell to conjuring and fumigating and reciting words that might not be understanded; and no great while passed ere the world lightened [ ] and rain fell in torrents [ ] and it thundered and darkness covered the face of the earth; and after this there came a tempestuous wind and a voice like an earthquake of the earthquakes [ ] of the day of resurrection. when zein ul asnam saw these portents, his joints trembled and he was sore affrighted, for that he beheld a thing he had never in all his life seen nor heard. but mubarek laughed at him and said to him, "fear not, o my lord; this whereat thou art affrighted is that which we seek; nay, it is a presage of good to-us. so take heart and be of good cheer." after this there came a great clearness and serenity and there breathed pure and fragrant breezes; then, presently, behold, there appeared the king of the jinn in the semblance of a man comely of favour, there was none like unto him in his goodliness, save he who hath no like and to whom belong might and majesty. he looked on zein ul asnam and mubarek with a cheerful, smiling countenance; whereupon the prince arose forthright and proffered him his petition in the words which mubarek had taught him. the king of the jinn turned to him, smiling, and said to him, "o zein ul asnam, indeed i loved thy father the sultan of bassora, and i used, whenassoever he came to me, to give him an image of those which thou hast seen, each wroughten of a single jewel, and thou also shalt stand in thy father's stead with me and shalt find favour in mine eyes, even as did he, ay, and more. before he died, i caused him write the writ which thou sawest on the curtain of silk and promised him that i would take thee under my protection, even as himself, and would give thee the ninth image, which is more of worth than those which thou hast seen. now it is my intent to perform the promise which i made to thy father, that i would take thee under my protection, and [ ] [know that] i was the old man whom thou sawest in thy sleep and it was i bade thee dig in the palace for the vault wherein thou foundest the jars of gold and the images of jewels. i know also wherefore thou art come hither; nay, i am he that was the cause of thy coming, and i will give thee that which thou seekest, albeit i had not given it to thy father; but on condition that thou swear to me a solemn oath and abide me constant thereto, to wit, that thou wilt return and bring me a girl of the age of fifteen years, with whom there shall be none to match in loveliness, and she must be a clean maid, who shall never have lusted after man, nor shall man have lusted after her. moreover, thou must swear to me that thou wilt keep faith with her, coming, and beware lest thou play me false with her by the way." so zein ul asnam swore a solemn oath to him of this and said to him, "o my lord, indeed, thou honourest me with this service; but methinketh it will be hard to find a girl like this. nay, supposing i find a damsel fifteen years of age and beautiful exceedingly, according to thy grace's requirement, how shall i know that she hath never in her time lusted after man nor hath man lusted after her?" "o zein ul asnam," replied the king of the jinn, "thou art in the right and certain it is that this knowledge is a thing unto which the sons of man may not avail; but i will give thee a mirror of my fashion, and when thou seest a girl and her beauty pleaseth thee and her grace, do thou open this mirror that i shall give thee, and if thou find her image therein clear and bright, thou shalt know forthright that she is pure without default and that all good qualities are in her; so do thou take her for me. if thou find her image in the mirror other than this, to wit, an it be troubled and clothed with uncleanness, know that the girl is sullied and beware of her; but, an thou find one such as she whose qualities i have set out to thee, bring her to me and watch over her [by the way;] yet beware and again i say, beware of treason and bethink thee that, an thou keep not faith with me, thou wilt assuredly lose thy life." so zein ul asnam made with him a stable and abiding covenant, the covenant of the sons of kings, that he would keep the plighted faith and never play him false, but [ ] would bring him the damsel with all continence. then the king of the jinn delivered him the mirror and said to him, "o my son, take this mirror whereof i bespoke thee, and now depart." accordingly zein ul asnam and mubarek arose and calling down blessings upon the king, returned upon their steps till they came to the lake, where they sat a little and behold, up came the boat which had brought them and the genie rowing therein, whose head was as [ ] the head of an elephant. now this was by the commandment of the king of the jinn; so they embarked with the genie and crossed with him to the other shore; after which they returned to cairo and entering mubarek's house, abode there awhile till they were rested from the fatigue of the journey. then zein ul asnam turned to mubarek and said to him, "come, let us go to the city of baghdad, so we may seek for a girl who shall be according to the requirement of the king of the jinn." and mubarek said to him, "o my lord, we are in cairo, the city of cities and the wonder of the world. [ ] i shall without fail find a girl here and it needeth not that we go to a far city." "thou sayst sooth, o mubarek," rejoined the prince; "but how shall we set about the matter and how shall we do to come by [ ] a girl like this and who shall go seeking her for us?" "o my lord," replied mubarek, "concern not thyself [ ] for that, for i have with me here an old woman (upon her, [to speak] figuratively, [ ] be the malediction [of god] [ ]) who is a mistress of wiles and craft and guile and not to be baulked by any hindrance, however great." then he sent to fetch the old woman and telling her that he wanted a damsel fifteen years old and fair exceedingly, so he might marry her to the son of his lord, promised her largesse galore, an she did her utmost endeavour in the matter; whereupon, "o my lord," answered she, "be easy; i will accomplish unto thee thy desire beyond thy wish; for that under my hand are damsels unpeered in grace and goodliness and all of them daughters of men of condition." but, o king of the time, [ ] the old woman had no knowledge of the affair of the mirror. then she arose and went out to go round about in the city and to run along its ways, [ ] seeking [ ] the girl for prince zein ul asnam, and whenassoever she saw a fair damsel, accomplished in beauty, she proceeded to bring her to mubarek; but, when he looked at her in the mirror, he would see her image troubled exceedingly and would leave her; so that the old woman brought him all the damsels of cairo, but there was not found among them one whose image in the mirror was clear; wherefore he bethought him to go to baghdad, since he found not one in cairo who pleased him [or] who was a clean maid, like as the king of the jinn had enjoined him. so he arose and equipping himself, [set out and] journeyed, he and zein ul asnam, till they came to the city of baghdad, where they hired them a magnificent palace amiddleward the city and took up their abode therein. there the chief men of the city used to come to them every day and sat at their table, even to the comer and goer by night and by day. [ ] moreover, when there remained aught from their table, they distributed it to the poor and the afflicted and all the strangers in the mosques [ ] would come and eat with them. so the report was noised abroad in the land of their generosity and bounty and they became in high repute and fair fame throughout all baghdad, nor did any talk but of zein ul asnam and his bounty and wealth. now it chanced that in one of the mosques was an imam, [ ] corrupt, envious and despiteful in the extreme, and his lodging was near the palace wherein mubatek and zein ul asnam had taken up their abode. when he heard of their bounty and generosity and of the goodliness of their repute, envy get hold upon him and jealousy of them, and he fell to bethinking himself how he should do, so he might bring some calamity upon them and despoil them of that their fair fortune, for it is of the wont of envy that it falleth not but upon the rich. so, one day of the days, as he stood in the mosque, after the mid-afternoon prayer, he came forward into the midst of the folk and said, "o my brethren, o ye of the true faith, ye who ascribe unity to god, know that in this our quarter there be two men dwelling, strangers, and most like you are acquainted with them. now these twain spend and squander wealth galore, passing all measure, and in my belief they are none other than thieves and highwaymen and are come hither with that which they stole from their own country, so they may squander it." then [ ] "o people of mohammed," added he, "i rede you for god's sake keep yourselves from these tricksters, [ ] lest belike the khalif come presently to know of these two men and ye also fall with them into calamity. now i have warned you and i wash my hands of your affair, for that i have forewarned and awakened you; so do that which you deem well." and they said to him, all who were present, with one voice, "we will do whatsoever thou wiliest, o aboubekr!" when the imam heard this from them, he arose and taking inkhorn and pen and paper, fell to writing a letter to the commander of the faithful, setting forth to him [the case] against zein ul asnam and mubarek. now, as destiny willed it, the latter chanced to be in the mosque among the folk and heard the accursed imam's discourse and that which he did by way of writing the letter to the khalif; whereupon he tarried not, but, returning home forthwith, took an hundred diners and made him a parcel of price, all of silken clothes, [ ] wherewith he betook himself in haste to aboubekr's house and knocked at the door. the imam came out to him and opened the door; and when he saw him, he asked him surlily who he was and what he would; whereupon quoth the other, "o my lord the imam aboubekr, i am thy slave mubarek and i come to thee on the part of my lord the amir zein ul asnam. he hath heard of thy learning and of the excellence of thy repute in the city and would fain become acquainted with thee and do that which behoveth unto thee; wherefore he hath presently sent me with these things and this money for thine expenses and hopeth of thee that thou wilt not blame him, inasmuch as this is little for thy worth, but hereafter, god willing, he will not fail of that which is due unto thee." aboubekr looked at [the coins and] at their impress and yellowness [ ] and at the parcel of clothes and said to mubarek, "o my lord, [i crave] pardon of thy lord the amir, for that i am presently abashed before him [ ] and it irketh me sore that i have not done my duty towards him; [ ] but i hope of thee that thou wilt intercede with him on my behalf, so he may of his favour pardon me my default; and (the creator willing) i will to-morrow do that which behoveth me and will go do my service to him [ ] and proffer him the respect which is due from me to him." "o my lord aboubekr," replied mubarek, "the extreme of my lord's desire is to look upon thy worship, so he may be honoured by thy presence and get of thee a blessing." so saying, he kissed the imam's hand and returned to his lodging. on the morrow, whilst aboubekr was [engaged] in the friday prayers at dawn, he stood up amongst the folk, in the midst of the mosque, and said, "o our brethren of the muslims and people of mohammed, all of you, verily envy falleth not save upon the rich and the noble and passeth by the poor and those of low estate. know that of the two stranger men against whom i spoke yesterday one is an amir, a man of great rank and noble birth, and the case is not as certain of the envious [ ] informed me concerning him, to wit, that he was a thief and a robber; for i have enquired into the matter and find that the report lieth. so beware lest any of you missay of the amir or speak aught of evil against him, such as that which i heard yesterday, or you will cause me and yourselves fall into the gravest of calamities with the commander of the faithful; for that a man of high degree like this cannot sojourn in the city of baghdad without the khalif's knowledge." on [ ] this wise, then, the imam aboubekr did away from the minds of the folk the ill thought [ ] which he had planted [there] by his speech concerning zein ul asnam. moreover, when he had made an end of the prayers, he returned to his own house and donned his gabardine; then, weightening his skirts and lengthening his sleeves, [ ] he went forth and took his way to the prince's house. when he came in to zein ul asnam, the latter rose to him and received him with the utmost reverence. now he was by nature religious, [ ] for all he was a youth of tender age; so he proffered the imam all manner of honour and seating him by his side on a high divan, let bring him coffee with ambergris. then the servants spread the table for breakfast and they took their sufficiency of meat and drink, and when they had finished, they fell to talking and making merry together. presently the imam asked the prince and said to him, "o my lord zein ul asnam, doth your highness purpose to sojourn long here in baghdad?" "yea, verily, o our lord the imam," answered zein ul asnam; "my intent is to sojourn here awhile, till such time as my requirement be accomplished." "and what," asked aboubekr, "is the requirement of my lord the amir? belike, an i know it, i may avail to further him to his wish, though i sacrifice my life for him." [ ] and the prince said to him, "i seek a damsel fifteen years of age and fair exceedingly, that i may marry her; but she must be pure and chaste and a clean maid, whom no man hath anywise defiled nor in all her life hath she thought upon a man; [ ] and she must be unique in grace and goodliness." "o my lord," rejoined the imam, "this is a thing exceeding hard to find; but i know a damsel unique in her loveliness and her age is fifteen years. her father was a vizier, who resigned office of his own motion, and he abideth presently at home in his palace and is exceeding jealous over his daughter and her bringing up. [ ] methinketh this damsel will suit your highness's mind, and she will rejoice in an amir like your highness, as also will her parents." quoth zein ul asnam, "god willing, this damsel whereof thou speakest will answer my requirement and the accomplishment of our desire shall be at thy hands; [ ] but, o our lord the imam, before all things my wish is to see her, so i may know an she be chaste or not. as for her beauty, i am assured of [ ] your worship's sufficiency and am content to trust to your word concerning her loveliness, to wit, that she is surpassing; but, for her chastity, you cannot avail to testify with certitude of her case." "and how," asked the imam, "can it be possible unto you, o my lord the amir, to know from her face that she is pure? an this be so, your highness is skilled in physiognomy. however, an your highness will vouchsafe to accompany me, i will carry you to her father's palace and make you known to the latter, and he shall bring her before you." accordingly, [ ] the imam aboubekr took zein ul asnam and carried him to the vizier's house; and when they went in to him, the vizier rose and welcomed the prince, especially when he knew that he was an amir and understood from the imam that he wished to marry his daughter. so he let bring the damsel before him, and when she came, he bade her raise the veil from her face. accordingly she unveiled herself and zein ul asnam, looking upon her, was amazed at her grace and goodliness, for that never had he seen one to match with her in beauty; and he said in himself, "i wonder if i shall [ ] happen upon one like this damsel, since it is forbidden that she should be mine!" then he brought out the mirror from his pocket and looked thereon; when, behold, its crystal was clear exceedingly, as it were virgin silver; and he observed her image in the mirror and saw it like a white dove. so he forthright concluded the match and sent for the cadi and the witnesses, who wrote the writ [ ] and enthroned the bride; [ ] after which zein ul asnam took the vizier, the bride's father, home with him to his house and sent the young lady jewels of great price. then they celebrated the wedding and held high festival, never was the like thereof, whilst zein ul asnam proceeded to entertain the folk and made them banquets for the space of eight days. moreover, he honoured aboubekr the imam and gave him gifts galore and brought the vizier, the bride's father, presents and great rarities. then, the wedding festivities being ended, mubarek said to zein ul asnam, "come, o my lord, let us set out on our way, lest we waste the time in sloth, now we have found that whereof we were in search." and the prince answered him, saying, "thou art in the right." so mubarek arose and fell to equipping them for the journey; moreover, he let make the young lady a camel-litter [ ] with a travelling couch, [ ] and they set out. but mubarek knew that zein ul asnam was sunken deep in love of the damsel; so he took him and said to him, "o my lord zein ul asnam, i would fain remind thee to watch over thyself; nay, again i say, have a care and keep the faith which thou plightedst to the king of the jinn." "o mubarek," answered the prince, "an thou knewest the transport which possesseth me for the love of this young lady [ ] and how i still think of nothing but of taking her to bassora and going in [to her]!" and mubarek said to him, "nay, o my lord; keep thy troth and play not the traitor to thine oath, lest there befall thee a sore calamity and thou lose thy life and the young lady lose hers also. bethink thee of the oath which thou sworest and let not lust get the mastery over thine understanding, lest thou lose guerdan [ ] and honour and life." "o mubarek," rejoined zein ul asnam, "keep thou watch over her thyself and let me not see her." so [ ] mubarek fell to keeping watch and ward over the bride in the prince's stead and guarded the latter also, lest he should look on her; and so they journeyed on past the road leading unto egypt and fared on their way to the island of the jinn. when the bride beheld the journey (and indeed it was long upon her) and saw not her husband in all this time since the night of the bridal, she turned to mubarek and said to him, "god upon thee, o mubarek, tell me, i conjure thee by the life of thy lord the amir, are we yet far from the dominions [ ] of my bridegroom, the amir zein ul asnam?" and he said to her, "alack, o my lady, it irketh me for thee and i will discover to thee that which is hidden. to wit, thou deemest that zein ul asnam, king of bassora, is thy bridegroom. far be it! [ ] he is not thy bridegroom. the writing of the writ of his marriage with thee [ ] was but a pretext before thy parents and the folk; and now thou art going for a bride to the king of the jinn, who sought thee from the amir zein ul asnam." when the young lady heard these words, she fell a-weeping and zein ul asnam heard her and fell a-weeping also, a sore weeping, of the excess of his love for her. and she said to them, "is there no pity in you and no clemency and have you no fear of god, that i, a stranger maid, you cast me into a calamity like this? what answer will you give unto god [ ] concerning this treason that you have wroughten with me?" but her weeping and her words availed her nothing, and they ceased not to fare on with her till they came to the king of the jinn, to whom they straightway presented her. when he beheld her, she pleased him and he turned to zein ul asnam and said to him. "verily, the girl whom thou hast brought me is exceeding in beauty and surpassing in loveliness; but the goodliness of thy loyalty and shine overmastering of thyself for my sake is fairer than she in mine eyes. so return now to thy place and the ninth image that thou seekest of me thou shalt find, on thy return, beside the other images; for i will send it to thee by one of my slaves of the jinn." accordingly, zein ul asnam kissed the king's hand and returned with mubarek to cairo; but, when they came thither, he chose not to abide with mubarek longer than a resting-while, of the excess of his longing and his yearning to see the ninth image. withal he ceased not from mourning, bethinking him of the young lady and her grace and goodliness; and he fell to lamenting and saying, "alas for the loss of my delights that were because of thee, o pearl of beauty and loveliness, thou whom i took from thy parents and presented to the king of the jinn! alack, the pity of it!" and [ ] he chid himself for the deceit and the perfidy which he had practised upon the young lady's parents and how he had brought her to the king of the jinn. then he set out and gave not over journeying till he came to bassora and entering his palace, saluted his mother and told her all that had befallen him; whereupon quoth she to him, "arise, o my son, so thou mayst [ ] see this ninth image, for that i am exceeding rejoiced at its presence with us." so they both descended into the underground hall, wherein were the eight images, and found there a great marvel; to wit, instead of the ninth image, they beheld the young lady, resembling the sun in her loveliness. the prince knew her, when he saw her, and she said to him, "marvel not to find me here in place of that which thou soughtest; methinketh thou wilt not repent thee an thou take me in the stead of the ninth image." "no, by allah, oh my beloved!" replied zein ul asnam, "for that thou art the end of my seeking and i would not exchange thee for all the jewels in the world. didst thou but know the grief which possessed me for thy separation, thou whom i took from thy parents by fraud and brought thee to the king of the jinn!" [ ] scarce had the prince made an end of his speech when they heard a noise of thunder rending the mountains and shaking the earth and fear get hold upon the queen, the mother of zein ul asnam, yea, and sore trembling; but, after a little, the king of the jinn appeared and said to her, "o lady, fear not, it is i who am thy son's protector and i love him with an exceeding love for the love his father bore me. nay, i am he who appeared to him in his sleep and in this i purposed to try his fortitude, whether or not he might avail to subdue himself for loyalty's sake. indeed the beauty of this young lady beguiled him and he could not avail to keep his covenant with me so strictly but [ ] that he desired her for his bride. however, i know the frailty of human nature and withal i think greatly of him that he guarded her and kept her unsullied and withdrew himself from her; [ ] wherefore i accept this his constancy and bestow her on him as a bride. she is the ninth image, which i promised him should be with him, and certes she is fairer than all these images of jewels, inasmuch as her like is rarely found in the world." then the king of the jinn turned to zein ul asnam and said to him, "o prince zein ul asnam, this is thy bride; take her and go in to her, on condition that thou love her and take not unto her a second [wife]; and i warrant thee of the goodliness of her fidelity to-thee-ward." therewithal he vanished from them and zein ul asnam went out, glad and rejoicing in the young lady; [ ] and of [the excess of] his love for her he went in to her that night and let celebrate the bridal and hold high festival in all the kingdom. then he abode upon the throne of his kingship, judging and commanding and forbidding, whilst his bride became queen of bassora; and after a little his mother died. so he made her funeral obsequies [ ] and mourned for her; after which he lived with his bride in all content till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of societies. alaeddin and the enchanted lamp. [ ] there [ ] was [once] in a city of the cities of china a man, a tailor and poor, and he had a son by name alaeddin, who was perverse and graceless from his earliest childhood. when he came to ten years of age, his father would fain have taught him his own craft, for that, because he was poor, he could not spend money upon him to have him taught [another] trade or art [ ] or the like; [ ] so he carried him to his shop, that he might teach him his craft of tailoring; but, forasmuch as the lad was perverse and wont still to play with the boys of the quarter, [ ] he would not sit one day in the shop; nay, he would watch his father till such time as he went forth the place to meet a customer [ ] or on some other occasion, when he would flee forth incontinent and go out to the gardens with the good-for-nothing lads like himself. this, then, was his case, [ ] and he would not obey his parents, nor would he learn a craft. his father sickened of his grief and chagrin for his son's perversity and died, whilst alaeddin abode on that his wise. when his mother saw that her husband had departed this life [ ] and that her son was a scapegrace and a good-for-nought, she sold the shop and all she found therein and fell to spinning cotton and feeding herself and her graceless son alaeddin with her toil. the latter, seeing himself quit of his father's danger, [ ] redoubled in his gracelessness and his perversity and would not abide in their house save eating-whiles; and his poor wretched mother supported him [ ] by the spinning of her hands till he came to fifteen years of age. one [ ] day of the days, as he sat in the street, playing with the vagabond boys, behold, a maugrabin [ ] dervish came up and stopping to look at the lads, singled out alaeddin from his comrades and fell to gazing upon him and straitly considering his favour. now this dervish was from the land of hither barbary [ ] and he was an enchanter who would cast mountain upon mountain with his sorcery and was skilled to boot in physiognomy. [ ] when he had well considered alaeddin, he said in himself, "certes, this boy is he whom i seek and he it is in quest of whom i came forth from my country." so he took one of the lads apart and asked him of alaeddin, whose son he was, and questioned him of all his affairs; after which he went up to alaeddin and taking him aside, said to him, "harkye, boy, art thou not the son of such an one the tailor?" and he answered him, saying "yes, o my lord; but my father died awhile agone." when the maugrabin magician heard this, he threw himself upon alaeddin and embracing him, fell to kissing him and weeping, that his tears ran down upon his cheek. alaeddin was astonished at the maugrabin's behaviour; so he asked him and said to him, "what is the cause of thy weeping, o my lord, and whence knewest thou my father?" the maugrabin answered him, in a mournful, broken voice, [ ] saying, "how, o my son, canst thou ask me this question, after telling me that thy father, my brother, is dead, for thy father was [indeed] my brother [ ] and i am newly come from my country and was rejoicing exceedingly, after this my strangerhood, of my expectation that i should see him and solace myself with him; [ ] and now thou tellest me that he is dead! marry, blood discovered unto me that [ ] thou wast the son of my brother, and indeed i knew thee from amongst all the lads; although thy father, when i left him, was not yet married. and [ ] now, o my son alaeddin," continued he, "i have lost my consolation [ ] and my joy in thy father, my brother, whom i had hoped, after my strangerhood, to see ere i died; but separation hath afflicted me in him [ ] and there is no fleeing from that which is [ ] nor is there any resource against the ordinance of god the most high." then he took alaeddin and said to him, "o my son, i have no comfort [ ] but in thee [ ] and thou art [to me] in the stead of thy father, since thou art his successor and whoso leaveth [a successor] is not dead, o my son." with this he put his hand [to his pocket] and bringing out ten diners, gave them to alaeddin, saying, "o my son, where is your house and where is thy mother, my brother's wife?" so alaeddin took him and showed him the way to their house; and the magician said to him, "o my son, take these monies and give them to thy mother and salute her on my behalf and tell her that thine uncle is come back from his strangerhood; and god willing, to-morrow i will come visit you, so i may salute her and look upon the house wherein my brother dwelt and see where his tomb is." [ ] alaeddin kissed his hand and hastened home, running in his joy, to his mother and entered, contrary to his wont, for that he was not used to go in to her save at eating-times. so he went in to her, rejoicing, and said to her, "o my mother, i bring thee glad news of my uncle, in that he is come back from his absence, and he saluteth thee." "o my son," quoth she, "meseemeth thou makest mock of me. who is thine uncle and whence hast thou an uncle on life?" and he said to her, "o my mother, why didst thou tell me that i had no uncles and no kinsfolk on life? indeed, this man is my uncle and he embraced me and kissed me, weeping, and bade me tell thee of this." and she answered him, saying, "yes, o my son, i knew thou hadst an uncle, but he is dead and i know not that thou hast a second uncle." as [ ] for the maugrabin enchanter, he went forth at dawn and fell to searching for [ ] alaeddin, for that he might not brook parting from him; [ ] and as he went about in the thoroughfares of the city, he came upon the lad, who was playing with the vagabonds, as of his wont. so he went up to him and taking him by the hand, embraced him and kissed him; then he brought out of his purse two diners and said to alaeddin, "go to thy mother and give her these two diners and say to her, 'my uncle would fain sup with us; so take these two diners and make a good supper.' but first show me once more the way to your house." "on my head and eyes, o my uncle," answered alaeddin and foregoing him, showed him the way to the house. then the maugrabin left him and went his way, whilst alaeddin returned home and telling his mother [what had passed], gave her the two diners and said to her, "my uncle would fain sup with us." so she arose forthright and went out to the market, where she bought all that was needful and returning home, borrowed of her neighbours that which she required of platters and the like and proceeded to make ready for supper. when the time of the evening-meal came, she said to alaeddin, "o my son, the supper [ ] is ready and maybe shine uncle knoweth not the way to the house. go thou and meet him." and he answered her with "hearkening and obedience." but, whilst they were in talk, behold, there came a knocking at the door; whereupon alaeddin went out and opening, found the maugrabin enchanter, and with him a slave bearing wine and fruits. so he brought them in and the slave went his way, whilst the maugrabin entered and saluted alaeddin's mother; then he fell a-weeping and said to her, "where is the place in which my brother was wont to sit?" she pointed him to her husband's sitting-place, whereupon he went thither and prostrating himself, fell to kissing the earth and saying, "alas, how scant is my delight and how sorry my fortune, since i have lost thee, o my brother and apple [ ] of mine eye!" and the abode on this wise, weeping and lamenting, till alaeddin's mother was certified that he was in earnest and that he was like to swoon of the excess of his wailing and his lamentation. so she came to him and raised him from the ground, saying, "what profiteth it that thou shouldst kill thyself?" and [ ] she proceeded to comfort him and made him sit down. then, before she laid the table, the maugrabin fell to relating to her [his history] and said to her, "o wife of my brother, let it not amaze thee that in all thy days thou never sawest me neither knewest of me in my late brother's lifetime, for that i left this country forty years agone and became an exile from my native land. i journeyed to the lands of hind and sind and all the country of the arabs and coming presently into egypt, sojourned awhile in the magnificent city [of cairo], which is the wonder of the world. [ ] ultimately i betook myself to the land of hither barbary [ ] and sojourned there thirty years' space, [ ] till one day of the days, as i sat, [ ] o wife of my brother, i bethought me of my country and my native place and of my late brother and longing waxed on me to see him and i fell a-weeping and lamenting over my strangerhood and distance from him. in fine, my yearning for him importuned me till i resolved to journey to this country, the which was the falling-place of my head [ ] and my native land, that i might see my brother. and i said in myself, "o man, how long wilt thou be an exile [ ] from thy country and thy native place, whenas thou hast an only brother and no more? arise and journey and look upon him ere thou die. who knoweth the calamities of fate and the vicissitudes of the days? sore pity 'twere that thou shouldst die and not see thy brother. moreover, allah (praised be he) hath given thee abundant wealth and it may be thy brother is in poor case and straitened, and thou wilt help him, an [ ] thou see him." so i arose forthright and equipped myself for travel; then, reciting the fatiheh [ ], i took horse, after the friday prayer, and came, after many hardships and fatigues,--which i suffered, till the lord (to whom belong might and majesty) protected [me],--to this city. i entered it and as i went about its thoroughfares the day before yesterday, i saw my brother's son alaeddin playing with the boys; and by allah the great, o wife of my brother, when i saw him, my heart crave to him, for that blood yearneth unto blood, and my soul foreboded me he was my brother's son. at his sight i forgot all my toils and troubles and was like to fly for joy; then, when he told me that my late brother had departed to the mercy of god the most high, i swooned away for stress of grief and chagrin; and most like he hath told thee of that which overcame me. [ ] but i comforted myself somewhat with alaeddin, who standeth in stead of [ ] the departed, for that whoso leaveth [a successor] [ ] dieth not." then, [ ] when he saw her weeping at this speech, he turned to alaeddin, by way of making her forget the mention of her husband and feigning to comfort her, so he might the better accomplish his device upon her, and said to him, "o my son alaeddin, what hast thou learned of crafts and what is thy business? hast thou learned thee a trade whereby thou mayst live, thou and thy mother?" at this alaeddin was confounded and abashed and hung down his head, bowing it to the ground, whilst his mother said to the maugrabin, "how? by allah, he knoweth nought at all! so graceless a lad i never saw. all day long he goeth about with the vagabond boys of the quarter like himself; nay, his father, woe is me, died not but of his chagrin concerning him; and now, as for me, my case is woeful. i spin cotton and toil night and day, to earn two cakes of bread, that we may eat them together. this, then, is his condition, o my brother-in-law, and by thy life, he cometh not in to me save at eating-times, and i am thinking to bolt the door of my house and not open to him and let him go seek his living for himself, for that i am grown an old woman and have no strength left to toil and provide for the maintenance of a fellow like this. [ ] by allah, i get mine own livelihood, i that need one who shall maintain me." [ ] therewithal the maugrabin turned to alaeddin and said to him, "how is this, o son of my brother? it is a disgrace to thee to go vagabonding about in this abjection. this befitteth not men like thee. thou art gifted with understanding, o my son, and the child of [reputable] folk; [ ] i and it is a shame upon thee that thy mother, who is an old woman, should toil for thy maintenance, now thou art grown a man. nay, it behoveth thee get thee some means whereby thou mayst maintain thyself, o my son. see, by god's grace, (praised be he) here in our city be masters of crafts, nowhere is there a place more abounding in them: choose, then, the craft which pleaseth thee and i will establish thee therein, so that, when thou growest up, o my son, thou mayst find thee thy craft whereby thou shalt live. belike thou hast no mind to thy father's trade; so choose other than it. tell me the craft which pleaseth thee and i will help thee in all that is possible, o son of my brother." then, seeing that alaeddin was silent and answered him nothing, he knew that he had no mind to any craft at all and recked of nothing but vagabondage and said to him, "o son of my brother, be not abashed at me; [ ] if so be withal [ ] thou caress not to learn a trade, i will open thee a merchant's shop of the costliest stuffs and thou shalt make thyself acquainted with [ ] the folk [ ] and shalt give and take and sell and buy and become known in the city." when alaeddin heard these words of his uncle the maugrabin, to wit, that it was his intent to make him a merchant, [ ] a trader, [ ] he rejoiced exceedingly, well knowing that all merchants' apparel is neat and elegant; [ ] so he looked at the maugrabin and smiled and bowed his head, as who should say, "i am content." the [ ] magician, seeing him smile, knew that he was content to be a merchant and said to him, "since thou art content that i should make thee a merchant and open thee a shop, be a man, o son of my brother, and to-morrow, god willing, i will take thee first to the market and let cut thee an elegant suit of clothes such as merchants wear; and after that i will look thee out a shop and perform my promise to thee." now alaeddin's mother was in some little doubt as to the maugrabin; but, when she heard his promise to her son that he would open him a shop as a merchant with stuffs and capital and what not else, she concluded that he was in very deed her brother-in-law, inasmuch as a stranger would not do thus with her son. so she fell to admonishing her son and exhorting him to put away ignorance and folly from his head and be a man, and bade him still yield obedience to his uncle, as he were his father, and apply himself to make up the time which he had wasted in idleness [with] those who were like him, after which she arose and laying the table, spread the evening-meal and they all sat down and fell to eating and drinking, whilst the maugrabin talked with alaeddin upon matters of merchandry and the like. then, when he saw that the night was far spent, [ ] he arose and went to his lodging, promising to return in the morning and take alaeddin, so he might let cut him a merchant's suit. alaeddin slept not that night for joy and when it was morning, behold, the maugrabin knocked at the door. the lad's mother arose and opened to him; however, he would not enter, but sought alaeddin, that he might take him with him to the market. so alaeddin went out to him and gave him good-morning and kissed his hand; whereupon the maugrabin took him by the hand and going with him to the market, entered the shop of a seller of all manner of clothes and demanded a suit of costly stuffs. the merchant brought him what he sought, all sewn and ready, and the maugrabin said to alaeddin, "choose that which pleaseth thee, o my son." alaeddin rejoiced exceedingly, when he saw that his uncle gave him his choice, and chose clothes to his mind, such as pleased him. the maugrabin at once paid the merchant their price and going out, carried alaeddin to the bath, where they bathed and came forth and drank wine. [ ] then alaeddin arose and donned the new suit; whereat he rejoiced and was glad and coming up to his uncle, kissed his hand and thanked him for his bounties. after [ ] this the maugrabin carried him to the bazaar of the merchants and showed him the market and the selling and buying and said to him, "o my son, it behoveth thee consort with the folk, especially with the merchants, so thou mayst learn of them merchandry, since this is become thy craft." then he took him again and showed him the city and the mosques and all the sights of the place; after which he carried him to a cook's shop, where the morning-meal was set before them in silver platters. so they ate and drank till they had enough and going forth, fared on, whilst the maugrabin proceeded to show alaeddin the pleasaunces and fine buildings, [ ] going in with him to the sultan's palace and showing him all the fair and fine quarters [ ] [of the city]; after which he carried him to the khan of the stranger merchants, where he himself lodged. and invited certain of the merchants who were in the khan. accordingly they came and sat down to supper, and he informed them that this was his brother's son and that his name was alaeddin. then, after they had eaten and drunken, the night being now come, the maugrabin arose and taking alaeddin, carried him back to his mother. when she saw her son as he were one of the merchants, her wit fled [and she waxed] sorrowful for gladness and fell to extolling the maugrabin's bounty and saying to him, "o my brother-in-law, i might not suffice [to thy deserts,] though i thanked thee all my life long and praised thee for the good thou hast done with my son." "o wife of my brother," answered he, "this is no manner of kindness in me, [ ] for that this is my son and it behoveth me stand in the stead of my brother his father; so be thou easy." quoth she, "i pray god, by the glory of the ancients [ ] and the moderns, that he let thee [live] and continue thee, o my brother-in-law, and prolong me thy life, so thou mayst be [as] a wing [ ] to this orphan boy; and he shall still be under thine obedience and thy commandment and shall do nought but that which thou biddest him." "o wife of my brother," rejoined the maugrabin, "alaeddin is a man of understanding and [the son of] decent folk, and my hope is in god that he will follow in his father's footsteps and be the solace of shine eyes; [ ] but it irketh me that, to-morrow being friday, i cannot open him a shop. it being congregation day, all the merchants will go out after prayers to the gardens and pleasaunces; but, god willing, on saturday, an it please the creator, we will do our business. tomorrow i will come to you and take alaeddin, that i may show him the gardens and pleasaunces without the city,--it may be he hath not yet seen them,--and he shall see the merchant-folk and the notables a-pleasuring there, so he may become acquainted with them and they with him." [ ] the [ ] maugrabin lay the night in his lodging; and on the morrow he came to the tailor's house and knocked at the door. alaeddin--of the excess of his joy in the clothes he had donned and of the pleasures he had enjoyed on the past day, what with the bath and eating and drinking and viewing the folk and the thought that his uncle was coming in the morning to take him and show him the gardens--slept not that night neither closed an eye and thought the day would never break. [ ] so, when he heard a knocking at the door, he went out at once in haste, like a spark of fire, and opening, found his uncle the maugrabin. the latter embraced him and kissed him and took him by the hand, saying, "o son of my brother, to-day i will show thee a thing such as thou never sawest in thy life." then they went off together and the maugrabin fell to making merry with [ ] alaeddin and amusing him with familiar talk. they went forth the gate of the city and the maugrabin proceeded to walk with him among the gardens and to show him the fine pleasaunces and marvellous high-builded palaces; and whenassoever they looked upon a garden or a palace [ ] or a pavilion, [ ] he would stand and say to alaeddin, "doth this please thee, o my son alaeddin?" alaeddin was like to fly for joy, inasmuch as he saw that which he had never in his life seen, and they gave not over walking and gazing till they were weary, when they entered a fine garden there, that cheered the heart and brightened the eye with its springs [ ] welling up among flowers and its waters issuing from the mouths of lions of brass like unto gold, and sitting down by a lake, rested awhile. as for alaeddin, he rejoiced and was exceeding glad and fell a-jesting with the mangrabin and making merry with him, as he were his uncle in very deed. then the latter arose and loosing his girdle, brought out therefrom a bag full of victual and fruit and the like and said to alaeddin, "o son of my brother, thou art maybe anhungred; come, eat what thou wilt." so alaeddin proceeded to eat and the maugrabin with him and they were gladdened and refreshed and their souls were cheered. then said the maugrabin, "rise, o my son, an thou be rested, so we may walk a little and fare onward." [ ] so alaeddin arose and the maugrabin walked on with him from garden to garden till they had passed them all and came to a high mountain. [ ] now alaeddin had never gone forth the gate of the city nor in all his life had he walked the like of that walk; so he said to the maugrabin, "o my uncle, whither are we going? see, we have left all the gardens behind us and are come to the foot of a mountain. [ ] if the way be [yet] far, i have no strength left me for walking, for that i am worn out with fatigue and there remain no more gardens before us; so let us turn back and return to the city." "o my son," replied the maugrabin, "this is the way and the gardens are not yet at an end, for we are going [ ] to view a garden, whose like is not with the kings and compared with which all these which thou hast seen are as nothing. so gird up thy loins [ ] for walking; praised be god, thou art a man." and he fell to amusing him with fair words and telling him rare stories, true and false, till they reached the place at which this maugrabin enchanter aimed and in quest whereof he was come from barbary [ ] to the land of china; whereupon, "o son of my brother," quoth he to alaeddin, "sit and rest thee; this is the place for which we were making; and now, please god, i will show thee marvellous things, the like whereof no one in the world hath seen, nor hath any looked upon that which thou art about to behold. but [ ] do thou, after thou art rested, arise and seek sticks and grass and reeds and such like matters as are small and dry, so we may kindle a fire, and i will cause thee look, o son of my brother, upon a thing which passeth understanding." [ ] when alaeddin heard this, he yearned to see what his uncle was about to do; so he forgot his fatigue and rising forthright, fell to gathering brushwood and dry sticks and gathered till the maugrabin said to him, "enough, o son of my brother." then he brought out of his pocket a casket, from which he took what he needed of perfumes, and proceeded to make fumigations and conjurations, speaking words that might not be understanded; and straightway it darkened and thundered and the earth quaked and opened. at this alaeddin was sore affrighted and would have fled; which when the maugrabin enchanter saw, he was exceeding, incensed at him, for that without alaeddin his labour was of none avail, since the treasure whereat he sought to come might not be opened save by means of the lad. so, when he saw him offer to flee, he rose to him and lifting his hand, smote him on his head, that he came nigh to knock out his teeth; whereupon alaeddin swooned away and fell upon the earth; but, after a little, he recovered his senses, by the virtue of the maugrabin's enchantments, and falling a-weeping, said to him, "o my uncle, what have i done to deserve from thee this blow?" the maugrabin proceeded to soothe him and said to him, "o my son, it is my desire to make thee a man; so cross me not, for that i am thine uncle and as it were thy father; wherefore do thou obey me in that which i shall say to thee, and after a little thou shalt forget all this travail and annoy, whenas thou lookest upon things marvellous." now, when the earth clove in sunder before the enchanter, there appeared to him an alabaster slab and in it a ring of molten brass; [ ] so he turned to alaeddin and said to him, "an thou do that which i shall tell thee, thou shalt become richer than all the kings; and on this account, o my son, i beat thee, for that here is a treasure and it is in thy name, and thou, thou wouldst fain have passed it by and fled. but now collect thy wits [ ] and see how i have opened the earth by my conjurations and incantations. under [ ] yonder stone, wherein is the ring, is the treasure whereof i have told thee; so do thou put thy hand to the ring and lift the slab, for that none of mankind can open it but thou and none but thou can set his foot within this treasure, since it is guarded for thee. but needs must thou hearken from me that which i shall teach thee and lose not [ ] a syllable of my speech. marry, all this, o my son, is for thy good, for that this is an exceeding great treasure, the kings of the world possess not its like, and it is thine and mine." so poor alaeddin forgot fatigue and beating and weeping, of his amazement at the maugrabin's speech and joy that he should become rich after such a measure that even the kings would be no wealthier than he, and said to him, "o my uncle, command me all thou wilt, for i will be obedient unto thy commandment." and the maugrabin said to him, "o son of my brother, thou art as my very son, nay, dearer, for being my brother's son. i have no kindred other than thyself and thou art my natural heir and successor, o my son." therewith he came up to alaeddin and kissed him saying, "all these my toils, whom do they concern? [ ] they are all for thy sake, o my son, that i may make [ ] thee a man rich and great [ ] exceedingly; so gainsay me not in aught that i shall tell thee; but go up to yonder ring and raise it, as i bade thee." "o my uncle," quoth alaeddin, "this stone is heavy; i cannot raise it of myself, [ ] so come thou also and help me raise it, for i am little of years." "o son of my brother," replied the maugrabin, "it will not be possible for us to do aught, an i help thee, and our toil will be wasted in vain; but do thou put thy hand to the ring and raise it and it will immediately come up with thee; for, as i said to thee, none may handle it but thou. but, when thou raisest it, name thine own name and those of thy father and mother and it will straightway rise with thee, nor shalt thou feel its weight." accordingly, alaeddin took courage and summoning his resolution, did as the maugrabin bade him and raised the slab with all ease, whenas he pronounced his own name and those of his father and his mother. so the stone came up and he threw it aside; whereupon [ ] there appeared to him an underground place and its door, whereas one entered by a stair of some dozen steps, and the maugrabin said to him, "o alaeddin, give heed [ ] and do punctually that which i shall tell thee, neither fail of aught thereof. go down with all circumspection into yonder vault till thou come to the bottom thereof and thou wilt find there a place divided into four chambers, [ ] in each of which thou wilt see four jars of gold and others of native ore and silver. beware lest thou handle them or take aught therefrom, but pass them by till thou come to the fourth chamber, and let not thy clothes or thy skirts touch the jars, no, nor the walls, and stay not one moment; for, an thou do contrary to this, thou wilt forthright be transformed and wilt become a black stone. when thou comest to the fourth chamber, thou wilt find there a door; open it and speak the names which thou spokest over the slab; then enter and thou wilt find thyself in a garden, all adorned with trees and fruits. thence do thou fare on some fifty cubits in the path thou wilt find before thee and thou wilt come to a dais, [ ] with [ ] a stair of some thirty steps. above the dais thou [ ] wilt find a lamp hung up; take it and pour out the oil that is therein and put it in thy sleeve; [ ] and fear not for thy clothes therefrom, for that it [ ] is not oil. and as thou returnest, thou mayst pluck from the trees what thou wilt, for that it is thine, what while the lamp abideth in thy hand." when the maugrabin had made an end of his speech, he drew from his finger a ring and putting it on alaeddin's finger, said to him, "and this ring, o, my son, shall deliver thee from all hurt and all fear that may betide thee, provided thou observe all that i have said to thee. so now arise and go down; gird thy loins and summon up thy resolution and fear not, for that thou art a man and not a child; and after this, o my son, thou shalt in a little time become the richest of mankind." so alaeddin arose and going down into the underground, found the four chambers and in each four jars of gold. he passed them by with all care and precaution, even as the maugrabin had bidden him, and entering the garden, fared on there through till he came to the dais and mounting the stair, entered [ ] and found the lamp. so he quenched it and pouring out the oil that was therein, put it in his sleeve; then, going down into the garden, he fell to gazing upon its trees, whereon were birds extolling with their songs [ ] the perfection of the great creator, and he had not seen them as he entered. now the fruits of these trees were all precious stones, each tree bearing fruit of one colour and kind of jewel, and these fruits were of all colours, green and white and yellow and red and what not else of colours. their glitterance outshone the rays of the sun in its forenoon splendour and the bigness of each jewel overpassed description; suffice it that not one of them might be found with the greatest of the kings of the world, [ ] no, nor a gem half the bigness of the smallest that was there. alaeddin [ ] entered among the trees and proceeded to gaze upon them and upon these things which amazed the sight and ravished the sense and observing them, saw that, instead of fruits, they bore magnificent jewels from the mines, emeralds and diamonds and rubies and pearls and topazes [ ] and the like of precious stones, such as confounded the wit. now, for that this was a thing alaeddin had never in his life seen, neither was he of ripe age, so he should know the value of these jewels, by reason of his being yet a young lad, he thought that they were all glass or crystal; so he gathered of them what filled his sleeves [ ] and fell to looking an they were grapes or figs and the like of fruits that might be eaten or not; but, finding them like glass, he proceeded to gather in his sleeve [ ] of every kind that was upon the trees, albeit he knew not jewels nor their worth, saying in himself, since he had been baulked in his intent of eating, "i will gather of these fruits of glass and will play with them at home." accordingly he proceeded to pluck and put in his pockets [ ] and his sleeves [ ] till he filled them; after which he filled his girdle with the fruits and girt himself withal; in fine, he carried off as much as he might, purposing to lay them up with him in the house by way of ornament, for that he thought them glass, as i have said. then he quickened his pace, of his fear of his uncle the maugrabin, and hastened through the four chambers and the [outer] vault nor looked, as he returned, at the jars of gold, albeit he might now have taken of them. [ ] when he came to the stair [ ] and ascended it and there remained to him but a small matter, to wit, the last step, which was much higher than the others, he could not avail to mount it of himself, having regard to that which he was carrying; so he said to the maugrabin, "o my uncle, give me thy hand and help me up." quoth he, "o my son, give me the lamp and lighten thyself; maybe it is that which hindereth thee." "nay, o my uncle," answered alaeddin, "the lamp hindereth me nought; but do thou give me thy hand and when i am up, i will give thee the lamp." the enchanter, who wanted the lamp and that only, fell to urging alaeddin to give it him; but the latter, having wrapped it within his clothes, with purses [ ] of jewel-fruits atop of it, [ ] could not reach it with his hand, so he might give it him. [ ] the [ ] maugrabin was instant with him to give him the lamp and was like to lose his wits for rage, seeing he attained not his object, albeit alaeddin still promised him that he would give it him as soon as he was forth of the vault, [and that] without lying thought or ill intent. then, when he saw that alaeddin would not give it him, he was angry with an exceeding anger and abandoning all hope of the lamp, conjured and enchanted and cast perfumes into the midst of the fire; whereupon the slab immediately turned over [ ] and shut [ ] of itself by the might of his enchantments; the earth covered it like as it was before and alaeddin abode under the ground, unable to come forth. thus the enchanter--forasmuch as he was a stranger and no uncle of alaeddin, as he said, but had counterfeited himself and avouched leasing, so he might get the lamp by means of the lad, unto whom that treasure was fortuned by the stars-shut up [ ] the earth upon him and left him to die of hunger. now this accursed maugrabin wizard was from the city of africa [ ] in hither barbary and had from his childhood been addicted to magic and all the occult arts, for which the city in question is renowned. he ceased not from his tenderest years to study and learn in his native land africa till he became versed in all sciences, and of the much skill and proficiency which he acquired, by dint of study and application for the space of forty years, in the matter of incantations and conjurations, it was discovered to him, [ ] one day of the days, that among the uttermost of the cities of china was a city called el kelaas and in this city a vast treasure, the like whereof no king of the kings of the world ever possessed; but the rarest [was] that in this treasure [was] [ ] a wonderful lamp, [ ] whereat if one should come, there might no man be found on earth richer than he, whether in might or in wealth, nor might the greatest king in the world avail unto aught of the riches of this lamp and its puissance and virtue. moreover [ ] he saw that this treasure was to be achieved by means of a lad of mean birth, by name alaeddin, who was of the city aforesaid, and that it was eath to take and unarduous: so he tarried not, but equipped himself forthright for the voyage to china, as we have said, and did that which he did with alaeddin, thinking to come by the lamp. but his endeavour was baffled and his expectation baulked and his toil wasted in vain; whereupon he sought to kill alaeddin and closed up the earth upon him by his sorcery, so he might die (and the live hath no slayer [ ]); moreover, he purposed by this that alaeddin should not come forth and that the lamp should not be brought up from under the earth. then he went his ways and returned to his country africa, woeful and despairing of his hope. so much for the enchanter and as for what came of alaeddin, after the earth closed over him, he fell to calling upon the maugrabin, whom he thought his uncle, to give him his hand, so he might come forth the underground to the surface of the earth; but, when he found that none returned him an answer, he was ware of the cheat which the maugrabin had put upon him and knew that he was none of his uncle, but a liar and a sorcerer. therewith he despaired of his life and knew, to his woe, that there was no more going forth for him upon the face of the earth; so he fell to weeping and lamenting over that which had befallen him. then, after a little, he arose and went down, that he might see if god the most high had vouchsafed him a door whereby he might go forth; and he went seeking right and left, but saw nought save darkness and four walls shut upon him; for that the maugrabin sorcerer had by his enchantments locked all the doors and had even shut up the garden, so he might leave him no door whereby he should come forth upon the face of the earth and so hasten his death upon him. alaeddin's weeping redoubled and his lamentation waxed when he saw all the doors shut and eke the garden, for that he thought to solace himself with them [ ] a little; but he found them locked, so he fell to crying out and weeping, as he whose hope is cut off, and returning, sat down upon the steps of the stair whereby he had entered the vault, weeping [ ] and wailing; and indeed he had lost hope. but it is a small matter for god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he) whenas he willeth a thing, to say to it "be," and it is; for that he createth relief out of the midst of stress; by token that, when the maugrabin enchanter sent alaeddin down into the vault, he gave him a ring and put it on his finger, saying, "this ring will deliver thee from all stress, an thou be in calamities or vicissitudes, and will remove from thee troubles; yea, it will be thy helper whereassoever thou art;" and this was by the foreordinance of god the most high, so it might be the means of alaeddin's deliverance. so, as he sat weeping and bewailing his case and indeed his hope was cut off of life and despair was heavy upon him, he fell, of the excess of his anguish, to wringing [ ] his hands, after the wont of the woeful; then, raising them [to heaven], he made supplication to god, saying, "i testify that there is no god but thou alone, the mighty, the powerful, the conquering, the giver of life and death, [ ] creator and accomplisher [ ] of necessities, resolver of difficulties and perplexities and dispeller thereof, [ ] thou my sufficiency, thou the most excellent guardian, and i testify that mohammed is thy servant and thine apostle. o my god, i conjure thee, by his [ ] glory with thee, deliver me from my extremity." whilst he was thus supplicating god and wringing his hands in the excess of his affliction for that which had befallen him of calamity, he chanced to rub upon the ring, and immediately, behold, a genie [ ] rose up before him and said to him, "here am i; thy slave is before thee. seek whatsoever thou wilt, for that i am his slave who hath the ring in hand, the ring of my lord." [ ] alaeddin looked and saw a marid, [ ] as he were of the jinn of our lord solomon, standing before him, and shuddered at his frightful aspect; but, when he heard the genie say to him, "seek whatsoever thou wilt, for that i am thy slave, since the ring of my lord is on thy hand," he took heart and bethought him of the maugrabin's speech to him, whenas he gave him the ring. so he rejoiced exceedingly and took courage and said to him, "o slave of the lord of the ring, i will of thee that thou bring me out upon the face of the earth." hardly had he made an end of that his speech when, behold, the earth opened and he found himself without, at the door of the treasure, to wit, upon the surface of the earth. now, he had been three days under the earth, sitting in the treasure in the dark; so, when the light of day smote on his face and the rays of the sun, he might not unclose his eyes, but took to opening them little by little and shutting them again till they became stronger and grew used to the light and were cleared of the darkness. then, [ ] seeing himself upon the surface of the earth, he rejoiced exceedingly, but marvelled to find himself overagainst the entrance of the treasure, whereby he went down, whenas the maugrabin enchanter opened it; and now the stone was shut down and the earth levelled, nor was there any sign therein of a door. so he redoubled in wonderment and thought himself otherwhere; nor was he assured that he was in the very place, till he saw whereas they had kindled the fire of sticks and brushwood and whereas the maugrabin enchanter had made his fumigations and conjurations. then he turned right and left and saw the gardens afar off and looked at the way and knew it for that by which they had come. so he gave thanks to god the most high, who had brought him out on the earth's face and had delivered him from death, after he had given up hope of life. then he arose and fared homeward, by the way which he knew, till he came to the city and entering, betook himself to their house and went in to his mother. when he saw her, he fell down before her, of the greatness of the joy which possessed him for his deliverance, and swooned away for the affright and the weariness which he had suffered, more by token that he was weak with hunger. now his mother had been woebegone since he left her and sat wailing and weeping for him; so, when she saw him come in to her, she rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy, but grief overwhelmed her, whenas she saw him fall aswoon upon the earth. however, she wasted no time in vain lamentation, but hastened to sprinkle water on his face and sought of her neighbours somewhat of perfumes, to which she made him smell. when he was a little recovered, he prayed her bring him somewhat to eat, saying to her, "o my mother, these three days past i have eaten nothing." so she arose and setting before him that which she had ready, said to him, "rise, o my son, eat and restore thyself; and when thou art rested, tell me what hath happened to thee and what calamity hath befallen thee. i will not question thee now, because thou art weary." so, [ ] when he had eaten and drunken and had refreshed himself and was rested and restored, he said to her, "alack, mother mine, i have a sore grief against thee in that thou leftest me to yonder accursed man, who strove for my destruction. indeed, he sought to kill me; nay, i saw death face to face from that accursed wretch, whom thou deemedst mine uncle, and but for god the most high, who delivered me from him, [i had perished]. marry, both i and thou, o my mother, suffered ourselves to be deluded by him after the measure of that which the accursed promised to do with me of good and of the love which he professed for me. know, then, o my mother, that this man is an accursed maugrabin enchanter, a liar, a deceiver, an impostor and a hypocrite; methinketh the devils that be under the earth are not his match, may god put him to shame in every book! [ ] hear, o my mother, what this accursed did; nay, all i shall tell thee is truth and soothfastness. do but see the villain's duplicity; bethink thee of the promises he made me that he would do me all manner of good [ ] and the love he professed to me, and how he did all this that he might accomplish his purpose; nay, his intent was to kill me, and praised be god for my deliverance! hearken, o my mother, and learn what this accursed one did." then he told her all that had befallen him from the time of his leaving her, weeping the while for excess of joy; how the maugrabin brought him to the hill, wherein was the treasure, and how he conjured and fumigated. "and indeed. o my mother," said he, "there overcame me exceeding fear, whenas the hill clove in sunder and the earth opened before me by his enchantments; and i quaked with terror at the voice of the thunder which i heard and the darkness which befell of his spells and fumigations, and of my dismay at these portents, i would have fled. when he saw me offer to flee, he reviled me and smote me, dealing me a buffet which caused me swoon for pain [ ] but, inasmuch as the treasure was opened and he could not go down into it himself, seeing he had opened it by my means and that it was in name and not for him, he knew, being a foul sorcerer, that it might [only] be achieved through me and that this adventure was [reserved] for me. [ ] accordingly [ ] he applied himself to make his peace with me, that he might send me down into the treasure, now it was opened, and attain his object by my means; and when he sent me down, he gave me a ring, which he had on his hand, and put it on my finger. so i descended into the treasure and found four chambers, all full of gold and silver and the like; but this all was nothing and the accursed one charged me take nought thereof. thence i entered a magnificent garden, [ ] all full of high trees, whose fruits ravished the wits, o my mother, for that they were all of various-coloured crystal, [ ] and i fared on till i came to the pavilion [ ] wherein was this lamp; whereupon i took it forthright and quenching it, poured out that which was therein." [so saying,] he pulled out the lamp from his sleeve and showed it to his mother. moreover, he showed her the jewels which he had brought from the garden. now there were two great purses [ ] full of these jewels, whereof not one was to be found with the kings of mankind; and alaeddin knew not their value, but thought that they were glass or crystal. "then, o my mother," continued he, "after i had fetched the lamp and had gone forth [the garden] and came to the door of the treasure, i cried out to the accursed maugrabin, who feigned himself my uncle, to give me his hand and pull me up, for i was laden with things which weighed me down, so that it was not possible for me to mount alone. however, he would not give me his hand, but said to me, 'reach me the lamp that is with thee, and after i will give thee my hand and pull thee up.' i, seeing that i had put the lamp within my sleeve and the purses atop [ ] of it, could not reach it to give it to him and said to him, 'o my-uncle, i cannot give thee the lamp. when i come up, i will give it to thee.' but he would not help me up; nay, he would e'en have the lamp, and his intent was to take it from me and turn back the earth over me and destroy me, even as he did with me in the end. this, then, o my mother, was what befell me from that foul wizard." and he told her all that had passed between them from first to last and fell to reviling the maugrabin with all rancour and heat of heart, saying, "out on this accursed one, this foul sorcerer, this hard-hearted oppressor, this inhuman, perfidious, hypocritical villain, lacking [ ] all mercy and ruth!" when [ ] alaeddin's mother heard her son's speech and that which the accursed maugrabin did with him, she said to him, "yea, verily, o my son, he is a misbeliever and a hypocrite, who destroyeth folk with his sorcery; but glory [ ] to god the most high, who hath delivered thee from the perfidy and guile of this accursed sorcerer, of whom i thought that he was in very deed thine uncle." now, alaeddin had passed three days without sleep and found himself drowsy; so he [withdrew to his chamber and] slept. his mother did likewise and alaeddin ceased not to sleep till next day, [ ] near noontide, when he awoke and immediately sought somewhat to eat, for that he was anhungred; and his mother said to him, "o my son, i have nought to give thee to eat, for that all i had by me thou atest yesterday. but wait awhile; i have here a little yarn by me and i am going down to the market, so i may sell it and buy thee withal somewhat thou mayst eat." "o my mother," rejoined alaeddin, "keep the yarn and sell it not; but give me the lamp which i brought home, so i may arise and sell it and with its price buy somewhat we may eat. methinketh it will fetch more than the yarn." so she arose and fetched the lamp; but, finding it exceeding dirty, she said to him, "o my son, this lamp is dirty, and if we wash it and furbish it, it will sell for a better price." accordingly she took a little sand and fell to scouring the lamp withal; but scarce had she begun to rub it when there appeared to her one of the jinn, foul of favour and monstrous of make as he were of the giants, and said to her, "say what thou wilt of me. here am i, thy slave and the slave of whoso hath in his hand the lamp; and not i alone, but all the slaves of the wonderful lamp that is in thy hand." when she saw his frightful aspect, she trembled and fear get hold upon her and her tongue was tied, nor could she return an answer, for that she was not used to look upon apparitions like unto this; so [ ] she fell down aswoon of her terror. now alaeddin her son was standing afar off and he had seen the slave of the ring which he had rubbed in the treasure; so, when he heard the genie's speech to his mother, he hastened to take the lamp from her hand and said to him, "o slave of the lamp, i am hungry; my will is that thou bring me somewhat i may eat, and be it somewhat good past conceit." [ ] the genie was absent the twinkling of an eye and [returning,] brought him a great costly tray of sheer silver, whereon were twelve platters of various kinds and colours [ ] of rich meats and two silver cups and two flagons [ ] of clarified old wine and bread whiter than snow; all which he set before him and disappeared. so alaeddin arose and sprinkled rosewater on his mother's face and made her smell to strong [ ] perfumes; whereupon she revived and he said to her, "rise, o my mother, so we may eat of this food that god the most high hath vouchsafed us." [ ] when she saw the great silver tray, she marvelled and said to alaeddin, "o my son, who is the generous, the bountiful one that hath sought out our hunger [ ] and our poverty? indeed, we are beholden to him. [ ] apparently the sultan hath heard of our case and our wretchedness and hath sent us this tray." "o my mother," answered alaeddin, "this is no time for questioning; rise, so we may eat, for we are anhungred." so they arose and sitting down to the tray, proceeded to eat, whilst alaeddin's mother tasted food such as she had never in all her life eaten. and they ate diligently [ ] with all appetite, for stress of hunger, more by token that the food [was such as] is given to kings, nor knew they if the tray were precious or not, for that never in their lives had they seen the like of these things. when they had made an end of eating and were full (and there was left them, over and above what sufficed them, [enough] for the evening-meal and for the next day also), they arose and washing their hands, sat down to talk; whereupon alaeddin's mother turned to her son and said to him, "o my son, tell me what befell of [ ] the genie, now that, praised be god, we have eaten of his bounty and are satisfied and thou hast no pretext for saying to me, 'i am anhungred.'" so he told her all that had passed between himself and the genie, whenas she fell down aswoon of her affright; whereat exceeding wonderment took her and she said to him, "it is true, then, [ ] that the jinn appear to the sons of adam, though i, o my son, in all my days, i have never seen them, and methinketh this is he who delivered thee, whenas thou west in the treasure." "nay, o my mother," answered he, "this was not he; he who appeared to thee is the slave of the lamp." "how so, [ ] o my son?" asked she; and he said, "this slave is other of make than that. that was the servant of the ring and this thou sawest is the slave of the lamp which was in thy hand." when [ ] his mother heard this, "well, well!" cried she. "then the accursed who appeared to me and came nigh to kill me for affright is of the lamp?" "ay is he," answered alaeddin; and she said to him, "i conjure thee, o my son, by the milk thou suckedst of me, that thou cast away from thee both lamp and ring, for that they will be to us a cause of exceeding fear and i could not endure to see them [ ] a second time; nay, their commerce is forbidden unto us, for that the prophet (whom god bless and keep) warneth us against them." [ ] "o my mother," answered alaeddin, "thy speech is on my head and eyes; [ ] but, as for this that thou sayest, it may not be that i should cast away either the lamp or the ring; nay, thou seest that which it [ ] did with us of good, whenas we were anhungred, and know, o my mother, that the lying maugrabin enchanter, what time i went down into the treasure, sought nought of gold nor of silver, whereof the four places were full, but charged me bring him the lamp and that only, for that he knew the greatness of its virtues; [ ] and except he knew it to be exceeding of might, he had not toiled and travailed and come from his land to this in quest of it, nor had he shut the treasure on me, whenas he failed of the lamp, seeing i gave it him not. wherefore, o my mother, it behoveth us keep this lamp and guard it with all care, for that this is our support and this it is shall enrich us; and it behoveth us show it not unto any. on like wise, as for the ring, it may not be that i should put it off from my finger, forasmuch as, but for this ring, thou hadst not seen me again on life; nay, i had died under the earth within the treasure; so how can i put it off from my hand and who knoweth what may happen to me in time to come of error or calamity or shift of the shifts of mischance, from which the ring might deliver me? however, of regard for thy wish, i will lay up the lamp and let thee not see it henceforth." when his mother heard his words and pondered them, she saw them to be just and true and said to him, "o my son, do what thou wilt. for my part, i wish never to see them nor ever again to behold that loathsome aspect [ ] which i saw [but now]." alaeddin [ ] and his mother abode two days eating of the food which the genie had brought, and when it was finished and he knew that there was left them nothing to eat, he arose and taking a platter of those which the slave had brought on the tray (now they were of fine gold, but alaeddin knew it not) went with it to the market, where a jew, a man viler than devils themselves, accosted [ ] him and he gave him the platter. when the jew saw it, he took alaeddin aside, so none might see him, and examining the platter, found it of fine gold, [ ] but knew not if alaeddin was ware of its worth or if he was ignorant thereof; so he said to him, "how much, o my lord, for this platter?" and alaeddin answered him, saying, "thou knowest how much it is worth." the jew was perplexed how much he should give alaeddin for the platter, by reason of his having made him an adroit answer, and bethought himself to give him little, but feared lest he should be aware of its value and debated with himself if he should give him much. then said he in himself, "most like he knoweth not its value;" so he brought out of his pocket a gold diner and gave it to him. when alaeddin saw the diner in his hand, he took it and went off in haste, whereby the jew knew that the lad was unaware of the value of the plate and repented him sore that he had given him a gold diner and not a carat of three-score: [ ] meanwhile alaeddin tarried not, but went forthright to the baker and bought of him bread and changed the diner; then, returning to his mother, he gave her the bread and the rest of the money and said to her, "o my mother, go and buy us what we need." so she arose and going to the market, bought all that they needed and they ate and were cheered. then, whenassoever the price of a platter was spent, alaeddin would take another and carry it to the jew; on which wise the accursed jew bought them all of him for a small matter and would fain also have reduced the price; but, since he had given him a diner the first time, he feared to offer him less, lest the lad should go and sell to another [ ] and he lose that excessive profit. accordingly, alaeddin ceased not to sell him platter after platter till he had sold them all and there was left him only the tray whereon they had been; then, for that it was big and heavy, he went and fetched the jew to the house and brought out to him the tray. when he saw it and noted its bigness, he gave alaeddin ten diners, which he took, and the jew went his way. alaeddin and his mother lived upon the ten diners till they came to an end; then he arose and bringing out the lamp, rubbed it, whereupon the slave of the lamp, to wit, the genie whom he had seen before, appeared to him and [ ] said to him, "seek what thou wilt, o my lord, for that i am thy slave and the slave of whoso hath with him the lamp." quoth alaeddin, "it is my will that thou bring me a tray of food like unto that which thou broughtest me erewhen, for that i am hungry;" and the slave brought him, in the twinkling of an eye, a tray like unto that which he had brought him before, and on it twelve magnificent platters full of rich meats, together with flagons [ ] of clarified wine and bread of the finest. now alaeddin's mother, when she knew that her son was minded to rub the lamp, had gone out, so she might not see the genie again; but, after a little, she came in to him and seeing the tray full of silver platters, whilst the whole house reeked with the fragrance of the rich meats, marvelled and rejoiced; and alaeddin said to her, "o my mother, thou badest me throw away the lamp. see now its uses." "o my son," answered she, "may god prosper him; [ ] but fain would i not see him." then they sat down to the tray and ate and drank till they were satisfied, laying up that which remained with them against the morrow. then, when that which was with them of food was finished, alaeddin arose and taking one of the platters under his clothes, went in quest of the jew, so he might sell it to him; but, as chance willed it, he passed by the shop of a goldsmith, an honest, pious man, who feared god. when the latter saw alaeddin, he accosted him and said to him, "o my son, what wilt thou? this many a time have i seen thee pass hereby and betake thyself to such an one, a jew, and i have seen thee give him certain things. nay, methinketh even now thou hast somewhat with thee and art seeking him, so thou mayst sell it to him. but thou knowest not, o my son, that the good of the muslims, believers in the unity of god the most high, is lawful spoil in the eyes of jews; nay, they still cheat the muslims and especially this accursed one with whom thou dealest and into whose hands thou hast fallen. wherefore, o my son, an thou have with thee aught thou wouldst sell, show it to me and fear nothing, for that, by the truth of god the most high, i will give thee its price." accordingly, alaeddin brought out the platter to the old man, who took it and weighing it in his scales, said to him, "was it the like of this thou usest to sell to the jew?" "ay," replied alaeddin, "its like and its brother." "and how much," asked the goldsmith, "useth he to give thee to its price?" and alaeddin said, "he useth to give me a diner." when [ ] the goldsmith heard this, "out on this accursed one," cried he, "who fleeceth the servants of god the most high!" then he looked at alaeddin and said to him, "o my son, this jew is a cheat, who hath cheated thee and laughed at thee, for that the silver of this thy platter is pure and fine; and i have weighed it and find its worth threescore diners and ten; so, an it please thee take its price, take [it]." accordingly, he counted out to him seventy diners and he took them and thanked him for his kindness, in that he had shown him the jew's trickery. thenceforward, whenassoever the price of one platter was spent, he would carry another to the old goldsmith, and on this wise he and his mother increased in substance; but they ceased not to live at their sufficiency, [ ] midwise [betwixt rich and poor], [ ] without excessive spending [ ] or squandering. as for alaeddin, he left idleness and the commerce of striplings and took to consorting with grown men; [ ] nay, he would go every day to the market of the merchants and sit with the great and the small of them and question of the ways and fashions of commerce and the prices of articles of merchandise [ ] and otherwhat. he used also to go to the market of the goldsmiths and the market of the jewellers, and there he would sit and look upon the different kinds of jewels and see them bought and sold; whereby he became aware that the fruits of the trees, wherewith he had filled the purses, [ ] whenas he was in the treasure, were neither glass nor crystal, but jewels, and knew that he had happened upon great wealth, such as kings might nowise compass. moreover, he noted all the jewels that were in the jewellers' market, but saw not [among] the biggest [of them] one to match with the smallest of those he had at home. he ceased not to go daily to the market of the jewellers and to clap up acquaintance with the folk, making friends with them and questioning them of buying and selling and giving and taking and dear and cheap, till, one day of the days, he arose in the morning and donning his clothes, went forth, intending, as of wont, for the jewellers' market; but, as he went, he heard the crier proclaiming aloud on this wise, "by commandment of the lord of beneficence, the king of the age and monarch of the time and the tide, let all the folk shut their shops and stores and enter their houses, for that the lady bedrulbudour, daughter of the sultan, purposeth to go to the bath, and whoso transgresseth the commandment, his punishment shall be death and his blood be on his own head." [ ] when alaeddin heard this proclamation, he longed to look upon the sultan's daughter and said in himself, "all the folk talk of her grace and goodliness, and the uttermost of my desire is to see her." so [ ] he cast about for a device how he might contrive to see the lady bedrulbudour and him-seemed he were best stand behind the door of the bath, that he might see her face, as she entered. accordingly he betook himself to the bath, awhile in advance, and posted himself behind the door, whereas none of the folk might see him. presently, the sultan's daughter came forth and went round about the city and its thoroughfares and diverted herself by viewing it; then she repaired to the bath and when she came thither, she lifted her face-veil, as she entered; whereupon her face shone out, as it were the resplendent sun or a precious pearl, and she was as saith of her one of her describers: who sprinkled the kohl of enchantment upon her eyes and gathered the bloom of the rose from her cheeks, fruit-wise? and who was it let down the curtained night of her hair and eke through its glooms made the light of her forehead rise? when she raised the veil from her face and alaeddin saw her, he said, "verily, her fashion glorifieth the great creator and extolled be the perfection of him who made her and graced her with this beauty and goodliness!" and his back was cloven in sunder, [ ] when he saw her; his thought was confounded and his understanding [ ] dazed and the love of her gat hold upon his whole heart; so he turned back and returning home, went in to his mother, like one distraught. she bespoke him and he answered her neither yea nor nay; then she brought him the morning-meal, as he abode on this wise, and said to him, "o my son, what hath betided thee? doth there ail thee aught? tell me what hath befallen thee, for that, against thy wont, i bespeak thee and thou answerest me not." now alaeddin had been used to think that women were all like his mother and he had heard of the beauty of the lady bedrulbudour, daughter of the sultan, but had not known what beauty and grace were; so he turned to his mother and said to her, "leave me;" but she was instant with him to come and eat. accordingly, he came forward and ate a little; then, rising, he threw himself on his bed and lay musing till break of morn; and on this wise he abode all next day. his mother was perplexed at his case, unknowing what had befallen him, and bethought herself that belike he was sick; so she came up to him and questioned him, saying, "o my son, an thou feel aught of pain or otherwhat, tell me, that i may go fetch thee a physician, more by token there is presently in the city a physician from the land of the arabs, whom the sultan hath sent to bring hither, and report saith of him that he is exceeding skilful; so [tell me] if thou art sick, that i may go and call him to thee." when [ ] alaeddin heard his mother offer to fetch him the physician, he said to her, "o my mother, i am well and not sick, but i had thought that women were all like unto thee. however, yesterday, i saw the lady bedrulbudour, the sultan's daughter, as she went to the bath;" and he told her all that had happened to him, adding, "and most like thou heardest the crier proclaiming that none should open his shop nor stand in the road, so the lady bedrulbudour might pass to the bath; but i saw her even as she is, for that, when she came to the door of the bath, she lifted her veil, and when i noted her favour and viewed that noble form of hers, there befell me, o my mother, a passion of yearning for love of her and desire of her [ ] usurped mine every part; nor can i ever more have ease, except i get her, and i purpose, therefore, to demand her of the sultan her father in the way of law and righteousness." when alaeddin's mother heard her son's speech, she thought little of his wit and said to him, "o my son, the name of god encompass thee! meseemeth thou hast lost thy wit; return to thy senses, [ ] o my son, and be not like the madmen!" "nay, o my mother," replied he, "i have not lost my wits nor am i mad; and this thy speech shall not change that which is in my mind, nor is rest possible to me except i get the darling of my heart, the lovely lady bedrulbudour. and my intent is to demand her of her father the sultan." so she said to him, "o my son, my life upon thee, speak not thus, lest one hear thee and say of thee that thou art mad. put away from thee this extravagance: [ ] who shall undertake an affair like this and demand it of the sultan? meknoweth not how thou wilt do to make this request of the sultan, and if thou speak sooth, [ ] by whom wilt thou make it?" "o my mother," rejoined alaeddin, "by whom [should i make] a request like this, when thou art at hand, and whom have i trustier [ ] than thyself? wherefore my intent is that thou shalt make this request for me." "o my son," quoth she, "god deliver me from this! what, have i lost my wits like thee? put away this thought from thy mind and bethink thee who thou art, o my son,--the son of a tailor, the poorest and least of the tailors in this city, and i also am thy mother and my folk are exceeding poor; so how wilt thou dare to demand the sultan's daughter, whom her father would not vouchsafe to marry with kings' sons and sultans, except they were his peers in puissance and rank and noblesse; nay, were they one degree less than he, he would not give them his daughter." alaeddin [ ] waited till his mother had made an end of her speech and said to her, "o my mother, all that thou thinkest i know; marry, i know full well that i am the son of poor folk, nor may all this thy talk anywise avail to move me from my purpose; but i beseech thee, an i be thy very son and thou love me, do me this kindness; else wilt thou lose me, for death hasteneth upon me, an i attain not my wish of the beloved of my heart. in any case, o my mother, i am thy son." when his mother heard his speech, she wept of her concern for him and said to him, "yes, o my son, i am thy mother and thou art my son and the darling of my heart; [ ] i have none other than thee and the extreme of my desire is to rejoice in thee and marry thee. so, an thou wilt, i will seek thee a bride of our own rank. but suppose [i do this], they [ ] [will] ask at once an thou have craft or land or trade or garden, so thou mayst live, and what shall i answer them. and if i cannot answer poor folk like ourselves, how, o my son, shall i dare to seek the king's daughter of china, who hath none before him and none after him? wherefore do thou ponder this matter in thine understanding. and who seeketh her? the son of a tailor. [ ] indeed, i know that, an i speak of this, it will but be for the increase of our ill luck, for that this affair will bring us in great danger with the sultan and belike there will be death therein for thee and for me. as for me, how can i adventure upon this danger and this effrontery? moreover, o my son, on what wise shall i demand thee his daughter of the sultan and how shall i avail to go in to him? nay, if they question me, what shall i answer them? most like they will deem me a madwoman. and suppose i gain admission to the presence, what shall i take by way of offering to the sultan's highness? it [ ] is true, o my son, that the sultan is clement and rejecteth none that cometh to him for protection or craveth a boon of him, for that he is bountiful and beneficent unto all, great and small; [ ] but he bestoweth his favours upon those who are deserving thereof or who have done some feat of arms before him or have wrought for the service or defence of the realm; and thou, o my son, tell me, what hast thou done for [ ] the sultan or the realm, that thou shouldst merit of him this boon? again, this that thou cravest is beyond thy condition; [ ] so it cannot be that the king will grant thee that which thou seekest. moreover, whoso presenteth himself before the sultan and craveth favours of him, it behoveth him take in his hand somewhat that sorteth with the royal dignity; and as i said to thee, how canst thou presume to present thyself before the sultan and seek of him his daughter, without aught thou mayst proffer him of that which sorteth with his rank?" "o my mother," replied alaeddin, "thou speakest justly and deemest that which is true, [ ] and it behoveth me consider all that whereof thou mindest me; but, o my mother, the love of the sultan's daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, hath entered into the innermost of my heart; and there can be no rest for me, except i obtain her. moreover, thou mindest me of somewhat i had forgotten, and that a thing which emboldeneth me to seek of him his daughter by thee. thou sayst, o my mother, that i have no gift to present to the sultan, according to the wont of the folk, whilst in fact i have by me a gift and an offering, the like whereof methinketh no king ever possessed, no, nor aught to match therewith; for [ ] thou must know, o my mother, that the fruits, which i brought in the purses [ ] from the treasure and which i deemed glass or crystal, are very jewels, methinketh all the kings of the world may not compass the least of them, and i, of my companying with the jewellers, know that they are precious stones. wherefore, an thou please, have the goodness to rise and bring me such a china dish which we have by us, [ ] that i may fill it with these jewels, and thou shalt take it as a present to the sultan. by this means i am assured that the thing will be easy to thee, and do thou stand before the sultan and seek of him my desire; but, o my mother, an thou refuse to further me with thine endeavour for the attainment of my wish of the lady bedrulbudour, know that i am a dead man. be not concerned for the gift, for these be exceeding precious jewels, and know, o my mother, that i have gone many a time to the market of the jewellers and have seen them sell jewels, that had not an hundredth part [ ] of the beauty of these of ours, at exceeding high prices such as man's wit cannot conceive. when, therefore, i saw this, i said [in myself], 'verily, the jewels that are with us are exceeding precious.' so now, o my mother, arise, as i bade thee, and fetch me the china dish whereof i bespoke thee, that we may range of these jewels therein and see how they show." accordingly, she arose and brought the china dish, saying in herself, "let us see if my son's speech be true concerning these jewels or not." so she set the dish before alaeddin and he brought out jewels of all kinds from the purses and proceeded to range them in the dish till he filled it. when it was full, his mother looked at the dish, but could not gaze fixedly thereon, for the radiance of the jewels and their lustre and the excess of their flashing; so she shut her eyes and her wit was confounded at them; yet was she not certified that their value was in very deed so great as her son had said, but bethought her that his speech might be true in that their like was not found with kings. then alaeddin turned to her and said, "see, o my mother, this is a magnificent present for the sultan and i am assured that thou wilt get of him exceeding honour and that he will receive thee with all consideration. and now, o my mother, there remaineth to thee no excuse; so be good enough [ ] to take this dish and go with it to the palace." "o my son," replied she, "true it is that the present is exceedingly costly and precious and as thou sayest, none hath the like thereof; but who shall dare to come forward and seek of the sultan his daughter bedrulbudour? nay, i dare not adventure myself and say to him, 'i want thy daughter,' whenas he asketh me, 'what wouldst thou?' marry, o my son,, my tongue will be tied. and grant that allah make [the thing] possible and i take courage and say to him, 'i desire to ally myself to thee by [marrying] thy daughter the lady bedrulbudour with my son alaeddin,' they will straightway deem me mad and will put me out with ignominy and reproach; nay, i need not tell thee that by this i shall fall into danger of death, and not i only, but thou also. withal, o my son, of regard for thy wish, needs must i take courage and go; but, o my son, if the king receive me and honour me for the gift's sake and i seek of him that which thou wilt in [ ] the matter of marrying his daughter and he ask me, after the wont of the folk, what are thy possessions and thy revenues, what shall i say to him? and most like, o my son, he will ask me of this ere he ask me of thyself." and alaeddin said to her, "nay, it cannot be that the sultan will ask this, whenas he seeth the jewels and their magnificence, and it booteth not to think of a thing that will not happen. do thou but rise and seek me his daughter of him and proffer him these jewels and sit not magnifying the affair in thy thought beforehand. moreover, o my mother, thou knowest of the lamp which is with me and which presently provideth for our livelihood; [ ] nay, all that i seek of it it will bring me, and i trust by its means i shall know how to answer the sultan, an he ask me of this." they abode in talk of the matter all that night and when the morning morrowed, alaeddin's mother arose and fortified her heart, more by token that her son expounded to her somewhat of the properties of the lamp and its uses, in that it would bring them all they sought. but, when he saw that she heartened herself for that which he set forth to her of its virtues, he feared lest she should talk of this to the folk, so he said to her, "o my mother, beware lest thou bespeak any of the lamp and its uses, for that this is our fortune; be careful [ ] and exceed not in speech thereof to any one, lest we lose it and lose this our present prosperity, for that it is from it." [ ] "have no fear for that, o my son," answered she and rising, took the dish wherein were the jewels and wrapping it in a fine handkerchief, went forth betimes, so she might reach the divan and enter, ere it became crowded. when she came to the palace, the divan was not yet assembled [ ] and she saw the vizier and certain of the chiefs of the state entering the presence-chamber. after a while, the divan being complete with the viziers and the chiefs of the state and officers and amirs and grandees, the sultan appeared and the viziers and other the officials and notables ranged themselves before him, whilst he sat down on the throne of his kingship and all who were present in the divan stood before him, with hands clasped behind them, [ ] awaiting his commandment to sit. so he bade them be seated and they all sat down, each in his several room; then the petitioners [ ] presented themselves before the sultan and each affair was decided in its course, [ ] till the divan came to an end, when the king rose and entered the palace and each went his way. as [ ] for alaeddin's mother, having come before all, she found room to enter, but withal none bespoke her, so he should bring her in before the sultan; wherefore she ceased not standing till the divan broke up and the sultan rose and entered the palace and all went their ways. when she saw the sultan rise from his throne and enter the harem, she took her way homeward and returning on her steps, entered her house. alaeddin, seeing her with the dish in her hand, knew that most like some mischance had betided her, but cared not to question her till she entered and setting down the dish, told him what had passed and finally said to him, "god be praised, o my son, i mustered courage to find myself a place in the divan, albeit i could not win to speak with the sultan to day; but to-morrow, an it please god the most high, i will bespeak him. to-day there were many other folk, like myself, unable to get speech of the sultan; but be easy, o my son; to-morrow i will without fail bespeak him on thy behalf, and what happened not shall happen." when alaeddin heard his mother's words, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, albeit, of the excess of his love and longing for the lady bedrulbudour, he had looked for the matter to be accomplished then and there; nevertheless, he used patience. they slept that night and on the morrow alaeddin's mother arose and went with the dish to the sultan's divan, but found it closed; so she asked the folk and they said to her, "the sultan holdeth a divan but thrice a week;" wherefore she was compelled [ ] to return home. then she proceeded to go every day, and whenas she found the divan open, she would stand before the door, [ ] till it broke up, when she would return home; and whiles she went and found the divan closed. [ ] on this wise she abode a week's space [ ] and the sultan saw her at each divan; so, when she went on the last day [of the week] and stood, according to her wont, before the divan, till it was ended, but could not muster courage to enter [ ] or say aught, the sultan arose and entering the harem, turned to his chief vizier, who was with him, and said to him, "o vizier, these six or seven days [ ] past i have seen yonder old woman come hither at every divan and i note that she still carrieth somewhat under her veil. [ ] hast thou any knowledge of her, o vizier, and knowest thou what is her want?" "o our lord the sultan," replied the vizier, "verily women are little of wit; and most like this woman cometh to complain to thee of her husband or one of her folk," the sultan was not content with the vizier's reply, but bade him, an she came again to the divan, bring her before him forthright; [ ] whereupon the vizier laid his hand on his head and answered, "hearkening and obedience, o our lord the sultan." meanwhile, [ ] alaeddin's mother, albeit she was grown exceeding weary and dejected, yet made light of all weariness, for her son's sake, and continued, as of her wont, to go every court-day and stand in the divan before the sultan. [ ] accordingly, one day of the days, she went to the divan, as of her wont, and stood before the sultan; and when he saw her, he called his vizier and said to him, "yonder is the woman of whom i bespoke thee yesterday; bring her now before me, so i may see what her suit is and accomplish unto her her occasion." so the vizier arose forthright and let bring alaeddin's mother in before the sultan. when she came into the latter's presence, she made her obeisance to him and did him reverence, wishing him glory and continuance and eternity of prosperity and kissing the ground before him. then said he to her, "o woman, i see thee come every day to the divan and thou speakest not of aught. tell me an thou have a want, that i may accomplish it unto thee;" whereupon she kissed the earth a second time and called down blessings upon him, then answered, "ay, o king of the age, as thy head liveth, i have indeed a want; but before all things do thou give me thine assurance, [ ] so i may make bold to prefer my suit to the hearing of our lord the sultan, for that belike thy grace will find it a strange one." the sultan, that he might learn what her suit was and for that he was of his nature exceeding clement, gave her his assurance and bidding all who were with him go out forthright, abode alone [with her], he and the grand vizier. then he turned to her and said, "tell me thy suit, and the assurance [ ] of god the most high be upon thee." quoth she, "o king of the age, i wish thy pardon also." and he said to her, "god pardon thee!" [ ] then said she to him, "o our lord the sultan, i have a son, whose name is alaeddin, and one day of the days he heard the crier proclaim that none should open his shop nor show himself in the thoroughfares of the city, [ ] for that the lady bedrulbudour, the daughter of our lord the sultan, was going to the bath. when my son heard this, he wished to see her; so he hid himself in a place, whence he might see her well, and this was behind the door of the bath. accordingly, when she came up, he saw her and viewed her well, beyond his wish; and from that time till now, o king of the age, life hath not been pleasant to him [ ] and he will e'en have me seek her of thy grace, [ ] so thou mayst marry her with him, and i cannot do away this conceit from his wit, for that the love of her hath gotten possession of his vitals, so that he saith to me, 'know, o mother mine, that, except i attain my desire, assuredly i am a dead man.' wherefore i crave thy grace's clemency and hope that thou wilt pardon me and my son this effrontery neither be wroth with us therefor." when the king heard her story, he fell a-laughing, of his clemency, [ ] and asked her, "what is that thou hast with thee and what is that bundle?" [ ] whereupon she, seeing that he was not angered at her words, but laughed, opened the handkerchief forthright and proffered him the dish of jewels. when the sultan saw the jewels (and indeed, whenas she raised the handkerchief from them, the divan became as it were all illumined with lamp-clusters and candlesticks), he was amazed and confounded at their radiance and fell a-marvelling at their lustre and bigness and beauty; and [ ] he said, "never saw i the like of these jewels for beauty and bigness and perfection, nor methinketh is one of them found in my treasuries." then he turned to his vizier and said to him, "how sayst thou, o vizier? sawest thou ever in thy life the like of these magnificent jewels?" "never, o our lord the sultan," replied the vizier, "nor, methinketh, is the least of those which be here found in the treasuries of our lord the king." quoth the sultan, "doth not he who giveth me these jewels deserve to be bridegroom to my daughter bedrulbudour? marry, by what i see, meseemeth none is worthier of her than he." when the vizier heard the sultan's words, his tongue was tied for despite and he was overcome with exceeding chagrin, forasmuch as the king had promised him that he would marry his daughter to his son; so, after a little, he said to him, "o king of the age, thy grace condescended to promise me [ ] that the lady bedrulbudour should be my son's; wherefore it behoveth thine exalted highness appoint a delay of three months, [ ] and god willing, my son's present shall be greater than this." the king, for all he knew that this was a thing whereto the vizier might not avail, no, nor the greatest king, [ ] nevertheless exercised his clemency [ ] and granted him the delay he sought; then, turning to the old woman, he said to her, "go to thy son and tell him i give him [my] word that my daughter shall be in his name; [ ] but needs must i take order for her equipment; [ ] wherefore it behoveth him grant us a delay of three months." alaeddin's mother took the answer and thanked the sultan and prayed for him, then went forth and fared homeward in haste, flying of her joy, till she came to the house and entered. her son saw her laughing-faced and foreboded good news; more by token that she returned forthright and tarried not, as on each day past, neither brought back the dish. accordingly he asked her and said to her, "god willing, o my mother, thou bringest me good news; the jewels and their value have wrought their work and thou wilt have found acceptance with the sultan; yea, he will have shown thee favour and given ear unto thy suit." so she told him all that had passed and how the sultan had received her and had marvelled, both he and his vizier, at the size and beauty of the jewels, and how he had promised her that [quoth she] "his daughter shall be in thy name. but, o my son, ere he promised me, the vizier whispered [ ] him somewhat, whereupon he appointed me for three months hence; and i am fearful lest the vizier be a man of evil disposition, [ ] who will change the king's mind." when [ ] alaeddin heard his mother's words and how the sultan had appointed her for [ ] three months [thence], his heart was lightened and he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said, "since the sultan hath promised for [ ] three months [hence], true, it [ ] is long, but in any case my joy is great." then he thanked her for her kindness and the pains she had taken [ ] and said to her, "by allah, o my mother, it is as i were in a tomb and now thou hast raised me up therefrom; and i praise god the most high, for i am presently certified that there is none richer or happier than i in the world." then he waited till two of the three months were past, when his mother went out one day of the days, at sundown, to buy oil, and saw the markets closed and the city all decorated and the folk setting candles and flowers in their windows and saw troops, horse and foot, and mounted eunuchs drawn up in state, with cressets and lustres burning. at this wonder took her; [ ]he went to an oilman's shop there open and buying oil of him, said to him, "[i conjure thee] by thy life, o uncle, tell me what is toward to-day in this city, that the folk are making this decoration and the markets [are shut] and the houses all adorned and the troops drawn up in state?" quoth he, "o woman, methinketh thou art a stranger and art not of this city." "nay," answered she, "but i am of this city;" and he said to her, "thou art of this city and knowest not that this is the night of the going in of the grand vizier's son to the lady bedrulbudour, the sultan's daughter? nay, he is presently in the bath and yonder amirs and troops are drawn up awaiting him, against he come forth, so they may carry him in procession to the palace of the sultan's daughter." when alaeddin's mother heard this, she was troubled and perplexed in her wit how she should do to acquaint her son with this woeful news, for that the poor wretch was counting the hours till the three months should be ended. so she returned home forthright and going in to alaeddin, said to him, "o my son, i have news to tell thee, but it irketh me for thy chagrin therefrom." quoth he, "speak; what is the news?" and she said to him, "the sultan hath gone from his promise to thee in the matter of his daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, for that this very night the vizier's son goeth in to her; and indeed methought at the time, [ ] o my son, the vizier would change the sultan's mind, even as i told thee that he bespoke him privily before me." "how knewest thou this," asked alaeddin, "that the vizier's son goeth in this night to the lady bedrulbudour?" so she told him all she had seen of the decorations in the city, whenas she went to buy the oil, and how the eunuchs and chiefs of the state were drawn up awaiting the vizier's son, against he should come forth of the bath, for that this was the night of his going in. when alaeddin heard this, he fell into a fever of chagrin; [ ] but presently he bethought him of the lamp and rejoiced and said to his mother, "by thy life, o my mother, methinketh the vizier's son shall not rejoice in her, as thou deemest. but now leave us be with this talk and go lay us the evening-meal, so we may sup; then, when i shall have passed a while in my chamber, all shall yet be well." accordingly, [ ] after he had supped, he went into his chamber and locking the door on himself, fetched the lamp and rubbed it; whereupon the genie at once appeared to him and said, "seek what thou wilt, for i am thy slave and the slave of whoso hath in his hand the lamp, i and all the slaves of the lamp." and alaeddin said to him, "harkye, i sought of the sultan to marry his daughter, and he appointed me for [ ] three months' time; however, he abode not by his promise, but gave her to the vizier's son, and the latter purposeth to go in [to her] this night. wherefore i do presently command thee, as thou art a loyal servant of the lamp, that this night, whenas thou seest the bride and bridegroom abed together, thou take them up in their bed [and bring them] hither. this is what i seek of thee." "hearkening and obedience," answered the genie, "and if thou have a service [to require of me] other than this, command me whatsoever thou seekest." and alaeddin said to him, "i have no present requirement save that whereof i have bespoken thee." so the slave disappeared and alaeddin returned to finish his supper [ ] with his mother. when he deemed it time for the genie's coming, he arose and entered his chamber; and after a little, the marid appeared with the bridal pair in their bed; whereat alaeddin rejoiced with exceeding great joy and said to the slave, "bear this gallowsbird hence and couch him in the house of easance." [ ] the genie accordingly took up the bridegroom and couched him in the draught-house; moreover, ere he left him, he blew on him a blast wherewith he dried him up, and the vizier's son abode in woeful case. then he returned to alaeddin and said to him, "an thou need otherwhat, tell me." and alaeddin said to him, "return in the morning, so thou mayst take them [back] to their place." "hearkening and obedience," answered the genie and was gone; whereupon alaeddin arose,--and indeed he had scarce believed that the thing should succeed with him,--and when he saw the lady bedrulbudour in his house, he entreated her with respect, albeit he had long burned for love of her, and said to her, "o princess of the fair, think not that i have brought thee hither to soil shine honour. god forbid! nay, it was that i might not let others [ ] enjoy thee, for that thy father the sultan gave me his word upon thee; so be thou in peace and assurance." as [ ] for the princess, when she found herself in that mean dark; house and heard alaeddin's words, fear and trembling get hold upon her and she was confounded and could return him no answer. then he arose and putting off his clothes, placed a sword between himself and her and lay down by her side in the bed, without treason; [ ] it sufficed him to prevent [the consummation of] her marriage with the vizier's son. nevertheless, the lady bedrulbudour passed the sorriest of nights, never in her life had she known a worse; whilst the vizier's son lay in the draught-house and dared not stir for fear of the genie. when it was morning, the genie presented himself before alaeddin, without his rubbing the lamp, and said to him, "o my lord, an thou wish aught, command me withal, so i may do it on my head and eyes." and alaeddin bade him go carry the bride and bridegroom to their own place. the genie did his bidding in the twinkling of an eye and laying the vizier's son with the lady bedrulbudour, took them up and set them down in their place in the palace, without their seeing any one; but they were like to die of fright, when they felt themselves carried from place to place. hardly had the genie set them down and gone out when the sultan came to visit his daughter; and when the vizier's son heard the door open, he straightway sprang out of bed, knowing that none might enter but the sultan, and donned his clothes, [ ] albeit this irked him sore, for that he would fain have warmed himself a little, having had no time [to do so] since he left the draught-house. the [ ] sultan came in to his daughter and kissing her between the eyes, gave her good-morrow and asked her of her bridegroom and if she was content with him; but she returned him no answer and looked at him with a dejected air. [ ] he bespoke her several times, but she was silent and answered him not a word; so he went out from her and going in to the queen, told her what had passed between himself and the lady bedrulbudour. the queen, so she might not leave the sultan angry with the lady bedrulbudour, said to him, "o king of the age, this is the wont of most brides, on their wedding-day, to be shamefast and show somewhat of coyness. so be not vexed with her and after a day or two she will return to herself and proceed to speak with the folk; but now, o king of the age, shame hindereth her from speaking. however, i purpose to go to her and see her." accordingly she arose and donning her clothes, repaired to her daughter's apartment. then, going up to her, she gave her good-morrow and kissed her between the eyes; but the lady bedrulbudour returned her no manner of answer and the queen said in herself, "needs must some strange thing have befallen her, to trouble her thus." so she asked her, saying, "o my daughter, what is the cause of this thy behaviour? tell me what aileth thee, that i come to thee and give thee good-morrow and thou returnest me no answer." the lady bedrulbudour raised her head and said to her, "blame me not, o my mother; indeed, it behoved me receive thee with all reverence and worship, since thou honourest me by coming to me; but i beseech thee hear the cause of this my case and see how this night i have passed hath been for me the sorriest of nights. hardly had we lain down, o my mother, when one, whose fashion i know not, took up the bed and transported us to a place dark, foul [ ] and mean." then she told her mother the queen all that had betided her that night and how they had taken her bridegroom, leaving her alone, and how after a little there came another youth and lay down in the place of her bridegroom, putting a sword between himself and her; "and in the morning" [quoth she] "he who had brought us thither returned and taking us up, carried us back to our place here: and hardly had he brought us hither and left us when my father the sultan entered and i had neither heart nor tongue to answer him for stress of fright and trembling which possessed me. and belike my father is vexed with me; wherefore i prithee, o my mother, tell him the cause of this my case, so he be not wroth with me for my failure to answer him neither blame me, but excuse me." when [ ] the queen heard the princess's story, she said to her, "o my daughter, beware of [ ] telling this tale before any, lest they [ ] say, 'verily the sultan's daughter hath lost her wits.' marry, thou diddest well in that thou acquaintedst not thy father with this; and beware, yea [again i say,] beware, o my daughter, of telling him thereof." "o my mother," rejoined the lady bedrulbudour, "indeed, i bespoke thee in sober earnest and have not lost my wits; nay, this is what happened to me, and an thou believe it not from me, ask my bridegroom." quoth the queen, "rise, o my daughter, and put away these illusions from thy thought; nay, don thy clothes and see the rejoicing that is toward in the town on thine account and the festivities that they celebrate in the kingdom for thy sake and hear the drums and the singing and look upon the decorations, all in honour of thy nuptials, o my daughter." accordingly, she summoned the tirewomen, who dressed the lady bedrulbudour and busked her; whilst the queen went in to the sultan and told him that there had that night betided the princess a dream and illusions, saying, "biame her not for her failure to answer thee." moreover, she sent for the vizier's son privily and questioned him of the affair, whether the lady bedrulbudour's speech was true or not; but he, of his fear to lose his bride, lest she should go from his hand, said to her, "o my lady, i know nothing of that which thou sayest;" wherefore the queen was certified that there had betided her daughter illusions and a dream. the wedding rejoicings continued all that day, with dancing-women and singing-women, and all the instruments of mirth and minstrelsy were smitten, whilst the queen and the vizier and his son were exceeding assiduous in keeping up the festivities, so the lady bedrulbudour should rejoice and her chagrin be dispelled; nay, they left nought that day of that which exciteth unto liesse but they did it before her, so she should leave what was in her mind and be cheered. but all this had no effect on her and she was silent and thoughtful and confounded at that which had befallen her that night. true, the vizier's son had fared worse than she, for that he was couched in the draught-house; but he belied [ ] the matter and put away that tribulation from his thought, of his fear lest he should lose his bride and his rank, [ ] more by token that all the folk envied him his lot, for the much increase of honour it brought him, as also for the exceeding beauty and loveliness of the lady bedrulbudour. as for alaeddin, he went out that day and saw the rejoicings toward in the city and the palace and fell a-laughing, especially when he heard the folk speak of the honour which had betided the vizier's son and the greatness of his good luck, in that he was become the sultan's son-in-law, and the exceeding pomp used in his marriage and bridal festivities; and he said in himself, "ye know not, good simple folk that ye are, [ ] what befell him last night, that ye envy him." then, when the night came in and it was the season of sleep, alaeddin arose and entering his chamber, rubbed the lamp, whereupon the genie appeared to him forthright and [ ] he bade him bring the princess and her bridegroom, as on the past night, ere the vizier's son should take her maidenhead. the genie delayed not, but was absent a little while; and when it was the appointed time, he returned with the bed and therein the lady bedrulbudour and the vizier's son. with the latter he did as he had done the past night, to wit, he took him and couched him in the draught-house, where he deft him parched for excess of fright and dismay; whilst alaeddin arose and placing the sword between himself and the lady bedrulbudour, lay down and slept till the morning, when the genie appeared and restored the twain to their place, leaving alaeddin full of joy at [the discomfiture of] the vizier's son. when the sultan arose in the morning, he bethought himself to visit his daughter bedrulbudour and see an she should do with him as she had done on the past day; so, as soon as he awoke from his sleep, he rose and donning his clothes, went to his daughter's chamber and opened the door. whereupon the vizier's son arose forthright and coming down from the bed, fell to donning his clothes, with ribs cracking for cold; for that, when the sultan entered, it was no great while since the genie had brought them back. the sultan went up to his daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, as she lay abed, and raising the curtain, gave her good morning and kissed her between the eyes and asked her how she did. she frowned and returned him no answer, but looked at him sullenly, as she were in sorry case. he was wroth with her, for that she made him no answer, and thought that something had betided her; so he drew the sword and said to her, "what hath befallen thee? either thou shalt tell me what aileth thee or i will do away thy life this very moment. is this the respect that is due to my rank and the honour in which thou holdest me, that i bespeak thee and thou answerest me not a word?" when the lady bedrulbudour knew that her father was angry and saw the naked sword in his hand, she was like to swoon for fear; [ ] so she raised her head and said to him, "dear [ ] my father, be not wroth with me, neither be thou hasty in thine anger, for that i am excusable in that which thou hast seen from me. [ ] do but hearken what hath betided me and i am well assured that, whenas thou hearest my story of that which hath happened to me these two nights past, thou wilt excuse me and thy grace will be moved to compassion upon me, as i know from thy love for me." [ ] then she acquainted him with all that had befallen her and said to him, "o my father, an thou believe me not, ask my bridegroom and he will resolve thy grace of everything, albeit i know not what they did with him, when they took him from my side, nor where they set him." when [ ] the sultan heard his daughter's story, he was sore concerned and his eyes brimmed with tears; then, sheathing the sword and coming up to her, he kissed her and said to her, "o my daughter, why didst thou not tell me yesterday, so i might have warded off from thee the torment and affright which have befallen thee this night? but no matter; arise and put away from thee this thought, and to-night i will set over thee those who shall guard thee, so there shall not again befall thee that which befell yesternight." then he returned to his pavilion and sent at once for the vizier, who came and stood before him, awaiting his commands; and the sultan said to him, "o vizier, how deemest thou of this affair? most like thy son hath told thee what happened to him and to my daughter." "o king of the age," answered the vizier, "i have not seen my son or yesterday or to-day." whereupon the sultan acquainted him with all that his daughter the lady bedrulbudour had told him and said to him, "it is now my will that thou enquire of thy son the truth of the case, for it may be my daughter knoweth not for fright what happened to her, though methinketh her tale is all true." so the vizier arose and sending for his son, asked him of all that the sultan had told him, if it were true or not. whereupon, "o my father the vizier," replied the youth, "[god] preserve the lady bedrulbudour from leasing! [ ] indeed, all she saith is true and these two nights past have been for us the sorriest of nights, instead of being nights of pleasance and delight. marry, that which befell me was yet worse, for that, instead of sleeping with my bride in bed, i lay in the draught-house, a place dark and frightful, noisome of smell and accursed, and my ribs were straitened [ ] with cold." brief, he told the vizier all that had befallen him and ultimately said to him; "dear [ ] my father, i beseech thee speak with the sultan that he release me from this marriage. true, it is great honour for me to be the sultan's son-in-law, more by token that the love of the lady bedrulbudour hath gotten possession of my vitals, but i cannot avail to endure one more night like the two that are past." when [ ] the vizier heard his son's words, he grieved and was exceeding chagrined, for that he had thought to greaten his son and advance him by making him the king's son-in-law; so he bethought himself and was perplexed anent the matter and what was to do therein; [ ] and indeed it irked him sore that the marriage should be dissolved, for that he had long besought [ ] the ten [ ] that he might compass the like of that affair; [ ] so he said to his son, "have patience, o my son, so we may see [how it will be] to-night, and we will set over you guards to guard you; but do not thou let slip this great honour, for that it hath fallen to none other than thyself." therewith he left him and returning to the sultan, told him that the lady bedrulbudour's story was true; whereupon quoth the sultan, "since the case is thus, we need no wedding-festivities." [ ] and he bade forthright break off the rejoicings and the marriage was dissolved. the folk and the people of the city marvelled at this strange thing, especially when they saw the vizier and his son go forth the palace in a pitiable plight for stress of chagrin and despite, and they fell to asking, "what hath happened and why is the marriage avoided and the rejoicings broken off?" but none knew what was to do save alaeddin, the suitor, [ ] who laughed in his sleeve. so the marriage was annulled; but the sultan had forgotten his promise to alaeddin's mother and never again bethought him thereof, neither he nor the vizier; nor knew they whence came that which had happened. alaeddin waited till the three months had elapsed, after which the sultan had promised that he would marry him to his daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, then despatched his mother to the sultan to require him of the performance of his promise. so she repaired to the palace and when the sultan came to the divan and saw her standing before him, he remembered his promise to her, that after three months he would marry his daughter to her son, and turning to the vizier, said to him, "o vizier, yonder is the woman who presented us with the jewels and we gave her our word that after three months [we would marry our daughter to her son]. bring her before me forthright." so the vizier went and brought alaeddin's mother before the sultan; and when she came into the presence, she made her obeisance to him and prayed god to vouchsafe him glory and endurance of prosperity. the sultan asked her if she had a need, and she said to him, "o king of the age, the three months are ended, after which thou didst promise me thou wouldst marry my son alaeddin to thy daughter the lady bedrulbudour." the sultan was perplexed at this her claim, more by token that he saw her in poor case, as she were the meanest of the folk; but the present which she had made him was exceeding magnificent [and indeed] beyond price; [ ] so he turned to the vizier and said to him, "how deemest thou? what shall we do? [ ] it is true i gave her my word, but meseemeth they are poor folk and not of the chiefs of the people." the [ ] vizier, who was like to die of envy and chagrin for that which had befallen his son, said in himself, "how shall one like this marry the sultan's daughter and my son lose this honour?" so he said to the sultan, [ ] "o my lord, it is an easy matter to rid ourselves of [ ] this vagabond, [ ] for that it would not beseem thy grace to give thy daughter to a man like this, of whom it is not known what he is." quoth the sultan, "on what wise shall we rid ourselves of this man, seeing i have given him my word and a king's word is his bond?" "o my lord," answered the vizier, "my counsel is that thou require of him forty dishes of pure virgin gold, full of jewels, such as she [ ] brought thee the other day, [ ] and forty slave-girls to bear the dishes and forty black slaves." "by allah, o vizier," rejoined the sultan, "'thou speakest rightly; for that this is a thing to which he may not avail and so we shall be rid of him by [fair] means." [ ] so he said to alaeddin's mother, "go and tell thy son that i abide by the promise which i made him, but an if he avail unto my daughter's dowry; to wit, i require of him forty dishes of pure gold, which must all be full of jewels [such as] thou broughtest me [erst], together with forty slave-girls to carry them and forty male slaves to escort and attend them. if, then; thy son avail unto this, i will marry him to my daughter." alaeddin's mother returned home, shaking her head and saying, "whence shall my poor son get these dishes of jewels? supposing, for the jewels and the dishes, that he return to the treasure and gather the whole from the trees,--and withal methinketh not it is possible to him; but say that he fetch them,--whence [shall he get] the slaves and slave-girls?" and she gave not over talking to herself till she reached the house, where alaeddin awaited her, and when she came in to him, she said to him, "o my son, said i not to thee, 'think not to attain to the lady bedrulbudour'? indeed, this is a thing that is not possible unto folk like ourselves." quoth he, "tell me what is the news." and she said to him, "o my son, the sultan received me with all courtesy, according to his wont, and meseemeth he meant fairly by us, but [for] thine accursed enemy the vizier; for that, after i had bespoken the sultan in thy name, even as thou badest me, reminding him that the term for which he had appointed us was past and saying to him, 'if thy grace would vouchsafe to give commandment for the marriage of thy daughter the lady bedrulbudour with my son alaeddin,'--he turned to the vizier and spoke to him. the vizier replied to him in a whisper and after that the sultan returned me an answer." then she told him what the sultan required of him and added, "o my son, he would fain have present answer of thee; but methinketh we have no answer to give him." when [ ] alaeddin heard his mother's speech, he laughed and said, "o my mother, thou sayest we have no answer to make him and deemest the thing exceeding hard; but now be good enough to rise [ ] and fetch us somewhat to eat, and after we have dined, thou shalt (an it please the compassionate) see the answer. the sultan like thyself, thinketh he hath sought of me an extraordinary matter, so he may divert me from the lady bedrulbudour; but the fact is that he seeketh a thing less than i had looked for. but go now and buy us somewhat we may eat and leave me to fetch thee the answer." accordingly, she arose and went out to buy her need from the market, so she might make ready the morning-meal; whilst alaeddin entered his chamber and taking the lamp, rubbed it. the genie immediately appeared to him and said, "seek what thou wilt, o my lord;" whereupon quoth alaeddin, "i seek the sultan's daughter in marriage and he requireth of me forty dishes of pure gold, each ten pounds in weight and full of the jewels which be in the garden of the treasure, the forty dishes to be borne by forty slave girls and each slave-girl to be accompanied by a male slave; wherefore i will have thee bring me this, all of it." "hearkening and obedience, o my lord," replied the genie and disappearing, was absent awhile, then returned with the forty slave-girls, each attended by a male slave and bearing on her head a dish of pure gold, full of precious jewels. so he brought them before alaeddin and said to him, "here is that which thou soughtest. tell me an thou need thing or service other than this." quoth alaeddin, "i need nothing [more]; if i need aught, i will summon thee and tell thee." accordingly, the genie vanished and after a little, alaeddin's mother returned and entering the house, saw the slaves and slave-girls; whereat she marvelled and said, "all this is of the lamp; god continue it unto my son!" then, before she put off her veil, alaeddin said to her, "o my mother, this is thy time, ere the sultan enter his palace [and withdraw] to his harem. take him what he seeketh, and that forthright, so he may know that i can avail unto that which he requireth, ay, and more, and that he was deluded by the vizier; albeit he thought to baffle me, he and his vizier." then he arose and opening the house-door, let out the damsels and the slaves, pair by pair, each damsel with a slave by her side, so that they filled the street. his mother forewent them and the people of the quarter, when they saw that rare and magnificent sight, stood looking and marvelling and gazing upon the faces of the slave-girls and their grace and goodliness [and their apparel], for that they were clad in clothes all inwoven with gold and studded with jewels; nay, the least one's clothes of them were worth thousands. moreover they looked at the dishes [ ] and saw flashing therefrom a radiance that outshone the light of the sun, albeit each dish was covered with a piece of brocade, gold-inwrought and studded eke with precious jewels. alaeddin's [ ] mother fared on and the damsels and slaves followed after her, in all fair ordinance and disposition, whilst the folk stood to gaze on the beauty of the slave-girls and extolled the perfection of the almighty creator, till she reached the palace and entered it with them. when the eunuchs and chamberlains and captains of the guard saw them, wonder took them and they were breathless for amaze at this sight, the like whereof they had never in their lives seen, and especially at the slave girls, each one of whom would ravish the wit of an anchorite. withal, the chamberlains and captains of the sultan's guards were all of them sons of grandees and amirs; and they marvelled yet more at the damsels' costly raiment and the dishes which they bore on their heads and on which they might not open their eyes, [ ] for the excess of their flashing and radiance. then the guards [ ] entered and told the sultan, who bade bring them before him forthright into the divan. so alaeddin's mother entered with them and when they came before the sultan, they all did obeisance to him with the utmost courtliness and gravity and invoked on him glory and prosperity; then, raising the dishes from their heads, they set them down before him and stood with their hands clasped behind them, after they had removed the covers. the sultan wondered with an exceeding wonderment and was confounded at the beauty of the girls and their loveliness, which overpassed description; his wit was bewildered, when he saw the golden dishes, full of jewels that dazzled the sight, and he was amazed at this marvel, so that he became as one dumb, unable to speak aught, of the excess of his wonderment; nay, his wit was the more perplexed, forasmuch as this had all been accomplished in an hour's time. then he bade carry the slave-girls and their burdens to the pavilion of the lady bedrulbudour; so the damsels took up the dishes and entered; whereupon alaeddin's mother came forward and said to the sultan, "o my lord, this is no great matter for the lady bedrulbudour's exalted rank; nay, she deserveth manifold this." so the sultan turned to the vizier and said to him, "how sayst thou, o vizier? he that can in so short a time avail unto riches like these, is he not worthy to be the sultan's son-in-law and to have his daughter to bride?" now the vizier marvelled at the greatness of these riches yet more than the sultan, but envy was killing him and waxed on him more and more, when he saw that the sultan was content with the bride-gift [ ] and the dowry; withal he could not gainstand the [manifest] truth and say to the sultan, "he is not worthy;" so he cast about to work upon him by practice, that he might hinder him from giving his daughter the lady bedrulbudour to alaeddin, and accordingly said to him, [ ] "o my lord, all the treasures of the world were not worth a paring of thy daughter bedrulbudour's nails; indeed, thy highness overrateth this upon her." [ ] when [ ] the sultan heard the vizier's words, he knew that this his speech arose from the excess of his envy; so he turned to alaeddin's mother and said to her, "o woman, go to thy son and tell him that i accept of him the marriage-gift and abide by my promise to him and that my daughter is his bride and he my son-in-law; so bid him come hither, that i may make acquaintance with him. there shall betide him from me nought but all honour and consideration and this night shall be the beginning of the bridal festivities. but, as i said to thee, let him come hither to me without delay." so she returned home swiftlier than the wind, [ ] of her haste to bring her son the good news; and she was like to fly for joy at the thought that her son was to become the sultan's son-in-law. as soon as she had taken her leave, the sultan bade break up the divan and entering the lady bedrulbudour's pavilion, commanded to bring the damsels and the dishes before his daughter and himself, so she should see them. so they brought them and when the lady bedrulbudour saw the jewels, she was amazed and said, "methinketh there is not one of these jewels found in the treasuries of the world." then she looked at the damsels and marvelled at their beauty and grace and knew that this was all from her new bridegroom and that he had proffered it to her service. so she rejoiced, albeit she had been sad and sorry for her [whilom] bridegroom the vizier's son,--she rejoiced, [i say], with an exceeding joy, when she saw the jewels and the beauty of the damsels, and was cheered; whilst her father rejoiced exceedingly in her joy, in that he saw her put off chagrin and dejection. then he said to her, "o my daughter bedrulbudour, doth this please thee? indeed, methinketh this thy bridegroom is goodlier [ ] than the vizier's son, and god willing, o my daughter, thou shalt rejoice with him abundantly." [ ] so much for the sultan and as for alaeddin, when his mother came to the house and entered and he saw her laughing of the excess of her joy, he foreboded good news and said, "to god everlasting [ ] be praise! accomplished is that which i sought." and she said to him, "glad tidings, o my son! let thy heart rejoice and thine eye be solaced in the attainment of thy desire, for that the sultan accepteth thine offering, to wit, the bride gift and the dowry of the lady bedrulbudour, and she is thy bride and this, o my son, is the night of your [ ] bridal and thy going in to the lady bedrulbudour. nay, the sultan, that he might certify me of his word, proclaimed thee his son-in-law before the folk and declared that this should be the wedding-night; but he said to me, 'let thy son come hither to me, so i may make acquaintance with him, and i will receive him with all honour and worship.' and now, o my son, my office [ ] is ended, whatsoever remaineth is a matter for thee." [ ] alaeddin kissed his mother's hand and thanked her amain for her kindness; [ ] then he arose and entering his chamber, took the lamp and rubbed it; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him, "here am i; seek what thou wilt." quoth alaeddin, "my will is that thou take me to a bath, whose like is not in the world, and fetch me a suit of royal raiment and exceeding costly, such as no king can boast." "hearkening and obedience," replied the marid and taking him up, brought him intro a bath, never saw king nor kisra [ ] its like, for it was of alabaster and agate and full of marvellous limnings that ravished the sight, and therein was a saloon all embossed with precious jewels. none was there; but, when alaeddin entered, there came in to him one of the jinn in human semblance and washed him and bathed him to the utmost of the wish: after [ ] which he went forth the bath to the outer saloon, where he found his clothes taken away and in their stead a suit of the richest royal apparel. then sherbets were brought him and coffee with ambergris and he drank and arose; whereupon there came to him a troop of slaves and clad him in those [ ] sumptuous clothes [ ] and he dressed and perfumed himself with essences and sweet-scented smoke. [ ] now thou knowest [ ] that alaeddin was the son of a poor man, a tailor: yet now none had thought it, [ ] but had said, "this is the chiefest of the sons of the kings," extolled be the perfection of him who changeth and is not changed! then the slave of the lamp came to him and taking him up, set him down in his house and said to him, "o my lord, dost thou need aught?" "yes," answered alaeddin; "i will have thee bring me eight-and-forty mamelukes, [ ] four-and-twenty to walk before me and four-and-twenty to walk behind me, with their horses and clothes and arms, and let all that is upon them and their horses be of stuffs costly and precious exceedingly, such as are not found in kings' treasuries. then bring me a stallion fit for the riding of the chosroes and be his trappings all of gold, embossed with noble jewels; and bring me eight-and-forty thousand diners, in each mameluke's hand a thousand, for that i purpose presently to visit the sultan; wherefore delay thou not on me, since i cannot go thither without all that whereof i have bespoken thee. bring me also twelve slave-girls, who must be unique in loveliness and clad in the richest of raiment, so they may attend my mother to the sultan's palace, and let each slave-girl have with her a suit of apparel fit for the wearing of kings' wives." [ ] "hearkening and obedience," replied the genie and disappearing, brought him in the twinkling of an eye all that he had commanded him withal, whilst in his hand he held a stallion, whose like is not among the horses of the arabs of the arabs, [ ] with housings of the richest stuffs brocaded with gold; whereupon alaeddin called his mother forthright and delivered her the twelve slave-girls and gave her the [twelve] suits, [ ] so she might dress herself [ ] and go with them to the sultan's palace. then he despatched one of the mamelukes thither, to see an the sultan were come forth of the harem or not; so he went and returning, swiftlier than lightning, said to him, "o my lord, the sultan awaiteth thee." accordingly he arose and mounting, [set forth], whilst the mamelukes rode before him and after him, (extolled be the perfection of the lord who created them with [ ] that which clothed them of beauty and grace!), strewing gold upon the folk before their lord alaeddin, who overpassed them all of his grace and goodliness, and ask thou not of kings' sons, [ ] extolled be the perfection of the giver, the eternal! now all this was of the virtue of the wonderful lamp, [ ] which gifted whoso possessed it with goodliness and grace and wealth and wisdom. the folk marvelled at alaeddin's bounty and at the excess of his munificence and were amazed when they saw that which graced him of beauty and goodliness and his courtliness and dignity; yea, they extolled the perfection of the compassionate one for this his noble creature and all of them great and small [ ] called down blessings on him, albeit they knew him for the son of such an one the tailor; yet none envied him, but all said, "he is deserving." so [ ] he fared on his way, with the mamelukes before him and behind him, scattering gold upon the folk, till he came to the palace. now the sultan had summoned to his presence the chiefs of his state and telling them that he had passed his word for the marriage of his daughter to alaeddin, bade them await the latter, commanding them that, when he came, they should all go out to meet him; moreover, he assembled the amirs and viziers and chamberlains and guards and captains of the troops and they were all awaiting alaeddin at the door of the palace. when he arrived, he would have dismounted at the door, but there came up to him one of the amirs, whom the sultan had deputed to that office, and said to him, "o my lord, the commandment is that thou enter, riding on thy charger, so thou mayst alight at the door of the divan." so they all forewent him and he entered till they brought him to the door of the divan. there sundry of them came forward and held his stirrup, whilst some supported him on both sides and other some took him by the hand, and so they dismounted him. then the amirs and officers of state forewent him and brought him into the divan, till he drew near the sultan's throne; whereupon the latter came down forthright from his seat and embracing him, hindered him from kissing the carpet and seated him beside himself on his right hand. alaeddin did that which behoveth and befitteth unto kings of obeisance and invocation and said to him, "o our lord the sultan, thy grace's munificence hath vouchsafed [ ] to accord me the lady bedrulbudour thy daughter, albeit i am unworthy of this great favour, for that i am of the lowliest of thy slaves; wherefore i beseech god that he keep and continue thee. indeed, o king, my tongue faileth to thank thee [as were behoving] for the greatness of this boon, overpassing its competence, [ ] wherewith thou hast favoured me, and i beseech thy grace to vouchsafe me ground, such as is meet, so i may build thereon a palace that shall be fit for the lady bedrulbudour." the sultan was amazed when he saw alaeddin in this regal array and beheld his grace and goodliness and the mamelukes standing in attendance upon him in all their comeliness and fair favour; yea, and his wonderment redoubled when alaeddin's mother came up attired in rich and costly raiment, as she were a queen, and he saw twelve slave-girls in her service, preceding her, their hands clasped behind their backs, with all worship and observance. moreover, he noted alaeddin's eloquence and the elegance of his speech and was amazed thereat, he and all who were present with him in the divan, whilst fire was kindled in the vizier's heart for envy of alaeddin, so that he was like to die. then, after the sultan had heard alaeddin's compliment and had seen the greatness of his quality and his modesty and eloquence, he strained him to his bosom and kissed him, saying, "it irketh me, o my son, that i have not known thee [ ] before to-day." so, [ ] when he saw alaeddin on this fashion, he rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and at once bade the music [ ] and the drums [ ] strike up; then, rising, he took him by the hand and carried him into the palace, where the evening-meal had been made ready and the servants set the tables. there he sat down and seated alaeddin on his right hand; whereupon the viziers and chiefs of the state and the grandees of the realm sat also, each in his several room, whilst the drums beat and they held high festival in the palace. [ ] the sultan proceeded to make familiar with alaeddin and to talk with him, and alaeddin answered him with all courtliness and fluency, as he had been bred in kings' palaces or as he were their constant associate; [ ] and the more the talk was prolonged between them, the more gladness and joy redoubled on the sultan for that which he heard of the goodliness of alaeddin's answers and the sweetness of his speech. then, when they had eaten and drunken and the tables were removed, the sultan bade fetch the cadis and the witnesses; so they came and knotted the knot and wrote the writ [of marriage] between alaeddin and the lady bedrulbudour. therewith alaeddin arose and would have taken leave; but the sultan laid hold on him and said to him, "whither away, o my son? the bride-feast is toward and the bride present; the knot is knotted and the writ written." "o my lord the king," answered alaeddin, "i would fain build the lady bedrulbudour a palace, besorting her rank and station, and it may not be that i should go in to her without this; but, god willing, the building shall, by the diligent endeavour of thy slave and by thy grace's auspice, [ ] be right speedily despatched. indeed, i long for present enjoyment of the lady bedrulbudour; but it behoveth me [first] apply myself to that which is incumbent on me for her service." [ ] quoth the sultan, "o my son, look thyself out the ground which thou deemest apt to thine end and take it. all is in thy hand; [ ], but here before my palace is a spacious piece of ground, which meseemeth were best; so, if it please thee, build thou the palace thereon." and alaeddin answered him, saying, "indeed, it is my utmost desire to be near thy grace." then he took leave of the sultan and going forth, mounted and rode, with his mamelukes before him and behind him, whilst the folk all prayed for him and said, "by allah, he is deserving!" till he came to his house and alighting from his stallion, entered his chamber and rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie stood before him and said to him, "seek what thou wilt, o my lord" quoth alaeddin, "i desire of thee an important service, to wit, that thou build me with all speed a palace before that of the sultan, which shall be marvellous in its building, never saw kings its like, and be it complete with all its requisites of kingly and magnificent furniture and so forth." "hearkening and obedience," replied the genie and [ ] disappeared; but, before the dawn broke, he came to alaeddin and said to him, "o my lord, the palace is finished to the utmost of the wish; wherefore, an thou wouldst see it, arise forthright and look on it." so alaeddin arose and the genie carried him, in the twinkling of an eye, to the palace, which when he saw, he was amazed at its building, for that all its stones were of jade and alabaster and porphyry and mosaic. the genie carried him into a treasury full of all manner of gold and silver and precious jewels past count or reckoning, price or estimation; then he brought him into another place, where he saw all the requisites of the table, platters and spoons and ewers and basins and cups, of gold and silver, and thence to the kitchen, where he found cooks, [ ] with their cooking-gear and utensils, all on like wise of gold and silver. moreover, he brought him into a place, which he found full of coffers overflowing with royal raiment, such as ravished the wit, gold-inwoven stuffs, indian and chinese, and brocades, and he showed him also many other places, all full of that which beggareth description, till at last he brought him into a stable, wherein were horses whose like is not found with the kings of the world; and therewithin he showed him a storehouse, full of housings and saddles of price, all broidered with pearls and precious stones and so forth. alaeddin was amazed and bewildered at the greatness of these riches, whereunto the mightiest king in the world might not avail, and all the work of one night; more by token that the palace was full of slaves and slave girls such as would bewitch a saint with their loveliness. but the most marvellous of all was that he saw in the palace an upper hall [ ] and [ ] a belvedere [ ] with four-and-twenty oriels, all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other jewels, and of one of these oriels the lattice-work was by his desire left unfinished, [ ] so the sultan should fail of its completion. when he had viewed the palace, all of it, he rejoiced and was exceeding glad; then he turned to the genie and said to him, "i desire of thee one thing which is lacking and whereof i had forgotten to bespeak thee." quoth the slave, "seek what thou wilt, o my lord;" and alaeddin said to him, "i will have thee bring me a carpet of fine brocade, all inwoven with gold, and spread it from my palace to that of the sultan, so the lady bedrulbudour, whenas she cometh hither, may walk thereon and not upon the earth." so the genie was absent a little and returning, said to him, "o my lord, that which thou soughtest of me is here." therewithal he took him and showed him the carpet, which ravished the wit, and it was spread from the sultan's palace to that of alaeddin; then taking him up, he set him down in his own house. it [ ] was now grown high day; so the sultan arose from sleep and opening a window of his pavilion, looked forth and saw buildings [ ] before his palace; whereupon he fell to rubbing his eyes and opening them wide and looking farther, saw a magnificent palace, that bewildered the wits, and a carpet spread therefrom to his own palace; as on like wise did the doorkeepers and all who were in the palace, and their wits were bewildered at the sight. at this juncture the vizier presented himself and as he entered, he espied the new palace and the carpet and marvelled also; so, when he came in to the sultan, the twain fell to talking of this strange matter and marvelling, for that they saw a thing which amazed the beholder and dilated the heart; and they said, "verily, methinketh kings may not avail unto the building of the like of this palace." then the sultan turned to the vizier and said to him, "how now? deemest thou alaeddin worthy to be bridegroom to my daughter the lady bedrulbudour? hast thou seen and considered this royal building and all these riches which man's wit cannot comprehend?" the vizier, of his envy of alaeddin, answered him, saying, "o king of the age, indeed this palace and its building and all these riches may not be but by means of enchantment, for that no man among men, no, not the mightiest of them in dominion or the greatest in wealth, might avail to upraise and stablish [the like of] this building in one night." quoth the sultan, "i marvel at thee how thou still deemest evil of alaeddin; but methinketh it ariseth from thine envy of him, for that thou wast present when he sought of me a place whereon to build a palace for my daughter and i accorded him, before thee, [leave to build] a palace on this ground; and he who brought me, to my daughter's dower, jewels such that no kings possess one thereof, shall he lack ableness to build a palace like this?" when [ ] the vizier heard the sultan's speech and understood that he loved alaeddin greatly, his envy of him increased; withal he availed not to do aught against him, so he was dumb and could make the sultan no answer. meanwhile alaeddin--seeing that it was high day and that the time was come when he should go to the palace, for that his wedding-festivities were toward and the amirs and viziers and chiefs of the state were all with the sultan, so they might be present at the bridal--arose and rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him, "o my lord, seek what thou wilt, for that i am before thee, at thy service." quoth alaeddin, "i purpose presently to go to the sultan's palace, and to-day is the wedding; wherefore i have occasion for ten thousand diners, which i will have thee bring me." the slave was absent the twinkling of an eye and returned to him with the money; whereupon alaeddin arose and taking horse, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, rode to the palace, scattering gold upon the folk, as he passed, so that they were fulfilled with the love of him and the greatness of his munificence. [ ] when he came to the palace and the amirs and eunuchs and soldiers, who were standing awaiting him, saw him, they hastened forthright to the sultan and told him; whereupon he arose and coming to meet him, embraced him and kissed him; then he took him by the hand and carried him into the palace where he sat down and seated him on his right hand. now the city was all adorned and the instruments [of music] were smiting in the palace and the singing-women singing. then the sultan trade serve the morning-meal; so the slaves and mamelukes hastened to spread the table and it was such as kings might take example by. [ ] the sultan sat with alaeddin and the officers of state and the chiefs of the realm and they ate and drank till they were satisfied; and great was the rejoicing in the palace and the city. glad were all the chiefs of the state and the folk rejoiced in all the realm, whilst there came from far regions the notables of the provinces and the governors of the cities, so they might see alaeddin's wedding and his bride-feast. the sultan still marvelled in himself at alaeddin's mother, how she had come to him in poor clothes, whilst her son had command of this exceeding wealth; and as for the folk, who came to the sultan's palace, to gaze upon the wedding-festivities, when they saw alaeddin's palace and the goodliness of its building, there took them great wonderment how so magnificent a building had been upreared in one night and they fell all to praying for alaeddin and saying, "god prosper him! by allah, he is deserving. god's blessing on his days!" meanwhile [ ] alaeddin, having made an end of the morning-meal, arose and taking leave of the sultan, mounted with his mamelukes and rode to his palace, so he might prepare for the reception of his bride, the lady bedrulbudour. as he passed, all the folk cried out to him with one voice, saying, "god gladden thee! god increase thee in glory! god continue thee!" and so they brought him home in great procession, what while he showered gold on them. when he came to his palace, he alighted and entering, sat down in the divan, whilst the mamelukes stood before him with clasped hands. after a little they brought him sherbets and he gave commandment to his mamelukes and slave-girls and eunuchs and all who were in his palace that they should make ready to receive the lady bedrulbudour, his bride. then, when it was the time of the midafternoon prayer [ ] and the air grew cool and the heat of the sun abated, [ ] the sultan bade the troops and the amirs and the viziers go down to the horse-course. so they all repaired thither and with them the sultan himself; whereupon alaeddin also arose and mounting with his mamelukes, went down into the plain and showed his horsemanship; then he fell to playing [ ] in the tilting-ground and there was none could stand before him. now he was riding a stallion whose like is not among the horses of the arabs of the arabs [ ] and his bride the lady bedrulbudour was looking upon him from the window of her pavilion, and when she saw his grace and goodliness and knightly prowess, she was overcome with his love and was like to fly for joy in him. then, after they had played [some] bouts [ ] in the plain and each had shown what was in him of horsemanship, (but alaeddin overpassed them all,) the sultan went to his palace and alaeddin on like wise returned home. when it was eventide, the chiefs of the state and the viziers went and taking alaeddin, carried him in procession to the royal bath, the renowned; [ ] so he entered and bathed and perfumed himself, then, coming forth, he donned a suit yet richer than the first and mounted, whilst the troops rode before him and the amirs and viziers. so they fared on with him in great state, with four of the viziers for his sword-bearers, whilst all the troops and people of the city, both townsfolk and strangers, walked in procession before him, carrying flambeaux and drums and flutes and instruments of mirth and music, till they brought him to his palace, when he alighted and entering, sat down, as did also the viziers and amirs who were in his company, whilst the mamelukes brought sherbets and sweetmeats [ ] and gave all who were with him in the procession to drink, albeit they were a multitude of folk whose number might not be told. moreover, he gave commandment unto his mamelukes, and they went out to the door of the palace and fell to showering gold upon the folk. meanwhile, [ ] when the sultan returned from the horse-course and entered his palace, he bade forthright carry his daughter the lady bedrulbudour in procession to the palace of her bridegroom alaeddin. so the troops forthright mounted with the officers of state, who had been in alaeddin's procession, and the slave-girls and eunuchs went out with flambeaux and carried the lady bedrulhudour in great state to her bridegroom's palace, alaeddin's mother by her side and before her the women of the viziers and amirs and grandees and notables. moreover, she had with her eight and-forty slave-girls, whom alaeddin had presented to her, in each one's hand a great candle of camphor and ambergris, set in a candlestick of gold, studded with jewels; and all the men and women in the palace went out with her and fared on before her, till they brought her to her bridegroom's palace and carrying her up to her pavilion, [ ] attired her in various robes [ ] and displayed her. then, after they had made an end of displaying her, they carried her to the pavilion of her groom alaeddin and he went in to her. now his mother was with the lady bedrulbudour, and when he came up and did off her veil, she fell to gazing upon the bride's beauty and grace and looked at the pavilion, the which was all wroughten [ ] of gold and jewels and therein were golden lustres, all embossed with emeralds and rubies; and she said in herself, "methought the sultan's palace was magnificent; but, for this pavilion [ ] alone, i doubt me the greatest of the chosroes and the kings never owned its match; nor, methinketh, might all mankind avail to make the like thereof." and the lady bedrulbudour also fell to looking and marvelling at the palace [ ] and its magnificence. then the table was laid and they ate and drank and made merry; and presently there appeared before them fourscore slave-girls, each with an instrument in her hand of the instruments of mirth and music. so they plied their finger-tips and touching their strings, struck up with plaintive airs, till they clove in sunder the hearts of the listeners, whilst the lady bedrulbudour redoubled in wonderment and said in herself, "never in my life heard i the like of these songs;" so that she forgot to eat and fell to listening. as for alaeddin, he proceeded to pour to her the wine and give her to drink with his own hand, and mirth and good cheer and delight went round among them and it was a rare night, such as iskender of the horns [ ] never in his time spent. then, after they had made an end of eating and drinking, the tables were removed from before them and alaeddin arose and went in to his bride. when it was the morning, alaeddin arose and his treasurer brought him a costly suit of the richest of kings' raiment; so he donned it and sat down; whereupon coffee was brought him with ambergris and he drank thereof and called for the horses. accordingly, they were saddled and he mounted and rode, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, to the sultan's palace. when he reached it and entered, the eunuchs went in and acquainted the sultan with his presence; which [ ] when he heard, he arose forthwith and coming to meet alaeddin, embraced him and kissing him, as he were his son, seated him on his right hand. moreover the viziers and amirs and officers of state and grandees of the realm invoked blessings on him and the sultan gave him joy [ ] and prayed god prosper him. then he bade lay breakfast; [ ] so they laid [it] and they all broke their fast; and after they had eaten and drunken their sufficiency and had finished and the servants had removed the tables from before them, alaeddin turned to the sultan and said to him, "o my lord, [belike] thy grace will vouchsafe to honour me this day at the morning-meal [ ] with the lady bedrulbudour, thy precious daughter, and be thy grace's company all thy viziers and the chief officers of thy state." quoth the sultan, (and indeed he rejoiced in him), "gladly, [ ] o my son," and bidding the viziers and officers of state and grandees attend him, arose forthright and mounted; whereupon alaeddin and the others mounted also and they all rode till they came to alaeddin's palace. when the sultan entered the palace and viewed its building and ordinance and saw its stones, which were of jade and agate, he was amazed [ ] and his wit was bewildered at that affluence and wealth and magnificence; so he turned to the vizier and said to him, "how sayst thou, o vizier? hast thou in all thy days seen aught like this? are there found with the greatest of the kings of the world riches and gold and jewels such as these we see in this palace?" "o my lord the king," answered the vizier, "this is a thing beyond the competence of a king of the sons of adam, nor might all the people of the earth together avail to build a palace like this; nay, there are no craftsmen living able to do work like this, except it be, as i said to thy grace, by might of magic." [ ] the sultan knew that the vizier, in seeking to convince him that this was not by might of men, but all of it enchantment, still spoke not but of his envy of alaeddin; so he said to him, "enough, o vizier; let us have no more of thy talk. i know the cause which maketh thee speak on this wise." then alaeddin forewent the sultan till he brought him to the high pavilion [ ] and he looked at the belvedere [ ] and its oriols [ ] and lattices, [ ] all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other precious stones, and was amazed and astonied; his wit was bewildered and he abode perplexed in his thought. then he fell to going round about the pavilion and viewing these things that ravished the sight, till presently he espied the casement [ ] which alaeddin had purposely left wanting and unfinished. when the sultan examined it and saw that it was unfinished, he said, "woe is me for thee, o casement, that thou art not perfect!" then, turning to the vizier, he said to him, "knowest thou the reason of the lack of completion of this casement and its lattices?" "o [ ] my lord," answered the vizier, "methinketh it is because thy grace hastened upon alaeddin with the wedding and he had no time to complete it." now alaeddin had meanwhile gone in to his bride, the lady bedrulbudour, to acquaint her with the coming of her father the sultan; and when he returned, the sultan said to him, "o my son alaeddin, what is the reason that the lattice[-work] of yonder oriel [ ] is not completed?" "o king of the age," replied alaeddin, "by reason of the haste made with the bridal, the craftsmen might not avail to [ ] finish it." quoth the sultan to him, "it is my wish to finish it myself." and alaeddin answered, saying, "god prolong thy glory, o king; so shall there remain unto thee a remembrance [ ] in thy daughter's palace." accordingly the sultan bade straightway fetch jewellers and goldsmiths and commanded to give them from the treasury all that they needed of gold and jewels and [precious] metals; so they came and he bade them do that which was wanting of the lattice-work of the [unfinished] oriel. [ ] meanwhile, the lady bedrulbudour came out to receive her father the sultan, and when she came up to him and he saw her smiling-faced he embraced her and kissed her and taking her [by the hand], went in with her to her pavilion. so they entered all, for that it was the appointed time of the morning-meal and they had set one table for the sultan and the lady bedrulbudour and alaeddin and another for the vizier and the officers of state and grandees of the realm and captains and chamberlains and deputies. the sultan sat between his daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, and his son-in-law alaeddin, and when he put his hand to the food and tasted it, wonder took him at the richness of the meats and the exquisiteness of their seasonings. [ ] now there stood before them fourscore damsels, each as it were she said to the full moon, "rise, so i may sit in thy place;" and in each one's hand was an instrument of mirth and music. so they tuned their instruments and touched their strings and struck up with plaintive [ ] airs that dilated the mourning heart. [ ] the sultan was cheered and the time was pleasant to him and he rejoiced and said, "verily, kings and kaisers would fail of [ ] this thing." then they fell to eating and drinking and the cup went round among them till they had taken their sufficiency, when there came sweetmeats [ ] and various kinds of fruits and so forth; and these were laid in another saloon. so they removed thither and took their fill of those dainties; after which the sultan arose, that he might see if the work of the jewellers and goldsmiths likened that of the palace. so he went up to them and viewed their work and how they wrought and saw that they were far from availing to do work like that [of the rest] of alaeddin's palace. [ ] moreover [ ] they told him that all they found in his treasury they had brought and it sufficed not; whereupon he bade open the great treasury and give them what they needed and that, if it sufficed not, they should take that which alaeddin had given him. so they took all the jewels assigned them by the sultan and wrought with them, but found that these also sufficed them not, nor might they complete withal the half of that which lacked of the lattice work of the oriel; [ ] whereupon the sultan bade take all the jewels which should be found with the viziers and chiefs of the state; and accordingly they took them all and wrought therewith; but this also sufficed not. when it was morning, alaeddin went up to view the jewelers' work and saw that they had not completed half the lacking lattice-work; whereupon he bade them incontinent undo all that they had wrought and restore the jewels to their owners. accordingly, they undid it all and sent to the sultan that which was his and to the viziers [and others] that which was theirs. then they went to the sultan and told him that alaeddin had commanded them of this; whereupon he asked them, "what said he to you and why would he not have the lattice-work finished and why undid he that which you had done?" and they said to him, "o my lord, we know nothing, save that he bade us undo all that we had done." whereupon the sultan immediately called for the horses and arising, mounted and rode to alaeddin's palace. meanwhile alaeddin, after dismissing the goldsmiths and the jewellers, entered his closet and rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie forthwith appeared and said to him, "seek what thou wilt; thy slave is before thee." and alaeddin said to him, "it is my will that thou complete the lacking lattice-work of the oriel." [ ] "on my head and eyes [be it]," replied the slave and disappearing, returned after a little and said to him, "o my lord, that whereof thou commandedst me i have performed." so alaeddin went up to the belvedere [ ] and found all its lattices [ ] perfect; and whilst he was viewing them, behold the [chief] eunuch [ ] came in to him and said to him, "o my lord, the sultan cometh to visit thee and is at the palace-door." so he came down forthright and went to meet the sultan, who [ ] said to him, when he saw him, "wherefore, o my son, hast thou done thus, and why sufferedst thou not the jewellers complete the lattice-work of the oriel, [ ] so there might not remain a place in thy palace [ ] defective?" "o king of the age," answered alaeddin, "i left it not imperfect but of my free will, nor did i lack of ableness to complete it. however, i could not brook that thy grace should honour me [with thy presence] in a palace [ ] wherein there was somewhat lacking; wherefore, so thou mayst know that it was not for lack of ableness that i left it uncomplete, [ ] let thy grace go up and see the lattice-work of the kiosk, [ ] an there be aught lacking thereto." the sultan accordingly went up to the pavilion [ ] and entering the kiosk, [ ] viewed it right and left and saw no manner defect in its lattices, but found them all perfect; whereat he was astounded and embracing alaeddin, fell a-kissing him and saying, "o my son, what is this extraordinary thing? in one night thou dost a work wherefrom the jewellers would fail in months! by allah, methinketh thou hast not thy fellow [ ] in the world!" quoth alaeddin, "god prolong thy life and perpetuate thy continuance! thy slave is not worthy of this praise." "by allah, o my son," rejoined the sultan, "thou deservest all praise, in that thou hast done a thing wherefrom [all the] craftsmen of the world would fail." then he went down and entering the pavilion of his daughter, the lady bedrulbudour, found her rejoicing exceedingly over this great magnificence wherein she was; and after he had rested with her awhile, he returned to his palace. now alaeddin used every day to mount and ride through the town, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, strewing gold upon the people, right and left, and the folk, stranger and neighbour, near and far, were fulfilled with the love of him for the excess of his munificence and his bounty. moreover he exceeded in benefaction of the poor and the indigent [ ] and used himself to distribute his alms to them with his own hand. after this fashion he won himself great renown in all the realm and the most of the chiefs of the state and the amirs used to eat at his table and swore not but by his precious life. moreover, he fell to going everywhile [ ] to the chase and the horse course and to practicing horsemanship and archery [ ] before the sultan, whilst the lady bedrulbudour redoubled in love of him, whenassoever she saw him disporting himself a horseback, and thought in herself that god had wrought exceeding graciously by her in that there had befallen her what befell with the vizier's son, so he might keep her for her true bridegroom alaeddin. so [ ] he went daily waxing in goodliness of repute and in praise and the love of him redoubled in the hearts of the common folk and he was magnified in men's eyes. now in those days certain of the sultan's enemies took horse against him; so he levied troops to repel them and made alaeddin chief thereof. alaeddin set out with his host and fared on till he drew near the enemy, whose troops were exceeding many; where upon he drew his sword and fell upon them and there befell battle and slaughter and sore was the stress of the mellay; but alaeddin broke them and routed them and slew the most part of them. moreover, he plundered their goods and possessions and gat him spoil beyond count or reckoning, wherewith he returned in triumph, [having gained] a great victory, and entered the city, which had adorned itself for him of its joy in him. the sultan came out to meet him and give him joy and embraced him and kissed him, and there was high festival holden in the kingdom and great rejoicing. then the sultan and alaeddin betook themselves to the latter's palace; [ ] whereupon his bride, the lady bedrulbudour, came out to meet him, rejoicing in him, and kissed him between the eyes, and he went in with her to her pavilion; [ ] whither after a little came the sultan and they sat down and the slave-girls brought sherbets. [ ] so they drank and the sultan commanded that all the realm should be decorated for alaeddin's victory over the enemy; whilst it became [a saying] with the commons and the troops and the folk, all of them, "allah in heaven and alaeddin on earth." and they loved him yet more, having regard not only to the excess of his bounty and munificence, but to his knightly prowess, in that he had done battle for the kingdom and had routed the enemy. so much for alaeddin, and now to return to the mangrabin enchanter. when he returned to his country, he abode all this time, bewailing that which he had endured of toil and stress, so he might compass the lamp, yet had his travail all been wasted and the morsel had escaped from his hand, after it had reached his mouth; and he still thought upon all this, bemoaning himself and reviling alaeddin of the excess of his anger against him; and whiles he said in himself, "since yonder whoreson is dead under the earth, i am content withal and i have hopes of the lamp, that i may yet achieve it, inasmuch as it is still safeguarded." then, one day of the days, he smote the sand and extracting the figures, set them down after the most approved fashion [ ] and adjusted [ ] them, so he might see and certify himself of the death of alaeddin and the safe keeping of the lamp under the earth; and he looked well into [ ] the figures, both mothers and daughters, [ ] but saw not the lamp, whereupon rage overrode him and he smote the sand a second time, that he might certify himself of alaeddin's death, but saw him not in the treasure; whereat he redoubled in wrath, and yet more when it was certified to him that the lad was alive upon the surface of the earth and he knew that he had come forth from under the ground and had gotten the lamp, on account whereof he himself had suffered toil and torment such as passeth man's power to endure. so he said in himself, "i have suffered many hardships for the sake of the lamp and have endured fatigues such as none but i might brook, [ ] and now yonder accursed one taketh it without stress and it is evident [ ] [that], an he have learned the use thereof, there will be none in the world richer than he." then, [ ] when he saw and was certified that alaeddin had come forth from under the earth and had happened upon the good of the lamp, [ ] he said in himself, "needs must i go about to kill him." so he smote the sand once more and examining its figures, saw that alaeddin had gotten him exceeding wealth and had married the sultan's daughter; whereat he was all afire for rage and envy and arising then and there, equipped himself for travel and set out for the land of china. when he came to the city of the sultanate, [ ] wherein was alaeddin, he entered and alighting at one of the khans, heard the folk talking of nought but the magnificence of alaeddin's palace; then, after he was rested from his journey, he changed [ ] his clothes and went down to go round about in the thoroughfares of the city. he passed no folk but they were descanting upon the palace and its magnificence and talking of alaeddin's grace and comeliness and his bounty and munificence and the goodliness of his manners and disposition; so [ ] he went up to one of those who were extolling alaeddin on this wise and said to him, "prithee, fair youth, who is this whom you describe and praise?" "o man," replied the other, "meseemeth thou art a stranger and comest from afar; but, granting thou art from a far country, hast thou not heard of the amir alaeddin, whose repute, methought, filled the earth, and of his palace, a wonder of the world, whereof both far and near have heard? how is it thou hast heard nought of this nor of the name of alaeddin, whom our lord increase in glory and prosper?" quoth the maugrabin, "marry, it is the utmost of my wish to look upon the palace; so, an thou wouldst do me a kindness, direct me thither, for that i am a stranger." "hearkening and obedience," replied the other and going before him, guided him to alaeddin's palace. the maugrabin fell to examining it and knew that this all of it was the work of the lamp; so he said, "alack! alack! needs must i dig a pit for this accursed one, this tailor's son, who could not come by a night's supper; but, an destiny enable me, i will send his mother back to spin at her wheel, like as she did erst, and as for him, it shall cost him [ ] his life." then he returned to the khan in a woeful state of chagrin and colour and despite, for envy of alaeddin, and [ ] taking his geomantic instruments, [ ] smote his [tablet of] sand, so he might learn where the lamp was, and found that it was in the palace and not with alaeddin; [ ] whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said, "now it will be an easy matter for me to bereave this accursed of his life and i have a way to come at the lamp." accordingly he went to a coppersmith and said to him, "make me so many [ ] lamps [ ] and take of me their worth in full; [ ] but i will have thee despatch them quickly." "hearkening and obedience," replied the smith and falling to work on them, speedily despatched them for him. when they were finished, the maugrabin paid him their price, even that which he sought, and taking the lamps, carried them to the khan, where he laid them in a basket and fell to going round about in the markets and thoroughfares of the city and crying out, "ho! who will barter an old lamp for a new lamp?" when the folk heard him crying this, they laughed at him and said, "certes, this man is mad, since he goeth about, bartering new lamps for old." moreover, people [ ] followed him and the street-boys caught him up from place to place [ ] and laughed at him. however, he fended not himself neither took heed of this, but ceased not to go round about the city till he came under alaeddin's palace, where he fell to crying his loudest, whilst the children called after him, "madman! madman!" now as fate willed it, the lady bedrulbudour was in the kiosk and hearing one crying out and the boys calling after him and understanding not what was toward, bade one of the slave-girls "go see what is this man who crieth out and what he crieth." so the girl went and looking, saw one crying out, "ho, who will barter an old lamp for a new lamp?" with the boys after him, laughing at him; so she returned and told her mistress, saying, "o my lady, this man crieth, 'ho! who will barter an old lamp for a new lamp?' and the boys are following him and laughing at him;" and the lady bedrulbudour laughed also at this marvel. now alaeddin had forgotten the lamp in his pavilion, [ ] without locking it up in his treasury [as was his wont], and one of the girls had seen it; so she said to the princess, "o my lady, methinketh i have seen an old lamp in my lord alaeddin's pavilion; let us barter it with this man for a new one, so we may see an his speech be true or leasing." and [ ] the princess said to her, "fetch the lamp whereof thou speakest." now the lady bedrulbudour had no knowledge of the lamp and its properties, neither knew she that this it was which had brought alaeddin her husband to that great estate, and it was the utmost of her desire to prove and see the wit of this man who bartered new for old, nor was any one aware of the maugrabin enchanter's craft and trickery. so the slave-girl went up into alaeddin's pavilion and returned with the lamp to the lady bedrulbudour, who bade the aga of the eunuchs [ ] go down and exchange it for a new one; so he took it and going down, gave it to the maugrabin and took of him a new lamp, with which he returned to the princess, who examined it and finding it new and real, fell to laughing at the maugrabin's [lack of] wit. meanwhile, when the enchanter had gotten the lamp and knew it for that of the treasure, he thrust it forthwith into his sleeve [ ] and leaving the rest of the lamps to the folk who were in act to barter of him, set off running, till he came without the city, and walked about the waste places, awaiting the coming of the night. then, when he saw himself alone in the open country, he brought out the lamp from his sleeve and rubbed it; whereupon the marid immediately appeared to him and said, "here am i; thy slave [is] before thee. seek of me what thou wilt." quoth the maugrabin, "my will is that thou take up alaeddin's palace from its place, with its inhabitants and all that [ ] is therein and myself also, and set it down in my country of africa. [ ] thou knowest my town and i will have this palace be thereby among the gardens." "hearkening and obedience," replied the marid. "shut [thine] eye and open [thine] eye, and thou wilt find thyself in thine own country with the palace." and immediately this befell in the twinkling of an eye and the maugrabin was transported, with alaeddin's palace and all that was therein, to the land of africa. so much for the enchanter, and now let us return to the sultan and alaeddin. the sultan, of his love and affection for his daughter the lady bedrulbudour, was wont, every day, when he awoke from his sleep, to open the window and look at her therefrom; so he arose on the morrow, according to his wont, and opened his chamber-window, so he might see his daughter; but [ ] when he put out his head and looked for alaeddin's palace, he beheld nothing but a place swept [and level], like as it was aforetime, and saw neither palace nor inhabitants; [ ] whereat amazement clad him and his wit was bewildered and he fell to rubbing his eyes, so haply they were bleared or dimmed. then he proceeded to look closely till at last he was certified that there was neither trace nor sign left of the palace and knew not what was come of it; whereupon he redoubled in perplexity and smote hand upon hand and his tears ran down upon his beard, for that he knew not what had befallen his daughter. so he sent forthright to fetch the vizier, who came in to him and seeing him in that woeful state, said to him, "pardon, o king of the age (god keep thee from harm!) why art thou woeful?" quoth the sultan, "meseemeth thou knowest not of my affair." and the vizier said to him, "by allah, o my lord, i have no knowledge of aught whatsoever." "then," rejoined the sultan, "thou hast not looked towards alaeddin's palace." "nay, o my lord," replied the vizier, "it is yet shut." and the sultan said to him, "since thou hast no news of aught, rise and look at it from the window and see where it is, this palace of alaeddin's, whereof thou sayest that it is yet shut." the vizier arose and looked from the window towards alaeddin's palace, but could see nothing, neither palace nor aught else; so his wit was bewildered and he was amazed and returned to the sultan, who said to him, "now knowest thou the cause of my distress and seest alaeddin his palace, whereof thou saddest that it was shut." "o king of the age," rejoined the vizier, "i told thy grace aforetime that this palace and these affairs were all of them [the work of] enchantment." at this the sultan was fired with wrath and said to him, "where is alaeddin?" and he answered, "he is at the chase." whereupon the sultan bade sundry of his eunuchs and officers go straightway fetch him bound and shackled. so they went till they came to alaeddin and said to him, "o our lord alaeddin, blame us not, for that the sultan hath bidden us carry thee to him, bound and shackled; wherefore we beseech thee of excusement, for that we are under a royal commandment and may not gainsay it." when alaeddin heard their speech, wonderment took him and his tongue was tied, for that he knew not the cause; then he turned to the eunuchs and officers and said, "prithee, sirs, [ ] have you no knowledge of the cause of this commandment of the sultan? i know myself guiltless, forasmuch as i have done no sin against the sultan nor against his realm." and they said to him, "o our lord, we have no manner of knowledge thereof." so alaeddin lighted down from his stallion and said to them, "do with me that which the sultan biddeth you, for that his commandment is upon the head and eyes." accordingly [ ] the officers shackled him and pinioning him, haled him along in irons and entered the city with him. the folk, seeing alaeddin pinioned and shackled with iron, knew that the sultan was minded to cut off his head, and forasmuch as he was extraordinarily beloved of them, they all gathered together and taking up arms, came forth their houses and followed the troops, so they might see what was to do. when the officers came with alaeddin to the palace, they entered and told the sultan, who immediately bade the headsman go and cut off his head. but the commons, hearing of this his commandment, shut the gates of the palace and sent to say to the sultan, "this very moment we will overthrow the palace upon thee and all who are therein, an the least harm happen to alaeddin." so the vizier went and told the sultan and said to him, "o king of the age, all will be over with us forthright; [ ] wherefore thou wert best pardon alaeddin, lest some calamity befall us, for that the commons love him more than us." now the headsman had spread the carpet of blood and seating alaeddin thereon, had bound his eyes and gone round him three times, [ ] awaiting the king's final commandment. the sultan looked at his subjects and seeing them swarming upon him and climbing up to the palace, that they might overthrow it, commanded the headsman to hold his hand from alaeddin and bade the crier go forth among the people and proclaim that he pardoned alaeddin and took him [again] into favour. when alaeddin found himself released and saw the sultan sitting, he went up to him and said to him, "o my lord, since thy grace hath bountifully vouchsafed me my life, [ ] favour me [yet farther] and tell me the manner of my offence." "o traitor," replied the sultan, "till [but] now i knew not thine offence;" then, turning to the vizier, he said to him, "take him, that he may see from the windows where his palace is." accordingly the vizier took him and alaeddin looked from the windows in the direction of his palace and finding the place swept and clear, like as it was before he built the palace thereon, neither seeing any trace of the latter, he was amazed and bewildered, unknowing what had happened. when he returned, the king said to him, "what hast thou seen? where is thy palace and where is my daughter, my heart's darling and mine only one, than whom i have none other?" and alaeddin answered him, saying, "o king of the age, i have no knowledge thereof, neither know i what hath befallen." and the sultan said to him, "know, o alaeddin, that i have pardoned thee, so thou mayst go and look into this affair and make me search for my daughter; and do not thou present thyself but with her; nay, an thou bring her not back to me, as my head liveth, i will cut off thine." "hearkening and obedience, o king of the age," replied alaeddin. "grant me but forty days' grace, and an i bring her not after that time, cut off my head and do what thou wilt." quoth [ ] the sultan to him, "i grant thee, according to thy request, the space of forty days; but think not to flee from my hand, for that i will fetch thee back, though thou wert above the clouds, not to say upon the face of the earth." "o my lord the sultan," rejoined alaeddin, "as i said to thy grace, an i bring her not to thee in this space of time, i will present myself before thee, that thou mayst cut off my head." now the commons and the folk, one and all, when they saw alaeddin, rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and were glad for his deliverance; but the ignominy which had befallen him and shame and the exultation of the envious had bowed down his head; so he went forth and fell to going round about the city, perplexed anent his case and unknowing how all this had happened. he abode in the city two days in the woefullest of case, knowing not how he should do to find his palace and the lady bedrulbudour, his bride, what while certain of the folk used to come to him privily with meat and drink. then he went forth, wandering in the deserts and knowing not whitherward he should aim, and ceased not going till he came to a river; whereupon, his hope being cut off for stress of chagrin that possessed him, he thought to cast himself into the stream; but, for that he was a pious muslim, professing the unity of god, he feared god in himself and stood on the bank; of the stream to perform the ablution. [ ] so he took of the water in his hands and proceeded to rub between his fingers; and in doing this, his rubbing chanced upon the ring, whereupon a marid appeared to him and said to him, "here am i; thy slave is before thee. seek what thou wilt." when alaeddin saw the marid, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said to him, "o slave, i will have thee bring me my palace, with my bride, the lady bedrulbudour, and all that is therein." "o my lord," replied the marid, "it irketh me sore that what thou seekest of me is a thing unto which i cannot avail, for that it pertaineth unto the slaves of the lamp and i may not adventure upon it." "then," said alaeddin, "since this is not possible unto thee, take me and set me down beside my palace, in what land soever it is." "hearkening and obedience, o my lord," replied the marid and taking him up, set him down, in the twinkling of an eye, beside his palace in the land of africa and before his wife's pavilion. by this time, the night was come; so he looked at his palace and his cares and sorrows were dispelled from him and he trusted in god, after he had forsworn hope, that he should see his bride once again. then he fell to thinking upon the hidden mercies of god (glorified be his might!) and how he had vouchsafed [ ] him the ring and how his hope had been cut off, except god had provided him with the slave of the ring. so he rejoiced and all chagrin ceased from him; then, for that he had been four days without sleeping, of the stress of his chagrin and his trouble and his grief and the excess of his melancholy, he went to the side of the palace and lay down under a tree; for that, as i have said, the palace was among the gardens of africa without the city. [ ] he [ ] lay that night under the tree in all ease; but he whose head is in the headsman's hand sleepeth not anights. [ ] however, fatigue and lack of sleep for four days past caused slumber get the mastery over him; [ ] so he slept till break of morn, when he awoke at the chirp [ ] of the sparrows. he arose and going to a stream there which flowed into the city, washed his hands and face; then, making the ablution, he prayed the morning-prayer and after returned and sat under the windows of the lady bedrulbudour's pavilion. now the princess, of the excess of her grief for her separation from her husband and the sultan her father and of her sore distress at that which had betided her with the accursed maugrabin enchanter, used every day to arise, at the first peep of dawn, [ ] and sit weeping; nay, she slept not anights and forswore meat and drink. her handmaid used to go in to her at the time of the salutation, [ ] so she might dress her, and that morning, by the decree of destiny, the damsel opened the window at that time, thinking to solace her mistress with the sight of the trees and streams. so she looked out and seeing her lord alaeddin sitting under the windows of the pavilion, said to the princess, "o my lady, my lady, here is my lord alaeddin sitting under the pavilion!" whereupon the lady bedrulbudour arose in haste and looking from the window, saw alaeddin, and he raised his head and saw her; so she saluted him and he her and they were both like to fly for joy. then said she to him, "arise and come in to me by the privy door, for that the accursed one [ ] is not now here;" and she bade her handmaid go down and open the door. so the damsel went down and opened to alaeddin, who arose and entered thereby. his wife, [ ] the lady bedrulbudour, met him at the door and they embraced and kissed each other with all joyance, till they fell a-weeping of the excess of their gladness. then they sat down and alaeddin said to her, "o lady bedrulbudour, there is somewhat whereof i would ask thee, before all things. i used to lay an old copper lamp in such a place in my pavilion..." when the princess heard this, she sighed and answered him, saying, "o my beloved, it was that which was the cause of our falling into this calamity." [ ] quoth he, "how came this about?" so she acquainted him with the whole matter from first to last, telling him how they had bartered the old lamp for a new one; "and next morning," added she, "we found ourselves in this country and he who had cozened me and changed the lamp told me that he had wroughten these tricks upon us of the might of his magic, by means of the lamp and that he is a maugrabin from africa [ ] and that we are now in his native land." when [ ] she had made an end of her story, alaeddin said to her, "tell me, what does this accursed one purpose with thee; what saith he to thee and of what doth he bespeak thee and what is his will of thee?" "every day," answered the princess, "he cometh to me once and no more and seeketh to draw me to his love, willing me take him in thy stead and forget and renounce thee; nay, he told me that my father the sultan had cut off thy head. moreover, he useth to say to me of thee that thou art the son of poor folk and that he was the cause of thine enrichment and seeketh to cajole me with talk, but never hath he seen of me aught but tears and weeping or heard from me one soft word." [ ] quoth alaeddin, "tell me where he layeth the lamp, an thou knowest." and she said, "he still carrieth it [about him] nor will part with it a moment; nay, when he acquainted me with that whereof i have told thee, he brought out the lamp from his sleeve and showed it to me" when alaeddin heard this, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said to her, "harkye, lady bedrulbudour; it is my present intent to go out and return in disguise. [ ] marvel thou not at this and let one of thy slave-girls abide await at the privy door, to open to me forthright, when she seeth me coming; and i will cast about for a device whereby i may slay this accursed one." then he rose and going forth the [privy] door of his palace, walked on till he encountered a peasant by the way and said to him, "harkye, sirrah, take my clothes and give me thine." the man demurred, but alaeddin enforced him and taking his clothes from him, donned them and gave him his own costly apparel. then he fared on in the high road till he came to the city and entering, betook himself to the drug-market, where for two diners he bought of [one of] the druggists two drachms of rare strong henbane, the son of its minute, [ ] and retracing his steps, returned to the palace. when the damsel saw him, she opened him the privy door and he went in to the lady bedrulbudour [ ] and said to her, "harkye, i will have thee dress and tire thyself and put away melancholy from thee; and when the accursed maugrabin cometh to thee, do thou receive him with 'welcome and fair welcome' and go to meet him with a smiling face and bid him come sup with thee and profess to him that thou hast forgotten thy beloved alaeddin and thy father and that thou lovest him with an exceeding love. moreover, do thou seek of him wine, and that red, [ ] and make him a show of all joy and gladness and drink to his health. [ ] then, when thou hast filled him two or three cups of wine, [ ] [watch] till thou take him off his guard; then put him this powder [ ] in the cup and fill it up with wine, and an he drink it, he will straightway turn over on his back, like a dead man." when the lady bedrulbudour heard alaeddin's words, she said! to him, "this is a thing exceeding hard on me to do; but it is lawful to slay this accursed, so we may be delivered from his uncleanness who hath made me rue thy separation and that of my father." then alaeddin ate and drank with his wife that which stayed his hunger and rising at once, went forth the palace; whereupon the lady bedrulbudour summoned her tirewoman, who busked her and adorned her, and she rose and donned fine clothes and perfumed herself. whilst she was thus engaged, the accursed maugrabin presented himself and was exceeding rejoiced to see her on this wise, more by token that she received him with a smiling face, contrary to her wont; so he redoubled in distraction for her love and longing for her. then she took him and seating him by her side, said to him, "o my beloved, an thou wilt, come hither to me this night and we will sup together. enough of mourning; for that, an i sat grieving a thousand years, what were the profit? alaeddin cannot return from the tomb and i have considered and believe [ ] that which thou saidst to me yesterday, to wit, that most like my father the sultan hath slain him, in the excess of his grief for my loss. nay, marvel not at me to-day, that i am changed since yesterday, for that i have bethought me to take thee to beloved and companion in alaeddin's stead, seeing there is left me no man other than thou. wherefore it is my hope that thou wilt come to-night, so we may sup together and drink somewhat of wine with each other, and i will have thee let me taste of the wine of thy country africa, for that belike it is better [than ours]. wine, indeed, i have by me; but it is that of our country, and i desire exceedingly to taste the wine of your country." when [ ] the maugrabin saw the love which the lady bedrulbudour professed to him and that she was changed from her whilom plight of grief, he thought that she had given up her hope of alaeddin; so he rejoiced greatly and said to her, "o my soul, hearkening and obedience unto all that which thou wiliest and biddest me withal. i have with me in my house a jar of the wine of our country, the which i have kept stored these eight years under the earth; so i go now to fill from it our sufficiency and will return to thee forthright." therewithal the lady bedrulbudour, that she might beguile him more and more, said to him, "o my beloved, do not thou go thyself and leave me. send one of thy servants to fill us from the jar and abide thou sitting with me, that i may take comfort in thee." "o my lady," answered he, "none knoweth the place of the jar save myself; but i will not keep thee waiting." [ ] so saying, he went out and returned after a little with their sufficiency of wine; and the lady bedrulbudour said to him, "thou hast been at pains [ ] [for me], and i have put thee to unease, [ ] o my beloved." "nay," answered he, "o [thou that art dear to me as] mine eyes, i am honoured by thy service." then she sat down with him at table and they both fell to eating. presently, the princess called for drink and the handmaid immediately filled her the cup; then she filled for the maugrabin and the lady bedrulbudour proceeded to drink to his life and health, [ ] and he also drank to her life and she fell to carousing [ ] with him. now she was unique in eloquence and sweetness of speech and she proceeded to beguile him and bespeak him with words significant [ ] and sweet, so she might entangle him yet straitlier in the toils of her love. the maugrabin thought that all this was true [ ] and knew not that the love she professed to him was a snare set for him to slay him. so he redoubled in desire for her and was like to die for love of her, when he saw from her that which she showed him of sweetness of speech and coquetry; [ ] his head swam with ecstasy [ ] and the world became changed [ ] in his eyes. when they came to the last of the supper and the princess knew that the wine had gotten the mastery in his head, she said to him, "we have in our country a custom, meknoweth not if you in this country use it or not." "and what is this custom?" asked the maugrabin. "it is," answered she, "that, at the end of supper, each lover taketh the other's cup and drinketh it." so saying, she took his cup and filling it for herself with wine, bade the handmaid give him her cup, wherein was wine mingled with henbane, even as she had taught her how she should do, for that all the slaves and slave-girls in the palace wished his death and were at one against him with the lady bedrulbudour. so the damsel gave him the cup, and he, hearing the princess's words and seeing her drink in his cup and give him to drink in hers, deemed himself iskender of the horns, whenas he saw from her all this love. then she bent towards him, swaying gracefully from side to side, and laying her hand on his, said, "o my life, here is thy cup with me and mine is with thee; thus do lovers drink one from other's cup." then she kissed [ ] his cup and drinking it off, set it down and came up to him and kissed him on the cheek; [ ] whereat he was like to fly for joy and purposing to do even as she had done, raised the cup to his mouth and drank it all off, without looking if there were aught therein or not; but no sooner had he done this than he turned over on his back, like a dead man, and the cup fell from his hand. the lady bedrulbudour rejoiced at this and the damsels ran, vying with each other in their haste, [ ] and opened the palace-door [ ] to alaeddin, their lord; whereupon he entered and [ ] going up to his wife's pavilion, [ ] found her sitting at the table and the maugrabin before her, as one slain. so he went up to the princess and kissed her and thanked her for this [that she had done] and rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then said he to her, "get thee now into thine inner chamber, thou and thy damsels, and leave me alone, so i may consider of that which i have to do." accordingly, the lady bedrulbudour tarried not, but entered the inner pavilion, she and her women; whereupon alaeddin arose and locked the door on them and going up to the maugrabin, put his hand to his sleeve and pulled out the lamp; after which he drew his sword and cut off the sorcerer's head. then he rubbed the lamp and the marid, its slave, appeared to him and said, "here am i, o my lord; what wiliest thou?" quoth alaeddin, "i will of thee that thou take up this palace from this country and carry it to the land of china and set it in the place where it was erst, before the sultan's palace." "hearkening and obedience, o my lord," replied the marid [and disappeared], whilst alaeddin went in and sat with the lady bedrulbudour his bride and embraced her and kissed her and she him; and they sat talking and making merry, what while the marid took up the palace with [ ] them and set it down in its place before the sultan's palace. presently alaeddin called for food; so the slave-girls set the tray before him and he sat, he and the lady bedrulbudour his wife, and ate and drank in all joy and gladness till they had taken their sufficiency. then they removed to the chamber of wine and carousel, where they sat drinking and making merry and kissing one another with all eagerness, for that it was long since they had had easance together; and they ceased not from this till the sun of wine rose in their heads and sleep took them; whereupon they arose and lay down on their bed in all rest and delight. in the morning alaeddin arose and aroused his wife, whereupon her women came to her and dressed her and busked her and adorned her; whilst he, on his part, donned the richest of raiment, [ ] and both were like to fly for joy at their reunion with each other, after their separation, whilst the lady bedrulbudour was especially glad, for that she looked to see her father that day. so much for alaeddin and the lady bedrulbudour; and as for the sultan, after he had released alaeddin, he ceased not to mourn for the loss of his daughter and to sit and weep for her, like a woman, at every time and tide; for that she was his only one and he had none other than her. and every day, whenas he arose from his sleep in the morning, he would go hastily to the window and opening it, look towards the place where alaeddin's palace was erst and weep till his eyes were dried up and their lids ulcered. he arose that day at dawn, according to his wont, and opening the window, looked out and saw before him a building; so he fell to rubbing his eyes and looking closelier, was certified that it was alaeddin's palace; whereupon he immediately called for the horses. accordingly, they saddled them and he went down and mounting, rode to alaeddin's palace. when the latter saw him coming, he went down and meeting him half-way, took him by the hand and carried him up to the pavilion of the lady bedrulbudour, his daughter. now she also longed sore for her father; so she came down and met him at the stair-foot door, over against the lower hall; whereupon he embraced her and fell to kissing her and weeping and on this wise did she also. then alaeddin brought them up to the upper pavilion, [ ] where they sat down and the sultan proceeded to question the princess of her case and of that which had befallen her, whilst [ ] she acquainted him with all that had happened to her and said to him, "o my father, i breathed not till yesterday, when i saw my husband, and he it is who delivered me from the bondage of a maugrabin, an accursed sorcerer, methinketh there is not a filthier than he on the face of the earth; and but for my beloved alaeddin, i had not won free of him and thou hadst not seen me all thy life. indeed, o my father, there possessed me grief and sore chagrin, not only for my severance from thee, but also for the loss of my husband, to whom i shall be beholden all the days of my life, seeing he delivered me from that accursed enchanter." then she went on to acquaint her father with all that had befallen her and to tell him of the maugrabin's dealings and what he did with her and how he feigned himself a lampseller, who bartered new for old. "and when," [quoth she]; "i saw this [seeming] lack of wit in him, i fell to laughing at him, unknowing his perfidy and his intent; so i took an old lamp that was in my husband's pavilion and sent it by the eunuch, who exchanged it with him for a new lamp; and next day, o my father, at daybreak, we found ourselves in africa, with the palace and all that was therein; and i knew not the properties of the lamp which i had exchanged, till my husband alaeddin came to us and contrived against the maugrabin a device whereby he delivered us from him. now, except my husband had won to us, it was the accursed one's intent to go in to me perforce; but alaeddin, my husband gave me a powder, the which i put for him in a cup of wine and gave it him to drink. so he drank it and fell-back as one dead; whereupon my husband alaeddin came in to me and meknoweth not how he wrought, so that he transported us back from the land of africa to our place here." and alaeddin said to the sultan, "o my lord, when i came up and saw him cast down like one slain and sleeping for the henbane, i said to the lady bedrulbudour, 'go in, thou and thy women, to the inner pavilion.' so she arose and went in, she and her damsels, from that loathsome sight; whilst i went up to the accursed maugrabin and putting my hand to his sleeve, pulled out the lamp, for that the lady bedrulbudour had told me he still carried it there. then, when i had gotten it, i drew my sword and cut [off] the accursed's [head] and making use of the lamp, bade its servants take us up, with the palace and all that was therein, and set us down here in our place. and if thy grace be in doubt of my words, do thou come with me and see the accursed maugrabin." so the king arose and going in with alaeddin to the pavilion, saw the maugrabin [iying ]: whereupon he bade forthright take the carcase and burn it and scatter its ashes [to the winds]. then he embraced alaeddin and fell to kissing him and said to him, "excuse me, o my son, for that i was going [ ] to bereave thee of thy life, through the wickedness of yonder accursed sorcerer who cast thee into this pit; and indeed, o my son, i was excusable in that which i did with thee, inasmuch as i saw myself bereft of my daughter and mine only one, who is dearer to me than my kingdom, and thou knowest how fathers' hearts yearn upon their children, more by token that i have but the lady bedrulbudour." and he went on to excuse himself to him and kiss him; and [ ] alaeddin said to him, "o lord of the age, thou didst with me nothing contrary to the law and i also was guiltless of offence; but the thing came all of that vile maugrabin enchanter." then the sultan bade decorate the city and hold festival and rejoicings and commanded the crier to cry in the city that that day was a great festival, wherefore rejoicings should be holden in all the realm during the space of a month, [to wit,] thirty days' time, for the return of the lady bedrulbudour his daughter and her husband alaeddin. this, then, is what befell alaeddin with the maugrabin; but alaeddin, for all this, was not altogether [ ] quit of the accursed enchanter, withal his body had been burned and given to the winds; for that the accursed one had a brother viler than he [and yet more skilled] in magic and geomancy and astrology; [nay, they were even] as saith the proverb, "a bean and it was cloven in twain;" [ ] and each dwelt in one quarter of the world, so they might fill it [ ] with their sorcery and craft and guile. it chanced one day that the maugrabin's brother was minded to know how it was with his brother; so he fetched his sand-board and smote it and extracted its figures; then he considered them and examining them throughly, found his brother in the house of the tomb; [ ] whereat he mourned and was certified that he was indeed dead. then he smote the sand a second time, so he might learn how and where he died, and found that he had died in the land of china and by the foulest of deaths and knew that he who slew him was a youth by name alaeddin. so he rose at once and equipping himself for travel, set out and traversed plains and deserts and mountains months and months, till he came to the land of china [and entering] the city of the sultanate, wherein was alaeddin, repaired to the strangers' khan, where he hired him a lodging and rested there a little. then he arose to go round about the thoroughfares of the city, that he might spy him out a means of compassing his fell purpose, the which was to take vengeance of his brother on alaeddin. so he entered a coffee-house in the market, a mighty fine place whither there resorted great plenty of folk, some to play tables, [ ] some draughts [ ] and other some chess and what not else. there he sat down and heard those who sat beside him talk of an old woman, an anchoress, by name fatimeh, who still abode in her place without the city, serving [god], and came not down into the town but two days in the month, avouching her to be possessed of divine gifts galore. [ ] when the maugrabin enchanter heard this, he said in himself, "now have i found that which i sought. an it please god the most high, i shall achieve my quest by means of this woman." so [ ] he went up to the folk who were speaking of the devout old woman's supernatural powers and said to one of them, "o uncle, i hear you talk of the divine gifts of one she-saint, [ ] by name fatimeh. who [ ] is she and where is her place?" "wonderful!" cried the man. "what, thou art in our city and hast not heard of the divine gifts of my lady [ ] fatimeh? apparently, good man, [ ] thou art a stranger, since thou hast never chanced to hear of the fasts of this holy woman and her abhorrence of the world and the goodliness of her piety." "ay, my lord," replied the maugrabin, "i am indeed a stranger and arrived but yesternight in this your town; wherefore i beseech thee tell me of the divine gifts of this holy woman and where her place is, for that i have fallen into a calamity and would fain go to her and crave her of prayer, so haply god (to whom belong might and majesty) may deliver me from my stress, by means of her intercession." the man accordingly told him of the divine gifts of the holy woman fatimeh and her piety and the excellence of her devotion; then, taking him by the hand, he carried him without the city and showed him the way to her abiding-place, which was in a cavern on the top of a little hill; whereupon the maugrabin thanked him amain for his kindness [ ] and returned to his place in the khan. now, by the decree of destiny, fatimeh came down on the morrow to the city and the enchanter, going forth the khan in the morning, saw the folk crowding together; so he went up, to see what was toward, and found fatimeh standing, whilst every one who had a pain or an ache came to her, seeking her blessing and soliciting her prayers, and whenas she stroked him, he was made whole of his ailment. the maugrabin followed her, till she returned to her cavern, and waited till nightfall, when he arose and entering a sherbet-sellers [ ] shop, drank a cup of liquor, [ ] then went forth the city, intending for the cavern of fatimeh the recluse. when he came thither, he entered and saw her sleeping on her back on a piece of matting; so he went up to her and sitting down [ ] on her breast, [ ] drew his dagger and cried out at her; whereupon she awoke and opening her eyes, saw a man, a maugrabin, with a drawn dagger, sitting on her breast [ ] and offering to kill her. so she feared and trembled and he said to her, "harkye, an thou say aught or cry out, i will kill thee on the spot. arise now and do all that i shall bid thee." and he swore an oath to her that, if she did for him that which he should bid her, he would not kill her. then he rose from her and she rose also, and he said to her, "give me thy clothes and take mine." so she gave him her clothes and head-bands and her kerchief and veil; and he said to her, "now must thou anoint me, to boot, with somewhat, so my face may become like unto shine in colour." accordingly fatimeh went within the cavern and bringing out a vial of ointment, took thereof in her palm and anointed his face withal, whereupon it became like unto hers in colour. then she gave him her staff and taught him how he should walk and how he should do, whenas he went down into the city; moreover, she put her rosary on his neck and finally giving him the mirror, said to him, "look now; thou differest not from me in aught." so he looked and saw himself as he were fatimeh herself. [ ] then, when he had gotten his desire, he broke his oath and sought of her a rope; so she brought him a rope and he took her and strangled her therewith in the cavern. when she was dead, he dragged her forth and cast her into a pit therewithout; then, [ ] returning to her cavern, he slept there till the day broke, when he arose and going down into the city, came under alaeddin's pavilion. [ ] the folk gathered about him, believing him to be fatimeh the recluse, and he proceeded to do like as she had been used to do, laying hands on those in pain and reciting for this one the fatiheh [ ] and for that a[nother] chapter of the koran and praying for a third. then, for the much crowding upon him and the clamour of the folk, the lady bedrulbudour heard and said to her women, "see what is to do and what is the cause of this noise." so the ada of the eunuchs went to see what was toward and returning, said to her, "o my lady, this clamour is because of the lady fatimeh. an it please thee bid me fetch her to thee, so thou mayst ask a blessing of her...." and the lady bedrulbudour said to him, "go and bring her to me; marry, this long while past i have still heard of her gifts and excellences and have yearned to see her, so i may ask a blessing of her, for that the folk are beyond measure abundant [in talk] of her [ ] virtues." so the aga went and brought the enchanter, disguised as fatimeh, before the lady bedrulbudour; whereupon the maugrabin offered up abundance of prayers for her, and none misdoubted of him but that he was fatimeh the recluse. the princess rose and saluting him, seated him by her side and said to him, "o my lady fatimeh, i will have thee with me alway, that i may be blessed in thee and eke that i may learn of thee the ways of god-service and piety and model myself on thee." now this was what the accursed sorcerer aimed at; however, the better to accomplish his perfidious intent, [ ] he [dissembled and] said to her, "o my lady, i am a poor woman sitting in the desert and it beseemeth not that the like of me should abide in kings' palaces." quoth the lady bedrulbudour, "have no manner of care, o my lady fatimeh; i will give thee a place in my house, where thou shalt do thy devotions, and none shall ever go in to thee; nay, here shalt thou serve god better than in thy cavern." and the maugrabin said to her, "hearkening and obedience, o my lady; i will not gainsay thy commandment, for that the speech of princes may not be crossed neither disputed; but i beg of thee that my eating and drinking and sitting may be in my closet alone [and] that none may come in upon me. moreover, i need no rich viands, but every day do thou favour me and send me by thy handmaid a piece of bread and a draught of water to my closet; and when i am minded to eat, i will eat in my closet alone." (now this the accursed did, of his fear lest his chin veil should be raised, when he ate, and so his case be exposed and they know him for a man by his beard and moustaches.) "o my lady fatimeh," rejoined the princess, "be easy; nothing shall betide save that which thou wiliest; so rise now [and come] with me, that i may show thee the pavilion [ ] which i purpose to order for thine inhabitance with us." so [ ] saying, she arose and carrying the sorcerer to the place which she had appointed him wherein to abide, said to him, "o my lady fatimeh, here shalt thou dwell; this pavilion is in thy name and thou shalt abide therein in all quiet and ease of privacy." and the maugrabin thanked her for her bounty and prayed for her. then the lady bedrulbudour took him and showed him the belvedere [ ] and the kiosk of jewels, with the four-and-twenty oriels, [ ] and said to him, "how deemest thou, o my lady fatimeh, of this wonderful pavilion?" [ ] "by allah, o my daughter," replied he, "it is indeed marvellous in the extreme, [ ] nor methinketh is its like found in the world; nay, it is magnificent exceedingly; but oh, for one thing which would far increase it in beauty and adornment!" and the princess said to him, "o my lady fatimeh, what is lacking to it and what is this thing which would adorn it? tell me of it; i had thought that it was altogether perfect." "o my lady," answered the sorcerer, "that which lacketh to it is the egg of the bird roc, which being hung in its dome, there were no like unto this pavilion in all the world." "what is this bird." asked the princess, "and where shall we find its egg?" and the moor said to her, "o my lady, this is a great bird that taketh up camels and elephants in its talons and flieth with them, of its bigness and greatness; it is mostly to be found in the mountain caf and the craftsman who builded this palace [ ] is able to bring its egg." then they left that talk and it was the time of the morning-meal. so the slave-girls laid the table and the lady bedrulbudour sat down and sought of the accursed sorcerer that he should eat with her; but he refused and rising, entered the pavilion which she had given him, whither the slave-girls carried him the morning-meal. when it was eventide and alaeddin returned from the chase, the lady bedrulbudour met him and saluted him: whereupon he embraced her and kissed her and looking in her face, saw that she was somewhat troubled and smiled not, against her wont. so he said to her, "what aileth thee, o my beloved? tell me, hath there befallen thee aught to trouble thee?" and she answered him, saying, "there aileth me nothing; but, o my beloved, i had thought that our palace [ ] lacked of nought; however, o my eyes [ ] alaeddin, were there hung in the dome of the upper pavilion [ ] an egg of the bird roc, there were not its like in the world." "and wast thou concerned anent this?" rejoined alaeddin. "this is to me the easiest of all things; so be easy, for it is enough that thou tell me of that which thou wishest and i will fetch it thee from the abysses of the world on the speediest wise." then [ ] after he had comforted the princess and promised her all she sought, he went straight to his closet and taking the lamp rubbed it; whereupon the marid at once appeared and said to him, "seek what thou wilt;" and alaeddin, "i will have thee bring me a roc's egg and hang it in the dome of the [upper] pavilion." [ ] when the marid heard alaeddin's words, his face frowned and he was wroth and cried out with a terrible great voice, saying, "o denier of benefits, doth it not suffice thee that i and all the slaves of the lamp are at thy service and wouldst thou eke have me bring thee our liege lady, for thy pleasure, and hang her in the dome of thy pavilion, to divert thee and thy wife? by allah, ye deserve that i should forthright reduce you both to ashes and scatter you to the winds! but, inasmuch as ye are ignorant, thou and she, concerning this matter and know not its inward from its outward, [ ] i excuse you, for that ye are innocent. as for the guilt, it lieth with the accursed one, the surviving [ ] brother of the maugrabin enchanter, who feigneth himself to be fatimeh the recluse; for lo, he hath slain fatimeh in her cavern and hath donned her dress and disguised himself after her favour and fashion and is come hither, seeking thy destruction, so he may take vengeance on thee for his brother; and he it is who taught thy wife to seek this of thee." [ ] therewith he disappeared, and as for alaeddin, when he heard this, his wit fled from his head and his joints trembled at the cry wherewith the marid cried out at him; but he took heart and leaving his closet, went in straightway to his wife and feigned to her that his head irked him, of his knowledge that fatimeh was renowned for the secret of healing [ ] all aches and pains. when the lady bedrulbudour saw him put his hand to his head and complain of its aching, [ ] she asked him what was the cause and he said, "i know not, except that my head irketh me sore." accordingly she sent forthwith to fetch fatimeh, so she might lay her hand on his head; whereupon quoth alaeddin, "who is this fatimeh?" and the princess told him how she had lodged fatimeh the recluse with her in the palace. [ ] meanwhile the slave-girls went and fetched the accursed maugrabin, and alaeddin arose to him, feigning ignorance of his case, and saluted him, as he had been the true fatimeh. moreover he kissed the hem of his sleeve and welcomed him, [ ] saying, "o my lady fatimeh, i beseech thee do me a kindness, since i know thy usances in the matter of the healing of pains, for that there hath betided me a sore pain in my head." the maugrabin could scarce believe his ears of this speech, [ ] for that this was what he sought; so he went up to alaeddin, as he would lay his hand on his head, after the fashion of fatimeh the recluse, and heal him of his pain. when he drew near-him, he laid one hand on his head and putting the other under his clothes, drew a dagger, so [ ] he might slay him withal. but alaeddin was watching him and waited till he had all to-drawn the dagger, when he gripped him by the hand and taking the knife from him, planted [ ] it in his heart. when the lady bedrulbudour saw this, she cried out and said to him, "what hath this holy anchoress done, that thou burthenest thyself with the sore burden of her blood? hast thou no fear of god, that thou dost this and hast slain fatimeh, who was a holy woman and whose divine gifts were renowned?" quoth he to her, "i have not slain fatimeh; nay, i have slain him who slew her; for that this is the brother of the accursed maugrabin enchanter, who took thee and by his sorcery transported the palace with thee to the land of africa. yea, this accursed one was his brother and came to this country and wrought these frauds, slaying fatimeh and donning her clothes and coming hither, so he might take vengeance on me for his brother. moreover, it was he who taught thee to seek of me a roc's egg, so my destruction should ensue thereof; and if thou misdoubt of my word, come and see whom i have slain." so saying, he did off the maugrabin's chin veil and the lady bedrulbudour looked and saw a man whose beard covered his face; whereupon she at once knew the truth and said to alaeddin, "o my beloved, twice have i cast thee into danger of death;" and he said to her, "o lady bedrulbudour, thanks to thine eyes, [ ] no harm [hath betided me thereof; nay,] i accept with all joy everything that cometh to me through thee." when the princess heard this, she hastened to embrace him and kissed him, saying, "o my beloved, all this was of my love for thee and i knew not what i did; [ ] nor indeed am i negligent of thy love." [ ] whereupon alaeddin kissed her and strained her to his breast and love redoubled between them. presently, in came the sultan; so they told him of all that had passed with the maugrabin enchanter's brother and showed him the latter, as he lay dead; whereupon he bade burn him and scatter his ashes to the winds. thenceforward alaeddin abode with his wife the lady bedrulbudour in all peace and pleasure and was delivered from all perils. then, after a while, the sultan died and alaeddin sat down on the throne of the kingdom and ruled and did justice among the people; and all the folk loved him and he lived with his wife, the lady bedrulbudour, in all cheer and solace and contentment till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of societies. footnotes [footnote : i.e. ( ) zeyn alasnam, ( ) codadad. ( ) the sleeper awakened. ( ) aladdin. ( ) baba abdallah. ( ) sidi nouman. ( ) cogia hassan alhabbah ( ) ali baba. ( ) ali cogia. ( ) prince ahmed and pari-banou. ( ) the sisters who envied their younger sister.] [footnote : "m. galland was aware of the imperfection of the ms. used by him and (unable to obtain a more perfect copy) he seems to have endeavoured to supply the place of the missing portions by incorporating in his translation a number of persian, turkish and arabic tales, which had no connection with his original and for which it is generally supposed that he probably had recourse to oriental mss. (as yet unidentified) contained in the royal libraries of paris." vol. ix. p. . "of these the story of the sleeper awakened is the only one which has been traced to an arabic original and is found in the breslau edition of the complete work, printed by dr. habicht from a ms. of tunisian origin, apparently of much later date than the other known copies.....galland himself cautions us that the stories of zeyn alasnam and codadad do not belong to the thousand and one nights and were published (how he does not explain) without his authority." p. . "it is possible that an exhaustive examination of the various ms. copies of the thousand and one nights known to exist in the public libraries of europe might yet cast some light upon the origin of the interpolated tales; but, in view of the strong presumption afforded by internal evidence that they are of modern composition and form no part of the authentic text, it can hardly be expected, where the result and the value of that result are alike so doubtful, that any competent person will be found to undertake so heavy a task, except as incidental to some more general enquiry. the only one of the eleven which seems to me to bear any trace of possible connection with the book of the thousand nights and one night is aladdin, and it may be that an examination of the ms. copies of the original work within my reach will yet enable me to trace the origin of that favourite story." pp. - .] [footnote : histoire d' 'ala al-din ou la lampe merveilleuse. texte arabe, publie avec une notice de quelques manuscrits des mille et une nuits et la traduction de galland. par h. zotenberg. paris, imprimerie nationale, .] [footnote : for the sake of uniformity and convenience of reference, i use, throughout this introduction, galland's spelling of the names which occur in his translation, returning to my own system of transliteration in my rendering of the stories themselves.] [footnote : i.e. god's.] [footnote : "la suite des mille et une nuits, contes arabes trafluits par dom chavis et m. cazotte. paris ." the edinburgh review (july, ) gives the date of the first edition as ; but this is an error, probably founded upon the antedating of a copy of the cabinet des fees, certain sets of which (though not actually completed till ) are dated, for some publisher's reason, . see also following note.] [footnote : these four (supplemental) vols. of the cabinet des fees (printed in , though antedated and ) do not form the first edition of chavis and cazotte's so-called sequel, which was in added, by way of supplement, to the cabinet des fees, having been first published in (two years after the completion-in thirty-seven volumes-of that great storehouse of supernatural fiction) under the title of "les veillees persanes" or "les veillees du sultan schahriar avec la sultane scheherazade, histoires incroyables, amusantes et morales, traduites par m. cazotte et d. chavis, faisant suite aux mille et une nuits."] [footnote : i cannot agree with my friend sir r. f. burton in his estimate of these tales, which seem to me, even in caussin de perceval's corrector rendering and in his own brilliant and masterly version, very inferior, in style, conduct and diction, to those of "the old arabian nights," whilst i think "chavis and cazotte's continuation" utterly unworthy of republication, whether in part or "in its entirety." indeed, i confess the latter version seems to me so curiously and perversely and unutterably bad that i cannot conceive how cazotte can have perpetrated it and can only regard it as a bad joke on his part. as caussin de perceval remarks, it is evident that shawish (whether from ignorance or carelessness) must, in many instances, have utterly misled his french coadjutor (who had no knowledge of arabic) as to the meaning of the original, whilst it is much to be regretted that a writer of exquisite genius and one of the first stylists of the th century, such as the author of the diable amoureux, (a masterpiece to be ranked with manon lescaut and le neveu de rameau,) should have stooped to the commission of the flagrant offences against good taste and artistic morality which disfigure well nigh every line of the so-called "sequel to the nights." "far be it" (as the arabs say) that we should do so cruel a wrong to so well and justly beloved a memory as that of jacques cazotte as to attempt to perpetuate the remembrance of a literary crime which one can hardly believe him to have committed in sober earnest! rather let us seek to bury in oblivion this his one offence and suffer kind lethe with its beneficent waters to wash this "adulterous blot" from his else unsullied name.] [footnote : lit. "servants" (ibad) i.e. of god.] [footnote : i.e. he who most stands in need of god's mercy.] [footnote : kebikej is the name of the genie set over the insect kingdom. scribes occasionally invoke him to preserve their manuscripts from worms.-note by m. zotenberg.] [footnote : galland calls him "hanna, c'est... dire jean baptiste," the arabic christian equivalent of which is youhenna and the muslim yehya, "surnomme diab." diary, october , .] [footnote : at this date galland had already published the first six (of twelve) volumes of his translation ( - ) and as far as i can ascertain, in the absence of a reference copy (the british museum possessing no copy of the original edition), the th and th volumes were either published or in the press. vol. viii. was certainly published before the end of the year , by which time the whole of vol. ix. was ready for printing.] [footnote : i.e. aladdin.] [footnote : galland died in , leaving the last two volumes of his translation (which appear by the diary to have been ready for the prep on the th june, ) to be published in .] [footnote : aleppo.] [footnote : i.e. yonhenna diab.] [footnote : for "persian." galland evidently supposed, in error, that petis de la croix's forthcoming work was a continuation of his "contes turcs" published in , a partial translation (never completed) of the turkish version of "the forty viziers," otherwise "the malice of women," for which see le cabinet des fees, vol. xvi. where the work is, curiously enough, attributed (by the table of contents) to galland himself.] [footnote : see my terminal essay. my conclusions there stated as to the probable date of the original work have since been completely confirmed by the fact that experts assign galland's original (imperfect) copy of the arabic text to the latter part of the fourteenth century, on the evidence of the handwriting, etc.] [footnote : in m. zotenberg's notes to aladdin.] [footnote : night ccccxcvii.] [footnote : khelifeh.] [footnote : or "favourites" (auliya), i.e. holy men, devotees, saints.] [footnote : i.e. the geomancers. for a detailed description of this magical process, (which is known as "sand-tracing," kharu 'r reml,) see posl, p. , note .{see fn# }] [footnote : i.e. "what it will do in the course of its life"] [footnote : or "ascendants" (tewali).] [footnote : i.e. "adornment of the images." this is an evident mistake (due to some ignorant copyist or reciter of the story) of the same kind as that to be found at the commencement of the story of ghanim ben eyoub, (see my book of the thousand nights and one night, vol i. p. et seq.), where the hero is absurdly stated to have been surnamed at birth the "slave of love," a sobriquet which could only have attached itself to him in after-life and as a consequence of his passion for fitoeh. sir r. f. burton suggests, with great probability, that the name, as it stands in the text, is a contraction, by a common elliptical process, of the more acceptable, form zein-ud-din ul asnam, i.e. zein-ud-din (adornment of the faith) [he] of the images, zein (adornment) not being a name used by the arabic-speaking races, unless with some such addition as ud-din ("of the faith"), and the affix ul asnam ( "[he] of the images") being a sobriquet arising from the circumstances of the hero's after-life, unless its addition, as recommended by the astrologers, is meant as an indication of the latter's fore-knowledge of what was to befall him thereafter. this noted, i leave the name as i find it in the arabic ms.] [footnote : sheji nebih. burton, "valiant and intelligent."] [footnote : syn. "his describers" (wasifihi).] [footnote : wa huwa hema caiou fihi bads wasifihi shiran. burton (apparently from a different text), "and presently he became even as the poets sang of one of his fellows in semblance."] [footnote : milah, plural of melih, a fair one.] [footnote : khemseh senin. burton, "fifteen."] [footnote : shabb, adult, man between sixteen and thirty.] [footnote : femu ghefir min el aalem. burton, "all the defenders of the realm."] [footnote : night ccccxcviii.] [footnote : syn. "depose."] [footnote : lit. "that which proceeded from him."] [footnote : see ante, p. , note.{see fn# }] [footnote : night ccccxcix.] [footnote : i.e. imposed on me the toil, caused me undertake the weariness, of coming to cairo for nothing.] [footnote : forgetting his mother.] [footnote : i.e. no mortal.] [footnote : keszr abouka 'l fulani (vulg. for abika'l fulan). burton, "such a palace of thy sire."] [footnote : i.e. it is not like the journey to cairo and back.] [footnote : i.e. in god grant thou mayst.] [footnote : or "jade" (yeshm).] [footnote : night d.] [footnote : "edh dheheb el atic." burton, "antique golden pieces"; but there is nothing to show that the gold was coined.] [footnote : the "also" in this clause seems to refer to the old man of the dream.] [footnote : keszr, lit. palace, but commonly meaning, in modern arabic, an upper story or detached corps de logis (pavilion in the french sense, an evident misnomer in the present case).] [footnote : lit. "put the key in the lock and opened it and behold, the door of a palace (hall) opened."] [footnote : takeli, sing. form of tac, a window. burton, "recess for lamps."] [footnote : lit. "till he join thee with."] [footnote : or "cairo," the name misr being common to the country and its capital.] [footnote : badki tecouli[na]. badki (lit. after thee) is here used in the modern sense of "still" or "yet." the interrogative prefix a appears to have dropped out, as is not uncommon in manuscripts of this kind. burton, "after thou assuredst me, saying, &c."] [footnote : here she adopts her son's previous idea that the old man of the dream was the prophet in person.] [footnote : night di.] [footnote : cudoum. the common form of welcome to a guest.] [footnote : or "upper room" (keszr).] [footnote : eight; see ante, p. . {see fn# }] [footnote : edh dheheb el kedim.] [footnote : edh dhelieb er yemli, lit. sand. (i.e. alluvial) gold, gold in its native state, needing no smelting to extract it. this, by the way, is the first mention of the thrones or pedestals of the images.] [footnote : lit. "[with] love and honour" (hubban wa kerametan). a familar phrase implying complete assent to any request. it is by some lexicologists supposed to have arisen from the circumstance of a man answering another, who begged of him a wine-jar (hubb), with the words, "ay, i will give thee a jar and a cover (kerameh) also," and to have thus become a tropical expression of ready compliance with a petition, as who should say, "i will give thee what thou askest and more."] [footnote : the slave's attitude before his master.] [footnote : the like.] [footnote : night dii.] [footnote : i.e. invoked blessings upon him in the manner familiar to readers of the nights.] [footnote : lit. thou [art] indulged therein (ent musamih fiha).] [footnote : mehmy (vulg. for mehma, whatsoever) telebtaha minni min en miam. burton, "whatso of importance thou wouldst have of me."] [footnote : lit. "in a seeking (request) ever or at all" (fi tilbeti abdan). burton, "in thy requiring it."] [footnote : "tal aleyya" wect, i.e. i am weary of waiting. burton, "my tarrying with thee hath been long."] [footnote : or "difficult" (aziz); burton, "singular-fare."] [footnote : lit. "if the achievement thereof (or attainment thereunto) will be possible unto thee [by or by dint of] fortitude,"] [footnote : lit. "wealth [is] in (or by) blood."] [footnote : el berr el atfer. burton translates, "the wildest of wolds," apparently supposing atfer to be a mistranscription for aefer, which is very possible.] [footnote : kewaribji, a word formed by adding the turkish affix ji to the arabic kewarib, plural of carib, a small boat. the common form of the word is caribji. burton reads it, "kewariji, one who uses the paddle."] [footnote : lit "inverted" (mecloubeh). burton, "the reverse of man's."] [footnote : night diii.] [footnote : wehsh. burton, "a lion."] [footnote : lit. "then they passed on till" (thumma fatou ila [an]).] [footnote : sic (ashjar anber); though what the arabic author meant by "trees of ambergris" is more than i can say. the word anber (pro. pounced amber) signifies also "saffron"; but the obbligato juxtaposition of aloes and sandal-wood tends to show that what is meant is the well-known product of the sperm-whale. it is possible that the mention of this latter may be an interpolation by some ignorant copyist, who, seeing two only of the three favourite oriental scents named, took upon himself to complete the odoriferous trinity, so dear to arab writers, by the addition of ambergris.] [footnote : yas, persian form of yasm, yasmin or yasimin. sir r. f. burton reads yamin and supposes it to be a copyist's error for yasmin, but this is a mistake; the word in the text is clearly yas, though the final s, being somewhat carelessly written in the arabic ms, might easily be mistaken for mn with an undotted noun.] [footnote : lit. "perfect or complete (kamil) of fruits and flowers."] [footnote : lit. "many armies" (asakir, pl. of asker, an army), but asker is constantly used in post-classical arabic (and notably in the nights) for "a single soldier," and still more generally the plural (asakir), as here, for "soldiers."] [footnote : syn. "the gleaming of a brasier" (berc kanoun). kanoun is the syrian name of two winter months, december (kanoun el awwal or first) and january (kanoun eth thani or second).] [footnote : so as to form a magic barrier against the jinn, after the fashion of the mystical circles used by european necromancers.] [footnote : night div.] [footnote : fe-halan tuata, the time-honoured "ask and it shall be given unto thee."] [footnote : sic (berec ed dunya); but dunya (the world) is perhaps meant to be taken here by synecdoche m the sense of "sky."] [footnote : syn. "darkness was let down like a curtain."] [footnote : lit. "like an earthquake like the earthquakes"; but the second "like" (mithl) is certainly a mistranscription for "of" (min).] [footnote : night dv.] [footnote : night dvi.] [footnote : here we have the word mithl (as or like) which i supplied upon conjecture in the former description of the genie; see ante, p. , note.] [footnote : medinetu 'l meda'n wa ujoubetu 'l aalem. it is well known (see the nights passim) that the egyptians considered cairo the city of cities and the wonder of the world.] [footnote : lit. "how [is] the contrivance and the way the which we shall attain by (or with) it to...."] [footnote : i.a tehtenim; but the text may also be read la tehettem and this latter reading is adopted by burton, who translates, "be not beaten and broken down."] [footnote : or "in brief" (bi-tejewwuz). burton translates, "who maketh marriages," apparently reading bi-tejewwuz as a mistranscription for tetejewwez, a vulgar syrian corruption of tetezewwej.] [footnote : said in a quasi-complimentary sense, as we say, "confound him, what a clever rascal he is!" see the nights passim for numerous instances of this.] [footnote : quoth shehrzad to shehriyar.] [footnote : syn. "to work upon her traces or course" (tesaa ala menakibiha).] [footnote : night dvii.] [footnote : lit. "the thirsty one (es szadi) and the goer-forth by day or in the morning" (el ghadi); but this is most probably a mistranscription for the common phrase es sari (the goer by night) wa 'l ghadi, often used in the sense of "comers and goers" simply. this would be quite in character with the style of our present manuscript, which constantly substitutes sz (sad) for s (sin), e.g. szerai for serai (palace), szufreh, for sufreh (meal-tray), for hheresza for hheresa(he guarded), etc., etc., whilst no one acquainted with the arabic written character need be reminded how easy it is to mistake a carelessly written-r (ra) for d (dal) or vice-versa] [footnote : the mosque being the caravanserai of the penniless stranger.] [footnote : the person specially appointed to lead the prayers of the congregation and paid out of the endowed revenues of the mosque to which he is attached.] [footnote : night dviii.] [footnote : burton translates, "these accurseds," reading melaa'n (pl. of melaoun, accursed); but the word in the text is plainly mulaa'bein (objective dual of mulaa'b, a trickster, malicious joker, hence, by analogy, sharper).] [footnote : eth thiyab el heririyeh. burton "silver-wrought."] [footnote : netser ila necshetihim (lit. their image, cf. scriptural "image and presentment") wa szufretihim, i.e. he satisfied himself by the impress and the colour that they were diners, i.e. gold.] [footnote : lit. i am now become in confusion of or at him (lianneni alan szirtu fi khejaleh (properly khejleh) minhu). burton, "for that i have been ashamed of waiting upon him."] [footnote : lit. "that which was incumbent on me to him."] [footnote : lit. "go to (or for) his service," or, as we should say, "attend him."] [footnote : burton, "one of the envious;" but the verb is in the plural.] [footnote : night dix.] [footnote : et tsenn er redi. burton, "the evil."] [footnote : so that they might hang down and hide his feet and hands, it being a point of arab etiquette for an inferior scrupulously to avoid showing either of these members in presenting himself (especially for the first time) before his superior.] [footnote : lit., "religiousness or devoutness (diyaneh) was by nature in him," i.e. he was naturally inclined to respect religion and honour its professors. burton, "he was by nature conscientious," which does not quite express the meaning of the text; conscientiousness being hardly an oriental virtue.] [footnote : lit, "i may (or shall) ransom him with m' life till i (or so that i may) unite him therewith."] [footnote : iftekeret fi rejul.] [footnote : terbiyeh. this word is not sufficiently rendered by "education," which modern use has practically restricted to scholastic teaching, though the good old english phrase "to bring up" is of course a literal translation of the latin educare.] [footnote : i.e. "i shall owe it to thee."] [footnote : lit. "it is certain to me," constat mihi, fe-meikeni (vulg. for fe-yekin) indi.] [footnote : night dx.] [footnote : or perhaps "would i might."] [footnote : i.e. the contract of marriage.] [footnote : see my "book of the thousand nights and one night" passim, especially vol. i pp. et seq.] [footnote : miheffeh, a kind of howdah with a flat roof or top.] [footnote : tekht-rewan, a sort of palanquin drawn or carried by mules or camels wherein she could recline at length. burton renders miheffeh bi-tekhtrewan "a covered litter to be carried by camels."] [footnote : burton adds here, "thou wouldst feel ruth for me."] [footnote : lit. profit, gain (meksib), i.e. the ninth image, which he was to receive as a reward for the faithful execution of his commission.] [footnote : night dxi.] [footnote : [a] nehnu bedna baud an hukm. the word hukm, which commonly signifies the exercise of government or judicial power, is here used metonymically in the sense of the place of dominion, the seat of government. burton, "have we fared this far distance by commandment of my bridegroom?"] [footnote : or "god forbid!" (hhasha), a common interjection, implying unconditional denial.] [footnote : lit. "the writing of (or he wrote) his writ upon thee" (ketb kitabiki aleiki).] [footnote : i.e.. at the last day, when men will be questioned of their actions.] [footnote : night dxii.] [footnote : sic (tentsur), but this is probably a copyist's error for "we may see" (nentsur), the difference being only a question of one or two diacritical points over the initial letter.] [footnote : here burton adds, "indeed i had well nigh determined to forfeit all my profit of the ninth statue and to bear thee away to bassorah as my own bride, when my comrade and councillor dissuaded me from so doing, lest i should bring about my death."] [footnote : night dxiii.] [footnote : or (vulg.) "i thank him, etc." (istekthertu aleihi elladhi hefitsaha wa sanaha wa hejeba rouhaku anha). burton, "albeit i repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until he concealed from her his face."] [footnote : or we may read "went out, glad and rejoicing, with (bi) the young lady;" but the reading in the test is more consonant with the general style of the nights.] [footnote : azaa, strictly the formal sitting in state to receive visits of condolence for the death of a relation, but in modern parlance commonly applied, by extension, to the funeral ceremonies themselves.] [footnote : el kendil el meshhour. the lamp is however more than once mentioned in the course of the tale by the name of "wonderful" (ajib, see post, p. , note ) so familiar to the readers of the old version.] [footnote : night dxiv.] [footnote : khilafahu, lit. "the contrary thereof;" but the expression is constantly used (instead of the more correct gheirahu) in the sense of "other than it," "the take," etc.] [footnote : or "street-boys" (auladu 'l hhareh).] [footnote : zeboun.] [footnote : burton adds here, "counsel and castigation were of no avail."] [footnote : lit. "had been recalled" (tuwouffia), i.e. by god to himself.] [footnote : this old english and shakspearean expression is the exact equivalent of the arabic phrase khelesza min sherr walidihi. burton, "freed from [bearing] the severities of his sire."] [footnote : kanet wayyishuhu. burton, "lived only by."] [footnote : night dxv.] [footnote : i prefer this old english form of the arabic word meghrebiy (a native of el meghreb or north-western africa) to "moor," as the latter conveys a false impression to the modern reader, who would naturally suppose him to be a native of morocco, whereas the enchanter came, as will presently appear, from biladu 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy, otherwise ifrikiyeh, i.e. "the land of the inner west" or africa proper, comprising tunis, tripoli and part of a]geria.] [footnote : min biladi 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy. the muslim provinces of north-western africa, extending from the north-western boundary of egypt to cape nun on the mogador coast, were known under the general name of el meghreb (modern barbary) and were divided into three parts, to wit ( ) el meghreb el jewwaniy, inner, i.e. hither or nearer (to egypt) barbary or ifrikiyeh, comprising tripoli, tunis and constantine (part of algeria), ( ) el meghreb el aouset, central barbary. comprising the rest of algeria, and ( ) el meghreb el acszaa, farther or outer barbary, comprising the modern empire of morocco.] [footnote : el hieh. burton translates, "astrology," and astrology (or astronomy); is the classical meaning of the word; but the common meaning in modern arabic is "the science of physiognomy," cf. the nights passim. see especially ante, p. .] [footnote : bi-szaut hezin meksour. burton, "in a soft voice saddened by emotion."] [footnote : burton, "brother-german."] [footnote : or "comfort myself in him" (ateazza bihi). burton "condole with him [over the past]."] [footnote : lit. "hid not unto me that" (ma ekhfa aleyya an).] [footnote : night dxvi.] [footnote : teaziyeti. burton, "i have now railed in the mourning ceremonies."] [footnote : el bein ked efjaani fihi, i e. "i have been stricken with separation from him." burton, "far distance wrought me this trouble."] [footnote : lit. "the being (el ka'n, i.e. that which is, the accomplished fact) there is not from it a refuge or place of fleeing" (mehreb). burton, "nor hath the creature aught of asylum from the creator."] [footnote : or "consolation" (azaa).] [footnote : burton, "i have none to condole with now save thyself"] [footnote : night dxvii.] [footnote : burton, "finding out."] [footnote : lit. "he had no longer a heart to part with him," i.e.. he could not bear him out of his sight, alaeddin being necessary for the achievement of the adventure of the lamp. see post.] [footnote : el asha. burton, "the meat."] [footnote : lit. "vein" (irc).] [footnote : night dxviii.] [footnote : ujoubetu 'l aalem. see ante, p. , note. {see fn# }] [footnote : ila biladi 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy.] [footnote : burton, "to the regions of the setting sun and abode for a space of thirty years in the moroccan interior." see ante, p. , notes. {see fn# }] [footnote : burton adds, "alone at home."] [footnote : i.e. birthplace, a child being bow head-foremost.] [footnote : burton, "wander like a wild arab."] [footnote : lit. "and "; but this is the error of some copyist, who, by leaving out an initial l, has turned lau (if) into wa (and).] [footnote : the first chapter of the koran; a common usage in anticipation of travel or indeed before commencing any enterprise of moment.] [footnote : istehhweda (vulg. for istehhwedha) aleyya. burton, "of the pains which prevailed upon me."] [footnote : or "succeedeth" (yekklufu). burton, "the legacy bequeathed to us by."] [footnote : khellefa.] [footnote : night dxix.] [footnote : lit. "abide in the subsistence of the like of this one" (acoumu fi ma"sh mithl hadha). burton, "go about for a maintenance after this fashion."] [footnote : uhheszszilu ana ma"ski ana buddi men yuayyishani. burton, "i am compelled to provide him with daily bread when i require to be provided."] [footnote : ibn nas generally signifies "a man of good family" (fr. fils de famille), but here the sense seems to be as in the text.] [footnote : or "constrain not thyself for me," in do not be ashamed to say what thou wishes", lit. "let it not be hard or grievous upon thee from or on account of me" (la yesubu aleika minni). burton, "let not my words seem hard and harsh to thee."] [footnote : fe-in kana keman (vulg. for kema anna). burton, "if despite all i say."] [footnote : fi, lit. "in," but here used, as is common in syria, instead of bi "with."] [footnote : burton, "shalt become famous among the folk."] [footnote : khwaja (persian).] [footnote : tajir (arabic equivalent of khwaja).] [footnote : burton, "that such folk dress handsomely and fare delicately."] [footnote : night dxx.] [footnote : lit. "was past" (fata). burton, "the dark hours were passing by and the wine was drunken."] [footnote : sherab. burton, "sherbets."] [footnote : night dxxi.] [footnote : or "places" (amakin).] [footnote : or "streets" (mehellat). burton, "apartments."] [footnote : i.e. "it is no merit in me that i do what i have done."] [footnote : bi-jahi 'l awwelin. burton, "by the honour of the hallows."] [footnote : i.e.. "a protection."] [footnote : lit. "that thine eye will be cooled with (or by) him."] [footnote : likai yetearrefa fihim wa yetearrefou fihi. this passage confirms my reading of a former one; see ante, p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : nighs dxxii.] [footnote : lit. "believed not what time (ayyumetn) the day broke;" but ayyumeta (of which ayyumeta is a vulgar corruption) supposes the future and should be used with the aorist. the phrase, as i have translated common in the nights.] [footnote : or, "laughing at" (yudsahiku).. burton, "he began to make the lad laugh."] [footnote : szeraya (for seraya).] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : newafir, an evident mistranscription, probably for some such word as fewawir, irregular form of fewwarat, pl. of fewwareh, a spring or jet of water.] [footnote : burton adds, "and reach the end of our walk."] [footnote : jebel aali. burton, "the base of a high and naked hill."] [footnote : lit. "before or in front of a mountain." burton, "we have reached the barren hill-country."] [footnote : ra'hhin, a vulgarism of frequent occurrence in this story.] [footnote : shudd heilek.] [footnote : lit. the land of the west (biladu 'l gherb); see ante, p. , notes. {see fn# }] [footnote : night dxxiii.] [footnote : lit. "without aught" (bilash), i e. without [visible] cause or reason. burton, "beyond the range of matter."] [footnote : nuhhas szebb (for szebeb min er) reml, lit. "brass poured [forth from] sand," i.e. cast in a mould of sand. cf. kings, vii , "two chapiters of molten brass."] [footnote : dir balek, lit. "turn thy thought (i.e. be attentive) [footnote to that which i shall say to thee]."] [footnote : night dxxiv.] [footnote : lit. "pass not by" (la tuferwwit). burton, "nor gainsay."] [footnote : yani li-min (vulg. for tani li-men), i.e. on whose behalf do i undertake all these my toils?] [footnote : lit. "leave"; but the verb khella (ii. of khela is constantly used in the present text in the sense of "he made."] [footnote : there is some mistake here in the text. the word which i translate "great" is akabir (pl. of akber, most great), apparently inserted by mistake for kebir, great. but that akabir is followed by jiddan (exceedingly), i should be inclined to read the phrase [kebiru 'l] akabir, greatest of the great.] [footnote : wehdi, lit. "my lone," a scotch expression, which might be usefully acclimatized in english prose and verse.] [footnote : night dxxv.] [footnote : or "pay attention," dir (vulg. for adir) balek. see ante, p. , note. {see fn# }] [footnote : lit. "a place divided into four places" i take the variant aweds, chambers. from chavis's copy of the ms., as quoted by m. zotenberg.] [footnote : liwan, i.e. an estrade or recessed room, raised above the level of the ground and open in front.] [footnote : lit. "in it" (fihi); but the meaning is as in the text, i.e. connected with it or leading thereto. this reading is confirmed by the terms in which the stair is afterwards mentioned, q.v. post, p. , and note. {see fn# }] [footnote : night dxxvi.] [footnote : ubb. burton, "breast-pocket," the usual word for which is jeib. ubb is occasionally used in this sense; but it is evident from what follows (see post, p. . {see fn# } "alaeddin proceeded to pluck and put in his pockets (ajyab, pl. of jeib), and his sleeves" (ibab), and note) that ubb is here used in the common sense of "sleeve."] [footnote : i.e. "that which is in the lamp."] [footnote : burton transposes, "where he entered the saloon and mounted the ladder;" but the context shows that the stair was a flight of steps leading up to the dais and not a ladder in it. the word fihi in the magician's instructions might indeed be taken in this latter sense, but may just as well be read "thereto" or "pertaining thereto" as "therein." see also below, where alaeddin is made to descend from the dais into the garden.] [footnote : lit. voices (aswat). burton, "fond voices"] [footnote : burton, "furthermore the size of each stone so far surpassed description that no king of the kings of the world owned a single gem of the larger sort."] [footnote : night dxxvii.] [footnote : toubasi. i insert this from the chavis ms. burton adds, "spinels and balasses."] [footnote : ibab.] [footnote : ubb.] [footnote : ajyab, pl. of jeib, the bosom of a shirt, hence a breast or other pocket.] [footnote : ibab. burton, "pokes and breast-pockets."] [footnote : the possession of the lamp rendering him superior to the spells by which they were enchanted.] [footnote : burton says here, "the text creates some confusion by applying sullem to staircase and ladder; hence probably the latter is not mentioned by galland and co., who speak only of an 'escalier de cinquante marches.'" as far as i can see, galland was quite right, a staircase (and not a ladder) being, in my judgment, meant in each case, and sir richard burton's translation of sullem min thelathin derejeh as "a ladder of thirty rungs" (see ante p. , note {see fn# }) seems to me founded on a misconception, he being misled by the word "fihi" (see my note ante, p. {see fn# }). he adds, "sullem in modern egyptian is used for a flight of steps;" but it signifies both "ladder" and "flight of steps" in the classic tongue; see lane, p. , colt , "sullem, a ladder or a series of stairs or steps, either of wood or clay, etc." his remark would apply better to derej (class. "a way," but in modern parlance "a ladder" or "staircase" which the story-teller uses interchangeably with sullem, in speaking of the stair leading down into the underground, thus showing that he considered the two words synonymous.] [footnote : akyas. this is the first mention of purses.] [footnote : lit. "without" (kharijan).] [footnote : burton, "forasmuch as he had placed it at the bottom of his breast-pocket and his other pockets being full of gems bulged outwards."] [footnote : night dxxviii.] [footnote : lit. "was locked," inkefelet, but i take this to be a mistranscription of inkelebet, "was turned over."] [footnote : lit. "was covered over, shut like a lid" (intebeket).] [footnote : tebbeca, i.e. caused (by his enchantments) to become covered or closed up like a lid.] [footnote : ifrikiyeh, see ante, p. , note . {see fn# } here the story-teller takes the province for a city.] [footnote : burton adds, "by devilish inspiration."] [footnote : wa [kan] el aghreb an fi hadha 'l kenz [kana]. burton "the most marvellous article in this treasure was, etc."] [footnote : kendil ajib.] [footnote : night dxxix.] [footnote : a proverbial expression, meaning that, as he did not absolutely kill alaeddin, though doing what was (barring a miracle) certain to cause his death, he could not be said to be his slayer; a piece of casuistry not peculiar to the east, cf. the hypocritical show of tenderness with which the spanish inquisition was wont, when handing over a victim to the secular power for execution by burning alive, to recommend that there should be "no effusion of blood." it is possible, however, that the proverb is to be read in the sense of "he who is destined to live cannot be slain."] [footnote : i.e. with the contents of the chambers and the garden.] [footnote : night dxxx.] [footnote : lit. rubbing in or upon.] [footnote : lit. "the quickener, the deadener" (el muhheyyi, el mumit), two of the ninety-nine names of god.] [footnote : or "judge" (cadsi).] [footnote : farijuha. burton, "bringer of joy not of annoy."] [footnote : i.e. mohammed's.] [footnote : lit. a servant or slave, i.e. that of the ring. burton, "its familiar."] [footnote : i.e. solomon.] [footnote : see my book of the thousand nights and one night, vol. . p , note. {see payne's book of the thousand nights and one night, vol. fn# }] [footnote : night dxxxi.] [footnote : night dxxxii.] [footnote : i.e.. in all the registers of men's actions fabled to be kept in heaven.] [footnote : lit. "see the accursed his duplicity and his promises that he promised me withal in that he would do all good with me." burton, "see how the dammed villain broke every promise he made, certifying that he would soon work all good with me."] [footnote : lit. "on account of my pain therefrom when i was absent from the world."] [footnote : hatha 'l metleb li, lit. "this quest (or object of quest) [was] mine (or for me)." metleb is often used in the special technical sense of "buried treasure."] [footnote : night dxxxiii.] [footnote : bustan.] [footnote : bilaur.] [footnote : keszr, instead of liwan (dais), as in previous description.] [footnote : keisan. burton, "bag-pockets."] [footnote : lit. "without" (kharij).] [footnote : aadim, present participle of adima, he lacked.] [footnote : night dxxxiv.] [footnote : lit. the pre-eminence (el fedsl).] [footnote : thani youm, burton, "the second day," which, though literal, conveys a false impression.] [footnote : night dxxxv.] [footnote : or "beyond desire" (fauca 'l khatir), i.e. inconceivably good. burton, "beyond our means."] [footnote : it is a favourite device with oriental cooks to colour dishes (especially those which contain rice) in various ways, so as to please the eye as well as the palate.] [footnote : lit. "black bottles" (museunvedetein). burton, "black jacks."] [footnote : zekiyyeh (pure) for dhekiyyeh (strong, sharp, pungent), a common vulgar corruption.] [footnote : burton, "wherewith allah almighty hath eased our poverty."] [footnote : elladhi iftekeda juana. burton, "who hath abated our hunger pains."] [footnote : lit. "we are under his benefit."] [footnote : hhizana for hhezzaza?] [footnote : lit. "whet proceeded from."] [footnote : lit. "but" (lakin for iekan, "then").] [footnote : keif dhalik. lit. "how this?" burton, "who may this be?"] [footnote : night dxxxvi.] [footnote : i.e. the jinn of the lamp and the ring.] [footnote : apparently referring to chap. xxiii, verses , l , of the koran, "say, 'lord, i take refuge in thee from the suggestions of the devils, and i take refuge in thee, lord, that (i.e. iest) they appear!'" mohammed is fabled by muslim theologians to have made a compact with the jinn that they should not enter the houses of the faithful unless expressly summoned..] [footnote : i.e. "i am, in general, ready to obey all thy commandments"] [footnote : i.e. the lamp.] [footnote : lit. "uses," "advantages" (menafi).] [footnote : referring, of course, to the slave of the lamp.] [footnote : night dxxxvii.] [footnote : lit. "saw."] [footnote : afterwards "silver"; see pp. and l .] [footnote : a carat is generally a twenty-fourth part of a diner, i.e. about d.; but here it appears to be a sixtieth part or about d. burton, "a copper carat, a bright polished groat."] [footnote : lit. "to the contrary of him" (ila khilafihi). see ante, p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : night dxxxviii.] [footnote : kenani, pl. of kinnineh, a bottle or phial.] [footnote : i.e. the genie.] [footnote : night dxxxix.] [footnote : ala kedhum. burton, "after their olden fashion."] [footnote : lit. "[in] middling case" (halet[an] mustewessitet[an]). burton translates, "as middle-class folk," adding in a note, "a phrase that has a european touch."] [footnote : burton adds, "on diet."] [footnote : "er rijal el kamiloun," lit. "complete men." burton, "good men and true."] [footnote : bedsa'a. burton, "investments,"] [footnote : keisein. burton, "his pockets."] [footnote : lit. "neck." the muslims fable that all will appear at the day of resurrection with their good and evil actions in visible form fastened about their necks. "and each man, we constrain him to carry his actions (ta'r, lit. bird, i.e. fortune as told by augury from the flight of birds, according to the method so much in favour with the ancients, but interpreted by the scholiasts as 'actions,' each man's actions being, according to them, the cause of his good and evil fortune, happiness or misery), on (or about,.fi) his neck."--koran, xvii, .] [footnote : night dxl] [footnote : an idiomatic expression, equivalent to our vulgar english phrase, "he was struck all of a heap."] [footnote : beszireh, mental (as opposed to bodily) vision.] [footnote : night dxli.] [footnote : gheramuha.] [footnote : lit. "be rightly guided," "return to the right way."] [footnote : heds, syrian for hheds.] [footnote : i.e.. if thou be in earnest.] [footnote : aamin. burton, "fonder and more faithful."] [footnote : night dxlii.] [footnote : lit. "blood of my liver."] [footnote : i.e. the bride's parents.] [footnote : burton, "also who shall ask her to wife for the son of a snip?"] [footnote : night dxliii.] [footnote : lit. "near and far," the great being near to the king's dignity, and the small far from it.] [footnote : lit. "before" (cuddam).] [footnote : lit. "thou art not of its measure or proportion" (kedd).] [footnote : ijreker ti bi 'l hhecc. burton. "thou hast reminded me aright."] [footnote : night dxliv.] [footnote : kiyas, a mistake for akyas, pl. of keis, a purse.] [footnote : lit. "so, an thou wilt, burden thy mind (i.e. give thyself the trouble, kellifi khatiraki,) and with us [is] a china dish; rise and come to me with it." kellifi (fem.) khatiraki is an idiomatic expression equivalent to the french, "donnez-vous (or prenez) la peine" and must be taken in connection with what follows, i.e. give yourself the trouble to rise and bring me, etc. (prenez la peine de vous lever et de m'apporter, etc.). burton, "whereupon, an-thou please, compose thy mind. we have in our house a bowl of china porcelain: so arise thou and fetch it."] [footnote : lit. "were not equal to one quarter of a carat," i.e. a ninety-sixth part, "carat" being here used in its technical sense of a twenty-fourth part of anything.] [footnote : kellifi khatiraki (prenez la peine) as before. burton, "compose thy thoughts."] [footnote : night dxlv.] [footnote : elladhi hu alan ca'm bi maashina. burton, "ere this thou hast learned, o mother mine, that the lamp which we possess hath become to us a stable income."] [footnote : or "pay attention" (diri balek); see ante, pp. and . {see fn# and fn# }] [footnote : minhu. burton translates, "for that 'tis of him," and says, in a note, "here the ms. text is defective, the allusion is, i suppose, to the slave of the lamp." i confess i do not see the defect of which he speaks. alaeddin of course refers to the lamp and reminds his mother that the prosperity they enjoy "is (i.e. arises) from it."] [footnote : lit. "completed," "fully constituted."] [footnote : the attitude implied in the word mutekettif and obligatory in presence of a superior, i.e. that of a schoolboy in class.] [footnote : or "complainants," "claimants."] [footnote : fi teriketihi, apparently meaning "in its turn." burton, "who (i.e. the sultan) delivered sentence after his wonted way."] [footnote : night dxlvi.] [footnote : illezemet. burton, "she determined."] [footnote : lit. "the divan;" but the door of the presence-chamber is meant, as appears by the sequel.] [footnote : burton, "and when it was shut, she would go to make sure thereof."] [footnote : muddeh jumah. burton, "the whole month."] [footnote : burton, "come forward."] [footnote : burton, "levee days"] [footnote : izar. burton, "mantilla."] [footnote : here the copyist, by the mistaken addition of fe (so), transfers the "forthright" to the vizier's action of submission to the sultan's order.] [footnote : night dxlvii.] [footnote : i have arranged this passage a little, to make it read intelligibly. in the original it runs thus, "alaeddin's mother, whenas she took a wont and became every divan-day going and standing in the divan before the sultan, withal that she was dejected, wearying exceedingly, but for alaeddin's sake, her son, she used to make light of all weariness."] [footnote : aman; i.e. promise or assurance of indemnity, permission to speak freely, without fear of consequences.] [footnote : aman in secondary sense of "protection" or "safeguard."] [footnote : i.e. i pardon thee, under god, ("then i" being understood). the right of pardon residing with god, the pious muslim can only say, "god pardon thee first and then i pardon thee."] [footnote : burton, "shun the streets."] [footnote : arad. burton, "felt an uncontrollable longing."] [footnote : or "food (aish, bread) hath not been pleasant (or had any savour) for him."] [footnote : seadetuk, lit. "thy felicity;" this and jenabuk (lit. "thy side"), "thine excellence" or "thy highness," and hhedsretuk "thy highness," (lit. "thy presence") are the titles commonly given to kings in arabic-speaking countries, although hhedsretuk is strictly applicable only to the prophet and other high spiritual dignitaries. they are often, but erroneously, rendered "thy majesty"; a title which does not exist in the east and which is, as is well known to students of history, of comparatively recent use in europe.] [footnote : lit, "having regard to his clemency, he took to laughing and asked her." burton, "he regarded her with kindness, and laughing cloud, asked her."] [footnote : surreh, lit. purse and by extension, as here, anything tied up in bag-shape.] [footnote : night dxlviii.] [footnote : lit. "be clement unto me, thy grace promised me."] [footnote : lit. "forbearance (hhilm, clemency, longanimity, delay in requiting an evil-doer) is incumbent from thine exalted highness unto (ila) three months."] [footnote : aatsem melik, an ungrammatical construction of common occurrence in the present ms., properly aatsemu 'l mulouk.] [footnote : syn. "his clemency required."] [footnote : i.e. shall be reserved for him alone.] [footnote : i.e. the marriage trousseau.] [footnote : lit. "except that, o my son, the vizier bespoke him a privy word (kelam sirriyy) ere he promised me; then, after the vizier bespoke him a word privily (sirran), he promised me to (ila) three months."] [footnote : lit. an ill presence (mehhdser sau). this expression has occurred before in the nights, where i have, in deference to the authority of the late m. dozy (the greatest arabic scholar since silvestre de sacy) translated it "a compend of ill," reading the second word as pointed with dsemmeh (i.e. sou, evil, sub.) instead of with fetheh (i.e. sau, evil, adj.), although in such a case the strict rules of arabic grammar require sou to be preceded by the definite article (i.e. mehhdseru's sou). however, the context and the construction of the phrase, in which the present example of the expression occurs, seem to show that it is not here used in this sense.] [footnote : night dxlix.] [footnote : lit. (as before) "promised her to" (ila).] [footnote : lit. "to" (ila), as before.] [footnote : i.e. the delay.] [footnote : lit. "he thanked his mother and thought (or made) much of her goodness (istekthera bi-kheiriha, a common modern expression, signifying simply 'he thanked her') for her toil." burton, "then he thanked his parent, showing her how her good work had exceeded her toil and travail "] [footnote : lit. "wonder took her at this wonder and the decoration." burton amplifies, "she wondered at the marvellous sight and the glamour of the scene." me judice, to put it in the vernacular, she simply wondered what the dickens it was all about.] [footnote : min wectiha. burton, "and for some time, o my son, i have suspected." see ante, p. . {see fn# }] [footnote : lit. "fever seized him of his chagrin."] [footnote : night dl.] [footnote : lit. "promised me to" (ila), as before.] [footnote : eshaa; or, if we take the word as pointed with kesreh (i.e. ishaa), we may read, with burton, "to pass the rest of the evening," though this expression seems to me hardly in character with the general tone of the ms.] [footnote : musterah.] [footnote : sic (el gheir).] [footnote : night dli.] [footnote : min doun khiyaneh i.e. without offering her any affront. burton, "and he did no villain deed."] [footnote : galland adds, "et passe dans une garde-robe o--il s'etoit deshabille le soir." something of the kind appears to have dropped out of the present ms.] [footnote : night dlii.] [footnote : lit. "with the eye of anger." ghedseb (anger) and its synonym ghaits are frequently used in the nights in this sense; see especially vol. ii. of my translation, p. , "she smiled a sad smile," lit. a "smile of anger," (twice) and p. , "my anguish redoubled," lit. "i redoubled in anger."] [footnote : wesikh. burton, "fulsome."] [footnote : night dliii.] [footnote : diri balek an [la]. burton, "compose thy thoughts. if, etc." see ante, passim.] [footnote : sic.] [footnote : kedhebaka.] [footnote : i.e. that which he derived from such an alliance.] [footnote : lit. "wretches" (mesakin).] [footnote : night dliv.] [footnote : inketaet (lit. "she was cut or broken") min el khauf. burton, "she was freed from her fear of the past."] [footnote : or "honoured" (azlz)] [footnote : i.e. "in my behaviour to thee."] [footnote : kema akedu min mehebbetika li. burton, "even as i claim of thee affection for thy child."] [footnote : night dlv.] [footnote : hhashaha min el kidhb; lit. "except her from lying!" hhasha (which commonly signifies, "far be it," "god forbid!") is here used in a somewhat unusual manner. the sense seems to be, "god forbid that the lady bedrulbudour should be suspected of lying! "] [footnote : or "shrunken" (kusziret). burton, "bursten."] [footnote : or "honoured" (aziz).] [footnote : night dlvi.] [footnote : lit. "how [was] the device therein;" i.e how he should do for an expedient thereanent. burton, "the device whereby he should manage it."] [footnote : or "called upon" (nedeh).] [footnote : el ashreh [mubeshshereh understood], "the ten [who were rejoiced with glad tidings]," i.e. ten of mohammed's companions (abou bekr, omar, othman, ali, telheh, zubeir, saad ibn abi weccas, abdurrehman ibn auf, abou ubeideh ibnu'l jerrah and said ibn zeid), to whom (and to whom alone) he is said to have promised certain entrance into paradise. they are accordingly considered to have pre-eminence over the prophet's other disciples and are consequently often invoked by the less orthodox muslims as intercessors with him, much after the fashion of the quatuordecim adjutores, the fourteen helpers [in time of need], (i.e. saints catherine, margaret, barbara, pantaleon, vitus, eustace, blase, gregory, nicholas, erasmus, giles, george, leonard and christopher) of romish hagiology.] [footnote : i.e the marriage of his son to the sultan's daughter. burton, "it having been a rare enjoyment to him that he had fallen upon such high good fortune."] [footnote : lit. "marriage," i.e. "wedding festivities are out of place." the word (zijeh) here used is a dialectic (syrian) variant of zewaj, marriage. burton, "we require no delay,"] [footnote : lit. "the lord (i.e. he) of the suit or claim" (sahibu 'd dewat).] [footnote : or "inestimable," lit. "might not be measured by (or appraised at) a price or value." burton, "far beyond his power to pay the price."] [footnote : lit. "how is the management or contrivance (tedbir) with thee?" i.e. "canst thou suggest to us any expedient?"] [footnote : night dlvii.] [footnote : burton adds, "speaking privily."] [footnote : or perhaps, "we may with impunity rebut," etc.] [footnote : gherib, lit. a stranger, an exile, but vulg. by extension, a poor, homeless wretch.] [footnote : i.e alaeddin's mother.] [footnote : lit. "that day."] [footnote : fr. "... l'aimable." lit. "by a way or means" (bi-terikeh). it may be we should read bi [hatheti'll] terikeh, "by [this] means;" but the rendering in the text seems the more probable one, the sultan meaning that he would thus get rid of alaeddin's importunity by practice, without open breach of faith or violence.] [footnote : night dlviii.] [footnote : lit. "burden thyself (prenez la peine) and rise", (kellifi khatiraki, etc., as before).] [footnote : here szewani (trays) instead of, as before, szuhoun (dishes).] [footnote : night dlix.] [footnote : i.e. "look with open eyes"] [footnote : en nuwwab, i.e. those whose turn it was to be on guard.] [footnote : need (lit. coin), a vulgar syrian corruption of neket, customary gift of money or otherwhat to a bride on the marriage-day.] [footnote : the whole of the foregoing passage is so confused that i think it well to add here (l) a literal translation, as i read it: "so the vizier, yea, indeed, he marvelled at the greatness of that wealth more than the sultan, but envy was killing him and waxed on him more and more when he saw the sultan that he was satisfied with (or accepted of) the bride-gift and the dowry; however, it was not possible to him that he should gainsay the truth and should say to the sultan, 'he is not worthy;' only, he practised with a device upon the sultan so he should not let him give his daughter the lady bedrulbudour to alaeddin, and this [footnote was] that he said to him, etc,"--and also ( ) the version given by sir k. f. burton, who takes a different view of the passage: "then the minister (although he marvelled at these riches even more than did the sultan), whose envy was killing him and growing greater hour by hour, seeing his liege lord satisfied with the moneys and the dower and yet being unable to fight against fact, made answer, 'tis not worthy of her.' withal he fell to devising a device against the king, that he might withhold the lady badr-al-budur from alaeddin, and accordingly he continued, etc."] [footnote : or "in comparison with her" (ent hhedsretuk istatsemet hatha aleiha). this is an ambiguous passage and should perhaps be read, "thou magnifiest this (i.e. the gift) over her."] [footnote : night dlx.] [footnote : lit. "swiftly, the winds overtook her not."] [footnote : aksen. burton, "more suitable to thee."] [footnote : kethir[an]. burton, "and right soon (inshallah!) o my daughter, thou shalt have fuller joy with him."] [footnote : muebbed. burton, "alone."] [footnote : sic (kum),] [footnote : or "commission" (mishwar).] [footnote : bekia ma bekia hatha shey aleik, lit. "remaineth what remaineth this is a thing upon (or for) thee." burton, "happen whatso may happen; the rest is upon thy shoulders." the first bekia is perhaps used in the common colloquial sense of "then."] [footnote : shekeraha wa istekthera bi-kheiriha. see ante, p. , note . burton, "enhancing her kindly service."] [footnote : surname of the ancient kings of persia, vulg. chosroes.] [footnote : night dlxi.] [footnote : lit. "the."] [footnote : burton, "the costliest of clothes."] [footnote : generally that of aloes-wood.] [footnote : quoth shehrzad to shehriyar.] [footnote : yetsunnuhu; quare a clerical error for yentsuruku ("had seen him" )?] [footnote : i.e. male white slaves (memlouk, whence our "mameluke," sing. for plural memalik).] [footnote : lit. "and let there be with each slave-girl a suit, etc." burton "and let every handmaid be robed in raiment that befitteth queens wearing." the twelve suits of clothes to be brought by the slave-girls were of course intended for the wearing of alaeddin's mother; see post, p. . {see fn# in text}] [footnote : i.e. the genuine arabs of the unmixed blood.] [footnote : see ante, p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : likai telbesa (tetelebbesa?) hiya. burton, "she should wear."] [footnote : sic, the meaning seeming to be that kings' sons were out of comparison with alaeddin, as who should say (in cockney parlance) "don't talk to me about kings' sons."] [footnote : lit. "upon."] [footnote : el kendil el ajib.] [footnote : syn. "old and young."] [footnote : night dlxii.] [footnote : ictedsa an tesmuha li bi, lit. "decided (or demanded) that thou be bountiful to (or grace) me with;" but icledsa is here used in the colloquial sense of "willed, vouchsafed."] [footnote : i.e. that of his tongue, lit. "its bounds or reach" (kheddahu). burton, "passing all measure."] [footnote : lit. "acquired, gotten, come by thee" (khetsitu bika).] [footnote : night dlxiii.] [footnote : nuweb (properly naubat).] [footnote : musica.] [footnote : acamou el fereh el atsim. burton, "a mighty fine marriage-feast was dispread in the palace."] [footnote : muashir.] [footnote : netser.] [footnote : lit. "but the behoving on me for her service engageth (or enforceth) me to apply myself hereunto."] [footnote : i.e. at thy disposition.] [footnote : night dlxiv.] [footnote : tebakhin. burton, "kitcheners."] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : wa, but quaere au ("or")?] [footnote : kushk.] [footnote : the description of the famous upper hall with the four-and-twenty windows is one of the most contused and incoherent parts of the nights and well-nigh defies the efforts of the translator to define the exact nature of the building described by the various and contradictory passages which refer to it. the following is a literal rendering of the above passage: "an upper chamber (keszr) and (or?) a kiosk (kushk, a word explained by a modern syrian dictionary as meaning '[a building] like a balcony projecting from the level of the rest of the house,' but by others as an isolated building or pavilion erected on the top of a house, i.e. a keszr, in its classical meaning of 'upper chamber,' in which sense lane indeed gives it as synonymous with the turkish koushk, variant kushk,) with four-and-twenty estrades (liwan, a raised recess, generally a square-shaped room, large or small, open on the side facing the main saloon), all of it of emeralds and rubies and other jewels, and one estrade its kiosk was not finished." later on, when the sultan visits the enchanted palace for the first time, alaeddin "brought him to the high kiosk and he looked at the belvedere (teyyareh, a square or round erection on the top of a house, either open at the sides or pierced with windows, =our architectural term 'lantern') and its casements (shebabik, pl. of shubbak, a window formed of grating or lattice-work) and their lattices (she"ri for she"rir, pl. of sheriyyeh, a lattice), all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other than it of precious jewels." the sultan "goes round in the kiosk" and seeing "the casement (shubbak), which alaeddin had purposely left defective, without completion," said to the vizier, "knowest thou the reason (or cause) of the lack of completion of this casement and its lattices?" (shearihi, or quaere, "[this] lattice," the copyist having probably omitted by mistake the diacritical points over the final ha). then he asked alaeddin, "what is the cause that the lattice of yonder kiosk (kushk) is not complete?" the defective part is soon after referred to, no less than four times, as "the lattice of the kiosk" (sheriyyetu 'l kushk), thus showing that, in the writer's mind, kushk, liwan and shubbak were synonymous terms for the common arab projecting square-sided window, made of latticework, and i have therefore rendered the three words, when they occur in this sense, by our english "oriel," to whose modern meaning (a window that juts out, so as to form a small apartment), they exactly correspond. again, in the episode of the maugrabin's brother, the princess shows the latter (disguised as fatimeh) "the belvedere (teyyarrh) and the kiosk (kushk) of jewels, the which [was] with (i.e. had) the four-and-twenty portals" (mejouz, apparently a syrian variant of mejaz, lit. a place of passage, but by extension a porch, a gallery, an opening, here (and here only) used by synecdoche for the oriel itself), and the famous roe's egg is proposed to be suspended from "the dome (cubbeh) of the upper chamber" (el keszr el faucaniyy), thus showing that the latter was crowned with a dome or cupola. it is difficult to extricate the author's exact meaning from the above tangle of confused references; but, as far as can be gathered. in the face of the carelessness with which the text treats kushk as synonymous now with keszr or teyyareh and now with liwan or shubbak, it would seem that what is intended to be described is a lofty hall (or sorer), erected on the roof of the palace, whether round or square we cannot tell, but crowned with a dome or cupola and having four-and-twenty deep projecting windows or oriels, the lattice or trellis-work of which latter was formed (instead of the usual wood) of emeralds, rubies and other jewels, strung, we may suppose, upon rods of gold or other metal i have, at the risk of wearying my reader, treated this point at some length, as well because it is an important one as to show the almost insuperable difficulties that beset the. conscientious translator at well-nigh every page of such works as the "book of the thousand nights and one night."] [footnote : night dlxv.] [footnote : the text has imar (an inhabited country), an evident mistake for emair (buildings).] [footnote : night dlxvi.] [footnote : atsm sekhahu. burton. "his dignity was enhanced."] [footnote : or "imitate" (yetemathelou bihi). burton, "which are such as are served to the kings."] [footnote : night dlxvii.] [footnote : wectu 'l asr, i.e. midway between noon and nightfall.] [footnote : lit. "was broken" (inkeseret).] [footnote : burton, "with the jerid," but i find no mention of this in the text. the word used (le'ba, lit. "he played") applies to all kinds of martial exercises; it may also mean simply, "caracoling."] [footnote : see ante, p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : or "turns" (adwar).] [footnote : el hemmam a sultaniyy el meshhour. burton, "the royal hammam (known as the sult ni)."] [footnote : muhliyat. burton, "sugared drinks."] [footnote : night dlxviii.] [footnote : keszriha. burton, "her bower in the upper story."] [footnote : lit. "changed the robes (khila) upon her." for the ceremony of displaying (or unveiling) the bride, see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. i. pp. et seq., and "tales from the arabic," vol. iii. pp. et seq.] [footnote : meshghoul.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : szeraya, properly serayeh.] [footnote : i.e. alexander the great; see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , note.] [footnote : night dlxix.] [footnote : henahu.] [footnote : fetour, the slight meal eaten immediately on rising, answering to the french "premier dejeuner," not the "morning-meal" (gheda), eaten towards noon and answering to the french "dejeuner... la fourchette."] [footnote : gheda.] [footnote : tekerrum (inf. of v of kerem), lit. "being liberal to any one." here an idiomatic form of assent expressing condescension on the part of a superior. such at least is the explanation of the late prof. dozy; but i should myself incline to read tukremu (second person sing. aorist passive of iv), i.e. "thou art accorded [that which thou seekest]."] [footnote : indhehela.] [footnote : or "upper hall, gallery." lit. "kiosk." see ante, p.l , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : teyyareh. see ante, l.c. the etymology of this word is probably [caah] teyyareh, "a flying [saloon]."] [footnote : shebabik, pl. of shubbak; see ante, l.c.] [footnote : sheari, see ante, l.c.] [footnote : shubbak.] [footnote : night dlxx.] [footnote : lit. "kiosk" (kushk); see ante, p. , note .{see fn# }] [footnote : ma lehiket el muallimin (objective for nom. muallimoun, as usual in this text) an.] [footnote : yebca lika dhikra. burton, "so shall thy memory endure."] [footnote : lit. "kiosk."] [footnote : ? (teba'kh).] [footnote : or "melodious."] [footnote : el kelb el hhezin.] [footnote : i.e. "might not avail unto."] [footnote : muhlivat, as before; see ante. p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : szeraya.] [footnote : night dlxxi.] [footnote : sheriyyetu 'l kushk.] [footnote : lit. "the lattice of the kiosk which (i.e. the lattice) is lacking or imperfect." the adjective (nakiszeh) is put in the feminine, to agree with "lattice" (sheriyyeh), which is femminine, kiosk (kushk) being masculine.] [footnote : kushk.] [footnote : she"rihi.] [footnote : et tewashiyy, a term here used for the first time in the present text, where we generally find the turkish aga in this sense.] [footnote : night dlxxii.] [footnote : lit. "kiosk" (kushk).] [footnote : fi szerayyetika.] [footnote : szeraya.] [footnote : lit. "that i was not lacking in ableness to complete it."] [footnote : kushk, here used in sense of "belvedere."] [footnote : or "upper chamber" (keszr).] [footnote : kushk. from this passage it would seem as if the belvedere actually projected from the side of the upper story or soler (keszr), instead of being built on the roof, lantern-wise, or being (as would appear from earlier passages) identical with the hall itself, but the whole description is as before remarked. so full of incoherence and confusion of terms that it is impossible to reconcile its inconsistencies.] [footnote : lit. "a brother resembling thee."] [footnote : lit. "he increased (or exceeded) in the salaries (or allowances) of the poor and the indigent" (zada fi jewanicki 'l fukera wa 'l mesakin). jewamek is an arabicized persian word, here signifying systematic or regular almsgivings.] [footnote : kull muddeh.] [footnote : labu 'l andab, lit. "arrow-play."] [footnote : night dlxxiii.] [footnote : szerayeh.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : burton adds, "and confections."] [footnote : lit. "he set them down the stablest or skilfullest (mustehhkem) setting down."] [footnote : hherrem, i.e. arranged them, according to the rules of the geomantic art.] [footnote : netsera jeyyidan fi. burton, "he firmly established the sequence of."] [footnote : technical names of the primary and secondary figures. the following account of the geomantic process, as described by arabic writers de re magicf, is mainly derived from the mukeddimat or prolegomena of abdurrehman ibn aboubekr mohammed (better known as ibn khaldoun) to his great work of universal history. those (says he) who seek to discover hidden things and know the future have invented an art which they call tracing or smiting the sand; to wit, they take paper or sand or flour and trace thereon at hazard four rows of points, which operation, three times repeated (i.e. four times performed), gives sixteen rows. these points they eliminate two by two, all but the last (if the number of the points of a row be odd) or the last two (if it be even) of each row, by which means they obtain sixteen points, single or double. these they divide into four figures, each representing the residual points of four lines, set one under another, and these four figures, which are called the mothers or primaries, they place side by side in one line. from these primaries they extract four fresh figures by confronting each point with the corresponding point in the next figure, and counting for each pair a single or double point, according to one of two rules, i.e. ( ) setting down a single point for each single point being on the same line with another point, whether single or double, and a double point for. each pair of double points in line with each other, or ( ) reckoning a double point for each pair of like points (single or double), corresponding one with another on the same line' and a single point for each, unlike pair. these new figures (as well as those that follow) are called the daughters or secondaries and are placed beside the primaries, by confrontation with which (i,e, with , with , with and with ) four fresh figures are obtained after the same fashion and placed side by side below the first eight. from this second row a thirteenth and fourteenth figure are obtained in the same way (confronting with lo and l with ) and placed beneath them, as a third row. the two new figures, confronted with each other, in like manner, furnish a fifteenth figure, which, being confronted with the first of the primaries, gives a sixteenth and last figure, completing the series. then (says our author), the geomant proceeds to examine the sixteen figures thus obtained (each of which has its name and its mansion, corresponding to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac or the four cardinal points, as well as its signification, good or bad, and indicates also, in a special way, a certain part of the elemental world) and to note each figure according to its presage of weal or ill; and so, with the aid of an astrological table giving the explanations of the various signs and combinations, according to the nature of the figure, its aspect, influence and temperament (astrologically considered) and the natural object it indicates, a judgment is formed upon the question for a solution of which the operation was undertaken. i may add that the board or table of sand (tekht reml), so frequently mentioned in the nights, is a shallow box filled with fine sand, carefully levelled, on which the points of the geomantic operation are made with a style of wood or metal. (the name tekht reml is however now commonly applied to a mere board or tablet of wood on which the necessary dots are made with ink or chalk. ) the following scheme of a geomantic operation will show the application of the above rules. supposing the first haphazard dotting to produce these sixteen rows of points, ......... ( ) ..... ( ) ......... ( ) ...... ( ) ......... ( ) .... ( ) ........ ( ) .... ( ) ........ ( ) ....... ( ) ......... ( ) ........ ( ) ....... ( ) ..... ( ) ....... ( ) ..... ( ) by the process of elimination we get the following four primaries: fig. x fig. x x fig. x fig. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x the process of confrontation of the corresponding points of these four figures (according to rule ) gives the following four secondaries: fig. x fig. x fig. x fig. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x by confrontation of the points of each secondary with those of its corresponding primary, the following four fresh figures are obtained: fig. x x fig. x fig. x x fig. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x fig. , confronted with fig. gives a thirteenth figure x x x x x x x and fig. confronted with fig. , a fourteenth x x x x x x figures and , similarly treated, yield a fifteenth figure x x x x x x x which, in its turn, confronted with fig. , gives a sixteenth and last figure, x x x x x x completing the scheme, which shows the result of the operation as follows: ( ) x ( ) x x ( ) x ( ) x x ( ) x ( ) x ( ) x ( ) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x ( ) x x ( ) x ( ) x x ( ) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x ( ) x ( ) x x x x x x x x x x x x ( ) x x x x x x x ( ) x x x x x x] [footnote : burton adds here, "in order that other than i may carry it off."] [footnote : min el meloum, lit. "[it is] of the known (i.e. that which is known)." burton, "who knoweth an he wot, etc."] [footnote : night dlxxiv.] [footnote : sic, meaning of course that he had discovered its properties and availed himself thereof.] [footnote : medinetu 's seltaneh, i e. the seat of government or capital.] [footnote : lit. "donned" (lebesa).] [footnote : here galland says, "il entra dans le lien le plus fameux et le plus frequente par les personnel de grande distinction, ou l'on s'assembloit pour boire d'une certaine boisson chance qui luy etoit connue des son premier voyage. il n'y e-t pas plust"t pris place qu'on lay versa de cette boisson dans une tasse et qu'on la luy presenta. en la prenant, comme il prestoit l'oreille... droite et... gauche, il entendit qu'on s'entretenoit du palais d'aladdin." the chavis ms. says, "he entered a coffee-house (kehweh, syrian for kehawi), and there used to go in thereto all the notables of the city, and he heard a company, all of them engaged in (ammalin bi, a very vulgar expression) talking of the amir alaeddin's palace, etc." this (or a similar text) is evidently the original of galland's translation of this episode and it is probable, therefore, that the french translator inserted the mention "of a certain warm drink"(tea), out of that mistaken desire for local colouring at all costs which has led so many french authors (especially those of our own immediate day) astray. the circumstance was apparently evolved (alla tedesca) from his inner consciousness, as, although china is a favourite location with the authors of the nights, we find no single mention of or allusion to tea in the rest of the work.] [footnote : lit. "i will make him lose."] [footnote : night dlxxv.] [footnote : lit. "instruments of astronomy or astrology" (tenjim); but tenjim is also used in the sense of geomancy, in which operation, as before explained, astrology plays an important part, and the context shows that the word is here intended to bear this meaning. again, the implements of a geomancer of the higher order would include certain astrological instruments, such as an astrolabe, star-table, etc., necessary, as i have before explained, for the elucidation of the scheme obtained by the sand-smiting proper.] [footnote : he had apparently learned (though the arabic author omits, with characteristic carelessness, to tell us so) that alaeddin was absent a. hunting.] [footnote : akemm, vulg. for kemm, a quantity.] [footnote : minareh, lit. "alight-stand," i.e. either a lamp-stand or a candlestick.] [footnote : bi-ziyadeh, which generally means "in excess, to boot," but is here used in the sense of "in abundance."] [footnote : aalem.] [footnote : after the wont of "the natural enemy of mankind' in all ages.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : night dlxxvi.] [footnote : aghatu 't tuwashiyeh.] [footnote : ubb.] [footnote : lit. "who" (men), but this is probably a mistake for ma (that which).] [footnote : ifrikiyeh.] [footnote : night dlxxvii.] [footnote : ummar. this may, however, be a mistake (as before, see ante p. , note {see fn# }) for ema'r (buildings).] [footnote : lit. "o company" (ya jema't), a polite formula of address, equivalent to our "gentlemen."] [footnote : night dlxxviii.] [footnote : lit. "the affair (or commandment, amr) is going to be sealed upon us."] [footnote : sic (dara haulahu thelatheta dauratin); but qu're should it not rather be, "gave three sweeps or whirls with his sword round his head"? see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. vi. p. .] [footnote : lit. "hath been bountiful unto me;" [the matter of] my life.] [footnote : night dlxxix.] [footnote : previous to prayer.] [footnote : lit. made easy to (yessera li).] [footnote : the name of the province is here applied to an imaginary city.] [footnote : night dlxxx.] [footnote : lit. "who hath a head with the head-seller or dealer in heads, etc." the word here employed (rewwas) commonly signifies "a man who cooks and sells sheepsheads, oxheads, etc." m. zotenberg makes the following note on this passage in. his edition of alaeddin; "rewwas (for raa"s) signifies not only 'he who sells cooked heads,' but also 'he who makes a business of cooking heads.' consequently whoso entrusteth a head to the rewwas is preoccupied and sleeps not." m. zotenberg's note is unintelligible, in consequence of his having neglected to explain that the passage in question is a common egyptian proverb, meaning (says burckhardt), "the person whose fortune is entrusted to the hands of strangers cannot enjoy repose." "the poor," adds he, "at cairo buy sheepsheads and for a trifle have them boiled in the bazaar by persons who are not only cooks, but sellers of sheepsheads, and are therefore called raa"s, or in the egyptian dialect rewwas." the proverb is in the present case evidently meant as a play upon the literal meaning ("headsman," hence by implication "executioner") of the word rewwas, although i cannot find an instance of the word being employed in this sense. it is, however, abundantly evident from the general context that this is the author's intention in the passage in question, alaeddin's head being metaphorically in the hands of (or pledged to) the headsman, inasmuch as he had engaged to return and suffer decapitation in case he should not succeed in recovering the princess within forty days.] [footnote : i suppose the verb which i render "caused [sleep] get the mastery," to be ghelleba, ii of gheleba, as the only way of making sense of this passage, though this reading involves some irregularity from a grammatical point of view. this, however, is no novelty in the present text. burton, "but whoso weareth head hard by the headsman may not sleep o'nights save whenas slumber prevail over him."] [footnote : zeczekeh, a word which exactly renders the sparrow's dawn-cheep.] [footnote : lit. "from (as fr. des) the deep or remote dawn" (min el fejri 'l ghemic, syr. for emic), cf. matthew arnold's "resignation;" "the cockoo, loud on some high lawn, is answered from the depth of dawn.."] [footnote : the terminal formula of the dawn-prayer.] [footnote : i.e. the magician] [footnote : lit. "bride'' (arouseh). she is always, to the end of the tale, spoken of as alaeddin's "bride," never as his "wife," whilst he, in like manner, is called her "bridegroom" (arous).] [footnote : this, at first sight, appears a contradiction, as we are distinctly told (see ante, p. ) that the princess was unaware of the properties of the lamp; but the sequel shows that she had learned them, in the mean time. from the magician himself. see post.] [footnote : ifrikiyeh.] [footnote : night dlxxxi.] [footnote : lit. "a spit (ric) of sweet." we may also read reic or reyyic, "the first part of anything" (especially "the first drop of rain").] [footnote : lit. "having changed the clothes of this my dress."] [footnote : i.e. taking effect the moment of its administration.] [footnote : night dlxxxii.] [footnote : because white wine would have been visibly troubled by the drug.] [footnote : ishebi bi-surrihi (lit. "drink by his pleasure or gladness;" surr or surour). burton, "pledge him to his secret in a significant draught."] [footnote : kasein thelatheh, lit. two cups three (unusual way of putting it).] [footnote : reshoush (for reshash), "anything sprinkled," i.e. powder or drops. i translate "powder," as i find no mention in the nights of the use of this narcotic in a liquid form.] [footnote : takkeltu, lit. "i have conceived in my mind." sir r. burton is apparently inclined to read tallectu by transposition, as he translates, "i depend upon thy say."] [footnote : night dlxxxiii.] [footnote : lit. "i will not delay upon thee."] [footnote : lit. "thou hast burdened or incommoded thyself" (kellefta khatiraka), see previous note, p. , {see fn# } on this idiomatic expression.] [footnote : ana atebtu mizajaka, lit. "i have wearied thy temperament."] [footnote : lit. "pleasure" (surr), see ante, p. , note . {see fn# }] [footnote : or "playing the boon-companion."] [footnote : syn. "equivocal, a double entente."] [footnote : lit. "proceeded from her in truth."] [footnote : tih, lit. pride, haughtiness, but, by analogy, "coquetry."] [footnote : lit. "gaiety, ecstasy or intoxication (keif) whirled (dara) in his head."] [footnote : lit. "not itself exactly with him" (ma hiya bi-eimhi indahu.)] [footnote : lit. "turned over" (kelebet, a clerical error for kebbelel).] [footnote : tekeddemet lihi wa basethu fi kheddihi. burton, "again she kissed its lip and offered it to him."] [footnote : terakedsou, lit. raced with one another.] [footnote : babu 'sz szeray.] [footnote : night dlxxxiv.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : lit. "in" (fi); but fi is evidently used here in mistake for bi, the two prepositions being practically interchangeable in modern arabic of the style of our present text.] [footnote : burton, "his costliest raiment."] [footnote : or chamber (keszr).] [footnote : night dlxxxv.] [footnote : sic (raihh), a common vulgarism in this text.] [footnote : night dlxxxvi.] [footnote : lit. "also" (eidsan).] [footnote : i.e. the two were as like as two halves of a bean.] [footnote : i.e. the world.] [footnote : or death (saturn), the eighth division of the common astrological figure.] [footnote : menkeleh. see my book of the thousand nights and one night, vol. i. p. , note . {see vol. of payne's book of the thousand nights and one night, fn# }] [footnote : dsameh.] [footnote : liha keramat kethireh. kerameh (sing. of keramat), properly a favour or mark of grace, a supernatural gift bestowed by god upon his pious servants, by virtue whereof they perform miracles, which latter are also by derivation called keramat. cf. acts viii. : "thou hast thought that the gift of god," i.e. the power of performing miracles, "may be purchased with money."] [footnote : night dlxxxvii.] [footnote : weliyeh.] [footnote : fe-ain (where), probably a mistranscription for fe-men (who).] [footnote : sitti, fem. of sidi, "my lord," the common title of a saint among modern arabic-speaking peoples.] [footnote : meskin, lit. "poor wretch," but used as our "good man" and the french "bonhomme," in a sense of somewhat contemptuous familiarity.] [footnote : lit. "wished the man increase of his good (istekthera bi-kheirihi, for which idiomatic expression= "he thanked him," see ante, p. , note {see fn# }), and thanked his excellence" (favour or kindness, fedsl).] [footnote : sherabati. burton, "vintner."] [footnote : keniz, a word which i cannot find in any dictionary, but which appears to be the past participle (in the secondary form for mecnouz, as ketil, slain, for mertoul,) of keneza, a lost verb of which only the fourth form acneza, he drank from a cup (kinz), survives, and to mean "something drunk from a cup." burton, "wine."] [footnote : ca"da. burton translates "he mounted," apparently reading szfida for ca"da.] [footnote : lit. "belly" (betn); but that "breast" is meant is shown by the next line, which describes fatimeh as finding the enchanter seated on her heart.] [footnote : lit. "heart" (kelb).] [footnote : the text adds here, "she went not and came not" (la rahet wa la jaet). burton translates, "as though she had never gone or come" and adds, in a note, by way of gloss, "i.e. as she was in her own home;" but i confess that his explanation seems to me as obscure as the text.] [footnote : night dlxxxvill.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : the first or "opening" chapter of the koran.] [footnote : en nas bi 'l ghewali kethir an, lit. "the folk in (things) precious (or dear or high-priced, ghewali, pl. of ghalin, also of ghaliyeh, a kind of perfume) are abundant anent." this is a hopelessly obscure passage, and i can only guess at its meaning. bi 'l ghewali may be a clerical error for bi 'l ghalibi, "for the most part, in general," in which case we may read, "folk in general abound [in talk] anent her virtues;" or bi 'l ghewali may perhaps be used in the sense (of which use, however, i know no instance) of 'in excessive estimation,' in which latter case the passage might be rendered, "folk abound in setting a high value on (or extolling) her virtues." burton boldly amplifies, "the folk recount her manifestations in many cases of difficulty."] [footnote : lit. "that he might complete his deceit the more." the meaning is that he dissembled his satisfaction at the princess's proposal and made a show of refusal, so he might hoodwink her the more effectually.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : night dlxxxix.] [footnote : teyyareh.] [footnote : lit. "openings for passage" (mejous). see ante, p. , note. {see fn# }] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : lit. "an extreme" (ghayeh).] [footnote : szeraya.] [footnote : szeraya.] [footnote : i.e. "o thou that art dear to me as mine eyes."] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : night dlxc.] [footnote : keszr.] [footnote : i.e. its apparent from its real import.] [footnote : mustekim.] [footnote : minka. burton, "of me."] [footnote : lit. "for that secret that she healed." burton, "for the art and mystery of healing."] [footnote : min wejaihi.] [footnote : szeraya.] [footnote : terehhhheba bihi.] [footnote : lit. "believed not in."] [footnote : night dlxci.] [footnote : ghereza (i.q.. gheresa).] [footnote : lit. "out of regard to or respect for thine eyes." (keramet[an] li-uyouniki), i.e. "thanks to the favourable influence of thine eyes." when "the eye" is spoken of without qualification, the "evil eye" is commonly meant; here, however, it is evident that the reverse is intended.] [footnote : lit. "i had no news or information (ma indi kkeber) [of the matter]."] [footnote : lit. "neglectful of the love of thee." this is a difficult passage to translate, owing to its elliptical form; but the meaning is that the princess wished to assure alaeddin that what had happened was not due to any slackening in the warmth of her affection for him.] text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the first. delhi edition contents of the first volume. breslau text. . asleep and awake a. story of the lackpenny and the cook . the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets . el hejjaj and the three young men . haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides . the ten viziers; or the history of king azadbekht and his son a. of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune i. story of the unlucky merchant b. of looking to the issues of affairs i. story of the merchant and his sons c. of the advantages of patience i. story of abou sabir d. of the ill effects of precipitation i. story of prince bihzad e. of the issues of good and evil actions i. story of king dadbin and his viziers f. of trust in god i. story of king bexhtzeman g. of clemency i. story of king bihkerd h. of envy and malice i. story of ilan shah and abou temam i. of destiny or that which is written on the forehead i. story of king abraham and his son j. of the appointed term, which, if it be advanced, may not be deferred and if it be deferred, may not be advanced i. story of king suleiman shah and his sons k. of the speedy relief of god i. story of the prisoner and how god gave him relief . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside . er reshid and the barmecides . ibn es semmak and er reshid . el mamoun and zubeideh . en numan and the arab of the benou tai . firouz and his wife . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan a. story of the man of khorassan, his son and his governor b. story of the singer and the druggist c. story of the king who knew the quintessence of things d. story of the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man e. story of the rich man and his wasteful son f. the king's son who fell in love with the picture g. story of the fuller and his wife h. story of the old woman, the merchant and the king i. story of the credulous husband j. story of the unjust king and the tither i. story of david and solomon k. story of the thief and the woman l. story of the three men and our lord jesus i. the disciple's story m. story of the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restorfd to him n. story of the man whose caution was the cause of his death o. story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not p. story of the idiot and the sharper q. story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man breslau text. asleep and awake[fn# ] there was once [at baghdad], in the khalifate of haroun er reshid, a man, a merchant, who had a son by name aboulhusn el khelia.[fn# ] the merchant died and left his son great store of wealth, which he divided into two parts, one of which he laid up and spent of the other half; and he fell to companying with persians[fn# ] and with the sons of the merchants and gave himself up to good eating and good drinking, till all that he had with him of wealth[fn# ] was wasted and gone; whereupon he betook himself to his friends and comrades and boon-companions and expounded to them his case, discovering to them the failure of that which was in his hand of wealth; but not one of them took heed of him neither inclined unto him. so he returned to his mother (and indeed his spirit was broken), and related to her that which had happened to him and what had betided him from his friends, how they, had neither shared with him nor requited him with speech. "o aboulhusn," answered she, "on this wise are the sons[fn# ]of this time: if thou have aught, they make much of thee,[fn# ] and if thou have nought, they put thee away [from them]." and she went on to condole with him, what while he bewailed himself and his tears flowed and he repeated the following verses: an if my substance fail, no one there is will succour me, but if my wealth abound, of all i'm held in amity. how many a friend, for money's sake, hath companied with me! how many an one, with loss of wealth, hath turned mine enemy! then he sprang up [and going] to the place wherein was the other half of his good, [took it] and lived with it well; and he swore that he would never again consort with those whom he knew, but would company only with the stranger nor entertain him but one night and that, whenas it morrowed, he would never know him more. so he fell to sitting every night on the bridge[fn# ] and looking on every one who passed by him; and if he saw him to be a stranger, he made friends with him and carried him to his house, where he caroused with him till the morning. then he dismissed him and would never more salute him nor ever again drew near unto him neither invited him. on this wise he continued to do for the space of a whole year, till, one day, as he sat on the bridge, according to his custom, expecting who should come to him, so he might take him and pass the night with him, behold, [up came] the khalif and mesrour, the swordsman of his vengeance, disguised [in merchants' habits] as of their wont. so he looked at them and rising up, for that he knew them not, said to them, "what say ye? will you go with me to my dwelling-place, so ye may eat what is ready and drink what is at hand, to wit, bread baked in the platter[fn# ] and meat cooked and wine clarified?" the khalif refused this, but he conjured him and said to him, "god on thee, o my lord, go with me, for thou art my guest this night, and disappoint not my expectation concerning thee!" and he ceased not to press him till he consented to him; whereat aboulhusn rejoiced and going on before him, gave not over talking with him till they came to his [house and he carried the khalif into the] saloon. er reshid entered and made his servant abide at the door; and as soon as he was seated, aboulhusn brought him somewhat to eat; so he ate, and aboulhusn ate with him, so eating might be pleasant to him. then he removed the tray and they washed their hands and the khalif sat down again; whereupon aboulhusn set on the drinking vessels and seating himself by his side, fell to filling and giving him to drink and entertaining him with discourse. his hospitality pleased the khalif and the goodliness of his fashion, and he said to him, "o youth, who art thou? make me acquainted with thyself, so i may requite thee thy kindness." but aboulhusn smiled and said, "o my lord, far be it that what is past should recur and that i be in company with thee at other than this time!" "why so?" asked the khalif. "and why wilt thou not acquaint me with thy case?" and aboulhusn said, "know, o my lord, that my story is extraordinary and that there is a cause for this affair." quoth the khalif, "and what is the cause?" and he answered, "the cause hath a tail." the khalif laughed at his words and aboulhusn said, "i will explain to thee this [saying] by the story of the lackpenny and the cook. know, o my lord, that story of the lackpenny and the cook. one of the good-for-noughts found himself one day without aught and the world was straitened upon him and his patience failed; so he lay down to sleep and gave not over sleeping till the sun burnt him and the foam came out upon his mouth, whereupon he arose, and he was penniless and had not so much as one dirhem. presently, he came to the shop of a cook, who had set up therein his pans[fn# ] [over the fire] and wiped his scales and washed his saucers and swept his shop and sprinkled it; and indeed his oils[fn# ] were clear[fn# ] and his spices fragrant and he himself stood behind his cooking-pots [waiting for custom]. so the lackpenny went up to him and saluting him, said to him, 'weigh me half a dirhem's worth of meat and a quarter of a dirhem's worth of kouskoussou[fn# ] and the like of bread.' so the cook weighed out to him [that which he sought] and the lackpenny entered the shop, whereupon the cook set the food before him and he ate till he had gobbled up the whole and licked the saucers and abode perplexed, knowing not how he should do with the cook concerning the price of that which he had eaten and turning his eyes about upon everything in the shop. presently, he caught sight of an earthen pan turned over upon its mouth; so he raised it from the ground and found under it a horse's tail, freshly cut off, and the blood oozing from it; whereby he knew that the cook adulterated his meat with horses' flesh. when he discovered this default, he rejoiced therein and washing his hands, bowed his head and went out; and when the cook saw that he went and gave him nought, he cried out, saying, 'stay, o sneak, o slink-thief!' so the lackpenny stopped and said to him, 'dost thou cry out upon me and becall [me] with these words, o cuckold?' whereat the cook was angry and coming down from the shop, said, 'what meanest thou by thy speech, o thou that devourest meat and kouskoussou and bread and seasoning and goest forth with "peace[fn# ][be on thee!]," as it were the thing had not been, and payest down nought for it?' quoth the lackpenny, 'thou liest, o son of a cuckold!' wherewith the cook cried out and laying hold of the lackpenny's collar, said, 'o muslims, this fellow is my first customer[fn# ] this day and he hath eaten my food and given me nought.' so the folk gathered together to them and blamed the lackpenny and said to him, 'give him the price of that which thou hast eaten.' quoth he, 'i gave him a dirhem before i entered the shop;' and the cook said, 'be everything i sell this day forbidden[fn# ] to me, if he gave me so much as the name of a piece of money! by allah, he gave me nought, but ate my food and went out and [would have] made off, without aught [said i]' 'nay,' answered the lackpenny, 'i gave thee a dirhem,' and he reviled the cook, who returned his abuse; whereupon he dealt him a cuff and they gripped and grappled and throttled each other. when the folk saw them on this wise, they came up to them and said to them, 'what is this strife between you, and no cause for it?' 'ay, by allah,' replied the lackpenny, 'but there is a cause for it, and the cause hath a tail!' whereupon, 'yea, by allah,' cried the cook, 'now thou mindest me of thyself and thy dirhem! yes, he gave me a dirhem and [but] a quarter of the price is spent. come back and take the rest of the price of thy dirhem.' for that he understood what was to do, at the mention of the tail; and i, o my brother," added aboulhusn, "my story hath a cause, which i will tell thee." the khalif laughed at his speech and said, "by allah, this is none other than a pleasant tale! tell me thy story and the cause." "with all my heart," answered aboulhusn. "know, o my lord, that my name is aboulhusn el khelia and that my father died and left me wealth galore, of which i made two parts. one i laid up and with the other i betook myself to [the enjoyment of the pleasures of] friendship [and conviviality] and consorting with comrades and boon-companions and with the sons of the merchants, nor did i leave one but i caroused with him and he with me, and i spent all my money on companionship and good cheer, till there remained with me nought [of the first half of my good]; whereupon i betook myself to the comrades and cup-companions upon whom i had wasted my wealth, so haply they might provide for my case; but, when i resorted to them and went round about to them all, i found no avail in one of them, nor broke any so much as a crust of bread in my face. so i wept for myself and repairing to my mother, complained to her of my case. quoth she, 'on this wise are friends; if thou have aught, they make much of thee and devour thee, but, if thou have nought, they cast thee off and chase thee away.' then i brought out the other half of my money and bound myself by an oath that i would never more entertain any, except one night, after which i would never again salute him nor take note of him; hence my saying to thee, 'far be it that what is past should recur!' for that i will never again foregather with thee, after this night." when the khalif heard this, he laughed heartily and said, "by allah, o my brother, thou art indeed excused in this matter, now that i know the cause and that the cause hath a tail. nevertheless if it please god, i will not sever myself from thee." "o my guest," replied aboulhusn, "did i not say to thee, 'far be it that what is past should recur! for that i will never again foregather with any'?" then the khalif rose and aboulhusn set before him a dish of roast goose and a cake of manchet-bread and sitting down, fell to cutting off morsels and feeding the khalif therewith. they gave not over eating thus till they were content, when aboulhusn brought bowl and ewer and potash[fn# ] and they washed their hands. then he lighted him three candles and three lamps and spreading the drinking-cloth, brought clarified wine, limpid, old and fragrant, the scent whereof was as that of virgin musk. he filled the first cup and saying, "o my boon-companion, by thy leave, be ceremony laid aside between us! i am thy slave; may i not be afflicted with thy loss!" drank it off and filled a second cup, which he handed to the khalif, with a reverence. his fashion pleased the khalif and the goodliness of his speech and he said in himself, "by allah, i will assuredly requite him for this!" then aboulhusn filled the cup again and handed it to the khalif, reciting the following verses: had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice have poured thee out heart's blood or blackness of the eyes; ay, and we would have spread our bosoms in thy way, that so thy feet might fare on eyelids, carpet-wise. when the khalif heard his verses, he took the cup from his hand and kissed it and drank it off and returned it to aboulhusn, who made him an obeisance and filled and drank. then he filled again and kissing the cup thrice, recited the following verses: thy presence honoureth us and we confess thy magnanimity; if thou forsake us, there is none can stand to us instead of thee. then he gave the cup to the khalif, saying, "drink [and may] health and soundness [attend it]! it doth away disease and bringeth healing and setteth the runnels of health abroach." they gave not over drinking and carousing till the middle of the night, when the khalif said to his host, "o my brother, hast thou in thy heart a wish thou wouldst have accomplished or a regret thou wouldst fain do away?" "by allah," answered he, "there is no regret in my heart save that i am not gifted with dominion and the power of commandment and prohibition, so i might do what is in my mind!" quoth the khalif, "for god's sake, o my brother, tell me what is in thy mind!" and aboulhusn said, "i would to god i might avenge myself on my neighbours, for that in my neighbourhood is a mosque and therein four sheikhs, who take it ill, whenas there cometh a guest to me, and vex me with talk and molest me in words and threaten me that they will complain of me to the commander of the faithful, and indeed they oppress me sore, and i crave of god the most high one day's dominion, that i may beat each of them with four hundred lashes, as well as the imam of the mosque, and parade them about the city of baghdad and let call before them, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso exceedeth [in talk] and spiteth the folk and troubleth on them their joys.' this is what i wish and no more." quoth the khalif, "god grant thee that thou seekest! let us drink one last cup and rise before the dawn draw near, and to-morrow night i will be with thee again." "far be it!" said aboulhusn. then the khalif filled a cup and putting therein a piece of cretan henbane, gave it to his host and said to him, "my life on thee, o my brother, drink this cup from my hand!" "ay, by thy life," answered aboulhusn, "i will drink it from thy hand." so he took it and drank it off; but hardly had he done so, when his head forewent his feet and he fell to the ground like a slain man; whereupon the khalif went out and said to his servant mesrour, "go in to yonder young man, the master of the house, and take him up and bring him to me at the palace; and when thou goest out, shut the door." so saying, he went away, whilst mesrour entered and taking up aboulhusn, shut the door after him, and followed his master, till he reached the palace, what while the night drew to an end and the cocks cried out, and set him down before the commander of the faithful, who laughed at him. then he sent for jaafer the barmecide and when he came before him, he said to him, "note this young man and when thou seest him to-morrow seated in my place of estate and on the throne of my khalifate and clad in my habit, stand thou in attendance upon him and enjoin the amirs and grandees and the people of my household and the officers of my realm to do the like and obey him in that which he shall command them; and thou, if he bespeak thee of anything, do it and hearken unto him and gainsay him not in aught in this coming day." jaafer answered with, "hearkening and obedience,"[fn# ] and withdrew, whilst the khalif went in to the women of the palace, who came to him, and he said to them, "whenas yonder sleeper awaketh to-morrow from his sleep, kiss ye the earth before him and make obeisance to him and come round about him and clothe him in the [royal] habit and do him the service of the khalifate and deny not aught of his estate, but say to him, 'thou art the khalif.'" then he taught them what they should say to him and how they should do with him and withdrawing to a privy place, let down a curtain before himself and slept. meanwhile, aboulhusn gave not over snoring in his sleep, till the day broke and the rising of the sun drew near, when a waiting-woman came up to him and said to him, "o our lord [it is the hour of] the morning- prayer." when he heard the girl's words, he laughed and opening his eyes, turned them about the place and found himself in an apartment the walls whereof were painted with gold and ultramarine and its ceiling starred with red gold. around it were sleeping-chambers, with curtains of gold-embroidered silk let down over their doors, and all about vessels of gold and porcelain and crystal and furniture and carpets spread and lamps burning before the prayer-niche and slave-girls and eunuchs and white slaves and black slaves and boys and pages and attendants. when he saw this, he was confounded in his wit and said, "by allah, either i am dreaming, or this is paradise and the abode of peace!"[fn# ] and he shut his eyes and went to sleep again. quoth the waiting-woman, "o my lord, this is not of thy wont, o commander of the faithful!" then the rest of the women of the palace came all to him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when he found himself upon a couch, stuffed all with floss-silk and raised a cubit's height from the ground.[fn# ] so they seated him upon it and propped him up with a pillow, and he looked at the apartment and its greatness and saw those eunuchs and slave-girls in attendance upon him and at his head, whereat he laughed at himself and said, "by allah, it is not as i were on wake, and [yet] i am not asleep!" then he arose and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed at him and hid [their laughter] from him; and he was confounded in his wit and bit upon his finger. the bite hurt him and he cried "oh!" and was vexed; and the khalif watched him, whence he saw him not, and laughed. presently aboulhusn turned to a damsel and called to her; whereupon she came to him and he said to her, "by the protection of god, o damsel, am i commander of the faithful?" "yes, indeed," answered she; "by the protection of god thou in this time art commander of the faithful." quoth he, "by allah, thou liest, o thousandfold strumpet!" then he turned to the chief eunuch and called to him, whereupon he came to him and kissing the earth before him, said, "yes, o commander of the faithful." "who is commander of the faithful?" asked aboulhusn. "thou," replied the eunuch and aboulhusn said, "thou liest, thousandfold catamite that thou art!" then he turned to another eunuch and said to him, "o my chief,[fn# ] by the protection of god, am i commander of the faithful?" "ay, by allah, o my lord!" answered he. "thou in this time art commander of the faithful and vicar of the lord of the worlds." aboulhusn laughed at himself and misdoubted of his reason and was perplexed at what he saw and said, "in one night i am become khalif! yesterday i was aboulhusn the wag, and to-day i am commander of the faithful." then the chief eunuch came up to him and said, "o commander of the faithful, (the name of god encompass thee!) thou art indeed commander of the faithful and vicar of the lord of the worlds!" and the slave-girls and eunuchs came round about him, till he arose and abode wondering at his case. presently, one of the slave-girls brought him a pair of sandals wrought with raw silk and green silk and embroidered with red gold, and he took them and put them in his sleeve, whereat the slave cried out and said, "allah! allah! o my lord, these are sandals for the treading of thy feet, so thou mayst enter the draught-house." aboulhusn was confounded and shaking the sandals from his sleeve, put them on his feet, whilst the khalif [well-nigh] died of laughter at him. the slave forewent him to the house of easance, where he entered and doing his occasion, came out into the chamber, whereupon the slave- girls brought him a basin of gold and an ewer of silver and poured water on his hands and he made the ablution. then they spread him a prayer-carpet and he prayed. now he knew not how to pray and gave not over bowing and prostrating himself, [till he had prayed the prayers] of twenty inclinations,[fn# ] pondering in himself the while and saying, "by allah, i am none other than the commander of the faithful in very sooth! this is assuredly no dream, for all these things happen not in a dream." and he was convinced and determined in himself that he was commander of the faithful; so he pronounced the salutation[fn# ] and made an end[fn# ] of his prayers; whereupon the slaves and slave-girls came round about him with parcels of silk and stuffs[fn# ] and clad him in the habit of the khalifate and gave him the royal dagger in his hand. then the chief eunuch went out before him and the little white slaves behind him, and they ceased not [going] till they raised the curtain and brought him into the hall of judgment and the throne-room of the khalifate. there he saw the curtains and the forty doors and el ijli and er recashi[fn# ] and ibdan and jedim and abou ishac [fn# ] the boon-companions and beheld swords drawn and lions [fn# ] encompassing [the throne] and gilded glaives and death-dealing bows and persians and arabs and turks and medes and folk and peoples and amirs and viziers and captains and grandees and officers of state and men of war, and indeed there appeared the puissance of the house of abbas [fn# ] and the majesty of the family of the prophet. so he sat down upon the throne of the khalifate and laid the dagger in his lap, whereupon all [present] came up to kiss the earth before him and called down on him length of life and continuance [of glory and prosperity]. then came forward jaafer the barmecide and kissing the earth, said, "may the wide world of god be the treading of thy feet and may paradise be thy dwelling-place and the fire the habitation of thine enemies! may no neighbour transgress against thee nor the lights of fire die out for thee, [fn# ] o khalif of [all] cities and ruler of [all] countries!" therewithal aboulhusn cried out at him and said, "o dog of the sons of bermek, go down forthright, thou and the master of the police of the city, to such a place in such a street and deliver a hundred dinars to the mother of aboulhusn the wag and bear her my salutation. [then, go to such a mosque] and take the four sheikhs and the imam and beat each of them with four hundred lashes and mount them on beasts, face to tail, and go round with them about all the city and banish them to a place other than the city; and bid the crier make proclamation before them, saying, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso multiplieth words and molesteth his neighbours and stinteth them of their delights and their eating and drinking!'" jaafer received the order [with submission] and answered with ["hearkening and] obedience;" after which he went down from before aboulhusn to the city and did that whereunto he had bidden him. meanwhile, aboulhusn abode in the khalifate, taking and giving, ordering and forbidding and giving effect to his word, till the end of the day, when he gave [those who were present] leave and permission [to withdraw], and the amirs and officers of state departed to their occasions. then the eunuchs came to him and calling down on him length of life and continuance [of glory and prosperity], walked in attendance upon him and raised the curtain, and he entered the pavilion of the harem, where he found candles lighted and lamps burning and singing-women smiting [on instruments of music]. when he saw this, he was confounded in his wit and said in himself, "by allah, i am in truth commander of the faithful!" as soon as he appeared, the slave-girls rose to him and carrying him up on to the estrade,[fn# ] brought him a great table, spread with the richest meats. so he ate thereof with all his might, till he had gotten his fill, when he called one of the slave-girls and said to her, "what is thy name?" "my name is miskeh," replied she, and he said to another, "what is thy name?" quoth she, "my name is terkeh." then said he to a third, "what is thy name?" "my name is tuhfeh," answered she; and he went on to question the damsels of their names, one after another, [till he had made the round of them all], when he rose from that place and removed to the wine-chamber. he found it every way complete and saw therein ten great trays, full of all fruits and cakes and all manner sweetmeats. so he sat down and ate thereof after the measure of his sufficiency, and finding there three troops of singing-girls, was amazed and made the girls eat. then he sat and the singers also seated themselves, whilst the black slaves and the white slaves and the eunuchs and pages and boys stood, and the slave-girls, some of them, sat and some stood. the damsels sang and warbled all manner melodies and the place answered them for the sweetness of the songs, whilst the pipes cried out and the lutes made accord with them, till it seemed to aboulhusn that he was in paradise and his heart was cheered and his breast dilated. so he sported and joyance waxed on him and he bestowed dresses of honour on the damsels and gave and bestowed, challenging this one and kissing that and toying with a third, plying one with wine and another with meat, till the night fell down. all this while the khalif was diverting himself with watching him and laughing, and at nightfall he bade one of the slave-girls drop a piece of henbane in the cup and give it to aboulhusn to drink. so she did as he bade her and gave aboulhusn the cup, whereof no sooner had he drunken than his head forewent his feet [and he fell down, senseless]. therewith the khalif came forth from behind the curtain, laughing, and calling to the servant who had brought aboulhusn to the palace, said to him, "carry this fellow to his own place." so mesrour took him up [and carrying him to his own house], set him down in the saloon. then he went forth from him and shutting the saloon-door upon him, returned to the khalif, who slept till the morrow. as for aboulhusn, he gave not over sleeping till god the most high brought on the morning, when he awoke, crying out and saying, "ho, tuffaheh! ho, rahet el culoub! ho, miskeh! ho, tuhfeh!" and he gave not over calling upon the slave-girls till his mother heard him calling upon strange damsels and rising, came to him and said, "the name of god encompass thee! arise, o my son, o aboulhusn! thou dreamest." so he opened his eyes and finding an old woman at his head, raised his eyes and said to her, "who art thou?" quoth she, "i am thy mother;" and he answered, "thou liest! i am the commander of the faithful, the vicar of god." whereupon his mother cried out and said to him, "god preserve thy reason! be silent, o my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and the spoiling of thy wealth, [as will assuredly betide,] if any hear this talk and carry it to the khalif." so he rose from his sleep and finding himself in his own saloon and his mother by him, misdoubted of his wit and said to her, "by allah, o my mother, i saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave-girls and servants about me and in attendance upon me, and i sat upon the throne of the khalifate and ruled. by allah, o my mother, this is what i saw, and verily it was not a dream!" then he bethought himself awhile and said, "assuredly, i am aboulhusn el khelia, and this that i saw was only a dream, and [it was in a dream that] i was made khalif and commanded and forbade." then he bethought himself again and said, "nay, but it was no dream and i am no other than the khalif, and indeed i gave gifts and bestowed dresses of honour." quoth his mother to him, "o my son, thou sportest with thy reason: thou wilt go to the hospital and become a gazing-stock. indeed, that which thou hast seen is only from the devil and it was a delusion of dreams, for whiles satan sporteth with men's wits in all manner ways." then said she to him, "o my son, was there any one with thee yesternight?" and he bethought himself and said, "yes; one lay the night with me and i acquainted him with my case and told him my story. doubtless, he was from the devil, and i, o my mother, even as thou sayst truly, am aboulhusn el khelia." "o my son," rejoined she, "rejoice in tidings of all good, for yesterday's record is that there came the vivier jaafer the barmecide [and his company] and beat the sheikhs of the mosque and the imam, each four hundred lashes; after which they paraded them about the city, making proclamation before them and saying, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso lacketh of goodwill to his neighbours and troubleth on them their lives!' and banished them from baghdad. moreover, the khalif sent me a hundred dinars and sent to salute me." whereupon aboulhusn cried out and said to her, "o old woman of ill-omen, wilt thou contradict me and tell me that i am not the commander of the faithful? it was i who commanded jaafer the barmecide to beat the sheikhs and parade them about the city and make proclamation before them and who sent thee the hundred dinars and sent to salute thee, and i, o beldam of ill-luck, am in very deed the commander of the faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make me out a dotard." so saying, he fell upon her and beat her with a staff of almond-wood, till she cried out, "[help], o muslims!" and he redoubled the beating upon her, till the folk heard her cries and coming to her, [found] aboulhusn beating her and saying to her, "o old woman of ill-omen, am i not the commander of the faithful? thou hast enchanted me!" when the folk heard his words, they said, "this man raveth," and doubted not of his madness. so they came in upon him and seizing him, pinioned him and carried him to the hospital. quoth the superintendant, "what aileth this youth?" and they said, "this is a madman." "by allah," cried aboulhusn, "they lie against me! i am no madman, but the commander of the faithful." and the superintendant answered him, saying, "none lieth but thou, o unluckiest of madmen!" then he stripped him of his clothes and clapping on his neck a heavy chain, bound him to a high lattice and fell to drubbing him two bouts a day and two anights; and on this wise he abode the space of ten days. then his mother came to him and said, "o my son, o aboulhusn, return to thy reason, for this is the devil's doing." quoth he, "thou sayst sooth, o my mother, and bear thou witness of me that i repent [and forswear] that talk and turn from my madness. so do thou deliver me, for i am nigh upon death." so his mother went out to the superintendant and procured his release and he returned to his own house. now this was at the beginning of the month, and when it was the end thereof, aboulhusn longed to drink wine and returning to his former usance, furnished his saloon and made ready food and let bring wine; then, going forth to the bridge, he sat there, expecting one whom he should carouse withal, as of his wont. as he sat thus, behold, up came the khalif [and mesrour] to him; but aboulhusn saluted them not and said to them, "no welcome and no greeting to the perverters![fn# ] ye are no other than devils." however, the khalif accosted him and said to him, "o my brother, did i not say to thee that i would return to thee?" quoth aboulhusn, "i have no need of thee; and as the byword says in verse: 'twere fitter and better my loves that i leave, for, if the eye see not, the heart will not grieve. and indeed, o my brother, the night thou camest to me and we caroused together, i and thou, it was as if the devil came to me and troubled me that night." "and who is he, the devil?" asked the khalif. "he is none other than thou," answered aboulhusn; whereat the khalif smiled and sitting down by him, coaxed him and spoke him fair, saying, "o my brother, when i went out from thee, i forgot [to shut] the door [and left it] open, and belike satan came in to thee." quoth aboulhusn, "ask me not of that which hath betided me. what possessed thee to leave the door open, so that the devil came in to me and there befell me with him this and that?" and he related to him all that had befallen him, from first to last, aud there is no advantage in the repetition of it; what while the khalif laughed and hid his laughter. then said he to aboulhusn, "praised be god who hath done away from thee that which irked thee and that i see thee in weal!" and aboulhusn said, "never again will i take thee to boon-companion or sitting-mate; for the byword saith, 'whoso stumbleth on a stone and returneth thereto, blame and reproach be upon him.' and thou, o my brother, nevermore will i entertain thee nor use companionship with thee, for that i have not found thy commerce propitious to me."[fn# ] but the khalif blandished him and conjured him, redoubling words upon him with "verily, i am thy guest; reject not the guest," till aboulhusn took him and [carrying him home], brought him into the saloon and set food before him and friendly entreated him in speech. then he told him all that had befallen him, whilst the khalif was like to die of hidden laughter; after which aboulhusn removed the tray of food and bringing the wine-tray, filled a cup and emptied it out three times, then gave it to the khalif, saying, "o boon-companion mine, i am thy slave and let not that which i am about to say irk thee, and be thou not vexed, neither do thou vex me." and he recited these verses: no good's in life (to the counsel list of one who's purpose-whole,) an if thou be not drunken still and gladden not thy soul. ay, ne'er will i leave to drink of wine, what while the night on me darkens, till drowsiness bow down my head upon my bowl. in wine, as the glittering sunbeams bright, my heart's contentment is, that banishes hence, with various joys, all kinds of care and dole. when the khalif heard these his verses, he was moved to exceeding delight and taking the cup, drank it off, and they ceased not to drink and carouse till the wine rose to their heads. then said aboulhusn to the khalif, "o boon-companion mine, of a truth i am perplexed concerning my affair, for meseemed i was commander of the faithful and ruled and gave gifts and largesse, and in very deed, o my brother, it was not a dream." "these were the delusions of sleep," answered the khalif and crumbling a piece of henbane into the cup, said to him, "by my life, do thou drink this cup." and aboulhusn said, "surely i will drink it from thy hand." then he took the cup from the khalifs hand and drank it off, and no sooner had it settled in his belly than his head forewent his feet [and he fell down senseless]. now his parts and fashions pleased the khalif and the excellence of his composition and his frankness, and he said in himself, "i will assuredly make him my cup- companion and sitting-mate." so he rose forthright and saying to mesrour, "take him up," [returned to the palace]. accordingly, mesrour took up aboulhusn and carrying him to the palace of the khalifate, set him down before er reshid, who bade the slaves and slave- girls encompass him about, whilst he himself hid in a place where aboulhusn could not see him. then he commanded one of the slave-girls to take the lute and strike it at aboulhusn's head, whilst the rest smote upon their instruments. [so they played and sang,] till aboulhusn awoke at the last of the night and heard the noise of lutes and tabrets and the sound of the pipes and the singing of the slave-girls, whereupon he opened his eyes and finding himself in the palace, with the slave-girls and eunuchs about him, exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! verily, i am fearful of the hospital and of that which i suffered therein aforetime, and i doubt not but the devil is come to me again, as before. o my god, put thou satan to shame!" then he shut his eyes and laid his head in his sleeve and fell to laughing softly and raising his head [bytimes], but [still] found the apartment lighted and the girls singing. presently, one of the eunuchs sat down at his head and said to him, "sit up, o commander of the faithful, and look on thy palace and thy slave-girls." quoth aboulhusn, "by the protection of god, am i in truth commander of the faithful and dost thou not lie? yesterday, i went not forth neither ruled, but drank and slept, and this eunuch cometh to rouse me up." then he sat up and bethought himself of that which had betided him with his mother and how he had beaten her and entered the hospital, and he saw the marks of the beating, wherewithal the superintendant of the hospital had beaten him, and was perplexed concerning his affair and pondered in himself, saying, "by allah, i know not how my case is nor what is this that betideth me!" then he turned to a damsel of the damsels and said to her, "who am i?" quoth she, "thou art the commander of the faithful;" and he said, "thou liest, o calamity![fn# ] if i be indeed the commander of the faithful, bite my finger." so she came to him and bit it with her might, and he said to her, "it sufficeth." then he said to the chief eunuch, "who am i?" and he answered, "thou art the commander of the faithful." so he left him and turning to a little white slave, said to him, "bite my ear;" and he bent down to him and put his ear to his mouth. now the slave was young and lacked understanding; so he closed his teeth upon aboulhusn's ear with his might, till he came near to sever it; and he knew not arabic, so, as often as aboulhusn said to him, "it sufficeth," he concluded that he said, "bite harder," and redoubled his bite and clenched his teeth upon the ear, whilst the damsels were diverted from him with hearkening to the singing-girls, and aboulhusn cried out for succour from the boy and the khalif [well-nigh] lost his senses for laughter. then he dealt the boy a cuff and he let go his ear, whereupon aboulhusn put off his clothes and abode naked, with his yard and his arse exposed, and danced among the slave-girls. they bound his hands and he wantoned among them, what while they [well-nigh] died of laughing at him and the khalif swooned away for excess of laughter. then he came to himself and going forth to aboulhusn, said to him, "out on thee, o aboulhusn! thou slayest me with laughter." so he turned to him and knowing him, said to him, "by allah, it is thou slayest me and slayest my mother and slewest the sheikhs and the imam of the mosque!" then the khalif took him into his especial favour and married him and bestowed largesse on him and lodged him with himself in the palace and made him of the chief of his boon-companions, and indeed he was preferred with him above them and the khalif advanced him over them all. now they were ten in number, to wit, el ijli and er recashi and ibdan and hassan el feresdec and el lauz and es seker and omar et tertis and abou nuwas[fn# ] and abou ishac en nedim and aboulhusn el khelia, and by each of them hangeth a story that is told in other than this book. and indeed aboulhusn became high in honour with the khalif and favoured above all, so that he sat with him and the lady zubeideh bint el casim and married the latter's treasuress, whose name was nuzhet el fuad. aboulhusn abode with his wife in eating and drinking and all delight of life, till all that was with them was spent, when he said to her, "harkye, o nuzhet el fuad!" "at thy service," answered she, and he said, "i have it in mind to play a trick on the khalif and thou shalt do the like with the lady zubeideh, and we will take of them, in a twinkling, two hundred dinars and two pieces of silk." "as thou wilt," answered she; "but what thinkest thou to do?" and he said,"we will feign ourselves dead and this is the trick. i will die before thee and lay myself out, and do thou spread over me a kerchief of silk and loose [the muslin of] my turban over me and tie my toes and lay on my heart a knife, and a little salt.[fn# ] then let down thy hair and betake thyself to thy mistress zubeideh, tearing thy dress and buffeting thy face and crying out. she will say to thee, 'what aileth thee?' and do thou answer her, saying, 'may thy head outlive aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." she will mourn for me and weep and bid her treasuress give thee a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and will say to thee, 'go lay him out and carry him forth [to burial].' so do thou take of her the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and come back, and when thou returnest to me, i will rise up and thou shalt lie down in my place, and i will go to the khalif and say to him, 'may thy head outlive nuzhet el fuad!' and tear my dress and pluck at my beard. he will mourn for thee and say to his treasurer, 'give aboulhusn a hundred dinars and a piece of silk.' then he will say to me, 'go; lay her out and carry her forth;' and i will come back to thee." therewith nuzhet el fuad rejoiced and said, "indeed, this is an excellent device." [then aboulhusn stretched himself out] forthright and she shut his eyes and tied his feet and covered him with the kerchief and did what [else] her lord had bidden her; after which she rent her dress and uncovering her head, let down her hair and went in to the lady zubeideh, crying out and weeping, when the princess saw her in this case, she said to her, "what plight is this [in which i see thee]? what is thy story and what maketh thee weep?" and nuzhet el fuad answered, weeping and crying out the while, "o my lady, may thy head live and mayst thou survive aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." the lady zubeideh mourned for him and said, "alas for aboulhusn el khelia!" and she wept for him awhile. then she bade her treasuress give nuzhet el fuad a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to her, "o nuzhet el fuad, go, lay him out and carry him forth." so she took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and returned to her dwelling, rejoicing, and went in to aboulhusn and told him what had befallen, whereupon he arose and rejoiced and girt his middle and danced and took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and laid them up. then he laid out nuzhet el fuad and did with her even as she had done with him; after which he rent his clothes and plucked out his beard and disordered his turban [and went forth] and gave not over running till he came in to the khalif, who was sitting in the hall of audience, and he in this plight, beating upon his breast. quoth the khalif to him, "what aileth thee, o aboulhusn!" and he wept and said, "would thy boon-companion had never been and would his hour had never come!" "tell me [thy case,]" said the khalif; and aboulhusn said, "o my lord, may thy head outlive nuzhet el fuad!" quoth the khalif, "there is no god but god!" and he smote hand upon hand. then he comforted aboulhusn and said to him, "grieve not, for we will give thee a concubine other than she." and he bade the treasurer give him a hundred dinars and a piece of silk. so the treasurer gave him what the khalif bade him, and the latter said to him,"go, lay her out and carry her forth and make her a handsome funeral." so aboulhusn took that which he had given him and returning to his house, rejoicing, went in to nuzhet el fuad and said to her, "arise, for the wish is accomplished unto us." so she arose and he laid before her the hundred dinars and the piece of silk, whereat she rejoiced, and they added the gold to the gold and the silk to the silk and sat talking and laughing at one another. meanwhile, when aboulhusn went out from the presence of the khalif and went to lay out nuzhet el fuad, the prince mourned for her and dismissing the divan, arose and betook himself, leaning upon mesrour, the swordsman of his vengeance, [to the pavilion of the harem, where he went in] to the lady zubeideh, that he might condole with her for her slave-girl. he found the princess sitting weeping and awaiting his coming, so she might condole with him for [his boon-companion] aboulhusn el khelia. so he said to her, "may thy head outlive thy slave-girl nuzhet el fuad!" and she answered, saying, "o my lord, god preserve my slave-girl! mayst thou live and long survive thy boon-companion aboulhusn el khelia! for he is dead." the khalif smiled and said to his eunuch, "o mesrour, verily women are little of wit. i conjure thee, by allah, say, was not aboulhusn with me but now?" ["yes, o commander of the faithful," answered mesrour] quoth the lady zubeideh, laughing from a heart full of wrath, "wilt thou not leave thy jesting? is it not enough that aboulhusn is dead, but thou must kill my slave-girl also and bereave us of the two and style me little of wit?" "indeed," answered the khalif, "it is nuzhet el fuad who is dead." and zubeideh said, "indeed he hath not been with thee, nor hast thou seen him, and none was with me but now but nuzhet el fuad, and she sorrowful, weeping, with her clothes torn. i exhorted her to patience and gave her a hundred dinars and a piece of silk; and indeed i was awaiting thy coming, so i might condole with thee for thy boon- companion aboulhusn el khelia, and was about to send for thee." the khalif laughed and said, "none is dead but nuzhet el fuad;" and she, "no, no, my lord; none is dead but aboulhusn." with this the khalif waxed wroth, and the hashimi vein[fn# ] started out from between his eyes and he cried out to mesrour and said to him, "go forth and see which of them is dead." so mesrour went out, running, and the khalif said to zubeideh, "wilt thou lay me a wager?" "yes," answered she; "i will wager, and i say that aboulhusn is dead." "and i," rejoined the khalif, "wager and say that none is dead save nuzhet el fuad; and the stake shall be the garden of pleasance against thy palace and the pavilion of pictures." so they [agreed upon this and] abode awaiting mesrour, till such time as he should return with news. as for mesrour, he gave not over running till he came to the by-street, [wherein was the house] of aboulhusn el khelia. now the latter was sitting reclining at the lattice, and chancing to look round, saw mesrour running along the street and said to nuzhet el fuad, "meseemeth the khalif, when i went forth from him, dismissed the divan and went in to the lady zubeideh, to condole with her [for thee;] whereupon she arose and condoled with him [for me,] saying, 'god greaten thy recompence for [the loss of] aboulhusn el khelia!' and he said to her, 'none is dead save nuzhet el fuad, may thy head outlive her!' quoth she, 'it is not she who is dead, but aboulhusn el khelia, thy boon-companion.' and he to her, 'none is dead but nuzhet el fuad.' and they gainsaid one another, till the khalif waxed wroth and they laid a wager, and he hath sent mesrour the sword- bearer to see who is dead. wherefore it were best that thou lie down, so he may see thee and go and acquaint the khalif and confirm my saying." so nuzhet el fuad stretched herself out and aboulhusn covered her with her veil and sat at her head, weeping. presently, in came mesrour the eunuch to him and saluted him and seeing nuzhet el fuad stretched out, uncovered her face and said, "there is no god but god! our sister nuzhet el fuad is dead. how sudden was the [stroke of] destiny! may god have mercy on thee and acquit thee of responsibility!" then he returned and related what had passed before the khalif and the lady zubeideh, and he laughing. "o accursed one,' said the khalif, "is this a time for laughter? tell us which is dead of them." "by allah, o my lord," answered mesrour, "aboulhusn is well and none is dead but nuzhet el fuad." quoth the khalif to zubeideh, "thou hast lost thy pavilion in thy play," and he laughed at her and said to mesrour, "o mesrour, tell her what thou sawest." "verily, o my lady," said the eunuch, "i ran without ceasing till i came in to aboulhusn in his house and found nuzhet el fuad lying dead and aboulhusn sitting at her head, weeping. i saluted him and condoled with him and sat down by his side and uncovered the face of nuzhet el fuad and saw her dead and her face swollen. so i said to him, 'carry her out forthright [to burial], so we may pray over her.' he answered, 'it is well;' and i left him to lay her out and came hither, that i might tell you the news." the khalif laughed and said, "tell it again and again to thy lady lack-wit." when the lady zubeideh heard mesrour's words [and those of the khalif,] she was wroth and said, "none lacketh wit but he who believeth a black slave." and she reviled mesrour, whilst the khalif laughed. mesrour was vexed at this and said to the khalif, "he spoke sooth who said, 'women lack wit and religion.'" then said the lady zubeideh to the khalif, "o commander of the faithful, thou sportest and jestest with me, and this slave hoodwinketh me, to please thee; but i will send and see which is dead of them." and he answered, saying, "send one who shall see which is dead of them." so the lady zubeideh cried out to an old woman, a stewardess, and said to her, "go to the house of nuzhet el fuad in haste and see who is dead and loiter not." and she railed at her. the old woman went out, running, whilst the khalif and mesrour laughed, and gave not over running till she came into the street. aboulhusn saw her and knowing her, said to his wife, "o nuzhet el fuad, meseemeth the lady zubeideh hath sent to us to see who is dead and hath not given credence to mesrour's report of thy death; so she hath despatched the old woman, her stewardess, to discover the truth; wherefore it behoveth me to be dead in my turn, for the sake of thy credit with the lady zubeideh." accordingly, he lay down and stretched himself out, and she covered him and bound his eyes and feet and sat at his head, weeping. presently, the old woman came in to her and saw her sitting at aboulhusn's head, weeping and lamenting; and when she saw the old woman, she cried out and said to her, "see what hath betided me! indeed, aboulhusn is dead and hath left me alone and forlorn!" then she cried out and tore her clothes and said to the old woman, "o my mother, how good he was!" quoth the other, "indeed thou art excused, for thou wast used to him and he to thee." then she considered what mesrour had reported to the khalif and the lady zubeideh and said to her, "indeed, mesrour goeth about to sow discord between the khalif and the lady zubeideh." "and what is the [cause of] discord, o my mother?" asked nuzhet el fuad. "o my daughter," answered the old woman, "mesrour came to the khalif and the lady zubeideh and gave them news of thee that thou wast dead and that aboulhusn was well. "and nuzhet el fuad said to her, "o my aunt, i was with my lady but now and she gave me a hundred dinars and a piece of silk; and now see my condition and that which hath befallen me! indeed, i am bewildered, and how shall i do, and i alone, forlorn? would god i had died and he had lived!" then she wept and the old woman with her and the latter went up to aboulhusn and uncovering his face, saw his eyes bound and swollen for the binding. so she covered him again and said, "indeed, o nuzhet el fuad, thou art afflicted in aboulhusn!" then she condoled with her and going out from her, ran without ceasing till she came in to the lady zubeideh and related to her the story; and the princess said to her, laughing, "tell it over again to the khalif, who maketh me out scant of wit and lacking of religion, and to this ill-omened slave, who presumeth to contradict me." quoth mesrour, "this old woman lieth; for i saw aboulhusn well and nuzhet el fuad it was who lay dead." "it is thou that liest," rejoined the stewardess, "and wouldst fain sow discord between the khalif and the lady zubeideh." and he said, "none lieth but thou, o old woman of ill-omen, and thy lady believeth thee, and she doteth." whereupon the lady zubeideh cried out at him, and indeed she was enraged at him and at his speech and wept. then said the khalif to her, "i lie and my eunuch lieth, and thou liest and thy waiting-woman lieth; so methinks we were best go, all four of us together, that we may see which of us telleth the truth." quoth mesrour, "come, let us go, that i may put this ill-omened old woman to shame[fn# ] and deal her a sound drubbing for her lying." and she answered him, saying, "o dotard, is thy wit like unto my wit? indeed, thy wit is as the hen's wit." mesrour was incensed at her words and would have laid violent hands on her, but the lady zubeideh warded him off from her and said to him, "her sooth-fastness will presently be distinguished from thy sooth-fastness and her leasing from thy leasing." then they all four arose, laying wagers with one another, and went forth, walking, from the palace-gate [and fared on] till they came in at the gate of the street in which aboulhusn el khelia dwelt. he saw them and said to his wife nuzhet el fuad, "verily, all that is sticky is not a pancake and not every time cometh the jar off safe.[fn# ]' meseemeth the old woman hath gone and told her lady and acquainted her with our case and she hath disputed with mesrour the eunuch and they have laid wagers with one another about our death and are come to us, all four, the khalif and the eunuch and the lady zubeideh and the old woman." when nuzhet el fuad heard this, she started up from her lying posture and said, "how shall we do?" and he said, "we will both feign ourselves dead and stretch ourselves out and hold our breath." so she hearkened unto him and they both lay down on the siesta[-carpet] and bound their feet and shut their eyes and covered themselves with the veil and held their breath. presently, up came the khalif and the lady zubeideh and mesrour and the old woman and entering, found aboulhusn and his wife both stretched out [apparently] dead; which when the lady zubeideh saw, she wept and said, "they ceased not to bring [ill] news of my slave- girl, till she died; methinketh aboulhusn's death was grievous to her and that she died after him."[fn# ]. quoth the khalif, "thou shalt not forestall me with talk and prate. she certainly died before aboulhusn, for he came to me with his clothes torn and his beard plucked out, beating his breast with two bricks, and i gave him a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to him, 'go, carry her forth [and bury her] and i will give thee a concubine other than she and handsomer, and she shall be in stead of her.' but it would appear that her death was no light matter to him and he died after her;[fn# ] so it is i who have beaten thee and gotten thy stake." the lady zubeideh answered him many words and the talk waxed amain between them. at last the khalif sat down at the heads of the pair and said, "by the tomb of the apostle of god (may he bless and preserve him!) and the sepulchres of my fathers and forefathers, whoso will tell me which of them died before the other, i will willingly give him a thousand dinars!" when aboulhusn heard the khalifs words, he sprang up in haste and said, "i died first, o commander of the faithful! hand over the thousand dinars and quit thine oath and the conjuration by which thou sworest." then nuzhet el fuad rose also and stood up before the khalif and the lady zubeideh, who both rejoiced in this and in their safety, and the princess chid her slave-girl. then the khalif and the lady zubeideh gave them joy at their well-being and knew that this [pretended] death was a device to get the money; and the princess said to nuzhet el fuad, "thou shouldst have sought of me that which thou desiredst, without this fashion, and not have consumed my heart for thee." and she said, "indeed, i was ashamed, o my lady." as for the khalif, he swooned away for laughing and said, "o aboulhusn, thou wilt never cease to be a wag and do rarities and oddities!" quoth he, "o commander of the faithful, i played off this trick, for that the money was exhausted, which thou gavest me, and i was ashamed to ask of thee again. when i was single, i could never keep money; but since thou marriedst me to this damsel here, if i possessed thy wealth, i should make an end of it. so, when all that was in my hand was spent, i wrought this trick, so i might get of thee the hundred dinars and the piece of silk; and all this is an alms from our lord. but now make haste to give me the thousand dinars and quit thee of thine oath." the khalif and the lady zubeideh laughed and returned to the palace; and he gave aboulhusn the thousand dinars, saying, "take them as a thank-offering for thy preservation from death," whilst the princess did the like with nuzhet el fuad. moreover, the khalif increased aboulhusn in his stipends and allowances, and he [and his wife] ceased not [to live] in joy and contentment, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who layeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs. the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets.[fn# ] it is said that, when the khalifate devolved on omar ben abdulaziz[fn# ] (of whom god accept), the poets [of the time] resorted to him, as they had been used to resort to the khalifs before him, and abode at his door days and days, but he gave them not leave to enter, till there came to omar adi ben artah,[fn# ] who stood high in esteem with him. jerir[fn# ] accosted him and begged him to crave admission for them [to the khalif]. "it is well," answered adi and going in to omar, said to him, "the poets are at thy door and have been there days and days; yet hast thou not given them leave to enter, albeit their sayings are abiding[fn# ] and their arrows go straight to the mark." quoth omar, "what have i to do with the poets?" and adi answered, saying, "o commander of the faithful, the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) was praised [by a poet] and gave [him largesse,] and therein[fn# ] is an exemplar to every muslim." quoth omar, "and who praised him?" "abbas ben mirdas[fn# ] praised him," replied adi, "and he clad him with a suit and said, 'o bilal,[fn# ] cut off from me his tongue!'" "dost thou remember what he said?" asked the khalif; and adi said, "yes." "then repeat it," rejoined omar. so adi recited the following verses: i saw thee, o thou best of all the human race, display a book that came to teach the truth to those in error's way. thou madest known to us therein the road of righteousness, when we had wandered from the truth, what while in gloom it lay. a dark affair thou littest up with islam and with proof quenchedst the flaming red-coals of error and dismay. mohammed, then, i do confess, god's chosen prophet is, and every man requited is for that which he doth say. the road of right thou hast made straight, that erst was crooked grown; yea, for its path of old had fall'n to ruin and decay. exalted mayst thou be above th' empyrean heaven of joy and may god's glory greater grow and more exalted aye! "and indeed," continued adi, "this ode on the prophet (may god bless and keep him!) is well known and to comment it would be tedious." quoth omar, "who is at the door?" "among them is omar ibn [abi] rebya the cureishite,"[fn# ] answered adi, and the khalif said, "may god show him no favour neither quicken him! was it not he who said ... ?" and he recited the following verses: would god upon that bitterest day, when my death calls for me, what's 'twixt thine excrement and blood[fn# ] i still may smell of thee! yea, so but selma in the dust my bedfellow may prove, fair fall it thee! in heaven or hell i reck not if it be. "except," continued the khalif, "he were the enemy of god, he had wished for her in this world, so he might after [repent and] return to righteous dealing. by allah, he shall not come in to me! who is at the door other than he?" quoth adi, "jemil ben mamer el udhri[fn# ] is at the door;" and omar said, "it is he who says in one of his odes" ... [and he recited the following:] would we may live together and when we come to die, god grant the death-sleep bring me within her tomb to lie! for if "her grave above her is levelled" it be said, of life and its continuance no jot indeed reck i. "away with him from me! who is at the door?" "kutheiyir azzeh,"[fn# ] replied adi, and omar said, "it is he who says in one of his odes ... " [and he repeated the following verses:] some with religion themselves concern and make it their business all; sitting,[fn# ] they weep for the pains of hell and still for mercy bawl! if they could hearken to azzeh's speech, as i, i hearken to it, they straight would humble themselves to her and prone before her fall. "leave the mention of him. who is at the door?" quoth adi, "el akhwes el ansari."[fn# ] "god the most high put him away and estrange him from his mercy!" cried omar. "is it not he who said, berhyming on a man of medina his slave-girl, so she might outlive her master ... ?" [and he repeated the following line:] god [judge] betwixt me and her lord! away with her he flees me and i follow aye. "he shall not come in to me. who is at the door, other than he?" "heman ben ghalib el ferezdec,"[fn# ] answered adi; and omar said, "it is he who saith, glorying in adultery ..." [and he repeated the following verses:] the two girls let me down from fourscore fathoms' height, as swoops a hawk, with wings all open in full flight; and when my feet trod earth, "art slain, that we should fear," quoth they, "or live, that we may hope again thy sight?" "he shall not come in to me. who is at the door, other than he?" "el akhtel et teghlibi,"[fn# ] answered adi; and omar said, "he is the unbeliever who says in his verse ..." [and he repeated the following:] ramazan in my life ne'er i fasted, nor e'er have i eaten of flesh, save in public[fn# ] it were. no exhorter am i to abstain from the fair, nor to love mecca's vale for my profit i care; nor, like others a little ere morning appear who bawl, "come to safety!"[fn# ] i stand up to prayer. nay, at daybreak i drink of the wind-freshened wine and prostrate me[fn# ] instead in the dawn-whitened air. "by allah, he treadeth no carpet of mine! who is at the door other than he?" "jerir ibn el khetefa," answered adi; and omar said, "it is he who saith ... " [and he recited as follows:] but for the spying of the eyes [ill-omened,] we had seen wild cattle's eyes and antelopes' tresses of sable sheen. the huntress of th' eyes[fn# ] by night came to me. "turn in peace," [quoth i to her;] "this is no time for visiting, i ween." "if it must be and no help, admit jerir." so adi went forth and admitted jerir, who entered, saying: he, who mohammed sent, as prophet to mankind, hath to a just high-priest[fn# ] the khalifate assigned. his justice and his truth all creatures do embrace; the erring he corrects and those of wandering mind. i hope for present[fn# ] good [and bounty at thy hand,] for souls of men are still to present[fn# ] good inclined. quoth omar, "o jerir, keep the fear of god before thine eyes and say nought but the truth." and jerir recited the following verses: how many, in yemameh,[fn# ] dishevelled widows plain! how many a weakling orphan unsuccoured doth remain, for whom is thy departure even as a father's loss! to fly or creep, like nestlings, alone, they strive in vain. now that the clouds have broken their promise to our hope, we trust the khalif's bounty will stand to us for rain.[fn# ] when the khalif heard this, he said, "by allah, o jerir, omar possesseth but a hundred dirhems."[fn# ] [and he cried out to his servant, saying,] "ho, boy! give them to him." moreover, he gave him the ornaments of his sword; and jerir went forth to the [other] poets, who said to him, "what is behind thee?"[fn# ] and he answered, "a man who giveth to the poor and denieth the poets, and i am well-pleased with him."[fn# ] el hejjaj and the three young men.[fn# ] they tell that el hejjaj[fn# ] once commanded the master of police [of bassora] to go round about [the city] by night, and whomsoever he found [abroad] after nightfall, that he should strike off his head. so he went round one night of the nights and came upon three youths staggering from side to side, and on them signs of [intoxication with] wine. so the officers laid hold of them and the captain of the watch said to them, "who are ye that ye transgress the commandment of the [lieutenant of the] commander of the faithful and come abroad at this hour?" quoth one of the youths, "i am the son of him to whom [all] necks[fn# ] abase themselves, alike the nose-pierced[fn# ] of them and the [bone-]breaker;[fn# ] they come to him in their own despite, abject and submissive, and he taketh of their wealth[fn# ] and of their blood." the master of police held his hand from him, saying, "belike he is of the kinsmen of the commander of the faithful," and said to the second, "who art thou?" quoth he, "i am the son of him whose rank[fn# ] time abaseth not, and if it descend[fn# ] one day, it will assuredly return [to its former height]; thou seest the folk [crowd] in troops to the light of his fire, some standing around it and some sitting." so the master of the police refrained from slaying him and said to the third, "who art thou?" quoth he, "i am the son of him who plungeth through the ranks[fn# ] with his might and correcteth[fn# ] them with the sword,[fn# ] so that they stand straight;[fn# ] his feet are not loosed from the stirrup,[fn# ] whenas the horsemen on the day of battle are weary." so the master of police held his hand from him also, saying, "belike, he is the son of a champion of the arabs." then he kept them under guard, and when the morning morrowed, he referred their case to el hejjaj, who caused bring them before him and enquiring into their affair, found that the first was the son of a barber-surgeon, the second of a [hot] bean-seller and the third of a weaver. so he marvelled at their readiness of speech[fn# ] and said to his session-mates, "teach your sons deportment;[fn# ] for, by allah, but for their ready wit, i had smitten off their heads!" haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides.[fn# ] they tell that haroun er reshid was sitting one day to do away grievances, when there came up to him a woman and said to him, "o commander of the faithful, may god accomplish thine affair and cause thee rejoice in that which he hath given thee and increase thee in elevation! indeed, thou hast done justice[fn# ] and wrought equitably."[fn# ] quoth the khalif to those who were present with him, "know ye what this woman meaneth by her saying?" and they answered, "of a surety, she meaneth not otherwise than well, o commander of the faithful." "nay," rejoined haroun; "she purposeth only in this an imprecation against me. as for her saying, 'god accomplish thine affair!' she hath taken it from the saying of the poet, 'when an affair is accomplished, its abatement[fn# ] beginneth. beware of cessation, whenas it is said, "it is accomplished."' as for her saying 'god cause thee rejoice in that which he hath given thee,' she took it from the saying of god the most high, 'till, whenas they rejoiced in that which they were given, we took them suddenly and lo, they were confounded!'[fn# ] as for her saying, 'god increase thee in elevation!' she took it from the saying of the poet, 'no bird flieth and riseth up on high, but, like as he flieth, he falleth.' and as for her saying, 'indeed, thou hast done justice and wrought equitably,' it is from the saying of the most high, '[if ye deviate[fn# ] or lag behind or turn aside, verily, god of that which ye do is aware;'[fn# ] and] 'as for the transgressors,'[fn# ] they are fuel for hell[-fire]."[fn# ] then he turned to the woman and said to her, "is it not thus?" "yes, o commander of the faithful," answered she; and he said, "what prompted thee to this?" quoth she, "thou slewest my father and my mother and my kinsfolk and tookest their goods." "whom meanest thou?" asked the khalif, and she replied, "i am of the house of bermek."[fn# ] then said he to her, "as for the dead, they are of those who are past away, and it booteth not to speak of them; but, as for that which i took of wealth, it shall be restored to thee, yea, and more than it." and he was bountiful to her to the utmost of munificence. the ten viziers; or the history of king azadbekht and his son.[fn# ] there was once, of old days, a king of the kings, whose name was azadbekht; his [capital] city was called kuneim mudoud and his kingdom extended to the confines of seistan and from the frontiers of hindustan to the sea he had ten viziers, who ordered his state and his dominion, and he was possessed of judgment and exceeding wisdom. one day he went forth with certain of his guards to the chase and fell in with an eunuch on horseback, holding in his hand the halter of a mule, which he led along. on the mule's back was a litter of gold-inwoven brocade, garded about with an embroidered band set with gold and jewels, and over against the litter was a company of horsemen. when king azadbekht saw this, he separated himself from his companions and making for the mule and the horsemen, questioned the latter, saying, "to whom belongeth this litter and what is therein?". the eunuch answered, (for he knew not that he was king azadbekht,) saying, "this litter belongeth to isfehend, vizier to king azadbekht, and therein is his daughter, whom he purposeth to marry to zad shah the king." as the eunuch was speaking with the king, behold, the damsel raised a corner of the curtain that shut in the litter, so she might look upon the speaker, and saw the king. when azadbekht beheld her and noted her fashion and her loveliness (and indeed never set story-teller[fn# ] eyes on her like,) his soul inclined to her and she took hold upon his heart and he was ravished by her sight. so he said to the eunuch, "turn the mule's head and return, for i am king azadbekht and i will marry her myself, for that isfehend her father is my vizier and he will accept of this affair and it will not be grievous to him." "o king," answered the eunuch, "may god prolong thy continuance, have patience till i acquaint my lord her father, and thou shalt take her in the way of approof, for it befitteth thee not neither is it seemly unto thee that thou take her on this wise, seeing that it will be an affront to her father if thou take her without his knowledge." quoth azadbekht, "i have not patience [to wait] till thou go to her father and return, and no dishonour will betide him, if i marry her." "o my lord," rejoined the eunuch, "nought that is done in haste is long of durance nor doth the heart rejoice therein; and indeed it behoveth thee not to take her on this foul wise. whatsoever betideth thee, destroy not thyself with [undue] haste, for i know that her father's breast will be straitened by this affair and this that thou dost will not profit thee." but the king said, "verily, isfehend is [my boughten] servant and a slave of my slaves, and i reck not of her father, if he be vexed or pleased." so saying, he drew the reins of the mule and carrying the damsel, whose name was behrjaur, to his house, married her. meanwhile, the eunuch betook himself, he and the horsemen, to her father and said to him, "o my lord, the king is beholden to thee for many years' service and thou hast not failed him a day of the days; and now, behold, he hath taken thy daughter against thy wish and without thy permission." and he related to him what had passed and how the king had taken her by force. when isfehend heard the eunuch's story, he was exceeding wroth and assembling many troops, said to them, "whenas the king was occupied with his women [and concerned not himself with the affairs of his kingdom], we took no reck of him; but now he putteth out his hand to our harem; wherefore methinketh we should do well to look us out a place, wherein we may have sanctuary." then he wrote a letter to king azadbekht, saying to him, "i am a servant of thy servants and a slave of thy slaves and my daughter is a handmaid at thy service, and may god the most high prolong thy days and appoint thy times [to be] in delight and contentment! indeed, i still went girded of the waist in thy service and in caring for the preservation of thy dominion and warding off thine enemies from thee; but now i abound yet more than before in zeal and watchfulness, for that i have taken this to charge upon myself, since my daughter is become thy wife." and he despatched a messenger to the king with the letter and a present. when the messenger came to king azadbekht and he read the letter and the present was laid before him, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and occupied himself with eating and drinking, hour after hour. but the chief vizier of his viziers came to him and said, " king, know that isfehend the vizier is thine enemy, for that his soul liketh not that which thou hast done with him, and the message that he hath sent thee [is a trick; so] rejoice thou not therein, neither be thou deluded by the sweetness of his words and the softness of his speech." the king hearkened [not] to his vizier's speech, but made light of the matter and presently, [dismissing it from his thought], busied himself with that which he was about of eating and drinking and merrymaking and delight meanwhile, isfehend the vizier wrote a letter and despatched it to all the amirs, acquainting them with that which had betided him with king azadbekht and how he had taken his daughter by force and adding, "and indeed he will do with you more than he hath done with me." when the letter reached the chiefs [of the people and troops], they all assembled together to isfehend and said to him, "what is to do with him?"[fn# ] so he discovered to them the affair of his daughter and they all agreed, of one accord, that they should endeavour for the slaughter of the king and taking horse with their troops, set out, intending for him. azadbekht knew not [of their design] till the noise [of the invasion] beset his capital city, when he said to his wife behrjaur, "how shall we do?" and she answered, saying, "thou knowest best and i am at thy commandment." so he let bring two swift horses and bestrode one himself, whilst his wife mounted the other. then they took what they might of gold and went forth, fleeing, in the night, to the desert of kerman; what while isfehend entered the city and made himself king. now king azadbekht's wife was big with child and the pains of labour took her in the mountain; so they alighted at the mountain-foot, by a spring of water, and she gave birth to a boy as he were the moon. behrjaur his mother pulled off a gown of gold-inwoven brocade and wrapped the child therein, and they passed the night [in that place], what while she gave him suck till the morning. then said the king to her, "we are hampered by this child and cannot abide here nor can we carry him with us; so methinks we were better leave him here and go, for allah is able to send him one who shall take him and rear him." so they wept over him exceeding sore and left him beside the spring, wrapped in the gown of brocade: then they laid at his head a thousand dinars in a bag and mounting their horses, departed, fleeing. now, by the ordinance of god the most high, a company of thieves fell in upon a caravan hard by that mountain and made prize of that which was with them of merchandise. then they betook themselves to the mountain, so they might share their booty, and looking at the foot thereof, espied the gown of brocade. so they descended, to see what it was, and finding the child wrapped therein and the gold laid at his head, marvelled and said, "extolled be the perfection of god! by what wickedness cometh this child here?" then they divided the money between them and the captain of the thieves took the boy and made him his son and fed him with sweet milk and dates, till he came to his house, when he appointed him a nurse, who should rear him. meanwhile, king azadbekht and his wife stayed not in their flight till they came to [the court of] the king of fars,[fn# ] whose name was kutrou.[fn# ] when they presented themselves to him, he entreated them with honour and entertained them handsomely, and azadbekht told him his story, first and last. so he gave him a great army and wealth galore and he abode with him some days, till he was rested, when he made ready with his host and setting out for his own dominions, waged war upon isfehend and falling in upon the capital, defeated the rebel vizier and slew him. then he entered the city and sat down on the throne of his kingship; and whenas he was rested and the kingdom was grown peaceful for him, he despatched messengers to the mountain aforesaid in quest of the child; but they returned and informed the king that they had not found him. as time went on, the boy, the son of the king, grew up and fell to stopping the way[fn# ] with the thieves, and they used to carry him with them, whenas they went a-thieving. they sallied forth one day upon a caravan in the land of seistan, and there were in that caravan strong and valiant men and with them merchandise galore. now they had heard that in that land were thieves; so they gathered themselves together and made ready their arms and sent out spies, who returned and gave them news of the thieves. accordingly, they prepared for battle, and when the robbers drew near the caravan, they fell in upon them and they fought a sore battle. at last the folk of the caravan overmastered the thieves, by dint of numbers, and slew some of them, whilst the others fled. moreover they took the boy, the son of king azadbekht, and seeing him as he were the moon, possessed of beauty and grace, brightfaced and comely of fashion, questioned him, saying, "who is thy father, and how camest thou with these thieves?" and he answered, saying, "i am the son of the captain of the thieves." so they took him and carried him to the capital of his father king azadbekht when they reached the city, the king heard of their coming and commanded that they should attend him with what befitted [of their merchandise]. so they presented themselves before him, [and the boy with them,] whom when the king saw, he said to them, "to whom belongeth this boy?" and they answered, "o king, we were going in such a road, when there came out upon us a sort of robbers; so we made war upon them and overcame them and took this boy prisoner. then we questioned him, saying, 'who is thy father?' and he answered, 'i am the captain's son of the thieves.'" quoth the king, "i would fain have this boy." and the captain of the caravan said, "god maketh thee gift of him, o king of the age, and we all are thy slaves." then the king dismissed [the people of] the caravan and let carry the youth into his palace and he became as one of the servants, what while his father the king knew not that he was his son. as time went on, the king observed in him good breeding and understanding and knowledge[fn# ] galore and he pleased him; so he committed his treasuries to his charge and straitened the viziers' hand therefrom, commanding that nought should be taken forth therefrom except by leave of the youth. on this wise he abode a number of years and the king saw in him nought but fidelity and studiousness in well-doing. now the treasuries aforetime had been in the viziers' hand, so they might do with them what they would, and when they came under the youth's hand, that of the viziers was straitened from them, and the youth became dearer to the king than a son and he could not brook to be separated from him. when the viziers saw this, they were jealous of him and envied him and cast about for a device against him whereby they might oust him from the king's favour, but found no opportunity. at last, when came the destined hour,[fn# ] it chanced that the youth one day drank wine and became drunken and wandered from his wits; so he fell to going round about within the palace of the king and fate led him to the lodging of the women, in which there was a little sleeping-chamber, where the king lay with his wife. thither came the youth and entering the chamber, found there a couch spread, to wit, a sleeping place, and a candle burning. so he cast himself on the couch, marvelling at the paintings that were in the chamber, and slept and slumbered heavily till eventide, when there came a slave-girl, bringing with her all the dessert, eatables and drinkables, that she was wont to make ready for the king and his wife, and seeing the youth lying on his back, (and none knowing of his case and he in his drunkenness unknowing where he was,) thought that he was the king asleep on his bed; so she set the censing-vessel and laid the essences by the couch, then shut the door and went away. presently, the king arose from the wine-chamber and taking his wife by the hand, repaired with her to the chamber in which he slept. he opened the door and entering, saw the youth lying on the bed, whereupon he turned to his wife and said to her, "what doth this youth here? this fellow cometh not hither but on thine account." quoth she, "i have no knowledge of him." with this, the youth awoke and seeing the king, sprang up and prostrated himself before him, and azadbekht said to him, "o vile of origin,[fn# ] o lack-loyalty, what hath prompted thee to outrage my dwelling?" and he bade imprison him in one place and the woman in another. the first day. of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune. when the morning morrowed and the king sat on the throne of his kingship, he summoned the chief of his viziers and said to him, "what deemest thou of this that yonder robber-youth hath done? behold, he hath entered my house and lain down on my bed and i fear lest there be an intrigue between him and the woman. how deemest thou of the affair?" "god prolong the king's continuance!" replied the vizier. "what sawest thou in this youth [to make thee trust in him]? is he not vile of origin, the son of thieves? needs must a thief revert to his vile origin, and whoso reareth the young of the serpent shall get of them nought but biting. as for the woman, she is not at fault; for, since [the] time [of her marriage with thee] till now, there hath appeared from her nought but good breeding and modesty; and now, if the king give me leave, i will go to her and question her, so i may discover to thee the affair." the king gave him leave for this and the vizier betook himself to the queen and said to her, "i am come to thee, on account of a grave reproach, and i would have thee be truthful with me in speech and tell me how came the youth into the sleeping-chamber." quoth she, "i have no knowledge whatsoever [of it]" and swore to him a solemn oath thereof, whereby he knew that she had no knowledge of the matter and that she was not at fault and said to her, "i will teach thee a device, where- with thou mayst acquit thyself and thy face be whitened before the king." "what is it?" asked she; and he answered, saying, "when the king calleth for thee and questioneth thee of this, say thou to him, 'yonder youth saw me in the privy-chamber and sent me a message, saying, "i will give thee a hundred jewels, to whose price money may not avail, so thou wilt suffer me to foregather with thee." i laughed at him who bespoke me with these words and rebuffed him; but he sent again to me, saying, "an thou fall not in with my wishes, i will come one of the nights, drunken, and enter and lie down in the sleeping-chamber, and the king will see me and kill me; so wilt thou be put to shame and thy face will be blackened with him and thine honour abased."' be this thy saying to the king, and i will presently go to him and repeat this to him." quoth the queen, "and i also will say thus." so the vizier returned to the king and said to him, "verily, this youth hath merited grievous punishment, after abundance of bounty [bestowed on him], and it may not be that a bitter kernel should ever become sweet; but, as for the woman, i am certified that there is no fault in her." then he repeated to the king the story which he had taught the queen, which when azadbekht heard, he rent his clothes and bade fetch the youth. so they brought him and stationed him before the king, who let bring the headsman, and the folk all fixed their eyes upon the youth, so they might see what the king should do with him. then said azadbekht to him (and indeed his words were [prompted] by anger and those of the youth by presence of mind and good breeding), "i bought thee with my money and looked for fidelity from thee, wherefore i chose thee over all my grandees and servants and made thee keeper of my treasuries. why, then, hast thou outraged my honour and entered my house and played the traitor with me and tookest no thought unto that which i have done thee of benefits?" "o king," answered the youth, "i did this not of my choice and freewill and i had no [evil] intent in being there; but, of the littleness of my luck, i was driven thither, for that fate was contrary and fair fortune lacking. indeed, i had striven with all endeavour that nought of foul should proceed from me and kept watch over myself, lest default appear in me; but none may avail to make head against ill fortune, nor doth endeavour profit in case of lack of luck, as appeareth by the example of the merchant who was stricken with ill luck and his endeavour profited him not and he succumbed to the badness of his fortune." "what is the story of the merchant," asked the king, "and how was his luck changed upon him by the sorriness of his fortune?" "may god prolong the king's continuance!" answered the youth. story of the unlucky merchant. "there was once a man, a merchant, who was fortunate in trade, and at one time his [every] dirhem profited [him] fifty. presently, his luck turned against him and he knew it not; so he said in himself, 'i have wealth galore, yet do i weary myself and go round about from country to country; i were better abide in my own country and rest myself in my house from this travail and affliction and sell and buy at home.' then he made two parts of his money, with one whereof he bought wheat in summer, saying, 'when the winter cometh, i will sell it at a great profit.' but, when the winter came, wheat became at half the price for which he had bought it, whereat he was sore concerned and left it till the next year. however, next year, the price fell yet lower and one of his friends said to him, 'thou hast no luck in this wheat; so do thou sell it at whatsoever price.' quoth the merchant, 'this long while have i profited and it is allowable that i lose this time. god is all- knowing! if it abide [with me] half a score years, i will not sell it save at a profit.' then, in his anger, he walled up the door of the granary with clay, and by the ordinance of god the most high, there came a great rain and descended from the roofs of the house wherein was the wheat [so that the latter rotted]; and needs must the merchant give the porters five hundred dirhems from his purse, so they should carry it forth and cast it without the city, for that the smell of it was noisome. so his friend said to him, 'how often did i tell thee thou hadst no luck in wheat? but thou wouldst not give ear to my speech, and now it behoveth thee to go to the astrologer and question him of thy star.' accordingly the merchant betook himself to the astrologer and questioned him of his star, and the astrologer said to him, 'thy star is unpropitious. put not thy hand to any business, for thou wilt not prosper therein.' however, he paid no heed to the astrologer's words and said in himself, 'if i do my occasion,[fn# ] i am not afraid of aught.' then he took the other part of his money, after he had spent therefrom three years, and built [therewith] a ship, which he loaded with all that seemed good to him and all that was with him and embarked on the sea, so he might travel. the ship tarried with him some days, till he should be certified what he would do,[fn# ] and he said, 'i will enquire of the merchants what this merchandise profiteth and in what country it lacketh and how much is the gain thereon.' [so he questioned them and] they directed him to a far country, where his dirhem should profit a hundredfold. accordingly, he set sail and steered for the land in question; but, as he went, there blew on him a tempestuous wind and the ship foundered. the merchant saved himself on a plank and the wind cast him up, naked as he was, on the sea-shore, hard by a town there. so he praised god and gave him thanks for his preservation; then, seeing a great village hard by, he betook himself thither and saw, seated therein, a very old man, whom he acquainted with his case and that which had betided him. the old man grieved sore for him, when he heard his story, and set food before him. so he ate and the old man said to him, 'abide here with me, so i may make thee my steward and factor over a farm i have here, and thou shall have of me five dirhems [fn# ] a day.' 'god make fair thy reward,' answered the merchant, 'and requite thee with benefits!' so he abode in this employ, till he had sowed and reaped and threshed and winnowed, and all was sheer in his hand and the owner appointed neither inspector nor overseer, but relied altogether upon him. then he bethought himself and said, '_i_* misdoubt me the owner of this grain will not give me my due; so i were better take of it, after the measure of my hire; and if he give me my due, i will restore him that which i have taken.' so he took of the grain, after the measure of that which fell to him, and hid it in a privy place. then he carried the rest to the old man and meted it out to him, and he said to him, 'come, take [of the grain, after the measure of] thy hire, for which i agreed with thee, and sell it and buy with the price clothes and what not else; and though thou abide with me half a score years, yet shall thou still have this wage and i will acquit it to thee thus.' quoth the merchant in himself, 'indeed, i have done a foul thing in that i look it without his leave.' then he went to fetch that which he had hidden of the grain, but found it not and returned, perplexed and sorrowful, to the old man, who said to him, 'what aileth thee to be sorrowful?' and he answered, 'methought thou wouldst not pay me my due; so i took of the grain, after the measure of my hire; and now thou hast paid me my due and i went to bring back to thee that which i had hidden from thee, but found it gone, for those who had happened upon it had stolen it.' the old man was wroth, when he heard this, and said to the merchant, 'there is no device [can cope] with ill luck! i had given thee this, but, of the sorriness of thy luck and thy fortune, thou hast done this deed, o oppressor of thine own self! thou deemedst i would not acquit thee thy wage; but, by allah, nevermore will i give thee aught.' and he drove him away from him. so the merchant went forth, afflicted, sorrowful, weeping, [and wandered on along the sea-shore], till he came to a sort of divers diving in the sea for pearls. they saw him weeping and mourning and said to him, 'what is thy case and what maketh thee weep?' so he acquainted them with his history, from first to last, whereby they knew him and said to him, 'art thou [such an one] son of such an one?' 'yes,' answered he; whereupon they condoled with him and wept sore for him and said to him, 'abide here till we dive for thy luck this next time and whatsoever betideth us shall be between us and thee.' accordingly, they dived and brought up ten oysters, in each two great pearls; whereat they marvelled and said to him, 'by allah, thy luck hath returned and thy good star is in the ascendant!' then they gave him ten pearls and said to him, 'sell two of them and make them thy capital [whereon to trade]; and hide the rest against the time of thy straitness.' so he took them, joyful and contented, and addressed himself to sew eight of them in his gown, keeping the two others in his mouth; but a thief saw him and went and advertised his mates of him; whereupon they gathered together upon him and took his gown and departed from him. when they were gone away, he arose, saying, 'these two pearls [in my mouth] will suffice me,' and made for the [nearest] city, where he brought out the pearls [and repairing to the jewel- market, gave them to the broker], that he might sell them. now, as destiny would have it, a certain jeweller of the town had been robbed of ten pearls, like unto those which were with the merchant; so, when he saw the two pearls in the broker's hand, he said to him, 'to whom do these pearls belong?' and the broker answered, 'to yonder man.' [the jeweller looked at the merchant and] seeing him in sorry case and clad in tattered clothes, misdoubted of him and said to him (purposing to surprise him into confession), 'where are the other eight pearls?' the merchant thought he asked him of those which were in the gown and answered, 'the thieves stole them from me.' when the jeweller heard his reply, he doubted not but that it was he who had taken his good; so he laid hold of him and haling him before the chief of the police, said to him, 'this is the man who stole my pearls: i have found two of them upon him and he confesseth to the other eight.' now the magistrate knew of the theft of the pearls; so he bade clap the merchant in prison. accordingly they imprisoned him and flogged him, and he abode in the prison a whole year, till, by the ordinance of god the most high, the master of police arrested one of the divers aforesaid and imprisoned him in the prison where the merchant lay. he saw the latter and knowing him, questioned him of his case; whereupon he told them his story and that which had befallen him, and the diver marvelled at the sorriness of his luck. so, when he came forth of the prison, he acquainted the sultan with the merchant's case and told him that it was he who had given him the pearls. the sultan bade bring him forth of the prison and questioned him of his story, whereupon he told him all that had befallen him and the sultan pitied him and assigned him a lodging in his own palace, together with an allowance for his living. now the lodging in question adjoined the king's house, and whilst the merchant was rejoicing in this and saying, 'verily, my luck hath returned and i shall live in this king's shadow the rest of my life,' he espied an opening walled up with stones and clay. so he pulled out the stones and clearing away the earth from the opening, found that it was a window giving upon the lodging of the king's women. when he saw this, he was affrighted and rising in haste, fetched clay and stopped it up again. but one of the eunuchs saw him and misdoubting of him, repaired to the sultan and told him of this. so he came and seeing the stones pulled out, was wroth with the merchant and said to him, 'is this my recompense from thee, that thou seekest to violate my harem?' and he bade pluck out his eyes. so they did as he commanded and the merchant took his eyes in his hand and said, 'how long [wilt thou afflict me], o star of ill-omen? first my wealth and now my life!' and he bewailed himself, saying, 'endeavour profiteth me nought against evil fortune. the compassionate aided me not and endeavour was useless.' on like wise, o king," continued the youth, "whilst fortune was favourable to me, all that i did came to good; but now that it is grown contrary to me, everything turneth against me." when the youth had made an end of his story, the king's anger subsided a little and he said, "restore him to the prison, for the day draweth to an end, and tomorrow we will took into his affair." of looking to the issues of affairs. when it was the second day, the second of the king's viziers, whose name was beheroun, came in to him and said, "god advance the king! this that yonder youth hath done is a grave matter and a foul deed and a heinous against the household of the king." so azadbekht bade fetch the youth, because of the saying of the vizier; and when he came into his presence, he said to him, "out on thee, o youth! needs must i slay thee by the worst of deaths, for indeed thou hast committed a grave crime, and i will make thee a warning to the folk." "o king," answered the youth, "hasten not, for the looking to the issues of affairs is a pillar of the realm and [a cause of] continuance and sure stablishment for the kingship. whoso looketh not to the issues of affairs, there befalleth him that which befell the merchant, and whoso looketh to the issues of affairs, there betideth him of joyance that which betided the merchant's son." "and what is the story of the merchant and his son?" asked the king. "o king," answered the youth, story of the merchant and his sons. "there was once a man, a merchant, who had a wife and abundant wealth. he set out one day on a journey with merchandise, leaving his wife big with child, and said to her, 'if it be the will of god the most high, i will return before the birth of the child.' then he took leave of her and setting out, journeyed from country to country till he came to the court of one of the kings and foregathered with him. now this king was in need of one who should order his affairs and those of his kingdom and seeing the merchant well-bred and intelligent, he charged him abide with him and entreated him with honour and munificence. after awhile, he sought of the king leave to go to his own house, but the latter would not consent to this; whereupon he said to him, 'o king, suffer me go and see my children and come again.' so he gave him leave for this and took surety of him for his return. moreover, he gave him a purse, wherein were a thousand gold dinars, and the merchant embarked in a ship and set sail, intending for his own country. meanwhile, news came to his wife that her husband had taken service with king such-an-one; so she arose and taking her two sons, (for she had given birth to twin boys in his absence,) set out for those parts. as fate would have it, they happened upon an island and her husband came thither that very night in the ship. [when the woman heard of the coming of the ship], she said to her children, 'this ship cometh from the country where your father is; so go ye to the sea-shore, that ye may enquire of him.' so they repaired to the sea-shore and [going up into the ship], fell to playing about it and occupied themselves with their play till the evening. now the merchant their father lay asleep in the ship, and the crying of the boys troubled him; so he rose to call out to them [and silence them] and let the purse [with the thousand dinars therein] fall among the bales of merchandise. he sought for it and finding it not, buffeted his head and seized upon the boys, saying, 'none took the purse but you. ye were playing about the bales, so ye might steal somewhat, and there was none here but you.' then he took a staff and laying hold of the children, fell to beating them and flogging them, whilst they wept, and the sailors came round about them and said, 'the boys of this island are all thieves and robbers.' then, of the greatness of the merchant's wrath, he swore that, if they brought not out the purse, he would drown them in the sea; so when [by reason of their denial] his oath became binding upon him, he took the two boys and lashing them [each] to a bundle of reeds, cast them into the sea. presently, the mother of the two boys, finding that they tarried from her, went searching for them, till she came to the ship and fell to saying, 'who hath seen two boys of mine? their fashion is thus and thus and their age thus and thus.' when they heard her words, they said, 'this is the description of the two boys who were drowned in the sea but now.' their mother heard and fell to calling on them and saying, 'alas, my anguish for your loss, o my sons! where was the eye of your father this day, that it might have seen you?' then one of the crew questioned her, saying, 'whose wife art thou?' and she answered, 'i am the wife of such an one the merchant. i was on my way to him, and there hath befallen me this calamity.' when the merchant heard her speech, he knew her and rising to his feet, rent his clothes and buffeted his head and said to his wife, 'by allah, i have destroyed my children with mine own hand! this is the end of whoso looketh not to the issues of affairs.' then he fell a-wailing and weeping over them, he and his wife, and he said, 'by allah, i shall have no ease of my life, till i light upon news of them!' and he betook himself to going round about the sea, in quest of them, but found them not. meanwhile, the wind carried the two children [out to sea and thence driving them] towards the land, cast them up on the sea-shore. as for one of them, a company of the guards of the king of those parts found him and carried him to their master, who marvelled at him with an exceeding wonderment and adopted him to his son, giving out to the folk that he was his [very] son, whom he had hidden,[fn# ] of his love for him. so the folk rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy, for the king's sake, and the latter appointed him his heir-apparent and the inheritor of his kingdom. on this wise, a number of years passed, till the king died and they crowned the youth king in his room. so he sat down on the throne of his kingship and his estate flourished and his affairs prospered. meanwhile, his father and mother had gone round about all the islands of the sea in quest of him and his brother, hoping that the sea might have cast them up, but found no trace of them; so they despaired of finding them and took up their abode in one of the islands. one day, the merchant, being in the market, saw a broker, and in his hand a boy he was calling for sale, and said in himself, 'i will buy yonder boy, so i may console myself with him for my sons.' so he bought him and carried him to his house; and when his wife saw him, she cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my son!' so his father and mother rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and questioned him of his brother; but he answered, 'the sea parted us and i knew not what became of him.' therewith his father and mother consoled themselves with him and on this wise a number of years passed. now the merchant and his wife had taken up their abode in a city in the land whereof their [other] son was king, and when the boy [whom they had found] grew up, his father assigned unto him merchandise, so he might travel therewith. so he set out and entered the city wherein his brother was king. news reached the latter that there was a merchant come thither with merchandise befitting kings. so he sent for him and the young merchant obeyed the summons and going in to him, sat down before him. neither of them knew the other; but blood stirred between them and the king said to the young merchant, 'i desire of thee that thou abide with me and i will exalt thy station and give thee all that thou desirest and cravest.' so he abode with him awhile, quitting him not; and when he saw that he would not suffer him to depart from him, he sent to his father and mother and bade them remove thither to him. so they addressed them to remove to that island, and their son increased still in honour with the king, albeit he knew not that he was his brother. it chanced one night that the king sallied forth without the city and drank and the wine got the mastery of him and he became drunken. so, of the youth's fearfulness for him, he said, 'i will keep watch myself over the king this night, seeing that he deserveth this from me, for that which he hath wrought with me of kindnesses.' so he arose forthright and drawing his sword, stationed himself at the door of the king's pavilion. now one of the royal servants saw him standing there, with the drawn sword in his hand, and he was of those who envied him his favour with the king; so he said to him, 'why dost thou on this wise at this season and in the like of this place?' quoth the youth, 'i am keeping watch over the king myself, in requital of his bounties to me.' the servant said no more to him, but, when it was morning, he acquainted a number of the king's servants with this and they said, 'this is an opportunity for us. come let us assemble together and acquaint the king with this, so the young merchant may lose favour with him and he rid us of him and we be at rest from him.' so they assembled together and going in to the king, said to him, 'we have a warning we would give thee.' quoth he, 'and what is your warning?' and they said, 'yonder youth, the merchant, whom thou hast taken into favour and whose rank thou hast exalted above the chiefs of the people of thy household, we saw yesterday draw his sword and offer to fall upon thee, so he might slay thee.' when the king heard this, his colour changed and he said to them, 'have ye proof of this?' quoth they, 'what proof wouldst thou have? if thou desire this, feign thyself drunken again this night and lie down, as if asleep, and watch him, and thou wilt see with thine eyes all that we have named to thee.' then they went to the youth and said to him, 'know that the king thanketh thee for thy dealing yesternight and exceedeth in [praise of] thy good deed;' and they prompted him to do the like again. so, when the next night came, the king abode on wake; watching the youth; and as for the latter, he went to the door of the pavilion and drawing his sword, stood in the doorway. when the king saw him do thus, he was sore disquieted and bade seize him and said to him, 'is this my requital from thee? i showed thee favour more than any else and thou wouldst do with me this vile deed.' then arose two of the king's servants and said to him, 'o our lord, if thou command it, we will strike off his head.' but the king said, 'haste in slaying is a vile thing, for it[fn# ] is a grave matter; the quick we can slay, but the slain we cannot quicken, and needs must we look to the issue of affairs. the slaying of this [youth] will not escape us.'[fn# ] therewith he bade imprison him, whilst he himself returned [to the city] and despatching his occasions, went forth to the chase. then he returned to the city and forgot the youth; so the servants went in to him and said to him, 'o king, if thou keep silence concerning yonder youth, who would have slain thee, all thy servants will presume upon thee, and indeed the folk talk of this matter.' with this the king waxed wroth and saying, 'fetch him hither,' commanded the headsman to strike off his head. so they [brought the youth and] bound his eyes; and the headsman stood at his head and said to the king, 'by thy leave, o my lord, i will strike off his head.' but the king said, 'stay, till i look into his affair. needs must i put him to death and the slaying of him will not escape [me].' so he restored him to the prison and there he abode till it should be the king's will to put him to death. presently, his father and his mother heard of the matter; whereupon the former arose and going up to the place, wrote a letter and [presented it to the king, who] read it, and behold, therein was written, saying, 'have pity on me, so may god have pity on thee, and hasten not in the slaughter [of my son]; for indeed i acted hastily in a certain affair and drowned his brother in the sea, and to this day i drink the cup of his anguish. if thou must needs kill him, kill me in his stead.' therewith the old merchant prostrated himself before the king and wept; and the latter said to him, 'tell me thy story.' 'o my lord,' answered the merchant, 'this youth had a brother and i [in my haste] cast them both into the sea.' and he related to him his story from first to last, whereupon the king cried out with an exceeding great cry and casting himself down from the throne, embraced his father and brother and said to the former, 'by allah, thou art my very father and this is my brother and thy wife is our mother.' and they abode weeping, all three. then the king acquainted the people [of his court] with the matter and said to them,' o folk, how deem ye of my looking to the issues of affairs?' and they all marvelled at his wisdom and foresight. then he turned to his father and said to him, 'hadst thou looked to the issue of thine affair and dealt deliberately in that which thou didst, there had not betided thee this repentance and grief all this time.' then he let bring his mother and they rejoiced in each other and lived all their days in joy and gladness. what then," continued the young treasurer, "is more grievous than the lack of looking to the issues of affairs? wherefore hasten thou not in the slaying of me, lest repentance betide thee and sore concern." when the king heard this, he said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair; for that deliberation in affairs is advisable and the slaughter of this [youth] shall not escape [us]." the third day. of the advantages of patience. when it was the third day, the third vizier came in to the king and said to him, "o king, delay not the affair of this youth, for that his deed hath caused us fall into the mouths of the folk, and it behoveth that thou slay him presently, so the talk may be estopped from us and it be not said, 'the king saw on his bed a man with his wife and spared him.'"* the king was chagrined by this speech and bade bring the youth. so they brought him in shackles, and indeed the king's anger was roused against him by the speech of the vizier and he was troubled; so he said to him, "o base of origin, thou hast dishonoured us and marred our repute, and needs must i do away thy life from the world." quoth the youth, "o king, make use of patience in all thine affairs, so wilt thou attain thy desire, for that god the most high hath appointed the issue of patience [to be] in abounding good, and indeed by patience abou sabir ascended from the pit and sat down upon the throne." "who was abou sabir," asked the king, "and what is his story?" and the youth answered, saying, "o king, story of abou sabir. there was once a man, a headman [of a village], by name abou sabir, and he had much cattle and a fair wife, who had borne him two sons. they abode in a certain village and there used to come thither a lion and devour abou sabir's cattle, so that the most part thereof was wasted and his wife said to him one day, 'this lion hath wasted the most part of our cattle. arise, mount thy horse and take thy men and do thine endeavour to kill him, so we may be at rest from him.' but abou sabir said, 'have patience, o woman, for the issue of patience is praised. this lion it is that transgresseth against us, and the transgressor, needs must allah destroy him. indeed, it is our patience that shall slay him, and he that doth evil, needs must it revert upon him.' a little after, the king went forth one day to hunt and falling in with the lion, he and his troops, gave chase to him and ceased not [to follow] after him till they slew him. this came to abou sabir's knowledge and he said to his wife, 'said i not to thee, o woman, that whoso doth evil, it shall revert upon him? belike, if i had sought to slay the lion myself, i had not availed against him, and this is the issue of patience.' it befell, after this, that a man was slain in abou sabir's village; wherefore the sultan caused plunder the village, and they plundered the headman's goods with the rest so his wife said to him, 'all the sultan's officers know thee; so do thou prefer thy plaint to the king, that he may cause thy beasts to be restored to thee.' but he said to her, 'o woman, said i not to thee that he who doth evil shall suffer it? indeed, the king hath done evil, and he shall suffer [the consequences of] his deed, for whoso taketh the goods of the folk, needs must his goods be taken.' a man of his neighbours heard his speech, and he was an envier of his; so he went to the sultan and acquainted him therewith, whereupon he sent and plundered all [the rest of] his goods and drove him forth from the village, and his wife [and children] with him. so they went wandering in the desert and his wife said to him, 'all that hath befallen us cometh of thy slothfulness in affairs and thy default.' but he said to her, 'have patience, for the issue of patience is good.' then they went on a little, and thieves met them and despoiling them of that which remained with them, stripped them of their raiment and took the children from them; whereupon the woman wept and said to her husband, 'o man, put away from thee this folly and arise, let us follow the thieves, so haply they may have compassion on us and restore the children to us.' 'o woman,' answered he, 'have patience, for he who doth evil shall be requited with evil and his wickedness shall revert upon him. were i to follow them, most like one of them would take his sword and smite off my head and slay me; but have patience, for the issue of patience is praised.' then they fared on till they drew near a village in the land of kirman, and by it a river of water. so he said to his wife, 'abide thou here, whilst i enter the village and look us out a place wherein we may take up our lodging.' and he left her by the water and entered the village. presently, up came a horseman in quest of water, so he might water his horse. he saw the woman and she was pleasing in his sight; so he said to her, 'arise, mount with me and i will take thee to wife and entreat thee kindly.' quoth she, 'spare me, so may god spare thee! indeed, i have a husband.' but he drew his sword and said to her, 'an thou obey me not, i will smite thee and kill thee.' when she saw his malice, she wrote on the ground in the sand with her finger, saying, 'o abou sabir, thou hast not ceased to be patient, till thy wealth is gone from thee and thy children and [now] thy wife, who was more precious in thy sight than everything and than all thy wealth, and indeed thou abidest in thy sorrow all thy life long, so thou mayst see what thy patience will profit thee.' then the horseman took her, and setting her behind him, went his way. as for abou sabir, when he returned, he saw not his wife and read what was written on the ground, wherefore he wept and sat [awhile] sorrowing. then said he to himself, 'o abou sabir, it behoveth thee to be patient, for belike there shall betide [thee] an affair yet sorer than this and more grievous;' and he went forth wandering at a venture, like to the love-distraught, the madman, till he came to a sort of labourers working upon the palace of the king, by way of forced labour. when [the overseers] saw him, they laid hold of him and said to him, 'work thou with these folk at the palace of the king; else will we imprison thee for life.' so he fell to working with them as a labourer and every day they gave him a cake of bread. he wrought with them a month's space, till it chanced that one of the labourers mounted a ladder and falling, broke his leg; whereupon he cried out and wept. quoth abou sabir to him, 'have patience and weep not; for thou shall find ease in thy patience.' but the man said to him, 'how long shall i have patience?' and he answered, saying, 'patience bringeth a man forth of the bottom of the pit and seateth him on the throne of the kingdom.' now the king was seated at the lattice, hearkening to their talk, and abou sabir's words angered him; so he bade bring him before him and they brought him forthright. now there was in the king's palace an underground dungeon and therein a vast deep pit, into which the king caused cast abou sabir, saying to him, 'o lackwit, now shall we see how thou wilt come forth of the pit to the throne of the kingdom.' then he used to come and stand at the mouth of the pit and say, 'o lackwit, o abou sabir, i see thee not come forth of the pit and sit down on the king's throne!' and he assigned him each day two cakes of bread, whilst abou sabir held his peace and spoke not, but bore with patience that which betided him. now the king had a brother, whom he had imprisoned in that pit of old time, and he had died [there]; but the folk of the realm thought that he was alive, and when his [supposed] imprisonment grew long, the king's officers used to talk of this and of the tyranny of the king, and the report spread abroad that the king was a tyrant, wherefore they fell upon him one day and slew him. then they sought the well and brought out abou sabir therefrom, deeming him the king's brother, for that he was the nearest of folk to him [in favour] and the likest, and he had been long in the prison. so they doubted not but that he was the prince in question and said to him, 'reign thou in thy brother's room, for we have slain him and thou art king in his stead.' but abou sabir was silent and spoke not a word; and he knew that this was the issue of his patience. then he arose and sitting down on the king's throne, donned the royal raiment and discovered justice and equity and the affairs [of the realm] prospered [in his hand]; wherefore the folk obeyed him and the people inclined to him and many were his troops. now the king, who had plundered abou sabir['s goods] and driven him forth of his village, had an enemy; and the latter took horse against him and overcame him and captured his [capital] city; wherefore he addressed himself to flight and came to abou sabir's city, craving protection of him and seeking that he should succour him. he knew not that the king of the city was the headman whom he had despoiled; so he presented himself before him and made complaint to him; but abou sabir knew him and said to him, 'this is somewhat of the issue of patience. god the most high hath given me power over thee.' then he bade his guards plunder the [unjust] king and his attendants; so they plundered them and stripping them of their clothes, put them forth of his country. when abou sabir's troops saw this, they marvelled and said, 'what is this deed that the king doth? there cometh a king to him, craving protection, and he despoileth him! this is not of the fashion of kings.' but they dared not [be]speak [him] of this. after this, news came to the king of robbers in his land; so he set out in quest of them and ceased not to follow after them, till he seized on them all, and behold, they were the [very] thieves who had despoiled him [and his wife] by the way and taken his children. so he bade bring them before him, and when they came into his presence, he questioned them, saying, 'where are the two boys ye took on such a day?' quoth they, 'they are with us and we will present them to our lord the king for slaves to serve him and give him wealth galore that we have gotten together and divest ourselves of all that we possess and repent from sin and fight in thy service.' abou sabir, however, paid no heed to their speech, but took all their good and bade put them all to death. moreover, he took the two boys and rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy, whereat the troops murmured among themselves, saying, 'verily, this is a greater tyrant than his brother! there come to him a sort of robbers and seek to repent and proffer two boys [by way of peace-offering], and he taketh the two boys and all their good and slayeth them!' after this came the horseman, who had taken abou sabir's wife, and complained of her to the king that she would not give him possession of herself, avouching that she was his wife. the king bade bring her before him, that he might hear her speech and pronounce judgment upon her. so the horseman came with her before him, and when the king saw her, he knew her and taking her from her ravisher, bade put the latter to death. then he became aware of the troops, that they murmured against him and spoke of him as a tyrant; so he turned to his officers and viziers and said to them, 'as for me, by god the great, i am not the king's brother! nay, i am but one whom the king imprisoned upon a word he heard from me and used every day to taunt me therewith. ye think that i am the king's brother; but i am abou sabir and god hath given me the kingship in virtue of my patience. as for the king who sought protection of me and i despoiled him, it was he who first wronged me, for that he despoiled me aforetime and drove me forth of my native land and banished me, without due [cause]; wherefore i requited him with that which he had done to me, in the way of lawful vengeance. as for the thieves who proffered repentance, there was no repentance for them with me, for that they began upon me with foul [dealing] and waylaid me by the road and despoiled me and took my good and my sons. now these two boys, that i took of them and whom ye deemed slaves, are my very sons; so i avenged myself on the thieves of that which they did with me aforetime and requited them with equity. as for the horseman whom i slew, the woman i took from him was my wife and he took her by force, but god the most high hath restored her [to me]; so this was my right, and my deed that i have done was just, albeit ye, [judging] by the outward of the matter, deemed that i had done this by way of tyranny.' when the folk heard this, they marvelled and fell prostrate before him; and they redoubled in esteem for him and exceeding affection and excused themselves to him, marvelling at that which god had done with him and how he had given him the kingship by reason of his longsuffering and his patience and how he had raised himself by his patience from the bottom of the pit to the throne of the kingdom, what while god cast down the [late] king from the throne into the pit.[fn# ] then abou sabir foregathered with his wife and said to her, 'how deemest thou of the fruit of patience and its sweetness and the fruit of haste and its bitterness? verily, all that a man doth of good and evil, he shall assuredly abide.' on like wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "it behoveth thee to practise patience, whenas it is possible to thee, for that patience is of the fashion of the noble, and it is the chiefest of their reliance, especially for kings." when the king heard this from the youth, his anger subsided; so he bade restore him to the prison, and the folk dispersed that day. the fourth day. of the ill effects of precipitation. when it was the fourth day, the fourth vizier, whose name was zoushad, made his appearance and prostrating himself to the king, said to him, "o king, suffer not the talk of yonder youth to delude thee, for that he is not a truth-teller. so long as he abideth on life, the folk will not give over talking nor will thy heart cease to be occupied with him." "by allah," cried the king, "thou sayst sooth and i will cause fetch him this day and slay him before me." then he commanded to bring the youth; so they brought him in shackles and he said to him, "out on thee! thinkest thou to appease my heart with thy prate, whereby the days are spent in talk? i mean to slay thee this day and be quit of thee." "o king," answered the youth, "it is in thy power to slay me whensoever thou wilt, but haste is of the fashion of the base and patience of that of the noble. if thou put me to death, thou wilt repent, and if thou desire to bring me back to life, thou wilt not be able thereunto. indeed, whoso acteth hastily in an affair, there befalleth him what befell bihzad, son of the king." quoth the king, "and what is his story?" "o king," replied the young treasurer, story of prince bihzad. "there was once, of old time, a king and he had a son [named bihzad], there was not in his day a goodlier than he and he loved to consort with the folk and to sit with the merchants and converse with them. one day, as he sat in an assembly, amongst a number of folk, he heard them talking of his own goodliness and grace and saying, 'there is not in his time a goodlier than he.' but one of the company said, 'indeed, the daughter of king such-an-one is handsomer than he.' when bihzad heard this saying, his reason fled and his heart fluttered and he called the last speaker and said to him, 'repeat to me that which thou saidst and tell me the truth concerning her whom thou avouchest to be handsomer than i and whose daughter she is.' quoth the man, 'she is the daughter of king such-an-one;' whereupon bihzad's heart clave to her and his colour changed. the news reached his father, who said to him, 'o my son, this damsel to whom thy heart cleaveth is at thy commandment and we have power over her; so wait till i demand her [in marriage] for thee.' but the prince said, 'i will not wait.' so his father hastened in the matter and sent to demand her of her father, who required of him a hundred thousand dinars to his daughter's dowry. quoth bihzad's father, 'so be it,' and paid down what was in his treasuries, and there remained to his charge but a little of the dower. so he said to his son, 'have patience, o my son, till we gather together the rest of the money and send to fetch her to thee, for that she is become thine.' therewith the prince waxed exceeding wroth and said, 'i will not have patience;' so he took his sword and his spear and mounting his horse, went forth and fell to stopping the way, [so haply that he might win what lacked of the dowry]. it chanced one day that he fell in upon a company of folk and they overcame him by dint of numbers and taking him prisoner, pinioned him and carried him to the lord of that country. the latter saw his fashion and grace and misdoubting of him, said, 'this is no robber's favour. tell me truly, o youth, who thou art.' bihzad thought shame to acquaint him with his condition and chose rather death for himself; so he answered, 'i am nought but a thief and a bandit.' quoth the king, 'it behoveth us not to act hastily in the matter of this youth, but that we look into his affair, for that haste still engendereth repentance.' so he imprisoned him in his palace and assigned him one who should serve him. meanwhile, the news spread abroad that bihzad, son of the king, was lost, whereupon his father sent letters in quest of him [to all the kings and amongst others to him with whom he was imprisoned]. when the letter reached the latter, he praised god the most high for that he had not anydele hastened in bihzad's affair and letting bring him before himself, said to him, 'art thou minded to destroy thyself?' quoth bihzad, '[i did this] for fear of reproach;' and the king said, 'an thou fear reproach, thou shouldst not practise haste [in that thou dost]; knowest thou not that the fruit of haste is repentance? if we had hasted, we also, like unto thee, we had repented.' then he conferred on him a dress of honour and engaged to him for the completion of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him the glad news and comforting his heart with [the tidings of] his son's safety; after which he said to bihzad, arise, o my son, and go to thy father.' 'o king,' rejoined the prince, 'complete thy kindness to me by [hastening] my going-in to my wife; for, if i go back to my father, till he send a messenger and he return, promising me, the time will be long.' the king laughed and marvelled at him and said to him, 'i fear for thee from this haste, lest thou come to shame and attain not thy desire.' then he gave him wealth galore and wrote him letters, commending him to the father of the princess, and despatched him to them. when he drew near their country, the king came forth to meet him with the people of his realm and assigned him a handsome lodging and bade hasten the going-in of his daughter to him, in compliance with the other king's letter. moreover, he advised the prince's father [of his son's coming] and they busied themselves with the affair of the damsel. when it was the day of the going-in,[fn# ] bihzad, of his haste and lack of patience, betook himself to the wall, which was between himself and the princess's lodging and in which there was a hole pierced, and looked, so he might see his bride, of his haste. but the bride's mother saw him and this was grievous to her; so she took from one of the servants two red-hot iron spits and thrust them into the hole through which the prince was looking. the spits ran into his eyes and put them out and he fell down aswoon and joyance was changed and became mourning and sore concern. see, then, o king," continued the youth, "the issue of the prince's haste and lack of deliberation, for indeed his haste bequeathed him long repentance and his joy was changed to mourning; and on like wise was it with the woman who hastened to put out his eyes and deliberated not. all this was the doing of haste; wherefore it behoveth the king not to be hasty in putting me to death, for that i am under the grasp of his hand, and what time soever thou desirest my slaughter, it shall not escape [thee]." when the king heard this, his anger subsided and he said, "carry him back to prison till to-morrow, to we may look into his affair." the fifth day of the issues of good and evil actions. when it was the fifth day, the fifth vizier, whose name was jehrbaur, came in to the king and prostrating himself before him, said, "o king, it behoveth thee, if thou see or hear that one look on thy house,[fn# ] that thou put out his eyes. how then should it be with him whom thou sawest midmost thy house and on thy very bed, and he suspected with thy harem, and not of thy lineage nor of thy kindred? wherefore do thou away this reproach by putting him to death. indeed, we do but urge thee unto this for the assurance of thine empire and of our zeal for thy loyal counselling and of our love to thee. how can it be lawful that this youth should live for a single hour?" therewith the king was filled with wrath and said, "bring him forthright," so they brought the youth before him, shackled, and the king said to him, "out on thee! thou hast sinned a great sin and the time of thy life hath been long;[fn# ] but needs must we put thee to death, for that there is for us no ease in thy life after this," "o king," answered he, "know that i, by allah, am guiltless, and by reason of this i hope for life, for that he who is guiltless of offence goeth not in fear of punishment neither maketh great his mourning and his concern; but whoso hath sinned, needs must his sin be expiated upon him, though his life be prolonged, and it shall overtake him, even as it overtook dadbin the king and his vizier." "how was that?" asked azadbekht, and the youth said, story of king dadbin and his viziers. "there was once a king in the land of teberistan, by name dadbin, and he had two viziers, called one zourkhan and the other kardan. the vizier zourkhan had a daughter, there was not in her time a handsomer than she nor yet a chaster nor a more pious, for she was a faster, a prayer and a worshipper of god the most high, and her name was arwa. now dadbin heard tell of her charms; so his heart clave to her and he called the vizier [her father] and said to him, 'i desire of thee that thou marry me to thy daughter.' quoth zourkhan, 'allow me to consult her, and if she consent, i will marry thee with her.' and the king said, 'hasten unto this.' so the vizier went in to his daughter and said to her, 'o my daughter, the king seeketh thee of me and desireth to marry thee.' 'o my father,' answered she 'i desire not a husband and if thou wilt marry me, marry me not but with one who shall be below me in rank and i nobler than he, so he may not turn to other than myself nor lift his eyes upon me, and marry me not to one who is nobler than i, lest i be with him as a slave-girl and a serving-woman.' so the vizier returned to the king and acquainted him with that which his daughter had said, whereat he redoubled in desire and love-liking for her and said to her father, 'an thou marry me not to her of good grace, i will take her by force in thy despite.' the vizier again betook himself to his daughter and repeated to her the king's words, but she replied, 'i desire not a husband.' so he returned to the king and told him what she said, and he was wroth and threatened the vizier, whereupon the latter took his daughter and fled with her. when this came to the king's knowledge, he despatched troops in pursuit of zourkhan, to stop the road upon him, whilst he himself went out and overtaking the vizier, smote him on the head with his mace and slew him. then he took his daughter by force and returning to his dwelling-place, went in to her and married her. arwa resigned herself with patience to that which betided her and committed her affair to god the most high; and indeed she was used to serve him day and night with a goodly service in the house of king dabdin her husband. it befell one day that the king had occasion to make a journey; so he called his vizier kardan and said to him, 'i have a trust to commit to thy care, and it is yonder damsel, my wife, the daughter of the vizier [zourkhan], and i desire that thou keep her and guard her thyself, for that there is not in the world aught dearer to me than she.' quoth kardan in himself, 'of a truth, the king honoureth me with an exceeding honour [in entrusting me] with this damsel.' and he answered 'with all my heart.' when the king had departed on his journey, the vizier said in himself, 'needs must i look upon this damsel whom the king loveth with all this love.' so he hid himself in a place, that he might look upon her, and saw her overpassing description; wherefore he was confounded at her and his wit was dazed and love got the mastery of him, so that he said to her, saying, 'have pity on me, for indeed i perish for the love of thee.' she sent back to him, saying, 'o vizier, thou art in the place of trust and confidence, so do not thou betray thy trust, but make thine inward like unto thine outward[fn# ] and occupy thyself with thy wife and that which is lawful to thee. as for this, it is lust and [women are all of] one taste.[fn# ] and if thou wilt not be forbidden from this talk, i will make thee a byword and a reproach among the folk.' when the vizier heard her answer, he knew that she was chaste of soul and body; wherefore he repented with the utmost of repentance and feared for himself from the king and said, 'needs must i contrive a device wherewithal i may destroy her; else shall i be disgraced with the king.' when the king returned from his journey, he questioned his vizier of the affairs of his kingdom and the latter answered, 'all is well, o king, save a vile matter, which i have discovered here and wherewith i am ashamed to confront the king; but, if i hold my peace thereof, i fear lest other than i discover it and i [be deemed to] have played traitor to the king in the matter of my [duty of] loyal warning and my trust.' quoth dabdin, 'speak, for thou art none other than a truth-teller, a trusty one, a loyal counsellor in that which thou sayest, undistrusted in aught.' and the vizier said, 'o king, this woman to whose love thy heart cleaveth and of whose piety thou talkest and her fasting and praying, i will make plain to thee that this is craft and guile.' at this, the king was troubled and said, 'what is to do?' 'know,' answered the vizier, 'that some days after thy departure, one came to me and said to me, "come, o vizier, and look." so i went to the door of the [queen's] sleeping-chamber and beheld her sitting with aboulkhair, her father's servant, whom she favoureth, and she did with him what she did, and this is the manner of that which i saw and heard.' when dabdin heard this, he burnt with rage and said to one of his eunuchs,[fn# ] 'go and slay her in her chamber.' but the eunuch said to him, 'o king, may god prolong thy continuance! indeed, the killing of her may not be at this time; but do thou bid one of thine eunuchs take her up on a camel and carry her to one of the trackless deserts and cast her down there; so, if she be at fault, god shall cause her to perish, and if she be innocent, he will deliver her, and the king shall be free from sin against her, for that this damsel is dear to thee and thou slewest her father by reason of thy love for her.' quoth the king, 'by allah, thou sayst sooth!' then he bade one of his eunuchs carry her on a camel to one of the far-off deserts and there leave her and go away, and he forbade [him] to prolong her torment. so he took her up and betaking himself with her to the desert, left her there without victual or water and returned, whereupon she made for one of the [sand-]hills and ranging stones before her [in the form of a prayer-niche], stood praying. now it chanced that a camel-driver, belonging to kisra the king, lost certain camels and the king threatened him, if he found them not, that he would slay him. so he set out and plunged into the deserts till he came to the place where the damsel was and seeing her standing praying, waited till she had made an end of her prayer, when he went up to her and saluted her, saying, 'who art thou?' quoth she, 'i am a handmaid of god.' 'what dost thou in this desolate place?' asked he, and she said, 'i serve god the most high.' when he saw her beauty and grace, he said to her, 'harkye! do thou take me to husband and i will be tenderly solicitous over thee and use thee with exceeding compassion and i will further thee in obedience to god the most high.' but she answered, saying, 'i have no need of marriage and i desire to abide here [alone] with my lord and his service; but, if thou wouldst deal compassionately with me and further me in the obedience of god the most high, carry me to a place where there is water and thou wilt have done me a kindness.' so he carried her to a place wherein was running water and setting her down on the ground, left her and went away, marvelling at her. after he left her, he found his camels, by her blessing, and when he returned, king kisra asked him, 'hast thou found the camels?' ['yes,' answered he] and acquainted him with the affair of the damsel and set out to him her beauty and grace; whereupon the king's heart clave to her and he mounted with a few men and betook himself to that place, where he found the damsel and was amazed at her, for that he saw her overpassing the description wherewith the camel-driver had described her to him. so he accosted her and said to her, 'i am king kisra, greatest of the kings. wilt thou not have me to husband?' quoth she, 'what wilt thou do with me, o king, and i a woman abandoned in the desert?' and he answered, saying, 'needs must this be, and if thou wilt not consent to me, i will take up my sojourn here and devote myself to god's service and thine and worship him with thee.' then he bade set up for her a tent and another for himself, facing hers, so he might worship god with her, and fell to sending her food; and she said in herself, 'this is a king and it is not lawful for me that i suffer him forsake his subjects and his kingdom for my sake. so she said to the serving-woman, who used to bring her the food, 'speak to the king, so he may return to his women, for he hath no need of me and i desire to abide in this place, so i may worship god the most high therein.' the slave-girl returned to the king and told him this, whereupon he sent back to her, saying, 'i have no need of the kingship and i also desire to abide here and worship god with thee in this desert.' when she found this earnestness in him, she consented to his wishes and said, 'o king, i will consent unto thee in that which thou desirest and will be to thee a wife, but on condition that thou bring me dadbin the king and his vizier kardan and his chamberlain[fn# ] and that they be present in thine assembly, so i may speak a word with them in thy presence, to the intent that thou mayest redouble in affection for me.' quoth kisra, 'and what is thine occasion unto this?' so she related to him her story from first to last, how she was the wife of dadbin the king and how the latter's vizier had miscalled her honour. when king kisra heard this, he redoubled in loveliking for her and affection and said to her, 'do what thou wilt.' so he let bring a litter and carrying her therein to his dwelling-place, married her and entreated her with the utmost honour. then he sent a great army to king dadbin and fetching him and his vizier and the chamberlain, caused bring them before him, unknowing what he purposed with them. moreover, he caused set up for arwa a pavilion in the courtyard of his palace and she entered therein and let down the curtain before herself. when the servants had set their seats and they had seated themselves, arwa raised a corner of the curtain and said, 'o kardan, rise to thy feet, for it befitteth not that thou sit in the like of this assembly, before this mighty king kisra.' when the vizier heard these words, his heart quaked and his joints were loosened and of his fear, he rose to his feet. then said she to him, 'by the virtue of him who hath made thee stand in this place of standing [up to judgment], and thou abject and humiliated, i conjure thee speak the truth and say what prompted thee to lie against me and cause me go forth from my house and from the hand of my husband and made thee practise thus against a man,[fn# ] a true believer, and slay him. this is no place wherein leasing availeth nor may prevarication be therein.' when the vizier was ware that she was arwa and heard her speech, he knew that it behoved him not to lie and that nought would avail him but truth-speaking; so he bowed [his head] to the ground and wept and said, 'whoso doth evil, needs must he abide it, though his day be prolonged. by allah, i am he who hath sinned and transgressed, and nought prompted me unto this but fear and overmastering desire and the affliction written upon my forehead;[fn# ] and indeed this woman is pure and chaste and free from all fault.' when king dadbin heard this, he buffeted his face and said to his vizier, 'god slay thee! it is thou that hast parted me and my wife and wronged me!' but kisra the king said to him, 'god shall surely slay thee, for that thou hastenedst and lookedst not into thine affair and knewest not the guilty from the guiltless. hadst thou wrought deliberately, the false had been made manifest to thee from the true; so where was thy judgment and thy sight?" then said he to arwa, "what wilt thou that i do with them?" and she answered, saying, "accomplish on them the ordinance of god the most high;[fn# ] the slayer shall be slain and the transgressor transgressed against, even as he transgressed against us; yea, and the well-doer, good shall be done unto him, even as he did unto us." so she gave [her officers] commandment concerning dadbin and they smote him on the head with a mace and slew him, and she said, "this is for the slaughter of my father." then she bade set the vizier on a beast [and carry him] to the desert whither he had caused carry her [and leave him there without victual or water]; and she said to him, "an thou be guilty, thou shalt abide [the punishment of] thy guilt and perish of hunger and thirst in the desert; but, if there be no guilt in thee, thou shalt be delivered, even as i was delivered." as for the eunuch, the chamberlain, who had counselled king dadbin [not to slay her, but] to [cause] carry her to the desert [and there abandon her], she bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and said to him, "the like of thee it behoveth kings to hold in favour and set in high place, for that thou spokest loyally and well, and a man is still requited according to his deed." and kisra the king invested him with the governance of one of the provinces of his empire. know, therefore, o king," continued the youth, "that whoso doth good is requited therewith and he who is guiltless of sin and reproach feareth not the issue of his affair. and i, o king, am free from guilt, wherefore i trust in god that he will show forth the truth and vouchsafe me the victory over enemies and enviers." when the king heard this, his wrath subsided and he said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the sixth day of trust in god. when it was the sixth day, the viziers' wrath redoubled, for that they had not compassed their desire of the youth and they feared for themselves from the king; so three of them went in to him and prostrating themselves before him, said to him, "o king, indeed we are loyal counsellors to thy dignity and tenderly solicitous for thee. verily, thou persistest long in sparing this youth alive and we know not what is thine advantage therein. every day findeth him yet on life and the talk redoubleth suspicions on thee; so do thou put him to death, that the talk may be made an end of." when the king heard this speech, he said, "by allah, indeed, ye say sooth and speak rightly!" then he let bring the young treasurer and said to him, "how long shall i look into thine affair and find no helper for thee and see them all athirst for thy blood?" "o king," answered the youth, "i hope for succour only from god, not from created beings: if he aid me, none can avail to harm me, and if he be with me and on my side, because of the truth, who is it i shall fear, because of falsehood? indeed, i have made my intent with god a pure and sincere intent and have severed my expectation from the help of the creature; and whoso seeketh help [of god] findeth of his desire that which bekhtzeman found." quoth the king, "who was bekhtzeman and what is his story?" "o king," replied the youth, story of king bekhtzeman. "there was once a king of the kings, whose name was bekhtzeman, and he was a great eater and drinker and carouser. now enemies of his made their appearance in certain parts of his realm and threatened him; and one of his friends said to him, 'o king, the enemy maketh for thee: be on thy guard against him.' quoth bekhtzeman, 'i reck not of him, for that i have arms and wealth and men and am not afraid of aught.' then said his friends to him, 'seek aid of god, o king, for he will help thee more than thy wealth and thine arms and thy men.' but he paid no heed to the speech of his loyal counsellors, and presently the enemy came upon him and waged war upon him and got the victory over him and his trust in other than god the most high profited him nought. so he fled from before him and seeking one of the kings, said to him, 'i come to thee and lay hold upon thy skirts and take refuge with thee, so thou mayst help me against mine enemy.' the king gave him money and men and troops galore and bekhtzeman said in himself, 'now am i fortified with this army and needs must i conquer my enemy therewith and overcome him;' but he said not, 'with the aid of god the most high.' so his enemy met him and overcame him again and he was defeated and put to the rout and fled at a venture. his troops were dispersed from him and his money lost and the enemy followed after him. so he sought the sea and passing over to the other side, saw a great city and therein a mighty citadel. he asked the name of the city and to whom it belonged and they said to him, 'it belongeth to khedidan the king.' so he fared on till he came to the king's palace aud concealing his condition, passed himself off for a horseman[fn# ] and sought service with king khedidan, who attached him to his household and entreated him with honour; but his heart still clave to his country and his home. presently, it chanced that an enemy attacked king khedidan; so he sent out his troops to him and made bekhtzeman head of the army. then they went forth to the field and khedidan also came forth and ranged his troops and took the spear and sallied out in person and fought a sore battle and overcame his enemy, who fled, he and his troops, ignominiously. when the king and his army returned in triumph, bekhtzeman said to him, 'harkye, o king! meseemeth this is a strange thing of thee that thou art compassed about with this vast army, yet dost thou apply thyself in person to battle and adventurest thyself.' quoth the king, 'dost thou call thyself a cavalier and a man of learning and deemest that victory is in abundance of troops?' 'ay,' answered bekhtzeman; 'that is indeed my belief.' and khedidan said, 'by allah, then, thou errest in this thy belief! woe and again woe to him whose trust is in other than god! indeed, this army is appointed only for adornment and majesty, and victory is from god alone. i too, o bekhtzeman, believed aforetime that victory was in the multitude of men, and an enemy came out against me with eight hundred men, whilst i had eight hundred thousand. i trusted in the number of my troops, whilst mine enemy trusted in god; so he defeated me and routed me and i was put to a shameful flight and hid myself in one of the mountains, where i met with a recluse, [who had] withdrawn [himself from the world]. so i joined myself to him and complained to him of my case and acquainted him with all that had befallen me. quoth he, "knowest thou why this befell thee and thou wast defeated?" "i know not," answered i, and he said, "because thou puttest thy trust in the multitude of thy troops and reliedst not upon god the most high. hadst thou put thy trust in god and believed in him that it is he [alone] who advantageth and endamageth thee, thine enemy had not availed to cope with thee. return unto god." so i returned to myself and repented at the hands of the solitary, who said to me, "turn back with what remaineth to thee of troops and confront thine enemies, for, if their intents be changed from god, thou wilt overcome them, wert thou alone." when i heard these words, i put my trust in god the most high, and gathering together those who remained with me, fell upon mine enemies at unawares in the night. they deemed us many and fled on the shamefullest wise, whereupon i entered my city and repossessed myself of my place by the might of god the most high, and now i fight not but [trusting] in his aid.' when bekhtzeman heard this, he awoke from his heedlessness and said, 'extolled be the perfection of god the great! o king, this is my case and my story, nothing added and nought diminished, for i am king bekhtzeman and all this happened to me; wherefore i will seek the gate of god['s mercy] and repent unto him.' so he went forth to one of the mountains and there worshipped god awhile, till one night, as he slept, one appeared to him in a dream and said to him, 'o bekhtzeman, god accepteth thy repentance and openeth on thee [the gate of succour] and will further thee against thine enemy.' when he was certified of this in the dream, he arose and turned back, intending for his own city; and when he drew near thereunto, he saw a company of the king's retainers, who said to him, 'whence art thou? we see that thou art a stranger and fear for thee from this king, for that every stranger who enters this city, he destroys him, of his fear of king bekhtzeman.' quoth bekhtzeman, 'none shall hurt him nor advantage him save god the most high.' and they answered, saying, 'indeed, he hath a vast army and his heart is fortified in the multitude of his troops.' when king bekhtzeman heard this, his heart was comforted and he said in himself, 'i put my trust in god. if he will, i shall overcome mine enemy by the might of god the most high.' so he said to the folk, ' know ye not who i am?' and they answered, ' no, by allah.' quoth he, 'i am king bekhtzeman.' when they heard this and knew that it was indeed he, they dismounted from their horses and kissed his stirrup, to do him honour, and said to him, 'o king, why hast thou thus adventured thyself?' quoth he, 'indeed, my life is a light matter to me and i put my trust in god the most high, looking to him for protection.' and they answered him, saying, 'may this suffice thee! we will do with thee that which is in our power and whereof thou art worthy: comfort thy heart, for we will succour thee with our goods and our lives, and we are his chief officers and the most in favour with him of all folk. so we will take thee with us and cause the folk follow after thee, for that the inclination of the people, all of them, is to thee.' quoth he, 'do that unto which god the most high enableth you.' so they carried him into the city and hid him with them. moreover, they agreed with a company of the king's chief officers, who had aforetime been those of bekhtzeman, and acquainted them with this; whereat they rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then they assembled together to bekhtzeman and made a covenant and handfast [of fealty] with him and fell upon the enemy at unawares and slew him and seated king bekhtzeman again on the throne of his kingship. and his affairs prospered and god amended his estate and restored his bounty to him, and he ruled his subjects justly and abode in the obedience of the most high. on this wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "he with whom god is and whose intent is pure, meeteth nought but good. as for me, i have no helper other than god, and i am content to submit myself to his ordinance, for that he knoweth the purity of my intent." with this the king's wrath subsided and he said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the seventh day. of clemency. when it was the seventh day, the seventh vizier, whose name was bihkemal, came in to the king and prostrating himself to him, said, "o king, what doth thy long-suffering with this youth advantage thee? indeed the folk talk of thee and of him. why, then, dost thou postpone the putting him to death?" the vizier's words aroused the king's anger and he bade bring the youth. so they brought him before him, shackled, and azadbekht said to him, "out on thee! by allah, after this day there abideth no deliverance for thee from my hand, for that thou hast outraged mine honour, and there can be no forgiveness for thee." "o king," answered the youth, "there is no great forgiveness save in case of a great crime, for according as the offence is great, in so much is forgiveness magnified and it is no dishonour to the like of thee if he spare the like of me. verily, allah knoweth that there is no fault in me, and indeed he commandeth unto clemency, and no clemency is greater than that which spareth from slaughter, for that thy forgiveness of him whom thou purposest to put to death is as the quickening of a dead man; and whoso doth evil shall find it before him, even as it was with king bihkerd." "and what is the story of king bihkerd?" asked the king. "o king," answered the youth, story of king bihkerd. "there was once a king named bihkerd aed he had wealth galore and many troops; but his deeds were evil and he would punish for a slight offence and never forgave. he went forth one day to hunt and one of his servants shot an arrow, which lit on the king's ear and cut it off. quoth bihkerd, 'who shot that arrow?' so the guards brought him in haste the offender, whose name was yetrou, and he of his fear fell down on the ground in a swoon. then said the king, 'put him to death;' but yetrou said, 'o king, this that hath befallen was not of my choice nor of my knowledge; so do thou pardon me, in the hour of thy power over me, for that clemency is of the goodliest of things and belike it shall be [in this world] a provision and a good work [for which thou shall be requited] one of these days, and a treasure [laid up to thine account] with god in the world to come. pardon me, therefore, and fend off evil from me, so shall god fend off from thee evil the like thereof.' when the king heard this, it pleased him and he pardoned the servant, albeit he had never before pardoned any. now this servant was of the sons of the kings and had fled from his father, on account of an offence he had committed. then he went and took service with king bihkerd and there happened to him what happened. after awhile, it chanced that a man recognized him and went and told his father, who sent him a letter, comforting his heart and mind and [beseeching him] to return to him. so he returned to his father, who came forth to meet him and rejoiced in him, and the prince's affairs were set right with him. it befell, one day of the days, that king bihkerd embarked in a ship and put out to sea, so he might fish; but the wind blew on them and the ship foundered. the king won ashore on a plank, unknown of any, and came forth, naked, on one of the coasts; and it chanced that he landed in the country whereof the father of the youth aforesaid, [his sometime servant], was king. so he came in the night to the gate of the latter's city and [finding it shut], took up his lodging [for the night] in a burying-place there. when the morning morrowed and the folk came forth of the city, they found a murdered man cast down in a corner of the burial-ground and seeing bihkerd there, doubted not but it was he who had slain him; so they laid hands on him and carried him up to the king and said to him, 'this fellow hath slain a man.' the king bade imprison him; [so they clapped him in prison] and he fell a-saying in himself, what while he was in the prison, 'all that hath befallen me is of the abundance of my sins and my tyranny, for, indeed, i have slain much people unrighteously and this is the requital of my deeds and that which i have wrought aforetime of oppression.' as he was thus pondering in himself, there came a bird and lighted down on the coign of the prison, whereupon, of his much eagerness in the chase, he took a stone and cast it at the bird. now the king's son was playing in the exercise-ground with the ball and the mall, and the stone lit on his ear and cut it off, whereupon the prince fell down in a swoon. so they enquired who had thrown the stone and [finding that it was bihkerd,] took him and carried him before the prince, who bade put him to death. accordingly, they cast the turban from his head and were about to bind his eyes, when the prince looked at him and seeing him cropped of an ear, said to him, 'except thou wert a lewd fellow, thine ear had not been cut off.' 'not so, by allah!' answered bihkerd. 'nay, but the story [of the loss] of my ear is thus and thus, and i pardoned him who smote me with an arrow and cut off my ear.' when the prince heard this, he looked in his face and knowing him, cried out and said, 'art thou not bihkerd the king?' 'yes,' answered he, and the prince said to him 'what bringeth thee here?' so he told him all that had betided him and the folk marvelled and extolled the perfection of god the most high. then the prince rose to him and embraced him and kissed him and entreated him with honour. moreover, he seated him in a chair and bestowed on him a dress of honour; and he turned to his father and said to him, 'this is the king who pardoned me and this is his ear that i cut off with an arrow; and indeed he deserveth pardon from me, for that he pardoned me.' then said he to bihkerd, 'verily, the issue of clemency hath been a provision for thee [in thine hour of need].' and they entreated him with the utmost kindness and sent him back to his own country in all honour and worship know, then, o king," continued the youth, "that there is no goodlier thing than clemency and that all thou dost thereof, thou shalt find before thee, a treasure laid up for thee." when the king heard this, his wrath subsided and he said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the eighth day. of envy and malice. when it was the eighth day, the viziers all assembled and took counsel together and said, "how shall we do with this youth, who baffleth us with his much talk? indeed, we fear lest he be saved and we fall [into perdition]. wherefore, let us all go in to the king and unite our efforts to overcome him, ere he appear without guilt and come forth and get the better of us." so they all went in to the king and prostrating themselves before him, said to him, "o king, have a care lest this youth beguile thee with his sorcery and bewitch thee with his craft. if thou heardest what we hear, thou wouldst not suffer him live, no, not one day. so pay thou no heed to his speech, for we are thy viziers, [who endeavour for] thy continuance, and if thou hearken not to our word, to whose word wilt thou hearken? see, we are ten viziers who testify against this youth that he is guilty and entered not the king's sleeping-chamber but with evil intent, so he might put the king to shame and outrage his honour; and if the king slay him not, let him banish him his realm, so the tongue of the folk may desist from him." when the king heard his viziers' words, he was exceeding wroth and bade bring the youth, and when he came in to the king, the viziers all cried out with one voice, saying, "o scant o' grace, thinkest thou to save thyself from slaughter by craft and guile, that thou beguilest the king with thy talk and hopest pardon for the like of this great crime which thou hast committed?" then the king bade fetch the headsman, so he might smite off his head; whereupon each of the viziers fell a-saying, "i will slay him;" and they sprang upon him. quote the youth, "o king, consider and ponder these men's eagerness. is this of envy or no? they would fain make severance between thee and me, so there may fall to them what they shall plunder, as aforetime." and the king said to him, "consider their testimony against thee." "o king," answered the young man, "how shall they testify of that which they saw not? this is but envy and rancour; and thou, if thou slay me, thou wilt regret me, and i fear lest there betide thee of repentance that which betided ilan shah, by reason of the malice of his viziers." "and what is his story?" asked azadbekht. "o king," replied the youth, story of ilan shah and abou temam. "there was once a merchant named abou temam, and he was a man of understanding and good breeding, quick-witted and truthful in all his affairs, and he had wealth galore. now there was in his land an unjust king and a jealous, and abou temam feared for his wealth from this king and said, 'i will remove hence to another place where i shall not be in fear.' so he made for the city of ilan shah and built himself a palace therein and transporting his wealth thither, took up his abode there. presently, the news of him reached king ilan shah; so he sent to bid him to his presence and said to him, 'we know of thy coming to us and thine entry under our allegiance, and indeed we have heard of thine excellence and wit and generosity; so welcome to thee and fair welcome! the land is thy land and at thy commandment, and whatsoever occasion thou hast unto us, it is [already] accomplished unto thee; and it behoveth that thou be near our person and of our assembly.' abou temam prostrated himself to the king and said to him, 'o king, i will serve thee with my wealth and my life, but do thou excuse me from nearness unto thee, for that, [if i took service about thy person], i should not be safe from enemies and enviers.' then he addressed himself to serve the king with presents and largesses, and the king saw him to be intelligent, well-bred and of good counsel; so he committed to him the ordinance of his affairs and in his hand was the power to bind and loose. now ilan shah had three viziers, in whose hands the affairs [of the kingdom] were [aforetime] and they had been used to leave not the king night nor day; but they became shut out from him by reason of abou temam and the king was occupied with him to their exclusion. so they took counsel together upon the matter and said, 'what counsel ye we should do, seeing that the king is occupied from us with yonder man, and indeed he honoureth him more than us? but now come, let us cast about for a device, whereby we may remove him from the king.' so each of them spoke forth that which was in his mind, and one of them said, 'the king of the turks hath a daughter, whose like there is not in the world, and whatsoever messenger goeth to demand her in marriage, her father slayeth him. now our king hath no knowledge of this; so, come, let us foregather with him and bring up the talk of her. when his heart is taken with her, we will counsel him to despatch abou temam to seek her hand in marriage; whereupon her father will slay him and we shall be quit of him, for we have had enough of his affair." accordingly, they all went in to the king one day (and abou temam was present among them,) and mentioned the affair of the damsel, the king's daughter of the turks, and enlarged upon her charms, till the king's heart was taken with her and he said to them, 'we will send one to demand her in marriage for us; but who shall be our messenger?' quoth the viziers, 'there is none for this business but abou temam, by reason of his wit and good breeding;' and the king said, 'indeed, even as ye say, none is fitting for this affair but he.' then he turned to abou temam and said to him, 'wilt thou not go with my message and seek me [in marriage] the king's daughter of the turks?' and he answered, 'hearkening and obedience, o king.' so they made ready his affair and the king conferred on him a dress of honour, and he took with him a present and a letter under the king's hand and setting out, fared on till he came to the [capital] city of turkestan. when the king of the turks knew of his coming, he despatched his officers to receive him and entreated him with honour and lodged him as befitted his rank. then he entertained him three days, after which he summoned him to his presence and abou temam went in to him and prostrating himself before him, as beseemeth unto kings, laid the present before him and gave him the letter. the king read the letter and said to abou temam, "we will do what behoveth in the matter; but, o abou temam, needs must thou see my daughter and she thee, and needs must thou hear her speech and she thine.' so saying, he sent him to the lodging of the princess, who had had notice of this; so that they had adorned her sitting-chamber with the costliest that might be of utensils of gold and silver and the like, and she seated herself on a throne of gold, clad in the most sumptuous of royal robes and ornaments. when abou temam entered, he bethought himself and said, 'the wise say, he who restraineth his sight shall suffer no evil and he who guardeth his tongue shall hear nought of foul, and he who keepeth watch over his hand, it shall be prolonged and not curtailed.'[fn# ] so he entered and seating himself on the ground, [cast down his eyes and] covered his hands and feet with his dress.[fn# ] quoth the king's daughter to him, 'lift thy head, o abou temam, and look on me and speak with me.' but he spoke not neither raised his head, and she continued, 'they sent thee but that thou mightest look on me and speak with me, and behold, thou speakest not at all. take of these pearls that be around thee and of these jewels and gold and silver. but he put not forth his hand unto aught, and when she saw that he paid no heed to anything, she was angry and said, 'they have sent me a messenger, blind, dumb and deaf.' then she sent to acquaint her father with this; whereupon the king called abou temam to him and said to him, 'thou camest not but to see my daughter. why, then, hast thou not looked upon her?' quoth abou temam, 'i saw everything.' and the king said, 'why didst thou not take somewhat of that which thou sawest of jewels and the like? for they were set for thee.' but he answered, 'it behoveth me not to put out my hand to aught that is not mine.' when the king heard his speech, he gave him a sumptuous dress of honour and loved him exceedingly and said to him, 'come, look at this pit.' so abou temam went up [to the mouth of the pit] and looked, and behold, it was full of heads of men; and the king said to him, 'these are the heads of ambassadors, whom i slew, for that i saw them without loyalty to their masters, and i was used, whenas i saw an ambassador without breeding, [fn# ] to say, "he who sent him is less of breeding than he, for that the messenger is the tongue of him who sendeth him and his breeding is of his master's breeding; and whoso is on this wise, it befitteth not that he be akin to me."[fn# ] so, because of this, i used to put the messengers to death; but, as for thee, thou hast overcome us and won my daughter, of the excellence of thy breeding; so be of good heart, for she is thy master's.' then he sent him back to king ilan shah with presents and rarities and a letter, saying, 'this that i have done is in honour of thee and of thine ambassador.' when abou temam returned with [news of] the accomplishment of his errand and brought the presents and the letter, king ilan shah rejoiced in this and redoubled in showing him honour and made much of him. some days thereafterward, the king of turkestan sent his daughter and she went in to king ilan shah, who rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy and abou temam's worth was exalted in his sight. when the viziers saw this, they redoubled in envy and despite and said, 'an we contrive us not a device to rid us of this man, we shall perish of rage.' so they bethought them [and agreed upon] a device they should practise. then they betook themselves to two boys affected to the [special] service of the king, who slept not but on their knee,[fn# ] and they lay at his head, for that they were his pages of the chamber, and gave them each a thousand dinars of gold, saying, 'we desire of you that ye do somewhat for us and take this gold as a provision against your occasion.' quoth the boys, 'what is it ye would have us do?' and the viziers answered, 'this abou temam hath marred our affairs for us, and if his case abide on this wise, he will estrange us all from the king's favour; and what we desire of you is that, when ye are alone with the king and he leaneth back, as he were asleep, one of you say to his fellow, "verily, the king hath taken abou temam into his especial favour and hath advanced him to high rank with him, yet is he a transgressor against the king's honour and an accursed one." then let the other of you ask, "and what is his transgression?" and the first make answer, "he outrageth the king's honour and saith, 'the king of turkestan was used, whenas one went to him to seek his daughter in marriage, to slay him; but me he spared, for that she took a liking to me, and by reason of this he sent her hither, because she loved me.'" then let his fellow say, "knowest thou this for truth?" and the other reply, "by allah, this is well known unto all the folk, but, of their fear of the king, they dare not bespeak him thereof; and as often as the king is absent a-hunting or on a journey, abou temam comes to her and is private with her."' and the boys answered, 'we will say this.' accordingly, one night, when they were alone with the king and he leant back, as he were asleep, they said these words and the king heard it all and was like to die of rage and said in himself, 'these are young boys, not come to years of discretion, and have no intrigue with any; and except they had heard these words from some one, they had not spoken with each other thereof.' when it was morning, wrath overmastered him, so that he stayed not neither deliberated, but summoned abou temam and taking him apart, said to him, 'whoso guardeth not his lord's honour,[fn# ] what behoveth unto him?' quoth abou temam, 'it behoveth that his lord guard not his honour.' 'and whoso entereth the king's house and playeth the traitor with him,' continued the king, 'what behoveth unto him?' and abou temam answered, 'he shall not be left on life.' whereupon the king spat in his face and said to him, 'both these things hast thou done.' then he drew his dagger on him in haste and smiting him in the belly, slit it and he died forthright; whereupon the king dragged him to a well that was in his palace and cast him therein. after he had slain him, he fell into repentance and mourning and chagrin waxed upon him, and none, who questioned him, would he acquaint with the cause thereof, nor, of his love for his wife, did he tell her of this, and whenas she asked him of [the cause of] his grief, he answered her not. when the viziers knew of abou temam's death, they rejoiced with an exceeding joy and knew that the king's grief arose from regret for him. as for ilan shah, he used, after this, to betake himself by night to the sleeping-chamber of the two boys and spy upon them, so he might hear what they said concerning his wife. as he stood one night privily at the door of their chamber, he saw them spread out the gold before them and play with it and heard one of them say, 'out on us! what doth this gold profit us? for that we cannot buy aught therewith neither spend it upon ourselves. nay, but we have sinned against abou temam and done him to death unjustly.' and the other answered, 'had we known that the king would presently kill him, we had not done what we did.' when the king heard this, he could not contain himself, but rushed in upon them and said to them, 'out on you! what did ye? tell me.' and they said, 'pardon, o king.' quoth he, 'an ye would have pardon from god and me, it behoveth you to tell me the truth, for nothing shall save you from me but truth-speaking.' so they prostrated themselves before him and said, 'by allah, o king, the viziers gave us this gold and taught us to lie against abou teman, so thou mightest put him to death, and what we said was their words.' when the king heard this, he plucked at his beard, till he was like to tear it up by the roots and bit upon his fingers, till he well-nigh sundered them in twain, for repentance and sorrow that he had wrought hastily and had not delayed with abou temam, so he might look into his affair. then he sent for the viziers and said to them, 'o wicked viziers, ye thought that god was heedless of your deed, but your wickedness shall revert upon you. know ye not that whoso diggeth a pit for his brother shall fall into it? take from me the punishment of this world and to-morrow ye shall get the punishment of the world to come and requital from god.' then he bade put them to death; so [the headsman] smote off their heads before the king, and he went in to his wife and acquainted her with that wherein he had transgressed against abou temam; whereupon she grieved for him with an exceeding grief and the king and the people of his household left not weeping and repenting all their lives. moreover, they brought abou temam forth of the well and the king built him a dome[fn# ] in his palace and buried him therein. see, then, o august king," continued the youth, "what envy doth and injustice and how god caused the viziers' malice revert upon their own necks; and i trust in god that he will succour me against all who envy me my favour with the king and show forth the truth unto him. indeed, i fear not for my life from death; only i fear lest the king repent of my slaughter, for that i am guiltless of offence, and if i knew that i were guilty of aught, my tongue would be mute." when the king heard this, he bowed [his head] in perplexity and confusion and said, "carry him back to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair." the ninth day of destiny or that which is written on the forehead. when it was the ninth day, the viziers [foregathered and] said, one to another, "verily, this youth baffleth us, for as often as the king is minded to put him to death, he beguileth him and ensorcelleth him with a story; so what deem ye we should do, that we may slay him and be at rest from him?" then they took counsel together and were of accord that they should go to the king's wife [and prompt her to urge the king to slaughter the youth. so they betook themselves to her] and said to her, "thou art heedless of this affair wherein thou art and this heedlessness will not profit thee; whilst the king is occupied with eating and drinking and diversion and forgetteth that the folk beat upon tabrets and sing of thee and say, 'the king's wife loveth the youth;' and what while he abideth on life, the talk will increase and not diminish." quoth she, "by allah, it was ye set me on against him, and what shall i do [now]?" and they answered, "do thou go in to the king and weep and say to him, 'verily, the women come to me and tell me that i am become a byword in the city, and what is thine advantage in the sparing of this youth? if thou wilt not slay him, slay me, so this talk may be estopped from us.'" so she arose and tearing her clothes, went in to the king, in the presence of the viziers, and cast herself upon him, saying, "o king, falleth my shame not upon thee and fearest thou not reproach? indeed, this is not of the behoof of kings that their jealousy over their women should be thus [laggard]. thou art heedless and all the folk of the realm prate of thee, men and women. so either slay him, that the talk may be cut off, or slay me, if thy soul will not consent to his slaughter." thereupon the king's wrath waxed hot and he said to her, "i have no pleasure in his continuance [on life] and needs must i slay him this day. so return to thy house and comfort thy heart." then he bade fetch the youth; so they brought him before him and the viziers said, "o base of origin, out on thee! thy term is at hand and the earth hungereth for thy body, so it may devour it." but he answered them, saying, "death is not in your word nor in your envy; nay, it is an ordinance written upon the forehead; wherefore, if aught be written upon my forehead, needs must it come to pass, and neither endeavour nor thought-taking nor precaution will deliver me therefrom; [but it will surely happen] even as happened to king ibrahim and his son." quoth the king, "who was king ibrahim and who was his son?" and the youth said, "o king, story of king ibrahim and his son. there was once a king of the kings, by name ibrahim, to whom the kings abased themselves and did obedience; but he had no son and was straitened of breast because of this, fearing lest the kingship go forth of his hand. he ceased not vehemently to desire a son and to buy slave-girls and lie with them, till one of them conceived, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and gave gifts and largesse galore. when the girl's months were accomplished and the season of her delivery drew near, the king summoned the astrologers and they watched for the hour of her child-bearing and raised astrolabes [towards the sun] and took strait note of the time. the damsel gave birth to a male child, whereat the king rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and the people heartened each other with the glad news of this. then the astrologers made their calculations and looked into his nativity and his ascendant, whereupon their colour changed and they were confounded. quoth the king to them, 'acquaint me with his horoscope and ye shall have assurance and fear ye not of aught' 'o king,' answered they, 'this child's nativity denotes that, in the seventh year of his age, there is to be feared for him from a lion, which will attack him; and if he be saved from the lion, there will betide an affair yet sorer and more grievous.' 'what is that?' asked the king; and they said, 'we will not speak, except the king command us thereto and give us assurance from [that which we] fear.' quoth the king, 'god assure you!' and they said, 'if he be saved from the lion, the king's destruction will be at his hand.' when the king heard this, his colour changed and his breast was straitened; but he said in himself, 'i will be watchful and do my endeavour and suffer not the lion to eat him. it cannot be that he will kill me, and indeed the astrologers lied.' then he caused rear him among the nurses and matrons; but withal he ceased not to ponder the saying of the astrologers and indeed his life was troubled. so he betook himself to the top of a high mountain and dug there a deep pit and made in it many dwelling-places and closets and filled it with all that was needful of victual and raiment and what not else and made in it conduits of water from the mountain and lodged the boy therein, with a nurse who should rear him. moreover, at the first of each month he used to go to the mountain and stand at the mouth of the pit and let down a rope he had with him and draw up the boy to him and strain him to his bosom and kiss him and play with him awhile, after which he would let him down again into the pit to his place and return; and he used to count the days till the seven years should pass by. when came the time [of the accomplishment] of the foreordered fate and the fortune graven on the forehead and there abode for the boy but ten days till the seven years should be complete, there came to the mountain hunters hunting wild beasts and seeing a lion, gave chase to him. he fled from them and seeking refuge in the mountain, fell into the pit in its midst. the nurse saw him forthright and fled from him into one of the closets; whereupon the lion made for the boy and seizing upon him, tore his shoulder, after which he sought the closet wherein was the nurse and falling upon her, devoured her, whilst the boy abode cast down in a swoon. meanwhile, when the hunters saw that the lion had fallen into the pit, they came to the mouth thereof and heard the shrieking of the boy and the woman; and after awhile the cries ceased, whereby they knew that the lion had made an end of them. presently, as they stood by the mouth of the pit, the lion came scrambling up the sides and would have issued forth; but, as often as he showed his head, they pelted him with stones, till they beat him down and he fell; whereupon one of the hunters descended into the pit and despatched him and saw the boy wounded; after which he went to the cabinet, where he found the woman dead, and indeed the lion had eaten his fill of her. then he noted that which was therein of clothes and what not else, and advising his fellows thereof, fell to passing the stuff up to them. moreover, he took up the boy and bringing him forth of the pit, carried him to their dwelling-place, where they dressed his wounds and he grew up with them, but acquainted them not with his affair; and indeed, when they questioned him, he knew not what he should say, for that he was little, when they let him down into the pit. the hunters marvelled at his speech and loved him with an exceeding love and one of them took him to son and abode rearing him with him [and instructing him] in hunting and riding on horseback, till he attained the age of twelve and became a champion, going forth with the folk to the chase and to the stopping of the way. it chanced one day that they sallied forth to stop the way and fell in upon a caravan in the night; but the people of the caravan were on their guard; so they joined battle with the robbers and overcame them and slew them and the boy fell wounded and abode cast down in that place till the morrow, when he opened his eyes and finding his comrades slain, lifted himself up and rose to walk in the way. presently, there met him a man, a treasure-seeker, and said to him, 'whither goest thou, o youth?' so he told him what had betided him and the other said, 'be of good heart, for that [the season of] thy fair fortune is come and god bringeth thee joy and solace. i am one who am in quest of a hidden treasure, wherein is vast wealth. so come with me, that thou mayst help me, and i will give thee wealth, wherewith thou shalt provide thyself thy life long.' then he carried the youth to his dwelling and dressed his wound, and he abode with him some days, till he was rested; when he took him and two beasts and all that he needed, and they fared on till they came to a precipitous mountain. here the treasure-seeker brought out a book and reading therein, dug in the crest of the mountain five cubits deep, whereupon there appeared to him a stone. he pulled it up and behold, it was a trap-door covering the mouth of a pit. so he waited till the [foul] air was come forth from the midst of the pit, when he bound a rope about the boy's middle and let him down to the bottom, and with him a lighted flambeau. the boy looked and beheld, at the upper end of the pit, wealth galore; so the treasure-seeker let down a rope and a basket and the boy fell to filling and the man to drawing up, till the latter had gotten his sufficiency, when he loaded his beasts and did his occasion, whilst the boy looked for him to let down to him the rope and draw him up; but he rolled a great stone to the mouth of the pit and went away. when the boy saw what the treasure-seeker had done with him he committed his affair to god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) and abode perplexed concerning his case and said, 'how bitter is this death!' for that indeed the world was darkened on him and the pit was blinded to him. so he fell a-weeping and saying, 'i was delivered from the lion and the thieves and now is my death [appointed to be] in this pit, where i shall die lingeringly.' and he abode confounded and looked for nothing but death. as he pondered [his affair], behold, he heard a sound of water running with a mighty noise; so he arose and walked in the pit, following after the sound, till he came to a corner and heard the mighty running of water. so he laid his ear to the sound of the current and hearing it a great strength, said in himself, 'this is the running of a mighty water and needs must i die in this place, be it to-day or to-morrow; so i will cast myself into the water and not die a lingering death in this pit.' then he braced up his courage and gathering his skirts about him, threw himself into the water, and it bore him along with an exceeding might and carrying him under the earth, stayed not till it brought him out into a deep valley, wherethrough ran a great river, that welled up from under the earth. when he found himself on the surface of the earth, he abode perplexed and dazed all that day; after which he came to himself and rising, fared on along the valley, till he came to an inhabited land and a great village in the dominions of the king his father. so he entered the village and foregathered with its inhabitants, who questioned him of his case; whereupon he related to them his history and they marvelled at him, how god had delivered him from all this. then he took up his abode with them and they loved him exceedingly. to return to the king his father. when he went to the pit, as of his wont, and called the nurse, she returned him no answer, whereat his breast was straitened and he let down a man who [found the nurse dead and the boy gone and] acquainted the king therewith; which when he heard, he buffeted his head and wept passing sore and descended into the midst of the pit, so he might see how the case stood. there he found the nurse slain and the lion dead, but saw not the boy; so he [returned and] acquainted the astrologers with the verification of their words, and they said, 'o king, the lion hath eaten him; destiny hath been accomplished upon him and thou art delivered from his hand; for, had he been saved from the lion, by allah, we had feared for thee from him, for that the king's destruction should have been at his hand.' so the king left [sorrowing for] this and the days passed by and the affair was forgotten. meanwhile, the boy [grew up and] abode with the people of the village, and when god willed the accomplishment of his ordinance, the which endeavour availeth not to avert, he went forth with a company of the villagers, to stop the way. the folk complained of them to the king, who sallied out with a company of his men and surrounded the highwaymen and the boy with them, whereupon the latter drew forth an arrow and launched it at them, and it smote the king in his vitals and wounded him. so they carried him to his house, after they had laid hands upon the youth and his companions and brought them before the king, saying, 'what biddest thou that we do with them?' quoth he, 'i am presently in concern for myself; so bring me the astrologers.' accordingly, they brought them before him and he said to them, 'ye told me that my death should be by slaying at the hand of my son: how, then, befalleth it that i have gotten my death-wound on this wise of yonder thieves?' the astrologers marvelled and said to him, 'o king, it is not impossible to the lore of the stars, together with the fore-ordinance of god, that he who hath smitten thee should be thy son.' when ibrahim heard this, he let fetch the thieves and said to them, 'tell me truly, which of you shot the arrow that wounded me.' quoth they, 'it was this youth that is with us.' whereupon the king fell to looking upon him and said to him, 'o youth, acquaint me with thy case and tell me who was thy father and thou shalt have assurance from god.' 'o my lord,' answered the youth, 'i know no father; as for me, my father lodged me in a pit [when i was little], with a nurse to rear me, and one day, there fell in upon us a lion, which tore my shoulder, then left me and occupied himself with the nurse and rent her in pieces; and god vouchsafed me one who brought me forth of the pit.' then he related to him all that had befallen him, first and last; which when ibrahim heard, he cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my very son!' and he said to him, 'uncover thy shoulder.' so he uncovered it and behold, it was scarred. then the king assembled his nobles and commons and the astrologers and said to them, 'know that what god hath graven upon the forehead, be it fair fortune or calamity, none may avail to efface, and all that is decreed unto a man he must needs abide. indeed, this my caretaking and my endeavour profited me nought, for that which god decreed unto my son, he hath abidden and that which he decreed unto me hath betided me. nevertheless, i praise god and thank him for that this was at my son's hand and not at the hand of another, and praised be he for that the kingship is come to my son!' and he strained the youth to his breast and embraced him and kissed him, saying, 'o my son, this matter was on such a wise, and of my care and watchfulness over thee from destiny, i lodged thee in that pit; but caretaking availed not.' then he took the crown of the kingship and set it on his son's head and caused the folk and the people swear fealty to him and commended the subjects to his care and enjoined him to justice and equity. and he took leave of him that night and died and his son reigned in his stead. on like wise, o king," continued the young treasurer, "is it with thee. if god have written aught on my forehead, needs must it befall me and my speech to the king shall not profit me, no, nor my adducing to him of [illustrative] instances, against the fore-ordinance of god. so with these viziers, for all their eagerness and endeavour for my destruction, this shall not profit them; for, if god [be minded to] save me, he will give me the victory over them." when the king heard these words, he abode in perplexity and said, "restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair, for the day draweth to an end and i mean to put him to death on exemplary wise, and [to-morrow] we will do with him that which he meriteth." the tenth day. of the appointed term,[fn# ] which, if it be advanced, may not be deferred and if it be deferred, may not be advanced. when it was the tenth day, (now this day was called el mihrjan[fn# ] and it was the day of the coming in of the folk, gentle and simple, to the king, so they might give him joy and salute him and go forth), the counsel of the viziers fell of accord that they should speak with a company of the notables of the city [and urge them to demand of the king that he should presently put the youth to death]. so they said to them, "when ye go in to-day to the king and salute him, do ye say to him, 'o king, (to god be the praise!) thou art praiseworthy of policy and governance, just to all thy subjects; but this youth, to whom thou hast been bountiful, yet hath he reverted to his base origin and wrought this foul deed, what is thy purpose in his continuance [on life]? indeed, thou hast prisoned him in thy house, and every day thou hearest his speech and thou knowest not what the folk say.'" and they answered with "hearkening and obedience." so, when they entered with the folk and had prostrated themselves before the king and given him joy and he had raised their rank, [they sat down]. now it was the custom of the folk to salute and go forth, so, when they sat down, the king knew that they had a word that they would fain say. so he turned to them and said, "ask your need." and the viziers also were present. accordingly, they bespoke him with all that these latter had taught them and the viziers also spoke with them; and azadbekht said to them, "o folk, i know that this your speech, there is no doubt of it, proceedeth from love and loyal counsel to me, and ye know that, were i minded to slay half these folk, i could avail to put them to death and this would not be difficult to me; so how shall i not slay this youth and he in my power and under the grip of my hand? indeed, his crime is manifest and he hath incurred pain of death and i have only deferred his slaughter by reason of the greatness of the offence; for, if i do this with him and my proof against him be strengthened, my heart is healed and the heart of the folk; and if i slay him not to-day, his slaughter shall not escape me to-morrow." then he bade fetch the youth and when he was present before him, he prostrated himself to him and prayed for him; whereupon quoth the king to him, "out on thee! how long shall the folk upbraid me on thine account and blame me for delaying thy slaughter? even the people of my city blame me because of thee, so that i am grown a talking-stock among them, and indeed they come in to me and upbraid me [and urge me] to put thee to death. how long shall i delay this? indeed, this very day i mean to shed thy blood and rid the folk of thy prate." "o king," answered the youth, "if there have betided thee talk because of me, by allah, by allah the great, those who have brought on thee this talk from the folk are these wicked viziers, who devise with the folk and tell them foul things and evil concerning the king's house; but i trust in god that he will cause their malice to revert upon their heads. as for the king's menace of me with slaughter, i am in the grasp of his hand; so let not the king occupy his mind with my slaughter, for that i am like unto the sparrow in the hand of the fowler; if he will, he slaughtereth him, and if he will, he looseth him. as for the delaying of my slaughter, it [proceedeth] not [from] the king, but from him in whose hand is my life; for, by allah, o king, if god willed my slaughter, thou couldst not avail to postpone it, no, not for a single hour. indeed, man availeth not to fend off evil from himself, even as it was with the son of king suleiman shah, whose anxiety and carefulness for the accomplishment of his desire of the new-born child [availed him nothing], for his last hour was deferred how many a time! and god saved him until he had accomplished his [foreordained] period and had fulfilled [the destined term of] his life." "out on thee!" exclaimed the king. "how great is thy craft and thy talk! tell me, what was their story." and the youth said, "o king, story of king suleiman shah and his sons. there was once a king named suleiman shah, who was goodly of polity and judgment, and he had a brother who died and left a daughter. so suleiman shah reared her on the goodliest wise and the girl grew up, endowed with reason and perfection, nor was there in her time a fairer than she. now the king had two sons, one of whom he had appointed in himself that he would marry her withal, and the other purposed in himself that he would take her. the elder son's name was belehwan and that of the younger melik shah, and the girl was called shah khatoun. one day, king suleiman shah went in to his brother's daughter and kissing her head, said to her, 'thou art my daughter and dearer to me than a child, for the love of thy father deceased; wherefore i am minded to marry thee to one of my sons and appoint him my heir apparent, so he may be king after me. look, then, which thou wilt have of my sons, for that thou hast been reared with them and knowest them.' the damsel arose and kissing his hand, said to him, 'o my lord, i am thine handmaid and thou art the ruler over me; so whatsoever pleaseth thee, do, for that thy wish is higher and more honourable and nobler [than mine] and if thou wouldst have me serve thee, [as a handmaid], the rest of my life, it were liefer to me than any [husband].' the king approved her speech and bestowed on her a dress of honour and gave her magnificent gifts; after which, for that his choice had fallen upon his younger son, melik shah, he married her with him and made him his heir apparent and caused the folk swear fealty to him. when this came to the knowledge of his brother belehwan and he was ware that his younger brother had been preferred over him, his breast was straitened and the affair was grievous to him and envy entered into him and rancour; but he concealed this in his heart, whilst fire raged therein because of the damsel and the kingship. meanwhile shah khatoun went in to the king's son and conceived by him and bore a son, as he were the resplendent moon. when belehwan saw this that had betided his brother, jealousy and envy overcame him; so he went in one night to his father's house and coming to his brother's lodging, saw the nurse sleeping at the chamber-door, with the cradle before her and therein his brother's child asleep. belehwan stood by him and fell to looking upon his face, the radiance whereof was as that of the moon, and satan insinuated himself into his heart, so that he bethought himself and said, 'why is not this child mine? indeed, i am worthier of him than my brother, [yea], and of the damsel and the kingship.' then envy got the better of him and anger spurred him, so that he took out a knife and setting it to the child's gullet, cut his throat and would have severed his windpipe. so he left him for dead and entering his brother's chamber, saw him asleep, with the damsel by his side, and thought to slay her, but said in himself, 'i will leave the damsel for myself.' then he went up to his brother and cutting his throat, severed his head from his body, after which he left him and went away. therewithal the world was straitened upon him and his life was a light matter to him and he sought his father suleiman shah's lodging, that he might slay him, but could not win to him. so he went forth from the palace and hid himself in the city till the morrow, when he repaired to one of his father's strengths and fortified himself therein. meanwhile, the nurse awoke, that she might give the child suck, and seeing the bed running with blood, cried out; whereupon the sleepers and the king awoke and making for the place, found the child with his throat cut and the cradle running over with blood and his father slain and dead in his sleeping chamber. so they examined the child and found life in him and his windpipe whole and sewed up the place of the wound. then the king sought his son belehwan, but found him not and saw that he had fled; whereby he knew that it was he who had done this deed, and this was grievous to the king and to the people of his realm and to the lady shah katoun. so the king laid out his son melik shah and buried him and made him a mighty funeral and they mourned passing sore; after which he addressed himself to the rearing of the infant as for belehwan, when he fled and fortified himself, his power waxed amain and there remained for him but to make war upon his father, who had cast his affection upon the child and used to rear him on his knees and supplicate god the most high that he might live, so he might commit the commandment to him. when he came to five years of age, the king mounted him on horseback and the people of the city rejoiced in him and invoked on him length of life, so he might take his father's leavings[fn# ] and [heal] the heart of his grandfather. meanwhile, belehwan the froward addressed himself to pay court to caesar, king of the greeks,[fn# ] and seek help of him in making war upon his father, and he inclined unto him and gave him a numerous army. his father the king heard of this and sent to caesar, saying, 'o king of illustrious might, succour not an evil-doer. this is my son and he hath done thus and thus and cut his brother's throat and that of his brother's son in the cradle.' but he told not the king of the greeks that the child [had recovered and] was alive. when caesar heard [the truth] of the matter, it was grievous to him and he sent back to suleiman shah, saying, 'if it be thy will, o king, i will cut off his head and send it to thee.' but he made answer, saying, 'i reck not of him: the reward of his deed and his crimes shall surely overtake him, if not to-day, then to-morrow.' and from that day he continued to correspond with caesar and to exchange letters and presents with him. now the king of the greeks heard tell of the damsel[fn# ] and of the beauty and grace wherewith she was gifted, wherefore his heart clave to her and he sent to seek her in marriage of suleiman shah, who could not refuse him. so he arose and going in to shah khatoun, said to her, 'o my daughter, the king of the greeks hath sent to me to seek thee in marriage. what sayst thou?' she wept and answered, saying, 'o king, how canst thou find it in thy heart to bespeak me thus? abideth there husband for me, after the son of my uncle?' 'o my daughter,' rejoined the king, 'it is indeed as thou sayest; but let us look to the issues of affairs. needs must i take account of death, for that i am an old man and fear not but for thee and for thy little son; and indeed i have written to the king of the greeks and others of the kings and said, "his uncle slew him," and said not that he [hath recovered and] is living, but concealed his affair. now hath the king of the greeks sent to demand thee in marriage, and this is no thing to be refused and fain would we have our back strengthened with him."[fn# ] and she was silent and spoke not. so king suleiman shah made answer unto caesar with 'hearkening and obedience.' then he arose and despatched her to him, and cassar went in to her and found her overpassing the description wherewithal they had described her to him; wherefore he loved her with an exceeding love and preferred her over all his women and his love for suleiman shah was magnified; but shah khatoun's heart still clave to her son and she could say nought. as for suleiman shah's rebellious son, belehwan, when he saw that shah khatoun had married the king of the greeks, this was grievous to him and he despaired of her. meanwhile, his father suleiman shah kept strait watch over the child and cherished him and named him melik shah, after the name of his father. when he reached the age of ten, he made the folk swear fealty to him and appointed him his heir apparent, and after some days, [the hour of] the old king's admission [to the mercy of god] drew near and he died. now a party of the troops had banded themselves together for belehwan; so they sent to him and bringing him privily, went in to the little melik shah and seized him and seated his uncle belehwan on the throne of the kingship. then they proclaimed him king and did homage to him all, saying, 'verily, we desire thee and deliver to thee the throne of the kingship; but we wish of thee that thou slay not thy brother's son, for that on our consciences are the oaths we swore to his father and grandfather and the covenants we made with them.' so belehwan granted them this and imprisoned the boy in an underground dungeon and straitened him. presently, the heavy news reached his mother and this was grievous to her; but she could not speak and committed her affair to god the most high, daring not name this to king caesar her husband, lest she should make her uncle king suleiman shah a liar. so belehwan the froward abode king in his father's room and his affairs prospered, what while the young melik shah lay in the underground dungeon four full-told years, till his charms faded and his favour changed. when god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) willed to relieve him and bring him forth of the prison, belehwan sat one day with his chief officers and the grandees of his state and discoursed with them of the story of king suleiman shah and what was in his heart. now there were present certain viziers, men of worth, and they said to him, 'o king, verily god hath been bountiful unto thee and hath brought thee to thy wish, so that thou art become king in thy father's stead and hast gotten thee that which thou soughtest. but, as for this boy, there is no guilt in him, for that, from the day of his coming into the world, he hath seen neither ease nor joyance, and indeed his favour is faded and his charms changed [with long prison]. what is his offence that he should merit this punishment? indeed, it is others than he who were to blame, and god hath given thee the victory over them, and there is no fault in this poor wight.' quoth belehwan, 'indeed, it is as ye say; but i am fearful of his craft and am not assured from his mischief; belike the most part of the folk will incline unto him.' 'o king,' answered they, 'what is this boy and what power hath he? if thou fear him, send him to one of the frontiers.' and belehwan said, 'ye say sooth: we will send him to be captain over such an one of the marches.' now over against the place in question was a host of enemies, hard of heart, and in this he purposed the youth's slaughter. so he bade bring him forth of the underground dungeon and caused him draw near to him and saw his case. then he bestowed on him a dress of honour and the folk rejoiced in this. moreover, he tied him an ensign[fn# ] and giving him a numerous army, despatched him to the region aforesaid, whither all who went were still slain or made prisoners. so melik shah betook himself thither with his army and when it was one of the days, behold, the enemy fell in upon them in the night; whereupon some of his men fled and the rest the enemy took; and they took melik shah also and cast him into an underground dungeon, with a company of his men. there he abode a whole year in evil plight, whilst his fellows mourned over his beauty and grace. now it was the enemy's wont, at every year's end, to bring forth their prisoners and cast them down from the top of the citadel to the bottom. so they brought them forth, at the end of the year, and cast them down, and melik shah with them. however, he fell upon the [other] men and the earth touched him not, for his term was [god-]guarded. now those that were cast down there were slain and their bodies ceased not to lie there till the wild beasts ate them and the winds dispersed them. melik shah abode cast down in his place, aswoon, all that day and night, and when he recovered and found himself whole, he thanked god the most high for his safety [and rising, fared on at a venture]. he gave not over walking, unknowing whither he went and feeding upon the leaves of the trees; and by day he hid himself whereas he might and fared on all his night at hazard; and thus he did some days, till he came to an inhabited land and seeing folk there, accosted them and acquainted them with his case, giving them to know that he had been imprisoned in the fortress and that they had cast him down, but god the most high had delivered him and brought him off alive. the folk took compassion on him and gave him to eat and drink and he abode with them awhile. then he questioned them of the way that led to the kingdom of his uncle belehwan, but told them not that he was his uncle. so they taught him the way and he ceased not to go barefoot, till he drew near his uncle's capital, and he naked and hungry, and indeed his body was wasted and his colour changed. he sat down at the gate of the city, and presently up came a company of king belehwan's chief officers, who were out a-hunting and wished to water their horses. so they lighted down to rest and the youth accosted them, saying, 'i will ask you of somewhat, wherewith do ye acquaint me.' quoth they, 'ask what thou wilt.' and he said, 'is king belehwan well?' they laughed at him and answered, 'what a fool art thou, o youth! thou art a stranger and a beggar, and what concern hast thou with the king's health?' quoth he, 'indeed, he is my uncle;' whereat they marvelled and said, 'it was one question[fn# ] and now it is become two.' then said they to him, 'o youth, it is as thou wert mad. whence pretendest thou to kinship with the king? indeed, we know not that he hath aught of kinsfolk, except a brother's son, who was prisoned with him, and he despatched him to wage war upon the infidels, so that they slew him.' 'i am he,' answered melik shah, 'and they slew me not, but there betided me this and that.' they knew him forthright and rising to him, kissed his hands and rejoiced in him and said to him, 'o our lord, in good sooth, thou art a king and the son of a king, and we desire thee nought but good and beseech [god to grant] thee continuance. consider how god hath rescued thee from this thy wicked uncle, who sent thee to a place whence none came ever off alive, purposing not in this but thy destruction; and indeed thou fellest into [peril of] death and god delivered thee therefrom. so how wilt thou return and cast thyself again into thine enemy's hand? by allah, save thyself and return not to him again. belike thou shall abide upon the face of the earth till it please god the most high [to vouchsafe thee relief]; but, if thou fall again into his hand, he will not suffer thee live a single hour.' the prince thanked them and said to them, 'god requite you with all good, for indeed ye give me loyal counsel; but whither would ye have me go?' quoth they, 'get thee to the land of the greeks, the abiding-place of thy mother.' and he said, 'my grandfather suleiman shah, when the king of the greeks wrote to him, demanding my mother in marriage, concealed my affair and hid my secret; [and she hath done the like,] and i cannot make her a liar.' 'thou sayst sooth,' rejoined they; 'but we desire thine advantage, and even if thou tookest service with the folk, it were a means of thy continuance [on life].' then each of them brought out to him money and gave to him and clad him and fed him and fared on with him a parasang's distance till they brought him far from the city, and giving him to know that he was safe, departed from him, whilst he fared on till he came forth of the dominions of his uncle and entered those [of the king] of the greeks. then he entered a village and taking up his abode therein, betook himself to serving one there in ploughing and sowing and the like. as for his mother, shah khatoun, great was her longing for her son and she [still] thought of him and news of him was cut off from her, wherefore her life was troubled and she forswore sleep and could not make mention of him before king caesar her husband. now she had an eunuch who had come with her from the court of her uncle king suleiman shah, and he was intelligent, quickwitted, a man of good counsel. so she took him apart one day and said to him, 'thou hast been my servant from my childhood to this day; canst thou not therefore avail to get me news of my son, for that i cannot speak of his matter?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'this is an affair that thou hast concealed from the first, and were thy son here, it would not be possible for thee to harbour him, lest thine honour fall into suspicion with the king; for they would never credit thee, since the news hath been spread abroad that thy son was slain by his uncle.' quoth she, 'the case is even as thou sayst and thou speakest truly; but, provided i know that my son is alive, let him be in these parts pasturing sheep and let me not see him nor he me.' and he said to her, 'how shall we contrive in this affair?' 'here are my treasures and my wealth,' answered she. 'take all thou wilt and bring me my son or else news of him.' then they agreed upon a device between them, to wit, that they should feign an occasion in their own country, under pretext that she had there wealth buried from the time of her husband melik shah and that none knew of it but this eunuch who was with her, wherefore it behoved that he should go and fetch it. so she acquainted the king her husband with this and sought of him leave for the eunuch to go: and the king granted him permission for the journey and charged him cast about for a device, lest any get wind of him. accordingly, the eunuch disguised himself as a merchant and repairing to belehwan's city, began to enquire concerning the youth's case; whereupon they told him that he had been prisoned in an underground dungeon and that his uncle had released him and dispatched him to such a place, where they had slain him. when the eunuch heard this, it was grievous to him and his breast was straitened and he knew not what he should do. it chanced one day that one of the horsemen, who had fallen in with the young melik shah by the water and clad him and given him spending-money, saw the eunuch in the city, disguised as a merchant, and recognizing him, questioned him of his case and of [the reason of] his coming. quoth he, 'i come to sell merchandise.' and the horseman said, 'i will tell thee somewhat, if thou canst keep it secret.' 'it is well,' answered the eunuch; 'what is it?' and the other said, 'we met the king's son melik shah, i and certain of the arabs who were with me, and saw him by such a water and gave him spending-money and sent him towards the land of the greeks, near his mother, for that we feared for him, lest his uncle belehwan should kill him.' then he told him all that had passed between them, whereupon the eunuch's countenance changed and he said to the cavalier, 'assurance!' 'thou shalt have assurance,' answered the other, 'though thou come in quest of him.' and the eunuch rejoined, saying, 'truly, that is my errand, for there abideth no repose for his mother, lying down or rising up, and she hath sent me to seek news of him.' quoth the cavalier, 'go in safety, for he is in a [certain] part of the land of the greeks, even as i said to thee.' the eunuch thanked him and blessed him and mounting, returned upon his way, following the trace, whilst the cavalier rode with him to a certain road, when he said to him, 'this is where we left him.' then he took leave of him and returned to his own city, whilst the eunuch fared on along the road, enquiring of the youth in every village he entered by the description which the cavalier had given him, and he ceased not to do thus till he came to the village where the young melik shah was. so he entered and lighting down therein, made enquiry after the prince, but none gave him news of him; whereat he abode perplexed concerning his affair and addressed himself to depart. accordingly he mounted his horse [and set out homeward]; but, as he passed through the village, he saw a cow bound with a rope and a youth asleep by her side, with the end of the halter in his hand; so he looked at him and passed on and took no heed of him in his heart; but presently he stopped and said in himself; 'if he of whom i am in quest be come to the like [of the condition] of yonder sleeping youth, by whom i passed but now, how shall i know him? alas, the length of my travail and weariness! how shall i go about in quest of a wight whom i know not and whom, if i saw him face to face, i should not know?' then he turned back, pondering upon that sleeping youth, and coming to him, as he slept, lighted down from his horse and sat down by him. he fixed his eyes upon his face and considered him awhile and said in himself, 'for aught i know, this youth may be melik shah.' and he fell a-hemming and saying, 'harkye, o youth!' whereupon the sleeper awoke and sat up; and the eunuch said to him, 'who is thy father in this village and where is thy dwelling?' the youth sighed and answered, 'i am a stranger;' and the eunuch said, 'from what land art thou and who is thy father?' quoth the other, 'i am from such a land,' and the eunuch ceased not to question him and he to answer him, till he was certified of him and knew him. so he rose and embraced him and kissed him and wept over his case. moreover, he told him that he was going about in quest of him and informed him that he was come privily from the king his mother's husband and that his mother would be content [to know] that he was alive and well, though she saw him not. then he re-entered the village and buying the prince a horse, mounted him thereon and they ceased not going, till they came to the frontier of their own country, where there fell robbers upon them by the way and took all that was with them and pinioned them; after which they cast them into a pit hard by the road and went away and left them to die there, and indeed they had cast many folk into that pit and they had died. the eunuch fell a-weeping in the pit and the youth said to him, 'what is this weeping and what shall it profit here?' quoth the eunuch, 'i weep not for fear of death, but of pity for thee and the sorriness of thy case and because of thy mother's heart and for that which thou hast suffered of horrors and that thy death should be this abject death, after the endurance of all manner stresses.' but the youth said, 'that which hath betided me was forewrit to me and that which is written none hath power to efface; and if my term be advanced, none may avail to defer it.'[fn# ] then they passed that night and the following day and the next night and the next day [in the pit], till they were weak with hunger and came near upon death and could but groan feebly. now it befell, by the ordinance of god the most high and his providence, that caesar, king of the greeks, the husband of melik shah's mother shah khatoun, [went forth to the chase that day]. he started a head of game, he and his company, and chased it, till they came up with it by that pit, whereupon one of them lighted down from his horse, to slaughter it, hard by the mouth of the pit. he heard a sound of low moaning from the bottom of the pit} so he arose and mounting his horse, waited till the troops were assembled. then he acquainted the king with this and he bade one of his servants [descend into the pit]. so the man descended and brought out the youth [and the eunuch], aswoon. they cut their bonds and poured wine into their gullets, till they came to themselves, when the king looked at the eunuch and recognizing him, said, 'harkye, such an one!' 'yes, o my lord the king,' replied the man and prostrated himself to him; whereat the king marvelled with an exceeding wonder and said to him, 'how earnest thou to this place and what hath befallen thee?" quoth the eunuch, 'i went and took out the treasure and brought it hither; but the [evil] eye was behind me and i unknowing. so the thieves took us alone here and seized the money and cast us into this pit, so we might die of hunger, even as they had done with other than we; but god the most high sent thee, in pity to us.' the king marvelled, he and his company, and praised god the most high for that he had come thither; after which he turned to the eunuch and said to him, 'what is this youth thou hast with thee?' 'o king,' answered he, 'this is the son of a nurse who belonged to us and we left him little. i saw him to-day and his mother said to me, 'take him with thee.' so i brought him with me, that he might be a servant to the king, for that he is an adroit and quickwitted youth.' then the king fared on, he and his company, and the eunuch and the youth with them, what while he questioned the former of belehwan and his dealing with his subjects, and he answered, saying, 'as thy head liveth, o king, the folk with him are in sore straits and not one of them desireth to look on him, gentle or simple.' [when the king returned to his palace,] he went in to his wife shah khatoun and said to her, 'i give thee the glad news of thine eunuch's return.' and he told her what had betided and of the youth whom he had brought with him. when she heard this, her wits fled and she would have cried out, but her reason restrained her, and the king said to her, 'what is this? art thou overcome with grief for [the loss of] the treasure or [for that which hath befallen] the eunuch?' 'nay, as thy head liveth, o king!' answered she. 'but women are fainthearted.' then came the servant and going in to her, told her all that had befallen him and acquainted her with her son's case also and with that which he had suffered of stresses and how his uncle had exposed him to slaughter and he had been taken prisoner and they had cast him into the pit and hurled him from the top of the citadel and how god had delivered him from these perils, all of them; and he went on to tell her [all that had betided him], whilst she wept. then said she to him, 'when the king saw him and questioned thee of him, what saidst thou to him?' and he answered, 'i said to him, "this is the son of a nurse who belonged to us. we left him little and he grew up; so i brought him, that he might be servant to the king,"' quoth she, 'thou didst well.' and she charged him to be instant in the service of the prince. as for the king, he redoubled in kindness to the eunuch and appointed the youth a liberal allowance and he abode going in to the king's house and coming out therefrom and standing in his service, and every day he grew in favour with him; whilst, as for shah khatoun, she used to stand a-watch for him at the windows and balconies and gaze upon him, and she on coals of fire on his account, yet could she not speak. on this wise she abode a great while and indeed yearning for him came nigh to slay her; so she stood and watched for him one day at the door of her chamber and straining him to her bosom, kissed him on the cheek and breast. at this moment, out came the master of the king's household and seeing her embracing the youth, abode amazed. then he asked to whom that chamber belonged and was answered, 'to shah khatoun, wife of the king,' whereupon he turned back, trembling as [one smitten by] a thunderbolt. the king saw him quaking and said to him, 'out on thee! what is the matter?' 'o king,' answered he, 'what matter is graver than that which i see?' 'what seest thou?' asked the king and the officer said, 'i see that yonder youth, who came with the eunuch, he brought not with him but on account of shah khatoun; for that i passed but now by her chamber door, and she was standing, watching; [and when the youth came up,] she rose to him and clipped him and kissed him on his cheek.' when the king heard this, he bowed [his head] in amazement and perplexity and sinking into a seat, clutched at his beard and shook it, till he came nigh to pluck it out. then he arose forthright and laid hands on the youth and clapped him in prison. moreover, he took the eunuch also and cast them both into an underground dungeon in his house, after which he went in to shah khatoun and said to her, 'thou hast done well, by allah, o daughter of nobles, o thou whom kings sought in marriage, for the excellence of thy repute and the goodliness of the reports of thee! how fair is thy semblance! may god curse her whose inward is the contrary of her outward, after the likeness of thy base favour, whose outward is comely and its inward foul, fair face and foul deeds! verily, i mean to make of thee and of yonder good-for-nought an example among the folk, for that thou sentest not thine eunuch but of intent on his account, so that he took him and brought him into my house and thou hast trampled my head with him; and this is none other than exceeding hardihood; but thou shall see what i will do with you.' so saying, he spat in her face and went out from her; whilst shah khatoun made him no answer, knowing that, if she spoke at that time, he would not credit her speech. then she humbled herself in supplication to god the most high and said, 'o god the great, thou knowest the hidden things and the outward parts and the inward' if an advanced term[fn# ] be [appointed] to me, let it not be deferred, and if a deferred one, let it not be advanced!' on this wise she passed some days, whilst the king fell into perplexity and forswore meat and drink and sleep and abode knowing not what he should do and saying [in himself], 'if i kill the eunuch and the youth, my soul will not be solaced, for they are not to blame, seeing that she sent to fetch him, and my heart will not suffer me to slay them all three. but i will not be hasty in putting them to death, for that i fear repentance.' then he left them, so he might look into the affair. now he had a nurse, a foster-mother, on whose knees he had been reared, and she was a woman of understanding and misdoubted of him, but dared not accost him [with questions]. so she went in to shah khatoun and finding her in yet sorrier plight than he, asked her what was to do; but she refused to answer. however, the nurse gave not over coaxing and questioning her, till she exacted of her an oath of secrecy. so the old woman swore to her that she would keep secret all that she should say to her, whereupon the queen related to her her history from first to last and told her that the youth was her son. with this the old woman prostrated herself before her and said to her, 'this is an easy matter.' but the queen answered, saying, 'by allah, o my mother, i choose my destruction and that of my son rather than defend myself by avouching a thing whereof they will not credit me; for they will say, "she avoucheth this, but that she may fend off reproach from herself" and nought will avail me but patience.' the old woman was moved by her speech and her intelligence and said to her, 'indeed, o my daughter, it is as thou sayst, and i hope in god that he will show forth the truth. have patience and i will presently go in to the king and hear what he saith and contrive somewhat in this matter, if it be the will of god the most high.' then she arose and going in to the king, found him with his head between his knees, and he lamenting. so she sat down by him awhile and bespoke him with soft words and said to him, 'indeed, o my son, thou consumest mine entrails, for that these [many] days thou hast not mounted to horse, and thou lamentest and i know not what aileth thee.' 'o my mother,' answered he, '[this my chagrin] is due to yonder accursed woman, of whom i still deemed well and who hath done thus and thus.' then he related to her the whole story from first to last, and she said to him, 'this thy concern is on account of a worthless woman.' quoth he, 'i was but considering by what death i should slay them, so the folk may [be admonished by their fate and] repent.' and she said, 'o my son, beware of haste, for it engendereth repentance and the slaying of them will not escape [thee]. when thou art assured of this affair, do what thou wilt.' 'o my mother,' rejoined he; 'there needeth no assurance concerning him for whom she despatched her eunuch and he fetched him.' but she said, 'there is a thing wherewith we will make her confess, and all that is in her heart shall be discovered to thee.' 'what is that?' asked the king, and she answered, 'i will bring thee a hoopoe's heart,[fn# ] which, when she sleepeth, do thou lay upon her heart and question her of all thou wilt, and she will discover this unto thee and show forth the truth to thee." the king rejoiced in this and said to his nurse, 'hasten and let none know of thee.' so she arose and going in to the queen, said to her, 'i have done thine occasion and it is on this wise. this night the king will come in to thee and do thou feign thyself asleep; and if he ask thee of aught, do thou answer him, as if in thy sleep.' the queen thanked her and the old woman went away and fetching the hoopoe's heart, gave it to the king. hardly was the night come, when he went in to his wife and found her lying back, [apparently] asleep; so he sat down by her side and laying the hoopoe's heart on her breast, waited awhile, so he might be certified that she slept. then said he to her, 'shah khatoun, shah khatoun, is this my recompense from thee?' quoth she, 'what offence have i committed?' and he, 'what offence can be greater than this? thou sentest after yonder youth and broughtest him hither, on account of the desire of thy heart, so thou mightest do with him that for which thou lustedst.' 'i know not desire,' answered she. 'verily, among thy servants are those who are comelier and handsomer than he; yet have i never desired one of them.' 'why, then,' asked he, 'didst thou lay hold of him and kiss him!' and she said, 'this is my son and a piece of my heart; and of my longing and love for him, i could not contain myself, but sprang upon him and kissed him.' when the king heard this, he was perplexed and amazed and said to her, 'hast thou a proof that this youth is thy son? indeed, i have a letter from thine uncle king suleiman shah, [wherein he giveth me to know] that his unck belehwan cut his throat.' 'yes,' answered she, 'he did indeed cut his throat, but severed not the windpipe; so my uncle sewed up the wound and reared him, [and he lived,] for that his hour was not come.' when the king heard this, he said, 'this proof sufficeth me,' and rising forthright in the night, let bring the youth and the eunuch. then he examined the former's throat with a candle and saw [the scar where] it [had been] cut from ear to ear, and indeed the place had healed up and it was like unto a stretched-out thread. therewithal the king fell down prostrate to god, [in thanksgiving to him] for that he had delivered the prince from all these perils and from the stresses that he had undergone, and rejoiced with an exceeding joy for that he had wrought deliberately and had not made haste to slay him, in which case sore repentance had betided him. as for the youth," continued the young treasurer, "he was not saved but because his term was deferred, and on like wise, o king, is it with me; i too have a deferred term, which i shall attain, and a period which i shall accomplish, and i trust in god the most high that he will give me the victory over these wicked viziers." when the youth had made an end of his speech, the king said, "carry him back to the prison;" and when they had done this, he turned to the viziers and said to them, "yonder youth looseth his tongue upon you, but i know your affectionate solicitude for the welfare of my empire and your loyal counsel to me; so be of good heart, for all that ye counsel me i will do." when they heard tnese words, they rejoiced and each of them said his say then said the king, "i have not deferred his slaughter but to the intent that the talk might be prolonged and that words might abound, and i desire [now] that ye sit up for him a gibbet without the town and make proclamation among the folk that they assemble and take him and carry him in procession to the gibbet, with the crier crying before him and saying, 'this is the recompense of him whom the king delighted to favour and who hath betrayed him!'" the viziers rejoiced, when they heard this, and slept not that night, of their joy; and they made proclamation in the city and set up the gibbet. the eleventh day. of the speedy relief of god. when it was the eleventh day, the viziers betook them early in the morning to the king's gate and said to him, "o king, the folk are assembled from the king's gate to the gibbet, so they may see [the execution of] the king's commandment on the youth." so the king bade fetch the prisoner and they brought him; whereupon the viziers turned to him and said to him, "o vile of origin, doth any hope of life remain with thee and lookest thou still for deliverance after this day?" "o wicked viziers," answered he, "shall a man of understanding renounce hope in god the most high? indeed, howsoever a man be oppressed, there cometh to him deliverance from the midst of stress and life from the midst of death, [as is shown by the case of] the prisoner and how god delivered him." "what is his story?" asked the king; and the youth answered, saying, "o king, they tell that story of the prisoner and how god gave him relief. there was once a king of the kings, who had a high palace, overlooking a prison of his, and he used to hear in the night one saying, 'o ever-present deliverer, o thou whose relief is nigh, relieve thou me!' one day the king waxed wroth and said, "yonder fool looketh for relief from [the consequences of] his crime. 'then said he to his officers, 'who is in yonder prison?' and they answered, 'folk upon whom blood hath been found.'[fn# ] so the king bade bring the man in question before him and said to him, 'o fool, little of wit, how shall thou be delivered from this prison, seeing that thine offence is great?' then he committed him to a company of his guards and said to them, 'take this fellow and crucify him without the city.' now it was the night-season. so the soldiers carried him without the city, thinking to crucify him, when, behold, there came out upon them thieves and fell in on them with swords and [other] weapons. thereupon the guards left him whom they purposed to put to death [and took to flight], whilst the man who was going to slaughter fled forth at a venture and plunging into the desert, knew not whither he went before he found himself in a thicket and there came out upon him a lion of frightful aspect, which snatched him up and set him under him. then he went up to a tree and tearing it up by the roots, covered the man therewith and made off into the thicket, in quest of the lioness. as for the man, he committed his affair to god the most high, relying upon him for deliverance, and said in himself, 'what is this affair?' then he did away the leaves from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men's bones there, of those whom the lion had devoured. he looked again and saw a heap of gold lying alongside a girdle;[fn# ] whereat he marvelled and gathering up the gold in his skirts, went forth of the thicket and fled in affright at hazard, turning neither to the right nor to the left, in his fear of the lion; till he came to a village and cast himself down, as he were dead. he lay there till the day appeared and he was rested from his fatigue, when he arose and burying the gold, entered the village. thus god gave him relief and he came by the gold." then said the king, "how long wilt thou beguile us with thy prate, o youth? but now the hour of thy slaughter is come." and he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. [so they carried him to the place of execution] and were about to hoist him up [upon the cross,] when, behold, the captain of the thieves, who had found him and reared him,[fn# ] came up at that moment and asked what was that assembly and [the cause of] the crowds gathered there. they told him that a servant of the king had committed a great crime and that he was about to put him to death. so the captain of the thieves pressed forward and looking upon the prisoner, knew him, whereupon he went up to him and embraced him and clipped him and fell to kissing him upon his mouth. then said he, "this is a boy whom i found under such a mountain, wrapped in a gown of brocade, and i reared him and he fell to stopping the way with us. one day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight and wounded some of us and took the boy and went their way. from that day to this i have gone round about the lands in quest of him, but have not lighted on news of him [till now;] and this is he." when the king heard this, he was certified that the youth was his very son; so he cried out at the top of his voice and casting himself upon him, embraced him and wept and said, "had i put thee to death, as was my intent, i should have died of regret for thee." then he cut his bonds and taking his crown from his head, set it on that of his son, whereupon the people raised cries of joy, whilst the trumpets sounded and the drums beat and there befell a great rejoicing. they decorated the city and it was a glorious day; the very birds stayed their flight in the air, for the greatness of the clamour and the noise of the crying. the army and the folk carried the prince [to the palace] in magnificent procession, and the news came to his mother behrjaur, who came forth and threw herself upon him. moreover, the king bade open the prison and bring forth all who were therein, and they held high festival seven days and seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing; whilst terror and silence and confusion and affright fell upon the viziers and they gave themselves up for lost. after this the king sat, with his son by his side and the viziers sitting before him, and summoned his chief officers and the folk of the city. then the prince turned to the viziers and said to them, "see, o wicked viziers, that which god hath done and the speedy [coming of] relief." but they answered not a word and the king said, "it sufficeth me that there is nothing alive but rejoiceth with me this day, even to the birds in the sky, but ye, your breasts are straitened. indeed, this is the greatest of ill-will in you to me, and had i hearkened to you, my regret had been prolonged and i had died miserably of grief." "o my father," quoth the prince, "but for the fairness of thy thought and thy judgment and thy longanimity and deliberation in affairs, there had not bedded thee this great joyance. hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance would have been sore on thee and long grief, and on this wise doth he who ensueth haste repent." then the king sent for the captain of the thieves and bestowed on him a dress of honour,[fn# ] commanding that all who loved the king should put off [their raiment and cast it] upon him.[fn# ] so there fell dresses of honour [and other presents] on him, till he was wearied with their much plenty, and azadbekht invested him with the mastership of the police of his city. then he bade set up other nine gibbets beside the first and said to his son, "thou art guiltless, and yet these wicked viziers endeavoured for thy slaughter." "o my father," answered the prince, "i had no fault [in their eyes] but that i was a loyal counsellor to thee and still kept watch over thy good and withheld their hands from thy treasuries; wherefore they were jealous and envied me and plotted against me and sought to slay me," quoth the king, "the time [of retribution] is at hand, o my son; but what deemest thou we should do with them in requital of that which they did with thee? for that they have endeavoured for thy slaughter and exposed thee to public ignominy and soiled my honour among the kings." then he turned to the viziers and said to them, "out on ye! what liars ye are! what excuse is left you?" "o king," answered they, "there abideth no excuse for us and our sin hath fallen upon us and broken us in pieces. indeed we purposed evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us, and we plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we digged a pit for him and have fallen ourselves therein." so the king bade hoist up the viziers upon the gibbets and crucify them there, for that god is just and ordaineth that which is right. then azadbekht and his wife and son abode in joyance and contentment, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and they died all; and extolled be the perfection of the [ever-]living one, who dieth not, to whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever and ever! amen. jaafer ben yehya and abdulmeilik ben salih the abbaside.[fn# ] it is told of jaafer ben yehya the barmecide that he sat down one day to drink and being minded to be private (with his friends), sent for his boon-companions, in whom he delighted, and charged the chamberlain[fn# ] that he should suffer none of the creatures of god the most high to enter, save a man of his boon-companions, by name abdulmelik ben salih,[fn# ] who was behindhand with them. then they donned coloured clothes,[fn# ] for that it was their wont, whenas they sat in the wine-chamber, to don raiment of red and yellow and green silk, and sat down to drink, and the cups went round and the lutes pulsed. now there was a man of the kinsfolk of the khalif [haroun er reshid], by name abdulmelik ben salih ben ali ben abdallah ben el abbas,[fn# ] who was great of gravity and piety and decorousness, and er reshid was used instantly to require of him that he should keep him company in his carousals and drink with him and had proffered him, to this end, riches galore, but he still refused. it chanced that this abdulmelik es salih came to the door of jaafer ben yehya, that he might bespeak him of certain occasions of his, and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was the abdulmelik ben salih aforesaid, whom jaafer had charged him admit and that he should suffer none but him to enter, allowed him to go in to his master. when jaafer saw him, his reason was like to depart for shame and he knew that the chamberlain had been deceived by the likeness of the name; and abdulmelik also perceived how the case stood and confusion was manifest to him in jaafer's face. so he put on a cheerful favour and said, "no harm be upon you![fn# ] bring us of these dyed clothes." so they brought him a dyed gown[fn# ] and he put it on and sat discoursing cheerily with jaafer and jesting with him. then said he, "give us to drink of your wine." so they poured him out a pint and he said, "be ye indulgent with us, for we have no wont of this." then he chatted and jested with them till jaafer's breast dilated and his constraint ceased from him and his shamefastness, and he rejoiced in this with an exceeding joy and said to abdulmelik, "what is thine errand?" quoth the other, "i come (may god amend thee!) on three occasions, whereof i would have thee bespeak the khalif; to wit, firstly, i have on me a debt to the amount of a thousand thousand dirhems,[fn# ] which i would have discharged; secondly, i desire for my son the office of governor of a province, whereby his rank may be raised; and thirdly, i would fain have thee marry him to a daughter of the khalif, for that she is his cousin and he is a match for her." and jaafer said, "god accomplished! unto thee these three occasions. as for the money, it shall presently be carried to thy house; as for the government, i make thy son viceroy of egypt; and as for the marriage, i give him to wife such an one, the daughter of our lord the commander of the faithful, at a dowry of such and such a sum. so depart in the assurance of god the most high." so abdulmelik went away to his house, whither he found that the money had foregone him, and on the morrow jaafer presented himself before the khalif and acquainted him with what had passed and that he had appointed abdulmelik's son governor of egypt and had promised him his daughter in marriage. er reshid approved of this and confirmed the appointment and the marriage. [then he sent for the young man] and he went not forth of the palace of the khalif till he wrote him the patent [of investiture with the government] of egypt; and he let bring the cadis and the witnesses and drew up the contract of marriage. er reshid and the barmecides.[fn# ] it is said that the most extraordinary of that which happened to er reshid was as follows: his brother el hadi,[fn# ] when he succeeded to the khalifate, enquired of a seal-ring of great price, that had belonged to his father el mehdi,[fn# ] and it came to his knowledge that er reshid had taken it. so he required it of the latter, who refused to give it up, and el hadi insisted upon him, but he still denied the seal-ring of the khalifate. now this was on the bridge [over the tigris], and he threw the ring into the river. when el hadi died and er reshid succeeded to the khalifate, he came in person to that bridge, with a seal-ring of lead, which he threw into the river at the same place, and bade the divers seek it. so they did [his bidding] and brought up the first ring, and this was reckoned [an omen] of er reshid's good fortune and [a presage of] the continuance of his reign.[fn# ] when er reshid came to the throne, he invested jaafer ben yehya ben khalid el bermeki[fn# ] with the vizierate. now jaafer was eminently distinguished for generosity and munificence, and the stories of him to this effect are renowned and are written in the books. none of the viziers attained to the rank and favour which he enjoyed with er reshid, who was wont to call him brother[fn# ] and used to carry him with him into his house. the period of his vizierate was nineteen years,[fn# ] and yehya one day said to his son jaafer, "o my son, what time thy reed trembleth, water it with kindness."[fn# ] opinions differ concerning the reason of jaafer's slaughter, but the better is as follows. er reshid could not brook to be parted from jaafer nor from his [own] sister abbaseh, daughter of el mehdi, a single hour, and she was the loveliest woman of her time; so he said to jaafer, "i will marry thee to her, that it may be lawful to thee to look upon her, but thou shalt not touch her." [accordingly, they were married] and they used both to be present in er reshid's sitting chamber. now the khalif would rise bytimes [and go forth] from the chamber, and they being both young and filled with wine, jaafer would rise to her and swive her. she conceived by him and bore a handsome boy and fearing er reshid, despatched the newborn child by one of her confidants to mecca the holy, may god the most high advance it in honour and increase it in venerance and nobility and magnification! the affair abode concealed till there befell despite between abbaseh and one of her slave-girls, whereupon the latter discovered the affair of the child to er reshid and acquainted him with its abiding-place. so, when the khalif made the pilgrimage, he despatched one who brought him the boy and found the affair true, wherefore he caused befall the barmecides that which befell.[fn# ] ibn es semmak and er reshid.[fn# ] it is related that ibn es semmak[fn# ] went in one day to er reshid and the khalif, being athirst, called for drink. so his cup was brought him, and when he took it, ibn es semmak said to him, "softly, o commander of the faithful! if thou wert denied this draught, with what wouldst thou buy it?" "with the half of my kingdom," answered the khalif; and ibn es semmak said, "drink and god prosper it to thee!" then, when he had drunken, he said to him, "if thou wert denied the going forth of the draught from thy body, with what wouldst thou buy its issue?" "with the whole of my kingdom," answered er reshid: and ibn es semmak said, "o commander of the faithful, verily, a kingdom that weigheth not in the balance against a draught [of water] or a voiding of urine is not worth the striving for." and haroun wept. el mamoun and zubeideh[fn# ] it is said that el mamoun[fn# ] came one day upon zubeideh, mother of el amin,[fn# ] and saw her moving her lips and muttering somewhat he understood not; so he said to her, "o mother mine, dost thou imprecate [curses] upon me, for that i slew thy son and despoiled him of his kingdom?" "not so, by allah, o commander of the faithful!" answered she, and he said, "what then saidst thou?" quoth she, "let the commander of the faithful excuse me." but he was instant with her, saying, "needs must thou tell it." and she replied, "i said, 'god confound importunity!'" "how so?" asked the khalif, and she said, "i played one day at chess with the commander of the faithful [haroun er reshid] and he imposed on me the condition of commandment and acceptance.[fn# ] he beat me and bade me put off my clothes and go round about the palace, naked; so i did this, and i incensed against him. then we fell again to playing and i beat him; so i bade him go to the kitchen and swive the foulest and sorriest wench of the wenches thereof. [i went to the kitchen] and found not a slave-girl fouler and filthier than thy mother;[fn# ] so i bade him swive her. he did as i bade him and she became with child by him of thee, and thus was i [by my unlucky insistance] the cause of the slaying of my son and the despoiling him of his kingdom." when el mamoun heard this, he turned away, saying, "god curse the importunate!" to wit, himself, who had importuned her till she acquainted him with that matter. en numan and the arab of the benou tai.[fn# ] it is said that en numan[fn# ] had two boon-companions, one of whom was called ibn saad and the other amrou ben el melik, and he became one night drunken and bade bury them alive; so they buried them. when he arose on the morrow, he enquired for them and was acquainted with their case, whereupon he built over them a monument and appointed to himself a day of ill-luck and a day of good-luck. if any met him on his day of ill-omen, he slew him and with his blood he washed the monument aforesaid, the which is a place well known in cufa; and if any met him on his day of grace, he enriched him. now there accosted him once, on his day of ill-omen, an arab of the benou tai,[fn# ] and en numan would have put him to death; but the arab said, "god quicken the king! i have two little girls and have made none guardian over them; so, if the king see fit to grant me leave to go to them, i will give him the covenant of god[fn# ] that i will return to him, whenas i have appointed them a guardian." en numan had compassion on him and said to him, "if a man will be surety for thee of those who are with us, [i will let thee go], and if thou return not, i will put him to death." now there was with en numan his vizier sherik ben amrou; so the tai[fn# ] looked at him and said, sherik ben amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay? o brother of the brotherless, brother of all th' afflicted, say. brother of en numan, with thee lies an old man's anguish to allay, a graybeard slain, may god make fair his deeds upon the reckoning-day! quoth sherik, "on me be his warranty, may god assain the king!" so the tai departed, after a term had been assigned him for his coming. when the appointed day arrived, en numan sent for sherik and said to him, "verily the first part of this day is past." and sherik answered, "the king hath no recourse against me till it be eventide." when it evened, there appeared one afar off and en numan fell to looking upon him and on sherik, and the latter said to him, "thou hast no right over me till yonder fellow come, for belike he is my man." as he spoke, up came the tai in haste and en numan said "by allah, never saw i [any] more generous than you two! i know not whether of you is the more generous, this one who became warrant for thee in [danger of] death or thou who returnest unto slaughter." then said he to sherik, "what prompted thee to become warrant for him, knowing that it was death?" and he said, "[i did this] lest it be said, 'generosity hath departed from viziers.'" then said en numan to the tai, "and thou, what prompted thee to return, knowing that therein was death and thine own destruction?" quoth the arab, "[i did this] lest it be said, 'fidelity hath departed from the folk.'" and en numan said, "by allah, i will be the third of you,[fn# ] lest it be said, 'clemency hath departed from kings.'" so he pardoned him and bade abolish the day of ill-omen; whereupon the arab recited the following verses: full many a man incited me to infidelity, but i refused, for all the talk wherewith they set on me. i am a man in whom good faith's a natural attribute; the deeds of every upright man should with his speech agree. quoth en numan, "what prompted thee to keep faith, the case being as thou sayest?" "o king," answered the arab, "it was my religion." and en numan said, "what is thy religion?" "the christian," replied the other. quoth the king, "expound it unto me." [so the tai expounded it to him] and en numan became a christian.[fn# ] firouz and his wife[fn# ] a certain king sat one day on the roof of his palace, diverting himself with looking about him, and presently, chancing to look aside, he espied, on [the roof of] a house over against his palace, a woman, never saw his eyes her like. so he turned to those who were present and said to them, "to whom belongeth yonder house?" "to thy servant firouz," answered they, "and that is his wife." so he went down, (and indeed love had made him drunken and he was passionately enamoured of her), and calling firouz, said to him, "take this letter and go with it to such a city and bring me the answer." firouz took the letter and going to his house, laid it under his head and passed that night. when the morning morrowed, he took leave of his wife and set out for the city in question, unknowing what the king purposed against him. as for the king, he arose in haste and disguising himself, repaired to the house of firouz and knocked at the door. quoth firouz's wife, "who is at the door?" and he answered, saying, "i am the king, thy husband's master." so she opened the door and he entered and sat down, saying, "we are come to visit thee." quoth she, "i seek refuge [with god] from this visitation, for indeed i deem not well thereof." and the king said, "o desire of hearts, i am thy husband's master and methinks thou knowest me not." "nay," answered she, "i know thee, o my lord and master, and i know thy purpose and that which thou seekest and that thou art my husband's lord. i understand what thou wishest, and indeed the poet hath forestalled thee in his saying of the following verses, in reference to thy case: your water i'll leave without drinking, for there too many already have drunken whilere. when the flies light on food, from the platter my hand i raise, though my spirit should long for the fare; and whenas the dogs at a fountain have lapped, the lions to drink of the water forbear." then said she, "o king, comest thou to a [watering-]place whereat thy dog hath drunken and wilt thou drink thereof?" the king was abashed at her and at her words and went out from her, but forgot his sandal in the house. as for firouz, when he went forth from his house, he sought the letter, but found it not; so he returned home. now his return fell in with the king's going forth and he found the latter's sandal in his house, whereat his wit was dazed and he knew that the king had not sent him away but for a purpose of his own. however, he held his peace and spoke not a word, but, taking the letter, went on his errand and accomplished it and returned to the king, who gave him a hundred dinars. so firouz betook himself to the market and bought what beseemeth women of goodly gifts and returning to his wife, saluted her and gave her all that he had brought and said to her, "arise [go] to thy father's house." "wherefore?" asked she, and he said, "verily, the king hath been bountiful to me and i would have thee show forth this, so thy father may rejoice in that which he seeth upon thee." "with all my heart," answered she and arising forthright, betook herself to the house of her father, who rejoiced in her coming and in that which he saw upon her; and she abode with him a month's space, and her husband made no mention of her. then came her brother to him and said, "o firouz, an thou wilt not acquaint me with the reason of thine anger against thy wife, come and plead with us before the king." quoth he, "if ye will have me plead with you, i will do so." so they went to the king and found the cadi sitting with him; whereupon quoth the damsel's brother, "god assist our lord the cadi! i let this man on hire a high-walled garden, with a well in good case and trees laden with fruit; but he beat down its walls and ruined its well and ate its fruits, and now he desireth to return it to me." the cadi turned to firouz and said to him, "what sayst thou, o youth?" and he answered, "indeed, i delivered him the garden in the goodliest of case." so the cadi said to the brother, "hath he delivered thee the garden, as he saith?" and the other replied, "no; but i desire to question him of the reason of his returning it." quoth the cadi, "what sayst thou, o youth?" and firouz answered, "i returned it in my own despite, for that i entered it one day and saw the track of the lion; wherefore i feared lest, if i entered it again, the lion should devour me. so that which i did, i did of reverence to him and for fear of him." now the king was leaning back upon the cushion, when he heard the man's words, he knew the purport thereof; so he sat up and said, "return to thy garden in all assurance and ease of heart; for, by allah, never saw i the like of thy garden nor stouter of ward than its walls over its trees!" so firouz returned to his wife, and the cadi knew not the truth of the affair, no, nor any of those who were in that assembly, save the king and the husband and the damsel's brother.[fn# ] king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king of the kings of the time, by name shah bekht, who had troops and servants and guards galore and a vizier called er rehwan, who was wise, understanding, a man of good counsel and a cheerful acceptor of the commandments of god the most high, to whom belong might and majesty. the king committed to him the affairs of his kingdom and his subjects and said according to his word, and on this wise he abode a long space of time. now this vizier had many enemies, who envied him his high place and still sought to do him hurt, but found no way thereunto, and god, in his fore-knowledge and his fore-ordinance from time immemorial, decreed that the king dreamt that the vizier er rehwan gave him a fruit from off a tree and he ate it and died. so he awoke, affrighted and troubled, and when the vizier had presented himself before him [and withdrawn] and the king was alone with those in whom he trusted, he related to them his dream and they counselled him to send for the astrologers and interpreters [of dreams] and commended to him a sage, for whose skill and wisdom they vouched. so the king sent for him and entreated him with honour and made him draw near to himself. now there had been private with the sage in question a company of the vizier's enemies, who besought him to slander the vizier to the king and counsel him to put him to death, in consideration of that which they promised him of wealth galore; and he agreed with them of this and told the king that the vizier would slay him in the course of the [ensuing] month and bade him hasten to put him to death, else would he surely slay him. presently, the vizier entered and the king signed to him to cause avoid the place. so he signed to those who were present to withdraw, and they departed; whereupon quoth the king to him, "how deemest thou, o excellent vizier, o loyal counsellor in all manner of governance, of a vision i have seen in my sleep?" "what is it, o king?" asked the vizier, and shah bekht related to him his dream, adding, "and indeed the sage interpreted it to me and said to me, 'an thou put not the vizier to death within a month, he will slay thee.' now i am exceeding both to put the like of thee to death, yet do i fear to leave thee on life. what then dost thou counsel me that i should do in this matter?" the vizier bowed his head awhile, then raised it and said, "god prosper the king! verily, it skills not to continue him on life of whom the king is afraid, and my counsel is that thou make haste to put me to death." when the king heard his speech, he turned to him and said, "it is grievous to me, o vizier of good counsel." and he told him that the [other] sages testified [to the correctness of their fellow's interpretation of the dream]; whereupon er rehwan sighed and knew that the king went in fear of him; but he showed him fortitude and said to him, "god assain the king! my counsel is that the king accomplish his commandment and execute his ordinance, for that needs must death be and it is liefer to me that i die, oppressed, than that i die, an oppressor. but, if the king see fit to defer the putting of me to death till the morrow and will pass this night with me and take leave of me, when the morrow cometh, the king shall do what he will." then he wept till he wet his gray hairs and the king was moved to compassion for him and granted him that which he sought and vouchsafed him that night's respite. the first night of the month when it was eventide, the king caused avoid his sitting chamber and summoned the vizier, who presented himself and making his obeisance to the king, kissed the earth before him and bespoke him as follows: story of the man of khorassan, his son and his governor. "there was once a man of khorassan and he had a son, whose improvement he ardently desired; but the young man sought to be alone and to remove himself from his father's eye, so he might give himself up to pleasance and delight. so he sought of his father [leave to make] the pilgrimage to the holy house of god and to visit the tomb of the prophet (whom god bless and keep!). now between them and mecca was a journey of five hundred parasangs; but his father could not gainsay him, for that the law of god made this[fn# ] incumbent on him and because of that which he hoped for him of improvement [therefrom]. so he joined unto him a governor, in whom he trusted, and gave him much money and took leave of him. the son set out on the holy pilgrimage[fn# ] with the governor and abode on that wise, spending freely and using not thrift. now there was in his neighbourhood a poor man, who had a slave-girl of surpassing beauty and loveliness, and the youth became enamoured of her and suffered grief and concern for the love of her and her loveliness, so that he was like to perish for passion; and she also loved him with a love yet greater than his love for her. so she called an old woman who used to visit her and acquainted her with her case, saying, 'an i foregather not with him, i shall die.' the old woman promised her that she would do her endeavour to bring her to her desire; so she veiled herself and repairing to the young man, saluted him and acquainted him with the girl's case, saying, 'her master is a covetous man; so do thou invite him [to thy lodging] and tempt him with money, and he will sell thee the damsel.' accordingly, he made a banquet, and stationing himself in the man's way, invited him and carried him to his house, where they sat down and ate and drank and abode in discourse. presently, the young man said to the other, 'i hear that thou hast with thee a slave-girl, whom thou desirest to sell.' and he answered, saying, 'by allah, o my lord, i have no mind to sell her!' quoth the youth, 'i hear that she cost thee a thousand dinars, and i will give thee six hundred, to boot.' and the other said, 'i sell her to thee [at that price].' so they fetched notaries, who drew up the contract of sale, and the young man counted out to the girl's master half the purchase money, saying, 'let her be with thee till i complete to thee the rest of the price and take my slave-girl.' the other consented to this and took of him a bond for the rest of the money, and the girl abode with her master, on deposit. as for the youth, he gave his governor a thousand dirhems and despatched him to his father, to fetch money from him, so he might pay the rest of the girl's price, saying to him, 'be not [long] absent.' but the governor said in himself, 'how shall i go to his father and say to him, "thy son hath wasted thy money and wantoned it away"?[fn# ] with what eye shall i look on him, and indeed, i am he in whom he confided and to whom he hath entrusted his son? indeed, this were ill seen. nay, i will fare on to the pilgrimage[fn# ] [with the caravan of pilgrims], in despite of this fool of a youth; and when he is weary [of waiting], he will demand back the money [he hath already paid] and return to his father, and i shall be quit of travail and reproach.' so he went on with the caravan to the pilgrimage[fn# ] and took up his abode there. meanwhile, the youth abode expecting his governor's return, but he returned not; wherefore concern and chagrin waxed upon him, because of his mistress, and his longing for her redoubled and he was like to slay himself. she became aware of this and sent him a messenger, bidding him to her. so he went to her and she questioned him of the case; whereupon he told her what was to do of the matter of his governor, and she said to him, 'with me is longing the like of that which is with thee, and i misdoubt me thy messenger hath perished or thy father hath slain him; but i will give thee all my trinkets and my clothes, and do thou sell them and pay the rest of my price, and we will go, i and thou, to thy father.' so she gave him all that she possessed and he sold it and paid the rest of her price; after which there remained to him a hundred dirhems. these he spent and lay that night with the damsel in all delight of life, and his soul was like to fly for joy; but when he arose in the morning, he sat weeping and the damsel said to him, 'what aileth thee to weep?' and he said, 'i know not if my father be dead, and he hath none other heir but myself; and how shall i win to him, seeing i have not a dirhem?' quoth she, 'i have a bracelet; do thou sell it and buy small pearls with the price. then bray them and fashion them into great pearls, and thereon thou shalt gain much money, wherewith we may make our way to thy country.' so he took the bracelet and repairing to a goldsmith, said to him, 'break up this bracelet and sell it.' but he said, 'the king seeketh a good[fn# ] bracelet; i will go to him and bring thee the price thereof.' so he carried the bracelet to the sultan and it pleased him greatly, by reason of the goodliness of its workmanship. then he called an old woman, who was in his palace, and said to her, 'needs must i have the mistress of this bracelet, though but for a single night, or i shall die.' and the old woman answered, 'i will bring her to thee.' so she donned a devotee's habit and betaking herself to the goldsmith, said to him, 'to whom belongeth the bracelet that is in the king's hand?' quoth he, 'it belongeth to a man, a stranger, who hath bought him a slave-girl from this city and lodgeth with her in such a place.' so the old woman repaired to the young man's house and knocked at the door. the damsel opened to her and seeing her clad in devotee's apparel,[fn# ] saluted her and said to her, ' belike thou hast an occasion with us?' 'yes,' answered the old woman; 'i desire privacy and ablution.'[fn# ] quoth the girl, 'enter.' so she entered and did her occasion and made the ablution and prayed. then she brought out a rosary and began to tell her beads thereon, and the damsel said to her, 'whence comest thou, o pilgrim?'[fn# ] quoth she '[i come] from [visiting] the idol[fn# ] of the absent in such a church.[fn# ] there standeth up no woman [to prayer] before him, who hath an absent friend and discovereth to him her need, but he acquainteth her with her case and giveth her tidings of her absent one.' 'o pilgrim,' said the damsel, 'we have an absent one, and my lord's heart cleaveth to him and i desire to go to the idol and question him of him.' quoth the old woman, '[wait] till to-morrow and ask leave of thy husband, and i will come to thee and go with thee in weal.' then she went away, and when the girl's master came, she sought his leave to go with the old woman and he granted her leave. so the beldam took her and carried her to the king's door. the damsel entered with her, unknowing whither she went, and beheld a goodly house and chambers adorned [with gold and colours] that were no idol's chambers. then came the king and seeing her beauty and grace, went up to her, to kiss her; whereupon she fell down in a fit and strove with her hands and feet. when he saw this, he was solicitous for her and held aloof from her and left her; but the thing was grievous to her and she refused meat and drink, and as often as the king drew near her, she fled from him in affright, wherefore he swore by allah that he would not approach her, save with her consent, and fell to guerdoning her with trinkets and raiment, but she only redoubled in aversion to him. meanwhile, the youth her master abode expecting her; but she returned not and his heart forbode him of the draught [of separation]; so he went forth at hazard, distraught and knowing not what he should do, and fell to strewing dust upon his head and crying out, 'the old woman hath taken her and gone away!' the boys followed him with stones and pelted him, saying, 'a madman! a madman!' presently, the king's chamberlain, who was a man of age and worth, met him, and when he saw his youth, he forbade the boys and drove there away from him, after which he accosted him and questioned him of his case. so he told him how it was with him and the chamberlain said to him, 'fear not: all shall yet be well with thee. i will deliver thy slave-girl for thee: so calm thy trouble.' and he went on to speak him fair and comfort him, till he put faith in his speech. then he carried him to his house and stripping him of his clothes, clad him in rags; after which he called an old woman, who was his stewardess, and said to her. 'take this youth and clap on his neck this iron chain and go round about with him in all the thoroughfares of the city; and when thou hast made an end of this, go up with him to the palace of the king.' and he said to the youth, 'in whatsoever place thou seest the damsel, speak not a syllable, but acquaint me with her place and thou shall owe her deliverance to none but me.' the youth thanked him and went with the old woman on such wise as the chamberlain bade him. she fared on with him till they entered the city [and made the round thereof]; after which she went up to the palace of the king and fell to saying, 'o people of affluence, look on a youth whom the devils take twice in the day and pray for preservation from [a like] affliction!' and she ceased not to go round about with him till she came to the eastern wing[fn# ] of the palace, whereupon the slave-girls came out to look upon him and when they saw him they were amazed at his beauty and grace and wept for him. then they told the damsel, who came forth and looked upon him and knew him not. but he knew her; so he bowed his head and wept. she was moved to compassion for him and gave him somewhat and returned to her place, whilst the youth returned with the stewardess to the chamberlain and told him that she was in the king's house, whereat he was chagrined and said, 'by allah, i will assuredly contrive a device for her and deliver her!' whereupon the youth kissed his hands and feet. then he turned to the old woman and bade her change her apparel and her favour. now this old woman was goodly of speech and nimble of wit; so he gave her costly and delicious perfumes and said to her, 'get thee to the king's slave girls and sell them these [perfumes] and make thy way to the damsel and question her if she desire her master or not.' so the old woman went out and making her way to the palace, went in to the damsel and drew near her and recited the following verses: god keep the days of love-delight! how dearly sweet they were! how joyous and how solaceful was life in them whilere! would he were not who sundered us upon the parting day! how many a body hath he slain, how many a bone laid bare? sans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and beggared me of him i love, yet for himself gained nought thereby whate'er. when the damsel heard these verses, she wept till her clothes were drenched and drew near the old woman, who said to her, 'knowest thou such an one?' and wept and said, 'he is my lord. whence knowest thou him?' 'o my lady,' answered the old woman, 'sawst thou not the madman who came hither yesterday with the old woman? he was thy lord. but this is no time for talk. when it is night, get thee to the top of the palace [and wait] on the roof till thy lord come to thee and contrive for thy deliverance.' then she gave her what she would of perfumes and returning to the chamberlain, acquainted him with that which had passed, and he told the youth. when it was eventide, the chamberlain let bring two horses and great store of water and victual and a saddle-camel and a man to show them the way. these he hid without the town, whilst he and the young man took with them a long rope, made fast to a staple, and repaired to the palace. when they came thither, they looked and beheld the damsel standing on the roof. so they threw her the rope and the staple; whereupon she [made the latter fast to the parapet and] wrapping her sleeves about her hands, slid down [the rope] and landed with them. they carried her without the town, where they mounted, she and her lord, and fared on, whilst the guide forewent them, directing them in the way, and they gave not over going night and day till they entered his father's house. the young man saluted his father, who rejoiced in him, and he related to him all that had befallen him, whereupon he rejoiced in his safety. as for the governor, he wasted all that was with him and returned to the city, where he saw the youth and excused himself to him. then he questioned him of what had befallen him and he told him, whereat he marvelled and returned to companionship with him; but the youth ceased to have regard for him and gave him not stipends, as of his [former] wont, neither discovered to him aught of his secrets. when the governor saw that there was no profit for him with the young khorassani, he returned to the king, the ravisher of the damsel, and told him what the chamberlain had done and counselled him to slay the latter and incited him to recover the damsel, [promising] to give his friend to drink of poison and return. so the king sent for the chamberlain and upbraided him; whereupon he fell upon him and slew him and the king's servants fell upon the chamberlain and slew him. meanwhile, the governor returned to the youth, who questioned him of his absence, and he told him that he had been in the city of the king who had taken the damsel. when the youth heard this, he misdoubted of the governor and never again trusted him in aught, but was still on his guard against him. then the governor made great store of sweetmeats and put in them deadly poison and presented them to the youth. when the latter saw the sweetmeats, he said in himself, 'this is an extraordinary thing of the governor! needs must there be mischief in this sweetmeat, and i will make proof of it upon himself.' so he made ready victual and set on the sweetmeat amongst it and bade the governor to his house and set food before him. he ate and amongst the rest, they brought him the poisoned sweetmeat; so he ate thereof and died forthright; whereby the youth knew that this was a plot against himself and said, 'he who seeketh his fortune of his own [unaided] might[fn# ] attaineth it not.' nor (continued the vizier) is this, o king of the age, more extraordinary than the story of the druggist and his wife and the singer." when king shah bekht heard his vizier's story, he gave him leave to withdraw to his own house and he abode there the rest of the night and the next day till the evening. the second night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy sitting-chamber and his mind was occupied with the story of the singer and the druggist. so he called the vizier and bade him tell the story. "it is well," answered he, "they tell, o my lord, that story of the singer and the druggist. there was once in the city of hemadan[fn# ] a young man of comely aspect and excellently skilled in singing to the lute, and he was well seen of the people of the city. he went forth one day of his city, with intent to travel, and gave not over journeying till his travel brought him to a goodly city. now he had with him a lute and what pertained thereto,[fn# ] so he entered and went round about the city till he fell in with a druggist, who, when he espied him, called to him. so he went up to him and he bade him sit down. accordingly, he sat down by him and the druggist questioned him of his case. the singer told him what was in his mind and the other took him up into his shop and brought him food and fed him. then said he to him, 'arise and take up thy lute and beg about the streets, and whenas thou smellest the odour of wine, break in upon the drinkers and say to them, "i am a singer." they will laugh and say, "come, [sing] to us." and when thou singest, the folk will know thee and bespeak one another of thee; so shall thou become known in the city and thine affairs will prosper.' so he went round about, as the druggist bade him, till the sun grew hot, but found none drinking. then he entered a by-street, that he might rest himself, and seeing there a handsome and lofty house, stood in its shade and fell to observing the goodliness of its ordinance. as he was thus engaged, behold, a window opened and there appeared thereat a face, as it were the moon. quoth she,[fn# ] 'what aileth thee to stand there? dost thou want aught?' and he answered, 'i am a stranger,' and acquainted her with his case; whereupon quoth she, 'what sayst thou to meat and drink and the enjoyment of a fair-face[d one] and getting thee what thou mayst spend?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'this is my desire and that in quest whereof i am going about.' so she opened the door to him and brought him in. then she seated him at the upper end of the room and set food before him. so he ate and drank and lay with her and swived her. then she sat down in his lap and they toyed and laughed and kissed till the day was half spent, when her husband came home and she could find nothing for it but to hide the singer in a rug, in which she rolled him up. the husband entered and seeing the place disordered[fn# ] and smelling the odour of wine, questioned her of this. quoth she, 'i had with me a friend of mine and i conjured her [to drink with me]; so we drank a jar [of wine], she and i, and she went away but now, before thy coming in.' her husband, (who was none other than the singer's friend the druggist, that had invited him and fed him), deemed her words true and went away to his shop, whereupon the singer came forth and he and the lady returned to their sport and abode on this wise till eventide, when she gave him money and said to him, 'come hither to-morrow in the forenoon.' 'it is well,' answered he and departed; and at nightfall he went to the bath. on the morrow, he betook himself to the shop of his friend the druggist, who welcomed him and questioned him of his case and how he had fared that day. quoth the singer, 'may god requite thee with good, o my brother! for that thou hast directed me unto easance!' and he related to him his adventure with the woman, till he came to the mention of her husband, when he said, 'and at midday came the cuckold her husband and knocked at the door. so she wrapped me in the mat, and when he had gone about his business, i came forth and we returned to what we were about.' this was grievous to the druggist and he repented of having taught him [how he should do] and misdoubted of his wife. so he said to the singer, 'and what said she to thee at thy going away?' and the other answered, 'she bade me come back to her on the morrow. so, behold, i am going to her and i came not hither but that i might acquaint thee with this, lest thy heart be occupied with me.' then he took leave of him and went his way. as soon as the druggist was assured that he had reached the house, he cast the net over his shop[fn# ] and made for his house, misdoubting of his wife, and knocked at the door. now the singer had entered and the druggist's wife said to him, 'arise, enter this chest.' so he entered it and she shut the lid on him and opened to her husband, who came in, in a state of bewilderment, and searched the house, but found none and overlooked the chest. so he said in himself, 'the house [of which the singer spoke] is one which resembleth my house and the woman is one who resembles my wife,' and returned to his shop; whereupon the singer came forth of the chest and falling upon the druggist's wife, did his occasion and paid her her due and weighed down the scale for her.[fn# ] then they ate and drank and kissed and clipped, and on this wise they abode till the evening, when she gave him money, for that she found his weaving good,[fn# ] and made him promise to come to her on the morrow. so he left her and slept his night and on the morrow he repaired to the shop of his friend the druggist and saluted him. the other welcomed him and questioned him of his case; whereupon he told him how he had fared, till he came to the mention of the woman's husband, when he said, 'then came the cuckold her husband and she clapped me into the chest and shut the lid on me, whilst her addlepated pimp of a husband went round about the house, top and bottom; and when he had gone his way, we returned to what we were about.' with this, the druggist was certified that the house was his house and the wife his wife, and he said, 'and what wilt thou do to-day?' quoth the singer, 'i shall return to her and weave for her and full her yarn,[fn# ] and i came but to thank thee for thy dealing with me.' then he went away, whilst the fire was loosed in the heart of the druggist and he shut his shop and betaking himself to his house, knocked at the door. quoth the singer, 'let me get into the chest, for he saw me not yesterday.' 'nay,' answered she, 'wrap thyself up in the rug.' so he wrapped himself up in the rug and stood in a corner of the room, whilst the druggist entered and went straight to the chest, but found it empty. then he went round about the house and searched it from top to bottom, but found nothing and no one and abode between belief and disbelief, and said in himself, 'belike, i suspect my wife of that which is not in her.' so he was certified of her innocence and returned to his shop, whereupon out came the singer and they abode on their former case, as of wont, till eventide, when she gave him one of her husband's shirts and he took it and going away, passed the night in his lodging. on the morrow, he repaired to the druggist, who saluted him and came to meet him and rejoiced in him and smiled in his face, deeming his wife innocent. then he questioned him of his yesterday's case and he told him how he had fared, saying, 'o my brother, when the cuckold knocked at the door, i would have entered the chest; but his wife forbade me and rolled me up in the rug. the man entered and thought of nothing but the chest; so he broke it open and abode as he were a madman, going up and coming down. then he went his way and i came out and we abode on our wonted case till eventide, when she gave me this shirt of her husband's; and behold, i am going to her.' when the druggist heard the singer's words, he was certified of the case and knew that the calamity, all of it, was in his own house and that the wife was his wife; and he saw the shirt, whereupon he redoubled in certainty and said to the singer, 'art thou now going to her?' 'yes, o my brother,' answered he and taking leave of him, went away; whereupon the druggist started up, as he were a madman, and ungarnished his shop.[fn# ] whilst he was thus engaged, the singer won to the house, and presently up came the druggist and knocked at the door. the singer would have wrapped himself up in the rug, but she forbade him and said to him, 'get thee down to the bottom of the house and enter the oven[fn# ] and shut the lid upon thyself.' so he did as she bade him and she went down to her husband and opened the door to him, whereupon he entered and went round about the house, but found no one and overlooked the oven. so he stood meditating and swore that he would not go forth of the house till the morrow. as for the singer, when his [stay in the oven] grew long upon him, he came forth therefrom, thinking that her husband had gone away. then he went up to the roof and looking down, beheld his friend the druggist; whereat he was sore concerned and said in himself, 'alas, the disgrace of it! this is my friend the druggist, who dealt kindly with me and wrought me fair and i have requited him with foul' and he feared to return to the druggist; so he went down and opened the first door and would have gone out; but, when he came to the outer door, he found it locked and saw not the key. so he stole up again to the roof and cast himself down into the [next] house. the people of the house heard him and hastened to him, deeming him a thief. now the house in question belonged to a persian; so they laid hands on him and the master of the house began to beat him, saying to him, 'thou art a thief.' 'nay,' answered he, 'i am no thief, but a singing-man, a stranger. i heard your voices and came to sing to you.' when the folk heard his words, they talked of letting him go; but the persian said, 'o folk, let not his speech beguile you. this fellow is none other than a thief who knoweth how to sing, and when he happeneth on the like of us, he is a singer.' 'o our lord,' answered they, 'this man is a stranger, and needs must we release him.' quoth he, 'by allah, my heart revolteth from this fellow! let me make an end of him with beating.' but they said, 'thou mayst nowise do that' so they delivered the singer from the persian, the master of the house, and seated him amongst them, whereupon he fell to singing to them and they rejoiced in him. now the persian had a mameluke,[fn# ] as he were the full moon, and he arose [and went out], and the singer followed him and wept before him, professing love to him and kissing his hands and feet. the mameluke took compassion on him and said to him, 'when the night cometh and my master entereth [the harem] and the folk go away, i will grant thee thy desire; and i lie in such a place.' then the singer returned and sat with the boon-companions, and the persian rose and went out, he and the mameluke beside him. [then they returned and sat down.][fn# ] now the singer knew the place that the mameluke occupied at the first of the night; but it befell that he rose from his place and the candle went out. the persian, who was drunken, fell over on his face, and the singer, supposing him to be the mameluke, said, 'by allah, it is good!' and threw himself upon him and clipped him, whereupon the persian started up, crying out, and laying hands on the singer, pinioned him and beat him grievously, after which he bound him to a tree that was in the house.[fn# ] now there was in the house a fair singing-girl and when she saw the singer pinioned and bound to the tree, she waited till the persian lay down on his couch, when she arose and going to the singer, fell to condoling with him over what had betided him and ogling him and handling his yard and rubbing it, till it rose on end. then said she to him, 'do thou swive me and i will loose thy bonds, lest he return and beat thee again; for he purposeth thee evil.' quoth he, 'loose me and i will do.' but she said, 'i fear that, [if i loose thee], thou wilt not do. but i will do, and thou standing; and when i have done, i will loose thee.' so saying, she pulled up her clothes and sitting down on the singer's yard, fell to going and coming. now there was in the house a ram, with which the persian used to butt, and when he saw what the woman did, he thought she would butt with him; so he broke his halter and running at her, butted her and broke her head. she fell on her back and cried out; whereupon the persian started up from sleep in haste and seeing the singing-girl [cast down on her back] and the singer with his yard on end, said to the latter, 'o accursed one, doth not what thou hast already done suffice thee?' then he beat him soundly and opening the door, put him out in the middle of the night. he lay the rest of the night in one of the ruins, and when he arose in the morning, he said, 'none is to blame. i sought my own good, and he is no fool who seeketh good for himself; and the druggist's wife also sought good for herself; but destiny overcometh precaution and there remaineth no abiding for me in this town.' so he went forth from the city. nor (added the vizier) is this story, extraordinary though it be, more extraordinary than that of the king and his son and that which bedded them of wonders and rarities." when the king heard this story, he deemed it pleasant and said, "this story is near unto that which i know and meseemeth i should do well to have patience and hasten not to slay my vizier, so i may get of him the story of the king and his son." then he gave the vizier leave to go away to his own house; so he thanked him and abode in his house all that day. the third night of the month when it was the time of the evening meal, the king repaired to the sitting-chamber and summoning the vizier, sought of him the story he had promised him; and the vizier said, "they avouch, o king, that story of the king who knew the quintessence[fn# ] of things. there came to a king of the kings, in his old age, a son, who grew up comely, quick-witted and intelligent, and when he came to years of discretion and became a young man, his father said to him, 'take this kingdom and govern it in my stead, for i desire to flee [from the world] to god the most high and don the gown of wool and give myself up to devotion.' quoth the prince, 'and i also desire to take refuge with god the most high.' and the king said, 'arise, let us flee forth and make for the mountains and worship in them, for shamefastness before god the most high.' so they gat them raiment of wool and clothing themselves therewith, went forth and wandered in the deserts and wastes; but, when some days had passed over them, they became weak for hunger and repented them of that which they had done, whenas repentance profited them not, and the prince complained to his father of weariness and hunger. 'dear my son,' answered the king, 'i did with thee that which behoved me,[fn# ] but thou wouldst not hearken to me, and now there is no means of returning to thy former estate, for that another hath taken the kingdom and become its defender; but i will counsel thee of somewhat, wherein do thou pleasure me.' quoth the prince, 'what is it?' and his father said, 'take me and go with me to the market and sell me and take my price and do with it what thou wilt, and i shall become the property of one who will provide for my support,' 'who will buy thee of me,' asked the prince, 'seeing thou art a very old man? nay, do thou rather sell me, for the demand for me will be greater.' but the king said, 'an thou wert king, thou wouldst require me of service.' so the youth obeyed his father's commandment and taking him, carried him to the slave-dealer and said to the latter, 'sell me this old man.' quoth the dealer, 'who will buy this fellow, and he a man of fourscore?' then said he to the king, 'in what crafts dost thou excel?' quoth he, 'i know the quintessence of jewels and i know the quintessence of horses and that of men; brief, i know the quintessence of all things.' so the dealer took him and went about, offering him for sale to the folk; but none would buy. presently, up came the overseer of the [sultan's] kitchen and said, 'what is this man?' and the dealer answered, 'this is a slave for sale.' the cook marvelled at this and bought the king for ten thousand dirhems, after questioning him of what he could do. then he paid down the money and carried him to his house, but dared not employ him in aught of service; so he appointed him an allowance, such as should suffice for his livelihood, and repented him of having bought him, saying, 'what shall i do with the like of this fellow?' presently, the king [of the city] was minded to go forth to his garden,[fn# ] a-pleasuring, and bade the cook forego him thither and appoint in his stead one who should dress meat for the king, so that, when he returned, he might find it ready. so the cook fell a-considering of whom he should appoint and was bewildered concerning his affair. as he was on this wise, the old man came to him and seeing him perplexed how he should do, said to him, 'tell me what is in thy mind; belike, i may avail to relieve thee.' so he acquainted him with the king's wishes and he said, 'have no care for this, but leave me one of the serving-men and go thou in peace and surety, for i will suffice thee of this.' so the cook departed with the king, after he had brought the old man what he needed and left him a man of the guards. when he was gone, the old man bade the trooper wash the kitchen-vessels and made ready passing goodly food. when the king returned, he set the meat before him, and he tasted food whose like he had never known; whereat he marvelled and asked who had dressed it. so they acquainted him with the old man's case and he summoned him to his presence and awarded him a handsome recompense.[fn# ] moreover, he commanded that they should cook together, he and the cook, and the old man obeyed his commandment. awhile after this, there came two merchants to the king with two pearls of price and each of them avouched that his pearl was worth a thousand dinars, but there was none who availed to value them. then said the cook, 'god prosper the king! verily, the old man whom i bought avouched that he knew the quintessence of jewels and that he was skilled in cookery. we have made proof of him in cookery and have found him the skilfullest of men; and now, if we send after him and prove him on jewels, [the truth or falsehood of] his pretension will be made manifest to us.' so the king bade fetch the old man and he came and stood before the sultan, who showed him the two pearls. quoth he, 'as for this one, it is worth a thousand dinars.' and the king said, 'so saith its owner.' 'but for this other,' continued the old man, 'it is worth but five hundred.' the folk laughed and marvelled at his saying, and the merchant, [the owner of the second pearl], said to him, 'how can this, which is greater of bulk and purer of water and more perfect of rondure, be less of worth than that?' and the old man answered, 'i have said what is with me.'[fn# ] then said the king to him, 'indeed, the outward appearance thereof is like unto that of the other pearl; why then is it worth but the half of its price?' 'yes,' answered the old man, '[its outward resembleth the other]; but its inward is corrupt.' 'hath a pearl then an outward and an inward?' asked the merchant, and the old man said, 'yes. in its inward is a boring worm; but the other pearl is sound and secure against breakage.' quoth the merchant, 'give us a token of this and prove to us the truth of thy saying.' and the old man answered, 'we will break the pearl. if i prove a, liar, here is my head, and if i speak truth, thou wilt have lost thy pearl.' and the merchant said, 'i agree to that.' so they broke the pearl and it was even as the old man had said, to wit, in its midst was a boring worm. the king marvelled at what he saw and questioned him of [how he came by] the knowledge of this. 'o king,' answered the old man, 'this [kind of] jewel is engendered in the belly of a creature called the oyster and its origin is a drop of rain and it is firm to the touch [and groweth not warm, when held in the hand]; so, when [i took the second pearl and felt that] it was warm to the touch, i knew that it harboured some living thing, for that live things thrive not but in heat.'[fn# ] so the king said to the cook, 'increase his allowance.' and he appointed to him [fresh] allowances. awhile after this, two merchants presented themselves to the king with two horses, and one said, 'i ask a thousand dinars for my horse,' and the other, 'i seek five thousand for mine.' quoth the cook, 'we have experienced the old man's just judgment; what deemeth the king of fetching him?' so the king bade fetch him, and when he saw the two horses, he said, 'this one is worth a thousand and the other two thousand dinars.' quoth the folk, 'this [horse that thou judgeth the lesser worth] is an evident thoroughbred and he is younger and swifter and more compact of limb than the other, ay, and finer of head and clearer of skin and colour. what token, then, hast thou of the truth of thy saying?' and the old man said, 'this ye say is all true, but his sire is old and this other is the son of a young horse. now, when the son of an old horse standeth still [to rest,] his breath returneth not to him and his rider falleth into the hand of him who followeth after him; but the son of a young horse, if thou put him to speed and make him run, [then check him] and alight from off him, thou wilt find him untired, by reason of his robustness.' quoth the merchant, 'indeed, it is as the old man avoucheth and he is an excellent judge.' and the king said, 'increase his allowance.' but the old man stood still and did not go away. so the king said to him, 'why dost thou not go about thy business?' and he answered, 'my business is with the king.' 'name what thou wouldst have,' said the king, and the other replied, 'i would have thee question me of the quintessences of men, even as thou hast questioned me of the quintessences of horses.' quoth the king, 'we have no occasion to question thee of [this].' but the old man replied, 'i have occasion to acquaint thee.' 'say what thou pleasest,' rejoined the king, and the old man said, 'verily, the king is the son of a baker.' quoth the king 'how knowest thou that?' and the other replied, 'know, o king, that i have examined into degrees and dignities[fn# ] and have learnt this.' thereupon the king went in to his mother and questioned her of his father, and she told him that me king her husband was weak;[fn# ] 'wherefore,' quoth she, 'i feared for the kingdom, lest it pass away, after his death; so i took to my bed a young man, a baker, and conceived by him [and bore a son]; and the kingship came into the hand of my son, to wit, thyself.' so the king returned to the old man and said to him, 'i am indeed the son of a baker; so do thou expound to me the means whereby thou knewest me for this.' quoth the other, 'i knew that, hadst thou been a king's son, thou wouldst have given largesse of things of price, such as rubies [and the like]; and wert thou the son of a cadi, thou hadst given largesse of a dirhem or two dirhems, and wert thou the son of a merchant, thou hadst given wealth galore. but i saw that thou guerdonest me not but with cakes of bread [and other victual], wherefore i knew that thou wast the son of a baker.' quoth the king, 'thou hast hit the mark.' and he gave him wealth galore and advanced him to high estate." this story pleased king shah bekht and he marvelled thereat; but the vizier said to him, "this story is not more extraordinary than that of the rich man who married his fair daughter to the poor old man." the king's mind was occupied with the [promised] story and he bade the vizier withdraw to his lodging. so he [returned to his house and] abode there the rest of the night and the whole of the following day. the fourth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king withdrew to his privy sitting-chamber and bade fetch the vizier. when he presented himself before him, he said to him, "tell me the story of the wealthy man who married his daughter to the poor old man." "it is well," answered the vizier. "know, o puissant king, that story of the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man. a certain wealthy merchant had a fair daughter, who was as the full moon, and when she attained the age of fifteen, her father betook himself to an old man and spreading him a carpet in his sitting-chamber, gave him to eat and caroused with him. then said he to him, 'i desire to marry thee to my daughter.' the other excused himself, because of his poverty, and said to him, 'i am not worthy of her nor am i a match for thee.' the merchant was instant with him, but he repeated his answer to him, saying, 'i will not consent to this till thou acquaint me with the reason of thy desire for me. if i find it reasonable, i will fall in with thy wish; and if not, i will not do this ever.' 'know, then,' said the merchant, 'that i am a man from the land of china and was in my youth well-favoured and well-to-do. now i made no account of womankind, one and all, but followed after boys, and one night i saw, in a dream, as it were a balance set up, and it was said by it, "this is the portion of such an one." presently, i heard my own name; so i looked and beheld a woman of the utmost loathliness; whereupon i awoke in affright and said, "i will never marry, lest haply this loathly woman fall to my lot." then i set out for this city with merchandise and the voyage was pleasant to me and the sojourn here, so that i took up my abode here awhile and got me friends and factors, till i had sold all my merchandise and taken its price and there was left me nothing to occupy me till the folk[fn# ] should depart and depart with them. one day, i changed my clothes and putting money in my sleeve, sallied forth to explore the holes and corners of this city, and as i was going about, i saw a handsome house. its goodliness pleased me; so i stood looking on it, and behold, a lovely woman [at the lattice]. when she saw me, she made haste and descended, whilst i abode confounded. then i betook myself to a tailor there and questioned him of the house and to whom it belonged. quoth he, "it belongeth to such an one the notary, may god curse him!" "is he her father?" asked i; [and he replied, "yes."] so i repaired in haste to a man, with whom i had been used to deposit my goods for sale, and told him that i desired to gain access to such an one the notary. accordingly he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to the notary's house. when we came in to him, we saluted him and sat with him, and i said to him, "i come to thee as a suitor, desiring the hand of thy daughter in marriage." quoth he, "i have no daughter befitting this man." and i rejoined, "god aid thee! my desire is for thee and not for her."[fn# ] but he still refused and his friends said to him, "this is an honourable man and thine equal in estate, and it is not lawful to thee that thou hinder the girl of her fortune." quoth he to them, "verily, my daughter whom ye seek is passing foul-favoured and in her are all blameworthy qualities." and i said, "i accept her, though she be as thou sayest." then said the folk, "extolled be the perfection of god! a truce to talk! [the thing is settled;] so say the word, how much wilt thou have [to her dowry]?" quoth he, "i must have four thousand dinars." and i said, "hearkening and obedience." so the affair was concluded and we drew up the contract of marriage and i made the bride-feast; but on the wedding-night i beheld a thing[fn# ] than which never made god the most high aught more loathly. methought her people had contrived this by way of sport; so i laughed and looked for my mistress, whom i had seen [at the lattice], to make her appearance; but saw her not. when the affair was prolonged and i found none but her, i was like to go mad for vexation and fell to beseeching my lord and humbling myself in supplication to him that he would deliver me from her. when i arose in the morning, there came the chamber-woman and said to me, "hast thou occasion for the bath?" "no," answered i; and she said, "art thou for breakfast?" but i replied, "no;" and on this wise i abode three days, tasting neither meat nor drink. when the damsel[fn# ] saw me in this plight, she said to me, "o man, tell me thy story, for, by allah, an i may avail to thy deliverance, i will assuredly further thee thereto." i gave ear to her speech and put faith in her loyalty and told her the story of the damsel whom i had seen [at the lattice] and how i had fallen in love with her; whereupon quoth she, "if the girl belong to me, that which i possess is thine, and if she belong to my father, i will demand her of him and deliver her to thee." then she fell to calling slave-girl after slave-girl and showing them to me, till i saw the damsel whom i loved and said, "this is she." quoth my wife, "let not thy heart be troubled, for this is my slave-girl. my father gave her to me and i give her to thee. so comfort thyself and be of good heart and cheerful eye." then, when it was night, she brought her to me, after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said to her, "gainsay not this thy lord in aught that he shall seek of thee." when she came to bed with me, i said in myself, "verily, this damsel[fn# ] is more generous than i!" then i sent away the slave-girl and drew not nigh unto her, but arose forthright and betaking myself to my wife, lay with her and did away her maidenhead. she straightway conceived by me and accomplishing the time of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear little daughter; in whom i rejoiced, for that she was lovely to the utterest, and she hath inherited her mother's wit and her father's comeliness. indeed, many of the notables of the people have sought her of me in marriage, but i would not marry her to any, for that, one night, i saw, in a dream, the balance aforesaid set up and men and women being weighed, one against the other, therein, and meseemed i saw thee [and her] and it was said to me, "this is such a man,[fn# ] the allotted portion of such a woman."[fn# ] wherefore i knew that god the most high had allotted unto her none other than thyself, and i choose rather to marry thee to her in my lifetime than that thou shouldst marry her after my death.' when the poor man heard the merchant's story, he became desirous of marrying his daughter. so he took her to wife and was vouchsafed of her exceeding love. nor," added the vizier, "is this story more extraordinary than that of the rich man and his wasteful heir." when the king heard his vizier's story, he was assured that he would not slay him and said, "i will have patience with him, so i may get of him the story of the rich man and his wasteful heir." and he bade him depart to his own house. the fifth night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy closet and summoning the vizier, required of him the promised story. so er rehwan said, "know, o king, that story of the rich man and his wasteful son. there was once a sage of the sages, who had three sons and sons' sons, and when they waxed many and their posterity multiplied, there befell dissension between them. so he assembled them and said to them, 'be ye one hand[fn# ] against other than you and despise[fn# ] not [one another,] lest the folk despise you, and know that the like of you is as the rope which the man cut, when it was single; then he doubled [it] and availed not to cut it; on this wise is division and union. and beware lest ye seek help of others against yourselves[fn# ] or ye will fall into perdition, for by whosesoever means ye attain your desire,[fn# ] his word[fn# ] will have precedence of[fn# ] your word. now i have wealth which i will bury in a certain place, so it may be a store for you, against the time of your need.' then they left him and dispersed and one of the sons fell to spying upon his father, so that he saw him hide the treasure without the city. when he had made an end of burying it, he returned to his house; and when the morning morrowed, his son repaired to the place where he had seen his father bury the treasure and dug and took it and went his way. when the [hour of the] old man's admission [to the mercy of god] drew nigh, he called his sons to him and acquainted them with the place where he had hidden his riches. as soon as he was dead, they went and dug up the treasure and found wealth galore, for that the money, which the first son had taken by stealth, was on the surface and he knew not that under it was other money. so they took it and divided it and the first son took his share with the rest and laid it to that which he had taken aforetime, behind [the backs of] his father and his brethren. then he took to wife the daughter of his father's brother and was vouchsafed by her a male child, who was the goodliest of the folk of his time. when the boy grew up, his father feared for him from poverty and change of case, so he said to him, 'dear my son, know that in my youth i wronged my brothers in the matter of our father's good, and i see thee in weal; but, if thou [come to] need, ask not of one of them nor of any other, for i have laid up for thee in yonder chamber a treasure; but do not thou open it until thou come to lack thy day's food.' then he died, and his wealth, which was a great matter, fell to his son. the young man had not patience to wait till he had made an end of that which was with him, but rose and opened the chamber, and behold, it was [empty and its walls were] whitened, and in its midst was a rope hanging down and half a score bricks, one upon another, and a scroll, wherein was written, 'needs must death betide; so hang thyself and beg not of any, but kick away the bricks, so there may be no escape[fn# ] for thee, and thou shall be at rest from the exultation of enemies and enviers and the bitterness of poverty.' when the youth saw this, he marvelled at that which his father had done and said, 'this is a sorry treasure.' then he went forth and fell to eating and drinking with the folk, till nothing was left him and he abode two days without tasting food, at the end of which time he took a handkerchief and selling it for two dirhems, bought bread and milk with the price and left it on the shelf [and went out. whilst he was gone,] a dog came and took the bread and spoiled the milk, and when the man returned and saw this, he buffeted his face and went forth, distraught, at a venture. presently, he met a friend of his, to whom he discovered his case, and the other said to him, 'art thou not ashamed to talk thus? how hast thou wasted all this wealth and now comest telling lies and saying, "the dog hath mounted on the shelf," and talking nonsense?' and he reviled him. so the youth returned to his house, and indeed the world was grown black in his eyes and he said, 'my father said sooth.' then he opened the chamber door and piling up the bricks under his feet, put the rope about his neck and kicked away the bricks and swung himself off; whereupon the rope gave way with him [and he fell] to the ground and the ceiling clove in sunder and there poured down on him wealth galore, so he knew that his father meant to discipline[fn# ] him by means of this and invoked god's mercy on him. then he got him again that which he had sold of lands and houses and what not else and became once more in good case. moreover, his friends returned to him and he entertained them some days. then said he to them one day, 'there was with us bread and the locusts ate it; so we put in its place a stone, a cubit long and the like broad, and the locusts came and gnawed away the stone, because of the smell of the bread.' quoth one of his friends (and it was he who had given him the lie concerning the dog and the bread and milk), 'marvel not at this, for mice do more than that.' and he said, 'go to your houses. in the days of my poverty, i was a liar [when i told you] of the dog's climbing upon the shelf and eating the bread and spoiling the milk; and to-day, for that i am rich again, i say sooth [when i tell you] that locusts devoured a stone a cubit long and a cubit broad.' they were confounded at his speech and departed from him; and the youth's good flourished and his case was amended.[fn# ] nor," added the vizier,"is this stranger or more extraordinary than the story of the king's son who fell in love with the picture." quoth the king, "belike, if i hear this story, i shall gain wisdom from it; so i will not hasten in the slaying of this vizier, nor will i put him to death before the thirty days have expired." then he gave him leave to withdraw, and he went away to his own house. the sixth night of the month when the day departed and the evening came, the king sat in his privy chamber and summoned the vizier, who presented himself to him and he questioned him of the story. so the vizier said, "know, o august king, that the king's son who fell in love with the picture. there was once, in a province of persia, a king of the kings, who was mighty of estate, endowed with majesty and venerance and having troops and guards at his command; but he was childless. towards the end of his life, his lord vouchsafed him a male child, and the boy grew up and was comely and learned all manner of knowledge. he made him a private place, to wit, a lofty palace, builded with coloured marbles and [adorned with] jewels and paintings. when the prince entered the palace, he saw in its ceiling the picture [of a woman], than whom he had never beheld a fairer of aspect, and she was compassed about with slave-girls; whereupon he fell down in a swoon and became distraught for love of her. then he sat under the picture, till, one day, his father came in to him and finding him wasted of body and changed of colour, by reason of his [continual] looking on that picture, thought that he was ill and sent for the sages and physicians, that they might medicine him. moreover, he said to one of his boon- companions, 'if thou canst learn what aileth my son, thou shalt have of me largesse.' so the courtier went in to the prince and spoke him fair and cajoled him, till he confessed to him that his malady was caused by the picture. then he returned to the king and told him what ailed his son, whereupon he transported the prince to another palace and made his former lodging the guest-house; and whosoever of the arabs was entertained therein, he questioned of the picture, but none could give him tidings thereof. one day, there came a traveller and seeing the picture, said, 'there is no god but god! my brother wrought this picture.' so the king sent for him and questioned him of the affair of the picture and where was he who had wrought it. 'o my lord,' answered the traveller, 'we are two brothers and one of us went to the land of hind and fell in love with the king's daughter of the country, and it is she who is the original of the portrait. in every city he entereth, he painteth her portrait, and i follow him, and long is my journey.' when the king's son heard this, he said,'needs must i travel to this damsel.' so he took all manner rarities and store of riches and journeyed days and nights till he entered the land of hind, nor did he win thereto save after sore travail. then he enquired of the king of hind and he also heard of him. when the prince came before him, he sought of him his daughter in marriage, and the king said, 'indeed, thou art her equal, but none dare name a man to her, because of her aversion to men.' so the prince pitched his tents under the windows of the princess's palace, till one day he got hold of one of her favourite slave-girls and gave her wealth galore. quoth she to him, 'hast thou a wish?' �yes,' answered he and acquainted her with his case; and she said, 'indeed thou puttest thyself in peril.' then he abode, flattering himself with false hopes, till all that he had with him was gone and the servants fled from him; whereupon quoth he to one in whom he trusted, 'i am minded to go to my country and fetch what may suffice me and return hither.' and the other answered, 'it is for thee to decide.' so they set out to return, but the way was long to them and all that the prince had with him was spent and his company died and there abode but one with him, on whom he loaded what remained of the victual and they left the rest and fared on. then there came out a lion and ate the servant, and the prince abode alone. he went on, till his beast stood still, whereupon he left her and fared on afoot till his feet swelled. presently he came to the land of the turks,[fn# ] and he naked and hungry and having with him nought but somewhat of jewels, bound about his fore-arm. so he went to the bazaar of the goldsmiths and calling one of the brokers, gave him the jewels. the broker looked and seeing two great rubies, said to him, 'follow me.' so he followed him, till he brought him to a goldsmith, to whom he gave the jewels, saying, 'buy these.' quoth he, 'whence hadst thou these?' and the broker replied, 'this youth is the owner of them.' then said the goldsmith to the prince, 'whence hadst thou these rubies?' and he told him all that had befallen him and that he was a king's son. the goldsmith marvelled at his story and bought of him the rubies for a thousand dinars. then said the prince to him, 'make ready to go with me to my country.' so he made ready and went with the prince till he drew near the frontiers of his father's kingdom, where the people received him with the utmost honour and sent to acquaint his father with his son's coming. the king came out to meet him and they entreated the goldsmith with honour. the prince abode awhile with his father, then set out, [he and the goldsmith] to return to the country of the fair one, the daughter of the king of hind; but there met him robbers by the way and he fought the sorest of battles and was slain. the goldsmith buried him and marked his grave[fn# ] and returned, sorrowing and distraught to his own country, without telling any of the prince's death. to return to the king's daughter of whom the prince went in quest and on whose account he was slain. she had been used to look out from the top of her palace and gaze on the youth and on his beauty and grace; so she said to her slave-girl one day, 'harkye! what is come of the troops that were encamped beside my palace?' quoth the maid, 'they were the troops of the youth, the king's son of the persians, who came to demand thee in marriage, and wearied himself on thine account, but thou hadst no compassion on him.' 'out on thee!' cried the princess. 'why didst thou not tell me?' and the damsel answered, 'i feared thy wrath.' then she sought an audience of the king her father and said to him, 'by allah, i will go in quest of him, even as he came in quest of me; else should i not do him justice.' so she made ready and setting out, traversed the deserts and spent treasures till she came to sejestan, where she called a goldsmith to make her somewhat of trinkets. [now the goldsmith in question was none other than the prince's friend]; so, when he saw her, he knew her (for that the prince had talked with him of her and had depictured her to him) and questioned her of her case. she acquainted him with her errand, whereupon he buffeted his face and rent his clothes and strewed dust on his head and fell a-weeping. quoth she, 'why dost thou thus?' and he acquainted her with the prince's case and how he was his comrade and told her that he was dead; whereat she grieved for him and faring on to his father and mother, [acquainted them with the case]. so the prince's father and his uncle and his mother and the grandees of the realm repaired to his tomb and the princess made lamentation over him, crying aloud. she abode by the tomb a whole month; then she let fetch painters and caused them limn her portraiture and that of the king's son. moreover, she set down in writing their story and that which had befallen them of perils and afflictions and set it [together with the pictures], at the head of the tomb; and after a little, they departed from the place. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary, o king of the age, than the story of the fuller and his wife and the trooper and what passed between them." with this the king bade the vizier go away to his lodging, and when he arose in the morning, he abode his day in his house. the seventh night of the month. at eventide the king sat [in his privy sitting-chamber] and sending for the vizier, said to him, "tell me the story of the fuller and his wife." "with all my heart," answered the vizier. so he came forward and said, "know, o king of the age, that story of the fuller and his wife. there was once in a certain city a woman fair of favour, who had to lover a trooper. her husband was a fuller, and when he went out to his business, the trooper used to come to her and abide with her till the time of the fuller's return, when he would go away. on this wise they abode awhile, till one day the trooper said to his mistress, 'i mean to take me a house near unto thine and dig an underground passage from my house to thy house, and do thou say to thy husband, "my sister hath been absent with her husband and now they have returned from their travels; and i have made her take up her sojourn in my neighbourhood, so i may foregather with her at all times. so go thou to her husband the trooper and offer him thy wares [for sale], and thou wilt see my sister with him and wilt see that she is i and i am she, without doubt. so, allah, allah, go to my sister's husband and give ear to that which he shall say to thee."' accordingly, the trooper bought him a house near at hand and made therein an underground passage communicating with his mistress's house. when he had accomplished his affair, the wife bespoke her husband as her lover had lessoned her and he went out to go to the trooper's house, but turned back by the way, whereupon quoth she to him, 'by allah, go forthright, for that my sister asketh of thee.' so the dolt of a fuller went out and made for the trooper's house, whilst his wife forewent him thither by the secret passage, and going up, sat down beside her lover. presently, the fuller entered and saluted the trooper and his [supposed] wife and was confounded at the coincidence of the case.[fn# ] then doubt betided him and he returned in haste to his dwelling; but she forewent him by the underground passage to her chamber and donning her wonted clothes, sat [waiting] for him and said to him, 'did i not bid thee go to my sister and salute her husband and make friends with them?' quoth he, 'i did this, but i misdoubted of my affair, when i saw his wife.' and she said, 'did i not tell thee that she resembleth me and i her, and there is nought to distinguish between us but our clothes? go back to her.' so, of the heaviness of his wit, he believed her and turning back, went in to the trooper; but she had foregone him, and when he saw her beside her lover, he fell to looking on her and pondering. then he saluted her and she returned him the salutation; and when she spoke, he was bewildered. so the trooper said to him, 'what ails thee to be thus?' and he answered, 'this woman is my wife and the voice is her voice.' then he rose in haste and returning to his own house, saw his wife, who had foregone him by the secret passage. so he went back to the trooper's house and saw her sitting as before; whereupon he was abashed before her and sitting down in the trooper's sitting-chamber, ate and drank with him and became drunken and abode without sense all that day till nightfall, when the trooper arose and shaving off some of the fuller's hair (which was long and flowing) after the fashion of the turks, clipped the rest short and clapped a tarboush on his head. then he thrust his feet into boots and girt him with a sword and a girdle and bound about his middle a quiver and a bow and arrows. moreover, he put money in his pocket and thrust into his sleeve letters-patent addressed to the governor of ispahan, bidding him assign to rustem khemartekeni a monthly allowance of a hundred dirhems and ten pounds of bread and five pounds of meat and enrol him among the turks under his commandment. then he took him up and carrying him forth, left him in one of the mosques. the fuller gave not over sleeping till sunrise, when he awoke and finding himself in this plight, misdoubted of his affair and imagined that he was a turk and abode putting one foot forward and drawing the other back. then said he in himself, 'i will go to my dwelling, and if my wife know me, then am i ahmed the fuller; but, if she know me not, i am a turk.' so he betook himself to his house; but when the artful baggage his wife saw him, she cried out in his face, saying, 'whither away, o trooper? wilt thou break into the house of ahmed the fuller, and he a man of repute, having a brother-in-law a turk, a man of high standing with the sultan? an thou depart not, i will acquaint my husband and he will requite thee thy deed.' when he heard her words, the dregs of the drunkenness wrought in him and he imagined that he was indeed a turk. so he went out from her and putting his hand to his sleeve, found therein a scroll and gave it to one who read it to him. when he heard that which was written in the scroll, his mind was confirmed in the false supposition; but he said in himself, 'maybe my wife seeketh to put a cheat on me; so i will go to my fellows the fullers; and if they know me not, then am i for sure khemartekeni the turk.' so he betook himself to the fullers and when they espied him afar off, they thought that he was one of the turks, who used to wash their clothes with them without payment and give them nothing. now they had complained of them aforetime to the sultan, and he said, 'if any of the turks come to you, pelt them with stones.' so, when they saw the fuller, they fell upon him with sticks and stones and pelted him; whereupon quoth he [in himself], 'verily, i am a turk and knew it not.' then he took of the money in his pocket and bought him victual [for the journey] and hired a hackney and set out for ispahan, leaving his wife to the trooper. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the merchant and the old woman and the king." the vizier's story pleased king shah bekht and his heart clave to the story of the merchant and the old woman; so he bade er rehwan withdraw to his lodging, and he went away to his house and abode there the next day. the eight night of the month when the evening evened, the king sat in his privy chamber and bade fetch the vizier, who presented himself before him, and the king required of him the promised story. so the vizier answered, "with all my heart. know, o king, that story of the old woman, the merchant and the king. there was once in a city of khorassan a family of affluence and distinction, and the townsfolk used to envy them for that which god had vouchsafed them. as time went on, their fortune ceased from them and they passed away, till there remained of them but one old woman. when she grew feeble and decrepit, the townsfolk succoured her not with aught, but put her forth of the city, saying, 'this old woman shall not harbour with us, for that we do her kindness and she requiteth us with evil.' so she took shelter in a ruined place and strangers used to bestow alms upon her, and on this wise she abode a while of time. now the uncle's son of the king of the city had aforetime disputed [the kingship] with him, and the people misliked the king; but god the most high decreed that he should get the better of his cousin. however, jealousy of him abode in his heart and he acquainted the vizier, who hid it not and sent [him] money. moreover, he fell to summoning [all strangers who came to the town], man after man, and questioning them of their faith and their worldly estate, and whoso answered him not [to his liking], he took his good.[fn# ] now a certain wealthy man of the muslims was on a journey and it befell that he arrived at that city by night, unknowing what was to do, and coming to the ruin aforesaid, gave the old woman money and said to her, 'no harm upon thee.' whereupon she lifted up her voice and prayed [for him], he set down his merchandise by her [and abode with her] the rest of the night and the next day. now thieves had followed him, so they might rob him of his good, but availed not unto aught; wherefore he went up to the old woman and kissed her head and exceeded in munificence to her. then she [warned him of that which awaited strangers entering the town and] said to him, 'i like not this for thee and i fear mischief for thee from these questions that the vizier hath appointed for the confrontation of the ignorant.' and she expounded to him the case according to its fashion. then said she to him, 'but have no concern: only carry me with thee to thy lodging, and if he question thee of aught, whilst i am with thee, i will expound the answers to thee.' se he carried her with him to the city and established her in his lodging and entreated her kindly. presently, the vizier heard of the merchant's coming; so he sent to him and let bring him to his house and talked with him awhile of his travels and of that which he had abidden therein, and the merchant answered him thereof. then said the vizier, 'i will put certain questions to thee, which if thou answer me, it will be well [for thee].' and the merchant rose and made him no answer. quoth the vizier, 'what is the weight of the elephant?' the merchant was perplexed and returned him no answer and gave himself up for lost. then said he, 'grant me three days' time.' so the vizier granted him the delay he sought and he returned to his lodging and related what had passed to the old woman, who said, 'when the morrow cometh, go to the vizier and say to him, "make a ship and launch it on the sea and put in it an elephant, and when it sinketh in the water, [under the beast's weight], mark the place to which the water riseth. then take out the elephant and cast in stones in its place, till the ship sink to the mark aforesaid; whereupon do thou take out the stones and weigh them and thou wilt know the weight of the elephant"' so, when he arose in the morning, he repaired to the vizier and repeated to him that which the old woman had taught him; whereat the vizier marvelled and said to him, 'what sayst thou of a man, who seeth in his house four holes, and in each a viper offering to come out and kill him, and in his house are four staves and each hole may not be stopped but with the ends of two staves? how shall he stop all the holes and deliver himself from the vipers?' when the merchant heard this, there betided him [of concern] what made him forget the first and he said to the vizier, 'grant me time, so i may consider the answer.' 'go out,' replied the vizier, 'and bring me the answer, or i will seize thy good.' the merchant went out and returned to the old woman, who, seeing him changed of colour, said to him, 'what did he ask thee, [may god confound] his hoariness?' so he acquainted her with the case and she said to him, 'fear not; i will bring thee forth of this [strait].' quoth he, 'god requite thee with good!' and she said, 'to-morrow go to him with a stout heart and say, "the answer to that whereof thou askest me is that thou put the heads of two staves into one of the holes; then take the other two staves and lay them across the middle of the first two and stop with their heads the second hole and with their butts the fourth hole. then take the butts of the first two staves and stop with them the third hole."'[fn# ] so he repaired to the vizier and repeated to him the answer; and he marvelled at its justness and said to him, 'go; by allah, i will ask thee no more questions, for thou with thy skill marrest my foundation.'[fn# ] then he entreated him friendly and the merchant acquainted him with the affair of the old woman; whereupon quoth the vizier, 'needs must the man of understanding company with those of understanding.' thus did this weak woman restore to that man his life and good on the easiest wise. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the credulous husband." when the king heard this story, he said, "how like is this to our own case!" then he bade the vizier retire to his lodging; so he withdrew to his house and on the morrow he abode at home [till the king should summon him to his presence.] the ninth night of the month. when the night came, the king sat in his privy chamber and sending after the vizier, sought of him the promised story; and he said, "know, o august king, that story of the credulous husband there was once of old time a foolish, ignorant man, who had wealth galore, and his wife was a fair woman, who loved a handsome youth. the latter used to watch for her husband's absence and come to her, and on this wise he abode a long while. one day, as the woman was private with her lover, he said to her, 'o my lady and my beloved, if thou desire me and love me, give me possession of thyself and accomplish my need in thy husband's presence; else will i never again come to thee nor draw near thee, what while i abide on life.' now she loved him with an exceeding love and could not brook his separation an hour nor could endure to vex him; so, when she heard his words, she said to him, ['so be it,] in god's name, o my beloved and solace of mine eyes, may he not live who would vex thee!' quoth he, 'to-day?' and she said, 'yes, by thy life,' and appointed him of this. when her husband came home, she said to him, 'i desire to go a-pleasuring.' and he said, ' with all my heart.' so he went, till he came to a goodly place, abounding in vines and water, whither he carried her and pitched her a tent beside a great tree; and she betook herself to a place beside the tent and made her there an underground hiding-place, [in which she hid her lover]. then said she to her husband, 'i desire to mount this tree.' and he said, 'do so.' so she climbed up and when she came to the top of the tree, she cried out and buffeted her face, saying, 'lewd fellow that thou art, are these thy usages? thou sworest [fidelity to me] and liedst.' and she repeated her speech twice and thrice. then she came down from the tree and rent her clothes and said, 'o villain, if these be thy dealings with me before my eyes, how dost thou when thou art absent from me?' quoth he, 'what aileth thee?' and she said, 'i saw thee swive the woman before my very eyes.' 'not so, by allah!' cried he. 'but hold thy peace till i go up and see.' so he climbed the tree and no sooner did he begin to do so than up came the lover [from his hiding-place] and taking the woman by the legs, [fell to swiving her]. when the husband came to the top of the tree, he looked and beheld a man swiving his wife. so he said, 'o strumpet, what doings are these?' and he made haste to come down from the tree to the ground; [but meanwhile the lover had returned to his hiding- place] and his wife said to him, 'what sawest thou?' 'i saw a man swive thee,' answered he; and she said, 'thou liest; thou sawest nought and sayst this but of conjecture.' on this wise they did three times, and every time [he climbed the tree] the lover came up out of the underground place and bestrode her, whilst her husband looked on and she still said, 'o liar, seest thou aught?' 'yes,' would he answer and came down in haste, but saw no one and she said to him, 'by my life, look and say nought but the truth!' then said he to her, 'arise, let us depart this place,[fn# ] for it is full of jinn and marids.' [so they returned to their house] and passed the night [there] and the man arose in the morning, assured that this was all but imagination and illusion. and so the lover accomplished his desire.[fn# ] nor, o king of the age," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the king and the tither." when the king heard this from the vizier, he bade him go away [and he withdrew to his house]. the tenth night of the month. when it was eventide, the king summoned the vizier and sought of him the story of the king and the tither, and he said, "know, o king, that story of the unjust king and the tither. there was once a king of the kings of the earth, who dwelt in a populous[fn# ] city, abounding in good; but he oppressed its people and used them foully, so that he ruined[fn# ] the city; and he was named none other than tyrant and misdoer. now he was wont, whenas he heard of a masterful man[fn# ] in another land, to send after him and tempt him with money to take service with him; and there was a certain tither, who exceeded all his brethren in oppression of the people and foulness of dealing. so the king sent after him and when he stood before him, he found him a mighty man[fn# ] and said to him, 'thou hast been praised to me, but meseemeth thou overpassest the description. set out to me somewhat of thy sayings and doings, so i may be dispensed therewith from [enquiring into] all thy circumstance.' 'with all my heart,' answered the other. 'know, o king, that i oppress the folk and people[fn# ] the land, whilst other than i wasteth[fn# ] it and peopleth it not.' now the king was leaning back; so he sat up and said, 'tell me of this.' 'it is well,' answered the tither. 'i go to the man whom i purpose to tithe and circumvent him and feign to be occupied with certain business, so that i seclude myself therewith from the folk; and meanwhile the man is squeezed after the foulest fashion, till nothing is left him. then i appear and they come in to me and questions befall concerning him and i say, "indeed, i was ordered worse than this, for some one (may god curse him!) hath slandered him to the king." then i take half of his good and return him the rest publicly before the folk and send him away to his house, in all honour and worship, and he causeth the money returned to be carried before him, whilst he and all who are with him call down blessings on me. so is it published in the city that i have returned him his money and he himself saith the like, so he may have a claim on me for the favour due to whoso praiseth me. then i feign to forget him till some time[fn# ] hath passed over him, when i send for him and recall to him somewhat of that which hath befallen aforetime and demand [of him] somewhat privily. so he doth this and hasteneth to his dwelling and sendeth what i bid him, with a glad heart. then i send to another man, between whom and the other is enmity, and lay hands upon him and feign to the first man that it is he who hath traduced him to the king and taken the half of his good; and the people praise me.'[fn# ] the king marvelled at this and at his dealing and contrivance and invested him with [the control of] all his affairs and of his kingdom and the land abode [under his governance] and he said to him, 'take and people.'[fn# ] one day, the tither went out and saw an old man, a woodcutter, and with him wood; so he said to him, 'pay a dirhem tithe for thy load.' quoth the old man, 'behold, thou killest me and killest my family.' 'what [meanest thou]?' said the tither. 'who killeth the folk?' and the other answered, 'if thou suffer me enter the city, i shall sell the wood there for three dirhems, whereof i will give thee one and buy with the other two what will support my family; but, if thou press me for the tithe without the city, the load will sell but for one dirhem and thou wilt take it and i shall abide without food, i and my family. indeed, thou and i in this circumstance are like unto david and solomon, on whom be peace!' ['how so?' asked the tither, and the woodcutter said], 'know that story of david and solomon. certain husbandmen once made complaint to david (on whom be peace!) against certain owners of sheep, whose flocks had fallen upon their crops by night and devoured them, and he bade value the crops [and that the shepherds should make good the amount]. but solomon (on whom be peace!) rose and said, "nay, but let the sheep be delivered to the husbandmen, so they may take their milk and wool, till they have repaid themselves the value of their crops; then let the sheep return to their owners." so david withdrew his own ordinance and caused execute that of solomon; yet was david no oppressor; but solomon's judgment was more pertinent and he showed himself therein better versed in jurisprudence.'[fn# ] when the tither heard the old man's speech, he relented towards him and said to him, 'o old man, i make thee a present of that which is due from thee, and do thou cleave to me and leave me not, so haply i may get of thee profit that shall do away from me my errors and guide me into the way of righteousness.' so the old man followed him, and there met him another with a load of wood. quoth the tither to him, 'pay what is due from thee.' and he answered, 'have patience with me till to-morrow, for i owe the hire of a house, and i will sell another load of wood and pay thee two days' tithe.' but he refused him this and the old man said to him, 'if thou constrain him unto this, thou wilt enforce him quit thy country, for that he is a stranger here and hath no domicile; and if he remove on account of one dirhem, thou wilt lose [of him] three hundred and threescore dirhems a year. thus wilt thou lose the much in keeping the little.' quoth the tither, 'i give him a dirhem every month to the hire of his lodging.' then he went on and presently there met him a third woodcutter and he said to him, 'pay what is due from thee.' and he answered, 'i will pay thee a dirhem when i enter the city; or take of me four danics[fn# ] [now].' quoth the tither, 'i will not do it,' but the old man said to him, 'take of him the four danics presently, for it is easy to take and hard to restore.' 'by allah,' quoth the tither, 'it is good!' and he arose and went on, crying out, at the top of his voice and saying, 'i have no power to-day [to do evil].' then he put off his clothes and went forth wandering at a venture, repenting unto his lord. nor," added the vizier, "is this story more extraordinary than that of the thief who believed the woman and sought refuge with god against falling in with her like, by reason of her cunning contrivance for herself." when the king heard this, he said in himself, "since the tither repented, in consequence of the admonitions [of the woodcutter], it behoves that i spare this vizier, so i may hear the story of the thief and the woman." and he bade er rehwan withdraw to his lodging. the eleventh night of the month. when the evening came and the king sat in his privy chamber, he summoned the vizier and required of him the story of the thief and the woman. quoth the vizier, "know, o king, that story of the thief and the woman. a certain thief was a [cunning] workman and used not to steal aught, till he had spent all that was with him; moreover, he stole not from his neighbours, neither companied with any of the thieves, lest some one should come to know him and his case get wind. on this wise he abode a great while, in flourishing case, and his secret was concealed, till god the most high decreed that he broke in upon a poor man, deeming that he was rich. when he entered the house, he found nought, whereat he was wroth, and necessity prompted him to wake the man, who was asleep with his wife. so he aroused him and said to him, 'show me thy treasure.' now he had no treasure; but the thief believed him not and insisted upon him with threats and blows. when he saw that he got no profit of him, he said to him, 'swear by the oath of divorce from thy wife[fn# ] [that thou hast nothing].' so he swore and his wife said to him, 'out on thee! wilt thou divorce me? is not the treasure buried in yonder chamber?' then she turned to the thief and conjured him to multiply blows upon her husband, till he should deliver to him the treasure, concerning which he had sworn falsely. so he drubbed him grievously, till he carried him to a certain chamber, wherein she signed to him that the treasure was and that he should take it up. so the thief entered, he and the husband; and when they were both in the chamber, she locked on them the door, which was a stout one, and said to the thief, 'out on thee, o fool! thou hast fallen [into the trap] and now i have but to cry out and the officers of the police will come and take thee and thou wilt lose thy life, o satan!' quoth he, 'let me go forth;' and she said, 'thou art a man and i am a woman; and in thy hand is a knife and i am afraid of thee.' quoth he, 'take the knife from me.' so she took the knife from him and said to her husband, 'art thou a woman and he a man? mar his nape with beating, even as he did with thee; and if he put out his hand to thee, i will cry out and the police will come and take him and cut him in sunder.' so the husband said to him, 'o thousand-horned,[fn# ] o dog, o traitor, i owe thee a deposit,[fn# ] for which thou dunnest me.' and he fell to beating him grievously with a stick of live-oak, whilst he called out to the woman for help and besought her of deliverance; but she said, 'abide in thy place till the morning, and thou shalt see wonders.' and her husband beat him within the chamber, till he [well- nigh] made an end of him and he swooned away. then he left beating him and when the thief came to himself, the woman said to her husband, 'o man, this house is on hire and we owe its owners much money, and we have nought; so how wilt thou do?' and she went on to bespeak him thus. quoth the thief, 'and what is the amount of the rent?' 'it will be fourscore dirhems,' answered the husband; and the thief said, 'i will pay this for thee and do thou let me go my way.' then said the wife, 'o man, how much do we owe the baker and the greengrocer?' quoth the thief, 'what is the sum of this?' and the husband said, 'sixscore dirhems.' 'that makes two hundred dirhems,' rejoined the other; 'let me go my way and i will pay them.' but the wife said, 'o my dear one, and the girl groweth up and needs must we marry her and equip her and [do] what else is needful' so the thief said to the husband, 'how much dost thou want?' and he answered, 'a hundred dirhems, in the way of moderation.'[fn# ] quoth the thief, 'that makes three hundred dirhems.' and the woman said, 'o my dear one, when the girl is married, thou wilt need money for winter expenses, charcoal and firewood and other necessaries.' 'what wouldst thou have?' asked the thief; and she said, 'a hundred dirhems.' 'be it four hundred dirhems,' rejoined he; and she said, 'o my dear one and solace of mine eyes, needs must my husband have capital in hand, wherewith he may buy merchandise and open him a shop.' 'how much will that be?' asked he, and she said, 'a hundred dirhems.' quoth the thief, '[that makes five hundred dirhems; i will pay it;] but may i be divorced from my wife if all my possessions amount to more than this, and that the savings of twenty years! let me go my way, so i may deliver them to thee.' 'o fool,' answered she, 'how shall i let thee go thy way? give me a right token.' [so he gave her a token for his wife] and she cried out to her young daughter and said to her, 'keep this door.' then she charged her husband keep watch over the thief, till she should return, and repairing to his wife, acquainted her with his case and told her that her husband the thief had been taken and had compounded for his release, at the price of seven hundred dirhems, and named to her the token. so she gave her the money and she took it and returned to her house. by this time, the dawn had broken; so she let the thief go his way, and when he went out, she said to him, 'o my dear one, when shall i see thee come and take the treasure?' 'o indebted one,' answered he, 'when thou needest other seven hundred dirhems, wherewithal to amend thy case and that of thy children and to discharge thy debts.' and he went out, hardly believing in his deliverance from her. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the three men and our lord jesus." and the king bade him depart to his own house. the twelfth night of the month. when it was eventide, the king summoned the vizier and bade him tell the [promised] story, "hearkening and obedience," answered he. "know, o king, that story of the three men and our lord jesus. three men once went out in quest of riches and came upon a block of gold, weighing a hundred pounds. when they saw it, they took it up on their shoulders and fared on with it, till they drew near a certain city, when one of them said, 'let us sit in the mosque, whilst one of us goes and buys us what we may eat." so they sat down in the mosque and one of them arose and entered the city. when he came therein, his soul prompted him to play his fellows false and get the gold for himself alone. so he bought food and poisoned it; but, when he returned to his comrades, they fell upon him and slew him, so they might enjoy the gold without him. then they ate of the [poisoned] food and died, and the gold abode cast down over against them. presently, jesus, son of mary (on whom be peace!) passed by and seeing this, besought god the most high for tidings of their case; so he told him what had betided them, whereat great was his wonderment and he related to his disciples what he had seen. quoth one of them, 'o spirit of god,[fn# ] nought resembleth this but my own story.' 'how so?' asked jesus, and the other said, the disciple's story. 'i was aforetime in such a city and hid a thousand dirhems in a monastery there. after awhile, i went thither and taking the money, bound it about my middle. [then i set out to return] and when i came to the desert, the carrying of the money was burdensome to me. presently, i espied a horseman pricking after me; so i [waited till he came up and] said to him, "o horseman, carry this money [for me] and earn reward and recompense [from god]." "nay," answered he; "i will not do it, for i should weary myself and weary my horse." then he went on, but, before he had gone far, he said in himself, "if i take up the money and spur my horse and forego him, how shall he overtake me?" and i also said in myself, "verily, i erred [in asking him to carry the money]; for, had he taken it and made off, i could have done nought." then he turned back to me and said to me, "hand over the money, that i may carry it for thee." but i answered him, saying, "that which hath occurred to thy mind hath occurred to mine also; so go in peace."' quoth jesus (on whom be peace!), 'had these dealt prudently, they had taken thought for themselves; but they neglected the issues of events; for that whoso acteth prudently is safe and conquereth,[fn# ] and whoso neglecteth precaution perisheth and repenteth.' nor," added the vizier," is this more extraordinary nor goodlier than the story of the king, whose kingdom was restored to him and his wealth, after he had become poor, possessing not a single dirhem." when the king heard this, he said in himself "how like is this to my own story in the matter of the vizier and his slaughter! had i not used precaution, i had put him to death." and he bade er rehwan depart to his own house. the thirteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sent for the vizier to his privy sitting chamber and bade him [tell] the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. they avouch, o king, that story of the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to him. there was once, in a city of hind, a just and beneficent king, and he had a vizier, a man of understanding, just in his judgment, praiseworthy in his policy, in whose hand was the governance of all the affairs of the realm; for he was firmly stablished in the king's favour and high in esteem with the folk of his time, and the king set great store by him and committed himself to him in all his affairs, by reason of his contrivance for his subjects, and he had helpers[fn# ] who were content with him. now the king had a brother, who envied him and would fain have been in his place; and when he was weary of looking for his death and the term of his life seemed distant unto him, he took counsel with certain of his partisans and they said, 'the vizier is the king's counsellor and but for him, there would be left the king no kingdom.' so the king's brother cast about for the ruin of the vizier, but could find no means of accomplishing his design; and when the affair grew long upon him, he said to his wife, 'what deemest thou will advantage us in this?' quoth she, 'what is it?' and he replied, 'i mean in the matter of yonder vizier, who inciteth my brother to devoutness with all his might and biddeth him thereto, and indeed the king is infatuated with his counsel and committeth to him the governance of all things and matters.' quoth she, 'thou sayst truly; but how shall we do with him?' and he answered, 'i have a device, so thou wilt help me in that which i shall say to thee.' quoth she, 'thou shall have my help in whatsoever thou desirest.' and he said, 'i mean to dig him a pit in the vestibule and dissemble it artfully.' so he did this, and when it was night, he covered the pit with a light covering, so that, whenas the vizier stepped upon it, it would give way with him. then he sent to him and summoned him to the presence in the king's name, and the messenger bade him enter by the privy door. so he entered in thereat, alone, and when he stepped upon the covering of the pit, it gave way with him and he fell to the bottom; whereupon the king's brother fell to pelting him with stones. when the vizier saw what had betided him, he gave himself up for lost; so he stirred not and lay still. the prince, seeing him make no motion, [deemed him dead]; so he took him forth and wrapping him up in his clothes, cast him into the billows of the sea in the middle of the night. when the vizier felt the water, he awoke from the swoon and swam awhile, till a ship passed by him, whereupon he cried out to the sailors and they took him up. when the morning morrowed, the people went seeking for him, but found him not; and when the king knew this, he was perplexed concerning his affair and abode unknowing what he should do. then he sought for a vizier to fill his room, and the king's brother said, 'i have a vizier, a sufficient man.' 'bring him to me,' said the king. so he brought him a man, whom he set at the head of affairs; but he seized upon the kingdom and clapped the king in irons and made his brother king in his stead. the new king gave himself up to all manner of wickedness, whereat the folk murmured and his vizier said to him, 'i fear lest the indians take the old king and restore him to the kingship and we both perish; wherefore, if we take him and cast him into the sea, we shall be at rest from him; and we will publish among the folk that he is dead.' and they agreed upon this. so they took him up and carrying him out to sea, cast him in. when he felt the water, he struck out, and gave not over swimming till he landed upon an island, where he abode five days, finding nothing which he might eat or drink; but, on the sixth day, when he despaired of himself, he caught sight of a passing ship; so he made signals to the crew and they came and took him up and fared on with him to an inhabited country, where they set him ashore, naked as he was. there he saw a man tilling; so he sought guidance of him and the husbandman said, 'art thou a stranger?' 'yes,' answered the king and sat with him and they talked. the husbandman found him quickwitted and intelligent and said to him, 'if thou sawest a comrade of mine, thou wouldst see him the like of what i see thee, for his case is even as thy case, and he is presently my friend.' quoth the king, 'verily, thou makest me long to see him. canst thou not bring us together?' 'with all my heart,' answered the husbandman, and the king sat with him till he had made an end of his tillage, when he carried him to his dwelling-place and brought him in company with the other stranger, aud behold, it was his vizier. when they saw each other, they wept and embraced, and the husbandman wept for their weeping; but the king concealed their affair and said to him, 'this is a man from my country and he is as my brother.' so they abode with the husbandman and helped him for a wage, wherewith they supported themselves a long while. meanwhile, they sought news of their country and learned that which its people suffered of straitness and oppression. one day, there came a ship and in it a merchant from their own country, who knew them and rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy and clad them in goodly apparel. moreover, he acquainted them with the manner of the treachery that had been practised upon them and counselled them to return to their own land, they and he with whom they had made friends,[fn# ] assuring them that god the most high would restore them to their former estate. so the king returned and the folk joined themselves to him and he fell upon his brother and his vizier and took them and clapped them in prison. then he sat down again upon the throne of his kingship, whilst the vizier stood before him, and they returned to their former estate, but they had nought of the [goods of the world]. so the king said to his vizier, 'how shall we avail to abide in this city, and we in this state of poverty?' and he answered, 'be at thine ease and have no concern.' then he singled out one of the soldiers[fn# ] and said to him, 'send us thy service[fn# ] for the year.' now there were in the city fifty thousand subjects[fn# ] and in the hamlets and villages a like number; and the vizier sent to each of these, saying, 'let each of you get an egg and lay it under a hen.' so they did this and it was neither burden nor grievance to them. when twenty days had passed by, each [egg] was hatched, and the vizier bade them pair the chickens, male and female, and rear them well. so they did this and it was found a charge unto no one. then they waited for them awhile and after this the vizier enquired of the chickens and was told that they were become fowls. moreover, they brought him all their eggs and he bade set them; and after twenty days there were hatched from each [pair] of them thirty or five-and-twenty or fifteen [chickens] at the least. the vizier let note against each man the number of chickens that pertained to him, and after two months, he took the old hens and the cockerels, and there came to him from each man nigh half a score, and he left the [young] hens with them. on like wise he sent to the country folk and let the cocks abide with them. so he got him young ones [galore] and appropriated to himself the sale of the fowls, and on this wise he got him, in the course of a year, that which the regal estate required of the king and his affairs were set right for him by the vizier's contrivance. and he peopled[fn# ] the country and dealt justly by his subjects and returned to them all that he took from them and lived a happy and prosperous life. thus good judgment and prudence are better than wealth, for that understanding profiteth at all times and seasons. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the man whose caution slew him." when the king heard his vizier's words, he marvelled with the utmost wonderment and bade him retire to his lodging. [so er rehwan withdrew to his house and abode there till eventide of the next day, when he again presented himself before the king.] the fourteenth night of the month. when the vizier returned to the king, the latter sought of him the story of the man whose caution slew him and be said, "know, o august king, that story of the man whose caution was the cause of his death. there was once a man who was exceeding cautious over himself, and he set out one day on a journey to a land abounding in wild beasts. the caravan wherein he was came by night to the gate of a city; but the warders refused to open to them; so they passed the night without the city, and there were lions there. the man aforesaid, of the excess of his caution, could not fix upon a place wherein he should pass the night, for fear of the wild beasts and reptiles; so he went about seeking an empty place wherein he might lie. now there was a ruined building hard by and he climbed up on to a high wall and gave not over clambering hither and thither, of the excess of his carefulness, till his feet betrayed him and he slipped [and fell] to the bottom and died, whilst his companions arose in the morning in health [and weal]. now, if he had overmastered his corrupt[fn# ] judgment and submitted himself to fate and fortune fore-ordained, it had been safer and better [for him]; but he made light of the folk and belittled their wit and was not content to take example by them; for his soul whispered him that he was a man of understanding and he imagined that, if he abode with them, he would perish; so his folly cast him into perdition. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary than the story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not" when the king heard this, he said, "i will not isolate myself from the folk and slay my vizier." and he bade him depart to his dwelling. the fifteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king let fetch the vizier and required of him the [promised] story. so he said, "know, o king, that story of the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not. there was once an arab of [high] rank and [goodly] presence, a man of exalted generosity and magnanimity, and he had brethren, with whom he consorted and caroused, and they were wont to assemble by turns in each other's houses. when it came to his turn, he made ready in his house all manner goodly and pleasant meats and dainty drinks and exceeding lovely flowers and excellent fruits, and made provision of all kinds of instruments of music and store of rare apothegms and marvellous stories and goodly instances and histories and witty anedotes and verses and what not else, for there was none among those with whom he was used to company but enjoyed this on every goodly wise, and in the entertainment he had provided was all whereof each had need. then he sallied forth and went round about the city, in quest of his friends, so he might assemble them; but found none of them in his house. now in that town was a man of good breeding and large generosity, a merchant of condition, young of years and bright of face, who had come to that town from his own country with great store of merchandise and wealth galore. he took up his abode therein and the place was pleasant to him and he was lavish in expenditure, so that he came to the end of all his good and there remained with him nothing save that which was upon him of raiment. so he left the lodging wherein he had abidden in the days of his affluence, after he had wasted[fn# ] that which was therein of furniture, and fell to harbouring in the houses of the townsfolk from night to night. one day, as he went wandering about the streets, he espied a woman of the utmost beauty and grace, and what he saw of her charms amazed him and there betided him what made him forget his present plight. she accosted him and jested with him and he besought her of foregathering and companionship. she consented to this and said to him, 'let us go to thy lodging.' with this he repented and was perplexed concerning his affair and grieved for that which must escape him of her company by reason of the straitness of his hand,[fn# ] for that he had no jot of spending money. but he was ashamed to say, 'no,' after he had made suit to her; so he went on before her, bethinking him how he should rid himself of her and casting about for an excuse which he might put off on her, and gave not over going from street to street, till he entered one that had no issue and saw, at the farther end, a door, whereon was a padlock. so he said to her, 'do thou excuse me, for my servant hath locked the door, and who shall open to us?' quoth she, 'o my lord, the padlock is worth [but] half a score dirhems.' so saying, she tucked up [her sleeves] from fore-arms as they were crystal and taking a stone, smote upon the padlock and broke it. then she opened the door and said to him, 'enter, o my lord.' so he entered, committing his affair to god, (to whom belong might and majesty,) and she entered after him and locked the door from within. they found themselves in a pleasant house, comprising all[fn# ] weal and gladness; and the young man went on, till he came to the sitting-chamber, and behold, it was furnished with the finest of furniture [and arrayed on the goodliest wise for the reception of guests,] as hath before been set out, [for that it was the house of the man aforesaid]. he [seated himself on the divan and] leant upon a cushion, whilst she put out her hand to her veil and did it off. then she put off her heavy outer clothes and discovered her charms, whereupon he embraced her and kissed her and swived her; after which they washed and returned to their place and he said to her, 'know that i have little knowledge [of what goes on] in my house, for that i trust to my servant; so arise thou and see what the boy hath made ready in the kitchen.' accordingly, she arose and going down into the kitchen, saw cooking pots over the fire, wherein were all manner of dainty meats, and manchet-bread and fresh almond-and-honey cakes. so she set bread on a dish and ladled out [what she would] from the pots and brought it to him. they ate and drank and sported and made merry awhile of the day; and as they were thus engaged, up came the master of the house, with his friends, whom he had brought with him, that they might carouse together, as of wont. he saw the door opened and knocked lightly, saying to his friends, 'have patience with me, for some of my family are come to visit me; wherefore excuse belongeth [first] to god the most high, and then to you.'[fn# ] so they took leave of him and went their ways, whilst he gave another light knock at the door. when the young man heard this, he changed colour and the woman said to him, 'methinks thy servant hath returned.' 'yes,' answered he; and she arose and opening the door to the master of the house, said to him, 'where hast thou been? indeed, thy master is wroth with thee.' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'i have but been about his occasions.' then he girt his middle with a handkerchief and entering, saluted the young merchant, who said to him, 'where hast thou been?' quoth he, 'i have done thine errands;' and the youth said, 'go and eat and come hither and drink.' so he went away, as he bade him, and ate. then he washed and returning to the saloon, sat down on the carpet and fell to talking with them; whereupon the young merchant's heart was comforted and his breast dilated and he addressed himself to joyance. they abode in the most delightsome life and the most abounding pleasance till a third part of the night was past, when the master of the house arose and spreading them a bed, invited them to lie down. so they lay down and the youth abode on wake, pondering their affair, till daybreak, when the woman awoke and said to her companion, 'i wish to go.' so he bade her farewell and she departed; whereupon the master of the house followed her with a purse of money and gave it to her, saying, 'blame not my master,' and made his excuse to her for the young merchant. then he returned to the youth and said to him, 'arise and come to the bath.' and he fell to shampooing his hands and feet, whilst the youth called down blessings on him and said, 'o my lord, who art thou? methinks there is not in the world the like of thee, no, nor a pleasanter than thy composition.' then each of them acquainted the other with his case and condition and they went to the bath; after which the master of the house conjured the young merchant to return with him and summoned his friends. so they ate and drank and he related to them the story, wherefore they praised the master of the house and glorified him; and their friendship was complete, what while the young merchant abode in the town, till god vouchsafed him a commodity of travel, whereupon they took leave of him and he departed; and this is the end of his story. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this more marvellous than the story of the rich man who lost his wealth and his wit." when the king heard the vizier's story, it pleased him and he bade him go to his house. the sixteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sat in his sitting- chamber and sending for his vizier, bade him relate the story of the wealthy man who lost his wealth and his wit. so he said, "know, o king, that story of the idiot and the sharper. there was once a man of fortune, who lost his wealth, and chagrin and melancholy got the mastery of him, so that he became an idiot and lost his wit. there abode with him of his wealth about a score of dinars and he used to beg alms of the folk, and that which they gave him he would gather together and lay to the dinars that were left him. now there was in that town a vagabond, who made his living by sharping, and he knew that the idiot had somewhat of money; so he fell to spying upon him and gave not over watching him till he saw him put in an earthen pot that which he had with him of money and enter a deserted ruin, where he sat down, [as if] to make water, and dug a hole, in which he laid the pot and covering it up, strewed earth upon the place. then he went away and the sharper came and taking what was in the pot, covered it up again, as it was. presently, the idiot returned, with somewhat to add to his hoard, but found it not; so he bethought him who had followed him and remembered that he had found the sharper aforesaid assiduous in sitting with him and questioning him. so he went in quest of him, assured that he had taken the pot, and gave not over looking for him till he espied him sitting; whereupon he ran to him and the sharper saw him. [then the idiot stood within earshot] and muttered to himself and said, 'in the pot are threescore dinars and i have with me other score in such a place and to-day i will unite the whole in the pot.' when the sharper heard him say this to himself, muttering and mumbling after his fashion, he repented him of having taken the dinars and said, 'he will presently return to the pot and find it empty; wherefore that[fn# ] for which i am on the look-out will escape me; and meseemeth i were best restore the dinars [to their place], so he may see them and leave all that is with him in the pot, and i can take the whole.' now he feared [to return to the pot then and there], lest the idiot should follow him to the place and find nothing and so his plan be marred. so he said to him, 'o ajlan,[fn# ] i would have thee come to my lodging and eat bread with me." so the idiot went with him to his lodging and he seated him there and going to the market, sold somewhat of his clothes and pawned somewhat from his house and bought dainty food. then he betook himself to the ruin and replacing the money in the pot, buried it again; after which he returned to his lodging and gave the idiot to eat and drink, and they went out together. the sharper went away and hid himself, lest the idiot should see him, whilst the latter repaired to his hiding- place and took the pot presently, the sharper came to the ruin, rejoicing in that which he deemed he should get, and dug in the place, but found nothing and knew that the idiot had tricked him. so he buffeted his face, for chagrin, and fell to following the other whithersoever he went, so he might get what was with him, but availed not unto this, for that the idiot knew what was in his mind and was certified that he spied upon him, [with intent to rob him]; so he kept watch over himself. now, if the sharper had considered [the consequences of] haste and that which is begotten of loss therefrom, he had not done thus. nor," continued the vizier, "is this story, o king of the age, rarer or more extraordinary or more diverting than the story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man and that which befell between them." when the king heard this story, he renounced his purpose of putting the vizier to death and his soul prompted him to continue him on life. so he bade him go away to his house. the seventeenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier, and when he presented himself, he required of him the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o august king, that story of khelbes and his wife and the learned man. there was once a man hight khelbes, who was a lewd fellow, a calamity, notorious for this fashion, and he had a fair wife, renowned for beauty and loveliness. a man of his townsfolk fell in love with her and she also loved him. now khelbes was a crafty fellow and full of tricks, and there was in his neighbourhood a learned man, to whom the folk used to resort every day and he told them stories and admonished them [with moral instances]; and khelbes was wont to be present in his assembly, for the sake of making a show before the folk. now this learned man had a wife renowned for beauty and loveliness and quickness of wit and understanding and the lover cast about for a device whereby he might win to khelbes's wife; so he came to him and told him, as a secret, what he had seen of the learned man's wife and confided to him that he was enamoured of her and besought him of help in this. khelbes told him that she was distinguished to the utterest for chastity and continence and that she exposed herself not to suspicion; but the other said, 'i cannot renounce her, [firstly,] because the woman inclineth to me and coveteth my wealth, and secondly, because of the greatness of my love for her; and nothing is wanting but thy help.' quoth khelbes, 'i will do thy will;' and the other said, 'thou shalt have of me two dirhems a day, on condition that thou sit with the learned man and that, when he riseth from the assembly, thou speak a word notifying the breaking up of the session.' so they agreed upon this and khelbes entered and sat in the assembly, whilst the lover was assured in his heart that the secret was safe with him, wherefore he rejoiced and was content to pay the two dirhems. then khelbes used to attend the learned man's assembly, whilst the other would go in to his wife and abide with her, on such wise as he thought good, till the learned man arose from his session; and when khelbes saw that he purposed rising, he would speak a word for the lover to hear, whereupon he went forth from khelbes's wife, and the latter knew not that calamity was in his own house. at last the learned man, seeing khelbes do on this wise every day, began to misdoubt of him, more by token of that which he knew of his character, and suspicion grew upon him; so, one day, he advanced the time of his rising before the wonted hour and hastening up to khelbes, laid hold of him and said to him, 'by allah, an thou speak a single syllable, i will do thee a mischief!' then he went in to his wife, with khelbes in his grasp, and behold, she was sitting, as of her wont, nor was there about her aught of suspicious or unseemly. the learned man bethought him awhile of this, then made for khelbes's house, which adjoined his own, still holding the latter; and when they entered, they found the young man lying on the bed with khelbes's wife; whereupon quoth he to him, 'o accursed one, the calamity is with thee and in thine own house!' so khelbes put away his wife and went forth, fleeing, and returned not to his own land. this, then," continued the vizier, "is the consequence of lewdness, for whoso purposeth in himself craft and perfidy, they get possession of him, and had khelbes conceived of himself that[fn# ] which he conceived of the folk of dishonour and calamity, there had betided him nothing of this. nor is this story, rare and extraordinary though it be, more extraordinary or rarer than that of the pious woman whose husband's brother accused her of lewdness." when the king heard this, wonderment gat hold of him and his admiration for the vizier redoubled; so he bade him go to his house and return to him [on the morrow], according to his wont. accordingly, the vizier withdrew to his lodging, where he passed the night and the ensuing day. end of vol. i. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] breslau text, vol. iv. pp. - , nights cclxxii.-ccxci. this is the story familiar to readers of the old "arabian nights" as "abon hassan, or the sleeper awakened" and is the only one of the eleven tales added by galland to his version of the (incomplete) ms. of the book of the thousand nights and one night procured by him from syria, the arabic original of which has yet been discovered. (see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. pp. et seq.) the above title is of course intended to mark the contrast between the everyday (or waking) hours of aboulhusn and his fantastic life in the khalif's palace, supposed by him to have passed in a dream, and may also be rendered "the sleeper and the waker." [fn# ] i.e. the wag. [fn# ] always noted for debauchery. [fn# ] i.e. the part he had taken for spending money. [fn# ] i.e. "those," a characteristic arab idiom. [fn# ] lit. draw thee near (to them). [fn# ] i.e. that over the tigris. [fn# ] "platter bread," i.e. bread baked in a platter, instead of, as usual with the arabs, in an oven or earthen jar previously heated, to the sides of which the thin cakes of dough are applied, "is lighter than oven bread, especially if it be made thin and leavened."--shecouri, a medical writer quoted by dozy. [fn# ] or cooking-pots. [fn# ] or fats for frying. [fn# ] or clarified. [fn# ] taam, lit. food, the name given by the inhabitants of northern africa to the preparation of millet-flour (something like semolina) called kouskoussou, which forms the staple food of the people. [fn# ] or "in peace." [fn# ] eastern peoples attach great importance, for good or evil omen, to the first person met or the first thing that happens in the day. [fn# ] or "attributed as sin." [fn# ] a common eastern substitute for soap. [fn# ] this common formula of assent is an abbreviation of "hearkening and obedience are due to god and to the commander of the faithful" or other the person addressed. [fn# ] dar es selam, one of the seven "gardens" into which the mohammedan paradise is divided. [fn# ] i.e. a mattrass eighteen inches thick. [fn# ] complimentary form of address to eunuchs, generally used by inferiors only. [fn# ] the morning-prayer consists of four inclinations (rekäat) only. a certain fixed succession of prayers and acts of adoration is called a rekah (sing, of rekäat) from the inclination of the body that occurs in it. [fn# ] i.e. the terminal formula of prayer, "peace be on us and on all the righteous servants of god!" [fn# ] i.e. said "i purpose to make an end of prayer." [fn# ] or "linen." [fn# ] a well-known poet of the time. [fn# ] i.e. ibrahim of mosul, the greatest musician of his day. [fn# ] i.e., doughty men of war, guards. [fn# ] the abbaside khalifs traced their descent from abbas, the uncle of mohammed, and considered themselves, therefore, as belonging to the family of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. may thy dwelling-place never fall into ruin. [fn# ] i.e. the raised recess situate at the upper end of an oriental saloon, wherein is the place of honour. [fn# ] ie, the necromancers. [fn# ] lit. i have not found that thou hast a heel blessed (or propitious) to me. [fn# ] i.e. o thou who art a calamity to those who have to do with thee! [fn# ] abou nuwas ibn hani, the greatest poet of the time. [fn# ] as a charm against evil spirits. [fn# ] i.e. the vein said to have been peculiar to the descendants of hashim, grandfather of abbas and great-grandson of mohammed, and to have started out between their eyes in moments of anger. [fn# ] lit. that i may do upon her sinister deeds. [fn# ] "the pitcher comes not always back unbroken from the well."--english proverb. [fn# ] i.e. of sorrow for his loss. [fn# ] i.e. of grief for her loss. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vl. pp. - , nights ccccxxxii-ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] the eighth khalif (a.d. - ) of the house of umeyyeh and the best and most single-hearted of all the khalifs, with the exception of the second, omar ben khettab, from whom he was descended. [fn# ] a celebrated statesman of the time, afterwards governor of cuia* and bassora under omar ben abdulaziz. [fn# ] the most renowned poet of the first century of the hegira. he is said to have been equally skilled in all styles of composition grave and gay. [fn# ] or eternal. [fn# ] or "in him." [fn# ] chief of the tribe of the benou suleim. et teberi tells this story in a different way. according to him, abbas ben mirdas (who was a well-known poet), being dissatisfied with the portion of booty allotted to him by the prophet, refused it and composed a lampoon against mohammed, who said to ali, "cut off this tongue which attacketh me," i.e. "silence him by giving what will satisfy him," whereupon ali doubled the covetous chief's share. [fn# ] bilal ibn rebeh was the prophet's freedman and crier. the word bilal signifies "moisture" or (metonymically) "beneficence" and it may well be in this sense (and not as a man's name) that it is used in the text. [fn# ] said to have been the best poet ever produced by the tribe of cureish. his introduction here is an anachronism, as he died a.d. , five years before omar's accession. [fn# ] i.e. odorem pudendorum amicæ? [fn# ] a famous poet of the tribe of the benou udhreh, renowned for their passionate sincerity in love-matters. he is celebrated as the lover of butheineh, as petrarch of laura, and died a.d. , sixteen years before omar's accession. [fn# ] a friend of jemil and a poet of equal renown. he is celebrated as the lover of azzeh, whose name is commonly added to his, and kept a grocer's shop at medina. [fn# ] i.e. in the attitude of prayer. [fn# ] a famous satirical poet of the time, afterwards banished by omar for the virulence of his lampoons. his name is wrongly given by the text; it should be el ahwes. he was a descendant of the ansar or (medinan) helpers of mohammed. [fn# ] a famous poet of the tribe of the benou temim and a rival of jerir, to whom he was by some preferred. he was a notorious debauchee and jerir, in one of the satires that were perpetually exchanged between himself and el ferezdec, accuses his rival of having "never been a guest in any house, but he departed with ignominy and left behind him disgrace." [fn# ] a christian and a celebrated poet of the time. [fn# ] the poet apparently meant to insinuate that those who professed to keep the fast of ramazan ate flesh in secret. the word rendered "in public," i.e. openly, avowedly, may also perhaps be translated "in the forenoon," and in this el akhtel may have meant to contrast his free-thinking disregard of the ordinances of the fast with the strictness of the orthodox muslim, whose only meals in ramazan-time are made between sunset and dawn-peep. as soon as a white thread can be distinguished from a black, the fast is begun and a true believer must not even smoke or swallow his saliva till sunset. [fn# ] prominent words of the muezzin's fore-dawn call to prayer. [fn# ] i.e. fall down drunk. [fn# ] i.e. she who ensnares [all] eyes. [fn# ] imam, the spiritual title of the khalif, as head of the faith and leader (lit. "foreman") of the people at prayer. [fn# ] or "worldly." [fn# ] or "worldly." [fn# ] a town and province of arabia, of which (inter alia) omar ben abdulaziz was governor, before he came to the khalifate. [fn# ] syn. munificence. [fn# ] about pounds sterling s. [fn# ] i.e. what is thy news? [fn# ] or "i approve of him." [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , night ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] el hejjaj ben yousuf eth thekefi, a famous statesman and soldier of the seventh and eighth centuries. he was governor of chaldaea (irak arabi), under the fifth and sixth khalifs of the ommiade dynasty, and was renowned for his cruelty, but appears to have been a prudent and capable administrator, who used no more rigour than was necessary to restrain the proverbially turbulent populations of bassora and cufa, most of the anecdotes of his brutality and tyranny, which abound in arab authors, are, in all probability, apocryphal. [fn# ] used, by synecdoche, for "heads." [fn# ] i.e. the governed, to wit, he who is led by a halter attached (metaphorically of course) to a ring passed through his nose, as with a camel. [fn# ] i.e. the governor or he who is high of rank. [fn# ] i.e. their hair, which may be considered the wealth of the head. this whole passage is a description a double-entente of a barber-surgeon. [fn# ] syn. cooking-pot. [fn# ] syn. be lowered. this passage is a similar description of an itinerant hot bean-seller. [fn# ] the rows of threads on a weaver's loom. [fn# ] syn. levelleth. [fn# ] i.e. that of wood used by the oriental weaver to govern the warp and weft. [fn# ] syn. behave aright. [fn# ] the loop of thread so called in which the weaver's foot rests. [fn# ] syn. eloquence. [fn# ] adeb, one of the terribly comprehensive words which abound in arabic literature for the confusion of translators. it signifies generally all kinds of education and means of mental and moral discipline and seems here to mean more particularly readiness of wit and speech or presence of mind. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , night ccccxxxiv. [fn# ] syn. (koranic) "thou hast swerved from justice" or "been unjust" (adeita). [fn# ] syn. (koranic) "thou hast transgressed" (caset-ta). [fn# ] or falling-away. [fn# ] koran vi. . [fn# ] or do injustice, tadilou (syn. do justice). [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] el casitouna (syn. those who act righteously or equitably). [fn# ] koran lxxii. . [fn# ] name of the persian ancestor of the barmecide (properly bermeki) family. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vi. pp. - , nights ccccxxv-cccclxxxvii. this is the arab version of the well-known story called, in persian, the bekhtyar nameh, i.e. the book of bekhtyar, by which name the prince, whose attempted ruin by the envious viziers is the central incident of the tale, is distinguished in that language. the arab redaction of the story is, to my mind, far superior to the persian, both in general simplicity and directness of style and in the absence of the irritating conceits and moral digressions with which persian (as well as indian) fiction is so often overloaded. the persian origin of the story is apparent, not only in the turn of the incidents and style and the names of the personages, but in the fact that not a single line of verse occurs in it. [fn# ] rawi; this is probably a copyist's mistake for raai, a beholder, one who seeth. [fn# ] lit. what was his affair? it may be here observed that the word keif (how?) is constantly used in the breslau text in the sense of ma (what?). [fn# ] a district of persia, here probably persia itself. [fn# ] probably a corruption of kisra (chosroës). [fn# ] i.e. waylaying travellers, robbing on the high road. [fn# ] or skill. [fn# ] lit. the descended fate. [fn# ] the arabs attribute to a man's parentage absolute power in the determination of his good and evil qualities; eg. the son of a slave, according to them, can possess none of the virtues of the free-born, whilst good qualities are in like manner considered congenitally inherent in the latter. [fn# ] or "business." [fn# ] i.e. whither he should travel. [fn# ] about half-a-crown. [fn# ] it is a common practice with eastern nations to keep a child (especially a son and one of unusual beauty) concealed until a certain age, for fear of the evil eye. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iii. p. ; vol. ix. p. , etc., etc. [fn# ] i.e. killing a man. [fn# ] i.e., it will always be in our power to slay him, when we will. [fn# ] i.e. the grave. [fn# ] i.e. the wedding-day. [fn# ] i.e. thy women [fn# ] i.e. hath been unduly prolonged. [fn# ] i.e. let thy secret thoughts and purposes be righteous, even as thine outward profession. [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. . [fn# ] afterwards called his "chamberlain," i.e. the keeper of the door of the harem or chief eunuch. see post, p. iii. [fn# ] i.e. the eunuch who had dissuaded dadbin from putting her to death. [fn# ] apparently referring to aboulkhair (see ante p. ), whom dabdin would seem to have put to death upon the vizier's false accusation, although no previous mention of this occurs. [fn# ] the arabs believe that each man's destiny is charactered, could we decipher it, in the sutures of his skull. [fn# ] ie. the lex talionis, which is the essence of muslim jurisprudence. [fn# ] i.e. a soldier of fortune, going about from court to court, in quest of service. [fn# ] this phrase refers to the arab idiom, "his hand (or arm) is long or short," i.e. he is a man of great or little puissance. [fn# ] the arabs consider it a want of respect to allow the hands or feet to remain exposed in the presence of a superior. [fn# ] adeb. see ante, p. , note . [fn# ] i.e. that he become my son-in-law. [fn# ] it is a common eastern practice to have the feet kneaded and pressed (shampooed) for the purpose of inducing sleep, and thus the king would habitually fall asleep with his feet on the knees of his pages. [fn# ] syn. whoso respecteth not his lord's women. [fn# ] i.e. a domed tomb. [fn# ] of a man's life. the muslims believe each man's last hour to be written in a book called "the preserved tablet." [fn# ] i.e, the autumnal equinox, one of the two great festival days (the other being the new year) of the persians. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] i.e. heritage. [fn# ] i.e. the emperor of the romans of the lower empire, so called by the arabs. "caesar" is their generic term for the emperors of constantinople, as is kisra (chosroës) for the ancient kings of persia. [fn# ] i.e. shah khatoun. [fn# ] i.e. our power increased by his alliance, a. familiar arab idiom. [fn# ] in token of deputation of authority, a ceremony usual on the appointment of a governor of a province. [fn# ] or enigma. [fn# ] i.e. if my death be ordained of destiny to befall on an early day none may avail to postpone it to a later day. [fn# ] of life. see supra, note, p. . [fn# ] the hoopoe is fabled by the muslim chroniclers to have been to solomon what odin's ravens were to the norse god. it is said to have known all the secrets of the earth and to have revealed them to him; hence the magical virtues attributed by the mohammedans to its heart. [fn# ] this phrase may be read either literally or in its idiomatic sense, i.e., "folk convicted or suspected of murder or complicity in murder." [fn# ] or purse-belt. [fn# ] see supra, p. . [fn# ] khilaah, lit. that which one takes off from one's own person, to bestow upon a messenger of good tidings or any other whom it is desired especially to honour. the literal meaning of the phrase, here rendered "he bestowed on him a dress of honour," is "he put off on him [that which was upon himself." a khilaah commonly includes a horse, a sword, a girdle or waist-cloth and other articles, according to the rank of the recipient, and might more precisely be termed "a complete equipment of honour." [fn# ] an economical mode of rewarding merit, much in favour with eastern monarchs. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxv. [fn# ] syn. doorkeper (hajib). [fn# ] ibn khelbkan, who tells this story in a somewhat different style, on the authority of er reshid's brother ibrahim ben el mehdi, calls the person whom jaafer expected "abdulmelik ben behran, the intendant of his demesnes." [fn# ] the wearing of silk and bright colours is forbidden to the strict muslim and it is generally considered proper, in a man of position, to wear them only on festive occasions or in private, as in the text. [fn# ] the abbasides or descendants of el abbas, the prophet's uncle, were noted for their excessive pride and pretensions to strict orthodoxy in all outward observances. abdulmelik ben salih, who was a well-known general and statesman of the time, was especially renowned for pietism and austerity of manners. [fn# ] i.e. do not let my presence trouble you. [fn# ] as a member of the reigning family, he of course wore black clothes, that being the especial colour of the house of abbas, adopted by them in opposition to the rival (and fallen) dynasty of the benou umeyyeh, whose family colour was white, that of the house of ali being green. [fn# ] about £ , . ibn khellikan makes the debt four millions of dirhems or about £ , [fn# ] breslau text, vol vii, pp. - , night dlxvii. [fn# ] fourth khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] third khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] the following is et teberi's version of this anecdote. el mehdi had presented his son haroun with a ruby ring, worth a hundred thousand dinars, and the latter being one day with his brother [the then reigning khalif], el hadi saw the ring on his finger and desired it. so, when haroun went out from him, he sent after him, to seek the ring of him. the khalif's messenger overtook er reshid on the bridge over the tigris and acquainted him with his errand; whereupon the prince enraged at the demand, pulled off the ring and threw it into the river. when el hadi died and er reshid succeeded to the throne, he went with his suite to the bridge in question and bade his vizier yehya ben khalid send for divers and cause them make search for the ring. it had then been five months in the water and no one believed it would be found. however, the divers plunged into the river and found the ring in the very place where he had thrown it in, whereat haroun rejoiced with an exceeding joy, regarding it as a presage of fair fortune. [fn# ] this is an error. jaafer's father yehya was appointed by haroun his vizier and practically continued to exercise that office till the fall of the barmecides (a.d. ), his sons fezl and jaafer acting only as his assistants or lieutenants. see my essay on the history and character of the book of the thousand nights and one night. [fn# ] another mistake. it was fezl, the khalif's foster-brother, to whom he used to give this title. [fn# ] a third mistake. the whole period during which the empire was governed by yehya and his sons was only seventeen years, i.e. a.d - , but see my essay. [fn# ] the apparent meaning of this somewhat obscure saying is, "since fortune is uncertain, conciliate the favour of those with whom thou hast to do by kind offices, so thou mayst find refuge with them in time of need." [fn# ] for a detailed account of the barmecides and of their fall, see my essay. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxviii. [fn# ] aboulabbas mohammed ibn sabih, surnamed ibn es semmak (son of the fishmonger), a well-known cufan jurisconsult and ascetic of the time. he passed the latter part of his life at baghdad and enjoyed high favour with er reshid, as the only theological authority whom the latter could induce to promise him admission to paradise. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. vii. pp. - , night dlxviii. [fn# ] seventh khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - . [fn# ] sixth khalif of the house of abbas, a.d. - , a sanguinary and incapable prince, whose contemplated treachery against his brother el mamoun, (whom, by the advice of his vizier, the worthless intriguer fezl ben rebya, the same who was one of the prime movers in the ruin of the illustrious barmecide family and who succeeded yehya and his sons in the vizierate (see my essay), he contemplated depriving of his right of succession and murdering,) was deservedly requited with the loss of his own kingdom and life. he was, by the way, put to death by el mamoun's general, in contravention of the express orders of that generous and humane prince, who wished his brother to be sent prisoner to him, on the capture of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. forfeits. it is a favourite custom among the arabs to impose on the loser of a game, in lieu of stakes, the obligation of doing whatsoever the winner may command him. for an illustration of this practice, see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - , story of the sandalwood merchant and the sharpers. [fn# ] el mamoun was of a very swarthy complexion and is said to have been the son of a black slave-girl. zubeideh was er reshid's cousin, and el amin was, therefore, a member of the house of abbas, both on the father's and mother's side. of this purity of descent from the prophet's family (in which he is said to have stood alone among the khalifs of the abbaside dynasty) both himself and his mother were exceedingly proud, and it was doubtless this circumstance which led er reshid to prefer el amin and to assign him the precedence in the succession over the more capable and worthier el mamoun. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. viii. pp. - , nights dclx-i. [fn# ] a pre-mohammedan king of the arab kingdom of hireh (a town near cufa on the euphrates), under the suzerainty of the chosroes of persia, and a cruel and fantastic tyrant. [fn# ] the tribe to which belonged the renowned pre-mohammedan chieftain and poet, hatim tal, so celebrated in the east for his extravagant generosity and hospitality. [fn# ] i.e. i will make a solemn covenant with him before god. [fn# ] i.e. he of the tribe of tai. [fn# ] in generosity. [fn# ] a similar anecdote is told of omar ben el khettab, second successor of mohammed, and will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] breslau text, vol. viii. pp. - , nights dclxxv--vi. [fn# ] a similar story will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night", vol. v. p. . [fn# ] breslau text, vol xi. pp. - , nights dccclxxv-dccccxxx. [fn# ] i.e. a pilgrimage. pilgrimage is one of a muslim's urgent duties. [fn# ] by a rhetorical figure, mecca is sometimes called el hejj (the pilgrimage) and this appears to be the case here. it is one of the dearest towns in the east and the chief occupation of its inhabitants a the housing and fleecing of pilgrims. an arab proverb says, "there is no place in which money goes [so fast] as it goes in mecca." [fn# ] lit. loved with it. [fn# ] it is not clear what is here meant by el hejj; perhaps medina, though this is a "visitation" and not an obligatory part of the pilgrimage. the passage is probably corrupt. [fn# ] it is not clear what is here meant by el hejj; perhaps medina, though this is a "visitation" and not an obligatory part of the pilgrimage. the passage is probably corrupt. [fn# ] syn. whole or perfect (sehik). [fn# ] i.e. in white woollen garments. [fn# ] i.e. i desire a privy place, where i may make the preliminary ablution and pray. [fn# ] it is customary in the east to give old men and women the complimentary title of "pilgrim," assuming, as a matter of course, that they have performed the obligatory rite of pilgrimage. [fn# ] or saint. [fn# ] keniseh, a christian or other non-muslim place of worship. [fn# ] apparently the harem. [fn# ] i.e. otherwise than according to god's ordinance. [fn# ] a city of persian irak. [fn# ] lit. its apparatus, i.e. spare strings, etc.? [fn# ] i.e. the woman whose face he saw. [fn# ] lit. the place of battle, i.e. that where they had lain. [fn# ] a common eastern fashion of securing a shop, when left for a short time. the word shebekeh (net) may also be tendered a grating or network of iron or other metal. [fn# ] i.e. gave her good measure. [fn# ] i.e. she found him a good workman. equivoque erotique, apparently founded on the to-and-fro movement of the shuttle in weaving. [fn! ] equivoque érotique. [fn# ] i.e. removed the goods exposed for sale and laid them up in the inner shop or storehouse. [fn# ] the eastern oven is generally a great earthenware jar sunken in the earth. [fn# ] i.e. a boughten white slave (memlouk). [fn# ] apparently changing places. the text is here fearfully corrupt and (as in many other parts of the breslau edition) so incoherent as to be almost unintelligible. [fn# ] i.e. in the (inner) courtyard. [fn# ] i.e. the essential nature, lit. jewel. [fn# ] i.e. in proffering thee the kingship. [fn# ] without the city. [fn# ] according to the conclusion of the story, this recompense consisted in an augmentation of the old man's allowances of food. see post, p. . [fn# ] i.e. i have given my opinion. [fn# ] this passage is evidently corrupt. i have amended it, on conjecture, to the best of my power. [fn# ] the words ruteb wa menazil, here rendered "degrees and dignities," may also be rendered, "stations and mansions (of the moon and planets)." [fn# ] syn. "ailing" or "sickly." [fn# ] i.e. the caravan with which he came. [fn# ] i.e. i seek to marry thy daughter, not for her own sake, but because i desire thine alliance. [fn# ] i.e. the face of his bride. [fn# ] i.e. his wife. [fn# ] i.e. his wife. [fn# ] naming the poor man. [fn# ] naming his daughter. [fn# ] i.e. united. [fn# ] or "humble." [fn# ] i.e. one another. [fn# ] or "conquer." [fn# ] or "commandment." [fn# ] lit. "will be higher than." [fn# ] syn. device or resource (hileh). [fn# ] syn. chasten or instruct. [fn# ] students of our old popular poetry will recognize, in the principal incident of this story, the subject of the well-known ballad, "the heir of linne." [fn# ] i.e. turcomans; afterwards called sejestan. [fn# ] with a pile of stones or some such landmark. [fn# ] i.e. the extraordinary resemblance of the supposed sister to his wife. [fn# ] the foregoing passage is evidently very corrupt and the meaning is by no means plain, but, in the absence of a parallel version, it is impossible to clear up the obscurity of the text. [fn# ] this appears to be the sense of the text; but the whole passage is to obscure and corrupt that it is impossible to make sure of its exact meaning. [fn# ] meaning apparently, "thou puttest my devices to nought" or (perhaps) "thou art so skilful that i fear lest thou undermine my favour with the king and oust me from my post of vizier." [fn# ] lit. "land;" but the meaning is evidently as in the text. [fn# ] the reader will recognize the well-known story used by chaucer, boccaccio and la fontaine. [fn# ] syn. flourishing. [fn# ] syn. depopulated. [fn# ] lit. an oppressor. [fn# ] i.e. a man of commanding presence. [fn# ] syn. cause flourish. [fn# ] syn. depopulateth. [fn# ] lit. the year. [fn# ] the whole of the tither's account of himself is terribly obscure and so corrupt that it is hardly possible to make sense of it. the same remark applies to much of the rest of the story. [fn# ] or "cause flourish." [fn# ] lit. a better theologian. the muslim law being entirely based on the koran and the traditions of the prophet, the terms "lawyer" and "theologian" are necessarily synonymous among mohammedan peoples. [fn# ] a danic is the sixth of a dirhem, i.e. about one penny. [fn# ] i.e. say, "may i be [triply] divorced from my wife, if etc.!" by the muslim law, a divorce three times pronounced is irrevocable, and in case of its appearing that the user of such an oath as the above had sworn falsely, his wife would become divorced by operation of law, without further ceremony. hence the frequency and binding nature of the oath in question. [fn# ] i.e. thousandfold cuckold. [fn# ] i.e. the blows which the thief had given him. [fn# ] i.e. at least, at the most moderate reckoning. [fn# ] or "breath of god," a title given to jesus by the mohammedans. [fn# ] i.e. attaineth his desire. [fn# ] syn. guards. [fn# ] i.e. the husbandman. [fn# ] i.e. those bound to render suit and service to the king, as holders of fiefs. [fn# ] syn. the revenue or rent-charge of thy fief. [fn# ] heads of families? [fn# ] or "caused flourish." [fn# ] or froward. [fn# ] i.e. sold and spent the price of. [fn# ] i.e. his lack of means to entertain her. [fn# ] i.e. all that can conduce to. [fn# ] i.e. it is for you (after god) to excuse me. [fn# ] i.e. the [supposed] rest of his hoard. [fn# ] apparently the idiot's name. [fn# ] i.e. had he been on his own guard against that, etc. text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the second. delhi edition contents of the second volume. breslau text. . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan (continued) a. story of the pious woman accused of lewdness b. story of the journeyman and the girl c. story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment d. story of the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow e. story of the sharpers with the money-changer and the ass f. story of the sharper and the merchants i. story of the hawk and the locust g. story op the king and his chamberlain wife h. story of the old woman and the draper's wife i. story of the foul-favoured man and his fair wife j. story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him k. story of selim and selma l. story of the king of hind and his vizier . el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police a. the first officer's story b. the second officer's story c. the third officer's story d. the fourth officer's story e. the fifth officer's story f. the sixth officer's story g. the seventh officer's story h. the eighth officer's story i. the thief's story i. the ninth officer's story j. the tenth officer's story k. the eleventh officer's story l. the twelfth officer's story m. the thirteenth officer's story n. the fourteenth officer's story i. a merry jest of a thief ii. story of the old sharper o. the fifteenth officer's story p. the sixteenth officer's story . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar a. story of the damsel tuhfet el culoub and the khalif haroun er reshid calcutta ( - ) text . women's craft breslau text. king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan (continued). the eighteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and required of him the [promised] story; so he said, "it is well. know, o king, that story of the pious woman accused of lewdness. there was once a man of nishapour,[fn# ] who had a wife of the utmost loveliness and piety, and he was minded to set out on the pilgrimage. so he commended his wife to the care of his brother and besought him to aid her in her affairs and further her to her desires till he should return, so they both abode alive and well. then he took ship and departed and his absence was prolonged. meanwhile, the brother went in to his brother's wife, at all times and seasons, and questioned her of her circumstances and went about her occasions; and when his visits to her were prolonged and he heard her speech and looked upon her face, the love of her gat hold upon his heart and he became distraught with passion for her and his soul prompted him [to evil]. so he besought her to lie with him, but she refused and chid him for his foul deed, and he found him no way unto presumption;[fn# ] wherefore he importuned her with soft speech and gentleness. now she was righteous in all her dealings and swerved not from one word;[fn# ] so, when he saw that she consented not unto him, he misdoubted that she would tell his brother, when he returned from his journey, and said to her, 'an thou consent not to this whereof i require thee, i will cause thee fall into suspicion and thou wilt perish.' quoth she, 'be god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) [judge] betwixt me and thee, and know that, shouldst thou tear me limb from limb, i would not consent to that whereto thou biddest me.' his folly[fn# ] persuaded him that she would tell her husband; so, of his exceeding despite, he betook himself to a company of people in the mosque and told them that he had witnessed a man commit adultery with his brother's wife. they believed his saying and took act of his accusation and assembled to stone her. then they dug her a pit without the city and seating her therein, stoned her, till they deemed her dead, when they left her. presently a villager passed by [the pit and finding] her [alive,] carried her to his house and tended her, [till she recovered]. now, he had a son, and when the young man saw her, he loved her and besought her of herself; but she refused and consented not to him, whereupon he redoubled in love and longing and despite prompted him to suborn a youth of the people of his village and agree with him that he should come by night and take somewhat from his father's house and that, when he was discovered, he should say that she was of accord with him in this and avouch that she was his mistress and had been stoned on his account in the city. so he did this and coming by night to the villager's house, stole therefrom goods and clothes; whereupon the old man awoke and seizing the thief, bound him fast and beat him, to make him confess. so he confessed against the woman that she had prompted him to this and that he was her lover from the city. the news was bruited abroad and the people of the city assembled to put her to death; but the old man, with whom she was, forbade them and said, 'i brought this woman hither, coveting the recompense [of god,] and i know not [the truth of] that which is said of her and will not suffer any to hurt her.' then he gave her a thousand dirhems, by way of alms, and put her forth of the village. as for the thief, he was imprisoned for some days; after which the folk interceded for him with the old man, saying, 'this is a youth and indeed he erred;' and he released him. meanwhile, the woman went out at hazard and donning devotee's apparel, fared on without ceasing, till she came to a city and found the king's deputies dunning the towns-folk for the tribute, out of season. presently, she saw a man, whom they were pressing for the tribute; so she enquired of his case and being acquainted therewith, paid down the thousand dirhems for him and delivered him from beating; whereupon he thanked her and those who were present. when he was set free, he accosted her and besought her to go with him to his dwelling. so she accompanied him thither and supped with him and passed the night. when the night darkened on him, his soul prompted him to evil, for that which he saw of her beauty and loveliness, and he lusted after her and required her [of love]; but she repelled him and bade him fear god the most high and reminded him of that which she had done with him of kindness and how she had delivered him from beating and humiliation. however, he would not be denied, and when he saw her [constant] refusal of herself to him, he feared lest she should tell the folk of him. so, when he arose in the morning, he took a scroll and wrote in it what he would of forgery and falsehood and going up to the sultan's palace, said, '[i have] an advisement [for the king].' so he bade admit him and he delivered him the writ that he had forged, saying, 'i found this letter with the woman, the devotee, the ascetic, and indeed she is a spy, a secret informer against the king to his enemy; and i deem the king's due more incumbent on me than any other and his advisement the first [duty], for that he uniteth in himself all the people, and but for the king's presence, the subjects would perish; wherefore i have brought [thee] warning.' the king put faith in his words and sent with him those who should lay hands upon the woman and put her to death; but they found her not. as for the woman, whenas the man went out from her, she resolved to depart; so she went forth, saying in herself, 'there is no journeying for me in woman's attire.' then she donned men's apparel, such as is worn of the pious, and set out and wandered over the earth; nor did she leave going till she entered a certain city. now the king of that city had an only daughter in whom he gloried and whom he loved, and she saw the devotee and deeming her a pilgrim youth, said to her father, 'i would fain have this youth take up his abode with me, so i may learn of him wisdom and renunciation and religion.' her father rejoiced in this and commanded the [supposed] pilgrim to take up his sojourn with his daughter in his palace. now they were in one place and the king's daughter was strenuous to the utterest in continence and chastity and nobility of mind and magnanimity and devotion to the worship of god; but the ignorant slandered her[fn# ] and the folk of the realm said, 'the king's daughter loveth the pilgrim youth and he loveth her.' now the king was a very old man and destiny decreed the ending of his term of life; so he died and when he was buried, the folk assembled and many were the sayings of the people and of the king's kinsfolk and officers, and they took counsel together to slay the princess and the young pilgrim, saying, 'this fellow dishonoureth us with yonder strumpet and none accepteth dishonour but the base.' so they fell upon them and slew the princess, without questioning her of aught; whereupon the pious woman (whom they deemed a boy) said to them, 'out on ye, o misbelievers i ye have slain the pious lady.' quoth they, 'lewd fellow that thou art, dost thou bespeak us thus? thou lovedst her and she loved thee, and we will slay thee without mercy.' 'god forbid!' answered she, 'indeed, the affair is the contrary of this.' 'what proof hast thou of that?' asked they, and she said, 'bring me women.' so they brought her women, and when they looked on her, they found her a woman. when the townsfolk saw this, they repented of that which they had done and the affair was grievous to them; so they sought pardon [of god] and said to her, ' by the virtue of him whom thou servest, do thou seek pardon for us [of god!]' quoth she, 'as for me, i may no longer abide with you and i am about to depart from you.' then they humbled themselves in supplication to her and wept and said to her, 'we conjure thee, by the virtue of god the most high, that thou take upon thyself the governance of the kingdom and of the subjects.' but she refused; whereupon they came up to her and wept and gave not over supplicating her, till she consented and abode in the kingship. her first commandment was that they should bury the princess and build over her a dome[fn# ] and she abode in that palace, worshipping god the most high and ruling the people with justice, and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) vouchsafed her, by reason of the excellence of her piety and her patience and continence, the acceptance of her prayers, so that she sought not aught of him to whom belong might and majesty, but he granted her prayer; and her report was noised abroad in all countries. so the folk resorted to her from all parts and she used to pray god (to whom belong might and majesty) for the oppressed and god granted him relief, and against his oppressor, and he broke him in sunder. moreover, she prayed for the sick and they were made whole; and on this wise she abode a great space of time. as for her husband, when he returned from the pilgrimage, his brother and the neighbours acquainted him with his wife's affair, whereat he was sore concerned and misdoubted of their story, for that which he knew of her chastity and prayerfulness; and he wept for her loss. meanwhile, she prayed to god the most high that he would establish her innocence in the eyes of her husband and the folk. so he sent down upon her husband's brother a sore disease and none knew a remedy for him; wherefore he said to his brother, ' in such a city is a pious woman, a recluse, and her prayers are answered; so do thou carry me to her, that she may pray for me and god (to whom belong might and majesty) may make me whole of this sickness.' accordingly, he took him up and fared on with him, till they came to the village where dwelt the old man, who had rescued the woman from the pit and carried her to his dwelling and tended her there, [till she recovered]. here they halted and took up their lodging with the old man, who questioned the husband of his case and that of his brother and the reason of their journey, and he said, 'i purpose to go with my brother, this sick man, to the holy woman, her whose prayers are answered, so she may pray for him and god may make him whole by the blessing of her prayers.' quoth the villager, 'by allah, my son is in a parlous plight for sickness and we have heard that the holy woman prayeth for the sick and they are made whole. indeed, the folk counsel me to carry him to her, and behold, i will go in company with you. and they said, 'it is well.' so they passed the night in that intent and on the morrow they set out for the dwelling of the holy woman, this one carrying his son and that his brother. now the man who had stolen the clothes and forged a lie against the pious woman, pretending that he was her lover, sickened of a sore sickness, and his people took him up and set out with him to visit the holy woman, and destiny brought them all together by the way. so they fared on, till they came to the city wherein the man dwelt for whom she had paid a thousand dirhems, to deliver him from torment, and found him about to travel to her, by reason of a sickness that had betided him. so they all fared on together, unknowing that the holy woman was she whom they had so foully wronged, and ceased not going till they came to her city and foregathered at the gates of her palace, to wit, that wherein was the tomb of the king's daughter. now the folk used to go in to her and salute her and crave her prayers; and it was her wont to pray for none till he had confessed to her his sins, when she would seek pardon for him and pray for him that he might be healed, and he was straightway made whole of sickness, by permission of god the most high. [so, when the four sick men were brought in to her,] she knew them forthright, though they knew her not, and said to them, ' let each of you confess his sins, so i may crave pardon for him and pray for him.' and the brother said, 'as for me, i required my brother's wife of herself and she refused; whereupon despite and folly[fn# ] prompted me and i lied against her and accused her to the townsfolk of adultery; so they stoned her and slew her unjustly and unrighteously; and this is the issue of unright and falsehood and of the slaying of the [innocent] soul, whose slaughter god hath forbidden.' then said the young man, the villager's son, 'and i, o holy woman, my father brought us a woman who had been stoned, and my people tended her till she recovered. now she was surpassing of beauty; so i required her of herself; but she refused and clave fast to god (to whom belong might and majesty), wherefore folly[fn# ] prompted me, so that i agreed with one of the youths that he should steal clothes and coin from my father's house. then i laid hands on him [and carried him] to my father and made him confess. so he avouched that the woman was his mistress from the city and had been stoned on his account and that she was of accord with him concerning the theft and had opened the doors to him, and this was a lie against her, for that she had not yielded to me in that which i sought of her. so there befell me what ye see of punishment." and the young man, the thief, said, 'i am he with whom thou agreedst concerning the theft and to whom thou openedst the door, and i am he who avouched against her falsely and calumniously and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) knoweth that i never did evil with her, no, nor knew her in any wise before then.' then said he whom she had delivered from torture and for whom she had paid a thousand dirhems and who had required her of herself in his house, for that her beauty pleased him, and [when she refused to yield to him] had forged a letter against her and treacherously denounced her to the sultan and requited her bounty with ingratitude, 'i am he who wronged her and lied against her, and this is the issue of the oppressor's affair.' when she heard their words, in the presence of the folk, she said, 'praise be to god, the king who availeth unto all things, and blessing upon his prophets and apostles!' then quoth she [to the assembly], ' bear witness, o ye who are present, to these men's speech, and know that i am that woman whom they confess that they wronged.' and she turned to her husband's brother and said to him, 'i am thy brother's wife and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he i) delivered me from that whereinto thou castedst me of false accusation and suspect and from the frowardness whereof thou hast spoken, and [now] hath he shown forth my innocence, of his bounty and generosity. go, for thou art absolved of the wrong thou didst me.' then she prayed for him and he was made whole of his sickness. then said she to the villager's son, 'know that i am the woman whom thy father delivered from harm and stress and whom there betided from thee of false accusation and frowardness that which thou hast named.' and she craved pardon for him and he was made whole of his sickness. [then said she to the thief, 'i am she against whom thou liedst, avouching that i was thy mistress, who had been stoned on thine account, and that i was of accord with thee concerning the robbing of the villager's house and had opened the doors to thee.' and she prayed for him and he was made whole of his sickness.] then said she to [the townsman], him of the tribute, 'i am she who gave thee the [thousand] dirhems and thou didst with me what thou didst.' and she craved pardon for him and prayed for him and he was made whole; whereupon the folk marvelled at her oppressors, who had been afflicted alike, so god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) might show forth her innocence before witnesses. then she turned to the old man who had delivered her from the pit and prayed for him and gave him presents galore and among them a myriad of money;[fn# ] and they all departed from her, except her husband. when she was alone with him, she made him draw near unto her and rejoiced in his coming and gave him the choice of abiding with her. moreover, she assembled the people of the city and set out to them his virtue and worth and counselled them to invest him with the charge of their governance and besought them to make him king over them. they fell in with her of this and he became king and took up his abode amongst them, whilst she gave herself up to her religious exercises and abode with her husband on such wise as she was with him aforetime.[fn# ] nor," added the vizier, "is this story, o king of the time, more extraordinary or more delightful than that of the journeyman and the girl whose belly he slit and fled." when king shah bekht heard this, he said, "most like all they say of the vizier is leasing and his innocence will appear, even as that of the pious woman appeared." then he comforted the vizier's heart and bade him go to his house. the nineteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king bade fetch the vizier and required of him the story of the journeyman and the girl. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o august king, that story of the journeyman and the girl. there was once, of old time, in one of the tribes of the arabs, a woman great with child by her husband, and they had a hired servant, a man of excellent understanding. when the woman came to [the time of her] delivery, she gave birth to a maid-child in the night and they sought fire of the neighbours. so the journeyman went in quest of fire. now there was in the camp a wise woman,[fn# ] and she questioned him of the new-born child, if it was male or female. quoth he, 'it is a girl;' and she said, 'she shall do whoredom with a hundred men and a journeyman shall marry her and a spider shall slay her.' when the journeyman heard this, he returned upon his steps and going in to the woman, took the child from her by wile and slit its paunch. then he fled forth into the desert at a venture and abode in strangerhood what [while] god willed. he gained him wealth and returning to his native land, after twenty years' absence, alighted in the neighbourhood of an old woman, whom he bespoke fair and entreated with liberality, requiring of her a wench whom he might lie withal. quoth she, 'i know none but a certain fair woman, who is renowned for this fashion.'[fn# ] then she described her charms to him and made him lust after her, and he said, 'hasten to her forthright and lavish unto her that which she asketh, [in exchange for her favours].' so the old woman betook herself to the damsel and discovered to her the man's wishes and bade her to him; but she answered, saying, 'it is true that i was on this [fashion of] whoredom [aforetime]; but now i have repented to god the most high and hanker no more after this; nay, i desire lawful marriage; so, if he be content with that which is lawful, i am at his service.' the old woman returned to the man and told him what the damsel said; and he lusted after her, by reason of her beauty and her repentance; so he took her to wife, and when he went in to her, he loved her and she also loved him. on this wise they abode a great while, till one day he questioned her of the cause of a mark[fn# ] he espied on her body, and she said, 'i know nought thereof save that my mother told me a marvellous thing concerning it.' 'what was that?' asked he, and she answered, 'she avouched that she gave birth to me one night of the nights of the winter and despatched a hired man, who was with us, in quest of fire for her. he was absent a little while and presently returning, took me and slit my belly and fled. when my mother saw this, affliction overcame her and compassion possessed her; so she sewed up my belly and tended me till, by the ordinance of god (to whom belong might and majesty), the wound healed up." when her husband heard this, he said to her, 'what is thy name and what are the names of thy father and mother?' she told him their names and her own, whereby he knew that it was she whose belly he had slit and said to her, 'and where are thy father and mother?' 'they are both dead,' answered she, and he said, 'i am that journeyman who slit thy belly.' quoth she, 'why didst thou that?' and he replied, 'because of a saying i heard from the wise woman.' 'what was it?' asked his wife, and he said, 'she avouched that thou wouldst play the harlot with a hundied men and that i should after take thee to wife.' quoth she, 'ay, i have whored it with a hundred men, no more and no less, and behold, thou hast married me.' 'moreover,' continued her husband, 'the wise woman foresaid, also, that thou shouldst die, at the last of thy life, of the bite of a spider. indeed, her saying hath been verified of the harlotry and the marriage, and i fear lest her word come true no less in the matter of thy death.' then they betook themselves to a place without the city, where he builded him a mansion of solid stone and white plaster and stopped its inner [walls] and stuccoed them; yea, he left not therein cranny nor crevice and set in it two serving-women to sweep and wipe, for fear of spiders. here he abode with his wife a great while, till one day he espied a spider on the ceiling and beat it down. when his wife saw it, she said, 'this is that which the wise woman avouched would kill me; so, by thy life [i conjure thee], suffer me to slay it with mine own hand.' her husband forbade her from this, but she conjured him to let her kill the spider; then, of her fear and her eagerness, she took a piece of wood and smote it. the wood broke in sunder, of the force of the blow, and a splinter from it entered her hand and wrought upon it, so that it swelled. then her arm swelled also and the swelling spread to her side and thence grew till it reached her heart and she died. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary or more wonderful than the story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment." when the king heard this, his admiration redoubled and he said, "of a truth, destiny is forewritten to all creatures, and i will not accept[fn# ] aught that is said against my vizier the loyal counsellor." and he bade him go to his house. the twentieth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king let call his vizier and he presented himself before him, whereupon he required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king. that story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment. there was once, in the land of fars,[fn# ] a man who took to wife a woman higher than himself in rank and nobler of lineage, but she had no guardian to preserve her from want. it misliked her to marry one who was beneath her; nevertheless, she married him, because of need, and took of him a bond in writing to the effect that he would still be under her commandment and forbiddance and would nowise gainsay her in word or deed. now the man was a weaver and he bound himself in writing to pay his wife ten thousand dirhems, [in case he should make default in the condition aforesaid]. on this wise they abode a long while till one day the wife went out in quest of water, whereof she had need, and espied a physician who had spread a carpet in the thereon he had set out great store of drugs and implements of medicine and he was speaking and muttering [charms], whilst the folk flocked to him and compassed him about on every side. the weaver's wife marvelled at the largeness of the physician's fortune[fn# ] and said in herself, 'were my husband thus, he would have an easy life of it and that wherein we are of straitness and misery would be enlarged unto him.' then she returned home, troubled and careful; and when her husband saw her on this wise, he questioned her of her case and she said to him, 'verily, my breast is straitened by reason of thee and of the simpleness of thine intent. straitness liketh me not and thou in thy [present] craft gaiuest nought; so either do thou seek out a craft other than this or pay me my due[fn# ] and let me go my way.' her husband chid her for this and admonished her;[fn# ] but she would not be turned from her intent and said to him, 'go forth and watch yonder physician how he doth and leam from him what he saith.' quoth he, 'let not thy heart be troubled: i will go every day to the physician's assembly.' so he fell to resorting daily to the physician and committing to memory his sayings and that which he spoke of jargon, till he had gotten a great matter by heart, and all this he studied throughly and digested it. then he returned to his wife and said to her, 'i have committed the physician's sayings to memory and have learned his fashion of muttering and prescribing and applying remedies[fn# ] and have gotten by heart the names of the remedies and of all the diseases, and there abideth nought [unaccomplished] of thy commandment. what wilt thou have me do now?' quoth she, 'leave weaving and open thyself a physician's shop.' but he answered, 'the people of my city know me and this affair will not profit me, save in a land of strangerhood; so come, let us go out from this city and get us to a strange land and [there] live.' and she said, 'do as thou wilt.' so he arose and taking his weaving gear, sold it and bought with the price drugs and simples and wrought himself a carpet, with which they set out and journeyed to a certain village, where they took up their abode. then the man donned a physician's habit and fell to going round about the hamlets and villages and country parts; and he began to earn his living and make gain. their affairs prospered and their case was bettered; wherefore they praised god for their present ease and the village became to them a home. [on this wise he abode a pretty while] and the days ceased not and the nights to transport him from country to country, till he came to the land of the greeks and lighted down in a city of the cities thereof, wherein was galen the sage; but the weaver knew him not, nor was he ware who he was. so he went forth, according to his wont, in quest of a place where the folk might assemble together, and hired galen's courtyard.[fn# ] there he spread his carpet and setting out thereon his drugs and instruments of medicine, praised himself and his skill and vaunted himself of understanding such as none but he might claim. galen heard that which he avouched of his understanding and it was certified unto him and established in his mind that the man was a skilled physician of the physicians of the persians and [he said in himself], 'except he had confidence in his knowledge and were minded to confront me and contend with me, he had not sought the door of my house neither spoken that which he hath spoken.' and concern gat hold upon galen and doubt. then he looked out upon[fn# ] the weaver and addressed himself to see what he should do, whilst the folk began to flock to him and set out to him their ailments, and he would answer them thereof [and prescribe for them], hitting the mark one while and missing it another, so that there appeared unto galen of his fashion nothing whereby his mind might be assured that he had formed a just opinion of his skill. presently, up came a woman with a phial of urine, and when the [mock] physician saw the phial afar off, he said to her, 'this is the urine of a man, a stranger.' 'yes,' answered she; and he continued, 'is he not a jew and is not his ailment indigestion?' 'yes,' replied the woman, and the folk marvelled at this; wherefore the man was magnified in galen's eyes, for that he heard speech such as was not of the usage of physicians, seeing that they know not urine but by shaking it and looking into it anear neither know they a man's water from a woman's water, nor a stranger's [from a countryman's], nor a jew's from a sherifs.[fn# ] then said the woman, 'what is the remedy?' quoth the weaver, 'pay down the fee.' so she paid him a dirhem and he gave her medicines contrary to that ailment and such as would aggravate the patient's malady. when galen saw what appeared to him of the [mock] physician's incapacity, he turned to his disciples and pupils and bade them fetch the other, with all his gear and drugs. so they brought him into his presence on the speediest wise, and when galen saw him before him, he said to him, 'knowest thou me?' ' no,' answered the other, 'nor did i ever set eyes on thee before this day.' quoth the sage, 'dost thou know galen?' and the weaver said, 'no.' then said galen, 'what prompted thee to that which thou dost?' so he related to him his story and gave him to know of the dowry and the obligation by which he was bound with regard to his wife, whereat galen marvelled and certified himself of the matter of the dower. then he bade lodge him near himself and was bountiful to him and took him apart and said to him, 'expound to me the story of the phial and whence then knewest that the water therein was that of a man, and he a stranger and a jew, and that his ailment was indigestion?' ' it is well,' answered the weaver. ' thou must know that we people of persia are skilled in physiognomy[fn# ] and i saw the woman to be rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed and tall. now these attributes belong to women who are enamoured of a man and are distraught for love of him;[fn# ] moreover, i saw her consumed [with anxiety]; wherefore i knew that the patient was her husband. as for his strangerhood, i observed that the woman's attire differed from that of the people of the city, wherefore i knew that she was a stranger; and in the mouth of the phial i espied a yellow rag,[fn# ] whereby i knew that the patient was a jew and she a jewess. moreover, she came to me on the first day [of the week];[fn# ] and it is the jews' custom to take pottages[fn# ] and meats that have been dressed overnight[fn# ] and eat them on the sabbath day,[fn# ] hot and cold, and they exceed in eating; wherefore indigestion betideth them. on this wise i was directed and guessed that which thou hast heard.' when galen heard this, he ordered the weaver the amount of his wife's dowry and bade him pay it to her and divorce her. moreover, he forbade him from returning to the practice of physic and warned him never again to take to wife a woman of better condition than himself; and he gave him his spending-money and bade him return to his [former] craft. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary or rarer than the story of the two sharpers who cozened each his fellow." when king shah bekht heard this, he said in himself, "how like is this story to my present case with this vizier, who hath not his like!" then he bade him depart to his own house and come again at eventide. the twenty-first night of the month. when came the night, the vizier presented himself before the king, who bade him relate the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, out story of the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow. there was once, in the city of baghdad, a man, [by name el merouzi,][fn# ] who was a sharper and plagued[fn# ] the folk with his knavish tricks, and he was renowned in all quarters [for roguery]. [he went out one day], carrying a load of sheep's dung, and took an oath that he would not return to his lodging till he had sold it at the price of raisins. now there was in another city a second sharper, [by name er razi,][fn# ] one of its people, who [went out the same day], bearing a load of goat's dung, which he had sworn that he would not sell but at the price of dried figs. so each of them fared on with that which was with him and gave not over going till they met in one of the inns[fn# ] and each complained to the other of that which he had abidden of travel [in quest of custom] and of the lack of demand for his wares. now each of them had it in mind to cheat his fellow; so el merouzi said to er razi, 'wilt thou sell me that?' 'yes,' answered he, and the other continued, 'and wilt thou buy that which is with me?' er razi assented; so they agreed upon this and each of them sold his fellow that which was with him [in exchange for the other's ware]; after which they bade each other farewell and parted. as soon as they were out of each other's sight, they examined their loads, to see what was therein, and one of them found that he had a load of sheep's dung and the other that he had a load of goat's dung; whereupon each of them turned back in quest of his fellow. they met in the inn aforesaid and laughed at each other and cancelling their bargain, agreed to enter into partnership and that all that they had of money and other good should be in common between them, share and share alike. then said er razi to el merouzi, 'come with me to my city, for that it is nearer [than thine].' so he went with him, and when he came to his lodging, he said to his wife and household and neighbours, 'this is my brother, who hath been absent in the land of khorassan and is come back.' and he abode with him in all honour and worship three days' space. on the fourth day, er razi said to him, 'know, o my brother, that i purpose to do somewhat' 'what is it?' asked el merouzi. quoth the other, 'i mean to feign myself dead and do thou go to the market and hire two porters and a bier. [then come back and take me up and go round about the streets and markets with me and collect alms on my account.][fn# ] accordingly el merouzi repaired to the market and fetching that which he sought, returned to er razi's house, where he found the latter cast down in the vestibule, with his beard tied and his eyes shut; and indeed, his colour was paled and his belly blown out and his limbs relaxed. so he deemed him in truth dead and shook him; but he spoke not; and he took a knife and pricked him in the legs, but he stirred not. then said er razi, 'what is this, o fool?' and el merouzi answered, 'methought thou wast dead in very sooth.' quoth er razi, 'get thee to seriousness and leave jesting.' so he took him up and went with him to the market and collected [alms] for him that day till eventide, when he carried him back to his lodging and waited till the morrow. next morning, he again took up the bier and went round with it as before, in quest of alms. presently, the master of police, who was of those who had given alms on account of the supposed dead man on the previous day, met him; so he was angered and fell on the porters and beat them and took the [supposed] dead body, saying, 'i will bury him and earn the reward [of god].'[fn# ] so his men took him up and carrying him to the prefecture, fetched grave-diggers, who dug him a grave. then they bought him a shroud and perfumes[fn# ] and fetched an old man of the quarter, to wash him. so he recited over him [the appointed prayers and portions of the koran] and laying him on the bench, washed him and shrouded him. after he had shrouded him, he voided;[fn# ] so he renewed the washing and went away to make his ablutions,[fn# ] whilst all the folk departed, likewise, to make the [obligatory] ablution, previously to the funeral. when the dead man found himself alone, he sprang up, as he were a satan, and donning the washer's clothes,[fn# ] took the bowls and water-can and wrapped them up in the napkins. then be took his shroud under his arm and went out. the doorkeepers thought that he was the washer and said to him, 'hast thou made an end of the washing, so we may tell the amir?' 'yes,' answered the sharper and made off to his lodging, where he found el merouzi soliciting his wife and saying to her, 'nay, by thy life, thou wilt never again look upon his face; for that by this time he is buried. i myself escaped not from them but after travail and trouble, and if he speak, they will put him to death.' quoth she, 'and what wilt thou have of me?' 'accomplish my desire of thee,' answered he, 'and heal my disorder, for i am better than thy husband.' and he fell a-toying with her. when er razi heard this, he said, 'yonder wittol lusteth after my wife; but i will do him a mischief.' then he rushed in upon them, and when el merouzi saw him, he marvelled at him and said to him, 'how didst thou make thine escape?' so he told him the trick he had played and they abode talking of that which they had collected from the folk [by way of alms], and indeed they had gotten great store of money. then said el merouzi, 'verily, mine absence hath been prolonged and fain would i return to my own country.' quoth er rasi,' as thou wilt;' and the other said, 'let us divide the money we have gotten and do thou go with me to my country, so i may show thee my tricks and my fashions.' 'come to-morrow,' replied er razi, 'and we will divide the money.' so el merouzi went away and the other turned to his wife and said to her, 'we have gotten us great plenty of money, and yonder dog would fain take the half of it; but this shall never be, for that my mind hath been changed against him, since i heard him solicit thee; wherefore i purpose to play him a trick and enjoy all the money; and do not thou cross me.' ' it is well,' answered she, and he said to her, '[to-morrow] at day-peep i will feign myself dead and do thou cry out and tear thy hair, whereupon the folk will flock to me. then lay me out and bury me, and when the folk are gone away [from the burial-place], do thou dig down to me and take me; and have no fear for me, for i can abide two days in the tomb [without hurt].' and she answered, 'do what thou wilt.' so, when it was the foredawn hour, she tied his beard and spreading a veil over him, cried out, whereupon the people of the quarter flocked to her, men and women. presently, up came el merouzi, for the division of the money, and hearing the crying [of the mourners], said, 'what is to do?" quoth they, 'thy brother is dead;' and he said in himself, 'the accursed fellow putteth a cheat on me, so he may get all the money for himself, but i will do with him what shall soon bring him to life again.' then he rent the bosom of his gown and uncovered his head, weeping and saying, 'alas, my brother! alas, my chief! alas, my lord!' and he went in to the men, who rose and condoled with him. then he accosted er razi's wife and said to her, 'how came his death about?' 'i know not,' answered she, 'except that, when i arose in the morning, i found him dead.' moreover, he questioned her of the money and good that was with her, but she said, 'i have no knowledge of this and no tidings.' so he sat down at the sharper's head, and said to him, 'know, o razi, that i will not leave thee till after ten days and their nights, wherein i will wake and sleep by thy grave. so arise and be not a fool.' but he answered him not and el merouzi [drew his knife and] fell to sticking it into the other's hands and feet, thinking to make him move; but [he stirred not and] he presently grew weary of this and concluded that the sharper was dead in good earnest. [however, he still misdoubted of the case] and said in himself, 'this fellow is dissembling, so he may enjoy all the money.' therewith he addressed himself to prepare him [for burial] and bought him perfumes and what [not else] was needed. then they brought him to the washing-place and el merouzi came to him and heating water till it boiled and bubbled and a third of it was wasted,[fn# ] fell to pouring it on his skin, so that it turned red and blue and blistered; but he abode still on one case [and stirred not]. so they wrapped him in the shroud and set him on the bier. then they took up his bier and bearing him to the burial-place, laid him in the grave[fn# ] and threw the earth over him; after which the folk dispersed, but el merouzi and the widow abode by the tomb, weeping, and gave not over sitting till sundown, when the woman said to him, 'come, let us go to the house, for this weeping will not profit us, nor will it restore the dead.' 'by allah,' answered the sharper, 'i will not budge hence till i have slept and waked by this tomb ten days, with their nights!' when she heard this his speech, she feared lest he should keep his word and his oath, and so her husband perish; but she said in herself, 'this fellow dissembleth: if i go away and return to my house, he will abide by him a little while and go away.' and el merouzi said to her, 'arise, thou, and go away.' so she arose and returned to her house, whilst el merouzi abode in his place till the night was half spent, when he said to himself, 'how long [is this to last]? yet how can i let this knavish dog die and lose the money? methinks i were better open the tomb on him and bring him forth and take my due of him by dint of grievous beating and torment.' accordingly, he dug him up and pulled him forth of the tomb; after which he betook himself to an orchard hard by the burial-ground and cut thence staves and palm sticks. then he tied the dead man's legs and came down on him with the staff and beat him grievously; but he stirred not. when the time grew long on him, his shoulders became weary and he feared lest some one of the watch should pass on his round and surprise him. so he took up er razi and carrying him forth of the cemetery, stayed not till he came to the magians' burying-place and casting him down in a sepulchre[fn# ] there, rained heavy blows upon him till his shoulders failed him, but the other stirred not then he sat down by his side and rested; after which he rose and renewed the beating upon him, [but to no better effect; and thus he did] till the end of the night now, as destiny would have it, a band of thieves, whose use it was, whenas they had stolen aught, to resort to that place and divide [their booty], came thither [that night], as of their wont; and they were ten in number and had with them wealth galore, which they were carrying. when they drew near the sepulchre, they heard a noise of blows within it and the captain said, 'this is a magian whom the angels[fn# ] are tormenting.' so they entered [the burial-ground] and when they came over against el merouzi, he feared lest they should be the officers of the watch come upon him, wherefore he [arose and] fled and stood among the tombs.[fn# ] the thieves came up to the place and finding er razi bound by the feet and by him near seventy sticks, marvelled at this with an exceeding wonderment and said, 'god confound thee! this was sure an infidel, a man of many crimes; for, behold, the earth hath rejected him from her womb, and by my life, he is yet fresh! this is his first night [in the tomb] and the angels were tormenting him but now; so whosoever of you hath a sin upon his conscience, let him beat him, as a propitiatory offering to god the most high.' and the thieves said, 'we all have sins upon our consciences.' so each of them went up to the [supposed] dead man and dealt him nigh upon a hundred blows, exclaiming the while, one, 'this is for[fn# ] my father!' and another, 'this is for my grandfather!' whilst a third said, 'this is for my brother!' and a fourth, 'this is for my mother!' and they gave not over taking turns at him and beating him, till they were weary, what while el merouzi stood laughing and saying in himself, 'it is not i alone who have entered into sin against him. there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' then the thieves addressed themselves to sharing their booty and presently fell out concerning a sword that was among the spoil, who should take it. quoth the captain, 'methinks we were better prove it; so, if it be good, we shall know its worth, and if it be ill, we shall know that.' and they said, 'try it on this dead man, for he is fresh.' so the captain took the sword and drawing it, poised it and brandished it; but, when er razi saw this, he made sure of death and said in himself, 'i have borne the washing and the boiling water and the pricking with the knife and the grave and its straitness and all this [beating], trusting in god that i might be delivered from death, and [hitherto] i have been delivered; but, as for the sword, i may not brook that, for but one stroke of it, and i am a dead man.' so saying, he sprang to his feet and catching up the thigh-bone of one of the dead, cried out at the top of his voice, saying, 'o ye dead, take them!' and he smote one of them, whilst his comrade [el merouzi] smote another and they cried out at them and buffeted them on the napes of their necks; whereupon the thieves left that which was with them of plunder and fled; and indeed their wits forsook them [for terror] and they stayed not in their flight till they came forth of the magians' burial-ground and left it a parasang's length behind them, when they halted, trembling and affrighted for the soreness of that which had betided them of fear and amazement at the dead. as for er razi and el merouzi, they made peace with each other and sat down to share the booty. quoth el merouzi, 'i will not give thee a dirhem of this money, till thou pay me my due of the money that is in thy house.' and er razi said 'i will not do it, nor will i subtract this from aught of my due.' so they fell out upon this and disputed with one another and each went saying to his fellow, 'i will not give thee a dirhem!' and words ran high between them and contention was prolonged. meanwhile, when the thieves halted, one of them said to the others, 'let us return and see;' and the captain said, 'this thing is impossible of the dead: never heard we that they came to life on this wise. so let us return and take our good, for that the dead have no occasion for good.' and they were divided in opinion as to returning: but [presently they came to a decision and] said, 'indeed, our arms are gone and we cannot avail against them and will not draw near the place where they are: only let one of us [go thither and] look at it, and if he hear no sound of them, let him advertise us what we shall do.' so they agreed that they should send a man of them and assigned him [for this service] two parts [of the booty]. accordingly, he returned to the burial-ground and gave not over going till he stood at the door of the sepulchre, when he heard el merouzi say to his fellow, 'i will not give thee a single dirhem of the money!' the other said the like and they were occupied with contention and mutual revilement and talk. so the thief returned in haste to his fellows, who said, 'what is behind thee?' quoth he, 'get you gone and flee for your lives and save yourselves, o fools; for that much people of the dead are come to life and between them are words and contention.' so the thieves fled, whilst the two sharpers retained to er razi's house and made peace with one another and laid the thieves' purchase to the money they had gotten aforetime and lived a while of time. nor, o king of the age," added the vizier, "is this rarer or more marvellous than the story of the four sharpers with the money-changer and the ass." when the king heard this story, he smiled and it pleased him and he bade the vizier go away to his own house. the twenty-second night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king, that story of the sharpers with the money-changer and the ass. four sharpers once plotted against a money-changer, a man of abounding wealth, and agreed upon a device for the taking of somewhat of his money. so one of them took an ass and laying on it a bag, wherein was money, lighted down at the money-changer's shop and sought of him change for the money. the money- changer brought out to him the change and bartered it with him, whilst the sharper was easy with him in the matter of the exchange, so he might give him confidence in himself. [as they were thus engaged,] up came the [other three] sharpers and surrounded the ass; and one of them said, '[it is] he,' and another said, 'wait till i look at him.' then he fell to looking on the ass and stroking him from his mane to his crupper; whilst the third went up to him and handled him and felt him from head to tail, saying, ' yes, [it is] in him.' quoth another, ['nay,] it is not in him.' and they gave not over doing the like of this. then they accosted the owner of the ass and chaffered with him and he said, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' they offered him a thousand dirhems; but he refused and swore that he would not sell the ass but for that which he had said. they ceased not to add to their bidding, till the price reached five thousand dirhems, whilst their fellow still said, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' the money-changer counselled him to sell, but he would not do this and said to him, 'harkye, gaffer! thou hast no knowledge of this ass's case. concern thyself with silver and gold and what pertaineth thereto of change and exchange; for indeed the virtue of this ass passeth thy comprehension. to every craft its craftsman and to every means of livelihood its folk.' when the affair was prolonged upon the three sharpers, they went away and sat down a little apart; then they came up to the money-changer privily and said to him, 'if thou canst buy him for us, do so, and we will give thee a score of dirhems.' quoth he, 'go away and sit down afar from him.' so they did his bidding and the money-changer went up to the owner of the ass and gave not over tempting him with money and cajoling him and saying, 'leave yonder fellows and sell me the ass, and i will reckon him a gift from thee,' till he consented to sell him the ass for five thousand and five hundred dirhems. accordingly the money-changer counted down to him five thousand and five hundred dirhems of his own money, and the owner of the ass took the price and delivered the ass to him, saying, 'whatsoever betideth, though he abide a deposit about thy neck,[fn# ] sell him not to yonder rogues for less than ten thousand dirhems, for that they would fain buy him because of a hidden treasure whereof they know, and nought can guide them thereto but this ass. so close thy hand on him and gainsay me not, or thou wilt repent.' so saying, he left him and went away, whereupon up came the three other sharpers, the comrades of him of the ass, and said to the money-changer, 'god requite thee for us with good, for that thou hast bought him! how can we requite thee!' quoth he, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' when they heard this, they returned to the ass and fell again to examining him and handling him. then said they to the money-changer, 'we were mistaken in him. this is not the ass we sought and he is not worth more than half a score paras to us.' then they left him and offered to go away, whereat the money-changer was sore chagrined and cried out at their speech, saying, 'o folk, ye besought me to buy him for you and now i have bought him, ye say, "we were deceived [in him], and he is not worth more than ten paras to us."' quoth they, 'we supposed that in him was that which we desired; but, behold, in him is the contrary of that which we want; and indeed he hath a default, for that he is short of back.' and they scoffed at him and went away from him and dispersed. the money-changer thought they did but finesse with him, that they might get the ass at their own price; but, when they went away from him and he had long in vain awaited their return, he cried out, saying, 'woe!' and 'ruin!' and 'alack, my sorry chance!' and shrieked aloud and tore his clothes. so the people of the market assembled to him and questioned him of his case; whereupon he acquainted them with his plight and told them what the sharpers had said and how they had beguiled him and how it was they who had cajoled him into buying an ass worth half a hundred dirhems[fn# ] for five thousand and five hundred.[fn# ] his friends blamed him and a company of the folk laughed at him and marvelled at his folly and his credulity in accepting the sharpers' talk, without suspicion, and meddling with that which he understood not and thrusting himself into that whereof he was not assured. on this wise, o king shah bekht," continued the vizier, "is the issue of eagerness for [the goods of] the world and covetise of that which our knowledge embraceth not; indeed, [whoso doth thus] shall perish and repent nor, o king of the age, (added he) is this story more extraordinary than that of the sharper and the merchants." when the king heard this story, he said in himself, "verily, had i given ear to the sayings of my courtiers and inclined to the idle prate [of those who counselled me] in the matter of [the slaying of] my vizier, i had repented to the utterest of repentance, but praised be god, who hath disposed me to mansuetude and long-suffering and hath endowed me with patience!" then he turned to the vizier and bade him return to his dwelling and [dismissed] those who were present, as of wont. the twenty-third night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sent after the vizier and when he presented himself before him, he required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o illustrious lord, that story of the sharper and the merchants. there was once aforetime a certain sharper, who [was so eloquent that he] would turn the ear inside out, and he was a man of understanding and quick wit and skill and perfection. it was his wont to enter a town and [give himself out as a merchant and] make a show of trafficking and insinuate himself into the intimacy of people of worth and consort with the merchants, for he was [apparently] distinguished for virtue and piety. then he would put a cheat on them and take [of them] what he might spend and go away to another city; and he ceased not to do thus a great while. it befell one day that he entered a certain city and sold somewhat that was with him of merchandise and got him friends of the merchants of the place and fell to sitting with them and entertaining them and inviting them to his lodging and his assembly, whilst they also invited him to their houses. on this wise he abode a long while, till he was minded to leave the city; and this was bruited abroad among his friends, who were concerned for parting from him. then he betook himself to him of them, who was the richest of them in substance and the most apparent of them in generosity, and sat with him and borrowed his goods; and when he was about to take leave, he desired him to give him the deposit that he had left with him. 'and what is the deposit?' asked the merchant. quoth the sharper, 'it is such a purse, with the thousand dinars therein.' and the merchant said, 'when didst thou give it me?' 'extolled be the perfection of god!' replied the sharper. 'was it not on such a day, by such a token, and thus and thus?' 'i know not of this,' rejoined the merchant, and words were bandied about between them, whilst the folk [who were present also] disputed together concerning their affair and their speech, till their voices rose high and the neighbours had knowledge of that which passed between them. then said the sharper, 'o folk, this is my friend and i deposited with him a deposit, but he denieth it; so in whom shall the folk put trust after this?' and they said, 'this [fn# ] is a man of worth and we have found in him nought but trustiness and loyality and good breeding, and he is endowed with understanding and generosity. indeed, he avoucheth no falsehood, for that we have consorted with him and mixed with him and he with us and we know the sincerity of his religion.' then quoth one of them to the merchant, 'harkye, such an one! bethink thee and consult thy memory. it may not be but that thou hast forgotten.' but he said, 'o folk, i know nothing of that which he saith, for indeed he deposited nought with me.' and the affair was prolonged between them. then said the sharper to the merchant, 'i am about to make a journey and have, praised be god the most high, wealth galore, and this money shall not escape me; but do thou swear to me.' and the folk said, 'indeed, this man doth justice upon himself.'[fn# ] whereupon the merchant fell into that which he misliked[fn# ] and came near upon [suffering] loss and ill repute. now he had a friend, who pretended to quickwittedness and understanding; so he came up to him privily and said to him, 'let me do, so i may put the change on this trickster, for i know him to be a liar and thou art near upon having to pay the money; but i will turn suspicion from thee and say to him, "the deposit is with me and thou erredst in imagining that it was with other than myself," and so divert him from thee.' 'do so,' replied the merchant, 'and rid the folk of their [false] debts.' so the friend turned to the sharper and said to him, 'o my lord, o such an one, thou goest under a delusion. the purse is with me, for it was with me that thou depositedst it, and this elder is innocent of it.' but the sharper answered him with impatience and impetuosity, saying, 'extolled be the perfection of god! as for the purse that is with thee, o noble and trusty man, i know that it is in the warrant of god and my heart is at ease concerning it, for that it is with thee as it were with me; but i began by demanding that which i deposited with this man, of my knowledge that he coveteth the folk's good.' at this the friend was confounded and put to silence and returned not an answer; [and the] only [result of his interference was that] each of them [fn# ] paid a thousand dinars. so the sharper took the two thousand dinars and made off; and when he was gone, the merchant said to his friend, the [self-styled] man of wit and intelligence, 'harkye, such an one! thou and i are like unto the hawk and the locust.' 'what was their case?' asked the other; and the merchant said, story of the hawk and the locust. 'there was once, of old time, a hawk who made himself a nest hard by that of a locust, and the latter gloried in his neighbourhood and betaking herself to him, saluted him and said, "o my lord and chief of the birds, indeed the nearness unto thee delighteth me and thou honourest me with thy neighbourhood and my soul is fortified with thee." the hawk thanked her for this and there ensued friendship between them. one day, the locust said to the hawk, "o chief of the birds, how cometh it that i see thee alone, solitary, having with thee no friend of thy kind of the birds, to whom thou mayst incline in time of easance and of whom thou mayst seek succour in time of stress? indeed, it is said, 'man goeth about seeking the ease of his body and the preservation of his strength, and in this there is nought more necessary to him than a friend who shall be the completion of his gladness and the mainstay of his life and on whom shall be his dependence in his stress and in his ease.' now i, albeit i ardently desire thy weal in that which beseemeth thy condition, yet am i weak [and unable] unto that which the soul craveth; but, if thou wilt give me leave, i will seek out for thee one of the birds who shall be conformable unto thee in thy body and thy strength." and the hawk said, "i commit this to thee and rely upon thee therein." therewithal, o my brother, the locust fell to going round about among the company of the birds, but saw nought resembling the hawk in bulk and body save the kite and deemed well of her. so she brought the hawk and the kite together and counselled the former to make friends with the latter. now it chanced that the hawk fell sick and the kite abode with him a long while [and tended him] till he recovered and became whole and strong; wherefore he thanked her [and she departed from him]. but after awhile the hawk's sickness returned to him and he needed the kite's succour. so the locust went out from him and was absent from him a day, after which she returned to him with a[nother] locust, [fn# ] saying, "i have brought thee this one." when the hawk saw her, he said, "god requite thee with good! indeed, thou hast done well in the quest and hast been subtle in the choice." all this, o my brother,' continued the merchant, 'befell because the locust had no knowledge of the secret essence that lieth hid in apparent bodies. as for thee, o my brother, (may god requite thee with good!) thou wast subtle in device and usedst precaution; but precaution sufficeth not against fate, and fortune fore-ordained baffleth contrivance. how excellent is the saying of the poet! and he recited the following verses: it chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, whilst he who is clear of sight falls into it. the ignorant man may speak with impunity a word that is death to the wise and the ripe of wit. the true believer is pinched for his daily bread, whilst infidel rogues enjoy all benefit. where is a man's resource and what can he do? it is the almighty's will; we most submit. nor," added the vizier, "is this, o king of the age, more extraordinary or stranger than the story of the king and his chamberlain's wife; nay, the latter is rarer than this and more delightsome." when the king heard this story, he was fortified in his resolve to spare the vizier and to leave haste in an affair whereof he was not assured; so he comforted him and bade him withdraw to his lodging. the twenty-fourth night of the month. when it was night, the king summoned the vizier and sought of him the hearing of the [promised] story. "hearkening and obedience," replied er rehwan, "know, o august king, that story of the king and his chamberlain's wife. there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king of the kings of the persians, who was passionately addicted to the love of women. his courtiers bespoke him of the wife of a chamberlain of his chamberlains, for that she was endowed with beauty and loveliness and perfection, and this prompted him to go in to her. when she saw him, she knew him and said to him, 'what prompteth the king unto this that he doth?' and he answered, saying, 'verily, i yearn after thee with an exceeding yearning and needs must i enjoy thy favours.' and he gave her of wealth that after the like whereof women hanker; but she said, 'i cannot do that whereof the king speaketh, for fear of my husband.' and she refused herself to him with the most rigorous of refusals and would not do his desire. so the king went out, full of wrath, and forgot his girdle in the place. presently, her husband entered and saw the girdle and knew it. now he was ware of the king's love for women; so he said to his wife, ' what is this that i see with thee?' quoth she, 'i will tell thee the truth,' and recounted to him the story; but he believed her not and doubt entered into his heart. as for the king, he passed that night in chagrin and concern, and when it morrowed, he summoned the chamberlain and investing him with the governance of one of his provinces, bade him betake himself thither, purposing, after he should have departed and come to his destination, to foregather with his wife. the chamberlain perceived [his intent] and knew his design; so he answered, saying, 'hearkening and obedience. i will go and set my affairs in order and give such charges as may be necessary for the welfare of my estate; then will i go about the king's occasion.' and the king said, 'do this and hasten.' so the chamberlain went about that which he needed and assembling his wife's kinsfolk, said to them, 'i am resolved to put away my wife.' they took this ill of him and complained of him and summoning him before the king, sat pleading with him. now the king had no knowledge of that which had passed; so he said to the chamberlain, 'why wilt thou put her away and how can thy soul consent unto this and why takest thou unto thyself a goodly piece of land and after forsakest it? 'may god amend the king!' answered the husband. 'by allah, o king, i saw therein the track of the lion and fear to enter the land, lest the lion devour me; and indeed the like of my affair with her is that which befell between the old woman and the draper's wife.' 'what is their story?' asked the king; and the chamberlain said, 'know, o king, that story of the old woman and the draper's wife. there was once a man of the drapers, who had a fair wife, and she was curtained [fn# ] and chaste. a certain young man saw her coming forth of the bath and loved her and his heart was occupied with her. so he cast about [to get access to her] with all manner of devices, but availed not to win to her; and when he was weary of endeavour and his patience was exhausted for weariness and his fortitude failed him and he was at an end of his resources against her, he complained of this to an old woman of ill-omen, [fn# ] who promised him to bring about union between him and her. he thanked her for this and promised her all manner of good; and she said to him, "get thee to her husband and buy of him a turban-cloth of fine linen, and let it be of the goodliest of stuffs." so he repaired to the draper and buying of him a turban-cloth of lawn, returned with it to the old woman, who took it and burned it in two places. then she donned devotees' apparel and taking the turban-cloth with her, went to the draper's house and knocked at the door. when the draper's wife saw her, she opened to her and received her kindly and made much of her and welcomed her. so the old woman went in to her and conversed with her awhile. then said she to her, "[i desire to make] the ablution [preparatory] to prayer." so the wife brought her water and she made the ablution and standing up to pray, prayed and did her occasion. when she had made an end of her prayers, she left the turban-cloth in the place of prayer and went away. presently, in came the draper, at the hour of evening prayer, and sitting down in the place where the old woman had prayed, looked about him and espied the turban. he knew it [for that which he had that day sold to the young man] and misdoubted of the case, wherefore anger appeared in his face and he was wroth with his wife and reviled her and abode his day and his night, without speaking to her, what while she knew not the cause of his anger. then she looked and seeing the turban-cloth before him and noting the traces of burning thereon, understood that his anger was on account of this and concluded that he was wroth because it was burnt. when the morning morrowed, the draper went out, still angered against his wife, and the old woman returned to her and found her changed of colour, pale of face, dejected and heart-broken. [so she questioned her of the cause of her dejection and she told her how her husband was angered against her (as she supposed) on account of the burns in the turban-cloth.] "o my daughter," rejoined the old woman, "be not concerned; for i have a son, a fine-drawer, and he, by thy life, shall fine-draw [the holes] and restore the turban-cloth as it was. "the wife rejoiced in her saying and said to her, "and when shall this be?" "to-morrow, if it please god the most high," answered the old woman, "i will bring him to thee, at the time of thy husband's going forth from thee, and he shall mend it and depart forth-right." then she comforted her heart and going forth from her, returned to the young man and told him what had passed. now, when the draper saw the turban-cloth, he resolved to put away his wife and waited but till he should get together that which was obligatory on him of the dowry and what not else,[fn# ] for fear of her people. when the old woman arose in the morning, she took the young man and carried him to the draper's house. the wife opened the door to her and the ill-omened old woman entered with him and said to the lady, "go, fetch that which thou wouldst have fine-drawn and give it to my son." so saying, she locked the door on her, whereupon the young man forced her and did his occasion of her and went forth. then said the old woman to her, "know that this is my son and that he loved thee with an exceeding love and was like to lose his life for longing after thee. so i practised on thee with this device and came to thee with this turban-cloth, which is not thy husband's, but my son's. now have i accomplished my desire; so do thou trust in me and i will put a trick on thy husband for the setting thee right with him, and thou wilt be obedient to me and to him and to my son."[fn# ] and the wife answered, saying, "it is well. do so." so the old woman returned to the lover and said to him, "i have skilfully contrived the affair for thee with her; [and now it behoveth us to amend that we have marred]. so go now and sit with the draper and bespeak him of the turban-cloth, [saying, 'the turban-cloth i bought of thee i chanced to burn in two places; so i gave it to a certain old woman, to get mended, and she took it and went away, and i know not her dwelling-place.'] when thou seest me pass by, rise and lay hold of me [and demand of me the turban-cloth], to the intent that i may amend her case with her husband and that thou mayst be even with her." so he repaired to the draper's shop and sat down by him and said to him, "thou knowest the turban-cloth i bought of thee?" "yes," answered the draper, and the other said, "knowest thou what is come of it?" "no," replied the husband, and the youth said, "after i bought it of thee, i fumigated myself[fn# ] and it befell that the turban-cloth was burnt in two places. so i gave it to a woman, whose son, they said, was a fine-drawer, and she took it and went away with it; and i know not her abiding-place." when the draper heard this, he misdoubted him [of having wrongly suspected his wife] and marvelled at the story of the turban-cloth, and his mind was set at ease concerning her. presently, up came the old woman, whereupon the young man sprang to his feet and laying hold of her, demanded of her the turban-cloth. quoth she, "know that i entered one of the houses and made the ablution and prayed in the place of prayer; and i forgot the turban-cloth there and went out. now i know not the house in which i prayed, nor have i been directed[fn# ] thereto, and i go round about every day till the night, so haply i may light on it, for i know not its owner." when the draper heard this, he said to the old woman, "verily, allah restoreth unto thee vhat which thou hast lost. rejoice, for the turban-cloth is with me and in my house." and he arose forthright and gave her the turban-cloth, as it was. she gave it to the young man, and the draper made his peace with his wife and gave her raiment and jewellery, [by way of peace-offering], till she was content and her heart was appeased. [fn# ] when the king heard his chamberlain's story, he was confounded and abashed and said to him, 'abide on thy wonted service and till thy land, for that the lion entered it, but marred it not, and he will never more return thither.'[fn# ] then he bestowed on him a dress of honour and made him a sumptuous present; and the man returned to his wife and people, rejoicing and glad, for that his heart was set at rest concerning his wife. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this rarer or more extraordinary than the story of the fair and lovely woman, endowed with amorous grace, with the foul-favoured man." when the king heard the vizier's speech, he deemed it goodly and it pleased him; so he bade him go away to his house, and there he abode his day long. the twenty-fifth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned his vizier and bade him tell the [promised] story. so he said, "it is well. know, o king, that story of the foul-favoured man and his fair wife. there was once a man of the arabs who had a number of sons, and amongst them a boy, never was seen a fairer than he of favour nor a more accomplished in loveliness, no, nor a more perfect of wit. when he came to man's estate, his father married him to the daughter of one of his uncles, and she excelled not in beauty, neither was she praiseworthy of attributes; wherefore she pleased not the youth, but he bore with her, for kinship's sake. one day, he went forth in quest of certain stray camels of his and fared on all his day and night till eventide, when he [came to an arab encampment and] was fain to seek hospitality of one of the inhabitants. so he alighted at one of the tents of the camp and there came forth to him a man of short stature and loathly aspect, who saluted him and lodging him in a corner of the tent, sat entertaining him with talk, the goodliest that might be. when his food was dressed, the arab's wife brought it to the guest, and he looked at the mistress of the tent and saw a favour than which no goodlier might be. indeed, her beauty and grace and symmetry amazed him and he abode confounded, looking now at her and now at her husband. when his looking grew long, the man said to him, 'harkye, o son of the worthy! occupy thyself with thine own concerns, for by me and this woman hangeth a rare story, that is yet goodlier than that which thou seest of her beauty; and when we have made an end of our food, i will tell it thee.' so, when they had made an end of eating and drinking, the young man asked his host for the story, and he said, 'know that in my youth i was even as thou seest me in the matter of loathliness and foul favour; and i had brethren of the comeliest of the folk; wherefore my father preferred them over me and used to show them kindness, to my exclusion, and employ me, in their room [in menial service], like as one employeth slaves. one day, a she-camel of his went astray and he said to me, "go thou forth in quest of her and return not but with her." quoth i, "send other than i of thy sons." but he would not consent to this and reviled me and insisted upon me, till the matter came to such a pass with him that he took a whip and fell to beating me. so i arose and taking a riding-camel, mounted her and sallied forth at a venture, purposing to go out into the deserts and return to him no more. i fared on all my night [and the next day] and coming at eventide to [the encampment of] this my wife's people, alighted down with her father, who was a very old man, and became his guest. when the night was half spent, i arose [and went forth the tent] to do an occasion of mine, and none knew of my case save this woman. the dogs misdoubted of me and followed me and gave not over besetting me, till i fell on my back into a deep pit, wherein was water, and one of the dogs fell in with me. the woman, who was then a girl in the first bloom of youth, full of strength and spirit, was moved to pity on me, for that wherein i was fallen, and coming to me with a rope, said to me, "lay hold of this rope." so i laid hold of the rope and clung to it and she pulled me up; but, when i was halfway up, i pulled her [down] and she fell with me into the pit; and there we abode three days, she and i and the dog. when her people arose in the morning and saw her not, they sought her in the camp, but, finding her not and missing me also, doubted not but she had fled with me. now she had four brothers, as they were falcons, and they mounted and dispersed in quest of us. when the day dawned [on the fourth morning], the dog began to bark and the other dogs answered him and coming to the mouth of the pit, stood howling to him. my wife's father, hearing the howling of the dogs, came up and standing at the brink of the pit, [looked in and] beheld a marvel. now he was a man of valour and understanding, an elder versed[fn# ] in affairs so he fetched a rope and bringing us both forth, questioned us of our case. i told him all that had betided and he abode pondering the affair. presently, her brothers returned, whereupon the old man acquainted them with the whole case and said to them, "o my sons, know that your sister purposed not aught but good, and if ye slay this man, ye will earn abiding reproach and ye will wrong him, ay, and wrong yourselves and your sister, to boot; for indeed there appeareth no cause [of offence] such as calleth for slaughter, and it may not be denied that this incident is a thing the like whereof may well betide and that he may well have been baffled by the like of this chance." then he turned to me and questioned me of my lineage; so i set forth to him my genealogy and he said, "a man of equal rank, honourable [and] understanding." and he offered me [his daughter in] marriage. i consented to him of this and marrying her, took up my abode with him and god the most high hath opened on me the gates of weal and fortune, so that i am become the most abounding in substance of the folk of the tribe; and he hath stablished me in that which he hath given me of his bounties.' the young man marvelled at his story and lay the night with him; and when he arose in the morning, he found his strays. so he took them and returning [to his family.], acquainted them with what he had seen and that which had betided him. nor," added the vizier, "is this more marvellous or rarer than the story of the king who lost kingdom and wealth and wife and children and god restored them unto him and requited him with a kingdom more magnificent than that which he had lost and goodlier and rarer and greater of wealth and elevation." the vizier's story pleased the king and he bade depart to his dwelling. the twenty-sixth night of the month. when came the night, the king summoned his vizier and bade him tell the story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth. "hearkening and obedience," replied er rehwan. "know, o king, that story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him. there was once a king of the kings of hind, who was goodly of polity, praiseworthy in administration, just to his subjects, beneficent to men of learning and piety and asceticism and devoutness and worship and shunning traitors and froward folk and those of lewd life. on this wise of polity he abode in his kingship what god the most high willed of days and hours and years, and he married the daughter of his father's brother, a beautiful and lovesome woman, endowed with brightness and perfection, who had been reared in the king's house in splendour and delight. she bore him two sons, the comeliest that might be of boys. then came fore-ordained fate, which there is no warding off, and god the most high raised up against the king another king, who came forth upon his realm, and all the folk of the city, who had a mind unto evil and lewdness, joined themselves unto him. so he fortified himself against the king and made himself master of his kingdom, putting his troops to the rout and slaying his guards. the king took his wife, the mother of his sons, and what he might [of good] and saved himself and fled in the darkness of the night, unknowing whither he should go. when travel grew sore upon them, there met them robbers by the way, who took all that was with them, [even to their clothes], so that there was left unto each of them but a shirt and trousers; yea, they left them without victual or camels or [other] riding-cattle, and they ceased not to fare on afoot, till they came to a coppice, to wit, a garden of trees, on the shore of the sea. now the road which they would have followed was crossed by an arm of the sea, but it was scant of water. so, when they came to that place, the king took up one of his children and fording the water with him, set him down on the other bank and returned for his other son. him also he set by his brother and returning for their mother, took her up and passing the water with her, came to the place [where he had left his children], but found them not. then he looked at the midst of the island and saw there an old man and an old woman, engaged in making themselves a hut of reeds. so he put down his wife over against them and set off in quest of his children, but none gave him news of them and he went round about right and left, but found not the place where they were. now the children had entered the coppice, to make water, and there was there a forest of trees, wherein, if a horseman entered, he might wander by the week, [before finding his way out], for none knew the first thereof from the last. so the boys entered therein and knew not how they should return and went astray in that wood, to an end that was willed of god the most high, whilst their father sought them, but found them not. so he returned to their mother and they abode weeping for their children. as for these latter, when they entered the wood, it swallowed them up and they went wandering in it many days, knowing not where they had entered, till they came forth, at another side, upon the open country. meanwhile, the king and queen abode in the island, over against the old man and woman, and ate of the fruits that were in the island and drank of its waters, till, one day, as they sat, there came a ship and moored to the side of the island, to fill up with water, whereupon they[fn# ] looked at each other and spoke. the master of the ship was a magian and all that was therein, both men and goods, belonged to him, for that he was a merchant and went round about the world. now covetise deluded the old man, the owner of the island, and he went up [into the ship] and gave the magian news of the king's wife, setting out to him her charms, till he made him yearn unto her and his soul prompted him to use treachery and practise upon her and take her from her hnsband. so he sent to her, saying, 'with us in the ship is a woman with child, and we fear lest she be delivered this night. hast thou skill in the delivering of women?' and she answered, 'yes.' now it was the last of the day; so he sent to her to come up into the ship and deliver the woman, for that the pangs of labour were come upon her; and he promised her clothes and spending-money. accordingly, she embarked in all assurance, with a heart at ease for herself, and transported her gear to the ship; but no sooner was she come thither than the anchors were weighed and the canvas spread and the ship set sail. when the king saw this, he cried out and his wife wept in the ship and offered to cast herself into the sea; but the magian bade the sailors lay hands on her. so they seized her and it was but a little while ere the night darkened and the ship disappeared from the king's eyes; whereupon he swooned away for excess of weeping and lamentation and passed his night bewailing his wife and children. when the morning morrowed, he recited the following verses: how long, o fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me? tell me, was ever yet a mortal spared of thee? behold, my loved ones all are ta'en from me away. they left me and content forthright forsook my heart, upon that day my loves my presence did depart; my pleasant life for loss of friends is troubled aye. by allah, i knew not their worth nor yet how dear a good it is to have one's loved ones ever near, until they left my heart on fire without allay. ne'er shall i them forget, nay, nor the day they went and left me all forlorn, to pine for languishment, my severance to bewail in torment and dismay. i make a vow to god, if ever day or night the herald of good news my hearing shall delight, announcing the return o' th' absent ones, i'll lay upon their threshold's dust my cheeks and to my soul, "take comfort, for the loved are come again," i'll say. if for my loved ones' loss i rent my heart for dole, before i rent my clothes, reproach me not, i pray. he abode weeping for the loss of his wife and children till the morning, when he went forth wandering at a venture, knowing not what he should do, and gave not over faring along the sea-shore days and nights, unknowing whither he went and taking no food therein other than the herbs of the earth and seeing neither man nor beast nor other living thing, till his travel brought him to the top of a mountain. he took up his sojourn in the mountain and abode there [awhile] alone, eating of its fruits and drinking of its waters. then he came down thence and fared on along the high road three days, at the end of which time he came upon tilled fields and villages and gave not over going till he sighted a great city on the shore of the sea and came to the gate thereof at the last of the day. the gatekeepers suffered him not to enter; so he abode his night anhungred, and when he arose in the morning, be sat down hard by the gate. now the king of the city was dead and had left no son, and the townsfolk fell out concerning who should be king over them: and their sayings differed and their counsels, so that turmoil was like to betide between them by reason of this. at last, after long dissension, they came to an accord and agreed to leave the choice to the late king's elephant and that he unto whom he consented should be king and that they would not contest the commandment with him. so they made oath of this and on the morrow, they brought out the elephant and came forth to the utterward of the city; nor was there man or woman left in the place but was present at that time. then they adorned the elephant and setting up the throne on his back, gave him the crown in his trunk; and he went round about examining the faces of the folk, but stopped not with any of them till he came to the banished king, the forlorn, the exile, him who had lost his children and his wife, when he prostrated himself to him and placing the crown on his head, took him up and set him on his back. thereupon the folk all prostrated themselves and gave one another joy of this and the drums of good tidings beat before him, and he entered the city [and went on] till he came to the house of justice and the audience-hall of the palace and sat down on the throne of the kingdom, with the crown on his head; whereupon the folk came in to him to give him joy and offer up prayers for him. then he addressed himself, after his wont in the kingship, to ordering the affairs of the folk and ranging the troops according to their ranks and looking into their affairs and those of all the people. moreover, he released those who were in the prisons and abolished the customs dues and gave dresses of honour and bestowed gifts and largesse and conferred favours on the amirs and viziers and dignitaries, and the chamberlains and deputies presented themselves before him and did him homage. so the people of the city rejoiced in him and said, 'indeed this is none other than a king of the greatest of the kings.' moreover, he assembled the sages and the theologians and the sons of the kings and devised with them and asked them questions and problems and examined with them into many things of all fashions that might direct him to well-doing in the kingly office; and he questioned them also of subtleties and religious obligations and of the laws of the kingdom and the fashions of administration and of that which it behoveth the king to do of looking into the affairs of the people and repelling the enemy [from the realm] and fending off his malice with war; wherefore the people's contentment redoubled and their joy in that which god the most high had vouchsafed them of his elevation to the kingship over them. so he upheld the ordinance of the realm and the affairs thereof abode established upon the accepted customs. now the late king had left a wife and a daughter, and the people would fain have married the latter to the new king, to the intent that the kingship might not pass out of the old royal family. so they proposed to him that he should take her to wife, and he promised them this, but put them off from him,[fn# ] of his respect for the covenant he had made with his former wife, to wit, that he would take none other to wife than herself. then he betook himself to fasting by day and standing up by night [to pray], giving alms galore and beseeching god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) to reunite him with his children and his wife, the daughter of his father's brother. when a year had elapsed, there came to the city a ship, wherein were merchants and goods galore. now it was of their usance, from time immemorial, that, when there came a ship to the city, the king sent unto it such of his servants as he trusted in, who took charge of the goods, so they might be [first of all] shown to the king, who bought such of them as befitted him and gave the merchants leave to sell the rest. so he sent, as of wont, one who should go up to the ship and seal up the goods and set over them who should keep watch over them. to return to the queen his wife. when the magian fled with her, he proffered himself to her and lavished unto her wealth galore, but she rejected his suit and was like to slay herself for chagrin at that which had befallen and for grief for her separation from her husband. moreover, she refused meat and drink and offered to cast herself into the sea; but the magian shackled her and straitened her and clad her in a gown of wool and said to her, 'i will continue thee in misery and abjection till thou obey me and consent to my wishes.' so she took patience and looked for god to deliver her from the hand of that accursed one; and she ceased not to travel with him from place to place till he came with her to the city wherein her husband was king and his goods were put under seal. now the woman was in a chest and two youths of the pages of the late king, who were now in the new king's service, were those who had been charged with the guardianship of the vessel and the goods. when the evening evened on them, the two youths fell a-talking and recounted that which had befallen them in their days of childhood and the manner of the going forth of their father and mother from their country and royal estate, whenas the wicked overcame their land, and [called to mind] how they had gone astray in the forest and how fate had made severance between them and their parents; brief, they recounted their story, from beginning to end. when the woman heard their talk, she knew that they were her very sons and cried out to them from the chest, saying, 'i am your mother such an one, and the token between you and me is thus and thus.' the young men knew the token and falling upon the chest, broke the lock and brought out their mother, who strained them to her breast, and they fell upon her and swooned away, all three. when they came to themselves, they wept awhile and the folk assembled about them, marvelling at that which they saw, and questioned them of their case. so the young men vied with each other who should be the first to discover the story to the folk; and when the magian saw this, he came up, crying out, 'alas!' and 'woe worth the day!' and said to them, 'why have ye broken open my chest? i had in it jewels and ye have stolen them, and this damsel is my slave-girl and she hath agreed with you upon a device to take the good.' then he rent his clothes and called aloud for succour, saying, 'i appeal to god and to the just king, so he may quit me of these wrong-doing youths!' quoth they, 'this is our mother and thou stolest her.' then words waxed many between them and the folk plunged into talk and prate and discussion concerning their affair and that of the [pretended] slave-girl, and the strife waxed amain between them, so that [at last] they carried them up to the king. when the two young men presented themselves before him and set forth their case to him and to the folk and the king heard their speech, he knew them and his heart was like to fly for joyance in them: the tears poured from his eyes at their sight and that of his wife, and he thanked god the most high and praised him for that he had reunited [him with] them. then he dismissed the folk who were present about him and bade commit the magian and the woman and the two youths to his armoury[fn# ] [for the night], commanding that they should keep guard over them till god caused the morning morrow, so he might assemble the cadis and the judges and assessors and judge between them, according to the holy law, in the presence of the four cadis. so they did his bidding and the king passed the night praying and praising god the most high for that which he had vouchsafed him of kingship and puissance and victory over[fn# ] him who had wronged him and thanking him who had reunited him with his family. when the morning morrowed, he assembled the cadis and judges and assessors and sending for the magian and the two youths and their mother, questioned them of their case, whereupon the two young men began and said, 'we are the sons of the king such-an-one and enemies and wicked men got the mastery of out realm; so our father fled forth with us and wandered at a venture, for fear of the enemies.' [and they recounted to him all that had betided them, from beginning to end.] quoth he, 'ye tell a marvellous story; but what hath [fate] done with your father?' 'we know not how fortune dealt with him after our loss,' answered they; and he was silent. then he turned to the woman and said to her, 'and thou, what sayst thou?' so she expounded to him her case and recounted to him all that had betided her and her husband, first and last, up to the time when they took up their abode with the old man and woman who dwelt on the sea-shore. then she set out that which the magian had practised on her of knavery and how he had carried her off in the ship and all that had betided her of humiliation and torment, what while the cadis and judges and deputies hearkened to her speech. when the king heard the last of his wife's story, he said, 'verily, there hath betided thee a grievous matter; but hast thou knowledge of what thy husband did and what came of his affair?' 'nay, by allah,' answered she; 'i have no knowledge of him, save that i leave him no hour unremembered in fervent prayer, and never, whilst i live, will he cease to be to me the father of my children and my father's brother's son and my flesh and my blood.' then she wept and the king bowed his head, whilst his eyes brimmed over with tears at her story. then he raised his head to the magian and said to him, 'say thy say, thou also.' so the magian said, 'this is my slave-girl, whom i bought with my money from such a land and for so many dinars, and i made her my favourite[fn# ] and loved her with an exceeding love and gave her charge over my good; but she betrayed me in my substance and plotted with one of my servants to slay me, tempting him by promising him that she would be his wife. when i knew this of her and was certified that she purposed treason against me, i awoke [from my heedlessness] and did with her that which i did, of fear for myself from her craft and perfidy; for indeed she is a beguiler with her tongue and she hath taught these two youths this pretence, by way of trickery and of her perfidy and malice: so be thou not deluded by her and by her talk.' 'thou liest, o accursed one,' cried the king and bade lay hands on him and clap him in irons. then he turned to the two youths, his sons, and strained them to his breast, weeping sore and saying, 'o all ye who are present of cadis and assessors and officers of state, know that these twain are my sons and that this is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother; for that i was king aforetime in such a region.' and he recounted to them his history from beginning to end, nor is there aught of profit in repetition; whereupon the folk cried out with weeping and lamentation for the stress of that which they heard of marvellous chances and that rare story. as for the king's wife, he caused carry her into his palace and lavished upon her and upon her sons all that behoved and beseemed them of bounties, whilst the folk flocked to offer up prayers for him and give him joy of [his reunion with] his wife and children. when they had made an end of pious wishes and congratulations, they besought the king to hasten the punishment of the magian and heal their hearts of him with torment and humiliation. so he appointed them for a day on which they should assemble to witness his punishment and that which should betide him of torment, and shut himself up with his wife and sons and abode thus private with them three days, during which time they were sequestered from the folk. on the fourth day the king entered the bath, and coming forth, sat down on the throne of his kingship, with the crown on his head, whereupon the folk came in to him, according to their wont and after the measure of their several ranks and degrees, and the amirs and viziers entered, ay, and the chamberlains and deputies and captains and men of war and the falconers and armbearers. then he seated his two sons, one on his right and the other on his left hand, whilst all the folk stood before him and lifted up their voices in thanksgiving to god the most high and glorification of him and were strenuous in prayer for the king and in setting forth his virtues and excellences. he returned them the most gracious of answers and bade carry the magian forth of the town and set him on a high scaffold that had been builded for him there; and he said to the folk, 'behold, i will torture him with all kinds of fashions of torment.' then he fell to telling them that which he had wrought of knavery with the daughter of his father's brother and what he had caused betide her of severance between her and her husband and how he had required her of herself, but she had sought refuge against him with god (to whom belong might and majesty) and chose rather humiliation than yield to his wishes, notwithstanding stress of torment; neither recked she aught of that which he lavished to her of wealth and raiment and jewels. when the king had made an end of his story, he bade the bystanders spit in the magian's face and curse him; and they did this. then he bade cut out his tongue and on the morrow he bade cut off his ears and nose and pluck out his eyes. on the third day he bade cut off his hands and on the fourth his feet; and they ceased not to lop him limb from limb, and each member they cast into the fire, after its cutting-off, before his face, till his soul departed, after he had endured torments of all kinds and fashions. the king bade crucify his trunk on the city-wall three days' space; after which he let burn it and reduce its ashes to powder and scatter them abroad in the air. then the king summoned the cadi and the witnesses and bade them many the old king's daughter and sister to his own sons; so they married them, after the king had made a bride-feast three days and displayed their brides to them from eventide to peep of day. then the two princes went in to their brides and did away their maidenhead and loved them and were vouchsafed children by them. as for the king their father, he abode with his wife, their mother, what while god (to whom belong might and majesty) willed, and they rejoiced in reunion with each other. the kingship endured unto them and glory and victory, and the king continued to rule with justice and equity, so that the people loved him and still invoked on him and on his sons length of days and durance; and they lived the most delightsome of lives till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who layeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs; and this is all that hath come down to us of the story of the king and his wife and children. nor," added the vizier, "if this story be a solace and a diversion, is it pleasanter or more diverting than that of the young man of khorassan and his mother and sister." when king shah bekht heard this story, it pleased him and he bade the vizier go away to his own house. the twenty-seventh night of the month when the evening came, the king bade fetch the vizier; so he presented himself before him and the king bade him tell the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king (but god alone knoweth his secret purpose and is versed in all that is past and was foredone among bygone peoples), that story of selim and selma. there was once, in the parts of khorassan, a man of the affluent of the country, who was a merchant of the chiefest of the merchants and was blessed with two children, a son and a daughter. he was assiduous in rearing them and making fair their education, and they grew up and throve after the goodliest fashion. he used to teach the boy, who taught his sister all that he learnt, so that the girl became perfect in the knowledge of the traditions of the prophet and in polite letters, by means of her brother. now the boy's name was selim and that of the girl selma. when they grew up and waxed, their father built them a mansion beside his own and lodged them apart therein and appointed them slave-girls and servants to tend them and assigned unto each of them pensions and allowances and all that they needed of high and low, meat and bread and wine and raiment and vessels and what not else. so selim and selma abode in that mansion, as they were one soul in two bodies, and they used to sleep on one couch; and rooted in each one's heart was love and affection and familiar friendship [for the other of them]. one night, when the night was half spent, as selim and selma sat talking and devising with each other, they heard a noise below the house; so they looked out from a lattice that gave upon the gate of their father's mansion and saw a man of goodly presence, whose clothes were hidden by a wide cloak, which covered him. he came up to the gate and laying hold of the door-ring, gave a light knock; whereupon the door opened and out came their sister, with a lighted flambeau, and after her their mother, who saluted the stranger and embraced him, saying, 'o beloved of my heart and light of mine eyes and fruit of mine entrails, enter.' so he entered and shut the door, whilst selim and selma abode amazed. then selim turned to selma and said to her, 'o sister mine, how deemest thou of this calamity and what counsellest thou thereanent?' 'o my brother,' answered she, 'indeed i know not what i shall say concerning the like of this; but he is not disappointed who seeketh direction [of god], nor doth he repent who taketh counsel. one getteth not the better of the traces of burning by[fn# ] haste, and know that this is an affliction that hath descended on us; and we have need of management to do it away, yea, and contrivance to wash withal our shame from our faces.' and they gave not over watching the gate till break of day, when the young man opened the door and their mother took leave of him; after which he went his way and she entered, she and her handmaid. then said selim to his sister, 'know that i am resolved to slay yonder man, if he return this next night, and i will say to the folk, "he was a thief," and none shall know that which hath befallen. moreover, i will address myself to the slaughter of whosoever knoweth that which is between yonder fellow and my mother.' but selma said, ' i fear lest, if thou slay him in our dwelling-place and he savour not of robberhood,[fn# ] suspicion will revert upon ourselves, and we cannot be assured but that he belongeth unto folk whose mischief is to be feared and their hostility dreaded,[fn# ] and thus wilt thou have fled from privy shame to open shame and abiding public dishonour.' 'how then deemest thou we should do?' asked selim and she said, 'is there nothing for it but to slay him? let us not hasten unto slaughter, for that the slaughter of a soul without just cause is a grave [matter].' (when shehriyar heard this, he said in himself, 'by allah, i have indeed been reckless in the slaying of women and girls, and praised be god who hath occupied me with this damsel from the slaughter of souls, for that the slaughter of souls is a grave [matter!] by allah, if shah bekht spare the vizier, i will assuredly spare shehrzad!' then he gave ear to the story and heard her say to her sister:) quoth selma to selim, 'hasten not to slay him, but ponder the matter and consider the issue to which it may lead; for whoso considereth not the issues [of his actions], fortune is no friend to him.' then they arose on the morrow and occupied themselves with devising how they should turn away their mother from that man, and she forebode mischief from them, by reason of that which she saw in their eyes of alteration, for that she was keen of wit and crafty. so she took precaution for herself against her children and selma said to selim, 'thou seest that whereinto we have fallen through this woman, and indeed she hath gotten wind of our purpose and knoweth that we have discovered her secret. so, doubtless, she will plot against us the like of that which we plot for her; for indeed up to now she had concealed her affair, and now she will forge lies against us; wherefore, methinks, there is a thing [fore-]written to us, whereof god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) knew in his foreknowledge and wherein he executeth his ordinances.' 'what is that?' asked he, and she said, 'it is that we arise, i and thou, and go forth this night from this land and seek us a land wherein we may live and witness nought of the doings of yonder traitress; for whoso is absent from the eye is absent from the heart, and quoth one of the poets in the following verse: twere better and meeter thy presence to leave, for, if the eye see not, the heart doth not grieve.' quoth selim to her, 'it is for thee to decide and excellent is that which thou counsellest; so let us do this, in the name of god the most high, trusting in him for grace and guidance.' so they arose and took the richest of their clothes and the lightest of that which was in their treasuries of jewels and things of price and gathered together a great matter. then they equipped them ten mules and hired them servants of other than the people of the country; and selim bade his sister selma don man's apparel. now she was the likest of all creatures to him, so that, [when she was clad in man's attire,] the folk knew no difference between them, extolled be the perfection of him who hath no like, there is no god but he! then he bade her mount a horse, whilst he himself bestrode another, and they set out, under cover of the night. none of their family nor of the people of their house knew of them; so they fared on into the wide world of god and gave not over going night and day two months' space, at the end of which time they came to a city on the sea-shore of the land of mekran, by name es sherr, and it is the first city in sind. they lighted down without the place and when they arose in the morning, they saw a populous and goodly city, fair of seeming and great, abounding in trees and streams and fruits and wide of suburbs. so the young man said to his sister selma, 'abide thou here in thy place, till i enter the city and examine it and make assay of its people and seek out a place which we may buy and whither we may remove. if it befit us, we will take up our abode therein, else will we take counsel of departing elsewhither.' quoth she, 'do this, trusting in the bounty of god (to whom belong might and majesty) and in his blessing.' so he took a belt, wherein were a thousand dinars, and binding it about his middle, entered the city and gave not over going round about its streets and markets and gazing upon its houses and sitting with those of its folk whose aspect bespoke them men of worth, till the day was half spent, when he resolved to return to his sister and said in himself, 'needs must i buy what we may eat of ready-[dressed] food] i and my sister.' accordingly, he accosted a man who sold roast meat and who was clean [of person], though odious in his [means of getting a] living, and said to him, 'take the price of this dish [of meat] and add thereto of fowls and chickens and what not else is in your market of meats and sweetmeats and bread and arrange it in dishes.' so the cook set apart for him what he desired and calling a porter, laid it in his basket, and selim paid the cook the price of his wares, after the fullest fashion. as he was about to go away, the cook said to him, 'o youth, doubtless thou art a stranger?' and he answered, 'yes.' quoth the cook, 'it is reported in one of the traditions [of the prophet that he said,] "loyal admonition is [a part] of religion;" and the understanding say, "admonition is of the characteristics of the true believers." and indeed that which i have seen of thy fashions pleaseth me and i would fain give thee a warning.' 'speak out thy warning,' rejoined selim, 'and may god strengthen thine affair!' then said the cook, 'know, o my son, that in this our country, whenas a stranger entereth therein and eateth of flesh-meat and drinketh not old wine thereon, this is harmful unto him and engendereth in him dangerous disorders. wherefore, if thou have provided thee somewhat thereof,[fn# ] [it is well;] but, if not, look thou procure it, ere thou take the meat and carry it away.' 'may god requite thee with good!' rejoined selim. 'canst thou direct me where it is sold?' and the cook said, 'with me is all that thou seekest thereof.' 'is there a way for me to see it?' asked the young man; and the cook sprang up and said, 'pass on.' so he entered and the cook showed him somewhat of wine; but he said, 'i desire better than this.' whereupon he opened a door and entering, said to selim, 'enter and follow me.' selim followed him till he brought him to an underground chamber and showed him somewhat of wine that was to his mind. so he occupied him with looking upon it and taking him at unawares, sprang upon him from behind and cast him to the earth and sat upon his breast. then he drew a knife and set it to his jugular; whereupon there betided selim [that wherewithal] god made him forget all that he had decreed [unto him],[fn# ] and he said to the cook, 'why dost thou this thing, o man? be mindful of god the most high and fear him. seest thou not that i am a stranger? and indeed [i have left] behind me a defenceless woman. why wilt thou slay me?' quoth the cook, 'needs must i slay thee, so i may take thy good.' and selim said, 'take my good, but slay me not, neither enter into sin against me; and do with me kindness, for that the taking of my money is lighter[fn# ] than the taking of my life.' 'this is idle talk,' answered the cook. 'thou canst not deliver thyself with this, o youth, for that in thy deliverance is my destruction.' quoth selim, 'i swear to thee and give thee the covenant of god (to whom belong might and majesty) and his bond, that he took of his prophets, that i will not discover thy secret ever.' but the cook answered, saying, 'away! away! this may no wise be.' however, selim ceased not to conjure him and make supplication to him and weep, while the cook persisted in his intent to slaughter him. then he wept and recited the following verses: haste not to that thou dost desire, for haste is still unblest; be merciful to men, as thou on mercy reckonest; for no hand is there but the hand of god is over it and no oppressor but shall be with worse than he opprest. quoth the cook, 'nothing will serve but i must slay thee, o fellow; for, if i spare thee, i shall myself be slain.' but selim said, 'o my brother, i will counsel thee somewhat[fn# ] other than this.' 'what is it?' asked the cook. 'say and be brief, ere i cut thy throat' and selim said, '[do thou suffer me to live and] keep me, that i may be a servant unto thee, and i will work at a craft, of the crafts of the skilled workmen, wherefrom there shall return to thee every day two dinars.' quoth the cook, 'what is the craft?' and selim said, 'the cutting [and polishing] of jewels.' when the cook heard this, he said in himself, 'it will do me no hurt if i imprison him and shackle him and bring him what he may work at. if he tell truth, i will let him live, and if he prove a liar, i will slay him.' so he took a pair of stout shackles and clapping them on selim's legs, imprisoned him within his house and set over him one who should guard him. then he questioned him of what tools he needed to work withal. selim set forth to him that which he required, and the cook went out from him and presently returning, brought him all he needed. so selim sat and wrought at his craft; and he used every day to earn two dinars; and this was his wont and usance with the cook, whilst the latter fed him not but half his fill. to return to his sister selma. she awaited him till the last of the day, but he came not; and she awaited him a second day and a third and a fourth, yet there came no news of him, wherefore she wept and beat with her hands on her breast and bethought her of her affair and her strangerhood and her brother's absence; and she recited the following verses: peace on thee! would our gaze might light on thee once more! so should our hearts be eased and eyes no longer sore. thou only art the whole of our desire; indeed thy love is hid within our hearts' most secret core. she abode awaiting him thus till the end of the month, but discovered no tidings of him neither happened upon aught of his trace; wherefore she was troubled with an exceeding perturbation and despatching her servants hither and thither in quest of him, abode in the sorest that might be of grief and concern. when it was the beginning of the new month, she arose in the morning and bidding cry him throughout the city, sat to receive visits of condolence, nor was there any in the city but betook himself to her, to condole with her; and they were all concerned for her, nothing doubting but she was a man. when three nights had passed over her with their days of the second month, she despaired of him and her tears dried not up. then she resolved to take up her abode in the city and making choice of a dwelling, removed thither. the folk resorted to her from all parts, to sit with her and hearken to her speech and witness her good breeding; nor was it but a little while ere the king of the city died and the folk fell out concerning whom they should invest with the kingship after him, so that strife was like to betide between them. however, the men of judgment and understanding and the folk of experience counselled them to make the youth king who had lost his brother, for that they doubted not but selma was a man. they all consented unto this and betaking themselves to selma, proffered her the kingship. she refused, but they were instant with her, till she consented, saying in herself, 'my sole desire in [accepting] the kingship is [to find] my brother.' then they seated her on the throne of the kingdom and set the crown on her head, whereupon she addressed herself to the business of administration and to the ordinance of the affairs of the people; and they rejoiced in her with the utmost joy. meanwhile, selim abode with the cook a whole year's space, earning him two dinars every day; and when his affair was prolonged, the cook inclined unto him and took compassion on him, on condition that, if he let him go, he should not discover his fashion to the sultan, for that it was his wont every little while to entrap a man and carry him to his house and slay him and take his money and cook his flesh and give it to the folk to eat. so he said to him, 'o youth, wilt thou that i release thee from this thy plight, on condition that thou be reasonable and discover not aught of thine affair ever?' and selim answered, 'i will swear to thee by whatsoever oath thou choosest that i will keep thy secret and will not speak one syllable against thy due, what while i abide on life.' quoth the cook, 'i purpose to send thee forth with my brother and cause thee travel with him on the sea, on condition that thou be unto him a boughten slave; and when he cometh to the land of hind, he shall sell thee and thus wilt thou be delivered from prison and slaughter.' and selim said, 'it is well: be it as thou sayst, may god the most high requite thee with good!' therewithal the cook equipped his brother and freighting him a ship, embarked therein merchandise. then he committed selim unto him and they set out and departed with the ship. god decreed them safety, so that they arrived [in due course] at the first city [of the land of hind], the which is known as el mensoureh, and cast anchor there. now the king of that city had died, leaving a daughter and a widow, who was the quickest-witted of women and gave out that the girl was a boy, so that the kingship might be stablished unto them. the troops and the amirs doubted not but that the case was as she avouched and that the princess was a male child; so they obeyed her and the queen mother took order for the matter and used to dress the girl in man's apparel and seat her on the throne of the kingship, so that the folk might see her. accordingly, the grandees of the kingdom and the chief officers of the realm used to go in to her and salute her and do her service and go away, nothing doubting but she was a boy. on this wise they abode months and years and the queen-mother ceased not to do thus till the cook's brother came to the town in his ship, and with him selim. so he landed with the youth and showed him to the queen, [that she might buy him]. when she saw him, she augured well of him; so she bought him from the cook's brother and was kind to him and entreated him with honour. then she fell to proving him in his parts and making assay of him in his affairs and found in him all that is in kings' sons of understanding and breeding and goodly manners and qualities. so she sent for him in private and said to him, 'i purpose to do thee a service, so thou canst but keep a secret.' he promised her all that she desired and she discovered to him her secret in the matter of her daughter, saying, 'i will marry thee to her and commit to thee the governance of her affair and make thee king and ruler over this city.' he thanked her and promised to uphold all that she should order him, and she said to him, 'go forth to such an one of the neighbouring provinces privily.' so he went forth and on the morrow she made ready bales and gear and presents and bestowed on him a great matter, all of which they loaded on the backs of camels. then she gave out among the folk that the king's father's brother's son was come and bade the grandees and troops go forth to meet him. moreover, she decorated the city in his honour and the drums of good tidings beat for him, whilst all the king's household [went out to meet him and] dismounting before him, [escorted him to the city and] lodged him with the queen-mother in her palace. then she bade the chiefs of the state attend his assembly; so they presented themselves before him and saw of his breeding and accomplishments that which amazed them and made them forget the breeding of those who had foregone him of the kings. when they were grown familiar with him, the queen-mother fell to sending [privily] for the amirs, one by one, and swearing them to secrecy; and when she was assured of their trustworthiness, she discovered to them that the king had left but a daughter and that she had done this but that she might continue the kingship in his family and that the governance should not go forth from them; after which she told them that she was minded to marry her daughter with the new-comer, her father's brother's son, and that he should be the holder of the kingship. they approved of her proposal and when she had discovered the secret to the last of them [and assured herself of their support], she published the news abroad and sent for the cadis and assessors, who drew up the contract of marriage between selim and the princess, and they lavished gifts upon the troops and overwhelmed them with bounties. then was the bride carried in procession to the young man and the kingship was stablished unto him and the governance of the realm. on this wise they abode a whole year, at the end of which time selim said to the queen-mother, 'know that my life is not pleasing to me nor can i abide with you in contentment till i get me tidings of my sister and learn in what issue her affair hath resulted and how she hath fared after me. wherefore i will go and be absent from you a year's space; then will i return to you, so it please god the most high and i accomplish of this that which i hope.' quoth she, 'i will not trust to thy word, but will go with thee and help thee to that which thou desirest of this and further thee myself therein.' so she took a ship and loaded it with all manner things of price, goods and treasures and what not else. moreover, she appointed one of the viziers, a man in whom she trusted and in his fashion and ordinance, to rule the realm in their absence, saying to him, 'abide [in the kingship] a full-told year and ordain all that whereof thou hast need. then the old queen and her daughter and son-in-law embarked in the ship and setting sail, fared on till they came to the land of mekran. their arrival there befell at the last of the day; so they passed the night in the ship, and when the day was near to break, the young king went down from the ship, that he might go to the bath, and made for the market. as he drew near the bath, the cook met him by the way and knew him; so he laid hands on him and binding his arms fast behind him, carried him to his house, where he clapped the old shackles on his feet and straightway cast him back into his whilom place of duresse. when selim found himself in that sorry plight and considered that wherewith he was afflicted of tribulation and the contrariness of his fortune, in that he had been a king and was now returned to shackles and prison and hunger, he wept and groaned and lamented and recited the following verses: my fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain; my bosom is straitened. to thee, i complain, o my god! who is stronger than thou in resource? the subtle, thou knowest my plight and my pain. to return to his wife and her mother. when the former arose in the morning and her husband returned not to her with break of day, she forebode all manner of calamity and straightway despatched her servants and all who were with her in quest of him; but they happened not on any trace of him neither fell in with aught of his news. so she bethought herself concerning her affair and complained and wept and groaned and sighed and blamed perfidious fortune, bewailing that sorry chance and reciting these verses: god keep the days of love-delight! how passing sweet they were! how joyous and how solaceful was life in them whilere! would he were not, who sundered us upon the parting-day! how many a body hath he slain, how many a bone laid bare! sans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and beggared me of him i love, yet for himself gained nought thereby whate'er. when she had made an end of her verses, she considered her affair and said in herself, 'by allah, all these things have betided by the ordinance of god the most high and his providence and this was written and charactered upon the forehead.' then she landed and fared on till she came to a spacious place, where she enquired of the folk and hired a house. thither she straightway transported all that was in the ship of goods and sending for brokers, sold all that was with her. then she took part of the price and fell to enquiring of the folk, so haply she might scent out tidings [of her lost husband]. moreover, she addressed herself to lavishing alms and tending the sick, clothing the naked and pouring water upon the dry ground of the forlorn. on this wise she abode a whole year, and every little while she sold of her goods and gave alms to the sick and the needy; wherefore her report was bruited abroad in the city and the folk were lavish in her praise. all this while, selim lay in shackles and strait prison, and melancholy possessed him by reason of that whereinto he had fallen of that tribulation. then, when troubles waxed on him and affliction was prolonged, he fell sick of a sore sickness. when the cook saw his plight (and indeed he was like to perish for much suffering), he loosed him from the shackles and bringing him forth of the prison, committed him to an old woman, who had a nose the bigness of a jug, and bade her tend him and medicine him and serve him and entreat him kindly, so haply he might be made whole of that his sickness. so the old woman took him and carrying him to her lodging, fell to tending him and giving him to eat and drink; and when he was quit of that torment, he recovered from his malady. now the old woman had heard from the folk of the lady who gave alms to the sick, and indeed [the news of] her bounties reached both poor and rich; so she arose and bringing out selim to the door of her house, laid him on a mat and wrapped him in a mantle and sat over against him. presently, it befell that the charitable lady passed by them, which when the old woman saw, she rose to her and offered up prayers for her, saying, 'o my daughter, o thou to whom pertain goodness and beneficence and charity and almsdoing, know that this young man is a stranger, and indeed want and vermin and hunger and nakedness and cold slay him.' when the lady heard this, she gave her alms of that which was with her; and indeed her heart inclined unto selim, [but she knew him not for her husband]. the old woman received the alms from her and carrying it to selim, took part thereof herself and with the rest bought him an old shirt, in which she clad him, after she had stripped him of that he had on. then she threw away the gown she had taken from off him and arising forthright, washed his body of that which was thereon of filth and scented him with somewhat of perfume. moreover, she bought him chickens and made him broth; so he ate and his life returned to him and he abode with her on the most solaceful of life till the morrow. next morning, the old woman said to him, 'when the lady cometh to thee, do thou arise and kiss her hand and say to her, "i am a strange man and indeed cold and hunger slay me;" so haply she may give thee somewhat that thou mayst expend upon thy case.' and he answered, 'hearkening and obedience.' then she took him by the hand and carrying him without her house, seated him at the door. as he sat, behold, the lady came up to him, whereupon the old woman rose to her and selim kissed her hand and offered up prayers for her. then he looked on her and when he saw her, he knew her for his wife; so he cried out and wept and groaned and lamented; whereupon she came up to him and cast herself upon him; for indeed she knew him with all knowledge, even as he knew her. so she laid hold of him and embraced him and called to her serving-men and attendants and those who were about her; and they took him up and carried him forth of that place. when the old woman saw this, she cried out to the cook from within the house, and he said to her, 'go before me.' so she forewent him and he ran after her till he [overtook the party and] catching hold of selim, said [to the latter's wife,] 'what aileth thee to take my servant?' whereupon she cried out at him, saying, 'know that this is my husband, whom i had lost.' and selim also cried out, saying, 'mercy! mercy! i appeal to god and to the sultan against this satan!' therewith the folk gathered together to them forthright and loud rose the clamours and the cries between them; but the most part of them said, 'refer their affair to the sultan.' so they referred the case to the sultan, who was none other than selim's sister selma. [then they went up to the palace and] the interpreter went in to selma and said to her, 'o king of the age, here is an indian woman, who cometh from the land of hind, and she hath laid hands on a young man, a servant, avouching that he is her husband, who hath been missing these two years, and she came not hither but on his account, and indeed these many days she hath done almsdeeds [in the city]. and here is a man, a cook, who avoucheth that the young man is his slave.' when the queen heard these words, her entrails quivered and she groaned from an aching heart and called to mind her brother and that which had betided him. then she bade those who were about her bring them before her, and when she saw them, she knew her brother and was like to cry aloud; but her reason restrained her; yet could she not contain herself, but she must needs rise up and sit down. however, she enforced herself unto patience and said to them, 'let each of you acquaint me with his case.' so selim came forward and kissing the earth before the [supposed] king, praised him and related to him his story from beginning to end, till the time of their coming to that city, he and his sister, telling him how he had entered the place and fallen into the hands of the cook and that which had betided him [with him] and what he had suffered from him of beating and bonds and shackles and pinioning. moreover, he told him how the cook had made him his brother's slave and how the latter had sold him in hind and he had married the princess and become king and how life was not pleasant to him till he should foregather with his sister and how the cook had fallen in with him a second time and acquainted her with that which had betided him of sickness and disease for the space of a full-told year. when he had made an end of his speech, his wife came forward forthright and told her story, from first to last, how her mother bought him from the cook's partner and the people of the kingdom came under his rule; nor did she leave telling till she came, in her story, to that city [and acquainted the queen with the manner of her falling in with her lost husband]. when she had made an end of her story, the cook exclaimed, 'alack, what impudent liars there be! by allah, o king, this woman lieth against me, for this youth is my rearling[fn# ] and he was born of one of my slave-girls. he fled from me and i found him again. when the queen heard the last of the talk, she said to the cook, 'the judgment between you shall not be but in accordance with justice.' then she dismissed all those who were present and turning to her brother, said to him, 'indeed thy soothfastness is established with me and the truth of thy speech, and praised be god who hath brought about union between thee and thy wife! so now begone with her to thy country and leave [seeking] thy sister selma and depart in peace.' but selim answered, saying, 'by allah, by the virtue of the all-knowing king, i will not turn back from seeking my sister till i die or find her, if it please god the most high!' then he called his sister to mind and broke out with the following verses from a heart endolored, afflicted, disappointed, saying: o thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, hadst them but tasted my spirit's grief, thou wouldst excuse me still. by allah, o thou that chid'st my heart concerning my sister's love, leave chiding and rather bemoan my case and help me to my will. for indeed i am mated with longing love in public and privily, nor ever my heart, alas i will cease from mourning, will i or nill. a fire in mine entrails burns, than which the fire of the hells denounced for sinners' torment less scathing is: it seeketh me to slay. when his sister selma heard what he said, she could no longer contain herself, but cast herself upon him and discovered to him her case. when he knew her, he threw himself upon her [and lay without life] awhile; after which he came to himself and said, 'praised be god, the bountiful, the beneficent!' then they complained to each other of that which they had suffered for the anguish of separation, whilst selim's wife abode wondered at this and selma's patience and constancy pleased her. so she saluted her and thanked her for her fashion, saying, 'by allah, o my lady, all that we are in of gladness is of thy blessing alone; so praised be god who hath vouchsafed us thy sight!' then they abode all three in joy and happiness and delight three days, sequestered from the folk; and it was bruited abroad in the city that the king had found his brother, who was lost years agone. on the fourth day, all the troops and the people of the realm assembled together to the [supposed] king and standing at his gate, craved leave to enter. selma bade admit them; so they entered and paid her the service of the kingship and gave her joy of her brother's safe return. she bade them do suit and service to selim, and they consented and paid him homage; after which they kept silence awhile, so they might hear what the king should command. then said selma, 'harkye, all ye soldiers and subjects, ye know that ye enforced me to [accept] the kingship and besought me thereof and i consented unto your wishes concerning my investment [with the royal dignity]; and i did this [against my will]; for know that i am a woman and that i disguised myself and donned man's apparel, so haply my case might be hidden, whenas i lost my brother. but now, behold, god hath reunited me with my brother, and it is no longer lawful to me that i be king and bear rule over the people, and i a woman; for that there is no governance for women, whenas men are present. wherefore, if it like you, do ye set my brother on the throne of the kingdom, for this is he; and i will busy myself with the worship of god the most high and thanksgiving [to him] for my reunion with my brother. or, if it like you, take your kingship and invest therewith whom ye will.' thereupon the folk all cried out, saying, 'we accept him to king over us!' and they did him suit and service and gave him joy of the kingship. so the preachers preached in his name[fn# ] and the poets praised him; and he lavished gifts upon the troops and the officers of his household and overwhelmed them with favours and bounties and was prodigal to the people of justice and equitable dealings and goodly usance and polity. when he had accomplished this much of his desire, he caused bring forth the cook and his household to the divan, but spared the old woman who had tended him, for that she had been the cause of his deliverance. then they assembled them all without the town and he tormented the cook and those who were with him with all manner of torments, after which he put him to death on the sorriest wise and burning him with fire, scattered his ashes abroad in the air. selim abode in the governance, invested with the sultanate, and ruled the people a whole year, after which he returned to el mensoureh and sojourned there another year. and he [and his wife] ceased not to go from city to city and abide in this a year and that a year, till he was vouchsafed children and they grew up, whereupon he appointed him of his sons, who was found fitting, to be his deputy in [one] kingdom [and abode himself in the other]; and he lived, he and his wife and children, what while god the most high willed. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this story rarer or more extraordinary than that of the king of hind and his wronged and envied vizier." when the king heard this, his mind was occupied [with the story he had heard and that which the vizier promised him], and he bade the latter depart to his own house. the twenty-eighth and last night of the month when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and bade him tell the story of the king of hind and his vizier. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king of august lineage, that story of the king of hind and his vizier. there was once in the land of hind a king of illustrious station, endowed with understanding and good sense, and his name was shah bekht. he had a vizier, a man of worth and intelligence, prudent in counsel, conformable to him in his governance and just in his judgment; wherefore his enviers were many and many were the hypocrites, who sought in him faults and set snares for him, so that they insinuated into king shah bekht's eye hatred and rancour against him and sowed despite against him in his heart; and plot followed after plot, till [at last] the king was brought to arrest him and lay him in prison and confiscate his good and avoid his estate.[fn# ] when they knew that there was left him no estate that the king might covet, they feared lest he be brought to release him, by the incidence of the vizier's [good] counsel upon the king's heart, and he return to his former case, so should their plots be marred and their ranks degraded, for that they knew that the king would have need of that which he had known from that man nor would forget that wherewith he was familiar in him. now it befell that a certain man of corrupt purpose[fn# ] found a way to the perversion of the truth and a means of glozing over falsehood and adorning it with a semblance of fair-seeming and there proceeded from him that wherewith the hearts of the folk were occupied, and their minds were corrupted by his lying tales; for that he made use of indian subtleties and forged them into a proof for the denial of the maker, the creator, extolled be his might and exalted be he! indeed, god is exalted and magnified above the speech of the deniers. he avouched that it is the planets[fn# ] that order the affairs of all creatures and he set down twelve mansions to twelve signs [of the zodiac] and made each sign thirty degrees, after the number of the days of the month, so that in twelve mansions there are three hundred and threescore [degrees], after the number of the days of the year; and he wrought a scheme, wherein he lied and was an infidel and denied [god]. then he got possession of the king's mind and the enviers and haters aided him against the vizier and insinuated themselves into his favour and corrupted his counsel against the vizier, so that he suffered of him that which he suffered and he banished him and put him away. so the wicked man attained that which he sought of the vizier and the case was prolonged till the affairs of the kingdom became disordered, by dint of ill governance, and the most part of the king's empery fell away from him and he came nigh unto ruin. therewithal he was certified of the loyalty of his [late] skilful vizier and the excellence of his governance and the justness of his judgment. so he sent after him and brought him and the wicked man before him and summoning the grandees of his realm and the chiefs of his state to his presence, gave them leave to talk and dispute and forbade the wicked man from that his lewd opinion.[fn# ] then arose that wise and skilful vizier and praised god the most high and lauded him and glorified him and hallowed him and attested his unity and disputed with the wicked man and overcame him and put him to silence; nor did he cease from him till he enforced him to make confession of repentance [and turning away] from that which he had believed. therewith king shah bekht rejoiced with an exceeding great joy and said, 'praise be to god who hath delivered me from yonder man and hath preserved me from the loss of the kingship and the cessation of prosperity from me!' so the affair of the vizier returned to order and well-being and the king restored him to his place and advanced him in rank. moreover, he assembled the folk who had missaid of him and destroyed them all, to the last man. and how like," continued the vizier, "is this story unto that of myself and king shah bekht, with regard to that whereinto i am fallen of the changing of the king's heart and his giving credence to others against me; but now is the righteousness of my dealing established in thine eyes, for that god the most high hath inspired me with wisdom and endowed thee with longanimity and patience [to hearken] from me unto that which he allotted unto those who had foregone us, till he hath shown forth my innocence and made manifest unto thee the truth. for now the days are past, wherein it was avouched to the king that i should endeavour for the destruction of my soul,[fn# ] [to wit,] the month; and behold, the probation time is over and gone, and past is the season of evil and ceased, by the king's good fortune." then he bowed his head and was silent.[fn# ] when king shah bekht heard his vizier's speech, he was confounded before him and abashed and marvelled at the gravity of his understanding and his patience. so he sprang up to him and embraced him and the vizier kissed his feet. then the king called for a sumptuous dress of honour and cast it over er rehwan and entreated him with the utmost honour and showed him special favour and restored him to his rank and vizierate. moreover he imprisoned those who had sought his destruction with leasing and committed unto himself to pass judgment upon the interpreter who had expounded to him the dream. so the vizier abode in the governance of the realm till there came to them the destroyer of delights; and this (added shehrzad) is all, o king of the age, that hath come down to us of king shah bekht and his vizier. shehrzad and shehriyar. as for king shehriyar, he marvelled at shehrzad with the utmost wonder and drew her near to his heart, of his much love for her; and she was magnified in his eyes and he said in himself, "by allah, the like of this woman is not deserving of slaughter, for indeed the time affordeth not her like. by allah, i have been heedless of mine affair, and had not god overcome me with his mercy and put this woman at my service, so she might adduce to me manifest instances and truthful cases and goodly admonitions and edifying traits, such as should restore me to the [right] road, [i had come to perdition!]. wherefore to god be the praise for this and i beseech him to make my end with her like unto that of the vizier and shah bekht." then sleep overcame the king and glory be unto him who sleepeth not! when it was the nine hundred and thirtieth night, shehrzad said, "o king, there is present in my thought a story which treateth of women's craft and wherein is a warning to whoso will be warned and an admonishment to whoso will be admonished and whoso hath discernment; but i fear lest the hearing of this lessen me with the king and lower my rank in his esteem; yet i hope that this will not be, for that it is a rare story. women are indeed corruptresses; their craft and their cunning may not be set out nor their wiles known. men enjoy their company and are not careful to uphold them [in the right way], neither do they watch over them with all vigilance, but enjoy their company and take that which is agreeable and pay no heed to that which is other than this. indeed, they are like unto the crooked rib, which if thou go about to straighten, thou distortest it, and which if thou persist in seeking to redress, thou breakest it; wherefore it behoveth the man of understanding to be silent concerning them." "o sister mine," answered dinarzad, "bring forth that which is with thee and that which is present to thy mind of the story concerning the craft of women and their wiles, and have no fear lest this endamage thee with the king; for that women are like unto jewels, which are of all kinds and colours. when a [true] jewel falleth into the hand of him who is knowing therein, he keepeth it for himself and leaveth that which is other than it. moreover, he preferreth some of them over others, and in this he is like unto the potter, who filleth his oven with all the vessels [he hath moulded] and kindleth fire thereunder. when the baking is at an end and he goeth about to take forth that which is in the oven, he findeth no help for it but that he must break some thereof, whilst other some are what the folk need and whereof they make use, and yet other some there be that return to their whilom case. wherefore fear thou not to adduce that which thou knowest of the craft of women, for that in this is profit for all folk." then said shehrzad, "they avouch, o king, (but god [alone] knowest the secret things,) that el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police.[fn# ] there was once in the land [of egypt and] the city of cairo, [under the dynasty] of the turks,[fn# ] a king of the valiant kings and the exceeding mighty sultans, by name el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari.[fn# ] he was used to storm the islamite strongholds and the fortresses of the coast[fn# ] and the nazarene citadels, and the governor of his [capital] city was just to the folk, all of them. now el melik ez zahir was passionately fond of stories of the common folk and of that which men purposed and loved to see this with his eyes and hear their sayings with his ears, and it befell that he heard one night from one of his story-tellers[fn# ] that among women are those who are doughtier than men of valour and greater of excellence and that among them are those who will do battle with the sword and others who cozen the quickest-witted of magistrates and baffle them and bring down on them all manner of calamity; whereupon quoth the sultan, 'i would fain hear this of their craft from one of those who have had to do theiewith, so i may hearken unto him and cause him tell.' and one of the story-tellers said, 'o king, send for the chief of the police of the town.' now ilmeddin senjer was at that time master of police and he was a man of experience, well versed in affairs: so the king sent for him and when he came before him, he discovered to him that which was in his mind. quoth ilmeddin senjer, 'i will do my endeavour for that which our lord the sultan seeketh.' then he arose and returning to his house, summoned the captains of the watch and the lieutenants of police and said to them, 'know that i purpose to marry my son and make him a bride-feast, and it is my wish that ye assemble, all of you, in one place. i also will be present, i and my company, and do ye relate that which ye have heard of extraordinary occurrences and that which hath betided you of experiences.' and the captains and sergeants and agents of police made answer to him, saying, 'it is well: in the name of god! we will cause thee see all this with thine eyes and hear it with thine ears.' then the master of police arose and going up to el melik ez zahir, informed him that the assembly would take place on such a day at his house; and the sultan said, 'it is well,' and gave him somewhat of money for his expenses. when the appointed day arrived, the chief of the police set apart for his officers a saloon, that had windows ranged in order and giving upon the garden, and el melik ez zahir came to him, and he seated himself, he and the sultan, in the alcove. then the tables were spread unto them for eating and they ate; and when the cup went round amongst them and their hearts were gladdened with meat and drink, they related that which was with them and discovered their secrets from concealment. the first to relate was a man, a captain of the watch, by name muineddin, whose heart was engrossed with the love of women; and he said, 'harkye, all ye people of [various] degree, i will acquaint you with an extraordinary affair which befell me aforetime. know that the first officer's story. when i entered the service of this amir,[fn# ] i had a great repute and every lewd fellow feared me of all mankind, and whenas i rode through the city, all the folk would point at me with their fingers and eyes. it befell one day, as i sat in the house of the prefecture, with my back against a wall, considering in myself, there fell somewhat in my lap, and behold, it was a purse sealed and tied. so i took it in my hand and behold, it had in it a hundred dirhems,[fn# ] but i found not who threw it and i said, "extolled be the perfection of god, the king of the kingdoms!"[fn# ] another day, [as i sat on like wise,] somewhat fell on me and startled me, and behold, it was a purse like the first. so i took it and concealing its affair, made as if i slept, albeit sleep was not with me. one day, as i was thus feigning sleep, i felt a hand in my lap, and in it a magnificent purse. so i seized the hand and behold, it was that of a fair woman. quoth i to her, "o my lady, who art thou?" and she said, "rise [and come away] from here, that i may make myself known to thee." so i arose and following her, fared on, without tarrying, till she stopped at the door of a lofty house, whereupon quoth i to her,"o my lady, who art thou? indeed, thou hast done me kindness, and what is the reason of this?" "by allah," answered she, "o captain mum, i am a woman on whom desire and longing are sore for the love of the daughter of the cadi amin el hukm. now there was between us what was and the love of her fell upon my heart and i agreed with her upon meeting, according to possibility and convenience. but her father amin el hukm took her and went away, and my heart cleaveth to her and love-longing and distraction are sore upon me on her account." i marvelled at her words and said to her, "what wouldst thou have me do?" and she answered, "o captain muin, i would have thee give me a helping hand." quoth i, "what have i to do with the daughter of the cadi amin el hukm?" and she said, "know that i would not have thee intrude upon the cadi's daughter, but i would fain contrive for the attainment of my wishes.' this is my intent and my desire, and my design will not be accomplished but by thine aid." then said she, "i mean this night to go with a stout heart and hire me trinkets of price; then will i go and sit in the street wherein is the house of amin el hukm; and when it is the season of the round and the folk are asleep, do thou pass, thou and those who are with thee of the police, and thou wilt see me sitting and on me fine raiment and ornaments and wilt smell on me the odour of perfumes; whereupon do thou question me of my case and i will say, 'i come from the citadel and am of the daughters of the deputies[fn# ] and i came down [into the town,] to do an occasion; but the night overtook me at unawares and the zuweyleh gate was shut against me and all the gates and i knew not whither i should go this night presently i saw this street and noting the goodliness of its ordinance and its cleanness, took shelter therein against break of day.' when i say this to thee with all assurance[fn# ] the chief of the watch will have no suspicion of me, but will say, 'needs must we leave her with one who will take care of her till morning.' and do thou rejoin, 'it were most fitting that she pass the night with amin el hukm and lie with his family and children till the morning.' then do thou straightway knock at the cadi's door, and thus shall i have gained admission into his house, without inconvenience, and gotten my desire; and peace be on thee!" and i said to her, "by allah, this is an easy matter." so, when the night darkened, we sallied forth to make our round, attended by men with sharp swords, and went round about the streets and compassed the city, till we came to the by-street where was the woman, and it was the middle of the night here we smelt rich scents and heard the clink of earrings; so i said to my comrades, "methinks i spy an apparition," and the captain of the watch said, "see what it is." so i came forward and entering the lane, came presently out again and said, "i have found a fair woman and she tells me that she is from the citadel and that the night surprised her and she espied this street and seeing its cleanness and the goodliness of its ordinance, knew that it appertained to a man of rank and that needs must there be in it a guardian to keep watch over it, wherefore she took shelter therein." quoth the captain of the watch to me, "take her and carry her to thy house." but i answered, "i seek refuge with allah![fn# ] my house is no place of deposit[fn# ] and on this woman are trinkets and apparel [of price]. by allah, we will not deposit her save with amin el hukrn, in whose street she hath been since the first of the darkness; wherefore do thou leave her with him till the break of day." and he said, "as thou wilt." accordingly, i knocked at the cadi's door and out came a black slave of his slaves, to whom said i, "o my lord, take this woman and let her be with you till break of day, for that the lieutenant of the amir ilmeddin hath found her standing at the door of your house, with trinkets and apparel [of price] on her, and we feared lest her responsibility be upon you;[fn# ] wherefore it is most fit that she pass the night with you." so the slave opened and took her in with him. when the morning morrowed, the first who presented himself before the amir was the cadi amin el hukm, leaning on two of his black slaves; and he was crying out and calling [on god] for aid and saying, "o crafty and perfidious amir, thou depositedst with me a woman [yesternight] and broughtest her into my house and my dwelling-place, and she arose [in the night] and took from me the good of the little orphans,[fn# ] six great bags, [containing each a thousand dinars,[fn# ] and made off;] but as for me, i will say no more to thee except in the sultan's presence."[fn# ] when the master of the police heard these words, he was troubled and rose and sat down; then he took the cadi and seating him by his side, soothed him and exhorted him to patience, till he had made an end of talk, when he turned to the officers and questioned them. they fixed the affair on me and said, "we know nothing of this affair but from captain muineddin." so the cadi turned to me and said, "thou wast of accord with this woman, for she said she came from the citadel." as for me, i stood, with my head bowed to the earth, forgetting both institutes and canons,[fn# ] and abode sunk in thought, saying, "how came i to be the dupe of yonder worthless baggage?" then said the amir to me, "what aileth thee that thou answerest not?" and i answered, saying, "o my lord, it is a custom among the folk that he who hath a payment to make at a certain date is allowed three days' grace; [so do thou have patience with me so long,] and if, [by the end of that time,] the culprit be not found, i will be answerable for that which is lost." when the folk heard my speech, they all deemed it reasonable and the master of police turned to the cadi and swore to him that he would do his utmost endeavour to recover the stolen money and that it should be restored to him. so he went away, whilst i mounted forthright and fell to going round about the world without purpose, and indeed i was become under the dominion of a woman without worth or honour; and i went round about on this wise all that my day and night, but happened not upon tidings of her; and thus i did on the morrow. on the third day i said to myself, "thou art mad or witless!" for i was going about in quest of a woman who knew me and i knew her not, seeing that indeed she was veiled, [whenas i saw her]. then i went round about the third day till the hour of afternoon prayer, and sore was my concern and my chagrin, for i knew that there abode to me of my life but [till] the morrow, when the chief of the police would seek me. when it was the time of sundown, i passed through one of the streets, and beheld a woman at a window. her door was ajar and she was clapping her hands and casting furtive glances at me, as who should say, "come up by the door." so i went up, without suspicion, and when i entered, she rose and clasped me to her breast marvelled at her affair and she said to me, "i am she whom thou depositedst with amin el hukm." quoth i to her, "o my sister, i have been going round and round in quest of thee, for indeed thou hast done a deed that will be chronicled in history and hast cast me into slaughter[fn# ] on thine account." "sayst thou this to me," asked she, "and thou captain of men?" and i answered, "how should i not be troubled, seeing that i am in concern [for an affair] that i turn over and over [in my mind], more by token that i abide my day long going about [searching for thee] and in the night i watch its stars [for wakefulness]?" quoth she, "nought shall betide but good, and thou shalt get the better of him." so saying, she rose [and going] to a chest, took out therefrom six bags full of gold and said to me, "this is what i took from amin el hukm's house. so, if thou wilt, restore it; else the whole is lawfully thine; and if thou desire other than this, [thou shalt have it;] for i have wealth in plenty and i had no design in this but to marry thee." then she arose and opening [other] chests, brought out therefrom wealth galore and i said to her, "o my sister, i have no desire for all this, nor do i covet aught but to be quit of that wherein i am." quoth she, "i came not forth of the [cadi's] house without [making provision for] thine acquittance." then said she to me, "to-morrow morning, when amin el hukm cometh, have patience with him till he have made an end of his speech, and when he is silent, return him no answer; and if the prefect say to thee, 'what ailest thee that thou answereth him not?' do thou reply, 'o lord, know that the two words are not alike, but there is no [helper] for him who is undermost[fn# ], save god the most high.'[fn# ] the cadi will say, 'what is the meaning of thy saying," the two words are not alike"?' and do thou make answer, saying, 'i deposited with thee a damsel from the palace of the sultan, and most like some losel of thy household hath transgressed against her or she hath been privily murdered. indeed, there were on her jewels and raiment worth a thousand dinars, and hadst thou put those who are with thee of slaves and slave-girls to the question, thou hadst assuredly lit on some traces [of the crime].' when he heareth this from thee, his agitation will redouble and he will be confounded and will swear that needs must thou go with him to his house; but do thou say, 'that will i not do, for that i am the party aggrieved, more by token that i am under suspicion with thee.' if he redouble in calling [on god for aid] and conjure thee by the oath of divorce, saying, 'needs must thou come,' do thou say, 'by allah, i will not go, except the prefect come also.' when thou comest to the house, begin by searching the roofs; then search the closets and cabinets; and if thou find nought, humble thyself unto the cadi and make a show of abjection and feign thyself defeated, and after stand at the door and look as if thou soughtest a place wherein to make water, for that there is a dark corner there. then come forward, with a heart stouter than granite, and lay hold upon a jar of the jars and raise it from its place. thou wilt find under it the skirt of a veil; bring it out publicly and call the prefect in a loud voice, before those who are present. then open it and thou wilt find it full of blood, exceeding of redness,[fn# ] and in it [thou wilt find also] a woman's shoes and a pair of trousers and somewhat of linen." when i heard this from her, i rose to go out and she said to me, "take these hundred dinars, so they may advantage thee; and this is my guest-gift to thee." so i took them and bidding her farewell, returned to my lodging. next morning, up came the cadi, with his face like the ox-eye,[fn# ] and said, "in the name of god, where is my debtor and where is my money?" then he wept and cried out and said to the prefect, "where is that ill-omened fellow, who aboundeth in thievery and villainy?" therewith the prefect turned to me and said, "why dost thou not answer the cadi?" and i replied, "o amir, the two heads[fn# ] are not equal, and i, i have no helper but god; but, if the right be on my side, it will appear." at this the cadi cried out and said, "out on thee, o ill-omened fellow! how wilt thou make out that the right is on thy side?" "o our lord the cadi," answered i, "i deposited with thee a trust, to wit, a woman whom we found at thy door, and on her raiment and trinkets of price. now she is gone, even as yesterday is gone; and after this thou turnest upon us and makest claim upon me for six thousand dinars. by allah, this is none other than gross unright, and assuredly some losel of thy household hath transgressed against her!" with this the cadi's wrath redoubled and he swore by the most solemn of oaths that i should go with him and search his house. "by allah," replied i, "i will not go, except the prefect be with us; for, if he be present, he and the officers, thou wilt not dare to presume upon me." and the cadi rose and swore an oath, saying, "by him who created mankind, we will not go but with the amir!" so we repaired to the cadi's house, accompanied by the prefect, and going up, searched high and low, but found nothing; whereupon fear gat hold upon me and the prefect turned to me and said, "out on thee, o ill-omened fellow! thou puttest us to shame before the men." and i wept and went round about right and left, with the tears running down my face, till we were about to go forth and drew near the door of the house. i looked at the place [behind the door] and said, "what is yonder dark place that i see?" and i said to the sergeants, "lift up this jar with me." they did as i bade them and i saw somewhat appearing under the jar and said, "rummage and see what is under it." so they searched and found a woman's veil and trousers full of blood, which when i beheld, i fell down in a swoon. when the prefect saw this, he said, "by allah, the captain is excused!" then my comrades came round about me and sprinkled water on my face, [till i came to myself,] when i arose and accosting the cadi, who was covered with confusion, said to him, "thou seest that suspicion is fallen on thee, and indeed this affair is no light matter, for that this woman's family will assuredly not sit down under her loss." therewith the cadi's heart quaked and he knew that the suspicion had reverted upon him, wherefore his colour paled and his limbs smote together; and he paid of his own money, after the measure of that which he had lost, so we would hush up the matter for him.[fn# ] then we departed from him in peace, whilst i said in myself, "indeed, the woman deceived me not." after that i tarried till three days had elapsed, when went to the bath and changing my clothes, betook myself to her house, but found the door locked and covered with dust. so i questioned the neighbours of her and they said, "this house hath been empty these many days; but three days agone there came a woman with an ass, and yesternight, at eventide, she took her gear and went away." so i turned back, confounded in my wit, and every day [after this, for many a day,] i inquired of the inhabitants [of the street] concerning her, but could light on no tidings of her. and indeed i marvelled at the eloquence of her tongue and [the readiness of] her speech; and this is the most extraordinary of that which hath betided me.' when el melik ez zahir heard muineddin's story, he marvelled thereat then rose another officer and said, 'o lord, bear what befell me in bygone days. the second officer's story. i was once an officer in the household of the amir jemaleddin el atwesh el mujhidi, who was invested with the governance of the eastern and western districts,[fn# ] and i was dear to his heart and he concealed from me nought of that which he purposed to do; and withal he was master of his reason.[fn# ] it chanced one day that it was reported to him that the daughter of such an one had wealth galore and raiment and jewels and she loved a jew, whom every day she invited to be private with her, and they passed the day eating and drinking in company and he lay the night with her. the prefect feigned to give no credence to this story, but one night he summoned the watchmen of the quarter and questioned them of this. quoth one of them, "o my lord, i saw a jew enter the street in question one night; but know not for certain to whom he went in." and the prefect said, "keep thine eye on him henceforth and note what place he entereth." so the watchman went out and kept his eye on the jew. one day, as the prefect sat [in his house], the watchman came in to him and said, "o my lord, the jew goeth to the house of such an one." whereupon el atwesh arose and went forth alone, taking with him none but myself. as he went along, he said to me, "indeed, this [woman] is a fat piece of meat."[fn# ] and we gave not over going till we came to the door of the house and stood there till a slave-girl came out, as if to buy them somewhat. we waited till she opened the door, whereupon, without further parley, we forced our way into the house and rushed in upon the girl, whom we found seated with the jew in a saloon with four estrades, and cooking-pots and candles therein. when her eyes fell on the prefect, she knew him and rising to her feet, said, "welcome and fair welcome! great honour hath betided me by my lord's visit and indeed thou honourest my dwelling." then she carried him up [to the estrade] and seating him on the couch, brought him meat and wine and gave him to drink; after which she put off all that was upon her of raiment and jewels and tying them up in a handkerchief, said to him, "o my lord, this is thy portion, all of it." moreover she turned to the jew and said to him, "arise, thou also, and do even as i." so he arose in haste and went out, scarce crediting his deliverance. when the girl was assured of his escape, she put out her hand to her clothes [and jewels] and taking them, said to the prefect, "is the requital of kindness other than kindness? thou hast deigned [to visit me and eat of my victual]; so now arise and depart from us without ill-[doing]; or i will give one cry and all who are in the street will come forth." so the amir went out from her, without having gotten a single dirhem; and on this wise she delivered the jew by the excellence of her contrivance.' the folk marvelled at this story and as for the prefect and el melik ez zahir, they said, 'wrought ever any the like of this device?' and they marvelled with the utterest of wonderment then arose a third officer and said, 'hear what betided me, for it is yet stranger and more extraordinary. the third officer's story i was one day abroad on an occasion with certain of my comrades, and as we went along, we fell in with a company of women, as they were moons, and among them one, the tallest and handsomest of them. when i saw her and she saw me, she tarried behind her companions and waited for me, till i came up to her and bespoke her. quoth she, "o my lord, (god favour thee!) i saw thee prolong thy looking on me and imagined that thou knewest me. if it be thus, vouchsafe me more knowledge of thee." "by allah," answered i, "i know thee not, save that god the most high hath cast the love of thee into my heart and the goodliness of thine attributes hath confounded me and that wherewith god hath gifted thee of those eyes that shoot with arrows; for thou hast captivated me." and she rejoined, "by allah, i feel the like of that which thou feelest; so that meseemeth i have known thee from childhood." then said i, "a man cannot well accomplish all whereof he hath need in the market-places." "hast thou a house?" asked she. "no, by allah," answered i; "nor is this town my dwelling-place." "by allah," rejoined she, "nor have i a place; but i will contrive for thee." then she went on before me and i followed her till she came to a lodging-house and said to the housekeeper, "hast thou an empty chamber?" "yes," answered she; and my mistress said, "give us the key." so we took the key and going up to see the room, entered it; after which she went out to the housekeeper and [giving her a dirhem], said to her, "take the key-money,[fn# ] for the room pleaseth us, and here is another dirhem for thy trouble. go, fetch us a pitcher of water, so we may [refresh ourselves] and rest till the time of the noonday siesta pass and the heat decline, when the man will go and fetch the [household] stuff." therewith the housekeeper rejoiced and brought us a mat and two pitchers of water on a tray and a leather rug. we abode thus till the setting-in of the time of mid-afternoon, when she said, "needs must i wash before i go." quoth i, "get water wherewithal we may wash," and pulled out from my pocket about a score of dirhems, thinking to give them to her; but she said, "i seek refuge with god!" and brought out of her pocket a handful of silver, saying, "but for destiny and that god hath caused the love of thee fall into my heart, there had not happened that which hath happened." quoth i, "take this in requital of that which thou hast spent;" and she said, "o my lord, by and by, whenas companionship is prolonged between us, thou wilt see if the like of me looketh unto money and gain or no." then she took a pitcher of water and going into the lavatory, washed[fn# ] and presently coming forth, prayed and craved pardon of god the most high for that which she had done. now i had questioned her of her name and she answered, "my name is rihaneh," and described to me her dwelling-place. when i saw her make the ablution, i said in myself, "this woman doth on this wise, and shall i not do the like of her?" then said i to her, "belike thou wilt seek us another pitcher of water?" so she went out to the housekeeper and said to her, "take this para and fetch us water therewith, so we may wash the flags withal." accordingly, the housekeeper brought two pitchers of water and i took one of them and giving her my clothes, entered the lavatory and washed. when i had made an end of washing, i cried out, saying, "harkye, my lady rihaneh!" but none answered me. so i went out and found her not; and indeed she had taken my clothes and that which was therein of money, to wit, four hundred dirhems. moreover, she had taken my turban and my handkerchief and i found not wherewithal to cover my nakedness; wherefore i suffered somewhat than which death is less grievous and abode looking about the place, so haply i might espy wherewithal to hide my shame. then i sat a little and presently going up to the door, smote upon it; whereupon up came the housekeeper and i said to her, "o my sister, what hath god done with the woman who was here?" quoth she, "she came down but now and said, 'i am going to cover the boys with the clothes and i have left him sleeping. if he awake, tell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.'" then said i, "o my sister, secrets are [safe] with the worthy and the freeborn. by allah, this woman is not my wife, nor ever in my life have i seen her before this day!" and i recounted to her the whole affair and begged her to cover me, informing her that i was discovered of the privities. she laughed and cried out to the women of the house, saying, "ho, fatimeh! ho, khedijeh! ho, herifeh! ho, senineh!" whereupon all those who were in the place of women and neighbours flocked to me and fell a-laughing at me and saying, "o blockhead, what ailed thee to meddle with gallantry?" then one of them came and looked in my face and laughed, and another said, "by allah, thou mightest have known that she lied, from the time she said she loved thee and was enamoured of thee? what is there in thee to love?" and a third said, "this is an old man without understanding." and they vied with each other in making mock of me, what while i suffered sore chagrin. however, after awhile, one of the women took pity on me and brought me a rag of thin stuff and cast it on me. with this i covered my privities, and no more, and abode awhile thus. then said i in myself, "the husbands of these women will presently gather together on me and i shall be disgraced." so i went out by another door of the house, and young and old crowded about me, running after me and saying, "a madman! a madman!" till i came to my house and knocked at the door; whereupon out came my wife and seeing me naked, tall, bareheaded, cried out and ran in again, saying,"this is a madman, a satan!" but, when she and my family knew me, they rejoiced and said to me, "what aileth thee?" i told them that thieves had taken my clothes and stripped me and had been like to kill me; and when i told them that they would have killed me, they praised god the most high and gave me joy of my safety. so consider the craft of this woman and this device that she practised upon me, for all my pretensions to sleight and quickwittedness.' the company marvelled at this story and at the doings of women. then came forward a fourth officer and said, 'verily, that which hath betided me of strange adventures is yet more extraordinary than this; and it was on this wise. the fourth officer's story. we were sleeping one night on the roof, when a woman made her way into the house and gathering into a bundle all that was therein, took it up, that she might go away with it. now she was great with child and near upon her term and the hour of her deliverance; so, when she made up the bundle and offered to shoulder it and make off with it, she hastened the coming of the pangs of labour and gave birth to a child in the dark. then she sought for the flint and steel and striking a light, kindled the lamp and went round about the house with the little one, and it was weeping. [the noise awoke us,] as we lay on the roof, and we marvelled. so we arose, to see what was to do, and looking down through the opening of the saloon,[fn# ] saw a woman, who had kindled the lamp, and heard the little one weeping. she heard our voices and raising her eyes to us, said, "are ye not ashamed to deal with us thus and discover our nakedness? know ye not that the day belongeth to you and the night to us? begone from us! by allah, were it not that ye have been my neighbours these [many] years, i would bring down the house upon you!" we doubted not but that she was of the jinn and drew back our heads; but, when we arose on the morrow, we found that she had taken all that was with us and made off with it; wherefore we knew that she was a thief and had practised [on us] a device, such as was never before practised; and we repented, whenas repentance advantaged us not.' when the company heard this story, they marvelled thereat with the utmost wonderment. then the fifth officer, who was the lieutenant of the bench,[fn# ] came forward and said, '[this is] no wonder and there befell me that which is rarer and more extraordinary than this. the fifth officer's story. as i sat one day at the door of the prefecture, a woman entered and said to me privily, "o my lord, i am the wife of such an one the physician, and with him is a company of the notables[fn# ] of the city, drinking wine in such a place." when i heard this, i misliked to make a scandal; so i rebuffed her and sent her away. then i arose and went alone to the place in question and sat without till the door opened, when i rushed in and entering, found the company engaged as the woman had set out, and she herself with them. i saluted them and they returned my greeting and rising, entreated me with honour and seated me and brought me to eat. then i informed them how one had denounced them to me, but i had driven him[fn# ] away and come to them by myself; wherefore they thanked me and praised me for my goodness. then they brought out to me from among them two thousand dirhems[fn# ] and i took them and went away. two months after this occurrence, there came to me one of the cadi's officers, with a scroll, wherein was the magistrate's writ, summoning me to him. so i accompanied the officer and went in to the cadi, whereupon the plaintiff, to wit, he who had taken out the summons, sued me for two thousand dirhems, avouching that i had borrowed them of him as the woman's agent.[fn# ] i denied the debt, but he produced against me a bond for the amount, attested by four of those who were in company [on the occasion]; and they were present and bore witness to the loan. so i reminded them of my kindness and paid the amount, swearing that i would never again follow a woman's counsel. is not this marvellous?' the company marvelled at the goodliness of his story and it pleased el melik ez zahir; and the prefect said, 'by allah, this story is extraordinary!' then came forward the sixth officer and said to the company, 'hear my story and that which befell me, to wit, that which befell such an one the assessor, for it is rarer than this and stranger. the sixth officer's story. a certain assessor was one day taken with a woman and much people assembled before his house and the lieutenant of police and his men came to him and knocked at the door. the assessor looked out of window and seeing the folk, said, "what aileth you?" quoth they, "[come,] speak with the lieutenant of police such an one." so he came down and they said to him, "bring forth the woman that is with thee." quoth he, "are ye not ashamed? how shall i bring forth my wife?" and they said, "is she thy wife by contract[fn# ] or without contract?" ["by contract,"] answered he, "according to the book of god and the institutes of his apostle." "where is the contract?" asked they; and he replied, "her contract is in her mother's house." quoth they, "arise and come down and show us the contract." and he said to them, "go from her way, so she may come forth." now, as soon as he got wind of the matter, he had written the contract and fashioned it after her fashion, to suit with the case, and written therein the names of certain of his friends as witnesses and forged the signatures of the drawer and the wife's next friend and made it a contract of marriage with his wife and appointed it for an excuse.[fn# ] so, when the woman was about to go out from him, he gave her the contract that be had forged, and the amir sent with her a servant of his, to bring her to her father. so the servant went with her and when she came to her door, she said to him, "i will not return to the citation of the amir; but let the witnesses[fn# ] present themselves and take my contract." accordingly, the servant carried this message to the lieutenant of police, who was standing at the assessor's door, and he said, "this is reasonable." then said [the assessor] to the servant, "harkye, o eunuch! go and fetch us such an one the notary;" for that he was his friend [and it was he whose name he had forged as the drawer-up of the contract]. so the lieutenant of police sent after him and fetched him to the assessor, who, when he saw him, said to him, "get thee to such an one, her with whom thou marriedst me, and cry out upon her, and when she cometh to thee, demand of her the contract and take it from her and bring it to us." and he signed to him, as who should say, "bear me out in the lie and screen me, for that she is a strange woman and i am in fear of the lieutenant of police who standeth at the door; and we beseech god the most high to screen us and you from the trouble of this world. amen." so the notary went up to the lieutenant, who was among the witnesses, and said "it is well. is she not such an one whose marriage contract we drew up in such a place?" then he betook himself to the woman's house and cried out upon her; whereupon she brought him the [forged] contract and he took it and returned with it to the lieutenant of police. when the latter had taken cognizance [of the document and professed himself satisfied, the assessor] said [to the notary,] "go to our lord and master, the cadi of the cadis, and acquaint him with that which befalleth his assessors." the notary rose to go, but the lieutenant of police feared [for himself] and was profuse in beseeching the assessor and kissing his hands, till he forgave him; whereupon the lieutenant went away in the utterest of concern and affright. on this wise the assessor ordered the case and carried out the forgery and feigned marriage with the woman; [and thus was calamity warded off from him] by the excellence of his contrivance."[fn# ] the folk marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment and the seventh officer said, 'there befell me in alexandria the [god-]guarded a marvellous thing, [and it was that one told me the following story]. the seventh officer's story. there came one day an old woman [to the stuff-market], with a casket of precious workmanship, containing trinkets, and she was accompanied by a damsel great with child. the old woman sat down at the shop of a draper and giving him to know that the damsel was with child by the prefect of police of the city, took of him, on credit, stuffs to the value of a thousand dinars and deposited with him the casket as security. [she opened the casket and] showed him that which was therein; and he found it full of trinkets [apparently] of price; [so he trusted her with the goods] and she took leave of him and carrying the stuffs to the damsel, who was with her, [went her way]. then the old woman was absent from him a great while, and when her absence was prolonged, the draper despaired of her; so he went up to the prefect's house and enquired of the woman of his household, [who had taken his stuffs on credit;] but could get no tidings of her nor lit on aught of her trace. then he brought out the casket of jewellery [and showed it to an expert,] who told him that the trinkets were gilt and that their worth was but an hundred dirhems. when he heard this, he was sore concerned thereat and presenting himself before the sultan's deputy, made his complaint to him; whereupon the latter knew that a trick had been put off upon him and that the folk had cozened him and gotten the better of him and taken his stuffs. now the magistrate in question was a man of good counsel and judgment, well versed in affairs; so he said to the draper, "remove somewhat from thy shop, [and amongst the rest the casket,] and on the morrow break the lock and cry out and come to me and complain that they have plundered all thy shop. moreover, do thou call [upon god for succour] and cry aloud and acquaint the folk, so that all the people may resort to thee and see the breach of the lock and that which is missing from thy shop; and do thou show it to every one who presenteth himself, so the news may be noised abroad, and tell them that thy chief concern is for a casket of great value, deposited with thee by a great man of the town and that thou standest in fear of him. but be thou not afraid and still say in thy converse, 'my casket belonged to such an one, and i fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, o company and all ye who are present, i call you to witness of this for me.' and if there be with thee more than this talk, [say it;] and the old woman will come to thee." the draper answered with "hearkening and obedience" and going forth from the deputy's presence, betook himself to his shop and brought out thence [the casket and] somewhat considerable, which he removed to his house. at break of day he arose and going to his shop, broke the lock and cried out and shrieked and called [on god for help,] till the folk assembled about him and all who were in the city were present, whereupon he cried out to them, saying even as the prefect had bidden him; and this was bruited abroad. then he made for the prefecture and presenting himself before the chief of the police, cried out and complained and made a show of distraction. after three days, the old woman came to him and bringing him the [thousand dinars, the] price of the stuffs, demanded the casket.[fn# ] when he saw her, he laid hold of her and carried her to the prefect of the city; and when she came before the cadi, he said to her, "o sataness, did not thy first deed suffice thee, but thou must come a second time?" quoth she, "i am of those who seek their salvation[fn# ] in the cities, and we foregather every month; and yesterday we foregathered." "canst thou [bring me to] lay hold of them?" asked the prefect; and she answered, "yes; but, if thou wait till to-morrow, they will have dispersed. so i will deliver them to thee to-night." quoth he to her, "go;" and she said, "send with me one who shall go with me to them and obey me in that which i shall say to him, and all that i bid him he shall give ear unto and obey me therein." so he gave her a company of men and she took them and bringing them to a certain door, said to them, "stand at this door, and whoso cometh out to you, lay hands on him; and i will come out to you last of all." "hearkening and obedience," answered they and stood at the door, whilst the old woman went in. they waited a long while, even as the sultan's deputy had bidden them, but none came out to them and their standing was prolonged. when they were weary of waiting, they went up to the door and smote upon it heavily and violently, so that they came nigh to break the lock. then one of them entered and was absent a long while, but found nought; so he returned to his comrades and said to them,"this is the door of a passage, leading to such a street; and indeed she laughed at you and left you and went away."when they heard his words, they returned to the amir and acquainted him with the case, whereby he knew that the old woman was a crafty trickstress and that she had laughed at them and cozened them and put a cheat on them, to save herself. consider, then, the cunning of this woman and that which she contrived of wiles, for all her lack of foresight in presenting herself [a second time] to the draper and not apprehending that his conduct was but a trick; yet, when she found herself in danger, she straightway devised a shift for her deliverance.' when the company heard the seventh officer's story, they were moved to exceeding mirth, and el melik ez zahir bibers rejoiced in that which he heard and said, 'by allah, there betide things in this world, from which kings are shut out, by reason of their exalted station!" then came forward another man from amongst the company and said, 'there hath reached me from one of my friends another story bearing on the malice of women and their craft, and it is rarer and more extraordinary and more diverting than all that hath been told to you." quoth the company, 'tell us thy story and expound it unto us, so we may see that which it hath of extraordinary.' and he said 'know, then, that the eighth officer's story. a friend of mine once invited me to an entertainment; so i went with him, and when we came into his house and sat down on his couch, he said to me, "this is a blessed day and a day of gladness, and [blessed is] he who liveth to [see] the like of this day. i desire that thou practise with us and deny[fn# ] us not, for that thou hast been used to hearken unto those who occupy themselves with this."[fn# ] i fell in with this and their talk happened upon the like of this subject.[fn# ] presently, my friend, who had invited me, arose from among them and said to them, "hearken to me and i will tell you of an adventure that happened to me. there was a certain man who used to visit me in my shop, and i knew him not nor he me, nor ever in his life had he seen me; but he was wont, whenever he had need of a dirhem or two, by way of loan, to come to me and ask me, without acquaintance or intermediary between me and him, [and i would give him what he sought]. i told none of him, and matters abode thus between us a long while, till he fell to borrowing ten at twenty dirhems [at a time], more or less. one day, as i stood in my shop, there came up to me a woman and stopped before me; and she as she were the full moon rising from among the stars, and the place was illumined by her light. when i saw her, i fixed my eyes on her and stared in her face; and she bespoke me with soft speech. when i heard her words and the sweetness of her speech, i lusted after her; and when she saw that i lusted after her, she did her occasion and promising me [to come again], went away, leaving my mind occupied with her and fire kindled in my heart. then i abode, perplexed and pondering my affair, whilst fire flamed in my heart, till the third day, when she came again and i scarce credited her coming. when i saw her, i talked with her and cajoled her and courted her and strove to win her favour with speech and invited her [to my house]; but she answered, saying, 'i will not go up into any one's house.' quoth i, 'i will go with thee;' and she said, 'arise and come with me.' so i arose and putting in my sleeve a handkerchief, wherein was a good sum of money, followed the woman, who went on before me and gave not over walking till she brought me to a by-street and to a door, which she bade me open. i refused and she opened it and brought me into the vestibule. as soon as i had entered, she locked the door of entrance from within and said to me, 'sit [here] till i go in to the slave-girls and cause them enter a place where they shall not see me.' 'it is well,' answered i and sat down; whereupon she entered and was absent from me a moment, after which she returned to me, without a veil, and said, 'arise, [enter,] in the name of god.'[fn# ] so i arose and went in after her and we gave not over going till we entered a saloon. when i examined the place, i found it neither handsome nor agreeable, but unseemly and desolate, without symmetry or cleanliness; nay, it was loathly to look upon and there was a foul smell in it. i seated myself amiddleward the saloon, misdoubting, and as i sat, there came down on me from the estrade seven naked men, without other clothing than leather girdles about their waists. one of them came up to me and took my turban, whilst another took my handkerchief, that was in my sleeve, with my money, and a third stripped me of my clothes; after which a fourth came and bound my hands behind me with his girdle. then they all took me up, pinioned as i was, and casting me down, fell a-dragging me towards a sink-hole that was there and were about to cut my throat, when, behold, there came a violent knocking at the door. when they heard this, they were afraid and their minds were diverted from me by fear; so the woman went out and presently returning, said to them, 'fear not; no harm shall betide you this day. it is only your comrade who hath brought you your noon-meal.' with this the new-comer entered, bringing with him a roasted lamb; and when he came in to them, he said to them, 'what is to do with you, that ye have tucked up [your sleeves and trousers]?' quoth they, '[this is] a piece of game we have caught.' when he heard this, he came up to me and looking in my face, cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my brother, the son of my mother and father! allah! allah!' then he loosed me from my bonds and kissed my head, and behold it was my friend who used to borrow money of me. when i kissed his head, he kissed mine and said, 'o my brother, be not affrighted.' then he called for my clothes [and money and restored to me all that had been taken from me] nor was aught missing to me. moreover, he brought me a bowl full of [sherbet of] sugar, with lemons therein, and gave me to drink thereof; and the company came and seated me at a table. so i ate with them and he said to me, 'o my lord and my brother, now have bread and salt passed between us and thou hast discovered our secret and [become acquainted with] our case; but secrets [are safe] with the noble.' quoth i, 'as i am a lawfully-begotten child, i will not name aught [of this] neither denounce [you!*]' and they assured themselves of me by an oath. then they brought me out and i went my way, scarce crediting but that i was of the dead. i abode in my house, ill, a whole month; after which i went to the bath and coming out, opened my shop [and sat selling and buying as usual], but saw no more of the man or the woman, till, one day, there stopped before my shop a young man, [a turcoman], as he were the full moon; and he was a sheep-merchant and had with him a bag, wherein was money, the price of sheep that he had sold. he was followed by the woman, and when he stopped at my shop, she stood by his side and cajoled him, and indeed he inclined to her with a great inclination. as for me, i was consumed with solicitude for him and fell to casting furtive glances at him and winked at him, till he chanced to look round and saw me winking at him; whereupon the woman looked at me and made a sign with her hand and went away. the turcoman followed her and i counted him dead, without recourse; wherefore i feared with an exceeding fear and shut my shop. then i journeyed for a year's space and returning, opened my shop; whereupon, behold, the woman came up to me and said, 'this is none other than a great absence.' quoth i, 'i have been on a journey;' and she said, 'why didst thou wink at the turcoman?' 'god forbid!' answered i. 'i did not wink at him.' quoth she, 'beware lest thou cross me;' and went away. awhile after this a friend of mine invited me to his house and when i came to him, we ate and drank and talked. then said he to me, 'o my friend, hath there befallen thee in thy life aught of calamity?' 'nay,' answered i; 'but tell me [first], hath there befallen thee aught?' ['yes,'] answered he. 'know that one day i espied a fair woman; so i followed her and invited her [to come home with me]. quoth she, "i will not enter any one's house; but come thou to my house, if thou wilt, and be it on such a day." accordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger came to me, purposing to carry me to her; so i arose and went with him, till we came to a handsome house and a great door. he opened the door and i entered, whereupon he locked the door [behind me] and would have gone in, but i feared with an exceeding fear and foregoing him to the second door, whereby he would have had me enter, locked it and cried out at him, saying, "by allah, an thou open not to me, i will kill thee; for i am none of those whom thou canst cozen!" quoth he, "what deemest thou of cozenage?" and i said, "verily, i am affrighted at the loneliness of the house and the lack of any at the door thereof; for i see none appear." "o my lord," answered he, "this is a privy door." "privy or public," answered i, "open to me." so he opened to me and i went out and had not gone far from the house when i met a woman, who said to me, "methinks a long life was fore-ordained to thee; else hadst thou not come forth of yonder house." "how so?" asked i, and she answered, "ask thy friend [such an one," naming thee,] "and he will acquaint thee with strange things." so, god on thee, o my friend, tell me what befell thee of wonders and rarities, for i have told thee what befell me.' 'o my brother,' answered i, 'i am bound by a solemn oath.' and he said, 'o my friend, break thine oath and tell me.' quoth i, 'indeed, i fear the issue of this.' [but he importuned me] till i told him all, whereat he marvelled. then i went away from him and abode a long while, [without farther news]. one day, another of my friends came to me and said 'a neighbour of mine hath invited me to hear [music]. [and he would have me go with him;] but i said, 'i will not foregather with any one.' however, he prevailed upon me [to accompany him]; so we repaired to the place and found there a man, who came to meet us and said, '[enter,] in the name of god!' then he pulled out a key and opened the door, whereupon we entered and he locked the door after us. quoth i, 'we are the first of the folk; but where are their voices?'[fn# ] '[they are] within the house,' answered he. 'this is but a privy door; so be not amazed at the absence of the folk.' and my friend said to me, 'behold, we are two, and what can they avail to do with us?' [then he brought us into the house,] and when we entered the saloon, we found it exceeding desolate and repulsive of aspect quoth my friend, 'we are fallen [into a trap]; but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' and i said, 'may god not requite thee for me with good!' then we sat down on the edge of the estrade and presently i espied a closet beside me; so i looked into it and my friend said to me, 'what seest thou?' quoth i, 'i see therein good galore and bodies of murdered folk. look.' so he looked and said, 'by allah, we are lost men!' and we fell a-weeping, i and he. as we were thus, behold, there came in upon us, by the door at which we had entered, four naked men, with girdles of leather about their middles, and made for my friend. he ran at them and dealing one of them a buffet, overthrew him, whereupon the other three fell all upon him. i seized the opportunity to escape, what while they were occupied with him, and espying a door by my side, slipped into it and found myself in an underground chamber, without window or other issue. so i gave myself up for lost and said, 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' then i looked to the top of the vault and saw in it a range of glazed lunettes; so i clambered up for dear life, till i reached the lunettes, and i distracted [for fear]. i made shift to break the glass and scrambling out through the frames, found a wall behind them. so i bestrode the wall and saw folk walking in the road; whereupon i cast myself down to the ground and god the most high preserved me, so that i reached the earth, unhurt. the folk flocked round me and i acquainted them with my story. as fate would have it, the chief of the police was passing through the market; so the people told him [what was to do] and he made for the door and burst it open. we entered with a rush and found the thieves, as they had overthrown my friend and cut his throat; for they occupied not themselves with me, but said, 'whither shall yonder fellow go? indeed, he is in our grasp.' so the prefect took them with the hand[fn# ] and questioned them, and they confessed against the woman and against their associates in cairo. then he took them and went forth, after he had locked up the house and sealed it; and i accompanied him till he came without the [first] house. he found the door locked from within; so he bade break it open and we entered and found another door. this also he caused burst in, enjoining his men to silence till the doors should be opened, and we entered and found the band occupied with a new victim, whom the woman had just brought in and whose throat they were about to cut. the prefect released the man and gave him back all that the thieves had taken from him; and he laid hands on the woman and the rest and took forth of the house treasures galore. amongst the rest, they found the money-bag of the turcoman sheep-merchant. the thieves they nailed up incontinent against the wall of the house, whilst, as for the woman, they wrapped her in one of her veils and nailing her [to a board, set her] upon a camel and went round about the town with her. thus god razed their dwelling-places and did away from me that which i feared. all this befell, whilst i looked on, and i saw not my friend who had saved me from them the first time, whereat i marvelled to the utterest of marvel. however, some days afterward, he came up to me, and indeed he had renounced[fn# ] [the world] and donned a fakir's habit; and he saluted me and went away. then he again began to pay me frequent visits and i entered into converse with him and questioned him of the band and how he came to escape, he alone of them all. quoth he, 'i left them from the day on which god the most high delivered thee from them, for that they would not obey my speech; wherefore i swore that i would no longer consort with them.' and i said, 'by allah, i marvel at thee, for that thou wast the cause of my preservation!' quoth he, 'the world is full of this sort [of folk]; and we beseech god the most high for safety, for that these [wretches] practise upon men with every kind of device.' then said i to him, 'tell me the most extraordinary adventure of all that befell thee in this villainy thou wast wont to practise.' and he answered, saying, 'o my brother, i was not present when they did on this wise, for that my part with them was to concern myself with selling and buying and [providing them with] food; but i have heard that the most extraordinary thing that befell them was on this wise. the thief's story. the woman who used to act as decoy for them once caught them a woman from a bride-feast, under pretence that she had a wedding toward in her own house, and appointed her for a day, whereon she should come to her. when the appointed day arrived, the woman presented herself and the other carried her into the house by a door, avouching that it was a privy door. when she entered [the saloon], she saw men and champions[fn# ] [and knew that she had fallen into a trap]; so she looked at them and said, "harkye, lads![fn# ] i am a woman and there is no glory in my slaughter, nor have ye any feud of blood-revenge against me, wherefore ye should pursue me; and that which is upon me of [trinkets and apparel] ye are free to take." quoth they, "we fear thy denunciation." but she answered, saying, "i will abide with you, neither coming in nor going out." and they said, "we grant thee thy life." then the captain looked on her [and she pleased him]; so he took her for himself and she abode with him a whole year, doing her endeavour in their service. till they became accustomed to her [and felt assured of her]. one night she plied them with drink and they drank [till they became intoxicated]; whereupon she arose and took her clothes and five hundred dinars from the captain; after which she fetched a razor and shaved all their chins. then she took soot from the cooking-pots and blackening their faces withal, opened the doors and went out; and when the thieves awoke, they abode confounded and knew that the woman had practised upon them.'"' the company marvelled at this story and the ninth officer came forward and said, 'i will tell you a right goodly story i heard at a wedding. the ninth officer's story. a certain singing-woman was fair of favour and high in repute, and it befell one day that she went out apleasuring. as she sat,[fn# ] behold, a man lopped of the hand stopped to beg of her, and he entered in at the door. then he touched her with his stump, saying, "charity, for the love of god!" but she answered, "god open [on thee the gate of subsistence]!" and reviled him. some days after this, there came to her a messenger and gave her the hire of her going forth.[fn# ] so she took with her a handmaid and an accompanyist;[fn# ] and when she came to the appointed place, the messenger brought her into a long passage, at the end whereof was a saloon. so (quoth she) we entered and found none therein, but saw the [place made ready for an] entertainment with candles and wine and dessert, and in another place we saw food and in a third beds. we sat down and i looked at him who had opened the door to us, and behold he was lopped of the hand. i misliked this of him, and when i had sat a little longer, there entered a man, who filled the lamps in the saloon and lit the candles; and behold, he also was handlopped. then came the folk and there entered none except he were lopped of the hand, and indeed the house was full of these. when the assembly was complete, the host entered and the company rose to him and seated him in the place of honour. now he was none other than the man who had fetched me, and he was clad in sumptuous apparel, but his hands were in his sleeves, so that i knew not how it was with them. they brought him food and he ate, he and the company; after which they washed their hands and the host fell to casting furtive glances at me. then they drank till they were drunken, and when they had taken leave [of their wits], the host turned to me and said, "thou dealtest not friendly with him who sought an alms of thee and thou saidst to him, 'how loathly thou art!'" i considered him and behold, he was the lophand who had accosted me in my pleasaunce. so i said, "o my lord, what is this thou sayest?" and he answered, saying, "wait; thou shall remember it." so saying, he shook his head and stroked his beard, whilst i sat down for fear. then he put out his hand to my veil and shoes and laying them by his side, said to me, "sing, o accursed one!" so i sang till i was weary, whilst they occupied themselves with their case and intoxicated themselves and their heat redoubled.[fn# ] presently, the doorkeeper came to me and said, "fear not, o my lady; but, when thou hast a mind to go, let me know." quoth i, "thinkest thou to delude me?" and he said, "nay, by allah! but i have compassion on thee for that our captain and our chief purposeth thee no good and methinketh he will slay thee this night." quoth i to him, "an thou be minded to do good, now is the time." and he answered, saying, "when our chief riseth to do his occasion and goeth to the draught-house, i will enter before him with the light and leave the door open; and do thou go whithersoever thou wilt." then i sang and the captain said, "it is good," quoth i, "nay, but thou art loathly." he looked at me and said, "by allah, thou shalt never more scent the odour of the world!" but his comrades said to him, "do it not," and appeased him, till he said, "if it must be so, she shall abide here a whole year, not going forth." and i said, "i am content to submit to whatsoever pleaseth thee. if i have erred, thou art of those to whom pertaineth clemency." he shook his head and drank, then arose and went out to do his occasion, what while his comrades were occupied with what they were about of merry-making and drunkenness and sport. so i winked to my fellows and we slipped out into the corridor. we found the door open and fled forth, unveiled and knowing not whither we went; nor did we halt till we had left the house far behind and happened on a cook cooking, to whom said i, "hast thou a mind to quicken dead folk?" and he said, "come up." so we went up into the shop, and he said, 'lie down." accordingly, we lay down and he covered us with the grass,[fn# ] wherewith he was used to kindle [the fire] under the food. hardly had we settled ourselves in the place when we heard a noise of kicking [at the door] and people running right and left and questioning the cook and saying, "hath any one passed by thee?" "nay," answered he; "none hath passed by me." but they ceased not to go round about the shop till the day broke, when they turned back, disappointed. then the cook removed the grass and said to us, "arise, for ye are delivered from death." so we arose, and we were uncovered, without mantle or veil; but the cook carried us up into his house and we sent to our lodgings and fetched us veils; and we repented unto god the most high and renounced singing,[fn# ] for indeed this was a great deliverance after stress.' the company marvelled at this story and the tenth officer came forward and said, 'as for me, there befell me that which was yet more extraordinary than all this.' quoth el melik ez zahir, 'what was that?' and he said, the tenth officer's story. 'a great theft had been committed in the city and i was cited,[fn# ] i and my fellows. now it was a matter of considerable value and they[fn# ] pressed hard upon us; but we obtained of them some days' grace and dispersed in quest of the stolen goods. as for me, i sallied forth with five men and went round about the city that day; and on the morrow we fared forth [into the suburbs]. when we came a parasang or two parasangs' distance from the city, we were athirst; and presently we came to a garden. so i went in and going up to the water-wheel,[fn# ] entered it and drank and made the ablution and prayed. presently up came the keeper of the garden and said to me, "out on thee! who brought thee into this water-wheel?" and he cuffed me and squeezed my ribs till i was like to die. then he bound me with one of his bulls and made me turn in the water-wheel, flogging me the while with a cattle whip he had with him, till my heart was on fire; after which he loosed me and i went out, knowing not the way. when i came forth, i swooned away: so i sat down till my trouble subsided; then i made for my comrades and said to them, "i have found the booty and the thief, and i affrighted him not neither troubled him, lest he should flee; but now, come, let us go to him, so we may make shift to lay hold upon him." then i took them and repaired to the keeper of the garden, who had tortured me with beating, meaning to make him taste the like of that which he had done with me and lie against him and cause him eat stick. so we rushed into the water-wheel and seizing the keeper, pinioned him. now there was with him a youth and he said, "by allah, i was not with him and indeed it is six months since i entered the city, nor did i set eyes on the stuffs until they were brought hither." quoth we, "show us the stuffs." so he carried us to a place wherein was a pit, beside the water-wheel, and digging there, brought out the stolen goods, with not a stitch of them missing. so we took them and carried the keeper to the prefecture, where we stripped him and beat him with palm-rods till he confessed to thefts galore. now i did this by way of mockery against my comrades, and it succeeded.'[fn# ] the company marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment, and the eleventh officer rose and said, 'i know a story yet rarer than this: but it happened not to myself. the eleventh officer's story. there was once aforetime a chief officer [of police] and there passed by him one day a jew, with a basket in his hand, wherein were five thousand dinars; whereupon quoth the officer to one of his slaves, "canst thou make shift to take that money from yonder jew's basket?" "yes," answered he, nor did he tarry beyond the next day before he came to his master, with the basket in his hand. so (quoth the officer) i said to him, "go, bury it in such a place." so he went and buried it and returned and told me. hardly had he done this when there arose a clamour and up came the jew, with one of the king's officers, avouching that the money belonged to the sultan and that he looked to none but us for it. we demanded of him three days' delay, as of wont, and i said to him who had taken the money, "go and lay somewhat in the jew's house, that shall occupy him with himself." so he went and played a fine trick, to wit, he laid in a basket a dead woman's hand, painted [with henna] and having a gold seal- ring on one of the fingers, and buried the basket under a flagstone in the jew's house. then came we and searched and found the basket, whereupon we straightway clapped the jew in irons for the murder of a woman. when it was the appointed time, there came to us the man of the sultan's guards, [who had accompanied the jew, when he came to complain of the loss of the money,] and said, "the sultan biddeth you nail up[fn# ] the jew and bring the money, for that there is no way by which five thousand dinars can be lost." wherefore we knew that our device sufficed not. so i went forth and finding a young man, a haurani,[fn# ] passing the road, laid hands on him and stripped him and beat him with palm-rods. then i clapped him in irons and carrying him to the prefecture, beat him again, saying to them, "this is the thief who stole the money." and we strove to make him confess; but he would not confess. so we beat him a third and a fourth time, till we were weary and exhausted and he became unable to return an answer. but, when we had made an end of beating and tormenting him, he said, "i will fetch the money forthright." so we went with him till he came to the place where my slave had buried the money and dug there and brought it out; whereat i marvelled with the utmost wonder and we carried it to the prefect's house. when the latter saw the money, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me a dress of honour. then he restored the money straightway to the sultan and we left the youth in prison; whilst i said to my slave who had taken the money, "did yonder young man see thee, what time thou buriedst the money?" "no, by the great god!" answered he. so i went in to the young man, the prisoner, and plied him with wine till he recovered, when i said to him, "tell me how thou stolest the money." "by allah," answered he, "i stole it not, nor did i ever set eyes on it till i brought it forth of the earth!" quoth i, "how so?" and he said, "know that the cause of my falling into your hands was my mother's imprecation against me; for that i evil entreated her yesternight and beat her and she said to me, 'by allah, o my son, god shall assuredly deliver thee into the hand of the oppressor!' now she is a pious woman. so i went out forthright and thou sawest me in the way and didst that which thou didst; and when beating was prolonged on me, my senses failed me and i heard one saying to me, 'fetch it.' so i said to you what i said and he[fn# ] guided me till i came to the place and there befell what befell of the bringing out of the money." i marvelled at this with the utmost wonderment and knew that he was of the sons of the pious. so i bestirred myself for his release and tended him [till he recovered] and besought him of quittance and absolution of responsibility.' all those who were present marvelled at this story with the utmost marvel, and the twelfth officer came forward and said, 'i will tell you a pleasant trait that i had from a certain man, concerning an adventure that befell him with one of the thieves. (quoth he) the twelfth officer's story. as i was passing one day in the market, i found that a thief had broken into the shop of a money-changer and taken thence a casket, with which he had made off to the burial-grounds. so i followed him thither [and came up to him, as] he opened the casket and fell a-looking into it; whereupon i accosted him, saying, "peace be on thee!" and he was startled at me. then i left him and went away from him. some months after this, i met him again under arrest, in the midst of the guards and officers of the police, and he said to them, "seize yonder man." so they laid hands on me and carried me to the chief of the police, who said, "what hast thou to do with this fellow?" the thief turned to me and looking a long while in my face, said, "who took this man?" quoth the officers, "thou badest us take him; so we took him." and he said, "i seek refuge with god! i know not this man, nor knoweth he me; and i said not that to you but of a man other than this." so they released me, and awhile afterward the thief met me in the street and saluted me, saying, "o my lord, fright for fright! hadst thou taken aught from me, thou hadst had a part in the calamity."[fn# ] and i said to him, "god [judge] between thee and me!" and this is what i have to tell' then came forward the thirteenth officer and said, 'i will tell you a story that a man of my friends told me. (quoth he) the thirteenth officer's story. i went out one night to the house of one of my friends and when it was the middle of the night, i sallied forth alone [to go home]. when i came into the road, i espied a sort of thieves and they saw me, whereupon my spittle dried up; but i feigned myself drunken and staggered from side to side, crying out and saying, "i am drunken." and i went up to the walls right and left and made as if i saw not the thieves, who followed me till i reached my house and knocked at the door, when they went away. some days after this, as i stood at the door of my house, there came up to me a young man, with a chain about his neck and with him a trooper, and he said to me, "o my lord, charity for the love of god!" quoth i, "god open!"[fn# ] and he looked at me a long while and said, "that which thou shouldst give me would not come to the value of thy turban or thy waistcloth or what not else of thy raiment, to say nothing of the gold and the silver that was about thee." "how so?" asked i, and he said, "on such a night, when thou fellest into peril and the thieves would have stripped thee, i was with them and said to them, 'yonder man is my lord and my master who reared me.' so was i the cause of thy deliverance and thus i saved thee from them." when i heard this, i said to him, "stop;" and entering my house, brought him that which god the most high made easy [to me].[fn# ] so he went his way. and this is my story.' then came forward the fourteenth officer and said, 'know that the story i have to tell is pleasanter and more extraordinary than this; and it is as follows. the fourteenth officer's story. before i entered this corporation,[fn# ] i had a draper's shop and there used to come to me a man whom i knew not, save by his face, and i would give him what he sought and have patience with him, till he could pay me. one day, i foregathered with certain of my friends and we sat down to drink. so we drank and made merry and played at tab;[fn# ] and we made one of us vizier and another sultan and a third headsman. presently, there came in upon us a spunger, without leave, and we went on playing, whilst he played with us. then quoth the sultan to the vizier, "bring the spunger who cometh in to the folk, without leave or bidding, that we may enquire into his case. then will i cut off his head." so the headsman arose and dragged the spunger before the sultan, who bade cut off his head. now there was with them a sword, that would not cut curd;[fn# ] so the headsman smote him therewith and his head flew from his body. when we saw this, the wine fled from our heads and we became in the sorriest of plights. then my friends took up the body and went out with it, that they might hide it, whilst i took the head and made for the river. now i was drunken and my clothes were drenched with the blood; and as i passed along the road, i met a thief. when he saw me, he knew me and said to me, "harkye, such an one!" "well?" answered i, and he said, "what is that thou hast with thee?" so i acquainted him with the case and he took the head from me. then we went on till we came to the river, where he washed the head and considering it straitly, said, "by allah, this is my brother, my father's son. and he used to spunge upon the folk." then he threw the head into the river. as for me, i was like a dead man [for fear]; but he said to me, "fear not neither grieve, for thou art quit of my brother's blood." then he took my clothes and washed them and dried them, and put them on me; after which he said to me, "get thee gone to thy house." so i returned to my house and he accompanied me, till i came thither, when he said to me, "may god not forsake thee! i am thy friend [such an one, who used to take of thee goods on credit,] and i am beholden to thee for kindness; but henceforward thou wilt never see me more."' the company marvelled at the generosity of this man and his clemency[fn# ] and courtesy, and the sultan said, 'tell us another of thy stories.'[fn# ] 'it is well,' answered the officer, 'they avouch that a merry jest of a thief. a thief of the thieves of the arabs went [one night] to a certain man's house, to steal from a heap of wheat there, and the people of the house surprised him. now on the heap was a great copper measure, and the thief buried himself in the corn and covered his head with the measure, so that the folk found him not and went away; but, as they were going, behold, there came a great crack of wind forth of the corn. so they went up to the measure and [raising it], discovered the thief and laid hands on him. quoth he, "i have eased you of the trouble of seeking me: for i purposed, [in letting wind], to direct you to my [hiding-]place; wherefore do ye ease me and have compassion on me, so may god have compassion on you!" so they let him go and harmed him not. and for another story of the same kind,' continued the officer, story of the old sharper. 'there was once an old man renowned for roguery, and he went, he and his mates, to one of the markets and stole thence a parcel of stuffs. then they separated and returned each to his quarter. awhile after this, the old man assembled a company of his fellows and one of them pulled out a costly piece of stuff and said, "will any one of you sell this piece of stuff in its own market whence it was stolen, that we may confess his [pre-eminence in] sharping?" quoth the old man, "i will;" and they said, "go, and god the most high prosper thee!" so on the morrow, early, he took the stuff and carrying it to the market whence it had been stolen, sat down at the shop whence it had been stolen and gave it to the broker, who took it and cried it for sale. its owner knew it and bidding for it, [bought it] and sent after the chief of the police, who seized the sharper and seeing him an old man of venerable appearance, handsomely clad, said to him, "whence hadst thou this piece of stuff?" "i had it from this market," answered he, "and from yonder shop where i was sitting." quoth the prefect, "did its owner sell it to thee?" "nay," replied the thief; "i stole it and other than it." then said the magistrate, "how camest thou to bring it [for sale] to the place whence thou stolest it?" and he answered, "i will not tell my story save to the sultan, for that i have an advertisement[fn# ] wherewith i would fain bespeak him." quoth the prefect, "name it." and the thief said, "art thou the sultan?" "no," replied the other; and the old man said, "i will not tell it but to himself." so the prefect carried him up to the sultan and he said, "i have an advertisement for thee, o my lord." "what is thine advertisement?" asked the sultan; and the thief said, "i repent and will deliver into thy hand all who are evildoers; and whomsoever i bring not, i will stand in his stead." quoth the sultan, "give him a dress of honour and accept his profession of repentance." so he went down from the presence and returning to his comrades, related to them that which had passed and they confessed his subtlety and gave him that which they had promised him. then he took the rest of the stolen goods and went up with them to the sultan. when the latter saw him, he was magnified in his eyes and he commanded that nought should be taken from him. then, when he went down, [the sultan's] attention was diverted from him, little by little, till the case was forgotten, and so he saved the booty [for himself].' the folk marvelled at this and the fifteenth officer came forward and said, 'know that among those who make a trade of knavery are those whom god the most high taketh on their own evidence against themselves.' 'how so?' asked they; and he said. the fifteenth officer's story. 'it is told of a certain doughty thief, that he used to rob and stop the way by himself upon caravans, and whenever the prefect of police and the magistrates sought him, he would flee from them and fortify himself in the mountains. now it befell that a certain man journeyed along the road wherein was the robber in question, and this man was alone and knew not the perils that beset his way. so the highwayman came out upon him and said to him, "bring out that which is with thee, for i mean to slay thee without fail." quoth the traveller, "slay me not, but take these saddle-bags and divide [that which is in] them and take the fourth part [thereof]." and the thief answered, "i will not take aught but the whole." "take half," rejoined the traveller, "and let me go." but the robber replied, "i will take nought but the whole, and i will slay thee [to boot]." and the traveller said, "take it." so the highwayman took the saddle-bags and offered to kill the traveller, who said, "what is this? thou hast no blood-feud against me, that should make my slaughter incumbent [on thee]. quoth the other, "needs must i slay thee;" whereupon the traveller dismounted from his horse and grovelled on the earth, beseeching the robber and speaking him fair. the latter hearkened not to his prayers, but cast him to the ground; whereupon the traveller [raised his eyes and seeing a francolin flying over him,] said, in his agony," o francolin, bear witness that this man slayeth me unjustly and wickedly; for indeed i have given him all that was with me and besought him to let me go, for my children's sake; yet would he not consent unto this. but be thou witness against him, for god is not unmindful of that which is done of the oppressors." the highwayman paid no heed to this speech, but smote him and cut off his head. after this, the authorities compounded with the highwayman for his submission, and when he came before them, they enriched him and he became in such favour with the sultan's deputy that he used to eat and drink with him and there befell familiar converse between them. on this wise they abode a great while, till, one day, the sultan's deputy made a banquet, and therein, for a wonder, was a roasted francolin, which when the robber saw, he laughed aloud. the deputy was angered against him and said to him, "what is the meaning of thy laughter? seest thou default [in the entertainment] or dost thou mock at us, of thy lack of breeding?" "not so, by allah, o my lord," answered the highwayman. "but i saw yonder francolin and bethought myself thereanent of an extraordinary thing; and it was on this wise. in the days of my youth, i used to stop the way, and one day i fell in with a man, who had with him a pair of saddle-bags and money therein. so i said to him, 'leave these bags, for i mean to kill thee.' quoth he, 'take the fourth part of [that which is in] them and leave [me] the rest.' and i said, 'needs must i take the whole and slay thee, to boot.' then said he, 'take the saddle-bags and let me go my way.' but i answered, 'needs must i slay thee.' as we were in this contention, he and i, behold, he saw a francolin and turning to it, said, 'bear witness against him, o francolin, that he slayeth me unjustly and letteth me not go to my children, for all he hath gotten my money.' however, i took no pity on him neither hearkened to that which he said, but slew him and concerned not myself with the francolin's testimony." his story troubled the sultan's deputy and he was sore enraged against him; so he drew his sword and smiting him, cut off his head; whereupon one recited the following verses: an you'd of evil be quit, look that no evil yon do; nay, but do good, for the like god will still render to you. all things, indeed, that betide to you are fore-ordered of god; yet still in your deeds is the source to which their fulfilment is due. now this[fn# ] was the francolin that bore witness against him.' the company marvelled at this story and said all, 'woe to the oppressor!' then came forward the sixteenth officer and said, 'and i also will tell you a marvellous story, and it is on this wise. the sixteenth officer's story. i went forth one day, purposing to make a journey, and fell in with a man whose wont it was to stop the way. when he came up with me, he offered to slay me and i said to him, "i have nothing with me whereby thou mayst profit." quoth he, "my profit shall be the taking of thy life." "what is the cause of this?" asked i. "hath there been feud between us aforetime?" and he answered, "no; but needs must i slay thee." therewithal i fled from him to the river-side; but he overtook me and casting me to the ground, sat down on my breast. so i sought help of the sheikh el hejjaj[fn# ] and said to him, "protect me from this oppressor!" and indeed he had drawn a knife, wherewith to cut my throat, when, behold, there came a great crocodile forth of the river and snatching him up from off my breast, plunged with him into the water, with the knife still in his hand; whilst i abode extolling the perfection of god the most high and rendering thanks for my preservation to him who had delivered me from the hand of that oppressor.' abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar.[fn# ] there abode once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in the city of baghdad, the abode of peace, the khalif haroun er reshid, and he had boon-companions and story-tellers, to entertain him by night among his boon-companions was a man called abdallah ben nan, who was high in favour with him and dear unto him, so that he was not forgetful of him a single hour. now it befell, by the ordinance of destiny, that it became manifest to abdallah that he was grown of little account with the khalif and that he paid no heed unto him; nor, if he absented himself, did he enquire concerning him, as had been his wont. this was grievous to abdallah and he said in himself, "verily, the heart of the commander of the faithful and his fashions are changed towards me and nevermore shall i get of him that cordiality wherewith he was wont to entreat me." and this was distressful to him and concern waxed upon him, so that he recited the following verses: if, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite afflict a man, then exile sure were better for the wight. so get thee gone, then, from a house wherein thou art abased and let not severance from friends lie heavy on thy spright. crude amber[fn# ] in its native land unheeded goes, but, when it comes abroad, upon the necks to raise it men delight. kohl[fn# ] in its native country, too, is but a kind of stone; cast out and thrown upon the ways, it lies unvalued quite; but, when from home it fares, forthright all glory it attains and 'twixt the eyelid and the eye incontinent 'tis dight. then he could brook this no longer; so he went forth from the dominions of the commander of the faithful, under pretence of visiting certain of his kinsmen, and took with him servant nor companion, neither acquainted any with his intent, but betook himself to the road and fared on into the desert and the sandwastes, knowing not whither he went. after awhile, he fell in with travellers intending for the land of hind [and journeyed with them]. when he came thither, he lighted down [in a city of the cities of the land and took up his abode] in one of the lodging-places; and there he abode a while of days, tasting not food neither solacing himself with the delight of sleep; nor was this for lack of dirhems or dinars, but for that his mind was occupied with musing upon [the reverses of] destiny and bemoaning himself for that the revolving sphere had turned against him and the days had decreed unto him the disfavour of our lord the imam.[fn# ] on this wise he abode a space of days, after which he made himself at home in the land and took to himself comrades and got him friends galore, with whom he addressed himself to diversion and good cheer. moreover, he went a-pleasuring with his friends and their hearts were solaced [by his company] and he entertained them with stories and civilities[fn# ] and diverted them with pleasant verses and told them abundance of histories and anecdotes. presently, the report of him reached king jemhour, lord of cashghar of hind, and great was his desire [for his company]. so he went in quest of him and abdallah repaired to his court and going in to him, kissed the earth before him. jemhour welcomed him and entreated him with kindness and bade commit him to the guest-house, where he abode three days, at the end of which time the king sent [to him] a chamberlain of his chamberlains and let bring him to his presence. when he came before him, he greeted him [with the usual compliment], and the interpreter accosted him, saying, "king jemhour hath heard of thy report, that thou art a goodly boon-companion and an eloquent story-teller, and he would have thee company with him by night and entertain him with that which thou knowest of anecdotes and pleasant stories and verses." and he made answer with "hearkening and obedience." (quoth abdallah ben nan) so i became his boon-companion and entertained him by night [with stories and the like]; and this pleased him to the utmost and he took me into especial favour and bestowed on me dresses of honour and assigned me a separate lodging; brief, he was everywise bountiful to me and could not brook to be parted from me a single hour. so i abode with him a while of time and every night i caroused with him [and entertained him], till the most part of the night was past; and when drowsiness overcame him, he would rise [and betake himself] to his sleeping-place, saying to me, "forsake not my service for that of another than i and hold not aloof from my presence." and i made answer with "hearkening and obedience." now the king had a son, a pleasant child, called the amir mohammed, who was comely of youth and sweet of speech; he had read in books and studied histories and above all things in the world he loved the telling and hearing of verses and stories and anecdotes. he was dear to his father king jemhour, for that he had none other son than he on life, and indeed he had reared him in the lap of fondness and he was gifted with the utterest of beauty and grace and brightness and perfection. moreover, he had learnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner instruments of music and he was used to [carouse and] company with friends and brethren. now it was of his wont that, when the king rose to go to his sleeping-chamber, he would sit in his place and seek of me that i should entertain him with stories and verses and pleasant anecdotes; and on this wise i abode with them a great while in all cheer and delight, and the prince still loved me with an exceeding great love and entreated me with the utmost kindness. it befell one day that the king's son came to me, after his father had withdrawn, and said to me, "harkye, ibn nafil" "at thy service, o my lord," answered i; and he said, "i would have thee tell me an extraordinary story and a rare matter, that thou hast never related either to me or to my father jemhour." "o my lord," rejoined i, "what story is this that thou desirest of me and of what kind shall it be of the kinds?" quoth he, "it matters little what it is, so it be a goodly story, whether it befell of old days or in these times." "o my lord," said i, "i know many stories of various kinds; so whether of the kinds preferrest thou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of the jinn?" "it is well," answered he; "if thou have seen aught with thine eyes and heard it with thine ears, [tell it me."then he bethought himself] and said to me, "i conjure thee by my life, tell me a story of the stories of the jinn and that which thou hast heard and seen of them!" "o my son," replied i, "indeed thou conjurest [me] by a mighty conjuration; so [hearken and thou shalt] hear the goodliest of stories, ay, and the most extraordinary of them and the pleasantest and rarest." quoth the prince, "say on, for i am attentive to thy speech." and i said, "know, then, o my son, that story of the damsel tuhfet el culoub and the khalif haroun er reshid. the vicar of the lord of the worlds[fn# ] haroun er reshid had a boon-companion of the number of his boon-companions, by name ishac ben ibrahim en nedim el mausili,[fn# ] who was the most accomplished of the folk of his time in the art of smiting upon the lute; and of the commander of the faithful's love for him, he assigned him a palace of the choicest of his palaces, wherein he was wont to instruct slave-girls in the arts of lute-playing and singing. if any slave-girl became, by his instruction, accomplished in the craft, he carried her before the khalif, who bade her play upon the lute; and if she pleased him, he would order her to the harem; else would he restore her to ishac's palace. one day, the commander of the faithful's breast was straitened; so he sent after his vizier jaafer the barmecide and ishac the boon-companion and mesrour the eunuch, the swordsman of his vengeance; and when they came, he changed his raiment and disguised himself, whilst jaafer [and ishac] and mesrour and el fezll[fn# ] and younus[fn# ] (who were also present) did the like. then he went out, he and they, by the privy gate, to the tigris and taking boat, fared on till they came to near et taf,[fn# ] when they landed and walked till they came to the gate of the thoroughfare street.[fn# ] here there met them an old man, comely of hoariness and of a venerable and dignified bearing, pleasing[fn# ] of aspect and apparel. he kissed the earth before ishac el mausili (for that be knew but him of the company, the khalif being disguised, and deemed the others certain of his friends) and said to him, 'o my lord, there is presently with me a slave-girl, a lutanist, never saw eyes the like of her nor the like of her grace, and indeed i was on my way to pay my respects to thee and give thee to know of her; but allah, of his favour, hath spared me the trouble. so now i desire to show her to thee, and if she be to thy liking, well and good: else i will sell her.' quoth ishac, 'go before me to thy barrack, till i come to thee and see her.' the old man kissed his hand and went away; whereupon quoth er reshid to him, 'o ishac, who is yonder man and what is his occasion?' 'o my lord,' answered the other, 'this is a man called said the slave-dealer, and he it is who buyeth us slave-girls and mamelukes.[fn# ] he avoucheth that with him is a fair [slave-girl, a] lutanist, whom he hath withheld from sale, for that he could not fairly sell her till he had shown her to me.' 'let us go to him,' said the khalif,'so we may look on her, by way of diversion, and see what is in the slave-dealer's barrack of slave-girls.' and ishac answered, 'commandment belongeth to god and to the commander of the faithful.' then he went on before them and they followed in his track till they came to the slave-dealer's barrack and found it high of building and spacious of continence, with sleeping-cells and chambers therein, after the number of the slave-girls, and folk sitting upon the benches. ishac entered, he and his company, and seating themselves in the place of honour, amused themselves by looking on the slave-girls and mamelukes and watching how they were sold, till the sale came to an end, when some of the folk went away and other some sat. then said the slave-dealer, 'let none sit with us except him who buyeth by the thousand [dinars] and upwards.' so those who were present withdrew and there remained none but er reshid and his company; whereupon the slave-dealer called the damsel, after he had caused set her a chair of fawwak,[fn# ] furnished with greek brocade, and it was as she were the sun shining in the clear sky. when she entered, she saluted and sitting down, took the lute and smote upon it, after she had touched its strings and tuned it, so that all present were amazed. then she sang thereto the following verses: wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, the fullest of greetings bear to them from me, their lover, and say that i am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love and eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye. o ye who have withered my heart and marred my hearing and my sight, desire and transport for your sake wax on me night and day. my heart with yearning is ever torn and tortured without cease, nor can my lids lay hold on sleep, that sees from them away. 'well done, o damsel!' cried ishac. 'by allah, this is a fair hour!' whereupon she rose and kissed his hand, saying, 'o my lord, the hands stand still in thy presence and the tongues at thy sight, and the eloquent before thee are dumb; but thou art the looser of the veil.'[fn# ] then she clung to him and said, 'stand.' so he stood and said to her, 'who art thou and what is thy need?' she raised a corner of the veil, and he beheld a damsel as she were the rising full moon or the glancing lightning, with two side locks of hair that fell down to her anklets. she kissed his hand and said to him, 'o my lord, know that i have been in this barrack these five months, during which time i have been withheld[fn# ] from sale till thou shouldst be present [and see me]; and yonder slave-dealer still made thy coming a pretext to me[fn# ] and forbade me, for all i sought of him night and day that he should cause thee come hither and vouchsafe me thy presence and bring me and thee together.' quoth ishac, 'say what thou wouldst have.' and she answered, 'i beseech thee, by god the most high, that thou buy me, so i may be with thee, by way of service.' 'is that thy desire?' asked he, and she replied, ' yes.' so ishac returned to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'harkye, gaffer said!*' 'at thy service, o my lord,' answered the old man; and ishac said, 'in the corridor is a cell and therein a damsel pale of colour. what is her price in money and how much dost thou ask for her?, quoth the slave-dealer, 'she whom thou mentionest is called tuhfet el hemca.'[fn# ] 'what is the meaning of el hemca?' asked ishac, and the old man replied, 'her price hath been paid down an hundred times and she still saith, "show me him who desireth to buy me;" and when i show her to him, she saith, "this fellow is not to my liking; he hath in him such and such a default." and in every one who would fain buy her she allegeth some default or other, so that none careth now to buy her and none seeketh her, for fear lest she discover some default in him.' quoth ishac, 'she seeketh presently to sell herself; so go thou to her and enquire of her and see her price and send her to the palace.' 'o my lord,' answered said, 'her price is an hundred dinars, though, were she whole of this paleness that is upon her face, she would be worth a thousand; but folly and pallor have diminished her value; and behold, i will go to her and consult her of this.' so he betook himself to her, and said to her, 'wilt thou be sold to ishac ben ibrahim el mausili?' 'yes,' answered she, and he said, 'leave frowardness,[fn# ] for to whom doth it happen to be in the house of ishac the boon-companion?'[fn# ] then ishac went forth of the barrack and overtook er reshid [who had foregone him]; and they walked till they came to their [landing-]place, where they embarked in the boat and fared on to theghr el khanekah.[fn# ] as for the slave-dealer, he sent the damsel to the house of ishac en nedim, whose slave-girls took her and carried her to the bath. then each damsel gave her somewhat of her apparel and they decked her with earrings and bracelets, so that she redoubled in beauty and became as she were the moon on the night of its full. when ishac returned home from the khalifs palace, tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hand; and he saw that which the slave-girls had done with her and thanked them therefor and said to them, 'let her be in the house of instruction and bring her instruments of music, and if she be apt unto singing, teach her; and may god the most high vouchsafe her health and weal!' so there passed over her three months, what while she abode with him in the house of instruction, and they brought her the instruments of music. moreover, as time went on, she was vouchsafed health and soundness and her beauty waxed many times greater than before and her pallor was changed to white and red, so that she became a ravishment to all who looked on her. one day, ishac let bring all who were with him of slave-girls from the house of instruction and carried them up to er reshid's palace, leaving none in his house save tuhfeh and a cookmaid; for that he bethought him not of tuhfeh, nor did she occur to his mind, and none of the damsels remembered him of her. when she saw that the house was empty of the slave-girls, she took the lute (now she was unique in her time in smiting upon the lute, nor had she her like in the world, no, not ishac himself, nor any other) and sang thereto the following verses: whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, it winneth not of fortune the wish it holdeth dear. him with my life i'd ransom whose rigours waste away my frame and cause me languish; yet, if he would but hear, it rests with him to heal me; and i (a soul he hath must suffer that which irks it), go saying, in my fear of spies, "how long, o scoffer, wilt mock at my despair, as 'twere god had created nought else whereat to jeer?" now ishac had returned to his house upon an occasion that presented itself to him; and when he entered the vestibule, he heard a sound of singing, the like whereof he had never heard in the world, for that it was [soft] as the breeze and richer[fn# ] than almond oil.[fn# ] so the delight of it gat hold of him and joyance overcame him, and he fell down aswoon in the vestibule, tuhfeh heard the noise of steps and laying the lute from her hand, went out to see what was to do. she found her lord ishac lying aswoon in the vestibule; so she took him up and strained him to her bosom, saying, 'i conjure thee in god's name, o my lord, tell me, hath aught befallen thee?' when he heard her voice, he recovered from his swoon and said to her, 'who art thou? ' quoth she, 'i am thy slave-girl tuhfeh.' and he said to her, 'art thou indeed tuhfeh?' 'yes,' answered she; and he, 'by allah, i had forgotten thee and remembered thee not till now!' then he looked at her and said, 'indeed, thy case is altered and thy pallor is grown changed to rosiness and thou hast redoubled in beauty and lovesomeness. but was it thou who was singing but now?' and she was troubled and affrighted and answered, 'even i, o my lord.' then ishac seized upon her hand and carrying her into the house, said to her, 'take the lute and sing; for never saw i nor heard thy like in smiting upon the lute; no, not even myself!' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'thou makest mock of me. who am i that thou shouldst say all this to me? indeed, this is but of thy kindness.' 'nay, by allah,' exclaimed he, 'i said but the truth to thee and i am none of those on whom pretence imposeth. these three months hath nature not moved thee to take the lute and sing thereto, and this is nought but an extraordinary thing. but all this cometh of strength in the craft and self-restraint.' then he bade her sing; and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and tightening its strings, smote thereon a number of airs, so that she confounded ishac's wit and he was like to fly for delight. then she returned to the first mode and sang thereto the following verses: still by your ruined camp a dweller i abide; ne'er will i change nor e'er shall distance us divide. far though you dwell, i'll ne'er your neighbourhood forget, o friends, whose lovers still for you are stupefied. your image midst mine eye sits nor forsakes me aye; ye are my moons in gloom of night and shadowtide. still, as my transports wax, grows restlessness on me and woes have ta'en the place of love-delight denied. when she had made an end of her song and laid down the lute, ishac looked fixedly on her, then took her hand and offered to kiss it; but she snatched it from him and said to him, 'allah, o my lord, do not that!' quoth he, 'be silent. by allah, i had said that there was not in the world the like of me; but now i have found my dinar[fn# ] in the craft but a danic,[fn# ] "for thou art, beyond comparison or approximation or reckoning, more excellent of skill than i! this very day will i carry thee up to the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid, and whenas his glance lighteth on thee, thou wilt become a princess of womankind. so, allah, allah upon thee, o my lady, whenas thou becomest of the household of the commander of the faithful, do not thou forget me!' and she replied, saying, 'allah, o my lord, thou art the source of my fortunes and in thee is my heart fortified.' so he took her hand and made a covenant with her of this and she swore to him that she would not forget him. then said he to her, 'by allah, thou art the desire of the commander of the faithful![fn# ] so take the lute and sing a song that thou shalt sing to the khalif, whenas thou goest in to him.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: his love on him took pity and wept for his dismay: of those that him did visit she was, as sick he lay. she let him taste her honey and wine[fn# ] before his death: this was his last of victual until the judgment day. ishac stared at her and seizing her hand, said to her, 'know that i am bound by an oath that, when the singing of a damsel pleaseth me, she shall not make an end of her song but before the commander of the faithful. but now tell me, how came it that thou abodest with the slave-dealer five months and wast not sold to any, and thou of this skill, more by token that the price set on thee was no great matter?' she laughed and answered, 'o my lord, my story is a strange one and my case extraordinary. know that i belonged aforetime to a mughrebi merchant, who bought me, when i was three years old, and there were in his house many slave-girls and eunuchs; but i was the dearest to him of them all. so he kept me with him and used not to call me but "daughterling," and indeed i am presently a clean maid. now there was with him a damsel, a lutanist, and she reared me and taught me the craft, even as thou seest. then was my master admitted to the mercy of god the most high[fn# ] and his sons divided his good. i fell to the lot of one of them; but it was only a little while ere he had squandered all his substance and there was left him no tittle of money. so i left the lute, fearing lest i should fall into the hand of a man who knew not my worth, for that i was assured that needs must my master sell me; and indeed it was but a few days ere he carried me forth to the barrack of the slave-merchant who buyeth slave-girls and showeth them to the commander of the faithful. now i desired to learn the craft; so i refused to be sold to other than thou, till god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) vouchsafed me my desire of thy presence; whereupon i came out to thee, whenas i heard of thy coming, and besought thee to buy me. thou healedst my heart and boughtedst me; and since i entered thy house, o my lord, i have not taken up the lute till now; but to-day, whenas i was quit of the slave-girls, [i took it]; and my purpose in this was that i might see if my hand were changed[fn# ] or no. as i was singing, i heard a step in the vestibule; so i laid the lute from my hand and going forth to see what was to do, found thee, o my lord, on this wise.' quoth ishac, 'indeed, this was of thy fair fortune. by allah, i know not that which thou knowest in this craft!' then he arose and going to a chest, brought out therefrom striped clothes of great price, netted with jewels and great pearls, and said to her, 'in the name of god, don these, o my lady tuhfeh.' so she arose and donned those clothes and veiled herself and went up [with ishac] to the palace of the khalifate, where he made her stand without, whilst he himself went in to the commander of the faithful (with whom was jaafer the barmecide) and kissing the earth before him, said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, i have brought thee a damsel, never saw eyes her like for excellence in singing and touching the lute; and her name is tuhfeh."[fn# ] 'and where,' asked er reshed, 'is this tuhfeh, who hath not her like in the world?' quoth ishac, 'yonder she stands, o commander of the faithful;' and he acquainted the khalif with her case from first to last. then said er reshid, 'it is a marvel to hear thee praise a slave-girl after this fashion. admit her, so we may see her, for that the morning may not be hidden.' accordingly, ishac bade admit her; so she entered, and when her eyes fell upon the commander of the faithful, she kissed the earth before him and said, 'peace be upon thee, o commander of the faithful and asylum of the people of the faith and reviver of justice among all creatures! may god make plain the treading of thy feet and vouchsafe thee enjoyment of that which he hath bestowed on thee and make paradise thy harbourage and the fire that of thine enemies!' quoth er reshid, 'and on thee be peace, o damsel! sit.' so she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she took the lute and tightening its strings, played thereon in many modes, so that the commander of the faithful and jaafer were confounded and like to fly for delight. then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: by him whom i worship, indeed, i swear, o thou that mine eye dost fill, by him in whose honour the pilgrims throng and fare to arafat's hill, though over me be the tombstone laid, if ever thou call on me, though rotten my bone should be, thy voice i'll answer, come what will. i crave none other than thou for friend, beloved of my heart; so trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty still. er reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing and her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities and rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of that which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch and sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, 'thou hast done well, o tuhfeh. by allah, thou art indeed a gift'[fn# ] then he turned to ishac and said to him, 'thou dealtest not equitably, o ishac, in the description of this damsel,[fn# ] neither settest out all that she compriseth of goodliness and skill; for that, by allah, she is incomparably more skilful than thou; and i know of this craft that which none knoweth other than i!' 'by allah,' exclaimed jaafer, 'thou sayst sooth, o my lord, o commander of the faithful. indeed, this damsel hath done away my wit' quoth ishac, 'by allah, o commander of the faithful, i had said that there was not on the face of the earth one who knew the craft of the lute like myself; but, when i heard her, my skill became nothing worth in mine eyes.' then said the khalif to her, 'repeat thy playing, o tuhfeh.' so she repeated it and he said to her, 'well done!' moreover, he said to ishac, 'thou hast indeed brought me that which is extraordinary and worth in mine eyes the empire of the earth.' then he turned to mesrour the eunuch and said to him, 'carry tuhfeh to the lodging of honour.'[fn# ] accordingly, she went away with mesrour and the khalif looked at her clothes and seeing her clad in raiment of choice, said to ishac, 'o ishac, whence hath she these clothes?' 'o my lord, answered he, 'these are somewhat of thy bounties and thy largesse, and they are a gift to her from me. by allah, o commander of the faithful, the world, all of it, were little in comparison with her!' then the khalif turned to the vizier jaafer and said to him, 'give ishac fifty thousand dirhems and a dress of honour of the apparel of choice.' 'hearkening and obedience,' replied jaafer and gave him that which the khalif ordered him. as for er reshid, he shut himself up with tuhfeh that night and found her a clean maid and rejoiced in her; and she took high rank in his heart, so that he could not endure from her a single hour and committed to her the keys of the affairs of the realm, for that which he saw in her of good breeding and wit and modesty. moreover, he gave her fifty slave-girls and two hundred thousand dinars and clothes and trinkets and jewels and precious stones, worth the kingdom of egypt; and of the excess of his love for her, he would not entrust her to any of the slave-girls or eunuchs; but, whenas he went out from her, he locked the door upon her and took the key with him, against he should return to her, forbidding the damsels to go in to her, of his fear lest they should slay her or practise on her with knife or poison; and on this wise he abode awhile. one day as she sang before the commander of the faithful, he was moved to exceeding delight, so that he took her and offered to kiss her hand; but she drew it away from him and smote upon her lute and broke it and wept er reshid wiped away her tears and said, 'o desire of the heart, what is it maketh thee weep? may god not cause an eye of thine to weep!' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'what am i that thou shouldst kiss my hand? wilt thou have god punish me for this and that my term should come to an end and my felicity pass away? for this is what none ever attained unto.' quoth he, 'well said, o tuhfeh. know that thy rank in my esteem is mighty and for that which wondered me of what i saw of thee, i offered to do this, but i will not return unto the like thereof; so be of good heart and cheerful eye, for i have no desire for other than thyself and will not die but in the love of thee, and thou to me art queen and mistress, to the exclusion of all humankind.' therewith she fell to kissing his feet; and this her fashion pleased him, so that his love for her redoubled and he became unable to brook an hour's severance from her. one day he went forth to the chase and left tuhfeh in her pavilion. as she sat looking upon a book, with a candlestick of gold before her, wherein was a perfumed candle, behold, a musk-apple fell down before her from the top of the saloon.[fn# ] so she looked up and beheld the lady zubeideh bint el casim,[fn# ] who saluted her and acquainted her with herself, whereupon tuhfeh rose to her feet and said, 'o my lady, were i not of the number of the upstarts, i had daily sought thy service; so do not thou bereave me of thine august visits.'[fn# ] the lady zubeideh called down blessings upon her and answered, 'by the life of the commander of the faithful, i knew this of thee, and but that it is not of my wont to go forth of my place, i had come out to do my service to thee.' then said she to her, 'know, o tuhfeh, that the commander of the faithful hath forsaken all his concubines and favourites on thine account, even to myself. yea, me also hath he deserted on this wise, and i am not content to be as one of the concubines; yet hath he made me of them and forsaken me, and i am come to thee, so thou mayst beseech him to come to me, though it be but once a month, that i may not be the like of the handmaids and concubines nor be evened with the slave-girls; and this is my occasion with thee.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered tuhfeh. 'by allah, o my lady, i would well that he might be with thee a whole month and with me but one night, so thy heart might be comforted, for that i am one of thy handmaids and thou art my lady in every event.' the lady zubeideh thanked her for this and taking leave of her, returned to her palace. when the khalif returned from the chase, he betook himself to tuhfeh's pavilion and bringing out the key, opened the door and went in to her. she rose to receive him and kissed his hand, and he took her to his breast and seated her on his knee. then food was brought to them and they ate and washed their hands; after which she took the lute and sang, till er reshid was moved to sleep. when she was ware of this, she left singing and told him her adventure with the lady zubeideh, saying, 'o commander of the faithful, i would have thee do me a favour and heal my heart and accept my intercession and reject not my word, but go forthright to the lady zubeideh's lodging.' now this talk befell after he had stripped himself naked and she also had put off her clothes; and he said, 'thou shouldst have named this before we stripped ourselves naked.' but she answered, saying, ' o commander of the faithful, i did this not but in accordance with the saying of the poet in the following verses: all intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, save tuhfeh's, daughter of merjan, for that, in very deed, the intercessor who to thee herself presenteth veiled is not her like who naked comes with thee to intercede.' when the khalif heard this, her speech pleased him and he strained her to his bosom. then he went forth from her and locked the door upon her, as before; whereupon she took the book and sat looking in it awhile. presently, she laid it down and taking the lute, tightened its strings. then she smote thereon, after a wondrous fashion, such as would have moved inanimate things [to delight], and fell to singing marvellous melodies and chanting the following verses: rail not at the vicissitudes of fate, for fortune still spites those who her berate. be patient under its calamities, for all things have an issue soon or late. how many a mirth-exciting joy amid the raiment of ill chances lies in wait! how often, too, hath gladness come to light whence nought but dole thou didst anticipate! then she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, comely of hoariness, venerable of aspect, who was dancing on apt and goodly wise, a dance the like whereof none might avail unto. so she sought refuge with god the most high from satan the stoned[fn# ] and said, 'i will not give over what i am about, for that which god decreeth, he carrieth into execution.' accordingly, she went on singing till the old man came up to her and kissed the earth before her, saying, 'well done, o queen of the east and the west! may the world be not bereaved of thee! by allah, indeed thou art perfect of qualities and ingredients, o tuhfet es sudour![fn# ] dost thou know me?' 'nay, by allah,' answered she; 'but methinks thou art of the jinn.' quoth he, 'thou sayst sooth; i am the sheikh aboultawaif[fn# ] iblis, and i come to thee every night, and with me thy sister kemeriyeh, for that she loveth thee and sweareth not but by thy life; and her life is not pleasant to her, except she come to thee and see thee, what while thou seest her not. as for me, i come to thee upon an affair, wherein thou shall find thine advantage and whereby thou shalt rise to high rank with the kings of the jinn and rule them, even as thou rulest mankind; [and to that end i would have thee come with me and be present at the festival of my son's circumcision;[fn# ]] for that the jinn are agreed upon the manifestation of thine affair.' and she answered, 'in the name of god.' so she gave him the lute and he forewent her, till he came to the house of easance, and behold, therein was a door and a stairway. when tuhfeh saw this, her reason fled; but iblis cheered her with discourse. then he descended the stair and she followed him to the bottom thereof, where she found a passage and they fared on therein, till they came to a horse standing, teady saddled and bridled and accoutred. quoth iblis, '[mount], in the name of god, o my lady tuhfeh;' and he held the stirrup for her. so she mounted and the horse shook under her and putting forth wings, flew up with her, whilst the old man flew by her side; whereat she was affrighted and clung to the pummel of the saddle; nor was it but an hour ere they came to a fair green meadow, fresh-flowered as if the soil thereof were a goodly robe, embroidered with all manner colours. midmost that meadow was a palace soaring high into the air, with battlements of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, and a two-leaved gate; and in the gateway thereof were much people of the chiefs of the jinn, clad in sumptuous apparel. when they saw the old man, they all cried out, saying, 'the lady tuhfeh is come!' and as soon as she reached the palace-gate, they came all and dismounting her from the horse's back, carried her into the palace and fell to kissing her hands. when she entered, she beheld a palace whereof never saw eyes the like; for therein were four estrades, one facing other, and its walls were of gold and its ceilings of silver. it was lofty of building, wide of continence, and those who beheld it would be puzzled to describe it. at the upper end of the hall stood a throne of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, unto which led up five steps of silver, and on the right thereof and on its left were many chairs of gold and silver; and over the dais was a curtain let down, gold and silver wrought and broidered with pearls and jewels. the old man carried tuhfeh up [to the dais and seated her] on a chair of gold beside the throne, whilst she was amazed at that which she saw in that place and magnified her lord (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) and hallowed him. then the kings of the jinn came up to the throne and seated themselves thereon; and they were in the semblance of mortals, excepting two of them, who were in the semblance of the jinn, with eyes slit endlong and jutting horns and projecting tusks. after this there came up a young lady, fair of favour and pleasant of parts; the light of her face outshone that of the flambeaux, and about her were other three women, than whom there were no fairer on the face of the earth. they saluted tuhfeh and she rose to them and kissed the earth before them; whereupon they embraced her and sat down on the chairs aforesaid. now the four women who thus accosted tuhfeh were the princess kemeriyeh, daughter of king es shisban, and her sisters; and kemeriyeh loved tuhfeh with an exceeding love. so, when she came up to her, she fell to kissing and embracing her, and iblis said, 'fair befall you! take me between you.' at this tuhfeh laughed and kemeriyeh said, 'o my sister, i love thee and doubtless hearts have their evidences,[fn# ] for, since i saw thee, i have loved thee.' 'by allah,' replied tuhfeh, 'hearts have deeps,[fn# ] and thou, by allah, art dear to me and i am thy handmaid.' kemeriyeh thanked her for this and said to her, 'these are the wives of the kings of the jinn: salute them. this is queen jemreh,[fn# ] that is queen wekhimeh and this other is queen sherareh, and they come not but for thee.' so tuhfeh rose to her feet and kissed their hands, and the three queens kissed her and welcomed her and entreated her with the utmost honour. then they brought trays and tables and amongst the rest a platter of red gold, inlaid with pearls and jewels; its margents were of gold and emerald, and thereon were graven the following verses: for the uses of food i was fashioned and made; the hands of the noble me wrought and inlaid. my maker reserved me for generous men and the niggard and sland'rer to use me forebade. so eat what i offer in surety and be the lord of all things with thanks- giving repaid! so they ate and tuhfeh looked at the two kings, who had not changed their favour and said to kemeriyeh, 'o my lady, what is yonder wild beast and that other like unto him? by allah, mine eye brooketh not the sight of them.' kemeriyeh laughed and answered, 'o my sister, that is my father es shisban and the other is meimoun the sworder; and of the pride of their souls and their arrogance, they consented not to change their [natural] fashion. indeed, all whom thou seest here are, by nature, like unto them in fashion; but, on thine account, they have changed their favour, for fear lest thou be disquieted and for the comforting of thy mind, so thou mightest make friends with them and be at thine ease.' 'o my lady,' quoth tuhfeh, 'indeed i cannot look at them. how frightful is yonder meimoun, with his [one] eye! mine eye cannot brook the sight of him, and indeed i am fearful of him.' kemeriyeh laughed at her speech, and tuhfeh said, 'by allah, o my lady, i cannot fill my eye with them!'[fn# ] then said her father es shisban to her, 'what is this laughing?' so she bespoke him in a tongue none understood but they [two] and acquainted him with that which tuhfeh had said; whereat he laughed a prodigious laugh, as it were the pealing thunder. then they ate and the tables were removed and they washed their hands; after which iblis the accursed came up to tuhfeh and said to her, 'o my lady tuhfeh, thou gladdenest the place and with thy presence enlightenest and embellishest it; but now fain would these kings hear somewhat of thy singing, for the night hath spread its wings for departure and there abideth thereof but a little.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and touching its strings on rare wise, played thereon after a wondrous fashion, so that it seemed to those who were present as if the palace stirred with them for the music. then she fell a-singing and chanted the following verses: peace on you, people of my troth! with peace i do you greet. said ye not truly, aforetime, that we should live and meet? ah, then will i begin on you with chiding than the breeze more soft, ay pleasanter than clear cold water and more sweet. indeed, mine eyelids still with tears are ulcered and to you my bowels yearn to be made whole of all their pain and heat. parting hath sundered us, belov'd; indeed, i stood in dread of this, whilst yet our happiness in union was complete. to god of all the woes i've borne i plain me, for i pine for longing and lament, and him for solace i entreat the kings of the jinn were moved to delight by that fair singing and fluent speech and praised tuhfeh; and queen kemeriyeh rose to her and embraced her and kissed her between the eyes, saying, 'by allah, it is good, o my sister and solace of mine eyes and darling of my heart!' then said she, 'i conjure thee by allah, give us more of this lovely singing.' and tuhfeh answered with 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and playing thereon after a different fashion from the former one, sang the following verses: oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me with hopes of thine enjoyment in all security. sure god shall yet, in pity, reknit our severed lives, even as he did afflict me with loneness after thee. thou whose desire possesseth my soul, the love of whom hold on my reins hath gotten and will not let me free, compared with thine enjoyment, the hardest things are light to win and all things distant draw near and easy be. god to a tristful lover be light! a man of wit, yet perishing for yearning and body-worn is he. were i cut off, beloved, from hope of thy return, slumber, indeed, for ever my wakeful lids would flee. for nought of worldly fortune i weep! my only joy in seeing thee consisteth and in thy seeing me. at this the accursed iblis was moved to delight and put his finger to his arse, whilst meimoun danced and said, 'o tuhfet es sudour, soften the mode;[fn# ] for, as delight, entereth into my heart, it bewildereth my vital spirits.' so she took the lute and changing the mode, played a third air; then she returned to the first and sang the following verses: the billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore; i sink and all in vain for succour i implore. ye've drowned me in the sea of love for you; my heart denies to be consoled for those whom i adore. think not that i forget our trothplight after you. nay; god to me decreed remembrance heretofore.[fn# ] love to its victim clings without relent, and he of torments and unease complaineth evermore. the kings and all those who were present rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and the accursed iblis came up to tuhfeh and kissing her hand, said to her, 'there abideth but little of the night; so do thou tarry with us till the morrow, when we will apply ourselves to the wedding[fn# ] and the circumcision.' then all the jinn went away, whereupon tuhfeh rose to her feet and iblis said, 'go ye up with tuhfeh to the garden for the rest of the night.' so kemeriyeh took her and carried her into the garden. now this garden contained all manner birds, nightingale and mocking-bird and ringdove and curlew[fn# ] and other than these of all the kinds, and therein were all kinds of fruits. its channels[fn# ] were of gold and silver and the water thereof, as it broke forth of its conduits, was like unto fleeing serpents' bellies, and indeed it was as it were the garden of eden.[fn# ] when tuhfeh beheld this, she called to mind her lord and wept sore and said, 'i beseech god the most high to vouchsafe me speedy deliverance, so i may return to my palace and that my high estate and queendom and glory and be reunited with my lord and master er reshid.' then she walked in that garden and saw in its midst a dome of white marble, raised on columns of black teak and hung with curtains embroidered with pearls and jewels. amiddleward this pavilion was a fountain, inlaid with all manner jacinths, and thereon a statue of gold, and [beside it] a little door. she opened the door and found herself in a long passage; so she followed it and behold, a bath lined with all kinds of precious marbles and floored with a mosaic of pearls and jewels. therein were four cisterns of alabaster, one facing other, and the ceiling of the bath was of glass coloured with all manner colours, such as confounded the understanding of the folk of understanding and amazed the wit. tuhfeh entered the bath, after she had put off her clothes, and behold, the basin thereof was overlaid with gold set with pearls and red rubies and green emeralds and other jewels; so she extolled the perfection of god the most high and hallowed him for the magnificence of that which she saw of the attributes of that bath. then she made her ablutions in that basin and pronouncing the magnification of prohibition,[fn# ] prayed the morning prayer and what else had escaped her of prayers;[fn# ] after which she went out and walked in that garden among jessamine and lavender and roses and camomile and gillyflowers and thyme and violets and sweet basil, till she came to the door of the pavilion aforesaid and sat down therein, pondering that which should betide er reshid after her, whenas he should come to her pavilion and find her not. she abode sunken in the sea of her solicitude, till presently sleep took her and she slept presently she felt a breath upon her face; whereupon she awoke and found queen kemeriyeh kissing her, and with her her three sisters, queen jemreh, queen wekhimeh and queen sherareh. so she arose and kissed their hands and rejoiced in them with the utmost joy and they abode, she and they, in talk and converse, what while she related to them her history, from the time of her purchase by the mughrebi to that of her coming to the slave-dealers' barrack, where she besought ishac en nedim to buy her, and how she won to er reshid, till the moment when iblis came to her and brought her to them. they gave not over talking till the sun declined and turned pale and the season of sundown drew near and the day departed, whereupon tuhfeh was instant in supplication to god the most high, on the occasion of the prayer of sundown, that he would reunite her with her lord er reshid. after this, she abode with the four queens, till they arose and entered the palace, where she found the candles lit and ranged in candlesticks of gold and silver and censing-vessels of gold and silver, filled with aloes-wood and ambergris, and there were the kings of the jinn sitting. so she saluted them, kissing the earth before them and doing them worship; and they rejoiced in her and in her sight. then she ascended [the estrade] and sat down upon her chair, whilst king es shisban and king el muzfir and queen louloueh and [other] the kings of the jinn sat on chairs, and they brought tables of choice, spread with all manner meats befitting kings. they ate their fill; after which the tables were removed and they washed their hands and wiped them with napkins. then they brought the wine-service and set on bowls and cups and flagons and hanaps of gold and silver and beakers of crystal and gold; and they poured out the wines and filled the flagons. then iblis took the cup and signed to tuhfeh to sing; and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: drink ever, o lovers, i rede you, of wine and praise his desert who for yearning doth pine, where lavender, myrtle, narcissus entwine, with all sweet-scented herbs, round the juice of the vine. so iblis the accursed drank and said, 'well done, o desire of hearts! but thou owest me yet another song.' then he filled the cup and signed to her to sing. quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience,' and sang the following verses: ye know i'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment, yet ye torment me, for to you 'tis pleasing to torment. between mine eyes and wake ye have your dwelling-place, and thus my tears flow on unceasingly, my sighs know no relent. how long shall i for justice sue to you, whilst, with desire for aid, ye war on me and still on slaying me are bent! to me your rigour love-delight, your distance nearness is; ay, your injustice equity, and eke your wrath consent. accuse me falsely, cruelly entreat me; still ye are my heart's beloved, at whose hands no rigour i resent. all who were present were delighted and the sitting-chamber shook with mirth, and iblis said, 'well done, o tuhfet es sudour!' then they gave not over wine-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry and tambourining and piping till the night waned and the dawn drew near; and indeed exceeding delight entered into them. the most of them in mirth was the sheikh iblis, and for the excess of that which betided him of delight, he put off all that was upon him of coloured clothes and cast them over tuhfeh, and among the rest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths, worth ten thousand dinars. then he kissed the earth and danced and put his finger to his arse and taking his beard in his hand, said to her, 'sing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance, and no blame shall betide thee for this.' so she improvised and sang the following verses: beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be my saying of a knave, his fashion and degree? i rede thee vaunt thee not of praise from us, for lo! even as a docktailed cur thou art esteemed of me. by allah, without fail, to-morrow thou shalt see me with ox-leather dress and drub the nape of thee! all those who were present laughed at her mockery of iblis and marvelled at the goodliness of her observation[fn# ] and her readiness in improvising verses; whilst the sheikh himself rejoiced and said to her, 'o tuhfet es sudour, the night is gone; so arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-morrow all shall be well.' then all the kings of the jinn departed, together with those who were present of guards, and tuhfeh abode alone, pondering the affair of er reshid and bethinking her of how it was with him, after her, and of that which had betided him for her loss, till the dawn gleamed, when she arose and walked in the palace. presently she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and found herself in a garden goodlier than the first, never saw eyes a fairer than it. when she beheld this garden, delight moved her and she called to mind her lord er reshid and wept sore, saying, 'i crave of the bounty of god the most high that my return to him and to my palace and my home may be near at hand!' then she walked in the garden till she came to a pavilion, lofty of building and wide of continence, never saw mortal nor heard of a goodlier than it [so she entered] and found herself in a long corridor, which led to a bath goodlier than that whereof it hath been spoken, and the cisterns thereof were full of rose-water mingled with musk. quoth tuhfeh, 'extolled be the perfection of god! indeed, this[fn# ] is none other than a mighty king.' then she put off her clothes and washed her body and made her ablution, after the fullest fashion,[fn# ] and prayed that which was due from her of prayer from the evening [of the previous day].[fn# ] when the sun rose upon the gate of the garden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was therein of all manner flowers and streams, and heard the voices of its birds, she marvelled at what she saw of the surpassing goodliness of its ordinance and the beauty of its disposition and sat meditating the affair of er reshid and pondering what was come of him after her. her tears ran down upon her cheek and the zephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till she felt a breath on her cheek, whereupon she awoke in affright and found queen kemeriyeh kissing her face, and with her her sisters, who said to her, 'arise, for the sun hath set.' so she arose and making the ablution, prayed that which behoved her of prayers[fn# ] and accompanied the four queens to the palace, where she saw the candles lighted and the kings sitting. she saluted them and seated herself upon her couch; and behold, king es shisban had changed his favour, for all the pride of his soul. then came up iblis (whom god curse!) and tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hands. he in turn kissed her hand and called down blessings on her and said, 'how deemest thou? is [not] this place pleasant, for all its loneliness and desolation?' quoth she, 'none may be desolate in this place;' and he said, 'know that no mortal dare tread [the soil of] this place.' but she answered, 'i have dared and trodden it, and this is of the number of thy favours.' then they brought tables and meats and viands and fruits and sweetmeats and what not else, to the description whereof mortal man availeth not, and they ate till they had enough; after which the tables were removed and the trays and platters[fn# ] set on, and they ranged the bottles and flagons and vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and sweet-scented flowers. the first to take the cup was iblis the accursed, who said, 'o tuhfet es sudour, sing over my cup.' so she took the lute and touching it, sang the following verses: awaken, o ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here by what's vouchsafed of fortune fair and life untroubled, clear. drink of the first-run wine, that shows as very flame it were, when from the pitcher 'tis outpoured, or ere the day appear. o skinker of the vine-juice, let the cup 'twixt us go round, for in its drinking is my hope and all i hold most dear. what is the pleasance of the world, except it be to see my lady's face, to drink of wine and ditties still to hear? so iblis drank off his cup, and when he had made an end of his draught, he waved his hand to tuhfeh, and putting off that which was upon him of clothes, delivered them to her. amongst them was a suit worth ten thousand dinars and a tray full of jewels worth a great sum of money. then he filled again and gave the cup to his son es shisban, who took it from his hand and kissing it, stood up and sat down again. now there was before him a tray of roses; so he said to her 'o tuhfeh sing upon these roses.' hearkening and obedience,' answered she and sang the following verses: o'er all the fragrant flowers that be i have the prefrence aye, for that i come but once a year, and but a little stay. and high is my repute, for that i wounded aforetime my lord,[fn# ] whom god made best of all the treaders of the clay. so es shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, 'well done, o desire of hearts!' and he bestowed on her that which was upon him, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great pearls and rubies and broidered with precious stones, and a tray wherein were fifty thousand dinars. then meimoun the sworder took the cup and fell to gazing intently upon tuhfeh. now there was in his hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, 'sing upon this pomegranate-flower, o queen of men and jinn; for indeed thou hast dominion over all hearts.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience;' and she improvised and sang the following verses: the zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, and as with falling fire 'twas clad anew; and to the birds' descant in the foredawns, from out the boughs it flowered forth and grew, till in a robe of sandal green 'twas clad and veil that blended rose and flame[fn# ] in hue. meinsoun drank off his cup and said to her, 'well done, o perfect of attributes!' then he signed to her and was absent awhile, after which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an hundred thousand dinars, [which he gave to tuhfeh]. so kemeriyeh arose and bade her slave-girl open the closet behind her, wherein she laid all that wealth. then she delivered the key to tuhfeh, saying, 'all that cometh to thee of riches, lay thou in this closet that is by thy side, and after the festival, it shall be carried to thy palace on the heads of the jinn.' tuhfeh kissed her hand, and another king, by name munir, took the cup and filling it, said to her, 'o fair one, sing to me over my cup upon the jasmine.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised the following verses: it is as the jasmine, when it i espy, as it glitters and gleams midst its boughs, were a sky of beryl, all glowing with beauty, wherein thick stars of pure silver shine forth to the eye. munir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand dinars, whereat kemeriyeh rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed tuhfeh on her face and said to her, 'may the world not be bereaved of thee, o thou who lordest it over the hearts of jinn and mortals!' then she returned to her place and the sheikh iblis arose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which he said to tuhfeh, 'indeed, thou embellishest my festival, o thou who hast commandment over men and jinn and rejoicest their hearts with thy loveliness and the excellence of thy faithfulness to thy lord. all that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy palace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at hand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont' tuhfeh turned and found with her none of the jinn; so she laid her head on the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which she arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and prayed. then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the affair of her lord er reshid and that which had betided him after her and wept sore. presently, she heard a blowing behind her; so she turned and behold, a head without a body and with eyes slit endlong; it was of the bigness of an elephant's head and bigger and had a mouth as it were an oven and projecting tusks, as they were grapnels, and hair that trailed upon the earth. so tuhfeh said, 'i take refuge with god from satan the stoned!' and recited the two amulets;[fn# ] what while the head drew near her and said to her, 'peace be upon thee, o princess of jinn and men and unique pearl of her age and her time! may god still continue thee on life, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy lord the imam!'[fn# ] 'and upon thee be peace,' answered she, 'o thou whose like i have not seen among the jinn!' quoth the head, 'we are a people who avail not to change their favours and we are called ghouls. the folk summon us to their presence, but we may not present ourselves before them [without leave]. as for me, i have gotten leave of the sheikh aboultawaif to present myself before thee and i desire of thy favour that thou sing me a song, so i may go to thy palace and question its haunters[fn# ] concerning the plight of thy lord after thee and return to thee; and know, o tuhfet es sudour, that between thee and thy lord is a distance of fifty years' journey to the diligent traveller.' 'indeed,' rejoined tuhfeh, 'thou grievest me [for him] between whom and me is fifty years' journey. and the head said to her, 'be of good heart and cheerful eye, for the kings of the jinn will restore thee to him in less than the twinkling of an eye.' quoth she,' i will sing thee an hundred songs, so thou wilt bring me news of my lord and that which hath befallen him after me.' and the head answered, saying, 'do thou favour me and sing me a song, so i may go to thy lord and bring thee news of him, for that i desire, before i go, to hear thy voice, so haply my thirst[fn# ] may be quenched.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: they have departed; but the steads yet full of them remain: yea, they have left me, but my heart of them doth not complain. my heart bereavement of my friends forebode; may god of them the dwellings not bereave, but send them timely home again! though they their journey's goal, alas i have hidden, in their track still will i follow on until the very planets wane. ye sleep; by allah, sleep comes not to ease my weary lids; but from mine eyes, since ye have passed away, the blood doth rain. the railers for your loss pretend that i should patient be: 'away!' i answer them: ' 'tis i, not you, that feel the pain.' what had it irked them, had they'd ta'en farewell of him they've left lone, whilst estrangement's fires within his entrails rage amain? great in delight, beloved mine, your presence is with me; yet greater still the miseries of parting and its bane. ye are the pleasaunce of my soul; or present though you be or absent from me, still my heart and thought with you remain. the head wept exceeding sore and said, 'o my lady, indeed thou hast solaced my heart, and i have nought but my life; so take it.' quoth she, 'an i but knew that thou wouldst bring me news of my lord er reshid, it were liefer to me than the empery of the world.' and the head answered her, saying, 'it shall be done as thou desirest.' then it disappeared and returning to her at the last of the night, said, 'know, o my lady, that i have been to thy palace and have questioned one of the haunters thereof of the case of the commander of the faithful and that which befell him after thee; and he said, "when the commander of the faithful came to tuhfeh's lodging and found her not and saw no sign of her, he buffeted his face and head and rent his clothes. now there was in thy lodging the eunuch, the chief of thy household, and he cried out at him, saying, 'bring me jaafer the barmecide and his father and brother forthright.' the eunuch went out, confounded in his wit for fear of the commander of the faithful, and whenas he came to jaafer, he said to him, 'come to the commander of the faithful, thou and thy father and brother.' so they arose in haste and betaking themselves to the khalif's presence, said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, what is to do?' quoth he, 'there is that to do which overpasseth description. know that i locked the door and taking the key with me, betook myself to the daughter of mine uncle, with whom i lay the night; but, when i arose in the morning and came and opened the door, i found no sign of tuhfeh.' 'o commander of the faithful,' rejoined jaafer, 'have patience, for that the damsel hath been snatched away, and needs must she return, seeing she took the lute with her, and it is her [own] lute. the jinn have assuredly carried her off and we trust in god the most high that she will return.' quoth the khalif, ' this[fn# ] is a thing that may nowise be' and he abode in her lodging, eating not neither drinking, what while the barmecides besought him to go forth to the folk; and he weepeth and abideth on this wise till she shall return." this, then, is that which hath betided him after thee.' when tuhfeh heard this, it was grievous to her and she wept sore; whereupon quoth the head to her, 'the relief of god the most high is near at hand; but now let me hear somewhat of thy speech.' so she took the lute and sang three songs, weeping the while. 'by allah,' said the head, 'thou hast been bountiful to me, may god be with thee!' then it disappeared and the season of sundown came. so she arose [and betook herself] to her place [in the hall]; whereupon the candles rose up from under the earth and kindled themselves. then the kings of the jinn appeared and saluted her and kissed her hands and she saluted them. presently, up came kemeriyeh and her three sisters and saluted tuhfeh and sat down; whereupon the tables were brought and they ate. then the tables were removed and there came the wine-tray and the drinking-service. so tuhfeh took the lute and one of the three queens filled the cup and signed to tuhfeh [to sing]. now she had in her hand a violet; so tuhfeh sang the following verses: behold, i am clad in a robe of leaves green and a garment of honour of ultramarine. though little, with beauty myself i've adorned; so the flowers are my subjects and i am their queen. if the rose be entitled the pride of the morn, before me nor after she wins it, i ween. the queen drank off her cup and bestowed on tuhfeh a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with red rubies, worth twenty thousand dinars, and a tray wherein were ten thousand dinars. all this while meimoun's eye was upon her and presently he said to her, 'harkye, tuhfeh! sing to me.' but queen zelzeleh cried out at him and said, 'desist, o meimoun. thou sufferest not tuhfeh to pay heed unto us.' quoth he, 'i will have her sing to me.' and words waxed between them and queen zelzeleh cried out at him. then she shook and became like unto the jinn and taking in her hand a mace of stone, said to him, 'out on thee! what art thou that thou shouldst bespeak us thus? by allah, but for the king's worship and my fear of troubling the session and the festival and the mind of the sheikh iblis, i would assuredly beat the folly out of thy head!' when meimoun heard these her words, he rose, with the fire issuing from his eyes, and said, 'o daughter of imlac, what art thou that thou shouldst outrage me with the like of this talk?' 'out on thee, o dog of the jinn,' replied she, 'knowest thou not thy place?' so saying, she ran at him and offered to strike him with the mace, but the sheikh iblis arose and casting his turban on the ground, said, 'out on thee, o meimoun! thou still dost with us on this wise. wheresoever thou art present, thou troubleth our life! canst thou not hold thy peace till thou goest forth of the festival and this bride-feast[fn# ] be accomplished? when the circumcision is at an end and ye all return to your dwelling-places, then do as thou wilt. out on thee, o meimoun! knowest thou not that imlac is of the chiefs of the jinn? but for my worship, thou shouldst have seen what would have betided thee of humiliation and punishment; but by reason of the festival none may speak. indeed thou exceedest: knowest thou not that her sister wekhimeh is doughtier than any of the jinn? learn to know thyself: hast thou no regard for thy life?' meimoun was silent and iblis turned to tuhfeh and said to her, 'sing to the kings of the jinn this day and to-night until the morrow, when the boy will be circumcised and each shall return to his own place.' so she took the lute and kemeriyeh said to her, (now she had in her hand a cedrat), 'o my sister, sing to me on this cedrat.' 'hearkening and obedience,' replied tuhfeh, and improvising, sang the following verses: my fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, whose beauty amazeth all those that behold. my juice among kings is still drunken for wine and a present am i betwixt friends, young and old. at this queen kemeriyeh was moved to exceeding delight and drank off her cup, saying, 'well done, o queen of hearts!' moreover, she took off a surcoat of blue brocade, fringed with red rubies, and a necklace of white jewels, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and gave them to tuhfeh. then she passed the cup to her sister zelzeleh, who had in her hand sweet basil, and she said to tuhfeh, 'sing to me on this sweet basil.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following verses: the crown of the flow'rets am i, in the chamber of wine, and allah makes mention of me 'mongst the pleasures divine; yea, ease and sweet basil and peace, the righteous are told, in eternity's garden of sweets shall to bless them combine.[fn# ] where, then, is the worth that in aught with my worth can compare and where is the rank in men's eyes can be likened to mine? thereat queen zelzeleh was moved to exceeding delight and bidding her treasuress bring a basket, wherein were fifty pairs of bracelets and the like number of earrings, all of gold, set with jewels of price, the like whereof nor men nor jinn possessed, and an hundred robes of coloured brocade and an hundred thousand dinars, gave the whole to tuhfeh. then she passed the cup to her sister sherareh, who had in her hand a stalk of narcissus; so she took it from her and turning to tuhfeh, said to her, 'o tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following verses: most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow i; amongst the fragrant flow'rets there's none with me can vie. the eyes of lovely women are likened unto me; indeed, amongst the gardens i open many an eye. when she had made an end of her song, sherareh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking off her cup, said to her, 'well done, o gift of hearts!' then she ordered her an hundred dresses of brocade and an hundred thousand dinars and passed the cup to queen wekhimeh. now she had in her hand somewhat of blood-red anemone; so she took the cup from her sister and turning to tuhfeh, said to her, 'o tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' quoth she, 'i hear and obey,' and improvised the following verses: the merciful dyed me with that which i wear of hues with whose goodliness none may compare. the earth is my birth-place, indeed; but my place of abidance is still in the cheeks of the fair. therewith wekhimeh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking off the cup, ordered her twenty dresses of greek brocade and a tray, wherein were thirty thousand dinars. then she gave the cup to queen shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, who took it and said, 'o my lady tuhfeh, sing to me on the gillyflower.' quoth she 'hearkening and obedience,' and improvised the following verses: the season of my presence is never at an end 'mongst all their time in gladness and solacement who spend, whenas the folk assemble for birling at the wine, whether in morning's splendour or when night's shades descend. the pitcher then of goblets filled full and brimming o'er with limpid wine we plunder, that pass from friend to friend. queen shuaaeh was moved to exceeding delight and emptying her cup, gave tuhfeh an hundred thousand dinars. then arose iblis (may god curse him!) and said, 'verily, the dawn gleameth.' whereupon the folk arose and disappeared, all of them, and there abode not one of them save tuhfeh, who went forth to the garden and entering the bath, made her ablutions and prayed that which had escaped her of prayers. then she sat down and when the sun rose, behold, there came up to her near an hundred thousand green birds; the branches of the trees were filled with their multitudes and they warbled in various voices, whilst tuhfeh marvelled at their fashion. presently, up came eunuchs, bearing a throne of gold, set with pearls and jewels and jacinths white and red and having four steps of gold, together with many carpets of silk and brocade and egyptian cloth of silk welted with gold. these latter they spread amiddleward the garden and setting up the throne thereon, perfumed the place with virgin musk and aloes and ambergris. after that, there appeared a queen, never saw eyes a goodlier than she nor than her attributes; she was clad in rich raiment, embroidered with pearls and jewels, and on her head was a crown set with various kinds of pearls and jewels. about her were five hundred slave-girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons, screening her, right and left, and she among them as she were the moon on the night of its full, for that she was the most of them in majesty and dignity. she gave not over walking, till she came to tuhfeh, whom she found gazing on her in amazement; and when the latter saw her turn to her, she rose to her, standing on her feet, and saluted her and kissed the earth before her. the queen rejoiced in her and putting out her hand to her, drew her to herself and seated her by her side on the couch; whereupon tuhfeh kissed her hands and the queen said to her, 'know, o tuhfeh, that all that thou treadest of these belong not to any of the jinn,[fn# ] for that i am the queen of them all and the sheikh aboultawaif iblis sought my permission[fn# ] and prayed me to be present at the circumcision of his son. so i sent to him, in my stead, a slave-girl of my slave-girls, to wit, shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, who is vice-queen of my kingdom. when she was present at the wedding and saw thee and heard thy singing, she sent to me, giving me to know of thee and setting forth to me thine elegance and pleasantness and the goodliness of thy breeding and thy singing. so i am come to thee, for that which i have heard of thy charms, and this shall bring thee great worship in the eyes of all the jinn.'[fn# ] tuhfeh arose and kissed the earth and the queen thanked her for this and bade her sit. so she sat down and the queen called for food; whereupon they brought a table of gold, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels and spread with various kinds of birds and meats of divers hues, and the queen said, 'o tuhfeh, in the name of god, let us eat bread and salt together, thou and i.' so tuhfeh came forward and ate of those meats and tasted somewhat the like whereof she had never eaten, no, nor aught more delicious than it, what while the slave-girls stood compassing about the table and she sat conversing and laughing with the queen. then said the latter, 'o my sister, a slave-girl told me of thee that thou saidst, "how loathly is yonder genie meimoun! there is no eating [in his presence]."'[fn# ] 'by allah, o my lady,' answered tuhfeh, 'i cannot brook the sight of him,[fn# ] and indeed i am fearful of him.' when the queen heard this, she laughed, till she fell backward, and said, 'o my sister, by the virtue of the inscription upon the seal-ring of solomon, prophet of god, i am queen over all the jinn, and none dare so much as look on thee a glance of the eye.' and tuhfeh kissed her hand. then the tables were removed and they sat talking. presently up came the kings of the jinn from every side and kissed the earth before the queen and stood in her service; and she thanked them for this, but stirred not for one of them. then came the sheikh aboultawaif iblis (god curse him!) and kissed the earth before her, saying, 'o my lady, may i not be bereft of these steps!'[fn# ] o sheikh aboultawalf,' answered she, 'it behoveth thee to thank the bounty of the lady tuhfeh, who was the cause of my coming.' 'true,' answered he and kissed the earth. then the queen fared on [towards the palace] and there [arose and] alighted upon the trees an hundred thousand birds of various colours. quoth tuhfeh, 'how many are these birds!' and queen wekhimeh said to her, 'know, o my sister, that this queen is called queen es shuhba and that she is queen over all the jinn from east to west. these birds that thou seest are of her troops, and except they came in this shape, the earth would not contain them. indeed, they came forth with her and are present with her presence at this circumcision. she will give thee after the measure of that which hath betided thee[fn# ] from the first of the festival to the last thereof; and indeed she honoureth us all with her presence.' then the queen entered the palace and sat down on the throne of the circumcision[fn# ] at the upper end of the hall, whereupon tuhfeh took the lute and pressing it to her bosom, touched its strings on such wise that the wits of all present were bewildered and the sheikh iblis said to her, 'o my lady tuhfeh, i conjure thee, by the life of this worshipful queen, sing for me and praise thyself, and gainsay me not.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience; yet, but for the adjuration by which thou conjurest me, i had not done this. doth any praise himself? what manner of thing is this?' then she improvised and sang the following verses: in every rejoicing a boon[fn# ] midst the singers and minstrels am i; the folk witness bear of my worth and none can my virtues deny. my virtues 'mongst men are extolled and my glory and station rank high. her verses pleased the kings of the jinn and they said, 'by allah, thou sayst sooth!' then she rose to her feet, with the lute in her hand, and played and sang, whilst the jinn and the sheikh aboultawaif danced. then the latter came up to her and gave her a carbuncle he had taken from the hidden treasure of japhet, son of noah (on whom be peace), and which was worth the kingdom of the world; its light was as the light of the sun and he said to her, 'take this and glorify thyself withal over[fn# ] the people of the world.' she kissed his hand and rejoiced in the jewel and said, 'by allah, this beseemeth none but the commander of the faithful.' now the dancing of iblis pleased queen es shuhba and she said to him, 'by allah, this is a goodly dancing!' he thanked her for this and said to tuhfeh, 'o tuhfeh, there is not on the face of the earth a skilfuller than ishac en nedim; but thou art more skilful than he. indeed, i have been present with him many a time and have shown him passages[fn# ] on the lute, and there have betided me such and such things with him.[fn# ] indeed, the story of my dealings with him is a long one and this is no time to repeat it; but now i would fain show thee a passage on the lute, whereby thou shall be exalted over all the folk.' quoth she to him, 'do what seemeth good to thee.' so he took the lute and played thereon on wondrous wise, with rare divisions and extraordinary modulations, and showed her a passage she knew not; and this was liefer to her than all that she had gotten. then she took the lute from him and playing thereon, [sang and] presently returned to the passage that he had shown her; and he said, 'by allah, thou singest better than i!' as for tuhfeh, it was made manifest to her that her former usance[fn# ] was all of it wrong and that what she had learnt from the sheikh aboultawaif iblis was the origin and foundation [of all perfection] in the art. so she rejoiced in that which she had gotten of [new skill in] touching the lute far more than in all that had fallen to her lot of wealth and raiment and kissed the sheikh's hand. then said queen es shuhba, 'by allah, o sheikh, my sister tuhfeh is indeed unique among the folk of her time, and i hear that she singeth upon all sweet- scented flowers.' 'yes, o my lady,' answered iblis, 'and i am in the utterest of wonderment thereat. but there remaineth somewhat of sweet-scented flowers, that she hath not besung, such as the myrtle and the tuberose and the jessamine and the moss-rose and the like.' then he signed to her to sing upon the rest of the flowers, that queen es shuhba might hear, and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and played thereon in many modes, then returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: one of the host am i of lovers sad and sere for waiting long drawn out and expectation drear. my patience underneath the loss of friends and folk with pallor's sorry garb hath clad me, comrades dear. abasement, misery and heart-break after those i suffer who endured before me many a year. all through the day its light and when the night grows dark, my grief forsakes me not, no, nor my heavy cheer. my tears flow still, nor aye of bitterness i'm quit, bewildered as i am betwixten hope and fear. therewithal queen es shuhba was moved to exceeding delight and said, 'well done, o queen of delight! none can avail to describe thee. sing to us on the apple,' quoth tuhfeh, 'hearkening and obedience.' then she improvised and sang the following verses: endowed with amorous grace past any else am i; graceful of shape and lithe and pleasing to the eye. the hands of noble folk do tend me publicly; with waters clear and sweet my thirsting tongue they ply. my clothes of sendal are, my veil of the sun's light, the very handiwork of god the lord most high. whenas my sisters dear forsake me, grieved that they must leave their native place and far away must hie, the nobles' hands, for that my place i must forsake, do solace me with beds, whereon at ease i lie. lo! in the garden-ways, the place of ease and cheer, still, like the moon at full, my light thou mayst espy. queen es shubha rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and said, 'well done! by allah, there is none surpasseth thee.' tuhfeh kissed the earth, then returned to her place and improvised on the tuberose, saying: my flower a marvel on your heads doth show, yet homeless[fn# ] am i in your land, i trow. make drink your usance in my company and flout the time that languishing doth go. camphor itself to me doth testify and in my presence owns me white as snow. so make me in your morning a delight and set me in your houses, high and low; so shall we quaff the cups in ease and cheer, in endless joyance, quit of care and woe. at this queen es shuhba was stirred to exceeding delight and said, 'well done, o queen of delight! by allah, i know not how i shall do to render thee thy due! may god the most high grant us to enjoy thy long continuance [on life]!' then she strained her to her breast and kissed her on the cheek; whereupon quoth iblis (on whom be malison!), 'indeed, this is an exceeding honour!' quoth the queen, 'know that this lady tuhfeh is my sister and that her commandment is my commandment and her forbiddance my forbiddance. so hearken all to her word and obey her commandment.' therewithal the kings rose all and kissed the earth before tuhfeh, who rejoiced in this. moreover, queen es shuhba put off on her a suit adorned with pearls and jewels and jacinths, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and wrote her on a sheet of paper a patent in her own hand, appointing her her deputy. so tuhfeh rose and kissed the earth before the queen, who said to her, 'sing to us, of thy favour, concerning the rest of the sweet-scented flowers and herbs, so i may hear thy singing and divert myself with witnessing thy skill.' 'hearkening and obedience, o lady mine,' answered tuhfeh and taking the lute, improvised the following verses: midst colours, my colour excelleth in light and i would every eye of my charms might have sight. my place is the place of the fillet and pearls and the fair are most featly with jasmine bedight, how bright and how goodly my lustre appears! yea, my wreaths are like girdles of silver so white. then she changed the measure and improvised the following: i'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed; when the loved one calls, i keep the tryst agreed. my favours i deny not all the year; though cessation be desired, i nothing heed. i'm the keeper of the promise and the troth, and my gathering is eath, without impede. then she changed the measure and the mode [and played] so that she amazed the wits of those who were present, and queen es shuhba was moved to mirth and said, 'well done, o queen of delight!' then she returned to the first mode and improvised the following verses on the water-lily: i fear to be seen in the air, without my consent, unaware; so i stretch out my root neath the flood and my branches turn back to it there. therewithal queen es shuhba was moved to delight and said, 'well done, o tuhfeh! let me have more of thy singing.' so she smote the lute and changing the mode, improvised the following verses on the moss-rose: look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, midmost its leafage, covered all with green. tis gazed at for its slender swaying shape and cherished for its symmetry and sheen. lovely with longing for its love's embrace, the fear of his estrangement makes it lean. then she changed the measure and the mode and sang the following verses: o thou that questionest the lily of its scent, give ear unto my words and verses thereanent. th' amir (quoth it) am i whose charms are still desired; absent or present, all in loving me consent. when she had made an end of her song, queen es shuhba arose and said, 'never heard i from any the like of this.' and she drew tuhfeh to her and fell to kissing her. then she took leave of her and flew away; and all the birds took flight with her, so that they walled the world; whilst the rest of the kings tarried behind. when it was the fourth night, there came the boy whom they were minded to circumcise, adorned with jewels such as never saw eye nor heard ear of, and amongst the rest a crown of gold, set with pearls and jewels, the worth whereof was an hundred thousand dinars. he sat down upon the throne and tuhfeh sang to him, till the surgeon came and they circumcised him, in the presence of all the kings, who showered on him great store of jewels and jacinths and gold. queen kemeriyeh bade the servants gather up all this and lay it in tuhfeh's closet, and it was [as much in value as] all that had fallen to her, from the first of the festival to the last thereof. moreover, the sheikh iblis (whom god curse!) bestowed upon tuhfeh the crown worn by the boy and gave the latter another, whereat her reason fled. then the jinn departed, in order of rank, whilst iblis took leave of them, band by band. whilst the sheikh was thus occupied with taking leave of the kings, meimoun sought his opportunity, whenas he saw the place empty, and taking up tuhfeh on his shoulders, soared up with her to the confines of the sky and flew away with her. presently, iblis came to look for tuhfeh and see what she purposed, but found her not and saw the slave-girls buffeting their faces; so he said to them, 'out on ye! what is to do?' 'o our lord,' answered they, 'meimoun hath snatched up tuhfeh and flown away with her.' when iblis heard this, he gave a cry, to which the earth trembled, and said, 'what is to be done? out on ye! shall he carry off tuhfeh from my very palace and outrage mine honour? doubtless, this meimoun hath lost his wits.' then he cried out a second time, that the earth quaked therefor, and rose up into the air. the news came to the rest of the kings; so they [flew after him and] overtaking him, found him full of trouble and fear, with fire issuing from his nostrils, and said to him, 'o sheikh aboultawaif, what is to do?' quoth he, 'know that meimoun hath carried off tuhfeh from my palace and outraged mine honour.' when they heard this, they said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! by allah, he hath ventured upon a grave matter and indeed he destroyeth himself and his people!' then the sheikh iblis gave not over flying till he fell in with the tribes of the jinn, and there gathered themselves together unto him much people, none may tell the tale of them save god the most high. so they came to the fortress of copper and the citadel of lead,[fn# ] and the people of the strongholds saw the tribes of the jinn issuing from every steep mountain-pass and said, 'what is to do?' then iblis went in to king es shisban and acquainted him with that which had befallen, whereupon quoth he, 'may god destroy meimoun and his folk! he thinketh to possess tuhfeh, and she is become queen of the jinn! but have patience till we contrive that which befitteth in the matter of tuhfeh.' quoth iblis, 'and what befitteth it to do?' and es shisban said, *we will fall upon him and slay him and his people with the sword.' then said the sheikh iblis, 'we were best acquaint queen kemeriyeh and queen zelzeleh and queen sherareh and queen wekhimeh; and when they are assembled, god shall ordain [that which he deemeth] good in the matter of her release.' 'it is well seen of thee,' answered es shisban and despatched to queen kemeriyeh an afrit called selheb, who came to her palace and found her asleep; so he aroused her and she said, 'what is to do, o selheb?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'come to the succour of thy sister tuhfeh, for that meimoun hath carried her off and outraged thine honour and that of the sheikh iblis.' quoth she, 'what sayest thou?' and she sat up and cried out with a great cry. and indeed she feared for tuhfeh and said, 'by allah, indeed she used to say that he looked upon her and prolonged the looking on her; but ill is that to which his soul hath prompted him.' then she arose in haste and mounting a she-devil of her devils, said to her, 'fly.' so she flew off and alighted with her in the palace of her sister sherareh, whereupon she sent for her sisters zelzeleh and wekhimeh and acquainted them with the news, saying, 'know that meimoun hath snatched up tuhfeh and flown off with her swiftlier than the blinding lightning.' [then they all flew off in haste and] lighting down in the place where were their father es shisban and their grandfather the sheikh aboultawaif, found the folk on the sorriest of plights. when their grandfather iblis saw them, he rose to them and wept, and they all wept for tuhfeh. then said iblis to them, 'yonder dog hath outraged mine honour and taken tuhfeh, and i doubt not but that she is like to perish [of concern] for herself and her lord er reshid and saying "all that they said and did[fn# ] was false."' quoth kemeriyeh, 'o grandfather mine, there is nothing left for it but [to use] stratagem and contrivance for her deliverance, for that she is dearer to me than everything; and know that yonder accursed one, whenas he is ware of your coming upon him, will know that he hath no power to cope with you, he who is the least and meanest [of the jinn]; but we fear that, when he is assured of defeat, he will kill tuhfeh; wherefore nothing will serve but that we contrive for her deliverance; else will she perish.' 'and what hast thou in mind of device?' asked he; and she answered, 'let us take him with fair means, and if he obey, [all will be well]; else will we practise stratagem against him; and look thou not to other than myself for her deliverance.' quoth iblis, 'the affair is thine; contrive what thou wilt, for that tuhfeh is thy sister and thy solicitude for her is more effectual than [that of] any.' so kemeriyeh cried out to an afrit of the afrits and a calamity of the calamities,[fn# ] by name el ased et teyyar,[fn# ] and said to him, 'go with my message to the crescent mountain, the abiding-place of meimoun the sworder, and enter in to him and salute him in my name and say to him, "how canst thou be assured for thyself, o meimoun?[fn# ] couldst thou find none on whom to vent thy drunken humour and whom to maltreat save tuhfeh, more by token that she is a queen? but thou art excused, for that thou didst this not but of thine intoxication, and the shekh aboultawaif pardoneth thee, for that thou wast drunken. indeed, thou hast outraged his honour; but now restore her to her palace, for that she hath done well and favoured us and done us service, and thou knowest that she is presently our queen. belike she may bespeak queen es shuhba, whereupon the matter will be aggravated and that wherein there is no good will betide. indeed, thou wilt get no tittle of profit [from this thine enterprise]; verily, i give thee good counsel, and so peace be on thee!"' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered el ased and flew till he came to the crescent mountain, when he sought audience of meimoun, who bade admit him. so he entered and kissing the earth before him, gave him queen kemeriyeh's message, which when he heard he said to the afrit, 'return whence thou comest and say to thy mistress, "be silent and thou wilt do wisely." else will i come and seize upon her and make her serve tuhfeh; and if the kings of the jinn assemble together against me and i be overcome of them, i will not leave her to scent the wind of this world and she shall be neither mine nor theirs, for that she is presently my soul[fn# ] from between my ribs; and how shall any part with his soul?' when the afrit heard meimoun's words, he said to him, 'by allah, o meimoun, thou hast lost thy wits, that thou speakest these words of my mistress, and thou one of her servants!' whereupon meimoun cried out and said to him, 'out on thee, o dog of the jinn! wilt thou bespeak the like of me with these words?' then, he bade those who were about him smite el ased, but he took flight and soaring into the air, betook himself to his mistress and told her that which had passed; and she said, 'thou hast done well, o cavalier.' then she turned to her father and said to him, 'give ear unto that which i shall say to thee.' quoth he, 'say on;' and she said, 'take thy troops and go to him, for that, when he heareth this, he in his turn will levy his troops and come forth to thee; wherepon do thou give him battle and prolong the fighting with him and make a show to him of weakness and giving way. meantime, i will practise a device for winning to tuhfeh and delivering her, what while he is occupied with you in battle; and when my messenger cometh to thee and giveth thee to know that i have gotten possession of tuhfeh and that she is with me, do thou return upon meimoun forthright and destroy him, him and his hosts, and take him prisoner. but, if my device succeed not with him and we avail not to deliver tuhfeh, he will assuredly go about to slay her, without recourse, and regret for her will abide in our hearts.' quoth iblis, 'this is the right counsel,' and let call among the troops to departure, whereupon an hundred thousand cavaliers, doughty men of war, joined themselves to him and set out for meimoun's country. as for queen kemeriyeh, she flew off to the palace of her sister wekhimeh and told her what meimoun had done and how [he avouched that], whenas he saw defeat [near at hand], he would slay tuhfeh; 'and indeed,' added she, 'he is resolved upon this; else had he not dared to commit this outrage. so do thou contrive the affair as thou deemest well, for thou hast no superior in judgment.' then they sent for queen zelzeleh and queen sherareh and sat down to take counsel, one with another, of that which they should do in the matter. then said wekhimeh, 'we were best fit out a ship in this island [wherein is my palace] and embark therein, in the guise of mortals, and fare on till we come to a little island, that lieth over against meimoun's palace. there will we [take up our abode and] sit drinking and smiting the lute and singing. now tuhfeh will of a surety be sitting looking upon the sea, and needs must she see us and come down to us, whereupon we will take her by force and she will be under our hands, so that none shall avail more to molest her on any wise. or, if meimoun be gone forth to do battle with the jinn, we will storm his stronghold and take tuhfeh and raze his palace and put to death all who are therein. when he hears of this, his heart will be rent in sunder and we will send to let our father know, whereupon he will return upon him with his troops and he will be destroyed and we shall be quit of him.' and they answered her, saying, 'this is a good counsel.' then they bade fit out a ship from behind the mountain,[fn# ] and it was fitted out in less than the twinkling of an eye. so they launched it on the sea and embarking therein, together with four thousand afrits, set out, intending for meimoun's palace. moreover, they bade other five thousand afrits betake themselves to the island under the crescent mountain and lie in wait for them there. meanwhile, the sheikh aboultawaif iblis and his son es shisban set out, as we have said, with their troops, who were of the doughtiest of the jinn and the most accomplished of them in valour and horsemanship, [and fared on till they drew near the crescent mountain], when the news of their approach reached meimoun, he cried out with a great cry to the troops, who were twenty thousand horse, [and bade them make ready for departure]. then he went in to tuhfeh and kissing her, said to her, 'know that thou art presently my life of the world, and indeed the jinn are gathered together to wage war on me on thine account. if i am vouchsafed the victory over them and am preserved alive, i will set all the kings of the jinn under thy feet and thou shall become queen of the world.' but she shook her head and wept; and he said, 'weep not, for, by the virtue of the mighty inscription engraven on the seal-ring of solomon, thou shall never again see the land of men! can any one part with his life? so give ear unto that which i say; else will i kill thee.' and she was silent. then he sent for his daughter, whose name was jemreh, and when she came, he said to her, 'harkye, jemreh! know that i am going to [meet] the clans of es shisban and queen kemeriyeh and the kings of the jinn. if i am vouchsafed the victory over them, to allah be the praise and thou shall have of me largesse; but, if thou see or hear that i am worsted and any come to thee with news of me [to this effect], hasten to slay tuhfeh, so she may fall neither to me nor to them.' then he took leave of her and mounted, saying, 'when this cometh about, pass over to the crescent mountain and take up thine abode there, and await what shall befall me and what i shall say to thee.' and jemreh answered with 'hearkening and obedience.' when tuhfeh heard this, she fell to weeping and wailing and said, 'by allah, nought irketh me save separation from my lord er reshid; but, when i am dead, let the world be ruined after me.' and she doubted not in herself but that she was lost without recourse. then meimoun set forth with his army and departed in quest of the hosts [of the jinn], leaving none in the palace save his daughter jemreh and tuhfeh and an afrit who was dear unto him. they fared on till they met with the army of es shisban; and when the two hosts came face to face, they fell upon each other and fought a passing sore battle. after awhile, es shisban's troops began to give back, and when meimoun saw them do thus, he despised them and made sure of victory over them. meanwhile, queen kemeriyeh and her company sailed on, without ceasing, till they came under the palace wherein was tuhfeh, to wit, that of meimoun the sworder; and by the ordinance of destiny, tuhfeh herself was then sitting on the belvedere of the palace, pondering the affair of haroun er reshid and her own and that which had befallen her and weeping for that she was doomed to slaughter. she saw the ship and what was therein of those whom we have named, and they in mortal guise, and said, 'alas, my sorrow for yonder ship and the mortals that be therein!' as for kemeriyeh and her company, when they drew near the palace, they strained their eyes and seeing tuhfeh sitting, said, 'yonder sits tuhfeh. may god not bereave [us] of her!' then they moored their ship and making for the island, that lay over against the palace, spread carpets and sat eating and drinking; whereupon quoth tuhfeh, 'welcome and fair welcome to yonder faces! these are my kinswomen and i conjure thee by allah, o jemreh, that thou let me down to them, so i may sit with them awhile and make friends with them and return.' quoth jemreh, 'i may on no wise do that.' and tuhfeh wept. then the folk brought out wine and drank, what while kemeriyeh took the lute and sang the following verses: by allah, but that i trusted that i should meet you again, your camel-leader to parting had summoned you in vain! parting afar hath borne you, but longing still is fain to bring you near; meseemeth mine eye doth you contain. when tuhfeh heard this, she gave a great cry, that the folk heard her and kemeriyeh said, 'relief is at hand.' then she looked out to them and called to them, saying, 'o daughters of mine uncle, i am a lonely maid, an exile from folk and country. so, for the love of god the most high, repeat that song!' so kemeriyeh repeated it and tuhfeh swooned away. when she came to herself, she said to jemreh, 'by the virtue of the apostle of god (whom may he bless and preserve!) except thou suffer me go down to them and look on them and sit with them awhile, [i swear] i will cast myself down from this palace, for that i am weary of my life and know that i am slain without recourse; wherefore i will slay myself, ere thou pass sentence upon me.' and she was instant with her in asking. when jemreh heard her words, she knew that, if she let her not down, she would assuredly destroy herself. so she said to her, 'o tuhfeh, between thee and them are a thousand fathoms; but i will bring them up to thee.' 'nay,' answered tuhfeh, 'needs must i go down to them and take my pleasance in the island and look upon the sea anear; then will we return, thou and i; for that, if thou bring them up to us, they will be affrighted and there will betide them neither easance nor gladness. as for me, i do but wish to be with them, that they may cheer me with their company neither give over their merrymaking, so haply i may make merry with them, and indeed i swear that needs must i go down to them; else will i cast myself upon them.' and she cajoled jemreh and kissed her hands, till she said, 'arise and i will set thee down beside them.' then she took tuhfeh under her armpit and flying up, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, set her down with kemeriyeh and her company; whereupon she went up to them and accosted them, saying, 'fear not, no harm shall betide you; for i am a mortal, like unto you, and i would fain look on you and talk with you and hear your singing.' so they welcomed her and abode in their place, whilst jemreh sat down beside them and fell a-snuffing their odours and saying, 'i smell the scent of the jinn! i wonder whence [it cometh!'] then said wekhimeh to her sister kemeriyeh, 'yonder filthy one [smelleth us] and presently she will take to flight; so what is this remissness concerning her?'[fn# ] thereupon kemeriyeh put out a hand,[fn# ] as it were a camel's neck,[fn# ] and dealt jemreh a buffet on the head, that made it fly from her body and cast it into the sea. then said she, 'god is most great!' and they uncovered their faces, whereupon tuhfeh knew them and said to them, 'protection!' queen kemeriyeh embraced her, as also did queen zelzeleh and queen wekhimeh and queen sherareh, and the former said to her, 'rejoice in assured deliverance, for there abideth no harm for thee; but this is no time for talk.' then they cried out, whereupon up came the afrits ambushed in the island, with swords and maces in their hands, and taking up tuhfeh, flew with her to the palace and made themselves masters thereof, whilst the afrit aforesaid, who was dear to meimoun and whose name was dukhan, fled like an arrow and stayed not in his flight till he carne to meimoun and found him engaged in sore battle with the jinn. when his lord saw him, he cried out at him, saying, 'out on thee! whom hast thou left in the palace?' and dukhan answered, saying, 'and who abideth in the palace? thy beloved tuhfeh they have taken and jemreh is slain and they have gotten possession of the palace, all of it.' with this meimoun buffeted his face and head and said, 'out on it for a calamity!' and he cried aloud. now kemeriyeh had sent to her father and acquainted him with the news, whereat the raven of parting croaked for them. so, when meimoun saw that which had betided him, (and indeed the jinn smote upon him and the wings of death overspread his host,) he planted the butt of his spear in the earth and turning the point thereof to his heart, urged his charger upon it and pressed upon it with his breast, till the point came forth, gleaming, from his back. meanwhile the messenger had reached the opposite camp with the news of tuhfeh's deliverance, whereat the sheikh aboultawaif rejoiced and bestowed on the bringer of good tidings a sumptuous dress of honour and made him commander over a company of the jinn. then they fell upon meimoun's troops and destroyed them to the last man; and when they came to meimoun, they found that he had slain himself and was even as we have said. presently kemeriyeh and her sister [wekhimeh] came up to their grandfather and told him what they had done; whereupon he came to tuhfeh and saluted her and gave her joy of her deliverance. then he delivered meimoun's palace to selheb and took all the former's riches and gave them to tuhfeh, whilst the troops encamped upon the crescent mountain. moreover, the sheikh aboultawaif said to tuhfeh, 'blame me not,' and she kissed his hands. as they were thus engaged, there appeared to them the tribes of the jinn, as they were clouds, and queen es shuhba flying in their van, with a drawn sword in her hand. when she came in sight of the folk, they kissed the earth before her and she said to them, 'tell me what hath betided queen tuhfeh from yonder dog meimoun and why did ye not send to me and tell me?' quoth they, 'and who was this dog that we should send to thee, on his account? indeed, he was the least and meanest [of the jinn].' then they told her what kemeriyeh and her sisters had done and how they had practised upon meimoun and delivered tuhfeh from his hand, fearing lest he should slay her, whenas he found himself discomfited; and she said, 'by allah, the accursed one was wont to prolong his looking upon her!' and tuhfeh fell to kissing queen es shuhba's hand, whilst the latter strained her to her bosom and kissed her, saying, 'trouble is past; so rejoice in assurance of relief.' then they arose and went up to the palace, whereupon the trays of food were brought and they ate and drank; after which quoth queen es shuhba, 'o tuhfeh, sing to us, by way of thankoffering for thy deliverance, and favour us with that which shall solace our minds, for that indeed my mind hath been occupied with thee.' quoth tuhfeh 'hearkening and obedience, o my lady.' so she improvised and sang the following verses: wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, the fullest of greetings bear to them from me, their lover, and say that i am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love and eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye. therewithal queen es shuhba rejoiced and all who were present rejoiced also and admired her speech and fell to kissing her; and when she had made an end of her song, queen kemeriyeh said to her, 'o my sister, ere thou go to thy palace, i would fain bring thee to look upon el anca, daughter of behram gour, whom el anca, daughter of the wind, carried off, and her beauty; for that there is not her match on the face of the earth.' and queen es shuhba said, 'o kemeriyeh, i [also] have a mind to see her.' quoth kemeriyeh, 'i saw her three years agone; but my sister wekhimeh seeth her at all times, for that she is near unto her, and she saith that there is not in the world a fairer than she. indeed, this queen el anca is become a byword for loveliness and proverbs are made upon her beauty and grace' and wekhimeh said, 'by the mighty inscription [on the seal-ring of solomon], there is not her like in the world!' then said queen es shuhba, 'if it needs must be and the affair is as ye say, i will take tuhfeh and go with her [to el anca], so she may see her.' so they all arose and repaired to el anca, who abode in the mountain caf.[fn# ] when she saw them, she rose to them and saluted them, saying, 'o my ladies, may i not be bereaved of you!' quoth wekhimeh to her, 'who is like unto thee, o anca? behold, queen es shuhba is come to thee.' so el anca kissed the queen's feet and lodged them in her palace; whereupon tuhfeh came up to her and fell to kissing her and saying, 'never saw i a goodlier than this favour.' then she set before them somewhat of food and they ate and washed their hands; after which tuhfeh took the lute and played excellent well; and el anca also played, and they fell to improvising verses in turns, whilst tuhfeh embraced el anca every moment. quoth es shuhba, 'o my sister, each kiss is worth a thousand dinars;' and tuhfeh answered, 'indeed, a thousand dinars were little for it.' whereat el anca laughed and on the morrow they took leave of her and went away to meimoun's palace.[fn# ] here queen es shuhba bade them farewell and taking her troops, returned to her palace, whilst the kings also went away to their abodes and the sheikh aboultawaif addressed himself to divert tuhfeh till nightfall, when he mounted her on the back of one of the afrits and bade other thirty gather together all that she had gotten of treasure and raiment and jewels and dresses of honour. [then they flew off,] whilst iblis went with her, and in less than the twinkling of an eye he set her down in her sleeping-chamber. then he and those who were with him took leave of her and went away. when tuhfeh found herself in her own chamber and on her couch, her reason fled for joy and it seemed to her as if she had never stirred thence. then she took the lute and tuned it and touched it on wondrous wise and improvised verses and sang. the eunuch heard the smiting of the lute within the chamber and said, 'by allah, that is my lady tuhfeh's touch!' so he arose and went, as he were a madman, falling down and rising up, till he came to the eunuch on guard at the door at the commander of the faithful and found him sitting. when the latter saw him, and he like a madman, falling down and rising up, he said to him, 'what aileth thee and what bringeth thee hither at this hour?' quoth the other, 'wilt thou not make haste and awaken the commander of the faithful?' and he fell to crying out at him; whereupon the khalif awoke and heard them bandying words together and tuhfeh's servant saying to the other, 'out on thee! awaken the commander of the faithful in haste.' so he said, 'o sewab, what aileth thee?' and the chief eunuch answered, saying, 'o our lord, the eunuch of tuhfeh's lodging hath taken leave of his wits and saith, "awaken the commander of the faithful in haste!"' then said er reshid to one of the slave-girls, 'see what is to do.' so she hastened to admit the eunuch, who entered; and when he saw the commander of the faithful, he saluted not neither kissed the earth, but said, 'quick, quick! arise in haste! my lady tuhfeh sitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. come to her in haste and see all that i say to thee! hasten! she sitteth [in her chamber].' the khalif was amazed at his speech and said to him, 'what sayst thou?' 'didst thou not hear the first of the speech?' replied the eunuch. 'tuhfeh sitteth in the sleeping-chamber, singing and playing the lute. come thy quickliest! hasten!' so er reshid arose and donned his clothes; but he credited not the eunuch's words and said to him, 'out on thee! what is this thou sayst? hast thou not seen this in a dream?' 'by allah,' answered the eunuch, 'i know not what thou sayest, and i was not asleep.' quoth er reshid, 'if thy speech be true, it shall be for thy good luck, for i will enfranchise thee and give thee a thousand dinars; but, if it be untrue and thou have seen this in sleep, i will crucify thee.' and the eunuch said in himself, 'o protector,[fn# ] let me not have seen this in sleep!' then he left the khalif and going to the chamber-door, heard the sound of singing and lute-playing; whereupon he returned to er reshid and said to him, 'go and hearken and see who is asleep.' when er reshid drew near the door of the chamber, he heard the sound of the lute and tuhfeh's voice singing; whereat he could not restrain his reason and was like to swoon away for excess of joy. then he pulled out the key, but could not bring his hand to open the door. however, after awhile, he took heart and applying himself, opened the door and entered, saying, 'methinks this is none other than a dream or an illusion of sleep.' when tuhfeh saw him, she rose and coming to meet him, strained him to her bosom; and he cried out with a cry, wherein his soul was like to depart, and fell down in a swoon. she strained him to her bosom and sprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, and washed his face, till he came to himself, as he were a drunken man, for the excess of his joy in tuhfeh's return to him, after he had despaired of her. then she took the lute and smote thereon, after the fashion she had learnt from the sheikh iblis, so that er reshid's wit was dazed for excess of delight and his understanding was confounded for joy; after which she improvised and sang the following verses: my heart will never credit that i am far from thee; in it thou art, nor ever the soul can absent be. or if to me "i'm absent" thou sayest, "'tis a lie," my heart replies, bewildered 'twixt doubt and certainty. when she had made an end of her verses, er reshid said to her, 'o tuhfeh, thine absence was extraordinary, but thy presence[fn# ] is yet more extraordinary.' 'by allah, o my lord,' answered she, 'thou sayst sooth.' and she took his hand and said to him, 'see what i have brought with me.' so he looked and saw riches such as neither words could describe nor registers avail to set out, pearls and jewels and jacinths and precious stones and great pearls and magnificent dresses of honour, adorned with pearls and jewels and embroidered with red gold. moreover, she showed him that which queen es shuhba had bestowed on her of those carpets, which she had brought with her, and that her throne, the like whereof neither chosroes nor cassar possessed, and those tables inlaid with pearls and jewels and those vessels, that amazed all who looked on them, and the crown, that was on the head of the circumcised boy, and those dresses of honour, which queen es shuhba and the sheikh aboultawaif had put off upon her, and the trays wherein were those riches; brief, she showed him treasures the like whereof he had never in his life set eyes on and which the tongue availeth not to describe and whereat all who looked thereon were amazed. er reshid was like to lose his wits for amazement at this sight and was confounded at this that he beheld and witnessed. then said he to tuhfeh, 'come, tell me thy story from first to last, [and let me know all that hath betided thee,] as if i had been present' she answered with 'hearkening and obedience,' and fell to telling him [all that had betided her] first and last, from the time when she first saw the sheikh aboultawaif, how he took her and descended with her through the side of the draught-house; and she told him of the horse she had ridden, till she came to the meadow aforesaid and described it to him, together with the palace and that which was therein of furniture, and related to him how the jinn rejoiced in her and that which she had seen of the kings of them, men and women, and of queen kemeriyeh and her sisters and queen shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, and queen es shuhba, queen of queens, and king es shisban, and that which each one of them had bestowed upon her. moreover, she told him the story of meimoun the sworder and described to him his loathly favour, which he had not consented to change, and related to him that which befell her from the kings of the jinn, men and women, and the coming of the queen of queens, es shuhba, and how she had loved her and appointed her her vice-queen and how she was thus become ruler over all the kings of the jinn; and she showed him the patent of investiture that queen es shuhba had written her and told him that which had betided her with the ghoul-head, whenas it appeared to her in the garden, and how she had despatched it to her palace, beseeching it to bring her news of the commander of the faithful and that which had betided him after her. then she described to him the gardens, wherein she had taken her pleasure, and the baths inlaid with pearls and jewels and told him that which had befallen meimoun the sworder, whenas he carried her off, and how he had slain himself; brief, she told him all that she had seen of wonders and rarities and that which she had beheld of all kinds and colours among the jinn. then she told him the story of anca, daughter of behram gour, with anca, daughter of the wind, and described to him her dwelling-place and her island, whereupon quoth er reshid, 'o tuhfet es sedr,[fn# ] tell me of el anca, daughter of behram gour; is she of the jinn or of mankind or of the birds? for this long time have i desired to find one who should tell me of her.' 'it is well, o commander of the faithful,' answered tuhfeh. 'i asked the queen of this and she acquainted me with her case and told me who built her the palace.' quoth er reshid, 'i conjure thee by allah, tell it me.' and tuhfeh answered, 'it is well,' and proceeded to tell him. and indeed he was amazed at that which he heard from her and what she told him and at that which she had brought back of jewels and jacinths of various colours and preciots stones of many kinds, such as amazed the beholder and confounded thought and mind. as for this, it was the means of the enrichment of the barmecides and the abbasicles, and they abode in their delight. then the khalif went forth and bade decorate the city: [so they decorated it] and the drums of glad tidings were beaten. moreover they made banquets to the people and the tables were spread seven days. and tuhfeh and the commander of the faithful ceased not to be in the most delightsome of life and the most prosperous thereof till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and thu is all that hath come down to as of their story." calcutta ( - ) text. note. the following story occupies the last five nights (cxcv-cc) of the unfinished calcutta edition of - . the only other text of it known to me is that published by monsieur langles (paris, ), as an appendix to his edition of the voyages of sindbad, and of this i have freely availed myself in making the present translation, comparing and collating with it the calcutta ( - ) text and filling up and correcting omissions and errors that occur in the latter. in the calcutta ( - ) text this story (vol. ii. pp. - ) is immediately succeeded by the seven voyages of sindbad (vol. ii. pp. - ), which conclude the work. women's craft. it is told that there was once, in the city of baghdad, a comely and well-bred youth, fair of face, tall of stature and slender of shape. his name was alaeddin and he was of the chiefs of the sons of the merchants and had a shop wherein he sold and bought one day, as he sat in his shop, there passed by him a girl of the women of pleasure,[fn# ] who raised her eyes and casting a glance at the young merchant, saw written in a flowing hand on the forepart[fn# ] of the door of his shop, these words, "verily, there is no craft but men's craft, forasmuch as it overcometh women's craft." when she beheld this, she was wroth and took counsel with herself, saying, "as my head liveth, i will assuredly show him a trick of the tricks of women and prove the untruth of[fn# ] this his inscription!" so, on the morrow, she made her ready and donning the costliest of apparel, adorned herself with the most magnificent of ornaments and the highest of price and stained her hands with henna. then she let down her tresses upon her shoulders and went forth, walking along with coquettish swimming gait and amorous grace, followed by her slave-girls, till she came to the young merchant's shop and sitting down thereat, under colour of seeking stuffs, saluted him and demanded of him somewhat of merchandise. so he brought out to her various kinds of stuffs and she took them and turned them over, talking with him the while. then said she to him, "look at the goodliness of my shape and my symmetry. seest thou in me any default?" and he answered, "no, o my lady." "is it lawful," continued she, "in any one that he should slander me and say that i am humpbacked?" then she discovered to him a part of her bosom, and when he saw her breasts, his reason took flight from his head and he said to her, "cover it up, so may god have thee in his safeguard!" quoth she, "is it fair of any one to missay of my charms?" and he answered, "how shall any missay of thy charms, and thou the sun of loveliness?" then said she, "hath any the right to say of me that i am lophanded? "and tucking up her sleeves, showed him forearms, as they were crystal; after which she unveiled to him a face, as it were a full moon breaking forth on its fourteenth night, and said to him, "is it lawful for any to missay of me [and avouch] that my face is pitted with smallpox or that i am one-eyed or crop-eared?" and he answered her, saying, "o my lady, what is it moveth thee to discover unto me that lovely face and those fair members, [of wont so jealously] veiled and guarded? tell me the truth of the matter, may i be thy ransom!" and he recited the following verses: a white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare and now again concealed in black, luxuriant hair;[fn# ] as if the maid the day resplendent and her locks the night that o'er it spreads its shrouding darkness were. "know, o my lord," answered she, "that i am a maiden oppressed of my father, for that he misspeaketh of me and saith to me, 'thou art foul of favour and it befitteth not that thou wear rich clothes; for thou and the slave-girls, ye are equal in rank, there is no distinguishing thee from them.' now he is a rich man, having wealth galore, [and saith not on this wise but] because he is a niggard and grudgeth the spending of a farthing; [wherefore he is loath to marry me,] lest he be put to somewhat of charge in my marriage, albeit god the most high hath been bountiful to him and he is a man puissant in his time and lacking nothing of the goods of the world." "who is thy father," asked the young merchant, "and what is his condition?" and she replied, "he is the chief cadi of the supreme court, under whose hand are all the cadis who administer justice in this city." the merchant believed her and she took leave of him and went away, leaving in his heart a thousand regrets, for that the love of her had gotten possession of him and he knew not how he should win to her; wherefore he abode enamoured, love-distraught, unknowing if he were alive or dead. as soon as she was gone, he shut his shop and going up to the court, went in to the chief cadi and saluted him. the magistrate returned his salutation and entreated him with honour and seated him by his side. then said alaeddin to him, "i come to thee, a suitor, seeking thine alliance and desiring the hand of thy noble daughter." "o my lord merchant," answered the cadi, "indeed my daughter beseemeth not the like of thee, neither sorteth she with the goodliness of thy youth and the pleasantness of thy composition and the sweetness of thy discourse;" but alaeddin rejoined, saying, "this talk behoveth thee not, neither is it seemly in thee; if i be content with her, how should this irk thee?" so they came to an accord and concluded the treaty of marriage at a dower precedent of five purses[fn# ] paid down then and there and a dower contingent of fifteen purses,[fn# ] so it might be uneath unto him to put her away, forasmuch as her father had given him fair warning, but he would not be warned. then they drew up the contract of marriage and the merchant said, "i desire to go in to her this night." so they carried her to him in procession that very night, and he prayed the prayer of eventide and entered the privy chamber prepared for him; but, when he lifted the veil from the face of the bride and looked, he saw a foul face and a blameworthy aspect; yea, he beheld somewhat the like whereof may god not show thee! loathly, dispensing from description, inasmuch as there were reckoned in her all legal defects.[fn# ] so he repented, whenas repentance availed him not, and knew that the girl had cheated him. however, he lay with the bride, against his will, and abode that night sore troubled in mind, as he were in the prison of ed dilem.[fn# ] hardly had the day dawned when he arose from her and betaking himself to one of the baths, dozed there awhile, after which he made the ablution of defilement[fn# ] and washed his clothes. then he went out to the coffee-house and drank a cup of coffee; after which he returned to his shop and opening the door, sat down, with discomfiture and chagrin written on his face. presently, his friends and acquaintances among the merchants and people of the market began to come up to him, by ones and twos, to give him joy, and said to him, laughing, "god's blessing on thee! where an the sweetmeats? where is the coffee?[fn# ] it would seem thou hast forgotten us; surely, the charms of the bride have disordered thy reason and taken thy wit, god help thee! well, well; we give thee joy, we give thee joy." and they made mock of him, whilst he gave them no answer and was like to tear his clothes and weep for vexation. then they went away from him, and when it was the hour of noon, up came his mistress, trailing her skirts and swaying in her gait, as she were a cassia-branch in a garden. she was yet more richly dressed and adorned and more bewitching[fn# ] in her symmetry and grace than on the previous day, so that she made the passers stop and stand in ranks to look on her. when she came to alaeddin's shop, she sat down thereat and said to him, "may the day be blessed to thee, o my lord alaeddin! god prosper thee and be good to thee and accomplish thy gladness and make it a wedding of weal and content!" he knitted his brows and frowned in answer to her; then said he to her, "tell me, how have i failed of thy due, or what have i done to injure thee, that thou shouldst play me this trick?" quoth she, "thou hast no wise offended against me; but this inscription that is written on the door of thy shop irketh me and vexeth my heart. if thou wilt change it and write up the contrary thereof, i will deliver thee from thy predicament." and he answered, "this that thou seekest is easy. on my head and eyes be it." so saying, he brought out a ducat[fn# ] and calling one of his mamelukes, said to him, "get thee to such an one the scribe and bid him write us an inscription, adorned with gold and ultramarine, in these words, to wit, 'there is no craft but women's craft, for that indeed their craft is a mighty craft and overcometh and humbleth the fables[fn# ] of men.'" and she said to the servant, "go forthright." so he repaired to the scribe, who wrote him the scroll, and he brought it to his master, who set it on the door and said to the damsel, "art thou satisfied?" "yes," answered she. "arise forthright and get thee to the place before the citadel, where do thou foregather with all the mountebanks and ape-dancers and bear-leaders and drummers and pipers and bid them come to thee to-morrow early, with their drums and pipes, what time thou drinkest coffee with thy father-in-law the cadi, and congratulate thee and wish thee joy, saying, 'a blessed day, o son of our uncle! indeed, thou art the vein[fn# ] of our eye! we rejoice for thee, and if thou be ashamed of us, verily, we pride ourselves upon thee; so, though thou banish us from thee, know that we will not forsake thee, albeit thou forsakest us.' and do thou fall to strewing dinars and dirhems amongst them; whereupon the cadi will question thee, and do thou answer him, saying, 'my father was an ape-dancer and this is our original condition; but out lord opened on us [the gate of fortune] and we have gotten us a name among the merchants and with their provost.' then will he say to thee, 'then thou art an ape-leader of the tribe of the mountebanks?' and do thou reply, 'i may in nowise deny my origin, for the sake of thy daughter and in her honour.' the cadi will say, 'it may not be that thou shalt be given the daughter of a sheikh who sitteth upon the carpet of the law and whose descent is traceable by genealogy to the loins of the apostle of god,[fn# ] nor is it seemly that his daughter be in the power of a man who is an ape-dancer, a minstrel.' and do thou rejoin, 'nay, o effendi, she is my lawful wife and every hair of her is worth a thousand lives, and i will not let her go, though i be given the kingship of the world.' then be thou persuaded to speak the word of divorce and so shall the marriage be dissolved and ye be delivered from each other." quoth alaeddin, "thou counsellest well," and locking up his shop, betook himself to the place before the citadel, where he foregathered with the drummers and pipers and instructed them how they should do, [even as his mistress had counselled him,] promising them a handsome reward. so they answered him with "hearkening and obedience" and on the morrow, after the morning-prayer, he betook himself to the presence of the cadi, who received him with obsequious courtesy and seated him beside himself. then he turned to him and fell to conversing with him and questioning him of matters of selling and buying and of the price current of the various commodities that were exported to baghdad from all parts, whilst alaeddin replied to him of all whereof he asked him. as they were thus engaged, behold, up came the dancers and mountebanks, with their pipes and drums, whilst one of their number forewent them, with a great banner in his hand, and played all manner antics with his voice and limbs. when they came to the courthouse, the cadi exclaimed, "i seek refuge with god from yonder satans!" and the merchant laughed, but said nothing. then they entered and saluting his highness the cadi, kissed alaeddin's hands and said, "god's blessing on thee, o son of our uncle! indeed, thou solacest our eyes in that which thou dost, and we beseech god to cause the glory of our lord the cadi to endure, who hath honoured us by admitting thee to his alliance and allotted us a part in his high rank and dignity." when the cadi heard this talk, it bewildered his wit and he was confounded and his face flushed with anger and he said to his son-in-law, "what words are these?" quoth the merchant, "knowest thou not, o my lord, that i am of this tribe? indeed this man is the son of my mother's brother and that other the son of my father's brother, and i am only reckoned of the merchants [by courtesy]!" when the cadi heard this, his colour changed and he was troubled and waxed exceeding wroth and was rike to burst for excess of rage. then said he to the merchant, "god forbid that this should be! how shall it be permitted that the daughter of the cadi of the muslims abide with a man of the dancers and vile of origin? by allah, except thou divorce her forthright, i will bid beat thee and cast thee into prison till thou die! had i foreknown that thou wast of them, i had not suffered thee to approach me, but had spat in thy face, for that thou art filthier[fn# ] than a dog or a hog." then he gave him a push and casting him down from his stead, commanded him to divorce; but he said, "be clement to me, o effendi, for that god is clement, and hasten not. i will not divorce my wife, though thou give me the kingdom of irak." the cadi was perplexed and knew that constraint was not permitted of the law;[fn# ] so he spoke the young merchant fair and said to him, "protect me,[fn# ] so may god protect thee. if thou divorce her not, this disgrace will cleave to me till the end of time." then his rage got the better of him and he said to him, "an thou divorce her not with a good grace, i will bid strike off thy head forthright and slay myself; rather flame[fn# ] than shame." the merchant bethought himself awhile, then divorced her with a manifest divorcement[fn# ] and on this wise he delivered himself from that vexation. then he returned to his shop and sought in marriage of her father her who had played him the trick aforesaid and who was the daughter of the chief of the guild of the blacksmiths. so he took her to wife and they abode with each other and lived the most solaceful of lives, in all prosperity and contentment and joyance, till the day of death; and god [alone] is all-knowing. end of vol. ii. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] a town of khoiassan. [fn# ] i.e., he dared not attempt to force her? [fn# ] i.e. her "yes" meant "yes" and her "no" "no." [fn# ] lit. ignorance. [fn# ] lit. spoke against her due. [fn# ] i.e. a domed monument. [fn# ] lit "ignorance," often used in the sense of "forwardness." [fn# ] i.e. my present plight. [fn# ] i.e. ten thousand dinars. [fn# ] a similar story to this, though differing considerably in detail, will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the jewish cadi and his pions wife. [fn# ] or divineress (kahinek). [fn# ] i.e. whoredom. [fn# ] or "scar" (ather). [fn# ] ie. hearken to. [fn# ] i.e. persia. [fn# ] i.e. the case with which he earned his living. [fn# ] i.e. the ten thousand dirhems of the bond. [fn# ] i.e. exhorted her to patience. [fn# ] or performing surgical operations (ilaj). [fn# ] i.e. the open space before his house. [fn# ] or "drew near unto." [fn# ] i.e. a descendant of mohammed. [fn# ] or the art of judging from external appearances (firaseh). [fn# ] sic in the text; but the passage is apparently corrupt. it is not plain why a rosy complexion, blue eyes and tallness should be peculiar to women in love. arab women being commonly short, swarthy and black eyed, the attributes mentioned appear rather to denote the foreign origin of the woman; and it is probable, therefore, that this passage has by a copyist's error, been mixed up with that which related to the signs by which the mock physician recognized her strangehood, the clause specifying the symptoms of her love lorn condition having been crowded out in the process, an accident of no infrequent occurrence in the transcription of oriental works. [fn# ] yellow was the colour prescribed for the wearing of jews by the muslim lawm in accordance with the decree issued by khalif omar ben el khettab after the taking of jerusalem in a.d. . [fn# ] i.e. sunday. [fn# ] herais, a species of "risotto," made of pounded wheat or rice and meat in shreds. [fn# ] lit. "that have passed the night," i.e. are stale and therefore indigestable. [fn# ] i.e. saturday. [fn# ] i.e. native of merv. [fn# ] or "ruined," lit. "destroyed." [fn# ] i.e. native of rei, a city of khorassia. [fn# ] the text has khenadic, ditches or valleys; but this is, in all probability, a clerical or typographical error for fenadic, inns or caravanserais. [fn# ] it is a paramount duty of the muslim to provide his dead brother in the faith with decent interment; it is, therefore, a common practice for the family of a poor arab to solicit contributions toward the expenses of his burial, nor is the well-to-do true believer safe from imposition of the kind described in the text. [fn# ] i.e. the recompense in the world to come promised to the performer of a charitable action. [fn# ] i.e. camphor and lote-tree leaves dried and powdered (sometimes mixed with rose-water) which are strewn over the dead body, before it is wrapped in the shroud. in the case of a man of wealth, more costly perfumes (such as musk, aloes and ambergris) are used. [fn# ] all the ablutions prescribed by the mohammedan ritual are avoided by the occurrence, during the process, of any cause of ceremonial impurity (such as the mentioned in the text) and must be recommenced. [fn# ] having handled a corpse, he had become in a state of legal impurity and it beloved him therefore to make the prescribed ablution. [fn# ] which he had taken off for the purpose of making abulution. this was reversing the ordinary course of affairs, the dead man's clothes being the washer's prequisite. [fn# ] i.e. till it was diminished by evaporation to two-thirds of its original volume. [fn# ] the mohammedan grave is a cell, hollowed out in the sides of a trench and so constructed as to keep out the earth, that the deceased may be able to sit up and answer the examining angels when they visit him in the tomb. there was, therefore, nothing improbable in er razi's boast that he could abide two days in the tomb. [fn# ] nawous, a sort of overground well or turricle of masonry, surmounted by an iron grating, on which the gueber's body is placed for devoration by the birds. [fn# ] munkir [munker] and nakir [nekir] are the two angels that preside at 'the examination of the tomb.' they visit a man in his grave directly after he has been buried and examine him concerning his faith; if he acknowledge that there is but one god and that mohammed is his prophet [apostle], they suffer him to rest in peace; otherwise they beat him with [red-hot] iron maces, till he roars so loud[ly] that he is heard by all from east to west, except by man and ginns [jinn]."--palmer's koran, introduction. [fn# ] lit. the oven (tennour); but this is obviously a mistake for "tombs" (cubour). [fn# ] i.e. as a propitiatory offering on behalf of. [fn# ] i.e. though he remain at thy charge or (as we should say) on thy hands. [fn# ] about twenty-five shillings. [fn# ] about £ s. [fn# ] meaning the sharper. [fn# ] i.e. he asketh nought but that which is reasonable. [fn# ] the strict muslim is averse from taking an oath, even in support at the truth, and will sometimes submit to a heavy loss rather than do so. for an instance of this, see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the king of the island. [fn# ] to wit, the merchant and his officious friend. [fn# ] there appears to be some mistake here, but i have no means of rectifying it. the passage is probably hopelessly corrupt and a portion of the conclusion of the story seems to have dropped out. [fn# ] i.e. well-guarded, confined in the harem. [fn# ] i.e. an old woman to crafty that she was a calamity to those against whom she plotted. [fn# ] i.e. the amount of the contingent dowry and of the allowance which he was bound to make her for her support during the four months and some days which must elapse before she could lawfully marry again. [fn# ] i.e. thou wilt have satisfied us all. [fn# ] with the smoke of burning aloes-wood or other perfume, a common practice among the arabs. the aloes-wood is placed upon burning charcoal in a censer perforated with holes, which is swung towards the person to be fumigated, whose clothes and hair are thus impregnated with the grateful fragrance of the burning wood. an accident such as that mentioned in the text might easily happen during the process of fumigation. [fn# ] i.e. by god. the old woman is keeping up her assumption of the character of a devotee by canting about divine direction. [fn# ] this is the same story as "the house with the belvedere." see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. . [fn# ] see note, vol. i. p. . also my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the king and his vizier's wife. [fn# ] or experienced. [fn# ] i.e. the inhabitants of the island and the sailors? [fn# ] i.e. postponed the fulfilment of his promise. [fn# ] sic; but apparently a state-prison or place of confinement for notable offenders is meant. [fn# ] or "getting hold of." [fn# ] lit. "betrothed." [fn# ] or "in." [fn# ] i.e. if his appearance be such as to belie the possibility of his being a thief. [fn# ] i.e. people of power and worship. [fn# ] i.e. of wine. [fn# ] i.e. all his former afflictions or (perhaps) all his commandments. [fn# ] i.e. a more venial sin. [fn# ] i.e. i have a proposal to make thee. [fn# ] i.e. he was brought up in my house. [fn# ] i.e. prayed for him by name, as the reigning sovereign, in the khutbeh, a sort of homily made up of acts of prayer and praise and of exhortations to the congregation, which forms part of the friday prayers. the mention of a newly-appointed sovereign's name in the khutbeh is equivalent with the muslims to a solemn proclamation of his accession. [fn# ] i.e. deprive him of his rank. [fn# ] or perverted belief, i.e. an infidel. [fn# ] i.e. not god. [fn# ] or corrupt belief, i.e. that the destinies of mankind were governed by the planets and not by god alone. [fn# ] i.e. "him who is to me even as mine own soul," to wit, the king. [fn# ] the whole of this story (which is apparently intended as an example of the flowery style (el bediya) of arab prose) is terribly corrupt and obscure, and in the absence of a parallel version, with which to collate it, it is impossible to be sure that the exact sense has been rendered. [fn# ] breslau text, vol xi. pp. - , nights dccccxxx-xl. [fn# ] i.e. the first or beherite dynasty of the mameluke sultans, the founder of which was originally a turkish (i.e. turcoman) slave. [fn# ] fourth sultan of the above dynasty. [fn# ] i.e. palestine (es sahil) so styled by the arabs. [fn# ] lit. his nightly entertainers, i.e. those whose place it was to entertain him by night with the relation of stories and anecdotes and the recitation of verses, etc. [fn# ] i.e. the perfect of police. [fn# ] about fifty shillings. [fn# ] i.e. those of the visible and invisible worlds. [fn# ] i.e. of the sultan's officers of the household. the sultan's palace and the lodgings of his chief officers were situate, according to eastern custom, in the citadel or central fortress of the city. [fn# ] lit. [self-]possession (temkin). [fn# ] god forbid! [fn# ] or strong place. [fn# ] i.e. lest ill-hap betide her and you be held responsible for her. [fn# ] which was in his custody in his ex-officio capacity of guardian, orphans in muslim countries being, by operation of law, wards of the cadi of their district. [fn# ] altogether six thousand dinars or about £ . [fn# ] i.e. except thou give me immediate satisfaction, i will complain of thee to the sultan. [fn# ] i.e. forgetting all that is enjoined upon the true-believer by the institutes of the prophet (sunneh) and the canons (fers) of the divine law, as deduced from the koran. [fn# ] lit. red i.e. violent or bloody) death. [fn# ] lit. the conquered one. [fn# ] i.e. my view of the matter differs from that of the cadi, but i cannot expect a hearing against a personage of his rank. [fn# ] and therefore freshly shed. [fn# ] for redness. [fn# ] or parties. [fn# ] lit. quench that fire from him. [fn# ] of cairo or (quære) the two egyptian provinces known as es sherkiyeh (the eastward) and el gherbiyeh (the westward). [fn# ] i.e, he was a man of ready wit and presence of mind. [fn# ] or (in modern slang) "there are good pickings to be had out of this job." [fn# ] lit "the douceur of the key," i.e. the gratuity which it is customary to give to the porter or portress on hiring a house or lodging. cf. the french denier à dieu, old english "god's penny." [fn# ] i.e. made the complete ablution prescribed by the muslim law after copulation. [fn# ] i.e. the round opening made in the ceiling for ventilation. [fn# ] i.e. he who sits on the bench outside the police-office, to attend to emergencies. [fn# ] lit. witnesses, i.e. those who are qualified by their general respectability and the blamelessness of their lives, to give evidence in the mohamedan courts of law. [fn# ] sic. [fn# ] about pounds. [fn# ] or guardian. [fn# ] syn. book (kitab). [fn# ] or made it a legal deed. [fn# ] lit. assessors. [fn# ] this sentence is almost unintelligible, owing to the corruptness and obscurity of the text; but the sense appears to be as above. [fn# ] apparently supposing the draper to have lost it and purposing to require a heavy indemnity for its loss. [fn# ] apparently, a cant phrase for "thieve." [fn# ] or disapprove of. [fn# ] this passage is unintelligible; the text is here again, to all appearance, corrupt. [fn# ] i.e. women's tricks? [fn# ] muslim formula of invitation. [fn# ] i.e. the singers? [fn# ] i.e. easily. [fn# ] or made a show of renouncing. [fn# ] i.e. strong men (or athletes) armed. [fn# ] fityan, arab cant name for thieves. [fn# ] apparently in a pavillion in some garden or orchard, the usual pleasure of the arabs. [fn# ] i.e. engaged her to attend an entertainment and paid her her hire in advance. [fn# ] lit. a [she-]partner, i.e. one who should relieve her, when she was weary of singing, and accompany her voice on the lute. [fn# ] i.e. they grew ever more heated with drink. [fn# ] helfeh or helfaa (vulg. alfa), a kind of coarse, rushy grass (pos. multiflora), used in the east as fuel. [fn# ] lit. "we repented to god, etc, of singing." the practice of music, vocal and instrumental, is deprecated by the strict muslim, in accordance with a tradition by which the prophet is said to have expressed his disapproval of these arts. [fn# ] i.e. required to find the thief or make good the loss. [fn# ] i.e. the parties aggrieved. [fn# ] or irrigation-work, usually a bucket-wheel, worked by oxen. [fn# ] or "came true." [fn# ] i.e. crucify. [fn# ] i.e. a native of the hauran, a district east of damascus. [fn# ] i.e. the mysterious speaker. [fn# ] i.e. in the punishment that overtook me. [fn# ] the well-known arab formula of refusal to a beggar, equivalent to the spanish "perdoneme por amor de dios, hermano!" [fn# ] i.e. what i could afford. [fn# ] i.e. that of the officers of police. [fn# ] a common oriental game, something like a rude out-door form of back-gammon, in which the players who throw certain numbers are dubbed sultan and vizier. [fn# ] lit. milk (leben), possibly a copyist's error for jubn (cheese). [fn# ] i.e. his forbearance in relinquishing his blood-revenge for his brother. [fn# ] in the text, by an evident error, shehriyar is here made to ask shehrzad for another story and she to tell it him. [fn# ] nesiheh. [fn# ] i.e. the mysterious speaker? [fn# ] apparently some famous saint. the el hajjaj whose name is familiar to readers of the thomsand and one night (see supra, vol. i. p. , note ) was anything but a saint, if we may believe the popular report of him. [fn# ] breslan text, vol. xi. pp. - and vol. xii. pp. - , nights dccccvli-dcccclvii. [fn# ] the usual meaning of the arab word anber (pronounced amber) a ambergris, i.e. the morbid secretion of the sperm-whale; but the context appears to point to amber, i.e. the fossil resin used for necklaces, etc.; unless, indeed, the allusion of the second hemistich is to ambergris, as worn, for the sake of the perfume, in amulets or pomanders (fr. pomme d'ambre) slung about the neck. [fn# ] i.e. galena or sulphuret of lead, of which, reduced to powder, alone or in combination with other ingredients, the well-known cosmetic or eye-powder called kohl consists. [fn# ] see supra, vol. . p. , note . [fn# ] or "accomplishments" (adab). [fn# ] title of the khalif. [fn# ] i.e. isaac of mosul, the greatest of arab musicians. [fn# ] elder brother of jaafer; see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. p. et seq. [fn# ] yonnus ibn hebib, a renowned grammarian and philologer of the day, who taught at bassora and whose company was much sought after by distinguished men of letters and others. he was a friend of isaac of mosul. [fn# ] apparently a suburb of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. the principal street of et taf. [fn# ] or "elegant." [fn# ] see supra, vol. i. p. , note . [fn# ] ? [fn# ] a passage has apparently dropped out here. the khalif seems to have gone away without buying, leaving ishac behind, whereupon the latter was accosted by another slave-girl, who came out of a cell in the corridor. [fn# ] or "have withheld myself." [fn# ] for not selling me? [fn# ] i.e. tuhfeh the fool. hemca is the feminine form of ahmec, fool. if by a change in the (unwritten) vowels, we read humeca, which is the plural form of ahmec, the title will signify, "gift (tuhfeh) of fools" and would thus represent a jesting alteration of the girl's real name (tuhfet el culoub, gift of hearts), in allusion to her (from the slave-merchant's point of view) foolish and vexatious behaviour in refusing to be sold to the first comer, as set out below. [fn# ] or "folly" (hemakeh). [fn# ] i.e. not every one is lucky enough to be in ishac's house. [fn# ] apparently some part of baghdad adjoining the tigris. khanekah means "a convent of dervishes." [fn# ] lit. stronger (acwa). [fn# ] the gist of this curious comparison is not very apparent. perhaps "blander" is meant. [fn# ] about s. [fn# ] about a penny; i.e. i have found all my skill in the craft but a trifle in comparison with thine. [fn# ] i.e. thou art what he wants. [fn# ] i.e. the dews of her mouth, commonly compared by oriental writers to wine and honey. [fn# ] i.e. he died. [fn# ] i.e. if my hand were out for want of practice. [fn# ] i.e. a gift or rarity. [fn# ] or "rarity" (tuhfeh) [fn# ] i.e. thou didst her not justice. [fn# ] i.e. that set apart for the chief of the concubines. [fn# ] i.e. from the opening made in the ceiling for ventilation. or the saloon in which she sat may have been open to the sky, as is not uncommon in the east. [fn# ] zubeideh was the daughter of jaafer, son of el mensour, second khalif of the house of abbas, and was therefore er reshid's first cousin. it does not appear why she is called daughter (bint) of el casim. [fn# ] lit. "of those noble steps." [fn# ] so styled by the muslums, because abraham is fabled by them to have driven him away with stones, when he strove to prevent him from sacrificing ishmael, whom they substitute for isaac as the intended victim. [fn# ] i.e. gift of breasts. the word "breasts" here is, of course, used (metonymically) for "hearts." [fn# ] i.e. "he (lit. father) of the hosts of tribes." [fn# ] see post, passim. [fn# ] lit. witnesses (shawahid). [fn# ] lit. seas (behar). [fn# ] afterwards called zelzeleh; see post, p. et seq. [fn# ] i.e. i cannot look long on them. [fn# ] i.e. change the sir to one less poignant? or (perhaps) "lower thy voice." [fn# ] i.e. from time immemorial, before the creation of the world. the most minute details of every man's life in the world are believed by the mohammedans to have been fore-ordained by god from all eternity. this belief is summed up in the koranic saying, "verily, the commandment of god is a prevenient decree." [fn# ] no mention is afterward made of any wedding, and the word is, therefore, probably used here in its implied sense of "festival," "merry-making." i am not, however acquainted with any instance of this use of the word urs. [fn# ] or "peewit." [fn# ] i.e. those that led the water to the roots of the trees, after the manner of eastern gardeners. [fn# ] one of the seven "gardens" or stages for the mohammedan heaven. [fn# ] "god is most great!" so called because its pronunciation, after that of the niyeh or intent (i.e. "i purpose to pray such and such prayers"), prohibits the speaking of any words previous to prayer. [fn# ] i.e. those of the five daily prayers (due at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sundown, and nightfall respectively) which she had been prevented from praying on the previous evening, through having passed it in carousing with the jinn. it is incumbent on the strict muslim to make up his arrears of prayer in this manner. [fn# ] lit. skill in physiognomy (firaseh). [fn# ] i.e. the owner of this palace. [fn# ] the mohammedan rite of ablution, previous to prayer, is a very elaborate and complicated process, somewhat "scamped" by the ordinary "true-believer." see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. the prayers of nightfall, in addition to those of daybreak. [fn# ] i.e. those of noon, mid-afternoon and sundown. [fn# ] containing the dessert. [fn# ] i.e. mohammed, who was passionately fond of flowers and especially of the rose, which is fabled to have blossomed from his sweat. [fn# ] the arab name (julnar) of the promegranate is made up of the persian word for rose (gul) and the arabic fire (nar). [fn# ] i.e. chapters cxiii. and cxiv. of the koran, respectively known as the chapter of the [lord of the] daybreak and the chapter of [the lord of] men. these chapters, which it is the habit of the muslim to recite as a talisman or preventive against evil, are the last and shortest in the book and run as follows. chapter cxiii.--"in the name of the compassionate, the merciful! say [quoth gabriel] 'i take refuge with the lord of the daybreak from the evil of that which he hath created and from the evil of the beginning of the night, whenas it invadeth [the world], and from the mischief of the women who blow on knots (i.e. witches) and from the mischief of the envier, whenas he envieth.'" chapter cxiv.--"in the name of god the compassionate, the merciful! say [quoth gabriel] 'i take refuge with the lord of men, the king of men, the god of men, from the mischief of the stealthy tempter (i.e. the devil) who whispereth (i.e. insinuateth evil) into the breasts (hearts) of mankind, from jinn and men!'" these two chapters are often written on parchment etc. and worn as an amulet about the person--hence their name. [fn# ] hieratic title of the khalif, as foreman (imam) of the people at prayer. [fn# ] i.e. the jinn that dwell therein. each house, according to muslim belief, has its haunter or domestic spirit. [fn# ] i.e. yearning. [fn# ] i.e. her return. [fn# ] see ante, p. , note . [fn# ] "as for him who is of those brought near unto god, [for him shall be] easance and sweet basil (syn. victual, rihan), and a garden of pleasance."--koran lvi. - . it will be observed that this verse is somewhat garbled in the quotation. [fn# ] meaning apparently, "none of the jinn may tread these carpets, etc., that thou treadest." [fn# ] i.e. to hold festival. [fn# ] this passage may also be rendered, "and in this i do thee a great favour [and honour thee] over all the jinn." [fn# ] lit. "how loathly is that which yonder genie meimoun eateth!" but this is evidently a mistake. see ante, p. . [fn# ] lit. "i have not an eye that availeth to look upon him." [fn# ] i.e. "may i not lack of thy visits!" [fn# ] i.e. "as much again as all thou hast given." [fn# ] the attainment by a boy of the proper age for circumcision, or (so to speak) his religious majority, in a subject for great rejoicing with the mohammedans, and the occasion is celebrated by the giving of as splendid an entertainment as the means of his family will afford, during which he is displayed to view upon a throne or raised seat, arrayed in the richest and ornaments that can be found, hired or borrowed for the purpose. [fn# ] tuhfeh. [fn# ] lit. "be equitable therewith unto;" but the meaning appears to be as above. [fn# ] lit. "places" (mawazi). quaere "shifts" or "positions." [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. vi. p. , isaac of mosul and his mistress and the devil. [fn# ] i.e. method of playing the lute. [fn# ] i.e. not indigenous? [fn# ] apparently the residence of king es shisban. [fn# ] i.e. all the jinn's professions of affection to me and promises of protection, etc. [fn# ] i.e. one so crafty that he was a calamity to his enemies, a common arab phrase used in a complimentary sense. [fn# ] i.e. the flying lion. [fn# ] i.e. how canst thou feel assured of safety, after that which thou hast done? [fn# ] or "life" (ruh). [fn# ] quaere the mountain cat. [fn# ] i.e. why tarriest thou to make an end of her? [fn# ] i.e. arm. [fn# ] i.e. for length. [fn# ] a fabulous mountain-range, believed by the arabs to encompass the world and by which they are supposed to mean the caucasus. [fn# ] the anca, phoenix or griffin, is a fabulous bird that figures largely in persian romance. it is fabled to have dwelt in the mountain caf and to have once carried off a king's daughter on her wedding-day. it is to this legend that the story-teller appears to refer in the text; but i am not aware that the princess in question is represented to have been the daughter of behram gour, the well-known king of persia, who reigned in the first half of the fifth century and was a contemporary of the emperors theodosius the younger and honorius. [fn# ] one of the names of god. [fn# ] i.e. thy return. [fn# ] gift of the breast (heart). [fn# ] binat el hawa, lit. daughters of love. this is the ordinary meaning of the phrase; but the girl in question appears to have been of good repute and the expression, as applied to her, is probably, therefore, only intended to signify a sprightly, frolicsome damsel. [fn# ] lit. the forehead, quare the lintel. [fn# ] or "put to nought" [fn# ] comparing her body, now hidden in her flowing stresses and now showing through them, to a sword, as it flashes in and out of its sheath. [fn# ] about £ . [fn# ] about £ . [fn# ] i.e. all defects for which a man is by law entitled to return a slave-girl to her seller. [fn# ] ed dilem is the ancient media. the allusion to its prison or prisons i do not understand. [fn# ] i.e. the complete ablution prescribed by the mohammedan law after sexual intercourse. [fn# ] it is customary for a newly-married man to entertain his male acquaintances with a collation on the morning after the wedding. [fn# ] lit. more striking and cutting. [fn# ] sherifi, a small gold coin, worth about s. d. [fn# ] or "false pretences." [fn# ] or, as we should say, "the apple." [fn# ] apparently the cadi was our claimed to be a seyyid i.e. descendant of mohammed, through his daughter fatmeh. [fn# ] lit. more ill-omened. [fn# ] i.e. that the law would not allow him to compel the young merchant to divorce his wife. [fn# ] i.e. veil in honour. [fn# ] lit the fire, i.e. hell. [fn# ] i.e. by an irrevocable divorcement (telacan bainan), to wit, such a divorcement as estops the husband from taking back his divorced wife, except with her consent and after the execution of a fresh contract of marriage. text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the third. delhi edition contents of the third volume. breslau text. . noureddin ali of damascus and the damsel sitt el milah . el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad . the two kings and the vizier's daughters . the favourite and her lover . the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah conclusion calcutta ( - ) text. . story of sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter a. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor b. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor note table of contents of the calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions table of contents of the breslau edition table of contents of the calcutta edition alphabetical table of the first lines of the verse in the "tales from the arabic" index to the names of the "tales from the arabic" breslau text. noureddin ali of damascus and the damsel sitt el milah.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a merchant of the merchants of damascus, by name aboulhusn, who had money and riches and slaves and slave-girls and lands and houses and baths; but he was not blessed with a child and indeed his years waxed great; wherefore he addressed himself to supplicate god the most high in private and in public and in his inclining and his prostration and at the season of the call to prayer, beseeching him to vouchsafe him, before his admittance [to his mercy], a son who should inherit his wealth and possessions; and god answered his prayer. so his wife conceived and the days of her pregnancy were accomplished and her months and her nights and the pangs of her travail came upon her and she gave birth to a male child, as he were a piece of the moon. he had not his match for beauty and he put to shame the sun and the resplendent moon; for he had a shining face and black eyes of babylonian witchery[fn# ] and aquiline nose and ruby lips; brief, he was perfect of attributes, the loveliest of the folk of his time, without doubt or gainsaying. his father rejoiced in him with the utmost joy and his heart was solaced and he was glad; and he made banquets to the folk and clad the poor and the widows. he named the boy sidi[fn# ] noureddin ali and reared him in fondness and delight among the slaves and servants. when he came to seven years of age, his father put him to school, where he learned the sublime koran and the arts of writing and reckoning: and when he reached his tenth year, he learned horsemanship and archery and to occupy himself with arts and sciences of all kinds, part and parts.[fn# ] he grew up pleasant and subtle and goodly and lovesome, ravishing all who beheld him, and inclined to companying with brethren and comrades and mixing with merchants and travellers. from these latter he heard tell of that which they had seen of the marvels of the cities in their travels and heard them say, "he who leaveth not his native land diverteth not himself [with the sight of the marvels of the world,] and especially of the city of baghdad." so he was concerned with an exceeding concern for his lack of travel and discovered this to his father, who said to him, "o my son, why do i see thee chagrined?" and he answered, "i would fain travel." quoth aboulhusn, "o my son, none travelleth save those whose occasion is urgent and those who are compelled thereunto [by need]. as for thee, o my son, thou enjoyest ample fortune; so do thou content thyself with that which god hath given thee and be bounteous [unto others], even as he hath been bounteous unto thee; and afflict not thyself with the toil and hardship of travel, for indeed it is said that travel is a piece of torment."[fn# ] but the youth said, "needs must i travel to baghdad, the abode of peace." when his father saw the strength of his determination to travel, he fell in with his wishes and equipped him with five thousand dinars in cash and the like in merchandise and sent with him two serving-men. so the youth set out, trusting in the blessing of god the most high, and his father went out with him, to take leave of him, and returned [to damascus]. as for noureddin ali, he gave not over travelling days and nights till he entered the city of baghdad and laying up his loads in the caravanserai, made for the bath, where he did away that which was upon him of the dirt of the road and putting off his travelling clothes, donned a costly suit of yemen stuff, worth an hundred dinars. then he put in his sleeve[fn# ] a thousand mithcals[fn# ] of gold and sallied forth a-walking and swaying gracefully as he went. his gait confounded all those who beheld him, as he shamed the branches with his shape and belittled the rose with the redness of his cheeks and his black eyes of babylonian witchcraft; indeed, thou wouldst deem that whoso looked on him would surely be preserved from calamity; [for he was] even as saith of him one of his describers in the following verses: thy haters say and those who malice to thee bear a true word, profiting its hearers everywhere; "the glory's not in those whom raiment rich makes fair, but those who still adorn the raiment that they wear." so he went walking in the thoroughfares of the city and viewing its ordinance and its markets and thoroughfares and gazing on its folk. presently, abou nuwas met him. (now he was of those of whom it is said, "they love the fair,"[fn# ] and indeed there is said what is said concerning him.[fn# ] when he saw noureddin ali, he stared at him in amazement and exclaimed, "say, i take refuge with the lord of the daybreak!"[fn# ] then he accosted the young damascene and saluting him, said to him, "why do i see my lord alone and forlorn? meseemeth thou art a stranger and knowest not this country; so, with my lord's permission, i will put myself at his service and acquaint him with the streets, for that i know this city." quoth noureddin, "this will be of thy favour, o uncle." whereat abou nuwas rejoiced and fared on with him, showing him the markets and thoroughfares, till they came to the house of a slave-dealer, where he stopped and said to the youth, "from what city art thou?" "from damascus," answered noureddin; and abou nuwas said, "by allah, thou art from a blessed city, even as saith of it the poet in the following verses: damascus is all gardens decked for the pleasance of the eyes; for the seeker there are black-eyed girls and boys of paradise." noureddin thanked him and they entered the slave-merchant's house. when the people of the house saw abou nuwas, they rose to do him worship, for that which they knew of his station with the commander of the faithful. moreover, the slave-dealer himself came up to them with two chairs, and they seated themselves thereon. then the slave-merchant went into the house and returning with the slave-girl, as she were a willow-wand or a bamboo-cane, clad in a vest of damask silk and tired with a black and white turban, the ends whereof fell down over her face, seated her on a chair of ebony; after which quoth he to those who were present, "i will discover to you a face as it were a full moon breaking forth from under a cloud." and they said, "do so." so he unveiled the damsel's face and behold, she was like the shining sun, with comely shape and day-bright face and slender [waist and heavy] hips; brief, she was endowed with elegance, the description whereof existeth not, [and was] even as saith of her the poet: a fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, they'd leave their idols and her face for only lord would know; and if into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, assuredly the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow. the dealer stood at her head and one of the merchants said, "i bid a thousand dinars for her." quoth another, "i bid eleven hundred dinars;" [and a third, "i bid twelve hundred"]. then said a fourth merchant, "be she mine for fourteen hundred dinars." and the biddings stood still at that sum. quoth her owner, "i will not sell her save with her consent. if she desire to be sold, i will sell her to whom she willeth." and the slave-dealer said to him, "what is her name?" "her name is sitt el milah,"[fn# ] answered the other; whereupon the dealer said to her, "by thy leave, i will sell thee to yonder merchant for this price of fourteen hundred dinars." quoth she, "come hither to me." so he came up to her and when he drew near, she gave him a kick with her foot and cast him to the ground, saying, "i will not have that old man." the slave-dealer arose, shaking the dust from his clothes and head, and said, "who biddeth more? who is desirous [of buying?]" quoth one of the merchants, "i," and the dealer said to her, "o sitt el milah, shall i sell thee to this merchant?" "come hither to me," answered she; but he said "nay; speak and i will hearken to thee from my place, for i will not trust myself to thee," and she said, "i will not have him." then he looked at her and seeing her eyes fixed on the young damascene, for that in very deed he had ravished her with his beauty and grace, went up to the latter and said to him, "o my lord, art thou a looker-on or a buyer? tell me." quoth noureddin, "i am both looker-on and buyer. wilt thou sell me yonder slave-girl for sixteen hundred dinars?" and he pulled out the purse of gold. so the dealer returned, dancing and clapping his hands and saying, "so be it, so be it, or not [at all]!" then he came to the damsel and said to her, "o sitt el milah, shall i sell thee to yonder young damascene for sixteen hundred dinars?" but she answered, "no," of shamefastness before her master and the bystanders; whereupon the people of the bazaar and the slave-merchant departed, and abou nuwas and ali noureddin arose and went each his own way, whilst the damsel returned to her master's house, full of love for the young damascene. when the night darkened on her, she called him to mind and her heart clave to him and sleep visited her not; and on this wise she abode days and nights, till she sickened and abstained from food. so her lord went in to her and said to her, "o sitt el milah, how findest thou thyself?" "o my lord," answered she, "i am dead without recourse and i beseech thee to bring me my shroud, so i may look on it before my death." therewithal he went out from her, sore concerned for her, and betook himself to a friend of his, a draper, who had been present on the day when the damsel was cried [for sale]. quoth his friend to him, "why do i see thee troubled?" and he answered, "sitt el milah is at the point of death and these three days she hath neither eaten nor drunken. i questioned her to-day of her case and she said, 'o my lord, buy me a shroud, so i may look on it before my death.'" quoth the draper, "methinks nought ails her but that she is enamoured of the young damascene and i counsel thee to mention his name to her and avouch to her that he hath foregathered with thee on her account and is desirous of coming to thy house, so he may hear somewhat of her singing. if she say, 'i reck not of him, for there is that to do with me which distracteth me from the damascene and from other than he,' know that she saith sooth concerning her sickness; but, if she say to thee other than this, acquaint me therewith.'" so the man returned to his lodging and going in to his slave-girl, said to her, "o sitt el milah, i went out on thine occasion and there met me the young man of damascus, and he saluted me and saluteth thee. indeed, he seeketh to win thy favour and would fain be a guest in our dwelling, so thou mayst let him hear somewhat of thy singing." when she heard speak of the young damascene, she gave a sob, that her soul was like to depart her body, and answered, saying, "he knoweth my plight and is ware that these three days past i have eaten not nor drunken, and i beseech thee, o my lord, by the great god, to accomplish the stranger his due and bring him to my lodging and make excuse to him for me." when her master heard this, his reason fled for joy and he went to his friend the draper and said to him, "thou wast right in the matter of the damsel, for that she is enamoured of the young damascene; so how shall i do?" quoth the other, "go to the bazaar and when thou seest him, salute him and say to him, 'indeed, thy departure the other day, without accomplishing thine occasion, was grievous to me; so, if thou be still minded to buy the girl, i will abate thee an hundred dinars of that which thou badest for her, by way of hospitable entreatment of thee and making myself agreeable to thee; for that thou art a stranger in our land.' if he say to thee, 'i have no desire for her' and hold off from thee, know that he will not buy; in which case, let me know, so i may contrive thee another device; and if he say to thee other than this, conceal not from me aught. so the girl's owner betook himself to the bazaar, where he found the youth seated at the upper end of the merchants' place of session, selling and buying and taking and giving, as he were the moon on the night of its full, and saluted him. the young man returned his salutation and he said to him, "o my lord, be not thou vexed at the girl's speech the other day, for her price shall be less than that [which thou badest], to the intent that i may propitiate thy favour. if thou desire her for nought, i will send her to thee, or if thou wouldst have me abate thee of her price, i will well, for i desire nought but what shall content thee; for that thou art a stranger in our land and it behoveth us to entreat thee hospitably and have consideration for thee." "by allah," answered the youth, "i will not take her from thee but at an advance on that which i bade thee for her aforetime; so wilt thou now sell her to me for seventeen hundred dinars?" and the other answered," o my lord, i sell her to thee, may god bless thee in her." so the young man went to his lodging and fetching a purse, returned to the girl's owner and counted out to him the price aforesaid, whilst the draper was between them. then said he, "bring her forth;" but the other answered, "she cannot come forth at this present; but be thou my guest the rest of this day and night, and on the morrow thou shall take thy slave-girl and go in the protection of god." the youth fell in with him of this and he carried him to his house, where, after a little, he let bring meat and wine, and they [ate and] drank. then said noureddin to the girl's owner, "i beseech thee bring me the damsel, for that i bought her not but for the like of this time." so he arose and [going in to the girl], said to her, "o sitt el milan, the young man hath paid down thy price and we have bidden him hither; so he hath come to our dwelling and we have entertained him, and he would fain have thee be present with him." therewithal the damsel rose briskly and putting off her clothes, washed and donned sumptuous apparel and perfumed herself and went out to him, as she were a willow-wand or a bamboo-cane, followed by a black slave girl, bearing the lute. when she came to the young man, she saluted him and sat down by his side. then she took the lute from the slave-girl and tuning it, smote thereon in four-and-twenty modes, after which she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: unto me the world's whole gladness is thy nearness and thy sight; all incumbent thy possession and thy love a law of right. in my tears i have a witness; when i call thee to my mind, down my cheeks they run like torrents, and i cannot stay their flight. none, by allah, 'mongst all creatures, none i love save thee alone! yea, for i am grown thy bondman, by the troth betwixt us plight. peace upon thee! ah, how bitter were the severance from thee! be not this thy troth-plight's ending nor the last of our delight! therewithal the young man was moved to delight and exclaimed, "by allah, thou sayest well, o sitt el milan! let me hear more." then he handselled her with fifty dinars and they drank and the cups went round among them; and her seller said to her, "o sitt el milah, this is the season of leave-taking; so let us hear somewhat on the subject." accordingly she struck the lute and avouching that which was in her heart, sang the following verses: i am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, that from the wasted body's wounds distract the anguished soul. think not, my lords, that i forget: the case is still the same. when such a fever fills the heart, what leach can make it whole? and if a creature in his tears could swim, as in a sea, i to do this of all that breathe were surely first and sole. o skinker of the wine of woe, turn from a love-sick maid, who drinks her tears still, night and morn, thy bitter-flavoured bowl. i had not left you, had i known that severance would prove my death; but what is past is past, fate stoops to no control. as they were thus in the enjoyment of all that in most delicious of easance and delight, and indeed the wine was sweet to them and the talk pleasant, behold, there came a knocking at the door. so the master of the house went out, that he might see what was to do, and found ten men of the khalif's eunuchs at the door. when he saw this, he was amazed and said to them, "what is to do?" quoth they, "the commander of the faithful saluteth thee and requireth of thee the slave-girl whom thou hast for sale and whose name is sitt el milah." by allah," answered the other, "i have sold her." and they said, "swear by the head of the commander of the faithful that she is not in thy dwelling." he made oath that he had sold her and that she was no longer at his disposal; but they paid no *need to his word and forcing their way into the house, found the damsel and the young damascene in the sitting-chamber. so they laid hands upon her, and the youth said, "this is my slave-girl, whom i have bought with my money." but they hearkened not to his speech and taking her, carried her off to the commander of the faithful. therewithal noureddin's life was troubled; so he arose and donned his clothes, and his host said, "whither away this night, o my lord?" quoth noureddin, "i mean to go to my lodging, and to-morrow i will betake myself to the palace of the commander of the faithful and demand my slave-girl." "sleep till the morning," said the other, "and go not forth at the like of this hour." but he answered, "needs must i go;" and the host said to him, "[go] in the safeguard of god." so noureddin went forth, and drunkenness had got the mastery of him, wherefore he threw himself down on [a bench before one of] the shops. now the watch were at that hour making their round and they smelt the sweet scent [of essences] and wine that exhaled from him; so they made for it and found the youth lying on the bench, without sense or motion. they poured water upon him, and he awoke, whereupon they carried him to the house of the chief of the police and he questioned him of his affair. "o my lord," answered noureddin, "i am a stranger in this town and have been with one of my friends. so i came forth from his house and drunkenness overcame me." the prefect bade carry him to his lodging; but one of those in attendance upon him, by name el muradi, said to him, "what wilt thou do? this man is clad in rich clothes and on his finger is a ring of gold, the beazel whereof is a ruby of great price; so we will carry him away and slay him and take that which is upon him of raiment [and what not else] and bring it to thee; for that thou wilt not [often] see profit the like thereof, more by token that this fellow is a stranger and there is none to enquire concerning him." quoth the prefect, "this fellow is a thief and that which he saith is leasing." and noureddin said, "god forbid that i should be a thief!" but the prefect answered, "thou liest." so they stripped him of his clothes and taking the ring from his finger, beat him grievously, what while he cried out for succour, but none succoured him, and besought protection, but none protected him. then said he to them, "o folk, ye are quit of[fn# ] that which ye have taken from me; but now restore me to my lodging." but they answered, saying, "leave this knavery, o cheat! thine intent is to sue us for thy clothes on the morrow." "by allah, the one, the eternal," exclaimed he, "i will not sue any for them!" but they said, "we can nowise do this." and the prefect bade them carry him to the tigris and there slay him and cast him into the river. so they dragged him away, what while he wept and spoke the words which whoso saith shall nowise be confounded, to wit, "there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the sublime!" when they came to the tigris, one of them drew the sword upon him and el muradi said to the swordbearer, "smite off his head." but one of them, ahmed by name, said, "o folk, deal gently with this poor wretch and slay him not unjustly and wickedly, for i stand in fear of god the most high, lest he burn me with his fire." quoth el muradi, "a truce to this talk!" and ahmed said, "if ye do with him aught, i will acquaint the commander of the faithful." "how, then, shall we do with him?" asked they; and he answered, "let us deposit him in prison and i will be answerable to you for his provision; so shall we be quit of his blood, for indeed he is wrongfully used." so they took him up and casting him into the prison of blood,[fn# ]went away. meanwhile, they carried the damsel into the commander of the faithful and she pleased him; so he assigned her a lodging of the apartments of choice. she abode in the palace, eating not neither drinking and ceasing not from weeping night nor day, till, one night, the khalif sent for her to his sitting-chamber and said to her, "o sitt el milah, be of good heart and cheerful eye, for i will make thy rank higher than [any of] the concubines and thou shall see that which shall rejoice thee." she kissed the earth and wept; whereupon the khalif called for her lute and bade her sing. so she improvised and sang the following verses, in accordance with that which was in her heart: say, by the lightnings of thy teeth and thy soul's pure desire, moan'st thou as moan the doves and is thy heart for doubt on fire? how many a victim of the pangs of love-liking hath died! tired is my patience, but of blame my censors never tire. when she had made an end of her song, she cast the lute from her hand and wept till she swooned away, whereupon the khalif bade carry her to her chamber. now he was ravished with her and loved her with an exceeding love; so, after awhile, he again commanded to bring her to his presence, and when she came, he bade her sing. accordingly, she took the lute and spoke forth that which was in her heart and sang the following verses: what strength have i solicitude and long desire to bear? why art thou purposed to depart and leave me to despair? why to estrangement and despite inclin'st thou with the spy? yet that a bough[fn# ] from side to side incline[fn# ] small wonder 'twere. thou layst on me a load too great to bear, and thus thou dost but that my burdens i may bind and so towards thee fare. then she cast the lute from her hand and swooned away; so she was carried to her chamber and indeed passion waxed upon her. after a long while, the commander of the faithful sent for her a third time and bade her sing. so she took the lute and sang the following verses: o hills of the sands and the rugged piebald plain, shall the bondman of love win ever free from pain! i wonder, shall i and the friend who's far from me once more be granted of fate to meet, we twain! bravo for a fawn with a houri's eye of black, like the sun or the shining moon midst the starry train! to lovers, "what see ye?" he saith, and to hearts of stone, "what love ye," quoth he, "[if to love me ye disdain?"] i supplicate him, who parted us and doomed our separation, that we may meet again. when she had made an end of her song, the commander of the faithful said to her, "o damsel, thou art in love." "yes," answered she. and he said, "with whom?" quoth she, "with my lord and my master, my love for whom is as the love of the earth for rain, or as the love of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is mingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of my bones. o commander of the faithful, whenas i call him to mind, mine entrails are consumed, for that i have not accomplished my desire of him, and but that i fear to die, without seeing him, i would assuredly kill myself." and he said, "art thou in my presence and bespeakest me with the like of these words? i will assuredly make thee forget thy lord." then he bade take her away; so she was carried to her chamber and he sent her a black slave-girl, with a casket, wherein were three thousand dinars and a carcanet of gold, set with pearls, great and small, and jewels, worth other three thousand, saying to her, "the slave-girl and that which is with her are a gift from me to thee." when she heard this, she said, "god forbid that i should be consoled for the love of my lord and my master, though with the earth full of gold!" and she improvised and recited the following verses: i swear by his life, yea, i swear by the life of my love without peer, to please him or save him from hurt, i'd enter the fire without fear! "console thou thyself for his love," quoth they, "with another than he;" but, "nay, by his life," answered i, "i'll never forget him my dear!" a moon is my love, in a robe of loveliness proudly arrayed, and the splendours of new-broken day from his cheeks and his forehead shine clear. then the khalif summoned her to his presence a fourth time and said to her, "o sitt el milah, sing." so she improvised and sang the following verses: to his beloved one the lover's heart's inclined; his soul's a captive slave, in sickness' hands confined. "what is the taste of love?" quoth one, and i replied, "sweet water 'tis at first; but torment lurks behind." love's slave, i keep my troth with them; but, when they vowed, fate made itself urcoub,[fn# ] whom never oath could bind. what is there in the tents? their burdens are become a lover's, whose belov'd is in the litters' shrined. in every halting-place like joseph[fn# ] she appears and he in every stead with jacob's grief[fn# ] is pined. when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept till she swooned away. so they sprinkled on her rose-water, mingled with musk, and willow-flower water; and when she came to herself, er reshid said to her, "o sitt el milah, this is not fair dealing in thee. we love thee and thou lovest another." "o commander of the faithful," answered she, "there is no help for it." therewithal he was wroth with her and said, "by the virtue of hemzeh[fn# ] and akil[fn# ] and mohammed, prince of the apostles, if thou name one other than i in my presence, i will bid strike off thy head!" then he bade return her to her chamber, whilst she wept and recited the following verses: if i must die, then welcome death to heal my woes; 'twere lighter than the pangs i feel. what if the sabre cut me limb from limb! no torment 'twere for lovers true and leal. then the khalif went in to the lady zubeideh, pale with anger, and she noted this in him and said to him, "how cometh it that i see the commander of the faithful changed of colour?" "o daughter of my uncle," answered he, "i have a beautiful slave-girl, who reciteth verses and telleth stories, and she hath taken my whole heart; but she loveth other than i and avoucheth that she loveth her [former] master; wherefore i have sworn a great oath that, if she come again to my sitting-chamber and sing for other than i, i will assuredly take a span from her highest part."[fn# ]quoth zubeideh, "let the commander of the faithful favour me with her presence, so i may look on her and hear her singing." so he bade fetch her and she came, whereupon the lady zubeideh withdrew behind the curtain, whereas she saw her not, and er reshid said to her, "sing to us." so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: lo, since the day i left you, o my masters, life is not sweet, no aye my heart is light. yea, in the night the thought of you still slays me; hidden are my traces from the wise men's sight, all for a wild deer's love, whose looks have snared me and on whose brows the morning glitters bright i am become, for severance from my loved one, like a left hand, forsaken of the right. beauty on his cheek hath written, "blest be allah, he who created this enchanting wight!" him i beseech our loves who hath dissevered, us of his grace once more to reunite. when er reshid heard this, he waxed exceeding wroth and said, "may god not reunite you twain in gladness!" then he summoned the headsman, and when he presented himself, he said to him, "strike off the head of this accursed slave-girl." so mesrour took her by the hand and [led her away; but], when she came to the door, she turned and said to the khalif, "o commander of the faithful, i conjure thee, by thy fathers and forefathers, give ear unto that i shall say!" then she improvised and recited the following verses: o amir of justice, be kind to thy subjects; for justice, indeed, of thy nature's a trait. o thou my inclining to love him that blamest, shall lovers be blamed for the errors of fate? then spare me, by him who vouchsafed thee the kingship; for a gift in this world is the regal estate. then mesrour carried her to the other end of the sitting-chamber and bound her eyes and making her sit, stood awaiting a second commandment; whereupon quoth the lady zubeideh, "o commander of the faithful, with thy permission, wilt thou not vouchsafe this damsel a share of thy clemency? indeed, if thou slay her, it were injustice." quoth he, "what is to be done with her?" and she said, "forbear to slay her and send for her lord. if he be as she describeth him in grace and goodliness, she is excused, and if he be not on this wise, then slay her, and this shall be thy justification against her."[fn# ] "be it as thou deemest," answered er reshid and caused return the damsel to her chamber, saying to her, "the lady zubeideh saith thus and thus." quoth she, "god requite her for me with good! indeed, thou dealest equitably, o commander of the faithful, in this judgment." and he answered, "go now to thy place, and to-morrow we will let bring thy lord." so she kissed the earth and recited the following verses: i am content, for him i love, to all abide; so, who will, let him blame, and who will, let him chide. at their appointed terms souls die; but for despair my soul is like to die, or ere its term betide. o thou with love of whom i'm smitten, yet content, i prithee come to me and hasten to my side. then she arose and returned to her chamber. on the morrow, the commander of the faithful sat [in his hall of audience] and his vizier jaafer ben yehya the barmecide came in to him; whereupon he called to him, saying, "i would have thee bring me a youth who is lately come to baghdad, hight [sidi noureddin ali] the damascene." quoth jaafer, "hearkening and obedience," and going forth in quest of the youth, sent to the markets and khans and caravanserais three days' space, but found no trace of him, neither lit upon tidings of him. so on the fourth day he presented himself before the khalif and said to him, "o our lord, i have sought him these three days, but have not found him." quoth er reshid, "make ready letters to damascus. belike he hath returned to his own land." so jaafer wrote a letter and despatched it by a dromedary-courier to the city of damascus; and they sought him there and found him not. meanwhile, news was brought that khorassan had been conquered;[fn# ] whereupon er reshid rejoiced and bade decorate baghdad and release all who were in the prisons, giving each of them a dinar and a dress. so jaafer addressed himself to the decoration of the city and bade his brother el fezl ride to the prison and clothe and release the prisoners. el fezl did his brother's bidding and released all but the young damascene, who abode still in the prison of blood, saying, "there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the sublime! verily, we are god's and to him we return." then said el fezl to the gaoler, "is there any prisoner left in the prison?" "no," answered he, and el fezl was about to depart, when noureddin called out to him from within the prison, saying, "o my lord, tarry, for there remaineth none in the prison other than i and indeed i am oppressed. this is a day of clemency and there is no disputing concerning it." el fezl bade release him; so they set him free and he gave him a dress and a dinar. so the young man went out, bewildered and knowing not whither he should go, for that he had abidden in the prison nigh a year and indeed his condition was changed and his favour faded, and he abode walking and turning round, lest el muradi should come upon him and cast him into another calamity. when el muradi heard of his release, he betook himself to the chief of the police and said to him, "o our lord, we are not assured from yonder youth, [the damascene], for that he hath been released from prison and we fear lest he complain of us." quoth the prefect, "how shall we do?" and el muradi answered, saying, "i will cast him into a calamity for thee." then he ceased not to follow the young damascene from place to place till he came up with him in a strait place and a by-street without an issue; whereupon he accosted him and putting a rope about his neck, cried out, saying, "a thief!" the folk flocked to him from all sides and fell to beating and reviling noureddin, whilst he cried out for succour, but none succoured him, and el muradi still said to him, "but yesterday the commander of the faithful released thee and to-day thou stealest!" so the hearts of the folk were hardened against him and el muradi carried him to the master of police, who bade cut off his hand. accordingly, the hangman took him and bringing out the knife, offered to cut off his hand, what while el muradi said to him, "cut and sever the bone and sear[fn# ] it not for him, so he may lose his blood and we be rid of him." but ahmed, he who had aforetime been the means of his deliverance, sprang up to him and said, "o folk, fear god in [your dealings with] this youth, for that i know his affair from first to last and he is void of offence and guiltless. moreover, he is of the folk of condition,[fn# ] and except ye desist from him, i will go up to the commander of the faithful and acquaint him with the case from first to last and that the youth is guiltless of crime or offence." quoth el muradi, "indeed, we are not assured from his mischief." and ahmed answered, "release him and commit him to me and i will warrant you against his affair, for ye shall never see him again after this." so they delivered noureddin to him and he took him from their hands and said to him, "o youth, have compassion on thyself, for indeed thou hast fallen into the hands of these folk twice and if they lay hold of thee a third time, they will make an end of thee; and [in dealing thus with thee], i aim at reward and recompense for thee[fn# ] and answered prayer."[fn# ] noureddin fell to kissing his hand and calling down blessings on him and said to him, "know that i am a stranger in this your city and the completion of kindness is better than the beginning thereof; wherefore i beseech thee of thy favour that thou complete to me thy good offices and kindness and bring me to the gate of the city. so will thy beneficence be accomplished unto me and may god the most high requite thee for me with good!" ["fear not,"] answered ahmed; "no harm shall betide thee. go; i will bear thee company till thou come to thy place of assurance." and he left him not till he brought him to the gate of the city and said to him, "o youth, go in the safeguard of god and return not to the city; for, if they fall in with thee [again], they will make an end of thee." noureddin kissed his hand and going forth the city, gave not over walking till he came to a mosque that stood in one of the suburbs of baghdad and entered therein with the night. now he had with him nought wherewithal he might cover himself; so he wrapped himself up in one of the rugs of the mosque [and abode thus till daybreak], when the muezzins came and finding him sitting in that case, said to him, "o youth, what is this plight?" quoth he, "i cast myself on your hospitality, imploring your protection from a company of folk who seek to kill me unjustly and oppressively, without cause." and [one of] the muezzin[s] said, "be of good heart and cheerful eye." then he brought him old clothes and covered him withal; moreover, he set before him somewhat of meat and seeing upon him signs of gentle breeding, said to him, "o my son, i grow old and desire thee of help, [in return for which] i will do away thy necessity." "hearkening and obedience," answered noureddin and abode with the old man, who rested and took his ease, what while the youth [did his service in the mosque], celebrating the praises of god and calling the faithful to prayer and lighting the lamps and filling the ewers[fn# ] and sweeping and cleaning out the place. meanwhile, the lady zubeideh, the wife of the commander of the faithful, made a banquet in her palace and assembled her slave-girls. as for sitt el milah, she came, weeping-eyed and mournful-hearted, and those who were present blamed her for this, whereupon she recited the following verses: ye chide at one who weepeth for troubles ever new; needs must th' afflicted warble the woes that make him rue. except i be appointed a day [to end my pain], i'll weep until mine eyelids with blood their tears ensue. when she had made an end of her verses, the lady zubeideh bade each damsel sing a song, till the turn came round to sitt el milah, whereupon she took the lute and tuning it, sang thereto four-and-twenty songs in four-and-twenty modes; then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: fortune its arrows all, through him i love, let fly at me and parted me from him for whom i sigh. lo, in my heart the heat of every heart burns high and in mine eyes unite the tears of every eye. when she had made an end of her song, she wept till she made the bystanders weep and the lady zubeideh condoled with her and said to her, "god on thee, o sitt el milah, sing us somewhat, so we may hearken to thee." "hearkening and obedience," answered the damsel and sang the following verses: assemble, ye people of passion, i pray; for the hour of our torment hath sounded to-day. the raven of parting croaks loud at our door; alas, for our raven cleaves fast to us aye! for those whom we cherish are parted and gone; they have left us in torment to pine for dismay. so arise, by your lives i conjure you, arise and come let us fare to our loved ones away. then she cast the lute from her hand and wept till she made the lady zubeideh weep, and she said to her, "o sitt el milah, methinks he whom thou lovest is not in this world, for that the commander of the faithful hath sought him in every place, but hath not found him." whereupon the damsel arose and kissing the lady zubeideh's hands, said to her, "o my lady, if thou wouldst have him found, i have a request to make to thee, wherein thou mayst accomplish my occasion with the commander of the faithful." quoth the princess, "and what is it?" "it is," answered sitt el milah, "that thou get me leave to go forth by myself and go round about in quest of him three days, for the adage saith, 'she who mourneth for herself is not the like of her who is hired to mourn.'[fn# ] if i find him, i will bring him before the commander of the faithful, so he may do with us what he will; and if i find him not, i shall be cut off from hope of him and that which is with me will be assuaged." quoth the lady zubeideh, "i will not get thee leave from him but for a whole month; so be of good heart and cheerful eye." whereupon sitt el milah was glad and rising, kissed the earth before her once more and went away to her own place, rejoicing. as for zubeideh, she went in to the khalif and talked with him awhile; then she fell to kissing him between the eyes and on his hand and asked him that which she had promised sitt el milah, saying, "o commander of the faithful, i doubt me her lord is not found in this world; but, if she go about in quest of him and find him not, her hopes will be cut off and her mind will be set at rest and she will sport and laugh; for that, what while she abideth in hope, she will never cease from her frowardness." and she gave not over cajoling him till he gave sitt el milah leave to go forth and make search for her lord a month's space and ordered her an eunuch to attend her and bade the paymaster [of the household] give her all she needed, were it a thousand dirhems a day or more. so the lady zubeideh arose and returning to her palace, sent for sitt el milah and acquainted her with that which had passed [between herself and the khalif]; whereupon she kissed her hand and thanked her and called down blessings on her. then she took leave of the princess and veiling her face, disguised herself; [fn# ] after which she mounted the mule and sallying forth, went round about seeking her lord in the thoroughfares of baghdad three days' space, but lit on no tidings of him; and on the fourth day, she rode forth without the city. now it was the noontide hour and great was the heat, and she was aweary and thirst waxed upon her. presently, she came to the mosque, wherein the young damascene had taken shelter, and lighting down at the door, said to the old man, [the muezzin], "o elder, hast thou a draught of cold water? indeed, i am overcome with heat and thirst." quoth he, "[come up] with me into my house." so he carried her up into his lodging and spreading her [a carpet and cushions], seated her [thereon]; after which he brought her cold water and she drank and said to the eunuch, "go thy ways with the mule and on the morrow come back to me here." [so he went away] and she slept and rested herself. when she awoke, she said to the old man, "o elder, hast thou aught of food?" and he answered, "o my lady, i have bread and olives." quoth she, "that is food fit but for the like of thee. as for me, i will have nought but roast lamb and broths and fat rissoled fowls and stuffed ducks and all manner meats dressed with [pounded nuts and almond-]kernels and sugar." "o my lady," replied the muezzin, "i never heard of this chapter in the koran, nor was it revealed unto our lord mohammed, whom god bless and keep!"[fn# ] she laughed and said, "o elder, the matter is even as thou sayest; but bring me inkhorn and paper." so he brought her what she sought and she wrote a letter and gave it to him, together with a seal-ring from her finger, saying, "go into the city and enquire for such an one the money-changer and give him this my letter." the old man betook himself to the city, as she bade him, and enquired for the money-changer, to whom they directed him. so he gave him the ring and the letter, which when he saw, he kissed the letter and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport. then he repaired to the market and buying all that she bade him, laid it in a porter's basket and bade him go with the old man. so the latter took him and went with him to the mosque, where he relieved him of his burden and carried the meats in to sitt el milah. she seated him by her side and they ate, he and she, of those rich meats, till they were satisfied, when the old man rose and removed the food from before her. she passed the night in his lodging and when she arose in the morning, she said to him, "o elder, may i not lack thy kind offices for the morning-meal! go to the money-changer and fetch me from him the like of yesterday's food." so he arose and betaking himself to the money-changer, acquainted him with that which she had bidden him. the money-changer brought him all that she required and set it on the heads of porters; and the old man took them and returned with them to sitt el milah. so she sat down with him and they ate their sufficiency, after which he removed the rest of the food. then she took the fruits and the flowers and setting them over against herself, wrought them into rings and knots and letters, whilst the old man looked on at a thing whose like he had never in his life seen and rejoiced therein. then said she to him, "o elder, i would fain drink." so he arose and brought her a gugglet of water; but she said to him, "who bade thee fetch that?" quoth he, "saidst thou not to me, 'i would fain drink'?" and she answered, "i want not this; nay, i want wine, the delight of the soul, so haply, o elder, i may solace myself therewith." "god forbid," exclaimed the old man, "that wine should be drunk in my house, and i a stranger in the land and a muezzin and an imam,[fn# ] who prayeth with the true-believers, and a servant of the house of the lord of the worlds! "quoth she, "why wilt thou forbid me to drink thereof in thy house?" "because," answered he, "it is unlawful." "o elder," rejoined she, "god hath forbidden [the eating of] blood and carrion and hog's flesh. tell me, are grapes and honey lawful or unlawful?" quoth he, "they are lawful;" and she said, "this is the juice of grapes and the water of honey." but he answered, "leave this thy talk, for thou shall never drink wine in my house." "o sheikh," rejoined she, "folk eat and drink and enjoy themselves and we are of the number of the folk and god is very forgiving, clement."[fn# ] quoth he, "this is a thing that may not be." and she said, "hast thou not heard what the poet saith ... ?" and she recited the following verses: o son of simeon, give no ear to other than my say. how bitter from the convent 'twas to part and fare away! ay, and the monks, for on the day of palms a fawn there was among the servants of the church, a loveling blithe and gay. by god, how pleasant was the night we passed, with him for third! muslim and jew and nazarene, we sported till the day. the wine was sweet to us to drink in pleasance and repose, and in a garden of the garths of paradise we lay, whose streams beneath the myrtle's shade and cassia's welled amain and birds made carol jubilant from every blossomed spray. quoth he, what while from out his hair the morning glimmered white, "this, this is life indeed, except, alas! it doth not stay." "o elder," added she, "if muslims and jews and nazarenes drink wine, who are we [that we should abstain from it]?" "by allah, o my lady," answered he, "spare thine endeavour, for this is a thing to which i will not hearken." when she knew that he would not consent to her desire, she said to him, "o elder, i am of the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful and the food waxeth on me[fn# ] and if i drink not, i shall perish,[fn# ] nor wilt thou be assured against the issue of my affair. as for me, i am quit of blame towards thee, for that i have made myself known to thee and have bidden thee beware of the wrath of the commander of the faithful." when the old man heard her words and that wherewith she menaced him, he arose and went out, perplexed and knowing not what he should do, and there met him a jew, who was his neighbour, and said to him, "o sheikh, how cometh it that i see thee strait of breast? moreover, i hear in thy house a noise of talk, such as i use not to hear with thee." quoth the muezzin, "yonder is a damsel who avoucheth that she is of the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid; and she hath eaten food and now would fain drink wine in my house, but i forbade her. however she avoucheth that except she drink thereof, she will perish, and indeed i am bewildered concerning my affair." "know, o my neighbour," answered the jew, "that the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful are used to drink wine, and whenas they eat and drink not, they perish; and i fear lest some mishap betide her, in which case thou wouldst not be safe from the khalifs wrath." "what is to be done?" asked the sheikh; and the jew replied, "i have old wine that will suit her." quoth the old man, "[i conjure thee] by the right of neighbourship, deliver me from this calamity and let me have that which is with thee!" "in the name of god," answered the jew and going to his house, brought out a flagon of wine, with which the sheikh returned to sitt el milah. this pleased her and she said to him, "whence hadst thou this?" "i got it from my neighbour the jew," answered he. "i set out to him my case with thee and he gave me this." sitt el milah filled a cup and emptied it; after which she drank a second and a third. then she filled the cup a fourth time and handed it to the old man, but he would not accept it from her. however, she conjured him, by her own head and that of the commander of the faithful, that he should take it from her, till he took the cup from her hand and kissed it and would have set it down; but she conjured him by her life to smell it. so he smelt it and she said to him, "how deemest thou?" "its smell is sweet," replied he; and she conjured him, by the life of the commander of the faithful, to taste it. so he put it to his mouth and she rose to him and made him drink; whereupon, "o princess of the fair," said he, "this is none other than good." quoth she, "so deem i. hath not our lord promised us wine in paradise?" and he answered, "yes. quoth the most high, 'and rivers of wine, a delight to the drinkers.'[fn# ] and we will drink it in this world and the world to come." she laughed and emptying the cup, gave him to drink, and he said, "o princess of the fair, indeed thou art excusable in thy love for this." then he took from her another and another, till he became drunken and his talk waxed great and his prate. the folk of the quarter heard him and assembled under the window; and when he was ware of them, he opened the window and said to them, "are ye not ashamed, o pimps? every one in his own house doth what he will and none hindereth him; but we drink one poor day and ye assemble and come, cuckoldy varlets that ye are! to-day, wine, and to-morrow [another] matter; and from hour to hour [cometh] relief." so they laughed and dispersed. then the girl drank till she was intoxicated, when she called to mind her lord and wept, and the old man said to her, "what maketh thee weep, o my lady?" "o elder," replied she, "i am a lover and separated [from him i love]." quoth he, "o my lady, what is this love?" "and thou," asked she, "hast thou never been in love?" "by allah, o my lady," answered he, "never in all my life heard i of this thing, nor have i ever known it! is it of the sons of adam or of the jinn?" she laughed and said, "verily, thou art even as those of whom the poet speaketh, when as he saith ..." and she repeated the following verses: how long will ye admonished be, without avail or heed? the shepherd still his flocks forbids, and they obey his rede. i see yon like unto mankind in favour and in form; but oxen,[fn# ] verily, ye are in fashion and in deed. the old man laughed at her speech and her verses pleased him. then said she to him, "i desire of thee a lute."[fn# ] so he arose and brought her a piece of firewood. quoth she, "what is that?" and he said, "didst thou not bid me bring thee wood?" "i do not want this," answered she, and he rejoined, "what then is it that is called wood, other than this?" she laughed and said, "the lute is an instrument of music, whereunto i sing." quoth he, "where is this thing found and of whom shall i get it for thee?" and she said, "of him who gave thee the wine." so he arose and betaking himself to his neighbour the jew, said to him, "thou favouredst us aforetime with the wine; so now complete thy favours and look me out a thing called a lute, to wit, an instrument for singing; for that she seeketh this of me and i know it not" "hearkening and obedience," replied the jew and going into his house, brought him a lute. [the old man took it and carried it to sitt el milah,] whilst the jew took his drink and sat by a window adjoining the other's house, so he might hear the singing. the damsel rejoiced, when the old man returned to her with the lute, and taking it from him, tuned its strings and sang the following verses: after your loss, nor trace of me nor vestige would remain, did not the hope of union some whit my strength sustain. ye're gone and desolated by your absence is the world: requital, ay, or substitute to seek for you 'twere vain. ye, of your strength, have burdened me, upon my weakliness, with burdens not to be endured of mountain nor of plain. when from your land the breeze i scent that cometh, as i were a reveller bemused with wine, to lose my wits i'm fain. love no light matter is, o folk, nor are the woe and care and blame a little thing to brook that unto it pertain. i wander seeking east and west for you, and every time unto a camp i come, i'm told, "they've fared away again." my friends have not accustomed me to rigour; for, of old, when i forsook them, they to seek accord did not disdain. when she had made an end of her song, she wept sore, till presently sleep overcame her and she slept. on the morrow, she said to the old man, "get thee to the money-changer and fetch me the ordinary." so he repaired to the money-changer and delivered him the message, whereupon he made ready meat and drink, as of his wont, [with which the old man returned to the damsel and they ate till they had enough. when she had eaten,] she sought of him wine and he went to the jew and fetched it. then they sat down and drank; and when she grew drunken, she took the lute and smiting it, fell a-singing and chanted the following verses: how long shall i thus question my heart that's drowned in woe? i'm mute for my complaining; but tears speak, as they flow. they have forbid their image to visit me in sleep; so even my nightly phantom forsaketh me, heigho! and when she had made an end of her song, she wept sore. all this time, the young damascene was hearkening, and whiles he likened her voice to that of his slave-girl and whiles he put away from him this thought, and the damsel had no whit of knowledge of him. then she broke out again into song and chanted the following verses: "forget him," quoth my censurers, "forget him; what is he?" "if i forget him, ne'er may god," quoth i, "remember me!" now god forbid a slave forget his liege lord's love! and how of all things in the world should i forget the love of thee? pardon of god for everything i crave, except thy love, for on the day of meeting him, that will my good deed be. then she drank three cups and filling the old man other three, sang the following verses: his love he'd have hid, but his tears denounced him to the spy, for the heat of a red-hot coal that 'twixt his ribs did lie. suppose for distraction he seek in the spring and its blooms one day, the face of his loved one holds the only spring for his eye. o blamer of me for the love of him who denieth his grace, which be the delightsome of things, but those which the people deny? a sun [is my love;] but his heat in mine entrails still rageth, concealed; a moon, in the hearts of the folk he riseth, and not in the sky. when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept, whilst the old man wept for her weeping. then she fell down in a swoon and presently coming to herself, filled the cup and drinking it off, gave the old man to drink, after which she took the lute and breaking out into song, chanted the following verses: thy loss is the fairest of all my heart's woes; my case it hath altered and banished repose. the world is upon me all desolate grown. alack, my long grief and forlornness! who knows but the merciful yet may incline thee to me and unite us again, in despite of our foes! then she wept till her voice rose high and her lamentation was discovered [to those without]; after which she again began to drink and plying the old man with wine, sang the following verses: they have shut out thy person from my sight; they cannot shut thy memory from my spright. favour or flout me, still my soul shall be thy ransom, in contentment or despite. my outward of my inward testifies and this bears witness that that tells aright.[fn# ] when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept and lamented. then she slept awhile and presently awaking, said, "o elder, hast thou what we may eat?" "o my lady," answered the old man, "there is the rest of the food;" but she said, "i will not eat of a thing i have left. go down to the market and fetch us what we may eat." quoth he, "excuse me, o my lady; i cannot stand up, for that i am overcome with wine; but with me is the servant of the mosque, who is a sharp youth and an intelligent. i will call him, so he may buy thee that which thou desirest." "whence hast thou this servant?" asked she; and he replied, "he is of the people of damascus." when she heard him speak of the people of damascus, she gave a sob, that she swooned away; and when she came to herself, she said, "woe's me for the people of damascus and for those who are therein! call him, o elder, that he may do our occasions." so the old man put his head forth of the window and called the youth, who came to him from the mosque and sought leave [to enter]. the muezzin bade him enter, and when he came in to the damsel, he knew her and she knew him; whereupon he turned back in bewilderment and would have fled; but she sprang up to him and seized him, and they embraced and wept together, till they fell down on the ground in a swoon. when the old man saw them in this plight, he feared for himself and fled forth, seeing not the way for drunkenness. his neighbour the jew met him and said to him, "how comes it that i see thee confounded?" "how should i not be confounded," answered the old man, "seeing that the damsel who is with me is fallen in love with the servant of the mosque and they have embraced and fallen down in a swoon? indeed, i fear lest the khalif come to know of this and be wroth with me; so tell me thou what is to be done in this wherewith i am afflicted of the affair of this damsel." quoth the jew, "for the nonce, take this casting-bottle of rose-water and go forth-right and sprinkle them therewith. if they be aswoon for this their foregathering and embracement, they will come to themselves, and if otherwise, do thou flee." the old man took the casting-bottle from the jew and going up to noureddin and the damsel, sprinkled their faces, whereupon they came to themselves and fell to relating to each other that which they had suffered, since their separation, for the anguish of severance. moreover, noureddin acquainted sitt el milah with that which he had endured from the folk who would have slain him and made away with him; and she said to him, "o my lord, let us presently give over this talk and praise god for reunion of loves, and all this shall cease from us." then she gave him the cup and he said, "by allah, i will nowise drink it, whilst i am in this plight!" so she drank it off before him and taking the lute, swept the strings and sang the following verses: thou that wast absent from my stead, yet still with me didst bide, thou wast removed from mine eye, yet still wast by my side. thou left'st unto me, after thee, languor and carefulness; i lived a life wherein no jot of sweetness i espied. for thy sweet sake, as 'twere, indeed, an exile i had been, lone and deserted i became, lamenting, weeping-eyed. alack, my grief! thou wast, indeed, grown absent from my yiew, yet art the apple of mine eye nor couldst from me divide. when she had made an end of her song, she wept and noureddin wept also. then she took the lute and improvised and sang the following verses: god knows i ne'er recalled thy memory to my thought, but still with brimming tears straightway mine eyes were fraught; yea, passion raged in me and love-longing was like to slay me; yet my heart to solace still it wrought. light of mine eyes, my hope, my wish, my thirsting eyes with looking on thy face can never sate their drought. when noureddin heard these his slave-girl's verses, he fell a-weeping, what while she strained him to her bosom and wiped away his tears with her sleeve and questioned him and comforted his mind. then she took the lute and sweeping its strings, played thereon, after such a wise as would move the phlegmatic to delight, and sang the following verses: whenas mine eyes behold thee not, that day as of my life i do not reckon aye; and when i long to look upon thy face, my life is perished with desire straightway. on this wise they abode till the morning, tasting not the savour of sleep; and when the day lightened, behold, the eunuch came with the mule and said to sitt el milah, "the commander of the faithful calleth for thee." so she arose and taking her lord by the hand, committed him to the old man, saying, "i commend him to thy care, under god,[fn# ] till this eunuch cometh to thee; and indeed, o elder, i owe thee favour and largesse such as filleth the interspace betwixt heaven and earth." then she mounted the mule and repairing to the palace of the commander of the faithful, went in to him and kissed the earth before him. quoth he to her, as who should make mock of her, "i doubt not but thou hast found thy lord." "by thy felicity and the length of thy continuance [on life,]" answered she, "i have indeed found him!" now er reshid was leaning back; but, when he heard this, he sat up and said to her, "by my life, [is this thou sayest] true?" "ay, by thy life!" answered she; and he said, "bring him into my presence, so i may see him." but she replied, "o my lord, there have betided him many stresses and his charms are changed and his favour faded; and indeed the commander of the faithful vouchsafed me a month; wherefore i will tend him the rest of the month and then bring him to do his service to the commander of the faithful." quoth er reshid, "true; the condition was for a month; but tell me what hath betided him." "o my lord," answered she, "may god prolong thy continuance and make paradise thy place of returning and thy harbourage and the fire the abiding-place of thine enemies, when he presenteth himself to pay his respects to thee, he will expound to thee his case and will name unto thee those who have wronged him; and indeed this is an arrear that is due to the commander of the faithful, in[fn# ] whom may god fortify the faith and vouchsafe him the mastery over the rebel and the froward!" therewithal he ordered her a handsome house and bade furnish it with carpets and other furniture and vessels of choice and commanded that all she needed should be given her. this was done during the rest of the day, and when the night came, she despatched the eunuch with the mule and a suit of clothes, to fetch noureddin from the muezzin's lodging. so the young man donned the clothes and mounting; rode to the house, where he abode in luxury and delight a full-told month, what while she solaced him with four things, to wit, the eating of fowls and the drinking of wine and the lying upon brocade and the entering the bath after copulation. moreover, she brought him six suits of clothes and fell to changing his apparel day by day; nor was the appointed time accomplished ere his beauty returned to him and his goodliness; nay, his charms waxed tenfold and he became a ravishment to all who looked on him. one day the commander of the faithful bade bring him to the presence; so his slave-girl changed his raiment and clothing him in sumptuous apparel, mounted him on the mule. then he rode to the palace and presenting himself before the khalif, saluted him with the goodliest of salutations and bespoke him with eloquent and deep-thoughted speech. when er reshid saw him, he marvelled at the goodliness of his favour and his eloquence and the readiness of his speech and enquiring of him, was told that he was sitt el milah's lord; whereupon quoth he, "indeed, she is excusable in her love for him, and if we had put her to death unrighteously, as we were minded to do, her blood would have been upon our heads." then he turned to the young man and entering into discourse with him, found him well bred, intelligent, quick of wit and apprehension, generous, pleasant, elegant, erudite. so he loved him with an exceeding love and questioned him of his native city and of his father and of the manner of his journey to baghdad. noureddin acquainted him with that which he would know in the goodliest of words and with the concisest of expressions; and the khalif said to him, "and where hast thou been absent all this while? indeed, we sent after thee to damascus and mosul and other the towns, but lit on no tidings of thee." "o my lord," answered the young man, "there betided thy slave in thy city that which never yet betided any." and he acquainted him with his case from first to last and told him that which had befallen him of evil [from el muradi and his crew]. when er reshid heard this, he was sore chagrined and waxed exceeding wroth and said, "shall this happen in a city wherein i am?" and the hashimi vein[fn# ] started out between his eyes. then he bade fetch jaafer, and when he came before him, he acquainted him with the matter and said to him, "shall this come to pass in my city and i have no news of it?" then he bade jaafer fetch all whom the young damascene had named [as having maltreated him], and when they came, he let smite off their heads. moreover, he summoned him whom they called ahmed and who had been the means of the young man's deliverance a first time and a second, and thanked him and showed him favour and bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and invested him with the governance over his city.[fn# ] then he sent for the old man, the muezzin, and when the messenger came to him and told him that the commander of the faithful sought him, he feared the denunciation of the damsel and accompanied him to the palace, walking and letting wind[fn# ] as he went, whilst all who passed him by laughed at him. when he came into the presence of the commander of the faithful, he fell a-trembling and his tongue was embarrassed, [so that he could not speak]. the khalif laughed at him and said to him, "o elder, thou hast done no offence; so [why] fearest thou?" "o my lord," answered the old man (and indeed he was in the sorest of that which may be of fear,) "by the virtue of thy pure forefathers, indeed i have done nought, and do thou enquire of my conduct." the khalif laughed at him and ordering him a thousand dinars, bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and made him chief of the muezzins in his mosque. then he called sitt el milah and said to her, "the house [wherein thou lodgest] and that which is therein is a guerdon [from me] to thy lord. so do thou take him and depart with him in the safeguard of god the most high; but absent not yourselves from our presence." [so she went forth with noureddin and] when she came to the house, she found that the commander of the faithful had sent them gifts galore and abundance of good things. as for noureddin, he sent for his father and mother and appointed him agents and factors in the city of damascus, to take the rent of the houses and gardens and khans and baths; and they occupied themselves with collecting that which accrued to him and sending it to him every year. meanwhile, his father and mother came to him, with that which they had of monies and treasures and merchandise, and foregathering with their son, saw that he was become of the chief officers of the commander of the faithful and of the number of his session-mates and entertainers, wherefore they rejoiced in reunion with him and he also rejoiced in them. the khalif assigned them pensions and allowances and as for noureddin, his father brought him those riches and his wealth waxed and his case was goodly, till he became the richest of the folk of his time in baghdad and left not the presence of the commander of the faithful night or day. moreover, he was vouchsafed children by sitt el milah, and he ceased not to live the most delightsome of lives, he and she and his father and mother, a while of time, till aboulhusn sickened of a sore sickness and was admitted to the mercy of god the most high. after awhile, his mother died also and he carried them forth and shrouded them and buried and made them expiations and nativities.[fn# ] then his children grew up and became like unto moons, and he reared them in splendour and fondness, what while his wealth waxed and his case flourished. he ceased not to pay frequent visits to the commander of the faithful, he and his children and his slave-girl sitt el milah, and they abode, he and they, in all solace of life and prosperity till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and extolled be the perfection of the abiding one, the eternal! this is all that hath come down to us of their story. el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in the city of baghdad, the abode of peace, a king mighty of estate, lord of understanding and beneficence and liberality and generosity, and he was strong of sultanate and endowed with might and majesty and magnificence. his name was ins ben cais ben rebiya es sheibani,[fn# ] and when he took horse, there rode unto him [warriors] from the farthest parts of the two iraks.[fn# ] god the most high decreed that he should take to wife a woman hight afifeh, daughter of ased es sundusi, who was endowed with beauty and grace and brightness and perfection and justness of shape and symmetry; her face was like unto the new moon and she had eyes as they were gazelle's eyes and an aquiline nose like the crescent moon. she had learned horsemanship and the use of arms and had thoroughly studied the sciences of the arabs; moreover, she had gotten by heart all the dragomanish[fn# ] tongues and indeed she was a ravishment to mankind. she abode with ins ben cais twelve years, during which time he was blessed with no children by her; wherefore his breast was straitened, by reason of the failure of lineage, and he besought his lord to vouchsafe him a child. accordingly the queen conceived, by permission of god the most high; and when the days of her pregnancy were accomplished, she gave birth to a maid-child, than whom never saw eyes a goodlier, for that her face was as it were a pure pearl or a shining lamp or a golden[fn# ] candle or a full moon breaking forth of a cloud, extolled be the perfection of him who created her from vile water[fn# ] and made her a delight to the beholders! when her father saw her on this wise of loveliness, his reason fled for joy, and when she grew up, he taught her the art of writing and polite letters[fn# ] and philosophy and all manner of tongues. so she excelled the folk of her time and overpassed her peers;[fn# ] and the sons of the kings heard of her and all of them desired to look upon her. the first who sought her in marriage was king nebhan of mosul, who came to her with a great company, bringing with him an hundred she-camels laden with musk and aloes-wood and ambergris and as many laden with camphor and jewels and other hundred laden with silver money and yet other hundred laden with raiment of silken and other stuffs and brocade, besides an hundred slave-girls and an hundred magnificent horses of swift and generous breeds, completely housed and accoutred, as they were brides; and all this he laid before her father, demanding her of him in marriage. now king ins ben cais had bound himself by an oath that he would not marry his daughter but to him whom she should choose; so, when king nebhan sought her in marriage, her father went in to her and consulted her concerning his affair. she consented not and he repeated to nebhan that which she said, whereupon he departed from him. after this came king behram, lord of the white island, with riches more than the first; but she accepted not of him and he returned, disappointed; nor did the kings give over coming to her father, on her account, one after other, from the farthest of the lands and the climes, each glorying in more[fn# ] than those who forewent him; but she paid no heed unto any of one them. presently, el abbas, son of king el aziz, lord of the land of yemen and zebidoun[fn# ] and mecca (which god increase in honour and brightness and beauty!), heard of her; and he was of the great ones of mecca and the hejaz[fn# ] and was a youth without hair on his cheeks. so he presented himself one day in his father's sitting-chamber,[fn# ] whereupon the folk made way for him and the king seated him on a chair of red gold, set with pearls and jewels. the prince sat, with his head bowed to the ground, and spoke not to any; whereby his father knew that his breast was straitened and bade the boon-companions and men of wit relate marvellous histories, such as beseem the assemblies of kings; nor was there one of them but spoke forth the goodliest of that which was with him; but el abbas still abode with his head bowed down. then the king bade his session-mates withdraw, and when the chamber was void, he looked at his son and said to him, "by allah, thou rejoicest me with thy coming in to me and chagrinest me for that thou payest no heed to any of the session-mates nor of the boon-companions. what is the cause of this?" "o father mine," answered the prince, "i have heard tell that in the land of irak is a woman of the daughters of the kings, and her father is called king ins ben cais, lord of baghdad; she is renowned for beauty and grace and brightness and perfection, and indeed many folk have sought her in marriage of the kings; but her soul consented not unto any one of them. wherefore i am minded to travel to her, for that my heart cleaveth unto her, and i beseech thee suffer me to go to her." "o my son," answered his father, "thou knowest that i have none other than thyself of children and thou art the solace of mine eyes and the fruit of mine entrails; nay, i cannot brook to be parted from thee an instant and i purpose to set thee on the throne of the kingship and marry thee to one of the daughters of the kings, who shall be fairer than she." el abbas gave ear to his father's word and dared not gainsay him; so he abode with him awhile, whilst the fire raged in his entrails. then the king took counsel with himself to build his son a bath and adorn it with various paintings, so he might show it to him and divert him with the sight thereof, to the intent that his body might be solaced thereby and that the obsession of travel might cease from him and he be turned from [his purpose of] removal from his parents. so he addressed himself to the building of the bath and assembling architects and builders and artisans from all the towns and citadels and islands [of his dominions], assigned them a site and marked out its boundaries. then the workmen occupied themselves with the making of the bath and the setting out and adornment of its cabinets and roofs. they used paints and precious stones of all kinds, according to the variousness of their hues, red and green and blue and yellow and what not else of all manner colours; and each artisan wrought at his handicraft and each painter at his art, whilst the rest of the folk busied themselves with transporting thither varicoloured stones. one day, as the [chief] painter wrought at his work, there came in to him a poor man, who looked long upon him and observed his handicraft; whereupon quoth the painter to him, "knowest thou aught of painting?" "yes," answered the stranger; so he gave him tools and paints and said to him, "make us a rare piece of work." so the stranger entered one of the chambers of the bath and drew [on the walls thereof] a double border, which he adorned on both sides, after a fashion than which never saw eyes a fairer. moreover, [amiddleward the chamber] he drew a picture to which there lacked but the breath, and it was the portraiture of mariyeh, the king's daughter of baghdad. then, when he had made an end of the portrait, he went his way [and told none of what he had done], nor knew any the chambers and doors of the bath and the adornment and ordinance thereof. presently, the chief workman came to the palace and sought an audience of the king, who bade admit him. so he entered and kissing the earth, saluted him with a salutation beseeming kings and said, "o king of the time and lord of the age and the day, may felicity endure unto thee and acceptance and be thy rank exalted over all the kings both morning and evening![fn# ] the work of the bath is accomplished, by the king's fair fortune and the eminence of his magnanimity,[fn# ] and indeed we have done all that behoved us and there remaineth but that which behoveth the king." el aziz ordered him a sumptuous dress of honour and expended monies galore, giving unto each who had wroughten, after the measure of his work. then he assembled in the bath all the grandees of his state, amirs and viziers and chamberlains and lieutenants, and the chief officers of his realm and household, and sending for his son el abbas, said to him,"o my son, i have builded thee a bath, wherein thou mayst take thy pleasance; so enter thou therein, that thou mayst see it and divert thyself by gazing upon it and viewing the goodliness of its ordinance and decoration." "with all my heart," replied the prince and entered the bath, he and the king and the folk about them, so they might divert themselves with viewing that which the workmen's hands had wroughten. el abbas went in and passed from place to place and chamber to chamber, till he came to the chamber aforesaid and espied the portrait of mariyeh, whereupon he fell down in a swoon and the workmen went to his father and said to him, "thy son el abbas hath swooned away." so the king came and finding the prince cast down, seated himself at his head and bathed his face with rose-water. after awhile he revived and the king said to him, "god keep thee,[fn# ] o my son! what hath befallen thee?" "o my father," answered the prince, "i did but look on yonder picture and it bequeathed me a thousand regrets and there befell me that which thou seest." therewithal the king bade fetch the [chief] painter, and when he stood before him, he said to him, "tell me of yonder portrait and what girl is this of the daughters of the kings; else will i take thy head." "by allah, o king," answered the painter, "i limned it not, neither know i who she is; but there came to me a poor man and looked at me. so i said to him, 'knowest thou the art of painting?' and he replied, 'yes.' whereupon i gave him the gear and said to him, 'make us a rare piece of work.' so he wrought yonder portrait and went away and i know him not neither have i ever set eyes on him save that day." therewithal the king bade all his officers go round about in the thoroughfares and colleges [of the town] and bring before him all strangers whom they found there. so they went forth and brought him much people, amongst whom was the man who had painted the portrait. when they came into the presence, the sultan bade the crier make proclamation that whoso wrought the portrait should discover himself and have whatsoever he desired. so the poor man came forward and kissing the earth before the king, said to him, "o king of the age, i am he who painted yonder portrait." quoth el aziz, "and knowest thou who she is?" "yes," answered the other; "this is the portrait of mariyeh, daughter of the king of baghdad." the king ordered him a dress of honour and a slave-girl [and he went his way]. then said el abbas, "o father mine, give me leave to go to her, so i may look upon her; else shall i depart the world, without fail." the king his father wept and answered, saying, "o my son, i builded thee a bath, that it might divert thee from leaving me, and behold it hath been the cause of thy going forth; but the commandment of god is a foreordained[fn# ] decree."[fn# ] then he wept again and el abbas said to him, "fear not for me, for thou knowest my prowess and my puissance in returning answers in the assemblies of the land and my good breeding[fn# ] and skill in rhetoric; and indeed he whose father thou art and whom thou hast reared and bred and in whom thou hast united praiseworthy qualities, the repute whereof hath traversed the east and the west, thou needest not fear for him, more by token that i purpose but to seek diversion[fn# ] and return to thee, if it be the will of god the most high." quoth the king, "whom wilt thou take with thee of attendants and [what] of good?" "o father mine," replied el abbas, "i have no need of horses or camels or arms, for i purpose not battle, and i will have none go forth with me save my servant aamir and no more." as he and his father were thus engaged in talk, in came his mother and caught hold of him; and he said to her, "god on thee, let me go my gait and strive not to turn me from my purpose, for that needs must i go." "o my son," answered she, "if it must be so and there is no help for it, swear to me that them wilt not be absent from me more than a year." and he swore to her. then he entered his father's treasuries and took therefrom what he would of jewels and jacinths and everything heavy of worth and light of carriage. moreover, he bade his servant aamir saddle him two horses and the like for himself, and whenas the night darkened behind him,[fn# ] he rose from his couch and mounting his horse, set out for baghdad, he and aamir, whilst the latter knew not whither he intended. he gave not over going and the journey was pleasant to him, till they came to a goodly land, abounding in birds and wild beasts, whereupon el abbas started a gazelle and shot it with an arrow. then he dismounted and cutting its throat, said to his servant, "alight thou and skin it and carry it to the water." aamir answered him [with "hearkening and obedience"] and going down to the water, kindled a fire and roasted the gazelle's flesh. then they ate their fill and drank of the water, after which they mounted again and fared on diligently, and aamir still unknowing whither el abbas was minded to go. so he said to him, "o my lord, i conjure thee by god the great, wilt thou not tell me whither thou intendest?" el abbas looked at him and made answer with the following verses: in my soul the fire of yearning and affliction rageth aye; lo, i burn with love and longing; nought in answer can i say. to baghdad upon a matter of all moment do i fare, for the love of one whose beauties have my reason led astray. under me's a slender camel, a devourer of the waste; those who pass a cloudlet deem it, as it flitteth o'er the way. so, o aamir, haste thy going, e'en as i do, so may i heal my sickness and the draining of the cup of love essay; for the longing that abideth in my heart is hard to bear. fare with me, then, to my loved one. answer nothing, but obey. when aamir heard his lord's verses, he knew that he was a slave of love [and that she of whom he was enamoured abode] in baghdad. then they fared on night and day, traversing plains and stony wastes, till they came in sight of baghdad and lighted down in its suburbs[fn# ] and lay the night there. when they arose in the morning, they removed to the bank of the tigris and there they encamped and sojourned three days. as they abode thus on the fourth day, behold, a company of folk giving their beasts the rein and crying aloud and saying, "quick! quick! haste to our rescue, o king!" therewithal the king's chamberlains and officers accosted them and said to them, "what is behind you and what hath befallen you?" quoth they, "bring us before the king." [so they carried them to ins ben cais;] and when they saw him, they said to him, "o king, except thou succour us, we are dead men; for that we are a folk of the benou sheiban,[fn# ] who have taken up our abode in the parts of bassora, and hudheifeh the arab[fn# ] hath come down on us with his horses and his men and hath slain our horsemen and carried off our women and children; nor was one saved of the tribe but he who fled; wherefore we crave help [first] by god the most high, then by thy life." when the king heard their speech, he bade the crier make proclamation in the thoroughfares of the city that the troops should prepare [for the march] and that the horsemen should mount and the footmen come forth; nor was it but the twinkling of the eye ere the drums beat and the trumpets sounded; and scarce was the forenoon of the day passed when the city was blocked with horse and foot. so the king passed them in review and behold, they were four-and-twenty thousand in number, horsemen and footmen. he bade them go forth to the enemy and gave the commandment over them to said ibn el wakidi, a doughty cavalier and a valiant man of war. so the horsemen set out and fared on along the bank of the tigris. el abbas looked at them and saw the ensigns displayed and the standards loosed and heard the drums beating; so he bade his servant saddle him a charger and look to the girths and bring him his harness of war. quoth aamir, "and indeed i saw el abbas his eyes flash and the hair of his hands stood on end, for that indeed horsemanship[fn# ] abode [rooted in his heart]."so he mounted his charger, whilst aamir also bestrode a war-horse, and they went forth with the troops and fared on two days. on the third day, after the hour of the mid-afternoon prayer, they came in sight of the enemy and the two armies met and the ranks joined battle. the strife raged amain and sore was the smiting, whilst the dust rose in clouds and hung vaulted [over them], so that all eyes were blinded; and they ceased not from the battle till the night overtook them, when the two hosts drew off from the mellay and passed the night, perplexed concerning themselves [and the issue of their affair]. when god caused the morning morrow, the two armies drew out in battle array and the troops stood looking at one another. then came forth el harith ibn saad between the two lines and played with his lance and cried out and recited the following verses: algates ye are our prey become; this many a day and night right instantly of god we've craved to be vouchsafed your sight. so hath the merciful towards hudheifeh driven you, a champion ruling over all, a lion of great might. is there a man of you will come, that i may heal his paint with blows right profitful for him who's sick for lust of fight? by allah, come ye forth to me, for lo, i'm come to you i may he who's wronged the victory get and god defend the right![fn# ] thereupon there sallied forth to him zuheir ben hebib, and they wheeled about and feinted awhile, then came to dose quarters and exchanged strokes. el harith forewent his adversary in smiting and stretched him weltering in his gore; whereupon hudheifeh cried out to him, saying, "gifted of god art thou, o harith! call another of them." so he cried out, saying, "is there a comer-forth [to battle?]" but they of baghdad held back froni him; and when it appeared to el harith that confusion was amongst them, he fell upon them and overthrew the first of them upon their last and slew of them twelve men. then the evening overtook him and the baghdadis addressed themselves to flight. when the morning morrowed, they found themselves reduced to a fourth part of their number and there was not one of them had dismounted from his horse. so they made sure of destruction and hudheifeh came out between the ranks (now he was reckoned for a thousand cavaliers) and cried out, saying, "harkye, my masters of baghdad! let none come forth to me but your amir, so i may talk with him and he with me; and he shall meet me in single combat and i will meet him, and may he who is void of offence come off safe!" then he repeated his speech and said, "why do i not hear your amir return me an answer?" but saad, the amir of the army of baghdad, [replied not to him], and indeed his teeth chattered in his head, whenas he heard him summon him to single combat. when el abbas heard hudheifeh's challenge and saw saad in this case, he came up to the latter and said to him, "wilt thou give me leave to reply to him and i will stand thee in stead in the answering of him and the going forth to battle with him and will make myself thy sacrifice?" saad looked at him and seeing valour shining from between his eyes, said to him, "o youth, by the virtue of the chosen [prophet,] (whom god bless and keep,) tell me [who thou art and] whence thou comest to our succour." "this is no place for questioning," answered the prince; and saad said to him, "o champion, up and at hudheifeh! yet, if his devil prove too strong for thee, afflict not thyself in thy youth."[fn# ] quoth el abbas, "it is of allah that help is to be sought,"[fn# ] and taking his arms, fortified his resolution and went down [into the field], as he were a castle of the castles or a piece of a mountain. [when] hudheifeh [saw him], he cried out to him, saying, "haste thee not, o youth! who art thou of the folk?" and he answered, "i am saad [ibn] el wakidi, commander of the host of king ins, and but that thou vauntedst thyself in challenging me, i had not come forth to thee; for that thou art not of my peers neither art counted equal to me in prowess and canst not avail against my onslaught. wherefore prepare thee for departure,[fn# ] seeing that there abideth but a little of thy life." when hudheifeh heard this his speech, he threw himself backward,[fn# ] as if in mockery of him, whereat el abbas was wroth and called out to him, saying, "o hudheifeh, guard thyself against me." then he rushed upon him, as he were a swooper of the jinn,[fn# ] and hudheifeh met him and they wheeled about a long while. presently, el abbas cried out at hudheifeh a cry that astonied him and dealt him a blow, saying, "take this from the hand of a champion who feareth not the like of thee." hudheifeh met the stroke with his shield, thinking to ward it off from him; but the sword shore the target in sunder and descending upon his shoulder, came forth gleaming from the tendons of his throat and severed his arm at the armpit; whereupon he fell down, wallowing in his blood, and el abbas turned upon his host; nor had the sun departed the pavilion of the heavens ere hudheifeh's army was in full flight before el abbas and the saddles were empty of men. quoth saad, "by the virtue of the chosen [prophet], whom god bless and keep, i saw el abbas with the blood upon his saddle pads, [in gouts] like camels' livers, smiting with the sword right and left, till he scattered them abroad in every mountain-pass and desert; and when he turned [back to the camp], the men of baghdad were fearful of him." when the baghdadis saw this succour that had betided them against their enemies [and the victory that el abbas had gotten them], they turned back and gathering together the spoils [of the defeated host], arms and treasures and horses, returned to baghdad, victorious, and all by the valour of el abbas. as for saad, he foregathered with the prince, and they fared on in company till they came to the place where el abbas had taken horse, whereupon the latter dismounted from his charger and saad said to him, "o youth, wherefore alightest thou in other than thy place? indeed, thy due is incumbent upon us and upon our sultan; so go thou with us to the dwellings, that we may ransom thee with our souls." "o amir saad," replied el abbas, "from this place i took horse with thee and herein is my lodging. so, god on thee, name me not to the king, but make as if thou hadst never seen me, for that i am a stranger in the land." so saying, he turned away from him and saad fared on to the palace, where he found all the suite in attendance on the king and recounting to him that which had betided them with el abbas. quoth the king, "where is he?" and they answered, "he is with the amir saad." [so, when the latter entered], the king [looked, but] found none with him; and saad, seeing that he hankered after the youth, cried out to him, saying, "god prolong the king's days! indeed, he refuseth to present himself before thee, without leave or commandment." "o saad," asked the king, "whence cometh this man?" and the amir answered, "o my lord, i know not; but he is a youth fair of favour, lovesome of aspect, accomplished in discourse, goodly of repartee, and valour shineth from between his eyes." quoth the king, "o saad, fetch him to me, for indeed thou describest to me a masterful man."[fn# ] and he answered, saying, "by allah, o my lord, hadst thou but seen our case with hudheifeh, what while he challenged me to the field of war and the stead of thrusting and smiting and i held back from doing battle with him! then, whenas i thought to go forth to him, behold, a cavalier gave loose to his bridle-rein and called out to me, saying, 'o saad, wilt thou suffer me to fill thy room in waging war with him and i will ransom thee with myself?' and i said, 'by allah, o youth, whence cometh thou?' quoth he, 'this is no time for thy questions.'" then he recounted to the king all that had passed between himself and el abbas from first to last; whereupon quoth ins ben cais, "bring him to me in haste, so we may learn his tidings and question him of his case." "it is well," answered saad, and going forth of the king's presence, repaired to his own house, where he put off his harness of war and took rest for himself. to return to el abbas, when he alighted from his charger, he put off his harness of war and rested awhile; after which he brought out a shirt of venetian silk and a gown of green damask and donning them, covered himself with a turban of damietta stuff and girt his middle with a handkerchief. then he went out a-walking in the thoroughfares of baghdad and fared on till he came to the bazaar of the merchants. there he found a merchant, with chess before him; so he stood watching him and presently the other looked up at him and said to him, "o youth, what wilt thou stake upon the game?" and he answered, "be it thine to decide." "then be it a hundred dinars," said the merchant, and el abbas consented to him, whereupon quoth he, "o youth, produce the money, so the game may be fairly stablished." so el abbas brought out a satin purse, wherein were a thousand dinars, and laid down an hundred dinars therefrom on the edge of the carpet, whilst the merchant did the like, and indeed his reason fled for joy, whenas he saw the gold in el abbas his possession. the folk flocked about them, to divert themselves with watching the play, and they called the bystanders to witness of the wager and fell a-playing. el abbas forbore the merchant, so he might lead him on, and procrastinated with him awhile; and the merchant won and took of him the hundred dinars. then said the prince, "wilt thou play another game?" and the other answered, "o youth, i will not play again, except it be for a thousand dinars." quoth the prince, "whatsoever thou stakest, i will match thy stake with the like thereof." so the merchant brought out a thousand dinars and the prince covered them with other thousand. then they fell a-playing, but el abbas was not long with him ere he beat him in the square of the elephant,[fn# ] nor did he leave to do thus till he had beaten him four times and won of him four thousand dinars. this was all the merchant's good; so he said, "o youth, i will play thee another game for the shop." now the value of the shop was four thousand dinars; so they played and el abbas beat him and won his shop, with that which was therein; whereupon the other arose, shaking his clothes, and said to him, "up, o youth, and take thy shop." so el abbas arose and repairing to the shop, took possession thereof, after which he returned to [the place where he had left] his servant [aamir] and found there the amir saad, who was come to bid him to the presence of the king. el abbas consented to this and accompanied him till they came before king ins ben cais, whereupon he kissed the earth and saluted him and exceeded[fn# ] in the salutation. quoth the king to him, "whence comest thou, o youth?" and he answered, "i come from yemen." then said the king, "hast thou a need we may accomplish unto thee? for indeed we are exceeding beholden to thee for that which thou didst in the matter of hudheifeh and his folk." and he let cast over him a mantle of egyptian satin, worth an hundred dinars. moreover, he bade his treasurer give him a thousand dinars and said to him, "o youth, take this in part of that which thou deserves! of us; and if thou prolong thy sojourn with us, we will give thee slaves and servants." el abbas kissed the earth and said, "o king, may grant thee abiding prosperity, i deserve not all this." then he put his hand to his poke and pulling out two caskets of gold, in each of which were rubies, whose value none could tell, gave them to the king, saying, "o king, god cause thy prosperity to endure, i conjure thee by that which god hath vouchsafed thee, heal my heart by accepting these two caskets, even as i have accepted thy present." so the king accepted the two caskets and el abbas took his leave and went away to the bazaar. when the merchants saw him, they accosted him and said, "o youth, wilt thou not open thy shop?" as they were bespeaking him, up came a woman, having with her a boy, bareheaded, and [stood] looking at el abbas, till he turned to her, when she said to him, "o youth, i conjure thee by allah, look at this boy and have pity on him, for that his father hath forgotten his cap in the shop [he lost to thee]; so if thou will well to give it to him, thy reward be with god! for indeed the child maketh our hearts ache with his much weeping, and god be witness for us that, were there left us aught wherewithal to buy him a cap in its stead, we had not sought it of thee." "o adornment of womankind," replied el abbas, "indeed, thou bespeakest me with thy fair speech and supplicatest me with thy goodly words ...but bring me thy husband." so she went and fetched the merchant, whilst the folk assembled to see what el abbas would do. when the man came, he returned him the gold he had won of him, all and part, and delivered him the keys of the shop, saying, "requite us with thy pious prayers."therewithal the woman came up to him and kissed his feet, and on like wise did the merchant her husband; and all who were present blessed him, and there was no talk but of el abbas. as for the merchant, he bought him a sheep and slaughtering it, roasted it and dressed birds and [other] meats of various kinds and colours and bought dessert and sweetmeats and fresh fruits. then he repaired to el abbas and conjured him to accept of his hospitality and enter his house and eat of his victual. the prince consented to his wishes and went with him till they came to his house, when the merchant bade him enter. so el abbas entered and saw a goodly house, wherein was a handsome saloon, with a vaulted estrade. when he entered the saloon, he found that the merchant had made ready food and dessert and perfumes, such as overpass description; and indeed he had adorned the table with sweet-scented flowers and sprinkled musk and rose-water upon the food. moreover, he had smeared the walls of the saloon with ambergris and set [the smoke of burning] aloes-wood abroach therein. presently, el abbas looked out of the window of the saloon and saw thereby a house of goodly ordinance, lofty of building and abounding in chambers, with two upper stories; but therein was no sign of inhabitants. so he said to the merchant, "indeed, thou exceedest in doing us honour; but, by allah, i will not eat of thy victual till thou tell me what is the reason of the emptiness of yonder house." "o my lord," answered the other, "that was el ghitrif's house and he was admitted to the mercy of god[fn# ] and left none other heir than myself; so it became mine, and by allah, if thou hast a mind to sojourn in baghdad, do thou take up thine abode in this house, so thou mayst be in my neighbourhood; for that indeed my heart inclineth unto thee with love and i would have thee never absent from my sight, so i may still have my fill of thee and hearken to thy speech." el abbas thanked him and said to him, "indeed, thou art friendly in thy speech and exceedest [in courtesy] in thy discourse, and needs must i sojourn in baghdad. as for the house, if it like thee, i will abide therein; so take of me its price." so saying, he put his hand to his poke and bringing out therefrom three hundred dinars, gave them to the merchant, who said in himself, "except i take the money, he will not abide in the house." so he pouched the money and sold him the house, taking the folk to witness against himself of the sale. then he arose and set food before el abbas and they ate of the good things which he had provided; after which he brought him dessert and sweetmeats. they ate thereof till they had enough, when the tables were removed and they washed their hands with rose-water and willow-flower-water. then the merchant brought el abbas a napkin perfumed with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood, on which he wiped his hand,[fn# ] and said to him, "o my lord, the house is become thy house; so bid thy servant transport thither the horses and arms and stuffs." el abbas did this and the merchant rejoiced in his neighbourhood and left him not night nor day, so that the prince said to him, "by allah, i distract thee from thy livelihood." "god on thee, o my lord," replied the merchant, "name not to me aught of this, or thou wilt break my heart, for the best of traffic is thy company and thou art the best of livelihood." so there befell strait friendship between them and ceremony was laid aside from between them. meanwhile the king said to his vizier, "how shall we do in the matter of yonder youth, the yemani, on whom we thought to confer largesse, but he hath largessed us with tenfold [our gift] and more, and we know not if he be a sojourner with us or no?" then he went into the harem and gave the rubies to his wife afifeh, who said to him, "what is the worth of these with thee and with [other] the kings?" and he answered, "they are not to be found save with the greatest of kings and none may avail to price them with money." quoth she, "whence gottest thou them?" so he recounted to her the story of el abbas from first to last, and she said, "by allah, the claims of honour are imperative on us and the king hath fallen short of his due; for that we have not seen him bid him to his assembly, nor hath he seated him on his left hand." [when the king heard his wife's words], it was as if he had been asleep and awoke; so he went forth of the harem and bade slaughter fowls and dress meats of all kinds and colours. moreover, he assembled all his retainers and let bring sweetmeats and dessert and all that beseemeth unto kings' tables. then he adorned his palace and despatched after el abbas a man of the chief officers of his household, who found him coming forth of the bath, clad in a doublet of fine goats' hair and over it a baghdadi scarf; his waist was girt with a rustec[fn# ] kerchief and on his head he wore a light turban of damietta make. the messenger wished him joy of the bath and exceeded in doing him worship. then he said to him, "the king biddeth thee in weal."[fn# ] "hearkening and obedience," answered el abbas and accompanied the messenger to the king's palace. now afifeh and her daughter mariyeh were behind the curtain, looking at him; and when he came before the king, he saluted him and greeted him with the greeting of kings, whilst all who were present stared at him and at his beauty and grace and perfection. the king seated him at the head of the table; and when afifeh saw him and straitly considered him, she said, "by the virtue of mohammed, prince of the apostles, this youth is of the sons of the kings and cometh not to these parts but for some high purpose!" then she looked at mariyeh and saw that her face was changed, and indeed her eyes were dead in her face and she turned not her gaze from el abbas a glance of the eyes, for that the love of him had gotten hold upon her heart. when the queen saw what had befallen her daughter, she feared for her from reproach concerning el abbas; so she shut the wicket of the lattice and suffered her not to look upon him more. now there was a pavilion set apart for mariyeh, and therein were privy chambers and balconies and lattices, and she had with her a nurse, who served her, after the fashion of kings' daughters. when the banquet was ended and the folk had dispersed, the king said to el abbas, "i would fain have thee [abide] with me and i will buy thee a house, so haply we may requite thee the high services for which we are beholden to thee; for indeed thy due is imperative [upon us] and thy worth is magnified in our eyes; and indeed we have fallen short of thy due in the matter of distance."[fn# ] when the prince heard the king's speech, he rose and sat down[fn# ] and kissing the earth, returned thanks for his bounty and said, "i am the king's servant, wheresoever i may be, and under his eye." then he recounted to him the story of the merchant and the manner of the buying of the house, and the king said, "indeed, i would fain have had thee with me and in my neighbourhood." then el abbas took leave of the king and went away to his own house. now it befell that he passed under the palace of mariyeh the king's daughter, and she was sitting at a window. he chanced to look round and his eyes met those of the princess, whereupon his wit departed and he was like to swoon away, whilst his colour changed and he said, "verily, we are god's and to him we return!" but he feared for himself lest estrangement betide him; so he concealed his secret and discovered not his case to any of the creatures of god the most high. when he reached his house, his servant aamir said to him, "o my lord, i seek refuge for thee with god from change of colour! hath there betided thee a pain from god the most high or hath aught of vexation befallen thee? verily, sickness hath an end and patience doth away vexation." but the prince returned him no answer. then he brought out inkhorn [and pen] and paper and wrote the following verses: quoth i (and mine a body is of passion all forslain, ay, and a heart that's all athirst for love and longing pain and eye that knoweth not the sweet of sleep; yet she, who caused my dole, may fortune's perfidies for aye from her abstain! yea, for the perfidies of fate and sev'rance i'm become even as was bishr[fn# ] of old time with hind,[fn# ] a fearful swain; a talking-stock among the folk for ever i abide; life and the days pass by, yet ne'er my wishes i attain), "knoweth my loved one when i see her at the lattice high shine as the sun that flameth forth in heaven's blue demesne?" her eye is sharper than a sword; the soul with ecstasy it takes and longing leaves behind, that nothing may assain. as at the casement high she sat, her charms i might espy, for from her cheeks the envious veil that hid them she had ta'en. she shot at me a shaft that reached my heart and i became the bond- man of despair, worn out with effort all in vain. fawn of the palace, knowst thou not that i, to look on thee, the world have traversed, far and wide, o'er many a hill and plain? read then my writ and pity thou the blackness of my fate, sick, love- distraught, without a friend to whom i may complain. now the merchant's wife aforesaid, who was the nurse of the king's daughter, was watching him from a window, unknown of him, and [when she heard his verses], she knew that there hung some rare story by him; so she went in to him and said, "peace be on thee, o afflicted one, who acquaintest not physician with thy case! verily, thou exposest thyself unto grievous peril! i conjure thee by the virtue of him who hath afflicted thee and stricken thee with the constraint of love-liking, that thou acquaint me with thine affair and discover to me the truth of thy secret; for that indeed i have heard from thee verses that trouble the wit and dissolve the body." so he acquainted her with his case and enjoined her to secrecy, whereof she consented unto him, saying, "what shall be the recompense of whoso goeth with thy letter and bringeth thee an answer thereto?" he bowed his head for shamefastness before her [and was silent]; and she said to him, "raise thy head and give me thy letter." so he gave her the letter and she took it and carrying it to the princess, said to her, "read this letter and give me the answer thereto." now the liefest of all things to mariyeh was the recitation of poems and verses and linked rhymes and the twanging [of the strings of the lute], and she was versed in all tongues; so she took the letter and opening it, read that which was therein and apprehended its purport. then she cast it on the ground and said, "o nurse, i have no answer to make to this letter." quoth the nurse, "indeed, this is weakness in thee and a reproach unto thee, for that the people of the world have heard of thee and still praise thee for keenness of wit and apprehension; so do thou return him an answer, such as shall delude his heart and weary his soul." "o nurse," rejoined the princess, "who is this that presumeth upon me with this letter? belike he is the stranger youth who gave my father the rubies." "it is himself," answered the woman, and mariyeh said, "i will answer his letter on such a wise that thou shalt not bring me other than it [from him]." quoth the nurse, "so be it." so the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: o'erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent these verses; 'twill but add to thee unease and miscontent. now god forbid thou shouldst attain thy wishes! what care i if thou have looked on me a look that caused thee languishment? who art thou, wretch, that thou shouldst hope to win me? with thy rhymes what wouldst of me? thy reason, sure, with passion is forspent. if to my favours thou aspire and covet me, good lack! what leach such madness can assain or what medicament? leave rhyming, madman that thou art, lest, bound upon the cross, thou thy presumption in the stead of abjectness repent. deem not, o youth, that i to thee incline; indeed, no part have i in those who walk the ways, the children of the tent.[fn# ] in the wide world no house thou hast, a homeless wanderer thou: to thine own place thou shall be borne, an object for lament.[fn# ] forbear thy verse-making, o thou that harbourest in the camp, lest to the gleemen thou become a name of wonderment. how many a lover, who aspires to union with his love, for all his hopes seem near, is baulked of that whereon he's bent! then get thee gone nor covet that which thou shall ne'er obtain; so shall it be, although the time seem near and the event. thus unto thee have i set forth my case; consider well my words, so thou mayst guided be aright by their intent. when she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and went with it to el abbas. when she gave it to him, he took it and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport; and when he came to the end of it, he swooned away. after awhile, he came to himself and said, "praised be god who hath caused her return an answer to my letter! canst thou carry her another letter, and with god the most high be thy requital?" quoth she, "and what shall letters profit thee, seeing she answereth on this wise?" but he said, "belike, she may yet be softened." then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot'st therein i read, my longing waxed and pain and woe redoubled on my head. yea, wonder-words i read therein, my trouble that increased and caused emaciation wear my body to a shred. would god thou knewst what i endure for love of thee and how my vitals for thy cruelty are all forspent and dead! fain, fain would i forget thy love. alack, my heart denies to be consoled, and 'gainst thy wrath nought standeth me in stead. an thou'dst vouchsafe to favour me,'twould lighten my despair, though but in dreams thine image 'twere that visited my bed. persist not on my weakliness with thy disdain nor be treason and breach of love its troth to thee attributed; for know that hither have i fared and come to this thy land, by hopes of union with thee and near fruition led. how oft i've waked, whilst over me my comrades kept the watch! how many a stony waste i've crossed, how many a desert dread! from mine own land, to visit thee, i came at love's command, for all the distance did forbid,'twixt me and thee that spread. wherefore, by him who letteth waste my frame, have ruth on me and quench my yearning and the fires by passion in me fed. in glory's raiment clad, by thee the stars of heaven are shamed and in amaze the full moon stares to see thy goodlihead. all charms, indeed, thou dost comprise; so who shall vie with thee and who shall blame me if for love of such a fair i'm sped? when he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and delivering it to the nurse, charged her keep the secret. so she took it and carrying it to mariyeh, gave it to her. the princess broke it open and read it and apprehended its purport. then said she, "by allah, o nurse, my heart is burdened with an exceeding chagrin, never knew i a dourer, because of this correspondence and of these verses." and the muse made answer to her, saying, "o my lady, thou art in thy dwelling and thy place and thy heart is void of care; so return him an answer and reck thou not" accordingly, the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight in waiting for the unkept tryst doth watch the weary night! if in night's blackness thou hast plunged into the desert's heart and hast denied thine eyes the taste of sleep and its delight, if near and far thy toiling feet have trod the ways and thou devils and marids hast ensued nor wouldst be led aright, and dar'dst, o dweller in the tents, to lift thine eyes to me, hoping by stress to win of me the amorous delight, get thee to patience fair, if thou remember thee of that whose issues (quoth the merciful) are ever benedight.[fn# ] how many a king for my sweet sake with other kings hath vied, still craving union with me and suing for my sight! whenas en nebhan strove to win my grace, himself to me with camel- loads he did commend of musk and camphor white, and aloes-wood, to boot, he brought and caskets full of pearls and priceless rubies and the like of costly gems and bright; yea, and black slaves he proffered me and slave-girls big with child and steeds of price, with splendid arms and trappings rich bedight. raiment of silk and sendal, too, he brought to us for gift, and me in marriage sought therewith; yet, all his pains despite, of me he got not what he sought and brideless did return, for that estrangement and disdain were pleasing in my sight. wherefore, o stranger, dare thou not approach me with desire, lest ruin quick and pitiless thy hardihood requite. when she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to el abbas. he broke it open and read it and apprehended its purport; then took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: indeed, thou'st told the tale of kings and men of might, each one a lion fierce, impetuous in the fight, whose wits (like mine, alack!) thou stalest and whose hearts with shafts from out thine eyes bewitching thou didst smite. yea, and how slaves and steeds and good and virgin girls were proffered thee to gift, thou hast not failed to cite, how presents in great store thou didst refuse and eke the givers, great and small, with flouting didst requite. then came i after them, desiring thee, with me no second save my sword, my falchion keen and bright. no slaves with me have i nor camels swift of foot, nor slave-girls have i brought in curtained litters dight. yet, an thou wilt vouchsafe thy favours unto me, my sabre thou shalt see the foemen put to flight; ay, and around baghdad the horsemen shalt behold, like clouds that wall the world, full many a doughty knight, all hearkening to my word, obeying my command, in whatsoever thing is pleasing to my sight. if slaves thou fain wouldst have by thousands every day or, kneeling at thy feet, see kings of mickle might, and horses eke wouldst have led to thee day by day and girls, high- breasted maids, and damsels black and white, lo under my command the land of yemen is and trenchant is my sword against the foe in fight. whenas the couriers came with news of thee, how fair thou wast and sweet and how thy visage shone with light, all, all, for thy sweet sake, i left; ay, i forsook aziz, my sire, and those akin to me that hight and unto irak fared, my way to thee to make, and crossed the stony wastes i' the darkness of the night. then sent i speech to thee in verses such as burn the heart; reproach therein was none nor yet unright; yet with perfidiousness (sure fortune's self as thou ne'er so perfidious was) my love thou didst requite and deemedst me a waif, a homeless good-for-nought, a slave-begotten brat, a wanton, witless wight. then he folded the letter and committed it to the nurse and gave her five hundred dinars, saying, "accept this from me, for that indeed thou hast wearied thyself between us." "by allah, o my lord," answered she, "my desire is to bring about union between you, though i lose that which my right hand possesseth." and he said, "may god the most high requite thee with good!" then she carried the letter to mariyeh and said to her, "take this letter; belike it may be the end of the correspondence." so she took it and breaking it open, read it, and when she had made an end of it, she turned to the nurse and said to her, "this fellow putteth off lies upon me and avoucheth unto me that he hath cities and horsemen and footmen at his command and submitting to his allegiance; and he seeketh of me that which he shall not obtain; for thou knowest, o nurse, that kings' sons have sought me in marriage, with presents and rarities; but i have paid no heed unto aught of this; so how shall i accept of this fellow, who is the fool[fn# ] of his time and possesseth nought but two caskets of rubies, which he gave to my father, and indeed he hath taken up his abode in the house of el ghitrif and abideth without silver or gold? wherefore, i conjure thee by allah, o nurse, return to him and cut off his hope of me." accordingly the nurse returned to el abbas, without letter or answer; and when she came in to him, he saw that she was troubled and noted the marks of chagrin on her face; so he said to her, "what is this plight?" quoth she, "i cannot set out to thee that which mariyeh said; for indeed she charged me return to thee without letter or answer." "o nurse of kings," rejoined el abbas, "i would have thee carry her this letter and return not to her without it." then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: my secret is disclosed, the which i strove to hide; of thee and of thy love enough have i abyed. my kinsmen and my friends for thee i did forsake and left them weeping tears that poured as 'twere a tide. yea, to baghdad i came, where rigour gave me chase and i was overthrown of cruelty and pride. repression's draught, by cups, from the beloved's hand i've quaffed; with colocynth for wine she hath me plied. oft as i strove to make her keep the troth of love, unto concealment's ways still would she turn aside. my body is dissolved with sufferance in vain; relenting, ay, and grace i hoped should yet betide; but rigour still hath waxed on me and changed my case and love hath left me bound, afflicted, weeping-eyed. how long shall i anights distracted be for love of thee? how long th' assaults of grief and woes abide? thou, thou enjoy'st repose and comfortable sleep, nor of the mis'ries reckst by which my heart is wried. i watch the stars for wake and pray that the belov'd may yet to me relent and bid my tears be dried. the pains of long desire have wasted me away; estrangement and disdain my body sore have tried. "be thou not hard of heart," quoth i. had ye but deigned to visit me in dreams, i had been satisfied. but when ye saw my writ, the standard ye o'erthrew of faith, your favours grudged and aught of grace denied. nay, though ye read therein discourse that sure should speak to heart and soul, no word thereunto ye replied, but deemed yourself secure from every changing chance nor recked the ebb and flow of fortune's treacherous tide. were my affliction thine, love's anguish hadst thou dreed and in the flaming hell of long estrangement sighed. yet shall thou suffer that which i from thee have borne and with love's woes thy heart shall yet be mortified. the bitterness of false accusing shall thou taste and eke the thing reveal that thou art fain to hide; yea, he thou lov'st shall be hard-hearted, recking not of fortune's turns or fate's caprices, in his pride. wherewith farewell, quoth i, and peace be on thee aye, what while the branches bend, what while the stars abide. when he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to mariyeh. when she came into the princess's presence, she saluted her; but mariyeh returned not her salutation and she said, "o my lady, how hard is thy heart that thou grudgest to return the salutation! take this letter, for that it is the last of that which shall come to thee from him." quoth mariyeh, "take my warning and never again enter my palace, or it will be the cause of thy destruction; for i am certified that thou purposest my dishonour. so get thee gone from me." and she commanded to beat the nurse; whereupon the latter went forth fleeing from her presence, changed of colour and absent of wits, and gave not over going till she came to the house of el abbas. when the prince saw her in this plight, he was as a sleeper awakened and said to her, "what hath befallen thee? set out to me thy case." "god on thee," answered she, "nevermore send me to mariyeh, and do thou protect me, so may god protect thee from the fires of hell!" then she related to him that which had bedded her with mariyeh; which when he heard, there took him the shamefastness of the generous and this was grievous unto him. the love of mariyeh fled forth of his heart and he said to the nurse, "how much hadst thou of mariyeh every month?" "ten dinars," answered she, and he said, "be not concerned." then he put his hand to his poke and bringing out two hundred dinars, gave them to her and said, "take this for a whole year's wage and turn not again to serve any one. when the year is out, i will give thee two years' wage, for that thou hast wearied thyself with us and on account of the cutting off of thy dependence upon mariyeh." moreover, he gave her a complete suit of clothes and raising his head to her, said, "when thou toldest me that which mariyeh had done with thee, god rooted out the love of her from my heart, and never again will she occur to my mind; so extolled be the perfection of him who turneth hearts and eyes! it was she who was the cause of my coming out from yemen, and now the time is past for which i engaged with my people and i fear lest my father levy his troops and come forth in quest of me, for that he hath no child other than myself and cannot brook to be parted from me; and on like wise is it with my mother." when the nurse heard his words, she said to him, "o my lord, and which of the kings is thy father?" "my father is el aziz, lord of yemen and nubia and the islands[fn# ] of the benou kehtan and the two noble sanctuaries[fn# ] (god the most high have them in his keeping!)," answered el abbas; "and whenas he taketh horse, there mount with him an hundred and twenty and four thousand horsemen, all smiters with the sword, let alone attendants and servants and followers, all of whom give ear unto my word and obey my commandment." "why, then, o my lord," asked the nurse, "didst thou conceal the secret of thy rank and lineage and passedst thyself off for a wayfarer? alas for our disgrace before thee by reason of our shortcoming in rendering thee thy due! what shall be our excuse with thee, and thou of the sons of the kings?" but he rejoined, "by allah, thou hast not fallen short! nay, it is incumbent on me to requite thee, what while i live, though i be far distant from thee." then he called his servant aamir and said to him, "saddle the horses." when the nurse heard his words and indeed [she saw that] aamir brought him the horses and they were resolved upon departure, the tears ran down upon her cheeks and she said to him, "by allah, thy separation is grievous to me, o solace of the eye!" then said she, "where is the goal of thine intent, so we may know thy news and solace ourselves with thy report?" quoth he, "i go hence to visit akil, the son of my father's brother, for that he hath his sojourn in the camp of kundeh ben hisham, and these twenty years have i not seen him nor he me; wherefore i purpose to repair to him and discover his news and return hither. then will i go hence to yemen, if it be the will of god the most high." so saying, he took leave of the woman and her husband and set out, intending for akil, his father's brother's son. now there was between baghdad and akil's abiding-place forty days' journey; so el abbas settled himself on the back of his courser and his servant aamir mounted also and they fared forth on their way. presently, el abbas turned right and left and recited the following verses: i am the champion-slayer, the warrior without peer; my foes i slay, destroying the hosts, when i appear. tow'rds el akil my journey i take; to visit him, the wastes in praise and safety i traverse, without fear, and all the desert spaces devour, whilst to my rede, or if in sport or earnest,[fn# ] still aamir giveth ear. who letteth us or hind'reth our way, i spring on him, as springeth lynx or panther upon the frighted deer; with ruin i o'erwhelm him and abjectness and woe and cause him quaff the goblet of death and distance drear. well-ground my polished sword is and thin and keen of edge and trenchant, eke, for smiting and long my steel-barbed spear. so fell and fierce my stroke is, if on a mountain high it lit, though all of granite, right through its midst 'twould shear. nor troops have i nor henchmen nor one to lend me aid save god, to whom, my maker, my voice in praise i rear. 'tis he who pardoneth errors alike to slave and free; on him is my reliance in good and evil cheer. then they fell to journeying night and day, and as they went, behold, they sighted a camp of the camps of the arabs. so el abbas enquired thereof and was told that it was the camp of the benou zuhreh. now there were around them sheep and cattle, such as filled the earth, and they were enemies to el akil, the cousin of el abbas, upon whom they still made raids and took his cattle; wherefore he used to pay them tribute every year, for that he availed not to cope with them. when el abbas came near the camp, he dismounted from his courser and his servant aamir also dismounted; and they set down the victual and ate their sufficiency and rested awhile of the day. then said the prince to aamir, "fetch water and give the horses to drink and draw water for us in thy water-bag, by way of provision for the road." so aamir took the water-skin and made for the water; but, when he came to the well, behold, two young men with gazelles, and when they saw him, they said to him, "whither wilt thou, o youth, and of which of the arabs art thou?" "harkye, lads," answered he, "fill me my water-skin, for that i am a stranger man and a wayfarer and i have a comrade who awaiteth me." quoth they, "thou art no wayfarer, but a spy from el akil's camp." then they took him and carried him to [their king] zuheir ben shebib; and when he came before him, he said to him, "of which of the arabs art thou?" quoth aamir, "i am a wayfarer." and zuheir said, "whence comest thou and whither wilt thou?" "i am on my way to akil," answered aamir. when he named akil, those who were present were agitated; but zuheir signed to them with his eyes and said to him, "what is thine errand with akil?" quoth he, "we would fain see him, my friend and i." when zuheir heard his words, he bade smite off his head; but his vizier said to him, "slay him not, till his friend be present." so he commanded the two slaves to fetch his friend; whereupon they repaired to el abbas and called to him, saying, "o youth, answer the summons of king zuheir." "what would the king with me?" asked he, and they answered, "we know not." quoth he, "who gave the king news of me?" "we went to draw water," answered they, "and found a man by the water. so we questioned him of his case, but he would not acquaint us therewith; wherefore we carried him perforce to king zuheir, who questioned him of his case and he told him that he was going to akil. now akil is the king's enemy and he purposeth to betake himself to his camp and make prize of his offspring and cut off his traces." "and what," asked el abbas, "hath akil done with king zuheir?" and they replied, "he engaged for himself that he would bring the king every year a thousand dinars and a thousand she-camels, besides a thousand head of thoroughbred horses and two hundred black slaves and fifty slave-girls; but it hath reached the king that akil purposeth to give nought of this; wherefore he is minded to go to him. so hasten thou with us, ere the king be wroth with thee and with us." then said el abbas to them, "o youths, sit by my arms and my horse till i return." but they answered, saying, "by allah, thou prolongest discourse with that which beseemeth not of words! make haste, or we will go with thy head, for indeed the king purposeth to slay thee and to slay thy comrade and take that which is with you." when the prince heard this, his skin quaked and he cried out at them with a cry that made them tremble. then he sprang upon his horse and settling himself in the saddle, galloped till he came to the king's assembly, when he cried out at the top of his voice, saying ["to horse,] cavaliers!" and levelled his spear at the pavilion wherein was zuheir. now there were about him a thousand smiters with the sword; but el abbas fell in upon them and dispersed them from around him, and there abode none in the tent save zuheir and his vizier. then came up el abbas to the door of the tent, and therein were four-and-twenty golden doves; so he took them, after he had beaten them down with the end of his lance. then he called out, saying, "harkye, zuheir! doth it not suffice thee that thou hast quelled el akil's repute, but thou art minded to quell that of those who sojourn round about him? knowest thou not that he is of the lieutenants of kundeh ben [hisham of the benou] sheiban, a man renowned for prowess? indeed, covetise of him hath entered into thee and jealousy of him hath gotten possession of thee. doth it not suffice thee that thou hast orphaned his children[fn# ] and slain his men? by the virtue of the chosen prophet, i will make thee drink the cup of death!" so saying, he drew his sword and smiting zuheir on his shoulder, caused the steel issue, gleaming, from the tendons of his throat. then he smote the vizier and clove his head in sunder. as he was thus, behold, aamir called out to him and said, "o my lord, come to my help, or i am a dead man!" so el abbas went up to him and found him cast down on his back and chained with four chains to four pickets of iron. he loosed his bonds and said to him, "go before me, o aamir." so he fared on before him a little, and presently they looked, and behold, horsemen making to zuheir's succour, to wit, twelve thousand cavaliers, with sehl ben kaab in their van, mounted upon a jet-black steed. he charged upon aamir, who fled from him, then upon el abbas, who said, "o aamir, cleave fast to my horse and guard my back." aamir did as he bade him, whereupon el abbas cried out at the folk and falling upon them, overthrew their braves and slew of them nigh two thousand cavaliers, whilst not one of them knew what was to do nor with whom he fought. then said one of them to other, "verily, the king is slain; so with whom do we wage war? indeed ye flee from him; so do ye enter under his banners, or not one of you will be saved." thereupon they all dismounted and putting off that which was upon them of harness of war, came before el abbas and tendered him allegiance and sued for his protection. so he held his hand from them and bade them gather together the spoils. then he took the riches and the slaves and the camels, and they all became his liege-men and his retainers, to the number (according to that which is said) of fifty thousand horse. moreover, the folk heard of him and flocked to him from all sides; whereupon he divided [the spoil amongst them] and gave gifts and abode thus three days, and there came presents to him. then he bade set out for akil's abiding-place; so they fared on six days and on the seventh day they came in sight of the camp. el abbas bade his man aamir forego him and give akil the glad news of his cousin's coming. so he rode on to the camp and going in to akil, gave him the glad news of zuheir's slaughter and the conquest of his tribe. akil rejoiced in the coming of el abbas and the slaughter of his enemy and all in his camp rejoiced also and cast dresses of honour upon aamir. moreover, akil bade go forth to meet el abbas, and commanded that none, great or small, freeman or slave, should tarry behind. so they did his bidding and going forth all, met el abbas at three parasangs' distance from the camp. when they met him, they all dismounted from their horses and akil and he embraced and clapped hands.[fn# ] then they returned, rejoicing in the coming of el abbas and the slaughter of their enemy, to the camp, where tents were pitched for the new-comers and carpets spread and game killed and beasts slaughtered and royal guest-meals spread; and on this wise they abode twenty days, in the enjoyment of all delight and solace of life. to return to king el aziz. when his son el abbas left him, he was desolated for him with an exceeding desolation, he and his mother; and when tidings of him tarried long and the appointed time passed [and the prince returned not], the king caused public proclamation to be made, commanding all his troops to make ready to mount and go forth in quest of his son el abbas at the end of three days, after which time no cause of hindrance nor excuse should be admitted unto any. so on the fourth day, the king bade number the troops, and behold, they were four-and-twenty thousand horse, besides servants and followers. accordingly, they reared the standards and the drums beat to departure and the king set out [with his army], intending for baghdad; nor did he cease to fare on with all diligence, till he came within half a day's journey of the city and bade his troops encamp in [a place there called] the green meadow. so they pitched the tents there, till the country was straitened with them, and set up for the king a pavilion of green brocade, broidered with pearls and jewels. when el aziz had sat awhile, he summoned the mamelukes of his son el abbas, and they were five-and-twenty in number, besides half a score slave-girls, as they were moons, five of whom the king had brought with him and other five he had left with the prince's mother. when the mamelukes came before him, he cast over each of them a mantle of green brocade and bade them mount like horses of one and the same fashion and enter baghdad and enquire concerning their lord el abbas. so they entered the city and passed through the [streets and] markets, and there abode in baghdad nor old man nor boy but came forth to gaze on them and divert himself with the sight of their beauty and grace and the goodliness of their aspect and of their clothes and horses, for that they were even as moons. they gave not over going till they came to the royal palace, where they halted, and the king looked at them and seeing their beauty and the goodliness of their apparel and the brightness of their faces, said, "would i knew of which of the tribes these are!" and he bade the eunuch bring him news of them. so he went out to them and questioned them of their case, whereupon, "return to thy lord," answered they, "and question him of prince el abbas, if he have come unto him, for that he left his father king el aziz a full-told year agone, and indeed longing for him troubleth the king and he hath levied a part of his army and his guards and is come forth in quest of his son, so haply he may light upon tidings of him." quoth the eunuch, "is there amongst you a brother of his or a son?" "nay, by allah!" answered they. "but we are all his mamelukes and the boughten of his money, and his father el aziz hath despatched us to make enquiry of him. so go thou to thy lord and question him of the prince and return to us with that which he shall answer you." "and where is king el aziz?" asked the eunuch; and they replied, "he is encamped in the green meadow."[fn# ] the eunuch returned and told the king, who said, "indeed, we have been neglectful with regard to el abbas. what shall be our excuse with the king? by allah, my soul misdoubted me that the youth was of the sons of the kings!" the lady afifeh, his wife, saw him lamenting for [his usage of] el abbas and said to him, "o king, what is it thou regrettest with this exceeding regret?" quoth he, "thou knowest the stranger youth, who gave us the rubies?" "assuredly," answered she; and he said, "yonder youths, who have halted in the palace court, are his mamelukes, and his father king el aziz, lord of yemen, hath pitched his camp in the green meadow; for he is come with his army to seek him, and the number of his troops is [four-and-] twenty thousand men." [then he went out from her], and when she heard his words, she wept sore for him and had compassion on his case and sent after him, counselling him to send for the mamelukes and lodge them [in the palace] and entertain them. the king gave ear to her counsel and despatching the eunuch for the mamelukes, assigned them a lodging and said to them, "have patience, till the king give you tidings of your lord el abbas." when they heard his words, their eyes ran over with plenteous tears, of their much longing for the sight of their lord. then the king bade the queen enter the privy chamber[fn# ] and let down the curtain[fn# ] [before the door thereof]. so she did this and he summoned them to his presence. when they stood before him, they kissed the earth, to do him worship, and showed forth their breeding[fn# ] and magnified his dignity. he bade them sit, but they refused, till he conjured them by their lord el abbas. so they sat down and he caused set before them food of various kinds and fruits and sweetmeats. now within the lady afifeh's palace was an underground way communicating with the palace of the princess mariyeh. so the queen sent after her and she came to her, whereupon she made her stand behind the curtain and gave her to know that el abbas was the king's son of yemen and that these were his mamelukes. moreover, she told her that the prince's father had levied his troops and was come with his army in quest of him and that he had pitched his camp in the green meadow and despatched these mamelukes to make enquiry of their lord. so mariyeh abode looking upon them and upon their beauty and grace and the goodliness of their apparel, till they had eaten their fill of food and the tables were removed; whereupon the king recounted to them the story of el abbas and they took leave of him and went away. as for the princess mariyeh, when she returned to her palace, she bethought herself concerning the affair of el abbas, repenting her of that which she had done, and the love of him took root in her heart. so, when the night darkened upon her, she dismissed all her women and bringing out the letters, to wit, those which el abbas had written, fell to reading them and weeping. she gave not over weeping her night long, and when she arose in the morning, she called a damsel of her slave-girls, shefikeh by name, and said to her, "o damsel, i purpose to discover to thee mine affair, and i charge thee keep my secret; to wit, i would have thee betake thyself to the house of the nurse, who used to serve me, and fetch her to me, for that i have grave occasion for her." accordingly, shefikeh went out and repairing to the nurse's house, found her clad in apparel other[fn# ] than that which she had been wont to wear aforetime. so she saluted her and said to her, "whence hadst thou this dress, than which there is no goodlier?" "o shefikeh," answered the nurse, "thou deemest that i have gotten[fn# ] no good save of thy mistress; but, by allah, had i endeavoured for her destruction, i had done [that which was my right], for that she did with me what thou knowest[fn# ] and bade the eunuch beat me, without offence of me committed; wherefore do thou tell her that he, on whose behalf i bestirred myself with her, hath made me quit of her and her humours, for that he hath clad me in this habit and given me two hundred and fifty dinars and promised me the like thereof every year and charged me serve none of the folk." quoth shefikeh, "my mistress hath occasion for thee; so come thou with me and i will engage to restore thee to thy dwelling in weal and safety." but the nurse answered, saying, "indeed, her palace is become forbidden[fn# ] to me and never again will i enter therein, for that god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) of his favour and bounty hath rendered me independent of her." so shefikeh returned to her mistress and acquainted her with the nurse's words and that wherein she was of affluence; whereupon mariyeh confessed the unseemliness of her dealing with her and repented, whenas repentance profited her not; and she abode in that her case days and nights, whilst the fire of longing flamed in her heart. meanwhile, el abbas abode with his cousin akil twenty days, after which he made ready for the journey to baghdad and letting bring the booty he had gotten of king zuheir, divided it between himself and his cousin. then he set out for baghdad, and when he came within two days' journey of the city, he called his servant aamir and bade him mount his charger and forego him with the baggage-train and the cattle. so aamir [took horse and] fared on till he came to baghdad, and the season of his entering was the first of the day; nor was there little child or hoary old man in the city but came forth to divert himself with gazing on those flocks and herds and upon the goodliness of those slave-girls, and their wits were amazed at what they saw. presently the news reached the king that the young man el abbas, who had gone forth from him, was come back with herds and rarities and slaves and a mighty host and had taken up his sojourn without the city, whilst his servant aamir was presently come to baghdad, so he might make ready dwelling- places for his lord, wherein he should take up his abode. when the king heard these tidings of aamir, he sent for him and let bring him before him; and when he entered his presence, he kissed the earth and saluted and showed forth his breeding and greeted him with the goodliest of compliments. the king bade him raise his head and questioned him of his lord el abbas; whereupon he acquainted him with his tidings and told him that which had betided him with king zuheir and of the army that was become at his commandment and of the spoil that he had gotten. moreover, he gave him to know that el abbas was coming on the morrow, and with him more than fifty thousand cavaliers, obedient to his commandment. when the king heard his speech, he bade decorate baghdad and commanded [the inhabitants] to equip themselves with the richest of their apparel, in honour of the coming of el abbas. moreover, he sent to give king el aziz the glad tidings of his son's return and acquainted him with that which he had heard from the prince's servant. when the news reached el aziz, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy in the coming of his son and straightway took horse, he and all his army, what while the trumpets sounded and the musicians played, that the earth quaked and baghdad also trembled, and it was a notable day. when mariyeh beheld all this, she repented with the uttermost of repentance of that which she had wroughten against el abbas his due and the fires still raged in her vitals. meanwhile, the troops[fn# ] sallied forth of baghdad and went out to meet those of el abbas, who had halted in a meadow called the green island. when he espied the approaching host, he knew not what they were; so he strained his sight and seeing horsemen coming and troops and footmen, said to those about him, "among yonder troops are ensigns and banners of various kinds; but, as for the great green standard that ye see, it is the standard of my father, the which is reserved [unto him and never displayed save] over his head, and [by this] i know that he himself is come out in quest of me." and he was certified of this, he and his troops. [so he fared on towards them] and when he drew near unto them, he knew them and they knew him; whereupon they lighted down from their horses and saluting him, gave him joy of his safety and the folk flocked to him. when he came to his father, they embraced and greeted each other a long time, whilst neither of them availed unto speech, for the greatness of that which betided them of joy in reunion. then el abbas bade the folk mount; so they mounted and his mamelukes surrounded him and they entered baghdad on the most magnificent wise and in the highest worship and glory. the wife of the shopkeeper, to wit, the nurse, came out, with the rest of those who came out, to divert herself with gazing upon the show, and when she saw el abbas and beheld his beauty and the goodliness of his army and that which he had brought back with him of herds and slaves and slave-girls and mamelukes, she improvised and recited the following verses: el abbas from akil his stead is come again; prize hath he made of steeds and many a baggage-train; yea, horses hath he brought, full fair of shape and hue, whose collars, anklet-like, ring to the bridle-rein. taper of hoofs and straight of stature, in the dust they prance, as like a flood they pour across the plain; and on their saddles perched are warriors richly clad, that with their hands do smite on kettle-drums amain. couched are their limber spears, right long and lithe of point, keen- ground and polished sheer, amazing wit and brain. who dares with them to cope draws death upon himself; yea, of the deadly lance incontinent he's slain. come, then, companions mine, rejoice with me and say, "all hail to thee, o friend, and welcome fair and fain!" for whoso doth rejoice in meeting him shall have largesse and gifts galore at his dismounting gain. when the troops entered baghdad, each of them alighted in his pavilion, whilst el abbas encamped apart in a place near the tigris and commanded to slaughter for the troops, each day, that which should suffice them of oxen and sheep and bake them bread and spread the tables. so the folk ceased not to come to him and eat of his banquet. moreover, all the people of the country came to him with presents and rarities and he requited them many times the like of their gifts, so that the lands were filled with his tidings and the report of him was bruited abroad among the folk of the deserts and the cities. then, when he rode to his house that he had bought, the shopkeeper and his wife came to him and gave him joy of his safety; whereupon he ordered them three swift thoroughbred horses and ten dromedaries and an hundred head of sheep and clad them both in sumptuous dresses of honour. then he chose out ten slave-girls and ten black slaves and fifty horses and the like number of she- camels and three hundred head of sheep, together with twenty ounces of musk and as many of camphor, and sent all this to the king of baghdad. when this came to ins ben cais, his wit fled for joy and he was perplexed wherewithal to requite him. moreover, el abbas gave gifts and largesse and bestowed dresses of honour upon great and small, each after the measure of his station, save only mariyeh; for unto her he sent nothing. this was grievous to the princess and it irked her sore that he should not remember her; so she called her slave- girl shefikeh and said to her, "go to el abbas and salute him and say to him, 'what hindereth thee from sending my lady mariyeh her part of thy booty?'" so shefikeh betook herself to him and when she came to his door, the chamberlains refused her admission, until they should have gotten her leave and permission. when she entered, el abbas knew her and knew that she had somewhat of speech [with him]; so he dismissed his mamelukes and said to her, "what is thine errand, o handmaid of good?" "o my lord," answered she, "i am a slave-girl of the princess mariyeh, who kisseth thy hands and commendeth her salutation to thee. indeed, she rejoiceth in thy safety and reproacheth thee for that thou breakest her heart, alone of all the folk, for that thy largesse embraceth great and small, yet hast thou not remembered her with aught of thy booty. indeed, it is as if thou hadst hardened thy heart against her." quoth he, "extolled be the perfection of him who turneth hearts! by allah, my vitals were consumed with the love of her [aforetime] and of my longing after her, i came forth to her from my native land and left my people and my home and my wealth, and it was with her that began the hardheartedness and the cruelty. nevertheless, for all this, i bear her no malice and needs must i send her somewhat whereby she may remember me; for that i abide in her land but a few days, after which i set out for the land of yemen." then he called for a chest and bringing out thence a necklace of greek handiwork, worth a thousand dinars, wrapped it in a mantle of green silk, set with pearls and jewels and inwrought with red gold, and joined thereto two caskets of musk and ambergris. moreover, he put off upon the girl a mantle of greek silk, striped with gold, wherein were divers figures and semblants depictured, never saw eyes its like. therewithal the girl's wit fled for joy and she went forth from his presence and returned to her mistress. when she came in to her, she acquainted her with that which she had seen of el abbas and that which was with him of servants and attendants and [set out to her] the loftiness of his station and gave her that which was with her. mariyeh opened the mantle, and when she saw that necklace, and indeed the place was illumined with the lustre thereof, she looked at her slave-girl and said to her, "by allah, o shefikeh, one look at him were liefer to me than all that my hand possesseth! would i knew what i shall do, whenas baghdad is empty of him and i hear no tidings of him!" then she wept and calling for inkhorn* and paper and pen of brass, wrote the following verses: still do i yearn, whilst passion's fire flames in my liver aye; for parting's shafts have smitten me and done my strength away. oft for thy love as i would be consoled, my yearning turns to-thee- ward still and my desires my reason still gainsay. my transports i conceal for fear of those thereon that spy; yet down my cheeks the tears course still and still my case bewray. no rest is there for me, no life wherein i may delight, nor pleasant meat nor drink avails to please me, night or day. to whom save thee shall i complain, of whom relief implore, whose image came to visit me, what while in dreams i lay? reproach me not for what i did, but be thou kind to one who's sick of body and whose heart is wasted all away. the fire of love-longing i hide; severance consumeth me, a thrall of care, for long desire to wakefulness a prey. midmost the watches of the night i see thee, in a dream; a lying dream, for he i love my love doth not repay. would god thou knewest that for love of thee which i endure! it hath indeed brought down on me estrangement and dismay. read thou my writ and apprehend its purport, for my case this is and fate hath stricken me with sorrows past allay. know, then, the woes that have befall'n a lover, neither grudge her secret to conceal, but keep her counsel still, i pray. then she folded the letter and giving it to her slave-girl, bade her carry it to el abbas and bring back his answer thereto. accordingly, shefikeh took the letter and carried it to the prince, after the doorkeeper had sought leave of him to admit her. when she came in to him, she found with him five damsels, as they were moons, clad in [rich] apparel and ornaments; and when he saw her, he said to her, "what is thine occasion, o handmaid of good?" so she put out her hand to him with the letter, after she had kissed it, and he bade one of his slave-girls receive it from her. then he took it from the girl and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport; whereupon "we are god's and to him we return!" exclaimed he and calling for ink- horn and paper, wrote the following verses: i marvel for that to my love i see thee now incline, what time my heart, indeed, is fain to turn away from thine. whilere, the verses that i made it was thy wont to flout, saying, "no passer by the way[fn# ] hath part in me or mine. how many a king to me hath come, of troops and guards ensued, and bactrian camels brought with him, in many a laden line, and dromedaries, too, of price and goodly steeds and swift of many a noble breed, yet found no favour in my eyne!" then, after them came i to thee and union did entreat and unto thee set forth at length my case and my design; yea, all my passion and desire and love-longing in verse, as pearls in goodly order strung it were, i did enshrine. yet thou repaidst me with constraint, rigour and perfidy, to which no lover might himself on any wise resign. how many a bidder unto love, a secret-craving wight, how many a swain, complaining, saith of destiny malign, "how many a cup with bitterness o'erflowing have i quaffed! i make my moan of woes, whereat it boots not to repine." quoth thou, "the goodliest of things is patience and its use: its practice still mankind doth guide to all that's fair and fine." wherefore fair patience look thou use, for sure 'tis praiseworthy; yea, and its issues evermore are blessed and benign; and hope thou not for aught from me, who reck not with a folk to mix, who may with abjectness infect my royal line. this is my saying; apprehend its purport, then, and know i may in no wise yield consent to that thou dost opine. then he folded the letter and sealing it, delivered it to the damsel, who took it and carried it to her mistress. when the princess read the letter and apprehended its contents, she said, "meseemeth he recalleth to me that which i did aforetime." then she called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: me, till i stricken was therewith, to love thou didst excite, and with estrangement now, alas! heap'st sorrows on my spright. the sweet of slumber after thee i have forsworn; indeed the loss of thee hath smitten me with trouble and affright. how long shall i, in weariness, for this estrangement pine, what while the spies of severance[fn# ] do watch me all the night? my royal couch have i forsworn, sequestering myself from all, and have mine eyes forbid the taste of sleep's delight. thou taught'st me what i cannot bear; afflicted sore am i; yea, thou hast wasted me away with rigour and despite. yet, i conjure thee, blame me not for passion and desire, me whom estrangement long hath brought to sick and sorry plight. sore, sore doth rigour me beset, its onslaughts bring me near unto the straitness of the grave, ere in the shroud i'm dight. so be thou kind to me, for love my body wasteth sore, the thrall of passion i'm become its fires consume me quite. mariyeh folded the letter and gave it to shefikeh, bidding her carry it to el abbas. so she took it and going with it to his door, would have entered; but the chamberlains and serving-men forbade her, till they had gotten her leave from the prince. when she went in to him, she found him sitting in the midst of the five damsels aforesaid, whom his father had brought him. so she gave him the letter and he took it and read it. then he bade one of the damsels, whose name was khefifeh and who came from the land of china, tune her lute and sing upon the subject of separation. so she came forward and tuning the lute, played thereon in four-and-twenty modes; after which she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: upon the parting day our loves from us did fare and left us to endure estrangement and despair. whenas the burdens all were bounden on and shrill the camel-leader's call rang out across the air, fast flowed my tears; despair gat hold upon my soul and needs mine eyelids must the sweet of sleep forbear. i wept, but those who spied to part us had no ruth on me nor on the fires that in my vitals flare. woe's me for one who burns for love and longing pain! alas for the regrets my heart that rend and tear! to whom shall i complain of what is in my soul, now thou art gone and i my pillow must forswear? the flames of long desire wax on me day by day and far away are pitched the tent-poles of my fair. o breeze of heaven, from me a charge i prithee take and do not thou betray the troth of my despair; whenas thou passest by the dwellings of my love, greet him for me with peace, a greeting debonair, and scatter musk on him and ambergris, so long as time endures; for this is all my wish and care. when the damsel had made an end of her song, el abbas swooned away and they sprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, till he came to himself, when he called another damsel (now there was on her of linen and clothes and ornaments that which beggareth description, and she was endowed with brightness and loveliness and symmetry and perfection, such as shamed the crescent moon, and she was a turkish girl from the land of the greeks and her name was hafizeh) and said to her, "o hafizeh, close thine eyes and tune thy lute and sing to us upon the days of separation." she answered him with "hearkening and obedience" and taking the lute, tuned its strings and cried out from her head,[fn# ] in a plaintive voice, and sang the following verses: o friends, the tears flow ever, in mockery of my pain; my heart is sick for sev'rance and love-longing in vain. all wasted is my body and bowels tortured sore; love's fire on me still waxeth, mine eyes with tears still rain. whenas the fire of passion flamed in my breast, with tears, upon the day of wailing, to quench it i was fain. desire hath left me wasted, afflicted, sore afraid, for the spy knows the secret whereof i do complain. when i recall the season of love-delight with them, the sweet of sleep forsakes me, my body wastes amain. those who our parting plotted our sev'rance still delights; the spies, for fearful prudence, their wish of us attain. i fear me for my body from sickness and unrest, lest of the fear of sev'rance it be betrayed and slain. when hafizeh had made an end of her song, el abbas said to her, "well done! indeed, thou quickenest hearts from sorrows." then he called another damsel of the daughters of the medes, by name merjaneh, and said to her, "o merjaneh, sing to me upon the days of separation." "hearkening and obedience," answered she and improvising, sang the following verses: "fair patience practise, for thereon still followeth content." so runs the rede 'mongst all that dwell in city or in tent. how oft of dole have i made moan for love and longing pain, what while my body for desire in mortal peril went! how oft i've waked, how many a cup of sorrow have i drained, watching the stars of night go by, for sleepless languishment! it had sufficed me, had thy grace with verses come to me; my expectation still on thee in the foredawns was bent. then was my heart by that which caused my agitation seared, and from mine eyelids still the tears poured down without relent. yea, nevermore i ceased from that wherewith i stricken was; my night with wakefulness was filled, my heart with dreariment. but now hath allah from my heart blotted the love of thee, after for constancy i'd grown a name of wonderment. hence on the morrow forth i fare and leave your land behind; so take your leave of us nor fear mishap or ill event. whenas in body ye from us are far removed, would god i knew who shall to us himself with news of you present! and who can tell if ever house shall us together bring in union of life serene and undisturbed content? when merjaneh had made an end of her song, the prince said to her, "well done, o damsel! indeed, thou sayest a thing that had occurred to my mind and my tongue was like to speak it." then he signed to the fourth damsel, who was a cairene, by name sitt el husn, and bade her tune her lute and sing to him upon the [same] subject. so she tuned her lute and sang the following verses: fair patience use, for ease still followeth after stress and all things have their time and ordinance no less. though fortune whiles to thee belike may be unjust, her seasons change and man's excused if he transgress. in her revolving scheme, to bitter sweetness still succeeds and things become straight, after crookedness. thine honour, therefore, guard and eke thy secret keep, nor save to one free-born and true thy case confess. the lord's alternatives are these, wherewith he's wont the needy wretch to ply and those in sore duresse. when el abbas heard her verses, they pleased him and he said to her, "well done, o sitt el husn! indeed, thou hast done away trouble from my heart and [banished] the things that had occurred to my mind." then he heaved a sigh and signing to the fifth damsel, who was from the land of the persians and whose name was merziyeh (now she was the fairest of them all and the sweetest of speech and she was like unto a splendid star, endowed with beauty and loveliness and brightness and perfection and justness of shape and symmetry and had a face like the new moon and eyes as they were gazelle's eyes) and said to her, "o merziyeh, come forward and tune thy lute and sing to us on the [same] subject, for indeed we are resolved upon departure to the land of yemen." now this damsel had met many kings and had consorted with the great; so she tuned her lute and sang the following verses: may the place of my session ne'er lack thee i oh, why, my heart's love, hast thou saddened my mind and mine eye?[fn# ] by thy ransom,[fn# ] who dwellest alone in my heart, in despair for the loss of the loved one am i. so, by allah, o richest of all men in charms, vouchsafe to a lover, who's bankrupt well-nigh of patience, thy whilom endearments again, that i never to any divulged, nor deny the approof of my lord, so my stress and unease i may ban and mine enemies' malice defy, thine approof which shall clothe me in noblest attire and my rank in the eyes of the people raise high. when she had made an end of her song, all who were in the assembly wept for the daintiness of her speech and the sweetness of her voice and el abbas said to her, "well done, o merziyeh i indeed, thou confoundest the wits with the goodliness of thy verses and the elegance of thy speech." all this while shefikeh abode gazing upon her, and when she beheld el abbas his slave-girls and considered the goodliness of their apparel and the nimbleness of their wits and the elegance of their speech, her reason was confounded. then she sought leave of el abbas and returning to her mistress mariyeh, without letter or answer, acquainted her with his case and that wherein he was of puissance and delight and majesty and venerance and loftiness of rank. moreover, she told her what she had seen of the slave-girls and their circumstance and that which they had said and how they had made el abbas desireful of returning to his own country by the recitation of verses to the sound of the strings. when the princess heard this her slave-girl's report, she wept and lamented and was like to depart the world. then she clave to her pillow and said, "o shefikeh, i will instruct thee of somewhat that is not hidden from god the most high, and it is that thou watch over me till god the most high decree the accomplishment of his commandment, and when my days are ended, take thou the necklace and the mantle that el abbas gave me and return them to him. indeed, i deem not he will live after me, and if god the most high decree against him and his days come to an end, do thou give one charge to shroud us and bury us both in one grave." then her case changed and her colour paled; and when shefikeh saw her mistress in this plight, she repaired to her mother and told her that the lady mariyeh refused meat and drink. "since when hath this befallen her?" asked the queen, and shefikeh answered, "since yesterday;" whereat the queen was confounded and betaking herself to her daughter, that she might enquire into her case, found her as one dead. so she sat down at her head and mariyeh opened her eyes and seeing her mother sitting by her, sat up for shamefastness before her. the queen questioned her of her case and she said, "i entered the bath and it stupefied me and weakened me and left an exceeding pain in my head; but i trust in god the most high that it will cease." when her mother went out from her, mariyeh fell to chiding the damsel for that which she had done and said to her, "verily, death were leifer to me than this; so look thou discover not my affair to any and i charge thee return not to the like of this fashion." then she swooned away and lay awhile without life, and when she came to herself, she saw shefikeh weeping over her; whereupon she took the necklace from her neck and the mantle from her body and said to the damsel, "lay them in a napkin of damask and carry them to el abbas and acquaint him with that wherein i am for the persistence of estrangement and the effects of forbiddance." so shefikeh took them and carried them to el abbas, whom she found in act to depart, for that he was about to take horse for yemen. she went in to him and gave him the napkin and that which was therein, and when he opened it and saw what it contained, to wit, the mantle and the necklace, his vexation was excessive and his eyes were distorted, [so that the whites thereof appeared] and his rage was manifest in them. when shefikeh saw that which betided him, she came forward and said to him, "o bountiful lord, indeed my mistress returneth not the mantle and the necklace despitefully; but she is about to depart the world and thou hast the best right to them." "and what is the cause of this?" asked he. quoth shefikeh, "thou knowest. by allah, never among the arabs nor the barbarians nor among the sons of the kings saw i a harder of heart than thou! is it a light matter to thee that thou troublest mariyeh's life and causest her mourn for herself and depart the world on account of[fn# ] thy youth? indeed, thou wast the cause of her acquaintance with thee and now she departeth the world on thine account, she whose like god the most high hath not created among the daughters of the kings." when el abbas heard these words from the damsel, his heart irked him for mariyeh and her case was grievous to him; so he said to shefikeh, "canst thou avail to bring me in company with her, so haply i may discover her affair and allay that which aileth her?" "yes," answered the damsel, "i can do that, and thine will be the bounty and the favour." so he arose and followed her, and she forewent him, till they came to the palace. then she [opened and] locked behind them four-and-twenty doors and made them fast with bolts; and when he came to mariyeh, he found her as she were the setting sun, cast down upon a rug of taifi leather,[fn# ] among cushions stuffed with ostrich down, and not a limb of her quivered. when her maid saw her in this plight, she offered to cry out; but el abbas said to her, "do it not, but have patience till we discover her affair; and if god the most high have decreed the ending of her days, wait till thou have opened the doors to me and i have gone forth. then do what seemeth good to thee." so saying, he went up to the princess and laying his hand upon her heart, found it fluttering like a doveling and the life yet clinging to[fn# ] her bosom. so he laid his hand upon her cheek, whereupon she opened her eyes and beckoning to her maid, signed to her, as who should say, "who is this that treadeth my carpet and transgresseth against me?"[fn# ] "o my lady," answered shefikeh, "this is prince el abbas, for whose sake thou departest the world." when mariyeh heard speak of el abbas, she raised her hand from under the coverlet and laying it upon his neck, inhaled his odour awhile. then she sat up and her colour returned to her and they sat talking till a third part of the night was past. presently, the princess turned to her maid and bade her fetch them somewhat of food and sweetmeats and dessert and fruits. so shefikeh brought what she desired and they ate and drank [and abode on this wise] without lewdness, till the night departed and the day came. then said el abbas, "indeed, the day is come. shall i go to my father and bid him go to thy father and seek thee of him in marriage for me, in accordance with the book of god the most high and the institutes of his apostle (whom may he bless and keep!) so we may not enter into transgression?" and mariyeh answered, saying, "by allah, it is well counselled of thee!" so he went away to his lodging and nought befell between them; and when the day lightened, she improvised and recited the following verses: o friends, the east wind waxes, the morning draweth near; a plaintive voice[fn# ] bespeaks me and i rejoice to hear. up, to our comrade's convent, that we may visit him and drink of wine more subtle than dust;[fn# ] our trusty fere hath spent thereon his substance, withouten stint; indeed, in his own cloak he wrapped it, he tendered it so dear.[fn# ] whenas its jar was opened, the singers prostrate fell in worship of its brightness, it shone so wonder-clear. the priests from all the convent came flocking onto it: with cries of joy and welcome their voices they did rear. we spent the night in passing the cup, my mates and i, till in the eastward heaven the day-star did appear. no sin is there in drinking of wine, for it affords all that's foretold[fn# ] of union and love and happy cheer. o morn, our loves that sunder'st, a sweet and easeful life thou dost for me prohibit, with thy regard austere. be gracious, so our gladness may be fulfilled with wine and we of our beloved have easance, without fear. the best of all religions your love is, for in you are love and life made easeful, untroubled and sincere. meanwhile, el abbas betook himself to his father's camp, which was pitched in the green meadow, by the side of the tigris, and none might make his way between the tents, for the much interlacement of the tent-ropes. when the prince reached the first of the tents, the guards and servants came out to meet him from all sides and escorted him till he drew near the sitting-place of his father, who knew of his coming. so he issued forth of his pavilion and coming to meet his son, kissed him and made much of him. then they returned together to the royal pavilion and when they had seated themselves and the guards had taken up their station in attendance on them, the king said to el abbas, "o my son, make ready thine affair, so we may go to our own land, for that the folk in our absence are become as they were sheep without a shepherd." el abbas looked at his father and wept till he swooned away, and when he recovered from his swoon, he improvised and recited the following verses: i clipped her[fn# ] in mine arms and straight grew drunken with the scent of a fresh branch that had been reared in affluence and content. 'twas not of wine that i had drunk; her mouth's sweet honeyed dews it was intoxicated me with bliss and ravishment. upon the table of her cheek beauty hath writ, "alack, her charms! 'twere well thou refuge sought'st with god incontinent."[fn# ] since thou hast looked on her, mine eye, be easy, for by god nor mote nor ailment needst thou fear nor evil accident. beauty her appanage is grown in its entirety, and for this cause all hearts must bow to her arbitrament. if with her cheek and lustre thou thyself adorn,[fn# ] thou'lt find but chrysolites and gold, with nought of baser metal blent. when love-longing for her sweet sake i took upon myself, the railers flocked to me anon, on blame and chiding bent; but on no wise was i affrayed nor turned from love of her; so let the railer rave of her henceforth his heart's content. by god, forgetfulness of her shall never cross my mind, what while i wear the bonds of life nor when of death they're rent an if i live, in love of her i'll live, and if i die of love and longing for her sight, o rare! o excellent! when el abbas had made an end of his verses, his father said to him, "i seek refuge for thee with god, o my son! hast thou any want unto which thou availest not, so i may endeavour for thee therein and lavish my treasures in quest thereof?" "o father mine," answered el abbas, "i have, indeed, an urgent want, on account whereof i came forth of my native land and left my people and my home and exposed myself to perils and stresses and became an exile from my country, and i trust in god that it may be accomplished by thine august endeavour." "and what is thy want?" asked the king. quoth el abbas, "i would have thee go and demand me in marriage mariyeh, daughter of the king of baghdad, for that my heart is distraught with love of her." and he recounted to his father his story from first to last. when the king heard this from his son, he rose to his feet and calling for his charger of state, took horse with four-and-twenty amirs of the chief officers of his empire. then he betook himself to the palace of the king of baghdad, who, when he saw him coming, bade his chamberlains open the doors to him and going down himself to meet him, received him with all worship and hospitality and entreated him with the utmost honour. moreover, he carried him [and his suite] into the palace and causing make ready for them carpets and cushions, sat down upon a chair of gold, with traverses of juniper- wood, set with pearls and jewels. then he bade bring sweetmeats and confections and odoriferous flowers and commanded to slaughter four-and-twenty head of sheep and the like of oxen and make ready geese and fowls, stuffed and roasted, and pigeons and spread the tables; nor was it long before the meats were set on in dishes of gold and silver. so they ate till they had enough and when they had eaten their fill, the tables were removed and the wine-service set on and the cups and flagons ranged in order, whilst the mamelukes and the fair slave- girls sat down, with girdles of gold about their middles, inlaid with all manner pearls and diamonds and emeralds and rubies and other jewels. moreover, the king bade fetch the musicians; so there presented themselves before him a score of damsels, with lutes and psalteries and rebecks, and smote upon instruments of music, on such wise that they moved the assembly to delight. then said el aziz to the king of baghdad, "i would fain speak a word to thee; but do thou not exclude from us those who are present. if thou consent unto my wish, that which is ours shall be thine and that which is incumbent on thee shall be incumbent on us,[fn# ] and we will be to thee a mighty aid against all enemies and opposites." quoth ins ben cais, "say what thou wilt, o king, for indeed thou excellest in speech and attainest [the mark] in that which them sayest" so el aziz said to him," i desire that thou give thy daughter mariyeh in marriage to my son el abbas, for thou knowest that wherewithal he is gifted of beauty and loveliness and brightness and perfection and how he beareth himself in the frequentation of the valiant and his constancy in the stead of smiting and thrusting." "by allah, o king," answered ins ben cais, "of my love for mariyeh, i have appointed her disposal to be in her own hand; wherefore, whomsoever she chooseth of the folk, i will marry her to him." then he arose and going in to his daughter, found her mother with her; so he set out to them the case and mariyeh said, "o father mine, my wish is subject unto[fn# ] thy commandment and my will ensueth thy will; so whatsoever thou choosest, i am still obedient unto thee and under thy dominion." therewithal the king knew that mariyeh inclined unto el abbas; so he returned forthright to king el aziz and said to him, "may god amend the king! verily, the occasion is accomplished and there is no opposition unto that which thou commandest" quoth el aziz, "by god's leave are occasions accomplished. how deemest thou, o king, of fetching el abbas and drawing up the contract of marriage between mariyeh and him?" and ins ben cais answered, saying, "thine be it to decide." so el aziz sent after his son and acquainted him with that which had passed; whereupon el abbas called for four-and-twenty males and half a score horses [and as many camels] and loaded the mules with pieces of silk and rags of leather and boxes of camphor and musk and the camels [and horses] with chests of gold and silver. moreover, he took the richest of the stuffs and wrapping them in pieces of gold-striped silk, laid them on the heads of porters, and they fared on with the treasures till they reached the king of baghdad's palace, whereupon all who were present dismounted in honour of el abbas and escorting him to the presence of king ins ben cais, displayed unto the latter all that they had with them of things of price. the king bade carry all this into the harem and sent for the cadis and the witnesses, who drew up the contract and married mariyeh to prince el abbas, whereupon the latter commanded to [slaughter] a thousand head of sheep and five hundred buffaloes. so they made the bride-feast and bade thereto all the tribes of the arabs, bedouins and townsfolk, and the tables abode spread for the space of ten days. then el abbas went in to mariyeh in a happy and praiseworthy hour[fn# ] and found her an unpierced pearl and a goodly filly that had never been mounted; wherefore he rejoiced and was glad and made merry, and care and sorrow ceased from him and his life was pleasant and trouble departed and he abode with her in the gladsomest of case and in the most easeful of life, till seven days were past, when king el aziz determined to set out and return to his kingdom and bade his son seek leave of his father-in-law to depart with his wife to his own country. [so el abbas bespoke king ins of this] and he granted him the leave he sought; whereupon he chose out a red camel, taller[fn# ] than the [other] camels, and mounting mariyeh in a litter thereon, loaded it with apparel and ornaments. then they spread the ensigns and the standards, whilst the drums beat and the trumpets sounded, and set out upon the homeward journey. the king of baghdad rode forth with them and brought them three days' journey on their way, after which he took leave of them and returned with his troops to baghdad. as for king el aziz and his son, they fared on night and day and gave not over going till there abode but three days' journey between them and yemen, when they despatched three men of the couriers to the prince's mother [to acquaint her with their return], safe and laden with spoil, bringing with them mariyeh, the king's daughter of baghdad. when the queen-mother heard this, her wit fled for joy and she adorned el abbas his slave-girls after the goodliest fashion. now he had ten slave-girls, as they were moons, whereof his father had carried five with him to baghdad, as hath aforetime been set out, and other five abode with his mother. when the dromedary-posts[fn# ] came, they were certified of the approach of el abbas, and when the sun rose and their standards appeared, the prince's mother came out to meet her son; nor was there great or small, old man or infant, but went forth that day to meet the king. the drums of glad tidings beat and they entered in the utmost of worship and magnificence. moreover, the tribes heard of them and the people of the towns and brought them the richest of presents and the costliest of rarities and the prince's mother rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then they slaughtered beasts and made mighty bride-feasts to the people and kindled fires, that it might be visible afar to townsman [and bedouin] that this was the house of the guest-meal and the wedding, festival, to the intent that, if any passed them by, [without partaking of their hospitality], it should be of his own fault[fn# ] so the folk came to them from all parts and quarters and on this wise they abode days and months. then the prince's mother bade fetch the five slave-girls to that assembly; whereupon they came and the ten damsels foregathered. the queen seated five of them on her son's right hand and other five on his left and the folk assembled about them. then she bade the five who had remained with her speak forth somewhat of verse, so they might entertain therewith the assembly and that el abbas might rejoice therein. now she had clad them in the richest of raiment and adorned them with trinkets and ornaments and wroughten work of gold and silver and collars of gold, set with pearls and jewels. so they came forward, with harps and lutes and psalteries and recorders and other instruments of music before them, and one of them, a damsel who came from the land of china and whose name was baoutheh, advanced and tightened the strings of her lute. then she cried out from the top of her head[fn# ] and improvising, sang the following verses: unto its pristine lustre your land returned and more, whenas ye came, dispelling the gloom that whiles it wore. our stead, that late was desert, grew green and eke our trees, that barren were, grew loaded with ripened fruits galore. yea, to the earth that languished for lack of rain, the clouds were bounteous; so it flourished and plenteous harvests bore; and troubles, too, forsook us, who tears like dragons' blood, o lordings, for your absence had wept at every pore. indeed, your long estrangement hath caused my bowels yearn. would god i were a servant in waiting at your door! when she had made an end of her song, all who were present were moved to delight and el abbas rejoiced in this. then he bade the second damsel sing somewhat on the like subject. so she came forward and tuning the strings of her harp, which was of balass ruby,[fn# ] warbled a plaintive air and improvising, sang the following verses; the absent ones' harbinger came us unto with tidings of those who[fn# ] had caused us to rue. "my soul be thy ransom,"quoth i,"for thy grace! indeed, to the oath that thou swor'st thou wast true." on the dear nights of union, in you was our joy, but afflicted were we since ye bade us adieu. you swore you'd be faithful to us and our love, and true to your oath and your troth-plight were you; and i to you swore that a lover i was; god forbid that with treason mine oath i ensue! yea, "welcome! fair welcome to those who draw near!" i called out aloud, as to meet you i flew. the dwellings, indeed, one and all, i adorned, bewildered and dazed with delight at your view; for death in your absence to us was decreed; but, when ye came back, we were quickened anew. when she had made an end of her verses, el abbas bade the third damsel, who came from samarcand of the persians and whose name was rummaneh, sing, and she answered with "hearkening and obedience." then she took the psaltery and crying out from the midst of her bead[fn# ] improvised and sang the following verses: my watering lips, that cull the rose of thy soft cheek, declare my basil,[fn# ] lily mine, to be the myrtles of thy hair. sandhill[fn# ] and down[fn# ] betwixt there blooms a yellow willow-flower,[fn# ] pomegranate-blossoms[fn# ] and for fruits pomegranates[fn# ] that doth bear. his eyelids' sorcery from mine eyes hath banished sleep; since he from me departed, nought see i except a drowsy fair.[fn# ] he shot me with the shafts of looks launched from an eyebrow's[fn# ] bow; a chamberlain[fn# ] betwixt his eyes hath driven me to despair. my heart belike shall his infect with softness, even as me his body with disease infects, of its seductive air. yet, if with him forgotten be the troth-plight of our loves, i have a king who of his grace will not forget me e'er. his sides the tamarisk's slenderness deride, so lithe they are, whence for conceit in his own charms still drunken doth he fare. whenas he runs, his feet still show like wings,[fn# ] and for the wind when was a rider found, except king solomon it were?[fn# ] therewithal el abbas smiled and her verses pleased him. then he bade the fourth damsel come forward and sing. now she was from the land of morocco and her name was belekhsha. so she came forward and taking the lute and the psaltery, tightened the strings thereof and smote thereon in many modes; then returned to the first mode and improvising, sang the following verses: when in the sitting-chamber we for merry-making sate, with thine eyes' radiance the place thou didst illuminate and pliedst us with cups of wine, whilst from the necklace pearls[fn# ] a strange intoxicating bliss withal did circulate, whose subtleness might well infect the understanding folk; and secrets didst thou, in thy cheer, to us communicate. whenas we saw the cup, forthright we signed to past it round and sun and moon unto our eyes shone sparkling from it straight. the curtain of delight, perforce, we've lifted through the friend,[fn# ] for tidings of great joy, indeed, there came to us of late. the camel-leader singing came with the belov'd; our wish accomplished was and we were quit of all the railers' prate. when clear'd my sky was by the sweet of our foregathering and not a helper there remained to disuniting fate, i shut myself up with my love; no spy betwixt us was; we feared no enemies' despite, no envious neighbour's hate. life with our loves was grown serene, estrangement was at end: our dear ones all delight of love vouchsafed to us elate, saying, "thy fill of union take; no spy is there on us, whom we should fear, nor yet reproach our gladness may abate." our loves are joined and cruelty at last is done away; ay, and the cup of love-delight 'twixt us doth circulate. upon yon be the peace of god! may all prosperity, for what's decreed of years and lives, upon you ever wait! when belekhsha had made an end of her verses, all present were moved to delight and el abbas said to her, "well done, o damsel!" then he bade the fifth damsel come forward and sing. now she was from the land of syria and her name was rihaneh; she was surpassing of voice and when she appeared in an assembly, all eyes were fixed upon her. so she came forward and taking the rebeck (for that she was used to play upon [all manner] instruments) improvised and sang the following verses: your coming to-me-ward, indeed, with "welcome! fair welcome!" i hail. your sight to me gladness doth bring and banisheth sorrow and bale; for love with your presence grows sweet, untroubled and life is serene and the star of our fortune burns bright, that clouds in your absence did veil. yea, by allah, my longing for you ne'er waneth nor passetb away; for your like among creatures is rare and sought for in mountain and vale. ask mine eyes whether slumber hath lit on their lids since the hour of your loss or if aye on a lover they've looked. nay, an ye believe not their tale, my heart, since the leave-taking day afflicted, will tell of my case, and my body, for love and desire grown wasted and feeble and frail. could they who reproach me but see my sufferings, their hearts would relent; they'd marvel, indeed, at my case and the loss of my loved ones bewail. yea, they'd join me in pouring forth tears and help me my woes to lament, and like unto me they'd become all wasted and tortured and pale. how long did the heart for thy love that languished with longing endure a burden of passion, 'neath which e'en mountains might totter and fail! by allah, what sorrows and woes to my soul for thy sake were decreed! my heart is grown hoar, ere eld's snows have left on my tresses their trail. the fires in my vitals that rage if i did but discover to view, their ardour the world to consume, from the east to the west, might avail. but now unto me of my loves accomplished are joyance and cheer and those whom i cherish my soul with the wine of contentment regale. our lord, after sev'rance, with them hath conjoined us, for he who doth good shall ne'er disappointed abide and kindnesses kindness entail. when king el aziz heard the damsel's song, her speech and her verses pleased him and he said to el abbas, "o my son, verily, these damsels are weary with long versifying, and indeed they make us yearn after the dwellings and the homesteads with the goodliness of their songs. indeed, these five have adorned our assembly with the excellence of their melodies and have done well in that which they have said before those who are present; wherefore we counsel thee to enfranchise them for the love of god the most high." quoth el abbas, "there is no commandment but thy commandment;" and he enfranchised the ten damsels in the assembly; whereupon they kissed the hands of the king and his son and prostrated themselves in thanksgiving to god the most high. then they put off that which was upon them of ornaments and laying aside the lutes [and other] instruments of music, clave to their houses, veiled, and went not forth.[fn# ] as for king el aziz, he lived after this seven years and was admitted to the mercy of god the most high; whereupon his son el abbas carried him forth to burial on such wise as beseemeth unto kings and let make recitations and readings of the koran, in whole or in part, over his tomb. he kept up the mourning for his father a full-told month, at the end of which time he sat down on the throne of the kingship and judged and did justice and distributed silver and gold. moreover, he loosed all who were in the prisons and abolished grievances and customs dues and did the oppressed justice of the oppressor; wherefore the people prayed for him and loved him and invoked on him endurance of glory and kingship and length of continuance [on life] and eternity of prosperity and happiness. moreover, the troops submitted to him and the hosts from all parts of the kingdom, and there came to him presents from all the lands. the kings obeyed him and many were his troops and his grandees, and his subjects lived with him the most easeful and prosperous of lives. meanwhile, he ceased not, he and his beloved, queen mariyeh, in the most delightsome of life and the pleasantest thereof, and he was vouchsafed by her children; and indeed there befell friendship and love between them and the longer their companionship was prolonged, the more their love waxed, so that they became unable to endure from each other a single hour, save the time of his going forth to the divan, when he would return to her in the utterest that might be of longing. aud on this wise they abode in all solace and delight of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. so extolled be the perfection of him whose kingdom endureth for ever, who is never heedless neither dieth nor sleepeth! this is all that hath come down to us of their story, and so peace [be on you!] shehrzad and shehriyar.[fn# ] king shehriyar marvelled [at this story[fn# ]] and said "by allah, verily, injustice slayeth its folk!"[fn# ] and he was edified by that wherewith shehrzad bespoke him and sought help of god the most high. then said he to her, "tell me another of thy stories, o shehrzad; let it be a pleasant one and this shall be the completion of the story-telling." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad. "it hath reached me, o august king, that a man once said to his fellows, 'i will set forth to you a means[fn# ] of security[fn# ] against vexation.[fn# ] a friend of mine once related to me and said, "we attained [whiles] to security[fn# ] against vexation,[fn# ]and the origin of it was other than this; to wit, it was as follows.[fn# ] the two kings and the vizier's daughters.[fn# ] [aforetime] i journeyed in [many] lands and climes and towns and visited the great cities and traversed the ways and [exposed myself to] dangers and hardships. towards the last of my life, i entered a city [of the cities of china],[fn# ] wherein was a king of the chosroes and the tubbas[fn# ] and the caesars.[fn# ] now that city had been peopled with its inhabitants by means of justice and equitable dealing; but its [then] king was a tyrant, who despoiled souls and [did away] lives; there was no wanning oneself at his fire,[fn# ] for that indeed he oppressed the true believers and wasted the lands. now he had a younger brother, who was [king] in samarcand of the persians, and the two kings abode a while of time, each in his own city and place, till they yearned unto each other and the elder king despatched his vizier in quest of his younger brother. when the vizier came to the king of samarcand [and acquainted him with his errand], he submitted himself to the commandment [of his brother and made answer] with 'hearkening and obedience.' then he equipped himself and made ready for the journey and brought forth his tents and pavilions. a while after midnight, he went in to his wife, that he might take leave of her, and found with her a strange man, sleeping with her in one bed. so he slew them both and dragging them out by the feet, cast them away and set forth incontinent on his journey. when he came to his brother's court, the latter rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and lodged him in the pavilion of entertainment, [to wit, the guest-house,] beside his own palace. now this pavilion overlooked a garden belonging to the elder king and there the younger brother abode with him some days. then he called to mind that which his wife had done with him and remembered him of her slaughter and bethought him how he was a king, yet was not exempt from the vicissitudes of fortune; and this wrought upon him with an exceeding despite, so that it caused him abstain from meat and drink, or, if he ate anything, it profited him not. when his brother saw him on this wise, he doubted not but that this had betided him by reason of severance from his people and family and said to him, 'come, let us go forth a-hunting.' but he refused to go with him; so the elder brother went forth to the chase, whilst the younger abode in the pavilion aforesaid. as he was diverting himself by looking out upon the garden from the window of the palace, behold, he saw his brother's wife and with her ten black slaves and as many slave-girls. each slave laid hold of a damsel [and swived her] and another slave [came forth and] did the like with the queen; and when they had done their occasions, they all returned whence they came. therewithal there betided the king of samarcand exceeding wonder and solacement and he was made whole of his malady, little by little. after a few days, his brother returned and finding him healed of his sickness, said to him, 'tell me, o my brother, what was the cause of thy sickness and thy pallor, and what is the cause of the return of health to thee and of rosiness to thy face after this?' so he acquainted him with the whole case and this was grievous to him; but they concealed their affair and agreed to leave the kingship and fare forth pilgrim-wise, wandering at a venture, for they deemed that there had befallen none the like of this which had befallen them. [so they went forth and wandered on at hazard] and as they journeyed, they saw by the way a woman imprisoned in seven chests, whereon were five locks, and sunken in the midst of the salt sea, under the guardianship of an afrit; yet for all this that woman issued forth of the sea and opened those locks and coming forth of those chests, did what she would with the two brothers, after she had circumvented the afrit. when the two kings saw that woman's fashion and how she circumvented the afrit, who had lodged her at the bottom of the sea, they turned back to their kingdoms and the younger betook himself to samarcand, whilst the elder returned to china and established unto himself a custom in the slaughter of women, to wit, his vizier used to bring him a girl every night, with whom he lay that night, and when he arose in the morning, he gave her to the vizier and bade him put her to death. on this wise he abode a great while, whilst the people murmured and the creatures [of god] were destroyed and the commons cried out by reason of that grievous affair whereinto they were fallen and feared the wrath of god the most high, dreading lest he should destroy them by means of this. still the king persisted in that fashion and in that his blameworthy intent of the killing of women and the despoilment of the curtained ones,[fn# ] wherefore the girls sought succour of god the most high and complained to him of the tyranny of the king and of his oppressive dealing with them. now the king's vizier had two daughters, own sisters, the elder of whom had read books and made herself mistress of [all] sciences and studied the writings of the sages and the histories of the boon-companions,[fn# ] and she was possessed of abundant wit and knowledge galore and surpassing apprehension. she heard that which the folk suffered from the king and his despiteous usage of their children; whereupon compassion gat hold upon her for them and jealousy and she besought god the most high that he would bring the king to renounce that his heresy,[fn# ] and god answered her prayer. then she took counsel with her younger sister and said to her, 'i mean to contrive somewhat for the liberation of the people's children; and it is that i will go up to the king [and offer myself to him], and when i come to his presence, i will seek thee. when thou comest in to me and the king hath done his occasion [of me], do thou say to me, 'o my sister, let me hear and let the king hear a story of thy goodly stories, wherewithal we may beguile the waking hours of our night, till we take leave of each other.' 'it is well,' answered the other. 'surely this contrivance will deter the king from his heresy and thou shalt be requited with exceeding favour and abounding recompense in the world to come, for that indeed thou adventurest thyself and wilt either perish or attain to thy desire.' so she did this and fair fortune aided her and the divine favour was vouchsafed unto her and she discovered her intent to her father, who forbade her therefrom, fearing her slaughter. however, she repeated her speech to him a second and a third time, but he consented not. then he cited unto her a parable, that should deter her, and she cited him a parable in answer to his, and the talk was prolonged between them and the adducing of instances, till her father saw that he availed not to turn her from her purpose and she said to him, 'needs must i marry the king, so haply i may be a sacrifice for the children of the muslims; either i shall turn him from this his heresy or i shall die.' when the vizier despaired of dissuading her, he went up to the king and acquainted him with the case, saying, 'i have a daughter and she desireth to give herself to the king.' quoth the king, 'how can thy soul consent unto this, seeing that thou knowest i lie but one night with a girl and when i arise on the morrow, i put her to death, and it is thou who slayest her, and thou hast done this again and again?' 'know, o king,' answered the vizier, 'that i have set forth all this to her, yet consented she not unto aught, but needs must she have thy company and still chooseth to come to thee and present herself before thee, notwithstanding that i have cited to her the sayings of the sages; but she hath answered me to the contrary thereof with more than that which i said to her.' and the king said, 'bring her to me this night and to-morrow morning come thou and take her and put her to death; and by allah, an thou slay her not, i will slay thee and her also!' the vizier obeyed the king's commandment and going out from before him, [returned to his own house. when it was night, he took his elder daughter and carried her up to the king; and when she came into his presence,] she wept; whereupon quoth he to her, 'what causeth thee weep? indeed, it was thou who willedst this.' and she answered, saying, 'i weep not but for longing after my little sister; for that, since we grew up, i and she, i have never been parted from her till this day; so, if it please the king to send for her, that i may look on her and take my fill of her till the morning, this were bounty and kindness of the king.' accordingly, the king bade fetch the girl [and she came]. then there befell that which befell of his foregathering with the elder sister, and when he went up to his couch, that he might sleep, the younger sister said to the elder, 'i conjure thee by allah, o my sister, an thou be not asleep, tell us a story of thy goodly stories, wherewithal we may beguile the watches of our night, against morning come and parting.' 'with all my heart,' answered she and fell to relating to her, whilst the king listened. her story was goodly and delightful, and whilst she was in the midst of telling it, the dawn broke. now the king's heart clave to the hearing of the rest of the story; so he respited her till the morrow, and when it was the next night, she told him a story concerning the marvels of the lands and the extraordinary chances of the folk, that was yet stranger and rarer than the first. in the midst of the story, the day appeared and she was silent from the permitted speech. so he let her live till the ensuing night, so he might hear the completion of the story and after put her to death. meanwhile, the people of the city rejoiced and were glad and blessed the vizier's daughter, marvelling for that three days had passed and that the king had not put her to death and exulting in that, [as they deemed,] he had turned [from his purpose] and would never again burden himself with blood-guiltiness against any of the maidens of the city. then, on the fourth night, she related to him a still more extraordinary story, and on the fifth night she told him anecdotes of kings and viziers and notables. on this wise she ceased not [to do] with him [many] days and nights, what while the king still said in himself, 'when i have heard the end of the story, i will put her to death,' and the people waxed ever in wonder and admiration. moreover, the folk of the provinces and cities heard of this thing, to wit, that the king had turned from his custom and from that which he had imposed upon himself and had renounced his heresy, wherefore they rejoiced and the folk returned to the capital and took up their abode therein, after they had departed thence; yea, they were constant in prayer to god the most high that he would stablish the king in that his present case; and this," said shehrzad, "is the end of that which my friend related to me." "o shehrzad," quoth shehriyar, "finish unto us the story that thy friend told thee, for that it resembleth the story of a king whom i knew; but fain would i hear that which betided the people of this city and what they said of the affair of the king, so i may return from that wherein i was." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad. "know, o august king and lord of just judgment and praiseworthy excellence and exceeding prowess, that, when the folk heard that the king had put away from him his custom and returned from that which had been his wont, they rejoiced in this with an exceeding joy and offered up prayers for him. then they talked with one another of the cause of the slaughter of the girls, and the wise said, 'they[fn# ] are not all alike, nor are the fingers of the hand alike.'" shehrzad and shehriyar.[fn# ] (conclusion) when king shehriyar heard this story, he came to himself and awaking from his drunkenness,[fn# ] said, "by allah, this story is my story and this case is my case, for that indeed i was in wrath[fn# ] and [danger of] punishment till thou turnedst me back from this into the right way, extolled be the perfection of the causer of causes and the liberator of necks! indeed, o shehrzad," continued he, "thou hast awakened me unto many things and hast aroused me from mine ignorance." then said she to him, "o chief of the kings, the wise say, 'the kingship is a building, whereof the troops are the foundation,' and whenas the foundation is strong, the building endureth; wherefore it behoveth the king to strengthen the foundation, for that they say, 'whenas the foundation is weak, the building falleth.' on like wise it behoveth the king to care for his troops and do justice among his subjects, even as the owner of the garden careth for his trees and cutteth away the weeds that have no profit in them; and so it behoveth the king to look into the affairs of his subjects and fend off oppression from them. as for thee, o king," continued shehrzad, "it behoveth thee that thy vizier be virtuous and versed in the knowledge of the affairs of the folk and the common people; and indeed god the most high hath named his name[fn# ] in the history of moses (on whom be peace!) whenas he saith, [quoth moses] 'and make me a vizier of my people, aaron [my brother].[fn# ] could a vizier have been dispensed withal, moses ben imran had been worthier [than any of this dispensation].[fn# ] as for the vizier, the sultan discovereth unto him his affairs, private and public; and know, o king, that the similitude of thee with the people is that of the physician with the sick man; and the condition[fn# ] of the vizier is that he be truthful in his sayings, trustworthy in all his relations, abounding in compassion for the folk and in tender solicitude over them. indeed, it is said, o king, that good troops[fn# ] are like the druggist; if his perfumes reach thee not, thou still smallest the sweet scent of them; and ill troops are like the black-smith; if his sparks burn thee not, thou smellest his nauseous smell. so it behoveth thee take unto thyself a virtuous vizier, a man of good counsel, even as thou takest unto thee a wife displayed before thy face, for that thou hast need of the man's righteousness for thine own amendment,[fn# ] seeing that, if thou do righteously, the commons will do likewise, and if thou do evil, they also will do evil." when the king heard this, drowsiness overcame him and he slept and presently awaking, called for the candles. so they were lighted and he sat down on his couch and seating shehrzad by him, smiled in her face. she kissed the earth before him and said, "o king of the age and lord of the time and the day, extolled be the perfection of [god] the forgiving one, the bountiful giver, who hath sent me unto thee, of his favour and beneficence, so i have informed thee with longing after paradise; for that this which thou wast used to do was never done of any of the kings before thee. as for women, god the most high [in his holy book] maketh mention of them, [whenas he saith, 'verily, men who submit [themselves unto god] and women who submit] and true-believing men and true-believing women and obedient men and obedient women and soothfast men and soothfast women [and long-suffering men and long-suffering women and men who order themselves humbly and women who order themselves humbly and charitable men and charitable women and men who fast and women who fast] and men who guard their privities and women who guard their privities [and men who are constantly mindful of god and women who are constantly mindful, god hath prepared unto them forgiveness and a mighty recompense].[fn# ] as for that which hath befallen thee, verily, it hath befallen [many] kings before thee and their women have played them false, for all they were greater of puissance than thou, yea, and mightier of kingship and more abounding in troops. if i would, i could relate unto thee, o king, concerning the wiles of women, that whereof i could not make an end all my life long; and indeed, aforetime, in all these my nights that i have passed before thee, i have told thee [many stories and anecdotes] of the artifices of women and of their craft and perfidy; but indeed the things abound on me;[fn# ] wherefore, if it like thee, o king, i will relate unto thee [somewhat] of that which befell kings of old time of the perfidy of their women and of the calamities which overtook them by reason of these latter." "how so?" asked the king. "tell on." "hearkening and obedience,"answered shehrzad."it hath been told me, o king, that a man once related to a company and spoke as follows: the favourite and her lover.[fn# ] one day, a day of excessive heat, as i stood at the door of my house, i saw a fair woman approaching, and with her a slave-girl carrying a parcel. they gave not over going till they came up to me, when the woman stopped and said to me, 'hast thou a draught of water?' 'yes,' answered i. 'enter the vestibule, o my lady, so thou mayst drink.' accordingly, she entered and i went up into the house and fetched two mugs of earthenware, perfumed with musk[fn# ] and full of cold water. she took one of them and discovered her face, [that she might drink]; whereupon i saw that she was as the shining sun or the rising moon and said to her, 'o my lady, wilt thou not come up into the house, so thou mayst rest thyself till the air grow cool and after go away to thine own place?' quoth she, 'is there none with thee?' 'indeed,' answered i, 'i am a [stranger] and a bachelor and have none belonging to me, nor is there a living soul in the house.' and she said, 'an thou be a stranger, thou art he in quest of whom i was going about.' then she went up into the house and put off her [walking] clothes and i found her as she were the full moon. i brought her what i had by me of meat and drink and said to her, 'o my lady, excuse me: this is that which is ready.' quoth she, 'this is abundant kindness and indeed it is what i sought' and she ate and gave the slave-girl that which was left; after which i brought her a casting-bottle of rose-water, mingled with musk, and she washed her hands and abode with me till the season of afternoon-prayer, when she brought out of the parcel that she had with her a shirt and trousers and an upper garment[fn# ] and a kerchief wroughten with gold and gave them to me; saying, 'know that i am one of the favourites of the khalif, and we are forty favourites, each one of whom hath a lover who cometh to her as often as she would have him; and none is without a lover save myself, wherefore i came forth to-day to find me a gallant and behold, i have found thee. thou must know that the khalif lieth each night with one of us, whilst the other nine-and-thirty favourites take their ease with the nine-and-thirty men, and i would have thee be with me on such a day, when do thou come up to the palace of the khalif and wait for me in such a place, till a little eunuch come out to thee and say to thee a [certain] word, to wit, "art thou sendel?" and do thou answer, "yes," and go with him.' then she took leave of me and i of her, after i had strained her to my bosom and embraced her and we had kissed awhile. so she went away and i abode expecting the appointed day, till it came, when i arose and went forth, intending for the trysting-place; but a friend of mine met me by the way [and would have me go home with him. so i accompanied him to his house] and when i came up [into his sitting-chamber] he locked the door on me and went forth to fetch what we might eat and drink. he was absent till mid-day, then till the hour of afternoon-prayer, whereat i was sore disquieted. then he was absent till sundown, and i was like to die of chagrin and impatience; [and indeed he returned not] and i passed my night on wake, nigh upon death, for that the door was locked on me, and my soul was like to depart my body on account of the tryst. at daybreak, my friend returned and opening the door, came in, bringing with him meat-pottage[fn# ] and fritters and bees' honey,[fn# ] and said to me, 'by allah, thou must needs excuse me, for that i was with a company and they locked the door on me and have but now let me go.' but i returned him no answer. then he set before me that which was with him and i ate a single mouthful and went out, running, so haply i might overtake that which had escaped me.[fn# ] when i came to the palace, i saw over against it eight-and-thirty gibbets set up, whereon were eight-and-thirty men crucified, and under them eight-and-thirty concubines as they were moons. so i enquired of the reason of the crucifixion of the men and concerning the women in question, and it was said unto me, 'the men [whom thou seest] crucified the khalif found with yonder damsels, who are his favourites.' when i heard this, i prostrated myself in thanksgiving to god and said, 'god requite thee with good, o my friend!' for that, had he not invited me [and kept me perforce in his house] that night, i had been crucified with these men, wherefore praise be to god! thus," continued shehrzad, "none is safe from the calamities of fortune and the vicissitudes of time, and [in proof of this], i will relate unto thee yet another story still rarer and more extraordinary than this. know, o king, that one said to me, 'a friend of mine, a merchant, told me the following story. quoth he, the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah.[fn# ] as i sat one day in my shop, there came up to me a fair woman, as she were the moon at its rising, and with her a slave-girl. now i was a handsome man in my time; so the lady sat down on [the bench before] my shop and buying stuffs of me, paid down the price and went away. i questioned the girl of her and she said, "i know not her name." quoth i, "where is her abode?" "in heaven," answered the slave-girl; and i said, "she is presently on the earth; so when doth she ascend to heaven and where is the ladder by which she goeth up?" quoth the girl, "she hath her lodging in a palace between two rivers,[fn# ] to wit, the palace of el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah."[fn# ] then said i, "i am a dead man, without recourse; "but she replied, "have patience, for needs must she return unto thee and buy stuffs of thee yet again." "and how cometh it," asked i, "that the commander of the faithful trusteth her to go out?" "he loveth her with an exceeding love," answered she, "and is wrapped up in her and gainsayeth her not." then the girl went away, running, after her mistress, whereupon i left the shop and set out after them, so i might see her abiding-place. i followed after them all the way, till she disappeared from mine eyes, when i returned to my place, with a heart on fire. some days after, she came to me again and bought stuffs of me. i refused to take the price and she said, "we have no need of thy goods." quoth i, "o my lady, accept them from me as a gift;" but she said, "[wait] till i try thee and make proof of thee." then she brought out of her pocket a purse and gave me therefrom a thousand dinars, saying, "trade with this till i return to thee." so i took the purse and she went away [and returned not to me] till six months had passed by. meanwhile, i traded with the money and sold and bought and made other thousand dinars profit [on it]. presently, she came to me again and i said to her, "here is thy money and i have gained [with it] other thousand dinars." quoth she, "keep it by thee and take these other thousand dinars. as soon as i have departed from thee, go thou to er rauzeh[fn# ] and build there a goodly pavilion, and when the building thereof is accomplished, give me to know thereof." so saying, she left me and went away. as soon as she was gone, i betook myself to er rauzeh and addressed myself to the building of the pavilion, and when it was finished, i furnished it with the goodliest of furniture and sent to the lady to tell her that i had made an end of its building; whereupon she sent back to me, saying, "let him meet me to-morrow at daybreak at the zuweyleh gate and bring with him a good ass." so i got me an ass and betaking myself to the zuweyleh gate, at the appointed time, found there a young man on horse- back, awaiting her, even as i awaited her. as we stood, behold, up came the lady, and with her a slave-girl. when she saw the young man, she said to him, "art thou here?" and he answered, "yes, o my lady." quoth she, "to-day i am bidden by this man. wilt thou go with us?" and he replied, "yes." then said she, "thou hast brought me [hither] against my will and perforce. wilt thou go with us in any event?"[fn# ] "yes, yes," answered he and we fared on, [all three,] till we came to er rauzeh and entered the pavilion. the lady diverted herself awhile with viewing its ordinance and furniture, after which she put off her [walking-]clothes and sat down [with the young man] in the goodliest and chiefest place. then i went forth and brought them what they should eat at the first of the day; moreover, i went out also and fetched them what they should eat at the last of the day and brought them wine and dessert and fruits and flowers. on this wise i abode in their service, standing on my feet, and she said not unto me, "sit," nor "take, eat" nor "take, drink," what while she and the young man sat toying and laughing, and he fell to kissing her and pinching her and hopping about upon the ground and laughing. they abode thus awhile and presently she said, "up to now we have not become drunken; let me pour out." so she took the cup and gave him to drink and plied him with liquor, till he became drunken, when she took him and carried him into a closet. then she came out, with his head in her hand, what while i stood silent, fixing not mine eyes on hers neither questioning her of this; and she said to me, "what is this?" "i know not," answered i; and she said, "take it and cast it into the river." i obeyed her commandment and she arose and stripping herself of her clothes, took a knife and cut the dead man's body in pieces, which she laid in three baskets, and said to me, "throw them into the river." i did as she bade me and when i returned, she said to me, "sit, so i may relate to thee yonder fellow's case, lest thou be affrighted at that which hath befallen him. thou must know that i am the khalif's favourite, nor is there any more in honour with him than i; and i am allowed six nights in each month, wherein i go down [into the city and take up my abode] with my [former] mistress, who reared me; and when i go down thus, i dispose of myself as i will. now this young man was the son of neighbours of my mistress, when i was a virgin girl. one day, my mistress was [engaged] with the chief [officers] of the palace and i was alone in the house. when the night came on, i went up to the roof, so i might sleep there, and before i was aware, this youth came up from the street and falling upon me, knelt on my breast. he was armed with a poniard and i could not win free of him till he had done away my maidenhead by force; and this sufficed him not, but he must needs disgrace me with all the folk, for, as often as i came down from the palace, he would lie in wait for me by the way and swive me against my will and follow me whithersoever i went. this, then, is my story, and as for thee, thou pleasest me and thy patience pleaseth me and thy good faith and loyal service, and there abideth with me none dearer than thou." then i lay with her that night and there befell what befell between us till the morning, when she gave me wealth galore and fell to coming to the pavilion six days in every month. on this wise we abode a whole year, at the end of which time she was absent[fn# ] from me a month's space, wherefore fire raged in my heart on her account. when it was the next month, behold, a little eunuch presented himself to me and said, "i am a messenger to thee from such an one," [naming my mistress], "who giveth thee to know that the commander of the faithful hath sentenced her to be drowned, her and those who are with her, six-and-twenty slave-girls, on such a day at deir et tin,[fn# ] for that they have confessed against one another of lewdness, and she biddeth thee look how thou mayst do with her and how thou mayst contrive to deliver her, even if thou gather together all her money and spend it upon her, for that this is the time of manhood."[fn# ] quoth i, "i know not this woman; belike it is other than i [to whom this message is addressed]; so beware, o eunuch, lest thou cast me into stress." quoth he, "behold, i have told thee [that which i had to say,"] and went away, leaving me in concern [on her account]. [when the appointed day arrived], i arose and changing my clothes and favour, donned sailor's apparel; then i took with me a purse full of gold and buying good [victual for the] morning-meal, accosted a boatman [at deir et tin] and sat down and ate with him; after which said i to him, "wilt thou hire me thy boat?" quoth he, "the commander of the faithful hath commanded me to be here;" and he told me the story of the concubines and how the khalif purposed to drown them that day. when i heard this from him, i brought out to him half a score dinars and discovered to him my case, whereupon quoth he to me, "o my brother, get thee empty calabashes, and when thy mistress cometh, give me to know of her and i will contrive the trick." i kissed his hand and thanked him, and as i was walking about, [waiting,] up came the guards and eunuchs with the women, who were weeping and crying out and taking leave of one another. the eunuchs cried out to us, whereupon we came with the boat, and they said to the boatman, "who is this?" "this is my mate," answered he, "[whom i have brought,] to help me, so one of us may keep the boat, whilst another doth your service." then they brought out to us the women, one by one, saying, "throw them [in] by the island;" and we answered, "it is well." now each of them was shackled and they had made a jar of sand fast about her neck. we did as the eunuchs bade us and ceased not to take the women, one after another, and cast them in, till they gave us my mistress and i winked to my comrade. so we took her and carried her out into mid-stream, where i gave her the empty calabashes[fn# ] and said to her, "wait for me at the mouth of the canal." then we cast her in, after we had loosed the jar of sand from her neck and done off her fetters, and returned. now there remained one after her; so we took her and drowned her and the eunuchs went away, whilst we dropped down the river with the boat till we came to the mouth of the canal, where i saw my mistress awaiting me. so we took her up into the boat and returned to our pavilion on er rauzeh. then i rewarded the boatman and he took his boat and went away; whereupon quoth she to me, "thou art indeed a friend in need."[fn# ] and i abode with her some days; but the shock wrought upon her so that she sickened and fell to wasting away and redoubled in languishment and weakness till she died. i mourned for her with an exceeding mourning and buried her; after which i removed all that was in the pavilion to my own house [and abandoned the former]. now she had brought to the pavilion aforetime a little brass coffer and laid it in a place whereof i knew not; so, when the inspector of inheritances[fn# ] came, he searched the pavilion and found the coffer, with the key in the lock. so he opened it and finding it full of jewels and jacinths and earrings and seal-rings and precious stones, such as are not found save with kings and sultans, took it, and me with it, and ceased not to put me to the question with beating and torment till i confessed to them the whole affair from beginning to end, whereupon they carried me to the khalif and i told him all that had passed between me and her; and he said to me, "o man, depart from this city, for i acquit thee for thy valiance sake and because of thy [constancy in] keeping thy secret and thy daring in exposing thyself to death." so i arose forthright and departed his city; and this is what befell me.'" shehrzad and shehriyar. king shehriyar marvelled at these things and shehrzad said to him, "thou marvelledst at that which befell thee on the part of women; yet hath there befallen the kings of the chosroes before thee what was more grievous than that which befell thee, and indeed i have set forth unto thee that which betided khalifs and kings and others than they with their women, but the exposition is long and hearkening groweth tedious, and in this [that i have already told thee] is sufficiency for the man of understanding and admonishment for the wise." then she was silent, and when the king heard her speech and profited by that which she said, he summoned up his reasoning faculties and cleansed his heart and caused his understanding revert [to the right way] and turned [with repentance] to god the most high and said in himself, "since there befell the kings of the chosroes more than that which hath befallen me, never, whilst i abide [on life], shall i cease to blame myself [for that which i did in the slaughter of the daughters of the folk]. as for this shehrzad, her like is not found in the lands; so extolled be the perfection of him who appointed her a means for the deliverance of his creatures from slaughter and oppression!" then he arose from his session and kissed her head, whereat she rejoiced with an exceeding joy, she and her sister dinarzad. when the morning morrowed, the king went forth and sitting down on the throne of the kingship, summoned the grandees of his empire; whereupon the chamberlains and deputies and captains of the host went in to him and kissed the earth before him. he distinguished the vizier with his especial favour and bestowed on him a dress of honour and entreated him with the utmost kindness, after which he set forth briefly to his chief officers that which had betided him with shehrzad and how he had turned from that his former usance and repented him of what he had done aforetime and purposed to take the vizier's daughter shehrzad to wife and let draw up the contract of marriage with her. when those who were present heard this, they kissed the earth before him and offered up prayers for him and for the damsel shehrzad, and the vizier thanked her. then shehriyar made an end of the session in all weal, whereupon the folk dispersed to their dwelling-places and the news was bruited abroad that the king purposed to marry the vizier's daughter shehrzad. then he proceeded to make ready the wedding gear, and [when he had made an end of his preparations], he sent after his brother king shahzeman, who came, and king shehriyar went forth to meet him with the troops. moreover, they decorated the city after the goodliest fashion and diffused perfumes [from the censing-vessels] and [burnt] aloes-wood and other perfumes in all the markets and thoroughfares and rubbed themselves with saffron, what while the drums beat and the flutes and hautboys sounded and it was a notable day. when they came to the palace, king shehriyar commanded to spread the tables with beasts roasted [whole] and sweetmeats and all manner viands and bade the crier make proclamation to the folk that they should come up to the divan and eat and drink and that this should be a means of reconciliation between him and them. so great and small came up unto him and they abode on that wise, eating and drinking, seven days with their nights. then the king shut himself up with his brother and acquainted him with that which had betided him with the vizier's daughter [shehrzad] in those three years [which were past] and told him what he had heard from her of saws and parables and chronicles and pleasant traits and jests and stories and anecdotes and dialogues and histories and odes and verses; whereat king shahzeman marvelled with the utterest of marvel and said, "fain would i take her younger sister to wife, so we may be two own brothers to two own sisters, and they on likewise be sisters unto us; for that the calamity which befell me was the means of the discovering of that which befell thee and all this time of three years past i have taken no delight in woman, save that i lie each night with a damsel of my kingdom, and when i arise in the morning, i put her to death; but now i desire to marry thy wife's sister dinarzad." when king shehriyar heard his brother's words he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and arising forthright, went in to his wife shehrzad and gave her to know of that which his brother purposed, to wit, that he sought her sister dinarzad in marriage; whereupon, "o king of the age," answered she, "we seek of him one condition, to wit, that he take up his abode with us, for that i cannot brook to be parted from my sister an hour, because we were brought up together and may not brook severance from each other. if he accept this condition, she is his handmaid." king shehriyar returned to his brother and acquainted him with that which shehrzad had said; and he answered, saying, "indeed, this is what was in my mind, for that i desire nevermore to be parted from thee. as for the kingdom, god the most high shall send unto it whom he chooseth, for that there abideth to me no desire for the kingship." when king shehriyar heard his brother's words, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said, "verily, this is what i had wished, o my brother. so praised be god who hath brought about union between us!" then he sent after the cadis and learned men and captains and notables, and they married the two brothers to the two sisters. the contracts were drawn up and the two kings bestowed dresses of honour of silk and satin on those who were present, whilst the city was decorated and the festivities were renewed. the king commanded each amir and vizier and chamberlain and deputy to decorate his palace and the folk of the city rejoiced in the presage of happiness and content. moreover, king shehriyar bade slaughter sheep and get up kitchens and made bride-feasts and fed all comers, high and low. then the eunuchs went forth, that they might perfume the bath [for the use of the brides]; so they essenced it with rose-water and willow-flower-water and bladders of musk and fumigated it with cakili[fn# ] aloes-wood and ambergris. then shehrzad entered, she and her sister dinarzad, and they cleansed their heads and clipped their hair. when they came forth of the bath, they donned raiment and ornaments, [such as were] prepared for the kings of the chosroes; and among shehrzad's apparel was a dress charactered with red gold and wroughten with semblants of birds and beasts. moreover, they both encircled their necks with necklaces of jewels of price, in the like whereof iskender[fn# ] rejoiced not, for therein were great jewels such as amazed the wit and the eye, and the thought was bewildered at their charms, for indeed, each of them was brighter than the sun and the moon. before them they kindled lighted flambeaux in torch-holders of gold, but their faces outshone the flambeaux, for that they had eyes sharper than drawn swords and the lashes of their eyelids ensorcelled all hearts. their cheeks were rosy and their necks and shapes swayed gracefully and their eyes wantoned. and the slave-girls came to meet them with instruments of music. then the two kings entered the bath, and when they came forth, they sat down on a couch, inlaid with pearls and jewels, whereupon the two sisters came up to them and stood before them, as they were moons, swaying gracefully from side to side in their beauty and grace. presently they brought forward shehrzad and displayed her, for the first dress, in a red suit; whereupon king shehriyar rose to look upon her and the wits of all present, men and women, were confounded, for that she was even as saith of her one of her describers: like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, she shines in a dress of the hue of pomegranate flower. she gives me to drink of her cheeks and her honeyed lips and quenches the worst of the fires that my heart devour. then they attired dinarzad in a dress of blue brocade and she became as she were the full moon, whenas it shineth forth. so they displayed her in this, for the first dress, before king shahzeman, who rejoiced in her and well-nigh took leave of his wits for longing and amorous desire; yea, he was distraught with love for her, whenas he saw her, for, indeed, she was as saith of her one of her describers in the following verses: she comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, blue as the stainless sky, unflecked with white; i view her with yearning eyes and she seems to me a moon of the summer, set in a winter's night. then they returned to shehrzad and displayed her in the second dress. they clad her in a dress of surpassing goodliness, and veiled her face to the eyes with her hair. moreover, they let down her side locks and she was even as saith of her one of her describers in the following verses: bravo for her whose loosened locks her cheeks do overcloud! she slays me with her cruelty, so fair she is and proud. quoth i, "thou overcurtainest the morning with the night;" and she, "not so; it is the moon that with the dark i shroud." then they displayed dinarzad in a second and a third and a fourth dress and she came forward, as she were the rising sun, and swayed coquettishly to and fro; and indeed she was even as saith the poet of her in the following verses: a sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, glorious in arch and amorous grace, with coyness beautified; and when the sun of morning sees her visage and her smile, o'ercome. he hasteneth his face behind the clouds to hide. then they displayed shehrzad in the third dress and the fourth and the fifth, and she became as she were a willow-wand or a thirsting gazelle, goodly of grace and perfect of attributes, even as saith of her one in the following verses: like the full moon she shows upon a night of fortune fair, slender of shape and charming all with her seductive air. she hath an eye, whose glances pierce the hearts of all mankind, nor can cornelian with her cheeks for ruddiness compare. the sable torrent of her locks falls down unto her hips; beware the serpents of her curls, i counsel thee, beware! indeed her glance, her sides are soft; but none the less, alas! her heart is harder than the rock; there is no mercy there. the starry arrows of her looks she darts above her veil; they hit and never miss the mark, though from afar they fare. then they returned to dinarzad and displayed her in the fifth dress and in the sixth, which was green. indeed, she overpassed with her loveliness the fair of the four quarters of the world and outshone, with the brightness of her countenance, the full moon at its rising; for she was even as saith of her the poet in the following verses: a damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace; thou'dst deem the very sun had borrowed from her face. she came in robes of green, the likeness of the leaf that the pomegranate's flower doth in the bud encase. "how call'st thou this thy dress?" quoth we, and she replied a word wherein the wise a lesson well might trace; "breaker of hearts," quoth she, "i call it, for therewith i've broken many a heart among the amorous race." then they displayed shehrzad in the sixth and seventh dresses and clad her in youths' apparel, whereupon she came forward, swaying coquettishly from side to side; and indeed she ravished wits and hearts and ensorcelled with her glances [all who looked on her]. she shook her sides and wagged her hips, then put her hair on the hilt of her sword and went up to king shehriyar, who embraced her, as the hospitable man embraces the guest, and threatened her in her ear with the taking of the sword; and indeed she was even as saith of her the poet in these verses: were not the darkness[fn# ] still in gender masculine, as ofttimes is the case with she-things passing fine, tirewomen to the bride, who whiskers, ay, and beard upon her face produce, they never would assign.[fn# ] on this wise they did with her sister dinarzad, and when they had made an end of displaying the two brides, the king bestowed dresses of honour on all who were present and dismissed them to their own places. then shehrzad went in to king shehriyar and dinarzad to king shahzeman and each of them solaced himself with the company of his beloved and the hearts of the folk were comforted. when the morning morrowed, the vizier came in to the two kings and kissed the ground before them; wherefore they thanked him and were bountiful to him. then they went forth and sat down upon couches of estate, whilst all the viziers and amirs and grandees and the chief officers of the realm and the household presented themselves before them and kissed the earth. king shehriyar ordered them dresses of honour and largesse and they offered up prayers for the abiding continuance [on life] of the king and his brother. then the two kings appointed their father-in-law the vizier to be viceroy in samarcand and assigned him five of the chief amirs to accompany him, charging them attend him and do him service. the vizier kissed the earth and prayed that they might be vouchsafed length of life. then he went in to his daughters, whilst the eunuchs and ushers walked before him, and saluted them and bade them farewell. they kissed his hands and gave him joy of the kingship and bestowed on him treasures galore. then he took leave of them and setting out, journeyed days and nights till he came within three days' journey of samarcand, where the townspeople met him and rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy. so he entered samarcand and they decorated the city, and it was a notable day. he sat down on the throne of his kingship and the viziers did him homage and the grandees and amirs of samarcand and prayed that he might be vouchsafed justice and victory and length of continuance [on life]. so he bestowed on them dresses of honour and entreated them with worship and they made him sultan over them. as soon as his father-in-law had departed for samarcand, king shehriyar summoned the grandees of his realm and made them a magnificent banquet of all manner rich meats and exquisite sweetmeats. moreover, he bestowed on them dresses of honour and guerdoned them and divided the kingdoms between himself and his brother in their presence, whereat the folk rejoiced. then the two kings abode, ruling each a day in turn and they accorded with each other, what while their wives continued in the love of god the most high and in thanksgiving to him; and the subjects and the provinces were at peace and the preachers prayed for them from the pulpits, and their report was bruited abroad and the travellers bore tidings of them [to all countries]. moreover, king shehriyar summoned chroniclers and copyists and bade them write all that had betided him with his wife, first and last; so they wrote this and named it "the stories of the thousand nights and one night." the book came to[fn# ] thirty volumes and these the king laid up in his treasury. then the two kings abode with their wives in all delight and solace of life, for that indeed god the most high had changed their mourning into joyance; and on this wise they continued till there took them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who maketh void the dwelling-places and peopleth the tombs, and they were translated to the mercy of god the most high; their houses were laid waste and their palaces ruined and the kings inherited their riches. then there reigned after them an understanding king, who was just, keen-witted and accomplished and loved stories, especially those which chronicle the doings of kings and sultans, and he found [in the treasuries of the kings who had foregone him] these marvellous and rare and delightful stories, [written] in the thirty volumes aforesaid. so he read in them a first book and a second and a third and [so on] to the last of them, and each book pleased him more than that which forewent it, till he came to the end of them. then he marvelled at that which he had read [therein] of stories and discourse and witty traits and anecdotes and moral instances and reminiscences and bade the folk copy them and publish them in all lands and climes; wherefore their report was bruited abroad and the people named them "the marvels and rarities of the thousand nights and one night." this is all that hath come down to us of [the history of] this book, and god is all-knowing.[fn# ] calcutta ( - ) text. sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter note. as the version of the sixth and seventh voyages of sindbad the sailor contained in[fn# ] the calcutta edition ( - ) of the first two hundred nights and in the text of the voyages published by m. langles (paris, ) differs very materially from that of the complete calcutta ( - ) edition[fn# ] (which is, in this case, practically identical with those of boulac and breslau), adopted by me as my standard text in the translation of "the book of the thousand nights and one night," the story of the seventh voyage in particular turning upon an altogether different set of incidents, related nearly as in the old version of m. galland, i now give a translation of the text of the two voyages in question afforded by the calcutta ( - ) edition, corrected and completed by collation with that of m. langles, from which it differs only in being slightly less full. it will be observed that in this version of the story the name sindbad is reserved for the sailor, the porter being called hindbad. sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter. on the morrow they[fn# ] returned to their place, as of their wont, and betook themselves to eating and drinking and merry-making and sporting till the last of the day, when sindbad bade them hearken to his relation concerning his sixth voyage, the which (quoth he) is of the most extraordinary of pleasant stories and the most startling [for that which it compriseth] of tribulations and disasters. then said he, the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. "when i returned from my fifth voyage, i gave myself up to eating and drinking and passed my time in solace and delight and forgot that which i had suffered of stresses and afflictions, nor was it long before the thought of travel again presented itself to my mind and my soul hankered after the sea. so i brought out the goods and binding up the bales, departed from baghdad, [intending] for certain of the lands, and came to the sea-coast, where i embarked in a stout ship, in company with a number of other merchants of like mind with myself, and we [set out and] sailed till we came among certain distant islands and found ourselves in difficult and dangerous case. [one day], as the ship was sailing along, and we unknowing where we were, behold, the captain came down [from the mast] and casting his turban from his head, fell to buffeting his face and plucking at his beard and weeping and supplicating [god for deliverance]. we asked him what ailed him, and he answered, saying, 'know, o my masters, that the ship is fallen among shallows and drifteth upon a sand-bank of the sea. another moment [and we shall be upon it]. if we clear the bank, [well and good]; else, we are all dead men and not one of us will be saved; wherefore pray ye to god the most high, so haply he may deliver us from these deadly perils, or we shall lose our lives.' so saying, he mounted [the mast] and set the sail, but at that moment a contrary wind smote the ship, and it rose upon the crest of the waves and sank down again into the trough of the sea. now there was before us a high mountain,[fn# ] rising [abruptly] from the sea, and the ship fell off into an eddy,[fn# ] which bore it on till presently it struck upon the skirt[fn# ] of the mountain and broke in sunder; whereupon the captain came down [from the mast], weeping, and said, 'god's will be done! take leave of one another and look yourselves out graves from to-day, for we have fallen into a predicament[fn# ] from which there is no escape, and never yet hath any been cast away here and come off alive.' so all the folk fell a-weeping and gave themselves up for lost, despairing of deliverance; friend took leave of friend and sore was the mourning and lamentation; for that hope was cut off and they were left without guide or pilot.[fn# ] then all who were in the ship landed on the skirt of the mountain and found themselves on a long island, whose shores were strewn with [wrecks], beyond count or reckoning, [of] ships that had been cast away [there] and whose crews had perished; and there also were dry bones and dead bodies, heaped upon one another, and goods without number and riches past count so we abode confounded, drunken, amazed, humbling ourselves [in supplication to god] and repenting us [of having exposed ourselves to the perils of travel]; but repentance availed not in that place. in this island is a river of very sweet water, issuing from the shore of the sea and entering in at a wide cavern in the skirt of an inaccessible mountain, and the stones of the island are all limpid sparkling crystal and jacinths of price. therein also is a spring of liquid, welling up like [molten] pitch, and when it cometh to the shore of the island, the fish swallow it, then return and cast it up, and it becometh changed from its condition and that which it was aforetime; and it is crude ambergris. moreover, the trees of the island are all of the most precious aloes-wood, both chinese and comorin; but there is no way of issue from the place, for it is as an abyss midmost the sea; the steepness of its shore forbiddeth the drawing up of ships, and if any approach the mountain, they fall into the eddy aforesaid; nor is there any resource[fn# ] in that island. so we abode there, daily expecting death, and whoso of us had with him a day's victual ate it in five days, and after this he died; and whoso had with him a month's victual ate it in five months and died also. as for me, i had with me great plenty of victual; so i buried it in a certain place and brought it out, [little by little,] and fed on it; and we ceased not to be thus, burying one the other, till all died but myself and i abode alone, having buried the last of my companions, and but little victual remained to me. so i said in myself, 'who will bury me in this place?' and i dug me a grave and abode in expectation of death, for that i was in a state of exhaustion. then, of the excess of my repentance, i blamed and reproached myself for my much [love of] travel and said, 'how long wilt thou thus imperil thyself?' and i abode as i were a madman, unable to rest; but, as i was thus melancholy and distracted, god the most high inspired me with an idea, and it was that i looked at the river aforesaid, as it entered in at the mouth of the cavern in the skirt of the mountain, and said in myself, 'needs must this water have issue in some place.' so i arose and gathering wood and planks from the wrecks, wrought of them the semblance of a boat [to wit, a raft,] and bound it fast with ropes, saying, 'i will embark thereon and fare with this water into the inward of the mountain. if it bring me to the mainland or to a place where i may find relief and safety, [well and good]; else i shall [but] perish, even as my companions have perished.' then i collected of the riches and gold and precious stuffs, cast up there, whose owners had perished, a great matter, and of jacinths and crude ambergris and emeralds somewhat past count, and laid all this on the raft [together with what was left me of victual]. then i launched it on the river and seating myself upon it, put my trust in god the most high and committed myself to the stream. the raft fared on with me, running along the surface of the river, and entered into the inward of the mountain, where the light of day forsook me and i abode dazed and stupefied, unknowing whither i went. whenas i hungered, i ate a little of the victual i had with me, till it was all spent and i abode expecting the mercy of the lord of all creatures.[fn# ] presently i found myself in a strait [channel] in the darkness and my head rubbed against the roof of the cave; and in this case i abode awhile, knowing not night from day, whilst anon the channel grew straiter and anon widened out; and whenas my breast was straitened and i was confounded at my case, sleep took me and i knew neither little nor much. when i awoke and opened my eyes, i found myself [in the open air] and the raft moored to the bank of the stream, whilst about me were folk of the blacks of hind. when they saw that i was awake, they came up to me, to question me; so i rose to them and saluted them. they bespoke me in a tongue i knew not, whilst i deemed myself in a dream, and for the excess of my joy, i was like to fly and my reason refused to obey me. then there came to my mind the verses of the poet and i recited, saying: let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare and lie thou down to sleep by night, with heart devoid of care; for 'twixt the closing of an eye and th'opening thereof, god hath it in his power to change a case from foul to fair. when they heard me speak in arabic, one of them came up to me and saluting me [in that language], questioned me of my case. quoth i, 'what [manner of men] are ye and what country is this?' 'o my brother,' answered he, 'we are husbandmen and come to this river, to draw water, wherewithal to water our fields; and whilst we were thus engaged to-day, as of wont, this boat appeared to us on the surface of the water, issuing from the inward of yonder mountain. so we came to it and finding thee asleep therein, moored it to the shore, against thou shouldst awake. acquaint us, therefore, with thy history and tell us how thou camest hither and whence thou enteredst this river and what land is behind yonder mountain, for that we have never till now known any make his way thence to us.' but i said to them, 'give me somewhat to eat and after question me.' so they brought me food and i ate and my spirits revived and i was refreshed. then i related to them all that had befallen me, whereat they were amazed and confounded and said, 'by allah, this is none other than a marvellous story, and needs must we carry thee to our king, that thou mayst acquaint him therewith.' so they carried me before their king, and i kissed his hand and saluted him. now he was the king of the land of serendib,[fn# ] and he welcomed me and entreated me with kindness, bidding me be seated and admitting me to his table and converse. so i talked with him and called down blessings upon him and he took pleasure in my discourse and showed me satisfaction and said to me, 'what is thy name?' 'o my lord,' answered i, 'my name is sindbad the sailor;' and he said, 'and what countryman art thou?' quoth i, 'i am of baghdad.' 'and how earnest thou hither?' asked he. so i told him my story and he marvelled mightily thereat and said, 'by allah, o sindbad, this thy story is marvellous and it behoveth that it be written in characters of gold.' then they brought the raft before him and i said to him, 'o my lord, i am in thy hands, i and all my good.' he looked at the raft and seeing therein jacinths and emeralds and crude ambergris, the like whereof was not in his treasuries, marvelled and was amazed at this. then said he, 'o sindbad, god forbid that we should covet that which god the most high hath vouchsafed unto thee! nay, it behoveth us rather to further thee on thy return to thine own country.' so i called down blessings on him and thanked him. then he signed to one of his attendants, who took me and established me in a goodly lodging, and the king assigned me a daily allowance and pages to wait on me. and every day i used to go in to him and he entertained me and entreated me friendly and delighted in my converse; and as often as our assembly broke up, i went out and walked about the town and the island, diverting myself by viewing them. now this island is under the equinoctial line; its night is still twelve hours and its day the like. its length is fourscore parasangs and its breadth thirty, and it is a great island, stretching between a lofty mountain and a deep valley. this mountain is visible at a distance of three days' journey and therein are various kinds of jacinths and other precious stones and metals of all kinds and all manner spice-trees, and its soil is of emery, wherewith jewels are wrought. in its streams are diamonds, and pearls are in its rivers.[fn# ] i ascended to its summit and diverted myself by viewing all the marvels therein, which are such as beggar description; after which i returned to the king and sought of him permission to return to my own country. he gave me leave, after great pressure, and bestowed on me abundant largesse from his treasuries. moreover, he gave me a present and a sealed letter and said to me, 'carry this to the khalif haroun er reshid and salute him for us with abundant salutation.' and i said, 'i hear and obey.' now this letter was written with ultramarine upon the skin of the hog-deer, the which is goodlier than parchment or paper and inclineth unto yellow, and was to the following effect: 'from the king of hind, before whom are a thousand elephants and on the battlements of his palace a thousand jewels, [to the khalif haroun er reshid, greeting]. to proceed:[fn# ] we send thee some small matter of presents, which do thou accept and be to us as a brother and a friend, for that the love of thee aboundeth in our heart and we would have thee to know that we look to thee for an answer. indeed, we are sharers with thee in love and fear, ceasing[fn# ] never to do thee honour; and for a beginning, we send thee the book of the quintessence of balms and a present after the measure of that which is fallen to our lot. indeed, this is unworthy of thy rank, but we beseech thee, o brother, to favour us by accepting it, and peace be on thee!' now this present was a cup of ruby, a span high and a finger's length broad, full of fine pearls, each a mithcal[fn# ] in weight and a bed covered with the skin of the serpent that swalloweth the elephant, marked with spots, each the bigness of a dinar, whereon whoso sitteth shall never sicken; also an hundred thousand mithcals of indian aloes-wood and thirty grains of camphor, each the bigness of a pistachio-nut, and a slave-girl with her paraphernalia, a charming creature, as she were the resplendent moon. then the king took leave of me, commending me to the merchants and the captain of the ship, and i set out, with that which was entrusted to my charge and my own good, and we ceased not to pass from island to island and from country to country, till we came to baghdad, when i entered my house and foregathered with my family and brethren. then i took the present and a token of service from myself to the khalif and [presenting myself before him], kissed his hands and laid the whole before him, together with the king of hind's letter. he read the letter and taking the present, rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and entreated me with the utmost honour. then said he to me, 'o sindbad, is this king, indeed, such as he avoucheth in this letter?' i kissed the earth and answered, saying, 'o my lord, i myself have seen the greatness of his kingship to be manifold that which he avoucheth in his letter. on the day of his audience,[fn# ] there is set up for him a throne on the back of a huge elephant, eleven cubits high, whereon he sitteth and with him are his officers and pages and session-mates, standing in two ranks on his right hand and on his left. at his head standeth a man, having in his hand a golden javelin, and behind him another, bearing a mace of the same metal, tipped with an emerald, a span long and an inch thick. when he mounteth, a thousand riders take horse with him, arrayed in gold and silk; and whenas he rideth forth, he who is before him proclaimeth and saith, "this is the king, mighty of estate and high of dominion!" and he proceedeth to praise him on this wise and endeth by saying, "this is the king, lord of the crown the like whereof nor solomon[fn# ] nor mihraj[fn# ] possessed!" then is he silent, whilst he who is behind the king proclaimeth and saith, "he shall die! he shall die! and again i say, he shall die!" and the other rejoineth, saying, "extolled be the perfection of the living one who dieth not!" and by reason of his justice and judgment[fn# ] and understanding, there is no cadi in his [capital] city; but all the people of his realm distinguish truth from falsehood and know [and practise] truth and right for themselves.' the khalif marvelled at my speech and said, 'how great is this king! indeed, his letter testifieth of him; and as for the magnificence of his dominion, thou hast acquainted us with that which thou hast seen; so, by allah, he hath been given both wisdom and dominion.' then he bestowed on me largesse and dismissed me, so i returned to my house and paid the poor-rate[fn# ] and gave alms and abode in my former easy and pleasant case, forgetting the grievous stresses i had suffered. yea, i cast out from my heart the cares of travel and traffic and put away travail from my thought and gave myself up to eating and drinking and pleasure and delight." sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter. when sindbad the sailor had made an end of his story, all who were present marvelled at that which had befallen him. then he bade his treasurer give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and dismissed him, charging him return on the morrow, with the rest of the folk, to hear the history of his seventh voyage. so the porter went away to his house, rejoicing; and on the morrow he presented himself with the rest of the guests, who sat down, as of their wont, and occupied themselves with eating and drinking and merry-making till the end of the day, when their host bade them hearken to the story of his seventh voyage. quoth sindbad the sailor, the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. "when i [returned from my sixth voyage, i] forswore travel and renounced commerce, saying in myself, 'what hath befallen me sufficeth me.' so i abode at home and passed my time in pleasance and delight, till, one day, as i sat at mine ease, plying the wine-cup [with my friends], there came a knocking at the door. the doorkeeper opened and found without one of the khalif's pages, who came in to me and said, 'the commander of the faithful biddeth thee to him.' so i accompanied him to the presence of the khalif and kissing the earth before him, saluted him. he bade me welcome and entreated me with honour and said to me, 'o sindbad, i have an occasion with thee, which i would have thee accomplish for me.' so i kissed his hand and said, 'o my lord, what is the lord's occasion with the slave?' quoth he, 'i would have thee go to the king of serendib and carry him our letter and our present, even as he sent us a present and a letter.' at this i trembled and replied, 'by the most great god, o my lord, i have taken a loathing to travel, and whenas any maketh mention to me of travel by sea or otherwise, i am like to swoon for affright, by reason of that which hath befallen me and what i have suffered of hardships and perils. indeed, i have no jot of inclination left for this, and i have sworn never again to leave baghdad.' and i related to him all that had befallen me, first and last; whereat he marvelled exceedingly and said, 'by the most great god, o sindbad, never was heard from time immemorial of one whom there betided that which hath betided thee and well may it behove thee never again to mention travel! but for my sake go thou this once and carry my letter to the king of serendib and return in haste, if it be the will of god the most high, so we may not remain indebted to the king for favour and courtesy.' and i answered him with 'hearkening and obedience,' for that i dared not gainsay his commandment then he gave me the present and letter and money for my expenses. so i kissed his hand and going out from before him, repaired to the sea-coast, where i took ship with many other merchants and we sailed days and nights, till, after a prosperous voyage, god vouchsafed us a safe arrival at the island of serendib. we landed and went up to the city, where i carried the letter and present to the king and kissing the earth fell [prostrate before him], invoking blessings on him. when he saw me, 'welcome to thee, o sindbad!' quoth he. 'by the most great god, we have longed for thy sight and the day is blessed on which we behold thee once more.' then he took my hand and seating me by his side, welcomed me and entreated me friendly and rejoiced in me with an exceeding joy; after which he fell to conversing with me and caressing me and said, 'what brings thee to us, o sindbad?' i kissed his hand and thanking him, said, 'o my lord, i bring thee a present and a letter from my lord the khalif haroun er reshid.' then i brought out to him the present and the letter and he read the latter and accepted the former, rejoicing therein with an exceeding joy. now this present was a horse worth ten thousand dinars and all its housings and trappings of gold set with jewels, and a book and five different kinds of suits of apparel and an hundred pieces of fine white linen cloths of egypt and silks of suez and cufa and alexandria and a crimson carpet and another of tebaristan[fn# ] make and an hundred pieces of cloth of silk and flax mingled and a goblet of glass of the time of the pharaohs, a finger-breadth thick and a span wide, amiddleward which was the figure of a lion and before him an archer kneeling, with his arrow drawn to the head, and the table of solomon son of david,[fn# ] on whom be peace; and the contents of the letter were as follows: 'from the khalif haroun er reshid, unto whom and to his forefathers (on whom be peace) god hath vouchsafed the rank of the noble and exceeding glory, to the august, god-aided sultan, greeting. thy letter hath reached us and we rejoiced therein and have sent thee the book [called] "the divan of hearts and the garden of wits," of the translation whereof when thou hast taken cognizance, its excellence will be established in thine eyes; and the superscription of this book we have made unto thee. moreover, we send thee divers other kingly presents;[fn# ] so do thou favour us by accepting them, and peace be on thee!' when the king had read this letter, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me great store of presents and entreated me with the utmost honour. some days after this, i sought of him leave to depart, but he granted it not to me save after much pressing. so i took leave of him and shipped with divers merchants and others, intending for my own country and having no desire for travel or traffic. we sailed on, without ceasing, till we had passed many islands; but, one day, as we fared on over a certain tract of the sea, there came forth upon us a multitude of boats full of men like devils, clad in chain-mail and armed with swords and daggers and bows and arrows, and surrounded us on every side. they entreated us after the cruellest fashion, smiting and wounding and slaying those who made head against them, and taking the ship, with the crew and all that were therein, carried us to an island, where they sold us all for a low price. a rich man bought me and taking me into his house, gave me to eat and drink and clothed me and entreated me kindly, till my heart was comforted and i was somewhat restored. one day my master said to me, 'knowest thou not some art or handicraft?' and i answered, saying, 'o my lord, i am a merchant and know nought but traffic.' quoth he, 'knowest thou how to shoot with a bow and arrows?' and i replied, 'yes, i know that.' so he brought me a bow and arrows and mounting me behind him on an elephant, set out with me, at the last of the night, and fared on till we came to a forest of great trees; whereupon he made me climb a high and stout tree and giving me the bow and arrows, said to me, 'sit here, and when the elephants come hither by day, shoot at them, so haply thou shalt hit one of them; and if any of them fall, come at nightfall and tell me.' then he went away and left me trembling and fearful. i abode hidden in the tree till the sun rose, when the elephants came out and fared hither and thither among the trees, and i gave not over shooting at them with arrows, till i brought down one of them. so, at eventide, i went and told my master, who rejoiced in me and rewarded me; then he came and carried away the dead elephant. on this wise i abode a while of time, every day shooting an elephant, whereupon my master came and carried it away, till, one day, as i sat hidden in the tree, there came up elephants without number, roaring and trumpeting, so that meseemed the earth trembled for the din. they all made for the tree whereon i was and the girth whereof was fifty cubits, and compassed it about. then a huge elephant came up to the tree and winding his trunk about it, tugged at it, till he plucked it up by the roots and cast it to the ground. i fell among the elephants, and the great elephant, coming up to me, as i lay aswoon for affright, wound his trunk about me and tossing me on to his back, made off with me, accompanied by the others; nor did he leave faring on with me, and i absent from the world, till he brought me to a certain place and casting me down from off his back, went away, followed by the rest. i lay there awhile, till my trouble subsided and my senses returned to me, when i sat up, deeming myself in a dream, and found myself on a great hill, stretching far and wide and all of elephants' bones. so i knew that this was their burial-place and that they had brought me thither on account of the bones. then i arose and fared on a day and a night, till i came to the house of my master, who saw me pale and disfeatured for fear and hunger. he rejoiced in my return and said to me, 'by allah, thou hast made my heart ache on thine account; for i went and finding the tree torn up by the roots, doubted not but the elephants had destroyed thee. tell me then how it was with thee.' so i told him what had befallen me and he marvelled exceedingly and rejoiced, saying, 'knowst thou where this hill is?' 'yes, o my lord,' answered i. so he took me up with him on an elephant and we rode till we came to the elephants' burial-place. when he saw those many bones, he rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and carried away what he had a mind to thereof. then we returned to his house and he entreated me with increased favour and said to me, 'verily, o my son, thou hast directed us to a passing great gain, may god requite thee with all good! thou art free for the sake of god the most high. every year these elephants used to kill of us much people on account of these bones; but god delivered thee from them and thou hast done us good service in the matter of these bones, of which thou hast given us to know; wherefore thou meritest a great recompense, and thou art free.' 'o my lord,' answered i, 'may god free thy neck from the fire! i desire of thee that thou give me leave to return to my own country.' 'so be it,' replied he; 'but we have a fair, on occasion whereof the merchants come hither to us and take of us these elephants' bones. the time of the fair is now at hand, and when they come to us, i will send thee with them and give thee somewhat to bring thee to thine own country.' i blessed him and thanked him and abode with him in all honour and consideration, till, after a little, the merchants came, even as he had said, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they were about to depart, my master came to me and said, 'the merchants are about to depart; arise, that thou mayst go with them to thy country.' so i betook myself to the folk, and behold, they had bought great store of elephants' bones and bound up their loads and embarked in the ship; and my master took passage for me with them and paid my hire and all that was chargeable upon me.[fn# ] moreover, he gave me great store of goods and we set sail and passed from island to island, till we traversed the sea and arrived at the port of our destination; whereupon the merchants brought out their goods and sold; and i also brought out that which was with me and sold it at a good profit. then i bought of the best and finest of the produce and rarities of the country and all i had a mind to and a good hackney[fn# ] and we set out again and traversed the deserts from country to country till we came to baghdad. then i went in to the khalif and saluted him and kissed his hand; after which i acquainted him with all that had passed and that which had befallen me. he rejoiced in my deliverance and thanked god the most high; then he caused write my story in letters of gold and i betook myself to my house and foregathered with my brethren and family. this, then," added sindbad, "is the last of that which befell me in my travels, and praise be to god, the one, the creator, the maker!" when sindbad the sailor had made an end of his story, he bade his servant give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and said to him, "how now, my brother! hast ever in the world heard of one whom such calamities have betided as have betided me and hath any suffered that which i have suffered of afflictions or undergone that which i have undergone of hardships? wherefore it behoveth that i have these pleasures in requital of that which i have undergone of travail and humiliations." so the porter came forward and kissing the merchant's hands, said to him, "o my lord, thou hast indeed suffered grievous perils and hast well deserved these bounteous favours [that god hath vouchsafed thee]. abide, then, o my lord, in thy delights and put away from thee [the remembrance of] thy troubles; and may god the most high crown thine enjoyments with perfection and accomplish thy days in pleasance until the hour of thine admission [to his mercy]!" therewithal sindbad the sailor bestowed largesse upon him and made him his boon-companion, and he abode, leaving him not night or day, to the last of their lives. praise be to god the glorious, the omnipotent, the strong, the exalted of estate, creator of heaven and earth and land and sea, to whom belongeth glorification! amen. amen. praise be to god, the lord of the worlds! amen. note. as stated in the prefatory note to my "book of the thousand nights and one night," four printed editions (of which three are more or less complete) exist of the arabic text of the original work, namely those of calcutta ( - ), boulac (cairo), breslau (tunis) and calcutta ( - ). the first two are, for purposes of tabulation, practically identical, one whole story only,[fn# ] of those that occur in the calcutta ( - ) edition, (which is the most complete of all,) being omitted from that of boulac; and i have, therefore, given but one table of contents for these two editions. the breslau edition, though differing widely from those of calcutta ( - ) and boulac in contents, resembles them in containing the full number (a thousand and one) of nights, whilst that of calcutta ( - ) is but a fragment, comprising only the first two hundred nights and the voyages of sindbad, as a separate tale. the subscribers to my "book of the thousand nights and one night" and the present "tales from the arabic" have now before them a complete english rendering (the first ever made) of all the tales contained in the four printed (arabic) texts of the original work and i have, therefore, thought it well to add to this, the last volume of my translation, full tables of contents of these latter, a comparison of which will show the exact composition of the different editions and the particulars in which they differ from one another, together with the manner in which the various stories that make up the respective collections are distributed over the nights. in each table, the titles of the stories occurring only in the edition of which it gives the contents are printed in italics and each tale is referred to the number of the night on which it is begun. the breslau edition, which was printed from a manuscript of the book of the thousand nights and one night alleged to have been furnished to the editor by a learned arab of tunis, whom he styles "herr m. annaggar" (quære en nejjar, the carpenter), the lacunes found in which were supplemented from various other ms. sources indicated by silvestre de sacy and other eminent orientalists, is edited with a perfection of badness to which only german scholars (at once the best and worst editors in the world) can attain. the original editor, dr. maximilian habicht, was during the period ( - ) of publication of the first eight volumes, engaged in continual and somewhat acrimonious[fn# ] controversy concerning the details of his editorship with prof. h. l. fleischer, who, after his death, undertook the completion of his task and approved himself a worthy successor of his whilom adversary, his laches and shortcomings in the matter of revision and collation of the text being at least equal in extent and gravity to those of his predecessor, whilst he omitted the one valuable feature of the latter's work, namely, the glossary of arabic words, not occurring in the dictionaries, appended to the earlier volumes. as an instance of the extreme looseness with which the book was edited, i may observe that the first four vols. were published without tables of contents, which were afterwards appended en bloc to the fifth volume. the state of corruption and incoherence in which the printed text was placed before the public by the two learned editors, who were responsible for its production, is such as might well drive a translator to despair: the uncorrected errors of the press would alone fill a volume and the verse especially is so corrupt that one of the most laborious of english arabic scholars pronounced its translation a hopeless task. i have not, however, in any single instance, allowed myself to be discouraged by the difficulties presented by the condition of the text, but have, to the best of my ability, rendered into english, without abridgment or retrenchment, the whole of the tales, prose and verse, contained in the breslau edition, which are not found in those of calcutta ( - ) and boulac. in this somewhat ungrateful task, i have again had the cordial assistance of captain burton, who has (as in the case of my "book of the thousand nights and one night") been kind enough to look over the proofs of my translation and to whom i beg once more to tender my warmest thanks. some misconception seems to exist as to the story of seif dhoul yezen, a fragment of which was translated by dr. habicht and included, with a number of tales from the breslau text, in the fourteenth vol. of the extraordinary gallimaufry published by him in - as a complete translation of the nights[fn# ] and it has, under the mistaken impression that this long but interesting romance forms part of the book of the thousand nights and one night, been suggested that a complete translation of it should be included in the present publication. the romance in question does not, however, in any way, belong to my original and forms no part of the breslau text, as will be at once apparent from an examination of the table of contents of the latter (see post, p. ), by which all the nights are accounted for. dr. habicht himself tells us, in his preface to the first vol. of the arabic text, that he found the fragment (undivided into nights) at the end of the fifth volume of his ms., into which other detached tales, having no connection with the nights, appear to have also found their way. this being the case, it is evident that the romance of seif dhoul yezen in no way comes within the scope of the present work and would (apart from the fact that its length would far overpass my limits) be a manifestly improper addition to it. it is, however, possible that, should i come across a suitable text of the work, i may make it the subject of a separate publication; but this is, of course, a matter for future consideration. table of contents of the calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. night introduction.--story of king shehriyar and his brother. a. story of the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . .i b. the second old man's story. . . . . . . . . . . . ii c. the third old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii a. story of the physician douban . . . . . . . . . . iv aa. story of king sindbad and his falcon. . . . .v ab. story of the king's son and the ogress. . . .v b. story of the enchanted youth. . . . . . . . . . .vii . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . . . ix a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . . xi b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . .xii ba. story of the envier and the envied[fn# ]xiii c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . .xiv d. the eldest lady's story . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii e. the story of the portress . . . . . . . . . . .xviii . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan. . xx . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxv a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . .xxv b. the controller's story. . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . xxviii d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . xxxi eb. story of the barber's second brother. . . xxxi ec. story of the barber's third brother . . .xxxii ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . .xxxii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . .xxxii ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . xxxiii . noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelis . . . . .xxxiv . ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love . . . . . . . . .xxxix a. story of the eunuch bekhit. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix b. story of the eunuch kafour. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix . the history of king omar ben ennuman and his sons sherkan and zoulmekanxlv a. story of taj el mulouk and the princess dunya . cvii aa. story of aziz and azizeh. . . . . . . . cxliii b. bakoun's story of the hashish-eater . . . . . cxliii c. hemmad the bedouin's story. . . . . . . . . . .cxliv . the birds and beasts and the son of adam. . . . . .cxlvi . the hermits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii . the waterfowl and the tortoise. . . . . . . . . .cxlviii . the wolf and the fox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii a. the hawk and the partridge. . . . . . . . . . .cxlix . the mouse and the weasel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl . the cat and the crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl . the fox and the crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl a. the mouse and the flea. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cli b. the falcon and the birds. . . . . . . . . . . . clii c. the sparrow and the eagle . . . . . . . . . . . clii . the hedgehog and the pigeons. . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. the merchant and the two sharpers . . . . . . . clii . the thief and his monkey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. the foolish weaver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii . the sparrow and the peacock . . . . . . . . . . . . clii . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar . . . . . . . . . .cliii . kemerezzeman and budour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clxx a. nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave-girl . ccxxxvii . alaeddin abou esh shamat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccl . hatim et tal; his generosity after death. . . . . .cclxx . maan ben zaideh and the three girls . . . . . . . cclxxi . maan ben zaideh and the bedouin . . . . . . . . . cclxxi . the city of lebtait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxii . the khalif hisham and the arab youth. . . . . . . cclxxi . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon . . cclxxiii . the city of irem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxvi . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif mamouncclxxix . the scavenger and the noble lady of baghdad . . cclxxxii . the mock khalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cclxxxvi . ali the persian and the kurd sharper. . . . . . . ccxciv . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshid and his vizier jaaferccxcvi . the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honourccxcvii . jaafer the barmecide and the bean-seller. . . . . ccxcix . abou mohammed the lazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccc . yehya ben khalid and mensour. . . . . . . . . . . . .ccv . yehya ben khalid and the man who forged a letter in his nameccvi . the khalif el mamoun and the strange doctor . . . .cccvi . ali shar and zumurrud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccvii . the loves of jubeir ben umeir and the lady budourcccxxvii . the man of yemen and his six slave-girls. . . . cccxxxiv . haroun er reshid with the damsel and abou nuwascccxxxviii . the man who stole the dog's dish of gold. . . . . .cccxl . the sharper of alexandria and the master of policecccxli . el melik en nasir and the three masters of policecccxliii a. story of the chief of the new cairo police. cccxliii b. story of the chief of the boulac police . . .cccxliv c. story of the chief of the old cairo police. .cccxliv . the thief and the money-changer . . . . . . . . . ccxliv . the chief of the cous police and the sharper. . . cccxlv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister night ccxlvi . the woman whose hands were cut off for almsgivingcccxlviii . the devout israelite. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxlviii . abou hassan es ziyadi and the man from khorassan night ccxlix . the poor man and his generous friend. . . . . . . .cccli . the ruined man who became rich again through a dreamcccli . el mutawekkil and his favourite mehboubeh . . . . .cccli . werdan the butcher's adventure with the lady and the bearcccliii . the king's daughter and the ape . . . . . . . . . .ccclv . the enchanted horse night . . . . . . . . . . . cclvii . uns el wujoud and the vizier's daughter rose-in-budccclxxi . abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshidccclxxxi . abdallah ben maamer with the man of bassora and his slave-girlccclxxxiii . the lovers of the benou udhreh. . . . . . . . ccclxxxiii . tht vizier of yemen and his young brother . . .ccclxxxiv . the loves of the boy and girl at school . . . . ccclxxxv . el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh. . . . . . . ccclxxxv . haroun er reshid and zubeideh in the bath . . . ccclxxxv . haroun er reshid and the three poets. . . . . .ccclxxxvi . musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh his wife. . . .ccclxxxvi . aboulaswed and his squinting slave-girl . . . ccclxxxvii . haroun er reshid and the two girls. . . . . . ccclxxxvii . haroun er reshid and the three girls. . . . . ccclxxxvii . the miller and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . ccclxxxvii . the simpleton and the sharper . . . . . . . .ccclxxxviii . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshld and zubeidehccclxxxviii . the khalif el hakim and the merchant. . . . . .ccclxxxix . king kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel .ccclxxxix . the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife. . . . .cccxc . khusrau and shirin and the fisherman. . . . . . . cccxci . yehya ben khalid and the poor man . . . . . . . . cccxci . mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi . . . . .cccxcii . said ben salim and the barmecides . . . . . . . .cccxcii . the woman's trick against her husband . . . . . cccxciii . the devout woman and the two wicked elders. . . .cccxciv . jaafer the barmecide and the old bedouin. . . . . cccxcv . omar ben el khettab and the young bedouin . . . . cccxcv . el mamoun and the pyramids of egypt . . . . . .cccxcviii . the thief turned merchant and the other thief .cccxcviii . mesrour and ibn el caribi . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxcix . the devout prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccci . the schoolmaster who fell in love by report . . . ccccii . the foolish schoolmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccciii . the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster. .cccciii . the king and the virtuous wife. . . . . . . . . . cccciv . abdurrehman the moor's story of the roc . . . . . cccciv . adi ben zeid and the princess hind. . . . . . . . .ccccv . dibil el khuzai with the lady and muslin ben el welidccccvii . isaac of mosul and the merchant . . . . . . . . .ccccvii . the three unfortunate lovers. . . . . . . . . . . ccccix . the lovers of the benou tai. . . . . . . . . . . .ccccx . the mad lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxi . the apples of paradise . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxii . the loves of abou isa and curret el ain. . . . .ccccxiv . el amin and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi . .ccccxviii . el feth ben khacan and el mutawekkil . . . . . .ccccxix . the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the sexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxix . abou suweid and the handsome old woman . . . .ccccxxiii . ali ben tahir and the girl mounis. . . . . . . ccccxxiv . the woman who had a boy and the other who had a man to loverccccxxiv . the haunted house in baghdad . . . . . . . . . ccccxxiv . the pilgrim and the old woman who dwelt in the desertccccxxxiv . aboulhusn and his slave-girl taweddud. . . . .ccccxxxvi . the angel of death with the proud king and the devout mancccclxii . the angel of death and the rich king . . . . . cccclxii . the angel of death and the king of the children of israelcccclxiii . iskender dhoulkernein and a certain tribe of poor folkcccclxiv . the righteousness of king anoushirwan. . . . . cccclxiv . the jewish cadi and his pious wife . . . . . . .cccclxv . the shipwrecked woman and her child. . . . . . cccclxvi . the pious black slave. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxvii . the devout platter-maker and his wife. . . . cccclxviii . el hejjaj ben yousuf and the pious man . . . . .cccclxx . the blacksmith who could handle fire without hurtcccclxxi . the saint to whom god gave a cloud to serve him and the devout kingcccclxxiii . the muslim champion and the christian lady . .cccclxxiv . ibrahim ben el khawwas and the christian king's daughtercccclxxvii . the justice of providence. . . . . . . . . .cccclxxviii . the ferryman of the nile and the hermit. . . .cccclxxix . the king of the island . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxxix . abulhusn ed durraj and abou jaafer the leper .cccclxxxi . the queen of the serpents. . . . . . . . . . cccclxxxii a. the adventures of beloukiya . . . . . . . cccclxxxvi b. the story of janshah. . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxcix . sindbad the sailor and sindbad the porter. . . . dxxxvi a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . dxxxviii b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . dxliii c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . .dxlvi d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . . . dl e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . dlvi f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . dlix g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . dlxiii . the city of brass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxvi . the malice of women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxviii a. the king and his vizier's wife. . . . . . . dlxxviii b. the merchant's wife and the parrot. . . . . . dlxxix c. the fuller and his son. . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxix d. the lover's trick against the chaste wife . . .dlxxx e. the niggard and the loaves of bread . . . . . .dlxxx f. the lady and her two lovers . . . . . . . . . dlxxxi g. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . . . dlxxxi h. the drop of honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxxxii i. the woman who made her husband sift dust. . .dlxxxii j. the enchanted springs . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxxxii k. the vizier's son and the bathkeeper's wife. .dlxxxiv l. the wife's device to cheat her husband. . . .dlxxxiv m. the goldsmith and the cashmere singing- girl.dlxxxvi n. the man who never laughed again . . . . . . dlxxxvii o. the king's son and the merchant's wife. . . . . dxci p. the page who feigned to know the speech of birdsdxcii q. the lady and her five suitors . . . . . . . . dxciii r. the man who saw the night of power. . . . . . .dxcvi s. the stolen necklace . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dxcvi t. the two pigeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxcvii u. prince behram of persia and the princess ed detmadxcvii v. the house with the belvedere. . . . . . . . .dxcviii w. the king's son and the afrit's mistress . . . . dcii x. the sandal-wood merchant and the sharpers . . .dciii y. the debauchee and the three-year-old child. . . .dcv z. the stolen purse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcv . jouder and his brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcvi . the history ot gherib and his brother agib . . . dcxxiv . otbeh and reyya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxxx . hind daughter of en numan and el hejjaj. . . . .dclxxxi . khuzeimeh ben bishr and ikrimeh el feyyas. . . dclxxxii . younus the scribe and the khalif welid ben sehldclxxxiv . haroun er reshid and the arab girl . . . . . . .dclxxxv . el asmai and the three girls of bassora. . . . dclxxxvi . ibrahim of mosul and the devil . . . . . . . .dclxxxvii . the lovers of the benou udhreh . . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the bedouin and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxci . the lovers of bassora. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxciii . isaac of mosul and his mistress and the devil. . .dcxcr . the lovers of medina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxcvi . el melik en nasir and his vizier . . . . . . . .dcxcvii . the rogueries of delileh the crafty and her daughter zeyneb the trickstressdcxcviii . the adventures of quicksilver ali of cairo, a sequel to the rogueries of delileh the crafty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccviil . ardeshir and heyat en nufous . . . . . . . . . . .dccxu . julnar of the sea and her son king bedr basim of persiaiccxxxviii . king mohammed ben sebaik and the merchant hassan dcclvi a. story of prince seif el mulouk and the princess bediya el jemal dcclviii . hassan of bassora and the king's daughter of the jinndcclxxviii . khelifeh the fisherman of baghdad. . . . . . . cccxxxii . mesrour and zein el mewasif. . . . . . . . . . .dcccxlv . ali noureddin and the frank king's daughter. .dccclxiii . the man of upper egypt and his frank wife. . . dcccxciv . the ruined man of baghdad and his slave-girl . dcccxcvi . king jelyaad of hind and his vizier shimas: whereafter ensueth the history of king wird khan son of king jelyaad and his women and viziersdcccxciz a. the cat and the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccoc b. the fakir and his pot of butter . . . . . . .dccccii c. the fishes and the crab . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii d. the crow and the serpent. . . . . . . . . . dcccciii e. the fox and the wild ass. . . . . . . . . . .dcccciv f. the unjust king and the pilgrim prince. . . . dccccv g. the crows and the hawk. . . . . . . . . . . .dccccvi k. the serpent-charmer and his wife. . . . . . dccccvii i. the spider and the wind . . . . . . . . . .dccccviii j. the two kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccix k. the blind man and the cripple . . . . . . . . dccccx l. the foolish fisherman . . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii m. the boy and the thieves . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii n. the man and his wilful wife . . . . . . . . dccccxix o. the merchant and the thieves. . . . . . . . .dccccxx p. the foxes and the wolf. . . . . . . . . . . dccccxxi q. the shepherd and the thief. . . . . . . . . dccccxxi r. the heathcock and the tortoises . . . . . .dccccxxiv . aboukir the dyer and abousir the barber. . . . dccccxxx . abdallah the fisherman and abdallah the merman .dccccxl . the merchant of oman . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxlvi . ibrahim and jemileh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii . aboulhusn of khorassan . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccclix . kemerezzeman and the jeweller's wife . . . . dcccclxiii . abdallah ben fasil and his brothers. . . . dcccclixviii . marouf the cobbler and his wife fatimeh. dcccclxxxix-mi conclusion. table of contents of the breslau (tunis) edition of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. night introduction.--story of king shehriyar and his brother. a. story of the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . iv b. the second old man's story. . . . . . . . . . . . vi c. the third old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . viii . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii a. story of the physician douban . . . . . . . . . . xi aa. story of the jealous man and the parrot[fn# ]xiv ab. story of the king's son and the ogress. . . xv b. story of the enchanted youth. . . . . . . . . . .xxi . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . xxviii a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . xxxvii b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . . xl ba. the envier and the envied . . . . . . . . xlvi c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . liii d. the eldest lady's story . . . . . . . . . . . .lxiii e. story of the portress . . . . . . . . . . . . .lxvii . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxix . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan.lxxii . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cii a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . cvii b. the controller's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . cxix c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . .cxxix d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxxxvii e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlix ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . . ci eb. story of the barber's second brother. . . cliv ec. story of the barber's third brother . . .clvii ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . clviii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . . .clx ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . .clxiv . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar. . . . . . . . . . .clxix . noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelii . . . . .cxcix . kemerezzeman and budour. . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccxviii . the enchanted horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccxlir . the voyages of sindbad the sailor . . . . . . . . ccxliv a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . .cclii b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . ccliii c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . cclv d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . .cclix e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . .cclxiii f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . cclxvi g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . cclxix . asleep and awake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cclxxi a. the lackpenny and the cook. . . . . . . . . cclxxiii . seif el mulouk and bediya el jemal. . . . . . . . ccxci . khelif the fisherman [fn# ] . . . . . . . . . . cccxxi . ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love. . . . . . . cccxxxii a. story of the eunuch sewab [fn# ]. . . . . cccxxxiv b. story of the eunuch kafour ,, . uns el wujoud and the vizier's daughter rose- in-budcccxli . the merchant of oman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccliv . ardeshir and heyat en nufous. . . . . . . . . . .ccclxiv . hassan of bassora and the king's daughter of the jinncclxxxvi . haroun er reshid and the three poets. . . . . .ccccxxxii . omar ben abdulaziz and the poets. . . . . . . .ccccxxxii . el hejjaj and the three young mem . . . . . . .ccccxxxiv . er reshid and the woman of the barmecides . . .ccccxxxiv . the ten viziers; or the history of king azad- bekht and his sonccccxxxv a. the unlucky merchant. . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxl b. the merchant and his sons . . . . . . . . . ccccxliv c. abou sabir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxlviii d. prince bihzad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccliii e. king dadbin and his viziers . . . . . . . . . cccclv f. king bekhtzeman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxi g. king bihkerd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccclxiv h. ilan shah and abou temam. . . . . . . . . . cccclxvi i. king ibrahim and his son. . . . . . . . . . cccclxxi j. king suleiman shah and his sons . . . . . . cccclxxv k. the prisoner and how god gave him relief . cccclxxxv . the city of brass . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxxxvii . nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave-girl . . . . . . di . alaeddin abou es shamat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dxx . hatim tai; his generosity after death . . . . . . .dxxxi . maan ben zaideh and the three girls . . . . . . . dxxxii . maan ben zaideh and the bedouin . . . . . . . . . dxxxii . the city of lebtait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxxxii . the khalif hisham and the arab youth. . . . . . . dxxxiv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon . . . dxxxiv . the city of irem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxxxviii . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif mamoundxl . the mock khalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxliii . the imam abou yousuf with er reshid and jaafer. . . .dlv . the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honourdlvii . abou mohammed the lazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dlviii . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih . . . . . dlxv . jaafer ben yehya [fn# ] and the man who forged a letter in his namedlxvi . er reshid and the barmecides. . . . . . . . . . . dlxvii . ibn es semmak and er reshid . . . . . . . . . . .dlxviii . el mamoun and zubeideh. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxviii . ali shir [fn# ] and zumurrud. . . . . . . . . . .dlxix . the loves of budour and jubeir ben umeir. . . . dlxxxvii . the man of yemen and his six slave-girls. . . . . . dxcv . haroun er reshid with the damsel and abou nuwas . . . dc . the man who stole the dog's dish of gold. . . . . . dcii . el melik en nasir and the three masters of police .dciii a. story of the chief of the new cairo police. . . dciv b. story of the chief of the boulac police . . . . .dcv c. story of the chief of the old cairo police. . . .dcv . the thief and the money-changer . . . . . . . . . . .dcv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister. . . dcvi . king kelyaad [fn# ] of hind and his vizier shimas dcix a. the cat and the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcix b. the fakir and his pot of butter . . . . . . . . .dcx c. the fishes and the crab . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi d. the crow and the serpent. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi e. the fox and the wild ass. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi f. the unjust king and the pilgrim prince. . . . .dcxii g. the crows and the hawk. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxiii h. the serpent-charmer and his wife. . . . . . . .dcxiv i. the spider and the wind . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxv j. the two kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxvi k. the blind man and the cripple . . . . . . . . .dcxvi l. the foolish fisherman . dcxxvi m. the boy and the thieves . . . . . . . . . . .dcxxvii n. the man and his wilful wife . . . . . . . . dcxxviii o. the merchant and the thieves. . . . . . . . . dcxxix p. the foxes and the wolf. . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxxx q. the shepherd and the thief. . . . . . . . . .dcxxxii r. the heathcock and the tortoises . . . . . . .dcxxxiv . the woman whose hands were cut off for almsgiving .dcxli . the poor man and his generous friend. . . . . . .dcxliii . the ruined man who became rich again through a dreamdcxliv . abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshiddcxlv . the lovers of the benou udhreh [fn# ] . . . . . dcxlvi . el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh. . . . . . . dcxlviii . haroun er reshid and zubeideh in the bath . . . dcxlviii . musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh his wife. . . . . dcxlix . aboulaswed and his squinting slave-girl . . . . . . dcli . haroun er reshid and the two girls. . . . . . . . . dcli . haroun er reshid and the three girls. . . . . . . . dcli . the simpleton and the sharper . . . . . . . . . . .dclii . the imam abou yousuf with er reshid and zubeideh. .dclii . the khalif el hakim and the merchant. . . . . . . dcliii . kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel. . . . . dcliii . the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife. . . . .dcliv . khusrau and shirin and the fisherman. . . . . . . .dclvi . yehya ben khalid and the poor man . . . . . . . . .dclvi . mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi . . . . . dclvii . the woman's trick against her husband . . . . . .dclviii . the devout woman and the two wicked elders. . . . .dclix el fezl ben rebiya[fn# ] and the old bedouin . . . dclx en numan and the arab of the benou tai . . . . . . . dclx the draper and the thief[fn# ] . . . . . . . . . .dclxi . mesrour and ibn el caribi . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxii . the devout prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxiv . the schoolmaster who fell in love by report . . . .dclxv . the foolish schoolmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxvi . the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster. .dclxvii . adi ben zeid and the princess hind. . . . . . . dclxviii . dibil el khuzai with the lady and muslim ben el weliddclxx . isaac of mosul and the merchant . . . . . . . . . .dclxx . the three unfortunate lovers. . . . . . . . . . .dclxxii . the lovers of the benou tai . . . . . . . . . . dclxxiii . the mad lover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxiv . firous and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxxv . the apples of paradise. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxvi . the loves of abou isa and curret el ain . . . .dclxxviii . el amin and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi. . . dclxxxii . el feth ben khacan and el mutawekkil. . . . . .dclxxxiii . the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the sexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxxiii . abou suweid and the handsome old woman. . . . .dclxxxvii . ali ben tahir and the girl mounis . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the woman who had a boy and the other who had a man to loverdclxxxviii . the haunted house in baghdad. . . . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the history of gherib and his brother agib. . . dcxcviii . the rogueries of delileh the crafty and her daughter zeyneb the trickstressdcclvi . the adventures of quicksilver ali of cairo . . .dcclxvi . jouder and his brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . .dcclxxv . julnar of the sea and her son king bedr basim of persiadccxciv . mesrour and zein el mewasif. . . . . . . . . . .dcccxxi . ali noureddin and the frank king's daughter. . dcccxxxi . the man of upper egypt and his frank wife. . . dccclxii . the ruined man of baghdad and his slave-girl . dccclxiv . aboukir the dyer and abousir the barber. . . .dccclxvii . abdallah the fisherman and abdallah the mermandccclxxvii . king shah bekhi and his vizier er rehwan . . .dccclxxxv a. the man of khorassan, his son and his governordccclxxxvi b. the singer and the druggist . . . . . . dccclxxxviii c. the king who knew the quintessence of things.dcccxci d. the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcii e. the rich man and his wasteful son . . . . .dcccxciii f. the king's son who fell in love with the picturedcccxciv g. the fuller and his wife . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcvi h. the old woman, the merchant and the king. . dcccxcvi i. the credulous husband . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcviii j. the unjust king and the tither. . . . . . . dcccxcix ja. story of david and solomon. . . . . . dcccxcix h. the thief and the woman . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcix l. the three men and our lord jesus. . . . . . . dcccci la. the disciple's story. . . . . . . . . . dcccci m. the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to himdcccci n. the man whose caution was the cause of his deathdcccciii o. the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcccciv p. the idiot and the sharper . . . . . . . . . . dccccv q. khelbes and his wife and the learned man. . .dccccvi r. the pious woman accused of lewdness . . . . dccccvii s. the journeyman and the girl . . . . . . . . .dccccix t. the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandmentdccccix u. the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow.dccccxi v. the sharpers with the money-changer and the assdccccxiv w. the sharper and the merchants . . . . . . . .dccccxv wa. the hawk and the locust . . . . . . . dccccxvi x. the king and his chamberlain's wife . . . .dccccxvii xa. the old woman and the draper's wife .dccccxvii y. the foul-favoured man and his fair wife . dccccxviii z. the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him. . . . . . . . . . . dccccxix aa. selim and selma. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxxii bb. the king of hind and his visier. . . . .dccccxxviii el melik es zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dccccxxx a. the first officer's story . . . . . . . . . dccccxxx b. the second officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxii c. the third officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxii d. the fourth officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv e. the fifth officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv f. the sixth officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv g. the seventh officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv h. the eighth officer's story. . . . . . . . .dccccxxxv ha. the thief's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii i the ninth officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii j. the tenth officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii k. the eleventh officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxviii l. the twelfth officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxix m. the thirteenth officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxix n. the fourteenth officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxix na. a merry jest of a thief . . . . . . . .dccccxl nb. story of the old sharper. . . . . . . .dccccxl o. the fifteenth officer's story . . . . . . . .dccccxl p. the sixteenth officer's story . . . . . . . .dccccxl . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghardccccxli a. story of tuhfet el culoub and haroun er reshiddccccxlii . noureddin ali and sitt el milah. . . . . . . dcccclviii . el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad. .dcccclxvi . the malice of women. . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccclxxix a. the king and his vizier's wife. . . . . . .dcccclxxx b, the merchant's wife and the parrot. . . . .dcccclxxx c. the fuller and his son. . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxx d. the lover's trick against the chaste wife .dcccclxxx e. the niggard and the loaves of bread . . .dcccclxxxiv f. the lady and her two lovers . . . . . . .dcccclxxxiv g. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . dcccclxxxv h. the drop of honey . . . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxxvi i. the woman who made her husband sift dust.dcccclxxxvi j. the enchanted springs . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxxvi k. the vizier's son and the bathkeeper's wifedcccclxxxviii l. the wife's device to cheat her husband. .dcccclxxxix m. the goldsmith and the cashmere singing-girl .dccccxc n. the man who never laughed again . . . . . . dccccxci o. the king's son and the merchant's wife. . dccccxciii p. the man who saw the night of power. . . . dccccxciii q. the stolen necklace . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxciv r. prince behram of persia and the princess ed detmadccccxciv s. the house with the belvedere. . . . . . . . dccccxcv t. the sandalwood merchant and the sharpers.dccccxcviii u. the debauchee and the three-year-old childdccccxcviii v. the stolen purse. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxcix w. the fox and the folk[fn# ]. . . . . . . . . . . .m . the two kings and the vizier's daughters . . . . . . .m . the favourite and her lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . .m . the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hikim bi amrillak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .m conclusion table of contents of the unfinished calcutta ( - ) edition (first two hundred nights only) of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. introduction. a. the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii b. the second old man's story[fn# ]. . . . . . . . iv . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii a. the physician douban. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi aa. the merchant and the parrot . . . . . . . .xiv ab. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . . xv b. the enchanted youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . xxviii a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . xlii ba. the envier and the envied . . . . . . . . xlvi c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . liii d. the eldest lady's story[fn# ] . . . . . . . . lxiv . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxviii . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan.lxxii . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif el mamounxciv . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ci a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . .cix b. the cook's story[fn# ]. . . . . . . . . . . . cxxi c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . .cxxix d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxxxvi e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxliii ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . cxlv eb. story of the barber's second brother. .cxlviii ec. story of the barber's third brother . . . .cli ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . . clii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . . cliv ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . clviii . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar. . . . . . . . . . clxiii . noureddin ali and the damsel ennis el jelis. . . . clxxxi . women's craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxcv-cc . sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter[fn# ] a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor alphabetical table of the first lines of the verse in the "tales from the arabic." n.b.--the roman numerals denote the volume, the arabic the page a damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii. . a fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii. . a sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii. . a white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare, ii. . after your loss, nor trace of me nor vestige would remain, iii. . algates ye are our prey become; this many a day and night, iii. . all intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, ii. . an if my substance fail, no one there is will succour me, i. . an if ye'd of evil be quit, look that no evil ye do, ii. . assemble, ye people of passion, i pray, iii. . awaken, o ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here, ii. . beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be, ii. . behold, i am clad in a robe of leaves green, ii. . but for the spying of the eyes [ill-omened,] we had seen, i. . by allah, but that i trusted that i should meet you again, ii. . by him whom i worship, indeed, i swear, o thou that mine eye dost fill, ii. . damascus is all gardens decked for the pleasance of the eyes, iii. . drink ever, o lovers, i rede you, of wine, ii. . el abbas from akil his stead is come again, iii. . endowed with amorous grace past any else am i, ii . fair fall the maid whose loosened locks her cheeks do overcloud! iii. . fair patience practise, for thereon still followeth content, iii. . fair patience use, for ease still followeth after stress, iii. . for the uses of food i was fashioned and made, ii. . "forget him," quoth my censurers, "forget him; what is he?" iii. . fortune its arrows all, through him i love, let fly, iii. . full many a man incited me to infidelity, i. . god judge betwixt me and her lord! away, i. . god keep the days of love-delight! how dearly sweet they were! i. . god keep the days of love-delight! how passing sweet they were! ii. god knows i ne'er recalled thy memory to my thought, iii. . had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice, i. . haste not to that thou dost desire; for haste is still unblest, ii. . he who mohammed sent, as prophet to mankind, i. . his love he'd have hid, but his tears denounced him to the spy, iii. his love on him took pity and wept for his dismay, ii. . how long, o fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me? ii. . how long shall i thus question my heart that's drowned in woe? iii. . how long will ye admonished be, without avail or heed? iii. . how many, in yemameh, dishevelled widows plain! i. . i am content, for him i love, to all abide, iii. . i am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, iii. . i am the champion-slayer he warrior without peer, iii. . ---- i clipped her in mine arms and straight grew drunken with the scent, iii. . i fear to be seen in the air, ii. . i marvel for that to my love i see thee now incline, iii. . i saw thee, o thou best of all the human race, display, i. . i swear by his life, yea, i swear by the life of my love without peer, iii. . if i must die, then welcome death to heal, iii. . if, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite, ii. . i'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed, ii. . in every rejoicing a boon[fn# ] midst the singers and minstrels am i, ii. in my soul the fire of yearning and affliction rageth aye, iii. . indeed, thou'st told the tale of kings and men of might, iii. . it chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, ii. . it is as the jasmine, when it i espy, ii. . let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare, iii. like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, iii. . like the full moon she shows upon a night of fortune fair, iii. . lo, since the day i left you, o my masters, iii. . look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, ii. . may the place of my session ne'er lack thee! oh, why, iii. me, till i stricken was therewith, to love thou didst excite, iii. midst colours, my colour excelleth in light, ii. . most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow i, ii. . my flower a marvel on your heads doth show, ii. . my fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain, ii. . my fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, ii. . my heart will never credit that i am far from thee, ii. . my secret is disclosed, the which i strove to hide, iii. . my watering lips, that cull the rose of thy soft cheek, declare, iii. . no good's in life (to the counsel list of one who's purpose-whole), i. . o amir of justice, be kind to thy subjects, iii. . o friends, the east wind waxeth, the morning draweth near, iii. . o friends, the tears flow ever, in mockery of my pain, iii. . o hills of the sands and the rugged piebald plain, iii. . o thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, ii. . o thou that questionest the lily of its scent, ii. . o son of simeon, give no ear to other than my say, iii. . o'er all the fragrant flowers that be i have the pref'rence aye, ii. . o'erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent, iii. . oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me, ii. . one of the host am i of lovers sad and sere, ii. . pease on thee! would our gaze might light on thee once more! ii. . peace on you, people of my troth! with peace i do you greet, ii. . quoth i (and mine a body is of passion all forslain), iii. . rail not at the vicissitudes of fate, ii. . ramazan in my life ne'er i fasted, nor e'er, i. . say, by the lightnings of thy teeth and thy soul's pure desire, iii. . she comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, iii. . sherik ben amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay? i. . some with religion themselves concern and make it their business all, i. . still by your ruined camp a dweller i abide, ii. . still do i yearn, whilst passion's fire flames in my liver are, iii. the absent ones' harbinger came us unto, iii. . the billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore, ii. . the crown of the flow'rets am i, in the chamber of wine, ii. . the merciful dyed me with that which i wear, ii. . the season of my presence is never at an end, ii. . the two girls let me down from fourscore fathoms' height, i. . the zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, ii. . they have departed, but the steads yet full of them remain, ii. . they have shut out thy person from my sight, iii. . thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight, iii. . thou that wast absent from my stead, yet still with me didst bide, iii. . thy haters say and those who malice to thee bear, iii. . thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot'st therein i read, iii. . thy loss is the fairest of all my heart's woes, iii. . thy presence honoureth us and we, i. . to his beloved one the lover's heart's inclined, iii. . 'twere better and meeter thy presence to leave, ii. . 'twere fitter and better my loves that i leave, i. . unto its pristine lustre your land returned and more, iii. . unto me the whole world's gladness is thy nearness and thy sight, iii. . upon the parting day our loves from us did fare, iii. . were not the darkness still in gender masculine, iii. . what strength have i solicitude and long desire to bear, iii. . when in the sitting-chamber we for merry-making sate, iii. . whenas mine eyes behold thee not, that day, iii. . whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, ii . wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, ii. , . would god upon that bitterest day, when my death calls for me, i. would we may live together, and when we come to die, i. . ye chide at one who weepeth for troubles ever new, iii. . ye know i'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment, ii. . your coming to-me-ward, indeed, with "welcome! fair welcome!" i hail, iii. . your water i'll leave without drinking, for there, i. . index to the names of the "tales from the arabic" n.b.-the roman numerals denote the volume, the arabic the page abbas (el) and the king's daughter of baghdad, iii. . abbaside, jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the, i. . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar, ii. . abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside, jaafer ben yehya, and, i. . abou sabir, story of, i. . abou temam, story of ilan shah and, i. . actions, of the issues of good and evil, i. . advantages of patience, of the, i. . affairs, of looking to the issues of, i. . ali of damascus and sitt el milah, noureddin, iii. . appointed term, of the, i. . arab of the benou tai, en numan and the, i. . asleep and awake, i. . ass, the sharpers, the money-changer and the, ii. . awake, asleep and, i. . azadbekht and his son, history of king, i. baghdad, el abbas and the king's daughter of, iii. . barmecides, er reshid and the, i. . barmecides, haroun er reshid and the woman of the, i. . bekhtzeman, story of king, i. . benou tai, en numan and the arab of the, i. . bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin, ii. . bihkerd, story of king, i. . bihzad, story of prince, i. . bunducdari (el) and the sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers, ii. . cairo (the merchant of) and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, iii. . cashghar, abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of, ii. . caution was the cause of his death, the man whose, i . chamberlain's wife, the king and his, ii. . clemency, of, i. . cook, the lackpenny and the, i. . craft, women's, ii. . credulous husband, the, i. . dadbin (king) and his viziers, story of, i. . damascus (noureddin ali of) and sitt el milah, iii. . daughter of the poor old man, the rich man who married his fair, i. . daughters, the two kings and the vizier's, iii. . david and solomon, i. . death, the man whose caution was the cause of his, i. . destiny, of, i. . dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to him, the, i. . disciple's story, the, i. . draper's wife, the old woman and the, ii. . druggist, the singer and the, i. . eighth officer's story, the, ii. . eleventh officer's story, the, ii. . endeavour against persistent ill fortune, of the uselessness of, i. . envy and malice, of, i. . favourite and her lover, the, iii. . favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant of cairo and the, iii. . fifteenth officer's story, the, ii. . fifth officer's story, the, ii. . firouz and his wife, i. . first officer's story, the, ii. . forehead, of that which is written on the, i. . fortune, of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill, i. . foul-favoured man and his fair wife, the, ii. . fourteenth officer's story, the, ii. . fourth officer's story, the, ii. . fuller and his wife, the, i. . girl, the journeyman and the, ii. . god, of the speedy relief of, i. . god, of trust in, i. . governor, story of the man of khorassan, his son and his, i. . hakim (el) bi amrillah, the merchant and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun, iii. . haroun er reshid, tuhfet el culoub and, ii. . haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides, i. . hawk and the locust, the, ii. . hejjaj (el) and the three young men, i. . hind and his vizier, the king of, ii. . hindbad the porter, sindbad the sailor and, iii. . husband, the credulous, i. . ibn es semmak and er reshid, i. . ibrahim and his son, story of king, i. . idiot and the sharper, the, i. . ilan shah and abou temam, story of, i. . ill effects of precipitation, of the, i. . ill fortune, of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent, i . issues of affairs, of looking to the, i. . issues of good and evil actions, of the, i. . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside, i. . jest of a thief, a merry, ii. . jesus, the three men and our lord, i. . journeyman and the girl, the, ii. . khalif, el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the, iii. . khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets, the, i. . khelbes and his wife and the learned man, i. . khorassan, his son and his governor, story of the man of, i. . king azadbekht and his son, history of, i. . king bekhtzeman, story of, i. . king bihkerd, story of, i. . king and his chamberlain's wife, the, ii. . king dadbin and his viziers, story of, i. . king (the dethroned), whose kingdom and good were restored to him, i. . king of ind and his vizier, the, ii. . king ibrahim and his son, story of, i. . king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth, the, ii. . king, the old woman, the merchant and the, i. . king who knew the quintessence of things, the, i. . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan, i. . king suleiman shah and his sons, story of, i. king (the unjust) and the tither, i. . king's daughter of baghdad, el abbas and the, iii. . king's son of cashghar, abdullah ben nafi and the, ii. . kings and the vizier's daughters, the two, iii. . lackpenny and the cook, the, i. . lavish of house and victual to one whom he knew not, the man who was, i. . learned man, khelbes and his wife and the, i. . lewdness, the pious woman accused of, ii. . locust, the hawk and the, ii. . looking to the issues of affairs, of, i. . lover, the favourite and her, iii. . malice, of envy and, i. . mamoun (el) el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant and the favourite of the khalif, iii. . mamoun (el) and zubeideh, i. . man whose caution was the cause of his death, the, i. . man and his fair wife, the foul-favoured, ii. . man of khorassan, his son and his governor, story of the, i. . man who was lavish of house and victual to one whom he knew not, the, i . mariyeh, el abbas and, iii. . marriage to the poor old man, the rich man who gave his fair daughter in, i. . melik (el) ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police, ii. . men and our lord jesus, the three, i. . merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el maraoun el hakim bi amrillah, the, iii. . merchant and the king, the old woman, the, i. . merchant and his sons, the, i. . merchant, the unlucky, i. . merchants, the sharper and the, ii. . merouzi (el) and er razi, ii. . merry jest of a thief, a, ii. . money-changer and the ass, the sharpers, the, ii. . ninth officer's story, the, ii. . noureddin ali of damascus and sitt el milan, iii, . numan (en) and the arab of the benou tai, i. . officer's story, the first, ii. . officer's story, the second, ii. . officer's story, the third, ii. . officer's story, the fourth, ii. . officer's story, the fifth, ii. . officer's story, the sixth, ii. . officer's story, the seventh, ii. . officer's story, the eighth, ii. . officer's story, the ninth, ii. . officer's story, the tenth, ii. . officer's story, the eleventh, ii. . officer's story, the twelfth, ii. . officer's story, the thirteenth, ii. . officer's story, the fourteenth, ii. . officer's story, the fifteenth, ii. . officer's story, the sixteenth, ii. . officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdar and the sixteen, ii. . old sharper, story of the, ii. . old woman and the draper's wife, the, ii. . old woman, the merchant and the king, the, i. . omar ben abdulaziz and the poets, the khalif, i. . patience, of the advantages of, i. . physician by his wife's commandment, the weaver who became a, ii. . picture, the prince who fell in love with the, i. . pious woman accused of lewdness, the, ii. . poets, the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the, i. . police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of, ii. . poor old man, the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the, i. . porter, sindbad the sailor and hindbad the, iii. precipitation, of the ill effects of, i. prince bihzad, story of, i. . prince who fell in love with the picture, the, i. . prisoner and how god gave him relief, story of the, i. . quintessence of things, the king who knew the, i. . razi (er) and el merouzi, ii. . rehwan (er), king shah bekht and his vizier, i. . relief of god, of the speedy, i. . relief, story of the prisoner and how god gave him, i. . reshid (er) and the barmecides, i. . reshid (er), ibn es semmak and, i. . reshid (er), tuhfet el culoub and, ii. . reshid (haroun er) and the woman of the barmecides, i. . rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man, the, i. . rich man and his wasteful son, the, i. . sabir (abou), story of, i. . sailor and hindbad the porter, sindbad the, iii. . second officer's story, the, ii. . selim and selma, ii. . selma, selim and, ii. . semmak (ibn es) and er reshid, i. . seventh officer's story, the, ii. . seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor, the, iii. . shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan, king, i. . sharper, the idiot and the, i. . sharper and the merchant, the, ii. sharper, story of the old, ii. . sharpers who cheated each his fellow, the two, ii. . sharpers, the money-changer and the ass, the, ii. . shehriyar, shehrzad and, ii. , iii. , . shehrzad and shehriyar, ii. , iii. , . sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter, iii. . sindbad the sailor, the seventh voyage of, iii. . sindbad the sailor, the sixth voyage of, iii. . singer and the druggist, the, i. . sitt el milah, noureddin ali of damascus and, iii. . sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the, ii. . sixteenth officer's story, the, ii. . sixth officer's story, the, ii. . sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor, the, iii. . solomon, david and, i. . son, the history of king azadbekht and his, i. . son and his governor, story of the man of khorassan, his, i. son, story of king ibrahim and his, i. . son, the rich man and his wasteful, i. . sons, story of king suleiman shah and his, i. . sons, the merchant and his, i. . speedy relief of god, of the, i. . suleiman shah and his sons, story of king, i. . tai, en numan and the arab of the benou. i. . temam (abou), story of ilan shah and, i. . ten viziers, the, i. tenth officer's story, the, ii. term, of the appointed, i. . thief, a merry jest of a, ii. . thiefs story, the, ii. . thief and the woman, the, i. things, the king who knew the quintessence of, i. third officer's story, the, ii. . thirteenth officer's story, the, ii. . three men and our lord jesus, the, i. . three young men, el hejjaj and the, i. . tither, the unjust king and the, i. . trust in god, of, . tuhfet el culoub and er reshid, ii. . twelfth officer's story, the, ii. i . two kings and the vizier's daughters, the, iii. unjust king and the tither, the, i. unlucky merchant, the, i . uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune, of the, i. vizier, the king of hind and his, ii. . vizier er rehwan, king shah bekht and his, i. . vizier's daughters, the two kings and the, iii. , viziers, story of king dadbin and his. i. . viziers, the ten, i. . voyage of sindbad the sailor, the seventh, iii. . voyage of sindbad the sailor, the sixth, iii. . wasteful son, the rich man and his, i. . weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment, the ii. . wife, the king and his chamberlain's, ii. . wife, the old woman and the draper's, ii. . wife, firouz aad his, i. . wife, the fuller and his, i. . wife and the learned man, khelbes and his, i. . woman accused of lewdness, the pious, ii. . woman of the barmecides, haroun er reshid and the, i. . woman, the thief and the, i. . woman (the old) and the draper's wife, ii. . woman (the old), the merchant and the king, i. . women's craft, ii. . young men, el hejjaj and the three, i. . zubeideh, el mamoun and, i. the end. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - , nights dcccclviii-dcccclxv. [fn# ] babylon, according to the muslims, is the head-quarters of sorcery and it is there that the two fallen angels, harout and marout, who are appointed to tempt mankind by teaching them the art of magic, are supposed to be confined. [fn# ] i.e. "my lord," a title generally prefixed to the names of saints. it is probable, therefore, that the boy was named after some saint or other, whose title, as well as name, was somewhat ignorantly appropriated to him. [fn# ] i.e. one and all? [fn# ] i.e. a foretaste of hell. [fn# ] lit. he loaded his sleeve with. [fn# ] a mithcal is the same as a dinar, i.e. about ten shillings. [fn# ] masculine. [fn# ] he was a noted debauchee, as well as the greatest poet of his day see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. , and vol. ix. p. . [fn# ] see ante, vol. ii. p. . note. [fn# ] princess of the fair. [fn# ] i.e. ye are welcome to. [fn# ] i.e. the place in which those accused or convicted of crimes of violence were confined. [fn# ] i.e. a youth slender and flexile as a bough. [fn# ] i.e. sway gracefully. a swimming gait is the ideal of elegance to the arab. [fn# ] an arab of medina, proverbial for faithlessness. [fn# ] joseph is the mohammedan prototype of beauty. [fn# ] for the loss of joseph. jacob, in like manner, is the muslim type of inconsolable grief. [fn# ] uncle of the prophet. [fn# ] first cousin of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. cut off her head. [fn# ] when asked, on the day of judgment, why he had slain her. [fn# ] i.e. that some one of the many risings in khorassan (which was in a chronic state of rebellion during er reshid's reign) had been put down. [fn# ] lit. fry. the custom is to sear the stump by plunging it into boiling oil. [fn# ] lit. of those having houses. [fn# ] i.e. from god in the world to come. [fn# ] i look to get god's favour in consequence of thy fervent prayers for me. [fn# ] provided for ablution. [fn# ] i.e. if you want a thing done, do it yourself. [fn# ] i.e. put on the ordinary walking dress of the eastern lady, which completely hides the person. [fn# ] this is apparently said in jest; but the muslim puritan (such as the strict wehhabi) is often exceedingly punctilious in refusing to eat or use anything that is not sanctified by mention in the koran or the traditions of the prophet, in the same spirit as the old calvinist scotchwoman of popular tradition, who refused to eat muffins, because they "warna mentioned in the bible." [fn# ] i.e. a leader (lit. foreman, antistes) of the people at prayer. [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] i.e. i have eaten largely and the food lies heavy on my stomach. [fn# ] wine is considered by the arabs a sovereign digestive. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] "the similitude of paradise, the which is promised unto those who fear [god]. therein are rivers of water incorruptible and rivers of milk, the taste whereof changeth not, and rivers of wine, a delight to the drinkers, and rivers of clarified honey."--koran xlvii. , . [fn# ] the ox is the arab type of stupidity, as with us the ass. [fn# ] syn. wood (oud). [fn# ] i.e. my pallor and emaciation testify to the affliction of my heart and the latter bears witness that the external symptoms correctly indicate the internal malady. [fn# ] lit. he is [first] the deposit of god, then thy deposit. [fn# ] or "by." [fn# ] see supra, vol. i. p. , note. [fn# ] i.e. made him chief of the police of baghdad, in place of the former prefect, whom he had put to death with the rest of noureddin's oppressors. [fn# ] for affright. [fn# ] i.e. religious ceremonies so called. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. p. , note. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - , nights dcccclxvi-dcccclxxix. [fn# ] i.e. a member of the tribe of sheiban. no such king of baghdad (which was not founded till the eighth century) as ins ben cais is, i believe, known to history. [fn# ] the cities and provinces of bassora and cufa are generally known as "the two iraks"; but the name is here in all probability used in its wider meaning of irak arabi (chaldaea) and irak farsi (persian irak). [fn# ] i.e. all those languages the knowledge whereof is necessary to an interpreter or dragoman (properly terjeman). or quaere is the word terjemaniyeh (dragomanish) here a mistranscription for turkumaniyeh (turcoman). [fn# ] i.e. gilded? [fn# ] i.e. sperma hominis. [fn# ] syn. good breeding. [fn# ] i.e. those women of equal age and rank with herself. [fn# ] i.e. vaunting himself of offering richer presents. [fn# ] apparently zebid, the ancient capital of the province of tehameh in yemen, a town on the red sea, about sixty miles north of mocha. the copyist of the tunis ms. appears to have written the name with the addition of the characteristic desinence (oun) of the nominative case, which is dropped except in the koran and in poetry. [fn# ] name of the province in which mecca is situated. [fn# ] syn. assembly. [fn# ] i.e. day and night, to wit, for ever. [fn# ] syn. the loftiness of his purpose. [fn# ] lit "i charm thee by invoking the aid of god for thee against evil" or "i seek refuge with god for thee." [fn# ] or "determinate." [fn# ] koran xxxiii. . [fn# ] or "accomplishments." [fn# ] i.e. to make a pleasure-excursion. [fn# ] lit. beset his back. [fn# ] lit. in its earth. [fn# ] the king's own tribe. [fn# ] i.e. the arab of the desert or bedouin (el aarabi), the nomad. [fn# ] i.e. the martial instinct. [fn# ] lit. "and he who is oppressed shall become oppressor." [fn# ] i.e. be not ashamed to flee rather than perish in thy youth, if his prowess (attributed to diabolical aid or possession) prove too much for thee. [fn# ] a periphrastic way of saying, "i look to god for help." [fn# ] i.e. from the world. [fn# ] in laughter. [fn# ] i.e. as he were a flying genie, swooping down upon a mortal from the air, hawk-fashion. [fn# ] syn. "thou settest out to me a mighty matter." [fn# ] i.e. the castle. [fn# ] i.e. was eloquent and courtly to the utmost. [fn# ] i.e. died. [fn# ] the arabs use the right hand only in eating. [fn# ] name of a quarter of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. he summoneth thee to his presence by way of kindness and not because he is wroth with thee. [fn# ] i.e. in allowing thee hitherto to remain at a distance from as and not inviting thee to attach thyself to our person. [fn# ] an arab idiom, meaning "he showed agitation." [fn# ] apparently two well-known lovers. [fn# ] apparently two well-known lovers. [fn# ] i.e. the wandering arabs. [fn# ] i.e. slain. [fn# ] "o ye who believe, seek aid of patience and prayer; verily, god is with the patient."--koran ii. . [fn# ] lit. "ignorant one" (jahil). [fn# ] i.e. peninsula. jezireh (sing, of jezair, islands) is constantly used by the arabs in this sense; hence much apparent confusion in topographical passages. [fn# ] i.e. mecca and medina. [fn# ] i.e. whether on a matter of sport, such as the chase, or a grave matter, such as war, etc. [fn# ] i.e. the children of his fighting-men whom thou slewest. [fn# ] arab fashion of shaking hands. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix p. , note. [fn# ] lit. a cleft meadow (merj selia). this is probably a mistranscription for merj sselia, a treeless champaign. [fn# ] i.e. one of the small rooms opening upon the hall of audience at saloon of estate. [fn# ] so she might hear and see what passed, herself unseen. [fn# ] or knowledge of court etiquette. [fn# ] i.e. richer. [fn# ] lit. seen. [fn# ] lit. what she did. [fn# ] i.e. tabooed or unlawful in a religious sense (heram). [fn# ] i.e. those of el aziz, who had apparently entered the city or passed through it on their way to the camp of el abbas. [fn# ] lit. none of the sons of the road. [fn# ] i.e. the stars. [fn# ] i.e. in falsetto? [fn# ] by thine absence. [fn# ] common abbreviation for "may i be thy ransom!" [fn# ] i.e. for love of and longing for. [fn# ] i.e. leather from et taif, a town of the hejaz, renowned for the manufacture of scented goats' leather. [fn# ] or "suspended in." [fn# ] i.e. violateth my privacy. [fn# ] i.e. the plaintive song of a nightingale or turtle-dove. [fn# ] this curious comparison appears to be founded upon the extreme tenuity of the particles of fine dust, so minutely divided as to seem almost fluid. [fn# ] i.e. he carried it into the convent, hidden under his cloak. [fn# ] i.e. all the delights of paradise, as promised to the believer by the koran. [fn# ] "him" in the text and so on throughout the piece; but mariyeh is evidently the person alluded to, according to the common practice of muslim poets of a certain class, who consider it indecent openly to mention a woman as an object of love. [fn# ] i.e. from the witchery of her beauty. see vol. ii. p. , note. [fn# ] lit "if thou kohl thyself" i.e. use them as a cosmetic for the eye. [fn# ] i.e. we will assume thy debts and responsibilities. [fn# ] lit "behind." [fn# ] i.e. a specially auspicious hour, as ascertained by astrological calculations. eastern peoples have always laid great stress upon the necessity of commencing all important undertakings at an (astrologically) favourable time. [fn# ] or "more valuable." red camels are considered better than those of other colours by some of the arabs. [fn# ] i.e. couriers mounted on dromedaries, which animals are commonly used for this purpose, being (for long distances) swifter and more enduring than horses. [fn# ] lit. he sinned against himself. [fn# ] i.e. in falsetto? [fn# ] i.e. of gold or rare wood, set with balass rubies. [fn# ] i.e. whose absence. [fn# ] i.e. in a throat voice? [fn# ] koranic synonym, victual (rihan). see vol. ii. p. , note. [fn# ] apparently, the apple of the throat. [fn# ] apparently, the belly. [fn# ] apparently, the bosom. [fn# ] cf. fletcher's well-known song in the bloody brother; "hide, o hide those hills of snow, that thy frozen bosom bears, on whose tops the pinks that grow are of those that april wears." [fn# ] i.e. the breasts themselves. [fn# ] i.e. your languishing beauties are alone present to my mind's eye. a drowsy voluptuous air of languishment is considered by the arabs an especial charm. [fn# ] syn. chamberlain (hajib). [fn# ] syn. eyebrow (hajib). the usual trifling play of words is of course intended. [fn# ] lit. feathers. [fn# ] solomon is fabled by the muslims to have compelled the wind to bear his throne when placed upon his famous magic carpet. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - . [fn# ] quære the teeth. [fn# ] i.e. the return of our beloved hath enabled us to remove the barriers that stood between us and delight. [fn# ] singing (as i have before pointed out) is not, in the eyes of the strict muslim, a reputable occupation and it is, therefore, generally the first idea of the "repentant" professional songstress or (as in this case) enfranchised slave-girl, who has been wont to entertain her master with the display of her musical talents, to free herself from all signs of her former profession and identify herself as closely as possible with the ordinary "respectable" bourgeoise of the harem, from whom she has been distinguished hitherto by unveiled face and freedom of ingress and egress; and with this aim in view she would naturally be inclined to exaggerate the rigour of muslim custom, as applied to herself. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - (night mi). [fn# ] i.e. that of the king, his seven viziers, his son and his favourite, which in the breslau edition immediately follows the story of el abbas and mariyeh and occupies pp. - of vol. xii. (nights dcccclxxix-m). it will be found translated in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - , under the name of "the malice of women." [fn# ] i.e. those who practise it. [fn# ] or "cause" (sebeb). [fn# ] or "preservation" (selameh). [fn# ] or "turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious" (keraheh). [fn# ] or "preservation" (selameh). [fn# ] or "turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious" (keraheh). [fn# ] these preliminary words of shehrzad have no apparent connection with the story that immediately follows and which is only her own told in the third person, and it is difficult to understand why they should be here introduced. the author may have intended to connect them with the story by means of a further development of the latter and with the characteristic carelessness of the eastern story-teller, forgotten or neglected to carry out his intention; or, again, it is possible that the words in question may have been intended as an introduction to the story of the favourite and her lover (see post, p. ), to which they seem more suitable, and have been misplaced by an error of transcription. in any case, the text is probably (as usual) corrupt. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - . [fn# ] the kingdom of the elder brother is afterwards referred to as situate in china. see post, p. . [fn# ] tubba was the dynastic title of the ancient himyerite kings of yemen, even as chosroës and cæsar of the kings of persia and the emperors of constantinople respectively. [fn# ] i.e. a king similar in magnificence and dominion to the monarchs of the three dynasties aforesaid, whose names are in arab literature synonyms for regal greatness. [fn# ] i.e. his rage was ungovernable, so that none dared approach him in his heat of passion. [fn# ] i.e. maidens cloistered or concealed behind curtains and veiled in the harem. [fn# ] i.e. those whose business it is to compose or compile stories, verses, etc., for the entertainment of kings and grandees. [fn# ] i.e. that his new and damnable custom. the literal meaning of bidah is "an innovation or invention, anything new;" but the word is commonly used in the sense of "heresy" or "heterodox innovation," anything new being naturally heretical in the eyes of the orthodox religionist. [fn# ] i.e. women. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. his apathy or indifference to the principles of right and wrong and the consequences of his wicked behaviour. [fn# ] i.e. in a state of reprobation, having incurred the wrath of god. [fn# ] hath mentioned the office of vizier. [fn# ] koran xx. . [fn# ] i.e. none had been better qualified to dispense with a vizier than he. [fn# ] i.e. the essential qualification. [fn# ] the word jeish (troops) is here apparently used in the sense at officials, ministers of government. [fn# ] or "rectification." [fn# ] koran xxxiii. . [fn# ] i.e. i know not which to choose of the superabundant material at my command in the way of instances of women's craft. [fn# ] breslau text, vol xii. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. incensed with the smoke of burning musk. it is a common practice in the east to fumigate drinking-vessels with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood and other perfumes, for the purpose of giving a pleasant flavour to the water, etc., drunk from them. [fn# ] huneini foucaniyeh. foucaniyeh means "upper" (fem.); but the meaning of huneini is unknown to me. [fn# ] heriseh. see supra, vol. ii. p. , note . [fn# ] the arabs distinguish three kinds of honey, i.e. bees' honey, cane honey (treacle or syrup of sugar) and drip-honey (date-syrup). [fn# ] i.e. yet arrive in time for the rendezvous. [fn# ] breslau text, pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. on an island between two branches of the nile. [fn# ] it is not plain what khalif is here meant, though it is evident, from the context, that an egyptian prince is referred to, unless the story is told of the abbaside khalif el mamoun, son of er reshid (a.d. - ), during his temporary residence in egypt, which he is said to have visited. this is, however, unlikely, as his character was the reverse of sanguinary; besides, el mamoun was not his name, but his title (aboulabbas abdallah el mamoun billah). two khalifs of egypt assumed the title of el hakim bi amrillah (he who rules or decrees by or in accordance with the commandment of god), i.e. the fatimite abou ali el mensour (a.d. - ), and the faineant abbaside aboulabbas ahmed (a.d. - ); but neither of these was named el mamoun. it is probable, however, that the first named is the prince referred to in the story, the latter having neither the power nor the inclination for such wholesale massacres as that described in the text, which are perfectly in character with the brutal and fantastic nature of the founder of the druse religion. [fn# ] i.e. the well-known island of that name (the garden). [fn# ] i.e. "whatever may betide" or "will i, nill i"? [fn# ] lit. she was cut off or cut herself off. [fn# ] lit. "the convent of clay." [fn# ] i.e. this is the time to approve thyself a man. [fn# ] to keep her afloat. [fn# ] lit "thou art the friend who is found (or present) (or the vicissitudes of time (or fortune)." [fn# ] i.e. the officer whose duty it is to search out the estates of intestates and lay hands upon such property as escheats to the crown for want of heirs. [fn# ] i.e. sumatran. [fn# ] i.e. alexander. [fn# ] i.e. the blackness of the hair. [fn# ] the ingenuity of the bride's attendants, on the occasion of a wedding, is strained to the utmost to vary her attire and the manner in which the hair is dressed on the occasion of her being displayed to her husband, and one favourite trick consists in fastening her tresses about her chin and cheeks, so as to produce a sort of imitation of beard and whiskers. [fn# ] literal. [fn# ] i.e. god only knows if it be true or not. [fn# ] or rather appended to. the voyages of sindbad the sailor form no part of the scheme of nights in this edition, but are divided into "voyages" only and form a sort of appendix, following the two hundredth night. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. pp. - . [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. and . [fn# ] i.e. the porter and the other guests. [fn# ] i.e. a mountainous island. [fn# ] kherabeh, lit. a hole. syn. ruin or destruction. [fn# ] i.e. an outlying spur or reef. [fn# ] syn. perilous place. [fn# ] lit. their guide was disappointed. [fn# ] i.e. means (hileh) of sustaining life. [fn# ] i.e. death. [fn# ] i.e. ceylon. [fn# ] audiyeh (plural of wadi, a valley). the use of the word in this sense points to an african origin of this version of the story. the moors of africa and spain commonly called a river "a valley," by a natural figure of metonymy substituting the container for the contained; e.g. guadalquiver (wadi el kebir, the great river), guadiana, etc. [fn# ] i.e. after the usual compliments, the letter proceeded thus. [fn# ] i.e. we are thine allies in peace and war, for offence and defence. those whom thou lovest we love, and those whom thou hatest we hate. [fn# ] about seventy-two grains. [fn# ] or public appearance. [fn# ] solomon was the dynastic name of the kings of the prae-adamite jinn and is here used in a generic sense, as chosroes for the ancient kings of persia, caesar for the emperors of constantinople, tubba for the himyerite kings of yemen, etc., etc. [fn# ] i.e. maharajah. [fn# ] or "government." [fn# ] every muslim is bound by law to give alms to the extent of two and half per cent. of his property. [fn# ] in north-east persia. [fn# ] alleged to have been found by the arab conquerors of spain on the occasion of the sack of toledo and presented by them to the ommiade khalif el welid ben abdulmelik (a.d. - ). see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iii. p. . [fn# ] i.e. such as are fit to be sent from king to king. [fn# ] i.e, the price of his victual and other necessaries for the voyage. [fn# ] lit. riding-beast (french monture, no exact english equivalent), whether camel, mule or horse does not appear. [fn# ] the envier and the envied. [fn# ] after the manner of orientalists, a far more irritable folk than any poets. [fn# ] by the by, apropos of this soi-disant complete translation of the great arabian collection of romantic fiction, it is difficult to understand how an orientalist of repute, such as dr. habicht, can have put forth publication of this kind, which so swarms with blunders of every description as to throw the mistakes of all other translators completely into the shade and to render it utterly useless to the arabic scholar as a book of reference. we can only conjecture that he must have left the main portion of the work to be executed, without efficient supervision, by incapable collaborators or that he undertook and executed the translation in such haste as to preclude the possibility of any preliminary examination and revision, worthy of the name, of the original ms.; and this latter supposition appears to be borne out by the fact that the translation was entirely published before the appearance of any portion of the arabic text, as printed from the tunis manuscript. whilst on the subject of german translations, it may be well to correct an idea, which appears to prevail among non-arabic scholars, to the effect that complete translations of the book of the thousand nights and one night exist in the language of hoffmann and heine, and which is (as far, at least, as my own knowledge extends) a completely erroneous one. i have, i believe, examined all the german translations in existence and have found not one of them worthy of serious consideration; the best, that of hammer-purgstall, to which i had looked for help in the elucidation of doubtful and corrupt passages, being so loose and unfaithful, so disfigured by ruthless retrenchments and abridgments, no less than by gross errors of all kinds, that i found myself compelled to lay it aside as useless. it is but fair, however, to the memory of the celebrated austrian orientalist, to state that the only form in which von hammer's translation is procurable is that of the german rendering of prof. zinserling ( - ), executed from the original (french) manuscript, which latter was unfortunately lost before publication. [fn# ] the boulac edition omits this story altogether. [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac b. "the merchant's wife and the parrot." [fn# ] this will be found translated in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. vii. p. , as an appendix to the calcutta ( - ) and boulac version of the story, from which it differs in detail. [fn# ] called "bekhit" in calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions. [fn# ] yehya ben khalid (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] "shar" (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] "jelyaad" (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, no. . see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "jaafer the barmecide." [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "the thief turned merchant and the other thief," no. . [fn# ] this story will be found translated in my "book at the thousand nights and one night,' vol. v. p. . [fn# ] the third old man's story is wanting. [fn# ] the story of the portress is wanting. [fn# ] calcutta ( - ), boulac and breslan, "the controller's story." [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "sindbad the sailor and sindbad the porter." [fn# ] tuhfeh. this ebook was produced by jc byers. text scanned by jc byers and proofread by jc byers, sally gellert, renate preuss, and christine sturrock. the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume iii. the story of beder, prince of persia, and jehaunara, prince of samandal, or summunder the history of prince zeyn alasnam and the sultan of the genii the history of codadad, and his brothers the history of the princess of deryabar the story of abu hassan, or the sleeper awakened the story of alla ad deen; or, the wonderful lamp adventure of the caliph haroon al rusheed the story of baba abdoollah the story of syed naomaun the story of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul the story of ali aba and the forty robbers destroyed by a slave the story of ali khujeh, a merchand of bagdad the story of beder, prince of persia, and jehaun-ara, princess of samandal, or summunder. persia was an empire of such vast extent, that its ancient monarchs, not without reason, assumed the haughty title of king of kings. for not to mention those subdued by their arms, there were kingdoms and provinces whose kings were not only tributary, but also in as great subjection as governors in other nations are to the monarchs. one of these kings, who in the beginning of his reign had signalized himself by many glorious and successful conquests, enjoyed so profound a peace and tranquillity, as rendered him the happiest of princes. the only point in which he thought himself unfortunate was, that amongst all his wives, not one had brought him a son; and being now far advanced in years, he was desirous of an heir. he had above a hundred ladies, all lodged in separate apartments, with women-slaves to wait upon and eunuchs to guard them; yet, notwithstanding all his endeavours to please their taste, and anticipate their wishes, there was not one that answered his expectation. he had women frequently brought him from the most remote countries; and if they pleased him, he not only gave the merchants their full price, but loaded them with honours and benedictions, in hopes that at last he might be so happy as to meet with one by whom he might have a son. there was scarcely an act of charity but he performed, to prevail with heaven. he gave immense sums to the poor, besides large donations to the religious; building for their use many noble colleges richly endowed, in hopes of obtaining by their prayers what he so earnestly desired. one day, according to the custom of his royal predecessors, during their residence in their capital, he held an assembly of his courtiers, at which all the ambassadors and strangers of quality about the court were present; and where they not only entertained one another with news and politics, but also by conversing on the sciences, history, poetry, literature, and whatever else was capable of diverting the mind. on that day a eunuch came to acquaint him with the arrival of a certain merchant from a distant country, who, having brought a slave with him, desired leave to shew her to his majesty. "give him admittance instantly," said the king, "and after the assembly is over i will talk with him." the merchant was introduced, and seated in a convenient place, from whence he might easily have a full view of the king, and hear him talk familiarly to those that stood near his person. the king observed this rule to all strangers, in order that by degrees they might grow acquainted with him; so that, when they saw with what freedom and civility he addressed himself to all, they might be encouraged to talk to him in the same manner, without being abashed at the pomp and splendour of his appearance, which was enough to deprive those of their power of speech who were not used to it. he treated the ambassadors also after the same manner. he ate with them, and during the repast asked them several questions concerning their health, their journey, and the peculiarities of their country. after they had been thus encouraged, he gave them audience. when the assembly was over, and all the company had retired, the merchant, who was the only person left, fell prostrate before the king's throne, with his face to the earth, wishing his majesty an accomplishment of all his desires as soon as he arose, the king asked him if the report of his having brought a slave for him was true, and whether she were handsome. "sire," replied the merchant, "i doubt not but your majesty has many very beautiful women, since you search every corner of the earth for them; but i may boldly affirm, without overvaluing my merchandise, that you never yet saw a woman that could stand in competition with her for shape and beauty, agreeable qualifications, and all the perfections that she is mistress of." "where is she?" demanded the king; "bring her to me instantly." "sire," replied the merchant, "i have delivered her into the hands of one of your chief eunuchs; and your majesty may send for her at your pleasure." the fair slave was immediately brought in; and no sooner had the king cast his eyes on her, but he was charmed with her beautiful and easy shape. he went directly into a closet, and was followed by the merchant and a few eunuchs. the fair slave wore, over her face, a red satin veil striped with gold; and when the merchant had taken it off, the king of persia beheld a female that surpassed in beauty, not only his present ladies, but all that he had ever had before. he immediately fell passionately in love with her, and desired the merchant to name his price. "sire," said he, "i gave a thousand pieces of gold to the person of whom i bought her; and in my three years' journey to your court, i reckon i have spent as much more: but i shall forbear setting any price to so great a monarch; and therefore, if your majesty likes her, i humbly beg you would accept of her as a present." "i am highly obliged to you," replied the king; "but it is never my custom to treat merchants, who come hither for my pleasure, in so ungenerous a manner; i am going to order thee ten thousand pieces of gold; will that be sufficient?" "sire," answered the merchant, "i should have esteemed myself happy in your majesty's acceptance of her; yet i dare not refuse so generous an offer. i will not fail to publish your liberality in my own country, and in every place through which i may pass." the money was paid; and before he departed, the king made him put on a rich suit of cloth of gold. the king caused the fair slave to be lodged in the apartment next his own, and gave particular orders to the matrons, and the female slaves appointed to attend her, that after bathing they should dress her in the richest habit they could find, and carry her the finest pearl necklaces, the brightest diamonds, and other richest precious stones, that she might choose those she liked best. the officious matrons, whose only care was to please the king, were astonished at her beauty; and being good judges, they told his majesty, that if he would allow them but three days, they would engage to make her so much handsomer than she was at present, that he would scarcely know her again. the king could hardly prevail with himself to delay so long the pleasure of seeing her, but at last he consented. the king of persia's capital was situated in an island; and his palace, which was very magnificent, was built on the shore: his apartment looked on the water; the fair slave's, which was near it, had also the same prospect, and was the more agreeable, on account of the sea's beating almost against the walls. at the three days' end, the fair slave, magnificently dressed, was alone in her chamber, sitting on a sofa, and leaning against one of the windows that faced the sea, when the king, being informed that he might visit her, came in. the slave, hearing somebody walk in the room with an air quite different from that of the female slaves, who had hitherto attended her, immediately turned her head about to see who it was. she knew him to be the king, but without discovering the least surprise, or so much as rising from her seat to salute or receive him, as if he had been the most indifferent person in the world, she put herself in the same posture again. the king of persia was extremely surprised to see a slave of so beauteous a form so ignorant of the world. he attributed this to the narrowness of her education, and the little care that had been taken to instruct her in the first rules of civility. he went to her at the window, where, notwithstanding the coldness and indifference with which she had received him, she suffered herself to be admired, caressed, and embraced, as much as he pleased. in the midst of these amorous embraces and tender endearments, the king paused awhile, to gaze upon, or rather to devour her with his eyes. "my lovely fair one! my charmer!" exclaimed he; "whence came you, and where do those happy parents live who brought into the world so surprising a masterpiece of nature? how do i love thee, and shall always continue to do. never did i feel for a woman what i now feel for you; and though i have seen, and every day behold a vast number of beauties, yet never did my eyes contemplate so many charms in one person--charms which have so transported me, that i shall entirely devote myself to you. my dearest life," continued he, "you neither answer, nor by any visible token give me the least reason to believe that you are sensible of the demonstrations i have given you of the ardour of my passion; neither will you turn your eyes on me, to afford mine the pleasure of meeting them, and to convince you that it is impossible to love in a higher degree than i do you. why will you still preserve this obstinate silence, which chills me, and whence proceeds the seriousness, or rather sorrow, that torments me to the soul? do you mourn for your country, your friends or your relations? alas! is not the king of persia, who loves and adores you, capable of comforting you, and making you amends for every loss?" notwithstanding all the protestations of love the king of persia made the fair slave, and all he could say to induce her to speak to him, she remained unaltered; and keeping her eyes still fixed upon the ground, would neither look at him, nor utter a word. the king of persia, delighted with the purchase he had made of a slave that pleased him so well, pressed her no farther, in hopes that by treating her kindly he might prevail upon her to change her behaviour. he clapped his hands; and the women who waited in an outward room entered: he commanded them to bring in supper. when it was arranged, "my love," said he to the slave, "come hither and sup with me." she rose from her seat; and being seated opposite the king, his majesty helped her, before he began eating himself; and did so of every dish during supper. the slave ate as well as the king, but still with downcast eyes, and without speaking a word; though he often asked her how she liked the entertainment, and whether it was dressed according to her taste. the king, willing to change the conversation, asked her what her name was, how she liked the clothes and the jewels she had on, what she thought of her apartment and the rich furniture, and whether the prospect of the sea was not very agreeable? but to all these questions she made no reply; so that the king was at a loss what to think of her silence. he imagined at first, that she might perhaps be dumb: "but then," said he to himself, "can it be possible that heaven should forge a creature so beautiful, so perfect, and so accomplished, and at the same time with so great an imperfection? were it however so, i could not love her with less passion than i do." when the king of persia rose, he washed his hands on one side, while the fair slave washed hers on the other. he took that opportunity to ask the woman who held the basin and napkin, if ever they had heard her speak. one of them replied, "sire, we have neither seen her open her lips, nor heard her speak any more than your majesty has; we have rendered her our services in the bath; we have dressed her head, put on her clothes, and waited upon her in her chamber; but she has never opened her lips, so much as to say, that is well, or i like this. we have often asked her, "madam, do you want anything? is there anything you wish for? do but ask, and command us," but we have never been able to draw a word from her. we cannot tell whether her sorrow proceeds from pride, sorrow, stupidity, or dumbness." the king was more astonished at hearing this than he had been before: however, believing the slave might have some cause of sorrow, he was willing to endeavour to divert and amuse her. accordingly he appointed a very splendid assembly, which all the ladies of the court attended; and those who were skilful in playing upon musical instruments performed their parts, while others sung or danced, or did both together: they played at all sorts of games, which much diverted the king. the fair slave was the only person who took no pleasure in these attempts to amuse her; she never moved from her place, but remained with her eyes fixed on the ground with so much indifference, that all the ladies were not less surprised than the king. after the assembly was over, every one retired to her apartment; and the king was left alone with the fair slave. the next morning the king of persia rose more pleased than he had been with all the women he had seen before, and more enamoured with the fair slave than ever. indeed, he soon made it appear, by resolving henceforth to attach himself to her alone; and performed his resolution. on the same day he dismissed all his other women, giving every one of them their jewels, and other valuables, besides a considerable fortune, with free leave to marry whom they thought fit; and only kept the matrons and a few other elderly women to wait upon the fair slave. however, for a whole year together, she never afforded him the pleasure of one single word; yet the king continued his assiduities to please her, and to give her the most signal proofs of sincere love. after the expiration of the year, the king sitting one day by his mistress, protested to her that his love, instead of being diminished, grew every day more violent. "my queen," said he, "i cannot divine what your thoughts are; but nothing is more true, and i swear to you, that having the happiness of possessing you, there remains nothing for me to desire. i esteem my kingdom, great as it is, less than an atom, when i have the pleasure of beholding you, and of telling you a thousand times that i adore you. i desire not that my words alone should oblige you to believe me. surely you can no longer doubt of my devotion to you after the sacrifice which i have made to your beauty of so many women, whom i before kept in my palace. you may remember it is about a year since i sent them all away; and i as little repent of it now, as i did the moment of their departure; and i never shall repent. nothing would be wanting to complete my happiness and crown my joy, would you but speak one single word to me, by which i might be assured that you thought yourself at all obliged. but how can you speak to me if you are dumb? and alas! i feel but too apprehensive that this is the case. how can i doubt, since you still torment me with silence, after having for a whole year in vain supplicated you to speak? if it is possible for me to obtain of you that consolation, may heaven at least grant me the blessing of a son by you, to succeed me. i every day find myself growing old, and i begin already to want one to assist me in bearing the weight of my crown. still i cannot conceal the desire i have of hearing you speak; for something within me tells me you are not dumb: and i beseech, i conjure you, dear madam, to break through this long silence, and speak but one word to me; after that i care not how soon i die." at this discourse the fair slave, who, according to her usual custom, had hearkened to the king with downcast eyes, and had given him cause to believe not only that she was dumb, but that she had never laughed, began to smile. the king of persia perceived it with a surprise that made him break forth into an exclamation of joy; and no longer doubting but that she was going to speak, he waited for that happy moment with an eagerness and attention that cannot easily be expressed at last the fair slave thus addressed herself to the king: "sire, i have so many things to say to your majesty, that, having once broken silence, i know not where to begin. however, in the first place, i think myself bound to thank you for all the favours and honours you have been pleased to confer upon me, and to implore heaven to bless and prosper you, to prevent the wicked designs of your enemies, and not suffer you to die after hearing me speak, but to grant you a long life. after this, sire, i cannot give you greater satisfaction than by acquainting you that i am with child; and i wish, as you do, it may be a son. had it never been my fortune to be pregnant, i was resolved (i beg your majesty to pardon the sincerity of my intention) never to have loved you, and to have kept an eternal silence; but now i love you as i ought to do." the king of persia, ravished to hear the fair slave not only speak, but tell him tidings in which he was so nearly concerned, embraced her tenderly. "staining light of my eyes," said he, "it is impossible for me to receive greater delight than you have now given me: you have spoken to me, and you have declared your being with child, which i did not expect. after these two occasions of joy i am transported out of myself." the king of persia, in the transport of his feelings, said no more to the fair slave. he left her, but in such a manner as made her perceive his intention was speedily to return: and being willing that the occasion of his joys should be made public, he declared it to his officers, and sent for the grand vizier. as soon as he came, he ordered him to distribute a thousand pieces of gold among the holy men of his religion, who made vows of poverty; as also among the hospitals and the poor, by way of returning thanks to heaven: and his will was obeyed by the direction of that minister. after the king of persia had given this order, he returned to the fair slave again. "madam," said he, "pardon me for leaving you so abruptly, since you have been the occasion of it; but i hope you will indulge me with some conversation, since i am desirous to know of you several things of much greater consequence. tell me, my dearest soul, what were the powerful reasons that induced you to persist in that obstinate silence for a whole year together, though every day you saw me, heard me talk to you, ate and drank with me, and every night slept with me? i shall pass by your not speaking; but how you could carry yourself so as that i could never discover whether you were sensible of what i said to you or no, i confess, surpasses my understanding; and i cannot yet comprehend how you could contain yourself so long; therefore i must conclude the occasion of it to be very extraordinary." "to satisfy the king of persia's curiosity," replied the lady, "think whether or no to be a slave, far from my own country, without any hopes of ever seeing it again, to have a heart torn with grief, at being separated forever from my mother, my brother, my friends, and my acquaintance, are not these sufficient reasons for the silence your majesty has thought so strange and unaccountable? the love of our native country is as natural to us as that of our parents; and the loss of liberty is insupportable to everyone who is not wholly destitute of common sense, and knows how to set a value on it. the body indeed may be enslaved, and under the subjection of a master, who has the power and authority in his hands; the will can never be conquered, but remains free and unconfined, depending on itself alone, as your majesty has found in my case; and it is a wonder that i have not followed the example of many unfortunate wretches, whom the loss of liberty has reduced to the melancholy resolution of procuring their own deaths in a thousand ways, by a liberty which cannot be taken from them." "madam," replied the king, "i am convinced of the truth of what you say; but till this moment i was of opinion, that a person beautiful, of good understanding, like yourself, whom her evil destiny had condemned to be a slave, ought to think herself very happy in meeting with a king for her master." "sire," replied the lady, "whatever the slave be, as i have already observed to your majesty, there is no king on earth can tyrannize over her will. when indeed you speak of a slave mistress of charms sufficient to captivate a monarch, and induce him to love her; if she be of a rank infinitely below him, i am of your opinion, she ought to think herself happy in her misfortunes: still what happiness can it be, when she considers herself only as a slave, torn from a parent's arms, and perhaps from those of a lover, her passion for whom death only can extinguish; but when this very slave is in nothing inferior to the king who has purchased her, your majesty shall judge yourself of the rigour of her destiny, her misery and her sorrow, and to what desperate attempts the anguish of despair may drive her." the king of persia, astonished at this discourse, "madam," said he, "can it be possible that you are of royal blood, as by your words you seem to intimate? explain the whole secret to me, i beseech you, and no longer augment my impatience. let me instantly know who are the happy parents of so great a prodigy of beauty; who are your brothers, your sisters, and your relations; but, above all, tell me your name?" "sire," said the fair slave, "my name is gulnare of the sea: and my father, who is dead, was one of the most potent monarchs of the ocean. when he died, he left his kingdom to a brother of mine, named saleh, and to the queen, my mother, who is also a princess, the daughter of another puissant monarch of the sea. we enjoyed profound peace and tranquillity through the whole kingdom, till a neighbouring prince, envious of our happiness, invaded our dominions with a mighty army; and penetrating as far as our capital, made himself master of it; and we had but just time to save ourselves in an impenetrable and inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers, who did not forsake us in our distress. "in this retreat my brother was not negligent in contriving means to drive the unjust invaders from our dominions. one day taking me into his closet, 'sister,' said he, 'the events of the smallest undertakings are always dubious. for my own part, i may fail in the attempt i design to make to recover my kingdom; and i shall be less concerned for my own disgrace than what may possibly happen to you. to secure you from all accident, i would fain see you married. but in the present miserable condition of our affairs, i see no probability of matching you to any of the princes of the sea; and therefore i should be glad if you would concur in my opinion, and think of marrying one of the princes of the earth. i am ready to contribute all that lies in my power towards accomplishing this; and am certain there is not one of them, however powerful, but, considering your beauty, would be proud of sharing his crown with you.' "at this discourse of my brother's, i fell into a violent passion. 'brother,' said i, 'you know that i am descended, as well as you, from the kings and queens of the sea, without any mixture of alliance with those of the earth; therefore i do not design to marry below myself, and i have taken an oath to that effect. the condition to which we are reduced shall never oblige me to alter my resolution; and if you perish in the execution of your design, i am prepared to fall with you, rather than follow the advice i so little expected from you.' "my brother, who was still earnest for my marriage, however improper for me, endeavoured to make me believe that there were kings of the earth who were no ways inferior to those of the sea. this put me into a more violent passion, which occasioned him to say several bitter reflecting things, that nettled me to the quick. he left me, as much dissatisfied with myself as he could possibly be with me; and in this peevish mood i gave a spring from the bottom of the sea up to the island of the moon. "notwithstanding the violent discontent that made me cast myself upon that island, i lived content in retirement. but in spite of all my precautions, a person of distinction, attended by his servants, surprised me sleeping, and carried me to his own house. he expressed much love to me, and omitted nothing which he thought might induce me to return his passion. when he saw that fair means would not prevail upon me, he attempted to use force: but i soon made him repent of his insolence. he resolved to sell me, which he did to the merchant who brought me hither, and sold me to your majesty. he was a prudent, courteous, humane man; and during the whole of the long journey, never gave me the least reason to complain. "as for your majesty," continued the princess gulnare, "if you had not shown me all the respect you have hitherto done (for which i am extremely obliged to your goodness), and given me such undeniable marks of your affection, that i can no longer doubt of it; if you had not immediately sent away your women; i hesitate not to tell you, that i should not have remained with you. i would have thrown myself into the sea out of this window, where you accosted me when you first came into this apartment; and have gone in search of my mother, my brother, and the rest of my relations. i should have persisted in that design, and would have put it in execution, if after a certain time i had found myself deceived in the hopes of being with child; but in the condition i am in, all i could say to my mother or my brother would never convince them that i have been a slave to a king like your majesty. they would never believe it, but would for ever upbraid me with the crime i have voluntarily committed against my honour. however, sire, be it a prince or princess that i may bring into the world, it will be a pledge to engage me never to be parted from your majesty; and therefore i hope you will no longer regard me as a slave, but as a princess worthy your alliance." in this manner the princess gulnare discovered herself to the king of persia, and finished her story. "my charming, my adorable princess," cried he, "what wonders have i heard! and what ample matter for my curiosity, to ask a thousand questions concerning those strange and unheard of things which you have related! but first, i ought to thank you for your goodness and patience in making trial of the truth and constancy of my passion. i thought it impossible for me to love you more than i did; but since i know you to be a princess, i love you a thousand times more. princess! did i say, madam? you are no longer so; but you are my queen, the queen of persia; and by that title you shall soon be proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom. to-morrow the ceremony shall be performed in my capital with a pomp and magnificence never yet beheld; which will plainly shew that you are my queen and my lawful wife. this should long ago have been done, had you sooner convinced me of my error: for from the first moment of my seeing you, i have been of the same opinion as now, to love you always, and never to place my affections on any other. "but that i may satisfy myself, and pay you all the respect that is your due, i beseech you, madam, to inform me more particularly of the kingdom and people of the sea, who are altogether unknown to me. i have heard much talk, indeed, of the inhabitants of the sea, but i always looked upon such accounts merely as tales or fables; by what you have told me, i am convinced there is nothing more true; and i have a proof of it in your own person, who are one of them, and are pleased to condescend to be my wife; which is an honour no other inhabitant on the earth can boast. there is one point however which yet perplexes me; therefore i must beg the favour of you to explain it; that is, i cannot comprehend how it is possible for you to live or move in water without being drowned. there are few amongst us who have the art of staying under water; and they would surely perish, if, after a certain time, according to their activity and strength, they did not come up again." "sire," replied the queen gulnare, "i shall with pleasure satisfy the king of persia. we can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon land; and we can breathe in the water as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it absolutely contributes to the preservation of our lives. what is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our clothes; so that when we wish to visit the earth, we have no occasion to dry them. our language is the same with that of the writing engraved upon the seal of the great prophet solomon the son of david. "i must not forget to inform you further, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing: for we can open our eyes without any inconvenience: and as we have quick, piercing sight, we can discern any objects as clearly in the deepest part of the sea as upon land. we have also there a succession of day and night; the moon affords us her light; and even the planets and the stars appear visible to us. i have already spoken of our kingdoms; but as the sea is much more spacious than the earth, so there are a great number of them, and of great extent. they are divided into provinces; and in each province are several great cities well peopled. in short there is an infinite number of nations differing in manners and customs, as they do on the earth. "the palaces of the kings and princes are sumptuous and magnificent. some of them are constructed of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, with which the sea abounds, mother of pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones are more plentiful there than on earth. i say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever were seen upon earth would not be valued amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them. "as we have a marvellous and incredible agility to transport ourselves whither we please in the twinkling of an eye, we have no occasion for carriages or horses; not but the king has his stables and his stud of sea horses; but they are seldom used, except upon public feasts or rejoicing days. some, after they have trained them, take delight in riding and shewing their skill and dexterity in races; others put them to chariots of mother of pearl, adorned with an infinite number of shells of all sorts, of the liveliest colours. these chariots are open; and in the middle is a throne on which the king sits, and shows himself to the public view of his subjects. the horses are trained to draw by themselves; so that there is no occasion for a charioteer to guide them. i pass over a thousand other curious particulars relating to these submarine countries, which would be very entertaining to your majesty; but you must permit me to defer them to a future opportunity, to speak of something of much greater consequence, which is, that the method of delivering, and the way of managing the women of the sea in their lying-in, is very different from those of the women of the earth; and i am afraid to trust myself in the hands of the midwives of this country: therefore, since my safe delivery equally concerns us both, with your majesty's permission, i think it proper, for greater security, to send for my mother and my cousins, to assist at my labour; at the same time to desire the king my brother's company, to whom i have a great desire to be reconciled. they will be glad to see me again, when they understand i am wife to the mighty king of persia. i beseech your majesty to give me leave to send for them. i am sure they will be happy to pay their respects to you; and i venture to say you will be pleased to see them." "madam," replied the king of persia, "you are mistress; do whatever you please; i will endeavour to receive them with all the honours they deserve. but i would fain know how you will acquaint them with what you desire, and when they will arrive, that i may give orders to make preparation for their reception, and go myself in person to meet them." "sire," replied the queen gulnare, "there is no need of these ceremonies; they will be here in a moment; and if your majesty will but step into the closet, and look through the lattice, you shall see the manner of their arrival." as soon as the king of persia was in the closet, queen gulnare ordered one of her women to bring her a fire-pan with a little fire. after that she bade her retire, and shut the door. when she was alone, she took a piece of aloes-wood out of a box, and put it into the fire-pan. as soon as she saw the smoke rise, she repeated some words unknown to the king of persia, who observed with great attention all that she did. she had no sooner ended, than the sea began to be disturbed. the closet the king was in was so contrived, that looking through the lattice on the same side with the windows that faced the sea, he could plainly perceive it. at length the sea opened at some distance; and presently there arose out of it a tall, handsome young man, with whiskers of a sea-green colour; a little behind him, a lady, advanced in years, but of a majestic air, attended by five young ladies, nothing inferior in beauty to the queen gulnare. queen gulnare immediately came to one of the windows, and saw the king her brother, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, who at the same time perceived her also. the company advanced, supported, as it were, upon the waves. when they came to the edge, they nimbly, one after another, sprung in at the window. king saleh, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, embraced her tenderly on their first entrance, with tears in their eyes. after queen gulnare had received them with all imaginable honour, and made them sit down upon a sofa, the queen her mother addressed herself to her: "daughter," said she, "i am overjoyed to see you again after so long an absence; and i am confident that your brother and your relations are no less so. your leaving us without acquainting any one with your intention, involved us in inexpressible concern; and it is impossible to tell you how many tears we have shed on your account. we know of no reason that could induce you to take such a resolution, but what your brother related to us respecting the conversation that passed between him and you. the advice he gave you seemed to him at that time advantageous for settling you in the world, and suitable to the then posture of our affairs. if you had not approved of his proposal, you ought not to have been so much alarmed; and give me leave to tell you, you took his advice in a different light from what you ought to have done. but no more of this; it serves only to renew the occasion of our sorrow and complaint, which we and you ought to bury forever in oblivion; give us now an account of all that has happened to you since we saw you last, and of your present situation, but especially let us know if you are married." gulnare immediately threw herself at her mother's feet, and kissing her hand, "madam," said she, "i own i have been guilty of a fault, and i am indebted to your goodness for the pardon which you are pleased to grant me. what i am going to say, in obedience to your commands, will soon convince you, that it is often in vain for us to have an aversion for certain measures; i have myself experienced that the only thing i had an abhorrence to, is that to which my destiny has led me." she then related the whole of what had befallen her since she quitted the sea for the earth. as scon as she had concluded, and acquainted them with her having been sold to the king of persia, in whose palace she was at present; "sister," said the king her brother, "you have been wrong to suffer so many indignities, but you can properly blame nobody but yourself; you have it in your power now to free yourself, and i cannot but admire your patience, that you could endure so long a slavery. rise, and return with us into my kingdom, which i have reconquered from the proud usurper who had made himself master of it." the king of persia, who heard these words from the closet where he stood, was in the utmost alarm; "ah!" said he to himself, "i am ruined, and if my queen, my gulnare, hearken to this advice, and leave me, i shall surely die, for it is impossible for me to live without her." queen gulnare soon put him out of his fears. "brother," said she smiling, "what i have just heard gives me a greater proof than ever of the sincerity of your affection; i could not brook your proposing to me a match with a prince of the earth: now i can scarcely forbear being angry with you for advising me to break the engagement i have made with the most puissant and most renowned monarch in the world. i do not speak here of an engagement between a slave and her master; it would be easy to return the ten thousand pieces of gold he gave for me; but i speak now of a contract between a wife and a husband--and a wife who has not the least reason to complain. he is a religious, wise, and temperate king, and has given me the most essential demonstrations of his love. what can be a greater proof of the sincerity of his passion, than sending away all his women (of which he had a great number) immediately upon my arrival, and confining himself to me alone? i am now his wife, and he has lately declared me queen of persia, to share with him in his councils; besides, i am pregnant, and if heaven permit me to give him a son, that will be another motive to engage my affections to him the more." "so that, brother," continued the queen gulnare, "instead of following your advice, you see i have all the reason in the world, not only to love the king of persia as passionately as he loves me, but also to live and die with him, more out of gratitude than duty. i hope then neither my mother, nor you, nor any of my cousins, will disapprove of the resolution or the alliance i have made, which will do equal honour to the kings of the sea and earth. excuse me for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep, to communicate it to you; and to enjoy the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation." "sister," replied king saleh, "the proposal i made you of going back with us into my kingdom, upon the recital of your adventures (which i could not hear without concern), was only to let you see how much we all love you, and how much i in particular honour you, and that nothing is so dear to me as your happiness. upon the same account then, for my own part, i cannot condemn a resolution so reasonable and so worthy of yourself, after what you have told us of the king of persia your husband, and the great obligations you owe him; and i am persuaded that the queen our mother will be of the same opinion." the queen confirmed what her son had spoken, and addressing herself to gulnare, said, "i am glad to hear you are pleased; and i have nothing to add to what your brother has said. i should have been the first to condemn you, had you not expressed all the gratitude you owe to a monarch. that loves you so passionately." as the king of persia had been extremely concerned under the apprehension of losing his beloved queen, so now he was transported with joy at her resolution never to forsake him; and having no room to doubt of her love after so open a declaration, he resolved to evince his gratitude in every possible way. while the king was indulging incredible pleasure, queen gulnare clapped her hands, and immediately some of her slaves entered, whom she had ordered to bring in a collation: as soon as it was served up, she invited the queen her mother, the king her brother, and her cousins to partake. they began to reflect that they were in the palace of a mighty king, who had never seen or heard of them, and that it would be rudeness to eat at his table without him. this reflection raised a blush in their faces, and in their emotion, their eyes glowing like fire, they breathed flames at their mouths and nostrils. this unexpected sight put the king of persia, who was totally ignorant of the cause of it, into a dreadful consternation. queen gulnare, suspecting this, and understanding the intention of her relations, rose from her seat, and told them she would be back in a moment. she went directly to the closet, and by her presence recovered the king of persia from his surprise; "sir," said she, "i doubt not but that your majesty is well pleased with the acknowledgment i have made of the many favours for which i am indebted to you. i might have complied with the wishes of my relations, and gone back with them into their dominions; but i am not capable of such ingratitude, for which i should have been the first to condemn myself." "ah! my queen,"cried the king of persia, "speak no more of your obligations to me; you have none; i am under so many to you, that i shall never be able to repay them. i never thought it possible you could have loved me so tenderly as you do, and as you have made appear to me in the most endearing manner." "ah! sir," replied gulnare "could i do less? i fear i have not done enough, considering all the honours that your majesty has heaped upon me; and it is impossible for me to remain insensible of your love, after so many convincing proofs as you have given me." "but, sir," continued gulnare, "let us drop this subject, and give me leave to assure you of the sincere friendship the queen my mother and the king my brother are pleased to honour you with; they earnestly desire to see you, and tell you so themselves: i intended to have had some conversation with them by ordering a banquet for them, before i introduced them to your majesty; but they are impatient to pay their respects to you; and therefore i beseech your majesty to be pleased to honour them with your presence." "madam," said the king of persia, "i should be glad to salute persons who have the honour to be so nearly related to you, but i am afraid of the flames they breathe at their mouths and nostrils." "sir," replied the queen laughing, "you need not in the least fear those flames, which are nothing but a sign of their unwillingness to eat in your palace, without your honouring them with your presence, and eating with them." the king of persia, encouraged by these words, rose and went into the apartment with his queen gulnare she presented him to the queen her mother, to the king her brother, and to her other relations; who instantly threw themselves at his feet, with their faces to the ground. the king of persia ran to them, and lifting them up, embraced them one after another. after they were all seated, king saleh began: "sir;" said he to the king of persia, "we are at a loss for words to express our joy, to think that the queen my sister, in her disgrace, should have the happiness of falling under the protection of so powerful a monarch. we can assure you, she is not unworthy of the high rank to which you have been pleased to raise her; and we have always had so much love and tenderness for her, that we could never think or parting with her to any of the puissant princes of the sea, who have often demanded her in marriage before she came of age. heaven has reserved her for you, and we have no better way of testifying our gratitude for the favour it has done her, than beseeching it to grant your majesty a long and happy life with her, and to crown you with prosperity and satisfaction. "certainly," replied the king of persia, "heaven reserved her for me, as you observe. i love her with so tender and ardent a passion, that i am satisfied i never loved any woman till i saw her. i cannot sufficiently thank either the queen her mother or you, prince, or your whole family, for the generosity with which you have consented to receive me into an alliance so glorious to me as yours." so saying he invited them to take part of the collation, and he and his queen sat down with them. after the collation, the king of persia conversed with them till it was very late; and when they thought it convenient to retire, he waited upon them himself to the several apartments he had ordered to be prepared for them. the king of persia treated his illustrious guests with continual feasts; in which he omitted nothing that might shew his grandeur and magnificence, and insensibly prevailed with them to stay with him till the queen was brought to bed. when the time of her lying-in drew near, he gave particular orders that nothing should be wanting proper for such an occasion. at length she was brought to bed of a son, to the great joy of the queen her mother, who assisted at the labour, and presented him to the king. the king of persia received this present with a joy easier to be imagined than expressed. the young prince being of a beautiful countenance, he thought no name so proper for him as that of beder, which in the arabian language signifies the full moon. to return thanks to heaven, he was very liberal in his alms to the poor, caused the prison doors to be set open, and gave all his slaves of both sexes their liberty. he distributed vast sums among the ministers and holy men of his religion. he also gave large donations to his courtiers, besides a considerable sum that was thrown amongst the people; and by proclamation, ordered rejoicings to be kept for several days through the whole city. one day, after the queen was recovered, as the king of persia, gulnare, the queen her mother, king saleh her brother, and the princesses their relations, were discoursing together in her majesty's bed-chamber, the nurse came in with the young prince beder in her arms. king saleh as soon as he saw him, ran to embrace him, and taking him in his arms, kissed and caressed him with the greatest demonstrations of tenderness. he took several turns with him about the room, dancing and tossing him about, when all of a sudden, through a transport of joy, the window being open, he sprung out, and plunged with him into the sea. the king of persia, who expected no such sight, believing he should either see the prince his son no more, or else that he should see him drowned, was overwhelmed in affliction. "sir," said queen gulnare (with a quiet and undisturbed countenance, the better to comfort him), "let your majesty fear nothing; the young prince is my son as well as yours, and i do not love him less than yourself. you see i am not alarmed; neither in truth ought i to be. he runs no risk, and you will soon see the king his uncle appear with him again, and bring him back safe. although he be born of your blood, he is equally of mine, and will have the same advantage his uncle and i possess, of living equally in the sea, and upon the land." the queen his mother and the princesses his relations affirmed the same thing; yet all they said had no effect on the king, who could not recover from his alarm till he again saw prince beder. the sea at length became troubled, when immediately king saleh arose with the young prince in his arms, and holding him up in the air, reentered at the window from which he had leaped. the king of persia being overjoyed to see prince beder again, and astonished that he was as calm as before he lost sight of him; king saleh said, "sir, was not your majesty in alarm, when you first saw me plunge into the sea with the prince my nephew?" "alas prince," answered the king of persia, "i cannot express my concern. i thought him lost from that very moment, and you now restore life to me by bringing him again." "i thought as much," replied king saleh, "though you had not the least reason to apprehend danger; for before i plunged into the sea, i pronounced over him certain mysterious words, which were engraved on the seal of the great solomon the son of david. we practise the like in relation to all those children that are born in the regions at the bottom of the sea, by virtue whereof they receive the same privileges as we have over those people who inhabit the earth. from what your majesty has observed, you may easily see what advantage your son prince beder has acquired by his birth on the part of his mother gulnare my sister: for as long as he lives, and as often as he pleases, he will be at liberty to plunge into the sea, and traverse the vast empires it contains in its bosom." having so spoken, king saleh, who had restored prince beder to his nurse's arms, opened a box he had fetched from his palace in the little time he had disappeared, which was filled with three hundred diamonds, as large as pigeons' eggs; a like number of rubies of extraordinary size; as many emerald wands, each half a foot long, and thirty strings or necklaces of pearl consisting each of ten feet. "sir," said he to the king of persia, presenting him with this box, "when i was first summoned by the queen my sister, i knew not what part of the earth she was in, or that she had the honour to be married to so great a monarch. this made us come without a present. as we cannot express how much we have been obliged to your majesty, i beg you to accept this small token of gratitude in acknowledgment of the many favours you have been pleased to shew her, wherein we take equal interest." it is impossible to express how greatly the king of persia was surprised at the sight of so much riches, enclosed in so little compass. "what! prince," cried he, "do you call so inestimable a present a small token of your gratitude, when you never have been indebted to me? i declare once more you have never been in the least obliged to me, neither the queen your mother nor you. i esteem myself but too happy in the consent you have given to the alliance i have contracted with you. madam," continued he, turning to gulnare, "the king your brother has put me into the greatest confusion; and i would beg of him to permit me to refuse his present, were i not afraid of disobliging him: do you therefore endeavour to obtain his leave that i may be excused accepting it." "sir," replied king saleh, "i am not at all surprised that your majesty thinks this present so extraordinary. i know you are not accustomed upon earth to see precious stones of this quality and number: but if you knew, as i do, the mines whence these jewels were taken, and that it is in my power to form a treasure greater than those of all the kings of the earth, you would wonder we should have the boldness to make you so small a present. i beseech you therefore not to regard its trifling value, but consider the sincere friendship which obliges us to offer it to you, and not give us the mortification of refusing it." these engaging expressions obliged the king of persia to accept the present, for which he returned many thanks both to king saleh and the queen his mother. a few days after, king saleh gave the king of persia to understand, that the queen his mother, the princesses his relations, and himself, could have no greater pleasure than to spend their whole lives at his court; but that having been so long absent from their own kingdom, where their presence was absolutely necessary, they begged of him to excuse them if they took leave of him and queen gulnare. the king of persia assured them, he was sorry it was not in his power to return their visit in their own dominions; but added, "as i am persuaded you will not forget gulnare, i hope i shall have the honour to see you again more than once." many tears were shed on both sides upon their separation. king saleh departed first; but the queen his mother and the princesses his relations were obliged to force themselves from the embraces of gulnare, who could not prevail with herself to let them go. this royal company were no sooner out of sight, than the king of persia said to gulnare, "madam, i should have looked upon the person who had pretended to pass those upon me for true wonders, of which i myself have been eye-witness from the time i have been honoured with your illustrious family at my court, as one who would have abused my credulity. but i cannot refuse to believe my senses; and shall remember them while i live, and never cease to bless heaven for directing you to me, in preference to any other prince." beder was brought up and educated in the palace under the care of the king and queen of persia, who both saw him grow and increase in beauty to their great satisfaction. he gave them yet greater pleasure as he advanced in years, by his continual sprightliness, his agreeable manners, and the justness and vivacity of his wit; and this satisfaction was the more sensible, because king saleh his uncle, the queen his grandmother, and the princesses his relations, came from time to time to partake of it. he was easily taught to read and write, and was instructed with the same facility in all the sciences that became a prince of his rank. when he arrived at the age of fifteen, he acquitted himself in all his exercises with infinitely better address and grace than his masters. he was withal wise and prudent. the king, who had almost from his cradle discovered in him virtues so necessary for a monarch, and who moreover began to perceive the infirmities of old age coming upon himself every day, would not stay till death gave him possession of his throne, but purposed to resign it to him. he had no great difficulty to make his council consent to this arrangement: and the people heard his resolution with so much the more joy, as they conceived prince beder worthy to govern them. in a word, as the king had not for a long time appeared in public, they had the opportunity of observing that he had not that disdainful, proud, and distant air, which most princes have, who look upon all below them with scorn and contempt. they saw, on the contrary, that he treated all mankind with that goodness which invited them to approach him; that he heard favourably all who had anything to say to him; that he answered everybody with a goodness that was peculiar to him; and that he refused nobody any thing that had the least appearance of justice. the day for the ceremony was appointed, when in the midst of the whole assembly, which was then more numerous than ordinary, the king of persia came down from his throne, took the crown from his head, put it on that of prince beder, and having seated him in his place, kissed his hand as a token that he resigned his authority to him. after which he took his place among the crowd of viziers and emirs below the throne. hereupon the viziers, emirs, and other principal officers, came immediately and threw themselves at the new king's feet, taking each the oath of fidelity according to their rank. then the grand vizier made a report of divers important matters, on which the young king gave judgment with that admirable prudence and sagacity that surprised all the council. he next turned out several governors convicted of mal-administration, and put others in their room, with such wonderful and just discernment, as exalted the acclamations of every body, which were so much the more honourable, as flattery had no share in them. he at length left the council, accompanied by his father, and went to wait on his mother queen gulnare at her apartment. the queen no sooner saw him coming with his crown upon his head, than she ran to him and embraced him with tenderness, wishing him a long and prosperous reign. the first year of his reign king beder acquitted himself of all his royal functions with great assiduity. above all, he took care to inform himself of the state of his affairs, and all that might any way contribute towards the happiness of his people. next year, having left the administration to his council, under the direction of his father, he left his capital, under pretence of diverting himself with hunting; but his real intention was to visit all the provinces of his kingdom, that he might reform abuses, establish good order, and deprive all ill-minded princes, his neighbours, of any opportunities of attempting anything against the security and tranquillity of his subjects, by shewing himself on his frontiers. it required no less than a whole year for the young monarch to execute a design so worthy of him. soon after his return, the old king his father fell so dangerously ill, that he knew at once he should never recover. he waited for his last moment with great tranquillity, and his only care was to recommend to the ministers and other lords of his son's court, to persevere in the fidelity they had sworn to him: and there was not one but willingly renewed his oath as freely as at first. he died at length, to the great grief of king beder and queen gulnare, who caused his corpse to be borne to a stately mausoleum, worthy of his rank and dignity. the funeral obsequies ended, king beder found no difficulty to comply with that ancient custom in persia to mourn for the dead a whole month and not to be seen by anybody during that time. he had mourned the death of his father his whole life, had he yielded to his excessive affliction, and had it been right for a great prince thus to abandon himself to sorrow. during this interval the queen gulnare's mother, and king saleh, together with the princesses their relations, arrived at the persian court to condole with their relations. when the month was expired, the king could not refuse admittance to the grand vizier and the other lords of his court, who besought him to lay aside his mourning, to shew himself to his subjects, and take upon him the administration of affairs as before. he shewed so much reluctance to comply with their request, that the grand vizier was forced to take upon himself to say; "sir, it were needless to represent to your majesty, that it belongs only to women to persist in perpetual mourning. we doubt not but you are fully convinced of this, and that it is not your intention to follow their example. neither our tears nor yours are capable of restoring life to the good king your father, though we should lament him all our days. he has submitted to the common law of all men, which subjects them to pay the indispensable tribute of death. yet we cannot say absolutely that he is dead, since we see in him your sacred person. he did not himself doubt, when he was dying, but he should revive in you, and to your majesty it belongs to show that he was not deceived." king beder could no longer oppose such pressing instances; he laid aside his mourning; and after he had resumed the royal habit and ornaments, began to provide for the necessities of his kingdom and subjects with the same assiduity as before his father's death. he acquitted himself with universal approbation: and as he was exact in maintaining the ordinances of his predecessor, the people did not perceive they had changed their sovereign. king saleh, who was returned to his dominions in the sea with the queen his mother and the princesses, no sooner saw that king beder had resumed the government, but he at the end of the year came alone to visit him; and king beder and queen gulnare were overjoyed to see him. one evening, talking of various matters, king saleh fell insensibly on the praises of the king his nephew, and expressed to the queen his sister how glad he was to see him govern so prudently, as to acquire such high reputation, not only among his neighbours, but more remote princes. king beder, who could not bear to hear himself so well spoken of, and not being willing, through good manners, to interrupt the king his uncle, turned on one side, and feigned to be asleep, leaning his head against a cushion that was behind him. from these commendations, which regarded only the conduct and genius of beder, king saleh came to speak of the perfections of his person, which he extolled as prodigies, having nothing equal to them upon earth, or in all the kingdoms under the waters, with which he was acquainted. "sister," said he, "i wonder you have not thought of marrying him: if i mistake not, he is in his twentieth year; and, at that age, no prince ought to be suffered to be without a wife. i will think of a match for him myself, since you will not, and marry him to some princess of our lower world that may be worthy of him." "brother," replied queen gulnare, "you call to my attention what i must own has never occurred to me. as he discovered no inclination for marriage, i never thought of mentioning it to him. i like your proposal of one of our princesses; and i desire you to name one so beautiful and accomplished that the king my son may be obliged to love her." "i know one," replied king saleh, softly; "but before i tell you who she is, let us see if the king my nephew be asleep, and i will tell you afterwards why it is necessary we should take that precaution." queen gulnare turned about and looked at her son, and thought she had no reason to doubt but he was in a profound sleep. king beder, nevertheless, far from sleeping, redoubled his attention, unwilling to lose any thing the king his uncle said with so much secrecy. "there is no necessity for your speaking so low," said the queen to the king her brother; "you may speak out with freedom, without fear of being heard." "it is by no means proper," replied king saleh, "that the king my nephew should as yet have any knowledge of what i am going to say. love, you know, sometimes enters at the ear, and it is not necessary he should thus conceive a passion for the lady i am about to name. indeed i see many difficulties to be surmounted, not on the lady's part, as i hope, but on that of her father. i need only mention to you the princess jehaun-ara, daughter of the king of samandal." "how! brother," replied queen gulnare, "is not the princess yet married? i remember to have seen her before i left your palace; she was then about eighteen months old, surprisingly beautiful, and must needs be the wonder of the world, if her charms have increased with her years. the few years she is older than the king my son ought not to prevent us from doing our utmost to effect the match. let me but know the difficulties in the way, and we will surmount them." "sister," replied king saleh, "the greatest difficulty is, that the king of samandal is insupportably vain, looking upon all others as his inferiors: it is not likely we shall easily get him to enter into this alliance. i will however go to him in person, and demand of him the princess his daughter; and, in case he refuses her, we will address ourselves elsewhere, where we shall be more favourably heard. for this reason, as you may perceive," added he, "it is as well for the king my nephew not to know any thing of our design, till we have the consent of the king of samandal." they discoursed a little longer upon this point and, before they parted, agreed that king saleh should forthwith return to his own dominions, and demand the princess for the king of persia his nephew. this done, queen gulnare and king saleh, who believed king beder asleep, agreed to awake him before they retired; and he dissembled so well that he seemed to awake from a profound sleep. he had heard every word, and the character they gave of the princess had inflamed his heart with a new passion. he had conceived such an idea of her beauty, that the desire of possessing her made him pass the night very uneasy without closing his eyes. next day king saleh proposed taking leave of gulnare and the king his nephew. the young king, who knew his uncle would not have de- parted so soon but to go and promote without loss of time his happiness, changed colour when he heard him mention his departure. his passion was become so violent, it would not suffer him to wait so long for the sight of his mistress as would be required to accomplish the marriage. he more than once resolved to desire his uncle to bring her away with him: but as he did not wish to let the queen his mother understand he knew anything of what had passed, he desired him only to stay with him one day more, that they might hunt together, intending to take that opportunity to discover his mind to him. the day for hunting was fixed, and king beder had many opportunities of being alone with his uncle; but he had not courage to acquaint him with his design. in the heat of the chase, when king saleh was separated from him, and not one of his officers or attendants was near him, he alighted by a rivulet; and having tied his horse to a tree, which, with several others growing along the banks, afforded a very pleasing shade, he laid himself on the grass, and gave free course to his tears, which flowed in great abundance, accompanied with many sighs. he remained a good while in this condition, absorbed in thought, without speaking a word. king saleh, in the meantime, missing the king his nephew, began to be much concerned to know what was become of him; but could meet no one who could give any tidings of him. he therefore left his company to seek for him, and at length perceived him at a distance. he had observed the day before, and more plainly that day, that he was not so lively as he used to be; and that, if he was asked a question, he either answered not at all, or nothing to the purpose; but never in the least suspected the cause. as soon as he saw him dying in that disconsolate posture, he immediately guessed he had not only heard what had passed between him and queen gulnare, but was become passionately in love. he alighted at some distance from him, and having tied his horse to a tree, came upon him so softly, that he heard him pronounce the following words: "amiable princess of the kingdom of samandal, i have no doubt had but an imperfect sketch of your incomparable beauty; i hold you to be still more beautiful in preference to all the princesses in the world, and to excel them as much as the sun does the moon and stars. i would this moment go and offer you my heart, if i knew where to find you; it belongs to you, and no princess shall be possessor of it but yourself!" king saleh would hear no more; he advanced immediately, and discovered himself to beder. "from what i see, nephew," said he, "you heard what the queen your mother and i said the other day of the princess jehaun-ara. it was not our intention you should have known any thing respecting her, and we thought you were asleep." "my dear uncle," replied king beder, "i heard every word, and have sufficiently experienced the effect you foretold; which it was not in your power to prevent. i detained you on purpose to acquaint you with my love before your departure; but the shame of disclosing my weakness, if it be any to love a princess so worthy of my affection, sealed up my mouth. i beseech you then, by the friendship you profess for a prince who has the honour to be so nearly allied to you, that you would pity me, and not wait to procure me the consent of the divine jehaun-ara, till you have gained that of the king of samandal that i may marry his daughter, unless you had rather see me die with love, before i behold her." these words of the king of persia greatly embarrassed king saleh. he represented to him how difficult it was to give him the satisfaction he desired, and that he could not do it without carrying him along with him; which might be of dangerous consequence, since his presence was so absolutely necessary in his kingdom. he conjured him, therefore, to moderate his passion, till such time as he had put things into a train to satisfy him, assuring him he would use his utmost diligence, and would come to acquaint him in a few days. but these reasons were not sufficient to satisfy the king of persia. "cruel uncle," said he. "i find you do not love me so much as you pretended, and that you had rather see me die than grant the first request i ever made." "i am ready to convince your majesty," replied king saleh, "that i would do any thing to serve you; but as for carrying you along with me, i cannot do that till i have spoken to the queen your mother. what would she say of you and me? if she consents, i am ready to do all you would have me, and will join my entreaties to yours." "you cannot be ignorant," replied the king of persia, "that the queen my mother would never willingly part with me; and therefore this excuse does but farther convince me of your unkindness. if you really love me, as you would have me believe, you must return to your kingdom immediately, and take me with you." king saleh, finding himself obliged to yield to his nephew's importunity, drew from his finger a ring, on which were engraved the same mysterious names of god that were upon solomon's seal, which had wrought so many wonders by their virtue. "here, take this ring," said he, "put it on your finger, and fear neither the waters of the sea, nor their depth." the king of persia took the ring, and when he had put it on his finger, king saleh said to him, "do as i do." at the same time they both mounted lightly up into the air, and made towards the sea, which was not far distant, and they both plunged into it. the sea-king was not long in arriving at his palace, with the king of persia, whom he immediately carried to the queen's apartments, and presented to her. the king of persia kissed the queen his grandmother's hands, and she embraced him with great demonstrations of joy. "i do not ask you how you do," said she, "i see you are very well, and am rejoiced at it; but i desire to know how my daughter your mother queen gulnare does." the king of persia took great care not to let her know that he had come away with out taking leave of her; on the contrary he told her, the queen his mother was in perfect health, and had enjoined him to pay her duty to her. the queen then presented him to the princesses; and while he was in conversation with them, she left him, and went with king saleh into a closet, who told her how the king of persia was fallen in love with the princess jehaun-ara, upon the bare relation of her beauty, and contrary to his intention; that he had, against his own wishes, brought him along with him, and that he was going to concert measures to procure the princess for him in marriage. although king saleh was, to do him justice, perfectly innocent of the king of persia's passion, yet the queen could hardly forgive his indiscretion in mentioning the princess jehaun- ara before him, "your imprudence is not to be forgiven," said she; "can you think that the king of samandal, whose character is so well known, will have greater consideration for you, than the many other kings to whom he has refused his daughter, with such evident contempt? would you have him send you away with the same confusion? "madam," replied king saleh, "i have already told you it was contrary to my intention that the king my nephew heard what i related of the beauty of the princess to the queen my sister. the fault is committed, and we must consider what a violent passion he has for this princess, and that he will die with grief and affliction, if we do not speedily obtain her for him. for my part, i shall omit nothing that can contribute to effect their union: since i was, though innocently, the cause of the malady, i will do all i can to remedy it. i hope, madam, you will approve of my resolution, to go myself and wait on the king of samandal, with a rich present of precious stones, and demand the princess his daughter of him for the king of persia. i have some reason to believe he will not refuse, but will be pleased with an alliance with one of the greatest potentates of the earth." "it were to have been wished," replied the queen, "that we had not been under a necessity of making this demand, since the success of our attempt is not so certain as we could desire; but since my grandson's peace and content depend upon it, i freely give my consent. but, above all, i charge you, since you well know the humour of the king of samandal, that you take care to speak to him with due respect, and in a manner that cannot possibly offend him." the queen prepared the present herself, composing it of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and strings of pearl, all which she put into a rich box. next morning king saleh took leave of her majesty and the king of persia, and departed with a chosen and small troop of officers, and attendants. he soon arrived at the kingdom, and the palace of the king of samandal, who delayed not to give him audience. he rose from his throne as soon as he perceived him; and king saleh, forgetting his character for some moments, knowing whom he had to deal with, prostrated himself at his feet, wishing him the accomplishment of all his desires. the king of samandal stooped to raise him, and after he had placed him on his left hand, told him he was welcome, and asked him if there was any thing he could do to serve him. "sir," answered king saleh, "though i should have no other motive than that of paying my respects to the most potent, most prudent, and most valiant prince in the world, feeble would be my language to express how much i honour your majesty. could you penetrate into my inmost soul, you would be convinced of the great veneration i have for you, and of my ardent desire to testify my attachment." having spoke these words, he took the box of jewels from one of his servants, and having opened it, presented it to the king, imploring him to accept of it for his sake. "prince," replied the king of samandal, "you would not make me such a present unless you had a request proportionable to it to propose. if there be any thing in my power to grant, you may freely command me, and i shall feel the greatest pleasure in complying with your wishes. speak, and tell me frankly, wherein i can serve you?" "i must own ingenuously," replied king saleh, "i have a boon to ask of your majesty; and i shall take care to ask nothing but what is in your power to bestow. the thing depends so absolutely on yourself, that it would be to no purpose to ask it of any one else. i ask it then with all possible earnestness, and i beg of you not to refuse me." "if it be so," replied the king of samandal, "you have nothing to do but acquaint me what it is, and you shall see after what manner i can oblige when it is in my power." "sir," said king saleh, "after the confidence with which your majesty has been pleased to inspire me, i will not dissemble any longer, that i came to beg of you to honour our house with your alliance by the marriage of your daughter, and to strengthen the good understanding that has so long subsisted between our two crowns." at these words the king of samandal burst into a loud laugh, falling back in his throne against a cushion that supported him, and with an imperious and scornful air, said, "king saleh, i have always hitherto thought you a prince of great wisdom, and prudence; but what you say convinces me i was mistaken. tell me, i beseech you, where was your wit or discretion, when you formed to yourself such a chimera as you have proposed to me? could you conceive a thought of aspiring in marriage to a princess, the daughter of so powerful a monarch as myself? you ought to have considered the great distance between us, and not run the risk of losing in a moment the esteem i always had for you." king saleh was hurt at this affronting answer, and could scarcely restrain his resentment; however he replied with all possible moderation, "god reward your majesty as you deserve! i have the honour to inform you, i do not demand the princess your daughter in marriage for myself; had i done even that, your majesty and the princess, so far from being offended, should have thought it an honour done to both. your majesty well knows i am one of the kings of the sea as well as yourself; that my ancestors yield not in antiquity to any royal house; and that the kingdom i inherit is no less potent and flourishing than your own. if your majesty had not interrupted me, you had soon understood that the favour i asked was not for myself, but for the young king of persia my nephew, whose power and grandeur, no less than his personal good qualities, cannot be unknown to you. everybody acknowledges the princess jehaun-ara to be the most beautiful under ocean: but it is no less true, that the king of persia is the handsomest and most accomplished prince on earth. thus the favour that is asked being likely to redound to the honour both of your majesty and the princess your daughter, you ought not to doubt that your consent to an alliance so equal will be unanimously approved in all the kingdoms of the sea. the princess is worthy of the king of persia, and the king of persia is no less worthy of her." the king of samandal had not permitted king saleh to speak so long, but that rage deprived him of all power of speech. at length, however, he broke out into outrageous and insulting expressions, unworthy of a great king. "dog," cried he, "dare you talk to me after this manner, and so much as mention my daughter's name in my presence can you think the son of your sister gulnare worthy to come in competition with my daughter? who are you? who was your father? who is your sister? and who your nephew? was not his father a dog, and the son of a dog, like you? guards, seize the insolent wretch, and strike off his head." the few officers who were about the king of samandal were immediately going to obey his orders, when king saleh, who was in the flower of his age, nimble and vigorous, got from them, before they could draw their sabres; and having reached the palace-gate, found there a thousand men of his relations and friends, well armed and equipped, who were just arrived. the queen his mother having considered the small number of attendants he had taken with him, and foreseeing the reception he would probably meet from the king of samandal, had sent these troops to protect and defend him in case of danger, ordering them to make haste. those of his relations who were at the head of this troop had reason to rejoice at their seasonable arrival, when they beheld him and his attendants running in great disorder, and pursued. "sire," cried his friends, the moment he joined them, "who has insulted you? we are ready to revenge you: you need only command us." king saleh related his case to them in few words, and putting himself at the head of a troop, while some seized the gates, he re-entered the palace. the few officers and guards who had pursued him, being soon dispersed, he forced the king of samandal's apartment, who, being abandoned by his attendants, was soon seized. king saleh left sufficient guards to secure his person, and then went from apartment to apartment, to search after the princess jehaun-ara. but she, on the first alarm, had, together with her women, sprung up to the surface of the sea, and escaped to a desert island. while this passed in the palace of the king of samandal, those of king saleh's attendants who had fled at the first menaces of that king, put the queen mother into terrible consternation, on relating the danger of her son. king beder, who was present at the time, was the more concerned, as he looked upon himself as the principal author of the mischief that might ensue: therefore, not caring to abide the queen's presence any longer, whilst she was giving the orders necessary at that conjuncture, he darted up from the bottom of the sea; and not knowing how to find his way to the kingdom of persia, happened to land on the island where the princess jehaun-ara had saved herself. the prince, not a little disturbed in mind, seated himself under the shade of a large tree, surrounded by others. whilst he was endeavouring to recover himself, he heard somebody talking, but was too far off to understand what was said. he arose, and advanced softly towards the place whence the sound proceeded, where, among the branches, he perceived a beauty that dazzled him. "doubtless," said he, within himself, stopping and considering her with great attention, "this must be the princess jehaun-ara, whom fear has obliged to abandon her father's palace; or if it be not, she no less deserves my love." this said, he came forward, and discovering himself, approached the princess with profound reverence. "madam," said he, "i can never sufficiently thank heaven for the favour it has done me in presenting to my eyes so much beauty. a greater happiness could not have befallen me than this opportunity to offer you my services. i beseech you, therefore, madam, to accept them, it being impossible that a lady in this solitude should not want assistance." "true, my lord," replied jehaun-ara, sorrowfully; "it is not a little extraordinary for a lady of my quality to be in this situation. i am a princess, daughter of the king of samandal, and my name is jehaun-ara. i was at ease in my father's palace, in my apartment, when suddenly i heard a dreadful noise: news was immediately brought me, that king saleh, i know not for what reason, had forced the palace, seized the king my father, and murdered all the guards who made any resistance. i had only time to save myself, and escape hither from his violence." at these words king beder began to be concerned that he had quitted his grandmother so hastily, without staying to hear from her an explanation of the news that had been brought. but he was, on the other hand, overjoyed to find that the king his uncle had rendered himself master of the king of samandal's person, not doubting but he would consent to give up the princess for his liberty. "adorable princess," continued he, "your concern is most just, but it is easy to put an end both to that and your father's captivity. you will agree with me, when i shall tell you that i am beder, king of persia, and king saleh is my uncle: i assure you, madam, he has no design to seize the king your father's dominions; his only intention is to obtain your father's consent, that i may have the honour and happiness of being his son-in- law. i had already given my heart to you, upon the bare relation of your beauty and charms; and now, far from repenting, i beg of you to accept it, and to be assured that i will love you as long as i live. i dare flatter myself you will not refuse this favour, but be ready to acknowledge that a king, who quitted his dominions purely on your account, deserves some acknowledgment. permit me then, beauteous princess! to have the honour to present you to the king my uncle; and the king your father shall no sooner have consented to our marriage, than king saleh will leave him sovereign of his dominions as before." this declaration of king beder did not produce the effect he expected. it is true, the princess no sooner saw him, than his person, air, and the grace wherewith he accosted her, led her to regard him as one who would not have been disagreeable to her; but when she heard that he had been the occasion of all the ill treatment her father had suffered, of the grief and fright she had endured, and especially the necessity she was reduced to of flying her country; she looked upon him as an enemy with whom she ought to have no connection. whatever inclination she might have to agree to the marriage which he desired, she determined never to consent, reflecting that one of the reasons her father might have against this match might be, that king beder was son of a king of the earth. she would not, however, let king beder know her resentment; but sought an occasion to deliver herself dexterously out of his hands; and seeming in the meantime to have a great kindness for him, "are you then," said she, with all possible civility, "son of the queen gulnare, so famous for her wit and beauty? i am glad of it, and rejoice that you are the son of so worthy a mother. the king my father was much in the wrong so strongly to oppose our union: had he but seen you, he must have consented to make us happy." saying so, she reached forth her hand to him as a token of friendship. king beder, believing himself arrived at the very pinnacle of happiness, held forth his hand, and taking that of the princess, stooped down to kiss it, when she, pushing him back, and spitting in his face for want of water to throw at him, said, "wretch, quit the form of a man, and take that of a white bird, with a red bill and feet." upon her pronouncing these words, king beder was immediately changed into a bird of that description, to his great surprise and mortification. "take him," said she to one of her women, "and carry him to the dry island." this island was only one frightful rock, where not a drop of water was to be had. the waiting-woman took the bird, but in executing her princess's orders, had compassion on king beder's misfortune. "it would be great pity," said she to herself, "to let a prince so worthy to live die of hunger and thirst. the princess, who is good and gentle, will, it may be, repent of this cruel order, when she comes to herself; it were better that i carried him to a place where he may die a natural death." she accordingly carried him to a well-frequented island, and left him in a charming plain, planted with all sorts of fruit- trees, and watered by divers rivulets. let us return to king saleh. after he had sought for the princess jehaun-ara to no purpose, he caused the king of samandal to be shut up in his own palace, under a strong guard; and having given the necessary orders for governing the kingdom in his absence, returned to give the queen his mother an account of what he had done. the first question he asked on his arrival was, "where was the king his nephew?" and he learned with great surprise and vexation that he could not be found. "news being brought me," said the queen, "of the danger you were in at the palace of the king of samandal, whilst i was giving orders to send you other troops to avenge you, he disappeared. he must have been alarmed at hearing of your being in such great danger, and did not think himself in sufficient security with us." this news exceedingly afflicted king saleh, who now repented being so easily wrought upon by king beder as to carry him away with him without his mother's consent. he sent everywhere to seek for him, but could hear no tidings of him; and instead of the joy he felt at having carried on so far the marriage, which he looked upon as his own work, his grief for this accident was more mortifying. whilst he was under this suspense about his nephew, he left his kingdom under the administration of his mother, and went to govern that of the king of samandal, whom he continued to keep with great vigilance, though with all due respect to his character. the same day that king saleh returned to the kingdom of samandal, queen gulnare arrived at the court of the queen her mother. the princess was not at all surprised to find her son did not return the same day he set out: it being not uncommon for him to go farther than he proposed in the heat of the chase; but when she saw he neither returned the next day, nor the day after, she began to be alarmed, as may easily be imagined from her affection for him. this alarm was augmented, when the officers, who had accompanied the king, and were obliged to return after they had for a long time sought in vain both for him and his uncle, came and told her majesty they must of necessity have come to some harm, or must be together in some place which they could not guess; since, notwithstanding all the diligence they had used, they could hear no tidings of them. their horses indeed they had found, but as for their persons, they knew not where to look for them. the queen hearing this, had resolved to dissemble and conceal her affliction, bidding the officers to search once more with their utmost diligence; but in the meantime she plunged into the sea, to satisfy herself as to the suspicion she had entertained that king saleh must have carried his nephew with him. this great queen would have been more affectionately received by her mother, had she not, on first seeing her, guessed the occasion of her coming. "daughter," said she, "i plainly perceive you are not come hither to visit me; you come to inquire after the king your son; and the only news i can tell you will augment both your grief and mine. i no sooner saw him arrive in our territories, than i rejoiced; yet when i came to understand he had come away without your knowledge, i began to participate with you the concern you must needs suffer." then she related to her with what zeal king saleh went to demand the princess jehaun-ara in marriage for king beder, and what had happened, till her son disappeared. "i have sought diligently after him," added she, "and the king my son, who is but just gone to govern the kingdom of samandal, has done all that lay in his power. all our endeavours have hitherto proved unsuccessful, but we must hope nevertheless to see him again, perhaps when we least expect it." queen gulnare was not satisfied with this hope: she looked upon the king her son as lost, and lamented him bitterly, laying all the blame on the king his uncle. the queen her mother made her consider the necessity of not yielding too much to grief. "the king your brother," said she, "ought not, it is true, to have talked to you so inconsiderately about that marriage, nor ever have consented to carry away the king my grandson, without acquainting you; yet, since it is not certain that the king of persia is absolutely lost, you ought to neglect nothing to preserve his kingdom for him: lose then no more time, but return to your capital; your presence there will be necessary, and it will not be difficult for you to preserve the public peace, by causing it to be published, that the king of persia was gone to visit his grandmother." this was sufficient to oblige queen gulnare to yield. she took leave of the queen her mother, and returned to the palace of the capital of persia before she had been missed. she immediately despatched persons to recall the officers she had sent after the king, to tell them that she knew where his majesty was, and that they should soon see him again. she also caused the same report to be spread throughout the city, and governed, in concert with the prime minister and council, with the same tranquillity as if the king had been present. to return to king beder, whom the princess jehaun-ara's waiting-woman had left in the island before mentioned; that monarch was not a little surprised when he found himself alone, and under the form of a bird. he esteemed himself yet more unhappy, in that he knew not where he was, or in what part of the world the kingdom of persia lay. but if he had known, and had tried the force of his wings, to hazard the traversing so many extensive watery regions, and had reached it, what could he have gained, but the mortification to continue still in the same form, and not to be accounted even a man, much less acknowledged king of persia? he was forced to remain where he was, live upon such food as birds of his kind were wont to have, and to pass the night on a tree. a few days afterwards, a peasant, skilled in taking birds with nets, chanced to come to the place where he was; when perceiving so fine a bird, the like of which he had never seen, though he had followed that employment for a long while, he began greatly to rejoice. he employed all his art to ensnare him; and at length succeeded and took him. overjoyed at so great a prize, which he looked upon to be of more worth than all the other birds he commonly took, he shut it up in a cage, and carried it to the city. as soon as he was come into the market, a citizen stops him, and asked how much he would have for his bird? instead of answering, the peasant demanded of the citizen what he would do with him in case he should buy him? "what wouldst thou have me to do with him," answered the citizen, "but roast and eat him?" "if that be the case," replied the peasant, "i suppose you would think me very well paid, if you should give me the smallest piece of silver for him. i set a much higher value upon him, and you should not have him for a piece of gold. although i am advanced in years, i never saw such a bird in my life. i intend to make a present of him to the king; he will know its value better than you." without staying any longer in the market, the peasant went directly to the palace, and placed himself exactly before the king's apartment. his majesty, being at a window where he could see all that passed in the court, no sooner cast his eyes on this beautiful bird, than he sent an officer of his eunuchs to buy it for him. the officer going to the peasant, demanded of him how much he would have for the bird? "if it be for his majesty," answered the. peasant, "i humbly beg of him to accept it of me as a present, and i desire you to carry it to him." the officer took the bird to the king, who found it so great a rarity, that he ordered the same officer to take ten pieces of gold, and carry them to the peasant, who departed very well satisfied. the king ordered the bird to be put into a magnificent cage, and gave it corn and water in rich vessels. the king being then ready to mount on horseback to go a hunting, had not time to consider the bird, therefore had it brought to him as soon as he returned. the officer brought the cage, and the king, that he might the better view the bird, took it out himself; and perched it upon his hand. looking earnestly upon it, he demanded of the officer, if he had seen it eat. "sir," replied the officer, "your majesty may observe the vessel with his food is still full, and i have not observed that he has touched any of it." then the king ordered him meat of divers sorts, that he might take what he liked best. the table being spread, and dinner served up just as the king had given these orders, as soon as the dishes were placed, the bird, clapping his wings, leaped off the king's hand, flew upon the table, where he began to peck the bread and victuals, sometimes on one plate and sometimes on another. the king was so surprised that he immediately sent the officer of the eunuchs to desire the queen to come and see this wonder. the officer related it to her majesty, and she came forthwith; but she no sooner saw the bird, than she covered her face with her veil, and would have retired. the king, surprised at her proceeding, as there was none present in the chamber but the eunuchs and the women who attended her, asked the reason of her conduct. "sir," answered the queen, "your majesty will no longer be surprised, when you understand, that this is not as you suppose a bird, but a man." "madam," said the king, more astonished than before, "you mean to banter me; but you shall never persuade me that a bird can be a man." "sir," replied the queen, "far be it from me to banter your majesty; nothing is more certain than what i have had the honour to tell you. i can assure your majesty, it is the king of persia, named beder, son of the celebrated gulnare, princess of one of the largest kingdoms of the sea, nephew of saleh, king of that kingdom, and grandson of queen farasche, mother of gulnare and saleh; and it was the princess jehaun-ara, daughter of the king of samandal, who thus metamorphosed him into a bird." that the king might no longer doubt of what she affirmed, she told him the whole story, and stated that the princess jehaun-ara had thus revenged herself for the ill treatment which king saleh had used towards the king of samandal her father. the king had the less difficulty to believe this assertion of the queen, as he knew her to be a skilful magician. and as she knew everything which passed in every part of the world, he was always by her means timely informed of the designs of the kings his neighbours against him, and prevented them. his majesty had compassion on the king of persia, and earnestly besought his queen to break the enchantment, that he might return to his own form. the queen consented with great willingness. "sir," said she to the king, "be pleased to take the bird into your closet, and i will shew you a king worthy of the consideration you have for him." the bird, which had ceased eating, and attended to what the king and queen said, would not give his majesty the trouble to take him, but hopped into the closet before him; and the queen came in soon after, with a vessel full of water in her hand. she pronounced over the vessel some words unknown to the king, till the water began to boil; when she took some of it in her hand, and sprinkling a little upon the bird, said, "by virtue of those holy and mysterious words i have just pronounced, and in the name of the creator of heaven and earth, who raises the dead, and supports the universe, quit the form of a bird, and re-assume that received from thy creator." the words were scarcely out of the queen's mouth, when, instead of a bird, the king saw a young prince of good shape, air, and mien. king beder immediately fell on his knees, and thanked god for the favour that had been bestowed upon him. he then took the king's hand, who helped him up, and kissed it in token of gratitude; but the king embraced him with great joy, and testified to him the satisfaction he had to see him. he would then have made his acknowledgments to the queen, but she was already retired to her apartment. the king made him sit at the table with him, and prayed him to relate how the princess jehaun-ara could have the inhumanity to transform into a bird so amiable a prince; and the king of persia immediately satisfied him. when he had ended, the king, provoked at the proceeding of the princess, could not help blaming her. "it was commendable," said he, "in the princess of samandal not to be insensible of the king her father's ill treatment; but to carry her vengeance so far, and especially against a prince who was not culpable, was what she could never be able to ,justify herself for. but let us have done with this subject, and tell me, i beseech you, in what i can farther serve you." "sir," answered king beder, "my obligation to your majesty is so great, that i ought to remain with you all my life to testify my gratitude; but since your majesty sets no limits to your generosity, i entreat you to grant me one of your ships to transport me to persia, where i fear my absence, which has been but too long, may have occasioned some disorder, and that the queen my mother, from whom i concealed my departure, may be distracted under the uncertainty whether i am alive or dead." the king readily granted what he desired, and immediately gave orders for equipping one of his largest ships, and the best sailors in his numerous fleet. the ship was soon furnished with all its complement of men, provisions, and ammunition; and as soon as the wind became fair, king beder embarked, after having taken leave of the king, and thanked him for all his favours. the ship sailed before the wind for ten days together, but on the eleventh the wind changed, and there followed a furious tempest. the ship was not only driven out of its course, but so violently tossed, that all its masts were brought by the board; and driving along at the pleasure of the wind, it at length struck against a rock and bulged. the greatest part of the people were instantly drowned. some few were saved by swimming, and others by getting on pieces of the wreck. king beder was among the latter, when, after having been tossed about for some time by the waves and torrents, under great uncertainty of his fate, he at length perceived himself near the shore, and not far from a city that seemed of great extent. he exerted his remaining strength to reach the land, and was at length so fortunate as to be able to touch the ground with his feet. he immediately abandoned his piece of wood, which had been of such great service to him; but when he came pretty near the shore, was greatly surprised to see horses, camels, mules, asses, oxen, cows, bulls, and other animals crowding to the shore, and putting themselves in a posture to oppose his landing. he had the utmost difficulty to conquer their obstinacy and force his way, but at length he succeeded, and sheltered himself among the rocks till he had recovered his breath, and dried his clothes in the sun. when the prince advanced to enter the city, he met with the same opposition from these animals, who seemed to intend to make him forego his design, and give him to understand it was dangerous to proceed. king beder, however, entered the city, and saw many fair and spacious streets, but was surprised to find no human beings. this made him think it was not without cause that so many animals had opposed his passage. going forward, nevertheless, he observed divers shops open, which gave him reason to believe the place was not so destitute of inhabitants as he imagined. he approached one of these shops, where several sorts of fruits were exposed for sale, and saluted very courteously an old man who was sitting within. the old man, who was busy about something, lifted up his head, and seeing a youth who had an appearance of grandeur in his air, started, asked him whence he came, and what business had brought him there? king beder satisfied him in a few words; and the old man farther asked him if he had met anybody on the road? "you are the first person i have seen," answered the king, "and i cannot comprehend how so fine and large a city comes to be without inhabitants." "come in, sir; stay no longer upon the threshold," replied the old man, "or peradventure some misfortune may happen to you. i will satisfy your curiosity at leisure, and give you a reason why it is necessary you should take this precaution." king beder entered the shop, and sat down by the old man. the latter, who had received from him an account of his misfortunes, knew he must want nourishment, therefore immediately presented him what was necessary to recover his strength; and although king beder was very earnest to know why he had taken the precaution to make him enter the shop, he would nevertheless not be prevailed upon to tell him anything till he had done eating, for fear the sad things he had to relate might spoil his appetite. when he found he ate no longer, he said to him, "you have great reason to thank god that you got hither without any accident." "alas! why?" demanded king beder, much surprised and alarmed. "because," answered he, "this city is the city of enchantments, and is governed by a queen, who is not only one of the finest of her sex, but likewise a notorious and dangerous sorceress. you will be convinced of this," added he, "when you know that these horses, mules, and other animals which you have seen, are so many men, like ourselves, whom she has transformed by her diabolical art. and when young men, like you, enter the city, she has persons planted to stop and bring them, either by fair means or force, before her. she receives them in the most obliging manner; caresses them, regales them, lodges them magnificently, and gives them so many reasons to believe that she loves them, that she never fails of success. but she does not suffer them long to enjoy this happiness. there is not one of them but she has transformed into some animal or bird at the end of forty days. you told me all these animals presented themselves to oppose your landing, and hinder you entering the city. this was the only way in which they could make you comprehend the danger you were going to expose yourself to, and they did all in their power to prevent you." this account exceedingly afflicted the young king of persia: "alas!" cried he, "to what extremities has my ill fortune reduced me! i am hardly freed from one enchantment, which i look back upon with horror, but i find myself exposed to another much more terrible." this gave him occasion to relate his story to the old man more at length, and to acquaint him of his birth, quality, his passion for the princess of samandal, .and her cruelty in changing him into a bird the very moment he had seen her and declared his love to her. when the prince came to speak of his good fortune in finding a queen who broke the enchantment, the old man to encourage him said, "notwithstanding all i have told you of the magic queen is true, that ought not to give you the least disquiet, since i am generally beloved throughout the city, and am not unknown to the queen herself, who has much respect for me; therefore it was your peculiar good fortune which led you to address yourself to me rather than to anyone else. you are secure in my house, where i advise you to continue, if you think fit; and, provided you .do not stray from hence, i dare assure you, you will have no just cause to complain of my insincerity." king beder thanked the old man for his kind reception, and the protection he was pleased so readily to afford him. he sat down at the entrance of the shop, where he no sooner appeared, but his youth and good person attracted the eyes of all who passed that way. many stopped and complimented the old man on his having acquired so fine a slave, as they imagined the king to be; and they were the more surprised as they could not comprehend how so beautiful a youth could escape the queen's knowledge. "believe not," said the old man, "this is a slave: you all know that i am not rich enough nor of rank to have one of this consequence. he is my nephew, son of a brother of mine who is dead; and as i had no children of my own, i sent for him to keep me company." they congratulated his good fortune in having so fine a young man for his relation; but could not help telling him they feared the queen would take him from him. "you know her well," said they to him, "and you cannot be ignorant of the danger to which you are exposed, after all the examples you have seen. how grieved would you be if she should serve him as she has done so many others whom we knew." "i am obliged to you," replied the old man, "for your good will towards me, and i heartily thank you for the care you seem to take of my interest; but i shall never entertain the least thought that the queen will do me any injury, after all the kindness she has professed for me. in case she happens to hear of this young man, and speaks to me about him, i doubt not she will cease to think of him, as soon as she comes to know he is my nephew." the old man was exceedingly glad to hear the commendations they bestowed on the young king of persia. he was as much affected with them as if he had been his own son, and he conceived a kindness for him, which augmented every day during the stay he made with him. they had lived about a month together, when, as king beder was sitting at the shop-door, after his ordinary manner, queen labe (so was this magic queen named) happened to come by with great pomp. the young king no sooner perceived the guards advancing before her, than he arose, and going into the shop, asked the old man what all that show meant. "the queen is coming by," answered he, "but stand still and fear nothing." the queen's guards, clothed in purple uniform, and well armed and mounted, marched to the number of a thousand in four files, with their sabres drawn, and every one of their officers, as they passed by the shop, saluted the old man. then followed a like number of eunuchs, habited in brocaded silk, and better mounted, whose officers did the old man the like honour. next came as many young ladies on foot, equally beautiful, richly dressed, and ornamented with precious stones. they marched gravely, with half pikes in their hands; and in the midst of them appeared queen labe, on a horse glittering with diamonds, with a golden saddle, and a housing of inestimable value. all the young ladies saluted the old man as they passed him; and the queen, struck with the good mien of king beder, stopped as soon as she came before the shop. "abdallah," (so was the old man named) said she to him, "tell me, i beseech thee, does that beautiful and charming slave belong to thee? and hast thou long been in possession of him?" abdallah, before he answered the queen, threw himself on the ground, and rising again, said, "madam, he is my nephew, son of a brother, who has not long been dead. having no children, i look upon him as my son, and sent for him to come and comfort me, intending to leave him what i have when i die." queen labe, who had never yet seen any one to compare with king beder, began to conceive a passion for him, and thought immediately of getting the old man to abandon him to her. "father," said she, "will you not oblige me so far as to make me a present of this young man? do not refuse me, i conjure you; and i swear by the fire and the light, i will make him so great and powerful, that no individual in the world ever arrived at such good fortune. although my purpose be to do evil to all mankind, he shall be an exception. i trust you will grant me what i desire, more on account of the friendship i am assured you have for me, than for the esteem you know i always had, and shall ever have for you." "madam," replied the good abdallah, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for all the kind- ness you have for me, and the honours you propose to do my nephew. he is not worthy to approach so great a queen, and i humbly beseech your majesty to excuse him." "abdallah," replied the queen, "i all along flattered myself you loved me, and i could never have thought you would have shewn me so much disrespect as to slight my request. but i here swear once more by the fire and light, and even by whatsoever is most sacred in my religion, that i will pass on no farther till i have conquered your obstinacy. i understand well what raises your apprehensions; but i promise, you shall never have any occasion to repent having obliged me in so sensible a manner." old abdallah was exceeding grieved, both on his own account and king beder's, at being in a manner forced to obey the queen. "madam," replied he, "i would not willingly have your majesty entertain an ill opinion of the respect i have for you, and my zeal always to contribute whatever i can to oblige you. i put entire confidence in your royal word, and i do not in the least doubt you will keep it. i only beg of your majesty, to delay doing this great honour to my nephew till you shall again pass this way." "that shall be to-morrow," said the queen; who inclined her head, as a token of her being pleased, and so went forward towards her palace. when queen labe and all her attendants were out of sight, the good abdallah said to king beder, "son" (for so he was wont to call him, for fear of some time or other discovering him when he spoke of him in public), "it has not been in my power, as you may have observed, to refuse the queen what she demanded of me with so much earnestness, to the end i might not force her to employ her magic against both you and myself openly or secretly, and treat you as much from resentment to you as to me with more signal cruelty than all those she has had in her power, as i have already told you. but i have some reason to believe she will use you well, as she promised me, on account of that particular esteem she professes for me. this you may have seen by the respect shewn, and the honours paid, me by all her court. she would be a vile creature indeed, if she should deceive me; but she shall not deceive me unpunished, for i know how to revenge myself." these assurances, which appeared very doubtful, were not sufficient to support king beder's spirits. "after all you have told me of this queen's wickedness," replied he, "you cannot wonder if i am somewhat fearful to approach her: i should, it may be, slight all you could tell me of her, and suffer myself to be dazzled by the lustre of grandeur that surrounds her, did i not know by experience what it is to be at the mercy of a sorceress. the condition i was in, through the enchantment of the princess jehaun-ara, and from which i was delivered only to fall almost immediately into the power of another, has made me look upon such a fate with horror." his tears hindered him from going on, and sufficiently shewed with what repugnance he beheld himself under the fatal necessity of being delivered to queen labe. "son," replied old abdallah, "do not afflict yourself; for though i must own, there is no great stress to be laid upon the promises and oaths of so perfidious a queen, yet i must withal acquaint you, her power extends not to me. she knows this full well; and that is the reason, and no other, why she pays me so much respect. i can quickly hinder her from doing you the least harm, if she should be perfidious enough to attempt it. you may depend upon me, and, provided you follow exactly the advice i shall give you, before i abandon you to her, she shall have no more power over you than she has over myself." the magic queen did not fail to pass by the old man's shop the next day, with the same pomp as the preceding, and abdallah waited for her with great respect. "father," cried she, "you may judge of my impatience to have your nephew with me, by my punctually coming to remind you of your promise. i know you are a man of your word, and i cannot think you will break it with me." abdallah, who fell on his face as soon as he saw the queen approaching, rose up when she had done speaking; and as he would have no one hear what he had to say to her, he advanced with great respect as far as her horse's head, and then said softly, "puissant queen! i am persuaded your majesty will not be offended at my seeming unwillingness to trust my nephew with you yesterday, since you cannot be ignorant of the reasons i had for it; but i conjure you to lay aside the secrets of that art which you possess in so wonderful a degree. i regard my nephew as my own son; and your majesty would reduce me to despair, if you should deal with him as you have done with others." "i promise you i will not," replied the queen; "and i once more repeat the oath i made yesterday, that neither you nor your nephew shall have any cause to be offended at me. i see plainly," added she, "you are not yet well enough acquainted with me; you never saw me yet but through my veil; but as i find your nephew deserving of my friendship, i will shew you i am not any ways unworthy of his." with that she threw off her veil, and discovered to king beder, who came near her with abdallah, an incomparable beauty. but king beder was little charmed: "it is not enough," said he within himself, "to be beautiful; one's actions ought to correspond in regularity with one's features." whilst king beder was making these reflections with his eyes fixed on queen labe, the old man turned towards him, and taking him by the arm, presented him to her: "madam," said he, "i beg of your majesty once more to remember he is my nephew, and to let him come and see me sometimes." the queen promised he should; and to give a further mark of her gratitude, she caused a bag of a thousand pieces of gold to be given him. he excused himself at first from receiving them, but she insisted absolutely upon it, and he could not refuse. she had caused a horse to be brought as richly caparisoned as her own, for the king of persia. whilst he was mounting, "i forgot," said the queen to abdallah, "to ask you your nephew's name; pray how is he called?" he answering his name was beder (the full moon), her majesty replied, "surely your ancestors were mistaken, they ought to have given you the name of shems (the sun)." when king beder was mounted, he would have taken his station behind the queen, but she would not suffer him, and made him ride on her left hand. she looked at abdallah, and after having made him an inclination with her head, departed. instead of observing a satisfaction in the people's faces, at the sight of their sovereign, king beder took notice that they looked at her with contempt, and even cursed her. "the sorceress," said some, "has got a new subject to exercise her wickedness upon; will heaven never deliver the world from her tyranny?" "poor stranger!" exclaimed others, "thou art much deceived, if thou thinkest thy happiness will last long. it is only to render thy fall more terrible, that thou art raised so high." these exclamations gave king beder to understand abdallah had told him nothing but the truth of queen labe; but as it now depended no longer on himself to escape the mischief, he committed himself to the will of heaven. the magic queen arrived at her palace, immediately alighted, and giving her hand to king beder, entered with him, accompanied by her women and the officers of her eunuchs. she herself shewed him all her apartments, where there was nothing to be seen but massive gold, precious stones, and furniture of wonderful magnificence. when she had carried him into her closet, she led him out into a balcony, from whence he observed a garden of surprising beauty. king beder commended all he saw, but nevertheless so that he might not be discovered to be any other than old abdallah's nephew. they discoursed of indifferent matters, till the queen was informed that dinner was served. the queen and king beder arose, and went to place themselves at the table, which was of massive gold, and the dishes of the same metal. they began to eat, but drank hardly at all till the dessert came, when the queen caused a cup to be filled for her with excellent wine. she took it and drank to king beder's health; then without putting it out of her hand, caused it to be filled again, and presented it to him. king beder received it with profound respect, and by a very low bow signified to her majesty that he in return drank to her health. at the same time, ten of queen labe's women entered with musical instruments, with which and their voices they made an agreeable concert, while they continued drinking till late at night. at length both began so to be heated with wine; that king beder insensibly forgot he had to do with a magic queen, and looked upon her only as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. as soon as the queen perceived she had wrought him to the pitch she desired, she made a sign to her eunuchs and women to retire. next morning the queen and king beder went to the bath; the women who had served the king there, presented him with fine linen and a magnificent habit. the queen likewise, who was more splendidly dressed than the day before, came to receive him, and they went together to her apartments, where they had a repast brought them, and spent the remainder of the day in walking in the garden and in various other amusements. queen labe treated king beder after this manner for forty days, as she had been accustomed to do all her lovers. the fortieth night, as they were in bed together, she, believing he was really asleep, arose without making any noise; but he was awake, and perceiving she had some design upon him watched all her motions. being up, she opened a chest, from whence she took a little box full of a yellow powder; taking some of the powder, she iaid a train of it across the chamber, and it immediately flowed in a rivulet of water, to the great astonishment of king beder. he trembled with fear, but still pretended to sleep. queen labe next took up some of the water in a vessel, poured it into a basin that contained some flour; with which she made a paste, and kneaded it for a long time: then she mixed with it certain drugs which she took from different boxes, and made a cake, which she put into a covered baking-pan. as she had taken care first of all to make a good fire, she took some of the coals, and set the pan upon them; and while the cake was baking, she put up the vessels and boxes in their places again; and on her pronouncing certain words, the rivulet disappeared. when the cake was baked, she took it off the coals, carried it into her closet, and afterwards returned to king beder, who dissembled so well, that she had not the least suspicion of his having seen what she had done. king beder, whom the pleasures and amusements of a court had made to forget his good host abdallah, began now to think of him again, and believed he had more than ordinary occasion for his advice, after all he had seen the queen do that night. as soon as he was up, therefore, he expressed a great desire to go and see his uncle, and begged of her majesty to permit him. "what! my dear beder," cried the queen, "are you then already tired, i will not say with living in so superb a palace as mine is, where you must find so many pleasures, but with the company of a queen, who loves you so passionately as i do, and has given you so many marks of affection?" "great queen!" answered king beder, "how can i be tired of so many favours and graces as your majesty perpetually heaps upon me? so far from it, i desire this permission, madam, purely to go and give my uncle an account of the mighty obligations i have to your majesty. i must own, likewise, that my uncle loving me so tenderly, as i well know he does, having been absent from him now forty days, i would not give him reason to think, that i consent to remain longer without seeing him." "go," said the queen, "you have my consent; but you will not be long before you return, if you consider i cannot possibly live without you." this said, she ordered him a horse richly caparisoned, and he departed. old abdallah was overjoyed to see king beder. without regard to his quality, he embraced him tenderly, and king beder returned his embrace, that nobody might doubt but that he was his nephew. as soon as they were sat down, "well," said abdallah to the king, "and how have you passed your time with that abominable sorceress" "hitherto," answered king beder, "i must needs own she has been extraordinarily kind to me, and has done all she could to persuade me that she loves me faithfully; but i observed something last night, which gives me just reason to suspect that all her kindness was but dissimulation. whilst she thought me asleep, although i was really awake, she stole from me with a great deal of precaution, which made me suspect her intention, and therefore i resolved to watch her, still feigning myself asleep." he then related to abdallah in what manner he had seen her make the cake; and then added, "hitherto," said he, "i must needs confess, i had almost forgotten, not only you, but all the advice you gave me concerning the wickedness of this queen; but this last action of hers gives me reason to fear she intends to observe none of her promises or solemn oaths .to you. i thought of you immediately, and i esteem myself happy that i have obtained permission to come to you." "you are not mistaken," replied old abdallah with a smile, which showed he did not himself believe she would have acted otherwise; "nothing is capable of obliging a perfidious woman to amend. but fear nothing. i know how to make the mischief she intends you fall upon herself. you are alarmed in time; and you could not have done better than to have recourse to me. it is her ordinary practice to keep her lovers only forty days; and after that time, instead of seeding them home, to turn them into animals, to stock her forests and parks; but i thought of measures yesterday to prevent her doing you the same harm. the earth has borne this monster long enough, and it is now high time she should be treated as she deserves." so saying, abdallah put two cakes into king beder's hands, bidding him keep them to be used as he should direct. "you told me," continued he, "the sorceress made a cake last night; it was for you to eat; but do not touch it. nevertheless, do not refuse to receive it, when she offers it you; but instead of tasting it, break off part of one of the two i shall give you, unobserved, and eat that. as soon as she thinks you have swallowed it, she will not fail to attempt transforming you into some animal, but she shall not succeed; when she sees that she has failed, she will immediately turn her proceeding into pleasantry, as if what she had done was only out of joke to frighten you; but she will conceal a mortal grief in her heart, and think she has omitted something in the composition of her cake. as for the other cake, you shall make a present of it to her, and press her to eat it; which she will not refuse to do, were it only to convince you she does not mistrust you, though she has given you so much reason to mistrust her. when she has eaten of it, take a little water in the hollow of your hand, and throwing it in her face, say, "quit that form you now wear, and take that of such or such animal," as you shall think fit; which done, come to me with the animal, and i will tell you what you shall do afterwards." king beder expressed to abdallah, in the warmest terms, his great obligations to him, for his endeavours to defend him from the power of a pestilent sorceress; and after some further conversation took his leave of him, and returned to the palace. upon his arrival, he understood that the queen waited for him with great impatience in the garden. he went to her, and she no sooner perceived him, than she came in great haste to meet him. "my dear beder!" exclaimed she, "it is said, with a great deal of reason, that nothing more forcibly shews the excess of love than absence from the object beloved. i have had no quiet since i saw you, and it seems ages since i have been separated from you. if you had stayed ever so little longer, i was preparing to come and fetch you once more to my arms." "madam," replied king beder, "i can assure your majesty, i was no less impatient to rejoin you; but i could not refuse to stay with an uncle who loves me, and had not seen me for so long a time. he would have kept me still longer, but i tore myself away from him, to come where love calls me. of all the collations he prepared for me, i have only brought away this cake, which i desire your majesty to accept." king beder, having wrapped up one of the two cakes in a handkerchief, took it out, and presented it to the queen, saying, "i beg your majesty to accept of it." "i do accept it with all my heart," replied the queen, receiving it, "and will eat it with pleasure for yours and your good uncle's sake; but before i taste of it, i desire you will, for my sake, eat a piece of this, which i have made for you during your absence." "fair queen," answered king beder, receiving it with great respect, "such hands as your majesty's can never make anything but what is excellent, and i cannot sufficiently acknowledge the favour you do me." king beder then artfully substituted in the place of the queen's cake the other which old abdallah had given him, and having broken off a piece, he put it in his mouth, and cried, while he was eating, "ah! queen, i never tasted anything so excellent in my life." they being near a cascade, the sorceress seeing him swallow one bit of the cake, and ready to eat another, took a little water in the palm of her hand, and throwing it in the king's face, said, "wretch! quit that form ofa man, and take that of a vile horse, blind and lame." these words not having the desired effect, the sorceress was strangely surprised to find king beder still in the same form, and that he only started for fear. her cheeks reddened; and as she saw that she had missed her aim, "dear beder," cried she, "this is nothing; recover yourself. i did not intend you any harm; i only did it to see what you would say. i should be the most miserable and most execrable of women, should i attempt so black a deed; not only on account of all the oaths i have sworn, but also of the many testimonies of love i have given you." "puissant queen," replied king beder, "persuaded as i am, that what your majesty did was only to divert yourself, i could not help being surprised. what could hinder me from being a little moved at the pronouncing of so strange a transformation? but, madam," continued he, "let us drop this discourse; and since i have eaten of your cake, would you do me the favour to taste mine?" queen labe, who could not better justify herself than by showing this mark of confidence in the king of persia, broke off a piece of his cake and ate it. she had no sooner swallowed it than she appeared much troubled, and remained as it were motionless. king beder lost no time, but took water out of the same basin, and throwing it in her face, cried, "abominable sorceress ! quit the form of woman, and be turned instantly into a mare." the same moment, queen labe was transformed into a very beautiful mare; and her confusion was so great to find herself in that condition, that she shed tears in great abundance. she bowed her head to the feet of king beder, thinking to move him to compassion; but though he could have been so moved, it was absolutely out of his power to repair the mischief he had done. he led her into the stable belonging to the palace, and put her into the hands of a groom, to bridle and saddle; but of all the bridles which the groom tried upon her, not one would fit. this made him cause two horses to be saddled, one for the groom and the other for himself; and the groom led the mare after him to old abdallah's. abdallah seeing at a distance king beder coming with the mare, doubted not but he had done what he had advised him. "cursed sorceress!" said he immediately to himself in a transport of joy, "heaven has at length punished thee as thou deservest." king beder alighted at abdallah's door and entered with him into the shop, embracing and thanking him for all the signal services he had done him. he related to him the whole matter, with all its circumstances, and moreover told him, he could find no bridle fit for the mare. abdallah bridled the mare himself, and as soon as king beder had sent back the groom with the two horses, he said to him, "my lord, you have no reason to stay any longer in this city: mount the mare, and return to your kingdom. i have but one thing more to recommend to you; and that is, if you should ever happen to part with the mare, be sure not to give up the bridle." king beder promised to remember this; and having taken leave of the good old man, he departed. the young king of persia had no sooner got out of the city, than he began to reflect with joy on his deliverance, and that he had the sorceress in his power, who had given him so much cause to tremble. three days after he arrived at a great city, where, entering the suburbs, he met a venerable old man, walking towards a pleasure- house. "sir," said the old man, stopping him, "may i presume to ask from what part of the world you come?" the king halted to satisfy him, and as they were conversing together, an old woman came up; who, stopping likewise, wept and sighed heavily at the sight of the mare. king beder and the old man left off discoursing, to look at the old woman, whom the king asked, what cause she had to be so much afflicted? "alas ! sir," replied she, "it is because your mare resembles so perfectly one my son had, and which i still mourn the loss of on his account, and should think yours were the same, did i not know she was dead. sell her to me, i beseech you; i will give you more than she is worth and thank you too.' "good woman," replied king beder, "i am heartily sorry i cannot comply with your request: my mare is not to be sold." "alas! sir," continued the old woman, "do not refuse me this favour for the love of god. my son and i shall certainly die with grief, if you do not grant it." "good mother," replied the king, "i would grant it with all my heart, if i were disposed to part with so good a beast; but if i were so disposed, i believe you would hardly give a thousand pieces of gold for her, and i could not sell her for less." "why should i not give so much?" replied the old woman: "if that be the lowest price, you need only say you will take it, and i will fetch you the money." king beder, seeing the old woman so poorly dressed, could not imagine she could find such a sum; and said, to try her, "go, fetch me the money, and the mare is yours." the old woman immediately unloosed a purse she carried fastened to her girdle, and desiring him to alight, bade him tell over the money, and in case he found it came short of the sum demanded, she said her house was not far off; and she could quickly fetch the rest. the surprise of king beder, at the sight of the purse, was not small. "good woman," said he, "do you not perceive i have bantered you all this while? i assure you my mare is not to be sold." the old man, who had been witness to all that had passed, now began to speak. "son," said he to king beder, "it is necessary you should know one thing, which i find you are ignorant of; and that is, that in this city it is not permitted to any one to tell a lie, on any account whatsoever, on pain of death. you cannot refuse taking this good woman's money, and delivering your mare, when she gives you the sum according to the agreement; and this you had better do without any noise, than expose yourself to what may ensue." king beder, mortified to find himself thus trapped by his rash proffer, alighted with great regret. the old woman stood ready to seize the reins, immediately unbridled the mare, and taking some water in her hand, from a stream that ran in the middle of the street, threw it in the mare's face, uttering these words, "daughter, quit that strange shape, and re-assume thy own." the transformation was effected in a moment, and king beder, who swooned as soon as he saw queen labe appear, would have fallen to the ground, if the old man had not hindered him. the old woman, who was the mother of queen labe, and had instructed her in all her magic secrets, had no sooner embraced her daughter, than to shew her fury, she in an instant by whistling, caused to rise a genie of a gigantic form and stature. this genie immediately took king beder on one shoulder, and the old woman with the magic queen on the other, and transported them in a few minutes to the palace of queen labe in the city of enchantments. the magic queen immediately fell upon king beder, reproaching him violently. "is it thus," said she, "ungrateful wretch! that thy unworthy uncle and thou repay me for all the kindnesses i have done you? i shall soon make you both feel what you deserve." she said no more, but taking water in her hand, threw it in his face with these words, "quit the form of man, and take that of an owl." these words were soon followed by the effect, and immediately she commanded one of her women to shut up the owl in a cage, and give him neither meat nor drink. the woman took the cage, but without regarding what the queen had ordered, gave him both meat and drink; and being old abdallah's friend, sent him word privately how the queen had treated his nephew, and apprised him of her design to destroy both him and king beder, that he might take measures to prevent her intentions, and secure himself. abdallah knew no common means would do with queen labe: he therefore whistled in a peculiar manner, and there immediately arose a giant, with four wings, who presenting himself before him, asked what he would have?" lightning," said abdallah to him (for so was the genie called), "i command you to preserve the life of king beder, son of queen gulnare. go to the palace of the magic queen, and transport immediately to the capital of persia the compassionate woman who has the cage in custody, to the end she may inform queen gulnare of the danger the king her son is in, and the occasion he has for her assistance. take care not to frighten her when you come before her, and acquaint her from me what she ought to do." lightning immediately disappeared, and in an instant reached the palace of the magic queen. he instructed the woman, lifted her up into the air, and transported her to the capital of persia, where he placed her on the terrace of gulnare's palace. she descended into her apartment, and there found queen gulnare and queen farasche her mother lamenting their mutual misfortunes. she made them a profound reverence, and by the relation she gave them, they soon understood the great need king beder had of their assistance. queen gulnare was so overjoyed at the news, that rising from her seat, she went and embraced the good woman, telling her how much she was obliged to her for the service she had done her. then going immediately out, she commanded the trumpets to sound, and the drums to beat, to acquaint the city, that the king of persia would suddenly return safe to his kingdom. she then went, and found king saleh her brother, whom farasche had caused to come speedily thither by a certain fumigation. "brother," said she to him, "the king your nephew, my dear son, is in the city of enchantments, under the power of queen labe. both you and i must go to deliver him, for there is no time to be lost." king saleh forthwith assembled a puissant body of his marine troops, who soon rose out of the sea. he also called to his assistance the genii his allies, who appeared with a much more numerous army than his own. as soon as the two armies were joined, he put himself at the head of them, with queen farasche, queen gulnare, and the princesses, who would all have their share in this enterprize. they then ascended into the air, and soon poured down on the palace and city of enchantments, where the magic queen, her mother, and all the adorers of fire, were destroyed in an instant. queen gulnare had ordered the woman who brought the account of queen labe's transforming and imprisoning her son, to follow her close, and bade her, in the confusion, go and seize the cage, and bring it to her. this order was executed as she wished, and queen gulnare was no sooner in possession of the cage, than she opened it, and took out the owl, saying, as she sprinkled a little water upon him, "my dear son, quit that strange form, and resume thy natural one of a man." in a moment queen gulnare, instead of the hideous owl, beheld king beder her son. she immediately embraced him with an excess of joy, her tears supplying more forcibly the place of words. she could not let him go; and queen farasche was obliged to force him from her in her turn. after her, he was likewise embraced by the king his uncle and his relations. queen gulnare's first care was to look out for old abdallah, to whom she had been obliged for the recovery of the king of persia; and who being brought to her, she said to him, "my obligations to you have been so great, that there is nothing within my power but i would freely do for you, as a token of my acknowledgment. do but inform me in what i can serve you." "great queen," replied abdallah, "if the lady whom i sent to your majesty will but consent to the marriage i offer her, and the king of persia will give me leave to reside at his court, i will spend the remainder of my days in his service." the queen then turned to the lady who was present, and finding by her modest shame that she was not averse to the match proposed, she caused them to join hands, and the king of persia and she took care of their fortune. this marriage occasioned the king of persia to speak thus to the queen: "madam," said he, "i am heartily glad of this match which your majesty has just made. there remains one more, which i desire you to think of." queen gulnare did not at first comprehend what marriage he meant; but after a little considering, she said, "of yours, you mean, son. i consent to it with all my heart." then turning, and looking at her brother's sea attendants, and the genii who were still present, "go," said she, "and traverse both sea and land, to seek the most lovely and amiable princess, worthy of the king my son, and when you have found her, come and tell us." "madam," replied king beder, "it is to no purpose for them to take all that trouble. you have no doubt heard that i have already given my heart to the princess of samandal upon the bare relation of her beauty. i have seen her, and do not repent of the present i then made her. in a word, neither earth nor sea, in my opinion, can furnish a princess like her. it is true upon my declaring my love, she treated me in a way that would have extinguished any flame less strong than mine. but i hold her excused; she could not treat me with less rigour, after your imprisoning the king her father, of which i was the innocent cause. but the king of samandal may, perhaps, have changed his resolution; and his daughter the princess may consent to love me, when she sees her father has agreed to it." "son," replied queen gulnare, "if only the princess jehaun-ara can make you happy, it is not my design to oppose you. the king your uncle need only have the king of samandal brought, and we shall see whether he be still of the same untractable temper." strictly as the king of samandal had been kept during his captivity by king saleh's orders, yet he always had great respect shewn him. king saleh caused a chafing-dish of coals to be brought, into which he threw a certain composition, uttering at the same time some mysterious words. as soon as the smoke began to arise, the palace shook, and immediately the king of samandal, with king saleh's officers, appeared. the king of persia cast himself at the king of samandal's feet, and, kneeling, said, "it is no longer king saleh that demands of your majesty the honour of your alliance for the king of persia; it is the king of persia himself that humbly begs that boon; and i persuade myself your majesty will not persist in being the cause of the death of a king, who can no longer live if he does not share life with the amiable princess jehaun-ara." the king of samandal did not long suffer the king of persia to remain at his feet. he embraced him, and obliging him to rise, said, "i shall be sorry to have contributed in the least to the death of a monarch who is so worthy to live. if it be true that so precious a life cannot be preserved without the possession of my daughter, live, sir, she is yours. she has always been obedient to my will, and i cannot think she will now oppose it." speaking these words, he ordered one of his officers, whom king saleh had permitted to attend him, to go for the princess, and bring her to him immediately. the princess continued where the king of persia had left her. the officer perceived her, and brought her soon with her women. the king of samandal embraced her, and said, "daughter, i have provided a husband for you; it is the king of persia, the most accomplished monarch at present in the universe. the preference he has given you over all other princesses obliges us both to express our gratitude." "sir," replied the princess jehaun-ara, "your majesty well knows i never have presumed to disobey your will: i shall always be ready to obey you; and i hope the king of persia will forget my ill treatment of him, and consider it was duty, not inclination, that forced me to it." the nuptials were celebrated in the palace of the city of enchantments, with the greatest solemnity, as all the lovers of the magic queen, who had resumed their pristine forms as soon as she ceased to live, assisted at them, and came to return their thanks to the king of persia, queen gulnare, and king saleh. they were all sons of kings, princes, or persons of high rank. king saleh conducted the king of samandal to his dominions, and put him again in possession of his throne. the king of persia, at the height of his wishes, returned to his capital with queen gulnare, queen farasche, and the princesses; the queen farasche and the princesses continued there till king saleh came to reconduct them to his kingdom under the waves of the sea. the history of prince zeyn alasnam and the sultan of the genii. a sultan of bussorah, who possessed great wealth, and was well beloved by his subjects, had no children, which occasioned him great affliction; and therefore he made presents to all the holy persons in his dominions, to engage them to beg a son for him of heaven: and their prayers being effectual, the queen proved with child, and was happily delivered of a prince who was named zeyn alasnam, which signifies ornament of the statues. the sultan caused all the astrologers in his kingdom to be assembled, and ordered them to calculate the infant's nativity. they found by their observations that he would live long, and be very brave; but that all his courage would be little enough to carry him through the misfortunes that threatened him. the sultan was not daunted at this prediction: "my son," said he, "is not to be pitied, since he will be brave: it is fit that princes should have a taste of misfortunes; for adversity tries virtue, and they are the better qualified to reign." he rewarded the astrologers, and dismissed them; and caused zeyn to be educated with the greatest care, appointing him able masters as soon as he was of age to receive their instructions. in short, he proposed to make him an accomplished prince, when on a sudden this good sultan fell sick of a disorder, which all the skill of his physicians could not cure. perceiving his disease was mortal, he sent for his son, and among other things advised him rather to endeavour to be loved, than to be feared by his people; not to give ear to flatterers; to be as slow in rewarding as in punishing, because it often happens that monarchs misled by false appearances, load wicked men with favours, and oppress the innocent. as soon as the sultan was dead, prince zeyn went into mourning, which he wore seven days, and on the eighth he ascended the throne, taking his father's seal off the royal treasury, and putting on his own, beginning thus to taste the sweets of ruling, the pleasure of seeing all his courtiers bow down before him, and make it their whole study to shew their zeal and obedience. in a word, the sovereign power was too agreeable to him. he only regarded what his subjects owed to him, without considering what was his duty towards them, and consequently took little care to govern them well. he revelled in all sorts of debauchery among the voluptuous youth, on whom he conferred the prime employments in the kingdom. he lost all command of his power. being naturally prodigal, he set no bounds to his grants, so that his women and his favourites insensibly drained his treasury. the queen his mother was still living, a discreet, wise princess. she had several times unsuccessfully tried to check her son's prodigality and debauchery, giving him to understand, that, if he did not soon take another course, he would not only squander his wealth, but also alienate the minds of his people, and occasion some revolution, which perhaps might cost him his crown and his life. what she had predicted had nearly happened: the people began to murmur against the government, and their murmurs had certainly been followed by a general revolt, had not the queen had the address to prevent it. that princess being acquainted with the ill posture of affairs, informed the sultan, who at last suffered himself to be prevailed upon. he committed the government to discreet aged men, who knew how to keep the people within the bounds of duty. zeyn, seeing all his wealth consumed, repented that he had made no better use of it. he fell into a profound melancholy, and nothing could comfort him. one night he saw in a dream a venerable old man coming towards him, who with a smiling countenance said, "know, zeyn, that there is no sorrow but what is followed by mirth, no misfortune but what in the end brings some happiness. if you desire to see the end of your affliction, set out for egypt, go to grand cairo, where great prosperity awaits you." the young sultan was struck with his dream, and spoke of it very seriously to his mother, who only laughed at it. "my son," said she to him, "would you go into egypt on the faith of an illusive dream?" "why not, madam," answered zeyn, "do you imagine all dreams are chimerical? no, no, some of them are mysterious. my preceptors have told me a thousand incidents, which will not permit me to doubt of it. besides, though i were not otherwise convinced, i could not forbear giving some credit to my dreams. the old man who appeared to me had something supernatural, he was not one of those men whom nothing but age makes venerable; there appeared a divine air about his person. in short, he was such a one as our great prophet is represented; and if you will have me tell you what i think, i believe it was he, who, pitying my affliction, designs to relieve it. i rely on the confidence he has inspired me with. i am full of his promises, and have resolved to follow his advice." the queen endeavoured to dissuade him, but in vain. the sultan committed to her the government of the kingdom, set out one night very privately from his palace, and took the road to cairo, without suffering any person to attend him. after much trouble and fatigue, he arrived at that famous city, like which there are few in the world, either for extent or beauty. he alighted at the gate of a mosque, where, being spent with weariness, he lay down. no sooner was he fallen asleep, than he saw the same old man, who said to him, "i am pleased with you, my son, you have given credit to my words. you are come hither, without being deterred by the length or the difficulties of the way: but know i have not put you upon undertaking such a long journey, with any other design than to try you. i find you have courage and resolution. you deserve i should make you the richest and happiest prince in the world. return to bussorah, and you shall find immense wealth in your palace. no king ever possessed so rich a treasure." the sultan was not pleased with this dream. "alas!" thought he to himself, when he awoke, "how much was i mistaken? that old man, whom i took for our prophet, is no other than the production of my disturbed imagination. my fancy was so full of him, that it is no wonder i have seen him again. i had best return to bussorah; what should i do here any longer? it is fortunate that i told none but my mother the motive of my journey: i should become a jest to my people, if they knew it." accordingly, he set out again for his kingdom, and as soon as he arrived there, the queen asked him, whether he returned well pleased? he told her all that had happened, and was so much concerned for having been so credulous, that the queen, instead of adding to his vexation, by reproving or laughing at him, comforted him. "forbear afflicting yourself, my son," said she; "if god has appointed you riches, you will have them without any trouble. be contented; all that i recommend to you is, to be virtuous; renounce the delights of dancing, music, and wine: shun all these pleasures, they have already almost ruined you; apply yourself to make your subjects happy; by securing their happiness, you will establish your own." sultan zeyn vowed that he would for the future follow his mother's advice, and be directed by the wise viziers she had chosen to assist him in supporting the weight of government. but the very night after he returned to his palace, he saw the old man the third time in a dream, who said to him, "the time of your prosperity is come, brave zeyn: to-morrow morning, as soon as you are up, take a little pick-axe, and dig in the late sultan's closet; you will there find a rich treasure." as soon as the sultan awoke, he got up, ran to the queen's apartment, and with much eagerness told her the new dream of that night. "really, my son," said the queen smiling, "this is a very positive old man; he is not satisfied with having deceived you twice: have you a mind to believe him again?" "no, madam," answered zeyn, "i give no credit to what he has said; but i will, for my own satisfaction, search my father's closet." "i really fancied so," cried the queen, laughing heartily: "go, my son, satisfy yourself; my comfort is, that work is not so fatiguing as the journey to egypt." "well madam," answered the sultan, "i must own, that this third dream has restored my confidence, for it is connected with the two others; let us examine the old man's words. he first directed me to go into egypt; there he told me, he had put me upon taking that journey, only to try me. 'return to bussorah,' said he, 'that is the place where you are to find treasures;' this night he has exactly pointed out to me the place where they are: these three dreams in my opinion, are connected. after all, they may be chimerical: but i would rather search in vain, than blame myself as long as i live, for having perhaps missed great riches, by being unseasonably incredulous." having spoken thus, he left the queen's apartment, caused a pick-axe to be brought him, and went alone into the late sultan's closet. he immediately began to break up the ground, and took up above half the square stones it was paved with, but yet saw not the least appearance of what he sought. he ceased working to take a little rest, thinking within himself, "i am much afraid my mother had cause enough to laugh at me." however, he took heart, and went on with his labour, nor had he cause to repent; for on a sudden he discovered a white slab, which he took up, and under it found a door, made fast with a steel padlock, which he broke with the pick-axe, and opened the door, which covered a staircase of white marble. he immediately lighted a lamp, and went down the stairs into a room, the floor whereof was laid with tiles of chinaware, and the roof and walls were of crystal; but he particularly fixed his eyes on four shelves, a little raised above the rest of the floor, on each of which were ten urns of porphyry. he fancied they were full of wine: "well," said he, "that wine must be very old, i do not question but it is excellent." he went up to one of the urns, took off the cover, and with no less joy than surprise perceived it was full of pieces of gold. he searched all the forty, one after another, and found them full of the same coin, took out a handful, and carried it to the queen. the princess, it may be imagined, was amazed, when the sultan gave her an account of what he had discovered. "o! my son," said she, "take heed you do not lavish away all this wealth foolishly, as you have already done the royal treasure. let not your enemies have so much occasion to rejoice." "no, madam," answered zeyn, "i will from henceforward live in such a manner as shall be pleasing to you." the queen desired her son to conduct her to the wonderful subterraneous place, which the late sultan her husband had made with such secrecy, that she had never heard of it. zeyn led her to the closet, down the marble stairs, and into the chamber where the urns were. she observed every thing with the eye of curiosity, and in a corner spied a little urn of the same sort of stone as the others. the prince had not before taken notice of it, but opening, found in it a golden key. "my son," said the queen, "this key certainly belongs to some other treasure; let us search well, perhaps we may discover the use it is designed for." they examined the chamber with the utmost exactness, and at length found a key-hole in one of the panels of the wall. the sultan immediately tried, and as readily opened the door, which led into a chamber, in the midst of which were nine pedestals of massive gold, on eight of which stood as many statues, each of them made of a single diamond, and from them darted such a brightness, that the whole room was perfectly light. "o heavens!" cried zeyn, in astonishment, "where could my father find such rarities?" the ninth pedestal redoubled this amazement, for it was covered with a piece of white satin, on which were written these words, "dear son, it cost me much toil to procure these eight statues; but though they are extraordinarily beautiful, you must understand that there is a ninth in the world, which surpasses them all: that alone is worth more than a thousand such as these: if you desire to be master of it, go to the city of cairo in egypt; one of my old slaves, whose name is mobarec, lives there, you will easily find him; the first person you meet will shew you his house; visit him, and tell him all that has befallen you: he will know you to be my son, and conduct you to the place where that wonderful statue is, which you will obtain with safety." the young sultan having read these words, said to the queen, "i should be sorry to be without that ninth statue; it must certainly be a very rare piece, since all these together are not of so much value. i will set out for grand cairo; nor do i believe, madam, that you will now oppose my design." "no, my son," answered the queen, "i am not against it: you are certainly under the special protection of our great prophet, he will not suffer you to perish in this journey. set out when you think fit: your viziers and i will take care of the government during your absence." the prince made ready his equipage, but would take only a small number of slaves with him. nothing remarkable befell him by the way, but arriving at cairo, he inquired for mobarec. the people told him he was one of the wealthiest inhabitants of the city; that he lived like a great lord, and that his house was open, especially for strangers. zeyn was conducted thither, knocked at the gate, which a slave opened, and demanded, "what is it you want, and who are you?" "i am a stranger," answered the prince, "and having heard much of the lord mobarec's generosity, am come to take up my lodging with him." the slave desired zeyn to wait while he went to acquaint his master, who ordered him to request the stranger to walk in. the slave returned to the gate, and told the prince he was welcome. zeyn went in, crossed a large court, and entered a hall magnificently furnished, where mobarec expected him, and received him very courteously, returning thanks for the honour he did him in accepting a lodging in his house. the prince, having answered his compliment, said to mobarec, "i am the son of the late sultan of bussorah, and my name is zeyn alasnam." "that sovereign," said mobarec, "was formerly my master; but, my lord, i never knew of any children he had: what is your age?" "i am twenty years old," answered the sultan. "how long is it since you left my father's court?" "almost two-and-twenty years," replied mobarec; "but how can you convince me that you are his son?" "my father," rejoined zeyn, "had a subterraneous place under his closet, in which i have found forty porphyry urns full of gold." "and what more is there?" said mobarec. "there are," answered the prince, "nine pedestals of massive gold: on eight whereof are as many diamond statues; and on the ninth a piece of white satin, on which my father has written what i am to do to procure another statue, more valuable than all those together. you know where that statue is; for it is mentioned on the satin, that you will conduct me to it." as soon as he had spoke these words, mobarec fell down at his feet, and kissing one of his hands several times, said, "i bless god for having brought you hither: i know you to be the sultan of bussorah's son. if you will go to the place where the wonderful statue is, i will conduct you; but you must first rest here a few days. this day i treat the great men of the court; we were at table when word was brought me of your being at the door. will you vouchsafe to come and be merry with us?" "i shall be very glad," replied zeyn, "to be admitted to your feast." mobarec immediately led him under a dome where the company was, seated him at the table, and served him on the knee. the nobles of cairo were surprised, and whispered to one another, "who is this stranger, to whom mobarec pays so much respect?" when they had dined, mobarec directing his discourse to the company, said, "nobles of cairo, do not think much to see me serve this young stranger in this manner: know that he is the son of the sultan of bussorah, my master. his father purchased me, and died without making me free; so that i am still a slave, and consequently all i have of right belongs to this young prince, his sole heir." here zeyn interrupted him: "mobarec," said he, "i declare, before all these lords, that i make you free from this moment, and that i renounce all right to your person, and all you possess. consider what you would have me do more for you." mobarec kissed the ground, and returned the prince most hearty thanks. wine was then brought in, they drank all day, and towards evening presents were distributed among the guests, who departed. the next day zeyn said to mobarec, "i have taken rest enough. i came not to cairo to take my pleasure; my design is to obtain the ninth statue; it is time for us to set out in search of it." "sir," said mobarec, "i am ready to comply with your desires; but you know not what dangers you must encounter to make this precious acquisition." "whatsoever the danger may be," answered the prince, "i have resolved to make the attempt; i will either perish or succeed. all that happens in this world is by god's direction. do you but bear me company, and let your resolution be equal to mine." mobarec, finding him determined to set out, called his servants, and ordered them to make ready his equipage. the prince and he then performed the ablution, and the prayer enjoined, which is called farz; and that done, they set out. on their way they took notice of abundance of strange and wonderful things, and travelled many days, at length, being come to a delightful spot, they alighted from their horses. mobarec then said to all the servants that attended them, "do you remain in this place, and take care of our equipage till we return." then he said to zeyn, "now, sir, let us advance by ourselves. we are near the dreadful place, where the ninth statue is kept. you will stand in need of all your courage." they soon came to a vast lake: mobarec set down on the brink of it, saying to the prince, "we must cross this sea." "how can we," answered zeyn, "when we have no boat?" "you will see one appear in a moment," replied mobarec; "the enchanted boat of the sultan of the genii will come for us. but do not forget what i am going to say to you: you must observe a profound silence: do not speak to the boatman, though his figure seem strange to you: whatever extraordinary circumstance you observe, say nothing; for i tell you beforehand, that if you utter one word when we are embarked, the boat will sink." "i shall take care to hold my peace," said the prince; "you need only tell me what i am to do, and i will strictly comply." whilst they were talking, he spied on a sudden a boat in the lake, made of red sandal wood. it had a mast of fine amber, and a blue satin flag: there was only one boatman in it, whose head was like an elephant's, and his body like that of a tiger. when the boat was come up to the prince and mobarec, the monstrous boatman took them up one after another with his trunk, put them into his boat, and carried them over the lake in a moment. he then again took them up with his trunk, set them ashore, and immediately vanished with his boat. "now we may talk," said mobarec: "the island we are in belongs to the sultan of the genii. look round you, prince; can there be a more delightful spot? it is certainly a lively representation of the charming place god has appointed for the faithful observers of our law. behold the fields adorned with all sorts of flowers and odoriferous plants: admire those beautiful trees whose delicious fruit makes the branches bend down to the ground; enjoy the pleasure of those harmonious songs formed in the air by a thousand birds of as many various sorts, unknown in other countries." zeyn could not sufficiently admire the beauties with which he was surrounded, and still found something new, as he advanced farther into the island. at length they came before a palace built of emeralds, encompassed by a wide moat, on the banks whereof, at certain distances, were planted such tall trees, that they shaded the whole palace. before the gate, which was of massive gold, was a bridge, formed of one single shell of a fish, though it was at least six fathoms long, and three in breadth. at the head of the bridge stood a company of genii, of a prodigious height, who guarded the entrance into the castle with great clubs of china steel. "let us at present proceed no farther," said mobarec, "these genii will destroy us: and in order to prevent their coming to us, we must perform a magical ceremony." he then drew out of a purse which he had under his garment, four long slips of yellow taffety; one he put about his middle, and laid the other on his back, giving the other two to the prince, who did the like. then mobarec laid on the ground two large table-cloths, on the edges whereof he scattered some precious stones, musk, and amber. afterwards he sat down on one of the cloths, and zeyn on the other; and mobarec said to the prince, "i shall now, sir, conjure the sultan of the genii, who lives in the palace that is before us; may he come in a peaceable mood to us! i confess i am not without apprehension about the reception he may give us. if our coming into this island is displeasing to him, he will appear in the shape of a dreadful monster; but if he approves of your design, he will shew himself in the shape of a handsome man. as soon as he appears before us, you must rise and salute him, without going off your cloth; for you would certainly perish, should you stir from it. you must say to him, 'sovereign lord of the genii, my father, who was your servant, has been taken away by the angel of death; i wish your majesty may protect me, as you always protected my father.' if the sultan of the genii," added mobarec, "ask you what favour you desire of him, you must answer, 'i most humbly beg of you to give me the ninth statue.'" mobarec, having thus instructed prince zeyn, began his conjuration. immediately their eyes were dazzled by a long flash of lightning, which was followed by a clap of thunder. the whole island was covered with a thick darkness, a furious storm of wind blew, a dreadful cry was heard, the island felt a shock, and there was such an earthquake, as that which asrayel is to cause on the day of judgment. zeyn was startled, and began to regard these concussions of the elements as a very ill omen, when mobarec, who knew better than he what to judge, began to smile, and said, "take courage, my prince, all goes well." in short, that very moment, the sultan of the genii appeared in the shape of a very handsome man, yet there was something of a sternness in his air. as soon as sultan zeyn had made him the compliment he had been taught by mobarec, the sultan of the genii smiling, answered, "my son, i loved your father, and every time he came to pay me his respects, i presented him with a statue, which he carried away with him. i have no less kindness for you. i obliged your father, some days before he died, to write that which you read on the piece of white satin. i promised him to receive you under my protection, and to give you the ninth statue, which in beauty surpasses those you have already. i had begun to perform my promise to him. it was i whom you saw in a dream in the shape of an old man; i caused you to open the subterraneous place, where the urns and the statues are deposited: i have a great share in all that has befallen you, or rather am the occasion of all. i know the motive that brought you hither; you shall obtain what you desire. though i had not promised your father to give it, i would willingly grant it to you: but you must first swear to me by all that is sacred, that you will return to this island, and that you will bring me a maid who is in her fifteenth year, has never loved, nor desired to. she must also be perfectly beautiful: and you so much a master of yourself, as not even to desire her as you are conducting her hither." sultan zeyn took the rash oath demanded of him. "but, my lord," said he, "suppose i should be so fortunate as to meet with such a maid as you require, how shall i know that i have found her?" "i own," answered the sultan of the genii, smiling, "that you might be mistaken in her appearance: that knowledge is above the sons of adam, and therefore i do not mean to depend upon your judgment in that particular: i will give you a looking-glass which will be more certain than your conjectures. when you shall have seen a maiden fifteen years of age, perfectly beautiful, you need only look into the glass in which you shall see her figure. if she be chaste, the glass will remain clean and unsullied; but if, on the contrary, it sullies, that will be a certain sign that she has not always been prudent, or at least that she has desired to cease to be so. do not forget the oath you have taken: keep it like a man of honour; otherwise i will take away your life, notwithstanding the kindness i have for you." zeyn alasnam protested again that he would faithfully keep his word. the sultan of the genii then delivered to him a looking-glass, saying, "my son, you may return when you please, there is the glass you are to use." zeyn and mobarec took leave of the sultan of the genii, and went towards the lake. the boatman with the elephant's head brought the boat, and ferried them over the lake as he had done before. they joined their servants, and returned with them again to cairo. the young sultan rested a few days at mobarec's house, and then said to him, "let us go to bagdad, to seek a maiden for the sovereign of the genii." "why, are we not at grand cairo?" said mobarec: "shall we not there find beautiful maidens?" "you are in the right," answered the prince; "but how shall we explore where they are?" "do not trouble yourself about that," answered mobarec; "i know a very shrewd old woman, whom i will entrust with the affair, and she will acquit herself well." accordingly the old woman found means to shew the sultan a considerable number of beautiful maidens of fifteen years of age; but when he had viewed them, and came to consult his looking-glass, the fatal touchstone of their virtue, the glass always appeared sullied. all the maidens in the court and city, who were in their fifteenth year, underwent the trial one after another, but the glass never remained bright and clear. when they saw there were no chaste maidens to be found in cairo, they went to bagdad, where they hired a magnificent palace in one of the chief quarters of the city, and began to live splendidly. they kept open house; and after all people had eaten in the palace, the fragments were carried to the dervises, who by that means had comfortable subsistence. there lived in that quarter a pedant, whose name was boubekir muezin, a vain, haughty, and envious person: he hated the rich, only because he was poor, his misery making him angry at his neighbour's prosperity. he heard talk of zeyn alasnam, and of the plenty his house afforded. this was enough for him to take an aversion to that prince; and it proceeded so far, that one day after the evening prayer in the mosque, he said to the people, "brethren, i have been told there is come to live in our ward a stranger, who every day gives away immense sums. how do we know but that this unknown person is some villain, who has committed a robbery in his own country, and comes hither to enjoy himself? let us take care, brethren; if the caliph should be informed that such a man is in our ward, it is to be feared he will punish us for not acquainting him with it. i declare for my part i wash my hands of the affair, and if any thing should happen amiss, it shall not lie at my door." the multitude, who are easily led away, with one voice cried to boubekir, "it is your business, do you acquaint the council with it." the muezin went home well pleased, and drew up a memorial, resolving to present it to the caliph next day. but mobarec, who had been at prayers, and heard all that was said by the muezin, put five hundred pieces of gold into a handkerchief, made up with a parcel of several silks, and went to boubekir's house. the muezin asked him in a harsh tone what he wanted. "holy father," answered mobarec with an obliging air, and at the same time putting into his hand the gold and the silk, "i am your neighbour and your servant: i come from prince zeyn, who lives in this ward: he has heard of your worth, and has ordered me to come and tell you, that he desires to be acquainted with you, and in the mean time desires you to accept of this small present." boubekir was transported with joy, and answered mobarec thus: "be pleased, sir, to beg the prince's pardon for me: i am ashamed i have not yet been to see him, but i will atone for my fault, and wait on him to-morrow." accordingly the next day after morning prayer he said to the people, "you must know from your own experience, brethren, that no man is without some enemies: envy pursues those chiefly who are very rich. the stranger i spoke to you about yesterday in the evening is no bad man, as some ill-designing persons would have persuaded me: he is a young prince, endowed with every virtue. it behoves us to take care how we give any injurious report of him to the caliph." boubekir having thus wiped off the impression he had the day before given the people concerning zeyn, returned home, put on his best apparel and went to visit the young prince, who gave him a courteous reception. after several compliments had passed on both sides, boubekir said to the prince, "sir, do you design to stay long at bagdad?" "i shall stay," answered zeyn, "till i can find a maid fifteen years of age, perfectly beautiful, and so chaste, that she has not only never loved a man, but even never desired to do so." "you seek after a great rarity," replied the muezin; "and i should be apt to fear your search would prove unsuccessful, did i not know where there is a maid of that character. her father was formerly vizier; but has left the court, and lived a long time in a lone house, where he applies himself solely to the education of his daughter. if you please, i will ask her of him for you: i do not question but he will be overjoyed to have a son-in-law of your quality." "not so fast," said the prince, "i shall not marry the maid before i know whether i like her. as for her beauty, i can depend on you; but what assurance can you give me in relation to her virtue?" "what assurance do you require?" said boubekir. "i must see her face," answered zeyn; "that is enough to determine my resolution." "you are skilled then in physiognomy?" replied the muezin, smiling. "well, come along with me to her father's: i will desire him to let you see her one moment in his presence." the muezin conducted the prince to the vizier's; who, as soon as he was acquainted with the prince's birth and design, called his daughter, and made her take off her veil. never had the young sultan of bussorah beheld such a perfect and striking beauty. he stood amazed; and since he could then try whether the maid was as chaste as fair, he pulled out his glass, which remained bright and unsullied. when he perceived he had at length found such a person as he desired, he entreated the vizier to grant her to him. immediately the cauzee was sent for, the contract signed, and the marriage prayer said. after this ceremony, zeyn conducted the vizier to his house, where he treated him magnificently, and gave him considerable presents. next day he sent a prodigious quantity of jewels by mobarec, who conducted the bride home, where the wedding was kept with all the pomp that became zeyn's quality. when all the company was dismissed mobarec said to his master, "let us begone, sir, let us not stay any longer at bagdad, but return to cairo: remember the promise you made the sultan of the genii." "let us go," answered the prince; "i must take care to perform it exactly; yet i must confess, my dear mobarec, that, if i obey the sultan of the genii, it is not without reluctance. the damsel i have married is so charming, that i am tempted to carry her to bussorah, and place her on the throne." "alas! sir," answered mobarec, "take heed how you give way to your inclination: make yourself master of your passions, and whatever it costs you, be as good as your word to the sultan of the genii." "well, then, mobarec," said the prince, "do you take care to conceal the lovely maid from me; let her never appear in my sight; perhaps i have already seen too much of her." mobarec made all ready for their departure; they returned to cairo, and thence set out for the island of the sultan of the genii. when they were arrived, the maid who had performed the journey in a horse-litter, and whom the prince had never seen since his wedding-day, said to mobarec, "where are we? shall we be soon in the dominions of the prince my husband?" "madam," answered mobarec, "it is time to undeceive you. prince zeyn married you only in order to get you from your father: he did not engage his faith to make you sovereign of bussorah, but to deliver you to the sultan of the genii, who has asked of him a virgin of your character." at these words, she began to weep bitterly, which moved the prince and mobarec. "take pity on me," said she; "i am a stranger, you will be accountable to god for your treachery towards me." her tears and complaints were of no effect, for she was presented to the sultan of the genii, who having gazed on her with attention, said to zeyn, "prince, i am satisfied with your behaviour; the virgin you have brought me is beautiful and chaste, and i am pleased with the restraint you have put upon yourself to be as good as your promise to me. return to your dominions, and when you shall enter the subterraneous room, where the eight statues are, you shall find the ninth which i promised you. i will make my genii carry it thither." zeyn thanked the sultan, and returned to cairo with mobarec, but did not stay long in egypt, for his impatience to see the ninth statue made him hasten his departure. however, he could not but often think regretfully of the young virgin he had married; and blaming himself for having deceived her, he looked upon himself as the cause and instrument of her misfortune. "alas!" said he to himself, "i have taken her from a tender father, to sacrifice her to a genie. o incomparable beauty! you deserve a better fate." sultan zeyn, disturbed with these thoughts, at length reached bussorah, where his subjects made extraordinary rejoicings for his return. he went directly to give an account of his journey to his mother, who was in a rapture to hear that he had obtained the ninth statue. "let us go, my son," said she, "let us go and see it, for it is certainly in the subterraneous chamber, since the sultan of the genii told you you should find it there." the young sultan and his mother, being both impatient to see the wonderful statue, went down into the room of the statues; but how great was their surprise, when, instead of a statue of diamonds, they beheld on the ninth pedestal a most beautiful virgin, whom the prince knew to be the same whom he had conducted into the island of the genii! "prince," said the young maid, "you are surprised to see me here; you expected to have found something more precious than me, and i question not but that you now repent having taken so much trouble: you expected a better reward." "madam," answered zeyn, "heaven is my witness, that i more than once had nearly broken my word with the sultan of the genii, to keep you to myself. whatever be the value of a diamond statue, is it worth the satisfaction of having you mine? i love you above all the diamonds and wealth in the world." just as he had done speaking, a clap of thunder was heard, which shook the subterranean place. zeyn's mother was alarmed, but the sultan of the genii immediately appearing, dispelled her fear. "madam," said he to her, "i protect and love your son: i had a mind to try, whether, at his age, he could subdue his passions. i know the charms of this young lady have wrought on him, and that he did not punctually keep the promise he had made me, not to desire her; but i am well acquainted with the frailty of human nature. this is the ninth statue i designed for him; it is more rare and precious than the others. "live," said he (directing his discourse to the young prince), "live happy, zeyn, with this young lady, who is your wife; and if you would have her true and constant to you, love her always, and love her only. give her no rival, and i will answer for her fidelity." having spoken these words, the sultan of the genii vanished, and zeyn, enchanted with the young lady, the same day caused her to be proclaimed queen of bussorah, over which they reigned in mutual happiness to an advanced age. the history of codadad, and his brothers. those who have written the history of diarbekir inform us that there formerly reigned in the city of harran a most magnificent and potent sultan, who loved his subjects, and was equally beloved by them. he was endued with all virtues, and wanted nothing to complete his happiness but an heir. though he had the finest women in the world in his seraglio, yet was he destitute of children. he continually prayed to heaven for them; and one night in his sleep, a comely person, or rather a prophet, appeared to him, and said, "your prayers are heard; you have obtained what you have desired; rise as soon as you awake, go to your prayers, and make two genuflexions, then walk into the garden of your palace, call your gardener, and bid him bring you a pomegranate, eat as many of the seeds as you please, and your wishes shall be accomplished." the sultan calling to mind his dream when he awoke, returned thanks to heaven, got up, prayed, made two genuflexions, and then went into his garden, where he took fifty pomegranate seeds, which he counted, and ate. he had fifty wives who shared his bed; they all proved with child; but there was one called pirouzè, who did not appear to be pregnant. he took an aversion to this lady, and would have her put to death. "her barrenness," said he, "is a certain token that heaven does not judge pirouzè worthy to bear a prince; it is my duty to deliver the world from an object that is odious to the lord." he would have executed his cruel purpose had not his vizier prevented him; representing to him that all women were not of the same constitution, and that it was not impossible but that pirouzè might be with child, though it did not yet appear. "well," answered the sultan, "let her live; but let her depart my court; for i cannot endure her." "your majesty," replied the vizier, "may send her to sultan samer, your cousin." the sultan approved of this advice; he sent pirouzè to samaria, with a letter, in which he ordered his cousin to treat her well, and, in case she proved with child, to give him notice of her being brought to bed. no sooner was pirouzè arrived in that country, than it appeared that she was pregnant, and at length she was delivered of a most beautiful prince. the prince of samaria wrote immediately to the sultan of harran, to acquaint him with the birth of a son, and to congratulate him on the occasion. the sultan was much rejoiced at this intelligence, and answered prince samer as follows: "cousin, all my other wives have each been delivered of a prince. i desire you to educate that of pirouzè, to give him the name of codadad, and to send him to me when i may apply for him." the prince of samaria spared nothing that might improve the education of his nephew. he taught him to ride, draw the bow, and all other accomplishments becoming the son of a sovereign; so that codadad, at eighteen years of age, was looked upon as a prodigy. the young prince, being inspired with a courage worthy of his birth, said one day to his mother, "madam, i begin to grow weary of samaria; i feel a passion for glory; give me leave to seek it amidst the perils of war. my father, the sultan of harran, has many enemies. why does he not call me to his assistance? why does he leave me here so long in obscurity? must i spend my life in sloth, when all my brothers have the happiness to be fighting by his side?" "my son," answered pirouzè, "i am no less impatient to have your name become famous; i could wish you had already signalized yourself against your father's enemies; but we must wait till he requires it." "no, madam," replied codadad, "i have already waited but too long. i burn to see the sultan, and am tempted to offer him my service, as a young stranger: no doubt but he will accept of it, and i will not discover myself, till i have performed some glorious actions: i desire to merit his esteem before he knows who i am." pirouzè approved of his generous resolutions, and codadad departed from samaria, as if he had been going to the chase, without acquainting prince samer, lest he should thwart his design. he was mounted on a white charger, who had a bit and shoes of gold, his housing was of blue satin embroidered with pearls; the hilt of his scimitar was of one single diamond, and the scabbard of sandal-wood, adorned with emeralds and rubies, and on his shoulder he carried his bow and quiver. in this equipage, which greatly set off his handsome person, he arrived at the city of harran, and soon found means to offer his service to the sultan; who being charmed with his beauty and promising appearance, and perhaps indeed by natural sympathy, gave him a favourable reception, and asked his name and quality. "sir," answered codadad, "i am son to an emir of grand cairo; an inclination to travel has made me quit my country, and understanding, in my passage through your dominions, that you were engaged in war, i am come to your court to offer your majesty my service." the sultan shewed him extraordinary kindness, and gave him a command in his army. the young prince soon signalized his bravery. he gained the esteem of the officers, and was admired by the soldiers. having no less wit than courage, he so far advanced himself in the sultan's esteem, as to become his favourite. all the ministers and other courtiers daily resorted to codadad, and were so eager to purchase his friendship, that they neglected the sultan's sons. the princes could not but resent this conduct, and imputing it to the stranger, all conceived an implacable hatred against him; but the sultan's affection daily increasing, he was never weary of giving him fresh testimonies of his regard. he always would have him near his person; admired his conversation, ever full of wit and discretion; and to shew his high opinion of his wisdom and prudence, committed to his care the other princes, though he was of the same age as they; so that codadad was made governor of his brothers. this only served to heighten their hatred. "is it come to this," said they, "that the sultan, not satisfied with loving a stranger more than us, will have him to be our governor, and not allow us to act without his leave? this is not to be endured. we must rid ourselves of this foreigner." "let us go together," said one of them, "and dispatch him." "no, no," answered another; "we had better be cautious how we sacrifice ourselves. his death would render us odious to the sultan, who in return would declare us all unworthy to reign. let us destroy him by some stratagem. we will ask his permission to hunt, and when at a distance from the palace, proceed to some other city, and stay there some time. the sultan will wonder at our absence, and perceiving we do not return, perhaps put the stranger to death, or at least will banish him from court, for suffering us to leave the palace." all the princes applauded this artifice. they went together to codadad, and desired him to allow them to take the diversion of hunting, promising to return the same day. pirouzè's son was taken in the snare, and granted the permission his brothers desired. they set out, but never returned. they had been three days absent, when the sultan asked codadad where the princes were, for it was long since he had seen them. "sir," answered codadad, after making a profound reverence, "they have been hunting these three days, but they promised me they would return sooner." the sultan grew uneasy, and his uneasiness increased when he perceived the princes did not return the next day. he could not check his anger: "indiscreet stranger," said he to codadad, "why did you let my sons go without bearing them company? is it thus you discharge the trust i have reposed in you? go, seek them immediately, and bring them to me, or your life shall be forfeited." these words chilled with alarm pirouzè's unfortunate son. he armed himself, departed from the city, and like a shepherd, who had lost his flock, searched the country for his brothers, inquiring at every village whether they had been seen: but hearing no news of them, abandoned himself to the most lively grief. "alas! my brothers," said he, "what is become of you? are you fallen into the hands of our enemies? am i come to the court of harran to be the occasion of giving the sultan so much anxiety?" he was inconsolable for having given the princes permission to hunt, or for not having borne them company. after some days spent in fruitless search, he came to a plain of prodigious extent, in the midst whereof was a palace built of black marble. he drew near, and at one of the windows beheld a most beautiful lady; but set off with no other ornament than her own charms; for her hair was dishevelled, her garments torn, and on her countenance appeared all the marks of the greatest affliction. as soon as she saw codadad, and judged he might hear her, she directed her discourse to him, saying, "young man, depart from this fatal place, or you will soon fall into the hands of the monster that inhabits it: a black, who feeds only on human blood, resides in this palace; he seizes all persons whom their ill-fate conducts to this plain, and shuts them up in his dark dungeons, whence they are never released, but to be devoured by him." "madam," answered codadad, "tell me who you are, and be not concerned for myself." "i am a young woman of quality of grand cairo," replied the lady; "i was passing by this castle yesterday, in my way to bagdad, and met with the black, who killed all my attendants, and brought me hither; i wish i had nothing but death to fear, but to add to my calamity, this monster would persuade me to love him, and, in case i do not yield to-morrow to his brutality, i must expect the last violence. once more," added she, "make your escape: the black will soon return; he is gone out to pursue some travellers he espied at a distance on the plain. lose no time; i know not whether you can escape him by a speedy flight." she had scarcely done speaking before the black appeared. he was of monstrous bulk, and of a dreadful aspect, mounted on a large tartar horse, and bore such a heavy scimitar, that none but himself could wield. the prince seeing him, was amazed at his gigantic stature, directed his prayers to heaven to assist him, then drew his scimitar, and firmly awaited his approach. the monster, despising so inconsiderable an enemy, called to him to submit without fighting. codadad by his conduct shewed that he was resolved to defend his life; for rushing upon him, he wounded him on the knee. the black, feeling himself wounded, uttered such a dreadful yell as made all the plain resound. he grew furious and foamed with rage, and raising himself on his stirrups, made at codadad with his dreadful scimitar. the blow was so violent, that it would have put an end to the young prince, had not he avoided it by a sudden spring. the scimitar made a horrible hissing in the air: but, before the black could have time to make a second blow, codadad struck him on his right arm, with such force, that he cut it off. the dreadful scimitar fell with the hand that held it, and the black yielding under the violence of the stroke, lost his stirrups, and made the earth shake with the weight of his fall. the prince alighted at the same time, and cut off his enemy's head. just then, the lady, who had been a spectator of the combat, and was still offering up her earnest prayers to heaven for the young hero, whom she admired, uttered a shriek of joy, and said to codadad, "prince (for the dangerous victory you have obtained, as well as your noble air, convinces me that you are of no common rank), finish the work you have begun; the black has the keys of this castle, take them and deliver me out of prison." the prince searched the wretch as he lay stretched on the ground, and found several keys. he opened the first door, and entered a court, where he saw the lady coming to meet him; she would have cast herself at his feet, the better to express her gratitude, but he would not permit her. she commended his valour, and extolled him above all the heroes in the world. he returned her compliments; and she appeared still more lovely to him near, than she had done at a distance. i know not whether she felt more joy at being delivered from the desperate danger she had been in, than he for having done so considerable a service to so beautiful a person. their conversation was interrupted by dismal cries and groans. "what do i hear?" said codadad: "whence come these miserable lamentations, which pierce my ears?" "my lord," said the lady to him, pointing to a little door in the court, "they come from thence. there are i know not how many wretched persons whom fate has thrown into the hands of the black. they are all chained, and the monster drew out one every day to devour." "it is an addition to my joy," answered the young prince, "to understand that my victory will save the lives of those unfortunate beings. come along with me, madam, to partake in the satisfaction of giving them their liberty. you may judge by your own feelings how welcome we shall be to them." having so said, they advanced towards the door of the dungeon, and the nearer they drew, the more distinctly they heard the lamentations of the prisoners. codadad pitying them, and impatient to put an end to their sufferings, presently put one of the keys into the lock. the noise made all the unfortunate captives, who concluded it was the black coming, according to custom, to seize one of them to devour, redouble their cries and groans. lamentable voices were heard, which seemed to come from the centre of the earth. in the mean time, the prince had opened the door; he went down a very steep staircase into a large and deep vault, which received some feeble light from a little window, and in which there were above a hundred persons, bound to stakes, and their hands tied. "unfortunate travellers," said he to them, "wretched victims, who only expected the moment of an approaching cruel death, give thanks to heaven, which has this day delivered you by my means. i have slain the black by whom you were to be devoured, and am come to knock off your chains." the prisoners hearing these words, gave a shout of mingled joy and surprise. codadad and the lady began to unbind them; and as soon as any of them were loose, they helped to take off the fetters from the rest; so that in a short time they were all at liberty. they then kneeled down, and having returned thanks to codadad for what he had done for them, went out of the dungeon; but when they were come into the court, how was the prince surprised to see among the prisoners, those he was in search of, and almost without hopes to find! "princes," cried he, "am i not deceived? is it you whom i behold? may i flatter myself that it may be in my power to restore you to the sultan your father, who is inconsolable for the loss of you? but will he not have some one to lament? are you all here alive? alas! the death of one of you will suffice to damp the joy i feel for having delivered you!" the forty-nine princes all made themselves known to codadad, who embraced them one after another, and told them how uneasy their father was on account of their absence. they gave their deliverer all the commendations he deserved, as did the other prisoners, who could not find words expressive enough to declare their gratitude. codadad, with them, searched the whole castle, where was immense wealth; curious silks, gold brocades, persian carpets, china satins, and an infinite quantity of other goods, which the black had taken from the caravans he had plundered, a considerable part whereof belonged to the prisoners codadad had then liberated. every man knew and claimed his property. the prince restored them their own, and divided the rest of the merchandise among them. then he said to them, "how will you carry away your goods? we are here in a desert place, and there is no likelihood of your getting horses." "my lord," answered one of the prisoners, "the black robbed us of our camels as well as our goods, and perhaps they may be in the stables of this castle." "this is not unlikely," replied codadad; "let us examine." accordingly they went to the stables, where they not only found the camels, but also the horses belonging to the sultan of harran's sons. there were some black slaves in the stables, who seeing all the prisoners released, and guessing thereby that their master had been killed, fled through by-ways well known to them. nobody minded to pursue them. all the merchants, overjoyed that they had recovered their goods and camels, together with their liberty, thought of nothing but prosecuting their journey; but first repeated their thanks to their deliverer. when they were gone, codadad, directing his discourse to the lady, said, "what place, madam, do you desire to go to? whither were you bound when you were seized by the black? i intend to bear you company to the place you shall choose for your retreat, and i question not but that all these princes will do the same." the sultan of harran's sons protested to the lady, that they would not leave her till she was restored to her friends. "princes," said she, "i am of a country too remote from hence; and, besides that, it would be abusing your generosity to oblige you to travel so far. i must confess that i have left my native country for ever. i told you that i was a lady of grand cairo; but since you have shewn me so much favour, and i am so highly obliged to you," added she, looking upon codadad, "i should be much in the wrong in concealing the truth from you; i am a sultan's daughter. an usurper has possessed himself of my father's throne, after having murdered him, and i have been forced to fly to save my life." codadad and his brothers requested the princess to tell them her story, assuring her they felt a particular interest in her misfortunes, and were determined to spare nothing that might contribute to render her more happy. after thanking them for their repeated protestations of readiness to serve her, she could not refuse to satisfy their curiosity, and began the recital of her adventures in the following manner. the history of the princess of deryabar. there was in a certain island a great city called deryabar, governed by a potent, magnificent, and virtuous sultan, who had no children, which was the only blessing wanting to make him happy. he continually addressed his prayers to heaven, but heaven only partially granted his requests, for the queen his wife, after a long expectation, brought forth a daughter. i am the unfortunate princess; my father was rather grieved than pleased at my birth; but he submitted to the will of god, and caused me to be educated with all possible care, being resolved, since he had no son, to teach me the art of ruling, that i might supply his place after his death. one day when he was taking the diversion of hunting, he espied a wild ass, which he chased, lost his company, and was carried away so far by his eagerness as to ride on till night. he then alighted, and sat down at the entrance of a wood, in which the ass had sheltered. no sooner was the day shut in than he discovered among the trees a light, which made him conclude that he was not far from some village; he rejoiced at this, hoping that he might pass the night there, and find some person to send to his followers and acquaint them where he was; accordingly he rose and walked towards the light, which served to guide him. he soon found he had been deceived, the light being no other than a fire blazing in a hut; however, he drew near, and, with amazement, beheld a black man, or rather a giant, sitting on a sofa. before the monster was a great pitcher of wine, and he was roasting an ox he had newly killed. sometimes he drank out of the pitcher, and sometimes cut slices off the ox and greedily devoured them. but what most attracted my father's attention was a beautiful woman whom he saw in the hut. she seemed overwhelmed with grief; her hands were bound, and at her feet was a little child about two or three years old, who, as if he was sensible of his mother's misfortunes, wept without ceasing, and rent the air with his cries. my father, moved with this pitiable object, thought at first to enter the hut and attack the giant; but considering how unequal the combat would be, he stopped, and resolved, since he had not strength enough to prevail by open force, to use art. in the mean time, the giant having emptied the pitcher, and devoured above half the ox, turned to the woman and said, "beautiful princess, why do you oblige me by your obstinacy to treat you with severity? it is in your own power to be happy. you need only resolve to love, and be true to me, and i shall treat you with more mildness." "thou hideous satyr," answered the lady, "never expect that time should wear away my abhorrence of thee. thou wilt ever be a monster in my eyes." to these words she added so many reproaches, that the giant grew enraged. "this is too much," cried he, in a furious tone; "my love despised is turned into rage. your hatred has at last excited mine; i find it triumphs over my desires, and that i now wish your death more ardently than your enjoyment." having spoken these words, he took the wretched lady by the hair, held her up with one hand in the air, and drawing his scimitar with the other, was just going to strike off her head, when the sultan my father let fly an arrow which pierced the giant's breast, so that he staggered, and dropped down dead. my father entered the hut, unbound the lady's hands, inquired who she was, and how she came thither. "my lord," said she, "there are along the sea-coast some families of saracens, who live under a prince who is my husband; this giant you have killed was one of his principal officers. the wretch fell desperately in love with me, but took care to conceal his passion, till he could put in execution the design he had formed of forcing me from home. fortune oftener favours wicked designs than virtuous resolutions. the giant one day surprised me and my child in a by-place. he seized us both, and to disappoint the search he well knew my husband would cause to be made for me, removed from the country inhabited by those saracens, and brought us into this wood, where he has kept me some days. deplorable as my condition is, it is still a great satisfaction to me to think that the giant, though so brutal, never used force to obtain what i always refused to his entreaties. not but that he has a hundred times threatened that he would have recourse to the worst of extremities, in case he could not otherwise prevail upon me; and i must confess to you, that awhile ago, when i provoked his anger by my words, i was less concerned for my life than for my honour. "this, my lord," said the prince of the saracens' wife, "is the faithful account of my misfortunes, and i question not but you will think me worthy of your compassion, and that you will not repent having so generously relieved me." "madam," answered my father, "be assured your troubles have affected me, and i will do all in my power to make you happy. to-morrow, as soon as day appears, we will quit this wood, and endeavour to fall into the road which leads to the great city of deryabar, of which i am sovereign; and if you think fit, you shall be lodged in my palace, till the prince your husband comes to claim you." the saracen lady accepted the offer, and the next day followed the sultan my father, who found all his retinue upon the skirts of the wood, they having spent the night in searching for him, and being very uneasy because they could not find him. they were no less rejoiced to meet with, than amazed to see him with a lady, whose beauty surprised them. he told them how he had found her, and the risk he had run in approaching the hut, where he must certainly have lost his life had the giant discovered him. one of his servants took up the lady behind him, and another carried the child. thus they arrived at the palace of my father, who assigned the beautiful saracen lady an apartment, and caused her child to be carefully educated. the lady was not insensible of the sultan's goodness to her, and expressed as much gratitude as he could desire. she had at first appeared very uneasy and impatient that her husband did not claim her; but by degrees she lost that uneasiness. the respect my father paid her dispelled her impatience; and i am of opinion she would at last have blamed fortune more for restoring her to her kindred, than she did for removing her from them. in the mean time the lady's son grew up; he was very handsome, and not wanting ability, found means to please the sultan my father, who conceived a great friendship for him. all the courtiers perceived it, and guessed that the young man might in the end be my husband. in this idea, and looking on him already as heir to the crown, they made their court to him, and every one endeavoured to gain his favour. he soon saw into their designs, grew conceited of himself, and forgetting the distance there was between our conditions, flattered himself with the hopes that my father was fond enough of him, to prefer him before all the princes in the world. he went farther; for the sultan not offering me to him as soon as he could have wished, he had the boldness to ask me of him. whatever punishment his insolence deserved, my father was satisfied with telling him he had other thoughts in relation to me, and shewed him no further resentment. the youth was incensed at this refusal; he resented the contempt, as if he had asked some maid of ordinary extraction, or as if his birth had been equal to mine. nor did he stop here, but resolved to be revenged on the sultan, and with unparalleled ingratitude conspired against him. in short, he murdered him, and caused himself to be proclaimed sovereign of deryabar. the first thing he did after the murder of my father was to come into my apartment, at the head of a party of the conspirators. his design was either to take my life or oblige me to marry him. the grand vizier, however, who had been always loyal to his master, while the usurper was butchering my father, came to carry me away from the palace, and secured me in a friend's house, till a vessel he had provided was ready to sail. i then left the island, attended only by a governess and that generous minister, who chose rather to follow his master's daughter, and share her misfortunes, than to submit to a tyrant. the grand vizier designed to carry me to the courts of the neighbouring sultans, to implore their assistance, and excite them to revenge my father's death; but heaven did not concur in a resolution we thought so just. when we had been but a few days at sea, there arose such a furious storm, that, in spite of all the mariners' art, our vessel, carried away by the violence of the winds and waves, was dashed in pieces against a rock. i will not spend time in describing our shipwreck. i can but faintly represent to you how my governess, the grand vizier, and all that attended me, were swallowed up by the sea. the dread i was seized with did not permit me to observe all the horror of our condition. i lost my senses; and whether i was thrown upon the coast upon any part of the wreck, or whether heaven, which reserved me for other misfortunes, wrought a miracle for my deliverance, i found myself on shore when my senses returned. misfortunes very often make us forget our duty. instead of returning thanks to god for so singular a favour shewn me, i only lifted up my eyes to heaven, to complain because i had been preserved. i was so far from bewailing the vizier and my governess, that i envied their fate, and dreadful imaginations by degrees prevailing over my reason, i resolved to cast myself into the sea; i was on the point of doing so, when i heard behind me a great noise of men and horses. i looked about to see what it might be, and espied several armed horsemen, among whom was one mounted on an arabian horse. he had on a garment embroidered with silver, a girdle set with precious stones, and a crown of gold on his head. though his habit had not convinced me that he was chief of the company, i should have judged it by the air of grandeur which appeared in his person. he was a young man extraordinarily well shaped, and perfectly beautiful. surprised to see a young lady alone in that place, he sent some of his officers to ask who i was. i answered only by weeping. the shore being covered with the wreck of our ship, they concluded that i was certainly some person who had escaped from the vessel. this conjecture, and my inconsolable condition, excited the curiosity of the officers, who began to ask me a thousand questions, with assurances, that their master was a generous prince, and that i should receive protection at his court. the sultan, impatient to know who i was, grew weary of waiting the return of his officers, and drew near to me. he gazed on me very earnestly, and observing that i did not cease weeping and afflicting myself, without being able to return an answer to their questions, he forbad them troubling me any more; and directing his discourse to me, "madam," said he, "i conjure you to moderate your excessive affliction. though heaven in its dispensations has laid this calamity upon you, it does not behove you to despair. i beseech you shew more resolution. fortune, which has hitherto persecuted you, is inconstant, and may soon change. i dare assure you, that, if your misfortunes are capable of receiving any relief, you shall find it in my dominions. my palace is at your service. you shall live with the queen my mother, who will endeavour by her kindness to ease your affliction. i know not yet who you are; but i find i already take an interest in your welfare." i thanked the young sultan for his goodness to me, accepted his obliging offers; and to convince him that i was not unworthy of them, told him my condition. i described to him the insolence of the young saracen, and found it was enough to recount my misfortunes, to excite compassion in him and all his officers, who heard me. when i had done speaking, the prince began again, assuring me that he was deeply concerned at my misfortunes. he then conducted me to his palace, and presented me to the queen his mother, to whom i was obliged again to repeat my misfortunes and to renew my tears. the queen seemed very sensible of my trouble, and conceived extreme affection for me. on the other hand, the sultan her son fell desperately in love with me, and soon offered me his person and his crown. i was so taken up with the thoughts of my calamities, that the prince, though so lovely a person, did not make so great an impression on me as he might have done at another time. however, gratitude prevailing, i did not refuse to make him happy, and our nuptials were concluded with all imaginable splendour. while the people were taken up with the celebration of their sovereign's nuptials, a neighbouring prince, his enemy, made a descent by night on the island with a great number of troops. that formidable enemy was the king of zanguebar. he surprised and cut to pieces my husband's subjects. he was very near taking us both. we escaped very narrowly, for he had already entered the palace with some of his followers, but we found means to slip away, and to get to the seacoast, where we threw ourselves into a fishing boat which we had the good fortune to meet with. two days we were driven about by the winds, without knowing what would become of us. the third day we espied a vessel making towards us under sail. we rejoiced at first, believing it had been a merchant ship which might take us aboard; but what was our consternation, when, as it drew near, we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck. having boarded, five or six of them leaped into our boat, seized us, bound the prince, and conveyed us into their ship, where they immediately took off my veil. my youth and features touched them, and they all declared how much they were charmed at the sight of me. instead of casting lots, each of them claimed the preference, and me as his right. the dispute grew warm, they came to blows, and fought like madmen. the deck was soon covered with dead bodies, and they were all killed but one, who being left sole possessor of me, said, "you are mine. i will carry you to grand cairo, to deliver you to a friend of mine, to whom i have promised a beautiful slave. but who," added he, looking upon the sultan my husband, "is that man? what relation does he bear to you? are you allied by blood or love?" "sir," answered i, "he is my husband." "if so," replied the pirate, "in pity i must rid myself of him: it would be too great an affliction to him to see you in my friend's arms." having spoken these words, he took up the unhappy prince, who was bound, and threw him into the sea, notwithstanding all my endeavours to prevent him. i shrieked in a dreadful manner at the sight of what he had done, and had certainly cast myself headlong into the sea, but that the pirate held me. he saw my design, and therefore bound me with cords to the main-mast, then hoisting sail, made towards the land, and got ashore. he unbound me and led me to a little town, where he bought camels, tents, and slaves, and then set out for grand cairo, designing, as he still said, to present me to his friend, according to his promise. we had been several days upon the road, when, as we were crossing this plain yesterday, we descried the black who inhabited this castle. at a distance we took him for a tower, and when near us, could scarcely believe him to be a man. he drew his huge scimitar, and summoned the pirate to yield himself prisoner, with all his slaves, and the lady he was conducting. the pirate was daring; and being seconded by his slaves, who promised to stand by him, he attacked the black. the combat lasted a considerable time; but at length the pirate fell under his enemy's deadly blows, as did all his slaves, who chose rather to die than forsake him. the black then conducted me to the castle, whither he also brought the pirate's body, which he devoured that night. after his inhuman repast, perceiving that i ceased not weeping, he said to me, "young lady, prepare to love me, rather than continue thus to afflict yourself. make a virtue of necessity, and comply. i will give you till to-morrow to consider. let me then find you comforted for all your misfortunes, and overjoyed at having been reserved for me." having spoken these words, he conducted me to a chamber, and withdrew to his own, after locking up the castle gates. he opened them this morning, and presently locked them after him again, to pursue some travellers he perceived at a distance; but it is likely they made their escape, since he was returning alone, and without any booty, when you attacked him. as soon as the princess had finished the recital of her adventures, codadad declared to her that he was deeply concerned at her misfortunes. "but, madam," added he, "it shall be your own fault if you do not live at ease for the future. the sultan of harran's sons offer you a safe retreat in the court of their father; be pleased to accept of it. you will be there cherished by that sovereign, and respected by all; and if you do not disdain the affection of your deliverer, permit me to assure you of it, and to espouse you before all these princes; let them be witnesses to our contract." the princess consented, and the marriage was concluded that very day in the castle, where they found all sorts of provisions. the kitchens were full of flesh and other eatables the black used to feed on, when he was weary of feeding on human bodies. there was also a variety of fruits, excellent in their kinds; and, to complete their pleasure, abundance of delicious wine and other liquors. they all sat down at table; and after having eaten and drunk plentifully, took with them the rest of the provisions, and set out for the sultan of harran's court: they travelled several days, encamping in the pleasantest places they could find, and were within one day's journey of harran, when having halted and drunk all their wine, being under no longer concern to make it hold out, codadad directing his discourse to all his company, said "princes, i have too long concealed from you who i am. behold your brother codadad! i have received my being, as well as you, from the sultan of harran, the prince of samaria brought me up, and the princess pirouzè is my mother. madam," added he, addressing himself to the princess of deryabar, "do you also forgive me for having concealed my birth from you? perhaps, by discovering it sooner, i might have prevented some disagreeable reflections, which may have been occasioned by a match you may have thought unequal." "no, sir," answered the princess, "the opinion i at first conceived of you heightened every moment, and you did not stand in need of the extraction you now discover to make me happy." the princes congratulated codadad on his birth, and expressed much satisfaction at being made acquainted with it. but in reality, instead of rejoicing, their hatred of so amiable a brother was increased. they met together at night, whilst codadad and the princess his wife lay asleep in their tent. those ungrateful, those envious brothers, forgetting that had it not been for the brave son of pirouzè they must have been devoured by the black, agreed among themselves to murder him. "we have no other course to choose," said one of them, "for the moment our father shall come to understand that this stranger of whom he is already so fond, is our brother, and that he alone has been able to destroy a giant, whom we could not all of us together conquer, he will declare him his heir, to the prejudice of all his brothers, who will be obliged to obey and fall down before him." he added much more, which made such an impression on their envious and unnatural minds, that they immediately repaired to codadad, then asleep, stabbed him repeatedly, and leaving him for dead in the arms of the princess of deryabar, proceeded on their journey for the city of harran, where they arrived the next day. the sultan their father conceived the greater joy at their return, because he had despaired of ever seeing them again: he asked what had been the occasion of their stay? but they took care not to acquaint him with it, making no mention either of the black or of codadad; and only said, that, being curious to see different countries, they had spent some time in the neighbouring cities. in the mean time codadad lay in his tent weltering in his blood, and little differing from a dead man, with the princess his wife, who seemed to be in not much better condition than himself. she rent the air with her dismal shrieks, tore her hair, and bathing her husband's body with her tears, "alas! codadad, my dear codadad," cried she, "is it you whom i behold just departing this life? what cruel hands have put you into this condition? can i believe these are your brothers who have treated you so unmercifully, those brothers whom thy valour had saved? no, they are rather devils, who under characters so dear came to murder you. o barbarous wretches! how could you make so ungrateful a return for the service he has done you? but why should i complain of your brothers, unfortunate codadad! i alone am to blame for your death. you would join your fate with mine, and all the ill fortune that has attended me since i left my father's palace has fallen upon you. o heaven! which has condemned me to lead a life of calamities, if you will not permit me to have a consort, why did you permit me to find one? behold you have now robbed me of two, just as i began to be attached to them." by these and other moving expressions, the afflicted princess of deryabar vented her sorrow, fixing her eyes on the unfortunate codadad, who could not hear her; but he was not dead, and his consort observing that he still breathed, ran to a large town she espied in the plain, to inquire for a surgeon. she was directed to one, who went immediately with her; but when they came to the tent, they could not find codadad, which made them conclude he had been dragged away by some wild beast to be devoured. the princess renewed her complaints and lamentations in a most affecting manner. the surgeon was moved and being unwilling to leave her in so distressed a condition, proposed to her to return to the town offering her his house and service. she suffered herself to be prevailed on. the surgeon conducted her to his house, and without knowing, as yet, who she was, treated her with all imaginable courtesy and respect. he used all his endeavours to comfort her, but it was vain to think of removing her sorrow, which was rather heightened than diminished. "madam," said he to her one day, "be pleased to recount to me your misfortunes; tell me your country and your condition. perhaps i may give you some good advice, when i am acquainted with all the circumstances of your calamity. you do nothing but afflict yourself, without considering that remedies may be found for the most desperate diseases." the surgeon's words were so efficacious, that they wrought on the princess, who recounted to him all her adventures: and when she had done, the surgeon directed his discourse to her; "madam," said he, "you ought not thus to give way to your sorrow; you ought rather to arm yourself with resolution, and perform what the name and the duty of a wife require of you. you are bound to avenge your husband. if you please, i will wait on you as your attendant. let us go to the sultan of harran's court; he is a good and a just prince. you need only represent to him in lively colours, how prince codadad has been treated by his brothers. i am persuaded he will do you justice." "i submit to your reasons," answered the princess; "it is my duty to endeavour to avenge codadad; and since you are so generous as to offer to attend me, i am ready to set out." no sooner had she fixed this resolution, than the surgeon ordered two camels to be made ready, on which the princess and he mounted, and repaired to harran. they alighted at the first caravanserai they found, and inquired of the host the news at court. "it is," said he, "in very great perplexity. the sultan had a son, who lived long with him as a stranger, and none can tell what is become of the young prince. one of the sultan's wives, named pirouzè, is his mother; she has made all possible inquiry, but to no purpose. all are concerned at the loss of this prince, because he had great merit. the sultan has forty-nine other sons, all by different mothers, but not one of them has virtue enough to comfort him for the death of codadad; i say, his death, because it is impossible he should be still alive, since no intelligence has been heard of him, notwithstanding so much search has been made." the surgeon having heard this account from the host, concluded that the best course the princess of deryabar could take was to wait upon pirouzè; but that step was not without some danger, and required much precaution: for it was to be feared, that if the sultan of harran's sons should happen to hear of the arrival of their sister-in-law, and her design, they might cause her to be conveyed away before she could discover herself to codadad's mother. the surgeon weighed all these circumstances, considered what risk he might run himself, and therefore, that he might manage matters with discretion, desired the princess to remain in the caravanserai, whilst he repaired to the palace, to observe which might be the safest way to conduct her to pirouzè. he went accordingly into the city, and was walking towards the palace, like one led only by curiosity to see the court, when he beheld a lady mounted on a mule richly accoutred. she was followed by several ladies mounted also on mules, with a great number of guards and black slaves. all the people formed a lane to see her pass along, and saluted her by prostrating themselves on the ground. the surgeon paid her the same respect, and then asked a calender, who happened to stand by him, "whether that lady was one of the sultan's wives?" "yes, brother," answered the calender, "she is, and the most honoured and beloved by the people, because she is the mother of prince codadad, of whom you must have heard." the surgeon asked no more questions, but followed pirouzè to a mosque, into which she went to distribute alms, and assist at the public prayers which the sultan had ordered to be offered up for the safe return of codadad. the people, who were highly concerned for that young prince, ran in crowds to join their vows to the prayers of the priests, so that the mosque was quite full. the surgeon broke through the throng, and advanced to pirouzè's guards. he waited the conclusion of the prayers, and when the princess went out, stepped up to one of her slaves, and whispered him in the ear, "brother, i have a secret of moment to impart to the princess pirouzè; may not i, by your means, be introduced into her apartment?" "if that secret," answered the slave, "relate to prince codadad, i dare promise you shall have audience of her this very day; but if it concern not him, it is needless for you to endeavour to be introduced; for her thoughts are all engrossed by her son, and she will not hear of any other subject." "it is only about that dear son," replied the surgeon, "that i wish to speak to her." "if so," said the slave, "you need only follow us to the palace, and you shall soon have the opportunity." accordingly, as soon as pirouzè was returned to her apartment, the slave acquainted her that a person unknown had some important information to communicate to her, and that it related to prince codadad. no sooner had he uttered these words, than pirouzè expressed her impatience to see the stranger. the slave immediately conducted him into the princess's closet, who ordered all her women to withdraw, except two, from whom she concealed nothing. as soon as she saw the surgeon, she asked him eagerly, what news he had to tell her of codadad? "madam," answered the surgeon, after having prostrated himself on the ground, "i have a long account to give you, and such as will surprise you." he then related all the particulars of what had passed between codadad and his brothers, which she listened to with eager attention; but when he came to speak of the murder, the tender mother fainted away on her sofa, as if she had herself been stabbed like her son. her two women used proper means, and soon brought her to herself. the surgeon continued his relation; and when he had concluded, pirouzè said to him, "go back to the princess of deryabar, and assure her from me that the sultan shall soon own her for his daughter-in-law; and as for yourself, be satisfied, that your services shall be rewarded as liberally as they deserve." when the surgeon was gone, pirouzè remained on the sofa, in such a state of affliction as may easily be imagined; and yielding to her tenderness at the recollection of codadad, "o my son," said she, "i must never then expect to see you more! alas! when i gave you leave to depart from samaria, and you took leave of me, i did not imagine that so unfortunate a death awaited you at such a distance from me. unfortunate codadad! why did you leave me? you would not, it is true, have acquired so much renown, but you had been still alive, and not have cost your mother so many tears." while she uttered these words, she wept bitterly, and her two attendants moved by her grief, mingled their tears with hers. whilst they were all three in this manner vying in affliction, the sultan came into the closet, and seeing them in this condition, asked pirouzè whether she had received any bad news concerning codadad? "alas! sir," said she, "all is over, my son has lost his life, and to add to my sorrow, i cannot pay him the funeral rites; for, in all probability, wild beasts have devoured him." she then told him all she had heard from the surgeon, and did not fail to enlarge on the inhuman manner in which codadad had been murdered by his brothers. the sultan did not give pirouzè time to finish her relation, but transported with anger, and giving way to his passion, "madam," said he to the princess, "those perfidious wretches who cause you to shed these tears, and are the occasion of mortal grief to their father, shall soon feel the punishment due to their guilt." the sultan having spoken these words, with indignation in his countenance, went directly to the presence-chamber where all his courtiers attended, and such of the people as had petitions to present to him. they were alarmed to see him in passion, and thought his anger had been kindled against his people. their hearts were chilled with fear. he ascended the throne, and causing his grand vizier to approach, "hassan," said he, "go immediately, take a thousand of my guards, and seize all the princes, my sons; shut them up in the tower used as a prison for murderers, and let this be done in a moment." all who were present trembled at this extraordinary command; and the grand vizier, without uttering a word, laid his hand on his head, to express his obedience, and hastened from the hall to execute his orders. in the mean time the sultan dismissed those who attended for audience, and declared he would not hear of any business for a month to come. he was still in the hall when the vizier returned. "are all my sons," demanded he, "in the tower?" "they are, sir," answered the vizier, "i have obeyed your orders." "this is not all," replied the sultan, "i have further commands for you;" and so saying he went out of the hall of audience, and returned to pirouzè's apartment, the vizier following him. he asked the princess where codadad's widow had taken up her lodging? pirouzè's women told him, for the surgeon had not forgotten that in his relation. the sultan then turning to his minister, "go," said he, "to this caravanserai, and conduct a young princess who lodges there, with all the respect due to her quality, to my palace." the vizier was not long in performing what he was ordered. he mounted on horseback with all the emirs and courtiers, and repaired to the caravanserai, where the princess of deryabar was lodged, whom he acquainted with his orders; and presented her, from the sultan, a fine white mule, whose saddle and bridle were adorned with gold, rubies, and diamonds. she mounted, and proceeded to the palace. the surgeon attended her, mounted on a beautiful tartar horse which the vizier had provided for him. all the people were at their windows, or in the streets, to see the cavalcade; and it being given out that the princess, whom they conducted in such state to court, was codadad's wife, the city resounded with acclamations, the air rung with shouts of joy, which would have been turned into lamentations had that prince's fatal adventure been known; so much was he beloved by all. the princess of deryabar found the sultan at the palace-gate, waiting to receive her: he took her by the hand, and led her to pirouzè's apartment, where a very moving scene took place. codadad's wife found her affliction redouble at the sight of her husband's father and mother; as, on the other hand, those parents could not look on their son's wife without being much affected. she cast herself at the sultan's feet, and having bathed them with tears, was so overcome with grief, that she was not able to speak. pirouzè was in no better state. and the sultan, moved by these affecting objects, gave way to his own feelings, and wept. all three, mingling their tears and sighs, for some time observed a silence, equally tender and pitiful. at length the princess of deryabar, being somewhat recovered, recounted the adventure of the castle, and codadad's disaster. then she demanded justice for the treachery of the princes. "yes, madam," said the sultan, "those ungrateful wretches shall perish; but codadad's death must be first made public, that the punishment of his brothers may not cause my subjects to rebel; and though we have not my son's body, we will not omit paying him the last duties." this said, he directed his discourse to the vizier, and ordered him to cause to be erected a dome of white marble, in a delightful plain, in the midst of which the city of harran stands. then he appointed the princess of deryabar a suitable apartment in his palace, acknowledging her for his daughter-in-law. hassan caused the work to be carried on with such diligence, and employed so many workmen, that the dome was soon finished. within it was erected a tomb, which was covered with gold brocade. when all was completed, the sultan ordered prayers to be said, and appointed a day for the obsequies of his son. on that day all the inhabitants of the city went out upon the plain to see the ceremony performed, which was after the following manner. the sultan, attended by his vizier and the principal lords of the court, proceeded towards the dome, and being come to it, he went in and sat down with them on carpets of black satin embroidered with gold flowers. a great body of horse-guards hanging their heads, drew up close about the dome, and marched round it twice, observing a profound silence; but at the third round they halted before the door, and all of them with a loud voice pronounced these words: "o prince! son to the sultan, could we by dint of sword, and human valour, repair your misfortune, we would bring you back to life; but the king of kings has commanded, and the angel of death has obeyed." having uttered these words, they drew off, to make way for a hundred old men, all of them mounted on black mules, and having long grey beards. these were anchorites, who had lived all their days concealed in caves. they never appeared in sight of the world, but when they were to assist at the obsequies of the sultans of harran, and of the princes of their family. each of these venerable persons carried on his head a book, which he held with one hand. they took three turns round the dome without uttering a word; then stopping before the door, one of them said, "o prince! what can we do for thee? if thou couldst be restored to life by prayer or learning, we would rub our grey beards at thy feet, and recite prayers; but the king of the universe has taken thee away for ever." this said, the old men moved to a distance from the dome, and immediately fifty beautiful young maidens drew near to it; each of them mounted on a little white horse; they wore no veils, and carried gold baskets full of all sorts of precious stones. they also rode thrice round the dome, and halting at the same place as the others had done, the youngest of them spoke in the name of all, as follows: "o prince! once so beautiful, what relief can you expect from us? if we could restore you to life by our charms, we would become your slaves. but you are no longer sensible to beauty, and have no more occasion for us." when the young maids were withdrawn, the sultan and his courtiers arose, and having walked thrice around the tomb, the sultan spoke as follows: "o my dear son, light of my eyes, i have then lost thee for ever!" he accompanied these words with sighs, and watered the tomb with his tears; his courtiers weeping with him. the gate of the dome was then closed, and all the people returned to the city. next day there were public prayers in all the mosques, and the same was continued for eight days successively. on the ninth the king resolved to cause the princes his sons to be beheaded. the people incensed at their cruelty towards codadad, impatiently expected to see them executed. the scaffolds were erecting, but the execution was respited, because, on a sudden, intelligence was brought that the neighbouring princes, who had before made war on the sultan of harran, were advancing with more numerous forces than on the first invasion, and were then not far from the city. it had been long known that they were preparing for war, but their preparations caused no alarm. this news occasioned general consternation, and gave new cause to lament the loss of codadad, who had signalized himself in the former war against the same enemies. "alas!" said they, "were the brave codadad alive, we should little regard those princes who are coming to surprise us." the sultan, nothing dismayed, raised men with all possible speed, formed a considerable army, and being too brave to await the enemy's coming to attack him within his walls, marched out to meet them. they, on their side, being informed by their advanced parties that the sultan of harran was marching to engage them, halted in the plain, and formed their army. as soon as the sultan discovered them, he also drew up his forces, and ranged them in order of battle. the signal was given and he attacked them with extraordinary vigour; nor was the opposition inferior. much blood was shed on both sides, and the victory remained long dubious; but at length it seemed to incline to the sultan of harran's enemies, who, being more numerous, were upon the point of surrounding him, when a great body of cavalry appeared on the plain, and approached the two armies. the sight of this fresh party daunted both sides, neither knowing what to think of them: but their doubts were soon cleared; for they fell upon the flank of the sultan of harran's enemies with such a furious charge, that they soon broke and routed them. nor did they stop here; they pursued them, and cut most of them in pieces. the sultan of harran, who had attentively observed all that passed, admired the bravery of this strange body of cavalry, whose unexpected arrival had given the victory to his army. but, above all, he was charmed with their chief, whom he had seen fighting with a more than ordinary valour. he longed to know the name of the generous hero. impatient to see and thank him, he advanced towards him, but perceived he was coming to prevent him. the two princes drew near, and the sultan of harran discovering codadad in the brave warrior who had just assisted him, or rather defeated his enemies, became motionless with joy and surprise. "father," said codadad to him, "you have sufficient cause to be astonished at the sudden appearance before your majesty of a man, whom perhaps you concluded to be dead. i should have been so had not heaven preserved me still to serve you against your enemies." "o my son!" cried the sultan, "is it possible that you are restored to me? alas! i despaired of seeing you more." so saying he stretched out his arms to the young prince, who flew to such a tender embrace. "i know all, my son," said the sultan again, after having long held him in his arms. "i know what return your brothers have made you for delivering them out of the hands of the black; but you shall be revenged to-morrow. let us now go to the palace where your mother, who has shed so many tears on your account, expects me to rejoice with us for the defeat of our enemies. what a joy will it be to her to be informed, that my victory is your work!" "sir," said codadad, "give me leave to ask how you could know the adventure of the castle? have any of my brothers, repenting, owned it to you?" "no," answered the sultan; "the princess of deryabar has given us an account of every thing, for she is in my palace and came thither to demand justice against your brothers." codadad was transported with joy, to learn that the princess his wife was at the court. "let us go, sir," cried he to his father in rapture, "let us go to my mother, who waits for us. i am impatient to dry up her tears, as well as those of the princess of deryabar." the sultan immediately returned to the city with his army, and re-entered his palace victorious, amidst the acclamations of the people, who followed him in crowds, praying to heaven to prolong his life, and extolling codadad to the skies. they found pirouzè and her daughter-in-law waiting to congratulate the sultan; but words cannot express the transports of joy they felt, when they saw the young prince with him: their embraces were mingled with tears of a very different kind from those they had before shed for him. when they had sufficiently yielded to all the emotions that the ties of blood and love inspired, they asked codadad by what miracle he came to be still alive? he answered, that a peasant mounted on a mule happening accidentally to come into the tent, where he lay senseless, and perceiving him alone, and stabbed in several places, had made him fast on his mule, and carried him to his house, where he applied to his wounds certain herbs chewed, which recovered him. "when i found myself well," added he, "i returned thanks to the peasant, and gave him all the diamonds i had. i then made for the city of harran; but being informed by the way, that some neighbouring princes had gathered forces, and were on their march against the sultan's subjects, i made myself known to the villagers, and stirred them up to undertake his defence. i armed a great number of young men, and heading them, happened to arrive at the time when the two armies were engaged." when he had done speaking, the sultan said, "let us return thanks to god for having preserved codadad; but it is requisite that the traitors, who would have destroyed him, should perish." "sir," answered the generous prince, "though they are wicked and ungrateful, consider they are your own flesh and blood: they are my brothers; i forgive their offence, and beg you to pardon them." this generosity drew tears from the sultan, who caused the people to be assembled and declared codadad his heir. he then ordered the princes, who were prisoners, to be brought out loaded with irons. pirouzè's son struck off their chains, and embraced them all successively, with as much sincerity and affection as he had done in the court of the black's castle. the people were charmed with codadad's generosity, and loaded him with applause. the surgeon was next nobly rewarded in requital of the services he had done the princess of deryabar. the story of abou hassan, or the sleeper awakened. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a very rich merchant, who, having married a woman advanced in years, had but one son, whom he named abou hassan, and educated with great restraint: when his son was thirty years old, the merchant dying, left him his sole heir, and master of great riches, amassed together by much frugality and close application to business. abou hassan, whose views and inclinations were very different from those of his father, determined to make another use of his wealth; for as his father had never allowed him any money but what was just necessary for subsistence, and he had always envied those young persons of his age who wanted for nothing, and who debarred themselves from none of those pleasures to which youth are so much addicted, he resolved in his turn to distinguish himself by extravagancies proportionable to his fortune. to this end he divided his riches into two parts; with one half he bought houses in town, and land in the country, with a resolution never to touch the income of his real estate, which was considerable enough to live upon .very handsomely, but lay it all by as he received it. with the other half, which consisted of ready money, he designed to make himself amends for the time he had lost by the severe restraint in which his father had always kept him. with this intent, abou hassan formed a society with youths of his own age and condition, who thought of nothing but how to make their time pass agreeably. every day he gave them splendid entertainments, at which the most delicate viands were served up, and the most exquisite wines flowed in profusion, while concerts of the best vocal and instrumental music by performers of both sexes heightened their pleasures, and this young band of debauchees with the glasses in their hands, joined their songs with the music. these feasts were accompanied by ballets, for which the best dancers of both sexes were engaged. these entertainments, renewed every day, were so expensive to abou hassan, that he could not support the extravagance above a year: and the great sum which he had appropriated to this prodigality and the year ended together. as soon as he discontinued keeping this table, his friends forsook him; whenever they saw him they avoided him, and if by chance he met any of them, and went to stop them, they always excused themselves on some presence or other. abou hassan was more affected by this behaviour of his friends, who had forsaken him so basely and ungratefully, after all the protestations they had made him, of inviolable attachment, than by the loss of all the money he had so foolishly squandered. he went melancholy and thoughtful, his countenance expressive of deep vexation, into his mother's apartment, and sat down on the end of a sofa at a distance from her. "what is the matter with you, son?" said his mother, seeing him thus depressed. "why are you so altered, so dejected, and so different from yourself? you could not certainly be more concerned, if you had lost all you had. i know you have lived very extravagantly, and believe all your money is spent; you have still, however, a good estate; and the reason that i did not so much oppose your irregular way of living was, that i knew the wise precaution you had taken to preserve half your property. i do not, therefore, see why you should plunge yourself into this deep melancholy." at these words abou hassan melted into tears; and in the midst of his sighs exclaimed, "ah! mother, i see at last how insupportable poverty must be; i am sensible that it deprives us of joy, as the setting of the sun does of light. as poverty makes us forget all the commendations passed upon us before our fall, it makes us endeavour to conceal ourselves, and spend our nights in tears and sorrow. in short, a poor man is looked upon, both by friends and relations, as a stranger. you know, mother, how i have treated my friends for this year past; i have entertained them with all imaginable generosity, till i have spent all my money, and now they have left me, when they suppose i can treat them no longer. for my real estate, i thank heaven for having given me grace to keep the oath i made not to encroach upon that. i shall now know how to use what is left. but i will, however, try how far my friends, who deserve not that i should call them so, will carry their ingratitude. i will go to them one after another, and when i have represented to them what i have done on their account, ask them to make up a sum of money, to relieve me, merely to try if i can find any sentiment of gratitude remaining in them." "i do not pretend, son," said abou hassan's mother, "to dissuade you from your design; but i can tell you beforehand, that you have no ground for hope. believe me, you will kind no relief but from the estate you have reserved. i see you do not, but will soon, know those people, who, among persons of your sort, are generally called friends, and i wish to heaven you may know it in the manner i desire, for your own good." "mother," replied abou hassan, "i am persuaded of the truth of what you say, but shall be more certain of a fact which concerns me so nearly, when i shall have informed myself fully of their baseness and insensibility." abou hassan went immediately to his friends, whom he found at home; represented to them the great need he was in, and begged of them to assist him. he promised to give bonds to pay them the money they might lend him; giving them to understand at the same time, that it was, in a great measure, on their account that he was so distressed. that he might the more powerfully excite their generosity, he forgot not to allure them with the hopes of being once again entertained in the same manner as before. not one of his companions was affected with the arguments which the afflicted abou hassan used to persuade them; and he had the mortification to find, that many of them told him plainly they did not know him. he returned home full of indignation; and going into his mother's apartment, said, "ah! madam, you were right; instead of friends, i have found none but perfidious ungrateful wretches, who deserve not my friendship; i renounce them, and promise you i will never see them more." he resolved to be as good as his word, and took every precaution to avoid falling again into the inconvenience which his former prodigality had occasioned; taking an oath never to give an inhabitant of bagdad any entertainment while he lived. he drew the strong box into which he had put the rents received from his estates from the recess where he had placed it in reserve, put it in the room of that he had emptied, and resolved to take out every day no more than was sufficient to defray the expense of a single person to sup with him, who, according to the oath he had taken, was not of bagdad, but a stranger arrived in the city the same day, and who must take his leave of him the following morning. conformably to this plan, abou hassan took care every morning to provide whatever was necessary, and towards the close of the evening, went and sat at the end of bagdad bridge; and as soon as he saw a stranger, accosted him civilly invited him to sup and lodge with him that night, and after having informed him of the law he had imposed upon himself, conducted him to his house. the repast with which abou hassan regaled his guests was not costly, but well dressed, with plenty of good wine, and generally lasted till the night was pretty far advanced; instead of entertaining his guests with the affairs of state, his family, or business, as is too frequent, he conversed on different agreeable subjects. he was naturally of so gay and pleasant a temper, that he could give the most agreeable turns to every subject, and make the most melancholy persons merry. when he sent away his guest the next morning, he always said, "god preserve you from all sorrow wherever you go; when i invited you yesterday to come and sup with me, i informed you of the law i have imposed on myself; therefore do not take it ill if i tell you that we must never see one another again, nor drink together, either at home or any where else, for reasons best known to myself: so god conduct you." abou hassan was very exact in the observance of this oath, and never looked upon or spoke to the strangers he had once entertained; if he met them afterwards in the streets, the squares, or any public assemblies, he affected not to see them, and turned away to avoid them, that they might not speak to him, or he have any communication with them. he had acted for a long time in this manner, when, one afternoon, a little before sunset, as he sat upon the bridge according to custom, the caliph haroon al rusheed came by, but so disguised that it was impossible to know him; for that monarch, though his chief ministers and officers of justice acquitted themselves of their duty very punctually, would nevertheless inform himself of every thing, and for that purpose often disguised himself in different ways, and walked through the city and suburbs of bagdad, sometimes one way and sometimes another. that day, being the first of the month, he was dressed like a merchant of moussul, and was followed by a tall stout slave. as the caliph had in his disguise a grave and respectable appearance, abou hassan, who thought him to be a moussul merchant, rose up, and after having saluted him with a graceful air, said to him, "sir, i congratulate you on your happy arrival in bagdad, i beg you to do me the honour to sup with me, and repose yourself at my house for this night, after the fatigue of your journey." he then told him his custom of entertaining the first stranger he met with. the caliph found something so odd and singular in abou hassan's whim, that he was very desirous to know the cause; and told him that he could not better merit a civility, which he did not expect as a stranger, than by accepting the obliging offer made him; that he had only to lead the way, and he was ready to follow him. abou hassan treated the caliph as his equal, conducted him home, and led him into a room very neatly furnished, where he set him on a sofa, in the most honourable place. supper was ready, and the cloth laid. abou hassan's mother, who took upon herself the care of the kitchen, sent up three dishes; the first contained a capon and four large pullets, which was set in the middle; and the second and third, placed on each side, contained, one a fat roasted goose, and the other broiled pigeons. this was all; but they were good of the kind and well flavoured, with proper sauces. abou hassan sat down opposite his guest, and he and the caliph began to eat heartily of what they liked best, without speaking or drinking, according to the custom of the country. when they had done eating, the caliph's slave brought them water to wash their hands: and in the mean time abou hassan's mother cleared the table, and brought up a dessert of all the various sorts or fruits then in season; as grapes, peaches, apples, pears, and various pastes of dried almonds, &c. as soon as it grew dark, wax candles were lighted, and abou hassan, after requesting his mother to take care of the caliph's slave, set on bottles and glasses. abou hassan sitting down with the pretended moussul merchant again, filled out a glass of wine before he touched the fruit; and holding it in his hand, said to the caliph, "you know, sir, that the cock never drinks before he calls to his hens to come and drink with him; i invite you to follow my example. i do not know what you may think; but, for my part, i cannot reckon him a wise man who does not love wine. let us leave that sort of people to their dull melancholy humours, and seek for mirth, which is only to be found in a bumper." while abou hassan was drinking' the caliph taking the glass that was set for him, said, "you are an honest fellow; i like your pleasant temper, and expect you will fill me as much." abou hassan, as soon as he had drunk, filled the caliph's glass, and giving it to him, "taste this wine, sir," said he, "i will warrant it good." "i am well persuaded of that," replied the caliph, laughing, "you know how to choose the best." "o," replied abou hassan, while the caliph was drinking his glass, "one need only look in your face to be assured that you have seen the world, and know what good living is. if," added he in arabic verse, "my house could think and express its joy, how happy would it be to possess you, and, bowing before you, would exclaim, �how overjoyed am i to see myself honoured with the company of so accomplished and polite a personage, and for meeting with a man of your merit.'" the caliph, naturally fond of merriment, was highly diverted with these sallies of abou hassan, and artfully promoted drinking, often asking for wine, thinking that when it began to operate, he might from his talkativeness satisfy his curiosity. he asked him his name, his business, and how he spent his life. "my name, sir," replied he, "is abou hassan. i lost my father, who was a merchant of bagdad, and though not the richest, yet lived very comfortably. when he died, he left me money enough to live free from business; but as he always kept a very strict hand over me, i was willing, when he was gone, to make up for the time i thought i had lost. notwithstanding this," continued abou hassan, "i was more prudent than most young people who give themselves up to debauchery, without any thought, pursue it till they reduce themselves to the utmost poverty, and are forced to do penance during the rest of their lives. to avoid this misfortune, i divided what i had left me into two parts, landed estate and ready money. i destined the ready money to supply the expenses of entertaining my acquaintance. i meditated, and took a fixed resolution not to touch my rents. i associated with young people of my own age, and with my ready money, which i spent profusely, treated them splendidly every day; and in short, spared for no sort of pleasure. but this course did not last long; for by the time the year was out, i had got to the bottom of my box, and then all my table-friends vanished. i made a visit to every one of them successively, and represented to them the miserable condition i was in, but none of them offered to relieve me. upon this i renounced their friendship, and retrenched so far, as to live within the compass of my income, bound myself to keep company with none but the first stranger i might meet with coming every day into bagdad, and to entertain him but one day and one night. i have told you the rest before; and i thank my good fortune this day for having met with a stranger of so much worth." the caliph was well satisfied with this information, and said to abou hassan, "i cannot enough commend the measures you have taken, and the prudence with which you have acted, by forsaking your debauchery; a conduct rarely to be met with in young persons; and i esteem you the more for being steady to your resolution. it was a slippery path you trod in, and i cannot but admire your self-command, that, after having seen the end of your ready money, you could so far refrain as not to enter upon your rents, or even your estate. in short, i must own, i envy your situation. you are the happiest man in the world, to enjoy every day the company of some one with whom you can discourse freely and agreeably, and to whom you give an opportunity to declare, wherever he goes, how handsome he was received by you. but we talk too long without drinking; come, drink, and pour out a glass for me." in this manner the caliph and abou hassan conversed together, drinking and talking of indifferent subjects, till the night was pretty far advanced; when the caliph, pretending to be fatigued after his journey, told his host he stood in need of a little rest. "but," added he, "as i would not deprive you of yours on my account, before we part (because to-morrow i may be gone before you are stirring), i should be glad to shew you how sensible i am of your civility, and the good cheer and hospitality you have strewn me. the only thing that troubles me is, that i know not which way to make you any acknowledgment. i beg of you, therefore, to let me understand how i may do it' and you shall see i will not be ungrateful; for it is impossible but a man like you must have some business, some want, or wish for something agreeable to you. speak freely, and open your mind; for though i am but a merchant, it may be in my power to oblige you myself, or by some friend." to these offers of the caliph, abou hassan, taking him still for a moussul merchant, replied, "i am very well persuaded, sir, that it is not out of compliment that you make me these generous tenders; but upon the word of an honest man, i assure you, i have nothing that troubles me, no business, nor desires, and i ask nothing of any body. i have not the least ambition, as i told you before; and am satisfied with my condition: therefore, i can only thank you for your obliging proffers, and the honour you have done me in condescending to partake of my frugal fare. yet i must tell you," pursued abou hassan, "there is one thing gives me uneasiness, without, however, disturbing my rest. you must know the town of bagdad is divided into quarters, in each of which there is a mosque with an imaum to perform service at certain hours, at the head of the quarter which assembles there. the imaum of the division i live in is a surly curmudgeon, of an austere countenance, and the greatest hypocrite in the world. four old men of this neighbourhood, who are people of the same stamp, meet regularly every day at this imaum's house. there they vent their slander, calumny, and malice against me and the whole quarter, to the disturbance of the peace of the neighbourhood, and the promotion of dissension. some they threaten, others they frighten; and, in short, would be lords paramount, and have every one govern himself according to their caprice, though they know not how to govern themselves. indeed, i am sorry to see that they meddle with any thing but their koraun, and will not let the world live quietly." "well, i suppose," said the caliph, "you wish to have a stop put to this disorder?" "you have guessed right," answered abou hassan; "and the only thing i should pray for, would be to be caliph but for one day, in the stead of our sovereign lord and master haroon al rusheed, commander of the faithful." "what would you do if you were?" said the caliph. "i would make examples of them," answered abou hassan, "to the satisfaction of all honest men. i would punish the four old men with each a hundred bastinadoes on the soles of their feet, and the imaum with four hundred, to teach them not to disturb and abuse their neighbours in future." the caliph was extremely pleased with this thought of abou hassan's; and as he loved adventures, resolved to make this a very singular one. "indeed," said he, "i approve much of your wish, which proceeds from an upright heart, that cannot bear the malice of such officious hypocrites; i could like to see it realized, and it is not so impossible as you may imagine. i am persuaded that the caliph would willingly put his authority for twenty-four hours into your hands if he knew your intentions, and the good use you would make of it. though a foreign merchant, i have credit enough to contribute in some degree to the execution of this plan." "i see," said abou hassan, "you laugh at my foolish fancy, and the caliph himself would laugh at my extravagance if he knew it: yet it would be a means of informing him of the behaviour of the imaum and his companions, and induce him to chastise them." "heaven forbid," replied the caliph, "that i, who have been so handsomely entertained by you, should laugh at you; neither do i believe, as much a stranger as i am to you, that the caliph would be displeased: but let us leave off talking; it is almost midnight, and time to go to bed." "with all my heart," said abou hassan; "i would not be any hindrance to your going to rest; but there is still some wine in the bottle, and if you please we will drink it off first, and then retire. the only thing that i have to recommend to you is, that when you go out in the morning, if i am not up, you will not leave the door open, but give yourself the trouble of shutting it after you." this the caliph promised to do: and while abou hassan was talking, took the bottle and two glasses, filled his own first, saying, "here is a cup of thanks to you," and then filling the other, put into it artfully a little opiate powder, which he had about him and giving it to abou hassan, said, "you have taken the pains to fill for me all night, and it is the least i can do to save you the trouble once: i beg you to take this glass; drink it off for my sake." abou hassan took the glass, and to shew his guest with how much pleasure he received the honour, drank it off at once; but had scarcely set the glass upon the table, when the powder began to operate; he fell into so sound a sleep, and his head knocked against his knees so suddenly, that the caliph could not help laughing. the caliph commanded the slave he had brought with him, who entered the room as soon as he had supped, and had waited to receive orders, to take abou hassan upon his back, and follow him; but to be sure to observe the house, that he might know it again. in this manner the caliph, followed by the slave with his sleeping load, went out of the house, but without shutting the door after him as he had been desired, went directly to his palace, and by a private door into his own apartment, where the officers of his chamber were in waiting, whom he ordered to undress abou hassan, and put him into his bed, which they immediately performed. the caliph then sent for all the officers and ladies of the palace, and said to them, "i would have all those whose business it is to attend my levee wait to-morrow morning upon the man who lies in my bed, pay the same respect to him as to myself, and obey him in whatever he may command; let him be refused nothing that he asks, and be addressed and answered as if he were the commander of the faithful. in short, i expect that you attend to him as the true caliph, without regarding me; and disobey him not in the least circumstance." the officers and ladies, who understood that the caliph meant to divert himself, answered by low bows, and then withdrew, every one preparing to contribute to the best of their power to perform their respective parts adroitly. the caliph next sent for the grand vizier: "jaaffier," said he, "i have sent for you to instruct you, and to prevent your being surprised to-morrow when you come to audience, at seeing this man seated on my throne in the royal robes: accost him with the same reverence and respect as you pay to myself: observe and punctually execute whatever he bids you do, the same as if i commanded you. he will exercise great liberality, and commission you with the distribution of it. do all he commands; even if his liberality should extend so far as to empty all the coffers in my treasury; and remember to acquaint all my emirs, and the officers without the palace, to pay him the same honour at audience as to myself, and to carry on the matter so well, that he may not perceive the least thing that may interrupt the diversion which i design myself." after the grand vizier had retired, the caliph went to bed in another apartment, and gave mesrour, the chief of his eunuchs, the orders which he was to execute, that every thing should succeed as he intended, so that he might see how abou hassan would use the power and authority of the caliph for the short time he had desired to have it. above all, he charged him not to fail to awaken him at the usual hour, before he awakened abou hassan, because he wished to be present when he arose. mesrour failed not to do as the caliph had commanded, and as soon as the caliph went into the room where abou hassan lay, he placed himself in a little raised closet, from whence he could see all that passed. all the officers and ladies, who were to attend abou hassan's levee, went in at the same time, and took their posts according to their rank, ready to acquit themselves of their respective duties, as if the caliph himself had been going to rise. as it was just day-break, and time to prepare for the morning prayer before sun rise, the officer who stood nearest to the head of the bed put a sponge steeped in vinegar to abou hassan's nose, who immediately turning his head about, without opening his eyes, discharged a kind of phlegm, which was received in a little golden basin before it fell on the carpet. this was the usual effect of the caliph's powder, the sleep lasting longer or shorter, in proportion to the dose. when abou hassan laid down his head on the bolster, he opened his eyes; and by the dawning light that appeared, found himself in a large room, magnificently furnished, the ceiling of which was finely painted in arabesque, adorned with vases of gold and silver, and the floor covered with a rich silk tapestry. he saw himself surrounded by many young and handsome ladies, many of them having instruments of music in their hands, and black eunuchs richly clothed, all standing with great modesty and respect. after casting his eyes on the covering of the bed, he perceived it was cloth of gold richly embossed with pearl and diamonds; and near the bed lay, on a cushion, a habit of tissue embroidered with jewels, with a caliph's turban. at the sight of these glittering objects, abou hassan was in the most inexpressible amazement, and looked upon all he saw as a dream; yet a dream he wished it not to be. "so," said he to himself, "i am caliph; but," added he, recollecting himself, "it is only a dream, the effect of the wish i entertained my guest with last night ;" and then he turned himself about and shut his eyes to sleep. at the same time the eunuch said very respectfully, "commander of the faithful, it is time for your majesty to rise to prayers, the morning begins to advance." these words very much surprised abou hassan. "am i awake, or do i sleep?" said he to himself. "ah, certainly i am asleep!" continued he, keeping his eyes shut; "there is no reason to doubt of it." immediately the eunuch, who saw he had no inclination to get up, said again, "your majesty must permit me to repeat once more that it is time to rise to morning prayer, unless you choose to let it pass; the sun is just rising, and you never neglect this duty." "i am mistaken," said abou hassan immediately, "i am not asleep, but awake; for those who sleep do not hear, and i hear somebody speak to me;" then opening his eyes again, he saw plainly by broad day-light, what he had seen but indistinctly before; and started up, with a smiling countenance, like a man overjoyed at sudden promotion. the caliph, from his recess, penetrated his thoughts with great delight. the young ladies of the palace now prostrated themselves with their faces to the ground before abou hassan, and those who had instruments of music in their hands wished him a good morrow, by a concert of soft flutes, hautboys, theorboes, and other harmonious instruments, with which he was enchanted, and in such an ecstacy, that he knew not whether he was himself; but reverting to his first idea, he still doubted whether what he saw and heard was a dream or reality. he clapped his hands before his eyes, and lowering his head, said to himself, "what means all this? where am i? and to whom does this palace belong? what can these eunuchs, handsome well-dressed officers, beautiful ladies, and musicians mean: how is it possible for me to distinguish whether i am in my right senses or in a dream?" when he took his hands from his eyes, opened them, and lifted up his head, the sun shone full in at the chamber window; and at that instant mesrour, the chief of the eunuchs, came in, prostrated himself before abou hassan, and said, "commander of the faithful, your majesty will excuse me for representing to you, that you used not to rise so late, and that the time of prayer is over. if your majesty has not had a bad night, it is time to ascend your throne and hold a council as usual; all your generals, governors, and other great officers of state, wait your presence in the council-hall." at this discourse, abou hassan was persuaded that he was neither asleep nor in a dream; but at the same time was not less embarrassed and confused under his uncertainty what steps to take: at last, looking earnestly at mesrour, he said to him in a serious tone, "whom is it you speak to, and call the commander of the faithful? i do not know you, and you must mistake me for somebody else." any person but mesrour would have been puzzled at these questions of abou hassan; but he had been so well instructed by the caliph, that he played his part admirably. "my imperial lord and master," said he, "your majesty only speaks thus to try me. is not your majesty the commander of the faithful, monarch of the world from east to west, and vicar on earth to the prophet sent of god? mesrour, your poor slave, has not forgotten you, after so many years that he has had the honour and happiness to serve and pay his respects to your majesty. he would think himself the most unhappy of men, if he has incurred your displeasure, and begs of you most humbly to remove his fears; but had rather suppose that you have been disturbed by some troublesome dream." abou hassan burst out laughing at these words, and fell backwards upon the bolster, which pleased the caliph so much that he would have laughed as loud himself, if he had not been afraid of putting a stop too soon to the pleasant scene he had promised himself. abou hassan, when he had tired himself with laughing, sat up again, and speaking to a little eunuch that stood by him, black as mesrour, said, "hark ye, tell me whom i am?" "sir," answered the little boy, modestly, "your majesty is the commander of the believers, and god's vicar on earth." "you are a little liar, black face," said abou hassan. then he called the lady that stood nearest to him; "come hither, fair one," said he, holding out his hand, "bite the end of my finger, that i may feel whether i am asleep or awake." the lady, who knew the caliph saw all that passed, was overjoyed to have an opportunity of strewing her power of diverting him, went with a grave countenance, and putting his finger between her teeth, bit it so hard that she put him to violent pain. snatching his hand quickly back again, he said, "i find i am awake and not asleep. but by what miracle am i become caliph in a night's time! this is certainly the most strange and surprising event in the world!" then addressing himself to the same lady, he said, "i conjure you, by the protection of god, in whom you trust as well as i, not to hide the truth from me; am i really the commander of the faithful?" "it is so true," answered the lady, "that we who are your slaves are amazed to find that you will not believe yourself to be so." "you are a deceiver," replied abou hassan: "i know very well who i am." as the chief of the eunuchs perceived that abou hassan now wished to rise, he offered him his hand, and helped him to get out of bed. no sooner were his feet set on the floor, than the chamber rang with the repeated acclamations of the officers and ladies, who cried out all together, "commander of the faithful, god give your majesty a good day." "o heaven!" cried abou hassan, "what a strange thing this is! last night i was abou hassan, and this morning i am the commander of the believers! i cannot comprehend this sudden and surprising change." presently some of the officers began to dress him; and when they had done, mesrour led him through all the eunuchs and ladies, who were ranged on both sides, quite to the council chamber door, which was opened by one of the officers. mesrour walked before him to the foot of the throne, where he stopped, and putting one hand under one arm, while another officer who followed did the same by the other, they helped him to ascend the throne. abou hassan sat down amidst the acclamations of the officers, who wished him all happiness and prosperity, and turning to the right and left he saw the officers of the guards ranged in order, and making a fine appearance. the caliph in the mean time came out of the closet, and went into another, which looked into the hall, from whence he could see and hear all that passed in council, where his grand vizier presided in his place. what pleased him highly, was to see abou hassan fill his throne with almost as much gravity as himself. as soon as abou hassan had seated himself, the grand vizier prostrated himself at the foot of the throne, and rising, said, "commander of the faithful, god shower down blessings on your majesty in this life, receive you into his paradise in the other world, and confound your enemies." abou hassan, after all that had happened that morning, at these words of the grand vizier, never doubted but that he was caliph, as he wished to be; and without examining any farther, how or by what adventure, or sudden change of fortune, he had become so, immediately began to exercise his power, and looking very gravely at the vizier, asked him what he had to say? "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "the emirs, vizier, and other officers of your council, wait without till your majesty gives them leave to pay their accustomed respects." abou hassan ordered the door to be opened, and the grand vizier addressing himself to the officers in waiting, said, "chief of the door- keepers, the commander of the faithful orders you to do your duty." when the door was opened, the viziers, emirs, and principal officers of the court, all dressed magnificently in their habits of ceremony, went in their order to the foot of the throne, paid their respects to abou hassan; and bowing their heads down to the carpet, saluted him with the title of commander of the faithful, according to the instructions of the grand vizier, and afterwards took their seats. when this ceremony was over, and they were all placed, there was a profound silence. the grand vizier always standing before the throne, began according to the order of papers in his hand to make his report of affairs, which at that time were of very little consequence. nevertheless, the caliph could not but admire how abou hassan acquitted himself in his exalted station without the least hesitation or embarrassment, and decided well in all matters, as his own good sense suggested. but before the grand vizier had finished his report, abou hassan perceived the judge of the police, whom he knew by sight, sitting in his place. "stop," said he, to the grand vizier, interrupting him; "i have an order of consequence to give to the judge of the police." the judge of the police perceiving that abou hassan looked at him, and hearing his name mentioned, arose from his seat, and went gravely to the foot of the throne, where he prostrated himself with his face to the ground. "judge of the police," said abou hassan, "go immediately to such a quarter, where you will find a mosque, seize the imaum and four old grey beards, give each of the old men a hundred bastinadoes, and the imaum four hundred. after that, mount them all five, clothed in rags, on camels, with their faces to the tails, and lead them through the whole city, with a crier before them, who shall proclaim with a loud voice, �this is the punishment of all those who trouble their heads with other people's affairs, make it their business to create disturbances and misunderstandings in families in their neighbourhood, and do them all the mischief in their power.' my intention is also, that you enjoin them to leave that quarter, and never to set foot in it more: and while your lieutenant is conducting them through the town, return, and give me an account of the execution of my orders." the judge of the police laid his hand upon his head, to shew his obedience, and prostrating himself a second time retired to execute the mandate. the caliph was highly pleased at the firmness with which this order was given, and perceived that abou hassan was resolved not to lose the opportunity of punishing the imaum and the other four old hypocrites of his quarter. in the mean time the grand vizier went on with his report, and had just finished, when the judge of the police came back from executing his commission. he approached the throne with the usual ceremony, and said, "commander of the faithful, i found the imaum and his four companions in the mosque, which your majesty pointed out; and as a proof that i have punctually obeyed your commands, i have brought an instrument signed by the principal inhabitants of the ward." at the same time he pulled a paper out of his bosom, and presented it to the pretended caliph. abou hassan took the paper, and reading it over cautiously with the names of the witnesses, who were all people he knew, said to the judge of the police, smiling, "it is well; i am satisfied; return to your seat." "these old hypocrites," said he to himself, with an air of satisfaction "who thought fit to censure my actions, and find fault with my entertaining honest people, deserved this punishment." the caliph all the time penetrated his thoughts, and felt inconceivable delight at his frolic. abou hassan, then addressing himself to the grand vizier, said, "go to the high treasurer for a purse of a thousand pieces of gold, and carry it to the mother of one abou hassan, who is known by the name of the debauchee; she lives in the same quarter to which i sent the judge of the police. go, and return immediately." the grand vizier, after laying his hand upon his head, and prostrating himself before the throne, went to the high treasurer, who gave him the money, which he ordered a slave to take, and to follow him to abou hassan's mother, to whom he gave it, saying only, "the caliph makes you this present." she received it with the greatest surprise imaginable. during the grand vizier's absence, the judge of the police made the usual report of his office, which lasted till the vizier returned. as soon as he came into the council-chamber, and had assured abou hassan that he had executed his orders, mesrour, the chief of the eunuchs, made a sign to the viziers, the emirs, and other officers, that the council was over, and that they might all retire; which they did, by making the same prostration at the foot of the throne as when they entered. abou hassan descended from the caliph's throne, and mesrour went before him, to shew him the way into an inner apartment, where there was a table spread; several eunuchs ran to tell the musicians that the sham caliph was coming, when they immediately began a concert of vocal and instrumental music, with which abou hassan was so charmed and transported, that he could not tell what to think of all he saw and heard. "if this is a dream," said he, "it is a long one. but certainly," continued he, "it is no dream; for i can see and feel, walk and hear, and argue reasonably; whatever it is, i trust in god; i cannot but believe that i am the commander of the faithful, for no other person could live in this splendour. the honour and respect that has been strewn me, and the obedience paid to my commands, are sufficient proofs of my exaltation." in short, abou hassan took it for granted that he was the commander of the faithful; but was still more convinced of it when he entered a magnificent and spacious hall, which was finely painted with the brightest colours intermixed with gold. seven bands of female musicians, more beautiful than the others, were placed round the hall, and as many gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which was painted with blue and gold, intermixed with wonderful effect. in the middle of the hall was spread a table covered with massive gold plates and dishes, which scented the apartment with the spices and amber wherewith the meat was seasoned; and seven young and most beautiful ladies, dressed in the richest habits of the most vivid colours, stood round this table, each with a fan in her hand, to fan abou hassan when at dinner. if ever mortal was charmed, abou hassan was when he entered this stately hall. at every step he took, he could not help stopping to contemplate at leisure all the wonders that regaled his eyes, and turned first to one side, and then to the other; which gave the caliph, who viewed him with attention, very great pleasure. at last he sat down at the table, and presently all the ladies began to fan the new caliph. he looked first at one, then at another, and admired the grace with which they acquitted themselves. he told them with a smile, that he believed one of them was enough to give him all the air he wanted, and would have six of the ladies sit at table with him, three on his right hand, and three on his left; and he placed them so, that as the table was round, which way soever he turned, his eyes might be saluted with agreeable objects. the six ladies obeyed; and abou hassan taking notice, that out of respect they did not eat, helped them himself, and invited them to eat in the most pressing and obliging terms. afterwards he asked their names, which they told him were alabaster neck, coral lips, moon face, sunshine, eye's delight, heart's delight, and she who fanned him was sugar cane. the many soft things he said upon their names shewed him to be a man of sprightly wit, and it is not to be conceived how much it increased the esteem which the caliph (who saw every thing) had already conceived for him. when the ladies observed that abou hassan had done eating, one of them said to the eunuchs who waited, "the commander of the faithful will go into the hall where the dessert is laid; bring some water;" upon which they all rose from the table, and taking from the eunuch, one a gold basin, another an ewer of the same metal, and a third a towel, kneeled before abou hassan, and presented them to him to wash his hands. as soon as he had done, he got up, and after an eunuch had opened the door, went, preceded by mesrour, who never left him, into another hall, as large as the former, adorned with paintings by the best masters, and furnished with gold and silver vessels, carpets, and other rich furniture. there seven different bands of music began a concert as soon as abou hassan appeared. in this hall there were seven large lustres, a table in the middle covered with dried sweetmeats, the choicest and most exquisite fruits of the season, raised in pyramids, in seven gold basins; and seven ladies more beautiful than the others standing round it, each with a fan in her hand. these new objects raised still greater admiration in abou hassan; who, after he had made a full stop, and given the most sensible marks of surprise and astonishment, went directly to the table, where sitting down, he gazed a considerable time at the seven ladies, with an embarrassment that plainly shewed he knew not to which to give the preference. at last he ordered them all to lay aside their fans and sit down, and eat with him, telling them that it was not so hot, but he could spare them that trouble. when the ladies were all placed about him, the first thing he did was to ask their names, which were different from the other seven, and expressed some perfection of mind or body, which distinguished them from one another: upon which he took an opportunity, when he presented them with fruit, &c., to say something gallant. "eat this fig for my sake," said he to chain of hearts, who sat on his right hand; "and render the fetters, with which you loaded me the first moment i saw you, more supportable." then, presenting a bunch of grapes to soul's torment, "take this cluster of grapes," said he, "on condition you instantly abate the torments which i suffer for your sake;" and so on to the rest. by these sallies abou hassan more and more amused the caliph, who was delighted with his words and actions, and pleased to think he had found in him a man who diverted him so agreeably. after abou hassan had tasted all the fruits in the basin, he got up and followed mesrour into a third hall, much more magnificently furnished than the other two; where he was received by the same number of musicians and ladies, who stood round a table covered with all manner of wet sweetmeats. after he had looked about him with new wonder, he advanced to the table, the music playing all the time till he sat down. the seven ladies, by his order, sat down with him, helped themselves, as he desired, to what they liked best; and he afterwards informed himself of their names, which pleased him as much as the others had done, and led him to say as many soft things to them, to the great diversion of the caliph, who lost not a word. by this time the day beginning to close, abou hassan was conducted into a fourth hall, much more superb and magnificently furnished, lighted with wax in seven gold lustres, which gave a splendid light. abou hassan found the same number of musicians here as he had done in the three other halls, performing in concert in the most agreeable manner, and seeming to inspire greater joy; and he saw as many ladies standing round a table covered with seven gold basins filled with cakes, dried sweetmeats, and all such relishes as were calculated to promote drinking. there he saw, which he had not observed in any of the other halls, a sideboard set out with seven large silver flagons full of the choicest wines, and by them seven crystal glasses of the finest workmanship. hitherto, in the three first halls, abou hassan had drunk nothing but water, according to the custom observed at bagdad, from the highest to the lowest and at the caliph's court, never to drink wine till the evening; all who transgress this rule being accounted debauchees, who dare not shew themselves in the day- time. this custom is the more laudable, as it requires a clear head to apply to business in the course of the day; and as no wine is drunk till evening, no drunken people are seen in the streets in open day creating disturbance in the city. as soon as abou hassan entered the fourth hall, he went to the table, sat down, and was a long time in a kind of ecstasy at the sight of the seven ladies who surrounded him, and were much more beautiful than any he had beheld in the other halls. he was very desirous to know their names; but as the music played so loud, and particularly the tambour, that he could not hear them speak, he clapped his hands for the musicians to cease, when a profound silence ensued. taking by the hand the lady who stood on the right next to him, he made her sit down by him, and presenting her with a cake, asked her name. "commander of the faithful," said the lady, "i am called cluster of pearls." "no name," replied abou hassan, "could have more properly expressed your worth; and indeed your teeth exceed the finest pearls. cluster of pearls," added he, "since that is your name, oblige me with a glass of wine from your fair hand." the lady went to the sideboard and brought him a glass of wine, which she presented to him with a pleasant air. abou hassan took the glass with a smile, and looking passionately at her, said, "cluster of pearls, i drink your health; i desire you to fill out as much for yourself, and pledge me." she ran to the sideboard, and returned with a glass in her hand; but before she drank, she sung a song, which charmed him as much by the sweetness of her voice as by its novelty. after abou hassan had drunk, he made another lady sit down by him, and presenting her with what she chose in the basins, asked her name, which she told him was morning star. "your bright eyes," said he, "shine with greater lustre than that star whose name you bear. do me the pleasure to bring me some wine," which she did with the best grace in the world. then turning to the third lady, whose name was day-light, he ordered her to do the same, and so on to the seventh, to the extreme satisfaction of the caliph. when they had all filled him a glass round, cluster of pearls, whom he had just addressed, went to the sideboard, poured out a glass of wine, and putting in a pinch of the same powder the caliph had used the night before, presented it to abou hassan; "commander of the faithful," said she, "il beg of your majesty to take this glass of wine, and before you drink it, do me the favour to hear a song i have composed to-day, and which i flatter myself will not displease you. i never sung it before." "with all my heart," said abou hassan, taking the glass, "and, as commander of the faithful, i command you to sing it; for i am persuaded that so beautiful a lady cannot compose a song which does not abound with wit and pleasantry." the lady took a lute, and tuning it to her voice, sung with so much justness, grace, and expression, that abou hassan was in perfect ecstasy all the time, and was so much delighted, that he ordered her to sing it again, and was as much charmed with it as at first. when the lady had concluded, abou hassan drank off his glass, and turned his head towards her to give her those praises which he thought she merited, but was prevented by the opiate, which operated so suddenly, that his mouth was instantly wide open, and his eyes close shut, and dropping his head on the cushions, he slept as profoundly as the day before when the caliph had given him the powder. one of the ladies stood ready to catch the glass, which fell out of his hand; and then the caliph, who enjoyed greater satisfaction in this scene than he had promised himself, and was all along a spectator of what had passed, came into the hall to them, overjoyed at the success of his plan. he ordered abou hassan to be dressed in his own clothes, and carried back to his house by the slave who had brought him, charging him to lay him on a sofa in the same room, without making any noise, and to leave the door open when he came away. the slave took abou hassan upon his shoulders, carried him home by a back door of the palace, placed him in his own house as he was ordered, and returned with speed, to acquaint the caliph. "well," said the caliph, "abou hassan wished only to be caliph for one day, to punish the imaum of the mosque of his quarter, and the four old men who had displeased him: i have procured him the means of doing this, and he ought to be content." in the mean time, abou hassan, who was laid upon his sofa by the slave, slept till very late the next morning. when the powder was worked off, he awoke, opened his eyes, and finding himself at home, was in the utmost surprise. "cluster of pearls! morning star! coral lips! moon face!" cried he, calling the ladies of the palace by their names, as he remembered them; "where are you? come hither." abou hassan called so loud, that his mother, who was in her own apartment, heard him, and running to him upon the noise he made, said "what ails you, son? what has happened to you?" at these words abou hassan lifted up his head, and looking haughtily at his mother, said, "good woman! who is it you call son?" "why you," answered his mother very mildly; "are not you abou hassan my son? it is strange that you have forgotten yourself so soon." "i your son! old bull!" replied abou hassan; "you are a liar, and know not what you say! i am not abou hassan, i tell you, but the commander of the faithful!" "hold your tongue, son," answered the mother "one would think you are a fool, to hear you talk thus." "you are an old fool yourself," replied abou hassan; "i tell you once more i am the commander of the faithful, and god's vicar on earth!" "ah! child," cried the mother, "is it possible that i should hear you utter such words that shew you are distracted! what evil genius possesses you, to make you talk at this rate? god bless you, and preserve you from the power of satan. you are my son abou hassan, and i am your mother." after she had used all the arguments she could think of to bring him to himself, and to shew how great an error he was in, she said, "do not you see that the room you are now in is your own, and is not like a chamber in a palace fit for the commander of the believers? and that you have never left it since you were born, but lived quietly at home with me. think seriously of what i say, and do not fancy things that are not, nor ever can be. once more, my son, think seriously of it." abou hassan heard all these remonstrances of his mother very patiently, holding down his eyes, and clapping his hands under his chin, like a man recollecting himself, to examine the truth of what he saw and heard. at last, he said to his mother, just as if he was awaking out of a deep sleep, and with his hand in the same posture, "i believe you are right, methinks i am abou hassan, you are my mother, and i am in my own room." then looking at her again, and at every object before him, he added, "i am abou hassan, there is no doubt of it, and i cannot comprehend how this fancy came into my head." the mother really believed that her son was cured of the disorder of his mind, which she ascribed to a dream, began to laugh with him, and ask him questions about it; when suddenly he started up, and looking crossly at his mother, said, "old sorceress, you know not what you say. i am not your son, nor you my mother. you deceive yourself and would deceive me. i tell you i am the commander of the faithful, and you shall never persuade me to the contrary!" "for heaven's sake, son," said the mother, "let us leave off this discourse; recommend yourself to god, for fear some misfortune should happen to us; let us talk of something else. i will tell you what happened yesterday in our quarter to the imaum of the mosque, and the four scheiks our neighbours: the judge of the police came and seized them, and gave each of them i know not how many strokes with a bastinado, while a crier proclaimed, �that such was the punishment of all those who troubled themselves about other people's business, and employed themselves in setting their neighbours at variance:' he afterwards led them through all the streets, and ordered them never to come into our quarter again." abou hassan's mother little thought her son had any share in this adventure, and therefore had turned the discourse on purpose to put him out of the conceit of being the commander of the faithful; but instead of effacing that idea, she recalled it, and impressed the more deeply in his mind, that it was not imaginary but real. abou hassan no sooner heard this relation, but he cried out, "i am neither thy son, nor abou hassan, but certainly the commander of the believers. i cannot doubt after what you have told me. know then that it was by my order the imaum and the four scheiks were punished, and i tell you i am certainly the commander of the faithful: therefore say no more of its being a dream. i was not asleep, but as much awake as i am now. you do me much pleasure to confirm what the judge of the police told me he had executed punctually according to my order; i am overjoyed that the imaum and the four scheiks, those great hypocrites, were so chastised, and i should be glad to know how i came here. god be praised for all things! i am certainly commander of the faithful, and all thy arguments shall not convince me of the contrary." the mother, who could not imagine why her son so strenuously and positively maintained himself to be caliph, no longer doubted but that he had lost his senses, when she found he insisted so much on a thing that was so incredible; and in this thought said, "i pray god, son, to have mercy upon you! pray do not talk so madly. beseech god to forgive you, and give you grace to talk more reasonably. what would the world say to hear you rave in this manner? do you not know that �walls have ears?'" these remonstrances only enraged abou hassan the more; and he was so provoked at his mother, that he said, "old woman, i have desired you once already to hold your tongue. if you do not, i shall rise and give you cause to repent all your lifetime. i am the caliph and the commander of the believers; and you ought to credit me when i say so." the good woman supposing that he was more distracted than ever, abandoned herself to tears, and beating her face and breast, expressed the utmost grief and astonishment to see her son in such a state. abou hassan, instead of being appeased or moved by his mother's tears, lost all the respect due from a son to his mother. getting up hastily, and laying hold of a switch, he ran to his mother in great fury, and in a threatening manner that would have frightened any one but a mother so partial to him, said, "tell me directly, wicked woman, who i am." "i do not believe, son," replied she, looking at him tenderly, and without fear, "that you are so abandoned by god as not to know your mother, who brought you into the world, and to mistake yourself. you are indeed my son abou hassan, and are much in the wrong to arrogate to yourself the title which belongs only to our sovereign lord the caliph haroon al rusheed, especially after the noble and generous present the monarch made us yesterday. i forgot to tell you, that the grand vizier jaaffier came to me yesterday, and putting a purse of a thousand pieces of gold into my hands, bade me pray for the commander of the faithful, who had sent me that present; and does not this liberality concern you more than me, who have but a short time to live?" at these words abou hassan grew quite mad. the circumstance of the caliph's liberality persuaded him more than ever that he was caliph, remembering that he had sent the vizier. "well, old hag," cried he, "will you be convinced when i tell you that i sent you those thousand pieces of gold by my grand vizier jaaffier, who obeyed my commands, as i was commander of the faithful? but instead of believing me, you endeavour to distract me by your contradictions, and maintain with obstinacy that i am your son; but you shall not go long unpunished." after these words, he was so unnatural, in the height of his frenzy, as to beat her cruelly with his cane. the poor mother, who could not have thought that her son would have come so soon from words to blows, called out for help so loud, that the neighbours ran in to her assistance. abou hassan continued to beat her, at every stroke asking her if he was the commander of the faithful? to which she always answered tenderly, that he was her son. by the time the neighbours came in abou hassan's rage began to abate. the first who entered the room got between him and his mother, and taking the switch out of his hand, said to him, "what are you doing, abou hassan? have you lost all fear of god and your reason? did ever a son so well brought up as you dare to strike his mother? are you not ashamed so to treat yours, who loves you so tenderly?" abou hassan, still full of fury, looked at him who spoke without returning an answer; and then staring on all the rest of his neighbours who had followed, said, "who is that abou hassan you speak of? is it me you call by that name?" this question disconcerted the neighbours. "how!" said he who spoke first, "do not you know your mother who brought you up, and with whom you have always lived?" "be gone, you are impertinent vagabonds," replied abou hassan; "i neither knew her nor you, and will not know her. i am not abou hassan; i am the commander of the faithful, and will make you feel it to your cost." at this speech the neighbours no longer doubted that he was mad: and to prevent his repeating his outrages, seized him, notwithstanding his resistance, and bound him hand and foot, but though apparently disabled from doing any mischief, they did not choose to leave him alone with his mother. two of them ran for the keeper of the hospital for insane persons, who came presently with chains, handcuffs, a bastinado, and many attendants. when they entered the room, abou hassan, who little expected such treatment, struggled to unloose himself; but after his keeper had given him two or three smart strokes upon the shoulders, he lay so quiet, that the keeper and his people did what they pleased with him. as soon as they had bound and manacled him, they took him with them to the hospital. when he was got out of the house into the street, the people crowded round him, one buffeted him, another boxed him, and others called him fool and madman. to all this treatment he replied, "there is no greatness and power but in god most high and almighty. i am treated as a fool, though i am in my right senses. i suffer all these injuries and indignities for the love of god." he was conducted to the hospital, where he was lodged in a grated cell; but before he was shut up, the keeper, who was hardened to such terrible execution, regaled him without pity with fifty strokes of the bastinado on his shoulders, which he repeated every day for three weeks, bidding him remember that he was not the commander of the faithful. "i am not mad," said abou hassan, "but if i wanted your assistance, nothing would so effectually make me mad as your cruel treatment. i want not your advice." abou hassan's mother went every day to visit her son, and could not forbear weeping at beholding him fall away, and sigh and complain at the hardships he endured. in short, his shoulders, back, and sides were so black and bruised, that he could not turn himself. his mother would willingly have talked with him, to comfort him, and to sound him whether he still retained the notion of being caliph; but whenever she opened her mouth, he stopped her with so much fury, that she was forced to leave him, and return home inconsolable at his obstinacy. by degrees, however, those strong and lively ideas, which abou hassan had entertained, of having been clothed in the caliph's habit, having exercised his authority, and been punctually obeyed and treated like the true caliph, the assurance of which had persuaded him that he was so, began to wear away. sometimes he would say to himself, "if i was the caliph and commander of the believers, how came i, when i awoke, to find myself at home dressed in my own apparel? why should i not have been attended by eunuchs, and their chief, and a crowd of beautiful ladies? why should the grand vizier, and all those emirs and governors of provinces, who prostrated themselves at my feet, forsake me? undoubtedly if i had any authority over them, they would have delivered me long ago out of the miserable condition i am in; certainly i ought to look upon all as a dream. it is true, however, that i commanded the judge of the police to punish the imaum, and the four old men his companions; i ordered the grand vizier to carry my mother a thousand pieces of gold; and my commands were executed. all these points are obstacles to my believing it a dream; but there are so many things that i cannot comprehend, nor ever shall, that i will put my trust in god, who knows all things." abou hassan was taken up with these thoughts and reflections when his mother came to see him. she found him so much altered and emaciated that she shed a torrent of tears; in the midst of which she saluted him as she used to do, and he returned her salutation, which he had never done before since he had been in the hospital. this she looked upon to be a good sign. "well, my son," said she, wiping her tears, "how do you do, and how do you find yourself? have you renounced all those whims and fancies which the devil had put into your head?" "indeed, mother," replied abou hassan, very rationally and calmly, and in a tone expressive of his grief for the excesses he had been transported to against her, "i acknowledge my error, and beg of you to forgive the execrable crime which i have been guilty of towards you, and which i detest. i ask pardon also of my neighbours whom i have abused. i have been deceived by a dream; but by so extraordinary a one, and so like to truth, that i venture to affirm any other person, to whom such a thing might have happened, would have been guilty of as great or greater extravagancies; and i am this instant so much perplexed about it, that while i am speaking i can hardly persuade myself but that what befell me was matter of fact, so like was it to what happens to people who are broad awake. but whatever it was, i do, and shall always regard it as a dream and an illusion. i am convinced that i am not that shadow of a caliph and commander of the faithful, but abou hassan your son, the son of a person whom i always honoured till that fatal day, the remembrance of which will cover me with confusion, and whom in future i shall honour and respect all my life as i ought." at this rational declaration, the tears of sorrow and affliction which the mother of abou hassan had so long shed were changed into those of joy. "my son!" cried she, transported with pleasure, "my satisfaction and comfort to hear you talk so reasonably is inexpressible: and it gives me as much joy as if i had brought you into the world a second time; but i must tell you my opinion of this adventure, and observe one thing which you may not have noticed; the stranger whom you brought home the evening before your illness to sup with you went away without shutting your chamber-door after him, as you desired; which i believe gave the devil an opportunity to enter, and throw you into the horrible illusion you have been in: therefore, my son, you ought to return god thanks for your deliverance, and beseech him to keep you from falling again into the snares of the evil spirit." "you have found out the source of our misfortunes," answered abou hassan. "it was that very night i had this dream which turned my brain. i bade the merchant expressly to shut the door after him; and now i find he did not do it. i am persuaded, as well as you, the devil finding it open came in, and filled my head full of these fancies. the people of moussul, from whence this merchant came, may not know how we at bagdad are convinced from experience that the devil is the cause of troublesome dreams when we leave our chamber-doors open. but since, mother, you see i am, by the grace of god, so well recovered, for god's sake get me out of this horrible place, which will infallibly shorten my days if i stay here any longer." the mother, glad to hear her son was so well cured of his foolish imagination of being caliph, went immediately to the keeper, and assuring him that he was very sensible and well, he came, examined, and released him in her presence. when abou hassan came home, he stayed within doors some days to recover his health by better living than he had found at the hospital. but when he had recovered his strength, and felt no longer the effect of the harsh treatment he had suffered in his confinement, he began to be weary of spending his evenings alone. he accordingly entered again upon the same plan as he had before pursued; which was, to provide enough every day to regale a stranger at night. the day on which abou hassan renewed his custom of going about sun-set to the end of bagdad bridge to stop the first stranger thee offered, and invite him to do him the honour of supping with him, happened to be the first day of the month, that which the caliph always set apart to go in disguise out of some one of the gates to observe what was committed contrary to the good government of the city, as established and regulated at the beginning of his reign. abou hassan had not been long arrived at the bridge, when, looking about him, he perceived the moussul merchant, followed by the same slave. persuaded that all his misfortunes were owing to the merchant's having left his door open, he shuddered at the sight of him. "god preserve me," said he to himself; "if i am not deceived, there is again the magician who enchanted me!" he trembled with agitation, and looked over the side railing into the river, that he might not see him till he was past. the caliph, who wished to renew the diversion he had received, had taken care to inform himself of all that had happened to abou hassan, and enjoyed much pleasure at the relation given him, especially at his being sent to a mad-house. but as this monarch was both just and generous, and had taken a great liking to abou hassan, as capable of contributing further to his amusement, and had doubted whether, after renouncing his frenzied character of a caliph, he would return to his usual manner of living; with a view therefore to bring him to his palace, he disguised himself again like a merchant of moussul, the better to execute his plan. he perceived abou hassan at the same time that he saw him, and presently guessed by his action that he was angry, and wished to shun him. this made him walk close to the side railing; and when he came nigh him, he put his head over to look him in the face. "ho, brother abou hassan," said he, "is it you? i greet you! give me leave to embrace you?" "not i," replied abou hassan, pettishly, without looking at the pretended moussul merchant; "i do not greet you; i will have neither your greeting nor your embraces. go along!" "what!" answered the caliph, "do you not know me? do you not remember the evening we spent together at your house this day month, where you did me the honour to treat me very generously?" "no," replied abou hassan in the same tone, "i do not know you, nor what you talk about; go, i say again, about your business." the caliph was not to be diverted from his purpose by this rude behaviour. he well knew the law abou hassan had imposed on himself, never to have commerce again with a stranger he had once entertained; but pretended to be ignorant of it. "i cannot believe," said he, "but you must know me again; it is not possible that you should have forgotten me in so short a time. certainly some misfortune has befallen you, which inspires you with this aversion for me. however, you ought to remember, that i shewed my gratitude by my good wishes, and that i offered you my interest, which is not to be slighted, in an affair which you had much at heart." "i do not know," replied abou hassan, "what your interest may be, and i have no desire to make use of it: but i am sensible the utmost of your good wishes ended in making me mad. in god's name, i say once more, go your way, and trouble me no more." "ah! brother abou hassan," replied the caliph, embracing him, "i do not intend to part with you thus, since i have had the good fortune to meet with you a second time; you must exercise the same hospitality towards me again that you shewed me a month ago, when i had the honour to drink with you." "i have protested against this," said abou hassan, "and have so much power over myself, as to decline receiving a second time as my guest, a man like you who carries misfortunes with him. you know the proverb, �take up your drum and begone.' make the application to yourself. how often must i repeat my refusal. god be with you! you have been the cause of my sufferings, and i will not trust myself with you again." "my good friend abou hassan," said the caliph, embracing him, "you treat me in a way i little expected. i beg of you not to speak to me thus harshly, but be persuaded of my friendship. do me the favour to tell me what has happened to you; for i assure you i wished you well, and still do so; and would be glad of an opportunity to make you any amends for the trouble i have caused you, if it has been really my fault." abou hassan yielded to the solicitations of the caliph. "your incredulity and importunity," said he, "have tired my patience; and what i am going to relate will shew you that i do not accuse you wrongfully." the caliph seated himself by abou hassan, while he told him all that had happened to him, from his waking in the palace to his waking again in his own house, all which he described as a mere dream, and recounted all the circumstances, which the caliph knew as well as himself, and which renewed his pleasure. he enlarged afterwards on the impression which the dream of being caliph and commander of the faithful had made upon him, which, he said, threw him into such extravagancies, that his neighbours were obliged to carry him to a mad-house, where he was treated in a manner which he deemed most barbarous and inhuman. "but," said he, "what will surprise you, and what you little think of, is, that it was altogether your fault that these things happened to me; for, if you remember, i desired you to shut the door after you, which you neglected, and the devil, finding it open, entered and put this dream into my head, which, though it was very agreeable, was the cause of the misfortune i complain of: you therefore, for your negligence, are answerable for the horrid and detestable crime i have committed in lifting my hand against my mother, whom i might have killed (i blush for shame when i think of it), because she said i was her son, and would not acknowledge me for commander of the faithful, as i thought and positively insisted on to her that i was. you are the cause of the offence i have given my neighbours, when, running in at the cries of my poor mother, they surprised me in the horrid act of felling her at my feet; which would never have happened, if you had taken care to shut my door when you went away, as i desired you. they would not have come into my house without my leave; and, what troubles me most of all, they would not have been witnesses of my folly. i should not have been obliged to strike them in my own defence, and they would not have bound and fettered me, to carry and shut me up in the hospital for madmen, where i assure you every day that i remained confined in that hell, i received a score of strokes with a bastinado." abou hassan recounted his complaints with great warmth and vehemence to the caliph, who knew as well as himself what had passed, and was delighted to find that he had succeeded so well in his plan to throw him into the vagaries from which he still was not entirely free. he could not help laughing at the simplicity wherewith he related them. abou hassan, who thought that his story should rather have moved compassion, and that every one ought to be as much concerned at it as himself, warmly resented the pretended moussul merchant's laughter. "what!" said he, "do you make a jest of me and laugh in my face, or do you believe i laugh at you when i speak seriously? if you want proof of what i advance, look yourself and see whether or no i tell you the truth ;" with that, stooping down and baring his shoulders, he shewed the caliph the scars and weals which the bastinado had left. the caliph could not behold these marks of cruelty without horror. he pitied abou hassan, and felt sorry he had carried the jest so far. "come, rise, dear brother," said he to him eagerly, and embracing abou hassan heartily in his arms; "let me go to your house, and enjoy the happiness of being merry with you to- night; and to-morrow, if it please god, all things will go well." abou hassan, notwithstanding his resolution never to admit the same stranger a second time, could not resist the caresses of the caliph, whom he still took for a merchant of moussul. "i will consent," said he, "if you will swear to shut my door after you, that the devil may not come in to distract my brain again." the caliph promised that he would; upon which they both arose, walked towards the city, and, followed by the caliph's slave, reached abou hassan's house by the time it was dark. the caliph, the more to blind abou hassan, said to him, "place confidence in me; i promise you on my honour i will not break my word. you need not hesitate to trust a person who wishes you all happiness and prosperity, of which confidence you will see the effects." "i desire not that," said abou hassan, stopping him short. "i yield to your importunity; but i dispense with your good wishes, and beg you in god's name to form none for me. all the mischief that has hitherto befallen me arose from those you expressed for me, and from your leaving the door open." "well," replied the caliph, still laughing at the misguided imagination of abou hassan, "since you will have it so, i promise you i will form none." "you give me pleasure by speaking so," said abou hassan; "i desire no more; i shall be more than satisfied provided you keep your word, and i shall forgive you all the rest." as soon as abou hassan entered his house, he called for his mother and for candles, desired his guest to sit down upon a sofa, and then placed himself by him. a little time after, supper was brought up, and they both began to eat without ceremony. when they had done, abou hassan's mother cleared the table, set on a small dessert of fruit, wine, and glasses by her son, then withdrew, and appeared no more. abou hassan first filled out his own glass, and then the caliph's: and after they had drunk some time, and talked of indifferent matters, the caliph, perceiving that his host grew warm with liquor, began to talk of love, and asked him if he had ever felt that passion. "brother," replied abou hassan, familiarly thinking his guest was his equal, "i never looked upon love or marriage but as a slavery, to which i was always unwilling to submit; and must own to you, that i never loved any thing but good cheer and good wine; in short, to divert and entertain myself agreeably with my friends. yet i do not tell you that i am indifferent to marriage, or incapable of attachment, if i could meet with a woman of such beauty and sweetness of temper as her i saw in my dream that fatal night in which i first received you into my house, and you, to my misfortune, left my door open, who would pass the whole night with me drinking, singing, and playing on some instrument, and in agreeable conversation, and who would study to please and divert me: i believe, on the contrary, i should change all my indifference into a perfect attachment to such a person, and, i think, should live very happily with her. but where is such a woman to be found except in the caliph's palace, or in those of the grand vizier or some great lords of the court, who want not money to provide them? i choose therefore to stick to my bottle, which is a much cheaper pleasure, and which i can enjoy as well as the greatest." saying these words, he filled out his own and the caliph's glass, and said, "come, take your glass, and let us pursue this charming pleasure." when they had drunk off their wine, "it is great pity," said the caliph, "that so gallant a man as you, who owns himself not insensible of love, should lead so solitary a life." "i prefer the easy quiet life i live," replied abou hassan, "before the company of a wife, whose beauty might not please me, and who, besides, might create me a great deal of trouble by her imperfections and ill-humour." the conversation lasted a long time, and the caliph seeing abou hassan had drunk to the pitch he desired, said, "let me alone, since you have the same good taste as every other honest man, i warrant you i will find you a wife that shall please you." then taking abou hassan's glass, and putting a pinch of the same powder into it, filled him up a bumper, and presenting it to him, said, "come, let us drink beforehand the fair lady's health, who is to make you happy. i am sure you will like her." abou hassan took the glass laughing, and shaking his head, said, "be it so; since you desire it, i cannot be guilty of so great a piece of incivility, nor disoblige a guest of so much merit in such a trifling matter. i will drink the health of the lady you promise me, though i am very well contented as i am, and do not rely on your keeping your word." no sooner had abou hassan drank off his bumper, than he was seized with as deep a sleep as before; and the caliph ordered the same slave to take him and carry him to the palace. the slave obeyed, and the caliph, who did not intend to send back abou hassan as before, shut the door after him, as he had promised, and followed. when they arrived at the palace, the caliph ordered abou hassan to be laid on a sofa, in the fourth hall, from whence he had been carried home fast asleep a month before; but first he bade the attendants to put him on the same habit in which he had acted the caliph, which was done. he then charged all the eunuchs, officers, ladies, and musicians who were in the hall, when he drank the last glass of wine which had put him to sleep, to be there by daybreak, and to take care to act their parts well when he should awake. he then retired to rest, charging mesrour to awake him before they went into the hall, that he might conceal himself in the closet as before. mesrour, at the hour appointed, awakened the caliph, who immediately rose, and went to the hall where abou hassan lay still asleep, and when he had placed himself in his closet, mesrour and the other officers, ladies, and musicians, who waited for him, went in, and placed themselves about the sofa, so as not to hinder the caliph from seeing what passed, and noticing all his actions. things being thus disposed, and the caliph's powder having had its effect, abou hassan began to awake without opening his eyes, and threw off the phlegm, which was received in a gold basin as before. at that instant, the seven bands of singers joined their voices to the sound of hautboys, fifes, flutes, and other instruments, forming a very agreeable concert. abou hassan was in great surprise to hear the delightful harmony; but when he opened his eyes, and saw the ladies and officers about him, whom he thought he recognized, his amazement increased. the hall that he was in seemed to be the same he had seen in his first dream, and he observed the same lustres, and the same furniture and ornaments. the concert ceased, to give the caliph an opportunity of attending to the countenance of his guest, and all that he might say in his surprise. the ladies, mesrour, and all the officers of the chamber, waited in profound and respectful silence. abou hassan bit his finger, and cried loud enough for the caliph to hear him, "alas! i am fallen again into the same dream and illusion that happened to me a month ago, and must expect again the bastinado and grated cell at the mad-house. almighty god," added he, "i commit myself into the hands of thy divine providence. he was a wicked man that i entertained at my house last night, who has been the cause of this illusion, and the hardships i must again undergo. the base wretch swore to shut the door after him, but did not, and the devil came in and has turned my brain with this wicked dream of being commander of the faithful, and other phantoms which bewitch my eyes. god confound thee, satan? and crush thee under some mountain of stones." after these words, abou hassan closed his eyes, and remained some time thoughtful and much perplexed; then opening them again, and looking about him, cried out a second time with less surprise, and smiling at the various objects before him, "great god! i commit myself into the hands of thy providence, preserve me from the temptation of satan." then shutting them again, he said, "i will go to sleep until satan leaves me, and returns as he came, were i to wait till noon." they did not give him time to go to sleep again as he promised himself; for strength of hearts, one of the ladies whom he had seen before, approached, and sitting down on the sofa by him, said to him respectfully, "commander of the faithful, i entreat your majesty to forgive me for taking the liberty to tell you not to go to sleep; day appears, and it is time to rise." "begone, satan!" answered abou hassan, raising his voice; but looking at the lady, he said, "is it me you call the commander of the faithful? certainly you take me for somebody else." "it is to your majesty i give that title," replied the lady, "to whom it belongs, as you are sovereign of the world, and i am your most humble slave. undoubtedly," added she, "your majesty means to divert yourself by pretending to have forgotten yourself, or this is the effect of some troublesome dream; but if you would but open your eyes, the mists which disturb your imagination would soon be dispelled, and you would find yourself in your own palace, surrounded by your officers and slaves, who all wait your commands: and that your majesty may not be surprised to find yourself in this hall, and not in bed, i beg leave to inform you, that you fell so suddenly asleep last night, that we were unwilling to awake you, to conduit you to your chamber, but laid you carefully upon this sofa." in short, she said to him so many things which appeared probable, that at last he sat up, opened his eyes, and recollected her and all the ladies again. they all approached him, and she who spoke first, resuming the discourse, said, "commander of the faithful, and vicar of the prophet on earth, be not displeased if i acquaint your majesty once more that it is time to rise, for day appears." "you are very troublesome and importunate," replied abou hassan, rubbing his eyes; "i am not the commander of the faithful, but abou hassan; i know it well, and you shall not persuade me otherwise." "we do not know that abou hassan you majesty speaks of, nor desire to know him," answered the lady; "but we know you to be the commander of the believers, and you cannot persuade us to the contrary." abou hassan looking about, and finding himself in the same hall, attributed all he saw and heard to such a dream as he had had before, and greatly feared the dreadful consequences. "allah have mercy on me!" said he, lifting up his hands and eyes, like a man who knew not where he was; "i commit myself into his hands. i cannot doubt, after what i have seen, but that the devil, who came into my chamber, possesses me, and fills my imagination full of all these visions." the caliph, who saw him all the time, and heard these exclamations, began to shake so heartily, that he had much difficulty to forbear bursting into loud laughter. abou hassan laying himself down again, and shutting his eyes, the same lady said, "commander of the faithful, since your majesty does not rise, after we have, according to our duty, informed you it is day, and the dispatch of business requires your presence, we shall use the liberty you give us in such cases." then taking him by one arm, and calling to one of the other ladies to do the same by the other, they lifted him up, and carried him into the middle of the hall, where they seated him, and all taking hands, danced and skipped round him while the music played and sounded loudly in his ears. abou hassan was in inexpressible perplexity, and exclaimed, "what! am i indeed caliph, and commander of the faithful!" and in his uncertainty, would have said more, but the music was so loud, that he could not be heard. at last he made a sign to string of pearls and morning star, two of the ladies who were dancing, that he wanted to speak with them; upon which they forbore, and went to him. "do not lie now," said he, "but tell me truly who i am?" "commander of the faithful," replied morning star, "your majesty means either to surprise us, by asking this question, as if you did not know that you are commander of the faithful, and vicar on earth of the prophet of god, master of both worlds, that whereon we now are and that to come after death, or else you must have had some extraordinary dream that has made you forget who you are; which may well be, considering that your majesty has slept longer than ordinary; however, if you will give me leave, i will refresh your memory with what passed yesterday." she then told him how he went to council, punished the imaum, and the four old men, and had sent a present by his grand vizier of a thousand pieces of gold to the mother of one abou hassan; what he did in the inner part of the palace, and what passed at the three meals which he took in the three halls, adding, "in the fourth your majesty did us the honour to make us sit down by you, to hear our songs, and received wine from our hands, until your majesty fell asleep, as strength of hearts has told you. from that time your majesty has continued, contrary to custom, in a sound sleep until now. strength of hearts, all your other slaves, and the officers present, can confirm what i say, and it is now time you should go to prayers." "very well," replied abou hassan, shaking his head, "you would have me believe all this; but i tell you, you are all fools, or mad, and that is great pity, for you are very handsome. since i saw you i have been at home, where i used my mother so ill that they sent me to a mad-house, and kept me there three weeks against my will, beat me unmercifully every day, and yet you would make me believe all this to be a dream." "commander of the faithful," answered morning star, "you are mistaken, we are ready to swear by all your majesty holds most dear, that all you relate can be only a dream. you have never stirred out of this hall since yesterday, but slept here all night." the confidence with which the lady assured abou hassan that all she said was truth, and that he had never been out of the hall since that time, bewildered his senses so that he was at a loss what to believe. "o heaven!" said he to himself, "am i abou hassan, or the commander of the faithful! almighty god, enlighten my understanding, and inform me of the truth, that i may know what to trust." he then uncovered his shoulders, and shewed the ladies the livid weals of the blows he had received. "look," said he, "judge whether these strokes could come to me in a dream, or when i was asleep. for my part, i can affirm, that they were real blows; i feel the smart of them yet, and that is a testimonial there is no room to doubt. now if i received these strokes in my sleep, it is the most extraordinary thing in the world, and surpasses my comprehension." in this uncertainty abou hassan called to one of the officers that stood near him: "come hither," said he, "and bite the tip of my ear, that i may know whether i am asleep or awake." the officer obeyed, and bit so hard, that he made him cry out loudly with the pain; the music struck up at the same time, and the officers and ladies all began to sing, dance, and skip about abou hassan, and made such a noise, that he was in a perfect ecstasy, and played a thousand ridiculous pranks. he threw off his caliph's habit, and his turban, jumped up in his shirt and drawers, and taking hold of two of the ladies' hands, began singing, jumping and cutting capers, so that the caliph could not contain himself, but burst into such violent laughter, that he fell backwards, and was heard above the noise of all the musicians. he was so long before he could check himself, that it had like to have been fatal. at last he got up, opened the lattice, and putting out his head, cried "abou hassan, abou hassan, have you a mind to kill me with laughing?" as soon as the caliph's voice was heard, every body was silent, and abou hassan, among the rest, who, turning his head to see from whence the voice came, knew the caliph, and in him recognised the moussul merchant, but was not in the least daunted; on the contrary he became convinced that he was awake, and that all that had happened to him had been real, and not a dream. he entered into the caliph's pleasantry. "ha! ha!" said he, looking at him with good assurance, "you are a merchant of moussul, and complain that i would kill you; you have been the occasion of my using my mother so ill, and of my being sent to a mad-house. it was you who treated the imaum and the four scheiks in the manner they were used, and not me; i wash my hands of it. it is you who have been the cause of all my disorders and sufferings: in short, you are the aggressor, and i the injured person." "indeed, you are in the right, abou hassan," answered the caliph, laughing all the while; "but to comfort you, and make you amends for all your troubles, i call heaven to witness, i am ready and willing to make you what reparation you please to ask." after these words, he came out of the closet into the hall, ordered one of his most magnificent habits to be brought, commanded the ladies to dress abou hassan in it, and when they had done, he said, embracing him, "thou art my brother; ask what thou wilt, and thou shalt have it." "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "i beg of your majesty to do me the favour to tell me what you did to disturb my brain in this manner, and what was your design; for it is a thing of the greatest importance for me to know, that i may perfectly recover my senses." the caliph was ready to give him this satisfaction, and said, "first, you are to know, that i often disguise myself, and particularly at night, to observe if all goes right in bagdad; and as i wish to know what passes in its environs, i set apart the first day of every month to make an excursion, sometimes on one side, sometimes on another, and always return by the bridge. the evening that you invited me to supper, i was beginning my rounds, and in our conversation you told me, that the only thing you wished for was to be caliph for four-and-twenty hours, to punish the imaum of your mosque and his four counsellors. i fancied that this desire of yours would afford me diversion, and thought immediately how i might procure you the satisfaction you wished. i had about me a certain powder, which immediately throws the person who takes it into a sound sleep for a certain time. i put a dose of it, without being perceived by you, into the last glass i presented to you, upon which you fell fast asleep, and i ordered my slave to carry you to my palace, and came away without shutting the door. i have no occasion to repeat what happened when you awoke, nor during the whole day till evening, but after you had been regaled by my orders, one of the ladies put another dose of the same powder into a glass she gave you; you fell asleep as before, and the same slave carried you home, and left the door open. you have told me all that happened to you afterwards. i never imagined that you could have suffered so much as you have done. but as i have a great regard for you, i will do every thing to comfort you, and make you forget all your sufferings; think of what i can do to serve you, and ask me boldly what you wish." "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "how great soever my tortures may have been, they are all blotted out of my remembrance, since i understand my sovereign lord and master had a share in them. i doubt not in the least of your majesty's bounty; but as interest never governed me, and you give me liberty to ask a favour, i beg that it may be that of having access to your person, to enjoy the happiness of admiring, all my lifetime, your virtues." this proof of disinterestedness in abou hassan confirmed the esteem the caliph had entertained for him. "i am pleased with your request," said he, "and grant you free access to my person at all times and all hours." at the same time he assigned him an apartment in the palace, and, in regard to his pension, told him, that he would not have him apply to his treasurer, but come always to him for an order upon him, and immediately commanded his private treasurer to give him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold. abou hassan made a low prostration, and the caliph left him to go to council. abou hassan took this opportunity to go and inform his mother of his good fortune, and that what had happened was not a dream; for that he had actually been caliph, had acted as such, and received all the honours; and that she had no reason to doubt of it, since he had this confirmed by the caliph himself. it was not long before this story of abou hassan was spread throughout bagdad, and carried into all the provinces both far and near, without the omission of a single circumstance. the new favourite abou hassan was always with the caliph; for, as he was a man of a pleasent temper, and created mirth wherever he went by his wit and drollery, the caliph formed no party of diversion without him, and sometimes carried him to visit his consort zobeide, to whom he had related his story. zobeide, who observed that every time he came with the caliph, he had his eyes always fixed upon one of her slaves, called nouzhatoul-aouadat, resolved to tell the caliph of it. "commander of the faithful," said she one day, "you do not observe that every time abou hassan attends you in your visits to me, he never keeps his eyes off nouzhatoul-aouadat, and makes her blush, which is almost a certain sign that she entertains no aversion for him. if you approve of it, we will make a match between them." "madam," replied the caliph, "you remind me of what i ought to have done before. i know abou hassan's opinion respecting marriage from himself, and have always promised him a wife that should please him. i am glad you mentioned the circumstance; for i know not how i came to forget it. but it is better that abou hassan should follow his own inclination, and choose for himself. if nouzhatoul-aouadat is not averse to it, we ought not to hesitate upon their marriage; and since they are both present, they have only to say that they consent." abou hassan threw himself at the caliph's and zobeide's feet, to shew the sense he had of their goodness; and rising up, said, "i cannot receive a wife from better hands, but dare not hope that nouzhatoul-aouadat will give me her hand as readily as i give her mine." at these words he looked at the princess's slave, who shewed by her respectful silence, and the sudden blush that arose in her cheeks, that she was disposed to obey the caliph and her mistress zobeide. the marriage was solemnized, and the nuptials celebrated in the palace, with great rejoicings, which lasted several days. zobeide made her slave considerable presents, and the caliph did the same to abou hassan. the bride was conducted to the apartment the caliph had assigned abou hassan, who waited for her with all the impatience of a bridegroom, and received her with the sound of all sorts of instruments, and musicians of both sexes, who made the air echo with their concert. after these feasts and rejoicings, which lasted several days, the newly-married couple were left to pursue their loves in peace. abou hassan and his spouse were charmed with each other, lived together in perfect union, and seldom were asunder, but when either he paid his respects to the caliph, or she hers to zobeide. indeed, nouzhatoul-aouadat was endued with every qualification capable of gaining abou hassan's love and attachment, was just such a wife as he had described to the caliph, and fit to sit at the head of his table. with these dispositions they could not fail to pass their lives agreeably. they kept a good table covered with the nicest and choicest rarities in season, by an excellent cook, who took upon him to provide every thing. their sideboard was always stored with exquisite wines placed within their reach when at table, where they enjoyed themselves in agreeable conversation, and afterwards entertained each other with some pleasantry or other, which made them laugh more or less, as they had in the day met with something to divert them; and in the evenings, which they consecrated to mirth, they had generally some slight repast of dried sweetmeats, choice fruits, and cakes, and at each glass invited each other by new songs to drink, and sometimes accompanied their voices with a lute, or other instruments which they could both touch. abou hassan and nouzhatoul-aouadat led this pleasant life unattentive to expense, until at length the caterer, who had disbursed all his and their money for these expenses, brought them in a long bill in hope of having an advance of cash. they found the amount to be so considerable, that all the presents which the caliph and zobeide had given them at their marriage were but just enough to pay him. this made them reflect seriously on what was passed, which, however, was no remedy for the present evil. but they agreed to pay the caterer; and having sent for him, gave him all they owed him, without considering the difficulty they should be in immediately after. the caterer went away highly pleased at receiving so large a sum, though abou hassan and his wife were not so well satisfied with seeing the bottom of their purse, but remained a long time silent, and very much embarrassed, to find themselves reduced to poverty the very first year of their marriage. abou hassan remembered that the caliph, when he took him into the palace, had promised never to let him want. but when he considered how prodigal he had been of his money, was unwilling to expose himself to the shame of letting the caliph know the ill use he had made of his bounty, and that he wanted a supply. besides, he had made over his patrimony to his mother, when the caliph had received him near his person, and was afraid to apply to her, lest she should discover that he had returned to the same extravagance he had been guilty of after his father's death. his wife, on the other hand, regarded zobeide's generosity, and the liberty she had given her to marry, as more than a sufficient recompense for her service, and thought she had no right to ask more. abou hassan at last broke silence, and looking at his wife, said, "i see you are in the same embarrassment as myself, and thinking what we must do in this unhappy juncture, when our money fails us so unexpectedly. i do not know what your sentiments may be; but mine are, let what will happen, not to retrench our expenses in the least; and i believe you will come into my opinion. the point is, how to support them without stooping to ask the caliph or zobeide: and i think i have fallen on the means; but we must assist each other." this discourse of abou hassan very much pleased his wife, and gave her some hopes. "i was thinking so as well as you," said she; "but durst not explain my thoughts, because i do not know how we can help ourselves; and must confess, that what you tell me gives me a revival of pleasure. since you say you have found out a resource, and my assistance is necessary, you need but tell me in what way, and i will do all that lies in my power." "i was sure," replied abou hassan, "that you would not fail me in a business which concerns us both; and therefore i must tell you, this want of money has made me think of a plan which will supply us, at least for a time. it consists in a little trick we must put, i upon the caliph and you upon zobeide, and at which, as i am sure they will both be diverted, it will answer advantageously for us. you and i will both die." "not i indeed," interrupted nouzhatoul-aouadat; "you may die by yourself, if you please, but i am not so weary of this life; and whether you are pleased or not, will not die so soon. if you have nothing else to propose, you may die by yourself; for i assure you i shall not join you." "you are a woman of such vivacity and wonderful quickness," replied abou hassan, "that you scarcely give me time to explain my design. have but a little patience, and you shall find that you will be ready enough to die such a death as i intend; for surely you could not think i meant a real death?" "well," said his wife, "if it is but a sham death you design, i am at your service, and you may depend on my zeal to second you in this manner of dying; but i must tell you truly, i am very unwilling to die, as i apprehended you at first." "be but silent a little," said abou hassan, "and i will tell you what i promise. i will feign myself dead, and you shall lay me out in the middle of my chamber, with my turban upon my face, my feet towards mecca, as if ready to be carried out to burial. when you have done this, you must lament, and weep bitterly, as is usual in such cases, tear your clothes and hair, or pretend to do it, and go all in tears, with your locks dishevelled, to zobeide. the princess will of course inquire the cause of your grief; and when you have told her, with words intermixed with sobs, she will pity you, give you money to defray the expense of my funeral, and a piece of good brocade to cover my body, that my interment may be the more magnificent, and to make you a new dress in the room of that you will have torn. as soon as you return with the money and the brocade, i will rise, lay you in my place, and go and act the same part with the caliph, who i dare say will be as generous to me as zobeide will have been to you." nouzhatoul-aouadat highly approved the project, and said to abou hassan, "come, lose no time; strip to your shirt and drawers, while i prepare a winding sheet. i know how to bury as well as any body; for while i was in zobeide's service, when any of my fellow-slaves died, i had the conducting of the funeral." abou hassan did as his wife mentioned, and laid himself on the sheet which she had spread on the carpet in the middle of the room. as soon as he had crossed his arms, his wife wrapped him up, turned his feet towards mecca, and put a piece of fine muslin and his turban upon his face, so that nothing seemed wanting but to carry him out to be buried. after this she pulled off her head-dress, and with tears in her eyes, her hair dishevelled, and seeming to tear it off, with a dismal cry and lamentation, beating her face and breast with all the marks of the most lively grief, ran across the court to zobeide's apartments, who, hearing the voice of a person crying very loud, commanded some of her women to see who it was; they returned and told her that it was nouzhatoul- aouadat, who was approaching in a deplorable condition. the princess, impatient to know what had happened to her, rose up immediately, and went to meet her at the door of her ante- chamber. nouzhatoul-aouadat played her part to perfection. as soon as she saw zobeide, who held the door open, she redoubled her cries, tore her hair off by handfuls, beat her face and breast, and threw herself at her feet, bathing them with her tears. zobeide, amazed to see her slave in such extraordinary affliction, asked what had happened; but, instead of answering, she continued her sobs; and at last feigning to strive to check them, said, with words interrupted with sighs, "alas! my most honoured lady and mistress, what greater misfortune could have befallen me than this, which obliges me to throw myself at your highness's feet)' god prolong your days, my most respectable princess, in perfect health, and grant you many happy years! abou hassan! poor abou hassan! whom you honoured with your esteem, and gave me for a husband, is no more!" at these words nouzhatoul-aouadat redoubled her tears and sighs, and threw herself again at the princess's feet. zobeide was extremely concerned at this news. "abou hassan dead!" cried she; "that agreeable, pleasant man! i did not expect his death so soon; he seemed to promise a long life, and well deserved to enjoy it!" she then also burst into tears, as did all her women, who had been often witnesses of abou hassan's pleasantries when the caliph brought him to amuse the princess zobeide, and all together continued for some time bewailing his loss. at length the princess zobeide broke silence: "wicked woman!" cried she, addressing herself to the false widow, "perhaps you may have occasioned his death. your ill temper has given him so much vexation, that you have at last brought him to his grave." nouzhatoul-aouadat seemed much hurt at the reproaches of zobeide: "ah, madam," cried she, "i do not think i ever gave your majesty, while i was your slave, reason to entertain so disadvantageous an opinion of my conduct to a husband who was so dear to me. i should think myself the most wretched of women if you were persuaded of this. i behaved to abou hassan as a wife should do to a husband for whom she has a sincere affection; and i may say, without vanity, that i had for him the same regard he had for me. i am persuaded he would, were he alive, justify me fully to your majesty; but, madam," added she, renewing her tears, "his time was come, and that was the only cause of his death." zobeide, as she had really observed in her slave a uniformly equal temper, mildness, great docility and zeal for her service, which shewed she was rather actuated by inclination than duty, hesitated not to believe her on her word, and ordered her treasurer to fetch a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of rich brocade. the slave soon returned with the purse and piece of brocade, which, by zobeide's order, she delivered to nouzhatoul-aouadat, who threw herself again at the princess's feet, and thanked her with great self-satisfaction at finding she had succeeded so well. "go," said zobeide, "use that brocade to cover the corpse of your husband, and with the money bury him handsomely, as he deserves. moderate the transport of your afflictions: i will take care of you." as soon as nouzhatoul-aouadat got out of the princess's presence, she dried up her tears, and returned with joy to abou hassan, to give him an account of her good success. when she came home she burst out a laughing on seeing her husband still stretched out in the middle of the floor; she ran to him, bade him rise and see the fruits of his stratagem. he arose, and rejoiced with his wife at the sight of the purse and brocade. unable to contain herself at the success of her artifice, "come, husband," said she, laughing, "let me act the dead part, and see if you can manage the caliph as well as i have done zobeide." "that is the temper of all women," replied abou hassan, "who, we may well say, have always the vanity to believe they can do things better than men, though at the same time what good they do is by their advice. it would be odd indeed, if i, who laid this plot myself, could not carry it on as well as you. but let us lose no time in idle discourse; lie down in my place, and witness if i do not come off with as much applause." abou hassan wrapped up his wife as she had done him, and with his turban unrolled, like a man in the greatest affliction, ran to the caliph, who was holding a private council with jaaffier and other confidential viziers. he presented himself at the door, and the officer, knowing he had free access, opened it. he entered holding with one hand his handkerchief before his eyes, to hide the feigned tears, which trickled down his cheeks, and striking his breast with the other, with exclamations expressing extraordinary grief. the caliph, always used to see abou hassan with a merry countenance, was very much surprised to behold him in so much distress. he interrupted the business of the council to inquire the cause of his grief. "commander of the faithful," answered abou hassan, with repeated sighs and sobs, "god preserve your majesty on the throne, which you fill so gloriously! a greater calamity could not have befallen me than what i now lament. alas! nouzhatoul-aouadat whom you in your bounty gave me for a wife to gladden my existence, alas!" at this exclamation abou hassan pretended to have his heart so full, that he could not utter more, but poured forth a flood of tears. the caliph, who now understood that abou hassan came to tell him of the death of his wife, seemed much concerned, and said to him with an air which shewed how much he regretted her loss, "god be merciful to her: she was a good slave, and we gave her to you with an intention to make you happy: she deserved a longer life." the tears then ran down his face, so that he was obliged to pull out his handkerchief to wipe them off. the grief of abou hassan, and the tears of the caliph, excited those of jaaffier and the other viziers. they bewailed the death of nouzhatoul- aouadat, who, on her part, was only impatient to hear how abou hassan succeeded. the caliph had the same suspicion of the husband that zobeide had of the wife, and imagined that he had occasioned her death. "wretch!" said he, in a tone of indignation, "have not you been the cause of your wife's death by your ill treatment of her? you ought at least to have had some regard for the princess my consort, who loved her more than the rest of her slaves, yet consented to give her to you. what a return for her kindness!" "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, affecting to weep more bitterly than before, "can your majesty for a moment suppose that abou hassan, whom you have loaded with your favours and kindness, and on whom you have conferred honours he could never have aspired to, can have been capable of such ingratitude? i loved nouzhatoul-aouadat my wife as much on these accounts, as for the many good qualities she possessed, and which drew from me all the attachment, tenderness, and love she deserved. but, my lord," added he, "she was to die, and god would no longer suffer me to enjoy a happiness for which i was indebted to your majesty and your beloved consort." abou hassan dissembled so well, that the caliph, who had never heard how extravagantly he and his wife had lived, no longer doubting his sincerity, ordered his treasurer, who was present, to give abou hassan a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade. abou hassan immediately cast himself at the caliph's feet, and thanked him for his present. "follow the treasurer," said the monarch; "throw the brocade over the corpse, and with the money shew the last testimony of thy love for thy wife." abou hassan made no reply to these obliging words of the caliph, but retiring with a low prostration, followed the treasurer; and as soon as he had got the purse and piece of brocade, went home, well pleased with having found out so quick and easy a way of supplying the necessity which had given him so much uneasiness. nouzhatoul-aouadat, weary with lying so long in one posture, waited not till abou hassan bade her rise; but as soon as she heard the door open, sprang up, ran to her husband, and asked him if he had imposed on the caliph as cleverly as she had done on zobeide. "you see," said he, shewing her the stuff, and shaking the purse, "that i can act a sorrowful husband for a living wife, as well as you can a weeping widow for a husband not dead." abou hassan, however, was not without his fears that this double plot might be attended with some ill consequences. he thought it would not be amiss to put his wife on her guard as to what might happen, that they might aft in concert. "for," added he, "the better we succeed in embarrassing the caliph and zobeide, the more they will be pleased at last, and perhaps may shew their satisfaction by greater liberality." this last consideration induced them to carry on their stratagem farther. the caliph, though he had important affairs to decide, was so impatient to condole with the princess on the death of her slave, that he rose up as soon as abou hassan was gone, and put off the council to another day. "follow me," said he to mesrour, who always attended him wherever he went, and was in all his councils, "let us go and share with the princess the grief which the death of her slave nouzhatoul-aouadat must have occasioned." accordingly they went to zobeide's apartment, whom the caliph found sitting on a sofa, much afflicted, and still in tears. "madam," said the caliph, going up to her, "it is unnecessary to tell you how much i partake with you in your affliction; since you must be sensible that what gives you pleasure or trouble, has the same effect on me. but we are all mortal, and must surrender up to god that life he has given us, when he requires it. nouzhatoul-aouadat, your faithful slave, was endued with qualifications that deserved your esteem, and i cannot but approve your expressing it after her death; but consider all your grief will not restore her to life. therefore, madam, if you love me, and will take my advice, be comforted for this loss, take care of a life which you know is precious to me, and constitutes all the happiness of mine. " if the princess was charmed with these tender sentiments which the caliph expressed in his compliments, she was amazed to hear of nouzhatoulaouadat's death. this news threw her into such astonishment, that she was not able to return an answer for some time. at last recovering, she replied with an air expressive of surprise, "commander of the faithful, i am very sensible of all your tender sentiments; but give me leave to say, i cannot comprehend the news you tell me of the death of my slave, who is in perfect health. my affliction is for the death of abou hassan, her husband, your favourite, whom i esteemed, as much for the regard you had for him, as his having so often diverted me agreeably, and for whom i had as great a value as yourself. but the little concern you shew for his death, and your so soon forgetting a man in whose company you have so often told me you took so much pleasure, surprises me; and this insensibility seems the greater, from the deception you would put upon me in changing his death for that of my slave." the caliph, who thought that he was perfectly well informed of the death of the slave, and had just reason to believe so, because he had both seen and heard abou hassan, laughed, and shrugged up his shoulders, to hear zobeide talk in this manner. "mesrour," said he, to the eunuch, "what do you think of the princess's discourse? do not women sometimes lose their senses; for you have heard and seen all as well as myself?" then turning to zobeide, "madam," said he, "shed no more tears for abou hassan, for i can assure you he is well; but rather bewail the death of your dear slave. it is not many moments since her husband came in the most inexpressible affliction, to tell me of the death of his wife. i gave him a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade, to comfort him, and bury her; and mesrour, who was present, can tell you the same." the princess took this discourse of the caliph's to be all a jest, and thought he had a mind to impose upon her. "commander of the faithful," replied she, "though you are used to banter, i must tell you, this is not a proper time for pleasantry. what i tell you is very serious; i do not talk of my slave's death, but of abou hassan's, her husband, whose fate i bewail, and so ought you too." "madam," said the caliph, putting on a grave countenance, "i tell you without raillery that you are deceived; nouzhatoul-aouadat is dead, and abou hassan is alive, and in perfect health." zobeide was much piqued at this dry answer of the caliph. "commander of the faithful," replied she smartly, "god preserve you from continuing longer in this mistake, surely you would make me think your mind is not as usual. give me leave to repeat to you once more, that it is abou hassan who is dead, and that my slave nouzhatoul-aouadat, his widow, is living. it is not an hour since she went from hence. she came here in so disconsolate a state, that the sight of her was enough to have drawn tears from my eyes, if she had not told me her affliction. all my women, who wept with me, can bear me witness, and tell you also that i made her a present of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade; the grief which you found me in, was on account of the death of her husband; and just at the instant you entered, i was going to send you a compliment of condolence." at these words of zobeide, the caliph cried out in a fit of laughter, "this, madam, is a strange piece of obstinacy; but," continued he seriously, "you may depend upon nouzhatoul-aouadat's being dead." "i tell you no, sir," replied zobeide sharply; "it is abou hassan that is dead, and you shall never make me believe otherwise." upon this the caliph's anger rose in his countenance. he seated himself on the sofa at some distance from the princess, and speaking to mesrour, said, "go immediately, see which it is, and bring me word; for though i am certain that it is nouzhatoul- aouadat, i would rather take this method than be any longer obstinately positive about the matter, though of its certainty i am perfectly satisfied." no sooner had the caliph commanded than mesrour was gone. "you will see," continued he, addressing himself to zobeide, "in a moment, which of us is right." "for my part," replied zobeide, "i know very well that i am in the right, and you will find it to be abou hassan." "and for myself," returned the caliph, "i am so sure that it is nouzhatoul-aouadat, that i will lay you what wager you please that abou hassan is well." "do not think to come off so," said zobeide; "i accept your wager, and i am so well persuaded of his death, that i would willingly lay the thing dearest to me in the world against what you will, though it were of less value. you know what i have in my disposal, and what i value most; propose the bet, and i will stand to it." "since it is so," said the caliph, "i will lay my garden of pleasures against your palace of paintings, though the one is worth much more than the other." "is the question at present," replied zobeide, "if your garden is more valuable than my palace? that is not the point. you have made choice of what you thought fit belonging to me, as an equivalent against what you lay; i accept the wager, and that i will abide by it, i take god to witness." the caliph took the same oath, and both waited mesrour's return. while the caliph and zobeide were disputing so earnestly, and with so much warmth, abou hassan, who foresaw their difference, was very attentive to whatever might happen. as soon as he perceived mesrour through a window, at which he sat talking with his wife, and observed that he was coming directly to their apartment, he guessed his commission, and bade his wife make haste to act the dead part once more, as they had agreed, without loss of time; but they were so pressed, that abou hassan had much ado to wrap up his wife, and lay the piece of brocade which the caliph had given him upon her, before mesrour reached the house. this done, he opened the door of his apartment, and with a melancholy, dejected countenance, and his handkerchief before his eyes, went and sat down at the head of the pretended deceased. by the time he was seated, mesrour came into the room. the dismal sight which met his eyes, gave him a secret joy on account of the errand the caliph had sent him on. abou hassan rose up to meet him, and kissing his hand out of respect, said, sighing and sobbing, "you see me under the greatest calamity that ever could have befallen me the death of my dear wife, nouzhatoul-aouadat, whom you honoured with your favours." mesrour, affected by this discourse, could not refuse some tears to the memory of the deceased. he lifted up the cloth a little at the head, and peeping under it, let it down again, and said, with a deep sigh, "there is no other god but allah, we must all submit to his will, and every creature must return to him. nouzhatoul- aouadat, my good sister," added he, sighing, "thy days have been few: god have mercy on thee." then turning to abou hassan, who was all the time in tears, "we may well say," added he, "that women sometimes have whims, and lose their senses in a most unpardonable manner; for zobeide, good mistress as she is, is in that situation at present; she will maintain to the caliph that you are dead, and not your wife; and whatever the caliph can say to the contrary, he cannot persuade her otherwise. he called me to witness and confirm this truth; for you know i was present when you came and told him the sorrowful news: but all signifies nothing. they are both positive; and the caliph, to convince zobeide, has sent me to know the truth, but i fear i shall not be believed; for when women once take up a thing, they are not to be beaten out of it." "god keep the commander of the faithful in the possession and right use of his senses," replied abou hassan, still sighing and weeping; "you see how it is, and that i have not imposed upon his majesty. and i wish to heaven," continued he, to dissemble the better, "that i had no occasion to have told him the melancholy and afflicting news. alas! i cannot enough express my irreparable loss!" "that is true," replied mesrour, "and i can assure you i take a great share in your affliction; but you must be comforted, and not abandon yourself to your grief. i leave you with reluctance, to return to the caliph; but i beg the favour of you not to bury the corpse till i come again; for i will assist at the interment, and accompany it with my prayers." mesrour went to give an account of his visit. abou hassan attended him to the door, told him he did not deserve the honour he intended him: and for fear mesrour should return to say something else, followed him with his eyes for some time, and when he saw him at a distance, returned to his wife and released her. "this is already," said he, "a new scene of mirth, but i fancy it will not be the last; for certainly the princess zobeide will not believe mesrour, but will laugh at him, since she has too substantial a reason to the contrary; therefore we must expect some new event." while abou hassan was talking thus, nouzhatoul-aouadat had time to put on her clothes again, and both went and sat down on a sofa opposite to the window, where they could see all that passed. in the mean time, mesrour reached zobeide's apartment, and going into her closet laughing, clapped his hands like one who had something very agreeable to tell. the caliph, naturally impatient, and piqued a little at the princess's contradiction, as soon as he saw mesrour, "vile slave," said he, "is this a time to laugh? why do not you tell me which is dead, the husband or the wife?" "commander of the faithful," answered mesrour, putting on a serious countenance, "it is nouzhatoul-aouadat who is dead, for the loss of whom about hassan is as much afflicted as when he appeared before your majesty." the caliph not giving him time to pursue his story, interrupted him, and cried out, laughing heartily, "good news! zobeide, your mistress, was a moment ago possessed of the palace of paintings, and now it is mine. she staked it against my garden of pleasures, since you went; therefore you could not have done me greater pleasure. i will take care to reward you: but give me a true account of what you saw." "commander of the faithful," said mesrour, "when i came to abou hassan's apartment, i found the door open, and he was bewailing the death of his wife. he sat at the head of the deceased, who was laid out in the middle of the room, with her feet towards mecca, and was covered with the piece of brocade which your majesty presented to abou hassan. after i had expressed the share i took in his grief, i went and lifted up the pall at the head, and knew nouzhatoul-aouadat, though hr face was much swelled and changed. i exhorted abou hassan in the best manner i could to be comforted; and when i came away, told him i would attend at his wife's funeral, and desired him not to remove the corpse till i came. this is all i can tell your majesty." "i ask no more," said the caliph, laughing heartily, "and i am well satisfied with your exactness." then addressing himself to zobeide, "well, madam," said he, "have you yet any thing to say against so certain a truth? will you still believe that nouzhatoul-aouadat is alive, and that abou hassan is dead? and will you not own that you have lost your wager?" "how, sir," replied zobeide, who would not believe one word mesrour said, "do you think that i regard that impertinent fellow of a slave, who knows not what he says? i am not blind or mad. with these eyes i saw nouzhatoul-aouadat in the greatest affliction; i spoke to her myself, and she told me that her husband was dead." "madam," replied mesrour, "i swear to you by your own life, and that of the commander of the faithful, which are both dear to me, that nouzhatoul-aouadat is dead, and abou hassan is living." "thou liest, base despicable slave," said zobeide in a rage, "and i will confound thee immediately." clapping her hands together, she called her women, who all approached. "come hither," said the princess to them, "and speak the truth. who was that who came and spoke with me a little before the caliph entered?" the women all answered that it was poor afflicted nouzhatoul-aouadat. "and what," added she, addressing herself to her treasurer, "did i order you to give her?" "madam," answered the treasurer, "i gave nouzhatoul-aouadat, by your orders, a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade, which she carried away with her." "well, then, sorry slave," said zobeide to mesrour, in passion, "what have you to say to all this? whom do you think now i ought to believe, you or my treasurer, my women, and myself?" mesrour did not want for arguments to contradict the princess; but, as he was afraid of provoking her too much, chose rather to be silent, though he was satisfied that the wife was dead, and not the husband. during the whole of this dispute between zobeide and mesrour, the caliph, who heard the evidence on both sides, and was persuaded of the contrary of what the princess asserted, because he had himself seen and spoken to abou hassan, and from what mesrour had told him, laughed heartily to see zobeide so exasperated. "madam," said he to her, "once more i repeat that i know not who was the author of that saying, that �women sometimes lose their wits,' but i am sure you make it good. mesrour has just come from abou hassan's, and tells you that he saw nouzhatoul-aouadat lying dead in the middle of the room, abou hassan alive, and sitting by her; and yet you will not believe this evidence, which nobody can reasonably refuse; i cannot comprehend this conduit." zobeide would not hear the caliph. "pardon me, commander of the faithful," replied she, "if i suspect you: i see that you have contrived with mesrour to vex me, and to try my patience. and as i perceive that this report was concerted between you, i beg leave to send a person to abou hassan's, to know whether or not i am in the wrong." the caliph consented, and the princess charged with this important commission an old nurse, who had lived with her from her infancy. "hark you nurse," said she, "you see my dispute with the commander of the faithful, and mesrour; i need tell you no more. go to abou hassan's or rather to nouzhatoul-aouadat's, for abou hassan is dead, and clear up this matter for me. if you bring me good news, a handsome present is your reward: make haste, and return immediately." the nurse set out, to the great joy of the caliph, who was delighted to see zobeide in this embarrassment; but mesrour, extremely mortified to find the princess so angry with him, did all he could to appease her, and to make her and the caliph both satisfied with him. he was overjoyed when zobeide sent the nurse; because he was persuaded that the report she must make would agree with his, justify him, and restore him to her favour. in the mean time abou hassan, who watched at the window, perceived the nurse at a distance, and guessing that she was sent by zobeide, called his wife, and told her that the princess's nurse was coming to know the truth. "therefore," said he, "make haste and lay me out." accordingly nouzhatoul-aouadat covered him with the brocade zobeide had given her, and put his turban upon his face. the nurse, eager to acquit herself of her commission, hobbled as fast as age would allow her, and entering the room, perceived nouzhatoul-aouadat in tears, her hair dishevelled, and seated at the head of her husband, beating her breast, with all the expressions of violent grief. the good old nurse went directly to the false widow. "my dear nouzhatoul-aouadat," said she, with a sorrowful countenance, "i come not to interrupt your grief and tears for a husband whom you loved so tenderly." "ah! good mother," replied the counterfeit widow, "you see my misfortune, and how unhappy i am from the loss of my beloved abou hassan. abou hassan, my dear husband!" cried she, "what have i done that you should leave me so soon? have i not always preferred your will to my own? alas! what will become of poor nouzhatoul-aouadat?" "this black-faced mesrour," cried the nurse, lifting up her hands, "deserves to be punished for having caused so great a difference between my good mistress and the commander of the faithful, by the falsehood he has told them. daughter," continued she, "that villain mesrour has asserted, with inconceivable impudence, before our good mistress, that you were dead, and abou hassan was alive." "alas! my good mother," cried nouzhatoul-aouadat, "i wish to heaven that it was true! i should not be in this sorrowful state, nor bewail a husband so dear to me!" at these words she wept afresh, and with redoubled tears and cries feigned the deepest sorrow. the nurse was so much moved by her tears, that she sat down by her, and cried too. then gently lifting up the turban and cloth, looked at the face of the corpse. "ah! poor abou hassan," she cried, covering his face again, "god have mercy upon thee. adieu, child," said she to nouzhatoul-aouadat: "if i could stay longer with you, i would with all my heart; but i am obliged to return immediately, to deliver my mistress from the uneasiness that black villain has occasioned her, by his impudent lie, assuring her with an oath that you were dead." as soon as the nurse was gone, nouzhatoul-aouadat wiped her eyes and released abou hassan; they both went and sat down on a sofa against the window, expecting what would be the end of this stratagem, and to be ready to act according as circumstances might require. the nurse, in the mean time, made all the haste she could to zobeide. the pleasure of carrying the princess news favourable to her wager, but still more the hopes of a good reward, added wings to her feet, and running into the princess's closet quite out of breath, she gave her a true account of all she had seen. zobeide hearkened to the old woman's relation with a most sensible pleasure; and when she had done, said, with a tone which shewed triumph at having, as she supposed, won her wager: "repeat it once more before the caliph, who looks upon us all to be fools, would make us believe we have no sense of religion, nor fear of god; and tell your story to that wicked black slave, who had the insolence to assert a wilful falsehood." mesrour, who expected the nurse's report would prove favourable on his side, was much mortified to find it so much the contrary, and so vexed at the anger zobeide expressed against him, for a thing which he thought himself surer of than any body, that he was glad of an opportunity of speaking his mind freely to the old women, which he durst not do to the princess. "old toothless," said he to the nurse, "you are a liar, and there is no truth in what you say; for i saw with my own eyes nouzhatoul-aouadat laid out in the middle of the room." "you are a notorious liar yourself," replied the nurse, with an insulting air, "to dare maintain so great a falsity before my face, who am just come from seeing abou hassan dead, laid out, and have left his wife alive." "i am not an impostor," replied mesrour; "it is you who endeavour to lead us all into error." "what impudence," said the nurse, "to dare tell me i lie in the presence of their majesties, when i saw just now with my own eyes what i have had the honour to tell them." "indeed, nurse," answered mesrour again, "you had better hold your tongue, for you certainly doat." zobeide, who could no longer endure this want of respect in mesrour, who, without any regard to her, treated her nurse so injuriously in her presence, without giving the old lady time to reply to so gross an affront, said to the caliph, "commander of the faithful, i demand justice for this insolence to us both." she was so enraged she could say no more, but burst into tears. the caliph, who had heard all the dispute, thought it very intricate. he mused some time, and could not tell what to think of so many contradictions. the princess on her part, as well as mesrour, the nurse, and all the women slaves, who were present, were as much puzzled, and remained silent. at last the caliph, addressing himself to zobeide, said, "i see we are all liars; myself first, then you, mesrour, and you, nurse; or at least it seems not one can be believed more than the other; therefore let us go ourselves to examine the truth, for i can see no other way to clear up these doubts." so saying, the caliph arose, the princess followed him, and mesrour went before to open the doors. "commander of the faithful," said he, "i am overjoyed that your majesty has taken this course; and shall be much more, when i shall make it plainly appear to the nurse, not that she doats, since the expression is unfortunately displeasing to my good mistress, but that her report is not true." the nurse wanted not a reply; "hold your tongue, black face," said she; "you doat yourself." zobeide, who was much provoked at mesrour, could not bear to hear him attack her nurse again without taking her part: "vile slave," said she, "say what you will, i maintain my nurse speaks the truth, and look upon you as a mere liar." "madam," replied mesrour, "if nurse is so very certain that nouzhatoul-aouadat is alive, and abou hassan dead, i will lay her what she dares of it." the nurse was as ready as he; "i dare," said she, "take you at your word: let us see if you dare unsay it." mesrour stood to his word; and they laid a piece of gold brocade with silver flowers before the caliph and the princess. the apartment from which the caliph and zobeide set out, though distant from abou hassan's, was nevertheless just opposite, so that he perceived them coming, and told his wife that he was much mistaken if the caliph and zobeide, preceded by mesrour, and followed by a great number of women, were not about to do them the honour of a visit. she looked through a lattice and saw them, seemed frightened, and cried out, "what shall we do? we are ruined." "fear nothing," replied abou hassan. "have you forgotten already what we agreed on? we will both feign ourselves dead, and you shall see all will go well. at the slow rate they are coming, we shall be ready before they reach the door." accordingly, abou hassan and his wife wrapped up and covered themselves with the pieces of brocade, and waited patiently for their visitors. mesrour, who came first, opened the door, and the caliph and zobeide, followed by their attendants, entered the room; but were struck with horror, and stood motionless, at the spectacle which presented itself to their view, not knowing what to think. at length zobeide breaking silence, said to the caliph, "alas! they are both dead! you have done much," continued she, looking at the caliph and mesrour, "to endeavour to make me believe that my dear slave was dead, and i find it is true: grief at the loss of her husband has certainly killed her." "say rather, madam," answered the caliph, prepossessed to the contrary, that nouzhatoul-aoudat died first, "the afflicted abou hassan sunk under his grief, and could not survive his dear wife; you ought, therefore, to confess that you have lost your wager, and that your palace of paintings is mine." "hold there," answered zobeide, warmed at being contradicted by the caliph; "i will maintain you have lost your garden of pleasures. abou hassan died first; since my nurse told you, as well as me, that she saw her alive, and weeping for the death of her husband." the dispute of the caliph and zobeide brought on another between mesrour and the nurse, who had wagered as well as they; each affirmed to have won, and at length they proceeded to abuse each other very grossly. at last the caliph, reflecting on what had passed, began to think that zobeide had as much reason as himself to maintain that she had won. in this embarrassment of not being able to find out the truth, he advanced towards the corpses, and sat down at the head, searching for some expedient that might gain him the victory over zobeide. "i swear," cried he presently after, "by the holy name of god, that i will give a thousand pieces of gold to him who can tell me which of these two died first." no sooner were these words out of the caliph's mouth, than he heard a voice under abou hassan's piece of brocade say, "commander of the faithful, i died first, give me the thousand pieces of gold." at the same instant abou hassan threw off the piece of brocade, and springing up, prostrated himself at his feet, while his wife did the same to zobeide, keeping on her piece of brocade out of decency. the princess at first shrieked out, but recovering herself, expressed great joy to see her dear slave rise again, just when she was almost inconsolable at having seen her dead. "ah! wicked nouzhatoul-aouadat," cried she, "what have i suffered for your sake? however, i forgive you from my heart, since you are not dead." the caliph was not so much surprised, when he heard abou hassan's voice: but thought he should have died with laughing at this unravelling of the mystery, and to hear abou hassan ask so seriously for the thousand pieces of gold. "what, abou hassan," said he, continuing to laugh aloud, "hast thou conspired against my life, to kill me a second time with laughing? how came this thought into your head, to surprise zobeide and me thus, when we least thought of such a trick?" "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "i will declare to your majesty the whole truth, without the least reserve. your majesty knows that i always loved to eat and drink well' and the wife you gave me rather increased than restrained this propensity. with these dispositions your majesty may easily suppose we might spend a good estate; and to make short of my story, we were not sparing of what your majesty so generously gave us. this morning, accounting with our caterer, who took care to provide every thing for us, and paying what we owed him, we found we had nothing left. then, reflections on what was past, and resolutions to manage better for the future, crowded into our thoughts; we formed a thousand projects, all of which we rejected. at last, the shame of seeing ourselves reduced to so low a condition, and not daring to tell your majesty, made us contrive this stratagem to relieve our necessities, and to divert you, which we hope your majesty will be pleased to pardon." the caliph was satisfied with abou hassan's sincerity, and zobeide, who had till now been very serious, began to laugh at the thought of abou hassan's scheme. the caliph, who had not ceased laughing at the singularity of the adventure, rising, said to abou hassan and his wife, "follow me; i will give you the thousand pieces of gold i promised, for joy to find you are not dead." zobeide desired him to let her make her slave a present of the same sum, for the same reason. by this means abou hassan and his wife nouzhatoul-aouadat preserved the favour of the caliph haroon al rusheed and the princess zobeide, and by their liberalities were enabled to pursue their pleasures. the story of alla ad deen; or, the wonderful lamp. in the capital of one of the large and rich provinces of the kingdom of china, the name of which i do not recollect, there lived a tailor, named mustapha, who was so poor, that he could hardly, by his daily labour, maintain himself and his family, which consisted of a wife and son. his son, who was called alla ad deen, had been brought up in a very careless and idle manner, and by that means had contracted many vicious habits. he was wicked, obstinate, and disobedient to his father and mother, who, when he grew up, could not keep him within doors. he was in the habit of going out early in the morning, and would stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own age. when he was old enough to learn a trade, his father not being able to put him out to any other, took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle: but neither fair words nor the fear of chastisement were capable of fixing his lively genius. all his father's endeavours to keep him to his work were in vain; for no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for that day. mustapha chastised him, but alla ad deen was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness: and was so much troubled at not being able to reclaim him, that it threw him into a fit of sickness, of which he died in a few months. the mother, finding that her son would not follow his father's business, shut up the shop, sold off the implements of trade, and with the money she received for them, and what she could get by spinning cotton, thought to maintain herself and her son. alla ad deen, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, and who cared so little for his mother, that whenever she chid him, he would abuse her, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. this course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. in this situation, as he was one day playing according to custom in the street, with his vagabond associates, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. this stranger was a sorcerer, called by the writer of this story, the african magician; he was a native of africa, and had been but two days arrived from thence. the african magician, who was a good physiognomist, observing in alla ad deen's countenance something absolutely necessary for the execution of the design he was engaged in, inquired artfully about his family, who he was, and what were his inclinations; and when he had learned all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, "child, was not your father called mustapha the tailor?" "yes, sir," answered the boy; "but he has been dead a long time." at these words, the african magician threw his arms about alla ad deen's neck, and kissed him several times with tears in his eyes. alla ad deen, who observed his tears, asked him what made him weep. "alas! my son," cried the african magician with a sigh, "how can i forbear? "i am your uncle; your worthy father was my own brother. i have been many years abroad, and now i am come home with the hopes of seeing him, you tell me he is dead. i assure you it is a sensible grief to me to be deprived of the comfort i expected. but it is some relief to my affliction, that as far as i can remember him, i knew you at first sight, you are so like him; and i see i am not deceived." then he asked alla ad deen, putting his hand into his purse, where his mother lived; and as soon as he had informed him, gave him a handful of small money, saying, "go, my son, to your mother, give my love to her, and tell her that i will visit her to-morrow, if i have time, that i may have the satisfaction of seeing where my good brother lived so long, and ended his days." as soon as the african magician left his newly-adopted nephew, alla ad deen ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. "mother," said he, "have i an uncle?" "no, child," replied his mother, "you have no uncle by your father's side, or mine." "i am just now come," said alla ad deen, "from a man who says he is my uncle by my father's side, assuring me that he is his brother. he cried and kissed me when i told him my father was dead; and to shew you that what i tell you is truth," added he, pulling out the money, "see what he has given me. he charged me to give his love to you, and to tell you, if he has any time to- morrow, he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my father lived and died in." "indeed, child," replied the mother, "your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long time, and i never heard of another." the mother and son talked no more then of the african magician; but the next day alla ad deen's uncle found him playing in another part of the town with other children, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, and said to him, "carry this, child, to your mother, tell her that i will come and see her tonight, and bid her get us something for supper; but first shew me the house where you live." after alla ad deen had shewed the african magician the house, he carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told her of his uncle's intention, she went out and bought provisions; and considering she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her neighbours. she spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at night when it was ready, said to her son, "perhaps your uncle knows not how to find our house; go and bring him if you meet with him." though alla ad deen had shewed the magician the house, he was ready to go, when somebody knocked at the door, which he immediately opened: and the magician came in loaded with wine, and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a dessert. after the african magician had given what he brought into alla ad deen's hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to shew him the place where his brother mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so done, he fell down and kissed it several times, crying out with tears in his eyes, "my poor brother! how unhappy am i, not to have come soon enough to give you one last embrace." alla ad deen's mother desired him to sit down in the same place, but he declined. "no," said he, "i shall take care how i do that; but give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although i am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the master of a family so dear to me, i may at least have the pleasure of beholding the place where he used to sit." the widow pressed him no farther, but left him at liberty to sit where he pleased. when the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to enter into discourse with alla ad deen's mother. "my good sister," said he, "do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have been married to my brother mustapha of happy memory. i have been forty years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my late brother's; and during that time have travelled into the indies, persia, arabia, syria, and egypt, have resided in the finest towns of those countries; and afterwards crossed over into africa, where i made a longer stay. at last, as it is natural for a man, how distant soever it may be, to remember his native country, relations, and acquaintance, i was desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my dear brother; and finding i had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, i immediately made the necessary preparations, and set out. i will not tell you the length of time it took me, all the obstacles i met with, and what fatigues i have endured, to come hither; but nothing ever mortified and afflicted me so much, as hearing of my brother's death, for whom i always had a brotherly love and friendship. i observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and distinguished him among a number of children with whom he was at play; he can tell you how i received the most melancholy news that ever reached my ears. but god be praised for all things! it is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." the african magician perceiving that the widow began to weep at the remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning towards her son, asked him his name. "i am called alla ad deen," said he. "well, alla ad deen," replied the magician, "what business do you follow? are you of any trade?" at this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little abashed when his mother answered, "alla ad deen is an idle fellow; his father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all i can say to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not make him ashamed of it, i despair of his ever coming to any good. he knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees me endeavour to get bread by spinning cotton; for my part, i am resolved one of these days to turn him out of doors, and let him provide for himself." after these words, alla ad deen's mother burst into tears; and the magician said, "this is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself, and getting your livelihood. there are many sorts of trades, consider if you have not an inclination to some of them; perhaps you did not like your father's, and would prefer another: come, do not disguise your sentiments from me; i will endeavour to help you." but finding that alla ad deen returned no answer, "if you have no mind," continued he, "to learn any handicraft, i will take a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and with the money you make of them lay in fresh goods, and then you will live in an honourable way. consult your inclination, and tell me freely what you think of my proposal: you shall always find me ready to keep my word." this plan greatly flattered alla ad deen, who hated work, but had sense enough to know that such shops were much frequented, and the owners respected. he told the magician he had a greater inclination to that business than to any other, and that he should be much obliged to him for his kindness. "since this profession is agreeable to you," said the african magician, "i will carry you with me to-morrow, clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterwards we will think of opening a shop as i mentioned." the widow, who never till then could believe that the magician was her husband's brother, no longer doubted after his promises of kindness to her son. she thanked him for his good intentions; and after having exhorted alla ad deen to render himself worthy of his uncle's favour by good behaviour, served up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent matters; and then the magician, who saw that the night was pretty far advanced, took his leave, and retired. he came again the next day, as he had promised, and took alla ad deen with him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. he asked to see some that suited alla ad deen in size; and after choosing a suit for himself which he liked best, and rejecting others which he did not think handsome enough, he bade alla ad deen choose those he preferred. alla ad deen, charmed with the liberality of his new uncle, made choice of one, and the magician immediately paid for it. when alla ad deen found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his uncle thanks; who promised never to forsake him, but always to take him along with him; which he did to the most frequented places in the city, and particularly where the principal merchants kept their shops. when he brought him into the street where they sold the richest stuffs, and finest linens, he said to alla ad deen, "as you are soon to be a merchant, it is proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them." he then shewed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, and afterwards to the sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at last brought him to his own khan, where meeting with some merchants he had become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. this entertainment lasted till night, when alla ad deen would have taken leave of his uncle to go home; the magician would not let him go by himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magician, for being at so great an expense upon her child. "generous relation!" said she, "i know not how to thank you for your liberality! i know that my son is not deserving of your favours; and were he ever so grateful, and answered your good intentions, he would be unworthy of them. i thank you with all my soul, and wish you may live long enough to witness my son's gratitude, which he cannot better shew than by regulating his conduct by your good advice." "alla ad deen," replied the magician, "is a good boy, and i believe we shall do very well; but i am sorry for one thing, which is, that i cannot perform to-morrow what i promised, because, as it is friday, the shops will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or furnish one, but must wait till saturday. i will, however, call on him to-morrow and take him to walk in the gardens, where people of the best fashion generally resort. perhaps he has never seen these amusements, he has only hitherto been among children; but now he must see men." the african magician took his leave of the mother and the son, and retired. alla ad deen, who was overjoyed to be so well clothed, anticipated the pleasure of walking in the gardens. he had never been out of the town, nor seen the environs, which were very beautiful and pleasant. alla ad deen rose early the next morning, dressed himself, to be ready when his uncle called on him; and after he had waited some time, began to be impatient, and stood watching at the door; but as soon as he perceived him coming, he told his mother, took his leave of her, and ran to meet him. the magician caressed alla ad deen, and said, "come, my dear child, and i will shew you fine things." he then led him out at one of the gates of the city, to some magnificent houses, or rather palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody might enter. at every building he came to, he asked alla ad deen if he did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to answer when any one presented itself, crying out, "here is a finer house, uncle, than any we have seen yet." by this artifice, the cunning magician led alla ad deen some way into the country; and as he meant to carry him farther, to execute his design, he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens on the brink of a fountain of clear water, which discharged itself by a lion's mouth of bronze into a basin, pretending to be tired. "come, nephew," said he, "you must be weary as well as i; let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to pursue our walk." after they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided, and laid them on the edge of the basin. he broke a cake in two, gave one half to alla ad deen, and ate the other himself; and in regard to the fruit, left him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. during this short repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping company with vagabonds, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their conversation. "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, and you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." when they had eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk through gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which marked out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. by this means, the african magician drew alla ad deen insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. alla ad deen, who had never been so far before, began to find himself much tired with so long a walk, and said to the magician, "where are we going, uncle? we have left the gardens a great way behind us, and i see nothing but mountains; if we go much further, i do not know whether i shall be able to reach the town again?" "never fear, nephew," said the false uncle; "i will shew you another garden which surpasses all we have yet seen; it is not far off; and when we come there, you will say that you would have been sorry to have been so nigh, and not seen it." alla ad deen was soon persuaded; and the magician, to make the way seem shorter and less fatiguing, told him a great many stories. at last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height, and equal size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the magician intended to execute the design that had brought him from africa to china. "we will go no farther now," said he to alla ad deen: "i will shew you here some extraordinary things, which, when you have seen, you will thank me for: but while i strike a light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." alla ad deen found so many dried sticks, that before the magician had made a light, he had collected a great heap. the magician presently set them on fire, and when they were in a blaze, threw in some incense which raised a cloud of smoke. this he dispersed on each side, by pronouncing several magical words which alla ad deen did not understand. at the same time the earth trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle. alla ad deen was so frightened at what he saw, that he would have run away; but the magician caught hold of him, abused him, and gave him such a box on the ear, that he knocked him down. alla ad deen got up trembling, and with tears in his eyes, said to the magician, "what have i done, uncle, to be treated in this severe manner?" "i have my reasons," answered the magician: "i am your uncle, i supply the place of your father, and you ought to make no reply. but, child," added he, softening, "do not be afraid; for i shall not ask any thing of you, but that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages which i intend you." these fair promises calmed alla ad deen's fears and resentment; and when the magician saw that he was appeased, he said to him, "you see what i have done by virtue of my incense, and the words i pronounced. know then, that under this stone there is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the greatest monarch in the world: no person but yourself is permitted to lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what i may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and me." alla ad deen, amazed at all he saw and heard the magician say of the treasure which was to make him happy, forgot what was past, and rising, said, "well, uncle, what is to be done? command me, i am ready to obey." "i am overjoyed, child," said the african magician, embracing him; "take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "indeed, uncle," replied alla ad deen, "i am not strong enough, you must help me." "you have no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if i help you, we shall be able to do nothing; take hold of the ring, pronounce the names of your father and grandfather, then lift it up, and you will find it will come easily." alla ad deen did as the magician bade him, raised the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. when the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about three or four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower. "observe, my son," said the african magician, "what i direct. descend into the cave, and when you are at the bottom of those steps you will find a door open, which will lead you into a spacious vault, divided into three great halls, in each of which you will see four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; but take care you do not meddle with them. before you enter the first hall, be sure to tuck up your vest, wrap it about you, and then pass through the second into the third without stopping. above all things, have a care that you do not touch the walls, so much as with your clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. at the end of the third hall, you will find a door which opens into a garden planted with fine trees loaded with fruit; walk directly across the garden by a path which will lead you to five steps that will bring you upon a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. take the lamp down, and extinguish it: when you have thrown away the wick, and poured out the liquor, put it in your vestband and bring it to me. do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil; and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out. if you should wish for any of the fruit of the garden, you may gather as much as you please." after these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on one of alla ad deen's, telling him that it was a preservative against all evil, while he should observe what he had prescribed to him. after this instruction he said, "go down boldly, child, and we shall both be rich all our lives." alla ad deen jumped into the cave, descended the steps, and found the three halls just as the african magician had described. he went through them with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire; crossed the garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in his vestband. but as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly dry, he stopped in the garden to observe the fruit, which he only had a glimpse of in crossing it. all the trees were loaded with extraordinary fruit, of different colours on each tree. some bore fruit entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow: in short, there was fruit of all colours. the white were pearls; the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, amethysts; and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires. alla ad deen was altogether ignorant of their worth, and would have preferred figs and grapes, or any other fruits. but though he took them only for coloured glass of little value, yet he was so pleased with the variety of the colours, and the beauty and extraordinary size of the seeming fruit, that he resolved to gather some of every sort; and accordingly filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes. some he wrapped up in the skirts of his vest, which was of silk, large and wrapping, and crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. alla ad deen, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the value of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, made all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the african magician expected him with the utmost impatience. as soon as alla ad deen saw him, he cried out, "pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "give me the lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you." "indeed, uncle," answered alla ad deen, "i cannot now; it is not troublesome to me: but i will as soon as i am up." the african magician was so obstinate, that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and alla ad deen, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused to give it to him till he was out of the cave. the african magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into the fire, which he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical words, than the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into its place, with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the magician and alla ad deen. this action of the african magician's plainly shewed him to be neither alla ad deen's uncle, nor mustapha the tailor's brother; but a true african. africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in magic of any in the whole world, and he had applied himself to it from his youth. after forty years' experience in enchantments, geomancy, fumigations, and reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful than any monarch; and by a late operation of geomancy, he had discovered that this lamp lay concealed in a subterraneous place in the midst of china, in the situation already described. fully persuaded of the truth of this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of africa; and after a long and fatiguing journey, came to the town nearest to this treasure. but though he had a certain knowledge of the place where the lamp was, he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter the .subterraneous place, but must receive it from the hands of another person. for this reason he had addressed himself to alla ad deen, whom he looked upon as a young lad whose life was of no consequence, and fit to serve his purpose, resolving, as soon as he should get the lamp into his hands, to sacrifice him to his avarice and wickedness, by making the fumigation mentioned before, and repeating two magical words, the effect of which would remove the stone into its place, so that no witness would remain of the transaction. the blow he had given alla ad deen was intended to make him obey the more readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he should ask for it. but his too great precipitation, and his fear lest somebody should come that way during their dispute, and discover what he wished to keep secret, produced an effect quite contrary to what he had proposed to himself. when the african magician saw that all his hopes were frustrated forever, he returned the same day for africa; but went quite round the town, and at some distance from it, lest some persons who had observed him walk out with the boy, on seeing him come back without him, should entertain any suspicions, and stop him. according to all appearances, there was no prospects of alla ad deen being any more heard of. but the magician, when he had contrived his death, forgot the ring he had put upon his finger, which preserved him, though he knew not its virtue. it may seem astonishing that the loss of that, together with the lamp, did not drive the magician to despair; but magicians are so much used to misfortunes, and events contrary to their wishes, that they do not lay them to heart, but still feed themselves, to the end of life, with unsubstantial notions and chimeras. the surprise of alla ad deen, who had never suspected this treachery from his pretended uncle, after all his caresses and what he had done for him, is more easily to be imagined than expressed. when he found himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp; but in vain, since his cries could not be heard. he descended to the bottom of the steps, with a design to get into the garden, but the door, which was opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. he then redoubled his cries and tears, sat down on the steps, without any hopes of ever seeing light again, and in a melancholy certainty of passing from the present darkness into that of a speedy death. alla ad deen remained in this state two days, without eating or drinking, and on the third looked upon death as inevitable. clasping his hands with an entire resignation to the will of god, he said, "there is no strength or power but in the great and high god." in this action of joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger, and of which he knew not yet the virtue. immediately a genie of enormous size and frightful aspect rose out of the earth, his head reaching the roof of the vault, and said to him, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all who may possess the ring on thy finger; i, and the other slaves of that ring." at another time, alla ad deen, who had not been used to such appearances, would have been so frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation, "whoever thou art, deliver me from this place, if thou art able." he had no sooner spoken these words, than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had caused the earth to open. it was some time before his eyes could bear the light, after being so long in total darkness: but after he had endeavoured by degrees to support it, and began to look about him, he was much surprised not to find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had got so soon out of its bowels. there was nothing to be seen but the place where the fire had been, by which he could nearly judge the situation of the cave. then turning himself towards the town, he perceived it at a distance in the midst of the gardens that surrounded it, and saw the way by which the magician had brought him. returning god thanks to find himself once more in the world, he made the best of his way home. when he got within his mother's door, the joy to see her and his weakness for want of sustenance for three days made him faint, and he remained for a long time as dead. his mother, who had given him over for lost, seeing him in this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself. as soon as he recovered, the first words he spoke, were, "pray, mother, give me something to eat, for i have not put a morsel of anything into my mouth these three days." his mother brought what she had, and set it before him. "my son," said she, "be not too eager, for it is dangerous; eat but little at a time, and take care of yourself. besides, i would not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell me what has happened to you when you are recovered. it is a great comfort to me to see you again, after the affliction i have been in since friday, and the pains i have taken to learn what was become of you." alla ad deen took his mother's advice, and ate and drank moderately. when he had done, "mother," said he to her, "i cannot help complaining of you, for abandoning me so easily to the discretion of a man who had a design to kill me. and who at this very moment thinks my death certain. you believed he was my uncle, as well as i; and what other thoughts could we entertain of a man who was so kind to me, and made such advantageous proffers? but i must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and only made me those promises to accomplish my death; but for what reason neither you nor i can guess. for my part, i can assure you, i never gave him any cause to justify the least ill treatment from him. you shall judge yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the time i left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked design." alla ad deen then related to his mother all that had happened to him from the friday, when the magician took him to see the palaces and gardens about the town, and what fell out in the way, till they came to the place between the two mountains where the great prodigy was to be performed; how, with incense which the magician threw into the fire, and some magical words which he pronounced, the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable treasure. he forgot not the blow the magician had given him, in what manner he softened again, and engaged him by great promises, and putting a ring to his finger, to go down into the cave. he did not omit the least circumstance of what he saw in crossing the three halls and the garden, and his taking the lamp, which he pulled out of his bosom and shewed to his mother, as well as the transparent fruit of different colours, which he had gathered in the garden as he returned. but, though these fruits were precious stones, brilliant as the sun, and the reflection of a lamp which then lighted the room might have led them to think they were of great value, she was as ignorant of their worth as her son, and cared nothing for them. she had been bred in a low rank of life, and her husband's poverty prevented his being possessed of jewels, nor had she, her relations, or neighbours, ever seen any; so that we must not wonder that she regarded them as things of no value, and only pleasing to the eye by the variety of their colours. alla ad deen put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa, and continued his story, telling his mother, that when he returned to the mouth of the cave, upon his refusal to give the magician the lamp till he should get out, the stone, by his throwing some incense into the fire, and using two or three magical words, shut him in, and the earth closed. he could not help bursting into tears at the representation of the miserable condition he was in, at finding himself buried alive in a dismal cave, till by the touching of his ring, the virtue of which he was till then an entire stranger to, he, properly speaking, came to life again. when he had finished his story, he said to his mother, "i need say no more, you know the rest. this is my adventure, and the danger i have been exposed to since you saw me." alla ad deen's mother heard with so much patience as not to interrupt him this surprising and wonderful relation, notwithstanding it could be no small affliction to a mother, who loved her son tenderly: but yet in the most moving part which discovered the perfidy of the african magician, she could not help shewing, by marks of the greatest indignation, how much she detested him; and when her son had finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile impostor. she called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. "without doubt, child," added she, "he is a magician, and they are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with the devil. bless god for preserving you from his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon him, and implored his assistance." she said a great deal more against the magician's treachery; but finding that whilst she talked, alla ad deen, who had not slept for three days and nights, began to doze, she left him to his repose and retired. alla ad deen, who had not closed his eyes while he was in the subterraneous abode, slept very soundly till late the next morning; when the first thing he said to his mother was that he wanted something to eat, and that she could not do him a greater kindness than to give him his breakfast. "alas! child," said she, "i have not a bit of bread to give you, you ate up all the provisions i had in the house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long before i will bring you some: i have a little cotton, which i have spun; i will go and sell it, buy bread, and something for our dinner." "mother," replied alla ad deen, "keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp i brought home with me yesterday; i will go and sell it, and the money i shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." alla ad deen's mother took the lamp, and said to her son, "here it is, but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner i believe it would bring something more." she took some fine sand and water to clean it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice like thunder, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i and the other slaves of the lamp." alla ad deen's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when alla ad deen, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "i am hungry, bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered dishes of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; six large white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. all these he placed upon a carpet, and disappeared; this was done before alla ad deen's mother recovered from her swoon. alla ad deen had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face, to recover her: whether that or the smell of the meat brought her to life again, it was not long before she came to herself. "mother," said alla ad deen, "do not mind this; get up, and come and eat; here is what will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme hunger: do not let such delicious meat get cold." his mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savoury odour which exhaled from the dishes. "child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality? has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "it is no matter, mother," said alla ad deen, "let us sit down and eat; for you have almost as much need of a good breakfast as myself; when we have done, i will tell you." accordingly both mother and son sat down, and ate with the better relish as the table was so well furnished. but all the time alla ad deen's mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, though she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the novelty more than the value attracted her attention. the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet after this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day. when alla ad deen's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, "i expect now that you should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while i was in a swoon;" which he readily complied with. she was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the appearance of the genie; and said to him, "but, son, what have we to do with genii? i never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. how came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "mother," answered alla ad deen, "the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me, though he resembles him in size; no, they had quite different persons and habits; they belong to different masters. if you remember, he that i first saw, called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand: but i believe you did not hear him, for i think you fainted as soon as he began to speak." "what!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that cursed genie addressing himself rather to me than to you?" ah my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. i will never touch it. i had rather you would sell it, than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have any thing to do with genii, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." "with your leave, mother," replied alla ad deen, "i shall now take care how i sell a lamp, which may be so serviceable both to you and me. have not you been an eye-witness of what it has procured us? and it shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence and maintenance. you may suppose as i do, that my false and wicked uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long and tedious a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession this wonderful lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and silver which he knew was in the halls, and which i have seen with my own eyes. he knew too well the worth of this lamp, not to prefer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath discovered the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great shew, and exciting the envy and jealousy of our neighbours. however, since the genii frighten you so much, i will take it out of your sight, and put it where i may find it when i want it. the ring i cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had never seen me again; and though i am alive now, perhaps, if it was gone, i might not be so some moments hence; therefore i hope you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger. who knows what dangers you and i may be exposed to, which neither of us can foresee, and from which it may deliver us." as alla ad deen's arguments were just, his mother had nothing to say against them; she only replied, that he might do what he pleased, for her part, she would have nothing to do with genii, but would wash her hands of them, and never say anything more about them. by the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought; and the next day alla ad deen, who could not bear the thoughts of hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a jew whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. the cunning jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found that it was good silver, asked alla ad deen at how much he valued it. alla ad deen, who knew not its value, and never had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honour. the jew was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether alla ad deen understood the material or the full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. alla ad deen, taking the money very eagerly, retired with so much haste, that the jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavour to get some change out of the piece of gold; but he ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible for him to overtake him. before alla ad deen went home, he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some time. after this manner they lived, till alla ad deen had sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a bargain. when he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, where, after the jew had examined the weight of the tray, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which alla ad deen was very well satisfied. they lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner, and alla ad deen, though used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads of his own age ever since his adventure with the african magician. he spent his time in walking about, and conversing with decent people, with whom he gradually got acquainted. sometimes he would stop at the principal merchants' shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their discourse, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world. when all the money was spent, a]la ad deen had recourse again to the lamp. he took it in his hand, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie immediately appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have?" i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." "i am hungry," said alla ad deen, "bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared, and presently returned with a tray, the same number of covered dishes as before, set them down, and vanished. alla ad deen's mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genie came; and when she returned, was almost as much surprised as before at the prodigious effect of the lamp. however, she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as they liked, she set enough by to last them two or three days. as soon as alla ad deen found that their provisions were expended, he took one of the dishes, and went to look for his jew chapman; but passing by a goldsmith's shop, who had the character of a very fair and honest man, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, and said, "my lad, i have often observed you go by, loaded as you are at present, and talk with such a jew, and then come back again empty handed. i imagine that you carry something which you sell to him; but perhaps you do not know that he is the greatest rogue even among the jews, and is so well known, that nobody of prudence will have anything to do with him. what i tell you is for your own good. if you will shew me what you now carry, and it is to be sold, i will give you the full worth of it; or i will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you." the hopes of getting more money for his plate induced alla ad deen to pull it from under his vest, and shew it to the goldsmith, who at first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, asked him if he had sold such as that to the jew, when alla ad deen told him that he had sold him twelve such, for a piece of gold each. "what a villain!" cried the goldsmith; "but," added he, "my son, what is passed cannot be recalled. by shewing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, i will let you see how much the jew has cheated you." the goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and after he had mentioned how much an ounce of fine silver cost, assured him that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to pay down immediately. "if you dispute my honesty," said he, "you may go to any other of our trade, and if he gives you more, i will be bound to forfeit twice as much; for we gain only the fashion of the plate we buy, and that the fairest dealing jews are not contented with." alla ad deen thanked him for his fair dealing, so greatly to his advantage, took the gold, and never after went to any other person, but sold him all his dishes and the tray, and had as much for them as the weight came to. though alla ad deen and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with the same frugality as before, except that alla ad deen dressed better; as for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she earned by spinning cotton. after their manner of living, it may easily be supposed, that the money for which alla ad deen had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to maintain them some time. during this interval, alla ad deen frequented the shops of the principal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk stuffs, and jewellery, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, acquired a knowledge of the world, and respectable demeanour. by his acquaintance among the jewellers, he came to know that the fruits which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of coloured glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to mention this to any one, not even to his mother. one day as alla ad deen was walking about the town, he heard an order proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, and keep within doors, while the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, went to the baths and returned. this proclamation inspired alla ad deen with eager curiosity to see the princess's face, which he could not do without admission into the house of some acquaintance, and then only through a window; which did not satisfy him, when he considered that the princess, when she went to the baths, would be closely veiled; but to gratify his curiosity, he presently thought of a scheme, which succeeded; it was to place himself behind the door of the bath, which was so situated that he could not fail of seeing her face. alla ad deen had not waited long before the princess came, and he could see her plainly through a chink of the door without being discovered. she was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves and eunuchs, who walked on each side, and behind her. when she came within three or four paces of the door of the baths, she took off her veil, and gave alla ad deen an opportunity of a full view. as soon as alla ad deen had seen the princess, his heart could not withstand those inclinations so charming an object always inspires. the princess was the most beautiful brunette in the world; her eyes were large, lively, and sparkling; her looks sweet and modest; her nose was of a just proportion and without a fault, her mouth small, her lips of a vermilion red and charmingly agreeable symmetry; in a word, all the features of her face were perfectly regular. it is not therefore surprising that alla ad deen, who had never before seen such a blaze of charms, was dazzled, and his senses ravished by such an assemblage. with all these perfections the princess had so fine a form, and so majestic an air, that the sight of her was sufficient to inspire love and admiration. after the princess had passed by, and entered the baths, alla ad deen remained some time astonished, and in a kind of ecstacy, retracing and imprinting the idea of so charming an object deeply in his mind. but at last, considering that the princess was gone past him, and that when she returned from the bath her back would be towards him, and then veiled, he resolved to quit his hiding place and go home. he could not so far conceal his uneasiness but that his mother perceived it, was surprised to see him so much more thoughtful and melancholy than usual; and asked what had happened to make him so, or if he was ill? he returned her no answer, but sat carelessly down on the sofa, and remained silent, musing on the image of the charming buddir al buddoor. his mother, who was dressing supper, pressed him no more. when it was ready, she served it up, and perceiving that he gave no attention to it, urged him to eat, but had much ado to persuade him to change his place; which when he did, he ate much less than usual, all the time cast down his eyes, and observed so profound a silence, that she could not obtain a word in answer to all the questions she put, in order to find the reason of so extraordinary an alteration. after supper, she asked him again why he was so melancholy, but could get no information, and he determined to go to bed rather than give her the least satisfaction. without examining how he passed the night, his mind full as it was with the charms of the princess, i shall only observe that as he sat next day on the sofa, opposite his mother, as she was spinning cotton, he spoke to her in these words: "i perceive, mother, that my silence yesterday has much troubled you; i was not, nor am i sick, as i fancy you believed; but i assure you, that what i felt then, and now endure, is worse than any disease. i cannot explain what ails me; but doubt not what i am going to relate will inform you. "it was not proclaimed in this quarter of the town, and therefore you could know nothing of it, that the sultan's daughter was yesterday to go to the baths. i heard this as i walked about the town, and an order was issued that all the shops should be shut up in her way thither, and everybody keep within doors, to leave the streets free for her and her attendants. as i was not then far from the bath, i had a great curiosity to see the princess's face; and as it occurred to me that the princess, when she came nigh the door of the bath, would pull her veil off, i resolved to conceal myself behind the door. you know the situation of the door, and may imagine that i must have had a full view of her. the princess threw off her veil, and i had the happiness of seeing her lovely face with the greatest security. this, mother, was the cause of my melancholy and silence yesterday; i love the princess with more violence than i can express; and as my passion increases every moment, i cannot live without the possession of the amiable buddir al buddoor, and am resolved to ask her in marriage of the sultan her father." alla ad deen's mother listened with surprise to what her son told her; but when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she could not help bursting out into a loud laugh. alla ad deen would have gone on with his rhapsody, but she interrupted him. "alas! child," said she, "what are you thinking of? you must be mad to talk thus." "i assure you, mother," replied alla ad deen, "that i am not mad, but in my right senses; i foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and extravagance; but i must tell you once more that i am resolved to demand the princess of the sultan in marriage, and your remonstrances shall not prevent me." "indeed, son," replied the mother seriously, "i cannot help telling you that you have forgotten yourself; and if you would put this resolution of yours in execution, i do not see whom you can prevail upon to venture to make the proposal for you." "you yourself," replied he immediately. "i go to the sultan!" answered the mother, amazed and surprised. "i shall be cautious how i engage in such an errand. why, who are you, son," continued she, "that you can have the assurance to think of your sultan's daughter? have you forgotten that your father was one of the poorest tailors in the capital, and that i am of no better extraction; and do not you know that sultans never marry their daughters but to princes, sons of sovereigns like themselves?" "mother," answered alla ad deen, "i have already told you that i foresaw all that you have said, or can say: and tell you again, that neither your discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change my mind. i have told you that you must ask the princess in marriage for me: it is a favour i desire of you, and i beg of you not to refuse, unless you would rather see me in my grave, than by your compliance give me new life." the good old woman was much embarrassed, when she found alla ad deen obstinately persisting in so wild a design. "my son," said she again, "i am your mother, who brought you into the world, and there is nothing that is reasonable but i would readily do for you. if i were to go and treat about your marriage with some neighbour's daughter, whose circumstances were equal with yours, i would do it with all my heart; and even then they would expect you should have some little estate or fortune, or be of some trade. when such poor folks as we are wish to marry, the first thing they ought to think of, is how to live. but without reflecting on the meanness of your birth, and the little merit and fortune you have to recommend you, you aim at the highest pitch of exaltation; and your pretensions are no less than to demand in marriage the daughter of your sovereign, who with one single word can crush you to pieces. i say nothing of what respects yourself. i leave you to reflect on what you have to do, if you have ever so little thought. i come now to consider what concerns myself. how could so extraordinary a thought come into your head, as that i should go to the sultan and make a proposal to him to give his daughter in marriage to you? suppose i had, not to say the boldness, but the impudence to present myself before the sultan, and make so extravagant a request, to whom should i address myself to be introduced to his majesty? do you not think the first person i should speak to would take me for a mad woman, and chastise me as i should deserve? suppose, however, that there is no difficulty in presenting myself for an audience of the sultan, and i know there is none to those who go to petition for justice, which he distributes equally among his subjects; i know too that to those who ask a favour he grants it with pleasure when he sees it is deserved, and the persons are worthy of it. but is that your case? do you think you have merited the honour you would have me ask for you? are you worthy of it? what have you done to claim such a favour, either for your prince or country? how have you distinguished yourself? if you have done nothing to merit so high a distinction, nor are worthy of it, with what face shall i ask it? how can i open my mouth to make the proposal to the sultan? his majestic presence and the lustre of his court would absolutely confound me, who used even to tremble before my dear husband your father, when i asked him for any thing. there is another reason, my son, which you do not think of, which is that nobody ever goes to ask a favour of the sultan without a present. but what presents have you to make? and if you had any that were worthy of the least attention of so great a monarch, what proportion could they bear to the favour you would ask? therefore, reflect well on what you are about, and consider, that you aspire to an object which it is impossible for you to obtain." alla ad deen heard very calmly all that his mother could say to dissuade him from his design, and after he had weighed her representations in all points, replied: "i own, mother, it is great rashness in me to presume to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want of consideration to ask you with so much heat and precipitancy to go and make the proposal to the sultan, without first taking proper measures to procure a favourable reception, and therefore beg your pardon. but be not surprised that through the violence of my passion i did not at first see every measure necessary to procure me the happiness i seek. i love the princess, or rather i adore her, and shall always persevere in my design of marrying her. i am obliged to you for the hint you have given me, and look upon it as the first step i ought to take to procure the happy issue i promise myself. "you say it is not customary to go to the sultan without a present, and that i have nothing worthy of his acceptance. as to the necessity of a present, i agree with you, and own that i never thought of it; but as to what you say that i have nothing fit to offer, do not you think, mother, that what i brought home with me the day on which i was delivered from an inevitable death, may be an acceptable present? i mean what you and i both took for coloured glass: but now i am undeceived, and can tell you that they are jewels of inestimable value, and fit for the greatest monarchs. i know the worth of them by frequenting the shops; and you may take my word that all the precious stones which i saw in the most capital jewellers' possessions were not to be compared to those we have, either for size or beauty, and yet they value theirs at an excessive price. in short, neither you nor i know the value of ours; but be it as it may, by the little experience i have, i am persuaded that they will be received very favourably by the sultan: you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, when we have arranged them according to their different colours." alla ad deen's mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels out of the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order according to his fancy. but the brightness and lustre they emitted in the day-time, and the variety of the colours, so dazzled the eyes both of mother and son, that they were astonished beyond measure; for they had only seen them by the light of a lamp; and though the latter had beheld them pendant on the trees like fruit beautiful to the eye, yet as he was then but a boy, he looked on them only as glittering playthings. after they had admired the beauty of the jewels some time, alla ad deen said to his mother, "now you cannot excuse yourself from going to the sultan, under pretext of not having a present to make him, since here is one which will gain you a favourable reception." though the good widow, notwithstanding the beauty and lustre of the precious stones, did not believe them so valuable as her son estimated them, she thought such a present might nevertheless be agreeable to the sultan, but still she hesitated at the request. "my son," said she, "i cannot conceive that your present will have its desired effect, or that the sultan will look upon me with a favourable eye; i am sure, that if i attempt to deliver your strange message, i shall have no power to open my mouth; therefore i shall not only lose my labour, but the present, which you say is so invaluable, and shall return home again in confusion, to tell you that your hopes are frustrated. i have represented the consequence, and you ought to believe me; but," added she, "i will exert my best endeavour to please you, and wish i may have power to ask the sultan as you would have me; but certainly he will either laugh at me, send me back like a fool, or be in so great a rage, as to make us both the victims of his fury." she used many other arguments to endeavour to make him change his mind; but the charms of the princess had made too great an impression on his heart for him to be dissuaded from his design. he persisted in importuning his mother to execute his resolution, and she, as much out of tenderness as for fear he should be guilty of greater extravagance, complied with his request. as it was now late, and the time for admission to the palace was passed, it was put off till the next day. the mother and son talked of different matters the remaining part of the day; and alla ad deen strove to encourage her in the task she had undertaken; while she, notwithstanding all his arguments, could not persuade herself she should succeed; and it must be confessed she had reason enough to doubt. "child," said she to alla ad deen, "if the sultan should receive me as favourably as i wish for your sake, should even hear my proposal with calmness, and after this scarcely-to-be-expected reception should think of asking me where lie your riches and your estate (for he will sooner inquire after these than your person), if, i say, he should ask me these questions, what answer would you have me return him?" "let us not be uneasy, mother," replied alla ad deen, "about what may never happen. first, let us see how the sultan receives, and what answer he gives you. if it should so fall out, that he desires to be informed of what you mention, i have thought of an answer, and am confident that the lamp which hath supported us so long will not fail me in time of need." the tailor's widow could not say any thing against what her son then proposed; but reflected that the lamp might be capable of doing greater wonders than just providing victuals for them. this consideration satisfied her, and at the same time removed all the difficulties which might have prevented her from undertaking the service she had promised her son with the sultan. alla ad deen, who penetrated into his mother's thoughts, said to her, "above all things, mother, be sure to keep secret our possession of the lamp, for thereon depends the success we have to expect;" and after this caution, alla ad deen and his mother parted to go to rest. but violent love, and the great prospect of so immense a fortune, had so much possessed the son's thoughts, that he could not repose himself so well as he could have wished. he rose before day-break, awakened his mother, pressing her to get herself dressed to go to the sultan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great officers of state went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always assisted in person. alla ad deen's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels the day before, wrapped in two napkins, one finer than the other, which was tied at the four corners for more easy carriage, and set forward for the sultan's palace. when she came to the gates, the grand vizier, the other viziers and most distinguished lords of the court, were just gone in; but, notwithstanding the crowd of people who had business was great, she got into the divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. she placed herself just before the sultan, grand vizier, and the great lords, who sat in council, on his right and left hand. several causes were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan rising, returned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did those whose business had called them thither; some pleased with gaining their causes, others dissatisfied at the sentences pronounced against them, and some in expectation of theirs being heard the next sitting. alla ad deen's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go home. when alla ad deen saw her return with the present designed for the sultan, he knew not what to think of her success, and in his fear lest she should bring him some ill news, had not courage to ask her any questions; but she, who had never set foot in the sultan's palace before, and knew not what was every day practised there, freed him from his embarrassment, and said to him, with a great deal of simplicity, "son, i have seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me too; for i placed myself just before him; but he was so much taken up with those who attended on all sides of him, that i pitied him, and wondered at his patience. at last i believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to speak to him, but went away, at which i was well pleased, for indeed i began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying so long. but there is no harm done; i will go again to-morrow; perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." though his passion was very violent, alla ad deen was forced to be satisfied with this delay, and to fortify himself with patience. he had at least the satisfaction to find that his mother had got over the greatest difficulty, which was to procure access to the sultan, and hoped that the example of those she saw speak to him would embolden her to acquit herself better of her commission when a favourable opportunity might offer to speak to him. the next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present, as early as the day before, but when she came there, she found the gates of the divan shut, and understood that the council sat but every other day, therefore she must come again the next. this news she carried to her son, whose only relief was to guard himself with patience. she went six times afterwards on the days appointed, placed herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little success as the first morning, and might have perhaps come a thousand times to as little purpose, if luckily the sultan himself had not taken particular notice of her: for only those who came with petitions approached the sultan, when each pleaded their cause in its turn, and alla ad deen's mother was not one of them. on the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when the sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier, "i have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly every day that i give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin: she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the audience, and affects to place herself just before me. do you know what she wants?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, who knew no more than the sultan what she wanted, but did not wish to seem uninformed, "your majesty knows that women often make complaints on trifles; perhaps she may come to complain to your majesty that somebody has sold her some bad flour, or some such trifling matter." the sultan was not satisfied with this answer, but replied, "if this woman comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that i may hear what she has to say." the grand vizier made answer by lowering his hand, and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. by this time, the tailor's widow was so much used to go to audience, and stand before the sultan, that she did not think it any trouble, if she could but satisfy her son that she neglected nothing that lay in her power to please him: the next audience day she went to the divan, placed herself in front of the sultan as usual; and before the grand vizier had made his report of business, the sultan perceived her, and compassionating her for having waited so long, said to the vizier, "before you enter upon any business, remember the woman i spoke to you about; bid her come near, and let us hear and dispatch her business first." the grand vizier immediately called the chief of the mace-bearers who stood ready to obey his commands; and pointing to her, bade him go to that woman, and tell her to come before the sultan. the chief of the officers went to alla ad deen's mother, and at a sign he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan's throne, where he left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. the old woman, after the example of others whom she saw salute the sultan, bowed her head down to the carpet, which covered the platform of the throne, and remained in that posture till the sultan bade her rise, which she had no sooner done, than he said to her, "good woman, i have observed you to stand a long time, from the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you here?" after these words, alla ad deen's mother prostrated herself a second time; and when she arose, said, "monarch of monarchs, before i tell your majesty the extraordinary and almost incredible business which brings me before your high throne, i beg of you to pardon the boldness or rather impudence of the demand i am going to make, which is so uncommon, that i tremble, and am ashamed to propose it to my sovereign." in order to give her the more freedom to explain herself, the sultan ordered all to quit the divan but the grand vizier, and then told her she might speak without restraint. alla ad deen's mother, not content with this favour of the sultan's to save her the trouble and confusion of speaking before so many people, was notwithstanding for securing herself against his anger, which, from the proposal she was going to make, she was not a little apprehensive of; therefore resuming her discourse, she said, "i beg of your majesty, if you should think my demand the least injurious or offensive, to assure me first of your pardon and forgiveness." "well," replied the sultan, "i will forgive you, be it what it may, and no hurt shall come to you: speak boldly." when alla ad deen's mother had taken all these precautions, for fear of the sultan's anger, she told him faithfully how alla ad deen had seen the princess buddir al buddoor, the violent love that fatal sight had inspired him with, the declaration he had made to her of it when he came home, and what representations she had made "to dissuade him from a passion no less disrespectful," said she, "to your majesty, as sultan, than to the princess your daughter. but," continued she, "my son, instead of taking my advice and reflecting on his presumption, was so obstinate as to persevere, and to threaten me with some desperate act, if i refused to come and ask the princess in marriage of your majesty; and it was not without the greatest reluctance that i was led to accede to his request, for which i beg your majesty once more to pardon not only me, but also alla ad deen my son, for entertaining so rash a project as to aspire to so high an alliance." the sultan hearkened to this discourse with mildness, and without shewing the least anger; but before he gave her any answer, asked her what she had brought tied up in the napkin. she took the china dish, which she had set down at the foot of the throne, before she prostrated herself before him; untied it, and presented it to the sultan. the sultan's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the dish. he remained for some time motionless with admiration. at last, when he had recovered himself, he received the present from alla ad deen's mother's hand, crying out in a transport of joy, "how rich, how beautiful!" after he had admired and handled all the jewels, one after another, he turned to his grand vizier, and shewing him the dish, said, "behold, admire, wonder, and confess that your eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." the vizier was charmed. "well," continued the sultan, "what sayst thou to such a present? is it not worthy of the princess my daughter? and ought i not to bestow her on one who values her at so great price?" these words put the grand vizier into extreme agitation. the sultan had some time before signified to him his intention of bestowing the princess on a son of his; therefore he was afraid, and not without grounds, that the sultan, dazzled by so rich and extraordinary a present, might change his mind. therefore going to him, and whispering him in the ear, he said, "i cannot but own that the present is worthy of the princess; but i beg of your majesty to grant me three months before you come to a final resolution. i hope, before that time, my son, on whom you have had the goodness to look with a favourable eye, will be able to make a nobler present than alla ad deen, who is an entire stranger to your majesty." the sultan, though he was fully persuaded that it was not possible for the vizier to provide so considerable a present for his son to make the princess, yet as he had given him hopes, hearkened to him, and granted his request. turning therefore to the old widow, he said to her, "good woman, go home, and tell your son that i agree to the proposal you have made me; but i cannot marry the princess my daughter, till the paraphernalia i design for her be got ready, which cannot be finished these three months; but at the expiration of that time come again." alla ad deen's mother returned home much more gratified than she had expected, since she had met with a favourable answer, instead of the refusal and confusion she had dreaded. from two circumstances alla ad deen, when he saw his mother returning, judged that she brought him good news; the one was, that she returned sooner than ordinary; and the other, the gaiety of her countenance. "well, mother," said he, "may i entertain any hopes, or must i die with despair?" when she had pulled off her veil, and had seated herself on the sofa by him, she said to him, "not to keep you long in suspense, son, i will begin by telling you, that instead of thinking of dying, you have every reason to be well satisfied." then pursuing her discourse, she told him, that she had an audience before everybody else which made her come home so soon; the precautions she had taken lest she should have displeased the sultan, by making the proposal of marriage between him and the princess buddir al buddoor, and the condescending answer she had received from the sultan's own mouth; and that as far as she could judge, the present had wrought a powerful effect. "but when i least expected it," said she, "and he was going to give me an answer, and i fancied a favourable one, the grand vizier whispered him in the ear, and i was afraid might be some obstacle to his good intentions towards us, and so it happened, for the sultan desired me to come to audience again this day three months." alla ad deen thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this news, and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the good success of which was of so great importance to his peace. though from his impatience to obtain the object of his passion, three months seemed an age, yet he disposed himself to wait with patience, relying on the sultan's word, which he looked upon to be irrevocable. but all that time he not only counted the hours, days, and weeks, but every moment. when two of the three months were past, his mother one evening going to light the lamp, and finding no oil in the house, went out to buy some, and when she came into the city, found a general rejoicing. the shops, instead of being shut up, were open, dressed with foliage, silks, and carpeting, every one striving to show their zeal in the most distinguished manner according to his ability. the streets were crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. alla ad deen's mother asked the oil-merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of public festivity." whence came you, good woman," said he, "that you don't know that the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, to-night? she will presently return from the baths; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnized." this was news enough for alla ad deen's mother. she ran till she was quite out of breath home to her son, who little suspected any such event. "child," cried she, "you are undone! you depend upon the sultan's fine promises, but they will come to nothing." alla ad deen was alarmed at these words. "mother," replied he, "how do you know the sultan has been guilty of a breach of promise?" "this night," answered the mother, "the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor." she then related how she had heard it; so that from all circumstances, he had no reason to doubt the truth of what she said. at this account, alla ad deen was thunder-struck. any other man would have sunk under the shock; but a sudden hope of disappointing his rival soon roused his spirits, and he bethought himself of the lamp, which had on every emergence been so useful to him; and without venting his rage in empty words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he only said, "perhaps, mother, the vizier's son may not be so happy to-night as he promises himself: while i go into my chamber a moment, do you get supper ready." she accordingly went about it, but guessed that her son was going to make use of the lamp, to prevent, if possible, the consummation of the marriage. when alla ad deen had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed it in the same place as before, when immediately the genie appeared, and said to him, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their possession; i and the other slaves of the lamp." "hear me," said alla ad deen; "thou hast hitherto brought me whatever i wanted as to provisions; but now i have business of the greatest importance for thee to execute. i have demanded the princess buddir al buddoor in marriage of the sultan her father; he promised her to me, only requiring three months delay; but instead of keeping that promise, has this night married her to the grand vizier's son. what i ask of you is, that as soon as the bride and bridegroom are retired, you bring them both hither in their bed." "master," replied the genie, "i will obey you. have you any other commands?" "none at present," answered alla ad deen; the genie then disappeared. alla ad deen having left his chamber, supped with his mother, with the same tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the princess's marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least concern'; he then retired to his own chamber again, and left his mother to go to bed; but sat up waiting the execution of his orders to the genie. in the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest magnificence in the sultan's palace to celebrate the princess's nuptials; and the evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great rejoicings till midnight, when the grand vizier's son, on a signal given him by the chief of the princess's eunuchs, slipped away from the company, and was introduced by that officer into the princess's apartment, where the nuptial bed was prepared. he went to bed first, and in a little time after, the sultaness, accompanied by her own women, and those of the princess, brought the bride, who, according to the custom of new- married ladies, made great resistance. the sultaness herself helped to undress her, put her into bed by a kind of violence: and after having kissed her, and wished her good night, retired with the women to her own apartments. no sooner was the door shut, than the genie, as the faithful slave of the lamp, and punctual in executing the command of those who possessed it, without giving the bridegroom the least time to caress his bride, to the great amazement of them both, took up the bed, and transported it in an instant into alla ad deen's chamber, where he set it down. alla ad deen, who had waited impatiently for this moment, did not suffer the vizier's son to remain long in bed with the princess. "take this new-married man," said he to the genie, "shut him up in the out-house, and come again tomorrow morning before day- break." the genie instantly forced the vizier's son out of bed, carried him whither alla ad deen had commanded him; and after he had breathed upon him, which prevented him stirring, left him there. passionate as was alla ad deen's love for the princess, he did not talk much to her when they were alone; but only said with a respectful air, "fear nothing, adorable princess, you are here in safety; for, notwithstanding the violence of my passion, which your charms have kindled, it shall never exceed the bounds of the profound adoration i owe you. if i have been forced to come to this extremity, it is not with any intention of affronting you, but to prevent an unjust rival's possessing you, contrary to the sultan your father's promise in favour of myself." the princess, who knew nothing of these particulars, gave very little attention to what alla ad deen could say. the fright and amazement of so surprising and unexpected an adventure had alarmed her so much that he could not get one word from her. however, he undressed himself, took the bridegroom's place, but lay with his back to the princess, putting a sabre between himself and her, to shew that he deserved to be put to death, if he attempted anything against her honour. alla ad deen, satisfied with having thus deprived his rival of the happiness he had flattered himself with, slept very soundly, though the princess buddir al buddoor never passed a night so ill in her life; and if we consider the condition in which the genie left the grand vizier's son, we may imagine that the new bridegroom spent it much worse. alla ad deen had no occasion the next morning to rub the lamp to call the genie; who appeared at the hour appointed, just when he had done dressing himself, and said to him, "i am here, master, what are your commands?" "go," said alla ad deen, "fetch the vizier's son out of the place where you left him, put him into his bed again, and carry it to the sultan's palace, from whence you brought it." the genie presently returned with the vizier's son. alla ad deen took up his sabre, the bridegroom was laid by the princess, and in an instant the nuptial-bed was transported into the same chamber of the palace from whence it had been brought. but we must observe, that all this time the genie never was visible either to the princess or the grand vizier's son. his hideous form would have made them die with fear. neither did they hear any thing of the discourse between alla ad deen and him; they only perceived the motion of the bed, and their transportation from one place to another; which we may well imagine was enough to alarm them. as soon as the genie had set down the nuptial bed in its proper place, the sultan tapped at the door to wish her good morning. the grand vizier's son, who was almost perished with cold, by standing in his thin under garment all night, and had not had time to warm himself in bed, no sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, and ran into the robing-chamber, where he had undressed himself the night before. the sultan having opened the door, went to the bed-side, kissed the princess between the eyes, according to custom, wishing her a good morrow, but was extremely surprised to see her so melancholy. she only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction or great dissatisfaction. he said a few words to her; but finding that he could not get a word from her, attributed it to her modesty, and retired. nevertheless, he suspected that there was something extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told her in what a state he had found the princess, and how she had received him. "sir," said the sultaness, "your majesty ought not to be surprised at this behaviour; new-married people have naturally a reserve about them; two or three days hence she will receive the sultan her father as she ought: but i will go and see her," added she; "i am much deceived if she receives me in the same manner." as soon as the sultaness was dressed, she went to the princess's apartment, who was still in bed. she undrew the curtain, wished her good morrow, and kissed her. but how great was her surprise when she returned no answer; and looking more attentively at her, she perceived her to be much dejected, which made her judge that something had happened, which she did not understand "how comes it, child," said the sultaness, "that you do not return my caresses? ought you to treat your mother after this manner? i am induced to believe something extraordinary has happened; come, tell me freely, and leave me no longer in a painful suspense." at last the princess broke silence with a deep sigh, and said, "alas! most honoured mother, forgive me if i have failed in the respect i owe you. my mind is so full of the extraordinary circumstances which have befallen me this night, that i have not yet recovered my amazement and alarm." she then told her, how the instant after she and her husband were together, the bed was transported into a dark dirty room, where he was taken from her and carried away, but where she knew not; and that she was left alone with a young man, who, after he had said something to her, which her fright did not suffer her to hear, laid himself in her husband's place, but first put his sabre between them; and in the morning her husband was brought to her again, when the bed was transported back to her own chamber in an instant. "all this," said she, "was but just done, when the sultan my father came into my chamber. i was so overwhelmed with grief, that i had not power to speak, and am afraid that he is offended at the manner in which i received the honour he did me; but i hope he will forgive me, when he knows my melancholy adventure, and the miserable state i am in at present." the sultaness heard all the princess told her very patiently, but would not believe it. "you did well, child," said she, "not to speak of this to your father: take care not to mention it to anybody; for you will certainly be thought mad if you talk in this manner." "madam," replied the princess, "i can assure you i am in my right senses; ask my husband, and he will tell you the same circumstances." "i will," said the sultaness, "but if he should talk in the same manner, i shall not be better persuaded of the truth. come, rise, and throw off this idle fancy; it will be a strange event, if all the feasts and rejoicings in the kingdom should be interrupted by such a vision. do not you hear the trumpets of congratulation, and concerts of the finest music? cannot these inspire you with joy and pleasure, and make you forget the fancies of an imagination disturbed by what can have been only a dream?" at the same time the sultaness called the princess's women, and after she had seen her get up, and begin dressing, went to the sultan's apartment, told him that her daughter had got some odd notions in her head, but that there was nothing in them but idle phantasy. she then sent for the vizier's son, to know of him something of what the princess had told her; but he, thinking himself highly honoured to be allied to the sultan, and not willing to lose the princess, denied what had happened. "that is enough," answered the sultaness, "i ask no more, i see you are wiser than my daughter." the rejoicings lasted all that day in the palace, and the sultaness, who never left the princess, forgot nothing to divert her, and induce her to take part in the various diversions and shows; but she was so struck with the idea of what had happened to her in the night, that it was easy to see her thoughts were entirely taken up with it. neither was the grand vizier's son in less tribulation, though his ambition made him disguise his feelings so well, that nobody doubted of his being a happy bridegroom. alla ad deen, who was well acquainted with what passed in the palace, was sure the new-married couple were to sleep together again, notwithstanding the troublesome adventure of the night before; and therefore, having as great an inclination to disturb them, had recourse to his lamp, and when the genie appeared, and offered his service, he said to him, "the grand vizier's son and the princess buddir al buddoor are to sleep together again to- night: go, and as soon as they are in bed, bring the bed hither, as thou didst yesterday." the genie obeyed as faithfully and exactly as the day before; the grand vizier's son passed the night as coldly and disagreeably, and the princess had the mortification again to have alla ad deen for her bed-fellow, with the sabre between them. the genie, according to orders, came the next morning, brought the bridegroom, laid him by his bride, and then carried the bed and new-married couple back again to the palace. the sultan, after the reception the princess had given him, was very anxious to know how she had passed the second night, and therefore went into her chamber as early as the morning before. the grand vizier's son, more ashamed and mortified with the ill success of this last night, no sooner heard him coming, than he jumped out of bed, and ran hastily into the robing-chamber. the sultan went to the princess's bed-side, and after the same caresses he had given her the former morning, bade her good morrow. "well daughter," said he, "are you in a better humour than yesterday?" still the princess was silent, and the sultan perceiving her to be more troubled, and in greater confusion than before, doubted not that something very extraordinary was the cause; but provoked that his daughter should conceal it, he said to her in a rage, with his sabre in his hand, "daughter, tell me what is the matter, or i will cut off your head immediately." the princess, more frightened at the menaces and tone of the enraged sultan than at the sight of the drawn sabre, at last broke silence, and said with tears in her eyes, "my dear father and sultan, i ask your majesty's pardon if i have offended you, and hope, that out of your goodness and clemency you will have compassion on me, when i shall have told you in what a miserable condition i have spent this last night, as well as the preceding." after this preamble, which appeased and affected the sultan, she told him what had happened to her in so moving a manner, that he, who loved her tenderly, was most sensibly grieved. she added, "if your majesty doubts the truth of this account, you may inform yourself from my husband, who, i am persuaded, will tell you the same thing." the sultan immediately felt all the extreme uneasiness so surprising an adventure must have given the princess. "daughter," said he, "you are much to blame for not telling me this yesterday, since it concerns me as much as yourself. i did not marry you with an intention to make you miserable, but that you might enjoy all the happiness you deserve and might hope for from a husband who to me seemed agreeable to you. efface all these troublesome ideas from your memory; i will take care that you shall have no more disagreeable and insupportable nights." as soon as the sultan had returned to his own apartment, he sent for the grand vizier: "vizier," said he, "have you seen your son, and has he told you anything?" the vizier replied, "no." the sultan related all the circumstances of which the princess had informed him, and afterwards said, "i do not doubt but that my daughter has told me the truth; but nevertheless i should be glad to have it confirmed by your son, therefore go and ask him how it was." the grand vizier went immediately to his son, communicated what the sultan had told him, and enjoined him to conceal nothing, but to relate the whole truth. "i will disguise nothing from you, father," replied the son, "for indeed all that the princess has stated is true; but what relates particularly to myself she knows nothing of. since my marriage, i have passed two nights beyond imagination or expression disagreeable, not to mention the fright i was in at finding my bed lifted four times, transported from one place to another, without being able to guess how it was done. you may judge of the miserable condition i was in, passing two whole nights in nothing but my under vestments, standing in a kind of closet, unable to stir out of the place or to make the least movement, though i could not perceive any obstacle to prevent me. yet i must tell you, that all this ill usage does not in the least lessen those sentiments of love, respect, and gratitude i entertain for the princess, and of which she is so deserving; but i must confess, that notwithstanding all the honour and splendour that attends marrying my sovereign's daughter, i would much rather die, than continue in so exalted an alliance if i must undergo nightly much longer what i have already endured. i do not doubt but that the princess entertains the same sentiments, and that she will readily agree to a separation, which is so necessary both for her repose and mine. therefore, father, i beg, by the same tenderness which led you to procure me so great an honour, to obtain the sultan's consent that our marriage may be declared null and void." notwithstanding the grand vizier's ambition to have his son allied to the sultan, the firm resolution he saw he had formed to be separated from the princess made him not think it proper to propose to him to have patience for a few days, to see if this disappointment would not have an end; but he left him to give an account of what he had related to him, and without waiting till the sultan himself, whom he found disposed to it, spoke of setting aside the marriage, he begged of him to give his son leave to retire from the palace, alleging it was not just that the princess should be a moment longer exposed to so terrible a persecution upon his son's account. the grand vizier found no great difficulty to obtain what he asked, as the sultan had determined already; orders were given to put a stop to all rejoicings in the palace and town, and expresses dispatched to all parts of his dominions to countermand them; and, in a short time, all rejoicings ceased. this sudden and unexpected change gave rise both in the city and kingdom to various speculations and inquiries; but no other account could be given of it, except that both the vizier and his son went out of the palace very much dejected. nobody but alla ad deen knew the secret. he rejoiced within himself at the happy success procured by his lamp, which now he had no more occasion to rub, to produce the genie to prevent the consummation of the marriage, as he had certain information it was broken off, and that his rival had left the palace. neither the sultan nor the grand vizier, who had forgotten alla ad deen and his request, had the least thought that he had any concern in the enchantment which caused the dissolution of the marriage. alla ad deen waited till the three months were completed, which the sultan had appointed for the consummation of the marriage between the princess buddir al buddoor and himself; and the next day sent his mother to the palace, to remind the sultan of his promise. alla ad deen's mother went to the palace, and stood in the same place as before in the hall of audience. the sultan no sooner cast his eyes upon her than he knew her again, remembered her business, and how long he had put her off: therefore when the grand vizier was beginning to make his report, the sultan interrupted him, and said, "vizier, i see the good woman who made me the present of jewels some months ago; forbear your report, till i have heard what she has to say." the vizier looking about the divan, perceived the tailor's widow, and sent the chief of the mace-bearers to conduct her to the sultan. alla ad deen's mother came to the foot of the throne, prostrated herself as usual, and when she rose, the sultan asked her what she would have. sir," said she, "i come to represent to your majesty, in the name of my son alla ad deen, that the three months, at the end of which you ordered me to come again, are expired; and to beg you to remember your promise." the sultan, when he had fixed a time to answer the request of this good woman, little thought of hearing any more of a marriage, which he imagined must be very disagreeable to the princess, when he considered the meanness and poverty of her dress and appearance; but this summons for him to fulfill his promise was somewhat embarrassing; he declined giving an answer till he had consulted his vizier, and signified to trim the little inclination he had to conclude a match for his daughter with a stranger, whose rank he supposed to be very mean. the grand vizier freely told the sultan his thoughts, and said to him, "in my opinion, sir, there is an infallible way for your majesty to avoid a match so disproportionable, without giving alla ad deen, were he known to your majesty, any cause of complaint; which is, to set so high a price upon the princess, that, however rich he may be, he cannot comply with. this is the only evasion to make him desist from so bold, not to say rash, an undertaking, which he never weighed before he engaged in it." the sultan, approving of the grand vizier's advice, turned to the tailor's widow, and said to her, "good woman, it is true sultans ought to abide by their word, and i am ready to keep mine, by making your son happy in marriage with the princess my daughter. but as i cannot marry her without some further valuable consideration from your son, you may tell him, i will fulfill my promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of massive gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already made me a present of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. on these conditions i am ready to bestow the princess my daughter upon him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and i will wait till you bring me his answer." alla ad deen's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's throne, and retired. in her way home, she laughed within herself at her son's foolish imagination. "where," says she, "can he get so many large gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? must he go again to that subterraneous abode, the entrance into which is stopped up, and gather them off the trees? but where will he get so many such slaves as the sultan requires? it is altogether out of his power, and i believe he will not be much pleased with my embassy this time." when she came home, full of these thoughts, she said to her son, "indeed, child, i would not have you think any farther of your marriage with the princess. the sultan received me very kindly, and i believe he was well inclined to you; but if i am not much deceived the grand vizier has made him change his mind, as you will guess from what i have to tell you. after i had represented to his majesty that the three months were expired, and begged of him to remember his promise, i observed that he whispered with his grand vizier before he gave me his answer." she then gave her son an exact account of what the sultan had said to her, and the conditions on which he consented to the match. afterwards she said to him, "the sultan expects your answer immediately; but," continued she, laughing, "i believe he may wait long enough." "not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied alla ad deen: "the sultan is mistaken, if he thinks by this exorbitant demand to prevent my entertaining thoughts of the princess. i expected greater difficulties, and that he would have set a higher price upon her incomparable charms. i am very well pleased; his demand is but a trifle to what i could have done for her. but while i think of satisfying his request, go and get something for our dinner, and leave the rest to me." as soon as his mother was gone out to market, alla ad deen took the lamp, and rubbing it, the genie appeared, and offered his service as usual. "the sultan," said alla ad deen to him, "gives me the princess his daughter in marriage; but demands first forty large trays of massive gold, full of the fruits of the garden from whence i took this lamp; and these he expects to have carried by as many black slaves, each preceded by a young handsome white slave, richly clothed. go, and fetch me this present as soon as possible, that i may send it to him before the divan breaks up." the genie told him his command should be immediately obeyed, and disappeared. in a little time afterwards the genie returned with forty black slaves, each bearing on his head a heavy tray of pure gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every sort of precious stones, all larger and more beautiful than those presented to the sultan. each tray was covered with silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of gold; these, together with the white slaves, quite filled the house, which was but a small one, the little court before it, and a small garden behind. the genie asked if he had any other commands, and alla ad deen telling him that he wanted nothing farther, he disappeared. when alla ad deen's mother came from market, she was much surprised to see so many people and such vast riches. as soon as she had laid down her provisions, she was going to pull off her veil; but he prevented her, and said, "mother, let us lose no time; before the sultan and the divan rise, i would have you return to the palace with this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence and exactness of the ardent and sincere desire i have to procure myself the honour of this alliance." without waiting for his mother's reply, alla ad deen opened the street-door, and made the slaves walk out; each white slave followed by a black with a tray upon his head. when they were all out, the mother followed the last black slave; he shut the door, and then retired to his chamber, full of hopes that the sultan, after this present, which was such as he required, would receive him as his son-in-law. the first white slave who went out made all the people who were going by stop; and before they were all clear of the house, the streets were crowded with spectators, who ran to see so extraordinary and magnificent a procession. the dress of each slave was so rich, both for the stuff and the jewels, that those who were dealers in them valued each at no less than a million of money; besides the neatness and propriety of the dress, the noble air, fine shape and proportion of each slave were unparalleled; their grave walk at an equal distance from each other, the lustre of the jewels curiously set in their girdles of gold, in beautiful symmetry, and the egrets of precious stones in their turbans, which were of an unusual but elegant taste, put the spectators into such great admiration, that they could not avoid gazing at them, and following them with their eyes as far as possible; but the streets were so crowded with people, that none could move out of the spot they stood on. as they had to pass through several streets to the palace, a great part of the city had an opportunity of seeing them. as soon as the first of these slaves arrived at the palace gate, the porters formed themselves into order, taking him for a prince from the richness and magnificence of his habit, and were going to kiss the hem of his garment; but the slave, who was instructed by the genie, prevented them, and said, "we are only slaves, our master will appear at a proper time." the first slave, followed by the rest, advanced into the second court, which was very spacious, and in which the sultan's household was ranged during the sitting of the divan. the magnificence of the officers, who stood at the head of their troops, was considerably eclipsed by the slaves who bore alla ad deen's present, of which they themselves made a part. nothing was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the sultan's palace; and all the lustre of the lords of his court was not to be compared to them. as the sultan, who had been informed of their march, and approach to the palace, had given orders for them to be admitted, they met with no obstacle, but went into the divan in regular order, one part filing to the right, and the other to the left. after they were all entered, and had formed a semicircle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the carpet with their foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did the same. when they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts. in the meantime alla ad deen's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, and having paid her respects, said to the sultan, "sir, my son is sensible this present, which he has sent your majesty, is much below the princess buddir al buddoor's worth; but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it, and make it agreeable to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he has endeavoured to conform to the conditions you were pleased to impose." the sultan was not able to give the least attention to this compliment. the moment he cast his eyes on the forty trays, full of the most precious, brilliant, and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, and the fourscore slaves, who appeared by the elegance of their persons, and the richness and magnificence of their dress, like so many princes, he was so struck, that he could not recover from his admiration. instead of answering the compliment of alla ad deen's mother, he addressed himself to the grand vizier, who could not any more than the sultan comprehend from whence such a profusion of richness could come. "well, vizier," said he aloud, "who do you think it can be that has sent me so extraordinary a present, and neither of us know? do you think him worthy of the princess buddir al buddoor, my daughter?" the vizier, notwithstanding his envy and grief to see a stranger preferred to be the sultan's son-in-law before his son, durst not disguise his sentiments. it was too visible that alla ad deen's present was more than sufficient to merit his being received into royal alliance; therefore, consulting his master's feelings, he returned this answer: "i am so far from having any thoughts that the person who has made your majesty so noble a present is unworthy of the honour you would do him, that i should say he deserved much more, if i was not persuaded that the greatest treasure in the world ought not to be put in competition with the princess your majesty's daughter." this speech was applauded by all the lords who were then in council. the sultan made no longer hesitation, nor thought of informing himself whether alla ad deen was endowed with all the qualifications requisite in one who aspired to be his son-in-law. the sight alone of such immense riches, and alla ad deen's quickness in satisfying his demand, without starting the least difficulty at the exorbitant conditions he had imposed, easily persuaded him, that he could want nothing to render him accomplished, and such as he desired. therefore, to send alla ad deen's mother back with all the satisfaction she could desire, he said to her, "my good lady, go and tell your son that i wait with open arms to embrace him, and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess my daughter from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me." as soon as the tailor's widow had retired, overjoyed as a woman in her condition must have been, to see her son raised beyond all expectations to such exalted fortune, the sultan put an end to the audience; and rising from his throne, ordered that the princess's eunuchs should come and carry the trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his leisure. the fourscore slaves were conducted in to the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent appearance, ordered them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see through the lattices he had not exaggerated in his account of them. in the meantime alla ad deen's mother got home, and shewed in her air and countenance the good news she brought her son "my son," said she to him, "you have now all the reason in the world to be pleased: you are, contrary to my expectations, arrived at the height of your desires. not to keep you too long in suspense, the sultan, with the approbation of the whole court, has declared that you are worthy to possess the princess buddir al buddoor, waits to embrace you and conclude your marriage; therefore, you must think of making some preparations for your interview, which may answer the high opinion he has formed of your person; and after the wonders i have seen you do, i am persuaded nothing can be wanting. but i must not forget to tell you the sultan waits for you with great impatience, therefore lose no time in paying your respects." alla ad deen, enraptured with this news, and full of the object which possessed his soul, made his mother very little reply, but retired to his chamber. there, after he had rubbed his lamp, which had never failed him in whatever he wished for, the obedient genie appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i want to bathe immediately, and you must afterwards provide me the richest and most magnificent habit ever worn by a monarch." no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, and transported him into a hummum of the finest marble of all sorts of colours; where he was undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. from the hall he was led to the bath, which was of a moderate heat, and he was there rubbed and washed with various scented waters. after he had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out, quite a different man from what he was before. his skin was clear white and red, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, he found, instead of his own, a suit, the magnificence of which astonished him. the genie helped him to dress, and when he had done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he had any other commands. "yes," answered alla ad deen, "i expect you to bring me as soon as possible a charger, that surpasses in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables, with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons worth a million of money. i want also twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried the present to the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and twenty more to go before me in two ranks. besides these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the princess buddir al buddoor's, each carrying a complete dress fit for any sultaness. i want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go, and make haste." as soon as alla ad deen had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for alla ad deen's mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all to alla ad deen. of the ten purses alla ad deen took four, which he gave to his mother, telling her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's palace. the six slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to march before him, three on the right hand and three on the left. afterwards he presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her they were her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for her use. when alla ad deen had thus settled matters, he told the genie he would call for him when he wanted him, and thereupon the genie disappeared. alla ad deen's thoughts now were only upon answering, as soon as possible, the desire the sultan had shown to see him. he dispatched one of the forty slaves to the palace, with an order to address himself to the chief of the porters, to know when he might have the honour to come and throw himself at the sultan's feet. the slave soon acquitted himself of his commission, and brought for answer, that the sultan waited for him with impatience. alla ad deen immediately mounted his charger, and began his march, in the order we have already described; and though he never was on horseback before, appeared with such extraordinary grace, that the most experienced horseman would not have taken him for a novice. the streets through which he was to pass were almost instantly filled with an innumerable concourse of people, who made the air echo with acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. neither did these acclamations and shouts of joy come from those alone who scrambled for the money, but from a superior rank of people, who could not forbear applauding alla ad deen's generosity. not only those who knew him when he played in the streets like a vagabond did not recollect him, but those who saw him but a little while before hardly recognised him, so much were his features altered: such were the effects of the lamp, as to procure by degrees to those who possessed it perfections suitable to the rank to which the right use of it advanced them. much more attention was paid to alla ad deen's person than to the pomp and magnificence of his attendants, as a similar show had been seen the day before when the slaves walked in procession with the present to the sultan. nevertheless the horse was much admired by good judges, who knew how to discern his beauties, without being dazzled by the jewels and richness of the furniture. when the report was everywhere spread, that the sultan was going to give the princess in marriage to alla ad deen, nobody regarded his birth, nor envied his good fortune, so worthy he seemed of it in the public opinion. when he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his reception; and when he came to the gate of the second court, he would have alighted from his horse, agreeably to the custom observed by the grand vizier, the commander in chief of the empire, and governors of provinces of the first rank; but the chief of the mace-bearers who waited on him by the sultan's order prevented him, and attended him to the grand hall of audience, where he helped him to dismount; though alla ad deen endeavoured to prevent him, but could not prevail. the officers formed themselves into two ranks at the entrance of the hall. the chief put alla ad deen on his right hand, and through the midst of them led him to the sultan's throne. as soon as the sultan perceived alla ad deen, he was no less surprised to see him more richly and magnificently habited than ever he had been himself, than struck at his good mien, fine shape, and a certain air of unexpected dignity, very different from the meanness of his mother's late appearance. but, notwithstanding, his amazement and surprise did not hinder him from rising off his throne, and descending two or three steps, quick enough to prevent alla ad deen's throwing himself at his feet. he embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy at his arrival. after this civility alla ad deen would have thrown himself at his feet again; but he held him fast by the hand, and obliged him to sit close to the throne. alla ad deen then addressed the sultan, saying, "i receive the honour which your majesty out of your great condescension is pleased to confer; but permit me to assure you, that i have not forgotten that i am your slave; that i know the greatness of your power, and that i am not in sensible how much my birth is below the splendour and lustre of the high rank to which i am raised. if any way," continued he, "i could have merited so favourable a reception, i confess i owe it merely to the boldness which chance inspired in me to raise my eyes, thoughts, and desires to the divine princess, who is the object of my wishes. i ask your majesty's pardon for my rashness, but i cannot dissemble, that i should die with grief were i to lose my hopes of seeing them accomplished." "my son," answered the sultan, embracing him a second time, "you would wrong me to doubt for a moment of my sincerity: your life from this moment is too dear to me not to preserve it, by presenting you with the remedy which is at my disposal. i prefer the pleasure of seeing and hearing you before all your treasure added to my own." after these words, the sultan gave a signal, and immediately the air echoed with the sound of trumpets, hautboys, and other musical instruments: and at the same time the sultan led alla ad deen into a magnificent hall, where was laid out a most splendid collation. the sultan and alla ad deen ate by themselves, while the grand vizier and the great lords of the court, according to their dignity and rank, sat at different tables. the conversation turned on different subjects; but all the while the sultan took so much pleasure in looking at his intended son-in-law, that he hardly ever took his eyes off him; and throughout the whole of their conversation alla ad deen showed so much good sense, as confirmed the sultan in the high opinion he had formed of him. after the feast, the sultan sent for the chief judge of his capital, and ordered him to draw up immediately a contract of marriage between the princess buddir al buddoor his daughter and alla ad deen. in the mean time the sultan and he entered into another conversation on various subjects, in the presence of the grand vizier and the lords of the court, who all admired the solidity of his wit, the great ease and freedom wherewith he delivered himself, the justness of his remarks, and his energy in expressing them. when the judge had drawn up the contract in all the requisite forms, the sultan asked alla ad deen if he would stay in the palace, and solemnize the ceremonies of marriage that day. to which he answered, "sir, though great is my impatience to enjoy your majesty's goodness, yet i beg of you to give me leave to defer it till i have built a palace fit to receive the princess; therefore i petition you to grant me a convenient spot of ground near your palace, that i may the more frequently pay my respects, and i will take care to have it finished with all diligence." "son," said the sultan, "take what ground you think proper, there is space enough on every quarter round my palace; but consider, i cannot see you too soon united with my daughter, which alone is wanting to complete my happiness." after these words he embraced alla ad deen again, who took his leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always lived at court. alla ad deen returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. as soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and called the genie as before, who in the usual manner made him a tender of his service. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i have every reason to commend your exactness in executing hitherto punctually whatever i have demanded; but now if you have any regard for the lamp your protector, you must show, if possible, more zeal and diligence than ever. i would have you build me, as soon as you can, a palace opposite, but at a proper distance from the sultan's, fit to receive my spouse the princess buddir al buddoor. i leave the choice of the materials to you, that is to say, porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, or the finest marble of various colours, and also the architecture of the building. but i expect that on the terraced roof of this palace you will build me a large hall crowned with a dome, and having four equal fronts; and that instead of layers of bricks, the walls be formed of massive gold and silver, laid alternately; that each front shall contain six windows, the lattices of all which, except one, which must be left unfinished, shall be so enriched in the most tasteful workmanship, with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, that they shall exceed every thing of the kind ever seen in the world. i would have an inner and outer court in front of the palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, take care that there be laid in a place which you shall point out to me a treasure of gold and silver coin. besides, the edifice must be well provided with kitchens and offices, storehouses, and rooms to keep choice furniture in, for every season of the year. i must have stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage. there must be officers to attend the kitchens and offices, and women slaves to wait on the princess. you understand what i mean; therefore go about it, and come and tell me when all is finished." by the time alla ad deen had instructed the genie resetting the building of his palace, the sun was set. the next morning, before break of day, our bridegroom, whose love for the princess would not let him sleep, was up, when the genie presented himself, and said, "sir, your palace is finished, come and see how you like it." alla ad deen had no sooner signified his consent, than the genie transported him thither in an instant, and he found it so much beyond his expectation, that he could not enough admire it. the genie led him through all the apartments, where he met with nothing but what was rich and magnificent, with officers and slaves, all habited according to their rank and the services to which they were appointed. the genie then showed him the treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, where alla ad deen saw heaps of purses, of different sizes, piled up to the top of the ceiling, and disposed in most excellent order. the genie assured him of the treasurer's fidelity, and thence led him to the stables, where he showed him some of the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing them; from thence they went to the store-houses, which were filled with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. when alla ad deen had examined the palace from top to bottom, and particularly the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found it much beyond whatever he could have imagined, he said, "genie, no one can be better satisfied than i am; and indeed i should be much to blame if i found any fault. there is only one thing wanting which i forgot to mention; that is, to lay from the sultan's palace to the door of the apartment designed for the princess, a carpet of fine velvet for her to walk upon." the genie immediately disappeared, and alla ad deen saw what he desired executed in an instant. the genie then returned, and carried him home before the gates of the sultan's palace were opened. when the porters, who had always been used to an open prospect, came to open the gates, they were amazed to find it obstructed, and to see a carpet of velvet spread from the grand entrance. they did not immediately look how far it extended; but when they could discern alla ad deen's palace distinctly, their surprise was increased. the news of so extraordinary a wonder was presently spread through the palace. the grand vizier, who arrived soon after the gates were open, being no less amazed than others at this novelty, ran and acquainted the sultan, but endeavoured to make him believe it to be all enchantment. "vizier," replied the sultan, "why will you have it to be enchantment? you know as well as i that it must be alla ad deen's palace, which i gave him leave to build, for the reception of my daughter. after the proof we have had of his riches, can we think it strange, that he should raise a palace in so short a time? he wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders are to be done with money in only one night. confess sincerely that the enchantment you talk of proceeds from a little envy on account of your son's disappointment." the hour of going to council put an end to the conversation. when alla ad deen had been conveyed home, and had dismissed the genie, he found his mother up, and dressing herself in one of those suits which had been brought her. by the time the sultan rose from the council, alla ad deen had prepared his mother to go to the palace with her slaves, and desired her, if she saw the sultan, to tell him she should do herself the honour to attend the princess towards evening to her palace. accordingly she went; but though she and the women slaves who followed her were all dressed like sultanesses, yet the crowd was not near so great as the preceding day, because they were all veiled, and had each an upper garment on agreeable to the richness and magnificence of their habits. alla ad deen mounted his horse, and took leave of his paternal house forever, taking care not to forget his wonderful lamp, by the assistance of which he had reaped such advantages, and arrived at the utmost height of his wishes, and went to the palace in the same pomp as the day before. as soon as the porters of the sultan's palace saw alla ad deen's mother, they went and informed the sultan, who immediately ordered the bands of trumpets, cymbals, drums, fifes and hautboys, placed in different parts of the palace, to play, so that the air resounded with concerts which inspired the whole city with joy: the merchants began to adorn their shops and houses with fine carpets and silks, and to prepare illuminations against night. the artisans of every description left their work, and the populace repaired to the great space between the royal palace and that of alla ad deen; which last drew all their attention, not only because it was new to them, but because there was no comparison between the two buildings. but their amazement was to comprehend by what unheard-of miracle so magnificent a palace could have been so soon erected, it being apparent to all that there were no prepared materials, or any foundations laid the day before. alla ad deen's mother was received in the palace with honour, and introduced into the princess buddir al buddoor's apartment by the chief of the eunuchs. as soon as the princess saw her, she rose, saluted, and desired her to sit down on a sofa; and while her women finished dressing and adorning her with the jewels which alla ad deen had presented to her, a collation was served up. at the same time the sultan, who wished to be as much with his daughter as possible before he parted with her, came in and paid the old lady great respect. alla ad deen's mother had talked to the sultan in public, but he had never seen her with her veil off, as she was then; and though she was somewhat advanced in years, she had the remains of a good face, which showed what she had been in her youth. the sultan, who had always seen her dressed very meanly, not to say poorly, was surprised to find her as richly and magnificently attired as the princess his daughter. this made him think alla ad deen equally prudent and wise in whatever he undertook. when it was night, the princess took her leave of the sultan her father: their adieus were tender, and accompanied with tears. they embraced each other several times, and at last the princess left her own apartment for alla ad deen's palace, with his mother on her left hand carried in a superb litter, followed by a hundred women slaves, dressed with surprising magnificence. all the bands of music, which had played from the time alla ad deen's mother arrived, being joined together, led the procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of black eunuchs, in two files, with their officers at their head. four hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and alla ad deen's palaces, made it as light as day. in this order the princess proceeded in her litter on the carpet, which was spread from the sultan's palace, preceded by bands of musicians, who, as they advanced, joining with those on the terraces of alla ad deen's palace, formed a concert, which increased the joyful sensations not only of the crowd assembled in the great square, but of the metropolis and its environs. at length the princess arrived at the new palace. alla ad deen ran with all imaginable joy to receive her at the grand entrance. his mother had taken care to point him out to the princess, in the midst of the officers who surrounded him, and she was charmed with his person. "adorable princess," said alla ad deen, accosting her, and saluting her respectfully, as soon as she had entered her apartment, "if i have the misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in aspiring to the possession of so lovely a princess, and my sultan's daughter, i must tell you, that you ought to blame your bright eyes and charms, not me." "prince (as i may now call you)," answered the princess, "i am obedient to the will of my father; and it is enough for me to have seen you to tell you that i obey without reluctance." alla ad deen, charmed with so agreeable and satisfactory an answer, would not keep the princess standing; but took her by the hand, which he kissed with the greatest demonstration of joy, and led her into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, where, by the care of the genie, a noble feast was served up. the dishes were of massive gold, and contained the most delicate viands. the vases, basins, and goblets, were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable to this display. the princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected in one place, said to alla ad deen, "i thought, prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight of this hall alone is sufficient to show i was deceived." alla ad deen led the princess to the place appointed for her, and as soon as she and his mother were seated, a band of the most harmonious instruments, accompanied with the voices of beautiful ladies, began a concert, which lasted without intermission to the end of the repast. the princess was so charmed, that she declared she had never heard anything like it in the sultan her father's court; but she knew not that these musicians were fairies chosen by the genie, the slave of the lamp. when the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers, who performed, according to the custom of the country, several figure dances, singing at the same time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. about midnight alla ad deen's mother conducted the bride to the nuptial apartment, and he soon after retired. the next morning when alla ad deen left the bridal chamber, his attendants presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another habit as rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. he then ordered one of the horses appointed for his use to be got ready, mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace. the sultan received him with the same honours as before, embraced him, placed him on the throne near him, and ordered a collation. alla ad deen said, "i beg your majesty will dispense with my eating with you to-day; i came to entreat you to take a repast in the princess's palace, attended by your grand vizier, and all the lords of your court." the sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great lords of his court, accompanied alla ad deen. the nearer the sultan approached alla ad deen's palace, the more he was struck with its beauty, but was much more amazed when he entered it; and could not forbear breaking out into exclamations of approbation. but when he came into the hall, and cast his eyes on the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large perfect stones, he was so much surprised, that he remained some time motionless. after he recovered himself, he said to his vizier, "is it possible that there should be such a stately palace so near my own, and i be an utter stranger to it till now?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "your majesty may remember that the day before yesterday you gave alla ad deen, whom you accepted for your son-in-law, leave to build a palace opposite your own, and that very day at sunset there was no palace on this spot, but yesterday i had the honour first to tell you that the palace was built and finished." "i remember," replied the sultan, "but never imagined that the palace was one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the world besides shall we find walls built of massive gold and silver, instead of brick, stone, or marble; and diamonds, rubies, and emeralds composing the windows!" the sultan would examine and admire the beauty of all the windows, and counting them, found that there were but three-and- twenty so richly adorned, and he was greatly astonished that the twenty-fourth was left imperfect. "vizier," said he, for that minister made a point of never leaving him, "i am surprised that a hall of this magnificence should be left thus imperfect." "sir," replied the grand vizier, "without doubt alla ad deen only wanted time to finish this window like the rest; for it is not to be supposed but that he has sufficient jewels for the purpose, or that he will not complete it the first opportunity." alla ad deen, who had left the sultan to go and give some orders, returned just as the vizier had finished his remark. "son," said the sultan to him, "this hall is the most worthy of admiration of any in the world; there is only one thing that surprises me, which is to find one of the windows unfinished. is it from the forgetfulness or negligence of the workmen, or want of time, that they have not put the finishing stroke to so beautiful a piece of architecture?" "sir," answered alla ad deen, "it was for none of these reasons that your majesty sees it in this state. the omission was by design, it was by my orders that the workmen left it thus, since i wished that your majesty should have the glory of finishing this hall, and of course the palace." "if you did it with this intention," replied the sultan, "i take it kindly, and will give orders about it immediately." he accordingly sent for the most considerable jewellers and goldsmiths in his capital. alla ad deen then conducted the sultan into the saloon where he had regaled his bride the preceding night. the princess entered immediately afterwards, and received the sultan her father with an air that showed how happy she was with her marriage. two tables were immediately spread with the most delicious meats, all served up in gold dishes. the sultan, princess, alla ad deen, his mother, and the grand vizier, sat down at the first, and all the lords of the court at the second, which was very long. the sultan was much pleased with the cookery, and owned he had never eaten anything more excellent. he said the same of the wines, which were delicious; but what he most of all admired, were four large sideboards, profusely furnished with large flagons, basins, and cups, all of massive gold, set with jewels. he was besides charmed with several bands of music, which were ranged along the hall, and formed most agreeable concerts. when the sultan rose from table, he was informed that the jewellers and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and showed them the window which was unfinished. "i sent for you," said he, "to fit up this window in as great perfection as the rest; examine them well and make all the dispatch you can." the jewellers and goldsmiths examined the three-and-twenty windows with great attention, and after they had consulted together, to know what each could furnish, they returned, and presented themselves before the sultan, whose principal jeweller, undertaking to speak for the rest, said, "sir, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to obey your majesty; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for so great a work." "i have more than are necessary," said the sultan; "come to my palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." when the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be brought out, and the jewellers took a great quantity, particularly those alla ad deen had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making any greet advance in their work. they came again several times for more, and in a month's time had not finished half their work. in short, they used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half done. a]]a ad deen, who knew that all the sultan's endeavours to make this window like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewellers and goldsmiths, and not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the sultan and to the vizier. they undid in a few hours what they had been six weeks about, and retired, leaving alla ad deen alone in the hall. he took the lamp which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i ordered thee to leave one of the four-and-twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and thus hast executed my commands punctually; now i would have thee make it like the rest." the genie immediately disappeared. alla ad deen went out of the hall, and returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like the others. in the meantime, the jewellers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, and were introduced into the sultan's presence; where the chief jeweller, presenting the precious stones which he had brought back, said, in the name of all the rest, "your majesty knows how long we have been upon the work you were pleased to set us about, in which we used all imaginable industry. it was far advanced, when prince alla ad deen commanded us not only to leave off, but to undo what we had already begun, and bring your majesty your jewels back." the sultan asked them if alla ad deen had given them any reason for so doing, and they answering that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he mounted, and rode to his son-in law's palace, with some few attendants on foot. when he came there, he alighted at the stair- case, which led up to the hall with the twenty-four windows, and went directly up to it, without giving previous notice to alla ad deen; but it happened that at that very juncture alla ad deen was opportunely there, and had just time to receive him at the door. the sultan, without giving alla ad deen time to complain obligingly of his not having given notice, that he might have acquitted himself with the more becoming respect, said to him, "son, i come myself to know the reason why you commanded the jewellers to desist from work, and take to pieces what they had done." alla ad deen disguised the true reason, which was, that the sultan was not rich enough in jewels to be at so great an expense, but said, "i beg of you now to see if any thing is wanting." the sultan went directly to the window which was left imperfect, and when he found it like the rest, fancied that he was mistaken, examined the two windows on each side, and afterwards all the four-and-twenty; but when he was convinced that the window which several workmen had been so long about was finished in so short a time, he embraced alla ad deen, and kissed him between his eyes. "my son," said he, "what a man you are to do such surprising things always in the twinkling of an eye; there is not your fellow in the world; the more i know, the more i admire you." alla ad deen received these praises from the sultan with modesty, and replied in these words: "sir, it is a great honour to me to deserve your majesty's good-will and approbation, and i assure you, i shall study to deserve them more." the sultan returned to his palace, but would not let alla ad deen attend him. when he came there, he found his grand vizier waiting, to whom he related the wonder he had witnessed, with the utmost admiration, and in such terms as left the minister no room to doubt but that the facet was as the sultan related it; though he was the more confirmed in his belief, that alla ad deen's palace was the effect of enchantment, as he had told the sultan the first moment he saw it. he was going to repeat the observation, but the sultan interrupted him, and said, "you told me so once before; i see, vizier, you have not forgotten your son's espousals to my daughter." the frank vizier plainly saw how much the sultan was prepossessed, therefore avoided disputes and let him remain in his own opinion. the sultan as soon as he rose every morning went into the closet, to look at alla ad deen's palace, and would go many times in a day to contemplate and admire it. alla ad deen did not confine himself in his palace; but took care to shew himself once or twice a week in the town, by going sometimes to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the grand vizier, who affected to pay his court to him on certain days, or to do the principal lords of the court the honour to return their visits after he had regaled them at his palace. every time he went out, he caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the streets and squares, which were generally on those occasions crowded. besides, no one came to his palace gates to ask alms, but returned satisfied with his liberality. in short, he so divided his time, that not a week passed but he went either once or twice a hunting, sometimes in the environs of the city, sometimes farther off; at which time the villages through which he passed felt the effects of his generosity, which gained him the love and blessings of the people: and it was common for them to swear by his head. thus, without giving the ]east umbrage to the sultan, to whom he paid all imaginable respect, alla ad deen, by his affable behaviour and liberality, had won the affections of the people, and was more beloved than the sultan himself. with all these good qualities he shewed a courage and a zeal for the public good which could not be sufficiently applauded. he gave sufficient proofs of both in a revolt on the borders of the kingdom; for he no sooner understood that the sultan was levying an army to disperse the rebels than he begged the command of it, which he found not difficult to obtain. as soon as he was empowered, he marched with so much expedition, that the sultan heard of the defeat of the rebels before he had received an account of his arrival in the army. and though this action rendered his name famous throughout the kingdom, it made no alteration in his disposition; but he was as affable after his victory as before. alla ad deen had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the african magician, who undesignedly had been the instrument of raising him to so high a pitch of prosperity, recalled him to his recollection in africa, whither, after his expedition, he had returned. and though he was almost persuaded that alla ad deen must have died miserably in the subterraneous abode where he had left him, yet he had the curiosity to inform himself about his end with certainty; and as he was a great geomancer, he took out of a cupboard a square covered box, which he used in his geomantic observations: then sat himself down on the sofa, set it before him, and uncovered it. after he had prepared and levelled the sand which was in it, with an intention to discover whether or no alla ad deen had died in the subterraneous abode, he cast the points, drew the figures, and formed a horoscope, by which, when he came to examine it, he found that alla ad deen, instead of dying in the cave, had made his escape, lived splendidly, was in possession of the wonderful lamp, had married a princess, and was much honoured and respected. the magician no sooner understood by the rules of his diabolical art, that alla ad deen had arrived to this height of good fortune, than his face became inflamed with anger, and he cried out in a rage, "this sorry tailor's son has discovered the secret and virtue of the lamp! i believed his death to be certain; but find that he enjoys the fruit of my labour and study! i will, however, prevent his enjoying it long, or perish in the attempt." he was not a great while deliberating on what he should do, but the next morning mounted a barb, set forwards, and never stopped but to refresh himself and horse, till he arrived at the capital of china. he alighted, took up his lodging in a khan, and stayed there the remainder of the day and the night, to refresh himself after so long a journey. the next day, his first object was to inquire what people said of alla ad deen; and, taking a walk through the town, he went to the most public and frequented places, where persons of the best distinction met to drink a certain warm liquor, which he had drunk often during his former visit. as soon as he had seated himself, he was presented with a cup of it, which he took; but listening at the same time to the discourse of the company on each side of him, he heard them talking of alla ad deen's palace. when he had drunk off his liquor, he joined them, and taking this opportunity, inquired particularly of what palace they spoke with so much commendation. "from whence come you?" said the person to whom he addressed himself; "you must certainly be a stranger not to have seen or heard talk of prince alla ad deen's palace" (for he was called so after his marriage with the princess). "i do not say," continued the man, "that it is one of the wonders of the world, but that it is the only wonder of the world; since nothing so grand, rich, and magnificent was ever beheld. certainly you must have come from a great distance, or some obscure corner, not to have heard of it, for it must have been talked of all over the world. go and see it, and then judge whether i have told you more than the truth." "forgive my ignorance," replied the african magician; "i arrived here but yesterday, and came from the farthest part of africa, where the fame of this palace had not reached when i came away. the business which brought me hither was so urgent, that my sole objets was to arrive as soon as i could, without stopping anywhere, or making any acquaintance. but i will not fail to go and see it; my impatience is so great, i will go immediately and satisfy my curiosity, if you will do me the favour to shew me the way thither." the person to whom the african magician addressed himself took a pleasure in shewing him the way to alla ad deen's palace, and he got up and went thither instantly. when he came to the palace, and had examined it on all sides, he doubted not but that alla ad deen had made use of the lamp to build it. without attending to the inability of a poor tailor's son, he knew that none but the genii, the slaves of the lamp, the attaining of which he had missed, could have performed such wonders; and piqued to the quick at alla ad deen's happiness and splendour, he returned to the khan where he lodged. the next point was to ascertain where the lamp was; whether alla ad deen carried it about with him, or where he kept it; and this he was to discover by an operation of geomancy. as soon as he entered his lodging, he took his square box of sand, which he always carried with him when he travelled, and after he had performed some operations, he found that the lamp was in alla ad deen's palace, and so great was his joy at the discovery that he could hardly contain himself. "well," said he, "i shall have the lamp, and defy alla ad deen's preventing my carrying it off, and making him sink to his original meanness, from which he has taken so high a flight." it was alla ad deen's misfortune at that time to be absent in the chase for eight days, and only three were expired, which the magician came to know by this means. after he had performed the magical operation, which gave him so much joy, he went to the superintendent of the khan, entered into conversation with him on indifferent subjects, and among the rest, told him he had been to see alla ad deen's palace; and after exaggerating on all that he had seen most worthy of observation, added, "but my curiosity leads me farther, and i shall not be satisfied till i have seen the person to whom this wonderful edifice belongs." "that will be no difficult matter," replied the master of the khan, "there is not a day passes but he gives an opportunity when he is in town, but at present he is not at the palace, and has been gone these three days on a hunting-match, which will last eight. the magician wanted to know no more; he took his leave of the superintendent of the khan, and returning to his own chamber, said to himself, "this is an opportunity i ought by no means to neglect, but must make the best use of it." to that end, he went to a coppersmith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of the shop told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have patience till the next day, he would have them ready. the magician appointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be handsome and well polished. after promising to pay him well, he returned to his inn. the next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his full price, put them into a basket which he bought on purpose, and with the basket hanging on his arm, went directly to alla ad deen's palace: as he approached he began crying, "who will change old lamps for new ones?" as he went along, a crowd of children collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool, to offer to change new lamps for old ones. the african magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they could say to him, but still continued crying, "who will change old lamps for new?" he repeated this so often, walking backwards and forwards in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, and not being able to distinguish his words, owing to the hooting of the children and increasing mob about him, sent one of her women slaves to know what he cried. the slave was not long before she returned, and ran into the hall, laughing so heartily, that the princess could not forbear herself. "well, giggler," said the princess, "will you tell me what you laugh at?" "madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear laughing, to see a fool with a basket on his arm, full of fine new lamps, ask to change them for old ones; the children and mob, crowding about him so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in derision of him." another female slave hearing this, said, "now you speak of lamps, i know not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one upon a shelf of the prince's robing-room, and whoever owns it will not be sorry to find a new one in its stead. if the princess chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this fool is so silly as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking any thing for the exchange." the lamp this slave spoke of was the wonderful lamp, which alla ad deen had laid upon the shelf before he departed for the chase; this he had done several times before; but neither the princess, the slaves, nor the eunuchs, had ever taken notice of it. at all other times except when hunting he carried it about his person. the princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest that alla ad deen, not to mention herself, had to keep it safe, entered into the pleasantry, and commanded a eunuch to take it, and make the exchange. the eunuch obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to the palace gates than he saw the african magician, called to him, and shewing him the old lamp, said, "give me a new lamp for this." the magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. there could be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. he snatched it eagerly out of the eunuch's hand, and thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade him choose which he liked best. the eunuch picked out one, and carried it to the princess; but the exchange was no sooner made than the place rung with the shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. the african magician gave everybody leave to laugh as much as they pleased; he stayed not long near the palace, but made the best of his way, without crying any longer, "new lamps for old ones." his end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children and the mob. as soon as he was out of the square between the two palaces, he hastened down the streets which were the least frequented; and having no more occasion for his lamps or basket, set all down in an alley where nobody saw him: then going down another street or two, he walked till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at length reached a lonely spot, where he stopped for a time to execute the design he had in contemplation, never caring for his horse which he had left at the khan, but thinking himself perfectly compensated by the treasure he had acquired. in this place the african magician passed the remainder of the day, till the darkest time of night, when he pulled the lamp out of his breast and rubbed it. at that summons the genie appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; both i and the other slaves of the lamp." "i command thee," replied the magician, "to transport me immediately and the palace which thou and the other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, with all the people in it, to africa." the genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other genii, the slaves of the lamp immediately transported him and the palace entire, to the spot whither he was desired to convey it. as soon as the sultan rose the next morning, according to custom, he went into his closet, to have the pleasure of contemplating and admiring alla ad deen's palace; but when he first looked that way, and instead of a palace saw an empty space such as it was before the palace was built, he thought he was mistaken, and rubbed his eyes; but when he looked again, he still saw nothing more the second time than the first, though the weather was fine, the sky clear, and the dawn advancing had made all objects very distinct. he looked again in front, to the right and left, but beheld nothing more than he had formerly been used to see from his window. his amazement was so great, that he stood for some time turning his eyes to the spot where the palace had stood, but where it was no longer to be seen. he could not comprehend how so large a palace as alla ad deen's, which he had seen plainly every day for some years, and but the day before, should vanish so soon, and not leave the least remains behind. "certainly," said he to himself, "i am not mistaken; it stood there: if it had fallen, the materials would have lain in heaps; and if it had been swallowed up by an earthquake, there would be some mark left." at last, though he was convinced that no palace stood now opposite his own, he could not help staying some time at his window, to see whether he might not be mistaken. at last he retired to his apartment, not without looking behind him before he quitted the spot ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition, and in the meantime sat down, his mind agitated by so many different conjectures that he knew not what to resolve. the grand vizier did not make the sultan wait long for him, but came with so much precipitation, that neither he nor his attendants, as they passed, missed alla ad deen's palace; neither did the porters, when they opened the palace gates observe any alteration. when he came into the sultan's presence, he said to him, �"the haste in which your majesty sent for me makes me believe something extraordinary has happened, since you know that this is a day of public audience, and i should not have failed of attending at the usual time." "indeed," said the sultan, "it is something very extraordinary, as you say, and you will allow it to be so: tell me what is become of alla ad deen's palace?" "his palace!" replied the grand vizier, in amazement, "i thought as i passed it stood in its usual place; such substantial buildings are not so easily removed." "go into my closet," said the sultan, "and tell me if you can see it." the grand vizier went into the closet, where he was struck with no less amazement than the sultan had been. when he was well assured that there was not the least appearance of this palace, he returned to the sultan. "well," said the sultan, :have you seen alla ad deen's palace?" "no," answered the vizier; "but your majesty may remember that i had the honour to tell you, that palace, which was the subject of your admiration, with all its immense riches, was only the work of magic and a magician; but your majesty would not pay the least attention to what i said." the sultan, who could not deny what the grand vizier had represented to him, flew into the greater passion: "where is that impostor, that wicked wretch," said he, "that i may have his head taken off immediately?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "it is some days since he came to take his leave of your majesty, on pretence of hunting; he ought to be sent for, to know what is become of his palace, since he cannot be ignorant of what has been transacted." "that is too great an indulgence," replied the sultan: "command a detachment of horse to bring him to me loaded with chains." the grand vizier gave orders for a detachment, and instructed the officer who commanded them how they were to act, that alla ad deen might not escape. the detachment pursued their orders; and about five or six leagues from the town met him returning from the chase. the officer advanced respectfully, and informed him the sultan was so impatient to see him, that he had sent his party to accompany him home. alla ad deen had not the least suspicion of the true reason of their meeting him; but when he came within half a league of the city, the detachment surrounded him, when the officer addressed himself to him, and said, "prince, it is with great regret that i declare to you the sultan's order to arrest you, and to carry you before him as a criminal: i beg of you not to take it ill that we acquit ourselves of our duty, and to forgive us." alla ad deen, who felt himself innocent, was much surprised at this declaration, and asked the officer if he knew what crime he was accused of; who replied, he did not. then alla ad deen, finding that his retinue was much interior to this detachment, alighted off his horse, and said to the officers, "execute your orders; i am not conscious that i have committed any offence against the sultan's person or government." a heavy chain was immediately put about his neck, and fastened round his body, so that both his arms were pinioned down; the officer then put himself at the head of the detachment, and one of the troopers taking hold of the end of the chain and proceeding after the officer, led alla ad deen, who was obliged to follow him on foot, into the city. when this detachment entered the suburbs, the people, who saw alla ad deen thus led as a state criminal, never doubted but that his head was to be cut off; and as he was generally beloved, some took sabres and other arms; and those who had none gathered stones, and followed the escort. the last division faced about to disperse them; but their numbers presently increased so much, that the soldiery began to think it would be well if they could get into the sultan's palace before alla ad deen was rescued; to prevent which, according to the different extent of the streets, they took care to cover the ground by extending or closing. in this manner they with much difficulty arrived at the palace square, and there drew up in a line, till their officer and troopers with alla ad deen had got within the gates, which were immediately shut. alla ad deen was carried before the sultan, who waited for him, attended by the grand vizier, in a balcony; and as soon as he saw him, he ordered the executioner, who waited there for the purpose, to strike off his head without hearing him or giving him leave to clear himself. as soon as the executioner had taken off the chain that was fastened about alla ad deen's neck and body, and laid down a skin stained with the blood of the many he had executed, he made the supposed criminal kneel down, and tied a bandage over his eyes. then drawing his sabre, took his aim by flourishing it three times in the air, waiting for the sultan's giving the signal to strike. at that instant the grand vizier perceiving that the populace had forced the guard of horse, crowded the great square before the palace, and were scaling the walls in several places, and beginning to pull them down to force their way in; he said to the sultan, before he gave the signal, "i beg of your majesty to consider what you are going to do, since you will hazard your palace being destroyed; and who knows what fatal consequence may follow?" "my palace forced!" replied the sultan; "who can have that audacity?" "sir," answered the grand vizier, "if your majesty will but cast your eyes towards the great square, and on the palace walls, you will perceive the truth of what i say." the sultan was so much alarmed when he saw so great a crowd, and how enraged they were, that he ordered the executioner to put his sabre ;immediately into the scabbard, to unbind alla ad deen, and at the same time commanded the porters to declare to the people that the sultan had pardoned him, and that they might retire. those who had already got upon the walls, and were witnesses of what had passed, abandoned their design and got quickly down, overjoyed that they had saved the life of a man they dearly loved, and published the news amongst the rest, which was presently confirmed by the mace-bearers from the top of the terraces. the justice which the sultan had done to alla ad deen soon disarmed the populace of their rage; the tumult abated, and the mob dispersed. when alla ad deen found himself at liberty, he turned towards the balcony, and perceiving the sultan, raised his voice, and said to him in a moving manner, "i beg of your majesty to add one favour more to that which i have already received, which is, to let me know my crime?" "your crime," answered the sultan; "perfidious wretch! do you not know it? come hither, and i will shew it you." alla ad deen went up, when the sultan, going before him without looking at him, said, "follow me;" and then led him into his closet. when he came to the door, he said, "go in; you ought to know whereabouts your palace stood: look round and tell me what is become of it?" alla ad deen looked, but saw nothing. he perceived the spot upon which his palace had stood; but not being able to divine how it had disappeared, was thrown into such great confusion and amazement, that he could not return one word of answer. the sultan growing impatient, demanded of him again, "where is your palace, and what is become of my daughter?" alla ad deen, breaking silence, replied, "sir, i perceive and own that the palace which i have built is not in its place, but is vanished; neither can i tell your majesty where it may be, but can assure you i had no concern in its removal." "i am not so much concerned about your palace," replied the sultan, "i value my daughter ten thousand times more, and would have you find her out, otherwise i will cause your head to be struck off, and no consideration shall divert me from my purpose." "i beg of your majesty," answered alla ad deen, "to grant me forty days to make my inquiries; and if in that time i have not the success i wish, i will offer my head at the foot of your throne, to be disposed of at your pleasure." "i give you the forty days you ask," said the sultan; "but think not to abuse the favour i shew you, by imagining you shall escape my resentment; for i will find you out in whatsoever part of the world you may conceal yourself." alla ad deen went out of the sultan's presence with great humiliation, and in a condition worthy of pity. he crossed the courts of the palace, hanging down his head, and in such great confusion, that he durst not lift up his eyes. the principal officers of the court, who had all professed themselves his friends, and whom he had never disobliged, instead of going up to him to comfort him, and offer him a retreat in their houses, turned their backs to avoid seeing him. but had they accosted him with a word of comfort or offer of service, they would have no more known alla ad deen. he did not know himself, and was no longer in his senses, as plainly appeared by his asking everybody he met, and at every house, if they had seen his palace, or could tell him any news of it. these questions made the generality believe that alla ad deen was mad. some laughed at him, but people of sense and humanity, particularly those who had had any connection of business or friendship with him, really pitied him. for three days he rambled about the city in this manner, without coming to any resolution, or eating anything but what some compassionate people forced him to take out of charity. at last, as he could no longer in his unhappy condition stay in a city where he had lately been next to the sultan, he took the road to the country; and after he had traversed several fields in wild uncertainty, at the approach of night came to the bank of a river. there, possessed by his despair, he said to himself, "where shall i seek my palace? in what province, country, or part of the world, shall i find that and my dear princess, whom the sultan expects from me? i shall never succeed; i had better free myself at once from fruitless endeavours, and such bitter grief as preys upon me." he was just going to throw himself into the river, but, as a good moosulmaun, true to his religion, he thought he should not do it without first saying his prayers. going to prepare himself, he went to the river's brink, in order to perform the usual ablutions. the place being steep and slippery, from the water beating against it, he slid down, and had certainly fallen into the river, but for a little rock which projected about two feet out of the earth. happily also for him he still had on the ring which the african magician had put on his finger before he went down into the subterraneous abode to fetch the precious lamp. in slipping down the bank he rubbed the ring so hard by holding on the rock, that immediately the same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had left him. "what wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on their finger; both i and the other slaves of the ring." alla ad deen, agreeably surprised at an apparition he so little expected in his present calamity, replied, "save my life, genie, a second time, either by shewing me to the place where the palace i caused to be built now stands, or immediately transporting it back where it first stood." "what you command me," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; i am only the slave of the ring; you must address yourself to the slave of the lamp." "if that be the case," replied alla ad deen, "i command thee, by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the world soever it may be, and set me down under the window of the princess buddir al buddoor." these words were no sooner out of his mouth, than the genie transported him into africa, to the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, at no great distance from a city, and placing him exactly under the window of the princess's apartment, left him. all this was done almost in an instant. alla ad deen, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, knew his palace and the princess buddir al buddoor's apartment again; but as the night was far advanced, and all was quiet in the palace, he retired to some distance, and sat down at the foot of a large tree. there, full of hopes, and reflecting on his happiness, for which he was indebted to chance, he found himself in a much more comfortable situation than when he was arrested and carried before the sultan; being now delivered from the immediate danger of losing his life. he amused himself for some time with these agreeable thoughts; but not having slept for two days, was not able to resist the drowsiness which came upon him, but fell fast asleep. the next morning, as soon as day appeared, alla ad deen was agreeably awakened by the singing not only of the birds which had roosted in the tree under which he had passed the night, but also of those which frequented the thick groves of the palace garden. when he cast his eyes on that wonderful edifice, he felt inexpressible joy at thinking he might possibly soon be master of it again, and once more possess his dear princess buddir al buddoor. pleased with these hopes, he immediately arose, went towards the princess's apartment, and walked some time under her window in expectation of her rising, that he might see her. during this expectation, he began to consider with himself whence the cause of his misfortune had proceeded; and after mature reflection, no longer doubted that it was owing to having trusted the lamp out of his sight. he accused himself of negligence in letting it be a moment away from him. but what puzzled him most was, that he could not imagine who had been so envious of his happiness. he would soon have guessed this, if he had known that both he and his palace were in africa, the very name of which would soon have made him remember the magician his declared enemy; but the genie, the slave of the ring, had not made the least mention of the name of the country, nor had alla ad deen inquired. the princess rose earlier that morning than she had done since her transportation into africa by the magician, whose presence she was forced to support once a day, because he was master of the palace; but she had always treated him so harshly that he dared not reside in it. as she was dressing, one of the women looking through the window, perceived alla ad deen, and instantly told her mistress. the princess, who could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, and seeing alla ad deen, immediately opened it. the noise of opening the window made alla ad deen turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. "to lose no time," said she to him, "i have sent to have the private door opened for you; enter, and come up." the private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was soon opened, and alla ad deen conducted up into the chamber. it is impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so cruel a separation. after embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat down, and alla ad deen said, "i beg of you, princess, in god's name, before we talk of anything else, to tell me, both for your own sake, the sultan your father's, and mine, what is become of an old lamp which i left upon a shelf in my robing-chamber, when i departed for the chase." "alas! dear husband," answered the princess, "i was afraid our misfortune might be owing to that lamp: and what grieves me most is, that i have been the cause of it." "princess," replied alla ad deen, "do not blame yourself, since it was entirely my fault, for i ought to have taken more care of it. but let us now think only of repairing the loss; tell me what has happened, and into whose hands it has fallen." the princess then related how she had changed the old lamp for a new one, which she ordered to be fetched, that he might see it, and how the next morning she found herself in the unknown country they were then in, which she was told was africa, by the traitor, who had transported her thither by his magic art. "princess," said alla ad deen, interrupting her, "you have informed me who the traitor is, by telling me we are in africa. he is the most perfidious of men; but this is neither a time nor place to give you a full account of his villanies. i desire you only to tell me what he has done with the lamp, and where he has put it?" "he carries it carefully wrapped up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this i can assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and shewed it to me in triumph." "princess," said alla ad deen, "do not be displeased that i trouble you with so many questions, since they are equally important to us both. but to come to what most particularly concerns me; tell me, i conjure you, how so wicked and perfidious a man treats you?" "since i have been here," replied the princess, "he repairs once every day to see me; and i am persuaded the little satisfaction he receives from his visits makes him come no oftener. all his addresses tend to persuade me to break that faith i have pledged to you, and to take him for my husband; giving me to understand, i need not entertain hopes of ever seeing you again, for that you were dead, having had your head struck off by the sultan my father's order. he added, to justify himself, that you were an ungrateful wretch; that your good fortune was owing to him, and a great many other things of that nature which i forbear to repeat: but as he received no other answer from me but grievous complaints and tears, he was always forced to retire with as little satisfaction as he came. i doubt not his intention is to allow me time to overcome my grief, in hopes that afterwards i may change my sentiments; and if i persevere in an obstinate refusal, to use violence. but my dear husband's presence removes all my apprehensions." "i am confident my attempts to punish the magician will not be in vain," replied alla ad deen, "since my princess's fears are removed, and i think i have found the means to deliver you from both your enemy and mine; to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the town. i shall return by noon, will then communicate my design, and what must be done by you to ensure success. but that you may not be surprised, i think it proper to acquaint you, that i shall change my apparel, and beg of you to give orders that i may not wait long at the private door, but that it may be opened at the first knock;" all which the princess promised to observe. when alla ad deen was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him; and when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him to change habits, which the man agreed to. when they had made the exchange, the countryman went about his business, and alla ad deen to the city. after traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where all descriptions of merchants and artisans had their particular streets, according to their trades. he went into that of the druggists; and going into one of the largest and best furnished shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder which he named. the druggist, judging alla ad deen by his habit to be very poor, and that he had not money enough to pay for it, told him he had it, but that it was very dear; upon which alla ad deen penetrated his thoughts, pulled out his purse, and shewing him some gold, asked for half a dram of the powder; which the druggist weighed, wrapped up in paper, and gave him, telling him the price was a piece of gold. alla ad deen put the money into his hand, and staying no longer in the town than just to get a little refreshment, returned to the palace, where he waited not long at the private door. when he came into the princess's apartment, he said to her, "princess, perhaps the aversion you tell me you have for your ravisher may be an objection to your executing what i am going to propose; but permit me to say it is proper that you should at this juncture dissemble a little, and do violence to your inclinations, if you would deliver yourself from him, and give my lord the sultan your father the satisfaction of seeing you again. "if you will take my advice," continued he, "dress yourself this moment in one of your richest habits, and when the african magician comes, make no difficulty to give him the best reception; receive him with a cheerful countenance, so that he may imagine time has removed your affliction and disgust at his addresses. in your conversation, let him understand that you strive to forget me; and that he may be the more fully convinced of your sincerity, invite him to sup with you, and tell him you should be glad to taste of some of the best wines of his country. he will presently go to fetch you some. during his absence, put into one of the cups you are accustomed to drink out of this powder, and setting it by, charge the slave you may order that night to attend you, on a signal you shall agree upon, to bring that cup to you. when the magician and you have eaten and drunk as much as you choose, let her bring you the cup, and then change cups with him. he will esteem it so great a favour that he will not refuse, but eagerly quaff it off; but no sooner will he have drunk, than you will see him fall backwards. if you have any reluctance to drink out of his cup, you may pretend only to do it, without fear of being discovered; for the effect of the powder is so quick, that he will not have time to know whether you drink or not." when alla ad deen had finished, "i own," answered the princess, "i shall do myself great violence in consenting to make the magician such advances as i see are absolutely necessary; but what cannot one resolve to do against a cruel enemy? i will therefore follow your advice, since both my repose and yours depend upon it. "after the princess had agreed to the measures proposed by alla ad deen, he took his leave, and went and spent the rest of the day in the neighbourhood of the palace till it was night, and he might safely return to the private door. the princess, who had remained inconsolable at being separated not only from her husband, whom she had loved from the first moment, and still continued to love more out of inclination than duty, but also from the sultan her father, who had always showed the most tender and paternal affection for her, had, ever since their cruel separation, lived in great neglect of her person. she had almost forgotten the neatness so becoming persons of her sex and quality, particularly after the first time the magician paid her a visit; and she had understood by some of the women, who knew him again, that it was he who had taken the old lamp in exchange for a new one, which rendered the sight of him more abhorred. however, the opportunity of taking the revenge he deserved made her resolve to gratify alla ad deen. as soon, therefore, as he was gone, she sat down to dress, and was attired by her women to the best advantage in the richest habit of her wardrobe. her girdle was of the finest and largest diamonds set in gold, her necklace of pearls, six on a side, so well proportioned to that in the middle, which was the largest ever seen, and invaluable, that the greatest sultanesses would have been proud to have been adorned with only two of the smallest. her bracelets, which were of diamonds and rubies intermixed, corresponded admirably to the richness of the girdle and necklace. when the princess buddir al buddoor was completely dressed, she consulted her glass and women upon her adjustment; and when she found she wanted no charms to flatter the foolish passion of the african magician, she sat down on a sofa expecting his arrival. the magician came at the usual hour, and as soon as he entered the great hall where the princess waited to receive him, she rose with an enchanting grace and smile, and pointed with her hand to the most honourable place, waiting till he sat down, that she might sit at the same time which was a civility she had never shown him before. the african magician, dazzled more with the lustre of the princess's eyes than the glittering of the jewels with which she was adorned, was much surprised. the smiling and graceful air with which she received him, so opposite to her former behaviour, quite fascinated his heart. when he was seated, the princess, to free him from his embarrassment, broke silence first, locking at him all the time in such a manner as to make him believe that he was not so odious to her as she had given him to understand hitherto and said, "you are doubtless amazed to find me so much altered to-day; but your surprise will not be so great when i acquaint you, that i am naturally of a disposition so opposite to melancholy and grief, sorrow and uneasiness, that i always strive to put them as far away as possible when i find the subject of them is past. i have reflected on what you told me of alla ad deen's fate, and know my father's temper so well, that i am persuaded with you he could not escape the terrible effects of the sultan's rage; therefore, should i continue to lament him all my life, my tears cannot recall him. for this reason, since i have paid all the duties decency requires of me to his memory, now he is in the grave i think i ought to endeavour to comfort myself. these are the motives of the change you see in me; i am resolved to banish melancholy entirely; and, persuaded that you will bear me company tonight, i have ordered a supper to be prepared; but as i have no wines but those of china, i have a great desire to taste of the produce of africa, and doubt not your procuring some of the best." the african magician, who had looked upon the happiness of getting so soon and so easily into the princess buddir al buddoor's good graces as impossible, could not think of words expressive enough to testify how sensible he was of her favours: but to put an end the sooner to a conversation which would have embarrassed him, if he had engaged farther in it, he turned it upon the wines of africa, and said, "of all the advantages africa can boast, that of producing the most excellent wines is one of the principal. i have a vessel of seven years old, which has never been broached; and it is indeed not praising it too much to say it is the finest wine in the world. if my princess," added he, "will give me leave, i will go and fetch two bottles, and return again immediately." "i should be sorry to give you that trouble," replied the princess; "you had better send for them." "it is necessary i should go myself," answered the african magician; "for nobody but myself knows where the key of the cellar is laid, or has the secret to unlock the door." "if it be so," said the princess, "make haste back; for the longer you stay, the greater will be my impatience, and we shall sit down to supper as soon as you return." the african magician, full of hopes of his expected happiness, rather flew than ran, and returned quickly with the wine. the princess, not doubting but he would make haste, put with her own hand the powder alla ad deen had given her into the cup set apart for that purpose. they sat down at the table opposite to each other, the magician's back towards the sideboard. the princess presented him with the best at the table, and said to him, "if you please, i will entertain you with a concert of vocal and instrumental music; but, as we are only two, i think conversation maybe more agreeable." this the magician took as a new favour. after they had eaten some time, the princess called for some wine, drank the magician's health, and afterwards said to him, "indeed you had a full right to commend your wine, since i never tasted any so delicious." "charming princess," said he, holding in his hand the cup which had been presented to him," my wine becomes more exquisite by your approbation." "then drink my health," replied the princess; "you will find i understand wines." he drank the princess's health, and returning the cup, said, "i think myself fortunate, princess, that i reserved this wine for so happy an occasion; and own i never before drank any in every respect so excellent." when they had each drunk two or three cups more, the princess, who had completely charmed the african magician by her civility and obliging behaviour, gave the signal to the slave who served them with wine, bidding her bring the cup which had been filled for her, and at the same time bring the magician a full goblet. when they both had their cups in their hands, she said to him, "i know not how you express your loves in these parts when drinking together? with us in china the lover and his mistress reciprocally exchange cups, and drink each other's health." at the same time she presented to him the cup which was in her hand, and held out her hand to receive his. he hastened to make the exchange with the more pleasure, because he looked upon this favour as the most certain token of an entire conquest over the princess, which raised his rapture to the highest pitch. before he drank, he said to her, with the cup in his hand, "indeed, princess, we africans are not so refined in the art of love as you chinese: and your instructing me in a lesson i was ignorant of, informs me how sensible i ought to be of the favour done me. i shall never, lovely princess, forget my recovering, by drinking out of your cup, that life, which your cruelty, had it continued, must have made me despair of." the princess, who began to be tired with this impertinent declaration of the african magician, interrupted him, and said, "let us drink first, and then say what you will afterwards;" at the same time she set the cup to her lips, while the african magician, who was eager to get his wine off first, drank up the very last drop. in finishing it, he had reclined his head back to shew his eagerness, and remained some time in that state. the princess kept the cup at her lips, till she saw his eyes turn in his head, when he fell backwards lifeless on the sofa. the princess had no occasion to order the private door to be opened to alla ad deen; for her women were so disposed from the great hall to the foot of the staircase, that the word was no sooner given that the african magician was fallen backwards, than the door was immediately opened. as soon as alla ad deen entered the hall, he saw the magician stretched backwards on the sofa. the princess rose from her seat, and ran overjoyed to embrace him; but he stopped her, and said, "princess, it is not yet time; oblige me by retiring to your apartment; and let me be left alone a moment, while i endeavour to transport you back to china as speedily as you were brought from thence." when the princess, her women and eunuchs, were gone out of the hall, alla ad deen shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of the magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp, which was carefully wrapped up, as the princess had told him, and unfolding and rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i have called to command thee, on the part of thy good mistress this lamp, to transport this palace instantly into china, to the place from whence it was brought hither." the genie bowed his head in token of obedience, and disappeared. immediately the palace was transported into china, and its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short interval of time. alla ad deen went to the princess's apartment, and embracing her, said, "i can assure you, princess, that your joy and mine will be complete tomorrow morning." the princess, guessing that alla ad deen must be hungry, ordered the dishes, served up in the great hall, to be brought down. the princess and alla ad deen ate as much as they thought fit, and drank of the african magician's old wine; during which time their conversation could not be otherwise than satisfactory, and then they retired to their own chamber. >from the time of the transportation of alla ad deen's palace, the princess's father had been inconsolable for the loss of her. he could take no rest, and instead of avoiding what might continue his affliction, he indulged it without restraint. before the disaster he used to go every morning into his closet to please himself with viewing the palace, he went now many times in the day to renew his tears, and plunge himself into the deepest melancholy, by the idea of no more seeing that which once gave him so much pleasure, and reflecting how he had lost what was most dear to him in this world. the very morning of the return of alla ad deen's palace, the sultan went, by break of day, into his closet to indulge his sorrows. absorbed in himself, and in a pensive mood, he cast his eyes towards the spot, expecting only to see an open space; but perceiving the vacancy filled up, he at first imagined the appearance to be the effect of a fog; looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt it was his son-in- law's palace. joy and gladness succeeded to sorrow and grief. he returned immediately into his apartment, and ordered a horse to be saddled and brought to him without delay, which he mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the palace. alla ad deen, who foresaw what would happen, rose that morning by day-break, put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and went up into the hall of twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived the sultan approaching, and got down soon enough to receive him at the foot of the great staircase, and to help him to dismount. "alla ad deen," said the sultan, "i cannot speak to you till i have seen and embraced my daughter." he led the sultan into the princess's apartment. the happy father embraced her with his face bathed in tears of joy; and the princess, on her side, shewed him all the testimonies of the extreme pleasure the sight of him afforded her. the sultan was some time before he could open his lips, so great was his surprise and joy to find his daughter again, after he had given her up for lost; and the princess, upon seeing her father, let fall tears of rapture and affection. at last the sultan broke silence, and said, "i would believe, daughter, your joy to see me makes you seem as little changed as if no misfortune had befallen you; yet i cannot be persuaded but that you have suffered much alarm; for a large palace cannot be so suddenly transported as yours has been, without causing great fright and apprehension i would have you tell me all that has happened, and conceal nothing from me." the princess, who took great pleasure in giving the sultan the satisfaction he demanded, said, "if i appear so little altered, i beg of your majesty to consider that i received new life yesterday morning by the presence of my dear husband and deliverer alla ad deen, whom i looked upon and bewailed as lost to me; and the happiness of seeing and embracing of whom has almost recovered me to my former state of health. my greatest suffering was only to find myself forced from your majesty and my dear husband; not only from the love i bore my husband, but from the uneasiness i laboured under through fear that he, though innocent, might feel the effects of your anger, to which i knew he was left exposed. i suffered but little from the insolence of the wretch who had carried me off; for having secured the ascendant over him, i always put a stop to his disagreeable overtures, and was as little constrained as i am at present. "as to what relates to my transportation, alla ad deen had no concern in it; i was myself the innocent cause of it." to persuade the sultan of the truth of what she said, she gave him a full account of how the african magician had disguised himself, and offered to change new lamps for old ones; how she had amused herself in making that exchange, being entirely ignorant of the secret and importance of the wonderful lamp; how the palace and herself were carried away and transported into africa, with the african magician, who was recognised by two of her women and the eunuch who made the exchange of the lamp, when he had the audacity, after the success of his daring enterprise, to propose himself for her husband; how he persecuted her till alla ad deen's arrival; how they had concerted measures to get the lamp from him again, and the success they had fortunately met with by her dissimulation in inviting him to supper, and giving him the cup with the powder prepared for him. "for the rest," added she, "i leave it to alla ad deen to recount." alla ad deen had not much to tell the sultan, but only said, "when the private door was opened i went up into the great hall, where i found the magician lying dead on the sofa, and as i thought it not proper for the princess to stay there any longer, i desired her to go down into her own apartment, with her women and eunuchs. as soon as i was alone, and had taken the lamp out of the magician's breast, i made use of the same secret he had done, to remove the palace, and carry off the princess; and by that means the palace was re-conveyed to the place where it stood before; and i have the happiness to restore the princess to your majesty, as you commanded me. but that your majesty may not think that i impose upon you, if you will give yourself the trouble to go up into the hall, you may see the magician punished as he deserved." the sultan, to be assured of the truth, rose instantly, and went into the hall, where, when he saw the african magician dead, and his face already livid by the strength of the poison, he embraced alla ad deen with great tenderness, and said, "my son, be not displeased at my proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love; and therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me." "sir," replied alla ad deen, "i have not the least reason to complain of your majesty's conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty required. this infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause of my misfortune. when your majesty has leisure, i will give you an account of another villanous action he was guilty of towards me, which was no less black and base than this, from which i was preserved by the providence of god in a very miraculous way." "i will take an opportunity, and that very shortly," replied the sultan, "to hear it; but in the mean time let us think only of rejoicing, and the removal of this odious object." alla ad deen ordered the magician's corpse to be removed and thrown upon a dunghill, for birds and beasts to prey upon. in the mean time, the sultan commanded the drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of music to announce his joy to the public, and a festival of ten days to be proclaimed for the return of the princess and alla ad deen. thus alla ad deen escaped once more the almost inevitable danger of losing his life; but this was not the last, since he ran as great a hazard a third time. the african magician had a younger brother, who was equally skilful as a necromancer, and even surpassed him in villany and pernicious designs. as they did not live together, or in the same city, but oftentimes when one was in the east, the other was in the west, they failed not every year to inform themselves, by their art, each where the other resided, and whether they stood in need of one another's assistance. some time after the african magician had failed in his enterprise against alla ad deen, his younger brother, who had heard no tidings of him, and was not in africa, but in a distant country, had the wish to know in what part of the world he sojourned, the state of his health, and what he was doing; and as he, as well as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him, he prepared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. on examining the planetary mansions, he found that his brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he was in the capital of the kingdom of china; also that the person who had poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess, a sultan's daughter. when the magician had informed himself of his brother's fate, he lost no time in useless regret, which could not restore him to life; but resolving immediately to revenge his death, departed for china; where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long tract of country without delay, he arrived after incredible fatigues. when he came to the capital of china, he took a lodging. the next day he walked through the town, not so much to observe the beauties, which were indifferent to him, as to take proper measures to execute his pernicious designs. he introduced himself into the most frequented places, where he listened to everybody's discourse. in a place where people resort to divert themselves with games of various kinds, and where some were conversing, while others played, he heard some persons talk of the virtue and piety of a woman called fatima, who was retired from the world, and of the miracles she wrought. as he fancied that this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he had conceived, he took one of the company aside, and requested to be informed more particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of miracles she performed. "what!" said the person whom he addressed, "have you never seen or heard of her? she is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her austerities, and her exemplary life. except mondays and fridays, she never stirs out of her little cell; and on those days on which she comes into the town she does an infinite deal of good; for there is not a person that has the headache but is cured by her laying her hand upon them." the magician wanted no further information. he only asked the person in what part of the town this holy woman's cell was situated. after he had informed himself on this head, he determined on the detestable design of murdering her and assuming her character. with this view he watched all her steps the first day she went out after he had made this inquiry, without losing sight of her till evening, when he saw her re-enter her cell. when he had fully observed the place, he went to one of those houses where they sell a certain hot liquor, and where any person may pass the night, particularly in the great heats, when the people of that country prefer lying on a mat to a bed. about midnight, after the magician had satisfied the master of the house for what little he had called for, he went out, and proceeded directly to the cell of fatima. he had no difficulty to open the door, which was only fastened with a latch, and he shut it again after he had entered, without any noise. when he entered the cell, he perceived fatima by moonlight lying in the air on a sofa covered only by an old mat, with her head leaning against the wall. he awakened her, and clapped a dagger to her breast. the pious fatima opening her eyes, was much surprised to see a man with a dagger at her breast ready to stab her, and who said to her, "if you cry out, or make the least noise, i will kill you; but get up, and do as i shall direct you." fatima, who had lain down in her habit, got up, trembling with fear. "do not be so much frightened," said the magician; "i only want your habit, give it me and take mine." accordingly fatima and he changed clothes. he then said to her, "colour my face, that i may be like you;" but perceiving that the poor creature could not help trembling, to encourage her he said, "i tell you again you need not fear anything: i swear by the name of god i will not take away your life." fatima lighted her lamp, led him into the cell, and dipping a soft brush in a certain liquor, rubbed it over his face, assured him the colour would not change, and that his face was of the same hue as her own: after which, she put her own head-dress on his head, also a veil, with which she shewed him how to hide his face as he passed through the town. after this, she put a long string of beads about his neck, which hung down to the middle of his body, and giving him the stick she used to walk with in his hand, brought him a looking- glass, and bade him look if he was not as like her as possible. the magician found himself disguised as he wished to be; but he did not keep the oath he so solemnly swore to the good fatima; but instead of stabbing her, for fear the blood might discover him, he strangled her; and when he found she was dead, threw her body into a cistern just by the cell. the magician, thus disguised like the holy woman fatima, spent the remainder of the night in the cell. the next morning, two hours after sunrise, though it was not a day the holy woman used to go out on, he crept out of the cell, being well persuaded that nobody would ask him any questions; or, if they should, he had an answer ready for them. as one of the first things he did after his arrival was to find out alla ad deen's palace, where he was to complete his designs, he went directly thither. as soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him to be, they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. some begged his blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, only the hem of his garment; while others, whether their heads ached, or they wished to be preserved against that disorder, stooped for him to lay his hands upon them; which he did, muttering some words in form of prayer; and, in short, counterfeited so well, that everybody took him for the holy woman. after frequently stopping to satisfy people of this description, who received neither good nor harm from this imposition of hands, he came at last to the square before alla ad deen's palace. the crowd was so great that the eagerness to get at him increased in proportion. those who were the most zealous and strong forced their way through the crowd. there were such quarrels, and so great a noise, that the princess, who was in the hall of four- and-twenty windows, heard it, and asked what was the matter; but nobody being able to give her an answer, she ordered them to inquire and inform her. one of her women looked out of a window, and then told her it was a great crowd of people collected about the holy woman to be cured of the headache by the imposition of her hands. the princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had never seen her, was very desirous to have some conversation with her, which the chief of the eunuchs perceiving, told her it was an easy matter to bring her to her, if she desired and commanded it; and the princess expressing her wishes, he immediately sent four eunuchs for the pretended holy woman. as soon as the crowd saw the eunuchs, they made way, and the magician perceiving also that they were coming for him, advanced to meet them, overjoyed to find his plot proceeded so well. "holy woman," said one of the eunuchs, "the princess wants to see you, and has sent us for you." "the princess does me too great an honour," replied the false fatima; "i am ready to obey her command," and at the same time followed the eunuchs to the palace. when the magician, who under a holy garment disguised a wicked heart, was introduced into the great hall, and perceived the princess, he began a prayer, which contained a long enumeration of vows and good wishes for the princess's health and prosperity, and that she might have every thing she desired. he then displayed all his hypocritical rhetoric, to insinuate himself into the princess's favour under the cloak of piety, which it was no hard matter for him to do; for as the princess herself was naturally good, she was easily persuaded that all the world were like her, especially those who made profession of serving god in solitude. when the pretended fatima had finished his long harangue, the princess said to him, "i thank you, good mother, for your prayers: i have great confidence in them, and hope god will hear them. come, and sit by me." the false fatima sat down with affected modesty: the princess then resuming her discourse, said, "my good mother, i have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; it is to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of living; and that i may learn from your good example how to serve god." "princess," said the counterfeit fatima, "i beg of you not to ask what i cannot consent to, without neglecting my prayers and devotion." "that shall be no hinderance to you," answered the princess; "i have a great many apartments unoccupied; you shall choose which you like best, and have as much liberty to perform your devotions as if you were in your own cell." the magician, who desired nothing more than to introduce himself into the palace, where it would be a much easier matter for him to execute his designs, under the favour and protection of the princess, than if he had been forced to come and go from the cell to the palace, did not urge much to excuse himself from accepting the obliging offer which the princess made him. "princess," said he, "whatever resolution a poor wretched woman as i am may have made me renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, i dare not presume to oppose the will and commands of so pious and charitable a princess." upon this the princess, rising up, said, "come with me, i will shew you what vacant apartments i have, that you may make choice of that you like best." the magician followed the princess, and of all the apartments she shewed him, made choice of that which was the worst furnished, saying it was too good for him, and that he only accepted of it to please her. afterwards the princess would have brought him back again into the great hall to make him dine with her; but he considering that he should then be obliged to shew his face, which he had always taken care to conceal; and fearing that the princess should find out that he was not fatima, he begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desiring to eat that slight repast in his own apartment. the princess granted his request, saying, "you may be as free here, good mother, as if you were in your own cell: i will order you a dinner, but remember i expect you as soon as you have finished your repast." after the princess had dined, and the false fatima had been informed by one of the eunuchs that she was risen from table, he failed not to wait upon her. "my good mother," said the princess, "i am overjoyed to have the company of so holy a woman as yourself, who will confer a blessing upon this palace. but now i am speaking of the palace, pray how do you like it? and before i shew it all to you, tell me first what you think of this hall." upon this question, the counterfeit fatima, who, to act his part the better, affected to hang down his head, without so much as ever once lifting it, at last looked up, and surveyed the hall from one end to the other. when he had examined it well, he said to the princess, "as far as such a solitary being as i am, who am unacquainted with what the world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly admirable and most beautiful; there wants but one thing." "what is that, good mother?" demanded the princess; "tell me, i conjure you. for my part, i always believed, and have heard say, it wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be supplied." "princess," said the false fatima, with great dissimulation, "forgive me the liberty i have taken; but my opinion is, if it can be of any importance, that if a roe's egg were hung up in the middle of the dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and your palace would be the wonder of the unit verse." "my good mother," said the princess, "what bird is a roe, and where may one get an egg?" "princess," replied the pretended fatima, "it is a bird of prodigious size, which inhabits the summit of mount caucasus; the architect who built your palace can get you one." after the princess had thanked the false fatima for what she believed her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; but could not forget the roe's egg, which she resolved to request of alla ad deen when he returned from hunting. he had been gone six days, which the magician knew, and therefore took advantage of his absence; but he returned that evening after the false fatima had taken leave of the princess, and retired to his apartment. as soon as he arrived, he went directly to the princess's apartment, saluted and embraced her, but she seemed to receive him coldly. "my princess," said he, "i think you are not so cheerful as you used to be; has any thing happened during my absence, which has displeased you, or given you any trouble or dissatisfaction in the name of god, do not conceal it from me; i will leave nothing undone that is in my power to please you." "it is a trifling matter," replied the princess, "which gives me so little concern that i could not have thought you could have perceived it in my countenance; but since you have unexpectedly discovered some alteration, i will no longer disguise a matter of so little consequence from you." "i always believed," continued the princess," that our palace was the most superb, magnificent, and complete in the world: but i will tell you now what i find fault with, upon examining the hall of four-and-twenty windows. do not you think with me, that it would be complete if a roe's egg were hung up in the midst of the dome?" "princess," replied alla ad deen, "it is enough that you think there wants such an ornament; you shall see by the diligence used to supply that deficiency, that there is nothing which i would not do for your sake." alla ad deen left the princess buddir al buddoor that moment, and went up into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where pulling out of his bosom the lamp, which, after the danger he had been exposed to, he always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "there wants a roe's egg to be hung up in the midst of the dome; i command thee, in the name of this lamp, to repair the deficiency." alla ad deen had no sooner pronounced these words, than the genie gave so loud and terrible a cry, that the hall shook, and alla ad deen could scarcely stand upright. "what! wretch," said the genie, in a voice that would have made the most undaunted man tremble, "is it not enough that i and my companions have done every thing for you, but you, by an unheard-of ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and hang him up in the midst of this dome? this attempt deserves that you, your wife, and your palace, should be immediately reduced to ashes: but you are happy that this request does not come from yourself. know then, that the true author is the brother of the african magician, your enemy, whom you have destroyed as he deserved. he is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman fatima, whom he has murdered; and it is he who has suggested to your wife to make this pernicious demand. his design is to kill you, therefore take care of yourself." after these words, the genie disappeared. alla ad deen lost not a word of what the genie had said. he had heard talk of the holy woman fatima, and how she pretended to cure the headache. he returned to the princess's apartment, and without mentioning a word of what had happened, sat down, and complained of a great pain which had suddenly seized his head; upon which the princess ordered the holy woman to be called, and then told him how she had invited her to the palace, and that she had appointed her an apartment. when the pretended fatima came, alla ad deen said, "come hither, good mother; i am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time; i am tormented with a violent pain in my head, and request your assistance, by the confidence i have in your good prayers, and hope you will not refuse me that favour which you do to so many persons afflicted with this complaint." so saying, he arose, but held down his head. the counterfeit fatima advanced towards him, with his hand all the time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his gown; which alla ad deen observing, he seized his hand before he had drawn it, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the floor. "my dear husband, what have you done?" cried the princess in surprise. "you have killed the holy woman." "no, my princess," answered alla ad deen, with emotion, "i have not killed fatima, but a villain, who would have assassinated me, if i had not prevented him. this wicked wretch," added he, uncovering his face, "has strangled fatima, whom you accuse me of killing, and disguised himself in her clothes with intent to murder me: but that you may know him better, he is brother to the african magician." alla ad deen then informed her how he came to know these particulars, and afterwards ordered the dead body to be taken away. thus was alla ad deen delivered from the persecution of two brothers, who were magicians. within a few years afterwards, the sultan died in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess buddir al buddoor, as lawful heir of the throne, succeeded him, and communicating the power to alla ad deen, they reigned together many years, and left a numerous and illustrious posterity. adventure of the caliph haroon al rusheed. the caliph haroon al rusheed was one day suffering from depression of spirits, when his faithful and favourite grand vizier jaaffier came to him. this minister finding him alone, which was seldom the case, and perceiving as he approached that he was in a very melancholy humour, and never lifted up his eyes, stopped till he should vouchsafe to look at him. at last the caliph turned his eyes towards him, but presently withdrew them again, and remained in the same posture motionless as before. the grand vizier, observing nothing in the caliph's eyes which regarded him personally, took the liberty to speak to him, and said, "commander of the faithful, will your majesty give me leave to ask whence proceeds this melancholy, of which you always seemed to me so little susceptible?" "indeed, vizier," answered the caliph, brightening up his countenance, "i am very little subject to it, and had not perceived it but for you, but i will remain no longer in this hippish mood. if no new affair brought you hither, you will gratify me by inventing something to dispel it." "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "my duty obliged me to wait on you, and i take the liberty to remind your majesty, that this is the day which you have appointed to inform yourself of the good government of your capital and its environs; and this occasion very opportunely presents itself to dispel those clouds which obscure your natural gaiety." "you do well to remind me," replied the caliph, "for i had entirely forgotten it; go and change your dress, while i do the same." they each put on the habit of a foreign merchant, and under that disguise went out by a private door of the palace-garden, which led into the country. after they had gone round part of the city to the banks of the euphrates, at some distance from the walls, without having observed anything disorderly, they crossed the river in the first boat they met, and making a tour on the other side, crossed the bridge, which formed the communication betwixt the two parts of the town. at the foot of this bridge they met an old blind man, who asked alms of them; the caliph turned about, and put a piece of gold into his hand. the blind man instantly caught hold of his hand, and stopped him; "charitable person," said he, "whoever you are, whom god hath inspired to bestow alms on me, do not refuse the favour i ask of you, to give me a box on the ear, for i deserve that, and a greater punishment." having thus spoken, he let the caliph's hand go, that he might strike, but for fear he should pass on without doing it, held him fast by his clothes. the caliph, surprised both at the words and action of the blind man, said, "i cannot comply with your request. i will not lessen the merit of my charity, by treating you as you would have me." after these words, he endeavoured to get away from the blind man. the blind man, who expected this reluctance of his benefactor, exerted himself to detain him. "sir," said he, "forgive my boldness and importunity; i desire you would either give me a box on the ear, or take your alms back again, for i cannot receive it but on that condition, without breaking a solemn oath, which i have sworn to god; and if you knew the reason, you would agree with me that the punishment is very slight." the caliph, unwilling to be detained any longer, yielded to the importunity of the blind man, and gave him a very slight blow: whereupon he immediately let him go, thanked and blessed him. when the caliph and vizier had got so me small distance from the blind man, the caliph said to jaaffier, "this blind man must certainly have some very uncommon reasons, which make him behave himself in this manner to all who give him alms. i should be glad to know them; therefore return, tell him who i am, and bid him not fail to come to my palace about prayer-time in the afternoon of to-morrow, that i may have some conversation with him." the grand vizier returned, bestowed his alms on the blind man, and after he had given him a box on the ear, told him the caliph's order, and then returned to the caliph. when they came into the town, they found in a square a great crowd of spectators, looking at a handsome well-shaped young man, who was mounted on a mare, which he drove and urged full speed round the place, spurring and whipping the poor creature so barbarously, that she was all over sweat and blood. the caliph, amazed at the inhumanity of the rider, stopped to ask the people if they knew why he used the mare so ill; but could learn nothing, except that for some time past he had every day, at the same hour, treated her in the same manner. at they went along, the caliph bade the grand vizier take particular notice of the place, and not fail to order the young man to attend the next day at the hour appointed to the blind man. but before the caliph got to his palace, he observed in a street, which he had not passed through a long time before, an edifice newly built, which seemed to him to be the palace of some one of the great lords of the court. he asked the grand vizier if he knew to whom it belonged; who answered he did not, but would inquire; and thereupon asked a neighbour, who told him that the house was that of one khaujeh hassan, surnamed al hubbaul, on account of his original trade of rope-making, which he had seen him work at himself, when poor; that without knowing how fortune had favoured him, he supposed he must have acquired great wealth, as he defrayed honourably and splendidly the expenses he had been at in building. the grand vizier rejoined the caliph, and gave him a full account of what he had heard. "i must see this fortunate rope-maker," said the caliph, "therefore go and tell him to come to my palace at the same hour you have ordered the other two." accordingly the vizier obeyed. the next day, after afternoon prayers, the caliph retired to his own apartment, when the grand vizier introduced the three persons we have been speaking of, and presented them to the caliph. they all three prostrated themselves before the throne, and when they rose up, the caliph asked the blind man his name, who answered, it was baba abdoollah. "baba abdoollah," replied the caliph, "your manner of asking alms seemed so strange to me yesterday, that if it had not been for some private considerations i should not have complied with your request, but should have prevented you from giving any more offence to the public. i ordered you to come hither, to know from yourself what could have induced you to make the indiscreet oath you told me of, that i may judge whether you have done well, and if i ought to suffer you to continue a practice that appears to me to set so ill an example. tell me freely how so extravagant a thought came into your head, and do not disguise any thing from me, for i will absolutely know the truth." baba abdoollah, intimidated by this reprimand, cast himself a second time at the foot of the caliph's throne, with his face to the ground, and when he rose up, said, "commander of the faithful, i most humbly ask your majesty's pardon for my presumption, in daring to have required, and almost forced you to do a thing which indeed appears so contrary to reason. i acknowledge my offence, but as i did not then know your majesty, i implore your clemency, and hope you will consider my ignorance. "as to the extravagance of my action, i own it, and own also that it must seem strange to mankind; but in the eye of god it is a slight penance i have enjoined myself for an enormous crime of which i have been guilty, and for which, if all the people in the world were each to give me a box on the ear, it would not be a sufficient atonement. your majesty will judge of this yourself, when, in telling my story, in obedience to your commands i shall inform you what that heinous crime was." the story of baba abdoollah. commander of the faithful, i was born at bagdad, had a moderate fortune left me by my father and mother, who died within a few days of each other. though i was then but young, i did not squander away my fortune as most young men do, in idle expenses and debauchery; on the contrary, i neglected no opportunity to increase it by my industry. at last i became rich enough to purchase fourscore camels, which i let out to merchants for caravans, who paid me well for every journey i went with them throughout the extent of your majesty's dominions. in the midst of this prosperity, and with an ardent desire of growing much richer, as i was returning one day with my camels unloaded from bussorah, whither i had carried some bales that were to be embarked for the indies, i met with good pasturage, at some distance from any habitation; made a halt, and let my beasts graze for some time. while i was seated, a dervish, who was walking to bussorah, came and sat down by me to rest himself: i asked him whence he came, and where he was going; he put the same questions to me: and when we had satisfied each other's curiosity, we produced our provisions and ate together. during our repast, after we had talked on many indifferent subjects, the dervish told me that he knew of a spot a small distance from thence, where there were such immense riches, that if all my fourscore camels were loaded with the gold and jewels that might be taken from it, they would not be missed. this intelligence surprised and charmed me; and i was so overjoyed, that i could scarcely contain myself. i could not believe that the dervish was capable of telling me a falsehood; therefore i fell upon his neck, and said, "good dervish, i know you value not the riches of this world, therefore of what service can the knowledge of this treasure be to you? you are alone, and cannot carry much of it away; shew me where it is, i will load all my camels, and as an acknowledgment of the favour done me, will present you with one of them." indeed i offered very little, but after he had communicated the secret to me, my desire of riches was become so violent, that i thought it a great deal, and looked upon the seventy-nine camel loads which i reserved for myself as nothing in comparison of what i allowed him. the dervish, though he saw my avarice, was not however angry at the unreasonable return i proposed to make him, but replied without the least concern, "you are sensible, brother, that what you offer me is not proportionable to the valuable favour you ask of me. i might have chosen whether i would communicate my secret to you or not, and have kept the treasure to myself: but what i have told you is sufficient to shew my good intentions; it is in my power to oblige you, and make both our fortunes. i have, however, another proposition more just and equitable to make to you; it lies in your own breast whether or no you will agree to it. "you say," continued the dervish, "that you have fourscore camels: i am ready to conduct you to the place where the treasure lies, and we will load them with as much jewels and gold as they can carry, on condition that when they are so loaded you will let me have one half, and you be contented with the other; after which we will separate, and take our camels where we may think fit. you see there is nothing but what is strictly equitable in this division; for if you give me forty camels, you will procure by my means wherewithal to purchase thousands." i could not but agree there was a great deal of justice in what the dervish said: but without considering what riches i should gain in accepting of the condition he proposed, i could not without reluctance think of parting with my forty camels, especially when i reflected that the dervish would then be as rich as myself. avarice made me unmindful that i was beforehand making an ungrateful return for a favour, purely gratuitous. but there was no time to hesitate; i must either accept of the proposal, or resolve to repent all my lifetime of losing, by my own fault, an opportunity of obtaining an immense fortune. that instant i collected all my camels, and after we had travelled some time, we came into a valley, the pass into which was so narrow, that two camels could not go a-breast. the two mountains which bounded this valley formed nearly a circle, but were so high, craggy, and steep, that there was no fear of our being seen by any body. when we came between these two mountains, the dervish said to me, "stop your camels, make them kneel that we may load them the easier, and i will proceed to discover the treasure." i did as the dervish directed; and going to him soon after, found him with a match in one hand, gathering sticks to light a fire; which he had no sooner done, than he cast some incense into it, and pronouncing certain words which i did not understand, there presently arose a thick cloud. he divided this cloud, when the rock, though of a prodigious perpendicular height, opened like two folding doors, and exposed to view a magnificent palace in the hollow of the mountain, which i supposed to be rather the workmanship of genii than of men; for man could hardly have attempted such a bold and surprising work. but this, i must tell your majesty, was an afterthought which did not occur to me at the moment; so eager was i for the treasures which displayed themselves to my view, that i did not even stop to admire the magnificent columns and arcades which i saw on all sides; and, without attention to the regularity with which the treasures were ranged, like an eagle seizing her prey, i fell upon the first heap of golden coin that was near me. my sacks were all large, and with my good will i would have filled them all; but i was obliged to proportion my burden to the strength of my camels. the dervish did the same; but i perceived he paid more attention to the jewels, and when he told me the reason, i followed his example, so that we took away much more jewels than gold. when we had filled our sacks, and loaded our camels, we had nothing left to do but to shut up the treasure and go our way. but before we parted, the dervish went again into the treasury, where there were a great many wrought vessels of gold of different forms. i observed that he took out of one of these vessels a little box of a certain wood, which i knew not, and put it into his breast; but first shewed me that it contained only a kind of glutinous ointment. the dervish used the same incantations to shut the treasury as he had done to open it; and after he pronounced certain words, the doors closed, and the rock seemed as solid and entire as before. we now divided our camels. i put myself at the head of the forty which i had reserved for myself, and the dervish placed himself at the head of the rest which i had given him. we came out of the valley by the way we had entered, and travelled together till we came to the great road, where we were to part; the dervish to go to bussorah, and i to bagdad. to thank him for so great a kindness, i made use of the most expressive terms, testifying my gratitude for the preference he had given me before all other men in letting me have a share of such riches. we embraced each other with great joy, and taking our leave, pursued our different routes. i had not gone far, following my camels, which paced quietly on in the track i had put them into, before the demon of ingratitude and envy took possession of my heart, and i deplored the loss of my other forty, but much more the riches wherewith they were loaded. "the dervish," said i to myself, "has no occasion for all this wealth, since he is master of the treasure, and may have as much as he pleases;" so i gave myself up to the blackest ingratitude, and determined immediately to take the camels with their loading from him. to execute this design, i first stopped my own camels, then ran after the dervish, and called to him as loud as i could, giving him to understand that i had something material to say to him, and made a sign to him to stop, which he accordingly did. when i came up to him, i said, "brother, i had no sooner parted from you, but a thought came into my head, which neither of us had reflected on before. you are a recluse dervish, used to live in tranquillity, disengaged from all the cares of the world, and intent only upon serving god. you know not, perhaps, what trouble you have taken upon yourself, to take care of so many camels. if you would take my advice, you would keep but thirty; you will find them sufficiently troublesome to manage. take my word; i have had experience." "i believe you are right," replied the dervish, who found he was not able to contend with me;" i own i never thought of this. i begin already to be uneasy at what you have stated. choose which ten you please, and take them, and go on in god's keeping." i set ten apart, and after i had driven them off, i put them in the road to follow my others. i could not have imagined that the dervish would be so easily persuaded to part with his camels, which increased my covetousness, and made me flatter myself, that it would be no hard matter to get ten more: wherefore, instead of thanking him for his present, i said to him again; "brother, the interest i take in your repose is so great, that i cannot resolve to part from you without desiring you to consider once more how difficult a thing it is to govern thirty loaded camels, especially for you who are not used to such work: you will find it much better to return me as many more back as you have done already. what i tell you is not for my own sake and interest, but to do you the greater kindness. ease yourself then of the camels, and leave them to me, who can manage a hundred as well as one." my discourse had the desired effect upon the dervish, who gave me, without any hesitation, the other ten camels; so that he had but twenty left and i was master of sixty, and might boast of greater riches than any sovereign princes. any one would have thought i should now have been content; but as a person afflicted with a dropsy, the more he drinks the more thirsty he is, so i became more greedy and desirous of the other twenty camels. i redoubled my solicitations and importunities, to make the dervish condescend to grant me ten of the twenty, which he did with a good grace: and as to the other ten he had left, i embraced him, kissed his feet, and caressed him, conjuring him not to refuse me, but to complete the obligation i should ever have to him, so that at length he crowned my joy, by giving me them also. "make a good use of them, brother," said the dervish, "and remember that god can take away riches as well as give them, if we do not assist the poor, whom he suffers to be in want, on purpose that the rich may merit by their charity a recompense in the other world." my infatuation was so great that i could not profit by such wholesome advice. i was not content, though i had my forty camels again, and knew they were loaded with an inestimable treasure. but a thought came into my head, that the little box of ointment which the dervish shewed me had something in it more precious than all the riches which i was obliged to him for: the place from whence the dervish took it, said i to myself, and his care to secure it, makes me believe there is something mysterious in it. this determined me to obtain it. i had just embraced him and bade him adieu; but as i turned about from him, i said, "what will you do with that little box of ointment? it seems such a trifle, it is not worth your carrying away. i entreat you to make me a present of it; for what occasion has a dervish, as you are, who has renounced the vanities of the world, for perfumes, or scented ointments?" would to heaven he had refused me that box; but if he had, i was stronger than he, and resolved to have taken it from him by force; that for my complete satisfaction it might not be said he had carried away the smallest part of the treasure. the dervish, far from denying me, readily pulled it out of his bosom, and presenting it to me with the best grace in the world, said, "here, take it, brother, and be content; if i could do more for you, you needed but to have asked me; i should have been ready to satisfy you." when i had the box in my hand, i opened it, and looking at the ointment, said to him, "since you are so good, i am sure you will not refuse me the favour to tell me the particular use of this ointment." "the use is very surprising and wonderful," replied the dervish: "if you apply a little of it round the left eye, and upon the lid, you will see at once all the treasures contained in the bosom of the earth; but if you apply it to the right eye, it will make you blind." "i would make the experiment myself. take the box," said i to the dervish, "and apply some to my left eye. you understand how to do it better than i, and i long to experience what seems so incredible." accordingly i shut my left eye, and the dervish took the trouble to apply the unguent; i opened my eye, and was convinced he had told me truth. i saw immense treasures, and such prodigious riches, so diversified, that it is impossible for me to give an account of them; but as i was obliged to keep my right eye shut with my hand, and that tired me, i desired the dervish to apply some of the pomatum to that eye. "i am ready to do it," said the dervish; "but you must remember what i told you, that if you put any of it upon your right eye, you would immediately be blind; such is the virtue of the ointment." far from being persuaded of the truth of what the dervish said, i imagined, on the contrary, that there was some new mystery, which he meant to hide from me. "brother," replied i, smiling, "i see plainly you wish to mislead me; it is not natural that this ointment should have two such contrary effects." "the matter is as i tell you," replied the dervish, taking the name of god to bear witness; "you ought to believe me, for i cannot disguise the truth." i would not believe the dervish, who spoke like an honest man. my insurmountable desire of seeing at my will all the treasures in the world and perhaps of enjoying those treasures to the extent i coveted, had such an effect upon me, that i could not hearken to his remonstrances, nor be persuaded of what was however but too true, as to my lasting misfortune i soon experienced. i persuaded myself that if the ointment, by being applied to the left eye, had the virtue of shewing me all the treasures of the earth, by being applied to the right, it might have the power of putting them in my disposal. possessed with this thought, i obstinately pressed the dervish to apply the ointment to my right eye; but he as positively refused. "brother," said he, "after l have done you so much service, i cannot resolve to do you so great an injury; consider with yourself what a misfortune it is to be deprived of one's eye-sight: do not reduce me to the hard necessity of obliging you in a thing which you will repent of all your life." i persisted in my obstinacy, and said to him in strong terms, "brother, i earnestly desire you to lay aside all your difficulties. you have granted me most generously all that i have asked of you hitherto, and would you have me go away dissatisfied with you at last about a thing of so little consequence? for god's sake grant me this last favour; whatever happens i will not lay the blame on you, but take it upon myself alone." the dervish made all the resistance possible, but seeing that i was able to force him to do it, he said, "since you will absolutely have it so, i will satisfy you;" and thereupon he took a little of the fatal ointment, and applied it to my right eye, which i kept shut; but alas! when i came to open it, i could distinguish nothing with either eye but thick darkness, and became blind as you see me now. "ah! dervish," i exclaimed in agony, "what you forewarned me of has proved but too true. fatal curiosity," added i, "insatiable desire of riches, into what an abyss of miseries have they cast me! i am now sensible what a misfortune i have brought upon myself; but you, dear brother," cried i, addressing myself to the dervish, "who are so charitable and good, among the many wonderful secrets you are acquainted with, have you not one to restore to me my sight again?" "miserable wretch!" answered the dervish, "if you would have been advised by me, you would have avoided this misfortune, but you have your deserts; the blindness of your mind was the cause of the loss of your eyes. it is true i have secrets, some of which, during the short time we have been together, you have by my liberality witnessed; but i have none to restore to you your sight. pray to god, therefore, if you believe there is one; it is he alone that can restore it to you. he gave you riches, of which you were unworthy, on that account takes them from you again, and will by my hands give them to men not so ungrateful as yourself." the dervish said no more, and i had nothing to reply. he left me to myself overwhelmed with confusion, and plunged in inexpressible grief. after he had collected my camels, he drove them away, and pursued the road to bussorah. i cried out loudly as he was departing, and entreated him not to leave me in that miserable condition, but to conduct me at least to the first caravanserai; but he was deaf to my prayers and entreaties. thus deprived of sight and all i had in the world, i should have died with affliction and hunger, if the next day a caravan returning from bussorah had not received me charitably, and brought me back to bagdad. after this manner was i reduced without remedy from a condition worthy the envy of princes for riches and magnificence, though not for power, to beggary without resource. i had no other way to subsist but by asking charity, which i have done till now. but to expiate my offence against god, i enjoined myself, by way of penance, a box on the ear from every charitable person who should commiserate my condition. "this, commander of the faithful, is the motive which seemed so strange to your majesty yesterday, and for which i ought to incur your indignation. i ask your pardon once more as your slave, and submit to receive the chastisement i deserve. and if you vouchsafe to pronounce any thing beyond the penance i have imposed upon myself, i am ready to undergo it, since i am persuaded you must think it too slight and much too little for my crime." the blind man having concluded his story, the caliph said, "baba abdoollah, your sin has been great; but god be praised, you feel the enormity of your guilt, and your penance proves your repentance. you must continue it, not ceasing to ask of god pardon in every prayer your religion obliges you to say daily: but that you may not be prevented from your devotions by the care of getting your living, i will settle a charity on you during your life, of four silver dirhems a day, which my grand vizier shall give you daily with the penance, therefore do not go away, but wait till he has executed my orders." at these words, baba abdoollah prostrated himself before the caliph's throne, returned him thanks, and wished him all happiness and prosperity. the caliph, very well satisfied with the story of baba abdoollah and the dervish, addressed himself to the young man who used his mare so ill, and asked him his name; to which he replied, it was syed naomaun. "syed naomaun," resumed the caliph, "i have seen horses exercised all my life, and have often exercised them myself, but never in so barbarous a manner as you yesterday treated your mare in the full square, to the great offence of all the spectators, who murmured loudly at your conduct. i myself was not less displeased, and had nearly, contrary to my intention, discovered who i was, to have punished your cruelty. by your air and behaviour you do not seem to be a barbarous or cruel man; and therefore i would fain believe that you had reason for what you did, since i am informed that this was not the first time, but that you practise the same treatment every day. i would know what is the cause, and sent for you for that purpose, that you should tell me the truth, and disguise nothing from me." syed naomaun understood what the caliph demanded of him. the relation was painful to him. he changed colour several times, and could not help shewing how greatly he was embarrassed. however, he must resolve to tell his story; but before he spoke, he prostrated himself before the caliph's throne, and after he rose up, endeavoured to speak to satisfy the caliph, but was so confounded, not so much at the presence of the caliph, as by the nature of his relation, that he was speechless. the caliph, notwithstanding his natural impatience to be obeyed, shewed not the least anger at syed naomaun's silence: he saw plainly, that he either had not assurance to speak before him, or was intimidated by the tone of his voice; or, in short, that there was something to be concealed in his story. "syed naomaun," said the caliph, to encourage him, "recollect yourself, but tell your story as if you were speaking not to me, but to your most familiar friend. if there is any thing in your relation which troubles you, and you think i may be offended at it, i pardon you beforehand: therefore be not uneasy, but speak boldly and freely, and disguise nothing." syed naomaun, encouraged by these words, said, "commander of the faithful, whatever apprehensions a man may be under at your majesty's presence, i am sensible those respectful sensations would not deprive me of the use of my speech, so as to fail in my obedience, in giving you satisfaction in any other matter but this you now ask of me. i dare not say i am the most perfect of men; yet i am not wicked enough to have committed, or to have had an intention of committing any thing against the laws to fear their severity; and yet i cannot say i am exempt from sin through ignorance. in this case i do not say that i depend upon your majesty's pardon, but will submit myself to your justice, and receive the punishment i deserve. i own, that the manner in which i have for some time treated my mare, and which your majesty has witnessed, is strange, and sets an ill example: but i hope you will think the motive well grounded, and that i am more worthy of compassion than chastisement: but not to keep your majesty any longer in suspense by a long preamble, i will tell you my story." the story of syed naomaun. i shall not trouble your majesty with my birth, which is not illustrious enough to merit your attention. for my situation, my parents, by their good economy, left me enough to live on like an honest man, free from ambition, or being burdensome to any one. with these advantages, the only blessing i wanted to render my happiness complete was an amiable wife, who might share them with me; but that was a blessing it did not please god to grant me: on the contrary, it was my misfortune to have one, who, the very next day after our wedding, began to exercise my patience in a manner not to be conceived by any one who has not had the same trial. as it is the custom for us to marry without seeing or knowing whom we are to espouse, your majesty is sensible that a husband has no reason to complain, when he finds that the wife who has been chosen for him is not horribly ugly and deformed, and that her carriage, wit, and behaviour make amends for any slight bodily imperfections. the first time i saw my wife with her face uncovered, after she was brought home with the usual ceremonies to my house, i rejoiced to find that i had not been imposed upon in the description of her person, which pleased me, and she was perfectly agreeable to my inclination. the next day after our wedding, when our dinner was served up, which consisted of several dishes, i went into the room where the cloth was ]aid, and not finding my wife there, ordered her to be called. after making me wait a long time, she came. i dissembled my impatience, we sat down, and i began with the rice, which i took up as usual. on the other hand, my wife, instead of using her hand as everybody does, pulled a little case out of her pocket, and took out of it a kind of bodkin, with which she picked up the rice, and put it into her mouth, grain by grain. surprised at this manner of eating, i said to her, "ameeneh," (which was her name,) "are you used to eat rice so in your family, or do you do it because you are a little eater, or would you count the grains, that you may not eat more at one time than another? if you do it out of frugality, or to teach me not to be extravagant, you have no reason to fear, as i can assure you we shall not ruin ourselves that way. we have, god be thanked! enough to live at our ease, without depriving ourselves of necessaries. do not restrain yourself, my dear ameeneh, but eat as you see me eat." the kind manner in which i made these remonstrances might have produced some obliging answer; but she, without saying a word, continued to eat as she had begun. at last, to make me the more uneasy, she ate a grain of rice at intervals only; and instead of eating any of the other meats with me, she only now and then put some crumbs of bread into her mouth, but not so much as a sparrow would have pecked. i was much provoked at her obstinacy; but yet, to indulge and excuse her, i imagined that she had not been used to eat with men, before whom she might perhaps have been taught to restrain herself; but at the same time thought she carried it too far out of pure simplicity. i fancied again that she might have breakfasted late, or that she might have a wish to eat alone, and more at liberty. these considerations prevented me from saying more to her then, to ruffle her temper, by shewing any sign of dissatisfaction. after dinner i left her, but not with an air that shewed any displeasure. at supper, and the next day, and every time we ate together, she behaved herself in the same manner. i knew it was impossible for a woman to live on so little food as she took, and that there must be some mystery in her conduct, which i did not understand. this made me resolve to dissemble; i appeared to take no notice of her actions, in hopes that time would bring her to live with me as i desired she should. but my hopes were in vain, and it was not long before i was convinced they were so. one night, when ameeneh thought me fast asleep, she got out of bed softly, dressed herself with great precaution, not to make a noise for fear of awaking me. i could not comprehend her design, but curiosity made me feign a sound sleep. as soon as she had dressed herself, she went softly out of the room. when she was gone, i arose, threw my cloak over my shoulders, and had time enough to see from a window that looked into my court- yard, that she opened the street-door and went out. i immediately ran down to the door, which she had left half open, and followed her by moonlight, till i saw her enter a burying- ground just by our house. i got to the end of the wall, taking care not to be seen, and looking over, saw ameeneh with a ghoul. your majesty knows that the ghouls of both sexes are wandering demons, which generally infest old buildings; from whence they rush out, by surprise, on people that pass by, kill them, and eat their flesh; and for want of such prey, will sometimes go in the night into burying-grounds, and feed on dead bodies which they dig up. i was struck with astonishment and horror to see my wife with this ghoul. they dug up a dead body which had been buried but that day, and the ghoul cut off pieces of the flesh, which they ate together by the grave-side, conversing during their shocking and inhuman repast. but i was too far off to hear their discourse, which must have been as strange as their meal, the remembrance of which still makes me shudder. when they had finished this horrible feast, they threw the remains of the dead body into the grave again, and filled it up with the earth which they had dug out. i left them at their work, made haste home, and leaving the door half open as i had found it, went into my chamber, and to bed again, where i pretended to be fast asleep. soon afterwards ameeneh returned without the least noise, undressed herself, and came to bed, rejoicing, as i imagined, that she had succeeded so well without being discovered. my mind was so full of the idea of such an abominable action as i had witnessed, that i felt great reluctance to lie by a person who could have had any share in the guilt of it, and was a long time before i could fall asleep. however, i got a short nap; but waked at the first call to public prayers at day-break, got up, dressed myself, and went to the mosque. after prayers i went out of the town, spent the morning in walking in the gardens, and thinking what i should do to oblige my wife to change her mode of living. i rejected all the violent measures that suggested themselves to my thoughts, and resolved to use gentle means to cure her unhappy and depraved inclination. in this state of reverie i insensibly reached home by dinner- time. as soon as ameeneh saw me enter the house, she ordered dinner to be served up; and as i observed she continued to eat her rice in the same manner, by single grains, i said to her, with all the mildness possible, "you know, ameeneh, what reason i had to be surprised, when the day after our marriage i saw you eat rice in so small a quantity, and in a manner which would have offended any other husband but myself: you know also, i contented myself with telling you that i was uneasy at it, and desired you to eat of the other meats, which i had ordered to be dressed several ways to endeavour to suit your taste, and i am sure my table did not want for variety: but all my remonstrances have had no effect, and you persist in your sullen abstemiousness. i have said nothing, because i would not constrain you, and should be sorry that any thing i now say should make you uneasy; but tell me, ameeneh, i conjure you, are not the meats served up at my table better than the flesh of a human corpse?" i had no sooner pronounced these words than ameeneh, who perceived that i had discovered her last night's horrid voraciousness with the ghoul, flew into a rage beyond imagination. her face became as red as scarlet, her eyes ready to start out of her head, and she foamed with passion. the terrible state in which she appeared alarmed me so much, that i stood motionless, and was not able to defend myself against the horrible wickedness she meditated against me, and which will surprise your majesty. in the violence of her passion, she dipped her hand into a basin of water, which stood by her, and muttering between her teeth some words, which i could not hear, she threw some water in my face, and exclaimed, in a furious tone, "wretch, receive the punishment of thy prying curiosity, and become a dog!" ameeneh, whom i did not before know to be a sorceress, had no sooner pronounced these diabolical words, than i was immediately transformed into a dog. my amazement and surprise at so sudden and unexpected a metamorphosis prevented my thinking at first of providing for my safety. availing herself of this suspense, she took up a great stick, with which she laid on me such heavy blows, that i wonder they did not kill me. i thought to have escaped her rage, by running into the yard; but she pursued me with the same fury, and notwithstanding all my activity i could not avoid her blows. at last, when she was tired of running after and beating me, and enraged that she had not killed me, as she desired, she thought of another method to effect her purpose: she half opened the street-door, that she might endeavour to squeeze me to death, as i ran out to preserve my life. dog as i was, i instantly perceived her pernicious design; and as present danger inspires a presence of mind, to elude her vigilance i watched her face and motions so well, that i took my opportunity, and passed through quick enough to save myself and escape her malice, though she pinched the end of my tail. the pain i felt made me cry out and howl as i ran along the streets, which collected all the dogs about me, and i got bit by several of them; but to avoid their pursuit, i ran into the shop of a man who sold boiled sheep's heads, tongues, and feet, where i saved myself. the man at first took my part with much compassion, by driving away the dogs that followed me, and would have run into his house. my first care was to creep into a corner to hide myself; but i found not the sanctuary and protection i hoped for. my host was one of those extravagantly superstitious persons who think dogs unclean creatures, and if by chance one happens to touch them in the streets, cannot use soap and water enough to wash their garments clean. after the dogs who chased me were all dispersed and gone, he did all he could to drive me out of his house, but i was concealed out of his reach, and spent that night in his shop in spite of him; and indeed i had need of rest to recover from ameeneh's ill-treatment. not to weary your majesty with trifling circumstances, i shall not particularize the melancholy reflections i made on my metamorphosis; but only tell you, that my host having gone out the next morning to lay in a stock of sheep's heads, tongues, and trotters, when he returned, he opened his shop, and while he was laying out his goods, i crept from my corner, and got among some other dogs of the neighbourhood, who had followed my host by the scent of his meat, and surrounded the shop, in expectation of having some offal thrown to them. i joined them, and put myself among them in a begging posture. my host observing me, and considering that i had eaten nothing while i lay in the shop, distinguished me from the rest, by throwing me larger pieces of meat, and oftener than the other dogs. after he had given me as much as he thought fit, i looked at him earnestly, and wagged my tail, to shew him i begged he would repeat his favours. but he was inflexible, and opposed my entrance with a stick in his hand, and with so stern a look, that i felt myself obliged to seek a new habitation. i stopped at the shop of a baker in the neighbourhood, who was of a lively gay temper, quite the reverse of the offal butcher. he was then at breakfast, and though i made no sign that i wanted any thing, threw me a piece of bread. instead of catching it up greedily, as dogs usually do, i looked at him, moving my head and wagging my tail, to shew my gratitude; at which he was pleased, and smiled. though i was not hungry, i ate the piece of bread to please him, and i ate slowly to shew him that it was out of respect to him. he observed this, and permitted me to continue near the shop. i sat down and turned myself to the street, to shew him i then only wanted his protection; which he not only granted, but by his caresses encouraged me to come into the house. this i did in a way that shewed it was with his leave. he was pleased, and pointed me out a place where to lie, of which i took possession, and kept while i lived with him. i was always well treated; and whenever he breakfasted, dined, or supped, i had my share of provisions; and, in return, i loved him, and was faithful, as gratitude required of me. i always had my eyes upon him, and he scarcely stirred out of doors, or went into the city on business, but i was at his heels. i was the more exact, because i perceived my attention pleased him; for whenever he went out, without giving me time to see him, he would call chance, which was the name he gave me. at this name i used to spring from my place, jump, caper, run before the door, and never cease fawning on him, till he went out; and then i always either followed him, or ran before him, continually looking at him to shew my joy. i had lived some time with this baker, when a woman came one day into the shop to buy some bread, who gave my master a piece of bad money among some good, which he returned, and requested her to exchange. the woman refused to take it again, and affirmed it to be good. the baker maintained the contrary, and in the dispute told the woman, he was sure that the piece of money was so visibly bad, that his dog could distinguish it; upon which he called me by name. i immediately jumped on the counter, and the baker throwing the money down before me, said, "see, and tell me which of these pieces is bad?" i looked over all the pieces of money, and then set my paw upon that which was bad, separated it from the rest, looking in my master's face, to shew it him. the baker, who had only called me to banter the woman, was much surprised to see me so immediately pitch upon the bad money. the woman thus convicted had nothing to say for herself, but was obliged to give another piece instead of the bad one. as soon as she was gone, my master called in some neighbours, and enlarged very much on my capacity, telling them what had happened. the neighbours desired to make the experiment, and of all the bad money they shewed me, mixed with good, there was not one which i did not set my paw upon, and separate from the rest. the woman also failed not to tell everybody she met what had happened; so that the fame of my skill in distinguishing good money from bad was not only spread throughout the neighbourhood, but over all that part of the town, and insensibly through the whole city. i had business enough every day; for i was obliged to shew my skill to all customers who came to buy bread of my master. in short, my reputation procured my master more business than he could manage, and brought him customers from the most distant parts of the town; this run of business lasted so long, that he owned to his friends and neighbours, that i was a treasure to him. my little knowledge made many people envy my master's good fortune, and lay snares to steal me away, which obliged him always to keep me in his sight. one day a woman came like the rest out of curiosity to buy some bread, and seeing me sit upon the counter, threw down before me six pieces of money, among which was one that was bad. i separated it presently from the others, and setting my paw upon it, looked in the woman's face, as much as to say, "is it not so?" the woman looking at me replied, "yes, you are in the right, it is bad:" and staying some time in the shop, to look at and admire me, at last paid my master for his bread, but when she went out of the shop, made a sign, unknown to him, for me to follow her. i was always attentive to any means likely to deliver me out of so strange a metamorphosis, and had observed that the woman examined me with an extraordinary attention. i imagined that she might know something of my misfortune, and the melancholy condition i was reduced to: however, i let her go, and contented myself with looking at her. after walking two or three steps, she turned about, and seeing that i only looked at her, without stirring from my place, made me another sign to follow her. without deliberating any longer, and observing that my master was busy cleaning his oven, and did not mind me, i jumped off the counter, and followed the woman, who seemed overjoyed. after we had gone some way, she stopped at a house, opened the door, and called to me to come in, saying, "you will not repent following me." when i had entered, she shut the door, and conduded me to her chamber, where i saw a beautiful young lady working embroidery. this lady, who was daughter to the charitable woman who had brought me from the baker's, was a very skilful enchantress, as i found afterwards. "daughter," said the mother, "i have brought you the much-talked- of baker's dog, that can tell good money from bad. you know i gave you my opinion respecting him when i first heard of him, and told you, i fancied he was a man changed into a dog by some wicked magician. to-day i determined to go to that baker for some bread, and was myself a witness of the wonders performed by this dog, who has made such a noise in bagdad. what say you, daughter, am i deceived in my conjecture?" "mother, you are not," answered the daughter, "and i will disenchant him immediately." the young lady arose from her sofa, put her hand into a basin of water, and throwing some upon me, said, "if thou wert born a dog, remain so, but if thou wert born a man, resume thy former shape, by the virtue of this water." at that instant the enchantment was broken, and i became restored to my natural form. penetrated with the greatness of this kindness, i threw myself at my deliverer's feet; and after i had kissed the hem of her garment, said, "my dear deliverer, i am so sensible of your unparalleled humanity towards a stranger, as i am, that i beg of you to tell me yourself what i can do to shew my gratitude; or rather dispose of me as a slave, to whom you have a just right, since i am no more my own, but entirely yours: and that you may know who i am, i will tell you my story in as few words as possible." after i had informed her who i was, i gave her an account of my marriage with ameeneh, of the complaisance i had shewn her, my patience in bearing with her humour, her extraordinary behaviour, and the savage inhumanity with which she had treated me out of her inconceivable wickedness, and finished my story with my transformation, and thanking her mother for the inexpressible happiness she had procured me. "syed naomaun," said the daughter to me, "let us not talk of the obligation you say you owe me; it is enough for me that i have done any service to so honest a man. but let us talk of ameeneh your wife. i was acquainted with her before your marriage; and as i know her to be a sorceress, she also is sensible that i have some of the same kind of knowledge as herself, since we both learnt it of the same mistress. we often meet at the baths, but as our tempers are different, i avoid all opportunities of contracting an intimacy with her, which is no difficult matter, as she does the same by me. i am not at all surprised at her wickedness: but what i have already done for you is not sufficient; i must complete what i have begun. it is not enough to have broken the enchantment by which she has so long excluded you from the society of men. you must punish her as she deserves, by going home again, and assuming the authority which belongs to you. i will give you the proper means. converse a little with my mother till i return to you." my deliveress went into a closet, and while she was absent, i repeated my obligations to the mother as well as the daughter. she said to me, "you see my daughter has as much skill in the magic art as the wicked ameeneh; but makes such use of it, that you would be surprised to know the good she has done, and daily does, by exercising her science. this induces me to let her practise it; for i should not permit her, if i perceived she made an improper application of it in the smallest instance." the mother then related some of the wonders she had seen her perform: by this time the daughter returned with a little bottle in her hand. "syed naomaun," said she, "my books which i have been consulting tell me that ameeneh is now abroad, but will be at home presently. they also inform me that she pretended before your servants to be very uneasy at your absence, and made them believe, that at dinner you recollected some business which obliged you to go out immediately; that as you went, you left the door open, and a dog running into the hall where she was at dinner, she had beaten him out with a great stick. "take this little bottle, go home immediately, and wait in your own chamber till ameeneh comes in, which she will do shortly. as soon as she returns, run down into the court, and meet her face to face. in her surprise at seeing you so unexpectedly, she will turn her back to run away; have the bottle ready, and throw some of the liquor it contains upon her, pronouncing at the same time these words: �receive the chastisement of thy wickedness.' i will tell you no more; you will see the effect." after these instructions i took leave of my benefactress, and her mother, with all the testimonies of the most perfect gratitude, and a sincere protestation never to forget my obligation to them; and then went home. all things happened as the beautiful and humane enchantress had foretold. ameeneh was not long before she came home. as she entered the court, i met her with the bottle in my hand. upon seeing me, she shrieked; and as she turned to run towards the door, i threw the liquor upon her, pronouncing the words which the young lady had taught me, when she was instantly transformed into the mare which your majesty saw me upon yesterday. at that instant, owing to the surprise she was in, i easily seized her by the mane, and notwithstanding her resistance, led her into the stable, where i put a halter upon her head, and when i had tied her to the rack, reproaching her with her baseness, i chastised her with a whip till i was tired, and have punished her every day since in the manner which your majesty has witnessed. "i hope, commander of the faithful," concluded syed naomaun, "your majesty will not disapprove of my conduct, but will rather think i have shewn so wicked and pernicious a woman more indulgence than she deserved." when the caliph found that syed naomaun had ended his story, he said to him, "your adventure is very singular, and the wickedness of your wife inexcusable; therefore i do not condemn the chastisement you have hitherto given her; but i would have you consider how great a punishment it is to be reduced to the condition of beasts, and wish you would be content with the chastisement you have already inflicted. i would order you to go and address yourself to the young enchantress, to end the metamorphosis she has inflicted, but that i know the obstinacy and incorrigible cruelty of magicians of both sexes, who abuse their art; which makes me apprehensive that a second effect of your wife's revenge might be more fatal than the first." the caliph, who was naturally mild and compassionate to all criminals, after he had declared his mind to syed naomaun, addressed himself to the third person the grand vizier had summoned to attend him. "khaujeh hassan," said he, "passing yesterday by your house, it seemed so magnificent that i felt a curiosity to know to whom it belonged, and was told that you, whose trade is so mean that a man can scarcely get his bread by it, have built this house after you had followed this trade some years. i was likewise informed that you make a good use of the riches god has blessed you with, and your neighbours speak well of you. "all this pleases me well," added the caliph, "but i am persuaded that the means by which providence has been pleased to bestow these gifts on you must have been very extraordinary. i am curious to know the particulars from your own mouth, and sent for you on purpose to have that satisfaction. speak truly, that when i know your story, i may rejoice in your good fortune. "but that you may not suspect my curiosity, and believe i have any other interest than what i tell you, i declare, that far from having any pretensions, i give you my word you shall enjoy freely all you possess." on these assurances of the caliph, khaujeh hassan prostrated himself before the throne, with his forehead down to the carpet, and when he rose up, said, "commander of the faithful, some persons might have been alarmed at having been summoned to appear before your majesty; but knowing that my conscience was clear, and that i had committed nothing against the laws or your majesty, but, on the contrary, had always the most respectful sentiments and the profoundest veneration for your person, my only fear was, that i should not be able to support the splendour of your presence. but nevertheless on the public report of your majesty's receiving favourably, and hearing the meanest of your subjects, i took courage, and never doubted but i should have confidence enough to give you all the satisfaction you might require of me. besides, your majesty has given me a proof of your goodness, by granting me your protection before you know whether i deserve it. i hope, however, you will retain the favourable sentiments you have conceived of me, when, in obedience to your command, i shall have related my adventures." after this compliment to conciliate the caliph's good-will and attention, and after some moments' recollection, khaujeh hassan related his story in the following manner: the story of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul. commander of the faithful, that your majesty may the better understand by what means i arrived at the happiness i now enjoy, i must acquaint you, there are two intimate friends, citizens of bagdad, who can testify the truth of what i shall relate, and to whom, after god, the author of all good, i owe my prosperity. these two friends are called, the one saadi, the other saad. saadi, who is very rich, was always of opinion that no man could be happy in this world without wealth, to live independent of every one. saad was of a different opinion; he agreed that riches were necessary to comfort, but maintained that the happiness of a man's life consisted in virtue, without any farther eagerness after worldly goods than what was requisite for decent subsistence, and benevolent purposes. saad himself is one of this number, and lives very happily and contentedly in his station: but though saadi is infinitely more opulent, their friendship is very sincere, and the richest sets no more value on himself than the other. they never had any dispute but on this point; in all other things their union of opinion has been very strict. one day as they were talking upon this subject, as i have since been informed by them both, saadi affirmed, that poverty proceeded from men's being born poor, or spending their fortunes in luxury and debauchery, or by some of those unforeseen fatalities which do not often occur. "my opinion," said he, "is, that most people's poverty is owing to their wanting at first a sufficient sum of money to raise them above want, by employing their industry to improve it; for," continued he, "if they once had such a sum, and made a right use of it, they would not only live well, but would in time infallibly grow rich." saad could not agree in this sentiment: "the way," said he, "which you propose to make a poor man rich, is not so certain as you imagine. your plan is very hazardous, and i can bring many good arguments against your opinion, but that they would carry us too far into dispute, i believe, with as much probability, that a poor man may become rich by other means as well as by money: and there are people who have raised as large and surprising fortunes by mere chance, as others have done by money, with all their good economy and management to increase it by the best conducted trade." "saad," replied saadi, "i see we shall not come to any determination by my persisting to oppose my opinion against yours. i will make an experiment to convince you, by giving, for example, a sum of money to some artisan, whose ancestors from father to son have always been poor, lived only from day to day, and died as indigent as they were born. if i have not the success i expect, you shall try if you will have better by the means you shall employ." some days after this dispute, the two friends happened to walk out together, and passing through the street where i was at work at my trade of rope-making, which i learnt of my father, who learnt of his, and he of his ancestors; and by my dress and appearance, it was no hard matter for them to guess my poverty. saad, remembering saadi's engagement, said, "if you have not forgotten what you said to me, there is a man," pointing to me, "whom i can remember a long time working at his trade of rope- making, and in the same poverty: he is a worthy subject for your liberality, and a proper person to make your experiment upon." "i so well remember the conversation," replied saadi, "that i have ever since carried a sufficient sum about me for the purpose, but only waited for an opportunity of our being together, that you might be witness of the fact. let us go to him, and know if he is really necessitous." the two friends came to me, and i, seeing that they wished to speak to me, left off work: they both accosted me with the common salutation, and saadi, wishing me peace, asked me my name. i returned their salutation, and answered saadi's question, saying to him, "sir, my name is hassan; but by reason of my trade, i am commonly known by the name of hassan al hubbaul." "hassan," replied saadi, "as there is no occupation but what a man may live by, i doubt not but yours produces enough for you to live well upon; and i am amazed, that during the long time you have worked at your trade, you have not saved enough to lay in a good stock of hemp to extend your manufacture and employ more hands, by the profit of whose work you would soon increase your income." "sir," replied i, "you will be no longer amazed that i have not saved money and taken the way you mention to become rich, when you come to know that, let me work as hard as i may from morning till night, i can hardly get enough to keep my family in bread and pulse. i have a wife and five children, not one of whom is old enough to be of the least assistance to me. i must feed and clothe them, and in our poor way of living, they still want many necessaries, which they can ill do without and though hemp is not very dear, i must have money to buy it. this is the first thing i do with any money i receive for my work; otherwise i and my family must starve. "now judge, sir," added i, "if it be possible that i should save any thing for myself and family: it is enough that we are content with the little god sends us, and that we have not the knowledge or desire of more than we want, but can live as we have been always bred up, and are not reduced to beg." when i had given saadi this account, he said to me, "hassan, i am not so much surprised as i was, for i comprehend what obliges you to be content in your station. but if i should make you a present of a purse of two hundred pieces of gold, would not you make a good use of it? and do not you believe, that with such a sum you could become soon as rich as the principal of your occupation?" "sir," replied i, "you seem to be so good a gentleman, that i am persuaded you would not banter me, but that the offer you make me is serious; and i dare say, without presuming too much upon myself, that a considerably less sum would be sufficient to make me not only as rich as the first of our trade, but that in time i should be richer than all of them in this city together, though bagdad is so large and populous." the generous saadi showed me immediately that in what he said he was serious. he pulled a purse out of his bosom, and putting it into my hands, said, "here, take this purse; you will find it contains two hundred pieces of gold: i pray god bless you with them, and give you grace to make the good use of them i desire; and believe me, my friend saad, whom you see here, and i shall both take great pleasure in finding they may contribute towards making you more happy than you now are." when i had got the purse, the first thing i did was to put it into my bosom; but the transport of my joy was so great, and i was so much penetrated with gratitude, that my speech failed me and i could give my benefactor no other tokens of my feelings than by laying hold of the hem of his garment and kissing it; but he drew it from me hastily, and he and his friend pursued their walk. as soon as they were gone, i returned to my work, and my first thought was, what i should do with my purse to keep it safe. i had in my poor house neither box nor cupboard to lock it up in, nor any other place where i could be sure it would not be discovered if i concealed it. in this perplexity, as i had been used, like many poor people of my condition, to put the little money i had in the folds of my turban, i left my work, and went into the house, under pretence of wrapping my turban up anew. i took such precautions that neither my wife nor children saw what i was doing. but first i laid aside ten pieces of gold for present necessaries, and wrapped the rest up in the folds of the linen which went about my cap. the principal expense i was at that day was to lay in a good stock of hemp, and afterwards, as my family had eaten no flesh meat a long time, i went to the shambles, and bought something for supper. as i was carrying home the meat i had bought, a famished vulture flew upon me, and would have taken it away, if i had not held it very fast; but, alas! i had better have parted with it than lost my money; the faster i held my meat, the more the bird struggled to get it, drawing me sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, but would not quit the prize; till unfortunately in my efforts my turban fell on the ground. the vulture immediately let go his hold, but seizing my turban, flew away with it. i cried out so loud, that i alarmed all the men, women, and children in the neighbourhood, who joined their shouts and cries to make the vulture quit his hold; for by such means these voracious birds are often frightened so as to quit their prey. but our cries did not avail; he carried off my turban, and we soon lost sight of him, and it would have been in vain for me to fatigue myself with running after him. i went home very melancholy at the loss of my money. i was obliged to buy a new turban, which diminished the small remainder of the ten pieces; for i had laid out several in hemp. the little that was left was not sufficient to give me reason to indulge the great hopes i had conceived. but what troubled me most, was the little satisfaction i should be able to give my benefactor for his ineffectual generosity, when he should come to hear what a misfortune i had met with, which he would perhaps regard as incredible, and consequently an idle excuse. while the remainder of the ten pieces lasted, my little family and i lived better than usual; but i soon relapsed into the same poverty, and the same inability to extricate myself from wretchedness. however, i never murmured nor repined; "god," said i, "was pleased to give me riches when i least expelled them; he has thought fit to take them from me again almost at the same time, because it so pleased him, and they were at his disposal; yet i will praise his name for all the benefits i have received, as it was his good pleasure, and submit myself, as i have ever done hitherto, to his will." these were my sentiments, while my wife, from whom i could not keep secret the loss i had sustained, was inconsolable. in my trouble i had told my neighbours, that when i lost my turban i lost a hundred and ninety pieces of gold; but as they knew my poverty, and could not comprehend how i should have got so great a sum by my work, they only laughed at me. about six months after this misfortune, which i have related to your majesty, the two friends walking through that part of the town where i lived, the neighbourhood brought me to saad's recollection. "we are now," said he to saadi, "not far from the street where hassan the ropemaker lives; let us call and see what use he has made of the two hundred pieces of gold you gave him, and whether they have enabled him to take any steps towards bettering his fortune." "with all my heart," replied saadi; "i have been thinking of him some days, and it will be a great pleasure and satisfaction to me to have you with me, as a witness of the proof of my argument. you will see undoubtedly a great alteration. i expect we shall hardly know him again." just as saadi said this, the two friends turned the corner of the street, and saad, who perceived me first at a distance, said to his friend, "i believe you reckon without your host. i see hassan, but can discern no change in his person, for he is as shabbily dressed as when we saw him before; the only difference that i can perceive is, that his turban looks something better. observe him yourself, and see whether i am in the wrong." as they drew nearer to me, saadi saw me too, and found saad was in the right, but could not tell to what he should attribute the little alteration he saw in my person; and was so much amazed, that he could not speak when he came up to me. "well, hassan," said saad, "we do not ask you how affairs go since we saw you last; without doubt they are in a better train." "gentlemen," replied i, addressing myself to them both, "i have the great mortification to tell you, that your desires, wishes, and hopes, as well as mine, have not had the success you had reason to expect, and i had promised myself; you will scarcely believe the extraordinary adventure that has befallen me. i assure you nevertheless, on the word of an honest man, and you ought to believe me, for nothing is more true than what i am going to tell you." i then related to them my adventure, with the same circumstances i had the honour to tell your majesty. saadi rejected my assertion, and said, "hassan, you joke, and would deceive me; for what you say is a thing incredible. what have vultures to do with turbans? they only search for something to satisfy their hunger. you have done as all such people as yourself generally do. if they have made any extraordinary gain, or any good fortune happens to them, which they never expected, they throw aside their work, take their pleasure, make merry, while the money lasts; and when they have eaten and drunk it all out, are reduced to the same necessity and want as before. you would not be so miserable, but because you deserve it, and render yourself unworthy of any service done to you." "sir," i replied, "i bear all these reproaches, and am ready to bear as many more, if they were more severe, and all with the greater patience because i do not think i deserve them. the thing is so publicly known in this part of the town, that there is nobody but can satisfy you of the truth of my assertions. if you inquire, you will find that i do not impose upon you. i own, i never heard of vultures flying away with turbans; but this has actually happened to me, like many other things, which do not fall out every day, and yet have actually happened." saad took my part, and told saadi a great many as surprising stories of vultures, some of which he affirmed he knew to be true, insomuch that at last he pulled his purse out of his vestband, and counted out two hundred pieces of gold into my hand, which i put into my bosom for want of a purse. when saadi had presented me with this sum, he said, "hassan, i make you a present of these two hundred pieces; but take care to put them in a safer place, that you may not lose them so unfortunately as you have done the others, and employ them in such a manner that they may procure you the advantages which the others would have done." i told him that the obligation of this his second kindness was much greater than i deserved, after what had happened, and that i should be sure to make good use of his advice. i would have said a great deal more, but he did not give me time, for he went away, and continued his walk with his friend. as soon as they were gone, i left off work, and went home, but finding neither my wife nor children within, i pulled out my money, put ten pieces by, and wrapped up the rest in a clean linen cloth, tying it fast with a knot; but then i was to consider where i should hide this linen cloth that it might be safe. after i had considered some time, i resolved to put it in the bottom of an earthen vessel full of bran, which stood in a corner, which i imagined neither my wife nor children would look into. my wife came home soon after, and as i had but little hemp in the house, i told her i should go out to buy some, without saying any thing to her about the two friends. while i was absent, a sandman, who sells scouring earth for the hair and body, which women use in the baths, passed through our street, and called, "cleansing, ho!" my wife, who wanted some, beckoned to him: but as she had no money, asked him if he would make an exchange of some earth for some bran. the sandman asked to see the bran. my wife shewed him the pot; the bargain was made; she had the cleansing earth, with which she filled a dust hole i had made to the house, and the sandman took the pot and bran along with him. not long after i came home with as much hemp as i could carry, and followed by five porters loaded also with hemp. after i had satisfied them for their trouble, i sat down to rest myself; and looking about me, could not see the pot of bran. it is impossible for me to express to your majesty my surprise and the effect it had on me at the moment. i asked my wife hastily what was become of it; when she told me the bargain she had made with the sandman, which she thought to be a very good one. "ah! unfortunate woman!" cried i, "you know not the injury you have done me, yourself, and our children, by making that bargain, which has ruined us for ever. you thought you only sold the bran, but with the bran you have enriched the sandman with a hundred and ninety pieces of gold, which saadi with his friend came and made me a second present of." my wife was like one distracted, when she knew what a fault she had committed through ignorance. she cried, beat her breast, and tore her hair and clothes. "unhappy wretch that i am," cried she, "am i fit to live after so dreadful a mistake! where shall i find this sandman? i know him not, i never saw him in our street before. oh! husband," added she, "you were much to blame to be so reserved in a matter of such importance this had never happened, if you had communicated the secret to me." in short, i should never finish my story were i to tell your majesty what her grief made her say. you are not ignorant how eloquent women often are in their afflictions. "wife," said i, "moderate your grief: by your weeping and howling you will alarm the neighbourhood, and there is no reason they should be informed of our misfortunes. they will only laugh at, instead of pitying us. we had best bear our loss patiently, and submit ourselves to the will of god, and bless him, for that out of two hundred pieces of gold which he had given us, he has taken back but a hundred and ninety, and left us ten, which, by the use i shall make of them will be a great relief to us." my wife at first did not relish my arguments; but as time softens the greatest misfortunes, and makes them more supportable, she at last grew easy, and had almost forgotten them. "it is true," said i to her, "we live but poorly; but what have the rich which we have not? do not we breathe the same air, enjoy the same light and the same warmth of the sun? therefore what conveniences have they more than we, that we should envy their happiness? they die as well as we. in short, while we live in the fear of god, as we should always do, the advantage they have over us is so very inconsiderable, that we ought not to covet it." i will not tire your majesty any longer with my moral reflections. my wife and i comforted ourselves, and i pursued my trade with as much alacrity as before these two mortifying losses, which followed one another so quickly. the only thing that troubled me sometimes was, how i should look saadi in the face when he should come and ask me how i had improved his two hundred pieces of gold, and advanced my fortune by means of his liberality. i saw no remedy but to resolve to submit to the confusion i should feel, though it was by no fault of mine this time, any more than before, that our misfortune had happened. the two friends stayed away longer this time than the former, though saad had often spoken to saadi, who always put it off; for, said he, "the longer we stay away, the richer hassan will be, and i shall have the greater satisfaction." saad, who had not the same opinion of the effect of his friend's generosity, replied, "you fancy then that your last present will have been turned to a better account than the former. i would advise you not to flatter yourself too much, for fear you may be more sensibly mortified if it should prove otherwise." "why," replied saadi, "vultures do not fly away with turbans every day; and hassan will have been more cautious this time." "i do not doubt it," replied saad; "but," added he, "there are other accidents that neither you nor i can think of; therefore, i say again, moderate your expectations, and do not depend too much on hassan's success; for to tell you what i think, and what i always thought (whether you like to hear it or not), i have a secret presentiment that you will not have accomplished your purpose, and that i shall succeed better in proving that a poor man may sooner become rich by other means than money." one day, when saad and saadi were disputing upon this subject, saad observed that enough had been said; "i am resolved," continued he, "to inform myself this very day what has passed; it is a pleasing time for walking, let us not lose it, but go and see which of us has lost the wager." i saw them at a distance, was overcome with confusion, and was just going to leave my work, to run and hide myself. however i refrained, appeared very earnest at work, made as if i had not seen them, and never lifted up my eyes till they were close to me and had saluted me, and then i could not help myself. i hung down my head, told them my last misfortune, with all the circumstances, and that i was as poor as when they first saw me. "after that," i added, "you may say that i ought to have hidden my money in another place than in a pot of bran, which was carried out of my house the same day: but that pot had stood there many years, and had never been removed, whenever my wife parted with the bran. could i guess that a sandman should come by that very day, my wife have no money, and would make such an exchange? you may indeed allege, that i ought to have told my wife of it; but i will never believe that such prudent persons, as i am persuaded you are, would have given me that advice; and if i had put my money anywhere else, what certainty could i have had that it would be more secure?" "i see, sir," said i, addressing myself to saadi, "that it has pleased god, whose ways are secret and impenetrable, that i should not be enriched by your liberality, but that i must remain poor: however, the obligation is the same as if it had wrought the desired effect." after these words i was silent; and saadi replied, "though i would persuade myself, hassan, that all you tell us is true, and not owing to your debauchery or ill management, yet i must not be extravagant, and ruin myself for the sake of an experiment. i do not regret in the least the four hundred pieces of gold i gave you to raise you in the world. i did it in duty to god, without expecting any recompense but the pleasure of doing good. if any thing makes me repent, it is, that i did not address myself to another, who might have made a better use of my charity." then turning about to his friend, "saad," continued he, "you may know by what i have said that i do not entirely give up the cause. you may now make your experiment, and let me see that there are ways, besides giving money, to make a poor man's fortune. let hassan be the man. i dare say, whatever you may give him he will not be richer than he was with four hundred pieces of gold." saad had a piece of lead in his hand, which he shewed saadi. "you saw me," said he, "take up this piece of lead, which i found on the ground; i will give it hassan, and you shall see what it is worth." saadi, burst out laughing at saad. "what is that bit of lead worth," said he, "a farthing? what can hassan do with that?" saad presented it to me, and said, "take it, hassan; let saadi laugh, you will tell us some news of the good luck it has brought you one time or another." i thought saad was in jest, and had a mind to divert himself: however i took the lead, and thanked him. the two friends pursued their walk, and i fell to work again. at night when i pulled off my clothes to go to bed, the piece of lead, which i had never thought of from the time he gave it me, tumbled out of my pocket. i took it up, and laid it on the place that was nearest me. the same night it happened that a fisherman, a neighbour, mending his nets, found a piece of lead wanting; and it being too late to buy any, as the shops were shut, and he must either fish that night, or his family go without bread the next day, he called to his wife and bade her inquire among the neighbours for a piece. she went from door to door on both sides of the street, but could not get any, and returned to tell her husband her ill success. he asked her if she had been to several of their neighbours, naming them, and among the rest my house. "no indeed," said the wife, "i have not been there; that was too far off, and if i had gone, do you think i should have found any? i know by experience they never have any thing when one wants it." "no matter," said the fisherman, "you are an idle hussy; you must go there; for though you have been there a hundred times before without getting any thing, you may chance to obtain what we want now. you must go." the fisherman's wife went out grumbling, came and knocked at my door, and waked me out of a sound sleep. i asked her what she wanted. "hassan," said she, as loud as she could bawl, "my husband wants a bit of lead to load his nets with; and if you have a piece, desires you to give it him." the piece of lead which saad had given me was so fresh in my memory, and had so lately dropped out of my clothes, that i could not forget it. i told my neighbour i had some; and if she would stay a moment my wife should give it to her. accordingly, my wife, who was wakened by the noise as well as myself, got up, and groping about where i directed her, found the lead, opened the door, and gave it to the fisherman's wife, who was so overjoyed that she promised my wife, that in return for the kindness she did her and her husband, she would answer for him we should have the first cast of the nets. the fisherman was so much rejoiced to see the lead, which he so little expected, that he much approved his wife's promise. he finished mending his nets, and went a-fishing two hours before day, according to custom. at the first throw he caught but one fish, about a yard long, and proportionable in thickness; but afterwards had a great many successful casts; though of all the fish he took none equalled the first in size. when the fisherman had done fishing, he went home, where his first care was to think of me. i was extremely surprised, when at my work, to see him come to me with a large fish in his hand. "neighbour," said he, "my wife promised you last night, in return for your kindness, whatever fish i should catch at my first throw; and i approved her promise. it pleased god to send me no more than this one for you, which, such as it is, i desire you to accept. i wish it had been better. had he sent me my net full, they should all have been yours." "neighbour," said i, "the bit of lead which i sent you was such a trifle, that it ought not to be valued at so high a rate: neighbours should assist each other in their little wants. i have done no more for you than i should have expected from you had i been in your situation; therefore i would refuse your present, if i were not persuaded you gave it me freely, and that i should offend you; and since you will have it so, i take it, and return you my hearty thanks." after these civilities, i took the fish, and carried it home to my wife. "here," said i, "take this fish, which the fisherman our neighbour has made me a present of, in return for the bit of lead he sent to us for last night: i believe it is all we can expect from the present saad made me yesterday, promising me that it would bring me good luck;" and then i told her what had passed between the two friends. my wife was much startled to see so large a fish. "what would you have me do with it?" said she. "our gridiron is only fit to broil small fish; and we have not a pot big enough to boil it." "that is your business," answered i; "dress it as you will, i shall like it either way." i then went to my work again. in gutting the fish, my wife found a large diamond, which, when she washed it, she took for a piece of glass: indeed she had heard talk of diamonds, but if she had ever seen or handled any she would not have known how to distinguish them. she gave it to the youngest of our children for a plaything, and his brothers and sisters handed it about from one to another, to admire its brightness and beauty. at night when the lamp was lighted, and the children were still playing with the diamond, they perceived that it gave a light, when my wife, who was getting them their supper, stood between them and the lamp; upon which they snatched it from one another to try it; and the younger children fell a-crying, that the elder would not let them have it long enough. but as a little matter amuses children, and makes them squabble and fall out, my wife and i took no notice of their noise, which presently ceased, when the bigger ones supped with us, and my wife had given the younger each their share. after supper the children got together again, and began to make the same noise. i then called to the eldest to know what was the matter, who told me it was about a piece of glass, which gave a light when his back was to the lamp. i bade him bring it to me, made the experiment myself, and it appeared so extraordinary, that i asked my wife what it was. she told me it was a piece of glass, which she had found in gutting the fish. i thought no more than herself but that it was a bit of glass, but i was resolved to make a farther experiment of it; and therefore bade my wife put the lamp in the chimney, which she did, and still found that the supposed piece of glass gave so great a light, that we might see to go to bed without the lamp. so i put it out, and placed the bit of glass upon the chimney to light us. "look," said i, "this is another advantage that saad's piece of lead procures us: it will spare us the expense of oil." when the children saw the lamp was put out, and the bit of glass supplied the place, they cried out so loud, and made so great a noise from astonishment, that it was enough to alarm the neighbourhood; and before my wife and i could quiet them we were forced to make a greater noise, nor could we silence them till we had put them to bed; where after talking a long while in their way about the wonderful light of a bit of glass, they fell asleep. after they were asleep, my wife and i went to bed by them; and next morning, without thinking any more of the glass, i went to my work as usual; which ought not to seem strange for such a man as i, who had never seen any diamonds, or if i had, never attended to their value. but before i proceed, i must tell your majesty that there was but a very slight partition-wall between my house and my next neighbour's, who was a very rich jew, and a jeweller; and the chamber that he and his wife lay in joined to ours. they were both in bed, and the noise my children made awakened them. the next morning the jeweller's wife came to mine to complain of being disturbed out of their first sleep. "good neighbour rachel," (which was the jew's wife's name,) said my wife, "i am very sorry for what happened, and hope you will excuse it: you know it was caused by the children, and they will laugh and cry for a trifle. come in, and i will shew you what was the occasion of the noise." the jewess went in with her, and my wife taking the diamond (for such it really was, and a very extraordinary one) out of the chimney, put it into her hands. "see here," said she, "it was this piece of glass that caused all the noise;" and while the jewess, who understood all sorts of precious stones, was examining the diamond with admiration, my wife told her how she found it in the fish's belly, and what happened. "indeed, ayesha," (which was my wife's name,) said the jeweller's wife, giving her the diamond again, "i believe as you do it is a piece of glass; but as it is more beautiful than common glass, and i have just such another piece at home, i will buy it, if you will sell it." the children, who heard them talking of selling their plaything, presently interrupted their conversation, crying and begging their mother not to part with it, who, to quiet them, promised she would not. the jewess being thus prevented in her intended swindling bargain by my children, went away, but first whispered my wife, who followed her to the door, if she had a mind to sell it, not to shew it to anybody without acquainting her. the jew went out early in the morning to his shop in that part of the town where the jewellers sell their goods. thither his wife followed, and told him the discovery she had made. she gave him an account of the size and weight of the diamond as nearly as she could guess, also of its beauty, water, and lustre, and particularly of the light which it gave in the night according to my wife's account, which was the more credible as she was uninformed. the jew sent his wife immediately to treat, to offer her a trifle at first, as she should think fit, and then to raise her price by degrees; but be sure to bring it, cost what it would. accordingly his wife came again to mine privately, and asked her if she would take twenty pieces of gold for the piece of glass she had shown her. my wife, thinking the sum too considerable for a mere piece of glass as she had thought it, would not make any bargain; but told her, she could not part with it till she had spoken to me. in the mean time i came from my work to dinner. as they were talking at the door, my wife stopped me, and asked if i would sell the piece of glass she had found in the fish's belly for twenty pieces of gold, which our neighbour offered her. i returned no answer; but reflected immediately on the assurance with which saad, in giving me the piece of lead, told me it would make my fortune. the jewess, fancying that the low price she had offered was the reason i made no reply, said, "i will give you fifty, neighbour, if that will do." as soon as i found that she rose so suddenly from twenty to fifty, i told her that i expected a great deal more. "well, neighbour," said she, "i will give you a hundred, and that is so much, i know not whether my husband will approve my offering it." at this new advance, i told her i would have a hundred thousand pieces of gold for it; that i saw plainly that the diamond, for such i now guessed it must be, was worth a great deal more, but to oblige her and her husband, as they were neighbours, i would limit myself to that price, which i was determined to have; and if they refused to give it, other jewellers should have it, who would give a great deal more. the jewess confirmed me in this resolution, by her eagerness to conclude a bargain; and by coming up at several biddings to fifty thousand pieces, which i refused. "i can offer you no more," said she, "without my husband's consent. he will be at home at night; and i would beg the favour of you to let him see it, which i promised." at night when the jew came home, his wife told him what she had done; that she had got no forwarder with my wife or me; that she offered, and i had refused, fifty thousand pieces of gold; but that i had promised to stay till night at her request. he observed the time when i left off work, and came to me. "neighbour hassan", said he, "i desire you would shew me the diamond your wife shewed to mine." i brought him in, and shewed it to him. as it was very dark, and my lamp was not lighted, he knew instantly, by the light the diamond gave, and by the lustre it cast in my hand, that his wife had given him a true account of it. he looked at and admired it a long time. "well, neighbour," said he, "my wife tells me she offered you fifty thousand pieces of gold: i will give you twenty thousand more." "neighbour," said i, "your wife can tell you that i valued my diamond at a hundred thousand pieces, and i will take nothing less." he haggled a long time with me, in hopes that i would make some abatement: but finding at last that i was positive, and for fear that i should shew it to other jewellers, as i certainly should have done, he would not leave me till the bargain was concluded on my own terms. he told me that he had not so much money at home, but would pay it all to me on the morrow, that very instant fetched two bags of a thousand pieces each, as an earnest; and the next day, though i do not know how he raised the money, whether he borrowed it of his friends, or let some other jewellers into partnership with him, he brought me the sum we had agreed for at the time appointed, and i delivered to him the diamond. having thus sold my diamond, and being rich, infinitely beyond my hopes, i thanked god for his bounty; and would have gone and thrown myself at saad's feet to express my gratitude, if i had known where he lived; as also at saadi's, to whom i was first obliged, though his good intention had not the same success. afterwards i thought of the use i ought to make of so considerable a sum. my wife, with the vanity natural to her sex, proposed immediately to buy rich clothes for herself and children; to purchase a house, and furnish it handsomely. i told her we ought not to begin with such expenses; "for," said i, "money should only be spent, so that it may produce a fund from which we may draw without its failing. this i intend, and shall begin to-morrow." i spent all that day and the next in going to the people of my own trade, who worked as hard every day for their bread as i had done; and giving them money beforehand, engaged them to work for me in different sorts of rope-making, according to their skill and ability, with a promise not to make them wait for their money, but to pay them as soon as their work was done. by this means i engrossed almost all the business of bagdad, and everybody was pleased with my exactness and punctual payment. as so great a number of workmen produced, as your majesty may judge, a large quantity of work, i hired warehouses in several parts of the town to hold my goods, and appointed over each a clerk, to sell both wholesale and retail; and by this economy received considerable profit and income. afterwards, to unite my concerns in one spot, i bought a large house, which stood on a great deal of ground, but was ruinous, pulled it down, and built that your majesty saw yesterday, which, though it makes so great an appearance, consists, for the most part, of warehouses for my business, with apartments absolutely necessary for myself and family. some time after i had left my old mean habitation, and removed to this, saad and saadi, who had scarcely thought of me from the last time they had been with me, as they were one day walking together, and passing by our street, resolved to call upon me: but great was their surprise when they did not see me at work. they asked what was become of me, and if i was alive or dead. their amazement was redoubled, when they were told i was become a great manufacturer, and was no longer called plain hassan, but khaujeh hassan al hubbaul, and that i had built in a street, which was named to them, a house like a palace. the two friends went directly to the street, and in the way, as saadi could not imagine that the bit of lead which saad had given me could have been the raising of my fortune, he said to him, "i am overjoyed to have made hassan's fortune: but i cannot forgive the two lies he told me, to get four hundred pieces instead of two; for i cannot attribute it to the piece of lead you gave him." "so you think," replied saad: "but so do not i. i do not see why you should do khaujeh hassan so much injustice as to take him for a liar. you must give me leave to believe that he told us the truth, disguised nothing from us, that the piece of lead which i gave him is the cause of his prosperity: and you will find he will presently tell us so." during their discourse the two friends came into the street where i lived, asked whereabouts my house stood; and being shewn it, could hardly believe it to be mine. they knocked at the door, and my porter opened it; when saadi, fearing to be guilty of rudeness in taking the house of a nobleman for that he was inquiring after, said to the porter, "we are informed that this is the house of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul: tell us if we are mistaken." "you are very right, sir," said the porter, opening the door wider; "it is the same; come in; he is in the hall, and any of the slaves will point him out to you." i had no sooner set my eyes upon the two friends, than i knew them. i rose from my seat, ran to them, and would have kissed the hem of their garments; but they would not suffer it, and embraced me. i invited them to a sofa made to hold four persons, which was placed full in view of my garden. i desired them to sit down, and they would have me take the place of honour. i assured them i had not forgotten that i was poor hassan the ropemaker, nor the obligations i had to them; but were this not the case, i knew the respect due to them, and begged them not to expose me. they sat down in the proper place, and i seated myself opposite to them. then saadi, addressing himself to me, said, "khaujeh hassan, i cannot express my joy to see you in the condition i wished you, when i twice made you a present of two hundred pieces of gold, for i mean not to upbraid you; though i am persuaded that those four hundred pieces have made this wonderful change in your fortune, which i behold with pleasure. one thing only vexes me, which is, that you should twice disguise the truth from me, pretending that your losses were the effect of misfortunes which now seem to me more than ever incredible. was it not because, when we were together the last time, you had so little advanced your small income with the four hundred pieces of gold, that you were ashamed to own it? i am willing to believe this, and wait to be confirmed in my opinion." saad heard this speech of saadi's with impatience, not to say indignation, which he shewed by casting down his eyes and shaking his head: he did not, however, interrupt him. when he had done, he said to him, "forgive me, saadi, if i anticipate khaujeh hassan, before he answers you, to tell you, that i am vexed at your prepossession against his sincerity, and that you still persist in not believing the assurances he has already given you. i have told you before, and i repeat it once more, that i believe those two accidents which befell him, upon his bare assertion; and whatever you may say, i am persuaded they are true; but let him speak himself, and say which of us does him justice." after this discourse of the two friends, i said, addressing myself to them both, "gentlemen, i should condemn myself to perpetual silence, on the explanation you ask of me, if i were not certain the dispute you have had on my account cannot break that friendship which subsists between you; therefore i will declare to you the truth, since you require it; and with the same sincerity as before." i then told them every circumstance your majesty has heard, without forgetting the least. all my protestations had no effect on saadi, to cure him of his prejudice. "khaujeh hassan," replied he, "the adventure of the fish, and diamond found in his belly, appears to me as incredible as the vulture's flying away with your turban, and the exchange of the scouring earth. be it as it may, i am equally convinced that you are no longer poor, but rich as i intended you should be, by my means; and i rejoice sincerely." as it grew late, they arose up to depart; when i stopped them, and said, "gentlemen, there is one favour i have to ask; i beg of you not to refuse to do me the honour to stay and take a slight supper with me, also a bed to-night, and to-morrow i will carry you by water to a small country-house, which i bought for the sake of the air, and we will return the same day on my horses." "if saad has no business that calls him elsewhere," said saadi, "i consent." saad told him that nothing should prevent his enjoying his company. we have only to send a slave to my house, that we may not be waited for. i provided a slave; and while they were giving him their orders, i went and ordered supper. while it was getting ready, i shewed my benefactors my house, and all my offices, which they thought very extensive considering my fortune: i call them both benefactors without distinction, because without saadi, saad would never have given me the piece of lead; and without saad, saadi would not have given me the four hundred pieces of gold. then i brought them back again into the hall, where they asked me several questions about my concerns; and i gave them such answers as satisfied them. during this conversation, my servants came to tell me that supper was served up. i led them into another hall, where they admired the manner in which it was lighted, the furniture, and the entertainment i had provided. i regaled them also with a concert of vocal and instrumental music during the repast, and afterwards with a company of dancers, and other entertainments, endeavouring as much as possible to shew them my gratitude. the next morning, as we had agreed to set out early to enjoy the fresh air, we repaired to the river-side by sun-rise, and went on board a pleasure-boat well carpeted that waited for us; and in less than an hour and a half, with six good rowers, and the stream, we arrived at my country house. when we went ashore, the two friends stopped to observe the beauty of the architecture of my house, and to admire its advantageous situation for prospects, which were neither too much limited nor too extensive, but such as made it very agreeable. i then conducted them into all the apartments, and shewed them the out-houses and conveniences; with all which they were very well pleased afterwards we walked in the gardens, where what they were most struck with was a grove of orange and lemon trees, loaded with fruit and flowers, which were planted at equal distances, and watered by channels cut from a neighbouring stream. the close shade, the fragrant smell which perfumed the air, the soft murmurings of the water, the harmonious notes of an infinite number of birds, and many other agreeable circumstances, struck them in such a manner, that they frequently stopped to express how much they were obliged to me for bringing them to so delightful a place, and to congratulate me on my great acquisitions, with other compliments. i led them to the end of the grove, which was very long and broad, where i shewed them a wood of large trees, which terminated my garden, and afterwards a summer-house, open on all sides, shaded by a clump of palm-trees, but not so as to injure the prospect; i then invited them to walk in, and repose themselves on a sofa covered with carpets and cushions. two of my boys, whom i had sent into the country, with a tutor, for the air, had gone just then into the wood, and seeing a nest which was built in the branches of a lofty tree, they attempted to get at it; but as they had neither strength nor skill to accomplish their object, they shewed it to the slave who waited on them, and bade him climb the tree for it. the slave, when he came to it, was much surprised to find it composed of a turban: however he took it, brought it down, and shewed it to my children; and as he thought that i might like to see a nest that was so uncommon, he gave it to the eldest boy to bring to me. i saw the children at a distance, coming back to us, overjoyed to have procured a nest. "father," said the eldest, "we have found a nest in a turban." the two friends and i were very much surprised at the novelty; but i much more, when i recognized the turban to be that which the vulture had flown away with. after i had examined it well, and turned it about, i said to my guests, "gentlemen, have you memories good enough to remember the turban i had on the day you did me the honour first to speak to me?" "i do not think," said saad, "that either my friend or i gave any attention to it; but if the hundred and ninety pieces of gold are in it, we cannot doubt of it." "sir," replied i, "there is no doubt but it is the same turban; for besides that i know it perfectly well, i feel by the weight it is too heavy to be any other, and you will perceive this if you give yourself the trouble to take it in your hand." then after taking out the birds, and giving them to the children, i put it into his hands, and he gave it to saadi. "indeed," said saadi, "i believe it to be your turban; which i shall, however, be better convinced of when i see the hundred and ninety pieces of gold." "now, sir," added i, taking the turban again, "observe well before i unwrap it, that it is of no very fresh date in the tree; and the state in which you see it, and the nest so neatly made in it, without having been touched by the hand of man, are sufficient proofs that the vulture drops or laid it in the tree upon the day it was seized; and that the branches hindered it from falling to the ground. excuse my making this remark, since it concerns me so much to remove all suspicions of fraud." saad backed me in what i urged; and said, "saadi, this regards you and not me, for i am verily persuaded that khaujeh hassan does not impose upon us." while saad was talking, i pulled off the linen cloth which was wrapped about the cap of the turban, and took out the purse, which saadi knew to be the same he had given me. i emptied it on the carpet before them, and said, "there, gentlemen, there is the money, count it, and see if it be right;" which saad did, and found it to be one hundred and ninety pieces of gold. then saadi, who could not deny so manifest a truth, addressing himself to me said, "i agree, khaujeh hassan, that this money could not serve to enrich you; but the other hundred and ninety pieces, which you would make me believe you hid in a pot of bran, might." "sir," answered i, "i have told you the truth in regard to both sums: you would not have me retract, to make myself a liar." "khaujeh hassan," said saad, "leave saadi to his own opinion; i consent with all my heart that he believes you are obliged to him for one part of your good fortune, by means of the last sum he gave you, provided he will agree that i contributed to the other half by the bit of lead, and will not pretend to dispute the valuable diamond found in the fish's belly." "i agree to it," answered saadi, "but still you must give me liberty to believe that money is not to be amassed without money." "what," replied saad, "if chance should throw a diamond in my way worth fifty thousand pieces of gold, and i should have that sum given me for it, can it be said i got that sum by money?" they disputed no farther at this time; we rose, and went into the house, just as dinner was serving up. after dinner, i left my guests together, to pass away the heat of the day more at their liberty, and with great composure, while i went to give orders to my housekeeper and gardener, afterwards i returned to them again, and we talked of indifferent matters till it grew a little cooler; when we returned into the garden for fresh air, and stayed till sun-set. we then mounted on horseback, and got to bagdad by moonlight, two hours after, followed by one of my slaves. it happened, i know not by what negligence of my servants, that we were then out of grain for the horses, and the storehouses were all shut up; when one of my slaves seeking about the neighbourhood for some, met with a pot of bran in a shop; bought the bran, and brought the pot along with him, promising to carry it back again the next day. the slave emptied the bran, and dividing it with his hands among the horses, felt a linen cloth tied up, and very heavy; he brought the cloth to me in the condition that he found it, and presented it to me, telling me, that it might perhaps be the cloth he had often heard me talk of among my friends. overjoyed, i said to my two benefactors, "gentlemen, it has pleased god that you should not part from me without being fully convinced of the truth of what i have assured you. there are the other hundred and ninety pieces of gold which you gave me," continued i, addressing myself to saadi; "i know it well by the cloth, which i tied up with my own hands;" and then i told out the money before them. i ordered the pot to be brought to me, knew it to be the same; and sent to my wife to ask if she recognized it, ordering them to say nothing to her of what had happened. she knew it immediately, and sent me word that it was the same pot she had exchanged full of bran for the scouring- earth. saadi readily submitted, renounced his incredulity; and said to saad, "i yield to you, and acknowledge that money is not always the means of becoming rich." when saadi had spoken, i said to him, "i dare not propose to return you the three hundred and eighty pieces of gold which it hath pleased god should be found, to undeceive you as to the opinion of my honesty. i am persuaded that you did not give them to me with an intention that i should return them; but as i ought to be content with what providence has sent me from other quarters, and i do not design to make use of them; if you approve of my proposal, to-morrow i will give them to the poor, that god may bless us both." the two friends lay at my house that night also; and next day, after embracing me, returned home, well pleased with the reception i had given them, and to find i did not make an improper use of the riches heaven had blessed me with. i thanked them both, and regarded the permission they gave me to cultivate their friendship, and to visit them, as a great honour. the caliph was so attentive to khaujeh hassan's story, that he had not perceived the end of it, but by his silence. "khaujeh hassan," said he, "i have not for a long time heard any thing that has given me so much pleasure, as having been informed of the wonderful ways by which god gave thee thy riches to make thee happy in this world. thou oughtest to continue to return him thanks by the good use thou makest of his blessings. i am glad i can tell thee, that the same diamond which made thy fortune is now in my treasury; and i am happy to learn how it came there: but because there may remain in saadi some doubts on the singularity of this diamond, which i esteem the most precious and valuable jewel i possess, i would have you carry him with saad to my treasurer, who shall shew it them, to remove saadi's unbelief, and to let him see that money is not the only means of making a poor man rich in a short time, without labour. i would also have you tell the keeper of my treasury this story, that he may have it put into writing, and that it may be kept with the diamond." after these words the caliph signified to khaujeh hassan, syed naomaun, and baba abdoollah, by bowing of his head, that he was satisfied with them; they all took their leaves, by prostrating themselves at the throne, and then retired. the story of ali baba and the forty robbers destroyed by a slave. in a town in persia, there lived two brothers, one named cassim, the other ali baba. their father left them scarcely any thing; but as he had divided his little property equally between them, it should seem their fortune ought to have been equal; but chance determined otherwise. cassim married a wife who soon after became heiress to a large sum, and a warehouse full of rich goods; so that he all at once became one of the richest and most considerable merchants, and lived at his ease. ali baba on the other hand, who had married a woman as poor as himself, lived in a very wretched habitation, and had no other means to maintain his wife and children but his daily labour of cutting wood, and bringing it upon three asses, which were his whole substance, to town to sell. one day, when ali baba was in the forest, and had just cut wood enough to load his asses, he saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which seemed to be driven towards him: he observed it very attentively, and distinguished soon after a body of horse. though there had been no rumour of robbers in that country, ali baba began to think that they might prove such, and without considering what might become of his asses, was resolved to save himself. he climbed up a large, thick tree, whose branches, at a little distance from the ground, were so close to one another that there was but little space between them. he placed himself in the middle, from whence he could see all that passed without being discovered; and the tree stood at the base of a single rock, so steep and craggy that nobody could climb up it. the troop, who were all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of this rock, and there dismounted. ali baba counted forty of them, and, from their looks and equipage, was assured that they were robbers. nor was he mistaken in his opinion: for they were a troop of banditti, who, without doing any harm to the neighbourhood, robbed at a distance, and made that place their rendezvous; but what confirmed him in his opinion was, that every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn which they brought behind them. then each of them took his saddle wallet, which seemed to ali baba to be full of gold and silver from its weight. one, who was the most personable amongst them, and whom he took to be their captain, came with his wallet on his back under the tree in which ali baba was concealed, and making his way through some shrubs, pronounced these words so distinctly, "open, sesame," that ali baba heard him. as soon as the captain of the robbers had uttered these words, a door opened in the rock; and after he had made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut again of itself. the robbers stayed some time within the rock, and ali baba, who feared that some one, or all of them together, might come out and catch him, if he should endeavour to make his escape, was obliged to sit patiently in the tree. he was nevertheless tempted to get down, mount one of their horses, and lead another, driving his asses before him with all the haste he could to town; but the uncertainty of the event made him choose the safest course. at last the door opened again, and the forty robbers came out. as the captain went in last, he came out first, and stood to see them all pass by him; when ali baba heard him make the door close by pronouncing these words, "shut, sesame." every man went and bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again; and when the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come. ali baba did not immediately quit his tree; for, said he to himself, they may have forgotten something and may come back again, and then i shall be taken. he followed them with his eyes as far as he could see them; and afterwards stayed a considerable time before he descended. remembering the words the captain of the robbers used to cause the door to open and shut, he had the curiosity to try if his pronouncing them would have the same effect. accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood before it, and said, "open, sesame." the door instantly flew wide open. ali baba, who expected a dark dismal cavern, was surprised to see it well lighted and spacious, in form of a vault, which received the light from an opening at the top of the rock. he saw all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and valuable carpeting, piled upon one another; gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. the sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one another. ali baba did not stand long to consider what he should do, but went immediately into the cave, and as soon as he had entered, the door shut of itself. but this did not disturb him, because he knew the secret to open it again. he never regarded the silver, but made the best use of his time in carrying out as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, at several times, as he thought his three asses could carry. he collected his asses, which were dispersed, and when he had loaded them with the bags, laid wood over in such a manner that they could not be seen. when he had done he stood before the door, and pronouncing the words, "shut, sesame," the door closed after him, for it had shut of itself while he was within, but remained open while he was out. he then made the best of his way to town. when ali baba got home, he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the bags, carried them into his house, and ranged them in order before his wife, who sat on a sofa. his wife handled the bags, and finding them full of money, suspected that her husband had been robbing, insomuch that she could not help saying, "ali baba, have you been so unhappy as to______." "be quiet, wife," interrupted ali baba, "do not frighten yourself, i am no robber, unless he may be one who steals from robbers. you will no longer entertain an ill opinion of me, when i shall tell you my good fortune." he then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold, as dazzled his wife's eyes; and when he had done, told her the whole adventure from beginning to end; and, above all, recommended her to keep it secret. the wife, cured of her fears, rejoiced with her husband at their good fortune, and would count all the gold, piece by piece. "wife," replied ali baba, "you do not know what you undertake, when you pretend to count the money; you will never have done. i will dig a hole, and bury it; there is no time to be lost". "you are in the right, husband," replied she; "but let us know, as nigh as possible, how much we have. i will borrow a small measure in the neighbourhood, and measure it, while you dig the hole." "what you are going to do is to no purpose, wife," said ali baba; "if you would take my advice, you had better let it alone, but keep the secret, and do what you please." away the wife ran to her brother-in-law cassim, who lived just by, but was not then at home; and addressing herself to his wife, desired her to lend her a measure for a little while. her sister- in-law asked her, whether she would have a great or a small one? the other asked for a small one. she bade her stay a little, and she would readily fetch one. the sister-in-law did so, but as she knew ali baba's poverty, she was curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to her with an excuse, that she was sorry that she had made her stay so long, but that she could not find it sooner. ali baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold, filled it and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done: when she was very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to so many as they did, and went to tell her husband, who had almost finished digging the hole. while ali baba was burying the gold, his wife, to shew her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the measure back again, but without taking notice that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom. "sister," said she, giving it to her again, "you see that i have not kept your measure long; i am obliged to you for it, and return it with thanks." as soon as ali baba's wife was gone, cassim's looked at the bottom of the measure, and was in inexpressible surprise to find a piece of gold stuck to it. envy immediately possessed her breast. "what!" said she, "has ali baba gold so plentiful as to measure it? where has that poor wretch got all this wealth? "cassim, her husband, was not at home, but at his counting-house, which he left always in the evening. his wife waited for him, and thought the time an age; so great was her impatience to tell him the circumstance, at which she guessed he would be as much surprised as herself. when cassim came home, his wife said to him, "cassim, i know you think yourself rich, but you are much mistaken; ali baba is infinitely richer than you; he does not count his money but measures it." cassim desired her to explain the riddle, which she did, by telling him the stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and shewed him the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined. cassim, instead of being pleased, conceived a base envy at his brother's prosperity; he could not sleep all that night, and went to him in the morning before sun-rise. cassim, after he had married the rich widow, had never treated ali baba as a brother, but neglected him. "all baba," said he, accosting him, "you are very reserved in your affairs; you pretend to be miserably poor, and yet you measure gold." "how, brother?" replied ali baba; "i do not know what you mean: explain yourself." "do not pretend ignorance," replied cassim, shewing him the piece of gold his wife had given him. "how many of these pieces," added he, "have you? my wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday." by this discourse, ali baba perceived that cassim and his wife, through his own wife's folly, knew what they had so much reason to conceal; but what was done could not be recalled; therefore, without shewing the least surprise or trouble, he confessed all, told his brother by what chance he had discovered this retreat of the thieves, in what place it was; and offered him part of his treasure to keep the secret. "i expect as much," replied cassim haughtily; "but i must know exactly where this treasure is, and how i may visit it myself when i choose; otherwise i will go and inform against you, and then you will not only get no more, but will lose all you have, and i shall have a share for my information." ali baba, more out of his natural good temper, than frightened by the insulting menaces of his unnatural brother, told him all he desired, and even the very words he was to use to gain admission into the cave. cassim, who wanted no more of ali baba, left him, resolving to be beforehand with him, and hoping to get all the treasure to himself. he rose the next morning, long before the sun, and set out for the forest with ten mules bearing great chests, which he designed to fill; and followed the road which ali baba had pointed out to him. he was not long before he reached the rock, and found out the place by the tree, and other marks which his brother had given him. when he reached the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words, "open, sesame," the door immediately opened, and when he was in, closed upon him. in examining the cave, he was in great admiration to find much more riches than he had apprehended from ali baba's relation. he was so covetous, and greedy of wealth, that he could have spent the whole day in feasting his eyes with so much treasure, if the thought that he came to carry some away had not hindered him. he laid as many bags of gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern, but his thoughts were so full of the great riches he should possess, that he could not think of the necessary word to make it open, but instead of sesame, said "open, barley," and was much amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. he named several sorts of grain, but still the door would not open. cassim had never expected such an incident, and was so alarmed at the danger he was in, that the more he endeavoured to remember the word sesame, the more his memory was confounded, and he had as much forgotten it as if he had never heard it mentioned. he threw down the bags he had loaded himself with, and walked distractedly up and down the cave, without having the least regard to the riches that were round him. about noon the robbers chanced to visit their cave, and at some distance from it saw cassim's mules straggling about the rock, with great chests on their backs. alarmed at this novelty, they galloped full speed to the cave. they drove away the mules, which cassim had neglected to fasten, and they strayed through the forest so far, that they were soon out of sight. the robbers never gave themselves the trouble to pursue them, being more concerned to know who they belonged to. and while some of them searched about the rock, the captain and the rest went directly to the door, with their naked sabres in their hands, and pronouncing the proper words, it opened. cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet from the middle of the cave, never doubted of the arrival of the robbers, and his approaching death; but was resolved to make one effort to escape from them. to this end he rushed to the door, and no sooner heard the word sesame, which he had forgotten, and saw the door open, than he ran out and threw the leader down, but could not escape the other robbers, who with their sabres soon deprived him of life. the first care of the robbers after this was to examine the cave. they found all the bags which cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to load his mules, and carried them again to their places, without missing what ali baba had taken away before. then holding a council, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they guessed that cassim, when he was in, could not get out again; but could not imagine how he had entered. it came into their heads that he might have got down by the top of the cave; but the aperture by which it received light was so high, and the rock so inaccessible without, besides that nothing shewed that he had done so, that they gave up this conjecture. that he came in at the door they could not believe however, unless he had the secret of making it open. in short, none of them could imagine which way he had entered; for they were all persuaded nobody knew their secret, little imagining that ali baba had watched them. it was a matter of the greatest importance to them to secure their riches. they agreed therefore to cut cassim's body into four quarters, to hang two on one side and two on the other, within the door of the cave, to terrify any person who should attempt the same thing, determining not to return to the cave till the stench of the body was completely exhaled. they had no sooner taken this resolution than they put it in execution, and when they had nothing more to detain them, left the place of their hoards well closed. they mounted their horses, went to beat the roads again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. in the mean time, cassim's wife was very uneasy when night came, and her husband was not returned. she ran to ali baba in alarm, and said, "i believe, brother-in-law, that you know cassim, your brother, is gone to the forest, and upon what account; it is now night, and he is not returned; i am afraid some misfortune has happened to him." ali baba, who had expected that his brother, after what he had said, would go to the forest, had declined going himself that day, for fear of giving him any umbrage; therefore told her, without any reflection upon her husband's unhandsome behaviour, that she need not frighten herself, for that certainly cassim would not think it proper to come into the town till the night should be pretty far advanced. cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned her husband to keep the business secret, was the more easily persuaded to believe her brother-in-law. she went home again, and waited patiently till midnight. then her fear redoubled, and her grief was the more sensible because she was forced to keep it to herself. she repented of her foolish curiosity, and cursed her desire of penetrating into the affairs of her brother and sister- in-law. she spent all the night in weeping; and as soon as it was day, went to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her coming. ali baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to desire him to go to see what was become of cassim, but departed immediately with his three asses, begging of her first to moderate her affliction. he went to the forest, and when he came near the rock, having seen neither his brother nor the mules in his way, was seriously alarmed at finding some blood spilt near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but when he had pronounced the word, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal sight of his brother's quarters. he was not long in determining how he should pay the last dues to his brother, but without adverting to the little fraternal affection he had shown for him, went into the cave, to find something to enshroud his remains, and having loaded one of his asses with them, covered them over with wood. the other two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them with wood also as before; and then bidding the door shut, came away; but was so cautious as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that he might not go into the town before night. when he came home, he drove the two asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the care of unloading them to his wife, while he led the other to his sister-in-law's house. ali baba knocked at the door, which was opened by morgiana, an intelligent slave, fruitful in inventions to insure success in the most difficult undertakings: and ali baba knew her to be such. when he came into the court, he unloaded the ass, and taking morgiana aside, said to her, "the first thing i ask of you is an inviolable secrecy, which you will find is necessary both for your mistress's sake and mine. your master's body is contained in these two bundles, and our business is, to bury him as if he had died a natural death. go, tell your mistress i want to speak with her; and mind what i have said to you." morgiana went to her mistress, and ali baba followed her. "well, brother," said she, with great impatience, "what news do you bring me of my husband? i perceive no comfort in your countenance." "sister," answered ali baba, "i cannot satisfy your inquiries unless you hear my story from the beginning to the end, without speaking a word; for it is of as great importance to you as to me to keep what has happened secret." "alas!" said she, "this preamble lets me know that my husband is not to be found; but at the same time i know the necessity of the secrecy you require, and i must constrain myself: say on, i will hear you." ali baba then detailed the incidents of his journey, till he came to the finding of cassim's body. "now," said he, "sister, i have something to relate which will afflict you the more, because it is perhaps what you so little expect; but it cannot now be remedied; if my endeavours can comfort you, i offer to put that which god hath sent me to what you have, and marry you: assuring you that my wife will not be jealous, and that we shall live happily together. if this proposal is agreeable to you, we mast think of acting so as that my brother should appear to have died a natural death. i think you may leave the management of the business to morgiana, and i will contribute all that lies in my power to your consolation." what could cassim's widow do better than accept of this proposal? for though her first husband had left behind him a plentiful substance, his brother was now much richer, and by the discovery of this treasure might be still more so. instead, therefore, of rejecting the offer, she regarded it as the sure means of comfort; and drying up her tears, which had begun to flow abundantly, and suppressing the outcries usual with women who have lost their husbands, shewed ali baba that she approved of his proposal. ali baba left the widow, recommended to morgiana to act her part well, and then returned home with his ass. morgiana went out at the same time to an apothecary, and asked for a sort of lozenges, which he prepared, and were very efficacious in the most dangerous disorders. the apothecary inquired who was ill at her master's? she replied with a sigh, "her good master cassim himself: that they knew not what his disorder was, but that he could neither eat nor speak." after these words, morgiana carried the lozenges home with her, and the next morning went to the same apothecary's again, and with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence which they used to give to sick people only when at the last extremity. "alas!" said she, taking it from the apothecary, "i am afraid that this remedy will have no better effect than the lozenges; and that i shall lose my good master." on the other hand, as ali baba and his wife were often seen to go between cassim's and their own house all that day, and to seem melancholy, nobody was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable shrieks and cries of cassim's wife and morgiana, who gave out every where that her master was dead. the next morning, soon after day appeared, morgiana, who knew a certain old cobbler that opened his stall early, before other people, went to him, and bidding him good morrow, put a piece of gold into his hand. "well," said baba mustapha, which was his name, and who was a merry old fellow, looking at the gold, though it was hardly day-light, and seeing what it was, "this is good hansel: what must i do for it? i am ready." "baba mustapha," said morgiana, "you must take with you your sewing tackle, and go with me; but i must tell you, i shall blindfold you when you come to such a place." baba mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these words. "oh! oh!" replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience, or against my honour?" "god forbid!" said morgiana, putting another piece of gold into his hand, "that i should ask any thing that is contrary to your honour; only come along with me, and fear nothing." baba mustapha went with morgiana, who, after she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief at the place she had mentioned, conveyed him to her deceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes till he had entered the room where she had put the corpse together. "baba mustapha," said she, "you must make haste and sew these quarters together; and when you have done, i will give you another piece of gold." after baba mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece of gold as she had promised, and recommending secrecy to him, carried him back to the place where she first bound his eyes, pulled off the bandage, and let him go home, but watched him that he returned towards his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for fear he should have the curiosity to return and dodge her; she then went home. by the time morgiana had warmed some water to wash the body, ali baba came with incense to embalm it, after which it was sewn up in a winding sheet. not long after, the joiner, according to ali baba's orders, brought the bier, which morgiana received at the door, and helped ali baba to put the body into it; when she went to the mosque to inform the imaum that they were ready. the people of the mosque, whose business it was to wash the dead, offered to perform their duty, but she told them that it was done already. morgiana had scarcely got home before the imaum and the other ministers of the mosque arrived. four neighbours carried the corpse on their shoulders to the burying-ground, following the imaum, who recited some prayers. morgiana, as a slave to the deceased, followed the corpse, weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair: and ali baba came after with some neighbours, who often relieved the others in carrying the corpse to the burying-ground. cassim's wife stayed at home mourning, uttering lamentable cries with the women of the neighbourhood, who came according to custom during the funeral, and joining their lamentations with hers, filled the quarter far and near with sorrow. in this manner cassim's melancholy death was concealed, and hushed up between ali baba, his wife, cassim's widow, and morgiana, with so much contrivance, that nobody in the city had the least knowledge or suspicion of the cause of it. three or four days after the funeral, ali baba removed his few goods openly to the widow's house; but the money he had taken from the robbers he conveyed thither by night; soon after the marriage with his sister-in-law was published, and as these marriages are common, nobody was surprised. as for cassim's warehouse, ali baba gave it to his own eldest son, promising that if he managed it well, he would soon give him a fortune to marry very advantageously according to his situation. let us now leave ali baba to enjoy the beginning of his good fortune, and return to the forty robbers. they came again at the appointed time to visit their retreat in the forest; but great was their surprise to find cassim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold. "we are certainly discovered," said the captain, "and if we do not speedily apply some remedy, shall gradually lose all the riches which our ancestors and ourselves have, with so much pains and danger, been so many years amassing together. all that we can think of the loss which we have sustained is, that the thief whom we surprised had the secret of opening the door, and we came luckily as he was coming out: but his body being removed, and with it some of our money, plainly shews that he had an accomplice; and as it is likely that there were but two who had discovered our secret, and one has been caught, we must look narrowly after the other. what say you, my lads?" all the robbers thought the captain's proposal so advisable, that they unanimously approved of it, and agreed that they must lay all other enterprises aside, to follow this closely, and not give it up till they had succeeded. "i expected no less," said the captain, "from your fidelity to our cause: but, first of all, one of you who is bold, artful, and enterprising, must go into the town, disguised as a traveller and a stranger, to try if he can hear any talk of the strange death of the man whom we have killed, as he deserved; and endeavour to find out who he was, and where he lived. this is a matter of the first importance for us to ascertain, that we may do nothing which we may have reason to repent of, by discovering ourselves in a country where we have lived so long unknown, and where we have so much reason to continue: but to warn him who shall take upon himself this commission, and to prevent our being deceived by his giving us a false report, which may be the cause of our ruin; i ask you all, if you do not think that in case of treachery, or even error of judgment, he should suffer death?" without waiting for the suffrages of his companions, one of the robbers started up, and said, "i submit to this condition, and think it an honour to expose my life, by taking the commission upon me; but remember, at least, if i do not succeed, that i neither wanted courage nor good will to serve the troop." after this robber had received great commendations from the captain and his comrades, he disguised himself so that nobody would take him for what he was; and taking his leave of the troop that night, went into the town just at day-break; and walked up and down, till accidentally he came to baba mustapha's stall, which was always open before any of the shops. baba mustapha was seated with an awl in his hand, just going to work. the robber saluted him, bidding him good morrow; and perceiving that he was old, said, "honest man, you begin to work very early: is it possible that one of your age can see so well? i question, even if it were somewhat lighter, whether you could see to stitch." "certainly," replied baba mustapha," you must be a stranger, and do not know me; for old as i am, i have extraordinary good eyes; and you will not doubt it when i tell you that i sewed a dead body together in a place where i had not so much light as i have now." the robber was overjoyed to think that he had addressed himself, at his first coming into the town, to a man who in all probability could give him the intelligence he wanted. "a dead body!" replied he with affected amazement, to make him explain himself. "what could you sew up a dead body for? you mean, you sewed up his winding sheet." "no, no," answered baba mustapha, "i perceive your meaning; you want to have me speak out, but you shall know no more." the robber wanted no farther assurance to be persuaded that he had discovered what he sought. he pulled out a piece of gold, and putting it into baba mustapha's hand, said to him, "i do not want to learn your secret, though i can assure you i would not divulge it, if you trusted me with it. the only thing which i desire of you is, to do me the favour to shew me the house where you stitched up the dead body." "if i were disposed to do you that favour," replied baba mustapha, holding the money in his hand, ready to return it, "i assure you i cannot; and you may believe me, on my word. i was taken to a certain place, where i was blinded, i was then led to the house, and afterwards brought back again in the same manner; you see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing what you desire." "well," replied the robber, "you may, however, remember a little of the way that you were led blindfolded. come, let me blind your eyes at the same place. we will walk together; perhaps you may recognize some part; and as every body ought to be paid for their trouble, there is another piece of gold for you; gratify me in what i ask you." so saying, he put another piece of gold into his hand. the two pieces of gold were great temptations to baba mustapha. he looked at them a long time in his hand, without saying a word, thinking with himself what he should do; but at last he pulled out his purse, and put them in. "i cannot assure you," said he to the robber, "that i can remember the way exactly; but since you desire, i will try what i can do." at these words baba mustapha rose up, to the great joy of the robber, and without shutting his shop, where he had nothing valuable to lose, he led the robber to the place where morgiana had bound his eyes. "it was here," said baba mustapha, "i was blindfolded; and i turned as you see me." the robber, who had his handkerchief ready, tied it over his eyes, walked by him till he stopped, partly leading, and partly guided by him. "i think," said baba mustapha, "i went no farther," and he had now stopped directly at cassim's house, where ali baba then lived. the thief, before he pulled off the band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which he had ready in his hand; and then asked him if he knew whose house that was? to which baba mustapha replied, that as he did not live in that neighbourhood he could not tell. the robber, finding he could discover no more from baba mustapha, thanked him for the trouble he had taken, and left him to go back to his stall, while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he should be very well received. a little after the robber and baba mustapha had parted, morgiana went out of ali baba's house upon some errand, and upon her return, seeing the mark the robber had made, stopped to observe it. "what can be the meaning of this mark?" said she to herself; "somebody intends my master no good: however, with whatever intention it was done, it is advisable to guard against the worst." accordingly, she fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or three doors on each side, in the same manner, without saying a word to her master or mistress. in the mean time the thief rejoined his troop in the forest, and recounted to them his success; expatiating upon his good fortune, in meeting so soon with the only person who could inform him of what he wanted to know. all the robbers listened to him with the utmost satisfaction; when the captain, after commending his diligence, addressing himself to them all, said, "comrades, we have no time to lose: let us set off well armed, without its appearing who we are; but that we may not excite any suspicion, let only one or two go into the town together, and join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great square. in the mean time our comrade, who brought us the good news, and i, will go and find out the house, that we may consult what had best be done." this speech and plan were approved of by all, and they were soon ready. they filed off in parties of two each, after some interval of time, and got into the town without being in the least suspected. the captain and he who had visited the town in the morning as spy, came in the last. he led the captain into the street where he had marked ali baba's residence; and when they came to the first of the houses which morgiana had marked, he pointed it out. but the captain observed that the next door was chalked in the same manner, and in the same place; and shewing it to his guide, asked him which house it was, that, or the first? the guide was so confounded, that he knew not what answer to make; but still more puzzled, when he and the captain saw five or six houses similarly marked. he assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so that he could not distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at. the captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went directly to the place of rendezvous, and told the first of his troops whom he met that they had lost their labour, and must return to their cave. he himself set them the example, and they all returned as they had come. when the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy of death. he condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who was appointed to cut off his head. but as the safety of the troop required that an injury should not go unpunished, another of the gang, who promised himself that he should succeed better, presented himself, and his offer being accepted, he went and corrupted baba mustapha, as the other had done; and being shewn the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight, with red chalk. not long after morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before, marked the other neighbours' houses in the same place and manner. the robber, at his return to his company, valued himself much on the precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of distinguishing ali baba's house from the others; and the captain and all of them thought it must succeed. they conveyed themselves into the town with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain came to the street, they found the same difficulty; at which the captain was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and much more dissatisfied; while the robber, who had been the author of the mistake, underwent the same punishment; which he willingly submitted to. the captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the residence of their plunderer. he found by their example that their heads were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore resolved to take upon himself the important commission. accordingly he went and addressed himself to baba mustapha, who did him the same service he had done to the other robbers. he did not set any particular mark on the house, but examined and observed it so carefully, by passing often by it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it. the captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and informed of what he wanted to know, returned to the forest; and when he came into the cave, where the troop waited for him, said, "now, comrades, nothing can prevent our full revenge, as i am certain of the house, and in my way hither i have thought how to put it into execution, but if any one can form a better expedient, let him communicate it." he then told them his contrivance; and as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large leather jars, one full of oil, and the others empty. in two or three days' time the robbers had purchased the mules and jars, and as the mouths of the jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, the captain caused them to be widened; and after having put one of his men into each, with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving open the seam which had been undone to leave them room to breathe, he rubbed the jars on the outside with oil from the full vessel. things being thus prepared, when the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their driver, set out with them, and reached the town by the dusk of the evening, as he had intended. he led them through the streets till he came to ali baba's, at whose door he designed to have knocked; but was prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a little fresh air. he stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and said, "i have brought some oil a great way, to sell at to-morrow's market; and it is now so late that i do not know where to lodge. if i should not be troublesome to you, do me the favour to let me pass the night with you, and i shall be very much obliged by your hospitality." though ali baba had seen the captain of the robbers in the forest, and had heard him speak, it was impossible to know him in the disguise of an oil-merchant. he told him he should be welcome, and immediately opened his gates for the mules to go into the yard. at the same time he called to a slave, and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, not only to put them into the stable, but to give them fodder; and then went to morgiana, to bid her get a good supper for his guest. he did more. to make his guest as welcome as possible, when he saw the captain had unloaded his mules, and that they were put into the stables as he had ordered, and he was looking for a place to pass the night in the air, he brought him into the hall where he received his company, telling him he would not suffer him to be in the court. the captain excused himself on pretence of not being troublesome; but really to have room to execute his design, and it was not till after the most pressing importunity that he yielded. ali baba, not content to keep company with the man who had a design on his life till supper was ready, continued talking with him till it was ended, and repeating his offer of service. the captain rose up at the same time with his host; and while ali baba went to speak to morgiana he withdrew into the yard, under pretence of looking at his mules. ali baba, after charging morgiana afresh to take care of his guest, said to her, "to- morrow morning i design to go to the bath before day; take care my bathing-linen be ready, give them to abdoollah," which was the slave's name, "and make me some good broth against i return." after this he went to bed. in the mean time the captain of the robbers went from the stable to give his people orders what to do; and beginning at the first jar, and so on to the last, said to each man: "as soon as i throw some stones out of the chamber window where i lie, do not fail to cut the jar open with the knife you have about you for the purpose, and come out, and i will immediately join you." after this he returned into the house, when morgiana taking up a light, conducted him to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put the light out soon after, and laid himself down in his clothes, that he might be the more ready to rise. morgiana, remembering ali baba's orders, got his bathing-linen ready, and ordered abdoollah to set on the pot for the broth; but while she was preparing it, the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house, nor any candles. what to do she did not know, for the broth must be made. abdoollah seeing her very uneasy, said, "do not fret and teaze yourself, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of one of the jars." morgiana thanked abdoollah for his advice, took the oil-pot, and went into the yard; when as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within said softly, "is it time?" though the robber spoke low, morgiana was struck with the voice the more, because the captain, when he unloaded the mules, had taken the lids off this and all the other jars to give air to his men, who were ill enough at their ease, almost wanting room to breathe. as much surprised as morgiana naturally was at finding a man in a jar instead of the oil she wanted, many would have made such a noise as to have given an alarm, which would have been attended with fatal consequences; whereas morgiana comprehending immediately the importance of keeping silence, from the danger ali baba, his family, and herself were in, and the necessity of applying a speedy remedy without noise, conceived at once the means, and collecting herself without shewing the least emotions, answered, "not yet, but presently." she went in this manner to all the jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. by this means, morgiana found that her master ali baba, who thought that he had entertained an oil merchant, had admitted thirty-eight robbers into his house, regarding this pretended merchant as their captain. she made what haste she could to fill her oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen; where, as soon as she had lighted her lamp, she took a great kettle, went again to the oil-jar, filled the kettle, set it on a large wood-fire, and as soon as it boiled went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber within. when this action, worthy of the courage of morgiana, was executed without any noise, as she had projected, she returned into the kitchen with the empty kettle; and having put out the great fire she had made to boil the oil, and leaving just enough to make the broth, put out the lamp also, and remained silent; resolving not to go to rest till she had observed what might follow through a window of the kitchen, which opened into the yard. she had not waited long before the captain of the robbers got up, opened the window, and finding no light, and hearing no noise, or any one stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing little stones, several of which hit the jars, as he doubted not by the sound they gave. he then listened, but not hearing or perceiving any thing, whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, he began to grow very uneasy, threw stones again a second and also a third time, and could not comprehend the reason that none of them should answer his signal. much alarmed, he went softly down into the yard, and going to the first jar, whilst asking the robber whom he thought alive if he was in readiness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of the jar. hence he suspected that his plot to murder ali baba and plunder his house was discovered. examining all the jars one after another, he found that all his gang were dead; and by the oil he missed out of the last jar guessed the means and manner of their death. enraged to despair at having failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led from the yard to the garden, and climbing over the walls, made his escape. when morgiana heard no noise, and found, after waiting some time, that the captain did not return, she concluded that he had chosen rather to make his escape by the garden than the street-door, which was double locked. satisfied and pleased to have succeeded so well, in saving her master and family, she went to bed. ali baba rose before day, and, followed by his slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the important event which had happened at home; for morgiana had not thought it safe to wake him before, for fear of losing her opportunity; and after her successful exploit she thought it needless to disturb him. when he returned from the baths, the sun was risen; he was very much surprised to see the oil-jars, and that the merchant was not gone with the mules. he asked morgiana, who opened the door, and had let all things stand as they were, that he might see them, the reason of it? "my good master," answered she, "god preserve you and all your family; you will be better informed of what you wish to know when you have seen what i have to shew you, if you will but give yourself the trouble to follow me." as soon as morgiana had shut the door, ali baba followed her; when she requested him to look into the first jar and see if there was any oil. ali baba did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and cried out. "do not be afraid," said morgiana, "the man you see there can neither do you nor any body else any harm. he is dead." "ah, morgiana!" said ali baba, "what is it you shew me? explain yourself." "i will," replied morgiana; "moderate your astonishment, and do not excite the curiosity of your neighbours; for it is of great importance to keep this affair secret. look into all the other jars." ali baba examined all the other jars, one after another: and when he came to that which had the oil in, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood for some time motionless, sometimes looking at the jars, and sometimes at morgiana, without saying a word, so great was his surprise: at last, when he had recovered himself, he said, "and what is become of the merchant?" "merchant!" answered she, "he is as much one as i am; i will tell you who he is, and what is become of him; but you had better hear the story in your own chamber; for it is time for your health that you had your broth after your bathing." while ali baba retired to his chamber, morgiana went into the kitchen to fetch the broth, but before he would drink it, he first entreated her to satisfy his impatience, and tell him what had happened, with all the circumstances; and she obeyed him. "last night, sir," said she, "when you were gone to bed, i got your bathing- linens ready, and gave them to abdoollah; afterwards i set on the pot for the broth, but as i was preparing the materials, the lamp, for want of oil, went out; and as there was not a drop more in the house, i looked for a candle, but could not find one: abdoollah seeing me vexed, put me in mind of the jars of oil which stood in the yard. i took the oil-pot, went directly to the jar which stood nearest to me; and when i came to it, heard a voice within, saying, �is it time?' without being dismayed, and comprehending immediately the malicious intention of the pretended oil-merchant, i answered, �not yet, but presently.' i then went to the next, when another voice asked me the same question, and i returned the same answer; and so on, till i came to the last, which i found full of oil; with which i filled my pot. "when i considered that there were thirty seven robbers in the yard, who only waited for a signal to be given by the captain, whom you took to be an oil-merchant, and entertained so handsomely, i thought there was no time to be lost; i carried my pot of oil into the kitchen, lighted the lamp, afterwards took the biggest kettle i had, went and filled it full of oil, set it on the fire to boil, and then poured as much into each jar as was sufficient to prevent them from executing the pernicious design they had meditated: after this i retired into the kitchen, and put out the lamp; but before i went to bed, waited at the window to know what measures the pretended merchant would take. "after i had watched some time for the signal, he threw some stones out of the window against the jars, but neither hearing nor perceiving any body stirring, after throwing three times, he came down, when i saw him go to every jar, after which, through the darkness of the night, i lost sight of him. i waited some time longer, and finding that he did not return, doubted not but that, seeing he had missed his aim, he had made his escape over the walls of the garden. persuaded that the house was now safe, i went to bed. "this," said morgiana, "is the account you asked of me; and i am convinced it is the consequence of what i observed some days ago, but did not think fit to acquaint you with: for when i came in one morning early, i found our street door marked with white chalk, and the next morning with red; upon which, both times, without knowing what was the intention of those chalks, i marked two or three neighbours' doors on each side in the same manner. if you reflect on this, and what has since happened, you will find it to be a plot of the robbers of the forest, of whose gang there are two wanting, and now they are reduced to three: all this shews that they had sworn your destruction, and it is proper you should be upon your guard, while there is one of them alive: for my part i shall neglect nothing necessary to your preservation, as i am in duty bound." when morgiana had left off speaking, ali baba was so sensible of the great service she had done him, that he said to her, "i will not die without rewarding you as you deserve: i owe my life to you, and for the first token of my acknowledgment, give you your liberty from this moment, till i can complete your recompense as i intend. i am persuaded with you, that the forty robbers have laid snares for my destruction. god, by your means, has delivered me from them as yet, and i hope will continue to preserve me from their wicked designs, and by averting the danger which threatened me, will deliver the world from their persecution and their cursed race. all that we have to do is to bury the bodies of these pests of mankind immediately, and with all the secrecy imaginable, that nobody may suspect what is become of them. but that labour abdoollah and i will undertake." ali baba's garden was very long, and shaded at the farther end by a great number of large trees. under these he and the slave dug a trench, long and wide enough to hold all the robbers, and as the earth was light, they were not long in doing it. afterwards they lifted the bodies out of the jars, took away their weapons, carried them to the end of the garden, laid them in the trench, and levelled the ground again. when this was done, ali baba hid the jars and weapons; and as he had no occasion for the mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in the market by his slave. while ali baba took these measures to prevent the public from knowing how he came by his riches in so short a time, the captain of the forty robbers returned to the forest with inconceivable mortification; and in his agitation, or rather confusion, at his ill success, so contrary to what he had promised himself, entered the cave, not being able, all the way from the town, to come to any resolution how to revenge himself of ali baba. the loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to him. "where are you, my brave lads," cried he, "old companions of my watchings, inroads, and labour? what can i do without you? did i collect you only to lose you by so base a fate, and so unworthy of your courage! had you died with your sabres in your hands, like brave men, my regret had been less! when shall i enlist so gallant a troop again? and if i could, can i undertake it without exposing so much gold and treasure to him who hath already enriched himself out of it? i cannot, i ought not to think of it, before i have taken away his life. i will undertake that alone which i could not accomplish with your powerful assistance; and when i have taken measures to secure this treasure from being pillaged, i will provide for it new masters and successors after me, who shall preserve and augment it to all posterity." this resolution being taken, he was not at a loss how to execute his purpose; but easy in his mind, and full of hopes, slept all that night very quietly. when he awoke early next morning, he dressed himself, agreeably to the project he had formed, went to the town, and took a lodging in a khan. as he expected what had happened at ali baba's might make a great noise, he asked his host what news there was in the city? upon which the inn-keeper told him a great many circumstances, which did not concern him in the least. he judged by this, that the reason why ali baba kept his affairs so secret, was for fear people should know where the treasure lay; and because he knew his life would be sought on account of it. this urged him the more to neglect nothing to rid himself of so cautious an enemy. the captain now assumed the character of a merchant, and conveyed gradually a great many sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the cavern, but with all the necessary precautions imaginable to conceal the place whence he brought them. in order to dispose of the merchandizes, when he had amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which happened to be opposite to cassim's, which ali baba's son had occupied since the death of his uncle. he took the name of khaujeh houssain, and as a new-comer, was, according to custom, extremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants his neighbours. ali baba's son was from his vicinity one of the first to converse with khaujeh houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship more particularly, when, two or three days after he was settled, he recognized ali baba, who came to see his son, and stopped to talk with him as he was accustomed to do. when he was gone, the impostor learnt from his son who he was. he increased his assiduities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, made him some small presents, and often asked him to dine and sup with him; when he treated him very handsomely. ali baba's son did not choose to lie under such obligation to khaujeh houssain, without making the like return; but was so much straitened for want of room in his house, that he could not entertain him so well as he wished; he therefore acquainted his father ali baba with his intention, and told him that it did not look well for him to receive such favours from khaujeh houssain, without inviting him in return. ali baba, with great pleasure, took the treat upon himself. "son," said he, "to-morrow being friday, which is a day that the shops of such great merchants as khaujeh houssain and yourself are shut, get him to take a walk with you, and as you come back, pass by my door, and call in. it will look better to have it happen accidentally, than if you gave him a formal invitation. i will go and order morgiana to provide a supper." the next day ali baba's son and khaujeh houssain met by appointment, took their walk, and as they returned, ali baba's son led khaujeh houssain through the street where his father lived; and when they came to the house, stopped and knocked at the door. "this, sir," said he, "is my father's house; who, from the account i have given him of your friendship, charged me to procure him the honour of your acquaintance; and i desire you to add this pleasure to those for which i am already indebted to you." though it was the sole aim of khaujeh houssain to introduce himself into ali baba's house, that he might kill him without hazarding his own life or making any noise; yet he excused himself, and offered to take his leave. but a slave having opened the door, ali baba's son took him obligingly by the hand, and in a manner forced him in. ali baba received khaujeh houssain with a smiling countenance, and in the most obliging manner he could wish. he thanked him for all the favours he had done his son; adding withal, the obligation was the greater, as he was a young man not much acquainted with the world, and that he might contribute to his information. khaujeh houssain returned the compliment, by assuring ali baba, that though his son might not have acquired the experience of older men, he had good sense equal to the experience of many others. after a little more conversation on different subjects, he offered again to take his leave; when ali baba, stopping him, said, "where are you going, sir, in so much haste? i beg you would do me the honour to sup with me, though what i have to give you is not worth your acceptance; but such as it is, i hope you will accept it as heartily as i give it." "sir," replied khaujeh houssain, "i am thoroughly persuaded of your good-will; and if i ask the favour of you not to take it ill that i do not accept your obliging invitation, i beg of you to believe that it does not proceed from any slight or intention to affront, but from a reason which you would approve if you knew it." "and what may that reason be, sir," replied ali baba, "if i may be so bold as to ask you?" "it is," answered khaujeh houssain, "that i can eat no victuals that have any salt in them; therefore judge how i should feel at your table." "if that is the only reason," said ali baba, "it ought not to deprive me of the honour of your company at supper; for, in the first place, there is no salt ever put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have to- night, i promise you there shall be none in that. therefore you must do me the favour to stay. i will return immediately." ali baba went into the kitchen, and ordered morgiana to put no salt to the meat that was to be dressed that night; and to make quickly two or three ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure to put no salt in them. morgiana, who was always ready to obey her master, could not help, this time, seeming somewhat dissatisfied at his strange order. "who is this difficult man," said she, "who eats no salt with his meat? your supper will be spoiled, if i keep it back so long." "do not be angry, morgiana," replied ali baba: "he is an honest man; therefore do as i bid you." morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, and had a curiosity to see this man who ate no salt. to this end, when she had finished what she had to do in the kitchen, she helped abdoollah to carry up the dishes; and looking at khaujeh houssain, knew him at first sight, notwithstanding his disguise, to be the captain of the robbers, and examining him very carefully, perceived that he had a dagger under his garment. "i am not in the least amazed," said she to herself, "that this wicked wretch, who is my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with him, since he intends to assassinate him; but i will prevent him". morgiana, while they were eating, made the necessary preparations for executing one of the boldest acts ever meditated, and had just determined, when abdoollah came for the dessert of fruit, which she carried up, and as soon as abdoollah had taken the meat away, set it upon the table; after that, she placed three glasses by ali baba, and going out, took abdoollah with her to sup, and to give ali baba the more liberty of conversation with his guest. khaujeh houssain, or rather the captain of the robbers, thought he had now a favourable opportunity of being revenged on ali baba. "i will," said he to himself, "make the father and son both drunk: the son, whose life i intend to spare, will not be able to prevent my stabbing his father to the heart; and while the slaves are at supper, or asleep in the kitchen, i can make my escape over the gardens as before." instead of going to supper, morgiana, who had penetrated the intentions of the counterfeit khaujeh houssain, would not give him time to put his villanous design into execution, but dressed herself neatly with a suitable head-dress like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to which there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the same metal, and put a handsome mask on her face. when she had thus disguised herself, she said to abdoollah, "take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his son's guest, as we do sometimes when he is alone." abdoollah took his tabor and played all the way into the hall before morgiana, who, when she came to the door, made a low obeisance, with a deliberate air, in order to draw attention, and by way of asking leave to exhibit her skill. abdoollah, seeing that his master had a mind to say something, left off playing. "come in, morgiana," said ali baba, "and let khaujeh houssain see what you can do, that he may tell us what he thinks of you." "but, sir," said he, turning towards his guest, "do not think that i put myself to any expense to give you this diversion, since these are my slave and my cook and housekeeper; and i hope you will not find the entertainment they give us disagreeable." khaujeh houssain, who did not expect this diversion after supper, began to fear he should not be able to improve the opportunity he thought he had found; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to secure it another time, by keeping up a friendly correspondence with the father and son; therefore, though he could have wished ali baba would have declined the dance, he pretended to be obliged to him for it, and had the complaisance to express his satisfaction at what he saw pleased his host. as soon as abdoollah saw that ali baba and khaujeh houssain had done talking, he began to play on the tabor, and accompanied it with an air; to which morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced in such a manner as would have created admiration in any other company besides that before which she now exhibited, among whom, perhaps, none but the false khaujeh houssain was in the least attentive to her, the rest having seen her so frequently. after she had danced several dances with equal propriety and grace, she drew the poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance, in which she outdid herself, by the many different figures, light movements, and the surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with which she accompanied it. sometimes she presented the poniard to one's breast, sometimes to another's, and oftentimes seeming to strike her own. at last, as if she was out of breath, she snatched the tabor from abdoollah with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her right, presented the other side of the tabor, after the manner of those who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality of the spectators. ali baba put a piece of gold into the tabor, as did also his son; and khaujeh houssain seeing that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse out of his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his hand into it, morgiana, with a courage and resolution worthy of herself, plunged the poniard into his heart. ali baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried out aloud. "unhappy wretch!" exclaimed ali baba, "what have you done to ruin me and my family?" "it was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered morgiana; "for see here," continued she (opening the pretended khaujeh houssain's garment, and shewing the dagger), "what an enemy you had entertained! look well at him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious oil-merchant, and the captain of the gang of forty robbers. remember, too, that he would eat no salt with you; and what would you have more to persuade you of his wicked design? before i saw him i suspected him as soon as you told me you had such a guest. i knew him, and you now find that my suspicion was not groundless." ali baba, who immediately felt the new obligation he had to morgiana for saving his life a second time, embraced her: "morgiana," said he, "i gave you your liberty, and then promised you that my gratitude should not stop there, but that i would soon give you higher proofs of its sincerity, which i now do by making you my daughter-in-law." then addressing himself to his son, he said, "i believe you, son, to be so dutiful a child, that you will not refuse morgiana for your wife. you see that khaujeh houssain sought your friendship with a treacherous design to take away my life; and, if he had succeeded, there is no doubt but he would have sacrificed you also to his revenge. consider, that by marrying morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and your own." the son, far from shewing any dislike, readily consented to the marriage; not only because he would not disobey his father, but also because it was agreeable to his inclination. after this, they thought of burying the captain of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so privately that nobody discovered their bones till many years after, when no one had any concern in the publication of this remarkable history. a few days afterwards, ali baba celebrated the nuptials of his son and morgiana with great solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that his friends and neighbours, whom he invited, had no knowledge of the true motives of the marriage; but that those who were not unacquainted with morgiana's good qualities commended his generosity and goodness of heart. ali baba forbore, after this marriage, from going again to the robbers' cave, as he had done from the time he had brought away his brother cassim's mangled remains, for fear of being surprised. he kept away after the death of the thirty-seven robbers and their captain, supposing the other two, whom he could get no account of, might be alive. at the year's end, when he found they had not made any attempt to disturb him, he had the curiosity to make another journey, taking the necessary precautions for his safety. he mounted his horse, and when he came to the cave, and saw no footsteps of men or horses, looked upon it as a good sign. he alighted, tied his horse to a tree, then approaching the entrance, and pronouncing the words, open, sesame, the door opened. he entered the cavern, and by the condition he found things in, judged that nobody had been there since the false khaujeh houssain, when he had fetched the goods for his shop, that the gang of forty robbers was completely destroyed, and no longer doubted that he was the only person in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, so that all the treasure was at his sole disposal. having brought with him a wallet, he put into it as much gold as his horse would carry, and returned to town. afterwards ali baba carried his son to the cave, taught him the secret, which they handed down to their posterity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, lived in great honour and splendour. the story of ali khaujeh, a merchant of bagdad. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a merchant whose name was ali khaujeh, who was neither one of the richest nor poorest of his line. he was a bachelor, and lived in the house which had been his father's, independent and content with the profit he made by his trade. but happening to dream for three successive nights that a venerable old man came to him, and, with a severe look, reprimanded him for not having made a pilgrimage to mecca, he was much troubled. as a good mussulmaun, he knew he was obliged to undertake a pilgrimage; but as he had a house, shop, and goods, he had always believed that they might stand for a sufficient reason to excuse him, endeavouring by his charity, and other good works, to atone for that neglect. after this dream, however, his conscience was so much pricked, that the fear lest any misfortune should befall him made him resolve not to defer it any longer; and to be able to go that year, he sold off his household goods, his shop, and with it the greatest part of his merchandize, reserving only some articles, which he thought might turn to a better account at mecca; and meeting with a tenant for his house, let that also. his affairs being thus disposed, he was ready to depart when the bagdad caravan set out for mecca: the only thing he had to do was to lodge in some place of security a sum of a thousand pieces of gold, which would have been troublesome to carry with him, with the money he had set apart to defray his expenses on the road, and for other purposes. to this end, he made choice of a jar of a suitable size, put the thousand pieces of gold into it, and covered them over with olives. when he had closed the mouth of the jar, he carried it to a merchant, a particular friend of his, and said to him, "you know, brother, that in a few days i mean to depart with the caravan, on my pilgrimage to mecca. i beg the favour of you to take charge of a jar of olives, and keep it for me till i return." the merchant promised him he would, and in an obliging manner said, "here, take the key of my warehouse, and set your jar where you please. i promise you shall find it there when you return." on the day the caravan was to set out ali khaujeh joined it, with a camel loaded with what goods he had thought fit to carry, which also served him to ride on. he arrived safe at mecca, where he visited, with other pilgrims, the temple so much celebrated and frequented by the faithful of all nations every year, who came from all parts of the world, and observed religiously the ceremonies prescribed them. when he had acquitted himself of the duties of his pilgrimage, he exposed the merchandize he had brought with him for sale or barter, as might be most profitable. two merchants passing by, and seeing ali khaujeh's goods, thought them so choice, that they stopped some time to look at, though they had no occasion for them; and when they had satisfied their curiosity, one of them said to the other, as they were going away, "if this merchant knew to what profit these goods would turn at cairo he would carry them thither, and not sell them here, though this is a good mart." ali khaujeh heard these words; and as he had often heard talk of the beauties of egypt, he was resolved to take the opportunity of seeing them, by performing a journey thither. therefore, after having packed up his goods again, instead of returning to bagdad, he set out for egypt, with the caravan of cairo. when he came thither, he found his account in his journey, and in a few days sold all his goods to a greater advantage than he had hoped for. with the money he bought others, with an intent to go to damascus: and while he waited for the opportunity of a caravan, which was to depart in six weeks, visited all the curiosities of cairo, as also the pyramids, and sailing up the nile, viewed the famous towns on each side of that river. as the damascus caravan took jerusalem in their way, our bagdad merchant had the opportunity of visiting the temple, regarded by the mussulmauns to be the most holy, after that of mecca, whence this city takes its name of biel al mukkuddus, or most sacred mansion. ali khaujeh found damascus so delicious a place, being environed by verdant meadows, pleasantly watered, and delightful gardens, that it exceeded the descriptions given of it in the journals of travellers. here he made a long abode, but, nevertheless, did not forget his native bagdad: for which place he at length set out, and arrived at aleppo, where he made some stay; and from thence, after having passed the euphrates, he bent his course to moussoul, with an intention, in his return, to come by a shorter way down the tigris. when ali khaujeh came to moussoul, some persian merchants, with whom he had travelled from aleppo, and with whom he had contracted a great friendship, had obtained so great an influence over him by their civilities and agreeable conversation, that they easily persuaded him not to leave them till he should have visited sheerauz, from whence he might easily return to bagdad with a considerable profit. they led him through the towns of sultania, rei, coam, caschan, ispahan, and from thence to sheerauz; from whence he had the complaisance to bear them company to hindoostan, and then returned with them again to sheerauz; insomuch, that including the stay made in every town, he was seven years absent from bagdad, whither he then resolved to return. all this time his friend, with whom he had left his jar of olives, neither thought of him nor them; but at the time when he was on the road with a caravan from sheerauz, one evening as this merchant was supping with his family, the discourse happened to fall upon olives, and his wife was desirous to eat some, saying, she had not tasted any for a long while. "now you speak of olives," said the merchant, "you put me in mind of a jar which ali khaujeh left with me seven years ago, when he went to mecca; and put it himself in my warehouse to be kept for him against he returned. what is become of him i know not; though, when the caravan came back, they told me he was gone for egypt. certainly he must be dead, since he has not returned in all this time; and we may eat the olives, if they prove good. give me a plate and a candle, i will go and fetch some of them, and we will taste them." "for god's sake, husband," said the wife, "do not commit so base an action; you know that nothing is more sacred than what is committed to one's care and trust. you say ali khaujeh has left mecca, and is not returned; but you have been told that he is gone into egypt; and how do you know but that he may be gone farther? as you have no intelligence of his death, he may return to-morrow for any thing you can tell: and what a disgrace would it be to you and your family if he should come, and you not restore him his jar in the same condition he left it? i declare i have no desire for the olives, and will not taste them, for when i mentioned them it was only by way of conversation; besides, do you think that they can be good, after they have been kept so long? they most be all mouldy, and spoiled; and if ali khaujeh should return, as i have a strong persuasion he will, and should find they had been opened, what will he think of your honour? i beg of you to let them alone." the wife had not argued so long with her husband, but that she read his obstinacy in his face. in short, he never regarded what she said, but got up, took a candle and a plate, and went into the warehouse. "well, husband," said the wife again, "remember i have no hand in this business; and that you cannot lay any thing to my charge, if you should have cause to repent of your conduit." the merchant's ears were deaf to these remonstrances of his wife, and he persisted in his design. when he came into the warehouse, he opened the jar, and found the olives mouldy; but to see if they were all so to the bottom, he turned some of them upon the plate; and by shaking the jar, some of the gold tumbled out. at the sight of the gold, the merchant, who was naturally covetous, looked into the jar, perceived that he had shaken out almost all the olives, and what remained was gold coin. he immediately put the olives into the jar again, covered it up, and returned to his wife. "indeed, wife," said he, "you were in the right to say that the olives were all mouldy; for i found them so, and have made up the jar just as ali khaujeh left it; so that he will not perceive that they have been touched, if he should return." "you had better have taken my advice," said the wife, "and not have meddled with them. god grant no mischief happens in consequence!" the merchant was not more affected with his wife's last words than he had been by her former, but spent almost the whole night in thinking how he might appropriate ali khaujeh's gold to his own use, and keep possession of it in case he should return and ask him for the jar. the next morning he went and bought some olives of that year, took out the old with the gold, and filled the jar with the new, covered it up, and put it in the place where ali khaujeh had left it. about a month after the merchant had committed this unworthy action, ali khaujeh arrived at bagdad; and as he had let his house, alighted at a khan, choosing to stay there till he had announced his arrival to his tenant, and given him time to provide himself with another residence. the next morning ali khaujeh went to pay a visit to the merchant his friend, who received him in the most obliging manner; and expressed great joy at his return, after so many years absence; telling him, that he had begun to lose all hopes of ever seeing him again. after the usual compliments on both sides on such a meeting, ali khaujeh desired the merchant to return him the jar of olives which he had left. with him, and to excuse the liberty he had taken in giving him so much trouble. "my dear friend," replied the merchant, "you are to blame to make these apologies, your vessel has been no inconvenience to me; on such an occasion i should have made as free with you: there is the key of my warehouse, go and fetch your jar ; you will find it in the place where you deft it." ali khaujeh went into the merchant's warehouse, took his jar; and after having returned him the key with thanks for the favour he had done: him, returned with it to the khan where he lodged; but on opening the jar, and putting his hand down as low as the pieces of gold had lain, was greatly surprised to find none. at first he thought he might perhaps be mistaken; and, to discover the truth, poured out all the olives into his travelling kitchen-utensils, but without so much as finding one single piece of money. his astonishment was so great, that he stood for some time motionless; then lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, "is it possible that a man, whom i took for my friend, should be guilty of such baseness?" ali khaujeh, alarmed at the apprehension of so considerable a loss, returned immediately to the merchant. "my good friend," said he, "be not surprised to see me come back so soon. i own the jar of olives to be the same i placed in your warehouse; but with the olives i put into it a thousand pieces of gold, which i do not find. perhaps you might have occasion for them, and have employed them in trade: if so they are at your service till it may be convenient for you to return them; only put me out of my pain, and give me an acknowledgment, after which you may pay me at your own convenience." the merchant, who had expected that ali khaujeh would come with such a complaint, had meditated an answer. "friend ali khaujeh," said he, "when you brought your jar to me did i touch it? did not i give you the key of my warehouse, did not you carry it there yourself, and did not you find it in the same place, covered in the same manner as when you left it? and if you had put gold in it, you must have found it. you told me it contained olives, and i believed you. this is all i know of the matter: you may disbelieve me if you please; but i never touched them." ali khaujeh used all the mild methods he could think of to oblige the merchant to restore his property. "i love peace and quietness," said he to him, "and shall be sorry to come to those extremities which will bring the greatest disgrace upon you; consider, that merchants, as we are, ought to abandon all interest to preserve a good reputation. once again i tell you, i shall be greatly concerned if your obstinacy oblige me to force you to do me justice; for i would rather almost lose what is my right than have recourse to law." "ali khaujeh," replied the merchant, "you agree that you left a jar of olives with me; and now you have taken it away, you come and ask me for a thousand pieces of gold. did you ever tell me that such a sum was in the jar? i did not even know that they were olives, for you never showed them to me. i wonder you do not ask me for diamonds and pearls instead of gold; be gone about your business, and do not raise a mob about my warehouse;" for some persons had already collected. these words were pronounced in such great heat and passion, as not only made those who stood about the warehouse already stay longer, and create a greater mob, but the neighbouring merchants came out of their shops to learn what the dispute was between ali khaujeh and the merchant, and endeavoured to reconcile them; but when ali khaujeh had informed them of his grievance, they asked the merchant what he had to say. the merchant owned that he had kept the jar for ali khaujeh in his warehouse, but denied that ever he had meddled with it; swore that he knew it contained olives, only because ali khaujeh told him so, and requested them all to bear witness of the insult and affront offered him. "you bring it upon yourself," said ali khaujeh taking him by the arm; "but since you use me so basely, i cite you to the law of god: let us see whether you will have the assurance to say the same thing before the cauzee." the merchant could not refuse the summons, which every mussulmaun is bound to observe, or be declared a rebel against religion; but said, "with all my heart; we shall soon see who is in the wrong." ali khaujeh carried the merchant before the magistrate, where he accused him of having, by breach of trust, defrauded him of a thousand pieces of gold, which he had left with him. the cauzee demanded if he had any witnesses; to which he replied, that he had not taken that precaution, because he had believed the person he trusted his money with to be his friend, and always took him for an honest man. the merchant made the same defence he had done before the merchants his neighbours, offering to make oath that he never had the money he was accused of, and that he did not so much as know there was such a sum; upon which the cauzee took his oath, and dismissed him acquitted for want of evidence. ali khaujeh, extremely mortified to find that he must sit down with so considerable a loss, protested against the sentence, declaring to the cauzee that he would appeal to the caliph, who would do him justice; which protestation the magistrate regarded as the effect of the common resentment of those who lose their cause; and thought he had done his duty in acquitting a person who had been accused without witnesses. while the merchant returned home triumphing over ali khaujeh and overjoyed at his good fortune, the latter went and drew up a petition; and the next day observing the time when the caliph came from noon tide prayers, placed himself in the street he was to pass through; and holding out his hand with the petition, an officer appointed for that purpose, who always goes before the caliph, came and took it to present it. as ali khaujeh knew that it was the caliph's custom to read the petitions at his return to the palace, he went into the court, and waited till the officer who had taken the petition came out of the caliph's apartment, who told him that the caliph had appointed an hour to hear him next day; and then asking him where the merchant lived, he sent to notify to him to attend at the same time. that same evening, the caliph, accompanied by the grand vizier jaaffier, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs, went disguised through the town, as it was his custom occasionally to do; when, on passing through a street, the caliph heard a noise, and mending his pace, came to a gateway, which led into a little court, in which he perceived ten or twelve children playing by moonlight. the caliph, who was curious to know at what play the children were engaged, sat down on a stone bench just by; and heard one of the liveliest of the children say, "let us play at the cauzee i will be the magistrate; bring ali khaujeh and the merchant who cheated him of the thousand pieces of gold before me." these words of the child put the caliph in mind of the petition ali khaujeh had given him that day, and made him redouble his attention to see the issue of the trial. as the affair of ali khaujeh and the merchant had made a great noise in bagdad, it had not escaped the children, who all accepted the proposition with joy, and agreed on the part each was to act: not one of them refused him who made the proposal to be cauzee: and when he had taken his seat, which he did with all the seeming gravity of a judge, another, as an officer of the court, presented two boys before him; one as ali khaujeh, and the other as the merchant against whom he complained. the pretended cauzee then directing his discourse to the feigned ali khaujeh, asked him what he had to lay to that merchant's charge? ali khaujeh after a low obeisance, informed the young cauzee of the fact, related every particular, and afterwards begged that he would use his authority, that he might not lose so considerable a sum of money. the feigned cauzee, turning about to the merchant, then asked him why he did not return the money which ali khaujeh demanded of him? the feigned merchant alleged the same reasons as the real merchant had done before the cauzee himself, and offered to confirm by oath that what he had said was truth. "not so fast," replied the pretended cauzee; "before you come to your oath, i should be glad to see the jar of olives. ali khaujeh," said he, addressing himself to the boy who acted that part, "have you brought the jar?" "no," replied he. "then go and fetch it immediately," said the other. the pretended ali khaujeh went immediately, and returning, feigned to set a jar before the cauzee, telling him that it was the same he had left with the accused person, and received from him again. but to omit no part of the formality, the supposed cauzee asked the merchant if it was the same; and as by his silence he seemed not to deny it, he ordered it to be opened. he that represented ali khaujeh seemed to take off the cover, and the pretended cauzee made as if he looked into it. "they are fine olives," said he, "let me taste them;" and then pretending to eat some, added, "they are excellent: but," continued he, "i cannot think that olives will keep seven years, and be so good, therefore send for some olive-merchants, and let me hear what is their opinion." two boys, as olive-merchants, then presented themselves. "are you olive-merchants?" said the sham cauzee. "tell me how long olives will keep fit to eat." "sir," replied the two merchants, "let us take what care we can, they will hardly be worth any thing the third year; for then they have neither taste nor colour." "if it be so," answered the cauzee, "look into that jar, and tell me how long it is since those olives were put into it?" the two merchants pretended to examine and to taste the olives, and told the cauzee they were new and good. "you are mistaken," said the young cauzee; "ali khaujeh says he put them into the jar seven years ago." "sir," replied the merchants, "we can assure you they are of this year's growth: and we will maintain there is not a merchant in bagdad but will say the same." the feigned merchant who was accused would have objected against the evidence of the olive-merchants; but the pretended cauzee would not suffer him. "hold your tongue," said he, "you are a rogue; let him be impaled." the children then concluded their play, clapping their hands with great joy, and seizing the feigned criminal to carry him to execution. words cannot express how much the caliph haroon al rusheed admired the sagacity and sense of the boy who had passed so just a sentence, in an affair which was to be pleaded before himself the next day. he withdrew, and rising off the bench, asked the grand vizier, who heard all that had passed, what he thought of it. "indeed, commander of the true believers," answered the grand vizier jaaffier, "i am surprised to find so much sagacity in one so young." "but," answered the caliph, "do you know one thing? i am to pronounce sentence in this very cause to-morrow; the true ali khaujeh presented his petition to me to-day; and do you think," continued he, "that i can give a better sentence?" "i think not," answered the vizier, " if the case is as the children represented it." "take notice then of this house," said the caliph, "and bring the boy to me to-morrow, that he may try this cause in my presence; and also order the cauzee, who acquitted the merchant, to attend to learn his duty from a child. take care likewise to bid ali khaujeh bring his jar of olives with him, and let two olive-merchants attend." after this charge he pursued his rounds, without meeting with any thing worth his attention. the next day the vizier went to the house where the caliph had been a witness of the children's play, and asked for the master; but he being abroad, his wife appeared thickly veiled. he asked her if she had any children. to which she answered, she had three; and called them. "my brave boys," said the vizier, "which of you was the cauzee when you played together last night?" the eldest made answer, it was he: but, not knowing why he asked the question, coloured. "come along with me, my lad," said the grand vizier; "the commander of the faithful wants to see you." the mother was alarmed when she saw the grand vizier would take her son with him, and asked, upon what account the caliph wanted him? the grand vizier encouraged her, and promised that he should return again in less than an hour's time, when she would know it from himself. "if it be so, sir," said the mother, "give me leave to dress him first, that he may be fit to appear before the commander of the faithful:" which the vizier readily complied with. as soon as the child was dressed, the vizier carried him away and presented him to the caliph, at the time he had appointed to hear ali khaujeh and the merchant. the caliph, who saw that the boy was much abashed, in order to encourage him, said, "come to me, child, and tell me if it was you that determined the affair between ali khaujeh and the merchant who had cheated him of his money? i saw and heard the decision, and am very well pleased with you." the boy answered modestly, that it was he. "well, my son," replied the caliph, "come and sit down by me, and you shall see the true ali khaujeh, and the true merchant." the caliph then took him by the hand, seated him on the throne by him, and asked for the two parties. when they were introduced, they prostrated themselves before the throne, bowing their heads quite down to the carpet that covered it. afterwards the caliph said to them, "plead each of you your causes before this child, who will hear and do you justice: and if he should be at a loss i will assist him." ali khaujeh and the merchant pleaded one after the other; but when the merchant proposed his oath as before, the child said, "it is too soon; it is proper that we should see the jar of olives." at these words ali khaujeh presented the jar, placed it at the caliph's feet, and opened it. the caliph looked at the olives, took one and tasted it, giving another to the boy. afterwards the merchants were called, who examined the olives, and reported that they were good, and of that year. the boy told them, that ali khaujeh affirmed that it was seven years since he had put them up; when they returned the same answer as the children, who had represented them the night before. though the wretch who was accused saw plainly that these merchants' opinion must convict him, yet he would say something in his own justification. but the child, instead of ordering him to be impaled, looked at the caliph, and said "commander of the faithful, this is no jesting matter; it is your majesty that must condemn him to death, and not i, though i did it yesterday in play." the caliph, fully satisfied of the merchant's villany, delivered him into the hands of the ministers of justice to be impaled. the sentence was executed upon him, after he had confessed where he had concealed the thousand pieces of gold, which were restored to ali khaujeh. the monarch, most just and equitable, then turning to the cauzee, bade him learn of that child to acquit himself more exactly of his duty; and embracing the boy, sent him home with a purse of a hundred pieces of gold as a token of his liberality and admiration of his acuteness. end of volume . text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the third. delhi edition contents of the third volume. breslau text. . noureddin ali of damascus and the damsel sitt el milah . el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad . the two kings and the vizier's daughters . the favourite and her lover . the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah conclusion calcutta ( - ) text. . story of sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter a. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor b. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor note table of contents of the calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions table of contents of the breslau edition table of contents of the calcutta edition alphabetical table of the first lines of the verse in the "tales from the arabic" index to the names of the "tales from the arabic" breslau text. noureddin ali of damascus and the damsel sitt el milah.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a merchant of the merchants of damascus, by name aboulhusn, who had money and riches and slaves and slave-girls and lands and houses and baths; but he was not blessed with a child and indeed his years waxed great; wherefore he addressed himself to supplicate god the most high in private and in public and in his inclining and his prostration and at the season of the call to prayer, beseeching him to vouchsafe him, before his admittance [to his mercy], a son who should inherit his wealth and possessions; and god answered his prayer. so his wife conceived and the days of her pregnancy were accomplished and her months and her nights and the pangs of her travail came upon her and she gave birth to a male child, as he were a piece of the moon. he had not his match for beauty and he put to shame the sun and the resplendent moon; for he had a shining face and black eyes of babylonian witchery[fn# ] and aquiline nose and ruby lips; brief, he was perfect of attributes, the loveliest of the folk of his time, without doubt or gainsaying. his father rejoiced in him with the utmost joy and his heart was solaced and he was glad; and he made banquets to the folk and clad the poor and the widows. he named the boy sidi[fn# ] noureddin ali and reared him in fondness and delight among the slaves and servants. when he came to seven years of age, his father put him to school, where he learned the sublime koran and the arts of writing and reckoning: and when he reached his tenth year, he learned horsemanship and archery and to occupy himself with arts and sciences of all kinds, part and parts.[fn# ] he grew up pleasant and subtle and goodly and lovesome, ravishing all who beheld him, and inclined to companying with brethren and comrades and mixing with merchants and travellers. from these latter he heard tell of that which they had seen of the marvels of the cities in their travels and heard them say, "he who leaveth not his native land diverteth not himself [with the sight of the marvels of the world,] and especially of the city of baghdad." so he was concerned with an exceeding concern for his lack of travel and discovered this to his father, who said to him, "o my son, why do i see thee chagrined?" and he answered, "i would fain travel." quoth aboulhusn, "o my son, none travelleth save those whose occasion is urgent and those who are compelled thereunto [by need]. as for thee, o my son, thou enjoyest ample fortune; so do thou content thyself with that which god hath given thee and be bounteous [unto others], even as he hath been bounteous unto thee; and afflict not thyself with the toil and hardship of travel, for indeed it is said that travel is a piece of torment."[fn# ] but the youth said, "needs must i travel to baghdad, the abode of peace." when his father saw the strength of his determination to travel, he fell in with his wishes and equipped him with five thousand dinars in cash and the like in merchandise and sent with him two serving-men. so the youth set out, trusting in the blessing of god the most high, and his father went out with him, to take leave of him, and returned [to damascus]. as for noureddin ali, he gave not over travelling days and nights till he entered the city of baghdad and laying up his loads in the caravanserai, made for the bath, where he did away that which was upon him of the dirt of the road and putting off his travelling clothes, donned a costly suit of yemen stuff, worth an hundred dinars. then he put in his sleeve[fn# ] a thousand mithcals[fn# ] of gold and sallied forth a-walking and swaying gracefully as he went. his gait confounded all those who beheld him, as he shamed the branches with his shape and belittled the rose with the redness of his cheeks and his black eyes of babylonian witchcraft; indeed, thou wouldst deem that whoso looked on him would surely be preserved from calamity; [for he was] even as saith of him one of his describers in the following verses: thy haters say and those who malice to thee bear a true word, profiting its hearers everywhere; "the glory's not in those whom raiment rich makes fair, but those who still adorn the raiment that they wear." so he went walking in the thoroughfares of the city and viewing its ordinance and its markets and thoroughfares and gazing on its folk. presently, abou nuwas met him. (now he was of those of whom it is said, "they love the fair,"[fn# ] and indeed there is said what is said concerning him.[fn# ] when he saw noureddin ali, he stared at him in amazement and exclaimed, "say, i take refuge with the lord of the daybreak!"[fn# ] then he accosted the young damascene and saluting him, said to him, "why do i see my lord alone and forlorn? meseemeth thou art a stranger and knowest not this country; so, with my lord's permission, i will put myself at his service and acquaint him with the streets, for that i know this city." quoth noureddin, "this will be of thy favour, o uncle." whereat abou nuwas rejoiced and fared on with him, showing him the markets and thoroughfares, till they came to the house of a slave-dealer, where he stopped and said to the youth, "from what city art thou?" "from damascus," answered noureddin; and abou nuwas said, "by allah, thou art from a blessed city, even as saith of it the poet in the following verses: damascus is all gardens decked for the pleasance of the eyes; for the seeker there are black-eyed girls and boys of paradise." noureddin thanked him and they entered the slave-merchant's house. when the people of the house saw abou nuwas, they rose to do him worship, for that which they knew of his station with the commander of the faithful. moreover, the slave-dealer himself came up to them with two chairs, and they seated themselves thereon. then the slave-merchant went into the house and returning with the slave-girl, as she were a willow-wand or a bamboo-cane, clad in a vest of damask silk and tired with a black and white turban, the ends whereof fell down over her face, seated her on a chair of ebony; after which quoth he to those who were present, "i will discover to you a face as it were a full moon breaking forth from under a cloud." and they said, "do so." so he unveiled the damsel's face and behold, she was like the shining sun, with comely shape and day-bright face and slender [waist and heavy] hips; brief, she was endowed with elegance, the description whereof existeth not, [and was] even as saith of her the poet: a fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, they'd leave their idols and her face for only lord would know; and if into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, assuredly the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow. the dealer stood at her head and one of the merchants said, "i bid a thousand dinars for her." quoth another, "i bid eleven hundred dinars;" [and a third, "i bid twelve hundred"]. then said a fourth merchant, "be she mine for fourteen hundred dinars." and the biddings stood still at that sum. quoth her owner, "i will not sell her save with her consent. if she desire to be sold, i will sell her to whom she willeth." and the slave-dealer said to him, "what is her name?" "her name is sitt el milah,"[fn# ] answered the other; whereupon the dealer said to her, "by thy leave, i will sell thee to yonder merchant for this price of fourteen hundred dinars." quoth she, "come hither to me." so he came up to her and when he drew near, she gave him a kick with her foot and cast him to the ground, saying, "i will not have that old man." the slave-dealer arose, shaking the dust from his clothes and head, and said, "who biddeth more? who is desirous [of buying?]" quoth one of the merchants, "i," and the dealer said to her, "o sitt el milah, shall i sell thee to this merchant?" "come hither to me," answered she; but he said "nay; speak and i will hearken to thee from my place, for i will not trust myself to thee," and she said, "i will not have him." then he looked at her and seeing her eyes fixed on the young damascene, for that in very deed he had ravished her with his beauty and grace, went up to the latter and said to him, "o my lord, art thou a looker-on or a buyer? tell me." quoth noureddin, "i am both looker-on and buyer. wilt thou sell me yonder slave-girl for sixteen hundred dinars?" and he pulled out the purse of gold. so the dealer returned, dancing and clapping his hands and saying, "so be it, so be it, or not [at all]!" then he came to the damsel and said to her, "o sitt el milah, shall i sell thee to yonder young damascene for sixteen hundred dinars?" but she answered, "no," of shamefastness before her master and the bystanders; whereupon the people of the bazaar and the slave-merchant departed, and abou nuwas and ali noureddin arose and went each his own way, whilst the damsel returned to her master's house, full of love for the young damascene. when the night darkened on her, she called him to mind and her heart clave to him and sleep visited her not; and on this wise she abode days and nights, till she sickened and abstained from food. so her lord went in to her and said to her, "o sitt el milah, how findest thou thyself?" "o my lord," answered she, "i am dead without recourse and i beseech thee to bring me my shroud, so i may look on it before my death." therewithal he went out from her, sore concerned for her, and betook himself to a friend of his, a draper, who had been present on the day when the damsel was cried [for sale]. quoth his friend to him, "why do i see thee troubled?" and he answered, "sitt el milah is at the point of death and these three days she hath neither eaten nor drunken. i questioned her to-day of her case and she said, 'o my lord, buy me a shroud, so i may look on it before my death.'" quoth the draper, "methinks nought ails her but that she is enamoured of the young damascene and i counsel thee to mention his name to her and avouch to her that he hath foregathered with thee on her account and is desirous of coming to thy house, so he may hear somewhat of her singing. if she say, 'i reck not of him, for there is that to do with me which distracteth me from the damascene and from other than he,' know that she saith sooth concerning her sickness; but, if she say to thee other than this, acquaint me therewith.'" so the man returned to his lodging and going in to his slave-girl, said to her, "o sitt el milah, i went out on thine occasion and there met me the young man of damascus, and he saluted me and saluteth thee. indeed, he seeketh to win thy favour and would fain be a guest in our dwelling, so thou mayst let him hear somewhat of thy singing." when she heard speak of the young damascene, she gave a sob, that her soul was like to depart her body, and answered, saying, "he knoweth my plight and is ware that these three days past i have eaten not nor drunken, and i beseech thee, o my lord, by the great god, to accomplish the stranger his due and bring him to my lodging and make excuse to him for me." when her master heard this, his reason fled for joy and he went to his friend the draper and said to him, "thou wast right in the matter of the damsel, for that she is enamoured of the young damascene; so how shall i do?" quoth the other, "go to the bazaar and when thou seest him, salute him and say to him, 'indeed, thy departure the other day, without accomplishing thine occasion, was grievous to me; so, if thou be still minded to buy the girl, i will abate thee an hundred dinars of that which thou badest for her, by way of hospitable entreatment of thee and making myself agreeable to thee; for that thou art a stranger in our land.' if he say to thee, 'i have no desire for her' and hold off from thee, know that he will not buy; in which case, let me know, so i may contrive thee another device; and if he say to thee other than this, conceal not from me aught. so the girl's owner betook himself to the bazaar, where he found the youth seated at the upper end of the merchants' place of session, selling and buying and taking and giving, as he were the moon on the night of its full, and saluted him. the young man returned his salutation and he said to him, "o my lord, be not thou vexed at the girl's speech the other day, for her price shall be less than that [which thou badest], to the intent that i may propitiate thy favour. if thou desire her for nought, i will send her to thee, or if thou wouldst have me abate thee of her price, i will well, for i desire nought but what shall content thee; for that thou art a stranger in our land and it behoveth us to entreat thee hospitably and have consideration for thee." "by allah," answered the youth, "i will not take her from thee but at an advance on that which i bade thee for her aforetime; so wilt thou now sell her to me for seventeen hundred dinars?" and the other answered," o my lord, i sell her to thee, may god bless thee in her." so the young man went to his lodging and fetching a purse, returned to the girl's owner and counted out to him the price aforesaid, whilst the draper was between them. then said he, "bring her forth;" but the other answered, "she cannot come forth at this present; but be thou my guest the rest of this day and night, and on the morrow thou shall take thy slave-girl and go in the protection of god." the youth fell in with him of this and he carried him to his house, where, after a little, he let bring meat and wine, and they [ate and] drank. then said noureddin to the girl's owner, "i beseech thee bring me the damsel, for that i bought her not but for the like of this time." so he arose and [going in to the girl], said to her, "o sitt el milan, the young man hath paid down thy price and we have bidden him hither; so he hath come to our dwelling and we have entertained him, and he would fain have thee be present with him." therewithal the damsel rose briskly and putting off her clothes, washed and donned sumptuous apparel and perfumed herself and went out to him, as she were a willow-wand or a bamboo-cane, followed by a black slave girl, bearing the lute. when she came to the young man, she saluted him and sat down by his side. then she took the lute from the slave-girl and tuning it, smote thereon in four-and-twenty modes, after which she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: unto me the world's whole gladness is thy nearness and thy sight; all incumbent thy possession and thy love a law of right. in my tears i have a witness; when i call thee to my mind, down my cheeks they run like torrents, and i cannot stay their flight. none, by allah, 'mongst all creatures, none i love save thee alone! yea, for i am grown thy bondman, by the troth betwixt us plight. peace upon thee! ah, how bitter were the severance from thee! be not this thy troth-plight's ending nor the last of our delight! therewithal the young man was moved to delight and exclaimed, "by allah, thou sayest well, o sitt el milan! let me hear more." then he handselled her with fifty dinars and they drank and the cups went round among them; and her seller said to her, "o sitt el milah, this is the season of leave-taking; so let us hear somewhat on the subject." accordingly she struck the lute and avouching that which was in her heart, sang the following verses: i am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, that from the wasted body's wounds distract the anguished soul. think not, my lords, that i forget: the case is still the same. when such a fever fills the heart, what leach can make it whole? and if a creature in his tears could swim, as in a sea, i to do this of all that breathe were surely first and sole. o skinker of the wine of woe, turn from a love-sick maid, who drinks her tears still, night and morn, thy bitter-flavoured bowl. i had not left you, had i known that severance would prove my death; but what is past is past, fate stoops to no control. as they were thus in the enjoyment of all that in most delicious of easance and delight, and indeed the wine was sweet to them and the talk pleasant, behold, there came a knocking at the door. so the master of the house went out, that he might see what was to do, and found ten men of the khalif's eunuchs at the door. when he saw this, he was amazed and said to them, "what is to do?" quoth they, "the commander of the faithful saluteth thee and requireth of thee the slave-girl whom thou hast for sale and whose name is sitt el milah." by allah," answered the other, "i have sold her." and they said, "swear by the head of the commander of the faithful that she is not in thy dwelling." he made oath that he had sold her and that she was no longer at his disposal; but they paid no *need to his word and forcing their way into the house, found the damsel and the young damascene in the sitting-chamber. so they laid hands upon her, and the youth said, "this is my slave-girl, whom i have bought with my money." but they hearkened not to his speech and taking her, carried her off to the commander of the faithful. therewithal noureddin's life was troubled; so he arose and donned his clothes, and his host said, "whither away this night, o my lord?" quoth noureddin, "i mean to go to my lodging, and to-morrow i will betake myself to the palace of the commander of the faithful and demand my slave-girl." "sleep till the morning," said the other, "and go not forth at the like of this hour." but he answered, "needs must i go;" and the host said to him, "[go] in the safeguard of god." so noureddin went forth, and drunkenness had got the mastery of him, wherefore he threw himself down on [a bench before one of] the shops. now the watch were at that hour making their round and they smelt the sweet scent [of essences] and wine that exhaled from him; so they made for it and found the youth lying on the bench, without sense or motion. they poured water upon him, and he awoke, whereupon they carried him to the house of the chief of the police and he questioned him of his affair. "o my lord," answered noureddin, "i am a stranger in this town and have been with one of my friends. so i came forth from his house and drunkenness overcame me." the prefect bade carry him to his lodging; but one of those in attendance upon him, by name el muradi, said to him, "what wilt thou do? this man is clad in rich clothes and on his finger is a ring of gold, the beazel whereof is a ruby of great price; so we will carry him away and slay him and take that which is upon him of raiment [and what not else] and bring it to thee; for that thou wilt not [often] see profit the like thereof, more by token that this fellow is a stranger and there is none to enquire concerning him." quoth the prefect, "this fellow is a thief and that which he saith is leasing." and noureddin said, "god forbid that i should be a thief!" but the prefect answered, "thou liest." so they stripped him of his clothes and taking the ring from his finger, beat him grievously, what while he cried out for succour, but none succoured him, and besought protection, but none protected him. then said he to them, "o folk, ye are quit of[fn# ] that which ye have taken from me; but now restore me to my lodging." but they answered, saying, "leave this knavery, o cheat! thine intent is to sue us for thy clothes on the morrow." "by allah, the one, the eternal," exclaimed he, "i will not sue any for them!" but they said, "we can nowise do this." and the prefect bade them carry him to the tigris and there slay him and cast him into the river. so they dragged him away, what while he wept and spoke the words which whoso saith shall nowise be confounded, to wit, "there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the sublime!" when they came to the tigris, one of them drew the sword upon him and el muradi said to the swordbearer, "smite off his head." but one of them, ahmed by name, said, "o folk, deal gently with this poor wretch and slay him not unjustly and wickedly, for i stand in fear of god the most high, lest he burn me with his fire." quoth el muradi, "a truce to this talk!" and ahmed said, "if ye do with him aught, i will acquaint the commander of the faithful." "how, then, shall we do with him?" asked they; and he answered, "let us deposit him in prison and i will be answerable to you for his provision; so shall we be quit of his blood, for indeed he is wrongfully used." so they took him up and casting him into the prison of blood,[fn# ]went away. meanwhile, they carried the damsel into the commander of the faithful and she pleased him; so he assigned her a lodging of the apartments of choice. she abode in the palace, eating not neither drinking and ceasing not from weeping night nor day, till, one night, the khalif sent for her to his sitting-chamber and said to her, "o sitt el milah, be of good heart and cheerful eye, for i will make thy rank higher than [any of] the concubines and thou shall see that which shall rejoice thee." she kissed the earth and wept; whereupon the khalif called for her lute and bade her sing. so she improvised and sang the following verses, in accordance with that which was in her heart: say, by the lightnings of thy teeth and thy soul's pure desire, moan'st thou as moan the doves and is thy heart for doubt on fire? how many a victim of the pangs of love-liking hath died! tired is my patience, but of blame my censors never tire. when she had made an end of her song, she cast the lute from her hand and wept till she swooned away, whereupon the khalif bade carry her to her chamber. now he was ravished with her and loved her with an exceeding love; so, after awhile, he again commanded to bring her to his presence, and when she came, he bade her sing. accordingly, she took the lute and spoke forth that which was in her heart and sang the following verses: what strength have i solicitude and long desire to bear? why art thou purposed to depart and leave me to despair? why to estrangement and despite inclin'st thou with the spy? yet that a bough[fn# ] from side to side incline[fn# ] small wonder 'twere. thou layst on me a load too great to bear, and thus thou dost but that my burdens i may bind and so towards thee fare. then she cast the lute from her hand and swooned away; so she was carried to her chamber and indeed passion waxed upon her. after a long while, the commander of the faithful sent for her a third time and bade her sing. so she took the lute and sang the following verses: o hills of the sands and the rugged piebald plain, shall the bondman of love win ever free from pain! i wonder, shall i and the friend who's far from me once more be granted of fate to meet, we twain! bravo for a fawn with a houri's eye of black, like the sun or the shining moon midst the starry train! to lovers, "what see ye?" he saith, and to hearts of stone, "what love ye," quoth he, "[if to love me ye disdain?"] i supplicate him, who parted us and doomed our separation, that we may meet again. when she had made an end of her song, the commander of the faithful said to her, "o damsel, thou art in love." "yes," answered she. and he said, "with whom?" quoth she, "with my lord and my master, my love for whom is as the love of the earth for rain, or as the love of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is mingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of my bones. o commander of the faithful, whenas i call him to mind, mine entrails are consumed, for that i have not accomplished my desire of him, and but that i fear to die, without seeing him, i would assuredly kill myself." and he said, "art thou in my presence and bespeakest me with the like of these words? i will assuredly make thee forget thy lord." then he bade take her away; so she was carried to her chamber and he sent her a black slave-girl, with a casket, wherein were three thousand dinars and a carcanet of gold, set with pearls, great and small, and jewels, worth other three thousand, saying to her, "the slave-girl and that which is with her are a gift from me to thee." when she heard this, she said, "god forbid that i should be consoled for the love of my lord and my master, though with the earth full of gold!" and she improvised and recited the following verses: i swear by his life, yea, i swear by the life of my love without peer, to please him or save him from hurt, i'd enter the fire without fear! "console thou thyself for his love," quoth they, "with another than he;" but, "nay, by his life," answered i, "i'll never forget him my dear!" a moon is my love, in a robe of loveliness proudly arrayed, and the splendours of new-broken day from his cheeks and his forehead shine clear. then the khalif summoned her to his presence a fourth time and said to her, "o sitt el milah, sing." so she improvised and sang the following verses: to his beloved one the lover's heart's inclined; his soul's a captive slave, in sickness' hands confined. "what is the taste of love?" quoth one, and i replied, "sweet water 'tis at first; but torment lurks behind." love's slave, i keep my troth with them; but, when they vowed, fate made itself urcoub,[fn# ] whom never oath could bind. what is there in the tents? their burdens are become a lover's, whose belov'd is in the litters' shrined. in every halting-place like joseph[fn# ] she appears and he in every stead with jacob's grief[fn# ] is pined. when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept till she swooned away. so they sprinkled on her rose-water, mingled with musk, and willow-flower water; and when she came to herself, er reshid said to her, "o sitt el milah, this is not fair dealing in thee. we love thee and thou lovest another." "o commander of the faithful," answered she, "there is no help for it." therewithal he was wroth with her and said, "by the virtue of hemzeh[fn# ] and akil[fn# ] and mohammed, prince of the apostles, if thou name one other than i in my presence, i will bid strike off thy head!" then he bade return her to her chamber, whilst she wept and recited the following verses: if i must die, then welcome death to heal my woes; 'twere lighter than the pangs i feel. what if the sabre cut me limb from limb! no torment 'twere for lovers true and leal. then the khalif went in to the lady zubeideh, pale with anger, and she noted this in him and said to him, "how cometh it that i see the commander of the faithful changed of colour?" "o daughter of my uncle," answered he, "i have a beautiful slave-girl, who reciteth verses and telleth stories, and she hath taken my whole heart; but she loveth other than i and avoucheth that she loveth her [former] master; wherefore i have sworn a great oath that, if she come again to my sitting-chamber and sing for other than i, i will assuredly take a span from her highest part."[fn# ]quoth zubeideh, "let the commander of the faithful favour me with her presence, so i may look on her and hear her singing." so he bade fetch her and she came, whereupon the lady zubeideh withdrew behind the curtain, whereas she saw her not, and er reshid said to her, "sing to us." so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: lo, since the day i left you, o my masters, life is not sweet, no aye my heart is light. yea, in the night the thought of you still slays me; hidden are my traces from the wise men's sight, all for a wild deer's love, whose looks have snared me and on whose brows the morning glitters bright i am become, for severance from my loved one, like a left hand, forsaken of the right. beauty on his cheek hath written, "blest be allah, he who created this enchanting wight!" him i beseech our loves who hath dissevered, us of his grace once more to reunite. when er reshid heard this, he waxed exceeding wroth and said, "may god not reunite you twain in gladness!" then he summoned the headsman, and when he presented himself, he said to him, "strike off the head of this accursed slave-girl." so mesrour took her by the hand and [led her away; but], when she came to the door, she turned and said to the khalif, "o commander of the faithful, i conjure thee, by thy fathers and forefathers, give ear unto that i shall say!" then she improvised and recited the following verses: o amir of justice, be kind to thy subjects; for justice, indeed, of thy nature's a trait. o thou my inclining to love him that blamest, shall lovers be blamed for the errors of fate? then spare me, by him who vouchsafed thee the kingship; for a gift in this world is the regal estate. then mesrour carried her to the other end of the sitting-chamber and bound her eyes and making her sit, stood awaiting a second commandment; whereupon quoth the lady zubeideh, "o commander of the faithful, with thy permission, wilt thou not vouchsafe this damsel a share of thy clemency? indeed, if thou slay her, it were injustice." quoth he, "what is to be done with her?" and she said, "forbear to slay her and send for her lord. if he be as she describeth him in grace and goodliness, she is excused, and if he be not on this wise, then slay her, and this shall be thy justification against her."[fn# ] "be it as thou deemest," answered er reshid and caused return the damsel to her chamber, saying to her, "the lady zubeideh saith thus and thus." quoth she, "god requite her for me with good! indeed, thou dealest equitably, o commander of the faithful, in this judgment." and he answered, "go now to thy place, and to-morrow we will let bring thy lord." so she kissed the earth and recited the following verses: i am content, for him i love, to all abide; so, who will, let him blame, and who will, let him chide. at their appointed terms souls die; but for despair my soul is like to die, or ere its term betide. o thou with love of whom i'm smitten, yet content, i prithee come to me and hasten to my side. then she arose and returned to her chamber. on the morrow, the commander of the faithful sat [in his hall of audience] and his vizier jaafer ben yehya the barmecide came in to him; whereupon he called to him, saying, "i would have thee bring me a youth who is lately come to baghdad, hight [sidi noureddin ali] the damascene." quoth jaafer, "hearkening and obedience," and going forth in quest of the youth, sent to the markets and khans and caravanserais three days' space, but found no trace of him, neither lit upon tidings of him. so on the fourth day he presented himself before the khalif and said to him, "o our lord, i have sought him these three days, but have not found him." quoth er reshid, "make ready letters to damascus. belike he hath returned to his own land." so jaafer wrote a letter and despatched it by a dromedary-courier to the city of damascus; and they sought him there and found him not. meanwhile, news was brought that khorassan had been conquered;[fn# ] whereupon er reshid rejoiced and bade decorate baghdad and release all who were in the prisons, giving each of them a dinar and a dress. so jaafer addressed himself to the decoration of the city and bade his brother el fezl ride to the prison and clothe and release the prisoners. el fezl did his brother's bidding and released all but the young damascene, who abode still in the prison of blood, saying, "there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the sublime! verily, we are god's and to him we return." then said el fezl to the gaoler, "is there any prisoner left in the prison?" "no," answered he, and el fezl was about to depart, when noureddin called out to him from within the prison, saying, "o my lord, tarry, for there remaineth none in the prison other than i and indeed i am oppressed. this is a day of clemency and there is no disputing concerning it." el fezl bade release him; so they set him free and he gave him a dress and a dinar. so the young man went out, bewildered and knowing not whither he should go, for that he had abidden in the prison nigh a year and indeed his condition was changed and his favour faded, and he abode walking and turning round, lest el muradi should come upon him and cast him into another calamity. when el muradi heard of his release, he betook himself to the chief of the police and said to him, "o our lord, we are not assured from yonder youth, [the damascene], for that he hath been released from prison and we fear lest he complain of us." quoth the prefect, "how shall we do?" and el muradi answered, saying, "i will cast him into a calamity for thee." then he ceased not to follow the young damascene from place to place till he came up with him in a strait place and a by-street without an issue; whereupon he accosted him and putting a rope about his neck, cried out, saying, "a thief!" the folk flocked to him from all sides and fell to beating and reviling noureddin, whilst he cried out for succour, but none succoured him, and el muradi still said to him, "but yesterday the commander of the faithful released thee and to-day thou stealest!" so the hearts of the folk were hardened against him and el muradi carried him to the master of police, who bade cut off his hand. accordingly, the hangman took him and bringing out the knife, offered to cut off his hand, what while el muradi said to him, "cut and sever the bone and sear[fn# ] it not for him, so he may lose his blood and we be rid of him." but ahmed, he who had aforetime been the means of his deliverance, sprang up to him and said, "o folk, fear god in [your dealings with] this youth, for that i know his affair from first to last and he is void of offence and guiltless. moreover, he is of the folk of condition,[fn# ] and except ye desist from him, i will go up to the commander of the faithful and acquaint him with the case from first to last and that the youth is guiltless of crime or offence." quoth el muradi, "indeed, we are not assured from his mischief." and ahmed answered, "release him and commit him to me and i will warrant you against his affair, for ye shall never see him again after this." so they delivered noureddin to him and he took him from their hands and said to him, "o youth, have compassion on thyself, for indeed thou hast fallen into the hands of these folk twice and if they lay hold of thee a third time, they will make an end of thee; and [in dealing thus with thee], i aim at reward and recompense for thee[fn# ] and answered prayer."[fn# ] noureddin fell to kissing his hand and calling down blessings on him and said to him, "know that i am a stranger in this your city and the completion of kindness is better than the beginning thereof; wherefore i beseech thee of thy favour that thou complete to me thy good offices and kindness and bring me to the gate of the city. so will thy beneficence be accomplished unto me and may god the most high requite thee for me with good!" ["fear not,"] answered ahmed; "no harm shall betide thee. go; i will bear thee company till thou come to thy place of assurance." and he left him not till he brought him to the gate of the city and said to him, "o youth, go in the safeguard of god and return not to the city; for, if they fall in with thee [again], they will make an end of thee." noureddin kissed his hand and going forth the city, gave not over walking till he came to a mosque that stood in one of the suburbs of baghdad and entered therein with the night. now he had with him nought wherewithal he might cover himself; so he wrapped himself up in one of the rugs of the mosque [and abode thus till daybreak], when the muezzins came and finding him sitting in that case, said to him, "o youth, what is this plight?" quoth he, "i cast myself on your hospitality, imploring your protection from a company of folk who seek to kill me unjustly and oppressively, without cause." and [one of] the muezzin[s] said, "be of good heart and cheerful eye." then he brought him old clothes and covered him withal; moreover, he set before him somewhat of meat and seeing upon him signs of gentle breeding, said to him, "o my son, i grow old and desire thee of help, [in return for which] i will do away thy necessity." "hearkening and obedience," answered noureddin and abode with the old man, who rested and took his ease, what while the youth [did his service in the mosque], celebrating the praises of god and calling the faithful to prayer and lighting the lamps and filling the ewers[fn# ] and sweeping and cleaning out the place. meanwhile, the lady zubeideh, the wife of the commander of the faithful, made a banquet in her palace and assembled her slave-girls. as for sitt el milah, she came, weeping-eyed and mournful-hearted, and those who were present blamed her for this, whereupon she recited the following verses: ye chide at one who weepeth for troubles ever new; needs must th' afflicted warble the woes that make him rue. except i be appointed a day [to end my pain], i'll weep until mine eyelids with blood their tears ensue. when she had made an end of her verses, the lady zubeideh bade each damsel sing a song, till the turn came round to sitt el milah, whereupon she took the lute and tuning it, sang thereto four-and-twenty songs in four-and-twenty modes; then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: fortune its arrows all, through him i love, let fly at me and parted me from him for whom i sigh. lo, in my heart the heat of every heart burns high and in mine eyes unite the tears of every eye. when she had made an end of her song, she wept till she made the bystanders weep and the lady zubeideh condoled with her and said to her, "god on thee, o sitt el milah, sing us somewhat, so we may hearken to thee." "hearkening and obedience," answered the damsel and sang the following verses: assemble, ye people of passion, i pray; for the hour of our torment hath sounded to-day. the raven of parting croaks loud at our door; alas, for our raven cleaves fast to us aye! for those whom we cherish are parted and gone; they have left us in torment to pine for dismay. so arise, by your lives i conjure you, arise and come let us fare to our loved ones away. then she cast the lute from her hand and wept till she made the lady zubeideh weep, and she said to her, "o sitt el milah, methinks he whom thou lovest is not in this world, for that the commander of the faithful hath sought him in every place, but hath not found him." whereupon the damsel arose and kissing the lady zubeideh's hands, said to her, "o my lady, if thou wouldst have him found, i have a request to make to thee, wherein thou mayst accomplish my occasion with the commander of the faithful." quoth the princess, "and what is it?" "it is," answered sitt el milah, "that thou get me leave to go forth by myself and go round about in quest of him three days, for the adage saith, 'she who mourneth for herself is not the like of her who is hired to mourn.'[fn# ] if i find him, i will bring him before the commander of the faithful, so he may do with us what he will; and if i find him not, i shall be cut off from hope of him and that which is with me will be assuaged." quoth the lady zubeideh, "i will not get thee leave from him but for a whole month; so be of good heart and cheerful eye." whereupon sitt el milah was glad and rising, kissed the earth before her once more and went away to her own place, rejoicing. as for zubeideh, she went in to the khalif and talked with him awhile; then she fell to kissing him between the eyes and on his hand and asked him that which she had promised sitt el milah, saying, "o commander of the faithful, i doubt me her lord is not found in this world; but, if she go about in quest of him and find him not, her hopes will be cut off and her mind will be set at rest and she will sport and laugh; for that, what while she abideth in hope, she will never cease from her frowardness." and she gave not over cajoling him till he gave sitt el milah leave to go forth and make search for her lord a month's space and ordered her an eunuch to attend her and bade the paymaster [of the household] give her all she needed, were it a thousand dirhems a day or more. so the lady zubeideh arose and returning to her palace, sent for sitt el milah and acquainted her with that which had passed [between herself and the khalif]; whereupon she kissed her hand and thanked her and called down blessings on her. then she took leave of the princess and veiling her face, disguised herself; [fn# ] after which she mounted the mule and sallying forth, went round about seeking her lord in the thoroughfares of baghdad three days' space, but lit on no tidings of him; and on the fourth day, she rode forth without the city. now it was the noontide hour and great was the heat, and she was aweary and thirst waxed upon her. presently, she came to the mosque, wherein the young damascene had taken shelter, and lighting down at the door, said to the old man, [the muezzin], "o elder, hast thou a draught of cold water? indeed, i am overcome with heat and thirst." quoth he, "[come up] with me into my house." so he carried her up into his lodging and spreading her [a carpet and cushions], seated her [thereon]; after which he brought her cold water and she drank and said to the eunuch, "go thy ways with the mule and on the morrow come back to me here." [so he went away] and she slept and rested herself. when she awoke, she said to the old man, "o elder, hast thou aught of food?" and he answered, "o my lady, i have bread and olives." quoth she, "that is food fit but for the like of thee. as for me, i will have nought but roast lamb and broths and fat rissoled fowls and stuffed ducks and all manner meats dressed with [pounded nuts and almond-]kernels and sugar." "o my lady," replied the muezzin, "i never heard of this chapter in the koran, nor was it revealed unto our lord mohammed, whom god bless and keep!"[fn# ] she laughed and said, "o elder, the matter is even as thou sayest; but bring me inkhorn and paper." so he brought her what she sought and she wrote a letter and gave it to him, together with a seal-ring from her finger, saying, "go into the city and enquire for such an one the money-changer and give him this my letter." the old man betook himself to the city, as she bade him, and enquired for the money-changer, to whom they directed him. so he gave him the ring and the letter, which when he saw, he kissed the letter and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport. then he repaired to the market and buying all that she bade him, laid it in a porter's basket and bade him go with the old man. so the latter took him and went with him to the mosque, where he relieved him of his burden and carried the meats in to sitt el milah. she seated him by her side and they ate, he and she, of those rich meats, till they were satisfied, when the old man rose and removed the food from before her. she passed the night in his lodging and when she arose in the morning, she said to him, "o elder, may i not lack thy kind offices for the morning-meal! go to the money-changer and fetch me from him the like of yesterday's food." so he arose and betaking himself to the money-changer, acquainted him with that which she had bidden him. the money-changer brought him all that she required and set it on the heads of porters; and the old man took them and returned with them to sitt el milah. so she sat down with him and they ate their sufficiency, after which he removed the rest of the food. then she took the fruits and the flowers and setting them over against herself, wrought them into rings and knots and letters, whilst the old man looked on at a thing whose like he had never in his life seen and rejoiced therein. then said she to him, "o elder, i would fain drink." so he arose and brought her a gugglet of water; but she said to him, "who bade thee fetch that?" quoth he, "saidst thou not to me, 'i would fain drink'?" and she answered, "i want not this; nay, i want wine, the delight of the soul, so haply, o elder, i may solace myself therewith." "god forbid," exclaimed the old man, "that wine should be drunk in my house, and i a stranger in the land and a muezzin and an imam,[fn# ] who prayeth with the true-believers, and a servant of the house of the lord of the worlds! "quoth she, "why wilt thou forbid me to drink thereof in thy house?" "because," answered he, "it is unlawful." "o elder," rejoined she, "god hath forbidden [the eating of] blood and carrion and hog's flesh. tell me, are grapes and honey lawful or unlawful?" quoth he, "they are lawful;" and she said, "this is the juice of grapes and the water of honey." but he answered, "leave this thy talk, for thou shall never drink wine in my house." "o sheikh," rejoined she, "folk eat and drink and enjoy themselves and we are of the number of the folk and god is very forgiving, clement."[fn# ] quoth he, "this is a thing that may not be." and she said, "hast thou not heard what the poet saith ... ?" and she recited the following verses: o son of simeon, give no ear to other than my say. how bitter from the convent 'twas to part and fare away! ay, and the monks, for on the day of palms a fawn there was among the servants of the church, a loveling blithe and gay. by god, how pleasant was the night we passed, with him for third! muslim and jew and nazarene, we sported till the day. the wine was sweet to us to drink in pleasance and repose, and in a garden of the garths of paradise we lay, whose streams beneath the myrtle's shade and cassia's welled amain and birds made carol jubilant from every blossomed spray. quoth he, what while from out his hair the morning glimmered white, "this, this is life indeed, except, alas! it doth not stay." "o elder," added she, "if muslims and jews and nazarenes drink wine, who are we [that we should abstain from it]?" "by allah, o my lady," answered he, "spare thine endeavour, for this is a thing to which i will not hearken." when she knew that he would not consent to her desire, she said to him, "o elder, i am of the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful and the food waxeth on me[fn# ] and if i drink not, i shall perish,[fn# ] nor wilt thou be assured against the issue of my affair. as for me, i am quit of blame towards thee, for that i have made myself known to thee and have bidden thee beware of the wrath of the commander of the faithful." when the old man heard her words and that wherewith she menaced him, he arose and went out, perplexed and knowing not what he should do, and there met him a jew, who was his neighbour, and said to him, "o sheikh, how cometh it that i see thee strait of breast? moreover, i hear in thy house a noise of talk, such as i use not to hear with thee." quoth the muezzin, "yonder is a damsel who avoucheth that she is of the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid; and she hath eaten food and now would fain drink wine in my house, but i forbade her. however she avoucheth that except she drink thereof, she will perish, and indeed i am bewildered concerning my affair." "know, o my neighbour," answered the jew, "that the slave-girls of the commander of the faithful are used to drink wine, and whenas they eat and drink not, they perish; and i fear lest some mishap betide her, in which case thou wouldst not be safe from the khalifs wrath." "what is to be done?" asked the sheikh; and the jew replied, "i have old wine that will suit her." quoth the old man, "[i conjure thee] by the right of neighbourship, deliver me from this calamity and let me have that which is with thee!" "in the name of god," answered the jew and going to his house, brought out a flagon of wine, with which the sheikh returned to sitt el milah. this pleased her and she said to him, "whence hadst thou this?" "i got it from my neighbour the jew," answered he. "i set out to him my case with thee and he gave me this." sitt el milah filled a cup and emptied it; after which she drank a second and a third. then she filled the cup a fourth time and handed it to the old man, but he would not accept it from her. however, she conjured him, by her own head and that of the commander of the faithful, that he should take it from her, till he took the cup from her hand and kissed it and would have set it down; but she conjured him by her life to smell it. so he smelt it and she said to him, "how deemest thou?" "its smell is sweet," replied he; and she conjured him, by the life of the commander of the faithful, to taste it. so he put it to his mouth and she rose to him and made him drink; whereupon, "o princess of the fair," said he, "this is none other than good." quoth she, "so deem i. hath not our lord promised us wine in paradise?" and he answered, "yes. quoth the most high, 'and rivers of wine, a delight to the drinkers.'[fn# ] and we will drink it in this world and the world to come." she laughed and emptying the cup, gave him to drink, and he said, "o princess of the fair, indeed thou art excusable in thy love for this." then he took from her another and another, till he became drunken and his talk waxed great and his prate. the folk of the quarter heard him and assembled under the window; and when he was ware of them, he opened the window and said to them, "are ye not ashamed, o pimps? every one in his own house doth what he will and none hindereth him; but we drink one poor day and ye assemble and come, cuckoldy varlets that ye are! to-day, wine, and to-morrow [another] matter; and from hour to hour [cometh] relief." so they laughed and dispersed. then the girl drank till she was intoxicated, when she called to mind her lord and wept, and the old man said to her, "what maketh thee weep, o my lady?" "o elder," replied she, "i am a lover and separated [from him i love]." quoth he, "o my lady, what is this love?" "and thou," asked she, "hast thou never been in love?" "by allah, o my lady," answered he, "never in all my life heard i of this thing, nor have i ever known it! is it of the sons of adam or of the jinn?" she laughed and said, "verily, thou art even as those of whom the poet speaketh, when as he saith ..." and she repeated the following verses: how long will ye admonished be, without avail or heed? the shepherd still his flocks forbids, and they obey his rede. i see yon like unto mankind in favour and in form; but oxen,[fn# ] verily, ye are in fashion and in deed. the old man laughed at her speech and her verses pleased him. then said she to him, "i desire of thee a lute."[fn# ] so he arose and brought her a piece of firewood. quoth she, "what is that?" and he said, "didst thou not bid me bring thee wood?" "i do not want this," answered she, and he rejoined, "what then is it that is called wood, other than this?" she laughed and said, "the lute is an instrument of music, whereunto i sing." quoth he, "where is this thing found and of whom shall i get it for thee?" and she said, "of him who gave thee the wine." so he arose and betaking himself to his neighbour the jew, said to him, "thou favouredst us aforetime with the wine; so now complete thy favours and look me out a thing called a lute, to wit, an instrument for singing; for that she seeketh this of me and i know it not" "hearkening and obedience," replied the jew and going into his house, brought him a lute. [the old man took it and carried it to sitt el milah,] whilst the jew took his drink and sat by a window adjoining the other's house, so he might hear the singing. the damsel rejoiced, when the old man returned to her with the lute, and taking it from him, tuned its strings and sang the following verses: after your loss, nor trace of me nor vestige would remain, did not the hope of union some whit my strength sustain. ye're gone and desolated by your absence is the world: requital, ay, or substitute to seek for you 'twere vain. ye, of your strength, have burdened me, upon my weakliness, with burdens not to be endured of mountain nor of plain. when from your land the breeze i scent that cometh, as i were a reveller bemused with wine, to lose my wits i'm fain. love no light matter is, o folk, nor are the woe and care and blame a little thing to brook that unto it pertain. i wander seeking east and west for you, and every time unto a camp i come, i'm told, "they've fared away again." my friends have not accustomed me to rigour; for, of old, when i forsook them, they to seek accord did not disdain. when she had made an end of her song, she wept sore, till presently sleep overcame her and she slept. on the morrow, she said to the old man, "get thee to the money-changer and fetch me the ordinary." so he repaired to the money-changer and delivered him the message, whereupon he made ready meat and drink, as of his wont, [with which the old man returned to the damsel and they ate till they had enough. when she had eaten,] she sought of him wine and he went to the jew and fetched it. then they sat down and drank; and when she grew drunken, she took the lute and smiting it, fell a-singing and chanted the following verses: how long shall i thus question my heart that's drowned in woe? i'm mute for my complaining; but tears speak, as they flow. they have forbid their image to visit me in sleep; so even my nightly phantom forsaketh me, heigho! and when she had made an end of her song, she wept sore. all this time, the young damascene was hearkening, and whiles he likened her voice to that of his slave-girl and whiles he put away from him this thought, and the damsel had no whit of knowledge of him. then she broke out again into song and chanted the following verses: "forget him," quoth my censurers, "forget him; what is he?" "if i forget him, ne'er may god," quoth i, "remember me!" now god forbid a slave forget his liege lord's love! and how of all things in the world should i forget the love of thee? pardon of god for everything i crave, except thy love, for on the day of meeting him, that will my good deed be. then she drank three cups and filling the old man other three, sang the following verses: his love he'd have hid, but his tears denounced him to the spy, for the heat of a red-hot coal that 'twixt his ribs did lie. suppose for distraction he seek in the spring and its blooms one day, the face of his loved one holds the only spring for his eye. o blamer of me for the love of him who denieth his grace, which be the delightsome of things, but those which the people deny? a sun [is my love;] but his heat in mine entrails still rageth, concealed; a moon, in the hearts of the folk he riseth, and not in the sky. when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept, whilst the old man wept for her weeping. then she fell down in a swoon and presently coming to herself, filled the cup and drinking it off, gave the old man to drink, after which she took the lute and breaking out into song, chanted the following verses: thy loss is the fairest of all my heart's woes; my case it hath altered and banished repose. the world is upon me all desolate grown. alack, my long grief and forlornness! who knows but the merciful yet may incline thee to me and unite us again, in despite of our foes! then she wept till her voice rose high and her lamentation was discovered [to those without]; after which she again began to drink and plying the old man with wine, sang the following verses: they have shut out thy person from my sight; they cannot shut thy memory from my spright. favour or flout me, still my soul shall be thy ransom, in contentment or despite. my outward of my inward testifies and this bears witness that that tells aright.[fn# ] when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept and lamented. then she slept awhile and presently awaking, said, "o elder, hast thou what we may eat?" "o my lady," answered the old man, "there is the rest of the food;" but she said, "i will not eat of a thing i have left. go down to the market and fetch us what we may eat." quoth he, "excuse me, o my lady; i cannot stand up, for that i am overcome with wine; but with me is the servant of the mosque, who is a sharp youth and an intelligent. i will call him, so he may buy thee that which thou desirest." "whence hast thou this servant?" asked she; and he replied, "he is of the people of damascus." when she heard him speak of the people of damascus, she gave a sob, that she swooned away; and when she came to herself, she said, "woe's me for the people of damascus and for those who are therein! call him, o elder, that he may do our occasions." so the old man put his head forth of the window and called the youth, who came to him from the mosque and sought leave [to enter]. the muezzin bade him enter, and when he came in to the damsel, he knew her and she knew him; whereupon he turned back in bewilderment and would have fled; but she sprang up to him and seized him, and they embraced and wept together, till they fell down on the ground in a swoon. when the old man saw them in this plight, he feared for himself and fled forth, seeing not the way for drunkenness. his neighbour the jew met him and said to him, "how comes it that i see thee confounded?" "how should i not be confounded," answered the old man, "seeing that the damsel who is with me is fallen in love with the servant of the mosque and they have embraced and fallen down in a swoon? indeed, i fear lest the khalif come to know of this and be wroth with me; so tell me thou what is to be done in this wherewith i am afflicted of the affair of this damsel." quoth the jew, "for the nonce, take this casting-bottle of rose-water and go forth-right and sprinkle them therewith. if they be aswoon for this their foregathering and embracement, they will come to themselves, and if otherwise, do thou flee." the old man took the casting-bottle from the jew and going up to noureddin and the damsel, sprinkled their faces, whereupon they came to themselves and fell to relating to each other that which they had suffered, since their separation, for the anguish of severance. moreover, noureddin acquainted sitt el milah with that which he had endured from the folk who would have slain him and made away with him; and she said to him, "o my lord, let us presently give over this talk and praise god for reunion of loves, and all this shall cease from us." then she gave him the cup and he said, "by allah, i will nowise drink it, whilst i am in this plight!" so she drank it off before him and taking the lute, swept the strings and sang the following verses: thou that wast absent from my stead, yet still with me didst bide, thou wast removed from mine eye, yet still wast by my side. thou left'st unto me, after thee, languor and carefulness; i lived a life wherein no jot of sweetness i espied. for thy sweet sake, as 'twere, indeed, an exile i had been, lone and deserted i became, lamenting, weeping-eyed. alack, my grief! thou wast, indeed, grown absent from my yiew, yet art the apple of mine eye nor couldst from me divide. when she had made an end of her song, she wept and noureddin wept also. then she took the lute and improvised and sang the following verses: god knows i ne'er recalled thy memory to my thought, but still with brimming tears straightway mine eyes were fraught; yea, passion raged in me and love-longing was like to slay me; yet my heart to solace still it wrought. light of mine eyes, my hope, my wish, my thirsting eyes with looking on thy face can never sate their drought. when noureddin heard these his slave-girl's verses, he fell a-weeping, what while she strained him to her bosom and wiped away his tears with her sleeve and questioned him and comforted his mind. then she took the lute and sweeping its strings, played thereon, after such a wise as would move the phlegmatic to delight, and sang the following verses: whenas mine eyes behold thee not, that day as of my life i do not reckon aye; and when i long to look upon thy face, my life is perished with desire straightway. on this wise they abode till the morning, tasting not the savour of sleep; and when the day lightened, behold, the eunuch came with the mule and said to sitt el milah, "the commander of the faithful calleth for thee." so she arose and taking her lord by the hand, committed him to the old man, saying, "i commend him to thy care, under god,[fn# ] till this eunuch cometh to thee; and indeed, o elder, i owe thee favour and largesse such as filleth the interspace betwixt heaven and earth." then she mounted the mule and repairing to the palace of the commander of the faithful, went in to him and kissed the earth before him. quoth he to her, as who should make mock of her, "i doubt not but thou hast found thy lord." "by thy felicity and the length of thy continuance [on life,]" answered she, "i have indeed found him!" now er reshid was leaning back; but, when he heard this, he sat up and said to her, "by my life, [is this thou sayest] true?" "ay, by thy life!" answered she; and he said, "bring him into my presence, so i may see him." but she replied, "o my lord, there have betided him many stresses and his charms are changed and his favour faded; and indeed the commander of the faithful vouchsafed me a month; wherefore i will tend him the rest of the month and then bring him to do his service to the commander of the faithful." quoth er reshid, "true; the condition was for a month; but tell me what hath betided him." "o my lord," answered she, "may god prolong thy continuance and make paradise thy place of returning and thy harbourage and the fire the abiding-place of thine enemies, when he presenteth himself to pay his respects to thee, he will expound to thee his case and will name unto thee those who have wronged him; and indeed this is an arrear that is due to the commander of the faithful, in[fn# ] whom may god fortify the faith and vouchsafe him the mastery over the rebel and the froward!" therewithal he ordered her a handsome house and bade furnish it with carpets and other furniture and vessels of choice and commanded that all she needed should be given her. this was done during the rest of the day, and when the night came, she despatched the eunuch with the mule and a suit of clothes, to fetch noureddin from the muezzin's lodging. so the young man donned the clothes and mounting; rode to the house, where he abode in luxury and delight a full-told month, what while she solaced him with four things, to wit, the eating of fowls and the drinking of wine and the lying upon brocade and the entering the bath after copulation. moreover, she brought him six suits of clothes and fell to changing his apparel day by day; nor was the appointed time accomplished ere his beauty returned to him and his goodliness; nay, his charms waxed tenfold and he became a ravishment to all who looked on him. one day the commander of the faithful bade bring him to the presence; so his slave-girl changed his raiment and clothing him in sumptuous apparel, mounted him on the mule. then he rode to the palace and presenting himself before the khalif, saluted him with the goodliest of salutations and bespoke him with eloquent and deep-thoughted speech. when er reshid saw him, he marvelled at the goodliness of his favour and his eloquence and the readiness of his speech and enquiring of him, was told that he was sitt el milah's lord; whereupon quoth he, "indeed, she is excusable in her love for him, and if we had put her to death unrighteously, as we were minded to do, her blood would have been upon our heads." then he turned to the young man and entering into discourse with him, found him well bred, intelligent, quick of wit and apprehension, generous, pleasant, elegant, erudite. so he loved him with an exceeding love and questioned him of his native city and of his father and of the manner of his journey to baghdad. noureddin acquainted him with that which he would know in the goodliest of words and with the concisest of expressions; and the khalif said to him, "and where hast thou been absent all this while? indeed, we sent after thee to damascus and mosul and other the towns, but lit on no tidings of thee." "o my lord," answered the young man, "there betided thy slave in thy city that which never yet betided any." and he acquainted him with his case from first to last and told him that which had befallen him of evil [from el muradi and his crew]. when er reshid heard this, he was sore chagrined and waxed exceeding wroth and said, "shall this happen in a city wherein i am?" and the hashimi vein[fn# ] started out between his eyes. then he bade fetch jaafer, and when he came before him, he acquainted him with the matter and said to him, "shall this come to pass in my city and i have no news of it?" then he bade jaafer fetch all whom the young damascene had named [as having maltreated him], and when they came, he let smite off their heads. moreover, he summoned him whom they called ahmed and who had been the means of the young man's deliverance a first time and a second, and thanked him and showed him favour and bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and invested him with the governance over his city.[fn# ] then he sent for the old man, the muezzin, and when the messenger came to him and told him that the commander of the faithful sought him, he feared the denunciation of the damsel and accompanied him to the palace, walking and letting wind[fn# ] as he went, whilst all who passed him by laughed at him. when he came into the presence of the commander of the faithful, he fell a-trembling and his tongue was embarrassed, [so that he could not speak]. the khalif laughed at him and said to him, "o elder, thou hast done no offence; so [why] fearest thou?" "o my lord," answered the old man (and indeed he was in the sorest of that which may be of fear,) "by the virtue of thy pure forefathers, indeed i have done nought, and do thou enquire of my conduct." the khalif laughed at him and ordering him a thousand dinars, bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and made him chief of the muezzins in his mosque. then he called sitt el milah and said to her, "the house [wherein thou lodgest] and that which is therein is a guerdon [from me] to thy lord. so do thou take him and depart with him in the safeguard of god the most high; but absent not yourselves from our presence." [so she went forth with noureddin and] when she came to the house, she found that the commander of the faithful had sent them gifts galore and abundance of good things. as for noureddin, he sent for his father and mother and appointed him agents and factors in the city of damascus, to take the rent of the houses and gardens and khans and baths; and they occupied themselves with collecting that which accrued to him and sending it to him every year. meanwhile, his father and mother came to him, with that which they had of monies and treasures and merchandise, and foregathering with their son, saw that he was become of the chief officers of the commander of the faithful and of the number of his session-mates and entertainers, wherefore they rejoiced in reunion with him and he also rejoiced in them. the khalif assigned them pensions and allowances and as for noureddin, his father brought him those riches and his wealth waxed and his case was goodly, till he became the richest of the folk of his time in baghdad and left not the presence of the commander of the faithful night or day. moreover, he was vouchsafed children by sitt el milah, and he ceased not to live the most delightsome of lives, he and she and his father and mother, a while of time, till aboulhusn sickened of a sore sickness and was admitted to the mercy of god the most high. after awhile, his mother died also and he carried them forth and shrouded them and buried and made them expiations and nativities.[fn# ] then his children grew up and became like unto moons, and he reared them in splendour and fondness, what while his wealth waxed and his case flourished. he ceased not to pay frequent visits to the commander of the faithful, he and his children and his slave-girl sitt el milah, and they abode, he and they, in all solace of life and prosperity till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and extolled be the perfection of the abiding one, the eternal! this is all that hath come down to us of their story. el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad.[fn# ] there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in the city of baghdad, the abode of peace, a king mighty of estate, lord of understanding and beneficence and liberality and generosity, and he was strong of sultanate and endowed with might and majesty and magnificence. his name was ins ben cais ben rebiya es sheibani,[fn# ] and when he took horse, there rode unto him [warriors] from the farthest parts of the two iraks.[fn# ] god the most high decreed that he should take to wife a woman hight afifeh, daughter of ased es sundusi, who was endowed with beauty and grace and brightness and perfection and justness of shape and symmetry; her face was like unto the new moon and she had eyes as they were gazelle's eyes and an aquiline nose like the crescent moon. she had learned horsemanship and the use of arms and had thoroughly studied the sciences of the arabs; moreover, she had gotten by heart all the dragomanish[fn# ] tongues and indeed she was a ravishment to mankind. she abode with ins ben cais twelve years, during which time he was blessed with no children by her; wherefore his breast was straitened, by reason of the failure of lineage, and he besought his lord to vouchsafe him a child. accordingly the queen conceived, by permission of god the most high; and when the days of her pregnancy were accomplished, she gave birth to a maid-child, than whom never saw eyes a goodlier, for that her face was as it were a pure pearl or a shining lamp or a golden[fn# ] candle or a full moon breaking forth of a cloud, extolled be the perfection of him who created her from vile water[fn# ] and made her a delight to the beholders! when her father saw her on this wise of loveliness, his reason fled for joy, and when she grew up, he taught her the art of writing and polite letters[fn# ] and philosophy and all manner of tongues. so she excelled the folk of her time and overpassed her peers;[fn# ] and the sons of the kings heard of her and all of them desired to look upon her. the first who sought her in marriage was king nebhan of mosul, who came to her with a great company, bringing with him an hundred she-camels laden with musk and aloes-wood and ambergris and as many laden with camphor and jewels and other hundred laden with silver money and yet other hundred laden with raiment of silken and other stuffs and brocade, besides an hundred slave-girls and an hundred magnificent horses of swift and generous breeds, completely housed and accoutred, as they were brides; and all this he laid before her father, demanding her of him in marriage. now king ins ben cais had bound himself by an oath that he would not marry his daughter but to him whom she should choose; so, when king nebhan sought her in marriage, her father went in to her and consulted her concerning his affair. she consented not and he repeated to nebhan that which she said, whereupon he departed from him. after this came king behram, lord of the white island, with riches more than the first; but she accepted not of him and he returned, disappointed; nor did the kings give over coming to her father, on her account, one after other, from the farthest of the lands and the climes, each glorying in more[fn# ] than those who forewent him; but she paid no heed unto any of one them. presently, el abbas, son of king el aziz, lord of the land of yemen and zebidoun[fn# ] and mecca (which god increase in honour and brightness and beauty!), heard of her; and he was of the great ones of mecca and the hejaz[fn# ] and was a youth without hair on his cheeks. so he presented himself one day in his father's sitting-chamber,[fn# ] whereupon the folk made way for him and the king seated him on a chair of red gold, set with pearls and jewels. the prince sat, with his head bowed to the ground, and spoke not to any; whereby his father knew that his breast was straitened and bade the boon-companions and men of wit relate marvellous histories, such as beseem the assemblies of kings; nor was there one of them but spoke forth the goodliest of that which was with him; but el abbas still abode with his head bowed down. then the king bade his session-mates withdraw, and when the chamber was void, he looked at his son and said to him, "by allah, thou rejoicest me with thy coming in to me and chagrinest me for that thou payest no heed to any of the session-mates nor of the boon-companions. what is the cause of this?" "o father mine," answered the prince, "i have heard tell that in the land of irak is a woman of the daughters of the kings, and her father is called king ins ben cais, lord of baghdad; she is renowned for beauty and grace and brightness and perfection, and indeed many folk have sought her in marriage of the kings; but her soul consented not unto any one of them. wherefore i am minded to travel to her, for that my heart cleaveth unto her, and i beseech thee suffer me to go to her." "o my son," answered his father, "thou knowest that i have none other than thyself of children and thou art the solace of mine eyes and the fruit of mine entrails; nay, i cannot brook to be parted from thee an instant and i purpose to set thee on the throne of the kingship and marry thee to one of the daughters of the kings, who shall be fairer than she." el abbas gave ear to his father's word and dared not gainsay him; so he abode with him awhile, whilst the fire raged in his entrails. then the king took counsel with himself to build his son a bath and adorn it with various paintings, so he might show it to him and divert him with the sight thereof, to the intent that his body might be solaced thereby and that the obsession of travel might cease from him and he be turned from [his purpose of] removal from his parents. so he addressed himself to the building of the bath and assembling architects and builders and artisans from all the towns and citadels and islands [of his dominions], assigned them a site and marked out its boundaries. then the workmen occupied themselves with the making of the bath and the setting out and adornment of its cabinets and roofs. they used paints and precious stones of all kinds, according to the variousness of their hues, red and green and blue and yellow and what not else of all manner colours; and each artisan wrought at his handicraft and each painter at his art, whilst the rest of the folk busied themselves with transporting thither varicoloured stones. one day, as the [chief] painter wrought at his work, there came in to him a poor man, who looked long upon him and observed his handicraft; whereupon quoth the painter to him, "knowest thou aught of painting?" "yes," answered the stranger; so he gave him tools and paints and said to him, "make us a rare piece of work." so the stranger entered one of the chambers of the bath and drew [on the walls thereof] a double border, which he adorned on both sides, after a fashion than which never saw eyes a fairer. moreover, [amiddleward the chamber] he drew a picture to which there lacked but the breath, and it was the portraiture of mariyeh, the king's daughter of baghdad. then, when he had made an end of the portrait, he went his way [and told none of what he had done], nor knew any the chambers and doors of the bath and the adornment and ordinance thereof. presently, the chief workman came to the palace and sought an audience of the king, who bade admit him. so he entered and kissing the earth, saluted him with a salutation beseeming kings and said, "o king of the time and lord of the age and the day, may felicity endure unto thee and acceptance and be thy rank exalted over all the kings both morning and evening![fn# ] the work of the bath is accomplished, by the king's fair fortune and the eminence of his magnanimity,[fn# ] and indeed we have done all that behoved us and there remaineth but that which behoveth the king." el aziz ordered him a sumptuous dress of honour and expended monies galore, giving unto each who had wroughten, after the measure of his work. then he assembled in the bath all the grandees of his state, amirs and viziers and chamberlains and lieutenants, and the chief officers of his realm and household, and sending for his son el abbas, said to him,"o my son, i have builded thee a bath, wherein thou mayst take thy pleasance; so enter thou therein, that thou mayst see it and divert thyself by gazing upon it and viewing the goodliness of its ordinance and decoration." "with all my heart," replied the prince and entered the bath, he and the king and the folk about them, so they might divert themselves with viewing that which the workmen's hands had wroughten. el abbas went in and passed from place to place and chamber to chamber, till he came to the chamber aforesaid and espied the portrait of mariyeh, whereupon he fell down in a swoon and the workmen went to his father and said to him, "thy son el abbas hath swooned away." so the king came and finding the prince cast down, seated himself at his head and bathed his face with rose-water. after awhile he revived and the king said to him, "god keep thee,[fn# ] o my son! what hath befallen thee?" "o my father," answered the prince, "i did but look on yonder picture and it bequeathed me a thousand regrets and there befell me that which thou seest." therewithal the king bade fetch the [chief] painter, and when he stood before him, he said to him, "tell me of yonder portrait and what girl is this of the daughters of the kings; else will i take thy head." "by allah, o king," answered the painter, "i limned it not, neither know i who she is; but there came to me a poor man and looked at me. so i said to him, 'knowest thou the art of painting?' and he replied, 'yes.' whereupon i gave him the gear and said to him, 'make us a rare piece of work.' so he wrought yonder portrait and went away and i know him not neither have i ever set eyes on him save that day." therewithal the king bade all his officers go round about in the thoroughfares and colleges [of the town] and bring before him all strangers whom they found there. so they went forth and brought him much people, amongst whom was the man who had painted the portrait. when they came into the presence, the sultan bade the crier make proclamation that whoso wrought the portrait should discover himself and have whatsoever he desired. so the poor man came forward and kissing the earth before the king, said to him, "o king of the age, i am he who painted yonder portrait." quoth el aziz, "and knowest thou who she is?" "yes," answered the other; "this is the portrait of mariyeh, daughter of the king of baghdad." the king ordered him a dress of honour and a slave-girl [and he went his way]. then said el abbas, "o father mine, give me leave to go to her, so i may look upon her; else shall i depart the world, without fail." the king his father wept and answered, saying, "o my son, i builded thee a bath, that it might divert thee from leaving me, and behold it hath been the cause of thy going forth; but the commandment of god is a foreordained[fn# ] decree."[fn# ] then he wept again and el abbas said to him, "fear not for me, for thou knowest my prowess and my puissance in returning answers in the assemblies of the land and my good breeding[fn# ] and skill in rhetoric; and indeed he whose father thou art and whom thou hast reared and bred and in whom thou hast united praiseworthy qualities, the repute whereof hath traversed the east and the west, thou needest not fear for him, more by token that i purpose but to seek diversion[fn# ] and return to thee, if it be the will of god the most high." quoth the king, "whom wilt thou take with thee of attendants and [what] of good?" "o father mine," replied el abbas, "i have no need of horses or camels or arms, for i purpose not battle, and i will have none go forth with me save my servant aamir and no more." as he and his father were thus engaged in talk, in came his mother and caught hold of him; and he said to her, "god on thee, let me go my gait and strive not to turn me from my purpose, for that needs must i go." "o my son," answered she, "if it must be so and there is no help for it, swear to me that them wilt not be absent from me more than a year." and he swore to her. then he entered his father's treasuries and took therefrom what he would of jewels and jacinths and everything heavy of worth and light of carriage. moreover, he bade his servant aamir saddle him two horses and the like for himself, and whenas the night darkened behind him,[fn# ] he rose from his couch and mounting his horse, set out for baghdad, he and aamir, whilst the latter knew not whither he intended. he gave not over going and the journey was pleasant to him, till they came to a goodly land, abounding in birds and wild beasts, whereupon el abbas started a gazelle and shot it with an arrow. then he dismounted and cutting its throat, said to his servant, "alight thou and skin it and carry it to the water." aamir answered him [with "hearkening and obedience"] and going down to the water, kindled a fire and roasted the gazelle's flesh. then they ate their fill and drank of the water, after which they mounted again and fared on diligently, and aamir still unknowing whither el abbas was minded to go. so he said to him, "o my lord, i conjure thee by god the great, wilt thou not tell me whither thou intendest?" el abbas looked at him and made answer with the following verses: in my soul the fire of yearning and affliction rageth aye; lo, i burn with love and longing; nought in answer can i say. to baghdad upon a matter of all moment do i fare, for the love of one whose beauties have my reason led astray. under me's a slender camel, a devourer of the waste; those who pass a cloudlet deem it, as it flitteth o'er the way. so, o aamir, haste thy going, e'en as i do, so may i heal my sickness and the draining of the cup of love essay; for the longing that abideth in my heart is hard to bear. fare with me, then, to my loved one. answer nothing, but obey. when aamir heard his lord's verses, he knew that he was a slave of love [and that she of whom he was enamoured abode] in baghdad. then they fared on night and day, traversing plains and stony wastes, till they came in sight of baghdad and lighted down in its suburbs[fn# ] and lay the night there. when they arose in the morning, they removed to the bank of the tigris and there they encamped and sojourned three days. as they abode thus on the fourth day, behold, a company of folk giving their beasts the rein and crying aloud and saying, "quick! quick! haste to our rescue, o king!" therewithal the king's chamberlains and officers accosted them and said to them, "what is behind you and what hath befallen you?" quoth they, "bring us before the king." [so they carried them to ins ben cais;] and when they saw him, they said to him, "o king, except thou succour us, we are dead men; for that we are a folk of the benou sheiban,[fn# ] who have taken up our abode in the parts of bassora, and hudheifeh the arab[fn# ] hath come down on us with his horses and his men and hath slain our horsemen and carried off our women and children; nor was one saved of the tribe but he who fled; wherefore we crave help [first] by god the most high, then by thy life." when the king heard their speech, he bade the crier make proclamation in the thoroughfares of the city that the troops should prepare [for the march] and that the horsemen should mount and the footmen come forth; nor was it but the twinkling of the eye ere the drums beat and the trumpets sounded; and scarce was the forenoon of the day passed when the city was blocked with horse and foot. so the king passed them in review and behold, they were four-and-twenty thousand in number, horsemen and footmen. he bade them go forth to the enemy and gave the commandment over them to said ibn el wakidi, a doughty cavalier and a valiant man of war. so the horsemen set out and fared on along the bank of the tigris. el abbas looked at them and saw the ensigns displayed and the standards loosed and heard the drums beating; so he bade his servant saddle him a charger and look to the girths and bring him his harness of war. quoth aamir, "and indeed i saw el abbas his eyes flash and the hair of his hands stood on end, for that indeed horsemanship[fn# ] abode [rooted in his heart]."so he mounted his charger, whilst aamir also bestrode a war-horse, and they went forth with the troops and fared on two days. on the third day, after the hour of the mid-afternoon prayer, they came in sight of the enemy and the two armies met and the ranks joined battle. the strife raged amain and sore was the smiting, whilst the dust rose in clouds and hung vaulted [over them], so that all eyes were blinded; and they ceased not from the battle till the night overtook them, when the two hosts drew off from the mellay and passed the night, perplexed concerning themselves [and the issue of their affair]. when god caused the morning morrow, the two armies drew out in battle array and the troops stood looking at one another. then came forth el harith ibn saad between the two lines and played with his lance and cried out and recited the following verses: algates ye are our prey become; this many a day and night right instantly of god we've craved to be vouchsafed your sight. so hath the merciful towards hudheifeh driven you, a champion ruling over all, a lion of great might. is there a man of you will come, that i may heal his paint with blows right profitful for him who's sick for lust of fight? by allah, come ye forth to me, for lo, i'm come to you i may he who's wronged the victory get and god defend the right![fn# ] thereupon there sallied forth to him zuheir ben hebib, and they wheeled about and feinted awhile, then came to dose quarters and exchanged strokes. el harith forewent his adversary in smiting and stretched him weltering in his gore; whereupon hudheifeh cried out to him, saying, "gifted of god art thou, o harith! call another of them." so he cried out, saying, "is there a comer-forth [to battle?]" but they of baghdad held back froni him; and when it appeared to el harith that confusion was amongst them, he fell upon them and overthrew the first of them upon their last and slew of them twelve men. then the evening overtook him and the baghdadis addressed themselves to flight. when the morning morrowed, they found themselves reduced to a fourth part of their number and there was not one of them had dismounted from his horse. so they made sure of destruction and hudheifeh came out between the ranks (now he was reckoned for a thousand cavaliers) and cried out, saying, "harkye, my masters of baghdad! let none come forth to me but your amir, so i may talk with him and he with me; and he shall meet me in single combat and i will meet him, and may he who is void of offence come off safe!" then he repeated his speech and said, "why do i not hear your amir return me an answer?" but saad, the amir of the army of baghdad, [replied not to him], and indeed his teeth chattered in his head, whenas he heard him summon him to single combat. when el abbas heard hudheifeh's challenge and saw saad in this case, he came up to the latter and said to him, "wilt thou give me leave to reply to him and i will stand thee in stead in the answering of him and the going forth to battle with him and will make myself thy sacrifice?" saad looked at him and seeing valour shining from between his eyes, said to him, "o youth, by the virtue of the chosen [prophet,] (whom god bless and keep,) tell me [who thou art and] whence thou comest to our succour." "this is no place for questioning," answered the prince; and saad said to him, "o champion, up and at hudheifeh! yet, if his devil prove too strong for thee, afflict not thyself in thy youth."[fn# ] quoth el abbas, "it is of allah that help is to be sought,"[fn# ] and taking his arms, fortified his resolution and went down [into the field], as he were a castle of the castles or a piece of a mountain. [when] hudheifeh [saw him], he cried out to him, saying, "haste thee not, o youth! who art thou of the folk?" and he answered, "i am saad [ibn] el wakidi, commander of the host of king ins, and but that thou vauntedst thyself in challenging me, i had not come forth to thee; for that thou art not of my peers neither art counted equal to me in prowess and canst not avail against my onslaught. wherefore prepare thee for departure,[fn# ] seeing that there abideth but a little of thy life." when hudheifeh heard this his speech, he threw himself backward,[fn# ] as if in mockery of him, whereat el abbas was wroth and called out to him, saying, "o hudheifeh, guard thyself against me." then he rushed upon him, as he were a swooper of the jinn,[fn# ] and hudheifeh met him and they wheeled about a long while. presently, el abbas cried out at hudheifeh a cry that astonied him and dealt him a blow, saying, "take this from the hand of a champion who feareth not the like of thee." hudheifeh met the stroke with his shield, thinking to ward it off from him; but the sword shore the target in sunder and descending upon his shoulder, came forth gleaming from the tendons of his throat and severed his arm at the armpit; whereupon he fell down, wallowing in his blood, and el abbas turned upon his host; nor had the sun departed the pavilion of the heavens ere hudheifeh's army was in full flight before el abbas and the saddles were empty of men. quoth saad, "by the virtue of the chosen [prophet], whom god bless and keep, i saw el abbas with the blood upon his saddle pads, [in gouts] like camels' livers, smiting with the sword right and left, till he scattered them abroad in every mountain-pass and desert; and when he turned [back to the camp], the men of baghdad were fearful of him." when the baghdadis saw this succour that had betided them against their enemies [and the victory that el abbas had gotten them], they turned back and gathering together the spoils [of the defeated host], arms and treasures and horses, returned to baghdad, victorious, and all by the valour of el abbas. as for saad, he foregathered with the prince, and they fared on in company till they came to the place where el abbas had taken horse, whereupon the latter dismounted from his charger and saad said to him, "o youth, wherefore alightest thou in other than thy place? indeed, thy due is incumbent upon us and upon our sultan; so go thou with us to the dwellings, that we may ransom thee with our souls." "o amir saad," replied el abbas, "from this place i took horse with thee and herein is my lodging. so, god on thee, name me not to the king, but make as if thou hadst never seen me, for that i am a stranger in the land." so saying, he turned away from him and saad fared on to the palace, where he found all the suite in attendance on the king and recounting to him that which had betided them with el abbas. quoth the king, "where is he?" and they answered, "he is with the amir saad." [so, when the latter entered], the king [looked, but] found none with him; and saad, seeing that he hankered after the youth, cried out to him, saying, "god prolong the king's days! indeed, he refuseth to present himself before thee, without leave or commandment." "o saad," asked the king, "whence cometh this man?" and the amir answered, "o my lord, i know not; but he is a youth fair of favour, lovesome of aspect, accomplished in discourse, goodly of repartee, and valour shineth from between his eyes." quoth the king, "o saad, fetch him to me, for indeed thou describest to me a masterful man."[fn# ] and he answered, saying, "by allah, o my lord, hadst thou but seen our case with hudheifeh, what while he challenged me to the field of war and the stead of thrusting and smiting and i held back from doing battle with him! then, whenas i thought to go forth to him, behold, a cavalier gave loose to his bridle-rein and called out to me, saying, 'o saad, wilt thou suffer me to fill thy room in waging war with him and i will ransom thee with myself?' and i said, 'by allah, o youth, whence cometh thou?' quoth he, 'this is no time for thy questions.'" then he recounted to the king all that had passed between himself and el abbas from first to last; whereupon quoth ins ben cais, "bring him to me in haste, so we may learn his tidings and question him of his case." "it is well," answered saad, and going forth of the king's presence, repaired to his own house, where he put off his harness of war and took rest for himself. to return to el abbas, when he alighted from his charger, he put off his harness of war and rested awhile; after which he brought out a shirt of venetian silk and a gown of green damask and donning them, covered himself with a turban of damietta stuff and girt his middle with a handkerchief. then he went out a-walking in the thoroughfares of baghdad and fared on till he came to the bazaar of the merchants. there he found a merchant, with chess before him; so he stood watching him and presently the other looked up at him and said to him, "o youth, what wilt thou stake upon the game?" and he answered, "be it thine to decide." "then be it a hundred dinars," said the merchant, and el abbas consented to him, whereupon quoth he, "o youth, produce the money, so the game may be fairly stablished." so el abbas brought out a satin purse, wherein were a thousand dinars, and laid down an hundred dinars therefrom on the edge of the carpet, whilst the merchant did the like, and indeed his reason fled for joy, whenas he saw the gold in el abbas his possession. the folk flocked about them, to divert themselves with watching the play, and they called the bystanders to witness of the wager and fell a-playing. el abbas forbore the merchant, so he might lead him on, and procrastinated with him awhile; and the merchant won and took of him the hundred dinars. then said the prince, "wilt thou play another game?" and the other answered, "o youth, i will not play again, except it be for a thousand dinars." quoth the prince, "whatsoever thou stakest, i will match thy stake with the like thereof." so the merchant brought out a thousand dinars and the prince covered them with other thousand. then they fell a-playing, but el abbas was not long with him ere he beat him in the square of the elephant,[fn# ] nor did he leave to do thus till he had beaten him four times and won of him four thousand dinars. this was all the merchant's good; so he said, "o youth, i will play thee another game for the shop." now the value of the shop was four thousand dinars; so they played and el abbas beat him and won his shop, with that which was therein; whereupon the other arose, shaking his clothes, and said to him, "up, o youth, and take thy shop." so el abbas arose and repairing to the shop, took possession thereof, after which he returned to [the place where he had left] his servant [aamir] and found there the amir saad, who was come to bid him to the presence of the king. el abbas consented to this and accompanied him till they came before king ins ben cais, whereupon he kissed the earth and saluted him and exceeded[fn# ] in the salutation. quoth the king to him, "whence comest thou, o youth?" and he answered, "i come from yemen." then said the king, "hast thou a need we may accomplish unto thee? for indeed we are exceeding beholden to thee for that which thou didst in the matter of hudheifeh and his folk." and he let cast over him a mantle of egyptian satin, worth an hundred dinars. moreover, he bade his treasurer give him a thousand dinars and said to him, "o youth, take this in part of that which thou deserves! of us; and if thou prolong thy sojourn with us, we will give thee slaves and servants." el abbas kissed the earth and said, "o king, may grant thee abiding prosperity, i deserve not all this." then he put his hand to his poke and pulling out two caskets of gold, in each of which were rubies, whose value none could tell, gave them to the king, saying, "o king, god cause thy prosperity to endure, i conjure thee by that which god hath vouchsafed thee, heal my heart by accepting these two caskets, even as i have accepted thy present." so the king accepted the two caskets and el abbas took his leave and went away to the bazaar. when the merchants saw him, they accosted him and said, "o youth, wilt thou not open thy shop?" as they were bespeaking him, up came a woman, having with her a boy, bareheaded, and [stood] looking at el abbas, till he turned to her, when she said to him, "o youth, i conjure thee by allah, look at this boy and have pity on him, for that his father hath forgotten his cap in the shop [he lost to thee]; so if thou will well to give it to him, thy reward be with god! for indeed the child maketh our hearts ache with his much weeping, and god be witness for us that, were there left us aught wherewithal to buy him a cap in its stead, we had not sought it of thee." "o adornment of womankind," replied el abbas, "indeed, thou bespeakest me with thy fair speech and supplicatest me with thy goodly words ...but bring me thy husband." so she went and fetched the merchant, whilst the folk assembled to see what el abbas would do. when the man came, he returned him the gold he had won of him, all and part, and delivered him the keys of the shop, saying, "requite us with thy pious prayers."therewithal the woman came up to him and kissed his feet, and on like wise did the merchant her husband; and all who were present blessed him, and there was no talk but of el abbas. as for the merchant, he bought him a sheep and slaughtering it, roasted it and dressed birds and [other] meats of various kinds and colours and bought dessert and sweetmeats and fresh fruits. then he repaired to el abbas and conjured him to accept of his hospitality and enter his house and eat of his victual. the prince consented to his wishes and went with him till they came to his house, when the merchant bade him enter. so el abbas entered and saw a goodly house, wherein was a handsome saloon, with a vaulted estrade. when he entered the saloon, he found that the merchant had made ready food and dessert and perfumes, such as overpass description; and indeed he had adorned the table with sweet-scented flowers and sprinkled musk and rose-water upon the food. moreover, he had smeared the walls of the saloon with ambergris and set [the smoke of burning] aloes-wood abroach therein. presently, el abbas looked out of the window of the saloon and saw thereby a house of goodly ordinance, lofty of building and abounding in chambers, with two upper stories; but therein was no sign of inhabitants. so he said to the merchant, "indeed, thou exceedest in doing us honour; but, by allah, i will not eat of thy victual till thou tell me what is the reason of the emptiness of yonder house." "o my lord," answered the other, "that was el ghitrif's house and he was admitted to the mercy of god[fn# ] and left none other heir than myself; so it became mine, and by allah, if thou hast a mind to sojourn in baghdad, do thou take up thine abode in this house, so thou mayst be in my neighbourhood; for that indeed my heart inclineth unto thee with love and i would have thee never absent from my sight, so i may still have my fill of thee and hearken to thy speech." el abbas thanked him and said to him, "indeed, thou art friendly in thy speech and exceedest [in courtesy] in thy discourse, and needs must i sojourn in baghdad. as for the house, if it like thee, i will abide therein; so take of me its price." so saying, he put his hand to his poke and bringing out therefrom three hundred dinars, gave them to the merchant, who said in himself, "except i take the money, he will not abide in the house." so he pouched the money and sold him the house, taking the folk to witness against himself of the sale. then he arose and set food before el abbas and they ate of the good things which he had provided; after which he brought him dessert and sweetmeats. they ate thereof till they had enough, when the tables were removed and they washed their hands with rose-water and willow-flower-water. then the merchant brought el abbas a napkin perfumed with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood, on which he wiped his hand,[fn# ] and said to him, "o my lord, the house is become thy house; so bid thy servant transport thither the horses and arms and stuffs." el abbas did this and the merchant rejoiced in his neighbourhood and left him not night nor day, so that the prince said to him, "by allah, i distract thee from thy livelihood." "god on thee, o my lord," replied the merchant, "name not to me aught of this, or thou wilt break my heart, for the best of traffic is thy company and thou art the best of livelihood." so there befell strait friendship between them and ceremony was laid aside from between them. meanwhile the king said to his vizier, "how shall we do in the matter of yonder youth, the yemani, on whom we thought to confer largesse, but he hath largessed us with tenfold [our gift] and more, and we know not if he be a sojourner with us or no?" then he went into the harem and gave the rubies to his wife afifeh, who said to him, "what is the worth of these with thee and with [other] the kings?" and he answered, "they are not to be found save with the greatest of kings and none may avail to price them with money." quoth she, "whence gottest thou them?" so he recounted to her the story of el abbas from first to last, and she said, "by allah, the claims of honour are imperative on us and the king hath fallen short of his due; for that we have not seen him bid him to his assembly, nor hath he seated him on his left hand." [when the king heard his wife's words], it was as if he had been asleep and awoke; so he went forth of the harem and bade slaughter fowls and dress meats of all kinds and colours. moreover, he assembled all his retainers and let bring sweetmeats and dessert and all that beseemeth unto kings' tables. then he adorned his palace and despatched after el abbas a man of the chief officers of his household, who found him coming forth of the bath, clad in a doublet of fine goats' hair and over it a baghdadi scarf; his waist was girt with a rustec[fn# ] kerchief and on his head he wore a light turban of damietta make. the messenger wished him joy of the bath and exceeded in doing him worship. then he said to him, "the king biddeth thee in weal."[fn# ] "hearkening and obedience," answered el abbas and accompanied the messenger to the king's palace. now afifeh and her daughter mariyeh were behind the curtain, looking at him; and when he came before the king, he saluted him and greeted him with the greeting of kings, whilst all who were present stared at him and at his beauty and grace and perfection. the king seated him at the head of the table; and when afifeh saw him and straitly considered him, she said, "by the virtue of mohammed, prince of the apostles, this youth is of the sons of the kings and cometh not to these parts but for some high purpose!" then she looked at mariyeh and saw that her face was changed, and indeed her eyes were dead in her face and she turned not her gaze from el abbas a glance of the eyes, for that the love of him had gotten hold upon her heart. when the queen saw what had befallen her daughter, she feared for her from reproach concerning el abbas; so she shut the wicket of the lattice and suffered her not to look upon him more. now there was a pavilion set apart for mariyeh, and therein were privy chambers and balconies and lattices, and she had with her a nurse, who served her, after the fashion of kings' daughters. when the banquet was ended and the folk had dispersed, the king said to el abbas, "i would fain have thee [abide] with me and i will buy thee a house, so haply we may requite thee the high services for which we are beholden to thee; for indeed thy due is imperative [upon us] and thy worth is magnified in our eyes; and indeed we have fallen short of thy due in the matter of distance."[fn# ] when the prince heard the king's speech, he rose and sat down[fn# ] and kissing the earth, returned thanks for his bounty and said, "i am the king's servant, wheresoever i may be, and under his eye." then he recounted to him the story of the merchant and the manner of the buying of the house, and the king said, "indeed, i would fain have had thee with me and in my neighbourhood." then el abbas took leave of the king and went away to his own house. now it befell that he passed under the palace of mariyeh the king's daughter, and she was sitting at a window. he chanced to look round and his eyes met those of the princess, whereupon his wit departed and he was like to swoon away, whilst his colour changed and he said, "verily, we are god's and to him we return!" but he feared for himself lest estrangement betide him; so he concealed his secret and discovered not his case to any of the creatures of god the most high. when he reached his house, his servant aamir said to him, "o my lord, i seek refuge for thee with god from change of colour! hath there betided thee a pain from god the most high or hath aught of vexation befallen thee? verily, sickness hath an end and patience doth away vexation." but the prince returned him no answer. then he brought out inkhorn [and pen] and paper and wrote the following verses: quoth i (and mine a body is of passion all forslain, ay, and a heart that's all athirst for love and longing pain and eye that knoweth not the sweet of sleep; yet she, who caused my dole, may fortune's perfidies for aye from her abstain! yea, for the perfidies of fate and sev'rance i'm become even as was bishr[fn# ] of old time with hind,[fn# ] a fearful swain; a talking-stock among the folk for ever i abide; life and the days pass by, yet ne'er my wishes i attain), "knoweth my loved one when i see her at the lattice high shine as the sun that flameth forth in heaven's blue demesne?" her eye is sharper than a sword; the soul with ecstasy it takes and longing leaves behind, that nothing may assain. as at the casement high she sat, her charms i might espy, for from her cheeks the envious veil that hid them she had ta'en. she shot at me a shaft that reached my heart and i became the bond- man of despair, worn out with effort all in vain. fawn of the palace, knowst thou not that i, to look on thee, the world have traversed, far and wide, o'er many a hill and plain? read then my writ and pity thou the blackness of my fate, sick, love- distraught, without a friend to whom i may complain. now the merchant's wife aforesaid, who was the nurse of the king's daughter, was watching him from a window, unknown of him, and [when she heard his verses], she knew that there hung some rare story by him; so she went in to him and said, "peace be on thee, o afflicted one, who acquaintest not physician with thy case! verily, thou exposest thyself unto grievous peril! i conjure thee by the virtue of him who hath afflicted thee and stricken thee with the constraint of love-liking, that thou acquaint me with thine affair and discover to me the truth of thy secret; for that indeed i have heard from thee verses that trouble the wit and dissolve the body." so he acquainted her with his case and enjoined her to secrecy, whereof she consented unto him, saying, "what shall be the recompense of whoso goeth with thy letter and bringeth thee an answer thereto?" he bowed his head for shamefastness before her [and was silent]; and she said to him, "raise thy head and give me thy letter." so he gave her the letter and she took it and carrying it to the princess, said to her, "read this letter and give me the answer thereto." now the liefest of all things to mariyeh was the recitation of poems and verses and linked rhymes and the twanging [of the strings of the lute], and she was versed in all tongues; so she took the letter and opening it, read that which was therein and apprehended its purport. then she cast it on the ground and said, "o nurse, i have no answer to make to this letter." quoth the nurse, "indeed, this is weakness in thee and a reproach unto thee, for that the people of the world have heard of thee and still praise thee for keenness of wit and apprehension; so do thou return him an answer, such as shall delude his heart and weary his soul." "o nurse," rejoined the princess, "who is this that presumeth upon me with this letter? belike he is the stranger youth who gave my father the rubies." "it is himself," answered the woman, and mariyeh said, "i will answer his letter on such a wise that thou shalt not bring me other than it [from him]." quoth the nurse, "so be it." so the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: o'erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent these verses; 'twill but add to thee unease and miscontent. now god forbid thou shouldst attain thy wishes! what care i if thou have looked on me a look that caused thee languishment? who art thou, wretch, that thou shouldst hope to win me? with thy rhymes what wouldst of me? thy reason, sure, with passion is forspent. if to my favours thou aspire and covet me, good lack! what leach such madness can assain or what medicament? leave rhyming, madman that thou art, lest, bound upon the cross, thou thy presumption in the stead of abjectness repent. deem not, o youth, that i to thee incline; indeed, no part have i in those who walk the ways, the children of the tent.[fn# ] in the wide world no house thou hast, a homeless wanderer thou: to thine own place thou shall be borne, an object for lament.[fn# ] forbear thy verse-making, o thou that harbourest in the camp, lest to the gleemen thou become a name of wonderment. how many a lover, who aspires to union with his love, for all his hopes seem near, is baulked of that whereon he's bent! then get thee gone nor covet that which thou shall ne'er obtain; so shall it be, although the time seem near and the event. thus unto thee have i set forth my case; consider well my words, so thou mayst guided be aright by their intent. when she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and went with it to el abbas. when she gave it to him, he took it and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport; and when he came to the end of it, he swooned away. after awhile, he came to himself and said, "praised be god who hath caused her return an answer to my letter! canst thou carry her another letter, and with god the most high be thy requital?" quoth she, "and what shall letters profit thee, seeing she answereth on this wise?" but he said, "belike, she may yet be softened." then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot'st therein i read, my longing waxed and pain and woe redoubled on my head. yea, wonder-words i read therein, my trouble that increased and caused emaciation wear my body to a shred. would god thou knewst what i endure for love of thee and how my vitals for thy cruelty are all forspent and dead! fain, fain would i forget thy love. alack, my heart denies to be consoled, and 'gainst thy wrath nought standeth me in stead. an thou'dst vouchsafe to favour me,'twould lighten my despair, though but in dreams thine image 'twere that visited my bed. persist not on my weakliness with thy disdain nor be treason and breach of love its troth to thee attributed; for know that hither have i fared and come to this thy land, by hopes of union with thee and near fruition led. how oft i've waked, whilst over me my comrades kept the watch! how many a stony waste i've crossed, how many a desert dread! from mine own land, to visit thee, i came at love's command, for all the distance did forbid,'twixt me and thee that spread. wherefore, by him who letteth waste my frame, have ruth on me and quench my yearning and the fires by passion in me fed. in glory's raiment clad, by thee the stars of heaven are shamed and in amaze the full moon stares to see thy goodlihead. all charms, indeed, thou dost comprise; so who shall vie with thee and who shall blame me if for love of such a fair i'm sped? when he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and delivering it to the nurse, charged her keep the secret. so she took it and carrying it to mariyeh, gave it to her. the princess broke it open and read it and apprehended its purport. then said she, "by allah, o nurse, my heart is burdened with an exceeding chagrin, never knew i a dourer, because of this correspondence and of these verses." and the muse made answer to her, saying, "o my lady, thou art in thy dwelling and thy place and thy heart is void of care; so return him an answer and reck thou not" accordingly, the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight in waiting for the unkept tryst doth watch the weary night! if in night's blackness thou hast plunged into the desert's heart and hast denied thine eyes the taste of sleep and its delight, if near and far thy toiling feet have trod the ways and thou devils and marids hast ensued nor wouldst be led aright, and dar'dst, o dweller in the tents, to lift thine eyes to me, hoping by stress to win of me the amorous delight, get thee to patience fair, if thou remember thee of that whose issues (quoth the merciful) are ever benedight.[fn# ] how many a king for my sweet sake with other kings hath vied, still craving union with me and suing for my sight! whenas en nebhan strove to win my grace, himself to me with camel- loads he did commend of musk and camphor white, and aloes-wood, to boot, he brought and caskets full of pearls and priceless rubies and the like of costly gems and bright; yea, and black slaves he proffered me and slave-girls big with child and steeds of price, with splendid arms and trappings rich bedight. raiment of silk and sendal, too, he brought to us for gift, and me in marriage sought therewith; yet, all his pains despite, of me he got not what he sought and brideless did return, for that estrangement and disdain were pleasing in my sight. wherefore, o stranger, dare thou not approach me with desire, lest ruin quick and pitiless thy hardihood requite. when she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to el abbas. he broke it open and read it and apprehended its purport; then took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: indeed, thou'st told the tale of kings and men of might, each one a lion fierce, impetuous in the fight, whose wits (like mine, alack!) thou stalest and whose hearts with shafts from out thine eyes bewitching thou didst smite. yea, and how slaves and steeds and good and virgin girls were proffered thee to gift, thou hast not failed to cite, how presents in great store thou didst refuse and eke the givers, great and small, with flouting didst requite. then came i after them, desiring thee, with me no second save my sword, my falchion keen and bright. no slaves with me have i nor camels swift of foot, nor slave-girls have i brought in curtained litters dight. yet, an thou wilt vouchsafe thy favours unto me, my sabre thou shalt see the foemen put to flight; ay, and around baghdad the horsemen shalt behold, like clouds that wall the world, full many a doughty knight, all hearkening to my word, obeying my command, in whatsoever thing is pleasing to my sight. if slaves thou fain wouldst have by thousands every day or, kneeling at thy feet, see kings of mickle might, and horses eke wouldst have led to thee day by day and girls, high- breasted maids, and damsels black and white, lo under my command the land of yemen is and trenchant is my sword against the foe in fight. whenas the couriers came with news of thee, how fair thou wast and sweet and how thy visage shone with light, all, all, for thy sweet sake, i left; ay, i forsook aziz, my sire, and those akin to me that hight and unto irak fared, my way to thee to make, and crossed the stony wastes i' the darkness of the night. then sent i speech to thee in verses such as burn the heart; reproach therein was none nor yet unright; yet with perfidiousness (sure fortune's self as thou ne'er so perfidious was) my love thou didst requite and deemedst me a waif, a homeless good-for-nought, a slave-begotten brat, a wanton, witless wight. then he folded the letter and committed it to the nurse and gave her five hundred dinars, saying, "accept this from me, for that indeed thou hast wearied thyself between us." "by allah, o my lord," answered she, "my desire is to bring about union between you, though i lose that which my right hand possesseth." and he said, "may god the most high requite thee with good!" then she carried the letter to mariyeh and said to her, "take this letter; belike it may be the end of the correspondence." so she took it and breaking it open, read it, and when she had made an end of it, she turned to the nurse and said to her, "this fellow putteth off lies upon me and avoucheth unto me that he hath cities and horsemen and footmen at his command and submitting to his allegiance; and he seeketh of me that which he shall not obtain; for thou knowest, o nurse, that kings' sons have sought me in marriage, with presents and rarities; but i have paid no heed unto aught of this; so how shall i accept of this fellow, who is the fool[fn# ] of his time and possesseth nought but two caskets of rubies, which he gave to my father, and indeed he hath taken up his abode in the house of el ghitrif and abideth without silver or gold? wherefore, i conjure thee by allah, o nurse, return to him and cut off his hope of me." accordingly the nurse returned to el abbas, without letter or answer; and when she came in to him, he saw that she was troubled and noted the marks of chagrin on her face; so he said to her, "what is this plight?" quoth she, "i cannot set out to thee that which mariyeh said; for indeed she charged me return to thee without letter or answer." "o nurse of kings," rejoined el abbas, "i would have thee carry her this letter and return not to her without it." then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: my secret is disclosed, the which i strove to hide; of thee and of thy love enough have i abyed. my kinsmen and my friends for thee i did forsake and left them weeping tears that poured as 'twere a tide. yea, to baghdad i came, where rigour gave me chase and i was overthrown of cruelty and pride. repression's draught, by cups, from the beloved's hand i've quaffed; with colocynth for wine she hath me plied. oft as i strove to make her keep the troth of love, unto concealment's ways still would she turn aside. my body is dissolved with sufferance in vain; relenting, ay, and grace i hoped should yet betide; but rigour still hath waxed on me and changed my case and love hath left me bound, afflicted, weeping-eyed. how long shall i anights distracted be for love of thee? how long th' assaults of grief and woes abide? thou, thou enjoy'st repose and comfortable sleep, nor of the mis'ries reckst by which my heart is wried. i watch the stars for wake and pray that the belov'd may yet to me relent and bid my tears be dried. the pains of long desire have wasted me away; estrangement and disdain my body sore have tried. "be thou not hard of heart," quoth i. had ye but deigned to visit me in dreams, i had been satisfied. but when ye saw my writ, the standard ye o'erthrew of faith, your favours grudged and aught of grace denied. nay, though ye read therein discourse that sure should speak to heart and soul, no word thereunto ye replied, but deemed yourself secure from every changing chance nor recked the ebb and flow of fortune's treacherous tide. were my affliction thine, love's anguish hadst thou dreed and in the flaming hell of long estrangement sighed. yet shall thou suffer that which i from thee have borne and with love's woes thy heart shall yet be mortified. the bitterness of false accusing shall thou taste and eke the thing reveal that thou art fain to hide; yea, he thou lov'st shall be hard-hearted, recking not of fortune's turns or fate's caprices, in his pride. wherewith farewell, quoth i, and peace be on thee aye, what while the branches bend, what while the stars abide. when he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to mariyeh. when she came into the princess's presence, she saluted her; but mariyeh returned not her salutation and she said, "o my lady, how hard is thy heart that thou grudgest to return the salutation! take this letter, for that it is the last of that which shall come to thee from him." quoth mariyeh, "take my warning and never again enter my palace, or it will be the cause of thy destruction; for i am certified that thou purposest my dishonour. so get thee gone from me." and she commanded to beat the nurse; whereupon the latter went forth fleeing from her presence, changed of colour and absent of wits, and gave not over going till she came to the house of el abbas. when the prince saw her in this plight, he was as a sleeper awakened and said to her, "what hath befallen thee? set out to me thy case." "god on thee," answered she, "nevermore send me to mariyeh, and do thou protect me, so may god protect thee from the fires of hell!" then she related to him that which had bedded her with mariyeh; which when he heard, there took him the shamefastness of the generous and this was grievous unto him. the love of mariyeh fled forth of his heart and he said to the nurse, "how much hadst thou of mariyeh every month?" "ten dinars," answered she, and he said, "be not concerned." then he put his hand to his poke and bringing out two hundred dinars, gave them to her and said, "take this for a whole year's wage and turn not again to serve any one. when the year is out, i will give thee two years' wage, for that thou hast wearied thyself with us and on account of the cutting off of thy dependence upon mariyeh." moreover, he gave her a complete suit of clothes and raising his head to her, said, "when thou toldest me that which mariyeh had done with thee, god rooted out the love of her from my heart, and never again will she occur to my mind; so extolled be the perfection of him who turneth hearts and eyes! it was she who was the cause of my coming out from yemen, and now the time is past for which i engaged with my people and i fear lest my father levy his troops and come forth in quest of me, for that he hath no child other than myself and cannot brook to be parted from me; and on like wise is it with my mother." when the nurse heard his words, she said to him, "o my lord, and which of the kings is thy father?" "my father is el aziz, lord of yemen and nubia and the islands[fn# ] of the benou kehtan and the two noble sanctuaries[fn# ] (god the most high have them in his keeping!)," answered el abbas; "and whenas he taketh horse, there mount with him an hundred and twenty and four thousand horsemen, all smiters with the sword, let alone attendants and servants and followers, all of whom give ear unto my word and obey my commandment." "why, then, o my lord," asked the nurse, "didst thou conceal the secret of thy rank and lineage and passedst thyself off for a wayfarer? alas for our disgrace before thee by reason of our shortcoming in rendering thee thy due! what shall be our excuse with thee, and thou of the sons of the kings?" but he rejoined, "by allah, thou hast not fallen short! nay, it is incumbent on me to requite thee, what while i live, though i be far distant from thee." then he called his servant aamir and said to him, "saddle the horses." when the nurse heard his words and indeed [she saw that] aamir brought him the horses and they were resolved upon departure, the tears ran down upon her cheeks and she said to him, "by allah, thy separation is grievous to me, o solace of the eye!" then said she, "where is the goal of thine intent, so we may know thy news and solace ourselves with thy report?" quoth he, "i go hence to visit akil, the son of my father's brother, for that he hath his sojourn in the camp of kundeh ben hisham, and these twenty years have i not seen him nor he me; wherefore i purpose to repair to him and discover his news and return hither. then will i go hence to yemen, if it be the will of god the most high." so saying, he took leave of the woman and her husband and set out, intending for akil, his father's brother's son. now there was between baghdad and akil's abiding-place forty days' journey; so el abbas settled himself on the back of his courser and his servant aamir mounted also and they fared forth on their way. presently, el abbas turned right and left and recited the following verses: i am the champion-slayer, the warrior without peer; my foes i slay, destroying the hosts, when i appear. tow'rds el akil my journey i take; to visit him, the wastes in praise and safety i traverse, without fear, and all the desert spaces devour, whilst to my rede, or if in sport or earnest,[fn# ] still aamir giveth ear. who letteth us or hind'reth our way, i spring on him, as springeth lynx or panther upon the frighted deer; with ruin i o'erwhelm him and abjectness and woe and cause him quaff the goblet of death and distance drear. well-ground my polished sword is and thin and keen of edge and trenchant, eke, for smiting and long my steel-barbed spear. so fell and fierce my stroke is, if on a mountain high it lit, though all of granite, right through its midst 'twould shear. nor troops have i nor henchmen nor one to lend me aid save god, to whom, my maker, my voice in praise i rear. 'tis he who pardoneth errors alike to slave and free; on him is my reliance in good and evil cheer. then they fell to journeying night and day, and as they went, behold, they sighted a camp of the camps of the arabs. so el abbas enquired thereof and was told that it was the camp of the benou zuhreh. now there were around them sheep and cattle, such as filled the earth, and they were enemies to el akil, the cousin of el abbas, upon whom they still made raids and took his cattle; wherefore he used to pay them tribute every year, for that he availed not to cope with them. when el abbas came near the camp, he dismounted from his courser and his servant aamir also dismounted; and they set down the victual and ate their sufficiency and rested awhile of the day. then said the prince to aamir, "fetch water and give the horses to drink and draw water for us in thy water-bag, by way of provision for the road." so aamir took the water-skin and made for the water; but, when he came to the well, behold, two young men with gazelles, and when they saw him, they said to him, "whither wilt thou, o youth, and of which of the arabs art thou?" "harkye, lads," answered he, "fill me my water-skin, for that i am a stranger man and a wayfarer and i have a comrade who awaiteth me." quoth they, "thou art no wayfarer, but a spy from el akil's camp." then they took him and carried him to [their king] zuheir ben shebib; and when he came before him, he said to him, "of which of the arabs art thou?" quoth aamir, "i am a wayfarer." and zuheir said, "whence comest thou and whither wilt thou?" "i am on my way to akil," answered aamir. when he named akil, those who were present were agitated; but zuheir signed to them with his eyes and said to him, "what is thine errand with akil?" quoth he, "we would fain see him, my friend and i." when zuheir heard his words, he bade smite off his head; but his vizier said to him, "slay him not, till his friend be present." so he commanded the two slaves to fetch his friend; whereupon they repaired to el abbas and called to him, saying, "o youth, answer the summons of king zuheir." "what would the king with me?" asked he, and they answered, "we know not." quoth he, "who gave the king news of me?" "we went to draw water," answered they, "and found a man by the water. so we questioned him of his case, but he would not acquaint us therewith; wherefore we carried him perforce to king zuheir, who questioned him of his case and he told him that he was going to akil. now akil is the king's enemy and he purposeth to betake himself to his camp and make prize of his offspring and cut off his traces." "and what," asked el abbas, "hath akil done with king zuheir?" and they replied, "he engaged for himself that he would bring the king every year a thousand dinars and a thousand she-camels, besides a thousand head of thoroughbred horses and two hundred black slaves and fifty slave-girls; but it hath reached the king that akil purposeth to give nought of this; wherefore he is minded to go to him. so hasten thou with us, ere the king be wroth with thee and with us." then said el abbas to them, "o youths, sit by my arms and my horse till i return." but they answered, saying, "by allah, thou prolongest discourse with that which beseemeth not of words! make haste, or we will go with thy head, for indeed the king purposeth to slay thee and to slay thy comrade and take that which is with you." when the prince heard this, his skin quaked and he cried out at them with a cry that made them tremble. then he sprang upon his horse and settling himself in the saddle, galloped till he came to the king's assembly, when he cried out at the top of his voice, saying ["to horse,] cavaliers!" and levelled his spear at the pavilion wherein was zuheir. now there were about him a thousand smiters with the sword; but el abbas fell in upon them and dispersed them from around him, and there abode none in the tent save zuheir and his vizier. then came up el abbas to the door of the tent, and therein were four-and-twenty golden doves; so he took them, after he had beaten them down with the end of his lance. then he called out, saying, "harkye, zuheir! doth it not suffice thee that thou hast quelled el akil's repute, but thou art minded to quell that of those who sojourn round about him? knowest thou not that he is of the lieutenants of kundeh ben [hisham of the benou] sheiban, a man renowned for prowess? indeed, covetise of him hath entered into thee and jealousy of him hath gotten possession of thee. doth it not suffice thee that thou hast orphaned his children[fn# ] and slain his men? by the virtue of the chosen prophet, i will make thee drink the cup of death!" so saying, he drew his sword and smiting zuheir on his shoulder, caused the steel issue, gleaming, from the tendons of his throat. then he smote the vizier and clove his head in sunder. as he was thus, behold, aamir called out to him and said, "o my lord, come to my help, or i am a dead man!" so el abbas went up to him and found him cast down on his back and chained with four chains to four pickets of iron. he loosed his bonds and said to him, "go before me, o aamir." so he fared on before him a little, and presently they looked, and behold, horsemen making to zuheir's succour, to wit, twelve thousand cavaliers, with sehl ben kaab in their van, mounted upon a jet-black steed. he charged upon aamir, who fled from him, then upon el abbas, who said, "o aamir, cleave fast to my horse and guard my back." aamir did as he bade him, whereupon el abbas cried out at the folk and falling upon them, overthrew their braves and slew of them nigh two thousand cavaliers, whilst not one of them knew what was to do nor with whom he fought. then said one of them to other, "verily, the king is slain; so with whom do we wage war? indeed ye flee from him; so do ye enter under his banners, or not one of you will be saved." thereupon they all dismounted and putting off that which was upon them of harness of war, came before el abbas and tendered him allegiance and sued for his protection. so he held his hand from them and bade them gather together the spoils. then he took the riches and the slaves and the camels, and they all became his liege-men and his retainers, to the number (according to that which is said) of fifty thousand horse. moreover, the folk heard of him and flocked to him from all sides; whereupon he divided [the spoil amongst them] and gave gifts and abode thus three days, and there came presents to him. then he bade set out for akil's abiding-place; so they fared on six days and on the seventh day they came in sight of the camp. el abbas bade his man aamir forego him and give akil the glad news of his cousin's coming. so he rode on to the camp and going in to akil, gave him the glad news of zuheir's slaughter and the conquest of his tribe. akil rejoiced in the coming of el abbas and the slaughter of his enemy and all in his camp rejoiced also and cast dresses of honour upon aamir. moreover, akil bade go forth to meet el abbas, and commanded that none, great or small, freeman or slave, should tarry behind. so they did his bidding and going forth all, met el abbas at three parasangs' distance from the camp. when they met him, they all dismounted from their horses and akil and he embraced and clapped hands.[fn# ] then they returned, rejoicing in the coming of el abbas and the slaughter of their enemy, to the camp, where tents were pitched for the new-comers and carpets spread and game killed and beasts slaughtered and royal guest-meals spread; and on this wise they abode twenty days, in the enjoyment of all delight and solace of life. to return to king el aziz. when his son el abbas left him, he was desolated for him with an exceeding desolation, he and his mother; and when tidings of him tarried long and the appointed time passed [and the prince returned not], the king caused public proclamation to be made, commanding all his troops to make ready to mount and go forth in quest of his son el abbas at the end of three days, after which time no cause of hindrance nor excuse should be admitted unto any. so on the fourth day, the king bade number the troops, and behold, they were four-and-twenty thousand horse, besides servants and followers. accordingly, they reared the standards and the drums beat to departure and the king set out [with his army], intending for baghdad; nor did he cease to fare on with all diligence, till he came within half a day's journey of the city and bade his troops encamp in [a place there called] the green meadow. so they pitched the tents there, till the country was straitened with them, and set up for the king a pavilion of green brocade, broidered with pearls and jewels. when el aziz had sat awhile, he summoned the mamelukes of his son el abbas, and they were five-and-twenty in number, besides half a score slave-girls, as they were moons, five of whom the king had brought with him and other five he had left with the prince's mother. when the mamelukes came before him, he cast over each of them a mantle of green brocade and bade them mount like horses of one and the same fashion and enter baghdad and enquire concerning their lord el abbas. so they entered the city and passed through the [streets and] markets, and there abode in baghdad nor old man nor boy but came forth to gaze on them and divert himself with the sight of their beauty and grace and the goodliness of their aspect and of their clothes and horses, for that they were even as moons. they gave not over going till they came to the royal palace, where they halted, and the king looked at them and seeing their beauty and the goodliness of their apparel and the brightness of their faces, said, "would i knew of which of the tribes these are!" and he bade the eunuch bring him news of them. so he went out to them and questioned them of their case, whereupon, "return to thy lord," answered they, "and question him of prince el abbas, if he have come unto him, for that he left his father king el aziz a full-told year agone, and indeed longing for him troubleth the king and he hath levied a part of his army and his guards and is come forth in quest of his son, so haply he may light upon tidings of him." quoth the eunuch, "is there amongst you a brother of his or a son?" "nay, by allah!" answered they. "but we are all his mamelukes and the boughten of his money, and his father el aziz hath despatched us to make enquiry of him. so go thou to thy lord and question him of the prince and return to us with that which he shall answer you." "and where is king el aziz?" asked the eunuch; and they replied, "he is encamped in the green meadow."[fn# ] the eunuch returned and told the king, who said, "indeed, we have been neglectful with regard to el abbas. what shall be our excuse with the king? by allah, my soul misdoubted me that the youth was of the sons of the kings!" the lady afifeh, his wife, saw him lamenting for [his usage of] el abbas and said to him, "o king, what is it thou regrettest with this exceeding regret?" quoth he, "thou knowest the stranger youth, who gave us the rubies?" "assuredly," answered she; and he said, "yonder youths, who have halted in the palace court, are his mamelukes, and his father king el aziz, lord of yemen, hath pitched his camp in the green meadow; for he is come with his army to seek him, and the number of his troops is [four-and-] twenty thousand men." [then he went out from her], and when she heard his words, she wept sore for him and had compassion on his case and sent after him, counselling him to send for the mamelukes and lodge them [in the palace] and entertain them. the king gave ear to her counsel and despatching the eunuch for the mamelukes, assigned them a lodging and said to them, "have patience, till the king give you tidings of your lord el abbas." when they heard his words, their eyes ran over with plenteous tears, of their much longing for the sight of their lord. then the king bade the queen enter the privy chamber[fn# ] and let down the curtain[fn# ] [before the door thereof]. so she did this and he summoned them to his presence. when they stood before him, they kissed the earth, to do him worship, and showed forth their breeding[fn# ] and magnified his dignity. he bade them sit, but they refused, till he conjured them by their lord el abbas. so they sat down and he caused set before them food of various kinds and fruits and sweetmeats. now within the lady afifeh's palace was an underground way communicating with the palace of the princess mariyeh. so the queen sent after her and she came to her, whereupon she made her stand behind the curtain and gave her to know that el abbas was the king's son of yemen and that these were his mamelukes. moreover, she told her that the prince's father had levied his troops and was come with his army in quest of him and that he had pitched his camp in the green meadow and despatched these mamelukes to make enquiry of their lord. so mariyeh abode looking upon them and upon their beauty and grace and the goodliness of their apparel, till they had eaten their fill of food and the tables were removed; whereupon the king recounted to them the story of el abbas and they took leave of him and went away. as for the princess mariyeh, when she returned to her palace, she bethought herself concerning the affair of el abbas, repenting her of that which she had done, and the love of him took root in her heart. so, when the night darkened upon her, she dismissed all her women and bringing out the letters, to wit, those which el abbas had written, fell to reading them and weeping. she gave not over weeping her night long, and when she arose in the morning, she called a damsel of her slave-girls, shefikeh by name, and said to her, "o damsel, i purpose to discover to thee mine affair, and i charge thee keep my secret; to wit, i would have thee betake thyself to the house of the nurse, who used to serve me, and fetch her to me, for that i have grave occasion for her." accordingly, shefikeh went out and repairing to the nurse's house, found her clad in apparel other[fn# ] than that which she had been wont to wear aforetime. so she saluted her and said to her, "whence hadst thou this dress, than which there is no goodlier?" "o shefikeh," answered the nurse, "thou deemest that i have gotten[fn# ] no good save of thy mistress; but, by allah, had i endeavoured for her destruction, i had done [that which was my right], for that she did with me what thou knowest[fn# ] and bade the eunuch beat me, without offence of me committed; wherefore do thou tell her that he, on whose behalf i bestirred myself with her, hath made me quit of her and her humours, for that he hath clad me in this habit and given me two hundred and fifty dinars and promised me the like thereof every year and charged me serve none of the folk." quoth shefikeh, "my mistress hath occasion for thee; so come thou with me and i will engage to restore thee to thy dwelling in weal and safety." but the nurse answered, saying, "indeed, her palace is become forbidden[fn# ] to me and never again will i enter therein, for that god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) of his favour and bounty hath rendered me independent of her." so shefikeh returned to her mistress and acquainted her with the nurse's words and that wherein she was of affluence; whereupon mariyeh confessed the unseemliness of her dealing with her and repented, whenas repentance profited her not; and she abode in that her case days and nights, whilst the fire of longing flamed in her heart. meanwhile, el abbas abode with his cousin akil twenty days, after which he made ready for the journey to baghdad and letting bring the booty he had gotten of king zuheir, divided it between himself and his cousin. then he set out for baghdad, and when he came within two days' journey of the city, he called his servant aamir and bade him mount his charger and forego him with the baggage-train and the cattle. so aamir [took horse and] fared on till he came to baghdad, and the season of his entering was the first of the day; nor was there little child or hoary old man in the city but came forth to divert himself with gazing on those flocks and herds and upon the goodliness of those slave-girls, and their wits were amazed at what they saw. presently the news reached the king that the young man el abbas, who had gone forth from him, was come back with herds and rarities and slaves and a mighty host and had taken up his sojourn without the city, whilst his servant aamir was presently come to baghdad, so he might make ready dwelling- places for his lord, wherein he should take up his abode. when the king heard these tidings of aamir, he sent for him and let bring him before him; and when he entered his presence, he kissed the earth and saluted and showed forth his breeding and greeted him with the goodliest of compliments. the king bade him raise his head and questioned him of his lord el abbas; whereupon he acquainted him with his tidings and told him that which had betided him with king zuheir and of the army that was become at his commandment and of the spoil that he had gotten. moreover, he gave him to know that el abbas was coming on the morrow, and with him more than fifty thousand cavaliers, obedient to his commandment. when the king heard his speech, he bade decorate baghdad and commanded [the inhabitants] to equip themselves with the richest of their apparel, in honour of the coming of el abbas. moreover, he sent to give king el aziz the glad tidings of his son's return and acquainted him with that which he had heard from the prince's servant. when the news reached el aziz, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy in the coming of his son and straightway took horse, he and all his army, what while the trumpets sounded and the musicians played, that the earth quaked and baghdad also trembled, and it was a notable day. when mariyeh beheld all this, she repented with the uttermost of repentance of that which she had wroughten against el abbas his due and the fires still raged in her vitals. meanwhile, the troops[fn# ] sallied forth of baghdad and went out to meet those of el abbas, who had halted in a meadow called the green island. when he espied the approaching host, he knew not what they were; so he strained his sight and seeing horsemen coming and troops and footmen, said to those about him, "among yonder troops are ensigns and banners of various kinds; but, as for the great green standard that ye see, it is the standard of my father, the which is reserved [unto him and never displayed save] over his head, and [by this] i know that he himself is come out in quest of me." and he was certified of this, he and his troops. [so he fared on towards them] and when he drew near unto them, he knew them and they knew him; whereupon they lighted down from their horses and saluting him, gave him joy of his safety and the folk flocked to him. when he came to his father, they embraced and greeted each other a long time, whilst neither of them availed unto speech, for the greatness of that which betided them of joy in reunion. then el abbas bade the folk mount; so they mounted and his mamelukes surrounded him and they entered baghdad on the most magnificent wise and in the highest worship and glory. the wife of the shopkeeper, to wit, the nurse, came out, with the rest of those who came out, to divert herself with gazing upon the show, and when she saw el abbas and beheld his beauty and the goodliness of his army and that which he had brought back with him of herds and slaves and slave-girls and mamelukes, she improvised and recited the following verses: el abbas from akil his stead is come again; prize hath he made of steeds and many a baggage-train; yea, horses hath he brought, full fair of shape and hue, whose collars, anklet-like, ring to the bridle-rein. taper of hoofs and straight of stature, in the dust they prance, as like a flood they pour across the plain; and on their saddles perched are warriors richly clad, that with their hands do smite on kettle-drums amain. couched are their limber spears, right long and lithe of point, keen- ground and polished sheer, amazing wit and brain. who dares with them to cope draws death upon himself; yea, of the deadly lance incontinent he's slain. come, then, companions mine, rejoice with me and say, "all hail to thee, o friend, and welcome fair and fain!" for whoso doth rejoice in meeting him shall have largesse and gifts galore at his dismounting gain. when the troops entered baghdad, each of them alighted in his pavilion, whilst el abbas encamped apart in a place near the tigris and commanded to slaughter for the troops, each day, that which should suffice them of oxen and sheep and bake them bread and spread the tables. so the folk ceased not to come to him and eat of his banquet. moreover, all the people of the country came to him with presents and rarities and he requited them many times the like of their gifts, so that the lands were filled with his tidings and the report of him was bruited abroad among the folk of the deserts and the cities. then, when he rode to his house that he had bought, the shopkeeper and his wife came to him and gave him joy of his safety; whereupon he ordered them three swift thoroughbred horses and ten dromedaries and an hundred head of sheep and clad them both in sumptuous dresses of honour. then he chose out ten slave-girls and ten black slaves and fifty horses and the like number of she- camels and three hundred head of sheep, together with twenty ounces of musk and as many of camphor, and sent all this to the king of baghdad. when this came to ins ben cais, his wit fled for joy and he was perplexed wherewithal to requite him. moreover, el abbas gave gifts and largesse and bestowed dresses of honour upon great and small, each after the measure of his station, save only mariyeh; for unto her he sent nothing. this was grievous to the princess and it irked her sore that he should not remember her; so she called her slave- girl shefikeh and said to her, "go to el abbas and salute him and say to him, 'what hindereth thee from sending my lady mariyeh her part of thy booty?'" so shefikeh betook herself to him and when she came to his door, the chamberlains refused her admission, until they should have gotten her leave and permission. when she entered, el abbas knew her and knew that she had somewhat of speech [with him]; so he dismissed his mamelukes and said to her, "what is thine errand, o handmaid of good?" "o my lord," answered she, "i am a slave-girl of the princess mariyeh, who kisseth thy hands and commendeth her salutation to thee. indeed, she rejoiceth in thy safety and reproacheth thee for that thou breakest her heart, alone of all the folk, for that thy largesse embraceth great and small, yet hast thou not remembered her with aught of thy booty. indeed, it is as if thou hadst hardened thy heart against her." quoth he, "extolled be the perfection of him who turneth hearts! by allah, my vitals were consumed with the love of her [aforetime] and of my longing after her, i came forth to her from my native land and left my people and my home and my wealth, and it was with her that began the hardheartedness and the cruelty. nevertheless, for all this, i bear her no malice and needs must i send her somewhat whereby she may remember me; for that i abide in her land but a few days, after which i set out for the land of yemen." then he called for a chest and bringing out thence a necklace of greek handiwork, worth a thousand dinars, wrapped it in a mantle of green silk, set with pearls and jewels and inwrought with red gold, and joined thereto two caskets of musk and ambergris. moreover, he put off upon the girl a mantle of greek silk, striped with gold, wherein were divers figures and semblants depictured, never saw eyes its like. therewithal the girl's wit fled for joy and she went forth from his presence and returned to her mistress. when she came in to her, she acquainted her with that which she had seen of el abbas and that which was with him of servants and attendants and [set out to her] the loftiness of his station and gave her that which was with her. mariyeh opened the mantle, and when she saw that necklace, and indeed the place was illumined with the lustre thereof, she looked at her slave-girl and said to her, "by allah, o shefikeh, one look at him were liefer to me than all that my hand possesseth! would i knew what i shall do, whenas baghdad is empty of him and i hear no tidings of him!" then she wept and calling for inkhorn* and paper and pen of brass, wrote the following verses: still do i yearn, whilst passion's fire flames in my liver aye; for parting's shafts have smitten me and done my strength away. oft for thy love as i would be consoled, my yearning turns to-thee- ward still and my desires my reason still gainsay. my transports i conceal for fear of those thereon that spy; yet down my cheeks the tears course still and still my case bewray. no rest is there for me, no life wherein i may delight, nor pleasant meat nor drink avails to please me, night or day. to whom save thee shall i complain, of whom relief implore, whose image came to visit me, what while in dreams i lay? reproach me not for what i did, but be thou kind to one who's sick of body and whose heart is wasted all away. the fire of love-longing i hide; severance consumeth me, a thrall of care, for long desire to wakefulness a prey. midmost the watches of the night i see thee, in a dream; a lying dream, for he i love my love doth not repay. would god thou knewest that for love of thee which i endure! it hath indeed brought down on me estrangement and dismay. read thou my writ and apprehend its purport, for my case this is and fate hath stricken me with sorrows past allay. know, then, the woes that have befall'n a lover, neither grudge her secret to conceal, but keep her counsel still, i pray. then she folded the letter and giving it to her slave-girl, bade her carry it to el abbas and bring back his answer thereto. accordingly, shefikeh took the letter and carried it to the prince, after the doorkeeper had sought leave of him to admit her. when she came in to him, she found with him five damsels, as they were moons, clad in [rich] apparel and ornaments; and when he saw her, he said to her, "what is thine occasion, o handmaid of good?" so she put out her hand to him with the letter, after she had kissed it, and he bade one of his slave-girls receive it from her. then he took it from the girl and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport; whereupon "we are god's and to him we return!" exclaimed he and calling for ink- horn and paper, wrote the following verses: i marvel for that to my love i see thee now incline, what time my heart, indeed, is fain to turn away from thine. whilere, the verses that i made it was thy wont to flout, saying, "no passer by the way[fn# ] hath part in me or mine. how many a king to me hath come, of troops and guards ensued, and bactrian camels brought with him, in many a laden line, and dromedaries, too, of price and goodly steeds and swift of many a noble breed, yet found no favour in my eyne!" then, after them came i to thee and union did entreat and unto thee set forth at length my case and my design; yea, all my passion and desire and love-longing in verse, as pearls in goodly order strung it were, i did enshrine. yet thou repaidst me with constraint, rigour and perfidy, to which no lover might himself on any wise resign. how many a bidder unto love, a secret-craving wight, how many a swain, complaining, saith of destiny malign, "how many a cup with bitterness o'erflowing have i quaffed! i make my moan of woes, whereat it boots not to repine." quoth thou, "the goodliest of things is patience and its use: its practice still mankind doth guide to all that's fair and fine." wherefore fair patience look thou use, for sure 'tis praiseworthy; yea, and its issues evermore are blessed and benign; and hope thou not for aught from me, who reck not with a folk to mix, who may with abjectness infect my royal line. this is my saying; apprehend its purport, then, and know i may in no wise yield consent to that thou dost opine. then he folded the letter and sealing it, delivered it to the damsel, who took it and carried it to her mistress. when the princess read the letter and apprehended its contents, she said, "meseemeth he recalleth to me that which i did aforetime." then she called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: me, till i stricken was therewith, to love thou didst excite, and with estrangement now, alas! heap'st sorrows on my spright. the sweet of slumber after thee i have forsworn; indeed the loss of thee hath smitten me with trouble and affright. how long shall i, in weariness, for this estrangement pine, what while the spies of severance[fn# ] do watch me all the night? my royal couch have i forsworn, sequestering myself from all, and have mine eyes forbid the taste of sleep's delight. thou taught'st me what i cannot bear; afflicted sore am i; yea, thou hast wasted me away with rigour and despite. yet, i conjure thee, blame me not for passion and desire, me whom estrangement long hath brought to sick and sorry plight. sore, sore doth rigour me beset, its onslaughts bring me near unto the straitness of the grave, ere in the shroud i'm dight. so be thou kind to me, for love my body wasteth sore, the thrall of passion i'm become its fires consume me quite. mariyeh folded the letter and gave it to shefikeh, bidding her carry it to el abbas. so she took it and going with it to his door, would have entered; but the chamberlains and serving-men forbade her, till they had gotten her leave from the prince. when she went in to him, she found him sitting in the midst of the five damsels aforesaid, whom his father had brought him. so she gave him the letter and he took it and read it. then he bade one of the damsels, whose name was khefifeh and who came from the land of china, tune her lute and sing upon the subject of separation. so she came forward and tuning the lute, played thereon in four-and-twenty modes; after which she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: upon the parting day our loves from us did fare and left us to endure estrangement and despair. whenas the burdens all were bounden on and shrill the camel-leader's call rang out across the air, fast flowed my tears; despair gat hold upon my soul and needs mine eyelids must the sweet of sleep forbear. i wept, but those who spied to part us had no ruth on me nor on the fires that in my vitals flare. woe's me for one who burns for love and longing pain! alas for the regrets my heart that rend and tear! to whom shall i complain of what is in my soul, now thou art gone and i my pillow must forswear? the flames of long desire wax on me day by day and far away are pitched the tent-poles of my fair. o breeze of heaven, from me a charge i prithee take and do not thou betray the troth of my despair; whenas thou passest by the dwellings of my love, greet him for me with peace, a greeting debonair, and scatter musk on him and ambergris, so long as time endures; for this is all my wish and care. when the damsel had made an end of her song, el abbas swooned away and they sprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, till he came to himself, when he called another damsel (now there was on her of linen and clothes and ornaments that which beggareth description, and she was endowed with brightness and loveliness and symmetry and perfection, such as shamed the crescent moon, and she was a turkish girl from the land of the greeks and her name was hafizeh) and said to her, "o hafizeh, close thine eyes and tune thy lute and sing to us upon the days of separation." she answered him with "hearkening and obedience" and taking the lute, tuned its strings and cried out from her head,[fn# ] in a plaintive voice, and sang the following verses: o friends, the tears flow ever, in mockery of my pain; my heart is sick for sev'rance and love-longing in vain. all wasted is my body and bowels tortured sore; love's fire on me still waxeth, mine eyes with tears still rain. whenas the fire of passion flamed in my breast, with tears, upon the day of wailing, to quench it i was fain. desire hath left me wasted, afflicted, sore afraid, for the spy knows the secret whereof i do complain. when i recall the season of love-delight with them, the sweet of sleep forsakes me, my body wastes amain. those who our parting plotted our sev'rance still delights; the spies, for fearful prudence, their wish of us attain. i fear me for my body from sickness and unrest, lest of the fear of sev'rance it be betrayed and slain. when hafizeh had made an end of her song, el abbas said to her, "well done! indeed, thou quickenest hearts from sorrows." then he called another damsel of the daughters of the medes, by name merjaneh, and said to her, "o merjaneh, sing to me upon the days of separation." "hearkening and obedience," answered she and improvising, sang the following verses: "fair patience practise, for thereon still followeth content." so runs the rede 'mongst all that dwell in city or in tent. how oft of dole have i made moan for love and longing pain, what while my body for desire in mortal peril went! how oft i've waked, how many a cup of sorrow have i drained, watching the stars of night go by, for sleepless languishment! it had sufficed me, had thy grace with verses come to me; my expectation still on thee in the foredawns was bent. then was my heart by that which caused my agitation seared, and from mine eyelids still the tears poured down without relent. yea, nevermore i ceased from that wherewith i stricken was; my night with wakefulness was filled, my heart with dreariment. but now hath allah from my heart blotted the love of thee, after for constancy i'd grown a name of wonderment. hence on the morrow forth i fare and leave your land behind; so take your leave of us nor fear mishap or ill event. whenas in body ye from us are far removed, would god i knew who shall to us himself with news of you present! and who can tell if ever house shall us together bring in union of life serene and undisturbed content? when merjaneh had made an end of her song, the prince said to her, "well done, o damsel! indeed, thou sayest a thing that had occurred to my mind and my tongue was like to speak it." then he signed to the fourth damsel, who was a cairene, by name sitt el husn, and bade her tune her lute and sing to him upon the [same] subject. so she tuned her lute and sang the following verses: fair patience use, for ease still followeth after stress and all things have their time and ordinance no less. though fortune whiles to thee belike may be unjust, her seasons change and man's excused if he transgress. in her revolving scheme, to bitter sweetness still succeeds and things become straight, after crookedness. thine honour, therefore, guard and eke thy secret keep, nor save to one free-born and true thy case confess. the lord's alternatives are these, wherewith he's wont the needy wretch to ply and those in sore duresse. when el abbas heard her verses, they pleased him and he said to her, "well done, o sitt el husn! indeed, thou hast done away trouble from my heart and [banished] the things that had occurred to my mind." then he heaved a sigh and signing to the fifth damsel, who was from the land of the persians and whose name was merziyeh (now she was the fairest of them all and the sweetest of speech and she was like unto a splendid star, endowed with beauty and loveliness and brightness and perfection and justness of shape and symmetry and had a face like the new moon and eyes as they were gazelle's eyes) and said to her, "o merziyeh, come forward and tune thy lute and sing to us on the [same] subject, for indeed we are resolved upon departure to the land of yemen." now this damsel had met many kings and had consorted with the great; so she tuned her lute and sang the following verses: may the place of my session ne'er lack thee i oh, why, my heart's love, hast thou saddened my mind and mine eye?[fn# ] by thy ransom,[fn# ] who dwellest alone in my heart, in despair for the loss of the loved one am i. so, by allah, o richest of all men in charms, vouchsafe to a lover, who's bankrupt well-nigh of patience, thy whilom endearments again, that i never to any divulged, nor deny the approof of my lord, so my stress and unease i may ban and mine enemies' malice defy, thine approof which shall clothe me in noblest attire and my rank in the eyes of the people raise high. when she had made an end of her song, all who were in the assembly wept for the daintiness of her speech and the sweetness of her voice and el abbas said to her, "well done, o merziyeh i indeed, thou confoundest the wits with the goodliness of thy verses and the elegance of thy speech." all this while shefikeh abode gazing upon her, and when she beheld el abbas his slave-girls and considered the goodliness of their apparel and the nimbleness of their wits and the elegance of their speech, her reason was confounded. then she sought leave of el abbas and returning to her mistress mariyeh, without letter or answer, acquainted her with his case and that wherein he was of puissance and delight and majesty and venerance and loftiness of rank. moreover, she told her what she had seen of the slave-girls and their circumstance and that which they had said and how they had made el abbas desireful of returning to his own country by the recitation of verses to the sound of the strings. when the princess heard this her slave-girl's report, she wept and lamented and was like to depart the world. then she clave to her pillow and said, "o shefikeh, i will instruct thee of somewhat that is not hidden from god the most high, and it is that thou watch over me till god the most high decree the accomplishment of his commandment, and when my days are ended, take thou the necklace and the mantle that el abbas gave me and return them to him. indeed, i deem not he will live after me, and if god the most high decree against him and his days come to an end, do thou give one charge to shroud us and bury us both in one grave." then her case changed and her colour paled; and when shefikeh saw her mistress in this plight, she repaired to her mother and told her that the lady mariyeh refused meat and drink. "since when hath this befallen her?" asked the queen, and shefikeh answered, "since yesterday;" whereat the queen was confounded and betaking herself to her daughter, that she might enquire into her case, found her as one dead. so she sat down at her head and mariyeh opened her eyes and seeing her mother sitting by her, sat up for shamefastness before her. the queen questioned her of her case and she said, "i entered the bath and it stupefied me and weakened me and left an exceeding pain in my head; but i trust in god the most high that it will cease." when her mother went out from her, mariyeh fell to chiding the damsel for that which she had done and said to her, "verily, death were leifer to me than this; so look thou discover not my affair to any and i charge thee return not to the like of this fashion." then she swooned away and lay awhile without life, and when she came to herself, she saw shefikeh weeping over her; whereupon she took the necklace from her neck and the mantle from her body and said to the damsel, "lay them in a napkin of damask and carry them to el abbas and acquaint him with that wherein i am for the persistence of estrangement and the effects of forbiddance." so shefikeh took them and carried them to el abbas, whom she found in act to depart, for that he was about to take horse for yemen. she went in to him and gave him the napkin and that which was therein, and when he opened it and saw what it contained, to wit, the mantle and the necklace, his vexation was excessive and his eyes were distorted, [so that the whites thereof appeared] and his rage was manifest in them. when shefikeh saw that which betided him, she came forward and said to him, "o bountiful lord, indeed my mistress returneth not the mantle and the necklace despitefully; but she is about to depart the world and thou hast the best right to them." "and what is the cause of this?" asked he. quoth shefikeh, "thou knowest. by allah, never among the arabs nor the barbarians nor among the sons of the kings saw i a harder of heart than thou! is it a light matter to thee that thou troublest mariyeh's life and causest her mourn for herself and depart the world on account of[fn# ] thy youth? indeed, thou wast the cause of her acquaintance with thee and now she departeth the world on thine account, she whose like god the most high hath not created among the daughters of the kings." when el abbas heard these words from the damsel, his heart irked him for mariyeh and her case was grievous to him; so he said to shefikeh, "canst thou avail to bring me in company with her, so haply i may discover her affair and allay that which aileth her?" "yes," answered the damsel, "i can do that, and thine will be the bounty and the favour." so he arose and followed her, and she forewent him, till they came to the palace. then she [opened and] locked behind them four-and-twenty doors and made them fast with bolts; and when he came to mariyeh, he found her as she were the setting sun, cast down upon a rug of taifi leather,[fn# ] among cushions stuffed with ostrich down, and not a limb of her quivered. when her maid saw her in this plight, she offered to cry out; but el abbas said to her, "do it not, but have patience till we discover her affair; and if god the most high have decreed the ending of her days, wait till thou have opened the doors to me and i have gone forth. then do what seemeth good to thee." so saying, he went up to the princess and laying his hand upon her heart, found it fluttering like a doveling and the life yet clinging to[fn# ] her bosom. so he laid his hand upon her cheek, whereupon she opened her eyes and beckoning to her maid, signed to her, as who should say, "who is this that treadeth my carpet and transgresseth against me?"[fn# ] "o my lady," answered shefikeh, "this is prince el abbas, for whose sake thou departest the world." when mariyeh heard speak of el abbas, she raised her hand from under the coverlet and laying it upon his neck, inhaled his odour awhile. then she sat up and her colour returned to her and they sat talking till a third part of the night was past. presently, the princess turned to her maid and bade her fetch them somewhat of food and sweetmeats and dessert and fruits. so shefikeh brought what she desired and they ate and drank [and abode on this wise] without lewdness, till the night departed and the day came. then said el abbas, "indeed, the day is come. shall i go to my father and bid him go to thy father and seek thee of him in marriage for me, in accordance with the book of god the most high and the institutes of his apostle (whom may he bless and keep!) so we may not enter into transgression?" and mariyeh answered, saying, "by allah, it is well counselled of thee!" so he went away to his lodging and nought befell between them; and when the day lightened, she improvised and recited the following verses: o friends, the east wind waxes, the morning draweth near; a plaintive voice[fn# ] bespeaks me and i rejoice to hear. up, to our comrade's convent, that we may visit him and drink of wine more subtle than dust;[fn# ] our trusty fere hath spent thereon his substance, withouten stint; indeed, in his own cloak he wrapped it, he tendered it so dear.[fn# ] whenas its jar was opened, the singers prostrate fell in worship of its brightness, it shone so wonder-clear. the priests from all the convent came flocking onto it: with cries of joy and welcome their voices they did rear. we spent the night in passing the cup, my mates and i, till in the eastward heaven the day-star did appear. no sin is there in drinking of wine, for it affords all that's foretold[fn# ] of union and love and happy cheer. o morn, our loves that sunder'st, a sweet and easeful life thou dost for me prohibit, with thy regard austere. be gracious, so our gladness may be fulfilled with wine and we of our beloved have easance, without fear. the best of all religions your love is, for in you are love and life made easeful, untroubled and sincere. meanwhile, el abbas betook himself to his father's camp, which was pitched in the green meadow, by the side of the tigris, and none might make his way between the tents, for the much interlacement of the tent-ropes. when the prince reached the first of the tents, the guards and servants came out to meet him from all sides and escorted him till he drew near the sitting-place of his father, who knew of his coming. so he issued forth of his pavilion and coming to meet his son, kissed him and made much of him. then they returned together to the royal pavilion and when they had seated themselves and the guards had taken up their station in attendance on them, the king said to el abbas, "o my son, make ready thine affair, so we may go to our own land, for that the folk in our absence are become as they were sheep without a shepherd." el abbas looked at his father and wept till he swooned away, and when he recovered from his swoon, he improvised and recited the following verses: i clipped her[fn# ] in mine arms and straight grew drunken with the scent of a fresh branch that had been reared in affluence and content. 'twas not of wine that i had drunk; her mouth's sweet honeyed dews it was intoxicated me with bliss and ravishment. upon the table of her cheek beauty hath writ, "alack, her charms! 'twere well thou refuge sought'st with god incontinent."[fn# ] since thou hast looked on her, mine eye, be easy, for by god nor mote nor ailment needst thou fear nor evil accident. beauty her appanage is grown in its entirety, and for this cause all hearts must bow to her arbitrament. if with her cheek and lustre thou thyself adorn,[fn# ] thou'lt find but chrysolites and gold, with nought of baser metal blent. when love-longing for her sweet sake i took upon myself, the railers flocked to me anon, on blame and chiding bent; but on no wise was i affrayed nor turned from love of her; so let the railer rave of her henceforth his heart's content. by god, forgetfulness of her shall never cross my mind, what while i wear the bonds of life nor when of death they're rent an if i live, in love of her i'll live, and if i die of love and longing for her sight, o rare! o excellent! when el abbas had made an end of his verses, his father said to him, "i seek refuge for thee with god, o my son! hast thou any want unto which thou availest not, so i may endeavour for thee therein and lavish my treasures in quest thereof?" "o father mine," answered el abbas, "i have, indeed, an urgent want, on account whereof i came forth of my native land and left my people and my home and exposed myself to perils and stresses and became an exile from my country, and i trust in god that it may be accomplished by thine august endeavour." "and what is thy want?" asked the king. quoth el abbas, "i would have thee go and demand me in marriage mariyeh, daughter of the king of baghdad, for that my heart is distraught with love of her." and he recounted to his father his story from first to last. when the king heard this from his son, he rose to his feet and calling for his charger of state, took horse with four-and-twenty amirs of the chief officers of his empire. then he betook himself to the palace of the king of baghdad, who, when he saw him coming, bade his chamberlains open the doors to him and going down himself to meet him, received him with all worship and hospitality and entreated him with the utmost honour. moreover, he carried him [and his suite] into the palace and causing make ready for them carpets and cushions, sat down upon a chair of gold, with traverses of juniper- wood, set with pearls and jewels. then he bade bring sweetmeats and confections and odoriferous flowers and commanded to slaughter four-and-twenty head of sheep and the like of oxen and make ready geese and fowls, stuffed and roasted, and pigeons and spread the tables; nor was it long before the meats were set on in dishes of gold and silver. so they ate till they had enough and when they had eaten their fill, the tables were removed and the wine-service set on and the cups and flagons ranged in order, whilst the mamelukes and the fair slave- girls sat down, with girdles of gold about their middles, inlaid with all manner pearls and diamonds and emeralds and rubies and other jewels. moreover, the king bade fetch the musicians; so there presented themselves before him a score of damsels, with lutes and psalteries and rebecks, and smote upon instruments of music, on such wise that they moved the assembly to delight. then said el aziz to the king of baghdad, "i would fain speak a word to thee; but do thou not exclude from us those who are present. if thou consent unto my wish, that which is ours shall be thine and that which is incumbent on thee shall be incumbent on us,[fn# ] and we will be to thee a mighty aid against all enemies and opposites." quoth ins ben cais, "say what thou wilt, o king, for indeed thou excellest in speech and attainest [the mark] in that which them sayest" so el aziz said to him," i desire that thou give thy daughter mariyeh in marriage to my son el abbas, for thou knowest that wherewithal he is gifted of beauty and loveliness and brightness and perfection and how he beareth himself in the frequentation of the valiant and his constancy in the stead of smiting and thrusting." "by allah, o king," answered ins ben cais, "of my love for mariyeh, i have appointed her disposal to be in her own hand; wherefore, whomsoever she chooseth of the folk, i will marry her to him." then he arose and going in to his daughter, found her mother with her; so he set out to them the case and mariyeh said, "o father mine, my wish is subject unto[fn# ] thy commandment and my will ensueth thy will; so whatsoever thou choosest, i am still obedient unto thee and under thy dominion." therewithal the king knew that mariyeh inclined unto el abbas; so he returned forthright to king el aziz and said to him, "may god amend the king! verily, the occasion is accomplished and there is no opposition unto that which thou commandest" quoth el aziz, "by god's leave are occasions accomplished. how deemest thou, o king, of fetching el abbas and drawing up the contract of marriage between mariyeh and him?" and ins ben cais answered, saying, "thine be it to decide." so el aziz sent after his son and acquainted him with that which had passed; whereupon el abbas called for four-and-twenty males and half a score horses [and as many camels] and loaded the mules with pieces of silk and rags of leather and boxes of camphor and musk and the camels [and horses] with chests of gold and silver. moreover, he took the richest of the stuffs and wrapping them in pieces of gold-striped silk, laid them on the heads of porters, and they fared on with the treasures till they reached the king of baghdad's palace, whereupon all who were present dismounted in honour of el abbas and escorting him to the presence of king ins ben cais, displayed unto the latter all that they had with them of things of price. the king bade carry all this into the harem and sent for the cadis and the witnesses, who drew up the contract and married mariyeh to prince el abbas, whereupon the latter commanded to [slaughter] a thousand head of sheep and five hundred buffaloes. so they made the bride-feast and bade thereto all the tribes of the arabs, bedouins and townsfolk, and the tables abode spread for the space of ten days. then el abbas went in to mariyeh in a happy and praiseworthy hour[fn# ] and found her an unpierced pearl and a goodly filly that had never been mounted; wherefore he rejoiced and was glad and made merry, and care and sorrow ceased from him and his life was pleasant and trouble departed and he abode with her in the gladsomest of case and in the most easeful of life, till seven days were past, when king el aziz determined to set out and return to his kingdom and bade his son seek leave of his father-in-law to depart with his wife to his own country. [so el abbas bespoke king ins of this] and he granted him the leave he sought; whereupon he chose out a red camel, taller[fn# ] than the [other] camels, and mounting mariyeh in a litter thereon, loaded it with apparel and ornaments. then they spread the ensigns and the standards, whilst the drums beat and the trumpets sounded, and set out upon the homeward journey. the king of baghdad rode forth with them and brought them three days' journey on their way, after which he took leave of them and returned with his troops to baghdad. as for king el aziz and his son, they fared on night and day and gave not over going till there abode but three days' journey between them and yemen, when they despatched three men of the couriers to the prince's mother [to acquaint her with their return], safe and laden with spoil, bringing with them mariyeh, the king's daughter of baghdad. when the queen-mother heard this, her wit fled for joy and she adorned el abbas his slave-girls after the goodliest fashion. now he had ten slave-girls, as they were moons, whereof his father had carried five with him to baghdad, as hath aforetime been set out, and other five abode with his mother. when the dromedary-posts[fn# ] came, they were certified of the approach of el abbas, and when the sun rose and their standards appeared, the prince's mother came out to meet her son; nor was there great or small, old man or infant, but went forth that day to meet the king. the drums of glad tidings beat and they entered in the utmost of worship and magnificence. moreover, the tribes heard of them and the people of the towns and brought them the richest of presents and the costliest of rarities and the prince's mother rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then they slaughtered beasts and made mighty bride-feasts to the people and kindled fires, that it might be visible afar to townsman [and bedouin] that this was the house of the guest-meal and the wedding, festival, to the intent that, if any passed them by, [without partaking of their hospitality], it should be of his own fault[fn# ] so the folk came to them from all parts and quarters and on this wise they abode days and months. then the prince's mother bade fetch the five slave-girls to that assembly; whereupon they came and the ten damsels foregathered. the queen seated five of them on her son's right hand and other five on his left and the folk assembled about them. then she bade the five who had remained with her speak forth somewhat of verse, so they might entertain therewith the assembly and that el abbas might rejoice therein. now she had clad them in the richest of raiment and adorned them with trinkets and ornaments and wroughten work of gold and silver and collars of gold, set with pearls and jewels. so they came forward, with harps and lutes and psalteries and recorders and other instruments of music before them, and one of them, a damsel who came from the land of china and whose name was baoutheh, advanced and tightened the strings of her lute. then she cried out from the top of her head[fn# ] and improvising, sang the following verses: unto its pristine lustre your land returned and more, whenas ye came, dispelling the gloom that whiles it wore. our stead, that late was desert, grew green and eke our trees, that barren were, grew loaded with ripened fruits galore. yea, to the earth that languished for lack of rain, the clouds were bounteous; so it flourished and plenteous harvests bore; and troubles, too, forsook us, who tears like dragons' blood, o lordings, for your absence had wept at every pore. indeed, your long estrangement hath caused my bowels yearn. would god i were a servant in waiting at your door! when she had made an end of her song, all who were present were moved to delight and el abbas rejoiced in this. then he bade the second damsel sing somewhat on the like subject. so she came forward and tuning the strings of her harp, which was of balass ruby,[fn# ] warbled a plaintive air and improvising, sang the following verses; the absent ones' harbinger came us unto with tidings of those who[fn# ] had caused us to rue. "my soul be thy ransom,"quoth i,"for thy grace! indeed, to the oath that thou swor'st thou wast true." on the dear nights of union, in you was our joy, but afflicted were we since ye bade us adieu. you swore you'd be faithful to us and our love, and true to your oath and your troth-plight were you; and i to you swore that a lover i was; god forbid that with treason mine oath i ensue! yea, "welcome! fair welcome to those who draw near!" i called out aloud, as to meet you i flew. the dwellings, indeed, one and all, i adorned, bewildered and dazed with delight at your view; for death in your absence to us was decreed; but, when ye came back, we were quickened anew. when she had made an end of her verses, el abbas bade the third damsel, who came from samarcand of the persians and whose name was rummaneh, sing, and she answered with "hearkening and obedience." then she took the psaltery and crying out from the midst of her bead[fn# ] improvised and sang the following verses: my watering lips, that cull the rose of thy soft cheek, declare my basil,[fn# ] lily mine, to be the myrtles of thy hair. sandhill[fn# ] and down[fn# ] betwixt there blooms a yellow willow-flower,[fn# ] pomegranate-blossoms[fn# ] and for fruits pomegranates[fn# ] that doth bear. his eyelids' sorcery from mine eyes hath banished sleep; since he from me departed, nought see i except a drowsy fair.[fn# ] he shot me with the shafts of looks launched from an eyebrow's[fn# ] bow; a chamberlain[fn# ] betwixt his eyes hath driven me to despair. my heart belike shall his infect with softness, even as me his body with disease infects, of its seductive air. yet, if with him forgotten be the troth-plight of our loves, i have a king who of his grace will not forget me e'er. his sides the tamarisk's slenderness deride, so lithe they are, whence for conceit in his own charms still drunken doth he fare. whenas he runs, his feet still show like wings,[fn# ] and for the wind when was a rider found, except king solomon it were?[fn# ] therewithal el abbas smiled and her verses pleased him. then he bade the fourth damsel come forward and sing. now she was from the land of morocco and her name was belekhsha. so she came forward and taking the lute and the psaltery, tightened the strings thereof and smote thereon in many modes; then returned to the first mode and improvising, sang the following verses: when in the sitting-chamber we for merry-making sate, with thine eyes' radiance the place thou didst illuminate and pliedst us with cups of wine, whilst from the necklace pearls[fn# ] a strange intoxicating bliss withal did circulate, whose subtleness might well infect the understanding folk; and secrets didst thou, in thy cheer, to us communicate. whenas we saw the cup, forthright we signed to past it round and sun and moon unto our eyes shone sparkling from it straight. the curtain of delight, perforce, we've lifted through the friend,[fn# ] for tidings of great joy, indeed, there came to us of late. the camel-leader singing came with the belov'd; our wish accomplished was and we were quit of all the railers' prate. when clear'd my sky was by the sweet of our foregathering and not a helper there remained to disuniting fate, i shut myself up with my love; no spy betwixt us was; we feared no enemies' despite, no envious neighbour's hate. life with our loves was grown serene, estrangement was at end: our dear ones all delight of love vouchsafed to us elate, saying, "thy fill of union take; no spy is there on us, whom we should fear, nor yet reproach our gladness may abate." our loves are joined and cruelty at last is done away; ay, and the cup of love-delight 'twixt us doth circulate. upon yon be the peace of god! may all prosperity, for what's decreed of years and lives, upon you ever wait! when belekhsha had made an end of her verses, all present were moved to delight and el abbas said to her, "well done, o damsel!" then he bade the fifth damsel come forward and sing. now she was from the land of syria and her name was rihaneh; she was surpassing of voice and when she appeared in an assembly, all eyes were fixed upon her. so she came forward and taking the rebeck (for that she was used to play upon [all manner] instruments) improvised and sang the following verses: your coming to-me-ward, indeed, with "welcome! fair welcome!" i hail. your sight to me gladness doth bring and banisheth sorrow and bale; for love with your presence grows sweet, untroubled and life is serene and the star of our fortune burns bright, that clouds in your absence did veil. yea, by allah, my longing for you ne'er waneth nor passetb away; for your like among creatures is rare and sought for in mountain and vale. ask mine eyes whether slumber hath lit on their lids since the hour of your loss or if aye on a lover they've looked. nay, an ye believe not their tale, my heart, since the leave-taking day afflicted, will tell of my case, and my body, for love and desire grown wasted and feeble and frail. could they who reproach me but see my sufferings, their hearts would relent; they'd marvel, indeed, at my case and the loss of my loved ones bewail. yea, they'd join me in pouring forth tears and help me my woes to lament, and like unto me they'd become all wasted and tortured and pale. how long did the heart for thy love that languished with longing endure a burden of passion, 'neath which e'en mountains might totter and fail! by allah, what sorrows and woes to my soul for thy sake were decreed! my heart is grown hoar, ere eld's snows have left on my tresses their trail. the fires in my vitals that rage if i did but discover to view, their ardour the world to consume, from the east to the west, might avail. but now unto me of my loves accomplished are joyance and cheer and those whom i cherish my soul with the wine of contentment regale. our lord, after sev'rance, with them hath conjoined us, for he who doth good shall ne'er disappointed abide and kindnesses kindness entail. when king el aziz heard the damsel's song, her speech and her verses pleased him and he said to el abbas, "o my son, verily, these damsels are weary with long versifying, and indeed they make us yearn after the dwellings and the homesteads with the goodliness of their songs. indeed, these five have adorned our assembly with the excellence of their melodies and have done well in that which they have said before those who are present; wherefore we counsel thee to enfranchise them for the love of god the most high." quoth el abbas, "there is no commandment but thy commandment;" and he enfranchised the ten damsels in the assembly; whereupon they kissed the hands of the king and his son and prostrated themselves in thanksgiving to god the most high. then they put off that which was upon them of ornaments and laying aside the lutes [and other] instruments of music, clave to their houses, veiled, and went not forth.[fn# ] as for king el aziz, he lived after this seven years and was admitted to the mercy of god the most high; whereupon his son el abbas carried him forth to burial on such wise as beseemeth unto kings and let make recitations and readings of the koran, in whole or in part, over his tomb. he kept up the mourning for his father a full-told month, at the end of which time he sat down on the throne of the kingship and judged and did justice and distributed silver and gold. moreover, he loosed all who were in the prisons and abolished grievances and customs dues and did the oppressed justice of the oppressor; wherefore the people prayed for him and loved him and invoked on him endurance of glory and kingship and length of continuance [on life] and eternity of prosperity and happiness. moreover, the troops submitted to him and the hosts from all parts of the kingdom, and there came to him presents from all the lands. the kings obeyed him and many were his troops and his grandees, and his subjects lived with him the most easeful and prosperous of lives. meanwhile, he ceased not, he and his beloved, queen mariyeh, in the most delightsome of life and the pleasantest thereof, and he was vouchsafed by her children; and indeed there befell friendship and love between them and the longer their companionship was prolonged, the more their love waxed, so that they became unable to endure from each other a single hour, save the time of his going forth to the divan, when he would return to her in the utterest that might be of longing. aud on this wise they abode in all solace and delight of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. so extolled be the perfection of him whose kingdom endureth for ever, who is never heedless neither dieth nor sleepeth! this is all that hath come down to us of their story, and so peace [be on you!] shehrzad and shehriyar.[fn# ] king shehriyar marvelled [at this story[fn# ]] and said "by allah, verily, injustice slayeth its folk!"[fn# ] and he was edified by that wherewith shehrzad bespoke him and sought help of god the most high. then said he to her, "tell me another of thy stories, o shehrzad; let it be a pleasant one and this shall be the completion of the story-telling." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad. "it hath reached me, o august king, that a man once said to his fellows, 'i will set forth to you a means[fn# ] of security[fn# ] against vexation.[fn# ] a friend of mine once related to me and said, "we attained [whiles] to security[fn# ] against vexation,[fn# ]and the origin of it was other than this; to wit, it was as follows.[fn# ] the two kings and the vizier's daughters.[fn# ] [aforetime] i journeyed in [many] lands and climes and towns and visited the great cities and traversed the ways and [exposed myself to] dangers and hardships. towards the last of my life, i entered a city [of the cities of china],[fn# ] wherein was a king of the chosroes and the tubbas[fn# ] and the caesars.[fn# ] now that city had been peopled with its inhabitants by means of justice and equitable dealing; but its [then] king was a tyrant, who despoiled souls and [did away] lives; there was no wanning oneself at his fire,[fn# ] for that indeed he oppressed the true believers and wasted the lands. now he had a younger brother, who was [king] in samarcand of the persians, and the two kings abode a while of time, each in his own city and place, till they yearned unto each other and the elder king despatched his vizier in quest of his younger brother. when the vizier came to the king of samarcand [and acquainted him with his errand], he submitted himself to the commandment [of his brother and made answer] with 'hearkening and obedience.' then he equipped himself and made ready for the journey and brought forth his tents and pavilions. a while after midnight, he went in to his wife, that he might take leave of her, and found with her a strange man, sleeping with her in one bed. so he slew them both and dragging them out by the feet, cast them away and set forth incontinent on his journey. when he came to his brother's court, the latter rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and lodged him in the pavilion of entertainment, [to wit, the guest-house,] beside his own palace. now this pavilion overlooked a garden belonging to the elder king and there the younger brother abode with him some days. then he called to mind that which his wife had done with him and remembered him of her slaughter and bethought him how he was a king, yet was not exempt from the vicissitudes of fortune; and this wrought upon him with an exceeding despite, so that it caused him abstain from meat and drink, or, if he ate anything, it profited him not. when his brother saw him on this wise, he doubted not but that this had betided him by reason of severance from his people and family and said to him, 'come, let us go forth a-hunting.' but he refused to go with him; so the elder brother went forth to the chase, whilst the younger abode in the pavilion aforesaid. as he was diverting himself by looking out upon the garden from the window of the palace, behold, he saw his brother's wife and with her ten black slaves and as many slave-girls. each slave laid hold of a damsel [and swived her] and another slave [came forth and] did the like with the queen; and when they had done their occasions, they all returned whence they came. therewithal there betided the king of samarcand exceeding wonder and solacement and he was made whole of his malady, little by little. after a few days, his brother returned and finding him healed of his sickness, said to him, 'tell me, o my brother, what was the cause of thy sickness and thy pallor, and what is the cause of the return of health to thee and of rosiness to thy face after this?' so he acquainted him with the whole case and this was grievous to him; but they concealed their affair and agreed to leave the kingship and fare forth pilgrim-wise, wandering at a venture, for they deemed that there had befallen none the like of this which had befallen them. [so they went forth and wandered on at hazard] and as they journeyed, they saw by the way a woman imprisoned in seven chests, whereon were five locks, and sunken in the midst of the salt sea, under the guardianship of an afrit; yet for all this that woman issued forth of the sea and opened those locks and coming forth of those chests, did what she would with the two brothers, after she had circumvented the afrit. when the two kings saw that woman's fashion and how she circumvented the afrit, who had lodged her at the bottom of the sea, they turned back to their kingdoms and the younger betook himself to samarcand, whilst the elder returned to china and established unto himself a custom in the slaughter of women, to wit, his vizier used to bring him a girl every night, with whom he lay that night, and when he arose in the morning, he gave her to the vizier and bade him put her to death. on this wise he abode a great while, whilst the people murmured and the creatures [of god] were destroyed and the commons cried out by reason of that grievous affair whereinto they were fallen and feared the wrath of god the most high, dreading lest he should destroy them by means of this. still the king persisted in that fashion and in that his blameworthy intent of the killing of women and the despoilment of the curtained ones,[fn# ] wherefore the girls sought succour of god the most high and complained to him of the tyranny of the king and of his oppressive dealing with them. now the king's vizier had two daughters, own sisters, the elder of whom had read books and made herself mistress of [all] sciences and studied the writings of the sages and the histories of the boon-companions,[fn# ] and she was possessed of abundant wit and knowledge galore and surpassing apprehension. she heard that which the folk suffered from the king and his despiteous usage of their children; whereupon compassion gat hold upon her for them and jealousy and she besought god the most high that he would bring the king to renounce that his heresy,[fn# ] and god answered her prayer. then she took counsel with her younger sister and said to her, 'i mean to contrive somewhat for the liberation of the people's children; and it is that i will go up to the king [and offer myself to him], and when i come to his presence, i will seek thee. when thou comest in to me and the king hath done his occasion [of me], do thou say to me, 'o my sister, let me hear and let the king hear a story of thy goodly stories, wherewithal we may beguile the waking hours of our night, till we take leave of each other.' 'it is well,' answered the other. 'surely this contrivance will deter the king from his heresy and thou shalt be requited with exceeding favour and abounding recompense in the world to come, for that indeed thou adventurest thyself and wilt either perish or attain to thy desire.' so she did this and fair fortune aided her and the divine favour was vouchsafed unto her and she discovered her intent to her father, who forbade her therefrom, fearing her slaughter. however, she repeated her speech to him a second and a third time, but he consented not. then he cited unto her a parable, that should deter her, and she cited him a parable in answer to his, and the talk was prolonged between them and the adducing of instances, till her father saw that he availed not to turn her from her purpose and she said to him, 'needs must i marry the king, so haply i may be a sacrifice for the children of the muslims; either i shall turn him from this his heresy or i shall die.' when the vizier despaired of dissuading her, he went up to the king and acquainted him with the case, saying, 'i have a daughter and she desireth to give herself to the king.' quoth the king, 'how can thy soul consent unto this, seeing that thou knowest i lie but one night with a girl and when i arise on the morrow, i put her to death, and it is thou who slayest her, and thou hast done this again and again?' 'know, o king,' answered the vizier, 'that i have set forth all this to her, yet consented she not unto aught, but needs must she have thy company and still chooseth to come to thee and present herself before thee, notwithstanding that i have cited to her the sayings of the sages; but she hath answered me to the contrary thereof with more than that which i said to her.' and the king said, 'bring her to me this night and to-morrow morning come thou and take her and put her to death; and by allah, an thou slay her not, i will slay thee and her also!' the vizier obeyed the king's commandment and going out from before him, [returned to his own house. when it was night, he took his elder daughter and carried her up to the king; and when she came into his presence,] she wept; whereupon quoth he to her, 'what causeth thee weep? indeed, it was thou who willedst this.' and she answered, saying, 'i weep not but for longing after my little sister; for that, since we grew up, i and she, i have never been parted from her till this day; so, if it please the king to send for her, that i may look on her and take my fill of her till the morning, this were bounty and kindness of the king.' accordingly, the king bade fetch the girl [and she came]. then there befell that which befell of his foregathering with the elder sister, and when he went up to his couch, that he might sleep, the younger sister said to the elder, 'i conjure thee by allah, o my sister, an thou be not asleep, tell us a story of thy goodly stories, wherewithal we may beguile the watches of our night, against morning come and parting.' 'with all my heart,' answered she and fell to relating to her, whilst the king listened. her story was goodly and delightful, and whilst she was in the midst of telling it, the dawn broke. now the king's heart clave to the hearing of the rest of the story; so he respited her till the morrow, and when it was the next night, she told him a story concerning the marvels of the lands and the extraordinary chances of the folk, that was yet stranger and rarer than the first. in the midst of the story, the day appeared and she was silent from the permitted speech. so he let her live till the ensuing night, so he might hear the completion of the story and after put her to death. meanwhile, the people of the city rejoiced and were glad and blessed the vizier's daughter, marvelling for that three days had passed and that the king had not put her to death and exulting in that, [as they deemed,] he had turned [from his purpose] and would never again burden himself with blood-guiltiness against any of the maidens of the city. then, on the fourth night, she related to him a still more extraordinary story, and on the fifth night she told him anecdotes of kings and viziers and notables. on this wise she ceased not [to do] with him [many] days and nights, what while the king still said in himself, 'when i have heard the end of the story, i will put her to death,' and the people waxed ever in wonder and admiration. moreover, the folk of the provinces and cities heard of this thing, to wit, that the king had turned from his custom and from that which he had imposed upon himself and had renounced his heresy, wherefore they rejoiced and the folk returned to the capital and took up their abode therein, after they had departed thence; yea, they were constant in prayer to god the most high that he would stablish the king in that his present case; and this," said shehrzad, "is the end of that which my friend related to me." "o shehrzad," quoth shehriyar, "finish unto us the story that thy friend told thee, for that it resembleth the story of a king whom i knew; but fain would i hear that which betided the people of this city and what they said of the affair of the king, so i may return from that wherein i was." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad. "know, o august king and lord of just judgment and praiseworthy excellence and exceeding prowess, that, when the folk heard that the king had put away from him his custom and returned from that which had been his wont, they rejoiced in this with an exceeding joy and offered up prayers for him. then they talked with one another of the cause of the slaughter of the girls, and the wise said, 'they[fn# ] are not all alike, nor are the fingers of the hand alike.'" shehrzad and shehriyar.[fn# ] (conclusion) when king shehriyar heard this story, he came to himself and awaking from his drunkenness,[fn# ] said, "by allah, this story is my story and this case is my case, for that indeed i was in wrath[fn# ] and [danger of] punishment till thou turnedst me back from this into the right way, extolled be the perfection of the causer of causes and the liberator of necks! indeed, o shehrzad," continued he, "thou hast awakened me unto many things and hast aroused me from mine ignorance." then said she to him, "o chief of the kings, the wise say, 'the kingship is a building, whereof the troops are the foundation,' and whenas the foundation is strong, the building endureth; wherefore it behoveth the king to strengthen the foundation, for that they say, 'whenas the foundation is weak, the building falleth.' on like wise it behoveth the king to care for his troops and do justice among his subjects, even as the owner of the garden careth for his trees and cutteth away the weeds that have no profit in them; and so it behoveth the king to look into the affairs of his subjects and fend off oppression from them. as for thee, o king," continued shehrzad, "it behoveth thee that thy vizier be virtuous and versed in the knowledge of the affairs of the folk and the common people; and indeed god the most high hath named his name[fn# ] in the history of moses (on whom be peace!) whenas he saith, [quoth moses] 'and make me a vizier of my people, aaron [my brother].[fn# ] could a vizier have been dispensed withal, moses ben imran had been worthier [than any of this dispensation].[fn# ] as for the vizier, the sultan discovereth unto him his affairs, private and public; and know, o king, that the similitude of thee with the people is that of the physician with the sick man; and the condition[fn# ] of the vizier is that he be truthful in his sayings, trustworthy in all his relations, abounding in compassion for the folk and in tender solicitude over them. indeed, it is said, o king, that good troops[fn# ] are like the druggist; if his perfumes reach thee not, thou still smallest the sweet scent of them; and ill troops are like the black-smith; if his sparks burn thee not, thou smellest his nauseous smell. so it behoveth thee take unto thyself a virtuous vizier, a man of good counsel, even as thou takest unto thee a wife displayed before thy face, for that thou hast need of the man's righteousness for thine own amendment,[fn# ] seeing that, if thou do righteously, the commons will do likewise, and if thou do evil, they also will do evil." when the king heard this, drowsiness overcame him and he slept and presently awaking, called for the candles. so they were lighted and he sat down on his couch and seating shehrzad by him, smiled in her face. she kissed the earth before him and said, "o king of the age and lord of the time and the day, extolled be the perfection of [god] the forgiving one, the bountiful giver, who hath sent me unto thee, of his favour and beneficence, so i have informed thee with longing after paradise; for that this which thou wast used to do was never done of any of the kings before thee. as for women, god the most high [in his holy book] maketh mention of them, [whenas he saith, 'verily, men who submit [themselves unto god] and women who submit] and true-believing men and true-believing women and obedient men and obedient women and soothfast men and soothfast women [and long-suffering men and long-suffering women and men who order themselves humbly and women who order themselves humbly and charitable men and charitable women and men who fast and women who fast] and men who guard their privities and women who guard their privities [and men who are constantly mindful of god and women who are constantly mindful, god hath prepared unto them forgiveness and a mighty recompense].[fn# ] as for that which hath befallen thee, verily, it hath befallen [many] kings before thee and their women have played them false, for all they were greater of puissance than thou, yea, and mightier of kingship and more abounding in troops. if i would, i could relate unto thee, o king, concerning the wiles of women, that whereof i could not make an end all my life long; and indeed, aforetime, in all these my nights that i have passed before thee, i have told thee [many stories and anecdotes] of the artifices of women and of their craft and perfidy; but indeed the things abound on me;[fn# ] wherefore, if it like thee, o king, i will relate unto thee [somewhat] of that which befell kings of old time of the perfidy of their women and of the calamities which overtook them by reason of these latter." "how so?" asked the king. "tell on." "hearkening and obedience,"answered shehrzad."it hath been told me, o king, that a man once related to a company and spoke as follows: the favourite and her lover.[fn# ] one day, a day of excessive heat, as i stood at the door of my house, i saw a fair woman approaching, and with her a slave-girl carrying a parcel. they gave not over going till they came up to me, when the woman stopped and said to me, 'hast thou a draught of water?' 'yes,' answered i. 'enter the vestibule, o my lady, so thou mayst drink.' accordingly, she entered and i went up into the house and fetched two mugs of earthenware, perfumed with musk[fn# ] and full of cold water. she took one of them and discovered her face, [that she might drink]; whereupon i saw that she was as the shining sun or the rising moon and said to her, 'o my lady, wilt thou not come up into the house, so thou mayst rest thyself till the air grow cool and after go away to thine own place?' quoth she, 'is there none with thee?' 'indeed,' answered i, 'i am a [stranger] and a bachelor and have none belonging to me, nor is there a living soul in the house.' and she said, 'an thou be a stranger, thou art he in quest of whom i was going about.' then she went up into the house and put off her [walking] clothes and i found her as she were the full moon. i brought her what i had by me of meat and drink and said to her, 'o my lady, excuse me: this is that which is ready.' quoth she, 'this is abundant kindness and indeed it is what i sought' and she ate and gave the slave-girl that which was left; after which i brought her a casting-bottle of rose-water, mingled with musk, and she washed her hands and abode with me till the season of afternoon-prayer, when she brought out of the parcel that she had with her a shirt and trousers and an upper garment[fn# ] and a kerchief wroughten with gold and gave them to me; saying, 'know that i am one of the favourites of the khalif, and we are forty favourites, each one of whom hath a lover who cometh to her as often as she would have him; and none is without a lover save myself, wherefore i came forth to-day to find me a gallant and behold, i have found thee. thou must know that the khalif lieth each night with one of us, whilst the other nine-and-thirty favourites take their ease with the nine-and-thirty men, and i would have thee be with me on such a day, when do thou come up to the palace of the khalif and wait for me in such a place, till a little eunuch come out to thee and say to thee a [certain] word, to wit, "art thou sendel?" and do thou answer, "yes," and go with him.' then she took leave of me and i of her, after i had strained her to my bosom and embraced her and we had kissed awhile. so she went away and i abode expecting the appointed day, till it came, when i arose and went forth, intending for the trysting-place; but a friend of mine met me by the way [and would have me go home with him. so i accompanied him to his house] and when i came up [into his sitting-chamber] he locked the door on me and went forth to fetch what we might eat and drink. he was absent till mid-day, then till the hour of afternoon-prayer, whereat i was sore disquieted. then he was absent till sundown, and i was like to die of chagrin and impatience; [and indeed he returned not] and i passed my night on wake, nigh upon death, for that the door was locked on me, and my soul was like to depart my body on account of the tryst. at daybreak, my friend returned and opening the door, came in, bringing with him meat-pottage[fn# ] and fritters and bees' honey,[fn# ] and said to me, 'by allah, thou must needs excuse me, for that i was with a company and they locked the door on me and have but now let me go.' but i returned him no answer. then he set before me that which was with him and i ate a single mouthful and went out, running, so haply i might overtake that which had escaped me.[fn# ] when i came to the palace, i saw over against it eight-and-thirty gibbets set up, whereon were eight-and-thirty men crucified, and under them eight-and-thirty concubines as they were moons. so i enquired of the reason of the crucifixion of the men and concerning the women in question, and it was said unto me, 'the men [whom thou seest] crucified the khalif found with yonder damsels, who are his favourites.' when i heard this, i prostrated myself in thanksgiving to god and said, 'god requite thee with good, o my friend!' for that, had he not invited me [and kept me perforce in his house] that night, i had been crucified with these men, wherefore praise be to god! thus," continued shehrzad, "none is safe from the calamities of fortune and the vicissitudes of time, and [in proof of this], i will relate unto thee yet another story still rarer and more extraordinary than this. know, o king, that one said to me, 'a friend of mine, a merchant, told me the following story. quoth he, the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah.[fn# ] as i sat one day in my shop, there came up to me a fair woman, as she were the moon at its rising, and with her a slave-girl. now i was a handsome man in my time; so the lady sat down on [the bench before] my shop and buying stuffs of me, paid down the price and went away. i questioned the girl of her and she said, "i know not her name." quoth i, "where is her abode?" "in heaven," answered the slave-girl; and i said, "she is presently on the earth; so when doth she ascend to heaven and where is the ladder by which she goeth up?" quoth the girl, "she hath her lodging in a palace between two rivers,[fn# ] to wit, the palace of el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah."[fn# ] then said i, "i am a dead man, without recourse; "but she replied, "have patience, for needs must she return unto thee and buy stuffs of thee yet again." "and how cometh it," asked i, "that the commander of the faithful trusteth her to go out?" "he loveth her with an exceeding love," answered she, "and is wrapped up in her and gainsayeth her not." then the girl went away, running, after her mistress, whereupon i left the shop and set out after them, so i might see her abiding-place. i followed after them all the way, till she disappeared from mine eyes, when i returned to my place, with a heart on fire. some days after, she came to me again and bought stuffs of me. i refused to take the price and she said, "we have no need of thy goods." quoth i, "o my lady, accept them from me as a gift;" but she said, "[wait] till i try thee and make proof of thee." then she brought out of her pocket a purse and gave me therefrom a thousand dinars, saying, "trade with this till i return to thee." so i took the purse and she went away [and returned not to me] till six months had passed by. meanwhile, i traded with the money and sold and bought and made other thousand dinars profit [on it]. presently, she came to me again and i said to her, "here is thy money and i have gained [with it] other thousand dinars." quoth she, "keep it by thee and take these other thousand dinars. as soon as i have departed from thee, go thou to er rauzeh[fn# ] and build there a goodly pavilion, and when the building thereof is accomplished, give me to know thereof." so saying, she left me and went away. as soon as she was gone, i betook myself to er rauzeh and addressed myself to the building of the pavilion, and when it was finished, i furnished it with the goodliest of furniture and sent to the lady to tell her that i had made an end of its building; whereupon she sent back to me, saying, "let him meet me to-morrow at daybreak at the zuweyleh gate and bring with him a good ass." so i got me an ass and betaking myself to the zuweyleh gate, at the appointed time, found there a young man on horse- back, awaiting her, even as i awaited her. as we stood, behold, up came the lady, and with her a slave-girl. when she saw the young man, she said to him, "art thou here?" and he answered, "yes, o my lady." quoth she, "to-day i am bidden by this man. wilt thou go with us?" and he replied, "yes." then said she, "thou hast brought me [hither] against my will and perforce. wilt thou go with us in any event?"[fn# ] "yes, yes," answered he and we fared on, [all three,] till we came to er rauzeh and entered the pavilion. the lady diverted herself awhile with viewing its ordinance and furniture, after which she put off her [walking-]clothes and sat down [with the young man] in the goodliest and chiefest place. then i went forth and brought them what they should eat at the first of the day; moreover, i went out also and fetched them what they should eat at the last of the day and brought them wine and dessert and fruits and flowers. on this wise i abode in their service, standing on my feet, and she said not unto me, "sit," nor "take, eat" nor "take, drink," what while she and the young man sat toying and laughing, and he fell to kissing her and pinching her and hopping about upon the ground and laughing. they abode thus awhile and presently she said, "up to now we have not become drunken; let me pour out." so she took the cup and gave him to drink and plied him with liquor, till he became drunken, when she took him and carried him into a closet. then she came out, with his head in her hand, what while i stood silent, fixing not mine eyes on hers neither questioning her of this; and she said to me, "what is this?" "i know not," answered i; and she said, "take it and cast it into the river." i obeyed her commandment and she arose and stripping herself of her clothes, took a knife and cut the dead man's body in pieces, which she laid in three baskets, and said to me, "throw them into the river." i did as she bade me and when i returned, she said to me, "sit, so i may relate to thee yonder fellow's case, lest thou be affrighted at that which hath befallen him. thou must know that i am the khalif's favourite, nor is there any more in honour with him than i; and i am allowed six nights in each month, wherein i go down [into the city and take up my abode] with my [former] mistress, who reared me; and when i go down thus, i dispose of myself as i will. now this young man was the son of neighbours of my mistress, when i was a virgin girl. one day, my mistress was [engaged] with the chief [officers] of the palace and i was alone in the house. when the night came on, i went up to the roof, so i might sleep there, and before i was aware, this youth came up from the street and falling upon me, knelt on my breast. he was armed with a poniard and i could not win free of him till he had done away my maidenhead by force; and this sufficed him not, but he must needs disgrace me with all the folk, for, as often as i came down from the palace, he would lie in wait for me by the way and swive me against my will and follow me whithersoever i went. this, then, is my story, and as for thee, thou pleasest me and thy patience pleaseth me and thy good faith and loyal service, and there abideth with me none dearer than thou." then i lay with her that night and there befell what befell between us till the morning, when she gave me wealth galore and fell to coming to the pavilion six days in every month. on this wise we abode a whole year, at the end of which time she was absent[fn# ] from me a month's space, wherefore fire raged in my heart on her account. when it was the next month, behold, a little eunuch presented himself to me and said, "i am a messenger to thee from such an one," [naming my mistress], "who giveth thee to know that the commander of the faithful hath sentenced her to be drowned, her and those who are with her, six-and-twenty slave-girls, on such a day at deir et tin,[fn# ] for that they have confessed against one another of lewdness, and she biddeth thee look how thou mayst do with her and how thou mayst contrive to deliver her, even if thou gather together all her money and spend it upon her, for that this is the time of manhood."[fn# ] quoth i, "i know not this woman; belike it is other than i [to whom this message is addressed]; so beware, o eunuch, lest thou cast me into stress." quoth he, "behold, i have told thee [that which i had to say,"] and went away, leaving me in concern [on her account]. [when the appointed day arrived], i arose and changing my clothes and favour, donned sailor's apparel; then i took with me a purse full of gold and buying good [victual for the] morning-meal, accosted a boatman [at deir et tin] and sat down and ate with him; after which said i to him, "wilt thou hire me thy boat?" quoth he, "the commander of the faithful hath commanded me to be here;" and he told me the story of the concubines and how the khalif purposed to drown them that day. when i heard this from him, i brought out to him half a score dinars and discovered to him my case, whereupon quoth he to me, "o my brother, get thee empty calabashes, and when thy mistress cometh, give me to know of her and i will contrive the trick." i kissed his hand and thanked him, and as i was walking about, [waiting,] up came the guards and eunuchs with the women, who were weeping and crying out and taking leave of one another. the eunuchs cried out to us, whereupon we came with the boat, and they said to the boatman, "who is this?" "this is my mate," answered he, "[whom i have brought,] to help me, so one of us may keep the boat, whilst another doth your service." then they brought out to us the women, one by one, saying, "throw them [in] by the island;" and we answered, "it is well." now each of them was shackled and they had made a jar of sand fast about her neck. we did as the eunuchs bade us and ceased not to take the women, one after another, and cast them in, till they gave us my mistress and i winked to my comrade. so we took her and carried her out into mid-stream, where i gave her the empty calabashes[fn# ] and said to her, "wait for me at the mouth of the canal." then we cast her in, after we had loosed the jar of sand from her neck and done off her fetters, and returned. now there remained one after her; so we took her and drowned her and the eunuchs went away, whilst we dropped down the river with the boat till we came to the mouth of the canal, where i saw my mistress awaiting me. so we took her up into the boat and returned to our pavilion on er rauzeh. then i rewarded the boatman and he took his boat and went away; whereupon quoth she to me, "thou art indeed a friend in need."[fn# ] and i abode with her some days; but the shock wrought upon her so that she sickened and fell to wasting away and redoubled in languishment and weakness till she died. i mourned for her with an exceeding mourning and buried her; after which i removed all that was in the pavilion to my own house [and abandoned the former]. now she had brought to the pavilion aforetime a little brass coffer and laid it in a place whereof i knew not; so, when the inspector of inheritances[fn# ] came, he searched the pavilion and found the coffer, with the key in the lock. so he opened it and finding it full of jewels and jacinths and earrings and seal-rings and precious stones, such as are not found save with kings and sultans, took it, and me with it, and ceased not to put me to the question with beating and torment till i confessed to them the whole affair from beginning to end, whereupon they carried me to the khalif and i told him all that had passed between me and her; and he said to me, "o man, depart from this city, for i acquit thee for thy valiance sake and because of thy [constancy in] keeping thy secret and thy daring in exposing thyself to death." so i arose forthright and departed his city; and this is what befell me.'" shehrzad and shehriyar. king shehriyar marvelled at these things and shehrzad said to him, "thou marvelledst at that which befell thee on the part of women; yet hath there befallen the kings of the chosroes before thee what was more grievous than that which befell thee, and indeed i have set forth unto thee that which betided khalifs and kings and others than they with their women, but the exposition is long and hearkening groweth tedious, and in this [that i have already told thee] is sufficiency for the man of understanding and admonishment for the wise." then she was silent, and when the king heard her speech and profited by that which she said, he summoned up his reasoning faculties and cleansed his heart and caused his understanding revert [to the right way] and turned [with repentance] to god the most high and said in himself, "since there befell the kings of the chosroes more than that which hath befallen me, never, whilst i abide [on life], shall i cease to blame myself [for that which i did in the slaughter of the daughters of the folk]. as for this shehrzad, her like is not found in the lands; so extolled be the perfection of him who appointed her a means for the deliverance of his creatures from slaughter and oppression!" then he arose from his session and kissed her head, whereat she rejoiced with an exceeding joy, she and her sister dinarzad. when the morning morrowed, the king went forth and sitting down on the throne of the kingship, summoned the grandees of his empire; whereupon the chamberlains and deputies and captains of the host went in to him and kissed the earth before him. he distinguished the vizier with his especial favour and bestowed on him a dress of honour and entreated him with the utmost kindness, after which he set forth briefly to his chief officers that which had betided him with shehrzad and how he had turned from that his former usance and repented him of what he had done aforetime and purposed to take the vizier's daughter shehrzad to wife and let draw up the contract of marriage with her. when those who were present heard this, they kissed the earth before him and offered up prayers for him and for the damsel shehrzad, and the vizier thanked her. then shehriyar made an end of the session in all weal, whereupon the folk dispersed to their dwelling-places and the news was bruited abroad that the king purposed to marry the vizier's daughter shehrzad. then he proceeded to make ready the wedding gear, and [when he had made an end of his preparations], he sent after his brother king shahzeman, who came, and king shehriyar went forth to meet him with the troops. moreover, they decorated the city after the goodliest fashion and diffused perfumes [from the censing-vessels] and [burnt] aloes-wood and other perfumes in all the markets and thoroughfares and rubbed themselves with saffron, what while the drums beat and the flutes and hautboys sounded and it was a notable day. when they came to the palace, king shehriyar commanded to spread the tables with beasts roasted [whole] and sweetmeats and all manner viands and bade the crier make proclamation to the folk that they should come up to the divan and eat and drink and that this should be a means of reconciliation between him and them. so great and small came up unto him and they abode on that wise, eating and drinking, seven days with their nights. then the king shut himself up with his brother and acquainted him with that which had betided him with the vizier's daughter [shehrzad] in those three years [which were past] and told him what he had heard from her of saws and parables and chronicles and pleasant traits and jests and stories and anecdotes and dialogues and histories and odes and verses; whereat king shahzeman marvelled with the utterest of marvel and said, "fain would i take her younger sister to wife, so we may be two own brothers to two own sisters, and they on likewise be sisters unto us; for that the calamity which befell me was the means of the discovering of that which befell thee and all this time of three years past i have taken no delight in woman, save that i lie each night with a damsel of my kingdom, and when i arise in the morning, i put her to death; but now i desire to marry thy wife's sister dinarzad." when king shehriyar heard his brother's words he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and arising forthright, went in to his wife shehrzad and gave her to know of that which his brother purposed, to wit, that he sought her sister dinarzad in marriage; whereupon, "o king of the age," answered she, "we seek of him one condition, to wit, that he take up his abode with us, for that i cannot brook to be parted from my sister an hour, because we were brought up together and may not brook severance from each other. if he accept this condition, she is his handmaid." king shehriyar returned to his brother and acquainted him with that which shehrzad had said; and he answered, saying, "indeed, this is what was in my mind, for that i desire nevermore to be parted from thee. as for the kingdom, god the most high shall send unto it whom he chooseth, for that there abideth to me no desire for the kingship." when king shehriyar heard his brother's words, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said, "verily, this is what i had wished, o my brother. so praised be god who hath brought about union between us!" then he sent after the cadis and learned men and captains and notables, and they married the two brothers to the two sisters. the contracts were drawn up and the two kings bestowed dresses of honour of silk and satin on those who were present, whilst the city was decorated and the festivities were renewed. the king commanded each amir and vizier and chamberlain and deputy to decorate his palace and the folk of the city rejoiced in the presage of happiness and content. moreover, king shehriyar bade slaughter sheep and get up kitchens and made bride-feasts and fed all comers, high and low. then the eunuchs went forth, that they might perfume the bath [for the use of the brides]; so they essenced it with rose-water and willow-flower-water and bladders of musk and fumigated it with cakili[fn# ] aloes-wood and ambergris. then shehrzad entered, she and her sister dinarzad, and they cleansed their heads and clipped their hair. when they came forth of the bath, they donned raiment and ornaments, [such as were] prepared for the kings of the chosroes; and among shehrzad's apparel was a dress charactered with red gold and wroughten with semblants of birds and beasts. moreover, they both encircled their necks with necklaces of jewels of price, in the like whereof iskender[fn# ] rejoiced not, for therein were great jewels such as amazed the wit and the eye, and the thought was bewildered at their charms, for indeed, each of them was brighter than the sun and the moon. before them they kindled lighted flambeaux in torch-holders of gold, but their faces outshone the flambeaux, for that they had eyes sharper than drawn swords and the lashes of their eyelids ensorcelled all hearts. their cheeks were rosy and their necks and shapes swayed gracefully and their eyes wantoned. and the slave-girls came to meet them with instruments of music. then the two kings entered the bath, and when they came forth, they sat down on a couch, inlaid with pearls and jewels, whereupon the two sisters came up to them and stood before them, as they were moons, swaying gracefully from side to side in their beauty and grace. presently they brought forward shehrzad and displayed her, for the first dress, in a red suit; whereupon king shehriyar rose to look upon her and the wits of all present, men and women, were confounded, for that she was even as saith of her one of her describers: like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, she shines in a dress of the hue of pomegranate flower. she gives me to drink of her cheeks and her honeyed lips and quenches the worst of the fires that my heart devour. then they attired dinarzad in a dress of blue brocade and she became as she were the full moon, whenas it shineth forth. so they displayed her in this, for the first dress, before king shahzeman, who rejoiced in her and well-nigh took leave of his wits for longing and amorous desire; yea, he was distraught with love for her, whenas he saw her, for, indeed, she was as saith of her one of her describers in the following verses: she comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, blue as the stainless sky, unflecked with white; i view her with yearning eyes and she seems to me a moon of the summer, set in a winter's night. then they returned to shehrzad and displayed her in the second dress. they clad her in a dress of surpassing goodliness, and veiled her face to the eyes with her hair. moreover, they let down her side locks and she was even as saith of her one of her describers in the following verses: bravo for her whose loosened locks her cheeks do overcloud! she slays me with her cruelty, so fair she is and proud. quoth i, "thou overcurtainest the morning with the night;" and she, "not so; it is the moon that with the dark i shroud." then they displayed dinarzad in a second and a third and a fourth dress and she came forward, as she were the rising sun, and swayed coquettishly to and fro; and indeed she was even as saith the poet of her in the following verses: a sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, glorious in arch and amorous grace, with coyness beautified; and when the sun of morning sees her visage and her smile, o'ercome. he hasteneth his face behind the clouds to hide. then they displayed shehrzad in the third dress and the fourth and the fifth, and she became as she were a willow-wand or a thirsting gazelle, goodly of grace and perfect of attributes, even as saith of her one in the following verses: like the full moon she shows upon a night of fortune fair, slender of shape and charming all with her seductive air. she hath an eye, whose glances pierce the hearts of all mankind, nor can cornelian with her cheeks for ruddiness compare. the sable torrent of her locks falls down unto her hips; beware the serpents of her curls, i counsel thee, beware! indeed her glance, her sides are soft; but none the less, alas! her heart is harder than the rock; there is no mercy there. the starry arrows of her looks she darts above her veil; they hit and never miss the mark, though from afar they fare. then they returned to dinarzad and displayed her in the fifth dress and in the sixth, which was green. indeed, she overpassed with her loveliness the fair of the four quarters of the world and outshone, with the brightness of her countenance, the full moon at its rising; for she was even as saith of her the poet in the following verses: a damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace; thou'dst deem the very sun had borrowed from her face. she came in robes of green, the likeness of the leaf that the pomegranate's flower doth in the bud encase. "how call'st thou this thy dress?" quoth we, and she replied a word wherein the wise a lesson well might trace; "breaker of hearts," quoth she, "i call it, for therewith i've broken many a heart among the amorous race." then they displayed shehrzad in the sixth and seventh dresses and clad her in youths' apparel, whereupon she came forward, swaying coquettishly from side to side; and indeed she ravished wits and hearts and ensorcelled with her glances [all who looked on her]. she shook her sides and wagged her hips, then put her hair on the hilt of her sword and went up to king shehriyar, who embraced her, as the hospitable man embraces the guest, and threatened her in her ear with the taking of the sword; and indeed she was even as saith of her the poet in these verses: were not the darkness[fn# ] still in gender masculine, as ofttimes is the case with she-things passing fine, tirewomen to the bride, who whiskers, ay, and beard upon her face produce, they never would assign.[fn# ] on this wise they did with her sister dinarzad, and when they had made an end of displaying the two brides, the king bestowed dresses of honour on all who were present and dismissed them to their own places. then shehrzad went in to king shehriyar and dinarzad to king shahzeman and each of them solaced himself with the company of his beloved and the hearts of the folk were comforted. when the morning morrowed, the vizier came in to the two kings and kissed the ground before them; wherefore they thanked him and were bountiful to him. then they went forth and sat down upon couches of estate, whilst all the viziers and amirs and grandees and the chief officers of the realm and the household presented themselves before them and kissed the earth. king shehriyar ordered them dresses of honour and largesse and they offered up prayers for the abiding continuance [on life] of the king and his brother. then the two kings appointed their father-in-law the vizier to be viceroy in samarcand and assigned him five of the chief amirs to accompany him, charging them attend him and do him service. the vizier kissed the earth and prayed that they might be vouchsafed length of life. then he went in to his daughters, whilst the eunuchs and ushers walked before him, and saluted them and bade them farewell. they kissed his hands and gave him joy of the kingship and bestowed on him treasures galore. then he took leave of them and setting out, journeyed days and nights till he came within three days' journey of samarcand, where the townspeople met him and rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy. so he entered samarcand and they decorated the city, and it was a notable day. he sat down on the throne of his kingship and the viziers did him homage and the grandees and amirs of samarcand and prayed that he might be vouchsafed justice and victory and length of continuance [on life]. so he bestowed on them dresses of honour and entreated them with worship and they made him sultan over them. as soon as his father-in-law had departed for samarcand, king shehriyar summoned the grandees of his realm and made them a magnificent banquet of all manner rich meats and exquisite sweetmeats. moreover, he bestowed on them dresses of honour and guerdoned them and divided the kingdoms between himself and his brother in their presence, whereat the folk rejoiced. then the two kings abode, ruling each a day in turn and they accorded with each other, what while their wives continued in the love of god the most high and in thanksgiving to him; and the subjects and the provinces were at peace and the preachers prayed for them from the pulpits, and their report was bruited abroad and the travellers bore tidings of them [to all countries]. moreover, king shehriyar summoned chroniclers and copyists and bade them write all that had betided him with his wife, first and last; so they wrote this and named it "the stories of the thousand nights and one night." the book came to[fn# ] thirty volumes and these the king laid up in his treasury. then the two kings abode with their wives in all delight and solace of life, for that indeed god the most high had changed their mourning into joyance; and on this wise they continued till there took them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who maketh void the dwelling-places and peopleth the tombs, and they were translated to the mercy of god the most high; their houses were laid waste and their palaces ruined and the kings inherited their riches. then there reigned after them an understanding king, who was just, keen-witted and accomplished and loved stories, especially those which chronicle the doings of kings and sultans, and he found [in the treasuries of the kings who had foregone him] these marvellous and rare and delightful stories, [written] in the thirty volumes aforesaid. so he read in them a first book and a second and a third and [so on] to the last of them, and each book pleased him more than that which forewent it, till he came to the end of them. then he marvelled at that which he had read [therein] of stories and discourse and witty traits and anecdotes and moral instances and reminiscences and bade the folk copy them and publish them in all lands and climes; wherefore their report was bruited abroad and the people named them "the marvels and rarities of the thousand nights and one night." this is all that hath come down to us of [the history of] this book, and god is all-knowing.[fn# ] calcutta ( - ) text. sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter note. as the version of the sixth and seventh voyages of sindbad the sailor contained in[fn# ] the calcutta edition ( - ) of the first two hundred nights and in the text of the voyages published by m. langles (paris, ) differs very materially from that of the complete calcutta ( - ) edition[fn# ] (which is, in this case, practically identical with those of boulac and breslau), adopted by me as my standard text in the translation of "the book of the thousand nights and one night," the story of the seventh voyage in particular turning upon an altogether different set of incidents, related nearly as in the old version of m. galland, i now give a translation of the text of the two voyages in question afforded by the calcutta ( - ) edition, corrected and completed by collation with that of m. langles, from which it differs only in being slightly less full. it will be observed that in this version of the story the name sindbad is reserved for the sailor, the porter being called hindbad. sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter. on the morrow they[fn# ] returned to their place, as of their wont, and betook themselves to eating and drinking and merry-making and sporting till the last of the day, when sindbad bade them hearken to his relation concerning his sixth voyage, the which (quoth he) is of the most extraordinary of pleasant stories and the most startling [for that which it compriseth] of tribulations and disasters. then said he, the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. "when i returned from my fifth voyage, i gave myself up to eating and drinking and passed my time in solace and delight and forgot that which i had suffered of stresses and afflictions, nor was it long before the thought of travel again presented itself to my mind and my soul hankered after the sea. so i brought out the goods and binding up the bales, departed from baghdad, [intending] for certain of the lands, and came to the sea-coast, where i embarked in a stout ship, in company with a number of other merchants of like mind with myself, and we [set out and] sailed till we came among certain distant islands and found ourselves in difficult and dangerous case. [one day], as the ship was sailing along, and we unknowing where we were, behold, the captain came down [from the mast] and casting his turban from his head, fell to buffeting his face and plucking at his beard and weeping and supplicating [god for deliverance]. we asked him what ailed him, and he answered, saying, 'know, o my masters, that the ship is fallen among shallows and drifteth upon a sand-bank of the sea. another moment [and we shall be upon it]. if we clear the bank, [well and good]; else, we are all dead men and not one of us will be saved; wherefore pray ye to god the most high, so haply he may deliver us from these deadly perils, or we shall lose our lives.' so saying, he mounted [the mast] and set the sail, but at that moment a contrary wind smote the ship, and it rose upon the crest of the waves and sank down again into the trough of the sea. now there was before us a high mountain,[fn# ] rising [abruptly] from the sea, and the ship fell off into an eddy,[fn# ] which bore it on till presently it struck upon the skirt[fn# ] of the mountain and broke in sunder; whereupon the captain came down [from the mast], weeping, and said, 'god's will be done! take leave of one another and look yourselves out graves from to-day, for we have fallen into a predicament[fn# ] from which there is no escape, and never yet hath any been cast away here and come off alive.' so all the folk fell a-weeping and gave themselves up for lost, despairing of deliverance; friend took leave of friend and sore was the mourning and lamentation; for that hope was cut off and they were left without guide or pilot.[fn# ] then all who were in the ship landed on the skirt of the mountain and found themselves on a long island, whose shores were strewn with [wrecks], beyond count or reckoning, [of] ships that had been cast away [there] and whose crews had perished; and there also were dry bones and dead bodies, heaped upon one another, and goods without number and riches past count so we abode confounded, drunken, amazed, humbling ourselves [in supplication to god] and repenting us [of having exposed ourselves to the perils of travel]; but repentance availed not in that place. in this island is a river of very sweet water, issuing from the shore of the sea and entering in at a wide cavern in the skirt of an inaccessible mountain, and the stones of the island are all limpid sparkling crystal and jacinths of price. therein also is a spring of liquid, welling up like [molten] pitch, and when it cometh to the shore of the island, the fish swallow it, then return and cast it up, and it becometh changed from its condition and that which it was aforetime; and it is crude ambergris. moreover, the trees of the island are all of the most precious aloes-wood, both chinese and comorin; but there is no way of issue from the place, for it is as an abyss midmost the sea; the steepness of its shore forbiddeth the drawing up of ships, and if any approach the mountain, they fall into the eddy aforesaid; nor is there any resource[fn# ] in that island. so we abode there, daily expecting death, and whoso of us had with him a day's victual ate it in five days, and after this he died; and whoso had with him a month's victual ate it in five months and died also. as for me, i had with me great plenty of victual; so i buried it in a certain place and brought it out, [little by little,] and fed on it; and we ceased not to be thus, burying one the other, till all died but myself and i abode alone, having buried the last of my companions, and but little victual remained to me. so i said in myself, 'who will bury me in this place?' and i dug me a grave and abode in expectation of death, for that i was in a state of exhaustion. then, of the excess of my repentance, i blamed and reproached myself for my much [love of] travel and said, 'how long wilt thou thus imperil thyself?' and i abode as i were a madman, unable to rest; but, as i was thus melancholy and distracted, god the most high inspired me with an idea, and it was that i looked at the river aforesaid, as it entered in at the mouth of the cavern in the skirt of the mountain, and said in myself, 'needs must this water have issue in some place.' so i arose and gathering wood and planks from the wrecks, wrought of them the semblance of a boat [to wit, a raft,] and bound it fast with ropes, saying, 'i will embark thereon and fare with this water into the inward of the mountain. if it bring me to the mainland or to a place where i may find relief and safety, [well and good]; else i shall [but] perish, even as my companions have perished.' then i collected of the riches and gold and precious stuffs, cast up there, whose owners had perished, a great matter, and of jacinths and crude ambergris and emeralds somewhat past count, and laid all this on the raft [together with what was left me of victual]. then i launched it on the river and seating myself upon it, put my trust in god the most high and committed myself to the stream. the raft fared on with me, running along the surface of the river, and entered into the inward of the mountain, where the light of day forsook me and i abode dazed and stupefied, unknowing whither i went. whenas i hungered, i ate a little of the victual i had with me, till it was all spent and i abode expecting the mercy of the lord of all creatures.[fn# ] presently i found myself in a strait [channel] in the darkness and my head rubbed against the roof of the cave; and in this case i abode awhile, knowing not night from day, whilst anon the channel grew straiter and anon widened out; and whenas my breast was straitened and i was confounded at my case, sleep took me and i knew neither little nor much. when i awoke and opened my eyes, i found myself [in the open air] and the raft moored to the bank of the stream, whilst about me were folk of the blacks of hind. when they saw that i was awake, they came up to me, to question me; so i rose to them and saluted them. they bespoke me in a tongue i knew not, whilst i deemed myself in a dream, and for the excess of my joy, i was like to fly and my reason refused to obey me. then there came to my mind the verses of the poet and i recited, saying: let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare and lie thou down to sleep by night, with heart devoid of care; for 'twixt the closing of an eye and th'opening thereof, god hath it in his power to change a case from foul to fair. when they heard me speak in arabic, one of them came up to me and saluting me [in that language], questioned me of my case. quoth i, 'what [manner of men] are ye and what country is this?' 'o my brother,' answered he, 'we are husbandmen and come to this river, to draw water, wherewithal to water our fields; and whilst we were thus engaged to-day, as of wont, this boat appeared to us on the surface of the water, issuing from the inward of yonder mountain. so we came to it and finding thee asleep therein, moored it to the shore, against thou shouldst awake. acquaint us, therefore, with thy history and tell us how thou camest hither and whence thou enteredst this river and what land is behind yonder mountain, for that we have never till now known any make his way thence to us.' but i said to them, 'give me somewhat to eat and after question me.' so they brought me food and i ate and my spirits revived and i was refreshed. then i related to them all that had befallen me, whereat they were amazed and confounded and said, 'by allah, this is none other than a marvellous story, and needs must we carry thee to our king, that thou mayst acquaint him therewith.' so they carried me before their king, and i kissed his hand and saluted him. now he was the king of the land of serendib,[fn# ] and he welcomed me and entreated me with kindness, bidding me be seated and admitting me to his table and converse. so i talked with him and called down blessings upon him and he took pleasure in my discourse and showed me satisfaction and said to me, 'what is thy name?' 'o my lord,' answered i, 'my name is sindbad the sailor;' and he said, 'and what countryman art thou?' quoth i, 'i am of baghdad.' 'and how earnest thou hither?' asked he. so i told him my story and he marvelled mightily thereat and said, 'by allah, o sindbad, this thy story is marvellous and it behoveth that it be written in characters of gold.' then they brought the raft before him and i said to him, 'o my lord, i am in thy hands, i and all my good.' he looked at the raft and seeing therein jacinths and emeralds and crude ambergris, the like whereof was not in his treasuries, marvelled and was amazed at this. then said he, 'o sindbad, god forbid that we should covet that which god the most high hath vouchsafed unto thee! nay, it behoveth us rather to further thee on thy return to thine own country.' so i called down blessings on him and thanked him. then he signed to one of his attendants, who took me and established me in a goodly lodging, and the king assigned me a daily allowance and pages to wait on me. and every day i used to go in to him and he entertained me and entreated me friendly and delighted in my converse; and as often as our assembly broke up, i went out and walked about the town and the island, diverting myself by viewing them. now this island is under the equinoctial line; its night is still twelve hours and its day the like. its length is fourscore parasangs and its breadth thirty, and it is a great island, stretching between a lofty mountain and a deep valley. this mountain is visible at a distance of three days' journey and therein are various kinds of jacinths and other precious stones and metals of all kinds and all manner spice-trees, and its soil is of emery, wherewith jewels are wrought. in its streams are diamonds, and pearls are in its rivers.[fn# ] i ascended to its summit and diverted myself by viewing all the marvels therein, which are such as beggar description; after which i returned to the king and sought of him permission to return to my own country. he gave me leave, after great pressure, and bestowed on me abundant largesse from his treasuries. moreover, he gave me a present and a sealed letter and said to me, 'carry this to the khalif haroun er reshid and salute him for us with abundant salutation.' and i said, 'i hear and obey.' now this letter was written with ultramarine upon the skin of the hog-deer, the which is goodlier than parchment or paper and inclineth unto yellow, and was to the following effect: 'from the king of hind, before whom are a thousand elephants and on the battlements of his palace a thousand jewels, [to the khalif haroun er reshid, greeting]. to proceed:[fn# ] we send thee some small matter of presents, which do thou accept and be to us as a brother and a friend, for that the love of thee aboundeth in our heart and we would have thee to know that we look to thee for an answer. indeed, we are sharers with thee in love and fear, ceasing[fn# ] never to do thee honour; and for a beginning, we send thee the book of the quintessence of balms and a present after the measure of that which is fallen to our lot. indeed, this is unworthy of thy rank, but we beseech thee, o brother, to favour us by accepting it, and peace be on thee!' now this present was a cup of ruby, a span high and a finger's length broad, full of fine pearls, each a mithcal[fn# ] in weight and a bed covered with the skin of the serpent that swalloweth the elephant, marked with spots, each the bigness of a dinar, whereon whoso sitteth shall never sicken; also an hundred thousand mithcals of indian aloes-wood and thirty grains of camphor, each the bigness of a pistachio-nut, and a slave-girl with her paraphernalia, a charming creature, as she were the resplendent moon. then the king took leave of me, commending me to the merchants and the captain of the ship, and i set out, with that which was entrusted to my charge and my own good, and we ceased not to pass from island to island and from country to country, till we came to baghdad, when i entered my house and foregathered with my family and brethren. then i took the present and a token of service from myself to the khalif and [presenting myself before him], kissed his hands and laid the whole before him, together with the king of hind's letter. he read the letter and taking the present, rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and entreated me with the utmost honour. then said he to me, 'o sindbad, is this king, indeed, such as he avoucheth in this letter?' i kissed the earth and answered, saying, 'o my lord, i myself have seen the greatness of his kingship to be manifold that which he avoucheth in his letter. on the day of his audience,[fn# ] there is set up for him a throne on the back of a huge elephant, eleven cubits high, whereon he sitteth and with him are his officers and pages and session-mates, standing in two ranks on his right hand and on his left. at his head standeth a man, having in his hand a golden javelin, and behind him another, bearing a mace of the same metal, tipped with an emerald, a span long and an inch thick. when he mounteth, a thousand riders take horse with him, arrayed in gold and silk; and whenas he rideth forth, he who is before him proclaimeth and saith, "this is the king, mighty of estate and high of dominion!" and he proceedeth to praise him on this wise and endeth by saying, "this is the king, lord of the crown the like whereof nor solomon[fn# ] nor mihraj[fn# ] possessed!" then is he silent, whilst he who is behind the king proclaimeth and saith, "he shall die! he shall die! and again i say, he shall die!" and the other rejoineth, saying, "extolled be the perfection of the living one who dieth not!" and by reason of his justice and judgment[fn# ] and understanding, there is no cadi in his [capital] city; but all the people of his realm distinguish truth from falsehood and know [and practise] truth and right for themselves.' the khalif marvelled at my speech and said, 'how great is this king! indeed, his letter testifieth of him; and as for the magnificence of his dominion, thou hast acquainted us with that which thou hast seen; so, by allah, he hath been given both wisdom and dominion.' then he bestowed on me largesse and dismissed me, so i returned to my house and paid the poor-rate[fn# ] and gave alms and abode in my former easy and pleasant case, forgetting the grievous stresses i had suffered. yea, i cast out from my heart the cares of travel and traffic and put away travail from my thought and gave myself up to eating and drinking and pleasure and delight." sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter. when sindbad the sailor had made an end of his story, all who were present marvelled at that which had befallen him. then he bade his treasurer give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and dismissed him, charging him return on the morrow, with the rest of the folk, to hear the history of his seventh voyage. so the porter went away to his house, rejoicing; and on the morrow he presented himself with the rest of the guests, who sat down, as of their wont, and occupied themselves with eating and drinking and merry-making till the end of the day, when their host bade them hearken to the story of his seventh voyage. quoth sindbad the sailor, the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. "when i [returned from my sixth voyage, i] forswore travel and renounced commerce, saying in myself, 'what hath befallen me sufficeth me.' so i abode at home and passed my time in pleasance and delight, till, one day, as i sat at mine ease, plying the wine-cup [with my friends], there came a knocking at the door. the doorkeeper opened and found without one of the khalif's pages, who came in to me and said, 'the commander of the faithful biddeth thee to him.' so i accompanied him to the presence of the khalif and kissing the earth before him, saluted him. he bade me welcome and entreated me with honour and said to me, 'o sindbad, i have an occasion with thee, which i would have thee accomplish for me.' so i kissed his hand and said, 'o my lord, what is the lord's occasion with the slave?' quoth he, 'i would have thee go to the king of serendib and carry him our letter and our present, even as he sent us a present and a letter.' at this i trembled and replied, 'by the most great god, o my lord, i have taken a loathing to travel, and whenas any maketh mention to me of travel by sea or otherwise, i am like to swoon for affright, by reason of that which hath befallen me and what i have suffered of hardships and perils. indeed, i have no jot of inclination left for this, and i have sworn never again to leave baghdad.' and i related to him all that had befallen me, first and last; whereat he marvelled exceedingly and said, 'by the most great god, o sindbad, never was heard from time immemorial of one whom there betided that which hath betided thee and well may it behove thee never again to mention travel! but for my sake go thou this once and carry my letter to the king of serendib and return in haste, if it be the will of god the most high, so we may not remain indebted to the king for favour and courtesy.' and i answered him with 'hearkening and obedience,' for that i dared not gainsay his commandment then he gave me the present and letter and money for my expenses. so i kissed his hand and going out from before him, repaired to the sea-coast, where i took ship with many other merchants and we sailed days and nights, till, after a prosperous voyage, god vouchsafed us a safe arrival at the island of serendib. we landed and went up to the city, where i carried the letter and present to the king and kissing the earth fell [prostrate before him], invoking blessings on him. when he saw me, 'welcome to thee, o sindbad!' quoth he. 'by the most great god, we have longed for thy sight and the day is blessed on which we behold thee once more.' then he took my hand and seating me by his side, welcomed me and entreated me friendly and rejoiced in me with an exceeding joy; after which he fell to conversing with me and caressing me and said, 'what brings thee to us, o sindbad?' i kissed his hand and thanking him, said, 'o my lord, i bring thee a present and a letter from my lord the khalif haroun er reshid.' then i brought out to him the present and the letter and he read the latter and accepted the former, rejoicing therein with an exceeding joy. now this present was a horse worth ten thousand dinars and all its housings and trappings of gold set with jewels, and a book and five different kinds of suits of apparel and an hundred pieces of fine white linen cloths of egypt and silks of suez and cufa and alexandria and a crimson carpet and another of tebaristan[fn# ] make and an hundred pieces of cloth of silk and flax mingled and a goblet of glass of the time of the pharaohs, a finger-breadth thick and a span wide, amiddleward which was the figure of a lion and before him an archer kneeling, with his arrow drawn to the head, and the table of solomon son of david,[fn# ] on whom be peace; and the contents of the letter were as follows: 'from the khalif haroun er reshid, unto whom and to his forefathers (on whom be peace) god hath vouchsafed the rank of the noble and exceeding glory, to the august, god-aided sultan, greeting. thy letter hath reached us and we rejoiced therein and have sent thee the book [called] "the divan of hearts and the garden of wits," of the translation whereof when thou hast taken cognizance, its excellence will be established in thine eyes; and the superscription of this book we have made unto thee. moreover, we send thee divers other kingly presents;[fn# ] so do thou favour us by accepting them, and peace be on thee!' when the king had read this letter, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me great store of presents and entreated me with the utmost honour. some days after this, i sought of him leave to depart, but he granted it not to me save after much pressing. so i took leave of him and shipped with divers merchants and others, intending for my own country and having no desire for travel or traffic. we sailed on, without ceasing, till we had passed many islands; but, one day, as we fared on over a certain tract of the sea, there came forth upon us a multitude of boats full of men like devils, clad in chain-mail and armed with swords and daggers and bows and arrows, and surrounded us on every side. they entreated us after the cruellest fashion, smiting and wounding and slaying those who made head against them, and taking the ship, with the crew and all that were therein, carried us to an island, where they sold us all for a low price. a rich man bought me and taking me into his house, gave me to eat and drink and clothed me and entreated me kindly, till my heart was comforted and i was somewhat restored. one day my master said to me, 'knowest thou not some art or handicraft?' and i answered, saying, 'o my lord, i am a merchant and know nought but traffic.' quoth he, 'knowest thou how to shoot with a bow and arrows?' and i replied, 'yes, i know that.' so he brought me a bow and arrows and mounting me behind him on an elephant, set out with me, at the last of the night, and fared on till we came to a forest of great trees; whereupon he made me climb a high and stout tree and giving me the bow and arrows, said to me, 'sit here, and when the elephants come hither by day, shoot at them, so haply thou shalt hit one of them; and if any of them fall, come at nightfall and tell me.' then he went away and left me trembling and fearful. i abode hidden in the tree till the sun rose, when the elephants came out and fared hither and thither among the trees, and i gave not over shooting at them with arrows, till i brought down one of them. so, at eventide, i went and told my master, who rejoiced in me and rewarded me; then he came and carried away the dead elephant. on this wise i abode a while of time, every day shooting an elephant, whereupon my master came and carried it away, till, one day, as i sat hidden in the tree, there came up elephants without number, roaring and trumpeting, so that meseemed the earth trembled for the din. they all made for the tree whereon i was and the girth whereof was fifty cubits, and compassed it about. then a huge elephant came up to the tree and winding his trunk about it, tugged at it, till he plucked it up by the roots and cast it to the ground. i fell among the elephants, and the great elephant, coming up to me, as i lay aswoon for affright, wound his trunk about me and tossing me on to his back, made off with me, accompanied by the others; nor did he leave faring on with me, and i absent from the world, till he brought me to a certain place and casting me down from off his back, went away, followed by the rest. i lay there awhile, till my trouble subsided and my senses returned to me, when i sat up, deeming myself in a dream, and found myself on a great hill, stretching far and wide and all of elephants' bones. so i knew that this was their burial-place and that they had brought me thither on account of the bones. then i arose and fared on a day and a night, till i came to the house of my master, who saw me pale and disfeatured for fear and hunger. he rejoiced in my return and said to me, 'by allah, thou hast made my heart ache on thine account; for i went and finding the tree torn up by the roots, doubted not but the elephants had destroyed thee. tell me then how it was with thee.' so i told him what had befallen me and he marvelled exceedingly and rejoiced, saying, 'knowst thou where this hill is?' 'yes, o my lord,' answered i. so he took me up with him on an elephant and we rode till we came to the elephants' burial-place. when he saw those many bones, he rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and carried away what he had a mind to thereof. then we returned to his house and he entreated me with increased favour and said to me, 'verily, o my son, thou hast directed us to a passing great gain, may god requite thee with all good! thou art free for the sake of god the most high. every year these elephants used to kill of us much people on account of these bones; but god delivered thee from them and thou hast done us good service in the matter of these bones, of which thou hast given us to know; wherefore thou meritest a great recompense, and thou art free.' 'o my lord,' answered i, 'may god free thy neck from the fire! i desire of thee that thou give me leave to return to my own country.' 'so be it,' replied he; 'but we have a fair, on occasion whereof the merchants come hither to us and take of us these elephants' bones. the time of the fair is now at hand, and when they come to us, i will send thee with them and give thee somewhat to bring thee to thine own country.' i blessed him and thanked him and abode with him in all honour and consideration, till, after a little, the merchants came, even as he had said, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they were about to depart, my master came to me and said, 'the merchants are about to depart; arise, that thou mayst go with them to thy country.' so i betook myself to the folk, and behold, they had bought great store of elephants' bones and bound up their loads and embarked in the ship; and my master took passage for me with them and paid my hire and all that was chargeable upon me.[fn# ] moreover, he gave me great store of goods and we set sail and passed from island to island, till we traversed the sea and arrived at the port of our destination; whereupon the merchants brought out their goods and sold; and i also brought out that which was with me and sold it at a good profit. then i bought of the best and finest of the produce and rarities of the country and all i had a mind to and a good hackney[fn# ] and we set out again and traversed the deserts from country to country till we came to baghdad. then i went in to the khalif and saluted him and kissed his hand; after which i acquainted him with all that had passed and that which had befallen me. he rejoiced in my deliverance and thanked god the most high; then he caused write my story in letters of gold and i betook myself to my house and foregathered with my brethren and family. this, then," added sindbad, "is the last of that which befell me in my travels, and praise be to god, the one, the creator, the maker!" when sindbad the sailor had made an end of his story, he bade his servant give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and said to him, "how now, my brother! hast ever in the world heard of one whom such calamities have betided as have betided me and hath any suffered that which i have suffered of afflictions or undergone that which i have undergone of hardships? wherefore it behoveth that i have these pleasures in requital of that which i have undergone of travail and humiliations." so the porter came forward and kissing the merchant's hands, said to him, "o my lord, thou hast indeed suffered grievous perils and hast well deserved these bounteous favours [that god hath vouchsafed thee]. abide, then, o my lord, in thy delights and put away from thee [the remembrance of] thy troubles; and may god the most high crown thine enjoyments with perfection and accomplish thy days in pleasance until the hour of thine admission [to his mercy]!" therewithal sindbad the sailor bestowed largesse upon him and made him his boon-companion, and he abode, leaving him not night or day, to the last of their lives. praise be to god the glorious, the omnipotent, the strong, the exalted of estate, creator of heaven and earth and land and sea, to whom belongeth glorification! amen. amen. praise be to god, the lord of the worlds! amen. note. as stated in the prefatory note to my "book of the thousand nights and one night," four printed editions (of which three are more or less complete) exist of the arabic text of the original work, namely those of calcutta ( - ), boulac (cairo), breslau (tunis) and calcutta ( - ). the first two are, for purposes of tabulation, practically identical, one whole story only,[fn# ] of those that occur in the calcutta ( - ) edition, (which is the most complete of all,) being omitted from that of boulac; and i have, therefore, given but one table of contents for these two editions. the breslau edition, though differing widely from those of calcutta ( - ) and boulac in contents, resembles them in containing the full number (a thousand and one) of nights, whilst that of calcutta ( - ) is but a fragment, comprising only the first two hundred nights and the voyages of sindbad, as a separate tale. the subscribers to my "book of the thousand nights and one night" and the present "tales from the arabic" have now before them a complete english rendering (the first ever made) of all the tales contained in the four printed (arabic) texts of the original work and i have, therefore, thought it well to add to this, the last volume of my translation, full tables of contents of these latter, a comparison of which will show the exact composition of the different editions and the particulars in which they differ from one another, together with the manner in which the various stories that make up the respective collections are distributed over the nights. in each table, the titles of the stories occurring only in the edition of which it gives the contents are printed in italics and each tale is referred to the number of the night on which it is begun. the breslau edition, which was printed from a manuscript of the book of the thousand nights and one night alleged to have been furnished to the editor by a learned arab of tunis, whom he styles "herr m. annaggar" (quære en nejjar, the carpenter), the lacunes found in which were supplemented from various other ms. sources indicated by silvestre de sacy and other eminent orientalists, is edited with a perfection of badness to which only german scholars (at once the best and worst editors in the world) can attain. the original editor, dr. maximilian habicht, was during the period ( - ) of publication of the first eight volumes, engaged in continual and somewhat acrimonious[fn# ] controversy concerning the details of his editorship with prof. h. l. fleischer, who, after his death, undertook the completion of his task and approved himself a worthy successor of his whilom adversary, his laches and shortcomings in the matter of revision and collation of the text being at least equal in extent and gravity to those of his predecessor, whilst he omitted the one valuable feature of the latter's work, namely, the glossary of arabic words, not occurring in the dictionaries, appended to the earlier volumes. as an instance of the extreme looseness with which the book was edited, i may observe that the first four vols. were published without tables of contents, which were afterwards appended en bloc to the fifth volume. the state of corruption and incoherence in which the printed text was placed before the public by the two learned editors, who were responsible for its production, is such as might well drive a translator to despair: the uncorrected errors of the press would alone fill a volume and the verse especially is so corrupt that one of the most laborious of english arabic scholars pronounced its translation a hopeless task. i have not, however, in any single instance, allowed myself to be discouraged by the difficulties presented by the condition of the text, but have, to the best of my ability, rendered into english, without abridgment or retrenchment, the whole of the tales, prose and verse, contained in the breslau edition, which are not found in those of calcutta ( - ) and boulac. in this somewhat ungrateful task, i have again had the cordial assistance of captain burton, who has (as in the case of my "book of the thousand nights and one night") been kind enough to look over the proofs of my translation and to whom i beg once more to tender my warmest thanks. some misconception seems to exist as to the story of seif dhoul yezen, a fragment of which was translated by dr. habicht and included, with a number of tales from the breslau text, in the fourteenth vol. of the extraordinary gallimaufry published by him in - as a complete translation of the nights[fn# ] and it has, under the mistaken impression that this long but interesting romance forms part of the book of the thousand nights and one night, been suggested that a complete translation of it should be included in the present publication. the romance in question does not, however, in any way, belong to my original and forms no part of the breslau text, as will be at once apparent from an examination of the table of contents of the latter (see post, p. ), by which all the nights are accounted for. dr. habicht himself tells us, in his preface to the first vol. of the arabic text, that he found the fragment (undivided into nights) at the end of the fifth volume of his ms., into which other detached tales, having no connection with the nights, appear to have also found their way. this being the case, it is evident that the romance of seif dhoul yezen in no way comes within the scope of the present work and would (apart from the fact that its length would far overpass my limits) be a manifestly improper addition to it. it is, however, possible that, should i come across a suitable text of the work, i may make it the subject of a separate publication; but this is, of course, a matter for future consideration. table of contents of the calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. night introduction.--story of king shehriyar and his brother. a. story of the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . .i b. the second old man's story. . . . . . . . . . . . ii c. the third old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii a. story of the physician douban . . . . . . . . . . iv aa. story of king sindbad and his falcon. . . . .v ab. story of the king's son and the ogress. . . .v b. story of the enchanted youth. . . . . . . . . . .vii . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . . . ix a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . . xi b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . .xii ba. story of the envier and the envied[fn# ]xiii c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . .xiv d. the eldest lady's story . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii e. the story of the portress . . . . . . . . . . .xviii . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan. . xx . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxv a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . .xxv b. the controller's story. . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . xxviii d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . xxxi eb. story of the barber's second brother. . . xxxi ec. story of the barber's third brother . . .xxxii ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . .xxxii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . .xxxii ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . xxxiii . noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelis . . . . .xxxiv . ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love . . . . . . . . .xxxix a. story of the eunuch bekhit. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix b. story of the eunuch kafour. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix . the history of king omar ben ennuman and his sons sherkan and zoulmekanxlv a. story of taj el mulouk and the princess dunya . cvii aa. story of aziz and azizeh. . . . . . . . cxliii b. bakoun's story of the hashish-eater . . . . . cxliii c. hemmad the bedouin's story. . . . . . . . . . .cxliv . the birds and beasts and the son of adam. . . . . .cxlvi . the hermits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii . the waterfowl and the tortoise. . . . . . . . . .cxlviii . the wolf and the fox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii a. the hawk and the partridge. . . . . . . . . . .cxlix . the mouse and the weasel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl . the cat and the crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl . the fox and the crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl a. the mouse and the flea. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cli b. the falcon and the birds. . . . . . . . . . . . clii c. the sparrow and the eagle . . . . . . . . . . . clii . the hedgehog and the pigeons. . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. the merchant and the two sharpers . . . . . . . clii . the thief and his monkey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. the foolish weaver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii . the sparrow and the peacock . . . . . . . . . . . . clii . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar . . . . . . . . . .cliii . kemerezzeman and budour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clxx a. nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave-girl . ccxxxvii . alaeddin abou esh shamat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccl . hatim et tal; his generosity after death. . . . . .cclxx . maan ben zaideh and the three girls . . . . . . . cclxxi . maan ben zaideh and the bedouin . . . . . . . . . cclxxi . the city of lebtait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxii . the khalif hisham and the arab youth. . . . . . . cclxxi . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon . . cclxxiii . the city of irem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxvi . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif mamouncclxxix . the scavenger and the noble lady of baghdad . . cclxxxii . the mock khalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cclxxxvi . ali the persian and the kurd sharper. . . . . . . ccxciv . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshid and his vizier jaaferccxcvi . the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honourccxcvii . jaafer the barmecide and the bean-seller. . . . . ccxcix . abou mohammed the lazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccc . yehya ben khalid and mensour. . . . . . . . . . . . .ccv . yehya ben khalid and the man who forged a letter in his nameccvi . the khalif el mamoun and the strange doctor . . . .cccvi . ali shar and zumurrud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccvii . the loves of jubeir ben umeir and the lady budourcccxxvii . the man of yemen and his six slave-girls. . . . cccxxxiv . haroun er reshid with the damsel and abou nuwascccxxxviii . the man who stole the dog's dish of gold. . . . . .cccxl . the sharper of alexandria and the master of policecccxli . el melik en nasir and the three masters of policecccxliii a. story of the chief of the new cairo police. cccxliii b. story of the chief of the boulac police . . .cccxliv c. story of the chief of the old cairo police. .cccxliv . the thief and the money-changer . . . . . . . . . ccxliv . the chief of the cous police and the sharper. . . cccxlv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister night ccxlvi . the woman whose hands were cut off for almsgivingcccxlviii . the devout israelite. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxlviii . abou hassan es ziyadi and the man from khorassan night ccxlix . the poor man and his generous friend. . . . . . . .cccli . the ruined man who became rich again through a dreamcccli . el mutawekkil and his favourite mehboubeh . . . . .cccli . werdan the butcher's adventure with the lady and the bearcccliii . the king's daughter and the ape . . . . . . . . . .ccclv . the enchanted horse night . . . . . . . . . . . cclvii . uns el wujoud and the vizier's daughter rose-in-budccclxxi . abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshidccclxxxi . abdallah ben maamer with the man of bassora and his slave-girlccclxxxiii . the lovers of the benou udhreh. . . . . . . . ccclxxxiii . tht vizier of yemen and his young brother . . .ccclxxxiv . the loves of the boy and girl at school . . . . ccclxxxv . el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh. . . . . . . ccclxxxv . haroun er reshid and zubeideh in the bath . . . ccclxxxv . haroun er reshid and the three poets. . . . . .ccclxxxvi . musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh his wife. . . .ccclxxxvi . aboulaswed and his squinting slave-girl . . . ccclxxxvii . haroun er reshid and the two girls. . . . . . ccclxxxvii . haroun er reshid and the three girls. . . . . ccclxxxvii . the miller and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . ccclxxxvii . the simpleton and the sharper . . . . . . . .ccclxxxviii . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshld and zubeidehccclxxxviii . the khalif el hakim and the merchant. . . . . .ccclxxxix . king kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel .ccclxxxix . the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife. . . . .cccxc . khusrau and shirin and the fisherman. . . . . . . cccxci . yehya ben khalid and the poor man . . . . . . . . cccxci . mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi . . . . .cccxcii . said ben salim and the barmecides . . . . . . . .cccxcii . the woman's trick against her husband . . . . . cccxciii . the devout woman and the two wicked elders. . . .cccxciv . jaafer the barmecide and the old bedouin. . . . . cccxcv . omar ben el khettab and the young bedouin . . . . cccxcv . el mamoun and the pyramids of egypt . . . . . .cccxcviii . the thief turned merchant and the other thief .cccxcviii . mesrour and ibn el caribi . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxcix . the devout prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccci . the schoolmaster who fell in love by report . . . ccccii . the foolish schoolmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccciii . the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster. .cccciii . the king and the virtuous wife. . . . . . . . . . cccciv . abdurrehman the moor's story of the roc . . . . . cccciv . adi ben zeid and the princess hind. . . . . . . . .ccccv . dibil el khuzai with the lady and muslin ben el welidccccvii . isaac of mosul and the merchant . . . . . . . . .ccccvii . the three unfortunate lovers. . . . . . . . . . . ccccix . the lovers of the benou tai. . . . . . . . . . . .ccccx . the mad lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxi . the apples of paradise . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxii . the loves of abou isa and curret el ain. . . . .ccccxiv . el amin and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi . .ccccxviii . el feth ben khacan and el mutawekkil . . . . . .ccccxix . the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the sexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxix . abou suweid and the handsome old woman . . . .ccccxxiii . ali ben tahir and the girl mounis. . . . . . . ccccxxiv . the woman who had a boy and the other who had a man to loverccccxxiv . the haunted house in baghdad . . . . . . . . . ccccxxiv . the pilgrim and the old woman who dwelt in the desertccccxxxiv . aboulhusn and his slave-girl taweddud. . . . .ccccxxxvi . the angel of death with the proud king and the devout mancccclxii . the angel of death and the rich king . . . . . cccclxii . the angel of death and the king of the children of israelcccclxiii . iskender dhoulkernein and a certain tribe of poor folkcccclxiv . the righteousness of king anoushirwan. . . . . cccclxiv . the jewish cadi and his pious wife . . . . . . .cccclxv . the shipwrecked woman and her child. . . . . . cccclxvi . the pious black slave. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxvii . the devout platter-maker and his wife. . . . cccclxviii . el hejjaj ben yousuf and the pious man . . . . .cccclxx . the blacksmith who could handle fire without hurtcccclxxi . the saint to whom god gave a cloud to serve him and the devout kingcccclxxiii . the muslim champion and the christian lady . .cccclxxiv . ibrahim ben el khawwas and the christian king's daughtercccclxxvii . the justice of providence. . . . . . . . . .cccclxxviii . the ferryman of the nile and the hermit. . . .cccclxxix . the king of the island . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxxix . abulhusn ed durraj and abou jaafer the leper .cccclxxxi . the queen of the serpents. . . . . . . . . . cccclxxxii a. the adventures of beloukiya . . . . . . . cccclxxxvi b. the story of janshah. . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxcix . sindbad the sailor and sindbad the porter. . . . dxxxvi a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . dxxxviii b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . dxliii c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . .dxlvi d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . . . dl e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . dlvi f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . dlix g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . dlxiii . the city of brass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxvi . the malice of women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxviii a. the king and his vizier's wife. . . . . . . dlxxviii b. the merchant's wife and the parrot. . . . . . dlxxix c. the fuller and his son. . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxix d. the lover's trick against the chaste wife . . .dlxxx e. the niggard and the loaves of bread . . . . . .dlxxx f. the lady and her two lovers . . . . . . . . . dlxxxi g. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . . . dlxxxi h. the drop of honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxxxii i. the woman who made her husband sift dust. . .dlxxxii j. the enchanted springs . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxxxii k. the vizier's son and the bathkeeper's wife. .dlxxxiv l. the wife's device to cheat her husband. . . .dlxxxiv m. the goldsmith and the cashmere singing- girl.dlxxxvi n. the man who never laughed again . . . . . . dlxxxvii o. the king's son and the merchant's wife. . . . . dxci p. the page who feigned to know the speech of birdsdxcii q. the lady and her five suitors . . . . . . . . dxciii r. the man who saw the night of power. . . . . . .dxcvi s. the stolen necklace . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dxcvi t. the two pigeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxcvii u. prince behram of persia and the princess ed detmadxcvii v. the house with the belvedere. . . . . . . . .dxcviii w. the king's son and the afrit's mistress . . . . dcii x. the sandal-wood merchant and the sharpers . . .dciii y. the debauchee and the three-year-old child. . . .dcv z. the stolen purse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcv . jouder and his brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcvi . the history ot gherib and his brother agib . . . dcxxiv . otbeh and reyya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxxx . hind daughter of en numan and el hejjaj. . . . .dclxxxi . khuzeimeh ben bishr and ikrimeh el feyyas. . . dclxxxii . younus the scribe and the khalif welid ben sehldclxxxiv . haroun er reshid and the arab girl . . . . . . .dclxxxv . el asmai and the three girls of bassora. . . . dclxxxvi . ibrahim of mosul and the devil . . . . . . . .dclxxxvii . the lovers of the benou udhreh . . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the bedouin and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxci . the lovers of bassora. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxciii . isaac of mosul and his mistress and the devil. . .dcxcr . the lovers of medina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxcvi . el melik en nasir and his vizier . . . . . . . .dcxcvii . the rogueries of delileh the crafty and her daughter zeyneb the trickstressdcxcviii . the adventures of quicksilver ali of cairo, a sequel to the rogueries of delileh the crafty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccviil . ardeshir and heyat en nufous . . . . . . . . . . .dccxu . julnar of the sea and her son king bedr basim of persiaiccxxxviii . king mohammed ben sebaik and the merchant hassan dcclvi a. story of prince seif el mulouk and the princess bediya el jemal dcclviii . hassan of bassora and the king's daughter of the jinndcclxxviii . khelifeh the fisherman of baghdad. . . . . . . cccxxxii . mesrour and zein el mewasif. . . . . . . . . . .dcccxlv . ali noureddin and the frank king's daughter. .dccclxiii . the man of upper egypt and his frank wife. . . dcccxciv . the ruined man of baghdad and his slave-girl . dcccxcvi . king jelyaad of hind and his vizier shimas: whereafter ensueth the history of king wird khan son of king jelyaad and his women and viziersdcccxciz a. the cat and the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccoc b. the fakir and his pot of butter . . . . . . .dccccii c. the fishes and the crab . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii d. the crow and the serpent. . . . . . . . . . dcccciii e. the fox and the wild ass. . . . . . . . . . .dcccciv f. the unjust king and the pilgrim prince. . . . dccccv g. the crows and the hawk. . . . . . . . . . . .dccccvi k. the serpent-charmer and his wife. . . . . . dccccvii i. the spider and the wind . . . . . . . . . .dccccviii j. the two kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccix k. the blind man and the cripple . . . . . . . . dccccx l. the foolish fisherman . . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii m. the boy and the thieves . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii n. the man and his wilful wife . . . . . . . . dccccxix o. the merchant and the thieves. . . . . . . . .dccccxx p. the foxes and the wolf. . . . . . . . . . . dccccxxi q. the shepherd and the thief. . . . . . . . . dccccxxi r. the heathcock and the tortoises . . . . . .dccccxxiv . aboukir the dyer and abousir the barber. . . . dccccxxx . abdallah the fisherman and abdallah the merman .dccccxl . the merchant of oman . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxlvi . ibrahim and jemileh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii . aboulhusn of khorassan . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccclix . kemerezzeman and the jeweller's wife . . . . dcccclxiii . abdallah ben fasil and his brothers. . . . dcccclixviii . marouf the cobbler and his wife fatimeh. dcccclxxxix-mi conclusion. table of contents of the breslau (tunis) edition of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. night introduction.--story of king shehriyar and his brother. a. story of the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . iv b. the second old man's story. . . . . . . . . . . . vi c. the third old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . viii . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii a. story of the physician douban . . . . . . . . . . xi aa. story of the jealous man and the parrot[fn# ]xiv ab. story of the king's son and the ogress. . . xv b. story of the enchanted youth. . . . . . . . . . .xxi . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . xxviii a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . xxxvii b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . . xl ba. the envier and the envied . . . . . . . . xlvi c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . liii d. the eldest lady's story . . . . . . . . . . . .lxiii e. story of the portress . . . . . . . . . . . . .lxvii . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxix . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan.lxxii . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cii a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . cvii b. the controller's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . cxix c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . .cxxix d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxxxvii e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlix ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . . ci eb. story of the barber's second brother. . . cliv ec. story of the barber's third brother . . .clvii ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . clviii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . . .clx ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . .clxiv . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar. . . . . . . . . . .clxix . noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelii . . . . .cxcix . kemerezzeman and budour. . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccxviii . the enchanted horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccxlir . the voyages of sindbad the sailor . . . . . . . . ccxliv a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . .cclii b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . ccliii c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . . cclv d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor . . . .cclix e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . .cclxiii f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . . cclxvi g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor. . . cclxix . asleep and awake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cclxxi a. the lackpenny and the cook. . . . . . . . . cclxxiii . seif el mulouk and bediya el jemal. . . . . . . . ccxci . khelif the fisherman [fn# ] . . . . . . . . . . cccxxi . ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love. . . . . . . cccxxxii a. story of the eunuch sewab [fn# ]. . . . . cccxxxiv b. story of the eunuch kafour ,, . uns el wujoud and the vizier's daughter rose- in-budcccxli . the merchant of oman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccliv . ardeshir and heyat en nufous. . . . . . . . . . .ccclxiv . hassan of bassora and the king's daughter of the jinncclxxxvi . haroun er reshid and the three poets. . . . . .ccccxxxii . omar ben abdulaziz and the poets. . . . . . . .ccccxxxii . el hejjaj and the three young mem . . . . . . .ccccxxxiv . er reshid and the woman of the barmecides . . .ccccxxxiv . the ten viziers; or the history of king azad- bekht and his sonccccxxxv a. the unlucky merchant. . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxl b. the merchant and his sons . . . . . . . . . ccccxliv c. abou sabir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxlviii d. prince bihzad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccliii e. king dadbin and his viziers . . . . . . . . . cccclv f. king bekhtzeman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxi g. king bihkerd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccclxiv h. ilan shah and abou temam. . . . . . . . . . cccclxvi i. king ibrahim and his son. . . . . . . . . . cccclxxi j. king suleiman shah and his sons . . . . . . cccclxxv k. the prisoner and how god gave him relief . cccclxxxv . the city of brass . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxxxvii . nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave-girl . . . . . . di . alaeddin abou es shamat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dxx . hatim tai; his generosity after death . . . . . . .dxxxi . maan ben zaideh and the three girls . . . . . . . dxxxii . maan ben zaideh and the bedouin . . . . . . . . . dxxxii . the city of lebtait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxxxii . the khalif hisham and the arab youth. . . . . . . dxxxiv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon . . . dxxxiv . the city of irem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxxxviii . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif mamoundxl . the mock khalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxliii . the imam abou yousuf with er reshid and jaafer. . . .dlv . the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honourdlvii . abou mohammed the lazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dlviii . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih . . . . . dlxv . jaafer ben yehya [fn# ] and the man who forged a letter in his namedlxvi . er reshid and the barmecides. . . . . . . . . . . dlxvii . ibn es semmak and er reshid . . . . . . . . . . .dlxviii . el mamoun and zubeideh. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxviii . ali shir [fn# ] and zumurrud. . . . . . . . . . .dlxix . the loves of budour and jubeir ben umeir. . . . dlxxxvii . the man of yemen and his six slave-girls. . . . . . dxcv . haroun er reshid with the damsel and abou nuwas . . . dc . the man who stole the dog's dish of gold. . . . . . dcii . el melik en nasir and the three masters of police .dciii a. story of the chief of the new cairo police. . . dciv b. story of the chief of the boulac police . . . . .dcv c. story of the chief of the old cairo police. . . .dcv . the thief and the money-changer . . . . . . . . . . .dcv . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister. . . dcvi . king kelyaad [fn# ] of hind and his vizier shimas dcix a. the cat and the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcix b. the fakir and his pot of butter . . . . . . . . .dcx c. the fishes and the crab . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi d. the crow and the serpent. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi e. the fox and the wild ass. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxi f. the unjust king and the pilgrim prince. . . . .dcxii g. the crows and the hawk. . . . . . . . . . . . dcxiii h. the serpent-charmer and his wife. . . . . . . .dcxiv i. the spider and the wind . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxv j. the two kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxvi k. the blind man and the cripple . . . . . . . . .dcxvi l. the foolish fisherman . dcxxvi m. the boy and the thieves . . . . . . . . . . .dcxxvii n. the man and his wilful wife . . . . . . . . dcxxviii o. the merchant and the thieves. . . . . . . . . dcxxix p. the foxes and the wolf. . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxxx q. the shepherd and the thief. . . . . . . . . .dcxxxii r. the heathcock and the tortoises . . . . . . .dcxxxiv . the woman whose hands were cut off for almsgiving .dcxli . the poor man and his generous friend. . . . . . .dcxliii . the ruined man who became rich again through a dreamdcxliv . abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshiddcxlv . the lovers of the benou udhreh [fn# ] . . . . . dcxlvi . el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh. . . . . . . dcxlviii . haroun er reshid and zubeideh in the bath . . . dcxlviii . musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh his wife. . . . . dcxlix . aboulaswed and his squinting slave-girl . . . . . . dcli . haroun er reshid and the two girls. . . . . . . . . dcli . haroun er reshid and the three girls. . . . . . . . dcli . the simpleton and the sharper . . . . . . . . . . .dclii . the imam abou yousuf with er reshid and zubeideh. .dclii . the khalif el hakim and the merchant. . . . . . . dcliii . kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel. . . . . dcliii . the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife. . . . .dcliv . khusrau and shirin and the fisherman. . . . . . . .dclvi . yehya ben khalid and the poor man . . . . . . . . .dclvi . mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi . . . . . dclvii . the woman's trick against her husband . . . . . .dclviii . the devout woman and the two wicked elders. . . . .dclix el fezl ben rebiya[fn# ] and the old bedouin . . . dclx en numan and the arab of the benou tai . . . . . . . dclx the draper and the thief[fn# ] . . . . . . . . . .dclxi . mesrour and ibn el caribi . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxii . the devout prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxiv . the schoolmaster who fell in love by report . . . .dclxv . the foolish schoolmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxvi . the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster. .dclxvii . adi ben zeid and the princess hind. . . . . . . dclxviii . dibil el khuzai with the lady and muslim ben el weliddclxx . isaac of mosul and the merchant . . . . . . . . . .dclxx . the three unfortunate lovers. . . . . . . . . . .dclxxii . the lovers of the benou tai . . . . . . . . . . dclxxiii . the mad lover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxiv . firous and his wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclxxv . the apples of paradise. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxvi . the loves of abou isa and curret el ain . . . .dclxxviii . el amin and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi. . . dclxxxii . el feth ben khacan and el mutawekkil. . . . . .dclxxxiii . the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the sexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dclxxxiii . abou suweid and the handsome old woman. . . . .dclxxxvii . ali ben tahir and the girl mounis . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the woman who had a boy and the other who had a man to loverdclxxxviii . the haunted house in baghdad. . . . . . . . . dclxxxviii . the history of gherib and his brother agib. . . dcxcviii . the rogueries of delileh the crafty and her daughter zeyneb the trickstressdcclvi . the adventures of quicksilver ali of cairo . . .dcclxvi . jouder and his brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . .dcclxxv . julnar of the sea and her son king bedr basim of persiadccxciv . mesrour and zein el mewasif. . . . . . . . . . .dcccxxi . ali noureddin and the frank king's daughter. . dcccxxxi . the man of upper egypt and his frank wife. . . dccclxii . the ruined man of baghdad and his slave-girl . dccclxiv . aboukir the dyer and abousir the barber. . . .dccclxvii . abdallah the fisherman and abdallah the mermandccclxxvii . king shah bekhi and his vizier er rehwan . . .dccclxxxv a. the man of khorassan, his son and his governordccclxxxvi b. the singer and the druggist . . . . . . dccclxxxviii c. the king who knew the quintessence of things.dcccxci d. the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcii e. the rich man and his wasteful son . . . . .dcccxciii f. the king's son who fell in love with the picturedcccxciv g. the fuller and his wife . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcvi h. the old woman, the merchant and the king. . dcccxcvi i. the credulous husband . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcviii j. the unjust king and the tither. . . . . . . dcccxcix ja. story of david and solomon. . . . . . dcccxcix h. the thief and the woman . . . . . . . . . . dcccxcix l. the three men and our lord jesus. . . . . . . dcccci la. the disciple's story. . . . . . . . . . dcccci m. the dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to himdcccci n. the man whose caution was the cause of his deathdcccciii o. the man who was lavish of his house and his victual to one whom he knew not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcccciv p. the idiot and the sharper . . . . . . . . . . dccccv q. khelbes and his wife and the learned man. . .dccccvi r. the pious woman accused of lewdness . . . . dccccvii s. the journeyman and the girl . . . . . . . . .dccccix t. the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandmentdccccix u. the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow.dccccxi v. the sharpers with the money-changer and the assdccccxiv w. the sharper and the merchants . . . . . . . .dccccxv wa. the hawk and the locust . . . . . . . dccccxvi x. the king and his chamberlain's wife . . . .dccccxvii xa. the old woman and the draper's wife .dccccxvii y. the foul-favoured man and his fair wife . dccccxviii z. the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him. . . . . . . . . . . dccccxix aa. selim and selma. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxxii bb. the king of hind and his visier. . . . .dccccxxviii el melik es zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dccccxxx a. the first officer's story . . . . . . . . . dccccxxx b. the second officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxii c. the third officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxii d. the fourth officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv e. the fifth officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv f. the sixth officer's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv g. the seventh officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxiv h. the eighth officer's story. . . . . . . . .dccccxxxv ha. the thief's story . . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii i the ninth officer's story. . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii j. the tenth officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxviii k. the eleventh officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxviii l. the twelfth officer's story . . . . . . . dccccxxxix m. the thirteenth officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxix n. the fourteenth officer's story. . . . . . dccccxxxix na. a merry jest of a thief . . . . . . . .dccccxl nb. story of the old sharper. . . . . . . .dccccxl o. the fifteenth officer's story . . . . . . . .dccccxl p. the sixteenth officer's story . . . . . . . .dccccxl . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghardccccxli a. story of tuhfet el culoub and haroun er reshiddccccxlii . noureddin ali and sitt el milah. . . . . . . dcccclviii . el abbas and the king's daughter of baghdad. .dcccclxvi . the malice of women. . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccclxxix a. the king and his vizier's wife. . . . . . .dcccclxxx b, the merchant's wife and the parrot. . . . .dcccclxxx c. the fuller and his son. . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxx d. the lover's trick against the chaste wife .dcccclxxx e. the niggard and the loaves of bread . . .dcccclxxxiv f. the lady and her two lovers . . . . . . .dcccclxxxiv g. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . dcccclxxxv h. the drop of honey . . . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxxvi i. the woman who made her husband sift dust.dcccclxxxvi j. the enchanted springs . . . . . . . . . .dcccclxxxvi k. the vizier's son and the bathkeeper's wifedcccclxxxviii l. the wife's device to cheat her husband. .dcccclxxxix m. the goldsmith and the cashmere singing-girl .dccccxc n. the man who never laughed again . . . . . . dccccxci o. the king's son and the merchant's wife. . dccccxciii p. the man who saw the night of power. . . . dccccxciii q. the stolen necklace . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxciv r. prince behram of persia and the princess ed detmadccccxciv s. the house with the belvedere. . . . . . . . dccccxcv t. the sandalwood merchant and the sharpers.dccccxcviii u. the debauchee and the three-year-old childdccccxcviii v. the stolen purse. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxcix w. the fox and the folk[fn# ]. . . . . . . . . . . .m . the two kings and the vizier's daughters . . . . . . .m . the favourite and her lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . .m . the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hikim bi amrillak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .m conclusion table of contents of the unfinished calcutta ( - ) edition (first two hundred nights only) of the arabic text of the book of the thousand nights and one night. introduction. a. the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. the first old man's story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii b. the second old man's story[fn# ]. . . . . . . . iv . the fisherman and the genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii a. the physician douban. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi aa. the merchant and the parrot . . . . . . . .xiv ab. the king's son and the ogress . . . . . . . xv b. the enchanted youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad . . . . xxviii a. the first calender's story. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix b. the second calender's story . . . . . . . . . . xlii ba. the envier and the envied . . . . . . . . xlvi c. the third calender's story. . . . . . . . . . . liii d. the eldest lady's story[fn# ] . . . . . . . . lxiv . the three apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxviii . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan.lxxii . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif el mamounxciv . story of the hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ci a. the christian broker's story. . . . . . . . . . .cix b. the cook's story[fn# ]. . . . . . . . . . . . cxxi c. the jewish physician's story. . . . . . . . . .cxxix d. the tailor's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxxxvi e. the barber's story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxliii ea. story of the barber's first brother . . . cxlv eb. story of the barber's second brother. .cxlviii ec. story of the barber's third brother . . . .cli ed. story of the barber's fourth brother. . . clii ee. story of the barber's fifth brother . . . cliv ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . . clviii . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar. . . . . . . . . . clxiii . noureddin ali and the damsel ennis el jelis. . . . clxxxi . women's craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxcv-cc . sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter[fn# ] a. the first voyage of sindbad the sailor b. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor c. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor d. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor e. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor f. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor g. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor alphabetical table of the first lines of the verse in the "tales from the arabic." n.b.--the roman numerals denote the volume, the arabic the page a damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii. . a fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii. . a sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii. . a white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare, ii. . after your loss, nor trace of me nor vestige would remain, iii. . algates ye are our prey become; this many a day and night, iii. . all intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, ii. . an if my substance fail, no one there is will succour me, i. . an if ye'd of evil be quit, look that no evil ye do, ii. . assemble, ye people of passion, i pray, iii. . awaken, o ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here, ii. . beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be, ii. . behold, i am clad in a robe of leaves green, ii. . but for the spying of the eyes [ill-omened,] we had seen, i. . by allah, but that i trusted that i should meet you again, ii. . by him whom i worship, indeed, i swear, o thou that mine eye dost fill, ii. . damascus is all gardens decked for the pleasance of the eyes, iii. . drink ever, o lovers, i rede you, of wine, ii. . el abbas from akil his stead is come again, iii. . endowed with amorous grace past any else am i, ii . fair fall the maid whose loosened locks her cheeks do overcloud! iii. . fair patience practise, for thereon still followeth content, iii. . fair patience use, for ease still followeth after stress, iii. . for the uses of food i was fashioned and made, ii. . "forget him," quoth my censurers, "forget him; what is he?" iii. . fortune its arrows all, through him i love, let fly, iii. . full many a man incited me to infidelity, i. . god judge betwixt me and her lord! away, i. . god keep the days of love-delight! how dearly sweet they were! i. . god keep the days of love-delight! how passing sweet they were! ii. god knows i ne'er recalled thy memory to my thought, iii. . had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice, i. . haste not to that thou dost desire; for haste is still unblest, ii. . he who mohammed sent, as prophet to mankind, i. . his love he'd have hid, but his tears denounced him to the spy, iii. his love on him took pity and wept for his dismay, ii. . how long, o fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me? ii. . how long shall i thus question my heart that's drowned in woe? iii. . how long will ye admonished be, without avail or heed? iii. . how many, in yemameh, dishevelled widows plain! i. . i am content, for him i love, to all abide, iii. . i am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, iii. . i am the champion-slayer he warrior without peer, iii. . ---- i clipped her in mine arms and straight grew drunken with the scent, iii. . i fear to be seen in the air, ii. . i marvel for that to my love i see thee now incline, iii. . i saw thee, o thou best of all the human race, display, i. . i swear by his life, yea, i swear by the life of my love without peer, iii. . if i must die, then welcome death to heal, iii. . if, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite, ii. . i'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed, ii. . in every rejoicing a boon[fn# ] midst the singers and minstrels am i, ii. in my soul the fire of yearning and affliction rageth aye, iii. . indeed, thou'st told the tale of kings and men of might, iii. . it chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, ii. . it is as the jasmine, when it i espy, ii. . let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare, iii. like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, iii. . like the full moon she shows upon a night of fortune fair, iii. . lo, since the day i left you, o my masters, iii. . look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, ii. . may the place of my session ne'er lack thee! oh, why, iii. me, till i stricken was therewith, to love thou didst excite, iii. midst colours, my colour excelleth in light, ii. . most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow i, ii. . my flower a marvel on your heads doth show, ii. . my fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain, ii. . my fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, ii. . my heart will never credit that i am far from thee, ii. . my secret is disclosed, the which i strove to hide, iii. . my watering lips, that cull the rose of thy soft cheek, declare, iii. . no good's in life (to the counsel list of one who's purpose-whole), i. . o amir of justice, be kind to thy subjects, iii. . o friends, the east wind waxeth, the morning draweth near, iii. . o friends, the tears flow ever, in mockery of my pain, iii. . o hills of the sands and the rugged piebald plain, iii. . o thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, ii. . o thou that questionest the lily of its scent, ii. . o son of simeon, give no ear to other than my say, iii. . o'er all the fragrant flowers that be i have the pref'rence aye, ii. . o'erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent, iii. . oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me, ii. . one of the host am i of lovers sad and sere, ii. . pease on thee! would our gaze might light on thee once more! ii. . peace on you, people of my troth! with peace i do you greet, ii. . quoth i (and mine a body is of passion all forslain), iii. . rail not at the vicissitudes of fate, ii. . ramazan in my life ne'er i fasted, nor e'er, i. . say, by the lightnings of thy teeth and thy soul's pure desire, iii. . she comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, iii. . sherik ben amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay? i. . some with religion themselves concern and make it their business all, i. . still by your ruined camp a dweller i abide, ii. . still do i yearn, whilst passion's fire flames in my liver are, iii. the absent ones' harbinger came us unto, iii. . the billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore, ii. . the crown of the flow'rets am i, in the chamber of wine, ii. . the merciful dyed me with that which i wear, ii. . the season of my presence is never at an end, ii. . the two girls let me down from fourscore fathoms' height, i. . the zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, ii. . they have departed, but the steads yet full of them remain, ii. . they have shut out thy person from my sight, iii. . thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight, iii. . thou that wast absent from my stead, yet still with me didst bide, iii. . thy haters say and those who malice to thee bear, iii. . thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot'st therein i read, iii. . thy loss is the fairest of all my heart's woes, iii. . thy presence honoureth us and we, i. . to his beloved one the lover's heart's inclined, iii. . 'twere better and meeter thy presence to leave, ii. . 'twere fitter and better my loves that i leave, i. . unto its pristine lustre your land returned and more, iii. . unto me the whole world's gladness is thy nearness and thy sight, iii. . upon the parting day our loves from us did fare, iii. . were not the darkness still in gender masculine, iii. . what strength have i solicitude and long desire to bear, iii. . when in the sitting-chamber we for merry-making sate, iii. . whenas mine eyes behold thee not, that day, iii. . whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, ii . wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, ii. , . would god upon that bitterest day, when my death calls for me, i. would we may live together, and when we come to die, i. . ye chide at one who weepeth for troubles ever new, iii. . ye know i'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment, ii. . your coming to-me-ward, indeed, with "welcome! fair welcome!" i hail, iii. . your water i'll leave without drinking, for there, i. . index to the names of the "tales from the arabic" n.b.-the roman numerals denote the volume, the arabic the page abbas (el) and the king's daughter of baghdad, iii. . abbaside, jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the, i. . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar, ii. . abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside, jaafer ben yehya, and, i. . abou sabir, story of, i. . abou temam, story of ilan shah and, i. . actions, of the issues of good and evil, i. . advantages of patience, of the, i. . affairs, of looking to the issues of, i. . ali of damascus and sitt el milah, noureddin, iii. . appointed term, of the, i. . arab of the benou tai, en numan and the, i. . asleep and awake, i. . ass, the sharpers, the money-changer and the, ii. . awake, asleep and, i. . azadbekht and his son, history of king, i. baghdad, el abbas and the king's daughter of, iii. . barmecides, er reshid and the, i. . barmecides, haroun er reshid and the woman of the, i. . bekhtzeman, story of king, i. . benou tai, en numan and the arab of the, i. . bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin, ii. . bihkerd, story of king, i. . bihzad, story of prince, i. . bunducdari (el) and the sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers, ii. . cairo (the merchant of) and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, iii. . cashghar, abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of, ii. . caution was the cause of his death, the man whose, i . chamberlain's wife, the king and his, ii. . clemency, of, i. . cook, the lackpenny and the, i. . craft, women's, ii. . credulous husband, the, i. . dadbin (king) and his viziers, story of, i. . damascus (noureddin ali of) and sitt el milah, iii. . daughter of the poor old man, the rich man who married his fair, i. . daughters, the two kings and the vizier's, iii. . david and solomon, i. . death, the man whose caution was the cause of his, i. . destiny, of, i. . dethroned king whose kingdom and good were restored to him, the, i. . disciple's story, the, i. . draper's wife, the old woman and the, ii. . druggist, the singer and the, i. . eighth officer's story, the, ii. . eleventh officer's story, the, ii. . endeavour against persistent ill fortune, of the uselessness of, i. . envy and malice, of, i. . favourite and her lover, the, iii. . favourite of the khalif el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant of cairo and the, iii. . fifteenth officer's story, the, ii. . fifth officer's story, the, ii. . firouz and his wife, i. . first officer's story, the, ii. . forehead, of that which is written on the, i. . fortune, of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill, i. . foul-favoured man and his fair wife, the, ii. . fourteenth officer's story, the, ii. . fourth officer's story, the, ii. . fuller and his wife, the, i. . girl, the journeyman and the, ii. . god, of the speedy relief of, i. . god, of trust in, i. . governor, story of the man of khorassan, his son and his, i. . hakim (el) bi amrillah, the merchant and the favourite of the khalif el mamoun, iii. . haroun er reshid, tuhfet el culoub and, ii. . haroun er reshid and the woman of the barmecides, i. . hawk and the locust, the, ii. . hejjaj (el) and the three young men, i. . hind and his vizier, the king of, ii. . hindbad the porter, sindbad the sailor and, iii. . husband, the credulous, i. . ibn es semmak and er reshid, i. . ibrahim and his son, story of king, i. . idiot and the sharper, the, i. . ilan shah and abou temam, story of, i. . ill effects of precipitation, of the, i. . ill fortune, of the uselessness of endeavour against persistent, i . issues of affairs, of looking to the, i. . issues of good and evil actions, of the, i. . jaafer ben yehya and abdulmelik ben salih the abbaside, i. . jest of a thief, a merry, ii. . jesus, the three men and our lord, i. . journeyman and the girl, the, ii. . khalif, el mamoun el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant of cairo and the favourite of the, iii. . khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the poets, the, i. . khelbes and his wife and the learned man, i. . khorassan, his son and his governor, story of the man of, i. . king azadbekht and his son, history of, i. . king bekhtzeman, story of, i. . king bihkerd, story of, i. . king and his chamberlain's wife, the, ii. . king dadbin and his viziers, story of, i. . king (the dethroned), whose kingdom and good were restored to him, i. . king of ind and his vizier, the, ii. . king ibrahim and his son, story of, i. . king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth, the, ii. . king, the old woman, the merchant and the, i. . king who knew the quintessence of things, the, i. . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan, i. . king suleiman shah and his sons, story of, i. king (the unjust) and the tither, i. . king's daughter of baghdad, el abbas and the, iii. . king's son of cashghar, abdullah ben nafi and the, ii. . kings and the vizier's daughters, the two, iii. . lackpenny and the cook, the, i. . lavish of house and victual to one whom he knew not, the man who was, i. . learned man, khelbes and his wife and the, i. . lewdness, the pious woman accused of, ii. . locust, the hawk and the, ii. . looking to the issues of affairs, of, i. . lover, the favourite and her, iii. . malice, of envy and, i. . mamoun (el) el hakim bi amrillah, the merchant and the favourite of the khalif, iii. . mamoun (el) and zubeideh, i. . man whose caution was the cause of his death, the, i. . man and his fair wife, the foul-favoured, ii. . man of khorassan, his son and his governor, story of the, i. . man who was lavish of house and victual to one whom he knew not, the, i . mariyeh, el abbas and, iii. . marriage to the poor old man, the rich man who gave his fair daughter in, i. . melik (el) ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police, ii. . men and our lord jesus, the three, i. . merchant of cairo and the favourite of the khalif el maraoun el hakim bi amrillah, the, iii. . merchant and the king, the old woman, the, i. . merchant and his sons, the, i. . merchant, the unlucky, i. . merchants, the sharper and the, ii. . merouzi (el) and er razi, ii. . merry jest of a thief, a, ii. . money-changer and the ass, the sharpers, the, ii. . ninth officer's story, the, ii. . noureddin ali of damascus and sitt el milan, iii, . numan (en) and the arab of the benou tai, i. . officer's story, the first, ii. . officer's story, the second, ii. . officer's story, the third, ii. . officer's story, the fourth, ii. . officer's story, the fifth, ii. . officer's story, the sixth, ii. . officer's story, the seventh, ii. . officer's story, the eighth, ii. . officer's story, the ninth, ii. . officer's story, the tenth, ii. . officer's story, the eleventh, ii. . officer's story, the twelfth, ii. . officer's story, the thirteenth, ii. . officer's story, the fourteenth, ii. . officer's story, the fifteenth, ii. . officer's story, the sixteenth, ii. . officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdar and the sixteen, ii. . old sharper, story of the, ii. . old woman and the draper's wife, the, ii. . old woman, the merchant and the king, the, i. . omar ben abdulaziz and the poets, the khalif, i. . patience, of the advantages of, i. . physician by his wife's commandment, the weaver who became a, ii. . picture, the prince who fell in love with the, i. . pious woman accused of lewdness, the, ii. . poets, the khalif omar ben abdulaziz and the, i. . police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of, ii. . poor old man, the rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the, i. . porter, sindbad the sailor and hindbad the, iii. precipitation, of the ill effects of, i. prince bihzad, story of, i. . prince who fell in love with the picture, the, i. . prisoner and how god gave him relief, story of the, i. . quintessence of things, the king who knew the, i. . razi (er) and el merouzi, ii. . rehwan (er), king shah bekht and his vizier, i. . relief of god, of the speedy, i. . relief, story of the prisoner and how god gave him, i. . reshid (er) and the barmecides, i. . reshid (er), ibn es semmak and, i. . reshid (er), tuhfet el culoub and, ii. . reshid (haroun er) and the woman of the barmecides, i. . rich man who gave his fair daughter in marriage to the poor old man, the, i. . rich man and his wasteful son, the, i. . sabir (abou), story of, i. . sailor and hindbad the porter, sindbad the, iii. . second officer's story, the, ii. . selim and selma, ii. . selma, selim and, ii. . semmak (ibn es) and er reshid, i. . seventh officer's story, the, ii. . seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor, the, iii. . shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan, king, i. . sharper, the idiot and the, i. . sharper and the merchant, the, ii. sharper, story of the old, ii. . sharpers who cheated each his fellow, the two, ii. . sharpers, the money-changer and the ass, the, ii. . shehriyar, shehrzad and, ii. , iii. , . shehrzad and shehriyar, ii. , iii. , . sindbad the sailor and hindbad the porter, iii. . sindbad the sailor, the seventh voyage of, iii. . sindbad the sailor, the sixth voyage of, iii. . singer and the druggist, the, i. . sitt el milah, noureddin ali of damascus and, iii. . sixteen officers of police, el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the, ii. . sixteenth officer's story, the, ii. . sixth officer's story, the, ii. . sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor, the, iii. . solomon, david and, i. . son, the history of king azadbekht and his, i. . son and his governor, story of the man of khorassan, his, i. son, story of king ibrahim and his, i. . son, the rich man and his wasteful, i. . sons, story of king suleiman shah and his, i. . sons, the merchant and his, i. . speedy relief of god, of the, i. . suleiman shah and his sons, story of king, i. . tai, en numan and the arab of the benou. i. . temam (abou), story of ilan shah and, i. . ten viziers, the, i. tenth officer's story, the, ii. term, of the appointed, i. . thief, a merry jest of a, ii. . thiefs story, the, ii. . thief and the woman, the, i. things, the king who knew the quintessence of, i. third officer's story, the, ii. . thirteenth officer's story, the, ii. . three men and our lord jesus, the, i. . three young men, el hejjaj and the, i. . tither, the unjust king and the, i. . trust in god, of, . tuhfet el culoub and er reshid, ii. . twelfth officer's story, the, ii. i . two kings and the vizier's daughters, the, iii. unjust king and the tither, the, i. unlucky merchant, the, i . uselessness of endeavour against persistent ill fortune, of the, i. vizier, the king of hind and his, ii. . vizier er rehwan, king shah bekht and his, i. . vizier's daughters, the two kings and the, iii. , viziers, story of king dadbin and his. i. . viziers, the ten, i. . voyage of sindbad the sailor, the seventh, iii. . voyage of sindbad the sailor, the sixth, iii. . wasteful son, the rich man and his, i. . weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment, the ii. . wife, the king and his chamberlain's, ii. . wife, the old woman and the draper's, ii. . wife, firouz aad his, i. . wife, the fuller and his, i. . wife and the learned man, khelbes and his, i. . woman accused of lewdness, the pious, ii. . woman of the barmecides, haroun er reshid and the, i. . woman, the thief and the, i. . woman (the old) and the draper's wife, ii. . woman (the old), the merchant and the king, i. . women's craft, ii. . young men, el hejjaj and the three, i. . zubeideh, el mamoun and, i. the end. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - , nights dcccclviii-dcccclxv. [fn# ] babylon, according to the muslims, is the head-quarters of sorcery and it is there that the two fallen angels, harout and marout, who are appointed to tempt mankind by teaching them the art of magic, are supposed to be confined. [fn# ] i.e. "my lord," a title generally prefixed to the names of saints. it is probable, therefore, that the boy was named after some saint or other, whose title, as well as name, was somewhat ignorantly appropriated to him. [fn# ] i.e. one and all? [fn# ] i.e. a foretaste of hell. [fn# ] lit. he loaded his sleeve with. [fn# ] a mithcal is the same as a dinar, i.e. about ten shillings. [fn# ] masculine. [fn# ] he was a noted debauchee, as well as the greatest poet of his day see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. , and vol. ix. p. . [fn# ] see ante, vol. ii. p. . note. [fn# ] princess of the fair. [fn# ] i.e. ye are welcome to. [fn# ] i.e. the place in which those accused or convicted of crimes of violence were confined. [fn# ] i.e. a youth slender and flexile as a bough. [fn# ] i.e. sway gracefully. a swimming gait is the ideal of elegance to the arab. [fn# ] an arab of medina, proverbial for faithlessness. [fn# ] joseph is the mohammedan prototype of beauty. [fn# ] for the loss of joseph. jacob, in like manner, is the muslim type of inconsolable grief. [fn# ] uncle of the prophet. [fn# ] first cousin of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. cut off her head. [fn# ] when asked, on the day of judgment, why he had slain her. [fn# ] i.e. that some one of the many risings in khorassan (which was in a chronic state of rebellion during er reshid's reign) had been put down. [fn# ] lit. fry. the custom is to sear the stump by plunging it into boiling oil. [fn# ] lit. of those having houses. [fn# ] i.e. from god in the world to come. [fn# ] i look to get god's favour in consequence of thy fervent prayers for me. [fn# ] provided for ablution. [fn# ] i.e. if you want a thing done, do it yourself. [fn# ] i.e. put on the ordinary walking dress of the eastern lady, which completely hides the person. [fn# ] this is apparently said in jest; but the muslim puritan (such as the strict wehhabi) is often exceedingly punctilious in refusing to eat or use anything that is not sanctified by mention in the koran or the traditions of the prophet, in the same spirit as the old calvinist scotchwoman of popular tradition, who refused to eat muffins, because they "warna mentioned in the bible." [fn# ] i.e. a leader (lit. foreman, antistes) of the people at prayer. [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] i.e. i have eaten largely and the food lies heavy on my stomach. [fn# ] wine is considered by the arabs a sovereign digestive. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] "the similitude of paradise, the which is promised unto those who fear [god]. therein are rivers of water incorruptible and rivers of milk, the taste whereof changeth not, and rivers of wine, a delight to the drinkers, and rivers of clarified honey."--koran xlvii. , . [fn# ] the ox is the arab type of stupidity, as with us the ass. [fn# ] syn. wood (oud). [fn# ] i.e. my pallor and emaciation testify to the affliction of my heart and the latter bears witness that the external symptoms correctly indicate the internal malady. [fn# ] lit. he is [first] the deposit of god, then thy deposit. [fn# ] or "by." [fn# ] see supra, vol. i. p. , note. [fn# ] i.e. made him chief of the police of baghdad, in place of the former prefect, whom he had put to death with the rest of noureddin's oppressors. [fn# ] for affright. [fn# ] i.e. religious ceremonies so called. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. p. , note. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - , nights dcccclxvi-dcccclxxix. [fn# ] i.e. a member of the tribe of sheiban. no such king of baghdad (which was not founded till the eighth century) as ins ben cais is, i believe, known to history. [fn# ] the cities and provinces of bassora and cufa are generally known as "the two iraks"; but the name is here in all probability used in its wider meaning of irak arabi (chaldaea) and irak farsi (persian irak). [fn# ] i.e. all those languages the knowledge whereof is necessary to an interpreter or dragoman (properly terjeman). or quaere is the word terjemaniyeh (dragomanish) here a mistranscription for turkumaniyeh (turcoman). [fn# ] i.e. gilded? [fn# ] i.e. sperma hominis. [fn# ] syn. good breeding. [fn# ] i.e. those women of equal age and rank with herself. [fn# ] i.e. vaunting himself of offering richer presents. [fn# ] apparently zebid, the ancient capital of the province of tehameh in yemen, a town on the red sea, about sixty miles north of mocha. the copyist of the tunis ms. appears to have written the name with the addition of the characteristic desinence (oun) of the nominative case, which is dropped except in the koran and in poetry. [fn# ] name of the province in which mecca is situated. [fn# ] syn. assembly. [fn# ] i.e. day and night, to wit, for ever. [fn# ] syn. the loftiness of his purpose. [fn# ] lit "i charm thee by invoking the aid of god for thee against evil" or "i seek refuge with god for thee." [fn# ] or "determinate." [fn# ] koran xxxiii. . [fn# ] or "accomplishments." [fn# ] i.e. to make a pleasure-excursion. [fn# ] lit. beset his back. [fn# ] lit. in its earth. [fn# ] the king's own tribe. [fn# ] i.e. the arab of the desert or bedouin (el aarabi), the nomad. [fn# ] i.e. the martial instinct. [fn# ] lit. "and he who is oppressed shall become oppressor." [fn# ] i.e. be not ashamed to flee rather than perish in thy youth, if his prowess (attributed to diabolical aid or possession) prove too much for thee. [fn# ] a periphrastic way of saying, "i look to god for help." [fn# ] i.e. from the world. [fn# ] in laughter. [fn# ] i.e. as he were a flying genie, swooping down upon a mortal from the air, hawk-fashion. [fn# ] syn. "thou settest out to me a mighty matter." [fn# ] i.e. the castle. [fn# ] i.e. was eloquent and courtly to the utmost. [fn# ] i.e. died. [fn# ] the arabs use the right hand only in eating. [fn# ] name of a quarter of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. he summoneth thee to his presence by way of kindness and not because he is wroth with thee. [fn# ] i.e. in allowing thee hitherto to remain at a distance from as and not inviting thee to attach thyself to our person. [fn# ] an arab idiom, meaning "he showed agitation." [fn# ] apparently two well-known lovers. [fn# ] apparently two well-known lovers. [fn# ] i.e. the wandering arabs. [fn# ] i.e. slain. [fn# ] "o ye who believe, seek aid of patience and prayer; verily, god is with the patient."--koran ii. . [fn# ] lit. "ignorant one" (jahil). [fn# ] i.e. peninsula. jezireh (sing, of jezair, islands) is constantly used by the arabs in this sense; hence much apparent confusion in topographical passages. [fn# ] i.e. mecca and medina. [fn# ] i.e. whether on a matter of sport, such as the chase, or a grave matter, such as war, etc. [fn# ] i.e. the children of his fighting-men whom thou slewest. [fn# ] arab fashion of shaking hands. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix p. , note. [fn# ] lit. a cleft meadow (merj selia). this is probably a mistranscription for merj sselia, a treeless champaign. [fn# ] i.e. one of the small rooms opening upon the hall of audience at saloon of estate. [fn# ] so she might hear and see what passed, herself unseen. [fn# ] or knowledge of court etiquette. [fn# ] i.e. richer. [fn# ] lit. seen. [fn# ] lit. what she did. [fn# ] i.e. tabooed or unlawful in a religious sense (heram). [fn# ] i.e. those of el aziz, who had apparently entered the city or passed through it on their way to the camp of el abbas. [fn# ] lit. none of the sons of the road. [fn# ] i.e. the stars. [fn# ] i.e. in falsetto? [fn# ] by thine absence. [fn# ] common abbreviation for "may i be thy ransom!" [fn# ] i.e. for love of and longing for. [fn# ] i.e. leather from et taif, a town of the hejaz, renowned for the manufacture of scented goats' leather. [fn# ] or "suspended in." [fn# ] i.e. violateth my privacy. [fn# ] i.e. the plaintive song of a nightingale or turtle-dove. [fn# ] this curious comparison appears to be founded upon the extreme tenuity of the particles of fine dust, so minutely divided as to seem almost fluid. [fn# ] i.e. he carried it into the convent, hidden under his cloak. [fn# ] i.e. all the delights of paradise, as promised to the believer by the koran. [fn# ] "him" in the text and so on throughout the piece; but mariyeh is evidently the person alluded to, according to the common practice of muslim poets of a certain class, who consider it indecent openly to mention a woman as an object of love. [fn# ] i.e. from the witchery of her beauty. see vol. ii. p. , note. [fn# ] lit "if thou kohl thyself" i.e. use them as a cosmetic for the eye. [fn# ] i.e. we will assume thy debts and responsibilities. [fn# ] lit "behind." [fn# ] i.e. a specially auspicious hour, as ascertained by astrological calculations. eastern peoples have always laid great stress upon the necessity of commencing all important undertakings at an (astrologically) favourable time. [fn# ] or "more valuable." red camels are considered better than those of other colours by some of the arabs. [fn# ] i.e. couriers mounted on dromedaries, which animals are commonly used for this purpose, being (for long distances) swifter and more enduring than horses. [fn# ] lit. he sinned against himself. [fn# ] i.e. in falsetto? [fn# ] i.e. of gold or rare wood, set with balass rubies. [fn# ] i.e. whose absence. [fn# ] i.e. in a throat voice? [fn# ] koranic synonym, victual (rihan). see vol. ii. p. , note. [fn# ] apparently, the apple of the throat. [fn# ] apparently, the belly. [fn# ] apparently, the bosom. [fn# ] cf. fletcher's well-known song in the bloody brother; "hide, o hide those hills of snow, that thy frozen bosom bears, on whose tops the pinks that grow are of those that april wears." [fn# ] i.e. the breasts themselves. [fn# ] i.e. your languishing beauties are alone present to my mind's eye. a drowsy voluptuous air of languishment is considered by the arabs an especial charm. [fn# ] syn. chamberlain (hajib). [fn# ] syn. eyebrow (hajib). the usual trifling play of words is of course intended. [fn# ] lit. feathers. [fn# ] solomon is fabled by the muslims to have compelled the wind to bear his throne when placed upon his famous magic carpet. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - . [fn# ] quære the teeth. [fn# ] i.e. the return of our beloved hath enabled us to remove the barriers that stood between us and delight. [fn# ] singing (as i have before pointed out) is not, in the eyes of the strict muslim, a reputable occupation and it is, therefore, generally the first idea of the "repentant" professional songstress or (as in this case) enfranchised slave-girl, who has been wont to entertain her master with the display of her musical talents, to free herself from all signs of her former profession and identify herself as closely as possible with the ordinary "respectable" bourgeoise of the harem, from whom she has been distinguished hitherto by unveiled face and freedom of ingress and egress; and with this aim in view she would naturally be inclined to exaggerate the rigour of muslim custom, as applied to herself. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - (night mi). [fn# ] i.e. that of the king, his seven viziers, his son and his favourite, which in the breslau edition immediately follows the story of el abbas and mariyeh and occupies pp. - of vol. xii. (nights dcccclxxix-m). it will be found translated in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. - , under the name of "the malice of women." [fn# ] i.e. those who practise it. [fn# ] or "cause" (sebeb). [fn# ] or "preservation" (selameh). [fn# ] or "turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious" (keraheh). [fn# ] or "preservation" (selameh). [fn# ] or "turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious" (keraheh). [fn# ] these preliminary words of shehrzad have no apparent connection with the story that immediately follows and which is only her own told in the third person, and it is difficult to understand why they should be here introduced. the author may have intended to connect them with the story by means of a further development of the latter and with the characteristic carelessness of the eastern story-teller, forgotten or neglected to carry out his intention; or, again, it is possible that the words in question may have been intended as an introduction to the story of the favourite and her lover (see post, p. ), to which they seem more suitable, and have been misplaced by an error of transcription. in any case, the text is probably (as usual) corrupt. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - . [fn# ] the kingdom of the elder brother is afterwards referred to as situate in china. see post, p. . [fn# ] tubba was the dynastic title of the ancient himyerite kings of yemen, even as chosroës and cæsar of the kings of persia and the emperors of constantinople respectively. [fn# ] i.e. a king similar in magnificence and dominion to the monarchs of the three dynasties aforesaid, whose names are in arab literature synonyms for regal greatness. [fn# ] i.e. his rage was ungovernable, so that none dared approach him in his heat of passion. [fn# ] i.e. maidens cloistered or concealed behind curtains and veiled in the harem. [fn# ] i.e. those whose business it is to compose or compile stories, verses, etc., for the entertainment of kings and grandees. [fn# ] i.e. that his new and damnable custom. the literal meaning of bidah is "an innovation or invention, anything new;" but the word is commonly used in the sense of "heresy" or "heterodox innovation," anything new being naturally heretical in the eyes of the orthodox religionist. [fn# ] i.e. women. [fn# ] breslau text, vol. xii. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. his apathy or indifference to the principles of right and wrong and the consequences of his wicked behaviour. [fn# ] i.e. in a state of reprobation, having incurred the wrath of god. [fn# ] hath mentioned the office of vizier. [fn# ] koran xx. . [fn# ] i.e. none had been better qualified to dispense with a vizier than he. [fn# ] i.e. the essential qualification. [fn# ] the word jeish (troops) is here apparently used in the sense at officials, ministers of government. [fn# ] or "rectification." [fn# ] koran xxxiii. . [fn# ] i.e. i know not which to choose of the superabundant material at my command in the way of instances of women's craft. [fn# ] breslau text, vol xii. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. incensed with the smoke of burning musk. it is a common practice in the east to fumigate drinking-vessels with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood and other perfumes, for the purpose of giving a pleasant flavour to the water, etc., drunk from them. [fn# ] huneini foucaniyeh. foucaniyeh means "upper" (fem.); but the meaning of huneini is unknown to me. [fn# ] heriseh. see supra, vol. ii. p. , note . [fn# ] the arabs distinguish three kinds of honey, i.e. bees' honey, cane honey (treacle or syrup of sugar) and drip-honey (date-syrup). [fn# ] i.e. yet arrive in time for the rendezvous. [fn# ] breslau text, pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. on an island between two branches of the nile. [fn# ] it is not plain what khalif is here meant, though it is evident, from the context, that an egyptian prince is referred to, unless the story is told of the abbaside khalif el mamoun, son of er reshid (a.d. - ), during his temporary residence in egypt, which he is said to have visited. this is, however, unlikely, as his character was the reverse of sanguinary; besides, el mamoun was not his name, but his title (aboulabbas abdallah el mamoun billah). two khalifs of egypt assumed the title of el hakim bi amrillah (he who rules or decrees by or in accordance with the commandment of god), i.e. the fatimite abou ali el mensour (a.d. - ), and the faineant abbaside aboulabbas ahmed (a.d. - ); but neither of these was named el mamoun. it is probable, however, that the first named is the prince referred to in the story, the latter having neither the power nor the inclination for such wholesale massacres as that described in the text, which are perfectly in character with the brutal and fantastic nature of the founder of the druse religion. [fn# ] i.e. the well-known island of that name (the garden). [fn# ] i.e. "whatever may betide" or "will i, nill i"? [fn# ] lit. she was cut off or cut herself off. [fn# ] lit. "the convent of clay." [fn# ] i.e. this is the time to approve thyself a man. [fn# ] to keep her afloat. [fn# ] lit "thou art the friend who is found (or present) (or the vicissitudes of time (or fortune)." [fn# ] i.e. the officer whose duty it is to search out the estates of intestates and lay hands upon such property as escheats to the crown for want of heirs. [fn# ] i.e. sumatran. [fn# ] i.e. alexander. [fn# ] i.e. the blackness of the hair. [fn# ] the ingenuity of the bride's attendants, on the occasion of a wedding, is strained to the utmost to vary her attire and the manner in which the hair is dressed on the occasion of her being displayed to her husband, and one favourite trick consists in fastening her tresses about her chin and cheeks, so as to produce a sort of imitation of beard and whiskers. [fn# ] literal. [fn# ] i.e. god only knows if it be true or not. [fn# ] or rather appended to. the voyages of sindbad the sailor form no part of the scheme of nights in this edition, but are divided into "voyages" only and form a sort of appendix, following the two hundredth night. see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. pp. - . [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. pp. and . [fn# ] i.e. the porter and the other guests. [fn# ] i.e. a mountainous island. [fn# ] kherabeh, lit. a hole. syn. ruin or destruction. [fn# ] i.e. an outlying spur or reef. [fn# ] syn. perilous place. [fn# ] lit. their guide was disappointed. [fn# ] i.e. means (hileh) of sustaining life. [fn# ] i.e. death. [fn# ] i.e. ceylon. [fn# ] audiyeh (plural of wadi, a valley). the use of the word in this sense points to an african origin of this version of the story. the moors of africa and spain commonly called a river "a valley," by a natural figure of metonymy substituting the container for the contained; e.g. guadalquiver (wadi el kebir, the great river), guadiana, etc. [fn# ] i.e. after the usual compliments, the letter proceeded thus. [fn# ] i.e. we are thine allies in peace and war, for offence and defence. those whom thou lovest we love, and those whom thou hatest we hate. [fn# ] about seventy-two grains. [fn# ] or public appearance. [fn# ] solomon was the dynastic name of the kings of the prae-adamite jinn and is here used in a generic sense, as chosroes for the ancient kings of persia, caesar for the emperors of constantinople, tubba for the himyerite kings of yemen, etc., etc. [fn# ] i.e. maharajah. [fn# ] or "government." [fn# ] every muslim is bound by law to give alms to the extent of two and half per cent. of his property. [fn# ] in north-east persia. [fn# ] alleged to have been found by the arab conquerors of spain on the occasion of the sack of toledo and presented by them to the ommiade khalif el welid ben abdulmelik (a.d. - ). see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iii. p. . [fn# ] i.e. such as are fit to be sent from king to king. [fn# ] i.e, the price of his victual and other necessaries for the voyage. [fn# ] lit. riding-beast (french monture, no exact english equivalent), whether camel, mule or horse does not appear. [fn# ] the envier and the envied. [fn# ] after the manner of orientalists, a far more irritable folk than any poets. [fn# ] by the by, apropos of this soi-disant complete translation of the great arabian collection of romantic fiction, it is difficult to understand how an orientalist of repute, such as dr. habicht, can have put forth publication of this kind, which so swarms with blunders of every description as to throw the mistakes of all other translators completely into the shade and to render it utterly useless to the arabic scholar as a book of reference. we can only conjecture that he must have left the main portion of the work to be executed, without efficient supervision, by incapable collaborators or that he undertook and executed the translation in such haste as to preclude the possibility of any preliminary examination and revision, worthy of the name, of the original ms.; and this latter supposition appears to be borne out by the fact that the translation was entirely published before the appearance of any portion of the arabic text, as printed from the tunis manuscript. whilst on the subject of german translations, it may be well to correct an idea, which appears to prevail among non-arabic scholars, to the effect that complete translations of the book of the thousand nights and one night exist in the language of hoffmann and heine, and which is (as far, at least, as my own knowledge extends) a completely erroneous one. i have, i believe, examined all the german translations in existence and have found not one of them worthy of serious consideration; the best, that of hammer-purgstall, to which i had looked for help in the elucidation of doubtful and corrupt passages, being so loose and unfaithful, so disfigured by ruthless retrenchments and abridgments, no less than by gross errors of all kinds, that i found myself compelled to lay it aside as useless. it is but fair, however, to the memory of the celebrated austrian orientalist, to state that the only form in which von hammer's translation is procurable is that of the german rendering of prof. zinserling ( - ), executed from the original (french) manuscript, which latter was unfortunately lost before publication. [fn# ] the boulac edition omits this story altogether. [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac b. "the merchant's wife and the parrot." [fn# ] this will be found translated in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. vii. p. , as an appendix to the calcutta ( - ) and boulac version of the story, from which it differs in detail. [fn# ] called "bekhit" in calcutta ( - ) and boulac editions. [fn# ] yehya ben khalid (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] "shar" (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] "jelyaad" (calcutta ( - ) and boulac). [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, no. . see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. p. . [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "jaafer the barmecide." [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "the thief turned merchant and the other thief," no. . [fn# ] this story will be found translated in my "book at the thousand nights and one night,' vol. v. p. . [fn# ] the third old man's story is wanting. [fn# ] the story of the portress is wanting. [fn# ] calcutta ( - ), boulac and breslan, "the controller's story." [fn# ] calcutta ( - ) and boulac, "sindbad the sailor and sindbad the porter." [fn# ] tuhfeh. text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ tales from the arabic of the breslau and calcutta ( - ) editions of the book of the thousand nights and one night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into english by john payne in three volumes: volume the second. delhi edition contents of the second volume. breslau text. . king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan (continued) a. story of the pious woman accused of lewdness b. story of the journeyman and the girl c. story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment d. story of the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow e. story of the sharpers with the money-changer and the ass f. story of the sharper and the merchants i. story of the hawk and the locust g. story op the king and his chamberlain wife h. story of the old woman and the draper's wife i. story of the foul-favoured man and his fair wife j. story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him k. story of selim and selma l. story of the king of hind and his vizier . el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police a. the first officer's story b. the second officer's story c. the third officer's story d. the fourth officer's story e. the fifth officer's story f. the sixth officer's story g. the seventh officer's story h. the eighth officer's story i. the thief's story i. the ninth officer's story j. the tenth officer's story k. the eleventh officer's story l. the twelfth officer's story m. the thirteenth officer's story n. the fourteenth officer's story i. a merry jest of a thief ii. story of the old sharper o. the fifteenth officer's story p. the sixteenth officer's story . abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar a. story of the damsel tuhfet el culoub and the khalif haroun er reshid calcutta ( - ) text . women's craft breslau text. king shah bekht and his vizier er rehwan (continued). the eighteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and required of him the [promised] story; so he said, "it is well. know, o king, that story of the pious woman accused of lewdness. there was once a man of nishapour,[fn# ] who had a wife of the utmost loveliness and piety, and he was minded to set out on the pilgrimage. so he commended his wife to the care of his brother and besought him to aid her in her affairs and further her to her desires till he should return, so they both abode alive and well. then he took ship and departed and his absence was prolonged. meanwhile, the brother went in to his brother's wife, at all times and seasons, and questioned her of her circumstances and went about her occasions; and when his visits to her were prolonged and he heard her speech and looked upon her face, the love of her gat hold upon his heart and he became distraught with passion for her and his soul prompted him [to evil]. so he besought her to lie with him, but she refused and chid him for his foul deed, and he found him no way unto presumption;[fn# ] wherefore he importuned her with soft speech and gentleness. now she was righteous in all her dealings and swerved not from one word;[fn# ] so, when he saw that she consented not unto him, he misdoubted that she would tell his brother, when he returned from his journey, and said to her, 'an thou consent not to this whereof i require thee, i will cause thee fall into suspicion and thou wilt perish.' quoth she, 'be god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) [judge] betwixt me and thee, and know that, shouldst thou tear me limb from limb, i would not consent to that whereto thou biddest me.' his folly[fn# ] persuaded him that she would tell her husband; so, of his exceeding despite, he betook himself to a company of people in the mosque and told them that he had witnessed a man commit adultery with his brother's wife. they believed his saying and took act of his accusation and assembled to stone her. then they dug her a pit without the city and seating her therein, stoned her, till they deemed her dead, when they left her. presently a villager passed by [the pit and finding] her [alive,] carried her to his house and tended her, [till she recovered]. now, he had a son, and when the young man saw her, he loved her and besought her of herself; but she refused and consented not to him, whereupon he redoubled in love and longing and despite prompted him to suborn a youth of the people of his village and agree with him that he should come by night and take somewhat from his father's house and that, when he was discovered, he should say that she was of accord with him in this and avouch that she was his mistress and had been stoned on his account in the city. so he did this and coming by night to the villager's house, stole therefrom goods and clothes; whereupon the old man awoke and seizing the thief, bound him fast and beat him, to make him confess. so he confessed against the woman that she had prompted him to this and that he was her lover from the city. the news was bruited abroad and the people of the city assembled to put her to death; but the old man, with whom she was, forbade them and said, 'i brought this woman hither, coveting the recompense [of god,] and i know not [the truth of] that which is said of her and will not suffer any to hurt her.' then he gave her a thousand dirhems, by way of alms, and put her forth of the village. as for the thief, he was imprisoned for some days; after which the folk interceded for him with the old man, saying, 'this is a youth and indeed he erred;' and he released him. meanwhile, the woman went out at hazard and donning devotee's apparel, fared on without ceasing, till she came to a city and found the king's deputies dunning the towns-folk for the tribute, out of season. presently, she saw a man, whom they were pressing for the tribute; so she enquired of his case and being acquainted therewith, paid down the thousand dirhems for him and delivered him from beating; whereupon he thanked her and those who were present. when he was set free, he accosted her and besought her to go with him to his dwelling. so she accompanied him thither and supped with him and passed the night. when the night darkened on him, his soul prompted him to evil, for that which he saw of her beauty and loveliness, and he lusted after her and required her [of love]; but she repelled him and bade him fear god the most high and reminded him of that which she had done with him of kindness and how she had delivered him from beating and humiliation. however, he would not be denied, and when he saw her [constant] refusal of herself to him, he feared lest she should tell the folk of him. so, when he arose in the morning, he took a scroll and wrote in it what he would of forgery and falsehood and going up to the sultan's palace, said, '[i have] an advisement [for the king].' so he bade admit him and he delivered him the writ that he had forged, saying, 'i found this letter with the woman, the devotee, the ascetic, and indeed she is a spy, a secret informer against the king to his enemy; and i deem the king's due more incumbent on me than any other and his advisement the first [duty], for that he uniteth in himself all the people, and but for the king's presence, the subjects would perish; wherefore i have brought [thee] warning.' the king put faith in his words and sent with him those who should lay hands upon the woman and put her to death; but they found her not. as for the woman, whenas the man went out from her, she resolved to depart; so she went forth, saying in herself, 'there is no journeying for me in woman's attire.' then she donned men's apparel, such as is worn of the pious, and set out and wandered over the earth; nor did she leave going till she entered a certain city. now the king of that city had an only daughter in whom he gloried and whom he loved, and she saw the devotee and deeming her a pilgrim youth, said to her father, 'i would fain have this youth take up his abode with me, so i may learn of him wisdom and renunciation and religion.' her father rejoiced in this and commanded the [supposed] pilgrim to take up his sojourn with his daughter in his palace. now they were in one place and the king's daughter was strenuous to the utterest in continence and chastity and nobility of mind and magnanimity and devotion to the worship of god; but the ignorant slandered her[fn# ] and the folk of the realm said, 'the king's daughter loveth the pilgrim youth and he loveth her.' now the king was a very old man and destiny decreed the ending of his term of life; so he died and when he was buried, the folk assembled and many were the sayings of the people and of the king's kinsfolk and officers, and they took counsel together to slay the princess and the young pilgrim, saying, 'this fellow dishonoureth us with yonder strumpet and none accepteth dishonour but the base.' so they fell upon them and slew the princess, without questioning her of aught; whereupon the pious woman (whom they deemed a boy) said to them, 'out on ye, o misbelievers i ye have slain the pious lady.' quoth they, 'lewd fellow that thou art, dost thou bespeak us thus? thou lovedst her and she loved thee, and we will slay thee without mercy.' 'god forbid!' answered she, 'indeed, the affair is the contrary of this.' 'what proof hast thou of that?' asked they, and she said, 'bring me women.' so they brought her women, and when they looked on her, they found her a woman. when the townsfolk saw this, they repented of that which they had done and the affair was grievous to them; so they sought pardon [of god] and said to her, ' by the virtue of him whom thou servest, do thou seek pardon for us [of god!]' quoth she, 'as for me, i may no longer abide with you and i am about to depart from you.' then they humbled themselves in supplication to her and wept and said to her, 'we conjure thee, by the virtue of god the most high, that thou take upon thyself the governance of the kingdom and of the subjects.' but she refused; whereupon they came up to her and wept and gave not over supplicating her, till she consented and abode in the kingship. her first commandment was that they should bury the princess and build over her a dome[fn# ] and she abode in that palace, worshipping god the most high and ruling the people with justice, and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) vouchsafed her, by reason of the excellence of her piety and her patience and continence, the acceptance of her prayers, so that she sought not aught of him to whom belong might and majesty, but he granted her prayer; and her report was noised abroad in all countries. so the folk resorted to her from all parts and she used to pray god (to whom belong might and majesty) for the oppressed and god granted him relief, and against his oppressor, and he broke him in sunder. moreover, she prayed for the sick and they were made whole; and on this wise she abode a great space of time. as for her husband, when he returned from the pilgrimage, his brother and the neighbours acquainted him with his wife's affair, whereat he was sore concerned and misdoubted of their story, for that which he knew of her chastity and prayerfulness; and he wept for her loss. meanwhile, she prayed to god the most high that he would establish her innocence in the eyes of her husband and the folk. so he sent down upon her husband's brother a sore disease and none knew a remedy for him; wherefore he said to his brother, ' in such a city is a pious woman, a recluse, and her prayers are answered; so do thou carry me to her, that she may pray for me and god (to whom belong might and majesty) may make me whole of this sickness.' accordingly, he took him up and fared on with him, till they came to the village where dwelt the old man, who had rescued the woman from the pit and carried her to his dwelling and tended her there, [till she recovered]. here they halted and took up their lodging with the old man, who questioned the husband of his case and that of his brother and the reason of their journey, and he said, 'i purpose to go with my brother, this sick man, to the holy woman, her whose prayers are answered, so she may pray for him and god may make him whole by the blessing of her prayers.' quoth the villager, 'by allah, my son is in a parlous plight for sickness and we have heard that the holy woman prayeth for the sick and they are made whole. indeed, the folk counsel me to carry him to her, and behold, i will go in company with you. and they said, 'it is well.' so they passed the night in that intent and on the morrow they set out for the dwelling of the holy woman, this one carrying his son and that his brother. now the man who had stolen the clothes and forged a lie against the pious woman, pretending that he was her lover, sickened of a sore sickness, and his people took him up and set out with him to visit the holy woman, and destiny brought them all together by the way. so they fared on, till they came to the city wherein the man dwelt for whom she had paid a thousand dirhems, to deliver him from torment, and found him about to travel to her, by reason of a sickness that had betided him. so they all fared on together, unknowing that the holy woman was she whom they had so foully wronged, and ceased not going till they came to her city and foregathered at the gates of her palace, to wit, that wherein was the tomb of the king's daughter. now the folk used to go in to her and salute her and crave her prayers; and it was her wont to pray for none till he had confessed to her his sins, when she would seek pardon for him and pray for him that he might be healed, and he was straightway made whole of sickness, by permission of god the most high. [so, when the four sick men were brought in to her,] she knew them forthright, though they knew her not, and said to them, ' let each of you confess his sins, so i may crave pardon for him and pray for him.' and the brother said, 'as for me, i required my brother's wife of herself and she refused; whereupon despite and folly[fn# ] prompted me and i lied against her and accused her to the townsfolk of adultery; so they stoned her and slew her unjustly and unrighteously; and this is the issue of unright and falsehood and of the slaying of the [innocent] soul, whose slaughter god hath forbidden.' then said the young man, the villager's son, 'and i, o holy woman, my father brought us a woman who had been stoned, and my people tended her till she recovered. now she was surpassing of beauty; so i required her of herself; but she refused and clave fast to god (to whom belong might and majesty), wherefore folly[fn# ] prompted me, so that i agreed with one of the youths that he should steal clothes and coin from my father's house. then i laid hands on him [and carried him] to my father and made him confess. so he avouched that the woman was his mistress from the city and had been stoned on his account and that she was of accord with him concerning the theft and had opened the doors to him, and this was a lie against her, for that she had not yielded to me in that which i sought of her. so there befell me what ye see of punishment." and the young man, the thief, said, 'i am he with whom thou agreedst concerning the theft and to whom thou openedst the door, and i am he who avouched against her falsely and calumniously and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) knoweth that i never did evil with her, no, nor knew her in any wise before then.' then said he whom she had delivered from torture and for whom she had paid a thousand dirhems and who had required her of herself in his house, for that her beauty pleased him, and [when she refused to yield to him] had forged a letter against her and treacherously denounced her to the sultan and requited her bounty with ingratitude, 'i am he who wronged her and lied against her, and this is the issue of the oppressor's affair.' when she heard their words, in the presence of the folk, she said, 'praise be to god, the king who availeth unto all things, and blessing upon his prophets and apostles!' then quoth she [to the assembly], ' bear witness, o ye who are present, to these men's speech, and know that i am that woman whom they confess that they wronged.' and she turned to her husband's brother and said to him, 'i am thy brother's wife and god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he i) delivered me from that whereinto thou castedst me of false accusation and suspect and from the frowardness whereof thou hast spoken, and [now] hath he shown forth my innocence, of his bounty and generosity. go, for thou art absolved of the wrong thou didst me.' then she prayed for him and he was made whole of his sickness. then said she to the villager's son, 'know that i am the woman whom thy father delivered from harm and stress and whom there betided from thee of false accusation and frowardness that which thou hast named.' and she craved pardon for him and he was made whole of his sickness. [then said she to the thief, 'i am she against whom thou liedst, avouching that i was thy mistress, who had been stoned on thine account, and that i was of accord with thee concerning the robbing of the villager's house and had opened the doors to thee.' and she prayed for him and he was made whole of his sickness.] then said she to [the townsman], him of the tribute, 'i am she who gave thee the [thousand] dirhems and thou didst with me what thou didst.' and she craved pardon for him and prayed for him and he was made whole; whereupon the folk marvelled at her oppressors, who had been afflicted alike, so god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) might show forth her innocence before witnesses. then she turned to the old man who had delivered her from the pit and prayed for him and gave him presents galore and among them a myriad of money;[fn# ] and they all departed from her, except her husband. when she was alone with him, she made him draw near unto her and rejoiced in his coming and gave him the choice of abiding with her. moreover, she assembled the people of the city and set out to them his virtue and worth and counselled them to invest him with the charge of their governance and besought them to make him king over them. they fell in with her of this and he became king and took up his abode amongst them, whilst she gave herself up to her religious exercises and abode with her husband on such wise as she was with him aforetime.[fn# ] nor," added the vizier, "is this story, o king of the time, more extraordinary or more delightful than that of the journeyman and the girl whose belly he slit and fled." when king shah bekht heard this, he said, "most like all they say of the vizier is leasing and his innocence will appear, even as that of the pious woman appeared." then he comforted the vizier's heart and bade him go to his house. the nineteenth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king bade fetch the vizier and required of him the story of the journeyman and the girl. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o august king, that story of the journeyman and the girl. there was once, of old time, in one of the tribes of the arabs, a woman great with child by her husband, and they had a hired servant, a man of excellent understanding. when the woman came to [the time of her] delivery, she gave birth to a maid-child in the night and they sought fire of the neighbours. so the journeyman went in quest of fire. now there was in the camp a wise woman,[fn# ] and she questioned him of the new-born child, if it was male or female. quoth he, 'it is a girl;' and she said, 'she shall do whoredom with a hundred men and a journeyman shall marry her and a spider shall slay her.' when the journeyman heard this, he returned upon his steps and going in to the woman, took the child from her by wile and slit its paunch. then he fled forth into the desert at a venture and abode in strangerhood what [while] god willed. he gained him wealth and returning to his native land, after twenty years' absence, alighted in the neighbourhood of an old woman, whom he bespoke fair and entreated with liberality, requiring of her a wench whom he might lie withal. quoth she, 'i know none but a certain fair woman, who is renowned for this fashion.'[fn# ] then she described her charms to him and made him lust after her, and he said, 'hasten to her forthright and lavish unto her that which she asketh, [in exchange for her favours].' so the old woman betook herself to the damsel and discovered to her the man's wishes and bade her to him; but she answered, saying, 'it is true that i was on this [fashion of] whoredom [aforetime]; but now i have repented to god the most high and hanker no more after this; nay, i desire lawful marriage; so, if he be content with that which is lawful, i am at his service.' the old woman returned to the man and told him what the damsel said; and he lusted after her, by reason of her beauty and her repentance; so he took her to wife, and when he went in to her, he loved her and she also loved him. on this wise they abode a great while, till one day he questioned her of the cause of a mark[fn# ] he espied on her body, and she said, 'i know nought thereof save that my mother told me a marvellous thing concerning it.' 'what was that?' asked he, and she answered, 'she avouched that she gave birth to me one night of the nights of the winter and despatched a hired man, who was with us, in quest of fire for her. he was absent a little while and presently returning, took me and slit my belly and fled. when my mother saw this, affliction overcame her and compassion possessed her; so she sewed up my belly and tended me till, by the ordinance of god (to whom belong might and majesty), the wound healed up." when her husband heard this, he said to her, 'what is thy name and what are the names of thy father and mother?' she told him their names and her own, whereby he knew that it was she whose belly he had slit and said to her, 'and where are thy father and mother?' 'they are both dead,' answered she, and he said, 'i am that journeyman who slit thy belly.' quoth she, 'why didst thou that?' and he replied, 'because of a saying i heard from the wise woman.' 'what was it?' asked his wife, and he said, 'she avouched that thou wouldst play the harlot with a hundied men and that i should after take thee to wife.' quoth she, 'ay, i have whored it with a hundred men, no more and no less, and behold, thou hast married me.' 'moreover,' continued her husband, 'the wise woman foresaid, also, that thou shouldst die, at the last of thy life, of the bite of a spider. indeed, her saying hath been verified of the harlotry and the marriage, and i fear lest her word come true no less in the matter of thy death.' then they betook themselves to a place without the city, where he builded him a mansion of solid stone and white plaster and stopped its inner [walls] and stuccoed them; yea, he left not therein cranny nor crevice and set in it two serving-women to sweep and wipe, for fear of spiders. here he abode with his wife a great while, till one day he espied a spider on the ceiling and beat it down. when his wife saw it, she said, 'this is that which the wise woman avouched would kill me; so, by thy life [i conjure thee], suffer me to slay it with mine own hand.' her husband forbade her from this, but she conjured him to let her kill the spider; then, of her fear and her eagerness, she took a piece of wood and smote it. the wood broke in sunder, of the force of the blow, and a splinter from it entered her hand and wrought upon it, so that it swelled. then her arm swelled also and the swelling spread to her side and thence grew till it reached her heart and she died. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary or more wonderful than the story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment." when the king heard this, his admiration redoubled and he said, "of a truth, destiny is forewritten to all creatures, and i will not accept[fn# ] aught that is said against my vizier the loyal counsellor." and he bade him go to his house. the twentieth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king let call his vizier and he presented himself before him, whereupon he required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king. that story of the weaver who became a physician by his wife's commandment. there was once, in the land of fars,[fn# ] a man who took to wife a woman higher than himself in rank and nobler of lineage, but she had no guardian to preserve her from want. it misliked her to marry one who was beneath her; nevertheless, she married him, because of need, and took of him a bond in writing to the effect that he would still be under her commandment and forbiddance and would nowise gainsay her in word or deed. now the man was a weaver and he bound himself in writing to pay his wife ten thousand dirhems, [in case he should make default in the condition aforesaid]. on this wise they abode a long while till one day the wife went out in quest of water, whereof she had need, and espied a physician who had spread a carpet in the thereon he had set out great store of drugs and implements of medicine and he was speaking and muttering [charms], whilst the folk flocked to him and compassed him about on every side. the weaver's wife marvelled at the largeness of the physician's fortune[fn# ] and said in herself, 'were my husband thus, he would have an easy life of it and that wherein we are of straitness and misery would be enlarged unto him.' then she returned home, troubled and careful; and when her husband saw her on this wise, he questioned her of her case and she said to him, 'verily, my breast is straitened by reason of thee and of the simpleness of thine intent. straitness liketh me not and thou in thy [present] craft gaiuest nought; so either do thou seek out a craft other than this or pay me my due[fn# ] and let me go my way.' her husband chid her for this and admonished her;[fn# ] but she would not be turned from her intent and said to him, 'go forth and watch yonder physician how he doth and leam from him what he saith.' quoth he, 'let not thy heart be troubled: i will go every day to the physician's assembly.' so he fell to resorting daily to the physician and committing to memory his sayings and that which he spoke of jargon, till he had gotten a great matter by heart, and all this he studied throughly and digested it. then he returned to his wife and said to her, 'i have committed the physician's sayings to memory and have learned his fashion of muttering and prescribing and applying remedies[fn# ] and have gotten by heart the names of the remedies and of all the diseases, and there abideth nought [unaccomplished] of thy commandment. what wilt thou have me do now?' quoth she, 'leave weaving and open thyself a physician's shop.' but he answered, 'the people of my city know me and this affair will not profit me, save in a land of strangerhood; so come, let us go out from this city and get us to a strange land and [there] live.' and she said, 'do as thou wilt.' so he arose and taking his weaving gear, sold it and bought with the price drugs and simples and wrought himself a carpet, with which they set out and journeyed to a certain village, where they took up their abode. then the man donned a physician's habit and fell to going round about the hamlets and villages and country parts; and he began to earn his living and make gain. their affairs prospered and their case was bettered; wherefore they praised god for their present ease and the village became to them a home. [on this wise he abode a pretty while] and the days ceased not and the nights to transport him from country to country, till he came to the land of the greeks and lighted down in a city of the cities thereof, wherein was galen the sage; but the weaver knew him not, nor was he ware who he was. so he went forth, according to his wont, in quest of a place where the folk might assemble together, and hired galen's courtyard.[fn# ] there he spread his carpet and setting out thereon his drugs and instruments of medicine, praised himself and his skill and vaunted himself of understanding such as none but he might claim. galen heard that which he avouched of his understanding and it was certified unto him and established in his mind that the man was a skilled physician of the physicians of the persians and [he said in himself], 'except he had confidence in his knowledge and were minded to confront me and contend with me, he had not sought the door of my house neither spoken that which he hath spoken.' and concern gat hold upon galen and doubt. then he looked out upon[fn# ] the weaver and addressed himself to see what he should do, whilst the folk began to flock to him and set out to him their ailments, and he would answer them thereof [and prescribe for them], hitting the mark one while and missing it another, so that there appeared unto galen of his fashion nothing whereby his mind might be assured that he had formed a just opinion of his skill. presently, up came a woman with a phial of urine, and when the [mock] physician saw the phial afar off, he said to her, 'this is the urine of a man, a stranger.' 'yes,' answered she; and he continued, 'is he not a jew and is not his ailment indigestion?' 'yes,' replied the woman, and the folk marvelled at this; wherefore the man was magnified in galen's eyes, for that he heard speech such as was not of the usage of physicians, seeing that they know not urine but by shaking it and looking into it anear neither know they a man's water from a woman's water, nor a stranger's [from a countryman's], nor a jew's from a sherifs.[fn# ] then said the woman, 'what is the remedy?' quoth the weaver, 'pay down the fee.' so she paid him a dirhem and he gave her medicines contrary to that ailment and such as would aggravate the patient's malady. when galen saw what appeared to him of the [mock] physician's incapacity, he turned to his disciples and pupils and bade them fetch the other, with all his gear and drugs. so they brought him into his presence on the speediest wise, and when galen saw him before him, he said to him, 'knowest thou me?' ' no,' answered the other, 'nor did i ever set eyes on thee before this day.' quoth the sage, 'dost thou know galen?' and the weaver said, 'no.' then said galen, 'what prompted thee to that which thou dost?' so he related to him his story and gave him to know of the dowry and the obligation by which he was bound with regard to his wife, whereat galen marvelled and certified himself of the matter of the dower. then he bade lodge him near himself and was bountiful to him and took him apart and said to him, 'expound to me the story of the phial and whence then knewest that the water therein was that of a man, and he a stranger and a jew, and that his ailment was indigestion?' ' it is well,' answered the weaver. ' thou must know that we people of persia are skilled in physiognomy[fn# ] and i saw the woman to be rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed and tall. now these attributes belong to women who are enamoured of a man and are distraught for love of him;[fn# ] moreover, i saw her consumed [with anxiety]; wherefore i knew that the patient was her husband. as for his strangerhood, i observed that the woman's attire differed from that of the people of the city, wherefore i knew that she was a stranger; and in the mouth of the phial i espied a yellow rag,[fn# ] whereby i knew that the patient was a jew and she a jewess. moreover, she came to me on the first day [of the week];[fn# ] and it is the jews' custom to take pottages[fn# ] and meats that have been dressed overnight[fn# ] and eat them on the sabbath day,[fn# ] hot and cold, and they exceed in eating; wherefore indigestion betideth them. on this wise i was directed and guessed that which thou hast heard.' when galen heard this, he ordered the weaver the amount of his wife's dowry and bade him pay it to her and divorce her. moreover, he forbade him from returning to the practice of physic and warned him never again to take to wife a woman of better condition than himself; and he gave him his spending-money and bade him return to his [former] craft. nor," added the vizier, "is this more extraordinary or rarer than the story of the two sharpers who cozened each his fellow." when king shah bekht heard this, he said in himself, "how like is this story to my present case with this vizier, who hath not his like!" then he bade him depart to his own house and come again at eventide. the twenty-first night of the month. when came the night, the vizier presented himself before the king, who bade him relate the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, out story of the two sharpers who cheated each his fellow. there was once, in the city of baghdad, a man, [by name el merouzi,][fn# ] who was a sharper and plagued[fn# ] the folk with his knavish tricks, and he was renowned in all quarters [for roguery]. [he went out one day], carrying a load of sheep's dung, and took an oath that he would not return to his lodging till he had sold it at the price of raisins. now there was in another city a second sharper, [by name er razi,][fn# ] one of its people, who [went out the same day], bearing a load of goat's dung, which he had sworn that he would not sell but at the price of dried figs. so each of them fared on with that which was with him and gave not over going till they met in one of the inns[fn# ] and each complained to the other of that which he had abidden of travel [in quest of custom] and of the lack of demand for his wares. now each of them had it in mind to cheat his fellow; so el merouzi said to er razi, 'wilt thou sell me that?' 'yes,' answered he, and the other continued, 'and wilt thou buy that which is with me?' er razi assented; so they agreed upon this and each of them sold his fellow that which was with him [in exchange for the other's ware]; after which they bade each other farewell and parted. as soon as they were out of each other's sight, they examined their loads, to see what was therein, and one of them found that he had a load of sheep's dung and the other that he had a load of goat's dung; whereupon each of them turned back in quest of his fellow. they met in the inn aforesaid and laughed at each other and cancelling their bargain, agreed to enter into partnership and that all that they had of money and other good should be in common between them, share and share alike. then said er razi to el merouzi, 'come with me to my city, for that it is nearer [than thine].' so he went with him, and when he came to his lodging, he said to his wife and household and neighbours, 'this is my brother, who hath been absent in the land of khorassan and is come back.' and he abode with him in all honour and worship three days' space. on the fourth day, er razi said to him, 'know, o my brother, that i purpose to do somewhat' 'what is it?' asked el merouzi. quoth the other, 'i mean to feign myself dead and do thou go to the market and hire two porters and a bier. [then come back and take me up and go round about the streets and markets with me and collect alms on my account.][fn# ] accordingly el merouzi repaired to the market and fetching that which he sought, returned to er razi's house, where he found the latter cast down in the vestibule, with his beard tied and his eyes shut; and indeed, his colour was paled and his belly blown out and his limbs relaxed. so he deemed him in truth dead and shook him; but he spoke not; and he took a knife and pricked him in the legs, but he stirred not. then said er razi, 'what is this, o fool?' and el merouzi answered, 'methought thou wast dead in very sooth.' quoth er razi, 'get thee to seriousness and leave jesting.' so he took him up and went with him to the market and collected [alms] for him that day till eventide, when he carried him back to his lodging and waited till the morrow. next morning, he again took up the bier and went round with it as before, in quest of alms. presently, the master of police, who was of those who had given alms on account of the supposed dead man on the previous day, met him; so he was angered and fell on the porters and beat them and took the [supposed] dead body, saying, 'i will bury him and earn the reward [of god].'[fn# ] so his men took him up and carrying him to the prefecture, fetched grave-diggers, who dug him a grave. then they bought him a shroud and perfumes[fn# ] and fetched an old man of the quarter, to wash him. so he recited over him [the appointed prayers and portions of the koran] and laying him on the bench, washed him and shrouded him. after he had shrouded him, he voided;[fn# ] so he renewed the washing and went away to make his ablutions,[fn# ] whilst all the folk departed, likewise, to make the [obligatory] ablution, previously to the funeral. when the dead man found himself alone, he sprang up, as he were a satan, and donning the washer's clothes,[fn# ] took the bowls and water-can and wrapped them up in the napkins. then be took his shroud under his arm and went out. the doorkeepers thought that he was the washer and said to him, 'hast thou made an end of the washing, so we may tell the amir?' 'yes,' answered the sharper and made off to his lodging, where he found el merouzi soliciting his wife and saying to her, 'nay, by thy life, thou wilt never again look upon his face; for that by this time he is buried. i myself escaped not from them but after travail and trouble, and if he speak, they will put him to death.' quoth she, 'and what wilt thou have of me?' 'accomplish my desire of thee,' answered he, 'and heal my disorder, for i am better than thy husband.' and he fell a-toying with her. when er razi heard this, he said, 'yonder wittol lusteth after my wife; but i will do him a mischief.' then he rushed in upon them, and when el merouzi saw him, he marvelled at him and said to him, 'how didst thou make thine escape?' so he told him the trick he had played and they abode talking of that which they had collected from the folk [by way of alms], and indeed they had gotten great store of money. then said el merouzi, 'verily, mine absence hath been prolonged and fain would i return to my own country.' quoth er rasi,' as thou wilt;' and the other said, 'let us divide the money we have gotten and do thou go with me to my country, so i may show thee my tricks and my fashions.' 'come to-morrow,' replied er razi, 'and we will divide the money.' so el merouzi went away and the other turned to his wife and said to her, 'we have gotten us great plenty of money, and yonder dog would fain take the half of it; but this shall never be, for that my mind hath been changed against him, since i heard him solicit thee; wherefore i purpose to play him a trick and enjoy all the money; and do not thou cross me.' ' it is well,' answered she, and he said to her, '[to-morrow] at day-peep i will feign myself dead and do thou cry out and tear thy hair, whereupon the folk will flock to me. then lay me out and bury me, and when the folk are gone away [from the burial-place], do thou dig down to me and take me; and have no fear for me, for i can abide two days in the tomb [without hurt].' and she answered, 'do what thou wilt.' so, when it was the foredawn hour, she tied his beard and spreading a veil over him, cried out, whereupon the people of the quarter flocked to her, men and women. presently, up came el merouzi, for the division of the money, and hearing the crying [of the mourners], said, 'what is to do?" quoth they, 'thy brother is dead;' and he said in himself, 'the accursed fellow putteth a cheat on me, so he may get all the money for himself, but i will do with him what shall soon bring him to life again.' then he rent the bosom of his gown and uncovered his head, weeping and saying, 'alas, my brother! alas, my chief! alas, my lord!' and he went in to the men, who rose and condoled with him. then he accosted er razi's wife and said to her, 'how came his death about?' 'i know not,' answered she, 'except that, when i arose in the morning, i found him dead.' moreover, he questioned her of the money and good that was with her, but she said, 'i have no knowledge of this and no tidings.' so he sat down at the sharper's head, and said to him, 'know, o razi, that i will not leave thee till after ten days and their nights, wherein i will wake and sleep by thy grave. so arise and be not a fool.' but he answered him not and el merouzi [drew his knife and] fell to sticking it into the other's hands and feet, thinking to make him move; but [he stirred not and] he presently grew weary of this and concluded that the sharper was dead in good earnest. [however, he still misdoubted of the case] and said in himself, 'this fellow is dissembling, so he may enjoy all the money.' therewith he addressed himself to prepare him [for burial] and bought him perfumes and what [not else] was needed. then they brought him to the washing-place and el merouzi came to him and heating water till it boiled and bubbled and a third of it was wasted,[fn# ] fell to pouring it on his skin, so that it turned red and blue and blistered; but he abode still on one case [and stirred not]. so they wrapped him in the shroud and set him on the bier. then they took up his bier and bearing him to the burial-place, laid him in the grave[fn# ] and threw the earth over him; after which the folk dispersed, but el merouzi and the widow abode by the tomb, weeping, and gave not over sitting till sundown, when the woman said to him, 'come, let us go to the house, for this weeping will not profit us, nor will it restore the dead.' 'by allah,' answered the sharper, 'i will not budge hence till i have slept and waked by this tomb ten days, with their nights!' when she heard this his speech, she feared lest he should keep his word and his oath, and so her husband perish; but she said in herself, 'this fellow dissembleth: if i go away and return to my house, he will abide by him a little while and go away.' and el merouzi said to her, 'arise, thou, and go away.' so she arose and returned to her house, whilst el merouzi abode in his place till the night was half spent, when he said to himself, 'how long [is this to last]? yet how can i let this knavish dog die and lose the money? methinks i were better open the tomb on him and bring him forth and take my due of him by dint of grievous beating and torment.' accordingly, he dug him up and pulled him forth of the tomb; after which he betook himself to an orchard hard by the burial-ground and cut thence staves and palm sticks. then he tied the dead man's legs and came down on him with the staff and beat him grievously; but he stirred not. when the time grew long on him, his shoulders became weary and he feared lest some one of the watch should pass on his round and surprise him. so he took up er razi and carrying him forth of the cemetery, stayed not till he came to the magians' burying-place and casting him down in a sepulchre[fn# ] there, rained heavy blows upon him till his shoulders failed him, but the other stirred not then he sat down by his side and rested; after which he rose and renewed the beating upon him, [but to no better effect; and thus he did] till the end of the night now, as destiny would have it, a band of thieves, whose use it was, whenas they had stolen aught, to resort to that place and divide [their booty], came thither [that night], as of their wont; and they were ten in number and had with them wealth galore, which they were carrying. when they drew near the sepulchre, they heard a noise of blows within it and the captain said, 'this is a magian whom the angels[fn# ] are tormenting.' so they entered [the burial-ground] and when they came over against el merouzi, he feared lest they should be the officers of the watch come upon him, wherefore he [arose and] fled and stood among the tombs.[fn# ] the thieves came up to the place and finding er razi bound by the feet and by him near seventy sticks, marvelled at this with an exceeding wonderment and said, 'god confound thee! this was sure an infidel, a man of many crimes; for, behold, the earth hath rejected him from her womb, and by my life, he is yet fresh! this is his first night [in the tomb] and the angels were tormenting him but now; so whosoever of you hath a sin upon his conscience, let him beat him, as a propitiatory offering to god the most high.' and the thieves said, 'we all have sins upon our consciences.' so each of them went up to the [supposed] dead man and dealt him nigh upon a hundred blows, exclaiming the while, one, 'this is for[fn# ] my father!' and another, 'this is for my grandfather!' whilst a third said, 'this is for my brother!' and a fourth, 'this is for my mother!' and they gave not over taking turns at him and beating him, till they were weary, what while el merouzi stood laughing and saying in himself, 'it is not i alone who have entered into sin against him. there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' then the thieves addressed themselves to sharing their booty and presently fell out concerning a sword that was among the spoil, who should take it. quoth the captain, 'methinks we were better prove it; so, if it be good, we shall know its worth, and if it be ill, we shall know that.' and they said, 'try it on this dead man, for he is fresh.' so the captain took the sword and drawing it, poised it and brandished it; but, when er razi saw this, he made sure of death and said in himself, 'i have borne the washing and the boiling water and the pricking with the knife and the grave and its straitness and all this [beating], trusting in god that i might be delivered from death, and [hitherto] i have been delivered; but, as for the sword, i may not brook that, for but one stroke of it, and i am a dead man.' so saying, he sprang to his feet and catching up the thigh-bone of one of the dead, cried out at the top of his voice, saying, 'o ye dead, take them!' and he smote one of them, whilst his comrade [el merouzi] smote another and they cried out at them and buffeted them on the napes of their necks; whereupon the thieves left that which was with them of plunder and fled; and indeed their wits forsook them [for terror] and they stayed not in their flight till they came forth of the magians' burial-ground and left it a parasang's length behind them, when they halted, trembling and affrighted for the soreness of that which had betided them of fear and amazement at the dead. as for er razi and el merouzi, they made peace with each other and sat down to share the booty. quoth el merouzi, 'i will not give thee a dirhem of this money, till thou pay me my due of the money that is in thy house.' and er razi said 'i will not do it, nor will i subtract this from aught of my due.' so they fell out upon this and disputed with one another and each went saying to his fellow, 'i will not give thee a dirhem!' and words ran high between them and contention was prolonged. meanwhile, when the thieves halted, one of them said to the others, 'let us return and see;' and the captain said, 'this thing is impossible of the dead: never heard we that they came to life on this wise. so let us return and take our good, for that the dead have no occasion for good.' and they were divided in opinion as to returning: but [presently they came to a decision and] said, 'indeed, our arms are gone and we cannot avail against them and will not draw near the place where they are: only let one of us [go thither and] look at it, and if he hear no sound of them, let him advertise us what we shall do.' so they agreed that they should send a man of them and assigned him [for this service] two parts [of the booty]. accordingly, he returned to the burial-ground and gave not over going till he stood at the door of the sepulchre, when he heard el merouzi say to his fellow, 'i will not give thee a single dirhem of the money!' the other said the like and they were occupied with contention and mutual revilement and talk. so the thief returned in haste to his fellows, who said, 'what is behind thee?' quoth he, 'get you gone and flee for your lives and save yourselves, o fools; for that much people of the dead are come to life and between them are words and contention.' so the thieves fled, whilst the two sharpers retained to er razi's house and made peace with one another and laid the thieves' purchase to the money they had gotten aforetime and lived a while of time. nor, o king of the age," added the vizier, "is this rarer or more marvellous than the story of the four sharpers with the money-changer and the ass." when the king heard this story, he smiled and it pleased him and he bade the vizier go away to his own house. the twenty-second night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king, that story of the sharpers with the money-changer and the ass. four sharpers once plotted against a money-changer, a man of abounding wealth, and agreed upon a device for the taking of somewhat of his money. so one of them took an ass and laying on it a bag, wherein was money, lighted down at the money-changer's shop and sought of him change for the money. the money- changer brought out to him the change and bartered it with him, whilst the sharper was easy with him in the matter of the exchange, so he might give him confidence in himself. [as they were thus engaged,] up came the [other three] sharpers and surrounded the ass; and one of them said, '[it is] he,' and another said, 'wait till i look at him.' then he fell to looking on the ass and stroking him from his mane to his crupper; whilst the third went up to him and handled him and felt him from head to tail, saying, ' yes, [it is] in him.' quoth another, ['nay,] it is not in him.' and they gave not over doing the like of this. then they accosted the owner of the ass and chaffered with him and he said, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' they offered him a thousand dirhems; but he refused and swore that he would not sell the ass but for that which he had said. they ceased not to add to their bidding, till the price reached five thousand dirhems, whilst their fellow still said, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' the money-changer counselled him to sell, but he would not do this and said to him, 'harkye, gaffer! thou hast no knowledge of this ass's case. concern thyself with silver and gold and what pertaineth thereto of change and exchange; for indeed the virtue of this ass passeth thy comprehension. to every craft its craftsman and to every means of livelihood its folk.' when the affair was prolonged upon the three sharpers, they went away and sat down a little apart; then they came up to the money-changer privily and said to him, 'if thou canst buy him for us, do so, and we will give thee a score of dirhems.' quoth he, 'go away and sit down afar from him.' so they did his bidding and the money-changer went up to the owner of the ass and gave not over tempting him with money and cajoling him and saying, 'leave yonder fellows and sell me the ass, and i will reckon him a gift from thee,' till he consented to sell him the ass for five thousand and five hundred dirhems. accordingly the money-changer counted down to him five thousand and five hundred dirhems of his own money, and the owner of the ass took the price and delivered the ass to him, saying, 'whatsoever betideth, though he abide a deposit about thy neck,[fn# ] sell him not to yonder rogues for less than ten thousand dirhems, for that they would fain buy him because of a hidden treasure whereof they know, and nought can guide them thereto but this ass. so close thy hand on him and gainsay me not, or thou wilt repent.' so saying, he left him and went away, whereupon up came the three other sharpers, the comrades of him of the ass, and said to the money-changer, 'god requite thee for us with good, for that thou hast bought him! how can we requite thee!' quoth he, 'i will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' when they heard this, they returned to the ass and fell again to examining him and handling him. then said they to the money-changer, 'we were mistaken in him. this is not the ass we sought and he is not worth more than half a score paras to us.' then they left him and offered to go away, whereat the money-changer was sore chagrined and cried out at their speech, saying, 'o folk, ye besought me to buy him for you and now i have bought him, ye say, "we were deceived [in him], and he is not worth more than ten paras to us."' quoth they, 'we supposed that in him was that which we desired; but, behold, in him is the contrary of that which we want; and indeed he hath a default, for that he is short of back.' and they scoffed at him and went away from him and dispersed. the money-changer thought they did but finesse with him, that they might get the ass at their own price; but, when they went away from him and he had long in vain awaited their return, he cried out, saying, 'woe!' and 'ruin!' and 'alack, my sorry chance!' and shrieked aloud and tore his clothes. so the people of the market assembled to him and questioned him of his case; whereupon he acquainted them with his plight and told them what the sharpers had said and how they had beguiled him and how it was they who had cajoled him into buying an ass worth half a hundred dirhems[fn# ] for five thousand and five hundred.[fn# ] his friends blamed him and a company of the folk laughed at him and marvelled at his folly and his credulity in accepting the sharpers' talk, without suspicion, and meddling with that which he understood not and thrusting himself into that whereof he was not assured. on this wise, o king shah bekht," continued the vizier, "is the issue of eagerness for [the goods of] the world and covetise of that which our knowledge embraceth not; indeed, [whoso doth thus] shall perish and repent nor, o king of the age, (added he) is this story more extraordinary than that of the sharper and the merchants." when the king heard this story, he said in himself, "verily, had i given ear to the sayings of my courtiers and inclined to the idle prate [of those who counselled me] in the matter of [the slaying of] my vizier, i had repented to the utterest of repentance, but praised be god, who hath disposed me to mansuetude and long-suffering and hath endowed me with patience!" then he turned to the vizier and bade him return to his dwelling and [dismissed] those who were present, as of wont. the twenty-third night of the month. when the evening evened, the king sent after the vizier and when he presented himself before him, he required of him the hearing of the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o illustrious lord, that story of the sharper and the merchants. there was once aforetime a certain sharper, who [was so eloquent that he] would turn the ear inside out, and he was a man of understanding and quick wit and skill and perfection. it was his wont to enter a town and [give himself out as a merchant and] make a show of trafficking and insinuate himself into the intimacy of people of worth and consort with the merchants, for he was [apparently] distinguished for virtue and piety. then he would put a cheat on them and take [of them] what he might spend and go away to another city; and he ceased not to do thus a great while. it befell one day that he entered a certain city and sold somewhat that was with him of merchandise and got him friends of the merchants of the place and fell to sitting with them and entertaining them and inviting them to his lodging and his assembly, whilst they also invited him to their houses. on this wise he abode a long while, till he was minded to leave the city; and this was bruited abroad among his friends, who were concerned for parting from him. then he betook himself to him of them, who was the richest of them in substance and the most apparent of them in generosity, and sat with him and borrowed his goods; and when he was about to take leave, he desired him to give him the deposit that he had left with him. 'and what is the deposit?' asked the merchant. quoth the sharper, 'it is such a purse, with the thousand dinars therein.' and the merchant said, 'when didst thou give it me?' 'extolled be the perfection of god!' replied the sharper. 'was it not on such a day, by such a token, and thus and thus?' 'i know not of this,' rejoined the merchant, and words were bandied about between them, whilst the folk [who were present also] disputed together concerning their affair and their speech, till their voices rose high and the neighbours had knowledge of that which passed between them. then said the sharper, 'o folk, this is my friend and i deposited with him a deposit, but he denieth it; so in whom shall the folk put trust after this?' and they said, 'this [fn# ] is a man of worth and we have found in him nought but trustiness and loyality and good breeding, and he is endowed with understanding and generosity. indeed, he avoucheth no falsehood, for that we have consorted with him and mixed with him and he with us and we know the sincerity of his religion.' then quoth one of them to the merchant, 'harkye, such an one! bethink thee and consult thy memory. it may not be but that thou hast forgotten.' but he said, 'o folk, i know nothing of that which he saith, for indeed he deposited nought with me.' and the affair was prolonged between them. then said the sharper to the merchant, 'i am about to make a journey and have, praised be god the most high, wealth galore, and this money shall not escape me; but do thou swear to me.' and the folk said, 'indeed, this man doth justice upon himself.'[fn# ] whereupon the merchant fell into that which he misliked[fn# ] and came near upon [suffering] loss and ill repute. now he had a friend, who pretended to quickwittedness and understanding; so he came up to him privily and said to him, 'let me do, so i may put the change on this trickster, for i know him to be a liar and thou art near upon having to pay the money; but i will turn suspicion from thee and say to him, "the deposit is with me and thou erredst in imagining that it was with other than myself," and so divert him from thee.' 'do so,' replied the merchant, 'and rid the folk of their [false] debts.' so the friend turned to the sharper and said to him, 'o my lord, o such an one, thou goest under a delusion. the purse is with me, for it was with me that thou depositedst it, and this elder is innocent of it.' but the sharper answered him with impatience and impetuosity, saying, 'extolled be the perfection of god! as for the purse that is with thee, o noble and trusty man, i know that it is in the warrant of god and my heart is at ease concerning it, for that it is with thee as it were with me; but i began by demanding that which i deposited with this man, of my knowledge that he coveteth the folk's good.' at this the friend was confounded and put to silence and returned not an answer; [and the] only [result of his interference was that] each of them [fn# ] paid a thousand dinars. so the sharper took the two thousand dinars and made off; and when he was gone, the merchant said to his friend, the [self-styled] man of wit and intelligence, 'harkye, such an one! thou and i are like unto the hawk and the locust.' 'what was their case?' asked the other; and the merchant said, story of the hawk and the locust. 'there was once, of old time, a hawk who made himself a nest hard by that of a locust, and the latter gloried in his neighbourhood and betaking herself to him, saluted him and said, "o my lord and chief of the birds, indeed the nearness unto thee delighteth me and thou honourest me with thy neighbourhood and my soul is fortified with thee." the hawk thanked her for this and there ensued friendship between them. one day, the locust said to the hawk, "o chief of the birds, how cometh it that i see thee alone, solitary, having with thee no friend of thy kind of the birds, to whom thou mayst incline in time of easance and of whom thou mayst seek succour in time of stress? indeed, it is said, 'man goeth about seeking the ease of his body and the preservation of his strength, and in this there is nought more necessary to him than a friend who shall be the completion of his gladness and the mainstay of his life and on whom shall be his dependence in his stress and in his ease.' now i, albeit i ardently desire thy weal in that which beseemeth thy condition, yet am i weak [and unable] unto that which the soul craveth; but, if thou wilt give me leave, i will seek out for thee one of the birds who shall be conformable unto thee in thy body and thy strength." and the hawk said, "i commit this to thee and rely upon thee therein." therewithal, o my brother, the locust fell to going round about among the company of the birds, but saw nought resembling the hawk in bulk and body save the kite and deemed well of her. so she brought the hawk and the kite together and counselled the former to make friends with the latter. now it chanced that the hawk fell sick and the kite abode with him a long while [and tended him] till he recovered and became whole and strong; wherefore he thanked her [and she departed from him]. but after awhile the hawk's sickness returned to him and he needed the kite's succour. so the locust went out from him and was absent from him a day, after which she returned to him with a[nother] locust, [fn# ] saying, "i have brought thee this one." when the hawk saw her, he said, "god requite thee with good! indeed, thou hast done well in the quest and hast been subtle in the choice." all this, o my brother,' continued the merchant, 'befell because the locust had no knowledge of the secret essence that lieth hid in apparent bodies. as for thee, o my brother, (may god requite thee with good!) thou wast subtle in device and usedst precaution; but precaution sufficeth not against fate, and fortune fore-ordained baffleth contrivance. how excellent is the saying of the poet! and he recited the following verses: it chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, whilst he who is clear of sight falls into it. the ignorant man may speak with impunity a word that is death to the wise and the ripe of wit. the true believer is pinched for his daily bread, whilst infidel rogues enjoy all benefit. where is a man's resource and what can he do? it is the almighty's will; we most submit. nor," added the vizier, "is this, o king of the age, more extraordinary or stranger than the story of the king and his chamberlain's wife; nay, the latter is rarer than this and more delightsome." when the king heard this story, he was fortified in his resolve to spare the vizier and to leave haste in an affair whereof he was not assured; so he comforted him and bade him withdraw to his lodging. the twenty-fourth night of the month. when it was night, the king summoned the vizier and sought of him the hearing of the [promised] story. "hearkening and obedience," replied er rehwan, "know, o august king, that story of the king and his chamberlain's wife. there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king of the kings of the persians, who was passionately addicted to the love of women. his courtiers bespoke him of the wife of a chamberlain of his chamberlains, for that she was endowed with beauty and loveliness and perfection, and this prompted him to go in to her. when she saw him, she knew him and said to him, 'what prompteth the king unto this that he doth?' and he answered, saying, 'verily, i yearn after thee with an exceeding yearning and needs must i enjoy thy favours.' and he gave her of wealth that after the like whereof women hanker; but she said, 'i cannot do that whereof the king speaketh, for fear of my husband.' and she refused herself to him with the most rigorous of refusals and would not do his desire. so the king went out, full of wrath, and forgot his girdle in the place. presently, her husband entered and saw the girdle and knew it. now he was ware of the king's love for women; so he said to his wife, ' what is this that i see with thee?' quoth she, 'i will tell thee the truth,' and recounted to him the story; but he believed her not and doubt entered into his heart. as for the king, he passed that night in chagrin and concern, and when it morrowed, he summoned the chamberlain and investing him with the governance of one of his provinces, bade him betake himself thither, purposing, after he should have departed and come to his destination, to foregather with his wife. the chamberlain perceived [his intent] and knew his design; so he answered, saying, 'hearkening and obedience. i will go and set my affairs in order and give such charges as may be necessary for the welfare of my estate; then will i go about the king's occasion.' and the king said, 'do this and hasten.' so the chamberlain went about that which he needed and assembling his wife's kinsfolk, said to them, 'i am resolved to put away my wife.' they took this ill of him and complained of him and summoning him before the king, sat pleading with him. now the king had no knowledge of that which had passed; so he said to the chamberlain, 'why wilt thou put her away and how can thy soul consent unto this and why takest thou unto thyself a goodly piece of land and after forsakest it? 'may god amend the king!' answered the husband. 'by allah, o king, i saw therein the track of the lion and fear to enter the land, lest the lion devour me; and indeed the like of my affair with her is that which befell between the old woman and the draper's wife.' 'what is their story?' asked the king; and the chamberlain said, 'know, o king, that story of the old woman and the draper's wife. there was once a man of the drapers, who had a fair wife, and she was curtained [fn# ] and chaste. a certain young man saw her coming forth of the bath and loved her and his heart was occupied with her. so he cast about [to get access to her] with all manner of devices, but availed not to win to her; and when he was weary of endeavour and his patience was exhausted for weariness and his fortitude failed him and he was at an end of his resources against her, he complained of this to an old woman of ill-omen, [fn# ] who promised him to bring about union between him and her. he thanked her for this and promised her all manner of good; and she said to him, "get thee to her husband and buy of him a turban-cloth of fine linen, and let it be of the goodliest of stuffs." so he repaired to the draper and buying of him a turban-cloth of lawn, returned with it to the old woman, who took it and burned it in two places. then she donned devotees' apparel and taking the turban-cloth with her, went to the draper's house and knocked at the door. when the draper's wife saw her, she opened to her and received her kindly and made much of her and welcomed her. so the old woman went in to her and conversed with her awhile. then said she to her, "[i desire to make] the ablution [preparatory] to prayer." so the wife brought her water and she made the ablution and standing up to pray, prayed and did her occasion. when she had made an end of her prayers, she left the turban-cloth in the place of prayer and went away. presently, in came the draper, at the hour of evening prayer, and sitting down in the place where the old woman had prayed, looked about him and espied the turban. he knew it [for that which he had that day sold to the young man] and misdoubted of the case, wherefore anger appeared in his face and he was wroth with his wife and reviled her and abode his day and his night, without speaking to her, what while she knew not the cause of his anger. then she looked and seeing the turban-cloth before him and noting the traces of burning thereon, understood that his anger was on account of this and concluded that he was wroth because it was burnt. when the morning morrowed, the draper went out, still angered against his wife, and the old woman returned to her and found her changed of colour, pale of face, dejected and heart-broken. [so she questioned her of the cause of her dejection and she told her how her husband was angered against her (as she supposed) on account of the burns in the turban-cloth.] "o my daughter," rejoined the old woman, "be not concerned; for i have a son, a fine-drawer, and he, by thy life, shall fine-draw [the holes] and restore the turban-cloth as it was. "the wife rejoiced in her saying and said to her, "and when shall this be?" "to-morrow, if it please god the most high," answered the old woman, "i will bring him to thee, at the time of thy husband's going forth from thee, and he shall mend it and depart forth-right." then she comforted her heart and going forth from her, returned to the young man and told him what had passed. now, when the draper saw the turban-cloth, he resolved to put away his wife and waited but till he should get together that which was obligatory on him of the dowry and what not else,[fn# ] for fear of her people. when the old woman arose in the morning, she took the young man and carried him to the draper's house. the wife opened the door to her and the ill-omened old woman entered with him and said to the lady, "go, fetch that which thou wouldst have fine-drawn and give it to my son." so saying, she locked the door on her, whereupon the young man forced her and did his occasion of her and went forth. then said the old woman to her, "know that this is my son and that he loved thee with an exceeding love and was like to lose his life for longing after thee. so i practised on thee with this device and came to thee with this turban-cloth, which is not thy husband's, but my son's. now have i accomplished my desire; so do thou trust in me and i will put a trick on thy husband for the setting thee right with him, and thou wilt be obedient to me and to him and to my son."[fn# ] and the wife answered, saying, "it is well. do so." so the old woman returned to the lover and said to him, "i have skilfully contrived the affair for thee with her; [and now it behoveth us to amend that we have marred]. so go now and sit with the draper and bespeak him of the turban-cloth, [saying, 'the turban-cloth i bought of thee i chanced to burn in two places; so i gave it to a certain old woman, to get mended, and she took it and went away, and i know not her dwelling-place.'] when thou seest me pass by, rise and lay hold of me [and demand of me the turban-cloth], to the intent that i may amend her case with her husband and that thou mayst be even with her." so he repaired to the draper's shop and sat down by him and said to him, "thou knowest the turban-cloth i bought of thee?" "yes," answered the draper, and the other said, "knowest thou what is come of it?" "no," replied the husband, and the youth said, "after i bought it of thee, i fumigated myself[fn# ] and it befell that the turban-cloth was burnt in two places. so i gave it to a woman, whose son, they said, was a fine-drawer, and she took it and went away with it; and i know not her abiding-place." when the draper heard this, he misdoubted him [of having wrongly suspected his wife] and marvelled at the story of the turban-cloth, and his mind was set at ease concerning her. presently, up came the old woman, whereupon the young man sprang to his feet and laying hold of her, demanded of her the turban-cloth. quoth she, "know that i entered one of the houses and made the ablution and prayed in the place of prayer; and i forgot the turban-cloth there and went out. now i know not the house in which i prayed, nor have i been directed[fn# ] thereto, and i go round about every day till the night, so haply i may light on it, for i know not its owner." when the draper heard this, he said to the old woman, "verily, allah restoreth unto thee vhat which thou hast lost. rejoice, for the turban-cloth is with me and in my house." and he arose forthright and gave her the turban-cloth, as it was. she gave it to the young man, and the draper made his peace with his wife and gave her raiment and jewellery, [by way of peace-offering], till she was content and her heart was appeased. [fn# ] when the king heard his chamberlain's story, he was confounded and abashed and said to him, 'abide on thy wonted service and till thy land, for that the lion entered it, but marred it not, and he will never more return thither.'[fn# ] then he bestowed on him a dress of honour and made him a sumptuous present; and the man returned to his wife and people, rejoicing and glad, for that his heart was set at rest concerning his wife. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this rarer or more extraordinary than the story of the fair and lovely woman, endowed with amorous grace, with the foul-favoured man." when the king heard the vizier's speech, he deemed it goodly and it pleased him; so he bade him go away to his house, and there he abode his day long. the twenty-fifth night of the month. when the evening evened, the king summoned his vizier and bade him tell the [promised] story. so he said, "it is well. know, o king, that story of the foul-favoured man and his fair wife. there was once a man of the arabs who had a number of sons, and amongst them a boy, never was seen a fairer than he of favour nor a more accomplished in loveliness, no, nor a more perfect of wit. when he came to man's estate, his father married him to the daughter of one of his uncles, and she excelled not in beauty, neither was she praiseworthy of attributes; wherefore she pleased not the youth, but he bore with her, for kinship's sake. one day, he went forth in quest of certain stray camels of his and fared on all his day and night till eventide, when he [came to an arab encampment and] was fain to seek hospitality of one of the inhabitants. so he alighted at one of the tents of the camp and there came forth to him a man of short stature and loathly aspect, who saluted him and lodging him in a corner of the tent, sat entertaining him with talk, the goodliest that might be. when his food was dressed, the arab's wife brought it to the guest, and he looked at the mistress of the tent and saw a favour than which no goodlier might be. indeed, her beauty and grace and symmetry amazed him and he abode confounded, looking now at her and now at her husband. when his looking grew long, the man said to him, 'harkye, o son of the worthy! occupy thyself with thine own concerns, for by me and this woman hangeth a rare story, that is yet goodlier than that which thou seest of her beauty; and when we have made an end of our food, i will tell it thee.' so, when they had made an end of eating and drinking, the young man asked his host for the story, and he said, 'know that in my youth i was even as thou seest me in the matter of loathliness and foul favour; and i had brethren of the comeliest of the folk; wherefore my father preferred them over me and used to show them kindness, to my exclusion, and employ me, in their room [in menial service], like as one employeth slaves. one day, a she-camel of his went astray and he said to me, "go thou forth in quest of her and return not but with her." quoth i, "send other than i of thy sons." but he would not consent to this and reviled me and insisted upon me, till the matter came to such a pass with him that he took a whip and fell to beating me. so i arose and taking a riding-camel, mounted her and sallied forth at a venture, purposing to go out into the deserts and return to him no more. i fared on all my night [and the next day] and coming at eventide to [the encampment of] this my wife's people, alighted down with her father, who was a very old man, and became his guest. when the night was half spent, i arose [and went forth the tent] to do an occasion of mine, and none knew of my case save this woman. the dogs misdoubted of me and followed me and gave not over besetting me, till i fell on my back into a deep pit, wherein was water, and one of the dogs fell in with me. the woman, who was then a girl in the first bloom of youth, full of strength and spirit, was moved to pity on me, for that wherein i was fallen, and coming to me with a rope, said to me, "lay hold of this rope." so i laid hold of the rope and clung to it and she pulled me up; but, when i was halfway up, i pulled her [down] and she fell with me into the pit; and there we abode three days, she and i and the dog. when her people arose in the morning and saw her not, they sought her in the camp, but, finding her not and missing me also, doubted not but she had fled with me. now she had four brothers, as they were falcons, and they mounted and dispersed in quest of us. when the day dawned [on the fourth morning], the dog began to bark and the other dogs answered him and coming to the mouth of the pit, stood howling to him. my wife's father, hearing the howling of the dogs, came up and standing at the brink of the pit, [looked in and] beheld a marvel. now he was a man of valour and understanding, an elder versed[fn# ] in affairs so he fetched a rope and bringing us both forth, questioned us of our case. i told him all that had betided and he abode pondering the affair. presently, her brothers returned, whereupon the old man acquainted them with the whole case and said to them, "o my sons, know that your sister purposed not aught but good, and if ye slay this man, ye will earn abiding reproach and ye will wrong him, ay, and wrong yourselves and your sister, to boot; for indeed there appeareth no cause [of offence] such as calleth for slaughter, and it may not be denied that this incident is a thing the like whereof may well betide and that he may well have been baffled by the like of this chance." then he turned to me and questioned me of my lineage; so i set forth to him my genealogy and he said, "a man of equal rank, honourable [and] understanding." and he offered me [his daughter in] marriage. i consented to him of this and marrying her, took up my abode with him and god the most high hath opened on me the gates of weal and fortune, so that i am become the most abounding in substance of the folk of the tribe; and he hath stablished me in that which he hath given me of his bounties.' the young man marvelled at his story and lay the night with him; and when he arose in the morning, he found his strays. so he took them and returning [to his family.], acquainted them with what he had seen and that which had betided him. nor," added the vizier, "is this more marvellous or rarer than the story of the king who lost kingdom and wealth and wife and children and god restored them unto him and requited him with a kingdom more magnificent than that which he had lost and goodlier and rarer and greater of wealth and elevation." the vizier's story pleased the king and he bade depart to his dwelling. the twenty-sixth night of the month. when came the night, the king summoned his vizier and bade him tell the story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth. "hearkening and obedience," replied er rehwan. "know, o king, that story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and god restored them to him. there was once a king of the kings of hind, who was goodly of polity, praiseworthy in administration, just to his subjects, beneficent to men of learning and piety and asceticism and devoutness and worship and shunning traitors and froward folk and those of lewd life. on this wise of polity he abode in his kingship what god the most high willed of days and hours and years, and he married the daughter of his father's brother, a beautiful and lovesome woman, endowed with brightness and perfection, who had been reared in the king's house in splendour and delight. she bore him two sons, the comeliest that might be of boys. then came fore-ordained fate, which there is no warding off, and god the most high raised up against the king another king, who came forth upon his realm, and all the folk of the city, who had a mind unto evil and lewdness, joined themselves unto him. so he fortified himself against the king and made himself master of his kingdom, putting his troops to the rout and slaying his guards. the king took his wife, the mother of his sons, and what he might [of good] and saved himself and fled in the darkness of the night, unknowing whither he should go. when travel grew sore upon them, there met them robbers by the way, who took all that was with them, [even to their clothes], so that there was left unto each of them but a shirt and trousers; yea, they left them without victual or camels or [other] riding-cattle, and they ceased not to fare on afoot, till they came to a coppice, to wit, a garden of trees, on the shore of the sea. now the road which they would have followed was crossed by an arm of the sea, but it was scant of water. so, when they came to that place, the king took up one of his children and fording the water with him, set him down on the other bank and returned for his other son. him also he set by his brother and returning for their mother, took her up and passing the water with her, came to the place [where he had left his children], but found them not. then he looked at the midst of the island and saw there an old man and an old woman, engaged in making themselves a hut of reeds. so he put down his wife over against them and set off in quest of his children, but none gave him news of them and he went round about right and left, but found not the place where they were. now the children had entered the coppice, to make water, and there was there a forest of trees, wherein, if a horseman entered, he might wander by the week, [before finding his way out], for none knew the first thereof from the last. so the boys entered therein and knew not how they should return and went astray in that wood, to an end that was willed of god the most high, whilst their father sought them, but found them not. so he returned to their mother and they abode weeping for their children. as for these latter, when they entered the wood, it swallowed them up and they went wandering in it many days, knowing not where they had entered, till they came forth, at another side, upon the open country. meanwhile, the king and queen abode in the island, over against the old man and woman, and ate of the fruits that were in the island and drank of its waters, till, one day, as they sat, there came a ship and moored to the side of the island, to fill up with water, whereupon they[fn# ] looked at each other and spoke. the master of the ship was a magian and all that was therein, both men and goods, belonged to him, for that he was a merchant and went round about the world. now covetise deluded the old man, the owner of the island, and he went up [into the ship] and gave the magian news of the king's wife, setting out to him her charms, till he made him yearn unto her and his soul prompted him to use treachery and practise upon her and take her from her hnsband. so he sent to her, saying, 'with us in the ship is a woman with child, and we fear lest she be delivered this night. hast thou skill in the delivering of women?' and she answered, 'yes.' now it was the last of the day; so he sent to her to come up into the ship and deliver the woman, for that the pangs of labour were come upon her; and he promised her clothes and spending-money. accordingly, she embarked in all assurance, with a heart at ease for herself, and transported her gear to the ship; but no sooner was she come thither than the anchors were weighed and the canvas spread and the ship set sail. when the king saw this, he cried out and his wife wept in the ship and offered to cast herself into the sea; but the magian bade the sailors lay hands on her. so they seized her and it was but a little while ere the night darkened and the ship disappeared from the king's eyes; whereupon he swooned away for excess of weeping and lamentation and passed his night bewailing his wife and children. when the morning morrowed, he recited the following verses: how long, o fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me? tell me, was ever yet a mortal spared of thee? behold, my loved ones all are ta'en from me away. they left me and content forthright forsook my heart, upon that day my loves my presence did depart; my pleasant life for loss of friends is troubled aye. by allah, i knew not their worth nor yet how dear a good it is to have one's loved ones ever near, until they left my heart on fire without allay. ne'er shall i them forget, nay, nor the day they went and left me all forlorn, to pine for languishment, my severance to bewail in torment and dismay. i make a vow to god, if ever day or night the herald of good news my hearing shall delight, announcing the return o' th' absent ones, i'll lay upon their threshold's dust my cheeks and to my soul, "take comfort, for the loved are come again," i'll say. if for my loved ones' loss i rent my heart for dole, before i rent my clothes, reproach me not, i pray. he abode weeping for the loss of his wife and children till the morning, when he went forth wandering at a venture, knowing not what he should do, and gave not over faring along the sea-shore days and nights, unknowing whither he went and taking no food therein other than the herbs of the earth and seeing neither man nor beast nor other living thing, till his travel brought him to the top of a mountain. he took up his sojourn in the mountain and abode there [awhile] alone, eating of its fruits and drinking of its waters. then he came down thence and fared on along the high road three days, at the end of which time he came upon tilled fields and villages and gave not over going till he sighted a great city on the shore of the sea and came to the gate thereof at the last of the day. the gatekeepers suffered him not to enter; so he abode his night anhungred, and when he arose in the morning, be sat down hard by the gate. now the king of the city was dead and had left no son, and the townsfolk fell out concerning who should be king over them: and their sayings differed and their counsels, so that turmoil was like to betide between them by reason of this. at last, after long dissension, they came to an accord and agreed to leave the choice to the late king's elephant and that he unto whom he consented should be king and that they would not contest the commandment with him. so they made oath of this and on the morrow, they brought out the elephant and came forth to the utterward of the city; nor was there man or woman left in the place but was present at that time. then they adorned the elephant and setting up the throne on his back, gave him the crown in his trunk; and he went round about examining the faces of the folk, but stopped not with any of them till he came to the banished king, the forlorn, the exile, him who had lost his children and his wife, when he prostrated himself to him and placing the crown on his head, took him up and set him on his back. thereupon the folk all prostrated themselves and gave one another joy of this and the drums of good tidings beat before him, and he entered the city [and went on] till he came to the house of justice and the audience-hall of the palace and sat down on the throne of the kingdom, with the crown on his head; whereupon the folk came in to him to give him joy and offer up prayers for him. then he addressed himself, after his wont in the kingship, to ordering the affairs of the folk and ranging the troops according to their ranks and looking into their affairs and those of all the people. moreover, he released those who were in the prisons and abolished the customs dues and gave dresses of honour and bestowed gifts and largesse and conferred favours on the amirs and viziers and dignitaries, and the chamberlains and deputies presented themselves before him and did him homage. so the people of the city rejoiced in him and said, 'indeed this is none other than a king of the greatest of the kings.' moreover, he assembled the sages and the theologians and the sons of the kings and devised with them and asked them questions and problems and examined with them into many things of all fashions that might direct him to well-doing in the kingly office; and he questioned them also of subtleties and religious obligations and of the laws of the kingdom and the fashions of administration and of that which it behoveth the king to do of looking into the affairs of the people and repelling the enemy [from the realm] and fending off his malice with war; wherefore the people's contentment redoubled and their joy in that which god the most high had vouchsafed them of his elevation to the kingship over them. so he upheld the ordinance of the realm and the affairs thereof abode established upon the accepted customs. now the late king had left a wife and a daughter, and the people would fain have married the latter to the new king, to the intent that the kingship might not pass out of the old royal family. so they proposed to him that he should take her to wife, and he promised them this, but put them off from him,[fn# ] of his respect for the covenant he had made with his former wife, to wit, that he would take none other to wife than herself. then he betook himself to fasting by day and standing up by night [to pray], giving alms galore and beseeching god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) to reunite him with his children and his wife, the daughter of his father's brother. when a year had elapsed, there came to the city a ship, wherein were merchants and goods galore. now it was of their usance, from time immemorial, that, when there came a ship to the city, the king sent unto it such of his servants as he trusted in, who took charge of the goods, so they might be [first of all] shown to the king, who bought such of them as befitted him and gave the merchants leave to sell the rest. so he sent, as of wont, one who should go up to the ship and seal up the goods and set over them who should keep watch over them. to return to the queen his wife. when the magian fled with her, he proffered himself to her and lavished unto her wealth galore, but she rejected his suit and was like to slay herself for chagrin at that which had befallen and for grief for her separation from her husband. moreover, she refused meat and drink and offered to cast herself into the sea; but the magian shackled her and straitened her and clad her in a gown of wool and said to her, 'i will continue thee in misery and abjection till thou obey me and consent to my wishes.' so she took patience and looked for god to deliver her from the hand of that accursed one; and she ceased not to travel with him from place to place till he came with her to the city wherein her husband was king and his goods were put under seal. now the woman was in a chest and two youths of the pages of the late king, who were now in the new king's service, were those who had been charged with the guardianship of the vessel and the goods. when the evening evened on them, the two youths fell a-talking and recounted that which had befallen them in their days of childhood and the manner of the going forth of their father and mother from their country and royal estate, whenas the wicked overcame their land, and [called to mind] how they had gone astray in the forest and how fate had made severance between them and their parents; brief, they recounted their story, from beginning to end. when the woman heard their talk, she knew that they were her very sons and cried out to them from the chest, saying, 'i am your mother such an one, and the token between you and me is thus and thus.' the young men knew the token and falling upon the chest, broke the lock and brought out their mother, who strained them to her breast, and they fell upon her and swooned away, all three. when they came to themselves, they wept awhile and the folk assembled about them, marvelling at that which they saw, and questioned them of their case. so the young men vied with each other who should be the first to discover the story to the folk; and when the magian saw this, he came up, crying out, 'alas!' and 'woe worth the day!' and said to them, 'why have ye broken open my chest? i had in it jewels and ye have stolen them, and this damsel is my slave-girl and she hath agreed with you upon a device to take the good.' then he rent his clothes and called aloud for succour, saying, 'i appeal to god and to the just king, so he may quit me of these wrong-doing youths!' quoth they, 'this is our mother and thou stolest her.' then words waxed many between them and the folk plunged into talk and prate and discussion concerning their affair and that of the [pretended] slave-girl, and the strife waxed amain between them, so that [at last] they carried them up to the king. when the two young men presented themselves before him and set forth their case to him and to the folk and the king heard their speech, he knew them and his heart was like to fly for joyance in them: the tears poured from his eyes at their sight and that of his wife, and he thanked god the most high and praised him for that he had reunited [him with] them. then he dismissed the folk who were present about him and bade commit the magian and the woman and the two youths to his armoury[fn# ] [for the night], commanding that they should keep guard over them till god caused the morning morrow, so he might assemble the cadis and the judges and assessors and judge between them, according to the holy law, in the presence of the four cadis. so they did his bidding and the king passed the night praying and praising god the most high for that which he had vouchsafed him of kingship and puissance and victory over[fn# ] him who had wronged him and thanking him who had reunited him with his family. when the morning morrowed, he assembled the cadis and judges and assessors and sending for the magian and the two youths and their mother, questioned them of their case, whereupon the two young men began and said, 'we are the sons of the king such-an-one and enemies and wicked men got the mastery of out realm; so our father fled forth with us and wandered at a venture, for fear of the enemies.' [and they recounted to him all that had betided them, from beginning to end.] quoth he, 'ye tell a marvellous story; but what hath [fate] done with your father?' 'we know not how fortune dealt with him after our loss,' answered they; and he was silent. then he turned to the woman and said to her, 'and thou, what sayst thou?' so she expounded to him her case and recounted to him all that had betided her and her husband, first and last, up to the time when they took up their abode with the old man and woman who dwelt on the sea-shore. then she set out that which the magian had practised on her of knavery and how he had carried her off in the ship and all that had betided her of humiliation and torment, what while the cadis and judges and deputies hearkened to her speech. when the king heard the last of his wife's story, he said, 'verily, there hath betided thee a grievous matter; but hast thou knowledge of what thy husband did and what came of his affair?' 'nay, by allah,' answered she; 'i have no knowledge of him, save that i leave him no hour unremembered in fervent prayer, and never, whilst i live, will he cease to be to me the father of my children and my father's brother's son and my flesh and my blood.' then she wept and the king bowed his head, whilst his eyes brimmed over with tears at her story. then he raised his head to the magian and said to him, 'say thy say, thou also.' so the magian said, 'this is my slave-girl, whom i bought with my money from such a land and for so many dinars, and i made her my favourite[fn# ] and loved her with an exceeding love and gave her charge over my good; but she betrayed me in my substance and plotted with one of my servants to slay me, tempting him by promising him that she would be his wife. when i knew this of her and was certified that she purposed treason against me, i awoke [from my heedlessness] and did with her that which i did, of fear for myself from her craft and perfidy; for indeed she is a beguiler with her tongue and she hath taught these two youths this pretence, by way of trickery and of her perfidy and malice: so be thou not deluded by her and by her talk.' 'thou liest, o accursed one,' cried the king and bade lay hands on him and clap him in irons. then he turned to the two youths, his sons, and strained them to his breast, weeping sore and saying, 'o all ye who are present of cadis and assessors and officers of state, know that these twain are my sons and that this is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother; for that i was king aforetime in such a region.' and he recounted to them his history from beginning to end, nor is there aught of profit in repetition; whereupon the folk cried out with weeping and lamentation for the stress of that which they heard of marvellous chances and that rare story. as for the king's wife, he caused carry her into his palace and lavished upon her and upon her sons all that behoved and beseemed them of bounties, whilst the folk flocked to offer up prayers for him and give him joy of [his reunion with] his wife and children. when they had made an end of pious wishes and congratulations, they besought the king to hasten the punishment of the magian and heal their hearts of him with torment and humiliation. so he appointed them for a day on which they should assemble to witness his punishment and that which should betide him of torment, and shut himself up with his wife and sons and abode thus private with them three days, during which time they were sequestered from the folk. on the fourth day the king entered the bath, and coming forth, sat down on the throne of his kingship, with the crown on his head, whereupon the folk came in to him, according to their wont and after the measure of their several ranks and degrees, and the amirs and viziers entered, ay, and the chamberlains and deputies and captains and men of war and the falconers and armbearers. then he seated his two sons, one on his right and the other on his left hand, whilst all the folk stood before him and lifted up their voices in thanksgiving to god the most high and glorification of him and were strenuous in prayer for the king and in setting forth his virtues and excellences. he returned them the most gracious of answers and bade carry the magian forth of the town and set him on a high scaffold that had been builded for him there; and he said to the folk, 'behold, i will torture him with all kinds of fashions of torment.' then he fell to telling them that which he had wrought of knavery with the daughter of his father's brother and what he had caused betide her of severance between her and her husband and how he had required her of herself, but she had sought refuge against him with god (to whom belong might and majesty) and chose rather humiliation than yield to his wishes, notwithstanding stress of torment; neither recked she aught of that which he lavished to her of wealth and raiment and jewels. when the king had made an end of his story, he bade the bystanders spit in the magian's face and curse him; and they did this. then he bade cut out his tongue and on the morrow he bade cut off his ears and nose and pluck out his eyes. on the third day he bade cut off his hands and on the fourth his feet; and they ceased not to lop him limb from limb, and each member they cast into the fire, after its cutting-off, before his face, till his soul departed, after he had endured torments of all kinds and fashions. the king bade crucify his trunk on the city-wall three days' space; after which he let burn it and reduce its ashes to powder and scatter them abroad in the air. then the king summoned the cadi and the witnesses and bade them many the old king's daughter and sister to his own sons; so they married them, after the king had made a bride-feast three days and displayed their brides to them from eventide to peep of day. then the two princes went in to their brides and did away their maidenhead and loved them and were vouchsafed children by them. as for the king their father, he abode with his wife, their mother, what while god (to whom belong might and majesty) willed, and they rejoiced in reunion with each other. the kingship endured unto them and glory and victory, and the king continued to rule with justice and equity, so that the people loved him and still invoked on him and on his sons length of days and durance; and they lived the most delightsome of lives till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he who layeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs; and this is all that hath come down to us of the story of the king and his wife and children. nor," added the vizier, "if this story be a solace and a diversion, is it pleasanter or more diverting than that of the young man of khorassan and his mother and sister." when king shah bekht heard this story, it pleased him and he bade the vizier go away to his own house. the twenty-seventh night of the month when the evening came, the king bade fetch the vizier; so he presented himself before him and the king bade him tell the [promised] story. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king (but god alone knoweth his secret purpose and is versed in all that is past and was foredone among bygone peoples), that story of selim and selma. there was once, in the parts of khorassan, a man of the affluent of the country, who was a merchant of the chiefest of the merchants and was blessed with two children, a son and a daughter. he was assiduous in rearing them and making fair their education, and they grew up and throve after the goodliest fashion. he used to teach the boy, who taught his sister all that he learnt, so that the girl became perfect in the knowledge of the traditions of the prophet and in polite letters, by means of her brother. now the boy's name was selim and that of the girl selma. when they grew up and waxed, their father built them a mansion beside his own and lodged them apart therein and appointed them slave-girls and servants to tend them and assigned unto each of them pensions and allowances and all that they needed of high and low, meat and bread and wine and raiment and vessels and what not else. so selim and selma abode in that mansion, as they were one soul in two bodies, and they used to sleep on one couch; and rooted in each one's heart was love and affection and familiar friendship [for the other of them]. one night, when the night was half spent, as selim and selma sat talking and devising with each other, they heard a noise below the house; so they looked out from a lattice that gave upon the gate of their father's mansion and saw a man of goodly presence, whose clothes were hidden by a wide cloak, which covered him. he came up to the gate and laying hold of the door-ring, gave a light knock; whereupon the door opened and out came their sister, with a lighted flambeau, and after her their mother, who saluted the stranger and embraced him, saying, 'o beloved of my heart and light of mine eyes and fruit of mine entrails, enter.' so he entered and shut the door, whilst selim and selma abode amazed. then selim turned to selma and said to her, 'o sister mine, how deemest thou of this calamity and what counsellest thou thereanent?' 'o my brother,' answered she, 'indeed i know not what i shall say concerning the like of this; but he is not disappointed who seeketh direction [of god], nor doth he repent who taketh counsel. one getteth not the better of the traces of burning by[fn# ] haste, and know that this is an affliction that hath descended on us; and we have need of management to do it away, yea, and contrivance to wash withal our shame from our faces.' and they gave not over watching the gate till break of day, when the young man opened the door and their mother took leave of him; after which he went his way and she entered, she and her handmaid. then said selim to his sister, 'know that i am resolved to slay yonder man, if he return this next night, and i will say to the folk, "he was a thief," and none shall know that which hath befallen. moreover, i will address myself to the slaughter of whosoever knoweth that which is between yonder fellow and my mother.' but selma said, ' i fear lest, if thou slay him in our dwelling-place and he savour not of robberhood,[fn# ] suspicion will revert upon ourselves, and we cannot be assured but that he belongeth unto folk whose mischief is to be feared and their hostility dreaded,[fn# ] and thus wilt thou have fled from privy shame to open shame and abiding public dishonour.' 'how then deemest thou we should do?' asked selim and she said, 'is there nothing for it but to slay him? let us not hasten unto slaughter, for that the slaughter of a soul without just cause is a grave [matter].' (when shehriyar heard this, he said in himself, 'by allah, i have indeed been reckless in the slaying of women and girls, and praised be god who hath occupied me with this damsel from the slaughter of souls, for that the slaughter of souls is a grave [matter!] by allah, if shah bekht spare the vizier, i will assuredly spare shehrzad!' then he gave ear to the story and heard her say to her sister:) quoth selma to selim, 'hasten not to slay him, but ponder the matter and consider the issue to which it may lead; for whoso considereth not the issues [of his actions], fortune is no friend to him.' then they arose on the morrow and occupied themselves with devising how they should turn away their mother from that man, and she forebode mischief from them, by reason of that which she saw in their eyes of alteration, for that she was keen of wit and crafty. so she took precaution for herself against her children and selma said to selim, 'thou seest that whereinto we have fallen through this woman, and indeed she hath gotten wind of our purpose and knoweth that we have discovered her secret. so, doubtless, she will plot against us the like of that which we plot for her; for indeed up to now she had concealed her affair, and now she will forge lies against us; wherefore, methinks, there is a thing [fore-]written to us, whereof god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) knew in his foreknowledge and wherein he executeth his ordinances.' 'what is that?' asked he, and she said, 'it is that we arise, i and thou, and go forth this night from this land and seek us a land wherein we may live and witness nought of the doings of yonder traitress; for whoso is absent from the eye is absent from the heart, and quoth one of the poets in the following verse: twere better and meeter thy presence to leave, for, if the eye see not, the heart doth not grieve.' quoth selim to her, 'it is for thee to decide and excellent is that which thou counsellest; so let us do this, in the name of god the most high, trusting in him for grace and guidance.' so they arose and took the richest of their clothes and the lightest of that which was in their treasuries of jewels and things of price and gathered together a great matter. then they equipped them ten mules and hired them servants of other than the people of the country; and selim bade his sister selma don man's apparel. now she was the likest of all creatures to him, so that, [when she was clad in man's attire,] the folk knew no difference between them, extolled be the perfection of him who hath no like, there is no god but he! then he bade her mount a horse, whilst he himself bestrode another, and they set out, under cover of the night. none of their family nor of the people of their house knew of them; so they fared on into the wide world of god and gave not over going night and day two months' space, at the end of which time they came to a city on the sea-shore of the land of mekran, by name es sherr, and it is the first city in sind. they lighted down without the place and when they arose in the morning, they saw a populous and goodly city, fair of seeming and great, abounding in trees and streams and fruits and wide of suburbs. so the young man said to his sister selma, 'abide thou here in thy place, till i enter the city and examine it and make assay of its people and seek out a place which we may buy and whither we may remove. if it befit us, we will take up our abode therein, else will we take counsel of departing elsewhither.' quoth she, 'do this, trusting in the bounty of god (to whom belong might and majesty) and in his blessing.' so he took a belt, wherein were a thousand dinars, and binding it about his middle, entered the city and gave not over going round about its streets and markets and gazing upon its houses and sitting with those of its folk whose aspect bespoke them men of worth, till the day was half spent, when he resolved to return to his sister and said in himself, 'needs must i buy what we may eat of ready-[dressed] food] i and my sister.' accordingly, he accosted a man who sold roast meat and who was clean [of person], though odious in his [means of getting a] living, and said to him, 'take the price of this dish [of meat] and add thereto of fowls and chickens and what not else is in your market of meats and sweetmeats and bread and arrange it in dishes.' so the cook set apart for him what he desired and calling a porter, laid it in his basket, and selim paid the cook the price of his wares, after the fullest fashion. as he was about to go away, the cook said to him, 'o youth, doubtless thou art a stranger?' and he answered, 'yes.' quoth the cook, 'it is reported in one of the traditions [of the prophet that he said,] "loyal admonition is [a part] of religion;" and the understanding say, "admonition is of the characteristics of the true believers." and indeed that which i have seen of thy fashions pleaseth me and i would fain give thee a warning.' 'speak out thy warning,' rejoined selim, 'and may god strengthen thine affair!' then said the cook, 'know, o my son, that in this our country, whenas a stranger entereth therein and eateth of flesh-meat and drinketh not old wine thereon, this is harmful unto him and engendereth in him dangerous disorders. wherefore, if thou have provided thee somewhat thereof,[fn# ] [it is well;] but, if not, look thou procure it, ere thou take the meat and carry it away.' 'may god requite thee with good!' rejoined selim. 'canst thou direct me where it is sold?' and the cook said, 'with me is all that thou seekest thereof.' 'is there a way for me to see it?' asked the young man; and the cook sprang up and said, 'pass on.' so he entered and the cook showed him somewhat of wine; but he said, 'i desire better than this.' whereupon he opened a door and entering, said to selim, 'enter and follow me.' selim followed him till he brought him to an underground chamber and showed him somewhat of wine that was to his mind. so he occupied him with looking upon it and taking him at unawares, sprang upon him from behind and cast him to the earth and sat upon his breast. then he drew a knife and set it to his jugular; whereupon there betided selim [that wherewithal] god made him forget all that he had decreed [unto him],[fn# ] and he said to the cook, 'why dost thou this thing, o man? be mindful of god the most high and fear him. seest thou not that i am a stranger? and indeed [i have left] behind me a defenceless woman. why wilt thou slay me?' quoth the cook, 'needs must i slay thee, so i may take thy good.' and selim said, 'take my good, but slay me not, neither enter into sin against me; and do with me kindness, for that the taking of my money is lighter[fn# ] than the taking of my life.' 'this is idle talk,' answered the cook. 'thou canst not deliver thyself with this, o youth, for that in thy deliverance is my destruction.' quoth selim, 'i swear to thee and give thee the covenant of god (to whom belong might and majesty) and his bond, that he took of his prophets, that i will not discover thy secret ever.' but the cook answered, saying, 'away! away! this may no wise be.' however, selim ceased not to conjure him and make supplication to him and weep, while the cook persisted in his intent to slaughter him. then he wept and recited the following verses: haste not to that thou dost desire, for haste is still unblest; be merciful to men, as thou on mercy reckonest; for no hand is there but the hand of god is over it and no oppressor but shall be with worse than he opprest. quoth the cook, 'nothing will serve but i must slay thee, o fellow; for, if i spare thee, i shall myself be slain.' but selim said, 'o my brother, i will counsel thee somewhat[fn# ] other than this.' 'what is it?' asked the cook. 'say and be brief, ere i cut thy throat' and selim said, '[do thou suffer me to live and] keep me, that i may be a servant unto thee, and i will work at a craft, of the crafts of the skilled workmen, wherefrom there shall return to thee every day two dinars.' quoth the cook, 'what is the craft?' and selim said, 'the cutting [and polishing] of jewels.' when the cook heard this, he said in himself, 'it will do me no hurt if i imprison him and shackle him and bring him what he may work at. if he tell truth, i will let him live, and if he prove a liar, i will slay him.' so he took a pair of stout shackles and clapping them on selim's legs, imprisoned him within his house and set over him one who should guard him. then he questioned him of what tools he needed to work withal. selim set forth to him that which he required, and the cook went out from him and presently returning, brought him all he needed. so selim sat and wrought at his craft; and he used every day to earn two dinars; and this was his wont and usance with the cook, whilst the latter fed him not but half his fill. to return to his sister selma. she awaited him till the last of the day, but he came not; and she awaited him a second day and a third and a fourth, yet there came no news of him, wherefore she wept and beat with her hands on her breast and bethought her of her affair and her strangerhood and her brother's absence; and she recited the following verses: peace on thee! would our gaze might light on thee once more! so should our hearts be eased and eyes no longer sore. thou only art the whole of our desire; indeed thy love is hid within our hearts' most secret core. she abode awaiting him thus till the end of the month, but discovered no tidings of him neither happened upon aught of his trace; wherefore she was troubled with an exceeding perturbation and despatching her servants hither and thither in quest of him, abode in the sorest that might be of grief and concern. when it was the beginning of the new month, she arose in the morning and bidding cry him throughout the city, sat to receive visits of condolence, nor was there any in the city but betook himself to her, to condole with her; and they were all concerned for her, nothing doubting but she was a man. when three nights had passed over her with their days of the second month, she despaired of him and her tears dried not up. then she resolved to take up her abode in the city and making choice of a dwelling, removed thither. the folk resorted to her from all parts, to sit with her and hearken to her speech and witness her good breeding; nor was it but a little while ere the king of the city died and the folk fell out concerning whom they should invest with the kingship after him, so that strife was like to betide between them. however, the men of judgment and understanding and the folk of experience counselled them to make the youth king who had lost his brother, for that they doubted not but selma was a man. they all consented unto this and betaking themselves to selma, proffered her the kingship. she refused, but they were instant with her, till she consented, saying in herself, 'my sole desire in [accepting] the kingship is [to find] my brother.' then they seated her on the throne of the kingdom and set the crown on her head, whereupon she addressed herself to the business of administration and to the ordinance of the affairs of the people; and they rejoiced in her with the utmost joy. meanwhile, selim abode with the cook a whole year's space, earning him two dinars every day; and when his affair was prolonged, the cook inclined unto him and took compassion on him, on condition that, if he let him go, he should not discover his fashion to the sultan, for that it was his wont every little while to entrap a man and carry him to his house and slay him and take his money and cook his flesh and give it to the folk to eat. so he said to him, 'o youth, wilt thou that i release thee from this thy plight, on condition that thou be reasonable and discover not aught of thine affair ever?' and selim answered, 'i will swear to thee by whatsoever oath thou choosest that i will keep thy secret and will not speak one syllable against thy due, what while i abide on life.' quoth the cook, 'i purpose to send thee forth with my brother and cause thee travel with him on the sea, on condition that thou be unto him a boughten slave; and when he cometh to the land of hind, he shall sell thee and thus wilt thou be delivered from prison and slaughter.' and selim said, 'it is well: be it as thou sayst, may god the most high requite thee with good!' therewithal the cook equipped his brother and freighting him a ship, embarked therein merchandise. then he committed selim unto him and they set out and departed with the ship. god decreed them safety, so that they arrived [in due course] at the first city [of the land of hind], the which is known as el mensoureh, and cast anchor there. now the king of that city had died, leaving a daughter and a widow, who was the quickest-witted of women and gave out that the girl was a boy, so that the kingship might be stablished unto them. the troops and the amirs doubted not but that the case was as she avouched and that the princess was a male child; so they obeyed her and the queen mother took order for the matter and used to dress the girl in man's apparel and seat her on the throne of the kingship, so that the folk might see her. accordingly, the grandees of the kingdom and the chief officers of the realm used to go in to her and salute her and do her service and go away, nothing doubting but she was a boy. on this wise they abode months and years and the queen-mother ceased not to do thus till the cook's brother came to the town in his ship, and with him selim. so he landed with the youth and showed him to the queen, [that she might buy him]. when she saw him, she augured well of him; so she bought him from the cook's brother and was kind to him and entreated him with honour. then she fell to proving him in his parts and making assay of him in his affairs and found in him all that is in kings' sons of understanding and breeding and goodly manners and qualities. so she sent for him in private and said to him, 'i purpose to do thee a service, so thou canst but keep a secret.' he promised her all that she desired and she discovered to him her secret in the matter of her daughter, saying, 'i will marry thee to her and commit to thee the governance of her affair and make thee king and ruler over this city.' he thanked her and promised to uphold all that she should order him, and she said to him, 'go forth to such an one of the neighbouring provinces privily.' so he went forth and on the morrow she made ready bales and gear and presents and bestowed on him a great matter, all of which they loaded on the backs of camels. then she gave out among the folk that the king's father's brother's son was come and bade the grandees and troops go forth to meet him. moreover, she decorated the city in his honour and the drums of good tidings beat for him, whilst all the king's household [went out to meet him and] dismounting before him, [escorted him to the city and] lodged him with the queen-mother in her palace. then she bade the chiefs of the state attend his assembly; so they presented themselves before him and saw of his breeding and accomplishments that which amazed them and made them forget the breeding of those who had foregone him of the kings. when they were grown familiar with him, the queen-mother fell to sending [privily] for the amirs, one by one, and swearing them to secrecy; and when she was assured of their trustworthiness, she discovered to them that the king had left but a daughter and that she had done this but that she might continue the kingship in his family and that the governance should not go forth from them; after which she told them that she was minded to marry her daughter with the new-comer, her father's brother's son, and that he should be the holder of the kingship. they approved of her proposal and when she had discovered the secret to the last of them [and assured herself of their support], she published the news abroad and sent for the cadis and assessors, who drew up the contract of marriage between selim and the princess, and they lavished gifts upon the troops and overwhelmed them with bounties. then was the bride carried in procession to the young man and the kingship was stablished unto him and the governance of the realm. on this wise they abode a whole year, at the end of which time selim said to the queen-mother, 'know that my life is not pleasing to me nor can i abide with you in contentment till i get me tidings of my sister and learn in what issue her affair hath resulted and how she hath fared after me. wherefore i will go and be absent from you a year's space; then will i return to you, so it please god the most high and i accomplish of this that which i hope.' quoth she, 'i will not trust to thy word, but will go with thee and help thee to that which thou desirest of this and further thee myself therein.' so she took a ship and loaded it with all manner things of price, goods and treasures and what not else. moreover, she appointed one of the viziers, a man in whom she trusted and in his fashion and ordinance, to rule the realm in their absence, saying to him, 'abide [in the kingship] a full-told year and ordain all that whereof thou hast need. then the old queen and her daughter and son-in-law embarked in the ship and setting sail, fared on till they came to the land of mekran. their arrival there befell at the last of the day; so they passed the night in the ship, and when the day was near to break, the young king went down from the ship, that he might go to the bath, and made for the market. as he drew near the bath, the cook met him by the way and knew him; so he laid hands on him and binding his arms fast behind him, carried him to his house, where he clapped the old shackles on his feet and straightway cast him back into his whilom place of duresse. when selim found himself in that sorry plight and considered that wherewith he was afflicted of tribulation and the contrariness of his fortune, in that he had been a king and was now returned to shackles and prison and hunger, he wept and groaned and lamented and recited the following verses: my fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain; my bosom is straitened. to thee, i complain, o my god! who is stronger than thou in resource? the subtle, thou knowest my plight and my pain. to return to his wife and her mother. when the former arose in the morning and her husband returned not to her with break of day, she forebode all manner of calamity and straightway despatched her servants and all who were with her in quest of him; but they happened not on any trace of him neither fell in with aught of his news. so she bethought herself concerning her affair and complained and wept and groaned and sighed and blamed perfidious fortune, bewailing that sorry chance and reciting these verses: god keep the days of love-delight! how passing sweet they were! how joyous and how solaceful was life in them whilere! would he were not, who sundered us upon the parting-day! how many a body hath he slain, how many a bone laid bare! sans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and beggared me of him i love, yet for himself gained nought thereby whate'er. when she had made an end of her verses, she considered her affair and said in herself, 'by allah, all these things have betided by the ordinance of god the most high and his providence and this was written and charactered upon the forehead.' then she landed and fared on till she came to a spacious place, where she enquired of the folk and hired a house. thither she straightway transported all that was in the ship of goods and sending for brokers, sold all that was with her. then she took part of the price and fell to enquiring of the folk, so haply she might scent out tidings [of her lost husband]. moreover, she addressed herself to lavishing alms and tending the sick, clothing the naked and pouring water upon the dry ground of the forlorn. on this wise she abode a whole year, and every little while she sold of her goods and gave alms to the sick and the needy; wherefore her report was bruited abroad in the city and the folk were lavish in her praise. all this while, selim lay in shackles and strait prison, and melancholy possessed him by reason of that whereinto he had fallen of that tribulation. then, when troubles waxed on him and affliction was prolonged, he fell sick of a sore sickness. when the cook saw his plight (and indeed he was like to perish for much suffering), he loosed him from the shackles and bringing him forth of the prison, committed him to an old woman, who had a nose the bigness of a jug, and bade her tend him and medicine him and serve him and entreat him kindly, so haply he might be made whole of that his sickness. so the old woman took him and carrying him to her lodging, fell to tending him and giving him to eat and drink; and when he was quit of that torment, he recovered from his malady. now the old woman had heard from the folk of the lady who gave alms to the sick, and indeed [the news of] her bounties reached both poor and rich; so she arose and bringing out selim to the door of her house, laid him on a mat and wrapped him in a mantle and sat over against him. presently, it befell that the charitable lady passed by them, which when the old woman saw, she rose to her and offered up prayers for her, saying, 'o my daughter, o thou to whom pertain goodness and beneficence and charity and almsdoing, know that this young man is a stranger, and indeed want and vermin and hunger and nakedness and cold slay him.' when the lady heard this, she gave her alms of that which was with her; and indeed her heart inclined unto selim, [but she knew him not for her husband]. the old woman received the alms from her and carrying it to selim, took part thereof herself and with the rest bought him an old shirt, in which she clad him, after she had stripped him of that he had on. then she threw away the gown she had taken from off him and arising forthright, washed his body of that which was thereon of filth and scented him with somewhat of perfume. moreover, she bought him chickens and made him broth; so he ate and his life returned to him and he abode with her on the most solaceful of life till the morrow. next morning, the old woman said to him, 'when the lady cometh to thee, do thou arise and kiss her hand and say to her, "i am a strange man and indeed cold and hunger slay me;" so haply she may give thee somewhat that thou mayst expend upon thy case.' and he answered, 'hearkening and obedience.' then she took him by the hand and carrying him without her house, seated him at the door. as he sat, behold, the lady came up to him, whereupon the old woman rose to her and selim kissed her hand and offered up prayers for her. then he looked on her and when he saw her, he knew her for his wife; so he cried out and wept and groaned and lamented; whereupon she came up to him and cast herself upon him; for indeed she knew him with all knowledge, even as he knew her. so she laid hold of him and embraced him and called to her serving-men and attendants and those who were about her; and they took him up and carried him forth of that place. when the old woman saw this, she cried out to the cook from within the house, and he said to her, 'go before me.' so she forewent him and he ran after her till he [overtook the party and] catching hold of selim, said [to the latter's wife,] 'what aileth thee to take my servant?' whereupon she cried out at him, saying, 'know that this is my husband, whom i had lost.' and selim also cried out, saying, 'mercy! mercy! i appeal to god and to the sultan against this satan!' therewith the folk gathered together to them forthright and loud rose the clamours and the cries between them; but the most part of them said, 'refer their affair to the sultan.' so they referred the case to the sultan, who was none other than selim's sister selma. [then they went up to the palace and] the interpreter went in to selma and said to her, 'o king of the age, here is an indian woman, who cometh from the land of hind, and she hath laid hands on a young man, a servant, avouching that he is her husband, who hath been missing these two years, and she came not hither but on his account, and indeed these many days she hath done almsdeeds [in the city]. and here is a man, a cook, who avoucheth that the young man is his slave.' when the queen heard these words, her entrails quivered and she groaned from an aching heart and called to mind her brother and that which had betided him. then she bade those who were about her bring them before her, and when she saw them, she knew her brother and was like to cry aloud; but her reason restrained her; yet could she not contain herself, but she must needs rise up and sit down. however, she enforced herself unto patience and said to them, 'let each of you acquaint me with his case.' so selim came forward and kissing the earth before the [supposed] king, praised him and related to him his story from beginning to end, till the time of their coming to that city, he and his sister, telling him how he had entered the place and fallen into the hands of the cook and that which had betided him [with him] and what he had suffered from him of beating and bonds and shackles and pinioning. moreover, he told him how the cook had made him his brother's slave and how the latter had sold him in hind and he had married the princess and become king and how life was not pleasant to him till he should foregather with his sister and how the cook had fallen in with him a second time and acquainted her with that which had betided him of sickness and disease for the space of a full-told year. when he had made an end of his speech, his wife came forward forthright and told her story, from first to last, how her mother bought him from the cook's partner and the people of the kingdom came under his rule; nor did she leave telling till she came, in her story, to that city [and acquainted the queen with the manner of her falling in with her lost husband]. when she had made an end of her story, the cook exclaimed, 'alack, what impudent liars there be! by allah, o king, this woman lieth against me, for this youth is my rearling[fn# ] and he was born of one of my slave-girls. he fled from me and i found him again. when the queen heard the last of the talk, she said to the cook, 'the judgment between you shall not be but in accordance with justice.' then she dismissed all those who were present and turning to her brother, said to him, 'indeed thy soothfastness is established with me and the truth of thy speech, and praised be god who hath brought about union between thee and thy wife! so now begone with her to thy country and leave [seeking] thy sister selma and depart in peace.' but selim answered, saying, 'by allah, by the virtue of the all-knowing king, i will not turn back from seeking my sister till i die or find her, if it please god the most high!' then he called his sister to mind and broke out with the following verses from a heart endolored, afflicted, disappointed, saying: o thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, hadst them but tasted my spirit's grief, thou wouldst excuse me still. by allah, o thou that chid'st my heart concerning my sister's love, leave chiding and rather bemoan my case and help me to my will. for indeed i am mated with longing love in public and privily, nor ever my heart, alas i will cease from mourning, will i or nill. a fire in mine entrails burns, than which the fire of the hells denounced for sinners' torment less scathing is: it seeketh me to slay. when his sister selma heard what he said, she could no longer contain herself, but cast herself upon him and discovered to him her case. when he knew her, he threw himself upon her [and lay without life] awhile; after which he came to himself and said, 'praised be god, the bountiful, the beneficent!' then they complained to each other of that which they had suffered for the anguish of separation, whilst selim's wife abode wondered at this and selma's patience and constancy pleased her. so she saluted her and thanked her for her fashion, saying, 'by allah, o my lady, all that we are in of gladness is of thy blessing alone; so praised be god who hath vouchsafed us thy sight!' then they abode all three in joy and happiness and delight three days, sequestered from the folk; and it was bruited abroad in the city that the king had found his brother, who was lost years agone. on the fourth day, all the troops and the people of the realm assembled together to the [supposed] king and standing at his gate, craved leave to enter. selma bade admit them; so they entered and paid her the service of the kingship and gave her joy of her brother's safe return. she bade them do suit and service to selim, and they consented and paid him homage; after which they kept silence awhile, so they might hear what the king should command. then said selma, 'harkye, all ye soldiers and subjects, ye know that ye enforced me to [accept] the kingship and besought me thereof and i consented unto your wishes concerning my investment [with the royal dignity]; and i did this [against my will]; for know that i am a woman and that i disguised myself and donned man's apparel, so haply my case might be hidden, whenas i lost my brother. but now, behold, god hath reunited me with my brother, and it is no longer lawful to me that i be king and bear rule over the people, and i a woman; for that there is no governance for women, whenas men are present. wherefore, if it like you, do ye set my brother on the throne of the kingdom, for this is he; and i will busy myself with the worship of god the most high and thanksgiving [to him] for my reunion with my brother. or, if it like you, take your kingship and invest therewith whom ye will.' thereupon the folk all cried out, saying, 'we accept him to king over us!' and they did him suit and service and gave him joy of the kingship. so the preachers preached in his name[fn# ] and the poets praised him; and he lavished gifts upon the troops and the officers of his household and overwhelmed them with favours and bounties and was prodigal to the people of justice and equitable dealings and goodly usance and polity. when he had accomplished this much of his desire, he caused bring forth the cook and his household to the divan, but spared the old woman who had tended him, for that she had been the cause of his deliverance. then they assembled them all without the town and he tormented the cook and those who were with him with all manner of torments, after which he put him to death on the sorriest wise and burning him with fire, scattered his ashes abroad in the air. selim abode in the governance, invested with the sultanate, and ruled the people a whole year, after which he returned to el mensoureh and sojourned there another year. and he [and his wife] ceased not to go from city to city and abide in this a year and that a year, till he was vouchsafed children and they grew up, whereupon he appointed him of his sons, who was found fitting, to be his deputy in [one] kingdom [and abode himself in the other]; and he lived, he and his wife and children, what while god the most high willed. nor," added the vizier, "o king of the age, is this story rarer or more extraordinary than that of the king of hind and his wronged and envied vizier." when the king heard this, his mind was occupied [with the story he had heard and that which the vizier promised him], and he bade the latter depart to his own house. the twenty-eighth and last night of the month when the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and bade him tell the story of the king of hind and his vizier. so he said, "hearkening and obedience. know, o king of august lineage, that story of the king of hind and his vizier. there was once in the land of hind a king of illustrious station, endowed with understanding and good sense, and his name was shah bekht. he had a vizier, a man of worth and intelligence, prudent in counsel, conformable to him in his governance and just in his judgment; wherefore his enviers were many and many were the hypocrites, who sought in him faults and set snares for him, so that they insinuated into king shah bekht's eye hatred and rancour against him and sowed despite against him in his heart; and plot followed after plot, till [at last] the king was brought to arrest him and lay him in prison and confiscate his good and avoid his estate.[fn# ] when they knew that there was left him no estate that the king might covet, they feared lest he be brought to release him, by the incidence of the vizier's [good] counsel upon the king's heart, and he return to his former case, so should their plots be marred and their ranks degraded, for that they knew that the king would have need of that which he had known from that man nor would forget that wherewith he was familiar in him. now it befell that a certain man of corrupt purpose[fn# ] found a way to the perversion of the truth and a means of glozing over falsehood and adorning it with a semblance of fair-seeming and there proceeded from him that wherewith the hearts of the folk were occupied, and their minds were corrupted by his lying tales; for that he made use of indian subtleties and forged them into a proof for the denial of the maker, the creator, extolled be his might and exalted be he! indeed, god is exalted and magnified above the speech of the deniers. he avouched that it is the planets[fn# ] that order the affairs of all creatures and he set down twelve mansions to twelve signs [of the zodiac] and made each sign thirty degrees, after the number of the days of the month, so that in twelve mansions there are three hundred and threescore [degrees], after the number of the days of the year; and he wrought a scheme, wherein he lied and was an infidel and denied [god]. then he got possession of the king's mind and the enviers and haters aided him against the vizier and insinuated themselves into his favour and corrupted his counsel against the vizier, so that he suffered of him that which he suffered and he banished him and put him away. so the wicked man attained that which he sought of the vizier and the case was prolonged till the affairs of the kingdom became disordered, by dint of ill governance, and the most part of the king's empery fell away from him and he came nigh unto ruin. therewithal he was certified of the loyalty of his [late] skilful vizier and the excellence of his governance and the justness of his judgment. so he sent after him and brought him and the wicked man before him and summoning the grandees of his realm and the chiefs of his state to his presence, gave them leave to talk and dispute and forbade the wicked man from that his lewd opinion.[fn# ] then arose that wise and skilful vizier and praised god the most high and lauded him and glorified him and hallowed him and attested his unity and disputed with the wicked man and overcame him and put him to silence; nor did he cease from him till he enforced him to make confession of repentance [and turning away] from that which he had believed. therewith king shah bekht rejoiced with an exceeding great joy and said, 'praise be to god who hath delivered me from yonder man and hath preserved me from the loss of the kingship and the cessation of prosperity from me!' so the affair of the vizier returned to order and well-being and the king restored him to his place and advanced him in rank. moreover, he assembled the folk who had missaid of him and destroyed them all, to the last man. and how like," continued the vizier, "is this story unto that of myself and king shah bekht, with regard to that whereinto i am fallen of the changing of the king's heart and his giving credence to others against me; but now is the righteousness of my dealing established in thine eyes, for that god the most high hath inspired me with wisdom and endowed thee with longanimity and patience [to hearken] from me unto that which he allotted unto those who had foregone us, till he hath shown forth my innocence and made manifest unto thee the truth. for now the days are past, wherein it was avouched to the king that i should endeavour for the destruction of my soul,[fn# ] [to wit,] the month; and behold, the probation time is over and gone, and past is the season of evil and ceased, by the king's good fortune." then he bowed his head and was silent.[fn# ] when king shah bekht heard his vizier's speech, he was confounded before him and abashed and marvelled at the gravity of his understanding and his patience. so he sprang up to him and embraced him and the vizier kissed his feet. then the king called for a sumptuous dress of honour and cast it over er rehwan and entreated him with the utmost honour and showed him special favour and restored him to his rank and vizierate. moreover he imprisoned those who had sought his destruction with leasing and committed unto himself to pass judgment upon the interpreter who had expounded to him the dream. so the vizier abode in the governance of the realm till there came to them the destroyer of delights; and this (added shehrzad) is all, o king of the age, that hath come down to us of king shah bekht and his vizier. shehrzad and shehriyar. as for king shehriyar, he marvelled at shehrzad with the utmost wonder and drew her near to his heart, of his much love for her; and she was magnified in his eyes and he said in himself, "by allah, the like of this woman is not deserving of slaughter, for indeed the time affordeth not her like. by allah, i have been heedless of mine affair, and had not god overcome me with his mercy and put this woman at my service, so she might adduce to me manifest instances and truthful cases and goodly admonitions and edifying traits, such as should restore me to the [right] road, [i had come to perdition!]. wherefore to god be the praise for this and i beseech him to make my end with her like unto that of the vizier and shah bekht." then sleep overcame the king and glory be unto him who sleepeth not! when it was the nine hundred and thirtieth night, shehrzad said, "o king, there is present in my thought a story which treateth of women's craft and wherein is a warning to whoso will be warned and an admonishment to whoso will be admonished and whoso hath discernment; but i fear lest the hearing of this lessen me with the king and lower my rank in his esteem; yet i hope that this will not be, for that it is a rare story. women are indeed corruptresses; their craft and their cunning may not be set out nor their wiles known. men enjoy their company and are not careful to uphold them [in the right way], neither do they watch over them with all vigilance, but enjoy their company and take that which is agreeable and pay no heed to that which is other than this. indeed, they are like unto the crooked rib, which if thou go about to straighten, thou distortest it, and which if thou persist in seeking to redress, thou breakest it; wherefore it behoveth the man of understanding to be silent concerning them." "o sister mine," answered dinarzad, "bring forth that which is with thee and that which is present to thy mind of the story concerning the craft of women and their wiles, and have no fear lest this endamage thee with the king; for that women are like unto jewels, which are of all kinds and colours. when a [true] jewel falleth into the hand of him who is knowing therein, he keepeth it for himself and leaveth that which is other than it. moreover, he preferreth some of them over others, and in this he is like unto the potter, who filleth his oven with all the vessels [he hath moulded] and kindleth fire thereunder. when the baking is at an end and he goeth about to take forth that which is in the oven, he findeth no help for it but that he must break some thereof, whilst other some are what the folk need and whereof they make use, and yet other some there be that return to their whilom case. wherefore fear thou not to adduce that which thou knowest of the craft of women, for that in this is profit for all folk." then said shehrzad, "they avouch, o king, (but god [alone] knowest the secret things,) that el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari and the sixteen officers of police.[fn# ] there was once in the land [of egypt and] the city of cairo, [under the dynasty] of the turks,[fn# ] a king of the valiant kings and the exceeding mighty sultans, by name el melik ez zahir rukneddin bibers el bunducdari.[fn# ] he was used to storm the islamite strongholds and the fortresses of the coast[fn# ] and the nazarene citadels, and the governor of his [capital] city was just to the folk, all of them. now el melik ez zahir was passionately fond of stories of the common folk and of that which men purposed and loved to see this with his eyes and hear their sayings with his ears, and it befell that he heard one night from one of his story-tellers[fn# ] that among women are those who are doughtier than men of valour and greater of excellence and that among them are those who will do battle with the sword and others who cozen the quickest-witted of magistrates and baffle them and bring down on them all manner of calamity; whereupon quoth the sultan, 'i would fain hear this of their craft from one of those who have had to do theiewith, so i may hearken unto him and cause him tell.' and one of the story-tellers said, 'o king, send for the chief of the police of the town.' now ilmeddin senjer was at that time master of police and he was a man of experience, well versed in affairs: so the king sent for him and when he came before him, he discovered to him that which was in his mind. quoth ilmeddin senjer, 'i will do my endeavour for that which our lord the sultan seeketh.' then he arose and returning to his house, summoned the captains of the watch and the lieutenants of police and said to them, 'know that i purpose to marry my son and make him a bride-feast, and it is my wish that ye assemble, all of you, in one place. i also will be present, i and my company, and do ye relate that which ye have heard of extraordinary occurrences and that which hath betided you of experiences.' and the captains and sergeants and agents of police made answer to him, saying, 'it is well: in the name of god! we will cause thee see all this with thine eyes and hear it with thine ears.' then the master of police arose and going up to el melik ez zahir, informed him that the assembly would take place on such a day at his house; and the sultan said, 'it is well,' and gave him somewhat of money for his expenses. when the appointed day arrived, the chief of the police set apart for his officers a saloon, that had windows ranged in order and giving upon the garden, and el melik ez zahir came to him, and he seated himself, he and the sultan, in the alcove. then the tables were spread unto them for eating and they ate; and when the cup went round amongst them and their hearts were gladdened with meat and drink, they related that which was with them and discovered their secrets from concealment. the first to relate was a man, a captain of the watch, by name muineddin, whose heart was engrossed with the love of women; and he said, 'harkye, all ye people of [various] degree, i will acquaint you with an extraordinary affair which befell me aforetime. know that the first officer's story. when i entered the service of this amir,[fn# ] i had a great repute and every lewd fellow feared me of all mankind, and whenas i rode through the city, all the folk would point at me with their fingers and eyes. it befell one day, as i sat in the house of the prefecture, with my back against a wall, considering in myself, there fell somewhat in my lap, and behold, it was a purse sealed and tied. so i took it in my hand and behold, it had in it a hundred dirhems,[fn# ] but i found not who threw it and i said, "extolled be the perfection of god, the king of the kingdoms!"[fn# ] another day, [as i sat on like wise,] somewhat fell on me and startled me, and behold, it was a purse like the first. so i took it and concealing its affair, made as if i slept, albeit sleep was not with me. one day, as i was thus feigning sleep, i felt a hand in my lap, and in it a magnificent purse. so i seized the hand and behold, it was that of a fair woman. quoth i to her, "o my lady, who art thou?" and she said, "rise [and come away] from here, that i may make myself known to thee." so i arose and following her, fared on, without tarrying, till she stopped at the door of a lofty house, whereupon quoth i to her,"o my lady, who art thou? indeed, thou hast done me kindness, and what is the reason of this?" "by allah," answered she, "o captain mum, i am a woman on whom desire and longing are sore for the love of the daughter of the cadi amin el hukm. now there was between us what was and the love of her fell upon my heart and i agreed with her upon meeting, according to possibility and convenience. but her father amin el hukm took her and went away, and my heart cleaveth to her and love-longing and distraction are sore upon me on her account." i marvelled at her words and said to her, "what wouldst thou have me do?" and she answered, "o captain muin, i would have thee give me a helping hand." quoth i, "what have i to do with the daughter of the cadi amin el hukm?" and she said, "know that i would not have thee intrude upon the cadi's daughter, but i would fain contrive for the attainment of my wishes.' this is my intent and my desire, and my design will not be accomplished but by thine aid." then said she, "i mean this night to go with a stout heart and hire me trinkets of price; then will i go and sit in the street wherein is the house of amin el hukm; and when it is the season of the round and the folk are asleep, do thou pass, thou and those who are with thee of the police, and thou wilt see me sitting and on me fine raiment and ornaments and wilt smell on me the odour of perfumes; whereupon do thou question me of my case and i will say, 'i come from the citadel and am of the daughters of the deputies[fn# ] and i came down [into the town,] to do an occasion; but the night overtook me at unawares and the zuweyleh gate was shut against me and all the gates and i knew not whither i should go this night presently i saw this street and noting the goodliness of its ordinance and its cleanness, took shelter therein against break of day.' when i say this to thee with all assurance[fn# ] the chief of the watch will have no suspicion of me, but will say, 'needs must we leave her with one who will take care of her till morning.' and do thou rejoin, 'it were most fitting that she pass the night with amin el hukm and lie with his family and children till the morning.' then do thou straightway knock at the cadi's door, and thus shall i have gained admission into his house, without inconvenience, and gotten my desire; and peace be on thee!" and i said to her, "by allah, this is an easy matter." so, when the night darkened, we sallied forth to make our round, attended by men with sharp swords, and went round about the streets and compassed the city, till we came to the by-street where was the woman, and it was the middle of the night here we smelt rich scents and heard the clink of earrings; so i said to my comrades, "methinks i spy an apparition," and the captain of the watch said, "see what it is." so i came forward and entering the lane, came presently out again and said, "i have found a fair woman and she tells me that she is from the citadel and that the night surprised her and she espied this street and seeing its cleanness and the goodliness of its ordinance, knew that it appertained to a man of rank and that needs must there be in it a guardian to keep watch over it, wherefore she took shelter therein." quoth the captain of the watch to me, "take her and carry her to thy house." but i answered, "i seek refuge with allah![fn# ] my house is no place of deposit[fn# ] and on this woman are trinkets and apparel [of price]. by allah, we will not deposit her save with amin el hukrn, in whose street she hath been since the first of the darkness; wherefore do thou leave her with him till the break of day." and he said, "as thou wilt." accordingly, i knocked at the cadi's door and out came a black slave of his slaves, to whom said i, "o my lord, take this woman and let her be with you till break of day, for that the lieutenant of the amir ilmeddin hath found her standing at the door of your house, with trinkets and apparel [of price] on her, and we feared lest her responsibility be upon you;[fn# ] wherefore it is most fit that she pass the night with you." so the slave opened and took her in with him. when the morning morrowed, the first who presented himself before the amir was the cadi amin el hukm, leaning on two of his black slaves; and he was crying out and calling [on god] for aid and saying, "o crafty and perfidious amir, thou depositedst with me a woman [yesternight] and broughtest her into my house and my dwelling-place, and she arose [in the night] and took from me the good of the little orphans,[fn# ] six great bags, [containing each a thousand dinars,[fn# ] and made off;] but as for me, i will say no more to thee except in the sultan's presence."[fn# ] when the master of the police heard these words, he was troubled and rose and sat down; then he took the cadi and seating him by his side, soothed him and exhorted him to patience, till he had made an end of talk, when he turned to the officers and questioned them. they fixed the affair on me and said, "we know nothing of this affair but from captain muineddin." so the cadi turned to me and said, "thou wast of accord with this woman, for she said she came from the citadel." as for me, i stood, with my head bowed to the earth, forgetting both institutes and canons,[fn# ] and abode sunk in thought, saying, "how came i to be the dupe of yonder worthless baggage?" then said the amir to me, "what aileth thee that thou answerest not?" and i answered, saying, "o my lord, it is a custom among the folk that he who hath a payment to make at a certain date is allowed three days' grace; [so do thou have patience with me so long,] and if, [by the end of that time,] the culprit be not found, i will be answerable for that which is lost." when the folk heard my speech, they all deemed it reasonable and the master of police turned to the cadi and swore to him that he would do his utmost endeavour to recover the stolen money and that it should be restored to him. so he went away, whilst i mounted forthright and fell to going round about the world without purpose, and indeed i was become under the dominion of a woman without worth or honour; and i went round about on this wise all that my day and night, but happened not upon tidings of her; and thus i did on the morrow. on the third day i said to myself, "thou art mad or witless!" for i was going about in quest of a woman who knew me and i knew her not, seeing that indeed she was veiled, [whenas i saw her]. then i went round about the third day till the hour of afternoon prayer, and sore was my concern and my chagrin, for i knew that there abode to me of my life but [till] the morrow, when the chief of the police would seek me. when it was the time of sundown, i passed through one of the streets, and beheld a woman at a window. her door was ajar and she was clapping her hands and casting furtive glances at me, as who should say, "come up by the door." so i went up, without suspicion, and when i entered, she rose and clasped me to her breast marvelled at her affair and she said to me, "i am she whom thou depositedst with amin el hukm." quoth i to her, "o my sister, i have been going round and round in quest of thee, for indeed thou hast done a deed that will be chronicled in history and hast cast me into slaughter[fn# ] on thine account." "sayst thou this to me," asked she, "and thou captain of men?" and i answered, "how should i not be troubled, seeing that i am in concern [for an affair] that i turn over and over [in my mind], more by token that i abide my day long going about [searching for thee] and in the night i watch its stars [for wakefulness]?" quoth she, "nought shall betide but good, and thou shalt get the better of him." so saying, she rose [and going] to a chest, took out therefrom six bags full of gold and said to me, "this is what i took from amin el hukm's house. so, if thou wilt, restore it; else the whole is lawfully thine; and if thou desire other than this, [thou shalt have it;] for i have wealth in plenty and i had no design in this but to marry thee." then she arose and opening [other] chests, brought out therefrom wealth galore and i said to her, "o my sister, i have no desire for all this, nor do i covet aught but to be quit of that wherein i am." quoth she, "i came not forth of the [cadi's] house without [making provision for] thine acquittance." then said she to me, "to-morrow morning, when amin el hukm cometh, have patience with him till he have made an end of his speech, and when he is silent, return him no answer; and if the prefect say to thee, 'what ailest thee that thou answereth him not?' do thou reply, 'o lord, know that the two words are not alike, but there is no [helper] for him who is undermost[fn# ], save god the most high.'[fn# ] the cadi will say, 'what is the meaning of thy saying," the two words are not alike"?' and do thou make answer, saying, 'i deposited with thee a damsel from the palace of the sultan, and most like some losel of thy household hath transgressed against her or she hath been privily murdered. indeed, there were on her jewels and raiment worth a thousand dinars, and hadst thou put those who are with thee of slaves and slave-girls to the question, thou hadst assuredly lit on some traces [of the crime].' when he heareth this from thee, his agitation will redouble and he will be confounded and will swear that needs must thou go with him to his house; but do thou say, 'that will i not do, for that i am the party aggrieved, more by token that i am under suspicion with thee.' if he redouble in calling [on god for aid] and conjure thee by the oath of divorce, saying, 'needs must thou come,' do thou say, 'by allah, i will not go, except the prefect come also.' when thou comest to the house, begin by searching the roofs; then search the closets and cabinets; and if thou find nought, humble thyself unto the cadi and make a show of abjection and feign thyself defeated, and after stand at the door and look as if thou soughtest a place wherein to make water, for that there is a dark corner there. then come forward, with a heart stouter than granite, and lay hold upon a jar of the jars and raise it from its place. thou wilt find under it the skirt of a veil; bring it out publicly and call the prefect in a loud voice, before those who are present. then open it and thou wilt find it full of blood, exceeding of redness,[fn# ] and in it [thou wilt find also] a woman's shoes and a pair of trousers and somewhat of linen." when i heard this from her, i rose to go out and she said to me, "take these hundred dinars, so they may advantage thee; and this is my guest-gift to thee." so i took them and bidding her farewell, returned to my lodging. next morning, up came the cadi, with his face like the ox-eye,[fn# ] and said, "in the name of god, where is my debtor and where is my money?" then he wept and cried out and said to the prefect, "where is that ill-omened fellow, who aboundeth in thievery and villainy?" therewith the prefect turned to me and said, "why dost thou not answer the cadi?" and i replied, "o amir, the two heads[fn# ] are not equal, and i, i have no helper but god; but, if the right be on my side, it will appear." at this the cadi cried out and said, "out on thee, o ill-omened fellow! how wilt thou make out that the right is on thy side?" "o our lord the cadi," answered i, "i deposited with thee a trust, to wit, a woman whom we found at thy door, and on her raiment and trinkets of price. now she is gone, even as yesterday is gone; and after this thou turnest upon us and makest claim upon me for six thousand dinars. by allah, this is none other than gross unright, and assuredly some losel of thy household hath transgressed against her!" with this the cadi's wrath redoubled and he swore by the most solemn of oaths that i should go with him and search his house. "by allah," replied i, "i will not go, except the prefect be with us; for, if he be present, he and the officers, thou wilt not dare to presume upon me." and the cadi rose and swore an oath, saying, "by him who created mankind, we will not go but with the amir!" so we repaired to the cadi's house, accompanied by the prefect, and going up, searched high and low, but found nothing; whereupon fear gat hold upon me and the prefect turned to me and said, "out on thee, o ill-omened fellow! thou puttest us to shame before the men." and i wept and went round about right and left, with the tears running down my face, till we were about to go forth and drew near the door of the house. i looked at the place [behind the door] and said, "what is yonder dark place that i see?" and i said to the sergeants, "lift up this jar with me." they did as i bade them and i saw somewhat appearing under the jar and said, "rummage and see what is under it." so they searched and found a woman's veil and trousers full of blood, which when i beheld, i fell down in a swoon. when the prefect saw this, he said, "by allah, the captain is excused!" then my comrades came round about me and sprinkled water on my face, [till i came to myself,] when i arose and accosting the cadi, who was covered with confusion, said to him, "thou seest that suspicion is fallen on thee, and indeed this affair is no light matter, for that this woman's family will assuredly not sit down under her loss." therewith the cadi's heart quaked and he knew that the suspicion had reverted upon him, wherefore his colour paled and his limbs smote together; and he paid of his own money, after the measure of that which he had lost, so we would hush up the matter for him.[fn# ] then we departed from him in peace, whilst i said in myself, "indeed, the woman deceived me not." after that i tarried till three days had elapsed, when went to the bath and changing my clothes, betook myself to her house, but found the door locked and covered with dust. so i questioned the neighbours of her and they said, "this house hath been empty these many days; but three days agone there came a woman with an ass, and yesternight, at eventide, she took her gear and went away." so i turned back, confounded in my wit, and every day [after this, for many a day,] i inquired of the inhabitants [of the street] concerning her, but could light on no tidings of her. and indeed i marvelled at the eloquence of her tongue and [the readiness of] her speech; and this is the most extraordinary of that which hath betided me.' when el melik ez zahir heard muineddin's story, he marvelled thereat then rose another officer and said, 'o lord, bear what befell me in bygone days. the second officer's story. i was once an officer in the household of the amir jemaleddin el atwesh el mujhidi, who was invested with the governance of the eastern and western districts,[fn# ] and i was dear to his heart and he concealed from me nought of that which he purposed to do; and withal he was master of his reason.[fn# ] it chanced one day that it was reported to him that the daughter of such an one had wealth galore and raiment and jewels and she loved a jew, whom every day she invited to be private with her, and they passed the day eating and drinking in company and he lay the night with her. the prefect feigned to give no credence to this story, but one night he summoned the watchmen of the quarter and questioned them of this. quoth one of them, "o my lord, i saw a jew enter the street in question one night; but know not for certain to whom he went in." and the prefect said, "keep thine eye on him henceforth and note what place he entereth." so the watchman went out and kept his eye on the jew. one day, as the prefect sat [in his house], the watchman came in to him and said, "o my lord, the jew goeth to the house of such an one." whereupon el atwesh arose and went forth alone, taking with him none but myself. as he went along, he said to me, "indeed, this [woman] is a fat piece of meat."[fn# ] and we gave not over going till we came to the door of the house and stood there till a slave-girl came out, as if to buy them somewhat. we waited till she opened the door, whereupon, without further parley, we forced our way into the house and rushed in upon the girl, whom we found seated with the jew in a saloon with four estrades, and cooking-pots and candles therein. when her eyes fell on the prefect, she knew him and rising to her feet, said, "welcome and fair welcome! great honour hath betided me by my lord's visit and indeed thou honourest my dwelling." then she carried him up [to the estrade] and seating him on the couch, brought him meat and wine and gave him to drink; after which she put off all that was upon her of raiment and jewels and tying them up in a handkerchief, said to him, "o my lord, this is thy portion, all of it." moreover she turned to the jew and said to him, "arise, thou also, and do even as i." so he arose in haste and went out, scarce crediting his deliverance. when the girl was assured of his escape, she put out her hand to her clothes [and jewels] and taking them, said to the prefect, "is the requital of kindness other than kindness? thou hast deigned [to visit me and eat of my victual]; so now arise and depart from us without ill-[doing]; or i will give one cry and all who are in the street will come forth." so the amir went out from her, without having gotten a single dirhem; and on this wise she delivered the jew by the excellence of her contrivance.' the folk marvelled at this story and as for the prefect and el melik ez zahir, they said, 'wrought ever any the like of this device?' and they marvelled with the utterest of wonderment then arose a third officer and said, 'hear what betided me, for it is yet stranger and more extraordinary. the third officer's story i was one day abroad on an occasion with certain of my comrades, and as we went along, we fell in with a company of women, as they were moons, and among them one, the tallest and handsomest of them. when i saw her and she saw me, she tarried behind her companions and waited for me, till i came up to her and bespoke her. quoth she, "o my lord, (god favour thee!) i saw thee prolong thy looking on me and imagined that thou knewest me. if it be thus, vouchsafe me more knowledge of thee." "by allah," answered i, "i know thee not, save that god the most high hath cast the love of thee into my heart and the goodliness of thine attributes hath confounded me and that wherewith god hath gifted thee of those eyes that shoot with arrows; for thou hast captivated me." and she rejoined, "by allah, i feel the like of that which thou feelest; so that meseemeth i have known thee from childhood." then said i, "a man cannot well accomplish all whereof he hath need in the market-places." "hast thou a house?" asked she. "no, by allah," answered i; "nor is this town my dwelling-place." "by allah," rejoined she, "nor have i a place; but i will contrive for thee." then she went on before me and i followed her till she came to a lodging-house and said to the housekeeper, "hast thou an empty chamber?" "yes," answered she; and my mistress said, "give us the key." so we took the key and going up to see the room, entered it; after which she went out to the housekeeper and [giving her a dirhem], said to her, "take the key-money,[fn# ] for the room pleaseth us, and here is another dirhem for thy trouble. go, fetch us a pitcher of water, so we may [refresh ourselves] and rest till the time of the noonday siesta pass and the heat decline, when the man will go and fetch the [household] stuff." therewith the housekeeper rejoiced and brought us a mat and two pitchers of water on a tray and a leather rug. we abode thus till the setting-in of the time of mid-afternoon, when she said, "needs must i wash before i go." quoth i, "get water wherewithal we may wash," and pulled out from my pocket about a score of dirhems, thinking to give them to her; but she said, "i seek refuge with god!" and brought out of her pocket a handful of silver, saying, "but for destiny and that god hath caused the love of thee fall into my heart, there had not happened that which hath happened." quoth i, "take this in requital of that which thou hast spent;" and she said, "o my lord, by and by, whenas companionship is prolonged between us, thou wilt see if the like of me looketh unto money and gain or no." then she took a pitcher of water and going into the lavatory, washed[fn# ] and presently coming forth, prayed and craved pardon of god the most high for that which she had done. now i had questioned her of her name and she answered, "my name is rihaneh," and described to me her dwelling-place. when i saw her make the ablution, i said in myself, "this woman doth on this wise, and shall i not do the like of her?" then said i to her, "belike thou wilt seek us another pitcher of water?" so she went out to the housekeeper and said to her, "take this para and fetch us water therewith, so we may wash the flags withal." accordingly, the housekeeper brought two pitchers of water and i took one of them and giving her my clothes, entered the lavatory and washed. when i had made an end of washing, i cried out, saying, "harkye, my lady rihaneh!" but none answered me. so i went out and found her not; and indeed she had taken my clothes and that which was therein of money, to wit, four hundred dirhems. moreover, she had taken my turban and my handkerchief and i found not wherewithal to cover my nakedness; wherefore i suffered somewhat than which death is less grievous and abode looking about the place, so haply i might espy wherewithal to hide my shame. then i sat a little and presently going up to the door, smote upon it; whereupon up came the housekeeper and i said to her, "o my sister, what hath god done with the woman who was here?" quoth she, "she came down but now and said, 'i am going to cover the boys with the clothes and i have left him sleeping. if he awake, tell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.'" then said i, "o my sister, secrets are [safe] with the worthy and the freeborn. by allah, this woman is not my wife, nor ever in my life have i seen her before this day!" and i recounted to her the whole affair and begged her to cover me, informing her that i was discovered of the privities. she laughed and cried out to the women of the house, saying, "ho, fatimeh! ho, khedijeh! ho, herifeh! ho, senineh!" whereupon all those who were in the place of women and neighbours flocked to me and fell a-laughing at me and saying, "o blockhead, what ailed thee to meddle with gallantry?" then one of them came and looked in my face and laughed, and another said, "by allah, thou mightest have known that she lied, from the time she said she loved thee and was enamoured of thee? what is there in thee to love?" and a third said, "this is an old man without understanding." and they vied with each other in making mock of me, what while i suffered sore chagrin. however, after awhile, one of the women took pity on me and brought me a rag of thin stuff and cast it on me. with this i covered my privities, and no more, and abode awhile thus. then said i in myself, "the husbands of these women will presently gather together on me and i shall be disgraced." so i went out by another door of the house, and young and old crowded about me, running after me and saying, "a madman! a madman!" till i came to my house and knocked at the door; whereupon out came my wife and seeing me naked, tall, bareheaded, cried out and ran in again, saying,"this is a madman, a satan!" but, when she and my family knew me, they rejoiced and said to me, "what aileth thee?" i told them that thieves had taken my clothes and stripped me and had been like to kill me; and when i told them that they would have killed me, they praised god the most high and gave me joy of my safety. so consider the craft of this woman and this device that she practised upon me, for all my pretensions to sleight and quickwittedness.' the company marvelled at this story and at the doings of women. then came forward a fourth officer and said, 'verily, that which hath betided me of strange adventures is yet more extraordinary than this; and it was on this wise. the fourth officer's story. we were sleeping one night on the roof, when a woman made her way into the house and gathering into a bundle all that was therein, took it up, that she might go away with it. now she was great with child and near upon her term and the hour of her deliverance; so, when she made up the bundle and offered to shoulder it and make off with it, she hastened the coming of the pangs of labour and gave birth to a child in the dark. then she sought for the flint and steel and striking a light, kindled the lamp and went round about the house with the little one, and it was weeping. [the noise awoke us,] as we lay on the roof, and we marvelled. so we arose, to see what was to do, and looking down through the opening of the saloon,[fn# ] saw a woman, who had kindled the lamp, and heard the little one weeping. she heard our voices and raising her eyes to us, said, "are ye not ashamed to deal with us thus and discover our nakedness? know ye not that the day belongeth to you and the night to us? begone from us! by allah, were it not that ye have been my neighbours these [many] years, i would bring down the house upon you!" we doubted not but that she was of the jinn and drew back our heads; but, when we arose on the morrow, we found that she had taken all that was with us and made off with it; wherefore we knew that she was a thief and had practised [on us] a device, such as was never before practised; and we repented, whenas repentance advantaged us not.' when the company heard this story, they marvelled thereat with the utmost wonderment. then the fifth officer, who was the lieutenant of the bench,[fn# ] came forward and said, '[this is] no wonder and there befell me that which is rarer and more extraordinary than this. the fifth officer's story. as i sat one day at the door of the prefecture, a woman entered and said to me privily, "o my lord, i am the wife of such an one the physician, and with him is a company of the notables[fn# ] of the city, drinking wine in such a place." when i heard this, i misliked to make a scandal; so i rebuffed her and sent her away. then i arose and went alone to the place in question and sat without till the door opened, when i rushed in and entering, found the company engaged as the woman had set out, and she herself with them. i saluted them and they returned my greeting and rising, entreated me with honour and seated me and brought me to eat. then i informed them how one had denounced them to me, but i had driven him[fn# ] away and come to them by myself; wherefore they thanked me and praised me for my goodness. then they brought out to me from among them two thousand dirhems[fn# ] and i took them and went away. two months after this occurrence, there came to me one of the cadi's officers, with a scroll, wherein was the magistrate's writ, summoning me to him. so i accompanied the officer and went in to the cadi, whereupon the plaintiff, to wit, he who had taken out the summons, sued me for two thousand dirhems, avouching that i had borrowed them of him as the woman's agent.[fn# ] i denied the debt, but he produced against me a bond for the amount, attested by four of those who were in company [on the occasion]; and they were present and bore witness to the loan. so i reminded them of my kindness and paid the amount, swearing that i would never again follow a woman's counsel. is not this marvellous?' the company marvelled at the goodliness of his story and it pleased el melik ez zahir; and the prefect said, 'by allah, this story is extraordinary!' then came forward the sixth officer and said to the company, 'hear my story and that which befell me, to wit, that which befell such an one the assessor, for it is rarer than this and stranger. the sixth officer's story. a certain assessor was one day taken with a woman and much people assembled before his house and the lieutenant of police and his men came to him and knocked at the door. the assessor looked out of window and seeing the folk, said, "what aileth you?" quoth they, "[come,] speak with the lieutenant of police such an one." so he came down and they said to him, "bring forth the woman that is with thee." quoth he, "are ye not ashamed? how shall i bring forth my wife?" and they said, "is she thy wife by contract[fn# ] or without contract?" ["by contract,"] answered he, "according to the book of god and the institutes of his apostle." "where is the contract?" asked they; and he replied, "her contract is in her mother's house." quoth they, "arise and come down and show us the contract." and he said to them, "go from her way, so she may come forth." now, as soon as he got wind of the matter, he had written the contract and fashioned it after her fashion, to suit with the case, and written therein the names of certain of his friends as witnesses and forged the signatures of the drawer and the wife's next friend and made it a contract of marriage with his wife and appointed it for an excuse.[fn# ] so, when the woman was about to go out from him, he gave her the contract that be had forged, and the amir sent with her a servant of his, to bring her to her father. so the servant went with her and when she came to her door, she said to him, "i will not return to the citation of the amir; but let the witnesses[fn# ] present themselves and take my contract." accordingly, the servant carried this message to the lieutenant of police, who was standing at the assessor's door, and he said, "this is reasonable." then said [the assessor] to the servant, "harkye, o eunuch! go and fetch us such an one the notary;" for that he was his friend [and it was he whose name he had forged as the drawer-up of the contract]. so the lieutenant of police sent after him and fetched him to the assessor, who, when he saw him, said to him, "get thee to such an one, her with whom thou marriedst me, and cry out upon her, and when she cometh to thee, demand of her the contract and take it from her and bring it to us." and he signed to him, as who should say, "bear me out in the lie and screen me, for that she is a strange woman and i am in fear of the lieutenant of police who standeth at the door; and we beseech god the most high to screen us and you from the trouble of this world. amen." so the notary went up to the lieutenant, who was among the witnesses, and said "it is well. is she not such an one whose marriage contract we drew up in such a place?" then he betook himself to the woman's house and cried out upon her; whereupon she brought him the [forged] contract and he took it and returned with it to the lieutenant of police. when the latter had taken cognizance [of the document and professed himself satisfied, the assessor] said [to the notary,] "go to our lord and master, the cadi of the cadis, and acquaint him with that which befalleth his assessors." the notary rose to go, but the lieutenant of police feared [for himself] and was profuse in beseeching the assessor and kissing his hands, till he forgave him; whereupon the lieutenant went away in the utterest of concern and affright. on this wise the assessor ordered the case and carried out the forgery and feigned marriage with the woman; [and thus was calamity warded off from him] by the excellence of his contrivance."[fn# ] the folk marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment and the seventh officer said, 'there befell me in alexandria the [god-]guarded a marvellous thing, [and it was that one told me the following story]. the seventh officer's story. there came one day an old woman [to the stuff-market], with a casket of precious workmanship, containing trinkets, and she was accompanied by a damsel great with child. the old woman sat down at the shop of a draper and giving him to know that the damsel was with child by the prefect of police of the city, took of him, on credit, stuffs to the value of a thousand dinars and deposited with him the casket as security. [she opened the casket and] showed him that which was therein; and he found it full of trinkets [apparently] of price; [so he trusted her with the goods] and she took leave of him and carrying the stuffs to the damsel, who was with her, [went her way]. then the old woman was absent from him a great while, and when her absence was prolonged, the draper despaired of her; so he went up to the prefect's house and enquired of the woman of his household, [who had taken his stuffs on credit;] but could get no tidings of her nor lit on aught of her trace. then he brought out the casket of jewellery [and showed it to an expert,] who told him that the trinkets were gilt and that their worth was but an hundred dirhems. when he heard this, he was sore concerned thereat and presenting himself before the sultan's deputy, made his complaint to him; whereupon the latter knew that a trick had been put off upon him and that the folk had cozened him and gotten the better of him and taken his stuffs. now the magistrate in question was a man of good counsel and judgment, well versed in affairs; so he said to the draper, "remove somewhat from thy shop, [and amongst the rest the casket,] and on the morrow break the lock and cry out and come to me and complain that they have plundered all thy shop. moreover, do thou call [upon god for succour] and cry aloud and acquaint the folk, so that all the people may resort to thee and see the breach of the lock and that which is missing from thy shop; and do thou show it to every one who presenteth himself, so the news may be noised abroad, and tell them that thy chief concern is for a casket of great value, deposited with thee by a great man of the town and that thou standest in fear of him. but be thou not afraid and still say in thy converse, 'my casket belonged to such an one, and i fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, o company and all ye who are present, i call you to witness of this for me.' and if there be with thee more than this talk, [say it;] and the old woman will come to thee." the draper answered with "hearkening and obedience" and going forth from the deputy's presence, betook himself to his shop and brought out thence [the casket and] somewhat considerable, which he removed to his house. at break of day he arose and going to his shop, broke the lock and cried out and shrieked and called [on god for help,] till the folk assembled about him and all who were in the city were present, whereupon he cried out to them, saying even as the prefect had bidden him; and this was bruited abroad. then he made for the prefecture and presenting himself before the chief of the police, cried out and complained and made a show of distraction. after three days, the old woman came to him and bringing him the [thousand dinars, the] price of the stuffs, demanded the casket.[fn# ] when he saw her, he laid hold of her and carried her to the prefect of the city; and when she came before the cadi, he said to her, "o sataness, did not thy first deed suffice thee, but thou must come a second time?" quoth she, "i am of those who seek their salvation[fn# ] in the cities, and we foregather every month; and yesterday we foregathered." "canst thou [bring me to] lay hold of them?" asked the prefect; and she answered, "yes; but, if thou wait till to-morrow, they will have dispersed. so i will deliver them to thee to-night." quoth he to her, "go;" and she said, "send with me one who shall go with me to them and obey me in that which i shall say to him, and all that i bid him he shall give ear unto and obey me therein." so he gave her a company of men and she took them and bringing them to a certain door, said to them, "stand at this door, and whoso cometh out to you, lay hands on him; and i will come out to you last of all." "hearkening and obedience," answered they and stood at the door, whilst the old woman went in. they waited a long while, even as the sultan's deputy had bidden them, but none came out to them and their standing was prolonged. when they were weary of waiting, they went up to the door and smote upon it heavily and violently, so that they came nigh to break the lock. then one of them entered and was absent a long while, but found nought; so he returned to his comrades and said to them,"this is the door of a passage, leading to such a street; and indeed she laughed at you and left you and went away."when they heard his words, they returned to the amir and acquainted him with the case, whereby he knew that the old woman was a crafty trickstress and that she had laughed at them and cozened them and put a cheat on them, to save herself. consider, then, the cunning of this woman and that which she contrived of wiles, for all her lack of foresight in presenting herself [a second time] to the draper and not apprehending that his conduct was but a trick; yet, when she found herself in danger, she straightway devised a shift for her deliverance.' when the company heard the seventh officer's story, they were moved to exceeding mirth, and el melik ez zahir bibers rejoiced in that which he heard and said, 'by allah, there betide things in this world, from which kings are shut out, by reason of their exalted station!" then came forward another man from amongst the company and said, 'there hath reached me from one of my friends another story bearing on the malice of women and their craft, and it is rarer and more extraordinary and more diverting than all that hath been told to you." quoth the company, 'tell us thy story and expound it unto us, so we may see that which it hath of extraordinary.' and he said 'know, then, that the eighth officer's story. a friend of mine once invited me to an entertainment; so i went with him, and when we came into his house and sat down on his couch, he said to me, "this is a blessed day and a day of gladness, and [blessed is] he who liveth to [see] the like of this day. i desire that thou practise with us and deny[fn# ] us not, for that thou hast been used to hearken unto those who occupy themselves with this."[fn# ] i fell in with this and their talk happened upon the like of this subject.[fn# ] presently, my friend, who had invited me, arose from among them and said to them, "hearken to me and i will tell you of an adventure that happened to me. there was a certain man who used to visit me in my shop, and i knew him not nor he me, nor ever in his life had he seen me; but he was wont, whenever he had need of a dirhem or two, by way of loan, to come to me and ask me, without acquaintance or intermediary between me and him, [and i would give him what he sought]. i told none of him, and matters abode thus between us a long while, till he fell to borrowing ten at twenty dirhems [at a time], more or less. one day, as i stood in my shop, there came up to me a woman and stopped before me; and she as she were the full moon rising from among the stars, and the place was illumined by her light. when i saw her, i fixed my eyes on her and stared in her face; and she bespoke me with soft speech. when i heard her words and the sweetness of her speech, i lusted after her; and when she saw that i lusted after her, she did her occasion and promising me [to come again], went away, leaving my mind occupied with her and fire kindled in my heart. then i abode, perplexed and pondering my affair, whilst fire flamed in my heart, till the third day, when she came again and i scarce credited her coming. when i saw her, i talked with her and cajoled her and courted her and strove to win her favour with speech and invited her [to my house]; but she answered, saying, 'i will not go up into any one's house.' quoth i, 'i will go with thee;' and she said, 'arise and come with me.' so i arose and putting in my sleeve a handkerchief, wherein was a good sum of money, followed the woman, who went on before me and gave not over walking till she brought me to a by-street and to a door, which she bade me open. i refused and she opened it and brought me into the vestibule. as soon as i had entered, she locked the door of entrance from within and said to me, 'sit [here] till i go in to the slave-girls and cause them enter a place where they shall not see me.' 'it is well,' answered i and sat down; whereupon she entered and was absent from me a moment, after which she returned to me, without a veil, and said, 'arise, [enter,] in the name of god.'[fn# ] so i arose and went in after her and we gave not over going till we entered a saloon. when i examined the place, i found it neither handsome nor agreeable, but unseemly and desolate, without symmetry or cleanliness; nay, it was loathly to look upon and there was a foul smell in it. i seated myself amiddleward the saloon, misdoubting, and as i sat, there came down on me from the estrade seven naked men, without other clothing than leather girdles about their waists. one of them came up to me and took my turban, whilst another took my handkerchief, that was in my sleeve, with my money, and a third stripped me of my clothes; after which a fourth came and bound my hands behind me with his girdle. then they all took me up, pinioned as i was, and casting me down, fell a-dragging me towards a sink-hole that was there and were about to cut my throat, when, behold, there came a violent knocking at the door. when they heard this, they were afraid and their minds were diverted from me by fear; so the woman went out and presently returning, said to them, 'fear not; no harm shall betide you this day. it is only your comrade who hath brought you your noon-meal.' with this the new-comer entered, bringing with him a roasted lamb; and when he came in to them, he said to them, 'what is to do with you, that ye have tucked up [your sleeves and trousers]?' quoth they, '[this is] a piece of game we have caught.' when he heard this, he came up to me and looking in my face, cried out and said, 'by allah, this is my brother, the son of my mother and father! allah! allah!' then he loosed me from my bonds and kissed my head, and behold it was my friend who used to borrow money of me. when i kissed his head, he kissed mine and said, 'o my brother, be not affrighted.' then he called for my clothes [and money and restored to me all that had been taken from me] nor was aught missing to me. moreover, he brought me a bowl full of [sherbet of] sugar, with lemons therein, and gave me to drink thereof; and the company came and seated me at a table. so i ate with them and he said to me, 'o my lord and my brother, now have bread and salt passed between us and thou hast discovered our secret and [become acquainted with] our case; but secrets [are safe] with the noble.' quoth i, 'as i am a lawfully-begotten child, i will not name aught [of this] neither denounce [you!*]' and they assured themselves of me by an oath. then they brought me out and i went my way, scarce crediting but that i was of the dead. i abode in my house, ill, a whole month; after which i went to the bath and coming out, opened my shop [and sat selling and buying as usual], but saw no more of the man or the woman, till, one day, there stopped before my shop a young man, [a turcoman], as he were the full moon; and he was a sheep-merchant and had with him a bag, wherein was money, the price of sheep that he had sold. he was followed by the woman, and when he stopped at my shop, she stood by his side and cajoled him, and indeed he inclined to her with a great inclination. as for me, i was consumed with solicitude for him and fell to casting furtive glances at him and winked at him, till he chanced to look round and saw me winking at him; whereupon the woman looked at me and made a sign with her hand and went away. the turcoman followed her and i counted him dead, without recourse; wherefore i feared with an exceeding fear and shut my shop. then i journeyed for a year's space and returning, opened my shop; whereupon, behold, the woman came up to me and said, 'this is none other than a great absence.' quoth i, 'i have been on a journey;' and she said, 'why didst thou wink at the turcoman?' 'god forbid!' answered i. 'i did not wink at him.' quoth she, 'beware lest thou cross me;' and went away. awhile after this a friend of mine invited me to his house and when i came to him, we ate and drank and talked. then said he to me, 'o my friend, hath there befallen thee in thy life aught of calamity?' 'nay,' answered i; 'but tell me [first], hath there befallen thee aught?' ['yes,'] answered he. 'know that one day i espied a fair woman; so i followed her and invited her [to come home with me]. quoth she, "i will not enter any one's house; but come thou to my house, if thou wilt, and be it on such a day." accordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger came to me, purposing to carry me to her; so i arose and went with him, till we came to a handsome house and a great door. he opened the door and i entered, whereupon he locked the door [behind me] and would have gone in, but i feared with an exceeding fear and foregoing him to the second door, whereby he would have had me enter, locked it and cried out at him, saying, "by allah, an thou open not to me, i will kill thee; for i am none of those whom thou canst cozen!" quoth he, "what deemest thou of cozenage?" and i said, "verily, i am affrighted at the loneliness of the house and the lack of any at the door thereof; for i see none appear." "o my lord," answered he, "this is a privy door." "privy or public," answered i, "open to me." so he opened to me and i went out and had not gone far from the house when i met a woman, who said to me, "methinks a long life was fore-ordained to thee; else hadst thou not come forth of yonder house." "how so?" asked i, and she answered, "ask thy friend [such an one," naming thee,] "and he will acquaint thee with strange things." so, god on thee, o my friend, tell me what befell thee of wonders and rarities, for i have told thee what befell me.' 'o my brother,' answered i, 'i am bound by a solemn oath.' and he said, 'o my friend, break thine oath and tell me.' quoth i, 'indeed, i fear the issue of this.' [but he importuned me] till i told him all, whereat he marvelled. then i went away from him and abode a long while, [without farther news]. one day, another of my friends came to me and said 'a neighbour of mine hath invited me to hear [music]. [and he would have me go with him;] but i said, 'i will not foregather with any one.' however, he prevailed upon me [to accompany him]; so we repaired to the place and found there a man, who came to meet us and said, '[enter,] in the name of god!' then he pulled out a key and opened the door, whereupon we entered and he locked the door after us. quoth i, 'we are the first of the folk; but where are their voices?'[fn# ] '[they are] within the house,' answered he. 'this is but a privy door; so be not amazed at the absence of the folk.' and my friend said to me, 'behold, we are two, and what can they avail to do with us?' [then he brought us into the house,] and when we entered the saloon, we found it exceeding desolate and repulsive of aspect quoth my friend, 'we are fallen [into a trap]; but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' and i said, 'may god not requite thee for me with good!' then we sat down on the edge of the estrade and presently i espied a closet beside me; so i looked into it and my friend said to me, 'what seest thou?' quoth i, 'i see therein good galore and bodies of murdered folk. look.' so he looked and said, 'by allah, we are lost men!' and we fell a-weeping, i and he. as we were thus, behold, there came in upon us, by the door at which we had entered, four naked men, with girdles of leather about their middles, and made for my friend. he ran at them and dealing one of them a buffet, overthrew him, whereupon the other three fell all upon him. i seized the opportunity to escape, what while they were occupied with him, and espying a door by my side, slipped into it and found myself in an underground chamber, without window or other issue. so i gave myself up for lost and said, 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' then i looked to the top of the vault and saw in it a range of glazed lunettes; so i clambered up for dear life, till i reached the lunettes, and i distracted [for fear]. i made shift to break the glass and scrambling out through the frames, found a wall behind them. so i bestrode the wall and saw folk walking in the road; whereupon i cast myself down to the ground and god the most high preserved me, so that i reached the earth, unhurt. the folk flocked round me and i acquainted them with my story. as fate would have it, the chief of the police was passing through the market; so the people told him [what was to do] and he made for the door and burst it open. we entered with a rush and found the thieves, as they had overthrown my friend and cut his throat; for they occupied not themselves with me, but said, 'whither shall yonder fellow go? indeed, he is in our grasp.' so the prefect took them with the hand[fn# ] and questioned them, and they confessed against the woman and against their associates in cairo. then he took them and went forth, after he had locked up the house and sealed it; and i accompanied him till he came without the [first] house. he found the door locked from within; so he bade break it open and we entered and found another door. this also he caused burst in, enjoining his men to silence till the doors should be opened, and we entered and found the band occupied with a new victim, whom the woman had just brought in and whose throat they were about to cut. the prefect released the man and gave him back all that the thieves had taken from him; and he laid hands on the woman and the rest and took forth of the house treasures galore. amongst the rest, they found the money-bag of the turcoman sheep-merchant. the thieves they nailed up incontinent against the wall of the house, whilst, as for the woman, they wrapped her in one of her veils and nailing her [to a board, set her] upon a camel and went round about the town with her. thus god razed their dwelling-places and did away from me that which i feared. all this befell, whilst i looked on, and i saw not my friend who had saved me from them the first time, whereat i marvelled to the utterest of marvel. however, some days afterward, he came up to me, and indeed he had renounced[fn# ] [the world] and donned a fakir's habit; and he saluted me and went away. then he again began to pay me frequent visits and i entered into converse with him and questioned him of the band and how he came to escape, he alone of them all. quoth he, 'i left them from the day on which god the most high delivered thee from them, for that they would not obey my speech; wherefore i swore that i would no longer consort with them.' and i said, 'by allah, i marvel at thee, for that thou wast the cause of my preservation!' quoth he, 'the world is full of this sort [of folk]; and we beseech god the most high for safety, for that these [wretches] practise upon men with every kind of device.' then said i to him, 'tell me the most extraordinary adventure of all that befell thee in this villainy thou wast wont to practise.' and he answered, saying, 'o my brother, i was not present when they did on this wise, for that my part with them was to concern myself with selling and buying and [providing them with] food; but i have heard that the most extraordinary thing that befell them was on this wise. the thief's story. the woman who used to act as decoy for them once caught them a woman from a bride-feast, under pretence that she had a wedding toward in her own house, and appointed her for a day, whereon she should come to her. when the appointed day arrived, the woman presented herself and the other carried her into the house by a door, avouching that it was a privy door. when she entered [the saloon], she saw men and champions[fn# ] [and knew that she had fallen into a trap]; so she looked at them and said, "harkye, lads![fn# ] i am a woman and there is no glory in my slaughter, nor have ye any feud of blood-revenge against me, wherefore ye should pursue me; and that which is upon me of [trinkets and apparel] ye are free to take." quoth they, "we fear thy denunciation." but she answered, saying, "i will abide with you, neither coming in nor going out." and they said, "we grant thee thy life." then the captain looked on her [and she pleased him]; so he took her for himself and she abode with him a whole year, doing her endeavour in their service. till they became accustomed to her [and felt assured of her]. one night she plied them with drink and they drank [till they became intoxicated]; whereupon she arose and took her clothes and five hundred dinars from the captain; after which she fetched a razor and shaved all their chins. then she took soot from the cooking-pots and blackening their faces withal, opened the doors and went out; and when the thieves awoke, they abode confounded and knew that the woman had practised upon them.'"' the company marvelled at this story and the ninth officer came forward and said, 'i will tell you a right goodly story i heard at a wedding. the ninth officer's story. a certain singing-woman was fair of favour and high in repute, and it befell one day that she went out apleasuring. as she sat,[fn# ] behold, a man lopped of the hand stopped to beg of her, and he entered in at the door. then he touched her with his stump, saying, "charity, for the love of god!" but she answered, "god open [on thee the gate of subsistence]!" and reviled him. some days after this, there came to her a messenger and gave her the hire of her going forth.[fn# ] so she took with her a handmaid and an accompanyist;[fn# ] and when she came to the appointed place, the messenger brought her into a long passage, at the end whereof was a saloon. so (quoth she) we entered and found none therein, but saw the [place made ready for an] entertainment with candles and wine and dessert, and in another place we saw food and in a third beds. we sat down and i looked at him who had opened the door to us, and behold he was lopped of the hand. i misliked this of him, and when i had sat a little longer, there entered a man, who filled the lamps in the saloon and lit the candles; and behold, he also was handlopped. then came the folk and there entered none except he were lopped of the hand, and indeed the house was full of these. when the assembly was complete, the host entered and the company rose to him and seated him in the place of honour. now he was none other than the man who had fetched me, and he was clad in sumptuous apparel, but his hands were in his sleeves, so that i knew not how it was with them. they brought him food and he ate, he and the company; after which they washed their hands and the host fell to casting furtive glances at me. then they drank till they were drunken, and when they had taken leave [of their wits], the host turned to me and said, "thou dealtest not friendly with him who sought an alms of thee and thou saidst to him, 'how loathly thou art!'" i considered him and behold, he was the lophand who had accosted me in my pleasaunce. so i said, "o my lord, what is this thou sayest?" and he answered, saying, "wait; thou shall remember it." so saying, he shook his head and stroked his beard, whilst i sat down for fear. then he put out his hand to my veil and shoes and laying them by his side, said to me, "sing, o accursed one!" so i sang till i was weary, whilst they occupied themselves with their case and intoxicated themselves and their heat redoubled.[fn# ] presently, the doorkeeper came to me and said, "fear not, o my lady; but, when thou hast a mind to go, let me know." quoth i, "thinkest thou to delude me?" and he said, "nay, by allah! but i have compassion on thee for that our captain and our chief purposeth thee no good and methinketh he will slay thee this night." quoth i to him, "an thou be minded to do good, now is the time." and he answered, saying, "when our chief riseth to do his occasion and goeth to the draught-house, i will enter before him with the light and leave the door open; and do thou go whithersoever thou wilt." then i sang and the captain said, "it is good," quoth i, "nay, but thou art loathly." he looked at me and said, "by allah, thou shalt never more scent the odour of the world!" but his comrades said to him, "do it not," and appeased him, till he said, "if it must be so, she shall abide here a whole year, not going forth." and i said, "i am content to submit to whatsoever pleaseth thee. if i have erred, thou art of those to whom pertaineth clemency." he shook his head and drank, then arose and went out to do his occasion, what while his comrades were occupied with what they were about of merry-making and drunkenness and sport. so i winked to my fellows and we slipped out into the corridor. we found the door open and fled forth, unveiled and knowing not whither we went; nor did we halt till we had left the house far behind and happened on a cook cooking, to whom said i, "hast thou a mind to quicken dead folk?" and he said, "come up." so we went up into the shop, and he said, 'lie down." accordingly, we lay down and he covered us with the grass,[fn# ] wherewith he was used to kindle [the fire] under the food. hardly had we settled ourselves in the place when we heard a noise of kicking [at the door] and people running right and left and questioning the cook and saying, "hath any one passed by thee?" "nay," answered he; "none hath passed by me." but they ceased not to go round about the shop till the day broke, when they turned back, disappointed. then the cook removed the grass and said to us, "arise, for ye are delivered from death." so we arose, and we were uncovered, without mantle or veil; but the cook carried us up into his house and we sent to our lodgings and fetched us veils; and we repented unto god the most high and renounced singing,[fn# ] for indeed this was a great deliverance after stress.' the company marvelled at this story and the tenth officer came forward and said, 'as for me, there befell me that which was yet more extraordinary than all this.' quoth el melik ez zahir, 'what was that?' and he said, the tenth officer's story. 'a great theft had been committed in the city and i was cited,[fn# ] i and my fellows. now it was a matter of considerable value and they[fn# ] pressed hard upon us; but we obtained of them some days' grace and dispersed in quest of the stolen goods. as for me, i sallied forth with five men and went round about the city that day; and on the morrow we fared forth [into the suburbs]. when we came a parasang or two parasangs' distance from the city, we were athirst; and presently we came to a garden. so i went in and going up to the water-wheel,[fn# ] entered it and drank and made the ablution and prayed. presently up came the keeper of the garden and said to me, "out on thee! who brought thee into this water-wheel?" and he cuffed me and squeezed my ribs till i was like to die. then he bound me with one of his bulls and made me turn in the water-wheel, flogging me the while with a cattle whip he had with him, till my heart was on fire; after which he loosed me and i went out, knowing not the way. when i came forth, i swooned away: so i sat down till my trouble subsided; then i made for my comrades and said to them, "i have found the booty and the thief, and i affrighted him not neither troubled him, lest he should flee; but now, come, let us go to him, so we may make shift to lay hold upon him." then i took them and repaired to the keeper of the garden, who had tortured me with beating, meaning to make him taste the like of that which he had done with me and lie against him and cause him eat stick. so we rushed into the water-wheel and seizing the keeper, pinioned him. now there was with him a youth and he said, "by allah, i was not with him and indeed it is six months since i entered the city, nor did i set eyes on the stuffs until they were brought hither." quoth we, "show us the stuffs." so he carried us to a place wherein was a pit, beside the water-wheel, and digging there, brought out the stolen goods, with not a stitch of them missing. so we took them and carried the keeper to the prefecture, where we stripped him and beat him with palm-rods till he confessed to thefts galore. now i did this by way of mockery against my comrades, and it succeeded.'[fn# ] the company marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment, and the eleventh officer rose and said, 'i know a story yet rarer than this: but it happened not to myself. the eleventh officer's story. there was once aforetime a chief officer [of police] and there passed by him one day a jew, with a basket in his hand, wherein were five thousand dinars; whereupon quoth the officer to one of his slaves, "canst thou make shift to take that money from yonder jew's basket?" "yes," answered he, nor did he tarry beyond the next day before he came to his master, with the basket in his hand. so (quoth the officer) i said to him, "go, bury it in such a place." so he went and buried it and returned and told me. hardly had he done this when there arose a clamour and up came the jew, with one of the king's officers, avouching that the money belonged to the sultan and that he looked to none but us for it. we demanded of him three days' delay, as of wont, and i said to him who had taken the money, "go and lay somewhat in the jew's house, that shall occupy him with himself." so he went and played a fine trick, to wit, he laid in a basket a dead woman's hand, painted [with henna] and having a gold seal- ring on one of the fingers, and buried the basket under a flagstone in the jew's house. then came we and searched and found the basket, whereupon we straightway clapped the jew in irons for the murder of a woman. when it was the appointed time, there came to us the man of the sultan's guards, [who had accompanied the jew, when he came to complain of the loss of the money,] and said, "the sultan biddeth you nail up[fn# ] the jew and bring the money, for that there is no way by which five thousand dinars can be lost." wherefore we knew that our device sufficed not. so i went forth and finding a young man, a haurani,[fn# ] passing the road, laid hands on him and stripped him and beat him with palm-rods. then i clapped him in irons and carrying him to the prefecture, beat him again, saying to them, "this is the thief who stole the money." and we strove to make him confess; but he would not confess. so we beat him a third and a fourth time, till we were weary and exhausted and he became unable to return an answer. but, when we had made an end of beating and tormenting him, he said, "i will fetch the money forthright." so we went with him till he came to the place where my slave had buried the money and dug there and brought it out; whereat i marvelled with the utmost wonder and we carried it to the prefect's house. when the latter saw the money, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me a dress of honour. then he restored the money straightway to the sultan and we left the youth in prison; whilst i said to my slave who had taken the money, "did yonder young man see thee, what time thou buriedst the money?" "no, by the great god!" answered he. so i went in to the young man, the prisoner, and plied him with wine till he recovered, when i said to him, "tell me how thou stolest the money." "by allah," answered he, "i stole it not, nor did i ever set eyes on it till i brought it forth of the earth!" quoth i, "how so?" and he said, "know that the cause of my falling into your hands was my mother's imprecation against me; for that i evil entreated her yesternight and beat her and she said to me, 'by allah, o my son, god shall assuredly deliver thee into the hand of the oppressor!' now she is a pious woman. so i went out forthright and thou sawest me in the way and didst that which thou didst; and when beating was prolonged on me, my senses failed me and i heard one saying to me, 'fetch it.' so i said to you what i said and he[fn# ] guided me till i came to the place and there befell what befell of the bringing out of the money." i marvelled at this with the utmost wonderment and knew that he was of the sons of the pious. so i bestirred myself for his release and tended him [till he recovered] and besought him of quittance and absolution of responsibility.' all those who were present marvelled at this story with the utmost marvel, and the twelfth officer came forward and said, 'i will tell you a pleasant trait that i had from a certain man, concerning an adventure that befell him with one of the thieves. (quoth he) the twelfth officer's story. as i was passing one day in the market, i found that a thief had broken into the shop of a money-changer and taken thence a casket, with which he had made off to the burial-grounds. so i followed him thither [and came up to him, as] he opened the casket and fell a-looking into it; whereupon i accosted him, saying, "peace be on thee!" and he was startled at me. then i left him and went away from him. some months after this, i met him again under arrest, in the midst of the guards and officers of the police, and he said to them, "seize yonder man." so they laid hands on me and carried me to the chief of the police, who said, "what hast thou to do with this fellow?" the thief turned to me and looking a long while in my face, said, "who took this man?" quoth the officers, "thou badest us take him; so we took him." and he said, "i seek refuge with god! i know not this man, nor knoweth he me; and i said not that to you but of a man other than this." so they released me, and awhile afterward the thief met me in the street and saluted me, saying, "o my lord, fright for fright! hadst thou taken aught from me, thou hadst had a part in the calamity."[fn# ] and i said to him, "god [judge] between thee and me!" and this is what i have to tell' then came forward the thirteenth officer and said, 'i will tell you a story that a man of my friends told me. (quoth he) the thirteenth officer's story. i went out one night to the house of one of my friends and when it was the middle of the night, i sallied forth alone [to go home]. when i came into the road, i espied a sort of thieves and they saw me, whereupon my spittle dried up; but i feigned myself drunken and staggered from side to side, crying out and saying, "i am drunken." and i went up to the walls right and left and made as if i saw not the thieves, who followed me till i reached my house and knocked at the door, when they went away. some days after this, as i stood at the door of my house, there came up to me a young man, with a chain about his neck and with him a trooper, and he said to me, "o my lord, charity for the love of god!" quoth i, "god open!"[fn# ] and he looked at me a long while and said, "that which thou shouldst give me would not come to the value of thy turban or thy waistcloth or what not else of thy raiment, to say nothing of the gold and the silver that was about thee." "how so?" asked i, and he said, "on such a night, when thou fellest into peril and the thieves would have stripped thee, i was with them and said to them, 'yonder man is my lord and my master who reared me.' so was i the cause of thy deliverance and thus i saved thee from them." when i heard this, i said to him, "stop;" and entering my house, brought him that which god the most high made easy [to me].[fn# ] so he went his way. and this is my story.' then came forward the fourteenth officer and said, 'know that the story i have to tell is pleasanter and more extraordinary than this; and it is as follows. the fourteenth officer's story. before i entered this corporation,[fn# ] i had a draper's shop and there used to come to me a man whom i knew not, save by his face, and i would give him what he sought and have patience with him, till he could pay me. one day, i foregathered with certain of my friends and we sat down to drink. so we drank and made merry and played at tab;[fn# ] and we made one of us vizier and another sultan and a third headsman. presently, there came in upon us a spunger, without leave, and we went on playing, whilst he played with us. then quoth the sultan to the vizier, "bring the spunger who cometh in to the folk, without leave or bidding, that we may enquire into his case. then will i cut off his head." so the headsman arose and dragged the spunger before the sultan, who bade cut off his head. now there was with them a sword, that would not cut curd;[fn# ] so the headsman smote him therewith and his head flew from his body. when we saw this, the wine fled from our heads and we became in the sorriest of plights. then my friends took up the body and went out with it, that they might hide it, whilst i took the head and made for the river. now i was drunken and my clothes were drenched with the blood; and as i passed along the road, i met a thief. when he saw me, he knew me and said to me, "harkye, such an one!" "well?" answered i, and he said, "what is that thou hast with thee?" so i acquainted him with the case and he took the head from me. then we went on till we came to the river, where he washed the head and considering it straitly, said, "by allah, this is my brother, my father's son. and he used to spunge upon the folk." then he threw the head into the river. as for me, i was like a dead man [for fear]; but he said to me, "fear not neither grieve, for thou art quit of my brother's blood." then he took my clothes and washed them and dried them, and put them on me; after which he said to me, "get thee gone to thy house." so i returned to my house and he accompanied me, till i came thither, when he said to me, "may god not forsake thee! i am thy friend [such an one, who used to take of thee goods on credit,] and i am beholden to thee for kindness; but henceforward thou wilt never see me more."' the company marvelled at the generosity of this man and his clemency[fn# ] and courtesy, and the sultan said, 'tell us another of thy stories.'[fn# ] 'it is well,' answered the officer, 'they avouch that a merry jest of a thief. a thief of the thieves of the arabs went [one night] to a certain man's house, to steal from a heap of wheat there, and the people of the house surprised him. now on the heap was a great copper measure, and the thief buried himself in the corn and covered his head with the measure, so that the folk found him not and went away; but, as they were going, behold, there came a great crack of wind forth of the corn. so they went up to the measure and [raising it], discovered the thief and laid hands on him. quoth he, "i have eased you of the trouble of seeking me: for i purposed, [in letting wind], to direct you to my [hiding-]place; wherefore do ye ease me and have compassion on me, so may god have compassion on you!" so they let him go and harmed him not. and for another story of the same kind,' continued the officer, story of the old sharper. 'there was once an old man renowned for roguery, and he went, he and his mates, to one of the markets and stole thence a parcel of stuffs. then they separated and returned each to his quarter. awhile after this, the old man assembled a company of his fellows and one of them pulled out a costly piece of stuff and said, "will any one of you sell this piece of stuff in its own market whence it was stolen, that we may confess his [pre-eminence in] sharping?" quoth the old man, "i will;" and they said, "go, and god the most high prosper thee!" so on the morrow, early, he took the stuff and carrying it to the market whence it had been stolen, sat down at the shop whence it had been stolen and gave it to the broker, who took it and cried it for sale. its owner knew it and bidding for it, [bought it] and sent after the chief of the police, who seized the sharper and seeing him an old man of venerable appearance, handsomely clad, said to him, "whence hadst thou this piece of stuff?" "i had it from this market," answered he, "and from yonder shop where i was sitting." quoth the prefect, "did its owner sell it to thee?" "nay," replied the thief; "i stole it and other than it." then said the magistrate, "how camest thou to bring it [for sale] to the place whence thou stolest it?" and he answered, "i will not tell my story save to the sultan, for that i have an advertisement[fn# ] wherewith i would fain bespeak him." quoth the prefect, "name it." and the thief said, "art thou the sultan?" "no," replied the other; and the old man said, "i will not tell it but to himself." so the prefect carried him up to the sultan and he said, "i have an advertisement for thee, o my lord." "what is thine advertisement?" asked the sultan; and the thief said, "i repent and will deliver into thy hand all who are evildoers; and whomsoever i bring not, i will stand in his stead." quoth the sultan, "give him a dress of honour and accept his profession of repentance." so he went down from the presence and returning to his comrades, related to them that which had passed and they confessed his subtlety and gave him that which they had promised him. then he took the rest of the stolen goods and went up with them to the sultan. when the latter saw him, he was magnified in his eyes and he commanded that nought should be taken from him. then, when he went down, [the sultan's] attention was diverted from him, little by little, till the case was forgotten, and so he saved the booty [for himself].' the folk marvelled at this and the fifteenth officer came forward and said, 'know that among those who make a trade of knavery are those whom god the most high taketh on their own evidence against themselves.' 'how so?' asked they; and he said. the fifteenth officer's story. 'it is told of a certain doughty thief, that he used to rob and stop the way by himself upon caravans, and whenever the prefect of police and the magistrates sought him, he would flee from them and fortify himself in the mountains. now it befell that a certain man journeyed along the road wherein was the robber in question, and this man was alone and knew not the perils that beset his way. so the highwayman came out upon him and said to him, "bring out that which is with thee, for i mean to slay thee without fail." quoth the traveller, "slay me not, but take these saddle-bags and divide [that which is in] them and take the fourth part [thereof]." and the thief answered, "i will not take aught but the whole." "take half," rejoined the traveller, "and let me go." but the robber replied, "i will take nought but the whole, and i will slay thee [to boot]." and the traveller said, "take it." so the highwayman took the saddle-bags and offered to kill the traveller, who said, "what is this? thou hast no blood-feud against me, that should make my slaughter incumbent [on thee]. quoth the other, "needs must i slay thee;" whereupon the traveller dismounted from his horse and grovelled on the earth, beseeching the robber and speaking him fair. the latter hearkened not to his prayers, but cast him to the ground; whereupon the traveller [raised his eyes and seeing a francolin flying over him,] said, in his agony," o francolin, bear witness that this man slayeth me unjustly and wickedly; for indeed i have given him all that was with me and besought him to let me go, for my children's sake; yet would he not consent unto this. but be thou witness against him, for god is not unmindful of that which is done of the oppressors." the highwayman paid no heed to this speech, but smote him and cut off his head. after this, the authorities compounded with the highwayman for his submission, and when he came before them, they enriched him and he became in such favour with the sultan's deputy that he used to eat and drink with him and there befell familiar converse between them. on this wise they abode a great while, till, one day, the sultan's deputy made a banquet, and therein, for a wonder, was a roasted francolin, which when the robber saw, he laughed aloud. the deputy was angered against him and said to him, "what is the meaning of thy laughter? seest thou default [in the entertainment] or dost thou mock at us, of thy lack of breeding?" "not so, by allah, o my lord," answered the highwayman. "but i saw yonder francolin and bethought myself thereanent of an extraordinary thing; and it was on this wise. in the days of my youth, i used to stop the way, and one day i fell in with a man, who had with him a pair of saddle-bags and money therein. so i said to him, 'leave these bags, for i mean to kill thee.' quoth he, 'take the fourth part of [that which is in] them and leave [me] the rest.' and i said, 'needs must i take the whole and slay thee, to boot.' then said he, 'take the saddle-bags and let me go my way.' but i answered, 'needs must i slay thee.' as we were in this contention, he and i, behold, he saw a francolin and turning to it, said, 'bear witness against him, o francolin, that he slayeth me unjustly and letteth me not go to my children, for all he hath gotten my money.' however, i took no pity on him neither hearkened to that which he said, but slew him and concerned not myself with the francolin's testimony." his story troubled the sultan's deputy and he was sore enraged against him; so he drew his sword and smiting him, cut off his head; whereupon one recited the following verses: an you'd of evil be quit, look that no evil yon do; nay, but do good, for the like god will still render to you. all things, indeed, that betide to you are fore-ordered of god; yet still in your deeds is the source to which their fulfilment is due. now this[fn# ] was the francolin that bore witness against him.' the company marvelled at this story and said all, 'woe to the oppressor!' then came forward the sixteenth officer and said, 'and i also will tell you a marvellous story, and it is on this wise. the sixteenth officer's story. i went forth one day, purposing to make a journey, and fell in with a man whose wont it was to stop the way. when he came up with me, he offered to slay me and i said to him, "i have nothing with me whereby thou mayst profit." quoth he, "my profit shall be the taking of thy life." "what is the cause of this?" asked i. "hath there been feud between us aforetime?" and he answered, "no; but needs must i slay thee." therewithal i fled from him to the river-side; but he overtook me and casting me to the ground, sat down on my breast. so i sought help of the sheikh el hejjaj[fn# ] and said to him, "protect me from this oppressor!" and indeed he had drawn a knife, wherewith to cut my throat, when, behold, there came a great crocodile forth of the river and snatching him up from off my breast, plunged with him into the water, with the knife still in his hand; whilst i abode extolling the perfection of god the most high and rendering thanks for my preservation to him who had delivered me from the hand of that oppressor.' abdallah ben nafi and the king's son of cashghar.[fn# ] there abode once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in the city of baghdad, the abode of peace, the khalif haroun er reshid, and he had boon-companions and story-tellers, to entertain him by night among his boon-companions was a man called abdallah ben nan, who was high in favour with him and dear unto him, so that he was not forgetful of him a single hour. now it befell, by the ordinance of destiny, that it became manifest to abdallah that he was grown of little account with the khalif and that he paid no heed unto him; nor, if he absented himself, did he enquire concerning him, as had been his wont. this was grievous to abdallah and he said in himself, "verily, the heart of the commander of the faithful and his fashions are changed towards me and nevermore shall i get of him that cordiality wherewith he was wont to entreat me." and this was distressful to him and concern waxed upon him, so that he recited the following verses: if, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite afflict a man, then exile sure were better for the wight. so get thee gone, then, from a house wherein thou art abased and let not severance from friends lie heavy on thy spright. crude amber[fn# ] in its native land unheeded goes, but, when it comes abroad, upon the necks to raise it men delight. kohl[fn# ] in its native country, too, is but a kind of stone; cast out and thrown upon the ways, it lies unvalued quite; but, when from home it fares, forthright all glory it attains and 'twixt the eyelid and the eye incontinent 'tis dight. then he could brook this no longer; so he went forth from the dominions of the commander of the faithful, under pretence of visiting certain of his kinsmen, and took with him servant nor companion, neither acquainted any with his intent, but betook himself to the road and fared on into the desert and the sandwastes, knowing not whither he went. after awhile, he fell in with travellers intending for the land of hind [and journeyed with them]. when he came thither, he lighted down [in a city of the cities of the land and took up his abode] in one of the lodging-places; and there he abode a while of days, tasting not food neither solacing himself with the delight of sleep; nor was this for lack of dirhems or dinars, but for that his mind was occupied with musing upon [the reverses of] destiny and bemoaning himself for that the revolving sphere had turned against him and the days had decreed unto him the disfavour of our lord the imam.[fn# ] on this wise he abode a space of days, after which he made himself at home in the land and took to himself comrades and got him friends galore, with whom he addressed himself to diversion and good cheer. moreover, he went a-pleasuring with his friends and their hearts were solaced [by his company] and he entertained them with stories and civilities[fn# ] and diverted them with pleasant verses and told them abundance of histories and anecdotes. presently, the report of him reached king jemhour, lord of cashghar of hind, and great was his desire [for his company]. so he went in quest of him and abdallah repaired to his court and going in to him, kissed the earth before him. jemhour welcomed him and entreated him with kindness and bade commit him to the guest-house, where he abode three days, at the end of which time the king sent [to him] a chamberlain of his chamberlains and let bring him to his presence. when he came before him, he greeted him [with the usual compliment], and the interpreter accosted him, saying, "king jemhour hath heard of thy report, that thou art a goodly boon-companion and an eloquent story-teller, and he would have thee company with him by night and entertain him with that which thou knowest of anecdotes and pleasant stories and verses." and he made answer with "hearkening and obedience." (quoth abdallah ben nan) so i became his boon-companion and entertained him by night [with stories and the like]; and this pleased him to the utmost and he took me into especial favour and bestowed on me dresses of honour and assigned me a separate lodging; brief, he was everywise bountiful to me and could not brook to be parted from me a single hour. so i abode with him a while of time and every night i caroused with him [and entertained him], till the most part of the night was past; and when drowsiness overcame him, he would rise [and betake himself] to his sleeping-place, saying to me, "forsake not my service for that of another than i and hold not aloof from my presence." and i made answer with "hearkening and obedience." now the king had a son, a pleasant child, called the amir mohammed, who was comely of youth and sweet of speech; he had read in books and studied histories and above all things in the world he loved the telling and hearing of verses and stories and anecdotes. he was dear to his father king jemhour, for that he had none other son than he on life, and indeed he had reared him in the lap of fondness and he was gifted with the utterest of beauty and grace and brightness and perfection. moreover, he had learnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner instruments of music and he was used to [carouse and] company with friends and brethren. now it was of his wont that, when the king rose to go to his sleeping-chamber, he would sit in his place and seek of me that i should entertain him with stories and verses and pleasant anecdotes; and on this wise i abode with them a great while in all cheer and delight, and the prince still loved me with an exceeding great love and entreated me with the utmost kindness. it befell one day that the king's son came to me, after his father had withdrawn, and said to me, "harkye, ibn nafil" "at thy service, o my lord," answered i; and he said, "i would have thee tell me an extraordinary story and a rare matter, that thou hast never related either to me or to my father jemhour." "o my lord," rejoined i, "what story is this that thou desirest of me and of what kind shall it be of the kinds?" quoth he, "it matters little what it is, so it be a goodly story, whether it befell of old days or in these times." "o my lord," said i, "i know many stories of various kinds; so whether of the kinds preferrest thou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of the jinn?" "it is well," answered he; "if thou have seen aught with thine eyes and heard it with thine ears, [tell it me."then he bethought himself] and said to me, "i conjure thee by my life, tell me a story of the stories of the jinn and that which thou hast heard and seen of them!" "o my son," replied i, "indeed thou conjurest [me] by a mighty conjuration; so [hearken and thou shalt] hear the goodliest of stories, ay, and the most extraordinary of them and the pleasantest and rarest." quoth the prince, "say on, for i am attentive to thy speech." and i said, "know, then, o my son, that story of the damsel tuhfet el culoub and the khalif haroun er reshid. the vicar of the lord of the worlds[fn# ] haroun er reshid had a boon-companion of the number of his boon-companions, by name ishac ben ibrahim en nedim el mausili,[fn# ] who was the most accomplished of the folk of his time in the art of smiting upon the lute; and of the commander of the faithful's love for him, he assigned him a palace of the choicest of his palaces, wherein he was wont to instruct slave-girls in the arts of lute-playing and singing. if any slave-girl became, by his instruction, accomplished in the craft, he carried her before the khalif, who bade her play upon the lute; and if she pleased him, he would order her to the harem; else would he restore her to ishac's palace. one day, the commander of the faithful's breast was straitened; so he sent after his vizier jaafer the barmecide and ishac the boon-companion and mesrour the eunuch, the swordsman of his vengeance; and when they came, he changed his raiment and disguised himself, whilst jaafer [and ishac] and mesrour and el fezll[fn# ] and younus[fn# ] (who were also present) did the like. then he went out, he and they, by the privy gate, to the tigris and taking boat, fared on till they came to near et taf,[fn# ] when they landed and walked till they came to the gate of the thoroughfare street.[fn# ] here there met them an old man, comely of hoariness and of a venerable and dignified bearing, pleasing[fn# ] of aspect and apparel. he kissed the earth before ishac el mausili (for that be knew but him of the company, the khalif being disguised, and deemed the others certain of his friends) and said to him, 'o my lord, there is presently with me a slave-girl, a lutanist, never saw eyes the like of her nor the like of her grace, and indeed i was on my way to pay my respects to thee and give thee to know of her; but allah, of his favour, hath spared me the trouble. so now i desire to show her to thee, and if she be to thy liking, well and good: else i will sell her.' quoth ishac, 'go before me to thy barrack, till i come to thee and see her.' the old man kissed his hand and went away; whereupon quoth er reshid to him, 'o ishac, who is yonder man and what is his occasion?' 'o my lord,' answered the other, 'this is a man called said the slave-dealer, and he it is who buyeth us slave-girls and mamelukes.[fn# ] he avoucheth that with him is a fair [slave-girl, a] lutanist, whom he hath withheld from sale, for that he could not fairly sell her till he had shown her to me.' 'let us go to him,' said the khalif,'so we may look on her, by way of diversion, and see what is in the slave-dealer's barrack of slave-girls.' and ishac answered, 'commandment belongeth to god and to the commander of the faithful.' then he went on before them and they followed in his track till they came to the slave-dealer's barrack and found it high of building and spacious of continence, with sleeping-cells and chambers therein, after the number of the slave-girls, and folk sitting upon the benches. ishac entered, he and his company, and seating themselves in the place of honour, amused themselves by looking on the slave-girls and mamelukes and watching how they were sold, till the sale came to an end, when some of the folk went away and other some sat. then said the slave-dealer, 'let none sit with us except him who buyeth by the thousand [dinars] and upwards.' so those who were present withdrew and there remained none but er reshid and his company; whereupon the slave-dealer called the damsel, after he had caused set her a chair of fawwak,[fn# ] furnished with greek brocade, and it was as she were the sun shining in the clear sky. when she entered, she saluted and sitting down, took the lute and smote upon it, after she had touched its strings and tuned it, so that all present were amazed. then she sang thereto the following verses: wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, the fullest of greetings bear to them from me, their lover, and say that i am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love and eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye. o ye who have withered my heart and marred my hearing and my sight, desire and transport for your sake wax on me night and day. my heart with yearning is ever torn and tortured without cease, nor can my lids lay hold on sleep, that sees from them away. 'well done, o damsel!' cried ishac. 'by allah, this is a fair hour!' whereupon she rose and kissed his hand, saying, 'o my lord, the hands stand still in thy presence and the tongues at thy sight, and the eloquent before thee are dumb; but thou art the looser of the veil.'[fn# ] then she clung to him and said, 'stand.' so he stood and said to her, 'who art thou and what is thy need?' she raised a corner of the veil, and he beheld a damsel as she were the rising full moon or the glancing lightning, with two side locks of hair that fell down to her anklets. she kissed his hand and said to him, 'o my lord, know that i have been in this barrack these five months, during which time i have been withheld[fn# ] from sale till thou shouldst be present [and see me]; and yonder slave-dealer still made thy coming a pretext to me[fn# ] and forbade me, for all i sought of him night and day that he should cause thee come hither and vouchsafe me thy presence and bring me and thee together.' quoth ishac, 'say what thou wouldst have.' and she answered, 'i beseech thee, by god the most high, that thou buy me, so i may be with thee, by way of service.' 'is that thy desire?' asked he, and she replied, ' yes.' so ishac returned to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'harkye, gaffer said!*' 'at thy service, o my lord,' answered the old man; and ishac said, 'in the corridor is a cell and therein a damsel pale of colour. what is her price in money and how much dost thou ask for her?, quoth the slave-dealer, 'she whom thou mentionest is called tuhfet el hemca.'[fn# ] 'what is the meaning of el hemca?' asked ishac, and the old man replied, 'her price hath been paid down an hundred times and she still saith, "show me him who desireth to buy me;" and when i show her to him, she saith, "this fellow is not to my liking; he hath in him such and such a default." and in every one who would fain buy her she allegeth some default or other, so that none careth now to buy her and none seeketh her, for fear lest she discover some default in him.' quoth ishac, 'she seeketh presently to sell herself; so go thou to her and enquire of her and see her price and send her to the palace.' 'o my lord,' answered said, 'her price is an hundred dinars, though, were she whole of this paleness that is upon her face, she would be worth a thousand; but folly and pallor have diminished her value; and behold, i will go to her and consult her of this.' so he betook himself to her, and said to her, 'wilt thou be sold to ishac ben ibrahim el mausili?' 'yes,' answered she, and he said, 'leave frowardness,[fn# ] for to whom doth it happen to be in the house of ishac the boon-companion?'[fn# ] then ishac went forth of the barrack and overtook er reshid [who had foregone him]; and they walked till they came to their [landing-]place, where they embarked in the boat and fared on to theghr el khanekah.[fn# ] as for the slave-dealer, he sent the damsel to the house of ishac en nedim, whose slave-girls took her and carried her to the bath. then each damsel gave her somewhat of her apparel and they decked her with earrings and bracelets, so that she redoubled in beauty and became as she were the moon on the night of its full. when ishac returned home from the khalifs palace, tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hand; and he saw that which the slave-girls had done with her and thanked them therefor and said to them, 'let her be in the house of instruction and bring her instruments of music, and if she be apt unto singing, teach her; and may god the most high vouchsafe her health and weal!' so there passed over her three months, what while she abode with him in the house of instruction, and they brought her the instruments of music. moreover, as time went on, she was vouchsafed health and soundness and her beauty waxed many times greater than before and her pallor was changed to white and red, so that she became a ravishment to all who looked on her. one day, ishac let bring all who were with him of slave-girls from the house of instruction and carried them up to er reshid's palace, leaving none in his house save tuhfeh and a cookmaid; for that he bethought him not of tuhfeh, nor did she occur to his mind, and none of the damsels remembered him of her. when she saw that the house was empty of the slave-girls, she took the lute (now she was unique in her time in smiting upon the lute, nor had she her like in the world, no, not ishac himself, nor any other) and sang thereto the following verses: whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, it winneth not of fortune the wish it holdeth dear. him with my life i'd ransom whose rigours waste away my frame and cause me languish; yet, if he would but hear, it rests with him to heal me; and i (a soul he hath must suffer that which irks it), go saying, in my fear of spies, "how long, o scoffer, wilt mock at my despair, as 'twere god had created nought else whereat to jeer?" now ishac had returned to his house upon an occasion that presented itself to him; and when he entered the vestibule, he heard a sound of singing, the like whereof he had never heard in the world, for that it was [soft] as the breeze and richer[fn# ] than almond oil.[fn# ] so the delight of it gat hold of him and joyance overcame him, and he fell down aswoon in the vestibule, tuhfeh heard the noise of steps and laying the lute from her hand, went out to see what was to do. she found her lord ishac lying aswoon in the vestibule; so she took him up and strained him to her bosom, saying, 'i conjure thee in god's name, o my lord, tell me, hath aught befallen thee?' when he heard her voice, he recovered from his swoon and said to her, 'who art thou? ' quoth she, 'i am thy slave-girl tuhfeh.' and he said to her, 'art thou indeed tuhfeh?' 'yes,' answered she; and he, 'by allah, i had forgotten thee and remembered thee not till now!' then he looked at her and said, 'indeed, thy case is altered and thy pallor is grown changed to rosiness and thou hast redoubled in beauty and lovesomeness. but was it thou who was singing but now?' and she was troubled and affrighted and answered, 'even i, o my lord.' then ishac seized upon her hand and carrying her into the house, said to her, 'take the lute and sing; for never saw i nor heard thy like in smiting upon the lute; no, not even myself!' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'thou makest mock of me. who am i that thou shouldst say all this to me? indeed, this is but of thy kindness.' 'nay, by allah,' exclaimed he, 'i said but the truth to thee and i am none of those on whom pretence imposeth. these three months hath nature not moved thee to take the lute and sing thereto, and this is nought but an extraordinary thing. but all this cometh of strength in the craft and self-restraint.' then he bade her sing; and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and tightening its strings, smote thereon a number of airs, so that she confounded ishac's wit and he was like to fly for delight. then she returned to the first mode and sang thereto the following verses: still by your ruined camp a dweller i abide; ne'er will i change nor e'er shall distance us divide. far though you dwell, i'll ne'er your neighbourhood forget, o friends, whose lovers still for you are stupefied. your image midst mine eye sits nor forsakes me aye; ye are my moons in gloom of night and shadowtide. still, as my transports wax, grows restlessness on me and woes have ta'en the place of love-delight denied. when she had made an end of her song and laid down the lute, ishac looked fixedly on her, then took her hand and offered to kiss it; but she snatched it from him and said to him, 'allah, o my lord, do not that!' quoth he, 'be silent. by allah, i had said that there was not in the world the like of me; but now i have found my dinar[fn# ] in the craft but a danic,[fn# ] "for thou art, beyond comparison or approximation or reckoning, more excellent of skill than i! this very day will i carry thee up to the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid, and whenas his glance lighteth on thee, thou wilt become a princess of womankind. so, allah, allah upon thee, o my lady, whenas thou becomest of the household of the commander of the faithful, do not thou forget me!' and she replied, saying, 'allah, o my lord, thou art the source of my fortunes and in thee is my heart fortified.' so he took her hand and made a covenant with her of this and she swore to him that she would not forget him. then said he to her, 'by allah, thou art the desire of the commander of the faithful![fn# ] so take the lute and sing a song that thou shalt sing to the khalif, whenas thou goest in to him.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: his love on him took pity and wept for his dismay: of those that him did visit she was, as sick he lay. she let him taste her honey and wine[fn# ] before his death: this was his last of victual until the judgment day. ishac stared at her and seizing her hand, said to her, 'know that i am bound by an oath that, when the singing of a damsel pleaseth me, she shall not make an end of her song but before the commander of the faithful. but now tell me, how came it that thou abodest with the slave-dealer five months and wast not sold to any, and thou of this skill, more by token that the price set on thee was no great matter?' she laughed and answered, 'o my lord, my story is a strange one and my case extraordinary. know that i belonged aforetime to a mughrebi merchant, who bought me, when i was three years old, and there were in his house many slave-girls and eunuchs; but i was the dearest to him of them all. so he kept me with him and used not to call me but "daughterling," and indeed i am presently a clean maid. now there was with him a damsel, a lutanist, and she reared me and taught me the craft, even as thou seest. then was my master admitted to the mercy of god the most high[fn# ] and his sons divided his good. i fell to the lot of one of them; but it was only a little while ere he had squandered all his substance and there was left him no tittle of money. so i left the lute, fearing lest i should fall into the hand of a man who knew not my worth, for that i was assured that needs must my master sell me; and indeed it was but a few days ere he carried me forth to the barrack of the slave-merchant who buyeth slave-girls and showeth them to the commander of the faithful. now i desired to learn the craft; so i refused to be sold to other than thou, till god (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) vouchsafed me my desire of thy presence; whereupon i came out to thee, whenas i heard of thy coming, and besought thee to buy me. thou healedst my heart and boughtedst me; and since i entered thy house, o my lord, i have not taken up the lute till now; but to-day, whenas i was quit of the slave-girls, [i took it]; and my purpose in this was that i might see if my hand were changed[fn# ] or no. as i was singing, i heard a step in the vestibule; so i laid the lute from my hand and going forth to see what was to do, found thee, o my lord, on this wise.' quoth ishac, 'indeed, this was of thy fair fortune. by allah, i know not that which thou knowest in this craft!' then he arose and going to a chest, brought out therefrom striped clothes of great price, netted with jewels and great pearls, and said to her, 'in the name of god, don these, o my lady tuhfeh.' so she arose and donned those clothes and veiled herself and went up [with ishac] to the palace of the khalifate, where he made her stand without, whilst he himself went in to the commander of the faithful (with whom was jaafer the barmecide) and kissing the earth before him, said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, i have brought thee a damsel, never saw eyes her like for excellence in singing and touching the lute; and her name is tuhfeh."[fn# ] 'and where,' asked er reshed, 'is this tuhfeh, who hath not her like in the world?' quoth ishac, 'yonder she stands, o commander of the faithful;' and he acquainted the khalif with her case from first to last. then said er reshid, 'it is a marvel to hear thee praise a slave-girl after this fashion. admit her, so we may see her, for that the morning may not be hidden.' accordingly, ishac bade admit her; so she entered, and when her eyes fell upon the commander of the faithful, she kissed the earth before him and said, 'peace be upon thee, o commander of the faithful and asylum of the people of the faith and reviver of justice among all creatures! may god make plain the treading of thy feet and vouchsafe thee enjoyment of that which he hath bestowed on thee and make paradise thy harbourage and the fire that of thine enemies!' quoth er reshid, 'and on thee be peace, o damsel! sit.' so she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she took the lute and tightening its strings, played thereon in many modes, so that the commander of the faithful and jaafer were confounded and like to fly for delight. then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: by him whom i worship, indeed, i swear, o thou that mine eye dost fill, by him in whose honour the pilgrims throng and fare to arafat's hill, though over me be the tombstone laid, if ever thou call on me, though rotten my bone should be, thy voice i'll answer, come what will. i crave none other than thou for friend, beloved of my heart; so trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty still. er reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing and her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities and rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of that which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch and sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, 'thou hast done well, o tuhfeh. by allah, thou art indeed a gift'[fn# ] then he turned to ishac and said to him, 'thou dealtest not equitably, o ishac, in the description of this damsel,[fn# ] neither settest out all that she compriseth of goodliness and skill; for that, by allah, she is incomparably more skilful than thou; and i know of this craft that which none knoweth other than i!' 'by allah,' exclaimed jaafer, 'thou sayst sooth, o my lord, o commander of the faithful. indeed, this damsel hath done away my wit' quoth ishac, 'by allah, o commander of the faithful, i had said that there was not on the face of the earth one who knew the craft of the lute like myself; but, when i heard her, my skill became nothing worth in mine eyes.' then said the khalif to her, 'repeat thy playing, o tuhfeh.' so she repeated it and he said to her, 'well done!' moreover, he said to ishac, 'thou hast indeed brought me that which is extraordinary and worth in mine eyes the empire of the earth.' then he turned to mesrour the eunuch and said to him, 'carry tuhfeh to the lodging of honour.'[fn# ] accordingly, she went away with mesrour and the khalif looked at her clothes and seeing her clad in raiment of choice, said to ishac, 'o ishac, whence hath she these clothes?' 'o my lord, answered he, 'these are somewhat of thy bounties and thy largesse, and they are a gift to her from me. by allah, o commander of the faithful, the world, all of it, were little in comparison with her!' then the khalif turned to the vizier jaafer and said to him, 'give ishac fifty thousand dirhems and a dress of honour of the apparel of choice.' 'hearkening and obedience,' replied jaafer and gave him that which the khalif ordered him. as for er reshid, he shut himself up with tuhfeh that night and found her a clean maid and rejoiced in her; and she took high rank in his heart, so that he could not endure from her a single hour and committed to her the keys of the affairs of the realm, for that which he saw in her of good breeding and wit and modesty. moreover, he gave her fifty slave-girls and two hundred thousand dinars and clothes and trinkets and jewels and precious stones, worth the kingdom of egypt; and of the excess of his love for her, he would not entrust her to any of the slave-girls or eunuchs; but, whenas he went out from her, he locked the door upon her and took the key with him, against he should return to her, forbidding the damsels to go in to her, of his fear lest they should slay her or practise on her with knife or poison; and on this wise he abode awhile. one day as she sang before the commander of the faithful, he was moved to exceeding delight, so that he took her and offered to kiss her hand; but she drew it away from him and smote upon her lute and broke it and wept er reshid wiped away her tears and said, 'o desire of the heart, what is it maketh thee weep? may god not cause an eye of thine to weep!' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'what am i that thou shouldst kiss my hand? wilt thou have god punish me for this and that my term should come to an end and my felicity pass away? for this is what none ever attained unto.' quoth he, 'well said, o tuhfeh. know that thy rank in my esteem is mighty and for that which wondered me of what i saw of thee, i offered to do this, but i will not return unto the like thereof; so be of good heart and cheerful eye, for i have no desire for other than thyself and will not die but in the love of thee, and thou to me art queen and mistress, to the exclusion of all humankind.' therewith she fell to kissing his feet; and this her fashion pleased him, so that his love for her redoubled and he became unable to brook an hour's severance from her. one day he went forth to the chase and left tuhfeh in her pavilion. as she sat looking upon a book, with a candlestick of gold before her, wherein was a perfumed candle, behold, a musk-apple fell down before her from the top of the saloon.[fn# ] so she looked up and beheld the lady zubeideh bint el casim,[fn# ] who saluted her and acquainted her with herself, whereupon tuhfeh rose to her feet and said, 'o my lady, were i not of the number of the upstarts, i had daily sought thy service; so do not thou bereave me of thine august visits.'[fn# ] the lady zubeideh called down blessings upon her and answered, 'by the life of the commander of the faithful, i knew this of thee, and but that it is not of my wont to go forth of my place, i had come out to do my service to thee.' then said she to her, 'know, o tuhfeh, that the commander of the faithful hath forsaken all his concubines and favourites on thine account, even to myself. yea, me also hath he deserted on this wise, and i am not content to be as one of the concubines; yet hath he made me of them and forsaken me, and i am come to thee, so thou mayst beseech him to come to me, though it be but once a month, that i may not be the like of the handmaids and concubines nor be evened with the slave-girls; and this is my occasion with thee.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered tuhfeh. 'by allah, o my lady, i would well that he might be with thee a whole month and with me but one night, so thy heart might be comforted, for that i am one of thy handmaids and thou art my lady in every event.' the lady zubeideh thanked her for this and taking leave of her, returned to her palace. when the khalif returned from the chase, he betook himself to tuhfeh's pavilion and bringing out the key, opened the door and went in to her. she rose to receive him and kissed his hand, and he took her to his breast and seated her on his knee. then food was brought to them and they ate and washed their hands; after which she took the lute and sang, till er reshid was moved to sleep. when she was ware of this, she left singing and told him her adventure with the lady zubeideh, saying, 'o commander of the faithful, i would have thee do me a favour and heal my heart and accept my intercession and reject not my word, but go forthright to the lady zubeideh's lodging.' now this talk befell after he had stripped himself naked and she also had put off her clothes; and he said, 'thou shouldst have named this before we stripped ourselves naked.' but she answered, saying, ' o commander of the faithful, i did this not but in accordance with the saying of the poet in the following verses: all intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, save tuhfeh's, daughter of merjan, for that, in very deed, the intercessor who to thee herself presenteth veiled is not her like who naked comes with thee to intercede.' when the khalif heard this, her speech pleased him and he strained her to his bosom. then he went forth from her and locked the door upon her, as before; whereupon she took the book and sat looking in it awhile. presently, she laid it down and taking the lute, tightened its strings. then she smote thereon, after a wondrous fashion, such as would have moved inanimate things [to delight], and fell to singing marvellous melodies and chanting the following verses: rail not at the vicissitudes of fate, for fortune still spites those who her berate. be patient under its calamities, for all things have an issue soon or late. how many a mirth-exciting joy amid the raiment of ill chances lies in wait! how often, too, hath gladness come to light whence nought but dole thou didst anticipate! then she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, comely of hoariness, venerable of aspect, who was dancing on apt and goodly wise, a dance the like whereof none might avail unto. so she sought refuge with god the most high from satan the stoned[fn# ] and said, 'i will not give over what i am about, for that which god decreeth, he carrieth into execution.' accordingly, she went on singing till the old man came up to her and kissed the earth before her, saying, 'well done, o queen of the east and the west! may the world be not bereaved of thee! by allah, indeed thou art perfect of qualities and ingredients, o tuhfet es sudour![fn# ] dost thou know me?' 'nay, by allah,' answered she; 'but methinks thou art of the jinn.' quoth he, 'thou sayst sooth; i am the sheikh aboultawaif[fn# ] iblis, and i come to thee every night, and with me thy sister kemeriyeh, for that she loveth thee and sweareth not but by thy life; and her life is not pleasant to her, except she come to thee and see thee, what while thou seest her not. as for me, i come to thee upon an affair, wherein thou shall find thine advantage and whereby thou shalt rise to high rank with the kings of the jinn and rule them, even as thou rulest mankind; [and to that end i would have thee come with me and be present at the festival of my son's circumcision;[fn# ]] for that the jinn are agreed upon the manifestation of thine affair.' and she answered, 'in the name of god.' so she gave him the lute and he forewent her, till he came to the house of easance, and behold, therein was a door and a stairway. when tuhfeh saw this, her reason fled; but iblis cheered her with discourse. then he descended the stair and she followed him to the bottom thereof, where she found a passage and they fared on therein, till they came to a horse standing, teady saddled and bridled and accoutred. quoth iblis, '[mount], in the name of god, o my lady tuhfeh;' and he held the stirrup for her. so she mounted and the horse shook under her and putting forth wings, flew up with her, whilst the old man flew by her side; whereat she was affrighted and clung to the pummel of the saddle; nor was it but an hour ere they came to a fair green meadow, fresh-flowered as if the soil thereof were a goodly robe, embroidered with all manner colours. midmost that meadow was a palace soaring high into the air, with battlements of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, and a two-leaved gate; and in the gateway thereof were much people of the chiefs of the jinn, clad in sumptuous apparel. when they saw the old man, they all cried out, saying, 'the lady tuhfeh is come!' and as soon as she reached the palace-gate, they came all and dismounting her from the horse's back, carried her into the palace and fell to kissing her hands. when she entered, she beheld a palace whereof never saw eyes the like; for therein were four estrades, one facing other, and its walls were of gold and its ceilings of silver. it was lofty of building, wide of continence, and those who beheld it would be puzzled to describe it. at the upper end of the hall stood a throne of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, unto which led up five steps of silver, and on the right thereof and on its left were many chairs of gold and silver; and over the dais was a curtain let down, gold and silver wrought and broidered with pearls and jewels. the old man carried tuhfeh up [to the dais and seated her] on a chair of gold beside the throne, whilst she was amazed at that which she saw in that place and magnified her lord (extolled be his perfection and exalted be he!) and hallowed him. then the kings of the jinn came up to the throne and seated themselves thereon; and they were in the semblance of mortals, excepting two of them, who were in the semblance of the jinn, with eyes slit endlong and jutting horns and projecting tusks. after this there came up a young lady, fair of favour and pleasant of parts; the light of her face outshone that of the flambeaux, and about her were other three women, than whom there were no fairer on the face of the earth. they saluted tuhfeh and she rose to them and kissed the earth before them; whereupon they embraced her and sat down on the chairs aforesaid. now the four women who thus accosted tuhfeh were the princess kemeriyeh, daughter of king es shisban, and her sisters; and kemeriyeh loved tuhfeh with an exceeding love. so, when she came up to her, she fell to kissing and embracing her, and iblis said, 'fair befall you! take me between you.' at this tuhfeh laughed and kemeriyeh said, 'o my sister, i love thee and doubtless hearts have their evidences,[fn# ] for, since i saw thee, i have loved thee.' 'by allah,' replied tuhfeh, 'hearts have deeps,[fn# ] and thou, by allah, art dear to me and i am thy handmaid.' kemeriyeh thanked her for this and said to her, 'these are the wives of the kings of the jinn: salute them. this is queen jemreh,[fn# ] that is queen wekhimeh and this other is queen sherareh, and they come not but for thee.' so tuhfeh rose to her feet and kissed their hands, and the three queens kissed her and welcomed her and entreated her with the utmost honour. then they brought trays and tables and amongst the rest a platter of red gold, inlaid with pearls and jewels; its margents were of gold and emerald, and thereon were graven the following verses: for the uses of food i was fashioned and made; the hands of the noble me wrought and inlaid. my maker reserved me for generous men and the niggard and sland'rer to use me forebade. so eat what i offer in surety and be the lord of all things with thanks- giving repaid! so they ate and tuhfeh looked at the two kings, who had not changed their favour and said to kemeriyeh, 'o my lady, what is yonder wild beast and that other like unto him? by allah, mine eye brooketh not the sight of them.' kemeriyeh laughed and answered, 'o my sister, that is my father es shisban and the other is meimoun the sworder; and of the pride of their souls and their arrogance, they consented not to change their [natural] fashion. indeed, all whom thou seest here are, by nature, like unto them in fashion; but, on thine account, they have changed their favour, for fear lest thou be disquieted and for the comforting of thy mind, so thou mightest make friends with them and be at thine ease.' 'o my lady,' quoth tuhfeh, 'indeed i cannot look at them. how frightful is yonder meimoun, with his [one] eye! mine eye cannot brook the sight of him, and indeed i am fearful of him.' kemeriyeh laughed at her speech, and tuhfeh said, 'by allah, o my lady, i cannot fill my eye with them!'[fn# ] then said her father es shisban to her, 'what is this laughing?' so she bespoke him in a tongue none understood but they [two] and acquainted him with that which tuhfeh had said; whereat he laughed a prodigious laugh, as it were the pealing thunder. then they ate and the tables were removed and they washed their hands; after which iblis the accursed came up to tuhfeh and said to her, 'o my lady tuhfeh, thou gladdenest the place and with thy presence enlightenest and embellishest it; but now fain would these kings hear somewhat of thy singing, for the night hath spread its wings for departure and there abideth thereof but a little.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and touching its strings on rare wise, played thereon after a wondrous fashion, so that it seemed to those who were present as if the palace stirred with them for the music. then she fell a-singing and chanted the following verses: peace on you, people of my troth! with peace i do you greet. said ye not truly, aforetime, that we should live and meet? ah, then will i begin on you with chiding than the breeze more soft, ay pleasanter than clear cold water and more sweet. indeed, mine eyelids still with tears are ulcered and to you my bowels yearn to be made whole of all their pain and heat. parting hath sundered us, belov'd; indeed, i stood in dread of this, whilst yet our happiness in union was complete. to god of all the woes i've borne i plain me, for i pine for longing and lament, and him for solace i entreat the kings of the jinn were moved to delight by that fair singing and fluent speech and praised tuhfeh; and queen kemeriyeh rose to her and embraced her and kissed her between the eyes, saying, 'by allah, it is good, o my sister and solace of mine eyes and darling of my heart!' then said she, 'i conjure thee by allah, give us more of this lovely singing.' and tuhfeh answered with 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and playing thereon after a different fashion from the former one, sang the following verses: oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me with hopes of thine enjoyment in all security. sure god shall yet, in pity, reknit our severed lives, even as he did afflict me with loneness after thee. thou whose desire possesseth my soul, the love of whom hold on my reins hath gotten and will not let me free, compared with thine enjoyment, the hardest things are light to win and all things distant draw near and easy be. god to a tristful lover be light! a man of wit, yet perishing for yearning and body-worn is he. were i cut off, beloved, from hope of thy return, slumber, indeed, for ever my wakeful lids would flee. for nought of worldly fortune i weep! my only joy in seeing thee consisteth and in thy seeing me. at this the accursed iblis was moved to delight and put his finger to his arse, whilst meimoun danced and said, 'o tuhfet es sudour, soften the mode;[fn# ] for, as delight, entereth into my heart, it bewildereth my vital spirits.' so she took the lute and changing the mode, played a third air; then she returned to the first and sang the following verses: the billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore; i sink and all in vain for succour i implore. ye've drowned me in the sea of love for you; my heart denies to be consoled for those whom i adore. think not that i forget our trothplight after you. nay; god to me decreed remembrance heretofore.[fn# ] love to its victim clings without relent, and he of torments and unease complaineth evermore. the kings and all those who were present rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and the accursed iblis came up to tuhfeh and kissing her hand, said to her, 'there abideth but little of the night; so do thou tarry with us till the morrow, when we will apply ourselves to the wedding[fn# ] and the circumcision.' then all the jinn went away, whereupon tuhfeh rose to her feet and iblis said, 'go ye up with tuhfeh to the garden for the rest of the night.' so kemeriyeh took her and carried her into the garden. now this garden contained all manner birds, nightingale and mocking-bird and ringdove and curlew[fn# ] and other than these of all the kinds, and therein were all kinds of fruits. its channels[fn# ] were of gold and silver and the water thereof, as it broke forth of its conduits, was like unto fleeing serpents' bellies, and indeed it was as it were the garden of eden.[fn# ] when tuhfeh beheld this, she called to mind her lord and wept sore and said, 'i beseech god the most high to vouchsafe me speedy deliverance, so i may return to my palace and that my high estate and queendom and glory and be reunited with my lord and master er reshid.' then she walked in that garden and saw in its midst a dome of white marble, raised on columns of black teak and hung with curtains embroidered with pearls and jewels. amiddleward this pavilion was a fountain, inlaid with all manner jacinths, and thereon a statue of gold, and [beside it] a little door. she opened the door and found herself in a long passage; so she followed it and behold, a bath lined with all kinds of precious marbles and floored with a mosaic of pearls and jewels. therein were four cisterns of alabaster, one facing other, and the ceiling of the bath was of glass coloured with all manner colours, such as confounded the understanding of the folk of understanding and amazed the wit. tuhfeh entered the bath, after she had put off her clothes, and behold, the basin thereof was overlaid with gold set with pearls and red rubies and green emeralds and other jewels; so she extolled the perfection of god the most high and hallowed him for the magnificence of that which she saw of the attributes of that bath. then she made her ablutions in that basin and pronouncing the magnification of prohibition,[fn# ] prayed the morning prayer and what else had escaped her of prayers;[fn# ] after which she went out and walked in that garden among jessamine and lavender and roses and camomile and gillyflowers and thyme and violets and sweet basil, till she came to the door of the pavilion aforesaid and sat down therein, pondering that which should betide er reshid after her, whenas he should come to her pavilion and find her not. she abode sunken in the sea of her solicitude, till presently sleep took her and she slept presently she felt a breath upon her face; whereupon she awoke and found queen kemeriyeh kissing her, and with her her three sisters, queen jemreh, queen wekhimeh and queen sherareh. so she arose and kissed their hands and rejoiced in them with the utmost joy and they abode, she and they, in talk and converse, what while she related to them her history, from the time of her purchase by the mughrebi to that of her coming to the slave-dealers' barrack, where she besought ishac en nedim to buy her, and how she won to er reshid, till the moment when iblis came to her and brought her to them. they gave not over talking till the sun declined and turned pale and the season of sundown drew near and the day departed, whereupon tuhfeh was instant in supplication to god the most high, on the occasion of the prayer of sundown, that he would reunite her with her lord er reshid. after this, she abode with the four queens, till they arose and entered the palace, where she found the candles lit and ranged in candlesticks of gold and silver and censing-vessels of gold and silver, filled with aloes-wood and ambergris, and there were the kings of the jinn sitting. so she saluted them, kissing the earth before them and doing them worship; and they rejoiced in her and in her sight. then she ascended [the estrade] and sat down upon her chair, whilst king es shisban and king el muzfir and queen louloueh and [other] the kings of the jinn sat on chairs, and they brought tables of choice, spread with all manner meats befitting kings. they ate their fill; after which the tables were removed and they washed their hands and wiped them with napkins. then they brought the wine-service and set on bowls and cups and flagons and hanaps of gold and silver and beakers of crystal and gold; and they poured out the wines and filled the flagons. then iblis took the cup and signed to tuhfeh to sing; and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: drink ever, o lovers, i rede you, of wine and praise his desert who for yearning doth pine, where lavender, myrtle, narcissus entwine, with all sweet-scented herbs, round the juice of the vine. so iblis the accursed drank and said, 'well done, o desire of hearts! but thou owest me yet another song.' then he filled the cup and signed to her to sing. quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience,' and sang the following verses: ye know i'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment, yet ye torment me, for to you 'tis pleasing to torment. between mine eyes and wake ye have your dwelling-place, and thus my tears flow on unceasingly, my sighs know no relent. how long shall i for justice sue to you, whilst, with desire for aid, ye war on me and still on slaying me are bent! to me your rigour love-delight, your distance nearness is; ay, your injustice equity, and eke your wrath consent. accuse me falsely, cruelly entreat me; still ye are my heart's beloved, at whose hands no rigour i resent. all who were present were delighted and the sitting-chamber shook with mirth, and iblis said, 'well done, o tuhfet es sudour!' then they gave not over wine-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry and tambourining and piping till the night waned and the dawn drew near; and indeed exceeding delight entered into them. the most of them in mirth was the sheikh iblis, and for the excess of that which betided him of delight, he put off all that was upon him of coloured clothes and cast them over tuhfeh, and among the rest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths, worth ten thousand dinars. then he kissed the earth and danced and put his finger to his arse and taking his beard in his hand, said to her, 'sing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance, and no blame shall betide thee for this.' so she improvised and sang the following verses: beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be my saying of a knave, his fashion and degree? i rede thee vaunt thee not of praise from us, for lo! even as a docktailed cur thou art esteemed of me. by allah, without fail, to-morrow thou shalt see me with ox-leather dress and drub the nape of thee! all those who were present laughed at her mockery of iblis and marvelled at the goodliness of her observation[fn# ] and her readiness in improvising verses; whilst the sheikh himself rejoiced and said to her, 'o tuhfet es sudour, the night is gone; so arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-morrow all shall be well.' then all the kings of the jinn departed, together with those who were present of guards, and tuhfeh abode alone, pondering the affair of er reshid and bethinking her of how it was with him, after her, and of that which had betided him for her loss, till the dawn gleamed, when she arose and walked in the palace. presently she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and found herself in a garden goodlier than the first, never saw eyes a fairer than it. when she beheld this garden, delight moved her and she called to mind her lord er reshid and wept sore, saying, 'i crave of the bounty of god the most high that my return to him and to my palace and my home may be near at hand!' then she walked in the garden till she came to a pavilion, lofty of building and wide of continence, never saw mortal nor heard of a goodlier than it [so she entered] and found herself in a long corridor, which led to a bath goodlier than that whereof it hath been spoken, and the cisterns thereof were full of rose-water mingled with musk. quoth tuhfeh, 'extolled be the perfection of god! indeed, this[fn# ] is none other than a mighty king.' then she put off her clothes and washed her body and made her ablution, after the fullest fashion,[fn# ] and prayed that which was due from her of prayer from the evening [of the previous day].[fn# ] when the sun rose upon the gate of the garden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was therein of all manner flowers and streams, and heard the voices of its birds, she marvelled at what she saw of the surpassing goodliness of its ordinance and the beauty of its disposition and sat meditating the affair of er reshid and pondering what was come of him after her. her tears ran down upon her cheek and the zephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till she felt a breath on her cheek, whereupon she awoke in affright and found queen kemeriyeh kissing her face, and with her her sisters, who said to her, 'arise, for the sun hath set.' so she arose and making the ablution, prayed that which behoved her of prayers[fn# ] and accompanied the four queens to the palace, where she saw the candles lighted and the kings sitting. she saluted them and seated herself upon her couch; and behold, king es shisban had changed his favour, for all the pride of his soul. then came up iblis (whom god curse!) and tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hands. he in turn kissed her hand and called down blessings on her and said, 'how deemest thou? is [not] this place pleasant, for all its loneliness and desolation?' quoth she, 'none may be desolate in this place;' and he said, 'know that no mortal dare tread [the soil of] this place.' but she answered, 'i have dared and trodden it, and this is of the number of thy favours.' then they brought tables and meats and viands and fruits and sweetmeats and what not else, to the description whereof mortal man availeth not, and they ate till they had enough; after which the tables were removed and the trays and platters[fn# ] set on, and they ranged the bottles and flagons and vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and sweet-scented flowers. the first to take the cup was iblis the accursed, who said, 'o tuhfet es sudour, sing over my cup.' so she took the lute and touching it, sang the following verses: awaken, o ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here by what's vouchsafed of fortune fair and life untroubled, clear. drink of the first-run wine, that shows as very flame it were, when from the pitcher 'tis outpoured, or ere the day appear. o skinker of the vine-juice, let the cup 'twixt us go round, for in its drinking is my hope and all i hold most dear. what is the pleasance of the world, except it be to see my lady's face, to drink of wine and ditties still to hear? so iblis drank off his cup, and when he had made an end of his draught, he waved his hand to tuhfeh, and putting off that which was upon him of clothes, delivered them to her. amongst them was a suit worth ten thousand dinars and a tray full of jewels worth a great sum of money. then he filled again and gave the cup to his son es shisban, who took it from his hand and kissing it, stood up and sat down again. now there was before him a tray of roses; so he said to her 'o tuhfeh sing upon these roses.' hearkening and obedience,' answered she and sang the following verses: o'er all the fragrant flowers that be i have the prefrence aye, for that i come but once a year, and but a little stay. and high is my repute, for that i wounded aforetime my lord,[fn# ] whom god made best of all the treaders of the clay. so es shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, 'well done, o desire of hearts!' and he bestowed on her that which was upon him, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great pearls and rubies and broidered with precious stones, and a tray wherein were fifty thousand dinars. then meimoun the sworder took the cup and fell to gazing intently upon tuhfeh. now there was in his hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, 'sing upon this pomegranate-flower, o queen of men and jinn; for indeed thou hast dominion over all hearts.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience;' and she improvised and sang the following verses: the zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, and as with falling fire 'twas clad anew; and to the birds' descant in the foredawns, from out the boughs it flowered forth and grew, till in a robe of sandal green 'twas clad and veil that blended rose and flame[fn# ] in hue. meinsoun drank off his cup and said to her, 'well done, o perfect of attributes!' then he signed to her and was absent awhile, after which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an hundred thousand dinars, [which he gave to tuhfeh]. so kemeriyeh arose and bade her slave-girl open the closet behind her, wherein she laid all that wealth. then she delivered the key to tuhfeh, saying, 'all that cometh to thee of riches, lay thou in this closet that is by thy side, and after the festival, it shall be carried to thy palace on the heads of the jinn.' tuhfeh kissed her hand, and another king, by name munir, took the cup and filling it, said to her, 'o fair one, sing to me over my cup upon the jasmine.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised the following verses: it is as the jasmine, when it i espy, as it glitters and gleams midst its boughs, were a sky of beryl, all glowing with beauty, wherein thick stars of pure silver shine forth to the eye. munir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand dinars, whereat kemeriyeh rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed tuhfeh on her face and said to her, 'may the world not be bereaved of thee, o thou who lordest it over the hearts of jinn and mortals!' then she returned to her place and the sheikh iblis arose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which he said to tuhfeh, 'indeed, thou embellishest my festival, o thou who hast commandment over men and jinn and rejoicest their hearts with thy loveliness and the excellence of thy faithfulness to thy lord. all that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy palace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at hand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont' tuhfeh turned and found with her none of the jinn; so she laid her head on the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which she arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and prayed. then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the affair of her lord er reshid and that which had betided him after her and wept sore. presently, she heard a blowing behind her; so she turned and behold, a head without a body and with eyes slit endlong; it was of the bigness of an elephant's head and bigger and had a mouth as it were an oven and projecting tusks, as they were grapnels, and hair that trailed upon the earth. so tuhfeh said, 'i take refuge with god from satan the stoned!' and recited the two amulets;[fn# ] what while the head drew near her and said to her, 'peace be upon thee, o princess of jinn and men and unique pearl of her age and her time! may god still continue thee on life, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy lord the imam!'[fn# ] 'and upon thee be peace,' answered she, 'o thou whose like i have not seen among the jinn!' quoth the head, 'we are a people who avail not to change their favours and we are called ghouls. the folk summon us to their presence, but we may not present ourselves before them [without leave]. as for me, i have gotten leave of the sheikh aboultawaif to present myself before thee and i desire of thy favour that thou sing me a song, so i may go to thy palace and question its haunters[fn# ] concerning the plight of thy lord after thee and return to thee; and know, o tuhfet es sudour, that between thee and thy lord is a distance of fifty years' journey to the diligent traveller.' 'indeed,' rejoined tuhfeh, 'thou grievest me [for him] between whom and me is fifty years' journey. and the head said to her, 'be of good heart and cheerful eye, for the kings of the jinn will restore thee to him in less than the twinkling of an eye.' quoth she,' i will sing thee an hundred songs, so thou wilt bring me news of my lord and that which hath befallen him after me.' and the head answered, saying, 'do thou favour me and sing me a song, so i may go to thy lord and bring thee news of him, for that i desire, before i go, to hear thy voice, so haply my thirst[fn# ] may be quenched.' so she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: they have departed; but the steads yet full of them remain: yea, they have left me, but my heart of them doth not complain. my heart bereavement of my friends forebode; may god of them the dwellings not bereave, but send them timely home again! though they their journey's goal, alas i have hidden, in their track still will i follow on until the very planets wane. ye sleep; by allah, sleep comes not to ease my weary lids; but from mine eyes, since ye have passed away, the blood doth rain. the railers for your loss pretend that i should patient be: 'away!' i answer them: ' 'tis i, not you, that feel the pain.' what had it irked them, had they'd ta'en farewell of him they've left lone, whilst estrangement's fires within his entrails rage amain? great in delight, beloved mine, your presence is with me; yet greater still the miseries of parting and its bane. ye are the pleasaunce of my soul; or present though you be or absent from me, still my heart and thought with you remain. the head wept exceeding sore and said, 'o my lady, indeed thou hast solaced my heart, and i have nought but my life; so take it.' quoth she, 'an i but knew that thou wouldst bring me news of my lord er reshid, it were liefer to me than the empery of the world.' and the head answered her, saying, 'it shall be done as thou desirest.' then it disappeared and returning to her at the last of the night, said, 'know, o my lady, that i have been to thy palace and have questioned one of the haunters thereof of the case of the commander of the faithful and that which befell him after thee; and he said, "when the commander of the faithful came to tuhfeh's lodging and found her not and saw no sign of her, he buffeted his face and head and rent his clothes. now there was in thy lodging the eunuch, the chief of thy household, and he cried out at him, saying, 'bring me jaafer the barmecide and his father and brother forthright.' the eunuch went out, confounded in his wit for fear of the commander of the faithful, and whenas he came to jaafer, he said to him, 'come to the commander of the faithful, thou and thy father and brother.' so they arose in haste and betaking themselves to the khalif's presence, said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, what is to do?' quoth he, 'there is that to do which overpasseth description. know that i locked the door and taking the key with me, betook myself to the daughter of mine uncle, with whom i lay the night; but, when i arose in the morning and came and opened the door, i found no sign of tuhfeh.' 'o commander of the faithful,' rejoined jaafer, 'have patience, for that the damsel hath been snatched away, and needs must she return, seeing she took the lute with her, and it is her [own] lute. the jinn have assuredly carried her off and we trust in god the most high that she will return.' quoth the khalif, ' this[fn# ] is a thing that may nowise be' and he abode in her lodging, eating not neither drinking, what while the barmecides besought him to go forth to the folk; and he weepeth and abideth on this wise till she shall return." this, then, is that which hath betided him after thee.' when tuhfeh heard this, it was grievous to her and she wept sore; whereupon quoth the head to her, 'the relief of god the most high is near at hand; but now let me hear somewhat of thy speech.' so she took the lute and sang three songs, weeping the while. 'by allah,' said the head, 'thou hast been bountiful to me, may god be with thee!' then it disappeared and the season of sundown came. so she arose [and betook herself] to her place [in the hall]; whereupon the candles rose up from under the earth and kindled themselves. then the kings of the jinn appeared and saluted her and kissed her hands and she saluted them. presently, up came kemeriyeh and her three sisters and saluted tuhfeh and sat down; whereupon the tables were brought and they ate. then the tables were removed and there came the wine-tray and the drinking-service. so tuhfeh took the lute and one of the three queens filled the cup and signed to tuhfeh [to sing]. now she had in her hand a violet; so tuhfeh sang the following verses: behold, i am clad in a robe of leaves green and a garment of honour of ultramarine. though little, with beauty myself i've adorned; so the flowers are my subjects and i am their queen. if the rose be entitled the pride of the morn, before me nor after she wins it, i ween. the queen drank off her cup and bestowed on tuhfeh a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with red rubies, worth twenty thousand dinars, and a tray wherein were ten thousand dinars. all this while meimoun's eye was upon her and presently he said to her, 'harkye, tuhfeh! sing to me.' but queen zelzeleh cried out at him and said, 'desist, o meimoun. thou sufferest not tuhfeh to pay heed unto us.' quoth he, 'i will have her sing to me.' and words waxed between them and queen zelzeleh cried out at him. then she shook and became like unto the jinn and taking in her hand a mace of stone, said to him, 'out on thee! what art thou that thou shouldst bespeak us thus? by allah, but for the king's worship and my fear of troubling the session and the festival and the mind of the sheikh iblis, i would assuredly beat the folly out of thy head!' when meimoun heard these her words, he rose, with the fire issuing from his eyes, and said, 'o daughter of imlac, what art thou that thou shouldst outrage me with the like of this talk?' 'out on thee, o dog of the jinn,' replied she, 'knowest thou not thy place?' so saying, she ran at him and offered to strike him with the mace, but the sheikh iblis arose and casting his turban on the ground, said, 'out on thee, o meimoun! thou still dost with us on this wise. wheresoever thou art present, thou troubleth our life! canst thou not hold thy peace till thou goest forth of the festival and this bride-feast[fn# ] be accomplished? when the circumcision is at an end and ye all return to your dwelling-places, then do as thou wilt. out on thee, o meimoun! knowest thou not that imlac is of the chiefs of the jinn? but for my worship, thou shouldst have seen what would have betided thee of humiliation and punishment; but by reason of the festival none may speak. indeed thou exceedest: knowest thou not that her sister wekhimeh is doughtier than any of the jinn? learn to know thyself: hast thou no regard for thy life?' meimoun was silent and iblis turned to tuhfeh and said to her, 'sing to the kings of the jinn this day and to-night until the morrow, when the boy will be circumcised and each shall return to his own place.' so she took the lute and kemeriyeh said to her, (now she had in her hand a cedrat), 'o my sister, sing to me on this cedrat.' 'hearkening and obedience,' replied tuhfeh, and improvising, sang the following verses: my fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, whose beauty amazeth all those that behold. my juice among kings is still drunken for wine and a present am i betwixt friends, young and old. at this queen kemeriyeh was moved to exceeding delight and drank off her cup, saying, 'well done, o queen of hearts!' moreover, she took off a surcoat of blue brocade, fringed with red rubies, and a necklace of white jewels, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and gave them to tuhfeh. then she passed the cup to her sister zelzeleh, who had in her hand sweet basil, and she said to tuhfeh, 'sing to me on this sweet basil.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following verses: the crown of the flow'rets am i, in the chamber of wine, and allah makes mention of me 'mongst the pleasures divine; yea, ease and sweet basil and peace, the righteous are told, in eternity's garden of sweets shall to bless them combine.[fn# ] where, then, is the worth that in aught with my worth can compare and where is the rank in men's eyes can be likened to mine? thereat queen zelzeleh was moved to exceeding delight and bidding her treasuress bring a basket, wherein were fifty pairs of bracelets and the like number of earrings, all of gold, set with jewels of price, the like whereof nor men nor jinn possessed, and an hundred robes of coloured brocade and an hundred thousand dinars, gave the whole to tuhfeh. then she passed the cup to her sister sherareh, who had in her hand a stalk of narcissus; so she took it from her and turning to tuhfeh, said to her, 'o tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following verses: most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow i; amongst the fragrant flow'rets there's none with me can vie. the eyes of lovely women are likened unto me; indeed, amongst the gardens i open many an eye. when she had made an end of her song, sherareh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking off her cup, said to her, 'well done, o gift of hearts!' then she ordered her an hundred dresses of brocade and an hundred thousand dinars and passed the cup to queen wekhimeh. now she had in her hand somewhat of blood-red anemone; so she took the cup from her sister and turning to tuhfeh, said to her, 'o tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' quoth she, 'i hear and obey,' and improvised the following verses: the merciful dyed me with that which i wear of hues with whose goodliness none may compare. the earth is my birth-place, indeed; but my place of abidance is still in the cheeks of the fair. therewith wekhimeh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking off the cup, ordered her twenty dresses of greek brocade and a tray, wherein were thirty thousand dinars. then she gave the cup to queen shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, who took it and said, 'o my lady tuhfeh, sing to me on the gillyflower.' quoth she 'hearkening and obedience,' and improvised the following verses: the season of my presence is never at an end 'mongst all their time in gladness and solacement who spend, whenas the folk assemble for birling at the wine, whether in morning's splendour or when night's shades descend. the pitcher then of goblets filled full and brimming o'er with limpid wine we plunder, that pass from friend to friend. queen shuaaeh was moved to exceeding delight and emptying her cup, gave tuhfeh an hundred thousand dinars. then arose iblis (may god curse him!) and said, 'verily, the dawn gleameth.' whereupon the folk arose and disappeared, all of them, and there abode not one of them save tuhfeh, who went forth to the garden and entering the bath, made her ablutions and prayed that which had escaped her of prayers. then she sat down and when the sun rose, behold, there came up to her near an hundred thousand green birds; the branches of the trees were filled with their multitudes and they warbled in various voices, whilst tuhfeh marvelled at their fashion. presently, up came eunuchs, bearing a throne of gold, set with pearls and jewels and jacinths white and red and having four steps of gold, together with many carpets of silk and brocade and egyptian cloth of silk welted with gold. these latter they spread amiddleward the garden and setting up the throne thereon, perfumed the place with virgin musk and aloes and ambergris. after that, there appeared a queen, never saw eyes a goodlier than she nor than her attributes; she was clad in rich raiment, embroidered with pearls and jewels, and on her head was a crown set with various kinds of pearls and jewels. about her were five hundred slave-girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons, screening her, right and left, and she among them as she were the moon on the night of its full, for that she was the most of them in majesty and dignity. she gave not over walking, till she came to tuhfeh, whom she found gazing on her in amazement; and when the latter saw her turn to her, she rose to her, standing on her feet, and saluted her and kissed the earth before her. the queen rejoiced in her and putting out her hand to her, drew her to herself and seated her by her side on the couch; whereupon tuhfeh kissed her hands and the queen said to her, 'know, o tuhfeh, that all that thou treadest of these belong not to any of the jinn,[fn# ] for that i am the queen of them all and the sheikh aboultawaif iblis sought my permission[fn# ] and prayed me to be present at the circumcision of his son. so i sent to him, in my stead, a slave-girl of my slave-girls, to wit, shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, who is vice-queen of my kingdom. when she was present at the wedding and saw thee and heard thy singing, she sent to me, giving me to know of thee and setting forth to me thine elegance and pleasantness and the goodliness of thy breeding and thy singing. so i am come to thee, for that which i have heard of thy charms, and this shall bring thee great worship in the eyes of all the jinn.'[fn# ] tuhfeh arose and kissed the earth and the queen thanked her for this and bade her sit. so she sat down and the queen called for food; whereupon they brought a table of gold, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels and spread with various kinds of birds and meats of divers hues, and the queen said, 'o tuhfeh, in the name of god, let us eat bread and salt together, thou and i.' so tuhfeh came forward and ate of those meats and tasted somewhat the like whereof she had never eaten, no, nor aught more delicious than it, what while the slave-girls stood compassing about the table and she sat conversing and laughing with the queen. then said the latter, 'o my sister, a slave-girl told me of thee that thou saidst, "how loathly is yonder genie meimoun! there is no eating [in his presence]."'[fn# ] 'by allah, o my lady,' answered tuhfeh, 'i cannot brook the sight of him,[fn# ] and indeed i am fearful of him.' when the queen heard this, she laughed, till she fell backward, and said, 'o my sister, by the virtue of the inscription upon the seal-ring of solomon, prophet of god, i am queen over all the jinn, and none dare so much as look on thee a glance of the eye.' and tuhfeh kissed her hand. then the tables were removed and they sat talking. presently up came the kings of the jinn from every side and kissed the earth before the queen and stood in her service; and she thanked them for this, but stirred not for one of them. then came the sheikh aboultawaif iblis (god curse him!) and kissed the earth before her, saying, 'o my lady, may i not be bereft of these steps!'[fn# ] o sheikh aboultawalf,' answered she, 'it behoveth thee to thank the bounty of the lady tuhfeh, who was the cause of my coming.' 'true,' answered he and kissed the earth. then the queen fared on [towards the palace] and there [arose and] alighted upon the trees an hundred thousand birds of various colours. quoth tuhfeh, 'how many are these birds!' and queen wekhimeh said to her, 'know, o my sister, that this queen is called queen es shuhba and that she is queen over all the jinn from east to west. these birds that thou seest are of her troops, and except they came in this shape, the earth would not contain them. indeed, they came forth with her and are present with her presence at this circumcision. she will give thee after the measure of that which hath betided thee[fn# ] from the first of the festival to the last thereof; and indeed she honoureth us all with her presence.' then the queen entered the palace and sat down on the throne of the circumcision[fn# ] at the upper end of the hall, whereupon tuhfeh took the lute and pressing it to her bosom, touched its strings on such wise that the wits of all present were bewildered and the sheikh iblis said to her, 'o my lady tuhfeh, i conjure thee, by the life of this worshipful queen, sing for me and praise thyself, and gainsay me not.' quoth she, 'hearkening and obedience; yet, but for the adjuration by which thou conjurest me, i had not done this. doth any praise himself? what manner of thing is this?' then she improvised and sang the following verses: in every rejoicing a boon[fn# ] midst the singers and minstrels am i; the folk witness bear of my worth and none can my virtues deny. my virtues 'mongst men are extolled and my glory and station rank high. her verses pleased the kings of the jinn and they said, 'by allah, thou sayst sooth!' then she rose to her feet, with the lute in her hand, and played and sang, whilst the jinn and the sheikh aboultawaif danced. then the latter came up to her and gave her a carbuncle he had taken from the hidden treasure of japhet, son of noah (on whom be peace), and which was worth the kingdom of the world; its light was as the light of the sun and he said to her, 'take this and glorify thyself withal over[fn# ] the people of the world.' she kissed his hand and rejoiced in the jewel and said, 'by allah, this beseemeth none but the commander of the faithful.' now the dancing of iblis pleased queen es shuhba and she said to him, 'by allah, this is a goodly dancing!' he thanked her for this and said to tuhfeh, 'o tuhfeh, there is not on the face of the earth a skilfuller than ishac en nedim; but thou art more skilful than he. indeed, i have been present with him many a time and have shown him passages[fn# ] on the lute, and there have betided me such and such things with him.[fn# ] indeed, the story of my dealings with him is a long one and this is no time to repeat it; but now i would fain show thee a passage on the lute, whereby thou shall be exalted over all the folk.' quoth she to him, 'do what seemeth good to thee.' so he took the lute and played thereon on wondrous wise, with rare divisions and extraordinary modulations, and showed her a passage she knew not; and this was liefer to her than all that she had gotten. then she took the lute from him and playing thereon, [sang and] presently returned to the passage that he had shown her; and he said, 'by allah, thou singest better than i!' as for tuhfeh, it was made manifest to her that her former usance[fn# ] was all of it wrong and that what she had learnt from the sheikh aboultawaif iblis was the origin and foundation [of all perfection] in the art. so she rejoiced in that which she had gotten of [new skill in] touching the lute far more than in all that had fallen to her lot of wealth and raiment and kissed the sheikh's hand. then said queen es shuhba, 'by allah, o sheikh, my sister tuhfeh is indeed unique among the folk of her time, and i hear that she singeth upon all sweet- scented flowers.' 'yes, o my lady,' answered iblis, 'and i am in the utterest of wonderment thereat. but there remaineth somewhat of sweet-scented flowers, that she hath not besung, such as the myrtle and the tuberose and the jessamine and the moss-rose and the like.' then he signed to her to sing upon the rest of the flowers, that queen es shuhba might hear, and she said, 'hearkening and obedience.' so she took the lute and played thereon in many modes, then returned to the first mode and sang the following verses: one of the host am i of lovers sad and sere for waiting long drawn out and expectation drear. my patience underneath the loss of friends and folk with pallor's sorry garb hath clad me, comrades dear. abasement, misery and heart-break after those i suffer who endured before me many a year. all through the day its light and when the night grows dark, my grief forsakes me not, no, nor my heavy cheer. my tears flow still, nor aye of bitterness i'm quit, bewildered as i am betwixten hope and fear. therewithal queen es shuhba was moved to exceeding delight and said, 'well done, o queen of delight! none can avail to describe thee. sing to us on the apple,' quoth tuhfeh, 'hearkening and obedience.' then she improvised and sang the following verses: endowed with amorous grace past any else am i; graceful of shape and lithe and pleasing to the eye. the hands of noble folk do tend me publicly; with waters clear and sweet my thirsting tongue they ply. my clothes of sendal are, my veil of the sun's light, the very handiwork of god the lord most high. whenas my sisters dear forsake me, grieved that they must leave their native place and far away must hie, the nobles' hands, for that my place i must forsake, do solace me with beds, whereon at ease i lie. lo! in the garden-ways, the place of ease and cheer, still, like the moon at full, my light thou mayst espy. queen es shubha rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and said, 'well done! by allah, there is none surpasseth thee.' tuhfeh kissed the earth, then returned to her place and improvised on the tuberose, saying: my flower a marvel on your heads doth show, yet homeless[fn# ] am i in your land, i trow. make drink your usance in my company and flout the time that languishing doth go. camphor itself to me doth testify and in my presence owns me white as snow. so make me in your morning a delight and set me in your houses, high and low; so shall we quaff the cups in ease and cheer, in endless joyance, quit of care and woe. at this queen es shuhba was stirred to exceeding delight and said, 'well done, o queen of delight! by allah, i know not how i shall do to render thee thy due! may god the most high grant us to enjoy thy long continuance [on life]!' then she strained her to her breast and kissed her on the cheek; whereupon quoth iblis (on whom be malison!), 'indeed, this is an exceeding honour!' quoth the queen, 'know that this lady tuhfeh is my sister and that her commandment is my commandment and her forbiddance my forbiddance. so hearken all to her word and obey her commandment.' therewithal the kings rose all and kissed the earth before tuhfeh, who rejoiced in this. moreover, queen es shuhba put off on her a suit adorned with pearls and jewels and jacinths, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and wrote her on a sheet of paper a patent in her own hand, appointing her her deputy. so tuhfeh rose and kissed the earth before the queen, who said to her, 'sing to us, of thy favour, concerning the rest of the sweet-scented flowers and herbs, so i may hear thy singing and divert myself with witnessing thy skill.' 'hearkening and obedience, o lady mine,' answered tuhfeh and taking the lute, improvised the following verses: midst colours, my colour excelleth in light and i would every eye of my charms might have sight. my place is the place of the fillet and pearls and the fair are most featly with jasmine bedight, how bright and how goodly my lustre appears! yea, my wreaths are like girdles of silver so white. then she changed the measure and improvised the following: i'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed; when the loved one calls, i keep the tryst agreed. my favours i deny not all the year; though cessation be desired, i nothing heed. i'm the keeper of the promise and the troth, and my gathering is eath, without impede. then she changed the measure and the mode [and played] so that she amazed the wits of those who were present, and queen es shuhba was moved to mirth and said, 'well done, o queen of delight!' then she returned to the first mode and improvised the following verses on the water-lily: i fear to be seen in the air, without my consent, unaware; so i stretch out my root neath the flood and my branches turn back to it there. therewithal queen es shuhba was moved to delight and said, 'well done, o tuhfeh! let me have more of thy singing.' so she smote the lute and changing the mode, improvised the following verses on the moss-rose: look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, midmost its leafage, covered all with green. tis gazed at for its slender swaying shape and cherished for its symmetry and sheen. lovely with longing for its love's embrace, the fear of his estrangement makes it lean. then she changed the measure and the mode and sang the following verses: o thou that questionest the lily of its scent, give ear unto my words and verses thereanent. th' amir (quoth it) am i whose charms are still desired; absent or present, all in loving me consent. when she had made an end of her song, queen es shuhba arose and said, 'never heard i from any the like of this.' and she drew tuhfeh to her and fell to kissing her. then she took leave of her and flew away; and all the birds took flight with her, so that they walled the world; whilst the rest of the kings tarried behind. when it was the fourth night, there came the boy whom they were minded to circumcise, adorned with jewels such as never saw eye nor heard ear of, and amongst the rest a crown of gold, set with pearls and jewels, the worth whereof was an hundred thousand dinars. he sat down upon the throne and tuhfeh sang to him, till the surgeon came and they circumcised him, in the presence of all the kings, who showered on him great store of jewels and jacinths and gold. queen kemeriyeh bade the servants gather up all this and lay it in tuhfeh's closet, and it was [as much in value as] all that had fallen to her, from the first of the festival to the last thereof. moreover, the sheikh iblis (whom god curse!) bestowed upon tuhfeh the crown worn by the boy and gave the latter another, whereat her reason fled. then the jinn departed, in order of rank, whilst iblis took leave of them, band by band. whilst the sheikh was thus occupied with taking leave of the kings, meimoun sought his opportunity, whenas he saw the place empty, and taking up tuhfeh on his shoulders, soared up with her to the confines of the sky and flew away with her. presently, iblis came to look for tuhfeh and see what she purposed, but found her not and saw the slave-girls buffeting their faces; so he said to them, 'out on ye! what is to do?' 'o our lord,' answered they, 'meimoun hath snatched up tuhfeh and flown away with her.' when iblis heard this, he gave a cry, to which the earth trembled, and said, 'what is to be done? out on ye! shall he carry off tuhfeh from my very palace and outrage mine honour? doubtless, this meimoun hath lost his wits.' then he cried out a second time, that the earth quaked therefor, and rose up into the air. the news came to the rest of the kings; so they [flew after him and] overtaking him, found him full of trouble and fear, with fire issuing from his nostrils, and said to him, 'o sheikh aboultawaif, what is to do?' quoth he, 'know that meimoun hath carried off tuhfeh from my palace and outraged mine honour.' when they heard this, they said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! by allah, he hath ventured upon a grave matter and indeed he destroyeth himself and his people!' then the sheikh iblis gave not over flying till he fell in with the tribes of the jinn, and there gathered themselves together unto him much people, none may tell the tale of them save god the most high. so they came to the fortress of copper and the citadel of lead,[fn# ] and the people of the strongholds saw the tribes of the jinn issuing from every steep mountain-pass and said, 'what is to do?' then iblis went in to king es shisban and acquainted him with that which had befallen, whereupon quoth he, 'may god destroy meimoun and his folk! he thinketh to possess tuhfeh, and she is become queen of the jinn! but have patience till we contrive that which befitteth in the matter of tuhfeh.' quoth iblis, 'and what befitteth it to do?' and es shisban said, *we will fall upon him and slay him and his people with the sword.' then said the sheikh iblis, 'we were best acquaint queen kemeriyeh and queen zelzeleh and queen sherareh and queen wekhimeh; and when they are assembled, god shall ordain [that which he deemeth] good in the matter of her release.' 'it is well seen of thee,' answered es shisban and despatched to queen kemeriyeh an afrit called selheb, who came to her palace and found her asleep; so he aroused her and she said, 'what is to do, o selheb?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'come to the succour of thy sister tuhfeh, for that meimoun hath carried her off and outraged thine honour and that of the sheikh iblis.' quoth she, 'what sayest thou?' and she sat up and cried out with a great cry. and indeed she feared for tuhfeh and said, 'by allah, indeed she used to say that he looked upon her and prolonged the looking on her; but ill is that to which his soul hath prompted him.' then she arose in haste and mounting a she-devil of her devils, said to her, 'fly.' so she flew off and alighted with her in the palace of her sister sherareh, whereupon she sent for her sisters zelzeleh and wekhimeh and acquainted them with the news, saying, 'know that meimoun hath snatched up tuhfeh and flown off with her swiftlier than the blinding lightning.' [then they all flew off in haste and] lighting down in the place where were their father es shisban and their grandfather the sheikh aboultawaif, found the folk on the sorriest of plights. when their grandfather iblis saw them, he rose to them and wept, and they all wept for tuhfeh. then said iblis to them, 'yonder dog hath outraged mine honour and taken tuhfeh, and i doubt not but that she is like to perish [of concern] for herself and her lord er reshid and saying "all that they said and did[fn# ] was false."' quoth kemeriyeh, 'o grandfather mine, there is nothing left for it but [to use] stratagem and contrivance for her deliverance, for that she is dearer to me than everything; and know that yonder accursed one, whenas he is ware of your coming upon him, will know that he hath no power to cope with you, he who is the least and meanest [of the jinn]; but we fear that, when he is assured of defeat, he will kill tuhfeh; wherefore nothing will serve but that we contrive for her deliverance; else will she perish.' 'and what hast thou in mind of device?' asked he; and she answered, 'let us take him with fair means, and if he obey, [all will be well]; else will we practise stratagem against him; and look thou not to other than myself for her deliverance.' quoth iblis, 'the affair is thine; contrive what thou wilt, for that tuhfeh is thy sister and thy solicitude for her is more effectual than [that of] any.' so kemeriyeh cried out to an afrit of the afrits and a calamity of the calamities,[fn# ] by name el ased et teyyar,[fn# ] and said to him, 'go with my message to the crescent mountain, the abiding-place of meimoun the sworder, and enter in to him and salute him in my name and say to him, "how canst thou be assured for thyself, o meimoun?[fn# ] couldst thou find none on whom to vent thy drunken humour and whom to maltreat save tuhfeh, more by token that she is a queen? but thou art excused, for that thou didst this not but of thine intoxication, and the shekh aboultawaif pardoneth thee, for that thou wast drunken. indeed, thou hast outraged his honour; but now restore her to her palace, for that she hath done well and favoured us and done us service, and thou knowest that she is presently our queen. belike she may bespeak queen es shuhba, whereupon the matter will be aggravated and that wherein there is no good will betide. indeed, thou wilt get no tittle of profit [from this thine enterprise]; verily, i give thee good counsel, and so peace be on thee!"' 'hearkening and obedience,' answered el ased and flew till he came to the crescent mountain, when he sought audience of meimoun, who bade admit him. so he entered and kissing the earth before him, gave him queen kemeriyeh's message, which when he heard he said to the afrit, 'return whence thou comest and say to thy mistress, "be silent and thou wilt do wisely." else will i come and seize upon her and make her serve tuhfeh; and if the kings of the jinn assemble together against me and i be overcome of them, i will not leave her to scent the wind of this world and she shall be neither mine nor theirs, for that she is presently my soul[fn# ] from between my ribs; and how shall any part with his soul?' when the afrit heard meimoun's words, he said to him, 'by allah, o meimoun, thou hast lost thy wits, that thou speakest these words of my mistress, and thou one of her servants!' whereupon meimoun cried out and said to him, 'out on thee, o dog of the jinn! wilt thou bespeak the like of me with these words?' then, he bade those who were about him smite el ased, but he took flight and soaring into the air, betook himself to his mistress and told her that which had passed; and she said, 'thou hast done well, o cavalier.' then she turned to her father and said to him, 'give ear unto that which i shall say to thee.' quoth he, 'say on;' and she said, 'take thy troops and go to him, for that, when he heareth this, he in his turn will levy his troops and come forth to thee; wherepon do thou give him battle and prolong the fighting with him and make a show to him of weakness and giving way. meantime, i will practise a device for winning to tuhfeh and delivering her, what while he is occupied with you in battle; and when my messenger cometh to thee and giveth thee to know that i have gotten possession of tuhfeh and that she is with me, do thou return upon meimoun forthright and destroy him, him and his hosts, and take him prisoner. but, if my device succeed not with him and we avail not to deliver tuhfeh, he will assuredly go about to slay her, without recourse, and regret for her will abide in our hearts.' quoth iblis, 'this is the right counsel,' and let call among the troops to departure, whereupon an hundred thousand cavaliers, doughty men of war, joined themselves to him and set out for meimoun's country. as for queen kemeriyeh, she flew off to the palace of her sister wekhimeh and told her what meimoun had done and how [he avouched that], whenas he saw defeat [near at hand], he would slay tuhfeh; 'and indeed,' added she, 'he is resolved upon this; else had he not dared to commit this outrage. so do thou contrive the affair as thou deemest well, for thou hast no superior in judgment.' then they sent for queen zelzeleh and queen sherareh and sat down to take counsel, one with another, of that which they should do in the matter. then said wekhimeh, 'we were best fit out a ship in this island [wherein is my palace] and embark therein, in the guise of mortals, and fare on till we come to a little island, that lieth over against meimoun's palace. there will we [take up our abode and] sit drinking and smiting the lute and singing. now tuhfeh will of a surety be sitting looking upon the sea, and needs must she see us and come down to us, whereupon we will take her by force and she will be under our hands, so that none shall avail more to molest her on any wise. or, if meimoun be gone forth to do battle with the jinn, we will storm his stronghold and take tuhfeh and raze his palace and put to death all who are therein. when he hears of this, his heart will be rent in sunder and we will send to let our father know, whereupon he will return upon him with his troops and he will be destroyed and we shall be quit of him.' and they answered her, saying, 'this is a good counsel.' then they bade fit out a ship from behind the mountain,[fn# ] and it was fitted out in less than the twinkling of an eye. so they launched it on the sea and embarking therein, together with four thousand afrits, set out, intending for meimoun's palace. moreover, they bade other five thousand afrits betake themselves to the island under the crescent mountain and lie in wait for them there. meanwhile, the sheikh aboultawaif iblis and his son es shisban set out, as we have said, with their troops, who were of the doughtiest of the jinn and the most accomplished of them in valour and horsemanship, [and fared on till they drew near the crescent mountain], when the news of their approach reached meimoun, he cried out with a great cry to the troops, who were twenty thousand horse, [and bade them make ready for departure]. then he went in to tuhfeh and kissing her, said to her, 'know that thou art presently my life of the world, and indeed the jinn are gathered together to wage war on me on thine account. if i am vouchsafed the victory over them and am preserved alive, i will set all the kings of the jinn under thy feet and thou shall become queen of the world.' but she shook her head and wept; and he said, 'weep not, for, by the virtue of the mighty inscription engraven on the seal-ring of solomon, thou shall never again see the land of men! can any one part with his life? so give ear unto that which i say; else will i kill thee.' and she was silent. then he sent for his daughter, whose name was jemreh, and when she came, he said to her, 'harkye, jemreh! know that i am going to [meet] the clans of es shisban and queen kemeriyeh and the kings of the jinn. if i am vouchsafed the victory over them, to allah be the praise and thou shall have of me largesse; but, if thou see or hear that i am worsted and any come to thee with news of me [to this effect], hasten to slay tuhfeh, so she may fall neither to me nor to them.' then he took leave of her and mounted, saying, 'when this cometh about, pass over to the crescent mountain and take up thine abode there, and await what shall befall me and what i shall say to thee.' and jemreh answered with 'hearkening and obedience.' when tuhfeh heard this, she fell to weeping and wailing and said, 'by allah, nought irketh me save separation from my lord er reshid; but, when i am dead, let the world be ruined after me.' and she doubted not in herself but that she was lost without recourse. then meimoun set forth with his army and departed in quest of the hosts [of the jinn], leaving none in the palace save his daughter jemreh and tuhfeh and an afrit who was dear unto him. they fared on till they met with the army of es shisban; and when the two hosts came face to face, they fell upon each other and fought a passing sore battle. after awhile, es shisban's troops began to give back, and when meimoun saw them do thus, he despised them and made sure of victory over them. meanwhile, queen kemeriyeh and her company sailed on, without ceasing, till they came under the palace wherein was tuhfeh, to wit, that of meimoun the sworder; and by the ordinance of destiny, tuhfeh herself was then sitting on the belvedere of the palace, pondering the affair of haroun er reshid and her own and that which had befallen her and weeping for that she was doomed to slaughter. she saw the ship and what was therein of those whom we have named, and they in mortal guise, and said, 'alas, my sorrow for yonder ship and the mortals that be therein!' as for kemeriyeh and her company, when they drew near the palace, they strained their eyes and seeing tuhfeh sitting, said, 'yonder sits tuhfeh. may god not bereave [us] of her!' then they moored their ship and making for the island, that lay over against the palace, spread carpets and sat eating and drinking; whereupon quoth tuhfeh, 'welcome and fair welcome to yonder faces! these are my kinswomen and i conjure thee by allah, o jemreh, that thou let me down to them, so i may sit with them awhile and make friends with them and return.' quoth jemreh, 'i may on no wise do that.' and tuhfeh wept. then the folk brought out wine and drank, what while kemeriyeh took the lute and sang the following verses: by allah, but that i trusted that i should meet you again, your camel-leader to parting had summoned you in vain! parting afar hath borne you, but longing still is fain to bring you near; meseemeth mine eye doth you contain. when tuhfeh heard this, she gave a great cry, that the folk heard her and kemeriyeh said, 'relief is at hand.' then she looked out to them and called to them, saying, 'o daughters of mine uncle, i am a lonely maid, an exile from folk and country. so, for the love of god the most high, repeat that song!' so kemeriyeh repeated it and tuhfeh swooned away. when she came to herself, she said to jemreh, 'by the virtue of the apostle of god (whom may he bless and preserve!) except thou suffer me go down to them and look on them and sit with them awhile, [i swear] i will cast myself down from this palace, for that i am weary of my life and know that i am slain without recourse; wherefore i will slay myself, ere thou pass sentence upon me.' and she was instant with her in asking. when jemreh heard her words, she knew that, if she let her not down, she would assuredly destroy herself. so she said to her, 'o tuhfeh, between thee and them are a thousand fathoms; but i will bring them up to thee.' 'nay,' answered tuhfeh, 'needs must i go down to them and take my pleasance in the island and look upon the sea anear; then will we return, thou and i; for that, if thou bring them up to us, they will be affrighted and there will betide them neither easance nor gladness. as for me, i do but wish to be with them, that they may cheer me with their company neither give over their merrymaking, so haply i may make merry with them, and indeed i swear that needs must i go down to them; else will i cast myself upon them.' and she cajoled jemreh and kissed her hands, till she said, 'arise and i will set thee down beside them.' then she took tuhfeh under her armpit and flying up, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, set her down with kemeriyeh and her company; whereupon she went up to them and accosted them, saying, 'fear not, no harm shall betide you; for i am a mortal, like unto you, and i would fain look on you and talk with you and hear your singing.' so they welcomed her and abode in their place, whilst jemreh sat down beside them and fell a-snuffing their odours and saying, 'i smell the scent of the jinn! i wonder whence [it cometh!'] then said wekhimeh to her sister kemeriyeh, 'yonder filthy one [smelleth us] and presently she will take to flight; so what is this remissness concerning her?'[fn# ] thereupon kemeriyeh put out a hand,[fn# ] as it were a camel's neck,[fn# ] and dealt jemreh a buffet on the head, that made it fly from her body and cast it into the sea. then said she, 'god is most great!' and they uncovered their faces, whereupon tuhfeh knew them and said to them, 'protection!' queen kemeriyeh embraced her, as also did queen zelzeleh and queen wekhimeh and queen sherareh, and the former said to her, 'rejoice in assured deliverance, for there abideth no harm for thee; but this is no time for talk.' then they cried out, whereupon up came the afrits ambushed in the island, with swords and maces in their hands, and taking up tuhfeh, flew with her to the palace and made themselves masters thereof, whilst the afrit aforesaid, who was dear to meimoun and whose name was dukhan, fled like an arrow and stayed not in his flight till he carne to meimoun and found him engaged in sore battle with the jinn. when his lord saw him, he cried out at him, saying, 'out on thee! whom hast thou left in the palace?' and dukhan answered, saying, 'and who abideth in the palace? thy beloved tuhfeh they have taken and jemreh is slain and they have gotten possession of the palace, all of it.' with this meimoun buffeted his face and head and said, 'out on it for a calamity!' and he cried aloud. now kemeriyeh had sent to her father and acquainted him with the news, whereat the raven of parting croaked for them. so, when meimoun saw that which had betided him, (and indeed the jinn smote upon him and the wings of death overspread his host,) he planted the butt of his spear in the earth and turning the point thereof to his heart, urged his charger upon it and pressed upon it with his breast, till the point came forth, gleaming, from his back. meanwhile the messenger had reached the opposite camp with the news of tuhfeh's deliverance, whereat the sheikh aboultawaif rejoiced and bestowed on the bringer of good tidings a sumptuous dress of honour and made him commander over a company of the jinn. then they fell upon meimoun's troops and destroyed them to the last man; and when they came to meimoun, they found that he had slain himself and was even as we have said. presently kemeriyeh and her sister [wekhimeh] came up to their grandfather and told him what they had done; whereupon he came to tuhfeh and saluted her and gave her joy of her deliverance. then he delivered meimoun's palace to selheb and took all the former's riches and gave them to tuhfeh, whilst the troops encamped upon the crescent mountain. moreover, the sheikh aboultawaif said to tuhfeh, 'blame me not,' and she kissed his hands. as they were thus engaged, there appeared to them the tribes of the jinn, as they were clouds, and queen es shuhba flying in their van, with a drawn sword in her hand. when she came in sight of the folk, they kissed the earth before her and she said to them, 'tell me what hath betided queen tuhfeh from yonder dog meimoun and why did ye not send to me and tell me?' quoth they, 'and who was this dog that we should send to thee, on his account? indeed, he was the least and meanest [of the jinn].' then they told her what kemeriyeh and her sisters had done and how they had practised upon meimoun and delivered tuhfeh from his hand, fearing lest he should slay her, whenas he found himself discomfited; and she said, 'by allah, the accursed one was wont to prolong his looking upon her!' and tuhfeh fell to kissing queen es shuhba's hand, whilst the latter strained her to her bosom and kissed her, saying, 'trouble is past; so rejoice in assurance of relief.' then they arose and went up to the palace, whereupon the trays of food were brought and they ate and drank; after which quoth queen es shuhba, 'o tuhfeh, sing to us, by way of thankoffering for thy deliverance, and favour us with that which shall solace our minds, for that indeed my mind hath been occupied with thee.' quoth tuhfeh 'hearkening and obedience, o my lady.' so she improvised and sang the following verses: wind of the east, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, i pray, the fullest of greetings bear to them from me, their lover, and say that i am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love and eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye. therewithal queen es shuhba rejoiced and all who were present rejoiced also and admired her speech and fell to kissing her; and when she had made an end of her song, queen kemeriyeh said to her, 'o my sister, ere thou go to thy palace, i would fain bring thee to look upon el anca, daughter of behram gour, whom el anca, daughter of the wind, carried off, and her beauty; for that there is not her match on the face of the earth.' and queen es shuhba said, 'o kemeriyeh, i [also] have a mind to see her.' quoth kemeriyeh, 'i saw her three years agone; but my sister wekhimeh seeth her at all times, for that she is near unto her, and she saith that there is not in the world a fairer than she. indeed, this queen el anca is become a byword for loveliness and proverbs are made upon her beauty and grace' and wekhimeh said, 'by the mighty inscription [on the seal-ring of solomon], there is not her like in the world!' then said queen es shuhba, 'if it needs must be and the affair is as ye say, i will take tuhfeh and go with her [to el anca], so she may see her.' so they all arose and repaired to el anca, who abode in the mountain caf.[fn# ] when she saw them, she rose to them and saluted them, saying, 'o my ladies, may i not be bereaved of you!' quoth wekhimeh to her, 'who is like unto thee, o anca? behold, queen es shuhba is come to thee.' so el anca kissed the queen's feet and lodged them in her palace; whereupon tuhfeh came up to her and fell to kissing her and saying, 'never saw i a goodlier than this favour.' then she set before them somewhat of food and they ate and washed their hands; after which tuhfeh took the lute and played excellent well; and el anca also played, and they fell to improvising verses in turns, whilst tuhfeh embraced el anca every moment. quoth es shuhba, 'o my sister, each kiss is worth a thousand dinars;' and tuhfeh answered, 'indeed, a thousand dinars were little for it.' whereat el anca laughed and on the morrow they took leave of her and went away to meimoun's palace.[fn# ] here queen es shuhba bade them farewell and taking her troops, returned to her palace, whilst the kings also went away to their abodes and the sheikh aboultawaif addressed himself to divert tuhfeh till nightfall, when he mounted her on the back of one of the afrits and bade other thirty gather together all that she had gotten of treasure and raiment and jewels and dresses of honour. [then they flew off,] whilst iblis went with her, and in less than the twinkling of an eye he set her down in her sleeping-chamber. then he and those who were with him took leave of her and went away. when tuhfeh found herself in her own chamber and on her couch, her reason fled for joy and it seemed to her as if she had never stirred thence. then she took the lute and tuned it and touched it on wondrous wise and improvised verses and sang. the eunuch heard the smiting of the lute within the chamber and said, 'by allah, that is my lady tuhfeh's touch!' so he arose and went, as he were a madman, falling down and rising up, till he came to the eunuch on guard at the door at the commander of the faithful and found him sitting. when the latter saw him, and he like a madman, falling down and rising up, he said to him, 'what aileth thee and what bringeth thee hither at this hour?' quoth the other, 'wilt thou not make haste and awaken the commander of the faithful?' and he fell to crying out at him; whereupon the khalif awoke and heard them bandying words together and tuhfeh's servant saying to the other, 'out on thee! awaken the commander of the faithful in haste.' so he said, 'o sewab, what aileth thee?' and the chief eunuch answered, saying, 'o our lord, the eunuch of tuhfeh's lodging hath taken leave of his wits and saith, "awaken the commander of the faithful in haste!"' then said er reshid to one of the slave-girls, 'see what is to do.' so she hastened to admit the eunuch, who entered; and when he saw the commander of the faithful, he saluted not neither kissed the earth, but said, 'quick, quick! arise in haste! my lady tuhfeh sitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. come to her in haste and see all that i say to thee! hasten! she sitteth [in her chamber].' the khalif was amazed at his speech and said to him, 'what sayst thou?' 'didst thou not hear the first of the speech?' replied the eunuch. 'tuhfeh sitteth in the sleeping-chamber, singing and playing the lute. come thy quickliest! hasten!' so er reshid arose and donned his clothes; but he credited not the eunuch's words and said to him, 'out on thee! what is this thou sayst? hast thou not seen this in a dream?' 'by allah,' answered the eunuch, 'i know not what thou sayest, and i was not asleep.' quoth er reshid, 'if thy speech be true, it shall be for thy good luck, for i will enfranchise thee and give thee a thousand dinars; but, if it be untrue and thou have seen this in sleep, i will crucify thee.' and the eunuch said in himself, 'o protector,[fn# ] let me not have seen this in sleep!' then he left the khalif and going to the chamber-door, heard the sound of singing and lute-playing; whereupon he returned to er reshid and said to him, 'go and hearken and see who is asleep.' when er reshid drew near the door of the chamber, he heard the sound of the lute and tuhfeh's voice singing; whereat he could not restrain his reason and was like to swoon away for excess of joy. then he pulled out the key, but could not bring his hand to open the door. however, after awhile, he took heart and applying himself, opened the door and entered, saying, 'methinks this is none other than a dream or an illusion of sleep.' when tuhfeh saw him, she rose and coming to meet him, strained him to her bosom; and he cried out with a cry, wherein his soul was like to depart, and fell down in a swoon. she strained him to her bosom and sprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, and washed his face, till he came to himself, as he were a drunken man, for the excess of his joy in tuhfeh's return to him, after he had despaired of her. then she took the lute and smote thereon, after the fashion she had learnt from the sheikh iblis, so that er reshid's wit was dazed for excess of delight and his understanding was confounded for joy; after which she improvised and sang the following verses: my heart will never credit that i am far from thee; in it thou art, nor ever the soul can absent be. or if to me "i'm absent" thou sayest, "'tis a lie," my heart replies, bewildered 'twixt doubt and certainty. when she had made an end of her verses, er reshid said to her, 'o tuhfeh, thine absence was extraordinary, but thy presence[fn# ] is yet more extraordinary.' 'by allah, o my lord,' answered she, 'thou sayst sooth.' and she took his hand and said to him, 'see what i have brought with me.' so he looked and saw riches such as neither words could describe nor registers avail to set out, pearls and jewels and jacinths and precious stones and great pearls and magnificent dresses of honour, adorned with pearls and jewels and embroidered with red gold. moreover, she showed him that which queen es shuhba had bestowed on her of those carpets, which she had brought with her, and that her throne, the like whereof neither chosroes nor cassar possessed, and those tables inlaid with pearls and jewels and those vessels, that amazed all who looked on them, and the crown, that was on the head of the circumcised boy, and those dresses of honour, which queen es shuhba and the sheikh aboultawaif had put off upon her, and the trays wherein were those riches; brief, she showed him treasures the like whereof he had never in his life set eyes on and which the tongue availeth not to describe and whereat all who looked thereon were amazed. er reshid was like to lose his wits for amazement at this sight and was confounded at this that he beheld and witnessed. then said he to tuhfeh, 'come, tell me thy story from first to last, [and let me know all that hath betided thee,] as if i had been present' she answered with 'hearkening and obedience,' and fell to telling him [all that had betided her] first and last, from the time when she first saw the sheikh aboultawaif, how he took her and descended with her through the side of the draught-house; and she told him of the horse she had ridden, till she came to the meadow aforesaid and described it to him, together with the palace and that which was therein of furniture, and related to him how the jinn rejoiced in her and that which she had seen of the kings of them, men and women, and of queen kemeriyeh and her sisters and queen shuaaeh, queen of the fourth sea, and queen es shuhba, queen of queens, and king es shisban, and that which each one of them had bestowed upon her. moreover, she told him the story of meimoun the sworder and described to him his loathly favour, which he had not consented to change, and related to him that which befell her from the kings of the jinn, men and women, and the coming of the queen of queens, es shuhba, and how she had loved her and appointed her her vice-queen and how she was thus become ruler over all the kings of the jinn; and she showed him the patent of investiture that queen es shuhba had written her and told him that which had betided her with the ghoul-head, whenas it appeared to her in the garden, and how she had despatched it to her palace, beseeching it to bring her news of the commander of the faithful and that which had betided him after her. then she described to him the gardens, wherein she had taken her pleasure, and the baths inlaid with pearls and jewels and told him that which had befallen meimoun the sworder, whenas he carried her off, and how he had slain himself; brief, she told him all that she had seen of wonders and rarities and that which she had beheld of all kinds and colours among the jinn. then she told him the story of anca, daughter of behram gour, with anca, daughter of the wind, and described to him her dwelling-place and her island, whereupon quoth er reshid, 'o tuhfet es sedr,[fn# ] tell me of el anca, daughter of behram gour; is she of the jinn or of mankind or of the birds? for this long time have i desired to find one who should tell me of her.' 'it is well, o commander of the faithful,' answered tuhfeh. 'i asked the queen of this and she acquainted me with her case and told me who built her the palace.' quoth er reshid, 'i conjure thee by allah, tell it me.' and tuhfeh answered, 'it is well,' and proceeded to tell him. and indeed he was amazed at that which he heard from her and what she told him and at that which she had brought back of jewels and jacinths of various colours and preciots stones of many kinds, such as amazed the beholder and confounded thought and mind. as for this, it was the means of the enrichment of the barmecides and the abbasicles, and they abode in their delight. then the khalif went forth and bade decorate the city: [so they decorated it] and the drums of glad tidings were beaten. moreover they made banquets to the people and the tables were spread seven days. and tuhfeh and the commander of the faithful ceased not to be in the most delightsome of life and the most prosperous thereof till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and thu is all that hath come down to as of their story." calcutta ( - ) text. note. the following story occupies the last five nights (cxcv-cc) of the unfinished calcutta edition of - . the only other text of it known to me is that published by monsieur langles (paris, ), as an appendix to his edition of the voyages of sindbad, and of this i have freely availed myself in making the present translation, comparing and collating with it the calcutta ( - ) text and filling up and correcting omissions and errors that occur in the latter. in the calcutta ( - ) text this story (vol. ii. pp. - ) is immediately succeeded by the seven voyages of sindbad (vol. ii. pp. - ), which conclude the work. women's craft. it is told that there was once, in the city of baghdad, a comely and well-bred youth, fair of face, tall of stature and slender of shape. his name was alaeddin and he was of the chiefs of the sons of the merchants and had a shop wherein he sold and bought one day, as he sat in his shop, there passed by him a girl of the women of pleasure,[fn# ] who raised her eyes and casting a glance at the young merchant, saw written in a flowing hand on the forepart[fn# ] of the door of his shop, these words, "verily, there is no craft but men's craft, forasmuch as it overcometh women's craft." when she beheld this, she was wroth and took counsel with herself, saying, "as my head liveth, i will assuredly show him a trick of the tricks of women and prove the untruth of[fn# ] this his inscription!" so, on the morrow, she made her ready and donning the costliest of apparel, adorned herself with the most magnificent of ornaments and the highest of price and stained her hands with henna. then she let down her tresses upon her shoulders and went forth, walking along with coquettish swimming gait and amorous grace, followed by her slave-girls, till she came to the young merchant's shop and sitting down thereat, under colour of seeking stuffs, saluted him and demanded of him somewhat of merchandise. so he brought out to her various kinds of stuffs and she took them and turned them over, talking with him the while. then said she to him, "look at the goodliness of my shape and my symmetry. seest thou in me any default?" and he answered, "no, o my lady." "is it lawful," continued she, "in any one that he should slander me and say that i am humpbacked?" then she discovered to him a part of her bosom, and when he saw her breasts, his reason took flight from his head and he said to her, "cover it up, so may god have thee in his safeguard!" quoth she, "is it fair of any one to missay of my charms?" and he answered, "how shall any missay of thy charms, and thou the sun of loveliness?" then said she, "hath any the right to say of me that i am lophanded? "and tucking up her sleeves, showed him forearms, as they were crystal; after which she unveiled to him a face, as it were a full moon breaking forth on its fourteenth night, and said to him, "is it lawful for any to missay of me [and avouch] that my face is pitted with smallpox or that i am one-eyed or crop-eared?" and he answered her, saying, "o my lady, what is it moveth thee to discover unto me that lovely face and those fair members, [of wont so jealously] veiled and guarded? tell me the truth of the matter, may i be thy ransom!" and he recited the following verses: a white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare and now again concealed in black, luxuriant hair;[fn# ] as if the maid the day resplendent and her locks the night that o'er it spreads its shrouding darkness were. "know, o my lord," answered she, "that i am a maiden oppressed of my father, for that he misspeaketh of me and saith to me, 'thou art foul of favour and it befitteth not that thou wear rich clothes; for thou and the slave-girls, ye are equal in rank, there is no distinguishing thee from them.' now he is a rich man, having wealth galore, [and saith not on this wise but] because he is a niggard and grudgeth the spending of a farthing; [wherefore he is loath to marry me,] lest he be put to somewhat of charge in my marriage, albeit god the most high hath been bountiful to him and he is a man puissant in his time and lacking nothing of the goods of the world." "who is thy father," asked the young merchant, "and what is his condition?" and she replied, "he is the chief cadi of the supreme court, under whose hand are all the cadis who administer justice in this city." the merchant believed her and she took leave of him and went away, leaving in his heart a thousand regrets, for that the love of her had gotten possession of him and he knew not how he should win to her; wherefore he abode enamoured, love-distraught, unknowing if he were alive or dead. as soon as she was gone, he shut his shop and going up to the court, went in to the chief cadi and saluted him. the magistrate returned his salutation and entreated him with honour and seated him by his side. then said alaeddin to him, "i come to thee, a suitor, seeking thine alliance and desiring the hand of thy noble daughter." "o my lord merchant," answered the cadi, "indeed my daughter beseemeth not the like of thee, neither sorteth she with the goodliness of thy youth and the pleasantness of thy composition and the sweetness of thy discourse;" but alaeddin rejoined, saying, "this talk behoveth thee not, neither is it seemly in thee; if i be content with her, how should this irk thee?" so they came to an accord and concluded the treaty of marriage at a dower precedent of five purses[fn# ] paid down then and there and a dower contingent of fifteen purses,[fn# ] so it might be uneath unto him to put her away, forasmuch as her father had given him fair warning, but he would not be warned. then they drew up the contract of marriage and the merchant said, "i desire to go in to her this night." so they carried her to him in procession that very night, and he prayed the prayer of eventide and entered the privy chamber prepared for him; but, when he lifted the veil from the face of the bride and looked, he saw a foul face and a blameworthy aspect; yea, he beheld somewhat the like whereof may god not show thee! loathly, dispensing from description, inasmuch as there were reckoned in her all legal defects.[fn# ] so he repented, whenas repentance availed him not, and knew that the girl had cheated him. however, he lay with the bride, against his will, and abode that night sore troubled in mind, as he were in the prison of ed dilem.[fn# ] hardly had the day dawned when he arose from her and betaking himself to one of the baths, dozed there awhile, after which he made the ablution of defilement[fn# ] and washed his clothes. then he went out to the coffee-house and drank a cup of coffee; after which he returned to his shop and opening the door, sat down, with discomfiture and chagrin written on his face. presently, his friends and acquaintances among the merchants and people of the market began to come up to him, by ones and twos, to give him joy, and said to him, laughing, "god's blessing on thee! where an the sweetmeats? where is the coffee?[fn# ] it would seem thou hast forgotten us; surely, the charms of the bride have disordered thy reason and taken thy wit, god help thee! well, well; we give thee joy, we give thee joy." and they made mock of him, whilst he gave them no answer and was like to tear his clothes and weep for vexation. then they went away from him, and when it was the hour of noon, up came his mistress, trailing her skirts and swaying in her gait, as she were a cassia-branch in a garden. she was yet more richly dressed and adorned and more bewitching[fn# ] in her symmetry and grace than on the previous day, so that she made the passers stop and stand in ranks to look on her. when she came to alaeddin's shop, she sat down thereat and said to him, "may the day be blessed to thee, o my lord alaeddin! god prosper thee and be good to thee and accomplish thy gladness and make it a wedding of weal and content!" he knitted his brows and frowned in answer to her; then said he to her, "tell me, how have i failed of thy due, or what have i done to injure thee, that thou shouldst play me this trick?" quoth she, "thou hast no wise offended against me; but this inscription that is written on the door of thy shop irketh me and vexeth my heart. if thou wilt change it and write up the contrary thereof, i will deliver thee from thy predicament." and he answered, "this that thou seekest is easy. on my head and eyes be it." so saying, he brought out a ducat[fn# ] and calling one of his mamelukes, said to him, "get thee to such an one the scribe and bid him write us an inscription, adorned with gold and ultramarine, in these words, to wit, 'there is no craft but women's craft, for that indeed their craft is a mighty craft and overcometh and humbleth the fables[fn# ] of men.'" and she said to the servant, "go forthright." so he repaired to the scribe, who wrote him the scroll, and he brought it to his master, who set it on the door and said to the damsel, "art thou satisfied?" "yes," answered she. "arise forthright and get thee to the place before the citadel, where do thou foregather with all the mountebanks and ape-dancers and bear-leaders and drummers and pipers and bid them come to thee to-morrow early, with their drums and pipes, what time thou drinkest coffee with thy father-in-law the cadi, and congratulate thee and wish thee joy, saying, 'a blessed day, o son of our uncle! indeed, thou art the vein[fn# ] of our eye! we rejoice for thee, and if thou be ashamed of us, verily, we pride ourselves upon thee; so, though thou banish us from thee, know that we will not forsake thee, albeit thou forsakest us.' and do thou fall to strewing dinars and dirhems amongst them; whereupon the cadi will question thee, and do thou answer him, saying, 'my father was an ape-dancer and this is our original condition; but out lord opened on us [the gate of fortune] and we have gotten us a name among the merchants and with their provost.' then will he say to thee, 'then thou art an ape-leader of the tribe of the mountebanks?' and do thou reply, 'i may in nowise deny my origin, for the sake of thy daughter and in her honour.' the cadi will say, 'it may not be that thou shalt be given the daughter of a sheikh who sitteth upon the carpet of the law and whose descent is traceable by genealogy to the loins of the apostle of god,[fn# ] nor is it seemly that his daughter be in the power of a man who is an ape-dancer, a minstrel.' and do thou rejoin, 'nay, o effendi, she is my lawful wife and every hair of her is worth a thousand lives, and i will not let her go, though i be given the kingship of the world.' then be thou persuaded to speak the word of divorce and so shall the marriage be dissolved and ye be delivered from each other." quoth alaeddin, "thou counsellest well," and locking up his shop, betook himself to the place before the citadel, where he foregathered with the drummers and pipers and instructed them how they should do, [even as his mistress had counselled him,] promising them a handsome reward. so they answered him with "hearkening and obedience" and on the morrow, after the morning-prayer, he betook himself to the presence of the cadi, who received him with obsequious courtesy and seated him beside himself. then he turned to him and fell to conversing with him and questioning him of matters of selling and buying and of the price current of the various commodities that were exported to baghdad from all parts, whilst alaeddin replied to him of all whereof he asked him. as they were thus engaged, behold, up came the dancers and mountebanks, with their pipes and drums, whilst one of their number forewent them, with a great banner in his hand, and played all manner antics with his voice and limbs. when they came to the courthouse, the cadi exclaimed, "i seek refuge with god from yonder satans!" and the merchant laughed, but said nothing. then they entered and saluting his highness the cadi, kissed alaeddin's hands and said, "god's blessing on thee, o son of our uncle! indeed, thou solacest our eyes in that which thou dost, and we beseech god to cause the glory of our lord the cadi to endure, who hath honoured us by admitting thee to his alliance and allotted us a part in his high rank and dignity." when the cadi heard this talk, it bewildered his wit and he was confounded and his face flushed with anger and he said to his son-in-law, "what words are these?" quoth the merchant, "knowest thou not, o my lord, that i am of this tribe? indeed this man is the son of my mother's brother and that other the son of my father's brother, and i am only reckoned of the merchants [by courtesy]!" when the cadi heard this, his colour changed and he was troubled and waxed exceeding wroth and was rike to burst for excess of rage. then said he to the merchant, "god forbid that this should be! how shall it be permitted that the daughter of the cadi of the muslims abide with a man of the dancers and vile of origin? by allah, except thou divorce her forthright, i will bid beat thee and cast thee into prison till thou die! had i foreknown that thou wast of them, i had not suffered thee to approach me, but had spat in thy face, for that thou art filthier[fn# ] than a dog or a hog." then he gave him a push and casting him down from his stead, commanded him to divorce; but he said, "be clement to me, o effendi, for that god is clement, and hasten not. i will not divorce my wife, though thou give me the kingdom of irak." the cadi was perplexed and knew that constraint was not permitted of the law;[fn# ] so he spoke the young merchant fair and said to him, "protect me,[fn# ] so may god protect thee. if thou divorce her not, this disgrace will cleave to me till the end of time." then his rage got the better of him and he said to him, "an thou divorce her not with a good grace, i will bid strike off thy head forthright and slay myself; rather flame[fn# ] than shame." the merchant bethought himself awhile, then divorced her with a manifest divorcement[fn# ] and on this wise he delivered himself from that vexation. then he returned to his shop and sought in marriage of her father her who had played him the trick aforesaid and who was the daughter of the chief of the guild of the blacksmiths. so he took her to wife and they abode with each other and lived the most solaceful of lives, in all prosperity and contentment and joyance, till the day of death; and god [alone] is all-knowing. end of vol. ii. tales from the arabic, volume endnotes [fn# ] a town of khoiassan. [fn# ] i.e., he dared not attempt to force her? [fn# ] i.e. her "yes" meant "yes" and her "no" "no." [fn# ] lit. ignorance. [fn# ] lit. spoke against her due. [fn# ] i.e. a domed monument. [fn# ] lit "ignorance," often used in the sense of "forwardness." [fn# ] i.e. my present plight. [fn# ] i.e. ten thousand dinars. [fn# ] a similar story to this, though differing considerably in detail, will be found in my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the jewish cadi and his pions wife. [fn# ] or divineress (kahinek). [fn# ] i.e. whoredom. [fn# ] or "scar" (ather). [fn# ] ie. hearken to. [fn# ] i.e. persia. [fn# ] i.e. the case with which he earned his living. [fn# ] i.e. the ten thousand dirhems of the bond. [fn# ] i.e. exhorted her to patience. [fn# ] or performing surgical operations (ilaj). [fn# ] i.e. the open space before his house. [fn# ] or "drew near unto." [fn# ] i.e. a descendant of mohammed. [fn# ] or the art of judging from external appearances (firaseh). [fn# ] sic in the text; but the passage is apparently corrupt. it is not plain why a rosy complexion, blue eyes and tallness should be peculiar to women in love. arab women being commonly short, swarthy and black eyed, the attributes mentioned appear rather to denote the foreign origin of the woman; and it is probable, therefore, that this passage has by a copyist's error, been mixed up with that which related to the signs by which the mock physician recognized her strangehood, the clause specifying the symptoms of her love lorn condition having been crowded out in the process, an accident of no infrequent occurrence in the transcription of oriental works. [fn# ] yellow was the colour prescribed for the wearing of jews by the muslim lawm in accordance with the decree issued by khalif omar ben el khettab after the taking of jerusalem in a.d. . [fn# ] i.e. sunday. [fn# ] herais, a species of "risotto," made of pounded wheat or rice and meat in shreds. [fn# ] lit. "that have passed the night," i.e. are stale and therefore indigestable. [fn# ] i.e. saturday. [fn# ] i.e. native of merv. [fn# ] or "ruined," lit. "destroyed." [fn# ] i.e. native of rei, a city of khorassia. [fn# ] the text has khenadic, ditches or valleys; but this is, in all probability, a clerical or typographical error for fenadic, inns or caravanserais. [fn# ] it is a paramount duty of the muslim to provide his dead brother in the faith with decent interment; it is, therefore, a common practice for the family of a poor arab to solicit contributions toward the expenses of his burial, nor is the well-to-do true believer safe from imposition of the kind described in the text. [fn# ] i.e. the recompense in the world to come promised to the performer of a charitable action. [fn# ] i.e. camphor and lote-tree leaves dried and powdered (sometimes mixed with rose-water) which are strewn over the dead body, before it is wrapped in the shroud. in the case of a man of wealth, more costly perfumes (such as musk, aloes and ambergris) are used. [fn# ] all the ablutions prescribed by the mohammedan ritual are avoided by the occurrence, during the process, of any cause of ceremonial impurity (such as the mentioned in the text) and must be recommenced. [fn# ] having handled a corpse, he had become in a state of legal impurity and it beloved him therefore to make the prescribed ablution. [fn# ] which he had taken off for the purpose of making abulution. this was reversing the ordinary course of affairs, the dead man's clothes being the washer's prequisite. [fn# ] i.e. till it was diminished by evaporation to two-thirds of its original volume. [fn# ] the mohammedan grave is a cell, hollowed out in the sides of a trench and so constructed as to keep out the earth, that the deceased may be able to sit up and answer the examining angels when they visit him in the tomb. there was, therefore, nothing improbable in er razi's boast that he could abide two days in the tomb. [fn# ] nawous, a sort of overground well or turricle of masonry, surmounted by an iron grating, on which the gueber's body is placed for devoration by the birds. [fn# ] munkir [munker] and nakir [nekir] are the two angels that preside at 'the examination of the tomb.' they visit a man in his grave directly after he has been buried and examine him concerning his faith; if he acknowledge that there is but one god and that mohammed is his prophet [apostle], they suffer him to rest in peace; otherwise they beat him with [red-hot] iron maces, till he roars so loud[ly] that he is heard by all from east to west, except by man and ginns [jinn]."--palmer's koran, introduction. [fn# ] lit. the oven (tennour); but this is obviously a mistake for "tombs" (cubour). [fn# ] i.e. as a propitiatory offering on behalf of. [fn# ] i.e. though he remain at thy charge or (as we should say) on thy hands. [fn# ] about twenty-five shillings. [fn# ] about £ s. [fn# ] meaning the sharper. [fn# ] i.e. he asketh nought but that which is reasonable. [fn# ] the strict muslim is averse from taking an oath, even in support at the truth, and will sometimes submit to a heavy loss rather than do so. for an instance of this, see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the king of the island. [fn# ] to wit, the merchant and his officious friend. [fn# ] there appears to be some mistake here, but i have no means of rectifying it. the passage is probably hopelessly corrupt and a portion of the conclusion of the story seems to have dropped out. [fn# ] i.e. well-guarded, confined in the harem. [fn# ] i.e. an old woman to crafty that she was a calamity to those against whom she plotted. [fn# ] i.e. the amount of the contingent dowry and of the allowance which he was bound to make her for her support during the four months and some days which must elapse before she could lawfully marry again. [fn# ] i.e. thou wilt have satisfied us all. [fn# ] with the smoke of burning aloes-wood or other perfume, a common practice among the arabs. the aloes-wood is placed upon burning charcoal in a censer perforated with holes, which is swung towards the person to be fumigated, whose clothes and hair are thus impregnated with the grateful fragrance of the burning wood. an accident such as that mentioned in the text might easily happen during the process of fumigation. [fn# ] i.e. by god. the old woman is keeping up her assumption of the character of a devotee by canting about divine direction. [fn# ] this is the same story as "the house with the belvedere." see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. . [fn# ] see note, vol. i. p. . also my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. v. p. , the king and his vizier's wife. [fn# ] or experienced. [fn# ] i.e. the inhabitants of the island and the sailors? [fn# ] i.e. postponed the fulfilment of his promise. [fn# ] sic; but apparently a state-prison or place of confinement for notable offenders is meant. [fn# ] or "getting hold of." [fn# ] lit. "betrothed." [fn# ] or "in." [fn# ] i.e. if his appearance be such as to belie the possibility of his being a thief. [fn# ] i.e. people of power and worship. [fn# ] i.e. of wine. [fn# ] i.e. all his former afflictions or (perhaps) all his commandments. [fn# ] i.e. a more venial sin. [fn# ] i.e. i have a proposal to make thee. [fn# ] i.e. he was brought up in my house. [fn# ] i.e. prayed for him by name, as the reigning sovereign, in the khutbeh, a sort of homily made up of acts of prayer and praise and of exhortations to the congregation, which forms part of the friday prayers. the mention of a newly-appointed sovereign's name in the khutbeh is equivalent with the muslims to a solemn proclamation of his accession. [fn# ] i.e. deprive him of his rank. [fn# ] or perverted belief, i.e. an infidel. [fn# ] i.e. not god. [fn# ] or corrupt belief, i.e. that the destinies of mankind were governed by the planets and not by god alone. [fn# ] i.e. "him who is to me even as mine own soul," to wit, the king. [fn# ] the whole of this story (which is apparently intended as an example of the flowery style (el bediya) of arab prose) is terribly corrupt and obscure, and in the absence of a parallel version, with which to collate it, it is impossible to be sure that the exact sense has been rendered. [fn# ] breslau text, vol xi. pp. - , nights dccccxxx-xl. [fn# ] i.e. the first or beherite dynasty of the mameluke sultans, the founder of which was originally a turkish (i.e. turcoman) slave. [fn# ] fourth sultan of the above dynasty. [fn# ] i.e. palestine (es sahil) so styled by the arabs. [fn# ] lit. his nightly entertainers, i.e. those whose place it was to entertain him by night with the relation of stories and anecdotes and the recitation of verses, etc. [fn# ] i.e. the perfect of police. [fn# ] about fifty shillings. [fn# ] i.e. those of the visible and invisible worlds. [fn# ] i.e. of the sultan's officers of the household. the sultan's palace and the lodgings of his chief officers were situate, according to eastern custom, in the citadel or central fortress of the city. [fn# ] lit. [self-]possession (temkin). [fn# ] god forbid! [fn# ] or strong place. [fn# ] i.e. lest ill-hap betide her and you be held responsible for her. [fn# ] which was in his custody in his ex-officio capacity of guardian, orphans in muslim countries being, by operation of law, wards of the cadi of their district. [fn# ] altogether six thousand dinars or about £ . [fn# ] i.e. except thou give me immediate satisfaction, i will complain of thee to the sultan. [fn# ] i.e. forgetting all that is enjoined upon the true-believer by the institutes of the prophet (sunneh) and the canons (fers) of the divine law, as deduced from the koran. [fn# ] lit. red i.e. violent or bloody) death. [fn# ] lit. the conquered one. [fn# ] i.e. my view of the matter differs from that of the cadi, but i cannot expect a hearing against a personage of his rank. [fn# ] and therefore freshly shed. [fn# ] for redness. [fn# ] or parties. [fn# ] lit. quench that fire from him. [fn# ] of cairo or (quære) the two egyptian provinces known as es sherkiyeh (the eastward) and el gherbiyeh (the westward). [fn# ] i.e, he was a man of ready wit and presence of mind. [fn# ] or (in modern slang) "there are good pickings to be had out of this job." [fn# ] lit "the douceur of the key," i.e. the gratuity which it is customary to give to the porter or portress on hiring a house or lodging. cf. the french denier à dieu, old english "god's penny." [fn# ] i.e. made the complete ablution prescribed by the muslim law after copulation. [fn# ] i.e. the round opening made in the ceiling for ventilation. [fn# ] i.e. he who sits on the bench outside the police-office, to attend to emergencies. [fn# ] lit. witnesses, i.e. those who are qualified by their general respectability and the blamelessness of their lives, to give evidence in the mohamedan courts of law. [fn# ] sic. [fn# ] about pounds. [fn# ] or guardian. [fn# ] syn. book (kitab). [fn# ] or made it a legal deed. [fn# ] lit. assessors. [fn# ] this sentence is almost unintelligible, owing to the corruptness and obscurity of the text; but the sense appears to be as above. [fn# ] apparently supposing the draper to have lost it and purposing to require a heavy indemnity for its loss. [fn# ] apparently, a cant phrase for "thieve." [fn# ] or disapprove of. [fn# ] this passage is unintelligible; the text is here again, to all appearance, corrupt. [fn# ] i.e. women's tricks? [fn# ] muslim formula of invitation. [fn# ] i.e. the singers? [fn# ] i.e. easily. [fn# ] or made a show of renouncing. [fn# ] i.e. strong men (or athletes) armed. [fn# ] fityan, arab cant name for thieves. [fn# ] apparently in a pavillion in some garden or orchard, the usual pleasure of the arabs. [fn# ] i.e. engaged her to attend an entertainment and paid her her hire in advance. [fn# ] lit. a [she-]partner, i.e. one who should relieve her, when she was weary of singing, and accompany her voice on the lute. [fn# ] i.e. they grew ever more heated with drink. [fn# ] helfeh or helfaa (vulg. alfa), a kind of coarse, rushy grass (pos. multiflora), used in the east as fuel. [fn# ] lit. "we repented to god, etc, of singing." the practice of music, vocal and instrumental, is deprecated by the strict muslim, in accordance with a tradition by which the prophet is said to have expressed his disapproval of these arts. [fn# ] i.e. required to find the thief or make good the loss. [fn# ] i.e. the parties aggrieved. [fn# ] or irrigation-work, usually a bucket-wheel, worked by oxen. [fn# ] or "came true." [fn# ] i.e. crucify. [fn# ] i.e. a native of the hauran, a district east of damascus. [fn# ] i.e. the mysterious speaker. [fn# ] i.e. in the punishment that overtook me. [fn# ] the well-known arab formula of refusal to a beggar, equivalent to the spanish "perdoneme por amor de dios, hermano!" [fn# ] i.e. what i could afford. [fn# ] i.e. that of the officers of police. [fn# ] a common oriental game, something like a rude out-door form of back-gammon, in which the players who throw certain numbers are dubbed sultan and vizier. [fn# ] lit. milk (leben), possibly a copyist's error for jubn (cheese). [fn# ] i.e. his forbearance in relinquishing his blood-revenge for his brother. [fn# ] in the text, by an evident error, shehriyar is here made to ask shehrzad for another story and she to tell it him. [fn# ] nesiheh. [fn# ] i.e. the mysterious speaker? [fn# ] apparently some famous saint. the el hajjaj whose name is familiar to readers of the thomsand and one night (see supra, vol. i. p. , note ) was anything but a saint, if we may believe the popular report of him. [fn# ] breslan text, vol. xi. pp. - and vol. xii. pp. - , nights dccccvli-dcccclvii. [fn# ] the usual meaning of the arab word anber (pronounced amber) a ambergris, i.e. the morbid secretion of the sperm-whale; but the context appears to point to amber, i.e. the fossil resin used for necklaces, etc.; unless, indeed, the allusion of the second hemistich is to ambergris, as worn, for the sake of the perfume, in amulets or pomanders (fr. pomme d'ambre) slung about the neck. [fn# ] i.e. galena or sulphuret of lead, of which, reduced to powder, alone or in combination with other ingredients, the well-known cosmetic or eye-powder called kohl consists. [fn# ] see supra, vol. . p. , note . [fn# ] or "accomplishments" (adab). [fn# ] title of the khalif. [fn# ] i.e. isaac of mosul, the greatest of arab musicians. [fn# ] elder brother of jaafer; see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. ix. p. et seq. [fn# ] yonnus ibn hebib, a renowned grammarian and philologer of the day, who taught at bassora and whose company was much sought after by distinguished men of letters and others. he was a friend of isaac of mosul. [fn# ] apparently a suburb of baghdad. [fn# ] i.e. the principal street of et taf. [fn# ] or "elegant." [fn# ] see supra, vol. i. p. , note . [fn# ] ? [fn# ] a passage has apparently dropped out here. the khalif seems to have gone away without buying, leaving ishac behind, whereupon the latter was accosted by another slave-girl, who came out of a cell in the corridor. [fn# ] or "have withheld myself." [fn# ] for not selling me? [fn# ] i.e. tuhfeh the fool. hemca is the feminine form of ahmec, fool. if by a change in the (unwritten) vowels, we read humeca, which is the plural form of ahmec, the title will signify, "gift (tuhfeh) of fools" and would thus represent a jesting alteration of the girl's real name (tuhfet el culoub, gift of hearts), in allusion to her (from the slave-merchant's point of view) foolish and vexatious behaviour in refusing to be sold to the first comer, as set out below. [fn# ] or "folly" (hemakeh). [fn# ] i.e. not every one is lucky enough to be in ishac's house. [fn# ] apparently some part of baghdad adjoining the tigris. khanekah means "a convent of dervishes." [fn# ] lit. stronger (acwa). [fn# ] the gist of this curious comparison is not very apparent. perhaps "blander" is meant. [fn# ] about s. [fn# ] about a penny; i.e. i have found all my skill in the craft but a trifle in comparison with thine. [fn# ] i.e. thou art what he wants. [fn# ] i.e. the dews of her mouth, commonly compared by oriental writers to wine and honey. [fn# ] i.e. he died. [fn# ] i.e. if my hand were out for want of practice. [fn# ] i.e. a gift or rarity. [fn# ] or "rarity" (tuhfeh) [fn# ] i.e. thou didst her not justice. [fn# ] i.e. that set apart for the chief of the concubines. [fn# ] i.e. from the opening made in the ceiling for ventilation. or the saloon in which she sat may have been open to the sky, as is not uncommon in the east. [fn# ] zubeideh was the daughter of jaafer, son of el mensour, second khalif of the house of abbas, and was therefore er reshid's first cousin. it does not appear why she is called daughter (bint) of el casim. [fn# ] lit. "of those noble steps." [fn# ] so styled by the muslums, because abraham is fabled by them to have driven him away with stones, when he strove to prevent him from sacrificing ishmael, whom they substitute for isaac as the intended victim. [fn# ] i.e. gift of breasts. the word "breasts" here is, of course, used (metonymically) for "hearts." [fn# ] i.e. "he (lit. father) of the hosts of tribes." [fn# ] see post, passim. [fn# ] lit. witnesses (shawahid). [fn# ] lit. seas (behar). [fn# ] afterwards called zelzeleh; see post, p. et seq. [fn# ] i.e. i cannot look long on them. [fn# ] i.e. change the sir to one less poignant? or (perhaps) "lower thy voice." [fn# ] i.e. from time immemorial, before the creation of the world. the most minute details of every man's life in the world are believed by the mohammedans to have been fore-ordained by god from all eternity. this belief is summed up in the koranic saying, "verily, the commandment of god is a prevenient decree." [fn# ] no mention is afterward made of any wedding, and the word is, therefore, probably used here in its implied sense of "festival," "merry-making." i am not, however acquainted with any instance of this use of the word urs. [fn# ] or "peewit." [fn# ] i.e. those that led the water to the roots of the trees, after the manner of eastern gardeners. [fn# ] one of the seven "gardens" or stages for the mohammedan heaven. [fn# ] "god is most great!" so called because its pronunciation, after that of the niyeh or intent (i.e. "i purpose to pray such and such prayers"), prohibits the speaking of any words previous to prayer. [fn# ] i.e. those of the five daily prayers (due at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sundown, and nightfall respectively) which she had been prevented from praying on the previous evening, through having passed it in carousing with the jinn. it is incumbent on the strict muslim to make up his arrears of prayer in this manner. [fn# ] lit. skill in physiognomy (firaseh). [fn# ] i.e. the owner of this palace. [fn# ] the mohammedan rite of ablution, previous to prayer, is a very elaborate and complicated process, somewhat "scamped" by the ordinary "true-believer." see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. iv. pp. - . [fn# ] i.e. the prayers of nightfall, in addition to those of daybreak. [fn# ] i.e. those of noon, mid-afternoon and sundown. [fn# ] containing the dessert. [fn# ] i.e. mohammed, who was passionately fond of flowers and especially of the rose, which is fabled to have blossomed from his sweat. [fn# ] the arab name (julnar) of the promegranate is made up of the persian word for rose (gul) and the arabic fire (nar). [fn# ] i.e. chapters cxiii. and cxiv. of the koran, respectively known as the chapter of the [lord of the] daybreak and the chapter of [the lord of] men. these chapters, which it is the habit of the muslim to recite as a talisman or preventive against evil, are the last and shortest in the book and run as follows. chapter cxiii.--"in the name of the compassionate, the merciful! say [quoth gabriel] 'i take refuge with the lord of the daybreak from the evil of that which he hath created and from the evil of the beginning of the night, whenas it invadeth [the world], and from the mischief of the women who blow on knots (i.e. witches) and from the mischief of the envier, whenas he envieth.'" chapter cxiv.--"in the name of god the compassionate, the merciful! say [quoth gabriel] 'i take refuge with the lord of men, the king of men, the god of men, from the mischief of the stealthy tempter (i.e. the devil) who whispereth (i.e. insinuateth evil) into the breasts (hearts) of mankind, from jinn and men!'" these two chapters are often written on parchment etc. and worn as an amulet about the person--hence their name. [fn# ] hieratic title of the khalif, as foreman (imam) of the people at prayer. [fn# ] i.e. the jinn that dwell therein. each house, according to muslim belief, has its haunter or domestic spirit. [fn# ] i.e. yearning. [fn# ] i.e. her return. [fn# ] see ante, p. , note . [fn# ] "as for him who is of those brought near unto god, [for him shall be] easance and sweet basil (syn. victual, rihan), and a garden of pleasance."--koran lvi. - . it will be observed that this verse is somewhat garbled in the quotation. [fn# ] meaning apparently, "none of the jinn may tread these carpets, etc., that thou treadest." [fn# ] i.e. to hold festival. [fn# ] this passage may also be rendered, "and in this i do thee a great favour [and honour thee] over all the jinn." [fn# ] lit. "how loathly is that which yonder genie meimoun eateth!" but this is evidently a mistake. see ante, p. . [fn# ] lit. "i have not an eye that availeth to look upon him." [fn# ] i.e. "may i not lack of thy visits!" [fn# ] i.e. "as much again as all thou hast given." [fn# ] the attainment by a boy of the proper age for circumcision, or (so to speak) his religious majority, in a subject for great rejoicing with the mohammedans, and the occasion is celebrated by the giving of as splendid an entertainment as the means of his family will afford, during which he is displayed to view upon a throne or raised seat, arrayed in the richest and ornaments that can be found, hired or borrowed for the purpose. [fn# ] tuhfeh. [fn# ] lit. "be equitable therewith unto;" but the meaning appears to be as above. [fn# ] lit. "places" (mawazi). quaere "shifts" or "positions." [fn# ] see my "book of the thousand nights and one night," vol. vi. p. , isaac of mosul and his mistress and the devil. [fn# ] i.e. method of playing the lute. [fn# ] i.e. not indigenous? [fn# ] apparently the residence of king es shisban. [fn# ] i.e. all the jinn's professions of affection to me and promises of protection, etc. [fn# ] i.e. one so crafty that he was a calamity to his enemies, a common arab phrase used in a complimentary sense. [fn# ] i.e. the flying lion. [fn# ] i.e. how canst thou feel assured of safety, after that which thou hast done? [fn# ] or "life" (ruh). [fn# ] quaere the mountain cat. [fn# ] i.e. why tarriest thou to make an end of her? [fn# ] i.e. arm. [fn# ] i.e. for length. [fn# ] a fabulous mountain-range, believed by the arabs to encompass the world and by which they are supposed to mean the caucasus. [fn# ] the anca, phoenix or griffin, is a fabulous bird that figures largely in persian romance. it is fabled to have dwelt in the mountain caf and to have once carried off a king's daughter on her wedding-day. it is to this legend that the story-teller appears to refer in the text; but i am not aware that the princess in question is represented to have been the daughter of behram gour, the well-known king of persia, who reigned in the first half of the fifth century and was a contemporary of the emperors theodosius the younger and honorius. [fn# ] one of the names of god. [fn# ] i.e. thy return. [fn# ] gift of the breast (heart). [fn# ] binat el hawa, lit. daughters of love. this is the ordinary meaning of the phrase; but the girl in question appears to have been of good repute and the expression, as applied to her, is probably, therefore, only intended to signify a sprightly, frolicsome damsel. [fn# ] lit. the forehead, quare the lintel. [fn# ] or "put to nought" [fn# ] comparing her body, now hidden in her flowing stresses and now showing through them, to a sword, as it flashes in and out of its sheath. [fn# ] about £ . [fn# ] about £ . [fn# ] i.e. all defects for which a man is by law entitled to return a slave-girl to her seller. [fn# ] ed dilem is the ancient media. the allusion to its prison or prisons i do not understand. [fn# ] i.e. the complete ablution prescribed by the mohammedan law after sexual intercourse. [fn# ] it is customary for a newly-married man to entertain his male acquaintances with a collation on the morning after the wedding. [fn# ] lit. more striking and cutting. [fn# ] sherifi, a small gold coin, worth about s. d. [fn# ] or "false pretences." [fn# ] or, as we should say, "the apple." [fn# ] apparently the cadi was our claimed to be a seyyid i.e. descendant of mohammed, through his daughter fatmeh. [fn# ] lit. more ill-omened. [fn# ] i.e. that the law would not allow him to compel the young merchant to divorce his wife. [fn# ] i.e. veil in honour. [fn# ] lit the fire, i.e. hell. [fn# ] i.e. by an irrevocable divorcement (telacan bainan), to wit, such a divorcement as estops the husband from taking back his divorced wife, except with her consent and after the execution of a fresh contract of marriage. the arabian nights entertainments, selected and edited by andrew lang after the edition of longmans, green and co, ( ) contents preface the arabian nights the story of the merchant and the genius the story of the first old man and of the hind the story of the second old man, and of the two black dogs the story of the fisherman the story of the greek king and the physician douban the story of the husband and the parrot the story of the vizir who was punished the story of the young king of the black isles the story of the three calenders, sons of kings, and of five ladies of bagdad the story of the first calender, son of a king the story of the envious man and of him who was envied the story of the second calendar, son of a king the story of the third calendar, son of a king the seven voyages of sindbad the sailor first voyage second voyage third voyage fourth voyage fifth voyage sixth voyage seventh and last voyage the little hunchback the story of the barber's fifth brother the story of the barber's sixth brother the adventures of prince camaralzaman and the princess badoura noureddin and the fair persian aladdin and the wonderful lamp the adventures of haroun-al-raschid, caliph of bagdad the story of the blind baba-abdalla the story of sidi-nouman the story of ali colia, merchant of bagdad the enchanted horse the story of two sisters who were jealous of their younger sister preface the stories in the fairy books have generally been such as old women in country places tell to their grandchildren. nobody knows how old they are, or who told them first. the children of ham, shem and japhet may have listened to them in the ark, on wet days. hector's little boy may have heard them in troy town, for it is certain that homer knew them, and that some of them were written down in egypt about the time of moses. people in different countries tell them differently, but they are always the same stories, really, whether among little zulus, at the cape, or little eskimo, near the north pole. the changes are only in matters of manners and customs; such as wearing clothes or not, meeting lions who talk in the warm countries, or talking bears in the cold countries. there are plenty of kings and queens in the fairy tales, just because long ago there were plenty of kings in the country. a gentleman who would be a squire now was a kind of king in scotland in very old times, and the same in other places. these old stories, never forgotten, were taken down in writing in different ages, but mostly in this century, in all sorts of languages. these ancient stories are the contents of the fairy books. now "the arabian nights," some of which, but not nearly all, are given in this volume, are only fairy tales of the east. the people of asia, arabia, and persia told them in their own way, not for children, but for grown-up people. there were no novels then, nor any printed books, of course; but there were people whose profession it was to amuse men and women by telling tales. they dressed the fairy stories up, and made the characters good mahommedans, living in bagdad or india. the events were often supposed to happen in the reign of the great caliph, or ruler of the faithful, haroun al raschid, who lived in bagdad in - a.d. the vizir who accompanies the caliph was also a real person of the great family of the barmecides. he was put to death by the caliph in a very cruel way, nobody ever knew why. the stories must have been told in their present shape a good long while after the caliph died, when nobody knew very exactly what had really happened. at last some storyteller thought of writing down the tales, and fixing them into a kind of framework, as if they had all been narrated to a cruel sultan by his wife. probably the tales were written down about the time when edward i. was fighting robert bruce. but changes were made in them at different times, and a great deal that is very dull and stupid was put in, and plenty of verses. neither the verses nor the dull pieces are given in this book. people in france and england knew almost nothing about "the arabian nights" till the reigns of queen anne and george i., when they were translated into french by monsieur galland. grown-up people were then very fond of fairy tales, and they thought these arab stories the best that they had ever read. they were delighted with ghouls (who lived among the tombs) and geni, who seemed to be a kind of ogres, and with princesses who work magic spells, and with peris, who are arab fairies. sindbad had adventures which perhaps came out of the odyssey of homer; in fact, all the east had contributed its wonders, and sent them to europe in one parcel. young men once made a noise at monsieur galland's windows in the dead of night, and asked him to tell them one of his marvellous tales. nobody talked of anything but dervishes and vizirs, rocs and peris. the stories were translated from french into all languages, and only bishop atterbury complained that the tales were not likely to be true, and had no moral. the bishop was presently banished for being on the side of prince charlie's father, and had leisure to repent of being so solemn. in this book "the arabian nights" are translated from the french version of monsieur galland, who dropped out the poetry and a great deal of what the arabian authors thought funny, though it seems wearisome to us. in this book the stories are shortened here and there, and omissions are made of pieces only suitable for arabs and old gentlemen. the translations are by the writers of the tales in the fairy books, and the pictures are by mr. ford. i can remember reading "the arabian nights" when i was six years old, in dirty yellow old volumes of small type with no pictures, and i hope children who read them with mr. ford's pictures will be as happy as i was then in the company of aladdin and sindbad the sailor. the arabian nights in the chronicles of the ancient dynasty of the sassanidae, who reigned for about four hundred years, from persia to the borders of china, beyond the great river ganges itself, we read the praises of one of the kings of this race, who was said to be the best monarch of his time. his subjects loved him, and his neighbors feared him, and when he died he left his kingdom in a more prosperous and powerful condition than any king had done before him. the two sons who survived him loved each other tenderly, and it was a real grief to the elder, schahriar, that the laws of the empire forbade him to share his dominions with his brother schahzeman. indeed, after ten years, during which this state of things had not ceased to trouble him, schahriar cut off the country of great tartary from the persian empire and made his brother king. now the sultan schahriar had a wife whom he loved more than all the world, and his greatest happiness was to surround her with splendour, and to give her the finest dresses and the most beautiful jewels. it was therefore with the deepest shame and sorrow that he accidentally discovered, after several years, that she had deceived him completely, and her whole conduct turned out to have been so bad, that he felt himself obliged to carry out the law of the land, and order the grand-vizir to put her to death. the blow was so heavy that his mind almost gave way, and he declared that he was quite sure that at bottom all women were as wicked as the sultana, if you could only find them out, and that the fewer the world contained the better. so every evening he married a fresh wife and had her strangled the following morning before the grand-vizir, whose duty it was to provide these unhappy brides for the sultan. the poor man fulfilled his task with reluctance, but there was no escape, and every day saw a girl married and a wife dead. this behaviour caused the greatest horror in the town, where nothing was heard but cries and lamentations. in one house was a father weeping for the loss of his daughter, in another perhaps a mother trembling for the fate of her child; and instead of the blessings that had formerly been heaped on the sultan's head, the air was now full of curses. the grand-vizir himself was the father of two daughters, of whom the elder was called scheherazade, and the younger dinarzade. dinarzade had no particular gifts to distinguish her from other girls, but her sister was clever and courageous in the highest degree. her father had given her the best masters in philosophy, medicine, history and the fine arts, and besides all this, her beauty excelled that of any girl in the kingdom of persia. one day, when the grand-vizir was talking to his eldest daughter, who was his delight and pride, scheherazade said to him, "father, i have a favour to ask of you. will you grant it to me?" "i can refuse you nothing," replied he, "that is just and reasonable." "then listen," said scheherazade. "i am determined to stop this barbarous practice of the sultan's, and to deliver the girls and mothers from the awful fate that hangs over them." "it would be an excellent thing to do," returned the grand-vizir, "but how do you propose to accomplish it?" "my father," answered scheherazade, "it is you who have to provide the sultan daily with a fresh wife, and i implore you, by all the affection you bear me, to allow the honour to fall upon me." "have you lost your senses?" cried the grand-vizir, starting back in horror. "what has put such a thing into your head? you ought to know by this time what it means to be the sultan's bride!" "yes, my father, i know it well," replied she, "and i am not afraid to think of it. if i fail, my death will be a glorious one, and if i succeed i shall have done a great service to my country." "it is of no use," said the grand-vizir, "i shall never consent. if the sultan was to order me to plunge a dagger in your heart, i should have to obey. what a task for a father! ah, if you do not fear death, fear at any rate the anguish you would cause me." "once again, my father," said scheherazade, "will you grant me what i ask?" "what, are you still so obstinate?" exclaimed the grand-vizir. "why are you so resolved upon your own ruin?" but the maiden absolutely refused to attend to her father's words, and at length, in despair, the grand-vizir was obliged to give way, and went sadly to the palace to tell the sultan that the following evening he would bring him scheherazade. the sultan received this news with the greatest astonishment. "how have you made up your mind," he asked, "to sacrifice your own daughter to me?" "sire," answered the grand-vizir, "it is her own wish. even the sad fate that awaits her could not hold her back." "let there be no mistake, vizir," said the sultan. "remember you will have to take her life yourself. if you refuse, i swear that your head shall pay forfeit." "sire," returned the vizir. "whatever the cost, i will obey you. though a father, i am also your subject." so the sultan told the grand-vizir he might bring his daughter as soon as he liked. the vizir took back this news to scheherazade, who received it as if it had been the most pleasant thing in the world. she thanked her father warmly for yielding to her wishes, and, seeing him still bowed down with grief, told him that she hoped he would never repent having allowed her to marry the sultan. then she went to prepare herself for the marriage, and begged that her sister dinarzade should be sent for to speak to her. when they were alone, scheherazade addressed her thus: "my dear sister; i want your help in a very important affair. my father is going to take me to the palace to celebrate my marriage with the sultan. when his highness receives me, i shall beg him, as a last favour, to let you sleep in our chamber, so that i may have your company during the last night i am alive. if, as i hope, he grants me my wish, be sure that you wake me an hour before the dawn, and speak to me in these words: 'my sister, if you are not asleep, i beg you, before the sun rises, to tell me one of your charming stories.' then i shall begin, and i hope by this means to deliver the people from the terror that reigns over them." dinarzade replied that she would do with pleasure what her sister wished. when the usual hour arrived the grand-vizir conducted scheherazade to the palace, and left her alone with the sultan, who bade her raise her veil and was amazed at her beauty. but seeing her eyes full of tears, he asked what was the matter. "sire," replied scheherazade, "i have a sister who loves me as tenderly as i love her. grant me the favour of allowing her to sleep this night in the same room, as it is the last we shall be together." schahriar consented to scheherazade's petition and dinarzade was sent for. an hour before daybreak dinarzade awoke, and exclaimed, as she had promised, "my dear sister, if you are not asleep, tell me i pray you, before the sun rises, one of your charming stories. it is the last time that i shall have the pleasure of hearing you." scheherazade did not answer her sister, but turned to the sultan. "will your highness permit me to do as my sister asks?" said she. "willingly," he answered. so scheherazade began. the story of the merchant and the genius sire, there was once upon a time a merchant who possessed great wealth, in land and merchandise, as well as in ready money. he was obliged from time to time to take journeys to arrange his affairs. one day, having to go a long way from home, he mounted his horse, taking with him a small wallet in which he had put a few biscuits and dates, because he had to pass through the desert where no food was to be got. he arrived without any mishap, and, having finished his business, set out on his return. on the fourth day of his journey, the heat of the sun being very great, he turned out of his road to rest under some trees. he found at the foot of a large walnut-tree a fountain of clear and running water. he dismounted, fastened his horse to a branch of the tree, and sat by the fountain, after having taken from his wallet some of his dates and biscuits. when he had finished this frugal meal he washed his face and hands in the fountain. when he was thus employed he saw an enormous genius, white with rage, coming towards him, with a scimitar in his hand. "arise," he cried in a terrible voice, "and let me kill you as you have killed my son!" as he uttered these words he gave a frightful yell. the merchant, quite as much terrified at the hideous face of the monster as at his words, answered him tremblingly, "alas, good sir, what can i have done to you to deserve death?" "i shall kill you," repeated the genius, "as you have killed my son." "but," said the merchant, "how can i have killed your son? i do not know him, and i have never even seen him." "when you arrived here did you not sit down on the ground?" asked the genius, "and did you not take some dates from your wallet, and whilst eating them did not you throw the stones about?" "yes," said the merchant, "i certainly did so." "then," said the genius, "i tell you you have killed my son, for whilst you were throwing about the stones, my son passed by, and one of them struck him in the eye and killed him. so i shall kill you." "ah, sir, forgive me!" cried the merchant. "i will have no mercy on you," answered the genius. "but i killed your son quite unintentionally, so i implore you to spare my life." "no," said the genius, "i shall kill you as you killed my son," and so saying, he seized the merchant by the arm, threw him on the ground, and lifted his sabre to cut off his head. the merchant, protesting his innocence, bewailed his wife and children, and tried pitifully to avert his fate. the genius, with his raised scimitar, waited till he had finished, but was not in the least touched. scheherazade, at this point, seeing that it was day, and knowing that the sultan always rose very early to attend the council, stopped speaking. "indeed, sister," said dinarzade, "this is a wonderful story." "the rest is still more wonderful," replied scheherazade, "and you would say so, if the sultan would allow me to live another day, and would give me leave to tell it to you the next night." schahriar, who had been listening to scheherazade with pleasure, said to himself, "i will wait till to-morrow; i can always have her killed when i have heard the end of her story." all this time the grand-vizir was in a terrible state of anxiety. but he was much delighted when he saw the sultan enter the council-chamber without giving the terrible command that he was expecting. the next morning, before the day broke, dinarzade said to her sister, "dear sister, if you are awake i pray you to go on with your story." the sultan did not wait for scheherazade to ask his leave. "finish," said he, "the story of the genius and the merchant. i am curious to hear the end." so scheherazade went on with the story. this happened every morning. the sultana told a story, and the sultan let her live to finish it. when the merchant saw that the genius was determined to cut off his head, he said: "one word more, i entreat you. grant me a little delay; just a short time to go home and bid my wife and children farewell, and to make my will. when i have done this i will come back here, and you shall kill me." "but," said the genius, "if i grant you the delay you ask, i am afraid that you will not come back." "i give you my word of honour," answered the merchant, "that i will come back without fail." "how long do you require?" asked the genius. "i ask you for a year's grace," replied the merchant. "i promise you that to-morrow twelvemonth, i shall be waiting under these trees to give myself up to you." on this the genius left him near the fountain and disappeared. the merchant, having recovered from his fright, mounted his horse and went on his road. when he arrived home his wife and children received him with the greatest joy. but instead of embracing them he began to weep so bitterly that they soon guessed that something terrible was the matter. "tell us, i pray you," said his wife, "what has happened." "alas!" answered her husband, "i have only a year to live." then he told them what had passed between him and the genius, and how he had given his word to return at the end of a year to be killed. when they heard this sad news they were in despair, and wept much. the next day the merchant began to settle his affairs, and first of all to pay his debts. he gave presents to his friends, and large alms to the poor. he set his slaves at liberty, and provided for his wife and children. the year soon passed away, and he was obliged to depart. when he tried to say good-bye he was quite overcome with grief, and with difficulty tore himself away. at length he reached the place where he had first seen the genius, on the very day that he had appointed. he dismounted, and sat down at the edge of the fountain, where he awaited the genius in terrible suspense. whilst he was thus waiting an old man leading a hind came towards him. they greeted one another, and then the old man said to him, "may i ask, brother, what brought you to this desert place, where there are so many evil genii about? to see these beautiful trees one would imagine it was inhabited, but it is a dangerous place to stop long in." the merchant told the old man why he was obliged to come there. he listened in astonishment. "this is a most marvellous affair. i should like to be a witness of your interview with the genius." so saying he sat down by the merchant. while they were talking another old man came up, followed by two black dogs. he greeted them, and asked what they were doing in this place. the old man who was leading the hind told him the adventure of the merchant and the genius. the second old man had not sooner heard the story than he, too, decided to stay there to see what would happen. he sat down by the others, and was talking, when a third old man arrived. he asked why the merchant who was with them looked so sad. they told him the story, and he also resolved to see what would pass between the genius and the merchant, so waited with the rest. they soon saw in the distance a thick smoke, like a cloud of dust. this smoke came nearer and nearer, and then, all at once, it vanished, and they saw the genius, who, without speaking to them, approached the merchant, sword in hand, and, taking him by the arm, said, "get up and let me kill you as you killed my son." the merchant and the three old men began to weep and groan. then the old man leading the hind threw himself at the monster's feet and said, "o prince of the genii, i beg of you to stay your fury and to listen to me. i am going to tell you my story and that of the hind i have with me, and if you find it more marvellous than that of the merchant whom you are about to kill, i hope that you will do away with a third part of his punishment?" the genius considered some time, and then he said, "very well, i agree to this." the story of the first old man and of the hind i am now going to begin my story (said the old man), so please attend. this hind that you see with me is my wife. we have no children of our own, therefore i adopted the son of a favorite slave, and determined to make him my heir. my wife, however, took a great dislike to both mother and child, which she concealed from me till too late. when my adopted son was about ten years old i was obliged to go on a journey. before i went i entrusted to my wife's keeping both the mother and child, and begged her to take care of them during my absence, which lasted a whole year. during this time she studied magic in order to carry out her wicked scheme. when she had learnt enough she took my son into a distant place and changed him into a calf. then she gave him to my steward, and told him to look after a calf she had bought. she also changed the slave into a cow, which she sent to my steward. when i returned i inquired after my slave and the child. "your slave is dead," she said, "and as for your son, i have not seen him for two months, and i do not know where he is." i was grieved to hear of my slave's death, but as my son had only disappeared, i thought i should soon find him. eight months, however, passed, and still no tidings of him; then the feast of bairam came. to celebrate it i ordered my steward to bring me a very fat cow to sacrifice. he did so. the cow that he brought was my unfortunate slave. i bound her, but just as i was about to kill her she began to low most piteously, and i saw that her eyes were streaming with tears. it seemed to me most extraordinary, and, feeling a movement of pity, i ordered the steward to lead her away and bring another. my wife, who was present, scoffed at my compassion, which made her malice of no avail. "what are you doing?" she cried. "kill this cow. it is the best we have to sacrifice." to please her, i tried again, but again the animal's lows and tears disarmed me. "take her away," i said to the steward, "and kill her; i cannot." the steward killed her, but on skinning her found that she was nothing but bones, although she appeared so fat. i was vexed. "keep her for yourself," i said to the steward, "and if you have a fat calf, bring that in her stead." in a short time he brought a very fat calf, which, although i did not know it, was my son. it tried hard to break its cord and come to me. it threw itself at my feet, with its head on the ground, as if it wished to excite my pity, and to beg me not to take away its life. i was even more surprised and touched at this action than i had been at the tears of the cow. "go," i said to the steward, "take back this calf, take great care of it, and bring me another in its place instantly." as soon as my wife heard me speak this she at once cried out, "what are you doing, husband? do not sacrifice any calf but this." "wife," i answered, "i will not sacrifice this calf," and in spite of all her remonstrances, i remained firm. i had another calf killed; this one was led away. the next day the steward asked to speak to me in private. "i have come," he said, "to tell you some news which i think you will like to hear. i have a daughter who knows magic. yesterday, when i was leading back the calf which you refused to sacrifice, i noticed that she smiled, and then directly afterwards began to cry. i asked her why she did so." "father," she answered, "this calf is the son of our master. i smile with joy at seeing him still alive, and i weep to think of his mother, who was sacrificed yesterday as a cow. these changes have been wrought by our master's wife, who hated the mother and son." "at these words, of genius," continued the old man, "i leave you to imagine my astonishment. i went immediately with the steward to speak with his daughter myself. first of all i went to the stable to see my son, and he replied in his dumb way to all my caresses. when the steward's daughter came i asked her if she could change my son back to his proper shape." "yes, i can," she replied, "on two conditions. one is that you will give him to me for a husband, and the other is that you will let me punish the woman who changed him into a calf." "to the first condition," i answered, "i agree with all my heart, and i will give you an ample dowry. to the second i also agree, i only beg you to spare her life." "that i will do," she replied; "i will treat her as she treated your son." then she took a vessel of water and pronounced over it some words i did not understand; then, on throwing the water over him, he became immediately a young man once more. "my son, my dear son," i exclaimed, kissing him in a transport of joy. "this kind maiden has rescued you from a terrible enchantment, and i am sure that out of gratitude you will marry her." he consented joyfully, but before they were married, the young girl changed my wife into a hind, and it is she whom you see before you. i wished her to have this form rather than a stranger one, so that we could see her in the family without repugnance. since then my son has become a widower and has gone travelling. i am now going in search of him, and not wishing to confide my wife to the care of other people, i am taking her with me. is this not a most marvellous tale? "it is indeed," said the genius, "and because of it i grant to you the third part of the punishment of this merchant." when the first old man had finished his story, the second, who was leading the two black dogs, said to the genius, "i am going to tell you what happened to me, and i am sure that you will find my story even more astonishing than the one to which you have just been listening. but when i have related it, will you grant me also the third part of the merchant's punishment?" "yes," replied the genius, "provided that your story surpasses that of the hind." with this agreement the second old man began in this way. the story of the second old man, and of the two black dogs great prince of the genii, you must know that we are three brothers--these two black dogs and myself. our father died, leaving us each a thousand sequins. with this sum we all three took up the same profession, and became merchants. a short time after we had opened our shops, my eldest brother, one of these two dogs, resolved to travel in foreign countries for the sake of merchandise. with this intention he sold all he had and bought merchandise suitable to the voyages he was about to make. he set out, and was away a whole year. at the end of this time a beggar came to my shop. "good-day," i said. "good-day," he answered; "is it possible that you do not recognise me?" then i looked at him closely and saw he was my brother. i made him come into my house, and asked him how he had fared in his enterprise. "do not question me," he replied, "see me, you see all i have. it would but renew my trouble to tell of all the misfortunes that have befallen me in a year, and have brought me to this state." i shut up my shop, paid him every attention, taking him to the bath, giving him my most beautiful robes. i examined my accounts, and found that i had doubled my capital--that is, that i now possessed two thousand sequins. i gave my brother half, saying: "now, brother, you can forget your losses." he accepted them with joy, and we lived together as we had before. some time afterwards my second brother wished also to sell his business and travel. my eldest brother and i did all we could to dissuade him, but it was of no use. he joined a caravan and set out. he came back at the end of a year in the same state as his elder brother. i took care of him, and as i had a thousand sequins to spare i gave them to him, and he re-opened his shop. one day, my two brothers came to me to propose that we should make a journey and trade. at first i refused to go. "you travelled," i said, "and what did you gain?" but they came to me repeatedly, and after having held out for five years i at last gave way. but when they had made their preparation, and they began to buy the merchandise we needed, they found they had spent every piece of the thousand sequins i had given them. i did not reproach them. i divided my six thousand sequins with them, giving a thousand to each and keeping one for myself, and the other three i buried in a corner of my house. we bought merchandise, loaded a vessel with it, and set forth with a favorable wind. after two months' sailing we arrived at a seaport, where we disembarked and did a great trade. then we bought the merchandise of the country, and were just going to sail once more, when i was stopped on the shore by a beautiful though poorly dressed woman. she came up to me, kissed my hand, and implored me to marry her, and take her on board. at first i refused, but she begged so hard and promised to be such a good wife to me, that at last i consented. i got her some beautiful dresses, and after having married her, we embarked and set sail. during the voyage, i discovered so many good qualities in my wife that i began to love her more and more. but my brothers began to be jealous of my prosperity, and set to work to plot against my life. one night when we were sleeping they threw my wife and myself into the sea. my wife, however, was a fairy, and so she did not let me drown, but transported me to an island. when the day dawned, she said to me, "when i saw you on the sea-shore i took a great fancy to you, and wished to try your good nature, so i presented myself in the disguise you saw. now i have rewarded you by saving your life. but i am very angry with your brothers, and i shall not rest till i have taken their lives." i thanked the fairy for all that she had done for me, but i begged her not to kill my brothers. i appeased her wrath, and in a moment she transported me from the island where we were to the roof of my house, and she disappeared a moment afterwards. i went down, and opened the doors, and dug up the three thousand sequins which i had buried. i went to the place where my shop was, opened it, and received from my fellow-merchants congratulations on my return. when i went home, i saw two black dogs who came to meet me with sorrowful faces. i was much astonished, but the fairy who reappeared said to me, "do not be surprised to see these dogs; they are your two brothers. i have condemned them to remain for ten years in these shapes." then having told me where i could hear news of her, she vanished. the ten years are nearly passed, and i am on the road to find her. as in passing i met this merchant and the old man with the hind, i stayed with them. this is my history, o prince of genii! do you not think it is a most marvellous one? "yes, indeed," replied the genius, "and i will give up to you the third of the merchant's punishment." then the third old man made the genius the same request as the other two had done, and the genius promised him the last third of the merchant's punishment if his story surpassed both the others. so he told his story to the genius, but i cannot tell you what it was, as i do not know. but i do know that it was even more marvellous than either of the others, so that the genius was astonished, and said to the third old man, "i will give up to you the third part of the merchant's punishment. he ought to thank all three of you for having interested yourselves in his favour. but for you, he would be here no longer." so saying, he disappeared, to the great joy of the company. the merchant did not fail to thank his friends, and then each went on his way. the merchant returned to his wife and children, and passed the rest of his days happily with them. "but, sire," added scheherazade, "however beautiful are the stories i have just told you, they cannot compare with the story of the fisherman." the story of the fisherman sire, there was once upon a time a fisherman so old and so poor that he could scarcely manage to support his wife and three children. he went every day to fish very early, and each day he made a rule not to throw his nets more than four times. he started out one morning by moonlight and came to the sea-shore. he undressed and threw his nets, and as he was drawing them towards the bank he felt a great weight. he though he had caught a large fish, and he felt very pleased. but a moment afterwards, seeing that instead of a fish he only had in his nets the carcase of an ass, he was much disappointed. vexed with having such a bad haul, when he had mended his nets, which the carcase of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them a second time. in drawing them in he again felt a great weight, so that he thought they were full of fish. but he only found a large basket full of rubbish. he was much annoyed. "o fortune," he cried, "do not trifle thus with me, a poor fisherman, who can hardly support his family!" so saying, he threw away the rubbish, and after having washed his nets clean of the dirt, he threw them for the third time. but he only drew in stones, shells, and mud. he was almost in despair. then he threw his nets for the fourth time. when he thought he had a fish he drew them in with a great deal of trouble. there was no fish however, but he found a yellow pot, which by its weight seemed full of something, and he noticed that it was fastened and sealed with lead, with the impression of a seal. he was delighted. "i will sell it to the founder," he said; "with the money i shall get for it i shall buy a measure of wheat." he examined the jar on all sides; he shook it to see if it would rattle. but he heard nothing, and so, judging from the impression of the seal and the lid, he thought there must be something precious inside. to find out, he took his knife, and with a little trouble he opened it. he turned it upside down, but nothing came out, which surprised him very much. he set it in front of him, and whilst he was looking at it attentively, such a thick smoke came out that he had to step back a pace or two. this smoke rose up to the clouds, and stretching over the sea and the shore, formed a thick mist, which caused the fisherman much astonishment. when all the smoke was out of the jar it gathered itself together, and became a thick mass in which appeared a genius, twice as large as the largest giant. when he saw such a terrible-looking monster, the fisherman would like to have run away, but he trembled so with fright that he could not move a step. "great king of the genii," cried the monster, "i will never again disobey you!" at these words the fisherman took courage. "what is this you are saying, great genius? tell me your history and how you came to be shut up in that vase." at this, the genius looked at the fisherman haughtily. "speak to me more civilly," he said, "before i kill you." "alas! why should you kill me?" cried the fisherman. "i have just freed you; have you already forgotten that?" "no," answered the genius; "but that will not prevent me from killing you; and i am only going to grant you one favour, and that is to choose the manner of your death." "but what have i done to you?" asked the fisherman. "i cannot treat you in any other way," said the genius, "and if you would know why, listen to my story. "i rebelled against the king of the genii. to punish me, he shut me up in this vase of copper, and he put on the leaden cover his seal, which is enchantment enough to prevent my coming out. then he had the vase thrown into the sea. during the first period of my captivity i vowed that if anyone should free me before a hundred years were passed, i would make him rich even after his death. but that century passed, and no one freed me. in the second century i vowed that i would give all the treasures in the world to my deliverer; but he never came. "in the third, i promised to make him a king, to be always near him, and to grant him three wishes every day; but that century passed away as the other two had done, and i remained in the same plight. at last i grew angry at being captive for so long, and i vowed that if anyone would release me i would kill him at once, and would only allow him to choose in what manner he should die. so you see, as you have freed me to-day, choose in what way you will die." the fisherman was very unhappy. "what an unlucky man i am to have freed you! i implore you to spare my life." "i have told you," said the genius, "that it is impossible. choose quickly; you are wasting time." the fisherman began to devise a plot. "since i must die," he said, "before i choose the manner of my death, i conjure you on your honour to tell me if you really were in that vase?" "yes, i was," answered the genius. "i really cannot believe it," said the fisherman. "that vase could not contain one of your feet even, and how could your whole body go in? i cannot believe it unless i see you do the thing." then the genius began to change himself into smoke, which, as before, spread over the sea and the shore, and which, then collecting itself together, began to go back into the vase slowly and evenly till there was nothing left outside. then a voice came from the vase which said to the fisherman, "well, unbelieving fisherman, here i am in the vase; do you believe me now?" the fisherman instead of answering took the lid of lead and shut it down quickly on the vase. "now, o genius," he cried, "ask pardon of me, and choose by what death you will die! but no, it will be better if i throw you into the sea whence i drew you out, and i will build a house on the shore to warn fishermen who come to cast their nets here, against fishing up such a wicked genius as you are, who vows to kill the man who frees you." at these words the genius did all he could to get out, but he could not, because of the enchantment of the lid. then he tried to get out by cunning. "if you will take off the cover," he said, "i will repay you." "no," answered the fisherman, "if i trust myself to you i am afraid you will treat me as a certain greek king treated the physician douban. listen, and i will tell you." the story of the greek king and the physician douban in the country of zouman, in persia, there lived a greek king. this king was a leper, and all his doctors had been unable to cure him, when a very clever physician came to his court. he was very learned in all languages, and knew a great deal about herbs and medicines. as soon as he was told of the king's illness he put on his best robe and presented himself before the king. "sire," said he, "i know that no physician has been able to cure your majesty, but if you will follow my instructions, i will promise to cure you without any medicines or outward application." the king listened to this proposal. "if you are clever enough to do this," he said, "i promise to make you and your descendants rich for ever." the physician went to his house and made a polo club, the handle of which he hollowed out, and put in it the drug he wished to use. then he made a ball, and with these things he went the next day to the king. he told him that he wished him to play at polo. accordingly the king mounted his horse and went into the place where he played. there the physician approached him with the bat he had made, saying, "take this, sire, and strike the ball till you feel your hand and whole body in a glow. when the remedy that is in the handle of the club is warmed by your hand it will penetrate throughout your body. the you must return to your palace, bathe, and go to sleep, and when you awake to-morrow morning you will be cured." the king took the club and urged his horse after the ball which he had thrown. he struck it, and then it was hit back by the courtiers who were playing with him. when he felt very hot he stopped playing, and went back to the palace, went into the bath, and did all that the physician had said. the next day when he arose he found, to his great joy and astonishment, that he was completely cured. when he entered his audience-chamber all his courtiers, who were eager to see if the wonderful cure had been effected, were overwhelmed with joy. the physician douban entered the hall and bowed low to the ground. the king, seeing him, called him, made him sit by his side, and showed him every mark of honour. that evening he gave him a long and rich robe of state, and presented him with two thousand sequins. the following day he continued to load him with favours. now the king had a grand-vizir who was avaricious, and envious, and a very bad man. he grew extremely jealous of the physician, and determined to bring about his ruin. in order to do this he asked to speak in private with the king, saying that he had a most important communication to make. "what is it?" asked the king. "sire," answered the grand-vizir, "it is most dangerous for a monarch to confide in a man whose faithfulness is not proved, you do not know that this physician is not a traitor come here to assassinate you." "i am sure," said the king, "that this man is the most faithful and virtuous of men. if he wished to take my life, why did he cure me? cease to speak against him. i see what it is, you are jealous of him; but do not think that i can be turned against him. i remember well what a vizir said to king sindbad, his master, to prevent him from putting the prince, his son, to death." what the greek king said excited the vizir's curiosity, and he said to him, "sire, i beg your majesty to have the condescension to tell me what the vizir said to king sindbad." "this vizir," he replied, "told king sindbad that one ought not believe everything that a mother-in-law says, and told him this story." the story of the husband and the parrot a good man had a beautiful wife, whom he loved passionately, and never left if possible. one day, when he was obliged by important business to go away from her, he went to a place where all kinds of birds are sold and bought a parrot. this parrot not only spoke well, but it had the gift of telling all that had been done before it. he brought it home in a cage, and asked his wife to put it in her room, and take great care of it while he was away. then he departed. on his return he asked the parrot what had happened during his absence, and the parrot told him some things which made him scold his wife. she thought that one of her slaves must have been telling tales of her, but they told her it was the parrot, and she resolved to revenge herself on him. when her husband next went away for one day, she told on slave to turn under the bird's cage a hand-mill; another to throw water down from above the cage, and a third to take a mirror and turn it in front of its eyes, from left to right by the light of a candle. the slaves did this for part of the night, and did it very well. the next day when the husband came back he asked the parrot what he had seen. the bird replied, "my good master, the lightning, thunder and rain disturbed me so much all night long, that i cannot tell you what i have suffered." the husband, who knew that it had neither rained nor thundered in the night, was convinced that the parrot was not speaking the truth, so he took him out of the cage and threw him so roughly on the ground that he killed him. nevertheless he was sorry afterwards, for he found that the parrot had spoken the truth. "when the greek king," said the fisherman to the genius, "had finished the story of the parrot, he added to the vizir, "and so, vizir, i shall not listen to you, and i shall take care of the physician, in case i repent as the husband did when he had killed the parrot." but the vizir was determined. "sire," he replied, "the death of the parrot was nothing. but when it is a question of the life of a king it is better to sacrifice the innocent than save the guilty. it is no uncertain thing, however. the physician, douban, wishes to assassinate you. my zeal prompts me to disclose this to your majesty. if i am wrong, i deserve to be punished as a vizir was once punished." "what had the vizir done," said the greek king, "to merit the punishment?" "i will tell your majesty, if you will do me the honour to listen," answered the vizir." the story of the vizir who was punished there was once upon a time a king who had a son who was very fond of hunting. he often allowed him to indulge in this pastime, but he had ordered his grand-vizir always to go with him, and never to lose sight of him. one day the huntsman roused a stag, and the prince, thinking that the vizir was behind, gave chase, and rode so hard that he found himself alone. he stopped, and having lost sight of it, he turned to rejoin the vizir, who had not been careful enough to follow him. but he lost his way. whilst he was trying to find it, he saw on the side of the road a beautiful lady who was crying bitterly. he drew his horse's rein, and asked her who she was and what she was doing in this place, and if she needed help. "i am the daughter of an indian king," she answered, "and whilst riding in the country i fell asleep and tumbled off. my horse has run away, and i do not know what has become of him." the young prince had pity on her, and offered to take her behind him, which he did. as they passed by a ruined building the lady dismounted and went in. the prince also dismounted and followed her. to his great surprise, he heard her saying to some one inside, "rejoice my children; i am bringing you a nice fat youth." and other voices replied, "where is he, mamma, that we may eat him at once, as we are very hungry?" the prince at once saw the danger he was in. he now knew that the lady who said she was the daughter of an indian king was an ogress, who lived in desolate places, and who by a thousand wiles surprised and devoured passers-by. he was terrified, and threw himself on his horse. the pretended princess appeared at this moment, and seeing that she had lost her prey, she said to him, "do not be afraid. what do you want?" "i am lost," he answered, "and i am looking for the road." "keep straight on," said the ogress, "and you will find it." the prince could hardly believe his ears, and rode off as hard as he could. he found his way, and arrived safe and sound at his father's house, where he told him of the danger he had run because of the grand-vizir's carelessness. the king was very angry, and had him strangled immediately. "sire," went on the vizir to the greek king, "to return to the physician, douban. if you do not take care, you will repent of having trusted him. who knows what this remedy, with which he has cured you, may not in time have a bad effect on you?" the greek king was naturally very weak, and did not perceive the wicked intention of his vizir, nor was he firm enough to keep to his first resolution. "well, vizir," he said, "you are right. perhaps he did come to take my life. he might do it by the mere smell of one of his drugs. i must see what can be done." "the best means, sire, to put your life in security, is to send for him at once, and to cut off his head directly he comes," said the vizir. "i really think," replied the king, "that will be the best way." he then ordered one of his ministers to fetch the physician, who came at once. "i have had you sent for," said the king, "in order to free myself from you by taking your life." the physician was beyond measure astonished when he heard he was to die. "what crimes have i committed, your majesty?" "i have learnt," replied the king, "that you are a spy, and intend to kill me. but i will be first, and kill you. strike," he added to an executioner who was by, "and rid me of this assassin." at this cruel order the physician threw himself on his knees. "spare my life," he cried, "and yours will be spared." the fisherman stopped here to say to the genius: "you see what passed between the greek king and the physician has just passed between us two. the greek king," he went on, "had no mercy on him, and the executioner bound his eyes." all those present begged for his life, but in vain. the physician on his knees, and bound, said to the king: "at least let me put my affairs in order, and leave my books to persons who will make good use of them. there is one which i should like to present to your majesty. it is very precious, and ought to be kept carefully in your treasury. it contains many curious things the chief being that when you cut off my head, if your majesty will turn to the sixth leaf, and read the third line of the left-hand page, my head will answer all the questions you like to ask it." the king, eager to see such a wonderful thing, put off his execution to the next day, and sent him under a strong guard to his house. there the physician put his affairs in order, and the next day there was a great crowd assembled in the hall to see his death, and the doings after it. the physician went up to the foot of the throne with a large book in his hand. he carried a basin, on which he spread the covering of the book, and presenting it to the king, said: "sire, take this book, and when my head is cut off, let it be placed in the basin on the covering of this book; as soon as it is there, the blood will cease to flow. then open the book, and my head will answer your questions. but, sire, i implore your mercy, for i am innocent." "your prayers are useless, and if it were only to hear your head speak when you are dead, you should die." so saying, he took the book from the physician's hands, and ordered the executioner to do his duty. the head was so cleverly cut off that it fell into the basin, and directly the blood ceased to flow. then, to the great astonishment of the king, the eyes opened, and the head said, "your majesty, open the book." the king did so, and finding that the first leaf stuck against the second, he put his finger in his mouth, to turn it more easily. he did the same thing till he reached the sixth page, and not seeing any writing on it, "physician," he said, "there is no writing." "turn over a few more pages," answered the head. the king went on turning, still putting his finger in his mouth, till the poison in which each page was dipped took effect. his sight failed him, and he fell at the foot of his throne. when the physician's head saw that the poison had taken effect, and that the king had only a few more minutes to live, "tyrant," it cried, "see how cruelty and injustice are punished." scarcely had it uttered these words than the king died, and the head lost also the little life that had remained in it. that is the end of the story of the greek king, and now let us return to the fisherman and the genius. "if the greek king," said the fisherman, "had spared the physician, he would not have thus died. the same thing applies to you. now i am going to throw you into the sea." "my friend," said the genius, "do not do such a cruel thing. do not treat me as imma treated ateca." "what did imma do to ateca?" asked the fisherman. "do you think i can tell you while i am shut up in here?" replied the genius. "let me out, and i will make you rich." the hope of being no longer poor made the fisherman give way. "if you will give me your promise to do this, i will open the lid. i do not think you will dare to break your word." the genius promised, and the fisherman lifted the lid. he came out at once in smoke, and then, having resumed his proper form, the first thing he did was to kick the vase into the sea. this frightened the fisherman, but the genius laughed and said, "do not be afraid; i only did it to frighten you, and to show you that i intend to keep my word; take your nets and follow me." he began to walk in front of the fisherman, who followed him with some misgivings. they passed in front of the town, and went up a mountain and then down into a great plain, where there was a large lake lying between four hills. when they reached the lake the genius said to the fisherman, "throw your nets and catch fish." the fisherman did as he was told, hoping for a good catch, as he saw plenty of fish. what was his astonishment at seeing that there were four quite different kinds, some white, some red, some blue, and some yellow. he caught four, one of each colour. as he had never seen any like them he admired them very much, and he was very pleased to think how much money he would get for them. "take these fish and carry them to the sultan, who will give you more money for them than you have ever had in your life. you can come every day to fish in this lake, but be careful not to throw your nets more than once every day, otherwise some harm will happen to you. if you follow my advice carefully you will find it good." saying these words, he struck his foot against the ground, which opened, and when he had disappeared, it closed immediately. the fisherman resolved to obey the genius exactly, so he did not cast his nets a second time, but walked into the town to sell his fish at the palace. when the sultan saw the fish he was much astonished. he looked at them one after the other, and when he had admired them long enough, "take these fish," he said to his first vizir, "and given them to the clever cook the emperor of the greeks sent me. i think they must be as good as they are beautiful." the vizir took them himself to the cook, saying, "here are four fish that have been brought to the sultan. he wants you to cook them." then he went back to the sultan, who told him to give the fisherman four hundred gold pieces. the fisherman, who had never before possessed such a large sum of money at once, could hardly believe his good fortune. he at once relieved the needs of his family, and made good use of it. but now we must return to the kitchen, which we shall find in great confusion. the cook, when she had cleaned the fish, put them in a pan with some oil to fry them. when she thought them cooked enough on one side she turned them on the other. but scarcely had she done so when the walls of the kitchen opened, and there came out a young and beautiful damsel. she was dressed in an egyptian dress of flowered satin, and she wore earrings, and a necklace of white pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies, and she held a wand of myrtle in her hand. she went up to the pan, to the great astonishment of the cook, who stood motionless at the sight of her. she struck one of the fish with her rod, "fish, fish," said she, "are you doing your duty?" the fish answered nothing, and then she repeated her question, whereupon they all raised their heads together and answered very distinctly, "yes, yes. if you reckon, we reckon. if you pay your debts, we pay ours. if you fly, we conquer, and we are content." when they had spoken the girl upset the pan, and entered the opening in the wall, which at once closed, and appeared the same as before. when the cook had recovered from her fright she lifted up the fish which had fallen into the ashes, but she found them as black as cinders, and not fit to serve up to the sultan. she began to cry. "alas! what shall i say to the sultan? he will be so angry with me, and i know he will not believe me!" whilst she was crying the grand-vizir came in and asked if the fish were ready. she told him all that had happened, and he was much surprised. he sent at once for the fisherman, and when he came said to him, "fisherman, bring me four more fish like you have brought already, for an accident has happened to them so that they cannot be served up to the sultan." the fisherman did not say what the genius had told him, but he excused himself from bringing them that day on account of the length of the way, and he promised to bring them next day. in the night he went to the lake, cast his nets, and on drawing them in found four fish, which were like the others, each of a different colour. he went back at once and carried them to the grand-vizir as he had promised. he then took them to the kitchen and shut himself up with the cook, who began to cook them as she had done the four others on the previous day. when she was about to turn them on the other side, the wall opened, the damsel appeared, addressed the same words to the fish, received the same answer, and then overturned the pan and disappeared. the grand-vizir was filled with astonishment. "i shall tell the sultan all that has happened," said he. and he did so. the sultan was very much astounded, and wished to see this marvel for himself. so he sent for the fisherman, and asked him to procure four more fish. the fisherman asked for three days, which were granted, and he then cast his nets in the lake, and again caught four different coloured fish. the sultan was delighted to see he had got them, and gave him again four hundred gold pieces. as soon as the sultan had the fish he had them carried to his room with all that was needed to cook them. then he shut himself up with the grand-vizir, who began to prepare them and cook them. when they were done on one side he turned them over on the other. then the wall of the room opened, but instead of the maiden a black slave came out. he was enormously tall, and carried a large green stick with which he touched the fish, saying in a terrible voice, "fish, fish, are you doing your duty?" to these words the fish lifting up their heads replied, "yes, yes. if you reckon, we reckon. if you pay your debts, we pay ours. if you fly, we conquer, and are content." the black slave overturned the pan in the middle of the room, and the fish were turned to cinders. then he stepped proudly back into the wall, which closed round him. "after having seen this," said the sultan, "i cannot rest. these fish signify some mystery i must clear up." he sent for the fisherman. "fisherman," he said, "the fish you have brought us have caused me some anxiety. where did you get them from?" "sire," he answered, "i got them from a lake which lies in the middle of four hills beyond yonder mountains." "do you know this lake?" asked the sultan of the grand-vizir. "no; though i have hunted many times round that mountain, i have never heard of it," said the vizir. as the fisherman said it was only three hours' journey away, the sultan ordered his whole court to mount and ride thither, and the fisherman led them. they climbed the mountain, and then, on the other side, saw the lake as the fisherman had described. the water was so clear that they could see the four kinds of fish swimming about in it. they looked at them for some time, and then the sultan ordered them to make a camp by the edge of the water. when night came the sultan called his vizir, and said to him, "i have resolved to clear up this mystery. i am going out alone, and do you stay here in my tent, and when my ministers come to-morrow, say i am not well, and cannot see them. do this each day till i return." the grand-vizir tried to persuade the sultan not to go, but in vain. the sultan took off his state robe and put on his sword, and when he saw all was quiet in the camp he set forth alone. he climbed one of the hills, and then crossed the great plain, till, just as the sun rose, he beheld far in front of him a large building. when he came near to it he saw it was a splendid palace of beautiful black polished marble, covered with steel as smooth as a mirror. he went to the gate, which stood half open, and went in, as nobody came when he knocked. he passed through a magnificent courtyard and still saw no one, though he called aloud several times. he entered large halls where the carpets were of silk, the lounges and sofas covered with tapestry from mecca, and the hangings of the most beautiful indian stuffs of gold and silver. then he found himself in a splendid room, with a fountain supported by golden lions. the water out of the lions' mouths turned into diamonds and pearls, and the leaping water almost touched a most beautifully-painted dome. the palace was surrounded on three sides by magnificent gardens, little lakes, and woods. birds sang in the trees, which were netted over to keep them always there. still the sultan saw no one, till he heard a plaintive cry, and a voice which said, "oh that i could die, for i am too unhappy to wish to live any longer!" the sultan looked round to discover who it was who thus bemoaned his fate, and at last saw a handsome young man, richly clothed, who was sitting on a throne raised slightly from the ground. his face was very sad. the sultan approached him and bowed to him. the young man bent his head very low, but did not rise. "sire," he said to the sultan, "i cannot rise and do you the reverence that i am sure should be paid to your rank." "sir," answered the sultan, "i am sure you have a good reason for not doing so, and having heard your cry of distress, i am come to offer you my help. whose is this palace, and why is it thus empty?" instead of answering the young man lifted up his robe, and showed the sultan that, from the waist downwards, he was a block of black marble. the sultan was horrified, and begged the young man to tell him his story. "willingly i will tell you my sad history," said the young man. the story of the young king of the black isles you must know, sire, that my father was mahmoud, the king of this country, the black isles, so called from the four little mountains which were once islands, while the capital was the place where now the great lake lies. my story will tell you how these changes came about. my father died when he was sixty-six, and i succeeded him. i married my cousin, whom i loved tenderly, and i thought she loved me too. but one afternoon, when i was half asleep, and was being fanned by two of her maids, i heard one say to the other, "what a pity it is that our mistress no longer loves our master! i believe she would like to kill him if she could, for she is an enchantress." i soon found by watching that they were right, and when i mortally wounded a favourite slave of hers for a great crime, she begged that she might build a palace in the garden, where she wept and bewailed him for two years. at last i begged her to cease grieving for him, for although he could not speak or move, by her enchantments she just kept him alive. she turned upon me in a rage, and said over me some magic words, and i instantly became as you see me now, half man and half marble. then this wicked enchantress changed the capital, which was a very populous and flourishing city, into the lake and desert plain you saw. the fish of four colours which are in it are the different races who lived in the town; the four hills are the four islands which give the name to my kingdom. all this the enchantress told me to add to my troubles. and this is not all. every day she comes and beats me with a whip of buffalo hide. when the young king had finished his sad story he burst once more into tears, and the sultan was much moved. "tell me," he cried, "where is this wicked woman, and where is the miserable object of her affection, whom she just manages to keep alive?" "where she lives i do not know," answered the unhappy prince, "but she goes every day at sunrise to see if the slave can yet speak to her, after she has beaten me." "unfortunate king," said the sultan, "i will do what i can to avenge you." so he consulted with the young king over the best way to bring this about, and they agreed their plan should be put in effect the next day. the sultan then rested, and the young king gave himself up to happy hopes of release. the next day the sultan arose, and then went to the palace in the garden where the black slave was. he drew his sword and destroyed the little life that remained in him, and then threw the body down a well. he then lay down on the couch where the slave had been, and waited for the enchantress. she went first to the young king, whom she beat with a hundred blows. then she came to the room where she thought her wounded slave was, but where the sultan really lay. she came near his couch and said, "are you better to-day, my dear slave? speak but one word to me." "how can i be better," answered the sultan, imitating the language of the ethiopians, "when i can never sleep for the cries and groans of your husband?" "what joy to hear you speak!" answered the queen. "do you wish him to regain his proper shape?" "yes," said the sultan; "hasten to set him at liberty, so that i may no longer hear his cries." the queen at once went out and took a cup of water, and said over it some words that made it boil as if it were on the fire. then she threw it over the prince, who at once regained his own form. he was filled with joy, but the enchantress said, "hasten away from this place and never come back, lest i kill you." so he hid himself to see the end of the sultan's plan. the enchantress went back to the palace of tears and said, "now i have done what you wished." "what you have done," said the sultan, "is not enough to cure me. every day at midnight all the people whom you have changed into fish lift their heads out of the lake and cry for vengeance. go quickly, and give them their proper shape." the enchantress hurried away and said some words over the lake. the fish then became men, women, and children, and the houses and shops were once more filled. the sultan's suite, who had encamped by the lake, were not a little astonished to see themselves in the middle of a large and beautiful town. as soon as she had disenchanted it the queen went back to the palace. "are you quite well now?" she said. "come near," said the sultan. "nearer still." she obeyed. then he sprang up, and with one blow of his sword he cut her in two. then he went and found the prince. "rejoice," he said, "your cruel enemy is dead." the prince thanked him again and again. "and now," said the sultan. "i will go back to my capital, which i am glad to find is so near yours." "so near mine!" said the king of the black isles. "do you know it is a whole year's journey from here? you came here in a few hours because it was enchanted. but i will accompany you on your journey." "it will give me much pleasure if you will escort me," said the sultan, "and as i have no children, i will make you my heir." the sultan and the prince set out together, the sultan laden with rich presents from the king of the black isles. the day after he reached his capital the sultan assembled his court and told them all that had befallen him, and told them how he intended to adopt the young king as his heir. then he gave each man presents in proportion to his rank. as for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him much money, and made him and his family happy for the rest of their days. the story of the three calenders, sons of kings, and of five ladies of bagdad in the reign of the caliph haroun-al-raschid, there lived at bagdad a porter who, in spite of his humble calling, was an intelligent and sensible man. one morning he was sitting in his usual place with his basket before him, waiting to be hired, when a tall young lady, covered with a long muslin veil, came up to him and said, "pick up your basket and follow me." the porter, who was greatly pleased by her appearance and voice, jumped up at once, poised his basket on his head, and accompanied the lady, saying to himself as he went, "oh, happy day! oh, lucky meeting!" the lady soon stopped before a closed door, at which she knocked. it was opened by an old man with a long white beard, to whom the lady held out money without speaking. the old man, who seemed to understand what she wanted, vanished into the house, and returned bringing a large jar of wine, which the porter placed in his basket. then the lady signed to him to follow, and they went their way. the next place she stopped at was a fruit and flower shop, and here she bought a large quantity of apples, apricots, peaches, and other things, with lilies, jasmine, and all sorts of sweet-smelling plants. from this shop she went to a butcher's, a grocer's, and a poulterer's, till at last the porter exclaimed in despair, "my good lady, if you had only told me you were going to buy enough provisions to stock a town, i would have brought a horse, or rather a camel." the lady laughed, and told him she had not finished yet, but after choosing various kinds of scents and spices from a druggist's store, she halted before a magnificent palace, at the door of which she knocked gently. the porteress who opened it was of such beauty that the eyes of the man were quite dazzled, and he was the more astonished as he saw clearly that she was no slave. the lady who had led him hither stood watching him with amusement, till the porteress exclaimed, "why don't you come in, my sister? this poor man is so heavily weighed down that he is ready to drop." when they were both inside the door was fastened, and they all three entered a large court, surrounded by an open-work gallery. at one end of the court was a platform, and on the platform stood an amber throne supported by four ebony columns, garnished with pearls and diamonds. in the middle of the court stood a marble basin filled with water from the mouth of a golden lion. the porter looked about him, noticing and admiring everything; but his attention was specially attracted by a third lady sitting on the throne, who was even more beautiful than the other two. by the respect shown to her by the others, he judged that she must be the eldest, and in this he was right. this lady's name was zobeida, the porteress was sadie, and the housekeeper was amina. at a word from zobeida, sadie and amina took the basket from the porter, who was glad enough to be relieved from its weight; and when it was emptied, paid him handsomely for its use. but instead of taking up his basket and going away, the man still lingered, till zobeida inquired what he was waiting for, and if he expected more money. "oh, madam," returned he, "you have already given me too much, and i fear i may have been guilty of rudeness in not taking my departure at once. but, if you will pardon my saying so, i was lost in astonishment at seeing such beautiful ladies by themselves. a company of women without men is, however, as dull as a company of men without women." and after telling some stories to prove his point, he ended by entreating them to let him stay and make a fourth at their dinner. the ladies were rather amused at the man's assurances and after some discussion it was agreed that he should be allowed to stay, as his society might prove entertaining. "but listen, friend," said zobeida, "if we grant your request, it is only on condition that you behave with the utmost politeness, and that you keep the secret of our way of living, which chance has revealed to you." then they all sat down to table, which had been covered by amina with the dishes she had bought. after the first few mouthfuls amina poured some wine into a golden cup. she first drank herself, according to the arab custom, and then filled it for her sisters. when it came to the porter's turn he kissed amina's hand, and sang a song, which he composed at the moment in praise of the wine. the three ladies were pleased with the song, and then sang themselves, so that the repast was a merry one, and lasted much longer than usual. at length, seeing that the sun was about to set, sadia said to the porter, "rise and go; it is now time for us to separate." "oh, madam," replied he, "how can you desire me to quit you in the state in which i am? between the wine i have drunk, and the pleasure of seeing you, i should never find the way to my house. let me remain here till morning, and when i have recovered my senses i will go when you like." "let him stay," said amina, who had before proved herself his friend. "it is only just, as he has given us so much amusement." "if you wish it, my sister," replied zobeida; "but if he does, i must make a new condition. porter," she continued, turning to him, "if you remain, you must promise to ask no questions about anything you may see. if you do, you may perhaps hear what you don't like." this being settled, amina brought in supper, and lit up the hall with a number of sweet smelling tapers. they then sat down again at the table, and began with fresh appetites to eat, drink, sing, and recite verses. in fact, they were all enjoying themselves mightily when they heard a knock at the outer door, which sadie rose to open. she soon returned saying that three calenders, all blind in the right eye, and all with their heads, faces, and eyebrows clean shaved, begged for admittance, as they were newly arrived in bagdad, and night had already fallen. "they seem to have pleasant manners," she added, "but you have no idea how funny they look. i am sure we should find their company diverting." zobeida and amina made some difficulty about admitting the new comers, and sadie knew the reason of their hesitation. but she urged the matter so strongly that zobeida was at last forced to consent. "bring them in, then," said she, "but make them understand that they are not to make remarks about what does not concern them, and be sure to make them read the inscription over the door." for on the door was written in letters of gold, "whoso meddles in affairs that are no business of his, will hear truths that will not please him." the three calenders bowed low on entering, and thanked the ladies for their kindness and hospitality. the ladies replied with words of welcome, and they were all about to seat themselves when the eyes of the calenders fell on the porter, whose dress was not so very unlike their own, though he still wore all the hair that nature had given him. "this," said one of them, "is apparently one of our arab brothers, who has rebelled against our ruler." the porter, although half asleep from the wine he had drunk, heard the words, and without moving cried angrily to the calender, "sit down and mind your own business. did you not read the inscription over the door? everybody is not obliged to live in the same way." "do not be so angry, my good man," replied the calender; "we should be very sorry to displease you;" so the quarrel was smoothed over, and supper began in good earnest. when the calenders had satisfied their hunger, they offered to play to their hostesses, if there were any instruments in the house. the ladies were delighted at the idea, and sadie went to see what she could find, returning in a few moments laden with two different kinds of flutes and a tambourine. each calender took the one he preferred, and began to play a well-known air, while the ladies sang the words of the song. these words were the gayest and liveliest possible, and every now and then the singers had to stop to indulge the laughter which almost choked them. in the midst of all their noise, a knock was heard at the door. now early that evening the caliph secretly left the palace, accompanied by his grand-vizir, giafar, and mesrour, chief of the eunuchs, all three wearing the dresses of merchants. passing down the street, the caliph had been attracted by the music of instruments and the sound of laughter, and had ordered his vizir to go and knock at the door of the house, as he wished to enter. the vizir replied that the ladies who lived there seemed to be entertaining their friends, and he thought his master would do well not to intrude on them; but the caliph had taken it into his head to see for himself, and insisted on being obeyed. the knock was answered by sadie, with a taper in her hand, and the vizir, who was surprised at her beauty, bowed low before her, and said respectfully, "madam, we are three merchants who have lately arrived from moussoul, and, owing to a misadventure which befel us this very night, only reached our inn to find that the doors were closed to us till to-morrow morning. not knowing what to do, we wandered in the streets till we happened to pass your house, when, seeing lights and hearing the sound of voices, we resolved to ask you to give us shelter till the dawn. if you will grant us this favour, we will, with your permission, do all in our power to help you spend the time pleasantly." sadie answered the merchant that she must first consult her sisters; and after having talked over the matter with them, she returned to tell him that he and his two friends would be welcome to join their company. they entered and bowed politely to the ladies and their guests. then zobeida, as the mistress, came forward and said gravely, "you are welcome here, but i hope you will allow me to beg one thing of you--have as many eyes as you like, but no tongues; and ask no questions about anything you see, however strange it may appear to you." "madam," returned the vizir, "you shall be obeyed. we have quite enough to please and interest us without troubling ourselves about that with which we have no concern." then they all sat down, and drank to the health of the new comers. while the vizir, giafar, was talking to the ladies the caliph was occupied in wondering who they could be, and why the three calenders had each lost his right eye. he was burning to inquire the reason of it all, but was silenced by zobeida's request, so he tried to rouse himself and to take his part in the conversation, which was very lively, the subject of discussion being the many different sorts of pleasures that there were in the world. after some time the calenders got up and performed some curious dances, which delighted the rest of the company. when they had finished zobeida rose from her seat, and, taking amina by the hand, she said to her, "my sister, our friends will excuse us if we seem to forget their presence and fulfil our nightly task." amina understood her sister's meaning, and collecting the dishes, glasses, and musical instruments, she carried them away, while sadie swept the hall and put everything in order. having done this she begged the calenders to sit on a sofa on one side of the room, and the caliph and his friends to place themselves opposite. as to the porter, she requested him to come and help her and her sister. shortly after amina entered carrying a seat, which she put down in the middle of the empty space. she next went over to the door of a closet and signed to the porter to follow her. he did so, and soon reappeared leading two black dogs by a chain, which he brought into the centre of the hall. zobeida then got up from her seat between the calenders and the caliph and walked slowly across to where the porter stood with the dogs. "we must do our duty," she said with a deep sigh, pushing back her sleeves, and, taking a whip from sadie, she said to the man, "take one of those dogs to my sister amina and give me the other." the porter did as he was bid, but as he led the dog to zobeida it uttered piercing howls, and gazed up at her with looks of entreaty. but zobeida took no notice, and whipped the dog till she was out of breath. she then took the chain from the porter, and, raising the dog on its hind legs, they looked into each other's eyes sorrowfully till tears began to fall from both. then zobeida took her handkerchief and wiped the dog's eyes tenderly, after which she kissed it, then, putting the chain into the porter's hand she said, "take it back to the closet and bring me the other." the same ceremony was gone through with the second dog, and all the while the whole company looked on with astonishment. the caliph in particular could hardly contain himself, and made signs to the vizir to ask what it all meant. but the vizir pretended not to see, and turned his head away. zobeida remained for some time in the middle of the room, till at last sadie went up to her and begged her to sit down, as she also had her part to play. at these words amina fetched a lute from a case of yellow satin and gave it to sadie, who sang several songs to its accompaniment. when she was tired she said to amina, "my sister, i can do no more; come, i pray you, and take my place." amina struck a few chords and then broke into a song, which she sang with so much ardour that she was quite overcome, and sank gasping on a pile of cushions, tearing open her dress as she did so to give herself some air. to the amazement of all present, her neck, instead of being as smooth and white as her face, was a mass of scars. the calenders and the caliph looked at each other, and whispered together, unheard by zobeida and sadie, who were tending their fainting sister. "what does it all mean?' asked the caliph. "we know no more than you," said the calender to whom he had spoken. "what! you do not belong to the house?" "my lord," answered all the calenders together, "we came here for the first time an hour before you." they then turned to the porter to see if he could explain the mystery, but the porter was no wiser than they were themselves. at length the caliph could contain his curiosity no longer, and declared that he would compel the ladies to tell them the meaning of their strange conduct. the vizir, foreseeing what would happen, implored him to remember the condition their hostesses had imposed, and added in a whisper that if his highness would only wait till morning he could as caliph summon the ladies to appear before him. but the caliph, who was not accustomed to be contradicted, rejected this advice, and it was resolved after a little more talking that the question should be put by the porter. suddenly zobeida turned round, and seeing their excitement she said, "what is the matter--what are you all discussing so earnestly?" "madam," answered the porter, "these gentlemen entreat you to explain to them why you should first whip the dogs and then cry over them, and also how it happens that the fainting lady is covered with scars. they have requested me, madam, to be their mouthpiece." "is it true, gentlemen," asked zobeida, drawing herself up, "that you have charged this man to put me that question?" "it is," they all replied, except giafar, who was silent. "is this," continued zobeida, growing more angry every moment, "is this the return you make for the hospitality i have shown you? have you forgotten the one condition on which you were allowed to enter the house? come quickly," she added, clapping her hands three times, and the words were hardly uttered when seven black slaves, each armed with a sabre, burst in and stood over the seven men, throwing them on the ground, and preparing themselves, on a sign from their mistress, to cut off their heads. the seven culprits all thought their last hour had come, and the caliph repented bitterly that he had not taken the vizir's advice. but they made up their minds to die bravely, all except the porter, who loudly inquired of zobeida why he was to suffer for other people's faults, and declared that these misfortunes would never have happened if it had not been for the calenders, who always brought ill-luck. he ended by imploring zobeida not to confound the innocent with the guilty and to spare his life. in spite of her anger, there was something so comic in the groans of the porter that zobeida could not refrain from laughing. but putting him aside she addressed the others a second time, saying, "answer me; who are you? unless you tell me truly you have not another moment to live. i can hardly think you are men of any position, whatever country you belong to. if you were, you would have had more consideration for us." the caliph, who was naturally very impatient, suffered far more than either of the others at feeling that his life was at the mercy of a justly offended lady, but when he heard her question he began to breathe more freely, for he was convinced that she had only to learn his name and rank for all danger to be over. so he whispered hastily to the vizir, who was next to him, to reveal their secret. but the vizir, wiser than his master, wished to conceal from the public the affront they had received, and merely answered, "after all, we have only got what we deserved." meanwhile zobeida had turned to the three calenders and inquired if, as they were all blind, they were brothers. "no, madam," replied one, "we are no blood relations at all, only brothers by our mode of life." "and you," she asked, addressing another, "were you born blind of one eye?" "no, madam," returned he, "i became blind through a most surprising adventure, such as probably has never happened to anybody. after that i shaved my head and eyebrows and put on the dress in which you see me now." zobeida put the same question to the other two calenders, and received the same answer. "but," added the third, "it may interest you, madam, to know that we are not men of low birth, but are all three sons of kings, and of kings, too, whom the world holds in high esteem." at these words zobeida's anger cooled down, and she turned to her slaves and said, "you can give them a little more liberty, but do not leave the hall. those that will tell us their histories and their reasons for coming here shall be allowed to leave unhurt; those who refuse--" and she paused, but in a moment the porter, who understood that he had only to relate his story to set himself free from this terrible danger, immediately broke in, "madam, you know already how i came here, and what i have to say will soon be told. your sister found me this morning in the place where i always stand waiting to be hired. she bade me follow her to various shops, and when my basket was quite full we returned to this house, when you had the goodness to permit me to remain, for which i shall be eternally grateful. that is my story." he looked anxiously to zobeida, who nodded her head and said, "you can go; and take care we never meet again." "oh, madam," cried the porter, "let me stay yet a little while. it is not just that the others should have heard my story and that i should not hear theirs," and without waiting for permission he seated himself on the end of the sofa occupied by the ladies, whilst the rest crouched on the carpet, and the slaves stood against the wall. then one of the calenders, addressing himself to zobeida as the principal lady, began his story. the story of the first calender, son of a king in order, madam, to explain how i came to lose my right eye, and to wear the dress of a calender, you must first know that i am the son of a king. my father's only brother reigned over the neighbouring country, and had two children, a daughter and a son, who were of the same age as myself. as i grew up, and was allowed more liberty, i went every year to pay a visit to my uncle's court, and usually stayed there about two months. in this way my cousin and i became very intimate, and were much attached to each other. the very last time i saw him he seemed more delighted to see me than ever, and gave a great feast in my honour. when we had finished eating, he said to me, "my cousin, you would never guess what i have been doing since your last visit to us! directly after your departure i set a number of men to work on a building after my own design. it is now completed, and ready to be lived in. i should like to show it to you, but you must first swear two things: to be faithful to me, and to keep my secret." of course i did not dream of refusing him anything he asked, and gave the promise without the least hesitation. he then bade me wait an instant, and vanished, returning in a few moments with a richly dressed lady of great beauty, but as he did not tell me her name, i thought it was better not to inquire. we all three sat down to table and amused ourselves with talking of all sorts of indifferent things, and with drinking each other's health. suddenly the prince said to me, "cousin, we have no time to lose; be so kind as to conduct this lady to a certain spot, where you will find a dome-like tomb, newly built. you cannot mistake it. go in, both of you, and wait till i come. i shall not be long." as i had promised i prepared to do as i was told, and giving my hand to the lady, i escorted her, by the light of the moon, to the place of which the prince had spoken. we had barely reached it when he joined us himself, carrying a small vessel of water, a pickaxe, and a little bag containing plaster. with the pickaxe he at once began to destroy the empty sepulchre in the middle of the tomb. one by one he took the stones and piled them up in a corner. when he had knocked down the whole sepulchre he proceeded to dig at the earth, and beneath where the sepulchre had been i saw a trap-door. he raised the door and i caught sight of the top of a spiral staircase; then he said, turning to the lady, "madam, this is the way that will lead you down to the spot which i told you of." the lady did not answer, but silently descended the staircase, the prince following her. at the top, however, he looked at me. "my cousin," he exclaimed, "i do not know how to thank you for your kindness. farewell." "what do you mean?" i cried. "i don't understand." "no matter," he replied, "go back by the path that you came." he would say no more, and, greatly puzzled, i returned to my room in the palace and went to bed. when i woke, and considered my adventure, i thought that i must have been dreaming, and sent a servant to ask if the prince was dressed and could see me. but on hearing that he had not slept at home i was much alarmed, and hastened to the cemetery, where, unluckily, the tombs were all so alike that i could not discover which was the one i was in search of, though i spent four days in looking for it. you must know that all this time the king, my uncle, was absent on a hunting expedition, and as no one knew when he would be back, i at last decided to return home, leaving the ministers to make my excuses. i longed to tell them what had become of the prince, about whose fate they felt the most dreadful anxiety, but the oath i had sworn kept me silent. on my arrival at my father's capital, i was astonished to find a large detachment of guards drawn up before the gate of the palace; they surrounded me directly i entered. i asked the officers in command the reason of this strange behaviour, and was horrified to learn that the army had mutinied and put to death the king, my father, and had placed the grand-vizir on the throne. further, that by his orders i was placed under arrest. now this rebel vizir had hated me from my boy-hood, because once, when shooting at a bird with a bow, i had shot out his eye by accident. of course i not only sent a servant at once to offer him my regrets and apologies, but i made them in person. it was all of no use. he cherished an undying hatred towards me, and lost no occasion of showing it. having once got me in his power i felt he could show no mercy, and i was right. mad with triumph and fury he came to me in my prison and tore out my right eye. that is how i lost it. my persecutor, however, did not stop here. he shut me up in a large case and ordered his executioner to carry me into a desert place, to cut off my head, and then to abandon my body to the birds of prey. the case, with me inside it, was accordingly placed on a horse, and the executioner, accompanied by another man, rode into the country until they found a spot suitable for the purpose. but their hearts were not so hard as they seemed, and my tears and prayers made them waver. "forsake the kingdom instantly," said the executioner at last, "and take care never to come back, for you will not only lose your head, but make us lose ours." i thanked him gratefully, and tried to console myself for the loss of my eye by thinking of the other misfortunes i had escaped. after all i had gone through, and my fear of being recognised by some enemy, i could only travel very slowly and cautiously, generally resting in some out-of-the-way place by day, and walking as far as i was able by night, but at length i arrived in the kingdom of my uncle, of whose protection i was sure. i found him in great trouble about the disappearance of his son, who had, he said, vanished without leaving a trace; but his own grief did not prevent him sharing mine. we mingled our tears, for the loss of one was the loss of the other, and then i made up my mind that it was my duty to break the solemn oath i had sworn to the prince. i therefore lost no time in telling my uncle everything i knew, and i observed that even before i had ended his sorrow appeared to be lightened a little. "my dear nephew," he said, "your story gives me some hope. i was aware that my son was building a tomb, and i think i can find the spot. but as he wished to keep the matter secret, let us go alone and seek the place ourselves." he then bade me disguise myself, and we both slipped out of a garden door which opened on to the cemetery. it did not take long for us to arrive at the scene of the prince's disappearance, or to discover the tomb i had sought so vainly before. we entered it, and found the trap-door which led to the staircase, but we had great difficulty in raising it, because the prince had fastened it down underneath with the plaster he had brought with him. my uncle went first, and i followed him. when we reached the bottom of the stairs we stepped into a sort of ante-room, filled with such a dense smoke that it was hardly possible to see anything. however, we passed through the smoke into a large chamber, which at first seemed quite empty. the room was brilliantly lighted, and in another moment we perceived a sort of platform at one end, on which were the bodies of the prince and a lady, both half-burned, as if they had been dragged out of a fire before it had quite consumed them. this horrible sight turned me faint, but, to my surprise, my uncle did not show so much surprise as anger. "i knew," he said, "that my son was tenderly attached to this lady, whom it was impossible he should ever marry. i tried to turn his thoughts, and presented to him the most beautiful princesses, but he cared for none of them, and, as you see, they have now been united by a horrible death in an underground tomb." but, as he spoke, his anger melted into tears, and again i wept with him. when he recovered himself he drew me to him. "my dear nephew," he said, embracing me, "you have come to me to take his place, and i will do my best to forget that i ever had a son who could act in so wicked a manner." then he turned and went up the stairs. we reached the palace without anyone having noticed our absence, when, shortly after, a clashing of drums, and cymbals, and the blare of trumpets burst upon our astonished ears. at the same time a thick cloud of dust on the horizon told of the approach of a great army. my heart sank when i perceived that the commander was the vizir who had dethroned my father, and was come to seize the kingdom of my uncle. the capital was utterly unprepared to stand a siege, and seeing that resistance was useless, at once opened its gates. my uncle fought hard for his life, but was soon overpowered, and when he fell i managed to escape through a secret passage, and took refuge with an officer whom i knew i could trust. persecuted by ill-fortune, and stricken with grief, there seemed to be only one means of safety left to me. i shaved my beard and my eyebrows, and put on the dress of a calender, in which it was easy for me to travel without being known. i avoided the towns till i reached the kingdom of the famous and powerful caliph, haroun-al-raschid, when i had no further reason to fear my enemies. it was my intention to come to bagdad and to throw myself at the feet of his highness, who would, i felt certain, be touched by my sad story, and would grant me, besides, his help and protection. after a journey which lasted some months i arrived at length at the gates of this city. it was sunset, and i paused for a little to look about me, and to decide which way to turn my steps. i was still debating on this subject when i was joined by this other calender, who stopped to greet me. "you, like me, appear to be a stranger," i said. he replied that i was right, and before he could say more the third calender came up. he, also, was newly arrived in bagdad, and being brothers in misfortune, we resolved to cast in our lots together, and to share whatever fate might have in store. by this time it had grown late, and we did not know where to spend the night. but our lucky star having guided us to this door, we took the liberty of knocking and of asking for shelter, which was given to us at once with the best grace in the world. this, madam, is my story. "i am satisfied," replied zobeida; "you can go when you like." the calender, however, begged leave to stay and to hear the histories of his two friends and of the three other persons of the company, which he was allowed to do. the story of the second calendar, son of a king "madam," said the young man, addressing zobeida, "if you wish to know how i lost my right eye, i shall have to tell you the story of my whole life." i was scarcely more than a baby, when the king my father, finding me unusually quick and clever for my age, turned his thoughts to my education. i was taught first to read and write, and then to learn the koran, which is the basis of our holy religion, and the better to understand it, i read with my tutors the ablest commentators on its teaching, and committed to memory all the traditions respecting the prophet, which have been gathered from the mouth of those who were his friends. i also learnt history, and was instructed in poetry, versification, geography, chronology, and in all the outdoor exercises in which every prince should excel. but what i liked best of all was writing arabic characters, and in this i soon surpassed my masters, and gained a reputation in this branch of knowledge that reached as far as india itself. now the sultan of the indies, curious to see a young prince with such strange tastes, sent an ambassador to my father, laden with rich presents, and a warm invitation to visit his court. my father, who was deeply anxious to secure the friendship of so powerful a monarch, and held besides that a little travel would greatly improve my manners and open my mind, accepted gladly, and in a short time i had set out for india with the ambassador, attended only by a small suite on account of the length of the journey, and the badness of the roads. however, as was my duty, i took with me ten camels, laden with rich presents for the sultan. we had been travelling for about a month, when one day we saw a cloud of dust moving swiftly towards us; and as soon as it came near, we found that the dust concealed a band of fifty robbers. our men barely numbered half, and as we were also hampered by the camels, there was no use in fighting, so we tried to overawe them by informing them who we were, and whither we were going. the robbers, however, only laughed, and declared that was none of their business, and, without more words, attacked us brutally. i defended myself to the last, wounded though i was, but at length, seeing that resistance was hopeless, and that the ambassador and all our followers were made prisoners, i put spurs to my horse and rode away as fast as i could, till the poor beast fell dead from a wound in his side. i managed to jump off without any injury, and looked about to see if i was pursued. but for the moment i was safe, for, as i imagined, the robbers were all engaged in quarrelling over their booty. i found myself in a country that was quite new to me, and dared not return to the main road lest i should again fall into the hands of the robbers. luckily my wound was only a slight one, and after binding it up as well as i could, i walked on for the rest of the day, till i reached a cave at the foot of a mountain, where i passed the night in peace, making my supper off some fruits i had gathered on the way. i wandered about for a whole month without knowing where i was going, till at length i found myself on the outskirts of a beautiful city, watered by winding streams, which enjoyed an eternal spring. my delight at the prospect of mixing once more with human beings was somewhat damped at the thought of the miserable object i must seem. my face and hands had been burned nearly black; my clothes were all in rags, and my shoes were in such a state that i had been forced to abandon them altogether. i entered the town, and stopped at a tailor's shop to inquire where i was. the man saw i was better than my condition, and begged me to sit down, and in return i told him my whole story. the tailor listened with attention, but his reply, instead of giving me consolation, only increased my trouble. "beware," he said, "of telling any one what you have told me, for the prince who governs the kingdom is your father's greatest enemy, and he will be rejoiced to find you in his power." i thanked the tailor for his counsel, and said i would do whatever he advised; then, being very hungry, i gladly ate of the food he put before me, and accepted his offer of a lodging in his house. in a few days i had quite recovered from the hardships i had undergone, and then the tailor, knowing that it was the custom for the princes of our religion to learn a trade or profession so as to provide for themselves in times of ill-fortune, inquired if there was anything i could do for my living. i replied that i had been educated as a grammarian and a poet, but that my great gift was writing. "all that is of no use here," said the tailor. "take my advice, put on a short coat, and as you seem hardy and strong, go into the woods and cut firewood, which you will sell in the streets. by this means you will earn your living, and be able to wait till better times come. the hatchet and the cord shall be my present." this counsel was very distasteful to me, but i thought i could not do otherwise than adopt it. so the next morning i set out with a company of poor wood-cutters, to whom the tailor had introduced me. even on the first day i cut enough wood to sell for a tolerable sum, and very soon i became more expert, and had made enough money to repay the tailor all he had lent me. i had been a wood-cutter for more than a year, when one day i wandered further into the forest than i had ever done before, and reached a delicious green glade, where i began to cut wood. i was hacking at the root of a tree, when i beheld an iron ring fastened to a trapdoor of the same metal. i soon cleared away the earth, and pulling up the door, found a staircase, which i hastily made up my mind to go down, carrying my hatchet with me by way of protection. when i reached the bottom i discovered that i was in a huge palace, as brilliantly lighted as any palace above ground that i had ever seen, with a long gallery supported by pillars of jasper, ornamented with capitals of gold. down this gallery a lady came to meet me, of such beauty that i forgot everything else, and thought only of her. to save her all the trouble possible, i hastened towards her, and bowed low. "who are you? who are you?" she said. "a man or a genius?" "a man, madam," i replied; "i have nothing to do with genii." "by what accident do you come here?" she asked again with a sigh. "i have been in this place now for five and twenty years, and you are the first man who has visited me." emboldened by her beauty and gentleness, i ventured to reply, "before, madam, i answer your question, allow me to say how grateful i am for this meeting, which is not only a consolation to me in my own heavy sorrow, but may perhaps enable me to render your lot happier," and then i told her who i was, and how i had come there. "alas, prince," she said, with a deeper sigh than before, "you have guessed rightly in supposing me an unwilling prisoner in this gorgeous place. i am the daughter of the king of the ebony isle, of whose fame you surely must have heard. at my father's desire i was married to a prince who was my own cousin; but on my very wedding day, i was snatched up by a genius, and brought here in a faint. for a long while i did nothing but weep, and would not suffer the genius to come near me; but time teaches us submission, and i have now got accustomed to his presence, and if clothes and jewels could content me, i have them in plenty. every tenth day, for five and twenty years, i have received a visit from him, but in case i should need his help at any other time, i have only to touch a talisman that stands at the entrance of my chamber. it wants still five days to his next visit, and i hope that during that time you will do me the honour to be my guest." i was too much dazzled by her beauty to dream of refusing her offer, and accordingly the princess had me conducted to the bath, and a rich dress befitting my rank was provided for me. then a feast of the most delicate dishes was served in a room hung with embroidered indian fabrics. next day, when we were at dinner, i could maintain my patience no longer, and implored the princess to break her bonds, and return with me to the world which was lighted by the sun. "what you ask is impossible," she answered; "but stay here with me instead, and we can be happy, and all you will have to do is to betake yourself to the forest every tenth day, when i am expecting my master the genius. he is very jealous, as you know, and will not suffer a man to come near me." "princess," i replied, "i see it is only fear of the genius that makes you act like this. for myself, i dread him so little that i mean to break his talisman in pieces! awful though you think him, he shall feel the weight of my arm, and i herewith take a solemn vow to stamp out the whole race." the princess, who realized the consequences of such audacity, entreated me not to touch the talisman. "if you do, it will be the ruin of both of us," said she; "i know genii much better than you." but the wine i had drunk had confused my brain; i gave one kick to the talisman, and it fell into a thousand pieces. hardly had my foot touched the talisman when the air became as dark as night, a fearful noise was heard, and the palace shook to its very foundations. in an instant i was sobered, and understood what i had done. "princess!" i cried, "what is happening?" "alas!" she exclaimed, forgetting all her own terrors in anxiety for me, "fly, or you are lost." i followed her advice and dashed up the staircase, leaving my hatchet behind me. but i was too late. the palace opened and the genius appeared, who, turning angrily to the princess, asked indignantly, "what is the matter, that you have sent for me like this?" "a pain in my heart," she replied hastily, "obliged me to seek the aid of this little bottle. feeling faint, i slipped and fell against the talisman, which broke. that is really all." "you are an impudent liar!" cried the genius. "how did this hatchet and those shoes get here?" "i never saw them before," she answered, "and you came in such a hurry that you may have picked them up on the road without knowing it." to this the genius only replied by insults and blows. i could hear the shrieks and groans of the princess, and having by this time taken off my rich garments and put on those in which i had arrived the previous day, i lifted the trap, found myself once more in the forest, and returned to my friend the tailor, with a light load of wood and a heart full of shame and sorrow. the tailor, who had been uneasy at my long absence, was, delighted to see me; but i kept silence about my adventure, and as soon as possible retired to my room to lament in secret over my folly. while i was thus indulging my grief my host entered, and said, "there is an old man downstairs who has brought your hatchet and slippers, which he picked up on the road, and now restores to you, as he found out from one of your comrades where you lived. you had better come down and speak to him yourself." at this speech i changed colour, and my legs trembled under me. the tailor noticed my confusion, and was just going to inquire the reason when the door of the room opened, and the old man appeared, carrying with him my hatchet and shoes. "i am a genius," he said, "the son of the daughter of eblis, prince of the genii. is not this hatchet yours, and these shoes?" without waiting for an answer--which, indeed, i could hardly have given him, so great was my fright--he seized hold of me, and darted up into the air with the quickness of lightning, and then, with equal swiftness, dropped down towards the earth. when he touched the ground, he rapped it with his foot; it opened, and we found ourselves in the enchanted palace, in the presence of the beautiful princess of the ebony isle. but how different she looked from what she was when i had last seen her, for she was lying stretched on the ground covered with blood, and weeping bitterly. "traitress!" cried the genius, "is not this man your lover?" she lifted up her eyes slowly, and looked sadly at me. "i never saw him before," she answered slowly. "i do not know who he is." "what!" exclaimed the genius, "you owe all your sufferings to him, and yet you dare to say he is a stranger to you!" "but if he really is a stranger to me," she replied, "why should i tell a lie and cause his death?" "very well," said the genius, drawing his sword, "take this, and cut off his head." "alas," answered the princess, "i am too weak even to hold the sabre. and supposing that i had the strength, why should i put an innocent man to death?" "you condemn yourself by your refusal," said the genius; then turning to me, he added, "and you, do you not know her?" "how should i?" i replied, resolved to imitate the princess in her fidelity. "how should i, when i never saw her before?" "cut her head off," then, "if she is a stranger to you, and i shall believe you are speaking the truth, and will set you at liberty." "certainly," i answered, taking the sabre in my hands, and making a sign to the princess to fear nothing, as it was my own life that i was about to sacrifice, and not hers. but the look of gratitude she gave me shook my courage, and i flung the sabre to the earth. "i should not deserve to live," i said to the genius, "if i were such a coward as to slay a lady who is not only unknown to me, but who is at this moment half dead herself. do with me as you will--i am in your power--but i refuse to obey your cruel command." "i see," said the genius, "that you have both made up your minds to brave me, but i will give you a sample of what you may expect." so saying, with one sweep of his sabre he cut off a hand of the princess, who was just able to lift the other to wave me an eternal farewell. then i lost consciousness for several minutes. when i came to myself i implored the genius to keep me no longer in this state of suspense, but to lose no time in putting an end to my sufferings. the genius, however, paid no attention to my prayers, but said sternly, "that is the way in which a genius treats the woman who has betrayed him. if i chose, i could kill you also; but i will be merciful, and content myself with changing you into a dog, an ass, a lion, or a bird--whichever you prefer." i caught eagerly at these words, as giving me a faint hope of softening his wrath. "o genius!" i cried, "as you wish to spare my life, be generous, and spare it altogether. grant my prayer, and pardon my crime, as the best man in the whole world forgave his neighbour who was eaten up with envy of him." contrary to my hopes, the genius seemed interested in my words, and said he would like to hear the story of the two neighbours; and as i think, madam, it may please you, i will tell it to you also. the story of the envious man and of him who was envied in a town of moderate size, two men lived in neighbouring houses; but they had not been there very long before one man took such a hatred of the other, and envied him so bitterly, that the poor man determined to find another home, hoping that when they no longer met every day his enemy would forget all about him. so he sold his house and the little furniture it contained, and moved into the capital of the country, which was luckily at no great distance. about half a mile from this city he bought a nice little place, with a large garden and a fair-sized court, in the centre of which stood an old well. in order to live a quieter life, the good man put on the robe of a dervish, and divided his house into a quantity of small cells, where he soon established a number of other dervishes. the fame of his virtue gradually spread abroad, and many people, including several of the highest quality, came to visit him and ask his prayers. of course it was not long before his reputation reached the ears of the man who envied him, and this wicked wretch resolved never to rest till he had in some way worked ill to the dervish whom he hated. so he left his house and his business to look after themselves, and betook himself to the new dervish monastery, where he was welcomed by the founder with all the warmth imaginable. the excuse he gave for his appearance was that he had come to consult the chief of the dervishes on a private matter of great importance. "what i have to say must not be overheard," he whispered; "command, i beg of you, that your dervishes retire into their cells, as night is approaching, and meet me in the court." the dervish did as he was asked without delay, and directly they were alone together the envious man began to tell a long story, edging, as they walked to and fro, always nearer to the well, and when they were quite close, he seized the dervish and dropped him in. he then ran off triumphantly, without having been seen by anyone, and congratulating himself that the object of his hatred was dead, and would trouble him no more. but in this he was mistaken! the old well had long been inhabited (unknown to mere human beings) by a set of fairies and genii, who caught the dervish as he fell, so that he received no hurt. the dervish himself could see nothing, but he took for granted that something strange had happened, or he must certainly have been dashed against the side of the well and been killed. he lay quite still, and in a moment he heard a voice saying, "can you guess whom this man is that we have saved from death?" "no," replied several other voices. and the first speaker answered, "i will tell you. this man, from pure goodness of heart, forsook the town where he lived and came to dwell here, in the hope of curing one of his neighbours of the envy he felt towards him. but his character soon won him the esteem of all, and the envious man's hatred grew, till he came here with the deliberate intention of causing his death. and this he would have done, without our help, the very day before the sultan has arranged to visit this holy dervish, and to entreat his prayers for the princess, his daughter." "but what is the matter with the princess that she needs the dervish's prayers?" asked another voice. "she has fallen into the power of the genius maimoum, the son of dimdim," replied the first voice. "but it would be quite simple for this holy chief of the dervishes to cure her if he only knew! in his convent there is a black cat which has a tiny white tip to its tail. now to cure the princess the dervish must pull out seven of these white hairs, burn three, and with their smoke perfume the head of the princess. this will deliver her so completely that maimoum, the son of dimdim, will never dare to approach her again." the fairies and genii ceased talking, but the dervish did not forget a word of all they had said; and when morning came he perceived a place in the side of the well which was broken, and where he could easily climb out. the dervishes, who could not imagine what had become of him, were enchanted at his reappearance. he told them of the attempt on his life made by his guest of the previous day, and then retired into his cell. he was soon joined here by the black cat of which the voice had spoken, who came as usual to say good-morning to his master. he took him on his knee and seized the opportunity to pull seven white hairs out of his tail, and put them on one side till they were needed. the sun had not long risen before the sultan, who was anxious to leave nothing undone that might deliver the princess, arrived with a large suite at the gate of the monastery, and was received by the dervishes with profound respect. the sultan lost no time in declaring the object of his visit, and leading the chief of the dervishes aside, he said to him, "noble scheik, you have guessed perhaps what i have come to ask you?" "yes, sire," answered the dervish; "if i am not mistaken, it is the illness of the princess which has procured me this honour." "you are right," returned the sultan, "and you will give me fresh life if you can by your prayers deliver my daughter from the strange malady that has taken possession of her." "let your highness command her to come here, and i will see what i can do." the sultan, full of hope, sent orders at once that the princess was to set out as soon as possible, accompanied by her usual staff of attendants. when she arrived, she was so thickly veiled that the dervish could not see her face, but he desired a brazier to be held over her head, and laid the seven hairs on the burning coals. the instant they were consumed, terrific cries were heard, but no one could tell from whom they proceeded. only the dervish guessed that they were uttered by maimoum the son of dimdim, who felt the princess escaping him. all this time she had seemed unconscious of what she was doing, but now she raised her hand to her veil and uncovered her face. "where am i?" she said in a bewildered manner; "and how did i get here?" the sultan was so delighted to hear these words that he not only embraced his daughter, but kissed the hand of the dervish. then, turning to his attendants who stood round, he said to them, "what reward shall i give to the man who has restored me my daughter?" they all replied with one accord that he deserved the hand of the princess. "that is my own opinion," said he, "and from this moment i declare him to be my son-in-law." shortly after these events, the grand-vizir died, and his post was given to the dervish. but he did not hold it for long, for the sultan fell a victim to an attack of illness, and as he had no sons, the soldiers and priests declared the dervish heir to the throne, to the great joy of all the people. one day, when the dervish, who had now become sultan, was making a royal progress with his court, he perceived the envious man standing in the crowd. he made a sign to one of his vizirs, and whispered in his ear, "fetch me that man who is standing out there, but take great care not to frighten him." the vizir obeyed, and when the envious man was brought before the sultan, the monarch said to him, "my friend, i am delighted to see you again." then turning to an officer, he added, "give him a thousand pieces of gold out of my treasury, and twenty waggon-loads of merchandise out of my private stores, and let an escort of soldiers accompany him home." he then took leave of the envious man, and went on his way. now when i had ended my story, i proceeded to show the genius how to apply it to himself. "o genius," i said, "you see that this sultan was not content with merely forgiving the envious man for the attempt on his life; he heaped rewards and riches upon him." but the genius had made up his mind, and could not be softened. "do not imagine that you are going to escape so easily," he said. "all i can do is to give you bare life; you will have to learn what happens to people who interfere with me." as he spoke he seized me violently by the arm; the roof of the palace opened to make way for us, and we mounted up so high into the air that the earth looked like a little cloud. then, as before, he came down with the swiftness of lightning, and we touched the ground on a mountain top. then he stooped and gathered a handful of earth, and murmured some words over it, after which he threw the earth in my face, saying as he did so, "quit the form of a man, and assume that of a monkey." this done, he vanished, and i was in the likeness of an ape, and in a country i had never seen before. however there was no use in stopping where i was, so i came down the mountain and found myself in a flat plain which was bounded by the sea. i travelled towards it, and was pleased to see a vessel moored about half a mile from shore. there were no waves, so i broke off the branch of a tree, and dragging it down to the water's edge, sat across it, while, using two sticks for oars, i rowed myself towards the ship. the deck was full of people, who watched my progress with interest, but when i seized a rope and swung myself on board, i found that i had only escaped death at the hands of the genius to perish by those of the sailors, lest i should bring ill-luck to the vessel and the merchants. "throw him into the sea!" cried one. "knock him on the head with a hammer," exclaimed another. "let me shoot him with an arrow," said a third; and certainly somebody would have had his way if i had not flung myself at the captain's feet and grasped tight hold of his dress. he appeared touched by my action and patted my head, and declared that he would take me under his protection, and that no one should do me any harm. at the end of about fifty days we cast anchor before a large town, and the ship was immediately surrounded by a multitude of small boats filled with people, who had come either to meet their friends or from simple curiosity. among others, one boat contained several officials, who asked to see the merchants on board, and informed them that they had been sent by the sultan in token of welcome, and to beg them each to write a few lines on a roll of paper. "in order to explain this strange request," continued the officers, "it is necessary that you should know that the grand-vizir, lately dead, was celebrated for his beautiful handwriting, and the sultan is anxious to find a similar talent in his successor. hitherto the search has been a failure, but his highness has not yet given up hope." one after another the merchants set down a few lines upon the roll, and when they had all finished, i came forward, and snatched the paper from the man who held it. at first they all thought i was going to throw it into the sea, but they were quieted when they saw i held it with great care, and great was their surprise when i made signs that i too wished to write something. "let him do it if he wants to," said the captain. "if he only makes a mess of the paper, you may be sure i will punish him for it. but if, as i hope, he really can write, for he is the cleverest monkey i ever saw, i will adopt him as my son. the one i lost had not nearly so much sense!" no more was said, and i took the pen and wrote the six sorts of writing in use among the arabs, and each sort contained an original verse or couplet, in praise of the sultan. and not only did my handwriting completely eclipse that of the merchants, but it is hardly too much to say that none so beautiful had ever before been seen in that country. when i had ended the officials took the roll and returned to the sultan. as soon as the monarch saw my writing he did not so much as look at the samples of the merchants, but desired his officials to take the finest and most richly caparisoned horse in his stables, together with the most magnificent dress they could procure, and to put it on the person who had written those lines, and bring him to court. the officials began to laugh when they heard the sultan's command, but as soon as they could speak they said, "deign, your highness, to excuse our mirth, but those lines were not written by a man but by a monkey." "a monkey!" exclaimed the sultan. "yes, sire," answered the officials. "they were written by a monkey in our presence." "then bring me the monkey," he replied, "as fast as you can." the sultan's officials returned to the ship and showed the royal order to the captain. "he is the master," said the good man, and desired that i should be sent for. then they put on me the gorgeous robe and rowed me to land, where i was placed on the horse and led to the palace. here the sultan was awaiting me in great state surrounded by his court. all the way along the streets i had been the object of curiosity to a vast crowd, which had filled every doorway and every window, and it was amidst their shouts and cheers that i was ushered into the presence of the sultan. i approached the throne on which he was seated and made him three low bows, then prostrated myself at his feet to the surprise of everyone, who could not understand how it was possible that a monkey should be able to distinguish a sultan from other people, and to pay him the respect due to his rank. however, excepting the usual speech, i omitted none of the common forms attending a royal audience. when it was over the sultan dismissed all the court, keeping with him only the chief of the eunuchs and a little slave. he then passed into another room and ordered food to be brought, making signs to me to sit at table with him and eat. i rose from my seat, kissed the ground, and took my place at the table, eating, as you may suppose, with care and in moderation. before the dishes were removed i made signs that writing materials, which stood in one corner of the room, should be laid in front of me. i then took a peach and wrote on it some verses in praise of the sultan, who was speechless with astonishment; but when i did the same thing on a glass from which i had drunk he murmured to himself, "why, a man who could do as much would be cleverer than any other man, and this is only a monkey!" supper being over chessmen were brought, and the sultan signed to me to know if i would play with him. i kissed the ground and laid my hand on my head to show that i was ready to show myself worthy of the honour. he beat me the first game, but i won the second and third, and seeing that this did not quite please i dashed off a verse by way of consolation. the sultan was so enchanted with all the talents of which i had given proof that he wished me to exhibit some of them to other people. so turning to the chief of the eunuchs he said, "go and beg my daughter, queen of beauty, to come here. i will show her something she has never seen before." the chief of the eunuchs bowed and left the room, ushering in a few moments later the princess, queen of beauty. her face was uncovered, but the moment she set foot in the room she threw her veil over her head. "sire," she said to her father, "what can you be thinking of to summon me like this into the presence of a man?" "i do not understand you," replied the sultan. "there is nobody here but the eunuch, who is your own servant, the little slave, and myself, yet you cover yourself with your veil and reproach me for having sent for you, as if i had committed a crime." "sire," answered the princess, "i am right and you are wrong. this monkey is really no monkey at all, but a young prince who has been turned into a monkey by the wicked spells of a genius, son of the daughter of eblis." as will be imagined, these words took the sultan by surprise, and he looked at me to see how i should take the statement of the princess. as i was unable to speak, i placed my hand on my head to show that it was true. "but how do you know this, my daughter?" asked he. "sire," replied queen of beauty, "the old lady who took care of me in my childhood was an accomplished magician, and she taught me seventy rules of her art, by means of which i could, in the twinkling of an eye, transplant your capital into the middle of the ocean. her art likewise teaches me to recognise at first sight all persons who are enchanted, and tells me by whom the spell was wrought." "my daughter," said the sultan, "i really had no idea you were so clever." "sire," replied the princess, "there are many out-of-the-way things it is as well to know, but one should never boast of them." "well," asked the sultan, "can you tell me what must be done to disenchant the young prince?" "certainly; and i can do it." "then restore him to his former shape," cried the sultan. "you could give me no greater pleasure, for i wish to make him my grand-vizir, and to give him to you for your husband." "as your highness pleases," replied the princess. queen of beauty rose and went to her chamber, from which she fetched a knife with some hebrew words engraven on the blade. she then desired the sultan, the chief of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself to descend into a secret court of the palace, and placed us beneath a gallery which ran all round, she herself standing in the centre of the court. here she traced a large circle and in it wrote several words in arab characters. when the circle and the writing were finished she stood in the middle of it and repeated some verses from the koran. slowly the air grew dark, and we felt as if the earth was about to crumble away, and our fright was by no means diminished at seeing the genius, son of the daughter of eblis, suddenly appear under the form of a colossal lion. "dog," cried the princess when she first caught sight of him, "you think to strike terror into me by daring to present yourself before me in this hideous shape." "and you," retorted the lion, "have not feared to break our treaty that engaged solemnly we should never interfere with each other." "accursed genius!" exclaimed the princess, "it is you by whom that treaty was first broken." "i will teach you how to give me so much trouble," said the lion, and opening his huge mouth he advanced to swallow her. but the princess expected something of the sort and was on her guard. she bounded on one side, and seizing one of the hairs of his mane repeated two or three words over it. in an instant it became a sword, and with a sharp blow she cut the lion's body into two pieces. these pieces vanished no one knew where, and only the lion's head remained, which was at once changed into a scorpion. quick as thought the princess assumed the form of a serpent and gave battle to the scorpion, who, finding he was getting the worst of it, turned himself into an eagle and took flight. but in a moment the serpent had become an eagle more powerful still, who soared up in the air and after him, and then we lost sight of them both. we all remained where we were quaking with anxiety, when the ground opened in front of us and a black and white cat leapt out, its hair standing on end, and miauing frightfully. at its heels was a wolf, who had almost seized it, when the cat changed itself into a worm, and, piercing the skin of a pomegranate which had tumbled from a tree, hid itself in the fruit. the pomegranate swelled till it grew as large as a pumpkin, and raised itself on to the roof of the gallery, from which it fell into the court and was broken into bits. while this was taking place the wolf, who had transformed himself into a cock, began to swallow the seed of the pomegranate as fast as he could. when all were gone he flew towards us, flapping his wings as if to ask if we saw any more, when suddenly his eye fell on one which lay on the bank of the little canal that flowed through the court; he hastened towards it, but before he could touch it the seed rolled into the canal and became a fish. the cock flung himself in after the fish and took the shape of a pike, and for two hours they chased each other up and down under the water, uttering horrible cries, but we could see nothing. at length they rose from the water in their proper forms, but darting such flames of fire from their mouths that we dreaded lest the palace should catch fire. soon, however, we had much greater cause for alarm, as the genius, having shaken off the princess, flew towards us. our fate would have been sealed if the princess, seeing our danger, had not attracted the attention of the genius to herself. as it was, the sultan's beard was singed and his face scorched, the chief of the eunuchs was burned to a cinder, while a spark deprived me of the sight of one eye. both i and the sultan had given up all hope of a rescue, when there was a shout of "victory, victory!" from the princess, and the genius lay at her feet a great heap of ashes. exhausted though she was, the princess at once ordered the little slave, who alone was uninjured, to bring her a cup of water, which she took in her hand. first repeating some magic words over it, she dashed it into my face saying, "if you are only a monkey by enchantment, resume the form of the man you were before." in an instant i stood before her the same man i had formerly been, though having lost the sight of one eye. i was about to fall on my knees and thank the princess but she did not give me time. turning to the sultan, her father, she said, "sire, i have gained the battle, but it has cost me dear. the fire has penetrated to my heart, and i have only a few moments to live. this would not have happened if i had only noticed the last pomegranate seed and eaten it like the rest. it was the last struggle of the genius, and up to that time i was quite safe. but having let this chance slip i was forced to resort to fire, and in spite of all his experience i showed the genius that i knew more than he did. he is dead and in ashes, but my own death is approaching fast." "my daughter," cried the sultan, "how sad is my condition! i am only surprised i am alive at all! the eunuch is consumed by the flames, and the prince whom you have delivered has lost the sight of one eye." he could say no more, for sobs choked his voice, and we all wept together. suddenly the princess shrieked, "i burn, i burn!" and death came to free her from her torments. i have no words, madam, to tell you of my feelings at this terrible sight. i would rather have remained a monkey all my life than let my benefactress perish in this shocking manner. as for the sultan, he was quite inconsolable, and his subjects, who had dearly loved the princess, shared his grief. for seven days the whole nation mourned, and then the ashes of the princess were buried with great pomp, and a superb tomb was raised over her. as soon as the sultan recovered from the severe illness which had seized him after the death of the princess he sent for me and plainly, though politely, informed me that my presence would always remind him of his loss, and he begged that i would instantly quit his kingdom, and on pain of death never return to it. i was, of course, bound to obey, and not knowing what was to become of me i shaved my beard and eyebrows and put on the dress of a calender. after wandering aimlessly through several countries, i resolved to come to bagdad and request an audience of the commander of the faithful. and that, madam, is my story. the other calender then told his story. the story of the third calendar, son of a king my story, said the third calender, is quite different from those of my two friends. it was fate that deprived them of the sight of their right eyes, but mine was lost by my own folly. my name is agib, and i am the son of a king called cassib, who reigned over a large kingdom, which had for its capital one of the finest seaport towns in the world. when i succeeded to my father's throne my first care was to visit the provinces on the mainland, and then to sail to the numerous islands which lay off the shore, in order to gain the hearts of my subjects. these voyages gave me such a taste for sailing that i soon determined to explore more distant seas, and commanded a fleet of large ships to be got ready without delay. when they were properly fitted out i embarked on my expedition. for forty days wind and weather were all in our favour, but the next night a terrific storm arose, which blew us hither and thither for ten days, till the pilot confessed that he had quite lost his bearings. accordingly a sailor was sent up to the masthead to try to catch a sight of land, and reported that nothing was to be seen but the sea and sky, except a huge mass of blackness that lay astern. on hearing this the pilot grew white, and, beating his breast, he cried, "oh, sir, we are lost, lost!" till the ship's crew trembled at they knew not what. when he had recovered himself a little, and was able to explain the cause of his terror, he replied, in answer to my question, that we had drifted far out of our course, and that the following day about noon we should come near that mass of darkness, which, said he, is nothing but the famous black mountain. this mountain is composed of adamant, which attracts to itself all the iron and nails in your ship; and as we are helplessly drawn nearer, the force of attraction will become so great that the iron and nails will fall out of the ships and cling to the mountain, and the ships will sink to the bottom with all that are in them. this it is that causes the side of the mountain towards the sea to appear of such a dense blackness. as may be supposed--continued the pilot--the mountain sides are very rugged, but on the summit stands a brass dome supported on pillars, and bearing on top the figure of a brass horse, with a rider on his back. this rider wears a breastplate of lead, on which strange signs and figures are engraved, and it is said that as long as this statue remains on the dome, vessels will never cease to perish at the foot of the mountain. so saying, the pilot began to weep afresh, and the crew, fearing their last hour had come, made their wills, each one in favour of his fellow. at noon next day, as the pilot had foretold, we were so near to the black mountain that we saw all the nails and iron fly out of the ships and dash themselves against the mountain with a horrible noise. a moment after the vessels fell asunder and sank, the crews with them. i alone managed to grasp a floating plank, and was driven ashore by the wind, without even a scratch. what was my joy on finding myself at the bottom of some steps which led straight up the mountain, for there was not another inch to the right or the left where a man could set his foot. and, indeed, even the steps themselves were so narrow and so steep that, if the lightest breeze had arisen, i should certainly have been blown into the sea. when i reached the top i found the brass dome and the statue exactly as the pilot had described, but was too wearied with all i had gone through to do more than glance at them, and, flinging myself under the dome, was asleep in an instant. in my dreams an old man appeared to me and said, "hearken, agib! as soon as thou art awake dig up the ground underfoot, and thou shalt find a bow of brass and three arrows of lead. shoot the arrows at the statue, and the rider shall tumble into the sea, but the horse will fall down by thy side, and thou shalt bury him in the place from which thou tookest the bow and arrows. this being done the sea will rise and cover the mountain, and on it thou wilt perceive the figure of a metal man seated in a boat, having an oar in each hand. step on board and let him conduct thee; but if thou wouldest behold thy kingdom again, see that thou takest not the name of allah into thy mouth." having uttered these words the vision left me, and i woke, much comforted. i sprang up and drew the bow and arrows out of the ground, and with the third shot the horseman fell with a great crash into the sea, which instantly began to rise, so rapidly, that i had hardly time to bury the horse before the boat approached me. i stepped silently in and sat down, and the metal man pushed off, and rowed without stopping for nine days, after which land appeared on the horizon. i was so overcome with joy at this sight that i forgot all the old man had told me, and cried out, "allah be praised! allah be praised!" the words were scarcely out of my mouth when the boat and man sank from beneath me, and left me floating on the surface. all that day and the next night i swam and floated alternately, making as well as i could for the land which was nearest to me. at last my strength began to fail, and i gave myself up for lost, when the wind suddenly rose, and a huge wave cast me on a flat shore. then, placing myself in safety, i hastily spread my clothes out to dry in the sun, and flung myself on the warm ground to rest. next morning i dressed myself and began to look about me. there seemed to be no one but myself on the island, which was covered with fruit trees and watered with streams, but seemed a long distance from the mainland which i hoped to reach. before, however, i had time to feel cast down, i saw a ship making directly for the island, and not knowing whether it would contain friends or foes, i hid myself in the thick branches of a tree. the sailors ran the ship into a creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying spades and pickaxes. in the middle of the island they stopped, and after digging some time, lifted up what seemed to be a trapdoor. they then returned to the vessel two or three times for furniture and provisions, and finally were accompanied by an old man, leading a handsome boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age. they all disappeared down the trapdoor, and after remaining below for a few minutes came up again, but without the boy, and let down the trapdoor, covering it with earth as before. this done, they entered the ship and set sail. as soon as they were out of sight, i came down from my tree, and went to the place where the boy had been buried. i dug up the earth till i reached a large stone with a ring in the centre. this, when removed, disclosed a flight of stone steps which led to a large room richly furnished and lighted by tapers. on a pile of cushions, covered with tapestry, sat the boy. he looked up, startled and frightened at the sight of a stranger in such a place, and to soothe his fears, i at once spoke: "be not alarmed, sir, whoever you may be. i am a king, and the son of a king, and will do you no hurt. on the contrary, perhaps i have been sent here to deliver you out of this tomb, where you have been buried alive." hearing my words, the young man recovered himself, and when i had ended, he said, "the reasons, prince, that have caused me to be buried in this place are so strange that they cannot but surprise you. my father is a rich merchant, owning much land and many ships, and has great dealings in precious stones, but he never ceased mourning that he had no child to inherit his wealth. "at length one day he dreamed that the following year a son would be born to him, and when this actually happened, he consulted all the wise men in the kingdom as to the future of the infant. one and all they said the same thing. i was to live happily till i was fifteen, when a terrible danger awaited me, which i should hardly escape. if, however, i should succeed in doing so, i should live to a great old age. and, they added, when the statue of the brass horse on the top of the mountain of adamant is thrown into the sea by agib, the son of cassib, then beware, for fifty days later your son shall fall by his hand! "this prophecy struck the heart of my father with such woe, that he never got over it, but that did not prevent him from attending carefully to my education till i attained, a short time ago, my fifteenth birthday. it was only yesterday that the news reached him that ten days previously the statue of brass had been thrown into the sea, and he at once set about hiding me in this underground chamber, which was built for the purpose, promising to fetch me out when the forty days have passed. for myself, i have no fears, as prince agib is not likely to come here to look for me." i listened to his story with an inward laugh as to the absurdity of my ever wishing to cause the death of this harmless boy, whom i hastened to assure of my friendship and even of my protection; begging him, in return, to convey me in his father's ship to my own country. i need hardly say that i took special care not to inform him that i was the agib whom he dreaded. the day passed in conversation on various subjects, and i found him a youth of ready wit and of some learning. i took on myself the duties of a servant, held the basin and water for him when he washed, prepared the dinner and set it on the table. he soon grew to love me, and for thirty-nine days we spent as pleasant an existence as could be expected underground. the morning of the fortieth dawned, and the young man when he woke gave thanks in an outburst of joy that the danger was passed. "my father may be here at any moment," said he, "so make me, i pray you, a bath of hot water, that i may bathe, and change my clothes, and be ready to receive him." so i fetched the water as he asked, and washed and rubbed him, after which he lay down again and slept a little. when he opened his eyes for the second time, he begged me to bring him a melon and some sugar, that he might eat and refresh himself. i soon chose a fine melon out of those which remained, but could find no knife to cut it with. "look in the cornice over my head," said he, "and i think you will see one." it was so high above me, that i had some difficulty in reaching it, and catching my foot in the covering of the bed, i slipped, and fell right upon the young man, the knife going straight into his heart. at this awful sight i shrieked aloud in my grief and pain. i threw myself on the ground and rent my clothes and tore my hair with sorrow. then, fearing to be punished as his murderer by the unhappy father, i raised the great stone which blocked the staircase, and quitting the underground chamber, made everything fast as before. scarcely had i finished when, looking out to sea, i saw the vessel heading for the island, and, feeling that it would be useless for me to protest my innocence, i again concealed myself among the branches of a tree that grew near by. the old man and his slaves pushed off in a boat directly the ship touched land, and walked quickly towards the entrance to the underground chamber; but when they were near enough to see that the earth had been disturbed, they paused and changed colour. in silence they all went down and called to the youth by name; then for a moment i heard no more. suddenly a fearful scream rent the air, and the next instant the slaves came up the steps, carrying with them the body of the old man, who had fainted from sorrow! laying him down at the foot of the tree in which i had taken shelter, they did their best to recover him, but it took a long while. when at last he revived, they left him to dig a grave, and then laying the young man's body in it, they threw in the earth. this ended, the slaves brought up all the furniture that remained below, and put it on the vessel, and breaking some boughs to weave a litter, they laid the old man on it, and carried him to the ship, which spread its sails and stood out to sea. so once more i was quite alone, and for a whole month i walked daily over the island, seeking for some chance of escape. at length one day it struck me that my prison had grown much larger, and that the mainland seemed to be nearer. my heart beat at this thought, which was almost too good to be true. i watched a little longer: there was no doubt about it, and soon there was only a tiny stream for me to cross. even when i was safe on the other side i had a long distance to go on the mud and sand before i reached dry ground, and very tired i was, when far in front of me i caught sight of a castle of red copper, which, at first sight, i took to be a fire. i made all the haste i could, and after some miles of hard walking stood before it, and gazed at it in astonishment, for it seemed to me the most wonderful building i had ever beheld. while i was still staring at it, there came towards me a tall old man, accompanied by ten young men, all handsome, and all blind of the right eye. now in its way, the spectacle of ten men walking together, all blind of the right eye, is as uncommon as that of a copper castle, and i was turning over in my mind what could be the meaning of this strange fact, when they greeted me warmly, and inquired what had brought me there. i replied that my story was somewhat long, but that if they would take the trouble to sit down, i should be happy to tell it them. when i had finished, the young men begged that i would go with them to the castle, and i joyfully accepted their offer. we passed through what seemed to me an endless number of rooms, and came at length into a large hall, furnished with ten small blue sofas for the ten young men, which served as beds as well as chairs, and with another sofa in the middle for the old man. as none of the sofas could hold more than one person, they bade me place myself on the carpet, and to ask no questions about anything i should see. after a little while the old man rose and brought in supper, which i ate heartily, for i was very hungry. then one of the young men begged me to repeat my story, which had struck them all with astonishment, and when i had ended, the old man was bidden to "do his duty," as it was late, and they wished to go to bed. at these words he rose, and went to a closet, from which he brought out ten basins, all covered with blue stuff. he set one before each of the young men, together with a lighted taper. when the covers were taken off the basins, i saw they were filled with ashes, coal-dust, and lamp-black. the young men mixed these all together, and smeared the whole over their heads and faces. they then wept and beat their breasts, crying, "this is the fruit of idleness, and of our wicked lives." this ceremony lasted nearly the whole night, and when it stopped they washed themselves carefully, and put on fresh clothes, and lay down to sleep. all this while i had refrained from questions, though my curiosity almost seemed to burn a hole in me, but the following day, when we went out to walk, i said to them, "gentlemen, i must disobey your wishes, for i can keep silence no more. you do not appear to lack wit, yet you do such actions as none but madmen could be capable of. whatever befalls me i cannot forbear asking, `why you daub your faces with black, and how it is you are all blind of one eye?'" but they only answered that such questions were none of my business, and that i should do well to hold my peace. during that day we spoke of other things, but when night came, and the same ceremony was repeated, i implored them most earnestly to let me know the meaning of it all. "it is for your own sake," replied one of the young men, "that we have not granted your request, and to preserve you from our unfortunate fate. if, however, you wish to share our destiny we will delay no longer." i answered that whatever might be the consequence i wished to have my curiosity satisfied, and that i would take the result on my own head. he then assured me that, even when i had lost my eye, i should be unable to remain with them, as their number was complete, and could not be added to. but to this i replied that, though i should be grieved to part company with such honest gentlemen, i would not be turned from my resolution on that account. on hearing my determination my ten hosts then took a sheep and killed it, and handed me a knife, which they said i should by-and-by find useful. "we must sew you into this sheep-skin," said they, "and then leave you. a fowl of monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, taking you to be a sheep. he will snatch you up and carry you into the sky, but be not alarmed, for he will bring you safely down and lay you on the top of a mountain. when you are on the ground cut the skin with the knife and throw it off. as soon as the roc sees you he will fly away from fear, but you must walk on till you come to a castle covered with plates of gold, studded with jewels. enter boldly at the gate, which always stands open, but do not ask us to tell you what we saw or what befel us there, for that you will learn for yourself. this only we may say, that it cost us each our right eye, and has imposed upon us our nightly penance." after the young gentlemen had been at the trouble of sewing the sheep-skin on me they left me, and retired to the hall. in a few minutes the roc appeared, and bore me off to the top of the mountain in his huge claws as lightly as if i had been a feather, for this great white bird is so strong that he has been known to carry even an elephant to his nest in the hills. the moment my feet touched the ground i took out my knife and cut the threads that bound me, and the sight of me in my proper clothes so alarmed the roc that he spread his wings and flew away. then i set out to seek the castle. i found it after wandering about for half a day, and never could i have imagined anything so glorious. the gate led into a square court, into which opened a hundred doors, ninety-nine of them being of rare woods and one of gold. through each of these doors i caught glimpses of splendid gardens or of rich storehouses. entering one of the doors which was standing open i found myself in a vast hall where forty young ladies, magnificently dressed, and of perfect beauty, were reclining. as soon as they saw me they rose and uttered words of welcome, and even forced me to take possession of a seat that was higher than their own, though my proper place was at their feet. not content with this, one brought me splendid garments, while another filled a basin with scented water and poured it over my hands, and the rest busied themselves with preparing refreshments. after i had eaten and drunk of the most delicate food and rarest wines, the ladies crowded round me and begged me to tell them all my adventures. by the time i had finished night had fallen, and the ladies lighted up the castle with such a prodigious quantity of tapers that even day could hardly have been brighter. we then sat down to a supper of dried fruits and sweetmeats, after which some sang and others danced. i was so well amused that i did not notice how the time was passing, but at length one of the ladies approached and informed me it was midnight, and that, as i must be tired, she would conduct me to the room that had been prepared for me. then, bidding me good-night, i was left to sleep. i spent the next thirty-nine days in much the same way as the first, but at the close of that time the ladies appeared (as was their custom) in my room one morning to inquire how i had slept, and instead of looking cheerful and smiling they were in floods of tears. "prince," said they, "we must leave you, and never was it so hard to part from any of our friends. most likely we shall never see you again, but if you have sufficient self-command perhaps we may yet look forward to a meeting." "ladies," i replied, "what is the meaning of these strange words--i pray you to tell me?" "know then," answered one of them, "that we are all princesses--each a king's daughter. we live in this castle together, in the way that you have seen, but at the end of every year secret duties call us away for the space of forty days. the time has now come; but before we depart, we will leave you our keys, so that you may not lack entertainment during our absence. but one thing we would ask of you. the golden door, alone, forbear to open, as you value your own peace, and the happiness of your life. that door once unlocked, we must bid you farewell for ever." weeping, i assured them of my prudence, and after embracing me tenderly, they went their ways. every day i opened two or three fresh doors, each of which contained behind it so many curious things that i had no chance of feeling dull, much as i regretted the absence of the ladies. sometimes it was an orchard, whose fruit far exceeded in bigness any that grew in my father's garden. sometimes it was a court planted with roses, jessamine, dafeodils, hyacinths and anemones, and a thousand other flowers of which i did not know the names. or again, it would be an aviary, fitted with all kinds of singing birds, or a treasury heaped up with precious stones; but whatever i might see, all was perfect of its own sort. thirty-nine days passed away more rapidly than i could have conceived possible, and the following morning the princesses were to return to the castle. but alas! i had explored every corner, save only the room that was shut in by the golden door, and i had no longer anything to amuse myself with. i stood before the forbidden place for some time, gazing at its beauty; then a happy inspiration struck me, that because i unlocked the door it was not necessary that i should enter the chamber. it would be enough for me to stand outside and view whatever hidden wonders might be therein. thus arguing against my own conscience, i turned the key, when a smell rushed out that, pleasant though it was, overcame me completely, and i fell fainting across the threshold. instead of being warned by this accident, directly i came to myself i went for a few moments into the air to shake of the effects of the perfume, and then entered boldly. i found myself in a large, vaulted room, lighted by tapers, scented with aloes and ambergris, standing in golden candle-sticks, whilst gold and silver lamps hung from the ceiling. though objects of rare workmanship lay heaped around me, i paid them scant attention, so much was i struck by a great black horse which stood in one corner, the handsomest and best-shaped animal i had ever seen. his saddle and bridle were of massive gold, curiously wrought; one side of his trough was filled with clean barley and sesame, and the other with rose water. i led the animal into the open air, and then jumped on his back, shaking the reins as i did so, but as he never stirred, i touched him lightly with a switch i had picked up in his stable. no sooner did he feel the stroke, than he spread his wings (which i had not perceived before), and flew up with me straight into the sky. when he had reached a prodigious height, he next darted back to earth, and alighted on the terrace belonging to a castle, shaking me violently out of the saddle as he did so, and giving me such a blow with his tail, that he knocked out my right eye. half-stunned as i was with all that had happened to me, i rose to my feet, thinking as i did so of what had befallen the ten young men, and watching the horse which was soaring into the clouds. i left the terrace and wandered on till i came to a hall, which i knew to have been the one from which the roc had taken me, by the ten blue sofas against the wall. the ten young men were not present when i first entered, but came in soon after, accompanied by the old man. they greeted me kindly, and bewailed my misfortune, though, indeed, they had expected nothing less. "all that has happened to you," they said, "we also have undergone, and we should be enjoying the same happiness still, had we not opened the golden door while the princesses were absent. you have been no wiser than we, and have suffered the same punishment. we would gladly receive you among us, to perform such penance as we do, but we have already told you that this is impossible. depart, therefore, from hence and go to the court of bagdad, where you shall meet with him that can decide your destiny." they told me the way i was to travel, and i left them. on the road i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and put on a calender's habit. i have had a long journey, but arrived this evening in the city, where i met my brother calenders at the gate, being strangers like myself. we wondered much at one another, to see we were all blind of the same eye, but we had no leisure to discourse at length of our common calamities. we had only so much time as to come hither to implore those favours which you have been generously pleased to grant us. he finished, and it was zobeida's turn to speak: "go wherever you please," she said, addressing all three. "i pardon you all, but you must depart immediately out of this house." the seven voyages of sindbad the sailor in the times of the caliph haroun-al-raschid there lived in bagdad a poor porter named hindbad, who on a very hot day was sent to carry a heavy load from one end of the city to the other. before he had accomplished half the distance he was so tired that, finding himself in a quiet street where the pavement was sprinkled with rose water, and a cool breeze was blowing, he set his burden upon the ground, and sat down to rest in the shade of a grand house. very soon he decided that he could not have chosen a pleasanter place; a delicious perfume of aloes wood and pastilles came from the open windows and mingled with the scent of the rose water which steamed up from the hot pavement. within the palace he heard some music, as of many instruments cunningly played, and the melodious warble of nightingales and other birds, and by this, and the appetising smell of many dainty dishes of which he presently became aware, he judged that feasting and merry making were going on. he wondered who lived in this magnificent house which he had never seen before, the street in which it stood being one which he seldom had occasion to pass. to satisfy his curiosity he went up to some splendidly dressed servants who stood at the door, and asked one of them the name of the master of the mansion. "what," replied he, "do you live in bagdad, and not know that here lives the noble sindbad the sailor, that famous traveller who sailed over every sea upon which the sun shines?" the porter, who had often heard people speak of the immense wealth of sindbad, could not help feeling envious of one whose lot seemed to be as happy as his own was miserable. casting his eyes up to the sky he exclaimed aloud, "consider, mighty creator of all things, the differences between sindbad's life and mine. every day i suffer a thousand hardships and misfortunes, and have hard work to get even enough bad barley bread to keep myself and my family alive, while the lucky sindbad spends money right and left and lives upon the fat of the land! what has he done that you should give him this pleasant life--what have i done to deserve so hard a fate?" so saying he stamped upon the ground like one beside himself with misery and despair. just at this moment a servant came out of the palace, and taking him by the arm said, "come with me, the noble sindbad, my master, wishes to speak to you." hindbad was not a little surprised at this summons, and feared that his unguarded words might have drawn upon him the displeasure of sindbad, so he tried to excuse himself upon the pretext that he could not leave the burden which had been entrusted to him in the street. however the lackey promised him that it should be taken care of, and urged him to obey the call so pressingly that at last the porter was obliged to yield. he followed the servant into a vast room, where a great company was seated round a table covered with all sorts of delicacies. in the place of honour sat a tall, grave man whose long white beard gave him a venerable air. behind his chair stood a crowd of attendants eager to minister to his wants. this was the famous sindbad himself. the porter, more than ever alarmed at the sight of so much magnificence, tremblingly saluted the noble company. sindbad, making a sign to him to approach, caused him to be seated at his right hand, and himself heaped choice morsels upon his plate, and poured out for him a draught of excellent wine, and presently, when the banquet drew to a close, spoke to him familiarly, asking his name and occupation. "my lord," replied the porter, "i am called hindbad." "i am glad to see you here," continued sindbad. "and i will answer for the rest of the company that they are equally pleased, but i wish you to tell me what it was that you said just now in the street." for sindbad, passing by the open window before the feast began, had heard his complaint and therefore had sent for him. at this question hindbad was covered with confusion, and hanging down his head, replied, "my lord, i confess that, overcome by weariness and ill-humour, i uttered indiscreet words, which i pray you to pardon me." "oh!" replied sindbad, "do not imagine that i am so unjust as to blame you. on the contrary, i understand your situation and can pity you. only you appear to be mistaken about me, and i wish to set you right. you doubtless imagine that i have acquired all the wealth and luxury that you see me enjoy without difficulty or danger, but this is far indeed from being the case. i have only reached this happy state after having for years suffered every possible kind of toil and danger. "yes, my noble friends," he continued, addressing the company, "i assure you that my adventures have been strange enough to deter even the most avaricious men from seeking wealth by traversing the seas. since you have, perhaps, heard but confused accounts of my seven voyages, and the dangers and wonders that i have met with by sea and land, i will now give you a full and true account of them, which i think you will be well pleased to hear." as sindbad was relating his adventures chiefly on account of the porter, he ordered, before beginning his tale, that the burden which had been left in the street should be carried by some of his own servants to the place for which hindbad had set out at first, while he remained to listen to the story. first voyage i had inherited considerable wealth from my parents, and being young and foolish i at first squandered it recklessly upon every kind of pleasure, but presently, finding that riches speedily take to themselves wings if managed as badly as i was managing mine, and remembering also that to be old and poor is misery indeed, i began to bethink me of how i could make the best of what still remained to me. i sold all my household goods by public auction, and joined a company of merchants who traded by sea, embarking with them at balsora in a ship which we had fitted out between us. we set sail and took our course towards the east indies by the persian gulf, having the coast of persia upon our left hand and upon our right the shores of arabia felix. i was at first much troubled by the uneasy motion of the vessel, but speedily recovered my health, and since that hour have been no more plagued by sea-sickness. from time to time we landed at various islands, where we sold or exchanged our merchandise, and one day, when the wind dropped suddenly, we found ourselves becalmed close to a small island like a green meadow, which only rose slightly above the surface of the water. our sails were furled, and the captain gave permission to all who wished to land for a while and amuse themselves. i was among the number, but when after strolling about for some time we lighted a fire and sat down to enjoy the repast which we had brought with us, we were startled by a sudden and violent trembling of the island, while at the same moment those left upon the ship set up an outcry bidding us come on board for our lives, since what we had taken for an island was nothing but the back of a sleeping whale. those who were nearest to the boat threw themselves into it, others sprang into the sea, but before i could save myself the whale plunged suddenly into the depths of the ocean, leaving me clinging to a piece of the wood which we had brought to make our fire. meanwhile a breeze had sprung up, and in the confusion that ensued on board our vessel in hoisting the sails and taking up those who were in the boat and clinging to its sides, no one missed me and i was left at the mercy of the waves. all that day i floated up and down, now beaten this way, now that, and when night fell i despaired for my life; but, weary and spent as i was, i clung to my frail support, and great was my joy when the morning light showed me that i had drifted against an island. the cliffs were high and steep, but luckily for me some tree-roots protruded in places, and by their aid i climbed up at last, and stretched myself upon the turf at the top, where i lay, more dead than alive, till the sun was high in the heavens. by that time i was very hungry, but after some searching i came upon some eatable herbs, and a spring of clear water, and much refreshed i set out to explore the island. presently i reached a great plain where a grazing horse was tethered, and as i stood looking at it i heard voices talking apparently underground, and in a moment a man appeared who asked me how i came upon the island. i told him my adventures, and heard in return that he was one of the grooms of mihrage, the king of the island, and that each year they came to feed their master's horses in this plain. he took me to a cave where his companions were assembled, and when i had eaten of the food they set before me, they bade me think myself fortunate to have come upon them when i did, since they were going back to their master on the morrow, and without their aid i could certainly never have found my way to the inhabited part of the island. early the next morning we accordingly set out, and when we reached the capital i was graciously received by the king, to whom i related my adventures, upon which he ordered that i should be well cared for and provided with such things as i needed. being a merchant i sought out men of my own profession, and particularly those who came from foreign countries, as i hoped in this way to hear news from bagdad, and find out some means of returning thither, for the capital was situated upon the sea-shore, and visited by vessels from all parts of the world. in the meantime i heard many curious things, and answered many questions concerning my own country, for i talked willingly with all who came to me. also to while away the time of waiting i explored a little island named cassel, which belonged to king mihrage, and which was supposed to be inhabited by a spirit named deggial. indeed, the sailors assured me that often at night the playing of timbals could be heard upon it. however, i saw nothing strange upon my voyage, saving some fish that were full two hundred cubits long, but were fortunately more in dread of us than even we were of them, and fled from us if we did but strike upon a board to frighten them. other fishes there were only a cubit long which had heads like owls. one day after my return, as i went down to the quay, i saw a ship which had just cast anchor, and was discharging her cargo, while the merchants to whom it belonged were busily directing the removal of it to their warehouses. drawing nearer i presently noticed that my own name was marked upon some of the packages, and after having carefully examined them, i felt sure that they were indeed those which i had put on board our ship at balsora. i then recognised the captain of the vessel, but as i was certain that he believed me to be dead, i went up to him and asked who owned the packages that i was looking at. "there was on board my ship," he replied, "a merchant of bagdad named sindbad. one day he and several of my other passengers landed upon what we supposed to be an island, but which was really an enormous whale floating asleep upon the waves. no sooner did it feel upon its back the heat of the fire which had been kindled, than it plunged into the depths of the sea. several of the people who were upon it perished in the waters, and among others this unlucky sindbad. this merchandise is his, but i have resolved to dispose of it for the benefit of his family if i should ever chance to meet with them." "captain," said i, "i am that sindbad whom you believe to be dead, and these are my possessions!" when the captain heard these words he cried out in amazement, "lackaday! and what is the world coming to? in these days there is not an honest man to be met with. did i not with my own eyes see sindbad drown, and now you have the audacity to tell me that you are he! i should have taken you to be a just man, and yet for the sake of obtaining that which does not belong to you, you are ready to invent this horrible falsehood." "have patience, and do me the favour to hear my story," said i. "speak then," replied the captain, "i'm all attention." so i told him of my escape and of my fortunate meeting with the king's grooms, and how kindly i had been received at the palace. very soon i began to see that i had made some impression upon him, and after the arrival of some of the other merchants, who showed great joy at once more seeing me alive, he declared that he also recognised me. throwing himself upon my neck he exclaimed, "heaven be praised that you have escaped from so great a danger. as to your goods, i pray you take them, and dispose of them as you please." i thanked him, and praised his honesty, begging him to accept several bales of merchandise in token of my gratitude, but he would take nothing. of the choicest of my goods i prepared a present for king mihrage, who was at first amazed, having known that i had lost my all. however, when i had explained to him how my bales had been miraculously restored to me, he graciously accepted my gifts, and in return gave me many valuable things. i then took leave of him, and exchanging my merchandise for sandal and aloes wood, camphor, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger, i embarked upon the same vessel and traded so successfully upon our homeward voyage that i arrived in balsora with about one hundred thousand sequins. my family received me with as much joy as i felt upon seeing them once more. i bought land and slaves, and built a great house in which i resolved to live happily, and in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of life to forget my past sufferings. here sindbad paused, and commanded the musicians to play again, while the feasting continued until evening. when the time came for the porter to depart, sindbad gave him a purse containing one hundred sequins, saying, "take this, hindbad, and go home, but to-morrow come again and you shall hear more of my adventures." the porter retired quite overcome by so much generosity, and you may imagine that he was well received at home, where his wife and children thanked their lucky stars that he had found such a benefactor. the next day hindbad, dressed in his best, returned to the voyager's house, and was received with open arms. as soon as all the guests had arrived the banquet began as before, and when they had feasted long and merrily, sindbad addressed them thus: "my friends, i beg that you will give me your attention while i relate the adventures of my second voyage, which you will find even more astonishing than the first." second voyage i had resolved, as you know, on my return from my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days quietly in bagdad, but very soon i grew tired of such an idle life and longed once more to find myself upon the sea. i procured, therefore, such goods as were suitable for the places i intended to visit, and embarked for the second time in a good ship with other merchants whom i knew to be honourable men. we went from island to island, often making excellent bargains, until one day we landed at a spot which, though covered with fruit trees and abounding in springs of excellent water, appeared to possess neither houses nor people. while my companions wandered here and there gathering flowers and fruit i sat down in a shady place, and, having heartily enjoyed the provisions and the wine i had brought with me, i fell asleep, lulled by the murmur of a clear brook which flowed close by. how long i slept i know not, but when i opened my eyes and started to my feet i perceived with horror that i was alone and that the ship was gone. i rushed to and fro like one distracted, uttering cries of despair, and when from the shore i saw the vessel under full sail just disappearing upon the horizon, i wished bitterly enough that i had been content to stay at home in safety. but since wishes could do me no good, i presently took courage and looked about me for a means of escape. when i had climbed a tall tree i first of all directed my anxious glances towards the sea; but, finding nothing hopeful there, i turned landward, and my curiosity was excited by a huge dazzling white object, so far off that i could not make out what it might be. descending from the tree i hastily collected what remained of my provisions and set off as fast as i could go towards it. as i drew near it seemed to me to be a white ball of immense size and height, and when i could touch it, i found it marvellously smooth and soft. as it was impossible to climb it--for it presented no foot-hold--i walked round about it seeking some opening, but there was none. i counted, however, that it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was near setting, but quite suddenly it fell dark, something like a huge black cloud came swiftly over me, and i saw with amazement that it was a bird of extraordinary size which was hovering near. then i remembered that i had often heard the sailors speak of a wonderful bird called a roc, and it occurred to me that the white object which had so puzzled me must be its egg. sure enough the bird settled slowly down upon it, covering it with its wings to keep it warm, and i cowered close beside the egg in such a position that one of the bird's feet, which was as large as the trunk of a tree, was just in front of me. taking off my turban i bound myself securely to it with the linen in the hope that the roc, when it took flight next morning, would bear me away with it from the desolate island. and this was precisely what did happen. as soon as the dawn appeared the bird rose into the air carrying me up and up till i could no longer see the earth, and then suddenly it descended so swiftly that i almost lost consciousness. when i became aware that the roc had settled and that i was once again upon solid ground, i hastily unbound my turban from its foot and freed myself, and that not a moment too soon; for the bird, pouncing upon a huge snake, killed it with a few blows from its powerful beak, and seizing it up rose into the air once more and soon disappeared from my view. when i had looked about me i began to doubt if i had gained anything by quitting the desolate island. the valley in which i found myself was deep and narrow, and surrounded by mountains which towered into the clouds, and were so steep and rocky that there was no way of climbing up their sides. as i wandered about, seeking anxiously for some means of escaping from this trap, i observed that the ground was strewed with diamonds, some of them of an astonishing size. this sight gave me great pleasure, but my delight was speedily damped when i saw also numbers of horrible snakes so long and so large that the smallest of them could have swallowed an elephant with ease. fortunately for me they seemed to hide in caverns of the rocks by day, and only came out by night, probably because of their enemy the roc. all day long i wandered up and down the valley, and when it grew dusk i crept into a little cave, and having blocked up the entrance to it with a stone, i ate part of my little store of food and lay down to sleep, but all through the night the serpents crawled to and fro, hissing horribly, so that i could scarcely close my eyes for terror. i was thankful when the morning light appeared, and when i judged by the silence that the serpents had retreated to their dens i came tremblingly out of my cave and wandered up and down the valley once more, kicking the diamonds contemptuously out of my path, for i felt that they were indeed vain things to a man in my situation. at last, overcome with weariness, i sat down upon a rock, but i had hardly closed my eyes when i was startled by something which fell to the ground with a thud close beside me. it was a huge piece of fresh meat, and as i stared at it several more pieces rolled over the cliffs in different places. i had always thought that the stories the sailors told of the famous valley of diamonds, and of the cunning way which some merchants had devised for getting at the precious stones, were mere travellers' tales invented to give pleasure to the hearers, but now i perceived that they were surely true. these merchants came to the valley at the time when the eagles, which keep their eyries in the rocks, had hatched their young. the merchants then threw great lumps of meat into the valley. these, falling with so much force upon the diamonds, were sure to take up some of the precious stones with them, when the eagles pounced upon the meat and carried it off to their nests to feed their hungry broods. then the merchants, scaring away the parent birds with shouts and outcries, would secure their treasures. until this moment i had looked upon the valley as my grave, for i had seen no possibility of getting out of it alive, but now i took courage and began to devise a means of escape. i began by picking up all the largest diamonds i could find and storing them carefully in the leathern wallet which had held my provisions; this i tied securely to my belt. i then chose the piece of meat which seemed most suited to my purpose, and with the aid of my turban bound it firmly to my back; this done i laid down upon my face and awaited the coming of the eagles. i soon heard the flapping of their mighty wings above me, and had the satisfaction of feeling one of them seize upon my piece of meat, and me with it, and rise slowly towards his nest, into which he presently dropped me. luckily for me the merchants were on the watch, and setting up their usual outcries they rushed to the nest scaring away the eagle. their amazement was great when they discovered me, and also their disappointment, and with one accord they fell to abusing me for having robbed them of their usual profit. addressing myself to the one who seemed most aggrieved, i said: "i am sure, if you knew all that i have suffered, you would show more kindness towards me, and as for diamonds, i have enough here of the very best for you and me and all your company." so saying i showed them to him. the others all crowded round me, wondering at my adventures and admiring the device by which i had escaped from the valley, and when they had led me to their camp and examined my diamonds, they assured me that in all the years that they had carried on their trade they had seen no stones to be compared with them for size and beauty. i found that each merchant chose a particular nest, and took his chance of what he might find in it. so i begged the one who owned the nest to which i had been carried to take as much as he would of my treasure, but he contented himself with one stone, and that by no means the largest, assuring me that with such a gem his fortune was made, and he need toil no more. i stayed with the merchants several days, and then as they were journeying homewards i gladly accompanied them. our way lay across high mountains infested with frightful serpents, but we had the good luck to escape them and came at last to the seashore. thence we sailed to the isle of rohat where the camphor trees grow to such a size that a hundred men could shelter under one of them with ease. the sap flows from an incision made high up in the tree into a vessel hung there to receive it, and soon hardens into the substance called camphor, but the tree itself withers up and dies when it has been so treated. in this same island we saw the rhinoceros, an animal which is smaller than the elephant and larger than the buffalo. it has one horn about a cubit long which is solid, but has a furrow from the base to the tip. upon it is traced in white lines the figure of a man. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, and transfixing him with his horn carries him off upon his head, but becoming blinded with the blood of his enemy, he falls helpless to the ground, and then comes the roc, and clutches them both up in his talons and takes them to feed his young. this doubtless astonishes you, but if you do not believe my tale go to rohat and see for yourself. for fear of wearying you i pass over in silence many other wonderful things which we saw in this island. before we left i exchanged one of my diamonds for much goodly merchandise by which i profited greatly on our homeward way. at last we reached balsora, whence i hastened to bagdad, where my first action was to bestow large sums of money upon the poor, after which i settled down to enjoy tranquilly the riches i had gained with so much toil and pain. having thus related the adventures of his second voyage, sindbad again bestowed a hundred sequins upon hindbad, inviting him to come again on the following day and hear how he fared upon his third voyage. the other guests also departed to their homes, but all returned at the same hour next day, including the porter, whose former life of hard work and poverty had already begun to seem to him like a bad dream. again after the feast was over did sindbad claim the attention of his guests and began the account of his third voyage. third voyage after a very short time the pleasant easy life i led made me quite forget the perils of my two voyages. moreover, as i was still in the prime of life, it pleased me better to be up and doing. so once more providing myself with the rarest and choicest merchandise of bagdad, i conveyed it to balsora, and set sail with other merchants of my acquaintance for distant lands. we had touched at many ports and made much profit, when one day upon the open sea we were caught by a terrible wind which blew us completely out of our reckoning, and lasting for several days finally drove us into harbour on a strange island. "i would rather have come to anchor anywhere than here," quoth our captain. "this island and all adjoining it are inhabited by hairy savages, who are certain to attack us, and whatever these dwarfs may do we dare not resist, since they swarm like locusts, and if one of them is killed the rest will fall upon us, and speedily make an end of us." these words caused great consternation among all the ship's company, and only too soon we were to find out that the captain spoke truly. there appeared a vast multitude of hideous savages, not more than two feet high and covered with reddish fur. throwing themselves into the waves they surrounded our vessel. chattering meanwhile in a language we could not understand, and clutching at ropes and gangways, they swarmed up the ship's side with such speed and agility that they almost seemed to fly. you may imagine the rage and terror that seized us as we watched them, neither daring to hinder them nor able to speak a word to deter them from their purpose, whatever it might be. of this we were not left long in doubt. hoisting the sails, and cutting the cable of the anchor, they sailed our vessel to an island which lay a little further off, where they drove us ashore; then taking possession of her, they made off to the place from which they had come, leaving us helpless upon a shore avoided with horror by all mariners for a reason which you will soon learn. turning away from the sea we wandered miserably inland, finding as we went various herbs and fruits which we ate, feeling that we might as well live as long as possible though we had no hope of escape. presently we saw in the far distance what seemed to us to be a splendid palace, towards which we turned our weary steps, but when we reached it we saw that it was a castle, lofty, and strongly built. pushing back the heavy ebony doors we entered the courtyard, but upon the threshold of the great hall beyond it we paused, frozen with horror, at the sight which greeted us. on one side lay a huge pile of bones--human bones, and on the other numberless spits for roasting! overcome with despair we sank trembling to the ground, and lay there without speech or motion. the sun was setting when a loud noise aroused us, the door of the hall was violently burst open and a horrible giant entered. he was as tall as a palm tree, and perfectly black, and had one eye, which flamed like a burning coal in the middle of his forehead. his teeth were long and sharp and grinned horribly, while his lower lip hung down upon his chest, and he had ears like elephant's ears, which covered his shoulders, and nails like the claws of some fierce bird. at this terrible sight our senses left us and we lay like dead men. when at last we came to ourselves the giant sat examining us attentively with his fearful eye. presently when he had looked at us enough he came towards us, and stretching out his hand took me by the back of the neck, turning me this way and that, but feeling that i was mere skin and bone he set me down again and went on to the next, whom he treated in the same fashion; at last he came to the captain, and finding him the fattest of us all, he took him up in one hand and stuck him upon a spit and proceeded to kindle a huge fire at which he presently roasted him. after the giant had supped he lay down to sleep, snoring like the loudest thunder, while we lay shivering with horror the whole night through, and when day broke he awoke and went out, leaving us in the castle. when we believed him to be really gone we started up bemoaning our horrible fate, until the hall echoed with our despairing cries. though we were many and our enemy was alone it did not occur to us to kill him, and indeed we should have found that a hard task, even if we had thought of it, and no plan could we devise to deliver ourselves. so at last, submitting to our sad fate, we spent the day in wandering up and down the island eating such fruits as we could find, and when night came we returned to the castle, having sought in vain for any other place of shelter. at sunset the giant returned, supped upon one of our unhappy comrades, slept and snored till dawn, and then left us as before. our condition seemed to us so frightful that several of my companions thought it would be better to leap from the cliffs and perish in the waves at once, rather than await so miserable an end; but i had a plan of escape which i now unfolded to them, and which they at once agreed to attempt. "listen, my brothers," i added. "you know that plenty of driftwood lies along the shore. let us make several rafts, and carry them to a suitable place. if our plot succeeds, we can wait patiently for the chance of some passing ship which would rescue us from this fatal island. if it fails, we must quickly take to our rafts; frail as they are, we have more chance of saving our lives with them than we have if we remain here." all agreed with me, and we spent the day in building rafts, each capable of carrying three persons. at nightfall we returned to the castle, and very soon in came the giant, and one more of our number was sacrificed. but the time of our vengeance was at hand! as soon as he had finished his horrible repast he lay down to sleep as before, and when we heard him begin to snore i, and nine of the boldest of my comrades, rose softly, and took each a spit, which we made red-hot in the fire, and then at a given signal we plunged it with one accord into the giant's eye, completely blinding him. uttering a terrible cry, he sprang to his feet clutching in all directions to try to seize one of us, but we had all fled different ways as soon as the deed was done, and thrown ourselves flat upon the ground in corners where he was not likely to touch us with his feet. after a vain search he fumbled about till he found the door, and fled out of it howling frightfully. as for us, when he was gone we made haste to leave the fatal castle, and, stationing ourselves beside our rafts, we waited to see what would happen. our idea was that if, when the sun rose, we saw nothing of the giant, and no longer heard his howls, which still came faintly through the darkness, growing more and more distant, we should conclude that he was dead, and that we might safely stay upon the island and need not risk our lives upon the frail rafts. but alas! morning light showed us our enemy approaching us, supported on either hand by two giants nearly as large and fearful as himself, while a crowd of others followed close upon their heels. hesitating no longer we clambered upon our rafts and rowed with all our might out to sea. the giants, seeing their prey escaping them, seized up huge pieces of rock, and wading into the water hurled them after us with such good aim that all the rafts except the one i was upon were swamped, and their luckless crews drowned, without our being able to do anything to help them. indeed i and my two companions had all we could do to keep our own raft beyond the reach of the giants, but by dint of hard rowing we at last gained the open sea. here we were at the mercy of the winds and waves, which tossed us to and fro all that day and night, but the next morning we found ourselves near an island, upon which we gladly landed. there we found delicious fruits, and having satisfied our hunger we presently lay down to rest upon the shore. suddenly we were aroused by a loud rustling noise, and starting up, saw that it was caused by an immense snake which was gliding towards us over the sand. so swiftly it came that it had seized one of my comrades before he had time to fly, and in spite of his cries and struggles speedily crushed the life out of him in its mighty coils and proceeded to swallow him. by this time my other companion and i were running for our lives to some place where we might hope to be safe from this new horror, and seeing a tall tree we climbed up into it, having first provided ourselves with a store of fruit off the surrounding bushes. when night came i fell asleep, but only to be awakened once more by the terrible snake, which after hissing horribly round the tree at last reared itself up against it, and finding my sleeping comrade who was perched just below me, it swallowed him also, and crawled away leaving me half dead with terror. when the sun rose i crept down from the tree with hardly a hope of escaping the dreadful fate which had over-taken my comrades; but life is sweet, and i determined to do all i could to save myself. all day long i toiled with frantic haste and collected quantities of dry brushwood, reeds and thorns, which i bound with faggots, and making a circle of them under my tree i piled them firmly one upon another until i had a kind of tent in which i crouched like a mouse in a hole when she sees the cat coming. you may imagine what a fearful night i passed, for the snake returned eager to devour me, and glided round and round my frail shelter seeking an entrance. every moment i feared that it would succeed in pushing aside some of the faggots, but happily for me they held together, and when it grew light my enemy retired, baffled and hungry, to his den. as for me i was more dead than alive! shaking with fright and half suffocated by the poisonous breath of the monster, i came out of my tent and crawled down to the sea, feeling that it would be better to plunge from the cliffs and end my life at once than pass such another night of horror. but to my joy and relief i saw a ship sailing by, and by shouting wildly and waving my turban i managed to attract the attention of her crew. a boat was sent to rescue me, and very soon i found myself on board surrounded by a wondering crowd of sailors and merchants eager to know by what chance i found myself in that desolate island. after i had told my story they regaled me with the choicest food the ship afforded, and the captain, seeing that i was in rags, generously bestowed upon me one of his own coats. after sailing about for some time and touching at many ports we came at last to the island of salahat, where sandal wood grows in great abundance. here we anchored, and as i stood watching the merchants disembarking their goods and preparing to sell or exchange them, the captain came up to me and said, "i have here, brother, some merchandise belonging to a passenger of mine who is dead. will you do me the favour to trade with it, and when i meet with his heirs i shall be able to give them the money, though it will be only just that you shall have a portion for your trouble." i consented gladly, for i did not like standing by idle. whereupon he pointed the bales out to me, and sent for the person whose duty it was to keep a list of the goods that were upon the ship. when this man came he asked in what name the merchandise was to be registered. "in the name of sindbad the sailor," replied the captain. at this i was greatly surprised, but looking carefully at him i recognised him to be the captain of the ship upon which i had made my second voyage, though he had altered much since that time. as for him, believing me to be dead it was no wonder that he had not recognised me. "so, captain," said i, "the merchant who owned those bales was called sindbad?" "yes," he replied. "he was so named. he belonged to bagdad, and joined my ship at balsora, but by mischance he was left behind upon a desert island where we had landed to fill up our water-casks, and it was not until four hours later that he was missed. by that time the wind had freshened, and it was impossible to put back for him." "you suppose him to have perished then?" said i. "alas! yes," he answered. "why, captain!" i cried, "look well at me. i am that sindbad who fell asleep upon the island and awoke to find himself abandoned!" the captain stared at me in amazement, but was presently convinced that i was indeed speaking the truth, and rejoiced greatly at my escape. "i am glad to have that piece of carelessness off my conscience at any rate," said he. "now take your goods, and the profit i have made for you upon them, and may you prosper in future." i took them gratefully, and as we went from one island to another i laid in stores of cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. in one place i saw a tortoise which was twenty cubits long and as many broad, also a fish that was like a cow and had skin so thick that it was used to make shields. another i saw that was like a camel in shape and colour. so by degrees we came back to balsora, and i returned to bagdad with so much money that i could not myself count it, besides treasures without end. i gave largely to the poor, and bought much land to add to what i already possessed, and thus ended my third voyage. when sindbad had finished his story he gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, who then departed with the other guests, but next day when they had all reassembled, and the banquet was ended, their host continued his adventures. fourth voyage rich and happy as i was after my third voyage, i could not make up my mind to stay at home altogether. my love of trading, and the pleasure i took in anything that was new and strange, made me set my affairs in order, and begin my journey through some of the persian provinces, having first sent off stores of goods to await my coming in the different places i intended to visit. i took ship at a distant seaport, and for some time all went well, but at last, being caught in a violent hurricane, our vessel became a total wreck in spite of all our worthy captain could do to save her, and many of our company perished in the waves. i, with a few others, had the good fortune to be washed ashore clinging to pieces of the wreck, for the storm had driven us near an island, and scrambling up beyond the reach of the waves we threw ourselves down quite exhausted, to wait for morning. at daylight we wandered inland, and soon saw some huts, to which we directed our steps. as we drew near their black inhabitants swarmed out in great numbers and surrounded us, and we were led to their houses, and as it were divided among our captors. i with five others was taken into a hut, where we were made to sit upon the ground, and certain herbs were given to us, which the blacks made signs to us to eat. observing that they themselves did not touch them, i was careful only to pretend to taste my portion; but my companions, being very hungry, rashly ate up all that was set before them, and very soon i had the horror of seeing them become perfectly mad. though they chattered incessantly i could not understand a word they said, nor did they heed when i spoke to them. the savages now produced large bowls full of rice prepared with cocoanut oil, of which my crazy comrades ate eagerly, but i only tasted a few grains, understanding clearly that the object of our captors was to fatten us speedily for their own eating, and this was exactly what happened. my unlucky companions having lost their reason, felt neither anxiety nor fear, and ate greedily all that was offered them. so they were soon fat and there was an end of them, but i grew leaner day by day, for i ate but little, and even that little did me no good by reason of my fear of what lay before me. however, as i was so far from being a tempting morsel, i was allowed to wander about freely, and one day, when all the blacks had gone off upon some expedition leaving only an old man to guard me, i managed to escape from him and plunged into the forest, running faster the more he cried to me to come back, until i had completely distanced him. for seven days i hurried on, resting only when the darkness stopped me, and living chiefly upon cocoanuts, which afforded me both meat and drink, and on the eighth day i reached the seashore and saw a party of white men gathering pepper, which grew abundantly all about. reassured by the nature of their occupation, i advanced towards them and they greeted me in arabic, asking who i was and whence i came. my delight was great on hearing this familiar speech, and i willingly satisfied their curiosity, telling them how i had been shipwrecked, and captured by the blacks. "but these savages devour men!" said they. "how did you escape?" i repeated to them what i have just told you, at which they were mightily astonished. i stayed with them until they had collected as much pepper as they wished, and then they took me back to their own country and presented me to their king, by whom i was hospitably received. to him also i had to relate my adventures, which surprised him much, and when i had finished he ordered that i should be supplied with food and raiment and treated with consideration. the island on which i found myself was full of people, and abounded in all sorts of desirable things, and a great deal of traffic went on in the capital, where i soon began to feel at home and contented. moreover, the king treated me with special favour, and in consequence of this everyone, whether at the court or in the town, sought to make life pleasant to me. one thing i remarked which i thought very strange; this was that, from the greatest to the least, all men rode their horses without bridle or stirrups. i one day presumed to ask his majesty why he did not use them, to which he replied, "you speak to me of things of which i have never before heard!" this gave me an idea. i found a clever workman, and made him cut out under my direction the foundation of a saddle, which i wadded and covered with choice leather, adorning it with rich gold embroidery. i then got a lock-smith to make me a bit and a pair of spurs after a pattern that i drew for him, and when all these things were completed i presented them to the king and showed him how to use them. when i had saddled one of his horses he mounted it and rode about quite delighted with the novelty, and to show his gratitude he rewarded me with large gifts. after this i had to make saddles for all the principal officers of the king's household, and as they all gave me rich presents i soon became very wealthy and quite an important person in the city. one day the king sent for me and said, "sindbad, i am going to ask a favour of you. both i and my subjects esteem you, and wish you to end your days amongst us. therefore i desire that you will marry a rich and beautiful lady whom i will find for you, and think no more of your own country." as the king's will was law i accepted the charming bride he presented to me, and lived happily with her. nevertheless i had every intention of escaping at the first opportunity, and going back to bagdad. things were thus going prosperously with me when it happened that the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom i had struck up quite a friendship, fell ill, and presently died. i went to his house to offer my consolations, and found him in the depths of woe. "heaven preserve you," said i, "and send you a long life!" "alas!" he replied, "what is the good of saying that when i have but an hour left to live!" "come, come!" said i, "surely it is not so bad as all that. i trust that you may be spared to me for many years." "i hope," answered he, "that your life may be long, but as for me, all is finished. i have set my house in order, and to-day i shall be buried with my wife. this has been the law upon our island from the earliest ages--the living husband goes to the grave with his dead wife, the living wife with her dead husband. so did our fathers, and so must we do. the law changes not, and all must submit to it!" as he spoke the friends and relations of the unhappy pair began to assemble. the body, decked in rich robes and sparkling with jewels, was laid upon an open bier, and the procession started, taking its way to a high mountain at some distance from the city, the wretched husband, clothed from head to foot in a black mantle, following mournfully. when the place of interment was reached the corpse was lowered, just as it was, into a deep pit. then the husband, bidding farewell to all his friends, stretched himself upon another bier, upon which were laid seven little loaves of bread and a pitcher of water, and he also was let down-down-down to the depths of the horrible cavern, and then a stone was laid over the opening, and the melancholy company wended its way back to the city. you may imagine that i was no unmoved spectator of these proceedings; to all the others it was a thing to which they had been accustomed from their youth up; but i was so horrified that i could not help telling the king how it struck me. "sire," i said, "i am more astonished than i can express to you at the strange custom which exists in your dominions of burying the living with the dead. in all my travels i have never before met with so cruel and horrible a law." "what would you have, sindbad?" he replied. "it is the law for everybody. i myself should be buried with the queen if she were the first to die." "but, your majesty," said i, "dare i ask if this law applies to foreigners also?" "why, yes," replied the king smiling, in what i could but consider a very heartless manner, "they are no exception to the rule if they have married in the country." when i heard this i went home much cast down, and from that time forward my mind was never easy. if only my wife's little finger ached i fancied she was going to die, and sure enough before very long she fell really ill and in a few days breathed her last. my dismay was great, for it seemed to me that to be buried alive was even a worse fate than to be devoured by cannibals, nevertheless there was no escape. the body of my wife, arrayed in her richest robes and decked with all her jewels, was laid upon the bier. i followed it, and after me came a great procession, headed by the king and all his nobles, and in this order we reached the fatal mountain, which was one of a lofty chain bordering the sea. here i made one more frantic effort to excite the pity of the king and those who stood by, hoping to save myself even at this last moment, but it was of no avail. no one spoke to me, they even appeared to hasten over their dreadful task, and i speedily found myself descending into the gloomy pit, with my seven loaves and pitcher of water beside me. almost before i reached the bottom the stone was rolled into its place above my head, and i was left to my fate. a feeble ray of light shone into the cavern through some chink, and when i had the courage to look about me i could see that i was in a vast vault, bestrewn with bones and bodies of the dead. i even fancied that i heard the expiring sighs of those who, like myself, had come into this dismal place alive. all in vain did i shriek aloud with rage and despair, reproaching myself for the love of gain and adventure which had brought me to such a pass, but at length, growing calmer, i took up my bread and water, and wrapping my face in my mantle i groped my way towards the end of the cavern, where the air was fresher. here i lived in darkness and misery until my provisions were exhausted, but just as i was nearly dead from starvation the rock was rolled away overhead and i saw that a bier was being lowered into the cavern, and that the corpse upon it was a man. in a moment my mind was made up, the woman who followed had nothing to expect but a lingering death; i should be doing her a service if i shortened her misery. therefore when she descended, already insensible from terror, i was ready armed with a huge bone, one blow from which left her dead, and i secured the bread and water which gave me a hope of life. several times did i have recourse to this desperate expedient, and i know not how long i had been a prisoner when one day i fancied that i heard something near me, which breathed loudly. turning to the place from which the sound came i dimly saw a shadowy form which fled at my movement, squeezing itself through a cranny in the wall. i pursued it as fast as i could, and found myself in a narrow crack among the rocks, along which i was just able to force my way. i followed it for what seemed to me many miles, and at last saw before me a glimmer of light which grew clearer every moment until i emerged upon the sea shore with a joy which i cannot describe. when i was sure that i was not dreaming, i realised that it was doubtless some little animal which had found its way into the cavern from the sea, and when disturbed had fled, showing me a means of escape which i could never have discovered for myself. i hastily surveyed my surroundings, and saw that i was safe from all pursuit from the town. the mountains sloped sheer down to the sea, and there was no road across them. being assured of this i returned to the cavern, and amassed a rich treasure of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and jewels of all kinds which strewed the ground. these i made up into bales, and stored them into a safe place upon the beach, and then waited hopefully for the passing of a ship. i had looked out for two days, however, before a single sail appeared, so it was with much delight that i at last saw a vessel not very far from the shore, and by waving my arms and uttering loud cries succeeded in attracting the attention of her crew. a boat was sent off to me, and in answer to the questions of the sailors as to how i came to be in such a plight, i replied that i had been shipwrecked two days before, but had managed to scramble ashore with the bales which i pointed out to them. luckily for me they believed my story, and without even looking at the place where they found me, took up my bundles, and rowed me back to the ship. once on board, i soon saw that the captain was too much occupied with the difficulties of navigation to pay much heed to me, though he generously made me welcome, and would not even accept the jewels with which i offered to pay my passage. our voyage was prosperous, and after visiting many lands, and collecting in each place great store of goodly merchandise, i found myself at last in bagdad once more with unheard of riches of every description. again i gave large sums of money to the poor, and enriched all the mosques in the city, after which i gave myself up to my friends and relations, with whom i passed my time in feasting and merriment. here sindbad paused, and all his hearers declared that the adventures of his fourth voyage had pleased them better than anything they had heard before. they then took their leave, followed by hindbad, who had once more received a hundred sequins, and with the rest had been bidden to return next day for the story of the fifth voyage. when the time came all were in their places, and when they had eaten and drunk of all that was set before them sindbad began his tale. fifth voyage not even all that i had gone through could make me contented with a quiet life. i soon wearied of its pleasures, and longed for change and adventure. therefore i set out once more, but this time in a ship of my own, which i built and fitted out at the nearest seaport. i wished to be able to call at whatever port i chose, taking my own time; but as i did not intend carrying enough goods for a full cargo, i invited several merchants of different nations to join me. we set sail with the first favourable wind, and after a long voyage upon the open seas we landed upon an unknown island which proved to be uninhabited. we determined, however, to explore it, but had not gone far when we found a roc's egg, as large as the one i had seen before and evidently very nearly hatched, for the beak of the young bird had already pierced the shell. in spite of all i could say to deter them, the merchants who were with me fell upon it with their hatchets, breaking the shell, and killing the young roc. then lighting a fire upon the ground they hacked morsels from the bird, and proceeded to roast them while i stood by aghast. scarcely had they finished their ill-omened repast, when the air above us was darkened by two mighty shadows. the captain of my ship, knowing by experience what this meant, cried out to us that the parent birds were coming, and urged us to get on board with all speed. this we did, and the sails were hoisted, but before we had made any way the rocs reached their despoiled nest and hovered about it, uttering frightful cries when they discovered the mangled remains of their young one. for a moment we lost sight of them, and were flattering ourselves that we had escaped, when they reappeared and soared into the air directly over our vessel, and we saw that each held in its claws an immense rock ready to crush us. there was a moment of breathless suspense, then one bird loosed its hold and the huge block of stone hurtled through the air, but thanks to the presence of mind of the helmsman, who turned our ship violently in another direction, it fell into the sea close beside us, cleaving it asunder till we could nearly see the bottom. we had hardly time to draw a breath of relief before the other rock fell with a mighty crash right in the midst of our luckless vessel, smashing it into a thousand fragments, and crushing, or hurling into the sea, passengers and crew. i myself went down with the rest, but had the good fortune to rise unhurt, and by holding on to a piece of driftwood with one hand and swimming with the other i kept myself afloat and was presently washed up by the tide on to an island. its shores were steep and rocky, but i scrambled up safely and threw myself down to rest upon the green turf. when i had somewhat recovered i began to examine the spot in which i found myself, and truly it seemed to me that i had reached a garden of delights. there were trees everywhere, and they were laden with flowers and fruit, while a crystal stream wandered in and out under their shadow. when night came i slept sweetly in a cosy nook, though the remembrance that i was alone in a strange land made me sometimes start up and look around me in alarm, and then i wished heartily that i had stayed at home at ease. however, the morning sunlight restored my courage, and i once more wandered among the trees, but always with some anxiety as to what i might see next. i had penetrated some distance into the island when i saw an old man bent and feeble sitting upon the river bank, and at first i took him to be some ship-wrecked mariner like myself. going up to him i greeted him in a friendly way, but he only nodded his head at me in reply. i then asked what he did there, and he made signs to me that he wished to get across the river to gather some fruit, and seemed to beg me to carry him on my back. pitying his age and feebleness, i took him up, and wading across the stream i bent down that he might more easily reach the bank, and bade him get down. but instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet (even now it makes me laugh to think of it!), this creature who had seemed to me so decrepit leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and hooking his legs round my neck gripped me so tightly that i was well-nigh choked, and so overcome with terror that i fell insensible to the ground. when i recovered my enemy was still in his place, though he had released his hold enough to allow me breathing space, and seeing me revive he prodded me adroitly first with one foot and then with the other, until i was forced to get up and stagger about with him under the trees while he gathered and ate the choicest fruits. this went on all day, and even at night, when i threw myself down half dead with weariness, the terrible old man held on tight to my neck, nor did he fail to greet the first glimmer of morning light by drumming upon me with his heels, until i perforce awoke and resumed my dreary march with rage and bitterness in my heart. it happened one day that i passed a tree under which lay several dry gourds, and catching one up i amused myself with scooping out its contents and pressing into it the juice of several bunches of grapes which hung from every bush. when it was full i left it propped in the fork of a tree, and a few days later, carrying the hateful old man that way, i snatched at my gourd as i passed it and had the satisfaction of a draught of excellent wine so good and refreshing that i even forgot my detestable burden, and began to sing and caper. the old monster was not slow to perceive the effect which my draught had produced and that i carried him more lightly than usual, so he stretched out his skinny hand and seizing the gourd first tasted its contents cautiously, then drained them to the very last drop. the wine was strong and the gourd capacious, so he also began to sing after a fashion, and soon i had the delight of feeling the iron grip of his goblin legs unclasp, and with one vigorous effort i threw him to the ground, from which he never moved again. i was so rejoiced to have at last got rid of this uncanny old man that i ran leaping and bounding down to the sea shore, where, by the greatest good luck, i met with some mariners who had anchored off the island to enjoy the delicious fruits, and to renew their supply of water. they heard the story of my escape with amazement, saying, "you fell into the hands of the old man of the sea, and it is a mercy that he did not strangle you as he has everyone else upon whose shoulders he has managed to perch himself. this island is well known as the scene of his evil deeds, and no merchant or sailor who lands upon it cares to stray far away from his comrades." after we had talked for a while they took me back with them on board their ship, where the captain received me kindly, and we soon set sail, and after several days reached a large and prosperous-looking town where all the houses were built of stone. here we anchored, and one of the merchants, who had been very friendly to me on the way, took me ashore with him and showed me a lodging set apart for strange merchants. he then provided me with a large sack, and pointed out to me a party of others equipped in like manner. "go with them," said he, "and do as they do, but beware of losing sight of them, for if you strayed your life would be in danger." with that he supplied me with provisions, and bade me farewell, and i set out with my new companions. i soon learnt that the object of our expedition was to fill our sacks with cocoanuts, but when at length i saw the trees and noted their immense height and the slippery smoothness of their slender trunks, i did not at all understand how we were to do it. the crowns of the cocoa-palms were all alive with monkeys, big and little, which skipped from one to the other with surprising agility, seeming to be curious about us and disturbed at our appearance, and i was at first surprised when my companions after collecting stones began to throw them at the lively creatures, which seemed to me quite harmless. but very soon i saw the reason of it and joined them heartily, for the monkeys, annoyed and wishing to pay us back in our own coin, began to tear the nuts from the trees and cast them at us with angry and spiteful gestures, so that after very little labour our sacks were filled with the fruit which we could not otherwise have obtained. as soon as we had as many as we could carry we went back to the town, where my friend bought my share and advised me to continue the same occupation until i had earned money enough to carry me to my own country. this i did, and before long had amassed a considerable sum. just then i heard that there was a trading ship ready to sail, and taking leave of my friend i went on board, carrying with me a goodly store of cocoanuts; and we sailed first to the islands where pepper grows, then to comari where the best aloes wood is found, and where men drink no wine by an unalterable law. here i exchanged my nuts for pepper and good aloes wood, and went a-fishing for pearls with some of the other merchants, and my divers were so lucky that very soon i had an immense number, and those very large and perfect. with all these treasures i came joyfully back to bagdad, where i disposed of them for large sums of money, of which i did not fail as before to give the tenth part to the poor, and after that i rested from my labours and comforted myself with all the pleasures that my riches could give me. having thus ended his story, sindbad ordered that one hundred sequins should be given to hindbad, and the guests then withdrew; but after the next day's feast he began the account of his sixth voyage as follows. sixth voyage it must be a marvel to you how, after having five times met with shipwreck and unheard of perils, i could again tempt fortune and risk fresh trouble. i am even surprised myself when i look back, but evidently it was my fate to rove, and after a year of repose i prepared to make a sixth voyage, regardless of the entreaties of my friends and relations, who did all they could to keep me at home. instead of going by the persian gulf, i travelled a considerable way overland, and finally embarked from a distant indian port with a captain who meant to make a long voyage. and truly he did so, for we fell in with stormy weather which drove us completely out of our course, so that for many days neither captain nor pilot knew where we were, nor where we were going. when they did at last discover our position we had small ground for rejoicing, for the captain, casting his turban upon the deck and tearing his beard, declared that we were in the most dangerous spot upon the whole wide sea, and had been caught by a current which was at that minute sweeping us to destruction. it was too true! in spite of all the sailors could do we were driven with frightful rapidity towards the foot of a mountain, which rose sheer out of the sea, and our vessel was dashed to pieces upon the rocks at its base, not, however, until we had managed to scramble on shore, carrying with us the most precious of our possessions. when we had done this the captain said to us: "now we are here we may as well begin to dig our graves at once, since from this fatal spot no shipwrecked mariner has ever returned." this speech discouraged us much, and we began to lament over our sad fate. the mountain formed the seaward boundary of a large island, and the narrow strip of rocky shore upon which we stood was strewn with the wreckage of a thousand gallant ships, while the bones of the luckless mariners shone white in the sunshine, and we shuddered to think how soon our own would be added to the heap. all around, too, lay vast quantities of the costliest merchandise, and treasures were heaped in every cranny of the rocks, but all these things only added to the desolation of the scene. it struck me as a very strange thing that a river of clear fresh water, which gushed out from the mountain not far from where we stood, instead of flowing into the sea as rivers generally do, turned off sharply, and flowed out of sight under a natural archway of rock, and when i went to examine it more closely i found that inside the cave the walls were thick with diamonds, and rubies, and masses of crystal, and the floor was strewn with ambergris. here, then, upon this desolate shore we abandoned ourselves to our fate, for there was no possibility of scaling the mountain, and if a ship had appeared it could only have shared our doom. the first thing our captain did was to divide equally amongst us all the food we possessed, and then the length of each man's life depended on the time he could make his portion last. i myself could live upon very little. nevertheless, by the time i had buried the last of my companions my stock of provisions was so small that i hardly thought i should live long enough to dig my own grave, which i set about doing, while i regretted bitterly the roving disposition which was always bringing me into such straits, and thought longingly of all the comfort and luxury that i had left. but luckily for me the fancy took me to stand once more beside the river where it plunged out of sight in the depths of the cavern, and as i did so an idea struck me. this river which hid itself underground doubtless emerged again at some distant spot. why should i not build a raft and trust myself to its swiftly flowing waters? if i perished before i could reach the light of day once more i should be no worse off than i was now, for death stared me in the face, while there was always the possibility that, as i was born under a lucky star, i might find myself safe and sound in some desirable land. i decided at any rate to risk it, and speedily built myself a stout raft of drift-wood with strong cords, of which enough and to spare lay strewn upon the beach. i then made up many packages of rubies, emeralds, rock crystal, ambergris, and precious stuffs, and bound them upon my raft, being careful to preserve the balance, and then i seated myself upon it, having two small oars that i had fashioned laid ready to my hand, and loosed the cord which held it to the bank. once out in the current my raft flew swiftly under the gloomy archway, and i found myself in total darkness, carried smoothly forward by the rapid river. on i went as it seemed to me for many nights and days. once the channel became so small that i had a narrow escape of being crushed against the rocky roof, and after that i took the precaution of lying flat upon my precious bales. though i only ate what was absolutely necessary to keep myself alive, the inevitable moment came when, after swallowing my last morsel of food, i began to wonder if i must after all die of hunger. then, worn out with anxiety and fatigue, i fell into a deep sleep, and when i again opened my eyes i was once more in the light of day; a beautiful country lay before me, and my raft, which was tied to the river bank, was surrounded by friendly looking black men. i rose and saluted them, and they spoke to me in return, but i could not understand a word of their language. feeling perfectly bewildered by my sudden return to life and light, i murmured to myself in arabic, "close thine eyes, and while thou sleepest heaven will change thy fortune from evil to good." one of the natives, who understood this tongue, then came forward saying: "my brother, be not surprised to see us; this is our land, and as we came to get water from the river we noticed your raft floating down it, and one of us swam out and brought you to the shore. we have waited for your awakening; tell us now whence you come and where you were going by that dangerous way?" i replied that nothing would please me better than to tell them, but that i was starving, and would fain eat something first. i was soon supplied with all i needed, and having satisfied my hunger i told them faithfully all that had befallen me. they were lost in wonder at my tale when it was interpreted to them, and said that adventures so surprising must be related to their king only by the man to whom they had happened. so, procuring a horse, they mounted me upon it, and we set out, followed by several strong men carrying my raft just as it was upon their shoulders. in this order we marched into the city of serendib, where the natives presented me to their king, whom i saluted in the indian fashion, prostrating myself at his feet and kissing the ground; but the monarch bade me rise and sit beside him, asking first what was my name. "i am sindbad," i replied, "whom men call `the sailor,' for i have voyaged much upon many seas." "and how come you here?" asked the king. i told my story, concealing nothing, and his surprise and delight were so great that he ordered my adventures to be written in letters of gold and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. presently my raft was brought in and the bales opened in his presence, and the king declared that in all his treasury there were no such rubies and emeralds as those which lay in great heaps before him. seeing that he looked at them with interest, i ventured to say that i myself and all that i had were at his disposal, but he answered me smiling: "nay, sindbad. heaven forbid that i should covet your riches; i will rather add to them, for i desire that you shall not leave my kingdom without some tokens of my good will." he then commanded his officers to provide me with a suitable lodging at his expense, and sent slaves to wait upon me and carry my raft and my bales to my new dwelling place. you may imagine that i praised his generosity and gave him grateful thanks, nor did i fail to present myself daily in his audience chamber, and for the rest of my time i amused myself in seeing all that was most worthy of attention in the city. the island of serendib being situated on the equinoctial line, the days and nights there are of equal length. the chief city is placed at the end of a beautiful valley, formed by the highest mountain in the world, which is in the middle of the island. i had the curiosity to ascend to its very summit, for this was the place to which adam was banished out of paradise. here are found rubies and many precious things, and rare plants grow abundantly, with cedar trees and cocoa palms. on the seashore and at the mouths of the rivers the divers seek for pearls, and in some valleys diamonds are plentiful. after many days i petitioned the king that i might return to my own country, to which he graciously consented. moreover, he loaded me with rich gifts, and when i went to take leave of him he entrusted me with a royal present and a letter to the commander of the faithful, our sovereign lord, saying, "i pray you give these to the caliph haroun al raschid, and assure him of my friendship." i accepted the charge respectfully, and soon embarked upon the vessel which the king himself had chosen for me. the king's letter was written in blue characters upon a rare and precious skin of yellowish colour, and these were the words of it: "the king of the indies, before whom walk a thousand elephants, who lives in a palace, of which the roof blazes with a hundred thousand rubies, and whose treasure house contains twenty thousand diamond crowns, to the caliph haroun al raschid sends greeting. though the offering we present to you is unworthy of your notice, we pray you to accept it as a mark of the esteem and friendship which we cherish for you, and of which we gladly send you this token, and we ask of you a like regard if you deem us worthy of it. adieu, brother." the present consisted of a vase carved from a single ruby, six inches high and as thick as my finger; this was filled with the choicest pearls, large, and of perfect shape and lustre; secondly, a huge snake skin, with scales as large as a sequin, which would preserve from sickness those who slept upon it. then quantities of aloes wood, camphor, and pistachio-nuts; and lastly, a beautiful slave girl, whose robes glittered with precious stones. after a long and prosperous voyage we landed at balsora, and i made haste to reach bagdad, and taking the king's letter i presented myself at the palace gate, followed by the beautiful slave, and various members of my own family, bearing the treasure. as soon as i had declared my errand i was conducted into the presence of the caliph, to whom, after i had made my obeisance, i gave the letter and the king's gift, and when he had examined them he demanded of me whether the prince of serendib was really as rich and powerful as he claimed to be. "commander of the faithful," i replied, again bowing humbly before him, "i can assure your majesty that he has in no way exaggerated his wealth and grandeur. nothing can equal the magnificence of his palace. when he goes abroad his throne is prepared upon the back of an elephant, and on either side of him ride his ministers, his favourites, and courtiers. on his elephant's neck sits an officer, his golden lance in his hand, and behind him stands another bearing a pillar of gold, at the top of which is an emerald as long as my hand. a thousand men in cloth of gold, mounted upon richly caparisoned elephants, go before him, and as the procession moves onward the officer who guides his elephant cries aloud, `behold the mighty monarch, the powerful and valiant sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, who possesses twenty thousand diamond crowns. behold a monarch greater than solomon and mihrage in all their glory!'" "then the one who stands behind the throne answers: 'this king, so great and powerful, must die, must die, must die!'" "and the first takes up the chant again, `all praise to him who lives for evermore.'" "further, my lord, in serendib no judge is needed, for to the king himself his people come for justice." the caliph was well satisfied with my report. "from the king's letter," said he, "i judged that he was a wise man. it seems that he is worthy of his people, and his people of him." so saying he dismissed me with rich presents, and i returned in peace to my own house. when sindbad had done speaking his guests withdrew, hindbad having first received a hundred sequins, but all returned next day to hear the story of the seventh voyage, sindbad thus began. seventh and last voyage after my sixth voyage i was quite determined that i would go to sea no more. i was now of an age to appreciate a quiet life, and i had run risks enough. i only wished to end my days in peace. one day, however, when i was entertaining a number of my friends, i was told that an officer of the caliph wished to speak to me, and when he was admitted he bade me follow him into the presence of haroun al raschid, which i accordingly did. after i had saluted him, the caliph said: "i have sent for you, sindbad, because i need your services. i have chosen you to bear a letter and a gift to the king of serendib in return for his message of friendship." the caliph's commandment fell upon me like a thunderbolt. "commander of the faithful," i answered, "i am ready to do all that your majesty commands, but i humbly pray you to remember that i am utterly disheartened by the unheard of sufferings i have undergone. indeed, i have made a vow never again to leave bagdad." with this i gave him a long account of some of my strangest adventures, to which he listened patiently. "i admit," said he, "that you have indeed had some extraordinary experiences, but i do not see why they should hinder you from doing as i wish. you have only to go straight to serendib and give my message, then you are free to come back and do as you will. but go you must; my honour and dignity demand it." seeing that there was no help for it, i declared myself willing to obey; and the caliph, delighted at having got his own way, gave me a thousand sequins for the expenses of the voyage. i was soon ready to start, and taking the letter and the present i embarked at balsora, and sailed quickly and safely to serendib. here, when i had disclosed my errand, i was well received, and brought into the presence of the king, who greeted me with joy. "welcome, sindbad," he cried. "i have thought of you often, and rejoice to see you once more." after thanking him for the honour that he did me, i displayed the caliph's gifts. first a bed with complete hangings all cloth of gold, which cost a thousand sequins, and another like to it of crimson stuff. fifty robes of rich embroidery, a hundred of the finest white linen from cairo, suez, cufa, and alexandria. then more beds of different fashion, and an agate vase carved with the figure of a man aiming an arrow at a lion, and finally a costly table, which had once belonged to king solomon. the king of serendib received with satisfaction the assurance of the caliph's friendliness toward him, and now my task being accomplished i was anxious to depart, but it was some time before the king would think of letting me go. at last, however, he dismissed me with many presents, and i lost no time in going on board a ship, which sailed at once, and for four days all went well. on the fifth day we had the misfortune to fall in with pirates, who seized our vessel, killing all who resisted, and making prisoners of those who were prudent enough to submit at once, of whom i was one. when they had despoiled us of all we possessed, they forced us to put on vile raiment, and sailing to a distant island there sold us for slaves. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who took me home with him, and clothed and fed me well, and after some days sent for me and questioned me as to what i could do. i answered that i was a rich merchant who had been captured by pirates, and therefore i knew no trade. "tell me," said he, "can you shoot with a bow?" i replied that this had been one of the pastimes of my youth, and that doubtless with practice my skill would come back to me. upon this he provided me with a bow and arrows, and mounting me with him upon his own elephant took the way to a vast forest which lay far from the town. when we had reached the wildest part of it we stopped, and my master said to me: "this forest swarms with elephants. hide yourself in this great tree, and shoot at all that pass you. when you have succeeded in killing one come and tell me." so saying he gave me a supply of food, and returned to the town, and i perched myself high up in the tree and kept watch. that night i saw nothing, but just after sunrise the next morning a large herd of elephants came crashing and trampling by. i lost no time in letting fly several arrows, and at last one of the great animals fell to the ground dead, and the others retreated, leaving me free to come down from my hiding place and run back to tell my master of my success, for which i was praised and regaled with good things. then we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant i had killed, in order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its tusks. for two months i hunted thus, and no day passed without my securing, an elephant. of course i did not always station myself in the same tree, but sometimes in one place, sometimes in another. one morning as i watched the coming of the elephants i was surprised to see that, instead of passing the tree i was in, as they usually did, they paused, and completely surrounded it, trumpeting horribly, and shaking the very ground with their heavy tread, and when i saw that their eyes were fixed upon me i was terrified, and my arrows dropped from my trembling hand. i had indeed good reason for my terror when, an instant later, the largest of the animals wound his trunk round the stem of my tree, and with one mighty effort tore it up by the roots, bringing me to the ground entangled in its branches. i thought now that my last hour was surely come; but the huge creature, picking me up gently enough, set me upon its back, where i clung more dead than alive, and followed by the whole herd turned and crashed off into the dense forest. it seemed to me a long time before i was once more set upon my feet by the elephant, and i stood as if in a dream watching the herd, which turned and trampled off in another direction, and were soon hidden in the dense underwood. then, recovering myself, i looked about me, and found that i was standing upon the side of a great hill, strewn as far as i could see on either hand with bones and tusks of elephants. "this then must be the elephants' burying place," i said to myself, "and they must have brought me here that i might cease to persecute them, seeing that i want nothing but their tusks, and here lie more than i could carry away in a lifetime." whereupon i turned and made for the city as fast as i could go, not seeing a single elephant by the way, which convinced me that they had retired deeper into the forest to leave the way open to the ivory hill, and i did not know how sufficiently to admire their sagacity. after a day and a night i reached my master's house, and was received by him with joyful surprise. "ah! poor sindbad," he cried, "i was wondering what could have become of you. when i went to the forest i found the tree newly uprooted, and the arrows lying beside it, and i feared i should never see you again. pray tell me how you escaped death." i soon satisfied his curiosity, and the next day we went together to the ivory hill, and he was overjoyed to find that i had told him nothing but the truth. when we had loaded our elephant with as many tusks as it could carry and were on our way back to the city, he said: "my brother--since i can no longer treat as a slave one who has enriched me thus--take your liberty and may heaven prosper you. i will no longer conceal from you that these wild elephants have killed numbers of our slaves every year. no matter what good advice we gave them, they were caught sooner or later. you alone have escaped the wiles of these animals, therefore you must be under the special protection of heaven. now through you the whole town will be enriched without further loss of life, therefore you shall not only receive your liberty, but i will also bestow a fortune upon you." to which i replied, "master, i thank you, and wish you all prosperity. for myself i only ask liberty to return to my own country." "it is well," he answered, "the monsoon will soon bring the ivory ships hither, then i will send you on your way with somewhat to pay your passage." so i stayed with him till the time of the monsoon, and every day we added to our store of ivory till all his ware-houses were overflowing with it. by this time the other merchants knew the secret, but there was enough and to spare for all. when the ships at last arrived my master himself chose the one in which i was to sail, and put on board for me a great store of choice provisions, also ivory in abundance, and all the costliest curiosities of the country, for which i could not thank him enough, and so we parted. i left the ship at the first port we came to, not feeling at ease upon the sea after all that had happened to me by reason of it, and having disposed of my ivory for much gold, and bought many rare and costly presents, i loaded my pack animals, and joined a caravan of merchants. our journey was long and tedious, but i bore it patiently, reflecting that at least i had not to fear tempests, nor pirates, nor serpents, nor any of the other perils from which i had suffered before, and at length we reached bagdad. my first care was to present myself before the caliph, and give him an account of my embassy. he assured me that my long absence had disquieted him much, but he had nevertheless hoped for the best. as to my adventure among the elephants he heard it with amazement, declaring that he could not have believed it had not my truthfulness been well known to him. by his orders this story and the others i had told him were written by his scribes in letters of gold, and laid up among his treasures. i took my leave of him, well satisfied with the honours and rewards he bestowed upon me; and since that time i have rested from my labours, and given myself up wholly to my family and my friends. thus sindbad ended the story of his seventh and last voyage, and turning to hindbad he added: "well, my friend, and what do you think now? have you ever heard of anyone who has suffered more, or had more narrow escapes than i have? is it not just that i should now enjoy a life of ease and tranquillity?" hindbad drew near, and kissing his hand respectfully, replied, "sir, you have indeed known fearful perils; my troubles have been nothing compared to yours. moreover, the generous use you make of your wealth proves that you deserve it. may you live long and happily in the enjoyment in it." sindbad then gave him a hundred sequins, and hence-forward counted him among his friends; also he caused him to give up his profession as a porter, and to eat daily at his table that he might all his life remember sindbad the sailor. the little hunchback in the kingdom of kashgar, which is, as everybody knows, situated on the frontiers of great tartary, there lived long ago a tailor and his wife who loved each other very much. one day, when the tailor was hard at work, a little hunchback came and sat at the entrance of the shop, and began to sing and play his tambourine. the tailor was amused with the antics of the fellow, and thought he would take him home to divert his wife. the hunchback having agreed to his proposal, the tailor closed his shop and they set off together. when they reached the house they found the table ready laid for supper, and in a very few minutes all three were sitting before a beautiful fish which the tailor's wife had cooked with her own hands. but unluckily, the hunchback happened to swallow a large bone, and, in spite of all the tailor and his wife could do to help him, died of suffocation in an instant. besides being very sorry for the poor man, the tailor and his wife were very much frightened on their own account, for if the police came to hear of it the worthy couple ran the risk of being thrown into prison for wilful murder. in order to prevent this dreadful calamity they both set about inventing some plan which would throw suspicion on some one else, and at last they made up their minds that they could do no better than select a jewish doctor who lived close by as the author of the crime. so the tailor picked up the hunchback by his head while his wife took his feet and carried him to the doctor's house. then they knocked at the door, which opened straight on to a steep staircase. a servant soon appeared, feeling her way down the dark staircase and inquired what they wanted. "tell your master," said the tailor, "that we have brought a very sick man for him to cure; and," he added, holding out some money, "give him this in advance, so that he may not feel he is wasting his time." the servant remounted the stairs to give the message to the doctor, and the moment she was out of sight the tailor and his wife carried the body swiftly after her, propped it up at the top of the staircase, and ran home as fast as their legs could carry them. now the doctor was so delighted at the news of a patient (for he was young, and had not many of them), that he was transported with joy. "get a light," he called to the servant, "and follow me as fast as you can!" and rushing out of his room he ran towards the staircase. there he nearly fell over the body of the hunchback, and without knowing what it was gave it such a kick that it rolled right to the bottom, and very nearly dragged the doctor after it. "a light! a light!" he cried again, and when it was brought and he saw what he had done he was almost beside himself with terror. "holy moses!" he exclaimed, "why did i not wait for the light? i have killed the sick man whom they brought me; and if the sacred ass of esdras does not come to my aid i am lost! it will not be long before i am led to jail as a murderer." agitated though he was, and with reason, the doctor did not forget to shut the house door, lest some passers-by might chance to see what had happened. he then took up the corpse and carried it into his wife's room, nearly driving her crazy with fright. "it is all over with us!" she wailed, "if we cannot find some means of getting the body out of the house. once let the sun rise and we can hide it no longer! how were you driven to commit such a terrible crime?" "never mind that," returned the doctor, "the thing is to find a way out of it." for a long while the doctor and his wife continued to turn over in their minds a way of escape, but could not find any that seemed good enough. at last the doctor gave it up altogether and resigned himself to bear the penalty of his misfortune. but his wife, who had twice his brains, suddenly exclaimed, "i have thought of something! let us carry the body on the roof of the house and lower it down the chimney of our neighbour the mussulman." now this mussulman was employed by the sultan, and furnished his table with oil and butter. part of his house was occupied by a great storeroom, where rats and mice held high revel. the doctor jumped at his wife's plan, and they took up the hunchback, and passing cords under his armpits they let him down into the purveyor's bed-room so gently that he really seemed to be leaning against the wall. when they felt he was touching the ground they drew up the cords and left him. scarcely had they got back to their own house when the purveyor entered his room. he had spent the evening at a wedding feast, and had a lantern in his hand. in the dim light it cast he was astonished to see a man standing in his chimney, but being naturally courageous he seized a stick and made straight for the supposed thief. "ah!" he cried, "so it is you, and not the rats and mice, who steal my butter. i'll take care that you don't want to come back!" so saying he struck him several hard blows. the corpse fell on the floor, but the man only redoubled his blows, till at length it occurred to him it was odd that the thief should lie so still and make no resistance. then, finding he was quite dead, a cold fear took possession of him. "wretch that i am," said he, "i have murdered a man. ah, my revenge has gone too far. without the help of allah i am undone! cursed be the goods which have led me to my ruin." and already he felt the rope round his neck. but when he had got over the first shock he began to think of some way out of the difficulty, and seizing the hunchback in his arms he carried him out into the street, and leaning him against the wall of a shop he stole back to his own house, without once looking behind him. a few minutes before the sun rose, a rich christian merchant, who supplied the palace with all sorts of necessaries, left his house, after a night of feasting, to go to the bath. though he was very drunk, he was yet sober enough to know that the dawn was at hand, and that all good mussulmen would shortly be going to prayer. so he hastened his steps lest he should meet some one on his way to the mosque, who, seeing his condition, would send him to prison as a drunkard. in his haste he jostled against the hunchback, who fell heavily upon him, and the merchant, thinking he was being attacked by a thief, knocked him down with one blow of his fist. he then called loudly for help, beating the fallen man all the while. the chief policeman of the quarter came running up, and found a christian ill-treating a mussulman. "what are you doing?" he asked indignantly. "he tried to rob me," replied the merchant, "and very nearly choked me." "well, you have had your revenge," said the man, catching hold of his arm. "come, be off with you!" as he spoke he held out his hand to the hunchback to help him up, but the hunchback never moved. "oho!" he went on, looking closer, "so this is the way a christian has the impudence to treat a mussulman!" and seizing the merchant in a firm grasp he took him to the inspector of police, who threw him into prison till the judge should be out of bed and ready to attend to his case. all this brought the merchant to his senses, but the more he thought of it the less he could understand how the hunchback could have died merely from the blows he had received. the merchant was still pondering on this subject when he was summoned before the chief of police and questioned about his crime, which he could not deny. as the hunchback was one of the sultan's private jesters, the chief of police resolved to defer sentence of death until he had consulted his master. he went to the palace to demand an audience, and told his story to the sultan, who only answered, "there is no pardon for a christian who kills a mussulman. do your duty." so the chief of police ordered a gallows to be erected, and sent criers to proclaim in every street in the city that a christian was to be hanged that day for having killed a mussulman. when all was ready the merchant was brought from prison and led to the foot of the gallows. the executioner knotted the cord firmly round the unfortunate man's neck and was just about to swing him into the air, when the sultan's purveyor dashed through the crowd, and cried, panting, to the hangman, "stop, stop, don't be in such a hurry. it was not he who did the murder, it was i." the chief of police, who was present to see that everything was in order, put several questions to the purveyor, who told him the whole story of the death of the hunchback, and how he had carried the body to the place where it had been found by the christian merchant. "you are going," he said to the chief of police, "to kill an innocent man, for it is impossible that he should have murdered a creature who was dead already. it is bad enough for me to have slain a mussulman without having it on my conscience that a christian who is guiltless should suffer through my fault." now the purveyor's speech had been made in a loud voice, and was heard by all the crowd, and even if he had wished it, the chief of police could not have escaped setting the merchant free. "loose the cords from the christian's neck," he commanded, turning to the executioner, "and hang this man in his place, seeing that by his own confession he is the murderer." the hangman did as he was bid, and was tying the cord firmly, when he was stopped by the voice of the jewish doctor beseeching him to pause, for he had something very important to say. when he had fought his way through the crowd and reached the chief of police, "worshipful sir," he began, "this mussulman whom you desire to hang is unworthy of death; i alone am guilty. last night a man and a woman who were strangers to me knocked at my door, bringing with them a patient for me to cure. the servant opened it, but having no light was hardly able to make out their faces, though she readily agreed to wake me and to hand me the fee for my services. while she was telling me her story they seem to have carried the sick man to the top of the staircase and then left him there. i jumped up in a hurry without waiting for a lantern, and in the darkness i fell against something, which tumbled headlong down the stairs and never stopped till it reached the bottom. when i examined the body i found it was quite dead, and the corpse was that of a hunchback mussulman. terrified at what we had done, my wife and i took the body on the roof and let it down the chimney of our neighbour the purveyor, whom you were just about to hang. the purveyor, finding him in his room, naturally thought he was a thief, and struck him such a blow that the man fell down and lay motionless on the floor. stooping to examine him, and finding him stone dead, the purveyor supposed that the man had died from the blow he had received; but of course this was a mistake, as you will see from my account, and i only am the murderer; and although i am innocent of any wish to commit a crime, i must suffer for it all the same, or else have the blood of two musselmans on my conscience. therefore send away this man, i pray you, and let me take his place, as it is i who am guilty." on hearing the declaration of the jewish doctor, the chief of police commanded that he should be led to the gallows, and the sultan's purveyor go free. the cord was placed round the jew's neck, and his feet had already ceased to touch the ground when the voice of the tailor was heard beseeching the executioner to pause one moment and to listen to what he had to say. "oh, my lord," he cried, turning to the chief of police, "how nearly have you caused the death of three innocent people! but if you will only have the patience to listen to my tale, you shall know who is the real culprit. if some one has to suffer, it must be me! yesterday, at dusk, i was working in my shop with a light heart when the little hunchback, who was more than half drunk, came and sat in the doorway. he sang me several songs, and then i invited him to finish the evening at my house. he accepted my invitation, and we went away together. at supper i helped him to a slice of fish, but in eating it a bone stuck in his throat, and in spite of all we could do he died in a few minutes. we felt deeply sorry for his death, but fearing lest we should be held responsible, we carried the corpse to the house of the jewish doctor. i knocked, and desired the servant to beg her master to come down as fast as possible and see a sick man whom we had brought for him to cure; and in order to hasten his movements i placed a piece of money in her hand as the doctor's fee. directly she had disappeared i dragged the body to the top of the stairs, and then hurried away with my wife back to our house. in descending the stairs the doctor accidentally knocked over the corpse, and finding him dead believed that he himself was the murderer. but now you know the truth set him free, and let me die in his stead." the chief of police and the crowd of spectators were lost in astonishment at the strange events to which the death of the hunchback had given rise. "loosen the jewish doctor," said he to the hangman, "and string up the tailor instead, since he has made confession of his crime. really, one cannot deny that this is a very singular story, and it deserves to be written in letters of gold." the executioner speedily untied the knots which confined the doctor, and was passing the cord round the neck of the tailor, when the sultan of kashgar, who had missed his jester, happened to make inquiry of his officers as to what had become of him. "sire," replied they, "the hunchback having drunk more than was good for him, escaped from the palace and was seen wandering about the town, where this morning he was found dead. a man was arrested for having caused his death, and held in custody till a gallows was erected. at the moment that he was about to suffer punishment, first one man arrived, and then another, each accusing themselves of the murder, and this went on for a long time, and at the present instant the chief of police is engaged in questioning a man who declares that he alone is the true assassin." the sultan of kashgar no sooner heard these words than he ordered an usher to go to the chief of police and to bring all the persons concerned in the hunchback's death, together with the corpse, that he wished to see once again. the usher hastened on his errand, but was only just in time, for the tailor was positively swinging in the air, when his voice fell upon the silence of the crowd, commanding the hangman to cut down the body. the hangman, recognising the usher as one of the king's servants, cut down the tailor, and the usher, seeing the man was safe, sought the chief of police and gave him the sultan's message. accordingly, the chief of police at once set out for the palace, taking with him the tailor, the doctor, the purveyor, and the merchant, who bore the dead hunchback on their shoulders. when the procession reached the palace the chief of police prostrated himself at the feet of the sultan, and related all that he knew of the matter. the sultan was so much struck by the circumstances that he ordered his private historian to write down an exact account of what had passed, so that in the years to come the miraculous escape of the four men who had thought themselves murderers might never be forgotten. the sultan asked everybody concerned in the hunchback's affair to tell him their stories. among others was a prating barber, whose tale of one of his brothers follows. the story of the barber's fifth brother as long as our father lived alnaschar was very idle. instead of working for his bread he was not ashamed to ask for it every evening, and to support himself next day on what he had received the night before. when our father died, worn out by age, he only left seven hundred silver drachmas to be divided amongst us, which made one hundred for each son. alnaschar, who had never possessed so much money in his life, was quite puzzled to know what to do with it. after reflecting upon the matter for some time he decided to lay it out on glasses, bottles, and things of that sort, which he would buy from a wholesale merchant. having bought his stock he next proceeded to look out for a small shop in a good position, where he sat down at the open door, his wares being piled up in an uncovered basket in front of him, waiting for a customer among the passers-by. in this attitude he remained seated, his eyes fixed on the basket, but his thoughts far away. unknown to himself he began to talk out loud, and a tailor, whose shop was next door to his, heard quite plainly what he was saying. "this basket," said alnaschar to himself, "has cost me a hundred drachmas--all that i possess in the world. now in selling the contents piece by piece i shall turn two hundred, and these hundreds i shall again lay out in glass, which will produce four hundred. by this means i shall in course of time make four thousand drachmas, which will easily double themselves. when i have got ten thousand i will give up the glass trade and become a jeweller, and devote all my time to trading in pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones. at last, having all the wealth that heart can desire, i will buy a beautiful country house, with horses and slaves, and then i will lead a merry life and entertain my friends. at my feasts i will send for musicians and dancers from the neighbouring town to amuse my guests. in spite of my riches i shall not, however, give up trade till i have amassed a capital of a hundred thousand drachmas, when, having become a man of much consideration, i shall request the hand of the grand-vizir's daughter, taking care to inform the worthy father that i have heard favourable reports of her beauty and wit, and that i will pay down on our wedding day thousand gold pieces. should the vizir refuse my proposal, which after all is hardly to be expected, i will seize him by the beard and drag him to my house." when i shall have married his daughter i will give her ten of the best eunuchs that can be found for her service. then i shall put on my most gorgeous robes, and mounted on a horse with a saddle of fine gold, and its trappings blazing with diamonds, followed by a train of slaves, i shall present myself at the house of the grand-vizir, the people casting down their eyes and bowing low as i pass along. at the foot of the grand-vizir's staircase i shall dismount, and while my servants stand in a row to right and left i shall ascend the stairs, at the head of which the grand-vizir will be waiting to receive me. he will then embrace me as his son-in-law, and giving me his seat will place himself below me. this being done (as i have every reason to expect), two of my servants will enter, each bearing a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold. one of these i shall present to him saying, "here are the thousand gold pieces that i offered for your daughter's hand, and here," i shall continue, holding out the second purse, "are another thousand to show you that i am a man who is better than his word." after hearing of such generosity the world will talk of nothing else. i shall return home with the same pomp as i set out, and my wife will send an officer to compliment me on my visit to her father, and i shall confer on the officer the honour of a rich dress and a handsome gift. should she send one to me i shall refuse it and dismiss the bearer. i shall never allow my wife to leave her rooms on any pretext whatever without my permission, and my visits to her will be marked by all the ceremony calculated to inspire respect. no establishment will be better ordered than mine, and i shall take care always to be dressed in a manner suitable to my position. in the evening, when we retire to our apartments, i shall sit in the place of honour, where i shall assume a grand demeanour and speak little, gazing straight before me, and when my wife, lovely as the full moon, stands humbly in front of my chair i shall pretend not to see her. then her women will say to me, "respected lord and master, your wife and slave is before you waiting to be noticed. she is mortified that you never deign to look her way; she is tired of standing so long. beg her, we pray you, to be seated." of course i shall give no signs of even hearing this speech, which will vex them mightily. they will throw themselves at my feet with lamentations, and at length i will raise my head and throw a careless glance at her, then i shall go back to my former attitude. the women will think that i am displeased at my wife's dress and will lead her away to put on a finer one, and i on my side shall replace the one i am wearing with another yet more splendid. they will then return to the charge, but this time it will take much longer before they persuade me even to look at my wife. it is as well to begin on my wedding-day as i mean to go on for the rest of our lives. the next day she will complain to her mother of the way she has been treated, which will fill my heart with joy. her mother will come to seek me, and, kissing my hands with respect, will say, "my lord" (for she could not dare to risk my anger by using the familiar title of "son-in-law"), "my lord, do not, i implore you, refuse to look upon my daughter or to approach her. she only lives to please you, and loves you with all her soul." but i shall pay no more heed to my mother-in-law's words than i did to those of the women. again she will beseech me to listen to her entreaties, throwing herself this time at my feet, but all to no purpose. then, putting a glass of wine into my wife's hand, she will say to her, "there, present that to him yourself, he cannot have the cruelty to reject anything offered by so beautiful a hand," and my wife will take it and offer it to me tremblingly with tears in her eyes, but i shall look in the other direction. this will cause her to weep still more, and she will hold out the glass crying, "adorable husband, never shall i cease my prayers till you have done me the favour to drink." sick of her importunities, these words will goad me to fury. i shall dart an angry look at her and give her a sharp blow on the cheek, at the same time giving her a kick so violent that she will stagger across the room and fall on to the sofa. "my brother," pursued the barber, "was so much absorbed in his dreams that he actually did give a kick with his foot, which unluckily hit the basket of glass. it fell into the street and was instantly broken into a thousand pieces." his neighbour the tailor, who had been listening to his visions, broke into a loud fit of laughter as he saw this sight. "wretched man!" he cried, "you ought to die of shame at behaving so to a young wife who has done nothing to you. you must be a brute for her tears and prayers not to touch your heart. if i were the grand-vizir i would order you a hundred blows from a bullock whip, and would have you led round the town accompanied by a herald who should proclaim your crimes." the accident, so fatal to all his profits, had restored my brother to his senses, and seeing that the mischief had been caused by his own insufferable pride, he rent his clothes and tore his hair, and lamented himself so loudly that the passers-by stopped to listen. it was a friday, so these were more numerous than usual. some pitied alnaschar, others only laughed at him, but the vanity which had gone to his head had disappeared with his basket of glass, and he was loudly bewailing his folly when a lady, evidently a person of consideration, rode by on a mule. she stopped and inquired what was the matter, and why the man wept. they told her that he was a poor man who had laid out all his money on this basket of glass, which was now broken. on hearing the cause of these loud wails the lady turned to her attendant and said to him, "give him whatever you have got with you." the man obeyed, and placed in my brother's hands a purse containing five hundred pieces of gold. alnaschar almost died of joy on receiving it. he blessed the lady a thousand times, and, shutting up his shop where he had no longer anything to do, he returned home. he was still absorbed in contemplating his good fortune, when a knock came to his door, and on opening it he found an old woman standing outside. "my son," she said, "i have a favour to ask of you. it is the hour of prayer and i have not yet washed myself. let me, i beg you, enter your house, and give me water." my brother, although the old woman was a stranger to him, did not hesitate to do as she wished. he gave her a vessel of water and then went back to his place and his thoughts, and with his mind busy over his last adventure, he put his gold into a long and narrow purse, which he could easily carry in his belt. during this time the old woman was busy over her prayers, and when she had finished she came and prostrated herself twice before my brother, and then rising called down endless blessings on his head. observing her shabby clothes, my brother thought that her gratitude was in reality a hint that he should give her some money to buy some new ones, so he held out two pieces of gold. the old woman started back in surprise as if she had received an insult. "good heavens!" she exclaimed, "what is the meaning of this? is it possible that you take me, my lord, for one of those miserable creatures who force their way into houses to beg for alms? take back your money. i am thankful to say i do not need it, for i belong to a beautiful lady who is very rich and gives me everything i want." my brother was not clever enough to detect that the old woman had merely refused the two pieces of money he had offered her in order to get more, but he inquired if she could procure him the pleasure of seeing this lady. "willingly," she replied; "and she will be charmed to marry you, and to make you the master of all her wealth. so pick up your money and follow me." delighted at the thought that he had found so easily both a fortune and a beautiful wife, my brother asked no more questions, but concealing his purse, with the money the lady had given him, in the folds of his dress, he set out joyfully with his guide. they walked for some distance till the old woman stopped at a large house, where she knocked. the door was opened by a young greek slave, and the old woman led my brother across a well-paved court into a well-furnished hall. here she left him to inform her mistress of his presence, and as the day was hot he flung himself on a pile of cushions and took off his heavy turban. in a few minutes there entered a lady, and my brother perceived at the first glance that she was even more beautiful and more richly dressed than he had expected. he rose from his seat, but the lady signed to him to sit down again and placed herself beside him. after the usual compliments had passed between them she said, "we are not comfortable here, let us go into another room," and passing into a smaller chamber, apparently communicating with no other, she continued to talk to him for some time. then rising hastily she left him, saying, "stay where you are, i will come back in a moment." he waited as he was told, but instead of the lady there entered a huge black slave with a sword in his hand. approaching my brother with an angry countenance he exclaimed, "what business have you here?" his voice and manner were so terrific that alnaschar had not strength to reply, and allowed his gold to be taken from him, and even sabre cuts to be inflicted on him without making any resistance. as soon as he was let go, he sank on the ground powerless to move, though he still had possession of his senses. thinking he was dead, the black ordered the greek slave to bring him some salt, and between them they rubbed it into his wounds, thus giving him acute agony, though he had the presence of mind to give no sign of life. they then left him, and their place was taken by the old woman, who dragged him to a trapdoor and threw him down into a vault filled with the bodies of murdered men. at first the violence of his fall caused him to lose consciousness, but luckily the salt which had been rubbed into his wounds had by its smarting preserved his life, and little by little he regained his strength. at the end of two days he lifted the trapdoor during the night and hid himself in the courtyard till daybreak, when he saw the old woman leave the house in search of more prey. luckily she did not observe him, and when she was out of sight he stole from this nest of assassins and took refuge in my house. i dressed his wounds and tended him carefully, and when a month had passed he was as well as ever. his one thought was how to be revenged on that wicked old hag, and for this purpose he had a purse made large enough to contain five hundred gold pieces, but filled it instead with bits of glass. this he tied round him with his sash, and, disguising himself as an old woman, he took a sabre, which he hid under his dress. one morning as he was hobbling through the streets he met his old enemy prowling to see if she could find anyone to decoy. he went up to her and, imitating the voice of a woman, he said, "do you happen to have a pair of scales you could lend me? i have just come from persia and have brought with me five hundred gold pieces, and i am anxious to see if they are the proper weight." "good woman," replied the old hag, "you could not have asked anyone better. my son is a money-changer, and if you will follow me he will weigh them for you himself. only we must be quick or he will have gone to his shop." so saying she led the way to the same house as before, and the door was opened by the same greek slave. again my brother was left in the hall, and the pretended son appeared under the form of the black slave. "miserable crone," he said to my brother, "get up and come with me," and turned to lead the way to the place of murder. alnaschar rose too, and drawing the sabre from under his dress dealt the black such a blow on his neck that his head was severed from his body. my brother picked up the head with one hand, and seizing the body with the other dragged it to the vault, when he threw it in and sent the head after it. the greek slave, supposing that all had passed as usual, shortly arrived with the basin of salt, but when she beheld alnaschar with the sabre in his hand she let the basin fall and turned to fly. my brother, however, was too quick for her, and in another instant her head was rolling from her shoulders. the noise brought the old woman running to see what was the matter, and he seized her before she had time to escape. "wretch!" he cried, "do you know me?" "who are you, my lord?" she replied trembling all over. "i have never seen you before." "i am he whose house you entered to offer your hypocritical prayers. don't you remember now?" she flung herself on her knees to implore mercy, but he cut her in four pieces. there remained only the lady, who was quite ignorant of all that was taking place around her. he sought her through the house, and when at last he found her, she nearly fainted with terror at the sight of him. she begged hard for life, which he was generous enough to give her, but he bade her to tell him how she had got into partnership with the abominable creatures he had just put to death. "i was once," replied she, "the wife of an honest merchant, and that old woman, whose wickedness i did not know, used occasionally to visit me. 'madam,' she said to me one day, 'we have a grand wedding at our house to-day. if you would do us the honour to be present, i am sure you would enjoy yourself.' i allowed myself to be persuaded, put on my richest dress, and took a purse with a hundred pieces of gold. once inside the doors i was kept by force by that dreadful black, and it is now three years that i have been here, to my great grief." "that horrible black must have amassed great wealth," remarked my brother. "such wealth," returned she, "that if you succeed in carrying it all away it will make you rich for ever. come and let us see how much there is." she led alnaschar into a chamber filled with coffers packed with gold, which he gazed at with an admiration he was powerless to conceal. "go," she said, "and bring men to carry them away." my brother did not wait to be told twice, and hurried out into the streets, where he soon collected ten men. they all came back to the house, but what was his surprise to find the door open, and the room with the chests of gold quite empty. the lady had been cleverer than himself, and had made the best use of her time. however, he tried to console himself by removing all the beautiful furniture, which more than made up for the five hundred gold pieces he had lost. unluckily, on leaving the house, he forgot to lock the door, and the neighbours, finding the place empty, informed the police, who next morning arrested alnaschar as a thief. my brother tried to bribe them to let him off, but far from listening to him they tied his hands, and forced him to walk between them to the presence of the judge. when they had explained to the official the cause of complaint, he asked alnaschar where he had obtained all the furniture that he had taken to his house the day before. "sir," replied alnaschar, "i am ready to tell you the whole story, but give, i pray you, your word, that i shall run no risk of punishment." "that i promise," said the judge. so my brother began at the beginning and related all his adventures, and how he had avenged himself on those who had betrayed him. as to the furniture, he entreated the judge at least to allow him to keep part to make up for the five hundred pieces of gold which had been stolen from him. the judge, however, would say nothing about this, and lost no time in sending men to fetch away all that alnaschar had taken from the house. when everything had been moved and placed under his roof he ordered my brother to leave the town and never more to enter it on peril of his life, fearing that if he returned he might seek justice from the caliph. alnaschar obeyed, and was on his way to a neighbouring city when he fell in with a band of robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and left him naked by the roadside. hearing of his plight, i hurried after him to console him for his misfortunes, and to dress him in my best robe. i then brought him back disguised, under cover of night, to my house, where i have since given him all the care i bestow on my other brothers. the story of the barber's sixth brother there now remains for me to relate to you the story of my sixth brother, whose name was schacabac. like the rest of us, he inherited a hundred silver drachmas from our father, which he thought was a large fortune, but through ill-luck, he soon lost it all, and was driven to beg. as he had a smooth tongue and good manners, he really did very well in his new profession, and he devoted himself specially to making friends with the servants in big houses, so as to gain access to their masters. one day he was passing a splendid mansion, with a crowd of servants lounging in the courtyard. he thought that from the appearance of the house it might yield him a rich harvest, so he entered and inquired to whom it belonged. "my good man, where do you come from?" replied the servant. "can't you see for yourself that it can belong to nobody but a barmecide?" for the barmecides were famed for their liberality and generosity. my brother, hearing this, asked the porters, of whom there were several, if they would give him alms. they did not refuse, but told him politely to go in, and speak to the master himself. my brother thanked them for their courtesy and entered the building, which was so large that it took him some time to reach the apartments of the barmecide. at last, in a room richly decorated with paintings, he saw an old man with a long white beard, sitting on a sofa, who received him with such kindness that my brother was emboldened to make his petition. "my lord," he said, "you behold in me a poor man who only lives by the help of persons as rich and as generous as you." before he could proceed further, he was stopped by the astonishment shown by the barmecide. "is it possible," he cried, "that while i am in bagdad, a man like you should be starving? that is a state of things that must at once be put an end to! never shall it be said that i have abandoned you, and i am sure that you, on your part, will never abandon me." "my lord," answered my brother, "i swear that i have not broken my fast this whole day." "what, you are dying of hunger?" exclaimed the barmecide. "here, slave; bring water, that we may wash our hands before meat!" no slave appeared, but my brother remarked that the barmecide did not fail to rub his hands as if the water had been poured over them. then he said to my brother, "why don't you wash your hands too?" and schacabac, supposing that it was a joke on the part of the barmecide (though he could see none himself), drew near, and imitated his motion. when the barmecide had done rubbing his hands, he raised his voice, and cried, "set food before us at once, we are very hungry." no food was brought, but the barmecide pretended to help himself from a dish, and carry a morsel to his mouth, saying as he did so, "eat, my friend, eat, i entreat. help yourself as freely as if you were at home! for a starving man, you seem to have a very small appetite." "excuse me, my lord," replied schacabac, imitating his gestures as before, "i really am not losing time, and i do full justice to the repast." "how do you like this bread?" asked the barmecide. "i find it particularly good myself." "oh, my lord," answered my brother, who beheld neither meat nor bread, "never have i tasted anything so delicious." "eat as much as you want," said the barmecide. "i bought the woman who makes it for five hundred pieces of gold, so that i might never be without it." after ordering a variety of dishes (which never came) to be placed on the table, and discussing the merits of each one, the barmecide declared that having dined so well, they would now proceed to take their wine. to this my brother at first objected, declaring that it was forbidden; but on the barmecide insisting that it was out of the question that he should drink by himself, he consented to take a little. the barmecide, however, pretended to fill their glasses so often, that my brother feigned that the wine had gone into his head, and struck the barmecide such a blow on the head, that he fell to the ground. indeed, he raised his hand to strike him a second time, when the barmecide cried out that he was mad, upon which my brother controlled himself, and apologised and protested that it was all the fault of the wine he had drunk. at this the barmecide, instead of being angry, began to laugh, and embraced him heartily. "i have long been seeking," he exclaimed, "a man of your description, and henceforth my house shall be yours. you have had the good grace to fall in with my humour, and to pretend to eat and to drink when nothing was there. now you shall be rewarded by a really good supper." then he clapped his hands, and all the dishes were brought that they had tasted in imagination before and during the repast, slaves sang and played on various instruments. all the while schacabac was treated by the barmecide as a familiar friend, and dressed in a garment out of his own wardrobe. twenty years passed by, and my brother was still living with the barmecide, looking after his house, and managing his affairs. at the end of that time his generous benefactor died without heirs, so all his possessions went to the prince. they even despoiled my brother of those that rightly belonged to him, and he, now as poor as he had ever been in his life, decided to cast in his lot with a caravan of pilgrims who were on their way to mecca. unluckily, the caravan was attacked and pillaged by the bedouins, and the pilgrims were taken prisoners. my brother became the slave of a man who beat him daily, hoping to drive him to offer a ransom, although, as schacabac pointed out, it was quite useless trouble, as his relations were as poor as himself. at length the bedouin grew tired of tormenting, and sent him on a camel to the top of a high barren mountain, where he left him to take his chance. a passing caravan, on its way to bagdad, told me where he was to be found, and i hurried to his rescue, and brought him in a deplorable condition back to the town. "this,"--continued the barber,--"is the tale i related to the caliph, who, when i had finished, burst into fits of laughter. "well were you called `the silent,'" said he; "no name was ever better deserved. but for reasons of my own, which it is not necessary to mention, i desire you to leave the town, and never to come back." "i had of course no choice but to obey, and travelled about for several years until i heard of the death of the caliph, when i hastily returned to bagdad, only to find that all my brothers were dead. it was at this time that i rendered to the young cripple the important service of which you have heard, and for which, as you know, he showed such profound ingratitude, that he preferred rather to leave bagdad than to run the risk of seeing me. i sought him long from place to place, but it was only to-day, when i expected it least, that i came across him, as much irritated with me as ever"-- so saying the tailor went on to relate the story of the lame man and the barber, which has already been told. "when the barber," he continued, "had finished his tale, we came to the conclusion that the young man had been right, when he had accused him of being a great chatter-box. however, we wished to keep him with us, and share our feast, and we remained at table till the hour of afternoon prayer. then the company broke up, and i went back to work in my shop. "it was during this interval that the little hunchback, half drunk already, presented himself before me, singing and playing on his drum. i took him home, to amuse my wife, and she invited him to supper. while eating some fish, a bone got into his throat, and in spite of all we could do, he died shortly. it was all so sudden that we lost our heads, and in order to divert suspicion from ourselves, we carried the body to the house of a jewish physician. he placed it in the chamber of the purveyor, and the purveyor propped it up in the street, where it was thought to have been killed by the merchant. "this, sire, is the story which i was obliged to tell to satisfy your highness. it is now for you to say if we deserve mercy or punishment; life or death?" the sultan of kashgar listened with an air of pleasure which filled the tailor and his friends with hope. "i must confess," he exclaimed, "that i am much more interested in the stories of the barber and his brothers, and of the lame man, than in that of my own jester. but before i allow you all four to return to your own homes, and have the corpse of the hunchback properly buried, i should like to see this barber who has earned your pardon. and as he is in this town, let an usher go with you at once in search of him." the usher and the tailor soon returned, bringing with them an old man who must have been at least ninety years of age. "o silent one," said the sultan, "i am told that you know many strange stories. will you tell some of them to me?" "never mind my stories for the present," replied the barber, "but will your highness graciously be pleased to explain why this jew, this christian, and this mussulman, as well as this dead body, are all here?" "what business is that of yours?" asked the sultan with a smile; but seeing that the barber had some reasons for his question, he commanded that the tale of the hunchback should be told him. "it is certainly most surprising," cried he, when he had heard it all, "but i should like to examine the body." he then knelt down, and took the head on his knees, looking at it attentively. suddenly he burst into such loud laughter that he fell right backwards, and when he had recovered himself enough to speak, he turned to the sultan. "the man is no more dead than i am," he said; "watch me." as he spoke he drew a small case of medicines from his pocket and rubbed the neck of the hunchback with some ointment made of balsam. next he opened the dead man's mouth, and by the help of a pair of pincers drew the bone from his throat. at this the hunchback sneezed, stretched himself and opened his eyes. the sultan and all those who saw this operation did not know which to admire most, the constitution of the hunchback who had apparently been dead for a whole night and most of one day, or the skill of the barber, whom everyone now began to look upon as a great man. his highness desired that the history of the hunchback should be written down, and placed in the archives beside that of the barber, so that they might be associated in people's minds to the end of time. and he did not stop there; for in order to wipe out the memory of what they had undergone, he commanded that the tailor, the doctor, the purveyor and the merchant, should each be clothed in his presence with a robe from his own wardrobe before they returned home. as for the barber, he bestowed on him a large pension, and kept him near his own person. the adventures of prince camaralzaman and the princess badoura some twenty days' sail from the coast of persia lies the isle of the children of khaledan. the island is divided into several provinces, in each of which are large flourishing towns, and the whole forms an important kingdom. it was governed in former days by a king named schahzaman, who, with good right, considered himself one of the most peaceful, prosperous, and fortunate monarchs on the earth. in fact, he had but one grievance, which was that none of his four wives had given him an heir. this distressed him so greatly that one day he confided his grief to the grand-vizir, who, being a wise counsellor, said: "such matters are indeed beyond human aid. allah alone can grant your desire, and i should advise you, sire, to send large gifts to those holy men who spend their lives in prayer, and to beg for their intercessions. who knows whether their petitions may not be answered!" the king took his vizir's advice, and the result of so many prayers for an heir to the throne was that a son was born to him the following year. schahzaman sent noble gifts as thank offerings to all the mosques and religious houses, and great rejoicings were celebrated in honour of the birth of the little prince, who was so beautiful that he was named camaralzaman, or "moon of the century." prince camaralzaman was brought up with extreme care by an excellent governor and all the cleverest teachers, and he did such credit to them that when he was grown up, a more charming and accomplished young man was not to be found. whilst he was still a youth the king, his father, who loved him dearly, had some thoughts of abdicating in his favour. as usual he talked over his plans with his grand-vizir, who, though he did not approve the idea, would not state all his objections. "sire," he replied, "the prince is still very young for the cares of state. your majesty fears his growing idle and careless, and doubtless you are right. but how would it be if he were first to marry? this would attach him to his home, and your majesty might give him a share in your counsels, so that he might gradually learn how to wear a crown, which you can give up to him whenever you find him capable of wearing it." the vizir's advice once more struck the king as being good, and he sent for his son, who lost no time in obeying the summons, and standing respectfully with downcast eyes before the king asked for his commands. "i have sent for you," said the king, "to say that i wish you to marry. what do you think about it?" the prince was so much overcome by these words that he remained silent for some time. at length he said: "sire, i beg you to pardon me if i am unable to reply as you might wish. i certainly did not expect such a proposal as i am still so young, and i confess that the idea of marrying is very distasteful to me. possibly i may not always be in this mind, but i certainly feel that it will require some time to induce me to take the step which your majesty desires." this answer greatly distressed the king, who was sincerely grieved by his objection to marriage. however he would not have recourse to extreme measures, so he said: "i do not wish to force you; i will give you time to reflect, but remember that such a step is necessary, for a prince such as you who will some day be called to rule over a great kingdom." from this time prince camaralzaman was admitted to the royal council, and the king showed him every mark of favour. at the end of a year the king took his son aside, and said: "well, my son, have you changed your mind on the subject of marriage, or do you still refuse to obey my wish?" the prince was less surprised but no less firm than on the former occasion, and begged his father not to press the subject, adding that it was quite useless to urge him any longer. this answer much distressed the king, who again confided his trouble to his vizir. "i have followed your advice," he said; "but camaralzaman declines to marry, and is more obstinate than ever." "sire," replied the vizir, "much is gained by patience, and your majesty might regret any violence. why not wait another year and then inform the prince in the midst of the assembled council that the good of the state demands his marriage? he cannot possibly refuse again before so distinguished an assemblage, and in our immediate presence." the sultan ardently desired to see his son married at once, but he yielded to the vizir's arguments and decided to wait. he then visited the prince's mother, and after telling her of his disappointment and of the further respite he had given his son, he added: "i know that camaralzaman confides more in you than he does in me. pray speak very seriously to him on this subject, and make him realize that he will most seriously displease me if he remains obstinate, and that he will certainly regret the measures i shall be obliged to take to enforce my will." so the first time the sultana fatima saw her son she told him she had heard of his refusal to marry, adding how distressed she felt that he should have vexed his father so much. she asked what reasons he could have for his objections to obey. "madam," replied the prince, "i make no doubt that there are as many good, virtuous, sweet, and amiable women as there are others very much the reverse. would that all were like you! but what revolts me is the idea of marrying a woman without knowing anything at all about her. my father will ask the hand of the daughter of some neighbouring sovereign, who will give his consent to our union. be she fair or frightful, clever or stupid, good or bad, i must marry her, and am left no choice in the matter. how am i to know that she will not be proud, passionate, contemptuous, and recklessly extravagant, or that her disposition will in any way suit mine?" "but, my son," urged fatima, "you surely do not wish to be the last of a race which has reigned so long and so gloriously over this kingdom?" "madam," said the prince, "i have no wish to survive the king, my father, but should i do so i will try to reign in such a manner as may be considered worthy of my predecessors." these and similar conversations proved to the sultan how useless it was to argue with his son, and the year elapsed without bringing any change in the prince's ideas. at length a day came when the sultan summoned him before the council, and there informed him that not only his own wishes but the good of the empire demanded his marriage, and desired him to give his answer before the assembled ministers. at this camaralzaman grew so angry and spoke with so much heat that the king, naturally irritated at being opposed by his son in full council, ordered the prince to be arrested and locked up in an old tower, where he had nothing but a very little furniture, a few books, and a single slave to wait on him. camaralzaman, pleased to be free to enjoy his books, showed himself very indifferent to his sentence. when night came he washed himself, performed his devotions, and, having read some pages of the koran, lay down on a couch, without putting out the light near him, and was soon asleep. now there was a deep well in the tower in which prince camaralzaman was imprisoned, and this well was a favourite resort of the fairy maimoune, daughter of damriat, chief of a legion of genii. towards midnight maimoune floated lightly up from the well, intending, according to her usual habit, to roam about the upper world as curiosity or accident might prompt. the light in the prince's room surprised her, and without disturbing the slave, who slept across the threshold, she entered the room, and approaching the bed was still more astonished to find it occupied. the prince lay with his face half hidden by the coverlet. maimoune lifted it a little and beheld the most beautiful youth she had ever seen. "what a marvel of beauty he must be when his eyes are open!" she thought. "what can he have done to deserve to be treated like this?" she could not weary gazing at camaralzaman, but at length, having softly kissed his brow and each cheek, she replaced the coverlet and resumed her flight through the air. as she entered the middle region she heard the sound of great wings coming towards her, and shortly met one of the race of bad genii. this genie, whose name was danhasch, recognised maimoune with terror, for he knew the supremacy which her goodness gave her over him. he would gladly have avoided her altogether, but they were so near that he must either be prepared to fight or yield to her, so he at once addressed her in a conciliatory tone: "good maimoune, swear to me by allah to do me no harm, and on my side i will promise not to injure you." "accursed genie!" replied maimoune, "what harm can you do me? but i will grant your power and give the promise you ask. and now tell me what you have seen and done to-night." "fair lady," said danhasch, "you meet me at the right moment to hear something really interesting. i must tell you that i come from the furthest end of china, which is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the world. the present king has one only daughter, who is so perfectly lovely that neither you, nor i, nor any other creature could find adequate terms in which to describe her marvellous charms. you must therefore picture to yourself the most perfect features, joined to a brilliant and delicate complexion, and an enchanting expression, and even then imagination will fall short of the reality. "the king, her father, has carefully shielded this treasure from the vulgar gaze, and has taken every precaution to keep her from the sight of everyone except the happy mortal he may choose to be her husband. but in order to give her variety in her confinement he has built her seven palaces such as have never been seen before. the first palace is entirely composed of rock crystal, the second of bronze, the third of fine steel, the fourth of another and more precious species of bronze, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of solid gold. they are all most sumptuously furnished, whilst the gardens surrounding them are laid out with exquisite taste. in fact, neither trouble nor cost has been spared to make this retreat agreeable to the princess. the report of her wonderful beauty has spread far and wide, and many powerful kings have sent embassies to ask her hand in marriage. the king has always received these embassies graciously, but says that he will never oblige the princess to marry against her will, and as she regularly declines each fresh proposal, the envoys have had to leave as disappointed in the result of their missions as they were gratified by their magnificent receptions." "sire," said the princess to her father, "you wish me to marry, and i know you desire to please me, for which i am very grateful. but, indeed, i have no inclination to change my state, for where could i find so happy a life amidst so many beautiful and delightful surroundings? i feel that i could never be as happy with any husband as i am here, and i beg you not to press one on me." "at last an embassy came from a king so rich and powerful that the king of china felt constrained to urge this suit on his daughter. he told her how important such an alliance would be, and pressed her to consent. in fact, he pressed her so persistingly that the princess at length lost her temper and quite forgot the respect due to her father. "sire," cried she angrily, "do not speak further of this or any other marriage or i will plunge this dagger in my breast and so escape from all these importunities." "the king of china was extremely indignant with his daughter and replied: "you have lost your senses and you must be treated accordingly." so he had her shut in one set of rooms in one of her palaces, and only allowed her ten old women, of whom her nurse was the head, to wait on her and keep her company. he next sent letters to all the kings who had sued for the princess's hand, begging they would think of her no longer, as she was quite insane, and he desired his various envoys to make it known that anyone who could cure her should have her to wife. "fair maimoune," continued danhasch, "this is the present state of affairs. i never pass a day without going to gaze on this incomparable beauty, and i am sure that if you would only accompany me you would think the sight well worth the trouble, and own that you never saw such loveliness before." the fairy only answered with a peal of laughter, and when at length she had control of her voice she cried, "oh, come, you are making game of me! i thought you had something really interesting to tell me instead of raving about some unknown damsel. what would you say if you could see the prince i have just been looking at and whose beauty is really transcendent? that is something worth talking about, you would certainly quite lose your head." "charming maimoune," asked danhasch, "may i inquire who and what is the prince of whom you speak?" "know," replied maimoune, "that he is in much the same case as your princess. the king, his father, wanted to force him to marry, and on the prince's refusal to obey he has been imprisoned in an old tower where i have just seen him." "i don't like to contradict a lady," said danhasch, "but you must really permit me to doubt any mortal being as beautiful as my princess." "hold your tongue," cried maimoune. "i repeat that is impossible." "well, i don't wish to seem obstinate," replied danhasch, "the best plan to test the truth of what i say will be for you to let me take you to see the princess for yourself." "there is no need for that," retorted maimoune; "we can satisfy ourselves in another way. bring your princess here and lay her down beside my prince. we can then compare them at leisure, and decide which is in the right." danhasch readily consented, and after having the tower where the prince was confined pointed out to him, and making a wager with maimoune as to the result of the comparison, he flew off to china to fetch the princess. in an incredibly short time danhasch returned, bearing the sleeping princess. maimoune led him to the prince's room, and the rival beauty was placed beside him. when the prince and princess lay thus side by side, an animated dispute as to their respective charms arose between the fairy and the genius. danhasch began by saying: "now you see that my princess is more beautiful than your prince. can you doubt any longer?" "doubt! of course i do!" exclaimed maimoune. "why, you must be blind not to see how much my prince excels your princess. i do not deny that your princess is very handsome, but only look and you must own that i am in the right." "there is no need for me to look longer," said danhasch, "my first impression will remain the same; but of course, charming maimoune, i am ready to yield to you if you insist on it." "by no means," replied maimoune. "i have no idea of being under any obligation to an accursed genius like you. i refer the matter to an umpire, and shall expect you to submit to his verdict." danhasch readily agreed, and on maimoune striking the floor with her foot it opened, and a hideous, hump-backed, lame, squinting genius, with six horns on his head, hands like claws, emerged. as soon as he beheld maimoune he threw himself at her feet and asked her commands. "rise, caschcasch," said she. "i summoned you to judge between me and danhasch. glance at that couch, and say without any partiality whether you think the youth or the maiden lying there the more beautiful." caschcasch looked at the prince and princess with every token of surprise and admiration. at length, having gazed long without being able to come to a decision, he said "madam, i must confess that i should deceive you were i to declare one to be handsomer than the other. there seems to me only one way in which to decide the matter, and that is to wake one after the other and judge which of them expresses the greater admiration for the other." this advice pleased maimoune and danhasch, and the fairy at once transformed herself into the shape of a gnat and settling on camaralzaman's throat stung him so sharply that he awoke. as he did so his eyes fell on the princess of china. surprised at finding a lady so near him, he raised himself on one arm to look at her. the youth and beauty of the princess at once awoke a feeling to which his heart had as yet been a stranger, and he could not restrain his delight. "what loveliness! what charms! oh, my heart, my soul!" he exclaimed, as he kissed her forehead, her eyes and mouth in a way which would certainly have roused her had not the genie's enchantments kept her asleep. "how, fair lady!" he cried, "you do not wake at the signs of camaralzaman's love? be you who you may, he is not unworthy of you." it then suddenly occurred to him, that perhaps this was the bride his father had destined for him, and that the king had probably had her placed in this room in order to see how far camaralzaman's aversion to marriage would withstand her charms. "at all events," he thought, "i will take this ring as a remembrance of her." so saying he drew off a fine ring which the princess wore on her finger, and replaced it by one of his own. after which he lay down again and was soon fast asleep. then danhasch, in his turn, took the form of a gnat and bit the princess on her lip. she started up, and was not a little amazed at seeing a young man beside her. from surprise she soon passed to admiration, and then to delight on perceiving how handsome and fascinating he was. "why," cried she, "was it you my father wished me to marry? how unlucky that i did not know sooner! i should not have made him so angry. but wake up! wake up! for i know i shall love you with all my heart." so saying she shook camaralzaman so violently that nothing but the spells of maimoune could have prevented his waking. "oh!" cried the princess. "why are you so drowsy?" so saying she took his hand and noticed her own ring on his finger, which made her wonder still more. but as he still remained in a profound slumber she pressed a kiss on his cheek and soon fell fast asleep too. then maimoune turning to the genie said: "well, are you satisfied that my prince surpasses your princess? another time pray believe me when i assert anything." then turning to caschcasch: "my thanks to you, and now do you and danhasch bear the princess back to her own home." the two genii hastened to obey, and maimoune returned to her well. on waking next morning the first thing prince camaralzaman did was to look round for the lovely lady he had seen at night, and the next to question the slave who waited on him about her. but the slave persisted so strongly that he knew nothing of any lady, and still less of how she got into the tower, that the prince lost all patience, and after giving him a good beating tied a rope round him and ducked him in the well till the unfortunate man cried out that he would tell everything. then the prince drew him up all dripping wet, but the slave begged leave to change his clothes first, and as soon as the prince consented hurried off just as he was to the palace. here he found the king talking to the grand-vizir of all the anxiety his son had caused him. the slave was admitted at once and cried: "alas, sire! i bring sad news to your majesty. there can be no doubt that the prince has completely lost his senses. he declares that he saw a lady sleeping on his couch last night, and the state you see me in proves how violent contradiction makes him." he then gave a minute account of all the prince had said and done. the king, much moved, begged the vizir to examine into this new misfortune, and the latter at once went to the tower, where he found the prince quietly reading a book. after the first exchange of greetings the vizir said: "i feel really very angry with your slave for alarming his majesty by the news he brought him." "what news?" asked the prince. "ah!" replied the vizir, "something absurd, i feel sure, seeing how i find you." "most likely," said the prince; "but now that you are here i am glad of the opportunity to ask you where is the lady who slept in this room last night?" the grand-vizir felt beside himself at this question. "prince!" he exclaimed, "how would it be possible for any man, much less a woman, to enter this room at night without walking over your slave on the threshold? pray consider the matter, and you will realise that you have been deeply impressed by some dream." but the prince angrily insisted on knowing who and where the lady was, and was not to be persuaded by all the vizir's protestations to the contrary that the plot had not been one of his making. at last, losing patience, he seized the vizir by the beard and loaded him with blows. "stop, prince," cried the unhappy vizir, "stay and hear what i have to say." the prince, whose arm was getting tired, paused. "i confess, prince," said the vizir, "that there is some foundation for what you say. but you know well that a minister has to carry out his master's orders. allow me to go and to take to the king any message you may choose to send." "very well," said the prince; "then go and tell him that i consent to marry the lady whom he sent or brought here last night. be quick and bring me back his answer." the vizir bowed to the ground and hastened to leave the room and tower. "well," asked the king as soon as he appeared, "and how did you find my son?" "alas, sire," was the reply, "the slave's report is only too true!" he then gave an exact account of his interview with camaralzaman and of the prince's fury when told that it was not possible for any lady to have entered his room, and of the treatment he himself had received. the king, much distressed, determined to clear up the matter himself, and, ordering the vizir to follow him, set out to visit his son. the prince received his father with profound respect, and the king, making him sit beside him, asked him several questions, to which camaralzaman replied with much good sense. at last the king said: "my son, pray tell me about the lady who, it is said, was in your room last night." "sire," replied the prince, "pray do not increase my distress in this matter, but rather make me happy by giving her to me in marriage. however much i may have objected to matrimony formerly, the sight of this lovely girl has overcome all my prejudices, and i will gratefully receive her from your hands." the king was almost speechless on hearing his son, but after a time assured him most solemnly that he knew nothing whatever about the lady in question, and had not connived at her appearance. he then desired the prince to relate the whole story to him. camaralzaman did so at great length, showed the ring, and implored his father to help to find the bride he so ardently desired. "after all you tell me," remarked the king, "i can no longer doubt your word; but how and whence the lady came, or why she should have stayed so short a time i cannot imagine. the whole affair is indeed mysterious. come, my dear son, let us wait together for happier days." so saying the king took camaralzaman by the hand and led him back to the palace, where the prince took to his bed and gave himself up to despair, and the king shutting himself up with his son entirely neglected the affairs of state. the prime minister, who was the only person admitted, felt it his duty at last to tell the king how much the court and all the people complained of his seclusion, and how bad it was for the nation. he urged the sultan to remove with the prince to a lovely little island close by, whence he could easily attend public audiences, and where the charming scenery and fine air would do the invalid so much good as to enable him to bear his father's occasional absence. the king approved the plan, and as soon as the castle on the island could be prepared for their reception he and the prince arrived there, schahzaman never leaving his son except for the prescribed public audiences twice a week. whilst all this was happening in the capital of schahzaman the two genii had carefully borne the princess of china back to her own palace and replaced her in bed. on waking next morning she first turned from one side to another and then, finding herself alone, called loudly for her women. "tell me," she cried, "where is the young man i love so dearly, and who slept near me last night?" "princess," exclaimed the nurse, "we cannot tell what you allude to without more explanation." "why," continued the princess, "the most charming and beautiful young man lay sleeping beside me last night. i did my utmost to wake him, but in vain." "your royal highness wishes to make game of us," said the nurse. "is it your pleasure to rise?" "i am quite in earnest," persisted the princess, "and i want to know where he is." "but, princess," expostulated the nurse, "we left you quite alone last night, and we have seen no one enter your room since then." at this the princess lost all patience, and taking the nurse by her hair she boxed her ears soundly, crying out: "you shall tell me, you old witch, or i'll kill you." the nurse had no little trouble in escaping, and hurried off to the queen, to whom she related the whole story with tears in her eyes. "you see, madam," she concluded, "that the princess must be out of her mind. if only you will come and see her, you will be able to judge for yourself." the queen hurried to her daughter's apartments, and after tenderly embracing her, asked her why she had treated her nurse so badly. "madam," said the princess, "i perceive that your majesty wishes to make game of me, but i can assure you that i will never marry anyone except the charming young man whom i saw last night. you must know where he is, so pray send for him." the queen was much surprised by these words, but when she declared that she knew nothing whatever of the matter the princess lost all respect, and answered that if she were not allowed to marry as she wished she should kill herself, and it was in vain that the queen tried to pacify her and bring her to reason. the king himself came to hear the rights of the matter, but the princess only persisted in her story, and as a proof showed the ring on her finger. the king hardly knew what to make of it all, but ended by thinking that his daughter was more crazy than ever, and without further argument he had her placed in still closer confinement, with only her nurse to wait on her and a powerful guard to keep the door. then he assembled his council, and having told them the sad state of things, added: "if any of you can succeed in curing the princess, i will give her to him in marriage, and he shall be my heir." an elderly emir present, fired with the desire to possess a young and lovely wife and to rule over a great kingdom, offered to try the magic arts with which he was acquainted. "you are welcome to try," said the king, "but i make one condition, which is, that should you fail you will lose your life." the emir accepted the condition, and the king led him to the princess, who, veiling her face, remarked, "i am surprised, sire, that you should bring an unknown man into my presence." "you need not be shocked," said the king; "this is one of my emirs who asks your hand in marriage." "sire," replied the princess, "this is not the one you gave me before and whose ring i wear. permit me to say that i can accept no other." the emir, who had expected to hear the princess talk nonsense, finding how calm and reasonable she was, assured the king that he could not venture to undertake a cure, but placed his head at his majesty's disposal, on which the justly irritated monarch promptly had it cut off. this was the first of many suitors for the princess whose inability to cure her cost them their lives. now it happened that after things had been going on in this way for some time the nurse's son marzavan returned from his travels. he had been in many countries and learnt many things, including astrology. needless to say that one of the first things his mother told him was the sad condition of the princess, his foster-sister. marzavan asked if she could not manage to let him see the princess without the king's knowledge. after some consideration his mother consented, and even persuaded the eunuch on guard to make no objection to marzavan's entering the royal apartment. the princess was delighted to see her foster-brother again, and after some conversation she confided to him all her history and the cause of her imprisonment. marzavan listened with downcast eyes and the utmost attention. when she had finished speaking he said, "if what you tell me, princess, is indeed the case, i do not despair of finding comfort for you. take patience yet a little longer. i will set out at once to explore other countries, and when you hear of my return be sure that he for whom you sigh is not far off." so saying, he took his leave and started next morning on his travels. marzavan journeyed from city to city and from one island and province to another, and wherever he went he heard people talk of the strange story of the princess badoura, as the princess of china was named. after four months he reached a large populous seaport town named torf, and here he heard no more of the princess badoura but a great deal of prince camaralzaman, who was reported ill, and whose story sounded very similar to that of the princess badoura. marzavan was rejoiced, and set out at once for prince camaralzaman's residence. the ship on which he embarked had a prosperous voyage till she got within sight of the capital of king schahzaman, but when just about to enter the harbour she suddenly struck on a rock, and foundered within sight of the palace where the prince was living with his father and the grand-vizir. marzavan, who swam well, threw himself into the sea and managed to land close to the palace, where he was kindly received, and after having a change of clothing given him was brought before the grand-vizir. the vizir was at once attracted by the young man's superior air and intelligent conversation, and perceiving that he had gained much experience in the course of his travels, he said, "ah, how i wish you had learnt some secret which might enable you to cure a malady which has plunged this court into affliction for some time past!" marzavan replied that if he knew what the illness was he might possibly be able to suggest a remedy, on which the vizir related to him the whole history of prince camaralzaman. on hearing this marzavan rejoiced inwardly, for he felt sure that he had at last discovered the object of the princess badoura's infatuation. however, he said nothing, but begged to be allowed to see the prince. on entering the royal apartment the first thing which struck him was the prince himself, who lay stretched out on his bed with his eyes closed. the king sat near him, but, without paying any regard to his presence, marzavan exclaimed, "heavens! what a striking likeness!" and, indeed, there was a good deal of resemblance between the features of camaralzaman and those of the princess of china. these words caused the prince to open his eyes with languid curiosity, and marzavan seized this moment to pay him his compliments, contriving at the same time to express the condition of the princess of china in terms unintelligible, indeed, to the sultan and his vizir, but which left the prince in no doubt that his visitor could give him some welcome information. the prince begged his father to allow him the favour of a private interview with marzavan, and the king was only too pleased to find his son taking an interest in anyone or anything. as soon as they were left alone marzavan told the prince the story of the princess badoura and her sufferings, adding, "i am convinced that you alone can cure her; but before starting on so long a journey you must be well and strong, so do your best to recover as quickly as may be." these words produced a great effect on the prince, who was so much cheered by the hopes held out that he declared he felt able to get up and be dressed. the king was overjoyed at the result of marzavan's interview, and ordered public rejoicings in honour of the prince's recovery. before long the prince was quite restored to his original state of health, and as soon as he felt himself really strong he took marzavan aside and said: "now is the time to perform your promise. i am so impatient to see my beloved princess once more that i am sure i shall fall ill again if we do not start soon. the one obstacle is my father's tender care of me, for, as you may have noticed, he cannot bear me out of his sight." "prince," replied marzavan, "i have already thought over the matter, and this is what seems to me the best plan. you have not been out of doors since my arrival. ask the king's permission to go with me for two or three days' hunting, and when he has given leave order two good horses to be held ready for each of us. leave all the rest to me." next day the prince seized a favourable opportunity for making his request, and the king gladly granted it on condition that only one night should be spent out for fear of too great fatigue after such a long illness. next morning prince camaralzaman and marzavan were off betimes, attended by two grooms leading the two extra horses. they hunted a little by the way, but took care to get as far from the towns as possible. at night-fall they reached an inn, where they supped and slept till midnight. then marzavan awoke and roused the prince without disturbing anyone else. he begged the prince to give him the coat he had been wearing and to put on another which they had brought with them. they mounted their second horses, and marzavan led one of the grooms' horses by the bridle. by daybreak our travellers found themselves where four cross roads met in the middle of the forest. here marzavan begged the prince to wait for him, and leading the groom's horse into a dense part of the wood he cut its throat, dipped the prince's coat in its blood, and having rejoined the prince threw the coat on the ground where the roads parted. in answer to camaralzaman's inquiries as to the reason for this, marzavan replied that the only chance they had of continuing their journey was to divert attention by creating the idea of the prince's death. "your father will doubtless be plunged in the deepest grief," he went on, "but his joy at your return will be all the greater." the prince and his companion now continued their journey by land and sea, and as they had brought plenty of money to defray their expenses they met with no needless delays. at length they reached the capital of china, where they spent three days in a suitable lodging to recover from their fatigues. during this time marzavan had an astrologer's dress prepared for the prince. they then went to the baths, after which the prince put on the astrologer's robe and was conducted within sight of the king's palace by marzavan, who left him there and went to consult his mother, the princess's nurse. meantime the prince, according to marzavan's instructions, advanced close to the palace gates and there proclaimed aloud: "i am an astrologer and i come to restore health to the princess badoura, daughter of the high and mighty king of china, on the conditions laid down by his majesty of marrying her should i succeed, or of losing my life if i fail." it was some little time since anyone had presented himself to run the terrible risk involved in attempting to cure the princess, and a crowd soon gathered round the prince. on perceiving his youth, good looks, and distinguished bearing, everyone felt pity for him. "what are you thinking of, sir," exclaimed some; "why expose yourself to certain death? are not the heads you see exposed on the town wall sufficient warning? for mercy's sake give up this mad idea and retire whilst you can." but the prince remained firm, and only repeated his cry with greater assurance, to the horror of the crowd. "he is resolved to die!" they cried; "may heaven have pity on him!" camaralzaman now called out for the third time, and at last the grand-vizir himself came out and fetched him in. the prime minister led the prince to the king, who was much struck by the noble air of this new adventurer, and felt such pity for the fate so evidently in store for him, that he tried to persuade the young man to renounce his project. but camaralzaman politely yet firmly persisted in his intentions, and at length the king desired the eunuch who had the guard of the princess's apartments to conduct the astrologer to her presence. the eunuch led the way through long passages, and camaralzaman followed rapidly, in haste to reach the object of his desires. at last they came to a large hall which was the ante-room to the princess's chamber, and here camaralzaman said to the eunuch: "now you shall choose. shall i cure the princess in her own presence, or shall i do it from here without seeing her?" the eunuch, who had expressed many contemptuous doubts as they came along of the newcomer's powers, was much surprised and said: "if you really can cure, it is immaterial when you do it. your fame will be equally great." "very well," replied the prince: "then, impatient though i am to see the princess, i will effect the cure where i stand, the better to convince you of my power." he accordingly drew out his writing case and wrote as follows--"adorable princess! the enamoured camaralzaman has never forgotten the moment when, contemplating your sleeping beauty, he gave you his heart. as he was at that time deprived of the happiness of conversing with you, he ventured to give you his ring as a token of his love, and to take yours in exchange, which he now encloses in this letter. should you deign to return it to him he will be the happiest of mortals, if not he will cheerfully resign himself to death, seeing he does so for love of you. he awaits your reply in your ante-room." having finished this note the prince carefully enclosed the ring in it without letting the eunuch see it, and gave him the letter, saying: "take this to your mistress, my friend, and if on reading it and seeing its contents she is not instantly cured, you may call me an impudent impostor." the eunuch at once passed into the princess's room, and handing her the letter said: "madam, a new astrologer has arrived, who declares that you will be cured as soon as you have read this letter and seen what it contains." the princess took the note and opened it with languid indifference. but no sooner did she see her ring than, barely glancing at the writing, she rose hastily and with one bound reached the doorway and pushed back the hangings. here she and the prince recognised each other, and in a moment they were locked in each other's arms, where they tenderly embraced, wondering how they came to meet at last after so long a separation. the nurse, who had hastened after her charge, drew them back to the inner room, where the princess restored her ring to camaralzaman. "take it back," she said, "i could not keep it without returning yours to you, and i am resolved to wear that as long as i live." meantime the eunuch had hastened back to the king. "sire," he cried, "all the former doctors and astrologers were mere quacks. this man has cured the princess without even seeing her." he then told all to the king, who, overjoyed, hastened to his daughter's apartments, where, after embracing her, he placed her hand in that of the prince, saying: "happy stranger, i keep my promise, and give you my daughter to wife, be you who you may. but, if i am not much mistaken, your condition is above what you appear to be." the prince thanked the king in the warmest and most respectful terms, and added: "as regards my person, your majesty has rightly guessed that i am not an astrologer. it is but a disguise which i assumed in order to merit your illustrious alliance. i am myself a prince, my name is camaralzaman, and my father is schahzaman, king of the isles of the children of khaledan." he then told his whole history, including the extraordinary manner of his first seeing and loving the princess badoura. when he had finished the king exclaimed: "so remarkable a story must not be lost to posterity. it shall be inscribed in the archives of my kingdom and published everywhere abroad." the wedding took place next day amidst great pomp and rejoicings. marzavan was not forgotten, but was given a lucrative post at court, with a promise of further advancement. the prince and princess were now entirely happy, and months slipped by unconsciously in the enjoyment of each other's society. one night, however, prince camaralzaman dreamt that he saw his father lying at the point of death, and saying: "alas! my son whom i loved so tenderly, has deserted me and is now causing my death." the prince woke with such a groan as to startle the princess, who asked what was the matter. "ah!" cried the prince, "at this very moment my father is perhaps no more!" and he told his dream. the princess said but little at the time, but next morning she went to the king, and kissing his hand said: "i have a favour to ask of your majesty, and i beg you to believe that it is in no way prompted by my husband. it is that you will allow us both to visit my father-in-law king schahzaman." sorry though the king felt at the idea of parting with his daughter, he felt her request to be so reasonable that he could not refuse it, and made but one condition, which was that she should only spend one year at the court of king schahzaman, suggesting that in future the young couple should visit their respective parents alternately. the princess brought this good news to her husband, who thanked her tenderly for this fresh proof of her affection. all preparations for the journey were now pressed forwards, and when all was ready the king accompanied the travellers for some days, after which he took an affectionate leave of his daughter, and charging the prince to take every care of her, returned to his capital. the prince and princess journeyed on, and at the end of a month reached a huge meadow interspersed with clumps of big trees which cast a most pleasant shade. as the heat was great, camaralzaman thought it well to encamp in this cool spot. accordingly the tents were pitched, and the princess entering hers whilst the prince was giving his further orders, removed her girdle, which she placed beside her, and desiring her women to leave her, lay down and was soon asleep. when the camp was all in order the prince entered the tent and, seeing the princess asleep, he sat down near her without speaking. his eyes fell on the girdle which, he took up, and whilst inspecting the precious stones set in it he noticed a little pouch sewn to the girdle and fastened by a loop. he touched it and felt something hard within. curious as to what this might be, he opened the pouch and found a cornelian engraved with various figures and strange characters. "this cornelian must be something very precious," thought he, "or my wife would not wear it on her person with so much care." in truth it was a talisman which the queen of china had given her daughter, telling her it would ensure her happiness as long as she carried it about her. the better to examine the stone the prince stepped to the open doorway of the tent. as he stood there holding it in the open palm of his hand, a bird suddenly swooped down, picked the stone up in its beak and flew away with it. imagine the prince's dismay at losing a thing by which his wife evidently set such store! the bird having secured its prey flew off some yards and alighted on the ground, holding the talisman it its beak. prince camaralzaman advanced, hoping the bird would drop it, but as soon as he approached the thief fluttered on a little further still. he continued his pursuit till the bird suddenly swallowed the stone and took a longer flight than before. the prince then hoped to kill it with a stone, but the more hotly he pursued the further flew the bird. in this fashion he was led on by hill and dale through the entire day, and when night came the tiresome creature roosted on the top of a very high tree where it could rest in safety. the prince in despair at all his useless trouble began to think whether he had better return to the camp. "but," thought he, "how shall i find my way back? must i go up hill or down? i should certainly lose my way in the dark, even if my strength held out." overwhelmed by hunger, thirst, fatigue and sleep, he ended by spending the night at the foot of the tree. next morning camaralzaman woke up before the bird left its perch, and no sooner did it take flight than he followed it again with as little success as the previous day, only stopping to eat some herbs and fruit he found by the way. in this fashion he spent ten days, following the bird all day and spending the night at the foot of a tree, whilst it roosted on the topmost bough. on the eleventh day the bird and the prince reached a large town, and as soon as they were close to its walls the bird took a sudden and higher flight and was shortly completely out of sight, whilst camaralzaman felt in despair at having to give up all hopes of ever recovering the talisman of the princess badoura. much cast down, he entered the town, which was built near the sea and had a fine harbour. he walked about the streets for a long time, not knowing where to go, but at length as he walked near the seashore he found a garden door open and walked in. the gardener, a good old man, who was at work, happened to look up, and, seeing a stranger, whom he recognised by his dress as a mussulman, he told him to come in at once and to shut the door. camaralzaman did as he was bid, and inquired why this precaution was taken. "because," said the gardener, "i see that you are a stranger and a mussulman, and this town is almost entirely inhabited by idolaters, who hate and persecute all of our faith. it seems almost a miracle that has led you to this house, and i am indeed glad that you have found a place of safety." camaralzaman warmly thanked the kind old man for offering him shelter, and was about to say more, but the gardener interrupted him with: "leave compliments alone. you are weary and must be hungry. come in, eat, and rest." so saying he led the prince into his cottage, and after satisfying his hunger begged to learn the cause of his arrival. camaralzaman told him all without disguise, and ended by inquiring the shortest way to his father's capital. "for," added he, "if i tried to rejoin the princess, how should i find her after eleven days' separation. perhaps, indeed, she may be no longer alive!" at this terrible thought he burst into tears. the gardener informed camaralzaman that they were quite a year's land journey to any mahomedan country, but that there was a much shorter route by sea to the ebony island, from whence the isles of the children of khaledan could be easily reached, and that a ship sailed once a year for the ebony island by which he might get so far as his very home. "if only you had arrived a few days sooner," he said, "you might have embarked at once. as it is you must now wait till next year, but if you care to stay with me i offer you my house, such as it is, with all my heart." prince camaralzaman thought himself lucky to find some place of refuge, and gladly accepted the gardener's offer. he spent his days working in the garden, and his nights thinking of and sighing for his beloved wife. let us now see what had become during this time of the princess badoura. on first waking she was much surprised not to find the prince near her. she called her women and asked if they knew where he was, and whilst they were telling her that they had seen him enter the tent, but had not noticed his leaving it, she took up her belt and perceived that the little pouch was open and the talisman gone. she at once concluded that her husband had taken it and would shortly bring it back. she waited for him till evening rather impatiently, and wondering what could have kept him from her so long. when night came without him she felt in despair and abused the talisman and its maker roundly. in spite of her grief and anxiety however, she did not lose her presence of mind, but decided on a courageous, though very unusual step. only the princess and her women knew of camaralzaman's disappearance, for the rest of the party were sleeping or resting in their tents. fearing some treason should the truth be known, she ordered her women not to say a word which would give rise to any suspicion, and proceeded to change her dress for one of her husband's, to whom, as has been already said, she bore a strong likeness. in this disguise she looked so like the prince that when she gave orders next morning to break up the camp and continue the journey no one suspected the change. she made one of her women enter her litter, whilst she herself mounted on horseback and the march began. after a protracted journey by land and sea the princess, still under the name and disguise of prince camaralzaman, arrived at the capital of the ebony island whose king was named armanos. no sooner did the king hear that the ship which was just in port had on board the son of his old friend and ally than he hurried to meet the supposed prince, and had him and his retinue brought to the palace, where they were lodged and entertained sumptuously. after three days, finding that his guest, to whom he had taken a great fancy, talked of continuing his journey, king armanos said to him: "prince, i am now an old man, and unfortunately i have no son to whom to leave my kingdom. it has pleased heaven to give me only one daughter, who possesses such great beauty and charm that i could only give her to a prince as highly born and as accomplished as yourself. instead, therefore, of returning to your own country, take my daughter and my crown and stay with us. i shall feel that i have a worthy successor, and shall cheerfully retire from the fatigues of government." the king's offer was naturally rather embarrassing to the princess badoura. she felt that it was equally impossible to confess that she had deceived him, or to refuse the marriage on which he had set his heart; a refusal which might turn all his kindness to hatred and persecution. all things considered, she decided to accept, and after a few moments silence said with a blush, which the king attributed to modesty: "sire, i feel so great an obligation for the good opinion your majesty has expressed for my person and of the honour you do me, that, though i am quite unworthy of it, i dare not refuse. but, sire, i can only accept such an alliance if you give me your promise to assist me with your counsels." the marriage being thus arranged, the ceremony was fixed for the following day, and the princess employed the intervening time in informing the officers of her suite of what had happened, assuring them that the princess badoura had given her full consent to the marriage. she also told her women, and bade them keep her secret well. king armanos, delighted with the success of his plans, lost no time in assembling his court and council, to whom he presented his successor, and placing his future son-in-law on the throne made everyone do homage and take oaths of allegiance to the new king. at night the whole town was filled with rejoicings, and with much pomp the princess haiatelnefous (this was the name of the king's daughter) was conducted to the palace of the princess badoura. now badoura had thought much of the difficulties of her first interview with king armanos' daughter, and she felt the only thing to do was at once to take her into her confidence. accordingly, as soon as they were alone she took haiatelnefous by the hand and said: "princess, i have a secret to tell you, and must throw myself on your mercy. i am not prince camaralzaman, but a princess like yourself and his wife, and i beg you to listen to my story, then i am sure you will forgive my imposture, in consideration of my sufferings." she then related her whole history, and at its close haiatelnefous embraced her warmly, and assured her of her entire sympathy and affection. the two princesses now planned out their future action, and agreed to combine to keep up the deception and to let badoura continue to play a man's part until such time as there might be news of the real camaralzaman. whilst these things were passing in the ebony island prince camaralzaman continued to find shelter in the gardeners cottage in the town of the idolaters. early one morning the gardener said to the prince: "to-day is a public holiday, and the people of the town not only do not work themselves but forbid others to do so. you had better therefore take a good rest whilst i go to see some friends, and as the time is near for the arrival of the ship of which i told you i will make inquiries about it, and try to bespeak a passage for you." he then put on his best clothes and went out, leaving the prince, who strolled into the garden and was soon lost in thoughts of his dear wife and their sad separation. as he walked up and down he was suddenly disturbed in his reverie by the noise two large birds were making in a tree. camaralzaman stood still and looked up, and saw that the birds were fighting so savagely with beaks and claws that before long one fell dead to the ground, whilst the conqueror spread his wings and flew away. almost immediately two other larger birds, who had been watching the duel, flew up and alighted, one at the head and the other at the feet of the dead bird. they stood there some time sadly shaking their heads, and then dug up a grave with their claws in which they buried him. as soon as they had filled in the grave the two flew off, and ere long returned, bringing with them the murderer, whom they held, one by a wing and the other by a leg, with their beaks, screaming and struggling with rage and terror. but they held tight, and having brought him to his victim's grave, they proceeded to kill him, after which they tore open his body, scattered the inside and once more flew away. the prince, who had watched the whole scene with much interest, now drew near the spot where it happened, and glancing at the dead bird he noticed something red lying near which had evidently fallen out of its inside. he picked it up, and what was his surprise when he recognised the princess badoura's talisman which had been the cause of many misfortunes. it would be impossible to describe his joy; he kissed the talisman repeatedly, wrapped it up, and carefully tied it round his arm. for the first time since his separation from the princess he had a good night, and next morning he was up at day-break and went cheerfully to ask what work he should do. the gardener told him to cut down an old fruit tree which had quite died away, and camaralzaman took an axe and fell to vigorously. as he was hacking at one of the roots the axe struck on something hard. on pushing away the earth he discovered a large slab of bronze, under which was disclosed a staircase with ten steps. he went down them and found himself in a roomy kind of cave in which stood fifty large bronze jars, each with a cover on it. the prince uncovered one after another, and found them all filled with gold dust. delighted with his discovery he left the cave, replaced the slab, and having finished cutting down the tree waited for the gardener's return. the gardener had heard the night before that the ship about which he was inquiring would start ere long, but the exact date not being yet known he had been told to return next day for further information. he had gone therefore to inquire, and came back with good news beaming in his face. "my son," said he, "rejoice and hold yourself ready to start in three days' time. the ship is to set sail, and i have arranged all about your passage with the captain. "you could not bring me better news," replied camaralzaman, "and in return i have something pleasant to tell you. follow me and see the good fortune which has befallen you." he then led the gardener to the cave, and having shown him the treasure stored up there, said how happy it made him that heaven should in this way reward his kind host's many virtues and compensate him for the privations of many years. "what do you mean?" asked the gardener. "do you imagine that i should appropriate this treasure? it is yours, and i have no right whatever to it. for the last eighty years i have dug up the ground here without discovering anything. it is clear that these riches are intended for you, and they are much more needed by a prince like yourself than by an old man like me, who am near my end and require nothing. this treasure comes just at the right time, when you are about to return to your own country, where you will make good use of it." but the prince would not hear of this suggestion, and finally after much discussion they agreed to divide the gold. when this was done the gardener said: "my son, the great thing now is to arrange how you can best carry off this treasure as secretly as possible for fear of losing it. there are no olives in the ebony island, and those imported from here fetch a high price. as you know, i have a good stock of the olives which grew in this garden. now you must take fifty jars, fill each half full of gold dust and fill them up with the olives. we will then have them taken on board ship when you embark." the prince took this advice, and spent the rest of the day filling the fifty jars, and fearing lest the precious talisman might slip from his arm and be lost again, he took the precaution of putting it in one of the jars, on which he made a mark so as to be able to recognise it. when night came the jars were all ready, and the prince and his host went to bed. whether in consequence of his great age, or of the fatigues and excitement of the previous day, i do not know, but the gardener passed a very bad night. he was worse next day, and by the morning of the third day was dangerously ill. at daybreak the ship's captain and some of his sailors knocked at the garden door and asked for the passenger who was to embark. "i am he," said camaralzaman, who had opened the door. "the gardener who took my passage is ill and cannot see you, but please come in and take these jars of olives and my bag, and i will follow as soon as i have taken leave of him." the sailors did as he asked, and the captain before leaving charged camaralzaman to lose no time, as the wind was fair, and he wished to set sail at once. as soon as they were gone the prince returned to the cottage to bid farewell to his old friend, and to thank him once more for all his kindness. but the old man was at his last gasp, and had barely murmured his confession of faith when he expired. camaralzaman was obliged to stay and pay him the last offices, so having dug a grave in the garden he wrapped the kind old man up and buried him. he then locked the door, gave up the key to the owner of the garden, and hurried to the quay only to hear that the ship had sailed long ago, after waiting three hours for him. it may well be believed that the prince felt in despair at this fresh misfortune, which obliged him to spend another year in a strange and distasteful country. moreover, he had once more lost the princess badoura's talisman, which he feared he might never see again. there was nothing left for him but to hire the garden as the old man had done, and to live on in the cottage. as he could not well cultivate the garden by himself, he engaged a lad to help him, and to secure the rest of the treasure he put the remaining gold dust into fifty more jars, filling them up with olives so as to have them ready for transport. whilst the prince was settling down to this second year of toil and privation, the ship made a rapid voyage and arrived safely at the ebony island. as the palace of the new king, or rather of the princess badoura, overlooked the harbour, she saw the ship entering it and asked what vessel it was coming in so gaily decked with flags, and was told that it was a ship from the island of the idolaters which yearly brought rich merchandise. the princess, ever on the look out for any chance of news of her beloved husband, went down to the harbour attended by some officers of the court, and arrived just as the captain was landing. she sent for him and asked many questions as to his country, voyage, what passengers he had, and what his vessel was laden with. the captain answered all her questions, and said that his passengers consisted entirely of traders who brought rich stuffs from various countries, fine muslins, precious stones, musk, amber, spices, drugs, olives, and many other things. as soon as he mentioned olives, the princess, who was very partial to them, exclaimed: "i will take all you have on board. have them unloaded and we will make our bargain at once, and tell the other merchants to let me see all their best wares before showing them to other people." "sire," replied the captain, "i have on board fifty very large pots of olives. they belong to a merchant who was left behind, as in spite of waiting for him he delayed so long that i was obliged to set sail without him." "never mind," said the princess, "unload them all the same, and we will arrange the price." the captain accordingly sent his boat off to the ship and it soon returned laden with the fifty pots of olives. the princess asked what they might be worth. "sire," replied the captain, "the merchant is very poor. your majesty will not overpay him if you give him a thousand pieces of silver." "in order to satisfy him and as he is so poor," said the princess, "i will order a thousand pieces of gold to be given you, which you will be sure to remit to him." so saying she gave orders for the payment and returned to the palace, having the jars carried before her. when evening came the princess badoura retired to the inner part of the palace, and going to the apartments of the princess haiatelnefous she had the fifty jars of olives brought to her. she opened one to let her friend taste the olives and to taste them herself, but great was her surprise when, on pouring some into a dish, she found them all powdered with gold dust. "what an adventure! how extraordinary!" she cried. then she had the other jars opened, and was more and more surprised to find the olives in each jar mixed with gold dust. but when at length her talisman was discovered in one of the jars her emotion was so great that she fainted away. the princess haiatelnefous and her women hastened to restore her, and as soon as she recovered consciousness she covered the precious talisman with kisses. then, dismissing the attendants, she said to her friend: "you will have guessed, my dear, that it was the sight of this talisman which has moved me so deeply. this was the cause of my separation from my dear husband, and now, i am convinced, it will be the means of our reunion." as soon as it was light next day the princess badoura sent for the captain, and made further inquiries about the merchant who owned the olive jars she had bought. in reply the captain told her all he knew of the place where the young man lived, and how, after engaging his passage, he came to be left behind. "if that is the case," said the princess, "you must set sail at once and go back for him. he is a debtor of mine and must be brought here at once, or i will confiscate all your merchandise. i shall now give orders to have all the warehouses where your cargo is placed under the royal seal, and they will only be opened when you have brought me the man i ask for. go at once and obey my orders." the captain had no choice but to do as he was bid, so hastily provisioning his ship he started that same evening on his return voyage. when, after a rapid passage, he gained sight of the island of idolaters, he judged it better not to enter the harbour, but casting anchor at some distance he embarked at night in a small boat with six active sailors and landed near camaralzaman's cottage. the prince was not asleep, and as he lay awake moaning over all the sad events which had separated him from his wife, he thought he heard a knock at the garden door. he went to open it, and was immediately seized by the captain and sailors, who without a word of explanation forcibly bore him off to the boat, which took them back to the ship without loss of time. no sooner were they on board than they weighed anchor and set sail. camaralzaman, who had kept silence till then, now asked the captain (whom he had recognised) the reason for this abduction. "are you not a debtor of the king of the ebony island?" asked the captain. "i? why, i never even heard of him before, and never set foot in his kingdom!" was the answer. "well, you must know better than i," said the captain. "you will soon see him now, and meantime be content where you are and have patience." the return voyage was as prosperous as the former one, and though it was night when the ship entered the harbour, the captain lost no time in landing with his passenger, whom he conducted to the palace, where he begged an audience with the king. directly the princess badoura saw the prince she recognised him in spite of his shabby clothes. she longed to throw herself on his neck, but restrained herself, feeling it was better for them both that she should play her part a little longer. she therefore desired one of her officers to take care of him and to treat him well. next she ordered another officer to remove the seals from the warehouse, whilst she presented the captain with a costly diamond, and told him to keep the thousand pieces of gold paid for the olives, as she would arrange matters with the merchant himself. she then returned to her private apartments, where she told the princess haiatelnefous all that had happened, as well as her plans for the future, and begged her assistance, which her friend readily promised. next morning she ordered the prince to be taken to the bath and clothed in a manner suitable to an emir or governor of a province. he was then introduced to the council, where his good looks and grand air drew the attention of all on him. princess badoura, delighted to see him looking himself once more, turned to the other emirs, saying: "my lords, i introduce to you a new colleague, camaralzaman, whom i have known on my travels and who, i can assure you, you will find well deserves your regard and admiration." camaralzaman was much surprised at hearing the king--whom he never suspected of being a woman in disguise--asserting their acquaintance, for he felt sure he had never seen her before. however he received all the praises bestowed on him with becoming modesty, and prostrating himself, said: "sire, i cannot find words in which to thank your majesty for the great honour conferred on me. i can but assure you that i will do all in my power to prove myself worthy of it." on leaving the council the prince was conducted to a splendid house which had been prepared for him, where he found a full establishment and well-filled stables at his orders. on entering his study his steward presented him with a coffer filled with gold pieces for his current expenses. he felt more and more puzzled by such good fortune, and little guessed that the princess of china was the cause of it. after a few days the princess badoura promoted camaralzaman to the post of grand treasurer, an office which he filled with so much integrity and benevolence as to win universal esteem. he would now have thought himself the happiest of men had it not been for that separation which he never ceased to bewail. he had no clue to the mystery of his present position, for the princess, out of compliment to the old king, had taken his name, and was generally known as king armanos the younger, few people remembering that on her first arrival she went by another name. at length the princess felt that the time had come to put an end to her own and the prince's suspense, and having arranged all her plans with the princess haiatelnefous, she informed camaralzaman that she wished his advice on some important business, and, to avoid being disturbed, desired him to come to the palace that evening. the prince was punctual, and was received in the private apartment, when, having ordered her attendants to withdraw, the princess took from a small box the talisman, and, handing it to camaralzaman, said: "not long ago an astrologer gave me this talisman. as you are universally well informed, you can perhaps tell me what is its use." camaralzaman took the talisman and, holding it to the light, cried with surprise, "sire, you ask me the use of this talisman. alas! hitherto it has been only a source of misfortune to me, being the cause of my separation from the one i love best on earth. the story is so sad and strange that i am sure your majesty will be touched by it if you will permit me to tell it you." "i will hear it some other time," replied the princess. "meanwhile i fancy it is not quite unknown to me. wait here for me. i will return shortly." so saying she retired to another room, where she hastily changed her masculine attire for that of a woman, and, after putting on the girdle she wore the day they parted, returned to camaralzaman. the prince recognised her at once, and, embracing her with the utmost tenderness, cried, "ah, how can i thank the king for this delightful surprise?" "do not expect ever to see the king again," said the princess, as she wiped the tears of joy from her eyes, "in me you see the king. let us sit down, and i will tell you all about it." she then gave a full account of all her adventures since their parting, and dwelt much on the charms and noble disposition of the princess haiatelnefous, to whose friendly assistance she owed so much. when she had done she asked to hear the prince's story, and in this manner they spent most of the night. next morning the princess resumed her woman's clothes, and as soon as she was ready she desired the chief eunuch to beg king armanos to come to her apartments. when the king arrived great was his surprise at finding a strange lady in company of the grand treasurer who had no actual right to enter the private apartment. seating himself he asked for the king. "sire," said the princess, "yesterday i was the king, to-day i am only the princess of china and wife to the real prince camaralzaman, son of king schahzaman, and i trust that when your majesty shall have heard our story you will not condemn the innocent deception i have been obliged to practise." the king consented to listen, and did so with marked surprise. at the close of her narrative the princess said, "sire, as our religion allows a man to have more than one wife, i would beg your majesty to give your daughter, the princess haiatelnefous, in marriage to prince camaralzaman. i gladly yield to her the precedence and title of queen in recognition of the debt of gratitude which i owe her." king armanos heard the princess with surprise and admiration, then, turning to camaralzaman, he said, "my son, as your wife, the princess badoura (whom i have hitherto looked on as my son-in-law), consents to share your hand and affections with my daughter, i have only to ask if this marriage is agreeable to you, and if you will consent to accept the crown which the princess badoura deserves to wear all her life, but which she prefers to resign for love of you." "sire," replied camaralzaman, "i can refuse your majesty nothing." accordingly camaralzaman was duly proclaimed king, and as duly married with all pomp to the princess haiatelnefous, with whose beauty, talents, and affections he had every reason to be pleased. the two queens lived in true sisterly harmony together, and after a time each presented king camaralzaman with a son, whose births were celebrated throughout the kingdom with the utmost rejoicing. noureddin and the fair persian balsora was the capital of a kingdom long tributary to the caliph. during the time of the caliph haroun-al-raschid the king of balsora, who was his cousin, was called zinebi. not thinking one vizir enough for the administration of his estates he had two, named khacan and saouy. khacan was kind, generous, and liberal, and took pleasure in obliging, as far as in him lay, those who had business with him. throughout the entire kingdom there was no one who did not esteem and praise him as he deserved. saouy was quite a different character, and repelled everyone with whom he came in contact; he was always gloomy, and, in spite of his great riches, so miserly that he denied himself even the necessaries of life. what made him particularly detested was the great aversion he had to khacan, of whom he never ceased to speak evil to the king. one day, while the king amused himself talking with his two vizirs and other members of the council, the conversation turned on female slaves. while some declared that it sufficed for a slave to be beautiful, others, and khacan was among the number, maintained that beauty alone was not enough, but that it must be accompanied by wit, wisdom, modesty, and, if possible, knowledge. the king not only declared himself to be of this opinion, but charged khacan to procure him a slave who should fulfil all these conditions. saouy, who had been of the opposite side, and was jealous of the honour done to khacan, said, "sire, it will be very difficult to find a slave as accomplished as your majesty desires, and, if she is to be found, she will be cheap if she cost less than , gold pieces." "saouy," answered the king, "you seem to find that a very great sum. for you it may be so, but not for me." and forthwith he ordered his grand treasurer, who was present, to send , gold pieces to khacan for the purchase of the slave. as soon, then, as khacan returned home he sent for the dealers in female slaves, and charged them directly they had found such a one as he described to inform him. they promised to do their utmost, and no day passed that they did not bring a slave for his inspection but none was found without some defect. at length, early one morning, while khacan was on his way to the king's palace, a dealer, throwing himself in his way, announced eagerly that a persian merchant, arrived late the previous evening, had a slave to sell whose wit and wisdom were equal to her incomparable beauty. khacan, overjoyed at this news, gave orders that the slave should be brought for his inspection on his return from the palace. the dealer appearing at the appointed hour, khacan found the slave beautiful beyond his expectations, and immediately gave her the name of "the fair persian." being a man of great wisdom and learning, he perceived in the short conversation he had with her that he would seek in vain another slave to surpass her in any of the qualities required by the king, and therefore asked the dealer what price the merchant put upon her. "sir," was the answer, "for less than , gold pieces he will not let her go; he declares that, what with masters for her instruction, and for bodily exercises, not to speak of clothing and nourishment, he has already spent that sum upon her. she is in every way fit to be the slave of a king; she plays every musical instrument, she sings, she dances, she makes verses, in fact there is no accomplishment in which she does not excel." khacan, who was better able to judge of her merits than the dealer, wishing to bring the matter to a conclusion, sent for the merchant, and said to him, "it is not for myself that i wish to buy your slave, but for the king. her price, however, is too high." "sir," replied the merchant, "i should esteem it an honour to present her to his majesty, did it become a merchant to do such a thing. i ask no more than the sum it has cost me to make her such as she is." khacan, not wishing to bargain, immediately had the sum counted out, and given to the merchant, who before withdrawing said: "sir, as she is destined for the king, i would have you observe that she is extremely tired with the long journey, and before presenting her to his majesty you would do well to keep her a fortnight in your own house, and to see that a little care is bestowed upon her. the sun has tanned her complexion, but when she has been two or three times to the bath, and is fittingly dressed, you will see how much her beauty will be increased." khacan thanked the merchant for his advice, and determined to follow it. he gave the beautiful persian an apartment near to that of his wife, whom he charged to treat her as befitting a lady destined for the king, and to order for her the most magnificent garments. before bidding adieu to the fair persian, he said to her: "no happiness can be greater than what i have procured for you; judge for yourself, you now belong to the king. i have, however, to warn you of one thing. i have a son, who, though not wanting in sense, is young, foolish, and headstrong, and i charge you to keep him at a distance." the persian thanked him for his advice, and promised to profit by it. noureddin--for so the vizir's son was named--went freely in and out of his mother's apartments. he was young, well-made and agreeable, and had the gift of charming all with whom he came in contact. as soon as he saw the beautiful persian, though aware that she was destined for the king, he let himself be carried away by her charms, and determined at once to use every means in his power to retain her for himself. the persian was equally captivated by noureddin, and said to herself: "the vizir does me too great honour in buying me for the king. i should esteem myself very happy if he would give me to his son." noureddin availed himself of every opportunity to gaze upon her beauty, to talk and laugh with her, and never would have left her side if his mother had not forced him. some time having elapsed, on account of the long journey, since the beautiful persian had been to the bath, five or six days after her purchase the vizir's wife gave orders that the bath should be heated for her, and that her own female slaves should attend her there, and after-wards should array her in a magnificent dress that had been prepared for her. her toilet completed, the beautiful persian came to present herself to the vizir's wife, who hardly recognised her, so greatly was her beauty increased. kissing her hand, the beautiful slave said: "madam, i do not know how you find me in this dress that you have had prepared for me; your women assure me that it suits me so well that they hardly knew me. if it is the truth they tell me, and not flattery, it is to you i owe the transformation." "my daughter," answered the vizir's wife, "they do not flatter you. i myself hardly recognised you. the improvement is not due to the dress alone, but largely to the beautifying effects of the bath. i am so struck by its results, that i would try it on myself." acting forthwith on this decision she ordered two little slaves during her absence to watch over the beautiful persian, and not to allow noureddin to enter should he come. she had no sooner gone than he arrived, and not finding his mother in her apartment, would have sought her in that of the persian. the two little slaves barred the entrance, saying that his mother had given orders that he was not to be admitted. taking each by an arm, he put them out of the anteroom, and shut the door. then they rushed to the bath, informing their mistress with shrieks and tears that noureddin had driven them away by force and gone in. this news caused great consternation to the lady, who, dressing herself as quickly as possible, hastened to the apartment of the fair persian, to find that noureddin had already gone out. much astonished to see the vizir's wife enter in tears, the persian asked what misfortune had happened. "what!" exclaimed the lady, "you ask me that, knowing that my son noureddin has been alone with you?" "but, madam," inquired the persian, "what harm is there in that?" "how! has my husband not told you that you are destined for the king?" "certainly, but noureddin has just been to tell me that his father has changed his mind and has bestowed me upon him. i believed him, and so great is my affection for noureddin that i would willingly pass my life with him." "would to heaven," exclaimed the wife of the vizir, "that what you say were true; but noureddin has deceived you, and his father will sacrifice him in vengeance for the wrong he has done." so saying, she wept bitterly, and all her slaves wept with her. khacan, entering shortly after this, was much astonished to find his wife and her slaves in tears, and the beautiful persian greatly perturbed. he inquired the cause, but for some time no answer was forthcoming. when his wife was at length sufficiently calm to inform him of what had happened, his rage and mortification knew no bounds. wringing his hands and rending his beard, he exclaimed: "wretched son! thou destroyest not only thyself but thy father. the king will shed not only thy blood but mine." his wife tried to console him, saying: "do not torment thyself. with the sale of my jewels i will obtain , gold pieces, and with this sum you will buy another slave." "do not suppose," replied her husband, "that it is the loss of the money that affects me. my honour is at stake, and that is more precious to me than all my wealth. you know that saouy is my mortal enemy. he will relate all this to the king, and you will see the consequences that will ensue." "my lord," said his wife, "i am quite aware of saouy's baseness, and that he is capable of playing you this malicious trick. but how can he or any one else know what takes place in this house? even if you are suspected and the king accuses you, you have only to say that, after examining the slave, you did not find her worthy of his majesty. reassure yourself, and send to the dealers, saying that you are not satisfied, and wish them to find you another slave." this advice appearing reasonable, khacan decided to follow it, but his wrath against his son did not abate. noureddin dared not appear all that day, and fearing to take refuge with his usual associates in case his father should seek him there, he spent the day in a secluded garden where he was not known. he did not return home till after his father had gone to bed, and went out early next morning before the vizir awoke, and these precautions he kept up during an entire month. his mother, though knowing very well that he returned to the house every evening, dare not ask her husband to pardon him. at length she took courage and said: "my lord, i know that a son could not act more basely towards his father than noureddin has done towards you, but after all will you now pardon him? do you not consider the harm you may be doing yourself, and fear that malicious people, seeking the cause of your estrangement, may guess the real one?" "madam," replied the vizir, "what you say is very just, but i cannot pardon noureddin before i have mortified him as he deserves." "he will be sufficiently punished," answered the lady, "if you do as i suggest. in the evening, when he returns home, lie in wait for him and pretend that you will slay him. i will come to his aid, and while pointing out that you only yield his life at my supplications, you can force him to take the beautiful persian on any conditions you please." khacan agreed to follow this plan, and everything took place as arranged. on noureddin's return khacan pretended to be about to slay him, but yielding to his wife's intercession, said to his son: "you owe your life to your mother. i pardon you on her intercession, and on the conditions that you take the beautiful persian for your wife, and not your slave, that you never sell her, nor put her away." noureddin, not hoping for so great indulgence, thanked his father, and vowed to do as he desired. khacan was at great pains frequently to speak to the king of the difficulties attending the commission he had given him, but some whispers of what had actually taken place did reach saouy's ears. more than a year after these events the minister took a chill, leaving the bath while still heated to go out on important business. this resulted in inflammation of the lungs, which rapidly increased. the vizir, feeling that his end was at hand, sent for noureddin, and charged him with his dying breath never to part with the beautiful persian. shortly afterwards he expired, leaving universal regret throughout the kingdom; rich and poor alike followed him to the grave. noureddin showed every mark of the deepest grief at his father's death, and for long refused to see any one. at length a day came when, one of his friends being admitted, urged him strongly to be consoled, and to resume his former place in society. this advice noureddin was not slow to follow, and soon he formed little society of ten young men all about his own age, with whom he spent all his time in continual feasting and merry-making. sometimes the fair persian consented to appear at these festivities, but she disapproved of this lavish expenditure, and did not scruple to warn noureddin of the probable consequences. he, however, only laughed at her advice, saying, that his father had always kept him in too great constraint, and that now he rejoiced at his new-found liberty. what added to the confusion in his affairs was that he refused to look into his accounts with his steward, sending him away every time he appeared with his book. "see only that i live well," he said, "and do not disturb me about anything else." not only did noureddin's friends constantly partake of his hospitality, but in every way they took advantage of his generosity; everything of his that they admired, whether land, houses, baths, or any other source of his revenue, he immediately bestowed on them. in vain the persian protested against the wrong he did himself; he continued to scatter with the same lavish hand. throughout one entire year noureddin did nothing but amuse himself, and dissipate the wealth his father had taken such pains to acquire. the year had barely elapsed, when one day, as they sat at table, there came a knock at the door. the slaves having been sent away, noureddin went to open it himself. one of his friends had risen at the same time, but noureddin was before him, and finding the intruder to be the steward, he went out and closed the door. the friend, curious to hear what passed between them, hid himself behind the hangings, and heard the following words: "my lord," said the steward, "i beg a thousand pardons for interrupting you, but what i have long foreseen has taken place. nothing remains of the sums you gave me for your expenses, and all other sources of income are also at end, having been transferred by you to others. if you wish me to remain in your service, furnish me with the necessary funds, else i must withdraw." so great was noureddin's consternation that he had not a word to say in reply. the friend, who had been listening behind the curtain, immediately hastened to communicate the news to the rest of the company. "if this is so," they said, "we must cease to come here." noureddin re-entering at that moment, they plainly saw, in spite of his efforts to dissemble, that what they had heard was the truth. one by one they rose, and each with a different excuse left the room, till presently he found himself alone, though little suspecting the resolution his friends had taken. then, seeing the beautiful persian, he confided to her the statement of the steward, with many expressions of regret for his own carelessness. "had i but followed your advice, beautiful persian," he said, "all this would not have happened, but at least i have this consolation, that i have spent my fortune in the company of friends who will not desert me in an hour of need. to-morrow i will go to them, and amongst them they will lend me a sum sufficient to start in some business." accordingly next morning early noureddin went to seek his ten friends, who all lived in the same street. knocking at the door of the first and chief, the slave who opened it left him to wait in a hall while he announced his visit to his master. "noureddin!" he heard him exclaim quite audibly. "tell him, every time he calls, that i am not at home." the same thing happened at the second door, and also at the third, and so on with all the ten. noureddin, much mortified, recognised too late that he had confided in false friends, who abandoned him in his hour of need. overwhelmed with grief, he sought consolation from the beautiful persian. "alas, my lord," she said, "at last you are convinced of the truth of what i foretold. there is now no other resource left but to sell your slaves and your furniture." first then he sold the slaves, and subsisted for a time on the proceeds, after that the furniture was sold, and as much of it was valuable it sufficed for some time. finally this resource also came to an end, and again he sought counsel from the beautiful persian. "my lord," she said, "i know that the late vizir, your father, bought me for , gold pieces, and though i have diminished in value since, i should still fetch a large sum. do not therefore hesitate to sell me, and with the money you obtain go and establish yourself in business in some distant town." "charming persian," answered noureddin, "how could i be guilty of such baseness? i would die rather than part from you whom i love better than my life." "my lord," she replied, "i am well aware of your love for me, which is only equalled by mine for you, but a cruel necessity obliges us to seek the only remedy." noureddin, convinced at length of the truth of her words, yielded, and reluctantly led her to the slave market, where, showing her to a dealer named hagi hassan, he inquired her value. taking them into a room apart, hagi hassan exclaimed as soon as she had unveiled, "my lord, is not this the slave your father bought for , pieces?" on learning that it was so, he promised to obtain the highest possible price for her. leaving the beautiful persian shut up in the room alone, he went out to seek the slave merchants, announcing to them that he had found the pearl among slaves, and asking them to come and put a value upon her. as soon as they saw her they agreed that less than , gold pieces could not be asked. hagi hassan, then closing the door upon her, began to offer her for sale--calling out: "who will bid , gold pieces for the persian slave?" before any of the merchants had bid, saouy happened to pass that way, and judging that it must be a slave of extraordinary beauty, rode up to hagi hassan and desired to see her. now it was not the custom to show a slave to a private bidder, but as no one dared to disobey the vizir his request was granted. as soon as saouy saw the persian he was so struck by her beauty, that he immediately wished to possess her, and not knowing that she belonged to noureddin, he desired hagi hassan to send for the owner and to conclude the bargain at once. hagi hassan then sought noureddin, and told him that his slave was going far below her value, and that if saouy bought her he was capable of not paying the money. "what you must do," he said, "is to pretend that you had no real intention of selling your slave, and only swore you would in a fit of anger against her. when i present her to saouy as if with your consent you must step in, and with blows begin to lead her away." noureddin did as hagi hassan advised, to the great wrath of saouy, who riding straight at him endeavoured to take the beautiful persian from him by force. noureddin letting her go, seized saouy's horse by the bridle, and, encouraged by the applause of the bystanders, dragged him to the ground, beat him severely, and left him in the gutter streaming with blood. then, taking the beautiful persian, he returned home amidst the acclamations of the people, who detested saouy so much that they would neither interfere in his behalf nor allow his slaves to protect him. covered from head to foot with mire and streaming with blood he rose, and leaning on two of his slaves went straight to the palace, where he demanded an audience of the king, to whom he related what had taken place in these words: "may it please your majesty, i had gone to the slave market to buy myself a cook. while there i heard a slave being offered for , pieces. asking to see her, i found she was of incomparable beauty, and was being sold by noureddin, the son of your late vizir, to whom your majesty will remember giving a sum of , gold pieces for the purchase of a slave. this is the identical slave, whom instead of bringing to your majesty he gave to his own son. since the death of his father this noureddin has run through his entire fortune, has sold all his possessions, and is now reduced to selling the slave. calling him to me, i said: "noureddin, i will give you , gold pieces for your slave, whom i will present to the king. i will interest him at the same time in your behalf, and this will be worth much more to you than what extra money you might obtain from the merchants." "bad old man," he exclaimed, "rather than sell my slave to you i would give her to a jew." "but, noureddin," i remonstrated, "you do not consider that in speaking thus you wrong the king, to whom your father owed everything." this remonstrance only irritated him the more. throwing himself on me like a madman, he tore me from my horse, beat me to his heart's content, and left me in the state your majesty sees." so saying saouy turned aside his head and wept bitterly. the king's wrath was kindled against noureddin. he ordered the captain of the guard to take with him forty men, to pillage noureddin's house, to rase it to the ground, and to bring noureddin and the slave to him. a doorkeeper, named sangiar, who had been a slave of khacan's, hearing this order given, slipped out of the king's apartment, and hastened to warn noureddin to take flight instantly with the beautiful persian. then, presenting him with forty gold pieces, he disappeared before noureddin had time to thank him. as soon, then, as the fair persian had put on her veil they fled together, and had the good fortune to get out of the town without being observed. at the mouth of the euphrates they found a ship just about to start for bagdad. they embarked, and immediately the anchor was raised and they set sail. when the captain of the guard reached noureddin's house he caused his soldiers to burst open the door and to enter by force, but no trace was to be found of noureddin and his slave, nor could the neighbours give any information about them. when the king heard that they had escaped, he issued a proclamation that a reward of , gold pieces would be given to whoever would bring him noureddin and the slave, but that, on the contrary, whoever hid them would be severely punished. meanwhile noureddin and the fair persian had safely reached bagdad. when the vessel had come to an anchor they paid five gold pieces for their passage and went ashore. never having been in bagdad before, they did not know where to seek a lodging. wandering along the banks of the tigris, they skirted a garden enclosed by a high wall. the gate was shut, but in front of it was an open vestibule with a sofa on either side. "here," said noureddin, "let us pass the night," and reclining on the sofas they soon fell asleep. now this garden belonged to the caliph. in the middle of it was a vast pavilion, whose superb saloon had eighty windows, each window having a lustre, lit solely when the caliph spent the evening there. only the door-keeper lived there, an old soldier named scheih ibrahim, who had strict orders to be very careful whom he admitted, and never to allow any one to sit on the sofas by the door. it happened that evening that he had gone out on an errand. when he came back and saw two persons asleep on the sofas he was about to drive them out with blows, but drawing nearer he perceived that they were a handsome young man and beautiful young woman, and decided to awake them by gentler means. noureddin, on being awoke, told the old man that they were strangers, and merely wished to pass the night there. "come with me," said scheih ibrahim, "i will lodge you better, and will show you a magnificent garden belonging to me." so saying the doorkeeper led the way into the caliph's garden, the beauties of which filled them with wonder and amazement. noureddin took out two gold pieces, and giving them to scheih ibrahim said, "i beg you to get us something to eat that we may make merry together." being very avaricious, scheih ibrahim determined to spend only the tenth part of the money and to keep the rest to himself. while he was gone noureddin and the persian wandered through the gardens and went up the white marble staircase of the pavilion as far as the locked door of the saloon. on the return of scheih ibrahim they begged him to open it, and to allow them to enter and admire the magnificence within. consenting, he brought not only the key, but a light, and immediately unlocked the door. noureddin and the persian entering, were dazzled with the magnificence they beheld. the paintings and furniture were of astonishing beauty, and between each window was a silver arm holding a candle. scheih ibrahim spread the table in front of a sofa, and all three ate together. when they had finished eating noureddin asked the old man to bring them a bottle of wine. "heaven forbid," said scheih ibrahim, "that i should come in contact with wine! i who have four times made the pilgrimage to mecca, and have renounced wine for ever." "you would, however, do us a great service in procuring us some," said noureddin. "you need not touch it yourself. take the ass which is tied to the gate, lead it to the nearest wine-shop, and ask some passer-by to order two jars of wine; have them put in the ass's panniers, and drive him before you. here are two pieces of gold for the expenses." at sight of the gold, scheih ibrahim set off at once to execute the commission. on his return, noureddin said: "we have still need of cups to drink from, and of fruit, if you can procure us some." scheih ibrahim disappeared again, and soon returned with a table spread with cups of gold and silver, and every sort of beautiful fruit. then he withdrew, in spite of repeated invitations to remain. noureddin and the beautiful persian, finding the wine excellent, drank of it freely, and while drinking they sang. both had fine voices, and scheih ibrahim listened to them with great pleasure--first from a distance, then he drew nearer, and finally put his head in at the door. noureddin, seeing him, called to him to come in and keep them company. at first the old man declined, but was persuaded to enter the room, to sit down on the edge of the sofa nearest the door, and at last to draw closer and to seat himself by the beautiful persian, who urged him so persistently to drink her health that at length he yielded, and took the cup she offered. now the old man only made a pretence of renouncing wine; he frequented wine-shops like other people, and had taken none of the precautions noureddin had proposed. having once yielded, he was easily persuaded to take a second cup, and a third, and so on till he no longer knew what he was doing. till near midnight they continued drinking, laughing, and singing together. about that time the persian, perceiving that the room was lit by only one miserable tallow candle, asked scheih ibrahim to light some of the beautiful candles in the silver arms. "light them yourself," answered the old man; "you are younger than i, but let five or six be enough." she did not stop, however, till she had lit all the eighty, but scheih ibrahim was not conscious of this, and when, soon after that, noureddin proposed to have some of the lustres lit, he answered: "you are more capable of lighting them than i, but not more than three." noureddin, far from contenting himself with three, lit all, and opened all the eighty windows. the caliph haroun-al-raschid, chancing at that moment to open a window in the saloon of his palace looking on the garden, was surprised to see the pavilion brilliantly illuminated. calling the grand-vizir, giafar, he said to him: "negligent vizir, look at the pavilion, and tell me why it is lit up when i am not there." when the vizir saw that it was as the caliph said, he trembled with fear, and immediately invented an excuse. "commander of the faithful," he said, "i must tell you that four or five days ago scheih ibrahim told me that he wished to have an assembly of the ministers of his mosque, and asked permission to hold it in the pavilion. i granted his request, but forgot since to mention it to your majesty." "giafar," replied the caliph, "you have committed three faults--first, in giving the permission; second, in not mentioning it to me; and third, in not investigating the matter more closely. for punishment i condemn you to spend the rest of the night with me in company of these worthy people. while i dress myself as a citizen, go and disguise yourself, and then come with me." when they reached the garden gate they found it open, to the great indignation of the caliph. the door of the pavilion being also open, he went softly upstairs, and looked in at the half-closed door of the saloon. great was his surprise to see scheih ibrahim, whose sobriety he had never doubted, drinking and singing with a young man and a beautiful lady. the caliph, before giving way to his anger, determined to watch and see who the people were and what they did. presently scheih ibrahim asked the beautiful persian if anything were wanting to complete her enjoyment of the evening. "if only," she said, "i had an instrument upon which i might play." scheih ibrahim immediately took a lute from a cup-board and gave it to the persian, who began to play on it, singing the while with such skill and taste that the caliph was enchanted. when she ceased he went softly downstairs and said to the vizir: "never have i heard a finer voice, nor the lute better played. i am determined to go in and make her play to me." "commander of the faithful," said the vizir, "if scheih ibrahim recognises you he will die of fright." "i should be sorry for that," answered the caliph, "and i am going to take steps to prevent it. wait here till i return." now the caliph had caused a bend in the river to form a lake in his garden. there the finest fish in the tigris were to be found, but fishing was strictly forbidden. it happened that night, however, that a fisherman had taken advantage of the gate being open to go in and cast his nets. he was just about to draw them when he saw the caliph approaching. recognising him at once in spite of his disguise, he threw himself at his feet imploring forgiveness. "fear nothing," said the caliph, "only rise up and draw thy nets." the fisherman did as he was told, and produced five or six fine fish, of which the caliph took the two largest. then he desired the fisherman to change clothes with him, and in a few minutes the caliph was transformed into a fisherman, even to the shoes and the turban. taking the two fish in his hand, he returned to the vizir, who, not recognising him, would have sent him about his business. leaving the vizir at the foot of the stairs, the caliph went up and knocked at the door of the saloon. noureddin opened it, and the caliph, standing on the threshold, said: "scheih ibrahim, i am the fisher kerim. seeing that you are feasting with your friends, i bring you these fish." noureddin and the persian said that when the fishes were properly cooked and dressed they would gladly eat of them. the caliph then returned to the vizir, and they set to work in scheih ibrahim's house to cook the fish, of which they made so tempting a dish that noureddin and the fair persian ate of it with great relish. when they had finished noureddin took thirty gold pieces (all that remained of what sangiar had given him) and presented them to the caliph, who, thanking him, asked as a further favour if the lady would play him one piece on the lute. the persian gladly consented, and sang and played so as to delight the caliph. noureddin, in the habit of giving to others whatever they admired, said, "fisherman, as she pleases you so much, take her; she is yours." the fair persian, astounded that he should wish to part from her, took her lute, and with tears in her eyes sang her reproaches to its music. the caliph (still in the character of fisherman) said to him, "sir, i perceive that this fair lady is your slave. oblige me, i beg you, by relating your history." noureddin willingly granted this request, and recounted everything from the purchase of the slave down to the present moment. "and where do you go now?" asked the caliph. "wherever the hand of allah leads me," said noureddin. "then, if you will listen to me," said the caliph, "you will immediately return to balsora. i will give you a letter to the king, which will ensure you a good reception from him." "it is an unheard-of thing," said noureddin, "that a fisherman should be in correspondence with a king." "let not that astonish you," answered the caliph; "we studied together, and have always remained the best of friends, though fortune, while making him a king, left me a humble fisherman." the caliph then took a sheet of paper, and wrote the following letter, at the top of which he put in very small characters this formula to show that he must be implicitly obeyed:--"in the name of the most merciful god. "letter of the caliph haroun-al-raschid to the king of balsora. "haroun-al-raschid, son of mahdi, sends this letter to mohammed zinebi, his cousin. as soon as noureddin, son of the vizir khacan, bearer of this letter, has given it to thee, and thou hast read it, take off thy royal mantle, put it on his shoulders, and seat him in thy place without fail. farewell." the caliph then gave this letter to noureddin, who immediately set off, with only what little money he possessed when sangiar came to his assistance. the beautiful persian, inconsolable at his departure, sank on a sofa bathed in tears. when noureddin had left the room, scheih ibrahim, who had hitherto kept silence, said: "kerim, for two miserable fish thou hast received a purse and a slave. i tell thee i will take the slave, and as to the purse, if it contains silver thou mayst keep one piece, if gold then i will take all and give thee what copper pieces i have in my purse." now here it must be related that when the caliph went upstairs with the plate of fish he ordered the vizir to hasten to the palace and bring back four slaves bearing a change of raiment, who should wait outside the pavilion till the caliph should clap his hands. still personating the fisherman, the caliph answered: "scheih ibrahim, whatever is in the purse i will share equally with you, but as to the slave i will keep her for myself. if you do not agree to these conditions you shall have nothing." the old man, furious at this insolence as he considered it, took a cup and threw it at the caliph, who easily avoided a missile from the hand of a drunken man. it hit against the wall, and broke into a thousand pieces. scheih ibrahim, still more enraged, then went out to fetch a stick. the caliph at that moment clapped his hands, and the vizir and the four slaves entering took off the fisherman's dress and put on him that which they had brought. when scheih ibrahim returned, a thick stick in his hand, the caliph was seated on his throne, and nothing remained of the fisherman but his clothes in the middle of the room. throwing himself on the ground at the caliph's feet, he said: "commander of the faithful, your miserable slave has offended you, and craves forgiveness." the caliph came down from his throne, and said: "rise, i forgive thee." then turning to the persian he said: "fair lady, now you know who i am; learn also that i have sent noureddin to balsora to be king, and as soon as all necessary preparations are made i will send you there to be queen. meanwhile i will give you an apartment in my palace, where you will be treated with all honour." at this the beautiful persian took courage, and the caliph was as good as his word, recommending her to the care of his wife zobeida. noureddin made all haste on his journey to balsora, and on his arrival there went straight to the palace of the king, of whom he demanded an audience. it was immediately granted, and holding the letter high above his head he forced his way through the crowd. while the king read the letter he changed colour. he would instantly have executed the caliph's order, but first he showed the letter to saouy, whose interests were equally at stake with his own. pretending that he wished to read it a second time, saouy turned aside as if to seek a better light; unperceived by anyone he tore off the formula from the top of the letter, put it to his mouth, and swallowed it. then, turning to the king, he said: "your majesty has no need to obey this letter. the writing is indeed that of the caliph, but the formula is absent. besides, he has not sent an express with the patent, without which the letter is useless. leave all to me, and i will take the consequences." the king not only listened to the persuasions of saouy, but gave noureddin into his hands. such a severe bastinado was first administered to him, that he was left more dead than alive; then saouy threw him into the darkest and deepest dungeon, and fed him only on bread and water. after ten days saouy determined to put an end to noureddin's life, but dared not without the king's authority. to gain this end, he loaded several of his own slaves with rich gifts, and presented himself at their head to the king, saying that they were from the new king on his coronation. "what!" said the king; "is that wretch still alive? go and behead him at once. i authorise you." "sire," said saouy, "i thank your majesty for the justice you do me. i would further beg, as noureddin publicly affronted me, that the execution might be in front of the palace, and that it might be proclaimed throughout the city, so that no one may be ignorant of it." the king granted these requests, and the announcement caused universal grief, for the memory of noureddin's father was still fresh in the hearts of his people. saouy, accompanied by twenty of his own slaves, went to the prison to fetch noureddin, whom he mounted on a wretched horse without a saddle. arrived at the palace, saouy went in to the king, leaving noureddin in the square, hemmed in not only by saouy's slaves but by the royal guard, who had great difficulty in preventing the people from rushing in and rescuing noureddin. so great was the indignation against saouy that if anyone had set the example he would have been stoned on his way through the streets. saouy, who witnessed the agitation of the people from the windows of the king's privy chambers, called to the executioner to strike at once. the king, however, ordered him to delay; not only was he jealous of saouy's interference, but he had another reason. a troop of horsemen was seen at that moment riding at full gallop towards the square. saouy suspected who they might be, and urged the king to give the signal for the execution without delay, but this the king refused to do till he knew who the horsemen were. now, they were the vizir giafar and his suite arriving at full speed from bagdad. for several days after noureddin's departure with the letter the caliph had forgotten to send the express with the patent, without which the letter was useless. hearing a beautiful voice one day in the women's part of the palace uttering lamentations, he was informed that it was the voice of the fair persian, and suddenly calling to mind the patent, he sent for giafar, and ordered him to make for balsora with the utmost speed--if noureddin were dead, to hang saouy; if he were still alive, to bring him at once to bagdad along with the king and saouy. giafar rode at full speed through the square, and alighted at the steps of the palace, where the king came to greet him. the vizir's first question was whether noureddin were still alive. the king replied that he was, and he was immediately led forth, though bound hand and foot. by the vizir's orders his bonds were immediately undone, and saouy was tied with the same cords. next day giafar returned to bagdad, bearing with him the king, saouy, and noureddin. when the caliph heard what treatment noureddin had received, he authorised him to behead saouy with his own hands, but he declined to shed the blood of his enemy, who was forthwith handed over to the executioner. the caliph also desired noureddin to reign over balsora, but this, too, he declined, saying that after what had passed there he preferred never to return, but to enter the service of the caliph. he became one of his most intimate courtiers, and lived long in great happiness with the fair persian. as to the king, the caliph contented himself with sending him back to balsora, with the recommendation to be more careful in future in the choice of his vizir. aladdin and the wonderful lamp there once lived a poor tailor, who had a son called aladdin, a careless, idle boy who would do nothing but play all day long in the streets with little idle boys like himself. this so grieved the father that he died; yet, in spite of his mother's tears and prayers, aladdin did not mend his ways. one day, when he was playing in the streets as usual, a stranger asked him his age, and if he were not the son of mustapha the tailor. "i am, sir," replied aladdin; "but he died a long while ago." on this the stranger, who was a famous african magician, fell on his neck and kissed him, saying: "i am your uncle, and knew you from your likeness to my brother. go to your mother and tell her i am coming." aladdin ran home, and told his mother of his newly found uncle. "indeed, child," she said, "your father had a brother, but i always thought he was dead." however, she prepared supper, and bade aladdin seek his uncle, who came laden with wine and fruit. he presently fell down and kissed the place where mustapha used to sit, bidding aladdin's mother not to be surprised at not having seen him before, as he had been forty years out of the country. he then turned to aladdin, and asked him his trade, at which the boy hung his head, while his mother burst into tears. on learning that aladdin was idle and would learn no trade, he offered to take a shop for him and stock it with merchandise. next day he bought aladdin a fine suit of clothes, and took him all over the city, showing him the sights, and brought him home at nightfall to his mother, who was overjoyed to see her son so fine. next day the magician led aladdin into some beautiful gardens a long way outside the city gates. they sat down by a fountain, and the magician pulled a cake from his girdle, which he divided between them. they then journeyed onwards till they almost reached the mountains. aladdin was so tired that he begged to go back, but the magician beguiled him with pleasant stories, and led him on in spite of himself. at last they came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley. "we will go no farther," said the false uncle. "i will show you something wonderful; only do you gather up sticks while i kindle a fire." when it was lit the magician threw on it a powder he had about him, at the same time saying some magical words. the earth trembled a little and opened in front of them, disclosing a square flat stone with a brass ring in the middle to raise it by. aladdin tried to run away, but the magician caught him and gave him a blow that knocked him down. "what have i done, uncle?" he said piteously; whereupon the magician said more kindly: "fear nothing, but obey me. beneath this stone lies a treasure which is to be yours, and no one else may touch it, so you must do exactly as i tell you." at the word treasure, aladdin forgot his fears, and grasped the ring as he was told, saying the names of his father and grandfather. the stone came up quite easily and some steps appeared. "go down," said the magician; "at the foot of those steps you will find an open door leading into three large halls. tuck up your gown and go through them without touching anything, or you will die instantly. these halls lead into a garden of fine fruit trees. walk on till you come to a niche in a terrace where stands a lighted lamp. pour out the oil it contains and bring it to me." he drew a ring from his finger and gave it to aladdin, bidding him prosper. aladdin found everything as the magician had said, gathered some fruit off the trees, and, having got the lamp, arrived at the mouth of the cave. the magician cried out in a great hurry: "make haste and give me the lamp." this aladdin refused to do until he was out of the cave. the magician flew into a terrible passion, and throwing some more powder on the fire, he said something, and the stone rolled back into its place. the magician left persia for ever, which plainly showed that he was no uncle of aladdin's, but a cunning magician who had read in his magic books of a wonderful lamp, which would make him the most powerful man in the world. though he alone knew where to find it, he could only receive it from the hand of another. he had picked out the foolish aladdin for this purpose, intending to get the lamp and kill him afterwards. for two days aladdin remained in the dark, crying and lamenting. at last he clasped his hands in prayer, and in so doing rubbed the ring, which the magician had forgotten to take from him. immediately an enormous and frightful genie rose out of the earth, saying: "what wouldst thou with me? i am the slave of the ring, and will obey thee in all things." aladdin fearlessly replied: "deliver me from this place!" whereupon the earth opened, and he found himself outside. as soon as his eyes could bear the light he went home, but fainted on the threshold. when he came to himself he told his mother what had passed, and showed her the lamp and the fruits he had gathered in the garden, which were in reality precious stones. he then asked for some food. "alas! child," she said, "i have nothing in the house, but i have spun a little cotton and will go and sell it." aladdin bade her keep her cotton, for he would sell the lamp instead. as it was very dirty she began to rub it, that it might fetch a higher price. instantly a hideous genie appeared, and asked what she would have. she fainted away, but aladdin, snatching the lamp, said boldly: "fetch me something to eat!" the genie returned with a silver bowl, twelve silver plates containing rich meats, two silver cups, and two bottles of wine. aladdin's mother, when she came to herself, said: "whence comes this splendid feast?" "ask not, but eat," replied aladdin. so they sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and aladdin told his mother about the lamp. she begged him to sell it, and have nothing to do with devils. "no," said aladdin, "since chance has made us aware of its virtues, we will use it and the ring likewise, which i shall always wear on my finger." when they had eaten all the genie had brought, aladdin sold one of the silver plates, and so on till none were left. he then had recourse to the genie, who gave him another set of plates, and thus they lived for many years. one day aladdin heard an order from the sultan proclaimed that everyone was to stay at home and close his shutters while the princess, his daughter, went to and from the bath. aladdin was seized by a desire to see her face, which was very difficult, as she always went veiled. he hid himself behind the door of the bath, and peeped through a chink. the princess lifted her veil as she went in, and looked so beautiful that aladdin fell in love with her at first sight. he went home so changed that his mother was frightened. he told her he loved the princess so deeply that he could not live without her, and meant to ask her in marriage of her father. his mother, on hearing this, burst out laughing, but aladdin at last prevailed upon her to go before the sultan and carry his request. she fetched a napkin and laid in it the magic fruits from the enchanted garden, which sparkled and shone like the most beautiful jewels. she took these with her to please the sultan, and set out, trusting in the lamp. the grand-vizir and the lords of council had just gone in as she entered the hall and placed herself in front of the sultan. he, however, took no notice of her. she went every day for a week, and stood in the same place. when the council broke up on the sixth day the sultan said to his vizir: "i see a certain woman in the audience-chamber every day carrying something in a napkin. call her next time, that i may find out what she wants." next day, at a sign from the vizir, she went up to the foot of the throne, and remained kneeling till the sultan said to her: "rise, good woman, and tell me what you want." she hesitated, so the sultan sent away all but the vizir, and bade her speak freely, promising to forgive her beforehand for anything she might say. she then told him of her son's violent love for the princess. "i prayed him to forget her," she said, "but in vain; he threatened to do some desperate deed if i refused to go and ask your majesty for the hand of the princess. now i pray you to forgive not me alone, but my son aladdin." the sultan asked her kindly what she had in the napkin, whereupon she unfolded the jewels and presented them. he was thunderstruck, and turning to the vizir said: "what sayest thou? ought i not to bestow the princess on one who values her at such a price?" the vizir, who wanted her for his own son, begged the sultan to withhold her for three months, in the course of which he hoped his son would contrive to make him a richer present. the sultan granted this, and told aladdin's mother that, though he consented to the marriage, she must not appear before him again for three months. aladdin waited patiently for nearly three months, but after two had elapsed his mother, going into the city to buy oil, found everyone rejoicing, and asked what was going on. "do you not know," was the answer, "that the son of the grand-vizir is to marry the sultan's daughter to-night?" breathless, she ran and told aladdin, who was overwhelmed at first, but presently bethought him of the lamp. he rubbed it, and the genie appeared, saying: "what is thy will?" aladdin replied: "the sultan, as thou knowest, has broken his promise to me, and the vizir's son is to have the princess. my command is that to-night you bring hither the bride and bridegroom." "master, i obey," said the genie. aladdin then went to his chamber, where, sure enough at midnight the genie transported the bed containing the vizir's son and the princess. "take this new-married man," he said, "and put him outside in the cold, and return at daybreak." whereupon the genie took the vizir's son out of bed, leaving aladdin with the princess. "fear nothing," aladdin said to her; "you are my wife, promised to me by your unjust father, and no harm shall come to you." the princess was too frightened to speak, and passed the most miserable night of her life, while aladdin lay down beside her and slept soundly. at the appointed hour the genie fetched in the shivering bridegroom, laid him in his place, and transported the bed back to the palace. presently the sultan came to wish his daughter good-morning. the unhappy vizir's son jumped up and hid himself, while the princess would not say a word, and was very sorrowful. the sultan sent her mother to her, who said: "how comes it, child, that you will not speak to your father? what has happened?" the princess sighed deeply, and at last told her mother how, during the night, the bed had been carried into some strange house, and what had passed there. her mother did not believe her in the least, but bade her rise and consider it an idle dream. the following night exactly the same thing happened, and next morning, on the princess's refusing to speak, the sultan threatened to cut off her head. she then confessed all, bidding him ask the vizir's son if it were not so. the sultan told the vizir to ask his son, who owned the truth, adding that, dearly as he loved the princess, he had rather die than go through another such fearful night, and wished to be separated from her. his wish was granted, and there was an end of feasting and rejoicing. when the three months were over, aladdin sent his mother to remind the sultan of his promise. she stood in the same place as before, and the sultan, who had forgotten aladdin, at once remembered him, and sent for her. on seeing her poverty the sultan felt less inclined than ever to keep his word, and asked the vizir's advice, who counselled him to set so high a value on the princess that no man living could come up to it. the sultan then turned to aladdin's mother, saying: "good woman, a sultan must remember his promises, and i will remember mine, but your son must first send me forty basins of gold brimful of jewels, carried by forty black slaves, led by as many white ones, splendidly dressed. tell him that i await his answer." the mother of aladdin bowed low and went home, thinking all was lost. she gave aladdin the message, adding: "he may wait long enough for your answer!" "not so long, mother, as you think," her son replied "i would do a great deal more than that for the princess." he summoned the genie, and in a few moments the eighty slaves arrived, and filled up the small house and garden. aladdin made them set out to the palace, two and two, followed by his mother. they were so richly dressed, with such splendid jewels in their girdles, that everyone crowded to see them and the basins of gold they carried on their heads. they entered the palace, and, after kneeling before the sultan, stood in a half-circle round the throne with their arms crossed, while aladdin's mother presented them to the sultan. he hesitated no longer, but said: "good woman, return and tell your son that i wait for him with open arms." she lost no time in telling aladdin, bidding him make haste. but aladdin first called the genie. "i want a scented bath," he said, "a richly embroidered habit, a horse surpassing the sultan's, and twenty slaves to attend me. besides this, six slaves, beautifully dressed, to wait on my mother; and lastly, ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses." no sooner said than done. aladdin mounted his horse and passed through the streets, the slaves strewing gold as they went. those who had played with him in his childhood knew him not, he had grown so handsome. when the sultan saw him he came down from his throne, embraced him, and led him into a hall where a feast was spread, intending to marry him to the princess that very day. but aladdin refused, saying, "i must build a palace fit for her," and took his leave. once home he said to the genie: "build me a palace of the finest marble, set with jasper, agate, and other precious stones. in the middle you shall build me a large hall with a dome, its four walls of massy gold and silver, each side having six windows, whose lattices, all except one, which is to be left unfinished, must be set with diamonds and rubies. there must be stables and horses and grooms and slaves; go and see about it!" the palace was finished by next day, and the genie carried him there and showed him all his orders faithfully carried out, even to the laying of a velvet carpet from aladdin's palace to the sultan's. aladdin's mother then dressed herself carefully, and walked to the palace with her slaves, while he followed her on horseback. the sultan sent musicians with trumpets and cymbals to meet them, so that the air resounded with music and cheers. she was taken to the princess, who saluted her and treated her with great honour. at night the princess said good-bye to her father, and set out on the carpet for aladdin's palace, with his mother at her side, and followed by the hundred slaves. she was charmed at the sight of aladdin, who ran to receive her. "princess," he said, "blame your beauty for my boldness if i have displeased you." she told him that, having seen him, she willingly obeyed her father in this matter. after the wedding had taken place aladdin led her into the hall, where a feast was spread, and she supped with him, after which they danced till midnight. next day aladdin invited the sultan to see the palace. on entering the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, with their rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, he cried: "it is a world's wonder! there is only one thing that surprises me. was it by accident that one window was left unfinished?" "no, sir, by design," returned aladdin. "i wished your majesty to have the glory of finishing this palace." the sultan was pleased, and sent for the best jewelers in the city. he showed them the unfinished window, and bade them fit it up like the others. "sir," replied their spokesman, "we cannot find jewels enough." the sultan had his own fetched, which they soon used, but to no purpose, for in a month's time the work was not half done. aladdin, knowing that their task was vain, bade them undo their work and carry the jewels back, and the genie finished the window at his command. the sultan was surprised to receive his jewels again and visited aladdin, who showed him the window finished. the sultan embraced him, the envious vizir meanwhile hinting that it was the work of enchantment. aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. he was made captain of the sultan's armies, and won several battles for him, but remained modest and courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and content for several years. but far away in africa the magician remembered aladdin, and by his magic arts discovered that aladdin, instead of perishing miserably in the cave, had escaped, and had married a princess, with whom he was living in great honour and wealth. he knew that the poor tailor's son could only have accomplished this by means of the lamp, and travelled night and day till he reached the capital of china, bent on aladdin's ruin. as he passed through the town he heard people talking everywhere about a marvellous palace. "forgive my ignorance," he asked, "what is this palace you speak of?" "have you not heard of prince aladdin's palace," was the reply, "the greatest wonder of the world? i will direct you if you have a mind to see it." the magician thanked him who spoke, and having seen the palace knew that it had been raised by the genie of the lamp, and became half mad with rage. he determined to get hold of the lamp, and again plunge aladdin into the deepest poverty. unluckily, aladdin had gone a-hunting for eight days, which gave the magician plenty of time. he bought a dozen copper lamps, put them into a basket, and went to the palace, crying: "new lamps for old!" followed by a jeering crowd. the princess, sitting in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, sent a slave to find out what the noise was about, who came back laughing, so that the princess scolded her. "madam," replied the slave, "who can help laughing to see an old fool offering to exchange fine new lamps for old ones?" another slave, hearing this, said: "there is an old one on the cornice there which he can have." now this was the magic lamp, which aladdin had left there, as he could not take it out hunting with him. the princess, not knowing its value, laughingly bade the slave take it and make the exchange. she went and said to the magician: "give me a new lamp for this." he snatched it and bade the slave take her choice, amid the jeers of the crowd. little he cared, but left off crying his lamps, and went out of the city gates to a lonely place, where he remained till nightfall, when he pulled out the lamp and rubbed it. the genie appeared, and at the magician's command carried him, together with the palace and the princess in it, to a lonely place in africa. next morning the sultan looked out of the window towards aladdin's palace and rubbed his eyes, for it was gone. he sent for the vizir, and asked what had become of the palace. the vizir looked out too, and was lost in astonishment. he again put it down to enchantment, and this time the sultan believed him, and sent thirty men on horseback to fetch aladdin in chains. they met him riding home, bound him, and forced him to go with them on foot. the people, however, who loved him, followed, armed, to see that he came to no harm. he was carried before the sultan, who ordered the executioner to cut off his head. the executioner made aladdin kneel down, bandaged his eyes, and raised his scimitar to strike. at that instant the vizir, who saw that the crowd had forced their way into the courtyard and were scaling the walls to rescue aladdin, called to the executioner to stay his hand. the people, indeed, looked so threatening that the sultan gave way and ordered aladdin to be unbound, and pardoned him in the sight of the crowd. aladdin now begged to know what he had done. "false wretch!" said the sultan, "come hither," and showed him from the window the place where his palace had stood. aladdin was so amazed that he could not say a word. "where is my palace and my daughter?" demanded the sultan. "for the first i am not so deeply concerned, but my daughter i must have, and you must find her or lose your head." aladdin begged for forty days in which to find her, promising if he failed to return and suffer death at the sultan's pleasure. his prayer was granted, and he went forth sadly from the sultan's presence. for three days he wandered about like a madman, asking everyone what had become of his palace, but they only laughed and pitied him. he came to the banks of a river, and knelt down to say his prayers before throwing himself in. in so doing he rubbed the magic ring he still wore. the genie he had seen in the cave appeared, and asked his will. "save my life, genie," said aladdin, "and bring my palace back." "that is not in my power," said the genie; "i am only the slave of the ring; you must ask the slave of the lamp." "even so," said aladdin "but thou canst take me to the palace, and set me down under my dear wife's window." he at once found himself in africa, under the window of the princess, and fell asleep out of sheer weariness. he was awakened by the singing of the birds, and his heart was lighter. he saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owing to the loss of the lamp, and vainly wondered who had robbed him of it. that morning the princess rose earlier than she had done since she had been carried into africa by the magician, whose company she was forced to endure once a day. she, however, treated him so harshly that he dared not live there altogether. as she was dressing, one of her women looked out and saw aladdin. the princess ran and opened the window, and at the noise she made aladdin looked up. she called to him to come to her, and great was the joy of these lovers at seeing each other again. after he had kissed her aladdin said: "i beg of you, princess, in god's name, before we speak of anything else, for your own sake and mine, tell me what has become of an old lamp i left on the cornice in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, when i went a-hunting." "alas!" she said "i am the innocent cause of our sorrows," and told him of the exchange of the lamp. "now i know," cried aladdin, "that we have to thank the african magician for this! where is the lamp?" "he carries it about with him," said the princess, "i know, for he pulled it out of his breast to show me. he wishes me to break my faith with you and marry him, saying that you were beheaded by my father's command. he is forever speaking ill of you, but i only reply by my tears. if i persist, i doubt not that he will use violence." aladdin comforted her, and left her for a while. he changed clothes with the first person he met in the town, and having bought a certain powder returned to the princess, who let him in by a little side door. "put on your most beautiful dress," he said to her, "and receive the magician with smiles, leading him to believe that you have forgotten me. invite him to sup with you, and say you wish to taste the wine of his country. he will go for some, and while he is gone i will tell you what to do." she listened carefully to aladdin, and when he left her arrayed herself gaily for the first time since she left china. she put on a girdle and head-dress of diamonds, and seeing in a glass that she looked more beautiful than ever, received the magician, saying to his great amazement: "i have made up my mind that aladdin is dead, and that all my tears will not bring him back to me, so i am resolved to mourn no more, and have therefore invited you to sup with me; but i am tired of the wines of china, and would fain taste those of africa." the magician flew to his cellar, and the princess put the powder aladdin had given her in her cup. when he returned she asked him to drink her health in the wine of africa, handing him her cup in exchange for his as a sign she was reconciled to him. before drinking the magician made her a speech in praise of her beauty, but the princess cut him short saying: "let me drink first, and you shall say what you will afterwards." she set her cup to her lips and kept it there, while the magician drained his to the dregs and fell back lifeless. the princess then opened the door to aladdin, and flung her arms round his neck, but aladdin put her away, bidding her to leave him, as he had more to do. he then went to the dead magician, took the lamp out of his vest, and bade the genie carry the palace and all in it back to china. this was done, and the princess in her chamber only felt two little shocks, and little thought she was at home again. the sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning for his lost daughter, happened to look up, and rubbed his eyes, for there stood the palace as before! he hastened thither, and aladdin received him in the hall of the four-and-twenty windows, with the princess at his side. aladdin told him what had happened, and showed him the dead body of the magician, that he might believe. a ten days' feast was proclaimed, and it seemed as if aladdin might now live the rest of his life in peace; but it was not to be. the african magician had a younger brother, who was, if possible, more wicked and more cunning than himself. he travelled to china to avenge his brother's death, and went to visit a pious woman called fatima, thinking she might be of use to him. he entered her cell and clapped a dagger to her breast, telling her to rise and do his bidding on pain of death. he changed clothes with her, coloured his face like hers, put on her veil and murdered her, that she might tell no tales. then he went towards the palace of aladdin, and all the people thinking he was the holy woman, gathered round him, kissing his hands and begging his blessing. when he got to the palace there was such a noise going on round him that the princess bade her slave look out of the window and ask what was the matter. the slave said it was the holy woman, curing people by her touch of their ailments, whereupon the princess, who had long desired to see fatima, sent for her. on coming to the princess the magician offered up a prayer for her health and prosperity. when he had done the princess made him sit by her, and begged him to stay with her always. the false fatima, who wished for nothing better, consented, but kept his veil down for fear of discovery. the princess showed him the hall, and asked him what he thought of it. "it is truly beautiful," said the false fatima. "in my mind it wants but one thing." "and what is that?" said the princess. "if only a roc's egg," replied he, "were hung up from the middle of this dome, it would be the wonder of the world." after this the princess could think of nothing but a roc's egg, and when aladdin returned from hunting he found her in a very ill humour. he begged to know what was amiss, and she told him that all her pleasure in the hall was spoilt for the want of a roc's egg hanging from the dome. "it that is all," replied aladdin, "you shall soon be happy." he left her and rubbed the lamp, and when the genie appeared commanded him to bring a roc's egg. the genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that i have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? you and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes; but this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the african magician whom you destroyed. he is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman--whom he murdered. he it was who put that wish into your wife's head. take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." so saying the genie disappeared. aladdin went back to the princess, saying his head ached, and requesting that the holy fatima should be fetched to lay her hands on it. but when the magician came near, aladdin, seizing his dagger, pierced him to the heart. "what have you done?" cried the princess. "you have killed the holy woman!" "not so," replied aladdin, "but a wicked magician," and told her of how she had been deceived. after this aladdin and his wife lived in peace. he succeeded the sultan when he died, and reigned for many years, leaving behind him a long line of kings. the adventures of haroun-al-raschid, caliph of bagdad the caliph haroun-al-raschid sat in his palace, wondering if there was anything left in the world that could possibly give him a few hours' amusement, when giafar the grand-vizir, his old and tried friend, suddenly appeared before him. bowing low, he waited, as was his duty, till his master spoke, but haroun-al-raschid merely turned his head and looked at him, and sank back into his former weary posture. now giafar had something of importance to say to the caliph, and had no intention of being put off by mere silence, so with another low bow in front of the throne, he began to speak. "commander of the faithful," said he, "i have taken on myself to remind your highness that you have undertaken secretly to observe for yourself the manner in which justice is done and order is kept throughout the city. this is the day you have set apart to devote to this object, and perhaps in fulfilling this duty you may find some distraction from the melancholy to which, as i see to my sorrow, you are a prey." "you are right," returned the caliph, "i had forgotten all about it. go and change your coat, and i will change mine." a few moments later they both re-entered the hall, disguised as foreign merchants, and passed through a secret door, out into the open country. here they turned towards the euphrates, and crossing the river in a small boat, walked through that part of the town which lay along the further bank, without seeing anything to call for their interference. much pleased with the peace and good order of the city, the caliph and his vizir made their way to a bridge, which led straight back to the palace, and had already crossed it, when they were stopped by an old and blind man, who begged for alms. the caliph gave him a piece of money, and was passing on, but the blind man seized his hand, and held him fast. "charitable person," he said, "whoever you may be grant me yet another prayer. strike me, i beg of you, one blow. i have deserved it richly, and even a more severe penalty." the caliph, much surprised at this request, replied gently: "my good man, that which you ask is impossible. of what use would my alms be if i treated you so ill?" and as he spoke he tried to loosen the grasp of the blind beggar. "my lord," answered the man, "pardon my boldness and my persistence. take back your money, or give me the blow which i crave. i have sworn a solemn oath that i will receive nothing without receiving chastisement, and if you knew all, you would feel that the punishment is not a tenth part of what i deserve." moved by these words, and perhaps still more by the fact that he had other business to attend to, the caliph yielded, and struck him lightly on the shoulder. then he continued his road, followed by the blessing of the blind man. when they were out of earshot, he said to the vizir, "there must be something very odd to make that man act so--i should like to find out what is the reason. go back to him; tell him who i am, and order him to come without fail to the palace to-morrow, after the hour of evening prayer." so the grand-vizir went back to the bridge; gave the blind beggar first a piece of money and then a blow, delivered the caliph's message, and rejoined his master. they passed on towards the palace, but walking through a square, they came upon a crowd watching a young and well-dressed man who was urging a horse at full speed round the open space, using at the same time his spurs and whip so unmercifully that the animal was all covered with foam and blood. the caliph, astonished at this proceeding, inquired of a passer-by what it all meant, but no one could tell him anything, except that every day at the same hour the same thing took place. still wondering, he passed on, and for the moment had to content himself with telling the vizir to command the horseman also to appear before him at the same time as the blind man. the next day, after evening prayer, the caliph entered the hall, and was followed by the vizir bringing with him the two men of whom we have spoken, and a third, with whom we have nothing to do. they all bowed themselves low before the throne and then the caliph bade them rise, and ask the blind man his name. "baba-abdalla, your highness," said he. "baba-abdalla," returned the caliph, "your way of asking alms yesterday seemed to me so strange, that i almost commanded you then and there to cease from causing such a public scandal. but i have sent for you to inquire what was your motive in making such a curious vow. when i know the reason i shall be able to judge whether you can be permitted to continue to practise it, for i cannot help thinking that it sets a very bad example to others. tell me therefore the whole truth, and conceal nothing." these words troubled the heart of baba-abdalla, who prostrated himself at the feet of the caliph. then rising, he answered: "commander of the faithful, i crave your pardon humbly, for my persistence in beseeching your highness to do an action which appears on the face of it to be without any meaning. no doubt, in the eyes of men, it has none; but i look on it as a slight expiation for a fearful sin of which i have been guilty, and if your highness will deign to listen to my tale, you will see that no punishment could atone for the crime." the story of the blind baba-abdalla i was born, commander of the faithful, in bagdad, and was left an orphan while i was yet a very young man, for my parents died within a few days of each other. i had inherited from them a small fortune, which i worked hard night and day to increase, till at last i found myself the owner of eighty camels. these i hired out to travelling merchants, whom i frequently accompanied on their various journeys, and always returned with large profits. one day i was coming back from balsora, whither i had taken a supply of goods, intended for india, and halted at noon in a lonely place, which promised rich pasture for my camels. i was resting in the shade under a tree, when a dervish, going on foot towards balsora, sat down by my side, and i inquired whence he had come and to what place he was going. we soon made friends, and after we had asked each other the usual questions, we produced the food we had with us, and satisfied our hunger. while we were eating, the dervish happened to mention that in a spot only a little way off from where we were sitting, there was hidden a treasure so great that if my eighty camels were loaded till they could carry no more, the hiding place would seem as full as if it had never been touched. at this news i became almost beside myself with joy and greed, and i flung my arms round the neck of the dervish, exclaiming: "good dervish, i see plainly that the riches of this world are nothing to you, therefore of what use is the knowledge of this treasure to you? alone and on foot, you could carry away a mere handful. but tell me where it is, and i will load my eighty camels with it, and give you one of them as a token of my gratitude." certainly my offer does not sound very magnificent, but it was great to me, for at his words a wave of covetousness had swept over my heart, and i almost felt as if the seventy-nine camels that were left were nothing in comparison. the dervish saw quite well what was passing in my mind, but he did not show what he thought of my proposal. "my brother," he answered quietly, "you know as well as i do, that you are behaving unjustly. it was open to me to keep my secret, and to reserve the treasure for myself. but the fact that i have told you of its existence shows that i had confidence in you, and that i hoped to earn your gratitude for ever, by making your fortune as well as mine. but before i reveal to you the secret of the treasure, you must swear that, after we have loaded the camels with as much as they can carry, you will give half to me, and let us go our own ways. i think you will see that this is fair, for if you present me with forty camels, i on my side will give you the means of buying a thousand more." i could not of course deny that what the dervish said was perfectly reasonable, but, in spite of that, the thought that the dervish would be as rich as i was unbearable to me. still there was no use in discussing the matter, and i had to accept his conditions or bewail to the end of my life the loss of immense wealth. so i collected my camels and we set out together under the guidance of the dervish. after walking some time, we reached what looked like a valley, but with such a narrow entrance that my camels could only pass one by one. the little valley, or open space, was shut up by two mountains, whose sides were formed of straight cliffs, which no human being could climb. when we were exactly between these mountains the dervish stopped. "make your camels lie down in this open space," he said, "so that we can easily load them; then we will go to the treasure." i did what i was bid, and rejoined the dervish, whom i found trying to kindle a fire out of some dry wood. as soon as it was alight, he threw on it a handful of perfumes, and pronounced a few words that i did not understand, and immediately a thick column of smoke rose high into the air. he separated the smoke into two columns, and then i saw a rock, which stood like a pillar between the two mountains, slowly open, and a splendid palace appear within. but, commander of the faithful, the love of gold had taken such possession of my heart, that i could not even stop to examine the riches, but fell upon the first pile of gold within my reach and began to heap it into a sack that i had brought with me. the dervish likewise set to work, but i soon noticed that he confined himself to collecting precious stones, and i felt i should be wise to follow his example. at length the camels were loaded with as much as they could carry, and nothing remained but to seal up the treasure, and go our ways. before, however, this was done, the dervish went up to a great golden vase, beautifully chased, and took from it a small wooden box, which he hid in the bosom of his dress, merely saying that it contained a special kind of ointment. then he once more kindled the fire, threw on the perfume, and murmured the unknown spell, and the rock closed, and stood whole as before. the next thing was to divide the camels, and to charge them with the treasure, after which we each took command of our own and marched out of the valley, till we reached the place in the high road where the routes diverge, and then we parted, the dervish going towards balsora, and i to bagdad. we embraced each other tenderly, and i poured out my gratitude for the honour he had done me, in singling me out for this great wealth, and having said a hearty farewell we turned our backs, and hastened after our camels. i had hardly come up with mine when the demon of envy filled my soul. "what does a dervish want with riches like that?" i said to myself. "he alone has the secret of the treasure, and can always get as much as he wants," and i halted my camels by the roadside, and ran back after him. i was a quick runner, and it did not take me very long to come up with him. "my brother," i exclaimed, as soon as i could speak, "almost at the moment of our leave-taking, a reflection occurred to me, which is perhaps new to you. you are a dervish by profession, and live a very quiet life, only caring to do good, and careless of the things of this world. you do not realise the burden that you lay upon yourself, when you gather into your hands such great wealth, besides the fact that no one, who is not accustomed to camels from his birth, can ever manage the stubborn beasts. if you are wise, you will not encumber yourself with more than thirty, and you will find those trouble enough." "you are right," replied the dervish, who understood me quite well, but did not wish to fight the matter. "i confess i had not thought about it. choose any ten you like, and drive them before you." i selected ten of the best camels, and we proceeded along the road, to rejoin those i had left behind. i had got what i wanted, but i had found the dervish so easy to deal with, that i rather regretted i had not asked for ten more. i looked back. he had only gone a few paces, and i called after him. "my brother," i said, "i am unwilling to part from you without pointing out what i think you scarcely grasp, that large experience of camel-driving is necessary to anybody who intends to keep together a troop of thirty. in your own interest, i feel sure you would be much happier if you entrusted ten more of them to me, for with my practice it is all one to me if i take two or a hundred." as before, the dervish made no difficulties, and i drove off my ten camels in triumph, only leaving him with twenty for his share. i had now sixty, and anyone might have imagined that i should be content. but, commander of the faithful, there is a proverb that says, "the more one has, the more one wants." so it was with me. i could not rest as long as one solitary camel remained to the dervish; and returning to him i redoubled my prayers and embraces, and promises of eternal gratitude, till the last twenty were in my hands. "make a good use of them, my brother," said the holy man. "remember riches sometimes have wings if we keep them for ourselves, and the poor are at our gates expressly that we may help them." my eyes were so blinded by gold, that i paid no heed to his wise counsel, and only looked about for something else to grasp. suddenly i remembered the little box of ointment that the dervish had hidden, and which most likely contained a treasure more precious than all the rest. giving him one last embrace, i observed accidentally, "what are you going to do with that little box of ointment? it seems hardly worth taking with you; you might as well let me have it. and really, a dervish who has given up the world has no need of ointment!" oh, if he had only refused my request! but then, supposing he had, i should have got possession of it by force, so great was the madness that had laid hold upon me. however, far from refusing it, the dervish at once held it out, saying gracefully, "take it, my friend, and if there is anything else i can do to make you happy you must let me know." directly the box was in my hands i wrenched off the cover. "as you are so kind," i said, "tell me, i pray you, what are the virtues of this ointment?" "they are most curious and interesting," replied the dervish. "if you apply a little of it to your left eye you will behold in an instant all the treasures hidden in the bowels of the earth. but beware lest you touch your right eye with it, or your sight will be destroyed for ever." his words excited my curiosity to the highest pitch. "make trial on me, i implore you," i cried, holding out the box to the dervish. "you will know how to do it better than i! i am burning with impatience to test its charms." the dervish took the box i had extended to him, and, bidding me shut my left eye, touched it gently with the ointment. when i opened it again i saw spread out, as it were before me, treasures of every kind and without number. but as all this time i had been obliged to keep my right eye closed, which was very fatiguing, i begged the dervish to apply the ointment to that eye also. "if you insist upon it i will do it," answered the dervish, "but you must remember what i told you just now--that if it touches your right eye you will become blind on the spot." unluckily, in spite of my having proved the truth of the dervish's words in so many instances, i was firmly convinced that he was now keeping concealed from me some hidden and precious virtue of the ointment. so i turned a deaf ear to all he said. "my brother," i replied smiling, "i see you are joking. it is not natural that the same ointment should have two such exactly opposite effects." "it is true all the same," answered the dervish, "and it would be well for you if you believed my word." but i would not believe, and, dazzled by the greed of avarice, i thought that if one eye could show me riches, the other might teach me how to get possession of them. and i continued to press the dervish to anoint my right eye, but this he resolutely declined to do. "after having conferred such benefits on you," said he, "i am loth indeed to work you such evil. think what it is to be blind, and do not force me to do what you will repent as long as you live." it was of no use. "my brother," i said firmly, "pray say no more, but do what i ask. you have most generously responded to my wishes up to this time, do not spoil my recollection of you for a thing of such little consequence. let what will happen i take it on my own head, and will never reproach you." "since you are determined upon it," he answered with a sigh, "there is no use talking," and taking the ointment he laid some on my right eye, which was tight shut. when i tried to open it heavy clouds of darkness floated before me. i was as blind as you see me now! "miserable dervish!" i shrieked, "so it is true after all! into what a bottomless pit has my lust after gold plunged me. ah, now that my eyes are closed they are really opened. i know that all my sufferings are caused by myself alone! but, good brother, you, who are so kind and charitable, and know the secrets of such vast learning, have you nothing that will give me back my sight?" "unhappy man," replied the dervish, "it is not my fault that this has befallen you, but it is a just chastisement. the blindness of your heart has wrought the blindness of your body. yes, i have secrets; that you have seen in the short time that we have known each other. but i have none that will give you back your sight. you have proved yourself unworthy of the riches that were given you. now they have passed into my hands, whence they will flow into the hands of others less greedy and ungrateful than you." the dervish said no more and left me, speechless with shame and confusion, and so wretched that i stood rooted to the spot, while he collected the eighty camels and proceeded on his way to balsora. it was in vain that i entreated him not to leave me, but at least to take me within reach of the first passing caravan. he was deaf to my prayers and cries, and i should soon have been dead of hunger and misery if some merchants had not come along the track the following day and kindly brought me back to bagdad. from a rich man i had in one moment become a beggar; and up to this time i have lived solely on the alms that have been bestowed on me. but, in order to expiate the sin of avarice, which was my undoing, i oblige each passer-by to give me a blow. this, commander of the faithful, is my story. when the blind man had ended the caliph addressed him: "baba-abdalla, truly your sin is great, but you have suffered enough. henceforth repent in private, for i will see that enough money is given you day by day for all your wants." at these words baba-abdalla flung himself at the caliph's feet, and prayed that honour and happiness might be his portion for ever. the story of sidi-nouman the caliph, haroun-al-raschid, was much pleased with the tale of the blind man and the dervish, and when it was finished he turned to the young man who had ill-treated his horse, and inquired his name also. the young man replied that he was called sidi-nouman. "sidi-nouman," observed the caliph, "i have seen horses broken all my life long, and have even broken them myself, but i have never seen any horse broken in such a barbarous manner as by you yesterday. every one who looked on was indignant, and blamed you loudly. as for myself, i was so angry that i was very nearly disclosing who i was, and putting a stop to it at once. still, you have not the air of a cruel man, and i would gladly believe that you did not act in this way without some reason. as i am told that it was not the first time, and indeed that every day you are to be seen flogging and spurring your horse, i wish to come to the bottom of the matter. but tell me the whole truth, and conceal nothing." sidi-nouman changed colour as he heard these words, and his manner grew confused; but he saw plainly that there was no help for it. so he prostrated himself before the throne of the caliph and tried to obey, but the words stuck in his throat, and he remained silent. the caliph, accustomed though he was to instant obedience, guessed something of what was passing in the young man's mind, and sought to put him at his ease. "sidi-nouman," he said, "do not think of me as the caliph, but merely as a friend who would like to hear your story. if there is anything in it that you are afraid may offend me, take courage, for i pardon you beforehand. speak then openly and without fear, as to one who knows and loves you." reassured by the kindness of the caliph, sidi-nouman at length began his tale. "commander of the faithful," said he, "dazzled though i am by the lustre of your highness' presence, i will do my best to satisfy your wishes. i am by no means perfect, but i am not naturally cruel, neither do i take pleasure in breaking the law. i admit that the treatment of my horse is calculated to give your highness a bad opinion of me, and to set an evil example to others; yet i have not chastised it without reason, and i have hopes that i shall be judged more worthy of pity than punishment." commander of the faithful, i will not trouble to describe my birth; it is not of sufficient distinction to deserve your highness' attention. my ancestors were careful people, and i inherited enough money to enable me to live comfortably, though without show. having therefore a modest fortune, the only thing wanting to my happiness was a wife who could return my affection, but this blessing i was not destined to get; for on the very day after my marriage, my bride began to try my patience in every way that was most hard to bear. now, seeing that the customs of our land oblige us to marry without ever beholding the person with whom we are to pass our lives, a man has of course no right to complain as long as his wife is not absolutely repulsive, or is not positively deformed. and whatever defects her body may have, pleasant ways and good behaviour will go far to remedy them. the first time i saw my wife unveiled, when she had been brought to my house with the usual ceremonies, i was enchanted to find that i had not been deceived in regard to the account that had been given me of her beauty. i began my married life in high spirits, and the best hopes of happiness. the following day a grand dinner was served to us but as my wife did not appear, i ordered a servant to call her. still she did not come, and i waited impatiently for some time. at last she entered the room, and she took our places at the table, and plates of rice were set before us. i ate mine, as was natural, with a spoon, but great was my surprise to notice that my wife, instead of doing the same, drew from her pocket a little case, from which she selected a long pin, and by the help of this pin conveyed her rice grain by grain to her mouth. "amina," i exclaimed in astonishment, "is that the way you eat rice at home? and did you do it because your appetite was so small, or did you wish to count the grains so that you might never eat more than a certain number? if it was from economy, and you are anxious to teach me not to be wasteful, you have no cause for alarm. we shall never ruin ourselves in that way! our fortune is large enough for all our needs, therefore, dear amina, do not seek to check yourself, but eat as much as you desire, as i do!" in reply to my affectionate words, i expected a cheerful answer; yet amina said nothing at all, but continued to pick her rice as before, only at longer and longer intervals. and, instead of trying the other dishes, all she did was to put every now and then a crumb, of bread into her mouth, that would not have made a meal for a sparrow. i felt provoked by her obstinacy, but to excuse her to myself as far as i could, i suggested that perhaps she had never been used to eat in the company of men, and that her family might have taught her that she ought to behave prudently and discreetly in the presence of her husband. likewise that she might either have dined already or intend to do so in her own apartments. so i took no further notice, and when i had finished left the room, secretly much vexed at her strange conduct. the same thing occurred at supper, and all through the next day, whenever we ate together. it was quite clear that no woman could live upon two or three bread-crumbs and a few grains of rice, and i determined to find out how and when she got food. i pretended not to pay attention to anything she did, in the hope that little by little she would get accustomed to me, and become more friendly; but i soon saw that my expectations were quite vain. one night i was lying with my eyes closed, and to, all appearance sound asleep, when amina arose softly, and dressed herself without making the slightest sound. i could not imagine what she was going to do, and as my curiosity was great i made up my mind to follow her. when she was fully dressed, she stole quietly from the room. the instant she had let the curtain fall behind her, i flung a garment on my shoulders and a pair of slippers on my feet. looking from a lattice which opened into the court, i saw her in the act of passing through the street door, which she carefully left open. it was bright moonlight, so i easily managed to keep her in sight, till she entered a cemetery not far from the house. there i hid myself under the shadow of the wall, and crouched down cautiously; and hardly was i concealed, when i saw my wife approaching in company with a ghoul--one of those demons which, as your highness is aware, wander about the country making their lairs in deserted buildings and springing out upon unwary travellers whose flesh they eat. if no live being goes their way, they then betake themselves to the cemeteries, and feed upon the dead bodies. i was nearly struck dumb with horror on seeing my wife with this hideous female ghoul. they passed by me without noticing me, began to dig up a corpse which had been buried that day, and then sat down on the edge of the grave, to enjoy their frightful repast, talking quietly and cheerfully all the while, though i was too far off to hear what they said. when they had finished, they threw back the body into the grave, and heaped back the earth upon it. i made no effort to disturb them, and returned quickly to the house, when i took care to leave the door open, as i had previously found it. then i got back into bed, and pretended to sleep soundly. a short time after amina entered as quietly as she had gone out. she undressed and stole into bed, congratulating herself apparently on the cleverness with which she had managed her expedition. as may be guessed, after such a scene it was long before i could close my eyes, and at the first sound which called the faithful to prayer, i put on my clothes and went to the mosque. but even prayer did not restore peace to my troubled spirit, and i could not face my wife until i had made up my mind what future course i should pursue in regard to her. i therefore spent the morning roaming about from one garden to another, turning over various plans for compelling my wife to give up her horrible ways; i thought of using violence to make her submit, but felt reluctant to be unkind to her. besides, i had an instinct that gentle means had the best chance of success; so, a little soothed, i turned towards home, which i reached about the hour of dinner. as soon as i appeared, amina ordered dinner to be served, and we sat down together. as usual, she persisted in only picking a few grains of rice, and i resolved to speak to her at once of what lay so heavily on my heart. "amina," i said, as quietly as possible, "you must have guessed the surprise i felt, when the day after our marriage you declined to eat anything but a few morsels of rice, and altogether behaved in such a manner that most husbands would have been deeply wounded. however i had patience with you, and only tried to tempt your appetite by the choicest dishes i could invent, but all to no purpose. still, amina, it seems to me that there be some among them as sweet to the taste as the flesh of a corpse?" i had no sooner uttered these words than amina, who instantly understood that i had followed her to the grave-yard, was seized with a passion beyond any that i have ever witnessed. her face became purple, her eyes looked as if they would start from her head, and she positively foamed with rage. i watched her with terror, wondering what would happen next, but little thinking what would be the end of her fury. she seized a vessel of water that stood at hand, and plunging her hand in it, murmured some words i failed to catch. then, sprinkling it on my face, she cried madly: "wretch, receive the reward of your prying, and become a dog." the words were not out of her mouth when, without feeling conscious that any change was passing over me, i suddenly knew that i had ceased to be a man. in the greatness of the shock and surprise--for i had no idea that amina was a magician--i never dreamed of running away, and stood rooted to the spot, while amina grasped a stick and began to beat me. indeed her blows were so heavy, that i only wonder they did not kill me at once. however they succeeded in rousing me from my stupor, and i dashed into the court-yard, followed closely by amina, who made frantic dives at me, which i was not quick enough to dodge. at last she got tired of pursuing me, or else a new trick entered into her head, which would give me speedy and painful death; she opened the gate leading into the street, intending to crush me as i passed through. dog though i was, i saw through her design, and stung into presence of mind by the greatness of the danger, i timed my movements so well that i contrived to rush through, and only the tip of my tail received a squeeze as she banged the gate. i was safe, but my tail hurt me horribly, and i yelped and howled so loud all along the streets, that the other dogs came and attacked me, which made matters no better. in order to avoid them, i took refuge in a cookshop, where tongues and sheep's heads were sold. at first the owner showed me great kindness, and drove away the other dogs that were still at my heels, while i crept into the darkest corner. but though i was safe for the moment, i was not destined to remain long under his protection, for he was one of those who hold all dogs to be unclean, and that all the washing in the world will hardly purify you from their contact. so after my enemies had gone to seek other prey, he tried to lure me from my corner in order to force me into the street. but i refused to come out of my hole, and spent the night in sleep, which i sorely needed, after the pain inflicted on me by amina. i have no wish to weary your highness by dwelling on the sad thoughts which accompanied my change of shape, but it may interest you to hear that the next morning my host went out early to do his marketing, and returned laden with the sheep's heads, and tongues and trotters that formed his stock in trade for the day. the smell of meat attracted various hungry dogs in the neighbourhood, and they gathered round the door begging for some bits. i stole out of my corner, and stood with them. in spite of his objection to dogs, as unclean animals, my protector was a kind-hearted man, and knowing i had eaten nothing since yesterday, he threw me bigger and better bits than those which fell to the share of the other dogs. when i had finished, i tried to go back into the shop, but this he would not allow, and stood so firmly at the entrance with a stout stick, that i was forced to give it up, and seek some other home. a few paces further on was a baker's shop, which seemed to have a gay and merry man for a master. at that moment he was having his breakfast, and though i gave no signs of hunger, he at once threw me a piece of bread. before gobbling it up, as most dogs are in the habit of doing, i bowed my head and wagged my tail, in token of thanks, and he understood, and smiled pleasantly. i really did not want the bread at all, but felt it would be ungracious to refuse, so i ate it slowly, in order that he might see that i only did it out of politeness. he understood this also, and seemed quite willing to let me stay in his shop, so i sat down, with my face to the door, to show that i only asked his protection. this he gave me, and indeed encouraged me to come into the house itself, giving me a corner where i might sleep, without being in anybody's way. the kindness heaped on me by this excellent man was far greater than i could ever have expected. he was always affectionate in his manner of treating me, and i shared his breakfast, dinner and supper, while, on my side, i gave him all the gratitude and attachment to which he had a right. i sat with my eyes fixed on him, and he never left the house without having me at his heels; and if it ever happened that when he was preparing to go out i was asleep, and did not notice, he would call "rufus, rufus," for that was the name he gave me. some weeks passed in this way, when one day a woman came in to buy bread. in paying for it, she laid down several pieces of money, one of which was bad. the baker perceived this, and declined to take it, demanding another in its place. the woman, for her part, refused to take it back, declaring it was perfectly good, but the baker would have nothing to do with it. "it is really such a bad imitation," he exclaimed at last, "that even my dog would not be taken in. here rufus! rufus!" and hearing his voice, i jumped on to the counter. the baker threw down the money before me, and said, "find out if there is a bad coin." i looked at each in turn, and then laid my paw on the false one, glancing at the same time at my master, so as to point it out. the baker, who had of course been only in joke, was exceedingly surprised at my cleverness, and the woman, who was at last convinced that the man spoke the truth, produced another piece of money in its place. when she had gone, my master was so pleased that he told all the neighbours what i had done, and made a great deal more of it than there really was. the neighbours, very naturally, declined to believe his story, and tried me several times with all the bad money they could collect together, but i never failed to stand the test triumphantly. soon, the shop was filled from morning till night, with people who on the pretence of buying bread came to see if i was as clever as i was reported to be. the baker drove a roaring trade, and admitted that i was worth my weight in gold to him. of course there were plenty who envied him his large custom, and many was the pitfall set for me, so that he never dared to let me out of his sight. one day a woman, who had not been in the shop before, came to ask for bread, like the rest. as usual, i was lying on the counter, and she threw down six coins before me, one of which was false. i detected it at once, and put my paw on it, looking as i did so at the woman. "yes," she said, nodding her head. "you are quite right, that is the one." she stood gazing at me attentively for some time, then paid for the bread, and left the shop, making a sign for me to follow her secretly. now my thoughts were always running on some means of shaking off the spell laid on me, and noticing the way in which this woman had looked at me, the idea entered my head that perhaps she might have guessed what had happened, and in this i was not deceived. however i let her go on a little way, and merely stood at the door watching her. she turned, and seeing that i was quite still, she again beckoned to me. the baker all this while was busy with his oven, and had forgotten all about me, so i stole out softly, and ran after the woman. when we came to her house, which was some distance off, she opened the door and then said to me, "come in, come in; you will never be sorry that you followed me." when i had entered she fastened the door, and took me into a large room, where a beautiful girl was working at a piece of embroidery. "my daughter," exclaimed my guide, "i have brought you the famous dog belonging to the baker which can tell good money from bad. you know that when i first heard of him, i told you i was sure he must be really a man, changed into a dog by magic. to-day i went to the baker's, to prove for myself the truth of the story, and persuaded the dog to follow me here. now what do you say?" "you are right, mother," replied the girl, and rising she dipped her hand into a vessel of water. then sprinkling it over me she said, "if you were born dog, remain dog; but if you were born man, by virtue of this water resume your proper form." in one moment the spell was broken. the dog's shape vanished as if it had never been, and it was a man who stood before her. overcome with gratitude at my deliverance, i flung myself at her feet, and kissed the hem of her garment. "how can i thank you for your goodness towards a stranger, and for what you have done? henceforth i am your slave. deal with me as you will!" then, in order to explain how i came to be changed into a dog, i told her my whole story, and finished with rendering the mother the thanks due to her for the happiness she had brought me. "sidi-nouman," returned the daughter, "say no more about the obligation you are under to us. the knowledge that we have been of service to you is ample payment. let us speak of amina, your wife, with whom i was acquainted before her marriage. i was aware that she was a magician, and she knew too that i had studied the same art, under the same mistress. we met often going to the same baths, but we did not like each other, and never sought to become friends. as to what concerns you, it is not enough to have broken your spell, she must be punished for her wickedness. remain for a moment with my mother, i beg," she added hastily, "i will return shortly." left alone with the mother, i again expressed the gratitude i felt, to her as well as to her daughter. "my daughter," she answered, "is, as you see, as accomplished a magician as amina herself, but you would be astonished at the amount of good she does by her knowledge. that is why i have never interfered, otherwise i should have put a stop to it long ago." as she spoke, her daughter entered with a small bottle in her hand. "sidi-nouman," she said, "the books i have just consulted tell me that amina is not home at present, but she should return at any moment. i have likewise found out by their means, that she pretends before the servants great uneasiness as to your absence. she has circulated a story that, while at dinner with her, you remembered some important business that had to be done at once, and left the house without shutting the door. by this means a dog had strayed in, which she was forced to get rid of by a stick. go home then without delay, and await amina's return in your room. when she comes in, go down to meet her, and in her surprise, she will try to run away. then have this bottle ready, and dash the water it contains over her, saying boldly, "receive the reward of your crimes." that is all i have to tell you." everything happened exactly as the young magician had foretold. i had not been in my house many minutes before amina returned, and as she approached i stepped in front of her, with the water in my hand. she gave one loud cry, and turned to the door, but she was too late. i had already dashed the water in her face and spoken the magic words. amina disappeared, and in her place stood the horse you saw me beating yesterday. this, commander of the faithful, is my story, and may i venture to hope that, now you have heard the reason of my conduct, your highness will not think this wicked woman too harshly treated? "sidi-nouman," replied the caliph, "your story is indeed a strange one, and there is no excuse to be offered for your wife. but, without condemning your treatment of her, i wish you to reflect how much she must suffer from being changed into an animal, and i hope you will let that punishment be enough. i do not order you to insist upon the young magician finding the means to restore your wife to her human shape, because i know that when once women such as she begin to work evil they never leave off, and i should only bring down on your head a vengeance far worse than the one you have undergone already." the story of ali colia, merchant of bagdad in the reign of haroun-al-raschid, there lived in bagdad a merchant named ali cogia, who, having neither wife nor child, contented himself with the modest profits produced by his trade. he had spent some years quite happily in the house his father had left him, when three nights running he dreamed that an old man had appeared to him, and reproached him for having neglected the duty of a good mussulman, in delaying so long his pilgrimage to mecca. ali cogia was much troubled by this dream, as he was unwilling to give up his shop, and lose all his customers. he had shut his eyes for some time to the necessity of performing this pilgrimage, and tried to atone to his conscience by an extra number of good works, but the dream seemed to him a direct warning, and he resolved to put the journey off no longer. the first thing he did was to sell his furniture and the wares he had in his shop, only reserving to himself such goods as he might trade with on the road. the shop itself he sold also, and easily found a tenant for his private house. the only matter he could not settle satisfactorily was the safe custody of a thousand pieces of gold which he wished to leave behind him. after some thought, ali cogia hit upon a plan which seemed a safe one. he took a large vase, and placing the money in the bottom of it, filled up the rest with olives. after corking the vase tightly down, he carried it to one of his friends, a merchant like himself, and said to him: "my brother, you have probably heard that i am staffing with a caravan in a few days for mecca. i have come to ask whether you would do me the favour to keep this vase of olives for me till i come back?" the merchant replied readily, "look, this is the key of my shop: take it, and put the vase wherever you like. i promise that you shall find it in the same place on your return." a few days later, ali cogia mounted the camel that he had laden with merchandise, joined the caravan, and arrived in due time at mecca. like the other pilgrims he visited the sacred mosque, and after all his religious duties were performed, he set out his goods to the best advantage, hoping to gain some customers among the passers-by. very soon two merchants stopped before the pile, and when they had turned it over, one said to the other: "if this man was wise he would take these things to cairo, where he would get a much better price than he is likely to do here." ali cogia heard the words, and lost no time in following the advice. he packed up his wares, and instead of returning to bagdad, joined a caravan that was going to cairo. the results of the journey gladdened his heart. he sold off everything almost directly, and bought a stock of egyptian curiosities, which he intended selling at damascus; but as the caravan with which he would have to travel would not be starting for another six weeks, he took advantage of the delay to visit the pyramids, and some of the cities along the banks of the nile. now the attractions of damascus so fascinated the worthy ali, that he could hardly tear himself away, but at length he remembered that he had a home in bagdad, meaning to return by way of aleppo, and after he had crossed the euphrates, to follow the course of the tigris. but when he reached mossoul, ali had made such friends with some persian merchants, that they persuaded him to accompany them to their native land, and even as far as india, and so it came to pass that seven years had slipped by since he had left bagdad, and during all that time the friend with whom he had left the vase of olives had never once thought of him or of it. in fact, it was only a month before ali cogia's actual return that the affair came into his head at all, owing to his wife's remarking one day, that it was a long time since she had eaten any olives, and would like some. "that reminds me," said the husband, "that before ali cogia went to mecca seven years ago, he left a vase of olives in my care. but really by this time he must be dead, and there is no reason we should not eat the olives if we like. give me a light, and i will fetch them and see how they taste." "my husband," answered the wife, "beware, i pray, of your doing anything so base! supposing seven years have passed without news of ali cogia, he need not be dead for all that, and may come back any day. how shameful it would be to have to confess that you had betrayed your trust and broken the seal of the vase! pay no attention to my idle words, i really have no desire for olives now. and probably after all this while they are no longer good. i have a presentiment that ali cogia will return, and what will he think of you? give it up, i entreat." the merchant, however, refused to listen to her advice, sensible though it was. he took a light and a dish and went into his shop. "if you will be so obstinate," said his wife, "i cannot help it; but do not blame me if it turns out ill." when the merchant opened the vase he found the topmost olives were rotten, and in order to see if the under ones were in better condition he shook some out into the dish. as they fell out a few of the gold pieces fell out too. the sight of the money roused all the merchant's greed. he looked into the vase, and saw that all the bottom was filled with gold. he then replaced the olives and returned to his wife. "my wife," he said, as he entered the room, "you were quite right; the olives are rotten, and i have recorked the vase so well that ali cogia will never know it has been touched." "you would have done better to believe me," replied the wife. "i trust that no harm will come of it." these words made no more impression on the merchant than the others had done; and he spent the whole night in wondering how he could manage to keep the gold if ali cogia should come back and claim his vase. very early next morning he went out and bought fresh new olives; he then threw away the old ones, took out the gold and hid it, and filled up the vase with the olives he had bought. this done he recorked the vase and put it in the same place where it had been left by ali cogia. a month later ali cogia re-entered bagdad, and as his house was still let he went to an inn; and the following day set out to see his friend the merchant, who received him with open arms and many expressions of surprise. after a few moments given to inquiries ali cogia begged the merchant to hand him over the vase that he had taken care of for so long. "oh certainly," said he, "i am only glad i could be of use to you in the matter. here is the key of my shop; you will find the vase in the place where you put it." ali cogia fetched his vase and carried it to his room at the inn, where he opened it. he thrust down his hand but could feel no money, but still was persuaded it must be there. so he got some plates and vessels from his travelling kit and emptied out the olives. to no purpose. the gold was not there. the poor man was dumb with horror, then, lifting up his hands, he exclaimed, "can my old friend really have committed such a crime?" in great haste he went back to the house of the merchant. "my friend," he cried, "you will be astonished to see me again, but i can find nowhere in this vase a thousand pieces of gold that i placed in the bottom under the olives. perhaps you may have taken a loan of them for your business purposes; if that is so you are most welcome. i will only ask you to give me a receipt, and you can pay the money at your leisure." the merchant, who had expected something of the sort, had his reply all ready. "ali cogia," he said, "when you brought me the vase of olives did i ever touch it?" "i gave you the key of my shop and you put it yourself where you liked, and did you not find it in exactly the same spot and in the same state? if you placed any gold in it, it must be there still. i know nothing about that; you only told me there were olives. you can believe me or not, but i have not laid a finger on the vase." ali cogia still tried every means to persuade the merchant to admit the truth. "i love peace," he said, "and shall deeply regret having to resort to harsh measures. once more, think of your reputation. i shall be in despair if you oblige me to call in the aid of the law." "ali cogia," answered the merchant, "you allow that it was a vase of olives you placed in my charge. you fetched it and removed it yourself, and now you tell me it contained a thousand pieces of gold, and that i must restore them to you! did you ever say anything about them before? why, i did not even know that the vase had olives in it! you never showed them to me. i wonder you have not demanded pearls or diamonds. retire, i pray you, lest a crowd should gather in front of my shop." by this time not only the casual passers-by, but also the neighbouring merchants, were standing round, listening to the dispute, and trying every now and then to smooth matters between them. but at the merchant's last words ali cogia resolved to lay the cause of the quarrel before them, and told them the whole story. they heard him to the end, and inquired of the merchant what he had to say. the accused man admitted that he had kept ali cogia's vase in his shop; but he denied having touched it, and swore that as to what it contained he only knew what ali cogia had told him, and called them all to witness the insult that had been put upon him. "you have brought it on yourself," said ali cogia, taking him by the arm, "and as you appeal to the law, the law you shall have! let us see if you will dare to repeat your story before the cadi." now as a good mussulman the merchant was forbidden to refuse this choice of a judge, so he accepted the test, and said to ali cogia, "very well; i should like nothing better. we shall soon see which of us is in the right." so the two men presented themselves before the cadi, and ali cogia again repeated his tale. the cadi asked what witnesses he had. ali cogia replied that he had not taken this precaution, as he had considered the man his friend, and up to that time had always found him honest. the merchant, on his side, stuck to his story, and offered to swear solemnly that not only had he never stolen the thousand gold pieces, but that he did not even know they were there. the cadi allowed him to take the oath, and pronounced him innocent. ali cogia, furious at having to suffer such a loss, protested against the verdict, declaring that he would appeal to the caliph, haroun-al-raschid, himself. but the cadi paid no attention to his threats, and was quite satisfied that he had done what was right. judgment being given the merchant returned home triumphant, and ali cogia went back to his inn to draw up a petition to the caliph. the next morning he placed himself on the road along which the caliph must pass after mid-day prayer, and stretched out his petition to the officer who walked before the caliph, whose duty it was to collect such things, and on entering the palace to hand them to his master. there haroun-al-raschid studied them carefully. knowing this custom, ali cogia followed the caliph into the public hall of the palace, and waited the result. after some time the officer appeared, and told him that the caliph had read his petition, and had appointed an hour the next morning to give him audience. he then inquired the merchant's address, so that he might be summoned to attend also. that very evening, the caliph, with his grand-vizir giafar, and mesrour, chief of the eunuchs, all three disguised, as was their habit, went out to take a stroll through the town. going down one street, the caliph's attention was attracted by a noise, and looking through a door which opened into a court he perceived ten or twelve children playing in the moonlight. he hid himself in a dark corner, and watched them. "let us play at being the cadi," said the brightest and quickest of them all; "i will be the cadi. bring before me ali cogia, and the merchant who robbed him of the thousand pieces of gold." the boy's words recalled to the caliph the petition he had read that morning, and he waited with interest to see what the children would do. the proposal was hailed with joy by the other children, who had heard a great deal of talk about the matter, and they quickly settled the part each one was to play. the cadi took his seat gravely, and an officer introduced first ali cogia, the plaintiff, and then the merchant who was the defendant. ali cogia made a low bow, and pleaded his cause point by point; concluding by imploring the cadi not to inflict on him such a heavy loss. the cadi having heard his case, turned to the merchant, and inquired why he had not repaid ali cogia the sum in question. the false merchant repeated the reasons that the real merchant had given to the cadi of bagdad, and also offered to swear that he had told the truth. "stop a moment!" said the little cadi, "before we come to oaths, i should like to examine the vase with the olives. ali cogia," he added, "have you got the vase with you?" and finding he had not, the cadi continued, "go and get it, and bring it to me." so ali cogia disappeared for an instant, and then pretended to lay a vase at the feet of the cadi, declaring it was his vase, which he had given to the accused for safe custody; and in order to be quite correct, the cadi asked the merchant if he recognised it as the same vase. by his silence the merchant admitted the fact, and the cadi then commanded to have the vase opened. ali cogia made a movement as if he was taking off the lid, and the little cadi on his part made a pretence of peering into a vase. "what beautiful olives!" he said, "i should like to taste one," and pretending to put one in his mouth, he added, "they are really excellent! "but," he went on, "it seems to me odd that olives seven years old should be as good as that! send for some dealers in olives, and let us hear what they say!" two children were presented to him as olive merchants, and the cadi addressed them. "tell me," he said, "how long can olives be kept so as to be pleasant eating?" "my lord," replied the merchants, "however much care is taken to preserve them, they never last beyond the third year. they lose both taste and colour, and are only fit to be thrown away." "if that is so," answered the little cadi, "examine this vase, and tell me how long the olives have been in it." the olive merchants pretended to examine the olives and taste them; then reported to the cadi that they were fresh and good. "you are mistaken," said he, "ali cogia declares he put them in that vase seven years ago." "my lord," returned the olive merchants, "we can assure you that the olives are those of the present year. and if you consult all the merchants in bagdad you will not find one to give a contrary opinion." the accused merchant opened his mouth as if to protest, but the cadi gave him no time. "be silent," he said, "you are a thief. take him away and hang him." so the game ended, the children clapping their hands in applause, and leading the criminal away to be hanged. haroun-al-raschid was lost in astonishment at the wisdom of the child, who had given so wise a verdict on the case which he himself was to hear on the morrow. "is there any other verdict possible?" he asked the grand-vizir, who was as much impressed as himself. "i can imagine no better judgment." "if the circumstances are really such as we have heard," replied the grand-vizir, "it seems to me your highness could only follow the example of this boy, in the method of reasoning, and also in your conclusions." "then take careful note of this house," said the caliph, "and bring me the boy to-morrow, so that the affair may be tried by him in my presence. summon also the cadi, to learn his duty from the mouth of a child. bid ali cogia bring his vase of olives, and see that two dealers in olives are present." so saying the caliph returned to the palace. the next morning early, the grand-vizir went back to the house where they had seen the children playing, and asked for the mistress and her children. three boys appeared, and the grand-vizir inquired which had represented the cadi in their game of the previous evening. the eldest and tallest, changing colour, confessed that it was he, and to his mother's great alarm, the grand-vizir said that he had strict orders to bring him into the presence of the caliph. "does he want to take my son from me?" cried the poor woman; but the grand-vizir hastened to calm her, by assuring her that she should have the boy again in an hour, and she would be quite satisfied when she knew the reason of the summons. so she dressed the boy in his best clothes, and the two left the house. when the grand-vizir presented the child to the caliph, he was a little awed and confused, and the caliph proceeded to explain why he had sent for him. "approach, my son," he said kindly. "i think it was you who judged the case of ali cogia and the merchant last night? i overheard you by chance, and was very pleased with the way you conducted it. to-day you will see the real ali cogia and the real merchant. seat yourself at once next to me." the caliph being seated on his throne with the boy next him, the parties to the suit were ushered in. one by one they prostrated themselves, and touched the carpet at the foot of the throne with their foreheads. when they rose up, the caliph said: "now speak. this child will give you justice, and if more should be wanted i will see to it myself." ali cogia and the merchant pleaded one after the other, but when the merchant offered to swear the same oath that he had taken before the cadi, he was stopped by the child, who said that before this was done he must first see the vase of olives. at these words, ali cogia presented the vase to the caliph, and uncovered it. the caliph took one of the olives, tasted it, and ordered the expert merchants to do the same. they pronounced the olives good, and fresh that year. the boy informed them that ali cogia declared it was seven years since he had placed them in the vase; to which they returned the same answer as the children had done. the accused merchant saw by this time that his condemnation was certain, and tried to allege something in his defence. the boy had too much sense to order him to be hanged, and looked at the caliph, saying, "commander of the faithful, this is not a game now; it is for your highness to condemn him to death and not for me." then the caliph, convinced that the man was a thief, bade them take him away and hang him, which was done, but not before he had confessed his guilt and the place in which he had hidden ali cogia's money. the caliph ordered the cadi to learn how to deal out justice from the mouth of a child, and sent the boy home, with a purse containing a hundred pieces of gold as a mark of his favour. the enchanted horse it was the feast of the new year, the oldest and most splendid of all the feasts in the kingdom of persia, and the day had been spent by the king in the city of schiraz, taking part in the magnificent spectacles prepared by his subjects to do honour to the festival. the sun was setting, and the monarch was about to give his court the signal to retire, when suddenly an indian appeared before his throne, leading a horse richly harnessed, and looking in every respect exactly like a real one. "sire," said he, prostrating himself as he spoke, "although i make my appearance so late before your highness, i can confidently assure you that none of the wonders you have seen during the day can be compared to this horse, if you will deign to cast your eyes upon him." "i see nothing in it," replied the king, "except a clever imitation of a real one; and any skilled workman might do as much." "sire," returned the indian, "it is not of his outward form that i would speak, but of the use that i can make of him. i have only to mount him, and to wish myself in some special place, and no matter how distant it may be, in a very few moments i shall find myself there. it is this, sire, that makes the horse so marvellous, and if your highness will allow me, you can prove it for yourself." the king of persia, who was interested in every thing out of the common, and had never before come across a horse with such qualities, bade the indian mount the animal, and show what he could do. in an instant the man had vaulted on his back, and inquired where the monarch wished to send him. "do you see that mountain?" asked the king, pointing to a huge mass that towered into the sky about three leagues from schiraz; "go and bring me the leaf of a palm that grows at the foot." the words were hardly out of the king's mouth when the indian turned a screw placed in the horse's neck, close to the saddle, and the animal bounded like lightning up into the air, and was soon beyond the sight even of the sharpest eyes. in a quarter of an hour the indian was seen returning, bearing in his hand the palm, and, guiding his horse to the foot of the throne, he dismounted, and laid the leaf before the king. now the monarch had no sooner proved the astonishing speed of which the horse was capable than he longed to possess it himself, and indeed, so sure was he that the indian would be quite ready to sell it, that he looked upon it as his own already. "i never guessed from his mere outside how valuable an animal he was," he remarked to the indian, "and i am grateful to you for having shown me my error," said he. "if you will sell it, name your own price." "sire," replied the indian, "i never doubted that a sovereign so wise and accomplished as your highness would do justice to my horse, when he once knew its power; and i even went so far as to think it probable that you might wish to possess it. greatly as i prize it, i will yield it up to your highness on one condition. the horse was not constructed by me, but it was given me by the inventor, in exchange for my only daughter, who made me take a solemn oath that i would never part with it, except for some object of equal value." "name anything you like," cried the monarch, interrupting him. "my kingdom is large, and filled with fair cities. you have only to choose which you would prefer, to become its ruler to the end of your life." "sire," answered the indian, to whom the proposal did not seem nearly so generous as it appeared to the king, "i am most grateful to your highness for your princely offer, and beseech you not to be offended with me if i say that i can only deliver up my horse in exchange for the hand of the princess your daughter." a shout of laughter burst from the courtiers as they heard these words, and prince firouz schah, the heir apparent, was filled with anger at the indian's presumption. the king, however, thought that it would not cost him much to part from the princess in order to gain such a delightful toy, and while he was hesitating as to his answer the prince broke in. "sire," he said, "it is not possible that you can doubt for an instant what reply you should give to such an insolent bargain. consider what you owe to yourself, and to the blood of your ancestors." "my son," replied the king, "you speak nobly, but you do not realise either the value of the horse, or the fact that if i reject the proposal of the indian, he will only make the same to some other monarch, and i should be filled with despair at the thought that anyone but myself should own this seventh wonder of the world. of course i do not say that i shall accept his conditions, and perhaps he may be brought to reason, but meanwhile i should like you to examine the horse, and, with the owner's permission, to make trial of its powers." the indian, who had overheard the king's speech, thought that he saw in it signs of yielding to his proposal, so he joyfully agreed to the monarch's wishes, and came forward to help the prince to mount the horse, and show him how to guide it: but, before he had finished, the young man turned the screw, and was soon out of sight. they waited some time, expecting that every moment he might be seen returning in the distance, but at length the indian grew frightened, and prostrating himself before the throne, he said to the king, "sire, your highness must have noticed that the prince, in his impatience, did not allow me to tell him what it was necessary to do in order to return to the place from which he started. i implore you not to punish me for what was not my fault, and not to visit on me any misfortune that may occur." "but why," cried the king in a burst of fear and anger, "why did you not call him back when you saw him disappearing?" "sire," replied the indian, "the rapidity of his movements took me so by surprise that he was out of hearing before i recovered my speech. but we must hope that he will perceive and turn a second screw, which will have the effect of bringing the horse back to earth." "but supposing he does!" answered the king, "what is to hinder the horse from descending straight into the sea, or dashing him to pieces on the rocks?" "have no fears, your highness," said the indian; "the horse has the gift of passing over seas, and of carrying his rider wherever he wishes to go." "well, your head shall answer for it," returned the monarch, "and if in three months he is not safe back with me, or at any rate does not send me news of his safety, your life shall pay the penalty." so saying, he ordered his guards to seize the indian and throw him into prison. meanwhile, prince firouz schah had gone gaily up into the air, and for the space of an hour continued to ascend higher and higher, till the very mountains were not distinguishable from the plains. then he began to think it was time to come down, and took for granted that, in order to do this, it was only needful to turn the screw the reverse way; but, to his surprise and horror, he found that, turn as he might, he did not make the smallest impression. he then remembered that he had never waited to ask how he was to get back to earth again, and understood the danger in which he stood. luckily, he did not lose his head, and set about examining the horse's neck with great care, till at last, to his intense joy, he discovered a tiny little peg, much smaller than the other, close to the right ear. this he turned, and found him-self dropping to the earth, though more slowly than he had left it. it was now dark, and as the prince could see nothing, he was obliged, not without some feeling of disquiet, to allow the horse to direct his own course, and midnight was already passed before prince firouz schah again touched the ground, faint and weary from his long ride, and from the fact that he had eaten nothing since early morning. the first thing he did on dismounting was to try to find out where he was, and, as far as he could discover in the thick darkness, he found himself on the terraced roof of a huge palace, with a balustrade of marble running round. in one corner of the terrace stood a small door, opening on to a staircase which led down into the palace. some people might have hesitated before exploring further, but not so the prince. "i am doing no harm," he said, "and whoever the owner may be, he will not touch me when he sees i am unarmed," and in dread of making a false step, he went cautiously down the staircase. on a landing, he noticed an open door, beyond which was a faintly lighted hall. before entering, the prince paused and listened, but he heard nothing except the sound of men snoring. by the light of a lantern suspended from the roof, he perceived a row of black guards sleeping, each with a naked sword lying by him, and he understood that the hall must form the ante-room to the chamber of some queen or princess. standing quite still, prince firouz schah looked about him, till his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, and he noticed a bright light shining through a curtain in one corner. he then made his way softly towards it, and, drawing aside its folds, passed into a magnificent chamber full of sleeping women, all lying on low couches, except one, who was on a sofa; and this one, he knew, must be the princess. gently stealing up to the side of her bed he looked at her, and saw that she was more beautiful than any woman he had ever beheld. but, fascinated though he was, he was well aware of the danger of his position, as one cry of surprise would awake the guards, and cause his certain death. so sinking quietly on his knees, he took hold of the sleeve of the princess and drew her arm lightly towards him. the princess opened her eyes, and seeing before her a handsome well-dressed man, she remained speechless with astonishment. this favourable moment was seized by the prince, who bowing low while he knelt, thus addressed her: "you behold, madame, a prince in distress, son to the king of persia, who, owing to an adventure so strange that you will scarcely believe it, finds himself here, a suppliant for your protection. but yesterday, i was in my father's court, engaged in the celebration of our most solemn festival; to-day, i am in an unknown land, in danger of my life." now the princess whose mercy prince firouz schah implored was the eldest daughter of the king of bengal, who was enjoying rest and change in the palace her father had built her, at a little distance from the capital. she listened kindly to what he had to say, and then answered: "prince, be not uneasy; hospitality and humanity are practised as widely in bengal as they are in persia. the protection you ask will be given you by all. you have my word for it." and as the prince was about to thank her for her goodness, she added quickly, "however great may be my curiosity to learn by what means you have travelled here so speedily, i know that you must be faint for want of food, so i shall give orders to my women to take you to one of my chambers, where you will be provided with supper, and left to repose." by this time the princess's attendants were all awake, and listening to the conversation. at a sign from their mistress they rose, dressed themselves hastily, and snatching up some of the tapers which lighted the room, conducted the prince to a large and lofty room, where two of the number prepared his bed, and the rest went down to the kitchen, from which they soon returned with all sorts of dishes. then, showing him cupboards filled with dresses and linen, they quitted the room. during their absence the princess of bengal, who had been greatly struck by the beauty of the prince, tried in vain to go to sleep again. it was of no use: she felt broad awake, and when her women entered the room, she inquired eagerly if the prince had all he wanted, and what they thought of him. "madame," they replied, "it is of course impossible for us to tell what impression this young man has made on you. for ourselves, we think you would be fortunate if the king your father should allow you to marry anyone so amiable. certainly there is no one in the court of bengal who can be compared with him." these flattering observations were by no means displeasing to the princess, but as she did not wish to betray her own feelings she merely said, "you are all a set of chatterboxes; go back to bed, and let me sleep." when she dressed the following morning, her maids noticed that, contrary to her usual habit, the princess was very particular about her toilette, and insisted on her hair being dressed two or three times over. "for," she said to herself, "if my appearance was not displeasing to the prince when he saw me in the condition i was, how much more will he be struck with me when he beholds me with all my charms." then she placed in her hair the largest and most brilliant diamonds she could find, with a necklace, bracelets and girdle, all of precious stones. and over her shoulders her ladies put a robe of the richest stuff in all the indies, that no one was allowed to wear except members of the royal family. when she was fully dressed according to her wishes, she sent to know if the prince of persia was awake and ready to receive her, as she desired to present herself before him. when the princess's messenger entered his room, prince firouz schah was in the act of leaving it, to inquire if he might be allowed to pay his homage to her mistress: but on hearing the princess's wishes, he at once gave way. "her will is my law," he said, "i am only here to obey her orders." in a few moments the princess herself appeared, and after the usual compliments had passed between them, the princess sat down on a sofa, and began to explain to the prince her reasons for not giving him an audience in her own apartments. "had i done so," she said, "we might have been interrupted at any hour by the chief of the eunuchs, who has the right to enter whenever it pleases him, whereas this is forbidden ground. i am all impatience to learn the wonderful accident which has procured the pleasure of your arrival, and that is why i have come to you here, where no one can intrude upon us. begin then, i entreat you, without delay." so the prince began at the beginning, and told all the story of the festival of nedrouz held yearly in persia, and of the splendid spectacles celebrated in its honour. but when he came to the enchanted horse, the princess declared that she could never have imagined anything half so surprising. "well then," continued the prince, "you can easily understand how the king my father, who has a passion for all curious things, was seized with a violent desire to possess this horse, and asked the indian what sum he would take for it. "the man's answer was absolutely absurd, as you will agree, when i tell you that it was nothing less than the hand of the princess my sister; but though all the bystanders laughed and mocked, and i was beside myself with rage, i saw to my despair that my father could not make up his mind to treat the insolent proposal as it deserved. i tried to argue with him, but in vain. he only begged me to examine the horse with a view (as i quite understood) of making me more sensible of its value." "to please my father, i mounted the horse, and, without waiting for any instructions from the indian, turned the peg as i had seen him do. in an instant i was soaring upwards, much quicker than an arrow could fly, and i felt as if i must be getting so near the sky that i should soon hit my head against it! i could see nothing beneath me, and for some time was so confused that i did not even know in what direction i was travelling. at last, when it was growing dark, i found another screw, and on turning it, the horse began slowly to sink towards the earth. i was forced to trust to chance, and to see what fate had in store, and it was already past midnight when i found myself on the roof of this palace. i crept down the little staircase, and made directly for a light which i perceived through an open door--i peeped cautiously in, and saw, as you will guess, the eunuchs lying asleep on the floor. i knew the risks i ran, but my need was so great that i paid no attention to them, and stole safely past your guards, to the curtain which concealed your doorway. "the rest, princess, you know; and it only remains for me to thank you for the kindness you have shown me, and to assure you of my gratitude. by the law of nations, i am already your slave, and i have only my heart, that is my own, to offer you. but what am i saying? my own? alas, madame, it was yours from the first moment i beheld you!" the air with which he said these words could have left no doubt on the mind of the princess as to the effect of her charms, and the blush which mounted to her face only increased her beauty. "prince," returned she as soon as her confusion permitted her to speak, "you have given me the greatest pleasure, and i have followed you closely in all your adventures, and though you are positively sitting before me, i even trembled at your danger in the upper regions of the air! let me say what a debt i owe to the chance that has led you to my house; you could have entered none which would have given you a warmer welcome. as to your being a slave, of course that is merely a joke, and my reception must itself have assured you that you are as free here as at your father's court. as to your heart," continued she in tones of encouragement, "i am quite sure that must have been disposed of long ago, to some princess who is well worthy of it, and i could not think of being the cause of your unfaithfulness to her." prince firouz schah was about to protest that there was no lady with any prior claims, but he was stopped by the entrance of one of the princess's attendants, who announced that dinner was served, and, after all, neither was sorry for the interruption. dinner was laid in a magnificent apartment, and the table was covered with delicious fruits; while during the repast richly dressed girls sang softly and sweetly to stringed instruments. after the prince and princess had finished, they passed into a small room hung with blue and gold, looking out into a garden stocked with flowers and arbutus trees, quite different from any that were to be found in persia. "princess," observed the young man, "till now i had always believed that persia could boast finer palaces and more lovely gardens than any kingdom upon earth. but my eyes have been opened, and i begin to perceive that, wherever there is a great king he will surround himself with buildings worthy of him." "prince," replied the princess of bengal, "i have no idea what a persian palace is like, so i am unable to make comparisons. i do not wish to depreciate my own palace, but i can assure you that it is very poor beside that of the king my father, as you will agree when you have been there to greet him, as i hope you will shortly do." now the princess hoped that, by bringing about a meeting between the prince and her father, the king would be so struck with the young man's distinguished air and fine manners, that he would offer him his daughter to wife. but the reply of the prince of persia to her suggestion was not quite what she wished. "madame," he said, "by taking advantage of your proposal to visit the palace of the king of bengal, i should satisfy not merely my curiosity, but also the sentiments of respect with which i regard him. but, princess, i am persuaded that you will feel with me, that i cannot possibly present myself before so great a sovereign without the attendants suitable to my rank. he would think me an adventurer." "if that is all," she answered, "you can get as many attendants here as you please. there are plenty of persian merchants, and as for money, my treasury is always open to you. take what you please." prince firouz schah guessed what prompted so much kindness on the part of the princess, and was much touched by it. still his passion, which increased every moment, did not make him forget his duty. so he replied without hesitation: "i do not know, princess, how to express my gratitude for your obliging offer, which i would accept at once if it were not for the recollection of all the uneasiness the king my father must be suffering on my account. i should be unworthy indeed of all the love he showers upon me, if i did not return to him at the first possible moment. for, while i am enjoying the society of the most amiable of all princesses, he is, i am quite convinced, plunged in the deepest grief, having lost all hope of seeing me again. i am sure you will understand my position, and will feel that to remain away one instant longer than is necessary would not only be ungrateful on my part, but perhaps even a crime, for how do i know if my absence may not break his heart? "but," continued the prince, "having obeyed the voice of my conscience, i shall count the moments when, with your gracious permission, i may present myself before the king of bengal, not as a wanderer, but as a prince, to implore the favour of your hand. my father has always informed me that in my marriage i shall be left quite free, but i am persuaded that i have only to describe your generosity, for my wishes to become his own." the princess of bengal was too reasonable not to accept the explanation offered by prince firouz schah, but she was much disturbed at his intention of departing at once, for she feared that, no sooner had he left her, than the impression she had made on him would fade away. so she made one more effort to keep him, and after assuring him that she entirely approved of his anxiety to see his father, begged him to give her a day or two more of his company. in common politeness the prince could hardly refuse this request, and the princess set about inventing every kind of amusement for him, and succeeded so well that two months slipped by almost unnoticed, in balls, spectacles and in hunting, of which, when unattended by danger, the princess was passionately fond. but at last, one day, he declared seriously that he could neglect his duty no longer, and entreated her to put no further obstacles in his way, promising at the same time to return, as soon as he could, with all the magnificence due both to her and to himself. "princess," he added, "it may be that in your heart you class me with those false lovers whose devotion cannot stand the test of absence. if you do, you wrong me; and were it not for fear of offending you, i would beseech you to come with me, for my life can only be happy when passed with you. as for your reception at the persian court, it will be as warm as your merits deserve; and as for what concerns the king of bengal, he must be much more indifferent to your welfare than you have led me to believe if he does not give his consent to our marriage." the princess could not find words in which to reply to the arguments of the prince of persia, but her silence and her downcast eyes spoke for her, and declared that she had no objection to accompanying him on his travels. the only difficulty that occurred to her was that prince firouz schah did not know how to manage the horse, and she dreaded lest they might find themselves in the same plight as before. but the prince soothed her fears so successfully, that she soon had no other thought than to arrange for their flight so secretly, that no one in the palace should suspect it. this was done, and early the following morning, when the whole palace was wrapped in sleep, she stole up on to the roof, where the prince was already awaiting her, with his horse's head towards persia. he mounted first and helped the princess up behind; then, when she was firmly seated, with her hands holding tightly to his belt, he touched the screw, and the horse began to leave the earth quickly behind him. he travelled with his accustomed speed, and prince firouz schah guided him so well that in two hours and a half from the time of starting, he saw the capital of persia lying beneath him. he determined to alight neither in the great square from which he had started, nor in the sultan's palace, but in a country house at a little distance from the town. here he showed the princess a beautiful suite of rooms, and begged her to rest, while he informed his father of their arrival, and prepared a public reception worthy of her rank. then he ordered a horse to be saddled, and set out. all the way through the streets he was welcomed with shouts of joy by the people, who had long lost all hope of seeing him again. on reaching the palace, he found the sultan surrounded by his ministers, all clad in the deepest mourning, and his father almost went out of his mind with surprise and delight at the mere sound of his son's voice. when he had calmed down a little, he begged the prince to relate his adventures. the prince at once seized the opening thus given him, and told the whole story of his treatment by the princess of bengal, not even concealing the fact that she had fallen in love with him. "and, sire," ended the prince, "having given my royal word that you would not refuse your consent to our marriage, i persuaded her to return with me on the indian's horse. i have left her in one of your highness's country houses, where she is waiting anxiously to be assured that i have not promised in vain." as he said this the prince was about to throw himself at the feet of the sultan, but his father prevented him, and embracing him again, said eagerly: "my son, not only do i gladly consent to your marriage with the princess of bengal, but i will hasten to pay my respects to her, and to thank her in my own person for the benefits she has conferred on you. i will then bring her back with me, and make all arrangements for the wedding to be celebrated to-day." so the sultan gave orders that the habits of mourning worn by the people should be thrown off and that there should be a concert of drums, trumpets and cymbals. also that the indian should be taken from prison, and brought before him. his commands were obeyed, and the indian was led into his presence, surrounded by guards. "i have kept you locked up," said the sultan, "so that in case my son was lost, your life should pay the penalty. he has now returned; so take your horse, and begone for ever." the indian hastily quitted the presence of the sultan, and when he was outside, he inquired of the man who had taken him out of prison where the prince had really been all this time, and what he had been doing. they told him the whole story, and how the princess of bengal was even then awaiting in the country palace the consent of the sultan, which at once put into the indian's head a plan of revenge for the treatment he had experienced. going straight to the country house, he informed the doorkeeper who was left in charge that he had been sent by the sultan and by the prince of persia to fetch the princess on the enchanted horse, and to bring her to the palace. the doorkeeper knew the indian by sight, and was of course aware that nearly three months before he had been thrown into prison by the sultan; and seeing him at liberty, the man took for granted that he was speaking the truth, and made no difficulty about leading him before the princess of bengal; while on her side, hearing that he had come from the prince, the lady gladly consented to do what he wished. the indian, delighted with the success of his scheme, mounted the horse, assisted the princess to mount behind him, and turned the peg at the very moment that the prince was leaving the palace in schiraz for the country house, followed closely by the sultan and all the court. knowing this, the indian deliberately steered the horse right above the city, in order that his revenge for his unjust imprisonment might be all the quicker and sweeter. when the sultan of persia saw the horse and its riders, he stopped short with astonishment and horror, and broke out into oaths and curses, which the indian heard quite unmoved, knowing that he was perfectly safe from pursuit. but mortified and furious as the sultan was, his feelings were nothing to those of prince firouz schah, when he saw the object of his passionate devotion being borne rapidly away. and while he was struck speechless with grief and remorse at not having guarded her better, she vanished swiftly out of his sight. what was he to do? should he follow his father into the palace, and there give reins to his despair? both his love and his courage alike forbade it; and he continued his way to the palace. the sight of the prince showed the doorkeeper of what folly he had been guilty, and flinging himself at his master's feet, implored his pardon. "rise," said the prince, "i am the cause of this misfortune, and not you. go and find me the dress of a dervish, but beware of saying it is for me." at a short distance from the country house, a convent of dervishes was situated, and the superior, or scheih, was the doorkeeper's friend. so by means of a false story made up on the spur of the moment, it was easy enough to get hold of a dervish's dress, which the prince at once put on, instead of his own. disguised like this and concealing about him a box of pearls and diamonds he had intended as a present to the princess, he left the house at nightfall, uncertain where he should go, but firmly resolved not to return without her. meanwhile the indian had turned the horse in such a direction that, before many hours had passed, it had entered a wood close to the capital of the kingdom of cashmere. feeling very hungry, and supposing that the princess also might be in want of food, he brought his steed down to the earth, and left the princess in a shady place, on the banks of a clear stream. at first, when the princess had found herself alone, the idea had occurred to her of trying to escape and hide herself. but as she had eaten scarcely anything since she had left bengal, she felt she was too weak to venture far, and was obliged to abandon her design. on the return of the indian with meats of various kinds, she began to eat voraciously, and soon had regained sufficient courage to reply with spirit to his insolent remarks. goaded by his threats she sprang to her feet, calling loudly for help, and luckily her cries were heard by a troop of horsemen, who rode up to inquire what was the matter. now the leader of these horsemen was the sultan of cashmere, returning from the chase, and he instantly turned to the indian to inquire who he was, and whom he had with him. the indian rudely answered that it was his wife, and there was no occasion for anyone else to interfere between them. the princess, who, of course, was ignorant of the rank of her deliverer, denied altogether the indian's story. "my lord," she cried, "whoever you may be, put no faith in this impostor. he is an abominable magician, who has this day torn me from the prince of persia, my destined husband, and has brought me here on this enchanted horse." she would have continued, but her tears choked her, and the sultan of cashmere, convinced by her beauty and her distinguished air of the truth of her tale, ordered his followers to cut off the indian's head, which was done immediately. but rescued though she was from one peril, it seemed as if she had only fallen into another. the sultan commanded a horse to be given her, and conducted her to his own palace, where he led her to a beautiful apartment, and selected female slaves to wait on her, and eunuchs to be her guard. then, without allowing her time to thank him for all he had done, he bade her repose, saying she should tell him her adventures on the following day. the princess fell asleep, flattering herself that she had only to relate her story for the sultan to be touched by compassion, and to restore her to the prince without delay. but a few hours were to undeceive her. when the king of cashmere had quitted her presence the evening before, he had resolved that the sun should not set again without the princess becoming his wife, and at daybreak proclamation of his intention was made throughout the town, by the sound of drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments calculated to fill the heart with joy. the princess of bengal was early awakened by the noise, but she did not for one moment imagine that it had anything to do with her, till the sultan, arriving as soon as she was dressed to inquire after her health, informed her that the trumpet blasts she heard were part of the solemn marriage ceremonies, for which he begged her to prepare. this unexpected announcement caused the princess such terror that she sank down in a dead faint. the slaves that were in waiting ran to her aid, and the sultan himself did his best to bring her back to consciousness, but for a long while it was all to no purpose. at length her senses began slowly to come back to her, and then, rather than break faith with the prince of persia by consenting to such a marriage, she determined to feign madness. so she began by saying all sorts of absurdities, and using all kinds of strange gestures, while the sultan stood watching her with sorrow and surprise. but as this sudden seizure showed no sign of abating, he left her to her women, ordering them to take the greatest care of her. still, as the day went on, the malady seemed to become worse, and by night it was almost violent. days passed in this manner, till at last the sultan of cashmere decided to summon all the doctors of his court to consult together over her sad state. their answer was that madness is of so many different kinds that it was impossible to give an opinion on the case without seeing the princess, so the sultan gave orders that they were to be introduced into her chamber, one by one, every man according to his rank. this decision had been foreseen by the princess, who knew quite well that if once she allowed the physicians to feel her pulse, the most ignorant of them would discover that she was in perfectly good health, and that her madness was feigned, so as each man approached, she broke out into such violent paroxysms, that not one dared to lay a finger on her. a few, who pretended to be cleverer than the rest, declared that they could diagnose sick people only from sight, ordered her certain potions, which she made no difficulty about taking, as she was persuaded they were all harmless. when the sultan of cashmere saw that the court doctors could do nothing towards curing the princess, he called in those of the city, who fared no better. then he had recourse to the most celebrated physicians in the other large towns, but finding that the task was beyond their science, he finally sent messengers into the other neighbouring states, with a memorandum containing full particulars of the princess's madness, offering at the same time to pay the expenses of any physician who would come and see for himself, and a handsome reward to the one who should cure her. in answer to this proclamation many foreign professors flocked into cashmere, but they naturally were not more successful than the rest had been, as the cure depended neither on them nor their skill, but only on the princess herself. it was during this time that prince firouz schah, wandering sadly and hopelessly from place to place, arrived in a large city of india, where he heard a great deal of talk about the princess of bengal who had gone out of her senses, on the very day that she was to have been married to the sultan of cashmere. this was quite enough to induce him to take the road to cashmere, and to inquire at the first inn at which he lodged in the capital the full particulars of the story. when he knew that he had at last found the princess whom he had so long lost, he set about devising a plan for her rescue. the first thing he did was to procure a doctor's robe, so that his dress, added to the long beard he had allowed to grow on his travels, might unmistakably proclaim his profession. he then lost no time in going to the palace, where he obtained an audience of the chief usher, and while apologising for his boldness in presuming to think that he could cure the princess, where so many others had failed, declared that he had the secret of certain remedies, which had hitherto never failed of their effect. the chief usher assured him that he was heartily welcome, and that the sultan would receive him with pleasure; and in case of success, he would gain a magnificent reward. when the prince of persia, in the disguise of a physician, was brought before him, the sultan wasted no time in talking, beyond remarking that the mere sight of a doctor threw the princess into transports of rage. he then led the prince up to a room under the roof, which had an opening through which he might observe the princess, without himself being seen. the prince looked, and beheld the princess reclining on a sofa with tears in her eyes, singing softly to herself a song bewailing her sad destiny, which had deprived her, perhaps for ever, of a being she so tenderly loved. the young man's heart beat fast as he listened, for he needed no further proof that her madness was feigned, and that it was love of him which had caused her to resort to this species of trick. he softly left his hiding-place, and returned to the sultan, to whom he reported that he was sure from certain signs that the princess's malady was not incurable, but that he must see her and speak with her alone. the sultan made no difficulty in consenting to this, and commanded that he should be ushered in to the princess's apartment. the moment she caught sight of his physician's robe, she sprang from her seat in a fury, and heaped insults upon him. the prince took no notice of her behaviour, and approaching quite close, so that his words might be heard by her alone, he said in a low whisper, "look at me, princess, and you will see that i am no doctor, but the prince of persia, who has come to set you free." at the sound of his voice, the princess of bengal suddenly grew calm, and an expression of joy overspread her face, such as only comes when what we wish for most and expect the least suddenly happens to us. for some time she was too enchanted to speak, and prince firouz schah took advantage of her silence to explain to her all that had occurred, his despair at watching her disappear before his very eyes, the oath he had sworn to follow her over the world, and his rapture at finally discovering her in the palace at cashmere. when he had finished, he begged in his turn that the princess would tell him how she had come there, so that he might the better devise some means of rescuing her from the tyranny of the sultan. it needed but a few words from the princess to make him acquainted with the whole situation, and how she had been forced to play the part of a mad woman in order to escape from a marriage with the sultan, who had not had sufficient politeness even to ask her consent. if necessary, she added, she had resolved to die sooner than permit herself to be forced into such a union, and break faith with a prince whom she loved. the prince then inquired if she knew what had become of the enchanted horse since the indian's death, but the princess could only reply that she had heard nothing about it. still she did not suppose that the horse could have been forgotten by the sultan, after all she had told him of its value. to this the prince agreed, and they consulted together over a plan by which she might be able to make her escape and return with him into persia. and as the first step, she was to dress herself with care, and receive the sultan with civility when he visited her next morning. the sultan was transported with delight on learning the result of the interview, and his opinion of the doctor's skill was raised still higher when, on the following day, the princess behaved towards him in such a way as to persuade him that her complete cure would not be long delayed. however he contented himself with assuring her how happy he was to see her health so much improved, and exhorted her to make every use of so clever a physician, and to repose entire confidence in him. then he retired, without awaiting any reply from the princess. the prince of persia left the room at the same time, and asked if he might be allowed humbly to inquire by what means the princess of bengal had reached cashmere, which was so far distant from her father's kingdom, and how she came to be there alone. the sultan thought the question very natural, and told him the same story that the princess of bengal had done, adding that he had ordered the enchanted horse to be taken to his treasury as a curiosity, though he was quite ignorant how it could be used. "sire," replied the physician, "your highness's tale has supplied me with the clue i needed to complete the recovery of the princess. during her voyage hither on an enchanted horse, a portion of its enchantment has by some means been communicated to her person, and it can only be dissipated by certain perfumes of which i possess the secret. if your highness will deign to consent, and to give the court and the people one of the most astonishing spectacles they have ever witnessed, command the horse to be brought into the big square outside the palace, and leave the rest to me. i promise that in a very few moments, in presence of all the assembled multitude, you shall see the princess as healthy both in mind and body as ever she was in her life. and in order to make the spectacle as impressive as possible, i would suggest that she should be richly dressed and covered with the noblest jewels of the crown." the sultan readily agreed to all that the prince proposed, and the following morning he desired that the enchanted horse should be taken from the treasury, and brought into the great square of the palace. soon the rumour began to spread through the town, that something extraordinary was about to happen, and such a crowd began to collect that the guards had to be called out to keep order, and to make a way for the enchanted horse. when all was ready, the sultan appeared, and took his place on a platform, surrounded by the chief nobles and officers of his court. when they were seated, the princess of bengal was seen leaving the palace, accompanied by the ladies who had been assigned to her by the sultan. she slowly approached the enchanted horse, and with the help of her ladies, she mounted on its back. directly she was in the saddle, with her feet in the stirrups and the bridle in her hand, the physician placed around the horse some large braziers full of burning coals, into each of which he threw a perfume composed of all sorts of delicious scents. then he crossed his hands over his breast, and with lowered eyes walked three times round the horse, muttering the while certain words. soon there arose from the burning braziers a thick smoke which almost concealed both the horse and princess, and this was the moment for which he had been waiting. springing lightly up behind the lady, he leaned forward and turned the peg, and as the horse darted up into the air, he cried aloud so that his words were heard by all present, "sultan of cashmere, when you wish to marry princesses who have sought your protection, learn first to gain their consent." it was in this way that the prince of persia rescued the princess of bengal, and returned with her to persia, where they descended this time before the palace of the king himself. the marriage was only delayed just long enough to make the ceremony as brilliant as possible, and, as soon as the rejoicings were over, an ambassador was sent to the king of bengal, to inform him of what had passed, and to ask his approbation of the alliance between the two countries, which he heartily gave. the story of two sisters who were jealous of their younger sister once upon a time there reigned over persia a sultan named kosrouschah, who from his boyhood had been fond of putting on a disguise and seeking adventures in all parts of the city, accompanied by one of his officers, disguised like himself. and no sooner was his father buried and the ceremonies over that marked his accession to the throne, than the young man hastened to throw off his robes of state, and calling to his vizir to make ready likewise, stole out in the simple dress of a private citizen into the less known streets of the capital. passing down a lonely street, the sultan heard women's voices in loud discussion; and peeping through a crack in the door, he saw three sisters, sitting on a sofa in a large hall, talking in a very lively and earnest manner. judging from the few words that reached his ear, they were each explaining what sort of men they wished to marry. "i ask nothing better," cried the eldest, "than to have the sultan's baker for a husband. think of being able to eat as much as one wanted, of that delicious bread that is baked for his highness alone! let us see if your wish is as good as mine." "i," replied the second sister, "should be quite content with the sultan's head cook. what delicate stews i should feast upon! and, as i am persuaded that the sultan's bread is used all through the palace, i should have that into the bargain. you see, my dear sister, my taste is as good as yours." it was now the turn of the youngest sister, who was by far the most beautiful of the three, and had, besides, more sense than the other two. "as for me," she said, "i should take a higher flight; and if we are to wish for husbands, nothing less than the sultan himself will do for me." the sultan was so much amused by the conversation he had overheard, that he made up his mind to gratify their wishes, and turning to the grand-vizir, he bade him note the house, and on the following morning to bring the ladies into his presence. the grand-vizir fulfilled his commission, and hardly giving them time to change their dresses, desired the three sisters to follow him to the palace. here they were presented one by one, and when they had bowed before the sultan, the sovereign abruptly put the question to them: "tell me, do you remember what you wished for last night, when you were making merry? fear nothing, but answer me the truth." these words, which were so unexpected, threw the sisters into great confusion, their eyes fell, and the blushes of the youngest did not fail to make an impression on the heart of the sultan. all three remained silent, and he hastened to continue: "do not be afraid, i have not the slightest intention of giving you pain, and let me tell you at once, that i know the wishes formed by each one. you," he said, turning to the youngest, "who desired to have me for an husband, shall be satisfied this very day. and you," he added, addressing himself to the other two, "shall be married at the same moment to my baker and to my chief cook." when the sultan had finished speaking the three sisters flung themselves at his feet, and the youngest faltered out, "oh, sire, since you know my foolish words, believe, i pray you, that they were only said in joke. i am unworthy of the honour you propose to do me, and i can only ask pardon for my boldness." the other sisters also tried to excuse themselves, but the sultan would hear nothing. "no, no," he said, "my mind is made up. your wishes shall be accomplished." so the three weddings were celebrated that same day, but with a great difference. that of the youngest was marked by all the magnificence that was customary at the marriage of the shah of persia, while the festivities attending the nuptials of the sultan's baker and his chief cook were only such as were suitable to their conditions. this, though quite natural, was highly displeasing to the elder sisters, who fell into a passion of jealousy, which in the end caused a great deal of trouble and pain to several people. and the first time that they had the opportunity of speaking to each other, which was not till several days later at a public bath, they did not attempt to disguise their feelings. "can you possibly understand what the sultan saw in that little cat," said one to the other, "for him to be so fascinated by her?" "he must be quite blind," returned the wife of the chief cook. "as for her looking a little younger than we do, what does that matter? you would have made a far better sultana than she." "oh, i say nothing of myself," replied the elder, "and if the sultan had chosen you it would have been all very well; but it really grieves me that he should have selected a wretched little creature like that. however, i will be revenged on her somehow, and i beg you will give me your help in the matter, and to tell me anything that you can think of that is likely to mortify her." in order to carry out their wicked scheme the two sisters met constantly to talk over their ideas, though all the while they pretended to be as friendly as ever towards the sultana, who, on her part, invariably treated them with kindness. for a long time no plan occurred to the two plotters that seemed in the least likely to meet with success, but at length the expected birth of an heir gave them the chance for which they had been hoping. they obtained permission of the sultan to take up their abode in the palace for some weeks, and never left their sister night or day. when at last a little boy, beautiful as the sun, was born, they laid him in his cradle and carried it down to a canal which passed through the grounds of the palace. then, leaving it to its fate, they informed the sultan that instead of the son he had so fondly desired the sultana had given birth to a puppy. at this dreadful news the sultan was so overcome with rage and grief that it was with great difficulty that the grand-vizir managed to save the sultana from his wrath. meanwhile the cradle continued to float peacefully along the canal till, on the outskirts of the royal gardens, it was suddenly perceived by the intendant, one of the highest and most respected officials in the kingdom. "go," he said to a gardener who was working near, "and get that cradle out for me." the gardener did as he was bid, and soon placed the cradle in the hands of the intendant. the official was much astonished to see that the cradle, which he had supposed to be empty, contained a baby, which, young though it was, already gave promise of great beauty. having no children himself, although he had been married some years, it at once occurred to him that here was a child which he could take and bring up as his own. and, bidding the man pick up the cradle and follow him, he turned towards home. "my wife," he exclaimed as he entered the room, "heaven has denied us any children, but here is one that has been sent in their place. send for a nurse, and i will do what is needful publicly to recognise it as my son." the wife accepted the baby with joy, and though the intendant saw quite well that it must have come from the royal palace, he did not think it was his business to inquire further into the mystery. the following year another prince was born and sent adrift, but happily for the baby, the intendant of the gardens again was walking by the canal, and carried it home as before. the sultan, naturally enough, was still more furious the second time than the first, but when the same curious accident was repeated in the third year he could control himself no longer, and, to the great joy of the jealous sisters, commanded that the sultana should be executed. but the poor lady was so much beloved at court that not even the dread of sharing her fate could prevent the grand-vizir and the courtiers from throwing themselves at the sultan's feet and imploring him not to inflict so cruel a punishment for what, after all, was not her fault. "let her live," entreated the grand-vizir, "and banish her from your presence for the rest of her days. that in itself will be punishment enough." his first passion spent, the sultan had regained his self-command. "let her live then," he said, "since you have it so much at heart. but if i grant her life it shall only be on one condition, which shall make her daily pray for death. let a box be built for her at the door of the principal mosque, and let the window of the box be always open. there she shall sit, in the coarsest clothes, and every mussulman who enters the mosque shall spit in her face in passing. anyone that refuses to obey shall be exposed to the same punishment himself. you, vizir, will see that my orders are carried out." the grand-vizir saw that it was useless to say more, and, full of triumph, the sisters watched the building of the box, and then listened to the jeers of the people at the helpless sultana sitting inside. but the poor lady bore herself with so much dignity and meekness that it was not long before she had won the sympathy of those that were best among the crowd. but it is now time to return to the fate of the third baby, this time a princess. like its brothers, it was found by the intendant of the gardens, and adopted by him and his wife, and all three were brought up with the greatest care and tenderness. as the children grew older their beauty and air of distinction became more and more marked, and their manners had all the grace and ease that is proper to people of high birth. the princes had been named by their foster-father bahman and perviz, after two of the ancient kings of persia, while the princess was called parizade, or the child of the genii. the intendant was careful to bring them up as befitted their real rank, and soon appointed a tutor to teach the young princes how to read and write. and the princess, determined not to be left behind, showed herself so anxious to learn with her brothers, that the intendant consented to her joining in their lessons, and it was not long before she knew as much as they did. from that time all their studies were done in common. they had the best masters for the fine arts, geography, poetry, history and science, and even for sciences which are learned by few, and every branch seemed so easy to them, that their teachers were astonished at the progress they made. the princess had a passion for music, and could sing and play upon all sorts of instruments she could also ride and drive as well as her brothers, shoot with a bow and arrow, and throw a javelin with the same skill as they, and sometimes even better. in order to set off these accomplishments, the intendant resolved that his foster children should not be pent up any longer in the narrow borders of the palace gardens, where he had always lived, so he bought a splendid country house a few miles from the capital, surrounded by an immense park. this park he filled with wild beasts of various sorts, so that the princes and princess might hunt as much as they pleased. when everything was ready, the intendant threw himself at the sultan's feet, and after referring to his age and his long services, begged his highness's permission to resign his post. this was granted by the sultan in a few gracious words, and he then inquired what reward he could give to his faithful servant. but the intendant declared that he wished for nothing except the continuance of his highness's favour, and prostrating himself once more, he retired from the sultan's presence. five or six months passed away in the pleasures of the country, when death attacked the intendant so suddenly that he had no time to reveal the secret of their birth to his adopted children, and as his wife had long been dead also, it seemed as if the princes and the princess would never know that they had been born to a higher station than the one they filled. their sorrow for their father was very deep, and they lived quietly on in their new home, without feeling any desire to leave it for court gaieties or intrigues. one day the princes as usual went out to hunt, but their sister remained alone in her apartments. while they were gone an old mussulman devotee appeared at the door, and asked leave to enter, as it was the hour of prayer. the princess sent orders at once that the old woman was to be taken to the private oratory in the grounds, and when she had finished her prayers was to be shown the house and gardens, and then to be brought before her. although the old woman was very pious, she was not at all indifferent to the magnificence of all around her, which she seemed to understand as well as to admire, and when she had seen it all she was led by the servants before the princess, who was seated in a room which surpassed in splendour all the rest. "my good woman," said the princess pointing to a sofa, "come and sit beside me. i am delighted at the opportunity of speaking for a few moments with so holy a person." the old woman made some objections to so much honour being done her, but the princess refused to listen, and insisted that her guest should take the best seat, and as she thought she must be tired ordered refreshments. while the old woman was eating, the princess put several questions to her as to her mode of life, and the pious exercises she practiced, and then inquired what she thought of the house now that she had seen it. "madam," replied the pilgrim, "one must be hard indeed to please to find any fault. it is beautiful, comfortable and well ordered, and it is impossible to imagine anything more lovely than the garden. but since you ask me, i must confess that it lacks three things to make it absolutely perfect." "and what can they be?" cried the princess. "only tell me, and i will lose no time in getting them." "the three things, madam," replied the old woman, "are, first, the talking bird, whose voice draws all other singing birds to it, to join in chorus. and second, the singing tree, where every leaf is a song that is never silent. and lastly the golden water, of which it is only needful to pour a single drop into a basin for it to shoot up into a fountain, which will never be exhausted, nor will the basin ever overflow." "oh, how can i thank you," cried the princess, "for telling me of such treasures! but add, i pray you, to your goodness by further informing me where i can find them." "madam," replied the pilgrim, "i should ill repay the hospitality you have shown me if i refused to answer your question. the three things of which i have spoken are all to be found in one place, on the borders of this kingdom, towards india. your messenger has only to follow the road that passes by your house, for twenty days, and at the end of that time, he is to ask the first person he meets for the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water." she then rose, and bidding farewell to the princess, went her way. the old woman had taken her departure so abruptly that the princess parizade did not perceive till she was really gone that the directions were hardly clear enough to enable the search to be successful. and she was still thinking of the subject, and how delightful it would be to possess such rarities, when the princes, her brothers, returned from the chase. "what is the matter, my sister?" asked prince bahman; "why are you so grave? are you ill? or has anything happened?" princess parizade did not answer directly, but at length she raised her eyes, and replied that there was nothing wrong. "but there must be something," persisted prince bahman, "for you to have changed so much during the short time we have been absent. hide nothing from us, i beseech you, unless you wish us to believe that the confidence we have always had in one another is now to cease." "when i said that it was nothing," said the princess, moved by his words, "i meant that it was nothing that affected you, although i admit that it is certainly of some importance to me. like myself, you have always thought this house that our father built for us was perfect in every respect, but only to-day i have learned that three things are still lacking to complete it. these are the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water." after explaining the peculiar qualities of each, the princess continued: "it was a mussulman devotee who told me all this, and where they might all be found. perhaps you will think that the house is beautiful enough as it is, and that we can do quite well without them; but in this i cannot agree with you, and i shall never be content until i have got them. so counsel me, i pray, whom to send on the undertaking." "my dear sister," replied prince bahman, "that you should care about the matter is quite enough, even if we took no interest in it ourselves. but we both feel with you, and i claim, as the elder, the right to make the first attempt, if you will tell me where i am to go, and what steps i am to take." prince perviz at first objected that, being the head of the family, his brother ought not to be allowed to expose himself to danger; but prince bahman would hear nothing, and retired to make the needful preparations for his journey. the next morning prince bahman got up very early, and after bidding farewell to his brother and sister, mounted his horse. but just as he was about to touch it with his whip, he was stopped by a cry from the princess. "oh, perhaps after all you may never come back; one never can tell what accidents may happen. give it up, i implore you, for i would a thousand times rather lose the talking bird, and the singing tree and the golden water, than that you should run into danger." "my dear sister," answered the prince, "accidents only happen to unlucky people, and i hope that i am not one of them. but as everything is uncertain, i promise you to be very careful. take this knife," he continued, handing her one that hung sheathed from his belt, "and every now and then draw it out and look at it. as long as it keeps bright and clean as it is to-day, you will know that i am living; but if the blade is spotted with blood, it will be a sign that i am dead, and you shall weep for me." so saying, prince bahman bade them farewell once more, and started on the high road, well mounted and fully armed. for twenty days he rode straight on, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, till he found himself drawing near the frontiers of persia. seated under a tree by the wayside he noticed a hideous old man, with a long white moustache, and beard that almost fell to his feet. his nails had grown to an enormous length, and on his head he wore a huge hat, which served him for an umbrella. prince bahman, who, remembering the directions of the old woman, had been since sunrise on the look-out for some one, recognised the old man at once to be a dervish. he dismounted from his horse, and bowed low before the holy man, saying by way of greeting, "my father, may your days be long in the land, and may all your wishes be fulfilled!" the dervish did his best to reply, but his moustache was so thick that his words were hardly intelligible, and the prince, perceiving what was the matter, took a pair of scissors from his saddle pockets, and requested permission to cut off some of the moustache, as he had a question of great importance to ask the dervish. the dervish made a sign that he might do as he liked, and when a few inches of his hair and beard had been pruned all round the prince assured the holy man that he would hardly believe how much younger he looked. the dervish smiled at his compliments, and thanked him for what he had done. "let me," he said, "show you my gratitude for making me more comfortable by telling me what i can do for you." "gentle dervish," replied prince bahman, "i come from far, and i seek the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water. i know that they are to be found somewhere in these parts, but i am ignorant of the exact spot. tell me, i pray you, if you can, so that i may not have travelled on a useless quest." while he was speaking, the prince observed a change in the countenance of the dervish, who waited for some time before he made reply. "my lord," he said at last, "i do know the road for which you ask, but your kindness and the friendship i have conceived for you make me loth to point it out." "but why not?" inquired the prince. "what danger can there be?" "the very greatest danger," answered the dervish. "other men, as brave as you, have ridden down this road, and have put me that question. i did my best to turn them also from their purpose, but it was of no use. not one of them would listen to my words, and not one of them came back. be warned in time, and seek to go no further." "i am grateful to you for your interest in me," said prince bahman, "and for the advice you have given, though i cannot follow it. but what dangers can there be in the adventure which courage and a good sword cannot meet?" "and suppose," answered the dervish, "that your enemies are invisible, how then?" "nothing will make me give it up," replied the prince, "and for the last time i ask you to tell me where i am to go." when the dervish saw that the prince's mind was made up, he drew a ball from a bag that lay near him, and held it out. "if it must be so," he said, with a sigh, "take this, and when you have mounted your horse throw the ball in front of you. it will roll on till it reaches the foot of a mountain, and when it stops you will stop also. you will then throw the bridle on your horse's neck without any fear of his straying, and will dismount. on each side you will see vast heaps of big black stones, and will hear a multitude of insulting voices, but pay no heed to them, and, above all, beware of ever turning your head. if you do, you will instantly become a black stone like the rest. for those stones are in reality men like yourself, who have been on the same quest, and have failed, as i fear that you may fail also. if you manage to avoid this pitfall, and to reach the top of the mountain, you will find there the talking bird in a splendid cage, and you can ask of him where you are to seek the singing tree and the golden water. that is all i have to say. you know what you have to do, and what to avoid, but if you are wise you will think of it no more, but return whence you have come." the prince smilingly shook his head, and thanking the dervish once more, he sprang on his horse and threw the ball before him. the ball rolled along the road so fast that prince bahman had much difficulty in keeping up with it, and it never relaxed its speed till the foot of the mountain was reached. then it came to a sudden halt, and the prince at once got down and flung the bridle on his horse's neck. he paused for a moment and looked round him at the masses of black stones with which the sides of the mountain were covered, and then began resolutely to ascend. he had hardly gone four steps when he heard the sound of voices around him, although not another creature was in sight. "who is this imbecile?" cried some, "stop him at once." "kill him," shrieked others, "help! robbers! murderers! help! help!" "oh, let him alone," sneered another, and this was the most trying of all, "he is such a beautiful young man; i am sure the bird and the cage must have been kept for him." at first the prince took no heed to all this clamour, but continued to press forward on his way. unfortunately this conduct, instead of silencing the voices, only seemed to irritate them the more, and they arose with redoubled fury, in front as well as behind. after some time he grew bewildered, his knees began to tremble, and finding himself in the act of falling, he forgot altogether the advice of the dervish. he turned to fly down the mountain, and in one moment became a black stone. as may be imagined, prince perviz and his sister were all this time in the greatest anxiety, and consulted the magic knife, not once but many times a day. hitherto the blade had remained bright and spotless, but on the fatal hour on which prince bahman and his horse were changed into black stones, large drops of blood appeared on the surface. "ah! my beloved brother," cried the princess in horror, throwing the knife from her, "i shall never see you again, and it is i who have killed you. fool that i was to listen to the voice of that temptress, who probably was not speaking the truth. what are the talking bird and the singing tree to me in comparison with you, passionately though i long for them!" prince perviz's grief at his brother's loss was not less than that of princess parizade, but he did not waste his time on useless lamentations. "my sister," he said, "why should you think the old woman was deceiving you about these treasures, and what would have been her object in doing so! no, no, our brother must have met his death by some accident, or want of precaution, and to-morrow i will start on the same quest." terrified at the thought that she might lose her only remaining brother, the princess entreated him to give up his project, but he remained firm. before setting out, however, he gave her a chaplet of a hundred pearls, and said, "when i am absent, tell this over daily for me. but if you should find that the beads stick, so that they will not slip one after the other, you will know that my brother's fate has befallen me. still, we must hope for better luck." then he departed, and on the twentieth day of his journey fell in with the dervish on the same spot as prince bahman had met him, and began to question him as to the place where the talking bird, the singing tree and the golden water were to be found. as in the case of his brother, the dervish tried to make him give up his project, and even told him that only a few weeks since a young man, bearing a strong resemblance to himself, had passed that way, but had never come back again. "that, holy dervish," replied prince perviz, "was my elder brother, who is now dead, though how he died i cannot say." "he is changed into a black stone," answered the dervish, "like all the rest who have gone on the same errand, and you will become one likewise if you are not more careful in following my directions." then he charged the prince, as he valued his life, to take no heed of the clamour of voices that would pursue him up the mountain, and handing him a ball from the bag, which still seemed to be half full, he sent him on his way. when prince perviz reached the foot of the mountain he jumped from his horse, and paused for a moment to recall the instructions the dervish had given him. then he strode boldly on, but had scarcely gone five or six paces when he was startled by a man's voice that seemed close to his ear, exclaiming: "stop, rash fellow, and let me punish your audacity." this outrage entirely put the dervish's advice out of the prince's head. he drew his sword, and turned to avenge himself, but almost before he had realised that there was nobody there, he and his horse were two black stones. not a morning had passed since prince perviz had ridden away without princess parizade telling her beads, and at night she even hung them round her neck, so that if she woke she could assure herself at once of her brother's safety. she was in the very act of moving them through her fingers at the moment that the prince fell a victim to his impatience, and her heart sank when the first pearl remained fixed in its place. however she had long made up her mind what she would do in such a case, and the following morning the princess, disguised as a man, set out for the mountain. as she had been accustomed to riding from her childhood, she managed to travel as many miles daily as her brothers had done, and it was, as before, on the twentieth day that she arrived at the place where the dervish was sitting. "good dervish," she said politely, "will you allow me to rest by you for a few moments, and perhaps you will be so kind as to tell me if you have ever heard of a talking bird, a singing tree, and some golden water that are to be found somewhere near this?" "madam," replied the dervish, "for in spite of your manly dress your voice betrays you, i shall be proud to serve you in any way i can. but may i ask the purpose of your question?" "good dervish," answered the princess, "i have heard such glowing descriptions of these three things, that i cannot rest till i possess them." "madam," said the dervish, "they are far more beautiful than any description, but you seem ignorant of all the difficulties that stand in your way, or you would hardly have undertaken such an adventure. give it up, i pray you, and return home, and do not ask me to help you to a cruel death." "holy father," answered the princess, "i come from far, and i should be in despair if i turned back without having attained my object. you have spoken of difficulties; tell me, i entreat you, what they are, so that i may know if i can overcome them, or see if they are beyond my strength." so the dervish repeated his tale, and dwelt more firmly than before on the clamour of the voices, the horrors of the black stones, which were once living men, and the difficulties of climbing the mountain; and pointed out that the chief means of success was never to look behind till you had the cage in your grasp. "as far as i can see," said the princess, "the first thing is not to mind the tumult of the voices that follow you till you reach the cage, and then never to look behind. as to this, i think i have enough self-control to look straight before me; but as it is quite possible that i might be frightened by the voices, as even the boldest men have been, i will stop up my ears with cotton, so that, let them make as much noise as they like, i shall hear nothing." "madam," cried the dervish, "out of all the number who have asked me the way to the mountain, you are the first who has ever suggested such a means of escaping the danger! it is possible that you may succeed, but all the same, the risk is great." "good dervish," answered the princess, "i feel in my heart that i shall succeed, and it only remains for me to ask you the way i am to go." then the dervish said that it was useless to say more, and he gave her the ball, which she flung before her. the first thing the princess did on arriving at the mountain was to stop her ears with cotton, and then, making up her mind which was the best way to go, she began her ascent. in spite of the cotton, some echoes of the voices reached her ears, but not so as to trouble her. indeed, though they grew louder and more insulting the higher she climbed, the princess only laughed, and said to herself that she certainly would not let a few rough words stand between her and the goal. at last she perceived in the distance the cage and the bird, whose voice joined itself in tones of thunder to those of the rest: "return, return! never dare to come near me." at the sight of the bird, the princess hastened her steps, and without vexing herself at the noise which by this time had grown deafening, she walked straight up to the cage, and seizing it, she said: "now, my bird, i have got you, and i shall take good care that you do not escape." as she spoke she took the cotton from her ears, for it was needed no longer. "brave lady," answered the bird, "do not blame me for having joined my voice to those who did their best to preserve my freedom. although confined in a cage, i was content with my lot, but if i must become a slave, i could not wish for a nobler mistress than one who has shown so much constancy, and from this moment i swear to serve you faithfully. some day you will put me to the proof, for i know who you are better than you do yourself. meanwhile, tell me what i can do, and i will obey you." "bird," replied the princess, who was filled with a joy that seemed strange to herself when she thought that the bird had cost her the lives of both her brothers, "bird, let me first thank you for your good will, and then let me ask you where the golden water is to be found." the bird described the place, which was not far distant, and the princess filled a small silver flask that she had brought with her for the purpose. she then returned to the cage, and said: "bird, there is still something else, where shall i find the singing tree?" "behind you, in that wood," replied the bird, and the princess wandered through the wood, till a sound of the sweetest voices told her she had found what she sought. but the tree was tall and strong, and it was hopeless to think of uprooting it. "you need not do that," said the bird, when she had returned to ask counsel. "break off a twig, and plant it in your garden, and it will take root, and grow into a magnificent tree." when the princess parizade held in her hands the three wonders promised her by the old woman, she said to the bird: "all that is not enough. it was owing to you that my brothers became black stones. i cannot tell them from the mass of others, but you must know, and point them out to me, i beg you, for i wish to carry them away." for some reason that the princess could not guess these words seemed to displease the bird, and he did not answer. the princess waited a moment, and then continued in severe tones, "have you forgotten that you yourself said that you are my slave to do my bidding, and also that your life is in my power?" "no, i have not forgotten," replied the bird, "but what you ask is very difficult. however, i will do my best. if you look round," he went on, "you will see a pitcher standing near. take it, and, as you go down the mountain, scatter a little of the water it contains over every black stone and you will soon find your two brothers." princess parizade took the pitcher, and, carrying with her besides the cage the twig and the flask, returned down the mountain side. at every black stone she stopped and sprinkled it with water, and as the water touched it the stone instantly became a man. when she suddenly saw her brothers before her her delight was mixed with astonishment. "why, what are you doing here?" she cried. "we have been asleep," they said. "yes," returned the princess, "but without me your sleep would probably have lasted till the day of judgment. have you forgotten that you came here in search of the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water, and the black stones that were heaped up along the road? look round and see if there is one left. these gentlemen, and yourselves, and all your horses were changed into these stones, and i have delivered you by sprinkling you with the water from this pitcher. as i could not return home without you, even though i had gained the prizes on which i had set my heart, i forced the talking bird to tell me how to break the spell." on hearing these words prince bahman and prince perviz understood all they owed their sister, and the knights who stood by declared themselves her slaves and ready to carry out her wishes. but the princess, while thanking them for their politeness, explained that she wished for no company but that of her brothers, and that the rest were free to go where they would. so saying the princess mounted her horse, and, declining to allow even prince bahman to carry the cage with the talking bird, she entrusted him with the branch of the singing tree, while prince perviz took care of the flask containing the golden water. then they rode away, followed by the knights and gentlemen, who begged to be permitted to escort them. it had been the intention of the party to stop and tell their adventures to the dervish, but they found to their sorrow that he was dead, whether from old age, or whether from the feeling that his task was done, they never knew. as they continued their road their numbers grew daily smaller, for the knights turned off one by one to their own homes, and only the brothers and sister finally drew up at the gate of the palace. the princess carried the cage straight into the garden, and, as soon as the bird began to sing, nightingales, larks, thrushes, finches, and all sorts of other birds mingled their voices in chorus. the branch she planted in a corner near the house, and in a few days it had grown into a great tree. as for the golden water it was poured into a great marble basin specially prepared for it, and it swelled and bubbled and then shot up into the air in a fountain twenty feet high. the fame of these wonders soon spread abroad, and people came from far and near to see and admire. after a few days prince bahman and prince perviz fell back into their ordinary way of life, and passed most of their time hunting. one day it happened that the sultan of persia was also hunting in the same direction, and, not wishing to interfere with his sport, the young men, on hearing the noise of the hunt approaching, prepared to retire, but, as luck would have it, they turned into the very path down which the sultan was coming. they threw themselves from their horses and prostrated themselves to the earth, but the sultan was curious to see their faces, and commanded them to rise. the princes stood up respectfully, but quite at their ease, and the sultan looked at them for a few moments without speaking, then he asked who they were and where they lived. "sire," replied prince bahman, "we are sons of your highness's late intendant of the gardens, and we live in a house that he built a short time before his death, waiting till an occasion should offer itself to serve your highness." "you seem fond of hunting," answered the sultan. "sire," replied prince bahman, "it is our usual exercise, and one that should be neglected by no man who expects to comply with the ancient customs of the kingdom and bear arms." the sultan was delighted with this remark, and said at once, "in that case i shall take great pleasure in watching you. come, choose what sort of beasts you would like to hunt." the princes jumped on their horses and followed the sultan at a little distance. they had not gone very far before they saw a number of wild animals appear at once, and prince bahman started to give chase to a lion and prince perviz to a bear. both used their javelins with such skill that, directly they arrived within striking range, the lion and the bear fell, pierced through and through. then prince perviz pursued a lion and prince bahman a bear, and in a very few minutes they, too, lay dead. as they were making ready for a third assault the sultan interfered, and, sending one of his officials to summon them, he said smiling, "if i let you go on, there will soon be no beasts left to hunt. besides, your courage and manners have so won my heart that i will not have you expose yourselves to further danger. i am convinced that some day or other i shall find you useful as well as agreeable." he then gave them a warm invitation to stay with him altogether, but with many thanks for the honour done them, they begged to be excused, and to be suffered to remain at home. the sultan who was not accustomed to see his offers rejected inquired their reasons, and prince bahman explained that they did not wish to leave their sister, and were accustomed to do nothing without consulting all three together. "ask her advice, then," replied the sultan, "and to-morrow come and hunt with me, and give me your answer." the two princes returned home, but their adventure made so little impression on them that they quite forgot to speak to their sister on the subject. the next morning when they went to hunt they met the sultan in the same place, and he inquired what advice their sister had given. the young men looked at each other and blushed. at last prince bahman said, "sire, we must throw ourselves on your highness's mercy. neither my brother nor myself remembered anything about it." "then be sure you do not forget to-day," answered the sultan, "and bring me back your reply to-morrow." when, however, the same thing happened a second time, they feared that the sultan might be angry with them for their carelessness. but he took it in good part, and, drawing three little golden balls from his purse, he held them out to prince bahman, saying, "put these in your bosom and you will not forget a third time, for when you remove your girdle to-night the noise they will make in falling will remind you of my wishes." it all happened as the sultan had foreseen, and the two brothers appeared in their sister's apartments just as she was in the act of stepping into bed, and told their tale. the princess parizade was much disturbed at the news, and did not conceal her feelings. "your meeting with the sultan is very honourable to you," she said, "and will, i dare say, be of service to you, but it places me in a very awkward position. it is on my account, i know, that you have resisted the sultan's wishes, and i am very grateful to you for it. but kings do not like to have their offers refused, and in time he would bear a grudge against you, which would render me very unhappy. consult the talking bird, who is wise and far-seeing, and let me hear what he says." so the bird was sent for and the case laid before him. "the princes must on no account refuse the sultan's proposal," said he, "and they must even invite him to come and see your house." "but, bird," objected the princess, "you know how dearly we love each other; will not all this spoil our friendship?" "not at all," replied the bird, "it will make it all the closer." "then the sultan will have to see me," said the princess. the bird answered that it was necessary that he should see her, and everything would turn out for the best. the following morning, when the sultan inquired if they had spoken to their sister and what advice she had given them, prince bahman replied that they were ready to agree to his highness's wishes, and that their sister had reproved them for their hesitation about the matter. the sultan received their excuses with great kindness, and told them that he was sure they would be equally faithful to him, and kept them by his side for the rest of the day, to the vexation of the grand-vizir and the rest of the court. when the procession entered in this order the gates of the capital, the eyes of the people who crowded the streets were fixed on the two young men, strangers to every one. "oh, if only the sultan had had sons like that!" they murmured, "they look so distinguished and are about the same age that his sons would have been!" the sultan commanded that splendid apartments should be prepared for the two brothers, and even insisted that they should sit at table with him. during dinner he led the conversation to various scientific subjects, and also to history, of which he was especially fond, but whatever topic they might be discussing he found that the views of the young men were always worth listening to. "if they were my own sons," he said to himself, "they could not be better educated!" and aloud he complimented them on their learning and taste for knowledge. at the end of the evening the princes once more prostrated themselves before the throne and asked leave to return home; and then, encouraged by the gracious words of farewell uttered by the sultan, prince bahman said: "sire, may we dare to take the liberty of asking whether you would do us and our sister the honour of resting for a few minutes at our house the first time the hunt passes that way?" "with the utmost pleasure," replied the sultan; "and as i am all impatience to see the sister of such accomplished young men you may expect me the day after to-morrow." the princess was of course most anxious to entertain the sultan in a fitting way, but as she had no experience in court customs she ran to the talking bird, and begged he would advise her as to what dishes should be served. "my dear mistress," replied the bird, "your cooks are very good and you can safely leave all to them, except that you must be careful to have a dish of cucumbers, stuffed with pearl sauce, served with the first course." "cucumbers stuffed with pearls!" exclaimed the princess. "why, bird, who ever heard of such a dish? the sultan will expect a dinner he can eat, and not one he can only admire! besides, if i were to use all the pearls i possess, they would not be half enough." "mistress," replied the bird, "do what i tell you and nothing but good will come of it. and as to the pearls, if you go at dawn to-morrow and dig at the foot of the first tree in the park, on the right hand, you will find as many as you want." the princess had faith in the bird, who generally proved to be right, and taking the gardener with her early next morning followed out his directions carefully. after digging for some time they came upon a golden box fastened with little clasps. these were easily undone, and the box was found to be full of pearls, not very large ones, but well-shaped and of a good colour. so leaving the gardener to fill up the hole he had made under the tree, the princess took up the box and returned to the house. the two princes had seen her go out, and had wondered what could have made her rise so early. full of curiosity they got up and dressed, and met their sister as she was returning with the box under her arm. "what have you been doing?" they asked, "and did the gardener come to tell you he had found a treasure?" "on the contrary," replied the princess, "it is i who have found one," and opening the box she showed her astonished brothers the pearls inside. then, on the way back to the palace, she told them of her consultation with the bird, and the advice it had given her. all three tried to guess the meaning of the singular counsel, but they were forced at last to admit the explanation was beyond them, and they must be content blindly to obey. the first thing the princess did on entering the palace was to send for the head cook and to order the repast for the sultan when she had finished she suddenly added, "besides the dishes i have mentioned there is one that you must prepare expressly for the sultan, and that no one must touch but yourself. it consists of a stuffed cucumber, and the stuffing is to be made of these pearls." the head cook, who had never in all his experience heard of such a dish, stepped back in amazement. "you think i am mad," answered the princess, who perceived what was in his mind. "but i know quite well what i am doing. go, and do your best, and take the pearls with you." the next morning the princes started for the forest, and were soon joined by the sultan. the hunt began and continued till mid-day, when the heat became so great that they were obliged to leave off. then, as arranged, they turned their horses' heads towards the palace, and while prince bahman remained by the side of the sultan, prince perviz rode on to warn his sister of their approach. the moment his highness entered the courtyard, the princess flung herself at his feet, but he bent and raised her, and gazed at her for some time, struck with her grace and beauty, and also with the indefinable air of courts that seemed to hang round this country girl. "they are all worthy one of the other," he said to himself, "and i am not surprised that they think so much of her opinions. i must know more of them." by this time the princess had recovered from the first embarrassment of meeting, and proceeded to make her speech of welcome. "this is only a simple country house, sire," she said, "suitable to people like ourselves, who live a quiet life. it cannot compare with the great city mansions, much less, of course, with the smallest of the sultan's palaces." "i cannot quite agree with you," he replied; "even the little that i have seen i admire greatly, and i will reserve my judgment until you have shown me the whole." the princess then led the way from room to room, and the sultan examined everything carefully. "do you call this a simple country house?" he said at last. "why, if every country house was like this, the towns would soon be deserted. i am no longer astonished that you do not wish to leave it. let us go into the gardens, which i am sure are no less beautiful than the rooms." a small door opened straight into the garden, and the first object that met the sultan's eyes was the golden water. "what lovely coloured water!" he exclaimed; "where is the spring, and how do you make the fountain rise so high? i do not believe there is anything like it in the world." he went forward to examine it, and when he had satisfied his curiosity, the princess conducted him towards the singing tree. as they drew near, the sultan was startled by the sound of strange voices, but could see nothing. "where have you hidden your musicians?" he asked the princess; "are they up in the air, or under the earth? surely the owners of such charming voices ought not to conceal themselves!" "sire," answered the princess, "the voices all come from the tree which is straight in front of us; and if you will deign to advance a few steps, you will see that they become clearer." the sultan did as he was told, and was so wrapt in delight at what he heard that he stood some time in silence. "tell me, madam, i pray you," he said at last, "how this marvellous tree came into your garden? it must have been brought from a great distance, or else, fond as i am of all curiosities, i could not have missed hearing of it! what is its name?" "the only name it has, sire," replied she, "is the singing tree, and it is not a native of this country. its history is mixed up with those of the golden water and the talking bird, which you have not yet seen. if your highness wishes i will tell you the whole story, when you have recovered from your fatigue." "indeed, madam," returned he, "you show me so many wonders that it is impossible to feel any fatigue. let us go once more and look at the golden water; and i am dying to see the talking bird." the sultan could hardly tear himself away from the golden water, which puzzled him more and more. "you say," he observed to the princess, "that this water does not come from any spring, neither is brought by pipes. all i understand is, that neither it nor the singing tree is a native of this country." "it is as you say, sire," answered the princess, "and if you examine the basin, you will see that it is all in one piece, and therefore the water could not have been brought through it. what is more astonishing is, that i only emptied a small flaskful into the basin, and it increased to the quantity you now see." "well, i will look at it no more to-day," said the sultan. "take me to the talking bird." on approaching the house, the sultan noticed a vast quantity of birds, whose voices filled the air, and he inquired why they were so much more numerous here than in any other part of the garden. "sire," answered the princess, "do you see that cage hanging in one of the windows of the saloon? that is the talking bird, whose voice you can hear above them all, even above that of the nightingale. and the birds crowd to this spot, to add their songs to his." the sultan stepped through the window, but the bird took no notice, continuing his song as before. "my slave," said the princess, "this is the sultan; make him a pretty speech." the bird stopped singing at once, and all the other birds stopped too. "the sultan is welcome," he said. "i wish him long life and all prosperity." "i thank you, good bird," answered the sultan, seating himself before the repast, which was spread at a table near the window, "and i am enchanted to see in you the sultan and king of the birds." the sultan, noticing that his favourite dish of cucumber was placed before him, proceeded to help himself to it, and was amazed to and that the stuffing was of pearls. "a novelty, indeed!" cried he, "but i do not understand the reason of it; one cannot eat pearls!" "sire," replied the bird, before either the princes or the princess could speak, "surely your highness cannot be so surprised at beholding a cucumber stuffed with pearls, when you believed without any difficulty that the sultana had presented you, instead of children, with a dog, a cat, and a log of wood." "i believed it," answered the sultan, "because the women attending on her told me so." "the women, sire," said the bird, "were the sisters of the sultana, who were devoured with jealousy at the honour you had done her, and in order to revenge themselves invented this story. have them examined, and they will confess their crime. these are your children, who were saved from death by the intendant of your gardens, and brought up by him as if they were his own." like a flash the truth came to the mind of the sultan. "bird," he cried, "my heart tells me that what you say is true. my children," he added, "let me embrace you, and embrace each other, not only as brothers and sister, but as having in you the blood royal of persia which could flow in no nobler veins." when the first moments of emotion were over, the sultan hastened to finish his repast, and then turning to his children he exclaimed: "to-day you have made acquaintance with your father. to-morrow i will bring you the sultana your mother. be ready to receive her." the sultan then mounted his horse and rode quickly back to the capital. without an instant's delay he sent for the grand-vizir, and ordered him to seize and question the sultana's sisters that very day. this was done. they were confronted with each other and proved guilty, and were executed in less than an hour. but the sultan did not wait to hear that his orders had been carried out before going on foot, followed by his whole court to the door of the great mosque, and drawing the sultana with his own hand out of the narrow prison where she had spent so many years, "madam," he cried, embracing her with tears in his eyes, "i have come to ask your pardon for the injustice i have done you, and to repair it as far as i may. i have already begun by punishing the authors of this abominable crime, and i hope you will forgive me when i introduce you to our children, who are the most charming and accomplished creatures in the whole world. come with me, and take back your position and all the honour that is due to you." this speech was delivered in the presence of a vast multitude of people, who had gathered from all parts on the first hint of what was happening, and the news was passed from mouth to mouth in a few seconds. early next day the sultan and sultana, dressed in robes of state and followed by all the court, set out for the country house of their children. here the sultan presented them to the sultana one by one, and for some time there was nothing but embraces and tears and tender words. then they ate of the magnificent dinner which had been prepared for them, and after they were all refreshed they went into the garden, where the sultan pointed out to his wife the golden water and the singing tree. as to the talking bird, she had already made acquaintance with him. in the evening they rode together back to the capital, the princes on each side of their father, and the princess with her mother. long before they reached the gates the way was lined with people, and the air filled with shouts of welcome, with which were mingled the songs of the talking bird, sitting in its cage on the lap of the princess, and of the birds who followed it. and in this manner they came back to their father's palace. christine sturrock. the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume only copies of the small paper edition are printed for america, of which this is no. london pickering and chatto the publishers' preface. this, the "aldine edition" of "the arabian nights entertainments," forms the first four volumes of a proposed series of reprints of the standard works of fiction which have appeared in the english language. it is our intention to publish the series in an artistic way, well illustrating a text typographically as perfect as possible. the texts in all cases will be carefully chosen from approved editions. the series is intended for those who appreciate well printed and illustrated books, or who are in want of a handy and handsome edition of such works to place upon their bookshelves. the exact origin of the tales, which appear in the arabic as "the thousand and one nights," is unknown. the caliph haroon al rusheed, who, figures in so lifelike a manner in many of the stories, was a contemporary of the emperor charlemagne, and there is internal evidence that the collection was made in the arabic language about the end of the tenth century. they undoubtedly convey a picturesque impression of the manners, sentiments, and customs of eastern mediaeval life. the stories were translated from the arabic by m. galland and first found their way into english in , when they were retranslated from m. galland's french text and at once became exceedingly popular. this process of double translation had great disadvantages; it induced dr. jonathan scott, oriental professor, to publish in , a new edition, revised and corrected from the arabic. it is upon this text that the present edition is formed. it will be found free from that grossness which is unavoidable in a strictly literal translation of the original into english; and which has rendered the splendid translations of sir r. burton and mr. j. payne quite unsuitable as the basis of a popular edition, though at the same time stamping the works as the two most perfect editions for the student. the scholarly translation of lane, by the too strict an adherence to oriental forms of expression, and somewhat pedantic rendering of the spelling of proper names, is found to be tedious to a very large number of readers attracted by the rich imagination, romance, and humour of these tales. contents of volume i. the ass, the ox, and the labourer. the merchant and the genie. the story of the first old man and the hind. the story of the second old man and the two black dogs. the story of the fisherman. the story of the grecian king and the physician douban. the story of the husband and the parrot. the story of the vizier that was punished. the history of the young king of the black isles. story of the three calenders, sons of sultans; and of the five ladies of bagdad. the history of the first calender. the story of the second calender. the story of the envious man, and of him that he envied. the history of the third calender. the story of zobeide. the story of amene. the story of sinbad the voyager. the first voyage. the second voyage. the third voyage. the fourth voyage. the fifth voyage. the sixth voyage. the seventh and last voyage. the three apples. the story of the lady who was murdered, and of the young man her husband. the story of noor ad deen ali and buddir ad deen houssun. the history of ganem, son of abou ayoub, and known by the surname of love's slave. the arabian nights entertainments. the chronicles of the sassanians, ancient kings of persia, who extended their empire into the indies, over all the adjacent islands, and a great way beyond the ganges, as far as china, acquaint us, that there was formerly a king of that potent family, who was regarded as the most excellent prince of his time. he was as much beloved by his subjects for his wisdom and prudence, as he was dreaded by his neighbours, on account of his velour, and well-disciplined troops. he had two sons; the elder shier-ear, the worthy heir of his father, and endowed with all his virtues; the younger shaw-zummaun, a prince of equal merit. after a long and glorious reign, this king died; and shier-ear mounted his throne. shaw-zummaun, being excluded from all share in the government by the laws of the empire, and obliged to live a private life, was so far from envying the happiness of his brother, that he made it his whole business to please him, and in this succeeded without much difficulty. shier-ear, who had naturally a great affection the prince his brother, gave him the kingdom of great tartary. shaw-zummaun went immediately and took possession of it, and fixed the seat of his government at samarcand, the metropolis of the country. after they had been separated ten years, shier-ear, being very desirous of seeing his brother, resolved to send an ambassador to invite him to his court. he made choice of his prime vizier for the embassy, and sent him to tartary, with a retinue answerable to his dignity. the vizier proceeded with all possible expedition to samarcand. when he came near the city, shaw-zummaun was informed of his approach, and went to meet him attended by the principal lords of his court, who, to shew the greater honour to the sultan's minister, appeared in magnificent apparel. the king of tartary received the ambassador with the greatest demonstrations of joy; and immediately asked him concerning the welfare of the sultan his brother. the vizier having acquainted him that he was in health, informed him of the purpose of his embassy. shaw-zummaun was much affected, and answered: "sage vizier, the sultan my brother does me too much honour; nothing could be more agreeable to me, for i as ardently long to see him as he does to see me. time has not diminished my friendship more than his. my kingdom is in peace, and i want no more than ten days to get myself ready to return with you. there is therefore no necessity for your entering the city for so short a period. i pray you to pitch your tents here, and i will order everything necessary to be provided for yourself and your attendants." the vizier readily complied; and as soon as the king returned to the city, he sent him a prodigious quantity of provisions of all sorts, with presents of great value. in the meanwhile, shaw-zummaun prepared for his journey, gave orders about his most important affairs, appointed a council to govern in his absence, and named a minister, of whose wisdom he had sufficient experience, and in whom he had entire confidence, to be their president. at the end of ten days, his equipage being ready, he took leave of the queen his wife, and went out of town in the evening with his retinue. he pitched his royal pavilion near the vizier's tent, and conversed with him till midnight. wishing once more to see the queen, whom he ardently loved, he returned alone to his palace, and went directly to her majesty's apartments. but she, not expecting his return, had taken one of the meanest officers of her household to her bed. the king entered without noise, and pleased himself to think how he should surprise his wife who he thought loved him with reciprocal tenderness. but how great was his astonishment, when, by the light of the flambeau, he beheld a man in her arms! he stood immovable for some time, not knowing how to believe his own eyes. but finding there was no room for doubt, "how!" said he to himself, "i am scarcely out of my palace, and but just under the walls of samarcand, and dare they put such an outrage upon me? perfidious wretches! your crime shall not go unpunished. as a king, i am bound to punish wickedness committed in my dominions; and as an enraged husband, i must sacrifice you to my just resentment." the unfortunate prince, giving way to his rage, then drew his cimeter, and approaching the bed killed them both with one blow, their sleep into death; and afterwards taking them up, he threw them out of a window into the ditch that surrounded the palace. having thus avenged himself, he returned to his pavilion without saying one word of what had happened, gave orders that the tents should be struck, and everything made ready for his journey. all was speedily prepared, and before day he began his march, with kettle-drums and other instruments of music, that filled everyone with joy, excepting the king; he was so much afflicted by the disloyalty of his wife, that he was seized with extreme melancholy, which preyed upon his spirits during the whole of his journey. when he drew near the capital of the indies, the sultan shier-ear and all his court came out to meet him. the princes were overjoyed to see one another, and having alighted, after mutual embraces and other marks of affection and respect, remounted, and entered the city, amidst the acclamations of the people. the sultan conducted his brother to the palace provided for him, which had a communication with his own by a garden. it was so much the more magnificent as it was set apart as a banqueting-house for public entertainments, and other diversions of the court, and its splendour had been lately augmented by new furniture. shier-ear immediately left the king of tartary, that he might give him time to bathe, and to change his apparel. as soon as he had done, he returned to him again, and they sat down together on a sofa or alcove. the courtiers out of respect kept at a distance, and the two princes entertained one another suitably to their friendship, their consanguinity, and their long separation. the time of supper being come, they ate together, after which they renewed their conversation, which continued till shier-ear, perceiving that it was very late, left his brother to repose. the unfortunate shaw-zummaun retired to bed. though the conversation of his brother had suspended his grief for some time, it returned again with increased violence; so that, instead of taking his necessary rest, he tormented himself with the bitterest reflections. all the circumstances of his wife's disloyalty presented themselves afresh to his imagination, in so lively a manner, that he was like one distracted being able to sleep, he arose, and abandoned himself to the most afflicting thoughts, which made such an impression upon his countenance, as it was impossible for the sultan not to observe. "what," said he, "can be the matter with the king of tartary that he is so melancholy? has he any cause to complain of his reception? no, surely; i have received him as a brother whom i love, so that i can charge myself with no omission in that respect. perhaps it grieves him to be at such a distance from his dominions, or from the queen his wife? if that be the case, i must forthwith give him the presents i designed for him, that he may return to samarcand." accordingly the next day shier-ear sent him part of those presents, being the greatest rarities and the richest things that the indies could afford. at the same time he endeavoured to divert his brother every day by new objects of pleasure, and the most splendid entertainments. but these, instead of affording him ease, only increased his sorrow. one day, shier-ear having appointed a great hunting-match, about two days journey from his capital, in a place that abounded with deer, shaw-zummaun besought him to excuse his attendance, for his health would not allow him to bear him company. the sultan, unwilling to put any constraint upon him, left him at his liberty, and went a-hunting with his nobles. the king of tartary being thus left alone, shut himself up in his apartment, and sat down at a window that looked into the garden. that delicious place, and the sweet harmony of an infinite number of birds, which chose it for their retreat, must certainly have diverted him, had he been capable of taking pleasure in anything; but being perpetually tormented with the fatal remembrance of his queen's infamous conduct, his eyes were not so much fixed upon the garden, as lifted up to heaven to bewail his misfortune. while he was thus absorbed in grief, a circumstance occurred which attracted the whole of his attention. a secret gate of the sultan's palace suddenly opened, and there came out of it twenty women, in the midst of whom walked the sultaness, who was easily distinguished from the rest by her majestic air. this princess thinking that the king of tartary was gone a-hunting with his brother the sultan, came with her retinue near the windows of his apartment. for the prince had so placed himself that he could see all that passed in the garden without being perceived himself. he observed, that the persons who accompanied the sultaness threw off their veils and long robes, that they might be more at their ease, but he was greatly surprised to find that ten of them were black men, and that each of these took his mistress. the sultaness, on her part, was not long without her gallant. she clapped her hands, and called "masoud, masoud," and immediately a black descended from a tree, and ran towards her with great speed. modesty will not allow, nor is it necessary, to relate what passed between the blacks and the ladies. it is sufficient to say, that shaw-zummaun saw enough to convince him, that his brother was as much to be pitied as himself. this amorous company continued together till midnight, and having bathed together in a great piece of water, which was one of the chief ornaments of the garden, they dressed themselves, and re-entered the palace by the secret door, all except masoud, who climbed up his tree, and got over the garden wall as he had come in. these things having passed in the king of tartary's sight, filled him with a multitude of reflections. "how little reason had i," said he, "to think that none was so unfortunate as myself? it is surely the unavoidable fate of all husbands, since even the sultan my brother, who is sovereign of so-many dominions, and the greatest prince of the earth, could not escape. such being the case, what a fool am i to kill myself with grief? i am resolved that the remembrance of a misfortune so common shall never more disturb my peace." from that moment he forbore afflicting himself. he called for his supper, ate with a better appetite than he had done since his leaving samarcand, and listened with some degree of pleasure to the agreeable concert of vocal and instrumental music that was appointed to entertain him while at table. he continued after this very cheerful; and when he was informed that the sultan was returning, went to meet him, and paid him his compliments with great gaiety. shier-ear at first took no notice of this alteration. he politely expostulated with him for not bearing him company, and without giving him time to reply, entertained him with an account of the great number of deer and other game they had killed, and the pleasure he had received in the chase. shaw-zummaun heard him with attention; and being now relieved from the melancholy which had before depressed his spirits, and clouded his talents, took up the conversation in his turn, and spoke a thousand agreeable and pleasant things to the sultan. shier-ear, who expected to have found him in the same state as he had left him, was overjoyed to see him so cheerful: "dear brother," said he, "i return thanks to heaven for the happy change it has wrought in you during my absence. i am indeed extremely rejoiced. but i have a request to make to you, and conjure you not to deny me." "i can refuse you nothing," replied the king of tartary; "you may command shaw-zummaun as you please: speak, i am impatient to know what you desire of me." "ever since you came to my court," resumed shier-ear, "i have found you immersed in a deep melancholy, and i have in vain attempted to remove it by different diversions. i imagined it might be occasioned by your distance from your dominions, or that love might have a great share in it; and that the queen of samarcand, who, no doubt, is an accomplished beauty, might be the cause. i do not know whether i am mistaken in my conjecture; but i must own, that it was for this very reason i would not importune you upon the subject, for fear of making you uneasy. but without myself contributing anything towards effecting the change, i find on my return that your mind is entirely delivered from the black vapour which disturbed it. pray do me the favour to tell me why you were so melancholy, and wherefore you are no longer so." the king of tartary continued for some time as if he had been meditating and contriving what he should answer; but at last replied, "you are my sultan and master; but excuse me, i beseech you, from answering your question." "no, dear brother," said the sultan, "you must answer me, i will take no denial." shaw-zummaun, not being able to withstand these pressing entreaties, replied, "well then, brother, i will satisfy you, since you command me;" and having told him the story of the queen of samarcand's treachery "this," said he, "was the cause of my grief; judge whether i had not sufficient reason for my depression." "o! my brother," said the sultan, (in a tone which shewed what interest he took in the king of tartary's affliction), "what a horrible event do you tell me! i commend you for punishing the traitors who offered you such an outrage. none can blame you for what you have done. it was just; and for my part, had the case been mine, i should scarcely have been so moderate. i could not have satisfied myself with the life of one woman; i should have sacrificed a thousand to my fury. i now cease to wonder at your melancholy. the cause was too afflicting and too mortifying not to overwhelm you. o heaven! what a strange adventure! nor do i believe the like ever befell any man but yourself. but i must bless god, who has comforted you; and since i doubt not but your consolation is well-grounded, be so good as to inform me what it is, and conceal nothing from me." shaw-zummaun was not so easily prevailed upon in this point as he had been in the other, on his brother's account. but being obliged to yield to his pressing instances, answered, "i must obey you then, since your command is absolute, yet i am afraid that my obedience will occasion your trouble to be greater than my own. but you must blame yourself, since you force me to reveal what i should otherwise have buried in eternal oblivion." "what you say," answered shier-ear, "serves only to increase my curiosity. discover the secret, whatever it be." the king of tartary being no longer able to refuse, related to him the particulars of the blacks in disguise, of the ungoverned passion of the sultaness, and her ladies; nor did he forget masoud. after having been witness to these infamous actions, he continued, "i believed all women to be naturally lewd; and that they could not resist their inclination. being of this opinion, it seemed to me to be in men an unaccountable weakness to place any confidence in their fidelity. this reflection brought on many others; and in short, i thought the best thing i could do was to make myself easy. it cost me some pains indeed, but at last i grew reconciled; and if you will take my advice, you will follow my example." though the advice was good, the sultan could not approve of it, but fell into a rage. "what!" said he, "is the sultaness of the indies capable of prostituting herself in so base a manner! no, brother, i cannot believe what you state unless i beheld it with my own eyes. yours must needs have deceived you; the matter is so important that i must be satisfied of it myself." "dear brother," answered shaw-zummaun, "that you may without much difficulty. appoint another hunting-match, and when we are out of town with your court and mine, we will rest under our tents, and at night let you and i return unattended to my apartments. i am certain the next day you will see a repetition of the scene." the sultan approving the stratagem, immediately appointed another hunting-match. and that same day the tents were pitched at the place appointed. the next day the two princes set out with all their retinue; they arrived at the place of encampment, and stayed there till night. shier-ear then called his grand vizier, and, without acquainting him with his design, commanded him during his absence to suffer no person to quit the camp on any presence whatever. as soon as he had given this order, the king of grand tartary and he took horse, passed through the camp incognito, returned to the city, and went to shaw-zummaun's apartment. they had scarcely placed themselves in the window whence the king of tartary had beheld the scene of the disguised blacks, when the secret gate opened, the sultaness and her ladies entered the garden with the blacks, and she having called to masoud, the sultan saw more than enough fully to convince him of his dishonour and misfortune. "oh heavens!" he exclaimed, "what indignity! what horror! can the wife of a sovereign be capable of such infamous conduct? after this, let no prince boast of being perfectly happy. alas! my brother," continued he, embracing the king of tartery, "let us both renounce the world, honour is banished out of it; if it flatter us one day, it betrays us the next. let us abandon our dominions, and go into foreign countries, where we may lead an obscure life, and conceal our misfortunes." shaw-zummaun did not at all approve of this plan, but did not think fit to contradict shierear in the heat of his passion. "dear brother," he replied, "your will shall be mine. i am ready to follow you whithersoever you please: but promise me that you will return, if we meet with any one more unhappy than ourselves." "to this i agree," said the sultan, "but doubt much whether we shall." "i am not of your opinion in this," replied the king of tartary; "i fancy our journey will be but short." having thus resolved, they went secretly out of the palace. they travelled as long as day-light continued; and lay the first night under trees. they arose about break of day, went on till they came to a fine meadow on the seashore, that was be-sprinkled with large trees they sat down under one of them to rest and refresh themselves, and the chief subject of their conversation was the infidelity or their wives. they had not rested long, before they heard a frightful noise from the sea, and a terrible cry, which filled them with fear. the sea then opened, and there arose something like a great black column, which reached almost to the clouds. this redoubled their terror, made them rise with haste, and climb up into a tree to bide themselves. they had scarcely got up, when looking to the place from whence the noise proceeded, and where the sea had opened, they observed that the black column advanced, winding about towards the shore, cleaving the water before it. they could not at first think what this could mean, but in a little time they found that it was one of those malignant genies that are mortal enemies to mankind, and are always doing them mischief. he was black and frightful, had the shape of a giant, of a prodigious stature, and carried on his head a large glass box, fastened with four locks of fine steel. he entered the meadow with his burden, which he laid down just at the foot of the tree where the two princes were concealed, who gave themselves over as lost. the genie sat down by his box, and opening it with four keys that he had at his girdle, there came out a lady magnificently appareled, of a majestic stature, and perfect beauty. the monster made her sit down by him, and eyeing her with an amorous look, said, "lady, nay, most accomplished of all ladies who are admired for their beauty, my charming mistress, whom i carried off on your wedding-day, and have loved so constantly ever since, let me sleep a few moments by you; for i found myself so very drowsy that i came to this place to take a little rest." having spoken thus, he laid down his huge head upon the lady's knees, and stretching out his legs, which reached as far as the sea, he fell asleep presently, and snored so loud that he made the shores echo. the lady happening at this time to look up, saw the two princes in the tree, and made a sign to them with her hand to come down without making any noise. their fear was extreme when they found themselves discovered, and they prayed the lady, by other signs, to excuse them. but she, after having laid the monster's head softly on the ground, rose up and spoke to them, with a low but eager voice, to come down to her; she would take no denial. they informed her by signs that they were afraid of the genie, and would fain have been excused. upon which she ordered them to come down, and threatened if they did not make haste, to awaken the genie, and cause him to put them to death. these words so much intimidated the princes, that they began to descend with all possible precaution lest they should awake the genie. when they had come down, the lady took them by the hand, and going a little farther with them under the trees, made them a very urgent proposal. at first they rejected it, but she obliged them to comply by her threats. having obtained what she desired, she perceived that each of them had a ring on his finger, which she demanded. as soon as she had received them, she pulled out a string of other rings, which she shewed the princes, and asked them if they knew what those jewels meant? "no," said they, "we hope you will be pleased to inform us." "these are," she replied, "the rings of all the men to whom i have granted my favours. there are fourscore and eighteen, which i keep as memorials of them; and i asked for yours to make up the hundred. so that i have had a hundred gallants already, notwithstanding the vigilance of this wicked genie, who never leaves me. he may lock me up in this glass box and hide me in the bottom of the sea; but i find methods to elude his vigilance. you may see by this, that when a woman has formed a project, there is no husband or lover that can prevent her from putting it in execution. men had better not put their wives under such restraint, as it only serves to teach them cunning." having spoken thus to them, she put their rings on the same string with the rest, and sitting down by the monster, as before, laid his head again upon her lap, end made a sign to the princes to depart. they returned immediately the way they had come, and when they were out of sight of the lady and the genie shier-ear said to shaw-zummaun "well, brother, what do you think of this adventure? has not the genie a very faithful mistress? and do you not agree that there is no wickedness equal to that of women?" "yes, brother," answered the king of great tartary; "and you must also agree that the monster is more unfortunate, and more to be pitied than ourselves. therefore, since we have found what we sought for, let us return to our dominions, and let not this hinder us from marrying. for my part, i know a method by which to preserve the fidelity of my wife inviolable. i will say no more at present, but you will hear of it in a little time, and i am sure you will follow my example." the sultan agreed with his brother; and continuing their journey, they arrived in the camp the third night after their departure. the news of the sultan's return being spread, the courtiers came betimes in the morning before his pavilion to wait his pleasure. he ordered them to enter, received them with a more pleasant air than he had formerly done, and gave each of them a present. after which, he told them he would go no farther, ordered them to take horse, and returned with expedition to his palace. as soon as he arrived, he proceeded to the sultaness's apartment, commanded her to be bound before him, and delivered her to his grand vizier, with an order to strangle her, which was accordingly executed by that minister, without inquiring into her crime. the enraged prince did not stop here, but cut off the heads of all the sultaness's ladies with his own hand. after this rigorous punishment, being persuaded that no woman was chaste, he resolved, in order to prevent the disloyalty of such as he should afterwards marry, to wed one every night, and have her strangled next morning. having imposed this cruel law upon himself, he swore that he would put it in force immediately after the departure of the king of tartary, who shortly took leave of him, and being laden with magnificent presents, set forward on his journey. shaw-zummaun having departed, shier-ear ordered his grand vizier to bring him the daughter of one of his generals. the vizier obeyed. the sultan lay with her, and putting her next morning into his hands again in order to have her strangled, commanded him to provide him another the next night. whatever reluctance the vizier might feel to put such orders in execution, as he owed blind obedience to the sultan his master, he was forced to submit. he brought him then the daughter of a subaltern, whom he also put to death the next day. after her he brought a citizen's daughter; and, in a word, there was every day a maid married, and a wife murdered. the rumour of this unparalleled barbarity occasioned a general consternation in the city, where there was nothing but crying and lamentation. here, a father in tears, and inconsolable for the loss of his daughter; and there, tender mothers dreating lest their daughters should share the same fate, filling the air with cries of distress and apprehension. so that, instead of the commendation and blessings which the sultan had hitherto received from his subjects, their mouths were now filled with imprecations. the grand vizier who, as has been already observed, was the unwilling executioner of this horrid course of injustice, had two daughters, the elder called scheherazade, and the younger dinarzade. the latter was highly accomplished; but the former possessed courage, wit, and penetration, infinitely above her sex. she had read much, and had so admirable a memory, that she never forgot any thing she had read. she had successfully applied herself to philosophy, medicine, history, and the liberal arts; and her poetry excelled the compositions of the best writers of her time. besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her accomplishments were crowned by solid virtue. the vizier loved this daughter, so worthy of his affection. one day, as they were conversing together, she said to him, "father, i have one favour to beg of you, and most humbly pray you to grant it." "i will not refuse," answered he, "provided it be just and reasonable." "for the justice of it," resumed she, "there can be no question, and you may judge of this by the motive which obliges me to make the request. i wish to stop that barbarity which the sultan exercises upon the families of this city. i would dispel those painful apprehensions which so many mothers feel of losing their daughters in such a fatal manner." "your design, daughter," replied the vizier "is very commendable; but the evil you would remedy seems to me incurable. how do you propose to effect your purpose?" "father," said scheherazade, "since by your means the sultan makes every day a new marriage, i conjure you, by the tender affection you bear me, to procure me the honour of his bed." the vizier could not hear this without horror. "o heaven!" he replied in a passion, "have you lost your senses, daughter, that you make such a dangerous request? you know the sultan has sworn, that he will never lie above one night with the same woman, and to command her to be killed the next morning; would you then have me propose you to him? consider well to what your indiscreet zeal will expose you." "yes, dear father," replied the virtuous daughter, "i know the risk i run; but that does not alarm me. if i perish, my death will be glorious; and if i succeed, i shall do my country an important service." "no, no," said the vizier "whatever you may offer to induce me to let you throw yourself into such imminent danger, do not imagine that i will ever consent. when the sultan shall command me to strike my poniard into your heart, alas! i must obey; and what an employment will that be for a father! ah! if you do not dread death, at least cherish some fears of afflicting me with the mortal grief of imbuing my hands in your blood." "once more father," replied scheherazade, "grant me the favour i solicit." "your stubbornness," resumed the vizier "will rouse my anger; why will you run headlong to your ruin? they who do not foresee the end of a dangerous enterprise can never conduct it to a happy issue. i am afraid the same thing will happen to you as befell the ass, which was well off, but could not remain so." "what misfortune befell the ass?" demanded scheherazade. "i will tell you," replied the vizier, "if you will hear me." the ass, the ox, and the labourer. a very wealthy merchant possessed several country-houses, where he kept a large number of cattle of every kind. he retired with his wife and family to one of these estates, in order to improve it under his own direction. he had the gift of understanding the language of beasts, but with this condition, that he should not, on pain of death, interpret it to any one else. and this hindered him from communicating to others what he learned by means of this faculty. he kept in the same stall an ox and an ass. one day as he sat near them, and was amusing himself in looking at his children who were playing about him, he heard the ox say to the ass, "sprightly, o! how happy do i think you, when i consider the ease you enjoy, and the little labour that is required of you. you are carefully rubbed down and washed, you have well-dressed corn, and fresh clean water. your greatest business is to carry the merchant, our master, when he has any little journey to make, and were it not for that you would be perfectly idle. i am treated in a very different manner, and my condition is as deplorable as yours is fortunate. daylight no sooner appears than i am fastened to a plough, and made to work till night, which so fatigues me, that sometimes my strength entirely fails. besides, the labourer, who is always behind me, beats me continually. by drawing the plough, my tail is all flayed; and in short, after having laboured from morning to night, when i am brought in they give me nothing to eat but sorry dry beans, not so much as cleansed from dirt, or other food equally bad; and to heighten my misery, when i have filled my belly with such ordinary stuff, i am forced to lie all night in my own dung: so that you see i have reason to envy your lot." the ass did not interrupt the ox; but when he had concluded, answered, "they that called you a foolish beast did not lie. you are too simple; you suffer them to conduct you whither they please, and shew no manner of resolution. in the mean time, what advantage do you reap from all the indignities you suffer. you kill yourself for the ease, pleasure, and profit of those who give you no thanks for your service. but they would not treat you so, if you had as much courage as strength. when they come to fasten you to the stall, why do you not resist? why do you not gore them with your horns, and shew that you are angry, by striking your foot against the ground? and, in short, why do not you frighten them by bellowing aloud? nature has furnished you with means to command respect; but you do not use them. they bring you sorry beans and bad straw; eat none of them, only smell and then leave them. if you follow my advice, you will soon experience a change, for which you will thank me." the ox took the ass's advice in very good part, and owned he was much obliged to him. "dear sprightly," added he, "i will not fail to do as you direct, and you shall see how i will acquit myself." here ended their conversation, of which the merchant lost not a word. early the next morning the labourer went for the ox. he fastened him to the plough and conducted him to his usual work. the ox, who had not forgotten the ass's counsel, was very troublesome and untowardly all that day, and in the evening, when the labourer brought him back to the stall, and began to fasten him, the malicious beast instead of presenting his head willingly as he used to do, was restive, and drew back bellowing; and then made at the labourer, as if he would have gored him with his horns. in a word, he did all that the ass had advised him. the day following, the labourer came as usual, to take the ox to his labour; but finding the stall full of beans, the straw that he had put in the night before not touched, and the ox lying on the ground with his legs stretched out, and panting in a strange manner, he believed him to be unwell, pitied him, and thinking that it was not proper to take him to work, went immediately and acquainted his master with his condition. the merchant perceiving that the ox had followed all the mischievous advice of the ass, determined to punish the latter, and accordingly ordered the labourer to go and put him in the ox's place, and to be sure to work him hard. the labourer did as he was desired. the ass was forced to draw the plough all that day, which fatigued him so much the more, as he was not accustomed to that kind of labour; besides he had been so soundly beaten, that he could scarcely stand when he came back. meanwhile, the ox was mightily pleased; he ate up all that was in his stall, and rested himself the whole day. he rejoiced that he had followed the ass's advice, blessed him a thousand times for the kindness he had done him, and did not fail to express his obligations when the ass had returned. the ass made no reply, so vexed was he at the ill treatment he had received; but he said within himself, "it is by my own imprudence i have brought this misfortune upon myself. i lived happily, every thing smiled upon me; i had all that i could wish; it is my own fault that i am brought to this miserable condition; and if i cannot contrive some way to get out of it, i am certainly undone." as he spoke, his strength was so much exhausted that he fell down in his stall, as if he had been half dead. here the grand vizier, himself to scheherazade, and said, "daughter, you act just like this ass; you will expose yourself to destruction by your erroneous policy. take my advice, remain quiet, and do not seek to hasten your death." "father," replied scheherazade, "the example you have set before me will not induce me to change my resolution. i will never cease importuning you until you present me to the sultan as his bride." the vizier, perceiving that she persisted in her demand, replied, "alas! then, since you will continue obstinate, i shall be obliged to treat you in the same manner as the merchant whom i before referred to treated his wife a short time after." the merchant understanding that the ass was in a lamentable condition, was desirous of knowing what passed between him and the ox, therefore after supper he went out by moonlight, and sat down by them, his wife bearing him company. after his arrival, he heard the ass say to the ox "comrade, tell me, i pray you, what you intend to do to-morrow, when the labourer brings you meat?" "what will i do?" replied the ox, "i will continue to act as you taught me. i will draw back from him and threaten him with my horns, as i did yesterday: i will feign myself ill, and at the point of death." "beware of that," replied the ass, "it will ruin you; for as i came home this evening, i heard the merchant, our master, say something that makes me tremble for you." "alas! what did you hear?" demanded the ox; "as you love me, withhold nothing from me, my dear sprightly." "our master," replied the ass, "addressed himself thus to the labourer: since the ox does not eat, and is not able to work, i would have him killed to-morrow, and we will give his flesh as an alms to the poor for god's sake, as for the skin, that will be of use to us, and i would have you give it the currier to dress; therefore be sure to send for the butcher.' this is what i had to tell you," said the ass. "the interest i feel in your preservation, and my friendship for you, obliged me to make it known to you, and to give you new advice. as soon as they bring you your bran and straw, rise up and eat heartily. our master will by this think that you are recovered, and no doubt will recall his orders for killing you; but, if you act otherwise, you will certainly be slaughtered." this discourse had the effect which the ass designed. the ox was greatly alarmed, and bellowed for fear. the merchant, who heard the conversation very attentively, fell into a loud fit of laughter. his wife was greatly surprised, and asked, "pray, husband, tell me what you laugh at so heartily, that i may laugh with you." "wife," replied he, "you must content yourself with hearing me laugh." "no," returned she, "i will know the reason." "i cannot afford you that satisfaction," he, "and can only inform you that i laugh at what our ass just now said to the ox. the rest is a secret, which i am not allowed to reveal." "what," demanded she "hinders you from revealing the secret?" "if i tell it you," replied he, "i shall forfeit my life." "you only jeer me," cried his wife, "what you would have me believe cannot be true. if you do not directly satisfy me as to what you laugh at, and tell me what the ox and the ass said to one another, i swear by heaven that you and i shall never bed together again." having spoken thus, she went into the house, and seating herself in a corner, cried there all night. her husband lay alone, and finding next morning that she continued in the same humour, told her, she was very foolish to afflict herself in that manner; that the thing was not worth so much; that it concerned her very little to know while it was of the utmost consequence to him to keep the secret: "therefore," continued he, "i conjure you to think no more of it." "i shall still think so much of it," replied she, "as never to forbear weeping till you have satisfied my curiosity." "but i tell you very seriously," answered he, "that it will cost me my life if i yield to your indiscreet solicitations." "let what will happen," said she, "i do insist upon it." "i perceive," resumed the merchant, "that it is impossible to bring you to reason, and since i foresee that you will occasion your own death by your obstinacy, i will call in your children, that they may see you before you die." accordingly he called for them, and sent for her father and mother, and other relations. when they were come and had heard the reason of their being summoned, they did all they could to convince her that she was in the wrong, but to no purpose: she told them she would rather die than yield that point to her husband. her father and mother spoke to her by herself, and told her that what she desired to know was of no importance to her; but they could produce no effect upon her, either by their authority or intreaties. when her children saw that nothing would prevail to draw her out of that sullen temper, they wept bitterly. the merchant himself was half frantic, and almost ready to risk his own life to save that of his wife, whom he sincerely loved. the merchant had fifty hens and one cock, with a dog that gave good heed to all that passed. while the merchant was considering what he had best do, he saw his dog run towards the cock as he was treading a hen, and heard him say to him: "cock, i am sure heaven will not let you live long; are you not ashamed to ad thus to-day?" the cock standing up on tiptoe, answered fiercely: "and why not to-day as well as other days?" "if you do not know," replied the dog, "then i will tell you, that this day our master is in great perplexity. his wife would have him reveal a secret which is of such a nature, that the disclosure would cost him his life. things are come to that pass, that it is to be feared he will scarcely have resolution enough to resist his wife's obstinacy; for he loves her, and is affected by the tears she continually sheds. we are all alarmed at his situation, while you only insult our melancholy, and have the impudence to divert yourself with your hens." the cock answered the dog's reproof thus: "what, has our master so little sense? he has but one wife, and cannot govern her, and though i have fifty, i make them all do what i please. let him use his reason, he will soon find a way to rid himself of his trouble." "how?" demanded the dog; "what would you have him do?" "let him go into the room where his wife is," resumed the cock, "lock the door, and take a stick and thrash her well; and i will answer for it, that will bring her to her senses, and make her forbear to importune him to discover what he ought not to reveal." the merchant had no sooner heard what the cock said, than he took up a stick, went to his wife, whom he found still crying, and shutting the door, belaboured her so soundly, that she cried out, "enough, husband, enough, forbear, and i will never ask the question more." upon this, perceiving that she repented of her impertinent curiosity, he desisted; and opening the door, her friends came in, were glad to find her cured of her obstinacy, and complimented her husband upon this happy expedient to bring his wife to reason. "daughter," added the grand vizier, "you deserve to be treated as the merchant treated his wife." "father," replied scheherazade, "i beg you would not take it ill that i persist in my opinion. i am nothing moved by the story of this woman. i could relate many, to persuade you that you ought not to oppose my design. besides, pardon me for declaring, that your opposition is vain; for if your paternal affection should hinder you from granting my request, i will go and offer myself to the sultan." in short, the father, being overcome by the resolution of his daughter, yielded to her importunity, and though he was much grieved that he could not divert her from so fatal a resolution, he went instantly to acquaint the sultan, that next night he would bring him scheherazade. the sultan was much surprized at the sacrifice which the grand vizier proposed to make. "how could you", said he, "resolve to bring me your own daughter?" "sir," answered the vizier, "it is her own offer. the sad destiny that awaits her could not intimidate her; she prefers the honour of being your majesty's wile for one night, to her life." "but do not act under a mistake, vizier," said the sultan; "to-morrow when i place scheherazade in your hands, i expect you will put her to death; and if you fail, i swear that your own life shall answer." "sir," rejoined the vizier "my heart without doubt will be full of grief to execute your commands; but it is to no purpose for nature to murmur. though i am her father, i will answer for the fidelity of my hand to obey your order." shier-ear accepted his minister's offer, and told him he might bring his daughter when he pleased. the grand vizier went with the intelligence to schcherazade, who received it with as much joy as if it had been the most agreeable information she could have received. she thanked her father for having so greatly obliged her; and perceiving that he was overwhelmed with grief, told him for his consolation, that she hoped he would never repent of having married her to the sultan; and that, on the contrary, he should have reason to rejoice at his compliance all his days. her business now was to adorn herself to appear before the sultan; but before she went, she took her sister dinarzade apart, and said to her, "my dear sister, i have need of your assistance in a matter of great importance, and must pray you not to deny it me. my father is going to conduct me to the sultan; do not let this alarm you, but hear me with patience. as soon as i am in his presence, i will pray him to allow you to lie in the bride-chamber, that i may enjoy your company this one night more. if i obtain that favour, as i hope to do, remember to awake me to-morrow an hour before day, and to address me in these or some such words: 'my sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you that till day-break, which will be very shortly, you will relate to me one of the entertaining stories of which you have read so many.' i will immediately tell you one; and i hope by this means to deliver the city from the consternation it is under at present." dinarzade answered that she would with pleasure act as she required her. the grand vizier conducted schcherazade to the palace, and retired, after having introduced her into the sultan's apartment. as soon as the sultan was left alone with her, he ordered her to uncover her face: he found her so beautiful that he was perfectly charmed; but perceiving her to be in tears, demanded the reason. "sir," answered scheherazade, "i have a sister who loves me tenderly, and i could wish that she might be allowed to pass the night in this chamber, that i might see her, and once more bid her adieu. will you be pleased to allow me the consolation of giving her this last testimony of my affection?" shier-ear having consented, dinarzade was sent for, who came with all possible expedition. an hour before day, dinarzade failed not to do as her sister had ordered. "my dear sister," cried she, "if you be not asleep, i pray that until daybreak, which will be very shortly, you will tell me one of those pleasant stories you have read. alas! this may perhaps be the last time that i shall enjoy that pleasure." scheherazade, instead of answering her sister, addressed herself to the sultan: "sir, will your majesty be pleased to allow me to afford my sister this satisfaction?" "with all my heart," replied the sultan. scheherazade then bade her sister attend, and afterwards, addressing herself to shier-ear, proceeded as follows. the merchant and the genie. there was formerly a merchant who possessed much property in lands, goods, and money, and had a great number of clerks, factors, and slaves. he was obliged from time to time to visit his correspondents on business; and one day being under the necessity of going a long journey on an affair of importance, he took horse, and carried with him a wallet containing biscuits and dates, because he had a great desert to pass over, where he could procure no sort of provisions. he arrived without any accident at the end of his journey; and having dispatched his affairs, took horse again, in order to return home. the fourth day of his journey, he was so much incommoded by the heat of the sun, and the reflection of that heat from the earth, that he turned out of the road, to refresh himself under some trees. he found at the root of a large tree a fountain of very clear running water. having alighted, he tied his horse to a branch, and sitting down by the fountain, took some biscuits and dates out of his wallet. as he ate his dates, he threw the shells carelessly in different directions. when he had finished his repast, being a good moosulmaun, he washed his hands, face, and feet, and said his prayers. before he had finished, and while he was yet on his knees, he saw a genie, white with age, and of a monstrous bulk, advancing towards him with a cimeter in his hand. the genie spoke to him in a terrible voice: "rise, that i may kill thee with this cimeter, as thou hast killed my son;" and accompanied these words with a frightful cry. the merchant being as much alarmed at the hideous shape of the monster as at his threatening language, answered him, trembling, "alas! my good lord, of what crime can i be guilty towards you, that you should take away my life?" "i will," replied the genie, "kill thee, as thou hast killed my son." "heavens," exclaimed the merchant, "how could i kill your son? i never knew, never saw him." "did not you sit down when you came hither?" demanded the genie: "did you not take dates out of your wallet, and as you ate them, did not you throw the shells about in different directions?" "i did all that you say," answered the merchant, "i cannot deny it." "if it be so," resumed the genie, "i tell thee that thou hast killed my son; and in this manner: when thou wert throwing the shells about, my son was passing by, and thou didst throw one into his eye, which killed him; therefore i must kill thee." "ah! my lord! pardon me!" cried the merchant. "no pardon," exclaimed the genie, "no mercy. is it not just to kill him that has killed another?" "i agree it is," replied the merchant, "but certainly i never killed your son; and if i have, it was unknown to me, and i did it innocently; i beg you therefore to pardon me, and suffer me to live." "no, no," returned the genie, persisting in his resolution, "i must kill thee, since thou hast killed my son." then taking the merchant by the arm, he threw him with his face on the ground, and lifted up his cimeter to cut off his head. the merchant, with tears, protested he was innocent, bewailed his wife and children, and supplicated the genie, in the most moving expressions. the genie, with his cimeter still lifted up, had the patience to hear his unfortunate victims to the end of his lamentations, but would not relent. "all this whining," said the monster, "is to no purpose; though you should shed tears of blood, they should not hinder me from killing thee, as thou hast killed my son." "what!" exclaimed the merchant, "can nothing prevail with you? will you absolutely take away the life of a poor innocent?" "yes," replied the genie, "i am resolved." as soon as she had spoken these words, perceiving it was day, and knowing that the sultan rose early in the morning to say his prayers, and hold his council, scheherazade discontinued her story. "dear sister," said dinarzade, "what a wonderful story is this!" "the remainder of it," replied scheherazade "is more surprising, and you will be of this opinion, if the sultan will but permit me to live over this day, and allow me to proceed with the relation the ensuing night." shier-ear, who had listened to scheherazade with much interest, said to himself, "i will wait till to-morrow, for i can at any time put her to death when she has concluded her story." having thus resolved not to put scheherazade to death that day, he rose and went to his prayers, and to attend his council. during this time the grand vizier was in the utmost distress. instead of sleeping, he spent the night in sighs and groans, bewailing the lot of his daughter, of whom he believed he should himself shortly be the executioner. as, with this melancholy prospect before him, he dreaded to meet the sultan, he was agreeably surprised when he found the prince entered the council chamber without giving him the fatal orders he expected. the sultan, according to his custom, spent the day in regulating his affairs; and when the night had closed in, retired with scheherazade. the next morning before day, dinarzade failed not to call to her sister: "my dear sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you till day-break, which is very near, to go on with the story you began last night." the sultan, without waiting for scheherazade to ask his permission, bade her proceed with the story of the genie and the merchant; upon which scheherazade continued her relation as follows. [fn: in the original work scheherazade continually breaks off to ask the sultan to spare her life for another day, that she may finish the story she is relating. as these interruptions considerably interfere with the continued interest of the stories, it has been deemed advisable to omit them.] when the merchant saw that the genie was going to cut off his head, he cried out aloud to him, "for heaven's sake hold your hand! allow me one word. have the goodness to grant me some respite, to bid my wife and children adieu, and to divide my estate among them by will, that they may not go to law after my death. when i have done this, i will come back and submit to whatever you shall please to command." "but," said the genie, "if i grant you the time you ask, i doubt you will never return?" "if you will believe my oath," answered the merchant, "i swear by all that is sacred, that i will come and meet you here without fail." "what time do you require then?" demanded the genie. "i ask a year," said the merchant; "i cannot in less settle my affairs, and prepare myself to die without regret. but i promise you, that this day twelve months i will return under these trees, to put myself into your hands." "do you take heaven to be witness to this promise?" said the genie. "i do," answered the merchant, "and you may rely on my oath." upon this the genie left him near the fountain, and disappeared. the merchant being recovered from his terror, mounted his horse, and proceeded on his journey, glad on the one hand that he had escaped so great a danger, but grieved on the other, when he reflected on his fatal oath. when he reached home, his wife and children received him with all the demonstrations of perfect joy. but he, instead of returning their caresses, wept so bitterly, that his family apprehended something calamitous had befallen him. his wife enquire reason of his excessive grief and tears; "we are all overjoyed," said she, "at your return; but you alarm us by your lamentations; pray tell us the cause of your sorrow." "alas!" replied the husband, "i have but a year to live." he then related what had passed betwixt him and the genie, and informed her that he had given him his oath to return at the end of the year, to receive death from his hands. when they heard this afflicting intelligence, they all began to lament in the most distressing manner. his wife uttered the most piteous cries, beat her face, and tore her hair. the children, all in tears, made the house resound with their groans; and the father, not being able to resist the impulse of nature, mingled his tears with theirs: so that, in a word, they exhibited the most affecting spectacle possible. on the following morning the merchant applied himself to put his affairs in order; and first of all to pay his debts. he made presents to his friends, gave liberal alms to the poor, set his slaves of both sexes at liberty, divided his property among his children, appointed guardians for such of them as were not of age; and after restoring to his wife all that was due to her by their marriage contract, he gave her in addition as much as the law would allow him. at last the year expired, and he was obliged to depart. he put his burial clothes in his wallet; but when he came to bid his wife and children adieu, their grief surpassed description. they could not reconcile their minds to the separation, but resolved to go and die with him. when, however, it became necessary for him to tear himself from these dear objects, he addressed them in the following terms: "my dear wife and children, i obey the will of heaven in quitting you. follow my example, submit with fortitude to this necessity, and consider that it is the destiny of man to die." having thus spoken, he went out of the hearing of the cries of his family; and pursuing his journey, arrived on the day appointed at the place where he had promised to meet the genie. he alighted, and seating himself down by the fountain, waited the coming of the genie, with all the sorrow imaginable. whilst he languished under this painful expectation, an old man leading a hind appeared and drew near him. after they had saluted one another, the old man said to him, "brother, may i ask why you are come into this desert place, which is possessed solely by evil spirits, and where consequently you cannot be safe? from the beautiful trees which are seen here, one might indeed suppose the place inhabited; but it is in reality a wilderness, where it is dangerous to remain long." the merchant satisfied his curiosity, and related to him the adventure which obliged him to be there. the old man listened with astonishment, and when he had done, exclaimed, "this is the most surprising thing in the world! and you are bound by the most inviolable oath. however, i will be witness of your interview with the genie." he then seated himself by the merchant, and they entered into conversation. "but i see day," said scheherazade, "and must leave off; yet the best of the story is to come." the sultan resolving to hear the end of it, suffered her to live that day also. the next morning dinarzade made the same request to her sister as before: "my dear sister," said she, "if you be not asleep, tell me one of those pleasant stories that you have read." but the sultan, wishing to learn what followed betwixt the merchant and the genie, bade her proceed with that, which she did as follows. sir, while the merchant and the old man who led the hind were conversing, they saw another old man coming towards them, followed by two black dogs; after they had saluted one another, he asked them what they did in that place? the old man with the hind told him the adventure of the merchant and genie, with all that had passed between them, particularly the merchant's oath. he added, that it was the day agreed on, and that he was resolved to stay and see the issue. the second old man thinking it also worth his curiosity, resolved to do the same, and took his seat by them. they had scarcely begun to converse together, when there arrived a third old man leading a mule. he addressed himself to the two former, and asked why the merchant who sat with them looked so melancholy? they told him the reason, which appeared to him so extraordinary, that he also resolved to witness the result; and for that purpose sat down with them. in a short time they perceived a thick vapour, like a cloud of dust raised by a whirlwind, advancing towards them. when it had come up to them it suddenly vanished, and the genie appeared; who, without saluting them, went to the merchant with a drawn cimeter, and taking him by the arm, said, "get thee up, that i may kill thee, as thou didst my son." the merchant and the three old men began to lament and fill the air with their cries. when the old man who led the hind saw the genie lay hold of the merchant, and about to kill him, he threw himself at the feet of the monster, and kissing them, said to him, "prince of genies, i most humbly request you to suspend your anger, and do me the favour to hear me. i will tell you the history of my life, and of the hind you see; and if you think it more wonderful and surprising than the adventure of the merchant, i hope you will pardon the unfortunate man a third of his offence." the genie took some time to deliberate on this proposal, but answered at last, "well then, i agree." the story of the first old man and the hind. i shall begin my story then; listen to me, i pray you, with attention. this hind you see is my cousin; nay, what is more, my wife. she was only twelve years of age when i married her, so that i may justly say, she ought to regard me equally as her father, her kinsman, and her husband. we lived together twenty years, without any children. her barrenness did not effect any change in my love; i still treated her with much kindness and affection. my desire of having children only induced me to purchase a slave, by whom i had a son, who was extremely promising. my wife being jealous, cherished a hatred for both mother and child, but concealed her aversion so well, that i knew nothing of it till it was too late. mean time my son grew up, and was ten years old, when i was obliged to undertake a long journey. before i went, i recommended to my wife, of whom i had no mistrust, the slave and her son, and prayed her to take care of them during my absence, which was to be for a whole year. she however employed that time to satisfy her hatred. she applied herself to magic, and when she had learnt enough of that diabolical art to execute her horrible design, the wretch carried my son to a desolate place, where, by her enchantments, she changed him into a calf, and gave him to my farmer to fatten, pretending she had bought him. her enmity did not stop at this abominable action, but she likewise changed the slave into a cow, and gave her also to my farmer. at my return, i enquired for the mother and child. "your slave," said she, "is dead; and as for your son, i know not what is become of him, i have not seen him this two months." i was afflicted at the death of the slave, but as she informed me my son had only disappeared, i was in hopes he would shortly return. however, eight months passed, and i heard nothing of him. when the festival of the great bairam was to be celebrated, i sent to my farmer for one of the fattest cows to sacrifice. he accordingly sent me one, and the cow which was brought me proved to be my slave, the unfortunate mother of my son. i bound her, but as i was going to sacrifice her, she bellowed piteously, and i could perceive tears streaming from her eyes. this seemed to me very extraordinary, and finding myself moved with compassion, i could not find in my heart to give her a blow, but ordered my farmer to get me another. my wife, who was present, was enraged at my tenderness, and resisting an order which disappointed her malice, she cried out, "what are you doing, husband? sacrifice that cow; your farmer has not a finer, nor one fitter for the festival." out of deference to my wife, i came again to the cow, and combating my compassion, which suspended the sacrifice, was going to give her the fatal blow, when the victim redoubling her tears, and bellowing, disarmed me a second time. i then put the mallet into the farmer's hands, and desired him to take it and sacrifice her himself, for her tears and bellowing pierced my heart. the farmer, less compassionate than myself; sacrificed her; but when he flayed her, found her to be nothing except bones, though to she seemed very fat. "take her yourself," said i to him, "dispose of her in alms, or any way you please: and if you have a very fat calf, bring it me in her stead." i did not enquire what he did with the cow, but soon after he had taken her away, he returned with a fat calf. though i knew not the calf was my son, yet i could not forbear being moved at the sight of him. on his part, as soon as he beheld me, he made so great an effort to come near me, that he broke his cord, threw himself at my feet, with his head against the ground, as if he meant to excite my compassion, conjuring me not to be so cruel as to take his life; and did as much as was possible for him, to signify that he was my son. i was more surprised and affected with this action, than with the tears of the cow. i felt a tender pity, which interested me on his behalf, or rather, nature did its duty. "go," said i to the farmer, "carry home that calf, take great care of him, and bring me another in his stead immediately." as soon as my wife heard me give this order, she exclaimed, "what are you about, husband? take my advice, sacrifice no other calf but that." "wife," i replied, "i will not sacrifice him, i will spare him, and pray do not you oppose me." the wicked woman had no regard to my wishes; she hated my son too much to consent that i should save him. i tied the poor creature, and taking up the fatal knife, was going to plunge it into my son's throat, when turning his eyes bathed with tears, in a languishing manner, towards me, he affected me so much that i had not strength to kill him. i let the knife fall, and told my wife positively that i would have another calf to sacrifice, and not that. she used all her endeavours to persuade me to change my resolution; but i continued firm, and pacified her a little, by promising that i would sacrifice him against the bairam of the following year. the next morning my farmer desired to speak with me alone. "i come," said he, "to communicate to you a piece of intelligence, for which i hope you will return me thanks. i have a daughter that has some skill in magic. yesterday, as i carried back the calf which you would not sacrifice, i perceived she laughed when she saw him, and in a moment after fell a weeping. i asked her why she acted two such opposite parts at one and the same time. 'rather,' replied she, 'the calf you bring back is our landlord's son; i laughed for joy to see him still alive, and wept at the remembrance of the sacrifice that was made the other day of his mother, who was changed into a cow. these two metamorphoses were made by the enchantments of our master's wife, who hated both the mother and son.' this is what my daughter told me," said the farmer, "and i come to acquaint you with it." i leave you to judge how much i was surprised. i went immediately to my farmer, to speak to his daughter myself. as soon as i arrived, i went forthwith to the stall where my son was kept; he could not return my embraces, but received them in such a manner, as fully satisfied me he was my son. the farmer's daughter then came to us: "my good maid," said i, "can you restore my son to his former shape?" "yes," she replied, "i can." "ah!" said i, "if you do, i will make you mistress of all my fortune." she answered me, smiling, "you are our master, and i well know what i owe to you; but i cannot restore your son to his former shape, except on two conditions: the first is, that you give him to me for my husband; and the second, that you allow me to punish the person who changed him into a calf." "as to the first," i replied, "i agree with all my heart: nay, i promise you more, a considerable fortune for yourself, independently of what i design for my son: in a word, you shall see how i will reward the great service i expect from you. as to what relates to my wife, i also agree; a person who has been capable of committing such a criminal action, justly deserves to be punished. i leave her to your disposal, only i must pray you not to take her life." "i am going then," answered she, "to treat her as she treated your son." "to this i consent," said i, "provided you first of all restore to me my son." the damsel then took a vessel full of water, pronounced over it words that i did not understand, and addressing herself to the calf, "o calf, if thou west created by the almighty and sovereign master of the world such as thou appearest at this time, continue in that form; but if thou be a man, and art changed into a calf by enchantment, return to thy natural shape, by the permission of the sovereign creator." as she spoke, she threw water upon him, and in an instant he recovered his natural form. "my son, my dear son," cried i, immediately embracing him with such a transport of joy that i knew not what i was doing, "it is heaven that hath sent us this young maid, to remove the horrible charm by which you were enchanted, and to avenge the injury done to you and your mother. i doubt not but in acknowledgment you will make your deliverer your wife, as i have promised." he joyfully consented; but before they married, she changed my wife into a hind; and this is she whom you see here. i desired she might have this shape, rather than another less agreeable, that we might see her in the family without horror. since that time, my son is become a widower, and gone to travel. it being now several years since i heard of him, i am come abroad to inquire after him; and not being willing to trust anybody with my wife, till i should return home, i thought fit to take her everywhere with me. "this is the history of myself and this hind: is it not one of the most wonderful and surprising?" "i admit it is," said the genie, "and on that account forgive the merchant one third of his crime." when the first old man had finished his story, the second, who led the two black dogs, addressed the genie, and said: "i am going to tell you what happened to me, and these two black dogs you see by me; and i am certain you will say, that my story is yet more surprising than that which you have just heard. but when i have done this, i hope you will be pleased to pardon the merchant another third of his offence." "i will," replied the genie, "provided your story surpass that of the hind." then the second old man began in this manner-- the story of the second old man and the two black dogs. great prince of genies, you must know that we are three brothers, the two black dogs and myself. our father, when he died, left each of us one thousand sequins. with that sum, we all became merchants. a little time after we had opened shop, my eldest brother, one of these two dogs, resolved to travel and trade in foreign countries. with this view, he sold his estate, and bought goods suited to the trade intended to follow. he went away, and was absent a whole year. at the expiration of this time, a poor man, who i thought had come to ask alms, presented himself before me in my shop. i said to him, "god help you." he returned my salutation, and continued, "is it possible you do not know me?" upon this i looked at him narrowly, and recognised him: "ah, brother," cried i, embracing him, "how could i know you in this condition?" i made him come into my house, and asked him concerning his health and the success of his travels. "do not ask me that question," said he; "when you see me, you see all: it would only renew my grief, to relate to you the particulars of the misfortunes i have experienced since i left you, which have reduced me to my present condition." i immediately shut up my shop, and taking him to a bath, gave him the best clothes i had. finding on examining my books, that i had doubled my stock, that is to say, that i was worth two thousand sequins, i gave him one half; "with that," said i, "brother, you may make up your loss." he joyfully accepted the present, and having repaired his fortunes, we lived together, as before. some time after, my second brother, who is the other of these two dogs, would also sell his estate. his elder brother and myself did all we could to divert him from his purpose, but without effect. he disposed of it, and with the money bought such goods as were suitable to the trade which he designed to follow. he joined a caravan, and departed. at the end of the year he returned in the same condition as my other brother. having myself by this time gained another thousand sequins, i made him a present of them. with this sum he furnished his shop, and continued his trade. some time after, one of my brothers came to me to propose that i should join them in a trading voyage; i immediately declined. "you have travelled," said i, "and what have you gained by it? who can assure me, that i shall be more successful than you have been?" it was in vain that they urged open me all the considerations they thought likely to gain me over to their design, for i constantly refused; but after having resisted their solicitations five whole years, they importuned me so much, that at last they overcame my resolution. when, however, the time arrived that we were to make preparations for our voyage, to buy the goods necessary to the undertaking, i found they had spent all, and had not one dirhem left of the thousand sequins i had given to each of them. i did not, on this account, upbraid them. on the contrary, my stock being still six thousand sequins, i shared the half of it with them, telling them, "my brothers, we must venture these three thousand sequins, and hide the rest in some secure place: that in case our voyage be not more successful than yours was formerly, we may have wherewith to assist us, and to enable us to follow our ancient way of living." i gave each of them a thousand sequins, and keeping as much for myself, i buried the other three thousand in a corner of my house. we purchased goods, and having embarked them on board a vessel, which we freighted betwixt us, we put to sea with a favourable wind. after two months sail, we arrived happily at port, where we landed, and had a very good market for our goods. i, especially, sold mine so well, that i gained ten to one. with the produce we bought commodities of that country, to carry back with us for sale. when we were ready to embark on our return, i met on the sea-shore a lady, handsome enough, but poorly clad. she walked up to me gracefully, kissed my hand, besought me with the greatest earnestness imaginable to marry her, and take her along with me. i made some difficulty to agree to this proposal; but she urged so many things to persuade me that i ought not to object to her on account of her poverty, and that i should have all the reason in the world to be satisfied with her conduct, that at last i yielded. i ordered proper apparel to be made for her; and after having married her, according to form, i took her on board, and we set sail. i found my wife possessed so many good qualities, that my love to her every day increased. in the mean time my two brothers, who had not managed their affairs as successfully as i had mine, envied my prosperity; and suffered their feelings to carry them so far, that they conspired against my life; and one night, when my wife and i were asleep, threw us both into the sea. my wife proved to be a fairy, and, by consequence, a genie, so that she could not be drowned; but for me, it is certain i must have perished, without her help. i had scarcely fallen into the water, when she took me up, and carried me to an island. when day appeared, she said to me, "you see, husband, that by saving your life, i have not rewarded you ill for your kindness to me. you must know, that i am a fairy, and being upon the sea-shore, when you were going to embark, i felt a strong desire to have you for my husband; i had a mind to try your goodness, and presented myself before you in disguise. you have dealt generously by me, and i am glad of an opportunity of returning my acknowledgment. but i am incensed against your brothers, and nothing will satisfy me but their lives." i listened to this discourse with admiration; i thanked the fairy the best way i could, for the great kindness she had done me; "but, madam," said i, "as for my brothers, i beg you to pardon them; whatever cause of resentment they have given me, i am not cruel enough to desire their death." i then informed her what i had done for them, but this increased her indignation; and she exclaimed, "i must immediately pursue those ungrateful traitors, and take speedy vengeance on them. i will destroy their vessel, and sink them into the bottom of the sea." "my good lady," replied i, "for heaven's sake forbear; moderate your anger, consider that they are my brothers, and that we ought to return good for evil." i pacified her by these words; and as soon as i had concluded, she transported me in a moment from the island to the roof of my own house, which was terraced, and instantly disappeared. i descended, opened the doors, and dug up the three thousand sequins i had formerly secreted. i went afterwards to my shop, which i also opened; and was complimented by the merchants, my neighbours, upon my return. when i went back to my house, i perceived there two black dogs, which came up to me in a very submissive manner: i could not divine the meaning of this circumstance, which greatly astonished me. but the fairy, who immediately appeared, said, "husband, be not surprised to see these dogs, they are your brothers." i was troubled at this declaration, and asked her by what power they were so transformed. "i did it," said she, "or at least authorised one of my sisters to do it, who at the same time sunk their ship. you have lost the goods you had on board, but i will compensate you another way. as to your two brothers, i have condemned them to remain five years in that shape. their perfidiousness too well deserves such a penance." having thus spoken and told me where i might hear of her, she disappeared. "the five years being now nearly expired, i am travelling in quest of her; and as i passed this way, i met this merchant, and the good old man who led the hind, and sat down by them. this is my history, o prince of genies! do not you think it very extraordinary?" "i own it is," replied the genie, "and on that account i remit the merchant the second third of the crime which he has committed against me." as soon as the second old man had finished, the third began his story, after repeating the request of the two former, that the genie would pardon the merchant the other third of his crime, provided what he should relate surpassed in singularity of incidents the narratives he had already heard. the genie made him the same promise as he had given the others. the third old man related his story to the genie; and it exceeded the two former stories so much, in the variety of wonderful adventures, that the genie was astonished; and no sooner heard the conclusion, than he said to the old man, "i remit the other third of the merchant's crime on account of your story. he is greatly obliged to all of you, for having delivered him out of his danger by what you have related, for to this he owes his life." having spoken thus he disappeared, to the great contentment of the company. the merchant failed not to make due acknowledgment to his deliverers. they rejoiced to see him out of danger; and bidding him adieu, each of them proceeded on his way. the merchant returned to his wife and children, and passed the rest of his days with them in peace. the story of the fisherman. there was an aged fisherman, who was so poor, that he could scarcely as much as would maintain himself, his wife, and three children. he went every day to fish betimes in the morning; and imposed it as a law upon himself, not to cast his nets above four times a-day. he went one morning by moon-light, and coming to the seaside, undressed himself, and cast in his nets. as he drew them towards the shore, he found them very heavy, and thought he had a good draught of fish, at which he rejoiced; but in a moment after, perceiving that instead of fish his nets contained nothing but the carcass of an ass, he was much vexed. when the fisherman had mended his nets, which the carcass of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a basket full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. "o fortune!" cried he, with a lamentable tone, "be not angry with me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. i came hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou pronouncest against me a sentence of death. i have no other trade but this to subsist by: and notwithstanding all my care, i can scarcely provide what is absolutely necessary for my family. but i am to blame to complain of thee; thou takest pleasure to persecute honest people, and to leave great men in obscurity, while thou shewest favour to the wicked, and advancest those who have no virtue to recommend them." having finished this complaint, he fretfully threw away the basket, and washing his nets from the slime, cast them the third time; but brought up nothing, except stones, shells, and mud. no language can express his disappointment; he was almost distracted. however, when day began to appear, he did not forget to say his prayers, like a good moosulmaun, and he added to them this petition: "lord, thou knowest that i cast my nets only four times a day; i have already drawn them three times, without the least reward for my labour: i am only to cast them once more; i pray thee to render the sea favourable to me, as thou didst to moses." the fisherman having finished this prayer, cast his nets the fourth time; and when he thought it was proper, drew them as formerly, with great difficulty; but instead of fish, found nothing in them but a vessel of yellow copper, which from its weight seemed not to be empty; and he observed that it was shut up and sealed with lead, having the impression of a seal upon it. this turn of fortune rejoiced him; "i will sell it," said he, "to the founder, and with the money buy a measure of corn." he examined the vessel on all sides, and shook it, to try if its contents made any noise, but heard nothing. this circumstance, with the impression of the seal upon the leaden cover, made him think it inclosed something precious. to try this, he took a knife, and opened it with very little labour. he turned the mouth downward, but nothing came out; which surprised him extremely. he placed it before him, but while he viewed it attentively, there came out a very thick smoke, which obliged him to retire two or three paces back. the smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist, which we may well imagine filled the fisherman with astonishment. when the smoke was all out of the vessel, it re-united and became a solid body, of which was formed a genie twice as high as the greatest of giants. at the sight of a monster of such an unwieldy bulk, the fisherman would fain have fled, but was so frightened, that he could not move. "solomon," cried the genie immediately, "solomon, the great prophet, pardon, pardon; i will never more oppose your will, i will obey all your commands." when the fisherman heard these words of the genie, he recovered his courage, and said to him, "thou proud spirit, what is it you say? it is above eighteen hundred years since the prophet solomon died, and we are now at the end of time. tell me your history, and how you came to be shut up in this vessel." the genie turning to the fisherman, with a fierce look, said. "thou must speak to me with more respect; thou art a presumptuous fellow to call me a proud spirit." "very well," replied the fisherman, "shall i speak to you more civilly, and call you the owl of good luck?" "i say," answered the genie, "speak to me more respectfully, or i will kill thee." "ah!" replied the fisherman, "why would you kill me? did i not just now set you at liberty, and have you already forgotten my services?" "yes, i remember it," said the genie, "but that shall not save thy life: i have only one favour to grant thee." "and what is that?" asked the fisherman. "it is," answered the genie, "to give thee thy choice, in what manner thou wouldst have me put thee to death." "but wherein have i offended you?" demanded the fisherman. "is that your reward for the service i have rendered you?" "i cannot treat thee otherwise," said the genie; "and that thou mayest know the reason, hearken to my story." "i am one of those rebellious spirits that opposed the will of heaven; nearly all the other genies owned solomon, the great prophet, and yielded to his authority. sabhir and i were the only two that would never be guilty of a mean submission: and to avenge himself, that great monarch sent asaph, the son of barakhia, his chief minister, to apprehend me. that was accordingly done. asaph seized my person, and brought me by force before his master's throne. "solomon, the son of david, commanded me to acknowledge his power, and to submit to his commands: i bravely refused, and told him, i would rather expose myself to his resentment, than swear fealty as he required. to punish me, he shut me up in this copper vessel; and that i might not break my prison, he himself stamps upon this leaden cover, his seal with the great name of god engraver upon it. he then gave the vessel to one of the genies who had submitted, with orders to throw me into the sea, which to my sorrow were executed. "during the first hundred years of my imprisonment, i swore that if any one should deliver me before the expiration of that period, i would make him rich, even after his death: but that century ran out, and nobody did me that good office. during the second, i made an oath, that i would open all the treasures of the earth to any one that might set me at liberty; but with no better success. in the third, i promised to make my deliverer a potent monarch, to be always near him in spirit, and to grant him every day three requests, of what nature soever they might be: but this century passed as well as the two former, and i continued in prison. at last being angry, or rather mad, to find myself a prisoner so long, i swore, that if afterwards any one should deliver me, i would kill him without mercy, and grant him no other favour but to choose the manner of his death; and therefore, since thou hast delivered me to-day, i give thee that choice." this discourse afflicted the fisherman extremely: "i am very unfortunate," cried he, "to come hither to do such a kindness to one that is so ungrateful. i beg you to consider your injustice, and revoke such an unreasonable oath; pardon me, and heaven will pardon you; if you grant me my life, heaven will protest you from all attempts against your own." "no, thy death is resolved on," said the genie, "only choose in what manner you will die." the fisherman perceiving the genie to be resolute, was extremely grieved, not so much for himself, as on account of his three children; and bewailed the misery they must be reduced to by his death. he endeavoured still to appease the genie, and said, "alas! be pleased to take pity on me, in consideration of the service i have done you." "i have told thee already," replied the genie, "it is for that very reason i must kill thee." "that is strange," said the fisherman, "are you resolved to reward good with evil? the proverb says, 'that he who does good to one who deserves it not is always ill rewarded.' i must confess, i thought it was false; for certainly there can be nothing more contrary to reason, or the laws of society. nevertheless, i find now by cruel experience that it is but too true." "do not lose time," interrupted the genie; "all thy reasonings shall not divert me from my purpose: make haste, and tell me what kind of death thou preferest?" necessity is the mother of invention. the fisherman bethought himself of a stratagem. "since i must die then," said he to the genie, "i submit to the will of heaven; but before i choose the manner of my death, i conjure you by the great name which was engraver upon the seal of the prophet solomon, the son of david, to answer me truly the question i am going to ask you." the genie finding himself obliged to a positive answer by this adjuration, trembled; and replied to the fisherman, "ask what thou wilt, but make haste." the fisherman then said to him, "i wish to know if you were actually in this vessel: dare you swear it by the name of the great god?" "yes," replied the genie, "i do swear by that great name, that i was." "in good faith," answered the fisherman, "i cannot believe you; the vessel is not capable of holding one of your size, and how should it be possible that your whole body should lie in it?" "i swear to thee, notwithstanding," replied the genie, "that i was there just as you see me here: is it possible, that thou cost not believe me after the solemn oath i have taken?" "truly not i," said the fisherman; "nor will i believe you, unless you go into the vessel again." upon which the body of the genie dissolved and changed itself into smoke, extending as before upon the sea shore; and at last, being collected, it began to re-enter the vessel, which it continued to do by a slow and equal motion, till no part remained out; when immediately a voice came forth, which said to the fisherman, "well now, incredulous fellow, i am in the vessel, do not you believe me now?" the fisherman, instead of answering the genie, took the cover of lead, and having speedily replaced it on the vessel, "genie," cried he, "now it is your turn to beg my favour, and to choose which way i shall put you to death; but not so, it is better that i should throw you into the sea, whence i took you: and then i will build a house upon the shore, where i will reside and give notice to all fishermen who come to throw in their nets, to beware of such a wicked genie as thou art, who hast made an oath to kill him that shall set thee at liberty." the genie, enraged at these expressions, struggled to set himself at liberty; but it was impossible, for the impression of solomon's seal prevented him. perceiving that the fisherman had got the advantage of him, for he thought fit to dissemble his anger; "fishermen," said he, "take heed you do not what you threaten; for what i spoke to you was only by way of jest." "o genie!" replied the fisherman, "thou who wast but a moment ago the greatest of all genies, and now art the least of them, thy crafty discourse will signify nothing, to the sea thou shalt return. if thou hast been there already so long as thou hast told me, thou may'st very well stay there till the day of judgment. i begged of thee in god's name not to take away my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; i am obliged to treat thee in the same manner." the genie omitted nothing that he thought likely to prevail with the fisherman: "open the vessel," said he, "give me my liberty, and i promise to satisfy thee to thy own content." "thou art a traitor," replied the fisherman, "i should deserve to lose my life, if i were such a fool as to trust thee: thou wilt not fail to treat me in the same manner as a certain grecian king treated the physician douban. it is a story i have a mind to tell thee, therefore listen to it." the story of the grecian king and the physician douban. there was in the country of yunaun or greece, a king who was leprous, and his physicians had in vain endeavoured his cure; when a very able physician, named douban, arrived at his court. this physician had learnt the theory of his profession in greek, persian, turkish, arabic, latin, syriac, and hebrew books; he was an experienced natural philosopher, and fully understood the good and bad qualities of plants and drugs. as soon as he was informed of the king's distemper, and understood that his physicians had given him over, he found means to present himself before him. "i know," said he, after the usual ceremonials, "that your majesty's physicians have not been able to heal you of the leprosy; but if you will accept my service, i will engage to cure you without potions, or external applications." the king listened to what he said, and answered, "if you be able to perform what you promise, i will enrich you and your posterity. do you assure me that you will cure my leprosy without potion, or applying any external medicine?" "yes, sire," replied the physician, "i promise myself success, through god's assistance, and to-morrow, with your majesty's permission, i will make the trial." the physician returned to his quarters, made a hollow mace, and at the handle he put in his drugs; he made also a ball in such a manner as suited his purpose, with which next morning he presented himself before the king, and falling down at his feet, kissed the ground. the physician douban rose up, and after a profound reverence, said to the king, he judged it meet that his majesty should take horse, and go to the place where he used to play at mall. the king did so, and when he arrived there, the physician came to him with the mace, and said, "exercise yourself with this mace, and strike the ball until you find your hands and body perspire. when the medicine i have put up in the handle of the mace is heated with your hand, it will penetrate your whole body; and as soon as you perspire, you may leave off the exercise, for then the medicine will have had its effect. immediately on your return to your palace, go into the bath, and cause yourself to be well washed and rubbed; then retire to bed, and when you rise to-morrow you will find yourself cured." the king took the mace, and struck the ball, which was returned by his officers who played with him; he played so long, that his hands and his whole body were in a sweat, and then the medicine shut up in the handle of the mace had its operation, as the physician had said. upon this the king left off play, returned to his palace, entered the bath, and observed very exactly his physician had prescribed to him. the next morning when he arose, he perceived with equal wonder and joy, that his leprosy was cured, and his body as clean as if it had never been affected. as soon as he was dressed, he came into the hall of audience, where he ascended his throne, and shewed himself to his courtiers: who, eager to know the success of the new medicine, came thither betimes, and when they saw the king perfectly cured, expressed great joy. the physician douban entering the hall, bowed himself before the throne, with his face to the ground. the king perceiving him, made him sit down by his side, presented him to the assembly, and gave him all the commendation he deserved. his majesty did not stop here: but as he treated all his court that day, made him eat at his table alone with him. the grecian king was not satisfied with having admitted the physician douban to his table, but caused him to be clad in a rich robe, ordered him two thousand pieces of gold, and thinking that he could never sufficiently acknowledge his obligations to him, continued every day to load him with new favours. but this king had a vizier, who was avaricious, envious, and naturally capable of every kind of mischief. he could not behold without envy the presents that were given to the physician, whose other merits had already begun to make him jealous, and he therefore resolved to lessen him in the king's esteem. to effect this, he went to the king, and told him in private, that he had some information of the greatest consequence to communicate. the king having asked what it was? "sire," said he, "it is highly dangerous for a monarch to confide in a man whose fidelity he has never tried. though you heap favours upon the physician douban, your majesty does not know that he is a traitor, sent by your enemies to take away your life." "from whom," demanded the king, "have you the suggestion which you dare pronounce? consider to whom you are speaking, and that you are advancing what i shall not easily believe." "sire," replied the vizier, "i am well informed of what i have had the honour to reveal to your majesty; therefore do not rest in dangerous security: if your majesty be asleep, be pleased to awake; for i once more repeat, that the physician douban left his native country, and came to settle himself at your court, for the sole purpose of executing the horrible design which i have intimated." "no, no, vizier," interrupted the king; "i am certain, that this physician, whom you suspect to be a villain and a traitor, is one of the best and most virtuous of men. you know by what medicine, or rather by what miracle, he cured me of my leprosy: if he had had a design upon my life, why did he save me then? he needed only to have left me to my disease; i could not have escaped it, as life was fast decaying. forbear then to fill me with unjust suspicions: instead of listening to you, i tell you, that from this day forward i will give that great man a pension of a thousand pieces of gold per month for his life; nay, though i were to share with him all my riches and dominions, i should never pay him sufficiently for what he has done. i perceive it to be his virtue that raises your envy; but do not think i will be unjustly prejudiced against him. i remember too well what a vizier said to king sinbad, his master, to prevent his putting to death the prince his son." what the grecian king said about king sinbad raised the vizier's curiosity, who said, "i pray your majesty to pardon me, if i have the boldness to ask what the vizier of king sinbad said to his master to divert him from putting the prince his son to death." the grecian king had the condescension to satisfy him: "that vizier," said he, "after having represented to king sinbad, that he ought to beware, lest on the accusation of a mother-in-law he should commit an action of which he might afterwards repent, told him this story." the story of the husband and the parrot. a certain man had a beautiful wife, whom he loved so dearly, that he could scarcely allow her to be out of his sight. one day, some urgent affairs obliging him to go from home, he went to a place where all sorts of birds were sold, and bought a parrot, which not only spoke well, but could also give an account of every thing that was done in its presence. he brought it in a cage to his house, desired his wife to put it in his chamber, and take care of it during his absence, and then departed. on his return, he questioned the parrot concerning what had passed while he was from home, and the bird told him such things as gave him occasion to upbraid his wife. she concluded some of her slaves had betrayed her, but all of them swore they had been faithful, and agreed that the parrot must have been the tell-tale. upon this, the wife began to devise how she might remove her husband's jealousy, and at the same time revenge herself on the parrot. her husband being gone another journey, she commanded a slave in the night-time to turn a hand-mill under the parrot's cage; she ordered another to sprinkle water, in resemblance of rain, over the cage; and a third to move a looking-glass, backward and forward against a candle, before the parrot. the slaves spent a great part of the night in doing what their mistress desired them, and acquitted themselves with much skill. next night the husband returned, and examined the parrot again about what had passed during his absence. the bird answered, "good master, the lightning, thunder, and rain so much disturbed me all night, that i cannot tell how much i suffered." the husband, who knew that there had been neither thunder, lightning, nor rain in the night, fancied that the parrot, not having spoken truth in this, might also have lied in the other relation; upon which he took it out of the cage, and threw it with so much force to the ground that he killed it. yet afterwards he understood from his neigbours, that the poor parrot had not deceived him in what it had stated of his wife's base conduct, made him repent that he had killed it. when the grecian king had finished the story of the parrot, he added, "and you, vizier, because of the hatred you bear to the physician douban, who never did you any injury, you would have me cut him off; but i will beware lest i should repent as the husband did after killing his parrot." the mischievous vizier was too desirous of effecting the ruin of the physician douban to stop here. "sir," said he, "the death of the parrot was but a trifle, and i believe his master did not mourn for him long: but why should your fear of wronging an innocent man, hinder your putting this physician to death? is it not sufficient justification that he is accused of a design against your life? when the business in question is to secure the life of a king, bare suspicion ought to pass for certainty; and it is better to sacrifice the innocent than to spare the guilty. but, sir, this is not a doubtful case; the physician douban has certainly a mind to assassinate you. it is not envy which makes me his enemy; it is only my zeal, with the concern i have for preserving your majesty's life, that makes me give you my advice in a matter of this importance. if the accusation be false, i deserve to be punished in the same manner as a vizier formerly was." "what had the vizier done," demands the grecian king, "to deserve punishment?" "i will inform your majesty," said the vizier, "if you will be pleased to hear me." the story of the vizier that was punished. there was a king who had a son that loved hunting. he allowed him to pursue that diversion often; but gave orders to his grand vizier always to attend him. one hunting day, the huntsman having roused a deer, the prince, who thought the vizier followed him, pursued the game so far, and with so much earnestness, that he separated himself from the company. perceiving he had lost his way he stopped, and endeavoured to return to the vizier; but not knowing the country he wandered farther. whilst he was thus riding about, he met on his way a handsome lady, who wept bitterly. he stopped his horse, and enquired who she was, how she came to be alone in that place, and what she wanted. "i am," replied she, "the daughter of an indian king. as i was taking the air on horseback, in the country, i grew sleepy, and fell from my horse, who is run away, and i know not what is become of him." the young prince taking compassion on her, requested her to get up behind him, which she willingly did. as they were passing by the ruins of a house, the lady expressed a desire to alight. the prince stopped, and having put her down, dismounted himself, and went near the building, leading his horse after him. but you may judge how much he was surprised, when he heard the pretended lady utter these words: "be glad, my children, i bring you a young man for your repast;" and other voices, which answered immediately, "where is he, for we are very hungry?" the prince heard enough to convince him of his danger. he perceived that the lady, who called herself the daughter of an indian king, was one of those savage demons, called gholes, who live in desolated places, and employ a thousand wiles to surprise passengers, whom they afterwards devour. the prince instantly remounted his horse, and luckily escaped. the pretended princess appeared that very moment, and perceiving she had missed her prey, exclaimed, "fear nothing, prince: who are you? whom do you seek?" "i have lost my way," replied he, "and am endeavouring to find it." "if you have lost your way," said she, "recommend yourself to god, he will deliver you out of your perplexity." after the counterfeit indian princess had bidden the young prince recommend himself to god, he could not believe she spoke sincerely, but thought herself sure of him; and therefore lifting up his hands to heaven, said, "almighty lord, cast shine eyes upon me, and deliver me from this enemy." after this prayer, the ghole entered the ruins again, and the prince rode off with all possible haste. he happily found his way, and arrived safe at the court of his father, to whom he gave a particular account of the danger he had been in through the vizier's neglect: upon which the king, being incensed against that minister, ordered him to be immediately strangled. "sir," continued the grecian king's vizier, "to return to the physician douban, if you do not take care, the confidence you put in him will be fatal to you; i am very well assured that he is a spy sent by your enemies to attempt your majesty's life. he has cured you, you will say: but alas! who can assure you of that? he has perhaps cured you only in appearance, and not radically; who knows but the medicine he has given you, may in time have pernicious effects?" the grecian king was not able to discover the wicked design of his vizier, nor had he firmness enough to persist in his first opinion. this discourse staggered him: "vizier," said he, "thou art in the right; he may be come on purpose to take away my life, which he may easily do by the smell of his drugs." when the vizier found the king in such a temper as he wished, "sir," said he, "the surest and speediest method you can take to secure your life, is to send immediately for the physician douban, and order his head to be struck off." "in truth," said the king, "i believe that is the way we must take to frustrate his design." when he had spoken thus, he called for one of his officers, and ordered him to go for the physician; who, knowing nothing of the king's purpose, came to the palace in haste. "knowest thou," said the king, when he saw him, "why i sent for thee?" "no, sir," answered he; "i wait till your majesty be pleased to inform me." "i sent for thee," replied the king, "to rid myself of thee, by taking away thy life." no man can express the surprise of the physician, when he heard the sentence of death pronounced against him. "sir," said he, "why would your majesty take my life? what crime have i committed?" "i am informed," replied the king, "that you came to my court only to attempt my life; but to prevent you, i will be sure of yours. give the blow," said he to the executioner, who was present, "and deliver me from a perfidious wretch, who came hither on purpose to assassinate me." when the physician heard this cruel order, he readily judged that the honours and presents he had received from the king had procured him enemies, and that the weak prince was imposed on. he repented that he had cured him of his leprosy; but it was now too late. "is it thus," asked the physician, "that you reward me for curing you?" the king would not hearken to him, but a second time ordered the executioner to strike the fatal blow. the physician then had recourse to his prayers; "alas, sir," cried he, "prolong my days, and god will prolong yours; do not put me to death, lest god treat you in the same manner." the fisherman broke off his discourse here, to apply it to the genie. "well, genie," said he, "you see that what passed betwixt the grecian king and his physician douban is acted just now by us." the grecian king, continued he, instead of having regard to the prayers of the physician, who begged him to spare his life, cruelly replied, "no, no; i must of necessity cut you off, otherwise you may assassinate with as much art as you cured me." the physician, without bewailing himself for being so ill rewarded by the king, prepared for death. the executioner tied his hands, and was going to draw his cimeter. the courtiers who were present, being moved with compassion, begged the king to pardon him, assuring his majesty that he was not guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and that they would answer for his innocence: but the king was inflexible. the physician being on his knees, his eyes tied up, and ready to receive the fatal blow, addressed himself once more to the king: "sir," said he, "since your majesty will not revoke the sentence of death, i beg, at least, that you would give me leave to return to my house, to give orders about my burial, to bid farewell to my family, to give alms, and to bequeath my books to those who are capable of making good use of them. i have one particularly i would present to your majesty; it is a very precious book, and worthy of being laid up carefully in your treasury." "what is it," demanded the king, "that makes it so valuable?" "sir," replied the physician, "it possesses many singular and curious properties; of which the chief is, that if your majesty will give yourself the trouble to open it at the sixth leaf, and read the third line of the left page, my head, after being cut off, will answer all the questions you ask it." the king being curious, deferred his death till next day, and sent him home under a strong guard. the physician, during that time, put his affairs in order; and the report being spread, that an unheard of prodigy was to happen after his death, the viziers, emirs, officers of the guard, and, in a word, the whole court, repaired next day to the hall of audience, that they might be witnesses of it. the physician douban was brought in, and advancing to the foot of the throne, with a book in his hand, he called for a basin, and laid upon it the cover in which the book was wrapped; then presenting the book to the king, "take this," said he, "and after my head is cut off, order that it be put into the basin upon that cover; as soon as it is placed there, the blood will stop; then open the book, and my head will answer your questions. but permit me once more to implore your majesty's clemency; for god's sake grant my request, i protest to you that i am innocent." "your prayers," answered the king, "are in vain; and were it for nothing but to hear your head speak after your death, it is my will you should die." as he said this, he took the book out of the physician's hand, and ordered the executioner to do his duty. the head was so dexterously cut off that it fell into the basin, and was no sooner laid upon the cover of the book than the blood stopped; then to the great surprise of the king, and all the spectators, its eyes, and said, "sir, will your majesty be pleased to open the book?" the king proceeded to do so; but finding that the leaves adhered to each other, that he might turn them with more ease, he put his finger to his mouth, and wetted it with spittle. he did thus till he came to the sixth leaf, and finding no writing on the place where he was desired to look for it, "physician," said he, "there is nothing written." "turn over some more leaves," replied the head. the king went on, putting always his finger to his mouth, until the poison with which each leaf was imbued, coming to have its effect, the prince found himself suddenly taken with an extraordinary fit, his eye-sight failed, and he fell down at the foot of the throne in violent convulsions. when the physician douban, or rather his head, saw that the poison had taken effect, and that the king had but a few moments to live; "tyrant," it cried, "now you see how princes are treated, who, abusing their authority, cut off innocent men: god punishes soon or late their injustice and cruelty." scarcely had the head spoken these words, when the king fell down dead, and the head itself lost what life it had. as soon as the fisherman had concluded the history of the greek king and his physician douban, he made the application to the genie, whom he still kept shut up in the vessel. "if the grecian king," said he, "had suffered the physician to live, god would have continued his life also; but he rejected his most humble prayers, and the case is the same with thee, o genie! could i have prevailed with thee to grant me the favour i supplicated, i should now take pity on thee; but since, notwithstanding the extreme obligation thou west under to me, for having set thee at liberty, thou didst persist in thy design to kill me, i am obliged, in my turn, to be equally hard-hearted to thee." "my good friend fisherman," replied the genie, "i conjure thee once more, not to be guilty of such cruelty; consider, that it is not good to avenge one's self, and that on the other hand, it is commendable to do good for evil; do not treat me as imama formerly treated ateca." "and what did imama to ateca?" enquired the fisherman. "ho!" says the genie, "if you have a mind to be informed, open the vessel: do you think that i can be in an humour to relate stories in so strait a prison? i will tell you as many as you please, when you have let me out." "no," said the fisherman, "i will not let thee out; it is in vain to talk of it; i am just going to throw thee into the bottom of the sea." "hear me one word more," cried the genie; "i promise to do thee no hurt; nay, far from that, i will shew thee a way to become exceedingly rich." the hope of delivering himself from poverty, prevailed with the fisherman. "i could listen to thee," said he, "were there any credit to be given to thy word; swear to me by the great name of god, that you will faithfully perform what you promise, and i will open the vessel; i do not believe you will dare to break such an oath." the genie swore to him, upon which the fisherman immediately took off the covering of the vessel. at that instant the smoke ascended, and the genie having resumed his form, the first thing he did was to kick the vessel into the sea. this action alarmed the fisherman. "genie," said he, "will not you keep the oath you just now made? and must i say to you, as the physician douban said to the grecian king, suffer me to live, and god will prolong your days." the genie laughed at the fisherman's fear, and answered, "no, fisherman, be not afraid, i only did it to divert myself, and to see if thou wouldst be alarmed at it: but to convince thee that i am in earnest, take thy nets and follow me." as he spoke these words, he walked before the fisherman, who having taken up his nets, followed him, but with some distrust. they passed by the town, and came to the top of a mountain, from whence they descended into a vast plain, which brought them to a lake, that lay betwixt four hills. when they reached the side of the lake, the genie said to the fisherman, "cast in thy nets, and catch fish;" the fisherman did not doubt of taking some, because he saw a great number in the water; but he was extremely surprised, when he found they were of four colours, that is to say, white, red, blue, and yellow. he threw in his nets, and brought out one of each colour. having never seen the like before, he could not but admire them, and judging that he might get a considerable sum for them, he was very joyful. "carry those fish," said the genie to him, "and present them to thy sultan; he will give thee more money for them. thou mayest come every day to fish in this lake; but i give thee warning not to throw in thy nets above once a day, otherwise thou wilt repent." having spoken thus, he struck his foot upon the ground, which opened, and after it had swallowed him up closed again. the fisherman being resolved to follow the genie's advice, forbore casting in his nets a second time; and returned to the town very well satisfied; and making a thousand reflections upon his adventure. he went immediately to the sultan's palace, to offer his fish. the sultan was much surprised, when he saw the four fish which the fisherman presented. he took them up one after another, and viewed them with attention; and after having admired them a long time, "take those fish," said he to his vizier, "and carry them to the cook, whom the emperor of the greeks has sent me. i cannot imagine but that they must be as good as they are beautiful." the vizier, carried them as he was directed, and delivering them to the cook, said, "here are four fish just brought to the sultan; he orders you to dress them:" he then returned to the sultan his master, who ordered him to give the fisherman four hundred pieces of gold of the coin of that country, which he did accordingly. the fisherman, who had never seen so much money, could scarcely believe his good fortune, but thought the whole must be a dream, until he found it otherwise, by being able to provide necessaries for his family with the produce of his fish. as soon as the sultan's cook had gutted the fish, she put them upon the fire in a frying-pan, with oil, and when she thought them fried enough on one side, she turned them upon the other; but, o monstrous prodigy! scarcely were they turned, when the wall of the kitchen divided, and a young lady of wonderful beauty entered from the opening. she was clad in flowered satin, after the egyptian manner, with pendants in her ears, a necklace of large pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies, with a rod in her hand. she moved towards the frying-pan, to the great amazement of the cook, who continued fixed by the sight, and striking one of the fish with the end of the rod, said, "fish, fish, are you in duty?" the fish having answered nothing, she repeated these words, and then the four fish lifted up their heads, and replied, "yes, yes: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." as soon as they had finished these words, the lady overturned the frying-pan, and returned into the open part of the wall, which closed immediately, and became as it was before. the cook was greatly frightened at what had happened, and coming a little to herself, went to take up the fish that had fallen on the hearth, but found them blacker than coal, and not fit to be carried to the sultan. this grievously troubled her, and she fell to weeping most bitterly. "alas!" said she, "what will become of me? if i tell the sultan what i have seen, i am sure he will not believe me, but will be enraged against me." while she was thus bewailing herself, the grand vizier entered, and asked her if the fish were ready? she told him all that had occurred, which we may easily imagine astonished him; but without speaking a word of it to the sultan, he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and sending immediately for the fisherman, bid him bring four more such fish, for a misfortune had befallen the others, so that they were not fit to be carried to the sultan. the fisherman, without saying any thing of what the genie had told him, in order to excuse himself from bringing them that day, told the vizier, he had a great way to go for them, but would certainly bring them on the morrow. accordingly the fisherman went away by night, and coming to the lake, threw in his nets betimes next morning, took four fish like the former, and brought them to the vizier, at the hour appointed. the minister took them himself, carried them to the kitchen, and shutting himself up with the cook, she gutted them, and put them on the fire, as she had done the four others the day before. when they were fried on one side, and she had turned them upon the other, the kitchen wall again opened, and the same lady came in with the rod in her hand, struck one of the fish, spoke to it as before, and all four gave her the same answer. after the four fish had answered the young lady, she overturned the frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the wall. the grand vizier, being witness to what had passed: "this is too wonderful and extraordinary," said he, "to be concealed from the sultan; i will inform him of this prodigy." the sultan, being much surprised, sent immediately for the fisherman, and said to him, "friend, cannot you bring me four more such fish?" the fisherman replied, "if your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days, i will do it." having obtained his time, he went to the lake immediately, and at the first throwing in of his net, he caught four fish, and brought them directly to the sultan; who was so much the more rejoiced, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him four hundred pieces of gold. as soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to be carried into his closet, with all that was necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up with the vizier, the minister gutted them, put them into the pan, and when they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came out a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with a great green staff in his hand. he advanced towards the pan, and touching one of the fish with his staff, said with a terrible voice, "fish, are you in your duty?" at these words, the fish raised up their heads, and answered, "yes, yes; we are: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." the fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced the fish to a coal. having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again into the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it did before. "after what i have seen," said the sultan to the vizier, "it will not be possible for me to be easy: these fish, without doubt, signify something extraordinary." he sent for the fisherman, and when he came, said to him, "fisherman, the fish you have brought us, make me very uneasy; where did you catch them?" "sir," answered he, "i fished for them in a lake situated betwixt four hills, beyond the mountain that we see from hence." "knowst thou not that lake?" said the sultan to the vizier. "no," replied the vizier. "i never so much as heard of it, although i have for sixty years hunted beyond that mountain." the sultan asked the fisherman, how far the lake might be from the palace? the fisherman answered, it was not above three hours journey; upon this assurance, the sultan commanded all his court to take horse, and the fisherman served them for a guide. they all ascended the mountain, and at the foot of it they saw, to their great surprise, a vast plain, that nobody had observed till then, and at last they came to the lake, which they found to be situated betwixt four hills as the fisherman had described. the water was so transparent, that they observed all the fish to be like those which the fisherman had brought to the palace. the sultan stood upon the bank of the lake, and after beholding the fish with admiration, demanded of his courtiers, if it were possible they had never seen this lake, which was within so short a distance of the town. they all answered, that they had never so much as heard of it. "since you all agree that you never heard of it, and as i am no less astonished than you are, at this novelty, i am resolved not to return to my palace till i learn how this lake came here, and why all the fish in it are of four colours." having spoken thus, he ordered his court to encamp; and immediately his pavilion and the tents of his household were planted upon the banks of the lake. when night came, the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke to the grand vizier thus: "vizier, my mind is uneasy: this lake transported hither; the black that appeared to us in my closet, and the fish that we heard speak; all these things so much excite my curiosity, that i cannot resist my impatient desire to have it satisfied. to this end, i am resolved to withdraw alone from the camp, and i order you to keep my absence secret: stay in my pavilion, and to-morrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers come to attend my levee, send them away, and tell them, that i am somewhat indisposed, and wish to be alone; and the following days tell them the same thing, till i return." the grand vizier endeavoured to divert the sultan from this design; he represented to him the danger to which he might be exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain: but it was to no purpose; the sultan was resolved. he put on a suit fit for walking, and took his cimeter; and as soon as he found that all was quiet in the camp, went out alone, and passed over one of the hills without much difficulty; he found the descent still more easy, and when he came to the plain, walked on till the sun arose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a vast building. he rejoiced at the sight, in hopes of receiving there the information he sought. when he drew near, he found it was a magnificent palace, or rather a strong castle, of black polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as glass. being highly pleased that he had so speedily met with something worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle, and considered it with attention. he then advanced towards the gate, which had two leaves, one of them open; though he might immediately have entered, yet he thought it best to knock. this he did at first softly, and waited for some time; but seeing no one, and supposing he had not been heard, he knocked harder the second time, and after that he knocked again and again, but no one yet appearing, he was exceedingly surprised; for he could not think that a castle in such repair was without inhabitants. "if there be no one in it," said he to himself, "i have nothing to fear; and if it be inhabited, i have wherewith to defend myself." at last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cried, "is there no one here to receive a stranger, who comes in for some refreshment as he passes by?" he repeated the same words two or three times; but though he spoke very loud, he was not answered. the silence increased his astonishment: he came into a spacious court, and looked on every side for inhabitants, but discovered none. the sultan entered the grand halls, which were hung with silk tapestry, the alcoves and sofas were covered with stuffs of mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of india, mixed with gold and silver. he came afterwards into a superb saloon, in the middle of which was a fountain, with a lion of massy gold at each angle: water issued from the mouths of the four lions; and as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls, resembling a jet d'eau, which springing from the middle of the fountain, rose nearly to the top of a cupola painted in arabesque. the castle, on three sides, was encompassed by a garden, with parterres of flowers, shrubbery, and whatever could concur to embellish it; and to complete the beauty of the place, an infinite number of birds filled the air with their harmonious notes, and always remained there, nets being spread over the garden, and fastened to the palace to confine them. the sultan walked from apartment to apartment, where he found every thing rich and magnificent. being tired with walking, he sat down in a verandah or arcade closet, which had a view over the garden, reflecting what he had already seen, and then beheld: when suddenly he heard the voice of one complaining, in lamentable tones. he listened with attention, and heard distinctly these words: "o fortune! thou who wouldst not suffer me longer to enjoy a happy lot, forbear to persecute me, and by a speedy death put an end to my sorrows. alas! is it possible that i am still alive, after so many torments as i have suffered!" the sultan rose up, advanced toward the place whence he heard the voice; and coming to the door of a great hall, opened it, and saw a handsome young man, richly habited, seated upon a throne raised a little above the ground. melancholy was painted on his countenance. the sultan drew near, and saluted him; the young man returned his salutation by an inclination of his head, not being able to rise, at the same time saying, "my lord, i should rise to receive you; but am hindered by sad necessity, and therefore hope you will not be offended." "my lord," replied the sultan, "i am much obliged to you for having so good an opinion of me: as to the reason of your not rising, whatever your apology be, i heartily accept it. being drawn hither by your complaints, and afflicted by your grief, i come to offer you my help; would to god that it lay in my power to ease you of your trouble! i would do my utmost to effect it. i flatter myself that you will relate to me the history of your misfortunes; but inform me first of the meaning of the lake near the palace, where the fish are of four colours? whose this castle is? how you came to be here? and why you are alone?" instead of answering these questions, the young man began to weep bitterly. "how inconstant is fortune!" cried he; "she takes pleasure to pull down those she had raised. where are they who enjoy quietly the happiness which they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and serene?" the sultan, moved with compassion to see him in such a condition, prayed him to relate the cause of his excessive grief. "alas! my lord," replied the young man, "how is it possible but i should grieve, and my eyes be inexhaustible fountains of tears?" at these words, lifting up his robe, he shewed the sultan that he was a man only from the head to the girdle, and that the other half of his body was black marble. the sultan was much surprised, when he saw the deplorable condition of the young man. "that which you shew me," said he, "while it fills me with horror, excites my curiosity, so that i am impatient to hear your history, which, no doubt, must be extraordinary, and i am persuaded that the lake and the fish make some part of it; therefore i conjure you to relate it. you will find some comfort in so doing, since it is certain, that the unfortunate find relief in making known their distress." "i will not refuse your request," replied the young man, "though i cannot comply without renewing my grief. but i give you notice before hand, to prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for things which surpass all that the imagination can conceive." the history of the young king of the black isles. you must know that my father, named mahmoud, was king of this country. this is the kingdom of the black isles, which takes its name from the four small neighbouring mountains; for these mountains were formerly isles: the capital where the king my father resided was situated on the spot now occupied by the lake you have seen. the sequel of my history will inform you of those changes. the king my father died when he was seventy years of age; i had no sooner succeeded him, than i married, and the lady i chose to share the royal dignity with me, was my cousin. i had so much reason to be satisfied with her affection, and, on my part, loved her with so much tenderness, that nothing could surpass the harmony and pleasure of our union. this lasted five years, at the end of which time, i perceived the queen, my cousin, ceased to delight in my attentions. one day, after dinner, while she was at the bath, i found myself inclined to repose and lay down upon a sofa. two of her ladies, who were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head, and the other at my feet, with fans in their hands to moderate the heat, and to prevent the flies from disturbing me. they thought i was asleep, and spoke in whispers; but as i only closed my eyes, i heard all their conversation. one of them said to the other, "is not the queen wrong, not to love so amiable a prince?" "certainly," replied the other; "i do not understand the reason, neither can i conceive why she goes out every night, and leaves him alone!" "is it possible that he does not perceive it?" "alas!" said the first, "how should he? she mixes every evening in his liquor, the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night, that she has time to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear, she comes and lies down by him again, and wakes him by the smell of something she puts under his nostrils." you may guess, my lord, how much i was surprised at this conversation, and with what sentiments it inspired me; yet, whatever emotion it excited, i had sufficient self-command to dissemble, and feigned to awake without having heard a word. the queen returned from the bath, we supped together and she presented me with a cup full of such water as i was accustomed to drink; but instead of putting it to my mouth, i went to a window that was open, and threw out the water so quickly, that she did not perceive it, and returned. we went to bed together, and soon after, believing that i was asleep, she got up with so little precaution, that she said loud enough for me to hear her distinctly, "sleep on, and may you never wake again!" she dressed herself, and went out of the chamber. as soon as the queen my wife was gone, i dressed myself in haste, took my cimeter, and followed her so quickly, that i soon heard the sound of her feet before me, and then walked softly after her, for fear of being heard. she passed through several gates, which opened upon her pronouncing some magical words, and the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. i stopt at this gate, that she might not perceive me, as she passed along a parterre; then looking after her as far as the darkness of the night permitted, i saw her enter a little wood, whose walks were guarded by thick palisadoes. i went thither by another way, and concealing myself behind the palisadoes of a long walk, i saw her walking there with a man. i did not fail to lend the most attentive ear to their discourse, and heard her address herself thus to her gallant: "i do not deserve to be reproached by you for want of diligence. you well know the reason; but if all the proofs of affection i have already given you be not sufficient to convince you of my sincerity, i am ready to give you others more decisive: you need but command me, you know my power; i will, if you desire it, before sun-rise convert this great city, and this superb palace, into frightful ruins, inhabited only by wolves, owls, and ravens. if you would have me transport all the stones of those walls so solidly built, beyond mount caucasus, or the bounds of the habitable world, speak but the word, and all shall be changed." as the queen finished these words she and her lover came to the end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me. i had already drawn my cimeter, and her lover being next me, i struck him on the neck, and brought him to the ground. i concluded i had killed him, and therefore retired speedily without making myself known to the queen, whom i chose to spare, because she was my kinswoman. the wound i had given her lover was mortal; but by her enchantments she preserved him in an existence in which he could not be said to be either dead or alive. as i crossed the garden to return to the palace, i heard the queen loudly lamenting, and judging by her cries how much she was grieved, i was pleased that i had spared her life. as soon as i had reached my apartment, i went to bed, and being satisfied with having punished the villain who had injured me, fell asleep; and when i awoke next morning, found the queen lying. i cannot tell you whether she slept or not; but i arose, went to my closet, and dressed myself. i afterwards held my council. at my return, the queen, clad in mourning, her hair dishevelled, and part of it torn off, presented herself before me, and said; "i come to beg your majesty not to be surprised to see me in this condition. my heavy affliction is occasioned by intelligence of three distressing events which i have just received." "alas! what are they, madam?" said i. "the death of the queen my dear mother," she replied, "that of the king my father killed in battle, and of one of my brothers, who has fallen down a precipice." i was not displeased that she used this pretext to conceal the true cause of her grief, and i concluded she had not suspected me of being the author of her lover's death. "madam," said i, "so far from blaming, i assure you i heartily commiserate your sorrow. i should feel surprise if you were insensible to such heavy calamities: weep on; your tears are so many proofs of your tenderness; but i hope that time and reflection will moderate your grief." she retired into her apartment, where, giving herself wholly up to sorrow, she spent a whole year in mourning and lamentation. at the end of that period, she begged permission to erect a burying place for herself, within the bounds of the palace, where she would continue, she told me, to the end of her days: i consented, and she built a stately edifice, crowned by a cupola, which may be seen from hence, and called it the palace of tears. when it was finished, she caused her lover to be conveyed thither, from the place to which she had caused him to be carried the night i wounded him: she had hitherto prevented his dying, by potions which she had administered to him; and she continued to convey them to him herself every day after he came to the palace of tears. yet, with all her enchantments, she could not cure him; he was not only unable to walk or support himself, but had also lost the use of his speech, and exhibited no sign of life except in his looks. though the queen had no other consolation but to see him, and to say to him all that her senseless passion could inspire, yet every day she made him two long visits. i was well apprised of this, but pretended ignorance. one day my curiosity induced me to go to the palace of tears, to observe how the princess employed herself, and from a place where she could not see me, i heard her thus address her lover: "i am afflicted to the highest degree to behold you in this condition; i am as sensible as yourself of the tormenting pain you endure; but, dear soul, i am continually speaking to you, and you do not answer me: how long will you remain silent? speak only one word: alas! the sweetest moments of my life are these i spend here in partaking of your grief. i cannot live at a distance from you, and would prefer the pleasure of having you always before me, to the empire of the universe." at these words, which were several times interrupted by her sighs and sobs, i lost all patience: and discovering myself, came up to her, and said, "madam, you have wept enough, it is time to give over this sorrow, which dishonours both; you have too much forgotten what you owe to me and to yourself." "sire," said she, "if you have any kindness or compassion for me left, i beseech you to put no restraint upon me; allow me to indulge my grief, which it is impossible for time to assuage." when i perceived that my remonstrance, instead of restoring her to a sense of duty, served only to increase her anguish, i gave over and retired. she continued every day to visit her lover, and for two whole years abandoned herself to grief and despair. i went a second time to the palace of tears, while she was there. i concealed myself again, and heard her thus address her lover: "it is now three years since you spoke one word to me; you answer not the proofs i give you of my love by my sighs and lamentations. is it from insensibility, or contempt? o tomb! hast thou destroyed that excess of affection which he bare me? hast thou closed those eyes that evinced so much love, and were all my delight? no, no, this i cannot think. tell me rather, by what miracle thou becamest the depositary of the rarest treasure the world ever contained." i must confess, my lord, i was enraged at these expressions; for, in truth, this beloved, this adored mortal, was by no means what you would imagine him to have been. he was a black indian, one of the original natives of this country. i was so enraged at the language addressed to him, that i discovered myself, and apostrophising the tomb in my turn; i cried, "o tomb! why dost not thou swallow up that monster so revolting to human nature, or rather why dost not thou swallow up both the lover and his mistress?" i had scarcely uttered these words, when the queen, who sat by the black, rose up like a fury. "miscreant!" said she "thou art the cause of my grief; do not think i am ignorant of this, i have dissembled too long. it was thy barbarous hand that brought the objets of my fondness into this lamentable condition; and thou hast the cruelty to come and insult a despairing lover." "yes," said i, in a rage, "it was i that chastised that monster, according to his desert; i ought to have treated thee in the same manner; i now repent that i did not; thou hast too long abused my goodness." as i spoke these words, i drew out my cimeter, and lifted up my hand to punish her; but regarding me stedfastly, she said with a jeering smile, "moderate thy anger." at the same time, she pronounced words i did not understand; and afterwards added, "by virtue of my enchantments, i command thee to become half marble and half man." immediately, my lord, i became what you see, a dead man among the living, and a living man among the dead. after the cruel sorceress, unworthy of the name of queen, had metamorphosed me thus, and brought me into this hall, by another enchantment she destroyed my capital, which was very flourishing and populous; she annihilated the houses, the public places and markets, and reduced the site of the whole to the lake and desert plain you have seen; the fishes of four colours in the lake are the four kinds of inhabitants of different religions, which the city contained. the white are the moosulmauns; the red, the persians, who worship fire; the blue, the christians and the yellow, the jews. the four little hills were the four islands that gave name to this kingdom. i learned all this from the enchantress, who, to add to my affliction, related to me these effects of her rage. but this is not all; her revenge not being satisfied with the destruction of my dominions, and the metamorphosis of my person, she comes every day, and gives me over my naked shoulders a hundred lashes with a whip until i am covered with blood. when she has finished this part of my punishment, she throws over me a coarse stuff of goat's hair, and over that this robe of brocade, not to honour, but to mock me. when he came to this part of the narrative, the young king could not restrain his tears; and the sultan was himself so affected by the relation, that he could not find utterance for any words of consolation. shortly after, the young king, lifting up his eyes to heaven, exclaimed, "mighty creator of all things, i submit myself to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence: i endure my calamities with patience, since it is thy will things should be as they are; but i hope thy infinite goodness will ultimately reward me." the sultan, greatly moved by the recital of this affecting story, and anxious to avenge the sufferings of the unfortunate prince, said to him, "inform me whither this perfidious sorceress retires, and where may be found her vile paramour, who is entombed before his death." "my lord," replied the prince, "her lover, as i have already told you, is lodged in the palace of tears, in a superb tomb constructed in the form of a dome: this palace joins the castle on the side in which the gate is placed. as to the queen, i cannot tell you precisely whither she retires, but every day at sun-rise she goes to visit her paramour, after having executed her bloody vengeance upon me; and you see i am not in a condition to defend myself. she carries to him the potion with which she had hitherto prevented his dying, and always complains of his never having spoken to her since he was wounded." "prince," said the sultan, "your condition can never be sufficiently deplored: no one can be more sensibly affected by your misfortunes than i am. never did any thing so extraordinary befall any man, and those who write your history will have the advantage of relating what surpasses all that has hitherto been recorded. one thing only is wanting; the revenge to which you are entitled, and i will omit nothing in my power to effect it." in his subsequent conversation with the young prince, the sultan told him who he was, and for what purpose he had entered the castle; and afterwards informed him of a mode of revenge which he had devised. they agreed upon the measures they were to take for accomplishing their design, but deferred the execution of it till the following day. in the mean time, the night being far spent, the sultan took some rest; but the young prince passed the night as usual, without sleep, having never slept since he was enchanted, still indulging some hopes of being speedily delivered from his misery. next morning the sultan arose with the dawn, and prepared to execute his design, hiding his upper garment, which might encumber him; he then proceeded to the palace of tears. he found it lighted up with an infinite number of flambeaux of white wax, and perfumed by a delicious scent issuing from several censers of fine gold of admirable workmanship. as soon as he perceived the bed where the black lay, he drew his cimeter, and without resistance deprived him of his wretched life, dragged his corpse into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. after this, he went and lay down in the black's bed, placed his cimeter under the covering, and waited to complete his design. the queen arrived shortly after. she first went into the chamber of her husband, the king of the black islands, stripped him, and with unexampled barbarity gave him a hundred stripes. the unfortunate prince filled the palace with his lamentations, and conjured her in the most affecting tone to take pity on him; but the cruel wretch ceased not till she had given the usual number of blows. "you had no compassion on my lover," said she, "and you are to expect none from me." after the enchantress had given the king, her husband, a hundred blows with the whip, she put on again his covering of goat's hair, and his brocade gown over all; she went afterwards to the palace of tears, and as she entered renewed her tears and lamentations: then approaching the bed, where she thought her paramour lay, "what cruelty," cried she, "was it to disturb the satisfaction so tender and passionate a lover as i am? o cruel prince, who reproachest me that i am inhuman, when i make thee feel the effects of my resentment! does not thy barbarity surpass my vengeance? traitor! in attempting the life of the object which i adore, hast thou not robbed me of mine? alas!" said she, addressing herself to the sultan, conceiving him to be the black "my sun, my life, will you always be silent! are you resolved to let me die, without affording me the comfort of hearing again from your own lips that you love me? my soul, speak one word to me at least, i conjure you." the sultan, as if he had awaked out of a deep sleep, and counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks, answered the queen with a grave tone, "there is no strength or power but in god alone, who is almighty." at these words the enchantress, who did not expect them, uttered a loud exclamation of joy. "my dear lord," cried she, "do not i deceive myself; is it certain that i hear you, and that you speak to me?" "unhappy woman," said the sultan, "art thou worthy that i should answer thee?" "alas!" replied the queen, "why do you reproach me thus?" "the cries," returned the sultan, "the groans and tears of thy husband, whom thou treatest every day with so much indignity and barbarity, prevent my sleeping night or day. hadst thou disenchanted him, i should long since have been cured, and have recovered the use of my speech. this is the cause of my silence, of which you complain." "well," said the enchantress, "to pacify you, i am ready to execute your commands; would you have me restore him?" "yes," replied the sultan; "make haste to set him at liberty, that i be no longer disturbed by his lamentations." the enchantress went immediately out of the palace of tears; she took a cup of water, and pronounced some words over it, which caused it to boil, as if it had been on the fire. she afterwards proceeded to the young king her husband, and threw the water upon him, saying, "if the creator of all things did form thee as thou art at present; or if he be angry with thee, do not change; but if thou art in that condition merely by virtue of my enchantments, resume thy natural shape, and become what thou west before." she had scarcely spoken these words, when the prince, finding himself restored to his former condition, rose up and returned thanks to god. the enchantress then said to him, "get thee from this castle, and never return on pain of death." the young king, yielding to necessity, went away from the enchantress, without replying a word; and retired to a remote place, where he patiently awaited the event of the design which the sultan had so happily begun. meanwhile, the enchantress returned to the palace of tears, and supposing that she still spoke to the black, said, "dear love, i have done what you required; nothing now prevents your rising and giving me the satisfaction of which i have so long been deprived." the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks, said, "what you have now done is by no means sufficient for my cure; you have only removed a part of the evil; you must cut it up by the root." "my lovely black," resumed the queen, "what do you mean by the root?" "wretched woman," replied the sultan, "understand you not that i allude to the town, and its inhabitants, and the four islands, destroyed by thy enchantments? the fish every night at midnight raise their heads out of the lake, and cry for vengeance against thee and me. this is the true cause of the delay of my cure. go speedily, restore things to their former state, and at thy return i will give thee my hand, and thou shalt help me to arise." the enchantress, inspired with hope from these words, cried out in a transport of joy, "my heart, my soul, you shall soon be restored to your health, for i will immediately do as you command me." accordingly she went that instant, and when she came to the brink of the lake, she took a little water in her hand, and sprinkling it, had no sooner pronounced some words over the fish and the lake, than the city was immediately restored. the fish became men, women, and children; mahummedans, christians, persians, or jews; freemen or slaves, as they were before: every one having recovered his natural form. the houses and shops were immediately filled with their inhabitants, who found all things as they were before the enchantment. the sultan's numerous retinue, who found themselves encamped in the largest square, were astonished to see themselves in an instant in the middle of a large, handsome, well-peopled city. to return to the enchantress: as soon as she had effected this wonderful change, she returned with all expedition to the palace of tears, that she might receive her reward. "my dear lord," cried she, as she entered, "i come to rejoice with you in the return of your health: i have done all that you required of me, then pray rise, and give me your hand." "come near," said the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks. she did so. "you are not near enough," he continued, "approach nearer." she obeyed. he then rose up, and seizing her by the arm so suddenly, that she had not time to discover him, he with a blow of his cimeter cut her in two, so that one half fell one way and the other another. this done he left the body on the spot, and going out of the palace of tears, went to seek the young king of the black isles, who waited for him with great impatience. when he found him, "prince," said he, embracing him, "rejoice; you have now nothing to fear; your cruel enemy is dead." the young prince returned thanks to the sultan in a manner that sufficiently the sincerity of his gratitude, and in return wished him long life and happiness. "you may henceforward," said the sultan, "dwell peaceably in your capital, unless you will accompany me to mine, which is near: you shall there be welcome, and have as much honour and respect shown you as if you were in your own kingdom." "potent monarch, to whom i am so much indebted," replied the king, "you think then that you are near your capital?" "yes," said the sultan, "i know it is not above four or five hours' journey." "it will take you a whole year to return," said the prince "i do indeed believe that you came hither from your capital in the time you mention, because mine was enchanted; but since the enchantment is taken off, things are changed: however, this shall not prevent my following you, were it to the utmost corners of the earth. you are my deliverer, and that i may give you proofs of my acknowledging this during my whole life, i am willing to accompany you, and to leave my kingdom without regret." the sultan was extremely surprised to understand that he was so far from his dominions, and could not imagine how it could be. but the young king of the black islands convinced him beyond a possibility of doubt. then the sultan replied, "it is no matter; the trouble of returning to my own country is sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction of having obliged you, and by acquiring you for a son; for since you will do me the honour to accompany me, as i have no child, i look upon you as such, and from this moment appoint you my heir and successor." the conversation between the sultan and the king of the black islands concluded with most affectionate embraces, after which the young prince employed himself in making preparations for his journey, which were finished in three weeks, to the great regret of his court and subjects, who agreed to receive at his hands one of his nearest kindred for their monarch. at length, the sultan and the young prince began their journey, with a hundred camels laden with inestimable riches from the treasury of the young king, followed by fifty handsome gentlemen on horseback, perfectly well mounted and dressed they had a pleasant journey; and when the sultan, who had sent couriers to give advice of his delay, and of the adventure which had occasioned it, approached his capital, the principal officers came to receive him, and to assure him that his long absence had occasioned no alteration in his empire. the inhabitants also came out in great crowds, received him with acclamations, and made public rejoicings for several days. the day after his arrival the sultan gave all his courtiers a very ample account of the circumstances, which, contrary to his expectation, had detained him so long. he acquainted them with his having adopted the king of the four black islands, who was willing to leave a great kingdom, to accompany and live with him; and, in reward for their loyalty, he made each of them presents according to their rank. as for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him a plentiful fortune, which made him and his family happy the rest of their days. story of the three calenders, sons of sultans; and of the five ladies of bagdad. in the reign of caliph haroon al rusheed, there was at bagdad, a porter, who, notwithstanding his mean and laborious business, was a fellow of wit and good humour. one morning as he was at the place where he usually plyed, with a great basket, waiting for employment, a handsome young lady, covered with a great muslin veil, accosted him, and said with a pleasant air, "hark you, porter, take your basket and follow me." the porter, charmed with these words, pronounced in so agreeable a manner, took his basket immediately, set it on his head, and followed the lady, exclaiming, "o happy day, o day of good luck!" in a short time the lady stopped before a gate that was shut, and knocked: a christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened it; and she put money into his hand, without speaking; but the christian, who knew what she wanted, went in, and in a little time, brought a large jug of excellent wine. "take this jug," said the lady to the porter, "and put it in your basket." this being done, she commanded him to follow her; and as she proceeded, the porter continued his exclamation, "o happy day! this is a day of agreeable surprise and joy." the lady stopped at a fruit-shop, where she bought several sorts of apples, apricots, peaches, quinces, lemons, citrons, oranges; myrtles, sweet basil, lilies, jessamin, and some other flowers and fragrant plants; she bid the porter put all into his basket, and follow her. as she went by a butcher's stall, she made him weigh her twenty five pounds of his best meat, which she ordered the porter to put also into his basket. at another shop, she took capers, tarragon, cucumbers, sassafras, and other herbs, preserved in vinegar: at another, she bought pistachios, walnuts, filberts, almonds, kernels of pine-apples, and such other fruits; and at another, all sorts of confectionery. when the porter had put all these things into his basket, and perceived that it grew full, "my good lady," said he, "you ought to have given me notice that you had so much provision to carry, and then i would have brought a horse, or rather a camel, for the purpose; for if you buy ever so little more, i shall not be able to bear it." the lady laughed at the fellow's pleasant humour, and ordered him still to follow her. she then went to a druggist, where she furnished herself with all manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a great piece of ambergris, and several other indian spices; this quite filled the porter's basket, and she ordered him to follow her. they walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned with fine columns, and had a gate of ivory. there they stopped, and the lady knocked softly. while the young lady and the porter waited for the opening of the gate, the porter made a thousand reflections. he wondered that such a fine lady should come abroad to buy provisions; he concluded she could not be a slave, her air was too noble, and therefore he thought she must needs be a woman of quality. just as he was about to ask her some questions upon this head, another lady came to open the gate, and appeared to him so beautiful, that he was perfectly surprised, or rather so much struck with her charms, that he had nearly suffered his basket to fall, for he had never seen any beauty that equalled her. the lady who brought the porter with her, perceiving his disorder, and knowing the cause, was greatly diverted, and took so much pleasure in watching his looks, that she forgot the gate was opened. "pray, sister," said the beautiful portress, "come in, what do you stay for? do not you see this poor man so heavy laden, that he is scarcely able to stand." when she entered with the porter, the lady who had opened the gate shut it, and all three, after having passed through a splendid vestibule, entered a spacious court, encompassed with an open gallery, which had a communication with several apartments of extraordinary magnificence. at the farther end of the court there was a platform, richly furnished, with a throne of amber in the middle, supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls of an extraordinary size, and covered with red satin embroidered with indian gold of admirable workmanship. in the middle of the court there was a fountain, faced with white marble, and full of clear water, which was copiously supplied out of the mouth of a lion of brass. the porter, though heavy laden, could not but admire the magnificence of this house, and the excellent order in which every thing was placed; but what particularly captivated his attention, was a third lady, who seemed to be more beautiful than the second, and was seated upon the throne just mentioned; she descended as soon as she saw the two others, and advanced towards them: he judged by the respect which the other ladies showed her, that she was the chief, in which he was not mistaken. this lady was called zobeide, she who opened the gate safie, and she who went to buy the provisions was named amene. zobeide said to the two ladies, when she came to them, "sisters, do not you see that this honest man is ready to sink under his burden, why do not you ease him of it?" then amene and safie took the basket, the one before and the other behind; zobeide also assisted, and all three together set it on the ground; then emptied it; and when they had done, the beautiful amene took out money, and paid the porter liberally. the porter was well satisfied with the money he had received; but when he ought to have departed, he could not summon sufficient resolution for the purpose. he was chained to the spot by the pleasure of beholding three such beauties, who appeared to him equally charming; for amene having now laid aside her veil, proved to be as handsome as either of the others. what surprised him most was, that he saw no man about the house, yet most of the provisions he had brought in, as the dry fruits, and the several sorts of cakes and confections, were adapted chiefly for those who could drink and make merry. zobeide thought at first, that the porter staid only to take breath, but perceiving that he remained too long, "what do you wait for," said she, "are you not sufficiently paid?" and turning to amene, she continued, "sister, give him something more, that he may depart satisfied." "madam," replied the porter, "it is not that which detains me, i am already more than paid for my services; i am sensible that i act rudely in staying longer than i ought, but i hope you will the goodness to pardon me, when i tell you, that i am astonished not to see a man with three ladies of such extraordinary beauty: and you know that a company of women without men is as melancholy as a company of men without women." to this he added several other pleasant things, to prove what he said, and did not forget the bagdad proverb, "that the table is not completely furnished, except there be four in company:" and so concluded, that since they were but three, they wanted another. the ladies fell a laughing at the porter's reasoning; after which zobeide gravely addressed him, "friend, you presume rather too much; and though you do not deserve that i should enter into any explanation with you, i have no objection to inform you that we are three sisters, who transact our affairs with so much secrecy that no one knows any thing of them. we have but too much reason to be cautious of acquainting indiscreet persons with our counsel; and a good author that we have read, says, 'keep thy own secret, and do not reveal it to any one. he that makes his secret known it no longer its master. if thy own breast cannot keep thy counsel, how canst thou expect the breast of another to be more faithful?'" "my ladies," replied the porter, "by your very air, i judged at first that you were persons of extraordinary merit, and i conceive that i am not mistaken. though fortune has not given me wealth enough to raise me above my mean profession, yet i have not omitted to cultivate my mind as much as i could, by reading books of science and history; and allow me, i beseech you, to say, that i have also read in another author a maxim which i have always happily followed: 'we conceal our secret from such persons only as are known to all the world to want discretion, and would abuse our confidence; but we hesitate not to discover it to the prudent, because we know that with them it is safe.' a secret in my keeping is as secure as if it were locked up in a cabinet, the key of which is lost, and the door sealed up." zobeide perceiving that the porter was not deficient in wit, but thinking he wished to share in their festivity, answered him, smiling, "you know that we have been making preparations to regale ourselves, and that, as you have seen, at a considerable expense; it is not just that you should now partake of the entertainment without contributing to the cost." the beautiful safie seconded her sister, and said to the porter, "friend, have you never heard the common saying, 'if you bring something with you, you shall carry something away, but if you bring nothing, you shall depart empty?'" the porter, notwithstanding his rhetoric, must, in all probability, have retired in confusion, if amene had not taken his part, and said to zobeide and safie, "my dear sisters, i conjure you to let him remain; i need not tell you that he will afford us some diversion, of this you perceive he is capable: i assure you, had it not been for his readiness, his alacrity, and courage to follow me, i could not have done so much business, in so short a time; besides, where i to repeat to you all the obliging expressions he addressed to me by the way, you would not feel surprised at my taking his part." at these words of amene, the porter was so transported with joy, that he fell on his knees, kissed the ground at her feet, and raising himself up, said, "most beautiful lady, you began my good fortune to-day, and now you complete it by this generous conduct; i cannot adequately express my acknowledgments. as to the rest, ladies," said he, addressing himself to all the three sisters, "since you do me so great an honour, do not think that i will abuse it, or look upon myself as deserving of the distinction. no, i shall always look upon myself as one of your most humble slaves." when he had spoken these words he would have returned the money he had received, but zobeide ordered him to keep it. "what we have once given," said she, "to reward those who have served us, we never take back. my friend, in consenting to your staying with us, i must forewarn you, that it is not the only condition we impose upon you that you keep inviolable the secret we may entrust to you, but we also require you to attend to the strictest rules of good manners." during this address, the charming amene put off the apparel she went abroad with, and fastened her robe to her girdle that she might act with the greater freedom; she then brought in several sorts of meat, wine, and cups of gold. soon after, the ladies took their places, and made the porter sit down by them, who was overjoyed to see himself seated with three such admirable beauties. after they had eaten a little, amene took a cup, poured some wine into it, and drank first herself; she then filled the cup to her sisters, who drank in course as they sat; and at last she filled it the fourth time for the porter, who, as he received it, kissed amene's hand; and before he drank, sung a song to this purpose. that as the wind bears with it the sweet scents of the perfumed places over which it passes, so the wine he was going to drink, coming from her fair hands, received a more exquisite flavour than it naturally possessed. the song pleased the ladies much, and each of them afterwards sung one in her turn. in short, they were all very pleasant during the repast, which lasted a considerable time, and nothing was wanting that could serve to render it agreeable. the day drawing to a close, safie spoke in the name of the three ladies, and said to the porter, "arise, it is time for you to depart." but the porter, not willing to leave good company, cried, "alas! ladies, whither do you command me to go in my present condition? what with drinking and your society, i am quite beside myself. i shall never find the way home; allow me this night to recover myself, in any place you please, but go when i will, i shall leave the best part of myself behind." amene pleaded the second time for the porter, saying, "sisters, he is right, i am pleased with the request, he having already diverted us so well; and, if you will take my advice, or if you love me as much as i think you do, let us keep him for the remainder of the night." "sister," answered zobeide, "we can refuse you nothing;" and then turning to the porter, said, "we are willing once more to grant your request, but upon this new condition, that, whatever we do in your presence relating either to ourselves or any thing else, you do not so much as open your mouth to ask the reason; for if you put any questions respecting what does not concern you, you may chance to hear what you will not like; beware therefore, and be not too inquisitive to pry into the motives of our actions. "madam," replied the porter, "i promise to abide by this condition, that you shall have no cause to complain, and far less to punish my indiscretion; my tongue shall be immovable on this occasion, and my eye like a looking-glass, which retains nothing of the objets that is set before it." "to shew you," said zobeide with a serious countenance, "that what we demand of you is not a new thing among us, read what is written over our gate on the inside." the porter went and read these words, written in large characters of gold: "he who speaks of things that do not concern him, shall hear things that will not please him." returning again to the three sisters, "ladies," said he, "i swear to you that you shall never hear me utter a word respecting what does not relate to me, or wherein you may have any concern." these preliminaries being settled, amene brought in supper, and after she had lighted up the room with tapers, made of aloe-wood and ambergris, which yield a most agreeable perfume, as well as a delicate light, she sat down with her sisters and the porter. they began again to eat and drink, to sing, and repeat verses. the ladies diverted themselves in intoxicating the porter, under pretext of making him drink their healths, and the repast was enlivened by reciprocal flashes of wit. when they were all in the best humour possible, they heard a knocking at the gate. when the ladies heard the knocking, they all three got up to open the gate; but safie was the nimblest; which her sisters perceiving, they resumed their seats. safie returning, said, "sisters, we have a very fine opportunity of passing a good part of the night pleasantly, and if you agree with me, you will not suffer it to go by. there are three calenders at our gate, at least they appear to be such by their habit; but what will surprise you is, they are all three blind of the right eye, and have their heads, beards, and eye-brows shaved. they say, they are but just come to bagdad, where they never were before; it being night, and not knowing where to find a lodging, they happened by chance to knock at this gate, and pray us, for the love of heaven, to have compassion on them, and receive them into the house. they care not what place we put them in, provided they may be under shelter; they would be satisfied with a stable. they are young and handsome, and seem not to want spirit. but i cannot without laughing think of their amusing and uniform figure." here safie laughed so heartily, that the two sisters and the porter could not refrain from laughing also. "my dear sisters," said she, "you will permit them to come in; it is impossible but that with such persons as i have described them to be, we shall finish the day better than we began it; they will afford us diversion enough, and put us to no charge, because they desire shelter only for this night, and resolve to leave us as soon as day appears." zobeide and amene made some difficulty to grant safie's request, for reasons which she herself well knew. but being very desirous to obtain this favour, they could not refuse her; "go then," said zobeide, "and bring them in, but do not forget to acquaint them that they must not speak of any thing which does not concern them, and cause them to read what is written over the gate." safie ran out with joy, and in a little time after returned with the three calenders. at their entrance they made a profound obeisance to the ladies, who rose up to receive them, and told them courteously that they were welcome, that they were glad of the opportunity to oblige them, and to contribute towards relieving the fatigues of their journey, and at last invited them to sit down with them. the magnificence of the place, and the civility they received, inspired the calenders with high respect for the ladies: but, before they sat down, having by chance cast their eyes upon the porter, whom they saw clad almost like those devotees with whom they have continual disputes respecting several points of discipline, because they never shave their beards nor eye-brows; one of them said, "i believe we have got here one of our revolted arabian brethren." the porter having his head warm with wine, took offence and with a fierce look, without stirring from his place, answered, "sit you down, and do not meddle with what does not concern you: have you not read the inscription over the gate? do not pretend to make people live after your fashion, but follow ours." "honest man," said the calender, "do not put yourself in a passion; we should be sorry to give you the least occasion; on the contrary, we are ready to receive your commands." upon which, to put an end to the dispute, the ladies interposed, and pacified them. when the calenders were seated, the ladies served them with meat; and safie, being highly pleased with them, did not let them want for wine. after the calenders had eaten and drunk liberally, they signified to the ladies, that they wished to entertain them with a concert of music, if they had any instruments in the house, and would cause them to be brought: they willingly accepted the proposal, and fair safie going to fetch them, returned again in a moment, and presented them with a flute of her own country fashion, another of the persian, and a tabor. each man took the instrument he liked, and all three together began to play a tune the ladies, who knew the words of a merry song that suited the air, joined the concert with their voices; but the words of the song made them now and then stop, and fall into excessive laughter. in the height of this diversion, when the company were in the midst of their jollity, a knocking was heard at the gate; safie left off singing, and went to see who it was. the caliph haroon al rusheed was frequently in the habit of walking abroad in disguise by night, that he might discover if every thing was quiet in the city, and see that no disorders were committed. this night the caliph went out on his rambles, accompanied by jaaffier his grand vizier, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs of his palace, all disguised in merchants' habits; and passing through the street where the three ladies dwelt, he heard the sound of music and fits of loud laughter; upon which he commanded the vizier, to knock, as he wished to enter to ascertain the reason. the vizier, in vain represented to him that the noise proceeded from some women who were merry-making, that without question their heads were warm with wine, and that it would not be proper he should expose himself to be affronted by them: besides, it was not yet an unlawful hour, and therefore he ought not to disturb them in their mirth. "no matter," said the caliph, "i command you to knock." jaaffier complied; safie opened the gate, and the vizier, perceiving by the light in her hand, that she was an incomparable beauty, with a very low salutation said, "we are three merchants of mossoul, who arrived here about ten days ago with rich merchandise, which we have in a warehouse at a caravan-serai, where we have also our lodging. we happened this evening to be with a merchant of this city, who invited us to his house, where we had a splendid entertainment: and the wine having put us in good humour, he sent for a company of dancers. night being come on, and the music and dancers making a great noise, the watch, passing by, caused the gate to be opened and some of the company to be taken up; but we had the good fortune to escape by getting over the wall. being strangers, and somewhat overcome with wine, we are afraid of meeting that or some other watch, before we get home to our khan. besides, before we can arrive there the gates will be shut, and will not be opened till morning: wherefore, hearing, as we passed by this way, the sound of music, we supposed you were not yet going to rest, and made bold to knock at your gate, to beg the favour of lodging ourselves in the house till morning; and if you think us worthy of your good company, we will endeavour to contribute to your diversion to the best of our power, to make some amends for the interruption we have given you; if not, we only beg the favour of staying this night in your vestibule." whilst jaaffier was speaking, safie had time to observe the vizier, and his two companions, who were said to be merchants like himself, and told them that she was not mistress of the house; but if they would have a minute's patience, she would return with an answer. safie made the business known to her sisters, who considered for some time what to do: but being naturally of a good disposition, and having granted the same favour to the three calenders, they at last consented to let them in. the caliph, his grand vizier, and the chief of the eunuchs, being introduced by the fair safie, very courteously saluted the ladies and the calenders. the ladies returned their salutations, supposing them to be merchants. zobeide, as the chief, addressed them with a grave and serious countenance, which was natural to her, and said, "you are welcome. but before i proceed farther, i hope you will not take it ill if we desire one favour of you." "alas!" said the vizier, "what favour? we can refuse nothing to such fair ladies." zobeide continued, "it is that, while here, you would have eyes, but no tongues; that you question us not for the reason of any thing you may see, and speak not of any thing that does not concern you, lest you hear what will by no means please you." "madam," replied the vizier, "you shall be obeyed. we are not censorious, nor impertinently curious; it is enough for us to notice affairs that concern us, without meddling with what does not belong to us." upon this they all sat down, and the company being united, they drank to the health of the new-comers. while the vizier, entertained the ladies in conversation, the caliph could not forbear admiring their extraordinary beauty, graceful behaviour, pleasant humour, and ready wit; on the other hand, nothing struck him with more surprise than the calenders being all three blind of the right eye. he would gladly have learnt the cause of this singularity; but the conditions so lately imposed upon himself and his companions would not allow him to speak. these circumstances, with the richness of the furniture, the exact order of every thing, and the neatness of the house, made him think they were in some enchanted place. their conversation happening to turn upon diversions, and the different ways of making merry; the calenders arose, and danced after their fashion, which augmented the good opinion the ladies had conceived of them, and procured them the esteem of the caliph and his companions. when the three calenders had finished their dance, zobeide arose, and taking amene by the hand, said, "pray, sister, arise, for the company will not be offended if we use our freedom, and their presence need not hinder the performance of our customary exercise." amene understanding her sister's meaning, rose from her seat, carried away the dishes, the flasks and cups, together with the instruments which the calenders had played upon. safie was not idle, but swept the room, put every thing again in its place, trimmed the lamps, and put fresh aloes and ambergris to them; this being done, she requested the three calenders to sit down upon the sofa at one side, and the caliph with his companions on the other: then addressing herself to the porter, she said, "get up, and prepare yourself to assist us in what we are going to do; a man like you, who is one of the family, ought not to be idle." the porter, being somewhat recovered from his wine, arose immediately, and having tied the sleeve of his gown to his belt, answered, "here am i, ready to obey your commands." "very well," replied safie, "stay till you are spoken to; and you shall not be idle long." a little time after, amene came in with a chair, which she placed in the middle of the room; and then went towards a closet. having opened the door, she beckoned to the porter, and said, "come hither and assist me." he obeyed, and entered the closet, and returned immediately, leading two black bitches, each of them secured by a collar and chain; they appeared as if they had been severely whipped with rods, and he brought them into the middle of the apartment. zobeide, rising from her seat between the calenders and the caliph, moved very gravely towards the porter; "come," said she, heaving a deep sigh, "let us perform our duty:" she then tucked up her sleeves above her elbows, and receiving a rod from safie, "porter," said she, "deliver one of the bitches to my sister amene, and bring the other to me." the porter did as he was commanded. upon this the bitch that he held in his hand began to howl, and turning towards zobeide, held her head up in a supplicating posture; but zobeide, having no regard to the sad countenance of the animal, which would have moved pity, nor to her cries that resounded through the house, whipped her with the rod till she was out of breath; and having spent her strength, threw down the rod, and taking the chain from the porter, lifted up the bitch by her paws, and looking upon her with a sad and pitiful countenance, they both wept: after which, zobeide, with her handkerchief, wiped the tears from the bitch's eye, kissed her, returned the chain to the porter, desired him to carry her to the place whence he took her, and bring her the other. the porter led back the whipped bitch to the closet, and receiving the other from amene, presented her to zobeide, who requested him to hold her as he had done the first, took up the rod, and treated her after the same manner; and when she had wept over her, she dried her eyes, kissed her, and returned her to the porter: but amene spared him the trouble of leading her back into the closet, and did it herself. the three calenders, with the caliph and his companions, were extremely surprised at this exhibition, and could not comprehend why zobeide, after having so furiously beaten those two bitches, that by the moosulman religion are reckoned unclean animals, should weep with them, wipe off their tears, and kiss them. they muttered among themselves, and the caliph, who, being more impatient than the rest, longed exceedingly to be informed of the cause of so strange a proceeding, could not forbear making signs to the vizier to ask the question: the vizier turned his head another way; but being pressed by repeated signs, he answered by others, that it was not yet time for the caliph to satisfy his curiosity. zobeide sat still some time in the middle of the room, where she had whipped the two bitches, to recover herself of her fatigue; and safie called to her, "dear sister, will you not be pleased to return to your place, that i may also aft my part?" "yes, sister," replied zobeide; and then went, and sat down upon the sofa, having the caliph, jaaffier, and mesrour, on her right hand, and the three calenders, with the porter, on her left. after zobeide had taken her seat, the whole company remained silent for some time; at last, safie, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, spoke to her sister amene, "dear sister, i conjure you to rise; you know what i would say." amene rose, and went into another closet, near to that where the bitches were, and brought out a case covered with yellow satin, richly embroidered with gold and green silk. she went towards safie and opened the case, from whence she took a lute, and presented it to her: and after some time spent in tuning it, safie began to play, and accompanying the instrument with her voice, sung a song about the torments that absence creates to lovers, with so much sweetness, that it charmed the caliph and all the company. having sung with much passion and action, she said to amene, "pray take it, sister, for my voice fails me; oblige the company with a tune, and a song in my stead." "very willingly," replied amene, who, taking the lute from her sister safie, sat down in her place. amene played and sung almost as long upon the same subject, but with so much vehemence, and was so much affected, or rather transported, by the words of the song, that her strength failed her as she finished. zobeide, desirous of testifying her satisfaction, said, "sister, you have done wonders, and we may easily see that you feel the grief you have expressed in so lively a manner." amene was prevented from answering this civility, her heart being so sensibly touched at the moment, that she was obliged, for air, to uncover her neck and bosom, which did not appear so fair as might have been expected; but, on the contrary, were black and full of scars, which surprised and affected all the spectators. however, this gave her no ease, for she fell into a fit. when zobeide and safie had run to help their sister, one of the calenders could not forbear saying, "we had better have slept in the streets than have come hither to behold such spectacles." the caliph, who heard this, came to him and the other calenders, and asked them what might be the meaning of all this? they answered, "we know no more than you do." "what," said the caliph, "are you not of the family? can you not resolve us concerning the two black bitches and the lady that fainted away, who appears to have been so basely abused?" "sir," said the calenders, "this is the first time of our being in the house; we came in but a few minutes before you." this increased the caliph's astonishment: "probably," said he, "this man who is with you may know something of the matter." one of the calenders beckoned the porter to come near; and asked him, whether he knew why those two black bitches had been whipped, and why amene's bosom was so scarred. "sir," said the porter, "i can swear by heaven, that if you know nothing of all this, i know as little as you do. it is true, i live in this city, but i never was in the house until now, and if you are surprised to see me i am as much so to find myself in your company; and that which increases my wonder is, that i have not seen one man with these ladies." the caliph and his company, as well as the calenders, had supposed the porter to be one of the family, and hoped he would have been able to give them the information they sought; but finding he could not, and resolving to satisfy his curiosity, the caliph said to the rest, "we are seven men, and have but three women to deal with; let us try if we can oblige them to explain what we have seen, and if they refuse by fair means, we are in a condition to compel them by force." the grand vizier jaaffier objected to this, and shewed the caliph what might be the consequence. without discovering the prince to the calenders, he addressed him as if he had been a merchant, and said, "consider, i pray you, that our reputation is at stake. you know the conditions on which these ladies consented to receive us, and which we agreed to observe; what will they say of us if we break them? we shall be still more to blame, if any mischief befall us; for it is not likely that they would have extorted such a promise from us, without knowing themselves to be in a condition to punish us for its violation." here the vizier took the caliph aside, and whispered to him, "the night will soon be at an end, and if your majesty will only be pleased to have so much patience, i will to-morrow morning bring these ladies before your throne, where you may be informed of all that you desire to know." though this advice was very judicious, the caliph rejected it, desired the vizier to hold his tongue, and said, he would not wait so long, but would immediately have his curiosity satisfied. the next business was to settle who should carry the message. the caliph endeavoured to prevail with the calenders to speak first; but they excused themselves, and at last they agreed that the porter should be the man: as they were consulting how to word this fatal question, zobeide returned from her sister amene, who was recovered of her fit. she drew near them, and having overheard them speaking pretty loud, said, "gentlemen, what is the subject of your conversation? what are you disputing about?" the porter answered immediately, "madam, these gentlemen beseech you to inform them why you wept over your two bitches after you had whipped them so severely, and how the bosom of that lady who lately fainted away came to be so full of scars? these are the questions i am ordered to ask in their name." at these words, zobeide put on a stern countenance, and turning towards the caliph and the rest of the company, "is it true, gentlemen," said she, "that you desired him to ask me these questions?" all of them, except the vizier jaaffier, who spoke not a word, answered, "yes." on which she exclaimed, in a tone that sufficiently expressed her resentment, "before we granted you the favour of receiving you into our house, and to prevent all occasion of trouble from you, because we are alone, we imposed the condition that you should not speak of any thing that did not concern you, lest you might hear that which would not please you; and yet after having received and entertained you, you make no scruple to break your promise. it is true that our easy temper has occasioned this, but that shall not excuse your rudeness." as she spoke these words, she gave three stamps with her foot, and clapping her hands as often together, cried, "come quickly:" upon this, a door flew open, and seven black slaves rushed in; every one seized a man, threw him on the ground, and dragged him into the middle of the room, brandishing a cimeter over his head. we may easily conceive the caliph then repented, but too late, that he had not taken the advice of his vizier, who, with mesrour, the calenders and porter, was from his ill-timed curiosity on the point of forfeiting his life. before they would strike the fatal blow, one of the slaves said to zobeide, and her sisters: "high, mighty, and adorable mistresses, do you command us to strike off their heads?" "stay," said zobeide, "i must examine them first." the frightened porter interrupted her thus: "in the name of heaven, do not put me to death for another man's crime. i am innocent; they are to blame." "alas!" said he, weeping, "how pleasantly did we pass our time! those blind calenders are the cause of this misfortune; there is no town in the world but suffers wherever these inauspicious fellows come. madam, i beg you not to destroy the innocent with the guilty, and consider, that it is more glorious to pardon such a wretch as i am, who have no way to help myself, than to sacrifice me to your resentment." zobeide, notwithstanding her anger, could not but laugh within herself at the porter's lamentation: but without replying to him, she spoke a second time to the rest; "answer me, and say who you are, otherwise you shall not live one moment longer: i cannot believe you to be honest men, or persons of authority or distinction in your own countries; for if you were, you would have been more modest and more respectful to us." the caliph, naturally warm, was infinitely more indignant than the rest, to find his life depending upon the command of a woman: but he began to conceive some hopes, when he found she wished to know who they all were; for he imagined she would not put him to death, when informed of his quality; therefore he spoke with a low voice to the vizier, who was near him, to declare it speedily: but the vizier, more prudent, resolved to save his master's honour, and not let the world know the affront he had brought upon himself by his own imprudence; and therefore answered, "we have what we deserve." but if he had intended to speak as the caliph commanded him, zobeide would not have allowed him time: for having turned to the calenders, and seeing them all blind with one eye, she asked if they were brothers. one of them answered, "no, madam, no otherwise than as we are calenders; that is to say, as we observe the same rules." "were you born blind of the right eye," continued she? "no, madam," answered he; "i lost my eye in such a surprising adventure, that it would be instructive to every body were it in writing: after that misfortune i shaved my beard and eyebrows, and took the habit of a calender which i now wear." zobeide asked the other two calenders the same question, and had the same answers; but the last who spoke added, "madam, to shew you that we are no common fellows, and that you may have some consideration for us, be pleased to know, that we are all three sons of sultans; and though we never met together till this evening, yet we have had time enough to make that known to one another; and i assure you that the sultans from whom we derive our being were famous in the world." at this discourse zobeide suppressed her anger, and said to the slaves, "give them their liberty a while, but remain where you are. those who tell us their history, and the occasion of their coming, do them no hurt, let them go where they please; but do not spare those who refuse to give us that satisfaction." the three calendars, the caliph, the grand vizier, jaaffier, the eunuch mesrour, and the porter, were all in the middle of the hall, seated upon a carpet in the presence of the three ladies, who reclined upon a sofa, and the slaves stood ready to do whatever their mistresses should command. the porter, understanding that he might extricate himself from danger by telling his history, spoke first, and said, "madam, you know my history already, and the occasion of my coming hither; so that what i have to say will be very short. my lady, your sister, called me this morning at the place where i plyed as porter to see if any body would employ me, that i might get my bread; i followed her to a vintner's, then to a herb-shop, then to one where oranges, lemons, and citrons were sold, then to a grocer's, next to a confectioner's, and a druggist's, with my basket upon my head as full as i was able to carry it; then i came hither, where you had the goodness to suffer me to continue till now, a favour that i shall never forget. this, madam, is my history." when the porter had done, zobeide said to him, "depart, let us see you here no more." "madam," replied the porter, "i beg you to let me stay; it would not be just, after the rest have had the pleasure to hear my history, that i should not also have the satisfaction of hearing theirs." and having spoken thus, he sat down at the end of the sofa, glad at heart to have escaped the danger that had frightened him so much. after him, one of the three calenders directing his speech to zobeide, as the principal of the three ladies, began thus: the history of the first calender. madam, in order to inform you how i lost my right eye, and why i was obliged to put myself into a calender's habit, i must tell you, that i am a sultan's son born: my father had a brother who reigned over a neighbouring kingdom; and the prince his son and i were nearly of the same age. after i had learned my exercises, the sultan my father granted me such liberty as suited my dignity. i went regularly every year to see my uncle, at whose court i amused myself for a month or two, and then returned again to my father's. these journeys cemented a firm and intimate friendship between the prince my cousin and myself. the last time i saw him, he received me with greater demonstrations of tenderness than he had done at any time before; and resolving one day to give me a treat, he made great preparations for that purpose. we continued a long time at table, and after we had both supped; "cousin," said he, "you will hardly be able to guess how i have been employed since your last departure from hence, about a year past. i have had a great many men at work to perfect a design i have formed; i have caused an edifice to be built, which is now finished so as to be habitable: you will not be displeased if i shew it you. but first you are to promise me upon oath, that you will keep my secret, according to the confidence i repose in you." the affection and familiarity that subsisted between us would not allow me to refuse him any thing. i very readily took the oath required of me: upon which he said to me, "stay here till i return, i will be with you in a moment;" and accordingly he came with a lady in his hand, of singular beauty, and magnificently apparelled: he did not intimate who she was, neither did i think it would be polite to enquire. we sat down again with this lady at table, where we continued some time, conversing upon indifferent subjects; and now and then filling a glass to each other's health. after which the prince said, "cousin, we must lose no time; therefore pray oblige me by taking this lady along with you, and conducting her to such a place, where you will see a tomb newly built in form of a dome: you will easily know it; the gate is open; enter it together, and tarry till i come, which will be very speedily." being true to my oath, i made no farther enquiry, but took the lady by the hand, and by the directions which the prince my cousin had given me, i brought her to the place. we were scarcely got thither, when we saw the prince following us, carrying a pitcher of water, a hatchet, and a little bag of mortar. the hatchet served him to break down the empty sepulchre in the middle of the tomb; he took away the stones one after another, and laid them in a corner; he then dug up the ground, where i saw a trap-door under the sepulchre, which he lifted up, and underneath perceived the head of a staircase leading into a vault. then my cousin, speaking to the lady, said, "madam, it is by this way that we are to go to the place i told you of:" upon which the lady advanced, and went down, and the prince began to follow; but first turning to me, said, "my dear cousin, i am infinitely obliged to you for the trouble you have taken; i thank you. adieu." "dear cousin," i cried, "what is the meaning of this?" "be content," replied he; "you may return the way you came." i could get nothing farther from him, but was obliged to take my leave. as i returned to my uncle's palace, the vapours of the wine got up into my head; however, i reached my apartment, and went to bed. next morning, when i awoke, i began to reflect upon what had happened, and after recollecting all the circumstances of such a singular adventure, i fancied it was nothing but a dream. full of these thoughts, i sent to enquire if the prince my cousin was ready to receive a visit from me; but when they brought word back that he did not lie in his own lodgings that night, that they knew not what was become of him, and were in much trouble in consequence, i conceived that the strange event of the tomb was too true. i was sensibly afflicted, and went to the public burying-place, where there were several tombs like that which i had seen: i spent the day in viewing them one after another, but could not find that i sought for, and thus i spent four days successively in vain. you must know, that all this while the sultan my uncle was absent, and had been hunting for several days; i grew weary of waiting for him, and having prayed his ministers to make my apology at his return, left his palace, and set out towards my father's court. i left the ministers of the sultan my uncle in great trouble, surmising what was become of the prince: but because of my oath to keep his secret, i durst not tell them what i had seen. i arrived at my father's capital, where, contrary to custom, i found a numerous guard at the gate of the palace, who surrounded me as i entered. i asked the reason, and the commanding officer replied, "prince, the army has proclaimed the grand vizier, instead of your father, who is dead, and i take you prisoner in the name of the new sultan." at these words the guards laid hold of me, and carried me before the tyrant: i leave you to judge, madam, how much i was surprised and grieved. this rebel vizier, had long entertained a mortal hatred against me; for this reason. when i was a stripling, i loved to shoot with a cross-bow; and being one day upon the terrace of the palace with my bow, a bird happening to come by, i shot but missed him, and the ball by misfortune hit the vizier, who was taking the air upon the terrace of his own house, and put out one of his eyes. as soon as i understood this, i not only sent to make my excuse to him, but did it in person: yet he never forgave me, and, as opportunity offered, made me sensible of his resentment. but now that he had me in his power, he expressed his feelings; for he came to me like a madman, as soon as he saw me, and thrusting his finger into my right eye, pulled it out, and thus i became blind of one eye. but the usurper's cruelty did not stop here; he ordered me to be shut up in a machine, and commanded the executioner to carry me into the country, to cut off my head, and leave me to be devoured by birds of prey. the executioner conveyed me thus shut up into the country, in order to execute the barbarous sentence; but by my prayers and tears, i moved the man's compassion: "go," said he to me, "get you speedily out of the kingdom, and take heed of returning, or you will certainly meet your own ruin, and be the cause of mine." i thanked him for the favour he did me; and as soon as i was left alone, comforted myself for the loss of my eye, by considering that i had very narrowly escaped a much greater evil. being in such a condition, i could not travel far at a time; i retired to remote places during the day, and travelled as far by night as my strength would allow me. at last i arrived in the dominions of the sultan my uncle, and came to his capital. i gave him a long detail of the tragical cause of my return, and of the sad condition he saw me in. "alas!" cried he, "was it not enough for me to have lost my son, but must i have also news of the death of a brother i loved so dearly, and see you reduced to this deplorable condition?" he told me how uneasy he was that he could hear nothing of his son, notwithstanding all the enquiry he could make. at these words, the unfortunate father burst into tears, and was so much afflicted, that pitying his grief, it was impossible for me to keep the secret any longer; so that, notwithstanding my oath to the prince my cousin, i told the sultan all that i knew. his majesty listened to me with some sort of comfort, and when i had done, "nephew," said he, "what you tell me gives me some hope. i knew that my son ordered that tomb to be built, and i can guess pretty nearly the place; and with the idea you still have of it, i fancy we shall find it: but since he ordered it to be built privately, and you took your oath to keep his secret, i am of opinion, that we ought to go in quest of it without other attendants." but he had another reason for keeping the matter secret, which he did not then tell me, and an important one it was, as you will perceive by the sequel of my story. we disguised ourselves and went out by a door of the garden which opened into the fields, and soon found what we sought for. i knew the tomb, and was the more rejoiced, because i had formerly sought it a long time in vain. we entered, and found the iron trap pulled down at the head of the staircase; we had great difficulty in raising it, because the prince had fastened it inside with the water and mortar formerly mentioned, but at last we succeeded. the sultan my uncle descended first, i followed, and we went down about fifty steps. when we came to the foot of the stairs, we found a sort of antechamber, full of thick smoke of an ill scent, which obscured the lamp, that gave a very faint light. from this antechamber we came into another, very large, supported by columns, and lighted by several branched candlesticks. there was a cistern in the middle, and provisions of several sorts stood on one side of it; but we were much surprised not to see any person. before us there appeared a high estrade, which we mounted by several steps, and upon this there was a large bed, with curtains drawn. the sultan went up, and opening the curtains, perceived the prince his son and the lady in bed together, but burnt and changed to cinder, as if they had been thrown into a fire, and taken out before they were consumed. but what surprised me most was, that though this spectacle filled me with horror, the sultan my uncle, instead of testifying his sorrow to see the prince his son in such a condition, spat on his face, and exclaimed, with a disdainful air, "this is the punishment of this world, but that of the other will last to eternity;" and not content with this, he pulled off his sandal, and gave the corpse of his son a blow on the cheek. i cannot adequately express how much i was astonished when i saw the sultan my uncle abuse his son thus after he was dead. "sir," said i, "whatever grief this dismal sight has impressed upon me, i am forced to suspend it, to enquire of your majesty what crime the prince my cousin may have committed, that his corpse should deserve such indignant treatment?" "nephew," replied the sultan, "i must tell you, that my son (who is unworthy of that name) loved his sister from his infancy, as she did him: i did not check their growing fondness, because i did not foresee its pernicious consequence. this tenderness increased as they grew in years, and to such a height, that i dreaded the end of it. at last, i applied such remedies as were in my power: i not only gave my son a severe reprimand in private, laying before him the horrible nature of the passion he entertained, and the eternal disgrace he would bring upon my family, if he persisted; but i also represented the same to my daughter, and shut her up so close that she could have no conversation with her brother. but that unfortunate creature had swallowed so much of the poison, that all the obstacles which by my prudence i could lay in the way served only to inflame her love. "my son being persuaded of his sister's constancy, on presence of building a tomb, caused this subterraneous habitation to be made, in hopes of finding one day or other an opportunity to possess himself of that objets which was the cause of his flame, and to bring her hither. he took advantage of my absence, to enter by force into the place of his sister's confinement; but this was a circumstance which my honour would not suffer me to make public. and after so damnable an action, he came and shut himself up with her in this place, which he has supplied, as you see, with all sorts of provisions, that he might enjoy detestable pleasures, which ought to be a subject of horror to all the world; but god, who would not suffer such an abomination, has justly punished them both." at these words, he melted into tears, and i joined mine with his. after a while, casting his eyes upon me, "dear nephew," cried he, embracing me, "if i have lost that unworthy son, i shall happily find in you what will better supply his place." the reflections he made on the doleful end of the prince and princess his daughter made us both weep afresh. we ascended the stairs again, and departed at last from that dismal place. we let down the trap door, and covered it with earth, and such other materials as the tomb was built of, on purpose to hide, as much as lay in our power, so terrible an effect of the wrath of god. we had not been long returned to the palace, unperceived by any one, but we heard a confused noise of trumpets, drums, and other instruments of war. we soon understood by the thick cloud of dust, which almost darkened the air, that it was the arrival of a formidable army: and it proved to be the same vizier that had dethroned my father, and usurped his place, who with a vast number of troops was come to possess himself of that also of the sultan my uncle. my uncle, who then had only his usual guards about him, could not resist so numerous an enemy; they invested the city, and the gates being opened to them without any resistance, soon became masters of it, and broke into the palace where my uncle defended himself, and sold his life at a dear rate. i fought as valiantly for a while; but seeing we were forced to submit to a superior power, i thought on my retreat, which i had the good fortune to effect by some back ways, and got to one of the sultan's servants on whose fidelity i could depend. being thus surrounded with sorrows and persecuted by fortune, i had recourse to a stratagem, which was the only means left me to save my life: i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaved, and putting on a calender's habit, i passed, unknown by any, out of the city; after that, by degrees, i found it easy to quit my uncle's kingdom, by taking the bye-roads. i avoided passing through towns, until i had reached the empire of the mighty governor of the moosulmauns, the glorious and renowned caliph haroon al rusheed, when i thought myself out of danger; and considering what i was to do, i resolved to come to bagdad, intending to throw myself at the feet of that monarch, whose generosity is renowned throughout the world. "i shall move him to compassion," said i to myself, "by the relation of my uncommon misfortunes, and without doubt he will take pity on a persecuted prince, and not suffer me to implore his assistance in vain." in short, after a journey of several months, i arrived yesterday at the gate of this city, into which i entered about the dusk of evening; and stopping a little while to consider which way i was to turn, another calender came up; he saluted me, and i him: "you appear," said i, "to be a stranger, as i am." "you are not mistaken," replied he. he had no sooner returned this answer, than a third calender overtook us. he saluted us, and told us he was a stranger newly come to bagdad; so that as brethren we joined together, resolving not to separate from one another. it was now late, and we knew not where to seek a lodging in the city, where we had never been before. but good fortune having brought us to your gate, we made bold to knock, when you received us with so much kindness, that we are incapable of rendering suitable thanks. "this, madam," said he, "is, in obedience to your commands, the account i was to give how i lost my right eye, wherefore my beard and eye-brows are shaved, and how i came to be with you at this time." "it is enough," said zobeide; "you may retire to what place you think fit." the calender begged the ladies' permission to stay till he had heard the relations of his two comrades, "whom i cannot," said he, "leave with honour;" and that he might also hear those of the three other persons in company. the story of the first calender seemed wonderful to the whole company, but especially to the caliph, who, notwithstanding the slaves stood by with their cimeters drawn, could not forbear whispering to the vizier "many stories have i heard, but never any that equalled in surprising incident that of the calender." whilst he was saying this, the second calender began, addressing himself to zobeide. the story of the second calender. madam, to obey your commands, and to shew you by what strange accident i became blind of the right eye, i must of necessity give you the account of my life. i was scarcely past my infancy, when the sultan my father (for you must know i am a prince by birth) perceived that i was endowed with good natural ability, and spared nothing proper for improving it. no sooner was i able to read and write, but i learned the koraun from beginning to end by heart, that admirable book, which contains the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and that i might be thoroughly instructed in it, i read the works of the most approved divines, by whose commentaries it had been explained. i added to this study, that of all the traditions collected from the mouth of our prophet, by the great men that were contemporary with him. i was not satisfied with the knowledge of all that had any relation to our religion, but made also a particular search into our histories. i made myself perfect in polite learning, in the works of poets, and versification. i applied myself to geography, chronology, and to speak the arabian language in its purity; not forgetting in the meantime all such exercises as were proper for a prince to understand. but one thing which i was fond of, and succeeded in, was penmanship; wherein i surpassed all the celebrated scribes of our kingdom. fame did me more honour than i deserved, for she not only spread the renown of my talents through all the dominions of the sultan my father, but carried it as far as the empire of hindoostan, whose potent monarch, desirous to see me, sent an ambassador with rich presents: my father, who rejoiced at this embassy for several reasons, was persuaded, that nothing could be more improving to a prince of my age than to travel and visit foreign courts; and he wished to gain the friendship of the indian monarch. i departed with the ambassador, but with no great retinue. when we had travelled about a month, we discovered at a distance a cloud of dust, and under that we saw very soon fifty horsemen well armed, who were robbers, advancing towards us at full speed. as we had ten horses laden with baggage, and presents to the sultan of hindoostan, from my father, and my retinue was but small, you may easily judge that these robbers came boldly up to us; and not being in a posture to make any opposition, we told them, that we were ambassadors, and hoped they would attempt nothing contrary to the respect due to such sacred characters, thinking by this means to save our equipage and our lives: but the robbers most insolently replied, "for what reason would you have us shew any respect to the sultan your master? we are none of his subjects, nor are we upon his territories:" having spoken thus, they surrounded and fell upon us: i defended myself as long as i could; but finding myself wounded, and seeing the ambassador with his attendants and mine lying on the ground, i made use of what strength was yet remaining in my horse, who was also very much wounded, and rode away as fast as he could carry me; but he shortly after, from weariness and the loss of blood, fell down dead. i cleared myself from him unhurt, and finding that i was not pursued, judged the robbers were not willing to quit the booty they had obtained. here you see me, alone, wounded, destitute of help, and in a strange country. i durst not take the high road, fearing i might fall again into the hands of these robbers. when i had bound up my wound, which was not dangerous, i walked on the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of the mountain, where i perceived a passage into a cave; i went in, and staid there that night with little satisfaction, after i had eaten some fruits that i had gathered by the way. i continued my journey for several days following, without finding any place of abode: but after a month's time, i came to a large town well inhabited, and situated so much the more advantageously, as it was surrounded by several streams, so that it enjoyed perpetual spring. the pleasant objects which then presented themselves to my view afforded me some joy, and suspended for a time the sorrow with which i was overwhelmed. my face, hands, and feet were black and sun-burnt; and, by my long journey, my boots were quite worn out, so that i was forced to walk bare-footed; and besides, my clothes were all in rags i entered the town to inform myself where i was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop; who, perceiving by my air that i was a person of more note than my outward appearance bespoke, made me sit down by him, and asked me who i was, from whence i came, and what had brought me thither? i did not conceal anything that had befallen me, nor made i any scruple to discover my quality. the tailor listened to me with attention; but after had done speaking, instead of giving me any consolation, he augmented my sorrow: "take heed," said he, "how you discover to any person what you have related to me; for the prince of this country is the greatest enemy your father has, and he will certainly do you some mischief, should he hear of your being in this city." i made no doubt of the tailor's sincerity, when he named the prince: but since that enmity which is between my father and him has no relation to my adventures, i pass it over in silence. i returned the tailor thanks for his advice, expressed himself disposed to follow his counsel, and assured him that his favours should never be forgotten. he ordered something to be brought for me to eat, and offered me at the same time a lodging in his house, which i accepted. some days after, finding me tolerably well recovered of the fatigue i had endured by a long and tedious journey, and reflecting that most princes of our religion applied themselves to some art or calling that might be serviceable to them upon occasion, he asked me, if i had learned any whereby i might get a livelihood, and not be burdensome to others? i told him that i understood the laws, both divine and human; that i was a grammarian and poet; and above all, that i could write with great perfection. "by all this," said he, "you will not be able, in this country, to purchase yourself one morsel of bread; nothing is of less use here than those sciences; but if you will be advised by me, dress yourself in a labourer's habit; and since you appear to be strong, and of a good constitution, you shall go into the next forest and cut fire-wood, which you may bring to the market to be sold; and i can assure you this employment will turn to so good an account that you may live by it, without dependence upon any man; and by this means you will be in a condition to wait for the favourable minute, when heaven shall think fit to dispel those clouds of misfortune that thwart your happiness, and oblige you to conceal your birth; i will take care to supply you with a rope and a hatchet." the fear of being known, and the necessity i was under of getting a livelihood, made me agree to this proposal, notwithstanding the meanness and hardships that attended it. the day following the tailor brought me a rope, a hatchet, and a short coat, and recommended me to some poor people who gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. they conducted me to the wood, and the first day i brought in as much upon my head as procured me half a piece of gold, of the money of that country; for though the wood was not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce, by reason that few would be at the trouble of fetching it for themselves. i gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had advanced to me. i continued this way of living for a whole year. one day, having by chance penetrated farther into the wood than usual, i happened to light on a pleasant spot, where i began to cut; and in pulling up the root of a tree, i espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap door of the same metal. i took away the earth that covered it, and having lifted it up, discovered a flight of stairs, which i descended with my axe in my hand. when i had reached the bottom, i found myself in a palace, and felt great consternation, on account of a great light which appeared as clear in it as if it had been above ground in the open air. i went forward along a gallery, supported by pillars of jasper, the base and capitals of messy gold: but seeing a lady of a noble and graceful air, extremely beautiful, coming towards me, my eyes were taken off from every other objets. being desirous to spare the lady the trouble of coming to me, i hastened to meet her; and as i was saluting her with a low obeisance, she asked me, "what are you, a man or a genie?" "a man, madam," said i; "i have no correspondence with genies." "by what adventure," said she, fetching a deep sigh, "are you come hither? i have lived here twenty-five years, and you are the first man i have beheld in that time." her great beauty, which had already smitten me, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, emboldened me to say, "madam, before i have the honour to satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to tell you, that i am infinitely gratified with this unexpected meeting, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity of making you also more happy than you are." i related to her by what strange accident she beheld me, the son of a sultan, in such a condition as i appeared in her presence; and how fortune had directed that i should discover the entrance into that magnificent prison where i had found her, according to appearance, in an unpleasant situation. "alas! prince," said she, sighing once more, "you have just cause to believe this rich and pompous prison cannot be otherwise than a most wearisome abode: the most charming place in the world being no way delightful when we are detained there contrary to our will. it is not possible but you have heard of the sultan of the isle of ebene, so called from that precious wood which it produces in abundance; i am the princess his daughter. "the sultan, my father, had chosen for me a husband, a prince who was my cousin; but on my wedding-night, in the midst of the rejoicings of the court and capital, before i was conducted to my husband, a genie took me away. i fainted with alarm, and when i recovered, found myself in this place. i was long inconsolable, but time and necessity have accustomed me to see and receive the genie. twenty-five years i have continued in this place, where, i must confess, i have all that i can wish for necessary to life, and also every thing that can satisfy a princess fond of dress and splendour. "every ten days," continued the princess, "the genie comes hither, and remains with me one night, which he never exceeds; and the excuse he makes for it is, that he is married to another wife, who would grow jealous if she should know his infidelity. meanwhile, if i have occasion for him by day or night, as soon as i touch a talisman, which is at the entrance into my chamber, the genie appears. it is now the fourth day since he was here, and i do not expect him before the end of six more; so, if you please, you may stay five days, and i will endeavour to entertain you according to your quality and merit." i thought myself too fortunate, to have obtained so great a favour without asking, to refuse so obliging an offer. the princess made me go into a bath, the most commodious, and the most sumptuous imaginable; and when i came forth, instead of my own clothes i found another very costly suit, which i did not esteem so much for its richness, as because it made me appear worthy to be in her company. we sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions of the rarest indian brocade; and some time after she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. we ate, and passed the remaining part of the day with much satisfaction, as also the evening, together. the next day, as she contrived every means to please me, she brought in, at dinner, a bottle of old wine, the most excellent that ever was tasted, and out of complaisance drank some part of it with me. when my head grew warm with the agreeable liquor, "fair princess," said i, "you have been too long thus buried alive; follow me, enjoy the real day, of which you have been deprived so many years, and abandon this artificial though brilliant glare." "prince," replied she, with a smile, "leave this discourse; if you out of ten days will grant me nine, and resign the last to the genie, the fairest day would be nothing in my esteem." "princess," said i, "it is the fear of the genie that makes you speak thus; for my part, i value him so little, that i will break in pieces his talisman, with the conjuration that is written about it. let him come, i will expect him; and how brave or redoubtable soever he be, i will make him feel the weight of my arm: i swear solemnly that i will extirpate all the genies in the world, and him first." the princess, who knew the consequence, conjured me not to touch the talisman. "for that would be the means," said she, "of ruining both you and me; i know what belongs to genies better than you." the fumes of the wine did not suffer me to hearken to her reasons; but i gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in several pieces. the talisman was no sooner broken than the palace began to shake, and seemed ready to fall, with a hideous noise like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning, and alternate darkness. this terrible noise in a moment dispelled the fumes of my wine, and made me sensible, but too late, of the folly i had committed. "princess," cried i, "what means all this?" she answered, without any concern for her own misfortune, "alas! you are undone, if you do not fly immediately." i followed her advice, but my fears were so great, that i forgot my hatchet and cords. i had scarcely reached the stairs by which i had descended, when the enchanted palace opened at once, and made a passage for the genie: he asked the princess in great anger, "what has happened to you, and why did you call me?" "a violent spasm," said the princess, "made me fetch this bottle which you see here, out of which i drank twice or thrice, and by mischance made a false step, and fell upon the talisman, which is broken, and that is all." at this answer, the furious genie told her, "you are a false woman, and speak not the truth; how came that axe and those cords there?" "i never saw them till this moment," said the princess. "your coming in such an impetuous manner has, it may be, forced them up in some place as you came along, and so brought them hither without your knowing it." the genie made no other answer but what was accompanied with reproaches and blows, of which i heard the noise. i could not endure to hear the pitiful cries of the princess so cruelly abused. i had already taken off the suit she had presented to me, and put on my own, which i had laid on the stairs the day before, when i came out of the bagnio: i made haste upstairs, the more distracted with sorrow and compassion, as i had been the cause of so great a misfortune; and by sacrificing the fairest princess on earth to the barbarity of a merciless genie, i was becoming the most criminal and ungrateful of mankind. "it is true," said i, "she has been a prisoner these twenty-five years; but, liberty excepted she wanted nothing that could make her happy. my folly has put an end to her happiness, and brought upon her the cruelty of an unmerciful devil." i let down the trap-door, covered it again with earth, and returned to the city with a burden of wood, which i bound up without knowing what i did, so great was my trouble and sorrow. my landlord, the tailor, was very much rejoiced to see me: "your absence," said he, "has disquieted me much, as you had entrusted me with the secret of your birth, and i knew not what to think; i was afraid somebody had discovered you; god be praised for your return." i thanked him for his zeal and affection, but not a word durst i say of what had passed, nor of the reason why i came back without my hatchet and cords. i retired to my chamber, where i reproached myself a thousand times for my excessive imprudence: "nothing," said i, "could have paralleled the princess's good fortune and mine, had i forborne to break the talisman." while i was thus giving myself over to melancholy thoughts, the tailor came in and said, "an old man, whom i do not know, brings your hatchet and cords, which he found in his way as he tells me, and says he understood from your comrades that you lodge here; come out and speak to him, for he will deliver them to none but yourself." at these words i changed colour, and fell a trembling. while the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber-door opened, and the old man, having no patience to stay, appeared to us with my hatchet and cords. this was the genie, the ravisher of the fair princess of the isle of ebene, who had thus disguised himself, after he had treated her with the utmost barbarity. "i am a genie," said he, speaking to me, "son of the daughter of eblis, prince of genies: is not this your hatchet, and are not these your cords?" after the genie had put the question to me, he gave me no time to answer, nor was it in my power, so much had his terrible aspect disordered me. he grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and mounting into the air, carried me up to the skies with such swiftness, that i was not able to take notice of the way he conveyed me. he descended again in like manner to the earth, which on a sudden he caused to open with a stroke of his foot, and sunk down at once, when i found myself in the enchanted palace, before the fair princess of the isle of ebene. but, alas! what a spectacle was there! i saw what pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was quite naked, weltering in her blood, and laid upon the ground, more like one dead than alive, with her cheeks bathed in tears. "perfidious wretch!" said the genie to her, pointing at me, "is not this your gallant?" she cast her languishing eyes upon me, and answered mournfully, "i do not know him, i never saw him till this moment." "what!" said the genie, "he is the cause of thy being in the condition thou art justly in; and yet darest thou say thou cost not know him?" "if i do not know him," said the princess, "would you have me lie on purpose to ruin him?" "oh then," said the genie, pulling out a cimeter and presenting it to the princess, "if you never saw him before, take this, and cut off his head." "alas," replied the princess, "how is it possible that i should execute such an act? my strength is so far spent that i cannot lift up my arm; and if i could, how should i have the heart to take away the life of an innocent man, and one whom i do not know?" "this refusal," said the genie to the princess, "sufficiently informs me of your crime." upon which, turning to me, "and thou," said he, "dost thou not know her?" i should have been the most ungrateful wretch, and the most perfidious of all mankind, if i had not strewn myself as faithful to the princess as she had been to me, who had been the cause of her misfortunes. i therefore answered the genie, "how should i know her, when i never saw her till now?" "if it be so," said he, "take the cimeter and cut off her head: on this condition i will set thee at liberty, for then i shall be convinced that thou hast never seen her till this moment, as thou gayest." "with all my heart," replied i, and took the cimeter in my hand. do not think, madam, that i drew near to the fair princess of the isle of ebene to be the executioner of the genie's barbarity. i did it only to demonstrate by my behaviour, as much as possible, that as she had strewn her resolution to sacrifice her life for my sake, i would not refuse to sacrifice mine for hers. the princess, notwithstanding her pain and suffering, understood my meaning; which she signified by an obliging look, and made me understand her willingness to die for me; and that she was satisfied to see how ready i was also to die for her. upon this i stepped back, and threw the cimeter on the ground. "i should for ever," said i to the genie, "be hateful to all mankind were i to be so base as to murder, not only a person whom i do not know, but a lady like this, who is already on the point of expiring: do with me what you please, since i am in your power; i cannot obey your barbarous commands." "i see," said the genie, "that you both out-brave me, and insult my jealousy; but both of you shall know by my treatment of you of what i am capable." at these words the monster took up the cimeter and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other that she bade me for ever adieu. for the blood she had lost before, and that which gushed out then, did not permit her to live above one or two moments after this barbarous cruelty; the sight of which threw me into a fit. when i was come to myself again, i expostulated with the genie, why he made me languish in expectation of death: "strike," cried i, "for i am ready to receive the mortal blow, and expect it as the greatest favour you can show me." but instead of agreeing to that, "behold," said he, "how genies treat their wives whom they suspect of unfaithfulness; she has received thee here, and were i certain that she had put any further affront upon me, i would put thee to death this minute: but i will content myself with transforming thee into a dog, ape, lion, or bird; take thy choice of any of these, i will leave it to thyself." these words gave me some hopes of being able to appease him: "o genie," said i, "moderate your passion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously. i shall always remember your clemency, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world pardoned one of his neighbours that bore him a mortal hatred." the genie asked me what had passed between those two neighbours, and said, he would have patience till he heard the story, which i related to him; and i believe, madam, you will not be displeased if i now repeat it. the story of the envious man, and of him that he envied. in a considerable town two persons dwelt in adjoining houses. one of them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that the hated party resolved to remove to a distance, being persuaded that their being neighbours was the only cause of this animosity; for though he had done him several pieces of service, he found that his hatred was not diminished; he therefore sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the capital city of a kingdom which was not far distant. here he bought a little spot of ground, which lay about half a league from the city; where he had a convenient house, with a garden, and a pretty spacious court, wherein there was a deep well, which was not in use. the honest man having made this purchase put on a dervise's habit, intending to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in the house, where in a short time he established a numerous society of dervises. he soon came to be publicly known by his virtue, through which he acquired the esteem of many people, as well of the commonalty as of the chief of the city. in short, he was much honoured and courted by all ranks. people came from afar to recommend themselves to his prayers; and all who visited him, published what blessings they received through his means. the great reputation of this honest man having spread to the town from whence he had come, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he left his house and affairs with a resolution to ruin him. with this intent he went to the new convent of dervises, of which his former neighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of friendship. the envious man told him that he was come on purpose to communicate a business of importance, which he could not do but in private; and "that nobody may hear us, let us," said he, "take a walk in your court; and seeing night begins to draw on, command your dervises to retire to their cells." the chief of the dervises did as he was required. when the envious man saw that he was alone with this good man, he began to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court, till he saw his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well, he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without being seen by any one. having done thus, he returned, got out at the gate of the convent without being known, and reached his own house well satisfied with his journey, being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no more; but he found himself mistaken. this old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt. he perceived that there was something extraordinary in his fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; but he neither saw nor felt anything. he soon heard a voice, however, which said, "do you know what honest man this is, to whom we have done this piece of service?" another voice answered, "no." to which the first replied, "then i will tell you. this man out of charity, the purest ever known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had conceived against him; he had acquired such a general esteem, that the envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him; and he would have accomplished his design, had it not been for the assistance we have given this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan, who keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit to-morrow, to recommend the princess his daughter to his prayers." another voice asked, "what need had the princess of the dervise's prayers?" to which the first answered, "you do not know, it seems, that she is possessed by genie maimoun, the son of dimdim, who is fallen in love with her. but i well know how this good head of the dervises may cure her; the thing is very easy, and i will explain it to you. he has a black cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the bigness of a small piece of arabian money; let him only pull seven hairs out of the white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with the fume, she will not only be immediately cured, but be so safely delivered from maimoun, the son of dimdim, that he will never dare to approach her again." the head of the dervises remembered every word of the conversation between the fairies and the genies, who remained silent the remainder of the night. the next morning, as soon as daylight appeared, and he could discern the nature of his situation, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole, by which he crept out with ease. the other dervises, who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see him; he gave them a brief account of the wickedness of the man to whom he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired into his cell. shortly after the black cat, which the fairies and the genies had mentioned the night before, came to fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do; he took her up, and pulled seven hairs from the white spot that was upon her tail, and laid them aside for his use when occasion should serve. soon after sunrise the sultan, who would leave no means untried that he thought likely to restore the princess to perfect health, arrived at the gate of the convent. he commanded his guards to halt, whilst he with his principal officers went in. the dervises received him with profound respect. the sultan called their chief aside, and said, "good sheik, you may probably be already acquainted with the cause of my visit." "yes, sir," replied he gravely, "if i do not mistake, it is the disease of the princess which procures me this unmerited honour." "that is the real case," replied the sultan. "you will give me new life if your prayers, as i hope they may, restore my daughter's health." "sir," said the good man, "if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, i am in hopes, through god's assistance and favour, that she will be effectually cured." the prince, transported with joy, sent immediately for his daughter, who soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and eunuchs, but veiled, so that her face was not seen. the chief of the dervises caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner thrown the seven hairs upon the burning coals, than the genie maimoun, the son of dimdim, uttered a great cry, and without being seen, left the princess at liberty; upon which, she took the veil from her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, "where am i, and who brought me hither?" at these words the sultan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also kissed the chief of the dervises' hands, and said to his officers, "what reward does he deserve that has thus cured my daughter?" they all cried, "he deserves her in marriage." "that is what i had in my thoughts," said the sultan; "and i make him my son-in-law from this moment." some time after the prime vizier died, and the sultan conferred the place on the dervise. the sultan himself also died without heirs male; upon which the religious orders and the militia consulted together, and the good man was declared and acknowledged sultan by general consent. the honest dervise, having ascended the throne of his father-in-law, as he was one day in the midst of his courtiers on a march, espied the envious man among the crowd that stood as he passed along, and calling one of the viziers that attended him, whispered him in his ear, "go, bring me that man you see there; but take care you do not frighten him." the vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his presence, the sultan said, "friend, i am extremely glad to see you." upon which he called an officer, "go immediately," said he, "and cause to be paid to this man out of my treasury, one hundred pieces of gold: let him have also twenty loads of the richest merchandize in my storehouses, and a sufficient guard to conduit him to his house." after he had given this charge to the officer, he bade the envious man farewell, and proceeded on his march. when i had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the murderer of the princess of the isle of ebene, i made an application of it to himself: "o genie!" said i, "this bountiful sultan was not satisfied with merely overlooking the design of the envious man to take away his life, but also treated him kindly, and sent him back loaded with the favours i have enumerated." in short, i employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so good an example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible to move his compassion. "all that i can do for thee," said he, "is, to grant thee thy life; but do not flatter thyself that i will allow thee to return safe and well; i must let thee feel what i am able to do by my enchantments." so saying, he seized me violently, and carried me through the arched roof of the subterraneous palace, which opened to give him passage; he ascended with me into the air to such a height, that the earth appeared like a little white cloud; he then descended again like lightning, and alighted upon the summit of a mountain. here he took up a handful of earth, and pronouncing, or rather muttering, some words which i did not understand, threw it upon me. "quit," said he, "the form of a man, and take that of an ape." he instantly disappeared, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, and overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, not knowing whether i was near or far from my father's dominions. i descended the mountain, and entered a plain level country, which took me a month to travel over, and then i came to the sea-side. it happened at the time to be perfectly calm, and i espied a vessel about half a league from the shore: unwilling to lose so good an opportunity, i broke off a large branch from a tree, carried it into the sea, and placed myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars. i launched out in this posture, and rowed towards the ship. when i had approached sufficiently near to be seen, i exhibited to the seamen and passengers on the deck an extraordinary spectacle, and all of them regarded me with astonishment. in the meantime i got on board, and laying hold of a rope, jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech i found myself in great perplexity: and indeed the risk i ran was not less than when i was at the mercy of the genie. the merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, thought if they received me on board i should be the occasion of some misfortune to them during their voyage. on this account one of them said, "i will destroy him with a blow of this handspike;" another, "i will shoot an arrow through his body;" and a third, "let us throw him into the sea." some one of them would not have failed to carry his threat into execution had i not gone to the captain, thrown myself at his feet, and taken hold of his skirt in a supplicating posture. this action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion. he took me under his protection, threatened to be revenged on any one that would do me the least hurt, and loaded me with a thousand caresses. on my part, though i had not power to speak, i showed by my gestures every mark of gratitude in my power. the wind that succeeded the calm was not strong, but favourable; it continued to blow in the same direction for fifty days, and brought us safe to the port of a city, well peopled, and of great trade, the capital of a powerful state, where we came to anchor. our vessel was instantly surrounded with an infinite number of boats full of people, who came to congratulate their friends on their safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in the country from whence they had come, or out of curiosity to see a ship that had performed so long a voyage. amongst the rest, some officers came on board, desiring in the name of the sultan to speak with the merchants. the merchants appearing, one of the officers told them, "the sultan our master hath commanded us to acquaint you, that he rejoices in your safe arrival, and beseeches each of you to take the trouble to write a few lines upon this roll. that you may understand the design of this request, you must know that we had a prime vizier, who besides possessing great abilities for the management of public affairs could write in the highest perfection. this minister a few days since died. the event has greatly affected the sultan; and since he can never behold his writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow, not to give the place to any one who cannot write equally well. many have presented specimens of their skill; but to this day, no one in the empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place." those of the merchants who thought they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity, wrote one after another what they thought fit. after they had done, i advanced, and took the roll out of the gentleman's hand; but all the people, especially the merchants, cried out, that i would tear it, or throw it into the sea, till they saw how properly i held the roll, and made a sign that i would write in my turn: their apprehensions then changed into wonder. however, as they had never seen an ape that could write, and could not be persuaded that i was more ingenious than others of my kind, they wished to take the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. "let him alone," said he, "allow him to write. if he only scribbles the paper, i promise you that i will immediately punish him. if, on the contrary, he writes well, as i hope he will, because i never saw an ape so clever and ingenious, and so quick of apprehension, i declare that i will adopt him as my son." perceiving that no one opposed my design, i took the pen, and wrote six sorts of hands used among the arabians, and each specimen contained an extemporary distich or quatrain in praise of the sultan. my writing not only excelled that of the merchants, but was such as they had not before seen in that country. when i had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan. the sultan took little notice of any of the writings, except mine, which pleased him so much that he said to the officers, "take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest trappings, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade to put on the person who wrote the six hands, and bring him thither." at this command the officers could not forbear laughing. the sultan was incensed at their rudeness, and would have punished them had they not explained: "sir," said they, "we humbly beg your majesty's pardon: these hands were not written by a man, but by an ape." "what do you say?" exclaimed the sultan. "those admirable characters, are they not written by the hands of a man?" "no, sir," replied the officers; "we assure your majesty that it was an ape, who wrote them in our presence." the sultan was too much surprised at this account not to desire a sight of me, and therefore said, "do what i command you, and bring me speedily that wonderful ape." the officers returned to the vessel and shewed the captain their order, who answered, "the sultan's command must be obeyed." whereupon they clothed me with the rich brocade robe, and carried me ashore, where they set me on horseback, whilst the sultan waited for me at his palace with a great number of courtiers, whom he gathered together to do me the more honour. the procession commenced; the harbour, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses, were filled with an infinite number of people of all ranks, who flocked from every part of the city to see me; for the rumour was spread in a moment, that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier, and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, i arrived at the sultan's palace. i found the prince on his throne in the midst of the grandees; i made my obeisance three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterwards took my seat in the posture of an ape. the whole assembly viewed me with admiration, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should so well understand how to pay the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any. in short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete, could i have added speech to my behaviour; but apes never speak, and the advantage i had of having been a man did not now yield me that privilege. the sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but the chief of the eunuchs, a little young slave, and myself. he went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. as he sat at table he made me a sign to approach and eat with them: to shew my obedience i kissed the ground, arose, and placed myself at the table, and ate with discretion and moderation. before the table was cleared, i espied a standish, which i made a sign to have brought me; having got it, i wrote upon a large peach some verses expressive of my acknowledgment to the sultan; who having read them after i had presented the peach to him, was still more astonished. when the things were removed, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a glass. i drank, and wrote upon the glass some new verses, which explained the state i was reduced to, after many sufferings. the sultan read these likewise, and said, "a man that was capable of doing so much would be above the greatest of his species." the sultan caused to be brought to him a chessboard, and asked me by a sign if i understood that game, and would play with him? i kissed the ground, and laying my hand upon my head, signified that i was ready to receive that honour. he won the first game, but i won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at my success, i made a quatrain to satisfy him; in which i told him that two potent armies had been fighting furiously all day, but that they concluded a peace towards the evening, and passed the remaining part of the night very amicably together upon the field of battle. so many circumstances appearing to the sultan beyond whatever had either been seen or known of the cleverness or sense of apes, he determined not to be the only witness of these prodigies himself, but having a daughter, called the lady of beauty, on whom the chief of the eunuchs, then present, waited; "go," said the sultan to him, "and bid your lady come hither: i am desirous she should share my pleasure." the eunuch went, and immediately brought the princess, who had her face uncovered; but she had no sooner come into the room, than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, "sir, your majesty must needs have forgotten yourself; i am surprised that your majesty has sent for me to appear among men." "how, daughter!" said the sultan, "you do not know what you say: there is no one here, but the little slave, the eunuch your governor, and myself, who have the liberty to see your face; and yet you lower your veil, and blame me for having sent for you." "sir," said the princess, "your majesty shall soon understand that i am not in the wrong. that seeming ape is a young prince, son of a powerful sultan, and has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. a genie, son of the daughter of eblis, has maliciously done him this wrong, after having cruelly taken away the life of the princess of the isle of ebene." the sultan, astonished at this declaration, turned towards me, and speaking no more by signs, but in plain words, asked me, if what his daughter said was true? finding i could not speak, i put my hand to my head' to signify that what the princess spoke was correct. upon this the sultan said again to his daughter, "how do you know that this prince has been transformed by enchantments into an ape?" "sir," replied the lady of beauty, "your majesty may remember that when i was past my infancy i had an old lady who waited on me; she was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic, by virtue of which i can, in the twinkling of an eye, transport your capital into the midst of the sea, or beyond mount caucasus. by this science i know all enchanted persons at first sight: i know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted; therefore do not be surprised if i should forthwith relieve this prince, in spite of the enchantments, from that which prevents his appearing in your sight in his natural form." "daughter," said the sultan, "i did not believe you to have understood so much." "sir," replied the princess, "these things are curious and worth knowing; but i think i ought not to boast of them." "since it is so," said the sultan, "you can dispel the prince's enchantment." "yes, sir," said the princess, "i can restore him to his original shape." "do it then," said the sultan, "you cannot do me a greater pleasure; for i will have him to be my vizier, and he shall marry you." "sir," said the princess, "i am ready to obey you in all that you should be pleased to command me." the princess, the lady of beauty, went into her apartment, and brought thence a knife, which had some hebrew words engraven on the blade: she made the sultan, the master of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself, descend into a private court of the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. she placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in arabian characters, some of them ancient. when she had finished and prepared the circle as she thought fit, she placed herself in the centre of it, where she began incantations, and repeated verses of the koraun. the air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night, and the whole world were about to be dissolved: we found ourselves struck with consternation, and our fear increased when we saw the genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, appear suddenly in the shape of a lion of a gigantic size. as soon as the princess perceived this monster, "dog," said she, "instead of creeping before me, dare you present yourself in this shape, thinking to frighten me?" "and thou," replied the lion, "art thou not afraid to break the treaty which was solemnly made and confirmed between us by oath, not to wrong or do one another any injury?" "wretch," replied the princess, "i justly may reproach thee with having done so." the lion answered fiercely, "thou shalt quickly have thy reward for the trouble thou hast given me:" with that he opened his monstrous jaws, and sprang forward to devour her; but she, being on her guard, stepped back, got time to pull out one of her hairs, and by pronouncing three or four words, changed it into a sharp sword, with which she cut the lion in two through the middle. the two parts of the lion disappeared, while the head changed into a large scorpion. immediately the princess turned herself into a serpent, and fought the scorpion, who, finding himself worsted, took the shape of an eagle, and flew away: but the serpent at the same time took also the shape of an eagle, that was black and much stronger, and pursued him, so that we lost sight of them both. some time after they had disappeared, the ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a black and white cat, with her hair standing on end, and mewing in a frightful manner; a black wolf followed close after her, and gave her no time to rest. the cat, being thus hard pressed, changed into a worm, and being near a pomegranate accidentally fallen from a tree on the side of a canal which was deep, but not broad, pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself, but the pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, mounting up to the roof of the gallery, rolled there for some time backward and forward; it then fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces. the wolf had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a cock, and now fell to picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another; but finding no more, he came towards us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there were any more seed. there was one lying on the brink of the canal, which the cock perceiving as he went back, ran speedily thither; but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the river, and turned into a little fish. the cock leaped into the river, turned into a pike, and pursued the small fish; they continued both under water above two hours, and we knew not what was become of them, but suddenly we heard terrible cries, which made us tremble, and a little while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. they threw flashes of fire out of their mouths at each other, till they came to close combat; then the two fires increased, with a thick burning smoke which mounted so high that we had reason to apprehend it would set the palace on fire. but we very soon had a more pressing occasion of fear, for the genie having got loose from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew flames of fire upon us. we must all have perished had not the princess, running to our assistance, forced him to retire, and defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all her exertions, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being burnt, and his face scorched, the chief of the eunuchs from being stifled, and a spark from entering my right eye, and making it blind. the sultan and i expected but death, when we heard a cry of "victory! victory!" and instantly the princess appeared in her natural shape, but the genie was reduced to a heap of ashes. the princess approached us, and hastily called for a cup-full of water, which the young slave, who had received no hurt, brought her. she took it, and after pronouncing some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, "if thou art become an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man which thou hadst before." these words were hardly uttered, when i again became a man, in every respect as i was before my transformation, excepting the loss of my eye. i was prepared to return the princess my thanks, but she prevented me by addressing herself to her father: "sir, i have gained the victory over the genie, as your majesty may see; but it is a victory that costs me dear; i have but a few minutes to live, and you will not have the satisfaction to make the match you intended; the fire has pierced me during the terrible combat, and i find it is gradually consuming me. this would not have happened, had i perceived the last of the pomegranate seeds, and swallowed it, as i did the others when i was changed into a cock: the genie had fled thither as to his last intrenchment, and upon that the success of the combat depended, which would have been successful, and without danger to me. this oversight obliged me to have recourse to fire, and to fight with those mighty arms as i did, between heaven and earth, in your presence; for, in spite of all his redoubtable art and experience, i made the genie know that i understood more than he; i have conquered and reduced him to ashes, but i cannot escape death, which is approaching." the sultan suffered the princess, the lady of beauty, to go on with the recital of her combat, and when she had done, addressed her in a tone that sufficiently testified his grief; "my daughter," said he, "you see in what condition your father is; alas! i wonder that i am yet alive! your governor, the eunuch, is dead, and the prince whom you have delivered from his enchantment has lost one of his eyes." he could say no more, for his tears, sighs, and sobs, deprived him of the power of utterance. suddenly the princess exclaimed, "i burn! i burn!" she found that the fire had at last seized upon her vital parts, which made her still cry "i burn!" until death had put an end to her intolerable pains. the effect of that fire was so extraordinary, that in a few moments she was wholly reduced to ashes, as the genie had been. i cannot tell you, madam, how much i was grieved at so dismal a spectacle; i had rather all my life have continued an ape or a dog, than to have seen my benefactress thus miserably perish. the sultan being afflicted all that can be imagined, cried piteously, and beat himself on his head and breast, until being quite overcome with grief, he fainted away, which made me fear for his life. in the mean time, the eunuchs and officers came running at the sultan's lamentations, and with much difficulty brought him to himself. it was not necessary that the prince or myself should relate the circumstances of the adventure, to convince them of the affliction it had occasioned us. the two heaps of ashes, to which the princess and the genie had been reduced, were a sufficient demonstration. the sultan was hardly able to stand, but was under the necessity of being supported to his apartment. when the knowledge of this tragical event had spread through the palace and the city, all the people bewailed the misfortune of the princess, the lady of beauty, and commiserated the sultan's affliction. public mourning was observed for seven days, and many ceremonies were performed. the ashes of the genie were thrown into the air, but those of the princess were collected into a precious urn, to be preserved, and the urn was deposited in a superb mausoleum, constructed for that purpose on the spot where the princess had been consumed. the grief of the sultan for the loss of his daughter confined him to his chamber for a whole month. before he had fully recovered his strength he sent for me: "prince," said he, "attend to the commands i now give you; your life must answer if you do not carry them into execution." i assured him of exalt obedience; upon which he went on thus: "i have constantly lived in perfect felicity, but by your arrival all the happiness i possessed has vanished; my daughter is dead, her governor is no more, and it is only through a miracle that i am myself yet alive you are the cause of all these misfortunes, under which it is impossible that i should be comforted; depart hence therefore in peace, without farther delay, for i must myself perish if you remain any longer. i am persuaded that your presence brings misfortune with it. depart, and take care never to appear again in my dominions. no consideration whatever shall hinder me from making you repent your temerity should you violate my injunction." i was going to speak, but he prevented me by words full of anger; and i was obliged to quit the palace, rejected, banished, an outcast from the world. before i left the city i went into a bagnio, here i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and put on a calender's habit. i began my journey, not so much deploring my own miseries, as the death of the two fair princesses, of which i have been the occasion. i passed through many countries without making myself known; at last i resolved to come to bagdad, in hopes of getting myself introduced to the commander of the faithful, to move his compassion by relating to him my unfortunate adventures. i arrived this evening, and the first man i met was this calender, our brother, who spoke before me. you know the remaining part, madam, and the cause of my having the honour to be here. when the second calender had concluded his story, zobeide, to whom he had addressed his speech, said, "it is well, you are at liberty." but instead of departing, he also petitioned the lady to shew him the same favour vouchsafed to the first calender, and went and sat down by him. the history of the third calender. my story, most honourable lady, very much differs from what you have already heard. the two princes who have spoken before me have each lost an eye by the pure effects of their destiny, but mine i lost through my own fault, and by hastening to seek my own misfortune, as you shall hear by the sequel of the story. my name is agib, and i am the son of a sultan who was called cassib. after his death i took possession of his dominions, and continued in the city where he had resided. it is situated on the sea-coast, has one of the finest and safest harbours in the world, an arsenal capable of fitting out for sea one hundred and fifty men of war, besides merchantmen and light vessels. my kingdom is composed of several fine provinces upon the main land, besides a number of valuable islands, which lie almost in sight of my capital. my first object was to visit the provinces: i afterwards caused my whole fleet to be fitted out, and went to my islands to gain the hearts of my subjects by my presence, and to confirm them in their loyalty. these voyages gave me some taste for navigation, in which i took so much pleasure, that i resolved to make some discoveries beyond my own territories; to which end i caused ten ships to be fitted out, embarked, and set sail. our voyage was very pleasant for forty days successively, but on the forty-first night the wind became contrary, and withal so boisterous that we were near being lost: about break of day the storm abated, the clouds dispersed, and the weather became fair. we reached an island, where we remained two days to take in fresh provisions; and then put off again to sea. after ten days' sail we were in hopes of seeing land, for the tempests we had experienced had so much abated my curiosity, that i gave orders to steer back to my own coast; but i perceived at the same time that my pilot knew not where we were. upon the tenth day, a seaman being sent to look out for land from the mast head, gave notice that on starboard and larboard he could see nothing but sky and sea, but that right a-head he perceived a great blackness. the pilot changed colour at this account, and throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other, cried, "oh, sir, we are all lost; not one of us can escape; and with all my skill it is not in my power to effect our deliverance." having spoken thus, he lamented like a man who foresaw unavoidable ruin; his despondence threw the whole ship's crew into consternation. i asked him what reason he had thus to despair? he exclaimed, "the tempest has brought us so far out of our course, that to-morrow about noon we shall be near the black mountain, or mine of adamant, which at this very minute draws all your fleet towards it, by virtue of the iron in your ships; and when we approach within a certain distance, the attraction of the adamant will have such force, that all the nails will be drawn out of the sides and bottoms of the ships, and fasten to the mountain, so that your vessels will fall to pieces and sink. "this mountain," continued the pilot, "is inaccessible. on the summit there is a dome of fine brass, supported by pillars of the same metal, and on the top of that dome stands a horse, likewise of brass, with a rider on his back, who has a plate or lead fixed to his breast, upon which some talismanic characters are engraver. sir, the tradition is, that this statue is the chief cause why so many ships and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever continue to be fatal to all those who have the misfortune to approach, until it shall be thrown down." the pilot having finished his discourse, began to weep afresh, and all the rest of the ship's company did the same. i had no other thought but that my days were there to terminate. in the mean time every one began to provide for his own safety, and to that end took all imaginable precaution; and being uncertain of the event, they all made one another their heirs, by virtue of a will, for the benefit of those that should happen to be saved. the next morning we distinctly perceived the black mountain. about noon we were so near, that we found what the pilot had foretold to be true; for all the nails and iron in the ships flew towards the mountain, where they fixed, by the violence of the attraction, with a horrible noise; the ships split asunder, and their cargoes sunk into the sea. all my people were drowned, but god had mercy on me, and permitted me to save myself by means of a plank, which the wind drove ashore just at the foot of the mountain. i did not receive the least hurt, and my good fortune brought me to a landing place, where there were steps that led up to the summit of the mountain. at the sight of these steps, for there was not a space of ground either on the right or left whereon a man could set his foot, i gave thanks to god; and recommended myself to his holy protection, as i began to ascend the steps, which were so narrow, that had the wind raged it would have thrown me into the sea. but, at last, i reached the top, without accident. i went into the dome, and kneeling on the ground, gave god thanks for his mercies. i passed the night under the dome. in my sleep an old grave man appeared to me, and said, "hearken, agib; as soon as thou art awake dig up the ground under thy feet: thou wilt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain constellations, to deliver mankind from the many calamities that threaten them. shoot the three arrows at the statue, and the rider will fall into the sea, but the horse will fall by thy side; thou must bury it in the place where thou findest the bow and arrows: this being done, the sea will swell and rise to the foot of the dome. when it has come so high, thou wilt perceive a boat with one man holding an oar in each hand; this man is also of metal, but different from that thou hast thrown down; step on board, but without mentioning the name of god, and let him conduct thee. he will in ten days' time bring thee into another sea, where thou shalt find an opportunity to return to thy country, provided, as i have told thee, thou dost not mention the name of god during the whole voyage." this was the substance of the old man's discourse. when i awoke i felt much comforted by the vision, and did not fail to observe everything that he had commanded me. i took the bow and arrows out of the ground, shot at the horseman, and with the third arrow i overthrew him; he fell into the sea, and the horse fell by my side; i buried it in the place whence i took the bow and arrows. in the mean time, the sea swelled and rose up by degrees. when it came as high as the foot of the dome upon the top of the mountain, i saw, afar off, a boat rowing towards me, and i returned god thanks that everything succeeded according to my dream. at last the boat made land, and i perceived the man was made of metal, as i had dreamt. i stept aboard, and took great heed not to pronounce the name of god, neither spoke i one word. i sat down, and the man of metal began to row off from the mountain. he rowed without ceasing till the ninth day, when i saw some islands, which gave me hopes that i should escape all the danger that i feared. the excess of my joy made me forget what i was forbidden: "blessed be god," said i; "god be praised." i had no sooner spoken these words, than the boat sunk with the man of metal, leaving me upon the surface. i swam the remaining part of the day towards that land which appeared nearest. a very dark night succeeded, and not knowing where i was, i swam at random. my strength at last began to fail, and i despaired of being able to save myself, but the wind began to blow hard, and a wave vast as a mountain threw me on a flat, where it left me, and retreated. i made haste ashore, fearing another wave might wash me back. the first thing i did was to strip, wring the water out of my clothes, and lay them on the dry sand, which was still warm from the heat of the day. next morning the sun dried my clothes; i put them on, and went forward to discover what sort of country i was in. i had not walked far before i found i was upon a desert, though a very pleasant, island, as it displayed several sorts of trees and wild shrubs bearing fruit; but i perceived it was far from the continent, which much diminished the joy i felt at having escaped the danger of the seas. nevertheless, i recommended myself to god and prayed him to dispose of me according to his will. immediately after, i saw a vessel coming from the main land, before the wind, directly towards the island. i doubted not but they were coming to anchor there; and being uncertain what sort of people they might be, whether friends or foes, i thought it not safe to be seen. i got up into a very thick tree, from whence i might safely view them. the vessel came into a little creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying a spade and other instruments for digging up the ground. they went towards the middle of the island, where i saw them stop, and dig for a considerable time, after which i thought i perceived them lift up a trap door. they returned again to the vessel, and unloaded several sorts of provisions and furniture, which they carried to the place where they had been digging: they then descended, which made me suppose it led to a subterraneous dwelling. i saw them once more go to the ship, and return soon after with an old man, who led in his hand a handsome lad of about fourteen or fifteen years of age. they all descended when the trap door had been opened. after they had again come up, they let down the trap door, covered it over with earth, and returned to the creek where the ship lay, but i saw not the young man in their company. this made me believe that he had staid behind in the subterraneous place, a circumstance which exceedingly surprised me. the old man and the slaves went on board, and getting the vessel under weigh, steered their course towards the main land. when i perceived they had proceeded to such a distance that i could not be seen by them, i came down from the tree, and went directly to the place where i had seen the ground broken. i removed the earth by degrees, till i came to a stone that was two or three feet square. i lifted it up, and found that it covered the head of a flight of stairs, which were also of stone. i descended, and at the bottom found myself in a large room, furnished with a carpet, a couch covered with tapestry, and cushions of rich stuff, upon which the young man sat, with a fan in his hand. these things, together with fruits and flower-pot standing about him, i saw by the light of two wax tapers. the young man, when he perceived me was considerably alarmed; but to quiet his apprehensions, i said to him as i entered, "whoever you are, sir, do not fear; a sultan, and the son of a sultan, as i am, is not capable of doing you any injury: on the contrary, it is probable that your good destiny may have brought me hither to deliver you out of this tomb, where it seems you have been buried alive, for reasons to me unknown. but what surprises me (for you must know that i have been witness to all that hath passed since your coming into this island), is, that you suffered yourself to be entombed in this place without any resistance." the young man felt assured at these words, and with a smiling countenance requested me to take a seat by him. when i had complied, he said "prince, i am to acquaint you with what will surprise you by its singularity. "my father is a merchant jeweller, who, by his industry and professional skill, has acquired considerable property. he has many slaves, and also agents, whom he employs as supercargoes in his own ships, to maintain his correspondence at the several courts, which he furnishes with precious stones. "he had been long married without having issue, when it was intimated to him in a dream that he should have a son, though his life would be but short; at which he was much concerned when he awoke. some days after, my mother acquainted him that she was with child, and what she supposed to be the time of her conception agreed exactly with the day of his dream. at the end of nine months she was brought to bed of me; which occasioned great joy in the family. "my father, who had observed the very moment of my birth, consulted astrologers about my nativity; and was answered, 'your son shall live happily till the age of fifteen, when his life will be exposed to a danger which he will hardly be able to escape. but if his good destiny preserve him beyond that time, he will live to a great age. it will be' (said they) 'when the statue of brass, that stands upon the summit of the mountain of adamant, shall be thrown into the sea by prince agib, son of king cassib; and, as the stars prognosticate, your son will be killed fifty days afterwards by that prince.' "my father took all imaginable care of my education until this year, which is the fifteenth of my age. he had notice given him yesterday, that the statue of brass had been thrown into the sea about ten days ago. this news alarmed him much. "upon the prediction the astrologers, he sought by all means possible to falsify my horoscope, and to preserve my life. he took the precaution to form this subterranean habitation to hide me in, till the expiration of the fifty days after the throwing down of the statue; and therefore, as it is ten days since this happened, he came hastily hither to conceal me, and promised at the end of forty days to return and fetch me away. for my own part i am sanguine in my hopes, and cannot believe that prince agib will seek for me in a place under ground, in the midst of a desert island." while the jeweller's son was relating this story, i laughed at the astrologers who had foretold that i should take away his life; for i thought myself so far from being likely to verify their prediction, that he had scarcely done speaking, when i told him with great joy, "dear sir, trust in the goodness of god, and fear nothing; consider it as a debt you had to pay; but that you are acquitted of it from this hour. i rejoice that after my shipwreck i came so fortunately hither to defend you against all who would attempt your life. i will not leave you till the forty days have expired, of which the foolish astrologers have made you apprehensive; and in the mean while i will do you all the service in my power: after which, with leave of your father and yourself, i shall have the benefit of getting to the main land in your vessel; and when i am returned into my kingdom, i will remember the obligations i owe you, and endeavour to demonstrate my gratitude by suitable acknowledgments." this discourse encouraged the jeweller's son, and inspired him with confidence. i took care not to inform him i was the very agib whom he dreaded, lest i should alarm his fears, and used every precaution not to give him any cause to suspect who i was. we passed the time in various conversation till night came on. i found the young man of ready wit, and partook with him of his provisions, of which he had enough to have lasted beyond the forty days, though he had had more guests than myself. after supper we conversed for some time; and at last retired to bed. the next morning, when he arose, i held the basin of water to him; i also provided dinner, and at the proper time placed it on the table: after we had dined i invented a play for our amusement, not only for that day, but for those that followed. i prepared supper after the same manner as i had done the dinner; and having supped, we retired to bed as before. we had sufficient time to contrast mutual friendship and esteem for each other. i found he loved me; and i on my part regarded him with so much affection, that i often said to myself, "those astrologers who predicted to his father that his son should die by my hand were impostors; for it is not possible that i could commit so base a crime." in short, madam, we spent thirty-nine days in the pleasantest manner possible in this subterraneous abode. the fortieth day appeared: and in the morning, when the young man awoke, he said to me with a transport of joy that he could not restrain, "prince, this is the fortieth day, and i am not dead, thanks to god and your good company. my father will not fail to make you, very shortly, every acknowledgment of his gratitude for your attentions, and will furnish you with every necessary accommodation for your return to your kingdom: but," continued he, "while we are waiting his arrival, i beg you will provide me some warm water in that portable bath, that i may wash my body and change my dress, to receive my father with the more respect." i set the water on the fire, and when it was hot poured it into the moveable bath; the youth went in, and i both washed and rubbed him. at last he came out, and laid himself down in his bed that i had prepared. after he had slept a while, he awoke, and said, "dear prince, pray do me the favour to fetch me a melon and some sugar, that i may eat some to refresh me." out of several melons that remained i took the best, and laid it on a plate; and as i could not find a knife to cut it with, i asked the young man if he knew where there was one. "there is one," said he, "upon this cornice over my head:" i accordingly saw it there, and made so much haste to reach it, that, while i had it in my hand, my foot being entangled in the carpet, i fell most unhappily upon the young man, and the knife pierced his heart. at this spectacle i cried out with agony. i beat my head, my face, and breast; i tore my clothes; i threw myself on the ground with unspeakable sorrow and grief! "alas!" i exclaimed, "there were only some hours wanting to have put him out of that danger from which he sought sanctuary here; and when i thought the danger past, then i became his murderer, and verified the prediction. but, o lord!" said i, lifting up my face and my hands to heaven, "i intreat thy pardon, and if i be guilty of his death, let me not live any longer." after this misfortune i would have embraced death without any reluctance, had it presented itself to me. but what we wish, whether it be good or evil, will not always happen according to our desire. nevertheless, considering that all my tears and sorrows would not restore the young man to life, and, the forty days being expired, i might be surprised by his father, i quitted the subterranean dwelling, laid down the great stone upon the entrance, and covered it with earth. i had scarcely done, when, casting my eyes upon the sea towards the main land, i perceived the vessel coming to fetch away the young man. i began then to consider what i had best do. i said to myself, "if i am seen by the old man, he will certainly seize me, and perhaps cause me to be massacred by his slaves, when he has discovered that his son is killed: all that i can allege to justify myself will not convince him of my innocence. it is better then to withdraw while it is in my power, than to expose myself to his resentment." there happened to be near a large tree thick with leaves, which i ascended in hopes of concealment, and was no sooner fixed in a place where i could not be perceived, than i saw the vessel come to the creek where she lay the first time. the old man with his slaves landed immediately, and advanced towards the subterranean dwelling, with a countenance that shewed some hope; but when they saw the earth had been newly removed, they changed colour, particularly the old man. they lifted up the stone, and went down; they called the young man by his name, but he not answering, their fears increased. they proceeded to seek him; and at length found him lying upon the bed with the knife in his heart, for i had not power to take it out. at this sight they cried out lamentably, which increased my sorrow: the old man fell down in a swoon. the slaves, to give him air, brought him up in their arms, and laid him at the foot of the tree where i was concealed; but notwithstanding all the pains they took to recover him, the unfortunate father continued a long while insensible, and made them more than once despair of his life; but at last he came to himself. the slaves then brought up his son's corpse, dressed in his best apparel, and when they had made a grave they buried it. the old man, supported by two slaves, and his face covered with tears, threw the first earth upon the body, after which the slaves filled up the grave. this being done, all the furniture was brought up, and, with the remaining provisions, put on board the vessel. the old man, overcome with sorrow, and not being able to stand, was laid upon a litter, and carried to the ship, which stood out to sea, and in a short time was out of sight. after the old man and his slaves were gone, i was left alone upon the island. i lay that night in the subterranean dwelling, which they had shut up, and when the day came, i walked round the island, and stopped in such places as i thought most proper for repose. i led this wearisome life for a whole month. at the expiration of this time i perceived that the sea had receded; that the island had increased in dimensions; the main land too seemed to be drawing nearer. in fact, the water sunk so low, that there remained between me and the continent but a small stream, which i crossed, and the water did not reach above the middle of my leg. i walked so long a way upon the slime and sand that i was very weary: at last i got upon more firm ground, and when i had proceeded some distance from the sea, i saw a good way before me something that resembled a great fire, which afforded me some comfort; for i said to myself, i shall find here some persons, it not being possible that this fire should kindle of itself. as i drew nearer, however, i found my error, and discovered that what i had taken for a fire was a castle of red copper, which the beams of the sun made to appear at a distance like flames. i stopped in the neighbourhood of the castle, and sat down to admire its noble structure, and to rest myself. before i had taken such a view of this magnificent building as it deserved, i saw ten handsome young men coming along, as if they had been taking a walk; but what surprised me was, that they were all blind of the right eye. they were accompanied by an old man, who was very tall, and of a venerable aspect. i could not suppress my astonishment at the sight of so many half blind men in company, and every one deprived of the same eye. as i was conjecturing by what adventure these men could come together, they approached, and seemed glad to see me. after the first salutations, they inquired what had brought me thither. i told them my story would be somewhat tedious, but if they would take the trouble to sit down, i would satisfy their curiosity. they did so, and i related to them all that had happened to me since i had left my kingdom, which filled them with astonishment. after i had concluded my account, the young gentlemen prayed me to accompany them into the castle. i accepted their offer, and we passed through a great many halls, ante-chambers, bed-chambers, and closets, very well furnished, and came at last into a spacious hall, where there were ten small blue sofas set round, separate from one another, on which they sat by day and slept at night. in the middle of this circle stood an eleventh sofa, not so high as the rest, but of the same colour, upon which the old man before-mentioned sat down, and the young gentlemen occupied the other ten. but as each sofa could only contain one man, one of the young men said to me, "comrade, sit down upon that carpet in the middle of the room, and do not inquire into anything that concerns us, nor the reason why we are all blind of the right eye; be content with what you see, and let not your curiosity extend any farther." the old man having sat a short time, arose, and went out; but he returned in a minute or two, brought in supper, distributed to each man separately his proportion, and likewise brought me mine, which i ate apart, as the rest did; and when supper was almost ended, he presented to each of us a cup of wine. they thought my story so extraordinary, that they made me repeat it after supper, and it furnished conversation for a good part of the night. one of the gentlemen observing that it was late, said to the old man, "you do not bring us that with which we may acquit ourselves of our duty." at these words the old man arose, and went into a closet, and brought out thence upon his head ten basins, one after another, all covered with blue stuff; he placed one before every gentleman, together with a light. they uncovered their basins, which contained ashes, coal-dust, and lamp-black; they mixed all together, and rubbed and bedaubed their faces with it in such a manner as to make themselves look very frightful. after having thus blackened themselves, they wept and lamented, beating their heads and breasts, and crying continually, "this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches." they continued this strange employment nearly the whole of the night, and when they left off, the old man brought them water, with which they washed their faces and hands; they changed all their clothes, which were spoiled, and put on others; so that they exhibited no appearance of what they had been doing. you may judge how uneasy i felt all this time. i wished a thousand times to break the silence which had been imposed upon me, and ask questions; nor was it possible for me to sleep that night. the next day, soon after we had arisen, we went out to walk, and then i said to them, "gentlemen, i declare to you, that i must renounce the law which you prescribed to me last night, for i cannot observe it. you are men of sense, you have convinced me that you do not want understanding; yet, i have seen you do such actions as none but madmen could be capable of. whatever misfortune befalls me, i cannot forbear asking, why you bedaubed your faces with black? how it has happened that each of you has but one eye? some singular circumstance must certainly be the cause; therefore i conjure you to satisfy my curiosity." to these pressing instances they answered only, that it was no business of mine to make such inquiries, and that i should do well to hold my peace. we passed that day in conversation upon indifferent subjects; and when night was come and every man had supped, the old man brought in the blue basins, and the young gentlemen as before bedaubed their faces, wept and beat themselves, crying, "this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches," and continued the same actions the following night. at last, not being able to resist my curiosity, i earnestly prayed them to satisfy me, or to shew me how to return to my own kingdom; for it was impossible for me to keep them company any longer, and to see every night such an odd exhibition, without being permitted to know the reason. one of the gentlemen answered on behalf of the rest, "do not wonder at our conduit in regard to yourself, and that hitherto we have not granted your request: it is out of kindness, to save you the pain of being reduced to the same condition with ourselves. if you have a mind to try our unfortunate destiny, you need but speak, and we will give you the satisfaction you desire." i told them i was resolved on it, let what would be the consequence. "once more," said the same gentleman, "we advise you to restrain your curiosity: it will cost you the loss of your right eye." "no matter," i replied; "be assured that if such a misfortune befall me, i will not impute it to you, but to myself." he farther represented to me, that when i had lost an eye i must not hope to remain with them, if i were so disposed, because their number was complete, and no addition could be made to it. i told them, that it would be a great satisfaction to me never to part from such agreeable gentlemen, but if there were a necessity for it, i was ready to submit; and let it cost me what it would, i begged them to grant my request. the ten gentlemen perceiving that i was so fixed in my resolution, took a sheep, killed it, and after they had taken off the skin, presented me with a knife, telling me it would be useful to me on an occasion which they would soon explain. "we must sew you in this skin," said they, "and then leave you; upon which a bird of a monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, and taking you for a sheep, will pounce upon you, and soar with you to the sky: but let not that alarm you; he will descend with you again, and lay you on the top of a mountain. when you find yourself on the ground, cut the skin with your knife, and throw it off. as soon as the roc sees you, he will fly away for fear, and leave you at liberty. do not stay, but walk on till you come to a spacious castle, covered with plates of gold, large emeralds, and other precious stones: go up to the gate, which always stands open, and walk in. we have each of us been in that castle; but will tell you nothing of what we saw, or what befell us there; you will learn by your own experience. all that we can inform you is, that it has cost each of us our right eye, and the penance which you have been witness to, is what we are obliged to observe in consequence of having been there. the history of each of us is so full of extraordinary adventures, that a large volume would not contain them. but we cannot explain ourselves farther." when the gentleman had thus spoken, i wrapt myself in the sheep's skin, held fast the knife which was given me; and after the young gentlemen had been at the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me alone. the roc they spoke of soon arrived; he pounced upon me, took me in his talons like a sheep, and carried me up the summit of the mountain. when i found myself on the ground, i cut the skin with the knife, and throwing it off, the roc at the sight of me flew sway. this roc is a white bird, of a monstrous size; his strength is such, that he can lift up elephants from the plains, and carry them to the tops of mountains, where he feeds upon them. being impatient to reach the castle, i lost no time; but made so much haste, that i got thither in half a day's journey, and i must say that i found it surpassed the description they had given me of its magnificence. the gate being open, i entered a square court, so large that there were round it ninety-nine gates of wood of sanders and aloes, and one of gold, without reckoning those of several superb staircases, that led to apartments above, besides many more which i could not see. the hundred doors i spoke of opened into gardens or store-houses full of riches, or into apartments which contained many things wonderful to be seen. i saw a door standing open just before me, through which i entered into a large hall. here i found forty young ladies of such perfect beauty as imagination could not surpass: they were all most sumptuously appareled. as soon as they saw me they arose, and without waiting my salutations, said to me, with demonstrations of joy, "noble sir, you are welcome." and one thus addressed me in the name of the rest, "we have long been in expectation of such a gentleman as you; your mien assures us, that you are master of all the good qualities we can desire; and we hope you will not find our company disagreeable or unworthy of yours." they obliged me, notwithstanding all the opposition i could make, to sit down on a seat that was higher than their own; and when i expressed my uneasiness, "that is your place," said they, "you are at present our lord, master, and judge, and we are your slaves, ready to obey your commands." nothing, madam, so much astonished me, as the solicitude and eagerness of those fair ladies to do me all possible service. one brought hot water to wash my feet, a second poured sweet scented water on my hands; others brought me all kinds of necessaries, and change of apparel; others again brought in a magnificent collation; and the rest came with glasses in their hands to fill me delicious wines, all in good order, and in the most charming manner possible. i ate and drank; after which the ladies placed themselves about me, and desired an account of my travels. i gave them a full relation of my adventures, which lasted till night came on. when i had finished my narrative to the forty ladies, some of them who sat nearest me staid to keep me company, whilst the rest, seeing it was dark, rose to fetch tapers. they brought a prodigious number, which by the wonderful light they emitted exhibited the resemblance of day, and they disposed them with so much taste as to produce the most beautiful effect possible. other ladies covered a table with dry fruits, sweetmeats, and everything proper to relish the liquor; a side-board was set out with several sorts of wine and other liquors. some of the ladies brought in musical instruments, and when everything was ready, they invited me to sit down to supper. the ladies sat down with me, and we continued a long while at our repast. they that were to play upon the instruments and sing arose, and formed a most charming concert. the others began a kind of ball, and danced two and two, couple after couple, with admirable grace. it was past midnight ere these amusements ended. at length one of the ladies said to me, "you are doubtless wearied by the journey you have taken to-day; it is time for you to retire to rest; your lodging is prepared: but before you depart choose which of us you like best to be your bedfellow." i answered, "that i knew not how to make my own choice, as they were all equally beautiful, witty, and worthy of my respects and service, and that i would not be guilty of so much incivility as to prefer one before another." the lady who had spoken to me before answered, "we are very well satisfied of your civility, and find it is your fear to create jealousy among us that occasions your diffidence; but let not this hinder you. we assure you, that the good fortune of her whom you choose shall cause no feeling of the kind; for we are agreed among ourselves, that every one of us shall in her turn have the same honour; and when forty days are past, to begin again; therefore make your selection, and lose no time to take the repose you need." i was obliged to yield to their entreaties, and offered my hand to the lady who spoke, and who, in return, gave me hers. we were conducted to a sumptuous apartment, where they left us; and then every one retired to her own chamber. i was scarcely dressed next morning, when the other thirty-nine ladies came into my chamber, all in different dresses from those they had worn the day before: they bade me good-morrow, and inquired after my health. after which they conveyed me to a bath, where they washed me themselves, and whether i would or no, served me with everything i needed; and when i came out of the bath, they made me put on another suit much richer than the former. we passed the whole day almost constantly at table; and when it was bed-time, they prayed me again to make choice of one of them for my companion in short, madam, not to weary you with repetitions, i must tell you that i continued a whole year among those forty ladies, and received them into my bed one after another: and during all the time of this voluptuous life, we met not with the least kind of trouble. when the year was expired, i was greatly surprised that these forty ladies, instead of appearing with their usual cheerfulness to ask me how i did, entered my chamber one morning all in tears. they embraced me with great tenderness one after another, saying, "adieu, dear prince, adieu! for we must leave you." their tears affected. i prayed them to tell me the reason of their grief, and of the separation they spoke of. "fair ladies, let me know," said i, "if it be in my power to comfort you, or if my assistance can be any way useful to you." instead of returning a direct answer, "would," said they, "we had never seen or known you! several gentlemen have honoured us with their company before you; but never one of them had that comeliness, that sweetness, that pleasantness of humour, and that merit which you possess; we know not how to live without you." after they had spoken these words, they began to weep bitterly. "my dear ladies," said i, "have the kindness not to keep me any longer in suspense: tell me the cause of your sorrow." "alas!" said they, "what but the necessity of parting from you could thus afflict us? perhaps we shall never see you more; but if it be your wish we should, and if you possess sufficient self-command for the purpose, it is not impossible but that we may again enjoy the pleasure of your company." "ladies," i replied, "i understand not what you mean; pray explain yourselves more clearly." "well," said one of them, "to satisfy you, we must acquaint you that we are all princesses, daughters of kings. we live here together in the manner you have seen; but at the end of every year we are obliged to be absent forty days upon indispensable duties, which we are not permitted to reveal: and afterwards we return again to this castle. yesterday was the last of the year; to day we must leave you, and this circumstance is the cause of our grief. before we depart we will leave you the keys of everything, especially those of the hundred doors, where you will find enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to relieve your solitude during our absence. but for your benefit, and our own personal interests, we recommend you to forbear opening the golden door; for if you do we shall never see you again; and the apprehension of this augments our grief. we hope, nevertheless, that you will attend to our advice; your own peace, and the happiness of your life, depends upon your compliance; therefore take heed. if you suffer yourself to be swayed by a foolish curiosity, you will do yourself a considerable injury. we conjure you to avoid the indiscretion, and to give us the satisfaction finding you here again at the end of forty days. we would willingly take the key of the golden door with us; but that it would be an affront to a prince like you to question your discretion and firmness." this speech of the fair princesses grieved me extremely. i omitted not to declare how much their absence would afflict me. i thanked then for their good advice, assuring them that i would follow it, and expressed my willingness to perform what was much more difficult, to secure the happiness of passing the rest of my days with ladies of such beauty and accomplishments. we separated with much tenderness, and after i had embraced them all, they departed, and i remained alone in the castle. the agreeableness of their company, their hospitality, their musical entertainments, and other amusements, had so much absorbed my attention during the whole year, that i neither had time nor desire to see the wonders contained in this enchanted palace. i did not even notice a thousand curious objects that every day offered themselves to my view, so much was i charmed by the beauty of those ladies, and the pleasure they seemed to take in promoting my gratification. their departure sensibly afflicted me; and though their absence was to be only forty days, it seemed to me an age to live without them. i determined not to forget the important advice they had given me, not to open the golden door; but as i was permitted to satisfy my curiosity in everything else, i took the first of the keys of the other doors, which were hung in regular order. i opened the first door, and entered an orchard, which i believe the universe could not equal. i could not imagine any thing to surpass it, except that which our religion promises us after death. the symmetry, the neatness, the admirable order of the trees, the abundance and diversity of unknown fruits, their freshness and beauty, delighted my senses. nor must i omit to inform you, that this delicious orchard was watered in a very particular manner. there were channels so artificially and proportionately dug, that they carried water in considerable quantities to the roots of such trees as required much moisture. others conveyed it in smaller quantities to those whose fruits were already formed: some carried still less to those whose fruits were swelling, and others carried only so much as was just requisite to water those which had their fruits come to perfection, and only wanted to be ripened. they far exceeded in size the ordinary fruits of our gardens. lastly, those channels that watered the trees whose fruit was ripe had no more moisture than just what would preserve them from withering. i should never have tired in examining and admiring so delightful a place; nor have left it, had i not conceived a still higher idea of the other things which i had not seen. i went out at last with my mind filled with the wonders i had viewed: i shut the door, and opened the next. instead of an orchard, i found here a flower garden, which was no less extraordinary in its kind. it contained a spacious plot, not watered so profusely as the former, but with greater niceness, furnishing no more water than just what each flower required. the roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils, hyacinths, anemonies, tulips, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of flowers, which do not grow in other places but at certain times, were there flourishing all at once, and nothing could be more delicious than the fragrant smell which they emitted. i opened the third door, and found a large aviary, paved with marble of several fine and uncommon colours. the trellis work was made of sandal wood and wood of aloes. it contained a vast number of nightingales, gold-finches, canary birds, larks, and other rare singing-birds, which i had never heard of; and the vessels that held their seed and water were of the most precious jasper or agate. besides, this aviary was so exceedingly neat, that, considering its extent, i judged there must be not less than a hundred persons to keep it clean; but all this while not one appeared, either here or in the gardens i had before examined; and yet i could not perceive a weed, or any thing superfluous or offensive to sight. the sun went down, and i retired, charmed with the chirping notes of the multitude of birds, who then began to perch upon such places as suited them for repose during the night. i went to my chamber, resolving on the following days to open all the rest of the doors, excepting that of gold. the next day i opened the fourth door. if what i had seen before was capable of exciting my surprise, what i now beheld transported me into perfect ecstacy. i entered a large court surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the description of which i will omit, to avoid prolixity. this building had forty doors, all open, and through each of them was an entrance into a treasury: several of these treasuries contained as much wealth as the largest kingdoms. the first was stored with heaps of pearls: and, what is almost incredible, the number of those stones which are most precious, and as large as pigeons' eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size. in the second treasury, there were diamonds, carbuncles, and rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; and in the two following, money. the rest contained amethysts, chrysolites, topazes, opals, turquoises, and hyacinths, with all the other stones known to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian, and coral, of which there was a store house filled, not only with branches, but whole trees. filled with astonishment and admiration at the view of all these riches, i exclaimed, "if all the treasures of the kings of the universe were gathered together in one place, they could not equal the value of these. how fortunate am i to possess all this wealth with so many admirable princesses!" i will not tire you, madam, with a detail of all the other objects of curiosity and value which i discovered on the following day. i shall only say, that thirty-nine days afforded me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so that there was only the hundredth door left, which i was forbidden to open. the fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses arrived, and had i but retained so much self-command as i ought to have had, i should have been this day the happiest of all mankind, whereas now i am the most unfortunate. they were to return the next day, and the pleasure of seeing them again ought to have restrained my curiosity: but through my weakness, which i shall ever repent, i yielded to the temptations of the evil spirit, who allowed me no rest till i had involved myself in the misfortunes i have since suffered. i opened that fatal door! but before i had moved my foot to enter, a smell pleasant enough, but too powerful for my senses, made me faint away. however, i soon recovered: but instead of taking warning from this incident to close the door, and restrain my curiosity, after waiting some time for the external air to correct the effluvia of the place, i entered, and felt myself no longer incommoded. i found myself in a spacious vaulted apartment, the pavement of which was strewed with saffron. it was illuminated by several large tapers which emitted the perfume of aloes and ambergris, and were placed in candlesticks of solid gold. this light was augmented by gold and silver lamps, burning perfumed oils of various kinds. among the many objects that attracted my attention was a black horse, of the most perfect symmetry and beauty that ever was beheld. i approached in order the better to observe him, and found he had on a saddle and bridle of massive gold, curiously wrought. one part of his manger was filled with clean barley and sesame, and the other with rose-water. i laid hold of his bridle, and led him out to view him by daylight. i mounted, and endeavoured to make him move: but finding he did not stir, i struck him with a switch i had taken up in his magnificent stable. he had no sooner felt the blow, than he began to neigh in a most horrible manner, and extending his wings, which i had not before perceived, flew up with me into the air. my thoughts were fully in keeping my seat; and considering the fear that had seized me, i sat well. at length he directed his course towards the earth, and lighted upon the terrace of a castle, and, without giving me time to dismount, shook me out of the saddle with such force, as to throw me behind him, and with the end of his tail he struck out my eye. thus it was i became blind of one eye. i then recollected the predictions of the ten young gentlemen. the horse again took wing, and soon disappeared. i got up much vexed at the misfortune i had brought upon myself. i walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then descended, and entered into a hall. i soon discovered by the ten sofas in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the rest, that i was in the castle whence i had been carried by the roc. the ten young gentlemen were not in the hall when i entered; but came in soon after, attended by the old man. they seemed not at all surprised to see me, nor at the loss of my eye; but said, "we are sorry that we cannot congratulate you on your return, as we could wish; but we are not the cause of your misfortune." "i should do you wrong," i replied, "to lay it to your charge; i have only myself to accuse." "if," said they, "it be a subject of consolation to the afflicted to know that others share their sufferings, you have in us this alleviation of your misfortune. all that has happened to you we have also endured; we each of us tasted the same pleasures during a year; and we had still continued to enjoy them, had we not opened the golden door, when the princesses were absent. you have been no wiser than we, and have incurred the same punishment. we would gladly receive you into our company, to join with us in the penance to which we are bound, and the duration of which we know not. but we have already stated to you the reasons that render this impossible: depart, therefore, and proceed to the court of bagdad, where you will meet with the person who is to decide your destiny." after they had explained to me the road i was to travel, i departed. on the road i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaven, and assumed a calender's habit. i have had a long journey, but at last i arrived this evening, and met these my brother calenders at the gate, being strangers as well as myself. we were mutually surprised at one another, to see that we were all blind of the same eye; but we had not leisure to converse long on the subject of our misfortunes. we have only had time enough to bring us hither, to implore those favours which you have been generously pleased to grant us. the third calender having finished this relation of his adventures, zobeide addressed him and his fellow calenders thus: "go wherever you think proper, you are at liberty." but one of them answered, "madam, we beg you to pardon our curiosity, and permit us to hear the stories of those gentlemen who have not yet spoken." then the lady turned to the caliph, the vizier jaaffier, and mesrour, and said to them, "it is now your turn to relate your adventures, therefore speak." the grand vizier who had all along been the spokesman, answered zobeide: "madam, in order to obey you, we need only repeat what we have already said. we are merchants of moussol come to bagdad to sell our merchandize, which lies in the khan where we lodge. we dined today with several other persons of our condition, at a merchant's house of this city; who, after he had treated us with choice dainties and excellent wines, sent for men and women dancers, and musicians. the great noise we made brought in the watch, who arrested some of the company, and we had the good fortune to escape: but it being already late, and the door of our khan shut up, we knew not whither to retire. we chanced as we passed along this street to hear mirth at your house, which made us determine to knock at your gate. this is all the account that we can give you, in obedience to your commands." zobeide having heard this statement, seemed to hesitate what to say, which the calenders perceiving, prayed her to grant the same favour to the three moussol merchants as she had done to them. "well then," said she, "you shall all be equally obliged to me; i pardon you all, provided you immediately depart." zobeide having given this command in a tone that signified she would be obeyed, the caliph, the vizier mesrour, the three calenders, and the porter departed, without saying one word: for the presence of the seven slaves with their weapons awed them into silence. as soon as they had quitted the house, and the gate was closed after them, the caliph said to the calenders, without making himself known, "you gentlemen, who are newly come to town, which way do you design to go, since it is not yet day?" "it is this," they replied, "that perplexes us." "follow us," resumed the caliph, "and we will convey you out of danger." he then whispered to the vizier, "take them along with you, and tomorrow morning bring them to me; i will cause their history to be put in writing, for it deserves a place in the annals of my reign." the vizier jaaffier took the three calenders along with him; the porter went to his quarters, and the caliph and mesrour returned to the palace. the caliph went to bed, but could not sleep, being perplexed by the extraordinary things he had seen and heard. but above all, he was most concerned to know the history of zobeide; what reason she could have to be so severe to the two black bitches, and why amene had her bosom so scarred. day began to appear whilst he was thinking upon these things; he arose and went to his council chamber, and sat upon his throne. the grand vizier entered soon after, and paid his respects as usual. "vizier," said the caliph, "the affairs that we have to consider at present are not very pressing; that of the three ladies and the two black bitches is the most urgent: my mind cannot rest till i am thoroughly satisfied, in all those matters that have so much surprised me. go, bring those ladies and the calenders at the same time; make haste, and remember that i impatiently expect your return." the vizier who knew his master's quick and fiery temper, hastened to obey, and went to the ladies, to whom he communicated, in a civil way, the orders with which he was charged, to bring them before the caliph, without taking any notice of what had passed the night before at their house. the ladies put on their veils, and went with the vizier as he passed his own house, he took along with him the three calenders, who in the interval had learnt that they had seen and spoken with the caliph, without knowing him. the vizier conducted them to the palace with so much expedition, that the caliph was much pleased. this prince, that he might observe proper decorum before the officers of his court who were then present, ordered that the ladies should be placed behind the hangings of the door which led to his own chamber, and placed the three calenders near his person, who, by their respectful behaviour, sufficiently evinced that they were not ignorant before whom they had the honour to appear. when the ladies were thus disposed of, the caliph turned towards them, and said, "when i acquaint you that i was last night in your house, disguised in a merchant's habit, you may probably be alarmed, lest you may have given me offence; you may perhaps believe that i have sent for you for no other purpose than to shew some marks of my resentment; but be not afraid; you may rest assured that i have forgotten all that has past, and am well satisfied with your conduct. i wish that all the ladies of bagdad had as much discretion as you evinced before me. i shall always remember the moderation with which you acted, after the rudeness of which we were guilty. i was then a merchant of moussol, but am at present haroon al rusheed, the fifth caliph of the glorious house of abbas, and hold the place of our great prophet. i have only sent for you to know who you are, and to ask for what reason one of you, after severely whipping the two black bitches, wept with them? and i am no less curious to know, why another of you has her bosom so full of scars." though the caliph pronounced these words very distinctly, the three ladies heard him well enough, yet the vizier out of ceremony, repeated them. zobeide, after the caliph by his address had encouraged her, began thus: the story of zobeide. commander of the faithful, the relation which i am about to give your majesty is singularly extraordinary. the two black bitches and myself are sisters by the same father and mother; and i shall acquaint you by what strange accident they came to be metamorphosed. the two ladies who live with me, and are now here, are also my sisters by the father's side, but by another mother: she that has the scars upon her breast is named amene; the name of the other is safie, and my own zobeide. after our father's death, the property that he left was equally divided among us, and as soon as these two sisters received their portions, they left me to live with their mother. my other two sisters and myself stayed with our mother, who was then alive, and who when she afterwards died left each of us a thousand sequins. as soon as we had received our portions, the two eldest (for i am the youngest) married, and left me alone. some time after, my eldest sister's husband sold all that he had, and with that money and my sister's portion they went both into africa, where her husband, by riotous living and debauchery' spent all; and finding himself reduced to poverty, found a pretext for divorcing my sister, and put her away. she returned to this city, and having suffered incredible hardships by the way, came to me in so lamentable a condition that it would have moved the hardest heart to compassion to behold her. i received her with every possible tenderness, and inquiring into the cause of her distress, she told me with tears how inhumanly her husband had behaved towards her. her misfortunes affected me: and i mingled my tears with hers. i took her to a bath, clothed her with my own apparel, and thus addressed her: "sister, you are the elder, and i esteem you as my mother: during your absence, god has blest the portion that fell to my share, and the employment i follow of breeding silk-worms. assure yourself there is nothing i have but is at your service, and as much at your disposal as my own." we lived very comfortably together for some months. as we were one day conversing about our third sister, and wondering we received no intelligence of her, she came in as bad a condition as the eldest: her husband had treated her after the same manner; and i received her likewise with the same affection as i had done the former. some time after, my two sisters, on presence that they would not be chargeable to me, told me they intended to marry again. i observed, that if putting me to expense was the only reason, they might lay those thoughts aside, and be welcome to remain: for what i had would be sufficient to maintain us all three, in a manner answerable to our condition. "but," i added, "i rather believe you wish to marry again; i shall feel much surprised if such be the case. after the experience you have had of the little satisfaction there is in wedlock, is it possible you dare venture a second time? you know how rare it is to meet with a husband perfectly virtuous and deserving. believe what i say, and let us live together as comfortably as we can." all my persuasion was in vain; they were resolved to marry, and soon accomplished their wishes. but after some months were past, they returned again, and begged my pardon a thousand times for not following my advice. "you are our youngest sister," said they, "but abundantly more wise than we; if you will vouchsafe to receive us once more into your house, and account us your slaves, we shall never commit a similar fault again." my answer was, "dear sisters, i have not altered my mind with respect to you since we last parted: come again, and take part of what i have." upon this i embraced them, and we lived together as before. we continued thus a whole year in perfect love and harmony. seeing that god had increased my small stock, i projected a voyage, to embark some of it in a commercial speculation. to this end, i went with my two sisters to bussorah, where i bought a ship ready fitted for sea, and laded her with such merchandise as i had carried with me from bagdad. we set sail with a fair wind, and soon cleared the persian gulf; when we had reached the open sea, we steered our course to the indies; and the twentieth day saw land. it was a very high mountain, at the bottom of which we perceived a great town: having a fresh gale, we soon reached the harbour, and cast anchor. i had not patience to wait till my sisters were dressed to go along with me, but went ashore alone in the boat. making directly to the gate of the town, i saw there a great number of men upon guard, some sitting, and others standing with sticks in their hands; and they had all such dreadful countenances that i was greatly alarmed; but perceiving they remained stationary, and did not so much as move their eyes, i took courage, and went nearer, when i found they were all turned into stones. i entered the town and passed through several streets, where at different intervals stood men in various attitudes, but all motionless and petrified. in the quarter inhabited by the merchants i found most of the shops shut, and in such as were open i likewise found the people petrified. having reached a vast square, in the heart of the city, i perceived a large folding gate, covered with plates of gold, which stood open; a curtain of silk stuff seemed to be drawn before it: a lamp hung over the entrance. after i had surveyed the building, i made no doubt but it was the palace of the prince who reigned over that country: and being much astonished that i had not met with one living creature, i approached in hopes to find some. i lifted up the curtain, and was surprised at beholding no one but the guards in the vestibule all petrified; some standing, some sitting, and some lying. i came to a large court, where i saw before me a stately building, the windows of which were inclosed with gates of messy gold: i concluded it to be the queen's apartments. i entered; and in a large hall i found several black eunuchs turned into stone. i went from thence into a room richly furnished, where i perceived a lady in the same situation. i knew it to be the queen, by the crown of gold on her head, and a necklace of pearls about her neck, each of them as large as a nut; i approached her to have a nearer view of it, and never beheld a finer objets. i stood some time admiring the riches and magnificence of the room; but above all, the carpet, the cushions, and the sofas, which were all ornamented with indian stuff of gold, and representations of men and beasts in silver, admirably executed. i quitted the chamber where the petrified queen was, and passed through several other apartments and closets richly furnished, and at last came into a large room, where there was a throne of massive gold, raised several steps above the floor, and enriched with large enchased emeralds, and upon the throne there was a bed of rich stuff embroidered with pearls. what surprised me most was a sparkling light which came from above the bed. being curious to know whence it proceeded, i ascended the steps, and lifting up my head, saw a diamond as large as the egg of an ostrich, lying upon a low stool; it was so pure, that i could not find the least blemish in it, and it sparkled with so much brilliancy, that when i saw it by day-light i could not endure its lustre. at the head of the bed there stood on each side a lighted flambeau, but for what use i could not comprehend; however, it made me imagine that there was some living creature in this place; for i could not believe that the torches continued thus burning of themselves. several other rarities detained my curiosity in this room, which was inestimable in value, were it only for the diamond i mentioned. the doors being all open, or but half shut, i surveyed some other apartments, that were as beautiful as those i had already seen. i looked into the offices and store-rooms, which were full of riches. in short, the wonders that everywhere appeared so wholly engrossed my attention, that i forgot my ship and my sisters, and thought of nothing but gratifying my curiosity. in the mean time night came on, which reminded me that it was time to retire. i proposed to return the way i had entered, but i could not find it; i lost myself among the apartments; and perceiving i was come back again to the large room, where the throne, the couch, the large diamond, and the torches stood, i resolved to take my night's lodging there, and to depart the next morning early, to get aboard my ship. i laid myself down upon a couch, not without some dread to be alone in a desolate place; and this fear hindered my sleep. about midnight i heard a voice like that of a man reading the koraun, after the same manner, and in the same tone as it is read in our mosques. being extremely glad to hear it, i immediately arose, and taking a torch in my hand, passed from one chamber to another on that side from whence the sound proceeded. i came to the closet-door, and stood still, not doubting that it came from thence. i set down my torch upon the ground, and looking through a window, found it to be an oratory. it had, as we have in our mosques, a niche, to direct us whither we are to turn to say our prayers: there were also lamps hung up, and two candlesticks with large tapers of white wax burning. i saw a little carpet laid down like those we have to kneel upon when we say our prayers, and a comely young man sat on this carpet reading with great devotion the koraun, which lay before him on a desk. at this sight i was transported with admiration. i wondered how it came to pass that he should be the only living creature in a town where all the people were turned into stones, and i did not doubt but there was something in the circumstance very extraordinary. the door being only half shut, i opened it, went in, and standing upright before the niche, i repeated this prayer aloud: "praise be to god, who has favoured us with a happy voyage, and may he be graciously pleased to protect us in the same manner, until we arrive again in our own country. hear me, o lord, and grant my request." the young man turned his eyes towards me, and said, "my good lady, pray let me know who you are, and what has brought you to this desolate city? and, in return, i will you who i am, what has happened to me, why the inhabitants of this city are reduced to the state you see them in, and why i alone am safe in the midst of such a terrible disaster." i told him in a few words whence i had come, what had made me undertake the voyage, and how i safely arrived at the port after twenty days' sailing; when i had done, i prayed him to perform his promise, and told him how much i was struck by the frightful desolation which i had seen in the city. "lady," said the young man, "have patience for a moment." at these words he shut the koraun, put it into a rich case, and laid it in the niche. i took that opportunity to observe him, and perceiving in him so much good nature and beauty, i felt emotions i had never known before. he made me sit down by him, and before he began his discourse, i could not forbear saying, with an air that discovered the sentiments i felt, "amiable sir, dear object of my soul, i can scarcely have patience to wait for an account of all these wonderful objects that i have seen since i came into your city; and my curiosity cannot be satisfied too soon: therefore pray, sir, let me know by what miracle you alone are left alive among so many persons that have died in so strange a manner." "madam," said the young man, "by the prayer you just now addressed to him, you have given me to understand that you have a knowledge of the true god. i will acquaint you with the most remarkable effect of his greatness and power. you must know, that this city was the metropolis of a mighty kingdom, over which the sultan my father reigned. that prince, his whole court, the inhabitants of the city, and all his other subjects, were magi, worshippers of fire, and of nardoun, the ancient king of the giants, who rebelled against god. "but though i was born of an idolatrous father and mother, i had the good fortune in my youth to have a governess who was a good moosulmaun. 'dear prince,' would she oftentimes say, 'there is but one true god; take heed that you do not acknowledge and adore any other.' she taught me to read arabic, and the book she gave me to study was the koraun. as soon as i was capable of understanding it, she explained to me all the passages of this excellent book, and infused piety into my mind, unknown to my father or any other person. she happened to die, but not before she had perfectly instructed me in all that was necessary to convince me of the truth of the moosulmaun religion. after her death i persisted with constancy in the belief of its divinity: and i abhor the false god nardoun, and the adoration of fire. "about three years and some months ago, a thundering voice was suddenly sounded so distinctly, through the whole city, that nobody could miss hearing it. the words were these: 'inhabitants, abandon the worship of nardoun, and of fire, and worship the only god who shews mercy.' "this voice was heard three years successively, but no one was converted. on the last day of that year, at four o'clock in the morning, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, every one in the condition and posture they happened to be in. the sultan, my father, shared the same fate, for he was metamorphosed into a black stone, as he is to be seen in this palace, and the queen, my mother, had the like destiny. "i am the only person who did not suffer under that heavy judgment, and ever since i have continued to serve god with more fervency than before. i am persuaded, dear lady, that he has sent you hither for my comfort, for which i render him infinite thanks; for i must own that this solitary life is extremely irksome." all these expressions, and particularly the last, greatly increased my love for him. "prince," said i, "there is no doubt but providence has brought me into your port, to afford you an opportunity of withdrawing from this dismal place. the ship i came in may serve in some measure to convince you that i am in some esteem at bagdad, where i have left considerable property; and i dare engage to promise you sanctuary there, until the mighty commander of the faithful, vicegerent to our prophet whom you acknowledge, shew you the honour that is due to your merit. this renowned prince lives at bagdad, and as soon as he is informed of your arrival in his capital, you will find that it is not in vain to implore his assistance. it is impossible you can stay any longer in a city where all the objects you behold must renew your grief: my vessel is at your service, where you may absolutely command as you shall think fit." he accepted the offer, and we conversed the remainder of the night concerning our embarkation. as soon as it was day we left the palace, and went aboard my ship, where we found my sisters, the captain, and the slaves, all much troubled at my absence. after i had presented my sisters to the prince, i told them what had hindered my return the day before, how i had met with the young prince, his story, and the cause of the desolation of so fine a city. the seamen were taken up several days in unlading the merchandize i brought with me, and embarking in its stead all the precious things in the palace, such as jewels, gold, and money. we left the furniture and goods, which consisted of an infinite quantity of plate, &c., because our vessel could not carry it, for it would have required several vessels more to convey to bagdad all the riches that we might have chosen to take with us. after we had laden the vessel with what we thought most desirable, we took such provisions and water aboard as were necessary for our voyage (for we had still a great deal of those provisions left that we had taken in at bussorah); at last we set sail with a wind as favourable as we could wish. the young prince, my sisters and myself, enjoyed ourselves for some time very agreeably. but alas! this good understanding did not last long, for my sisters grew jealous of the friendship between the prince and myself, and maliciously asked me one day, what we should do with him when we came to bagdad? i perceived immediately that they put this question on purpose to discover my inclinations; therefore, resolving to put it off with a jest, i answered, "i will take him for my husband;" and upon that, turning myself to the prince, said, "sir, i humbly beg of you to give your consent, for as soon as we come to bagdad i desire to offer you my person to be your slave, to do you all the service that is in my power, and to resign myself wholly to your commands." the prince replied, "i know not, madam, whether you be in jest or no; but for my part, i seriously declare before these ladies, your sisters, that from this moment i heartily accept your offer, not with any intention to have you as a slave, but as my lady and mistress: nor will i pretend to have any power over your actions." at these words my sisters changed colour, and i could perceive afterwards that they did not love me as before. we entered the persian gulf, and had come within a short distance of bussorah (where i hoped, considering the fair wind, we might have arrived the day following), when in the night, while i was asleep, my sisters watched their opportunity, and threw me overboard. they did the same to the prince, who was drowned. i floated some minutes on the water, and by good fortune, or rather miracle, i felt ground. i went towards a dark spot, that, by what i could discern, seemed to be land, and proved to be a flat on the coast, which, when day appeared, i found to be a desert island, lying about twenty miles from bussorah. i soon dried my clothes in the sun, and as i walked along i found several kinds of fruit, and likewise fresh water, which gave me some hopes of preserving my life. i had just laid myself down to rest in a shade, when i perceived a very large winged serpent coming towards me, with an irregular waving movement, and hanging out its tongue, which induced me to conclude it had received some injury. i instantly arose, and perceived that it was pursued by a larger serpent which had hold of its tail, and was endeavouring to devour it. this perilous situation of the first serpent excited my pity, and instead of retreating i assumed courage to take up a stone that lay near me, and to throw it with all my strength at the other, which i hit upon the head and killed. the other, finding itself at liberty, took wing and flew away. i looked after it for some time till it disappeared. i then sought another shady spot for repose, and fell asleep. judge what was my surprise when i awoke, to see standing by me a black woman of lively and agreeable features, who held in her hand two bitches of the same colour, fastened together. i sat up, and asked her who she was? "i am," said she, "the serpent whom you lately delivered from my mortal enemy. i did not know in what way i could better requite the important services you have rendered me than by what i have just done. the treachery of your sisters was well known to me, and to avenge your wrongs, as soon as i was liberated by your generous assistance, i called together several of my companions, fairies like myself, conveyed into your storehouses at bagdad all the lading of your vessel, and afterwards sunk it. "these two black bitches are your sisters, whom i have transformed into this shape. but this punishment will not suffice; and my will is that you treat them hereafter in the way i shall direst." as soon as she had thus spoken the fairy took me under one of her arms, and the two bitches under the other, and conveyed us to my house in bagdad; where i found in my storehouses all the riches with which my vessel had been laden. before she left me, she delivered to me the two bitches, and said, "if you would not be changed into a similar form, i command you, in the name of him that governs the sea, to give each of your sisters every night one hundred lashes with a rod, as the punishment of the crime they have committed against yourself, and the young prince, whom they have drowned." i was forced to promise obedience. since that time i have whipped them every night, though with regret, whereof your majesty has been a witness. my tears testify with how much sorrow and reluctance i perform this painful duty; and in this your majesty may see i am more to be pitied than blamed. if there be any thing else relating to myself that you desire to know, my sister amene will give you full information in the relation of her story. after the caliph had heard zobeide with much astonishment, he desired his grand vizier to request amene to acquaint him wherefore her breast was disfigured with so many scars. amene addressed herself to the caliph, and began her story after this manner: the story of amene. commander of the faithful, to avoid repeating what your majesty has already heard in my sister's story, i shall only add, that after my mother had taken a house for herself to live in, during her widowhood, she gave me in marriage, with the portion my father left me, to a gentleman who had one of the best estates in the city. i had scarcely been a year married when i became a widow, and was left in possession of all my husband's property, which amounted to , sequins. the interest of this money was sufficient to maintain me very honourably. when the first six months of my mourning was over, i caused to be made for me ten different dresses, of such magnificence that each came to a thousand sequins; and at the end of the year i began to wear them. one day, while i was alone engaged in my domestic affairs, i was told that a lady desired to speak to me. i gave orders that she should be admitted. she was a person advanced in years; she saluted me by kissing the ground, and said to me kneeling, "dear lady, excuse the freedom i take to trouble you, the confidence i have in your charity makes me thus bold. i must acquaint your ladyship that i have an orphan daughter, who is to be married this day. she and i are both strangers, and have no acquaintance in this town; which much perplexes me, for we wish the numerous family with whom we are going to ally ourselves to think we are not altogether unknown and without credit: therefore, most beautiful lady, if you would vouchsafe to honour the wedding with your presence, we shall be infinitely obliged, because the ladies of our country, when informed that a lady of your rank has strewn us this respect, will then know that we are not regarded here as unworthy and despised persons. but, alas! madam, if you refuse this request, how great will be our mortification! we know not where else to apply." this poor woman's address, which she spoke with tears, moved my compassion. "good woman," said i, "do not afflict yourself, i will grant you the favour you desire; tell me whither i must go, and i will meet you as soon as i am dressed." the old woman was so transported with joy at my answer, that she kissed my feet before i had time to prevent her. "my compassionate lady," said she, rising, "god will reward the kindness you have shewed to your servants, and make your heart as joyful as you have made theirs. you need not at present trouble yourself; it will be time enough for you to go when i call for you in the evening. so farewell, madam, till i have the honour to see you again." as soon as she was gone, i took the suit i liked best, with a necklace of large pearls, bracelets, pendents for my ears, and rings set with the finest and most sparkling diamonds; for my mind presaged what would befall me. when the night closed in, the old woman called upon me, with a countenance full of joy. she kissed my hands, and said, "my dear lady, the relations of my son-in-law, who are the principal ladies of the city, are now met together; you may come when you please; i am ready to conduct you." we immediately set out; she walked before me, and i was followed by a number of my women and slaves properly dressed for the occasion. we stopt in a wide street, newly swept and watered, at a spacious gate with a lamp, by the light of which i read this inscription in golden letters over the entrance: "this is the everlasting abode of pleasure and joy." the old woman knocked, and the gate was opened immediately. i was conducted towards the lower end of the court, into a large hall, where i was received by a young lady of admirable beauty. she drew near, and after having embraced me, made me sit down by her upon a sofa, on which was raised a throne of precious wood set with diamonds. "madam," said she, "you are brought hither to assist at a wedding; but i hope it will be a different wedding from what you expected. i have a brother, one of the handsomest men in the world: he is fallen so much in love with the fame of your beauty, that his fate depends wholly upon you, and he will be the unhappiest of men if you do not take pity on him. he knows your quality, and i can assure you he is in no respect unworthy of your alliance. if my prayers, madam, can prevail, i shall join them with his, and humbly beg you will not refuse the proposal of being his wife." after the death of my husband i had not thought of marrying again. but i had no power to refuse the solicitation of so charming a lady. as soon as i had given consent by my silence, accompanied with a blush, the young lady claps her hands, and immediately a closet-door opened, out of which came a young man of a majestic air, and so graceful a behaviour, that i thought myself happy to have made so great a conquest. he sat down by me, and i found from his conversation that his merits far exceeded the eulogium of his sister. when she perceived that we were satisfied with one another, she claps her hands a second time, and out came a cauzee, who wrote our contract of marriage, signed it himself, and caused it to be attested by four witnesses he brought along with him. the only condition that my new husband imposed upon me was, that i should not be seen by nor speak to any other man but himself, and he vowed to me that, if i complied in this respect, i should have no reason to complain of him. our marriage was concluded and finished after this manner; so i became the principal actress in a wedding to which i had only been invited as a guest. about a month after our marriage, having occasion for some stuffs, i asked my husband's permission to go out to buy them, which he granted; and i took with me the old woman of whom i spoke before, she being one of the family, and two of my own female slaves. when we came to the street where the merchants reside, the old woman said, "dear mistress, since you want silk stuffs, i must take you to a young merchant of my acquaintance, who has a great variety; and that you may not fatigue yourself by running from shop to shop, i can assure you that you will find in his what no other can furnish." i was easily persuaded, and we entered a shop belonging to a young merchant who was tolerably handsome. i sat down, and bade the old woman desire him to shew me the finest silk stuffs he had. the woman desired me to speak myself; but i told her it was one of the articles of my marriage contract not to speak to any man but my husband, which i ought to keep. the merchant shewed me several stuffs, of which one pleased me better than the rest; but i bade her ask the price. he answered the old woman, "i will not sell it for gold or money, but i will make her a present of it, if she will give me leave to kiss her cheek." i ordered the old woman to tell him, that he was very rude to propose such a freedom. but instead of obeying me, she said, "what the merchant desires of you is no such great matter; you need not speak, but only present him your cheek." the stuff pleased me so much, that i was foolish enough to take her advice. the old woman and my slaves stood up, that nobody might see, and i put up my veil; but instead of kissing me, the merchant bit me so violently as to draw blood. the pain and my surprise were so great, that i fell down in a swoon, and continued insensible so long, that the merchant had time to escape. when i came to myself, i found my cheek covered with blood: the old woman and my slaves took care to cover it with my veil, that the people who came about us could not perceive it, but supposed i had only had a fainting fit. the old woman who accompanied me being extremely troubled at this accident, endeavoured to comfort me. "my dear mistress," said she, "i beg your pardon, for i am the cause of this misfortune, having brought you to this merchant, because he is my countryman: but i never thought he would be guilty of such a villainous action. but do not grieve; let us hasten home, i will apply a remedy that shall in three days so perfectly cure you, that not the least mark shall be visible." the fit had made me so weak, that i was scarcely able to walk. but at last i got home, where i again fainted, as i went into my chamber. meanwhile, the old woman applied her remedy; i came to myself, and went to bed. my husband came to me at night, and seeing my head bound up, asked me the reason. i told him i had the head-ache, which i hoped would have satisfied him, but he took a candle, and saw my cheek was hurt: "how comes this wound?" said he. though i did not consider myself as guilty of any great offence, yet i could not think of owning the truth. besides, to make such an avowal to a husband, i considered as somewhat indecorous; i therefore said, "that as i was going, under his permission, to purchase some silk stuff, a porter, carrying a load of wood, came so near to me, in a narrow street, that one of the sticks grazed my cheek; but had not done me much hurt." this account put my husband into a violent passion. "this act," said he, "shall not go unpunished. i will to-morrow order the lieutenant of the police to seize all those brutes of porters, and cause them to be hanged." fearful of occasioning the death of so many innocent persons, i said, "sir, i should be sorry so great a piece of injustice should be committed. pray refrain; for i should deem myself unpardonable, were i to be the cause of so much mischief." "then tell me sincerely," said he, "how came you by this wound." i answered, "that it was occasioned by the inadvertency of a broom-seller upon an ass, who coming behind me, while he was looking another way, his ass came against me with so much violence, that i fell down, and hurt my cheek upon some glass." "if that is the case," said my husband, "to-morrow morning, before sun-rise, the grand vizier jaaffier shall be informed of this insolence, and cause all the broom-sellers to be put to death." "for the love of god, sir," said i, "let me beg of you to pardon them, for they are not guilty." "how, madam," he demanded, "what then am i to believe? speak, for i am resolved to know the truth from your own mouth." "sir," i replied, "i was taken with a giddiness, and fell down, and that is the whole matter." at these words my husband lost all patience. "i have," said he, "too long listened to your falsehoods." as he spoke he clapped his hands, and in came three slaves: "pull her out of bed," said he, "and lay her in the middle of the floor." the slaves obeyed, one holding me by the head, another by the feet; he commanded the third to fetch a cimeter, and when he had brought it, "strike," said he, "cut her in two, and then throw her into the tygris. this is the punishment i inflict on those to whom i have given my heart, when they falsify their promise." when he saw that the slave hesitated to obey him, "why do you not strike?" said he. "what do you wait for?" "madam," said the slave then, "you are near the last moment of your life, consider if you have any thing to dispose of before you die." i begged permission to speak one word, which was granted me. i lifted up my head, and casting an affectionate look on my husband, said, "alas! to what a condition am i reduced! must i then die in the prime of my youth!" i could say no more, for my tears and sighs choked my utterance. my husband was not at all moved, but, on the contrary, went on to reproach me; and it would have been in vain to attempt a reply. i had recourse to intreaties and prayers; but he had no regard to them, and commanded the slaves to proceed to execution. the old woman, who had been his nurse, came in just at that moment, fell down upon her knees, and endeavoured to appease his wrath. "my son," said she, "since i have been your nurse and brought you up, let me beg the favour of you to grant me her life. consider, that he who kills shall be killed, and that you will stain your reputation, and forfeit the esteem of mankind. what will the world say of such sanguinary violence?" she spoke these words in such an affecting manner, accompanied with tears, that she prevailed upon him at last to abandon his purpose. "well then," said he to his nurse, "for your sake i will spare her life; but she shall bear about her person some marks to make her remember her offence." when he had thus spoken, one of the slaves, by his order, gave me upon my sides and breast so many blows, with a little cane, that he tore away both skin and flesh, which threw me into a swoon. in this state he caused the same slaves, the executioners of his fury, to carry me into a house, where the old woman took care of me. i kept my bed four months; at last i recovered: the scars which, contrary to my wish, you saw yesterday, have remained ever since. as soon as i was able to walk, and go abroad, i resolved to retire to the house which was left me by my first husband, but i could not find the site whereon it had stood. my second husband, in the heat of his resentment, was not satisfied with the demolition of that, but caused every other house in the same street to be razed to the ground. i believe such an act of violence was never heard of before; but against whom could i complain? the perpetrator had taken good care to conceal himself. but suppose i had discovered him, is it not easily seen that his conduct must have proceeded from absolute power? how then could i dare to complain? being left thus destitute and helpless, i had recourse to my dear sister zobeide, whose adventures your majesty has just heard. to her i made known my misfortune; she received me with her accustomed goodness, and advised me to bear my ambition patience. "this is the way of the world," said she, "which either robs us of our property, our friends, or our lovers; and some times of all together." in confirmation of her remark, she at the same time gave me an account of the loss of the young prince, occasioned by the jealousy of her two sisters. she told me also by what accident they were transformed into bitches: and in the last place, after a thousand testimonials of her love towards me, she introduced me to my youngest sister, who had likewise taken sanctuary with her after the death of her mother. having returned our grateful acknowledgments to god for having thus brought us together, we resolved to preserve our freedom, and never again to separate. we have now long enjoyed this tranquil life. as it was my business to manage the affairs of the house, i always took pleasure in going myself to purchase what we wanted. i happened to go abroad yesterday for this purpose, and the things i bought i caused to be carried home by a porter, who proving to be a sensible and jocose fellow, we kept with us for a little diversion. three calenders happened to come to our door as it began to grow dark, and prayed us to give them shelter till the next morning we admitted them upon certain conditions which they agreed to observe; and after we had made them sit at table with us, they in their own way entertained us with a concert of music. at this time we heard knocking at our gate. this proceeded from three merchants of moussol, men of good appearance, who begged the same favour which the calenders had obtained before. we consented upon the same conditions, but neither of them kept their promise. though we had power, as well as justice on our side, to punish them, yet we contented ourselves with demanding from them the history of their lives; and afterwards confined our revenge to dismissing them, after they had done, and denying them the asylum they requested. the caliph was well pleased to be thus informed of what he desired to know; and publicly expressed his admiration of what he had heard. the caliph having satisfied his curiosity, thought himself obliged to shew his generosity to the calender princes, and also to give the three ladies some proof of his bounty. he himself, without making use of his minister, the grand vizier, spoke to zobeide. "madam, did not this fairy, that shewed herself to you in the shape of a serpent, and imposed such a rigorous command upon you, tell you where her place of abode was? or rather, did she not promise to see you, and restore those bitches to their natural shape?" "commander of the faithful," answered zobeide, "i forgot to tell your majesty that the fairy left with me a bundle of hair, saying, that her presence would one day be of use to me; and then, if i only burnt two tufts of this hair, she would be with me in a moment, though she were beyond mount caucasus." "madam," demanded the caliph, "where is the bundle of hair?" she answered, "ever since that time i have been so careful of it, that i always carry it about me." upon which she pulled it out, opened the case which contained it, and shewed it to him. "well then," said the caliph, "let us bring the fairy hither; you could not call her in a better time, for i long to see her." zobeide having consented, fire was brought in, and she threw the whole bundle of hair into it. the palace at that instant began to shake, and the fairy appeared before the caliph in the form of a lady very richly dressed. "commander of the faithful," said she to the prince, "you see i am ready to receive your commands. the lady who gave me this call by your order did me essential service. to evince my gratitude, i revenged her of her sisters' inhumanity, by changing them to bitches; but if your majesty commands me, i will restore them to their former shape." "generous fairy," replied the caliph, "you cannot do me a greater pleasure; vouchsafe them that favour, and i will find some means to comfort them for their hard penance. but besides, i have another boon to ask in favour of that lady, who has had such cruel usage from an unknown husband. as you undoubtedly know all things, oblige me with the name of this barbarous wretch, who could not be contented to exercise his outrageous and unmanly cruelty upon her person, but has also most unjustly taken from her all her substance. i only wonder how such an unjust and inhuman action could be performed under my authority, and even in my residence, without having come to my knowledge." "to oblige your majesty," answered the fairy, "i will restore the two bitches to their former state, and i will so cure the lady of her scars, that it shall never appear she was so beaten; and i will also tell you who it was that abused her." the caliph sent for the two bitches from zobeide's house, and when they came, a glass of water was brought to the fairy by her desire. she pronounced over it some words which nobody understood; then throwing some part of it upon amene, and the rest upon the bitches, the latter became two ladies of surprising beauty, and the scars that were upon amene disappeared. after which the fairy said to the caliph, "commander of the faithful, i must now discover to you the unknown husband you enquire after. he is very nearly related to yourself, for it is prince amin, your eldest son, who falling passionately in love with this lady from the fame of her beauty, by stratagem had her brought to his house, where he married her. as to the blows he caused to be given her, he is in some measure excusable; for the lady his spouse had been a little too easy, and the excuses she had made were calculated to lead him to believe she was more faulty than she really was. this is all i can say to satisfy your curiosity." at these words she saluted the caliph, and vanished. the prince being filled with admiration, and having much satisfaction in the changes that had happened through his means, acted in such a manner as will perpetuate his memory to all ages. first, he sent for his son amin, told him that he was informed of his secret marriage, and how he had ill-treated amene upon a very slight cause. upon this the prince did not wait for his father's commands, but received her again immediately. after which the caliph declared that he would give his own heart and hand to zobeide, and offered the other three sisters to the calenders, sons of sultans, who accepted them for their brides with much joy. the caliph assigned each of them a magnificent palace in the city of bagdad, promoted them to the highest dignities of his empire, and admitted them to his councils. the chief cauzee of bagdad being called, with witnesses, wrote the contracts of marriage; and the caliph in promoting by his patronage the happiness of many persons who had suffered such incredible calamities, drew a thousand blessings upon himself. the story of sinbad the voyager. in the reign of the same caliph haroun al rusheed, whom i have already mentioned, there lived at bagdad a poor porter called hindbad. one day, when the weather was excessively hot, he was employed to carry a heavy burden from one end of the town to the other. being much fatigued, and having still a great way to go, he came into a street where a refreshing breeze blew on his face, and the pavement was sprinkled with rose-water. as he could not desire a better place to rest and recruit himself, he took off his load and sat upon it, near a large mansion. he was much pleased that he stopped in this place; for the agreeable smell of wood of aloes, and of pastils that came from the house, mixing with the scent of the rose-water, completely perfumed and embalmed the air. besides, he heard from within a concert of instrumental music, accompanied with the harmonious notes of nightingales, and other birds, peculiar to the climate. this charming melody, and the smell of several sorts of savoury dishes, made the porter conclude there was a feast, with great rejoicings within. his business seldom leading him that way, he knew not to whom the mansion belonged; but to satisfy his curiosity, he went to some of the servants, whom he saw standing at the gate in magnificent apparel, and asked the name of the proprietor. "how," replied one of them, "do you live in bagdad, and know not that this is the house of sinbad, the sailor, that famous voyager, who has sailed round the world?" the porter, who had heard of this sinbad's riches, could not but envy a man whose condition he thought to be as happy as his own was deplorable: and his mind being fretted with these reflections, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said loud enough to be heard, "almighty creator of all things, consider the difference between sinbad and me! i am every day exposed to fatigues and calamities, and can scarcely get coarse barley-bread for myself and my family, whilst happy sinbad profusely expends immense riches, and leads a life of continual pleasure. what has he done to obtain from thee a lot so agreeable? and what have i done to deserve one so wretched?" having finished his expostulation, he struck his foot against the ground, like a man absorbed in grief and despair. whilst the porter was thus indulging his melancholy, a servant came out of the house, and taking him by the arm, bade him follow him, for sinbad, his master, wanted to speak to him. sir, your majesty may easily imagine, that the repining hindbad was not a little surprised at this compliment. for, considering what he had said, he was afraid sinbad had sent for him to punish him: therefore he would have excused himself, alleging, that he could not leave his burden in the middle of the street. but sinbad's servants assured him they would look to it, and were so urgent with him, that he was obliged to yield. the servants brought him into a great hall, where a number of people sat round a table, covered with all sorts of savoury dishes. at the upper end sat a comely venerable gentleman, with a long white beard, and behind him stood a number of officers and domestics, all ready to attend his pleasure. this personage was sinbad. the porter, whose fear was increased at the sight of so many people, and of a banquet so sumptuous, saluted the company trembling. sinbad bade him draw near, and seating him at his right hand, served him himself, and gave him excellent wine, of which there was abundance upon the sideboard. when the repast was over, sinbad addressed his conversation to hindbad; and calling him brother, according to the manner of the arabians, when they are familiar one with another, enquired his name and employment. "my lord," answered he, "my name is hindbad." "i am very glad to see you," replied sinbad; "and i daresay the same on behalf of all the company: but i wish to hear from your own mouth what it was you lately said in the street." sinbad had himself heard the porter complain through the window, and this it was that induced him to have him brought in. at this request, hindbad hung down his head in confusion, and replied, "my lord, i confess that my fatigue put me out of humour, and occasioned me to utter some indiscreet words, which i beg you to pardon." "do not think i am so unjust," resumed sinbad, "as to resent such a complaint. i consider your condition, and instead of upbraiding, commiserate you. but i must rectify your error concerning myself. you think, no doubt, that i have acquired, without labour and trouble, the ease and indulgence which i now enjoy. but do not mistake; i did not attain to this happy condition, without enduring for several years more trouble of body and mind than can well be imagined. yes, gentlemen," he added, speaking to the whole company, "i can assure you, my troubles were so extraordinary, that they were calculated to discourage the most covetous from undertaking such voyages as i did, to acquire riches. perhaps you have never heard a distinct account of my wonderful adventures, and the dangers i encountered, in my seven voyages; and since i have this opportunity, i will give you a faithful account of them, not doubting but it will be acceptable." as sinbad wished to relate his adventures chiefly on the porter's account, he ordered his burden to be carried to the place of its destination, and then proceeded. the first voyage. i inherited from my father considerable property, the greater part of which i squandered in my youth in dissipation; but i perceived my error, and reflected that riches were perishable, and quickly consumed by such ill managers as myself. i farther considered, that by my irregular way of living i wretchedly misspent my time; which is, of all things, the most valuable. i remembered the saying of the great solomon, which i had frequently heard from my father; that death is more tolerable than poverty. struck with these reflections, i collected the remains of my fortune, and sold all my effects by public auction. i then entered into a contract with some merchants, who traded by sea. i took the advice of such as i thought most capable of assisting me: and resolving to improve what money i had, i went to bussorah, and embarked with several merchants on board a ship which we had jointly fitted out. we set sail, and steered our course towards the indies, through the persian gulf, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, and by those of persia on the left, and, according to common opinion is seventy leagues wide at the broadest place. the eastern sea, as well as that of the indies, is very spacious. it is bounded on one side by the coasts of abyssinia, and is , leagues in length to the isles of vakvak. at first i was troubled with the sea-sickness, but speedily recovered my health, and was not afterwards subject to that complaint. in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, whilst under sail, we were becalmed near a small island, but little elevated above the level of the water, and resembling a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and permitted such persons as were so inclined to land; of this number i was one. but while we were enjoying ourselves in eating and drinking, and recovering ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island on a sudden trembled, and shook us terribly. the trembling of the island was perceived on board the ship, and we were called upon to re-embark speedily, or we should all be lost; for what we took for an island proved to be the back of a sea monster. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but for myself i was still upon the back of the creature, when he dived into the sea, and i had time only to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship to make a fire. meanwhile, the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to improve the favourable gale that had just risen, and hoisting his sails pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible for me to recover the ship. thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves. i struggled for my life all the rest of the day and the following night. by this time i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when happily a wave threw me against an island, the bank was high and rugged; so that i could scarcely have got up, had it not been for some roots of trees, which fortune seemed to have preserved in this place for my safety. having reached the land, i lay down upon the ground half dead, until the sun appeared. then, though i was very feeble, both from hard labour and want of food, i crept along to find some herbs fit to eat, and had the good luck not only to procure some, but likewise to discover a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to recover me. after this i advanced farther into the island, and at last reached a fine plain, where at a great distance i perceived a horse feeding. i went towards it, fluctuating between hope and fear, for i knew not whether in advancing i was more likely to endanger or to preserve my life. as i approached, i perceived it to be a very fine mare, tied to a stake. whilst i was admiring its beauty, i heard from beneath the voice of a man, who immediately appeared, and asked me who i was? i related to him my adventure, after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. i partook of some provisions which they offered me. i then asked them what they did in such a desert place? to which they answered, that they were grooms belonging to maha-raja, sovereign of the island; that every year, at the same season, they brought thither the king's mares, and fastened them as i had seen, until they were covered by a sea-horse, who afterwards endeavoured to destroy the mares; but was prevented by their noise, and obliged to return to the sea. the mares when in foal were taken back, and the horses thus produced were kept for the king's use, and called seahorses. they added, that they were to return home on the morrow, and had i been one day later, i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was at a great distance, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. while they entertained me thus, the horse came out of the sea, as they had told me, covered the mare, and afterwards would have devoured her; but upon a great noise made by the grooms, he left her, and plunged into the sea. next morning they returned with their mares to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to the maha-raja. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i had come into his dominions? after i had satisfied him, he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want nothing; which commands his officers were so generous and careful as to see exactly fulfilled. being a merchant, i frequented men of my own profession, and particularly enquired for those who were strangers, that perchance i might hear news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return. for the maha-raja's capital is situated on the sea-coast, and has a fine harbour, where ships arrive daily from the different quarters of the world. i frequented also the society of the learned indians, and took delight to hear them converse; but withal, i took care to make my court regularly to the maha-raja, and conversed with the governors and petty kings, his tributaries, that were about him. they put a thousand questions respecting my country; and i being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, asked them concerning every thing which i thought worth knowing. there belongs to this king an island named cassel. they assured me that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of degial. i determined to visit this wonderful place, and in my way thither saw fishes of and cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt; for they are so timorous, that they will fly upon the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fish about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. as i was one day at the port after my return, a ship arrived, and as soon as she cast anchor, they began to unload her, and the merchants on board ordered their goods to be carried into the customhouse. as i cast my eye upon some bales, and looked to the name, i found my own, and perceived the bales to be the same that i had embarked at bussorah. i also knew the captain; but being persuaded that he believed me to be drowned, i went, and asked him whose bales these were? he replied, that they belonged to a merchant at bagdad, called sinbad, who came to sea with him; but one day, being near an island, as was supposed, he went ashore, with several other passengers, upon this island, which was only a monstrous fish, that lay asleep upon the the sur-face of the water: but as soon as he felt the heat of the fire they had kindled upon his back, to dress some victuals, began to move, and dived under water. most of the persons who were upon him perished, and among them the unfortunate sinbad. those bales belonged to him, and i am resolved to trade with them until i meet with some of his family, to whom i may return the profit. "i am that sinbad," said i, "whom you thought to be dead, and those bales are mine." when the captain heard me speak thus, "heavens!" he exclaimed, "whom can we trust in these times? there is no faith left among men. i saw sinbad perish with my own eyes, as did also the passengers on board, and yet you tell me you are that sinbad. what impudence is this? to look on you, one would take you to be a man of probity, and yet you tell a horrible falsehood, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you." "have patience," replied i; "do me the favour to hear what i have to say." "very well," said he, "speak, i am ready to hear you." then i told him how i had escaped, and by what adventure i met with the grooms of maha-raja, who had brought me to his court. his confidence began to abate upon this declaration, and he was at length persuaded that i was no cheat: for there came people from his ship who knew me, paid me great compliments, and expressed much joy at seeing me alive. at last he recollected me himself, and embracing me, "heaven be praised," said he, "for your happy escape. i cannot express the joy it affords, me; there are your goods, take and do with them as you please." i thanked him, acknowledged his probity, and in requital, offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented them to the maha-raja, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities. i acquainted him with the circumstance of their recovery. he was pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and in return gave me one much more considerable. upon this, i took leave of him, and went aboard the same ship, after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of that country. i carried with me wood of aloes, sandal, camphire, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at bussorah, from whence i came to this city, with the value of , sequins. my family and i received one another with all the transports of sincere affection. i bought slaves of both sexes, and a landed estate, and built a magnificent house. thus i settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries i had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life. sinbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to proceed with their concert, which the story had interrupted. the company continued enjoying themselves till the evening, and it was time to retire, when sinbad sent for a purse of sequins and giving it to the porter, said, "take this, hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear more of my adventures." the porter went away, astonished at the honour done, and the present made him. the account of this adventure proved very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return thanks to god for what providence had sent him by the hand of sinbad. hindbad put on his best apparel next day, and returned to the bountiful traveller, who received him with a pleasant air, and welcomed him heartily. when all the guests had arrived, dinner was served, and continued a long time. when it was ended, sinbad, addressing himself to the company, said, "gentlemen, be pleased to listen to the adventures of my second voyage; they deserve your attention even more than those of the first." upon which every one held his peace, and sinbad proceeded. the second voyage. i designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad, as i had the honour to tell you yesterday; but it was not long ere i grew weary of an indolent life. my inclination to trade revived. i bought goods proper for the commerce i intended, and put to sea a second time with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and after recommending ourselves to god, set sail. we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed in an island covered with several sorts of fruit-trees, but we could see neither man nor animal. we went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, along the streams that watered them. whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and other fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down near a stream betwixt two high trees, which formed a thick shade. i made a good meal, and afterwards fell asleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but when i awoke the ship was gone. i was much alarmed at finding the ship gone. i got up and looked around me, but could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. i perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance, that i lost sight of her in a short time. i leave you to guess at my melancholy reflections in this sad condition: i was ready to die with grief. i cried out in agony; beat my head and breast, and threw myself upon the ground, where i lay some time in despair, one afflicting thought being succeeded by another still more afflicting. i upbraided myself a hundred times for not being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might have sufficed me all my life. but all this was in vain, and my repentance too late. at last i resigned myself to the will of god. not knowing what to do, i climbed up to the top of a lofty tree, from whence i looked about on all sides, to see if i could discover any thing that could give me hopes. when i gazed towards the sea i could see nothing but sky and water; but looking over the land i beheld something white; and coming down, i took what provision i had left, and went towards it, the distance being so great, that i could not distinguish what it was. as i approached, i thought it to be a white dome, of a prodigious height and extent; and when i came up to it, i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top as it was so smooth. it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. i remembered that i had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird called roc, and conceived that the great dome which i so much admired must be its egg. in short, the bird alighted, and sat over the egg. as i perceived her coming, i crept to the egg, so that i had before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. i tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc next morning would carry me with her out of this desert island. after having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high, that i could not discern the earth; she afterwards descended with so much rapidity that i lost my senses. but when i found myself on the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. the spot where it left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. this was a new perplexity: so that when i compared this place with the desert island from which the roc had brought me, i found that i had gained nothing by the change. as i walked through this valley, i perceived it was strewed with diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. i took pleasure in looking upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such objects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, and which i could not view without terror, namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the day-time to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc their enemy, and came out only in the night. i spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at times in such places as i thought most convenient. when night came on, i went into a cave, where i thought i might repose in safety. i secured the entrance, which was low and narrow, with a great stone to preserve me from the serpents; but not so far as to exclude the light. i supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began hissing round me, put me into such extreme fear, that you may easily imagine i did not sleep. when day appeared, the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave trembling. i can justly say, that i walked upon diamonds, without feeling any inclination to touch them. at last i sat down, and notwithstanding my apprehensions, not having closed my eyes during the night, fell asleep, after having eaten a little more of my provision. but i had scarcely shut my eyes, when something that fell by me with a great noise awaked me. this was a large piece of raw meat; and at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. i had always regarded as fabulous what i had heard sailors and others relate of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by merchants to obtain jewels from thence; but now i found that they had stated nothing but truth. for the fact is, that the merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley, when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than any where else, pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the precipices of the rocks to feed their young: the merchants at this time run to their nests, disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. until i perceived the device i had concluded it to be impossible for me to get from this abyss, which i regarded as my grave; but now i changed my opinion, and began to think upon the means of my deliverance. i began to collect together the largest diamonds i could find, and put them into the leather bag in which i used to carry my provisions. i afterwards took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being made fast to my girdle. i had scarcely placed myself in this posture when the eagles came. each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up, with the piece of meat to which i was fastened, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants immediately began their shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where i was. he was much alarmed when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of enquiring how i came thither began to quarrel with me, and asked, why i stole his goods? "you will treat me," replied i, "with more civility, when you know me better. do not be uneasy, i have diamonds enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. whatever they have they owe to chance, but i selected for myself in the bottom of the valley those which you see in this bag." i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came crowding about us, much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story. yet they did not so much admire my stratagem to effect my deliverance, as my courage in putting it into execution. they conducted me to their encampment, and there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that in all the courts which they had visited they had never seen any of such size and perfection. i prayed the merchant, who owned the nest to which i had been carried (for every merchant had his own), to take as many for his share as he pleased. he contented himself with one, and that too the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury, "no," said he, "i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will raise as great a fortune as i desire." i spent the night with the merchants, to whom i related my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned. i thought myself in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself out of danger. the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days. and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place the next morning, and travelled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took shipping at the first port we reached, and touched at the isle of roha, where the trees grow that yield camphire. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that one hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice, of which the camphire is made, exudes from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a vessel, where it thickens to a consistency, and becomes what we call camphire; after the juice is thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies. in this island is also found the rhinoceros, an animal less than the elephant, but larger than the buffalo. it has a horn upon its nose, about a cubit in length; this horn is solid, and cleft through the middle, upon this may be seen white lines, representing the figure of a man. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his head but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his eyes, and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and then, strange to relate! the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws, for food for her young ones. i pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest i should be troublesome to you. here i exchanged some of my diamonds for merchandize. from hence we went to other islands, and at last, having touched at several trading towns of the continent, we landed at bussorah, from whence i proceeded to bagdad. there i immediately gave large presents to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches i had brought, and gained with so much fatigue. thus sinbad ended the relation of the second voyage, gave hindbad another hundred sequins, and invited him to come the next day to hear the account of the third. the rest of the guests returned to their homes, and came again the following day at the same hour, and one may be sure the porter did not fail, having by this time almost forgotten his former poverty. when dinner was over, sinbad demanded attention, and gave them an account of his third voyage, as follows. the third voyage. i soon lost in the pleasures of life the remembrance of the perils i had encountered in my two former voyages; and being in the flower of my age, i grew weary of living without business, and hardening myself against the thought of any danger i might incur, went from bagdad to bussorah with the richest commodities of the country. there i embarked again with some merchants. we made a long voyage, and touched at several ports, where we carried on a considerable trade. one day, being out in the main ocean, we were overtaken by a dreadful tempest, which drove us from our course. the tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor. when we had furled our sails, the captain told us, that this, and some other neighbouring islands, were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was such, that we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them, they would all fall upon us and destroy us. this account of the captain, continued sinbad put the whole company into great consternation and we soon found that what he had told us was but too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, about two feet high, covered all over with red hair, came swimming towards us, and encompassed our ship. they spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with such agility as surprised us. we beheld all this with dread, but without daring to defend ourselves, or to divert them from their mischievous design. in short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another island from whence they had come. all voyagers carefully avoided the island where they left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall presently hear; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience. we went forward into the island, where we gathered some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. as we advanced, we perceived at a distance a vast pile of building, and made towards it. we found it to be a palace, elegantly built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony of two leaves, which we forced open. we entered the court, where we saw before us a large apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of human bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and being fatigued with travelling, fell to the ground, seized with deadly apprehension, and lay a long time motionless. the sun set, and whilst we were in the lamentable condition i have described, the gate of the apartment opened with a loud crash, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as tall as a lofty palm-tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as a burning coal. his fore-teeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of his mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse. his upper lip hung down upon his breast. his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at the sight of so frightful a giant, we became insensible, and lay like dead men. at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch looking at us. when he had considered us well, he advanced towards us, and laying his hand upon me, took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned round as a butcher would do a sheep's head. after having examined me, and perceiving me to be so lean that i had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest one by one, and viewed them in the same manner. the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i would do a sparrow, and thrust a spit through him; he then kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his supper. having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder. he slept thus till morning. as to ourselves, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest, so that we passed the night in the most painful apprehension that can be imagined. when day appeared the giant awoke, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. when we thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had preserved the whole of the night, and filled the palace with our lamentations and groans. though we were several in number, and had but one enemy, it never occurred to us to effect our deliverance by putting him to death. this enterprize however, though difficult of execution, was the only design we ought naturally to have formed. we thought of several other expedients, but determined upon none; and submitting ourselves to what it should please god to order concerning us, we spent the day in traversing the island, supporting ourselves with fruits and herbs as we had done the day before. in the evening we sought for some place of shelter, but found none; so that we were forced, whether we would or not, to return to the palace. the giant failed not to return, and supped once more upon one of our companions, after which he slept, and snored till day, and then went out and left us as before. our situation appeared to us so dreadful, that several of my comrades designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so painful a death; and endeavoured to persuade the others to follow their example. upon which one of the company answered, "that we were forbidden to destroy ourselves: but even if that were not the case, it was much more reasonable to devise some method to rid ourselves of the monster who had destined us to so horrible a fate." having thought of a project for this purpose, i communicated it to my comrades, who approved it. "brethren," said i, "you know there is much timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us make several rafts capable of bearing us, and when they are done, leave them there till we find it convenient to use them. in the mean time, we will carry into execution the design i proposed to you for our deliverance from the giant, and if it succeed, we may remain here patiently awaiting the arrival of some ship to carry us out of this fatal island; but if it happen to miscarry, we will take to our rafts, and put to sea. i admit that by exposing ourselves to the fury of the waves, we run a risk of losing our lives; but is it not better to be buried in the sea than in the entrails of this monster, who has already devoured two of our number?" my advice was approved, and we made rafts capable of carrying three persons on each. we returned to the palace towards the evening, and the giant arrived shortly after. we were forced to submit to seeing another of our comrades roasted. but at last we revenged ourselves on the brutish giant in the following manner. after he had finished his cursed supper, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore, according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded him. the pain made him break out into a frightful yell: he started up, and stretched out his hands, in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage: but we ran to such places as he could not reach; and after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate, and went out, howling in agony. we quitted the palace after the giant, and came to the shore, where we had left our rafts, and put them immediately to sea. we waited till day, in order to get upon them, in case the giant should come towards us with any guide of his own species, but we hoped if he did not appear by sun-rising, and gave over his howling, which we still heard, that he would prove to be dead; and if that happened to be the case, we resolved to stay in that island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts: but day had scarcely appeared, when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied with two others almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming before him at a quick pace. we did not hesitate to take to our rafts, and put to sea with all the speed we could. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore, entered the water up to the middle, and threw so exactly, that they sunk all the rafts but that i was upon; and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants. but when we got out to sea, we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and tossed about, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, and spent that night and the following day under the most painful uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good fortune to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit, which afforded us great relief, and recruited our strength. at night we went to sleep on the sea-shore but were awakened by the noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling noise as he wound himself along. it swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries, and the efforts he made to extricate himself from it; dashing him several times against the ground, it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor wretch's bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance. the following day, to our great terror, we saw the serpent again, when i exclaimed, "o heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! we rejoiced yesterday at having escaped from the cruelty of a giant and the rage of the waves, now are we fallen into another danger equally dreadful." as we walked about, we saw a large tall tree upon which we designed to pass the following night, for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it according. shortly after, the serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree; raised himself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off. i remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate with my two companions. this filled me with horror, and i advanced some steps to throw myself into the sea; but the natural love of life prompting us to prolong it as long as we can, i withstood this dictate of despair, and submitted myself to the will of god, who disposes of our lives at his pleasure. in the mean time i collected together a great quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, and making them up into faggots, made a wide circle with them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done this, when the evening came, i shut myself up within this circle, with the melancholy satisfaction, that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made; so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has fortunately reached a place of safety. when day appeared, he retired, but i dared not to leave my fort until the sun arose. i felt so much fatigued by the labour to which it had put me, and suffered so much from his poisonous breath, that death seemed more eligible to me than the horrors of such a state. i came down from the tree, and, not thinking of the resignation i had the preceding day resolved to exercise, i ran towards the sea, with a design to throw myself into it. god took compassion on my hopeless state; for just as i was going to throw myself into the sea, i perceived a ship at a considerable distance. i called as loud as i could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it, that they might observe me. this had the desired effect; the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. as soon as i came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me, to know how i came into that desert island; and after i had related to them all that had befallen me, the oldest among them said to me, they had several times heard of the giants that dwelt in that island, that they were cannibals, and ate men raw as well as roasted; and as to the serpents, they added, that there were abundance in the island that hid themselves by day, and came abroad by night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of their provisions; and the captain, seeing that i was in rags, was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. we continued at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat, where sandal wood is obtained, which is of great use in medicine. we entered the port, and came to anchor. the merchants began to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. in the mean time, the captain came to me, and said, "brother, i have here some goods that belonged to a merchant, who sailed some time on board this ship, and he being dead, i design to dispose of them for the benefit of his heirs, when i find who they are." the bales he spoke of lay on the deck, and shewing them to me, he said, "there are the goods; i hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have factorage." i thanked him for thus affording me an opportunity of employing myself, because i hated to be idle. the clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of the merchants to whom they belonged. and when he asked the captain in whose name he should enter those he had given me the charge of; "enter them," said the captain, "in the name of sinbad." i could not hear myself named without some emotion; and looking stedfastly on the captain, i knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island where i fell asleep, and sailed without me, or sending to see for me. but i could not recollect him at first, he was so much altered since i had seen him. i was not surprised that he, believing me to be dead, did not recognize me. "captain," said i, "was the merchant's name, to whom those bales belonged, sinbad?" "yes," replied he, "that was his name; he came from bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at bussorah. one day, when we landed at an island to take in water and other refreshments, i knew not by what mistake, i sailed without observing that he did not re-embark with us; neither i nor the merchants perceived it till four hours after. we had the wind in our stern, and so fresh a gale, that it was not then possible for us to tack about for him." "you believe him then to be dead?" said i. "certainly," answered he. "no, captain," i resumed; "look at me, and you may know that i am sinbad, whom you left in that desert island." the captain, continued sinbad, having considered me attentively, recognized me. "god be praised," said he, embracing me; "i rejoice that fortune has rectified my fault. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve." i took them from him, and made him the acknowledgments to which he was entitled. from the isle of salabat, we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from this island, we saw a tortoise twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also an amphibious animal like a cow, which gave milk; its skin is so hard, that they usually make bucklers of it. i saw another, which had the shape and colour of a camel. in short, after a long voyage, i arrived at bussorah, and from thence returned to bagdad, with so much wealth that i knew not its extent. i gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another considerable estate in addition to what i had already. thus sinbad finished the history of his third voyage; gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, invited him to dinner again the next day, to hear the story of his fourth voyage. hindbad and the company retired; and on the following day, when they returned, sinbad after dinner continued the relation of his adventures. the fourth voyage. the pleasures and amusements which i enjoyed after my third voyage had not charms sufficient to divert me from another. my passion for trade, and my love of novelty, again prevailed. i therefore settled my affairs, and having provided a stock of goods fit for the traffic i designed to engage in, i set out on my journey. i took the route of persia, travelled over several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. we hoisted our sails, and touched at several ports of the continent, and some of the eastern islands, and put out to sea: we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of wind, as obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. but all was in vain our endeavours had no effect; the sails were split in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; several of the merchants and seamen were drowned and the cargo was lost. i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get upon some planks, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us. there we found fruit and spring water, which preserved our lives. we staid all night near the place where we had been cast ashore, without consulting what we should do; our misfortune had so much dispirited us that we could not deliberate. next morning, as soon as the sun was up, we walked from the shore, and advancing into the island, saw some houses, which we approached. as soon as we drew near, we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who seized us, shared us among them, and carried us to their respective habitations. i, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place; here they made us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to eat. my comrades not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it themselves, thought only of satisfying their hunger, and ate with greediness. but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in little time after, i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they knew not what they said. the negroes fed us afterwards with rice, prepared with oil of cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i also partook of it, but very sparingly. they gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they supplied us with rice to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. this accordingly happened, for they devoured my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat, as the rest did, i grew leaner every day. the fear of death under which i laboured, turned all my food into poison. i fell into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the negroes, having killed and eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death. meanwhile i had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice was taken of what i did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. an old man, who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but instead of obeying him, i redoubled my speed, and quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to return till night, which was usual with them. therefore, being sure that they could not arrive time enough to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had secured; but i speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa-nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and saw some white people like myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place. this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. the people who gathered pepper came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in arabic who i was, and whence i came? i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied their curiosity, by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the negroes. "those negroes," replied they, "eat men, and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty?" i related to them the circumstances i have just mentioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised. i staid with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they had come. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince. he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him; and he afterwards gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. the island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the capital a place of great trade. this agreeable retreat was very comfortable to me after my misfortunes, and the kindness of this generous prince completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favour with him than myself; and, consequently, every man in court and city sought to oblige me; so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. i observed one thing, which to me appeared very extraordinary. all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without saddle, bridle, or stirrups. this made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how it came to pass? his majesty answered, that i talked to him of things which nobody knew the use of in his dominions. i went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterwards went to a smith, who made me a bit, according to the pattern i shewed him, and also some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by large presents. i could not avoid making several others for the ministers and principal officers of his household, who all of them made me presents that enriched me in a little time. i also made some for the people of best quality in the city, which gained me great reputation and regard. as i paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day, "sinbad, i love thee; and all my subjects who know thee, treat thee according to my example. i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant." "sir," answered i, "there is nothing but i will do, as a mark of my obedience to your majesty, whose power over me is absolute." "i have a mind thou shouldst marry," replied he, "that so thou mayst stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own country." i durst not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with my wife, and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. i was not, however, satisfied with my banishment, therefore designed to make my escape the first opportunity, and to return to bagdad; which my present settlement, how advantageous soever, could not make me forget. at this time the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom i had contrasted a very strict friendship, fell sick, and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him absorbed in sorrow, i said to him as soon as i saw him, "god preserve you and grant you a long life." "alas!" replied he, "how do you think i should obtain the favour you wish me? i have not above an hour to live." "pray," said i, "do not entertain such a melancholy thought; i hope i shall enjoy your company many years." "i wish you," he replied, "a long life; but my days are at an end, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law which our ancestors established in this island, and it is always observed inviolably. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law." while he was giving me an account of this barbarous custom, the very relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred, friends, and neighbours, came in a body to assist at the funeral. they dressed the corpse of the woman in her richest apparel, and all her jewels, as if it had been her wedding-day; then they placed her on an open coffin, and began their march to the place of burial. the husband walked at the head of the company, and followed the corpse. they proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached the place of their destination, they took up a large stone, which covered the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the corpse with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband, embracing his kindred and friends, suffered himself to be put into another open coffin without resistance, with a pot of water, and seven small loaves, and was let down in the same manner. the mountain was of considerable length, and extended along the sea-shore, and the pit was very deep. the ceremony being over, the aperture was again covered with the stone, and the company returned. it is needless for me to tell you that i was a most melancholy spectator this funeral, while the rest were scarcely moved, the custom was to them so familiar. i could not forbear communicating to the king my sentiment respecting the practice: "sir," i said, "i cannot but feel astonished at the strange usage observed in this country, of burying the living with the dead. i have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so cruel a law." "what do you mean, sinbad?" replied the king: "it is a common law. i shall be interred with the queen, my wife, if she die first." "but, sir," said i, "may i presume to ask your majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law?" "without doubt," returned the king (smiling at the occasion of my question), "they are not exempted, if they be married in this island." i returned home much depressed by this answer; for the fear of my wife's dying first, and that i should be interred alive with her, occasioned me very uneasy reflections. but there was no remedy; i must have patience, and submit to the will of god. i trembled however at every little indisposition of my wife. alas! in a little time my fears were realized, for she fell sick, and died. judge of my sorrow; to be interred alive, seemed to me as deplorable a termination of life as to be devoured by cannibals. it was necessary, however, to submit. the king and all his court expressed their wish to honour the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city did the same. when all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a coffin, with all her jewels and her most magnificent apparel. the procession began, and as second actor in this doleful tragedy, i went next the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable fate. before we reached the mountain, i made an attempt to affect the minds of the spectators: i addressed myself to the king first, and then to all those that were round me; bowing before them to the earth, and kissing the border of their garments, i prayed them to have compassion upon me. "consider," said i, "that i am a stranger, and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that i have another wife and children in my own country." although i spoke in the most pathetic manner, no one was moved by my address; on the contrary, they ridiculed my dread of death as cowardly, made haste to let my wife's corpse into the pit, and lowered me down the next moment in an open coffin, with full of water and seven loaves. in short, the fatal ceremony being performed, they covered over the mouth of the pit, notwithstanding my grief and piteous lamentations. as i approached the bottom, i discovered by the aid of the little light that came from above the nature of this subterranean place, it seemed an endless cavern, and might be about fifty fathom deep. i was annoyed by an insufferable stench proceeding from the multitude of bodies which i saw on the right and left; nay, i fancied that i heard some of them sigh out their last. however, when i got down, i immediately left my coffin, and getting at a distance from the bodies, held my nose, and lay down upon the ground, where i stayed a considerable time, bathed in tears. at last, reflecting on my melancholy case, "it is true," said i, "that god disposes all things according to the degrees of his providence; but, unhappy sinbad, hast thou any but thyself to blame that thou art brought to die so strange a death? would to god thou hadst perished in some of those tempests which thou hast escaped! then thy death had not been so lingering, and so terrible in all its circumstances. but thou hast drawn all this upon thyself by thy inordinate avarice. ah, unfortunate wretch! shouldst thou not rather have remained at home, and quietly enjoyed the fruits of thy labour?" such were the vain complaints with which i filled the cave, beating my head and breast out of rage and despair, and abandoning myself to the most afflicting thoughts. nevertheless, i must tell you, that instead of calling death to my assistance in that miserable condition, i felt still an inclination to live, and to do all i could to prolong my days. i went groping about, with my nose stopped, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. though the darkness of the cave was so great that i could not distinguish day and night, yet i always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious and fuller of bodies than it had appeared to be at first. i lived for some days upon my bread and water, which being all spent, i at last prepared for death. as i was thinking of death, i heard the stone lifted up from the mouth of the cave, and immediately the corpse of a man was let down when reduced to necessity, it is natural to come to extreme resolutions. while they let down the woman i approached the place where her coffin was to be put, and as soon as i perceived they were again covering the mouth of the cave, gave the unfortunate wretch two or three violent blows over the head, with a large bone; which stunned, or, to say the truth, killed her. i committed this inhuman action merely for the sake of the bread and water that was in her coffin, and thus i had provision for some days more. when that was spent, they letdown another dead woman, and a living man; i killed the man in the same manner, and, as there was then a sort of mortality in the town, by continuing this practice i did not want for provisions. one day after i had dispatched another woman, i heard something tread, and breathing or panting as it walked. i advanced towards that side from whence i heard the noise, and on my approach the creature puffed and blew harder, as if running away from me. i followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as i approached. i pursued it for a considerable time, till at last i perceived a light, resembling a star; i went on, sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock, large enough to admit a man. upon this, i stopped some time to rest, being much fatigued with the rapidity of my progress: afterwards coming up to the hole, i got through, and found myself upon the sea shore. i leave you to guess the excess of my joy: it was such, that i could scarcely persuade myself that the whole was not a dream. but when i was recovered from my surprise, and convinced of the reality of my escape, i perceived what i had followed to be a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter the cavern and feed upon the bodies of the dead. i examined the mountain, and found it to be situated betwixt the sea and the town, but without any passage to or communication with the latter; the rocks on the sea side being high and perpendicularly steep. i prostrated myself on the shore to thank god for this mercy, and afterwards entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which i ate by daylight with a better appetite than i had done since my interment in the dark cavern. i returned thither a second time, and groped among the coffins for all the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold bracelets, and rich stuffs i could find; these i brought to the shore, and tying them up neatly into bales, with the cords that let down the coffins, i laid them together upon the beach, waiting till some ship might appear, without fear of rain, for it was then the dry season. after two or three days, i perceived a ship just come out of the harbour, making for the place where i was. i made a sign with the linen of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as i could. they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board, when they asked by what misfortune i came thither; i told them that i had suffered shipwreck two days before, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. it was fortunate for me that these people did not consider the place where i was, nor enquire into the probability of what i told them; but without hesitation took me on board with my goods. when i came to the ship, the captain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which i offered him. we passed by several islands, and among others that called the isle of bells, about ten days' sail from serendib, with a regular wind, and six from that of kela, where we landed. this island produces lead mines, indian canes, and excellent camphire. the king of the isle of kela is very rich and powerful, and the isle of bells, which is about two days journey in extent, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our traffic in that island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports; at last i arrived happily at bagdad with infinite riches, of which it is needless to trouble you with the detail. out of gratitude to god for his mercies, i contributed liberally towards the support of several mosques, and the subsistence of the poor, gave myself up to the society of my kindred and friends, enjoying myself with them in festivities and amusements. here sinbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage, which appeared more surprising to the company than the three former. he made a new present of one hundred sequins to hindbad, whom he requested to return with the rest next day at the same hour to dine with him, and hear the story of his fifth voyage. hindbad and the other guests took their leave and retired. next morning when they all met, they sat down at table, and when dinner was over, sinbad began the relation of his fifth voyage as follows. the fifth voyage. the pleasures i enjoyed had again charms enough to make me forget all the troubles and calamities i had undergone, but could not cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. i therefore bought goods, departed with them for the best sea-port; and there, that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i remained till one was built on purpose, at my own charge. when the ship was ready, i went on board with my goods; but not having enough to load her, i agreed to take with me several merchants of different nations with their merchandize. we sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long navigation the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of a roe, equal in size to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc it just ready to be hatched, and its bill had begun to appear. the merchants whom i had taken on board, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets, and made a hole in it, pulled out the young roc piecemeal, and roasted it. i had earnestly intreated them not to meddle with the egg, but they would not listen to me. scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared in the air at a considerable distance from us two great clouds. the captain whom i had hired to navigate my ship, knowing by experience what they meant, said they were the male and female roc that belonged to the young one, and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. we hastened on board, and set sail with all possible expedition. in the mean time, the two roes approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. they flew back in the direction they had come, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could to endeavour to prevent that which unhappily befell us. they soon returned, and we observed that each of them carried between its talons stones, or rather rocks, of a monstrous size. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let fall a stone, but by the dexterity of the steersman it missed us, and falling into the sea, divided the water so that we could almost see the bottom. the other roe, to our misfortune, threw his messy burden so exactly upon the middle of the ship, as to split it into a thousand pieces. the mariners and passengers were all crushed to death, or sunk. i myself was of the number of the latter; but as i came up again, i fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming sometimes with one hand, and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast my board, the wind and the tide favouring me, i came to an island, whose shore was very steep. i overcame that difficulty, however, and got ashore. i sat down upon the grass, to recover myself from my fatigue, after which i went into the island to explore it. it seemed to be a delicious garden. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green, and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water running in pleasant meanders. i ate of the fruits, which i found excellent; and drank of the water, which was very light and good. when night closed in, i lay down upon the grass in a convenient spot, but could not sleep an hour at a time, my mind being apprehensive of danger. i spent best part of the night in alarm, and reproached myself for my imprudence in not remaining at home, rather than undertaking this last voyage. these reflections carried me so far, that i began to form a design against my life; but daylight dispersed these melancholy thoughts. i got up, and walked among the trees, but not without some fears. when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man, who appeared very weak and infirm. he was sitting on the bank of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went towards him and saluted him, but he only slightly bowed his head. i asked him why he sat so still, but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit. i believed him really to stand in need of my assistance, took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with ease; but instead of doing so (which i laugh at every time i think of it) the old man, who to me appeared quite decrepit, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck, when i perceived his skin to resemble that of a cow. he sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight, that i thought he would have strangled me, the apprehension of which make me swoon and fall down. notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me time to recover my breath. when i had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other, that he forced me to rise up against my will. having arisen, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit such as we found. he never left me all day, and when i lay down to rest at night, laid himself down with me, holding always fast about my neck. every morning he pushed me to make me awake, and afterwards obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. you may judge then, gentlemen, what trouble i was in, to be loaded with such a burden of which i could not get rid. one day i found in my way several dry calebashes that had fallen from a tree. i took a large one, and after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island; having filled the calebash, i put it by in a convenient place, and going thither again some days after, i tasted it, and found the wine so good, that it soon made me forget my sorrow, gave me new vigour, and so exhilarated my spirits, that i began to sing and dance as i walked along. the old man, perceiving the effect which this liquor had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than before, made me a sign to give him some of it. i handed him the calebash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. there being a considerable quantity of it, he became drunk immediately, and the fumes getting up into his head, he began to sing after his manner, and to dance with his breech upon my shoulders. his jolting made him vomit, and he loosened his legs from about me by degrees. finding that he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion; i then took up a great stone, and crushed his head to pieces. i was extremely glad to be thus freed for ever from this troublesome fellow. i now walked towards the beach, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor, to take in water. they were surprised to see me, but more so at hearing the particulars of my adventures. "you fell," said they, "into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first who ever escaped strangling by his malicious tricks. he never quitted those he had once made himself master of, till he had destroyed them, and he has made this island notorious by the number of men he has slain; so that the merchants and mariners who landed upon it, durst not advance into the island but in numbers at a time." after having informed me of these things, they carried me with them to the ship; the captain received me with great kindness, when they told him what had befallen me. he put out again to sea, and after some days' sail, we arrived at the harbour of a great city, the houses of which were built with hewn stone. one of the merchants who had taken me into his friendship invited me to go along with him, and carried me to a place appointed for the accommodation of foreign merchants. he gave me a large bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather cocoa-nuts, desired them to take me with them. "go," said he, "follow them, and act as you see them do, but do not separate from them, otherwise you may endanger your life." having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. we came to a thick forest of cocoa-trees, very lofty, with trunks so smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches that bore the fruit. when we entered the forest we saw a great number of apes of several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness. the merchants with whom i was, gathered stones and threw them at the apes on the trees. i did the same, and the apes out of revenge threw cocoa-nuts at us so fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment. we gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa-nuts, which it had been impossible otherwise to have done. when we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant, who had sent me to the forest, gave me the value of the cocoas i brought: "go on," said he, "and do the like every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home." i thanked him for his advice, and gradually collected as many cocoa-nuts as produced me a considerable sum. the vessel in which i had come sailed with some merchants, who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. i expected the arrival of another, which anchored soon after for the like loading. i embarked in her all the cocoa-nuts i had, and when she was ready to sail, took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me; but he could not embark with me, because he had not finished his business at the port. we sailed towards the islands, where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari, where the best species of wood of aloes grows, and whose inhabitants have made it an inviolable law to themselves to drink no wine, and suffer no place of debauch. i exchanged my cocoa in those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants a pearl-fishing. i hired divers, who brought me up some that were very large and pure. i embarked in a vessel that happily arrived at bussorah; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i made vast sums of my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from my other voyages, and endeavoured to dissipate my fatigues by amusements of different kinds. when sinbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred sequins to be given to hindbad, who retired with the other guests; but next morning the same company returned to dine with rich sinbad; who, after having treated them as formerly, requested their attention, and gave the following account of his sixth voyage. the sixth voyage. gentlemen, you long without doubt to know, how, after having been shipwrecked five times, and escaped so many dangers, i could resolve again to tempt fortune, and expose myself to new hardships? i am, myself, astonished at my conduct when i reflect upon it, and must certainly have been actuated by my destiny. but be that as it may, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the intreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all in their power to dissuade me. instead of taking my way by the persian gulf, i travelled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where i embarked in a ship, the captain of which was bound on a long voyage. it was long indeed, and at the same time so unfortunate, that the captain and pilot lost their course. they however at last discovered where they were, but we had no reason to rejoice at the circumstance. suddenly we saw the captain quit his post, uttering loud lamentations. he threw off his turban, pulled his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason, and he answered, that he was in the most dangerous place in all the ocean. "a rapid current carries the ship along with it, and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this peril; we cannot escape, if he do not take pity on us." at these words he ordered the sails to be lowered; but all the ropes broke, and the ship was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she struck and went to pieces, yet in such a manner that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. this being over, the captain said to us, "god has done what pleased him. each of us may dig his grave, and bid the world adieu; for we are all in so fatal a place, that none shipwrecked here ever returned to their homes." his discourse afflicted us sensibly, and we embraced each other, bewailing our deplorable lot. the mountain at the foot of which we were wrecked formed part of the coast of a very large island. it was covered with wrecks, and from the vast number of human bones we saw everywhere, and which filled us with horror, we concluded that multitudes of people had perished there. it is also incredible what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore. all these objects served only to augment our despair. in all other places, rivers run from their channels into the sea, but here a river of fresh water runs out of the sea into a dark cavern, whose entrance is very high and spacious. what is most remarkable in this place is, that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen, that runs into the sea, which the fish swallow, and evacuate soon afterwards, turned into ambergris: and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. trees also grow here, most of which are wood of aloes, equal in goodness to those of comari. to finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it, it is not possible for ships to get off when once they approach within a certain distance. if they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current impel them; and if they come into it when a land-wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current carries them ashore: and what completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility of ascending the mountain, or of escaping by sea. we continued upon the shore in a state of despair, and expected death every day. at first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus every one lived a longer or shorter time, according to his temperance, and the use he made of his provisions. those who died first were interred by the survivors, and i paid the last duty to all my companions: nor are you to wonder at this; for besides that i husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, i had some of my own which i did not share with my comrades; yet when i buried the last, i had so little remaining, that i thought i could not long survive: i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was no one left to inter me. i must confess to you at the same time, that while i was thus employed, i could not but reproach myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that i had ever undertaken this last voyage. nor did i stop at reflections only, but had well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth. but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cavern. considering its probable course with great attention, i said to myself, "this river, which runs thus under ground, must somewhere have an issue. if i make a raft, and leave myself to the current, it will convey me to some inhabited country, or i shall perish. if i be drowned, i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another; and if i get out of this fatal place, i shall not only avoid the sad fate of my comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. who knows but fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous shelf, to compensate my shipwreck with usury." i immediately went to work upon large pieces of timber and cables, for i had choice of them, and tied them together so strongly, that i soon made a very solid raft. when i had finished, i loaded it with some bulses of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and bales of rich stuffs. having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with two oars that i had made, and leaving it to the course of the river, resigned myself to the will of god. as soon as i entered the cavern, i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i floated some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it very nearly touched my head, which made me cautious afterwards to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding my frugality, all my provisions were spent. then a pleasing stupor seized upon me. i cannot tell how long it continued; but when i revived, i was surprised to find myself in an extensive plain on the brink of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them, and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy, that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited the following words in arabic aloud: "call upon the almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about any thing else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good." one of the blacks, who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me, and said, "brother, be not surprised to see us, we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. we observed something floating upon the water, went to see what it was, and, perceiving your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it thither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come?" "i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food, and when i had satisfied my hunger, i related all that had befallen me, which they listened to with attentive surprise. as soon as i had finished, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic and interpreted to them what i said, that it was one of the most wonderful stories they had ever heard, and that i must go along with them, and tell it their king myself; it being too extraordinary to be related by any other than the person to whom the events had happened. i assured them that i was ready to do whatever they pleased." they immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having helped me to mount, some of them walked before to shew the way, while the rest took my raft and cargo and followed. we marched till we came to the capital of serendib, for it was in that island i had landed. the blacks presented me to their king; i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet. the prince ordered me to rise, received me with an obliging air, and made me sit down near him. he first asked me my name, and i answered, "people call me sinbad the voyager, because of the many voyages i have undertaken, and i am a citizen of bagdad." "but," resumed he, "how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last?" i concealed nothing from the king; i related to him all that i have told you, and his majesty was so surprised and pleased, that he commanded my adventures to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. at last my raft was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence; he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris, but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that equalled them. observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them one after another, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, "sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the raft, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own." he answered me with a smile, "sinbad, i will take care not to covet any thing of yours, or to take any thing from you that god has given you; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you quit my dominions without marks of my liberality." all the answer i returned were prayers for the prosperity of that nobly minded prince, and commendations of his generosity and bounty. he charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own expence. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his commission, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. i went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in viewing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. the isle of serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line; so that the days and nights there are always of twelve hours each, and the island is eighty parasangs in length, and as many in breadth. the capital stands at the end of a fine valley, in the middle of the island, encompassed by mountains the highest in the world. they are seen three days' sail off at sea. rubies and several sorts of minerals abound, and the rocks are for the most part composed of a metalline stone made use of to cut and polish other precious stones. all kinds of rare plants and trees grow there, especially cedars and cocoa-nut. there is also a pearl-fishing in the mouth of its principal river; and in some of its valleys are found diamonds. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of the mountain. when i returned to the city, i prayed the king to allow me to return to my own country, and he granted me permission in the most obliging and most honourable manner. he would needs force a rich present upon me; and when i went to take my leave of him, he gave me one much more considerable, and at the same time charged me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, "i pray you give this present from me, and this letter to the caliph, and assure him of my friendship." i took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was pleased to honour me. before i embarked, this prince sent for the captain and the merchants who were to go with me, and ordered them to treat me with all possible respect. the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. the characters of this letter were of azure, and the contents as follows: "the king of the indies, before whom march one hundred elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroon al rusheed. "though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it however as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear for you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with yourself. we conjure you this in quality of a brother. adieu." the present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a drachm each. . the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. . fifty thousand drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphire as big as pistachios. . a female slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was all covered over with jewels. the ship set sail, and after a very successful navigation we landed at bussorah, and from thence i went to bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. scheherazade stopped, because day appeared, and next night proceeded thus. i took the king of serendib's letter, and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the beautiful slave, and such of my own family as carried the presents. i stated the reason of my coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my reverence, and, after a short speech, gave him the letter and present. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me, if that prince were really so rich and potent as he represented himself in his letter? i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, said, "commander of the faithful, i can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth. i bear him witness. nothing is more worthy of admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public, he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand; and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright, with a column of gold, on the top of which is an emerald half a foot long, and an inch thick; before him march a guard of one thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. "while the king is on his march, the officer, who is before him on the same elephant, cries from time to time, with a loud voice, 'behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with one hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds. behold the monarch greater than solomon, and the powerful maha-raja.' after he has pronounced those words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn, 'this monarch, so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die.' and the officer before replies, 'praise be to him who lives for ever.' "farther, the king of serendib is so just, that there are no judges in his dominions. his people have no need of them. they understand and observe justice rigidly of themselves." the caliph was much pleased with my account. "the wisdom of that king," said he, "appears in his letter, and after what you tell me, i must confess, that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince." having spoken thus, he dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present. sinbad left off, and his company retired, hindbad having first received one hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear the relation of his seventh and last voyage. the seventh and last voyage. being returned from my sixth voyage, said sinbad, i absolutely laid aside all thoughts of travelling; for, besides that my age now required rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as i had encountered; so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. one day as i was treating my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an officer of the caliph's enquired for me. i rose from table, and went to him. "the caliph," he said, "has sent me to tell you, that he must speak with you." i followed the officer to the palace, where being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. "sinbad," said he to me, "i stand in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present to the king of serendib. it is but just i should return his civility." this command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder. "commander of the faithful," i replied, "i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone. i have also made a vow never to go out of bagdad." hence i took occasion to give him a full and particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience to hear out. as soon as i had finished, "i confess," said he, "that the things you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must for my sake undertake this voyage which i propose to you. you will only have to go to the isle of serendib, and deliver the commission which i give you. after that you are at liberty to return. but you must go; for you know it would not comport with my dignity, to be indebted to the king of that island." perceiving that the caliph insisted upon my compliance, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased, and ordered me one thousand sequins for the expences of my journey. i prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to bussorah, where i embarked, and had a very happy voyage. having arrived at the isle of serendib, i acquainted the king's ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy audience. they did so, and i was conducted to the palace in an honourable manner, where i saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. that prince knew me immediately, and testified very great joy at seeing me. "sinbad," said he, "you are welcome; i have many times thought of you since you departed; i bless the day on which we see one another once more." i made my compliment to him, and after having thanked him for his kindness, delivered the caliph's letter and present, which he received with all imaginable satisfaction. the caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, valued at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez, and alexandria; a vessel of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bass relief a man with one knee on the ground, who held bow and an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. he sent him also a rich tablet, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the caliph's letter was as follows: "greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, from the dependent on god, haroon al rusheed, whom god hath set in the place of vicegerent to his prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to the potent and esteemed raja of serendib. "we received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial residence, the garden of superior wits. we hope when you look upon it, you will perceive our good intention and be pleased with it. adieu." the king of serendib was highly gratified that the caliph answered his friendship. a little time after this audience, i solicited leave to depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it. i procured it however at last, and the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so speedily as i had hoped. god ordered it otherwise. three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by corsairs, who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no vessel of force. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but for myself and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the corsairs saved us on purpose to make slaves of us. we were all stripped, and instead of our own clothes, they gave us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely for a slave. some days after, not knowing who i was, he asked me if i understood any trade? i answered, that i was no mechanic, but a merchant, and that the corsairs, who sold me, had robbed me of all i possessed. "but tell me," replied he, "can you shoot with a bow?" i answered, that the bow was one of my exercises in my youth. he gave me a bow and arrows, and, taking me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a thick forest some leagues from the town. we penetrated a great way into the wood, and when he thought fit to stop, he bade me alight; then shewing me a great tree, "climb up that," said he, "and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall, come and give me notice." having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and returned to the town, and i continued upon the tree all night. i saw no elephant during that time, but next morning, as soon as the sun was up, i perceived a great number. i shot several arrows among them, and at last one of the elephants fell, when the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my booty. when i had informed him, he gave me a good meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. we went afterwards together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant; my patron designing to return when it was rotten, and take his teeth to trade with. i continued this employment for two months, and killed an elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and sometimes upon another. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived with extreme amazement, that, instead of passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, in such number that the plain was covered, and shook under them. they encompassed the tree in which i was concealed, with their trunks extended, and all fixed their eyes upon. at this alarming spectacle i continued immoveable, and was so much terrified, that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand. my fears were not without cause; for after the elephants had stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and threw it on the ground; i fell with the tree, and the elephant taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. he put himself afterwards at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops, carried me a considerable way, then laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. conceive, if you can, the condition i was in: i thought myself in a dream. after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered with the bones and teeth of elephants. i confess to you, that this object furnished me with abundance of reflections. i admired the instinct of those animals; i doubted not but that was their burying place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to persecute them, since i did it only for their teeth. i did not stay on the hill, but turned towards the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night, i came to my patron. i met no elephant in my way, which made me think they had retired farther into the forest, to leave me at liberty to come back to the hill without any obstacle. as soon as my patron saw me; "ah, poor sinbad," exclaimed he, "i was in great trouble to know what was become of you. i have been at the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow and arrows on the ground, and after having sought for you in vain, i despaired of ever, seeing you more. pray tell me what befell you, and by what good chance thou art still alive." i satisfied his curiosity, and going both of us next morning to the hill, he found to his great joy that what i had told him was true. we loaded the elephant which had carried us with as many teeth as he could bear; and when we were returned, "brother," said my patron, "for i will treat you no more as my slave, after having made such a discovery as will enrich me, god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i declare before him, that i give you your liberty. i concealed from you what i am now going to tell you. "the elephants of our forest have every year killed us a great many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. for all the cautions we could give them, those crafty animals destroyed them one time or other. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favour upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has some use for your service in the world. you have procured me incredible wealth. formerly we could not procure ivory but by exposing the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city is enriched by your means. do not think i pretend to have rewarded you by giving you your liberty, i will also give you considerable riches. i could engage all our city to contribute towards making your fortune, but i will have the glory of doing it myself." to this obliging declaration i replied, "patron, god preserve you. your giving me my liberty is enough to discharge what you owe me, and i desire no other reward for the service i had the good fortune to do to you and your city, but leave to return to my own country." "very well," said he, "the monsoon will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will then send you home, and give you wherewith to bear your charges." i thanked him again for my liberty and his good intentions towards me. i staid with him expecting the monsoon; and during that time, we made so many journeys to the hill, that we filled all our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants, who traded in it, did the same, for it could not be long concealed from them. the ships arrived at last, and my patron, himself having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, loaded half of it with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my passage, and besides obliged me to accept a present of some curiosities of the country of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favours, i went aboard. we set sail, and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was very extraordinary, i had it continually in my thoughts. we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions. our vessel being come to a port on the main land in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to bussorah, i landed my proportion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i made vast sums of my ivory, bought several rarities, which i intended for presents, and when my equipage was ready, set out in company with a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the way, and suffered much, but endured all with patience, when i considered that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, or from the other perils to which i had been exposed. all these fatigues ended at last, and i arrived safe at bagdad. i went immediately to wait upon the caliph, and gave him an account of my embassy. that prince said he had been uneasy, as i was so long in returning, but that he always hoped god would preserve me. when i told him the adventure of the elephants, he seemed much surprised, and would never have given any credit to it had he not known my veracity. he deemed this story, and the other relations i had given him, to be so curious, that he ordered one of his secretaries to write them in characters of gold, and lay them up in his treasury. i retired well satisfied with the honours i received, and the presents which he gave me; and ever since i have devoted myself wholly to my family, kindred, and friends. sinbad here finished the relation of his seventh and last voyage, and then addressing himself to hindbad, "well, friend," said he, "did you ever hear of any person that suffered so much as i have done, or of any mortal that has gone through so many vicissitudes? is it not reasonable that, after all this i should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life?" as he said this, hindbad drew near to him, and kissing his hand, said, "i must acknowledge, sir, that you have gone through many imminent dangers; my troubles are not comparable to yours: if they afflict me for a time, i comfort myself with the thoughts of the profit i get by them. you not only deserve a quiet life, but are worthy of all the riches you enjoy, because you make of them such a good and generous use. may you therefore continue to live in happiness and joy till the day of your death!" sinbad gave him one hundred sequins more, received him into the number of his friends, desired him to quit his porter's employment, and come and dine every day with him, that he might have reason to remember sinbad the voyager. the three apples. the caliph haroon al rusheed one day commanded the grand vizier jaffier to come to his palace the night following. "vizier," said he, "i will take a walk round the town, to inform myself what people say, and particularly how they are pleased with my officers of justice. if there be any against whom they have cause of just complaint, we will turn them out, and put others in their stead, who shall officiate better. if, on the contrary, there be any that have gained their applause, we will have that esteem for them which they deserve." the grand vizier being come to the palace at the hour appointed, the caliph, he, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs, disguised themselves so that they could not be known, and went out all three together. they passed through several places, and by several markets. as they entered a small street, they perceived by the light of the moon, a tall man, with a white beard, who carried nets on his head, and a staff in his hand. "to judge from his appearance," said the caliph, "that old man is not rich; let us go to him and inquire into his circumstances." "honest man," said the vizier, "who art thou?" the old man replied, "sir, i am a fisher, but one of the poorest and most miserable of the trade. i went from my house about noon a fishing, and from that time to this i have not been able to catch one fish; at the same time i have a wife and small children, and nothing to maintain them." the caliph, moved with compassion, said to the fisherman, "hast thou the courage to go back and cast thy net once more? we will give thee a hundred sequins for what thou shalt bring up." at this proposal, the fisherman, forgetting all his day's toil, took the caliph at his word, and returned to the tigris, accompanied by the caliph, jaaffier, and mesrour; saying to himself as he went, "these gentlemen seem too honest and reasonable not to reward my pains; and if they give me the hundredth part of what they promise, it will be an ample recompence." they came to the bank of the river, and the fisherman, having thrown in his net, when he drew it again, brought up a trunk close shut, and very heavy. the caliph made the grand vizier pay him one hundred sequins immediately, and sent him away. mesrour, by his master's order, carried the trunk on his shoulder, and the caliph was so very eager to know what it contained, that he returned to the palace with all speed. when the trunk was opened, they found in it a large basket made of palm-leaves, shut up, and the covering of it sewed with red thread. to satisfy the caliph's impatience, they would not take time to undo it, but cut the thread with a knife, and took out of the basket a package wrapt up in a sorry piece of hanging, and bound about with a rope; which being untied, they found, to their great amazement, the corpse of a young lady, whiter than snow, all cut in pieces. the astonishment of the caliph was great at this dreadful spectacle. his surprise was instantly changed into passion, and darting an angry look at the vizier, "thou wretch," said he, "is this your inspection into the actions of my people? do they commit such impious murders under thy ministry in my capital, and throw my subjects into the tigris, that they may cry for vengeance against me at the day of judgment? if thou dost not speedily avenge the murder of this woman, by the death of her murderer, i swear by heaven, that i will cause thee and forty more of thy kindred to be impaled." "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "i beg your majesty to grant me time to make enquiry." "i will allow thee no more," said the caliph, "than three days." the vizier jaaffier went home in great perplexity. "alas!" said he "how is it possible that in such a vast and populous city as bagdad, i should be able to detect a murderer, who undoubtedly committed the crime without witness, and perhaps may be already gone from hence? any other vizier than i would take some wretched person out of prison, and cause him to be put to death to satisfy the caliph; but i will not burden my conscience with such a barbarous action; i will rather die than preserve my life by the sacrifice of another innocent person." he ordered the officers of the police and justice to make strict search for the criminal. they sent their servants about, and they were not idle themselves, for they were no less concerned in this matter than the vizier. but all their endeavours were to no purpose; what pains soever they took they could not discover the murderer; so that the vizier concluded his life to be lost. the third day being arrived, an officer came to the unfortunate minister, with a summons to follow him, which the vizier obeyed. the caliph asked him for the murderer. he answered, "commander of the faithful, i have not found any person that could give me the least account of him." the caliph, full of fury and rage, gave him many reproachful words, and ordered that he and forty bermukkees should be impaled at the gate of the palace. in the mean while the stakes were preparing, and orders were sent to seize forty bermukkees in their houses; a public crier was sent about the city by the caliph's order, to cry thus: "those who have a desire to see the grand vizier jaaffier impaled, with forty of his kindred, let them come to the square before the palace." when all things were ready, the criminal judge, and many officers belonging to the palace, having brought out the grand vizier with the forty bermukkees, set each by the stake designed for him. the multitude of people that filled the square could not without grief and tears behold this tragical sight; for the grand vizier and the bermukkees were loved and honoured on account of their probity, bounty, and impartiality, not only in bagdad, but through all the dominions of the caliph. nothing could prevent the execution of this prince's severe and irrevocable sentence, and the lives of the most deserving people in the city were just going to be sacrificed, when a young man of handsome mien pressed through the crowd till he came up to the grand vizier, and after he had kissed his hand, said, "most excellent vizier, chief of the emirs of this court, and comforter of the poor, you are not guilty of the crime for which you stand here. withdraw, and let me expiate the death of the lady that was thrown into the tigris. it is i who murdered her, and i deserve to be punished for my offence." though these words occasioned great joy to the vizier, yet he could not but pity the young man, in whose look he saw something that instead of evincing guilt was engaging: but as he was about to answer him, a tall man advanced in years, who had likewise forced his way through the crowd, came up to him, saying, "do not believe what this young man tells you, i killed that lady who was found in the trunk, and this punishment ought only to fall upon me. i conjure you in the name of god not to punish the innocent for the guilty." "sir," said the young man to the vizier, "i do protest that i am he who committed this vile act, and nobody else had any concern in it." "my son," said the old man, "it is despair that brought you hither, and you would anticipate your destiny. i have lived a long while in the world, and it is time for me to be gone; let me therefore sacrifice my life for yours." "sir," said he again to the vizier, "i tell you once more i am the murderer; let me die without delay." the controversy between the old and the young man induced the grand vizier to carry them both before the caliph, to which the judge criminal consented, being glad to serve the vizier. when he came before the prince, he kissed the ground seven times, and spake after this manner: "commander of the faithful, i have brought here before your majesty this old and this young man, each of whom declares himself to be the sole murderer of the lady." the caliph asked the criminals which of them it was that so cruelly murdered the lady, and threw her into the tigris? the young man assured him it was he, but the old man maintained the contrary. "go," said the caliph to the grand vizier, "and cause them both to be impaled." "but, sir," said the vizier, "if only one of them be guilty, it would be unjust to take the lives of both." at these words the young man spoke again, "i swear by the great god, who has raised the heavens so high, that i am the man who killed the lady, cut her in pieces, and about four days ago threw her into the tigris. i renounce my part of happiness amongst the just at the day of judgment, if what i say be not truth; therefore i am he that ought to suffer." the caliph being surprised at this oath, believed him; especially since the old man made no answer. whereupon, turning to the young man, "wretch," said he, "what made thee commit that detestable crime, and what is it that moves thee to offer thyself voluntarily to die?" "commander of the faithful," said he, "if all that has past between that lady and me were set down in writing, it would be a history that might be useful to other men." "i command thee then to relate it," said the caliph. the young man obeyed, and began his history. the story of the lady who was murdered, and of the young man her husband. commander of the faithful, this murdered lady was my wife, daughter of this old man, who is my uncle by the father's side. she was not above twelve years old, when eleven years ago he gave her to me. i have three children by her, all boys, yet alive, and i must do her the justice to say, that she never gave me the least occasion for offence; she was chaste, of good behaviour, and made it her whole business to please me. and on my part i ardently loved her, and in every thing rather anticipated than opposed her wishes. about two months ago she fell sick; i took all imaginable care of her, and spared nothing that could promote her speedy recovery. after a month thus passed she began to grow better, and expressed a wish to go to the bath. before she went, "cousin," said she (for so she used to call me out of familiarity), "i long for some apples; if you would get me any, you would greatly please me. i have longed for them a great while, and i must own it is come to that height, that if i be not satisfied very soon, i fear some misfortune will befall me." "i will cheerfully try," said i, "and do all in my power to make you easy." i went immediately round all the markets and shops in the town to seek for apples, but i could not get one, though i offered to pay a sequin a piece. i returned home much dissatisfied at my failure; and for my wife, when she returned from the bagnio, and saw no apples, she became so very uneasy, that she could not sleep all night. i got up by times in the morning, and went through all the gardens, but had no better success than the day before; only i happened to meet an old gardener, who told me, that all my pains would signify nothing, for i could not expect to find apples any where but in your majesty's garden at bussorah. as i loved my wife passionately, and would not neglect to satisfy her, i dressed myself in a traveller's habit, and after i had told her my design, went to bussorah, and made my journey with such speed, that i returned at the end of fifteen days with three apples, which cost me a sequin apiece, for as there were no more left, the gardener would not let me have them for less. as soon as i came home, i presented them to my wife, but her longing had ceased, she satisfied herself with receiving them, and laid them down by her. in the mean time she continued sickly, and i knew not what remedy to procure for her relief. some few days after i returned from my journey, sitting in my shop in the public place where all sorts of fine stuffs are sold, i saw an ugly, tall, black slave come in, with an apple in his hand, which i knew to be one of those i had brought from bussorah. i had no reason to doubt it, because i was certain there was not one to be had in bagdad, nor in any of the gardens in the vicinity. i called to him, and said, "good slave, pr'ythee tell me where thou hadst this apple?" "it is a present" (said he, smiling) "from my mistress. i went to see her to-day, and found her out of order. i saw three apples lying by her, and asked her where she had them. she told me the good man, her husband, had made a fortnight's journey on purpose, and brought them to her. we had a collation together; and, when i took my leave of her, i brought away this apple." this account rendered me distracted. i rose, shut up my shop, ran home with all speed, and going to my wife's chamber, looked immediately for the apples, and seeing only two, asked what was become of the third. my wife, turning her head to the place where the apples lay, and perceiving there were but two, answered me coldly, "cousin, i know not what is become of it." at this reply i was convinced what the slave had told me was true; and giving myself up to madness and jealousy, drew my knife from my girdle, and thrust it into the unfortunate creature's throat. i afterwards cut off her head, and divided her body into four quarters, which i packed up in a bundle, sewed it up with a thread of red yarn, put all together in a trunk, and when night came, carried it on my shoulder down to the tigris, where i sunk it. the two youngest of my children were asleep, the third was out; but at my return, i found him sitting by my gate, weeping. i asked him the reason; "father," said he, "i took this morning from my mother, without her knowledge, one of those three apples you brought her, and kept it a long while; but, as i was playing some time ago with my little brother in the street, a tall slave passing by snatched it out of my hands, and carried it away. i ran after him, demanding it back, and besides told him, that it belonged to my mother, who was sick; and that you had made a fortnight's journey to procure it; but all to no purpose, he would not restore it. and as i still followed him, crying out, he turned and beat me, and then ran away as fast as he could from one lane to another, till at length i lost sight of him. i have since been walking without the town expecting your return, to pray you, dear father, not to tell my mother of it, lest it should make her worse!" when he had thus spoken he fell a weeping again more bitterly than before. my son's account afflicted me beyond measure. i then found myself guilty of an enormous crime, and repented too late of having so easily believed the calumnies of a wretched slave, who, from what he had learnt of my son, had invented that fatal falsehood. my uncle here present came just at that time to see his daughter, but instead of finding her alive, understood from me that she was dead, for i concealed nothing from him; and without staying for his censure, declared myself the greatest criminal in the world. upon this, instead of reproaching me, he joined his tears with mine, and we together wept three days without intermission, he for the loss of a daughter whom he had loved tenderly; and i for the loss of a beloved wife, of whom i had deprived myself in so cruel a manner by giving too easy credit to the report of a lying slave. this, commander of the faithful, is the sincere confession your majesty required from me. you have now heard all the circumstances of my crime, and i must humbly beg of you to order the punishment due for it; how severe soever it may be, i shall not in the least complain, but esteem it too easy and light. the caliph was much astonished at the young man's relation. but this just prince, finding he was rather to be pitied than condemned, began to speak in his favour: "this young man's crime," said he, "is pardonable before god, and excusable with men. the wicked slave is the sole cause of this murder; it is he alone that must be punished: wherefore," continued he, looking upon the grand vizier, "i give you three days' time to find him out; if you do not bring him within that space, you shall die in his stead." the unfortunate jaaffier, had thought himself out of danger, was perplexed at this order of the caliph; but as he durst not return any answer to the prince, whose hasty temper he knew too well, he departed from his presence, and retired melancholy to his house, convinced that he had but three days to live; for he was so fully persuaded that he should not find the slave, that he made not the least enquiry after him. "is it possible," said he, "that in such a city as bagdad, where there is an infinite number of negro slaves, i should be able to find him out that is guilty? unless god be pleased to interpose as he hath already to detest the murderer, nothing can save my life." he spent the first two days in mourning with his family, who sat round him weeping and complaining of the caliph's cruelty. the third day being arrived, he prepared himself to die with courage, as an honest minister, and one who had nothing to trouble his conscience; he sent for notaries and witnesses' who signed his will. after which he took leave of his wife and children, and bade them farewell. all his family were drowned in tears, so that there never was a more sorrowful spectacle. at last a messenger came from the caliph to tell him that he was out of all patience, having heard nothing from him concerning the negro slave whom he had commanded him to search for; "i am therefore ordered," said the messenger, "to bring you before his throne." the afflicted vizier, obeyed the mandate, but as he was going out, they brought him his youngest daughter, about five or six years of age, to receive his last blessing. as he had a particular affection for that child, he prayed the messenger to give him leave to stop a moment, and taking his daughter in his arms, kissed her several times: as he kissed her, he perceived she had something in her bosom that looked bulky, and had a sweet scent. "my dear little one," said he, "what hast thou in thy bosom?" "my dear father," she replied, "it is an apple which our slave rihan sold me for two sequins." at these words apple and slave, the grand vizier, uttered an exclamation of surprise, intermixed with joy, and putting his hand into the child's bosom, pulled out the apple. he caused the slave, who was not far off, to be brought immediately, and when he came, "rascal," said he, "where hadst thou this apple?" "my lord," replied the slave, "i swear to you that i neither stole it in your house, nor out of the commander of the faithful's garden; but the other day, as i was passing through a street where three or four children were at play, one of them having it in his hand, i snatched it from him, and carried it away. the child ran after me, telling me it was not his own, but belonged mother, who was sick; and that his father, to satisfy her longing, had made a long journey, and brought home three apples, whereof this was one, which he had taken from his mother without her knowledge. he said all he could to prevail upon me to give it him back, but i refused, and so brought it home, and sold it for two sequins to the little lady your daughter." jaaffier could not reflect without astonishment that the mischievousness of a slave had been the cause of an innocent woman's death, and nearly of his own. he carried the slave along with him, and when he came before the caliph, gave the prince an exact account of what the slave had told him, and the chance which led him to the discovery of his crime. never was any surprise so great as that of the caliph, yet he could not refrain from falling into excessive fits of laughter. at last he recovered himself, and with a serious air told the vizier, that since his slave had been the occasion of murder, he deserved an exemplary punishment. "i must own it," said the vizier, "but his guilt is not unpardonable: i remember the wonderful history of a vizier, of cairo, and am ready to relate it, upon condition that if your majesty finds it more astonishing than that which gives me occasion to tell it, you will be pleased to pardon my slave." "i consent," said the caliph; "but you undertake a hard task, for i do not believe you can save your slave, the story of the apples being so very singular." upon this, jaaffier began his story thus: the story of noor ad deen ali and buddir ad deen houssun. commander of the faithful, there was formerly a sultan of egypt, a strict observer of justice, gracious, merciful, and liberal, and his valour made him terrible to his neighbours. he loved the poor, and protected the learned, whom he advanced to the highest dignities. this sultan had a vizier, who was prudent, wise, sagacious, and well versed in all sciences. this minister had two sons, who in every thing followed his footsteps. the eldest was called shumse ad deen mahummud, and the younger noor ad deen ali. the latter was endowed with all the good qualities that man could possess. the vizier their father being dead, the sultan caused them both to put on the robes of a vizier, "i am as sorry," said he, "as you are for the loss of your father; and because i know you live together, and love one another cordially, i will bestow his dignity upon you conjointly; go, and imitate your father's conduct." the two new viziers humbly thanked the sultan, and retired to make due preparation for their father's interment. they did not go abroad for a month, after which they repaired to court, and attended their duties. when the sultan hunted, one of the brothers accompanied him, and this honour they had by turns. one evening as they were conversing together after a cheerful meal, the next day being the elder brother's turn to hunt with the sultan, he said to his younger brother, "since neither of us is yet married, and we live so affectionately together, let us both wed the same day sisters out of some family that may suit our quality. what do you think of this plan?" "brother," answered the other vizier, "there cannot be a better thought; for my part, i will agree to any thing you approve." "but this is not all," said the elder; "my fancy carries me farther: suppose both our wives should conceive the first night of our marriage, and should happen to be brought to bed on one day, yours of a son, and mine of a daughter, we will give them to each other in marriage." "nay," said noor ad deen aloud, "i must acknowledge that this prospect is admirable; such a marriage will perfect our union, and i willingly consent to it. but then, brother," said he farther, "if this marriage should happen, would you expect that my son should settle a jointure on your daughter?" "there is no difficulty in that," replied the other; "for i am persuaded, that besides the usual articles of the marriage contract, you will not fail to promise in his name at least three thousand sequins, three landed estates, and three slaves." "no," said the younger "i will not consent to that; are we not brethren, and equal in title and dignity? do not you and i know what is just? the male being nobler than the female, it is your part to give a large dowry with your daughter. by what i perceive, you are a man that would have your business done at another's charge." although noor ad deen spoke these words in jest, his brother being of a hasty temper, was offended, and falling into a passion said, "a mischief upon your son, since you prefer him before my daughter. i wonder you had so much confidence as to believe him worthy of her; you must needs have lost your judgment to think you are my equal, and say we are colleagues. i would have you to know, that since you are so vain, i would not marry my daughter to your son though you would give him more than you are worth." this pleasant quarrel between two brothers about the marriage of their children before they were born went so far, that shumse ad deen concluded by threatening: "were i not to-morrow," said he, "to attend the sultan, i would treat you as you deserve; but at my return, i will make you sensible that it does not become a younger brother to speak so insolently to his elder as you have done to me." upon this he retired to his apartment in anger. shumse ad deen rising early next morning, attended the sultan, who went to hunt near the pyramids. as for noor ad deen, he was very uneasy all night, and supposing it would not be possible to live longer with a brother who had treated him with so much haughtiness, he provided a stout mule, furnished himself with money and jewels, and having told his people that he was going on a private journey for two or three days, departed. when out of cairo, he rode by way of the desert towards arabia; but his mule happening to tire, was forced to continue his journey on foot. a courier who was going to bussorah, by good fortune overtaking him, took him up behind him. as soon as the courier reached that city, noor ad deen alighted, and returned him thanks for his kindness. as he went about to seek for a lodging, he saw a person of quality with a numerous retinue, to whom all the people shewed the greatest respect, and stood still till he had passed. this personage was grand vizier, to the sultan of bussorah, who was passing through the city to see that the inhabitants kept good order and discipline. this minister casting his eyes by chance on noor ad deen ali, perceiving something extraordinary in his aspect, looked very attentively upon him, and as he saw him in a traveller's habit, stopped his train, asked him who he was, and from whence he came? "sir," said noor ad deen, "i am an egyptian, born at cairo, and have left my country, because of the unkindness of a near relation, resolved to travel through the world, and rather to die than return home." the grand vizier, who was a good-natured man, after hearing these words, said to him, "son, beware; do not pursue your design; you are not sensible of the hardships you must endure. follow me; i may perhaps make you forget the misfortunes which have forced you to leave your own country." noor ad deen followed the grand vizier, who soon discovered his good qualities, and conceived for him so great an affection, that one day he said to him in private, "my son, i am, as you see, so far gone in years, that it is not probable i shall live much longer. heaven has bestowed on me only one daughter, who is as beautiful as you are handsome, and now fit for marriage. several nobles of the highest rank at this court have sought her for their sons, but i would not grant their request. i have an affection for you, and think you so worthy to be received into my family, that, preferring you before all those who have demanded her, i am ready to accept you for my son-in-law. if you like the proposal, i will acquaint the sultan my master that i have adopted you by this marriage, and intreat him to grant you the reversion of my dignity of grand vizier in the kingdom of bussorah. in the mean time, nothing being more requisite for me than ease in my old age, i will not only put you in possession of great part of my estate, but leave the administration of public affairs to your management." when the grand vizier had concluded this kind and generous proposal, noor ad deen fell at his feet, and expressing himself in terms that demonstrated his joy and gratitude, assured him, that he was at his command in every way. upon this the vizier sent for his chief domestics, ordered them to adorn the great hall of his palace, and prepare a splendid feast. he afterwards sent to invite the nobility of the court and city, to honour him with their company; and when they were all met (noor ad deen having made known his quality), he said to the noblemen present, for he thought it proper to speak thus on purpose to satisfy those to whom he had refused his alliance, "i am now, my lords, to discover a circumstance which hitherto i have keep a secret. i have a brother, who is grand vizier to the sultan of egypt. this brother has but one son, whom he would not marry in the court of egypt, but sent him hither to wed my daughter in order that both branches of our family may be united. his son, whom i knew to be my nephew as soon as i saw him, is the young man i now present to you as my son-in-law. i hope you will do me the honour to be present at his wedding, which i am resolved to celebrate this day." the noblemen, who could not be offended at his preferring his nephew to the great matches that had been proposed, allowed that he had very good reason for his choice, were willing to be witnesses to the ceremony, and wished that god might prolong his days to enjoy the satisfaction of the happy match. the lords met at the vizier of bussorah's palace, having testified their satisfaction at the marriage of his daughter with noor ad deen ali, sat down to a magnificent repast, after which, notaries came in with the marriage contrast, and the chief lords signed it; and when the company had departed, the grand vizier ordered his servants to have every thing in readiness for noor ad deen ali, to bathe. he had fine new linen, and rich vestments provided for him in the greatest profusion. having bathed and dressed, he was perfumed with the most odoriferous essences, and went to compliment the vizier, his father-in-law, who was exceedingly pleased with his noble demeanour. having made him sit down, "my son," said he, "you have declared to me who you are, and the office you held at the court of egypt. you have also told me of a difference betwixt you and your brother, which occasioned you to leave your country. i desire you to make me your entire confidant, and to acquaint me with the cause of your quarrel; for now you have no reason either to doubt my affection, or to conceal any thing from me." noor ad deen informed him of every circumstance of the quarrel; at which the vizier, burst out into a fit of laughter, and said, "this is one of the strangest occurrences i ever heard. is it possible, my son, that your quarrel should rise so high about an imaginary marriage? i am sorry you fell out with your elder brother upon such a frivolous matter; but he was also wrong in being angry at what you only spoke in jest, and i ought to thank heaven for that difference which has procured me such a son-in-law. but," continued the vizier, "it is late, and time for you to retire; go to your bride, my son, she expects you: to-morrow, i will present you to the sultan, and hope he will receive you in such a manner as shall satisfy us both." noor ad deen ali took leave of his father-in-law, and retired to his bridal apartment. it is remarkable that shumse ad deen mahummud happened also to marry at cairo the very same day that this marriage was solemnized at bussorah, the particulars of which are as follow: after noor ad deen ali left cairo, with an intention never to return, his elder brother, who was hunting with the sultan of egypt, was absent for a month; for the sultan being fond of the chase, continued it often for so long a period. at his return, shumse ad deen was much surprised when he understood, that under presence of taking a short journey his brother departed from cairo on a mule the same day as the sultan, and had never appeared since. it vexed him so much the more, because he did not doubt but the harsh words he had used had occasioned his flight. he sent a messenger in search of him, who went to damascus, and as far as aleppo, but noor ad deen was then at bussorah. when the courier returned and brought no news of him, shumse ad deen intended to make further inquiry after him in other parts; but in the meantime matched with the daughter of one of the greatest lords in cairo, upon the same day in which his brother married the daughter of the grand vizier, of bussorah. at the end of nine months the wife of shumse ad deen was brought to bed of a daughter at cairo, and on the same day the lady of noor ad deen was delivered of a son at bussorah, who was called buddir ad deen houssun. the grand vizier, of bussorah testified his joy for the birth of his grandson by gifts and public entertainments. and to shew his son-in-law the great esteem he had for him, he went to the palace, and most humbly besought the sultan to grant noor ad deen ali his office, that he might have the comfort before his death to see his son in-law made grand vizier, in his stead. the sultan, who had conceived a distinguished regard for noor ad deen when the vizier, had presensed him upon his marriage, and had ever since heard every body speak well of him, readily granted his father-in-law's request, and caused noor ad deen immediately to be invested with the robe and insignia of the vizarut, such as state drums, standards, and writing apparatus of gold richly enamelled and set with jewels. the next day, when the father saw his son-in-law preside in council, as he himself had done, and perform all the offices of grand vizier, his joy was complete. noor ad deen ali conducted himself with that dignity and propriety which shewed him to have been used to state affairs, and engaged the approbation of the sultan, and reverence and affection of the people. the old vizier of bussorah died about four years afterwards with great satisfaction, seeing a branch of his family that promised so fair to support its future consequence and respectability. noor ad deen ali, performed his last duty to him with all possible love and gratitude. and as soon as his son buddir ad deen houssun had attained the age of seven years, provided him an excellent tutor, who taught him such things as became his birth. the child had a ready wit, and a genius capable of receiving all the good instructions that could be given. after buddir ad deen had been two years under the tuition of his master, who taught him perfectly to read, he learnt the koran by heart. his father put him afterwards to other tutors, by whom his mind was cultivated to such a degree, that when he was twelve years of age he had no more occasion for them. and then, as his physiognomy promised wonders, he was admired by all who saw him. hitherto his father had kept him to study, but now he introduced him to the sultan, who received him graciously. the people who saw him in the streets were charmed with his demeanour, and gave him a thousand blessings. his father proposing to render him capable of supplying his place, accustomed him to business of the greatest moment, on purpose to qualify him betimes. in short, he omitted nothing to advance a son he loved so well. but as he began to enjoy the fruits of his labour, he was suddenly seized by a violent fit of sickness; and finding himself past recovery, disposed himself to die a good mussulmaun. in that last and precious moment he forgot not his son, but called for him, and said, "my son, you see this world is transitory; there is nothing durable but in that to which i shall speedily go. you must therefore from henceforth begin to fit yourself for this change, as i have done; you must prepare for it without murmuring, so as to have no trouble of conscience for not having acted the part of a really honest man. as for your religion, you are sufficiently instructed in it, by what you have learnt from your tutors, and your own study; and as to what belongs to an upright man, i shall give you some instructions, of which i hope you will make good use. as it is a necessary thing to know one's self, and you cannot come to that knowledge without you first understand who i am, i shall now inform you. "i am a native of egypt; my father, your grandfather, was first minister to the sultan of that kingdom. i had myself the honour to be vizier, to that sultan, and so has my brother, your uncle, who i suppose is yet alive; his name is shumse ad deen mahummud. i was obliged to leave him, and come into this country, where i have raised myself to the high dignity i now enjoy. but you will understand all these matters more fully by a manuscript that i shall give you." at the same time, noor ad deen ali gave to his son a memorandum book, saying, "take and read it at your leisure; you will find, among other things, the day of my marriage, and that of your birth. these are circumstances which perhaps you may hereafter have occasion to know, therefore you must keep it very carefully." buddir ad deen houssun being sincerely afflicted to see his father in this condition, and sensibly touched with his discourse, could not but weep when he received the memorandum book, and promised at the same time never to part with it. that very moment noor ad deen fainted, so that it was thought he would have expired; but he came to himself again, and spoke as follows: "my son, the first instruction i give you, is, not to make yourself familiar with all sorts of people. the way to live happy is to keep your mind to yourself, and not to tell your thoughts too easily. "secondly, not to do violence to any body whatever, for in that case you will draw every body's hatred upon you. you ought to consider the world as a creditor, to whom you owe moderation, compassion, and forbearance. "thirdly, not to say a word when you are reproached; for, as the proverb says, 'he that keeps silence is out of danger.' and in this case particularly you ought to practice it. you also know what one of our poets says upon this subject, 'that silence is the ornament and safe-guard of life'; that our speech ought not to be like a storm of hail that spoils all. never did any man yet repent of having spoken too little, whereas many have been sorry that they spoke so much. "fourthly, to drink no wine, for that is the source of all vices. "fifthly, to be frugal in your way of living; if you do not squander your estate, it will maintain you in time of necessity. i do not mean you should be either profuse or niggardly; for though you have little, if you husband it well, and lay it out on proper occasions, you will have many friends; but if on the contrary you have great riches, and make but a bad use of them, all the world will forsake you, and leave you to yourself." in short, the virtuous noor ad deen continued till the last aspiration of his breath to give good advice to his son; and when he was dead he was magnificently interred. noor ad deen was buried with all the honours due to his rank. buddir ad deen houssun of bussorah, for so he was called, because born in that city, was with grief for the death of his father, that instead of a month's time to mourn, according to custom, he kept himself shut up in tears and solitude about two months, without seeing any body, or so much as going abroad to pay his duty to his sovereign. the sultan being displeased at his neglect, and looking upon it as a alight, suffered his passion to prevail, and in his anger, called for the new grand vizier, (for he had created another on the death of noor ad deen), commanded him to go to the house of the deceased, and seize upon it, with all his other houses, lands, and effects, without leaving any thing for buddir ad deen houssun, and to confine his person. the new grand vizier, accompanied by his officers, went immediately to execute his commission. but one of buddir ad deen houssun's slaves happening accidentally to come into the crowd, no sooner understood the vizier's errand, than he ran before to give his master warning. he found him sitting in the vestibule of his house, as melancholy as if his father had been but newly dead. he fell down at his feet out of breath, and alter he had kissed the hem of his garment, cried out, "my lord, save yourself immediately." the unfortunate youth lifting up his head, exclaimed, "what news dost thou bring?" "my lord," said he, "there is no time to be lost; the sultan is incensed against you, has sent to confiscate your estates, and to seize your person." the words of this faithful and affectionate slave occasioned buddir ad deen houssun great alarm. "may not i have so much time," said he, "as to take some money and jewels along with me?" "no, sir," replied the slave, "the grand vizier, will be here this moment; be gone immediately, save yourself." the unhappy youth rose hastily from his sofa, put his feet in his sandals, and after he had covered his head with the skirt of his vest, that his face might not be known, fled, without knowing what way to go, to avoid the impending danger. he ran without stopping till he came to the public burying-ground, and as it was growing dark, resolved to pass that night in his father's tomb. it was a large edifice, covered by a dome, which noor ad deen ali, as is common with the mussulmauns, had erected for his sepulture. on the way buddir ad deen met a jew, who was a banker and merchant, and was returning from a place where his affairs had called him, to the city. the jew, knowing buddir ad deen, stopped, and saluted him very courteously. isaac the jew, after he had paid his respects to buddir ad deen houssun, by kissing his hand, said, "my lord, dare i be so bold as to ask whither you are going at this time of night alone, and so much troubled? has any thing disquieted you?" "yes," said buddir ad deen, "a while ago i was asleep, and my father appeared to me in a dream, looking very fiercely upon me, as if much displeased. i started out of my sleep in alarm, and came out immediately to go and pray upon his tomb." "my lord," said the jew (who did not know the true reason why buddir ad deen had left the town), "your father of happy memory, and my good lord, had store of merchandize in several vessels, which are yet at sea, and belong to you; i beg the favour of you to grant me the refusal of them before any other merchant. i am able to pay down ready money for all the goods that are in your ships: and to begin, if you will give me those that happen to come in the first that arrives in safety, i will pay you down in part of payment a thousand sequins," and drawing out a bag from under his vest, he shewed it him sealed up with one seal. buddir ad deen houssun being banished from home, and dispossessed of all that he had in the world, looked on this proposal of the jew as a favour from heaven, and therefore accepted it with joy. "my lord," said the jew, "then you sell me for a thousand sequins the lading of the first of your ships that shall arrive in port?" "yes," answered buddir ad deen, "i sell it to you for a thousand sequins; it is done." upon this the jew delivered him the bag of a thousand sequins, and offered to count them, but buddir ad deen said he would trust his word. "since it is so, my lord," said he, "be pleased to favour me with a small note of the bargain we have made." as he spoke, he pulled the inkhorn from his girdle, and taking a small reed out of it neatly cut for writing, presented it to him with a piece of paper. buddir ad deen houssun wrote these words: "this writing is to testify, that buddir ad deen houssun of bussorah, has sold to isaac the jew, for the sum of one thousand sequins, received in hand, the lading of the first of his ships that shall arrive in this port." this note he delivered to the jew, after having stamped it with his seal, and then took his leave of him. while isaac pursued his journey to the city, buddir ad deen made the best of his way to his father's tomb. when he came to it, he prostrated himself to the ground, and, with his eyes full of tears, deplored his miserable condition. "alas!" said he, "unfortunate buddir ad deen, what will become of thee? whither canst thou fly for refuge against the unjust prince who persecutes thee? was it not enough to be afflicted by the death of so dear a father? must fortune needs add new misfortunes to just complaints?" he continued a long time in this posture, but at last rose up, and leaning his head upon his father's tombstone, his sorrows returned more violently than before; so that he sighed and mourned, till, overcome with heaviness, he sunk upon the floor, and drops asleep. he had not slept long, when a genie, who had retired to the cemetery during the day, and was intending, according to his custom, to range about the world at night, entered the sepulchre, and finding buddir ad deen lying on his back, was surprised at his beauty. when the genie had attentively considered buddir ad deen houssun, he said to himself, "to judge of this creature by his beauty, he would seem to be an angel of the terrestrial paradise, whom god has sent to put the world in a flame by his charms." at last, after he had satisfied himself with looking at him, he tool; a flight into the air, where meeting by chance with a perie, they saluted one another; after which he said to her, "pray descend with me into the cemetery, where i dwell, and i will shew you a beauty worthy your admiration." the perie consented, and both descended in an instant; they came into the tomb. "look," said the genie, shewing her buddir ad deen houssun, "did you ever see a youth more beautiful?" the perie having attentively observed buddir ad deen, replied, "i must confess that he is a very handsome man, but i am just come from seeing an objets at cairo, more admirable than this; and if you will hear me, i will relate her unhappy fate." "you will very much oblige me," answered the genie. "you must know then," said the perie, "that the sultan of egypt has a vizier, shumse ad deen mahummud, who has a daughter most beautiful and accomplished. the sultan having heard of this young lady's beauty, sent the other day for her father, and said, 'i understand you have a daughter to marry; i would have her for my bride: will not you consent?' the vizier, who did not expect this proposal, was troubled, and instead of accepting it joyfully, which another in his place would certainly have done, he answered the sultan: 'may it please your majesty, i am not worthy of the honour you would confer upon me, and i most humbly beseech you to pardon me, if i do not accede to your request. you know i had a brother, who had the honour, as well as myself, to be one of your viziers: we had some difference together, which was the cause of his leaving me suddenly. since that time i have had no account of him till within these four days, that i heard he died at bussorah, being grand vizier to the sultan of that kingdom. "'he has left a son, and there having been an agreement between us to match our children together, i am persuaded he intended that match when he died; and being desirous to fulfil the promise on my part, i conjure your majesty to grant me permission.' "the sultan of egypt, provoked at this denial of his vizier said to him in anger which he could not restrain: 'is this the way in which you requite my condescension in stooping so low as to desire your alliance? i know how to revenge your presumption in daring to prefer another to me, and i swear that your daughter shall be married to the most contemptible and ugly of my slaves.' having thus spoken, he angrily commanded the vizier to quit his presence. the vizier retired to his palace full of confusion, and overwhelmed in despair. "this very day the sultan sent for one of his grooms, who is hump-backed, big-bellied, crook legged, and as ugly as a hobgoblin; and after having commanded the vizier to marry his daughter to this ghastly slave, he caused the contract to be made and signed by witnesses in his own presence. the preparations for this fantastical wedding are all ready, and this very moment all the slaves belonging to the lords of the court of egypt are waiting at the door of a bath, each with a flambeau in his hand, for the crook-back groom, who is bathing, to go along with them to his bride, who is already dressed to receive him; and when i departed from cairo, the ladies met for that purpose were going to conduct her in her nuptial attire to the hall, where she is to receive her hump-backed bridegroom, and is this minute expecting him. i have seen her, and do assure you, that no person can behold her without admiration." when the perie left off speaking, the genie said to her, "whatever you think or say, i cannot be persuaded that the girl's beauty exceeds that of this young man." "i will not dispute it with you," answered the perie; "for i must confess he deserves to be married to that charming creature, whom they design for hump-back; and i think it were a deed worthy of us to obstruct the sultan of egypt's injustice, and put this young gentleman in the room of the slave." "you are in the right," answered the genie; "i am extremely obliged to you for so good a thought; let us deceive him. i consent to your revenge upon the sultan of egypt; let us comfort a distressed father, and make his daughter as happy as she thinks herself miserable. i will do my utmost endeavours to make this project succeed, and i am persuaded you will not be backward. i will be at the pains to carry him to cairo before he awakes, and afterwards leave it to your care to carry him elsewhere, when we have accomplished our design." the perie and the genie having thus concerted what they had to do, the genie lifted up buddir ad deen houssun gently, and with an inconceivable swiftness conveyed him through the air and set him down at the door of a building next to the bath, whence hump-back was to come with a train of slaves that waited for him. buddir ad deen awoke, and was naturally alarmed at finding himself in the middle of a city he knew not; he was going to cry out, but the genie touched him gently on the shoulder, and forbad him to speak. he then put a torch in his hand, saying, "go, and mix with the crowd at the door of the bath; follow them till you come into a hall, where they are going to celebrate a marriage. the bridegroom is a hump-backed fellow, and by that you will easily know him. put yourself at the right hand as you go in, open the purse of sequins you have in your bosom, distribute them among the musicians and dancers as they go along; and when you are got into the hall, give money also to the female slaves you see about the bride; but every time you put your hand in your purse, be sure to take out a whole handful, and do not spare them. observe to do everything exactly as i have desired you; be not afraid of any person, and leave the rest to a superior power, who will order matters as he thinks fit." buddir ad deen, being well instructed in all that he was to do, advanced towards the door of the bath. the first thing he did was to light his torch at that of a slave; and then mixing among them as if he belonged to some noblemen of cairo, he marched along as they did, and followed humpback, who came out of the bath, and mounted a horse from the sultan's own stable. buddir ad deen coming near to the musicians, and men and women dancers, who went just before the bridegroom, pulled out time after time whole handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among them: and as he thus gave his money with an unparalleled grace and engaging mien, all who received it fixed their eyes upon him; and after they had a full view of his face, they found him so handsome that they could not withdraw their attention. at last they came to the gates of the vizier who little thought his nephew was so near. the doorkeepers, to prevent any disorder, kept back all the slaves that carried torches, and would not admit them. buddir ad deen was likewise refused; but the musicians, who had free entrance, stood still, and protested they would not go in, if they hindered him from accompanying them. "he is not one of the slaves'" said they; "look upon him, and you will soon be satisfied. he is certainly a young stranger, who is curious to see the ceremonies observed at marriages in this city;" and saying thus, they put him in the midst of them, and carried him with them in spite of the porters. they took his torch out of his hand, gave it to the first they met, and having brought him into the hall, placed him at the right hand of the hump-backed bridegroom, who sat near the vizier's daughter on a throne most richly adorned. she appeared very lovely, but in her face there was nothing to be seen but vexation and grief. the cause of this was easily to be guessed, when she had by her side a bridegroom so very deformed, and so unworthy of her love. the nuptial seat was in the midst of an estrade. the ladies of the emirs, viziers, those of the sultan's bed-chamber, and several other ladies of the court and city, were placed on each side, a little lower, every one according to her rank, and richly dressed, holding a large wax taper in her hands. when they saw buddir ad deen houssun, all fixed their eyes upon him, and admiring his shape, his behaviour, and the beauty of his face, they could not forbear looking upon him. when he was seated every one deft their seats, came near him to have a full view of his face, and all found themselves moved with love and admiration. the disparity between buddir ad deen houssun and the hump-backed groom, who made such a contemptible figure, occasioned great murmuring among the company; insomuch that the ladies cried out, "we must give our bride to this handsome young gentleman, and not to this ugly humpback." nor did they rest here, but uttered imprecations against the sultan, who, abusing his absolute power, would unite ugliness and beauty together. they also mocked the bridegroom, so as to put him out of countenance, to the great satisfaction of the spectators, whose shouts for some time put a stop to the concert of music in the hall. at last the musicians began again, and the women who had dressed the bride surrounded her. each time that the bride retired to change her dress, she on her return passed by hump-back without giving him one look, and went towards buddir ad deen, before whom she presented herself in her new attire. on this occasion, buddir ad deen, according to the instructions given him by the genie, failed not to put his hands in his purse, and pulled out handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among the women that followed the bride. nor did he forget the players and dancers, but also threw money to them. it was pleasant to see how they pushed one another to gather it up. they shewed themselves thankful for his liberality. when the ceremony of changing habits was passed, the music ceased and the company retired. the bride repaired to the nuptial chamber, whither her attendants followed to undress her, and none remained in the hall but the hump-back groom, buddir ad deen, and some of the domestics. hump-back, who was enraged at buddir ad deen, suspecting him to be his rival, gave him a cross look, and said, "and thou, what dost thou wait for? why art thou not gone as well as the rest? depart!" buddir ad deen having no pretence to stay, withdrew, not knowing what to do with himself. but before he got out of the vestibule, the genie and the perie met and stopped him. "whither are you going?" said the perie; "stay, hump-back is not in the hall, return, and introduce yourself into the bride's chamber. as soon as you are alone with her, tell her boldly that you are her husband, that the sultan's intention was only to make sport with the groom. in the mean time we will take care that the hump-back shall not return, and let nothing hinder your passing the night with your bride, for she is yours and not his." while the perie thus encouraged buddir ad deen, and instructed him how he should behave himself, hump-back had really gone out of the room for a moment. the genie went to him in the shape of a monstrous cat, mewing at a most fearful rate. hump-back called to the cat, he clapped his hands to drive her away, but instead of retreating, she stood upon her hinder feet, staring with her eyes like fire, looking fiercely at him, mewing louder than she did at first, and increasing in size till she was as large as an ass. at this sight, hump-back would have cried out for help, but his fear was so great, that he stood gaping and could not utter one word. that he might have no time to recover, the genie changed himself immediately into a large buffalo, and in this stripe called to him, with a voice that redoubled his fear, "thou hump-backed villain!" at these words the affrighted groom cast himself upon the ground, and covering his face with his vest, that he might not see this dreadful beast, "sovereign prince of buffaloes," said he, "what is it you want of me?" "woe be to thee," replied the genie, "hast thou the presumption to venture to marry my mistress?" "o my lord," said hump-back, "i pray you to pardon me, if i am guilty, it is through ignorance. i did not know that this lady had a buffalo to her sweetheart: command me in anything you please, i give you my oath that i am ready to obey you." "by death," replied the genie; "if thou goest out from hence, or speakest a word till the sun rises, i will crush thy head to pieces. i warn thee to obey, for if thou hast the impudence to return, it shall cost thee thy life." when the genie had done speaking, he transformed himself into the shape of a man, took hump-back by the legs, and after having set him against the wall with his head downwards, "if thou stir," said he, "before the sun rise, as i have told thee already, i will take thee by the heels again, and dash thy head in a thousand pieces against the wall." to return to buddir ad deen. prompted by the genie and the presence of the perie, he returned to the hall, from whence he slips into the bride-chamber, where he sat down, expecting the success of his adventure. after a while the bride arrived, conducted by an old matron, who came no farther than the door, without looking in to see whether it were hump-back or another that was there, and then retired. the beautiful bride was agreeably surprised to find instead of hump-back a handsome youth, who gracefully addressed her. "what! my dear friend," said she, "by your being here at this time of night you must be my husband's comrade?" "no, madam," said buddir ad deen, "i am of another quality than that ugly hump-back." "but," said she, "you do not consider that you speak degradingly of my husband." "he your husband," replied he: "can you retain those thoughts so long? be convinced of your mistake, for so much beauty must never be sacrificed to the most contemptible of mankind. it is i that am the happy mortal for whom it is reserved. the sultan had a mind to make himself merry, by putting this trick upon the vizier your father, but he chose me to be your real husband. you might have observed how the ladies, the musicians, the dancers, your women, and all the servants of your family, were pleased with this comedy. we have sent hump-back to his stable again." at this discourse the vizier's daughter (who was more like one dead than alive when she came into the bride-chamber) put on a gay air, which made her so handsome, that buddir ad deen was charmed with her graces. "i did not expect," said she, "to meet with so pleasing a surprise; and i had condemned myself to live unhappy all my days. but my good fortune is so much the greater, that i possess in you a man worthy of my tenderest affection." buddir ad deen, overjoyed to see himself possessor of so many charms, retired with his bride, and laid his vesture aside, with the bag that he had from the jew; which, notwithstanding all the money he had dispersed, was still full. towards morning, while the two lovers were asleep, the genie, who had met again with the perie, said, "it is time to finish what we have so successfully carried on; let us not be overtaken by day-light, which will soon appear; go you and bring off the young man again without awaking him." the perie went into the bed-chamber where the two lovers were fast asleep, took up buddir ad deen in his under vest and drawers; and in company with the genie with wonderful swiftness fled away with him to the gates of damascus in syria, where they arrived just at the time when the officers of the mosques, appointed for that end, were calling the people to prayers at break of day. the perie laid buddir ad deen softly on the ground, close by the gate, and departed with the genie. the gate of the city being opened, and many people assembled, they were surprised to see a youth lying in his shirt and drawers upon the ground. one said, "he has been hard put to it to get away from his mistress, that he could not get time to put on his clothes." "look," said another, "how people expose themselves; sure enough he has spent most part of the night in drinking with his friends, till he has got drunk, and then, perhaps, having occasion to go out, instead of returning, is come this length, and not having his senses about him, was overtaken with sleep." others were of another opinion; but nobody could guess what had been the real occasion of his coming thither. a small puff of wind happening to blow at this time, uncovered his breast, which was whiter than snow. every one being struck with admiration at the fineness of his complexion, they spoke so loud that they awaked him. his surprise was as great as theirs, when he found himself at the gate of a city where he had never been before, and encompassed by a crowd of people gazing at him. "inform me," said he, "for god's sake, where i am, and what you would have?" one of the crowd spoke to him saying, "young man, the gates of the city were just now opened, and as we came out we found you lying here in this condition: have you lain here all night? and do not you know that you are at one of the gates of damascus?" "at one of the gates of damascus!" answered buddir ad deen, "surely you mock me. when i lay down to sleep last night i was at cairo." when he had said this, some of the people, moved with compassion for him, exclaimed, "it is a pity that such a handsome young man should have lost his senses;" and so went away. "my son," said an old man to him, "you know not what you say. how is it possible that you, being this morning at damascus, could be last night at cairo?" "it is true," said buddir ad deen, "and i swear to you, that i was all day yesterday at bussorah." he had no sooner said this than all the people fell into a fit of laughter, and cried out, "he's a fool, he's a madman." there were some, however, that pitied him because of his youth; and one among the company said to him, "my son, you must certainly be crazed, you do not consider what you say. is it possible that a man could yesterday be at bussorah, the same night at cairo, and this morning at damascus? surely you are asleep still, come rouse up your spirits." "what i say," answered buddir ad deen houssun, "is so true that last night i was married in the city of cairo." all those who laughed before, could not forbear again at this declaration. "recollect yourself," said the same person who spoke before; "you must have dreamt all this, and the fancy still possesses your brain." "i am sensible of what i say," answered the young man. "pray can you tell me how it was possible for me to go in a dream to cairo, where i am very certain i was in person, and where my bride was seven times brought before me, each time dressed in a different habit, and where i saw an ugly hump backed fellow, to whom they intended to give her? besides, i want to know what is become of my vest, my turban, and the bag of sequins i had at cairo?" though he assured them that all these things were matters of fact, yet they could not forbear to laugh at him: which put him into such confusion, that he knew not what to think of all those adventures. after buddir ad deen houssun had confidently affirmed all that he said to be true, he rose up to go into the town, and every one who followed him called out, "a madman, a fool." upon this some looked out at their windows, some came to their doors, and others joined with those that were about him, calling out as they did, "a madman;" but not knowing for what. in this perplexity the affrighted young man happened to come before a pastry-cook's shop, and went into it to avoid the rabble. this pastry-cook had formerly been captain to a troop of arabian robbers, who plundered the caravans; and though he was become a citizen of damascus, where he behaved himself to every one's satisfaction, yet he was dreaded by all who knew him; wherefore, as soon as he came out to the rabble who followed buddir ad deen, they dispersed. the pastry-cook asked him who he was, and what brought him thither. buddir ad deen told him all, not concealing his birth, nor the death of his father the grand vizier. he afterwards gave him an account why he had left bussorah; how, after he had fallen asleep the night following upon his father's tomb, he found himself when he awoke at cairo, where he had married a lady; and at last, in what amazement he was, when he found himself at damascus, without being able to penetrate into all those wonderful adventures. "your history is one of the most surprising," said the pastry-cook; "but if you will follow my advice, you will let no man know those matters you have revealed to me, but patiently wait till heaven thinks fit to put an end to your misfortunes. you shall be welcome to stay with me till then; and as i have no children, i will own you for my son, if you consent; after you are so adopted, you may freely walk the city, without being exposed any more to the insults of the rabble." though this adoption was below the son of a grand vizier, buddir ad deen was glad to accept of the pastry-cook's proposal, judging it the best thing he could do, considering his circumstances. the cook clothed him, called for witnesses, and went before a notary, where he acknowledged him for his son. after this, buddir ad deen lived with him under the name of houssun, and learned the pastry-trade. while this passed at damascus, the daughter of shumse ad deen awoke, and finding buddir ad deen gone, supposed he had risen softly for fear of disturbing her, but would soon return. as she was in expectation of him, her father the vizier, (who was vexed at the affront put upon him by the sultan) came and knocked at her chamber-door, to bewail her sad destiny. he called her by her name, and she knowing him by his voice, immediately got up, and opened the door. she kissed his hand, and received him with so much pleasure in her countenance, that she surprised the vizier who expected to find her drowned in tears, and as much grieved as himself. "unhappy wretch!" said he in a passion, "do you appear before me thus? after the hideous sacrifice you have just consummated, can you see me with so much satisfaction?" the new bride seeing her father angry at her pleasant countenance, said to him, "for god's sake, sir, do not reproach me wrongfully; it is not the hump-back fellow, whom i abhor more than death, it is not that monster i have married. every body laughed him to scorn, and put him so out of countenance, that he was forced to run away and hide himself, to make room for a noble youth, who is my real husband." "what fable do you tell me?" said shumse ad deen, roughly. "what! did not crook-back lie with you tonight?" "no, sir," said she, "it was the youth i mentioned, who has large eyes and black eyebrows." at these words the vizier, lost all patience, and exclaimed in anger, "ah, wicked woman! you will make me distracted!" "it is you, father," said she, "that put me out of my senses by your incredulity." "so, it is not true," replied the vizier, "that hump-back----" "let us talk no more of hump-back," said she, "a curse upon hump-back. father, i assure you once more, that i did not bed with him, but with my dear spouse, who, i believe, is not far off." shumse ad deen went out to seek him, but, instead of seeing buddir ad deen, was surprised to find hump-back with his head on the ground, and his heels uppermost, as the genie had set him against the wall. "what is the meaning of this?" said he; "who placed you thus?" crookback, knowing it to be the vizier answered, "alas! alas! it is you then that would marry me to the mistress of a genie in the form of a buffalo." shumse ad deen mahummud, when he heard hump-back speak thus, thought he was raving, bade him move, and stand upon his legs. "i will take care how i stir," said hump-back, "unless the sun be risen. know, sir, that when i came last night to your palace, suddenly a black cat appeared to me, and in an instant grew as big as a buffalo. i have not forgotten what he enjoined me, therefore you may depart, and leave me here." the vizier instead of going away, took him by the heels, and made him stand up, when hump-back ran off, without looking behind him; and coming to the palace presented himself to the sultan, who laughed heartily when informed how the genie had served him. shumse ad deen returned to his daughter's chamber, more astonished than before. "my abused daughter," said he, "can you give me no farther light in this miraculous affair?" "sir," replied she, "i can give you no other account than i have done already. here are my husband's clothes, which he put off last night; perhaps you may find something among them that may solve your doubt." she then shewed him buddir ad deen's turban, which he examined narrowly on all sides, saying, "i should take this to be a vizier's turban, if it were not made after the bussorah fashion." but perceiving something to be sewed between the stuff and the lining, he called for scissors, and having unripped it, found the paper which noor ad deen ali had given to his son upon his deathbed, and which buddir ad deen houssun had sewn in his turban for security. shumse ad deen having opened the paper, knew his brother's hand, and found this superscription, "for my son buddir ad deen houssun." before he could make any reflections upon it, his daughter delivered him the bag, that lay under the garments, which he likewise opened, and found it full of sequins: for, notwithstanding all the liberality of buddir ad deen, it was still kept full by the genie and perie. he read the following words upon a note in the bag: "a thousand sequins belonging to isaac the jew." and these lines underneath, which the jew had written, "delivered to my lord buddir ad deen houssun, for the cargo of the first of those ships that formerly belonged to the noble vizier, his father, of blessed memory, sold to me upon its arrival in this place." he had scarcely read these words, when he groaned heavily, and fainted away. the vizier shumse ad deen being recovered from his fit by the aid of his daughter, and the women she called to her assistance; "daughter," said he, "do not alarm yourself at this accident, occasioned by what is scarcely credible. your bridegroom is your cousin, the son of my beloved and deceased brother. the thousand sequins in the bag reminds me of a quarrel i had with him, and is without the dowry he gives you. god be praised for all things, and particularly for this miraculous adventure, which demonstrates his almighty power." then looking again upon his brother's writing, he kissed it several times, shedding abundance of tears. he looked over the book from beginning to end. in it he found the date of his brother's arrival at bussorah, of his marriage, and of the birth of his son; and when he compared them with the day of his own marriage, and the birth of his daughter at cairo, he wondered at the exact coincidence which appeared in every circumstance. the happy discovery put him into such a transport of joy, that he took the book, with the ticket of the bag, and shewed them to the sultan, who pardoned what was past, and was so much pleased with the relation of this adventure, that he caused it with all its circumstances to be put in writing for the information of posterity. meanwhile, the vizier. shumse ad deen could not comprehend the reason why his nephew did not appear; he expected him every moment, and was impatient to receive him to his arms. after he had waited seven days in vain, he searched through all cairo, but could procure no intelligence of him, which threw him into great perplexity. "this is the strangest occurrence," said he, "that ever happened." in order to certify it, he thought fit to draw up in writing with his own hand an account of the manner in which the wedding had been solemnized; how the hall and his daughter's bed-chamber were furnished, with the other circumstances. he likewise made the turban, the bag, and the rest of buddir ad deen's raiment into a bundle, and locked them up. after some days were past, the vizier's daughter perceived herself pregnant, and after nine months was brought to bed of a son. a nurse was provided for the child, besides other women and slaves to wait upon him; and his grandfather called him agib. when young agib had attained the age of seven, the vizier, instead of teaching him to read at home, put him to school with a master who was in great esteem; and two slaves were ordered to wait upon him. agib used to play with his schoolfellows, and as they were all inferior to him in rank, they shewed him great respect, according to the example of their master, who many times would pass by faults in him that he would correct in his other pupils. this indulgence spoiled agib; he became proud and insolent, would have his play-fellows bear all from him, and would submit to nothing from them, but be master every where; and if any took the liberty to thwart him, he would call them a thousand names, and many times beat them. in short, all the scholars grew weary of his insolence, and complained of him to their master. he answered, "that they must have patience." but when he saw that agib grew still more and more overbearing, and occasioned him much trouble, "children," said he to his scholars, "i find agib is a little insolent gentleman; i will shew you how to mortify him, so that he shall never torment you any more. nay, i believe it will make him leave the school. when he comes again to-morrow, place yourselves round him, and let one of you call out, 'come, let us play, but upon condition, that every one who desires to play shall tell his own name, and the names of his father and mother; they who refuse shall be esteemed bastards, and not be suffered to play in our company.'" next day when they were gathered together, they failed not to follow their master's instructions. they placed themselves round agib, and one of them called out, "let us begin a play, but on condition that he who cannot tell his own name, and that of his father and mother, shall not play at all." they all cried out, and so did agib, "we consent." then he that spoke first asked every one the question, and all fulfilled the condition except agib, who answered, "my name is agib, my mother is called the lady of beauty, and my father shumse ad deen mahummud, vizier to the sultan." at these words all the children cried out, "agib, what do you say? that is not the name of your father, but your grandfather." "a curse on you," said he in a passion. "what! dare you say that the vizier is not my father?" "no, no," cried they with great laughter, "he is your grandfather, and you shall not play with us. nay we will take care how we come into your company." having spoken thus, they all left him, scoffing him, and laughing among themselves, which mortified agib so much that he wept. the schoolmaster who was near, and heard all that passed, came up, and speaking to agib, said, "agib, do not you know that the vizier is not your father, but your grandfather, and the father of your mother the lady of beauty? we know not the name of your father any more than you do. we only know that the sultan was going to marry your mother to one of his grooms, a humpback fellow; but a genie lay with her. this is hard upon you, but ought to teach you to treat your schoolfellows with less haughtiness." agib being nettled at this, ran hastily out of the school. he went directly sobbing to his mother's chamber, who being alarmed to see him thus grieved, asked the reason. he could not answer for tears, so great was his mortification, and it was long ere he could speak plain enough to repeat what had been said to him, and had occasioned his sorrow. when he came to himself. "mother," said he "for the love of god be pleased to tell me who is my father?" "my son," she replied, "shumse ad deen mahummud, who every day caresses you so kindly, is your father." "you do not tell me truth," returned agib; "he is your father, and none of mine. but whose son am i?" at this question, the lady of beauty calling to mind her wedding night, which had been succeeded by a long widowhood, began to shed tears, repining bitterly at the loss of so handsome a husband as buddir ad deen. whilst the lady of beauty and agib were both weeping, the vizier entered, who demanded the reason of their sorrow. the lady told him the shame agib had undergone at school, which so much affected the vizier that he joined his tears with theirs, and judging from this that the misfortune which had happened to his daughter was the common discourse of the town, he was mortified to the quick. being thus afflicted, he went to the sultan's palace, and falling prostrate at his feet, most humbly intreated permission to make a journey in search of his nephew buddir ad deen houssun. for he could not bear any longer that the people of the city should believe a genie had disgraced his daughter. the sultan was much concerned at the vizier's affliction, approved his resolution, and gave him leave to travel. he caused a passport also to be written for him, requesting in the strongest terms all kings and princes in whose dominions buddir ad deen might sojourn, to grant that the vizier might conduct him to cairo. shumse ad deen, not knowing how to express his gratitude to the sultan, fell down before him a second time, while the floods of tears he shed bore sufficient testimony to his feelings. at last, having wished the sultan all manner of prosperity, he took his leave and returned to his house, where he disposed every thing for his journey; and the preparations were carried on with so much diligence, that in four days after he left the city, accompanied with his daughter the lady of beauty, and his grandson agib. they travelled nineteen days without intermission; but on the twentieth, arriving at a pleasant mead, a small distance from the gate of damascus, they halted, and pitched their tents upon the banks of a river which fertilizes the vicinity, and runs through the town, one of the pleasantest in syria, once the capital of the caliphs; and celebrated for its elegant buildings, the politeness of its inhabitants, and the abundance of its conveniences. the vizier declared he would stay in that pleasant place two days, and pursue his journey on the third. in the mean time he gave his retinue leave to go to damascus; and almost all of them made use of it: some influenced by curiosity to see a city they had heard so much of, and others by the opportunity of vending the egyptian goods they had brought with them, or buying stuffs, and the rarities of the country. the beautiful lady desiring her son agib might share in the satisfaction of viewing that celebrated city, ordered the black eunuch, who acted in quality of his governor, to conduct him thither. agib, in magnificent apparel, went with the eunuch, who had a large cane in his hand. they had no sooner entered the city, than agib, fair and glorious as the day, attracted the eyes of the people. some got out of their houses to gain a nearer and narrower view of him; others put their heads out of the windows, and those who passed along the street were not satisfied in stopping to look upon him, but kept pace with him, to prolong the pleasure of the agreeable sight: in fine, there was not a person that did not admire him, and bestow a thousand benedictions on the father and mother that had given being to so fine a child. by chance the eunuch and he passed by the shop of buddir ad deen houssun, and there the crowd was so great, that they were forced to halt. the pastry-cook who had adopted buddir ad deen houssun had died some years before, and left him his shop and all his property, and he conducted the pastry trade so dexterously, that he had gained great reputation in damascus. buddir ad deen seeing so great a crowd before his door, who were gazing so attentively upon agib and the black eunuch, stepped out to see them himself. having cast his eyes upon agib, buddir ad deen found himself moved, he knew not how, nor for what reason. he was not struck like the people with the brilliant beauty of the boy; another cause unknown to him gave rise to the uneasiness and emotion he felt. it was the force of blood that wrought in this tender father; who, laying aside his business, made up to agib, and with an engaging air, said to him: "my little lord, who hast won my soul, be so kind as to come into my shop, and eat a bit of such fare as i have; that i may have the pleasure of admiring you at my ease." these words he pronounced with such tenderness, that tears trickled from his eyes. little agib was moved when he saw his emotion; and turning to the eunuch, said, "this honest man speaks in such an affectionate manner, that i cannot avoid complying with his request; let us step into his house, and taste his pastry." "it would be a fine thing truly," replied the slave, "to see the son of a vizier go into a pastry-cook's shop to eat; do not imagine that i will suffer any such thing." "alas! my lord," cried buddir ad deen, "it is cruelty to trust the conduct of you in the hands of a person who treats you so harshly." then applying himself to the eunuch, "my good friend," continued he, "pray do not hinder this young lord from granting me the favour i ask; do not put such mortification upon me: rather do me the honour to walk in along with him, and by so doing, you will let the world know, that, though your outside is brown like a chestnut, your inside is as white. do you know," continued he, "that i am master of the secret to make you white, instead of being black as you are?" this set the eunuch a laughing, and then he asked what that secret was. "i will tell you," replied buddir ad deen, who repeated some verses in praise of black eunuchs, implying, that it was by their ministry that the honour of princes and of all great men was secured. the eunuch was so charmed with these verses, that, without further hesitation, he suffered agib to go into the shop, and went in with him himself. buddir ad deen houssun was overjoyed at having obtained what he had so passionately desired, and, falling again to the work he had discontinued "i was making," said he, "cream-tarts; and you must, with submission, eat of them. i am persuaded you will find them good; for my own mother, who made them incomparably well, taught me, and the people send to buy them of me from all quarters of the town." this said, he took a cream-tart out of the oven, and after strewing upon it some pomegranate kernels and sugar, set it before agib, who found it very delicious. another was served up to the eunuch, and he gave the same judgment. while they were both eating, buddir ad deen viewed agib very attentively; and after looking upon him again and again, it came into his mind that possibly he might have such a son by his charming wife, from whom he had been so soon and so cruelly separated; and the very thought drew tears from his eyes. he intended to have put some questions to little agib about his journey to damascus; but the child had no time to gratify his curiosity, for the eunuch pressing him to return to his grandfather's tent, took him away as soon as he had done eating. buddir ad deen houssun, not contented with looking after him, shut up his shop immediately, and followed him. buddir ad deen houssun ran after agib and the eunuch, and overtook them before they had reached the gate of the city. the eunuch perceiving he followed them, was extremely surprised: "you impertinent fellow," said he, with an angry tone, "what do you want?" "my dear friend," replied buddir ad deen, "do not trouble yourself; i have a little business out of town, and i must needs go and look after it." this answer, however, did not at all satisfy the eunuch, who turning to agib, said, "this is all owing to you; i foresaw i should repent of my complaisance; you would needs go into the man's shop; it was not wisely done in me to give you leave." "perhaps," replied agib, "he has real business out of town, and the road is free to every body." while this passed they kept walking together, without looking behind them, till they came near the vizier's tents, upon which they turned about to see if buddir ad deen followed them. agib, perceiving he was within two paces of him, reddened and whitened alternately, according to the different emotions that affected him. he was afraid the grand vizier his grandfather should come to know he had been in the pastry shop, and had eaten there. in this dread, he took up a large stone that lay at his foot and throwing it at buddir ad deen, hit him in the forehead, and wounded him so that his face was covered with blood. the eunuch gave buddir ad deen to understand, he had no reason to complain of a mischance that he had merited and brought upon himself. buddir ad deen turned towards the city staunching the blood of the wound with his apron, which he had not put off. "i was a fool," said he within himself, "for leaving my house, to take so much pains about this brat; for doubtless he would never have used me after this manner, if he had not thought i had some ill design against him." when he got home, he had his wound dressed, and softened the sense of his mischance by the reflection that there was an infinite number of people upon the earth, who were yet more unfortunate than he. buddir ad deen kept on the pastry-trade at damascus, and his uncle shumse ad deen mahummud went from thence three days after his arrival. he went by way of emaus, hanah, and halep; then crossed the euphrates, and after passing through mardin, moussoul, singier, diarbeker, and several other towns, arrived at last at bussorah. immediately after his arrival he desired audience of the sultan, who was no sooner informed of his quality than he admitted him to his presence, received him very favourably, and inquired the occasion of his journey to bussorah. "sire," replied the vizier "i come to know what is become of the son of my brother, who has had the honour to serve your majesty." "noor ad deen ali," said the sultan, "has been long dead; as for his son, all i can tell you of him is, that he disappeared suddenly, about two months after his father's death, and nobody has seen him since, notwithstanding all the inquiry i ordered to be made. but his mother, who is the daughter of one of my viziers, is still alive." shumse ad deen mahummud desired leave of the sultan to take her to egypt; and having obtained permission, without waiting till the next day, inquired after her place of abode, and that very hour went to her house, accompanied with his daughter and his grandson. the widow of noor ad deen ali resided still in the same place where her husband had lived. it was a stately fabric, adorned with marble pillars: but shumse ad deen did not stop to view it. at his entry he kissed the gate, and the piece of marble upon which his brother's name was written in letters of gold. he asked to speak with his sister-in-law, and was told by her servants, that she was in a small building covered by a dome, to which they directed in the middle of a very spacious court. this tender mother used to spend the greatest part of the day and night in that room which she had built as a representation of the tomb of her son buddir ad deen houssun, whom she supposed to be dead after so long an absence. she was pouring tears over his memorial when shumse ad deen entering, found her buried in the deepest affliction. he made his compliment, and after beseeching her to suspend her tears and sighs, informed her he had the honour to be her brother-in-law, and acquainted her with the reason of his journey from cairo to bussorah. shumse ad deen mahummud, after acquainting his sister-in-law with all that had passed at cairo on his daughter's wedding-night, and informing her of the surprise occasioned by the discovery of the paper sewed up in buddir ad deen's turban, presented to her agib and the beautiful lady. the widow of noor ad deen, who had still continued sitting like a woman dejected, and weaned from the affairs of this world, no sooner understood by his discourse that her dear son, whom she lamented so bitterly, might still be alive, than she arose, and repeatedly embraced the beautiful lady and her grandchild agib; and perceiving in the youth the features of buddir ad deen, drops tears different from what she had been so long accustomed to shed. she could not forbear kissing the youth, who, for his part, received her embraces with all the demonstrations of joy he was capable of shewing. "sister," said shumse ad deen, "it is time to dry your tears, and suppress your sighs; you must think of going with us to egypt. the sultan of bussorah gives me leave to carry you thither, and i doubt not you will consent. i am in hopes we shall at last find out your son my nephew; and if we do, the history of him, of you, of my own daughter, and of my own adventures, will deserve to be committed to writing, and transmitted to posterity." the widow of noor ad deen heard this proposal with pleasure, and ordered preparations to be made for her departure. while they were making, shumse ad deen desired a second audience, and after taking leave of the sultan, who dismissed him with ample marks of respect, and gave him a considerable present for himself, and another of great value for the sultan of egypt, he set out from bussorah once more for the city of damascus. when he arrived in the neighbourhood of damascus, he ordered his tents to be pitched without the gate, at which he designed to enter the city; and gave out he would tarry there three days, to give his suit rest, and buy up curiosities to present to the sultan of egypt. while he was employed in selecting the finest stuffs which the principal merchants had brought to his tents, agib begged the black eunuch his governor to carry him through the city, in order to see what he had not had leisure to view before; and to inquire what was become of the pastry cook whom he had wounded. the eunuch complying with his request, went along with him towards the city, after leave obtained of the beautiful lady his mother. they entered damascus by the paradise-gate, which lay next to the tents of the vizier they walked through the great squares and the public places where the richest goods were sold, and took a view of the superb mosque at the hour of prayer, between noon and sun-set. when they passed by the shop of buddir ad deen houssun, whom they still found employed in making cream tarts, "i salute you sir," said agib; "do you know me? do you remember you ever saw me before?" buddir ad deen hearing these words, fixed his eyes upon him, and recognizing him (such was the surprising effect of paternal love!), felt the same emotion as when he saw him first; he was confused, and instead of making any answer, continued a long time without uttering a word. at length, recovering himself, "my lord," said he, "be so kind as to come once more with your governor into my house, and taste a cream-tart. i beg your lordship's pardon, for the trouble i gave you in following you out of town; i was at that time not myself, i did not know what i did. you drew me after you, and the violence of the attraction was so soft, that i could not withstand it." agib, astonished at what buddir ad deen said, replied: "there is an excess in the kindness you express, and unless you engage under oath not to follow me when i go from hence, i will not enter your house. if you give me your promise, and prove a man of your word, i will visit you again to-morrow, since the vizier my grandfather, is still employed in buying up rarities for a present to the sultan of egypt." "my lord," replied buddir ad deen, "i will do whatever you would have me." this said, agib and the eunuch went into the shop. presently after, buddir ad deen set before them a cream-tart, that was full as good as what they had eaten before; "come," said agib, "sit down by me, and eat with us." buddir ad deen sat down, and attempted to embrace agib, as a testimony of the joy he conceived upon sitting by him. but agib pushed him away, desiring him not to be too familiar. buddir ad deen obeyed, and repeated some extempore verses in praise of agib: he did not eat, but made it his business to serve his guests. when they had done, he brought them water to wash, and a very white napkin to wipe their hands. then he filled a large china cup with sherbet, and put snow into it; and offering it to agib, "this," said he, "is sherbet of roses; and i am sure you never tasted better." agib having drunk of it with pleasure, buddir ad deen took the cup from him, and presented it to the eunuch, who drank it all off at once. in fine, agib and his governor having fared well, returned thanks to the pastry-cook for their good entertainment, and moved homewards, it being then late. when they arrived at the tents of shumse ad deen mahummud, agib's grandmother received him with transports of joy: her son ran always in her mind, and in embracing agib, the remembrance of him drew tears from her eyes. "ah, my child!" said she, "my joy would be perfect, if i had the pleasure of embracing your father as i now embrace you." she made agib sit by her, and put several questions to him, relating to the walk he had been taking with the eunuch; and when he complained of being hungry, she gave him a piece of cream-tart, which she had made for herself, and was indeed very good: she likewise gave some to the eunuch. agib no sooner touched the piece of cream-tart that had been set before him, than he pretended he did not like it, and left it uncut; and shubbaunee (which was the eunuch's name) did the same. the widow of noor ad deen ali observed with regret that her grandson did not like the tart. "what!" said she, "does my child thus despise the work of my hands? be it known to you, no one in the world can make such besides myself and your father, whom i taught." "my good mother," replied agib, "give me leave to tell you, if you do not know how to make better, there is a pastry-cook in this town that outdoes you. we were at his shop, and ate of one much better than yours." on hearing this, the grandmother, frowning upon the eunuch, said, "how now, shubbaunee, was the care of my grandchild committed to you, to carry him to eat at pastry-shops like a beggar?" "madam," replied the eunuch, "it is true, we did stop a little while and talked with the pastry-cook, but we did not eat with him." "pardon me," said agib, "we went into his shop, and there ate a cream-tart." upon this, the lady, more incensed against the eunuch than before, rose in a passion from the table, and running to the tent of shumse ad deen, informed him of the eunuch's crime; and that in such terms, as tended more to inflame the vizier than to dispose him to excuse it. the vizier who was naturally passionate, did not fail on this occasion to display his anger. he went forthwith to his sister-in-law's tent, and said to the eunuch, "wretch, have you the impudence to abuse the trust i repose in you?" shubbaunee, though sufficiently convicted by agib's testimony, denied the fact still. but the child persisting in what he had affirmed, "grandfather," said he, "i can assure you we not only ate, but that so very heartily, that we have no occasion for supper: besides, the pastry-cook treated us also with a great bowl of sherbet." "well," cried shumse ad deen, "after all this, will you continue to deny that you entered the pastry-cook's house, and ate there?" shubbaunee had still the impudence to swear it was not true. "then you are a liar," said the vizier "i believe my grandchild; but after all, if you can eat up this cream-tart i shall be persuaded you have truth on your side." though shubbaunee had crammed himself up to the throat before, he agreed to stand that test, and accordingly took a piece of tart; but his stomach rising against it, he was obliged to spit it out of his mouth. yet he still pursued the lie, and pretended he had over-eaten himself the day before, and had not recovered his appetite. the vizier irritated with all the eunuch's frivolous presences, and convinced of his guilt, ordered him to be soundly bastinadoed. in undergoing this punishment, the poor wretch shrieked out aloud, and at last confessed the truth; "i own," cried he, "that we did eat a cream-tart at the pastry cook's, and that it was much better than that upon the table." the widow of noor ad deen thought it was out of spite to her, and with a desire to mortify her, that shubbaunee commended the pastry-cook's tart; and accordingly said, "i cannot believe the cook's tarts are better than mine; i am resolved to satisfy myself upon that head. where does he live? go immediately and buy me one of his tarts." the eunuch repaired to buddir ad deen's shop, and said, "let me have one of your cream-tarts; one of our ladies wants to taste them." buddir ad deen chose one of the best, and gave it to the eunuch. shubbaunee returned speedily to the tents, gave the tart to noor ad deen's widow, who, snatching it greedily, broke a piece off; but no sooner put it to her mouth, than she cried out and swooned away. the vizier was extremely surprised at the accident; he threw water upon her face, and was very active in recovering her. as soon as she came to herself, "my god!" cried she, "it must needs be my son, my dear buddir ad deen who made this tart." when the vizier shumse ad deen heard his sister-in-law say, that the maker of the tart, brought by the eunuch, must needs be her son, he was overjoyed; but reflecting that his joy might prove groundless, and the conjecture of noor ad deen's widow be false, "madam," said he, "do you think there may not be a pastry-cook in the world, who knows how to make cream-tarts as well as your son?" "i own," replied she, "there may be pastry-cooks that can make as good tarts as he; but as i make them in a peculiar manner, and only my son was let into the secret, it must absolutely be he that made this. come, my brother," added she in a transport, "let us call up mirth and joy; we have at last found what we have been so long looking for." "madam," said the vizier answer, "i entreat you to moderate your impatience, for we shall quickly know the truth. all we have to do, is to bring the pastry-cook hither; and then you and my daughter will readily distinguish whether he be your son or not. but you must both be concealed so as to have a view of buddir ad deen while he cannot see you; for i would not have our interview and mutual discovery happen at damascus. my design is to delay the discovery till we return to cairo." this said, he left the ladies in their tent, and retired to his own; where he called for fifty of his men, and said to them: "take each of you a stick in your hands, and follow shubbaunee, who will conduct you to a pastry-cook in this city. when you arrive there, break and dash in pieces all you find in the shop: if he demand the reason of your outrage, only ask him in return if it was not he that made the cream-tart that was brought from his house. if he answer in the affirmative, seize his person, fetter him, and bring him along with you; but take care you do not beat him, nor do him the least harm. go, and lose no time." the vizier's orders were immediately executed. the detachment, conducted by the black eunuch, went with expedition to buddir ad deen's house, broke in pieces the plates, kettles, copper pans, and all the other moveables and utensils they met with, and inundated the sherbet-shop with cream and comfits. buddir ad deen, astonished at the sight, said with a pitiful tone, "pray, good people, why do you serve me so? what is the matter? what have i done?" "was it not you," said they, "that sold this eunuch the cream-tart?" "yes," replied he, "i am the man; and who says any thing against it? i defy any one to make a better." instead of giving him an answer, they continued to break all round them, and the oven itself was not spared. in the mean time the neighbours took the alarm, and surprised to see fifty armed men committing such a disorder, asked the reason of such violence; and buddir ad deen said once more to the rioters, "pray tell me what crime i have committed to deserve this usage?" "was it not you," replied they, "that made the cream-tart you sold to the eunuch?" "yes, yes, it was i," replied he; "i maintain it is a good one. i do not deserve this treatment." however, without listening to him, they seized his person, and, snatching the cloth off his turban, tied his hands with it behind his back, and, after dragging him by force out of his shop, marched off. the mob gathering, from compassion to buddir ad deen, took his part; but officers from the governor of the city dispersed the people, and favoured the carrying off of buddir ad deen, for shumse ad deen mahummud had in the mean time gone to the governor's house to acquaint him with the order he had given, and to demand the interposition of force to favour the execution; and the governor, who commanded all syria in the name of the sultan of egypt, was unwilling to refuse any thing to his master's vizier. it was in vain for buddir ad deen to ask those who carried him off, what fault had been found with his cream-tart: they gave him no answer. in short, they conducted him to the tents, and made him wait there till shumse ad deen returned from the governor of damascus. upon the vizier's return, the pretended culprit was brought before him. "my lord," said buddir ad deen, with tears in his eyes, "pray do me the favour to let me know wherein i have displeased you." "why, you wretch," exclaimed the vizier "was it not you that made the cream-tart you sent me?" "i own i am the man," replied buddir ad deen, "but pray what crime is that?" "i will punish you according to your deserts," said shumse ad deen, "it shall cost you your life, for sending me such a sorry tart." "ah!" exclaimed buddir ad deen, "is it a capital crime to make a bad cream-tart?" "yes," said the vizier "and you are to expect no other usage from me." while this interview lasted, the ladies, who were concealed behind curtains, saw buddir ad deen, and recognized him, notwithstanding he had been so long absent. they were so transported with joy, that they swooned away; and when they recovered, would fain have run up and fallen upon his neck, but the promise they had made to the vizier of not discovering themselves, restrained the tender emotions of love and of nature. shumse ad deen having resolved to set out that night, ordered the tents to be struck, and the necessary preparations to be made for his journey. he ordered buddir ad deen to be secured in a sort of cage, and laid on a camel. the vizier and his retinue began their march, and travelled the rest of that night, and all the next day, without stopping in the evening they halted, and buddir ad deen was taken out of his cage, in order to be served with the necessary refreshments, but still carefully kept at a distance from his mother and his wife; and during the whole expedition, which lasted twenty days, was served in the same manner. when they arrived at cairo, they encamped in the neighbourhood of the city; shumse ad deen called for buddir ad deen, and gave orders, in his presence, to prepare a stake. "alas!" said buddir ad deen, "what do you mean to do with a stake?" "why, to impale you," replied shumse ad deen, "and then to have you carried through all the quarters of the town, that the people may have the spectacle of a worthless pastry-cook, who makes cream-tarts without pepper." this said, buddir ad deen cried out so ludicrously, that shumse ad deen could hardly keep his countenance: "alas!" said he, "must i suffer a death as cruel as it is ignominious, for not putting pepper in a cream-tart?" "how," said buddir ad deen, "must i be rifled; must i be imprisoned in a chest, and at last impaled, and all for not putting pepper in a cream-tart? are these the actions of moosulmauns, of persons who make a profession of probity, justice, and good works?" with these words he shed tears, and then renewing his complaint; "no," continued he, "never was a man used so unjustly, nor so severely. is it possible they should be capable of taking a man's life for not putting pepper in a cream-tart? cursed be all cream-tarts, as well as the hour in which i was born! would to god i had died that minute!" the disconsolate buddir ad deen did not cease his lamentations; and when the stake was brought, cried out bitterly at the horrid sight. "heaven!" said he, "can you suffer me to die an ignominious and painful death? and all this, for what crime? not for robbery or murder, or renouncing my religion, but for not putting pepper in a cream tart." night being then pretty far advanced, the vizier ordered buddir ad deen to be conveyed again to his cage, saying to him, "stay there till to-morrow; the day shall not elapse before i give orders for your death." the chest or cage then was carried away and laid upon the camel that had brought it from damascus: at the same time all the other camels were loaded again; and the vizier mounting his horse, ordered the camel that carried his nephew to march before him, and entered the city with all his suit. after passing through several streets, where no one appeared, he arrived at his palace, where he ordered the chest to be taken down, but not opened till farther orders. while his retinue were unlading the other camels, he took buddir ad deen's mother and his daughter aside; and addressed himself to the latter: "god be praised," said he, "my child, for this happy occasion of meeting your cousin and your husband! you remember, of course, what order your chamber was in on your wedding night: go and put all things as they were then placed; and if your memory do not serve you, i can aid it by a written account, which i caused to be taken upon that occasion." the beautiful lady went joyfully to execute her father's orders; and he at the same time commanded the hall to be adorned as when buddir ad deen houssun was there with the sultan of egypt's hunch-backed groom. as he went over his manuscript, his domestics placed every moveable in the described order. the throne was not forgotten, nor the lighted wax candles. when every thing was arranged in the hall, the vizier went into his daughter's chamber and put in their due place buddir ad deen's apparel, with the purse of sequins. this done, he said to the beautiful lady, "undress yourself, my child, and go to bed. as soon as buddir ad deen enters your room, complain of his being from you so long, and tell him, that when you awoke, you were astonished you did not find him by you. press him to come to bed again; and to-morrow morning you will divert your mother-in-law and me, by giving us an account of your interview." this said, he went from his daughter's apartment, and left her to undress herself and go to bed. shumse ad deen mahummud ordered all his domestics to depart the hall, excepting two or three, whom he desired to remain. these he commanded to go and take buddir ad deen out of the cage, to strip him to his under vest and drawers, to conduct him in that condition to the hall, to leave him there alone, and shut the door upon him. buddir ad deen, though overwhelmed with grief, was asleep so soundly, that the vizier's domestics had taken him out of the chest and stripped him before he awoke; and they carried him so suddenly into the hall, that they did not give him time to see where he was. when he found himself alone in the hall, he looked round him, and the objects he beheld recalling to his memory the circumstances of his marriage, he perceived, with astonishment, that it was the place where he had seen the sultan's groom of the stables. his surprise was still the greater, when approaching softly the door of a chamber which he found open, he spied his own raiments where he remembered to have left them on his wedding night. "my god!" said he, rubbing his eyes, "am i asleep or awake?" the beautiful lady, who in the mean time was diverting herself with his astonishment, opened the curtains of her bed suddenly, and bending her head forward, "my dear lord," said she, with a soft, tender air, "what do you do at the door? you have been out of bed a long time. i was strangely surprised when i awoke in not finding you by me." buddir ad deen was enraptured; he entered the room, but reverting to all that had passed during a ten years' interval, and not being able to persuade himself that it could all have happened in the compass of one night, he went to the place where his vestments lay with the purse of sequins; and after examining them very carefully, exclaimed, "by allah these are mysteries which i can by no means comprehend!" the lady, who was pleased to see his confusion, said, once more, "my lord, what do you wait for?" he stepped towards the bed, and said to her, "is it long since i left you?" "the question," answered she, "surprises me. did not you rise from me but now? surely your mind is deranged." "madam," replied buddir ad deen, "i do assure you my thoughts are not very composed. i remember indeed to have been with you, but i remember at the same time, that i have since lived ten years at damascus. now, if i was actually in bed with you this night, i cannot have been from you so long. these two points are inconsistent. pray tell me what i am to think; whether my marriage with you is an illusion, or whether my absence from you is only a dream?" "yes, my lord," cried she, "doubtless you were light-headed when you thought you were at damascus." upon this buddir ad deen laughed heartily, and said, "what a comical fancy is this! i assure you, madam, this dream of mine will be very pleasant to you. do but imagine, if you please, that i was at the gate of damascus in my shirt and drawers, as i am here now; that i entered the town with the halloo of a mob who followed and insulted me; that i fled to a pastry cook who adopted me, taught me his trade, and left me all he had when he died; that after his death i kept a shop. in fine, i had an infinity of other adventures, too tedious to recount: and all i can say is, that it was well that i awoke, for they were going to impale me!" "and for what," cried the lady, feigning astonishment, "would they have used you so cruelly? surely you must have committed some enormous crime." "not the least," replied buddir ad deen; "it was for nothing but a mere trifle, the most ridiculous thing you can imagine. all the crime i was charged with, was selling a cream-tart that had no pepper in it." "as for that matter," said the beautiful lady laughing heartily, "i must say they did you great injustice." "ah!" replied he, "that was not all. for this cursed cream-tart was every thing in my shop broken to pieces, myself bound and fettered, and flung into a chest, where i lay so close, that methinks i am there still, but thanks be to god all was a dream." buddir ad deen was not easy all night. he awoke from time to time, and put the question to himself, whether he dreamed or was awake. he distrusted his felicity; and, to be sure whether it was true or not, looked round the room. "i am not mistaken," said he; "this is the same chamber where i entered instead of the hunch-backed groom of the stables; and i am now in bed with the fair lady designed for him." day-light, which then appeared, had not yet dispelled his uneasiness, when the vizier shumse ad deen, his uncle, knocked at the door, and at the same time went in to bid him good morrow. buddir ad deen was extremely surprised to see a man he knew so well, and who now appeared with a different air from that with which he pronounced the terrible sentence of death against him. "ah!" cried buddir ad deen, "it was you who condemned me so unjustly to a kind of death, the thoughts of which make me shudder, and all for a cream-tart without pepper." the vizier fell a laughing, and to put him out of suspense, told him how, by the ministry of a genie (for hunch-back's relation made him suspect the adventure), he had been at his palace, and had married his daughter instead of the sultan's groom of the stables; then he acquainted him that he had discovered him to be his nephew by the memorandum of his father, and pursuant to that discovery had gone from cairo to bussorah in quest of him. "my dear nephew," added he, embracing him with every expression of tenderness, "i ask your pardon for all i have made you undergo since i discovered you. i resolved to bring you to my palace before i told you your happiness; which ought now to be so much the dearer to you, as it has cost you so much perplexity and distress. to atone for all your afflictions, comfort yourself with the joy of being in the company of those who ought to be dearest to you. while you are dressing yourself i will go and acquaint your mother, who is beyond measure impatient to see you; and will likewise bring to you your son, whom you saw at damascus, and for whom, without knowing him, you shewed so much affection." no words can adequately express the joy of buddir ad deen, when he saw his mother and his son. they embraced, and shewed all the transports that love and tenderness could inspire. the mother spoke to buddir ad deen in the most moving terms; she mentioned the grief she had felt for his long absence, and the tears she had shed. little ajib, instead of flying his father's embraces, as at damascus, received them with all the marks of pleasure. and buddir ad deen houssun, divided between two objects so worthy of his love, thought he could not give sufficient testimonies of his affection. while this passed, the vizier was gone to the palace, to give the sultan an account of the happy success of his travels; and the sultan was so moved with the recital of the story, that he ordered it to be taken down in writing, and carefully preserved among the archives of the kingdom. after shumse ad deen's return to his palace, he sat down with his family, and all the household passed the day in festivity and mirth. the vizier jaaffier having thus concluded the story of buddir ad deen, told the caliph that this was what he had to relate to his majesty. the caliph found the story so surprising, that without farther hesitation he granted his slave rihan's pardon; and to console the young man for the grief of having unhappily deprived himself of a woman whom he had loved so tenderly, married him to one of his slaves, bestowed liberal gifts upon him, and maintained him till he died. the history of ganem, son of abou ayoub, and known by the surname of love's slave. there was formerly at damascus a merchant, who had by care and industry acquired great wealth, on which he lived in a very honourable manner. his name was abou ayoub, and he had one son and a daughter. the son was called ganem, but afterwards surnamed love's slave. his person was graceful, and the excellent qualities of his mind had been improved by able masters. the daughter's name was alcolom, signifying ravisher of hearts, because her beauty was so perfect that whoever saw her could not avoid loving her. abou ayoub died, and left immense riches: a hundred loads of brocades and other silks that lay in his warehouse were the least part. the loads were ready made up, and on every bale was written in large characters, "for bagdad." mahummud, the son of soliman, surnamed zinebi, reigned at that time at damascus, the capital of syria. his kinsman, haroon al rusheed, had bestowed that kingdom on him as his tributary. soon after the death of abou ayoub, ganem conversed with his mother about their domestic affairs, and concerning the loads of merchandize in the warehouse, asked her the meaning of what was written upon each bale. "my son," answered his mother, "your father used to travel sometimes into one province, and sometimes into another; and it was customary with him, before he set out, to write the name of the city he designed to repair to on every bade. he had provided all things to take a journey to bagdad, and was on the point of setting out, when death"----she had not power to finish; the lively remembrance of the loss of her husband would not permit her to say more, and drew from her a shower of tears. ganem could not see his mother so sensibly affected, without being equally so himself. they continued some time silent; but at length he recovered himself, and as soon as he found his mother calm enough to listen to him, said, "since my father designed these goods for bagdad, i will prepare myself to perform that journey; and i think it will be proper for me to hasten my departure, for fear those commodities should perish, or that we should lose the opportunity of selling them to the best advantage." abou ayoub's widow, who tenderly loved her son, was much concerned at this resolution, and replied, "my dear child, i cannot but commend you for designing to follow your father's example; but consider, that you are too young, inexperienced, and unaccustomed to the fatigue of travelling. besides, can you think of leaving me, and adding to that sorrow with which i am already oppressed? is it not better to sell those goods to the merchants of damascus, and take up with a moderate profit, than expose yourself to the danger of perishing?" it was in vain for her to oppose ganem's resolution by the strongest arguments; they had no weight with him. an inclination to travel, and to accomplish himself by a thorough knowledge of the world, urged him to set out, and prevailed over all his mother's remonstrances, her entreaties, and even her tears. he went to the market where slaves were sold, and bought such as were able-bodied, hired a hundred camels, and having provided all other necessaries, entered upon his journey, with five or six merchants of damascus, who were going to trade at bagdad. those merchants, attended by their slaves, and accompanied by several other travellers, made up such a considerable caravan, that they had nothing to fear from the bedouin arabs, who make it their only profession to range the country; and attack and plunder the caravans when they are not strong enough to repulse them. they had no other difficulty to encounter, than the usual fatigues of a long journey, which were easily forgotten when they came in sight of the city of bagdad, where they arrived in safety. they alighted at the most magnificent and most frequented khan in the city; but ganem chose to be lodged conveniently, and by himself. he only left his goods there in a warehouse for their greater security, and hired a spacious house in the neighbourhood, richly furnished, having a garden which was very delightful, on account of its many waterworks and shady groves. some days after this young merchant had been settled in his house, and perfectly recovered of the fatigue of his journey, he dressed himself richly, and repaired to the public place, where the merchants met to transact business. a slave followed him, carrying a parcel of fine stuffs and silks. the merchants received ganem very courteously, and their syndic, or chief, to whom he first made application, bought all his parcel, at the price set down in the ticket annexed to every piece of stuff. ganem continued his trade so successfully, that he every day sold all the goods he exposed. he had but one bale left, which he had caused to be carried from the warehouse to his own house; he then went to the public rendezvous, where he found all the shops shut. this seemed somewhat extraordinary to him and having asked the cause, he was told, that one of the first merchants, whom he knew, was dead, and that all his brother traders were gone to his funeral. ganem inquired for the mosque, where prayer was to be said, and whence the body was to be conducted to the grave; and having been informed, sent back his slave with the goods, and walked towards the mosque. he got thither before the prayers were ended, which were said in a hall hung with black satin. the corpse was taken up, and followed by the kindred, the merchants, and ganem, to the place of burial, which was at some distance without the city. it was a stone structure, in form of a dome, purposely built to receive the bodies of all the family of the deceased, and being very small, they had pitched tents around, that all the company might be sheltered during the ceremony. the monument was opened, and the corpse laid in it, after which it was shut up. then the imam, and other ministers of the mosque, sat down in a ring on carpets, in the largest tent, and recited the rest of the prayers. they also read the fateah, or introductory chapter of the koraun, appointed for the burial of the dead. the kindred and merchants sat round, in the same manner, behind the ministers. it was near night before all was ended: ganem who had not expected such a long ceremony, began to be uneasy, and the more so, when he saw meat served up, in memory of the deceased, according to the custom of the mahummedans. he was also told that the tents had been set up not only against the heat of the sun, but also against the evening dew, because they should not return to the city before the next morning. these words perplexed ganem. "i am a stranger," said he to himself, "and have the reputation of being a rich merchant; thieves may take the opportunity of my absence, and rob my house. my slaves may be tempted by so favourable an opportunity; they may run away with all the gold i have received for my goods, and whither shall i go to look for them?" full of these thoughts, he ate a few mouthfuls hastily, and slipped away from the company. he made all possible haste; but, as it often happens that the more a man hurries the less he advances, he went astray in the dark, so that it was near midnight when he came to the city gate; which, to add to his misfortune, was shut. this was a fresh affliction to him, and he was obliged to look for some convenient place in which to pass the rest of the night till the gate was opened. he went into a burial-place, so spacious, that it reached from the city to the very place he had left. he advanced to some high walls, which enclosed a small field, being the mausoleum of a family, and in which there was a palm-tree. ganem, finding that the burial-place where the palm-tree grew was open, went into it, and shut the door after him. he lay down on the grass and tried to sleep; but his uneasiness at being absent from home would not permit him. he got up, and after having passed before the door several times, opened it, without knowing why, and immediately perceived at a distance a light, which seemed to come towards him. he was startled at the sight, closed the door, which had nothing to secure it but a latch, and got up as fast as he could to the top of the palm-tree; looking upon that as the safest retreat under his present apprehensions. no sooner was he up, than by the help of the light which had alarmed him, he plainly perceived three men, whom, by their habit, he knew to be slaves, enter into the burial-place. one of them advanced with a lantern, and the two others followed him, loaded with a chest, between five and six feet long, which they carried on their shoulders. they set it down, and then one of the three slaves said to his comrades, "brethren, if you will be advised by me, we will leave the chest here, and return to the city." "no, no," replied another, "that would not be executing our mistress's orders; we may have cause to repent not doing as we were commanded. let us bury the chest, since we are enjoined so to do." the two other slaves complied. they began to break ground with the tools they had brought for that purpose. when they had made a deep trench, they put the chest into it, and covered it with the earth they had taken out, and then departed. ganem, who from the top of the palm-tree had heard every word the slaves had spoken, could not tell what to think of the adventure. he concluded that the chest must contain something of value, and that the person to whom it belonged had some particular reasons for causing it to be buried in the cemetery. he resolved immediately to satisfy his curiosity, came down from the palm-tree, the departure of the slaves having dissipated his fear, and fell to work upon the pit, plying his hands and feet so well, that in a short time he uncovered the chest, but found it secured by a padlock. this new obstacle to the satisfying of his curiosity was no small mortification to him, yet he was not discouraged, but the day beginning then to appear, he saw several great stones about the burial-place. he picked out one, with which he easily knocked off the padlock, and then with much impatience opened the chest. ganem was strangely surprised, when, instead of money, he discovered a young lady of incomparable beauty. her fresh and rosy complexion, and her gentle regular breathing, satisfied him she was alive, but he could not conceive why, if she were only asleep, she had not awaked at the noise he made in forcing off the padlock. her habit was so costly, with bracelets and pendants of diamonds, and a necklace of pearls, so large, that he made not the least doubt of her being one of the principal ladies of the court. at the sight of so beautiful an object, not only compassion and natural inclination to relieve persons in danger, but something more powerful, which ganem could not then account for, prevailed on him to afford the unfortunate beauty all the assistance in his power. he first shut the gate of the burial-place, which the slaves had left open; then, returning, took the lady in his arms, and laid her on the soft earth which he had thrown off the chest. as soon as she was exposed to the air, she sneezed, and, by the motion in turning her head, there came from her mouth a liquor, with which her stomach seemed to have been loaded; then opening and rubbing her eyes, she with such a voice as charmed ganem, whom she did not see, cried out, "zohorob bostan, shijher al mirjaun, casabos souccar, nouron nihar, nagmatos sohi, nonzbetos zaman, why do you not answer? where are you?" these were the names of six female slaves that used to wait on her. she called them, and wondered that nobody answered; but at length looking about, and perceiving she was in a burial-place, was seized with fear. "what," cried she, much louder than before, "are the dead raised? is the day of judgment come? what a wonderful change is this from evening to morning?" ganem did not think fit to leave the lady any longer in her perplexity, but presented himself before her with all possible respect, and in the most courteous manner. "madam," said he, "i am not able to express my joy at having happened to be here to do you the service i have, and to offer you all the assistance you may need under your present circumstances." in order to persuade the lady to repose confidence in him, he, in the first place, told her who he was, and what accident had brought him to that place. next he acquainted her with the coming of the three slaves, and how they had buried the chest. the lady, who had covered her face with her veil as soon as ganem appeared, was extremely sensible of the obligations she owed him. "i return thanks to god," said she "for having sent so worthy a person as you are to deliver me from death; but since you have begun so charitable a work, i conjure you not to leave it imperfect. let me beg of you to go into the city, and provide a muleteer, to come with his mule, and carry me to your house in this chest; for, should i go with you on foot, my dress being different from that of the city ladies, some one might take notice of it, and follow me, which it highly concerns me to prevent. when i shall be in your house, i will give you an account of myself; and in the mean time be assured that you have not obliged an ungrateful person." before the young merchant left the lady, he drew the chest out of the pit, which he filled up with earth, laid her again in the chest, and shut it in such a manner, that it did not look as if the padlock had been forced off; but for fear of stifling her, he did not put it quite close, leaving room for the admittance of air. going out of the burial-place, he drew the door after him; and the city gate being then open, soon found what he sought. he returned with speed to the burial place, and helped the muleteer to lay the chest across his mule, telling him, to remove all cause of suspicion, that he came to that place the night before, with another muleteer, who, being in haste to return home, had laid down the chest where he saw it. ganem, who, since his arrival at bagdad, had minded nothing but his business, was still unacquainted with the power of love, and now felt its first attacks. it had not been in his power to look upon the young lady without being dazzled; and the uneasiness he felt at following the muleteer at a distance, and the fear lest any accident might happen by the way that should deprive him of his conquest, taught him to unravel his thoughts. he was more than usually delighted, when, being arrived safe at home, he saw the chest unloaded. he dismissed the muleteer, and having caused a slave to shut the door of his house, opened the chest, helped the lady out, gave her his hand, and conducted her to his apartment, lamenting how much she must have endured in such close confinement. "if i have suffered," said she, "i have satisfaction sufficient in what you have done for me, and in the pleasure of seeing myself out of danger." though ganem's apartment was very richly furnished, the lady did not so much regard its appearance, as she did the handsome presence and engaging mien of her deliverer, whose politeness and obliging behaviour heightened her gratitude. she sat down on a sofa, and to give the merchant to understand how sensible she was of the service done her, took off her veil. ganem on his part was sensible of the favour so lovely a lady did in uncovering her face to him, or rather felt he had already a most violent passion for her. whatever obligations she owed him, he thought himself more than requited by so singular a favour. the lady dived into ganem's thoughts, yet was not at all alarmed, because he appeared very respectful. he, judging she might have occasion to eat, and not willing to trust any but himself with the care of entertaining so charming a guest, went out with a slave to an eating-house, to give directions for an entertainment. from thence he went to a fruiterer, where he chose the finest and best fruit; buying also the choicest wine, and the same bread that was eaten at the caliph's table. as soon as he returned home, he with his own hands made a pyramid of the fruit he had bought, and serving it up himself to the lady in a large dish, of the finest china-ware, "madam," said he, "be pleased to make choice of some of this fruit, while a more solid entertainment, and more worthy yourself, is preparing." he would have continued standing before her, but she declared she would not touch any thing, unless he sat down and ate with her. he obeyed; and when they had eaten a little, ganem observing that the lady's veil, which she laid down by her on a sofa, was embroidered along the edge with golden letters, begged her permission to look on the embroidery. the lady immediately took up the veil, and delivered it to him, asking him whether he could read? "madam," replied he, with a modest air, "a merchant would be ill-qualified to manage his business if he could not at least read and write." "well, then," said she, "read the words which are embroidered on that veil, which gives me an opportunity of telling you my story." ganem took the veil, and read these words, "i am yours, and you are mine, thou descendant from the prophet's uncle." that descendant from the prophet's uncle was the caliph haroon al rusheed, who then reigned, and was descended from abbas, mahummud's uncle. when ganem perceived these words, "alas! madam," said he, in a melancholy tone, "i have just saved your life, and this writing is my death! i do not comprehend all the mystery; but it convinces me i am the most unfortunate of men. pardon, madam, the liberty i take, but it was impossible for me to see you without giving you my heart. you are not ignorant yourself, that it was not in my power to refuse it you, and that makes my presumption excusable. i proposed to myself to touch your heart by my respectful behaviour, my care, my assiduity, my submission, my constancy; and no sooner have i formed the flattering design, than i am robbed of all my hopes. i cannot long survive so great a misfortune. but, be that as it will, i shall have the satisfaction of dying entirely yours. proceed, madam, i conjure you, and give me full information of my unhappy fate." he could not utter those words without letting fall some tears. the lady was moved; but was so far from being displeased at the declaration he made, that she felt secret joy; for her heart began to yield. however, she concealed her feelings, and as if she had not regarded what ganem had said. "i should have been very cautious," answered she, "of shewing you my veil, had i thought it would have given you so much uneasiness; but i do not perceive that what i have to say to you can make your condition so deplorable as you imagine." "you must understand," proceeded she, "in order to acquaint you with my story, that my name is fetnah (which signifies disturbance), which was given me at my birth, because it was judged that the sight of me would one day occasion many calamities. of this you cannot be ignorant, since there is nobody in bagdad but knows that the caliph, my sovereign lord and yours, has a favourite so called. "i was carried into his palace in my tenderest years, and i have been brought up with all the care that is usually taken with such persons of my sex as are destined to reside there. i made no little progress in all they took the pains to teach me; and that, with some share of beauty, gained me the affection of the caliph, who allotted me a particular apartment adjoining to his own. that prince was not satisfied with such a mark of distinction; he appointed twenty women to wait on me, and as many eunuchs; and ever since he has made me such considerable presents, that i saw myself richer than any queen in the world. you may judge by what i have said, that zobeide, the caliph's wife and kinswoman, could not but be jealous of my happiness. though haroon has all the regard imaginable for her, she has taken every possible opportunity to ruin me. "hitherto i had secured myself against all her snares, but at length i fell under the last effort of her jealousy; and, had it not been for you, must now have been exposed to inevitable death. i question not but she had corrupted one of my slaves, who last night, in some lemonade, gave me a drug, which causes such a dead sleep, that it is easy to dispose of those who have taken it; for that sleep is so profound, that nothing can dispel it for the space of seven or eight hours. i have the more reason to judge so, because naturally i am a very bad sleeper, and apt to wake at the least noise. "zobeide, the better to put her design in execution, has availed herself of the absence of the caliph, who went lately to put himself at the head of his troops, to chastise some neighbouring kings, who have formed a league of rebellion. were it not for this opportunity, my rival, outrageous as she is, durst not have presumed to attempt any thing against my life. i know not what she will do to conceal this action from the caliph, but you see it highly concerns me that you should keep my secret. my life depends on it. i shall be safe in your house as long as the caliph is from bagdad. it concerns you to keep my adventure private; for should zobeide know the obligation i owe you, she would punish you for having saved me. "when the caliph returns, i shall not need to be so much upon my guard. i shall find means to acquaint him with all that has happened, and i am fully persuaded he will be more earnest than myself to requite a service which restores me to his love." as soon as haroon al rusheed's beautiful favourite had done speaking, ganem said, "madam, i return you a thousand thanks for having given me the information i took the liberty to desire of you; and i beg of you to believe, that you are here in safety; the sentiments you have inspired are a pledge of my secrecy. "as for my slaves, they may perhaps fail of the fidelity they owe me, should they know by what accident and in what place i had the happiness to find you. i dare assure you, however, that they will not have the curiosity to inquire. it is so natural for young men to purchase beautiful slaves, that it will be no way surprising to them to see you here, believing you to be one, and that i have bought you. they will also conclude that i have some particular reasons for bringing you home as they saw i did. set your heart, therefore, at rest, as to that point, and remain satisfied that you shall be served with all the respect that is due to the favourite of so great a monarch as our sovereign the caliph. but great as he is, give me leave, madam, to declare, that nothing can make me recall the present i have made you of my heart. i know, and shall never forget, 'that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave;' but i loved you before you told me that you were engaged to the caliph; it is not in my power to overcome a passion which, though now in its infancy, has all the force of a love strengthened by a perfect of situation. i wish your august and most fortunate lover may avenge you of the malice of zobeide, by calling you back to him; and when you shall be restored to his wishes, that you may remember the unfortunate ganem, who is no less your conquest than the caliph. powerful as that prince is, i flatter myself he will not be able to blot me out of your remembrance. he cannot love you more passionately than i do; and i shall never cease to love you into whatever part of the world i may go to expire, after having lost you." fetnah perceived that ganem was under the greatest of afflictions, and his situation affected her; but considering the uneasiness she was likely to bring upon herself, by prosecuting the conversation on that subject, which might insensibly lead her to discover the inclination she felt for him; "i perceive," said she, "that this conversation gives you too much uneasiness; let us change the subject, and talk of the infinite obligation i owe you. i can never sufficiently express my gratitude, when i reflect that, without your assistance, i should never again have beheld the light of the sun." it was happy for them both, that somebody just then knocked at the door; ganem went to see who it was, and found it to be one of his slaves come to acquaint him that the entertainment was ready. ganem, who, by way of precaution, would have none of his slaves come into the room where fetnah was, took what was brought, and served it up himself to his beautiful guest, whose soul was ravished to behold what attention he paid her. when they had eaten, ganem took away, as he had covered the table; and having delivered all things at the door of the apartment to his slaves, "madam," said he to fetnah, "you may now perhaps desire to take some rest; i will leave you, and when you have reposed yourself, you shall find me ready to receive your commands." having thus spoken, he left her, and went to purchase two women-slaves. he also bought two parcels, one of fine linen, and the other of all such things as were proper to make up a toilet fit for the caliph's favourite. having conducted home the two women-slaves, he presented them to fetnah, saying, "madam, a person of your quality cannot be without two waiting-maids, at least, to serve you; be pleased to accept of these." fetnah, admiring ganem's attention, said, "my lord, i perceive you are not one that will do things by halves: you add by your courtesy to the obligations i owe you already; but i hope i shall not die ungrateful, and that heaven will soon place me in a condition to requite all your acts of generosity." when the women-slaves were withdrawn into a chamber adjoining, he sat down on the sofa, but at some distance from fetnah, in token of respect. he then began to discourse of his passion. "i dare not so much as hope," said he, "to excite the least sensibility in a heart like yours, destined for the greatest prince in the world. alas! it would be a comfort to me in my misfortune, if i could but flatter myself, that you have not looked upon the excess of my love with indifference." "my lord," answered fetnah "alas! madam," said ganem, interrupting her at the word lord, "this is the second time you have done me the honour to call me lord; the presence of the women-slaves hindered me the first time from taking notice of it to you: in the name of god, madam, do not give me this title of honour; it does not belong to me; treat me, i beseech you, as your slave: i am, and shall never cease to be so." "no, no," replied fetnah, interrupting him in her turn, "i shall be cautious how i treat with such disrespect a man to whom i owe my life. i should be ungrateful, could i say or do any thing that did not become you. leave me, therefore, to follow the dictates of my gratitude, and do not require of me, that i should misbehave myself towards you, in return for the benefits i have received. i shall never be guilty of such conduct; i am too sensible of your respectful behaviour to abuse it; and i will not hesitate to own, that i do not regard your care with indifference. you know the reasons that condemn me to silence." ganem was enraptured at this declaration; he wept for joy, and not being able to find expressions significant enough, in his own opinion, to return fetnah thanks, was satisfied with telling her, that as she knew what she owed to the caliph, he, on his part, was not ignorant "that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave." night drawing on, he rose up to fetch a light, which he brought in himself, as also a collation. they both sat down at table, and at first complimented each other on the fruit as they presented it reciprocally. the excellence of the wine insensibly drew them both to drink; and having drunk two or three glasses, they agreed that neither should take another glass without first singing some air. ganem sung verses ex tempore, expressive of the vehemence of his passion; and fetnah, encouraged by his example, composed and sung verses relating to her adventure, and always containing something which ganem might take in a sense favourable to himself; except in this, she most exactly observed the fidelity due to the caliph. the collation continued till very late, and the night was far advanced before they thought of parting. ganem then withdrew to another apartment, leaving fetnah where she was, the women slaves he had bought coming in to wait upon her. they lived together in this manner for several days. the young merchant went not abroad, unless upon of the utmost consequence, and even for that took the time when the lady was reposing; for he could not prevail upon himself to lose a moment that might be spent in her company. all his thoughts were taken up with his dear fetnah, who, on her side, gave way to her inclination, confessed she had no less affection for him than he had for her. however, fond as they were of each other, their respect for the caliph kept them within due bounds, which still heightened their passion. whilst fetnah, thus snatched from the jaws of death, passed her time so agreeably with ganem, zobeide was not without some apprehensions in the palace of haroon al rusheed. no sooner had the three slaves, entrusted with the execution of her revenge, carried away the chest, without knowing what it contained, or so much as the least curiosity to inquire (being used to pay a blind obedience to her commands), than she was seized with a tormenting uneasiness; a thousand perplexing thoughts disturbed her rest; sleep fled from her eyes, and she spent the night in contriving how to conceal her crime. "my consort," said she, "loves fetnah more than ever he did any of his favourites. what shall i say to him at his return, when he inquires of me after her?" many contrivances occurred to her, but none were satisfactory. still she met with difficulties, and knew not where to fix. there lived with her a lady advanced in years, who had bred her up from her infancy. as soon as it was day, she sent for her, and having entrusted her with the secret, said, "my good mother, you have always assisted me with your advice; if ever i stood in need of it, it is now, when the business before you is to still my thoughts, distracted by a mortal anxiety, and to show me some way to satisfy the caliph." "my dear mistress," replied the old lady, "it had been much better not to have run yourself into the difficulties you labour under; but since the thing is done, the best consolation is to think no more of it. all that must now be thought of, is how to deceive the commander of the believers; and i am of opinion, that you should immediately cause a wooden image resembling a dead body to be carved. we will shroud it up in linen, and when shut up in a coffin, it shall be buried in some part of the palace; you shall then immediately cause a marble mausoleum to be built, in the form of a dome, over the burial place, and erect a tomb, which shall be covered with embroidered cloth, and set about with great candlesticks and large wax tapers. there is another thing," added the old lady, "which ought not to be forgotten; you must put on mourning, and cause the same to be done by your own and fetnah's women, your eunuchs, and all the officers of the palace. when the caliph returns, and sees you all and the palace in mourning, he will not fail to ask the occasion of it. you will then have an opportunity of insinuating yourself into his favour, by saying, it was out of respect to him that you paid the last honours to fetnah, snatched away by sudden death. you may tell him, you have caused a mausoleum to be built, and, in short, that you have paid all the last honours to his favourite, as he would have done himself had he been present. his passion for her being extraordinary, he will certainly go to shed tears upon her grave; and perhaps," added the old woman, "he will not believe she is really dead. he may, possibly, suspect you have turned her out of the palace through jealousy, and look upon all the mourning as an artifice to deceive him, and prevent his making inquiries after her. it is likely he will cause the coffin to be taken up and opened, and it is certain he will be convinced of her death, as soon as he shall see the figure of a dead body buried. he will be pleased with all you shall have done, and express his gratitude. as for the wooden image, i will myself undertake to have it cut by a carver in the city, who shall not know the purpose for which it is designed. as for your part, madam, order fetnah's woman, who yesterday gave her the lemonade, to give out, among her companions, that she has just found her mistress dead in her bed; and in order that they may only think of lamenting, without offering to go into her chamber, let her add, she has already acquainted you with the circumstance, and that you have ordered mesrour to cause her to be buried." as soon as the old lady had spoken, zobeide took a rich diamond ring out of her casket, and putting it on her finger, and embracing her in a transport of joy, said, "how infinitely am i beholden to you, my good mother! i should never have thought of so ingenious a contrivance. it cannot fail of success, and i begin to recover my peace. i leave the care of the wooden figure to you, and will go myself to order the rest." the wooden image was got ready with as much expedition as zobeide could have wished, and then conveyed by the old lady herself into fetnah's bed-chamber, where she dressed it like a dead body, and put it into a coffin. then mesrour, who was himself deceived by it, caused the coffin and the representation of fetnah to be carried away, and buried with the usual ceremonies in the place appointed by zobeide, the favourite's women weeping and lamenting, she who had given her the lemonade setting them an example by her cries and lamentations. that very day zobeide sent for the architect of the palace, and, according to orders, the mausoleum was finished in a short time. such potent princesses as the consort of a monarch, whose power extended from east to west, are always punctually obeyed in whatsoever they command. she soon put on mourning with all the court; so that the news of fetnah's death was quickly spread over the city. ganem was one of the last who heard of it; for, as i have before observed, he hardly ever went abroad. being, however, at length informed of it, "madam," said he to the caliph's fair favourite, "you are supposed in bagdad to be dead, and i do not question but that zobeide herself believes it. i bless heaven that i am the cause, and the happy witness of your being alive; would to god, that, taking advantage of this false report, you would share my fortune, and go far from hence to reign in my heart! but whither does this pleasing transport carry me? i do not consider that you are born to make the greatest prince in the world happy; and that only haroon al rusheed is worthy of you. supposing you could resolve to give him up for me, and that you would follow me, ought i to consent? no, it is my part always to remember, 'that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.'" the lovely fetnah, though moved by the tenderness of the passion he expressed, yet prevailed with herself not to encourage it. "my lord," said she to him, "we cannot obstruct the momentary triumph of zobeide. i am not surprised at the artifice she uses to conceal her guilt: but let her go on; i flatter myself that sorrow will soon follow her triumph. the caliph will return, and we shall find the means privately to inform him of all that has happened. in the mean time let us be more cautious than ever, that she may not know i am alive. i have already told you the consequences to be apprehended from such a discovery." at the end of three months the caliph returned to bagdad with glory, having vanquished all his enemies. he entered the palace with impatience to embrace fetnah; but was amazed to see all the officers in mourning; and his concern was redoubled when, approaching the apartment of zobeide, he beheld that princess coming to meet him in mourning with all her women. he immediately asked her the cause, with much agitation. "commander of the believers," answered zobeide, "i am in mourning for your slave fetnah; who died so suddenly that it was impossible to apply any remedy to her disorder." she would have proceeded, but the caliph did not give her time, being so agitated at the news, that he uttered a feeble exclamation, and fainted. on recovering himself, he, with a feeble voice, which sufficiently expressed his extreme grief, asked where his dear fetnah had been buried. "sir," said zobeide, "i myself took care of her funeral, and spared no cost to make it magnificent. i have caused a marble mausoleum to be built over her grave, and will attend you thither if you desire." the caliph would not permit zobeide to take that trouble, but contented himself to have mesrour to conduct him. he went thither just as he was, in his camp dress. when he saw the tomb, the wax-lights round it, and the magnificence of the mausoleum, he was amazed that zobeide should have performed the obsequies of her rival with so much pomp; and being naturally of a jealous temper, suspected his wife's generosity and fancied his mistress might perhaps be yet alive; that zobeide, taking advantage of his long absence, might have turned her out of the palace, ordering those she had entrusted to conduct her, to convey her so far off that she might never more be heard of. this was all he suspected; for he did not think zobeide wicked enough to have attempted the life of his favourite. the better to discover the truth himself, he ordered the tomb to be removed, and caused the grave and the coffin to be opened in his presence; but when he saw the linen wrapped round the wooden image, he durst not proceed any farther. this devout caliph thought it would be a sacrilegious act to suffer the body of the dead lady to be touched; and this scrupulous fear prevailed over his love and curiosity. he doubted not of fetnah's death. he caused the coffin to be shut up again, the grave to be filled, and the tomb to be made as it was before. the caliph thinking himself obliged to pay some respect to the grave of his favourite, sent for the ministers of religion, the officers of the palace, and the readers of the koraun; and, whilst they were collecting together, he remained in the mausoleum, moistening with his tears the marble that covered the phantom of his mistress. when all the persons he had sent for were come, he stood before the tomb, and recited long prayers; after which the readers of the koraun read several, chapters. the same ceremony was performed every day for a whole month, morning and evening, the caliph being always present, with the grand vizier, and the principal officers of the court, all of them in mourning, as well as the caliph himself, who all the time ceased not to honour the memory of fetnah with his tears, and would not hear of any business. the last day of the month, the prayers and reading of the koraun lasted from morning till break of day the next morning. the caliph, being tired with sitting up so long, went to take some rest in his apartment, and fell asleep upon a sofa, between two of the court ladies, one of them sitting at the bed's-head, and the other at the feet, who, whilst he slept, were working some embroidery, and observed a profound silence. she who sat at the bed's-head, and whose name was nouron-nihar, perceiving the caliph was asleep, whispered to the other, called nagmatos sohi, "there is great news! the commander of the believers our master will be overjoyed when he awakes, and hears what i have to tell him; fetnah is not dead, she is in perfect health." "o heavens!" cried nagmatos sohi, in a transport of joy, "is it possible, that the beautiful, the charming, the incomparable fetnah should be still among the living?" she uttered these words with so much vivacity, and so loud, that the caliph awoke. he asked why they had disturbed his rest? "alas! my sovereign lord," answered the slave, "pardon me this indiscretion; i could not without transport hear that fetnah is still alive; it caused such emotion in me, as i could not suppress." "what then is become of her," demanded the caliph, "if she is not dead?" "chief of the believers," replied the other, "i this evening received a note from a person unknown, written with fetnah's own hand; she gives me an account of her melancholy adventure, and orders me to acquaint you with it. i thought fit, before i fulfilled my commission, to let you take some few moments' rest, believing you must stand in need of it, after your fatigue; and----" "give me that note," said the caliph, interrupting her eagerly, "you were wrong to defer delivering it to me." the slave immediately presented to him the note, which he opened with much impatience, and in it fetnah gave a particular account of all that had befallen her, but enlarged a little too much on the attentions of ganem. the caliph, who was naturally jealous, instead of being provoked at the inhumanity of zobeide, was more concerned at the infidelity he fancied fetnah had been guilty of towards him. "is it so?" said he, after reading the note; "the perfidious wretch has been four months with a young merchant, and has the effrontery to boast of his attention to her. thirty days are past since my return to bagdad, and she now thinks of sending me news of herself. ungrateful creature! whilst i spend the days in bewailing her, she passes them in betraying me. go to, let us take vengeance of a bold woman, and that bold youth who affronts me." having spoken these words, the caliph rose, and went into a hall where he used to appear in public, and give audience to his court. the first gate was opened, and immediately all the courtiers, who were waiting without, entered. the grand vizier, came in, and prostrated himself before the throne. then rising, he stood before his master, who, in a tone which denoted he would be instantly obeyed, said to him, "jaaffier, your presence is requisite, for putting in execution an important affair i am about to commit to you. take four hundred men of my guards with you, and first inquire where a merchant of damascus lives whose name is ganem, the son of abou ayoub. when you have learnt this, repair to his house, and cause it to be razed to the foundations; but first secure ganem, and bring him hither, with my slave fetnah, who has lived with him these four months. i will punish her, and make an example of that insolent man, who has presumed to fail in respell to me." the grand vizier, having received this positive command, made a low prostration to the caliph, having his hand on his head, in token that he would rather lose it than disobey him, and departed. the first thing he did, was to send to the syndic of the dealers in foreign stuffs and silks, with strict orders to find out the house of the unfortunate merchant. the officer he sent with these orders brought him back word, that he had scarcely been seen for some months, and no man knew what could keep him at home, if he was there. the same officer likewise told jaaffier where ganem lived. upon this information, that minister, without losing time, went to the judge of the police, whom he caused to bear him company, and attended by a great number of carpenters and masons, with the necessary tools for razing a house, came to ganem's residence; and finding it stood detached from any other, he posted his soldiers round it, to prevent the young merchant's making his escape. fetnah and ganem had just dined: the lady was sitting at a window next the street; hearing a noise, she looked out through the lattice, and seeing the grand vizier, approach with his attendants, concluded she was their object as well as ganem. she perceived her note had been received, but had not expected such a consequence, having hoped that the caliph would have taken the matter in a different light. she knew not how long the prince had been returned from his campaign, and though she was acquainted with his jealous temper, yet apprehended nothing on that account. however, the sight of the grand vizier, and the soldiers made her tremble, not indeed for herself, but for ganem: she did not question clearing herself, provided the caliph would but hear her. as for ganem, whom she loved less out of gratitude than inclination, she plainly foresaw that his incensed rival might be apt to condemn him, on account of his youth and person. full of this thought, she turned to the young merchant and said, "alas! ganem, we are undone." ganem looked through the lattice, and was seized with dread, when he beheld the caliph's guards with their naked cimeters, and the grand vizier, with the civil magistrate at the head of them. at this sight he stood motionless, and had not power to utter one word. "ganem," said the favourite, "there is no time to be lost; if you love me, put on the habit of one of your slaves immediately, and disfigure your face and arms with soot. then put some of these dishes on your head; you may be taken for a servant belonging to the eating house, and they will let you pass. if they happen to ask you where the master of the house is, answer, without any hesitation, that he is within." "alas! madam," answered harem, concerned for himself than for fetnah, "you only take care of me, what will become of you?" "let not that trouble you," replied fetnah, "it is my part to look to that. as for what you leave in this house, i will take care of it, and i hope it will be one day faithfully restored to you, when the caliph's anger shall be over; but at present avoid his fury. the orders he gives in the heat of passion are always fatal." the young merchant's affliction was so great, that he knew not what course to pursue, and would certainly have suffered himself to be seized by the caliph's soldiers, had not fetnah pressed him to disguise himself. he submitted to her persuasions, put on the habit of a slave, daubed himself with soot, and as they were knocking at the door, all they could do was to embrace each other tenderly. they were both so overwhelmed with sorrow, that they could not utter a word. thus they parted. ganem went out with some dishes on his head: he was taken for the servant of an eating-house, and no one offered to stop him. on the contrary, the grand vizier, who was the first that met him, gave way and let him pass, little thinking that he was the man he looked for. those who were behind the grand vizier, made way as he had done, and thus favoured his escape he soon reached one of the gates, and got clear of the city. whilst he was making the best of his way from the grand vizier, that minister came into the room where fetnah was sitting on a sofa, and where there were many chests full of ganem's clothes, and of the money he had made of his goods. as soon as fetnah saw the grand vizier, come into the room, she fell upon her face, and continuing in that posture, as it were to receive her death; "my lord," said she, "i am ready to undergo the sentence passed against me by the commander of the believers; you need only make it known to me." "madam," answered jaaffier, falling also down till she had raised herself, "god forbid any man should presume to lay profane hands on you. i do not intend to offer you the least harm. i have no farther orders, than to intreat you will be pleased to go with me to the palace, and to conduct you thither, with the merchant that lives in this house." "my lord," replied the favourite, "let us go; i am ready to follow you. as for the young merchant, to whom i am indebted for my life, he is not here, he has been gone about a month since to damascus, whither his business called him, and has left these chests you see under my care, till he returns. i conjure you to cause them to be carried to the palace, and order them to be secured, that i may perform the promise i made him to take all possible care of them." "you shall be obeyed," said jaaffier, and immediately sent for porters, whom he commanded to take up the chests, and carry them to mesrour. as soon as the porters were gone, he whispered the civil magistrate, committing to him the care of seeing the house razed, but first to cause diligent search to be made for ganem, who, he suspected, might be hidden, notwithstanding what fetnah had told him. he then went out, taking her with him, attended by the two slaves who waited on her. as for ganem's slaves, they were not regarded; they ran in among the crowd, and it was not known what became of them. no sooner was jaaffier out of the house, than the masons and carpenters began to demolish it, and did their business so effectually, that in a few hours none of it remained. but the civil magistrate, not finding ganem, after the strictest search, sent to acquaint the grand vizier, before that minister reached the palace. "well," said haroon al rusheed, seeing him come into his closet, "have you executed my orders?" "yes," answered jaaffier "the house ganem lived in is levelled with the ground, and i have brought you your favourite fetnah; she is at your closet door, and i will call her in, if you command me. as for the young merchant, we could not find him, though every place has been searched, and fetnah affirms that he has been gone a month to damascus." never was passion equal to that of the caliph, when he heard that ganem had made his escape. as for his favourite, believing that she had been false to him, he would neither see nor speak to her. "mesrour," said he to the chief of the eunuchs, who was then present, "take the ungrateful and perfidious fetnah, and shut her up in the dark tower." that tower was within the precinct of the palace, and commonly served as a prison for the favourites who any way offended the caliph. mesrour being used to execute his sovereign's orders, however unjust, without making any answer, obeyed this with some reluctance. he signified his concern to fetnah, who was the more grieved because she had assured herself, that the caliph would not refuse to speak to her. she was obliged to submit to her hard fate, and to follow mesrour, who conducted her to the dark tower, and there left her. in the mean time, the enraged caliph dismissed his grand vizier, and only hearkening to his passion, wrote the following letter with his own hand to the king of syria, his cousin and tributary, who resided at damascus. "this letter is to inform you, that a merchant of damascus, whose name is ganem, the son of abou ayoub, has seduced the most amiable of my women slaves, called fetnah, and is fled. it is my will, that when you have read my letter, you cause search to be made for ganem, and secure him. when he is in your power, you shall cause him to be loaded with irons, and for three days successively let him receive fifty strokes of the bastinado. then let him be led through all parts of the city by a crier, proclaiming, 'this is the smallest punishment the commander of the believers inflicts on him that offends his lord, and debauches one of his slaves.' after that you shall send him to me under a strong guard. it is my will that you cause his house to be plundered; and after it has been razed, order the materials to be carried out of the city into the middle of the plain. besides this, if he has father, mother, sister, wives, daughters, or other kindred, cause them to be stripped; and when they are naked, expose them three days to the whole city, forbidding any person on pain of death to afford them shelter. i expect you will without delay execute my command." the caliph having written this letter, dispatched it by an express, ordering him to make all possible speed, and to take pigeons along with him, that he might the sooner hear what had been done by mahummud zinebi. the pigeons of bagdad have this peculiar quality, that from wherever they may be carried to, they return to bagdad as soon as they are set at liberty, especially when they have young ones. a letter rolled up is made fast under their wing, and by that means advice is speedily received from such places as it is desired. the caliph's courier travelled night and day, as his master's impatience required; and being come to damascus, went directly to king zinebi's palace, who sat upon his throne to receive the caliph's letter. the courier having delivered it, mahummud looking at it, and knowing the hand, stood up to shew his respect, kissed the letter, and laid it on his head, to denote he was ready submissively to obey the orders it contained. he opened it, and having read it, immediately descended from his throne, and without losing time, mounted on horseback with the principal officers of his household. he sent for the civil magistrate; and went directly to ganem's house, attended by all his guards. ganem's mother had never received any letter from him since he had left damascus; but the other merchants with whom he went to bagdad were returned, and all of them told her they had left her son in perfect however, seeing he did not return, she could not but be persuaded that he was dead, and was so fully convinced of this in her imagination, that she went into mourning. she bewailed ganem as if she had seen him die, and had herself closed his eyes: never mother expressed greater sorrow; and so far was she from seeking any comfort, that she delighted in indulging her grief. she had caused a dome to be built in the middle of the court belonging to her house, in which she placed a tomb. she spent the greatest part of the days and nights in weeping under that dome, as if her son had been buried there: her daughter bore her company, and mixed her tears with hers. it was now some time since they had thus devoted themselves to sorrow, and the neighbourhood, hearing their cries and lamentations, pitied such tender relations, when king mahummud zinebi knocked at the door, which being opened by a slave belonging to the family, he hastily entered the house, inquiring for ganem, the son of abou ayoub. though the slave had never seen king zinebi, she guessed by his retinue that he must be one of the principal officers of damascus. "my lord," said she, "that ganem you inquire for is dead; my mistress, his mother, is in that monument, lamenting him." the king, not regarding what was said by the slave, caused all the house to be diligently searched by his guards for ganem. he then advanced towards the monument, where he saw the mother and daughter sitting on a mat, and their faces appeared to him bathed in tears. these poor women immediately veiled themselves, as soon as they beheld a man at the door of the dome; but the mother, knowing the king of damascus, got up, and ran to cast herself at his feet. "my good lady," said he, "i was looking for your son, ganem, is he here?" "alas! sir," cried the mother, "it is a long time since he has ceased to be: would to god i had at least put him into his coffin with my own hands, and had had the comfort of having his bones in this monument! o my son, my dear son!" she would have said more, but was oppressed with such violent sorrow that she was unable to proceed. zinebi was moved; for he was a prince of a mild nature, and had much compassion for the sufferings of the unfortunate. "if ganem alone be guilty," thought he to himself, "why should the mother and the daughter, who are innocent, be punished? ah! cruel haroon al rusheed! what a mortification do you put upon me, in making me the executioner of your vengeance, obliging me to persecute persons who have not offended you." the guards whom the king had ordered to search for ganem, came and told him their search had been vain. he was fully convinced of this; the tears of those two women would not leave him any room to doubt. it distracted him to be obliged to execute the caliph's order. "my good lady," said he to ganem's mother, "quit this monument with your daughter, it is no place of safety for you." they went out, and he, to secure them against any insult, took off his own robe, and covered them both with it, bidding them keep close to him. he then ordered the populace to be let in to plunder, which was performed with the utmost rapaciousness, and with shouts which terrified ganem's mother and sister the more, because they knew not the reason. the rabble carried off the richest goods, chests full of wealth, fine persian and indian carpets, cushions covered with cloth of gold and silver, fine china ware; in short, all was taken away, till nothing remained but the bare walls of the house: and it was a dismal spectacle for the unhappy ladies, to see all their goods plundered, without knowing why they were so cruelly treated. when the house was plundered, mahummud ordered the civil magistrate to raze the house and monument; and while that was doing, he carried away the mother and daughter to his palace. there it was he redoubled their affliction, by acquainting them with the caliph's will. "he commands me," said he to them, "to cause you to be stripped, and exposed naked for three days to the view of the people. it is with the utmost reluctance that i execute such a cruel and ignominious sentence." the king delivered these words with such an air, as plainly made it appear his heart was really pierced with grief and compassion. though the fear of being dethroned prevented his following the dictates of his pity, yet he in some measure moderated the rigour of the caliph's orders, by causing large shifts, without sleeves, to be made of coarse horse-hair for ganem's mother, and his sister. the next day, these two victims of the caliph's rage were stripped of their clothes, and their horse-hair shifts put upon them; their head-dress was also taken away, so that their dishevelled hair hung floating on their backs. the daughter had the finest hair, and it hung down to the ground. in this condition they were exposed to the people. the civil magistrate, attended by his officers, were along with them, and they were conducted through the city. a crier went before them, who every now and then cried, "this is the punishment due to those who have drawn on themselves the indignation of the commander of the believers." whilst they walked in this manner along the streets of damascus, with their arms and feet naked, clad in such a strange garment, and endeavouring to hide their confusion under their hair, with which they covered their faces, all the people were dissolved in tears; more especially the ladies, considering them as innocent persons, as they beheld them through their lattice windows, and being particularly moved by the daughter's youth and beauty, they made the air ring with their shrieks, as they passed before their houses. the very children, frightened at those shrieks, and at the spectacle that occasioned them, mixed their cries with the general lamentation. in short, had an enemy been in damascus, putting all to fire and sword, the consternation could not have been greater. it was near night when this dismal scene concluded. the mother and daughter were both conducted back to king mahummud's palace. not being used to walk bare-foot, they were so spent, that they lay a long time in a swoon. the queen of damascus, highly afflicted at their misfortunes, notwithstanding the caliph's prohibition to relieve them, sent some of her women to comfort them, with all sorts of refreshments and wine, to recover their spirits. the queen's women found them still in a swoon, and almost past receiving any benefit by what they offered them. however, with much difficulty they were brought to themselves. ganem's mother immediately returned them thanks for their courtesy. "my good madam," said one of the queen's ladies to her, "we are highly concerned at your affliction, and the queen of syria, our mistress, has done us a favour in employing us to assist you. we can assure you, that princess is much afflicted at your misfortunes, as well as the king her consort." ganem's mother entreated the queen's women to return her majesty a thousand thanks from her and her daughter, and then directing her discourse to the lady who spoke to her, "madam," said she, "the king has not told me why the chief of the believers inflicts so many outrages on us: pray be pleased to tell us what crimes we have been guilty of." "my good lady," answered the other, "the origin of your misfortunes proceeds from your son ganem. he is not dead, as you imagine. he is accused of having seduced the beautiful fetnah, the best beloved of the caliph's favourites; but having, by flight, withdrawn himself from that prince's indignation, the punishment is fallen on you. all condemn the caliph's resentment, but all fear him; and you see king zinebi himself dares not resist his orders, for fear of incurring his displeasure. all we can do is to pity you, and exhort you to have patience." "i know my son," answered ganem's mother; "i have educated him carefully, and in that respect which is due to the commander of the believers. he cannot have committed the crime he is accused of; i dare answer for his innocence. but i will cease to murmur and complain, since it is for him that i suffer, and he is not dead. o ganem!" added she, in a transport of affection and joy, "my dear son ganem! is possible that you are still alive? i am no longer concerned for the loss of my fortune; and how harsh and unjust soever the caliph's orders may be, i forgive him, provided heaven has preserved my son. i am only concerned for my daughter; her sufferings alone afflict me; yet i believe her to be so good a sister as to follow my example." on hearing these words, the young lady, who till then had appeared insensible, turned to her mother, and clasping her arms about her neck, "yes, dear mother," said she, "i will always follow your example, whatever extremity your love for my brother may reduce us to." the mother and daughter thus interchanging their sighs and tears, continued a considerable time in such moving embraces. in the mean time the queen's women, who were much affected at the spectacle, omitted no persuasions to prevail with ganem's mother to take some sustenance. she ate a morsel out of complaisance, and her daughter did the like. the caliph having ordered that ganem's kindred should be exposed three days successively to the sight of the people, in the condition already mentioned, the unhappy ladies afforded the same spectacle the second time next day, from morning till night. but that day and the following, the streets, which at first had been full of people, were now quite empty. all the merchants, incensed at the ill usage of abou ayoub's widow and daughter, shut up their shops, and kept themselves close within their houses. the ladies, instead of looking through their lattice windows, withdrew into the back parts of their houses. there was not a person to be seen in the public places through which those unfortunate women were carried. it seemed as if all the inhabitants of damascus had abandoned their city. on the fourth day, the king resolving punctually to obey the caliph's orders, though he did not approve of them, sent criers into all quarters of the city to make proclamation, strictly commanding all the inhabitants of damascus, and strangers, of what condition soever, upon pain of death, and having their bodies cast to the dogs to be devoured, not to receive ganem's mother and sister into their houses, or give them a morsel of bread or a drop of water, and, in a word, not to afford them the least support, or hold the least correspondence with them. when the criers had performed what the king had enjoined them, that prince ordered the mother and the daughter to be turned out of the palace, and left to their choice to go where they thought fit. as soon as they appeared, all persons fled from them, so great an impression had the late prohibition made upon all. they easily perceived that every body shunned them; but not knowing the reason, were much surprised; and their amazement was the greater, when coming into any street, or among any persons, they recollected some of their best friends, who immediately retreated with as much haste as the rest. "what is the meaning of this," said ganem's mother; "do we carry the plague about us? must the unjust and barbarous usage we have received render us odious to our fellow-citizens? come, my child," added she, "let us depart from damascus with all speed; let us not stay any longer in a city where we are become frightful to our very friends." the two wretched ladies, discoursing in this manner, came to one of the extremities of the city, and retired to a ruined house to pass the night. thither some mussulmauns, out of charity and compassion, resorted to them after the day was shut in. they carried them provisions, but durst not stay to comfort them, for fear of being discovered, and punished for disobeying the caliph's orders. in the mean time king zinebi had let fly a pigeon to give the caliph an account of his exact obedience. he informed him of all that had been executed, and conjured him to direct what he would have done with ganem's mother and sister. he soon received the caliph's answer in the same way, which was, that he should banish them from damascus for ever. immediately the king of syria sent men to the old house, with orders to take the mother and daughter, and to conduct them three days' journey from damascus, and there to leave them, forbidding them ever to return to the city. zinebi's men executed their commission, but being less exact their master, in the strict performance of the caliph's orders, they in pity gave the wretched ladies some small pieces of money, and each of them a scrip, which they hung about their necks, to carry their provisions. in this miserable state they came to the first village. the peasants' wives flocked about them, and, as it appeared through their disguise that they were people of some condition, asked them what was the occasion of their travelling in a habit that did not seem to belong to them. instead of answering the question, they fell to weeping, which only served to heighten the curiosity of the peasants, and to move their compassion. ganem's mother told them what she and her daughter had endured; at which the good countrywomen were sensibly afflicted, and endeavoured to comfort them. they treated them as well as their poverty would permit, took off their horse-hair shifts, which were very uneasy to them, and put on them others which they gave them, with shoes, and something to cover their heads, and save their hair. having expressed their gratitude to those charitable women, jalib al koolloob and her mother departed from that village, taking short journeys towards aleppo. they used at dusk to retire near or into the mosques, where they passed the night on the mat, if there was any, or else on the bare pavement; and sometimes rested in the public places appointed for the use of travellers. as for sustenance, they did not want, for they often came to places where bread, boiled rice, and other provisions are distributed to all travellers who desire it. at length they came to aleppo, but would not stay there, and continuing their journey towards the euphrates, crossed the river, and entered mesopotamia, which they traversed as far as moussoul. thence, notwithstanding all they had endured, they proceeded to bagdad. that was the place they had fixed their thoughts upon, hoping to find ganem, though they ought not to have fancied that he was in a city where the caliph resided; but they hoped, because they wished it; their affection for him increasing instead of diminishing, with their misfortunes. their conversation was generally about him, and they inquired for him of all they met. but let us leave jalib al koolloob and her mother, and return to fetnah. she was still confined closely in the dark tower, since the day that had been so fatal to ganem and herself. however, disagreeable as her prison was to her, it was much less grievous than the thoughts of ganem's misfortune, the uncertainty of whose fate was a killing affliction. there was scarcely a moment in which she did not lament him. the caliph was accustomed to walk frequently at night within the enclosure of his palace, for he was the most inquisitive prince in the world, and sometimes, by those night-walks, came to the knowledge of things that happened in his court, which would otherwise never have reached his ear. one of those nights, in his walk, he happened to pass by the dark tower, and fancying he heard somebody talk, stops, and drawing near the door to listen, distinctly heard these words, which fetnah, whose thoughts were always on ganem, uttered with a loud voice: "o ganem, too unfortunate ganem! where are you at this time, whither has thy cruel fate led thee? alas! it is i that have made you wretched! why did you not let me perish miserably, rather than afford me your generous relief? what melancholy return have you received for your care and respect? the commander of the faithful, who ought to have rewarded, persecutes you; and in requital for having always regarded me as a person reserved for his bed, you lose your fortune, and are obliged to seek for safety in flight. o caliph, barbarous caliph, how can you exculpate yourself, when you shall appear with ganem before the tribunal of the supreme judge, and the angels shall testify the truth before your face? all the power you are now invested with, and which makes almost the whole world tremble, will not prevent your being condemned and punished for your violent and unjust proceedings." here fetnah ceased her complaints, her sighs and tears putting a stop to her utterance. this was enough to make the caliph reflect. he plainly perceived, that if what he had heard was true, his favourite must be innocent, and that he had been too hasty in giving such orders against ganem and his family. being resolved to be rightly informed in an affair which so nearly concerned him in point of equity, on which he valued himself, he immediately returned to his apartment, and that moment ordered mesrour to repair to the dark tower, and bring fetnah before him. by this command, and much more by the caliph's manner of speaking, the chief of the eunuchs guessed that his master designed to pardon his favourite, and take her to him again. he was overjoyed at the thought, for he respected fetnah, and had been much concerned at her disgrace; therefore flying instantly to the tower, "madam," said he to the favourite, with such an air as expressed his satisfaction, "be pleased to follow me; i hope you will never more return to this melancholy abode: the commander of the faithful wishes to speak with you, and i draw from this a happy omen." fetnah followed mesrour, who conducted her into the caliph's closet. she prostrated herself before him, and so continued, her face bathed in tears. "fetnah," said the caliph, without bidding her rise, "i think you charge me with violence and injustice. who is he, that, notwithstanding the regard and respell he had for me, is in a miserable condition? speak freely, you know the natural goodness of my disposition, and that i love to do justice." by these words the favourite was convinced that the caliph had heard what she had said, and availed herself of so favourable an opportunity to clear ganem. "commander of the true believers," said she, "if i have let fall any word that is not agreeable to your majesty, i most humbly beseech you to forgive me; but he whose innocence and wretched state you desire to be informed of is ganem, the unhappy son of abou ayoub, late a rich merchant of damascus. he saved my life from a grave, and afforded me a sanctuary in his house. i must own, that, from the first moment he saw me, he perhaps designed to devote himself to me, and conceived hopes of engaging me to admit his love. i guessed at this, by the eagerness which he shewed in entertaining me, and doing me all the good offices i so much wanted under the circumstances i was then in; but as soon as he heard that i had the honour to belong to you, 'ah, madam,' said he, 'that which belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.' from that moment, i owe this justice to his virtue to declare, his behaviour was always suitable to his words. you, commander of the true believers, well know with what rigour you have treated him, and you will answer for it before the tribunal of god." the caliph was not displeased with fetnah for the freedom of these words; "but may i," said he, "rely on the assurance you give me of ganem's virtue?" "yes," replied fetnah, "you may. i would not for the world conceal the truth from you; and to prove to you that i am sincere, i must make a confession, which perhaps may displease you, but i beg pardon of your majesty beforehand." "speak, daughter," said haroon al rusheed, "i forgive you all, provided you conceal nothing from me." "well, then," replied fetnah, "let me inform you, that ganem's respectful behaviour, joined to all the good offices he did me, gained him my esteem. i went further yet: you know the tyranny of love: i felt some tender inclination rising in my breast. he perceived it; but far from availing himself of my frailty, and notwithstanding the flame which consumed him, he still remained steady in his duty, and all that his passion could force from him were the words i have already repeated to your majesty, 'that which belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.'" this ingenuous confession might have provoked any other man than the caliph; but it completely appeased that prince. he commanded her to rise, and making her sit by him, "tell me your story," said he, "from the beginning to the end." she did so, with artless simplicity, passing slightly over what regarded zobeide, and enlarging on the obligations she owed to ganem; but above all, she highly extolled his discretion, endeavouring by that means to make the caliph sensible that she had been under the necessity of remaining concealed in ganem's house, to deceive zobeide. she concluded with the young merchant's escape, which she plainly told the caliph she had compelled him to, that he might avoid his indignation. when she had done speaking, the caliph said to her, "i believe all you have told me; but why was it so long before you let me hear from you? was there any need of staying a whole month after my return, before you sent me word where you were?" "commander of the true believers," answered fetnah, "ganem went abroad so very seldom, that you need not wonder we were not the first that heard of your return. besides, ganem, who took upon him to deliver the letter i wrote to nouron nihar, was a long time before he could find an opportunity of putting it into her own hands." "it is enough, fetnah," replied the caliph; "i acknowledge my fault, and would willingly make amends for it, by heaping favours on the young merchant of damascus. consider, therefore, what i can do for him. ask what you think fit, and i will grant it." hereupon the favourite fell down at the caliph's feet, with her face to the ground; and rising again, said, "commander of the true believers, after returning your majesty thanks for ganem, i most humbly entreat you to cause it to be published throughout your do minions, that you pardon the son of abou ayoub, and that he may safely come to you." "i must do more," rejoined the prince, "in requital for having saved your life, and the respect he has strewn for me, to make amends for the loss of his fortune. in short, to repair the wrong i have done to himself and his family, i give him to you for a husband." fetnah had no words expressive enough to thank the caliph for his generosity: she then withdrew into the apartment she had occupied before her melancholy adventure. the same furniture was still in it, nothing had been removed; but that which pleased her most was, to find ganem's chests and bales, which mesrour had received the caliph's orders to convey thither. the next day haroon al rusheed ordered the grand vizier, to cause proclamation to be made throughout all his dominions, that he pardoned ganem the son of abou ayoub; but this proved of no effect, for a long time elapsed without any news of the young merchant. fetnah concluded, that he had not been able to survive the pain of losing her. a dreadful uneasiness seized her mind; but as hope is the last thing which forsakes lovers, she entreated the caliph to give her leave to seek for ganem herself; which being granted, she took a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and went one morning out of the palace, mounted on a mule from the caliph's stables, very richly caparisoned. black eunuchs attended her, with a hand placed on each side of the mule's back. thus she went from mosque to mosque, bestowing her alms among the devotees of the mahummedan religion, desiring their prayers for the accomplishment of an affair, on which the happiness of two persons, she told them, depended. she spend the whole day and the thousand pieces of gold in giving alms at the mosques, and returned to the palace in the evening. the next day she took another purse of the same value, and in the like equipage as the day before, went to the square of the jewellers' shops, and stopping at the gateway without alighting, sent one of her black eunuchs for the syndic or chief of them. the syndic, who was a most charitable man, and spent above two-thirds of his income in relieving poor strangers, sick or in distress, did not make fetnah wait, knowing by her dress that she was a lady belonging to the palace. "i apply myself to you," said she, putting the purse into his hands, "as a person whose piety is celebrated throughout the city. i desire you to distribute that gold among the poor strangers you relieve, for i know you make it your business to assist those who apply to your charity. i am also satisfied that you prevent their wants, and that nothing is more grateful to you, than to have an opportunity of relieving their misery." "madam," answered the syndic, "i shall obey your commands with pleasure; but if you desire to exercise your charity in person, and will be pleased to step to my house, you will there see two women worthy of your compassion; i met them yesterday as they were coming into the city; they were in a deplorable condition, and it moved me the more, because i thought they were persons of rank. through all the rags that covered them, notwithstanding the impression the sun has made on their faces, i discovered a noble air, not to be commonly found in those people i relieve. i carried them both to my house, and delivered them to my wife, who was of the same opinion with me. she caused her slaves to provide them good beds, whilst she herself led them to our warm bath, and gave them clean linen. we know not as yet who they are, because we wish to let them take some rest before we trouble them with our questions." fetnah, without knowing why, felt a curiosity to see them. the syndic would have conducted her to his house, but she would not give him the trouble, and was satisfied that a slave should shew her the way. she alighted at the door, and followed the syndic's slave, who was gone before to give notice to his mistress, she being then in the chamber with jalib al koolloob and her mother, for they were the persons the syndic had been speaking of to fetnah. the syndic's wife being informed by the slave, that a lady from the palace was in her house, was hastening to meet her; but fetnah, who had followed the slave, did not give her time: on her coming into the chamber, the syndic's wife prostrated herself before her, to express the respect she had for all who belonged to the caliph. fetnah raised her up, and said, "my good lady, i desire you will let me speak with those two strangers that arrived at bagdad last night." "madam," answered the syndic's wife, "they lie in those beds you see by each other." the favourite immediately drew near the mother's, and viewing her carefully, "good woman," said she, "i come to offer you my assistance: i have considerable interest in this city, and may be of service to you and your companion." "madam," answered ganem's mother, "i perceive by your obliging offers, that heaven has not quite forsaken us, though we had cause to believe it had, after so many misfortunes as have befallen us." having uttered these words, she wept so bitterly that fetnah and the syndic's wife could not forbear letting fall some tears. the caliph's favourite having dried up hers, said to ganem's mother, "be so kind as to tell us your misfortunes, and recount your story. you cannot make the relation to any persons better disposed to use all possible means to comfort you." "madam," replied abou ayoub's disconsolate widow, "a favourite of the commander of the true believers, a lady whose name is fetnah, is the occasion of all our misfortunes." these words were like a thunderbolt to the favourite; but suppressing her agitation and concern, she suffered ganem's mother to proceed in the following manner: "i am the widow of abou ayoub, a merchant of damascus; i had a son called ganem, who, coming to trade at bagdad, has been accused of carrying off fetnah. the caliph caused search to be made for him every where, to put him to death; but not finding him, he wrote to the king of damascus, to cause our house to be plundered and razed, and to expose my daughter and myself three days successively, naked, to the populace, and then to banish us out of syria for ever. but how unworthy soever our usage has been, i should be still comforted were my son alive, and i could meet with him. what a pleasure would it be for his sister and me to see him again! embracing him we should forget the loss of our property, and all the evils we have suffered on his account. alas! i am fully persuaded he is only the innocent cause of them; and that he is no more guilty towards the caliph than his sister and myself." "no doubt of it," said fetnah, interrupting her there, "he is no more guilty than you are; i can assure you of his innocence; for i am that very fetnah, you so much complain of; who, through some fatality in my stars, have occasioned you so many misfortunes. to me you must impute the loss of your son, if he is no more; but if i have occasioned your misfortune, i can in some measure relieve it. i have already justified ganem to the caliph; who has caused it to be proclaimed throughout his dominions, that he pardons the son of abou ayoub; and doubt not he will do you as much good as he has done you injury. you are no longer his enemies. he waits for ganem, to requite the service he has done me, by uniting our fortunes; he gives me to him for his consort, therefore look on me as your daughter, and permit me to vow eternal duty and affection." having so said, she bowed down on ganem's mother, who was so astonished that she could return no answer. fetnah held her long in her arms, and only left her to embrace the daughter, who, sitting up, held out her arms to receive her. when the caliph's favourite had strewn the mother and daughter all tokens of affection, as ganem's wife, she said to them, "the wealth ganem had in this city is not lost, it is in my apartment in the palace; but i know all the treasure of the world cannot comfort you without ganem, if i may judge of you by myself. blood is no less powerful than love in great minds; but why should we despair of seeing him again? we shall find him; the happiness of meeting with you makes me conceive fresh hopes. perhaps this is the last day of your sufferings, and the beginning of a greater felicity than you enjoyed in damascus, when ganem was with you." fetnah would have proceeded, but the syndic of the jewellers coming in interrupted her: "madam," said he to her, "i come from seeing a very moving object, it is a young man, whom a camel-driver had just carried to an hospital: he was bound with cords on a camel, because he had not strength enough to sit. they had already unbound him, and were carrying him into the hospital, when i happened to pass by. i went up to the young man, viewed him attentively, and fancied his countenance was not altogether unknown to me. i asked him some questions concerning his family and his country; but all the answers i could get were sighs and tears. i took pity on him, and being so much used to sick people, perceived that he had need to have particular care taken of him. i would not permit him to be put into the hospital; for i am too well acquainted with their way of managing the sick, and am sensible of the incapacity of the physicians. i have caused him to be brought to my own house, by my slaves; and they are now in a private room where i placed him, putting on some of my own linen, and treating him as they would do myself." fetnah's heart beat at these words of the jeweller, and she felt a sudden emotion, for which she could not account: "shew me," said she to the syndic, "into the sick man's room; i should be glad to see him." the syndic conducted her, and whilst she was going thither, ganem's mother said to jalib al koolloob, "alas! daughter, wretched as that sick stranger is, your brother, if he be living, is not perhaps in a more happy condition." the caliph's favourite coming into the chamber of the sick stranger, drew near the bed, in which the syndic's slaves had already laid him. she saw a young man, whose eyes were closed, his countenance pale, disfigured, and bathed in tears. she gazed earnestly on him, her heart beat, and she fancied she beheld ganem; but yet she would not believe her eyes. though she found something of ganem in the objets she beheld, yet in other respects he appeared so different, that she durst not imagine it was he that lay before her. unable, however, to withstand the earnest desire of being satisfied, "ganem," said she, with a trembling voice, "is it you i behold?" having spoken these words, she stopped to give the young man time to answer, but observing that he seemed insensible; "alas! ganem," added she, "it is not you that i address! my imagination being overcharged with your image, has given to a stranger a deceitful resemblance. the son of abou ayoub, however indisposed, would know the voice of fetnah." at the name of fetnah, ganem (for it was really he) opened his eyes, sprang up, and knowing the caliph's favourite; "ah! madam," said he, "by what miracle" he could say no more; such a sudden transport of joy seized him that he fainted away. fetnah and the syndic did all they could to bring him to himself; but as soon as they perceived he began to revive, the syndic desired the lady to withdraw, lest the sight of her should heighten his disorder. the young man having recovered, looked all around, and not seeing what he sought, exclaimed, "what is become of you, charming fetnah? did you really appear before my eyes, or was it only an illusion?" "no, sir," said the syndic, "it was no illusion. it was i that caused the lady to withdraw, but you shall see her again, as soon as you are in a condition to bear the interview. you now stand in need of rest, and nothing ought to obstruct your taking it. the situation of your affairs is altered, since you are, as i suppose, that ganem, in favour of whom the commander of the true believers has caused a proclamation to be made in bagdad, declaring, that he forgives him what is passed. be satisfied, for the present, with knowing so much; the lady, who just now spoke to you, will acquaint you with the rest, therefore think of nothing but recovering your health; i will contribute all in my power towards it." having spoke these words, he left ganem to take his rest, and went himself to provide for him such medicines as were proper to recover his strength, exhausted by hard living and toil. during this time fetnah was in the room with jalib al koolloob and her mother, where almost the same scene was acted over again; for when ganem's mother understood that the sick stranger whom the syndic had brought into his house was ganem himself, she was so overjoyed, that she also swooned away, and when, with the assistance of fetnah and the syndic's wife, she was again come to herself, she would have arisen to go and see her son; but the syndic coming in, hindered her, representing that ganem was so weak and emaciated, that it would endanger his life to excite in him those emotions, which must be the consequence of the unexpected sight of a beloved mother and sister. there was no occasion for the syndic's saying any more to ganem's mother; as soon as she was told that she could not converse with her son, without hazarding his life, she ceased insisting to go and see him. fetnah then said, "let us bless heaven for having brought us all together. i will return to the palace to give the caliph an account of these adventures, and tomorrow morning i will return to you." this said, she embraced the mother and the daughter, and went away. as soon as she came to the palace, she sent mesrour to request a private audience of the caliph, which was immediately granted; and being brought into the prince's closet, where he was alone, she prostrated herself at his feet, with her face on the ground, according to custom. he commanded her to rise, and having made her sit down, asked whether she had heard any news of ganem? "commander of the true believers," said she, "i have been so successful, that i have found him, and also his mother and sister." the caliph was curious to know how she had discovered them in so short a time, and she satisfied his inquiries, saying so many things in commendation of ganem's mother and sister, he desired to see them as well as the young merchant. though haroon al rusheed was passionate, and in his heat sometimes guilty of cruel actions; yet he was just, and the most generous prince in the world, when the storm of anger was over, and he was made sensible of the wrong he had done. having therefore no longer cause to doubt but that he had unjustly persecuted ganem and his family, and had publicly wronged them, he resolved to make them public satisfaction. "i am overjoyed," said he to fetnah, "that your search has proved so successful; it is a real satisfaction to me, not so much for your sake as for my own. i will keep the promise i have made you. you shall marry ganem, and i here declare you are no longer my slave; you are free. go back to that young merchant, and as soon as he has recovered his health, you shall bring him to me with his mother and sister." the next morning early fetnah repaired to the syndic of the jewellers, being impatient to hear of ganem's health, and tell the mother and daughter the good news she had for them. the first person she met was the syndic, who told her that ganem had rested well that night; and that his disorder proceeding altogether from melancholy, the cause being removed, he would soon recover his health. accordingly the son of abou ayoub was speedily much amended. rest, and the good medicines he had taken, but above all the different situation of his mind, had wrought so good an effect, that the syndic thought he might without danger see his mother, his sister, and his mistress, provided he was prepared to receive them; because there was ground to fear, that, not knowing his mother and sister were at bagdad, the sight of them might occasion too great surprise and joy. it was therefore resolved, that fetnah should first go alone into ganem's chamber, and then make a sign to the two other ladies to appear, when she thought it was proper. matters being so ordered, the syndic announced fetnah's coming to the sick man, who was so transported to see her, that he was again near fainting away, "well, ganem," said she, drawing near to his bed, "you have again found your fetnah, whom you thought you had lost for ever." "ah! madam," exclaimed he, eagerly interrupting her, "what miracle has restored you to my sight? i thought you were in the caliph's palace; he has doubtless listened to you. you have dispelled his jealousy, and he has restored you to his favour." "yes, my dear ganem," answered fetnah, "i have cleared myself before the commander of the true believers, who, to make amends for the wrong he has done you, bestows me on you for a wife." these last words occasioned such an excess of joy in ganem, that he knew not for a while how to express himself, otherwise than by that passionate silence so well known to lovers. at length he broke out in these words: "beautiful fetnah, may i give credit to what you tell me? may i believe that the caliph really resigns you to abou ayoub's son?" "nothing is more certain," answered the lady. "the caliph, who before caused search to be made for you, to take away your life, and who in his fury caused your mother and your sister to suffer a thousand indignities, desires now to see you, that he may reward the respect you had for him; and there is no question but that he will load your family with favours." ganem asked, what the caliph had done to his mother and sister, which fetnah told him; and he could not forbear letting fall some tears at the relation, notwithstanding the thoughts which arose in his mind at the prospect of being married to his mistress. but when fetnah informed him, that they were actually in bagdad, and in the same house with him, he appeared so impatient to see them, that the favourite could no longer defer giving him the satisfaction; and accordingly called them in. they were at the door waiting for that moment. they entered, went up to ganem, and embracing him in their turns, kissed him a thousand times. what tears were shed amidst those embraces! ganem's face was bathed with them, as well as his mother's and sisters; and fetnah let fall abundance. the syndic himself and his wife were so moved at the spectacle, that they could not forbear weeping, nor sufficiently admire the secret workings of providence which had brought together into their house four persons, whom fortune had so cruelly persecuted. when they had dried up their tears, ganem drew them afresh, by the recital of what he had suffered from the day he left fetnah, till the moment the syndic brought him to his house. he told them, that having taken refuge in a small village, he there fell sick; that some charitable peasants had taken care of him, but finding he did not recover, a camel-driver had undertaken to carry him to the hospital at bagdad. fetnah also told them all the uneasiness of her imprisonment, how the caliph, having heard her talk in the tower, had sent for her into his closet, and how she had cleared herself. in conclusion, when they had related what accidents had befallen them, fetnah said, "let us bless heaven, which has brought us all together again, and let us think of nothing but the happiness that awaits us. as soon as ganem has recovered his health, he must appear before the caliph, with his mother and sister; but i will go and make some provision for them." this said, she went to the palace, and soon returned with a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, which she delivered to the syndic, desiring him to buy apparel for the mother and daughter. the syndic, who was a man of a good taste, chose such as were very handsome, and had them made up with all expedition. they were finished in three days, and ganem finding himself strong enough, prepared to go abroad; but on the day he had appointed to pay his respects to the caliph, while he was making ready, with his mother and sister, the grand vizier, jaaffier came to the syndic's house. he had come on horseback, attended by a great number of officers. "sir," said he to ganem, as soon as he entered, "i am come from the commander of the true believers, my master and yours; the orders i have differ much from those which i do not wish to revive in your memory; i am to bear you company, and to present you to the caliph, who is desirous to see you." ganem returned no other answer to the vizier's compliment, than by profoundly bowing his head, and then mounted a horse brought from the caliph's stables, which he managed very gracefully. the mother and daughter were mounted on mules belonging to the palace, and whilst fetnah on another mule led them by a bye-way to the prince's court, jaaffier conducted ganem, and brought him into the hall of audience. the caliph was sitting on his throne, encompassed with emirs, viziers, and other attendants and courtiers, arabs, persians, egyptians, africans, and syrians, of his own dominions, not to mention strangers. when the vizier had conducted ganem to the foot of the throne, the young merchant paid his obeisance, prostrating himself with his face to the ground, and then rising, made a handsome compliment in verse, which, though the effusion of the moment, met with the approbation of the whole court. after his compliment, the caliph caused him to approach, and said, "i am glad to see you, and desire to hear from your own mouth where you found my favourite, and all that you have done for her." ganem obeyed, and appeared so sincere, that the caliph was convinced of his veracity. he ordered a very rich vest to be given him, according to the custom observed towards those who are admitted to audience. after which he said to him, "ganem, i will have you live in my court." "commander of the true believers," answered the young merchant, "a slave has no will but his master's, on whom his life and fortune depend." the caliph was highly pleased with ganem's reply, and assigned him a considerable pension. he then descended from his throne, and causing only ganem and the grand vizier, follow him, retired into his own apartment. not questioning but that fetnah was in waiting, with abou ayoub's widow and daughter, he caused them to be called in. they prostrated themselves before him: he made them rise; and was so charmed by jalib al koolloob's beauty, that, after viewing her very attentively, he said, "i am so sorry for having treated your charms so unworthily, that i owe them such a satisfaction as may surpass the injury i have done. i take you to wife; and by that means shall punish zobeide, who shall become the first cause of your good fortune, as she was of your past sufferings. this is not all," added he, turning towards ganem's mother; "you are still young, i believe you will not disdain to be allied to my grand vizier, i give you to jaaffier, and you, fetnah, to ganem. let a cauzee and witnesses be called, and the three contracts be drawn up and signed immediately." ganem would have represented to the caliph, that it would be honour enough for his sister to be one of his favourites; but he was resolved to marry her. haroon thought this such an extraordinary story, that he ordered his historiographer to commit it to writing with all its circumstances. it was afterwards laid up in his library, and many copies being transcribed, it became public. end of volume . the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume ii. the story of the little hunch-back the story told by the christian merchant the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor the story told by the jewish physician the story told by the tailor the story told by the barber the story told by the barber's eldest brother the story told by the barber's second brother the story told by the barber's third brother the story told by the barber's fourth brother the story told by the barber's fifth brother the story told by the barber's sixth brother the history of aboulhassen ali ebn ecar, and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph haroon al rusheed the story of the loves of kummir al zummaun, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan, and of badoura, princess of china the story of the princes amgiad and assad the story of the prince amgiad and a lady of the city of magicians the story of noor ad deen and the fair persian the story of the little hunch-back. there was in former times at casgar, on the extreme boundaries of tartary, a tailor who had a pretty wife, whom he affectionately loved, and by whom he was beloved with reciprocal tenderness. one day while he was at work, a little hunch-back seated himself at the shop door and began to sing, and play upon a tabor. the tailor was pleased with his performance, and resolved to take him to his house to entertain his wife: "this little fellow," said he, "will divert us both this evening." he accordingly invited him, and the other readily accepted the invitation: so the tailor shut up his shop, and carried him home. immediately after their arrival the tailor's wife placed before them a good dish of fish; but as the little man was eating, he unluckily swallowed a bone, which, notwithstanding all that the tailor and his wife could do, choked him. this accident greatly alarmed them both, dreading, if the magistrates should hear of it, that they would be punished as murderers. however, the husband devised a scheme to get rid of the corpse. he reflected that a jewish doctor lived just by, and having formed his plan, his wife and he took the corpse, the one by the feet and the other by the head, and carried it to the physician's house. they knocked at the door, from which a steep flight of stairs led to his chamber. the servant maid came down without any light, and opening the door, asked what they wanted. "have the goodness," said the tailor, "to go up again, and tell your master we have brought him a man who is very ill, and wants his advice. here," continued he, putting a piece of money into her hand, "give him that beforehand, to convince him that we do not mean to impose." while the servant was gone up to inform her master, the tailor and his wife hastily conveyed the hunchbacked corpse to the head of the stairs, and leaving it there, hurried away. in the mean time, the maid told the doctor, that a man and woman waited for him at the door, desiring he would come down and look at a sick man whom they had brought with them, and clapped into his hand the money she had received. the doctor was transported with joy; being paid beforehand, he thought it must needs be a good patient, and should not be neglected. "light, light," cried he to the maid; "follow me quickly." as he spoke, he hastily ran towards the head of the stairs without waiting for a light, and came against the corpse with so much violence that he precipitated it to the bottom, and had nearly fallen with it. "bring me a light," cried he to the maid; "quick, quick." at last she brought one, and he went down stairs with her; but when he saw that what he had kicked down was a dead man, he was so frightened, that he invoked moses, aaron, joshua, esdras, and all the other prophets of his nation. "unhappy man that i am," said he, "why did i attempt to come without a light! i have killed the poor fellow who was brought to me to be cured: doubtless i am the cause of his death, and unless esdras's ass come to assist me, i am ruined: mercy on me, they will be here out of hand, and drag me out of my house for a murderer." notwithstanding the perplexity and confusion into which he was thrown, he had the precaution to shut his door, for fear any one passing by should observe the accident of which he reckoned himself to be the author. he then took the corpse into his wife's chamber, who was ready to swoon at the sight. "alas," cried she, "we are utterly ruined and undone, unless we can devise some expedient to get the corpse out of our house this night. if we harbour it till morning we are lost. what a deplorable misfortune is this! what have you done to kill this man?" "that is not now the question," replied the jew; "our business at present is, to find a remedy for the evil which threatens us." the doctor and his wife consulted how to dispose of the corpse that night. the doctor racked his brain in vain, he could not think of any stratagem to relieve his embarrassment; but his wife, who was more fertile in invention, said, "a thought is just come into my head; let us carry the corpse to the terrace of our house, and throw it down the chimney of our mussulmaun neighbour." this mussulmaun was one of the sultan's purveyors for furnishing oil, butter, and articles of a similar nature, and had a magazine in his house, where the rats and mice made prodigious havoc. the jewish doctor approving the proposed expedient, the wife and he took the little hunch-back up to the roof of the house; and clapping ropes under his arm-pits, let him down the chimney into the purveyor's chamber so dexterously that he stood upright against the wall, as if he had been alive. when they found he had reached the bottom, they pulled up the ropes, and left the corpse in that posture. they were scarcely got down into their chamber, when the purveyor, who had just returned from a wedding feast, went into his room, with a lanthorn in his hand. he was not a little surprised to discover a man standing in his chimney; but being a stout fellow, and apprehending him to be a thief, he took up a stick, and making straight up to the hunch-back, "ah!" said he, "i thought the rats and mice ate my butter and tallow; but it is you who come down the chimney to rob me? however, i think you will have no wish to come here again." upon this he attacked hunch-back, and struck him several times with his stick. the corpse fell down flat on the ground, and the purveyor redoubled his blows. but, observing that the body did not move, he stood a little time to regard it; and then, perceiving it to be dead, fear succeeded his anger. "wretched man that i am," said he, "what have i done! i have killed a man; alas, i have carried my revenge too far. good god, unless thou pity me my life is gone! cursed, ten thousand times accursed, be the fat and the oil that occasioned me to commit so criminal an action." he stood pale and thunderstruck; he fancied he already saw the officers come to drag him to condign punishment, and could not tell what resolution to take. the sultan of casgar's purveyor had never noticed the little man's hump-back when he was beating him, but as soon as he perceived it, he uttered a thousand imprecations against him. "ah, thou cursed hunch-back," cried he, "thou crooked wretch, would to god thou hadst robbed me of all my fat, and i had not found thee here. i then should not have been thrown into this perplexity on account of this and thy vile hunch. ye stars that twinkle in the heavens, give your light to none but me in this dangerous juncture." as soon as he had uttered these words, he took the crooked corpse upon his shoulders, and carried it to the end of the street, where he placed it in an upright posture against a shop; he then returned without once looking behind him. a few minutes before day-break, a christian merchant, who was very rich, and furnished the sultan's palace with various articles, having sat up all night at a debauch, happened to come from his house in this direction on his way to the bath. though he was intoxicated, he was sensible that the night was far spent, and that the people would soon be called to morning prayers; he therefore quickened his pace to get to the bath in time, lest some mussulmaun, in his way to the mosque, should meet him and carry him to prison for a drunkard. when he came to the end of the street, he had occasion to stop by the shop where the sultan's purveyor had put the hunch-backed corpse; which being jostled by him, tumbled upon the merchant's back. the merchant thinking he was attacked by a robber, knocked it down, and after redoubling his blows, cried out "thieves!" the outcry alarmed the watch, who came up immediately, and finding a christian beating a mussulmaun (for hump-back was of our religion), "what reason have you," said he, "to abuse a mussulmaun in this manner?" "he would have robbed me," replied the merchant, "and jumped upon my back in order to take me by the throat." "if he did," said the watch, "you have revenged yourself sufficiently; come, get off him." at the same time he stretched out his hand to help little hump-back up, but observing he was dead, "oh!" said he, "is it thus that a christian dares to assassinate a mussulmaun?" so saying, he laid hold of the christian, and carried him to the house of the officer of the police, where he was kept till the judge was stirring, and ready to examine him. in the mean time, the christian merchant became sober, and the more he reflected upon his adventure, the less could he conceive how such slight blows of his fist could have killed the man. the judge having heard the report of the watch, and viewed the corpse, which they had taken care to bring to his house, interrogated the christian merchant, who could not deny the crime, though he had not committed it. but the judge considering that little hump-back belonged to the sultan, for he was one of his buffoons, would not put the christian to death till he knew the sultan's pleasure. for this end he went to the palace, and acquainted the sultan with what had happened; and received this answer: "i have no mercy to show to a christian who kills a mussulmaun." upon this the judge ordered a stake to be prepared, and sent criers all over the city to proclaim that they were about to impale a christian for killing a mussulmaun. at length the merchant was brought to the place of execution; and the executioner was about to do his duty, when the sultan's purveyor pushed through the crowd, calling to him to stop for that the christian had not committed the murder, but he himself had done it. upon that, the officer who attended the execution began to question the purveyor, who told him every circumstance of his having killed the little hunchback, and how he had conveyed his corpse to the place where the christian merchant had found it. "you were about," added he, "to put to death an innocent person; for how can he be guilty of the death of a man who was dead before he touched him? it is enough for me to have killed a mussulmaun without loading my conscience with the death of a christian who is not guilty." the sultan of casgar's purveyor having publicly charged himself with the death of the little hunchbacked man, the officer could do no less than execute justice on the merchant. "let the christian go," said he to the executioner, "and impale this man in his stead, since it appears by his own confession that he is guilty." thereupon the executioner released the merchant, and seized the purveyor; but just as he was going to impale him, he heard the voice of the jewish doctor, earnestly intreating him to suspend the execution, and make room for him to approach. when he appeared before the judge, "my lord," said he, "this mussulmaun you are going to execute is not guilty. i am the criminal. last night a man and a woman, unknown to me, came to my door with a sick man; my maid went and opened it without a light, and received from them a piece of money with a commission to come and desire me, in their name, to step down and look at the patient. while she was delivering her message, they conveyed the sick person to the stair-head, and disappeared. i went, without staying till my servant had lighted a candle, and in the dark happened to stumble upon the sick person, and kick him down stairs. at length i saw he was dead, and that it was the crooked mussulmaun whose death you are now about to avenge. my wife and i took the corpse, and, after conveying it up to the roof of the purveyor, our next neighbour, whom you were going to put to death unjustly, let it down the chimney into his chamber. the purveyor finding it in his house, took the little man for a thief, and after beating him concluded he had killed him. but that it was not so you will be convinced by this my deposition; i am the sole author of the murder; and though it was committed undesignedly, i am resolved to expiate my crime, that i may not have to charge myself with the death of two mussulmauns." the chief justice being persuaded that the jewish doctor was the murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him and release the purveyor. accordingly the doctor was just going to be impaled, when the tailor appeared, crying to the executioner to hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make his confession to the chief judge. room being made, "my lord," said he, "you have narrowly escaped taking away the lives of three innocent persons; but if you will have the patience to hear me, i will discover to you the real murderer of the crook backed man. if his death is to be expiated by another, that must be mine. yesterday, towards the evening, as i was at work in my shop, and was disposed to be merry, the little hunch-back came to my door half-drunk, and sat down. he sung a little, and so i invited him to pass the evening at my house. he accepted the invitation and went in with me. we sat down to supper and i gave him a plate of fish; but in eating, a bone stuck in his throat, and though my wife and i did our utmost to relieve him, he died in a few minutes. his death afflicted us extremely, and for fear of being charged with it, we carried the corpse to the jewish doctor's house and knocked. the maid came and opened the door; i desired her to go up again and ask her master to come down and give his advice to a sick person whom we had brought along with us; and withal, to encourage him, i charged her to give him a piece of money, which i put into her hand. when she was gone, i carried the hunch-back up stairs, and laid him upon the uppermost step, and then my wife and i made the best of our way home. the doctor coming, threw the corpse down stairs, and concluded himself to be the author of his death. this being the case," continued he, "release the doctor, and let me die in his stead." the chief justice, and all the spectators, wondered at the strange events which had ensued upon the death of the little hunch-back. "let the jewish doctor go," said the judge, "and seize the tailor, since he confesses the crime. it is certain this history is very uncommon, and deserves to be recorded in letters of gold." the executioner having dismissed the doctor prepared to impale the tailor. while the executioner was making ready to impale the tailor, the sultan of casgar, wanting the company of his crooked jester, asked where he was; and one of his officers told him; "the hunch-back, sir, whom you inquire after, got drunk last night, and contrary to his custom slipped out of the palace, and went strolling about the city, and this morning was found dead. a man was brought before the chief justice, and charged with the murder of him; but when he was going to be impaled, up came a man, and after him another, who took the charge upon themselves and cleared one another, and the judge is now examining a third, who gives himself out for the real author of the murder." upon this intelligence the sultan of casgar sent an officer to the place of execution. "go," said he, "with all expedition, and tell the judge to bring the accused persons before me immediately and bring also the corpse of poor hunch-back, that i may see him once more." accordingly the officer went, and happened to arrive at the place of execution at the very time that the executioner had laid his hands upon the tailor. he called aloud to him to suspend the execution. the executioner knowing the officer, did not dare to proceed, but released the tailor; and then the officer acquainted the judge with the sultan's pleasure. the judge obeyed, and went directly to the palace accompanied by the tailor, the jewish doctor, and the christian merchant; and made four of his men carry the hunch-backed corpse along with him. when they appeared in the sultan's presence, the judge threw himself at the prince's feet and after recovering himself, gave him a faithful relation of what he knew of the story of the hunch-backed man. the story appeared so extraordinary to the sultan, that he ordered his own historian to write it down with all its circumstances. then addressing himself to the audience; "did you ever hear," said he, "such a surprising event as has happened on the account of my little crooked buffoon?" the christian merchant, after falling down, and touching the earth with his forehead, spoke as follows: "most puissant monarch, i know a story yet more astonishing than this; if your majesty will give me leave, i will relate it. the circumstances are such, that no one can hear them without emotion." "well," said the sultan, "you have my permission:" and the merchant went on as follows: the story told by the christian merchant. sir, before i commence the recital of the story you have permitted me to relate, i beg leave to acquaint you, that i have not the honour to be born in any part of your majesty's empire. i am a stranger, born at cairo in egypt, a copt by nation, and by religion a christian. my father was a broker, and realized considerable property, which he left me at his death. i followed his example, and pursued the same employment. while i was standing in the public inn frequented by the corn merchants, there came up to me a handsome young man, well dressed, and mounted on an ass. he saluted me, and pulling out a handkerchief, in which he had a sample of sesame or turkey corn, asked me how much a bushel of such sesame would fetch. i examined the corn the young man shewed me, and told him it was worth a hundred dirhems of silver per bushel. "pray," said he, "look out for some merchant to take it at that price, and come to me at the victory gate, where you will see a khan at a distance from the houses." so saying, he left me the sample, and i shewed it to several merchants, who told me, that they would take as much as i could spare at a hundred and ten dirhems per bushel, so that i reckoned on getting ten dirhems per bushel for my commission. full of the expectation of this profit, i went to the victory gate, where i found the young merchant expecting me, and he took me into his granary, which was full of sesame. he had then a hundred and fifty bushels, which i measured out, and having carried them off upon asses, sold them for five thousand dirhems of silver. "out of this sum," said the young man, "there are five hundred dirhems coming to you, at the rate of ten dirhems per bushel. this i give you; and as for the rest which pertains to me, take it out of the merchants' hands, and keep it till i call or send for it, for i have no occasion for it at present." i answered, it should be ready for him whenever he pleased to demand it; and so, kissing his hand, took leave of him, with a grateful sense of his generosity. a month passed before he came near me: then he asked for the sum he had committed to my trust. i told him it was ready, and should be counted to him immediately. he was mounted on his ass, and i desired him to alight, and do me the honour to eat a mouthful with me before he received his money. "no," said he, "i cannot alight at present, i have urgent business that obliges me to be at a place just by; but i will return this way, and then take the money which i desired you would have in readiness." this said, he disappeared, and i still expected his return, but it was a full month before i saw him again. "this young merchant," thought i, "has great confidence in me, leaving so great a sum in my hands without knowing me; any other man would have been afraid i should have run away with it." to be short, he came again at the end of the third month, and was still mounted on his ass, but more handsomely dressed than before. as soon as i saw the young man, i intreated him to alight, and asked him if he would not take his money? "there is no hurry," said he, with a pleasant easy air, "i know it is in good hands; i will come and take it when my other money is all gone. adieu," continued he, "i will return towards the end of the week." with that he struck the ass, and soon disappeared. "well," thought i, "he says he will see me towards the end of the week, but he may not perhaps return for a great while; i will make the most i can of his money, which may bring me much profit." as it happened, i was not deceived in my conjecture; for it was a full year before i saw my young merchant again. he then appeared as richly appareled as before, but seemed to have something on his spirits. i asked him to do me the honour to walk into my house. "for this time," replied he, "i will: but on this condition, that you shall put yourself to no extraordinary charge on my account." "i will do just as you please," said i, "only do me the favour to alight and walk in." accordingly he complied. i gave orders to have a repast prepared, and while this was doing, we entered into conversation. all things being ready, we sat down. i observed he took the first mouthful with his left hand, and not with the right. i was at a loss what to think of this. "ever since i have known this young man," said i inwardly, "he has always appeared very polite; is it possible he can do this out of contempt? what can be the reason he does not use his right hand?" after we had done eating, and every thing was taken away, we sat upon a sofa, and i presented him with a lozenge by way of dainty; but still he took it with his left hand. i said to him, "pardon, sir, the liberty i take in asking you what reason you have for not using your right hand? perhaps you have some complaint in that hand." instead of answering, he heaved a deep sigh, and pulling out his right arm, which he had hitherto kept under his vest, shewed me, to my great astonishment, that it had been cut off. "doubtless you were displeased," said he, "to see me feed myself with the left hand; but i leave you to judge, whether it was in my power to do otherwise." "may one ask," said i, "by what mischance you lost your right hand?" upon that he burst into tears, and after wiping his eyes, gave me the following relation. you must know that i am a native of bagdad, the son of a rich merchant, the most eminent in that city for rank and opulence. i had scarcely launched into the world, when falling into the company of travellers, and hearing their wonderful accounts of egypt, especially of grand cairo, i was interested by their discourse, and felt a strong desire to travel. but my father was then alive, and would not grant me permission. at length he died; and being then my own master, i resolved to take a journey to cairo. i laid out a large sum of money in the purchase of several sorts of fine stuffs of bagdad and moussol and departed. arriving at cairo, i went to the khan, called the khan of mesrour, and there took lodgings, with a warehouse for my bales, which i had brought with me upon camels. this done, i retired to my chamber to rest, after the fatigue of my journey, and gave some money to my servants, with orders to buy some provisions and dress them. after i had eaten, i went to view the castle, some mosques, the public squares, and the other most remarkable places. next day i dressed myself, and ordered some of the finest and richest of my bales to be selected and carried by my slaves to the circassian bazaar, whither i followed. i had no sooner made my appearance, than i was surrounded with brokers and criers who had heard of my arrival. i gave patterns of my stuffs to several of the criers, who shewed them all over the bazaar; but none of the merchants offered near so much as prime cost and carriage. this vexed me, and the criers observing i was dissatisfied, said, "if you will take our advice, we will put you in a way to sell your goods without loss." the brokers and the criers, having thus promised to put me in a way of losing nothing by my goods, i asked them what course they would have me pursue. "divide your goods," said they, "among several merchants, they will sell them by retail; and twice a week, that is on mondays and thursdays, you may receive what money they may have taken. by this means, instead of losing, you will turn your goods to advantage, and the merchants will gain by you. in the mean while you will have time to take your pleasure about the town or go upon the nile." i took their advice, and conducted them to my warehouse; from whence i brought all my goods to the bazaar, and there divided them among the merchants whom they represented as most reputable and able to pay; and the merchants gave me a formal receipt before witnesses, stipulating that i should not making any demands upon them for the first month. having thus regulated my affairs, my mind was occupied with ordinary pleasures. i contracted acquaintance with divers persons of nearly the same age with myself, which made the time pass agreeably. after the first month had expired, i began to visit my merchants twice a week, taking with me a public officer to inspect their books of sale, and a banker to see that they paid me in good money, and to regulate the value of the several coins. every pay-day, i had a good sum of money to carry home to my lodging at the khan of mesrour. i went on other days to pass the morning sometimes at one merchant's house, and sometimes at that of another. in short, i amused myself in conversing with them, and seeing what passed in the bazaar. one monday, as i was sitting in a merchant's shop, whose name was buddir ad deen, a lady of quality, as might easily be perceived by her air, her apparel, and by a well-dressed slave attending her, came into the shop, and sat down by me. her external appearance, joined to a natural grace that shone in all her actions, prepossessed me in her favour, and inspired me with a desire to be better acquainted with her. i know not whether she observed that i took pleasure in gazing on her, and whether this attention on my part was not agreeable to her; but she let down the crepe that hung over the muslin which covered her face, and gave me the opportunity of seeing her large black eyes; which perfectly charmed me. in fine, she inflamed my love to the height by the agreeable sound of her voice, her graceful carriage in saluting the merchant, and asking him how he did since she had seen him last. after conversing with him some time upon indifferent subjects, she gave him to understand that she wanted a particular kind of stuff with a gold ground; that she came to his shop, as affording the best choice of any in all the bazaar; and that if he had any such as she asked for, he would oblige her in showing them. buddir ad deen produced several pieces, one of which she pitched upon, and he asked for it eleven hundred dirhems of silver. "i will," said she, "give you your price for it, but i have not money enough about me; so i hope you will give me credit till to-morrow, and in the mean time allow me to carry home the stuff. i shall not fail," added she, "to send you tomorrow the eleven hundred dirhems." "madam," said buddir ad deen, "i would give you credit with all my heart if the stuff were mine; but it belongs to the young man you see here, and this is the day on which we settle our accounts." "why," said the lady in surprise, "do you use me so? am not i a customer to your shop and when i have bought of you, and carried home the things without paying ready money for them, did i in any instance fail to send you your money next morning?" "madam," said the merchant, "all this is true, but this very day i have occasion for the money." "there," said she, throwing the stuff to him, "take your stuff, i care not for you nor any of the merchants. you are all alike; you respect no one." as she spoke, she rose up in anger, and walked out. when i saw that the lady walked away, i felt interested on her behalf, and called her back, saying, "madam, do me the favour to return, perhaps i can find a way to satisfy you both." she returned, saying, it was on my account that she complied. "buddir ad deen," said i to the merchant, "what is the price you must have for this stuff that belongs to me?" "i must have," replied he, "eleven hundred dirhems, i cannot take less." "give it to the lady then," said i, "let her take it home with her; i allow a hundred dirhems profit to yourself, and shall now write you a note, empowering you to deduct that sum upon the produce of the other goods you have of mine." in fine, i wrote, signed, and gave him the note, and then delivered the stuff to the lady. "madam," said i, "you may take the stuff with you, and as for the money, you may either send it to-morrow or the next day; or, if you will, accept it as a present from me." "pardon me," returned she, "i mean no such thing. you treat me with so much politeness, that i should be unworthy to appear in the world again, were i to omit making you my best acknowledgments. may god reward you, by an increase of your fortune; may you live many years after i am dead; may the gate of paradise be open to you when you remove to the other world, and may all the city proclaim your generosity." these words inspired me with some assurance. "madam," i replied, "i desire no other reward for the service i have done you than the happiness of seeing your face; which will repay me with interest." i had no sooner spoken than she turned towards me, took off her veil, and discovered to me a wonderful beauty. i became speechless with admiration. i could have gazed upon her for ever; but fearing any one should observe her, she quickly covered her face, and letting down the crepe, took up the piece of stuff, and went away, leaving me in a very different state of mind from that in which i had entered the shop. i continued for some time in great confusion and perplexity. before i took leave of the merchant, i asked him, if he knew the lady; "yes," said he, "she is the daughter of an emir." i went back to the khan of mesrour, and sat down to supper, but could not eat, neither could i shut my eyes all the night, which seemed the longest in my life. as soon as it was day i arose, in hopes of once more beholding the object that disturbed my repose: and to engage her affection, i dressed myself much richer than i had done the day before. i had but just reached buddir ad deen's shop, when i saw the lady coming in more magnificent apparel than before, and attended by her slave. when she entered, she did not regard the merchant, but addressing herself to me, said, "sir, you see i am punctual to my word. i am come for the express purpose of paying the sum you were so kind as to pass your word for yesterday, though you had no knowledge of me. such uncommon generosity i shall never forget." "madam," said i, "you had no occasion to be in such haste; i was well satisfied as to my money, and am sorry you should put yourself to so much trouble." "i had been very unjust," answered she, "if i had abused your generosity." with these words she put the money into my hand, and sat down by me. having this opportunity of conversing with her, i determined to improve it, and mentioned to her the love i had for her; but she rose and left me very abruptly, as if she had been angry with the declaration i had made. i followed her with my eyes as long as she continued in sight; then taking leave of the merchant walked out of the bazaar, without knowing where i went. i was musing on this adventure, when i felt somebody pulling me behind, and turning to see who it was, i was agreeably surprised to perceive it was the lady's slave. "my mistress," said she, "i mean the young lady you spoke to in the merchant's shop, wants to speak with you, if you please to give yourself the trouble to follow me." accordingly i followed her, and found her mistress sitting waiting for me in a banker's shop. she made me sit down by her, and spoke to this purpose. "do not be surprised, that i left you so abruptly. i thought it not proper, before that merchant, to give a favourable answer to the discovery you made of your affection for me. but to speak the truth, i was so far from being offended at it, that it gave me pleasure; and i account myself infinitely happy in having a man of your merit for my lover. i do not know what impression the first sight of me may have made on you, but i assure you, i had no sooner beheld you than i found my heart moved with the tenderest emotions of love. since yesterday i have done nothing but think of what you said to me; and my eagerness to seek you this morning may convince you of my regard." "madam," i replied, transported with love and joy, "nothing can be more agreeable to me than this declaration. no passion can exceed that with which i love you. my eyes were dazzled with so many charms, that my heart yielded without resistance." "let us not trifle away the time in needless discourse," said she, interrupting me; "make no doubt of your sincerity, and you shall quickly be convinced of mine. will you do me the honour to come to my residence? or if you will i will go to yours." "madam," i returned, "i am a stranger lodged in a khan, which is not the proper place for the reception of a lady of your quality. it is more proper, madam, that i should visit you at your house; have the goodness to tell me where it is." the lady consented; "come," said she, "on friday, which is the day after to-morrow, after noon-prayers, and ask for the house of abou schama, surnamed bercour, late master of the emirs; there you will find me." this said, we parted; and i passed the next day in great impatience. on friday i put on my richest apparel, and took fifty pieces of gold in my purse. i mounted an ass i had bespoken the day before, and set out, accompanied by the man who let me the ass. i directed the owner of the ass to inquire for the house i wanted; he found it, and conducted me thither. i paid him liberally, directing him to observe narrowly where he left me, and not to fail to return next morning with the ass, to carry me again to the khan of mesrour. i knocked at the door, and presently two little female slaves, white as snow, and neatly dressed came and opened it. "be pleased to come in, sir," said they, "our mistress expects you impatiently; these two days she has talked of nothing but you." i entered the court, and saw a pavilion raised seven steps, and surrounded with iron rails that parted it from a very pleasant garden. besides the trees which only embellished the place, and formed an agreeable shade, there was an infinite number of others loaded with all sorts of fruit. i was charmed with the warbling of a great number of birds, that joined their notes to the murmurings of a fountain, in the middle of a parterre enamelled with flowers. this fountain formed a very agreeable object; four large gilded dragons at the angles of the basin, which was of a square form, spouted out water clearer than rock-crystal. this delicious place gave me a charming idea of the conquest i had made. the two little slaves conducted me into a saloon magnificently furnished; and while one of them went to acquaint her mistress with my arrival, the other tarried with me, and pointed out to me the beauties of the hall. i did not wait long in the hall, ere the lady i loved appeared, adorned with pearls and diamonds; but the splendour of her eyes far outshone that of her jewels. her shape, which was now not disguised by the habit she wore in the city, appeared the most slender and delicate. i need not mention with what joy we met once more; it far exceeded all expression. when the first compliments were over, we sat down upon a sofa, and there conversed together with the highest satisfaction. we had the most delicious refreshments served up to us; and after eating, continued our conversation till night. we then had excellent wine brought up, and fruit adapted to promote drinking, and timed our cups to the sound of musical instruments, joined to the voices of the slaves. the lady of the house sung herself, and by her songs raised my passion to the height. in short, i passed the night in full enjoyment. next morning i slipped under the bolster of the bed the purse with the fifty pieces of gold i had brought with me, and took leave of the lady, who asked me when i would see her again. "madam," said i, "i give you my promise to return this night." she seemed to be transported with my answer, and conducting me to the door, conjured me at parting to be mindful of my promise. the same man who had carried me thither waited for me with his ass, which i mounted, and went directly to the khan; ordering the man to come to me again in the afternoon at a certain hour, to secure which, i deferred paying him till that time came. as soon as i arrived at my lodging, my first care was to order my people to buy a lamb, and several sorts of cakes, which i sent by a porter as a present to the lady. when that was done i attended to my business till the owner of the ass arrived. i then went along with him to the lady's house, and was received by her with as much joy as before, and entertained with equal magnificence. next morning i took leave, left her another purse with fifty pieces of gold, and returned to my khan. i continued to visit the lady every day, and to leave her every time a purse with fifty pieces of gold, till the merchants whom i employed to sell my goods, and whom i visited regularly twice a week, had paid me the whole amount of my goods and, in short, i came at last to be moneyless, and hopeless of having any more. in this forlorn condition i walked out of my lodging, not knowing what course to take, and by chance went towards the castle, where there was a great crowd to witness a spectacle given by the sultan of egypt. as soon as i came up, i wedged in among the crowd, and by chance happened to stand by a horseman well mounted and handsomely clothed, who had upon the pommel of his saddle a bag, half open, with a string of green silk hanging out of it. i clapped my hand to the bag, concluding the silk-twist might be the string of a purse within: in the mean time a porter, with a load of wood upon his back, passed by on the other side of the horse so near, that the rider was forced to turn his head towards him, to avoid being hurt, or having his clothes torn by the wood. in that moment the devil tempted me; i took the string in one hand, and with the other pulled out the purse so dexterously, that nobody perceived me. the purse was heavy, and i did not doubt but it contained gold or silver. as soon as the porter had passed, the horseman, who probably had some suspicion of what i had done while his head was turned, presently put his hand to his bag, and finding his purse was gone, gave me such a blow, that he knocked me down. this violence shocked all who saw it. some took hold of the horse's bridle to stop the gentleman, and asked him what reason he had to strike me, or how he came to treat a mussulmaun so rudely. "do not you trouble yourselves," said he briskly, "i had reason for what i did; this fellow is a thief." at these words i started up, and from my appearance every one took my part, and cried out he was a liar, for that it was incredible a young man such as i was should be guilty of so base an action: but while they were holding his horse by the bridle to favour my escape, unfortunately passed by the judge, who seeing such a crowd about the gentleman on horseback, came up and asked what the matter was. every body present reflected on the gentleman for treating me so unjustly upon the presence of robbery. the judge did not give ear to all that was said; but asked the cavalier if he suspected any body else beside me? the cavalier told him he did not, and gave his reasons why he believed his suspicions not to be groundless. upon this the judge ordered his followers to seize me, which they presently did; and finding the purse upon me, exposed it to the view of all the people. the disgrace was so great, i could not bear it, and i swooned away. in the mean time the judge called for the purse. when the judge had got the purse in his hand, he asked the horseman if it was his, and how much money it contained. the cavalier knew it to be his own, and assured the judge he had put twenty sequins into it. upon which the judge called me before him; "come, young man," said he, "confess the truth. was it you that took the gentleman's purse from him? do not wait for the torture to extort confession." then with downcast eyes, thinking that if i denied the fact, they, having found the purse upon me, would convict me of a lie, to avoid a double punishment i looked up and confessed my guilt. i had no sooner made the confession, than the judge called people to witness it, and ordered my hand to be cutoff. this sentence was immediately put in execution, to the great regret of all the spectators; nay, i observed, by the cavalier's countenance, that he was moved with pity as much as the rest. the judge would likewise have ordered my foot to be cut off, but i begged the cavalier to intercede for my pardon; which he did, and obtained it. when the judge was gone, the cavalier came up to me, and holding out the purse, said, "i see plainly that necessity drove you to an action so disgraceful and unworthy of such a young man as you appear. here, take that fatal purse; i freely give it you, and am heartily sorry for the misfortune you have undergone." having thus spoken, he went away. being very weak by loss of blood, some of the good people of the neighbourhood had the kindness to carry me into a house and give me a glass of cordial; they likewise dressed my arm, and wrapped up the dismembered hand in a cloth, which i carried away with me fastened to my girdle. had i returned to the khan of mesrour in this melancholy condition, i should not have found there such relief as i wanted; and to offer to go to the young lady was running a great hazard, it being likely she would not look upon me after being informed of my disgrace. i resolved, however, to put her to the trial; and to tire out the crowd that followed me, i turned down several by-streets, and at last arrived at the lady's house very weak, and so much fatigued, that i presently threw myself down upon a sofa, keeping my right arm under my garment, for i took great care to conceal my misfortune. in the mean time the lady, hearing of my arrival, and that i was not well, came to me in haste; and seeing me pale and dejected, said, "my dear love, what is the matter with you?" "madam," i replied, dissembling, "i have a violent pain in my head." the lady seemed to be much concerned, and asked me to sit down, for i had arisen to receive her. "tell me," said she, "how your illness was occasioned. the last time i had the pleasure to see you, you were very well. there must be something that you conceal from me, let me know what it is." i stood silent, and instead of an answer, tears trickled down my cheeks. "i cannot conceive," resumed she, "what it is that afflicts you. have i unthinkingly given you any occasion of uneasiness? or do you come on purpose to tell me you no longer love me?" "it is not that, madam," said i, heaving a deep sigh; "your unjust suspicion adds to my misfortune." i could not think of discovering to her the true cause. when night came, supper was brought, and she pressed me to eat; but considering i could only feed myself with my left hand, i begged to be excused upon the plea of having no appetite. "it will return," said she, "if you would but discover what you so obstinately conceal from me. your want of appetite, without doubt, is only owing to your irresolution." "alas! madam," returned i, "i find i must resolve at last." i had no sooner spoken, than she filled me a cup full of wine, and offering it to me, "drink that," said she, "it will give you courage." i reached out my left hand, and took the cup. when i had taken the cup in my hand, i redoubled my tears and sighs. "why do you sigh and weep so bitterly?" asked the lady; "and why do you take the cup with your left hand, rather than your right?" "ah! madam," i replied, "i beseech you excuse me; i have a swelling in my right hand." "let me see that swelling," said she; "i will open it." i desired to be excused, alleging it was not ripe enough for such an operation; and drank off the cup, which was very large. the fumes of the wine, joined to my weakness and weariness, set me asleep, and i slept very soundly till morning. in the mean time the lady, curious to know what ailed my right hand, lifted up my garment that covered it; and saw to her great astonishment that it was cut off, and that i had brought it along with me wrapped up in a cloth. she presently apprehended what was my reason for declining a discovery, notwithstanding all her pressing solicitation; and passed the night in the greatest uneasiness on account of my disgrace, which she concluded had been occasioned only by the love i bore to her. when i awoke, i discerned by her countenance that she was extremely grieved. however, that she might not increase my uneasiness she said not a word. she called for jelly-broth of fowl, which she had ordered to be prepared, and made me eat and drink to recruit my strength. after that, i offered to take leave of her; but she declared i should not go out of her doors. "though you tell me nothing of the matter," said she, "i am persuaded i am the cause of the misfortune that has befallen you. the grief that i feel on that account will soon end my days, but before i die, i must execute a design for your benefit." she had no sooner spoken, than she called for a judge and witnesses, and ordered a writing to be drawn up, putting me in possession of her whole property. after this was done, and every body dismissed, she opened a large trunk where lay all the purses i had given her from the commencement of our amour. "there they are all entire," said she; "i have not touched one of them. here is the key; take it, for all is yours." after i had returned her thanks for her generosity and goodness; "what i have done for you," said she, "is nothing; i shall not be satisfied unless i die, to show how much i love you." i conjured her, by all the powers of love, to relinquish such a fatal resolution. but all my remonstrances were ineffectual: she was so afflicted to see me have but one hand, that she sickened, and died after five or six weeks' illness. after mourning for her death as long as was decent, i took possession of all her property, a particular account of which she gave me before she died; and the corn you sold for me was part of it. "what i have now told you," said he, "will plead my excuse for eating with my left hand. i am highly obliged to you for the trouble you have given yourself on my account. i can never sufficiently recompense your fidelity. since i have still, thanks to god, a competent estate, notwithstanding i have spent a great deal, i beg you to accept of the sum now in your hand, as a present from me. i have besides a proposal to make to you. as i am obliged, on account of this fatal accident, to quit cairo, i am resolved never to return to it again. if you choose to accompany me, we will trade together as equal partners, and share the profits." i thanked the young man for the present he had made me, and i willingly embraced the proposal of travelling with him, assuring him, that his interest should always be as dear to me as my own. we fixed a day for our departure, and accordingly entered upon our travels. we passed through syria and mesopotamia, travelled over persia, and after stopping at several cities, came at last, sir, to your capital. some time after our arrival here, the young man having formed a design of returning to persia, and settling there, we balanced our accounts, and parted very good friends. he went from hence, and i, sir, continue here in your majesty's service. this is the story i had to relate. does not your majesty find it more surprising than that of the hunch-back buffoon? the sultan of casgar fell into a passion against the christian merchant. "thou art a presumptuous fellow," said he, "to tell me a story so little worth hearing, and then to compare it to that of my jester. canst thou flatter thyself so far as to believe that the trifling adventures of a young debauchee are more interesting than those of my jester? i will have you all four impaled, to revenge his death." hearing this, the purveyor prostrated himself at the sultan's feet. "sir," said he, "i humbly beseech your majesty to suspend your wrath, and hear my story; and if it appears to be more extraordinary than that of your jester, to pardon us." the sultan having granted his request, the purveyor began thus. the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor. sir, a person of quality invited me yesterday to his daughter's wedding. i went to his house in the evening at the hour appointed, and found there a large company of men of the law, ministers of justice, and others of the first rank in the city. after the ceremony was over, we partook of a splendid feast. among other dishes set upon the table, there was one seasoned with garlic, which was very delicious, and generally relished. we observed, however, that one of the guests did not touch it, though it stood just before him. we invited him to taste it, but he intreated us not to press him. "i will take good care," said he, "how i touch any dish that is seasoned with garlic; i have not yet forgotten what the tasting of such a dish once cost me." we requested him to inform us what the reason was of his aversion to garlic. but before he had time to answer, the master of the house exclaimed, "is it thus you honour my table? this dish is excellent, do not expect to be excused from eating of it; you must do me that favour as well as the rest." "sir," said the gentleman, who was a bagdad merchant, "i hope you do not think my refusal proceeds from any mistaken delicacy; if you insist on my compliance i will submit, but it must be on this condition, that after having eaten, i may, with your permission, wash my hands with alkali forty times, forty times more with ashes, and forty times again with soap. i hope you will not feel displeased at this stipulation, as i have made an oath never to taste garlic but on these terms." as the master of the house, continued the purveyor of the sultan of casgar, would not dispense with the merchant's partaking of the dish seasoned with garlic, he ordered his servants to provide a basin of water, together with some alkali, the ashes, and soap, that the merchant might wash as often as he pleased. after he had given these instructions, he addressed the merchant and said, "i hope you will now do as we do." the merchant, apparently displeased with the constraint put upon him, took up a bit, which he put to his mouth trembling, and ate with a reluctance that astonished us. but what surprised us yet more was, that he had no thumb; which none of us had observed before, though he had eaten of other dishes. "you have lost your thumb," said the master of the house. "this must have been occasioned by some extraordinary accident, a relation of which will be agreeable to the company." "sir," replied the merchant, "i have no thumb on either the right or the left hand." as he spoke he put out his left hand, and shewed us that what he said was true. "but this is not all," continued he: "i have no great toe on either of my feet: i was maimed in this manner by an unheard-of adventure, which i am willing to relate, if you will have the patience to hear me. the account will excite at once your astonishment and your pity. only allow me first to wash my hands." with this he rose from the table, and after washing his hands a hundred and twenty times, reseated himself, and proceeded with his narrative as follows. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, my father lived at bagdad, the place of my nativity, and was reputed one of the richest merchants in the city. but being a man addicted to his pleasures, and neglecting his private affairs, instead of leaving me an ample fortune, he died in such embarrassed circumstances, that i was reduced to the necessity of using all the economy possible to discharge the debts he had contracted. i at last, however, paid them all; and by care and good management my little fortune began to wear a smiling aspect. one morning, as i opened my shop, a lady mounted upon a mule, and attended by an eunuch and two slaves, stopped near my door, and with the assistance of the eunuch alighted. "madam," said the eunuch, "i told you you would be too early; you see there is no one yet in the bazaar: had you taken my advice, you might have saved yourself the trouble of waiting here." the lady looked and perceiving no shop open but mine, asked permission to sit in it till the other merchants arrived. with this request i of course readily complied. the lady took a seat in my shop, and observing there was no one in the bazaar but the eunuch and myself, uncovered her face to take the air. i had never beheld any thing so beautiful. i became instantly enamoured, and kept my eyes fixed upon her. i flattered myself that my attention was not unpleasant to her; for she allowed me time to view her deliberately, and only concealed her face so far as she thought necessary to avoid being observed. after she had again lowered her veil, she told me she wanted several sorts of the richest and finest stuffs, and asked me if i had them. "alas! madam," i replied, "i am but a young man just beginning the world; i have not capital sufficient for such extensive traffic. i am much mortified not to be able to accommodate you with the articles you want. but to save you the trouble of going from shop to shop, when the merchants arrive, i will, if you please, go and get those articles from them, and ascertain the lowest prices." she assented to this proposal, and entered into conversation with me, which i prolonged, making her believe the merchants that could furnish what she wanted were not yet come. i was not less charmed with her wit than i had been before with the beauty of her face; but was obliged to forego the pleasure of her conversation. i ran for the stuffs she wanted, and after she had fixed upon what she liked, we agreed for five thousand dirhems of coined silver; i wrapped up the stuffs in a small bundle, and gave it to the eunuch, who put it under his arm. she then rose and took leave. i followed her with my eyes till she had reached the bazaar gate, and even after she had remounted her mule. the lady had no sooner disappeared, than i perceived that love had led me to a serious oversight. it had so engrossed my thoughts, that i did not reflect that she went away without paying, and that i had not informed myself who she was, or where she resided. i soon felt sensible, however, that i was accountable for a large sum to the merchants, who, perhaps, would not have patience to wait for their money: i went to them, and made the best excuse i could, pretending that i knew the lady; and then returned home, equally affected with love, and with the burden of such a heavy debt. i had desired my creditors to wait eight days for their money: when this period had elapsed, they did not fail to dun me. i then intreated them to give me eight days more, to which they consented; but the next day i saw the lady enter the bazaar, mounted on her mule, with the same attendants as before, and exactly the same hour of the day. she came straight to my shop. "i have made you wait some time," said she, "but here is your money at last; carry it to the banker, and see that it is all good and right." the eunuch who carried the money went along with me to the banker, and we found it quite right. i returned, and had the happiness of conversing with the lady till all the shops of the bazaar were open. though we talked but of ordinary things, she gave them such a turn, that they appeared new and uncommon; and convinced me that i was not mistaken in admiring her wit at our first interview. as soon as the merchants had arrived and opened their shops, i carried to the respective owners the money due for their stuffs, and was readily intrusted with more, which the lady had desired to see. she chose some from these to the value of one thousand pieces of gold, and carried them away as before without paying; nay, without speaking a word, or informing me who she was. what distressed me was the consideration that while at this rate she risked nothing, she left me without any security against being made answerable for the goods in case she did not return. "she has paid me," thought i, "a considerable sum; but she leaves me responsible for a greater, surely she cannot be a cheat. the merchants do not know her, they will all come upon me." in short, my love was not so powerful as to stifle the uneasiness i felt, when i reflected upon the circumstances in which i was placed. a whole month passed before i heard any thing of the lady again; and during that time my alarm increased. the merchants were impatient for their money, and to satisfy them, i was going to sell off all i had, when one morning the lady returned with the same equipage as before. "take your weights," said she, "and weigh the gold i have brought you." these words dispelled my fear, and inflamed my love. before we counted the money, she asked me several questions, and particularly if i was married. i answered i never had been. then reaching out the gold to the eunuch, "let us have your interposition," said she, "to accommodate our matters." upon which the eunuch fell a laughing, and calling me aside, made me weigh the gold. while i was thus occupied, the eunuch whispered in my ear, "i know by your eyes you love this lady, and i am surprised that you have not the courage to disclose your passion. she loves you more ardently than you do her. do not imagine that she has any real occasion for your stuffs. she only makes this her presence to come here, because you have inspired her with a violent passion. it was for this reason she asked you if you were married. it will be your own fault, if you do not marry her." "it is true," i replied, "i have loved her since i first beheld her; but i durst not aspire to the happiness of thinking my attachment could meet her approbation. i am entirely hers, and shall not fail to retain a grateful sense of your good offices in this affair." i finished weighing the gold, and while i was putting it into the bag, the eunuch turned to the lady, and told her i was satisfied; that being the word they had agreed upon between themselves. presently after, the lady rose and took her leave; telling me she would send her eunuch to me, and that i had only to obey the directions he might give me in her name. i carried each of the merchants their money, and waited some days with impatience for the eunuch. at last he came. i received the eunuch very kindly, and inquired after his mistress's health. "you are," said he, "the happiest lover in the world; she is impatient to see you; and were she mistress of her own conduct, would not fail to come to you herself, and willingly pass in your society all the days of her life." "her noble mien and graceful carriage," i replied, "convinced me, that she was a lady beyond the common rank." "you have not erred in your judgment on that head," said the eunuch; "she is the favourite of zobeide the caliph's wife, who is the more affectionately attached to her from having brought her up from her infancy, and intrusts her with all her affairs. having a wish to marry, she has declared to her mistress that she has fixed her affections upon you, and has desired her consent. zobeide told her, she would not withhold her consent; but that she would see you first, in order to judge if she had made a good choice; in which case she meant herself to defray the expenses of the wedding. thus you see your felicity is certain; since you have pleased the favourite, you will be equally agreeable to the mistress, who seeks only to oblige her, and would by no means thwart her inclination. all you have to do is to come to the palace. i am sent hither to invite you." "my resolution is already formed," said i, "and i am ready to follow you whithersoever you please." "very well," said the eunuch; "but you know men are not allowed to enter the ladies' apartments in the palace, and you must be introduced with great secrecy. the favourite lady has contrived the matter well. on your side you must act your part discreetly; for if you do not, your life is at stake." i gave him repeated assurances punctually to perform whatever he might require. "then," said he, "in the evening, you must be at the mosque built by the caliph's lady on the bank of the tigris, and wait there till somebody comes to conduct you." to this i agreed; and after passing the day in great impatience, went in the evening to the prayer that is said an hour and a half after sun-set in the mosque, and remained there after all the people had departed. soon after i saw a boat making up to the mosque, the rowers of which were all eunuchs, who came on shore, put several large trunks into the mosque, and then retired. one of them stayed behind, whom i perceived to be the eunuch that had accompanied the lady, and had been with me that morning. i saw the lady also enter the mosque; and approaching her, told her i was ready to obey her orders. "we have no time to lose," said she; and opening one of the trunks, desired me to get into it, that being necessary both for her safety and mine. "fear nothing," added she, "leave the management of all to me." i considered with myself that i had gone too far to recede, and obeyed her orders; when she immediately locked the trunk. this done, the eunuch her confidant called the other eunuchs who had brought in the trunks, and ordered them to carry them on board again. the lady and the eunuch re-embarked, and the boatmen rowed to zobeide's apartment. in the meantime i reflected very seriously upon the danger to which i had exposed myself, and made vows and prayers, though it was then too late. the boat stopped at the palace-gate, and the trunks were carried into the apartment of the officer of the eunuchs, who keeps the key of the ladies' apartments, and suffers nothing to enter without a narrow inspection. the officer was then in bed, and it was necessary to call him up. the officer of the eunuchs was displeased at having his rest disturbed, and severely chid the favourite lady for coming home so late. "you shall not come off so easily as you think," said he: "not one of these trunks shall pass till i have opened it." at the same time he commanded the eunuchs to bring them before him, and open them one by one. the first they took was that wherein i lay, which put me into inexpressible fear. the favourite lady, who had the key, protested it should not be opened. "you know very well," said she, "i bring nothing hither but what is for the use of zobeide, your mistress and mine. this trunk is filled with rich goods, which i purchased from some merchants lately arrived, besides a number of bottles of zemzem water sent from mecca; and if any of these should happen to break, the goods will be spoiled, and you must answer for them; depend upon it, zobeide will resent your insolence." she insisted upon this in such peremptory terms, that the officer did not dare to open any of the trunks. "let them go," said he angrily; "you may take them away." upon this the door of the women's apartment was opened, and all the trunks were carried in. this had been scarcely accomplished, when i heard the people cry, "here is the caliph! here comes the caliph!" this put me in such alarm, that i wonder i did not die upon the spot; for as they announced, it proved to be the caliph. "what hast thou got in these trunks?" said he to the favourite. "some stuffs," she replied, "lately arrived, which the empress wishes to see." "open them," cried he, "and let me see them." she excused herself, alleging the stuffs were only proper for ladies, and that by opening them, his lady would be deprived of the pleasure of seeing them first. "i say open them," resumed the caliph; "i will see them." she still represented that her mistress would be angry with her, if she complied: "no, no," said he, "i will engage she shall not say a word to you. come, come, open them, and do not keep me waiting." it was necessary to obey, which gave me such alarm, that i tremble every time i recollect my situation. the caliph sat down; and the favourite ordered all the trunks to be brought before him one after another. she opened some of them; and to lengthen out the time, displayed the beauties of each particular stuff, thinking in this manner to tire out his patience; but her stratagem did not succeed. being as unwilling as myself to have the trunk where i lay opened, she left that to the last. when all the rest were viewed, "come," said the caliph, "let us see what is in that." i am at a loss to tell you whether i was dead or alive that moment; for i little thought of escaping such imminent danger. when zobeide's favourite saw that the caliph persisted in having this trunk opened: "as for this," said she, "your majesty will please to dispense with the opening of it; there are some things in it which i cannot shew you without your lady be present." "well, well," said the caliph, "since that is the case, i am satisfied; order the trunks to be carried away." the words were no sooner spoken than they were moved into her chamber, where i began to revive again. as soon as the eunuchs, who had brought them, were gone, she opened the trunk in which i was confined. "come out," said she; "go up these stairs that lead to an upper room, and wait there till i come to you." the door, which led to the stairs, she locked after me; and that was no sooner done, than the caliph came and sat down on the very trunk which had been my prison. the occasion of this visit did not respect me. he wished to question the lady about what she had seen or heard in the city. so they conversed together some time; he then left her, and retired to his apartment. when she found the coast clear, she came to the chamber where i lay concealed, and made many apologies for the alarms she had given me. "my uneasiness," said she, "was no less than yours; you cannot well doubt of that, since i have run the same risk out of love to you. perhaps another person in my situation would not, upon so delicate an occasion, have had the presence of mind to manage so difficult a business with so much dexterity; nothing less than the love i had for you could have inspired me with courage to do what i have. but come, take heart, the danger is now over." after much tender conversation, she told me it was time to go to rest, and that she would not fail to introduce me to zobeide her mistress, some hour on the morrow, "which will be very easy," added she; "for the caliph never sees her but at night." encouraged by these words, i slept very well, or if my sleep was interrupted, it was by agreeable disquietudes, caused by the hopes of possessing a lady blest with so much wit and beauty. the next day, before i was introduced to zobeide, her favourite instructed me how to conduct myself, mentioning what questions she would probably put to me, and dictating the answers i was to return. she then carried me into a very magnificent and richly furnished hall. i had no sooner entered, than twenty female slaves, advanced in age, dressed in rich and uniform habits, came out of zobeide's apartment, and placed themselves before the throne in two equal rows; they were followed by twenty other younger ladies, clothed after the same fashion, only their habits appeared somewhat gayer. in the middle of these appeared zobeide with a majestic air, and so laden with jewels, that she could scarcely walk. she ascended the throne, and the favourite lady, who had accompanied her, stood just by her right hand; the other ladies, who were slaves, being placed at some distance on each side of the throne. as soon as the caliph's lady was seated, the slaves who came in first made a sign for me to approach. i advanced between the two rows they had formed, and prostrated myself upon the carpet that was under the princess's feet. she ordered me to rise, did me the honour to ask my name, my family, and the state of my fortune; to all which i gave her satisfactory answers, as i perceived, not only by her countenance, but by her words. "i am glad," said she, "that my daughter," (so she used to call the favourite lady,) "for i look upon her as such after the care i have take of her education, has made this choice; i approve of it, and consent to your marriage. i will myself give orders for having it solemnized; but i wish my daughter to remain with me ten days before the solemnity; in that time i will speak to the caliph, and obtain his consent: mean while do you remain here; you shall be taken care of." pursuant to the commands of the caliph's lady, i remained ten days in the women's apartments, and during that time was deprived of the pleasure of seeing the favourite lady: but was so well used by her orders, that i had no reason to be dissatisfied. zobeide told the caliph her resolution of marrying the favourite lady; and the caliph leaving to her the liberty to act in the business as she thought proper, granted the favourite a considerable sum by way of settlement. when the ten days were expired, zobeide ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn up and brought to her, and the necessary preparations being made for the solemnity, the musicians and the dancers, both male and female, were called in, and there were great rejoicings in the palace for nine days. the tenth day being appointed for the last ceremony of the marriage, the favourite lady was conducted to a bath, and i to another. at night i had all manner of dishes served up to me, and among others, one seasoned with garlic, such as you have now forced me to eat. this i liked so well, that i scarcely touched any of the other dishes. but to my misfortune, when i rose from table, instead of washing my hands well, i only wiped them; a piece of negligence of which i had never before been guilty. as it was then night, the whole apartment of the ladies was lighted up so as to equal the brightness of day. nothing was to be heard through the palace but musical instruments, dances, and acclamations of joy. my bride and i were introduced into a great hall, where we were placed upon two thrones. the women who attended her made her robe herself several times, according to the usual custom on wedding days; and they shewed her to me every time she changed her habit. all these ceremonies being over, we were conducted to the nuptial chamber: as soon as the company retired, i approached my wife; but instead of returning my transports, she pushed me away, and cried out, upon which all the ladies of the apartment came running in to inquire the cause: and for my own part, i was so thunderstruck, that i stood like a statue, without the power of even asking what she meant. "dear sister," said they to her, "what has happened since we left you? let us know, that we may try to relieve you." "take," said she, "take that vile fellow out of my sight." "why, madam?" i asked, "wherein have i deserved your displeasure?" "you are a villain," said she in a furious passion, "to eat garlic, and not wash your hands! do you think i would suffer such a polluted wretch to poison me? down with him, down with him on the ground," continued she, addressing herself to the ladies, "and bring me a bastinado." they immediately did as they were desired; and while some held my hands, and others my feet, my wife, who was presently furnished with a weapon, laid on me as long as she could stand. she then said to the ladies, "take him, send him to the judge, and let the hand be cut off with which he fed upon the garlic dish." "alas!" cried i, "must i be beaten unmercifully, and, to complete my affliction, have my hand cut off, for partaking of a dish seasoned with garlic, and forgetting to wash my hands? what proportion is there between the punishment and the crime? curse on the dish, on the cook who dressed it, and on him who served it up." all the ladies who had seen me receive the thousand strokes, took pity on me, when they heard the cutting off of my hand mentioned. "dear madam, dear sister," said they to the favourite lady, "you carry your resentment too far. we own he is a man quite ignorant of the world, of your quality, and the respect that is due to you: but we beseech you to overlook and pardon his fault." "i have not received adequate satisfaction," said she; "i will teach him to know the world; i will make him bear sensible marks of his impertinence, and be cautious hereafter how he tastes a dish seasoned with garlic without washing his hands." they renewed their solicitations, fell down at her feet, and kissing her fair hands, said, "good madam, moderate your anger, and grant us the favour we supplicate." she made no reply, but got up, and after uttering a thousand reproaches against me, walked out of the chamber: all the ladies followed her, leaving me in inconceivable affliction. i continued thus ten days, without seeing any body but an old female slave that brought me victuals. i asked her what was become of the favourite lady. "she is sick," said the old woman; "she is sick of the poisoned smell with which you infected her. why did you not take care to wash your hands after eating of that cursed dish?" "is it possible," thought i, "that these ladies can be so nice, and so vindictive for such a trifling fault!" i loved my wife notwithstanding all her cruelty, and could not help pitying her. one day the old woman told me my spouse was recovered, and gone to bathe, and would come to see me the next day. "so," said she, "i would have you call up your patience, and endeavour to accommodate yourself to her humour. for she is in other respects a woman of good sense and discretion, and beloved by all the ladies about the court of our respected mistress zobeide." my wife accordingly came on the following evening, and accosted me thus: "you perceive that i must possess much tenderness to you, after the affront you have offered me: but still i cannot be reconciled till i have punished you according to your demerit, in not washing your hands after eating of the garlic dish." she then called the ladies, who, by her order, threw me upon the ground; and after binding me fast, she had the barbarity to cut off my thumbs and great toes herself, with a razor. one of the ladies applied a certain root to staunch the blood; but by bleeding and by the pain, i swooned away. when i came to myself, they gave me wine to drink, to recruit my strength. "ah! madam," said i to my wife, "if ever i again eat of a dish with garlic in it, i solemnly swear to wash my hands a hundred and twenty times with alkali, with ashes, and with soap." "well," replied she, "upon that condition i am willing to forget what is past, and live with you as my husband." "this," continued the bagdad merchant, addressing himself to the company, "is the reason why i refused to eat of the dish seasoned with what is now on the table." the ladies applied to my wounds not only the root i mentioned, but likewise some balsam of mecca, which they were well assured was not adulterated, because they had it out of the caliph's own dispensatory. by virtue of that admirable balsam, i was in a few days perfectly cured, and my wife and i lived together as agreeably as if i had never eaten of the garlic dish. but having been all my lifetime used to enjoy my liberty, i grew weary of being confined to the caliph's palace; yet i said nothing to my wife on the subject, for fear of displeasing her. however, she suspected my feelings; and eagerly wished for liberty herself, for it was gratitude alone that made her continue with zobeide. she represented to her mistress in such lively terms the constraint i was under, in not living in the city with people of my own rank, as i had always done, that the good princess chose rather to deprive herself of the pleasure of having her favourite about her than not to grant what we both equally desired. a month after our marriage, my wife came into my room with several eunuchs, each carrying a bag of silver. when the eunuchs were gone; "you never told me," said she, "that you were uneasy in being confined to court; but i perceived it, and have happily found means to make you contented. my mistress zobeide gives us permission to quit the palace; and here are fifty thousand sequins, of which she has made us a present, in order to enable us to live comfortably in the city. take ten thousand of them, and go and buy us a house." i quickly found a house for the money, and after furnishing it richly, we went to reside in it, kept a great many slaves of both sexes, and made a good figure. we thus began to live in a very agreeable manner: but my felicity was of short continuance; for at the end of a year my wife fell sick and died. i might have married again, and lived honourably at bagdad; but curiosity to see the world put me upon another plan. i sold my house, and after purchasing several kinds of merchandize, went with a caravan to persia; from persia i travelled to samarcand, and from thence to this city. "this," said the purveyor to the sultan of casgar, "is the story that the bagdad merchant related in a company where i was yesterday." "this story," said the sultan, "has something in it extraordinary; but it does not come near that of the little hunch-back." the jewish physician prostrated himself before the sultan's throne, and addressed the prince in the following manner: "sir, if you will be so good as to hear me, i flatter myself you will be pleased with a story i have to tell you." "well spoken," said the sultan; "but if it be not more surprising than that of little hunch-back, you must not expect to live." the jewish physician, finding the sultan of casgar disposed to hear him, gave the following relation. the story told by the jewish physician. when i was studying physic at damascus, and was just beginning to practise that noble profession with some reputation, a slave called me to see a patient in the governor of the city's family. accordingly i went, and was conducted into a room, where i found a very handsome young man, much dejected by his disorder. i saluted him, and sat down by him; but he made no return to my compliments, only a sign with his eyes that he heard me, and thanked me. "pray, sir," said i, "give me your hand, that i may feel your pulse." but instead of stretching out his right, he gave me his left hand, at which i was extremely surprised. however, i felt his pulse, wrote him a prescription, and took leave. i continued my visits for nine days, and every time i felt his pulse, he still gave me his left hand. on the tenth day he seemed to be so far recovered, that i only deemed it necessary to prescribe bathing to him. the governor of damascus, who was by, in testimony of his satisfaction with my service, invested me with a very rich robe, saying, he had appointed me a physician of the city hospital, and physician in ordinary to his house, where i might eat at his table when i pleased. the young man likewise shewed me many civilities, and asked me to accompany him to the bath. accordingly we went together, and when his attendants had undressed him, i perceived he wanted the right hand, and that it had not long been cut off, which had been the occasion of his disorder, though concealed from me; for while the people about him were applying proper remedies externally, they had called me to prevent the ill consequence of the fever which was on him. i was much surprised and concerned on seeing his misfortune; which he observed by my countenance. "doctor," cried he, "do not be astonished that my hand is cut off; some day or other i will tell you the cause; and in that relation you will hear very surprising adventures." after we had returned from the bath, we sat down to a collation; and he asked me if it would be any prejudice to his health if he went and took a walk out of town in the governor's garden? i made answer, that the air would be of service to him. "then," said he, "if you will give me your company, i will recount to you my history." i replied i was at his command for all that day. upon which he presently called his servants, and we went to the governor's garden. having taken two or three turns there, we seated ourselves on a carpet that his servants had spread under a tree, which gave a pleasant shade. the young man then gave me his history in the following terms: i was born at moussol, of one of the most considerable families in the city. my father was the eldest of ten brothers, who were all alive and married when my grandfather died. all the brothers were childless, except my father; and he had no child but me. he took particular care of my education; and made me learn every thing proper for my rank. when i was grown up, and began to enter into the world, i happened one friday to be at noon-prayers with my father and my uncles in the great mosque of moussol. after prayers were over, the rest of the company going away, my father and my uncles continued sitting upon the best carpet in the mosque; and i sat down by them. they discoursed of several things, but the conversation fell insensibly, i know not how, upon the subject of travelling. they extolled the beauties and peculiar rarities of some kingdoms, and of their principal cities. but one of my uncles said, that according to the uniform report of an infinite number of voyagers, there was not in the world a pleasanter country than egypt, on account of the nile; and the description he gave infused into me such high admiration, that from that moment i had a desire to travel thither. whatever my other uncles said, by way of preference to bagdad and the tigris, in calling bagdad the residence of the mussulmaun religion, and the metropolis of all the cities of the earth, made no impression upon me. my father joined in opinion with those of his brothers who had spoken in favour of egypt; which filled me with joy. "say what you will," said he, "the man that has not seen egypt has not seen the greatest rarity in the world. all the land there is golden; i mean, it is so fertile, that it enriches its inhabitants. all the women of that country charm you by their beauty and their agreeable carriage. if you speak of the nile, where is there a more wonderful river? what water was ever lighter or more delicious? the very slime it carries along in its overflowing fattens the fields, which produce a thousand times more than other countries that are cultivated with the greatest labour. observe what a poet said of the egyptians, when he was obliged to depart from egypt: 'your nile loads you with blessings every day; it is for you only that it runs from such a distance. alas! in removing from you, my tears will flow as abundantly as its waters; you are to continue in the enjoyment of its sweetnesses, while i am condemned to deprive myself of them against my will.' "if you look," added my father, "towards the island that is formed by the two greatest branches of the nile, what variety of verdure! what enamel of all sorts of flowers! what a prodigious number of cities, villages, canals, and a thousand other agreeable objects! if you turn your eyes on the other side, up towards ethiopia, how many other subjects of admiration! i cannot compare the verdure of so many plains, watered by the different canals of the island, better than to brilliant emeralds set in silver. is not grand cairo the largest, the most populous, and the richest city in the world? what a number of magnificent edifices both public and private! if you view the pyramids, you will be filled with astonishment at the sight of the masses of stone of an enormous thickness, which rear their heads to the skies! you will be obliged to confess, that the pharaohs, who employed such riches, and so many men in building them, must have surpassed in magnificence and invention all the monarchs who have appeared since, not only in egypt, but in all the world, for having left monuments so worthy of their memory: monuments so ancient, that the learned cannot agree upon the date of their erection; yet such as will last to the end of time. i pass over in silence the maritime cities of the kingdom of egypt, such as damietta, rosetta, and alexandria, where nations come for various sorts of grain, cloth, and an infinite number of commodities calculated for accommodation and delight. i speak of what i know; for i spent some years there in my youth, which i shall always reckon the most agreeable part of my life." my uncles could make no reply, and assented to all my father had said of the nile, of cairo, and of the whole kingdom of egypt. my imagination was so full of these subjects, i could not sleep that night. soon after, my uncles declared how much they were struck with my father's account. they made a proposal to him, that they should travel all together into egypt. to this he assented; and being rich merchants, they resolved to carry with them such commodities as were likely to suit the market. when i found that they were making preparations for their departure, i went to my father, and begged of him, with tears in my eyes, that he would suffer me to make one of the party, and allow me some stock of goods to trade with on my own account. "you are too young," said he, "to travel into egypt; the fatigue is too great for you; and, besides, i am sure you will come off a loser in your traffic." these words, however, did not suppress my eager desire to travel. i made use of my uncles' interest with my father, who at last granted me permission to go as far as damascus, where they were to leave me, till they had travelled through egypt. "the city of damascus," said my father, "may likewise glory in its beauties, and my son must be content with leave to go so far." though my curiosity to see egypt was very pressing, i considered he was my father, and submitted to his will. i set out from moussol in company with him and my uncles. we travelled through mesopotamia, passed the euphrates, and arrived at aleppo, where we stayed some days. from thence we went to damascus, the first sight of which struck me with agreeable surprise we lodged all together in one khan; and i had the view of a city that was large, populous, full of handsome people, and well fortified. we employed some days in walking up and down the delicious gardens that surrounded it; and we all agreed that damascus was justly said to be seated in a paradise. at last my uncles thought of pursuing their journey; but took care, before they went, to sell my goods so advantageously for me, that i gained by them five hundred per cent. this sale brought me a sum so considerable, as to fill me with delight. my father and my uncles left me in damascus, and pursued their journey. after their departure, i used great caution not to lay out my money idly. but at the same time i took a stately house, built of marble, adorned with paintings of gold, silver foliage, and a garden with fine water-works. i furnished it, not so richly indeed as the magnificence of the place deserved, but at least handsomely enough for a young man of my rank. it formerly belonged to one of the principal lords of the city; but was then the property of a rich jewel-merchant, to whom i paid for it only two sherifs a month. i had a number of domestics, and lived honourably; sometimes i gave entertainments to such people as i had made an acquaintance with, and sometimes was treated by them. thus did i spend my time at damascus, waiting for my father's return; no passion disturbed my repose, and my only employment was conversing with people of credit. one day, as i sat taking the cool air at my gate, a very handsome, well-dressed lady came to me, and asked if i did not sell stuffs? she had no sooner spoken the words, than she went into my house. when i saw that the lady had entered the house, i rose, and having shut the gate, conducted into a hall, and prayed her to sit down. "madam," said i, "i have had stuffs fit to be strewn to you, but at present, i am sorry to say, i have none." she removed the veil from her face, and discovered such beauty as affected me with emotions i had never felt before. "i have no occasion for stuffs," replied she, "i only come to see you, and, if you please, to pass the evening in your company; all i ask of you is a light collation." transported with joy, i ordered the servants to bring us several sorts of fruit, and some bottles of wine. these being speedily served, we ate, drank, and made merry till midnight. in short, i had not before passed a night so agreeably as this. next morning i would have put ten sherifs into the lady's hands, but she drew back instantly. "i am not come to see you," said she, "from interested motives; you therefore do me wrong. so far from receiving money from you, i must insist on your taking some from me, or else i will see you no more." in speaking this, she put her hand into her purse, took out ten sherifs, and forced me to take them, saying, "you may expect me three days hence after sun-set. she then took leave of me, and i felt that when she went she carried my heart along with her." she did not fail to return at the appointed hour three days after; and i received her with all the joy of a person who waited impatiently for her arrival. the evening and the night we spent as before; and next day at parting she promised to return the third day after. she did not, however, leave me without forcing me to take ten sherifs more. she returned a third time; and at that interview, when we were both warm with wine, she spoke thus: "my dear love, what do you think of me? am i not handsome and agreeable?" "madam," i replied, "i think this an unnecessary question: the love which i shew you ought to persuade you that i admire you; i am charmed to see and to possess you. you are my queen, my sultaness; in you lies all the felicity of my life." "ah!" returned she, "i am sure you would speak otherwise, if you saw a certain lady of my acquaintance, who is younger and handsomer than i am. she is of such a pleasant lively temper, that she would make the most melancholy people merry: i must bring her hither; i spoke of you to her, and from the account i have given of you she is dying with desire to see you. she intreated me to procure her that pleasure, but i did not dare to promise her without speaking to you beforehand." "madam," said i, "do what you please; but whatever you may say of your friend, i defy all her charms to tear my heart from you, to whom it is so inviolably attached, that nothing can disengage it." "be not too positive," returned she; "i now tell you, i am about to put your heart to a severe trial." we continued together all night, and next morning at parting, instead of ten sherifs she gave me fifteen, which i was forced to accept. "remember," said she, "that in two days' time you are to have a new guest; pray take care to give her a good reception: we will come at the usual hour." i had my hall put in great order, and a handsome collation prepared against they came. i waited for the two ladies with impatience and at last they arrived at the close of the day. they both unveiled, and as i had been surprised with the beauty of the first, i had reason to be much more so when i saw her friend. she had regular features, an elegant person, and such sparkling eyes, that i could hardly bear their splendour. i thanked her for the honour she did me, and entreated her to excuse me if i did not give her the reception she deserved. "no compliments," replied she; "it should be my part to make them to you, for allowing my friend to bring me hither. but since you are pleased to suffer it, let us lay aside all ceremony, and think only of amusing ourselves." i had given orders, as soon as the ladies arrived, to have the collation served up, and we soon sat down to our entertainment. i placed myself opposite the stranger, who never ceased looking upon me with a smiling countenance. i could not resist her conquering eyes, and she made herself mistress of my heart, without opposition. but while she inspired me with a flame, she caught it herself; and so far from appearing to be under any constraint, she conversed in very free and lively language. the other lady, who observed us, did nothing at first but laugh. "i told you," said she, addressing herself to me, "you would find my friend full of charms; and i perceive you have already violated the oath you made of being faithful to me." "madam," replied i, laughing as well as she, "you would have reason to complain, if i were wanting in civility to a lady whom you brought hither, and who is your intimate friend; both of you might then upbraid me for not performing duly the rites of hospitality." we continued to drink; but as the wine warmed us, the strange lady and i ogled one another with so little reserve, that her friend grew jealous, and quickly gave us a dismal proof of the inveteracy of her feelings. she rose from the table and went out, saying, she would be with us presently again: but in a few moments after, the lady who stayed with me changed countenance, fell into violent convulsions, and expired in my arms while i was calling for assistance to relieve her. i went out immediately, and enquired for the other lady; when my people told me, she had opened the street door and was gone. i then suspected what was but too true, that she had been the cause of her friend's death. she had the dexterity, and the malice, to put some very strong poison into the last glass, which she gave her with her own hand. i was afflicted beyond measure with the accident. "what shall i do?" i exclaimed in agony. "what will become of me?" i considered there was no time to lose, and it being then moon-light, i ordered my servants to take up one of the large pieces of marble, with which the court of my house was paved, dig a hole, and there inter the corpse of the young lady. after replacing the stone, i put on a travelling suit, took what money i had; and having locked up every thing, affixed my own seal on the door of my house. this done i went to the jewel-merchant my landlord, paid him what i owed, with a year's rent in advance and giving him the key, prayed him to keep it for me. "a very urgent affair," said i, "obliges me to be absent for some time; i am under the necessity of going to visit my uncles at cairo." i took my leave of him, immediately mounted my horse, and departed with my attendants from damascus. i had a good journey, and arrived at cairo without any accident. there i met with my uncles, who were much surprised to see me. to excuse myself, i pretended i was tired of waiting; and hearing nothing of them, was so uneasy, that i could not be satisfied without coming to cairo. they received me kindly, and promised that my father should not be displeased with me for leaving damascus without his permission. i lodged in the same khan with them, and saw all the curiosities of cairo. having finished their traffic, they began to talk of returning to moussol, and to make preparations for their departure; but i, having a wish to view in egypt what i had not yet seen, left my uncles, and went to lodge in another quarter at a distance from their khan, and did not appear any more till they were gone. they sought for me all over the city; but not finding me, supposed remorse for having come to egypt without my father's consent had occasioned me to return to damascus, without saying any thing to them. so they began their journey, expecting to find me at damascus, and there to take me up. after their departure i continued at cairo three years, more completely to indulge my curiosity in seeing all the wonders of egypt. during that time i took care to remit money to the jewel-merchant, ordering him to keep my house for me; for i designed to return to damascus, and reside there some years longer. i had no adventure at cairo worth relating; but doubtless you will be much surprised at that which befell me on my return to damascus. arriving at this city, i went to the jewel-merchant's, who received me joyfully, and would accompany me to my house, to shew me that no one had entered it whilst i was absent. the seal was still entire upon the lock; and when i went in, i found every thing in the order in which i had left it. in sweeping and cleaning out the hall where i had eaten with the ladies, one of my servants found a gold chain necklace, with ten very large and perfect pearls strung upon it at certain distances. he brought it to me, when i knew it to be the same i had seen upon the lady's neck who was poisoned; and concluded it had broken off and fallen. i could not look upon it without shedding tears, when i called to mind the lovely creature i had seen die in such a shocking manner. i wrapped it up, and put it in my bosom. i rested some days to recover from the fatigues of my journey; after which, i began to visit my former acquaintance. i abandoned myself to every species of pleasure, and gradually squandered away all my money. being thus reduced, instead of selling my furniture, i resolved to part with the necklace; but i had so little skill in pearls, that i took my measures very ill, as you shall hear. i went to the bazaar, where i called a crier aside, and shewing him the necklace, told him i wished to sell it, and desired him to show it to the principal jewellers. the crier was surprised to see such a valuable ornament. "how beautiful," exclaimed he, gazing upon it with admiration, "never did our merchants see any thing so rich; i am sure i shall oblige them highly in shewing it to them; and you need not doubt they will set a high price upon it, in emulation of each other." he carried me to a shop which proved to be my landlord's: "stop here," said the crier, "i will return presently and bring you an answer." while he was running about to shew the necklace, i sat with the jeweller, who was glad to see me, and we conversed on different subjects. the crier returned, and calling me aside, instead of telling me the necklace was valued at two thousand sherifs, assured me nobody would give me more than fifty. "the reason is," added he, "the pearls are false; consider if you will part with it at that price." i took him at his word, wanting money. "go," said i, "i take your word, and that of those who know better than myself; deliver it to them, and bring me the money immediately." the crier had been ordered to offer me fifty sherifs by one of the richest jewellers in town who had only made that offer to sound me, and try if i was well acquainted with the value of the pearls. he had no sooner received my answer, than he carried the crier to the judge, and shewing him the necklace; "sir," said he, "here is a necklace which was stolen from me, and the thief, under the character of a merchant, has had the impudence to offer it to sale, and is at this minute in the bazaar. he is willing to take fifty sherifs for a necklace that is worth two thousand which is a clear proof of his having stolen it." the judge sent immediately to seize me, and when i came before him, he asked me if the necklace he had in his hand was not the same that i had exposed to sale in the bazaar. i told him it was. "is it true," demanded he, "that you are willing to sell it for fifty sherifs?" i answered i was. "well," continued he, in a scoffing way "give him the bastinado; he will quickly confess notwithstanding his merchant's disguise, that he is only an artful thief; let him be beaten till he owns his guilt." the pain of the torture made me tell a lie; i confessed, though it was not true that i had stolen the necklace; and the judge ordered my hand to be cut off according to the sentence of our law. this made a great noise in the bazaar, and i was scarcely returned to my house when my landlord came. "my son," said he, "you seem to be a young man well educated, and of good sense; how is it possible you could be guilty of such an unworthy action, as that i hear talked of? you gave me an account of your property yourself, and i do not doubt but the account was just. why did not you request money of me, and i would have lent it you? however, after what has happened, i cannot allow you to remain longer in my house; you must go and seek for other lodgings." i was extremely troubled at this; and entreated the jeweller, with tears in my eyes, to let me stay three days longer; which he granted. "alas," thought i, "this misfortune and affront are unsufferable; how shall i dare to return to moussol? nothing i can say to my father will persuade him that i am innocent." three hours after this fatal accident my house was forcibly entered by the judge's officers, accompanied by my landlord, and the merchant who had falsely accused me of having stolen the necklace. i asked them, what brought them there? but instead of giving me any answer, they bound and gagged me, calling me a thousand abusive names, and telling me the necklace belonged to the governor of damascus, who had lost it above three years before, and that one of his daughters had not been heard of since. judge of my sensations when i heard this intelligence. however, i summoned all my resolution, "i will," thought i, "tell the governor the truth, and it will rest with him either to put me to death, or to protect my innocence." when i was brought before him, i observed he looked upon me with an eye of compassion, from whence i augured well. he ordered me to be untied, and addressing himself to the jeweller who accused me, and to my landlord: "is this the man," asked he, "that sold the pearl necklace?" they had no sooner answered yes, than he continued, "i am sure he did not steal the necklace, and i am much astonished at the injustice that has been done him." these words giving me courage: "sir," said i, "i do assure you i am perfectly innocent. i am likewise fully persuaded the necklace never did belong to my accuser, whom i never saw, and whose horrible perfidy is the cause of my unjust treatment. it is true, i made a confession as if i had stolen it; but this i did contrary to my conscience, through the force of torture, and for another reason that i am ready to give you, if you will have the goodness to hear me." "i know enough of it already," replied the governor, "to do you one part of the justice to which you are entitled. take from hence," continued he, "the false accuser; let him undergo the same punishment as he caused to be inflicted on this young man, whose innocence is known to myself." the governor's orders were immediately put in execution; the jeweller was punished as he deserved. then the governor, having ordered all present to withdraw, said to me: "my son, tell me without fear how this necklace fell into your hands, conceal nothing from me." i related plainly all that had passed, and declared i had chosen rather to pass for a thief than to reveal that tragical adventure. "good god," exclaimed the governor, "thy judgments are incomprehensible, and we ought to submit to them without murmuring. i receive, with entire submission, the stroke thou hast been pleased to inflict upon me." then directing his discourse to me: "my son," said he, "having now heard the cause of your disgrace, for which i am truly concerned, i will give you an account of the affliction which has befallen myself. know then, that i am the father of both the young ladies you were speaking of. the first lady, who had the impudence to come to your house, was my eldest daughter. i had given her in marriage at cairo to one of her cousins, my brother's son. her husband died, and she returned home corrupted by every vice too often contracted in egypt. before i took her home, her younger sister, who died in that deplorable manner in your arms, was a truly virtuous girl, and had never given me any occasion to complain of her conduce. but after that, the elder sister became very intimate with her, and insensibly made her as wicked as herself. the day after the death of the younger not finding her at home, i asked her elder sister what was become of her; but she, instead of answering, affected to weep bitterly; from whence i formed a fatal presage. i pressed her to inform me of what she knew respecting her sister 'father,' replied she, sobbing, 'i can tell you no more than that my sister put on yesterday her richest dress, with her valuable pearl necklace, went out, and has not been heard of since.' i searched for her all over the town, but could learn nothing of her unhappy fate. in the mean time the elder, who doubtless repented of her jealous fury, became melancholy, and incessantly bewailed the death of her sister; she denied her self all manner of food, and so put an end to her deplorable days. such is the condition of mankind! such are the misfortunes to which we are exposed! however, my son," added he, "since we are both of us equally unfortunate, let us unite our sorrow, and not abandon one another. i will give you in marriage a third daughter i have still left, she is younger than her sisters, and in no respect imitates their conduct; besides, she is handsomer, and i assure you is of a disposition calculated to make you happy. you shall have no other house but mine, and, after my death, you and she shall be heirs to all my property." "my lord," i replied, "i am overcome by your favours, and shall never be able to make a sufficient acknowledgment." "enough," said he, interrupting me, "let us not waste time in idle words." he then called for witnesses, ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn, and i became the husband of his third daughter. he was not satisfied with punishing the jeweller, who had falsely accused me, but confiscated for my use all his property, which was very considerable. as for the rest, since you have been called to the governor's house, you may have seen what respect they pay me there. i must tell you further, that a person despatched by my uncles to egypt, on purpose to inquire for me there, passing through this city found me out last night, and delivered me a letter from them. they inform me of my father's death, and invite me to come and take possession of his property at moussol. but as the alliance and friendship of the governor have fixed me here, and will not suffer me to leave him, i have sent back the express with a power, which will secure to me my inheritance. after what you have heard, i hope you will pardon my seeming incivility during the course of my illness, in giving you my left instead of my right hand. "this," said the jewish physician, "is the story i heard from the young man of moussol. i continued at damascus as long as the governor lived; after his death, being still in the vigour of my age, i had the curiosity to travel. accordingly i went through persia to the indies, and came at last to settle in this your capital, where i have practised physic with reputation." the sultan of casgar was well pleased with this story. "i must confess," said he to the jew, "the story you have told me is very singular; but i declare freely, that of the little hump-back is: yet more extraordinary, and much more diverting; so you are not to expect that i will give you your life, any more than the rest. i will have you all four executed." "pray, sir, stay a minute," said the tailor, advancing, and prostrating himself at the sultan's feet. "since your majesty loves pleasant stories, i have one to tell you that will not displease you." "well, i will hear thee too," said the sultan; "but do not flatter thyself that i will suffer thee to live, unless thou tellest me some adventure that is yet more diverting than that of my hump-backed jester." upon this the tailor, as if he had been sure of success, spoke boldly to the following purpose. the story told by the tailor. a citizen of this city did me the honour two days ago to invite me to an entertainment, which he was to give to his friends yesterday morning. accordingly i went early, and found there about twenty persons. the master of the house was gone out upon some business, but in a short time returned, and brought with him a young man, a stranger, very well dressed, and handsome, but lame. when he entered, we all rose, and out of respect to the master of the house, invited the young man to sit down with us upon the estrade. he was going to comply; but suddenly perceiving a barber in our company, flew backwards, and made towards the door. the master of the house, surprised at his behaviour, stopped him. "where are you going?" demanded he. "i bring you along with me to do me the honour of being my guest among the rest of my friends, and you are no sooner got into my house, than you are for running away." "sir," replied the young man, "for god's sake do not stop me, let me go, i cannot without horror look upon that abominable barber, who, though he was born in a country where all the natives are white, resembles an ethiopian; and his soul is yet blacker and more horrible than his face." we were all surprised to hear the young man speak in this manner, and began to have a very bad opinion of the barber, without knowing what ground the young man had for what he said. nay, we protested we would not suffer any one to remain in our company, who bore so horrid a character. the master of the house intreated the stranger to tell us what reason he had for hating the barber. "gentlemen," resumed the young man, "you must know this cursed barber is the cause of my being lame, and having fallen into the most ridiculous and teasing situation you can imagine. for this reason i have sworn to avoid all the places where he is, and even not to stay in the cities where he resides. it was for this reason that i left bagdad, where he then dwelt; and travelled so far to settle in this city, at the extremity of tartary; a place where i flattered myself i should never see him. and now, after all, contrary to my expectation, i find him here. this obliges me, gentlemen, against my will, to deprive myself of the honour of being merry with you. this very day i shall take leave of your town, and go, if i can, to hide my head where he cannot come." this said, he would have left us, but the master of the house earnestly intreated him to stay, and tell us the cause of his aversion for the barber, who all this while looked down and said not a word. we joined with the master of the house in his request; and at last the young man, yielding to our importunities, sat down; and, after turning his back on the barber, that he might not see him, gave us the following narrative of his adventures. my father's quality might have entitled him to the highest posts in the city of bagdad, but he always preferred a quiet life to the honours of a public station. i was his only child, and when he died i had finished my education, and was of age to dispose of the plentiful fortune he had left me; which i did not squander away foolishly, but applied to such uses as obtained for me everybody's respect. i had not yet been disturbed by any passion: i was so far from being sensible of love, that i bashfully avoided the conversation of women. one day, walking in the streets, i saw a large party of ladies before me; and that i might not meet them, i turned down a narrow lane, and sat down upon a bench by a door. i was placed opposite a window, where stood a pot of beautiful flowers, on which i had my eyes fixed, when the window opened, and a young lady appeared, whose beauty struck me. immediately she fixed her eyes upon me; and in watering the flowerpot with a hand whiter than alabaster, looked upon me with a smile, that inspired me with as much love for her as i had formerly aversion for all women. after having watered her flowers, and darted upon me a glance full of charms that pierced my heart, she shut the window, and left me in inconceivable perplexity, from which i should not have recovered, if a noise in the street had not brought me to myself. i lifted up my head, and turning, saw the first cauzee of the city, mounted on a mule, and attended by five or six servants: he alighted at the door of the house, where the young lady had opened the window, and went in; from whence i concluded he was her father. i went home in an altered state of mind; agitated by a passion the more violent, as i had never felt its assaults before: i retired to bed in a violent fever, at which all the family were much concerned. my relations, who had a great affection for me, were so alarmed by the sudden disorder, that they importuned me to tell the cause; which i took care not to discover. my silence created an uneasiness that the physicians could not dispel, because they knew nothing of my distemper, and by their medicines rather inflamed than checked it. my relations began to despair of my life, when an old lady of our acquaintance, hearing i was ill, came to see me. she considered me with great attention, and after having examined me, penetrated, i know not how, into the real cause of my illness. she took my relations aside, and desired all my people would retire out of the room, and leave her with me alone. when the room was clear, she sat down on the side of my bed. "my son," said she, "you have obstinately concealed the cause of your illness; but you have no occasion to reveal it to me. i have experience enough to penetrate into a secret; you will not deny when i tell you it is love that makes you sick. i can find a way to cure you, if you will but inform me who that happy lady is, that could move a heart so insensible as yours; for you have the character of a woman-hater, and i was not the last who perceived that such was your disposition; but what i foresaw has come to pass, and i am now glad of the opportunity to employ my talents in relieving your pain." the old lady having thus spoken, paused, expecting my answer; but though what she had said had made a strong impression upon me, i durst not lay open to her the bottom of my heart; i only turned to her, and heaved a deep sigh, without replying a word. "is it bashfulness," said she, "that keeps you silent? or is it want of confidence in me? do you doubt the effect of my promise? i could mention to you a number of young men of your acquaintance, who have been in the same condition with yourself, and have received relief from me." the good lady told me so many more circumstances that i broke silence, declared to her my complaint, pointed out to her the place where i had seen the object which occasioned it, and unravelled all the circumstances of my adventure. "if you succeed," added i, "and procure me the happiness of seeing that charming beauty, and revealing to her the passion with which i burn for her, you may depend upon it i will be grateful." "my son," replied the old woman, "i know the lady you speak of; she is, as you rightly judged, the daughter of the first cauzee of this city: i am not surprised that you are in love with her. she is the handsomest and most lovely lady in bagdad, but very proud, and of difficult access. you know how strict our judges are, in enjoining the punctual observance of the severe laws that confine women; and they are yet more strict in the observation of them in their own families; the cauzee you saw is more rigid in that point than any of the other magistrates. they are always preaching to their daughters what a heinous crime it is to shew themselves to men; and the girls themselves are so prepossessed with the notion, that they make no other use of their own eves but to conduct them along the street, when necessity obliges them to go abroad. i do not say absolutely that the first cauzee's daughter is of that humour; but that does not hinder my fearing to meet with as great obstacles on her side, as on her father's. would to god you had loved any other, then i should not have had so many difficulties to surmount. however, i will employ all my wits to compass the matter; but it requires time. in the mean while take courage and trust to me." the old woman took leave; and as i weighed within myself all the obstacles she had been talking of, the fear of her not succeeding in her undertaking inflamed my disorder. next day she came again, and i read in her countenance that she had no favourable news to impart. she spoke thus: "my son, i was not mistaken, i have somewhat else to conquer besides the vigilance of a father. you love an insensible object, who takes pleasure in making every one miserable who suffers himself to be charmed by her; she will not deign them the least comfort: she heard me with pleasure, when i spoke of nothing but the torment she made you undergo; but i no sooner opened my mouth to engage her to allow you to see her, and converse with her, but casting at me a terrible look, 'you are very presumptuous,' said she, 'to make such a proposal to me; i charge you never to insult me again with such language.' "do not let this cast you down," continued she; "i am not easily disheartened, and am not without hope but i shall compass my end." to shorten my story, this good woman made several fruitless attacks in my behalf on the proud enemy of my rest. the vexation i suffered inflamed my distemper to that degree, that my physicians gave me over. i was considered as a dead man, when the old woman came to recall me to life. that no one might hear what was said, she whispered in my ear; "remember the present you owe for the good news i bring you." these words produced a marvellous effect; i raised myself up in the bed, and with transport replied, "you shall not go without a present; but what is the news you bring me?" "dear sir," said she "you shall not die; i shall speedily have the pleasure to see you in perfect health, and very well satisfied with me. yesterday i went to see the lady you love, and found her in good humour. as soon as i entered, i put on a sad countenance heaved many deep sighs, and began to squeeze out some tears. 'my good mother,' demanded she 'what is the matter with you, why are you so cast down?' 'alas, my dear and honourable lady,' i replied, 'i have just been with the young gentleman of whom i spoke to you the other day, who is dying on your account.' 'i am at a loss to know,' said she, 'how you make me to be the cause of his death. how can i have contributed to it?' 'how?' replied i; 'did not you tell me the other day, that he sat down before your window when you opened it to water your flower-pot? he then saw that prodigy of beauty, those charms that your mirror daily represents to you. from that moment he languished, and his disorder has so increased, that he is reduced to the deplorable condition i have mentioned.' "'you well remember,' added i, 'how harshly you treated me at our last interview; when i was speaking to you of his illness, and proposing a way to save him from the threatened consequences of his complaint. after i left you i went directly to his house, and he no sooner learnt from my countenance that i had brought no favourable answer than his distemper increased. from that time, madam, he has been at the point of death; and i doubt whether your compassion would not now come too late to save his life.' the fear of your death alarmed her, and i saw her face change colour. 'is your account true?' she asked. 'has he actually no other disorder than what is occasioned by his love of me?' 'ah, madam!' i replied, 'it is too true; would it were false!' 'do you believe,' said she, 'that the hopes of seeing me would at all contribute to rescue him from his danger?' i answered, 'perhaps it may, and if you will permit me, i will try the remedy.'? 'well,' resumed she, sighing, 'give him hopes of seeing me; but he must pretend to no other favours, unless he aspire to marry me, and obtains my father's consent.' 'madam,' replied i. 'your goodness overcomes me; i will instantly seek the young gentleman, and tell him he is to have the pleasure of an interview with you.' 'the best opportunity i can think of,' said she, 'for granting him that favour, will be next friday at the hour of noon prayers. let him observe when my father goes out, and then, if his health permits him to be abroad, come and place himself opposite the house. i shall then see him from my window, and will come down and open the door for him: we will converse together during prayer-time; but he must depart before my father returns.' "it is now tuesday," continued the old lady "you have the interval between this and friday to recover your strength, and make the necessary dispositions for the interview." while the good old lady was speaking, i felt my illness decrease, or rather, by the time she had done, i found myself perfectly recovered. "here, take this," said i, reaching out to her my purse, which was full, "it is to you alone that i owe my cure. i reckon this money better employed than all that i gave the physicians, who have only tormented me during my illness." when the lady was gone, i found i had strength enough to get up: and my relations finding me so well, complimented me on the occasion, and went home. on friday morning the old woman came, just as i was dressing, and choosing out the richest clothes in my wardrobe, said, "i do not ask you how you are, what you are about is intimation enough of your health; but will not you bathe before you go?" "that will take up too much time," i replied; "i will content myself with sending for a barber, to shave my head." immediately i ordered one of my slaves to call a barber that could do his business cleverly and expeditiously. the slave brought me the wretch you see here, who came, and after saluting me, said, "sir, you look as if you were not well." i told him i was just recovered from a fit of sickness. "may god," resumed he, "deliver you from all mischance; may his grace always go along with you." "i hope he will grant your wish, for which i am obliged to you." "since you are recovering from a fit of sickness," he continued, "i pray god preserve your health; but now let me know what i am to do; i have brought my razors and my lancets, do you desire to be shaved or to be bled?" i replied, "i am just recovered from a fit of sickness, and you may readily judge i only want to be shaved: come, do not lose time in prattling; for i am in haste, and have an appointment precisely at noon." the barber spent much time in opening his case, and preparing his razors instead of putting water into the basin, he took a very handsome astrolabe out of his case, and went very gravely out of my room to the middle of the court to take the height of the sun: he returned with the same grave pace, and entering my room, said, "sir, you will be pleased to know this day is friday the th of the moon suffir, in the year , from the retreat of our great prophet from mecca to medina, and in the year of the epocha of the great iskender with two horns; and that the conjunction of mars and mercury signifies you cannot choose a better time than this very day and hour for being shaved. but, on the other hand, the same conjunction is a bad presage to you. i learn from it, that this day you run a great risk, not indeed of losing your life, but of an inconvenience which will attend you while you live. you are obliged to me for the advice i now give you, to avoid this accident; i shall be sorry if it befall you." you may guess, gentlemen, how vexed i was at having fallen into the hands of such a prattling, impertinent fellow; what an unseasonable adventure was it for a lover preparing for an interview with his mistress! i was quite irritated. "i care not," said i, in anger, "for your advice and predictions; i did not call you to consult your astrology; you came hither to shave me; shave me, or begone." "i will call another barber, sir," replied he, with a coolness that put me out of all patience; "what reason have you to be angry with me? you do not know, that all of my profession are not like me; and that if you made it your business to search, you would not find such another. you only sent for a barber; but here, in my person, you have the best barber in bagdad, an experienced physician, a profound chemist, an infallible astrologer, a finished grammarian, a complete orator, a subtle logician, a mathematician perfectly well versed in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and all the refinements of algebra; an historian fully master of the histories of all the kingdoms of the universe. besides, i understand all parts of philosophy. i have all our sacred traditions by heart. i am a poet, i am an architect; and what is it i am not? there is nothing in nature hidden from me. your deceased father, to whose memory i pay a tribute of tears every time i think of him, was fully convinced of my merit; he was fond of me, and spoke of me in all companies as the first man in the world. out of gratitude and friendship for him, i am willing to attach myself to you, to take you under my protection, and guard you from all the evils that your stars may threaten." when i heard all this jargon, i could not forbear laughing, notwithstanding my anger. "you impertinent prattler!" said i, "will you have done, and begin to shave me?" "sir," replied the barber, "you affront me in calling me a prattler; on the contrary, all the world gives me the honourable title of silent. i had six brothers, whom you might justly have called prattlers. these indeed were impertinent chatterers, but for me, who am a younger brother, i am grave and concise in my discourse." for god's sake, gentlemen, do but suppose you had been in my place. what could i say when i saw myself so cruelly delayed? "give him three pieces of gold," said i to the slave who was my housekeeper, "and send him away, that he may disturb me no more; i will not be shaved this day." "sir," said the barber, "pray what do you mean? i did not come to seek for you, you sent for me; and as that is the case i swear by the faith of a moosulmaun, i will not stir out of these doors till i have shaved you. if you do not know my value, it is not my fault. your deceased father did me more justice. every time he sent for me to let him blood, he made me sit down by him, and was charmed with hearing what witty things i said. i kept him in a continual strain of admiration; i elevated him; and when i had finished my discourse, 'my god,' he would exclaim, 'you are an inexhaustible source of science, no man can reach the depth of your knowledge.' 'my dear sir,' i would answer, 'you do me more honour than deserve. if i say anything that is worth hearing, it is owing to the favourable audience you vouchsafe me; it is your liberality that inspires me with the sublime thoughts which have the happiness to please you.' one day, when he was charmed with an admirable discourse i had made him, he said, 'give him a hundred pieces of gold, and invest him with one of my richest robes.' i instantly received the present. i then drew his horoscope, and found it the happiest in the world. nay i carried my gratitude further; i let him blood with cupping-glasses." this was not all; he spun out another harangue that was a full half hour long. tired with hearing him, and fretted at the loss of time, which was almost spent before i was half ready, i did not know what to say. "it is impossible," i exclaimed, "there should be such another man in the world who takes pleasure, as you do, in making people mad." i thought i might perhaps succeed better if i dealt mildly with my barber. "in the name of god," said i, "leave off talking, and shave me directly: business of the last importance calls me, as i have already told you." at these words he fell a laughing: "it would be fortunate," said he, "if our minds were always in the same state; if we were always wise and prudent. i am willing, however, to believe, that if you are angry with me, it is your disorder that has caused the change in your temper, for which reason you stand in need of some instructions, and you cannot do better than follow the example of your father and grandfather. they came and consulted me upon all occasions, and i can say, without vanity, that they always highly prized my advice. pray observe, sir, men never succeed in their undertakings without the counsel of persons of understanding. a man cannot, says the proverb, be wise without receiving advice from the wise. i am entirely at service, and you have only to command me." "what! cannot i prevail with you then," i demanded, interrupting him, "to leave off these long speeches, that tend to nothing but to distract my head, and detain me from my business? shave me, i say, or begone:" with that i started up in anger, stamping my foot against the ground. when he saw i was in earnest, he said, "sir, do not be angry, we are going to begin." he lathered my head, and began to shave me; but had not given four strokes with his razor before he stopped, and addressed me, "sir, you are hasty, you should avoid these transports that only come from the devil. i am entitled to some consideration on account of my age, my knowledge, and my great virtues." "go on and shave me," said i, interrupting him again, "and talk no more." "that is to say," replied he, "you have some urgent business to go about; i will lay you a wager i guess right." "why i told you two hours ago," i returned, "you ought to have shaved me before." "moderate your passion," replied he; "perhaps you have not maturely weighed what you are going about; when things are done precipitately, they are generally repented of. i wish you would tell me what mighty business this is you are so earnest upon. i would tell you my opinion of it; besides, you have time enough, since your appointment is not till noon, and it wants three hours of that yet." "i do not mind that," said i; "persons of honour and of their word are rather before their time than after. but i forget that by reasoning with you, i give into the faults of you prattling barbers; have done, have done; shave me." the more haste i was in, the less speed he made. he laid down the razor, and took up his astrolabe; then laid down his astrolabe, and took up his razor again. the barber quitted his razor again, and took up his astrolabe a second time; and so left me half shaved, to go and see precisely what hour it was. back he came, and exclaimed, "sir, i knew i was not mistaken, it wants three hours of noon. i am sure of it, or else all the rules of astronomy are false." "just heaven!" cried i, "my patience is exhausted, i can bear this no longer. you cursed barber, you barber of mischief, i can scarcely forbear falling upon you and strangling you." "softly, sir," said he, very calmly, without being moved by my anger: "are you not afraid of a relapse? be not in a passion, i am going to shave you this minute." in speaking these words, he clapped his astrolabe in his case, took up his razor, and passing it over the strap which was fixed to his belt, fell to shaving me again; but all the while he was thus employed, the dog could not forbear prattling. "if you would be pleased, sir," said he, "to tell me what the business is you are going about at noon, i could give you some advice that might be of use to you." to satisfy the fellow, i told him i was going to meet some friends at an entertainment at noon, to make merry with me on the recovery of my health. when the barber heard me talk of regaling; "god bless you this day, as well as all other days!" he cried: "you put me in mind that yesterday i invited four or five friends to come and eat with me as this day; indeed i had forgotten the engagement, and have made no preparation for them." "do not let that trouble you," said i; "though i dine abroad, my larder is always well furnished. i make you a present of all that it contains; and besides, i will order you as much wine as you have occasion for; i have excellent wine in my cellar; only you must hasten to finish shaving me: and pray remember, as my father made you presents to encourage you to speak, i give you mine to induce you to be silent." he was not satisfied with my promise, but exclaimed, "god reward you, sir, for your kindness: pray shew me these provisions now, that i may see if there will be enough to entertain my friends. i would have them satisfied with the good fare i make them." "i have," said i, "a lamb, six capons, a dozen chickens, and enough to make four courses." i ordered a slave to bring all before him, with four great pitchers of wine. "it is very well," returned the barber; "but we shall want fruit, and sauce for the meat." these i ordered likewise; but then he left off shaving, to look over every thing one after another; and this survey lasted almost half an hour. i raged and stormed like a madman; but it signified nothing, the wretch made no more haste. however, he took up his razor again, and shaved me for some minutes; then stopping suddenly, exclaimed, "i could not have believed, sir, that you would have been so liberal; i begin to perceive that your deceased father lives again in you. most certainly, i do not deserve the favours with which you have loaded me; and i assure you i shall have them in perpetual remembrance; for, sir, to let you know, i have nothing but what i obtain from the generosity of such gentlemen as you: in which respect, i am like to zantout, who rubs the people in the baths; to sali, who cries boiled peas in the streets; to salout, who sells beans; to akerscha, who sells greens; to aboumecarez, who sprinkles the streets to lay the dust; and to cassem, the caliph's lifeguard man. of all these persons, not one is apt so be melancholy; they are neither impertinent nor quarrelsome; they are more contented with their lot, than the caliph in the midst of his court; they are always gay, ready to sing and dance, and have each of them their peculiar song and dance, with which they divert the city of bagdad; but what i esteem most in them is, that they are no great talkers, any more than your slave, that has bow the honour to speak to you. here, sir, is the song and dance of zantout, who rubs the people in the baths; mind me, pray, and see if i do not imitate it exactly." the barber sung the song, and danced the dance of zantout; and let me say what i could to oblige him to finish his buffooneries, he did not cease till he had imitated, in like manner, the songs and dances of the other persons he had named. "after that," addressing himself to me, "i am going," said he, "to invite all these honest men to my house; if you will take my advice you will join us, and disappoint your friends, who perhaps are great talkers. they will only teaze you to death with their impertinent discourse, and make you relapse into a disorder worse than that from which you are so lately recovered; whereas at my house you shall have nothing but pleasure." notwithstanding my anger, i could not forbear laughing at the fellow's impertinence. "i wish i had no business upon my hands," i replied, "i would accept your invitation, and go with all my heart to partake of your entertainment; but i beg to be excused, i am too much engaged; another day i shall be more at leisure, and then we will make up the same party. come, finish shaving me, and make haste home; perhaps your friends are already arrived at your house." "sir," replied he, "do not refuse me the favour i ask of you; were you but once in our company, it would afford you so much pleasure as abundantly to compensate you for forsaking your friends." "let us talk no more of that," said i; "i cannot be your guest." i found i gained no ground by mild terms. "since you will not come to my house," replied the barber, "you must allow me to go along with you: i will carry these things to my house, where my friends may eat of them if they like, and i will return immediately; i would not be so uncivil as to leave you alone. you deserve this piece of complaisance at my hands." "heavens!" cried i, "then i shall not get clear of this troublesome fellow to-day. in the name of the living god, leave off your unreasonable jargon; go to your friends, drink, eat, and be merry with them, and leave me at liberty to go to mine. i must go alone, i have no occasion for company; besides, i must needs tell you, the place to which i go is not one where you can be received." "you jest, sir," said he; "if your friends have invited you to a feast, what should prevent you from allowing me to go with you? you will please them, i am sure, by introducing to them a man who can talk wittily like me, and knows how to divert company. but say what you will, i am determined to accompany you." these words, gentlemen, perplexed me much. "how," thought i, "shall i get rid of this cursed barber? if i persist in contradicting him, we shall never have done." besides, i heard at this instant the first call to noon-prayers, and it was time for me to go. in fine, i resolved to say nothing, and to make as if i consented to his accompanying me. he then finished shaving me, and i said to him, "take some of my servants to carry these provisions along with you, and return hither; i will stay for you, and shall not go without you." at last he went, and i dressed myself as expeditiously as i could. i heard the last call to prayers, and hastened to set out: but the malicious barber, who guessed my intention, went with my servants only within sight of the house and stood there till he saw them enter it, after which he concealed himself at the corner of the street, with an intent to observe and follow me. in fine, when i arrived at the cauzee's door, i looked back and saw him at the head of the street which alarmed me to the last degree. the cauzee's door was half open, and as i went in i saw an old woman waiting for me, who, after she had shut the door, conducted me to the chamber of the young lady who was the object of my love; but we had scarcely begun to converse, when we heard a noise in the streets. the young lady put her head to the window, and saw through the gate that it was her father already returning from prayers. at the same time i looked, and saw the barber sitting over-against the house, on the bench from which i had first seen the young lady. i had then two things to fear, the arrival of the cauzee, and the presence of the barber. the young lady mitigated my apprehension on the first head, by assuring me the cauzee, came but seldom to her chamber, and as she had forseen that this misadventure might happen, she had contrived a way to convey me out safely: but the indiscretion of the accursed barber made me very uneasy; and you shall hear that my uneasiness was not without ground. as soon as the cauzee was come in, he caned one of his slaves, who had deserved chastisement. this slave made a horrid noise, which was heard in the streets; the barber thought it was i who cried out, and was maltreated. prepossessed with this thought, he roared out aloud, rent his clothes, threw dust upon his head, and called the neighbourhood to his assistance. the neighbours collected, and asked what assistance he wanted? "alas!" cried he, "they are assassinating my master, my dear patron;" and without saying anything more, he ran all the way to my house, with the very same cry in his mouth. from thence he returned, followed by all my domestics armed with sticks. they knocked with inconceivable fury at the door, and the cauzee sent slave to see what was the matter; but the slave being frightened, returned to his master, crying, "sir, above ten thousand men are going to break into your house by force." immediately the cauzee himself ran, opened the door, and asked what they wanted. his venerable presence could not inspire them with respect. they insolently said to him, "you cursed cauzee, what reason have you to assassinate our master? what has he done to you?" "good people," replied the magistrate, "for what should i assassinate your master, whom i do not know and who has done me no harm? my house is open to you, come and search." "you bastinadoed him," said the barber; "i heard his cries not a minute ago." "what harm could your master do to me," replied the cauzee, "to oblige me to abuse him at that rate? is he in my house? if he is, how came he in, or who could have introduced him?" "ah! wretched cauzee," cried the barber, "you and your long beard shall never make me believe you; i know your daughter is in love with our master, and appointed him a meeting during the time of noon-prayer, you without doubt have had notice of it, returned home, and surprised him, and made your slaves bastinado him: but this your wicked action shall not pass with impunity; the caliph shall be acquainted with it, and he will give true and brief justice. let him come out, deliver him to us immediately; or if you do not, we will go in and take him out to your shame." "there is no occasion for so many words," replied the cauzee, "nor to make so great a noise: if what you say is true, go and find him out, i give you free liberty." thereupon the barber and my domestics rushed into the house like furies, and looked for me all about. as i heard all that the barber said to the cauzee, i sought for a place to conceal myself, and could find nothing but a large empty trunk, in which i lay down, and shut it upon me. the barber, after he had searched everywhere, came into the chamber where i was, and opened the trunk. as soon as he saw me, he took it upon his head and carried it away. he descended a high staircase into a court, which he crossed hastily, and at length reached the street door. while he was carrying me, the trunk unfortunately flew open, and not being able to endure the shame of being exposed to the view and shouts of the mob who followed us, i leaped out into the street with so much haste, that i have been lame ever since. i was not sensible of the hurt at first, and therefore got up quickly to avoid the people, who laughed at me; nay, i threw handfuls of gold and silver among them, and whilst they were gathering it up, i made my escape by cross streets and alleys. but the cursed barber followed me close, crying, "stay, sir; why do you run so fast? if you knew how much i am afflicted at the ill treatment you received from the cauzee, you, who are so generous, and to whom i and my friends are so much obliged! did i not tell you truly, that you would expose your life by your obstinate refusal to let me go with you? see what has happened to you, by your own fault; and if i had not resolutely followed, to see whither you went, what would have become of you? whither do you go, sir? stay for me." thus the barber cried aloud in the street it was not enough for him to have occasioned so great a scandal in the quarter where the cauzee lived, but he would have it known through the whole town. i was in such a rage, that i had a great mind to stop and cut his throat; but considering this would have perplexed me farther, i chose another course. perceiving that his calling after me exposed me to vast numbers of people, who crowded to the doors or windows, or stopped in the street to gaze at me, i entered an inn, the chamberlain of which knew me, and finding him at the gate, whither the noise had brought him, i prayed him, for the sake of heaven, to hinder that madman from coming in after me. he promised to do so, and was as good as his word, but not without a great deal of trouble; for the obstinate barber would enter in spite of him, and did not retire without calling him a thousand names. after the chamberlain had shut the gate, the barber continued telling all he met what great service he had done me. thus i rid myself of that troublesome fellow. after this, the chamberlain prayed me to tell him my adventure, which i did, and then desired him to let me have an apartment until i was cured. "but sir," said he, "will it not be more convenient for you to go home?" "i will not return thither," replied i: "for the detestable barber will continue plaguing me there, and i shall die of vexation to be continually teazed by him. besides, after what has befallen me to-day, i cannot think of staying any longer in this town; i must go whither my ill-fortune leads me." accordingly, when i was cured, i took all the money i thought necessary for my travels, and divided the rest of my property among my kindred. thus, gentlemen, i left bagdad, and came hither. i had ground to hope that i should not meet this pernicious barber in a country so far from my own, and yet i find him amongst you. be not surprised then at my haste to be gone: you may easily judge how unpleasant to me is the sight of a man who was the occasion of my lameness, and of my being reduced to the melancholy necessity of living so far from my kindred, friends, and country. when he had spoken these words, the lame young man rose up and went out; the master of the house conducted him to the gate, and told him, he was sorry that he had given him, though innocently, so great a subject of mortification. when the young man was gone, continued the tailor, we were all astonished at the story, and turning to the barber, told him he was very much to-blame, if what we had just heard was true. "gentlemen," answered he, raising up his head, which till then he had held down, "my silence during the young man's discourse is sufficient to testify that he advanced nothing that was not true: but for all that he has said to you, i maintain that i ought to have done what i did; i leave you to be judges. did not he throw himself into danger, and could he have come off so well without my assistance? he may think himself happy to have escaped with the lame leg did not i expose myself to greater danger to get him out of a house where i thought he was ill-treated? has he any reason to complain of and abuse me? this is what one gets by serving unthankful people. he accuses me of being a prattling fellow, which is a mere slander: of seven brothers, i speak least, and have most wit to my share; and to convince you of this, gentlemen, i need only relate my own story and theirs. honour me, i beseech you, with your attention." the story of the barber. in the reign of the caliph mustunsir billah, that is, seeking victory of god, a prince so famous for his liberality towards the poor, ten highwaymen infested the roads about bagdad, and for a long time committed unheard-of robberies and cruelties. the caliph, having notice of this, sent for the judge of the police, some days before the feast of bairam, and ordered him, on pain of death, to bring all the ten to him. the judge of the police used so much diligence, and sent so many people in pursuit of the ten robbers, that they were taken on the very day of bairam. i was walking at the time on the banks of the tigris, and saw ten men richly appareled go into a boat. had i but observed the guards who had them in custody, i might have concluded they were robbers; but my attention was fixed on the men themselves, and thinking they were people who designed to spend the festival in jollity, i entered the boat with them, hoping they would not object to my making one of the company. we descended the tigris, and landed before the caliph's palace: i had by this time had leisure to reflect, and to discover my mistake. when we quitted the boat, we were surrounded by a new troop of the judge of the police's guard, who bound us all, and carried us before the caliph. i suffered myself to be bound as well as the rest, without speaking one word: for what would it have availed to have spoken, or made any resistance? that had been the way to have got myself ill-treated by the guards, who would not have listened to me, for they are brutish fellows, who will hear no reason: i was with the robbers, and that was enough to make them believe me to be one of their number. when we had been brought before the caliph, he ordered the ten highwaymen's heads to be cut off immediately. the executioner drew us up in a file within reach of his arm, and by good fortune i was placed last. he cut off the heads of the ten highwaymen, beginning at the first; and when he came to me, he stopped. the caliph perceiving that he did not strike me, grew angry: "did not i command thee," said he, "to cut off the heads of ten highwaymen, and why hast thou cut off but nine?" "commander of the faithful," he replied, "heaven preserve me from disobeying your majesty's orders: here are ten bodies upon the ground, and as many heads which i have cut off; your majesty may count them." when the caliph saw that what the executioner said was true, he looked at me with amazement, and perceiving that i had not the face of a highwayman, said to me, "good old man, how came you to be among those wretches, who have deserved a thousand deaths?" i answered, "commander of the faithful, i will make a true confession. this morning i saw those ten persons, whose punishment is a proof of your majesty's justice, take boat: i embarked with them, thinking they were men going to celebrate this day, which is the most distinguished in our religion." the caliph could not forbear laughing at my adventure; and instead of treating me as a prattling fellow, as this lame young man did, he admired my discretion and taciturnity. "commander of the faithful," i resumed, "your majesty need not wonder at my silence on such an occasion, as would have made another apt to speak. i make a particular profession of holding my peace, and on that account have acquired the glorious title of silent; by which i am distinguished from my six brothers. this is the effect of my philosophy; and, in a word, in this virtue consists my glory and happiness." "i am glad," said the caliph, smiling, "that they gave you a title which you know so well how to use. but tell me what sort of men were your brothers, were they like you?" "by no means," i replied; "they were all of them loquacious, prating fellows. and as to their persons, there was still a greater difference betwixt them and me. the first was hump-backed; the second had rotten teeth; the third had but one eye; the fourth was blind; the fifth had his ears cut off; and the sixth had hare-lips. they had met with such adventures as would enable you to judge of their characters, had i the honour of relating them to your majesty:" and the caliph seemed desirous to hear their several stories, i went on without waiting his commands. the story of the barber's eldest brother. my eldest brother, whose name was bacbouc the hump-back, was a tailor: when he came out of his apprenticeship, he hired a shop opposite a mill, and having but very little business, could scarcely maintain himself. the miller, on the contrary, was very wealthy, and had a handsome wife. one day as my brother was at work in his shop, he saw the miller's wife looking out of the window, and was charmed with her beauty. the woman took no notice of him, but shut her window, and made her appearance no more that day the poor tailor did nothing all day long but lift up his eyes towards the mill. he pricked his finger oftener than once, and his work was not very regular. at night, when he was to shut his shop, he could scarcely tell how to do it, because he still hoped the miller's wife would once more come to the window; but at last he was forced to shut up, and go home, where he passed but a very uncomfortable night. he arose betimes in the morning, and ran to his shop, in hopes to see his mistress; but he was no happier than the day before, for the miller's wife did not appear at the window above a minute in the course of the day, but that minute made the tailor the most amorous man that ever lived. the third day he had more ground of satisfaction, for the miller's wife cast her eyes upon him by chance, and surprised him as he was gazing at her, which convinced her of what passed in his mind. no sooner did the miller's wife perceive my brother's inclination, than, instead of allowing it to excite her resentment, she resolved to divert herself with it. she looked at him with a smiling countenance, and my brother returned her smile, but in so ludicrous a way, that the miller's wife hastily shut her window, lest her loud laughter should make him sensible that she only ridiculed him. poor bacbouc interpreted her carriage to his own advantage, and flattered himself that she looked upon him with pleasure. the miller's wife resolved to have sport with my brother: she had a piece of very fine stuff, with which she had a long time designed to make a vest; she wrapped it up in a fine embroidered silk handkerchief, and sent it to him by a young slave whom she kept; who being taught her lesson, went to the tailor's shop, and told him, "my mistress gives you her service, and prays you to make her a vest of this stuff according to this pattern; she changes her dress often, so that her custom will be profitable to you." my brother doubted not but the miller's wife loved him, and thought she had sent him work so soon after what had passed betwixt them, only to signify that she knew his mind, and convince him that he had obtained her favour. he charged the slave to tell her mistress, that he would lay aside all work for hers and that the vest should be ready next morning. he worked at it with so much diligence, that he finished it in the course of the same day. next morning the young slave came to see if the vest was ready. bacbouc delivered it to her neatly folded up, telling her, "i am too much concerned to please your mistress to neglect her work; i would engage her by my diligence to employ no other than myself for the time to come." the young slave went some steps as if she had intended to go away, and then coming back, whispered to my brother, "i had forgotten part of my commission; my mistress charged me to make her compliments to you, and to ask how you passed the night; as for her, poor woman, she loves you to that degree that she could not sleep." "tell her," answered my silly brother, "i have so strong a passion for her, that for these four nights i have not slept one wink." after such a compliment from the miller's wife, my brother thought she would not let him languish long in expectation of her favours. about a quarter of an hour after, the slave returned to my brother with a piece of satin: "my mistress," said she, "is very well pleased with her vest, nothing in the world can fit her better, and as it is very handsome, she will not wear it without a new pair of drawers; she prays you to make her one, as soon as you can, of this piece of satin." "enough," said bacbouc, "i will do it before i leave my shop: you shall have it in the evening." the miller's wife shewed herself often at her window, and was very prodigal of her charms, to encourage my brother. you would have laughed to see him work. the pair of drawers was soon made, and the slave came for it, but brought the tailor no money, neither for the trimming he had bought for the vest, nor for the making. in the mean time, this unfortunate lover, whom they only amused, though he could not see it, had eaten nothing all that day, and was forced to borrow money at night to buy his supper. next morning, as soon as he arrived at his shop, the young slave came to tell him that the miller wanted to speak to him. "my mistress," said she, "spoke to him so much in your praise, when she shewed him your work, that he has a mind you should work for him also; she does this on purpose, that the connection she wishes to form betwixt you and him may crown your mutual wishes with success." my brother was easily persuaded, and went to the mill with the slave. the miller received him very kindly, and shewed him a piece of cloth, and told him he wanted shirts, bade him make it into twenty, and return him again what was left. my brother had work enough for five or six days to make twenty shirts for the miller, who afterwards gave him another piece of cloth to make him as many pair of drawers. when they were finished, bacbouc carried them to the miller, who asked him what he must have for his pains. my brother answered, he would be content with twenty dirhems of silver. the miller immediately called the young slave, and bade her bring him his weights to see if his money was right. the slave, who had her lesson, looked at my brother with an angry countenance, to signify to him, that he would spoil all if he took money. he knew her meaning, and refused to take any, though he wanted it so much that he was forced to borrow some to buy the thread to sew the shirts and drawers. when he left the miller, he came to me to borrow money to purchase provisions, and told me they did not pay him. i gave him some copper money i had in my purse, and upon that he subsisted for some days. it is true, indeed, he lived upon nothing but broth, nor had he his fill of that. one day he went to the miller, who was busy at his work, and thinking my brother came for money, offered him some; but the young slave being present, made him another sign not to take it, which he complied with, and told the miller he did not come for his money, but only to know how he did. the miller thanked him, and gave him an upper garment to make. bacbouc carried it to him the next day. when the miller drew out his purse, the young slave gave my brother the usual sign, on which he said to the miller, "neighbour, there is no haste, we will reckon another time;" so that the poor ninny went to his shop again, with three terrible distempers, love, hunger, and an empty purse. the miller's wife was not only avaricious, but ill-natured; for, not content with cheating my brother of his due, she provoked her husband to revenge himself upon him for making love to her, which they accomplished thus. the miller invited bacbouc one night to supper, and after giving him a very sorry treat, said to him, "brother, it is too late for you to return home, you had better stay here all night," and then took him to a place in the mill, where there was a bed; there he left him, and went to bed with his wife. about the middle of the night, the miller came to my brother, and said, "neighbour, are you asleep? my mule is ill, and i have a quantity of corn to grind; you will do me a great kindness if you will turn the mill in her stead." bacbouc, to shew his good nature, told him, he was ready to do him that service, if he would shew him how. the miller tied him by the middle in the mule's place, and whipping him soundly over the back, said to him, "go on, neighbour." "ho!" exclaimed my brother, "why do you beat me?" "it is to make you brisk," replied the miller, "for without a whip my mule will not go." bacbouc was amazed at this treatment, but durst not complain. when he had gone five or six rounds, he would fain have rested; but the miller gave him a dozen sound lashes, saying, "courage, neighbour! do not stop, pray; you must go on without taking breath, otherwise you will spoil my meal." the miller obliged my brother to turn the mill thus all night. about break of day he left him without untying him, and went to his wife's chamber. bacbouc continued there for some time, and at last the young slave came and untied him. "ah!" said the treacherous wretch, "how my mistress and i pitied you! we had no hand in this wicked trick which her husband has played you." the wretched bacbouc answered not a word, he was so much fatigued with work and blows; but crept home to his house, resolving never to think more of the miller's wife. the telling of this story, continued the barber, made the caliph laugh. "go home," said he to me, "i have ordered something to be given you to make up for the loss of the good dinner you expected." "commander of the faithful," i replied, "i pray your majesty to let me stay till i have told the story of my other brothers." the caliph having signified by his silence that he was willing to hear me, i went on thus. the story of the barber's second brother. my second brother, who was called backbarah the toothless, going one day through the city, met in a distant street an old woman, who came up to him, and said, "i want one word with you, pray stop a moment." he did so, and asked what she would have. "if you have time to come with me," said she, "i will bring you into a stately palace, where you shall see a lady as fair as the day. she will receive you with much pleasure, and treat you with excellent wine. i need say no more." "but is what you say true?" demanded my brother. "i am no lying hussy," replied the old woman. "i say nothing to you but what is true. but hark, i have something to ask of you. you must be prudent, say but little, and be extremely polite." backbarah agreed to all this. the old woman went on, and he followed her. they came to the gate of a great palace, where there was a number of officers and domestics. some of them would have stopped my brother, but no sooner did the old woman speak to them than they let him pass. then turning to my brother, she said to him, "you must remember that the young lady i bring you to loves good-nature and modesty, and cannot endure to be contradicted; if you please her in these respects, you may be sure to obtain of her what you please." backbarah thanked her for this advice, and promised to follow it. she brought him into a superb court, answerable to the magnificence of the palace. there was a gallery round it, and a garden in the middle. the old woman made him sit down on a handsome sofa, and bade him stay a moment, till she went to acquaint the young lady with his arrival. my brother, who had never been in such a stately palace before, gazed on the fine things that he saw; and judging of his good fortune by the magnificence of the palace, he was scarcely able to contain himself for joy. in a short time he heard a great noise, occasioned by a troop of merry slaves, who came towards him with loud fits of laughter; and in the middle of them he perceived a young lady of extraordinary beauty, who was easily known to be their mistress by the respect they paid her. backbarah, who expected private conversation with the lady, was extremely surprised when he saw so much company with her. in the mean time, the slaves, as they drew near, put on a grave countenance; and when the young lady came up to the sofa, my brother rose and made her a low obeisance. she took the upper seat, prayed him to sit down, and said to him with a smiling countenance, "i am much pleased to see you, and wish you all the happiness you can desire." "madam," replied backbarah, "i cannot desire a greater happiness than to be in your company." "you seem to be of a pleasant humour," said she, "and to be disposed to pass the time agreeably." she commanded a collation to be brought; and immediately a table was covered with several baskets of fruit and sweetmeats. the lady sat down at the table with the slaves and my brother; and he being placed just opposite to her, when he opened his mouth to eat, she perceived he had no teeth; and taking notice of this to her slaves, she and they laughed heartily. backbarah, from time to time, lifted up his head to look at her, and perceiving her laugh, concluded it was from the pleasure she derived from his company, and flattered himself that she would speedily send away her slaves, and remain with him alone. she guessed his thoughts, and amusing herself to flatter him in this mistake, addressed him in the most pleasant language, and presented him the best of every thing with her own hand. the entertainment being finished, they rose from the table; ten slaves took musical instruments, and began to play and sing, and others to dance. my brother, to please them, danced likewise, and the lady danced with them. after they had danced some time, they sat down to take breath, and the young lady calling for a glass of wine, looked upon my brother with a smiling countenance, to signify that she was going to drink his health. he rose and stood while she drank. when she had done instead of giving back the glass, she ordered it to be filled, and presented it to my brother, that he might pledge her. my brother took the glass from the young lady's hand, which he kissed at the same time and stood and drank to her, in return for the favour she had done him. the lady then made him sit down by her, and began to caress him. she put her hand behind his head, and gave him some tips from time to time with her fingers: ravished with these favours, he thought himself the happiest man in the world, and felt disposed to kiss the charming lady, but durst not take that liberty before so many slaves, who had their eyes upon him, and laughed at their lady's wanton tricks. the young lady continued to tip him with her fingers, but at last gave him such a sound box on the ear, that he grew angry; the colour came into his face, and he rose up to remove to a greater distance from such a rude playfellow. then the old woman, who brought him thither, gave him a look, to let him know that he was in the wrong, and that he had forgotten her advice, to be very complaisant. he owned his fault, and to make amends, went near the young lady again, pretending that he did not remove out of any ill-humour. she drew him by the arm, made him sit down by her, and gave him a thousand malicious squeezes. her slaves took their part in the diversion; one gave poor backbarah several fillips on the nose with all her might; another pulled him by the ears, as if she would have pulled them off; and others boxed him in a manner that might have made it appear they were not in jest. my brother bore all this with admirable patience, affecting a gay air, and looking at the old woman, said to her with a forced smile, "you told me, indeed, that i should find the lady perfectly kind, pleasant, and charming; i am mightily obliged to you!" "all this is nothing," replied the old woman; "let her go on, you will see other things by and by." then the young lady said to him, "brother, you are a brave man; i am glad to find you are so good-humoured and complaisant to bear with my little caprices, and that your humour is so conformable to mine." "madam," replied backbarah, who was charmed with this address, "i am no more at my own disposal, i am wholly yours, you may do with me as you please." "how you oblige me," returned the lady, "by such submission! i am well pleased with you, and would have you be so with me: bring him perfume, and rose-water." upon this, two slaves went out and returned speedily, one with a silver casket, filled with the best of aloes wood, with which she perfumed him; and the other with rose-water, which she sprinkled on his face and hands. my brother was quite enraptured with this handsome treatment. after this ceremony, the young lady commanded the slaves, who had already played on their instruments and sung, to renew their concerts. they obeyed, and while they were thus employed, the lady called another slave, and ordered her to take my brother with her, and do what she knew, and bring him back to her again. backbarah, who heard this order, got up quickly, and going to the old woman, who also rose to accompany him and the slave, prayed her to inform him what they were to do with him. "my mistress is only curious," replied the old woman softly; "she has a mind to see how you look in a woman's dress, and this slave, who is desired to take you with her, has orders to paint your eyebrows, to cut off your whiskers, and to dress you like a woman." "you may paint my eyebrows as much as you please," said my brother, "i consent to that, because i can wash it off again; but to shave me, you know i must not permit. how can i appear abroad again without moustaches?" "beware of refusing what is asked of you," returned the old woman, "you will spoil your fortune, which is now in as favourable a train as heart can wish. the lady loves you, and has a mind to make you happy; and will you, for a nasty whisker, renounce the most delicious favours that man can obtain?" backbarah listened to the old woman, and without saying a word went to a chamber with the slave, where they painted his eyebrows with red, cut off his whiskers, and were going to do the like with his beard. my brother's patience then began to fail: "oh!" said he, "i will never part with my beard." the slave told him, that it was to no purpose to have parted with his whiskers, if he would not also part with his beard, which could never comport with "woman's dress;" and she wondered that a man, who was upon the point of being loved by the finest lady in bagdad, should be concerned about his beard. the old woman threatened him with the loss of the young lady's favour; so that at last he allowed them to do what they would. when he was dressed in female attire, they brought him before the young lady, who laughed so heartily when she saw him, that she fell backward on the sofa. the slaves laughed and clapped their hands, so that my brother was quite out of countenance. the young lady got up, and still laughing, said to him, "after so much complaisance, i should be very much to blame not to love you with all my heart: but there is one thing more you must do for me, and that is, to dance as we do." he obeyed, and the young lady and her slaves danced with him, laughing as if they had been mad. after they had danced some time, they all fell upon the poor wretch, and did so box and kick him, that he fell down like one out of his senses. the old woman helped him up again: and that he might not have time to think of his ill-treatment, bade him take courage, and whispered in his ear, that all his sufferings were at an end, and that he was just about to receive his reward. the old woman continued her discourse to backbarah thus: "you have only one thing more to do, and that is but a small one. you must know that my mistress has a custom, when she has drunk a little, as you see she has done to-day, to let no one that she loves come near her, except they be stripped to their shirt; and when they have done so, she takes a little advantage of them and begins running before them through the gallery, and from chamber to chamber, till they catch her. this is one more of her humours: what advantage soever she takes of you, considering your nimbleness, you will soon overtake her; strip yourself then to your shirt, undress yourself without ceremony." my silly brother had done too much to hesitate at anything now. he undressed himself; and in the mean time the young lady was stripped to her shift and drawers, that she might run the more nimbly. when they were ready, the young lady took the advantage of twenty paces, and then began to run with surprising swiftness: my brother followed as fast as he could, the slaves in the mean time laughing heartily and clapping their hands. the young lady, instead of losing ground, gained upon my brother: she made him run two or three times round the gallery, and then entering a long dark passage, made her escape. backbarah, who still followed, having lost sight of her in the passage, was obliged to slacken his pace, because of the darkness of the place: at last perceiving a light, he ran towards it, and went out at a door, which was immediately shut after him. you may imagine how he was surprised to find himself in a street inhabited by curriers, and they were no less surprised to see him in his shirt, his eyes painted red, and without beard or moustaches: they began to clap their hands and shout at him, and some of them ran after him and lashed his back with leather straps. they then took him and set him upon an ass which they met by chance, and carried him through the town exposed to the laughter of the people. to complete his misfortune, as he went by the judge's house, he would needs know the cause of the tumult. the curriers told him, that they saw him come in that condition from the gate of the apartments of the grand vizier's women, which opened into their street; upon which the judge ordered unfortunate backbarah to have a hundred blows with a cane on the soles of his feet, and sent him out of the town with orders never to return. "thus, commander of the faithful," said i to the caliph, "i have given an account of the adventure of my second brother, who did not know that our greatest ladies divert themselves sometimes by putting such tricks upon young people, who are so foolish as to be caught in the snare." the barber, without breaking off, told the story of his third brother in the following manner. the story of the barber's third brother. commander of the faithful, my third brother, whose name was backbac, was blind, and his evil destiny reduced him to beg from door to door. he had been so long accustomed to walk through the streets alone, that he wanted none to lead him: he had a custom to knock at people's doors, and not to answer till they opened to him. one day he knocked thus, and the master of the house, who was alone, cried, "who is there?" my brother made no answer, and knocked a second time: the master of the house asked again and again, "who is there?" but to no purpose, no one answered; upon which he came down, opened the door, and asked my brother what he wanted? "give me something for heaven's sake," said backbac. "you seem to be blind," replied the master of the house. "yes, to my sorrow," answered my brother. "give me your hand," resumed the master of the house. my brother did so, thinking he was going to give him alms; but he only took him by the hand to lead him up to his chamber. backbac thought he had been carrying him to dine with him, as many other people had done. when they reached the chamber, the man let go his hand, and sitting down, asked him again what he wanted? "i have already told you," said backbac, "that i want something for god's sake." "good blind man," replied the master of the house, "all that i can do for you is to wish that god may restore you your sight." "you might have told me that at the door," replied my brother, "and not have given me the trouble to come up stairs." "and why, fool," said the man of the house, "do not you answer at first, when people ask you who is there? why do you give any body the trouble to come and open the door when they speak to you?" "what will you do with me then?" asked my brother. "i tell you again," said the man of the house, "i have nothing to give you." "help me down the stairs then, as you brought me up." "the stairs are before you," said the man of the house, "and you may go down by yourself if you will." my brother attempted to descend, but missing a step about the middle of the stairs, fell to the bottom and hurt his head and his back: he got up again with much difficulty, and went out cursing the master of the house who laughed at his fall. as my brother went out of the house, two blind men, his companions, were going by, knew him by his voice, and asked him what was the matter? he told them what had happened; and afterwards said, "i have eaten nothing to-day; i conjure you to go along with me to my house, that i may take some of the money that we three have in common to buy me something for supper." the two blind men agreed, and they went home with him. you must know that the master of the house where my brother was so ill used was a robber, and of a cunning and malicious disposition. he overheard from his window what backbac had said to his companions, and came down and followed them to my brother's house. the blind men being seated, backbac said to them, "brothers, we must shut the door, and take care there be no stranger with us." at this the robber was much perplexed, but perceiving a rope hanging down from a beam, he caught hold of it, and hung by it, while the blind men shut the door, and felt about the room with their sticks. when they had done, and had sat down again in their places, the robber left his rope, and seated himself softly by my brother, who thinking himself alone with his blind comrades, said to them, "brothers, since you have trusted me with the money, which we have been a long time gathering, i will show you that i am not unworthy of the confidence you repose in me. the last time we reckoned, you know we had ten thousand dirhems, and that we put them into ten bags; i will shew you that i have not touched one of them:" having so said, he put his hand among some old clothes, and taking out the bags one after another, gave them to his comrades, saying, "there they are; you may judge by their weight that they are whole, or you may tell them if you please." his comrades answered there was no need, they did not mistrust him; so he opened one of the bags, and took out ten dirhems, and each of the other blind men did the like. my brother put the bags into their place again: after which, one of the blind men said to him, "there is no need to lay out anything for supper, for i have collected as much victuals from good people as will serve us all." at the same time he took out of his bag bread and cheese, and some fruit, and putting all upon the table, they began to eat, the robber, who sat at my brother's right hand, picked out the best, and eat with them; but whatever care he took to make no noise, backbac heard his chaps going, and cried out immediately, "we are undone, there is a stranger among us:" having so said, he stretched out his hand, and caught hold of the robber by the arm, cried out "thieves!" fell upon him, and struck him. the other blind men fell upon him in like manner; the robber defended himself as well as he could, and being young and vigorous, besides having the advantage of his eyes, gave furious blows, sometimes to one, sometimes to another, and cried out "thieves!" louder than they did. the neighbours came running at the noise, broke open the door, and had much ado to separate the combatants; but having at last succeeded, they asked the cause of their quarrel. my brother, who still had hold of the robber, cried out, "gentlemen, this man i have hold of is a thief, and stole in with us on purpose to rob us of the little money we have." the thief, who shut his eyes as soon as the neighbours came, feigned himself blind, and exclaimed, "gentlemen, he is a liar. i swear to you by heaven, and by the life of the caliph, that i am their companion, and they refuse to give me my just share. they have all three fallen upon me, and i demand justice." the neighbours would not interfere in their quarrel, but carried them all before the judge. when they came before the magistrate, the robber, without staying to be examined, cried out, still feigning himself blind, "sir, since you are deputed to administer justice by the caliph, whom god prosper, i declare to you that we are equally criminal, my three comrades and i; but we have all engaged, upon oath, to confess nothing except we be bastinadoed; so that if you would know our crime, you need only order us to be bastinadoed, and begin with me." my brother would have spoken, but was not allowed to do so: and the robber was put under the bastinado. the robber being under the bastinado, had the courage to bear twenty or thirty blows; when, pretended to be overcome with pain, he first opened one eve, and then the other, and crying out for mercy, begged the judge would put a stop to the blows. the judge perceiving that he looked upon him with his eyes open, was much surprised, and said to him, "rogue, what is the meaning of this miracle?" "sir," replied the robber, "i will discover to you an important secret, if you will pardon me, and give me, as a pledge that you will keep your word, the seal-ring which you have on your finger." the judge consented, gave him his ring, and promised him pardon. "under this promise," continued the robber, "i must confess to you sir, that i and my three comrades do all of us see very well. we feigned ourselves to be blind, that we might freely enter people's houses, and women's apartments, where we abuse their weakness. i must farther confess to you, that by this trick we have gained together ten thousand dirhems. this day i demanded of my partners two thousand five hundred that belonged to my share, but they refused because i told them i would leave them; and they were afraid i should accuse them. upon my pressing still to have my share, they fell upon me; for which i appeal to those people who brought us before you. i expect from your justice, sir, that you will make them deliver me the two thousand five hundred dirhems which is my due; and if you have a mind that my comrades should confess the truth, you must order them three times as many blows as i have had, and you will find they will open their eyes as well as i have done." my brother and the other two blind men would have cleared themselves of this horrid charge, but the judge would not hear them: "villains," said he, "do you feign yourselves blind then, and, under that pretext of moving their compassion, cheat people, and commit such crimes?" "he is an impostor," cried my brother, "and we take god to witness that none of us can see." all that my brother could say was in vain, his comrades and he received each of them two hundred blows. the judge expected them to open their eyes, and ascribed to their obstinacy what really they could not do. all the while the robber said to the blind men, "poor fools that you are, open your eyes, and do not suffer yourselves to be beaten to death." then addressing himself to the judge, said, "i perceive, sir, that they will be maliciously obstinate to the last, and will never open their eyes. they wish certainly to avoid the shame of reading their own condemnation in the face of every one that looks upon them; it were better, if you think fit, to pardon them, and to send some person along with me for the ten thousand dirhems they have hidden." the judge consented to give the robber two thousand five hundred dirhems, and kept the rest himself; and as for my brother and his two companions, he thought he shewed them pity by sentencing them only to be banished. as soon as i heard what had befallen my brother, i went to him; he told me his misfortune, and i brought him back secretly to the town. i could easily have justified him to the judge, and have had the robber punished as he deserved, but durst not make the attempt, for fear of bringing myself into danger of assassination. thus i finished the sad adventure of my honest blind brother. the caliph laughed at it, as much as at those he had heard before, and ordered again that something should be given me; but without staying for it, i began the story of my fourth brother. the story of the barber's fourth brother. alcouz was the name of the fourth brother who lost one of his eyes, upon an occasion that i shall have the honour to relate to your majesty. he was a butcher by profession, and had a particular way of teaching rams to fight, by which he gained the acquaintance and friendship of the chief lords of the country, who loved that sport, and for that end kept rams at their houses. he had besides a very good trade, and had his shop always full of the best meat, because he spared no cost for the prime of every sort. one day when he was in his shop, an old man with a long white beard came and bought six pounds of meat of him, gave him money for it, and went his way. my brother thought the money so pure and well coined, that he put it apart by itself: the same old man came every day for five months together, bought a like quantity of meat, and paid for it in the same kind of money, which my brother continued to lay apart. at the end of five months, alcouz having a mind to buy a lot of sheep, and to pay for them in this money, opened his chest; but instead of finding his money, was extremely surprised to see nothing in the place where he had laid it, but a parcel of leaves clipped round. he beat his head, and cried out aloud, which presently brought the neighbours about him, who were as much surprised as he, when he told them the story. "o!" cried my brother, weeping, "that this treacherous old fellow would come now with his hypocritical looks!" he had scarcely spoken, when he saw him at a distance; he ran to him, and laid hands on him; "moosulmauns," cried he, as loud as he could, "help! hear what a cheat this wicked fellow has put upon me," and at the same time told a great crowd of people, who came about him, what he had formerly told his neighbours. when he had done, the old man said to him very gravely and calmly, "you had better let me go, and by that means make amends for the affront you have put upon me before so many people, for fear i should put a greater affront upon you, which i should be sorry to do." "how," said my brother, "what have you to say against me? i am an honest man in my business, and fear not you, nor any body." "you would have me speak out then," resumed the old man in the same tone; and turning to the crowd, said to them, "know, good people, that this fellow, instead of selling mutton as he ought to do, sells human flesh." "you are a cheat," said my brother. "no, no," continued the old man; "good people, this very minute while i am speaking to him, there is a man with his throat cut hung up in the shop like a sheep; do any of you go thither, and see if what i say be not true." just before my brother had opened his chest he had killed a sheep, dressed it, and exposed it in the shop, according to custom: he protested that what the old man said was false; but notwithstanding all his protestations, the credulous mob, prejudiced against a man accused of such a heinous crime, would go to see whether the charge were true. they obliged my brother to quit the old man, laid hold of him, and ran like madmen into his shop, where they saw, to all appearance, a man hung up with his throat cut, as the old man had told them; for he was a magician, and deceived the eyes of all people, as he did my brother, when he made him take leaves instead of money. at this sight, one of those who held alcouz gave him a violent blow with his fist, and said to him, "thou wicked villain, dost thou make us eat man's flesh instead of mutton?" and at the same time the old man gave him another blow, which beat out one of his eyes. every body that could get near him struck him; and not content with that, they carried him before a judge, with the pretended carcase of the man, to be evidence against him. "sir," said the old magician to the judge, "we have brought you a man, who is so barbarous as to murder people, and to sell their flesh instead of mutton. the public expects that you will punish him in an exemplary manner." the judge heard my brother with patience, but would believe nothing of the story of the money changed into leaves, called my brother a cheat, told him he would believe his own eyes, and ordered him to receive five hundred blows. he afterwards made him tell him where his money was, took it all from him, and banished him for ever, after having made him ride three days through the city upon a camel, exposed to the insults of the people. i was not at bagdad when this tragical adventure befell my fourth brother. he retired into a remote place, where he lay concealed till he was cured of the blows with which his back was terribly mangled. when he was able to walk, he went by night to a certain town where nobody knew him; and there he took a lodging, from whence he seldom moved; but being weary of this confined life, he went to walk in one of the suburbs, where suddenly he heard a noise of horsemen coming behind him. he was then by chance near the gate of a house, and fearing, after what had befallen him, that these horsemen were pursuing him, he opened the gate in order to hide himself, and after he had shut it, entered a court, where immediately two servants came and collared him, saying, "heaven be praised, that you have come of your own accord to surrender yourself; you have alarmed us so much these three last nights, that we could not sleep; nor would you have spared our lives, if we had not prevented your design." you may well imagine my brother was much surprised. "good people," said he, "i know not what you mean; you certainly take me for somebody else." "no, no," replied they, "we know that you and your comrades are robbers: you were not contented to rob our master of all that he had, and to reduce him to beggary, but you conspired to take his life. let us see if you have not a knife about you, which you had in your hand when you pursued us last night." having said thus, they searched him, and found he had a knife. "ho! ho!" cried they, laying hold of him, "and dare you say that you are not a robber?" "why," said my brother, "cannot a man carry a knife about him without being a robber? if you will hearken to my story, instead of having so bad an opinion of me, you will be touched with compassion at my misfortunes." but far from attending to him, they fell upon him, trod upon him, took away his clothes, and tore his shirt. then seeing the scars on his back, "o dog," said they, redoubling their blows, "would you have us believe you are an honest man, when your back shews us the contrary?" "alas!" said my brother, "my crimes must be very great, since, after having been abused already so unjustly, i am thus treated a second time without being more culpable!" the two servants, no way moved with his complaint, carried him before the judge, who asked him how he durst presume to go into their house, and pursue them with a drawn knife? "sir," replied the unfortunate alcouz, "i am the most innocent man in the world, and am undone if you will not be pleased to hear me patiently: no one deserves more compassion." "sir," exclaimed one of the domestics, "will you listen to a robber, who enters people's houses to plunder and murder them? if you will not believe us, only look upon his back;" and while he said so he uncovered my brother's back, and shewed it to the judge, who, without any other information, commanded his officers immediately to give him a hundred lashes over the shoulders, and made him afterwards be carried through the town on a camel, with one crying before him, "thus are men punished who enter people's houses by force." after having treated him thus, they banished him the town, and forbad him ever to return. some people, who met him after the second misfortune, brought me word where he was; i went, brought him to bagdad privately, and gave him all the assistance i could. the caliph did not laugh so much at this story as at the other. he was pleased to pity the unfortunate alcouz, and ordered something to be given me. but without giving his servants time to obey his orders, i continued my discourse, and said to him: "my sovereign lord and master, you see that i do not talk much; and since your majesty has been pleased to do me the favour to listen to me so far, i beg you would likewise hear the adventures of my two other brothers; i hope they will be as diverting as those of the former. you may make a complete history of them, that will not be unworthy of your library: i shall do myself the honour then to acquaint you, that the fifth brother was called alnaschar." the story of the barber's fifth brother. alnaschar, as long as our father lived, was very lazy; instead of working he used to beg in the evening, and live upon what he got. our father died at a very old age, and left among us seven hundred dirhems: we divided equally, so that each of us had a hundred for his share. alnaschar, who had never before possessed so much money, was much perplexed to know what he should do with it. he consulted a long time with himself, and at last resolved to lay it out in glass-ware which he bought of a wholesale dealer. he put all in an open basket, and sat with it before him, and his back against a wall, in a place where he might sell it. in this posture, with his eyes fixed on his basket, he began to meditate; during which he spoke as follows: "this basket cost me a hundred dirhems, which is all i have in the world. i shall make two hundred of them by retailing my glass, and of these two hundred, which i will again lay out in glass-ware, i shall make four hundred; and going on thus, i shall at last make four thousand dirhems; of four thousand i shall easily make eight thousand, and when i come to ten thousand, i will leave off selling glass and turn jeweller; i will trade in diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of precious stones: then when i am as rich as i can wish, i will buy a fine mansion, a great estate, slaves, eunuchs, and horses. i will keep a good house, and make a great figure in the world; i will send for all the musicians and dancers of both sexes in town. nor will i stop here, for, i will, by the favour of heaven, go on till i get one hundred thousand dirhems, and when i have amassed so much, i will send to demand the grand vizier's daughter in marriage; and represent to that minister, that i have heard much of the wonderful beauty, understanding, wit, and all the other qualities of his daughter; in a word, that i will give him a thousand pieces of gold the first night after we are married; and if the vizier be so uncivil as to refuse his daughter, which cannot be supposed, i will go and carry her off before his face, and take her to my house whether he will or no. as soon as i have married the grand vizier's daughter, i will buy her ten young black eunuchs, the handsomest that can be had; i will clothe my self like a prince, and mounted upon a fine horse, with a saddle of fine gold, with housings of cloth of gold, finely embroidered with diamonds and pearls, i will ride through the city, attended by slaves before and behind. i will go to the vizier's palace in view of all the people great and small, who will show me the most profound respect. when i alight at the foot of the vizier's staircase, i will ascend through my own people, ranged in files on the right and left; and the grand vizier, receiving me as his son-in-law, shall give me the right hand and set me above him, to do me the more honour. if this comes to pass, as i hope it will, two of my people shall each of them have a purse with a thousand pieces of gold, which they shall carry with them. i will take one, and presenting it to the grand vizier, tell him, 'there is the thousand pieces of gold that i promised the first night of marriage:' and i will offer him the other and say to him, 'there is as much more, to shew you that i am a man of my word, and even better than my promise.' after such an action as this, all the world will talk of my generosity. i will return to my own house in the same pomp. my wife will send some officer to compliment me, on account of my visit to the vizier, her father: i will honour the officer with a fine robe, and send him back with a rich present. if she send me a present, i will not accept it, but dismiss the bearer. i will not suffer her to go out of her apartment on any account whatever, without giving me notice: and when i have a mind to come to her apartment, it shall be in such a manner as to make her respect me. in short, no house shall be better ordered than mine. i will be always richly clad. when i retire with my wife in the evening, i will sit on the upper seat, i will affect a grave air, without turning my head to one side or the other. i will speak little; and whilst my wife, beautiful as the full moon, stands before me in all her charms, i will make as if i did not see her. her women about her will say to me, 'our dear lord and master, here is your spouse, your humble servant, before you, ready to receive your caresses, but much mortified that you do not vouchsafe to look upon her; she is wearied with standing so long, bid her, at least, sit down.' i will make no answer, which will increase their surprise and grief. they will prostrate themselves at my feet; and after they have for a considerable time entreated me to relent, i will at last lift up my head, give her a careless look, and resume my former posture: they will suppose that my wife is not handsomely enough dressed, and will carry her to her closet to change her apparel. at the same time i will get up and put on a more magnificent suit; they will return and address me as before, but i will not so much as look upon my wife, till they have prayed and entreated as long as they did at first. thus i will begin on the first day of marriage, to teach her what she is to expect during the rest of her life. "after the ceremonies of the marriage, i will take from one of my servants, who shall be about me, a purse of five hundred pieces of gold, which i will give to the tire-women, that they may leave me alone with my spouse: when they are gone, my wife shall go to bed first; then i will lie down by her with my back towards her, and will not say one wore to her all night. the next morning she will certainly complain of my contempt and of my pride, to her mother the grand vizier's wife, which will rejoice my heart. her mother will come to wait upon me, respectfully kiss my hands, and say to me, 'sir' (for she will not dare to call me son-in-law, for fear of provoking me by such a familiar style), 'i entreat you not to disdain to look on my daughter, and refuse to come near her. i assure you that her chief delight is to please you, and that she loves you with all her soul.' but in spite of all my mother-in-law can say, i will not answer her one word, but keep an obstinate gravity. then she will throw herself at my feet, kiss them repeatedly, and say to me, 'sir, is it possible that you can suspect my daughter's virtue? you are the first man who ever saw her face: do not mortify her so much; do her the favour to look upon her, to speak to her, and confirm her in her good intentions to satisfy you in every thing.' but nothing of this shall prevail with me. upon which my mother-in-law will take a glass of wine, and putting it in the hand of her daughter my wife, will say, 'go, present him this glass of wine yourself; perhaps he will not be so cruel as to refuse it from so fair a hand.' my wife will come with the glass and stand trembling before me; and when she finds that i do not look towards her, but that i continue to disdain her, she will say to me with tears in her eyes, 'my heart, my dear soul, my amiable lord, i conjure you, by the favours which heaven heaps upon you, to receive this glass of wine from the hand of your most humble servant:' but i will not look upon her still, nor answer her. 'my charming spouse,' will she say, redoubling her tears, and putting the glass to my mouth, 'i will never cease till i prevail with you to drink;' then, wearied with her entreaties, i will dart a terrible look at her, shake my hand in her face, and spurn her from me with my foot." my brother was so full of these chimerical visions, that he acted with his foot as if she had been really before him, and unfortunately gave such a push to his basket and glasses, that they were thrown down, and broken into a thousand pieces. on this fatal accident, he came to himself, and perceiving that he had brought misfortune upon himself by his insupportable pride, beat his face, tore his clothes, and cried so loud, that the neighbours came about him; and the people, who were going to their noon prayers, stopped to know what was the matter. being on a friday, more people went to prayers than usual; some of them took pity on alnaschar, and others only laughed at his extravagance. in the mean time, his vanity being dispersed with his property, he bitterly bewailed his loss; and a lady of rank passing by upon a mule richly caparisoned, my brother's situation moved her compassion. she asked who he was, and what he cried for? they told her, that he was a poor man, who had laid out the little money he possessed in the purchase of a basket of glassware, that the basket had fallen, and all his glasses were broken. the lady immediately turned to an eunuch who attended her, and said to him, "give the poor man what you have about you." the eunuch obeyed, and put into my brother's hands a purse with five hundred pieces of gold. alnaschar was ready to die with joy when he received it. he gave a thousand blessings to the lady, and shutting up his shop, where he had no more occasion to sit, went to his house. while he was pondering over his good luck, he heard somebody knock at his door. before he opened, he asked who it was, and knowing by the voice that it was a woman, he let her in. "my son," said she, "i have a favour to beg of you: the hour of prayer is come, let me perform my ablutions in your house, that i may be fit to say my prayers." my brother looking at her, and seeing that she was well advanced in years, though he knew her not, granted her request, and sat down again still full of his new adventure. he put his gold in a long strait purse, proper to carry at his girdle. the old woman in the mean time said her prayers, and when she had done, came to my brother and bowed twice to the ground, so low, that she touched it with her forehead: then rising up, she wished him all happiness. the old woman then bowed again, and thanked him for his civility. being meanly clad, and very humble, he thought she asked alms; upon which he offered her two pieces of gold. the old woman stepped back in a sort of surprise, as if my brother had affronted her. "good god!" said she, "what is the meaning of this? is it possible, sir, that you took me for one of those impudent beggars who push into people's houses to ask alms? take back your money: thank heaven, i need it not. i belong to a young lady of this city, who is a perfect beauty, and very rich; she lets me want for nothing." my brother was not cunning enough to perceive the craft of the old woman, who only refused the two pieces of gold, that she might catch more. he asked her, if she could not procure him the honour of seeing that lady. "with all my heart," she replied; "she will be very glad to marry you, and to put you in possession of her fortune, by making you master of her person. take up your money, and follow me." my brother, transported with his good luck in finding so great a sum of money, and almost at the same time a beautiful and rich wife, shut his eyes to all other considerations; so that he took his five hundred pieces of gold, and followed the old woman. she walked on, and he followed at a distance, to the gate of a great house, where she knocked. he came up just as a young greek slave opened the gate. the old woman made him enter first, crossed a well-paved court, and introduced him into a hall, the furniture of which confirmed him in the good opinion he had conceived of the mistress of the house. while the old woman went to acquaint the lady, he sat down, and the weather being hot, put off his turban, and laid it by him. he speedily saw the young lady enter: her beauty and rich apparel perfectly surprised him; he arose as soon as he saw her. the lady, with a smiling countenance, prayed him to sit down again, and placed herself by him. she told him, she was very glad to see him; and after having spoken some engaging words, said, "we do not sit here at our ease. come, give me your hand." at these words she presented him hers, and conducted him into an inner chamber, where she conversed with him for some time: she then left him, saying that she would be with him in a moment. he waited for her; but instead of the lady came in a great black slave with a cimeter in his hand, and looking upon my brother with a terrible aspect, said to him fiercely, "what have you to do here?" alnaschar was so frightened, that he had no power to answer. the black stripped him, carried off his gold, and gave him several flesh wounds with his cimeter. my unhappy brother fell to the ground, where he lay without motion, though he had still the use of his senses. the black thinking him to be dead, asked for salt: the greek slave brought him a basin full: they rubbed my brother's wounds with it, but he had so much command of himself, notwithstanding the intolerable pain it put him to, that he lay still without giving any sign of life. the black and the greek slave having retired, the old woman, who had enticed my brother into the snare, came and dragged him by the feet to a trapdoor, which she opened, and threw him into a place under ground, among the bodies of several other people who had been murdered. he perceived this as soon as he came to himself, for the violence of the fall had taken away his senses. the salt rubbed into his wounds preserved his life, and he recovered strength by degrees, so as to be able to walk. after two days he opened the trap-door in the night, and finding in the court a place proper to hide himself in, continued there till break of day, when he saw the cursed old woman open the street gate, and go out to seek another victim. he stayed in the place some time after she was gone, that she might not see him, and then came to me for shelter, when he told me of his adventures. in a month's time he was perfectly cured of his wounds by medicines that i gave him, and resolved to avenge himself of the old woman, who had put such a barbarous cheat upon him. to this end he took a bag, large enough to contain five hundred pieces of gold, and filled it with pieces of glass. my brother fastened the bag of glass about him, disguised himself like an old woman, and took a cimeter under his gown. one morning he met the old woman walking through the town to seek her prey; he went up to her, and counterfeiting a woman's voice, said, "cannot you lend me a pair of scales? i am newly come from persia, have brought five hundred pieces of gold with me, and would know if they are weight." "good woman," answered the old hag, "you could not have applied to a fitter person: follow me, i will conduct you to my son, who changes money, and will weigh them himself to save you the trouble. let us make haste, for fear he should go to his shop." my brother followed her to the house where she carried him at first, and the greek slave opened the door. the old woman took my brother to the hall where she desired him to wait till she called her son. the pretended son came, and proved to be the villainous black slave. "come, old woman," said he to my brother, "rise and follow me:" having spoken thus, he went before to conduct him to the place where he designed to murder him. alnaschar got up, followed him, and drawing his cimeter, gave him such a dexterous blow behind on the neck, that he cut off his head, which he took in one hand, and dragging the corpse with the other, threw them both into the place under ground before-mentioned. the greek slave, who was accustomed to the trade, came presently with a basin of salt; but when she saw alnaschar with his cimeter in his hand, and without his veil, she laid down the basin, and fled. but my brother overtaking her, cut off her head also. the wicked old woman came running at the noise, and my brother seizing her, said to her, "treacherous wretch, do not you know me?" "alas, sir!" answered she trembling, "who are you? i do not remember that i ever saw you." "i am," replied he, "the person to whose house you came the other day to wash and say your prayers. hypocritical hag, do not you remember?" then she fell on her knees to beg his pardon, but he cut her in four pieces. there remained only the lady, who knew nothing of what had passed: he sought her out, and found her in a chamber, where she was ready to sink when she saw him: she begged her life, which he generously granted. "madam," said he, "how could you live with such wicked people, as i have so justly revenged myself upon?" "i was," she answered, "wife to an honest merchant; and the old woman, whose wickedness i did not then know, used sometimes to come to see me; 'madam,' said she to me one day, 'we have a wedding at our house, which you will be pleased to see, if you will give us the honour of your company:' i was persuaded by her, put on my best apparel, and took with me a hundred pieces of gold. i followed her; she brought me to this house, where the black has since kept me by force, and i have been three years here to my great sorrow." "by the trade which that cursed black followed," replied my brother, "he must have gathered together a vast deal of riches." "there is so much," said she "that you will be made for ever, if you can carry them off: follow me, and you shall see them." alnaschar followed her to a chamber, where she shewed him several coffers full of gold, which he beheld with admiration. "go," said she, "and fetch people to carry it all off." my brother went out, got ten men together, and brought them with him, but was much surprised to find the gate open, the lady and the coffers gone, for she being more diligent than he, had conveyed them all off and disappeared. however, being resolved not to return empty-handed, he carried off all the furniture of the house, which was a great deal more than enough to make up the five hundred pieces of gold he had been robbed of; but when he went out of the house, he forgot to shut the gate. the neighbours, who saw my brother and the porters come and go, went and acquainted the magistrate, for they looked upon my brother's conduct as suspicious. alnaschar slept well enough all night, but the next morning, when he came out of his house, twenty of the magistrate's men seized him. "come along with us," said they, "our master would speak with you." my brother prayed them to have patience for a moment, and offered them a sum of money to let him escape; but instead of listening to him, they bound him, and forced him to go with them. they met in the street an old acquaintance of my brother's, who stopped them awhile, asked them why they had seized my brother, offered them a considerable sum to let him escape, and tell the magistrate they could not find him, but in vain. when the officers brought him before the magistrate, he asked him where he had the goods which he had carried home the preceding evening? "sir," replied alnaschar, "i am ready to tell you all the truth; but allow me first to have recourse to your clemency, and to beg your promise, that i shall not be punished." "i give it you," said the magistrate. my brother then told him the whole story without disguise, from the period the old woman came into his house to say her prayers, to the time the lady made her escape, after he had killed the black, the greek slave, and the old woman: and as for what he had carried to his house, he prayed the judge to leave him part of it, for the five hundred pieces of gold of which he had been robbed. the judge, without promising any thing, sent his officers to bring off the whole, and having put the goods into his own warehouse, commanded my brother to quit the town immediately, and never to return, for he was afraid, if he had stayed in the city, he would have found some way to represent this injustice to the caliph. in the mean time, alnaschar obeyed without murmuring, and left that town to go to another. by the way, he met with highwaymen, who stripped him naked; and when the ill news was brought to me, i carried him a suit, and brought him secretly into the town, where i took the like care of him as i did of his other brothers. the story of the barber's sixth brother. i have now only to relate the story of my sixth brother, called schacabac, with the hare lips. at first he was industrious enough to improve the hundred dirhems of silver which fell to his share, and went on very well; but a reverse of fortune brought him to beg his bread, which he did with a great deal of dexterity. he studied chiefly to get into great men's houses by means of their servants and officers, that he might have access to their masters, and obtain their charity. one day as he passed by a magnificent house, whose high gate shewed a very spacious court, where there was a multitude of servants, he went to one of them, and asked him to whom that house belonged? "good man," replied the servant, "whence do you come that you ask me such a question? does not all that you behold point out to you that it is the palace of a barmecide?" my brother, who very well knew the liberality and generosity of the barmecides, addressed himself to one of his porters (for he had more than one), and prayed him to give him alms. "go in," said he, "nobody hinders you, and address yourself to the master of the house; he will send you back satisfied." my brother, who expected no such civility, thanked the porters, and with their permission entered the palace, which was so large, that it took him a considerable time to reach the barmecide's apartment; at last he came to an arcade square building of an excellent architecture, and entered by parterres of flowers intersected by walks of several colours, extremely pleasant to the eye: the lower apartments round this square were most of them open, and were shut only with great curtains to keep out the sun, which were opened again when the heat was over to let in the fresh air. such an agreeable place would have struck my brother with admiration, even if his mind had been more at ease than it was. he went on till he came into a hall richly furnished and adorned with painting of gold and azure foliage, where he saw a venerable man with a long white beard, sitting at the upper end on a sofa, whence he concluded him to be the master of the house; and in fact it was the barmecide himself, who said to my brother in a very civil manner, that he was welcome; and asked him what he wanted? "my lord," answered my brother, in a begging tone, "i am a poor man who stands in need of the help of such rich and generous persons as yourself." he could not have addressed himself to a fitter person than this lord, who had a thousand good qualities. the barmecide seemed to be astonished at my brother's answer, and putting both his hands to his stomach, as if he would rend his clothes for grief, "is it possible," cried he, "that i am at bagdad, and that such a man as you is so poor as you say? this is what must never be." my brother, fancying that he was going to give him some singular mark of his bounty, blessed him a thousand times, and wished him all happiness. "it shall not be said," replied the barmecide, "that i will abandon you, nor will i have you leave me." "sir," replied my brother, "i swear to you i have not eaten one bit to-day." "is it true," demanded the barmecide, "that you are fasting till now? alas, poor man! he is ready to die for hunger. ho, boy," cried he, with a loud voice, "bring a basin and water presently, that we may wash our hands." though no boy appeared, and my brother saw neither water nor basin, the barmecide fell to rubbing his hands as if one had poured water upon them, and bade my brother come and wash with him. schacabac judged by this, that the barmecide lord loved to be merry, and he himself understanding raillery, and knowing that the poor must be complaisant to the rich, if they would have any thing from them, came forward and did as he was required. "come on," said the barmecide, "bring us something to eat, and do not let us wait." when he had spoken, though nothing appeared, he began to cut as if something had been brought him upon a plate, and putting his hand to his mouth began to chew, and said to my brother, "come, friend, eat as freely as if you were at home; come, eat; you said you were like to die of hunger, but you eat as if you had no appetite." "pardon me, my lord," said schacabac, who perfectly imitated what he did, "you see i lose no time, and that i play my part well enough." "how like you this bread," said the barmecide; "do not you find it very good?" "o! my lord," replied my brother, who saw neither bread nor meat, "i have never eaten anything so white and so fine." "eat your belly-full," said the barmecide; "i assure you the woman who bakes me this good bread cost me five hundred pieces of gold to purchase her." the barmecide, after having boasted so much of his bread, which my brother ate only in idea, cried, "boy, bring us another dish:" and though no boy appeared, "come, my good friend," continued he, "taste this new dish; and tell me if ever you ate better mutton and barley-broth than this." "it is admirably good," replied my brother, "and therefore you see i eat heartily." "you oblige me highly," resumed the barmecide; "i conjure you then, by the satisfaction i have to see you eat so heartily, that you eat all up, since you like it so well." a little while after he called for a goose and sweet sauce, made up of vinegar, honey, dry raisins, grey peas, and dry figs, which were brought just in the same manner as the others had. "the goose is very fat," said the barmecide, "eat only a leg and a wing; we must save our stomachs, for we have abundance of other dishes to come." he actually called for several others, of which my brother, who was ready to die of hunger, pretended to eat; but what he boasted of more than all the rest was a lamb fed with pistachio nuts, which he ordered to be brought up in the same manner. "here is a dish," said the barmecide "that you will see at nobody's table but my own; i would have you eat your belly-full of it." having spoken thus, he stretched out his hand as if he had had a piece of lamb in it, and putting it to my brother's mouth, "there," said he, "swallow that, and you will judge whether i had not reason to boast of this dish." my brother thrust out his head, opened his mouth, and made as if he took the piece of lamb, and eat it with extreme pleasure. "i knew you would like it," said the barmecide. "there is nothing in the world finer," replied my brother; "your table is most delicious." "come, bring the ragout; i fancy you will like that as well as you did the lamb: well, how do you relish it?" "o! it is wonderful," replied schacabac; "for here we taste all at once, amber, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and the most odoriferous herbs, and all these delicacies are so well mixed, that one does not prevent our tasting the other." "how pleasant! honour this ragout," said the barmecide, "by eating heartily of it. ho, boy, bring us another ragout." "no, my lord, if it please you," replied my brother, "for indeed i can eat no more." "come, take away then," said the barmecide, "and bring the fruit." he stayed a moment as it were to give time for his servants to carry away; after which, he addressed my brother, "taste these almonds, they are good and fresh gathered." both of them made as if they had peeled the almonds, and eaten them; after this, the barmecide invited my brother to eat something else. "look," said he, "there are all sorts of fruits, cakes, dry sweetmeats, and conserves, take what you like;" then stretching out his hand, as if he had reached my brother something, "look," he continued, "there is a lozenge, very good for digestion." schacabac made as if he ate it, and said, "my lord, there is no want of musk here." "these lozenges," replied the barmecide, "are made at my own house, where nothing is wanting to make every article good." he still bade my brother eat, and said to him, "methinks you do not eat as if you had been so hungry as you complained you were when you came in." "my lord," replied schacabac, whose jaws ached with moving and having nothing to eat, "i assure you i am so full that i cannot eat one bit more." "well, then, friend," resumed the barmecide, "we must drink now, after we have eaten so well." "you may drink wine, my lord," replied my brother, "but i will drink none if you please, because i am forbidden." "you are too scrupulous," rejoined the barmecide; "do as i do." "i will drink then out of complaisance," said schacabac, "for i see you will have nothing wanting to make your treat complete; but since i am not accustomed to drink wine, i am afraid i shall commit some error in point of good breeding, and contrary to the respect that is due to you; therefore i pray you, once more, to excuse me from drinking any wine; i will be content with water." "no, no," said the barmecide, "you shall drink wine," and at the same time he commanded some to be brought, in the same manner as the meat and fruit had been served before. he made as if he poured out wine, and drank first himself, and then pouring out for my brother, presented him the glass, saying, "drink my health, and let us know if you think this wine good." my brother made as if he took the glass, and looked as if the colour was good, and put it to his nose to try the flavour: he then made a low salute to the barmecide, to signify that he took the liberty to drink his health, and lastly he appeared to drink with all the signs of a man that drinks with pleasure: "my lord," said he, "this is very excellent wine, but i think it is not strong enough." "if you would have stronger," answered the barmecide, "you need only speak, for i have several sorts in my cellar. try how you like this." upon which he made as if he poured out another glass for himself, and one for my brother; and did this so often, that schacabac, feigning to be intoxicated with the wine, and acting a drunken man, lifted up his hand, and gave the barmecide such a box on the ear as made him fall down. he was going to give him another blow, but the barmecide holding up his hand to ward it off, cried, "are you mad?" then my brother, making as if he had come to himself again, said, "my lord, you have been so good as to admit your slave into your house, and give him a treat; you should have been satisfied with making me eat, and not have obliged me to drink wine; for i told you beforehand, that it might occasion me to fail in my respect for you. i am very sorry for it, and beg you a thousand pardons." scarcely had he finished these words, when the barmecide, instead of being in a passion, fell a laughing with all his might. "i have been long," said he, "seeking a man of your character." the barmecide caressed schacabac mightily, and told him, "i not only forgive the blow you have given me, but i desire henceforward we should be friends, and that you take my house for your home: you have had the complaisance to accommodate yourself to my humour, and the patience to keep the jest up to the last; we will now eat in good earnest." when he had finished these words, he clapped his hands, and commanded his servants, who then appeared, to cover the table; which was speedily done, and my brother was treated with all those dishes in reality, which he ate of before in fancy. at last they cleared the table, and brought in the wine, and at the same time a number of handsome slaves, richly appareled, came and sung some agreeable airs to their musical instruments. in a word, schacabac had all the reason in the world to be satisfied with the barmecide's civility and bounty; for he treated him as his familiar friend, and ordered him a suit from his wardrobe. the barmecide found my brother to be a man of so much wit and understanding, that in a few days after he entrusted him with the care of his household and all his affairs. my brother acquitted himself very well in that employment for twenty years; at the end of which the generous barmecide died, and leaving no heirs, all his property was confiscated to the use of the prince; and my brother lost all he had acquired. being reduced to his first condition, he joined a caravan of pilgrims going to mecca, designing to accomplish that pilgrimage by their charity; but unfortunately the caravan was attacked and plundered by a number of bedouins, superior to that of the pilgrims. my brother was then taken as a slave by one of the bedouins, who put him under the bastinado for several days, to oblige him to ransom himself. schacabac protested that it was all in vain. "i am your slave," said he, "you may dispose of me as you please; but i declare to you that i am extremely poor, and not able to redeem myself." in a word, my brother discovered to him all his misfortunes, and endeavoured to soften him with tears; but the bedouin was not to be moved, and being vexed to find himself disappointed of a considerable sum of which he reckoned himself sure, he took his knife and slit my brother's lips, to avenge himself by this inhumanity for the loss that he thought he had sustained. the bedouin had a handsome wife, and frequently when he went on his excursions left my brother alone with her. at such times she used all her endeavours to comfort my brother under the rigour of his slavery. she gave him tokens enough that she loved him, but he durst not return her passion, for fear he should repent; and therefore avoided being alone with her, as much as she sought the opportunity to be alone with him. she was so much in the habit of caressing and playing with the miserable schacabac, whenever she saw him, that one day she happened to act in the same manner, in the presence of her husband. my brother, without taking notice that he observed them (so his sins would have it), played likewise with her. the bedouin, immediately supposing that they lived together in a criminal manner, fell upon my brother in a rage, and after he had mutilated him in a barbarous manner, carried him on a camel to the top of a desert mountain, where he left him. the mountain was on the road to bagdad, so that the passengers who saw him there informed me where he was. i went thither speedily, and found unfortunate schacabac in a deplorable condition: i gave him what help he stood in need of, and brought him back to the city. this is what i told the caliph; that prince applauded me with new fits of laughter. "now," said he, "i cannot doubt but they justly give you the surname of silent. no one can say the contrary for certain reasons, however, i command you to depart this town immediately, and let me hear no more of you." i yielded to necessity, and travelled for several years in distant countries. understanding at last that the caliph was dead, i returned to bagdad, where i found not one of my brothers alive. it was on my return to this city that i did the lame young man the important service which you have heard. you are, however, witnesses of his ingratitude, and of the injurious manner in which he treated me; instead of testifying his obligation, he rather chose to fly from me and leave his own country. when i understood that he was not at bagdad, though no one could tell me whither he was gone, i determined to seek him. i travelled from province to province a long time; and when i least expected, met him this day, but i little thought to find him so incensed against me. when the barber had concluded his story, we found that the young man was not to blame for calling him a great chatterer. however, he wished him to stay with us, and partake of the entertainment which the master of the house had prepared. we sat down to table, and were merry together till afternoon prayers; when all the company parted, and i went to my shop, till it was time to return home. it was during this interval that humpback came half drunk before my shop, where he sung and played on his tabor. i thought that, by carrying him home with me, i should divert my wife, therefore i took him in: my wife gave us a dish of fish, and i presented humpback with some, which he ate, without taking notice of a bone. he fell down dead before us, and after having in vain essayed to help him, in the trouble and fear occasioned by such an unlucky accident, we carried the corpse out, and dexterously lodged him with the jewish doctor. the jewish doctor put him into the chamber of the purveyor, and the purveyor carried him out into the street, where it was believed the merchant had killed him. "this sir," added the tailor, "is what i had to say to satisfy your majesty, who must pronounce whether we be worthy of mercy or wrath, life or death." the sultan of casgar shewed a satisfaction in his countenance, which restored the tailor and his comrades to life. "i cannot but acknowledge," said he, "that i am more struck with the history of the young cripple, with that of the barber, and with the adventures of his brothers, than with the story of my jester: but before i send you all away, and we proceed to bury humpback, i should like to see the barber who is the occasion of my pardoning you; since he is in my capital, it is easy to satisfy my curiosity." at the same time he sent an officer with the tailor to find him. the officer and the tailor went immediately and brought the barber, whom they presented to the sultan: the barber was a venerable man about ninety years of age; his eye-brows and beard were white as snow, his ears hanging down, and his nose very long. the sultan could not forbear laughing when he saw him. "silent man," said he to him, "i understand that you know wonderful stories, will you tell me some of them?" "sir," answered the barber, "let us forbear the stories, if you please, at present. i most humbly beg your majesty to permit me to ask what that christian, that jew, that moosulmaun and that dead humpback, who ties on the ground, do here before your majesty?" the sultan smiled at the barber's freedom, and replied, "why do you ask?" "sir," replied the barber, "it concerns me to ask, that your majesty may know i am not so great a talker as some represent me, but a man justly called silent." the sultan commanded them to tell him the story of the humpback, which he seemed earnestly to wish for. when the barber heard it, he shook his head, as if he would say, there was something under this which he did not understand. "truly," cried he, "this is a surprising story; but i wish to examine humpback a little nearer." he approached him, sat down on the ground, took his head between his knees, and after he had looked upon him steadfastly, fell into so great a fit of laughter, and had so little command of himself, that he fell backwards on the ground, without considering that he was before the sultan of casgar. as soon as he came to himself, "it is said," cried he, "and not without reason, that no man dies without a cause. if ever any history deserved to be written in letters of gold, it is that of this humpback." at this all the people looked on the barber as a buffoon, or an old dotard. "silent man," said the sultan, "why do you laugh?" "sir," answered the barber, "i swear by your majesty's benevolence, that humpback is not dead: he is yet alive, and i shall be content to pass for a madman if i do not convince you this minute." so saying, he took a box wherein he had several medicines that he carried about him to use as occasion might require; and drew out a little phial of balsam, with which he rubbed humpback's neck a long time; then he took out of his case a neat iron instrument, which he put betwixt his teeth, and after he had opened his mouth, he thrust down his throat a pair of small pincers, with which he took out a bit of fish and bone, which he shewed to all the people. immediately humpback sneezed, stretched forth his arms and feet, opened his eyes, and shewed several other signs of life. the sultan of casgar, and all who were witnesses of this operation, were less surprised to see humpback revive, after he had passed a whole night, and great part of a day, without giving any sign of life, than at the merit and capacity of the barber, who performed this; and notwithstanding all his faults, began to look upon him as a great physician. the sultan, transported with joy and admiration, ordered the story of humpback to be written down, with that of the barber, that the memory of them might, as it deserved, be preserved for ever. nor did he stop here; but, that the tailor, jewish doctor, purveyor, and christian merchant might remember the adventure, which the accident of humpback had occasioned to them, with pleasure, he did not send them away till he had given each of them a very rich robe, with which he caused them to be clothed in his presence. as for the barber, he honoured him with a great pension, and kept him near his person. the history of aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph maroon al rusheed. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a druggist, named alboussan ebn thaher, a very rich handsome man. he had more wit and politeness than people of his profession generally possess: his integrity, sincerity, and good humour made him beloved and sought after by all sorts of people. the caliph, who knew his merit, had entire confidence in him. he held him in such high esteem, that he entrusted him to provide his favourite ladies with all the things they stood in need of. he chose for them their clothes, furniture, and jewels, with admirable taste. his good qualities, and the favour of the caliph, occasioned the sons of emirs, and other officers of the first rank, to be always about him: his house was the rendezvous of all the nobility of the court among the young lords that went daily to visit him, was one whom he took more notice of than the rest, and with whom he contrasted a particular friendship, called aboulhassen ali ebn becar, originally of an ancient royal family of persia. this family had continued at bagdad ever since the conquest of that kingdom. nature seemed to have taken pleasure in endowing this young prince with the rarest qualities of body and mind: his face was so very beautiful, his shape so fine, his air so easy, and his physiognomy so engaging, that it was impossible to see him without immediately loving him. when he spoke, he expressed himself in terms proper and well chosen, with a new and agreeable turn, and his voice charmed all that heard him: he had besides so much wit and judgment, that he thought and spoke of all subjects with admirable exactness. he was so reserved and modest, that he advanced nothing till after he had taken all possible care to avoid giving any ground of suspicion that he preferred his own opinion to that of others. being such a person as i have represented him, we need not wonder that ebn thaher distinguished him from all the other young noblemen of the court, most of whom had the vices which composed the opposites to his virtues. one day, when the prince was with ebn thaher, there came a lady mounted on a piebald mule, in the midst of ten female slaves who accompanied her on foot, all very handsome, as far as could be judged by their air, and through their veils which covered their faces. the lady had a girdle of a rose colour, four inches broad, embroidered with pearls and diamonds of an extraordinary bigness; and for beauty it was easy to perceive that she surpassed all her women, as far as the full moon does that of two days old. she came to buy something, and as she wanted to speak to ebn thaher, entered his shop, which was very neat and spacious; and he received her with all the marks of the most profound respect, entreating her to sit down, and directing her to the most honourable place. in the mean time, the prince of persia, unwilling to lose such an opportunity of shewing his good breeding and gallantry, adjusted the cushion of cloth of gold, for the lady to lean on; after which he hastily retired, that she might sit down; and having saluted her, by kissing the carpet under her feet, rose and stood before her at the lower end of the sofa. it being her custom to be free with ebn thaher, she lifted up her veil, and discovered to the prince of persia such an extraordinary beauty as struck him to the heart. on the other hand, the lady could not refrain from looking upon the prince, the sight of whom had made the same impressions upon her. "my lord," said she to him, with an obliging air, "pray sit down." the prince of persia obeyed, and sat on the edge of the sofa. he had his eyes constantly fixed upon her, and swallowed large draughts of the sweet poison of love. she quickly perceived what passed in his heart, and this discovery served to inflame her the more towards him. she arose, went to ebn thaher, and after she had whispered to him the cause of her coming, asked the name and country of the prince. "madam," answered ebn thaher, "this young nobleman's name is aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and he is a prince of the blood royal of persia." the lady was transported at hearing that the person she already loved so passionately was of so high a rank. "do you really mean," said she, "that he is descended from the kings of persia?" "yes, madam," replied ebn thaher, "the last kings of persia were his ancestors, and since the conquest of that kingdom, the princes of his family have always made themselves very acceptable at the court of our caliphs." "you will oblige me much," added she, "by making me acquainted with this young nobleman: when i send this woman," pointing to one of her slaves, "to give you notice to come and see me, pray bring him with you; i shall be glad to afford him the opportunity of seeing the magnificence of my house, that he may have it in his power to say, that avarice does not reign at bagdad among persons of quality. you know what i mean." ebn thaher was a man of too much penetration not to perceive the lady's mind by these words: "my princess, my queen," replied he, "god preserve me from giving you any occasion of anger: i shall always make it a law to obey your commands." at this answer, the lady bowed to ebn thaher, and took her leave; and after she had given a favorable look to the prince of persia, she remounted her mule, and departed. the prince of persia was so deeply in love with the lady, that he looked after her as far as he could; and long after she was out of sight directed his eyes that way. ebn thaher told him, that he remarked several persons observing him, and began to laugh to see him in this posture. "alas!" said the prince, "the world and you would pity me, if you knew that the beautiful lady, who is just gone from you, has carried with her the best part of me, and that the remaining part seeks for an opportunity to go after her. tell me, i conjure you," added he, "what cruel lady is this, who forces people to love her, without giving them time to reflect?" "my lord," answered ebn thaher, "this is the celebrated schemselnihar, the principal favourite of the caliph, our master." "she is justly so called," added the prince, "since she is more beautiful than the sun at noonday." "true," replied ebn thaher; "therefore the commander of the faithful loves, or rather adores her. he gave me express orders to furnish her with all that she asked for, and to anticipate her wishes as far as lies in my power." he spoke thus to hinder him from engaging in a passion which could not but prove unfortunate to him; but this served only to inflame it the more. "i feared, charming schemselnihar," cried he, "i should not be allowed so much as to think of you; i perceive, however, that without hopes of being loved in return, i cannot forbear loving you; i will love you then, and bless my lot that i am the slave of an object fairer than the meridian sun." while the prince of persia thus consecrated his heart to the fair schemselnihar, this lady, as she went home, contrived how she might see, and have free converse with him. she no sooner entered her palace, than she sent to ebn thaher the woman she had pointed out to him, and in whom she placed all her confidence, to tell him to come and see her without delay, and bring the prince of persia with him. the slave came to ebn thaher's shop, while he was speaking to the prince, and endeavouring to dissuade him, by very strong arguments, from loving the caliph's favourite. when she saw them together, "gentlemen," said she, "my honourable mistress schemselnihar the chief favourite of the commander of the faithful, entreats you to come to her palace, where she waits for you." ebn thaher, to testify his obedience, rose up immediately, without answering the slave, and followed her, not without some reluctance. the prince also followed he, without reflecting on the danger there might be in such a visit. the presence of ebn thaher, who had liberty to go to the favourite when he pleased, made the prince very easy: they followed the slave, who went a little before them, and entered after her into the caliph's palace, and joined her at the gate of schemselnihar's pavilion, which was ready open. she introduced them into a great hall, where she prayed them to be seated. the prince of persia thought himself in one of those delicious palaces that are promised to us in the other world: he had never seen any thing that came near the magnificence of the place. the carpets, cushions, and other appendages of the sofa, the furniture, ornaments, and architecture, were surprisingly rich and beautiful. a little time after ebn thaher and he had seated themselves, a very handsome black slave brought in a table covered with several delicacies, the admirable smell of which evinced how deliciously they were seasoned. while they were eating, the slave who brought them in waited upon them; she took particular care to invite them to eat of what she knew to be the greatest dainties. the other slaves brought them excellent wine after they had eaten. when they had done, there was presented to each of them a gold basin full of water to wash their hands; after which, they brought them a golden pot full of the wood of aloes, with which they perfumed their beards and clothes. odoriferous water was not forgotten, but served in a golden vessel enriched with diamonds and rubies, and it was thrown upon their beards and faces according to custom; they then resumed their places, but had scarcely sat down, when the slave entreated them to arise and follow her. she opened a door, and conducted them into a large saloon of wonderful structure. it was a dome of the most agreeable form, supported by a hundred pillars of marble, white as alabaster. the bases and chapiters of the pillars were adorned with four-footed beasts, and birds of various sorts, gilded. the carpet of this noble saloon consisted of one piece of cloth of gold, embroidered with bunches of roses in red and white silk; and the dome painted in the same manner, after the arabian fashion, presented to the mind one of the most charming objects. in every space between the columns was a little sofa adorned in the same manner, and great vessels of china, crystal, jasper, jet, porphyry, agate, and other precious materials, garnished with gold and jewels; in these spaces were also so many large windows, with balconies projecting breast high, fitted up as the sofas, and looking out into the most delicious garden; the walks were of little pebbles of different colours, of the same pattern as the carpet of the saloon; so that, looking upon the carpet within and without it seemed as if the dome and the garden with all its ornaments had been upon the same carpet. the prospect was, at the end of the walks, terminated by two canals of clear water, of the same circular figure as the dome, one of which being higher than the other, emptied its water into the lowermost, in form of a sheet; and curious pots of gilt brass, with flowers and shrubs, were set upon the banks of the canals at equal distances. those walks lay betwixt great plots of ground planted with straight and bushy trees, where a thousand birds formed a melodious concert, and diverted the eye by flying about, and playing together, or fighting in the air. the prince of persia and ebn thaher were a long time engaged in viewing the magnificence of the place, and expressed their surprise at every thing thing saw, especially the prince, who had never beheld any thing like it. ebn thaher, though he had been several times in that delicious place, could not but observe many new beauties, in a word they never grew weary in admiring so many singularities, and were thus agreeably employed, when they perceived a company of ladies richly appareled sitting without, at some distance from the dome, each of them upon a seat of indian plane wood inlaid with silver filigree in compartments, with instruments of music in their hands, waiting for orders to play. they both went forward, and had a full view of the ladies, and on the right they saw a great court with a stair up from the garden, encompassed with beautiful apartments. the slave had left them, and being alone, they conversed together; "for you, who are a wise man," said the prince of persia, "i doubt not but you look with a great deal of satisfaction upon all these marks of grandeur and power; for my part, i do not think there is any thing in the world more surprising. but when i consider that this is the glorious habitation of the lovely schemselnihar, and that the greatest monarch of the earth keeps her here, i confess to you that i look upon myself to be the most unfortunate of all mankind, and that no destiny can be more cruel than mine, to love an object possessed by my rival, and that too in a place where he is so potent, that i cannot think myself sure of my life one moment." ebn thaher, hearing the prince of persia speak, replied, "sir, i wish you could give me as good assurance of the happy success of your passion, as i can give you of the safety of your life. though this stately palace belongs to the caliph, who built it on purpose for schemselnihar, and called it the palace of eternal pleasures, and though it makes part of his own palace, yet you must know that this lady lives here at absolute liberty. she is not beset by eunuchs to be spies upon her; this is her private house, absolutely at her disposal. she goes into the city when she pleases, and returns again, without asking leave of any body: and the caliph never comes to see her, but he sends mesrour, the chief of his eunuchs, to give her notice, that she may be prepared to receive him. therefore you may be easy, and give full attention to the concert of music, which, i perceive, schemselnihar is preparing for you." just as ebn thaher had spoken these words, the prince of persia, and he, saw the favourite's trusty slave giving orders to the ladies to begin to sing, and play with the instruments: they all began immediately to play together as a prelude, and after they had played some time, one of them began to sing alone, and accompanied herself at the same time admirably upon her lute, being informed beforehand upon what subject she was to sing. the words were so agreeable to the prince of persia's sentiments, that he could not forbear applauding her at the end of the couplet. "is it possible," cried he, "that you have the gift of knowing people's hearts, and that the knowledge of what is passing in my mind has occasioned you to give us a taste of your charming voice by those words? i should not express myself otherwise, were i to choose." the lady made no reply, but went on and sung several other stanzas, with which the prince was so affected, that he repeated some of them with tears in his eyes; which discovered plainly enough that he applied them to himself. when she had finished, she and her companions rose up and sung a chorus, signifying by their words, that the full moon was going to rise in all her splendour, and that they should speedily see her approach the sun. intimating, that schemselnihar was coming, and that the prince of persia would soon have the pleasure of beholding her. in fact, as they looked towards the court, they saw schemselnihar's confidant coming towards them, followed by ten black women, who, with much difficulty, carried a throne of massive silver curiously wrought, which they set down before them at a certain distance; the black slaves then retired behind the trees, to the entrance of a walk. after this came twenty handsome ladies richly appareled alike; they advanced in two rows, each singing and playing upon instruments which she held in her hands, and placed themselves on each side of the throne. all these things kept the prince of persia and ebn thaher in so much the greater expectation, as they were curious to know how they would end. at length they saw advancing from the gate through which the ten black women had proceeded ten other ladies equally handsome, and well dressed, who halted a few moments, expecting the favourite, who came out last, and placed herself in the midst of them. schemselnihar was easily distinguished from the rest, by her fine shape and majestic air, as well as by a sort of mantle, of a very fine stuff of gold and sky-blue, fastened to her shoulders, over her other apparel, which was the most handsome, most magnificent, and best contrived that could be imagined. the pearls, rubies, and diamonds, which adorned her, were well disposed; not many in number, but chosen with taste, and of inestimable value. she came forward, with a majesty resembling the sun in its course amidst the clouds, which receive his splendour without hiding his lustre, and sat upon the silver throne that had been brought for her. as soon as the prince of persia saw schemselnihar, his eyes were rivetted on her. "we cease inquiring," said he to ebn thaher, "after what we seek, when once it is in view; and no doubt remains, when once the truth is made apparent. do you see this charming beauty? she is the cause of all my sufferings, which i bless, and will never forbear to bless, however severe and lasting. at the sight of this objets, i am not my own master; my soul is disturbed, and rebels, and seems disposed to leave me. go then, my soul, i allow thee; but let it be for the welfare and preservation of this weak body. it is you, cruel ebn thaher, who are the cause of this disorder, in bringing me hither. you thought to do me a great pleasure; but i perceive i am only come to complete my ruin. pardon me," he continued, interrupting himself; "i am mistaken. i would come, and can blame no one but myself;" and at these words he burst into tears. "i am glad," said ebn thaher, "that you do me justice. when i told you at first, that schemselnihar was the caliph's chief favourite, i did it on purpose to prevent that fatal passion which you please yourself with entertaining. all that you see here ought to disengage you, and you are to think of nothing but of acknowledging the honour which schemselnihar has done you, by ordering me to bring you with me; recall then your wandering reason, and prepare to appear before her, as good breeding requires. see, she advances: were we to begin again, i would take other measures, but since the thing is done, i pray god we may not have cause to repent. all that i have now to say to you is, that love is a traitor, who may involve you in difficulties from which you will never be able to extricate yourself." ebn thaher had no time to say more, because schemselnihar approached, and sitting down upon her throne, saluted them both by bowing her head; but she fixed her eyes on the prince of persia, and they spoke to one another in a silent language intermixed with sighs; by which in a few moments they spoke more than they could have done by words in a much longer time. the more schemselnihar, looked upon the prince, the more she found in his looks to confirm her opinion that he was in love with her; and being thus persuaded of his passion, thought herself the happiest woman in the world. at last she turned her eyes from him, to command the women, who began to sing first, to come near; they rose, and as they advanced, the black women, who came out of the walk into which they had retired, brought their seats, and placed them near the window, in the front of the dome where ebn thaher and the prince of persia stood, and their seats were so disposed, that, with the favourite's throne and the women on each side of her, they formed a semicircle before them. the women, who were sitting before she came resumed their places, with the permission of schemselnihar, who ordered them by a sign; that charming favourite chose one of those women to sing, who, after she had spent some moments in tuning her lute, sung a song, the meaning whereof was, that when two lovers entirely loved one another with affection boundless, their hearts, though in two bodies, were united; and, when any thing opposed their desires, could say with tears in their eyes, "if we love because we find one another amiable, ought we to be blamed? let destiny bear the blame." schemselnihar evinced so plainly by her eyes and gestures that those words were applicable to herself and the prince of persia, that he could not contain himself. he arose, and advancing to a balustrade, which he leaned upon, beckoned to one of the companions of the woman who had just done singing, to approach. when she had got near enough, he said to her, "do me the favour to accompany me with your lute, in a song which you shall hear me sing." he then sung with an air so tender and passionate, as perfectly expressed the violence of his love. as soon as he had done, schemselnihar, following his example, said to one of the women, "attend to me likewise, and accompany my song." at the same time she sung in such a manner, as more deeply to penetrate the heart of the prince of persia, who answered her by a new air, more passionate than the former. the two lovers having declared their mutual affection by their songs, schemselnihar yielded to the force of hers. she arose from her throne in transport, and advanced towards the door of the hall. the prince, who perceived her design, rose up immediately, and went to meet her. they met at the door, where they took one another by the hand, and embraced with so much passion, that they fainted, and would have fallen, if the woman who followed schemselnihar had not hindered them. they supported them to a sofa, where they were brought to themselves, by throwing odoriferous water on their faces, and applying pungent odours to their nostrils. when they had recovered, the first thing schemselnihar did was to look about: and not seeing ebn thaher, she asked, with eagerness, where he was? he had withdrawn out of respect whilst her women were engaged in recovering her, and dreaded, not without reason, that some disagreeable consequence might follow what he had seen; but as soon as he heard schemselnihar inquire for him, he came forward. schemselnihar was much pleased to see ebn thaher, and expressed her joy in the most obliging terms: "ebn thaher, i know not how to make you proper returns for the great obligations you have put upon me; without you, i should never have seen the prince of persia, nor have loved the most amiable person in the world. assure yourself i shall not die ungrateful, and that my gratitude, if possible, shall be equal to the obligation." ebn thaher answered this compliment by a low obeisance, and wished the favourite the accomplishment of all her desires. schemselnihar, turning towards the prince of persia, who sat by her, and looking upon him with some confusion after what had passed, said to him, "i am well assured you love me, and how great soever your love may be to me, you need not doubt but mine is as great towards you: but let us not flatter ourselves; for, notwithstanding this conformity of our sentiments, i see nothing for you and me but trouble, impatience, and tormenting grief. there is no other remedy for our evils but to love one another constantly, to refer ourselves to the disposal of heaven, and to wait its determination of our destiny." "madam," replied the prince of persia, "you will do me the greatest injustice, if you doubt for a moment the continuance of my love. it is so interwoven with my soul, that i can justly say it makes the best part of it, and will continue so after death. pains, torments, obstacles, nothing shall prevent my loving you." speaking these words he shed tears in abundance, and schemselnihar was not able to restrain hers. ebn thaher took this opportunity to speak to the favourite. "madam, allow me to represent to you, that, instead of melting into tears, you ought to rejoice that you are now together. i understand not this grief. what will it be when you are obliged to part? but why do i talk of that? we have been a long while here, and you know, madam, it is time for us to be going." "ah! how cruel are you!" replied schemselnihar, "you, who know the cause of my tears, have you no pity for my unfortunate condition? oh! sad fatality! what have i done to subject myself to the severe law of not being able to join with the only person i love?" persuaded as she was that ebn thaher spoke to her only out of friendship, she did not take amiss what he said, but made a proper use of his intimation she made a sign to the slave her confidant, who immediately went out, and in a little time brought a collation of fruits upon a small silver table, which she set down betwixt her mistress and the prince of persia. schemselnihar took some of the best, and presented it to the prince, praying him to eat it for her sake; he took it, and put to his mouth that part which she had touched; and then he presented some to her, which she took, and ate in the same manner. she did not forget to invite ebn thaher to eat with them; but he thinking himself not safe in that place, and wishing himself at home, ate only out of complaisance. after the collation was taken away, they brought a silver basin, with water in a vessel of gold, and washed together; they afterwards returned to their places, and three of the ten black women brought each a cup of rock crystal full of exquisite wine, upon a golden salver; which they placed before schemselnihar, the prince of persia, and ebn thaher. that they might be the more private, schemselnihar kept with her only ten black women, with ten others who began to sing, and play upon instruments; and after she had sent away all the rest, she took up one of the cups, and holding it in her hand sung some tender words, which one of her women accompanied with her lute. when she had done, she drank, and afterwards took up one of the other cups and presented it to the prince, praying him to drink for love of her, as she had drunk for love of him. he received the cup with a transport of love and joy; but before he drank, he sung also a song, which another woman accompanied with an instrument: and as he sang the tears fell from his eyes in such abundance, that he could not forbear expressing in his song, that he knew not whether he was going to drink the wine she had presented to him, or his own tears. schemselnihar at last presented the third cup to ebn thaher, who thanked her for her kindness, and for the honour she did him. after this she took a lute from one of her women, and sung to it in such a passionate manner, that she seemed to be transported out of herself: and the prince of persia stood with his eyes fixed upon her, as if he had been enchanted. at this instant, her trusty slave came in great alarm, and addressing herself to her mistress, said, "madam mesrour and two other officers, with several eunuchs that attend them, are at the gate, and want to speak with you from the caliph." when the prince of persia and ebn thaher heard these words, they changed colour, and began to tremble as if they had been undone: but schemselnihar who perceived their agitation, revived their courage by a sigh. after schemselnihar had quieted the fears of the prince of persia and ebn thaher, she ordered the slave, her confidant, to go and speak to mesrour, and the two other officers, till she had put herself in a condition to receive them, and could send her to introduce them. immediately she ordered all the windows of' the saloon to be shut, and the painted cloth on the side of the garden to be let down: and after having assured the prince and ebn thaher that they might continue there without any fear, she went out at the gate leading to the garden, and closed it upon them: but whatever assurance she had given them of their safety, they were full of apprehension all the while they remained there. as soon as schemselnihar had reached the garden with the women that had followed her, she ordered all the seats, which served the women who played on the instruments, to be placed near the window, where the prince of persia and ebn thaher heard them; and having got things in order, she sat down upon her silver throne: she then sent notice to the slave her confidant to bring in the chief of the eunuchs, and his two subaltern officers. they appeared, followed by twenty black eunuchs all handsomely clothed, with cimeters by their sides, and gold belts of four inches broad. as soon as they perceived the favourite schemselnihar at a distance, they made her a profound reverence, which she returned them from her throne. when they approached, she arose and went to meet mesrour, who advanced first; she asked what news he brought? he answered, "madam, the commander of the faithful has sent me to signify that he cannot live longer without seeing you; he designs to do himself that pleasure this night, and i am come to give you notice, that you may be ready to receive him. he hopes, madam, that you will receive him with as much pleasure as he feels impatience to see you." at these words the favourite schemselnihar prostrated herself to the ground, as a mark of that submission with which she received the caliph's order. when she rose, she said, "pray tell the commander of the faithful, that i shall always reckon it my glory to execute his majesty's commands, and that his slave will do her utmost to receive him with all the respect that is due to him." at the same time she ordered the slave her confidant to tell the black women appointed for that service to get the palace ready to receive the caliph, and dismissing the chief of the eunuchs, said to him, "you see it requires some time to get all things ready, therefore i entreat you to curb his majesty's impatience, that, when he arrives, he may not find things out of order." the chief of the eunuchs and his retinue being gone, schemselnihar returned to the saloon, extremely concerned at the necessity she was under of sending back the prince of persia sooner than she had intended. she came up to him again with tears in her eyes, which heightened ebn thaher's fear, who thought it no good omen. "madam," said the prince to her, "i perceive you are come to tell me that we must part: if there be nothing more to dread, i hope heaven will give me the patience which is necessary to support your absence." "alas!" replied the too tender schemselnihar, "how happy do i think you, and how unhappy do i think myself, when i compare your lot with my sad destiny! no doubt you will suffer by my absence, but that is all, and you may comfort yourself with hopes of seeing me again; but as for me, just heaven! what a terrible trial am i brought to! i must not only be deprived of the sight of the only person whom i love, but i must be tormented with the presence of one whom you have made hateful to me. will not the arrival of the caliph put me in mind of your departure? and how can i, when i am taken up with your dear image, express to that prince the joy which he always observed in my eyes whenever he came to see me? i shall have my mind perplexed when i speak to him, and the least complaisance which i shew to his love will stab me to the heart. can i relish his kind words and caresses? think, prince, to what torments i shall be exposed when i can see you no more." her tears and sighs hindered her from going on, and the prince of persia would have replied, but his own grief, and that of his mistress, deprived him of the power of speech. ebn thaher, who only wished to get out of the palace, was obliged to comfort them, and to exhort them to have patience: but the trusty slave again interrupted them. "madam," said she to schemselnihar, "you have no time to lose; the eunuchs begin to arrive, and you know the caliph will be here immediately." "o heaven! how cruel is this separation!" cried the favourite. "make haste," said she to the confidant, "take them both to the gallery which looks into the garden on the one side, and to the tigris on the other; and when the night grows dark, let them out by the back gate, that they may retire with safety." having spoken thus, she tenderly embraced the prince of persia, without being able to say one word more, and went to meet the caliph in such disorder as cannot well be imagined. in the mean time, the trusty slave conducted the prince and ebn thaher to the gallery, as schemselnihar had appointed; and left them there, assuring them, as she closed the door upon them, that they had nothing to fear, and that she would come for them when it was time. when schemselnihar's trusty slave had left the prince of persia and ebn thaher, they forgot she had assured them they had nothing to apprehend. they examined the gallery, and were seized with extreme fear, because they knew no means of escape, if the caliph or any of his officers should happen to come there. a great light, which they suddenly beheld through the lattices on the garden side, caused them to approach them to see from whence it came. it was occasioned by a hundred flambeaux of white wax, carried by as many young eunuchs: these were followed by more than a hundred others, who guarded the ladies of the caliph's palace, clothed, and armed with cimeters, in the same manner as those i spoke of before; and the caliph came after them, betwixt mesrour their captain on his right, and vassif their second officer on his left hand. schemselnihar waited for the caliph at the entrance of a walk, accompanied by twenty women all of surprising beauty, adorned with necklaces and ear-rings of large diamonds; they played and sung on their instruments, and formed a charming concert. the favourite no sooner saw the prince appear, but she advanced and prostrated herself at his feet; and while she was doing this, "prince of persia," said she, within herself, "if your sad eyes witness what i do, judge of my hard lot; if i were humbling myself so before you, my heart would feel no reluctance." the caliph was delighted to see schemselnihar: "rise, madam," said he to her, "come near, i am angry with myself that i should have deprived myself so long of the pleasure of seeing you." as he spoke, he took her by the hand, and, with many tender expressions, went and sat down upon the silver throne which schemselnihar caused to be brought for him, and she sat down on a seat before him. the twenty women made a circle round them upon other seats, while the young eunuchs, who carried flambeaux, dispersed themselves at a certain distance from one another, that the caliph might the better enjoy the cool of the evening. when the caliph had seated himself, he looked round him, and beheld with great satisfaction the garden illuminated with many other lights, besides those flambeaux which the young eunuchs held; but taking notice that the saloon was shut, expressed his surprise, and demanded the reason. it was done on purpose to surprise him; for he had no sooner spoken, than all the windows flew open at once, and he saw it illuminated within and without, in a much better manner than ever he had beheld it before. "charming schemselnihar," cried he, at this sight, "i understand you; you would have me know there are as fine nights as days. after what i have seen, i cannot deny this." let us return to the prince of persia and ebn thaher, whom we left in the gallery. ebn thaher could not enough admire all that he saw: "i am not young," said he, "and i have seen great entertainments in my time; but i do not think any thing can be seen so surprising and magnificent! all that is said of enchanted palaces does not come up to the prodigious spectacle we now behold. what riches and magnificence united!" the prince of persia was not at all interested by the objects which so delighted ebn thaher; he could look on nothing but schemselnihar, and the presence of the caliph threw him into inconceivable grief. "dear ebn thaher," he exclaimed, "would to god i had my mind as much at liberty to attend to those objects of admiration as you! but alas! i am in a quite different situation, all these things serve only to increase my torment. can i see the caliph familiar with the objets of my love, and not die of grief? must so ardent a passion as mine be disturbed with so potent a rival? o heavens! how cruel and strange is my destiny! it is but a moment since i esteemed myself the most fortunate lover in the world, and at this instant i feel a death stroke to my heart. i cannot resist it, my dear ebn thaher; my patience is exhausted, my disorder overwhelms me, and my courage fails." while he was speaking, he saw something pass in the garden, which obliged him to be silent and to turn all his attention that way. the caliph had ordered one of the women, who was near him, to play upon her lute, and she began to sing. the words she sung were very passionate, and the caliph, persuaded that she sung thus by order of schemselnihar, who had frequently entertained him with the like testimonies of her affection, interpreted them in his own favour. but this was not now schemselnihar's meaning; she applied them to her dear ali ebn becar, and was so sensibly touched with grief, to have before her an object whose presence she could no longer enjoy, that she fainted and fell backwards upon her seat, which having no arms to support her, she must have fallen, had not some of the women given her timely assistance, taken her up, and carried her into the saloon. ebn thaher, who was in the gallery, being surprised at this accident, turned towards the prince of persia; but instead of finding him standing, and looking through the window as before, he was extremely amazed to discover him lying at his feet motionless. this convinced him of the violence of the prince's passion for schemselnihar, and he admired that strange effect of sympathy, which put him into a mortal fear on account of the place they were in. he did all he could to recover the prince, but in vain. ebn thaher was in this perplexity, when schemselnihar's confidant opened the gallery door, and entered out of breath, as one who knew not where she was. "come speedily," cried she "that i may let you out; all is in confusion here; and i fear this will be the last of our days." "alas! how would you have us go?" replied ebn thaher, with a mournful voice; "approach, and see what a condition the prince of persia is in." when the slave saw him in a swoon, she ran for water, and returned in an instant. at last the prince of persia, after they had thrown water on his face, recovered. "prince," said ebn thaher to him, "we run the risk of perishing if we stay here any longer; exert yourself, therefore, let us endeavour to save our lives." he was so feeble, that he could not rise alone; ebn thaher and the confidant lent him their hands, and supported him on each side. they reached a little iron gate which opened towards the tigris, went out at it, and came to the side of a little canal which communicated with the river. the confidant clapped her hands, and immediately a little boat appeared, and came towards them with one rower. ali ebn becar and his comrade went aboard, and the confidant remained at the side of the canal. as soon as the prince was seated in the boat, he stretched out one hand towards the palace, and laying the other on his heart, exclaimed with a feeble voice, "dear object of my soul, receive my faith with this hand, while i assure you with the other, that my heart shall for ever preserve the fire with which it burns for you." in the mean time the boatman rowed with all his might, and schemselnihar's confidant accompanied the prince of persia and ebn thaher walking along the side of the canal, until they came to the tigris, and when she could go no farther she took leave of them and returned. the prince of persia continued very feeble. ebn thaher comforted him, and exhorted him to take courage. "consider," said he, "that when we are landed, we have a great way to walk before we reach my house, and i would not advise you to go to your palace, which is a great deal farther, at this hour and in this condition." at last they went out of the boat, but the prince had so little strength that he could not walk, which put ebn thaher into great perplexity. he recollected he had a friend in the neighbourhood, and carried the prince thither with great difficulty. his friend received him very cheerfully, and when he had made them sit down, he asked them where they had been so late. ebn thaher answered, "i heard this evening that a man who owed me a considerable sum of money was setting out on a long voyage. i lost no time to find him, and by the way i met with this young nobleman, to whom i am under a thousand obligations; for knowing my debtor, he did me the favour to go along with me. we had a great deal of trouble to bring the man to reason. we have at length succeeded, and that is the cause of our being so late. in our return home, this good lord, to whom i am for ever bound to shew all possible respect, was attacked by a sudden illness, which made me take the liberty to knock at your door, flattering myself that you would be pleased to lodge us this night." ebn thaher's friend took all this for truth, told them they were welcome, and offered the prince of persia, whom he knew not, all the assistance he could desire; but ebn thaher spoke for the prince, and said, that his distemper was of such a nature as to require nothing but rest. his friend understood by this that they desired to go to bed. upon which he conducted them to an apartment, where he left them. though the prince of persia slept, he was interrupted by troublesome dreams, which represented schemselnihar in a swoon at the caliph's feet, and increased his affliction. ebn thaher was very impatient to be at home, and doubted not but his family was under great apprehension, because he never used to sleep out. he arose and departed early in the morning, after he had taken leave of his friend, who rose at break of day to prayers at last he reached his house, and the first thing the prince of persia did, who had walked so far with much trouble, was to lie down upon a sofa, as weary as if he had been a long journey. not being in a state to go to his own palace, ebn thaher ordered a chamber to be prepared for him, and sent to acquaint his friends with his condition, and where he was. in the mean time he begged him to compose himself, to command in his house, and to dispose of all things as he pleased. "i thank you heartily for your obliging offers," said the prince; "but that i may not be any ways troublesome to you, i conjure you to deal with me as if i were not at your house. i would not stay one moment, if i thought my presence would incommode you in the least." as soon as ebn thaher had time to recollect himself, he told his family all that had passed at schemselnihar's palace, and concluded by thanking god, who had delivered him from the danger he had been in. the prince of persia's principal domestics came to receive his orders at ebn thaher's house, and in a little time there arrived several of his friends, who had notice of his indisposition. those friends passed the greatest part of the day with him; and though their conversation could not extinguish those melancholy ideas which were the cause of his trouble, yet it afforded him some relief. he would have taken his leave of ebn thaher towards the evening; but this faithful friend found him still so weak, that he obliged him to stay till next day, and in the mean time, to divert him, gave a concert of vocal and instrumental music in the evening; but this concert served only to remind him of the preceding night, and renewed his trouble, instead of assuaging it; so that next day his distemper seemed to increase. upon this ebn thaher did not oppose his going home, but took care to accompany him; and when he was with him alone in his chamber, he represented to him all those arguments which might influence him to a generous effort to overcome his passion, which in the end would neither prove fortunate to himself nor to the favourite. "ah! dear ebn thaher," exclaimed the prince, "how easy is it for you to give this advice, but how hard for me to follow it! i am sensible of its importance, but am not able to profit by it. i have said already, that i shall carry to the grave the love i bear to schemselnihar." when ebn thaher saw that he could gain nothing upon the prince, he took his leave, and would have retired. the prince of persia interrupted him, and said, "kind ebn thaher, since i have declared to you that it is not in my power to follow your wise counsels, i beg you would not charge it on me as a crime, nor forbear to give me the usual testimonies of your friendship. you cannot do me a greater favour than to inform me of the destiny of my dear schemselnihar, when you hear of her. the uncertainty i am in concerning her fate, and the apprehensions her fainting have occasioned in me, keep me in this languishing condition you reproach me with." "my lord," answered ebn thaher, "you have reason to hope that her fainting was not attended with any bad consequences: her confidant will quickly come and inform me of the issue; and as soon as i know the particulars, i will not fail to impart them." ebn thaher left the prince in this hope, and returned home, where he expected schemselnihar's confidant all the rest of the day, but in vain, nor did she come on the following. his uneasiness to know the state of the prince of persia's health would not suffer him to wait any longer without seeing him. he went to his palace to exhort him to patience, and found him lying on his bed as ill as ever, surrounded by a great many of his friends, and several physicians, who used all their art to discover the cause of his disorder. as soon as he saw ebn thaher, he looked at him with a smile, to signify that he had two things to tell him; the one, that he was glad to see him; the other how much the physicians, who could not discover the cause of his illness, were out in their reasonings. his friends and physicians retired one after another, so that ebn thaher being alone with him, approached his bed to ask him how he had been since he had last seen him. "i must tell you," answered the prince, "that my passion, which continually gathers new strength, and the uncertainty of the lovely schemselnihar's fate, augment my disorder every moment, and cast me into such a state as afflicts my kindred and friends, and breaks the measures of my physicians, who do not understand it. you cannot think," he added, "how much i suffer by seeing so many people about me, who importune me, and whom i cannot in civility put away. your company alone relieves me; but i conjure you not to dissemble with me: what news do you bring of schemselnihar? have you seen her confidant? what says she to you?" ebn thaher answered, that he had not seen her yet. no sooner had he communicated to the prince of persia this sad intelligence, than the tears came into his eyes; he could not answer one word, his heart was so oppressed. "prince," added ebn thaher, "suffer me to tell you, that you are too ingenious in tormenting yourself. in the name of god, wipe away your tears: if any of your people should come in, they would discover you by this, notwithstanding the care you ought to take to conceal your thoughts." whatever his judicious adviser could say, it was not possible for the prince to refrain from weeping. "wise ebn thaher," said he, when he had recovered his speech, "i may indeed hinder my tongue from revealing the secrets of my heart, but i have no power over my tears, upon such an alarming subject as schemselnihar's danger. if that adorable and only objets of my desires be no longer in the world, i shall not survive her a moment." "reject so afflicting a thought," replied ebn thaher; "schemselnihar is yet alive, you need not doubt it: if you have heard no news of her, it is because she could find no opportunity to send to you, and i hope you will hear from her to-day." to this he added several other consoling arguments, and then withdrew. ebn thaher had scarcely reached his own house, when schemselnihar's confidant arrived with a melancholy countenance, which he reckoned a bad omen. he asked news of her mistress. "tell me yours first," said the confidant, "for i was in great trouble to see the prince of persia go away in that condition." ebn thaher told her all that she wished to know, and when he had done, the slave began thus: "if the prince of persia has suffered, and does still suffer for my mistress, she suffers no less for him. after i departed from you, i returned to the saloon, where i found schemselnihar not yet recovered from her swoon, notwithstanding all the assistance they endeavoured to give her. the caliph was sitting near her with all the signs of real grief. he asked all the women, and me in particular, if we knew the cause of her disorder; but we kept all secret, and told him we were altogether ignorant of it. in the mean time we all wept to see her suffer so long, and forgot nothing that might any ways relieve her. in a word, it was almost midnight before she came to herself. the caliph, who had the patience to wait the event, was rejoiced at her recovery, and asked schemselnihar the cause of her illness. as soon as she heard him speak, she endeavoured to recover her seat; and after she had kissed his feet, before he could hinder her, 'sir,' said she, 'i have reason to complain of heaven, that it did not allow me to expire at your majesty's feet to testify thereby how sensible i am of your favours.' "'i am persuaded you love me,' replied the caliph, 'and i command you to preserve yourself for my sake. you have probably exceeded in something to-day, which has occasioned this indisposition; take care, i entreat you; abstain from it for the future. i am glad to see you better, and advise you to stay here to-night, and not return to your chamber, for fear the motion should affect you.' he then commanded a little wine to be brought to strengthen her; and taking leave of her, returned to his apartment. "as soon as the caliph had departed, my mistress gave me a sign to come near her. she asked me earnestly concerning you: i assured her that you had been gone a long time, which made her easy on that head. i took care not to speak of the prince of persia's fainting, lest she should fall into the same state, from which we had so much trouble to recover her: but my precautions were in vain, as you shall hear. 'prince,' exclaimed she, 'i henceforth renounce all pleasure as long as i am deprived of the sight of you. if i have understood your heart right, i only follow your example. you will not cease to weep and mourn until i see you.' at these words, which she uttered in a manner expressive of the violence of her passion, she fainted a second time in my arms. "my companions and i were a long time recovering her; at last she came to herself; and then i said to her, 'madam, are you resolved to kill yourself, and to make us also die with you? i entreat you, in the name of the prince of persia, who is so deeply interested in your life, to preserve it.' 'i am much obliged to you,' replied she, 'for your care, your zeal, and your advice; but alas! they are useless to me: you are not to flatter us with any hopes, for we can expect no end of our torment but in the grave.' "one of my companions would have diverted these sad thoughts by playing on the lute, but she commanded her to be silent, and ordered all of them to retire, except me, whom she kept all night with her. o heavens! what a night it was! she passed it in tears and groans, and incessantly naming the prince of persia. she lamented her lot, that had destined her to the caliph, whom she could not love, and not for him whom she loved so dearly. "next morning, as she was not commodiously lodged in the saloon, i helped her to her chamber, which she had no sooner reached, than all the physicians of the palace came to see her, by order of the caliph, who was not long before he arrived himself. the medicines which the physicians prescribed to schemselnihar were ineffectual, because they were ignorant of the cause of her malady, which was augmented by the presence of the caliph. she got a little rest however this night, and as soon as she awoke, she charged me to come to you, to learn some news of the prince of persia." "i have already informed you of his case," said ebn thaher; "so return to your mistress, and assure her, that the prince of persia waits for some account of her with an impatience equal to her own. above all, exhort her to moderation, and to overcome her feelings, for fear she should drop before the caliph some word, which may prove fatal to us all." "as for me," replied the confidant, "i confess i dread her transports. i have taken the liberty to tell her my mind, and am persuaded that she will not take it ill that i tell her this from you." ebn thaher, who had but just come from the prince of persia's lodgings, thought it not convenient to return so soon, and neglect his own important affairs; he therefore went not till the evening. the prince was alone, and no better than in the morning. "ebn thaher," said he to him, as soon as he saw him, "you have doubtless many friends, but they do not know your worth, which you discover to me by your zeal, your care, and the trouble you give yourself to oblige me. i am confounded with all that you do for me with so much affection, and i know not how i shall be able to express my gratitude." "prince," answered ebn thaher, "do not speak thus, i entreat you. i am ready, not only to give one of my eyes to save one of yours, but to sacrifice my life for you. but this is not the present business. i come to tell you that schemselnihar sent her confidant to ask me about you, and at the same time to inform me of her condition. you may assure yourself that i said nothing but what might confirm the excess of your passion for her mistress, and the constancy with which you love her." then ebn thaher gave him a particular account of all that had passed betwixt the trusty slave and him. the prince listened with all the different emotions of fear, jealousy, affection, and compassion, which this conversation could inspire, making, upon every thing which he heard, all the afflicting or comforting reflections that so passionate a lover was capable of. their conversation continued so long that the night was far advanced, so that the prince of persia obliged ebn thaher to stay with him. the next morning, as this trusty friend returned home, there came a woman to him whom he knew to be schemselnihar's confidant, and immediately she spoke to him thus: "my mistress salutes you, and i am come to entreat you in her name to deliver this letter to the prince of persia." the zealous ebn thaher took the letter, and returned to the prince, accompanied by the confidant slave. when ebn thaher entered the prince of persia's house with schemselnihar's confidant, he prayed her to stay, and wait for him a moment in the ante-room. as soon as the prince saw him, he asked earnestly what news he had to communicate? "the best you can expect," answered ebn thaher: "you are as dearly beloved as you love; schemselnihar's confidant is in your anteroom; she has brought you a letter from her mistress, and waits for your orders to come in." "let her enter," cried the prince, with a transport of joy; and so saying, sat up to receive her. the prince's attendants retired as soon as they saw ebn thaher, and left him alone with their master. ebn thaher opened the door himself, and brought in the confidant. the prince knew her, and received her with great politeness. "my lord," said she to him, "i am sensible of the affliction you have endured since i had the honour to conduct you to the boat which waited to bring you back; but i hope the letter i have brought will contribute to your cure." so saying, she presented him the letter. he took it, and after he had kissed it several times, opened it, and read as follows: letter from schemselnihar to the prince of persia. "the person who will deliver to you this letter will give you more correct information concerning me than i can, for i have not been myself since i saw you. deprived of your presence, i endeavour to deceive myself by conversing with you by these ill-written lines, with the same pleasure as if i had the happiness of speaking to you in person. "it is said that patience is a cure for all evils, but instead of relieving it heightens my sufferings. although your picture is deeply engraver in my heart, my eyes desire to have the original continually before them; and they will lose all their light, if they be any considerable time deprived of this felicity. may i flatter myself that yours have the same impatience to see me? yes, i can; their tender glances have sufficiently assured me of this. how happy, prince, would it be for you, how happy for schemselnihar, if our united desires were not thwarted by invincible obstacles; obstacles which afflict me the more sensibly as they affect you. "these thoughts which my fingers write, and which i express with incredible pleasure, repeating them again and again, proceed from the bottom of my heart, and from the incurable wound which you have made in it; a wound which i bless a thousand times, notwithstanding the cruel torments i endure through your absence. i would reckon all that opposes our love nothing, were i only allowed to see you sometimes with freedom; i should then enjoy your company, and what could i desire more? "do not imagine that i say more than i think. alas! whatever expressions i use, i feel that i think more than i can tell you. my eyes, which are continually watching and weeping for your return; my afflicted heart, which desires you alone; the sighs that escape me as often as i think on you, and that is every moment; my imagination, which represents no other object to me than my dear prince; the complaints that i make to heaven for the rigour of my destiny; in a word, my grief, my distress, my torments, which have allowed me no ease since i was deprived of your presence, will vouch for what i write. "am not i unhappy to be born to dove, without hope of enjoying the object of my passion? this afflicting thought oppresses me so that i should die, were i not persuaded that you love me: but this sweet comfort balances my despair, and preserves my life. tell me that you love me always. i will keep your letter carefully, and read it a thousand times a-day: i shall endure my afflictions with less impatience: i pray heaven may cease to be angry at us, and grant us an opportunity to say that we love one another without fear; and that we shall never cease thus to love. adieu. i salute ebn thaher, to whom we are so much obliged." the prince of persia was not satisfied with reading the letter once; he thought he had perused it with too little attention, and therefore read it again with more leisure; and while so doing, sometimes heaved deep sighs, sometimes shed tears, and sometimes broke out into transports of joy and tenderness as the contents affected him. in short, he could not keep his eyes off those characters drawn by so beloved a hand, and was beginning to read it a third time, when ebn thaher observed to him that the confidant had no time to lose, and that he ought to think of giving an answer. "alas!" cried the prince, "how would you have me reply to so kind a letter! in what terms shall i express myself in my present disturbed state! my mind is tossed with a thousand tormenting thoughts, which are lost the moment they are conceived, to make way for others. so long as my body is influenced by the impressions of my mind, how shall i be able to hold the paper, or guide a reed to write." so saying, he took out of a little desk which was near him, paper, a cane ready cut, and an inkhorn. the prince of persia, before he began to write, gave schemselnihar's letter to ebn thaher, and prayed him to hold it open while he wrote, that by casting his eyes upon it he might the better see what to answer. he began to write; but the tears that fell from his eyes upon the paper obliged him several times to stop, that they might fall the more freely. at last he finished his letter, and giving it to ebn thaher, "read it, i pray," said he, "and do me the favour to see if the disorder of my mind has allowed me to give a favourable answer." ebn thaher took it, and read as follows: the prince of persia's answer to schemselnihar's letter. "i was plunged in the deepest grief when i received your letter, but at the sight of it i was transported with unspeakable joy. when i beheld the characters written by your fair hand, my eyes were enlightened by a stronger light than they lost, when yours were suddenly closed at the feet of my rival. the words contained in your kind epistle are so many rays which have dispelled the darkness wherewith my soul was obscured; they shew me how much you suffer from your love of me, and that you are not ignorant of what i endure on your account. thus they comfort me in my afflictions. on the one hand they cause me to shed tears in abundance; and on the other, inflame my heart with a fire which supports it, and prevents my dying of grief. i have not had one moment's rest since our cruel separation. your letter alone gave me some ease. i kept a mournful silence till the moment i received it, and then recovered my speech. i was buried in profound melancholy, but it inspired me with joy, which immediately appeared in my eyes and countenance. but my surprise at receiving a favour which i had not yet deserved was so great, that i knew not how to begin to testify my thankfulness. in a word, after having kissed it several times, as a precious pledge of your goodness, i read it over and over, and was confounded at the excess of my good fortune. you would have me declare that i always love you. ah! did i not love you so perfectly as i do, i could not forbear adoring you, after all the marks you have given me of an affection so uncommon: yes, i love you, my dear soul, and shall account it my glory to burn all my days with that sweet fire you have kindled in my heart. i will never complain of that ardour with which i feel it consumes me: and how rigorous soever the evils i suffer, i will bear them with fortitude, in hopes some time or other to see you. would to heaven it were to-day, and that, instead of sending you my letter, i might be allowed to come and assure you in person, that i die for you! my tears hinder me from saying more. adieu." ebn thaher could not read these last lines without weeping. he returned the letter to the prince of persia, and assured him it wanted no correction. the prince closed it, and when he had sealed it, he desired the trusty slave to come near, and said to her, "this is my answer to you dear mistress's letter. i conjure you to carry it to her, and to salute her in my name." the slave took the letter, and retired with ebn thaher. after ebn thaher had walked some way with the slave, he left her, and went to his house, and began to think in earnest upon the amorous intrigue in which he found himself unhappily engaged. he considered, that the prince of persia and schemselnihar, notwithstanding their interest to conceal their correspondence, conducted themselves with so little discretion, that it could not be long a secret. he drew all the consequences from it, which a man of good sense might have anticipated. "were schemselnihar," said he to himself, "a lady of common rank, i would contribute all in my power to make her and her lover happy; but she is the caliph's favourite, and no man can without danger attempt to engage the affections of the objets of his choice. his anger would fall in the first instance on schemselnihar; it will next cost the prince of persia his life, and i should be involved in his misfortune. in the mean time i have my honour, my quiet, my family, and my property to preserve. i must, while i can, extricate myself out of such a perilous situation." these thoughts occupied his mind all that day. next morning he went to the prince of persia, with a design of making one more effort to induce him to conquer his passion. he represented to him what he had before urged in vain; that it would be much better for him to summon all his resolution, to overcome his inclination for schemselnihar, than to suffer himself to be hurried away by it; and that his passion was so much the more dangerous, as his rival was powerful. "in short, sir," added he, "if you will hearken to me, you ought to think of nothing but to triumph over your love; otherwise you run the risk of destroying yourself with schemselnihar, whose life ought to be dearer to you than your own. i give you this advice as a friend, for which you will some time or other thank me." the prince heard ebn thaher with great impatience, but suffered him to speak his mind, and then replied to him thus: "ebn thaher, do you think i can cease to love schemselnihar, who loves me so tenderly? she is not afraid to expose her life for me, and would you have me regard mine? no; whatever misfortunes befall me, i will love schemselnihar to my last breath." ebn thaher, shocked at the obstinacy of the prince of persia, left him hastily, and going to his own house, recalled his former reflections, and began to think seriously what he should do. in the mean time a jeweller, one of his intimate friends, came to see him. the jeweller had perceived that schemselnihar's confidant came oftener to ebn thaher than usual, and that he was constantly with the prince of persia, whose sickness was known to every one, though not the cause. this had awakened the jeweller's suspicions, and finding ebn thaher very pensive, he presently judged that he was perplexed with some important affair, and fancying that he knew the cause, he asked what schemselnihar's confidant wanted with him? ebn thaher being struck with this question, would have dissembled, and told him, that it was on some trifling errand she came so frequently to him. "you do not tell me the truth," said the jeweller, "and your dissimulation only serves to prove to me that this trifle is a more important affair than at first i thought it to be." ebn thaher, perceiving that his friend pressed him so much, said to him, "it is true, that it is an affair of the greatest consequence. i had resolved to keep it secret, but since i know how much you are my friend, i choose rather to make you my confidant, than to suffer you to be under a mistake about it. i do not bind you to secrecy, for you will easily judge by what i am going to tell you how impossible it is to keep it unknown." after this preamble, he told him the amour between schemselnihar and the prince of persia. "you know," he continued, "in what esteem i am at court, in the city, and with lords and ladies of the greatest quality; what a disgrace would it be for me, should this rash amour come to be discovered? but what do i say; should not i and my family be completely ruined! that is what perplexes my mind; but i have just formed my resolution: i will go immediately and satisfy my creditors, and recover my debts, and when i have secured my property, will retire to bussorah, and stay till the storm, that i foresee, is blown over. my friendship for schemselnihar and the prince of persia makes me very sensible to what dangers they are exposed. i pray heaven to convince them of their peril, and to preserve them; but if their evil destiny should bring their attachment to the knowledge of the caliph, i shall, at least, be out of the reach of his resentment; for i do not think them so wicked as to design to involve me in their misfortunes. it would be the height of ingratitude, and a bad reward for the service i have done them, and the good advice i have given, particularly to the prince of persia, who may save both himself and his mistress from this precipice. he may as easily leave bagdad as i; and absence will insensibly disenage him from a passion, which will only increase whilst he continues in this place." the jeweller was extremely surprised at what ebn thaher told him. "what you say," said he, "is of so much importance, that i cannot understand how schemselnihar and the prince could have abandoned themselves to such a violent passion. what inclination soever they may have for one another, instead of yielding to it, they ought to resist it, and make a better use of their reason. is it possible they can be insensible of the danger of their correspondence? how deplorable is their blindness! i anticipate all its consequences as well as yourself; but you are wise and prudent, and i approve your resolution; as it is the only way to deliver yourself from the fatal events which you have reason to fear." after this conversation the jeweller rose, and took his leave of ebn thaher. before the jeweller retired, ebn thaher conjured him by the friendship betwixt them, to say nothing of what he had heard. "fear not," replied the jeweller, "i will keep this secret at the peril of my life." two days after, the jeweller went to ebn thaher's shop, and seeing it shut, he doubted not but he had executed his design; but, to be more sure, he asked a neighbour, if he knew why it was not opened? the neighbour answered that he knew not, unless ebn thaher was gone a journey. there was no need of his enquiring farther, and he immediately thought of the prince of persia: "unhappy prince," said he to himself, "what will be your grief when you hear this news? how will you now carry on your correspondence with schemselnihar? i fear you will die of despair. i pity you, and must repair your loss of a too timid confidant." the business that obliged him to come abroad was of no consequence, so that he neglected it, and though he had no knowledge of the prince of persia, only by having sold him some jewels, he went to his house. he addressed himself to one of his servants, and desired him to tell his master, that he wished to speak with him about business of very great importance. the servant returned immediately to the jeweller, and introduced him to the prince's chamber. he was leaning on a sofa, with his head on a cushion. as soon as the prince saw him, he rose up to receive and welcome him, and entreated him to sit down; asked him if he could serve him in any thing, or if he came to tell him any thing interesting concerning himself. "prince," answered the jeweller, "though i have not the honour to be particularly acquainted with you, yet the desire of testifying my zeal has made me take the liberty to come to your house, to impart to you a piece of news that concerns you. i hope you will pardon my boldness for my good intention." after this introduction, the jeweller entered upon the matter, and continued: "prince, i shall have the honour to tell you, that it is a long time since conformity of disposition, and some business we have had together, united ebn thaher and myself in strict friendship. i know you are acquainted with him, and that he has employed himself in obliging you to his utmost. i have learnt this from himself, for he keeps nothing secret from me, nor i from him. i went just now to his shop, and was surprised to find it shut. i addressed myself to one of his neighbours, to ask the reason; he answered me, that two days ago ebn thaher took leave of him, and other neighbours, offering them his service at bussorah, whither he is gone, said he, about an affair of great importance. not being satisfied with this answer, my concern for his welfare determined me to come and ask if you knew any thing particular concerning this his sudden departure." at this discourse, which the jeweller accommodated to the subject, the better to compass his design, the prince of persia changed colour, and looked at the jeweller in a manner which convinced him how much he was disconcerted at the intelligence. "i am surprised at what you inform me," said he; "a greater misfortune could not befall me: ah!" he continued, with tears in his eyes, "if what you tell me be true, i am undone! has ebn thaher, who was all my comfort, in whom i put all my confidence, left me? i cannot think of living after so cruel a blow." the jeweller needed no more to convince him fully of the prince of persia's violent passion, which ebn thaher had told him of: mere friendship would not make him speak so; nothing but love could produce such lively sensations. the prince continued some moments absorbed in melancholy thoughts; at last he lifted up his head, and calling one of his servants, said, "go, to ebn thaher's house, and ask some of his domestics if he be gone to bussorah: run, and come back quickly with the answer." while the servant was gone, the jeweller endeavoured to entertain the prince of persia with indifferent subjects; but the prince gave little heed to him. he was a prey to fatal grief: sometimes he could not persuade himself that ebn thaher was gone, and at others he did not doubt of it, when he reflected upon the conversation he had had with him the last time he had seen him, and the abrupt manner in which he had left him. at last the prince's servant returned, and reported that he had spoken with one of ebn thaher's servants, who assured him that he had been gone two days to bussorah. "as i came from ebn thaher's house," added the servant, "a slave well dressed met me, and after she had asked me if i had the honour to belong to you, told me she wanted to speak with you, and begged at the same time that she might accompany me: she is in the outer room, and i believe has a letter to deliver to you from some person of consequence." the prince commanded her to be immediately introduced, not doubting but it was schemselnihar's confidant slave, as indeed it was. the jeweller knew her, having seen her several times at ebn thaher's house: she could not have come at a better time to save the prince from despair. she saluted him. the prince of persia returned the salute of schemselnihar's confidant. the jeweller arose as soon as he saw her and retired, to leave them at liberty to converse together. the confidant, after she had spoken some time with the prince, took her leave and departed. she left him quite another person from what he was before; his eyes appeared brighter, and his countenance more gay, which satisfied the jeweller that the good slave came to tell him something favourable to his amour. the jeweller having taken his place again near the prince, said to him smiling, "i see, prince, you have business of importance at the caliph's palace." the prince of persia, astonished and alarmed at these words, answered the jeweller, "what leads you to suppose that i have business at the caliph's palace?" "i judge so," replied the jeweller, "by the slave who has just left you." "and to whom, think you, belongs this slave?" demanded the prince. "to schemselnihar the caliph's favourite," answered the jeweller: "i know," continued he, "both the slave and her mistress, who has several times done me the honour to come to my house, and buy jewels. besides, i know that schemselnihar keeps nothing secret from this slave; and i have seen her pass backwards and forwards for several days along the streets, as i thought very much troubled; i imagined that it was for some affair of consequence concerning her mistress." the jeweller's words greatly troubled the prince of persia. "he would not say so," said he to himself, "if he did not suspect, or rather were not acquainted with my secret." he remained silent for some time, not knowing what course to take. at last he began, and said to the jeweller, "you have told me things which make me believe that you know yet more than you have acquainted me with; it concerns my repose that i be perfectly informed; i conjure you therefore not to conceal any thing from me." then the jeweller, who desired nothing more, gave him a particular account of what had passed betwixt ebn thaher and himself. he informed him that he was apprised of his correspondence with schemselnihar and forgot not to tell him that ebn thaher, alarmed at the danger of being his confidant in the matter, had communicated to him his intention of retiring to bussorah, until the storm which he dreaded should be blown over. "this he has executed," added the jeweller, "and i am surprised how he could determine to abandon you, in the condition he informed me you were in. as for me, prince, i confess, i am moved with compassion towards you, and am come to offer you my service. if you do me the favour to accept of it, i engage myself to be as faithful to you as ebn thaher; besides, i promise to be more resolute. i am ready to sacrifice my honour and life for you: and, that you may not doubt of my sincerity, i swear by all that is sacred in our religion, to keep your secret inviolable. be persuaded then, prince, that you will find in me the friend whom you have lost." this declaration encouraged the prince, and comforted him under ebn thaher's absence. "i am glad," said he to the jeweller, "to find in you a reparation of my loss; i want words to express the obligations i am under to you. i pray god to recompense your generosity, and i accept your obliging offer with all my heart. believe me," continued he, "schemselnihar's confidant came to speak to me concerning you. she told me that it was you who advised ebn thaher to go from bagdad; these were the last words she spoke to me, as she went away, and she seemed persuaded of what she said; but they do not do you justice. i doubt not, after what you have told me, she is deceived." "prince" replied the jeweller, "i have had the honour to give you a faithful account of my conversation with ebn thaher. it is true, when he told me he meant to retire to bussorah, i did not oppose his design; but let not this prevent your putting confidence in me. i am ready to serve you with all imaginable zeal. if you do not use my service, this shall not hinder me from keeping your secret religiously, according to my oath." "i have already told you," replied the prince, "that i did not believe what the confidant said: it is her zeal which inspired her with this groundless suspicion, and you ought to excuse it, as i do." they continued their conversation for some time, and consulted together about the most convenient means to keep up the prince's correspondence with schemselnihar. they agreed to begin by undeceiving the confidant, who was so unjustly prepossessed against the jeweller. the prince engaged to remove her mistake the first time he saw her again, and to intreat her to address herself to the jeweller whenever she might bring letters, or any other information from her mistress to him. in short, they determined, that she ought not to come so frequently to the prince's house, because thereby she might lead to the discovery of what it was of so great importance to conceal. at last the jeweller arose, and, after having again intreated the prince of persia to place an unreserved confidence in him, withdrew. the jeweller returning to his house perceived before him a letter, which somebody had dropped in the street. he took it up, and as it was not sealed, he opened it, and read as follows: letter from schemselnihar to the prince of persia. "i have received from my confidant intelligence which gives me no less concern than it must give you. in ebn thaher, we have indeed sustained a great loss; but let this not hinder you, dear prince, from thinking of your own preservation. if our friend has abandoned us through fear, let us consider that it is a misfortune which we could not avoid. i confess ebn thaher has left us at a time when we most needed his assistance; but let us bear this unexpected stroke with patience, and let us not forbear to love one another constantly. fortify your heart under this misfortune. the object of our wishes is not to be obtained without trouble. let us not be discouraged, but hope that heaven will favour us, and that, after so many afflictions, we shall see a happy accomplishment of our desires. adieu." while the jeweller was conversing with the prince of persia, the confidant had time to return to the palace and communicate to her mistress the ill news of ebn thaher's departure. schemselnihar immediately wrote this letter, and sent back her confidant with it to the prince of persia, but she negligently dropped it on her way. the jeweller was glad to find it, for it furnished him with an opportunity of justifying himself to the confidant, and bringing her to the point he desired. when he had read it, he perceived the slave seeking for it with the greatest anxiety. he closed it again quickly, and put it into his bosom; but the slave observed him, and running to him, said, "sir, i have dropped a letter, which you had just now in your hand; i beseech you to restore it." the jeweller, pretending not to hear her, continued his way till he came to his house. he left his door open, that the confidant, who followed him, might enter after him. she followed him in, and when she came to his apartment, said, "sir, you can make no use of that letter you have found, and you would not hesitate to return it to me, if you knew from whom it came, and to whom it is directed. besides, allow me to tell you, you cannot honestly keep it." before the jeweller returned her any answer he made her sit down, and then said to her, "is not this letter from schemselnihar, and is it not directed to the prince of persia?" the slave, who expected no such question, blushed. "the question embarrasses you," continued he; "but i assure you i do not put it rashly: i could have given you the letter in the street, but i wished you to follow me, on purpose that i might come to some explanation with you. is it just, tell me, to impute a misfortune to persons who have no ways contributed towards it? yet this you have done, in telling the prince of persia that it was i who advised ebn thaher to leave bagdad for his own safety. i do not intend to waste time in justifying myself; it is enough that the prince of persia is fully persuaded of my innocence; i will only tell you, that instead of contributing to ebn thaher's departure, i have been extremely afflicted at it, not so much from my friendship to him, as out of compassion for the condition in which he left the prince of persia, whose correspondence with schemselnihar he has discovered to me. as soon as i knew certainly that ebn thaher was gone from bagdad, i went and presented myself to the prince, in whose house you found me, to inform him of this event, and to offer to undertake the service in which he had been employed; and provided you put the same confidence in me, that you did in ebn thaher, it will be your own fault if you do not make my assistance of use to you. inform your mistress of what i have told you, and assure her, that though i should die for engaging in so dangerous an intrigue, i should not repent of having sacrificed myself for two lovers so worthy of one another." the confidant, after having heard the jeweller with great satisfaction, begged him to pardon the ill opinion she had conceived of him, for the zeal she had for her mistress's interest. "i am beyond measure glad," she added, "that schemselnihar and the prince have found in you a person so fit to supply ebn thaher's place i will not fail to convince my mistress of the good-will you bear her." after the confidant had testified to the jeweller her joy to see him so well disposed to serve schemselnihar and the prince of persia, the jeweller took the letter out of his bosom, and restored it to her, saying, "go, carry it quickly to the prince, and return this way that i may see his reply. forget not to give him an account of our conversation." the confidant took the letter and carried it to the prince, who answered it immediately. she returned to the jeweller's house to shew him the answer, which was in these words: the prince of persia's answer to schemselnihar. "your precious letter has had a great effect upon me, but not so great as i could have wished. you endeavour to comfort me for the loss of ebn thaher; alas! however sensible i am of this, it is but the least of my troubles. you know these troubles, and you know also that your presence alone can cure me. when will the time come that i shall enjoy it without fear of a separation? how distant does it seem to me! or shall we flatter ourselves that we may ever see it? you command me to preserve myself; i will obey you, since i have renounced my own will to follow only yours. adieu." after the jeweller had read this letter, he returned it to the confidant, who said, as she was going away, "i will desire my mistress to put the same confidence in you that she did in ebn thaher. you shall hear of me to-morrow." accordingly, next day she returned with a pleasant countenance. "your very looks," said he to her, "inform me that you have brought schemselnihar to the point you wished." "it is true," replied the confidant, "and you shall hear how i succeeded. i found yesterday, on my return, schemselnihar expecting me with impatience, i gave her the prince of persia's letter, and she read it with tears in her eyes. when she had done, i saw that she had abandoned herself to her usual sorrow. 'madam,' said i to her, 'it is doubtless ebn thaher's removal that troubles you; but suffer me to conjure you in the name of god, to alarm yourself no farther on this account. we have found another ebn thaher, who offers to oblige you with equal zeal; and, what is yet more important, with greater courage.' then i spoke to her of you," continued the slave, "and acquainted her with the motive which led you to the prince of persia's house. in short, i assured her that you would keep inviolably the secret betwixt her and the prince of persia, and that you were resolved to favour their amour with all your might. she seemed to be much relieved by my discourse. 'ah! what obligations,' said she, 'are the prince of persia and i under to that honest man you speak of! i must be acquainted with him and see him, that i may hear from his own mouth what you tell me, and thank him for such unheard-of generosity towards persons on whose account he is no way obliged to interest himself. the sight of him will give me pleasure, and i shall omit nothing to confirm him in those good sentiments. fail not to bring him to me to-morrow.' therefore, sir, be so good as to accompany me to the palace." the confidant's proposal perplexed the jeweller. "your mistress," replied he, "must allow me to say that she has not duly considered what she requires of me. ebn thaher's access to the caliph gave him admission every where; and the officers who knew him, allowed him free access to schemselnihar's palace; but as for me, how dare i enter? you see clearly that it is impossible. i entreat you to represent to schemselnihar the reasons which prevent me from affording her that satisfaction; and acquaint her with all the ill consequences that would attend my compliance. if she considered it ever so little, she would find that it would expose me needlessly to very imminent danger." the confidant endeavoured to encourage the jeweller. "can you believe," said she, "that schemselnihar is so unreasonable as to expose you to the least danger by bringing you to her, from whom she expects such important services? consider with yourself that there is not the least appearance of risk. my mistress and i are too much interested in this affair to involve you in any danger. you may depend upon me, and leave yourself to my conduit. after the thing is over you will be the first to confess that your apprehensions were groundless." the jeweller yielded to the confidant's assurances, and rose up to follow her, but notwithstanding his boasted courage, he was seized with such terror that his whole body trembled. "in your present state," said she, "i perceive it will be better for you to remain at home, and that schemselnihar should take other measures to see you. it is not to be doubted but that to satisfy her desire she will come hither herself: the case being so, sir, i would not have you go: i am persuaded it will not be long ere you see her here." the confidant foresaw this; for she no sooner informed schemselnihar of the jeweller's fear, but she prepared to go to his house. he received her with all the expressions of profound respect. when she sat down, being a little fatigued, she unveiled herself, and exhibited to the jeweller such beauty as convinced him that the prince of persia was excusable in giving his heart to the caliph's favourite. then she saluted the jeweller with a graceful air, and said to him, "i could not hear with what zeal you have engaged in the prince of persia's concerns and mine, without immediately determining to express my gratitude in person. i thank heaven for having so soon made up to us the loss of ebn thaher." schemselnihar said many other obliging things to the jeweller, after which she returned to her palace. the jeweller went immediately to give an account of this visit to the prince of persia; who said to him, as soon as he saw him, "i have expected you impatiently. the trusty slave has brought me a letter from her mistress, but it does not relieve me. whatever the lovely schemselnihar says, i dare not hope, and my patience is exhausted; i know not now what measures to pursue; ebn thaher's departure reduces me to despair. he was my only support: in him i have lost every thing. i had flattered myself with some hopes by reason of his access to schemselnihar." after these words, which the prince spoke with so much eagerness, that he gave the jeweller no time to interrupt him, he said to the prince, "no man can take more interest in your affliction than i do; and if you will have patience to hear me you will perceive that i can relieve you." upon this the prince became silent, and listened to him. "i see," said the jeweller, "that the only way to give you satisfaction is to devise a plan that will afford you an opportunity of conversing freely with schemselnihar. this i wish to procure you, and to-morrow will make the attempt. you must by no means expose yourself to enter schemselnihar's palace; you know by experience the danger of that step. i know a fitter place for this interview, where you will be safe." when the jeweller had finished, the prince embraced him with transports of joy. "you revive," said he, "by this promise, a wretched lover, who was condemned to die. you have fully repaired the loss of ebn thaher; whatever you do will be well performed; i leave myself entirely to your conduct." after the prince had thus thanked him for his zeal, the jeweller returned home, and next morning schemselnihar's confidant came to him. he told her that he had given the prince of persia hopes that he should shortly see her mistress. "i am come on purpose," answered she, "to concert measures with you for that end. i think this house will be convenient enough for their interview." "i could receive them very well here," replied he, "but i think they will have more liberty in another house of mine where no one resides at present; i will immediately furnish it for their reception." "there remains nothing then for me to do," replied the confidant, "but to bring schemselnihar to consent to this. i will go and speak to her, and return speedily with an answer." she was as diligent as her promise, and returning to the jeweller, told him that her mistress would not fail to keep the appointment in the evening. in the mean time she gave him a purse, and told him it was to prepare a collation. he carried her immediately to the house where the lovers were to meet, that she might know whither to bring her mistress: and when she was gone, he went to borrow from his friends gold and silver plate, tapestry, rich cushions, and other furniture, with which he furnished the house very magnificently; and when he had put all things in order, went to the prince of persia. you may easily conceive the prince of persia's joy, when the jeweller told him that he came to conduct him to the house he had prepared to receive him and schemselnihar. this news made him forget all his former trouble. he put on a magnificent robe, and went without his retinue along with the jeweller; who led him through several by-streets that nobody might observe them, and at last brought him to the house, where they conversed together until schemselnihar's arrival. they did not wait long for this passionate lover. she came after evening prayer, with her confidant, and two other slaves. it is impossible to express the excess of joy that seized these two lovers when they saw one another. they sat down together upon a sofa, looking upon one another for some time, without being able to speak, they were so much overjoyed: but when their speech returned, they soon made up for their silence. they said to each other so many tender things, as made the jeweller, the confidant, and the two other slaves weep. the jeweller however restrained his tears, to attend the collation, which he brought in himself. the lovers ate and drank little, after which they sat down again upon the sofa: schemselnihar asked the jeweller if he had a lute, or any other instrument, the jeweller, who took care to provide all that could please her, brought her a lute: she spent some time in tuning it, and then sung. while schemselnihar was charming the prince of persia, and expressing her passion by words composed extempore, a great noise was heard; and immediately the slave, whom the jeweller had brought with him, came in great alarm to tell him that some people were breaking in at the gate; that he asked who they were, but instead of any answer the blows were redoubled. the jeweller, being alarmed, left schemselnihar and the prince to inform himself of the truth of this intelligence. no sooner had he got to the court, than he perceived, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, a company of men armed with spears and cimeters, who had broken the gate, and came directly towards him. he stood close to a wall for fear of his life, and saw ten of them pass without being perceived by them. finding he could give no great assistance to the prince of persia and schemselnihar, he contented himself with lamenting their fate, and fled for refuge to a neighbour's house, who was not yet gone to bed. he did not doubt but this unexpected violence was by the caliph's order, who, he thought, had been informed of his favourite's meeting the prince of persia there. he heard a great noise in his house, which continued till midnight: and when all was quiet, as he thought, he desired his neighbour to lend him a cimeter; and being thus armed, went on till he came to the gate of his own house: he entered the court full of fear, and perceived a man, who asked him who he was; he knew by his voice that it was his own slave. "how did you manage," said he, "to avoid being taken by the watch?" "sir," answered the slave, "i hid myself in a corner of the court, and i went out as soon as i heard the noise. but it was not the watch who broke into your house: they were robbers, who within these few days robbed another house in this neighbourhood. they doubtless had notice of the rich furniture you brought hither, and had that in view." the jeweller thought his slave's conjecture probable enough. he entered the house, and saw that the robbers had taken all the furniture out of the apartment where he received schemselnihar and her lover, that they had also carried off the gold and silver plate, and, in a word, had left nothing. perceiving this desolation, he exclaimed, "o heaven! i am irrecoverably ruined! what will my friends say, and what excuse can i make when i shall tell them that the robbers have broken into my house, and robbed me of all they had generously lent me? i shall never be able to make up their loss. besides, what is become of schemselnihar and the prince of persia? this business will be so public, that it will be impossible but it must reach the caliph's ears. he will get notice of this meeting, and i shall fall a sacrifice to his fury." the slave, who was very much attached to him, endeavoured to comfort him. "as to schemselnihar," said he, "the robbers would probably consent themselves with stripping her, and you have reason to think that she is retired to her palace with her slaves. the prince of persia too has probably escaped, so that you have reason to hope the caliph will never know of this adventure. as for the loss your friends have sustained, that is a misfortune that you could not avoid. they know very well the robbers are numerous, that they have not only pillaged the house i have already spoken of, but many other houses of the principal noblemen of the court: and they are not ignorant that, notwithstanding the orders given to apprehend them, nobody has been yet able to seize any of them. you will be acquitted by restoring your friends the value of the things that are stolen, and, blessed be god, you will have enough left." while they were waiting for day-light, the jeweller ordered the slave to mend the street door, which was broken, as well as he could: after which he returned to his usual residence with his slave, making melancholy reflections on what had happened. "ebn thaher," said he to himself, "has been wiser than i; he foresaw the misfortune into which i have blindly thrown myself: would to god i had never meddled in this intrigue, which will, perhaps, cost me my life!" it was scarcely day when the report of the robbery spread through the city, and a great many of his friends and neighbours came to his house to express their concern for his misfortune; but were curious to know the particulars. he thanked them for their affection, and had at least the consolation, that he heard no one mention schemselnihar or the prince of persia: which made him believe they were at their houses, or in some secure place. when the jeweller was alone, his servants brought him something to eat, but he had no appetite. about noon one of his slaves came to tell him there was a man at the gate, whom he knew not, that desired to speak with him. the jeweller, not choosing to receive a stranger into his house, rose up, and went to speak to him. "though you do not know me," said the man; "i know you, and i am come to talk to you about an important affair." the jeweller desired him to come in. "no," answered the stranger "if you please, rather take the trouble to go with me to your other house." "how know you," asked the jeweller, "that i have another house?" "i know very well," answered the stranger; "follow me, and do not fear any thing: i have something to communicate which will please you." the jeweller went immediately with him; and after he had considered by the way how the house they were going to had been robbed, he said to him that it was not fit to receive him. when they were before the house, and the stranger saw the gate half broken down, he said to the jeweller, "i see you have told me the truth. i will conduct you to a place where we shall be better accommodated." when he had thus spoken, he went on, and walked all the rest of the day without stopping. the jeweller being fatigued with his walk, vexed to see night approach, and that the stranger went on without telling him where he was going, began to lose his patience, when they came to a path which led to the tigris. as soon as they reached the river, they embarked in a little boat, and went over. the stranger led the jeweller through a long street, where he had never been before; and after he had brought him through several by-streets, he stopped at a gate, which he opened. he made the jeweller go in before him, he then shut and bolted the gate, with a huge iron bolt, and conducted him to a chamber, where there were ten other men, all of them as great strangers to the jeweller as he who had brought him hither. these ten men received him without much ceremony. they desired him to sit down, of which he had great need; for he was not only out of breath with walking so far, but his terror at finding himself with people whom he thought he had reason to fear would have disabled him from standing. they waited for their leader to go to supper, and as soon as he came it was served up. they washed their hands, obliged the jeweller to do the like, and to sit at table with them. after supper the men asked him, if he knew whom he spoke to? he answered, "no; and that he knew not the place he was in." "tell us your last night's adventure," said they to him, "and conceal nothing from us." the jeweller, being astonished at this request, answered, "gentlemen, it is probable you know it already." "that is true," replied they; "the young man and the young lady, who were at your house yesternight, told it us; but we would know it from your own mouth." the jeweller needed no more to inform him that he spoke to the robbers who had broken into and plundered his house. "gentlemen," said he, "i am much troubled for that young man and lady; can you give me any tidings of them?" upon the jeweller's inquiry of the thieves, if they knew any thing of the young man and the young lady, they answered, "be not concerned for them, they are safe and well," so saying, they shewed him two closets, where they assured him they were separately shut up. they added, "we are informed you alone know what relates to them, which we no sooner came to understand, but we shewed them all imaginable respect, and were so far from doing them any injury, that we treated them with all possible kindness on your account. we answer for the same," proceeded they, "for your own person, you may put unlimited confidence in us." the jeweller being encouraged by this assurance, and overjoyed to hear that the prince of persia and schemselnihar were safe, resolved to engage the robbers yet farther in their interest. he commended them, flattered them, and gave them a thousand benedictions. "gentlemen," said he, "i must confess i have not the honour to know you, yet it is no small happiness to me that i am not wholly unknown to you; and i can never be sufficiently grateful for the favours which that knowledge has procured me at your hands. not to mention your great humanity, i am fully persuaded now, that persons of your character are capable of keeping a secret faithfully, and none are so fit to undertake a great enterprise, which you can best bring to a good issue by your zeal, courage, and intrepidity. confiding in these qualities, which are so much your due, i hesitate not to tell you my whole history, with that of those two persons you found in my house, with all the fidelity you desire me." after the jeweller had thus secured, as he thought, the confidence of the robbers, he made no scruple to relate to them the whole amour of the prince of persia and schemselnihar, from the beginning of it to the time he had received them into his house. the robbers were greatly astonished at all the particulars they heard, and could not forbear exclaiming, "how! is it possible that the young man should be the illustrious ali ebn becar, prince of persia, and the young lady the fair and celebrated beauty schemselnihar?" the jeweller assured them nothing was more certain, and that they need not think it strange, that persons of so distinguished a character should wish not to be known. upon this assurance of their quality, the robbers went immediately, one after another, and threw themselves at their feet, imploring their pardon, and protesting that nothing of the kind would have happened to them, had they been informed of the quality of their persons before they broke into the house; and that they would by their future conduct endeavour to make amends for the crime they had thus ignorantly committed. then turning to the jeweller, they told him, they were heartily sorry they could not restore to him all that had been taken from him, part of it being no longer in their possession, but as for what remained, if he would content himself with his plate, it should be forthwith put into his hand. the jeweller was overjoyed at the favour done him, and after the robbers had delivered to him the plate, they required of the prince, schemselnihar, and him, to promise them upon oath, that they would not betray them, and they would carry them to a place whence they might easily return to their respective homes. the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, replied, that they might rely on their words, but since they desired an oath of them, they solemnly swore not to discover them. the thieves, satisfied with this, immediately went out with them. on the way, the jeweller, uneasy at not seeing the confidant and the two slaves, came up to schemselnihar, and begged her to inform him what was become of them. she answered, she knew nothing of them, and that all she could tell him was, that she was carried away from his house, ferried over the river, and brought to the place from whence they were just come. schemselnihar and the jeweller had no farther conversation; they let the robbers conduit them with the prince to the river's side, when the robbers immediately took boat, and carried them over to the opposite bank. while the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller were landing, they heard the noise of the horse patrol coming towards them, just as the boat had conveyed the robbers back. the commander of the brigade demanded of the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, who they were, and whence they had come so late? frightened as they were, and apprehensive of saying any thing that might prejudice them, they could not speak; but at length it was necessary they should. the jeweller's mind being most at ease, he said, "sir, i can assure you, we are respectable people of the city. the persons who have just landed us, and are now returned to the other side of the water, are thieves, who having last night broke open the house where we were, pillaged it, and afterwards carried us to their quarters, whence by fair words, we prevailed on them to let us have our liberty; and they brought us hither. they have restored us part of the booty they had taken from us." at which words he shewed the parcel of plate he had recovered. the commander, not satisfied with what the jeweller had told him, came up to him and the prince of persia, and looking steadfastly at them, said, "tell me truly, who is this lady? how came you to know her?" these questions embarrassed them so much that neither of them could answer; till at length schemselnihar extricated them from their difficulty, and taking the commander aside, told him who she was; which he no sooner heard, than he alighted with expressions of great respect and politeness, and ordered his men to bring two boats. when the boats were come, he put schemselnihar into one, and the prince of persia and the jeweller into the other, with two of his people in each boat; with orders to accompany each of them whithersoever they were bound. the boats took different routes, but we shall at present speak only of that which contained the prince and the jeweller. the prince, to save his guides trouble, bade them land the jeweller at his house, naming the place. the guide, by this direction, stopped just before the caliph's palace, which put both him and the jeweller into great alarm; for although they had heard the commander's orders to his men, they could not help imagining they were to be delivered up to the guard, to be brought before the caliph next morning. this nevertheless was not the intention of the guides. for after they had landed them, they, by their master's command, recommended them to an officer of the caliph's guard who assigned them two soldiers to conduct them by land to the prince's house, which was at some distance from the river. they arrived there, but so tired and weary that they could hardly move. the prince being come home, with the fatigue of his journey, and this misadventure to himself and schemselnihar, which deprived him of all hope of ever seeing her more, fell into a swoon on his sofa. while the greatest part of his servants were endeavoring to recover him, the rest gathered about the jeweller, and begged him to tell them what had happened to the prince their lord, whose absence had occasioned them such inexpressible uneasiness. while the greatest part of the prince's domestics were endeavouring to recover him from his swoon, others of them got about the jeweller, desiring to know what had happened to their lord. the jeweller, who took care to discover nothing that was not proper for them to know, told them that it was an extraordinary case, but that it was not a time to relate it, and that they would do better to go and assist the prince. by good fortune the prince came to himself that moment, and those that but just before required his history with so much earnestness retreated to a respectful distance. although the prince had in some measure recovered his recollection, he continued so weak that he could not open his mouth to speak. he answered only by signs, even to his nearest relations, when they spoke to him. he remained in this condition till next morning, when the jeweller came to take leave of him. he could answer only by a movement of his eyes, and holding out his right hand; but when he saw he was laden with a bundle of plate, which the thieves had returned to him, he made a sign to his servants that they should take it and carry it to his house. the jeweller had been expected with great impatience by his family the day he departed with the stranger; but now he was quite given over, and it was no longer doubted but some disaster had befallen him. his wife, children, and servants, were in the greatest alarm, and lamenting him. when he arrived, their joy was excessive; yet they were troubled to see that he was so much altered in the short interval, that he was hardly to be known. this was occasioned by the great fatigue of the preceding day, and the fears he had undergone all night, which would not permit him to sleep. finding himself much indisposed, he continued at home two days, and would admit only one of his intimate friends to visit him. the third day, finding himself something better, he thought he might recover strength by going abroad to take the air; and therefore went to the shop of a rich merchant of his acquaintance, with whom he continued long in conversation. as he was rising to take leave of his friend to return home, he observed a woman making a sign to him, whom he presently knew to be the confidant of schemselnihar. between fear and joy, he made what haste he could away, without looking at her; but she followed him, as he feared she would, the place they were in being by no means proper to converse in. as he quickened his pace, she, not being able to overtake him, every now and then called out to him to stay. he heard her; but after what had happened, he did not think fit to speak to her in public, for fear of giving cause to suspect that he was connected with schemselnihar. it was known to every body in bagdad, that this woman belonged to her, and executed all her little commissions. he continued the same pace, and at length reached a mosque, where he knew but few people came. he entered, and she followed him, and they had a long conversation together, without any body overhearing them. both the jeweller and confidant expressed much joy at seeing each other, after the strange adventure of the robbers, and their reciprocal apprehension for each other, without regarding their own particular persons. the jeweller wished her to relate to him how she escaped with the two slaves, and what she knew of schemselnihar from the time he lost sight of her; but so great was her eagerness to know what had happened to him from the time of their unexpected separation, that he found himself obliged to satisfy her. "having given you the detail you desired," said he, "oblige me in your turn," which she did in the following manner. "when i first saw the robbers, i hastily imagined that they were soldiers of the caliph's guard, and that the caliph being informed of schemselnihar's going out, had sent them to put her, the prince, and all of us to death. under this impression i immediately got up to the terrace of your house, when the thieves entered the apartment where the prince and schemselnihar were, and i was soon after followed by that lady's two slaves. from terrace to terrace, we came at last to a house of very honest people, who received us with much civility, and with whom we lodged that night. "next morning, after thanking the master of the house for our good usage, we returned to schemselnihar's palace, where we entered in great disorder and distress, because we could not learn the fate of the two unfortunate lovers. the other women of schemselnihar were astonished to see me return without their lady. we told them, we had left her at the house of one of her female friends, and that she would send for us when she wished to come home; with which excuse they seemed well satisfied. "for my part, i spent the day in great uneasiness, and when night arrived, opening a small private gate, i espied a little boat on the canal which seemed driven by the stream. i called to the waterman, and desired him to row up each side of the river, and look if he could not see a lady; and if he found her, to bring her along with him. the two slaves and i waited impatiently for his return, and at length, about midnight, we saw the boat coming down with two men in it, and a woman lying along in the stern. when the boat was come up, the two men helped the woman to rise, and then it was i knew her to be schemselnihar. i cannot express my joy at seeing her. "i gave my hand to schemselnihar to help her out of the boat; she had great need of my assistance, for she could hardly stand. when she was landed, she whispered me in a tone expressive of her affliction, and bade me go and take a purse of one thousand pieces of gold and give it to the two soldiers that had accompanied her. i left her to the care of the two slaves to support her, and having ordered the two soldiers to wait for me a moment, i took the purse, and returned instantly; i gave it to them, and having paid the waterman, shut the door. "i then followed my lady, and overtook her before she had reached her chamber. we immediately undressed her, and put her to bed, where she had not long been, before she became so ill that for the whole of the night we almost despaired of her life. the day following, her other women expressed a great desire to see her; but i told them she had been greatly fatigued, and wanted rest. the other two women and i gave her all the assistance in our power; but we should have given over every hope of her recovery, had i not at last perceived that the wine which we every now and then gave her had a sensible effect in recruiting her strength. by importunity we at length prevailed with her to eat. "when she recovered the use of her speech, for she had hitherto only wept, groaned, and sighed, i begged of her to tell me how she had escaped out of the hands of the robbers. 'why would you require of me,' said she, with a profound sigh, 'to renew my grief? would to god the robbers had taken away my life, rather than have preserved it; my misfortunes would then have had an end, whereas i live but to increase my sufferings.' "madam,' i replied, 'i beg you would not refuse me this favour. you cannot but know that the wretched feel a consolation in relating their greatest misfortunes; what i ask would alleviate yours, if you would have the goodness to gratify me.' "'hear then,' said she, 'the most afflicting adventure that could possibly have happened to one so deeply in love as myself, who considered myself as at the utmost point of my wishes. you must know, when i first saw the robbers enter, sword in hand, i considered it as the last moment of our lives. but death was not an object of regret, since i thought i was to die with the prince of persia. however, instead of murdering us, as i expected, two of the robbers were ordered to take care of us, whilst their companions were busied in packing up the goods they found in the house. when they had done, and got their bundles upon their backs, they went out, and took us with them. "'as we went along, one of those that had charge of us demanded of me who i was? i answered, i was a dancer. he put the same question to the prince, who replied, he was a citizen. "'when we had reached the place of our destination, a new alarm seized us. they gathered about us, and after having considered my dress, and the rich jewels i was adorned with, they seemed to suspect i had disguised my quality." "dancers," said they, "do not use to be dressed as you are. tell us truly who you are?" "'when they saw i made no reply, they asked the prince once more who he was, for they told him they plainly perceived he was not the person he pretended to be. he did not satisfy them much more than i had done; he only told them he came to see the jeweller, naming him, who was the owner of the house where they found us." "i know this jeweller," replied one of the rogues, who seemed to have some authority over the rest: "i owe him some obligations, which he knows nothing of, and i take upon me to bring him hither to-morrow morning; but you must not expect," continued he, "to be released till he arrives and tells us who you are; in the mean time, i promise you there shall be no injury offered to you." "the jeweller was brought next morning, who thinking to oblige us, as he really did, declared to the robbers the whole truth. they immediately came and asked my pardon, and i believe did the like to the prince, who was shut up in another room. they protested to me, they would not have broken open the house where we were, had they known it was the jeweller's. they soon after took us (the prince, the jeweller, and myself), carried us to the river side, put us aboard a boat, and rowed us across the water; but we were no sooner landed, than a party of horse-patrol came up to us. "the robbers fled; i took the commander aside, and told him my name, and that the night before i had been seized by robbers, who forced me along with them; but having been told who i was, released me, and the two persons he saw with me, on my account. he alighted out of respect to me; and expressing great joy at being able to oblige me, caused two boats to be brought: putting me and two of his soldiers, whom you have seen, into one, he escorted me hither: but what is become of the prince and his friend i cannot tell. "'i trust,' added she, melting into tears, 'no harm has befallen them since our separation; and i do not doubt but the prince's concern for me is equal to mine for him. the jeweller, to whom we have been so much obliged, ought to be recompensed for the loss he has sustained on our account. fail not, therefore, to take two purses of a thousand pieces of gold in each, and carry them to him to-morrow morning in my name, and be sure to inquire after the prince's welfare.' "when my good mistress had done speaking, i endeavoured, as to the last article of inquiring into the prince's welfare, to persuade her to endeavour to triumph over her passion, after the danger she had so lately escaped almost by miracle. 'make me no answer,' said she, 'but do what i require.' "i was obliged to be silent, and am come hither to obey her commands. i have been at your house, but not finding you at home, and uncertain as i was of where you might be found, was about going to the prince of persia; but not daring to attempt the journey, i have left the two purses with a particular friend, and if you will wait here, i will go and fetch them immediately." the confidant soon returned to the jeweller in the mosque, where she had left him, and giving him the two purses, bade him out of them satisfy his friends. "they are much more than is necessary," said he, "but i dare not refuse the present from so good and generous a lady to her most humble servant; i beseech you to assure her from me, that i shall preserve an eternal remembrance of her goodness." he then agreed with the confidant, that she should find him at the house where she had first seen him, whenever she had occasion to impart any thing from schemselnihar, or to hear any tidings of the prince of persia: and so they parted. the jeweller returned home well pleased, not only that he had got wherewithal so fully to satisfy his friends, but also to think that no person in bagdad could possibly know that the prince and schemselnihar had been in his other house when it was robbed. it is true, he had acquainted the thieves with it, but on their secrecy he thought he might very well depend. next morning he visited the friends who had obliged him, and found no difficulty in satisfying them. he had money in hand to furnish his other house, in which he placed servants. thus he forgot all his past danger, and the next evening waited on the prince of persia. the prince's domestics told the jeweller, that he came very opportunely, as the prince, since he had parted with him, was reduced to such a state that his life was in danger. they introduced him softly into his chamber, and he found him in a condition that excited his pity. he was lying on his bed, with his eyes closed; but when the jeweller saluted him, and exhorted him to take courage, he recollected him, opened his eyes, and gave him a look that sufficiently declared the greatness of his affliction, infinitely beyond what he felt after he first saw schemselnihar. he grasped him by the hand, to testify his friendship, and told him, in a feeble voice, that he was extremely obliged to him for coming so far to visit one so unhappy and wretched. "prince," replied the jeweller, "mention not, i beseech you, any obligations you owe to me. i wish the good offices i have endeavoured to do you had had a better effect; but at present, let us talk only of your health; which, in the state i see you, i fear you greatly injure by unreasonably abstaining from proper nourishment." the prince's servants took this opportunity to tell him, it was with the greatest difficulty they had prevailed on their master to take the smallest refreshment, and that for some time he had taken nothing. this obliged the jeweller to entreat the prince to let his servants bring him something to eat. after the prince had, through the persuasion of the jeweller, eaten more than he had hitherto done, he commanded the servants to leave him alone with his friend. when the room was clear, he said, "besides the misfortune that distracts me, i have been exceedingly concerned to think what a loss you have sustained on my account; and it is but just i should make you some recompence. but before i do this, after begging your pardon a thousand times, i conjure you to tell me whether you have learnt any tidings of schemselnihar, since i had the misfortune to be parted from her." here the jeweller, instructed by the confidant, related to him all that he knew of schemselnihar's arrival at her palace, her state of health from that time till she recovered, and how she had sent her confidant to him to inquire after his welfare. to all this the prince replied only by sighs and tears. he made an effort to get up, and calling his servants, went himself to his wardrobe, and having caused several bundles of rich furniture and plate to be packed up, he ordered them to be carried to the jeweller's house. the jeweller would fain have declined this kind offer; but although he represented that schemselnihar had already made him more than sufficient amends for what he had lost, the prince would be obeyed. the jeweller was therefore obliged to make all possible acknowledgments, and protested how much he was confounded at his highness's liberality. he would then have taken his leave, but the prince desired him to stay, and they passed good part of the night in conversation. next morning the jeweller waited again on the prince, who made him sit down by him. "you know," said he, "there is an end proposed in all things: that which the lover proposes, is to enjoy the beloved object in spite of all opposition. if once he loses that hope, he must not think to live. such is my hard case; for twice when i have been at the very point of fulfilling my desires, i have suddenly been torn from her i loved in the most cruel manner imaginable. it remains for me only to think of death, and i had sought it, but that our holy religion forbids suicide; but i need not anticipate it; i need not wait long." here he stopped, and vented his passion in groans, sighs, sobs, and tears, which flowed abundantly. the jeweller, who knew no better way of diverting him from his despair than by bringing schemselnihar into his mind, and giving him some shadow of hope, told him, he feared the confidant might be come from her lady, and therefore it would not be proper to stay any longer from home. "i will let you go," said the prince, "but conjure you, that if you see her, you recommend to her to assure schemselnihar, that if i die, as i expect to do shortly, i shall love her to the last moment, even in the grave." the jeweller returned home, and waited in expectation of seeing the confidant, who came some hours after, but all in tears, and in great affliction. the jeweller alarmed, asked her what was the matter? she answered, that schemselnihar, the prince, herself, and he, were all ruined. "hear the sad news," said she, "as it was told me just upon my entering the palace after i had left you. "schemselnihar had for some fault chastised one of the slaves you saw with her when you met in your other house. the slave, enraged at the ill treatment, ran immediately away, and finding the gate open, went out; so that we have just reason to believe she has discovered all to an eunuch of the guard, who gave her protection. "but this is not all; the other slave her companion has fled too, and has taken refuge in the caliph's palace. so that we may well fear she has borne her part in this discovery: for just as i came away, the caliph had sent twenty of his eunuchs for schemselnihar, who have carried her to the palace. i just found means to come and tell you this. i know not what has passed, yet i fear no good; but above all, i recommend to you to keep the secret inviolate." the confidant added to what she had related before to the jeweller, that it was proper he should go immediately and acquaint the prince with the whole affair, that he might be prepared for every event, and keep faithful to the common cause. she went away in haste, without staying for any answer. what answer could the jeweller have made in the condition he was in? he stood motionless as if thunderstruck. he found, however, that there was no time to be lost, and immediately went to give the prince information. he addressed him with an air, that sufficiently shewed the bad news he brought. "prince," said he, "arm yourself with courage and patience, and prepare to receive the most terrible shock that ever you had to encounter." "tell me in a few words," replied the prince, "what is the matter, without keeping me in suspense; i am, if necessary, prepared to die." then the jeweller repeated all that he had learnt from the confidant. "you see," continued he, "your destruction is inevitable. rise, save yourself by flight, for the time is precious. you, of all men, must not expose yourself to the anger of the caliph, and, less than any, confess in the midst of torture." at these words the prince was ready to expire through grief, affliction, and fear. however, he recovered himself, and asked the jeweller what resolution he would advise him to take in this conjuncture, every moment of which ought to be employed. the jeweller told him, he thought nothing remained, but that he should immediately take horse, and hasten away towards anbar, that he might get thither before day. "take what servants and swift horses you think necessary," continued he, "and suffer me to escape with you." the prince, seeing nothing more to be done, immediately gave orders to prepare such an equipage as would be least troublesome; took money and jewels, and having taken leave of his mother, departed with the jeweller and such servants as he had chosen. they travelled all night without stopping, till at length, both their horses and themselves being spent with so long a journey, they halted to rest themselves. they had hardly alighted before they found themselves surrounded and assaulted by a band of robbers. they defended their lives for some time courageously; but at length the prince's servants being all killed, both he and the jeweller were obliged to yield at discretion. the robbers, however, spared their dives, but after they had seized the horses and baggage, they took away their clothes and left them naked. when the thieves were gone, the prince said to the jeweller, "what think you of our adventure and condition? had i not better have tarried in bagdad, and awaited my death?" "prince," replied the jeweller, "it is the decree of heaven that we should thus suffer. it has pleased god to add affliction to affliction and we must not murmur, but receive his chastisements with submission. let us stay no longer here, but seek for some retreat where we may perhaps be relieved." "let me die," said the prince; "for what signifies it whether i die here or elsewhere. perhaps while we are talking, schemselnihar is no more, and why should i endeavour to live after she is dead!" the jeweller, by his entreaty, at length prevailed on him, and they had not gone far before they came to a mosque, which was open; they entered it, and passed there the remainder of the night. at day-break a man came into the mosque. when he had ended his prayer, as he turned about to go away, he perceived the prince and jeweller, who were sitting in a corner. he came up to them, and after having saluted them with a great deal of civility, said, "i perceive you are strangers." the jeweller answered, "you are not deceived. we have been robbed to-night in coming from bagdad, as you may see, and have retired hither for shelter, but we know not to whom to apply." "if you think fit to accompany me to my house," answered the man, "i will give you all the assistance in my power." upon this obliging offer, the jeweller turned to the prince, and whispered, "this man, as you perceive, sir, does not know us, and we have reason to fear that somebody else may come who does. we cannot, i think, refuse his offer." "do as you please," said the prince; "i am willing to be guided by your discretion." the man observing the prince and jeweller consulting together, and thinking they made some difficulty to accept his offer, asked them if they were resolved what to do? the jeweller answered "we are ready to follow you; all we hesitate about is that we are ashamed to appear thus naked." fortunately the man had it in his power to cover them sufficiently till they could get to his house. as soon as they had entered, he brought a very handsome suit for each of them. as he thought they must be hungry, and might wish to be alone, he had several dishes brought to them by a slave; but they ate little, especially the prince who was so dejected and dispirited, that he gave the jeweller cause to fear he would die. their host visited them several times in the course of the day, and in the evening, as he knew they wanted rest, he left them early. but he was no sooner in bed, than the jeweller was forced to call him again to assist at the death of the prince of persia. he found him breathe short, and with difficulty, which gave him reason to fear he had but few minutes to live. coming near him, the prince said, "it is all over, and i am glad you are witness of my last words. i quit life with a great deal of satisfaction; i need not tell you the reason, for you know it already. all my concern is, that i cannot die in the arms of my dear mother, who has always loved me tenderly, and for whom i had a reciprocal affection. let her know how much i was concerned at this, and request her in my name to have my body removed to bagdad, that she may have an opportunity to bedew my tomb with her tears, and assist my departed soul with her prayers." he then took notice of the master of the house, and thanked him for his kindness in taking him in; and after desiring him to let his body rest with him till it should be conveyed to bagdad, he expired. the day after the prince's death, the jeweller took the opportunity of a numerous caravan that was going to bagdad, and arrived there in safety. he first went home to change his clothes, and then hastened to the prince's palace, where every body was alarmed at not seeing the prince with him. he desired them to acquaint the prince's mother that he wished to speak with her, and it was not long before he was introduced to her in a hall, with several of her women about her. "madam," said he to her, with an air that sufficiently denoted the ill news he brought, "god preserve you, and shower down upon you the choicest of his blessings. you cannot be ignorant that he alone disposes of us at his pleasure." the princess would not permit him to proceed, but exclaimed, "alas! you bring me the news of my son's death?" she and her women at the same time wept and sobbed loudly. at length she checked her sighs and groans, and begged of him to continue without concealing from her the least circumstance of such a melancholy separation. he satisfied her, and when he had done, she farther demanded of him, if her son the prince had not given him in charge something more particular in his last moments? he assured her his last words were, that it was to him the most afflicting circumstance that he must die so far distant from his dear mother, and that the only thing he wished was, that she would have his corpse transported to bagdad. accordingly early next morning the princess set out with her women and great part of her slaves, to bring her son's body to her own palace. when the jeweller, whom she had detained, had seen her depart, he returned home very sad and melancholy, at the reflection that so accomplished and amiable a prince was thus cut off in the flower of his age. as he walked towards his house, dejected and musing, he saw a woman standing before him. he recognized her to be schemselnihar's confidant. at the sight of her, his tears began to flow afresh but he said nothing to her; and going into his own house, she followed him. they sat down; when the jeweller beginning the conversation, asked the confidant, with a deep sigh, if she had heard of the death of the prince of persia, and if it was on his account that she grieved. "alas!" answered she, "what! is that charming prince then dead? he has not lived long after his dear schemselnihar. beauteous souls," continued she, "in whatsoever place ye now are, ye must be happy that your loves will no more be interrupted. your bodies were an obstacle to your wishes; but heaven has delivered you from them; ye may now form the closest union." the jeweller, who had heard nothing of schemselnihar's death, and had not reflected that the confidant was in mourning, suffered fresh grief at this intelligence. "is schemselnihar then dead?" cried he. "she is," replied the confidant, weeping afresh, "and it is for her i wear these weeds. the circumstances of her death were extraordinary," continued she, "and deserve to be known to you: but before i give you an account of them, i beg you to acquaint me with those of the prince of persia, whom, with my dearest friend and mistress, i shall lament as long as i live." the jeweller then gave the confidant the information she desired; and after he had told her all, even to the departure of the prince's mother to bring her son's body to bagdad, she began and said, "you have not forgotten that i told you the caliph had sent for schemselnihar to his palace. he had, as we had every reason to believe, been informed of the amour betwixt her and the prince by the two slaves, whom he had examined apart. you may imagine, he would be exceedingly enraged at schemselnihar's conduct, and give striking proofs of his jealousy and of his impending vengeance against the prince. but this was by no means the case. he pitied schemselnihar, and in some measure blamed himself for what had happened, in giving her so much freedom to walk about the city without being attended by his eunuchs. this is the only conclusion that could be drawn from his extraordinary behavior towards her, as you will hear. "he received her with an open countenance; and when he observed that the melancholy which oppressed her did not lessen her beauty (for she appeared thus before him without surprise or fear), with a goodness worthy himself, he said 'schemselnihar, i cannot bear your appearing before me thus with an air which gives me infinite pain. you must needs be sensible how much i have always loved you, and be convinced of the sincerity of my passion by the continued demonstrations i have given of it. i can never change my mind, for i love you more than ever. you have enemies, schemselnihar,' proceeded he, 'and those enemies have insinuated things against your conduct, but all they have said against you has not made the least impression upon me. shake off then this melancholy, and prepare to entertain me this night with some amusing conversation, after your accustomed manner.' he said many other obliging things to her, and then desired her to step into a magnificent apartment near her own, and wait for him. "the afflicted schemselnihar was very sensible of the caliph's kindness; but the more she thought herself obliged to him, the more she was concerned that she was so far removed, perhaps for ever, from her prince, without whom she could not live. "this interview between the caliph and schemselnihar," continued the confidant, "took place whilst i was come to speak to you, and i learned the particulars of it from my companions who were present. but i had no sooner left you," proceeded she, "than i went to my dear mistress again, and was eye-witness to what happened in the evening. i found her in the apartment i told you of; and as she though i came from you, she drew near me, and whispering me, said, 'i am much obliged to you for the service you have done me, but i feel it will be the last.' she said no more; but i was not in a place proper to offer any thing to comfort her. "the caliph was introduced at night with the sound of instruments which her women played upon, and the collation was immediately served up. he took his mistress by the hand, and made her sit down with him on the sofa; she put such a force upon herself to please him, that she expired a few minutes after. in short, she was hardly set down, when she fell backwards. the caliph believed she had only fainted, and so we all thought; but she never recovered, and in this manner we lost her. "the caliph did her the honour to weep over her, not being able to refrain from tears; and before he left the room ordered all the musical instruments to be broken; this was immediately done. i stayed with her corpse all night, and next morning washed and dressed her for her funeral, bathing her with my tears. the caliph had her interred in a magnificent tomb he had erected for her in her lifetime, in a place she had desired to be buried in. now since you tell me," said she, "the prince of persia's body is to be brought to bagdad, i will use my best endeavours that he shall be interred in the same tomb." the jeweller was much surprised at this resolution of the confidant, and said, "certainly you do not consider that the caliph will never suffer this?" "you think the thing impossible," replied she; "it is not. you will alter your opinion when i tell you that the caliph has given liberty to all her slaves, with a pension to each for their support. he has committed to me the care and keeping of my mistress's tomb, and allotted me an annual income for that purpose, and for my maintenance. besides, the caliph, who was not ignorant of the amour between schemselnihar and the prince, as i have already told you, without being offended, will not be sorry if after her death he be buried with her." to all this the jeweller had not a word to say. he earnestly entreated the confidant to conduct him to her mistress's tomb, that he might say his prayers over her. when he came in sight of it, he was not a little surprised to find a vast concourse of people of both sexes, who were come thither from all parts of bagdad. as he could not come near the tomb, he said his prayers at a distance; and then going to the confidant, who was waiting hard by, said to her, "i am now so far from thinking that what you proposed cannot be put in execution, that you and i need only publish abroad what we know of the amour of this unfortunate couple, and how the prince died much about the same time with his mistress. before his corpse arrives, all bagdad will concur to desire that two such faithful lovers, whom nothing could divide in affection whilst they lived, should not be separated when dead." it happened as he said; for as soon as it was known that the corpse was within a day's journey of the city, an infinite number of people went above twenty miles to meet it, and afterwards walked before it till it came to the city gate; where the confidant, waiting for that purpose, presented herself before the prince's mother, and begged of her in the name of the whole city, who earnestly desired it, that she would be pleased to consent that the bodies of the two lovers, who had but one heart whilst they lived, from the time their mutual passion commenced, might be buried in the same tomb. the princess immediately consented; and the corpse of the prince, instead of being deposited in his own burying-place, was laid by schemselnihar's side, after it had been carried along in procession at the head of an infinite number of people of all ranks. from that time all the inhabitants of bagdad, and even strangers from all parts of the world where the mahummedan religion prevails have held that tomb in the highest veneration, and pay their devotions at it. the story of the loves of kummir al zummaun, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan, and of badoura, princess of china. about twenty days' sail from the coast of persia, there are islands in the main ocean called the islands of the children of khaledan. these islands are divided into four great provinces, which have all of them very flourishing and populous cities, forming together a powerful kingdom. it was formerly governed by a king named shaw zummaun, who had four lawful wives, all daughters of kings, and sixty concubines. shaw zummaun thought himself the most happy monarch of the world, on account of his peaceful and prosperous reign. one thing only disturbed his happiness; which was, that he was advanced in years, and had no children, though he had so many wives. he knew not to what to attribute this barrenness; and what increased his affliction was, that he was likely to leave his kingdom without a successor. he dissembled his discontent, and this dissimulation only heightened his uneasiness. at length he broke silence; and one day after he had complained bitterly of his misfortune to his grand vizier, he asked him if he knew any remedy for it? that wise minister replied, "if what your majesty requires of me had depended on the ordinary rules of human wisdom, you had soon had an answer to your satisfaction; but my experience and knowledge fall far short of your question. it is to god only that we can apply in cases of this kind. in the midst of our prosperities, which often tempt us to forget him, he is pleased to mortify us in some instance, that we may address our thoughts to him, acknowledge his omnipotence, and ask of him what we ought to expect from him alone. your majesty has subjects," proceeded he "who make a profession of honouring and serving god, and suffering great hardships for his sake; to them i would advise you to have recourse, and engage them, by alms, to join their prayers with yours. perhaps some one among them may be so pure and pleasing to god as to obtain a hearing for your prayers." shaw zummaun approved this advice, and thanked his vizier. he immediately caused alms to be given to every community of these holy men in his dominions: and having sent for the superiors, declared to them his intention, and desired them to acquaint their devout men with it. the king obtained of heaven what he requested, for in nine months' time he had a son by one of his wives. to express his gratitude to heaven, he sent fresh alms to the communities of devotees, and the prince's birth-day was celebrated not only in his capital, but throughout his dominions, for a whole week. the prince was brought to him as soon as born, and he found him so beautiful that he gave him the name of kummir al zummaun, or moon of the age. he was brought up with all imaginable care; and when he had arrived at a proper age, his father appointed him an experienced governor and able preceptors. these persons, distinguished by their capacity, found in him a ready wit capable of receiving all the instructions that were proper to be given him, as well in relation to morals as other knowledge which a prince ought to possess. as he grew up, he learned all his exercises, and acquitted himself with such grace and wonderful address, as to charm all that saw him, and particularly the sultan his father. when he had attained the age of fifteen, the sultan, who tenderly loved him, and gave him every day new marks of his affection, proposed to afford a still higher demonstration by resigning his throne to him, and he accordingly acquainted his grand vizier with his intentions. "i fear," said he, "lest my son should lose in the inactivity of youth those advantages which nature and my education have give him; therefore, since i am advanced in age, and ought to think of retirement i propose to resign the government to him, and pass the remainder of my days in the satisfaction of seeing him reign. i have borne the fatigue of a crown till i am weary of it, and think it is now proper for me to retire." the grand vizier declined offering all the reasons he could have alleged to dissuade the sultan from such a proceeding; on the contrary, he appeared to acquiesce with him in his opinion. "sir," replied he, "the prince is yet but young, and it would not, in my humble opinion, be advisable to burden him with the weight of a crown so soon. your majesty fears, with great reason, his youth may be corrupted by indolence: but to avoid this danger, do not you think it would be proper to marry him? marriage forms attachment, and prevents dissipation. your majesty might then admit him of your council, where he would learn by degrees the art of reigning; and so be prepared to receive your authority, whenever by your own experience you shall think him qualified." shaw zummaun approved the advice of his prime minister; and summoned the prince to appear before him, at the same time that he dismissed the grand vizier. the prince, who had been accustomed to see his father only at certain times without being sent for, was a little startled at this summons; when, therefore, he came into his presence, he saluted him with great respect, and stood with his eyes fixed on the ground. the sultan perceiving his constraint, addressed him with great mildness, "do you know, son, for what reason i have sent for you?" the prince modestly replied, "god alone knows the heart: i shall hear it from your majesty with pleasure." "i sent for you," resumed the sultan, "to inform you that it is my intention to provide a proper marriage for you: what do you think of my design?" the prince heard this with great uneasiness: he was greatly agitated, and knew not what answer to make. after a few moments silence, he replied, "sir, i beseech you to pardon me if i seem surprised at the declaration you have made. i did not expect such proposals at my present age. i know not whether i could prevail on myself to marry, on account of the trouble incident to a married life, and the many treacheries of women, which i have read of. i may not be always of the same mind, yet i conceive it will require time to determine on what your majesty requires of me." the prince's answer extremely afflicted his father. he was not a little grieved to discover his aversion to marriage; yet would not charge him with disobedience, nor exert his paternal authority. he contented himself with telling him, he would not force his inclinations, but give him time to consider of the proposal; and reflect, that a prince destined to govern a great kingdom ought to take some care to leave a successor; and that in giving himself that satisfaction he communicated it to his father, who would be glad to see himself revive in his son and his issue. shaw zummaun said no more to the prince but admitted him into his council, and gave him every reason to be satisfied. at the end of the year he took him aside, and said to him; "my son, have you thoroughly considered what i proposed to you last year about marrying? will you still refuse me that pleasure i expect from your obedience, and suffer me to die without affording me that satisfaction?" the prince seemed less disconcerted than before; and was not long answering his father to this effect: "sir, i have not neglected to consider of your proposal; but after the maturest reflection find myself more confirmed in my resolution to continue in a state of celibacy. the infinite mischief which women have caused in the world, and which are on record in our histories, and the accounts i daily hear to their disadvantage, are the motives which powerfully influence me against having any thing to do with them; so that i hope your majesty will pardon me if i presume to tell you, it will be in vain to solicit me any further upon this subject." as soon as he had thus spoken, he quitted the sultan abruptly without waiting his answer. any monarch but shaw zummaun would have been angry at such freedom in a son, and would have made him repent; but he loved him, and preferred gentle methods before he proceeded to compulsion. he communicated this new cause of discontent to his prime minister. "i have followed your advice," said he, "but kummir al zummaun is farther than ever from complying with my desires. he delivered his determination in such free terms, that it required all my reason and moderation to keep my temper. fathers who so earnestly desire children as i did this son are fools, who seek to deprive themselves of that rest which it is in their own power to enjoy without control. tell me, i beseech you, how i shall reclaim a disposition so rebellious to my will?" "sir," answered the grand vizier, "patience brings many things about that before seemed impracticable; but it may be this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed that way. your majesty will have no cause to reproach yourself for precipitation, if you would give the prince another year to consider your proposal. if in this interval he return to his duty, you will have the greater satisfaction, as you will have employed only paternal love to induce him; and if he still continue averse when this is expired, your majesty may in full council observe, that it is highly necessary for the good of the state that he should marry; and it is not likely he will refuse to comply before so grave an assembly, which you honour with your presence." the sultan, who so anxiously desired to see his son married, thought this long delay an age; however, though with much difficulty, he yielded to his grand vizier's reasons, which he could not disapprove. after the grand vizier was gone, the sultan went to the apartment of the mother of prince kummir al zummaun, to whom he had often expressed his desire to see the prince married. when he had told her, with much concern, how his son had a second time refused to comply with his wishes, and the indulgence which, by the advice of his grand vizier, he was inclined to shew him; he said, "i know he has more confidence in you than he has in me, and will be more likely to attend to your advice. i therefore desire you would take an opportunity to talk to him seriously, and urge upon him, that if he persists in his obstinacy, he will oblige me to have recourse to measures which would be disagreeable to me, and which would give him cause to repent having disobeyed me." fatima, for so was the lady called, told the prince the first time she saw him, that she had been informed of his second refusal to marry; and how much chagrin his resolution had occasioned his father. "madam," replied the prince, "i beseech you not to renew my grief upon that head. i fear, under my present uneasiness, something may escape me, which may not be consistent with the respect i owe you." fatima judged from this answer that this was not a proper time to speak to him, and therefore deferred what she had to say to another opportunity. some considerable time after, fatima thought she had found a more favourable season, which gave her hopes of being heard upon that subject. "son," said she, "i beg of you, if it be not disagreeable, to tell me what reason you have for your great aversion to marriage? if it be the wickedness of some women, nothing can be more unreasonable and weak. i will not undertake the defence of those that are bad; there are a great number of them undoubtedly; but it would be the height of injustice on their account to condemn all the sex. alas! my son, you have in your books read of many bad women, who have occasioned great mischief, and i will not excuse them: but you do not consider how many monarchs, sultans, and other princes there have been in the world, whose tyrannies, barbarities, and cruelties astonish those that read of them, as well as myself. now, for one wicked woman, you will meet with a thousand tyrants and barbarians; and what torment do you think must a good woman undergo, who is matched with any of these wretches?" "madam," replied the prince, "i doubt not there are a great number of wise, virtuous, good, affable, and well-behaved women in the world; would to god they all resembled you! but what deters me is, the hazardous choice a man is obliged to make, and oftentimes one has not the liberty of following his inclination. "let us suppose then, madam," continued he, "that i had a mind to marry, as the sultan my father so earnestly desires; what wife, think you, would he be likely to provide for me? probably a princess whom he would demand of some neighbouring prince, and who would think it an honour done him to send her. handsome or ugly, she must be taken; nay, suppose no other princess excelled her in beauty, who can be certain that her temper would be good; that she would be affable, complaisant, easy, obliging, and the like? that her conversation would generally turn on solid subjects, and not on dress, fashions, ornaments, and a thousand such fooleries, which would disgust any man of sense? in a word, that she would not be haughty, proud, arrogant, impertinent, scornful, and waste an estate in frivolous expenses, such as gay clothes, jewels, toys, and foolish mistaken magnificence? "you see, madam," continued he, "by one single article, how many reasons a man may have to be disgusted at marriage. let this princess be ever so perfect, accomplished, and irreproachable in her conduct, i have yet a great many more reasons not to alter my opinion and resolution." "what, son," exclaimed fatima; "have you then more reasons after those you have already alleged? i do not doubt of being able to answer them, and stop your mouth with a word." "you may proceed, madam," returned the prince, "and perhaps i may find a reply to your answer." "i mean, son," said fatima, "that it is easy for a prince, who has had the misfortune to marry such a wife as you describe, to get rid of her, and take care that she may not ruin the state." "ah, madam," replied the prince, "but you do not consider what a mortification it would be to a person of my quality to be obliged to come to such an extremity. would it not have been more for his honour and quiet that he had never run such a risk?" "but, son," said fatima once more, "as you take the case, i apprehend you have a mind to be the last king of your race, who have reigned so long and gloriously over the isles of the children of khaledan?" "madam," replied the prince, "for myself i do not desire to survive the king my father; and if i should die before him, it would be no great matter of wonder, since so many children have died before their parents. but it is always glorious to a race of kings, that it should end with a prince worthy to be so, as i should endeavour to make myself like my predecessors, and like the first of our race." from that time fatima had frequent conferences with her son the prince on the same subject; and she omitted no opportunity or argument to endeavour to root out his aversion to the fair sex; but he eluded all her reasonings by such arguments as she could not well answer, and continued unaltered. the year expired, and, to the great regret of the sultan, prince kummir al zummaun gave not the least proof of having changed his sentiments. one day, therefore, when there was a great council held, the prime vizier, the other viziers, the principal officers of the crown, and the generals of the army being present, the sultan thus addressed the prince: "my son, it is now a long while since i expressed to you my earnest desire to see you married, and i imagined you would have had more complaisance for a father, who required nothing unreasonable of you, than to oppose him so long. but after such a resistance on your part, which has almost worn out my patience, i have thought fit to propose the same thing once more to you in the presence of my council. it is not merely to oblige a parent that you ought to have acceded to my wish, the well-being of my dominions requires your compliance, and this assembly join with me in expecting it: declare yourself, then; that your answer may regulate my proceedings." the prince answered with so little reserve, or rather with so much warmth, that the sultan, enraged to see himself thwarted by him in full council, exclaimed, "how, unnatural son! have you the insolence to talk thus to your father and sultan?" he ordered the guards to take him away, and carry him to an old tower that had been long unoccupied; where he was shut up, with only a bed, a little furniture, some books, and one slave to attend him. kummir al zummaun, thus deprived of liberty, was nevertheless pleased that he had the freedom to converse with his books, which made him regard his confinement with indifference. in the evening he bathed and said his prayers; and after having read some chapters in the koraun, with the same tranquillity of mind as if he had been in the sultan's palace, he undressed himself and went to bed, leaving his lamp burning by him while he slept. in this tower was a well, which served in the daytime for a retreat to a certain fairy, named maimoune, daughter of damriat, king or head of a legion of genies. it was about midnight when maimoune sprung lightly to the mouth of the well, to wander about the world after her wonted custom, where her curiosity led her. she was surprised to see a light in the prince's chamber. she entered, and without stopping at the slave who lay at the door, approached the bed. the prince had but half covered his face with the bed-clothes, which maimoune lifted up, and perceived the finest young man she had ever seen in her rambles through the world. "what beauty, or rather what prodigy of beauty," said she within herself, "must this youth appear, when the eyes, concealed by such well-formed eyelids, shall be open? what crime can he have committed, that a man of his high rank can deserve to be treated thus rigorously?" for she had already heard his story, and could hardly believe it. she could not forbear admiring the prince, till at length having kissed him gently on both cheeks, and in the middle of the forehead, without waking him, she laid the bed-clothes in the order they were in before, and took her flight into the air. as she was ascending into the middle region, she heard a great flapping of wings, towards which she directed her course; and when she approached, she knew it was a genie who made the noise, but it was one of those that are rebellious against god. as for maimoune, she belonged to that class whom the great solomon had compelled to acknowledge him. this genie, whose name was danhasch, and son of schamhourasch, knew maimoune, and was seized with fear, being sensible how much power she had over him by her submission to the almighty. he would fain have avoided her, but she was so near him, he must either fight or yield. he therefore broke silence first. "brave maimoune," said he, in the tone of a suppliant, "swear to me in the name of the great god, that you will not hurt me; and i swear also on my part not to do you any harm." "cursed genie," replied maimoune, "what hurt canst thou do me? i fear thee not; but i will grant thee this favour; i will swear not to do thee any harm. tell me then, wandering spirit, whence thou comest, what thou hast seen, and what thou hast done this night?" "fair lady," answered danhasch, "you meet me in a good time to hear something very wonderful." danhasch, the genie rebellious against god, proceeded and said to maimoune, "since you desire, i will inform you that i have come from the utmost limits of china, which comprise the remotest islands of this hemisphere. . . . . but, charming maimoune," said danhasch, who trembled with fear at the sight of this fairy, so that he could hardly speak, "promise me at least you will forgive me, and let me proceed after i have satisfied your request." "go on, cursed spirit," replied maimoune; "go on, and fear nothing. dost thou think i am as perfidious as thyself, and capable of breaking the solemn oath i have made? be sure you relate nothing but what is true, or i shall clip thy wings, and treat thee as thou deserves." danhasch, a little encouraged by the words of maimoune, said, "my dear lady, i will tell you nothing but what is strictly true, if you will but have the goodness to hear me. the country of china, from whence i come, is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the earth, on which depend the remotest islands of this hemisphere, as i have already told you. the king of this country is at present gaiour, who has an only daughter, the finest woman that ever was seen in the world since it has been a world. neither you nor i, neither your class nor mine, nor all our respective genies, have expressions forcible enough, nor eloquence sufficient to convey an adequate description of her charms. her hair is brown, and of such length as to trail on the ground; and so thick, that when she has fastened it in buckles on her head, it may be fitly compared to one of those fine clusters of grapes whose fruit is so very large. her forehead is as smooth as the best polished mirror, and admirably formed. her eyes are black, sparkling, and full of fire. her nose is neither too long nor too short, and her mouth small and of a vermilion colour. her teeth are like two rows of pearls, and surpass the finest in whiteness. when she moves her tongue to speak, she utters a sweet and most agreeable voice; and expresses herself in such terms, as sufficiently indicate the vivacity of her wit. the whitest alabaster is not fairer than her neck. in a word, by this imperfect sketch, you may guess there is no beauty likely to exceed her in the world. "any one that did not know the king, the father of this incomparable princess, would be apt to imagine, from the great respect and kindness he shews her, that he was enamoured with her. never did a lover more for the most beloved mistress than he has been seen to do for her. the most violent jealousy never suggested such measures as his care has led him to adopt, to keep her from every one but the man who is to marry her: and that the retreat in which he has resolved to place her may not seem irksome, he has built for her seven palaces, the most extraordinary and magnificent that ever were known. "the first palace is of rock crystal, the second of brass, the third of fine steel, the fourth of another kind of brass more valuable than the former and also than steel, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of massive gold. he has furnished these palaces most sumptuously, each in a manner corresponding to the materials of the structure. he has embellished the gardens with parterres of grass and flowers, intermixed with pieces of water, water-works, jets d'eau, canals, cascades, and several great groves of trees, where the eye is lost in the perspective, and where the sun never enters, and all differently arranged. king gaiour, in a word, has shewn that his paternal love has led him to spare no expense. "upon the fame of this incomparable princess's beauty, the most powerful neighbouring kings have sent ambassadors to solicit her in marriage. the king of china received them all in the same obliging manner; but as he resolved not to marry his daughter without her consent, and she did not like any of the parties, the ambassadors were forced to return as they came, as to the subject of their embassy; they were perfectly satisfied with the great honours and civilities they had received. "'sir,' said the princess to the king her father, 'you have an inclination to see me married, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall i find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as are furnished me by your majesty? through your good pleasure i am under no constraint, and have the same honours shewn to me as are paid to yourself. these are advantages i cannot expect to find any where else, whoever may be my husband; men love to be masters, and i have no inclination to be commanded.' "after several other embassies on the same occasion, there arrived one from a king more opulent and powerful than any of the preceding. this prince the king of china recommended to his daughter for her husband, urging many forcible arguments to shew how much it would be to her advantage to accept him, but she entreated her father to excuse her compliance for the reasons she had before urged. he pressed her; but instead of consenting, she lost all the respect due to the king her father: 'sir,' said she, in anger, 'talk to me no more of this or any other match, unless you would have me plunge this dagger in my bosom, to deliver myself from your importunities.' "the king, greatly enraged, said, 'daughter, you are mad, and i must treat you accordingly.' in a word, he had her shut up in a single apartment of one of his palaces, and allowed her only ten old women to wait upon her, and keep her company, the chief of whom had been her nurse that the kings his neighbours, who had sent embassies to him on her account, might not think any more of her, he despatched envoys to them severally, to let them know how averse his daughter was to marriage; and as he did not doubt but she was really mad, he charged them to make known in every court, that if there were any physician that would undertake to cure her, he should, if he succeeded, have her for his pains. "fair maimoune," continued danhasch, "all that i have told you is true; and i have gone every day regularly to contemplate this incomparable beauty, to whom i would be sorry to do the least harm, notwithstanding my natural inclination to mischief. come and see her, i conjure you; it would be well worth your while. when you have seen from your own observation that i am no liar, i am persuaded you will think yourself obliged to me for the sight of a princess unequalled in beauty." instead of answering danhasch, maimoune burst out into violent laughter, which lasted for some time; and danhasch, not knowing what might be the occasion of it, was astonished beyond measure. when she had done laughing, she exclaimed, "good, good, very good! you would have me then believe all you have told me? i thought you designed to tell me something surprising and extraordinary, and you have been talking all this while of a mad woman. fie, fie! what would you say, cursed genie, if you had seen the beautiful prince from whom i am just come, and whom i love as he deserves. i am confident you would soon give up the contest, and not pretend to compare your choice with mine." "agreeable maimoune," replied danhasch, "may i presume to ask who this prince you speak of is?" "know," answered maimoune, "the same thing has happened to him as to your princess. the king his father would have married him against his will; but after much importunity, he frankly told him he would have nothing to do with a wife. for this reason he is at this moment imprisoned in an old tower where i reside." "i will not absolutely contradict you," replied danhasch; "but, my pretty lady, you must give me leave to be of opinion, till i have seen your prince, that no mortal upon earth can equal my princess in beauty." "hold thy tongue, cursed sprite," replied maimoune. "i tell thee once more thou art wrong." "i will not contend with you," said danhasch, "but the way to be convinced, whether what i say be true or false, is to accept of my proposal to go and see my princess, and after that i will go with you to your prince." "there is no need i should be at so much trouble," replied maimoune; "there is another way to satisfy us both; and that is, for you to bring your princess, and place her at my prince's bed-side: by this means it will be easy for us to compare them together, and determine the dispute." danhasch consented, and determined to set out immediately for china. but maimoune drew him aside, and told him, she must first shew him the tower whither he was to bring the princess. they flew together to the tower, and when maimoune had strewn it to danhasch, she cried, "go fetch your princess, and do it quickly, you will find me here." danhasch left maimoune, and flew towards china, whence he soon returned with incredible speed, bringing the fair princess along with him asleep. maimoune received him, and introduced him into the chamber of kummir al zummaun, where they placed the princess by the prince's side. when the prince and princess were thus laid together, there arose a sharp contest between the genie and the fairy about the preference of their beauty. they were some time admiring and comparing them without speaking; at length danhasch said to maimoune, "you see, and i have already told you, my princess was handsomer than your prince; now, i hope, you are convinced." "how! convinced!" replied maimoune; "i am not convinced, and you must be blind, if you cannot see that my prince excels in the comparison. that the princess is fair, i do not deny; but if you compare them together without prejudice, you will soon see the difference." "how much soever i may compare them," returned danhasch, "i shall never change my opinion. i saw at first sight what i now behold, and time will not make me see differently: however, this shall not hinder my yielding to you, charming maimoune, if you desire it." "what! have you yield to me as a favour! i scorn it," said maimoune, "i would not receive a favour at the hand of such a wicked genie. i will refer the matter to an umpire, and if you do not consent, i shall win by your refusal." danhasch, who was ready to have shewn a different kind of complaisance, no sooner gave his consent, than maimoune stamped with her foot. the earth opened, and out came a hideous, hump-backed, squinting, and lame genie, with six horns upon his head, and claws on his hands and feet. as soon as he was come out, and the earth had closed, perceiving maimoune, he threw himself at her feet, and then rising on one knee, inquired her commands. "rise, caschcasch," said maimoune, "i brought you hither to determine a difference between me and this cursed danhasch. look on that bed, and tell me without partiality who is the handsomer of those two that lie there asleep, the young man or the young lady." caschcasch looked on the prince and princess with great attention, admiration, and surprise; and after he had considered them a good while, without being able to determine, he turned to maimoune, and said, "madam, i must confess i should deceive you, and betray myself, if i pretended to say one was handsomer than the other. the more i examine them, the more clearly it appears to me each possesses, in a sovereign degree, the beauty of which both partake. neither of them appears to have the least defect, to yield to the other the palm of superiority; but if there be any difference, the best way to determine it is, to awaken them one after the other, and to agree that the person who shall express most love for the other by ardour, eagerness, and passion, shall be deemed to have in some respect less beauty." this proposal of caschcasch's pleased both maimoune and danhasch. maimoune then changed herself into a flea, and leaping on the prince's neck, stung him so smartly, that he awoke, and put up his hand to the place; but maimoune skipped away, and resumed her pristine form, which, like those of the two genies, was invisible, the better to observe what he would do. in drawing back his hand, the prince chanced to let it fall on that of the princess of china. he opened his eyes, and was exceedingly surprised to find lying by him a lady of the greatest beauty. he raised his head, and leaned on his elbow, the better to observe her. her blooming youth and incomparable beauty fired him in a moment with a flame of which he had never yet been sensible, and from which he had hitherto guarded himself with the greatest attention. love seized on his heart in the most lively manner, and he exclaimed, "what beauty! what charms! my heart! my soul!" as he spoke he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her mouth with so little caution, that he would have awakened her, had she not slept sounder than ordinary, through the enchantment of danhasch. "how!" said the prince, "do you not awake at these testimonies of love?" he was going to awake her, but suddenly refrained. "is not this she," said he, "that the sultan my father would have had me marry? he was in the wrong not to let me see her sooner. i should not have offended him by my disobedience and passionate language to him in public, and he would have spared himself the confusion which i have occasioned him." the prince began to repent sincerely of the fault he had committed, and was once more on the point of awaking the princess of china. "it may be," said he, "that the sultan my father has a mind to surprise me; and has sent this young lady to try if i had really that aversion to marriage which i pretended. who knows but he has brought her himself, and is hidden behind the hangings, to observe me, and make me ashamed of my dissimulation? the second fault would be greater than the first. at all events, i will content myself with this ring, as a remembrance of her." he then gently drew off a ring which the princess had on her finger, and immediately replaced it with one of his own. after this he fell into a more profound sleep than before, through the enchantment of the genies. danhasch now transformed himself into a flea in his turn, and bit the princess so rudely on the lip, that she awoke, started up, and on opening her eyes, was not a little surprised to see a man lying by her side. from surprise she proceeded to admiration, and from admiration to a transport of joy, at beholding so beautiful and lovely a youth. "what!" cried she, "is it you the king my father has designed me for a husband? would that i had known it, for then i should not have displeased him, nor been deprived of a husband whom i cannot forbear loving. wake then, awake!" so saying, she took the prince by the arm, and shook him so violently, that he would have awaked, had not maimoune increased his sleep by her enchantment. she shook him several times, and finding he did not awake, exclaimed, "what is come to thee? what jealous rival, envying thy happiness and mine, has had recourse to magic to throw thee into this unconquerable drowsiness when thou shouldst be most awake?" tired at length with her fruitless endeavours to awaken the prince; "since," said she, "i find it is not in my power to awake thee, i will no longer disturb thy repose, but wait our next meeting." after having kissed his cheek, she lay down and fell asleep by enchantment. maimoune now cried out to danhasch, "ah, cursed genie, art thou not now convinced how much thy princess is inferior to my prince? another time believe me when i assert any thing." then turning to caschcasch, "as for you," said she, "i thank you for your trouble; take the princess, in conjunction with danhasch, and convey her back again to her bed, from whence he has taken her." danhasch and caschcasch did as they were commanded, and maimoune retired to her well. kummir al zummaun on waking next morning, looked if the lady whom he had seen the night before were by him. when he found she was gone, he cried out, "i thought indeed this was a trick the king my father designed to play me. i am glad i was aware of it." he then awaked the slave, who was still asleep, and after he had washed and said his prayers, took a book and read some time. after these usual exercises, he called the slave, and said to him, "come hither, and be sure you do not tell me a lie. how came the lady hither who lay with me to-night, and who brought her?" "my lord," answered the slave with great astonishment, "i know not what lady your highness speaks of." "i speak," said the prince, "of her who came, or rather was brought hither, and lay with me to-night." "my lord," replied the slave, "i swear i know of no such lady; and how should she come in without my knowledge, since i lay at the door?" "you are a lying knave," replied the prince, "and in the plot to vex and provoke me." he then gave him a box on the ear, which knocked him down; and after having stamped upon him for some time, he tied the well-rope under his arms, and plunged him several times into the water, neck and heels. "i will drown thee," cried he, "if thou dost not tell me directly who this lady was, and who brought her." the slave, perplexed and half dead, said within himself, "the prince must have lost his senses through grief, and i shall not escape if i do not tell him a falsehood. my lord," cried he, in a suppliant tone, "i beseech your highness to spare my life, and i will tell you the truth." the prince drew the slave up, and pressed him to tell him. as soon as he was out of the well, "my lord," said he, trembling, "your highness must perceive it is impossible for me to satisfy you in my present condition; i beg you to give me leave first to go and change my clothes." "i permit you, but do it quickly," said the prince; "and be sure you conceal nothing." the slave went out, and having locked the door upon the prince, ran to the palace just as he was. the king was at that time in discourse with his prime vizier, to whom he had just related the grief in which he had passed the night on account of his son's disobedience and opposition to his will. the minister endeavoured to comfort his master, by telling him, the prince himself had given him cause for his severity. "sir," said he, "your majesty need not repent of having treated your son in this manner. have but patience to let him continue a while in prison, and assure yourself his heat will abate, and he will submit to all you require." the grand vizier had but just done speaking when the slave came in, and cast himself at the feet of the sovereign. "my lord," said he, "i am sorry to be the messenger of ill news to your majesty, which i know must occasion you fresh affliction. the prince is distracted; he raves of a lady having lain with him all night, and his treatment of me, as you may see, too plainly proves the state of his mind." then he proceeded to relate the particulars of what the prince had said, and the violence with which he had been treated. the king, who did not expect to hear any thing of this afflicting kind, said to the prime minister, "this is a melancholy turn, very different from the hopes you gave me: go immediately and examine the condition of my son." the grand vizier obeyed; and coming into the prince's chamber, found him sitting on his bed with a book in his hand, which he was reading. after mutual salutations, the vizier said, "my lord, i wish that a slave of yours were punished for coming to alarm the king your father by news that he has brought him." "what is it," demanded the prince, "that could give my father so much uneasiness?" "prince," answered the vizier, "god forbid that the intelligence he has conveyed to your father concerning you should be true; indeed, i find it to be false, by the calm temper in which i observe you, and which i pray you to continue." "it may be," replied the prince, "he did not make himself well understood; but since you are come, who ought to know something of the matter, permit me to ask you who that lady was that lay with me last night?" the grand vizier was thunderstruck at this question; he recovered himself and said, "my lord, be not surprised at my astonishment at your question. is it possible, that a lady or any other person should penetrate by night into this place without entering at the door, and walking over the body of your slave? i beseech you, recollect yourself, and you will find it is only a dream which has made this impression on you." "i give no ear to what you say," replied the prince, raising his voice. "i must know from you absolutely what is become of the lady; and if you hesitate, i am in a place where i shall soon be able to force you to obey me." at this stern language, the grand vizier began to feel more alarmed than before, and to think how he could extricate himself. he endeavoured to pacify the prince, and begged of him, in the most humble and guarded manner, to tell him if he had seen this lady. "yes, yes," answered the prince, "i have seen her, and am very well satisfied you sent her here to tempt me. she played the part in which you had instructed her admirably well. she pretended to be asleep, and i had no sooner fallen into a slumber, than she arose and left me. you know all this; for i doubt not she has been to make her report to you." "my lord," replied the vizier, "i swear to you nothing of this kind has been acted; neither your father nor i sent this lady you speak of; permit me therefore once more to suggest to your highness, that you have only seen this lady in a dream." "do you come to affront and contradict me," said the prince in a rage, "and to tell me to my face, that what i have told you is a dream?" at the same time he took him by the beard, and loaded him with blows, as long as he could stand. the grand vizier endured with respectful patience all the violence of the prince's indignation, and could not help saying within himself, "now am i in as bad a condition as the slave, and shall think myself happy, if i can, like him, escape from any further danger." in the midst of repeated blows, he cried out but for a moment's audience, which the prince, after he had nearly tired himself with beating him, consented to give him. "i own, my prince," said the grand vizier dissembling, "there is something in what your highness suspects; but you cannot be ignorant of the necessity a minister is under to obey his royal master's commands: yet, if you will but be pleased to set me at liberty, i will go and tell him any thing on your behalf that you shall think fit to require." "go then," said the prince, "and tell him from me, if he pleases, i will marry the lady he sent me, or, rather, that was brought to me last night. do this immediately, and bring me a speedy answer." the grand vizier made a profound reverence and went away, not thinking himself altogether safe till he had got out of the tower, and had closed the door on the prince. he came and presented himself before shaw zummaun, with a countenance that sufficiently shewed he had been ill used, and which the king could not behold without concern. "well," said the king, "in what condition did you find my son?" "sir," answered the vizier, "what the slave reported to your majesty is but too true." he then began to relate his interview with the prince, how he flew into a passion upon his endeavouring to persuade him it was impossible the lady he spoke of should have been introduced; the ill treatment he had received from him; how he had used him, and by what means he had made his escape. the king, the more concerned as he loved the prince with excessive tenderness, resolved to find out the truth, and therefore proposed to go himself and see his son in the tower, accompanied by the grand vizier. the prince received his father in the tower, where he was confined, with great respect. the king put several questions to him, which he answered calmly. the king every now and then looked on the grand vizier, as intimating he did not find his son had lost his wits, but rather thought he had lost his. the king at length spoke of the lady to the prince. "my son," said he, "i desire you to tell me what lady it was who lay with you last night." "sir," answered the prince, "i beg of your majesty not to give me more vexation on that head, but rather to oblige me by letting me have her in marriage; whatever aversion i may hitherto have discovered for women, this young lady has charmed me to that degree, that i cannot help confessing my weakness. i am ready to receive her at your majesty's hands, with the deepest gratitude." shaw zummaun was surprised at this answer of the prince, so remote, as he thought, from the good sense he had strewn before. "my son," said he, "you fill me with the greatest astonishment by what you say: i swear to you i know nothing of the lady you mention; and if any such has come to you, it was without my knowledge or privily. but how could she get into this tower without my consent? for whatever my grand vizier told you, it was only to appease your anger, it must therefore be a mere dream; and i beg of you not to believe otherwise, but recover your senses." "sir," replied the prince, "i should be for ever unworthy of your majesty's favour, if i did not give entire credit to what you are pleased to say but i humbly beseech you at the same time to give a patient hearing to what i shall relate, and then to judge whether what i have the honour to tell you be a dream or not." the prince then related to his father how he had been awaked, exaggerating the beauty and charms of the lady he found by his side, the instantaneous love he conceived for her, and the pains he took to awaken her without effect. shewing the king the ring he had taken from her finger he added, "after this, i hope you will be convinced that i have not lost my senses, as you have been almost made to believe." shaw zummaun was so perfectly convinced of the truth of what his son had been telling him, that he could make no reply, remaining astonished for some time, and not being able to utter a syllable. the prince took advantage of this opportunity, and said, "the passion i have conceived for this charming lady, whose lovely image i bear continually in my mind, is so ardent, that i cannot resist it. i entreat you therefore to have compassion, and procure me the happiness of being united to her." "son," replied the king, "after what i have just heard, and what i see by the ring on your finger, i cannot doubt but that your passion is real, and that you have seen this lady, who is the object of it. would to god i knew who she was. i would instantly comply with your wishes, and should be the happiest father in the world! but where shall i seek her? how came she here, and by what conveyance, without my consent? why did she come to sleep with you only to display her beauty, to kindle a flame of love while she slept, and then leave you while you were in a slumber? these things, i must confess, i do not understand; and if heaven do not favour us in our perplexity, i fear we must both go down to the grave together." as he spoke, he took the prince by the hand, and said, "come then, my son, let us go and grieve together; you with hopeless love, and i with seeing your affliction, without being able to afford you relief." shaw zummaun then led his son out of the tower, and conveyed him to the palace, where he had no sooner arrived, than in despair at loving an unknown object he fell sick, and took to his bed; the king shut himself up with him, without attending to the affairs of his kingdom for many days. the prime minister, who was the only person that had admittance, at length informed him, that the whole court, and even the people, began to murmur at not seeing him, and that he did not administer justice every day as he was wont to do; adding, he knew not what disorder it might occasion. "i humbly beg your majesty, therefore," proceeded he, "to pay some attention. i am sensible your majesty's company is a great comfort to the prince, and that his tends to relieve your grief; but you must not run the risk of letting all be lost. permit me to propose to your majesty, to remove with the prince to the castle near the port, where you may give audience to your subjects twice a week only. during these absences the prince will be so agreeably amused with the beauty, prospect, and good air of the place, that he will bear them with the less uneasiness." the king approved this proposal: he removed thither with the prince; and, excepting when he gave audience, never left him, but passed all his time endeavouring to comfort him by sharing his distress. whilst matters passed thus in the capital of shaw zummaun, the two genies, danhasch and caschcasch, had carried the princess of china back to the palace where the king her father had confined her, and laid her in her bed as before. when she awoke next morning, and found that prince kummir al zummaun was not by her, she cried out in such a manner to her women, that she soon brought them to her bed. her nurse, who arrived first, desired to be informed if any thing disagreeable had happened to her. "tell me," said the princess, "what is become of the young man that has passed the night with me, and whom i love with all my soul?" "madam," replied the nurse, "we cannot understand your highness, unless you will be pleased to explain yourself." "a young man, the handsomest and most amiable," said the princess, "slept with me last night, whom, with all my caresses, i could not awake; i ask you where he is?"' "madam," answered the nurse, "your highness asks us these questions in jest. i beseech you to rise." "i am in earnest," said the princess, "and i must know where this young man is." "madam," insisted the nurse, "you were alone when you went to bed last night; and how any man could come to you without our knowledge we cannot imagine, for we all lay about the door of your chamber, which was locked, and i had the key in my pocket." at this the princess lost all patience, and taking her nurse by the hair of her head, and giving her two or three sound cuffs, cried, "you shall tell me where this young man is, you old sorceress, or i will put you to death." the nurse struggled to get from her, and at last succeeded. she went immediately with tears in her eyes, and her face all bloody, to complain to the queen, who was not a little surprised to see her in this condition, and asked who had misused her. "madam," began the nurse, "you see how the princess has treated me; she had certainly murdered me, if i had not had the good fortune to escape out of her hands." she then related what had been the cause of all that violent passion in the princess. the queen was surprised at her account, and could not guess how she came to be so infatuated as to take that for a reality which could be no other than a dream. "your majesty must conclude from all this," continued the nurse, "that the princess is out of her senses. you will think so yourself if you will go and see her." the queen's affection for the princess deeply interested her in what she heard; she ordered the nurse to follow her; and they immediately went together to the princess's palace. the queen of china sat down by her daughter's bed-side on her arrival in her apartment, and after she had informed herself about her health began to ask her what had made her so angry with her nurse, as to treat her in the manner she had done. "daughter," said she, "this is not right, and a great princess like you should not suffer herself to be so transported by passion." "madam," replied the princess, "i plainly perceive your majesty is come to mock me; but i declare i will never let you rest till you consent to my marrying the young man who lay with me last night. you must know where he is, and therefore i beg of your majesty to let him come to me again." "daughter," answered the queen, "you surprise me; i do not understand your meaning." the princess now forgot all respect for the queen; "madam," replied she, "the king my father and you have persecuted me about marrying, when i had no inclination; i now have an inclination, and i will have this young man i told you of for my husband, or i will destroy myself." the queen endeavoured to calm the princess by conciliatory language: "daughter," said she, "you know well you are guarded in this apartment, how then could any man come to you?" but instead of attending to her, the princess interrupted her, by such extravagancies as obliged the queen to leave her, and retire in great affliction, to inform the king of all that had passed. when the king had heard the account, he wished likewise to be satisfied in person, and coming to his daughter's apartment, asked her, if what he had been told was true? "sir," replied the princess, "let us talk no more of that; i only beseech your majesty to grant me the favour, that i may marry the young man i lay with last night." "what! daughter," said the king, "has any one lain with you last night?" "how, sir," replied the princess, without giving him time to go on, "do you ask me if any one lay with me last night? your majesty knows that but too well. he was the most beautiful youth the sun ever saw: i ask him of you for my husband; i entreat you do not refuse me. but that your majesty may not longer doubt whether i have seen this young man, whether he has lain with me, whether i have caressed him, or whether i did not my utmost to awake him without succeeding, see, if you please, this ring." she then reached forth her hand, and shewed the king a man's ring on her finger. the king was perplexed what to think. he had confined his daughter as mad, he began now to think her more insane than ever. without saying any thing more to her, lest she might do violence to herself or somebody about her, he had her chained, and confined more closely than before, allowing her only the nurse to wait on her, with a good guard at the door. the king, exceedingly concerned at this indisposition of his daughter, sought all possible means to effect her cure. he assembled his council, and after having acquainted them with her condition "if any of you," said he, "is capable of undertaking to restore her to health, and succeed, i will give her to him in marriage, and make him heir to my dominions." the desire of obtaining a handsome young princess, and the hopes of one day governing so great a kingdom as that of china, had a powerful effect on an emir, already advanced in years, who was present at this council. as he was well skilled in magic, he offered the king to recover his daughter, and flattered himself with success. "i consent to the trial," said the king; "but i forgot to tell you one condition, and that is, that if you do not succeed, you shall lose your head. it would not be reasonable you should have so great a reward, and yet run no risk: and what i say to you," continued the king, "i say to all others who shall come after you, that they may consider beforehand what they undertake." the emir accepted the condition, and the king conducted him to the princess's place of confinement. she covered her face as soon as she saw them enter, and exclaimed, "your majesty surprises me, in bringing with you a man whom i do not know, and by whom my religion forbids me to let myself be seen." "daughter," replied the king, "you need not be scandalized, it is only one of my emirs who is come to demand you in marriage." "it is not, i perceive, the person that you have already given me, and whose faith is plighted by the ring i wear," replied the princess; "be not offended that i will never marry any other." the emir expected the princess would have said or done some extravagant thing, and was not a little disappointed when he heard her talk so calmly and rationally; for he then concluded that her disease was nothing but a violent and deep-rooted passion. he therefore threw himself at his majesty's feet, and said, "after what i have heard and observed, sir, it will be to no purpose for me to think of curing the princess, since i have no remedies proper for her malady; for which reason i humbly submit my life to your majesty's pleasure." the king, enraged at his incapacity, and the trouble he had given him, caused him to be immediately beheaded. some days after, unwilling to have it said that he had neglected his daughter's cure, the king put forth a proclamation in his capital, importing, that if there were any physician, astrologer, or magician who would undertake to restore the princess to her senses, he needed only to offer himself, and he should be employed, on condition of losing his head if he failed. he had the same published in the other principal cities and towns of his dominions, and in the courts of the princes his neighbours. the first that presented himself was an astrologer and magician, whom the king caused to be conducted to the princess's prison by an eunuch. the astrologer drew forth, out of a bag he carried under his arm, an astrolabe, a small sphere, a chafing-dish, several sorts of drugs proper for fumigations, a brass pot, with many other articles, and desired he might have a fire. the princess demanded what all these preparations were for. "madam," answered the eunuch, "they are to exorcise the evil spirit that possesses you, to shut him up in this pot, and throw him into the sea." "foolish astrologer," replied the princess, "i have no occasion for any of your preparations, but am in my perfect senses, and you alone are mad. if your art can bring him i love to me, i shall be obliged to you; otherwise you may go about your business, for i have nothing to do with you." "madam," said the astrologer, "if your case be so, i shall desist from all endeavours, believing the king your father only can remove your disorder:" so putting up his trinkets again, he marched away, much concerned that he had so easily undertaken to cure an imaginary malady. the eunuch conducted the astrologer to the king, whom the astrologer thus addressed: "according to what your majesty published in your proclamation, and what you were pleased to confirm to me yourself, i thought the princess was insane, and depended on being able to recover her by the secrets i have long been acquainted with; but i soon found she had no other disease but that of love, over which my art has no power: your majesty alone is the physician who can cure her, by giving her in marriage the person whom she desires." the king was much enraged at the astrologer, and had his head instantly cut off. a hundred and fifty astrologers, physicians, and magicians, came on this account, who all underwent the same fate; and their heads were set upon poles on every gate of the city. the princess of china's nurse had a son whose name was marzavan, who had been foster-brother to the princess, and brought up with her, the friendship was so great during their childhood, and all the time they had been together, that as they grew up, even some time after their separation, they treated each other as brother and sister. marzavan, among other studies, had from his youth been much addicted to judicial astrology, geomancy, and the like secret arts, wherein he became exceedingly skilful. not satisfied with what he had learned from masters, he travelled, and there was hardly any person of note in any science or art, but he sought him in the most remote cities, to obtain information, so great was his thirst after knowledge. after several years' absence in foreign parts, he returned to the capital of his native country, where, seeing so many heads on the gate by which he entered, he was exceedingly surprised, and demanded for what reason they had been placed there; but he more particularly inquired after the princess his foster-sister. as he could not receive an answer to one inquiry without the other, he heard at length a general account of what had happened, and waited for further particulars till he could see his mother, the princess's nurse. although the nurse, the mother of marzavan, was much employed about the princess, yet she no sooner heard her son was returned, than she found time to come out, embrace him, and converse with him a little. having told him, with tears in her eyes, the unhappy condition of the princess, and for what reason the king her father had confined her; her son desired to know if she could not procure him a private view of her royal mistress, without the king's knowledge. after some pause, she told him she could give him no answer for the present; but if he would meet her the next day at the same hour, she would inform him. the nurse knowing none could approach the princess but herself; without leave of the eunuch, who commanded the guard at the gate, addressed: herself to him, and said, "you know i have brought up and suckled the princess, and you may likewise have heard that i had a daughter whom i brought up along with her. this daughter has been since married, yet the princess still does her the honour to love her, and wishes to see her, without any person's observing her enter or depart." the nurse was proceeding, but the eunuch interrupted her and exclaimed, "say no more, i will with pleasure do any thing to oblige the princess; go and fetch your daughter, or send for her about midnight, and the gate shall be open for you." as soon as it was dark, the nurse went to marzavan, and having dressed him so well in women's clothes, that nobody could suspect he was a man, carried him along with her; and the eunuch believing it was her daughter, admitted them. the nurse, before she presented marzavan, went to the princess, and said, "madam, this is not a woman i have brought to you, it is my son marzavan in disguise, newly arrived from his travels; having a great desire to kiss your hand, i hope your highness will vouchsafe him that honour." "what! my brother marzavan," exclaimed the princess, with great joy; "approach, and take off that veil; for it is not unreasonable that a brother and a sister should see each other without covering their faces." marzavan saluted her with profound respect, while, without giving him time to speak, she continued, "i rejoice to see you returned in good health, after so many years' absence, and without sending any account of your welfare, even to your good mother." "madam," replied marzavan, "i am infinitely obliged to your goodness. i hoped to have heard a better account of your health than has been given me, and which i lament to find confirmed by your appearance. it gives me pleasure, however, to have come so seasonably to bring your highness that remedy which your situation requires. should i reap no other benefit from my studies and travels, i should think myself amply recompensed." having thus spoken, marzavan drew out of his pocket a book and some other things, which from the account he had had from his mother of the princess's distemper, he thought he might want. the princess, observing these preparations, exclaimed, "what! brother, are you one of those who believe me mad? undeceive yourself, and hear me." the princess then related to marzavan all the particulars of her story, without omitting the least circumstance, even to the ring which was exchanged for hers, and which she shewed him. "i have not concealed the least incident from you," continued she; "there is something in this business which i cannot comprehend, and which has given occasion for some persons to think me mad. but no one will attend to the rest, which is literally as i have stated." after the princess had concluded, marzavan, filled with wonder and astonishment, remained for some time with his eyes fixed on the ground, without speaking a word; but at length he lifted up his head, and said, "if it be as your highness says, and which i do not in the least doubt, i do not despair of being able to procure you the gratification of your wishes. but i must first entreat your highness to arm yourself with patience, till i have travelled over kingdoms which i have not yet visited, and when you hear of my return, be assured the object of your desire is not far distant." having thus spoken, marzavan took leave of the princess, and set out the next morning on his intended travels. he journeyed from city to city, from province to province, and from island to island; and in every place he visited, he could hear of nothing but the princess badoura (which was the princess of china's name) and her history. about four months after, our traveller arrived at torf, a sea-port town, large and populous, where the theme was changed; he no more heard of the princess badoura, but all the talk was of prince kummir al zummaun, who was sick, and whose history greatly resembled hers. marzavan was extremely delighted on hearing this, and informed himself where the prince was to be found. there were two ways to it; one, by land and sea; the other, by sea only, which was the shortest. marzavan chose the latter; and embarking on board a merchant ship, arrived safely in sight of shaw zummaun's capital; but just before it entered the port, the ship struck upon a rock, by the unskilfulness of the pilot, and foundered: it went down in sight of the castle, where at that time were the king and his grand vizier. marzavan, who could swim well, immediately upon the ship's sinking cast himself into the sea, and got safe on shore under the castle, where he was soon relieved by the grand vizier's order. after he had changed his clothes, and been well treated, he was introduced to the grand vizier, who lead sent for him. marzavan being a young man of good address, the minister received him with great politeness; and was induced, from the just and pertinent answers he returned to the questions put to him, to regard him with great esteem. finding by degrees that he possessed great variety and extent of information, he said to him, "from what i can understand, i perceive you are no common man; you have travelled much: would to god you had discovered some remedy for a malady which has been long a source of great affliction at this court." marzavan replied, if he knew what malady it was, he might perhaps find a remedy applicable to it. the grand vizier then related to him the story of prince kummir al zummaun. he concealed nothing relating to his birth, which had been so earnestly desired, his education, the wish of the king his father to see him early married, his resistance and extraordinary aversion from marriage, his disobeying his father in full council, his imprisonment, his extravagancies in prison, which were afterwards changed into a violent passion for some unknown lady, who, he pretended, had exchanged a ring with him, though, for his part, he verily believed there was no such person in the world. marzavan gave great attention to all the grand vizier said, and was infinitely rejoiced to find that, by means of his shipwreck, he had so fortunately lighted on the person he was seeking. he saw no reason to doubt that the prince was the man whom the princess of china so ardently loved, and that this princess was equally the object of his passion. without explaining himself farther to the vizier, he desired to see the prince, that he might be better able to judge of his disorder and its cure. "follow me," said the grand vizier, "and you will find the king with him, who has already desired i should introduce you." on entering the prince's chamber, the first thing marzavan observed was the prince upon his bed languishing, and with his eyes shut. notwithstanding his condition, and regardless of the presence of the king his father, who was sitting by him, he could not avoid exclaiming, "heavens! was there ever a greater resemblance?" he meant to the princess of china; for it seems the princess and the prince were much alike. this exclamation of marzavan excited the prince's curiosity; he opened his eyes and looked at him. marzavan, who had a ready wit, seized that opportunity, and made his compliment in extempore verse; but in such a disguised manner, that neither the king nor the grand vizier under stood his meaning. he represented so exactly what had happened to him with the princess of china, that the prince had no reason to doubt he knew her, and could give him tidings of her. his countenance immediately brightened up with joy. after marzavan had finished his compliment in verse, which surprised kummir al zummaun so agreeably, the prince took the liberty of making a sign to the king his father, to give his place to marzavan, and allow him to sit by him. the king, overjoyed at this alteration, which inspired him with hopes of his son's speedy recovery, quitted his place, and taking marzavan by the hand, led him to it, obliging him to sit. he then demanded of him who he was, and whence he had come? and upon marzavan's answering he was a subject of china, and came from that kingdom, the king exclaimed, "heaven grant you may be able to recover my son from this profound melancholy; i shall be eternally obliged to you, and all the world shall see how handsomely i will reward you." having said thus, he left the prince to converse at full liberty with the stranger, whilst he went and rejoiced with the grand vizier on this happy incident. marzavan leaning down to the prince, addressed him in a low voice: "prince, it is time you should cease to grieve. the lady, for whom you suffer, is the princess badoura, daughter of gaiour, king of china. this i can assure your highness from what she has told me of her adventure, and what i have learned of yours. she has suffered no less on your account than you have on hers." here he related all that he knew of the princess's story, from the night of their extraordinary interview. he omitted not to acquaint him how the king had treated those who had failed in their endeavours to cure the princess of her indisposition. "but your highness is the only person," added he, "that can cure her effectually, and you may present yourself without fear. however, before you undertake so long a voyage, i would have you perfectly recovered, and then we will take what measures may be necessary. think then immediately of the recovery of your health." this account had a marvellous effect on the prince. the hopes of speedily fulfilling his desires so much relieved him, that he felt he had strength sufficient to rise, and begged permission of his father to dress himself, with such an air as gave him incredible pleasure. shaw zummaun, without inquiring into the means he had used to produce this wonderful effect, could not refrain from embracing marzavan, and soon after went out of the prince's chamber with the grand vizier, to publish the agreeable tidings. he ordered public rejoicings for several days together, gave great largesses to his officers and the people, and alms to the poor, and caused the prisoners to be set at liberty throughout his kingdom the joy was soon general in the capital, and in every part of his dominions. kummir al zummaun, though extremely weakened by almost continual privation of sleep and long abstinence, soon recovered his health. when he found himself in a condition to undertake the voyage, he took marzavan aside, and said, "dear marzavan, it is now time to perform the promise you have made me. my impatience to behold the charming princess, and to relieve her of the torments she is now suffering on my account, is such, that if we do not shortly depart, i shall relapse into my former indisposition. one thing still afflicts me," continued he, "and that is the difficulty i shall find, from his tender affection for me, to obtain my father's permission to travel into a distant country. you observe he scarcely allows me to be a moment out of his sight." at these words the prince wept. marzavan then replied, "i foresaw this difficulty, and i will take care it shall not obstruct us. my principal design in this voyage was to cure the princess of china of her malady, and this on account of the mutual affection which we have borne to each other from our birth, as well as from the zeal and affection i otherwise owe her. i should therefore be wanting in my duty to her, if i did not use my best endeavours to effect her cure and yours. this is then the mode i have devised to obtain the king your father's consent. you have not stirred abroad for some time, therefore request his permission to go upon a hunting party with me. he will no doubt comply. when you have obtained his leave, obtain two fleet coursers for each of us to be got ready, one to mount, the other to change, and leave the rest to me." the following day the prince did as he had been instructed. he acquainted the king he was desirous of taking the air, and, if he pleased, would go and hunt for two or three days with marzavan. the king gave his consent, but wished him not to be absent more than one night, since too much exercise at first might impair his health and a longer absence would make him uneasy. he then ordered him to choose the best horses in the royal stable, and took particular care that nothing should be wanting for his accommodation. when all was ready, he embraced the prince, and having recommended to marzavan to be careful of him, he let him go. kummir al zummaun and marzavan were soon mounted, when, to amuse the two grooms who led the spare horses, they made as if they were going to hunt, and under this pretence got as far from the city and out of the high road as was possible. when night began to approach, they alighted at a caravanserai or inn, where they supped, and slept till about midnight; when marzavan awakened the prince, and desired his highness to let him have his dress, and to take another for himself, which was brought in his baggage. thus equipped, they mounted the fresh horses, and after marzavan had taken one of the grooms' horses by the bridle, they left the caravanserai. at day-break they found themselves in a forest, where four roads met. here marzavan, desiring the prince to wait for him a little, went into the wood. he then cut the throat of the groom's horse, and after having torn the suit which the prince had taken off, and besmeared it with blood, threw it into the highway. the prince inquired his reason for what he had done. he replied, he was sure that when the king his father found he did not return, and should learn that he had departed without the grooms, he would suspect something wrong, and immediately send in quest of them, "they who may come this way, finding this bloody habit, will conclude you are devoured by wild beasts, and that i have escaped to avoid the king's anger. the king, concluding you are dead, will stop further pursuit, and we may have leisure to continue our journey without fear of being followed." "i must confess," continued marzavan, "it is a violent way of proceeding, to alarm a fond father with the death of his son, but his joy will be the greater when he shall hear you are alive and happy." "breve marzavan," replied the prince, "i cannot but approve such an ingenious stratagem, or sufficiently admire your conduct: you place me under fresh obligations to you." the prince and marzavan being well provided for their expenses, continued their journey both by land and sea, and found no other obstacle but the length of the time which it necessarily took up. they arrived at length at the capital of china, where marzavan, instead of going to his house, carried the prince to a public inn. they remained there incognito three days, to rest themselves after the fatigue of the voyage; during which time marzavan caused an astrologer's habit to be made for the prince. the three days being expired, they went together to the bath, where the prince put on his astrologer's dress: from thence marzavan conducted him to the neighbourhood of the king of china's palace, where he left him, to go and inform his mother of his arrival. kummir al zummaun, instructed by marzavan what he was to do, came next morning to the gate of the king's palace, and cried aloud, "i am an astrologer, and am come to cure the illustrious princess badoura, daughter of the most high and mighty monarch gaiour king of china, on the conditions proposed by his majesty, to marry her if i succeed, or else to lose my life for my fruitless and presumptuous attempt." besides the guards and porters at the gate, this incident drew together a great number of people about the prince. there had no physician, astrologer, or magician appeared for a long time on this account, being deterred by the many tragical examples of ill success that appeared before; it was therefore thought there remained no more of these professions in the world, or none so mad as those that had already forfeited their lives. the prince's appearance, his noble air, and blooming youth, made every one who saw him pity him. "what mean you, sir," said some that were nearest to him, "thus to expose a life of such promising expectations to certain death? cannot the heads you see on all the gates of this city deter you from such an undertaking? in the name of god consider what you do! abandon this rash attempt, and depart." the prince continued firm, notwithstanding all these remonstrances; and as he saw no one coming to introduce him, he repeated the same cry with a boldness that made every body tremble. they all then exclaimed, "let him alone, he is resolved to die; god have mercy on his youth and his soul!" he then proceeded to cry a third time in the same manner, when the grand vizier came in person, and introduced him to the king of china. as soon as the prince came into the presence, he bowed and kissed the ground. the king, who, among all that had hitherto presumptuously exposed their lives on this occasion, had not before seen one worthy of his attention, felt real compassion for kummir al zummaun, on account of the danger to which he exposed himself. "young man," said he, "i can hardly believe that at this age you can have acquired experience enough to dare attempt the cure of my daughter. i wish you may succeed, and would give her to you in marriage with all my heart, and with the greatest joy, more willingly than i should have done to others that have offered themselves before you; but i must declare to you at the same time, though with great concern, that if you fail, notwithstanding your noble appearance and your youth, you must lose your head." "sir," replied the prince, "i have infinite obligations to your majesty for the honour you design me, and the great goodness you shew to a stranger; but i desire your majesty to believe i would not have come from so remote a country as i have done, the name of which perhaps may be unknown in your dominions, if i had not been certain of the cure i propose. what would not the world say of my fickleness, if, after such great fatigues and so many dangers as i have undergone in the pursuit, i should abandon this generous enterprise? even your majesty would lose that esteem you have conceived for me. if i perish, i shall die with the satisfaction of not having forfeited your good opinion. i beseech your majesty therefore to keep me no longer from displaying the certainty of my art, by the proof i am ready to afford." the king now commanded the eunuch, who had the custody of the princess, to introduce kummir al zummaun into her apartment: but before he would let him go, reminded him once more that he was at liberty to renounce his design; but the prince paid no regard to this, and with astonishing resolution and eagerness followed the eunuch. when they had entered a long gallery, at the end of which was the princess's apartment, the prince, who saw himself so near the objets of his wishes, who had occasioned him so many tears, pushed on, and got before the eunuch. the eunuch redoubling his pace, with difficulty got up to him, "wither so fast?" cried he, taking him by the arm; "you cannot get in without me; and it should seem you have a great desire for death, thus to run to it headlong. not one of all those many astrologers and magicians i have introduced before made such haste as yourself, to a place whence i fear you will come but too soon." "friend," replied the prince, looking earnestly on the eunuch, and continuing his pace, "this was because none of the astrologers you speak of were so confident in their art as i am: they were certain indeed they should die, if they did not succeed, but they had no certainty of their success. on this account they had reason to tremble on approaching this spot, where i am sure to find my happiness." he had just spoken these words when he reached the door. the eunuch opened it, and introduced him into a great hall, whence was an entrance into the princess's apartment, divided from it only by a piece of tapestry. the prince stopped before he entered, speaking more softly to the eunuch for fear of being heard by the princess. "to convince you," said he; "there is neither presumption, nor whim, nor youthful conceit in my undertaking, i leave it to your choice whether i shall cure the princess in her presence, or where we are, without going any farther, or seeing her?" the eunuch was amazed to hear the prince talk to him with such confidence: he left off jeering, and said seriously to him, "it is no matter where it is done, provided it be effected: cure her how you will, if you succeed you will gain immortal honour, not only in this court, but over all the world." the prince replied, "it will be best then to cure her without seeing her, that you may be witness of my skill; notwithstanding my impatience to see a princess of her rank, who is to be my wife, yet out of respect to you, i will deprive myself of that pleasure for a little while." being furnished with every thing proper for an astrologer to carry about him, he took pen, ink, and paper our of his pocket, and wrote the following billet to the princess. "the impassioned kummir al zummaun cannot recite the inexpressible pain he has endured since that fatal night in which your charms deprived him of the liberty which he had resolved to preserve. he only tells you that he devoted his heart to you in your charming slumbers; those obstinate slumbers which hindered him from beholding the brightness of your piercing eyes, notwithstanding all his endeavours to oblige you to open them. he presumed to present you with his ring as a token of his passion; and to take yours in exchange, which he encloses. if you condescend to return his as a reciprocal pledge of love, he will esteem himself the happiest of mankind. if not, the sentence of death, which your refusal must draw upon him, will be received with resignation, since he will perish on account of his love for you." when the prince had finished his billet, he folded it up, and enclosed in it the princess's ring. "there, friend," said he to the eunuch, "carry this to your mistress; if it does not cure her as soon as she reads it, and sees what it contains, i give you leave to tell every body, that i am the most ignorant and impudent astrologer that ever existed." the eunuch entering the princess of china's apartment, gave her the packet, saying, "the boldest astrologer that ever lived is arrived here, and pretends, that on reading this letter and seeing what it encloses, you will be cured; i wish he may prove neither a liar nor an impostor." the princess badoura took the billet, and opened it with indifference: but when she saw the ring, she had not patience to read it through: she rose hastily, broke the chain that held her, ran to the door and opened it. they immediately recognized each other, tenderly embraced, and without being able to speak for excess of joy, looked at one another, wondering how they met again after their first interview. the princess's nurse, who ran to the door with her, made them come into her apartment, where the princess badoura gave the prince her ring, saying, "take it, i cannot keep it without restoring yours; which i will never part with; neither can it be in better hands." the eunuch went immediately to inform the king of china of what had happened: "sir," said he, "all the astrologers and doctors who have hitherto pretended to cure the princess were fools compared with the present. he made use neither of schemes nor conjurations, of perfumes, nor any thing else, but cured her without seeing her." the monarch was agreeably surprised at this intelligence, and going to the princess's apartment, he embraced her, and afterwards the prince, and taking his hand joined it to the princess's, saying, "happy stranger, whoever you are, i will keep my word, and give you my daughter for your wife; though, by what i see in you, it is impossible for me to believe you are really what you pretend, and would have me take you to be." kummir al zummaun thanked the king in the most humble expressions, that he might the better shew his gratitude. "as for my condition," said he, "i must own i am not an astrologer, as your majesty has guessed; i only put on the habit of one, that i might succeed the more easily in my ambition to be allied to the most potent monarch in the world. i was born a prince, and the son of a king and of a queen; my name is kummir al zummaun; my father is shaw zummaun, who now reigns over the islands that are well known by the name of the islands of the children of khaledan." he then related to him his history, and how wonderful had been the origin of his love; that the princess's was altogether as marvellous; and that both were confirmed by the exchange of the two rings. when the prince had done speaking, the king said to him, "this history is so extraordinary, it deserves to be known to posterity; i will take care it shall; and the original being deposited in my royal archives, i will spread copies of it abroad, that my own kingdoms and the kingdoms around me may know it." the marriage was solemnized the same day, and the rejoicings were universal all over the empire of china. nor was marzavan forgotten: the king gave him an honourable post in his court, and a promise of further advancement. the prince and princess enjoyed the fulness of their wishes in the sweets of marriage; and the king kept continual feastings for several months, to manifest his joy on the occasion. in the midst of these pleasures kummir al zummaun dreamt one night that he saw his father on his bed at the point of death, and heard him thus address his attendants: "my son, to whom i gave birth; my son, whom i so tenderly loved whom i bred with so much fondness, so much care, has abandoned me, and is himself the cause of my death." he awoke with a profound sigh, which alarmed the princess, who asked him the cause. "alas! my love," replied the prince, "perhaps at the very moment while i am speaking, the king my father is no more." he then acquainted her with his melancholy dream, which occasioned him so much uneasiness. the princess, who studied to please him in every thing, went to her father the next day, kissed his hand, and thus addressed him: "i have a favour to beg of your majesty, and i beseech you not to deny me; but that you may not believe i ask it at the solicitation of the prince my husband, i assure you beforehand he knows nothing of my request: it is, that you will grant me your permission to go with him and visit his father." "daughter," replied the king, "though i shall be sorry to part with you for so long a time as a journey to a place so distant will require, yet i cannot disapprove of your resolution; it is worthy of yourself: go, child, i give you leave, but on condition that you stay no longer than a year in shaw zummaun's court. i hope the king will agree to this, that we shall alternately see, he his son and his daughter-in-law, and i my daughter and my son-in-law." the princess communicated the king of china's consent to her husband, who was transported to receive it, and returned her thanks for this new token of her love. the king of china gave orders for preparations to be made for their departure; and when all things were ready, he accompanied the prince and princess several days' journey on their way; they parted at length with much affliction on both sides: the king embraced them; and having desired the prince to be kind to his daughter, and to love her always with the same tenderness he now did, he left them to proceed, and to divert himself, hunted as he returned to his capital. when the prince and princess had recovered from their grief, they comforted themselves with considering how glad shaw zummaun would be to see them, and how they should rejoice to see the king. after travelling about a month, they one day entered a plain of great extent, planted at convenient distances with tall trees, forming an agreeable shade. the day being unusually hot, the prince thought it best to encamp there, and proposed it to badoura, who, having the same wish, the more readily consented. they alighted in one of the finest spots; a tent was presently set up; the princess, rising from the shade under which she had sat down, entered it. the prince then ordered his attendants to pitch their tents, and went himself to give directions. the princess, weary with the fatigues of the journey, bade her women untie her girdle, which they laid down by her; and she falling asleep, they left her alone. kummir al zummaun having seen all things in order, came to the tent where the princess was sleeping: he entered, and sat down without making any noise, intending to repose himself; but observing the princess's girdle lying by her, he took it up, and looked at the diamonds and rubies one by one. in viewing it he observed a little purse hanging to it, sewed neatly on the stuff, and tied fast with a riband; he felt it, and found it contained something solid. desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse, and took out a cornelian, engraven with unknown figures and characters. "this cornelian," said the prince to himself, "must be something very valuable, or my princess would not carry it with so much care." it was badoura's talisman, which the queen of china had given her daughter as a charm, that would keep her, as she said, from any harm as long as she had it about her. the prince, the better to look at the talisman, took it out to the light, the tent being dark; and while he was holding it up in his hand, a bird darted down from the air and snatched it away from him. one will easily conceive the concern and grief of the prince, when he saw the bird fly away with the talisman. he was more troubled than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by which his dear princess had lost a treasure, that was so precious, and so valued by her. the bird having got its prize, settled on the ground not far off, with the talisman in its mouth. the prince drew near it, hoping it would drop it; but as he approached, the bird took wing, and settled again on the ground further off. kummir al zummaun followed, and the bird took a further flight: the prince being very dexterous at a mark, thought to kill it with a stone, and still pursued; the further it flew, the more eager he grew in pursuing, keeping it always in view. thus the bird drew him along from hill to valley, and valley to hill, all the day, every step leading him out of the way from the plain where he had left his camp and the princess badoura: and instead of perching at night on a bush, where he might probably have taken it, roosted on a high tree, safe from his pursuit. the prince, vexed to the heart at having taken so much pains to no purpose, thought of returning; "but," said he to himself, "which way shall i return? shall i go down the hills and valleys which i have passed overt' shall i wander in darkness? and will my strength bear me out? how shall i dare appear before my princess without her talisman?" overwhelmed with such thoughts, and tired with the pursuit, sleep came upon him, and he lay down under a tree, where he passed the night. he awoke the next morning before the bird had left the tree, and as soon as he saw it on the wing, followed it again the whole of that day, with no better success than he had done the last, eating nothing but herbs and fruits as he went. he did the same for ten days together, pursuing the bird, and keeping it in view from morning to night, lying always under the tree where it roosted. on the eleventh day, the bird continued flying, and kummir al zummaun pursuing it, came near a great city. when the bird had reached the walls, it flew over them, and the prince saw no more of it; so that he despaired of ever recovering the princess badoura's talisman. the prince, whose grief was beyond expression, went into the city, which was built on the seaside, and had a fine port; he walked up and down the streets without knowing where he was, or where to stop. at last he came to the port, in as great uncertainty as ever what he should do. walking along the shore, he perceived the gate of a garden open, and an old gardener at work in it; the good man looking up, saw he was a stranger and a moosulmaun, and asked him to come in, and shut the door after him. kummir al zummaun entered, and demanded of the gardener why he was so cautious? "because," replied the old man, "i see you are a stranger newly arrived; and this city is inhabited for the most part by idolaters, who have a mortal aversion to us moosulmauns, and treat a few of us that are here with great barbarity. i suppose you did not know this, and it is a miracle that you have escaped as you have thus far: these idolaters being very apt to fall upon strangers, or draw them into a snare. i bless god, who has brought you into a place of safety." kummir al zummaun thanked the honest gardener for his advice, and the security he offered him in his house; he would have said more, but the good man interrupted him, saying, "let us leave complimenting; you are weary, and must want to refresh yourself. come in, and rest." he conducted him into his little hut; and after the prince had eaten heartily of what he set before him, with a cordiality that charmed him, he requested him to relate how he had come there. the prince complied; and when he had finished his story, without concealing any part of it, asked him which was the nearest route to his father's territories; saying, "it is in vain for me to think of finding my princess where i left her, after wandering eleven days from the spot by so extraordinary an adventure. ah!" continued he, "how do i know she is alive?" and saying this, he burst into tears. the gardener replied, "there was no possibility of his going thither by land, the ways were so difficult, and the journey so long; besides, there was no accommodation for his subsistence; or, if there were, he must necessarily pass through the countries of so many barbarous nations, that he would never reach his father's. it was a year's journey from the city where he then was to any country inhabited only by moosulmauns; that the quickest passage for him would be to go to the isle of ebene, whence he might easily transport himself to the isles of the children of khaledan; that a ship sailed from the port every year to ebene, and he might take that opportunity of returning to those islands." "the ship departed," said he, "but a few days ago; if you had come a little sooner, you might have taken your passage in it. you must wait till it makes the voyage again, and if you will stay with me and accept of my house, such as it is, you shall be as welcome to it as to your own." the prince was glad he had met with such an asylum, in a place where he had no acquaintance. he accepted the offer, and lived with the gardener till the time arrived that the ship was to sail to the isle of ebene. he spent the interval in working by day in the garden, and passing the night in sighs, tears, and complaints, thinking of his dear princess badoura. we must leave him in this place, to return to the princess, whom we left asleep in her tent. the princess slept a long time, and when she awoke, wondered that the prince was not with her; she called her women, and asked if they knew where he was. they told her they saw him enter the tent, but did not see him go out. while they were talking to her, she took up her girdle, found her little purse open, and that the talisman was gone. she did not doubt but that the prince had taken it to see what it was, and that he would bring it back with him. she waited for him impatiently till night, and could not imagine what made him stay away from her so long. when it was quite dark, and she could hear no tidings of him, she fell into violent grief: she cursed the talisman, and him that made it; and, had not she been restrained by duty, would have cursed the queen her mother, who had given her such a fatal present. she was the more troubled, because she could not imagine how her talisman should have caused the prince's separation from her; she did not however lose her judgment, and came to a courageous resolution, not common with persons of her sex. only herself and her women knew of the prince's absence; for his men were reposing or asleep in their tents. the princess, fearing they would betray her, if they had any knowledge of this circumstance, moderated her grief, and forbade her women to say or do any thing that might create the least suspicion. she then laid aside her own habit, and put on one of kummir al zummaun's. she was so much like him, that the next day, when she came abroad, the male attendants took her for the prince. she commanded them to pack up their baggage and begin their march; and when all things were ready, she ordered one of her women to go into her litter, she herself mounting on horseback, and riding by her side. she travelled several months by land and sea; the princess continuing the journey under the name of kummir al zummaun. they touched at ebene in their way to the isles of the children of khaledan, and went to the capital of the island, where a king reigned, whose name was armanos. the persons who first landed, giving out that the ship carried prince kummir al zummaun, who was returning from a long voyage, and was forced in by a storm, the news of his arrival was soon carried to court. king armanos, accompanied by his courtiers' went immediately to wait on the prince, and met the princess just as she was landing, and going to the palace that had been prepared for her. he received her as the son of a king, who was his friend, and with whom he always kept up a good understanding: he conducted her to the palace, where an apartment was prepared for her and all her attendants; though she would fain have excused herself. he shewed her all possible honour, and entertained her three days together with extraordinary magnificence. at the end of this time king armanos understanding that the princess intended proceeding on her voyage, charmed with the air and qualities of such an accomplished prince, as he supposed her, took an opportunity when she was alone, and spoke to her in this manner: "you see, prince, that i am old, and to my great mortification have not a son to whom i may leave my crown. heaven has only blest me with one daughter, whose beauty cannot be better matched than with a prince of your rank and accomplishments. instead of going home, stay and accept my crown, which i will resign in your favour. it is time for me to rest, and nothing could be a greater pleasure to me in my retirement, than to see my people ruled by so worthy a successor to my throne." the king's offer to bestow his only daughter in marriage, and with her his kingdom, on the princess badoura, put her into unexpected perplexity. she thought it would not become a princess of her rank to undeceive the king, and to own that she was not prince kummir al zummaun, whose part she had hitherto acted so well. she was also afraid to decline the honour he offered her, lest, being so much bent upon the conclusion of the marriage, his kindness might turn to aversion, and he might attempt something even against her life. these considerations, added to the prospect of obtaining a kingdom for the prince her husband, in case she found him again, determined her to accept the proposal of king armanos, and marry his daughter. after having stood silent for some minutes, she with blushes, which the king took for a sign of modesty, answered, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for your good opinion of me, for the honour you do me, and the great favour you offer, which i cannot pretend to merit, and dare not refuse." "but," continued she, "i cannot accept this great alliance on any other condition, than that your majesty will assist me with your counsels, and that i do nothing without having first obtained your approbation." the marriage treaty being thus concluded, the ceremony was put off till the next day. in the mean time princess badoura gave notice to her officers, who still took her for their prince, of what she was about to do, that they might not be surprised, assuring them the princess badoura consented. she talked also to her women, and charged them to continue to keep the secret she had entrusted to them. the king of the isle of ebene, rejoicing that he had found a son-in-law so much to his satisfaction, next morning summoned his council, and acquainted them with his design of marrying his daughter to prince kummir al zummaun, whom he introduced to them, and told them he resigned the crown to him, and required them to acknowledge him for their king, and swear fealty to him. having said this, he descended from his throne, and the princess badoura, by his order, ascended it. as soon as the council broke up, the new king was proclaimed through the city, rejoicings were appointed for several days, and couriers despatched over all the kingdom, to see the same ceremonies observed with the usual demonstrations of joy. at night there were extraordinary feastings at the palace, and the princess haiatalnefous was conducted to the princess badoura, whom every body took for a man, dressed like a royal bride: the wedding was solemnized with the utmost splendour: they were left together, and retired to bed. in the morning, while the princess badoura went to receive the compliments of the nobility in the hall of audience, where they congratulated her on her marriage and accession to the throne, king armanos and his queen went to the apartment of their daughter to inquire after her health. instead of answering, she held down her head, and by her looks they saw plainly enough that she was disappointed. king armanos, to comfort the princess haiatalnefous, bade her not be troubled. "prince kummir al zummaun," said he, "when he landed here might think only of going to his father's court. though we have engaged him to stay by arguments, with which he ought to be well satisfied, yet it is probable he grieves at being so suddenly deprived of the hopes of seeing either his father or any of his family. you must wait till those first emotions of filial love are over; he will then conduct himself towards you as a good husband ought to do." the princess badoura, under the name and character of kummir al zummaun, the king of ebene, spent the whole day in receiving the compliments of the courtiers and the nobility of the kingdom who were in and about the city, and in reviewing the regular troops of her household; and entered on the administration of affairs with so much dignity and judgment, that she gained the general applause of all who were witnesses of her conduct. it was evening before she returned to queen haiatalnefous's apartment, and she perceived by the reception she gave her, that the bride was not at all pleased with the preceding night. she endeavoured to dissipate her grief by a long conversation, in which she employed all the wit she had (and she possessed a good share), to persuade her she loved her entirely. she then gave her time to go to bed, and while she was undressing she went to her devotions; her prayers were so long, that queen haiatalnefous was asleep before they were ended. she then left off, and lay down softly by the new queen, without waking her, and was as much afflicted at being forced to act a part which did not belong to her, as in the loss of her dear kummir al zummaun, for whom she: ceased not to sigh. she rose as soon as it was day, before haiatalnefous was awake; and, being dressed in her royal robes as king, went to council. king armanos, as he had done the day before, came early to visit the queen his daughter, whom he found in tears; he wanted nothing more to be informed of the cause of her trouble. provoked at the contempt, as he thought, put upon his daughter, of which he could not imagine the reason: "daughter," said he, "have patience for another night. i raised your husband to the throne, and can pull him down again, and drive him thence with shame, unless he shews you proper regard. his treatment of you has provoked me so much, i cannot tell to what my resentment may transport me; the affront is as great to me as to you." it was late again before the princess badoura came to queen haiatalnefous. she talked to her as she had done the night before, and after the same manner went to her devotions, desiring the queen to go to bed. but haiatalnefous would not be so served; she held her back, and obliged her to sit down. "tell me, i beseech you," said she, "what can you dislike in a princess of my youth and beauty, who not only loves but adores you, and thinks herself the happiest of women in having so amiable a prince for her husband. any body but me would be not merely offended but shocked by the slight, or rather the unpardonable affront you have put upon me, and abandon you to your evil destiny. however, though i did not love you so well as i do, yet out of pure good-nature and humanity, which makes me pity the misfortunes of persons for whom i am less concerned, i cannot forbear telling you, that the king my father is enraged against you for your behaviour towards me, and to-morrow will make you feel the weight of his just anger, if you continue to neglect me as you have hitherto done. do not therefore drive to despair a princess, who, notwithstanding all your ill usage, cannot help loving you." this address embarrassed the princess badoura inexpressibly. she did not doubt the truth of what haiatalnefous had said. king armanos's coldness to her the day before had given her but too much reason to see he was highly dissatisfied with her. the only way to justify her conduit was, to communicate her sex to the princess haiatalnefous. but though she had foreseen she should be under a necessity of making such a discovery to her, yet her uncertainty as to the manner in which she would receive it, made her tremble; but, considering that if kummir al zummaun was alive, he must necessarily touch at the isle of ebene in his way to his father's kingdom, she ought to preserve herself for his sake; and that it was impossible to do this, if she did not let the princess haiatalnefous know who and what she was, she resolved to venture the experiment. the princess badoura stood as one who had been struck dumb, and haiatalnefous being impatient to hear what she could say, was about to speak to her again, when she prevented her by these words: "lovely and too charming princess! i own i have been in the wrong, and i condemn myself for it; but i hope you will pardon me, and keep the secret i am going to reveal to you for my justification." she then opened her bosom, and proceeded thus: "see, princess, if a woman like yourself does not deserve to be forgiven. i believe you will be so generous, at least when you know my story, and the afflicting circumstance that forced me to act the part i have done." the princess badoura having discovered her sex to the princess of the isle of ebene, she again prayed her to keep the secret, and to pretend to be satisfied with her as a husband, till the prince's arrival, which she hoped would be in a little time. "princess," replied haiatalnefous, "your fortune is indeed strange, that a marriage, so happy as yours, should be shortened by so unaccountable an accident, after a passion so reciprocal and full of wonders. pray heaven you may soon meet with your husband again, and assure yourself i will keep religiously the secret committed to me. it will be to me the greatest pleasure in the world to be the only person in the great kingdom of the isle of ebene who knows what and who you are, while you go on governing the people as happily as you have begun. i only ask of you at present to be your friend." then the two princesses tenderly embraced each other, and after a thousand expressions of mutual friendship lay down to rest. the two princesses having decided on a way to make belief that the marriage had been consummated: queen haiatalnefous's women were deceived themselves next morning, and it deceived armanos, his queen, and the whole court. from this time the princess badoura rose in the king's esteem and affection, governing the kingdom peaceably and prosperously. while things passed as already mentioned in the court of the isle of ebene, prince kummir al zummaun remained in the city of idolaters with the gardener, who had offered him his house for a retreat till the ship should sail to convey him away. one morning early, when the prince was as usual preparing to work in the garden, the gardener prevented him, saying, "this day is a great festival among the idolaters, and because they abstain from all work themselves, to spend the time in their assemblies and public rejoicings, they will not let the moosulmauns labour; who, to gain their favour, generally attend their shows, which are worth seeing. you will therefore have nothing to do to-day: i leave you here. as the time approaches, at which it is usual for the ship to sail for the isle of ebene, i will call on some of my friends to know when it will depart, and secure you a passage." the gardener put on his best apparel, and went out. when the prince was alone, instead of going out to share in the public joy of the city, his solitude brought to his mind, with more than usual violence, the loss of his dear princess. he walked up and down the garden sighing and lamenting, till the noise which two birds made on a neighbouring tree led him to lift up his head, to see what was the matter. kummir al zummaun was surprised to observe that the birds were fighting furiously: in a very little while, one of them fell down dead at the foot of the tree; the victorious bird took wing again, and flew away. in an instant, two other large birds, that had beheld the battle at a distance, came from the other side of the garden, and pitched on the ground, one at the feet, and the other at the head of the dead bird: they looked at it for some time, shaking their heads in token of grief; after which they dug a grave with their talons, and buried it. when they had filled up the grave with the earth they had turned up, they flew away, but returned in a few minutes, bringing with them the bird that had committed the murder, one holding one of its wings in its beak, and the other one of its legs; the criminal all the while crying out in a doleful manner, and struggling to escape. they carried it to the grave of the bird which it had lately sacrificed to its rage, and there killed it in just revenge for the murder it had committed. they opened its belly, tore out the entrails, left the body on the spot unburied, and flew away. the prince had remained in astonishment all the time that he stood beholding this singular spectacle. he now drew near the tree where this scene had passed, and casting his eyes on the scattered entrails of the bird that had been last killed, spied something red hanging out of the stomach. he took it up, and found it was his beloved princess badoura's talisman, which had cost him so much pain and sorrow, and so many sighs, since the bird had snatched it out of his hand. "ah, cruel!" said he to himself; still looking on the bird, "thou took'st delight in doing mischief, so i have the less reason to complain of that which thou didst to me: but the greater it was, the more do i wish well to those that revenged my quarrel, punishing thee for the murder of one of their own kind." it is impossible to express the prince's joy: "dear princess," continued he to himself, "this happy minute, which restores to me a treasure so precious to thee, is, without doubt, a presage of our meeting again, and perhaps sooner than i think of. thank heaven who sent me this good fortune, and gives me hope of the greatest felicity that my heart can desire." saying this, he kissed the talisman, wrapped it up in a riband, and tied it carefully about his arm. he had been almost every night a stranger to rest, the recollection of his misfortunes keeping him awake, but this night he enjoyed calm repose: he rose somewhat later the next morning than he used to do, and went to the gardener for orders. the good man bade him root up an old tree which bore no fruit. kummir al zummaun took an axe and began his work. in cutting off a branch of the root, he found his axe struck against something that resisted the blow. he removed the earth, and discovered a broad plate of brass, under which was a staircase of ten steps. he went down, and at the bottom saw a cavity about six yards square with fifty brass urns placed in order, each with a cover over it. he opened them all, one after another, and found they were all of them full of gold-dust. he came out of the cave, rejoicing that he had found such a vast treasure, put the brass plate on the staircase, and had the tree rooted up by the gardener's return. the gardener had ascertained that the ship which was bound for the isle of ebene, would sail in a few days, but the exact time was not yet fixed. his friend promised to let him know the day, if he called upon him on the morrow; and while the prince was rooting up the tree, he went to have his answer. he returned with a joyful countenance, by which the prince guessed he brought him good news. "son," said the old man (so he always called him on account of the difference of years between him and the prince) "be joyful, and prepare to embark in three days; the ship will then certainly sail; i have agreed with the captain for your passage." "in my present situation," replied kummir al zummaun, "you could not bring me more agreeable intelligence; and in return, i have also tidings that will be as welcome to you: come along with me, and you shall see what good fortune heaven has in store for you." the prince led the gardener to the place where he had rooted up the tree, made him go down into the cave, shewed him what a treasure he had discovered, thanking providence for rewarding his virtue, and the pains he had been at for so many years. "what do you mean?" replied the gardener: "do you imagine i will take these riches as mine? the property is yours: i have no right to it. for fourscore years, since my father's death, i have done nothing but dig in this garden, and could not discover this treasure, which is a sign it was destined for you, since god has permitted you to find it. it is better suited to a prince like you than to me; i have one foot in the grave, and am in no want of any thing. providence has bestowed it upon you, just when you are returning to that country, which will one day be your own, where you will make good use of it." kummir al zummaun would not be surpassed in generosity by the gardener. they disputed for some time. at last the prince solemnly protested, that he would have none of it, unless the gardener would divide it with him. the good man, to please the prince, consented; so they shared it between them, and each had twenty-five urns. "having thus divided it, son," said the gardener to the prince, "it is not enough that you have got this treasure; we must now contrive to carry it privately aboard, otherwise you will run the risk of losing it. there are no olives in the isle of ebene, those that are exported hence are a good commodity there: you know i have plenty of them, take what you will; fill fifty pots, half with the gold-dust and half with olives, and i will get them carried to the ship when you embark." the prince followed this advice, and spent the rest of the day in packing up the gold and the olives in the fifty pots, and fearing the talisman, which he wore on his arm, might be lost again, he carefully put it into one of the pots, with a particular mark to distinguish it from the rest. when they were all ready to be shipped, night coming on, the prince retired with the gardener, and related to him the battle of the birds, with the circumstance by which he had found the talisman. the gardener was equally surprised and joyful to hear it on his account. whether the old man was quite worn out with age, or had exhausted himself too much that day, the gardener had a very bad night; he grew worse the next day, and on the third day, when the prince was to embark, was so ill, that it was plain he was near his end. as soon as day broke, the captain of the ship came with several seamen to the gardener's; they knocked at the garden-door, which the prince opened to them. they asked him for the passenger who was to go with them. the prince answered, "i am he; the gardener who agreed with you for my passage is sick, and cannot be spoken with; come in, and let your men carry those pots of olives and my baggage aboard for me; i will only take leave of the gardener, and follow you." the seamen took the pots and the baggage, and the captain bade the prince make haste, the wind being fair. when the captain and his men were gone, kummir al zummaun went to the gardener to take his leave of him, and thanked him for all his good offices; but found him in the agonies of death, and had scarcely time to bid him rehearse the articles of his faith, which all good moosulmauns do before they die, before the gardener expired. the prince being under the necessity of embarking immediately, hastened to pay the last duty to the deceased. he washed his body, buried him in his own garden, and having nobody to assist him, it was almost evening before he had put him into the ground. as soon as he had done, he ran to the water-side, carrying with him the key of the garden, designing, if he had time, to give it to the landlord; otherwise to deposit it in some trusty person's hand before a witness, that he might have it after he was gone. when he reached the port, he was told the ship had sailed several hours, and was already out of sight. it had waited three hours for him, and the wind standing fair, the captain durst not stay longer. it is easy to imagine that kummir al zummaun was exceedingly grieved at being forced to remain longer in a country where he neither had, nor wished to have, any acquaintance; to think that he must wait another year for the opportunity he had lost. but the greatest affliction of all was, his having parted with the princess badoura's talisman, which he now considered lost. the only course left him was to return to the garden from whence he had come, to rent it of the landlord and continue to cultivate it by himself, deploring his misery and misfortunes. he hired a boy to assist him to do some part of the drudgery: that he might not lose the other half of the treasure which came to him by the death of the gardener, who died without heirs, he put the gold-dust into fifty other jars, which he filled up with olives, to be ready against the ship's return. while the prince was beginning another year of labour, sorrow, and impatience, the ship having a fair wind, continued her voyage to the isle of ebene, and happily arrived at the capital. the palace being by the sea side, the new king, or rather the princess badoura, espying the ship as she was entering into the port, with all her flags, asked what vessel it was: she was answered, that it came annually from the city of the idolaters, and was generally richly laden. the princess, who always had kummir al zummaun in her mind, imagined that the prince might be aboard; and resolved to visit the ship and meet him, without discovering herself; but to observe him, and take proper measures for their making themselves mutually known. under pretence of inquiring what merchandize was on board, and having the first sight of the goods, she commanded a horse to be brought, which she mounted, accompanied by several officers in waiting, and arrived at the port, just as the captain came ashore. she ordered him to be brought before her, asked whence he had come, how long he had been on his voyage, and what good or bad fortune he had met with: if he had no stranger of quality aboard, and particularly with what his ship was laden. the captain gave a satisfactory answer to all her demands; and as to passengers, assured her there were none but merchants in his ship, who used to come every year, and bring rich stuffs from several parts of the world to trade with, the finest linens painted and plain, diamonds, musk, ambergris, camphire, civet, spices, drugs, olives, and many other articles. the princess badoura loved olives extremely when she heard the captain speak of them, "land them," said she, "i will take them off your hands; as to the other goods, tell the merchants to bring them to me, and let me see them before they dispose of, or shew them to any one." the captain taking her for the king of the isle of ebene, replied, "sire, there are fifty great jars of olives, but they belong to a merchant whom i was forced to leave behind. i gave him notice myself that i stayed for him, and waited a long time, but he not coming, and the wind offering, i was afraid of losing the opportunity, and so set sail." the princess answered, "no matter, bring them ashore; we will nevertheless make a bargain for them." the captain sent the boat, which in a little time returned with the olives. the princess demanded how much the fifty jars might be worth in the isle of ebene? "sir," replied the captain, "the merchant is very poor, and your majesty will do him a singular favour if you give him one thousand pieces of silver." "to satisfy him," said the princess, "and because you tell me he is poor, i will order you one thousand pieces of gold for him, which do you take care to give him." the money was accordingly paid, and the jars carried to the palace. night drawing on the princess withdrew into the inner palace, and went to the princess haiatalnefous's apartment, ordering the olives to be brought thither. she opened one jar to let the princess haiatalnefous taste them, and poured them into a dish. great was her astonishment, when she found the olives were mingled with gold-dust. "what can this mean!" said she, "it is wonderful beyond comprehension." her curiosity increasing from so extraordinary an adventure, she ordered haiatalnefous's women to open and empty all the jars in her presence; and her wonder was still greater, when she saw that the olives in all of them were mixed with gold-dust; but when she saw her talisman drop out, she was so surprised that she fainted away. haiatalnefous and her women brought the princess to herself, by throwing cold water in her face. when she recovered, she took the talisman, and kissed it again and again; but not being willing that the princess haiatalnefous's women, who were ignorant of her disguise, should hear what she said, and it growing late, she dismissed them. "princess," said she to haiatalnefous, as soon as they were gone, "you who have heard my story, doubtless, guessed it was at the sight of the talisman that i fainted. this is that talisman, and the fatal cause of my dosing my husband; but as it was that which caused our separation, so i foresee it will be the means of our meeting." the next day, as soon as it was light, she sent for the captain of the ship; and when he came, spoke to him thus: "i want to know something more of the merchant to whom the olives belong, that i bought of you yesterday. i think you told me you left him behind in the city of the idolaters; can you tell me what is his employment there?" "yes," replied the captain, "i can speak from my own knowledge. i agreed for his passage with a very old gardener, who told me i should find him in his garden, where he worked under him. he shewed me the place, and for that reason i told your majesty he was poor. i went thither to call him. i told him what haste i was in, spoke to him myself in the garden, and cannot be mistaken in the man." "if what you say is true," replied the princess, "you must set sail this very day for the city of idolaters, and bring me that gardener's man, who is my debtor; else i will not only confiscate all your goods and those of your merchants, but your life and theirs shall answer for his. i have ordered my seal to be put on the warehouses where their goods are deposited, which shall not be taken off till your return: this is all i have to say to you; go and do as i command you." the captain could make no reply to this order, the disobeying of which must have proved of such loss to him and his merchants. he acquainted them with it; and they hastened him away as fast as they could, after he had laid in a stock of provisions and fresh water for his voyage. they were so diligent, that he set sail the same day. he had a prosperous voyage to the city of the idolaters, where he arrived in the night. when he was got as near the city as he thought convenient, he would not cast anchor, but lay to off shore; and going into his boat, with six of his stoutest seamen, landed a little way off the port, whence he went directly to the garden of kummir al zummaun. though it was about midnight when he came there, the prince was not asleep. his separation from the fair princess of china his wife afflicted him as usual. he cursed the minute in which his curiosity tempted him to touch the fatal girdle. thus was he passing those hours which are devoted to rest, when he heard somebody knock at the garden-door: he ran hastily to it; but he had no sooner opened it than the captain and his seamen took hold of him, and carried him to the boat, and so on ship-board. as soon as he was safely lodged, they set sail, and made the best of their way to the isle of ebene. hitherto kummir al zummaun, the captain, and his men, had not said a word to one another; at last the prince asked the captain, whom he knew again, why they had taken him away by force? the captain in his turn demanded of the prince, whether he was not a debtor of the king of ebene? "i the king of ebene's debtor!" replied the prince in amazement; "i do not know him, and have never set foot in his kingdom." the captain answered, "you should know that better than i; you will talk to him yourself in a little while; till then stay here and have patience." the captain was not long on his voyage back to the isle of ebene. though it was night when he cast anchor in the port, he landed immediately, and taking his prisoner with him, hastened to the palace, where he demanded to be introduced to the king. the princess badoura had withdrawn into the inner palace, but as soon as she heard of the captain's return, she came out to speak to him. immediately as she cast her eyes on the prince, for whom she had shed so many tears, she recognized him in his gardener's habit. as for the prince, who trembled in the presence of a king, as he thought her, to whom he was to answer for an imaginary debt, it could not enter into his thoughts, that the person whom he so earnestly desired to see stood before him. if the princess had followed the dictates of her inclination, she would have run to him, and, by embracing, discovered herself to him; but she put a constraint on herself, believing that it was for the interest of both that she should act the king a little longer before she made herself known. she contented herself for the present to put him into the hands of an officer, who was then in waiting, charging him to take care of him, and use him well, till the next day. when the princess badoura had provided for kummir al zummaun, she turned to the captain, whom she was now to reward for the important service he had done her. she commanded another officer to go immediately to take the seal off the warehouse which contained his goods, and gave him a rich diamond, worth much more than the expense he had been at in both his voyages. she also bade him keep the thousand pieces of gold she had given for the olives, telling him she would make up the account with the merchant whom he had brought with him. this done, she returned to the princess of the isle of ebene's apartment, to whom she communicated her joy, praying her to keep the secret still. she told how she intended to manage the discovering of herself to kummir al zummaun, and resignation of the kingdom to him; adding, there was so vast a distance between a gardener, as he would appear to the public, and a great prince, that it might be dangerous to raise him at once from the lowest condition of the people to the highest honour, however justice might require it should be done. the princess of the isle of ebene was so far from betraying her, that she rejoiced with her, and entered into the design. the next morning the princess of china ordered kummir al zummaun to be conducted early to the bath, and then to be appareled in the robes of an emir or governor of a province. she commanded him to be introduced into the council, where his fine person and majestic air drew upon him the eyes of all the lords present. the princess badoura herself was charmed to see him look as lovely as ever, and her pleasure inspired her to speak the more warmly in his praise. when she spoke to the council, having ordered the prince to take his seat among the emirs, she addressed them thus: "my lords, kummir al zummaun, whom i have advanced to the same dignity with yourselves, is not unworthy of the place assigned him. i have known enough of him in my travels to answer for him, and i can assure you he will make his merit known to all of you, as well by his velour, as by a thousand other brilliant qualities, and the extent of his genius." the prince was extremely amazed to hear the king of the isle of ebene, whom he was far from taking for a woman, much less for his dear princess, name him, and declare that he knew him, while he thought himself certain he had never seen him before. he was much more surprised when he heard him praise him so highly. those praises however from the mouth of majesty did not disconcert him, though he received them with such modesty, as shewed that he deserved them. he prostrated himself before the throne of the king, and rising again, said, "sire, i want words to express my gratitude to your majesty for the honour you have done me; i shall do all in my power to render myself worthy of your royal favour." from the council-board the prince was conducted to a palace, which the princess badoura had ordered to be fitted up for him; where he found officers and domestics ready to obey his commands, a stable full of fine horses, and every thing suitable to the quality of an emir. when he was in his closet, the steward of his household brought him a strong box full of gold for his expenses. the less he could conceive whence his happiness proceeded, the more he wondered, but he never once imagined that he owed it to the princess of china. two or three days after, the princess badoura, that he might be nearer her person and in a more distinguished post, made him high treasurer, which office had lately become vacant. he conducted himself in his new charge with so much integrity, yet obliging every body, that he not only gained the friendship of the great, but also the affections of the people, by his uprightness and bounty. kummir al zummaun had been the happiest man in the world, to see himself in so high favour with a foreign king as he conceived, and increasing in the esteem of all his subjects, if he had had his princess with him. in the midst of his good fortune he never ceased lamenting her, and grieved that he could hear no tidings of her, especially in a country which she must necessarily have visited in her way to his father's court after their separation. he would have mistrusted something, had the princess still gone by the name of kummir al zummaun, which she took with his habit; but on her accession to the throne, she had changed it, and taken that of armanos, in honour of the old king her father-in-law. the princess desiring that her husband should owe the discovery of her to herself alone, resolved to put an end to her own torments and his; for she had observed, that as often as she discoursed with him about the affairs of office, he heaved such deep sighs, as could be addressed to nobody but her. while she herself lived in such a constraint, that she could endure it no longer. the princess badoura had no sooner formed her resolution in concert with the princess haiatalnefous, than she the same day took kummir al zummaun aside, saying, "i must talk with you about an affair which requires much consideration, and on which i want your advice. as i do not see how it can be done so conveniently as in the night, come hither in the evening, and leave word at home not to be waited for; i will take care to provide you a lodging." kummir al zummaun came punctually to the palace at the hour appointed by the princess; she took him with her into the inner apartment, and having told the chief eunuch, who prepared to follow her, that she had no occasion for his service, conducted him into a different apartment from that of the princess haiatalnefous, where she used to sleep. when the prince and princess entered the chamber, she shut the door, and taking the talisman out of a little box, gave it to kummir al zummaun, saying, "it is not long since an astrologer presented me with this talisman; you being skilful in all things, may perhaps tell me its use." kummir al zummaun took the talisman, and drew near a lamp to view it. as soon as he recollected it, with an astonishment which gave the princess great pleasure, "sire," said he to the prince, "your majesty asked me the use of this talisman. alas! its only purpose is to kill me with grief and despair, if i do not quickly find the most charming and lovely princess in the world to whom it belonged, whose loss it occasioned me by a strange adventure, the recital of which will move your majesty to pity such an unfortunate husband and lover as i am." "you shall tell me the particulars another time," replied the princess; "i know something of them already: remain here a little, and i will soon return to you." at these words she went into her closet, put off her royal turban, and in a few minutes dressed herself in her female attire; and having the girdle round her, which she had on the day of their separation, re-entered the chamber. kummir al zummaun immediately recognized his dear princess, ran to her, and tenderly embraced her, exclaiming, "how much am i obliged to the king who has so agreeably surprised me!" "do not expect to see the king any more," replied the princess, embracing him in her turn, with tears in her eyes: "you see him in me; sit down, and i will explain this enigma to you." they seated themselves, and the princess related the plan she had formed in the plain where they were encamped the last time they were together, as soon as she perceived she waited for him to no purpose; how she went through with it till she arrived at the isle of ebene, where she had been obliged to marry the princess haiatalnefous, and accept of the crown, which king armanos offered her as a condition of the marriage: how the princess, whose merit she highly extolled, had obliged her to make declaration of her sex: and how she found the talisman in the pots of olives mingled with the gold-dust, which she had bought, and how this circumstance had proved the cause of her sending for him from the city of the idolaters. when she had concluded her adventure, she obliged the prince to tell her by what means the talisman had occasioned their separation. he satisfied her inquiries; after which, it growing late, they retired to rest. the princess badoura and kummir al zummaun rose next morning as soon as it was light, but the princess would no more put on her royal robes as king; she dressed herself in her female attire, and then sent the chief eunuch to king armanos, her father-in-law, to desire he would oblige her by coming to her apartment. when the king entered the chamber, he was amazed at seeing a lady who was unknown to him, and the high treasurer with her, who was not by etiquette permitted to come within the inner palace. he sat down, and asked where the king was. the princess answered, "yesterday i was king, but to-day i am only princess of china, wife to the true prince kummir al zummaun. if your majesty will have patience to hear our adventures, i hope you will not condemn me for putting an innocent deceit upon you." the king bade her go on, and heard her narrative from beginning to end with astonishment. the princess on finishing said to him, "sir, though women do not easily comply with the liberty assumed by men to have several wives; yet if your majesty will consent to give your daughter the princess haiatalnefous in marriage to the prince, i will with all my heart yield up to her the rank and quality of queen, which of right belongs to her, and content myself with the second place. if this precedence were not her due, i would resign it to her, after the obligation i have to her for keeping my secret so generously. if your majesty refer it to her consent, i am sure of that, having already consulted her; and i will pass my word that she will be very well satisfied." king armanos listened to the princess with astonishment, and when she had done, turned to kummir al zummaun, saying, "son, since the princess badoura your wife, whom i have all along thought to be my son-in-law, through a deceit of which i cannot complain, assures me, that she will divide your bed with my daughter; i would know if you are willing to marry her, and accept of the crown, which the princess badoura would deservedly wear, if she did not quit it out of love to you." "sir," replied kummir al zummaun, "though i desire nothing so earnestly as to see the king my father, yet the obligations i have to your majesty and the princess haiatalnefous are so weighty, i can refuse her nothing." the prince was then proclaimed king, and married the same day with all possible demonstrations of joy; and had every reason to be well pleased with the princess haiatalnefous's beauty, wit, and love for him. the two queens lived together afterwards on the same friendly terms and in the same cordiality as they had done before, both being contented with kummir al zummaun's equal carriage towards them. the next year each brought him a son at the same time, and the births of the two princes were celebrated with extraordinary rejoicings: the first, whom the princess badoura was delivered of, was named amgiad (most illustrious); and the other, born of queen haiatalnefous, assad (most virtuous). the story of the princes amgiad and assad. the two princes were brought up with great care; and, when they were old enough, had the same governor, the same instructors in the arts and sciences, and the same master for each exercise. the affection which from their infancy they conceived for each other occasioned an uniformity of manners and inclination, which increased it. when they were of an age to have separate households, they loved one another so tenderly, that they begged the king to let them live together. he consented, and they had the same domestics, the same equipages, the same apartment, and the same table. kummir al zummaun had formed so good an opinion of their capacity and integrity, that he made no scruple of admitting them into his council at the age of eighteen, and letting them, by turns, preside there, while he took the diversion of hunting, or amused himself with his queens at his houses of pleasure. the princes being equally handsome, the two queens loved them with incredible tenderness; but the princess badoura had a greater kindness for prince assad, queen haiatalnefous's son, than for her own; and queen haiatalnefous loved amgiad, the princess badoura's son, better than her own son assad. the two queens thought at first this inclination was nothing but a regard which proceeded from an excess of their own friendship for each other, which they still preserved: but as the two princes advanced in years, that friendship grew into a violent love, when they appeared in their eyes to possess graces that blinded their reason. they knew how criminal their passion was, and did all they could to resist it; but the familiar intercourse with them, and the habit of admiring, praising, and caressing them from their infancy, which they could not restrain when they grew up, inflamed their desires to such a height as to overcome their reason and virtue. it was their and the princes' ill-fortune, that the latter being used to be so treated by them, had not the least suspicion of their infamous passion. the two queens had not concealed from each other this passion, but had not the boldness to declare it to the princes they loved; they at last resolved to do it by a letter, and to execute their wicked design, availed themselves of the king's absence, when he was gone on a hunting party for three or four days. prince amgiad presided at the council on the day of his father's departure, and administered justice till two or three o'clock in the afternoon. as he returned to the palace from the council-chamber, an eunuch took him aside, and gave him a letter from queen haiatalnefous. amgiad took it, and read it with horror. "traitor," said he, to the eunuch as soon as he had perused it through, "is this the fidelity thou owest thy master and thy king?" at these words he drew his sabre and cut off his head. having done this in a transport of anger he ran to the princess badoura his mother, shewed her the letter, told her the contents of it, and from whom it came. instead of hearkening to him, she fell into a passion, and said, "son, it is all a calumny and imposture; queen haiatalnefous is a very discreet princess, and you are very bold to talk to me against her." the prince, enraged at his mother, exclaimed, "you are both equally wicked, and were it not for the respect i owe my father, this day should have been the last of haiatalnefous's life." queen badoura might have imagined by the example of her son amgiad, that prince assad, who was not less virtuous, would not receive more favourably a declaration of love, similar to that which had been made to his brother. yet that did not hinder her persisting in her abominable design; she, the next day, wrote him a letter, which she entrusted to an old woman who had access to the palace, to convey to him. the old woman watched her opportunity to put it into his hands as he was coming from the council-chamber, where he presided that day in his turn. the prince took it, and reading it, fell into such a rage, that, without giving himself time to finish it, he drew his sabre and punished the old woman as she deserved. he ran immediately to the apartment of his mother queen haiatalnefous, with the letter in his hand: he would have shewn it to her, but she did not give him time, crying out, "i know what you mean; you are as impertinent as your brother amgiad: be gone, and never come into my presence again." assad stood as one thunder-struck at these words, so little expected. he was so enraged, that he had like to have given fatal demonstrations of his anger; but he contained himself, and withdrew without making any reply, fearing if he stayed he might say something unworthy the greatness of his soul. amgiad had not mentioned to him the letter which he had received the preceding day; and finding by what his mother had said to him that she was altogether as criminal as queen haiatalnefous, he went to his brother, to chide him for not communicating the hated secret to him, and to mingle his own sorrow with his. the two queens, rendered desperate by finding in the two princes such virtue as should have made them look inwardly on themselves, renounced all sentiments of nature and of mothers and conspired together to destroy them. they made their women believe the two princes had attempted their virtue: they counterfeited the matter to the life by their tears, cries, and curses; and lay in the same bed, as if the resistance they pretended to have made had reduced them almost to death's-door. when kummir al zummaun returned to the palace from hunting, he was much surprised to find them in bed together, in tears, acting despondency so well, that he was touched with compassion. he asked them with earnestness what had happened to them. at this question, the dissembling queens wept and sobbed more bitterly than before; and after he had pressed them again and again to tell him, queen badoura at last answered him: "sir, our grief is so well founded, that we ought not to see the light of the sun, or live a day, after the violence that has been offered us by the unparalleled brutality of the princes your sons. they formed a horrid design, encouraged by your absence, and had the boldness and insolence to attempt our honour. your majesty will excuse us from saying any more; you may guess the rest by our affliction." the king sent for the two princes, and would have killed them both with his own hand, had not old king armanos his father-in-law, who was present, held his hand: "son," said he, "what are you going to do? will you stain your hands and your palace with your own blood? there are other ways of punishing them, if they are really guilty." he endeavoured thus to appease him, and desired him to examine whether they did indeed commit the crime of which they were accused. it was no difficult matter for kummir al zummaun to restrain himself so far as not to butcher his own children. he ordered them to be put under arrest, and sent for an emir called jehaun-dar, whom he commanded to conduct them out of the city, and put them to death, at a great distance, and in what place he pleased, but not to see him again, unless he brought their clothes with him, as a token of his having executed his orders. jehaun-dar travelled with them all night, and early next morning made them alight, telling them, with tears in his eyes, the commands he had received. "believe me, princes," said he, "it is a trying duty imposed on me by your father, to execute this cruel order: would to heaven i could avoid it!" the princes replied, "do your duty; we know well you are not the cause of our death, and forgive you with all our hearts." they then embraced, and bade each other a last adieu with so much tenderness, that it was a long time before they could leave one another's arms. prince assad was the first who prepared himself for the fatal stroke. "begin with me," said he "that i may not have the affliction to see my dear brother amgiad die." to this amgiad objected; and jehaun-dar could not, without weeping more than before, be witness of this dispute between them; which shewed how perfect and sincere was their affection. at last they determined the contest, by desiring jehaun-dar to tie them together, and put them in the most convenient posture for him to give them the fatal stroke at one blow. "do not refuse the comfort of dying together to two unfortunate brothers, who from their birth have shared every thing, even their innocence," said the generous princes. jehaun-dar granted their request; he tied them to each other, breast to breast; and when he had placed them so that he thought he might strike the blow with more certainty, asked them if they had any thing to command him before they died. "we have only one thing to desire of you," replied the princes, "which is, to assure the king our father on your return, that we are innocent; but that we do not charge him with our deaths, knowing he is not well informed of the truth of the crime of which we are accused." jehaun-dar promised to do what they desired and drew his sabre, when his horse, being tied to a tree just by, started at the sight of the sabre, which glittered against the sun, broke his bridle, and ran away into the country. he was a very valuable horse, and so richly caparisoned, that the emir could not bear the loss of him. this accident so vexed him, that instead of beheading the two princes, he threw away his sabre, and ran after his horse. the horse galloped on before him, and led him several miles into a wood. jehaun-dar followed him, and the horse's neighing roused a lion that was asleep. the lion started up, and instead of running after the horse, made directly towards jehaun-dar, who thought no more of his horse, but how to save his life. he ran into the thickest of the wood, the lion keeping him in view, pursuing him among the trees. in this extremity he said to himself, "heaven had not punished me in this manner, but to shew the innocence of the princes whom i was commanded to put to death; and now, to my misfortune, i have not my sabre to defend myself." while jehaun-dar was gone, the two princes were seized with a violent thirst, occasioned by the fear of death, notwithstanding their noble resolution to submit to the king their father's cruel order. prince amgiad told the prince his brother there was a spring not far off. "ah! brother," said assad, "we have so little time to live, what need have we to quench our thirst? we can bear it a few minutes longer." amgiad taking no notice of his brother's remonstrance, unbound himself, and the prince his brother. they went to the spring, and having refreshed themselves, heard the roaring of the lion. they also heard jehaun-dar's dreadful cries in the wood, which he and the horse had entered. amgiad took up the sabre which lay on the ground, saying to assad, "come, brother, let us go and save the unfortunate jehaun-dar; perhaps we may arrive soon enough to deliver him from the danger to which he is now exposed." the two princes ran to the wood, and entered it just as the lion was going to fall on jehaun-dar. the beast seeing prince amgiad advancing towards him with a sabre in his hand, left his prey, and rushed towards him with great fury. the prince met him intrepidly, and gave him a blow so forcibly and dexterously, that it felled him to the ground. when jehaun-dar saw that he owed his life to the two princes, he threw himself at their feet, and thanked them for the obligation, in words which sufficiently testified his gratitude. "princes," said he, rising up and kissing their hands, with tears in his eyes, "god forbid that ever i should attempt any thing against your lives, after you have so kindly and bravely saved mine. it shall never be said that the emir jehaun-dar was guilty of such ingratitude." "the service we have done you," answered the princes, "ought not to prevent you from executing the orders you have received: let us first catch your horse, and then return to the place where you left us."--they were at no great trouble to take the horse, whose mettle was abated with running. when they had restored him to jehaun-dar, and were come near the fountain, they begged of him to do as their father had commanded; but all to no purpose. "i only take the liberty to desire," said jehaun-dar, "and i pray you not to deny me, that you will divide my clothes between you, and give me yours; and go to such a distance, that the king your father may never hear of you more." the princes were forced to comply with his request. each of them gave him his clothes, and covered themselves with what he could spare them of his. he also gave them all the money he had about him, and took his leave of them. after the emir jehaun-dar had parted from the princes, he passed through the wood where amgiad had killed the lion, in whose blood he dipped their clothes: which having done, he proceeded on his way to the capital of the isle of ebene. on his arrival there, kummir al zummaun inquired if he had done as commanded? jehaun-dar replied, "behold, sir, the proofs of my obedience;" giving him at the same time the princes' clothes. "how did they bear their punishment?" jehaun-dar answered, "with wonderful constancy and resignation to the decrees of heaven, which shewed how sincerely they made profession of their religion: but particularly with great respect towards your majesty, and an inconceivable submission to the sentence of death. 'we die innocent,' said they; 'but we do not murmur: we take our death from the hand of heaven, and forgive our father; for we know he has not been rightly informed of the truth.'" kummir al zummaun was sensibly touched at jehaun-dar's relation. a thought occurred to him to search the princes' pockets; he began with prince amgiad's where he found a letter open, which he read. he no sooner recognized the hand-writing than he was chilled with horror. he then, trembling, put his hand into that of assad, and finding there queen badoura's letter, his horror was so great, that he fainted. never was grief equal to kummir all zummaun's, when he recovered from his fit: "barbarous father," cried he, "what hast thou done? thou hast murdered thy own children, thy innocent children! did not their wisdom, their modesty, their obedience, their submission to thy will in all things, their virtue, all plead in their behalf? blind and insensible father! dost thou deserve to live after the execrable crime thou hast committed? i have brought this abomination on my own head; and heaven chastises me for not persevering in that aversion to women with which i was born. and, oh ye detestable wives! i will not, no, i will not, as ye deserve, wash off the guilt of your sins with your blood; ye are unworthy of my rage: but i will never see you more!" kummir al zummaun was a man of too much religion to break his vow: he commanded the two queens to be lodged in separate apartments that very day, where they were kept under strong guards, and he never saw them again as long as he lived. while the king of the isle of ebene was afflicting himself for the loss of his sons, of whose death he thought he had been the author by his too rashly condemning them, the royal youths wandered through deserts, endeavouring to avoid all places that were inhabited, and shun every human creature. they lived on herbs and wild fruits, and drank only rain-water, which they found in the crevices of the rocks. they slept and watched by turns at night, for fear of wild beasts. when they had travelled about a month, they came to the foot of a frightful mountain of black stones, and to all appearance inaccessible. they at last espied a kind of path, but so narrow and difficult that they durst not venture to follow it: this obliged them to go along by the foot of the mountain, in hopes of finding a more easy way to reach the summit, but could discover nothing like a path, so they were forced to return to that which they had neglected. they still thought it would be in vain for them to attempt it. they deliberated for a long time what they should do, and at last, encouraging one another, resolved to ascend. the more they advanced the higher and steeper the mountain appeared, which made them think several times of giving over their enterprise. when the one was weary, the other stopped, and they took breath together; sometimes they were both so tired, that they wanted strength to proceed: then despairing of being able to reach the top they thought they must lie down and die of fatigue and weariness. a few minutes after, when they found they recovered strength, they animated each other and went on. notwithstanding all their endeavours, their courage and perseverance, they could not reach the summit that day; night came on, and prince assad was so spent, that he stopped and said to amgiad, "brother, i can go no farther, i am just dying." "let us rest ourselves," replied prince amgiad, "as long as you will, and have a good heart: it is but a little way to the top, and the moon befriends us." they rested about half an hour, and then assad making a new effort, they ascended what remained of the way to the summit, where they both at last arrived, and lay down. amgiad rose first, and advancing, saw a tree at a little distance. he went to it, and found it was a pomegranate, with large fruit upon it, and he perceived there was a spring at its foot: he ran to his brother assad to tell him the good news, and conduct him to the tree by the fountain side. here they refreshed themselves by eating each a pomegranate, after which they fell asleep. when they awoke the next morning, "come, brother," said amgiad to assad, "let us go on; i see the mountain is easier to be travelled over on this side than the other, all our way now is down hill." but assad was so tired with the preceding day's exertions, that he wanted three days' repose to recover himself. they spent these days as they had done many before, in conversing on their mothers' inordinate passion, which had reduced them to such a deplorable state: but, said they, "since heaven has so visibly declared itself in our favour, we ought to bear our misfortunes with patience, and comfort ourselves with hopes that we shall see an end of them." after having rested three days, the two brothers continued their travels. as the mountain on that side was composed of several shelves of extensive flat, they were five days in descending before they came into the plain. they then discovered a large city, at which they rejoiced: "brother," said amgiad to assad, "are not you of my opinion that you should stay in some place out of the city, where i may find you again, while i go and inform myself what country we are in, and when i come back i will bring provisions with me? it may not be safe for us to go there together." "brother," replied assad, "your plan is both safe and prudent, and i approve of what you say but if one of us must part from the other on that account, i will not suffer it shall be you; you must allow me to go; for what shall i suffer, if any accident should befall you?" "but, brother," answered amgiad, "the very accident you fear would befall me, i have as much reason to fear would happen to you: i entreat you to let me go, and do you remain here patiently." "i will never consent to this," said assad; "if any ill happen to me, it will be some comfort to think you are safe." amgiad was forced to submit, and assad going towards the city, he stayed under the trees at the foot of the mountain. prince assad took the purse of money which amgiad had in charge, and went forwards towards the city. he had not proceeded far in the first street, before he met with a reverend old man with a cane in his hand. he was neatly dressed, and the prince took him for a man of note in the place, who would not put a trick upon him, so he accosted him thus: "pray, my lord, which is the way to the market-place?" the old man looked at prince assad smiling; "child," said he, "it is plain you are a stranger, or you would not have asked that question." "yes, my lord, i am a stranger," replied assad. the old man answered, "you are welcome then; our country will be honoured by the presence of so handsome a young man as you are: tell me what business you have at the market-place." "my lord," replied assad, "it is near two months since my brother and i set out from our own country: we have not ceased travelling, and we arrived here but to-day; my brother, tired with such a long journey, stays at the foot of the mountain, and i am come to buy some provisions for him and myself." "son," said the old man, "you could not have come in a better time, and i am glad of it for your and your brother's sake. i made a feast today for some friends of mine: come along with me; you shall eat as much as you please; and when you have done, i will give you enough to last your brother and yourself several days. do not spend your money, when there is no occasion; travellers are always in want of it: while you are eating i will give you an account of our city, which no one can do better than myself, who have borne all the honourable offices in it. it is well for you that you happen to light upon me; for i must tell you, all our citizens cannot so well assist and inform you. i can assure you some of them are very wicked. come, you shall see the difference between a real honest man, as i am, and such as boast of being so, and are not." "i am infinitely obliged to you," replied assad, "for your kindness; i put myself entirely into your hands, and am ready to go with you where you please." the old man, as he walked along by his side, laughed inwardly, to think he had got the prince in his clutches; and all the way, lest he should perceive his dissimulation, talked of various subjects, to preserve the favourable opinion assad had of him. among other things, he said, "it must be confessed you were very fortunate to have spoken to me, rather than to any one else: i thank god i met with you; you will know why, when you come to my house." at length they arrived at the residence of the old man, who introduced assad into a hall, where there were forty such old fellows as himself, who made a circle round a flaming fire, which they were adoring. the prince was not less struck with horror at the sight of so many men mistakenly worshipping the creature for the creator, than he was with fear at finding himself betrayed into so abominable a place. while the prince stood motionless with astonishment, the old cheat saluted the forty gray-headed men. "devout adorers of fire," said he to them, "this is a happy day for us; where is gazban? call him." he spake these words aloud, when a negro who waited at the lower end of the hall immediately came up to him. this black was gazban, who, as soon as he saw the disconsolate assad, imagined for what purpose he was called. he rushed upon him immediately, threw him down, and bound his hands with wonderful activity. when he had done, "carry him down," said the old man, "and fail not to order my daughters, bostama and cavama, to give him every day a severe bastinado, with only a loaf morning and night for his subsistence; this is enough to keep him alive till the next ship departs for the blue sea and the fiery mountain, where he shall be offered up an acceptable sacrifice to our divinity." as soon as the old man had given the cruel order, gazban hurried prince assad under the hall, through several doors, till they came to a dungeon, down to which led twenty steps; there he left him in chains of prodigious weight and bigness, fastened to his feet. when he had done, he went to give the old man's daughters notice: but their father had before sent for them, and given them their instructions himself: "daughters," said he to them, "go down and give the mussulmaun i just now brought in the bastinado: do not spare him; you cannot better shew your zeal for the worship of the fire." bostama and cavama, who were bred up in their hatred to the faithful, received this order with joy. they descended into the dungeon that instant, stripped assad, and bastinadoed him unmercifully, till the blood issued out of his wounds and he was almost dead. after this cruel treatment, they put a loaf of bread and a pot of water by him, and retired. assad did not come to himself again for a long time; when he revived, he burst out into a flood of tears, deploring his misery. his comfort however was, that this misfortune had not happened to his brother. amgiad waited for his brother till evening with impatience; as two, three, or four of the clock in the morning arrived, and assad did not return, he was in despair. he spent the night in extreme uneasiness; and as soon as it was day went to the city, where he was surprised to see but very few mussulmauns. he accosted the first he met, and asked him the name of the place. he was told it was the city of the magicians, so called from the great number of magicians, who adored the fire; and that it contained but few mussulmauns. amgiad then demanded how far it was to the isle of ebene? he was answered, four months' voyage by sea, and a year's journey by land. the man he talked to left him hastily, having satisfied him as to these two questions. amgiad, who had been but six weeks coming from the isle of ebene with his brother assad, could not comprehend how they had reached this city in so short a time, unless it was by enchantment, or that the way across the mountain was a much shorter one, but not frequented because of its difficulty. going farther into the town, he stopped at a tailor's shop, whom he knew to be a mussulmaun by his dress. having saluted him, he sat down, and told him the occasion of the trouble he was in. when prince amgiad had done talking, the tailor replied, "if your brother has fallen into the hands of some magicians, depend upon it you will never see him more. he is lost past all recovery; and i advise you to comfort yourself as well as you can, and to beware of falling into the same misfortune: to which end, if you will take my advice, you shall stay at my house, and i will tell you all the tricks of these magicians, that you may take care of yourself, when you go out." amgiad, afflicted for the loss of his brother, accepted the tailor's offer and thanked him a thousand times for his kindness to him. the story of the prince amgiad and a lady of the city of the magicians. for a whole month prince amgiad never went out of the tailor's house without being accompanied by his host. at last he ventured to go alone to the bath. as he was returning home, he met a lady on the way. seeing a handsome young man, she lifted up her veil, asked him with a smiling air, and bewitching look, whither he was going? amgiad was overpowered by her charms, and replied, "madam, i am going to my own house, or, if you please, i will go to yours." "my lord," resumed the lady, with a smile, "ladies of my quality never take men to their houses, they always accompany them to theirs." amgiad was much perplexed by this unexpected reply. he durst not venture to take her home to his landlord's house, lest he should give him offence, and thereby lose his protection, of which he had so much need, in a city which required him to be always on his guard. he knew so little of the town, that he could not tell where to convey her, and he could not make up his mind to suffer the adventure to go unimproved. in this uncertainty, he determined to throw himself upon chance; and without making any answer, went on, and the lady followed him. amgiad led her from street to street, from square to square, till they were both weary with walking. at last they entered a street, at the end of which was a closed gateway leading to a handsome mansion. on each side of the gateway was a bench. amgiad sat down on one of them, as if to take breath: and the lady, more weary than he, seated herself on the other. when she had taken her seat, she asked him, whether that was his house? "you see it, madam," said amgiad. "why do you not open the gate then," demanded the lady; "what do you wait for?" "fair lady," answered amgiad, "i have not the key; i left it with my slave, when i sent him on an errand, and he cannot be come back yet: besides, i ordered him afterwards to provide something good for dinner; so that i am afraid we shall wait a long time for him." the prince, meeting with so many obstacles to the satisfying of his passion, began to repent of having proceeded so far, and contrived this answer, in hopes that the lady would take the hint, would leave him out of resentment, and seek elsewhere for a lover; but he was mistaken. "this is a most impertinent slave," said the lady, "to make us wait so long. i will chastise him myself as he deserves, if you do not, when he comes back. it is not decent that i should sit here alone with a man." saying this, she arose, and took up a stone to break the lock, which was only of wood, and weak, according to the fashion of the country. amgiad gave himself over for a lost man, when he saw the door forced open. he paused to consider whether he should go into the house or make off as fast as he could, to avoid the danger which he believed was inevitable; and he was going to fly when the lady returned. seeing he did not enter, she asked, "why do not you come into your house?" the prince answered, "i am looking to see if my slave is coming, fearing we have nothing ready." "come in, come in," resumed she, "we had better wait for him within doors than without." amgiad, much against his will, followed her into the house. passing through a spacious court, neatly paved, they ascended by several steps into a grand vestibule, which led to a large open hall very well furnished, where he and the lady found a table ready spread with all sorts of delicacies, another heaped with fruit, and a sideboard covered with bottles of wine. when amgiad beheld these preparations, he gave himself up for lost. "unfortunate amgiad," said he to himself, "thou wilt soon follow thy dear brother assad." the lady, on the contrary, transported at the sight, exclaimed, "how, my lord, did you fear there was nothing ready? you see your slave has done more than you expected. but, if i am not mistaken, these preparations were made for some other lady, and not for me: no matter, let her come, i promise you i will not be jealous; i only beg the favour of you to permit me to wait on her and you." amgiad, greatly as he was troubled at this accident, could not help laughing at the lady's pleasantry. "madam," said he, thinking of something else that tormented his mind, "there is nothing in what you imagine; this is my common dinner, and no extraordinary preparation, i assure you." as he could not bring himself to sit down at a table which was not provided for him, he would have taken his seat on a sofa, but the lady would not permit him. "come, sir," said she, "you must be hungry after bathing, let us eat and enjoy ourselves." amgiad was forced to comply: they both sat down, and began to regale themselves. after having taken a little, the lady took a bottle and glass, poured out some wine, and when she had drunk herself, filled another glass, and gave it to amgiad, who pledged her. the more the prince reflected on this adventure, the more he was amazed that the master of the house did not appear; and that a mansion, so rich and well provided, should be left without a servant. "it will be fortunate," said he to himself, "if the master of the house do not return till i am got clear of this intrigue." while he was occupied with these thoughts, and others more troublesome, she ate and drank heartily, and obliged him to do the same. just as they were proceeding to the dessert, the master of the house arrived. it happened to be bahader, master of the horse to the king of the magicians. this mansion belonged to him, but he commonly resided in another; and seldom came to this, unless to regale himself with two or three chosen friends he always sent provisions from his other house on such occasions, and had done so this day by some of his servants, who were just gone when the lady and amgiad entered. bahader came as he used to do, in disguise, and without attendants, and a little before the time appointed for the assembling of his friends. he was not a little surprised to find the door broken open; he entered, making no noise, and hearing some persons talking and making merry in the hall, he stole along under the wall, and put his head half way within the door to see who they were. perceiving a young man and a young lady eating at his table the victuals that had been provided for his friends and himself, and that there was no great harm done, he resolved to divert himself with the adventure. the lady's back was a little turned towards him, and she did not see the master of the horse, but amgiad perceived him immediately. the glass was at the time in his hand, and he was going to drink; he changed colour at the sight of bahader, who made a sign to him not to say a word, but to come and speak to him. amgiad drank and rose: "where are you going?" inquired the lady. the prince answered, "pray, madam, stay here a little; i shall return directly." bahader waited for him in the vestibule, and led him into the court to talk to him without being overheard by the lady. when bahader and amgiad were in the court, bahader demanded of the prince, how the lady came into his house? and why they broke open his door? "my lord," replied amgiad, "you may very reasonably think me guilty of a very unwarrantable action: but if you will have patience to hear me, i hope i shall convince you of my innocence." he then related, in a few words, what had happened, without disguising any part of the truth; and to shew him that he was not capable of committing such an action as to break into a house, told him he was a prince, and informed him of the reason of his coming to the city of the magicians. bahader, who was a good man, was pleased with an opportunity of obliging one of amgiad's rank: for by his air, his actions, and his well-turned conversation, he did not in the least doubt the truth of what he had asserted. "prince," said bahader, "i am glad i can oblige you in so pleasant an adventure. far from disturbing the feast, it will gratify me to contribute to your satisfaction in any thing. before i say any more on this subject, i must inform you my name is bahader; i am master of the horse to the king of the magicians; i commonly reside in another house, which i have in the city, and come here sometimes to have the more liberty with my friends. you have made this lady believe you have a slave, though you have none; i will personate that slave, and that this may not make you uneasy, and to prevent your excuses, i repeat again, that i will positively have it to be so; you will soon know my reason. go to your place, and continue to divert yourself. when i return again, and come to you in a slave's habit, chide me for staying so long, do not be afraid even to strike me. i will wait upon you while you are at table till night; you shall sleep here, and so shall the lady, and to-morrow morning you may send her home with honour. i shall afterwards endeavour to do you more important services: go, and lose no time." amgiad would have made him an answer, but the master of the horse would not suffer him, forcing him to return to the lady. he had scarcely reentered the hall before bahader's friends, whom he had invited, arrived. bahader excused himself for not entertaining them that day, telling them they would approve of his reason when they should be informed of it, which they should be in due time. when they were gone, he went and dressed himself in a slave's habit. prince amgiad returned to the lady much pleased at finding the house belonged to a man of quality, who had received him so courteously. when he sat down again, he said, "madam, i beg a thousand pardons for my rudeness. i was vexed that my slave should tarry so long; the rascal shall pay for it when he comes: i will teach him to make me wait so for him." "let not that trouble you," said the lady. "the evil is his; if he is guilty of any faults, let him pay for it: but do not let us think of him, we will enjoy ourselves without him." they continued at the table with the more pleasure, as amgiad was under no apprehensions of the consequence of the lady's indiscretion in breaking open the door. the prince was now as merry as the lady: they said a thousand pleasant things, and drank more than they ate, till bahader arrived in his disguise. bahader entered like a slave who feared his master's displeasure for staying out when he had company with him. he fell down at his feet and kissed the ground, to implore his clemency; and when he had done, stood behind him with his hands across, waiting his commands. "sirrah," said amgiad, with a fierce tone, and angry look, "where have you been? what have you been doing, that you came no sooner?" "my lord," replied bahader, "i ask your pardon; i was executing your orders, and did not think you would return home so early." "you are a rascal," said amgiad, "and i will break your bones, to teach you to lie, and disappoint me." he then rose up, took a stick, and gave him two or three slight blows; after which he sat down again. the lady was not satisfied with this chastisement. she also rose, took the stick, and fell upon bahader so unmercifully, that the tears came into his eyes. amgiad, offended to the last degree at the freedom she took, and that she should use one of the king's chief officers so ill, called out to her in vain to forbear. "let me alone," said she "i will give him enough, and teach him to be absent so long another time." she continued beating him with great fury, till amgiad rose from the table, and forced the stick out of her hand which she did not relinquish without much struggling. when she found she could beat bahader no longer, she sat down, railed at and cursed him. bahader wiped his eyes, and stood up to fill out wine when he saw they had done eating and drinking, he took away the cloth, cleared the hall, put every thing in its place; and night coming on, lighted up the lamps. every time he came in, or went out, the lady muttered, threatened him, and gave him abusive language, to amgiad's great regret, who would have hindered her, but could not. when it was time for them to retire to bed, bahader prepared one for them on the sofa, and withdrew into a chamber, where he laid himself down, and soon fell asleep, having been fatigued with his beating. amgiad and the lady entertained one another for some time afterwards. the lady before she went to bed having occasion to go to another part of the house, passing through the vestibule, heard bahader snore, and having seen a sabre hanging up in the hall, turned back, and said to amgiad, "my lord, as you love me, do one thing for me." "in what can i serve you?" asked the prince. "oblige me so far as to take down this sabre and cut off your slave's head." amgiad was astonished at such a proposal from a lady, and made no doubt but it was the wine she had drunk that induced her to make it. "madam," said he, "let us suffer him to rest, he is not worthy of your farther notice: i have beaten him, and you have beaten him: that ought to be sufficient; besides, i am in other respects well satisfied with him." "that shall not satisfy me," replied the lady, in a violent passion; "the rascal shall die, if not by your hands, by mine." as she spoke, she took down the sabre from the place where it hung, drew it out of the scabbard, and prepared to execute her wicked design. amgiad met her in the vestibule, saying, "you shall be satisfied, madam, since you will have it so; but i should be sorry that any one besides myself should kill my slave." when she had given him the sabre, "come, follow me," said he; "make no noise, lest we should awaken him." they went into bahader's chamber, where amgiad, instead of striking him, aimed his blow at the lady, and cut off her head, which fell upon bahader. bahader was awakened by the head of the lady falling upon him. he was amazed to see amgiad standing by him with a bloody sabre, and the body of the lady lying headless on the ground. the prince told him what had passed, and said, "i had no other way to prevent this furious woman from killing you, but to take away her life." "my lord," replied bahader, full of gratitude, "persons of your rank and generosity are incapable of doing such a wicked action: as she desired of you. you are my deliverer, and i cannot sufficiently thank you." after having embraced him, to evince the sense he entertained of his obligations to him, he said, "we must carry this corpse out before it is quite day; leave it to me, i will do it." amgiad would not consent to this, saying, "he would carry it away himself, since he had struck the blow." bahader replied, "you are a stranger in this city, and cannot do it so well as one who is acquainted with the place. i must do it, if for no other reason, yet for the safety of both of us, to prevent our being questioned about her death. remain you here, and if i do not return before day, you may be sure the watch has seized me; and for fear of the worst, i will by writing give this house and furniture for your habitation." when he had written, signed, and delivered the paper to prince amgiad, he put the lady's body in a bag, head and all; laid it on his shoulder, and went out with it from one street to another, taking the way to the sea-side. he had not proceeded far before he met one of the judges of the city, who was going the rounds in person. bahader was stopped by the judge's followers, who, opening the bag, found the body of a murdered lady, bundled up with the head. the judge, who knew the master of the horse notwithstanding his disguise, took him home to his house, and not daring to put him to death without telling the king, on account of his rank, carried him to court as soon as it was day. when the king had been informed by the judge of the crime bahader had, as he believed from the circumstances, committed, he addressed himself to the master of the horse as follows: "it is thus then that thou murderess my subjects, to rob them, and then wouldst throw their dead bodies into the sea, to hide thy villainy? let us get rid of him; execute him immediately." innocent as bahader was, he received sentence of death with resignation, and said not a word in his justification. the judge carried him to his house, and while the pale was preparing, sent a crier to publish throughout the city, that at noon the master of the horse was to be impaled for a murder. prince amgiad, who had in vain expected bahader's return, was struck with consternation when he heard the crier publish the approaching execution of the master of the horse. "if," said he to himself, "any one ought to die for the murder of such a wicked woman, it is i, and not bahader; i will never suffer an innocent man to be punished for the guilty." without deliberating, he then hastened to the place of execution, whither the people were running from all parts. when amgiad saw the judge bringing bahader to the pale, he went up to him, and said, "i am come to assure you, that the master of the horse, whom you are leading to execution, is wholly innocent of the lady's death; i alone am guilty of the crime, if it be one, to have killed a detestable woman, who would have murdered bahader." he then related to him how it had happened. the prince having informed the judge of the manner in which he had met her coming from the bath; how she had occasioned his going into the master of the horse's pleasure-house, and all that had passed to the moment in which he was forced to cut off her head, to save bahader's life; the judge ordered execution to be stopped, and conducted amgiad to the king, taking the master of the horse with them. the king wished to hear the story from amgiad himself; and the prince, the better to prove his own innocence and that of the master of the horse, embraced the opportunity to discover who he was, and what had driven him and his brother assad to that city, with all the accidents that had befallen them, from their departure from the isle of ebene. the prince having finished his account, the king said to him, "i rejoice that i have by this means been made acquainted with you; i not only give you your own life, and that of my master of the horse, whom i commend for his kindness to you, but i restore him to his office; and as for you, prince, i declare you my grand vizier, to make amends for your father's unjust usage, though it is also excusable, and i permit you to employ all the authority with which i now invest you to find out prince assad." amgiad having thanked the king for the honour he had done him, on taking possession of his office of grand vizier used every possible means to find out the prince his brother. he ordered the common criers to promise a great reward to any who should discover him, or give any tidings of him. he sent men up and down the country to the same purpose; but in vain. assad in the meanwhile continued in the dungeon in chains; bostama and cavama, the cunning old conjuror's daughters, treating him daily with the same cruelty and inhumanity as at first. the solemn festival of the adorers of fire approached; and a ship was fitted out for the fiery mountain as usual: the captain's name was behram, a great bigot to his religion. he loaded it with proper merchandize; and when it was ready to sail, put assad in a chest, which was half full of goods, a few crevices being left between the boards to give him air. before the ship sailed, the grand vizier amgiad, who had been told that the adorers of fire used to sacrifice a mussulmaun every year on the fiery mountain, suspecting that assad might have fallen into their hands, and be designed for a victim, resolved to search the ship in person. he ordered all the passengers and seamen to be brought upon deck, and commanded his men to search all over the ship, which they did, but assad could not be found, he was so well concealed. when the grand vizier had done searching the vessel, she sailed. as soon as behram was got out to sea, he ordered prince assad to be taken out of the chest, and fettered, to secure him, lest he should throw himself into the sea in despair since he knew he was going to be sacrificed. the wind was very favourable for a few days, after which there arose a furious storm. the vessel was driven out of her course, so that neither behram nor his pilot knew where they were. they were afraid of being wrecked on the rocks, for in the violence of the storm they discovered land, and a dangerous shoal before them. behram perceived that he was driven into the port and capital of queen margiana, which occasioned him great mortification. this queen margiana was a devout professor of the mahummedan faith, and a mortal enemy to the adorers of fire. she had banished all of them out of her dominions, and would not suffer their ships to touch at her ports. it was no longer in the power of behram to avoid putting into the harbour, for he had no alternative but to be dashed to pieces against the frightful rocks that lay off the shore. in this extremity he held a council with his pilot and seamen. "my lads," said he, "you see to what a necessity we are reduced. we must choose one of two things; either to resolve to be swallowed up by the waves, or put into queen margiana's port, whose hatred to all persons of our religion you well know. she will certainly seize our vessel and put us all to death, without mercy. i see but one way to escape her, which is, to take off the fetters from the mussulmaun we have aboard, and dress him like a slave. when queen margiana commands me to come before her, and asks what trade i follow, i will tell her i deal in slaves; that i have sold all i had, but one, whom i keep to be my clerk, because he can read and write. she will by this means see him, and he being handsome, and of her own religion, will have pity on him. no doubt she will then ask to buy him of me, and on this account will let us stay in the port till the weather is fair. if any of you have any thing else to propose that will be preferable, i am ready to attend to it." the pilot and seamen applauded his judgment, and agreed to follow his advice. behram commanded prince assad's chains to be taken off, and had him neatly habited like a slave, as became one who was to pass for his clerk before the queen of the country. they had scarcely time to do this, before the ship drove into the port, and dropped anchor. queen margiana's palace was so near the sea, that her garden extended down to the shore. she saw the ship anchor, and sent to the captain to come to her, and the sooner to satisfy her curiosity waited for him in her garden. behram landed with prince assad, whom he required to confirm what he had said of his being a slave, and his clerk. when he was introduced to the queen, he threw himself at her feet, and informed her of the necessity he was under to put into her port: that he dealt in slaves, and had sold all he had but one, who was assad, whom he kept for his clerk. the queen was taken with assad from the moment she first saw him, and was extremely glad to hear that he was a slave; resolving to buy him, cost what he would. she asked assad what was his name. "great queen," he replied, with tears in his eyes, "does your majesty ask what my name was formerly, or what it is now?" the queen answered, "have you two names then?" "alas! i have," said assad: "i was once called assad (most happy); and now my name is motar" (devoted to be sacrificed). margiana not being able to comprehend the meaning of his answer, interpreted it to refer to his condition of a slave. "since you are clerk to the captain," said she, "no doubt you can write well; let me see your hand." behram had furnished assad with pen, ink, and paper, as a token of his office, that the queen might take him for what he designed she should. the prince stepped a little aside, and wrote as follows, suitable to his wretched circumstances: "the blind man avoids the ditch into which the clear-sighted falls. fools advance themselves to honours, by discourses which signify nothing, while men of sense and eloquence live in poverty and contempt. the mussulmaun with all his riches is miserable. the infidel triumphs. we cannot hope things will be otherwise. the almighty has decreed it shall be so." assad presented the paper to queen margiana, who admired alike the moral of the sentences, and the goodness of the writing. she needed no more to have her heart inflamed, and to feel a sincere concern for his misfortunes. she had no sooner read the lines, than she addressed herself to behram, saying, "do which you will, either sell me this slave, or make me a present of him; perhaps it will turn most to your account to do the latter." behram answered insolently, that he could neither give nor sell him; that he wanted his slave, and would keep him. queen margiana, provoked at his rudeness, would not talk to him any more on the subject. she took the prince by the arm, and turned him before her to the palace, sending behram word, that if he stayed the night in her port, she would confiscate his goods, and burn his ship. he was therefore forced to return to his vessel, and prepare to put to sea again, notwithstanding the tempest had not yet subsided. queen margiana, on entering her palace, commanded supper to be got ready; and while it was providing, she ordered assad to be brought into her apartment, where she bade him sit down. assad would have excused himself: "it becomes not a slave," said he, "to presume to this honour." "to a slave!" replied the queen: "you were so a moment ago; henceforward you are no more a slave. sit down near me, and tell me the story of your life; for by what you wrote, and the insolence of that slave-merchant, i guess there is something extraordinary in your history." prince assad obeyed her; and sitting down, began thus: "mighty queen, your majesty is not mistaken, in thinking there is something extraordinary in the story of my life: it is indeed more so than you can imagine. the ills, the incredible torments i have suffered, and the death to which i was devoted, and from which i am delivered by your royal generosity, will shew the greatness of my obligation to you, never to be forgotten. but before i enter into particulars of my miseries, which will strike horror into the hearts of all that hear them, i must trace the origin of them to its source." this preamble increased queen margiana's curiosity. the prince then told her of his royal birth; of his brother amgiad, and their mutual friendship; of their mothers' criminal passion, the cause of all their sufferings; of the king his father's rage; how miraculously their lives were saved; how he had lost his brother; how he had been long imprisoned and tortured, and was devoted to be sacrificed on the fiery mountain. when assad had finished his recital' the queen was more than ever enraged at the adorers of fire. "prince," said she, "though i have always had an aversion to the adorers of fire, yet hitherto i have had some humanity for them: but after their barbarous usage of you, and their execrable design to sacrifice you, i will henceforth wage perpetual war against them." she was proceeding, but supper being served in, she made prince assad sit down at table with her, being charmed with his beauty and eloquence, and touched with a passion which she hoped soon to have an opportunity of making known to him "prince," said she, "we must make you amends for so many fasts and wretched meals, to which the pitiless adorers of fire made you submit; you must want nourishment after such sufferings." with conversation of this kind she helped him at supper; and ordered him to drink a good deal of wine to recover his spirits; by which means he drank more than he could well bear. the cloth being taken away, assad having occasion to go out, took an opportunity when the queen did not observe him. he descended into the court, and seeing the garden-door open, went into it. being tempted by the pleasantness of the place, he walked there for some time. at last he came to a fountain, where he washed his face and hands to refresh himself, and lying down on the turf by the fountain, fell asleep. behram, to prevent the queen from executing her threats, had weighed anchor, vexed at the loss of assad, by which he was disappointed of a most acceptable sacrifice. he comforted himself as well as he could, with the thoughts that the storm was over, and that a land breeze favoured his getting off the coast. as soon as he was towed out of the port by the help of his boat, before it was hoisted up into the ship again, "stop, my lads," said he to the seamen, "do not come on board yet; i will give you some casks to fill with water, and wait for you." behram had observed, while he was talking to the queen in the garden, that there was a fountain at the end of it, near the port. "go," said he, "land before the palace-garden; the wall is not above breast high, you may easily get over; there is a basin in the middle of the garden, where you may fill all your barrels, and hand them aboard without difficulty." the sailors went ashore at the place he directed them to, and laying their casks on their shoulders easily got over the wall. as they approached the basin, they perceived a man sleeping on the grass, and knew him to be assad. they immediately divided themselves; and while some of the crew filled their barrels with as little noise as possible, others surrounded assad, and watched to seize him if he should awake. he slept on undisturbed, giving them time to fill all their casks; which they afterwards handed over the wall to others of the crew who waited to carry them aboard. they next seized assad, and conveyed him away, without giving him time to recollect himself. they got him over the wall into their boat with the casks, and rowed to the ship. when they drew near her they cried out for joy, "captain, sound your trumpets, beat your drums, we have brought you your slave." behram, who could not imagine how the seamen could find and take him again, and did not see assad in the boat, it being night, waited their arrival with impatience, to ask what they meant; but when he saw him, he could not contain himself for joy. he commanded him to be chained, without staying to inquire how they came by him; and having hoisted the boat on board, set sail for the fiery mountain. in the meanwhile queen margiana was in alarm. she was not at first apprehensive when she found prince assad was gone out, because she did not doubt but he would soon return when some time had passed without his appearing, she began to be uneasy, and commanded her women to look for him. they sought for him in every direction, and at night renewed their search by torch-light, but all to no purpose. queen margiana was so impatient and alarmed, that she went herself with lights, and finding the garden-door open, entered, and walked all over it with her women to seek for him. passing by the fountain and basin, she espied a slipper, which she took up, and knew it to be prince assad's, her women also recognized it to be his. this circumstance, together with the water being spilt about the edge of the basin, induced her to believe that behram had carried him off. she sent immediately to see if he was still in the port; and hearing he had sailed a little before it was dark, that he lay-to some time off the shore, while he sent his boat for water from the fountain, she sent word to the commander of ten ships of war, which lay always ready in the harbour, to sail on the shortest notice, that she would embark herself next morning as soon as it was day. the commander lost no time, ordered the captains, seamen and soldiers aboard, and was ready to sail at the time appointed. she embarked, and when the squadron was at sea, told the commander her intention. "make all the sail you can," said she, "and chase the merchantman that sailed last night out of this port. if you capture it, i assign it to you as your property; but if you fail, your life shall answer." the ten ships chased behram's vessel two whole days without seeing her. the third day in the morning they discovered her, and at noon had so surrounded her, that she could not escape. as soon as behram espied the ten ships of war, he made sure it was queen margiana's squadron in pursuit of him; and upon that he ordered assad to be bastinadoed, which he had done every day. he was much perplexed what to do, when he found he was surrounded. to keep assad, was to declare himself guilty; to kill him was as dangerous, for he feared some marks of the murder might be seen. he therefore commanded him to be unfettered and brought from the bottom of the hold where he lay. when he came before him, "it is thou," said he, "that art the cause of my being pursued;" and so saying, he flung him into the sea. prince assad being an expert swimmer, made such good use of his feet and hands, that he reached the shore in safety. the first thing he did after he had landed, was to thank god who had delivered him from so great a danger, and once more rescued him out of the hands of the adorers of fire. he then stripped himself, and wringing the water out of his clothes, spread them on a rock, where, by the heat of the sun, and of the rock, they soon dried. after this he lay down to rest himself, deploring his miserable condition, not knowing in what country he was nor which way to direct his course. he dressed himself again and walked on, keeping as near the sea-side as he could. at last he entered a kind of path, which he followed, and travelled on ten days through an uninhabited country, living on herbs, plants, and wild fruits. at last he approached a city, which he recognized to be that of the magicians, where he had been so ill used and where his brother amgiad was grand vizier. he rejoiced to discover where he was, but resolved not to approach any of the adorers of fire, and to converse only with moosulmauns, for he remembered he had seen some the first time he entered the town. it being late, and knowing the shops were already shut, and few people in the streets, he resolved to remain in a burying ground near the city, where there were several tombs built in the form of mausoleums. he found the door of one of them open, which he entered, designing to pass the night there. we must now return to behram's ship, which, after he had thrown prince assad overboard, was soon surrounded on all sides by queen margiana's squadron. the ship in which queen margiana was in person first came up with him, and behram, being in no condition of defence against so many, furled his sails as a mark of his submission. the queen herself boarded his ship, and demanded where the clerk was, whom he had the boldness to take or cause to be taken out of her palace. behram replied, "o queen! i swear by your majesty, he is not in my ship; you will, by searching, be convinced of my innocence." margiana ordered the ship to be searched as narrowly as possible, but she could not find the man, whom she so much wished to recover, as well on account of her love for him, as of the generosity for which she was distinguished. she once resolved to kill behram with her own hand, but refrained, and contented herself with seizing his ship and cargo, and turning him and his men on shore in their boat. behram and his seamen arrived at the city of the magicians the same night as assad, and stopped at the same burying-ground, the city gates being shut, intending to stay in some tomb till the next day, when they should be opened again. to assad's misfortune, behram came to that in which the prince was sleeping with his head wrapped up in his habit, and entered it. assad awoke at the noise of his footsteps, and demanded who was there. behram immediately recognized him. "hah, hah," said he, "thou art the man who has ruined me for ever; thou hast escaped being sacrificed this year, but depend on it thou shalt not be so fortunate the next." saying this, he flew upon him, clapped his handkerchief into his mouth to prevent his making a noise, and with the assistance of his seamen bound him. the next morning as soon as the city gates were open, behram and his men easily carried assad through streets, where no one was yet stirring, to the old man's house, where he had been so inhumanly treated. as soon as he was brought in, he was again thrown into the same dungeon. behram acquainted the old man with the unfortunate circumstances of his return, and the ill success of his voyage. the old savage, upon this, commanded his two daughters bostama and cavama to treat him, if possible, more cruelly than before. assad was overwhelmed with terror at seeing himself again in the hands of persecutors from whom he had suffered so much, and expected the repetition of the torments from which he hoped that he had been delivered. he was lamenting the severity of his fate, when bostama entered with a stick in her hand, a loaf and a pitcher of water. he trembled at the sight of this unmerciful wretch, and at the very thoughts of the sufferings he was to endure for another year, at the conclusion of which he was to die the most horrible death. bostama treated prince assad as inhumanly as she had done during his first confinement. but his cries, lamentations, and earnest entreaties to her to spare him, joined with his tears, were so affecting, that she could not help shedding tears. "my lord," said she, covering his shoulders again, "i ask a thousand pardons for my inhuman treatment of you formerly, and for making you once more feel its effect. till now i was afraid of disobeying a father, who is unjustly enraged against you, and resolved on your destruction, but at last i abhor this barbarity. be comforted, your evil days are over. i will endeavour by better treatment to make amends for all my crimes, of the enormity of which you will find i am duly sensible. you have hitherto regarded me as an infidel; henceforth believe me one of your own religion; having been taught it by a slave, i hope your lessons will complete my conversion. to convince you of my sincerity, i first beg pardon of the true god for all my sins, in dealing so cruelly by you, and i trust he will put it in my power to set you entirely at liberty." this address afforded the prince much comfort. he thanked the almighty for the change wrought in her heart, he also thanked her for her favourable disposition towards him, and omitted no arguments which he thought would have any effect in confirming her conversion to the moosulmaun religion. he afterwards related to her the whole story of his life to that time. when he was fully assured of her good intentions respecting him, he asked her how she could continue to keep her sister cavama in ignorance of them; and prevent her treating him as barbarously as she used to do? "let not that trouble you," replied bostama; "i know how to order matters so that she shall never come near you." she accordingly every day prevented her sister's coming down into the dungeon, where she often visited the prince. instead of carrying him bread and water, she now brought him the best wine and the choicest victuals she could procure, which were prepared by her twelve mahommedan slaves. she ate with him herself from time to time, and did all in her power to alleviate his misfortunes. a few days afterwards, bostama, as she stood at her father's door, observed the public crier making proclamation, but she could not hear what it was about, being too far off. as he was proceeding in the direction of her father's house, she went in, and holding the door half open, perceived that he went before the grand vizier amgiad, brother to assad; who was accompanied by several officers, and other attendants. the crier, a few steps from the house, repeated the proclamation with a loud voice, as follows: "the most excellent and illustrious grand vizier is come in person to seek for his dear brother, from whom he was separated about a year ago. he is a young man of such an appearance; if any one has him in keeping, or knows where he is, his excellency commands that they bring him forth, or give him notice where to find him, promising a great reward to the person that shall give the information. if any one conceal him, and he be hereafter found, his excellency declares' he shall be punished with death, together with his wife, children, and all his family, and his house to be razed to the ground." bostama, as soon as she had heard this, shut the door as fast as she could, and ran to assad in the dungeon. "prince," said she, with joy, "your troubles are at an end; follow me immediately." she had taken off his fetters the day he was brought in, and the prince followed her into the street, where she cried, "there he is, there he is!" the grand vizier, who was not far from the house, returned. assad knew him to be his brother, ran to him, and embraced him. amgiad, who immediately recollected him, returned his embrace with all possible tenderness; made him mount one of his officers' horses, who alighted for that purpose; and conducted him in triumph to the palace, where he presented him to the king, by whom he was advanced to the post of a vizier. bostama not wishing to return to her father's house, which was the next day razed to the ground, was sent to the queen's apartments. the old man her father, behram, and all their families were brought before the king, who condemned them to be beheaded. they threw themselves at his feet, and implored his mercy. "there is no mercy for you to expect," said the king, "unless you renounce the adoration of fire, and profess the mahummedan religion." they accepted the condition, and were pardoned at the intercession of assad, in consideration of bostama's friendship; for whose sake cavama's life, and the lives of the rest of their families were saved. amgiad, in consideration of behram turning mussulmaun, and to compensate for the loss which he had suffered before he deserved his favour, made him one of his principal officers, and lodged him in his house. behram, being informed of amgiad and his brother assad's story, proposed to his benefactor, to fit out a vessel to convey them to their father's court: "for," said he, "the king must certainly have heard of your innocence, and impatiently desire to see you: otherwise we can easily inform him of the truth before we land, and if he is still in the same mind, you can but return." the two brothers accepted the proposal, communicated it to the king of the city of the magicians, who approved of it; and commanded a ship to be equipped. behram undertook the employment cheerfully, and soon got in readiness to sail. the two princes, when they understood the ship was ready, waited upon the king to take leave. while they were making their compliments, and thanking the king for his favours, they were interrupted by a great tumult in the city: and presently an officer came to give them notice that a numerous army was advancing against the city, nobody knowing who they were, or whence they had come. the king being alarmed at the intelligence, amgiad addressed him thus: "sir, though i have just resigned into your majesty's hands the dignity of your first minister, with which you were pleased to honour me, i am ready to do you all the service in my power. i desire therefore that you would be pleased to let me go and see who this enemy is, that comes to attack you in your capital, without having first declared war." the king desired him to do so. amgiad departed immediately, with a very small retinue, to see what enemy approached, and what was the reason of their coming. it was not long before prince amgiad descried the army, which appeared very formidable, and which approached nearer and nearer. the advanced guards received him favourably, and conducted him to a princess, who stopped, and commanded her army to halt, while she talked with the prince; who, bowing profoundly to her, demanded if she came as a friend or an enemy: if as an enemy, what cause of complaint she had against the king his master? "i come as a friend," replied the princess, "and have no cause of complaint against the king of the city of the magicians. his territories and mine are so situated, that it is almost impossible for us to have any dispute. i only come to require a slave named assad, to be delivered up to me. he was carried away by one behram, a captain of a ship belonging to this city, the most insolent man in the world. i hope your king will do me justice, when he knows i am margiana." the prince answered, "mighty queen, the slave whom you take so much pains to seek is my brother: i lost him, and have found him again. come, and i will deliver him up to you myself; and will do myself the honour to tell you the rest of the story: the king my master will rejoice to see you." the queen ordered her army to pitch their tents, and encamp where they were; and accompanied prince amgiad to the city and palace, where he presented her to the king; who received her in a manner becoming her dignity. assad, who was present, and knew her as soon as he saw her, also paid his respects to her. she appeared greatly rejoiced to see him. while they were thus engaged, tidings came, that an army more powerful than the former approached on the other side of the city. the king of the magicians was more terrified than before, understanding the second army was more numerous than the first, for he saw this by the clouds of dust they raised, which hid the face of the heavens. "amgiad," cried he, "what shall we do now? a new army comes to destroy us." amgiad guessed what the king meant; he mounted on horseback again, and galloped towards the second army. he demanded of the advanced guards to speak with their general, and they conducted him to their king. when he drew near him, he alighted, prostrated himself to the ground, and asked what he required of the king his master. the monarch replied, "i am gaiour, king of china; my desire to learn tidings of a daughter, whose name is badoura, whom i married to kummir al zummaun, son of shaw zummaun, king of the isles of the children of khaledan, obliged me to leave my dominions. i suffered that prince to go to see his father, on condition that he came back in a year with my daughter; from that time i have heard nothing of them. your king will lay an infinite obligation on an afflicted father, by telling him if he knows what is become of them." prince amgiad, perceiving by his discourse that the king was his grandfather, kissed his hand with tenderness, and answered him thus: "i hope your majesty will pardon my freedom, when you know that i only pay my duty to my grandfather. i am the son of kummir al zummaun, king of the isle of ebene, and of queen badoura, for whom you are thus troubled; and i doubt not but they are both in good health in their kingdom." the king of china, overjoyed to see his grandson, tenderly embraced him. such a meeting, so happy and unexpected, drew tears from both. the king inquiring on what occasion he had come into a strange country, the prince told him all that had happened to him and his brother assad. when he had finished his relation, "my son," replied the king of china, "it is not just that such innocent princes as you are should be longer ill used. comfort yourself, i will carry you and your brother home, and make your peace. return, and acquaint your brother with my arrival." while the king of china encamped in the place where prince amgiad met him, the prince returned to inform the king of the magicians, who waited for him impatiently, how he had succeeded. the king was astonished that so mighty a king as that of china should undertake such a long and troublesome journey, out of a desire to see his daughter. he gave orders to make preparations for his reception, and went forth to meet him. while these things were transacting, a great dust was seen on another side of the town; and suddenly news was brought of the arrival of a third army, which obliged the king to stop, and to desire prince amgiad once more to see who they were, and on what account they came. amgiad went accordingly, and prince assad accompanied him. they found it was kummir al zummaun their father's army, with whom he was coming to seek for them. he was so grieved for the loss of his sons, that at last emir jehaun-dar declared that he had saved their lives, which made him resolve to seek for them wherever he was likely to find them. the afflicted father embraced the two princes with tears of joy, which put an end to those he had a long time shed for grief. the princes had no sooner told him the king of china, his father-in-law, was arrived, than, accompanied by them and a small party, he rode to wait upon him in his camp. they had not gone far, before they saw a fourth army advancing in good order, which seemed to come from persia. kummir al zummaun desired the two princes to go and see what army it was, and he would in the meanwhile wait for them. they departed immediately, and coming up to it, were presented to the king to whom the army belonged; and, after having saluted him with due reverence, they demanded on what design he approached so near the king of the magicians' capital. the grand vizier, who was present, answered in the name of the king his master, "the monarch to whom you speak is shaw zummaun, king of the isles of the children of khaledan, who has a longtime travelled, thus attended, to seek his son, who left his dominions many years ago: if you know any thing of him, you cannot oblige him more than by communicating to him all the information in your power." the princes only replied, that they would shortly bring him an answer, and galloping back as fast as they could, told kummir al zummaun that the king his father was approaching with his army. wonder, surprise, joy, and grief, had such an effect on kummir al zummaun, that he fainted as soon as he heard he was so near. prince amgiad and prince assad, by their assiduities, at length brought him to himself; and when he had recovered his strength, he went to his father's tent, and threw himself at his feet. never was there a more affecting interview. shaw zummaun gently upbraided his son with unkindness in so cruelly leaving him; and kummir al zummaun discovered a hearty sorrow for the fault which love had urged him to commit. the three kings, and queen margiana, stayed three days at the court of the king of the magicians, who treated them magnificently. these three days were rendered more remarkable by prince assad's marriage with queen margiana, and prince amgiad with bostama, for the service she had done his brother assad. at length the three kings, and queen margiana, with her husband assad, returned to their respective kingdoms. as for amgiad, the king of the magicians had such an affection for him, he could not part with him; and being very old, he resigned his crown to him. amgiad, when he had the supreme authority, did his utmost to exterminate the worship of fire, and establish the mahummedan religion throughout his dominions. the story of noor ad deen and the fair persian. the city of bussorah was for many years the capital of a kingdom tributary to the caliphs of arabia. the king who governed it in the days of the caliph haroon al rusheed was named zinebi, who not thinking it proper to commit the administration of his affairs to a single vizier, made choice of two, khacan and saouy. khacan was of a sweet, generous, and affable temper, and took pleasure in obliging, to the utmost of his power, those with whom he had any business to transact, without violating the justice which it became him to dispense to all. he was therefore universally respected, at court, in the city, and throughout the whole kingdom; and the praises he so highly deserved were the general theme. saouy was of a very different character: he was always sullen and morose, and disgusted every body, without regard to their rank or quality. instead of commanding respect by the liberal distribution of his immense wealth, he was so perfect a miser as to deny himself the necessaries of life. in short, nobody could endure him; and nothing good was said of him. but what rendered him most hateful to the people, was his implacable aversion to khacan. he was always putting the worst construction on the actions of that worthy minister, and endeavouring as much as possible to prejudice him with the king. one day after council, the king of bussorah amused himself with his two viziers and some other members. the conversation turned upon the female slaves that are daily bought and sold, and who hold nearly the same rank as the lawful wives. some were of opinion, that personal beauty in slaves so purchased was of itself sufficient to render them proper substitutes for wives, which, often on account of alliance or interest in families, men are obliged to marry, though they are not always possessed of any perfection, either of mind or body. others maintained, and amongst the rest khacan, that personal charms were by no means the only qualifications to be desired in a slave; but that they ought to be accompanied with a great share of wit, a cultivated understanding, modesty, and, if possible, every agreeable accomplishment. the reason they gave was, that nothing could be more gratifying to persons on whom the management of important affairs devolved, than, after having spent the day in fatiguing employment, to have a companion in their retirement, whose conversation would be not only pleasing, but useful and instructive: for, in short, continued they, there is but little difference between brutes and those men who keep a slave only to look at, and to gratify a passion that we have in common with them. the king entirely concurred in this opinion, and accordingly ordered khacan to buy him a slave, of perfect beauty, mistress of all the qualifications they had enumerated, and possessed, above all things, of an enlightened understanding. saouy, jealous of the honour the king had done khacan, and differing widely with him in opinion, said, "sire, it will be very difficult to find a slave so accomplished as your majesty requires; and should such a one be discovered, which i scarcely believe possible, she will be cheap at ten thousand pieces of gold." "saouy," replied the king, "i perceive plainly you think the sum too great; it may be so for you, though not for me." then turning to his high treasurer, he ordered him to send the ten thousand pieces of gold to the vizier's house. khacan, as soon as he had returned home, sent for all the brokers who used to deal in women-slaves, and strictly charged them, that, if ever they met with one who answered the description he gave them, they should immediately apprise him. the brokers, partly to oblige the vizier, and partly for their own interest, promised to use their utmost endeavours to procure for him one that would accord with his wishes. scarcely a day passed but they brought him a slave for his inspection, but he always discovered in each something defective. one day, early in the morning, as khacan was mounting his horse to go to court, a broker came to him, and, taking hold of the stirrup with great eagerness, told him a persian merchant had arrived very late the day before, who had a slave to sell, so surprisingly beautiful that she excelled all the women his eyes had ever beheld; "and for wit and knowledge," added he, "the merchant engages she shall match the most acute and learned persons of the age." khacan, overjoyed at this intelligence, which promised him a favourable opportunity for making his court, ordered him to bring the slave to his palace against his return, and departed. the broker failed not to be at the vizier's at the appointed hour; and khacan, finding the lovely slave so much beyond his expectation, immediately gave her the name of the fair persian. as he had himself much wit and learning, he soon perceived by her conversation, that it was in vain to search further for a slave that surpassed her in any of the qualifications required by the king; and therefore he asked the broker at what sum the persian merchant valued her. "sir," replied the broker, "he is a man of few words in bargaining, and he tells me, that the very lowest price he will take for her is ten thousand pieces of gold: he has also sworn to me, that, without reckoning his care and pains from the time of his first taking her under his charge, he has laid out nearly that sum on her education in masters to improve her form and cultivate her mind, besides what she has cost him in clothes and maintenance. as he always thought her fit for a king, he has from her infancy, when he first bought her, been sparing of nothing that might contribute towards advancing her to that high distinction. she plays upon all kinds of instruments to perfection; she sings, dances, writes better than the most celebrated authors, makes verses, and there is scarcely any book but she has read; so that there never was a slave so accomplished heard of before." the vizier khacan, who could estimate the merits of the fair persian better than the broker, who only reported what he had heard from the merchant, was unwilling to defer the bargain to a future opportunity, and therefore sent one of his servants to look for the merchant, where the broker told him he was to be found. as soon as the persian merchant arrived, "it is not for myself, but for the king," said the vizier khacan, "that i buy your slave; but, nevertheless, you must let him have her at a more reasonable price than you have set upon her." "sir," replied the merchant, "i should do myself unspeakable honour in offering her as a present to his majesty, if it became a person in my situation to make him one of such inestimable value. i ask no more than her education and accomplishments have cost me; and all i have to say is, that i believe his majesty will be extremely pleased with the purchase." the vizier khacan would stand no longer bargaining with the merchant, but paid him the money immediately. "sir," said he to the vizier, upon taking his leave of him, "since the slave is designed for the king's use, give me leave to tell you, that being extremely fatigued with our long journey, you see her at present under great disadvantage. though she has not her equal in the world for beauty, yet if you please to keep her at your own house for a fortnight, she will appear quite another creature. you may then present her to the king with honour and credit; for which i hope you will think yourself much obliged to me. the sun, you perceive, has a little injured her complexion; but after two or three times bathing, and when you have dressed her as you think proper, she will be so changed, that she will appear infinitely more charming." khacan was pleased with the instructions the merchant gave him, and resolved to abide by them. he assigned the fair persian a particular apartment near his lady's, whom he desired to invite her to an entertainment, and thenceforth to treat her as a person designed for the king: he also provided for her several suits of the richest clothes that could be had, and would become her best. before he took his leave of the fair persian, he said "your happiness, madam, cannot be greater than what i am about to procure for you; you shall judge for yourself; it is for the king i have purchased you; and i hope he will be even more pleased with possessing you than i am in having discharged the commission with which his majesty has honoured me. i think it, however, my duty to warn you that i have a son, who, though he does not want wit, is yet young, insinuating, and forward; and to caution you how you suffer him to come near you." the fair persian thanked him for his advice; and after she had given him assurance of her intention to follow it, he withdrew. noor ad deen, for so the vizier's son was named, had free access to the apartment of his mother, with whom he usually ate his meals. he was young, handsome in person, agreeable in manners, and firm in his temper; and having great readiness of wit, and fluency of language, was perfect master of the art of persuasion. he saw the fair persian; and from their first interview, though he knew his father had bought her purposely for the king, and had so informed him, yet he never used the least endeavour to check the violence of his passion. in short, he resigned himself wholly to the power of her charms, by which his heart was at first captivated; and, from his first conversation with her, resolved to use his utmost endeavours to keep her from the king. the fair persian, on her part, had no dislike to noor ad deen. "the vizier," said she to herself, "has done me honour in purchasing me for the king; but i should have thought myself very happy if he had designed me only for his own son." noor ad deen was not remiss in improving the advantage he enjoyed of seeing and conversing with a beauty of whom he was so passionately enamoured; for he would never leave her till obliged by his mother. "my son," she would say, "it is not proper for a young man like you to be always in the women's apartments; go, mind your studies, and endeavour to qualify yourself to succeed to the honours of your father." the fair persian not having bathed for a considerable time on account of the length of her journey, the vizier's lady, five or six days after she was purchased, ordered the bath in her own house to be got ready purposely for her. she sent her to it accompanied by many other women-slaves, who were charged by the vizier's lady to be as attentive to her as to herself, and, after bathing, to put her on a very rich suit of clothes that she had provided for her. she was the more careful in order to ingratiate herself with her husband, by letting him see how much she interested herself in every thing that contributed to his pleasure. as soon as she came out of the bath, the fair persian, a thousand times more beautiful than she had appeared to khacan when he bought her, went to visit his lady, who at first hardly knew her. the fair persian gracefully kissed her hand, and said, "madam, i know not how you like me in this dress you have been pleased to order for me; but your women, who tell me it becomes me so extremely well they should scarcely know me, certainly flatter me. from you alone i expect to hear the truth; but, if what they say be really so, i am indebted to you, madam, for the advantage it has given me." "oh! my daughter," cried the vizier's lady, transported with joy, "you have no reason to believe my women have flattered you; i am better skilled in beauty than they; and, setting aside your dress, which becomes you admirably well, your beauty is so much improved by the bath, that i hardly knew you myself. if i thought the bath was warm enough, i would take my turn; for i am now of an age to require its frequent use." "madam," replied the fair persian, "i have nothing to say to the undeserved civilities you have been pleased to shew me. as for the bath, it is in fine order; and if you design to go in, you have no time to lose, as your women can inform you." the vizier's lady, considering that she had not bathed for some days, was desirous to avail herself of that opportunity; and accordingly acquainted her women with her intention, who immediately prepared all things necessary for the occasion. the fair persian withdrew to her apartment; and the vizier's lady, before she went to bathe, ordered two little female slaves to stay with her, with a strict charge that if noor ad deen came, they should not give him admittance. while the vizier's lady was bathing, and the fair slave was alone in her apartment, noor ad deen came in, and not finding his mother in her chamber, went directly towards the fair persian's, and found the two little slaves in the antechamber. he asked them where his mother was? they told him in the bath. "where is the fair persian, then?" demanded noor ad deen. "in her chamber," answered the slaves; "but we have positive orders from your mother not to admit you." the entrance into the fair persian's chamber being only covered with a piece of tapestry, noor ad deen went to lift it up, in order to enter, but was opposed by the two slaves, who placed themselves before it, to stop his passage. he presently caught them both by the arms, and, thrusting them out of the antechamber, locked the door upon them. they immediately ran with loud lamentations to the bath, and with tears in their eyes, told their lady, that noor ad deen, having driven them away by force, had gone into the fair persian's chamber. the vizier's lady received the account of her son's presumption with the greatest concern. she immediately left the bath, and dressing herself with all possible speed, came directly to the fair persian's chamber; but before she could get thither, noor ad deen had gone away. the fair persian was extremely surprised to see the vizier's lady enter her chamber in tears, and in the utmost confusion. "madam," said she, "may i presume to ask you the occasion of your concern; and what accident has happened in the bath, to make you leave it so soon?" "what!" cried the vizier's lady, "can you so calmly ask that question, after my son has been with you alone in your chamber? can there happen a greater misfortune to him or me?" "i beseech you, madam," replied the fair slave, "what prejudice can this action of noor ad deen's do to you or him?" "how," returned the vizier's lady, "did not my husband tell you that you were designed for the king, and sufficiently caution you to beware of our son?" "i have not forgotten that, madam," replied the fair persian; "but your son came to tell me the vizier his father had changed his purpose, and instead of reserving me for the king, as he first designed, had made him a present of my person. i easily believed him; for, oh! think how a slave as i am, accustomed from my infant years to the laws of servitude, could or ought to resist him! i must own i did it with the less reluctance, on account of the affection for him, which the freedom of our conversation and daily intercourse has excited in my heart. i could without regret resign the hope of ever being the king's, and think myself perfectly happy in spending my whole life with noor ad deen." at this discourse of the fair persian's, the vizier's lady exclaimed, "would to god that what you say were true! i should hear it with joy; but, believe me, noor ad deen has deceived you; for it is impossible his father should ever make him such a present. ah! wretched youth, how miserable has he made me! and more especially his father, by the dismal consequences we must all expect to share with him! neither my prayers nor tears will be able to prevail, or obtain a pardon for him; for as soon as his father hears of his violence to you, he will inevitably sacrifice him to his resentment." at these words she wept bitterly; and the slaves, who were as much alarmed for noor ad deen as herself, joined in her tears. shortly after the vizier khacan entered; and being surprised to find his lady and her slaves all in tears, and the fair persian very melancholy asked the reason; but instead of answering him his wife and the slaves continued weeping and lamenting. this astonished him still more; at last, addressing himself to his wife, "i command you," said he, "to let me know the reason of your tears, and to tell me the whole truth." the disconsolate lady could no longer refuse to satisfy her husband. "sir," said she, "first promise not to use me unkindly on account of what i shall inform you, since i assure you, that what has happened has not been occasioned by any fault of mine." without waiting for his answer, she then proceeded, "whilst i was bathing with my women, your son seizing that fatal opportunity to ruin us both, came hither, and made the fair persian believe, that instead of reserving her for the king, you had given her to him as a present. i will not say what he did after such a wicked falsehood, but shall leave you to judge. this is the cause of my affliction, on your account, and his, for whom i want confidence to implore your pardon." it is impossible to express the vizier khacan's distraction at this account of the insolence of his son. "ah!" cried he, beating his breast, and tearing his beard, "miserable son! unworthy of life! hast thou at last thrown thy father from the highest pinnacle of happiness into a misfortune that must inevitably involve thee also in his ruin? neither will the king be satisfied with thy blood or mine, to avenge the affront offered to his royal person." his lady endeavoured to comfort him. "afflict yourself no more," said she; "i shall easily raise, with part of my jewels, ten thousand pieces of gold, and you may buy another slave, more beautiful and more worthy of the king." "ah!" replied the vizier, "could you think me capable of being so extremely afflicted at losing ten thousand pieces of gold? it is not that loss, nor the loss of all i am worth, for that i should not feel; but the forfeiting my honour, more precious than all the riches in the world, that distresses me." "however," replied the lady, "a loss that can be repaired by money cannot be so very great." "how!" exclaimed the vizier; "do you not know that saouy is my mortal enemy; and as soon as this affair comes to his knowledge, do you think he will not exult over me before the king? 'your majesty,' will he not say to him, is always talking of khacan's zeal and affection for your service; but see what a proof he has lately given of his claim to the regard you have hitherto shewn him. he has received ten thousand pieces of gold to buy a slave; and, to do him justice, he has most honourably acquitted himself of that commission, by purchasing the most beautiful that ever eyes beheld; but, instead of bringing her to your majesty, he has thought it better to make a present of her to his son. "here, my son," said he, "take this slave, since thou art more worthy of her than the king." then, with his usual malice, will he not go on. his son has her now entirely in his possession, and every day revels in her arms, without the least disturbance. this, sir, is the exact truth, that i have done myself the honour of acquainting you with; and if your majesty questions my veracity, you may easily satisfy yourself. do you not plainly see," continued the vizier, "how, upon such a malicious insinuation as this, i am every moment liable to have my house forced by the king's guards, and the fair persian taken from me, besides a thousand other misfortunes that will unavoidably follow?" "sir," replied the vizier's lady to her husband, "i am sensible the malice of saouy is very great, and that, if he have but the least intimation of this affair, he will certainly give it a turn very disadvantageous to your interest; but how is it possible that he or any one else should know what has been privately transacted in your family? suppose it comes to the king's ears, and he should ask you about it; cannot you say, that upon a strict examination you did not deem the slave so fit for his majesty's use as you had at first thought her; that the merchant has cheated you; that, indeed, she has considerable beauty, but is by no means so accomplished as she had been represented. the king will certainly believe what you say, and saouy be vexed to the soul, to see all his malicious design of ruining you disappointed. take courage then, and, if you will follow my advice, send for all the brokers, tell them you do not like the fair persian, and order them to be as expeditious as possible in procuring for you another slave." as this advice appeared rational to the vizier khacan, and as his passion began to cool, he resolved to abide by it, but his indignation against his son remained as violent as ever. noor ad deen did not make his appearance during the whole of that day, and not daring to hide himself among his young companions, lest his father should search for him in their houses, he went a little way out of town, and took sanctuary in a garden, where he had never been before, and where he was totally unknown. he did not return home till it was very late, when he knew his father was in bed; and then his mother's women, opening the door very softly; admitted him without any noise. he quitted the house again next morning before his father was stirring; and this plan he pursued for a whole month, to his great mortification. indeed, the women never flattered him, but told him plainly, his father's anger was not at all diminished, and that he protested if he came into his sight he would certainly kill him. the vizier's lady learnt from her women that noor ad deen slept every night in the house, but she could not summon resolution to supplicate her husband for his pardon. at last, however, she ventured. one day she said to him, "i have hitherto been silent, sir, not daring to take the liberty of talking to you about your son; but now give me leave to ask what you design to do with him? it is impossible for a son to have acted more criminally towards a father than he has done, in depriving you of the honour and gratification of presenting to the king a slave so accomplished as the fair persian. this i acknowledge; but, after all, are you resolved to destroy him, and, instead of a light evil no more to be thought of, to draw upon yourself a far greater than perhaps you at present apprehend? are you not afraid that the malicious world, which inquires after the reason of your son's absconding, may find out the true cause, which you are so desirous of concealing? should that happen, you would justly fall into a misfortune, which it is so much your interest to avoid." "madam," returned the vizier, "there is much reason in what you have urged; but i cannot think of pardoning our son, till i have mortified him as he deserves." "he will be sufficiently mortified," replied the lady, "if you will only do what has just suggested itself to my mind. your son comes home every night after you have retired; he sleeps here, and steals out every morning before you are stirring. wait for his coming in to-night, make as if you designed to kill him, upon which i will run to his assistance, and when he finds he owes his life entirely to my prayers and entreaties, you may oblige him to take the fair persian on what condition you please. he loves her, and i am well satisfied the fair slave has no aversion for him." khacan readily consented to this stratagem. accordingly, when noor ad deen came at the usual hour, before the door was opened, he placed himself behind it: as soon as he entered, he rushed suddenly upon him, and got him down under his feet. noor ad deen, lifting up his head, saw his father with a dagger in his hand, ready to stab him. at that instant his mother arrived, and catching hold of the vizier's arm, cried, "sir, what are you doing?" "let me alone," replied the vizier, "that i may kill this base, unworthy son." "you shall kill me first," returned the mother; "never will i suffer you to imbue your hands in your own blood." noor ad deen improved this moment. "my father," cried he with tears in his eyes, "i implore your clemency and compassion; nor must you deny me pardon, since i ask it in his name before whom we must all appear at the last day." khacan suffered the dagger to be taken out of his hand; and as soon as noor ad deen was released, he threw himself at his father's feet and kissed them, to shew how sincerely he repented of having offended him. "son," said the vizier, "return thanks to your mother, since it is for her sake i pardon you. i propose also to give you the fair persian, on condition that you will bind yourself by an oath not to regard her any longer as a slave, but as your wife; that you will not sell her, nor ever be divorced from her. as she possesses an excellent understanding, and abundantly more wit and prudence than yourself, i doubt not but that she will be able to moderate those rash sallies of youth, which are otherwise so likely to effect your ruin." noor ad deen, who little expected such indulgent treatment, returned his father a thousand thanks, and the fair persian and he were well pleased with being united to each other. the vizier khacan, without waiting for the king's inquiries about the success of the commission he had given him, took particular care to mention the subject often, representing to his majesty the many difficulties he met, and how fearful he was of not acquitting himself to his majesty's satisfaction. in short, he managed the business with so much address, that the king insensibly forgot it. though saouy had gained some intimation of the transaction, yet khacan was so much in the king's favour, that he was afraid to divulge what he had heard. this delicate affair had now been kept rather more than a year with greater secrecy than the vizier at first expected, when being one day in the bath, and some important business obliging him to leave it, warm as he was, the air, which was then cold, struck to his breast, caused a defluxion to fall upon his lungs, which threw him into a violent fever, and confined him to his bed. his illness increasing every day, and perceiving he had not long to live, he thus addressed himself to his son, who never quitted him during the whole of his illness: "my son," said he, "i know not whether i have well employed the riches heaven has blessed me with, but you see they are not able to save me from the hands of death. the last thing i desire of you with my dying breath is, that you would be mindful of the promise you made me concerning the fair persian, and in this assurance i shall die content." these were the vizier khacan's last words. he expired a few moments after, and left his family, the court, and the whole city, in great affliction, the king lamented him as a wise, zealous, and faithful minister; and the people bewailed him as their protector and benefactor.. never was there a funeral in bussorah solemnized with greater pomp and magnificence. the viziers, emirs, and in general all the grandees of the court, strove for the honour of bearing his coffin, one after another, upon their shoulders, to the place of burial; and both rich and poor accompanied him, dissolved in tears. noor ad deen exhibited all the demonstrations of a sorrow proportioned to the loss he had sustained, and long refrained from seeing any company. at last he admitted of a visit from an intimate acquaintance. his friend endeavoured to comfort him; and finding him inclined to hear reason, told him, that having paid what was due to the memory of his father, and fully satisfied all that decency required of him, it was now high time to appear again in the world, to converse with his friends, and maintain a character suitable to his birth and talents. "for," continued he, "though we should sin against the laws both of nature and society, and be thought insensible, if on the death of our fathers we neglected to pay them the duties which filial love imposes upon us; yet having performed these, and put it out of the power of any to reproach us for our conduct, it behoves us to return to the world, and our customary occupations. dry up your tears then, and reassume that wonted air of gaiety which has always inspired with joy those who have had the honour of your friendship." this advice seemed too reasonable to be rejected, and had noor ad deen strictly abided by it, he would certainly have avoided all the misfortunes that afterwards befell him. he entertained his friend honourably; and when he took his leave, desired him to come again the next day, and bring with him three or four friends of their acquaintance. by this means he insensibly fell into the society of about ten young men nearly of his own age, with whom he spent his time in continual feasting and entertainments; and scarcely a day passed but he made every one of them some considerable present. the fair persian, who never approved of his extravagant way of living, often spoke her mind freely. "i question not," said she, "but the vizier your father has left you an ample fortune: but great as it may be, be not displeased with your slave for telling you, that at this rate of living you will quickly see an end of it. we may sometimes indeed treat our friends, and be merry with them; but to make a daily practice of it, is certainly the high road to ruin and destruction: for your own honour and reputation, you would do better to follow the footsteps of your deceased father, that in time you may rise to that dignity by which he acquired so much glory and renown." noor ad deen hearkened to the fair persian with a smile: and when she had done, "my charmer," said he, with the same air of gaiety, "say no more of that; let us talk of nothing but mirth and pleasure. in my father's lifetime i was always under restraint; and i am now resolved to enjoy the liberty i so much sighed for before his death. it will be time enough for me hereafter to think of leading the sober, regular life you talk of; and a man of my age ought to taste the pleasures of youth." what contributed still more to the ruin of noor ad deen's fortune, was his unwillingness to reckon with his steward; for whenever he brought in his accounts, he still sent him away without examining them: "go, go," said he, "i trust wholly to your honesty; only take care to provide good entertainments for my friends." "you are the master, sir," replied he, "and i but the steward; however, you would do well to think upon the proverb, 'he that spends much, and has but little, must at last insensibly be reduced to poverty.' you are not contented with keeping an extravagant table, but you must lavish away your estate with both hands: and were your coffers as large as mountains, they would not be sufficient to maintain you." "begone," replied noor ad deen, "i want not your grave lessons; only take care to provide good eating and drinking, and trouble your head no farther about the rest." in the meantime, noor ad deen's friends were constant guests at his table, and never failed to take advantage of the easiness of his temper. they praised and flattered him, extolling his most indifferent actions; but, above all, they took particular care to commend whatever belonged to him; and in this they found their account. "sir," said one of them, "i came the other day by your estate that lies in such a place; nothing can be so magnificent or so handsomely furnished as your house; and the garden belonging to it is a paradise upon earth." "i am very glad it pleases you," replied noor ad deen: "bring me pen, ink, and paper; without more words, it is at your service; i make you a present of it." no sooner had others commended one of his houses, baths, or public buildings erected for the use of strangers, the yearly revenue of which was very considerable, than he immediately gave them away. the fair persian could not forbear stating to him how much injury he did himself; but, instead of paying any regard to her remonstrances, he continued his extravagances, and the first opportunity that offered, squandered away the little he had left. in short, noor ad deen did nothing for a whole year but feast and make merry, wasting and consuming, with the utmost prodigality, the great wealth that his predecessors, and the good vizier his father, had with so much pains and care acquired and preserved. the year was but just expired, when a person one day knocked at the door of the hall, where he and his friends were at dinner together by themselves, having sent away the slaves, that they might enjoy the greater liberty. one of his friends offered to rise; but noor ad deen stepping before him, opened the door himself. it was the steward; and noor ad deen, going a little out of the hall to know his business, left the door half open. the friend that offered to rise from his seat, seeing it was the steward, and being curious to know what he had to say, placed himself between the hangings and the door, where he plainly overheard the steward's discourse to his master. "sir," said he, "i ask a thousand pardons for coming to disturb you in the height of your pleasure; but what i have to say is of such importance, that i thought myself bound in duty to acquaint you with it. i am come, sir, to make up my last accounts, and to tell you, that what i all along foresaw, and have often warned you of, is at last come to pass. i have not the smallest piece left of all the sums i have received from you for your expenses; the other funds you assigned me are all exhausted. the farmers, and those that owe you rent, have made it so plainly appear to me, that you have assigned over to others what they held of you, that it is impossible for me to get any more from them on your account. here are my books; if you please, examine them; and if you wish i should continue useful to you, assign me other funds, or else give me leave to quit your service." noor ad deen was so astonished at his statement, that he gave him no answer. the friend who had been listening all this while, and had heard every syllable of what the steward said, immediately came in, and told the company what he had overheard. "it is your business, gentlemen," said he, "to make your use of this caution; for my part, i declare to you, this is the last visit i design ever to make noor ad deen." "nay," replied they, "if matters go thus, we have as little business here as you; and for the future shall take care not to trouble him with our company." noor ad deen returned presently after; notwithstanding all his efforts to appear gay to his guests, he could not so dissemble his concern, but they plainly perceived the truth of what they had heard. he was scarcely sat down in his place, when one of his friends arose: "sir," said he, "i am sorry i cannot have the honour of keeping you company any longer; and therefore i hope you will excuse my rudeness in leaving you so soon." "what urgent affair," demanded noor ad deen, "obliges you to be going so soon?" "my wife, sir," he replied, "is brought to bed to-day; and upon such an occasion, you know a husband's company is always necessary." so making a very low bow, he went away. a minute afterwards a second took his leave, with another excuse. the rest did the same, one after another, till at last not one of the ten friends that had hitherto kept noor ad deen company remained. as soon as they were gone, noor ad deen, little suspecting the resolution they had formed never to see him again, went directly to the fair persian's apartment; to whom he related all the steward had told him, and seemed extremely concerned at the ill state of his affairs. "sir," said the fair persian, "allow me to say, you would never take my advice, but always managed your concerns after your own way, and now you see the fatal consequences. i find i was not mistaken, when i presaged to what a miserable condition you would bring yourself at last: but what afflicts me the more is, that at present you do not see the worst of your misfortunes. whenever i presumed freely to remonstrate with you, 'let us be merry,' you replied, 'and improve the time that fortune offers us; perhaps she will not always be so prodigal of her favours:' but was i to blame in telling you, that we are ourselves the makers of our own fortunes by a prudent management of them? you would not hearken to me; and i was forced, however reluctantly, to let you go on." "i must own," replied noor ad deen, "i was extremely in the wrong in not following the advice which with such admirable prudence you gave me. it is true, i have spent my estate; but do you not consider, it is among a chosen set of friends, whom i have long known, and who, i am persuaded, have more generosity and gratitude than to abandon me in distress?" "sir," replied the fair persian, "if you have nothing but the gratitude of your friends to depend on, your case is desperate; for, believe me, that hope is ill-grounded, and you will tell me so yourself in time." to this noor ad deen replied, "charming persian, i have a better opinion of my friends' generosity: to-morrow i design to visit them all, before the usual time of their coming hither; and you shall see me return with a round sum that they will assist me with. i am resolved to alter my way of living, and, with the money they lend me, to set up in some business." next morning, noor ad deen visited his ten friends, who lived in the same street. he knocked at the first door, where one of the richest of them resided. a slave came to the door: but before he would open it, asked who was there. "tell your master," said he to the slave, "it is noor ad deen, the late vizier khacan's son." the slave opened the door, and shewed him into a hall, where he left him, in order to inform his master, who was in an inner room, that noor ad deen was come to wait on him, "noor ad deen!" cried he, in a disdainful tone, loud enough for him to hear: "go tell him i am not at home; and whenever he may come again, be sure you give him the same answer." the slave returned, and told noor ad deen he thought his master was within, but was mistaken. noor ad deen came away in the greatest confusion. "ah! base, ungrateful wretch!" cried he, "to treat me so to-day after the vows and protestations of friendship that he made me yesterday." he went to another door, but that friend ordered his slave also to say he was gone out. he had the same answer at the third; and, in short, all the rest denied themselves, though every one was at home. noor ad deen now began in earnest to reflect with himself, and see the folly of relying upon the protestations of attachment that his false friends had solemnly made him in the time of his prosperity, when he could treat them sumptuously, and load them with favours. "it is true," said he to himself, "that a fortunate man, as i was, may be compared to a tree laden with fruit, which, as long as there is any on its boughs, people will be crowding round, and gathering; but as soon as it is stripped of all, they immediately leave it, and go to another." he smothered his passion as much as possible while he was abroad; but no sooner was he got home than he gave a loose to his affliction, and discovered it to the fair persian. the fair persian seeing him so extremely concerned, guessed he had not found his friends so ready to assist him as he expected. "well, sir," said she, "are you now convinced of the truth of what i told you?" "ah!" cried he, "thou hast been too true a prophetess; for not one of them would know me, see me, or speak to me. who could ever have believed, that persons so highly obliged to me, and on whom i have spent my estate, could have used me so ungratefully? i am distracted; and i fear shall commit some action unworthy myself, in the deplorable and desperate condition i am reduced to, unless you assist me with your prudent advice." "sir," replied the fair persian, "i see no other way of supporting yourself in your misfortunes, but selling off your slaves and furniture, and living on the money they produce, till heaven points out some other means to deliver you from your present misery." noor ad deen was loth to resort to this expedient; but what could he do in the necessitous circumstances to which he was reduced? he first sold off his slaves, those unprofitable mouths, which would have been a greater expense to him than in his present condition he could bear. he lived on the money for some time; and when it was spent, ordered his goods to be carried into the market-place, where they were sold for half their value, though there were among them several articles that had cost immense sums. upon the produce of these he lived a considerable time; but this supply failing at last, he had nothing left by which he could raise any more money, of which he informed the fair persian in the most sorrowful expressions. noor ad deen little expected the answer this prudent woman made him. "sir," said she, "i am your slave; and the late vizier your father gave ten thousand pieces of gold for me. i know i am a little sunk in value since that time; but i believe i shall sell for pretty near that sum. let me entreat you then instantly to carry me to the market, and expose me to sale; and with the money that you get for me, which will be very considerable, you may turn merchant in some city where you are not known, and by that means find a way of living, if not in splendour, yet with happiness and content." "lovely and adorable persian!" cried noor ad deen, "is it possible you can entertain such a thought? have i given you such slender proofs of my love, that you should think me capable of so base an action? but suppose me so vile a wretch, could i do it without being guilty of perjury, after the oath i have taken to my late father never to sell you? i would sooner die than break it, and part with you, whom i love infinitely beyond myself; though, by the unreasonable proposal you have made me, you shew me that your love is by no means reciprocal." "sir," replied the fair persian, "i am convinced that your passion for me is as sincere as you express; and heaven, who knows with what reluctance i have made this proposal which induces you to think so hardly of me, is my witness, that mine is as great as yours; but to silence your reasons, i need only bid you remember, that necessity has no law. i love you to that degree that it is impossible for you to love me more; and be assured, that to what master soever i shall belong, my love for you will continue undiminished; and if you are ever able to redeem me, as i hope you may, it will be the greatest pleasure in the world to be restored to you again. i confess it is a fatal and cruel necessity to which we are driven; but i see no other way of freeing ourselves from the misery that involves us both." noor ad deen, convinced of the truth of what the fair persian had said, and that there was no other way of avoiding a shameful poverty, was forced to yield to her proposal. accordingly he led her to the market where the women-slaves are exposed to sale, with a regret that cannot easily be expressed. he applied himself to a broker, named hagi hassan. "hagi hassan," said he, "here is a slave whom i mean to sell; what will they give for her?" hagi hassan desired noor ad deen and the fair persian to walk into a room; and when she had pulled off the veil that covered her face, "sir," said hagi hassan, in surprise, "if i am not mistaken, this is the slave your father, the late vizier, gave ten thousand pieces of gold for?" noor ad deen assured him she was the same and hagi hassan gave him some hopes of selling her at a high price, and promised to use all his art to raise her value as high as he could. hagi hassan and noor ad deen went out of the room; and hagi hassan locked the fair persian in. he went immediately to the merchants; but they being busy in buying slaves from different countries, greeks, franks, africans, tartars, and others, he was forced to wait till the market was over. when the sale was ended, and the greatest part of them were got together again, "my masters," said he to them, with an air of gaiety in his looks and actions, "every thing that is round is not a nut, every thing that is long is not a fig, all that is red is not flesh, and all eggs are not fresh; it is true you have seen and bought a great many slaves in your lives, but you never yet saw one comparable to her i am going to tell you of. she is the very pearl of slaves. come, follow me, you shall see her yourselves, and judge at what rate i shall cry her." the merchants followed hagi hassan into the apartment where he had left the fair persian, and as soon as they beheld her were so surprised at her beauty, that they unanimously agreed, four thousand pieces of gold was the very lowest price they could set upon her. the merchants left the room; and hagi hassan, who came out with them, without going any farther, proclaimed with a loud voice, "four thousand pieces of gold for a persian slave." none of the merchants had yet offered anything, and were consulting together about what they might afford to give for her, when the vizier saouy appeared. perceiving noor ad deen in the market, he said to himself, "noor ad deen is certainly still making money of his goods" (for he knew he had exposed them to sale), "and is come hither to buy a slave with the product." he advanced forward just as hagi hassan began to proclaim a second time, "four thousand pieces of gold for a persian slave." the vizier saouy, who concluded by the high price, that the slave must be extraordinarily beautiful, was very desirous to see her; so spurring his horse forward, he rode up to hagi hassan, who was surrounded by the merchants. "open the door," said he, "and let me see the slave." it was not the custom to shew a slave to a particular person after the merchants had seen her, and were treating for her; but none of them durst dispute their right with the vizier; and hagi hassan was obliged to open the door, and he made a sign to the fair persian to come forward, that saouy might see her, without alighting from his horse. the vizier was astonished at the sight of so beautiful a slave; and knowing the broker's name (having formerly dealt with him), "hagi hassan," said he, "is it not at four thousand pieces of gold that you cry her?" "yes, sir," answered he; "the merchants just now agreed that i should put her up at that price: i wait their advance; and i question not but they will give a great deal more." "if no one offers more, i will give that sum," replied saouy, looking at the merchants at the same time with a countenance that forbad them to advance the price. he was so universally dreaded, that no one durst speak a word, even to complain of his encroaching upon their privilege. the vizier having stayed some time, and finding none of the merchants outbid him, "what do you stay for?" said he to hagi hassan. "inquire after the seller, and strike a bargain with him at four thousand pieces of gold, or ask if he demands more." hagi hassan having locked the chamber-door, went to confer with noor ad deen. "sir," said he to him, "i am very sorry to bring you the ill news of your slave's going to be sold for nothing." "how so?" replied noor ad deen. "why sir," continued hagi hassan, "you must know that the business at first went on well; for as soon as the merchants had seen your slave, they ordered me, without hesitation, to cry her at four thousand pieces of gold; accordingly i cried her at that price, but presently the vizier saouy came, and his presence has stopped the mouths of all the merchants, who seemed disposed to raise her, at least to the same price your deceased father gave for her. saouy will give no more than four thousand pieces; and it is much against my inclination that i am come to tell you his despicable offer. the slave indeed is your own; but i will never advise you to part with her upon those terms, since you and every one else are sensible of her being worth infinitely more; besides, he is base enough to contrive a way to trick you out of the money." "hagi hassan," replied noor ad deen, "i am highly obliged to thee for thy advice: do not think i will ever sell my slave to any enemy of our family; my necessities, indeed, are at present very great; but i would sooner die in the utmost poverty than consent to delivering her up to him. i have only one thing to beg of thee, who art skilful in all the turns and shifts of sale, that thou wouldst put me in a way to prevent the completion of the bargain." "sir," said hagi hassan, "nothing is more easy: you must pretend that, being in a violent passion with your slave, you swore to expose her in the market, and for the sake of your oath have now brought her hither, without any intention of selling her. this will satisfy every one; and saouy will have nothing to say against it. come along with me then; and just as i am presenting her to saouy as if it were by your own consent, pull her to you, give her two or three blows, and send her home." "i thank thee for thy counsel," said noor ad deen, "and will make use of it." hagi hassan went back to the chamber; and having privately acquainted the fair persian with their design, that she might not be surprised, took her by the hand, and led her to the vizier saouy, who was still on horseback at the door "sir," said he, "here is the slave, she is yours; take her." the words were scarcely out of hagi hassan's mouth, when noor ad deen, catching hold of the fair persian, pulled her to him, and giving her a box on the ear, "come hither, impertinence," said he, "and get you home again; for though your ill-humour obliged me to swear i should bring you hither, yet i never intended to sell you: i have business for you to do yet; and it will be time enough to part with you when i have nothing else left." this conduct of noor ad deen put the vizier saouy into a violent passion. "miserable debauchee," cried he, "wouldst thou have me believe thou hast any thing else left to make money of but thy slave?" and at the same instant, spurring his horse directly against him, endeavoured to carry off the fair persian. noor ad deen nettled to the quick at the affront the vizier had put upon him, quitted the fair persian, and laying hold of his horse's bridle, made him run two or three paces backwards. "vile dotard," said he to the vizier, "i would tear thy soul out of thy body this moment, were it not out of respect for the crowd of people here present." the vizier saouy being hated by all, there was not one among them but was pleased to see noor ad deen mortify him; and by signs they gave him to understand, that he might revenge himself upon him as much as he pleased, for nobody would interfere in their quarrel. saouy endeavoured to force noor ad deen to quit the bridle; but he being a lusty, vigorous man, and encouraged by those that stood by, pulled him off his horse, gave him several blows, and dashed his head against the stones, till it was all over blood. the slaves who waited upon the vizier would have drawn their cimeters, and fallen upon noor ad deen; but the merchants interposing prevented them. "what do you mean?" said they to them; "do you not see that one is a vizier, the other a vizier's son? let them fight it out; perhaps they will be reconciled one time or another; whereas, if you had killed noor ad deen, your master, with all his greatness, could not have been able to protest you against the law?" noor ad deen having given over beating the vizier saouy, left him in the mire, and taking the fair persian, marched home with her, attended by the people, with shouts and acclamations for the action he had performed. the vizier, cruelly bruised with the blows he had received, made shift to get up, with the assistance of his slaves, and had the mortification to see himself besmeared with blood and dirt. he leaned on the shoulders of two slaves, and in that condition went straight to the palace in the sight of all the people, with the greater confusion, because no one pitied him. as soon as he reached the king's apartment, he began to cry out, and call for justice in a lamentable tone. the king ordered him to be admitted; and asked who it was that had abused and put him into that miserable plight. "sire," cried saouy, "it is the favour of your majesty, and being admitted into your sacred councils, that has occasioned me to be so barbarously treated." "say no more of that," replied the king, "only let me hear the whole story simply, and who the offender is; and if he is in the wrong, you may depend upon it he shall be severely punished." "sire," said saouy, telling the whole matter to his own advantage, "having occasion for a cook, i went to the market of women-slaves to buy one: when i came thither, there was a slave just cried at four thousand pieces of gold; i ordered them to bring her before me, and i think my eyes never did nor will behold a more beautiful creature: i had no sooner examined her beauty with the highest satisfaction, than i immediately asked to whom she belonged; and upon inquiry found that noor ad deen, son to the late vizier khacan, had the disposing of her. "your majesty may remember, that about two or three years ago, you gave that vizier ten thousand pieces of gold, strictly charging him to buy you a slave with that sum. the money, indeed, was laid out upon this very slave; but instead of bringing her to your majesty, thinking his son deserved her better, he made him a present of her. noor ad deen, since his father's death, having wasted his whole fortune in riot and feasting, has nothing left but this slave, whom he at last resolved to part with; and she was to be sold in his name, i sent for him; and, without mentioning any thing of his father's prevarication, or rather treachery to your majesty, i in the civilest manner said to him, 'noor ad deen, the merchants, i perceive, have put your slave up at four thousand pieces of gold; and i question not, but, in emulation of each other, they will raise the price considerably: let me have her for the four thousand pieces; i am going to buy her for the king our lord and master; this will be a handsome opportunity of making your court to him: and his favour will be worth far more than the merchants can propose to give you.' "instead of returning me a civil answer, the insolent wretch, beholding me with a fierce air, "impotent villain," said he, 'i would rather give my slave to a jew for nothing than to thee for money.' 'noor ad deen,' i replied, without passion, though i had some reason to be a little warm, 'you do not consider, that by talking in this manner you affront the king, who raised both your father and me to the honours we have enjoyed.' "this admonition, instead of softening him, only provoked him to a higher degree; so that, falling upon me like a madman, without regard to my age or rank, he pulled me off my horse, and put me into this miserable plight. i beseech your majesty to consider, that it is on your account i have been so publicly affronted." the abused king, highly incensed against noor ad deen by this relation, so full of malice and artifice, discovered by his countenance the violence of his anger; and turning to the captain of his guards, who stood near him, "take forty of your soldiers," said he, "immediately plunder noor ad deen's house, and having ordered it to be razed to the ground, bring him and his slave to the presence." before the captain of the guards was gone out of the king's presence, an officer belonging to the court, who overheard the order given, hastened out. his name was sangiar; and he had been formerly a slave of the vizier khacan who had introduced him at court, where by degrees he had raised himself. sangiar, full of gratitude to his old master and affection for noor ad deen, whom he remembered a child, being no stranger to saouy's hatred of khacan's family, could not hear the order without concern. "this action," said he to himself, "may not be altogether so black as saouy has represented it. he has prejudiced the king against him, who will certainly put him to death, without allowing him time to justify himself." he made so much haste to noor ad deen's house, as to get thither soon enough to acquaint him with what had passed at court, and give him time to provide for his own and the fair persian's safety. he knocked so violently at the door, that noor ad deen, who had been a great while without any servant, ran immediately to open it. "my dear lord," said sangiar, "there is no safety for you in bussorah; you must lose no time, but depart hence this moment." "how so?" demanded noor ad deen. "what is the reason i must be gone so soon?" "make haste away, sir," replied sangiar, "and take your slave with you. in short, saouy has been just now acquainting the king, after his own way of telling it, all that passed between you and him; and the captain of the guards will be here in an instant, with forty soldiers, to seize you and the fair persian. take these forty pieces of gold to assist you in repairing to some place of safety. i would give you more if i had it about me. excuse my not staying any longer; i leave you with reluctance." sangiar gave noor ad deen but just time to thank him, and departed. noor ad deen acquainted the fair persian with the absolute necessity of their going that moment. she only put on her veil; they both stole out of the house, and were fortunate enough not only to get clear of the city, but also safely to arrive at the euphrates, which was not far off, where they embarked in a vessel that lay ready to weigh anchor. as soon as they were on board, the captain came on deck amongst his passengers. "children," said he to them, "are you all here? have any of you any more business to do in the city? or have you left any thing behind you?" they were all there, they answered him, and ready; so that he might sail as soon as he pleased. when noor ad deen came aboard, the first question he asked was, whither the vessel was bound? and being told for bagdad, he rejoiced at it. the captain, having weighed anchor, set sail; and the vessel, with a very favourable wind, lost sight of bussorah. the captain of the guards came to noor ad deen's house, and knocked at the door; but no one answering, he ordered his soldiers to break it open, who immediately obeyed him, and rushed in. they searched the house; but neither he nor the fair persian were to be found. the captain of the guards made them inquire of the neighbours; and he himself asked if they had seen them lately. it was all in vain; for if they had seen him go out of his house, so universally beloved was noor ad deen by the people, that not one of them would have said the least word to his prejudice. while they were rifling the house, and levelling it to the ground, he went to acquaint the king with the news. "look for them," said he, "every where; for i am resolved to have them." the captain of the guards made a second search, and the king dismissed the vizier saouy with honour. "go home," said he, "trouble yourself no farther to punish noor ad deen; i will revenge your injuries." without delay the king ordered to be proclaimed throughout the whole city a reward of a thousand pieces of gold for any person that should apprehend noor ad deen and the fair persian, also a severe punishment upon those who should conceal them. no tidings however could be heard of them; and the vizier saouy had only the comfort of seeing the king espouse his quarrel. in the mean time, noor ad deen and the fair persian, after a prosperous voyage, landed safe at bagdad. as soon as the captain came within sight of that city, pleased that his voyage was at an end, "rejoice, my children," cried he to the passengers; "yonder is that great and wonderful city, where there is a perpetual concourse of people from all parts of the world: there you shall meet with innumerable crowds, and never feel the extremity of cold in winter, nor the excess of heat in summer, but enjoy an eternal spring with all its flowers, and the delicious fruits of autumn." when the vessel came to anchor, a little below the city, the passengers went ashore, each to their respective place of abode. noor ad deen gave the captain five pieces of gold for his passage, and went ashore also with the fair persian; but being a perfect stranger in bagdad, was at a loss for a lodging. they rambled a considerable time along the gardens that bordered on the tigris, and keeping close to one of them that was enclosed with a very long wall, at the end of it they turned into a street well paved, where they perceived a magnificent gateway and a fountain near it. the inner door happened to be shut, but the portal was open, in which there was an estrade on each side. "this is a very convenient place for us," said noor ad deen to the fair persian; "night comes on apace; and though we have eaten nothing since our landing, i am for passing the night here, and to-morrow we shall have time enough to look for a lodging." "sir," replied the fair persian, "you know your wishes are mine; let us go no farther, since you are willing to stay here." each of them having drunk a draught of water at the fountain, they laid themselves down upon one of the estrades; and after a little chat, being soothed by the agreeable murmur of the water, fell asleep. the garden belonged to the caliph: and in the middle of it there was a pavilion, called the pavilion of pictures, because its chief ornaments were pictures after the persian manner, drawn by the most celebrated painters in persia, whom the caliph had sent for on purpose. the stately hall within this pavilion was lighted by fourscore arches and a lustre in each; but these were lighted only when the caliph came thither to spend the evening. on such occasions they made a glorious illumination, and could be seen at a great distance in the country on that side, and by great part of the city. the office of keeper of this pleasure house was at this time held by a very aged officer, named scheich ibrahim, whom the caliph, for some important service, had put into that employment, with strict charge not to let all sorts of people in, but especially to suffer no one either to sit or lie down on the estrades at the outward door, that they might always be clean; and whenever he found any body there, to punish them severely. some business had obliged this officer to go abroad, and he was not yet returned. when he came back, there was just day-light enough for him to discern two persons asleep upon one of the estrades, with their heads under a piece of linen, to defend them from the gnats. "very well," said scheich ibrahim to himself; "these people disobey the caliph's orders: but i will take care to teach them better manners." upon this he opened the door very softly, and a moment after returned with a cane in his hand, and his sleeve tucked up to the elbow: he was just going to lay on them both with all his might, but withholding his arm, began to reason with himself after this manner: "thou wast going, without reflection, to strike these people, who perhaps are strangers, destitute of a lodging, and utterly ignorant of the caliph's order; so that it would be advisable to know first who they are." upon this he gently lifted up the linen that covered their heads, and was astonished to see a young man so well shaped, and a young woman so beautiful; he then waked noor ad deen, by pulling him softly by the feet. noor ad deen, lifting up his head, and seeing an old man with a long white beard standing at his feet, got up, and throwing himself upon his knees, and taking his hand, kissed it. "good father," said he, "heaven preserve you!" "what do you want, my son?" replied scheich ibrahim; "who are you, and whence came you?" "we are strangers newly arrived," answered noor ad deen, "and would fain tarry here till to-morrow." "this is not a proper place for you," said scheich ibrahim; "come in with me, and i will find one fitter for you to sleep in than this; and the sight of the garden, which is very fine, will please you, when you see it to-morrow by day light." "is this garden your own?" asked noor ad deen. "yes," replied scheich ibrahim, smiling; "it is an inheritance left me by my father: pray walk in, for i am sure you will not repent seeing it." noor ad deen rose to thank scheich ibrahim for the civility he had strewn, as did afterwards the fair persian; and they entered the garden. scheich ibrahim locked the door, and going before, led them to a spot from whence, at one view, they might see the disposition, grandeur, and beauty of the whole. noor ad deen had seen very fine gardens, but never any comparable to this. having satisfied his curiosity, as he was walking in one of the walks, he turned about to the officer, and asked his name. as soon as he had told him it was scheich ibrahim; "scheich ibrahim," said he to him, "i must confess this is a charming garden indeed. heaven send you long to enjoy the pleasures of it; we cannot sufficiently thank you for the favour you have done by shewing us a place so well worth seeing; however, it is but just that we should make you some amends for your kindness; here are two pieces of gold; take them and get us something to eat, that we may be merry together." at the sight of the two pieces of gold, scheich ibrahim, who was a great admirer of that metal, laughed in his sleeve: he took them, and leaving noor ad deen and the fair persian by themselves, went to provide what was necessary; for he was alone. said he to himself with great joy, "these are generous people; i should have done very wrong, if, through imprudence, i had ill-treated and driven them away. a tenth part of the money will suffice to treat them; and the rest i will keep for my pains." while scheich ibrahim was gone to fetch something for his own supper, as well as for his guests noor ad deen and the fair persian walked up and down the garden, till at last they came to the pavilion of pictures. they stood awhile to admire its wonderful structure, size, and loftiness; and after taking a full view of it on every side, went up many steps of fine white marble to the hall-door, which they found locked. they were but just returned to the bottom of the steps, when scheich ibrahim arrived, loaded with provisions. "scheich ibrahim," said noor ad deen, in great surprise, "did you not tell us that this was your garden?" "i did," replied scheich ibrahim, "and do so still." "and does this magnificent pavilion also belong to you?" scheich ibrahim was staggered at this unexpected question. "if," said he to himself, 'i should say it is none of mine, they will ask me how i can be master of the garden and not of the pavilion.' as he had made them believe the garden was his, he said the same of the pavilion. "my son," said he, "the pavilion is not distinct from the garden; but they both belong to me." "if so," said noor ad deen, "since you invite us to be your guests to-night, do us the favour to shew us the inside of it; for if we may judge by the outward appearance, it must certainly be extraordinarily magnificent." it would have been a great piece of incivility in scheich ibrahim to refuse this favour, after what he had already done: moreover, he considered that the caliph not having given him notice, according to his usual custom, it was likely he would not be there that night, and therefore resolved to treat his guests, and sup with them in the pavilion. he laid the provisions on the first step, while he went to his apartment for the key: he soon returned with a light, and opened the door. noor ad deen and the fair persian entered the hall, and were never tired with admiring the beauty and richness of the place. indeed, without saying anything of the pictures which were admirably well drawn, the sofas were very noble and costly; and besides lustres suspended from every arch, there was between each a silver branch supporting a wax candle. noor ad deen could not behold these glorious objects without recollecting his former splendour, and sighing. in the mean time scheich ibrahim was getting supper ready; and the cloth being laid upon a sofa, and every thing in order, noor ad deen, the fair persian, and he sat down and ate together. when supper was finished, and they had washed their hands, noor ad deen opened a lattice, and calling the fair persian to him, "come hither," said he, "and with me admire the charming prospect and beauty of the garden by moon-light; nothing can be more agreeable." she came to him; and they both enjoyed the view, while scheich ibrahim was busy in taking away the cloth. when scheich ibrahim came to his guests again, noor ad deen asked him whether he had any liquor to treat them with. "what liquor would you have?" replied scheich ibrahim--"sherbet? i have the best in the world; but sherbet, you know, my son, is never drunk after supper." "i know that very well," said noor ad deen; "it is not sherbet, but another sort of liquor that we ask you for, and i am surprised at your not understanding me." "it is wine then you mean?" said scheich ibrahim. "you guess right," replied noor ad deen, "and if you have any, oblige us with a bottle: you know a bottle after supper is a very proper companion to spend the hours with till bed-time." "heaven defend me from keeping wine in my house," cried scheich ibrahim, "and from ever coming to a place where any is found! a man who, like me, has been a pilgrimage four times to mecca, has renounced wine for ever." "you would do us a singular kindness," said noor ad deen, "in getting a little for our own drinking; and if it be not too much trouble, i will put you in a way how you may do it, without going into a vintner's shop, or so much as laying your hand upon the vessel that contains it." "upon that condition i will do it," replied scheich ibrahim, "only let me know what i am to do." "why then," said noor ad deen, "we just now saw an ass tied at the entrance of your garden, which certainly must be yours, and which you may make use of in this extremity: here are two pieces of gold more; take them, and lead your ass with the panniers to the next vintner's; you may stand at as great a distance as you please, do but give something to the first person that comes by, and desire him to go with your ass, and procure two pitchers of wine; put one in one pannier, in another, another, which he must pay for out of the money you give him, and so let him bring the ass back to you: you will have nothing to do, but to drive the beast hither before you; we will take the wine out of the panniers: by this means you will do nothing that will give you any scruple." the two last pieces of gold that scheich ibrahim was going to receive wrought wonderfully upon his mind. "ah! my son," cried he, "you have an excellent contrivance; and had it not been for your invention, i should never have thought of this way of getting you some wine without any scruple of conscience." away he went to execute the orders, which he did in a little time; and, upon his return, noor ad deen taking the pitchers out of the panniers, carried them into the hall. scheich ibrahim having led the ass to the place from whence he took him, came back again, "scheich ibrahim," said noor ad deen, "we cannot enough thank you for the trouble we have already given you; but we want something yet." "what is that?" replied scheich: "what more service can i do you?" "we have no cups to drink out of," said noor ad deen, "and a little fruit, if you had any, would be very acceptable." "do but say what you have a mind to," replied scheich ibrahim, "and you shall have every thing to your heart's content." down went scheich ibrahim, and in a short time spread a carpet for them with beautiful porcelain dishes, full of all sorts of delicious fruits, besides gold and silver cups to drink out of; and having asked them if they wanted any thing else, he withdrew, though they pressed him earnestly to stay. noor ad deen and the fair persian sat down again, and drank each a cup. they were pleased with the wine, which was excellent. "well, my dear," said noor ad deen to the fair persian, "are we not the most fortunate persons in the world, after so many dangers, to meet with so charming and agreeable a place? let us be merry, and think no more on the hardships of our voyage. can my happiness be greater in this world, than to have you on one side of me, and my glass on the other?" they drank freely, and diverted themselves with agreeable conversation, each singing a song. both having very fine voices, but especially the fair persian, their singing attracted scheich ibrahim, who had stood hearkening a great while on the steps, without discovering himself. he could contain himself no longer; but thrusting his head in at the door, "courage, sir," said he to noor ad deen, whom he took to be quite drunk, "i am glad to see you so pleased." "ah! scheich ibrahim," cried noor ad deen, turning to him, "you are a glorious man, and we are extremely obliged to you. we dare not ask you to drink a cup; but walk in; come, sit down, and let us have the honour at least of your company." "go on, go on," said scheich ibrahim; "the pleasure of hearing your songs is sufficient for me." upon this he immediately retired. the fair persian perceiving scheich ibrahim, through one of the windows, standing upon the steps, told noor ad deen of it. "sir," said she, "you see what an aversion he has for wine; yet i question not in the least to make him drink, if you will do as i would have you." noor ad deen asked her what it was. "do but say the word," replied he, "and i am ready to do what you please." "prevail with him then only to come in, and bear us company; some time after fill up a bumper, and give it him; if he refuses, drink it yourself, pretend to be asleep, and leave the rest to me." noor ad deen understood the fair persian's design, and called to scheich ibrahim, who came again to the door. "scheich ibrahim," said he, "we are your guests; you have entertained us in the most obliging manner, and will you now refuse our solicitations to honour us with your company? we do not ask you to drink, but only the favour of seeing you." scheich ibrahim being at last prevailed upon, came into the hall, and sat down on the edge of a sofa nearest to the door. "you do not sit well there," said noor ad deen, "and we cannot have the honour of seeing you; pray come nearer, and sit you down by the lady; she will like it much." "i will obey you," replied scheich ibrahim, so coming forward, simpering, to think he should be seated near so beautiful a creature, he placed himself at some distance from the fair persian. noor ad deen desired a song of her, in return for the honour scheich ibrahim had done them; and she sung one that charmed him. when the fair persian had ended her song, noor ad deen poured out a cup of wine, and presented it to scheich ibrahim. "scheich ibrahim," said he, "i entreat you, drink this to our healths." "sir," replied he, starting back, as if he abhorred the very sight of the wine, "i beseech you to excuse me; i have already told you that i have forsworn the use of wine these many years." "then since you will not drink our healths," said noor ad deen, "give me leave to drink yours." while noor ad deen was drinking, the fair persian cut half an apple, and presented it to scheich ibrahim. "though you refused drinking," said she, "yet i believe you will not refuse tasting this apple; it is very excellent." scheich ibrahim had no power to refuse it from so fair a hand; but taking it with a very low bow, put it in his mouth. she said a great many pleasant things on the occasion; and noor ad deen, falling back upon a sofa, pretended to fall fast asleep. the fair persian presently advanced towards scheich ibrahim, and speaking in a low voice, "look at him," said she, "thus in all our merry parties he constantly serves me; and no sooner has he drunk a cup or two, but he falls asleep, and leaves me alone; but i hope you will have the goodness to keep me company till he awakes." at this the fair persian took a cup, and filling it with wine, offered it to scheich ibrahim. "here," said she, "drink off this to my health; i am going to pledge you." scheich ibrahim made a great many difficulties, and begged her to excuse him from drinking; but she pressed him so, that overcome by her charms and entreaties he took the cup, and drank off every drop of the wine. the good old man loved a chirruping cup to his heart, but was ashamed to drink among strangers. he often went to the tavern in private, as many other people do; and he did not take the precaution recommended, but went directly where he was well known (night serving him instead of a cloak), and saved the money that noor ad deen had ordered him to give the messenger who was to have gone for the wine. while scheich ibrahim was eating fruit after his draught, the fair persian filled him out another, which he received with less difficulty than the former, but made none at all at the third. in short, a fourth was quaffing, when noor ad deen started up from his pretended sleep; and bursting out into a violent fit of laughter, and looking at him, "ha! ha!" said he, "scheich ibrahim, have i caught you at last? did you not tell me you had forsworn wine? and now you have drunk it all up from me." scheich ibrahim, not expecting to be surprised, blushed a little; however, that did not spoil his draught; but when he had done, "sir," said he laughing, "if there is any crime in what i have done, it lies at this fair lady's door, not mine: for who could possibly resist so many charms?" the fair persian, who perfectly understood noor ad deen, took scheich ibrahim's part. "let him talk," said she, "scheich ibrahim, take no notice of him, but let us drink on and be merry." awhile after noor ad deen filled out a cup for himself and the fair persian; but when scheich ibrahim saw that noor ad deen had forgotten him in his turn, he took his cup, and presenting it to the fair persian, "madam," said he, "do you suppose i cannot drink as well as you?" at these words noor ad deen and the fair persian laughed very heartily. they poured him out some wine; and sat laughing, chatting, and drinking, till near midnight. about that hour the fair persian began to notice that there was but one candle on the carpet. "scheich ibrahim," said she to the good old officer, "you have afforded us but one candle, when there are so many wax-lights yonder; pray do us the favour to light some of them, that we may see a little better what we are doing." scheich ibrahim making use of the liberty that wine inspires when it gets into the head, and not caring to be interrupted in his discourse, bade the fair persian light them herself. "it is fitter for a young person like you to do it," said he, "than for me; but be sure not to light above five or six" up rose the fair persian immediately, and taking a wax candle in her hand, lighted it with that which stood upon the carpet, and without any regard to scheich ibrahim's order, lighted up the whole fourscore. by and by, while scheich ibrahim was entertaining the fair persian with some discourse, noor ad deen took his turn to desire him to light up some of the candles in the lustres, not taking notice that all the wax-lights were already in a blaze. "certainly," replied scheich ibrahim, "you must be very lazy, or less vigorous than i am, that you are not able to light them yourself; get you gone, and light them; but be sure you light no more than three." to work he went; but instead of that number, he lighted them all, and opened the shutters of the fourscore windows, before scheich ibrahim, who was deeply engaged with the fair persian, knew any thing of the matter. the caliph haroon al rusheed being not yet gone to rest, was in a room of his palace on the river tigris, from whence he could command a view both of the garden and pavilion. he accidentally opened the casement, and was extremely surprised at seeing the pavilion illuminated; and at first, by the greatness of the light, thought the city was on fire. the grand vizier jaaffier was still with him, waiting for his going to rest. the caliph, in a great rage, called the vizier to him. "careless vizier," said he, "come hither, come hither; look at the pavilion of pictures, and tell me the reason of its being illuminated at this hour, now i am not there." the grand vizier at this account fell into a violent trembling; but when he came nearer, and with his own eyes saw the truth of what the caliph had told him, he was more alarmed than before. some excuse must be made to appease the caliph's anger. "commander of the true believers," said he, "all that i can say to your majesty about this matter is, that some five or six days ago scheich ibrahim came to acquaint me, that he had a design to assemble the ministers of his mosque, to assist at a ceremony he was ambitious of performing in honour of your majesty's auspicious reign. i asked him if i could be any way serviceable to him in this affair; upon which he entreated me to get leave of your majesty to perform the ceremony in the pavilion. i sent him away with leave to hold the assembly, telling him i would take care to acquaint your majesty with it; and i ask pardon for having quite forgotten it." "scheich ibrahim," continued he, "has certainly made choice of this day for the ceremony; and after treating the ministers of his mosque, was willing to indulge them with the sight of this illumination." "jaaffier," said the caliph, with a tone that plainly shewed his anger was a little mollified, "according to your own account, you have committed three faults; the first, in giving scheich ibrahim leave to perform this ceremony in my pavilion, for a person in such an office is not worthy of so great an honour; the second, in not acquainting me with it; and the third, in not diving into the bottom of the good old man's intention. for my part, i am persuaded he only did it to try if he could get any money towards bearing the charge of it; but that never came into your head." the grand vizier, overjoyed to hear the caliph put the matter upon that footing, very willingly owned the faults he reproached him with, and freely confessed he was to blame in not giving scheich ibrahim a few pieces of gold. "since the case is so," added the caliph, "it is just that thou shouldst be punished for thy mistakes, but thy punishment shall be light: thou shalt spend the remainder of the night as i mean to do, with these honest people, whose company i shall be well pleased with; and while i am putting on a citizen's habit, go thou and disguise thyself with mesrour, and come both of you along with me." the vizier would have persuaded him it was late, and that all the company would be gone before he could get thither: but the caliph said he would positively go. the vizier, who knew that not a syllable of what he had said was true, began to be in great consternation; but there was no reply to be made, and go he must. the caliph then, disguised like a citizen, with the grand vizier jaaffier and mesrour, chief of the eunuchs, stole out of the palace together. they rambled through the streets of bagdad till they came to the garden; the door, through the carelessness of scheich ibrahim, was open, he having forgotten to shut it when he came back with the wine. the caliph was very angry at this. "jaaffier," said he to the grand vizier, "what excuse have you for the door's being open at this unseasonable hour?" "is it possible that scheich ibrahim makes a custom of leaving it thus all night? i rather believe the hurry of the feast has been the occasion of this neglect." the caliph went into the garden; and when he came to the pavilion, resolving not to go into the hall till he knew what was doing, consulted with the grand vizier whether it was not his best way to climb up into one of the trees that was near, to observe what was going forward. the grand vizier casting his eyes upon the door, perceived it stood half open, and told the caliph. it seems scheich ibrahim had left it so, when he was prevailed upon to come in and bear noor ad deen and the fair persian company. the caliph laying aside his first design, stole softly up to the hall-door, which standing half open, he could see all the company within, without being discovered himself. but how was he surprised, when he saw a lady of incomparable beauty and a handsome young man sitting, with scheich ibrahim by them. scheich ibraham held a cup in his hand. "my fair lady," said he to the fair persian, "a true toper never drinks without singing a song first: if you please to hear, i will give you one of my best songs." scheich ibrahim sung, and the caliph was the more surprised, because till that moment he never knew of his drinking wine, but always took him for a grave, solid man, as he seemed to be to outward appearance. the caliph retired from the door with the same caution as he had made his approaches to it; and coming to the grand vizier, who was standing on the steps a little lower, "come up," said he to him, "and see if those within are the ministers of the mosque, as you would have made me believe." by the tone of voice in which the caliph spoke these last words, the vizier understood that things went ill on his side: however, he went up the steps; but when he had peeped in at the door, and saw the three sitting in that condition, he trembled for his life. he returned to the caliph, but in such confusion, that he knew not what to say. "what riotous doings are here?" said the caliph to him: "who are these people that have presumed to take the liberty of diverting themselves in my garden and pavilion? and how durst scheich ibrahim give them admittance, and partake of the diversion with them? i must, however, confess, i never saw two persons more beautiful or better paired in my life; and therefore, before i discover my anger, i will inform myself better, and know who they are, and the reason of their being here." he went to the door again to observe them more narrowly; and the vizier, who followed, stood behind him, while he fixed his eyes upon them. they both plainly heard every word that scheich ibrahim said to the fair persian. "is there any thing, my charming lady, wanting to render the pleasure of the evening more complete?" "nothing but a lute," replied the fair persian, "and methinks, if you could get me one, all would be well." "can you play upon it?" said scheich ibrahim. "fetch me one," replied the fair persian, "and you shall hear whether i can or not." scheich ibrahim, without stirring very far from his place, took a lute out of a press, and presented it to the fair persian, who begun to tune it. the caliph, in the mean time, turning to the grand vizier, "jaaffier," said he, "the young lady is going to play upon the lute; and if she performs well, i will forgive her, and the young man for her sake; but as for thee, i will have thee impaled." "commander of the true believers," replied the grand vizier, "if that is your intention, i wish to god she may play ill." "why so?" said the caliph. "because," replied the grand vizier, "the longer we live in this world, the more reason we shall have to comfort ourselves with the hopes of dying in good sociable company." the caliph, who loved a repartee, began to laugh at this; and putting his ear to the opening of the door, listened to hear the fair persian play. the fair persian began in such a style, that, from the first moment of her touching the lute, the caliph perceived she did it with a masterly hand. afterwards accompanying the lute with her voice, which was admirably fine, she sung and played with so much skill and sweetness, that the caliph was quite ravished to hear her. as soon as the fair persian had finished her song, the caliph went down the steps, and the vizier followed him. when he came to the bottom, "i never," said he to the vizier, "heard a more charming voice, or a lute better touched. isaac, whom i thought the most skilful player in the world, does not come up to her. i am so charmed with her music, that i will go in, and hear her play before me. we must, therefore, consider how i can do it." "commander of the true believers," said the grand vizier, "if you should go in, and scheich ibrahim chance to know you, he would infallibly die with the fright." "it is that which hurts me," replied the caliph, "and i should be loth to be the occasion of his death, after so many years service. a thought is just come into my head, that may succeed; stay here with mesrour, and wait for me in the next walk." the neighbourhood of the tigris had given the caliph an opportunity of turning the stream under a stately bridge into his garden, through a piece of water, whither the choicest fish of the river used to retire. the fishermen knew it well; but the caliph had expressly charged scheich ibrahim not to suffer any of them to come near it. however, that night, a fisherman passing by the garden-door, which the caliph had left open as he found it, made use of the opportunity, and going in, went directly to the canal. the fisherman immediately fell to work with his nets, and was just ready to draw them, when the caliph, fearing what would be the effect of scheich ibrahim's negligence, but willing to make use of it to bring his design about, came to the same place. the fisherman, in spite of his disguise, knew him, and throwing himself at his feet, humbly implored his pardon, and excused himself on account of his poverty. "rise," said the caliph, "and be not afraid; only draw your nets, that i may see what fish you have got." the fisherman, recovered of his fright, quickly obeyed the caliph's orders. he drew out five or six very large fishes; and the caliph choosing the two biggest, tied them together by the head, with the twig of a tree. "after this," said he to the fisherman, "give me thy clothes, and take mine." the exchange was soon made; and the caliph being dressed like a fisherman, even to his boots and turban, "take thy nets," said he to the fisherman, "and get thee about thy business." when the fisherman, well pleased with his good fortune, was gone, the caliph, taking the two fishes in his hand, went to look after the grand vizier and mesrour; he first met jaaffier, who, not knowing him, asked what he wanted, and bade him go about his business. the caliph fell a laughing; by which the vizier recognising him, "commander of the true believers," said he, "is it possible it can be you? i knew you not; and i ask a thousand pardons for my rudeness. you are so disguised that you may venture into the hall without any fear of being discovered by scheich ibrahim." "stay you here with mesrour," said the caliph, "while i go and play my part." the caliph went up to the hall, and knocked at the door. noor ad deen hearing him first, told scheich ibrahim of it, who asked who was there? the caliph opened the door, and stepping a little way into the hall to shew himself, "scheich ibrahim," said he, "i am the fisherman kerim, who being informed of your design to treat some of your friends, have brought you two very fine fishes, fresh caught, to ask if you have any occasion for them." noor ad deen and the fair persian were pleased to hear him name fish. "pray," said the latter to scheich ibrahim, "let him come in, that we may look at them." scheich ibrahim, by this time, was incapable of asking this counterfeit fisherman how or which way he came thither, his whole thought being only to oblige the fair persian. with much ado he turned his head towards the door, being quite drunk, and, in a stammering tone, calling to the caliph, whom he took to be a fisherman, "come hither, thou nightly thief," said he, "and let us see what thou hast got." the caliph went forwards, and counterfeiting all the actions of a fisherman, presented the two fishes. "these are very fine ones indeed," said the fair persian, "and if they were well dressed and seasoned, i should be glad to eat some of them." "the lady is in the right," answered scheich ibrahim; "but what can you do with your fish, unless it were dressed? go, dress it thyself, and bring it to us; thou wilt find every thing necessary in my kitchen." the caliph went back to the grand vizier. "jaaffier," said he, "i have been very well received; but they want the fish to be dressed." "i will take care to dress it myself," said the grand vizier, "and they shall have it in a moment." "nay," replied the caliph, "so eager am i to accomplish my design, that i will take that trouble myself; for since i have personated the fisherman so well, surely i can play the cook for once; in my younger days, i dealt a little in cookery, and always came off with credit." so saying, he went directly towards scheich ibrahim's lodgings, and the grand vizier and mesrour followed him. they all fell to work; and though scheich ibrahim's kitchen was not very large, yet there was every thing in it that they wanted. the fish was quickly cooked; and the caliph served it up, putting to every one's place a lemon to squeeze into the sauce, if they thought proper. they all ate very heartily, but especially noor ad deen and the fair persian; and the caliph stood before them. as soon as the repast was over, noor ad deen looking at the caliph, "fisherman," said he, "there never was better fish eaten; and you have done us the greatest favour." at the same time, putting his hand into his bosom, and pulling out a purse of thirty pieces of gold, the remainder of forty that sangiar, the officer of the king of bussorah, had given him just upon his departure, "take it," said he to him; "if i had any more, thou shouldst have it; had i known thee in my prosperity, i would have taken care to secure thee from want: do not refuse the small present i make thee, but accept of it as kindly as if it were much greater." the caliph took the purse, thanked noor ad deen, and perceiving by the weight that it contained gold, "sir," said he to him, "i cannot enough thank you for your liberality, and i think myself very fortunate in having to do with a person of your generosity; but before i take my leave i have a favour to ask, which i beg you not to deny me. yonder is a lute, which makes me believe that the lady understands playing upon it; and if you can prevail with her to play but one tune, i shall go away perfectly satisfied; for a lute, sir, is an instrument i am particularly fond of." "fair persian," said noor ad deen, immediately addressing himself to her, "i ask that favour of you, and i hope you will not refuse me." she took up the lute without more entreaties, and putting it presently in tune, played and sung with such an air, as charmed the very soul of the caliph. afterwards she played upon the lute without singing, but with so much strength and softness, as to transport him into an ecstasy. when the fair persian had given over playing, the caliph cried out, "what a voice! what a hand! what skill! was there ever finer singing, or better playing upon the lute? never was there any seen or heard like it." noor ad deen, who was accustomed to give all that belonged to him to persons who praised him, said, "fisherman, i find thou hast some taste for music; since thou art so delighted with her performance, she is thine, i make thee a present of her." at the same time he rose up, and taking his robe which he had laid by, was going away, and leaving the caliph, whom he believed to be no other than a fisherman, in possession of the fair persian. the fair persian was extremely surprised at noor ad deen's liberality; she took hold of him, and looking tenderly at him, "whither, sir," said she, "are you going? sit down in your place, i entreat you, and hearken to what i am going to sing and play." he did as she desired him, and then the fair persian, touching the lute, and looking upon him with tears in her eyes, sung some verses that she had made ex tempore, to reproach him with his indifference, and the easiness as well as cruelty with which he resigned her to kerim. she only hinted, without explaining herself any farther to a fisherman; for she, as well as noor ad deen, was ignorant of his being the caliph. when she had done playing, she put the lute down by her, and clapped a handkerchief to her face, to hide the tears she could not repress. noor ad deen made no answer to all these reproaches, but by his silence seemed to declare he did not repent of what he had done the caliph, surprised at what he had heard, said, "sir, as far as i see, this beautiful, rare, and accomplished lady, of whom so generously you have made me a present, is your slave?" "it is very true, kerim," replied noor ad deen, "and thou wouldst be more surprised than thou art now, should i tell thee all the misfortunes that have happened to me upon her account." "ah! i beseech you, sir," replied the caliph, still behaving like a fisherman, "oblige me so far as to let me hear part of your story." noor ad deen, who had already obliged him in several things of more consequence, was so complaisant as to relate the whole story to him. he began with the vizier his father's buying the fair persian for the king of bussorah, and omitted nothing of what he had done, or what had happened to him, from that time to their arrival at bagdad, and to the very moment he was talking to him. when noor ad deen had ended his story, "and whither are you going now?" asked the caliph. "where heaven shall direct me," answered noor ad deen. "if you will believe me," replied the caliph, "you shall go no farther, but, on the contrary, you must return to bussorah: i will write a short letter, which you shall give the king in my name: you shall see upon the reading it, he will give you a very handsome reception, and nobody will dare to speak against you." "kerim," said noor ad deen, "what thou hast told me is very singular; i never heard that a poor fisherman, as thou art, had any correspondence with a king?" "be not astonished at that," replied the caliph: "you must know, that we both studied together under the same masters, and were always the best friends in the world: it is true, fortune has not been equally favourable to us; she has made him a king, and me a fisherman. but this inequality has not lessened our friendship. he has often expressed a readiness and desire to advance my fortune, but i always refused; and am better pleased with the satisfaction of knowing that he will never deny me whatever i ask for the service and advantage of my friends: let me do it, and you shall see the success." noor ad deen consented to what the caliph had proposed; and there being every thing necessary for writing in the hall, the caliph wrote a letter to the king of bussorah; at the top of which he placed this form, "in the name of the most merciful god," to shew he would be absolutely obeyed. "haroon al rusheed, son of mhadi, sends this letter to zinebi, his cousin. as soon as noor ad deen, son to the late vizier khacan, the bearer, has delivered you this letter, and you have read it, pull off the royal vestments, put them on his shoulders, and place him in thy seat without fail. farewell." the caliph folded up the letter, sealed it, and giving it to noor ad deen, without saying any thing of what was in it, "go," said he, "embark immediately in a vessel that is ready to go off (as there did constantly every day at the same hour); you may sleep when you are aboard." noor ad deen took the letter, and departed with the little money he had about him when sangiar gave him his purse; and the fair persian, distracted with grief at his departure, retired to one of the sofas, and wept bitterly. noor ad deen was scarcely gone out of the hall, when scheich ibrahim, who had been silent during the whole transaction, looking steadfastly upon the caliph, whom he still took for the fisherman kerim, "hark'e," said he, "kerim, thou hast brought us two fishes, that are worth twenty pieces of copper at most, and thou hast got a purse and a slave: but dost thou think to have all for thyself? i here declare, that i will go halves with thee in the slave; and as for the purse, shew me what is in the inside: if it is silver, thou shalt have one piece for thyself; but if it is gold, i will have it all, and give thee in exchange some pieces of copper which i have in my purse." the caliph, before his serving up the fish, had dispatched the grand vizier to his palace, with orders to get four slaves with a rich habit, and to wait on the other side of the pavilion till he gave a signal with his finger against the window. the grand vizier performed his commission; and he, mesrour, and the four slaves, waited at the appointed place, expecting the sign. the caliph, still personating the fisherman, answered scheich ibrahim boldly, "i know not what there is in the purse; gold or silver, you shall freely go my halves: but as to the slave, i will have her all to myself; and if you will not accept these conditions, you shall have nothing." scheich ibrahim, enraged to the last degree at this insolence, considering him only as a fisherman, snatched up one of the china dishes which were on the table, and flung it at the caliph's head. the caliph easily avoided the blow, being thrown by a person in liquor; but the dish striking against the wall, was dashed into a thousand pieces. scheich ibrahim grew more enraged at having missed his aim, and catching up the candle that stood upon the table, rose from his seat, and went staggering down a pair of back-stairs to look for a cane. the caliph took this opportunity, and striking his hands against the window, the grand vizier, mesrour, and the four slaves were with him in an instant: the slaves quickly pulled off the fisherman's clothes, and put him on the habit they had brought. they had not quite dressed the caliph, who had seated himself on the throne that was in the hall, but were busy about him when scheich ibrahim, spurred on by interest, came back with a cane in his hand, with which he designed to pay the pretended fisherman soundly; but instead of finding him, he saw his clothes in the middle of the hall, and the caliph on his throne, with the grand vizier and mesrour on each side of him. he stood awhile gazing on this unexpected sight, doubting whether he was awake or asleep. the caliph fell a laughing at his astonishment; and calling to him, "scheich ibrahim," said he, "what dost thou want? whom dost thou look after?" scheich ibrahim, no longer doubting that it was the caliph, immediately threw himself at his feet, with his face and long beard to the ground. "commander of the true believers," cried he, "your vile slave has offended you; but he implores your clemency, and asks a thousand pardons for his offence." as soon as the slaves had finished dressing him, he came down from his throne, and advancing towards him, "rise," said he, "i forgive thee." the caliph then addressed himself to the fair persian, who had suspended her sorrow as soon as she understood that the garden and pavilion belonged to that prince, and not to scheich ibrahim, as he had all along made her believe, and that it was he himself disguised in the fisherman's clothes. "fair persian," said he, "rise, and follow me: by what you have lately seen, you ought to know who i am, and to believe that i am above taking any advantage of the present which noor ad deen, with a generosity not to be paralleled, has made me of your person. i have sent him to bussorah as king; and when i have given him the dispatches necessary for his establishment, you shall go thither and be queen. in the mean time i am going to order an apartment for you in my palace, where you shall be treated according to your desert." this discourse encouraged the fair persian, and comforted her very sensibly. the joy for the advancement of noor ad deen, whom she passionately loved, to so high an honour, made her sufficient amends for her affliction. the caliph kept his promise, and recommended her to the care of his empress zobeide, whom he acquainted with the esteem he had entertained for noor ad deen. noor ad deen's return to bussorah was more fortunate, and speedier by some days than he could have expected. upon his arrival, without visiting any of his friends or relations he went directly to the palace, where the king at that time was giving public audience. with the letter held up in his hand, he pressed through the crowd, who presently made way for him to come forward and deliver it. the king took and opened it, and his colour changed in reading it; he kissed it thrice, and was just about to obey the caliph's orders, when he bethought himself of shewing it to the vizier saony, noor ad deen's irreconcilable enemy. saouy, who had discovered noor ad deen, and began to conjecture, with great uneasiness, what might be the design of his coming, was no less surprised than the king at the order contained in the letter; and being as much concerned in it, he instantly devised a method to evade it. he pretended not to have read the letter quite through, and therefore desiring a second view of it, turned himself a little on one side as if he wanted a better light, and, without being perceived by any body, dexterously tore off from the top of it the form which shewed the caliph would be absolutely obeyed, and putting it into his mouth, swallowed it. after this egregious piece of villainy, saouy turned to the king, and giving him the letter, "sir," said he to him in a low voice, "what does your majesty intend to do?" "what the caliph has commanded me," replied the king. "have a care, sir," said the wicked vizier, "what you do. it is true this is the caliph's hand, but the form is not to it." the king had observed it, but in his confusion thought his eyes had deceived him when he saw it was gone. "sir," continued the vizier, "we have no reason to doubt but that the caliph, on the complaints he has made against your majesty and myself, has granted him this letter to get rid of him, and not with any intention of having the order contained in it executed. besides, we must consider he has sent no express with a patent; and without that the order is of no force. and since a king like your majesty was never deposed without that formality, any other man as well as noor ad deen might come with a forged letter: let who will bring such a letter as this, it ought not to be put in execution. your majesty may depend upon it, that is never done; and i will take upon myself all the consequence of disobeying this order." king zinebi, easily persuaded by this pernicious counsel, left noor ad deen entirely to the discretion of the vizier saouy, who led him to his house in a very insulting manner; and after causing him to be bastinadoed till he was almost dead, he ordered him to a prison, where he commanded him to be put into the darkest and deepest dungeon, with a strict charge to the gaoler to give him nothing but bread and water. when noor ad deen, half dead with the strokes, came to himself, and found what a dismal dungeon he was in, he bewailed his misfortunes in the most pathetic manner. "ah! fisherman," cried he, "how hast thou cheated me; and how easy have i been in believing thee! could i, after the civility i shewed thee, expect such inhuman and barbarous usage? however, may heaven reward thee; for i cannot persuade myself that thy intention was so base; and i will with patience wait the end of my afflictions." the disconsolate noor ad deen remained six whole days in this miserable condition; and saouy did not forget that he had confined him there; but being resolved to put him to a shameful death, and not daring to do it by his own authority, to accomplish his villainous design, loaded some of his slaves with rich presents, which he, at the head of them, went and presented to the king. "behold, sire," said he, with the blackest malice, "what the new king has sent you upon his accession to the crown, and begs your majesty to accept." the king taking the matter just as saouy intended, "what!" replied he, "is that wretch still living? i thought you had put him to death already." "sire, i have no power," answered the vizier, "to take any person's life; that only belongs to your majesty." "go," said the king, "behead him instantly; i give you full authority." "sire," replied the vizier saouy, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for the justice you do me; but since noor ad deen has publicly affronted me, i humbly beg the favour, that his execution may be performed before the palace; and that the criers may publish it in every quarter of the city, so that every body may be satisfied he has made a sufficient reparation for the affront." the king granted his request; and the criers in performing their office diffused universal sorrow through the whole city. the memory of his father's virtues being yet fresh among them, no one could hear, without horror and indignation, that the son was going to suffer an ignominious death. saouy went in person to the prison, accompanied by twenty slaves, ministers of his cruelty, who took noor ad deen out of the dungeon, and put him upon a shabby horse without a saddle. when noor ad deen saw himself in the hands of his enemy, "thou triumphest now," said he, "and abusest thy power; but i trust in the truth of what is written in our scripture, 'you judge unjustly, and in a little time you shall be judged yourself.'" the vizier saouy triumphed in his heart. "what! insolent," said he, "darest thou insult me yet? but i care not what may happen to me, so i have the pleasure of seeing thee lose thy head in the public view of all bussorah. thou oughtest also to remember what another of our books says, 'what signifies if one dies the next day after the death of his enemy?'" the vizier, implacable in his hatred and enmity, surrounded by his slaves in arms, conducted noor ad deen towards the palace. the people were ready to fall upon him as he passed; and if any one had set the example, would certainly have stoned him to death. when he had brought him to the place of suffering, which was to be in sight of the king's apartment, he left him in the executioner's hands, and went straight to the king, who was in his closet, ready to glut his eyes with the bloody spectacle he had prepared. the king's guard and the vizier's slaves, who made a circle round noor ad deen, had much trouble to withstand the people, who made all possible efforts to break through, and carry him off by force. the executioner coming up to him, said, "i hope you will forgive me, i am but a slave, and cannot help doing my duty. if you have no occasion for any thing more, i beseech you to prepare yourself; for the king is just going to give me orders to strike the blow." the unfortunate noor ad deen, at that moment, looking round upon the people, "will no charitable body," cried he, "bring me a little water to quench my thirst?" which immediately they did, and handed it up to him upon the scaffold. the vizier saouy perceiving this delay, called out to the executioner from the king's closet window, where he had planted himself, "strike, what dost thou stay for?" at these inhuman words the whole place echoed with loud imprecations against him; and the king, jealous of his authority, made it appear, by enjoining him to stop awhile, that he was angry at his presumption. but there was another reason; for the king that very moment casting his eye towards a street that faced him, saw a troop of horsemen advancing full speed towards the palace. "vizier," said the king immediately, "look yonder; what is the meaning of those horsemen?" saouy, who knew not who they might be, earnestly pressed the king to give the executioner the sign. "no," replied the king; "i will first know who those horsemen are." it was the vizier jaaffier, with his train, who came in person from bagdad by the caliph's order. to understand the occasion of this minister's coming to bussorah, we must observe, that after noor ad deen's departure with the letter, the caliph the next day, nor for several days after, thought not of sending him the patent which he mentioned to the fair persian. he happened one day to be in the inner palace, which was that of the women, and passing by her apartment, heard the sound of a fine voice: he listened to it; and he had no sooner heard the words of one complaining for the absence of somebody, than he asked the officer of the eunuchs who attended him who the woman was that lived in that apartment? the officer told him it was the young stranger's slave whom he had sent to bussorah to be king in the room of mahummud zinebi. "ah! poor noor ad deen," cried the caliph, "i had forgotten thee; but hasten," said he to the officer, "and bid jaaffier come to me." the vizier was with him in an instant. as soon as he came, "jaaffier," said he, "i have hitherto neglected sending the patent which was to confirm noor ad deen king of bussorah; but we have no time now to draw up one; therefore immediately take post-horses, and with some of your servants, make what haste you can to that city. if noor ad deen is no longer alive, but put to death by them, order the vizier saouy to be impaled; but if he is living, bring him to me with the king and the vizier." the grand vizier stayed no longer than just to get on horseback; and being attended by a great train of officers belonging to his household departed for bussorah, where he arrived in the manner and at the time already mentioned. as soon as he came to the palace-yard, the people cleared the way for him, crying out, "a pardon for noor ad deen!" and with his whole train he rode into the palace, even to the very stairs, where he alighted. the king of bussorah, knowing him to be the caliph's chief minister, went to meet him, and received him at the entrance of his apartment. the first question the vizier asked was, if noor ad deen was living? and if he was, he desired that he might be sent for. the king made answer, he was alive, and gave orders to have him brought in. accordingly he soon made his appearance as he was, bound with cords. the grand vizier jaaffier caused him to be unbound, and setting him at liberty, ordered the vizier saouy to be seized, and bound him with the same cords. the grand vizier remained but one night at bussorah; and, according to the order he had received, carried saouy, the king of bussorah, and noor ad deen, along with him. upon his arrival at bagdad, he presented them to the caliph: and after he had given him an account of his journey, and particularly the miserable condition in which he found noor ad deen, and his ill-usage by the advice and malice of saony, the caliph desired noor ad deen to behead the vizier himself. "commander of the true believers," said the generous youth, "notwithstanding the injury this wicked man has done me, and the mischief he endeavoured to do my deceased father, i should think myself the basest of mankind if i stained my hands with his blood." the caliph was pleased with his generosity, and ordered justice to be done by the executioner. the caliph would fain have sent noor ad deen to bussorah as king: but he humbly begged to be excused from accepting the offer. "commander of the true believers," said noor ad deen, "the city of bussorah, after the misfortunes that have happened to me there, will be so much my aversion, that i beseech your majesty to give me leave to keep the oath which i have made, of never returning thither again; and i shall think it my greatest glory to serve near your royal person, if you are pleased to allow me the honour." the caliph consented; and placing him among the number of those courtiers who were his greatest favourites, restored the fair persian to him again. to all these favours he added a plentiful fortune; and he and the fair persian lived together thenceforth, with all the happiness this world could afford. as for the king of bussorah, the caliph contented himself with hinting how careful he ought to be in the choice of his viziers, and sent him back to his kingdom. end of volume . the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume iii. the story of beder, prince of persia, and jehaunara, prince of samandal, or summunder the history of prince zeyn alasnam and the sultan of the genii the history of codadad, and his brothers the history of the princess of deryabar the story of abu hassan, or the sleeper awakened the story of alla ad deen; or, the wonderful lamp adventure of the caliph haroon al rusheed the story of baba abdoollah the story of syed naomaun the story of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul the story of ali aba and the forty robbers destroyed by a slave the story of ali khujeh, a merchant of bagdad the story of beder, prince of persia, and jehaun-ara, princess of samandal, or summunder. persia was an empire of such vast extent, that its ancient monarchs, not without reason, assumed the haughty title of king of kings. for not to mention those subdued by their arms, there were kingdoms and provinces whose kings were not only tributary, but also in as great subjection as governors in other nations are to the monarchs. one of these kings, who in the beginning of his reign had signalized himself by many glorious and successful conquests, enjoyed so profound a peace and tranquillity, as rendered him the happiest of princes. the only point in which he thought himself unfortunate was, that amongst all his wives, not one had brought him a son; and being now far advanced in years, he was desirous of an heir. he had above a hundred ladies, all lodged in separate apartments, with women-slaves to wait upon and eunuchs to guard them; yet, notwithstanding all his endeavours to please their taste, and anticipate their wishes, there was not one that answered his expectation. he had women frequently brought him from the most remote countries; and if they pleased him, he not only gave the merchants their full price, but loaded them with honours and benedictions, in hopes that at last he might be so happy as to meet with one by whom he might have a son. there was scarcely an act of charity but he performed, to prevail with heaven. he gave immense sums to the poor, besides large donations to the religious; building for their use many noble colleges richly endowed, in hopes of obtaining by their prayers what he so earnestly desired. one day, according to the custom of his royal predecessors, during their residence in their capital, he held an assembly of his courtiers, at which all the ambassadors and strangers of quality about the court were present; and where they not only entertained one another with news and politics, but also by conversing on the sciences, history, poetry, literature, and whatever else was capable of diverting the mind. on that day a eunuch came to acquaint him with the arrival of a certain merchant from a distant country, who, having brought a slave with him, desired leave to shew her to his majesty. "give him admittance instantly," said the king, "and after the assembly is over i will talk with him." the merchant was introduced, and seated in a convenient place, from whence he might easily have a full view of the king, and hear him talk familiarly to those that stood near his person. the king observed this rule to all strangers, in order that by degrees they might grow acquainted with him; so that, when they saw with what freedom and civility he addressed himself to all, they might be encouraged to talk to him in the same manner, without being abashed at the pomp and splendour of his appearance, which was enough to deprive those of their power of speech who were not used to it. he treated the ambassadors also after the same manner. he ate with them, and during the repast asked them several questions concerning their health, their journey, and the peculiarities of their country. after they had been thus encouraged, he gave them audience. when the assembly was over, and all the company had retired, the merchant, who was the only person left, fell prostrate before the king's throne, with his face to the earth, wishing his majesty an accomplishment of all his desires as soon as he arose, the king asked him if the report of his having brought a slave for him was true, and whether she were handsome. "sire," replied the merchant, "i doubt not but your majesty has many very beautiful women, since you search every corner of the earth for them; but i may boldly affirm, without overvaluing my merchandise, that you never yet saw a woman that could stand in competition with her for shape and beauty, agreeable qualifications, and all the perfections that she is mistress of." "where is she?" demanded the king; "bring her to me instantly." "sire," replied the merchant, "i have delivered her into the hands of one of your chief eunuchs; and your majesty may send for her at your pleasure." the fair slave was immediately brought in; and no sooner had the king cast his eyes on her, but he was charmed with her beautiful and easy shape. he went directly into a closet, and was followed by the merchant and a few eunuchs. the fair slave wore, over her face, a red satin veil striped with gold; and when the merchant had taken it off, the king of persia beheld a female that surpassed in beauty, not only his present ladies, but all that he had ever had before. he immediately fell passionately in love with her, and desired the merchant to name his price. "sire," said he, "i gave a thousand pieces of gold to the person of whom i bought her; and in my three years' journey to your court, i reckon i have spent as much more: but i shall forbear setting any price to so great a monarch; and therefore, if your majesty likes her, i humbly beg you would accept of her as a present." "i am highly obliged to you," replied the king; "but it is never my custom to treat merchants, who come hither for my pleasure, in so ungenerous a manner; i am going to order thee ten thousand pieces of gold; will that be sufficient?" "sire," answered the merchant, "i should have esteemed myself happy in your majesty's acceptance of her; yet i dare not refuse so generous an offer. i will not fail to publish your liberality in my own country, and in every place through which i may pass." the money was paid; and before he departed, the king made him put on a rich suit of cloth of gold. the king caused the fair slave to be lodged in the apartment next his own, and gave particular orders to the matrons, and the female slaves appointed to attend her, that after bathing they should dress her in the richest habit they could find, and carry her the finest pearl necklaces, the brightest diamonds, and other richest precious stones, that she might choose those she liked best. the officious matrons, whose only care was to please the king, were astonished at her beauty; and being good judges, they told his majesty, that if he would allow them but three days, they would engage to make her so much handsomer than she was at present, that he would scarcely know her again. the king could hardly prevail with himself to delay so long the pleasure of seeing her, but at last he consented. the king of persia's capital was situated in an island; and his palace, which was very magnificent, was built on the shore: his apartment looked on the water; the fair slave's, which was near it, had also the same prospect, and was the more agreeable, on account of the sea's beating almost against the walls. at the three days' end, the fair slave, magnificently dressed, was alone in her chamber, sitting on a sofa, and leaning against one of the windows that faced the sea, when the king, being informed that he might visit her, came in. the slave, hearing somebody walk in the room with an air quite different from that of the female slaves, who had hitherto attended her, immediately turned her head about to see who it was. she knew him to be the king, but without discovering the least surprise, or so much as rising from her seat to salute or receive him, as if he had been the most indifferent person in the world, she put herself in the same posture again. the king of persia was extremely surprised to see a slave of so beauteous a form so ignorant of the world. he attributed this to the narrowness of her education, and the little care that had been taken to instruct her in the first rules of civility. he went to her at the window, where, notwithstanding the coldness and indifference with which she had received him, she suffered herself to be admired, caressed, and embraced, as much as he pleased. in the midst of these amorous embraces and tender endearments, the king paused awhile, to gaze upon, or rather to devour her with his eyes. "my lovely fair one! my charmer!" exclaimed he; "whence came you, and where do those happy parents live who brought into the world so surprising a masterpiece of nature? how do i love thee, and shall always continue to do. never did i feel for a woman what i now feel for you; and though i have seen, and every day behold a vast number of beauties, yet never did my eyes contemplate so many charms in one person--charms which have so transported me, that i shall entirely devote myself to you. my dearest life," continued he, "you neither answer, nor by any visible token give me the least reason to believe that you are sensible of the demonstrations i have given you of the ardour of my passion; neither will you turn your eyes on me, to afford mine the pleasure of meeting them, and to convince you that it is impossible to love in a higher degree than i do you. why will you still preserve this obstinate silence, which chills me, and whence proceeds the seriousness, or rather sorrow, that torments me to the soul? do you mourn for your country, your friends or your relations? alas! is not the king of persia, who loves and adores you, capable of comforting you, and making you amends for every loss?" notwithstanding all the protestations of love the king of persia made the fair slave, and all he could say to induce her to speak to him, she remained unaltered; and keeping her eyes still fixed upon the ground, would neither look at him, nor utter a word. the king of persia, delighted with the purchase he had made of a slave that pleased him so well, pressed her no farther, in hopes that by treating her kindly he might prevail upon her to change her behaviour. he clapped his hands; and the women who waited in an outward room entered: he commanded them to bring in supper. when it was arranged, "my love," said he to the slave, "come hither and sup with me." she rose from her seat; and being seated opposite the king, his majesty helped her, before he began eating himself; and did so of every dish during supper. the slave ate as well as the king, but still with downcast eyes, and without speaking a word; though he often asked her how she liked the entertainment, and whether it was dressed according to her taste. the king, willing to change the conversation, asked her what her name was, how she liked the clothes and the jewels she had on, what she thought of her apartment and the rich furniture, and whether the prospect of the sea was not very agreeable? but to all these questions she made no reply; so that the king was at a loss what to think of her silence. he imagined at first, that she might perhaps be dumb: "but then," said he to himself, "can it be possible that heaven should forge a creature so beautiful, so perfect, and so accomplished, and at the same time with so great an imperfection? were it however so, i could not love her with less passion than i do." when the king of persia rose, he washed his hands on one side, while the fair slave washed hers on the other. he took that opportunity to ask the woman who held the basin and napkin, if ever they had heard her speak. one of them replied, "sire, we have neither seen her open her lips, nor heard her speak any more than your majesty has; we have rendered her our services in the bath; we have dressed her head, put on her clothes, and waited upon her in her chamber; but she has never opened her lips, so much as to say, that is well, or i like this. we have often asked her, "madam, do you want anything? is there anything you wish for? do but ask, and command us," but we have never been able to draw a word from her. we cannot tell whether her sorrow proceeds from pride, sorrow, stupidity, or dumbness." the king was more astonished at hearing this than he had been before: however, believing the slave might have some cause of sorrow, he was willing to endeavour to divert and amuse her. accordingly he appointed a very splendid assembly, which all the ladies of the court attended; and those who were skilful in playing upon musical instruments performed their parts, while others sung or danced, or did both together: they played at all sorts of games, which much diverted the king. the fair slave was the only person who took no pleasure in these attempts to amuse her; she never moved from her place, but remained with her eyes fixed on the ground with so much indifference, that all the ladies were not less surprised than the king. after the assembly was over, every one retired to her apartment; and the king was left alone with the fair slave. the next morning the king of persia rose more pleased than he had been with all the women he had seen before, and more enamoured with the fair slave than ever. indeed, he soon made it appear, by resolving henceforth to attach himself to her alone; and performed his resolution. on the same day he dismissed all his other women, giving every one of them their jewels, and other valuables, besides a considerable fortune, with free leave to marry whom they thought fit; and only kept the matrons and a few other elderly women to wait upon the fair slave. however, for a whole year together, she never afforded him the pleasure of one single word; yet the king continued his assiduities to please her, and to give her the most signal proofs of sincere love. after the expiration of the year, the king sitting one day by his mistress, protested to her that his love, instead of being diminished, grew every day more violent. "my queen," said he, "i cannot divine what your thoughts are; but nothing is more true, and i swear to you, that having the happiness of possessing you, there remains nothing for me to desire. i esteem my kingdom, great as it is, less than an atom, when i have the pleasure of beholding you, and of telling you a thousand times that i adore you. i desire not that my words alone should oblige you to believe me. surely you can no longer doubt of my devotion to you after the sacrifice which i have made to your beauty of so many women, whom i before kept in my palace. you may remember it is about a year since i sent them all away; and i as little repent of it now, as i did the moment of their departure; and i never shall repent. nothing would be wanting to complete my happiness and crown my joy, would you but speak one single word to me, by which i might be assured that you thought yourself at all obliged. but how can you speak to me if you are dumb? and alas! i feel but too apprehensive that this is the case. how can i doubt, since you still torment me with silence, after having for a whole year in vain supplicated you to speak? if it is possible for me to obtain of you that consolation, may heaven at least grant me the blessing of a son by you, to succeed me. i every day find myself growing old, and i begin already to want one to assist me in bearing the weight of my crown. still i cannot conceal the desire i have of hearing you speak; for something within me tells me you are not dumb: and i beseech, i conjure you, dear madam, to break through this long silence, and speak but one word to me; after that i care not how soon i die." at this discourse the fair slave, who, according to her usual custom, had hearkened to the king with downcast eyes, and had given him cause to believe not only that she was dumb, but that she had never laughed, began to smile. the king of persia perceived it with a surprise that made him break forth into an exclamation of joy; and no longer doubting but that she was going to speak, he waited for that happy moment with an eagerness and attention that cannot easily be expressed. at last the fair slave thus addressed herself to the king: "sire, i have so many things to say to your majesty, that, having once broken silence, i know not where to begin. however, in the first place, i think myself bound to thank you for all the favours and honours you have been pleased to confer upon me, and to implore heaven to bless and prosper you, to prevent the wicked designs of your enemies, and not suffer you to die after hearing me speak, but to grant you a long life. after this, sire, i cannot give you greater satisfaction than by acquainting you that i am with child; and i wish, as you do, it may be a son. had it never been my fortune to be pregnant, i was resolved (i beg your majesty to pardon the sincerity of my intention) never to have loved you, and to have kept an eternal silence; but now i love you as i ought to do." the king of persia, ravished to hear the fair slave not only speak, but tell him tidings in which he was so nearly concerned, embraced her tenderly. "staining light of my eyes," said he, "it is impossible for me to receive greater delight than you have now given me: you have spoken to me, and you have declared your being with child, which i did not expect. after these two occasions of joy i am transported out of myself." the king of persia, in the transport of his feelings, said no more to the fair slave. he left her, but in such a manner as made her perceive his intention was speedily to return: and being willing that the occasion of his joys should be made public, he declared it to his officers, and sent for the grand vizier. as soon as he came, he ordered him to distribute a thousand pieces of gold among the holy men of his religion, who made vows of poverty; as also among the hospitals and the poor, by way of returning thanks to heaven: and his will was obeyed by the direction of that minister. after the king of persia had given this order, he returned to the fair slave again. "madam," said he, "pardon me for leaving you so abruptly, since you have been the occasion of it; but i hope you will indulge me with some conversation, since i am desirous to know of you several things of much greater consequence. tell me, my dearest soul, what were the powerful reasons that induced you to persist in that obstinate silence for a whole year together, though every day you saw me, heard me talk to you, ate and drank with me, and every night slept with me? i shall pass by your not speaking; but how you could carry yourself so as that i could never discover whether you were sensible of what i said to you or no, i confess, surpasses my understanding; and i cannot yet comprehend how you could contain yourself so long; therefore i must conclude the occasion of it to be very extraordinary." "to satisfy the king of persia's curiosity," replied the lady, "think whether or no to be a slave, far from my own country, without any hopes of ever seeing it again, to have a heart torn with grief, at being separated forever from my mother, my brother, my friends, and my acquaintance, are not these sufficient reasons for the silence your majesty has thought so strange and unaccountable?" "the love of our native country is as natural to us as that of our parents; and the loss of liberty is insupportable to everyone who is not wholly destitute of common sense, and knows how to set a value on it. the body indeed may be enslaved, and under the subjection of a master, who has the power and authority in his hands; the will can never be conquered, but remains free and unconfined, depending on itself alone, as your majesty has found in my case; and it is a wonder that i have not followed the example of many unfortunate wretches, whom the loss of liberty has reduced to the melancholy resolution of procuring their own deaths in a thousand ways, by a liberty which cannot be taken from them." "madam," replied the king, "i am convinced of the truth of what you say; but till this moment i was of opinion, that a person beautiful, of good understanding, like yourself, whom her evil destiny had condemned to be a slave, ought to think herself very happy in meeting with a king for her master." "sire," replied the lady, "whatever the slave be, as i have already observed to your majesty, there is no king on earth can tyrannize over her will. when indeed you speak of a slave mistress of charms sufficient to captivate a monarch, and induce him to love her; if she be of a rank infinitely below him, i am of your opinion, she ought to think herself happy in her misfortunes: still what happiness can it be, when she considers herself only as a slave, torn from a parent's arms, and perhaps from those of a lover, her passion for whom death only can extinguish; but when this very slave is in nothing inferior to the king who has purchased her, your majesty shall judge yourself of the rigour of her destiny, her misery and her sorrow, and to what desperate attempts the anguish of despair may drive her." the king of persia, astonished at this discourse, "madam," said he, "can it be possible that you are of royal blood, as by your words you seem to intimate? explain the whole secret to me, i beseech you, and no longer augment my impatience. let me instantly know who are the happy parents of so great a prodigy of beauty; who are your brothers, your sisters, and your relations; but, above all, tell me your name?" "sire," said the fair slave, "my name is gulnare of the sea: and my father, who is dead, was one of the most potent monarchs of the ocean. when he died, he left his kingdom to a brother of mine, named saleh, and to the queen, my mother, who is also a princess, the daughter of another puissant monarch of the sea. we enjoyed profound peace and tranquillity through the whole kingdom, till a neighbouring prince, envious of our happiness, invaded our dominions with a mighty army; and penetrating as far as our capital, made himself master of it; and we had but just time to save ourselves in an impenetrable and inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers, who did not forsake us in our distress. "in this retreat my brother was not negligent in contriving means to drive the unjust invaders from our dominions. one day taking me into his closet, 'sister,' said he, 'the events of the smallest undertakings are always dubious. for my own part, i may fail in the attempt i design to make to recover my kingdom; and i shall be less concerned for my own disgrace than what may possibly happen to you. to secure you from all accident, i would fain see you married. but in the present miserable condition of our affairs, i see no probability of matching you to any of the princes of the sea; and therefore i should be glad if you would concur in my opinion, and think of marrying one of the princes of the earth. i am ready to contribute all that lies in my power towards accomplishing this; and am certain there is not one of them, however powerful, but, considering your beauty, would be proud of sharing his crown with you.' "at this discourse of my brother's, i fell into a violent passion. 'brother,' said i, 'you know that i am descended, as well as you, from the kings and queens of the sea, without any mixture of alliance with those of the earth; therefore i do not design to marry below myself, and i have taken an oath to that effect. the condition to which we are reduced shall never oblige me to alter my resolution; and if you perish in the execution of your design, i am prepared to fall with you, rather than follow the advice i so little expected from you.' "my brother, who was still earnest for my marriage, however improper for me, endeavoured to make me believe that there were kings of the earth who were no ways inferior to those of the sea. this put me into a more violent passion, which occasioned him to say several bitter reflecting things, that nettled me to the quick. he left me, as much dissatisfied with myself as he could possibly be with me; and in this peevish mood i gave a spring from the bottom of the sea up to the island of the moon. "notwithstanding the violent discontent that made me cast myself upon that island, i lived content in retirement. but in spite of all my precautions, a person of distinction, attended by his servants, surprised me sleeping, and carried me to his own house. he expressed much love to me, and omitted nothing which he thought might induce me to return his passion. when he saw that fair means would not prevail upon me, he attempted to use force: but i soon made him repent of his insolence. he resolved to sell me, which he did to the merchant who brought me hither, and sold me to your majesty. he was a prudent, courteous, humane man; and during the whole of the long journey, never gave me the least reason to complain. "as for your majesty," continued the princess gulnare, "if you had not shown me all the respect you have hitherto done (for which i am extremely obliged to your goodness), and given me such undeniable marks of your affection, that i can no longer doubt of it; if you had not immediately sent away your women; i hesitate not to tell you, that i should not have remained with you. i would have thrown myself into the sea out of this window, where you accosted me when you first came into this apartment; and have gone in search of my mother, my brother, and the rest of my relations. i should have persisted in that design, and would have put it in execution, if after a certain time i had found myself deceived in the hopes of being with child; but in the condition i am in, all i could say to my mother or my brother would never convince them that i have been a slave to a king like your majesty. they would never believe it, but would for ever upbraid me with the crime i have voluntarily committed against my honour. however, sire, be it a prince or princess that i may bring into the world, it will be a pledge to engage me never to be parted from your majesty; and therefore i hope you will no longer regard me as a slave, but as a princess worthy your alliance." in this manner the princess gulnare discovered herself to the king of persia, and finished her story. "my charming, my adorable princess," cried he, "what wonders have i heard! and what ample matter for my curiosity, to ask a thousand questions concerning those strange and unheard of things which you have related! but first, i ought to thank you for your goodness and patience in making trial of the truth and constancy of my passion. i thought it impossible for me to love you more than i did; but since i know you to be a princess, i love you a thousand times more. princess! did i say, madam? you are no longer so; but you are my queen, the queen of persia; and by that title you shall soon be proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom. to-morrow the ceremony shall be performed in my capital with a pomp and magnificence never yet beheld; which will plainly shew that you are my queen and my lawful wife. this should long ago have been done, had you sooner convinced me of my error: for from the first moment of my seeing you, i have been of the same opinion as now, to love you always, and never to place my affections on any other. "but that i may satisfy myself, and pay you all the respect that is your due, i beseech you, madam, to inform me more particularly of the kingdom and people of the sea, who are altogether unknown to me. i have heard much talk, indeed, of the inhabitants of the sea, but i always looked upon such accounts merely as tales or fables; by what you have told me, i am convinced there is nothing more true; and i have a proof of it in your own person, who are one of them, and are pleased to condescend to be my wife; which is an honour no other inhabitant on the earth can boast. there is one point however which yet perplexes me; therefore i must beg the favour of you to explain it; that is, i cannot comprehend how it is possible for you to live or move in water without being drowned. there are few amongst us who have the art of staying under water; and they would surely perish, if, after a certain time, according to their activity and strength, they did not come up again." "sire," replied the queen gulnare, "i shall with pleasure satisfy the king of persia. we can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon land; and we can breathe in the water as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it absolutely contributes to the preservation of our lives. what is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our clothes; so that when we wish to visit the earth, we have no occasion to dry them. our language is the same with that of the writing engraved upon the seal of the great prophet solomon the son of david. "i must not forget to inform you further, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing: for we can open our eyes without any inconvenience: and as we have quick, piercing sight, we can discern any objects as clearly in the deepest part of the sea as upon land. we have also there a succession of day and night; the moon affords us her light; and even the planets and the stars appear visible to us. i have already spoken of our kingdoms; but as the sea is much more spacious than the earth, so there are a great number of them, and of great extent. they are divided into provinces; and in each province are several great cities well peopled. in short there is an infinite number of nations differing in manners and customs, as they do on the earth. "the palaces of the kings and princes are sumptuous and magnificent. some of them are constructed of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, with which the sea abounds, mother of pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones are more plentiful there than on earth. i say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever were seen upon earth would not be valued amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them. "as we have a marvellous and incredible agility to transport ourselves whither we please in the twinkling of an eye, we have no occasion for carriages or horses; not but the king has his stables and his stud of sea horses; but they are seldom used, except upon public feasts or rejoicing days. some, after they have trained them, take delight in riding and shewing their skill and dexterity in races; others put them to chariots of mother of pearl, adorned with an infinite number of shells of all sorts, of the liveliest colours. these chariots are open; and in the middle is a throne on which the king sits, and shows himself to the public view of his subjects. the horses are trained to draw by themselves; so that there is no occasion for a charioteer to guide them. i pass over a thousand other curious particulars relating to these submarine countries, which would be very entertaining to your majesty; but you must permit me to defer them to a future opportunity, to speak of something of much greater consequence, which is, that the method of delivering, and the way of managing the women of the sea in their lying-in, is very different from those of the women of the earth; and i am afraid to trust myself in the hands of the midwives of this country: therefore, since my safe delivery equally concerns us both, with your majesty's permission, i think it proper, for greater security, to send for my mother and my cousins, to assist at my labour; at the same time to desire the king my brother's company, to whom i have a great desire to be reconciled. they will be glad to see me again, when they understand i am wife to the mighty king of persia. i beseech your majesty to give me leave to send for them. i am sure they will be happy to pay their respects to you; and i venture to say you will be pleased to see them." "madam," replied the king of persia, "you are mistress; do whatever you please; i will endeavour to receive them with all the honours they deserve. but i would fain know how you will acquaint them with what you desire, and when they will arrive, that i may give orders to make preparation for their reception, and go myself in person to meet them." "sire," replied the queen gulnare, "there is no need of these ceremonies; they will be here in a moment; and if your majesty will but step into the closet, and look through the lattice, you shall see the manner of their arrival." as soon as the king of persia was in the closet, queen gulnare ordered one of her women to bring her a fire-pan with a little fire. after that she bade her retire, and shut the door. when she was alone, she took a piece of aloes-wood out of a box, and put it into the fire-pan. as soon as she saw the smoke rise, she repeated some words unknown to the king of persia, who observed with great attention all that she did. she had no sooner ended, than the sea began to be disturbed. the closet the king was in was so contrived, that looking through the lattice on the same side with the windows that faced the sea, he could plainly perceive it. at length the sea opened at some distance; and presently there arose out of it a tall, handsome young man, with whiskers of a sea-green colour; a little behind him, a lady, advanced in years, but of a majestic air, attended by five young ladies, nothing inferior in beauty to the queen gulnare. queen gulnare immediately came to one of the windows, and saw the king her brother, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, who at the same time perceived her also. the company advanced, supported, as it were, upon the waves. when they came to the edge, they nimbly, one after another, sprung in at the window. king saleh, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, embraced her tenderly on their first entrance, with tears in their eyes. after queen gulnare had received them with all imaginable honour, and made them sit down upon a sofa, the queen her mother addressed herself to her: "daughter," said she, "i am overjoyed to see you again after so long an absence; and i am confident that your brother and your relations are no less so. your leaving us without acquainting any one with your intention, involved us in inexpressible concern; and it is impossible to tell you how many tears we have shed on your account. we know of no reason that could induce you to take such a resolution, but what your brother related to us respecting the conversation that passed between him and you. the advice he gave you seemed to him at that time advantageous for settling you in the world, and suitable to the then posture of our affairs. if you had not approved of his proposal, you ought not to have been so much alarmed; and give me leave to tell you, you took his advice in a different light from what you ought to have done. but no more of this; it serves only to renew the occasion of our sorrow and complaint, which we and you ought to bury forever in oblivion; give us now an account of all that has happened to you since we saw you last, and of your present situation, but especially let us know if you are married." gulnare immediately threw herself at her mother's feet, and kissing her hand, "madam," said she, "i own i have been guilty of a fault, and i am indebted to your goodness for the pardon which you are pleased to grant me. what i am going to say, in obedience to your commands, will soon convince you, that it is often in vain for us to have an aversion for certain measures; i have myself experienced that the only thing i had an abhorrence to, is that to which my destiny has led me." she then related the whole of what had befallen her since she quitted the sea for the earth. as soon as she had concluded, and acquainted them with her having been sold to the king of persia, in whose palace she was at present; "sister," said the king her brother, "you have been wrong to suffer so many indignities, but you can properly blame nobody but yourself; you have it in your power now to free yourself, and i cannot but admire your patience, that you could endure so long a slavery. rise, and return with us into my kingdom, which i have reconquered from the proud usurper who had made himself master of it." the king of persia, who heard these words from the closet where he stood, was in the utmost alarm; "ah!" said he to himself, "i am ruined, and if my queen, my gulnare, hearken to this advice, and leave me, i shall surely die, for it is impossible for me to live without her." queen gulnare soon put him out of his fears. "brother," said she smiling, "what i have just heard gives me a greater proof than ever of the sincerity of your affection; i could not brook your proposing to me a match with a prince of the earth: now i can scarcely forbear being angry with you for advising me to break the engagement i have made with the most puissant and most renowned monarch in the world. i do not speak here of an engagement between a slave and her master; it would be easy to return the ten thousand pieces of gold he gave for me; but i speak now of a contract between a wife and a husband--and a wife who has not the least reason to complain. he is a religious, wise, and temperate king, and has given me the most essential demonstrations of his love. what can be a greater proof of the sincerity of his passion, than sending away all his women (of which he had a great number) immediately upon my arrival, and confining himself to me alone? i am now his wife, and he has lately declared me queen of persia, to share with him in his councils; besides, i am pregnant, and if heaven permit me to give him a son, that will be another motive to engage my affections to him the more." "so that, brother," continued the queen gulnare, "instead of following your advice, you see i have all the reason in the world, not only to love the king of persia as passionately as he loves me, but also to live and die with him, more out of gratitude than duty. i hope then neither my mother, nor you, nor any of my cousins, will disapprove of the resolution or the alliance i have made, which will do equal honour to the kings of the sea and earth. excuse me for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep, to communicate it to you; and to enjoy the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation." "sister," replied king saleh, "the proposal i made you of going back with us into my kingdom, upon the recital of your adventures (which i could not hear without concern), was only to let you see how much we all love you, and how much i in particular honour you, and that nothing is so dear to me as your happiness. upon the same account then, for my own part, i cannot condemn a resolution so reasonable and so worthy of yourself, after what you have told us of the king of persia your husband, and the great obligations you owe him; and i am persuaded that the queen our mother will be of the same opinion." the queen confirmed what her son had spoken, and addressing herself to gulnare, said, "i am glad to hear you are pleased; and i have nothing to add to what your brother has said. i should have been the first to condemn you, had you not expressed all the gratitude you owe to a monarch that loves you so passionately." as the king of persia had been extremely concerned under the apprehension of losing his beloved queen, so now he was transported with joy at her resolution never to forsake him; and having no room to doubt of her love after so open a declaration, he resolved to evince his gratitude in every possible way. while the king was indulging incredible pleasure, queen gulnare clapped her hands, and immediately some of her slaves entered, whom she had ordered to bring in a collation: as soon as it was served up, she invited the queen her mother, the king her brother, and her cousins to partake. they began to reflect that they were in the palace of a mighty king, who had never seen or heard of them, and that it would be rudeness to eat at his table without him. this reflection raised a blush in their faces, and in their emotion, their eyes glowing like fire, they breathed flames at their mouths and nostrils. this unexpected sight put the king of persia, who was totally ignorant of the cause of it, into a dreadful consternation. queen gulnare, suspecting this, and understanding the intention of her relations, rose from her seat, and told them she would be back in a moment. she went directly to the closet, and by her presence recovered the king of persia from his surprise; "sir," said she, "i doubt not but that your majesty is well pleased with the acknowledgment i have made of the many favours for which i am indebted to you. i might have complied with the wishes of my relations, and gone back with them into their dominions; but i am not capable of such ingratitude, for which i should have been the first to condemn myself." "ah! my queen," cried the king of persia, "speak no more of your obligations to me; you have none; i am under so many to you, that i shall never be able to repay them. i never thought it possible you could have loved me so tenderly as you do, and as you have made appear to me in the most endearing manner." "ah! sir," replied gulnare "could i do less? i fear i have not done enough, considering all the honours that your majesty has heaped upon me; and it is impossible for me to remain insensible of your love, after so many convincing proofs as you have given me." "but, sir," continued gulnare, "let us drop this subject, and give me leave to assure you of the sincere friendship the queen my mother and the king my brother are pleased to honour you with; they earnestly desire to see you, and tell you so themselves: i intended to have had some conversation with them by ordering a banquet for them, before i introduced them to your majesty; but they are impatient to pay their respects to you; and therefore i beseech your majesty to be pleased to honour them with your presence." "madam," said the king of persia, "i should be glad to salute persons who have the honour to be so nearly related to you, but i am afraid of the flames they breathe at their mouths and nostrils." "sir," replied the queen laughing, "you need not in the least fear those flames, which are nothing but a sign of their unwillingness to eat in your palace, without your honouring them with your presence, and eating with them." the king of persia, encouraged by these words, rose and went into the apartment with his queen gulnare she presented him to the queen her mother, to the king her brother, and to her other relations; who instantly threw themselves at his feet, with their faces to the ground. the king of persia ran to them, and lifting them up, embraced them one after another. after they were all seated, king saleh began: "sir;" said he to the king of persia, "we are at a loss for words to express our joy, to think that the queen my sister, in her disgrace, should have the happiness of falling under the protection of so powerful a monarch. we can assure you, she is not unworthy of the high rank to which you have been pleased to raise her; and we have always had so much love and tenderness for her, that we could never think or parting with her to any of the puissant princes of the sea, who have often demanded her in marriage before she came of age. heaven has reserved her for you, and we have no better way of testifying our gratitude for the favour it has done her, than beseeching it to grant your majesty a long and happy life with her, and to crown you with prosperity and satisfaction. "certainly," replied the king of persia, "heaven reserved her for me, as you observe. i love her with so tender and ardent a passion, that i am satisfied i never loved any woman till i saw her. i cannot sufficiently thank either the queen her mother or you, prince, or your whole family, for the generosity with which you have consented to receive me into an alliance so glorious to me as yours." so saying he invited them to take part of the collation, and he and his queen sat down with them. after the collation, the king of persia conversed with them till it was very late; and when they thought it convenient to retire, he waited upon them himself to the several apartments he had ordered to be prepared for them. the king of persia treated his illustrious guests with continual feasts; in which he omitted nothing that might shew his grandeur and magnificence, and insensibly prevailed with them to stay with him till the queen was brought to bed. when the time of her lying-in drew near, he gave particular orders that nothing should be wanting proper for such an occasion. at length she was brought to bed of a son, to the great joy of the queen her mother, who assisted at the labour, and presented him to the king. the king of persia received this present with a joy easier to be imagined than expressed. the young prince being of a beautiful countenance, he thought no name so proper for him as that of beder, which in the arabian language signifies the full moon. to return thanks to heaven, he was very liberal in his alms to the poor, caused the prison doors to be set open, and gave all his slaves of both sexes their liberty. he distributed vast sums among the ministers and holy men of his religion. he also gave large donations to his courtiers, besides a considerable sum that was thrown amongst the people; and by proclamation, ordered rejoicings to be kept for several days through the whole city. one day, after the queen was recovered, as the king of persia, gulnare, the queen her mother, king saleh her brother, and the princesses their relations, were discoursing together in her majesty's bed-chamber, the nurse came in with the young prince beder in her arms. king saleh as soon as he saw him, ran to embrace him, and taking him in his arms, kissed and caressed him with the greatest demonstrations of tenderness. he took several turns with him about the room, dancing and tossing him about, when all of a sudden, through a transport of joy, the window being open, he sprung out, and plunged with him into the sea. the king of persia, who expected no such sight, believing he should either see the prince his son no more, or else that he should see him drowned, was overwhelmed in affliction. "sir," said queen gulnare (with a quiet and undisturbed countenance, the better to comfort him), "let your majesty fear nothing; the young prince is my son as well as yours, and i do not love him less than yourself. you see i am not alarmed; neither in truth ought i to be. he runs no risk, and you will soon see the king his uncle appear with him again, and bring him back safe. although he be born of your blood, he is equally of mine, and will have the same advantage his uncle and i possess, of living equally in the sea, and upon the land." the queen his mother and the princesses his relations affirmed the same thing; yet all they said had no effect on the king, who could not recover from his alarm till he again saw prince beder. the sea at length became troubled, when immediately king saleh arose with the young prince in his arms, and holding him up in the air, reentered at the window from which he had leaped. the king of persia being overjoyed to see prince beder again, and astonished that he was as calm as before he lost sight of him; king saleh said, "sir, was not your majesty in alarm, when you first saw me plunge into the sea with the prince my nephew?" "alas prince," answered the king of persia, "i cannot express my concern. i thought him lost from that very moment, and you now restore life to me by bringing him again." "i thought as much," replied king saleh, "though you had not the least reason to apprehend danger; for before i plunged into the sea, i pronounced over him certain mysterious words, which were engraved on the seal of the great solomon the son of david. we practise the like in relation to all those children that are born in the regions at the bottom of the sea, by virtue whereof they receive the same privileges as we have over those people who inhabit the earth. from what your majesty has observed, you may easily see what advantage your son prince beder has acquired by his birth on the part of his mother gulnare my sister: for as long as he lives, and as often as he pleases, he will be at liberty to plunge into the sea, and traverse the vast empires it contains in its bosom." having so spoken, king saleh, who had restored prince beder to his nurse's arms, opened a box he had fetched from his palace in the little time he had disappeared, which was filled with three hundred diamonds, as large as pigeons' eggs; a like number of rubies of extraordinary size; as many emerald wands, each half a foot long, and thirty strings or necklaces of pearl consisting each of ten feet. "sir," said he to the king of persia, presenting him with this box, "when i was first summoned by the queen my sister, i knew not what part of the earth she was in, or that she had the honour to be married to so great a monarch. this made us come without a present. as we cannot express how much we have been obliged to your majesty, i beg you to accept this small token of gratitude in acknowledgment of the many favours you have been pleased to shew her, wherein we take equal interest." it is impossible to express how greatly the king of persia was surprised at the sight of so much riches, enclosed in so little compass. "what! prince," cried he, "do you call so inestimable a present a small token of your gratitude, when you never have been indebted to me? i declare once more you have never been in the least obliged to me, neither the queen your mother nor you. i esteem myself but too happy in the consent you have given to the alliance i have contracted with you. madam," continued he, turning to gulnare, "the king your brother has put me into the greatest confusion; and i would beg of him to permit me to refuse his present, were i not afraid of disobliging him: do you therefore endeavour to obtain his leave that i may be excused accepting it." "sir," replied king saleh, "i am not at all surprised that your majesty thinks this present so extraordinary. i know you are not accustomed upon earth to see precious stones of this quality and number: but if you knew, as i do, the mines whence these jewels were taken, and that it is in my power to form a treasure greater than those of all the kings of the earth, you would wonder we should have the boldness to make you so small a present. i beseech you therefore not to regard its trifling value, but consider the sincere friendship which obliges us to offer it to you, and not give us the mortification of refusing it." these engaging expressions obliged the king of persia to accept the present, for which he returned many thanks both to king saleh and the queen his mother. a few days after, king saleh gave the king of persia to understand, that the queen his mother, the princesses his relations, and himself, could have no greater pleasure than to spend their whole lives at his court; but that having been so long absent from their own kingdom, where their presence was absolutely necessary, they begged of him to excuse them if they took leave of him and queen gulnare. the king of persia assured them, he was sorry it was not in his power to return their visit in their own dominions; but added, "as i am persuaded you will not forget gulnare, i hope i shall have the honour to see you again more than once." many tears were shed on both sides upon their separation. king saleh departed first; but the queen his mother and the princesses his relations were obliged to force themselves from the embraces of gulnare, who could not prevail with herself to let them go. this royal company were no sooner out of sight, than the king of persia said to gulnare, "madam, i should have looked upon the person who had pretended to pass those upon me for true wonders, of which i myself have been eye-witness from the time i have been honoured with your illustrious family at my court, as one who would have abused my credulity. but i cannot refuse to believe my senses; and shall remember them while i live, and never cease to bless heaven for directing you to me, in preference to any other prince." beder was brought up and educated in the palace under the care of the king and queen of persia, who both saw him grow and increase in beauty to their great satisfaction. he gave them yet greater pleasure as he advanced in years, by his continual sprightliness, his agreeable manners, and the justness and vivacity of his wit; and this satisfaction was the more sensible, because king saleh his uncle, the queen his grandmother, and the princesses his relations, came from time to time to partake of it. he was easily taught to read and write, and was instructed with the same facility in all the sciences that became a prince of his rank. when he arrived at the age of fifteen, he acquitted himself in all his exercises with infinitely better address and grace than his masters. he was withal wise and prudent. the king, who had almost from his cradle discovered in him virtues so necessary for a monarch, and who moreover began to perceive the infirmities of old age coming upon himself every day, would not stay till death gave him possession of his throne, but purposed to resign it to him. he had no great difficulty to make his council consent to this arrangement: and the people heard his resolution with so much the more joy, as they conceived prince beder worthy to govern them. in a word, as the king had not for a long time appeared in public, they had the opportunity of observing that he had not that disdainful, proud, and distant air, which most princes have, who look upon all below them with scorn and contempt. they saw, on the contrary, that he treated all mankind with that goodness which invited them to approach him; that he heard favourably all who had anything to say to him; that he answered everybody with a goodness that was peculiar to him; and that he refused nobody any thing that had the least appearance of justice. the day for the ceremony was appointed, when in the midst of the whole assembly, which was then more numerous than ordinary, the king of persia came down from his throne, took the crown from his head, put it on that of prince beder, and having seated him in his place, kissed his hand as a token that he resigned his authority to him. after which he took his place among the crowd of viziers and emirs below the throne. hereupon the viziers, emirs, and other principal officers, came immediately and threw themselves at the new king's feet, taking each the oath of fidelity according to their rank. then the grand vizier made a report of divers important matters, on which the young king gave judgment with that admirable prudence and sagacity that surprised all the council. he next turned out several governors convicted of mal-administration, and put others in their room, with such wonderful and just discernment, as exalted the acclamations of every body, which were so much the more honourable, as flattery had no share in them. he at length left the council, accompanied by his father, and went to wait on his mother queen gulnare at her apartment. the queen no sooner saw him coming with his crown upon his head, than she ran to him and embraced him with tenderness, wishing him a long and prosperous reign. the first year of his reign king beder acquitted himself of all his royal functions with great assiduity. above all, he took care to inform himself of the state of his affairs, and all that might any way contribute towards the happiness of his people. next year, having left the administration to his council, under the direction of his father, he left his capital, under pretence of diverting himself with hunting; but his real intention was to visit all the provinces of his kingdom, that he might reform abuses, establish good order, and deprive all ill-minded princes, his neighbours, of any opportunities of attempting anything against the security and tranquillity of his subjects, by shewing himself on his frontiers. it required no less than a whole year for the young monarch to execute a design so worthy of him. soon after his return, the old king his father fell so dangerously ill, that he knew at once he should never recover. he waited for his last moment with great tranquillity, and his only care was to recommend to the ministers and other lords of his son's court, to persevere in the fidelity they had sworn to him: and there was not one but willingly renewed his oath as freely as at first. he died at length, to the great grief of king beder and queen gulnare, who caused his corpse to be borne to a stately mausoleum, worthy of his rank and dignity. the funeral obsequies ended, king beder found no difficulty to comply with that ancient custom in persia to mourn for the dead a whole month and not to be seen by anybody during that time. he had mourned the death of his father his whole life, had he yielded to his excessive affliction, and had it been right for a great prince thus to abandon himself to sorrow. during this interval the queen gulnare's mother, and king saleh, together with the princesses their relations, arrived at the persian court to condole with their relations. when the month was expired, the king could not refuse admittance to the grand vizier and the other lords of his court, who besought him to lay aside his mourning, to shew himself to his subjects, and take upon him the administration of affairs as before. he shewed so much reluctance to comply with their request, that the grand vizier was forced to take upon himself to say; "sir, it were needless to represent to your majesty, that it belongs only to women to persist in perpetual mourning. we doubt not but you are fully convinced of this, and that it is not your intention to follow their example. neither our tears nor yours are capable of restoring life to the good king your father, though we should lament him all our days. he has submitted to the common law of all men, which subjects them to pay the indispensable tribute of death. yet we cannot say absolutely that he is dead, since we see in him your sacred person. he did not himself doubt, when he was dying, but he should revive in you, and to your majesty it belongs to show that he was not deceived." king beder could no longer oppose such pressing instances; he laid aside his mourning; and after he had resumed the royal habit and ornaments, began to provide for the necessities of his kingdom and subjects with the same assiduity as before his father's death. he acquitted himself with universal approbation: and as he was exact in maintaining the ordinances of his predecessor, the people did not perceive they had changed their sovereign. king saleh, who was returned to his dominions in the sea with the queen his mother and the princesses, no sooner saw that king beder had resumed the government, but he at the end of the year came alone to visit him; and king beder and queen gulnare were overjoyed to see him. one evening, talking of various matters, king saleh fell insensibly on the praises of the king his nephew, and expressed to the queen his sister how glad he was to see him govern so prudently, as to acquire such high reputation, not only among his neighbours, but more remote princes. king beder, who could not bear to hear himself so well spoken of, and not being willing, through good manners, to interrupt the king his uncle, turned on one side, and feigned to be asleep, leaning his head against a cushion that was behind him. from these commendations, which regarded only the conduct and genius of beder, king saleh came to speak of the perfections of his person, which he extolled as prodigies, having nothing equal to them upon earth, or in all the kingdoms under the waters, with which he was acquainted. "sister," said he, "i wonder you have not thought of marrying him: if i mistake not, he is in his twentieth year; and, at that age, no prince ought to be suffered to be without a wife. i will think of a match for him myself, since you will not, and marry him to some princess of our lower world that may be worthy of him." "brother," replied queen gulnare, "you call to my attention what i must own has never occurred to me. as he discovered no inclination for marriage, i never thought of mentioning it to him. i like your proposal of one of our princesses; and i desire you to name one so beautiful and accomplished that the king my son may be obliged to love her." "i know one," replied king saleh, softly; "but before i tell you who she is, let us see if the king my nephew be asleep, and i will tell you afterwards why it is necessary we should take that precaution." queen gulnare turned about and looked at her son, and thought she had no reason to doubt but he was in a profound sleep. king beder, nevertheless, far from sleeping, redoubled his attention, unwilling to lose any thing the king his uncle said with so much secrecy. "there is no necessity for your speaking so low," said the queen to the king her brother; "you may speak out with freedom, without fear of being heard." "it is by no means proper," replied king saleh, "that the king my nephew should as yet have any knowledge of what i am going to say. love, you know, sometimes enters at the ear, and it is not necessary he should thus conceive a passion for the lady i am about to name. indeed i see many difficulties to be surmounted, not on the lady's part, as i hope, but on that of her father. i need only mention to you the princess jehaun-ara, daughter of the king of samandal." "how! brother," replied queen gulnare, "is not the princess yet married? i remember to have seen her before i left your palace; she was then about eighteen months old, surprisingly beautiful, and must needs be the wonder of the world, if her charms have increased with her years. the few years she is older than the king my son ought not to prevent us from doing our utmost to effect the match. let me but know the difficulties in the way, and we will surmount them." "sister," replied king saleh, "the greatest difficulty is, that the king of samandal is insupportably vain, looking upon all others as his inferiors: it is not likely we shall easily get him to enter into this alliance. i will however go to him in person, and demand of him the princess his daughter; and, in case he refuses her, we will address ourselves elsewhere, where we shall be more favourably heard. for this reason, as you may perceive," added he, "it is as well for the king my nephew not to know any thing of our design, till we have the consent of the king of samandal." they discoursed a little longer upon this point and, before they parted, agreed that king saleh should forthwith return to his own dominions, and demand the princess for the king of persia his nephew. this done, queen gulnare and king saleh, who believed king beder asleep, agreed to awake him before they retired; and he dissembled so well that he seemed to awake from a profound sleep. he had heard every word, and the character they gave of the princess had inflamed his heart with a new passion. he had conceived such an idea of her beauty, that the desire of possessing her made him pass the night very uneasy without closing his eyes. next day king saleh proposed taking leave of gulnare and the king his nephew. the young king, who knew his uncle would not have departed so soon but to go and promote without loss of time his happiness, changed colour when he heard him mention his departure. his passion was become so violent, it would not suffer him to wait so long for the sight of his mistress as would be required to accomplish the marriage. he more than once resolved to desire his uncle to bring her away with him: but as he did not wish to let the queen his mother understand he knew anything of what had passed, he desired him only to stay with him one day more, that they might hunt together, intending to take that opportunity to discover his mind to him. the day for hunting was fixed, and king beder had many opportunities of being alone with his uncle; but he had not courage to acquaint him with his design. in the heat of the chase, when king saleh was separated from him, and not one of his officers or attendants was near him, he alighted by a rivulet; and having tied his horse to a tree, which, with several others growing along the banks, afforded a very pleasing shade, he laid himself on the grass, and gave free course to his tears, which flowed in great abundance, accompanied with many sighs. he remained a good while in this condition, absorbed in thought, without speaking a word. king saleh, in the meantime, missing the king his nephew, began to be much concerned to know what was become of him; but could meet no one who could give any tidings of him. he therefore left his company to seek for him, and at length perceived him at a distance. he had observed the day before, and more plainly that day, that he was not so lively as he used to be; and that, if he was asked a question, he either answered not at all, or nothing to the purpose; but never in the least suspected the cause. as soon as he saw him dying in that disconsolate posture, he immediately guessed he had not only heard what had passed between him and queen gulnare, but was become passionately in love. he alighted at some distance from him, and having tied his horse to a tree, came upon him so softly, that he heard him pronounce the following words: "amiable princess of the kingdom of samandal, i have no doubt had but an imperfect sketch of your incomparable beauty; i hold you to be still more beautiful in preference to all the princesses in the world, and to excel them as much as the sun does the moon and stars. i would this moment go and offer you my heart, if i knew where to find you; it belongs to you, and no princess shall be possessor of it but yourself!" king saleh would hear no more; he advanced immediately, and discovered himself to beder. "from what i see, nephew," said he, "you heard what the queen your mother and i said the other day of the princess jehaun-ara. it was not our intention you should have known any thing respecting her, and we thought you were asleep." "my dear uncle," replied king beder, "i heard every word, and have sufficiently experienced the effect you foretold; which it was not in your power to prevent. i detained you on purpose to acquaint you with my love before your departure; but the shame of disclosing my weakness, if it be any to love a princess so worthy of my affection, sealed up my mouth. i beseech you then, by the friendship you profess for a prince who has the honour to be so nearly allied to you, that you would pity me, and not wait to procure me the consent of the divine jehaun-ara, till you have gained that of the king of samandal that i may marry his daughter, unless you had rather see me die with love, before i behold her." these words of the king of persia greatly embarrassed king saleh. he represented to him how difficult it was to give him the satisfaction he desired, and that he could not do it without carrying him along with him; which might be of dangerous consequence, since his presence was so absolutely necessary in his kingdom. he conjured him, therefore, to moderate his passion, till such time as he had put things into a train to satisfy him, assuring him he would use his utmost diligence, and would come to acquaint him in a few days. but these reasons were not sufficient to satisfy the king of persia. "cruel uncle," said he. "i find you do not love me so much as you pretended, and that you had rather see me die than grant the first request i ever made." "i am ready to convince your majesty," replied king saleh, "that i would do any thing to serve you; but as for carrying you along with me, i cannot do that till i have spoken to the queen your mother. what would she say of you and me? if she consents, i am ready to do all you would have me, and will join my entreaties to yours." "you cannot be ignorant," replied the king of persia, "that the queen my mother would never willingly part with me; and therefore this excuse does but farther convince me of your unkindness. if you really love me, as you would have me believe, you must return to your kingdom immediately, and take me with you." king saleh, finding himself obliged to yield to his nephew's importunity, drew from his finger a ring, on which were engraved the same mysterious names of god that were upon solomon's seal, which had wrought so many wonders by their virtue. "here, take this ring," said he, "put it on your finger, and fear neither the waters of the sea, nor their depth." the king of persia took the ring, and when he had put it on his finger, king saleh said to him, "do as i do." at the same time they both mounted lightly up into the air, and made towards the sea, which was not far distant, and they both plunged into it. the sea-king was not long in arriving at his palace, with the king of persia, whom he immediately carried to the queen's apartments, and presented to her. the king of persia kissed the queen his grandmother's hands, and she embraced him with great demonstrations of joy. "i do not ask you how you do," said she, "i see you are very well, and am rejoiced at it; but i desire to know how my daughter your mother queen gulnare does." the king of persia took great care not to let her know that he had come away with out taking leave of her; on the contrary he told her, the queen his mother was in perfect health, and had enjoined him to pay her duty to her. the queen then presented him to the princesses; and while he was in conversation with them, she left him, and went with king saleh into a closet, who told her how the king of persia was fallen in love with the princess jehaun-ara, upon the bare relation of her beauty, and contrary to his intention; that he had, against his own wishes, brought him along with him, and that he was going to concert measures to procure the princess for him in marriage. although king saleh was, to do him justice, perfectly innocent of the king of persia's passion, yet the queen could hardly forgive his indiscretion in mentioning the princess jehaun-ara before him, "your imprudence is not to be forgiven," said she; "can you think that the king of samandal, whose character is so well known, will have greater consideration for you, than the many other kings to whom he has refused his daughter, with such evident contempt? would you have him send you away with the same confusion? "madam," replied king saleh, "i have already told you it was contrary to my intention that the king my nephew heard what i related of the beauty of the princess to the queen my sister. the fault is committed, and we must consider what a violent passion he has for this princess, and that he will die with grief and affliction, if we do not speedily obtain her for him. for my part, i shall omit nothing that can contribute to effect their union: since i was, though innocently, the cause of the malady, i will do all i can to remedy it. i hope, madam, you will approve of my resolution, to go myself and wait on the king of samandal, with a rich present of precious stones, and demand the princess his daughter of him for the king of persia. i have some reason to believe he will not refuse, but will be pleased with an alliance with one of the greatest potentates of the earth." "it were to have been wished," replied the queen, "that we had not been under a necessity of making this demand, since the success of our attempt is not so certain as we could desire; but since my grandson's peace and content depend upon it, i freely give my consent. but, above all, i charge you, since you well know the humour of the king of samandal, that you take care to speak to him with due respect, and in a manner that cannot possibly offend him." the queen prepared the present herself, composing it of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and strings of pearl, all which she put into a rich box. next morning king saleh took leave of her majesty and the king of persia, and departed with a chosen and small troop of officers, and attendants. he soon arrived at the kingdom, and the palace of the king of samandal, who delayed not to give him audience. he rose from his throne as soon as he perceived him; and king saleh, forgetting his character for some moments, knowing whom he had to deal with, prostrated himself at his feet, wishing him the accomplishment of all his desires. the king of samandal stooped to raise him, and after he had placed him on his left hand, told him he was welcome, and asked him if there was any thing he could do to serve him. "sir," answered king saleh, "though i should have no other motive than that of paying my respects to the most potent, most prudent, and most valiant prince in the world, feeble would be my language to express how much i honour your majesty. could you penetrate into my inmost soul, you would be convinced of the great veneration i have for you, and of my ardent desire to testify my attachment." having spoke these words, he took the box of jewels from one of his servants, and having opened it, presented it to the king, imploring him to accept of it for his sake. "prince," replied the king of samandal, "you would not make me such a present unless you had a request proportionable to it to propose. if there be any thing in my power to grant, you may freely command me, and i shall feel the greatest pleasure in complying with your wishes. speak, and tell me frankly, wherein i can serve you?" "i must own ingenuously," replied king saleh, "i have a boon to ask of your majesty; and i shall take care to ask nothing but what is in your power to bestow. the thing depends so absolutely on yourself, that it would be to no purpose to ask it of any one else. i ask it then with all possible earnestness, and i beg of you not to refuse me." "if it be so," replied the king of samandal, "you have nothing to do but acquaint me what it is, and you shall see after what manner i can oblige when it is in my power." "sir," said king saleh, "after the confidence with which your majesty has been pleased to inspire me, i will not dissemble any longer, that i came to beg of you to honour our house with your alliance by the marriage of your daughter, and to strengthen the good understanding that has so long subsisted between our two crowns." at these words the king of samandal burst into a loud laugh, falling back in his throne against a cushion that supported him, and with an imperious and scornful air, said, "king saleh, i have always hitherto thought you a prince of great wisdom, and prudence; but what you say convinces me i was mistaken. tell me, i beseech you, where was your wit or discretion, when you formed to yourself such a chimera as you have proposed to me? could you conceive a thought of aspiring in marriage to a princess, the daughter of so powerful a monarch as myself? you ought to have considered the great distance between us, and not run the risk of losing in a moment the esteem i always had for you." king saleh was hurt at this affronting answer, and could scarcely restrain his resentment; however he replied with all possible moderation, "god reward your majesty as you deserve! i have the honour to inform you, i do not demand the princess your daughter in marriage for myself; had i done even that, your majesty and the princess, so far from being offended, should have thought it an honour done to both. your majesty well knows i am one of the kings of the sea as well as yourself; that my ancestors yield not in antiquity to any royal house; and that the kingdom i inherit is no less potent and flourishing than your own. if your majesty had not interrupted me, you had soon understood that the favour i asked was not for myself, but for the young king of persia my nephew, whose power and grandeur, no less than his personal good qualities, cannot be unknown to you. everybody acknowledges the princess jehaun-ara to be the most beautiful under ocean: but it is no less true, that the king of persia is the handsomest and most accomplished prince on earth. thus the favour that is asked being likely to redound to the honour both of your majesty and the princess your daughter, you ought not to doubt that your consent to an alliance so equal will be unanimously approved in all the kingdoms of the sea. the princess is worthy of the king of persia, and the king of persia is no less worthy of her." the king of samandal had not permitted king saleh to speak so long, but that rage deprived him of all power of speech. at length, however, he broke out into outrageous and insulting expressions, unworthy of a great king. "dog," cried he, "dare you talk to me after this manner, and so much as mention my daughter's name in my presence can you think the son of your sister gulnare worthy to come in competition with my daughter? who are you? who was your father? who is your sister? and who your nephew? was not his father a dog, and the son of a dog, like you? guards, seize the insolent wretch, and strike off his head." the few officers who were about the king of samandal were immediately going to obey his orders, when king saleh, who was in the flower of his age, nimble and vigorous, got from them, before they could draw their sabres; and having reached the palace-gate, found there a thousand men of his relations and friends, well armed and equipped, who were just arrived. the queen his mother having considered the small number of attendants he had taken with him, and foreseeing the reception he would probably meet from the king of samandal, had sent these troops to protect and defend him in case of danger, ordering them to make haste. those of his relations who were at the head of this troop had reason to rejoice at their seasonable arrival, when they beheld him and his attendants running in great disorder, and pursued. "sire," cried his friends, the moment he joined them, "who has insulted you? we are ready to revenge you: you need only command us." king saleh related his case to them in few words, and putting himself at the head of a troop, while some seized the gates, he re-entered the palace. the few officers and guards who had pursued him, being soon dispersed, he forced the king of samandal's apartment, who, being abandoned by his attendants, was soon seized. king saleh left sufficient guards to secure his person, and then went from apartment to apartment, to search after the princess jehaun-ara. but she, on the first alarm, had, together with her women, sprung up to the surface of the sea, and escaped to a desert island. while this passed in the palace of the king of samandal, those of king saleh's attendants who had fled at the first menaces of that king, put the queen mother into terrible consternation, on relating the danger of her son. king beder, who was present at the time, was the more concerned, as he looked upon himself as the principal author of the mischief that might ensue: therefore, not caring to abide the queen's presence any longer, whilst she was giving the orders necessary at that conjuncture, he darted up from the bottom of the sea; and not knowing how to find his way to the kingdom of persia, happened to land on the island where the princess jehaun-ara had saved herself. the prince, not a little disturbed in mind, seated himself under the shade of a large tree, surrounded by others. whilst he was endeavouring to recover himself, he heard somebody talking, but was too far off to understand what was said. he arose, and advanced softly towards the place whence the sound proceeded, where, among the branches, he perceived a beauty that dazzled him. "doubtless," said he, within himself, stopping and considering her with great attention, "this must be the princess jehaun-ara, whom fear has obliged to abandon her father's palace; or if it be not, she no less deserves my love." this said, he came forward, and discovering himself, approached the princess with profound reverence. "madam," said he, "i can never sufficiently thank heaven for the favour it has done me in presenting to my eyes so much beauty. a greater happiness could not have befallen me than this opportunity to offer you my services. i beseech you, therefore, madam, to accept them, it being impossible that a lady in this solitude should not want assistance." "true, my lord," replied jehaun-ara, sorrowfully; "it is not a little extraordinary for a lady of my quality to be in this situation. i am a princess, daughter of the king of samandal, and my name is jehaun-ara. i was at ease in my father's palace, in my apartment, when suddenly i heard a dreadful noise: news was immediately brought me, that king saleh, i know not for what reason, had forced the palace, seized the king my father, and murdered all the guards who made any resistance. i had only time to save myself, and escape hither from his violence." at these words king beder began to be concerned that he had quitted his grandmother so hastily, without staying to hear from her an explanation of the news that had been brought. but he was, on the other hand, overjoyed to find that the king his uncle had rendered himself master of the king of samandal's person, not doubting but he would consent to give up the princess for his liberty. "adorable princess," continued he, "your concern is most just, but it is easy to put an end both to that and your father's captivity. you will agree with me, when i shall tell you that i am beder, king of persia, and king saleh is my uncle: i assure you, madam, he has no design to seize the king your father's dominions; his only intention is to obtain your father's consent, that i may have the honour and happiness of being his son-in-law. i had already given my heart to you, upon the bare relation of your beauty and charms; and now, far from repenting, i beg of you to accept it, and to be assured that i will love you as long as i live. i dare flatter myself you will not refuse this favour, but be ready to acknowledge that a king, who quitted his dominions purely on your account, deserves some acknowledgment. permit me then, beauteous princess! to have the honour to present you to the king my uncle; and the king your father shall no sooner have consented to our marriage, than king saleh will leave him sovereign of his dominions as before." this declaration of king beder did not produce the effect he expected. it is true, the princess no sooner saw him, than his person, air, and the grace wherewith he accosted her, led her to regard him as one who would not have been disagreeable to her; but when she heard that he had been the occasion of all the ill treatment her father had suffered, of the grief and fright she had endured, and especially the necessity she was reduced to of flying her country; she looked upon him as an enemy with whom she ought to have no connection. whatever inclination she might have to agree to the marriage which he desired, she determined never to consent, reflecting that one of the reasons her father might have against this match might be, that king beder was son of a king of the earth. she would not, however, let king beder know her resentment; but sought an occasion to deliver herself dexterously out of his hands; and seeming in the meantime to have a great kindness for him, "are you then," said she, with all possible civility, "son of the queen gulnare, so famous for her wit and beauty? i am glad of it, and rejoice that you are the son of so worthy a mother. the king my father was much in the wrong so strongly to oppose our union: had he but seen you, he must have consented to make us happy." saying so, she reached forth her hand to him as a token of friendship. king beder, believing himself arrived at the very pinnacle of happiness, held forth his hand, and taking that of the princess, stooped down to kiss it, when she, pushing him back, and spitting in his face for want of water to throw at him, said, "wretch, quit the form of a man, and take that of a white bird, with a red bill and feet." upon her pronouncing these words, king beder was immediately changed into a bird of that description, to his great surprise and mortification. "take him," said she to one of her women, "and carry him to the dry island." this island was only one frightful rock, where not a drop of water was to be had. the waiting-woman took the bird, but in executing her princess's orders, had compassion on king beder's misfortune. "it would be great pity," said she to herself, "to let a prince so worthy to live die of hunger and thirst. the princess, who is good and gentle, will, it may be, repent of this cruel order, when she comes to herself; it were better that i carried him to a place where he may die a natural death." she accordingly carried him to a well-frequented island, and left him in a charming plain, planted with all sorts of fruit-trees, and watered by divers rivulets. let us return to king saleh. after he had sought for the princess jehaun-ara to no purpose, he caused the king of samandal to be shut up in his own palace, under a strong guard; and having given the necessary orders for governing the kingdom in his absence, returned to give the queen his mother an account of what he had done. the first question he asked on his arrival was, "where was the king his nephew?" and he learned with great surprise and vexation that he could not be found. "news being brought me," said the queen, "of the danger you were in at the palace of the king of samandal, whilst i was giving orders to send you other troops to avenge you, he disappeared. he must have been alarmed at hearing of your being in such great danger, and did not think himself in sufficient security with us." this news exceedingly afflicted king saleh, who now repented being so easily wrought upon by king beder as to carry him away with him without his mother's consent. he sent everywhere to seek for him, but could hear no tidings of him; and instead of the joy he felt at having carried on so far the marriage, which he looked upon as his own work, his grief for this accident was more mortifying. whilst he was under this suspense about his nephew, he left his kingdom under the administration of his mother, and went to govern that of the king of samandal, whom he continued to keep with great vigilance, though with all due respect to his character. the same day that king saleh returned to the kingdom of samandal, queen gulnare arrived at the court of the queen her mother. the princess was not at all surprised to find her son did not return the same day he set out: it being not uncommon for him to go farther than he proposed in the heat of the chase; but when she saw he neither returned the next day, nor the day after, she began to be alarmed, as may easily be imagined from her affection for him. this alarm was augmented, when the officers, who had accompanied the king, and were obliged to return after they had for a long time sought in vain both for him and his uncle, came and told her majesty they must of necessity have come to some harm, or must be together in some place which they could not guess; since, notwithstanding all the diligence they had used, they could hear no tidings of them. their horses indeed they had found, but as for their persons, they knew not where to look for them. the queen hearing this, had resolved to dissemble and conceal her affliction, bidding the officers to search once more with their utmost diligence; but in the meantime she plunged into the sea, to satisfy herself as to the suspicion she had entertained that king saleh must have carried his nephew with him. this great queen would have been more affectionately received by her mother, had she not, on first seeing her, guessed the occasion of her coming. "daughter," said she, "i plainly perceive you are not come hither to visit me; you come to inquire after the king your son; and the only news i can tell you will augment both your grief and mine. i no sooner saw him arrive in our territories, than i rejoiced; yet when i came to understand he had come away without your knowledge, i began to participate with you the concern you must needs suffer." then she related to her with what zeal king saleh went to demand the princess jehaun-ara in marriage for king beder, and what had happened, till her son disappeared. "i have sought diligently after him," added she, "and the king my son, who is but just gone to govern the kingdom of samandal, has done all that lay in his power. all our endeavours have hitherto proved unsuccessful, but we must hope nevertheless to see him again, perhaps when we least expect it." queen gulnare was not satisfied with this hope: she looked upon the king her son as lost, and lamented him bitterly, laying all the blame on the king his uncle. the queen her mother made her consider the necessity of not yielding too much to grief. "the king your brother," said she, "ought not, it is true, to have talked to you so inconsiderately about that marriage, nor ever have consented to carry away the king my grandson, without acquainting you; yet, since it is not certain that the king of persia is absolutely lost, you ought to neglect nothing to preserve his kingdom for him: lose then no more time, but return to your capital; your presence there will be necessary, and it will not be difficult for you to preserve the public peace, by causing it to be published, that the king of persia was gone to visit his grandmother." this was sufficient to oblige queen gulnare to yield. she took leave of the queen her mother, and returned to the palace of the capital of persia before she had been missed. she immediately despatched persons to recall the officers she had sent after the king, to tell them that she knew where his majesty was, and that they should soon see him again. she also caused the same report to be spread throughout the city, and governed, in concert with the prime minister and council, with the same tranquillity as if the king had been present. to return to king beder, whom the princess jehaun-ara's waiting-woman had left in the island before mentioned; that monarch was not a little surprised when he found himself alone, and under the form of a bird. he esteemed himself yet more unhappy, in that he knew not where he was, or in what part of the world the kingdom of persia lay. but if he had known, and had tried the force of his wings, to hazard the traversing so many extensive watery regions, and had reached it, what could he have gained, but the mortification to continue still in the same form, and not to be accounted even a man, much less acknowledged king of persia? he was forced to remain where he was, live upon such food as birds of his kind were wont to have, and to pass the night on a tree. a few days afterwards, a peasant, skilled in taking birds with nets, chanced to come to the place where he was; when perceiving so fine a bird, the like of which he had never seen, though he had followed that employment for a long while, he began greatly to rejoice. he employed all his art to ensnare him; and at length succeeded and took him. overjoyed at so great a prize, which he looked upon to be of more worth than all the other birds he commonly took, he shut it up in a cage, and carried it to the city. as soon as he was come into the market, a citizen stops him, and asked how much he would have for his bird? instead of answering, the peasant demanded of the citizen what he would do with him in case he should buy him? "what wouldst thou have me to do with him," answered the citizen, "but roast and eat him?" "if that be the case," replied the peasant, "i suppose you would think me very well paid, if you should give me the smallest piece of silver for him. i set a much higher value upon him, and you should not have him for a piece of gold. although i am advanced in years, i never saw such a bird in my life. i intend to make a present of him to the king; he will know its value better than you." without staying any longer in the market, the peasant went directly to the palace, and placed himself exactly before the king's apartment. his majesty, being at a window where he could see all that passed in the court, no sooner cast his eyes on this beautiful bird, than he sent an officer of his eunuchs to buy it for him. the officer going to the peasant, demanded of him how much he would have for the bird? "if it be for his majesty," answered the peasant, "i humbly beg of him to accept it of me as a present, and i desire you to carry it to him." the officer took the bird to the king, who found it so great a rarity, that he ordered the same officer to take ten pieces of gold, and carry them to the peasant, who departed very well satisfied. the king ordered the bird to be put into a magnificent cage, and gave it corn and water in rich vessels. the king being then ready to mount on horseback to go a hunting, had not time to consider the bird, therefore had it brought to him as soon as he returned. the officer brought the cage, and the king, that he might the better view the bird, took it out himself; and perched it upon his hand. looking earnestly upon it, he demanded of the officer, if he had seen it eat. "sir," replied the officer, "your majesty may observe the vessel with his food is still full, and i have not observed that he has touched any of it." then the king ordered him meat of divers sorts, that he might take what he liked best. the table being spread, and dinner served up just as the king had given these orders, as soon as the dishes were placed, the bird, clapping his wings, leaped off the king's hand, flew upon the table, where he began to peck the bread and victuals, sometimes on one plate and sometimes on another. the king was so surprised that he immediately sent the officer of the eunuchs to desire the queen to come and see this wonder. the officer related it to her majesty, and she came forthwith; but she no sooner saw the bird, than she covered her face with her veil, and would have retired. the king, surprised at her proceeding, as there was none present in the chamber but the eunuchs and the women who attended her, asked the reason of her conduct. "sir," answered the queen, "your majesty will no longer be surprised, when you understand, that this is not as you suppose a bird, but a man." "madam," said the king, more astonished than before, "you mean to banter me; but you shall never persuade me that a bird can be a man." "sir," replied the queen, "far be it from me to banter your majesty; nothing is more certain than what i have had the honour to tell you. i can assure your majesty, it is the king of persia, named beder, son of the celebrated gulnare, princess of one of the largest kingdoms of the sea, nephew of saleh, king of that kingdom, and grandson of queen farasche, mother of gulnare and saleh; and it was the princess jehaun-ara, daughter of the king of samandal, who thus metamorphosed him into a bird." that the king might no longer doubt of what she affirmed, she told him the whole story, and stated that the princess jehaun-ara had thus revenged herself for the ill treatment which king saleh had used towards the king of samandal her father. the king had the less difficulty to believe this assertion of the queen, as he knew her to be a skilful magician. and as she knew everything which passed in every part of the world, he was always by her means timely informed of the designs of the kings his neighbours against him, and prevented them. his majesty had compassion on the king of persia, and earnestly besought his queen to break the enchantment, that he might return to his own form. the queen consented with great willingness. "sir," said she to the king, "be pleased to take the bird into your closet, and i will shew you a king worthy of the consideration you have for him." the bird, which had ceased eating, and attended to what the king and queen said, would not give his majesty the trouble to take him, but hopped into the closet before him; and the queen came in soon after, with a vessel full of water in her hand. she pronounced over the vessel some words unknown to the king, till the water began to boil; when she took some of it in her hand, and sprinkling a little upon the bird, said, "by virtue of those holy and mysterious words i have just pronounced, and in the name of the creator of heaven and earth, who raises the dead, and supports the universe, quit the form of a bird, and re-assume that received from thy creator." the words were scarcely out of the queen's mouth, when, instead of a bird, the king saw a young prince of good shape, air, and mien. king beder immediately fell on his knees, and thanked god for the favour that had been bestowed upon him. he then took the king's hand, who helped him up, and kissed it in token of gratitude; but the king embraced him with great joy, and testified to him the satisfaction he had to see him. he would then have made his acknowledgments to the queen, but she was already retired to her apartment. the king made him sit at the table with him, and prayed him to relate how the princess jehaun-ara could have the inhumanity to transform into a bird so amiable a prince; and the king of persia immediately satisfied him. when he had ended, the king, provoked at the proceeding of the princess, could not help blaming her. "it was commendable," said he, "in the princess of samandal not to be insensible of the king her father's ill treatment; but to carry her vengeance so far, and especially against a prince who was not culpable, was what she could never be able to justify herself for. but let us have done with this subject, and tell me, i beseech you, in what i can farther serve you." "sir," answered king beder, "my obligation to your majesty is so great, that i ought to remain with you all my life to testify my gratitude; but since your majesty sets no limits to your generosity, i entreat you to grant me one of your ships to transport me to persia, where i fear my absence, which has been but too long, may have occasioned some disorder, and that the queen my mother, from whom i concealed my departure, may be distracted under the uncertainty whether i am alive or dead." the king readily granted what he desired, and immediately gave orders for equipping one of his largest ships, and the best sailors in his numerous fleet. the ship was soon furnished with all its complement of men, provisions, and ammunition; and as soon as the wind became fair, king beder embarked, after having taken leave of the king, and thanked him for all his favours. the ship sailed before the wind for ten days together, but on the eleventh the wind changed, and there followed a furious tempest. the ship was not only driven out of its course, but so violently tossed, that all its masts were brought by the board; and driving along at the pleasure of the wind, it at length struck against a rock and bulged. the greatest part of the people were instantly drowned. some few were saved by swimming, and others by getting on pieces of the wreck. king beder was among the latter, when, after having been tossed about for some time by the waves and torrents, under great uncertainty of his fate, he at length perceived himself near the shore, and not far from a city that seemed of great extent. he exerted his remaining strength to reach the land, and was at length so fortunate as to be able to touch the ground with his feet. he immediately abandoned his piece of wood, which had been of such great service to him; but when he came pretty near the shore, was greatly surprised to see horses, camels, mules, asses, oxen, cows, bulls, and other animals crowding to the shore, and putting themselves in a posture to oppose his landing. he had the utmost difficulty to conquer their obstinacy and force his way, but at length he succeeded, and sheltered himself among the rocks till he had recovered his breath, and dried his clothes in the sun. when the prince advanced to enter the city, he met with the same opposition from these animals, who seemed to intend to make him forego his design, and give him to understand it was dangerous to proceed. king beder, however, entered the city, and saw many fair and spacious streets, but was surprised to find no human beings. this made him think it was not without cause that so many animals had opposed his passage. going forward, nevertheless, he observed divers shops open, which gave him reason to believe the place was not so destitute of inhabitants as he imagined. he approached one of these shops, where several sorts of fruits were exposed for sale, and saluted very courteously an old man who was sitting within. the old man, who was busy about something, lifted up his head, and seeing a youth who had an appearance of grandeur in his air, started, asked him whence he came, and what business had brought him there? king beder satisfied him in a few words; and the old man farther asked him if he had met anybody on the road? "you are the first person i have seen," answered the king, "and i cannot comprehend how so fine and large a city comes to be without inhabitants." "come in, sir; stay no longer upon the threshold," replied the old man, "or peradventure some misfortune may happen to you. i will satisfy your curiosity at leisure, and give you a reason why it is necessary you should take this precaution." king beder entered the shop, and sat down by the old man. the latter, who had received from him an account of his misfortunes, knew he must want nourishment, therefore immediately presented him what was necessary to recover his strength; and although king beder was very earnest to know why he had taken the precaution to make him enter the shop, he would nevertheless not be prevailed upon to tell him anything till he had done eating, for fear the sad things he had to relate might spoil his appetite. when he found he ate no longer, he said to him, "you have great reason to thank god that you got hither without any accident." "alas! why?" demanded king beder, much surprised and alarmed. "because," answered he, "this city is the city of enchantments, and is governed by a queen, who is not only one of the finest of her sex, but likewise a notorious and dangerous sorceress. you will be convinced of this," added he, "when you know that these horses, mules, and other animals which you have seen, are so many men, like ourselves, whom she has transformed by her diabolical art. and when young men, like you, enter the city, she has persons planted to stop and bring them, either by fair means or force, before her. she receives them in the most obliging manner; caresses them, regales them, lodges them magnificently, and gives them so many reasons to believe that she loves them, that she never fails of success. but she does not suffer them long to enjoy this happiness. there is not one of them but she has transformed into some animal or bird at the end of forty days. you told me all these animals presented themselves to oppose your landing, and hinder you entering the city. this was the only way in which they could make you comprehend the danger you were going to expose yourself to, and they did all in their power to prevent you." this account exceedingly afflicted the young king of persia: "alas!" cried he, "to what extremities has my ill fortune reduced me! i am hardly freed from one enchantment, which i look back upon with horror, but i find myself exposed to another much more terrible." this gave him occasion to relate his story to the old man more at length, and to acquaint him of his birth, quality, his passion for the princess of samandal, and her cruelty in changing him into a bird the very moment he had seen her and declared his love to her. when the prince came to speak of his good fortune in finding a queen who broke the enchantment, the old man to encourage him said, "notwithstanding all i have told you of the magic queen is true, that ought not to give you the least disquiet, since i am generally beloved throughout the city, and am not unknown to the queen herself, who has much respect for me; therefore it was your peculiar good fortune which led you to address yourself to me rather than to anyone else. you are secure in my house, where i advise you to continue, if you think fit; and, provided you do not stray from hence, i dare assure you, you will have no just cause to complain of my insincerity." king beder thanked the old man for his kind reception, and the protection he was pleased so readily to afford him. he sat down at the entrance of the shop, where he no sooner appeared, but his youth and good person attracted the eyes of all who passed that way. many stopped and complimented the old man on his having acquired so fine a slave, as they imagined the king to be; and they were the more surprised as they could not comprehend how so beautiful a youth could escape the queen's knowledge. "believe not," said the old man, "this is a slave: you all know that i am not rich enough nor of rank to have one of this consequence. he is my nephew, son of a brother of mine who is dead; and as i had no children of my own, i sent for him to keep me company." they congratulated his good fortune in having so fine a young man for his relation; but could not help telling him they feared the queen would take him from him. "you know her well," said they to him, "and you cannot be ignorant of the danger to which you are exposed, after all the examples you have seen. how grieved would you be if she should serve him as she has done so many others whom we knew." "i am obliged to you," replied the old man, "for your good will towards me, and i heartily thank you for the care you seem to take of my interest; but i shall never entertain the least thought that the queen will do me any injury, after all the kindness she has professed for me. in case she happens to hear of this young man, and speaks to me about him, i doubt not she will cease to think of him, as soon as she comes to know he is my nephew." the old man was exceedingly glad to hear the commendations they bestowed on the young king of persia. he was as much affected with them as if he had been his own son, and he conceived a kindness for him, which augmented every day during the stay he made with him. they had lived about a month together, when, as king beder was sitting at the shop-door, after his ordinary manner, queen labe (so was this magic queen named) happened to come by with great pomp. the young king no sooner perceived the guards advancing before her, than he arose, and going into the shop, asked the old man what all that show meant. "the queen is coming by," answered he, "but stand still and fear nothing." the queen's guards, clothed in purple uniform, and well armed and mounted, marched to the number of a thousand in four files, with their sabres drawn, and every one of their officers, as they passed by the shop, saluted the old man. then followed a like number of eunuchs, habited in brocaded silk, and better mounted, whose officers did the old man the like honour. next came as many young ladies on foot, equally beautiful, richly dressed, and ornamented with precious stones. they marched gravely, with half pikes in their hands; and in the midst of them appeared queen labe, on a horse glittering with diamonds, with a golden saddle, and a housing of inestimable value. all the young ladies saluted the old man as they passed him; and the queen, struck with the good mien of king beder, stopped as soon as she came before the shop. "abdallah," (so was the old man named) said she to him, "tell me, i beseech thee, does that beautiful and charming slave belong to thee? and hast thou long been in possession of him?" abdallah, before he answered the queen, threw himself on the ground, and rising again, said, "madam, he is my nephew, son of a brother, who has not long been dead. having no children, i look upon him as my son, and sent for him to come and comfort me, intending to leave him what i have when i die." queen labe, who had never yet seen any one to compare with king beder, began to conceive a passion for him, and thought immediately of getting the old man to abandon him to her. "father," said she, "will you not oblige me so far as to make me a present of this young man? do not refuse me, i conjure you; and i swear by the fire and the light, i will make him so great and powerful, that no individual in the world ever arrived at such good fortune. although my purpose be to do evil to all mankind, he shall be an exception. i trust you will grant me what i desire, more on account of the friendship i am assured you have for me, than for the esteem you know i always had, and shall ever have for you." "madam," replied the good abdallah, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for all the kindness you have for me, and the honours you propose to do my nephew. he is not worthy to approach so great a queen, and i humbly beseech your majesty to excuse him." "abdallah," replied the queen, "i all along flattered myself you loved me, and i could never have thought you would have shewn me so much disrespect as to slight my request. but i here swear once more by the fire and light, and even by whatsoever is most sacred in my religion, that i will pass on no farther till i have conquered your obstinacy. i understand well what raises your apprehensions; but i promise, you shall never have any occasion to repent having obliged me in so sensible a manner." old abdallah was exceeding grieved, both on his own account and king beder's, at being in a manner forced to obey the queen. "madam," replied he, "i would not willingly have your majesty entertain an ill opinion of the respect i have for you, and my zeal always to contribute whatever i can to oblige you. i put entire confidence in your royal word, and i do not in the least doubt you will keep it. i only beg of your majesty, to delay doing this great honour to my nephew till you shall again pass this way." "that shall be to-morrow," said the queen; who inclined her head, as a token of her being pleased, and so went forward towards her palace. when queen labe and all her attendants were out of sight, the good abdallah said to king beder, "son" (for so he was wont to call him, for fear of some time or other discovering him when he spoke of him in public), "it has not been in my power, as you may have observed, to refuse the queen what she demanded of me with so much earnestness, to the end i might not force her to employ her magic against both you and myself openly or secretly, and treat you as much from resentment to you as to me with more signal cruelty than all those she has had in her power, as i have already told you. but i have some reason to believe she will use you well, as she promised me, on account of that particular esteem she professes for me. this you may have seen by the respect shewn, and the honours paid, me by all her court. she would be a vile creature indeed, if she should deceive me; but she shall not deceive me unpunished, for i know how to revenge myself." these assurances, which appeared very doubtful, were not sufficient to support king beder's spirits. "after all you have told me of this queen's wickedness," replied he, "you cannot wonder if i am somewhat fearful to approach her: i should, it may be, slight all you could tell me of her, and suffer myself to be dazzled by the lustre of grandeur that surrounds her, did i not know by experience what it is to be at the mercy of a sorceress. the condition i was in, through the enchantment of the princess jehaun-ara, and from which i was delivered only to fall almost immediately into the power of another, has made me look upon such a fate with horror." his tears hindered him from going on, and sufficiently shewed with what repugnance he beheld himself under the fatal necessity of being delivered to queen labe. "son," replied old abdallah, "do not afflict yourself; for though i must own, there is no great stress to be laid upon the promises and oaths of so perfidious a queen, yet i must withal acquaint you, her power extends not to me. she knows this full well; and that is the reason, and no other, why she pays me so much respect. i can quickly hinder her from doing you the least harm, if she should be perfidious enough to attempt it. you may depend upon me, and, provided you follow exactly the advice i shall give you, before i abandon you to her, she shall have no more power over you than she has over myself." the magic queen did not fail to pass by the old man's shop the next day, with the same pomp as the preceding, and abdallah waited for her with great respect. "father," cried she, "you may judge of my impatience to have your nephew with me, by my punctually coming to remind you of your promise. i know you are a man of your word, and i cannot think you will break it with me." abdallah, who fell on his face as soon as he saw the queen approaching, rose up when she had done speaking; and as he would have no one hear what he had to say to her, he advanced with great respect as far as her horse's head, and then said softly, "puissant queen! i am persuaded your majesty will not be offended at my seeming unwillingness to trust my nephew with you yesterday, since you cannot be ignorant of the reasons i had for it; but i conjure you to lay aside the secrets of that art which you possess in so wonderful a degree. i regard my nephew as my own son; and your majesty would reduce me to despair, if you should deal with him as you have done with others." "i promise you i will not," replied the queen; "and i once more repeat the oath i made yesterday, that neither you nor your nephew shall have any cause to be offended at me. i see plainly," added she, "you are not yet well enough acquainted with me; you never saw me yet but through my veil; but as i find your nephew deserving of my friendship, i will shew you i am not any ways unworthy of his." with that she threw off her veil, and discovered to king beder, who came near her with abdallah, an incomparable beauty. but king beder was little charmed: "it is not enough," said he within himself, "to be beautiful; one's actions ought to correspond in regularity with one's features." whilst king beder was making these reflections with his eyes fixed on queen labe, the old man turned towards him, and taking him by the arm, presented him to her: "madam," said he, "i beg of your majesty once more to remember he is my nephew, and to let him come and see me sometimes." the queen promised he should; and to give a further mark of her gratitude, she caused a bag of a thousand pieces of gold to be given him. he excused himself at first from receiving them, but she insisted absolutely upon it, and he could not refuse. she had caused a horse to be brought as richly caparisoned as her own, for the king of persia. whilst he was mounting, "i forgot," said the queen to abdallah, "to ask you your nephew's name; pray how is he called?" he answering his name was beder (the full moon), her majesty replied, "surely your ancestors were mistaken, they ought to have given you the name of shems (the sun)." when king beder was mounted, he would have taken his station behind the queen, but she would not suffer him, and made him ride on her left hand. she looked at abdallah, and after having made him an inclination with her head, departed. instead of observing a satisfaction in the people's faces, at the sight of their sovereign, king beder took notice that they looked at her with contempt, and even cursed her. "the sorceress," said some, "has got a new subject to exercise her wickedness upon; will heaven never deliver the world from her tyranny?" "poor stranger!" exclaimed others, "thou art much deceived, if thou thinkest thy happiness will last long. it is only to render thy fall more terrible, that thou art raised so high." these exclamations gave king beder to understand abdallah had told him nothing but the truth of queen labe; but as it now depended no longer on himself to escape the mischief, he committed himself to the will of heaven. the magic queen arrived at her palace, immediately alighted, and giving her hand to king beder, entered with him, accompanied by her women and the officers of her eunuchs. she herself shewed him all her apartments, where there was nothing to be seen but massive gold, precious stones, and furniture of wonderful magnificence. when she had carried him into her closet, she led him out into a balcony, from whence he observed a garden of surprising beauty. king beder commended all he saw, but nevertheless so that he might not be discovered to be any other than old abdallah's nephew. they discoursed of indifferent matters, till the queen was informed that dinner was served. the queen and king beder arose, and went to place themselves at the table, which was of massive gold, and the dishes of the same metal. they began to eat, but drank hardly at all till the dessert came, when the queen caused a cup to be filled for her with excellent wine. she took it and drank to king beder's health; then without putting it out of her hand, caused it to be filled again, and presented it to him. king beder received it with profound respect, and by a very low bow signified to her majesty that he in return drank to her health. at the same time, ten of queen labe's women entered with musical instruments, with which and their voices they made an agreeable concert, while they continued drinking till late at night. at length both began so to be heated with wine; that king beder insensibly forgot he had to do with a magic queen, and looked upon her only as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. as soon as the queen perceived she had wrought him to the pitch she desired, she made a sign to her eunuchs and women to retire. next morning the queen and king beder went to the bath; the women who had served the king there, presented him with fine linen and a magnificent habit. the queen likewise, who was more splendidly dressed than the day before, came to receive him, and they went together to her apartments, where they had a repast brought them, and spent the remainder of the day in walking in the garden and in various other amusements. queen labe treated king beder after this manner for forty days, as she had been accustomed to do all her lovers. the fortieth night, as they were in bed together, she, believing he was really asleep, arose without making any noise; but he was awake, and perceiving she had some design upon him watched all her motions. being up, she opened a chest, from whence she took a little box full of a yellow powder; taking some of the powder, she laid a train of it across the chamber, and it immediately flowed in a rivulet of water, to the great astonishment of king beder. he trembled with fear, but still pretended to sleep. queen labe next took up some of the water in a vessel, poured it into a basin that contained some flour; with which she made a paste, and kneaded it for a long time: then she mixed with it certain drugs which she took from different boxes, and made a cake, which she put into a covered baking-pan. as she had taken care first of all to make a good fire, she took some of the coals, and set the pan upon them; and while the cake was baking, she put up the vessels and boxes in their places again; and on her pronouncing certain words, the rivulet disappeared. when the cake was baked, she took it off the coals, carried it into her closet, and afterwards returned to king beder, who dissembled so well, that she had not the least suspicion of his having seen what she had done. king beder, whom the pleasures and amusements of a court had made to forget his good host abdallah, began now to think of him again, and believed he had more than ordinary occasion for his advice, after all he had seen the queen do that night. as soon as he was up, therefore, he expressed a great desire to go and see his uncle, and begged of her majesty to permit him. "what! my dear beder," cried the queen, "are you then already tired, i will not say with living in so superb a palace as mine is, where you must find so many pleasures, but with the company of a queen, who loves you so passionately as i do, and has given you so many marks of affection?" "great queen!" answered king beder, "how can i be tired of so many favours and graces as your majesty perpetually heaps upon me? so far from it, i desire this permission, madam, purely to go and give my uncle an account of the mighty obligations i have to your majesty. i must own, likewise, that my uncle loving me so tenderly, as i well know he does, having been absent from him now forty days, i would not give him reason to think, that i consent to remain longer without seeing him." "go," said the queen, "you have my consent; but you will not be long before you return, if you consider i cannot possibly live without you." this said, she ordered him a horse richly caparisoned, and he departed. old abdallah was overjoyed to see king beder. without regard to his quality, he embraced him tenderly, and king beder returned his embrace, that nobody might doubt but that he was his nephew. as soon as they were sat down, "well," said abdallah to the king, "and how have you passed your time with that abominable sorceress?" "hitherto," answered king beder, "i must needs own she has been extraordinarily kind to me, and has done all she could to persuade me that she loves me faithfully; but i observed something last night, which gives me just reason to suspect that all her kindness was but dissimulation. whilst she thought me asleep, although i was really awake, she stole from me with a great deal of precaution, which made me suspect her intention, and therefore i resolved to watch her, still feigning myself asleep." he then related to abdallah in what manner he had seen her make the cake; and then added, "hitherto," said he, "i must needs confess, i had almost forgotten, not only you, but all the advice you gave me concerning the wickedness of this queen; but this last action of hers gives me reason to fear she intends to observe none of her promises or solemn oaths to you. i thought of you immediately, and i esteem myself happy that i have obtained permission to come to you." "you are not mistaken," replied old abdallah with a smile, which showed he did not himself believe she would have acted otherwise; "nothing is capable of obliging a perfidious woman to amend. but fear nothing. i know how to make the mischief she intends you fall upon herself. you are alarmed in time; and you could not have done better than to have recourse to me. it is her ordinary practice to keep her lovers only forty days; and after that time, instead of seeding them home, to turn them into animals, to stock her forests and parks; but i thought of measures yesterday to prevent her doing you the same harm. the earth has borne this monster long enough, and it is now high time she should be treated as she deserves." so saying, abdallah put two cakes into king beder's hands, bidding him keep them to be used as he should direct. "you told me," continued he, "the sorceress made a cake last night; it was for you to eat; but do not touch it. nevertheless, do not refuse to receive it, when she offers it you; but instead of tasting it, break off part of one of the two i shall give you, unobserved, and eat that. as soon as she thinks you have swallowed it, she will not fail to attempt transforming you into some animal, but she shall not succeed; when she sees that she has failed, she will immediately turn her proceeding into pleasantry, as if what she had done was only out of joke to frighten you; but she will conceal a mortal grief in her heart, and think she has omitted something in the composition of her cake. as for the other cake, you shall make a present of it to her, and press her to eat it; which she will not refuse to do, were it only to convince you she does not mistrust you, though she has given you so much reason to mistrust her. when she has eaten of it, take a little water in the hollow of your hand, and throwing it in her face, say, "quit that form you now wear, and take that of such or such animal," as you shall think fit; which done, come to me with the animal, and i will tell you what you shall do afterwards." king beder expressed to abdallah, in the warmest terms, his great obligations to him, for his endeavours to defend him from the power of a pestilent sorceress; and after some further conversation took his leave of him, and returned to the palace. upon his arrival, he understood that the queen waited for him with great impatience in the garden. he went to her, and she no sooner perceived him, than she came in great haste to meet him. "my dear beder!" exclaimed she, "it is said, with a great deal of reason, that nothing more forcibly shews the excess of love than absence from the object beloved. i have had no quiet since i saw you, and it seems ages since i have been separated from you. if you had stayed ever so little longer, i was preparing to come and fetch you once more to my arms." "madam," replied king beder, "i can assure your majesty, i was no less impatient to rejoin you; but i could not refuse to stay with an uncle who loves me, and had not seen me for so long a time. he would have kept me still longer, but i tore myself away from him, to come where love calls me. of all the collations he prepared for me, i have only brought away this cake, which i desire your majesty to accept." king beder, having wrapped up one of the two cakes in a handkerchief, took it out, and presented it to the queen, saying, "i beg your majesty to accept of it." "i do accept it with all my heart," replied the queen, receiving it, "and will eat it with pleasure for yours and your good uncle's sake; but before i taste of it, i desire you will, for my sake, eat a piece of this, which i have made for you during your absence." "fair queen," answered king beder, receiving it with great respect, "such hands as your majesty's can never make anything but what is excellent, and i cannot sufficiently acknowledge the favour you do me." king beder then artfully substituted in the place of the queen's cake the other which old abdallah had given him, and having broken off a piece, he put it in his mouth, and cried, while he was eating, "ah! queen, i never tasted anything so excellent in my life." they being near a cascade, the sorceress seeing him swallow one bit of the cake, and ready to eat another, took a little water in the palm of her hand, and throwing it in the king's face, said, "wretch! quit that form of a man, and take that of a vile horse, blind and lame." these words not having the desired effect, the sorceress was strangely surprised to find king beder still in the same form, and that he only started for fear. her cheeks reddened; and as she saw that she had missed her aim, "dear beder," cried she, "this is nothing; recover yourself. i did not intend you any harm; i only did it to see what you would say. i should be the most miserable and most execrable of women, should i attempt so black a deed; not only on account of all the oaths i have sworn, but also of the many testimonies of love i have given you." "puissant queen," replied king beder, "persuaded as i am, that what your majesty did was only to divert yourself, i could not help being surprised. what could hinder me from being a little moved at the pronouncing of so strange a transformation? but, madam," continued he, "let us drop this discourse; and since i have eaten of your cake, would you do me the favour to taste mine?" queen labe, who could not better justify herself than by showing this mark of confidence in the king of persia, broke off a piece of his cake and ate it. she had no sooner swallowed it than she appeared much troubled, and remained as it were motionless. king beder lost no time, but took water out of the same basin, and throwing it in her face, cried, "abominable sorceress! quit the form of woman, and be turned instantly into a mare." the same moment, queen labe was transformed into a very beautiful mare; and her confusion was so great to find herself in that condition, that she shed tears in great abundance. she bowed her head to the feet of king beder, thinking to move him to compassion; but though he could have been so moved, it was absolutely out of his power to repair the mischief he had done. he led her into the stable belonging to the palace, and put her into the hands of a groom, to bridle and saddle; but of all the bridles which the groom tried upon her, not one would fit. this made him cause two horses to be saddled, one for the groom and the other for himself; and the groom led the mare after him to old abdallah's. abdallah seeing at a distance king beder coming with the mare, doubted not but he had done what he had advised him. "cursed sorceress!" said he immediately to himself in a transport of joy, "heaven has at length punished thee as thou deservest." king beder alighted at abdallah's door and entered with him into the shop, embracing and thanking him for all the signal services he had done him. he related to him the whole matter, with all its circumstances, and moreover told him, he could find no bridle fit for the mare. abdallah bridled the mare himself, and as soon as king beder had sent back the groom with the two horses, he said to him, "my lord, you have no reason to stay any longer in this city: mount the mare, and return to your kingdom. i have but one thing more to recommend to you; and that is, if you should ever happen to part with the mare, be sure not to give up the bridle." king beder promised to remember this; and having taken leave of the good old man, he departed. the young king of persia had no sooner got out of the city, than he began to reflect with joy on his deliverance, and that he had the sorceress in his power, who had given him so much cause to tremble. three days after he arrived at a great city, where, entering the suburbs, he met a venerable old man, walking towards a pleasure-house. "sir," said the old man, stopping him, "may i presume to ask from what part of the world you come?" the king halted to satisfy him, and as they were conversing together, an old woman came up; who, stopping likewise, wept and sighed heavily at the sight of the mare. king beder and the old man left off discoursing, to look at the old woman, whom the king asked, what cause she had to be so much afflicted? "alas! sir," replied she, "it is because your mare resembles so perfectly one my son had, and which i still mourn the loss of on his account, and should think yours were the same, did i not know she was dead. sell her to me, i beseech you; i will give you more than she is worth and thank you too.' "good woman," replied king beder, "i am heartily sorry i cannot comply with your request: my mare is not to be sold." "alas! sir," continued the old woman, "do not refuse me this favour for the love of god. my son and i shall certainly die with grief, if you do not grant it." "good mother," replied the king, "i would grant it with all my heart, if i were disposed to part with so good a beast; but if i were so disposed, i believe you would hardly give a thousand pieces of gold for her, and i could not sell her for less." "why should i not give so much?" replied the old woman: "if that be the lowest price, you need only say you will take it, and i will fetch you the money." king beder, seeing the old woman so poorly dressed, could not imagine she could find such a sum; and said, to try her, "go, fetch me the money, and the mare is yours." the old woman immediately unloosed a purse she carried fastened to her girdle, and desiring him to alight, bade him tell over the money, and in case he found it came short of the sum demanded, she said her house was not far off; and she could quickly fetch the rest. the surprise of king beder, at the sight of the purse, was not small. "good woman," said he, "do you not perceive i have bantered you all this while? i assure you my mare is not to be sold." the old man, who had been witness to all that had passed, now began to speak. "son," said he to king beder, "it is necessary you should know one thing, which i find you are ignorant of; and that is, that in this city it is not permitted to any one to tell a lie, on any account whatsoever, on pain of death. you cannot refuse taking this good woman's money, and delivering your mare, when she gives you the sum according to the agreement; and this you had better do without any noise, than expose yourself to what may ensue." king beder, mortified to find himself thus trapped by his rash proffer, alighted with great regret. the old woman stood ready to seize the reins, immediately unbridled the mare, and taking some water in her hand, from a stream that ran in the middle of the street, threw it in the mare's face, uttering these words, "daughter, quit that strange shape, and re-assume thy own." the transformation was effected in a moment, and king beder, who swooned as soon as he saw queen labe appear, would have fallen to the ground, if the old man had not hindered him. the old woman, who was the mother of queen labe, and had instructed her in all her magic secrets, had no sooner embraced her daughter, than to shew her fury, she in an instant by whistling, caused to rise a genie of a gigantic form and stature. this genie immediately took king beder on one shoulder, and the old woman with the magic queen on the other, and transported them in a few minutes to the palace of queen labe in the city of enchantments. the magic queen immediately fell upon king beder, reproaching him violently. "is it thus," said she, "ungrateful wretch! that thy unworthy uncle and thou repay me for all the kindnesses i have done you? i shall soon make you both feel what you deserve." she said no more, but taking water in her hand, threw it in his face with these words, "quit the form of man, and take that of an owl." these words were soon followed by the effect, and immediately she commanded one of her women to shut up the owl in a cage, and give him neither meat nor drink. the woman took the cage, but without regarding what the queen had ordered, gave him both meat and drink; and being old abdallah's friend, sent him word privately how the queen had treated his nephew, and apprised him of her design to destroy both him and king beder, that he might take measures to prevent her intentions, and secure himself. abdallah knew no common means would do with queen labe: he therefore whistled in a peculiar manner, and there immediately arose a giant, with four wings, who presenting himself before him, asked what he would have? "lightning," said abdallah to him (for so was the genie called), "i command you to preserve the life of king beder, son of queen gulnare. go to the palace of the magic queen, and transport immediately to the capital of persia the compassionate woman who has the cage in custody, to the end she may inform queen gulnare of the danger the king her son is in, and the occasion he has for her assistance. take care not to frighten her when you come before her, and acquaint her from me what she ought to do." lightning immediately disappeared, and in an instant reached the palace of the magic queen. he instructed the woman, lifted her up into the air, and transported her to the capital of persia, where he placed her on the terrace of gulnare's palace. she descended into her apartment, and there found queen gulnare and queen farasche her mother lamenting their mutual misfortunes. she made them a profound reverence, and by the relation she gave them, they soon understood the great need king beder had of their assistance. queen gulnare was so overjoyed at the news, that rising from her seat, she went and embraced the good woman, telling her how much she was obliged to her for the service she had done her. then going immediately out, she commanded the trumpets to sound, and the drums to beat, to acquaint the city, that the king of persia would suddenly return safe to his kingdom. she then went, and found king saleh her brother, whom farasche had caused to come speedily thither by a certain fumigation. "brother," said she to him, "the king your nephew, my dear son, is in the city of enchantments, under the power of queen labe. both you and i must go to deliver him, for there is no time to be lost." king saleh forthwith assembled a puissant body of his marine troops, who soon rose out of the sea. he also called to his assistance the genii his allies, who appeared with a much more numerous army than his own. as soon as the two armies were joined, he put himself at the head of them, with queen farasche, queen gulnare, and the princesses, who would all have their share in this enterprize. they then ascended into the air, and soon poured down on the palace and city of enchantments, where the magic queen, her mother, and all the adorers of fire, were destroyed in an instant. queen gulnare had ordered the woman who brought the account of queen labe's transforming and imprisoning her son, to follow her close, and bade her, in the confusion, go and seize the cage, and bring it to her. this order was executed as she wished, and queen gulnare was no sooner in possession of the cage, than she opened it, and took out the owl, saying, as she sprinkled a little water upon him, "my dear son, quit that strange form, and resume thy natural one of a man." in a moment queen gulnare, instead of the hideous owl, beheld king beder her son. she immediately embraced him with an excess of joy, her tears supplying more forcibly the place of words. she could not let him go; and queen farasche was obliged to force him from her in her turn. after her, he was likewise embraced by the king his uncle and his relations. queen gulnare's first care was to look out for old abdallah, to whom she had been obliged for the recovery of the king of persia; and who being brought to her, she said to him, "my obligations to you have been so great, that there is nothing within my power but i would freely do for you, as a token of my acknowledgment. do but inform me in what i can serve you." "great queen," replied abdallah, "if the lady whom i sent to your majesty will but consent to the marriage i offer her, and the king of persia will give me leave to reside at his court, i will spend the remainder of my days in his service." the queen then turned to the lady who was present, and finding by her modest shame that she was not averse to the match proposed, she caused them to join hands, and the king of persia and she took care of their fortune. this marriage occasioned the king of persia to speak thus to the queen: "madam," said he, "i am heartily glad of this match which your majesty has just made. there remains one more, which i desire you to think of." queen gulnare did not at first comprehend what marriage he meant; but after a little considering, she said, "of yours, you mean, son. i consent to it with all my heart." then turning, and looking at her brother's sea attendants, and the genii who were still present, "go," said she, "and traverse both sea and land, to seek the most lovely and amiable princess, worthy of the king my son, and when you have found her, come and tell us." "madam," replied king beder, "it is to no purpose for them to take all that trouble. you have no doubt heard that i have already given my heart to the princess of samandal upon the bare relation of her beauty. i have seen her, and do not repent of the present i then made her. in a word, neither earth nor sea, in my opinion, can furnish a princess like her. it is true upon my declaring my love, she treated me in a way that would have extinguished any flame less strong than mine. but i hold her excused; she could not treat me with less rigour, after your imprisoning the king her father, of which i was the innocent cause. but the king of samandal may, perhaps, have changed his resolution; and his daughter the princess may consent to love me, when she sees her father has agreed to it." "son," replied queen gulnare, "if only the princess jehaun-ara can make you happy, it is not my design to oppose you. the king your uncle need only have the king of samandal brought, and we shall see whether he be still of the same untractable temper." strictly as the king of samandal had been kept during his captivity by king saleh's orders, yet he always had great respect shewn him. king saleh caused a chafing-dish of coals to be brought, into which he threw a certain composition, uttering at the same time some mysterious words. as soon as the smoke began to arise, the palace shook, and immediately the king of samandal, with king saleh's officers, appeared. the king of persia cast himself at the king of samandal's feet, and, kneeling, said, "it is no longer king saleh that demands of your majesty the honour of your alliance for the king of persia; it is the king of persia himself that humbly begs that boon; and i persuade myself your majesty will not persist in being the cause of the death of a king, who can no longer live if he does not share life with the amiable princess jehaun-ara." the king of samandal did not long suffer the king of persia to remain at his feet. he embraced him, and obliging him to rise, said, "i shall be sorry to have contributed in the least to the death of a monarch who is so worthy to live. if it be true that so precious a life cannot be preserved without the possession of my daughter, live, sir, she is yours. she has always been obedient to my will, and i cannot think she will now oppose it." speaking these words, he ordered one of his officers, whom king saleh had permitted to attend him, to go for the princess, and bring her to him immediately. the princess continued where the king of persia had left her. the officer perceived her, and brought her soon with her women. the king of samandal embraced her, and said, "daughter, i have provided a husband for you; it is the king of persia, the most accomplished monarch at present in the universe. the preference he has given you over all other princesses obliges us both to express our gratitude." "sir," replied the princess jehaun-ara, "your majesty well knows i never have presumed to disobey your will: i shall always be ready to obey you; and i hope the king of persia will forget my ill treatment of him, and consider it was duty, not inclination, that forced me to it." the nuptials were celebrated in the palace of the city of enchantments, with the greatest solemnity, as all the lovers of the magic queen, who had resumed their pristine forms as soon as she ceased to live, assisted at them, and came to return their thanks to the king of persia, queen gulnare, and king saleh. they were all sons of kings, princes, or persons of high rank. king saleh conducted the king of samandal to his dominions, and put him again in possession of his throne. the king of persia, at the height of his wishes, returned to his capital with queen gulnare, queen farasche, and the princesses; the queen farasche and the princesses continued there till king saleh came to reconduct them to his kingdom under the waves of the sea. the history of prince zeyn alasnam and the sultan of the genii. a sultan of bussorah, who possessed great wealth, and was well beloved by his subjects, had no children, which occasioned him great affliction; and therefore he made presents to all the holy persons in his dominions, to engage them to beg a son for him of heaven: and their prayers being effectual, the queen proved with child, and was happily delivered of a prince who was named zeyn alasnam, which signifies ornament of the statues. the sultan caused all the astrologers in his kingdom to be assembled, and ordered them to calculate the infant's nativity. they found by their observations that he would live long, and be very brave; but that all his courage would be little enough to carry him through the misfortunes that threatened him. the sultan was not daunted at this prediction: "my son," said he, "is not to be pitied, since he will be brave: it is fit that princes should have a taste of misfortunes; for adversity tries virtue, and they are the better qualified to reign." he rewarded the astrologers, and dismissed them; and caused zeyn to be educated with the greatest care, appointing him able masters as soon as he was of age to receive their instructions. in short, he proposed to make him an accomplished prince, when on a sudden this good sultan fell sick of a disorder, which all the skill of his physicians could not cure. perceiving his disease was mortal, he sent for his son, and among other things advised him rather to endeavour to be loved, than to be feared by his people; not to give ear to flatterers; to be as slow in rewarding as in punishing, because it often happens that monarchs misled by false appearances, load wicked men with favours, and oppress the innocent. as soon as the sultan was dead, prince zeyn went into mourning, which he wore seven days, and on the eighth he ascended the throne, taking his father's seal off the royal treasury, and putting on his own, beginning thus to taste the sweets of ruling, the pleasure of seeing all his courtiers bow down before him, and make it their whole study to shew their zeal and obedience. in a word, the sovereign power was too agreeable to him. he only regarded what his subjects owed to him, without considering what was his duty towards them, and consequently took little care to govern them well. he revelled in all sorts of debauchery among the voluptuous youth, on whom he conferred the prime employments in the kingdom. he lost all command of his power. being naturally prodigal, he set no bounds to his grants, so that his women and his favourites insensibly drained his treasury. the queen his mother was still living, a discreet, wise princess. she had several times unsuccessfully tried to check her son's prodigality and debauchery, giving him to understand, that, if he did not soon take another course, he would not only squander his wealth, but also alienate the minds of his people, and occasion some revolution, which perhaps might cost him his crown and his life. what she had predicted had nearly happened: the people began to murmur against the government, and their murmurs had certainly been followed by a general revolt, had not the queen had the address to prevent it. that princess being acquainted with the ill posture of affairs, informed the sultan, who at last suffered himself to be prevailed upon. he committed the government to discreet aged men, who knew how to keep the people within the bounds of duty. zeyn, seeing all his wealth consumed, repented that he had made no better use of it. he fell into a profound melancholy, and nothing could comfort him. one night he saw in a dream a venerable old man coming towards him, who with a smiling countenance said, "know, zeyn, that there is no sorrow but what is followed by mirth, no misfortune but what in the end brings some happiness. if you desire to see the end of your affliction, set out for egypt, go to grand cairo, where great prosperity awaits you." the young sultan was struck with his dream, and spoke of it very seriously to his mother, who only laughed at it. "my son," said she to him, "would you go into egypt on the faith of an illusive dream?" "why not, madam," answered zeyn, "do you imagine all dreams are chimerical? no, no, some of them are mysterious. my preceptors have told me a thousand incidents, which will not permit me to doubt of it. besides, though i were not otherwise convinced, i could not forbear giving some credit to my dreams. the old man who appeared to me had something supernatural, he was not one of those men whom nothing but age makes venerable; there appeared a divine air about his person. in short, he was such a one as our great prophet is represented; and if you will have me tell you what i think, i believe it was he, who, pitying my affliction, designs to relieve it. i rely on the confidence he has inspired me with. i am full of his promises, and have resolved to follow his advice." the queen endeavoured to dissuade him, but in vain. the sultan committed to her the government of the kingdom, set out one night very privately from his palace, and took the road to cairo, without suffering any person to attend him. after much trouble and fatigue, he arrived at that famous city, like which there are few in the world, either for extent or beauty. he alighted at the gate of a mosque, where, being spent with weariness, he lay down. no sooner was he fallen asleep, than he saw the same old man, who said to him, "i am pleased with you, my son, you have given credit to my words. you are come hither, without being deterred by the length or the difficulties of the way: but know i have not put you upon undertaking such a long journey, with any other design than to try you. i find you have courage and resolution. you deserve i should make you the richest and happiest prince in the world. return to bussorah, and you shall find immense wealth in your palace. no king ever possessed so rich a treasure." the sultan was not pleased with this dream. "alas!" thought he to himself, when he awoke, "how much was i mistaken? that old man, whom i took for our prophet, is no other than the production of my disturbed imagination. my fancy was so full of him, that it is no wonder i have seen him again. i had best return to bussorah; what should i do here any longer? it is fortunate that i told none but my mother the motive of my journey: i should become a jest to my people, if they knew it." accordingly, he set out again for his kingdom, and as soon as he arrived there, the queen asked him, whether he returned well pleased? he told her all that had happened, and was so much concerned for having been so credulous, that the queen, instead of adding to his vexation, by reproving or laughing at him, comforted him. "forbear afflicting yourself, my son," said she; "if god has appointed you riches, you will have them without any trouble. be contented; all that i recommend to you is, to be virtuous; renounce the delights of dancing, music, and wine: shun all these pleasures, they have already almost ruined you; apply yourself to make your subjects happy; by securing their happiness, you will establish your own." sultan zeyn vowed that he would for the future follow his mother's advice, and be directed by the wise viziers she had chosen to assist him in supporting the weight of government. but the very night after he returned to his palace, he saw the old man the third time in a dream, who said to him, "the time of your prosperity is come, brave zeyn: to-morrow morning, as soon as you are up, take a little pick-axe, and dig in the late sultan's closet; you will there find a rich treasure." as soon as the sultan awoke, he got up, ran to the queen's apartment, and with much eagerness told her the new dream of that night. "really, my son," said the queen smiling, "this is a very positive old man; he is not satisfied with having deceived you twice: have you a mind to believe him again?" "no, madam," answered zeyn, "i give no credit to what he has said; but i will, for my own satisfaction, search my father's closet." "i really fancied so," cried the queen, laughing heartily: "go, my son, satisfy yourself; my comfort is, that work is not so fatiguing as the journey to egypt." "well madam," answered the sultan, "i must own, that this third dream has restored my confidence, for it is connected with the two others; let us examine the old man's words. he first directed me to go into egypt; there he told me, he had put me upon taking that journey, only to try me. 'return to bussorah,' said he, 'that is the place where you are to find treasures;' this night he has exactly pointed out to me the place where they are: these three dreams in my opinion, are connected. after all, they may be chimerical: but i would rather search in vain, than blame myself as long as i live, for having perhaps missed great riches, by being unseasonably incredulous." having spoken thus, he left the queen's apartment, caused a pick-axe to be brought him, and went alone into the late sultan's closet. he immediately began to break up the ground, and took up above half the square stones it was paved with, but yet saw not the least appearance of what he sought. he ceased working to take a little rest, thinking within himself, "i am much afraid my mother had cause enough to laugh at me." however, he took heart, and went on with his labour, nor had he cause to repent; for on a sudden he discovered a white slab, which he took up, and under it found a door, made fast with a steel padlock, which he broke with the pick-axe, and opened the door, which covered a staircase of white marble. he immediately lighted a lamp, and went down the stairs into a room, the floor whereof was laid with tiles of chinaware, and the roof and walls were of crystal; but he particularly fixed his eyes on four shelves, a little raised above the rest of the floor, on each of which were ten urns of porphyry. he fancied they were full of wine: "well," said he, "that wine must be very old, i do not question but it is excellent." he went up to one of the urns, took off the cover, and with no less joy than surprise perceived it was full of pieces of gold. he searched all the forty, one after another, and found them full of the same coin, took out a handful, and carried it to the queen. the princess, it may be imagined, was amazed, when the sultan gave her an account of what he had discovered. "o! my son," said she, "take heed you do not lavish away all this wealth foolishly, as you have already done the royal treasure. let not your enemies have so much occasion to rejoice." "no, madam," answered zeyn, "i will from henceforward live in such a manner as shall be pleasing to you." the queen desired her son to conduct her to the wonderful subterraneous place, which the late sultan her husband had made with such secrecy, that she had never heard of it. zeyn led her to the closet, down the marble stairs, and into the chamber where the urns were. she observed every thing with the eye of curiosity, and in a corner spied a little urn of the same sort of stone as the others. the prince had not before taken notice of it, but opening, found in it a golden key. "my son," said the queen, "this key certainly belongs to some other treasure; let us search well, perhaps we may discover the use it is designed for." they examined the chamber with the utmost exactness, and at length found a key-hole in one of the panels of the wall. the sultan immediately tried, and as readily opened the door, which led into a chamber, in the midst of which were nine pedestals of massive gold, on eight of which stood as many statues, each of them made of a single diamond, and from them darted such a brightness, that the whole room was perfectly light. "o heavens!" cried zeyn, in astonishment, "where could my father find such rarities?" the ninth pedestal redoubled this amazement, for it was covered with a piece of white satin, on which were written these words, "dear son, it cost me much toil to procure these eight statues; but though they are extraordinarily beautiful, you must understand that there is a ninth in the world, which surpasses them all: that alone is worth more than a thousand such as these: if you desire to be master of it, go to the city of cairo in egypt; one of my old slaves, whose name is mobarec, lives there, you will easily find him; the first person you meet will shew you his house; visit him, and tell him all that has befallen you: he will know you to be my son, and conduct you to the place where that wonderful statue is, which you will obtain with safety." the young sultan having read these words, said to the queen, "i should be sorry to be without that ninth statue; it must certainly be a very rare piece, since all these together are not of so much value. i will set out for grand cairo; nor do i believe, madam, that you will now oppose my design." "no, my son," answered the queen, "i am not against it: you are certainly under the special protection of our great prophet, he will not suffer you to perish in this journey. set out when you think fit: your viziers and i will take care of the government during your absence." the prince made ready his equipage, but would take only a small number of slaves with him. nothing remarkable befell him by the way, but arriving at cairo, he inquired for mobarec. the people told him he was one of the wealthiest inhabitants of the city; that he lived like a great lord, and that his house was open, especially for strangers. zeyn was conducted thither, knocked at the gate, which a slave opened, and demanded, "what is it you want, and who are you?" "i am a stranger," answered the prince, "and having heard much of the lord mobarec's generosity, am come to take up my lodging with him." the slave desired zeyn to wait while he went to acquaint his master, who ordered him to request the stranger to walk in. the slave returned to the gate, and told the prince he was welcome. zeyn went in, crossed a large court, and entered a hall magnificently furnished, where mobarec expected him, and received him very courteously, returning thanks for the honour he did him in accepting a lodging in his house. the prince, having answered his compliment, said to mobarec, "i am the son of the late sultan of bussorah, and my name is zeyn alasnam." "that sovereign," said mobarec, "was formerly my master; but, my lord, i never knew of any children he had: what is your age?" "i am twenty years old," answered the sultan. "how long is it since you left my father's court?" "almost two-and-twenty years," replied mobarec; "but how can you convince me that you are his son?" "my father," rejoined zeyn, "had a subterraneous place under his closet, in which i have found forty porphyry urns full of gold." "and what more is there?" said mobarec. "there are," answered the prince, "nine pedestals of massive gold: on eight whereof are as many diamond statues; and on the ninth a piece of white satin, on which my father has written what i am to do to procure another statue, more valuable than all those together. you know where that statue is; for it is mentioned on the satin, that you will conduct me to it." as soon as he had spoke these words, mobarec fell down at his feet, and kissing one of his hands several times, said, "i bless god for having brought you hither: i know you to be the sultan of bussorah's son. if you will go to the place where the wonderful statue is, i will conduct you; but you must first rest here a few days. this day i treat the great men of the court; we were at table when word was brought me of your being at the door. will you vouchsafe to come and be merry with us?" "i shall be very glad," replied zeyn, "to be admitted to your feast." mobarec immediately led him under a dome where the company was, seated him at the table, and served him on the knee. the nobles of cairo were surprised, and whispered to one another, "who is this stranger, to whom mobarec pays so much respect?" when they had dined, mobarec directing his discourse to the company, said, "nobles of cairo, do not think much to see me serve this young stranger in this manner: know that he is the son of the sultan of bussorah, my master. his father purchased me, and died without making me free; so that i am still a slave, and consequently all i have of right belongs to this young prince, his sole heir." here zeyn interrupted him: "mobarec," said he, "i declare, before all these lords, that i make you free from this moment, and that i renounce all right to your person, and all you possess. consider what you would have me do more for you." mobarec kissed the ground, and returned the prince most hearty thanks. wine was then brought in, they drank all day, and towards evening presents were distributed among the guests, who departed. the next day zeyn said to mobarec, "i have taken rest enough. i came not to cairo to take my pleasure; my design is to obtain the ninth statue; it is time for us to set out in search of it." "sir," said mobarec, "i am ready to comply with your desires; but you know not what dangers you must encounter to make this precious acquisition." "whatsoever the danger may be," answered the prince, "i have resolved to make the attempt; i will either perish or succeed. all that happens in this world is by god's direction. do you but bear me company, and let your resolution be equal to mine." mobarec, finding him determined to set out, called his servants, and ordered them to make ready his equipage. the prince and he then performed the ablution, and the prayer enjoined, which is called farz; and that done, they set out. on their way they took notice of abundance of strange and wonderful things, and travelled many days, at length, being come to a delightful spot, they alighted from their horses. mobarec then said to all the servants that attended them, "do you remain in this place, and take care of our equipage till we return." then he said to zeyn, "now, sir, let us advance by ourselves. we are near the dreadful place, where the ninth statue is kept. you will stand in need of all your courage." they soon came to a vast lake: mobarec set down on the brink of it, saying to the prince, "we must cross this sea." "how can we," answered zeyn, "when we have no boat?" "you will see one appear in a moment," replied mobarec; "the enchanted boat of the sultan of the genii will come for us. but do not forget what i am going to say to you: you must observe a profound silence: do not speak to the boatman, though his figure seem strange to you: whatever extraordinary circumstance you observe, say nothing; for i tell you beforehand, that if you utter one word when we are embarked, the boat will sink." "i shall take care to hold my peace," said the prince; "you need only tell me what i am to do, and i will strictly comply." whilst they were talking, he spied on a sudden a boat in the lake, made of red sandal wood. it had a mast of fine amber, and a blue satin flag: there was only one boatman in it, whose head was like an elephant's, and his body like that of a tiger. when the boat was come up to the prince and mobarec, the monstrous boatman took them up one after another with his trunk, put them into his boat, and carried them over the lake in a moment. he then again took them up with his trunk, set them ashore, and immediately vanished with his boat. "now we may talk," said mobarec: "the island we are in belongs to the sultan of the genii. look round you, prince; can there be a more delightful spot? it is certainly a lively representation of the charming place god has appointed for the faithful observers of our law. behold the fields adorned with all sorts of flowers and odoriferous plants: admire those beautiful trees whose delicious fruit makes the branches bend down to the ground; enjoy the pleasure of those harmonious songs formed in the air by a thousand birds of as many various sorts, unknown in other countries." zeyn could not sufficiently admire the beauties with which he was surrounded, and still found something new, as he advanced farther into the island. at length they came before a palace built of emeralds, encompassed by a wide moat, on the banks whereof, at certain distances, were planted such tall trees, that they shaded the whole palace. before the gate, which was of massive gold, was a bridge, formed of one single shell of a fish, though it was at least six fathoms long, and three in breadth. at the head of the bridge stood a company of genii, of a prodigious height, who guarded the entrance into the castle with great clubs of china steel. "let us at present proceed no farther," said mobarec, "these genii will destroy us: and in order to prevent their coming to us, we must perform a magical ceremony." he then drew out of a purse which he had under his garment, four long slips of yellow taffety; one he put about his middle, and laid the other on his back, giving the other two to the prince, who did the like. then mobarec laid on the ground two large table-cloths, on the edges whereof he scattered some precious stones, musk, and amber. afterwards he sat down on one of the cloths, and zeyn on the other; and mobarec said to the prince, "i shall now, sir, conjure the sultan of the genii, who lives in the palace that is before us; may he come in a peaceable mood to us! i confess i am not without apprehension about the reception he may give us. if our coming into this island is displeasing to him, he will appear in the shape of a dreadful monster; but if he approves of your design, he will shew himself in the shape of a handsome man. as soon as he appears before us, you must rise and salute him, without going off your cloth; for you would certainly perish, should you stir from it. you must say to him, 'sovereign lord of the genii, my father, who was your servant, has been taken away by the angel of death; i wish your majesty may protect me, as you always protected my father.' if the sultan of the genii," added mobarec, "ask you what favour you desire of him, you must answer, 'i most humbly beg of you to give me the ninth statue.'" mobarec, having thus instructed prince zeyn, began his conjuration. immediately their eyes were dazzled by a long flash of lightning, which was followed by a clap of thunder. the whole island was covered with a thick darkness, a furious storm of wind blew, a dreadful cry was heard, the island felt a shock, and there was such an earthquake, as that which asrayel is to cause on the day of judgment. zeyn was startled, and began to regard these concussions of the elements as a very ill omen, when mobarec, who knew better than he what to judge, began to smile, and said, "take courage, my prince, all goes well." in short, that very moment, the sultan of the genii appeared in the shape of a very handsome man, yet there was something of a sternness in his air. as soon as sultan zeyn had made him the compliment he had been taught by mobarec, the sultan of the genii smiling, answered, "my son, i loved your father, and every time he came to pay me his respects, i presented him with a statue, which he carried away with him. i have no less kindness for you. i obliged your father, some days before he died, to write that which you read on the piece of white satin. i promised him to receive you under my protection, and to give you the ninth statue, which in beauty surpasses those you have already. i had begun to perform my promise to him. it was i whom you saw in a dream in the shape of an old man; i caused you to open the subterraneous place, where the urns and the statues are deposited: i have a great share in all that has befallen you, or rather am the occasion of all. i know the motive that brought you hither; you shall obtain what you desire. though i had not promised your father to give it, i would willingly grant it to you: but you must first swear to me by all that is sacred, that you will return to this island, and that you will bring me a maid who is in her fifteenth year, has never loved, nor desired to. she must also be perfectly beautiful: and you so much a master of yourself, as not even to desire her as you are conducting her hither." sultan zeyn took the rash oath demanded of him. "but, my lord," said he, "suppose i should be so fortunate as to meet with such a maid as you require, how shall i know that i have found her?" "i own," answered the sultan of the genii, smiling, "that you might be mistaken in her appearance: that knowledge is above the sons of adam, and therefore i do not mean to depend upon your judgment in that particular: i will give you a looking-glass which will be more certain than your conjectures. when you shall have seen a maiden fifteen years of age, perfectly beautiful, you need only look into the glass in which you shall see her figure. if she be chaste, the glass will remain clean and unsullied; but if, on the contrary, it sullies, that will be a certain sign that she has not always been prudent, or at least that she has desired to cease to be so. do not forget the oath you have taken: keep it like a man of honour; otherwise i will take away your life, notwithstanding the kindness i have for you." zeyn alasnam protested again that he would faithfully keep his word. the sultan of the genii then delivered to him a looking-glass, saying, "my son, you may return when you please, there is the glass you are to use." zeyn and mobarec took leave of the sultan of the genii, and went towards the lake. the boatman with the elephant's head brought the boat, and ferried them over the lake as he had done before. they joined their servants, and returned with them again to cairo. the young sultan rested a few days at mobarec's house, and then said to him, "let us go to bagdad, to seek a maiden for the sovereign of the genii." "why, are we not at grand cairo?" said mobarec: "shall we not there find beautiful maidens?" "you are in the right," answered the prince; "but how shall we explore where they are?" "do not trouble yourself about that," answered mobarec; "i know a very shrewd old woman, whom i will entrust with the affair, and she will acquit herself well." accordingly the old woman found means to shew the sultan a considerable number of beautiful maidens of fifteen years of age; but when he had viewed them, and came to consult his looking-glass, the fatal touchstone of their virtue, the glass always appeared sullied. all the maidens in the court and city, who were in their fifteenth year, underwent the trial one after another, but the glass never remained bright and clear. when they saw there were no chaste maidens to be found in cairo, they went to bagdad, where they hired a magnificent palace in one of the chief quarters of the city, and began to live splendidly. they kept open house; and after all people had eaten in the palace, the fragments were carried to the dervises, who by that means had comfortable subsistence. there lived in that quarter a pedant, whose name was boubekir muezin, a vain, haughty, and envious person: he hated the rich, only because he was poor, his misery making him angry at his neighbour's prosperity. he heard talk of zeyn alasnam, and of the plenty his house afforded. this was enough for him to take an aversion to that prince; and it proceeded so far, that one day after the evening prayer in the mosque, he said to the people, "brethren, i have been told there is come to live in our ward a stranger, who every day gives away immense sums. how do we know but that this unknown person is some villain, who has committed a robbery in his own country, and comes hither to enjoy himself? let us take care, brethren; if the caliph should be informed that such a man is in our ward, it is to be feared he will punish us for not acquainting him with it. i declare for my part i wash my hands of the affair, and if any thing should happen amiss, it shall not lie at my door." the multitude, who are easily led away, with one voice cried to boubekir, "it is your business, do you acquaint the council with it." the muezin went home well pleased, and drew up a memorial, resolving to present it to the caliph next day. but mobarec, who had been at prayers, and heard all that was said by the muezin, put five hundred pieces of gold into a handkerchief, made up with a parcel of several silks, and went to boubekir's house. the muezin asked him in a harsh tone what he wanted. "holy father," answered mobarec with an obliging air, and at the same time putting into his hand the gold and the silk, "i am your neighbour and your servant: i come from prince zeyn, who lives in this ward: he has heard of your worth, and has ordered me to come and tell you, that he desires to be acquainted with you, and in the mean time desires you to accept of this small present." boubekir was transported with joy, and answered mobarec thus: "be pleased, sir, to beg the prince's pardon for me: i am ashamed i have not yet been to see him, but i will atone for my fault, and wait on him to-morrow." accordingly the next day after morning prayer he said to the people, "you must know from your own experience, brethren, that no man is without some enemies: envy pursues those chiefly who are very rich. the stranger i spoke to you about yesterday in the evening is no bad man, as some ill-designing persons would have persuaded me: he is a young prince, endowed with every virtue. it behoves us to take care how we give any injurious report of him to the caliph." boubekir having thus wiped off the impression he had the day before given the people concerning zeyn, returned home, put on his best apparel and went to visit the young prince, who gave him a courteous reception. after several compliments had passed on both sides, boubekir said to the prince, "sir, do you design to stay long at bagdad?" "i shall stay," answered zeyn, "till i can find a maid fifteen years of age, perfectly beautiful, and so chaste, that she has not only never loved a man, but even never desired to do so." "you seek after a great rarity," replied the muezin; "and i should be apt to fear your search would prove unsuccessful, did i not know where there is a maid of that character. her father was formerly vizier; but has left the court, and lived a long time in a lone house, where he applies himself solely to the education of his daughter. if you please, i will ask her of him for you: i do not question but he will be overjoyed to have a son-in-law of your quality." "not so fast," said the prince, "i shall not marry the maid before i know whether i like her. as for her beauty, i can depend on you; but what assurance can you give me in relation to her virtue?" "what assurance do you require?" said boubekir. "i must see her face," answered zeyn; "that is enough to determine my resolution." "you are skilled then in physiognomy?" replied the muezin, smiling. "well, come along with me to her father's: i will desire him to let you see her one moment in his presence." the muezin conducted the prince to the vizier's; who, as soon as he was acquainted with the prince's birth and design, called his daughter, and made her take off her veil. never had the young sultan of bussorah beheld such a perfect and striking beauty. he stood amazed; and since he could then try whether the maid was as chaste as fair, he pulled out his glass, which remained bright and unsullied. when he perceived he had at length found such a person as he desired, he entreated the vizier to grant her to him. immediately the cauzee was sent for, the contract signed, and the marriage prayer said. after this ceremony, zeyn conducted the vizier to his house, where he treated him magnificently, and gave him considerable presents. next day he sent a prodigious quantity of jewels by mobarec, who conducted the bride home, where the wedding was kept with all the pomp that became zeyn's quality. when all the company was dismissed mobarec said to his master, "let us begone, sir, let us not stay any longer at bagdad, but return to cairo: remember the promise you made the sultan of the genii." "let us go," answered the prince; "i must take care to perform it exactly; yet i must confess, my dear mobarec, that, if i obey the sultan of the genii, it is not without reluctance. the damsel i have married is so charming, that i am tempted to carry her to bussorah, and place her on the throne." "alas! sir," answered mobarec, "take heed how you give way to your inclination: make yourself master of your passions, and whatever it costs you, be as good as your word to the sultan of the genii." "well, then, mobarec," said the prince, "do you take care to conceal the lovely maid from me; let her never appear in my sight; perhaps i have already seen too much of her." mobarec made all ready for their departure; they returned to cairo, and thence set out for the island of the sultan of the genii. when they were arrived, the maid who had performed the journey in a horse-litter, and whom the prince had never seen since his wedding-day, said to mobarec, "where are we? shall we be soon in the dominions of the prince my husband?" "madam," answered mobarec, "it is time to undeceive you. prince zeyn married you only in order to get you from your father: he did not engage his faith to make you sovereign of bussorah, but to deliver you to the sultan of the genii, who has asked of him a virgin of your character." at these words, she began to weep bitterly, which moved the prince and mobarec. "take pity on me," said she; "i am a stranger, you will be accountable to god for your treachery towards me." her tears and complaints were of no effect, for she was presented to the sultan of the genii, who having gazed on her with attention, said to zeyn, "prince, i am satisfied with your behaviour; the virgin you have brought me is beautiful and chaste, and i am pleased with the restraint you have put upon yourself to be as good as your promise to me. return to your dominions, and when you shall enter the subterraneous room, where the eight statues are, you shall find the ninth which i promised you. i will make my genii carry it thither." zeyn thanked the sultan, and returned to cairo with mobarec, but did not stay long in egypt, for his impatience to see the ninth statue made him hasten his departure. however, he could not but often think regretfully of the young virgin he had married; and blaming himself for having deceived her, he looked upon himself as the cause and instrument of her misfortune. "alas!" said he to himself, "i have taken her from a tender father, to sacrifice her to a genie. o incomparable beauty! you deserve a better fate." sultan zeyn, disturbed with these thoughts, at length reached bussorah, where his subjects made extraordinary rejoicings for his return. he went directly to give an account of his journey to his mother, who was in a rapture to hear that he had obtained the ninth statue. "let us go, my son," said she, "let us go and see it, for it is certainly in the subterraneous chamber, since the sultan of the genii told you you should find it there." the young sultan and his mother, being both impatient to see the wonderful statue, went down into the room of the statues; but how great was their surprise, when, instead of a statue of diamonds, they beheld on the ninth pedestal a most beautiful virgin, whom the prince knew to be the same whom he had conducted into the island of the genii! "prince," said the young maid, "you are surprised to see me here; you expected to have found something more precious than me, and i question not but that you now repent having taken so much trouble: you expected a better reward." "madam," answered zeyn, "heaven is my witness, that i more than once had nearly broken my word with the sultan of the genii, to keep you to myself. whatever be the value of a diamond statue, is it worth the satisfaction of having you mine? i love you above all the diamonds and wealth in the world." just as he had done speaking, a clap of thunder was heard, which shook the subterranean place. zeyn's mother was alarmed, but the sultan of the genii immediately appearing, dispelled her fear. "madam," said he to her, "i protect and love your son: i had a mind to try, whether, at his age, he could subdue his passions. i know the charms of this young lady have wrought on him, and that he did not punctually keep the promise he had made me, not to desire her; but i am well acquainted with the frailty of human nature. this is the ninth statue i designed for him; it is more rare and precious than the others." "live," said he (directing his discourse to the young prince), "live happy, zeyn, with this young lady, who is your wife; and if you would have her true and constant to you, love her always, and love her only. give her no rival, and i will answer for her fidelity." having spoken these words, the sultan of the genii vanished, and zeyn, enchanted with the young lady, the same day caused her to be proclaimed queen of bussorah, over which they reigned in mutual happiness to an advanced age. the history of codadad, and his brothers. those who have written the history of diarbekir inform us that there formerly reigned in the city of harran a most magnificent and potent sultan, who loved his subjects, and was equally beloved by them. he was endued with all virtues, and wanted nothing to complete his happiness but an heir. though he had the finest women in the world in his seraglio, yet was he destitute of children. he continually prayed to heaven for them; and one night in his sleep, a comely person, or rather a prophet, appeared to him, and said, "your prayers are heard; you have obtained what you have desired; rise as soon as you awake, go to your prayers, and make two genuflexions, then walk into the garden of your palace, call your gardener, and bid him bring you a pomegranate, eat as many of the seeds as you please, and your wishes shall be accomplished." the sultan calling to mind his dream when he awoke, returned thanks to heaven, got up, prayed, made two genuflexions, and then went into his garden, where he took fifty pomegranate seeds, which he counted, and ate. he had fifty wives who shared his bed; they all proved with child; but there was one called pirouzè, who did not appear to be pregnant. he took an aversion to this lady, and would have her put to death. "her barrenness," said he, "is a certain token that heaven does not judge pirouzè worthy to bear a prince; it is my duty to deliver the world from an object that is odious to the lord." he would have executed his cruel purpose had not his vizier prevented him; representing to him that all women were not of the same constitution, and that it was not impossible but that pirouzè might be with child, though it did not yet appear. "well," answered the sultan, "let her live; but let her depart my court; for i cannot endure her." "your majesty," replied the vizier, "may send her to sultan samer, your cousin." the sultan approved of this advice; he sent pirouzè to samaria, with a letter, in which he ordered his cousin to treat her well, and, in case she proved with child, to give him notice of her being brought to bed. no sooner was pirouzè arrived in that country, than it appeared that she was pregnant, and at length she was delivered of a most beautiful prince. the prince of samaria wrote immediately to the sultan of harran, to acquaint him with the birth of a son, and to congratulate him on the occasion. the sultan was much rejoiced at this intelligence, and answered prince samer as follows: "cousin, all my other wives have each been delivered of a prince. i desire you to educate that of pirouzè, to give him the name of codadad, and to send him to me when i may apply for him." the prince of samaria spared nothing that might improve the education of his nephew. he taught him to ride, draw the bow, and all other accomplishments becoming the son of a sovereign; so that codadad, at eighteen years of age, was looked upon as a prodigy. the young prince, being inspired with a courage worthy of his birth, said one day to his mother, "madam, i begin to grow weary of samaria; i feel a passion for glory; give me leave to seek it amidst the perils of war. my father, the sultan of harran, has many enemies. why does he not call me to his assistance? why does he leave me here so long in obscurity? must i spend my life in sloth, when all my brothers have the happiness to be fighting by his side?" "my son," answered pirouzè, "i am no less impatient to have your name become famous; i could wish you had already signalized yourself against your father's enemies; but we must wait till he requires it." "no, madam," replied codadad, "i have already waited but too long. i burn to see the sultan, and am tempted to offer him my service, as a young stranger: no doubt but he will accept of it, and i will not discover myself, till i have performed some glorious actions: i desire to merit his esteem before he knows who i am." pirouzè approved of his generous resolutions, and codadad departed from samaria, as if he had been going to the chase, without acquainting prince samer, lest he should thwart his design. he was mounted on a white charger, who had a bit and shoes of gold, his housing was of blue satin embroidered with pearls; the hilt of his scimitar was of one single diamond, and the scabbard of sandal-wood, adorned with emeralds and rubies, and on his shoulder he carried his bow and quiver. in this equipage, which greatly set off his handsome person, he arrived at the city of harran, and soon found means to offer his service to the sultan; who being charmed with his beauty and promising appearance, and perhaps indeed by natural sympathy, gave him a favourable reception, and asked his name and quality. "sir," answered codadad, "i am son to an emir of grand cairo; an inclination to travel has made me quit my country, and understanding, in my passage through your dominions, that you were engaged in war, i am come to your court to offer your majesty my service." the sultan shewed him extraordinary kindness, and gave him a command in his army. the young prince soon signalized his bravery. he gained the esteem of the officers, and was admired by the soldiers. having no less wit than courage, he so far advanced himself in the sultan's esteem, as to become his favourite. all the ministers and other courtiers daily resorted to codadad, and were so eager to purchase his friendship, that they neglected the sultan's sons. the princes could not but resent this conduct, and imputing it to the stranger, all conceived an implacable hatred against him; but the sultan's affection daily increasing, he was never weary of giving him fresh testimonies of his regard. he always would have him near his person; admired his conversation, ever full of wit and discretion; and to shew his high opinion of his wisdom and prudence, committed to his care the other princes, though he was of the same age as they; so that codadad was made governor of his brothers. this only served to heighten their hatred. "is it come to this," said they, "that the sultan, not satisfied with loving a stranger more than us, will have him to be our governor, and not allow us to act without his leave? this is not to be endured. we must rid ourselves of this foreigner." "let us go together," said one of them, "and dispatch him." "no, no," answered another; "we had better be cautious how we sacrifice ourselves. his death would render us odious to the sultan, who in return would declare us all unworthy to reign. let us destroy him by some stratagem. we will ask his permission to hunt, and when at a distance from the palace, proceed to some other city, and stay there some time. the sultan will wonder at our absence, and perceiving we do not return, perhaps put the stranger to death, or at least will banish him from court, for suffering us to leave the palace." all the princes applauded this artifice. they went together to codadad, and desired him to allow them to take the diversion of hunting, promising to return the same day. pirouzè's son was taken in the snare, and granted the permission his brothers desired. they set out, but never returned. they had been three days absent, when the sultan asked codadad where the princes were, for it was long since he had seen them. "sir," answered codadad, after making a profound reverence, "they have been hunting these three days, but they promised me they would return sooner." the sultan grew uneasy, and his uneasiness increased when he perceived the princes did not return the next day. he could not check his anger: "indiscreet stranger," said he to codadad, "why did you let my sons go without bearing them company? is it thus you discharge the trust i have reposed in you? go, seek them immediately, and bring them to me, or your life shall be forfeited." these words chilled with alarm pirouzè's unfortunate son. he armed himself, departed from the city, and like a shepherd, who had lost his flock, searched the country for his brothers, inquiring at every village whether they had been seen: but hearing no news of them, abandoned himself to the most lively grief. "alas! my brothers," said he, "what is become of you? are you fallen into the hands of our enemies? am i come to the court of harran to be the occasion of giving the sultan so much anxiety?" he was inconsolable for having given the princes permission to hunt, or for not having borne them company. after some days spent in fruitless search, he came to a plain of prodigious extent, in the midst whereof was a palace built of black marble. he drew near, and at one of the windows beheld a most beautiful lady; but set off with no other ornament than her own charms; for her hair was dishevelled, her garments torn, and on her countenance appeared all the marks of the greatest affliction. as soon as she saw codadad, and judged he might hear her, she directed her discourse to him, saying, "young man, depart from this fatal place, or you will soon fall into the hands of the monster that inhabits it: a black, who feeds only on human blood, resides in this palace; he seizes all persons whom their ill-fate conducts to this plain, and shuts them up in his dark dungeons, whence they are never released, but to be devoured by him." "madam," answered codadad, "tell me who you are, and be not concerned for myself." "i am a young woman of quality of grand cairo," replied the lady; "i was passing by this castle yesterday, in my way to bagdad, and met with the black, who killed all my attendants, and brought me hither; i wish i had nothing but death to fear, but to add to my calamity, this monster would persuade me to love him, and, in case i do not yield to-morrow to his brutality, i must expect the last violence. once more," added she, "make your escape: the black will soon return; he is gone out to pursue some travellers he espied at a distance on the plain. lose no time; i know not whether you can escape him by a speedy flight." she had scarcely done speaking before the black appeared. he was of monstrous bulk, and of a dreadful aspect, mounted on a large tartar horse, and bore such a heavy scimitar, that none but himself could wield. the prince seeing him, was amazed at his gigantic stature, directed his prayers to heaven to assist him, then drew his scimitar, and firmly awaited his approach. the monster, despising so inconsiderable an enemy, called to him to submit without fighting. codadad by his conduct shewed that he was resolved to defend his life; for rushing upon him, he wounded him on the knee. the black, feeling himself wounded, uttered such a dreadful yell as made all the plain resound. he grew furious and foamed with rage, and raising himself on his stirrups, made at codadad with his dreadful scimitar. the blow was so violent, that it would have put an end to the young prince, had not he avoided it by a sudden spring. the scimitar made a horrible hissing in the air: but, before the black could have time to make a second blow, codadad struck him on his right arm, with such force, that he cut it off. the dreadful scimitar fell with the hand that held it, and the black yielding under the violence of the stroke, lost his stirrups, and made the earth shake with the weight of his fall. the prince alighted at the same time, and cut off his enemy's head. just then, the lady, who had been a spectator of the combat, and was still offering up her earnest prayers to heaven for the young hero, whom she admired, uttered a shriek of joy, and said to codadad, "prince (for the dangerous victory you have obtained, as well as your noble air, convinces me that you are of no common rank), finish the work you have begun; the black has the keys of this castle, take them and deliver me out of prison." the prince searched the wretch as he lay stretched on the ground, and found several keys. he opened the first door, and entered a court, where he saw the lady coming to meet him; she would have cast herself at his feet, the better to express her gratitude, but he would not permit her. she commended his valour, and extolled him above all the heroes in the world. he returned her compliments; and she appeared still more lovely to him near, than she had done at a distance. i know not whether she felt more joy at being delivered from the desperate danger she had been in, than he for having done so considerable a service to so beautiful a person. their conversation was interrupted by dismal cries and groans. "what do i hear?" said codadad: "whence come these miserable lamentations, which pierce my ears?" "my lord," said the lady to him, pointing to a little door in the court, "they come from thence. there are i know not how many wretched persons whom fate has thrown into the hands of the black. they are all chained, and the monster drew out one every day to devour." "it is an addition to my joy," answered the young prince, "to understand that my victory will save the lives of those unfortunate beings. come along with me, madam, to partake in the satisfaction of giving them their liberty. you may judge by your own feelings how welcome we shall be to them." having so said, they advanced towards the door of the dungeon, and the nearer they drew, the more distinctly they heard the lamentations of the prisoners. codadad pitying them, and impatient to put an end to their sufferings, presently put one of the keys into the lock. the noise made all the unfortunate captives, who concluded it was the black coming, according to custom, to seize one of them to devour, redouble their cries and groans. lamentable voices were heard, which seemed to come from the centre of the earth. in the mean time, the prince had opened the door; he went down a very steep staircase into a large and deep vault, which received some feeble light from a little window, and in which there were above a hundred persons, bound to stakes, and their hands tied. "unfortunate travellers," said he to them, "wretched victims, who only expected the moment of an approaching cruel death, give thanks to heaven, which has this day delivered you by my means. i have slain the black by whom you were to be devoured, and am come to knock off your chains." the prisoners hearing these words, gave a shout of mingled joy and surprise. codadad and the lady began to unbind them; and as soon as any of them were loose, they helped to take off the fetters from the rest; so that in a short time they were all at liberty. they then kneeled down, and having returned thanks to codadad for what he had done for them, went out of the dungeon; but when they were come into the court, how was the prince surprised to see among the prisoners, those he was in search of, and almost without hopes to find! "princes," cried he, "am i not deceived? is it you whom i behold? may i flatter myself that it may be in my power to restore you to the sultan your father, who is inconsolable for the loss of you? but will he not have some one to lament? are you all here alive? alas! the death of one of you will suffice to damp the joy i feel for having delivered you!" the forty-nine princes all made themselves known to codadad, who embraced them one after another, and told them how uneasy their father was on account of their absence. they gave their deliverer all the commendations he deserved, as did the other prisoners, who could not find words expressive enough to declare their gratitude. codadad, with them, searched the whole castle, where was immense wealth; curious silks, gold brocades, persian carpets, china satins, and an infinite quantity of other goods, which the black had taken from the caravans he had plundered, a considerable part whereof belonged to the prisoners codadad had then liberated. every man knew and claimed his property. the prince restored them their own, and divided the rest of the merchandise among them. then he said to them, "how will you carry away your goods? we are here in a desert place, and there is no likelihood of your getting horses." "my lord," answered one of the prisoners, "the black robbed us of our camels as well as our goods, and perhaps they may be in the stables of this castle." "this is not unlikely," replied codadad; "let us examine." accordingly they went to the stables, where they not only found the camels, but also the horses belonging to the sultan of harran's sons. there were some black slaves in the stables, who seeing all the prisoners released, and guessing thereby that their master had been killed, fled through by-ways well known to them. nobody minded to pursue them. all the merchants, overjoyed that they had recovered their goods and camels, together with their liberty, thought of nothing but prosecuting their journey; but first repeated their thanks to their deliverer. when they were gone, codadad, directing his discourse to the lady, said, "what place, madam, do you desire to go to? whither were you bound when you were seized by the black? i intend to bear you company to the place you shall choose for your retreat, and i question not but that all these princes will do the same." the sultan of harran's sons protested to the lady, that they would not leave her till she was restored to her friends. "princes," said she, "i am of a country too remote from hence; and, besides that, it would be abusing your generosity to oblige you to travel so far. i must confess that i have left my native country for ever. i told you that i was a lady of grand cairo; but since you have shewn me so much favour, and i am so highly obliged to you," added she, looking upon codadad, "i should be much in the wrong in concealing the truth from you; i am a sultan's daughter. an usurper has possessed himself of my father's throne, after having murdered him, and i have been forced to fly to save my life." codadad and his brothers requested the princess to tell them her story, assuring her they felt a particular interest in her misfortunes, and were determined to spare nothing that might contribute to render her more happy. after thanking them for their repeated protestations of readiness to serve her, she could not refuse to satisfy their curiosity, and began the recital of her adventures in the following manner. the history of the princess of deryabar. there was in a certain island a great city called deryabar, governed by a potent, magnificent, and virtuous sultan, who had no children, which was the only blessing wanting to make him happy. he continually addressed his prayers to heaven, but heaven only partially granted his requests, for the queen his wife, after a long expectation, brought forth a daughter. i am the unfortunate princess; my father was rather grieved than pleased at my birth; but he submitted to the will of god, and caused me to be educated with all possible care, being resolved, since he had no son, to teach me the art of ruling, that i might supply his place after his death. one day when he was taking the diversion of hunting, he espied a wild ass, which he chased, lost his company, and was carried away so far by his eagerness as to ride on till night. he then alighted, and sat down at the entrance of a wood, in which the ass had sheltered. no sooner was the day shut in than he discovered among the trees a light, which made him conclude that he was not far from some village; he rejoiced at this, hoping that he might pass the night there, and find some person to send to his followers and acquaint them where he was; accordingly he rose and walked towards the light, which served to guide him. he soon found he had been deceived, the light being no other than a fire blazing in a hut; however, he drew near, and, with amazement, beheld a black man, or rather a giant, sitting on a sofa. before the monster was a great pitcher of wine, and he was roasting an ox he had newly killed. sometimes he drank out of the pitcher, and sometimes cut slices off the ox and greedily devoured them. but what most attracted my father's attention was a beautiful woman whom he saw in the hut. she seemed overwhelmed with grief; her hands were bound, and at her feet was a little child about two or three years old, who, as if he was sensible of his mother's misfortunes, wept without ceasing, and rent the air with his cries. my father, moved with this pitiable object, thought at first to enter the hut and attack the giant; but considering how unequal the combat would be, he stopped, and resolved, since he had not strength enough to prevail by open force, to use art. in the mean time, the giant having emptied the pitcher, and devoured above half the ox, turned to the woman and said, "beautiful princess, why do you oblige me by your obstinacy to treat you with severity? it is in your own power to be happy. you need only resolve to love, and be true to me, and i shall treat you with more mildness." "thou hideous satyr," answered the lady, "never expect that time should wear away my abhorrence of thee. thou wilt ever be a monster in my eyes." to these words she added so many reproaches, that the giant grew enraged. "this is too much," cried he, in a furious tone; "my love despised is turned into rage. your hatred has at last excited mine; i find it triumphs over my desires, and that i now wish your death more ardently than your enjoyment." having spoken these words, he took the wretched lady by the hair, held her up with one hand in the air, and drawing his scimitar with the other, was just going to strike off her head, when the sultan my father let fly an arrow which pierced the giant's breast, so that he staggered, and dropped down dead. my father entered the hut, unbound the lady's hands, inquired who she was, and how she came thither. "my lord," said she, "there are along the sea-coast some families of saracens, who live under a prince who is my husband; this giant you have killed was one of his principal officers. the wretch fell desperately in love with me, but took care to conceal his passion, till he could put in execution the design he had formed of forcing me from home. fortune oftener favours wicked designs than virtuous resolutions. the giant one day surprised me and my child in a by-place. he seized us both, and to disappoint the search he well knew my husband would cause to be made for me, removed from the country inhabited by those saracens, and brought us into this wood, where he has kept me some days. deplorable as my condition is, it is still a great satisfaction to me to think that the giant, though so brutal, never used force to obtain what i always refused to his entreaties. not but that he has a hundred times threatened that he would have recourse to the worst of extremities, in case he could not otherwise prevail upon me; and i must confess to you, that awhile ago, when i provoked his anger by my words, i was less concerned for my life than for my honour. "this, my lord," said the prince of the saracens' wife, "is the faithful account of my misfortunes, and i question not but you will think me worthy of your compassion, and that you will not repent having so generously relieved me." "madam," answered my father, "be assured your troubles have affected me, and i will do all in my power to make you happy. to-morrow, as soon as day appears, we will quit this wood, and endeavour to fall into the road which leads to the great city of deryabar, of which i am sovereign; and if you think fit, you shall be lodged in my palace, till the prince your husband comes to claim you." the saracen lady accepted the offer, and the next day followed the sultan my father, who found all his retinue upon the skirts of the wood, they having spent the night in searching for him, and being very uneasy because they could not find him. they were no less rejoiced to meet with, than amazed to see him with a lady, whose beauty surprised them. he told them how he had found her, and the risk he had run in approaching the hut, where he must certainly have lost his life had the giant discovered him. one of his servants took up the lady behind him, and another carried the child. thus they arrived at the palace of my father, who assigned the beautiful saracen lady an apartment, and caused her child to be carefully educated. the lady was not insensible of the sultan's goodness to her, and expressed as much gratitude as he could desire. she had at first appeared very uneasy and impatient that her husband did not claim her; but by degrees she lost that uneasiness. the respect my father paid her dispelled her impatience; and i am of opinion she would at last have blamed fortune more for restoring her to her kindred, than she did for removing her from them. in the mean time the lady's son grew up; he was very handsome, and not wanting ability, found means to please the sultan my father, who conceived a great friendship for him. all the courtiers perceived it, and guessed that the young man might in the end be my husband. in this idea, and looking on him already as heir to the crown, they made their court to him, and every one endeavoured to gain his favour. he soon saw into their designs, grew conceited of himself, and forgetting the distance there was between our conditions, flattered himself with the hopes that my father was fond enough of him, to prefer him before all the princes in the world. he went farther; for the sultan not offering me to him as soon as he could have wished, he had the boldness to ask me of him. whatever punishment his insolence deserved, my father was satisfied with telling him he had other thoughts in relation to me, and shewed him no further resentment. the youth was incensed at this refusal; he resented the contempt, as if he had asked some maid of ordinary extraction, or as if his birth had been equal to mine. nor did he stop here, but resolved to be revenged on the sultan, and with unparalleled ingratitude conspired against him. in short, he murdered him, and caused himself to be proclaimed sovereign of deryabar. the first thing he did after the murder of my father was to come into my apartment, at the head of a party of the conspirators. his design was either to take my life or oblige me to marry him. the grand vizier, however, who had been always loyal to his master, while the usurper was butchering my father, came to carry me away from the palace, and secured me in a friend's house, till a vessel he had provided was ready to sail. i then left the island, attended only by a governess and that generous minister, who chose rather to follow his master's daughter, and share her misfortunes, than to submit to a tyrant. the grand vizier designed to carry me to the courts of the neighbouring sultans, to implore their assistance, and excite them to revenge my father's death; but heaven did not concur in a resolution we thought so just. when we had been but a few days at sea, there arose such a furious storm, that, in spite of all the mariners' art, our vessel, carried away by the violence of the winds and waves, was dashed in pieces against a rock. i will not spend time in describing our shipwreck. i can but faintly represent to you how my governess, the grand vizier, and all that attended me, were swallowed up by the sea. the dread i was seized with did not permit me to observe all the horror of our condition. i lost my senses; and whether i was thrown upon the coast upon any part of the wreck, or whether heaven, which reserved me for other misfortunes, wrought a miracle for my deliverance, i found myself on shore when my senses returned. misfortunes very often make us forget our duty. instead of returning thanks to god for so singular a favour shewn me, i only lifted up my eyes to heaven, to complain because i had been preserved. i was so far from bewailing the vizier and my governess, that i envied their fate, and dreadful imaginations by degrees prevailing over my reason, i resolved to cast myself into the sea; i was on the point of doing so, when i heard behind me a great noise of men and horses. i looked about to see what it might be, and espied several armed horsemen, among whom was one mounted on an arabian horse. he had on a garment embroidered with silver, a girdle set with precious stones, and a crown of gold on his head. though his habit had not convinced me that he was chief of the company, i should have judged it by the air of grandeur which appeared in his person. he was a young man extraordinarily well shaped, and perfectly beautiful. surprised to see a young lady alone in that place, he sent some of his officers to ask who i was. i answered only by weeping. the shore being covered with the wreck of our ship, they concluded that i was certainly some person who had escaped from the vessel. this conjecture, and my inconsolable condition, excited the curiosity of the officers, who began to ask me a thousand questions, with assurances, that their master was a generous prince, and that i should receive protection at his court. the sultan, impatient to know who i was, grew weary of waiting the return of his officers, and drew near to me. he gazed on me very earnestly, and observing that i did not cease weeping and afflicting myself, without being able to return an answer to their questions, he forbad them troubling me any more; and directing his discourse to me, "madam," said he, "i conjure you to moderate your excessive affliction. though heaven in its dispensations has laid this calamity upon you, it does not behove you to despair. i beseech you shew more resolution. fortune, which has hitherto persecuted you, is inconstant, and may soon change. i dare assure you, that, if your misfortunes are capable of receiving any relief, you shall find it in my dominions. my palace is at your service. you shall live with the queen my mother, who will endeavour by her kindness to ease your affliction. i know not yet who you are; but i find i already take an interest in your welfare." i thanked the young sultan for his goodness to me, accepted his obliging offers; and to convince him that i was not unworthy of them, told him my condition. i described to him the insolence of the young saracen, and found it was enough to recount my misfortunes, to excite compassion in him and all his officers, who heard me. when i had done speaking, the prince began again, assuring me that he was deeply concerned at my misfortunes. he then conducted me to his palace, and presented me to the queen his mother, to whom i was obliged again to repeat my misfortunes and to renew my tears. the queen seemed very sensible of my trouble, and conceived extreme affection for me. on the other hand, the sultan her son fell desperately in love with me, and soon offered me his person and his crown. i was so taken up with the thoughts of my calamities, that the prince, though so lovely a person, did not make so great an impression on me as he might have done at another time. however, gratitude prevailing, i did not refuse to make him happy, and our nuptials were concluded with all imaginable splendour. while the people were taken up with the celebration of their sovereign's nuptials, a neighbouring prince, his enemy, made a descent by night on the island with a great number of troops. that formidable enemy was the king of zanguebar. he surprised and cut to pieces my husband's subjects. he was very near taking us both. we escaped very narrowly, for he had already entered the palace with some of his followers, but we found means to slip away, and to get to the seacoast, where we threw ourselves into a fishing boat which we had the good fortune to meet with. two days we were driven about by the winds, without knowing what would become of us. the third day we espied a vessel making towards us under sail. we rejoiced at first, believing it had been a merchant ship which might take us aboard; but what was our consternation, when, as it drew near, we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck. having boarded, five or six of them leaped into our boat, seized us, bound the prince, and conveyed us into their ship, where they immediately took off my veil. my youth and features touched them, and they all declared how much they were charmed at the sight of me. instead of casting lots, each of them claimed the preference, and me as his right. the dispute grew warm, they came to blows, and fought like madmen. the deck was soon covered with dead bodies, and they were all killed but one, who being left sole possessor of me, said, "you are mine. i will carry you to grand cairo, to deliver you to a friend of mine, to whom i have promised a beautiful slave. but who," added he, looking upon the sultan my husband, "is that man? what relation does he bear to you? are you allied by blood or love?" "sir," answered i, "he is my husband." "if so," replied the pirate, "in pity i must rid myself of him: it would be too great an affliction to him to see you in my friend's arms." having spoken these words, he took up the unhappy prince, who was bound, and threw him into the sea, notwithstanding all my endeavours to prevent him. i shrieked in a dreadful manner at the sight of what he had done, and had certainly cast myself headlong into the sea, but that the pirate held me. he saw my design, and therefore bound me with cords to the main-mast, then hoisting sail, made towards the land, and got ashore. he unbound me and led me to a little town, where he bought camels, tents, and slaves, and then set out for grand cairo, designing, as he still said, to present me to his friend, according to his promise. we had been several days upon the road, when, as we were crossing this plain yesterday, we descried the black who inhabited this castle. at a distance we took him for a tower, and when near us, could scarcely believe him to be a man. he drew his huge scimitar, and summoned the pirate to yield himself prisoner, with all his slaves, and the lady he was conducting. the pirate was daring; and being seconded by his slaves, who promised to stand by him, he attacked the black. the combat lasted a considerable time; but at length the pirate fell under his enemy's deadly blows, as did all his slaves, who chose rather to die than forsake him. the black then conducted me to the castle, whither he also brought the pirate's body, which he devoured that night. after his inhuman repast, perceiving that i ceased not weeping, he said to me, "young lady, prepare to love me, rather than continue thus to afflict yourself. make a virtue of necessity, and comply. i will give you till to-morrow to consider. let me then find you comforted for all your misfortunes, and overjoyed at having been reserved for me." having spoken these words, he conducted me to a chamber, and withdrew to his own, after locking up the castle gates. he opened them this morning, and presently locked them after him again, to pursue some travellers he perceived at a distance; but it is likely they made their escape, since he was returning alone, and without any booty, when you attacked him. as soon as the princess had finished the recital of her adventures, codadad declared to her that he was deeply concerned at her misfortunes. "but, madam," added he, "it shall be your own fault if you do not live at ease for the future. the sultan of harran's sons offer you a safe retreat in the court of their father; be pleased to accept of it. you will be there cherished by that sovereign, and respected by all; and if you do not disdain the affection of your deliverer, permit me to assure you of it, and to espouse you before all these princes; let them be witnesses to our contract." the princess consented, and the marriage was concluded that very day in the castle, where they found all sorts of provisions. the kitchens were full of flesh and other eatables the black used to feed on, when he was weary of feeding on human bodies. there was also a variety of fruits, excellent in their kinds; and, to complete their pleasure, abundance of delicious wine and other liquors. they all sat down at table; and after having eaten and drunk plentifully, took with them the rest of the provisions, and set out for the sultan of harran's court: they travelled several days, encamping in the pleasantest places they could find, and were within one day's journey of harran, when having halted and drunk all their wine, being under no longer concern to make it hold out, codadad directing his discourse to all his company, said "princes, i have too long concealed from you who i am. behold your brother codadad! i have received my being, as well as you, from the sultan of harran, the prince of samaria brought me up, and the princess pirouzè is my mother. madam," added he, addressing himself to the princess of deryabar, "do you also forgive me for having concealed my birth from you? perhaps, by discovering it sooner, i might have prevented some disagreeable reflections, which may have been occasioned by a match you may have thought unequal." "no, sir," answered the princess, "the opinion i at first conceived of you heightened every moment, and you did not stand in need of the extraction you now discover to make me happy." the princes congratulated codadad on his birth, and expressed much satisfaction at being made acquainted with it. but in reality, instead of rejoicing, their hatred of so amiable a brother was increased. they met together at night, whilst codadad and the princess his wife lay asleep in their tent. those ungrateful, those envious brothers, forgetting that had it not been for the brave son of pirouzè they must have been devoured by the black, agreed among themselves to murder him. "we have no other course to choose," said one of them, "for the moment our father shall come to understand that this stranger of whom he is already so fond, is our brother, and that he alone has been able to destroy a giant, whom we could not all of us together conquer, he will declare him his heir, to the prejudice of all his brothers, who will be obliged to obey and fall down before him." he added much more, which made such an impression on their envious and unnatural minds, that they immediately repaired to codadad, then asleep, stabbed him repeatedly, and leaving him for dead in the arms of the princess of deryabar, proceeded on their journey for the city of harran, where they arrived the next day. the sultan their father conceived the greater joy at their return, because he had despaired of ever seeing them again: he asked what had been the occasion of their stay? but they took care not to acquaint him with it, making no mention either of the black or of codadad; and only said, that, being curious to see different countries, they had spent some time in the neighbouring cities. in the mean time codadad lay in his tent weltering in his blood, and little differing from a dead man, with the princess his wife, who seemed to be in not much better condition than himself. she rent the air with her dismal shrieks, tore her hair, and bathing her husband's body with her tears, "alas! codadad, my dear codadad," cried she, "is it you whom i behold just departing this life? what cruel hands have put you into this condition? can i believe these are your brothers who have treated you so unmercifully, those brothers whom thy valour had saved? no, they are rather devils, who under characters so dear came to murder you. o barbarous wretches! how could you make so ungrateful a return for the service he has done you? but why should i complain of your brothers, unfortunate codadad! i alone am to blame for your death. you would join your fate with mine, and all the ill fortune that has attended me since i left my father's palace has fallen upon you. o heaven! which has condemned me to lead a life of calamities, if you will not permit me to have a consort, why did you permit me to find one? behold you have now robbed me of two, just as i began to be attached to them." by these and other moving expressions, the afflicted princess of deryabar vented her sorrow, fixing her eyes on the unfortunate codadad, who could not hear her; but he was not dead, and his consort observing that he still breathed, ran to a large town she espied in the plain, to inquire for a surgeon. she was directed to one, who went immediately with her; but when they came to the tent, they could not find codadad, which made them conclude he had been dragged away by some wild beast to be devoured. the princess renewed her complaints and lamentations in a most affecting manner. the surgeon was moved and being unwilling to leave her in so distressed a condition, proposed to her to return to the town offering her his house and service. she suffered herself to be prevailed on. the surgeon conducted her to his house, and without knowing, as yet, who she was, treated her with all imaginable courtesy and respect. he used all his endeavours to comfort her, but it was vain to think of removing her sorrow, which was rather heightened than diminished. "madam," said he to her one day, "be pleased to recount to me your misfortunes; tell me your country and your condition. perhaps i may give you some good advice, when i am acquainted with all the circumstances of your calamity. you do nothing but afflict yourself, without considering that remedies may be found for the most desperate diseases." the surgeon's words were so efficacious, that they wrought on the princess, who recounted to him all her adventures: and when she had done, the surgeon directed his discourse to her; "madam," said he, "you ought not thus to give way to your sorrow; you ought rather to arm yourself with resolution, and perform what the name and the duty of a wife require of you. you are bound to avenge your husband. if you please, i will wait on you as your attendant. let us go to the sultan of harran's court; he is a good and a just prince. you need only represent to him in lively colours, how prince codadad has been treated by his brothers. i am persuaded he will do you justice." "i submit to your reasons," answered the princess; "it is my duty to endeavour to avenge codadad; and since you are so generous as to offer to attend me, i am ready to set out." no sooner had she fixed this resolution, than the surgeon ordered two camels to be made ready, on which the princess and he mounted, and repaired to harran. they alighted at the first caravanserai they found, and inquired of the host the news at court. "it is," said he, "in very great perplexity. the sultan had a son, who lived long with him as a stranger, and none can tell what is become of the young prince. one of the sultan's wives, named pirouzè, is his mother; she has made all possible inquiry, but to no purpose. all are concerned at the loss of this prince, because he had great merit. the sultan has forty-nine other sons, all by different mothers, but not one of them has virtue enough to comfort him for the death of codadad; i say, his death, because it is impossible he should be still alive, since no intelligence has been heard of him, notwithstanding so much search has been made." the surgeon having heard this account from the host, concluded that the best course the princess of deryabar could take was to wait upon pirouzè; but that step was not without some danger, and required much precaution: for it was to be feared, that if the sultan of harran's sons should happen to hear of the arrival of their sister-in-law, and her design, they might cause her to be conveyed away before she could discover herself to codadad's mother. the surgeon weighed all these circumstances, considered what risk he might run himself, and therefore, that he might manage matters with discretion, desired the princess to remain in the caravanserai, whilst he repaired to the palace, to observe which might be the safest way to conduct her to pirouzè. he went accordingly into the city, and was walking towards the palace, like one led only by curiosity to see the court, when he beheld a lady mounted on a mule richly accoutred. she was followed by several ladies mounted also on mules, with a great number of guards and black slaves. all the people formed a lane to see her pass along, and saluted her by prostrating themselves on the ground. the surgeon paid her the same respect, and then asked a calender, who happened to stand by him, "whether that lady was one of the sultan's wives?" "yes, brother," answered the calender, "she is, and the most honoured and beloved by the people, because she is the mother of prince codadad, of whom you must have heard." the surgeon asked no more questions, but followed pirouzè to a mosque, into which she went to distribute alms, and assist at the public prayers which the sultan had ordered to be offered up for the safe return of codadad. the people, who were highly concerned for that young prince, ran in crowds to join their vows to the prayers of the priests, so that the mosque was quite full. the surgeon broke through the throng, and advanced to pirouzè's guards. he waited the conclusion of the prayers, and when the princess went out, stepped up to one of her slaves, and whispered him in the ear, "brother, i have a secret of moment to impart to the princess pirouzè; may not i, by your means, be introduced into her apartment?" "if that secret," answered the slave, "relate to prince codadad, i dare promise you shall have audience of her this very day; but if it concern not him, it is needless for you to endeavour to be introduced; for her thoughts are all engrossed by her son, and she will not hear of any other subject." "it is only about that dear son," replied the surgeon, "that i wish to speak to her." "if so," said the slave, "you need only follow us to the palace, and you shall soon have the opportunity." accordingly, as soon as pirouzè was returned to her apartment, the slave acquainted her that a person unknown had some important information to communicate to her, and that it related to prince codadad. no sooner had he uttered these words, than pirouzè expressed her impatience to see the stranger. the slave immediately conducted him into the princess's closet, who ordered all her women to withdraw, except two, from whom she concealed nothing. as soon as she saw the surgeon, she asked him eagerly, what news he had to tell her of codadad? "madam," answered the surgeon, after having prostrated himself on the ground, "i have a long account to give you, and such as will surprise you." he then related all the particulars of what had passed between codadad and his brothers, which she listened to with eager attention; but when he came to speak of the murder, the tender mother fainted away on her sofa, as if she had herself been stabbed like her son. her two women used proper means, and soon brought her to herself. the surgeon continued his relation; and when he had concluded, pirouzè said to him, "go back to the princess of deryabar, and assure her from me that the sultan shall soon own her for his daughter-in-law; and as for yourself, be satisfied, that your services shall be rewarded as liberally as they deserve." when the surgeon was gone, pirouzè remained on the sofa, in such a state of affliction as may easily be imagined; and yielding to her tenderness at the recollection of codadad, "o my son," said she, "i must never then expect to see you more! alas! when i gave you leave to depart from samaria, and you took leave of me, i did not imagine that so unfortunate a death awaited you at such a distance from me. unfortunate codadad! why did you leave me? you would not, it is true, have acquired so much renown, but you had been still alive, and not have cost your mother so many tears." while she uttered these words, she wept bitterly, and her two attendants moved by her grief, mingled their tears with hers. whilst they were all three in this manner vying in affliction, the sultan came into the closet, and seeing them in this condition, asked pirouzè whether she had received any bad news concerning codadad? "alas! sir," said she, "all is over, my son has lost his life, and to add to my sorrow, i cannot pay him the funeral rites; for, in all probability, wild beasts have devoured him." she then told him all she had heard from the surgeon, and did not fail to enlarge on the inhuman manner in which codadad had been murdered by his brothers. the sultan did not give pirouzè time to finish her relation, but transported with anger, and giving way to his passion, "madam," said he to the princess, "those perfidious wretches who cause you to shed these tears, and are the occasion of mortal grief to their father, shall soon feel the punishment due to their guilt." the sultan having spoken these words, with indignation in his countenance, went directly to the presence-chamber where all his courtiers attended, and such of the people as had petitions to present to him. they were alarmed to see him in passion, and thought his anger had been kindled against his people. their hearts were chilled with fear. he ascended the throne, and causing his grand vizier to approach, "hassan," said he, "go immediately, take a thousand of my guards, and seize all the princes, my sons; shut them up in the tower used as a prison for murderers, and let this be done in a moment." all who were present trembled at this extraordinary command; and the grand vizier, without uttering a word, laid his hand on his head, to express his obedience, and hastened from the hall to execute his orders. in the mean time the sultan dismissed those who attended for audience, and declared he would not hear of any business for a month to come. he was still in the hall when the vizier returned. "are all my sons," demanded he, "in the tower?" "they are, sir," answered the vizier, "i have obeyed your orders." "this is not all," replied the sultan, "i have further commands for you;" and so saying he went out of the hall of audience, and returned to pirouzè's apartment, the vizier following him. he asked the princess where codadad's widow had taken up her lodging? pirouzè's women told him, for the surgeon had not forgotten that in his relation. the sultan then turning to his minister, "go," said he, "to this caravanserai, and conduct a young princess who lodges there, with all the respect due to her quality, to my palace." the vizier was not long in performing what he was ordered. he mounted on horseback with all the emirs and courtiers, and repaired to the caravanserai, where the princess of deryabar was lodged, whom he acquainted with his orders; and presented her, from the sultan, a fine white mule, whose saddle and bridle were adorned with gold, rubies, and diamonds. she mounted, and proceeded to the palace. the surgeon attended her, mounted on a beautiful tartar horse which the vizier had provided for him. all the people were at their windows, or in the streets, to see the cavalcade; and it being given out that the princess, whom they conducted in such state to court, was codadad's wife, the city resounded with acclamations, the air rung with shouts of joy, which would have been turned into lamentations had that prince's fatal adventure been known; so much was he beloved by all. the princess of deryabar found the sultan at the palace-gate, waiting to receive her: he took her by the hand, and led her to pirouzè's apartment, where a very moving scene took place. codadad's wife found her affliction redouble at the sight of her husband's father and mother; as, on the other hand, those parents could not look on their son's wife without being much affected. she cast herself at the sultan's feet, and having bathed them with tears, was so overcome with grief, that she was not able to speak. pirouzè was in no better state. and the sultan, moved by these affecting objects, gave way to his own feelings, and wept. all three, mingling their tears and sighs, for some time observed a silence, equally tender and pitiful. at length the princess of deryabar, being somewhat recovered, recounted the adventure of the castle, and codadad's disaster. then she demanded justice for the treachery of the princes. "yes, madam," said the sultan, "those ungrateful wretches shall perish; but codadad's death must be first made public, that the punishment of his brothers may not cause my subjects to rebel; and though we have not my son's body, we will not omit paying him the last duties." this said, he directed his discourse to the vizier, and ordered him to cause to be erected a dome of white marble, in a delightful plain, in the midst of which the city of harran stands. then he appointed the princess of deryabar a suitable apartment in his palace, acknowledging her for his daughter-in-law. hassan caused the work to be carried on with such diligence, and employed so many workmen, that the dome was soon finished. within it was erected a tomb, which was covered with gold brocade. when all was completed, the sultan ordered prayers to be said, and appointed a day for the obsequies of his son. on that day all the inhabitants of the city went out upon the plain to see the ceremony performed, which was after the following manner. the sultan, attended by his vizier and the principal lords of the court, proceeded towards the dome, and being come to it, he went in and sat down with them on carpets of black satin embroidered with gold flowers. a great body of horse-guards hanging their heads, drew up close about the dome, and marched round it twice, observing a profound silence; but at the third round they halted before the door, and all of them with a loud voice pronounced these words: "o prince! son to the sultan, could we by dint of sword, and human valour, repair your misfortune, we would bring you back to life; but the king of kings has commanded, and the angel of death has obeyed." having uttered these words, they drew off, to make way for a hundred old men, all of them mounted on black mules, and having long grey beards. these were anchorites, who had lived all their days concealed in caves. they never appeared in sight of the world, but when they were to assist at the obsequies of the sultans of harran, and of the princes of their family. each of these venerable persons carried on his head a book, which he held with one hand. they took three turns round the dome without uttering a word; then stopping before the door, one of them said, "o prince! what can we do for thee? if thou couldst be restored to life by prayer or learning, we would rub our grey beards at thy feet, and recite prayers; but the king of the universe has taken thee away for ever." this said, the old men moved to a distance from the dome, and immediately fifty beautiful young maidens drew near to it; each of them mounted on a little white horse; they wore no veils, and carried gold baskets full of all sorts of precious stones. they also rode thrice round the dome, and halting at the same place as the others had done, the youngest of them spoke in the name of all, as follows: "o prince! once so beautiful, what relief can you expect from us? if we could restore you to life by our charms, we would become your slaves. but you are no longer sensible to beauty, and have no more occasion for us." when the young maids were withdrawn, the sultan and his courtiers arose, and having walked thrice around the tomb, the sultan spoke as follows: "o my dear son, light of my eyes, i have then lost thee for ever!" he accompanied these words with sighs, and watered the tomb with his tears; his courtiers weeping with him. the gate of the dome was then closed, and all the people returned to the city. next day there were public prayers in all the mosques, and the same was continued for eight days successively. on the ninth the king resolved to cause the princes his sons to be beheaded. the people incensed at their cruelty towards codadad, impatiently expected to see them executed. the scaffolds were erecting, but the execution was respited, because, on a sudden, intelligence was brought that the neighbouring princes, who had before made war on the sultan of harran, were advancing with more numerous forces than on the first invasion, and were then not far from the city. it had been long known that they were preparing for war, but their preparations caused no alarm. this news occasioned general consternation, and gave new cause to lament the loss of codadad, who had signalized himself in the former war against the same enemies. "alas!" said they, "were the brave codadad alive, we should little regard those princes who are coming to surprise us." the sultan, nothing dismayed, raised men with all possible speed, formed a considerable army, and being too brave to await the enemy's coming to attack him within his walls, marched out to meet them. they, on their side, being informed by their advanced parties that the sultan of harran was marching to engage them, halted in the plain, and formed their army. as soon as the sultan discovered them, he also drew up his forces, and ranged them in order of battle. the signal was given and he attacked them with extraordinary vigour; nor was the opposition inferior. much blood was shed on both sides, and the victory remained long dubious; but at length it seemed to incline to the sultan of harran's enemies, who, being more numerous, were upon the point of surrounding him, when a great body of cavalry appeared on the plain, and approached the two armies. the sight of this fresh party daunted both sides, neither knowing what to think of them: but their doubts were soon cleared; for they fell upon the flank of the sultan of harran's enemies with such a furious charge, that they soon broke and routed them. nor did they stop here; they pursued them, and cut most of them in pieces. the sultan of harran, who had attentively observed all that passed, admired the bravery of this strange body of cavalry, whose unexpected arrival had given the victory to his army. but, above all, he was charmed with their chief, whom he had seen fighting with a more than ordinary valour. he longed to know the name of the generous hero. impatient to see and thank him, he advanced towards him, but perceived he was coming to prevent him. the two princes drew near, and the sultan of harran discovering codadad in the brave warrior who had just assisted him, or rather defeated his enemies, became motionless with joy and surprise. "father," said codadad to him, "you have sufficient cause to be astonished at the sudden appearance before your majesty of a man, whom perhaps you concluded to be dead. i should have been so had not heaven preserved me still to serve you against your enemies." "o my son!" cried the sultan, "is it possible that you are restored to me? alas! i despaired of seeing you more." so saying he stretched out his arms to the young prince, who flew to such a tender embrace. "i know all, my son," said the sultan again, after having long held him in his arms. "i know what return your brothers have made you for delivering them out of the hands of the black; but you shall be revenged to-morrow. let us now go to the palace where your mother, who has shed so many tears on your account, expects me to rejoice with us for the defeat of our enemies. what a joy will it be to her to be informed, that my victory is your work!" "sir," said codadad, "give me leave to ask how you could know the adventure of the castle? have any of my brothers, repenting, owned it to you?" "no," answered the sultan; "the princess of deryabar has given us an account of every thing, for she is in my palace and came thither to demand justice against your brothers." codadad was transported with joy, to learn that the princess his wife was at the court. "let us go, sir," cried he to his father in rapture, "let us go to my mother, who waits for us. i am impatient to dry up her tears, as well as those of the princess of deryabar." the sultan immediately returned to the city with his army, and re-entered his palace victorious, amidst the acclamations of the people, who followed him in crowds, praying to heaven to prolong his life, and extolling codadad to the skies. they found pirouzè and her daughter-in-law waiting to congratulate the sultan; but words cannot express the transports of joy they felt, when they saw the young prince with him: their embraces were mingled with tears of a very different kind from those they had before shed for him. when they had sufficiently yielded to all the emotions that the ties of blood and love inspired, they asked codadad by what miracle he came to be still alive? he answered, that a peasant mounted on a mule happening accidentally to come into the tent, where he lay senseless, and perceiving him alone, and stabbed in several places, had made him fast on his mule, and carried him to his house, where he applied to his wounds certain herbs chewed, which recovered him. "when i found myself well," added he, "i returned thanks to the peasant, and gave him all the diamonds i had. i then made for the city of harran; but being informed by the way, that some neighbouring princes had gathered forces, and were on their march against the sultan's subjects, i made myself known to the villagers, and stirred them up to undertake his defence. i armed a great number of young men, and heading them, happened to arrive at the time when the two armies were engaged." when he had done speaking, the sultan said, "let us return thanks to god for having preserved codadad; but it is requisite that the traitors, who would have destroyed him, should perish." "sir," answered the generous prince, "though they are wicked and ungrateful, consider they are your own flesh and blood: they are my brothers; i forgive their offence, and beg you to pardon them." this generosity drew tears from the sultan, who caused the people to be assembled and declared codadad his heir. he then ordered the princes, who were prisoners, to be brought out loaded with irons. pirouzè's son struck off their chains, and embraced them all successively, with as much sincerity and affection as he had done in the court of the black's castle. the people were charmed with codadad's generosity, and loaded him with applause. the surgeon was next nobly rewarded in requital of the services he had done the princess of deryabar. the story of abou hassan, or the sleeper awakened. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a very rich merchant, who, having married a woman advanced in years, had but one son, whom he named abou hassan, and educated with great restraint: when his son was thirty years old, the merchant dying, left him his sole heir, and master of great riches, amassed together by much frugality and close application to business. abou hassan, whose views and inclinations were very different from those of his father, determined to make another use of his wealth; for as his father had never allowed him any money but what was just necessary for subsistence, and he had always envied those young persons of his age who wanted for nothing, and who debarred themselves from none of those pleasures to which youth are so much addicted, he resolved in his turn to distinguish himself by extravagancies proportionable to his fortune. to this end he divided his riches into two parts; with one half he bought houses in town, and land in the country, with a resolution never to touch the income of his real estate, which was considerable enough to live upon very handsomely, but lay it all by as he received it. with the other half, which consisted of ready money, he designed to make himself amends for the time he had lost by the severe restraint in which his father had always kept him. with this intent, abou hassan formed a society with youths of his own age and condition, who thought of nothing but how to make their time pass agreeably. every day he gave them splendid entertainments, at which the most delicate viands were served up, and the most exquisite wines flowed in profusion, while concerts of the best vocal and instrumental music by performers of both sexes heightened their pleasures, and this young band of debauchees with the glasses in their hands, joined their songs with the music. these feasts were accompanied by ballets, for which the best dancers of both sexes were engaged. these entertainments, renewed every day, were so expensive to abou hassan, that he could not support the extravagance above a year: and the great sum which he had appropriated to this prodigality and the year ended together. as soon as he discontinued keeping this table, his friends forsook him; whenever they saw him they avoided him, and if by chance he met any of them, and went to stop them, they always excused themselves on some presence or other. abou hassan was more affected by this behaviour of his friends, who had forsaken him so basely and ungratefully, after all the protestations they had made him, of inviolable attachment, than by the loss of all the money he had so foolishly squandered. he went melancholy and thoughtful, his countenance expressive of deep vexation, into his mother's apartment, and sat down on the end of a sofa at a distance from her. "what is the matter with you, son?" said his mother, seeing him thus depressed. "why are you so altered, so dejected, and so different from yourself? you could not certainly be more concerned, if you had lost all you had. i know you have lived very extravagantly, and believe all your money is spent; you have still, however, a good estate; and the reason that i did not so much oppose your irregular way of living was, that i knew the wise precaution you had taken to preserve half your property. i do not, therefore, see why you should plunge yourself into this deep melancholy." at these words abou hassan melted into tears; and in the midst of his sighs exclaimed, "ah! mother, i see at last how insupportable poverty must be; i am sensible that it deprives us of joy, as the setting of the sun does of light. as poverty makes us forget all the commendations passed upon us before our fall, it makes us endeavour to conceal ourselves, and spend our nights in tears and sorrow. in short, a poor man is looked upon, both by friends and relations, as a stranger. you know, mother, how i have treated my friends for this year past; i have entertained them with all imaginable generosity, till i have spent all my money, and now they have left me, when they suppose i can treat them no longer. for my real estate, i thank heaven for having given me grace to keep the oath i made not to encroach upon that. i shall now know how to use what is left. but i will, however, try how far my friends, who deserve not that i should call them so, will carry their ingratitude. i will go to them one after another, and when i have represented to them what i have done on their account, ask them to make up a sum of money, to relieve me, merely to try if i can find any sentiment of gratitude remaining in them." "i do not pretend, son," said abou hassan's mother, "to dissuade you from your design; but i can tell you beforehand, that you have no ground for hope. believe me, you will kind no relief but from the estate you have reserved. i see you do not, but will soon, know those people, who, among persons of your sort, are generally called friends, and i wish to heaven you may know it in the manner i desire, for your own good." "mother," replied abou hassan, "i am persuaded of the truth of what you say, but shall be more certain of a fact which concerns me so nearly, when i shall have informed myself fully of their baseness and insensibility." abou hassan went immediately to his friends, whom he found at home; represented to them the great need he was in, and begged of them to assist him. he promised to give bonds to pay them the money they might lend him; giving them to understand at the same time, that it was, in a great measure, on their account that he was so distressed. that he might the more powerfully excite their generosity, he forgot not to allure them with the hopes of being once again entertained in the same manner as before. not one of his companions was affected with the arguments which the afflicted abou hassan used to persuade them; and he had the mortification to find, that many of them told him plainly they did not know him. he returned home full of indignation; and going into his mother's apartment, said, "ah! madam, you were right; instead of friends, i have found none but perfidious ungrateful wretches, who deserve not my friendship; i renounce them, and promise you i will never see them more." he resolved to be as good as his word, and took every precaution to avoid falling again into the inconvenience which his former prodigality had occasioned; taking an oath never to give an inhabitant of bagdad any entertainment while he lived. he drew the strong box into which he had put the rents received from his estates from the recess where he had placed it in reserve, put it in the room of that he had emptied, and resolved to take out every day no more than was sufficient to defray the expense of a single person to sup with him, who, according to the oath he had taken, was not of bagdad, but a stranger arrived in the city the same day, and who must take his leave of him the following morning. conformably to this plan, abou hassan took care every morning to provide whatever was necessary, and towards the close of the evening, went and sat at the end of bagdad bridge; and as soon as he saw a stranger, accosted him civilly invited him to sup and lodge with him that night, and after having informed him of the law he had imposed upon himself, conducted him to his house. the repast with which abou hassan regaled his guests was not costly, but well dressed, with plenty of good wine, and generally lasted till the night was pretty far advanced; instead of entertaining his guests with the affairs of state, his family, or business, as is too frequent, he conversed on different agreeable subjects. he was naturally of so gay and pleasant a temper, that he could give the most agreeable turns to every subject, and make the most melancholy persons merry. when he sent away his guest the next morning, he always said, "god preserve you from all sorrow wherever you go; when i invited you yesterday to come and sup with me, i informed you of the law i have imposed on myself; therefore do not take it ill if i tell you that we must never see one another again, nor drink together, either at home or any where else, for reasons best known to myself: so god conduct you." abou hassan was very exact in the observance of this oath, and never looked upon or spoke to the strangers he had once entertained; if he met them afterwards in the streets, the squares, or any public assemblies, he affected not to see them, and turned away to avoid them, that they might not speak to him, or he have any communication with them. he had acted for a long time in this manner, when, one afternoon, a little before sunset, as he sat upon the bridge according to custom, the caliph haroon al rusheed came by, but so disguised that it was impossible to know him; for that monarch, though his chief ministers and officers of justice acquitted themselves of their duty very punctually, would nevertheless inform himself of every thing, and for that purpose often disguised himself in different ways, and walked through the city and suburbs of bagdad, sometimes one way and sometimes another. that day, being the first of the month, he was dressed like a merchant of moussul, and was followed by a tall stout slave. as the caliph had in his disguise a grave and respectable appearance, abou hassan, who thought him to be a moussul merchant, rose up, and after having saluted him with a graceful air, said to him, "sir, i congratulate you on your happy arrival in bagdad, i beg you to do me the honour to sup with me, and repose yourself at my house for this night, after the fatigue of your journey." he then told him his custom of entertaining the first stranger he met with. the caliph found something so odd and singular in abou hassan's whim, that he was very desirous to know the cause; and told him that he could not better merit a civility, which he did not expect as a stranger, than by accepting the obliging offer made him; that he had only to lead the way, and he was ready to follow him. abou hassan treated the caliph as his equal, conducted him home, and led him into a room very neatly furnished, where he set him on a sofa, in the most honourable place. supper was ready, and the cloth laid. abou hassan's mother, who took upon herself the care of the kitchen, sent up three dishes; the first contained a capon and four large pullets, which was set in the middle; and the second and third, placed on each side, contained, one a fat roasted goose, and the other broiled pigeons. this was all; but they were good of the kind and well flavoured, with proper sauces. abou hassan sat down opposite his guest, and he and the caliph began to eat heartily of what they liked best, without speaking or drinking, according to the custom of the country. when they had done eating, the caliph's slave brought them water to wash their hands: and in the mean time abou hassan's mother cleared the table, and brought up a dessert of all the various sorts or fruits then in season; as grapes, peaches, apples, pears, and various pastes of dried almonds, &c. as soon as it grew dark, wax candles were lighted, and abou hassan, after requesting his mother to take care of the caliph's slave, set on bottles and glasses. abou hassan sitting down with the pretended moussul merchant again, filled out a glass of wine before he touched the fruit; and holding it in his hand, said to the caliph, "you know, sir, that the cock never drinks before he calls to his hens to come and drink with him; i invite you to follow my example. i do not know what you may think; but, for my part, i cannot reckon him a wise man who does not love wine. let us leave that sort of people to their dull melancholy humours, and seek for mirth, which is only to be found in a bumper." while abou hassan was drinking' the caliph taking the glass that was set for him, said, "you are an honest fellow; i like your pleasant temper, and expect you will fill me as much." abou hassan, as soon as he had drunk, filled the caliph's glass, and giving it to him, "taste this wine, sir," said he, "i will warrant it good." "i am well persuaded of that," replied the caliph, laughing, "you know how to choose the best." "o," replied abou hassan, while the caliph was drinking his glass, "one need only look in your face to be assured that you have seen the world, and know what good living is. if," added he in arabic verse, "my house could think and express its joy, how happy would it be to possess you, and, bowing before you, would exclaim, 'how overjoyed am i to see myself honoured with the company of so accomplished and polite a personage, and for meeting with a man of your merit.'" the caliph, naturally fond of merriment, was highly diverted with these sallies of abou hassan, and artfully promoted drinking, often asking for wine, thinking that when it began to operate, he might from his talkativeness satisfy his curiosity. he asked him his name, his business, and how he spent his life. "my name, sir," replied he, "is abou hassan. i lost my father, who was a merchant of bagdad, and though not the richest, yet lived very comfortably. when he died, he left me money enough to live free from business; but as he always kept a very strict hand over me, i was willing, when he was gone, to make up for the time i thought i had lost. notwithstanding this," continued abou hassan, "i was more prudent than most young people who give themselves up to debauchery, without any thought, pursue it till they reduce themselves to the utmost poverty, and are forced to do penance during the rest of their lives. to avoid this misfortune, i divided what i had left me into two parts, landed estate and ready money. i destined the ready money to supply the expenses of entertaining my acquaintance. i meditated, and took a fixed resolution not to touch my rents. i associated with young people of my own age, and with my ready money, which i spent profusely, treated them splendidly every day; and in short, spared for no sort of pleasure. but this course did not last long; for by the time the year was out, i had got to the bottom of my box, and then all my table-friends vanished. i made a visit to every one of them successively, and represented to them the miserable condition i was in, but none of them offered to relieve me. upon this i renounced their friendship, and retrenched so far, as to live within the compass of my income, bound myself to keep company with none but the first stranger i might meet with coming every day into bagdad, and to entertain him but one day and one night. i have told you the rest before; and i thank my good fortune this day for having met with a stranger of so much worth." the caliph was well satisfied with this information, and said to abou hassan, "i cannot enough commend the measures you have taken, and the prudence with which you have acted, by forsaking your debauchery; a conduct rarely to be met with in young persons; and i esteem you the more for being steady to your resolution. it was a slippery path you trod in, and i cannot but admire your self-command, that, after having seen the end of your ready money, you could so far refrain as not to enter upon your rents, or even your estate. in short, i must own, i envy your situation. you are the happiest man in the world, to enjoy every day the company of some one with whom you can discourse freely and agreeably, and to whom you give an opportunity to declare, wherever he goes, how handsome he was received by you. but we talk too long without drinking; come, drink, and pour out a glass for me." in this manner the caliph and abou hassan conversed together, drinking and talking of indifferent subjects, till the night was pretty far advanced; when the caliph, pretending to be fatigued after his journey, told his host he stood in need of a little rest. "but," added he, "as i would not deprive you of yours on my account, before we part (because to-morrow i may be gone before you are stirring), i should be glad to shew you how sensible i am of your civility, and the good cheer and hospitality you have strewn me. the only thing that troubles me is, that i know not which way to make you any acknowledgment. i beg of you, therefore, to let me understand how i may do it' and you shall see i will not be ungrateful; for it is impossible but a man like you must have some business, some want, or wish for something agreeable to you. speak freely, and open your mind; for though i am but a merchant, it may be in my power to oblige you myself, or by some friend." to these offers of the caliph, abou hassan, taking him still for a moussul merchant, replied, "i am very well persuaded, sir, that it is not out of compliment that you make me these generous tenders; but upon the word of an honest man, i assure you, i have nothing that troubles me, no business, nor desires, and i ask nothing of any body. i have not the least ambition, as i told you before; and am satisfied with my condition: therefore, i can only thank you for your obliging proffers, and the honour you have done me in condescending to partake of my frugal fare. yet i must tell you," pursued abou hassan, "there is one thing gives me uneasiness, without, however, disturbing my rest. you must know the town of bagdad is divided into quarters, in each of which there is a mosque with an imaum to perform service at certain hours, at the head of the quarter which assembles there. the imaum of the division i live in is a surly curmudgeon, of an austere countenance, and the greatest hypocrite in the world. four old men of this neighbourhood, who are people of the same stamp, meet regularly every day at this imaum's house. there they vent their slander, calumny, and malice against me and the whole quarter, to the disturbance of the peace of the neighbourhood, and the promotion of dissension. some they threaten, others they frighten; and, in short, would be lords paramount, and have every one govern himself according to their caprice, though they know not how to govern themselves. indeed, i am sorry to see that they meddle with any thing but their koraun, and will not let the world live quietly." "well, i suppose," said the caliph, "you wish to have a stop put to this disorder?" "you have guessed right," answered abou hassan; "and the only thing i should pray for, would be to be caliph but for one day, in the stead of our sovereign lord and master haroon al rusheed, commander of the faithful." "what would you do if you were?" said the caliph. "i would make examples of them," answered abou hassan, "to the satisfaction of all honest men. i would punish the four old men with each a hundred bastinadoes on the soles of their feet, and the imaum with four hundred, to teach them not to disturb and abuse their neighbours in future." the caliph was extremely pleased with this thought of abou hassan's; and as he loved adventures, resolved to make this a very singular one. "indeed," said he, "i approve much of your wish, which proceeds from an upright heart, that cannot bear the malice of such officious hypocrites; i could like to see it realized, and it is not so impossible as you may imagine. i am persuaded that the caliph would willingly put his authority for twenty-four hours into your hands if he knew your intentions, and the good use you would make of it. though a foreign merchant, i have credit enough to contribute in some degree to the execution of this plan." "i see," said abou hassan, "you laugh at my foolish fancy, and the caliph himself would laugh at my extravagance if he knew it: yet it would be a means of informing him of the behaviour of the imaum and his companions, and induce him to chastise them." "heaven forbid," replied the caliph, "that i, who have been so handsomely entertained by you, should laugh at you; neither do i believe, as much a stranger as i am to you, that the caliph would be displeased: but let us leave off talking; it is almost midnight, and time to go to bed." "with all my heart," said abou hassan; "i would not be any hindrance to your going to rest; but there is still some wine in the bottle, and if you please we will drink it off first, and then retire. the only thing that i have to recommend to you is, that when you go out in the morning, if i am not up, you will not leave the door open, but give yourself the trouble of shutting it after you." this the caliph promised to do: and while abou hassan was talking, took the bottle and two glasses, filled his own first, saying, "here is a cup of thanks to you," and then filling the other, put into it artfully a little opiate powder, which he had about him and giving it to abou hassan, said, "you have taken the pains to fill for me all night, and it is the least i can do to save you the trouble once: i beg you to take this glass; drink it off for my sake." abou hassan took the glass, and to shew his guest with how much pleasure he received the honour, drank it off at once; but had scarcely set the glass upon the table, when the powder began to operate; he fell into so sound a sleep, and his head knocked against his knees so suddenly, that the caliph could not help laughing. the caliph commanded the slave he had brought with him, who entered the room as soon as he had supped, and had waited to receive orders, to take abou hassan upon his back, and follow him; but to be sure to observe the house, that he might know it again. in this manner the caliph, followed by the slave with his sleeping load, went out of the house, but without shutting the door after him as he had been desired, went directly to his palace, and by a private door into his own apartment, where the officers of his chamber were in waiting, whom he ordered to undress abou hassan, and put him into his bed, which they immediately performed. the caliph then sent for all the officers and ladies of the palace, and said to them, "i would have all those whose business it is to attend my levee wait to-morrow morning upon the man who lies in my bed, pay the same respect to him as to myself, and obey him in whatever he may command; let him be refused nothing that he asks, and be addressed and answered as if he were the commander of the faithful. in short, i expect that you attend to him as the true caliph, without regarding me; and disobey him not in the least circumstance." the officers and ladies, who understood that the caliph meant to divert himself, answered by low bows, and then withdrew, every one preparing to contribute to the best of their power to perform their respective parts adroitly. the caliph next sent for the grand vizier: "jaaffier," said he, "i have sent for you to instruct you, and to prevent your being surprised to-morrow when you come to audience, at seeing this man seated on my throne in the royal robes: accost him with the same reverence and respect as you pay to myself: observe and punctually execute whatever he bids you do, the same as if i commanded you. he will exercise great liberality, and commission you with the distribution of it. do all he commands; even if his liberality should extend so far as to empty all the coffers in my treasury; and remember to acquaint all my emirs, and the officers without the palace, to pay him the same honour at audience as to myself, and to carry on the matter so well, that he may not perceive the least thing that may interrupt the diversion which i design myself." after the grand vizier had retired, the caliph went to bed in another apartment, and gave mesrour, the chief of his eunuchs, the orders which he was to execute, that every thing should succeed as he intended, so that he might see how abou hassan would use the power and authority of the caliph for the short time he had desired to have it. above all, he charged him not to fail to awaken him at the usual hour, before he awakened abou hassan, because he wished to be present when he arose. mesrour failed not to do as the caliph had commanded, and as soon as the caliph went into the room where abou hassan lay, he placed himself in a little raised closet, from whence he could see all that passed. all the officers and ladies, who were to attend abou hassan's levee, went in at the same time, and took their posts according to their rank, ready to acquit themselves of their respective duties, as if the caliph himself had been going to rise. as it was just day-break, and time to prepare for the morning prayer before sun rise, the officer who stood nearest to the head of the bed put a sponge steeped in vinegar to abou hassan's nose, who immediately turning his head about, without opening his eyes, discharged a kind of phlegm, which was received in a little golden basin before it fell on the carpet. this was the usual effect of the caliph's powder, the sleep lasting longer or shorter, in proportion to the dose. when abou hassan laid down his head on the bolster, he opened his eyes; and by the dawning light that appeared, found himself in a large room, magnificently furnished, the ceiling of which was finely painted in arabesque, adorned with vases of gold and silver, and the floor covered with a rich silk tapestry. he saw himself surrounded by many young and handsome ladies, many of them having instruments of music in their hands, and black eunuchs richly clothed, all standing with great modesty and respect. after casting his eyes on the covering of the bed, he perceived it was cloth of gold richly embossed with pearl and diamonds; and near the bed lay, on a cushion, a habit of tissue embroidered with jewels, with a caliph's turban. at the sight of these glittering objects, abou hassan was in the most inexpressible amazement, and looked upon all he saw as a dream; yet a dream he wished it not to be. "so," said he to himself, "i am caliph; but," added he, recollecting himself, "it is only a dream, the effect of the wish i entertained my guest with last night;" and then he turned himself about and shut his eyes to sleep. at the same time the eunuch said very respectfully, "commander of the faithful, it is time for your majesty to rise to prayers, the morning begins to advance." these words very much surprised abou hassan. "am i awake, or do i sleep?" said he to himself. "ah, certainly i am asleep!" continued he, keeping his eyes shut; "there is no reason to doubt of it." immediately the eunuch, who saw he had no inclination to get up, said again, "your majesty must permit me to repeat once more that it is time to rise to morning prayer, unless you choose to let it pass; the sun is just rising, and you never neglect this duty." "i am mistaken," said abou hassan immediately, "i am not asleep, but awake; for those who sleep do not hear, and i hear somebody speak to me;" then opening his eyes again, he saw plainly by broad day-light, what he had seen but indistinctly before; and started up, with a smiling countenance, like a man overjoyed at sudden promotion. the caliph, from his recess, penetrated his thoughts with great delight. the young ladies of the palace now prostrated themselves with their faces to the ground before abou hassan, and those who had instruments of music in their hands wished him a good morrow, by a concert of soft flutes, hautboys, theorboes, and other harmonious instruments, with which he was enchanted, and in such an ecstacy, that he knew not whether he was himself; but reverting to his first idea, he still doubted whether what he saw and heard was a dream or reality. he clapped his hands before his eyes, and lowering his head, said to himself, "what means all this? where am i? and to whom does this palace belong? what can these eunuchs, handsome well-dressed officers, beautiful ladies, and musicians mean: how is it possible for me to distinguish whether i am in my right senses or in a dream?" when he took his hands from his eyes, opened them, and lifted up his head, the sun shone full in at the chamber window; and at that instant mesrour, the chief of the eunuchs, came in, prostrated himself before abou hassan, and said, "commander of the faithful, your majesty will excuse me for representing to you, that you used not to rise so late, and that the time of prayer is over. if your majesty has not had a bad night, it is time to ascend your throne and hold a council as usual; all your generals, governors, and other great officers of state, wait your presence in the council-hall." at this discourse, abou hassan was persuaded that he was neither asleep nor in a dream; but at the same time was not less embarrassed and confused under his uncertainty what steps to take: at last, looking earnestly at mesrour, he said to him in a serious tone, "whom is it you speak to, and call the commander of the faithful? i do not know you, and you must mistake me for somebody else." any person but mesrour would have been puzzled at these questions of abou hassan; but he had been so well instructed by the caliph, that he played his part admirably. "my imperial lord and master," said he, "your majesty only speaks thus to try me. is not your majesty the commander of the faithful, monarch of the world from east to west, and vicar on earth to the prophet sent of god? mesrour, your poor slave, has not forgotten you, after so many years that he has had the honour and happiness to serve and pay his respects to your majesty. he would think himself the most unhappy of men, if he has incurred your displeasure, and begs of you most humbly to remove his fears; but had rather suppose that you have been disturbed by some troublesome dream." abou hassan burst out laughing at these words, and fell backwards upon the bolster, which pleased the caliph so much that he would have laughed as loud himself, if he had not been afraid of putting a stop too soon to the pleasant scene he had promised himself. abou hassan, when he had tired himself with laughing, sat up again, and speaking to a little eunuch that stood by him, black as mesrour, said, "hark ye, tell me whom i am?" "sir," answered the little boy, modestly, "your majesty is the commander of the believers, and god's vicar on earth." "you are a little liar, black face," said abou hassan. then he called the lady that stood nearest to him; "come hither, fair one," said he, holding out his hand, "bite the end of my finger, that i may feel whether i am asleep or awake." the lady, who knew the caliph saw all that passed, was overjoyed to have an opportunity of shewing her power of diverting him, went with a grave countenance, and putting his finger between her teeth, bit it so hard that she put him to violent pain. snatching his hand quickly back again, he said, "i find i am awake and not asleep. but by what miracle am i become caliph in a night's time! this is certainly the most strange and surprising event in the world!" then addressing himself to the same lady, he said, "i conjure you, by the protection of god, in whom you trust as well as i, not to hide the truth from me; am i really the commander of the faithful?" "it is so true," answered the lady, "that we who are your slaves are amazed to find that you will not believe yourself to be so." "you are a deceiver," replied abou hassan: "i know very well who i am." as the chief of the eunuchs perceived that abou hassan now wished to rise, he offered him his hand, and helped him to get out of bed. no sooner were his feet set on the floor, than the chamber rang with the repeated acclamations of the officers and ladies, who cried out all together, "commander of the faithful, god give your majesty a good day." "o heaven!" cried abou hassan, "what a strange thing this is! last night i was abou hassan, and this morning i am the commander of the believers! i cannot comprehend this sudden and surprising change." presently some of the officers began to dress him; and when they had done, mesrour led him through all the eunuchs and ladies, who were ranged on both sides, quite to the council chamber door, which was opened by one of the officers. mesrour walked before him to the foot of the throne, where he stopped, and putting one hand under one arm, while another officer who followed did the same by the other, they helped him to ascend the throne. abou hassan sat down amidst the acclamations of the officers, who wished him all happiness and prosperity, and turning to the right and left he saw the officers of the guards ranged in order, and making a fine appearance. the caliph in the mean time came out of the closet, and went into another, which looked into the hall, from whence he could see and hear all that passed in council, where his grand vizier presided in his place. what pleased him highly, was to see abou hassan fill his throne with almost as much gravity as himself. as soon as abou hassan had seated himself, the grand vizier prostrated himself at the foot of the throne, and rising, said, "commander of the faithful, god shower down blessings on your majesty in this life, receive you into his paradise in the other world, and confound your enemies." abou hassan, after all that had happened that morning, at these words of the grand vizier, never doubted but that he was caliph, as he wished to be; and without examining any farther, how or by what adventure, or sudden change of fortune, he had become so, immediately began to exercise his power, and looking very gravely at the vizier, asked him what he had to say? "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "the emirs, vizier, and other officers of your council, wait without till your majesty gives them leave to pay their accustomed respects." abou hassan ordered the door to be opened, and the grand vizier addressing himself to the officers in waiting, said, "chief of the door-keepers, the commander of the faithful orders you to do your duty." when the door was opened, the viziers, emirs, and principal officers of the court, all dressed magnificently in their habits of ceremony, went in their order to the foot of the throne, paid their respects to abou hassan; and bowing their heads down to the carpet, saluted him with the title of commander of the faithful, according to the instructions of the grand vizier, and afterwards took their seats. when this ceremony was over, and they were all placed, there was a profound silence. the grand vizier always standing before the throne, began according to the order of papers in his hand to make his report of affairs, which at that time were of very little consequence. nevertheless, the caliph could not but admire how abou hassan acquitted himself in his exalted station without the least hesitation or embarrassment, and decided well in all matters, as his own good sense suggested. but before the grand vizier had finished his report, abou hassan perceived the judge of the police, whom he knew by sight, sitting in his place. "stop," said he, to the grand vizier, interrupting him; "i have an order of consequence to give to the judge of the police." the judge of the police perceiving that abou hassan looked at him, and hearing his name mentioned, arose from his seat, and went gravely to the foot of the throne, where he prostrated himself with his face to the ground. "judge of the police," said abou hassan, "go immediately to such a quarter, where you will find a mosque, seize the imaum and four old grey beards, give each of the old men a hundred bastinadoes, and the imaum four hundred. after that, mount them all five, clothed in rags, on camels, with their faces to the tails, and lead them through the whole city, with a crier before them, who shall proclaim with a loud voice, 'this is the punishment of all those who trouble their heads with other people's affairs, make it their business to create disturbances and misunderstandings in families in their neighbourhood, and do them all the mischief in their power.' my intention is also, that you enjoin them to leave that quarter, and never to set foot in it more: and while your lieutenant is conducting them through the town, return, and give me an account of the execution of my orders." the judge of the police laid his hand upon his head, to shew his obedience, and prostrating himself a second time retired to execute the mandate. the caliph was highly pleased at the firmness with which this order was given, and perceived that abou hassan was resolved not to lose the opportunity of punishing the imaum and the other four old hypocrites of his quarter. in the mean time the grand vizier went on with his report, and had just finished, when the judge of the police came back from executing his commission. he approached the throne with the usual ceremony, and said, "commander of the faithful, i found the imaum and his four companions in the mosque, which your majesty pointed out; and as a proof that i have punctually obeyed your commands, i have brought an instrument signed by the principal inhabitants of the ward." at the same time he pulled a paper out of his bosom, and presented it to the pretended caliph. abou hassan took the paper, and reading it over cautiously with the names of the witnesses, who were all people he knew, said to the judge of the police, smiling, "it is well; i am satisfied; return to your seat." "these old hypocrites," said he to himself, with an air of satisfaction "who thought fit to censure my actions, and find fault with my entertaining honest people, deserved this punishment." the caliph all the time penetrated his thoughts, and felt inconceivable delight at his frolic. abou hassan, then addressing himself to the grand vizier, said, "go to the high treasurer for a purse of a thousand pieces of gold, and carry it to the mother of one abou hassan, who is known by the name of the debauchee; she lives in the same quarter to which i sent the judge of the police. go, and return immediately." the grand vizier, after laying his hand upon his head, and prostrating himself before the throne, went to the high treasurer, who gave him the money, which he ordered a slave to take, and to follow him to abou hassan's mother, to whom he gave it, saying only, "the caliph makes you this present." she received it with the greatest surprise imaginable. during the grand vizier's absence, the judge of the police made the usual report of his office, which lasted till the vizier returned. as soon as he came into the council-chamber, and had assured abou hassan that he had executed his orders, mesrour, the chief of the eunuchs, made a sign to the viziers, the emirs, and other officers, that the council was over, and that they might all retire; which they did, by making the same prostration at the foot of the throne as when they entered. abou hassan descended from the caliph's throne, and mesrour went before him, to shew him the way into an inner apartment, where there was a table spread; several eunuchs ran to tell the musicians that the sham caliph was coming, when they immediately began a concert of vocal and instrumental music, with which abou hassan was so charmed and transported, that he could not tell what to think of all he saw and heard. "if this is a dream," said he, "it is a long one. but certainly," continued he, "it is no dream; for i can see and feel, walk and hear, and argue reasonably; whatever it is, i trust in god; i cannot but believe that i am the commander of the faithful, for no other person could live in this splendour. the honour and respect that has been strewn me, and the obedience paid to my commands, are sufficient proofs of my exaltation." in short, abou hassan took it for granted that he was the commander of the faithful; but was still more convinced of it when he entered a magnificent and spacious hall, which was finely painted with the brightest colours intermixed with gold. seven bands of female musicians, more beautiful than the others, were placed round the hall, and as many gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which was painted with blue and gold, intermixed with wonderful effect. in the middle of the hall was spread a table covered with massive gold plates and dishes, which scented the apartment with the spices and amber wherewith the meat was seasoned; and seven young and most beautiful ladies, dressed in the richest habits of the most vivid colours, stood round this table, each with a fan in her hand, to fan abou hassan when at dinner. if ever mortal was charmed, abou hassan was when he entered this stately hall. at every step he took, he could not help stopping to contemplate at leisure all the wonders that regaled his eyes, and turned first to one side, and then to the other; which gave the caliph, who viewed him with attention, very great pleasure. at last he sat down at the table, and presently all the ladies began to fan the new caliph. he looked first at one, then at another, and admired the grace with which they acquitted themselves. he told them with a smile, that he believed one of them was enough to give him all the air he wanted, and would have six of the ladies sit at table with him, three on his right hand, and three on his left; and he placed them so, that as the table was round, which way soever he turned, his eyes might be saluted with agreeable objects. the six ladies obeyed; and abou hassan taking notice, that out of respect they did not eat, helped them himself, and invited them to eat in the most pressing and obliging terms. afterwards he asked their names, which they told him were alabaster neck, coral lips, moon face, sunshine, eye's delight, heart's delight, and she who fanned him was sugar cane. the many soft things he said upon their names shewed him to be a man of sprightly wit, and it is not to be conceived how much it increased the esteem which the caliph (who saw every thing) had already conceived for him. when the ladies observed that abou hassan had done eating, one of them said to the eunuchs who waited, "the commander of the faithful will go into the hall where the dessert is laid; bring some water;" upon which they all rose from the table, and taking from the eunuch, one a gold basin, another an ewer of the same metal, and a third a towel, kneeled before abou hassan, and presented them to him to wash his hands. as soon as he had done, he got up, and after an eunuch had opened the door, went, preceded by mesrour, who never left him, into another hall, as large as the former, adorned with paintings by the best masters, and furnished with gold and silver vessels, carpets, and other rich furniture. there seven different bands of music began a concert as soon as abou hassan appeared. in this hall there were seven large lustres, a table in the middle covered with dried sweetmeats, the choicest and most exquisite fruits of the season, raised in pyramids, in seven gold basins; and seven ladies more beautiful than the others standing round it, each with a fan in her hand. these new objects raised still greater admiration in abou hassan; who, after he had made a full stop, and given the most sensible marks of surprise and astonishment, went directly to the table, where sitting down, he gazed a considerable time at the seven ladies, with an embarrassment that plainly shewed he knew not to which to give the preference. at last he ordered them all to lay aside their fans and sit down, and eat with him, telling them that it was not so hot, but he could spare them that trouble. when the ladies were all placed about him, the first thing he did was to ask their names, which were different from the other seven, and expressed some perfection of mind or body, which distinguished them from one another: upon which he took an opportunity, when he presented them with fruit, &c., to say something gallant. "eat this fig for my sake," said he to chain of hearts, who sat on his right hand; "and render the fetters, with which you loaded me the first moment i saw you, more supportable." then, presenting a bunch of grapes to soul's torment, "take this cluster of grapes," said he, "on condition you instantly abate the torments which i suffer for your sake;" and so on to the rest. by these sallies abou hassan more and more amused the caliph, who was delighted with his words and actions, and pleased to think he had found in him a man who diverted him so agreeably. after abou hassan had tasted all the fruits in the basin, he got up and followed mesrour into a third hall, much more magnificently furnished than the other two; where he was received by the same number of musicians and ladies, who stood round a table covered with all manner of wet sweetmeats. after he had looked about him with new wonder, he advanced to the table, the music playing all the time till he sat down. the seven ladies, by his order, sat down with him, helped themselves, as he desired, to what they liked best; and he afterwards informed himself of their names, which pleased him as much as the others had done, and led him to say as many soft things to them, to the great diversion of the caliph, who lost not a word. by this time the day beginning to close, abou hassan was conducted into a fourth hall, much more superb and magnificently furnished, lighted with wax in seven gold lustres, which gave a splendid light. abou hassan found the same number of musicians here as he had done in the three other halls, performing in concert in the most agreeable manner, and seeming to inspire greater joy; and he saw as many ladies standing round a table covered with seven gold basins filled with cakes, dried sweetmeats, and all such relishes as were calculated to promote drinking. there he saw, which he had not observed in any of the other halls, a sideboard set out with seven large silver flagons full of the choicest wines, and by them seven crystal glasses of the finest workmanship. hitherto, in the three first halls, abou hassan had drunk nothing but water, according to the custom observed at bagdad, from the highest to the lowest and at the caliph's court, never to drink wine till the evening; all who transgress this rule being accounted debauchees, who dare not shew themselves in the day-time. this custom is the more laudable, as it requires a clear head to apply to business in the course of the day; and as no wine is drunk till evening, no drunken people are seen in the streets in open day creating disturbance in the city. as soon as abou hassan entered the fourth hall, he went to the table, sat down, and was a long time in a kind of ecstasy at the sight of the seven ladies who surrounded him, and were much more beautiful than any he had beheld in the other halls. he was very desirous to know their names; but as the music played so loud, and particularly the tambour, that he could not hear them speak, he clapped his hands for the musicians to cease, when a profound silence ensued. taking by the hand the lady who stood on the right next to him, he made her sit down by him, and presenting her with a cake, asked her name. "commander of the faithful," said the lady, "i am called cluster of pearls." "no name," replied abou hassan, "could have more properly expressed your worth; and indeed your teeth exceed the finest pearls. cluster of pearls," added he, "since that is your name, oblige me with a glass of wine from your fair hand." the lady went to the sideboard and brought him a glass of wine, which she presented to him with a pleasant air. abou hassan took the glass with a smile, and looking passionately at her, said, "cluster of pearls, i drink your health; i desire you to fill out as much for yourself, and pledge me." she ran to the sideboard, and returned with a glass in her hand; but before she drank, she sung a song, which charmed him as much by the sweetness of her voice as by its novelty. after abou hassan had drunk, he made another lady sit down by him, and presenting her with what she chose in the basins, asked her name, which she told him was morning star. "your bright eyes," said he, "shine with greater lustre than that star whose name you bear. do me the pleasure to bring me some wine," which she did with the best grace in the world. then turning to the third lady, whose name was day-light, he ordered her to do the same, and so on to the seventh, to the extreme satisfaction of the caliph. when they had all filled him a glass round, cluster of pearls, whom he had just addressed, went to the sideboard, poured out a glass of wine, and putting in a pinch of the same powder the caliph had used the night before, presented it to abou hassan; "commander of the faithful," said she, "i beg of your majesty to take this glass of wine, and before you drink it, do me the favour to hear a song i have composed to-day, and which i flatter myself will not displease you. i never sung it before." "with all my heart," said abou hassan, taking the glass, "and, as commander of the faithful, i command you to sing it; for i am persuaded that so beautiful a lady cannot compose a song which does not abound with wit and pleasantry." the lady took a lute, and tuning it to her voice, sung with so much justness, grace, and expression, that abou hassan was in perfect ecstasy all the time, and was so much delighted, that he ordered her to sing it again, and was as much charmed with it as at first. when the lady had concluded, abou hassan drank off his glass, and turned his head towards her to give her those praises which he thought she merited, but was prevented by the opiate, which operated so suddenly, that his mouth was instantly wide open, and his eyes close shut, and dropping his head on the cushions, he slept as profoundly as the day before when the caliph had given him the powder. one of the ladies stood ready to catch the glass, which fell out of his hand; and then the caliph, who enjoyed greater satisfaction in this scene than he had promised himself, and was all along a spectator of what had passed, came into the hall to them, overjoyed at the success of his plan. he ordered abou hassan to be dressed in his own clothes, and carried back to his house by the slave who had brought him, charging him to lay him on a sofa in the same room, without making any noise, and to leave the door open when he came away. the slave took abou hassan upon his shoulders, carried him home by a back door of the palace, placed him in his own house as he was ordered, and returned with speed, to acquaint the caliph. "well," said the caliph, "abou hassan wished only to be caliph for one day, to punish the imaum of the mosque of his quarter, and the four old men who had displeased him: i have procured him the means of doing this, and he ought to be content." in the mean time, abou hassan, who was laid upon his sofa by the slave, slept till very late the next morning. when the powder was worked off, he awoke, opened his eyes, and finding himself at home, was in the utmost surprise. "cluster of pearls! morning star! coral lips! moon face!" cried he, calling the ladies of the palace by their names, as he remembered them; "where are you? come hither." abou hassan called so loud, that his mother, who was in her own apartment, heard him, and running to him upon the noise he made, said "what ails you, son? what has happened to you?" at these words abou hassan lifted up his head, and looking haughtily at his mother, said, "good woman! who is it you call son?" "why you," answered his mother very mildly; "are not you abou hassan my son? it is strange that you have forgotten yourself so soon." "i your son! old bull!" replied abou hassan; "you are a liar, and know not what you say! i am not abou hassan, i tell you, but the commander of the faithful!" "hold your tongue, son," answered the mother "one would think you are a fool, to hear you talk thus." "you are an old fool yourself," replied abou hassan; "i tell you once more i am the commander of the faithful, and god's vicar on earth!" "ah! child," cried the mother, "is it possible that i should hear you utter such words that shew you are distracted! what evil genius possesses you, to make you talk at this rate? god bless you, and preserve you from the power of satan. you are my son abou hassan, and i am your mother." after she had used all the arguments she could think of to bring him to himself, and to shew how great an error he was in, she said, "do not you see that the room you are now in is your own, and is not like a chamber in a palace fit for the commander of the believers? and that you have never left it since you were born, but lived quietly at home with me. think seriously of what i say, and do not fancy things that are not, nor ever can be. once more, my son, think seriously of it." abou hassan heard all these remonstrances of his mother very patiently, holding down his eyes, and clapping his hands under his chin, like a man recollecting himself, to examine the truth of what he saw and heard. at last, he said to his mother, just as if he was awaking out of a deep sleep, and with his hand in the same posture, "i believe you are right, methinks i am abou hassan, you are my mother, and i am in my own room." then looking at her again, and at every object before him, he added, "i am abou hassan, there is no doubt of it, and i cannot comprehend how this fancy came into my head." the mother really believed that her son was cured of the disorder of his mind, which she ascribed to a dream, began to laugh with him, and ask him questions about it; when suddenly he started up, and looking crossly at his mother, said, "old sorceress, you know not what you say. i am not your son, nor you my mother. you deceive yourself and would deceive me. i tell you i am the commander of the faithful, and you shall never persuade me to the contrary!" "for heaven's sake, son," said the mother, "let us leave off this discourse; recommend yourself to god, for fear some misfortune should happen to us; let us talk of something else. i will tell you what happened yesterday in our quarter to the imaum of the mosque, and the four scheiks our neighbours: the judge of the police came and seized them, and gave each of them i know not how many strokes with a bastinado, while a crier proclaimed, 'that such was the punishment of all those who troubled themselves about other people's business, and employed themselves in setting their neighbours at variance:' he afterwards led them through all the streets, and ordered them never to come into our quarter again." abou hassan's mother little thought her son had any share in this adventure, and therefore had turned the discourse on purpose to put him out of the conceit of being the commander of the faithful; but instead of effacing that idea, she recalled it, and impressed the more deeply in his mind, that it was not imaginary but real. abou hassan no sooner heard this relation, but he cried out, "i am neither thy son, nor abou hassan, but certainly the commander of the believers. i cannot doubt after what you have told me. know then that it was by my order the imaum and the four scheiks were punished, and i tell you i am certainly the commander of the faithful: therefore say no more of its being a dream. i was not asleep, but as much awake as i am now. you do me much pleasure to confirm what the judge of the police told me he had executed punctually according to my order; i am overjoyed that the imaum and the four scheiks, those great hypocrites, were so chastised, and i should be glad to know how i came here. god be praised for all things! i am certainly commander of the faithful, and all thy arguments shall not convince me of the contrary." the mother, who could not imagine why her son so strenuously and positively maintained himself to be caliph, no longer doubted but that he had lost his senses, when she found he insisted so much on a thing that was so incredible; and in this thought said, "i pray god, son, to have mercy upon you! pray do not talk so madly. beseech god to forgive you, and give you grace to talk more reasonably. what would the world say to hear you rave in this manner? do you not know that 'walls have ears?'" these remonstrances only enraged abou hassan the more; and he was so provoked at his mother, that he said, "old woman, i have desired you once already to hold your tongue. if you do not, i shall rise and give you cause to repent all your lifetime. i am the caliph and the commander of the believers; and you ought to credit me when i say so." the good woman supposing that he was more distracted than ever, abandoned herself to tears, and beating her face and breast, expressed the utmost grief and astonishment to see her son in such a state. abou hassan, instead of being appeased or moved by his mother's tears, lost all the respect due from a son to his mother. getting up hastily, and laying hold of a switch, he ran to his mother in great fury, and in a threatening manner that would have frightened any one but a mother so partial to him, said, "tell me directly, wicked woman, who i am." "i do not believe, son," replied she, looking at him tenderly, and without fear, "that you are so abandoned by god as not to know your mother, who brought you into the world, and to mistake yourself. you are indeed my son abou hassan, and are much in the wrong to arrogate to yourself the title which belongs only to our sovereign lord the caliph haroon al rusheed, especially after the noble and generous present the monarch made us yesterday. i forgot to tell you, that the grand vizier jaaffier came to me yesterday, and putting a purse of a thousand pieces of gold into my hands, bade me pray for the commander of the faithful, who had sent me that present; and does not this liberality concern you more than me, who have but a short time to live?" at these words abou hassan grew quite mad. the circumstance of the caliph's liberality persuaded him more than ever that he was caliph, remembering that he had sent the vizier. "well, old hag," cried he, "will you be convinced when i tell you that i sent you those thousand pieces of gold by my grand vizier jaaffier, who obeyed my commands, as i was commander of the faithful? but instead of believing me, you endeavour to distract me by your contradictions, and maintain with obstinacy that i am your son; but you shall not go long unpunished." after these words, he was so unnatural, in the height of his frenzy, as to beat her cruelly with his cane. the poor mother, who could not have thought that her son would have come so soon from words to blows, called out for help so loud, that the neighbours ran in to her assistance. abou hassan continued to beat her, at every stroke asking her if he was the commander of the faithful? to which she always answered tenderly, that he was her son. by the time the neighbours came in abou hassan's rage began to abate. the first who entered the room got between him and his mother, and taking the switch out of his hand, said to him, "what are you doing, abou hassan? have you lost all fear of god and your reason? did ever a son so well brought up as you dare to strike his mother? are you not ashamed so to treat yours, who loves you so tenderly?" abou hassan, still full of fury, looked at him who spoke without returning an answer; and then staring on all the rest of his neighbours who had followed, said, "who is that abou hassan you speak of? is it me you call by that name?" this question disconcerted the neighbours. "how!" said he who spoke first, "do not you know your mother who brought you up, and with whom you have always lived?" "be gone, you are impertinent vagabonds," replied abou hassan; "i neither knew her nor you, and will not know her. i am not abou hassan; i am the commander of the faithful, and will make you feel it to your cost." at this speech the neighbours no longer doubted that he was mad: and to prevent his repeating his outrages, seized him, notwithstanding his resistance, and bound him hand and foot, but though apparently disabled from doing any mischief, they did not choose to leave him alone with his mother. two of them ran for the keeper of the hospital for insane persons, who came presently with chains, handcuffs, a bastinado, and many attendants. when they entered the room, abou hassan, who little expected such treatment, struggled to unloose himself; but after his keeper had given him two or three smart strokes upon the shoulders, he lay so quiet, that the keeper and his people did what they pleased with him. as soon as they had bound and manacled him, they took him with them to the hospital. when he was got out of the house into the street, the people crowded round him, one buffeted him, another boxed him, and others called him fool and madman. to all this treatment he replied, "there is no greatness and power but in god most high and almighty. i am treated as a fool, though i am in my right senses. i suffer all these injuries and indignities for the love of god." he was conducted to the hospital, where he was lodged in a grated cell; but before he was shut up, the keeper, who was hardened to such terrible execution, regaled him without pity with fifty strokes of the bastinado on his shoulders, which he repeated every day for three weeks, bidding him remember that he was not the commander of the faithful. "i am not mad," said abou hassan, "but if i wanted your assistance, nothing would so effectually make me mad as your cruel treatment. i want not your advice." abou hassan's mother went every day to visit her son, and could not forbear weeping at beholding him fall away, and sigh and complain at the hardships he endured. in short, his shoulders, back, and sides were so black and bruised, that he could not turn himself. his mother would willingly have talked with him, to comfort him, and to sound him whether he still retained the notion of being caliph; but whenever she opened her mouth, he stopped her with so much fury, that she was forced to leave him, and return home inconsolable at his obstinacy. by degrees, however, those strong and lively ideas, which abou hassan had entertained, of having been clothed in the caliph's habit, having exercised his authority, and been punctually obeyed and treated like the true caliph, the assurance of which had persuaded him that he was so, began to wear away. sometimes he would say to himself, "if i was the caliph and commander of the believers, how came i, when i awoke, to find myself at home dressed in my own apparel? why should i not have been attended by eunuchs, and their chief, and a crowd of beautiful ladies? why should the grand vizier, and all those emirs and governors of provinces, who prostrated themselves at my feet, forsake me? undoubtedly if i had any authority over them, they would have delivered me long ago out of the miserable condition i am in; certainly i ought to look upon all as a dream. it is true, however, that i commanded the judge of the police to punish the imaum, and the four old men his companions; i ordered the grand vizier to carry my mother a thousand pieces of gold; and my commands were executed. all these points are obstacles to my believing it a dream; but there are so many things that i cannot comprehend, nor ever shall, that i will put my trust in god, who knows all things." abou hassan was taken up with these thoughts and reflections when his mother came to see him. she found him so much altered and emaciated that she shed a torrent of tears; in the midst of which she saluted him as she used to do, and he returned her salutation, which he had never done before since he had been in the hospital. this she looked upon to be a good sign. "well, my son," said she, wiping her tears, "how do you do, and how do you find yourself? have you renounced all those whims and fancies which the devil had put into your head?" "indeed, mother," replied abou hassan, very rationally and calmly, and in a tone expressive of his grief for the excesses he had been transported to against her, "i acknowledge my error, and beg of you to forgive the execrable crime which i have been guilty of towards you, and which i detest. i ask pardon also of my neighbours whom i have abused. i have been deceived by a dream; but by so extraordinary a one, and so like to truth, that i venture to affirm any other person, to whom such a thing might have happened, would have been guilty of as great or greater extravagancies; and i am this instant so much perplexed about it, that while i am speaking i can hardly persuade myself but that what befell me was matter of fact, so like was it to what happens to people who are broad awake. but whatever it was, i do, and shall always regard it as a dream and an illusion. i am convinced that i am not that shadow of a caliph and commander of the faithful, but abou hassan your son, the son of a person whom i always honoured till that fatal day, the remembrance of which will cover me with confusion, and whom in future i shall honour and respect all my life as i ought." at this rational declaration, the tears of sorrow and affliction which the mother of abou hassan had so long shed were changed into those of joy. "my son!" cried she, transported with pleasure, "my satisfaction and comfort to hear you talk so reasonably is inexpressible: and it gives me as much joy as if i had brought you into the world a second time; but i must tell you my opinion of this adventure, and observe one thing which you may not have noticed; the stranger whom you brought home the evening before your illness to sup with you went away without shutting your chamber-door after him, as you desired; which i believe gave the devil an opportunity to enter, and throw you into the horrible illusion you have been in: therefore, my son, you ought to return god thanks for your deliverance, and beseech him to keep you from falling again into the snares of the evil spirit." "you have found out the source of our misfortunes," answered abou hassan. "it was that very night i had this dream which turned my brain. i bade the merchant expressly to shut the door after him; and now i find he did not do it. i am persuaded, as well as you, the devil finding it open came in, and filled my head full of these fancies. the people of moussul, from whence this merchant came, may not know how we at bagdad are convinced from experience that the devil is the cause of troublesome dreams when we leave our chamber-doors open. but since, mother, you see i am, by the grace of god, so well recovered, for god's sake get me out of this horrible place, which will infallibly shorten my days if i stay here any longer." the mother, glad to hear her son was so well cured of his foolish imagination of being caliph, went immediately to the keeper, and assuring him that he was very sensible and well, he came, examined, and released him in her presence. when abou hassan came home, he stayed within doors some days to recover his health by better living than he had found at the hospital. but when he had recovered his strength, and felt no longer the effect of the harsh treatment he had suffered in his confinement, he began to be weary of spending his evenings alone. he accordingly entered again upon the same plan as he had before pursued; which was, to provide enough every day to regale a stranger at night. the day on which abou hassan renewed his custom of going about sun-set to the end of bagdad bridge to stop the first stranger thee offered, and invite him to do him the honour of supping with him, happened to be the first day of the month, that which the caliph always set apart to go in disguise out of some one of the gates to observe what was committed contrary to the good government of the city, as established and regulated at the beginning of his reign. abou hassan had not been long arrived at the bridge, when, looking about him, he perceived the moussul merchant, followed by the same slave. persuaded that all his misfortunes were owing to the merchant's having left his door open, he shuddered at the sight of him. "god preserve me," said he to himself; "if i am not deceived, there is again the magician who enchanted me!" he trembled with agitation, and looked over the side railing into the river, that he might not see him till he was past. the caliph, who wished to renew the diversion he had received, had taken care to inform himself of all that had happened to abou hassan, and enjoyed much pleasure at the relation given him, especially at his being sent to a mad-house. but as this monarch was both just and generous, and had taken a great liking to abou hassan, as capable of contributing further to his amusement, and had doubted whether, after renouncing his frenzied character of a caliph, he would return to his usual manner of living; with a view therefore to bring him to his palace, he disguised himself again like a merchant of moussul, the better to execute his plan. he perceived abou hassan at the same time that he saw him, and presently guessed by his action that he was angry, and wished to shun him. this made him walk close to the side railing; and when he came nigh him, he put his head over to look him in the face. "ho, brother abou hassan," said he, "is it you? i greet you! give me leave to embrace you?" "not i," replied abou hassan, pettishly, without looking at the pretended moussul merchant; "i do not greet you; i will have neither your greeting nor your embraces. go along!" "what!" answered the caliph, "do you not know me? do you not remember the evening we spent together at your house this day month, where you did me the honour to treat me very generously?" "no," replied abou hassan in the same tone, "i do not know you, nor what you talk about; go, i say again, about your business." the caliph was not to be diverted from his purpose by this rude behaviour. he well knew the law abou hassan had imposed on himself, never to have commerce again with a stranger he had once entertained; but pretended to be ignorant of it. "i cannot believe," said he, "but you must know me again; it is not possible that you should have forgotten me in so short a time. certainly some misfortune has befallen you, which inspires you with this aversion for me. however, you ought to remember, that i shewed my gratitude by my good wishes, and that i offered you my interest, which is not to be slighted, in an affair which you had much at heart." "i do not know," replied abou hassan, "what your interest may be, and i have no desire to make use of it: but i am sensible the utmost of your good wishes ended in making me mad. in god's name, i say once more, go your way, and trouble me no more." "ah! brother abou hassan," replied the caliph, embracing him, "i do not intend to part with you thus, since i have had the good fortune to meet with you a second time; you must exercise the same hospitality towards me again that you shewed me a month ago, when i had the honour to drink with you." "i have protested against this," said abou hassan, "and have so much power over myself, as to decline receiving a second time as my guest, a man like you who carries misfortunes with him. you know the proverb, 'take up your drum and begone.' make the application to yourself. how often must i repeat my refusal. god be with you! you have been the cause of my sufferings, and i will not trust myself with you again." "my good friend abou hassan," said the caliph, embracing him, "you treat me in a way i little expected. i beg of you not to speak to me thus harshly, but be persuaded of my friendship. do me the favour to tell me what has happened to you; for i assure you i wished you well, and still do so; and would be glad of an opportunity to make you any amends for the trouble i have caused you, if it has been really my fault." abou hassan yielded to the solicitations of the caliph. "your incredulity and importunity," said he, "have tired my patience; and what i am going to relate will shew you that i do not accuse you wrongfully." the caliph seated himself by abou hassan, while he told him all that had happened to him, from his waking in the palace to his waking again in his own house, all which he described as a mere dream, and recounted all the circumstances, which the caliph knew as well as himself, and which renewed his pleasure. he enlarged afterwards on the impression which the dream of being caliph and commander of the faithful had made upon him, which, he said, threw him into such extravagancies, that his neighbours were obliged to carry him to a mad-house, where he was treated in a manner which he deemed most barbarous and inhuman. "but," said he, "what will surprise you, and what you little think of, is, that it was altogether your fault that these things happened to me; for, if you remember, i desired you to shut the door after you, which you neglected, and the devil, finding it open, entered and put this dream into my head, which, though it was very agreeable, was the cause of the misfortune i complain of: you therefore, for your negligence, are answerable for the horrid and detestable crime i have committed in lifting my hand against my mother, whom i might have killed (i blush for shame when i think of it), because she said i was her son, and would not acknowledge me for commander of the faithful, as i thought and positively insisted on to her that i was. you are the cause of the offence i have given my neighbours, when, running in at the cries of my poor mother, they surprised me in the horrid act of felling her at my feet; which would never have happened, if you had taken care to shut my door when you went away, as i desired you. they would not have come into my house without my leave; and, what troubles me most of all, they would not have been witnesses of my folly. i should not have been obliged to strike them in my own defence, and they would not have bound and fettered me, to carry and shut me up in the hospital for madmen, where i assure you every day that i remained confined in that hell, i received a score of strokes with a bastinado." abou hassan recounted his complaints with great warmth and vehemence to the caliph, who knew as well as himself what had passed, and was delighted to find that he had succeeded so well in his plan to throw him into the vagaries from which he still was not entirely free. he could not help laughing at the simplicity wherewith he related them. abou hassan, who thought that his story should rather have moved compassion, and that every one ought to be as much concerned at it as himself, warmly resented the pretended moussul merchant's laughter. "what!" said he, "do you make a jest of me and laugh in my face, or do you believe i laugh at you when i speak seriously? if you want proof of what i advance, look yourself and see whether or no i tell you the truth;" with that, stooping down and baring his shoulders, he shewed the caliph the scars and weals which the bastinado had left. the caliph could not behold these marks of cruelty without horror. he pitied abou hassan, and felt sorry he had carried the jest so far. "come, rise, dear brother," said he to him eagerly, and embracing abou hassan heartily in his arms; "let me go to your house, and enjoy the happiness of being merry with you to-night; and to-morrow, if it please god, all things will go well." abou hassan, notwithstanding his resolution never to admit the same stranger a second time, could not resist the caresses of the caliph, whom he still took for a merchant of moussul. "i will consent," said he, "if you will swear to shut my door after you, that the devil may not come in to distract my brain again." the caliph promised that he would; upon which they both arose, walked towards the city, and, followed by the caliph's slave, reached abou hassan's house by the time it was dark. the caliph, the more to blind abou hassan, said to him, "place confidence in me; i promise you on my honour i will not break my word. you need not hesitate to trust a person who wishes you all happiness and prosperity, of which confidence you will see the effects." "i desire not that," said abou hassan, stopping him short. "i yield to your importunity; but i dispense with your good wishes, and beg you in god's name to form none for me. all the mischief that has hitherto befallen me arose from those you expressed for me, and from your leaving the door open." "well," replied the caliph, still laughing at the misguided imagination of abou hassan, "since you will have it so, i promise you i will form none." "you give me pleasure by speaking so," said abou hassan; "i desire no more; i shall be more than satisfied provided you keep your word, and i shall forgive you all the rest." as soon as abou hassan entered his house, he called for his mother and for candles, desired his guest to sit down upon a sofa, and then placed himself by him. a little time after, supper was brought up, and they both began to eat without ceremony. when they had done, abou hassan's mother cleared the table, set on a small dessert of fruit, wine, and glasses by her son, then withdrew, and appeared no more. abou hassan first filled out his own glass, and then the caliph's: and after they had drunk some time, and talked of indifferent matters, the caliph, perceiving that his host grew warm with liquor, began to talk of love, and asked him if he had ever felt that passion. "brother," replied abou hassan, familiarly thinking his guest was his equal, "i never looked upon love or marriage but as a slavery, to which i was always unwilling to submit; and must own to you, that i never loved any thing but good cheer and good wine; in short, to divert and entertain myself agreeably with my friends. yet i do not tell you that i am indifferent to marriage, or incapable of attachment, if i could meet with a woman of such beauty and sweetness of temper as her i saw in my dream that fatal night in which i first received you into my house, and you, to my misfortune, left my door open, who would pass the whole night with me drinking, singing, and playing on some instrument, and in agreeable conversation, and who would study to please and divert me: i believe, on the contrary, i should change all my indifference into a perfect attachment to such a person, and, i think, should live very happily with her. but where is such a woman to be found except in the caliph's palace, or in those of the grand vizier or some great lords of the court, who want not money to provide them? i choose therefore to stick to my bottle, which is a much cheaper pleasure, and which i can enjoy as well as the greatest." saying these words, he filled out his own and the caliph's glass, and said, "come, take your glass, and let us pursue this charming pleasure." when they had drunk off their wine, "it is great pity," said the caliph, "that so gallant a man as you, who owns himself not insensible of love, should lead so solitary a life." "i prefer the easy quiet life i live," replied abou hassan, "before the company of a wife, whose beauty might not please me, and who, besides, might create me a great deal of trouble by her imperfections and ill-humour." the conversation lasted a long time, and the caliph seeing abou hassan had drunk to the pitch he desired, said, "let me alone, since you have the same good taste as every other honest man, i warrant you i will find you a wife that shall please you." then taking abou hassan's glass, and putting a pinch of the same powder into it, filled him up a bumper, and presenting it to him, said, "come, let us drink beforehand the fair lady's health, who is to make you happy. i am sure you will like her." abou hassan took the glass laughing, and shaking his head, said, "be it so; since you desire it, i cannot be guilty of so great a piece of incivility, nor disoblige a guest of so much merit in such a trifling matter. i will drink the health of the lady you promise me, though i am very well contented as i am, and do not rely on your keeping your word." no sooner had abou hassan drank off his bumper, than he was seized with as deep a sleep as before; and the caliph ordered the same slave to take him and carry him to the palace. the slave obeyed, and the caliph, who did not intend to send back abou hassan as before, shut the door after him, as he had promised, and followed. when they arrived at the palace, the caliph ordered abou hassan to be laid on a sofa, in the fourth hall, from whence he had been carried home fast asleep a month before; but first he bade the attendants to put him on the same habit in which he had acted the caliph, which was done. he then charged all the eunuchs, officers, ladies, and musicians who were in the hall, when he drank the last glass of wine which had put him to sleep, to be there by daybreak, and to take care to act their parts well when he should awake. he then retired to rest, charging mesrour to awake him before they went into the hall, that he might conceal himself in the closet as before. mesrour, at the hour appointed, awakened the caliph, who immediately rose, and went to the hall where abou hassan lay still asleep, and when he had placed himself in his closet, mesrour and the other officers, ladies, and musicians, who waited for him, went in, and placed themselves about the sofa, so as not to hinder the caliph from seeing what passed, and noticing all his actions. things being thus disposed, and the caliph's powder having had its effect, abou hassan began to awake without opening his eyes, and threw off the phlegm, which was received in a gold basin as before. at that instant, the seven bands of singers joined their voices to the sound of hautboys, fifes, flutes, and other instruments, forming a very agreeable concert. abou hassan was in great surprise to hear the delightful harmony; but when he opened his eyes, and saw the ladies and officers about him, whom he thought he recognized, his amazement increased. the hall that he was in seemed to be the same he had seen in his first dream, and he observed the same lustres, and the same furniture and ornaments. the concert ceased, to give the caliph an opportunity of attending to the countenance of his guest, and all that he might say in his surprise. the ladies, mesrour, and all the officers of the chamber, waited in profound and respectful silence. abou hassan bit his finger, and cried loud enough for the caliph to hear him, "alas! i am fallen again into the same dream and illusion that happened to me a month ago, and must expect again the bastinado and grated cell at the mad-house. almighty god," added he, "i commit myself into the hands of thy divine providence. he was a wicked man that i entertained at my house last night, who has been the cause of this illusion, and the hardships i must again undergo. the base wretch swore to shut the door after him, but did not, and the devil came in and has turned my brain with this wicked dream of being commander of the faithful, and other phantoms which bewitch my eyes. god confound thee, satan? and crush thee under some mountain of stones." after these words, abou hassan closed his eyes, and remained some time thoughtful and much perplexed; then opening them again, and looking about him, cried out a second time with less surprise, and smiling at the various objects before him, "great god! i commit myself into the hands of thy providence, preserve me from the temptation of satan." then shutting them again, he said, "i will go to sleep until satan leaves me, and returns as he came, were i to wait till noon." they did not give him time to go to sleep again as he promised himself; for strength of hearts, one of the ladies whom he had seen before, approached, and sitting down on the sofa by him, said to him respectfully, "commander of the faithful, i entreat your majesty to forgive me for taking the liberty to tell you not to go to sleep; day appears, and it is time to rise." "begone, satan!" answered abou hassan, raising his voice; but looking at the lady, he said, "is it me you call the commander of the faithful? certainly you take me for somebody else." "it is to your majesty i give that title," replied the lady, "to whom it belongs, as you are sovereign of the world, and i am your most humble slave. undoubtedly," added she, "your majesty means to divert yourself by pretending to have forgotten yourself, or this is the effect of some troublesome dream; but if you would but open your eyes, the mists which disturb your imagination would soon be dispelled, and you would find yourself in your own palace, surrounded by your officers and slaves, who all wait your commands: and that your majesty may not be surprised to find yourself in this hall, and not in bed, i beg leave to inform you, that you fell so suddenly asleep last night, that we were unwilling to awake you, to conduit you to your chamber, but laid you carefully upon this sofa." in short, she said to him so many things which appeared probable, that at last he sat up, opened his eyes, and recollected her and all the ladies again. they all approached him, and she who spoke first, resuming the discourse, said, "commander of the faithful, and vicar of the prophet on earth, be not displeased if i acquaint your majesty once more that it is time to rise, for day appears." "you are very troublesome and importunate," replied abou hassan, rubbing his eyes; "i am not the commander of the faithful, but abou hassan; i know it well, and you shall not persuade me otherwise." "we do not know that abou hassan you majesty speaks of, nor desire to know him," answered the lady; "but we know you to be the commander of the believers, and you cannot persuade us to the contrary." abou hassan looking about, and finding himself in the same hall, attributed all he saw and heard to such a dream as he had had before, and greatly feared the dreadful consequences. "allah have mercy on me!" said he, lifting up his hands and eyes, like a man who knew not where he was; "i commit myself into his hands. i cannot doubt, after what i have seen, but that the devil, who came into my chamber, possesses me, and fills my imagination full of all these visions." the caliph, who saw him all the time, and heard these exclamations, began to shake so heartily, that he had much difficulty to forbear bursting into loud laughter. abou hassan laying himself down again, and shutting his eyes, the same lady said, "commander of the faithful, since your majesty does not rise, after we have, according to our duty, informed you it is day, and the dispatch of business requires your presence, we shall use the liberty you give us in such cases." then taking him by one arm, and calling to one of the other ladies to do the same by the other, they lifted him up, and carried him into the middle of the hall, where they seated him, and all taking hands, danced and skipped round him while the music played and sounded loudly in his ears. abou hassan was in inexpressible perplexity, and exclaimed, "what! am i indeed caliph, and commander of the faithful!" and in his uncertainty, would have said more, but the music was so loud, that he could not be heard. at last he made a sign to string of pearls and morning star, two of the ladies who were dancing, that he wanted to speak with them; upon which they forbore, and went to him. "do not lie now," said he, "but tell me truly who i am?" "commander of the faithful," replied morning star, "your majesty means either to surprise us, by asking this question, as if you did not know that you are commander of the faithful, and vicar on earth of the prophet of god, master of both worlds, that whereon we now are and that to come after death, or else you must have had some extraordinary dream that has made you forget who you are; which may well be, considering that your majesty has slept longer than ordinary; however, if you will give me leave, i will refresh your memory with what passed yesterday." she then told him how he went to council, punished the imaum, and the four old men, and had sent a present by his grand vizier of a thousand pieces of gold to the mother of one abou hassan; what he did in the inner part of the palace, and what passed at the three meals which he took in the three halls, adding, "in the fourth your majesty did us the honour to make us sit down by you, to hear our songs, and received wine from our hands, until your majesty fell asleep, as strength of hearts has told you. from that time your majesty has continued, contrary to custom, in a sound sleep until now. strength of hearts, all your other slaves, and the officers present, can confirm what i say, and it is now time you should go to prayers." "very well," replied abou hassan, shaking his head, "you would have me believe all this; but i tell you, you are all fools, or mad, and that is great pity, for you are very handsome. since i saw you i have been at home, where i used my mother so ill that they sent me to a mad-house, and kept me there three weeks against my will, beat me unmercifully every day, and yet you would make me believe all this to be a dream." "commander of the faithful," answered morning star, "you are mistaken, we are ready to swear by all your majesty holds most dear, that all you relate can be only a dream. you have never stirred out of this hall since yesterday, but slept here all night." the confidence with which the lady assured abou hassan that all she said was truth, and that he had never been out of the hall since that time, bewildered his senses so that he was at a loss what to believe. "o heaven!" said he to himself, "am i abou hassan, or the commander of the faithful! almighty god, enlighten my understanding, and inform me of the truth, that i may know what to trust." he then uncovered his shoulders, and shewed the ladies the livid weals of the blows he had received. "look," said he, "judge whether these strokes could come to me in a dream, or when i was asleep. for my part, i can affirm, that they were real blows; i feel the smart of them yet, and that is a testimonial there is no room to doubt. now if i received these strokes in my sleep, it is the most extraordinary thing in the world, and surpasses my comprehension." in this uncertainty abou hassan called to one of the officers that stood near him: "come hither," said he, "and bite the tip of my ear, that i may know whether i am asleep or awake." the officer obeyed, and bit so hard, that he made him cry out loudly with the pain; the music struck up at the same time, and the officers and ladies all began to sing, dance, and skip about abou hassan, and made such a noise, that he was in a perfect ecstasy, and played a thousand ridiculous pranks. he threw off his caliph's habit, and his turban, jumped up in his shirt and drawers, and taking hold of two of the ladies' hands, began singing, jumping and cutting capers, so that the caliph could not contain himself, but burst into such violent laughter, that he fell backwards, and was heard above the noise of all the musicians. he was so long before he could check himself, that it had like to have been fatal. at last he got up, opened the lattice, and putting out his head, cried "abou hassan, abou hassan, have you a mind to kill me with laughing?" as soon as the caliph's voice was heard, every body was silent, and abou hassan, among the rest, who, turning his head to see from whence the voice came, knew the caliph, and in him recognised the moussul merchant, but was not in the least daunted; on the contrary he became convinced that he was awake, and that all that had happened to him had been real, and not a dream. he entered into the caliph's pleasantry. "ha! ha!" said he, looking at him with good assurance, "you are a merchant of moussul, and complain that i would kill you; you have been the occasion of my using my mother so ill, and of my being sent to a mad-house. it was you who treated the imaum and the four scheiks in the manner they were used, and not me; i wash my hands of it. it is you who have been the cause of all my disorders and sufferings: in short, you are the aggressor, and i the injured person." "indeed, you are in the right, abou hassan," answered the caliph, laughing all the while; "but to comfort you, and make you amends for all your troubles, i call heaven to witness, i am ready and willing to make you what reparation you please to ask." after these words, he came out of the closet into the hall, ordered one of his most magnificent habits to be brought, commanded the ladies to dress abou hassan in it, and when they had done, he said, embracing him, "thou art my brother; ask what thou wilt, and thou shalt have it." "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "i beg of your majesty to do me the favour to tell me what you did to disturb my brain in this manner, and what was your design; for it is a thing of the greatest importance for me to know, that i may perfectly recover my senses." the caliph was ready to give him this satisfaction, and said, "first, you are to know, that i often disguise myself, and particularly at night, to observe if all goes right in bagdad; and as i wish to know what passes in its environs, i set apart the first day of every month to make an excursion, sometimes on one side, sometimes on another, and always return by the bridge. the evening that you invited me to supper, i was beginning my rounds, and in our conversation you told me, that the only thing you wished for was to be caliph for four-and-twenty hours, to punish the imaum of your mosque and his four counsellors. i fancied that this desire of yours would afford me diversion, and thought immediately how i might procure you the satisfaction you wished. i had about me a certain powder, which immediately throws the person who takes it into a sound sleep for a certain time. i put a dose of it, without being perceived by you, into the last glass i presented to you, upon which you fell fast asleep, and i ordered my slave to carry you to my palace, and came away without shutting the door. i have no occasion to repeat what happened when you awoke, nor during the whole day till evening, but after you had been regaled by my orders, one of the ladies put another dose of the same powder into a glass she gave you; you fell asleep as before, and the same slave carried you home, and left the door open. you have told me all that happened to you afterwards. i never imagined that you could have suffered so much as you have done. but as i have a great regard for you, i will do every thing to comfort you, and make you forget all your sufferings; think of what i can do to serve you, and ask me boldly what you wish." "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "how great soever my tortures may have been, they are all blotted out of my remembrance, since i understand my sovereign lord and master had a share in them. i doubt not in the least of your majesty's bounty; but as interest never governed me, and you give me liberty to ask a favour, i beg that it may be that of having access to your person, to enjoy the happiness of admiring, all my lifetime, your virtues." this proof of disinterestedness in abou hassan confirmed the esteem the caliph had entertained for him. "i am pleased with your request," said he, "and grant you free access to my person at all times and all hours." at the same time he assigned him an apartment in the palace, and, in regard to his pension, told him, that he would not have him apply to his treasurer, but come always to him for an order upon him, and immediately commanded his private treasurer to give him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold. abou hassan made a low prostration, and the caliph left him to go to council. abou hassan took this opportunity to go and inform his mother of his good fortune, and that what had happened was not a dream; for that he had actually been caliph, had acted as such, and received all the honours; and that she had no reason to doubt of it, since he had this confirmed by the caliph himself. it was not long before this story of abou hassan was spread throughout bagdad, and carried into all the provinces both far and near, without the omission of a single circumstance. the new favourite abou hassan was always with the caliph; for, as he was a man of a pleasant temper, and created mirth wherever he went by his wit and drollery, the caliph formed no party of diversion without him, and sometimes carried him to visit his consort zobeide, to whom he had related his story. zobeide, who observed that every time he came with the caliph, he had his eyes always fixed upon one of her slaves, called nouzhatoul-aouadat, resolved to tell the caliph of it. "commander of the faithful," said she one day, "you do not observe that every time abou hassan attends you in your visits to me, he never keeps his eyes off nouzhatoul-aouadat, and makes her blush, which is almost a certain sign that she entertains no aversion for him. if you approve of it, we will make a match between them." "madam," replied the caliph, "you remind me of what i ought to have done before. i know abou hassan's opinion respecting marriage from himself, and have always promised him a wife that should please him. i am glad you mentioned the circumstance; for i know not how i came to forget it. but it is better that abou hassan should follow his own inclination, and choose for himself. if nouzhatoul-aouadat is not averse to it, we ought not to hesitate upon their marriage; and since they are both present, they have only to say that they consent." abou hassan threw himself at the caliph's and zobeide's feet, to shew the sense he had of their goodness; and rising up, said, "i cannot receive a wife from better hands, but dare not hope that nouzhatoul-aouadat will give me her hand as readily as i give her mine." at these words he looked at the princess's slave, who shewed by her respectful silence, and the sudden blush that arose in her cheeks, that she was disposed to obey the caliph and her mistress zobeide. the marriage was solemnized, and the nuptials celebrated in the palace, with great rejoicings, which lasted several days. zobeide made her slave considerable presents, and the caliph did the same to abou hassan. the bride was conducted to the apartment the caliph had assigned abou hassan, who waited for her with all the impatience of a bridegroom, and received her with the sound of all sorts of instruments, and musicians of both sexes, who made the air echo with their concert. after these feasts and rejoicings, which lasted several days, the newly-married couple were left to pursue their loves in peace. abou hassan and his spouse were charmed with each other, lived together in perfect union, and seldom were asunder, but when either he paid his respects to the caliph, or she hers to zobeide. indeed, nouzhatoul-aouadat was endued with every qualification capable of gaining abou hassan's love and attachment, was just such a wife as he had described to the caliph, and fit to sit at the head of his table. with these dispositions they could not fail to pass their lives agreeably. they kept a good table covered with the nicest and choicest rarities in season, by an excellent cook, who took upon him to provide every thing. their sideboard was always stored with exquisite wines placed within their reach when at table, where they enjoyed themselves in agreeable conversation, and afterwards entertained each other with some pleasantry or other, which made them laugh more or less, as they had in the day met with something to divert them; and in the evenings, which they consecrated to mirth, they had generally some slight repast of dried sweetmeats, choice fruits, and cakes, and at each glass invited each other by new songs to drink, and sometimes accompanied their voices with a lute, or other instruments which they could both touch. abou hassan and nouzhatoul-aouadat led this pleasant life unattentive to expense, until at length the caterer, who had disbursed all his and their money for these expenses, brought them in a long bill in hope of having an advance of cash. they found the amount to be so considerable, that all the presents which the caliph and zobeide had given them at their marriage were but just enough to pay him. this made them reflect seriously on what was passed, which, however, was no remedy for the present evil. but they agreed to pay the caterer; and having sent for him, gave him all they owed him, without considering the difficulty they should be in immediately after. the caterer went away highly pleased at receiving so large a sum, though abou hassan and his wife were not so well satisfied with seeing the bottom of their purse, but remained a long time silent, and very much embarrassed, to find themselves reduced to poverty the very first year of their marriage. abou hassan remembered that the caliph, when he took him into the palace, had promised never to let him want. but when he considered how prodigal he had been of his money, was unwilling to expose himself to the shame of letting the caliph know the ill use he had made of his bounty, and that he wanted a supply. besides, he had made over his patrimony to his mother, when the caliph had received him near his person, and was afraid to apply to her, lest she should discover that he had returned to the same extravagance he had been guilty of after his father's death. his wife, on the other hand, regarded zobeide's generosity, and the liberty she had given her to marry, as more than a sufficient recompense for her service, and thought she had no right to ask more. abou hassan at last broke silence, and looking at his wife, said, "i see you are in the same embarrassment as myself, and thinking what we must do in this unhappy juncture, when our money fails us so unexpectedly. i do not know what your sentiments may be; but mine are, let what will happen, not to retrench our expenses in the least; and i believe you will come into my opinion. the point is, how to support them without stooping to ask the caliph or zobeide: and i think i have fallen on the means; but we must assist each other." this discourse of abou hassan very much pleased his wife, and gave her some hopes. "i was thinking so as well as you," said she; "but durst not explain my thoughts, because i do not know how we can help ourselves; and must confess, that what you tell me gives me a revival of pleasure. since you say you have found out a resource, and my assistance is necessary, you need but tell me in what way, and i will do all that lies in my power." "i was sure," replied abou hassan, "that you would not fail me in a business which concerns us both; and therefore i must tell you, this want of money has made me think of a plan which will supply us, at least for a time. it consists in a little trick we must put, i upon the caliph and you upon zobeide, and at which, as i am sure they will both be diverted, it will answer advantageously for us. you and i will both die." "not i indeed," interrupted nouzhatoul-aouadat; "you may die by yourself, if you please, but i am not so weary of this life; and whether you are pleased or not, will not die so soon. if you have nothing else to propose, you may die by yourself; for i assure you i shall not join you." "you are a woman of such vivacity and wonderful quickness," replied abou hassan, "that you scarcely give me time to explain my design. have but a little patience, and you shall find that you will be ready enough to die such a death as i intend; for surely you could not think i meant a real death?" "well," said his wife, "if it is but a sham death you design, i am at your service, and you may depend on my zeal to second you in this manner of dying; but i must tell you truly, i am very unwilling to die, as i apprehended you at first." "be but silent a little," said abou hassan, "and i will tell you what i promise. i will feign myself dead, and you shall lay me out in the middle of my chamber, with my turban upon my face, my feet towards mecca, as if ready to be carried out to burial. when you have done this, you must lament, and weep bitterly, as is usual in such cases, tear your clothes and hair, or pretend to do it, and go all in tears, with your locks dishevelled, to zobeide. the princess will of course inquire the cause of your grief; and when you have told her, with words intermixed with sobs, she will pity you, give you money to defray the expense of my funeral, and a piece of good brocade to cover my body, that my interment may be the more magnificent, and to make you a new dress in the room of that you will have torn. as soon as you return with the money and the brocade, i will rise, lay you in my place, and go and act the same part with the caliph, who i dare say will be as generous to me as zobeide will have been to you." nouzhatoul-aouadat highly approved the project, and said to abou hassan, "come, lose no time; strip to your shirt and drawers, while i prepare a winding sheet. i know how to bury as well as any body; for while i was in zobeide's service, when any of my fellow-slaves died, i had the conducting of the funeral." abou hassan did as his wife mentioned, and laid himself on the sheet which she had spread on the carpet in the middle of the room. as soon as he had crossed his arms, his wife wrapped him up, turned his feet towards mecca, and put a piece of fine muslin and his turban upon his face, so that nothing seemed wanting but to carry him out to be buried. after this she pulled off her head-dress, and with tears in her eyes, her hair dishevelled, and seeming to tear it off, with a dismal cry and lamentation, beating her face and breast with all the marks of the most lively grief, ran across the court to zobeide's apartments, who, hearing the voice of a person crying very loud, commanded some of her women to see who it was; they returned and told her that it was nouzhatoul-aouadat, who was approaching in a deplorable condition. the princess, impatient to know what had happened to her, rose up immediately, and went to meet her at the door of her ante-chamber. nouzhatoul-aouadat played her part to perfection. as soon as she saw zobeide, who held the door open, she redoubled her cries, tore her hair off by handfuls, beat her face and breast, and threw herself at her feet, bathing them with her tears. zobeide, amazed to see her slave in such extraordinary affliction, asked what had happened; but, instead of answering, she continued her sobs; and at last feigning to strive to check them, said, with words interrupted with sighs, "alas! my most honoured lady and mistress, what greater misfortune could have befallen me than this, which obliges me to throw myself at your highness's feet. god prolong your days, my most respectable princess, in perfect health, and grant you many happy years! abou hassan! poor abou hassan! whom you honoured with your esteem, and gave me for a husband, is no more!" at these words nouzhatoul-aouadat redoubled her tears and sighs, and threw herself again at the princess's feet. zobeide was extremely concerned at this news. "abou hassan dead!" cried she; "that agreeable, pleasant man! i did not expect his death so soon; he seemed to promise a long life, and well deserved to enjoy it!" she then also burst into tears, as did all her women, who had been often witnesses of abou hassan's pleasantries when the caliph brought him to amuse the princess zobeide, and all together continued for some time bewailing his loss. at length the princess zobeide broke silence: "wicked woman!" cried she, addressing herself to the false widow, "perhaps you may have occasioned his death. your ill temper has given him so much vexation, that you have at last brought him to his grave." nouzhatoul-aouadat seemed much hurt at the reproaches of zobeide: "ah, madam," cried she, "i do not think i ever gave your majesty, while i was your slave, reason to entertain so disadvantageous an opinion of my conduct to a husband who was so dear to me. i should think myself the most wretched of women if you were persuaded of this. i behaved to abou hassan as a wife should do to a husband for whom she has a sincere affection; and i may say, without vanity, that i had for him the same regard he had for me. i am persuaded he would, were he alive, justify me fully to your majesty; but, madam," added she, renewing her tears, "his time was come, and that was the only cause of his death." zobeide, as she had really observed in her slave a uniformly equal temper, mildness, great docility and zeal for her service, which shewed she was rather actuated by inclination than duty, hesitated not to believe her on her word, and ordered her treasurer to fetch a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of rich brocade. the slave soon returned with the purse and piece of brocade, which, by zobeide's order, she delivered to nouzhatoul-aouadat, who threw herself again at the princess's feet, and thanked her with great self-satisfaction at finding she had succeeded so well. "go," said zobeide, "use that brocade to cover the corpse of your husband, and with the money bury him handsomely, as he deserves. moderate the transport of your afflictions: i will take care of you." as soon as nouzhatoul-aouadat got out of the princess's presence, she dried up her tears, and returned with joy to abou hassan, to give him an account of her good success. when she came home she burst out a laughing on seeing her husband still stretched out in the middle of the floor; she ran to him, bade him rise and see the fruits of his stratagem. he arose, and rejoiced with his wife at the sight of the purse and brocade. unable to contain herself at the success of her artifice, "come, husband," said she, laughing, "let me act the dead part, and see if you can manage the caliph as well as i have done zobeide." "that is the temper of all women," replied abou hassan, "who, we may well say, have always the vanity to believe they can do things better than men, though at the same time what good they do is by their advice. it would be odd indeed, if i, who laid this plot myself, could not carry it on as well as you. but let us lose no time in idle discourse; lie down in my place, and witness if i do not come off with as much applause." abou hassan wrapped up his wife as she had done him, and with his turban unrolled, like a man in the greatest affliction, ran to the caliph, who was holding a private council with jaaffier and other confidential viziers. he presented himself at the door, and the officer, knowing he had free access, opened it. he entered holding with one hand his handkerchief before his eyes, to hide the feigned tears, which trickled down his cheeks, and striking his breast with the other, with exclamations expressing extraordinary grief. the caliph, always used to see abou hassan with a merry countenance, was very much surprised to behold him in so much distress. he interrupted the business of the council to inquire the cause of his grief. "commander of the faithful," answered abou hassan, with repeated sighs and sobs, "god preserve your majesty on the throne, which you fill so gloriously! a greater calamity could not have befallen me than what i now lament. alas! nouzhatoul-aouadat whom you in your bounty gave me for a wife to gladden my existence, alas!" at this exclamation abou hassan pretended to have his heart so full, that he could not utter more, but poured forth a flood of tears. the caliph, who now understood that abou hassan came to tell him of the death of his wife, seemed much concerned, and said to him with an air which shewed how much he regretted her loss, "god be merciful to her: she was a good slave, and we gave her to you with an intention to make you happy: she deserved a longer life." the tears then ran down his face, so that he was obliged to pull out his handkerchief to wipe them off. the grief of abou hassan, and the tears of the caliph, excited those of jaaffier and the other viziers. they bewailed the death of nouzhatoul-aouadat, who, on her part, was only impatient to hear how abou hassan succeeded. the caliph had the same suspicion of the husband that zobeide had of the wife, and imagined that he had occasioned her death. "wretch!" said he, in a tone of indignation, "have not you been the cause of your wife's death by your ill treatment of her? you ought at least to have had some regard for the princess my consort, who loved her more than the rest of her slaves, yet consented to give her to you. what a return for her kindness!" "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, affecting to weep more bitterly than before, "can your majesty for a moment suppose that abou hassan, whom you have loaded with your favours and kindness, and on whom you have conferred honours he could never have aspired to, can have been capable of such ingratitude? i loved nouzhatoul-aouadat my wife as much on these accounts, as for the many good qualities she possessed, and which drew from me all the attachment, tenderness, and love she deserved. but, my lord," added he, "she was to die, and god would no longer suffer me to enjoy a happiness for which i was indebted to your majesty and your beloved consort." abou hassan dissembled so well, that the caliph, who had never heard how extravagantly he and his wife had lived, no longer doubting his sincerity, ordered his treasurer, who was present, to give abou hassan a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade. abou hassan immediately cast himself at the caliph's feet, and thanked him for his present. "follow the treasurer," said the monarch; "throw the brocade over the corpse, and with the money shew the last testimony of thy love for thy wife." abou hassan made no reply to these obliging words of the caliph, but retiring with a low prostration, followed the treasurer; and as soon as he had got the purse and piece of brocade, went home, well pleased with having found out so quick and easy a way of supplying the necessity which had given him so much uneasiness. nouzhatoul-aouadat, weary with lying so long in one posture, waited not till abou hassan bade her rise; but as soon as she heard the door open, sprang up, ran to her husband, and asked him if he had imposed on the caliph as cleverly as she had done on zobeide. "you see," said he, shewing her the stuff, and shaking the purse, "that i can act a sorrowful husband for a living wife, as well as you can a weeping widow for a husband not dead." abou hassan, however, was not without his fears that this double plot might be attended with some ill consequences. he thought it would not be amiss to put his wife on her guard as to what might happen, that they might aft in concert. "for," added he, "the better we succeed in embarrassing the caliph and zobeide, the more they will be pleased at last, and perhaps may shew their satisfaction by greater liberality." this last consideration induced them to carry on their stratagem farther. the caliph, though he had important affairs to decide, was so impatient to condole with the princess on the death of her slave, that he rose up as soon as abou hassan was gone, and put off the council to another day. "follow me," said he to mesrour, who always attended him wherever he went, and was in all his councils, "let us go and share with the princess the grief which the death of her slave nouzhatoul-aouadat must have occasioned." accordingly they went to zobeide's apartment, whom the caliph found sitting on a sofa, much afflicted, and still in tears. "madam," said the caliph, going up to her, "it is unnecessary to tell you how much i partake with you in your affliction; since you must be sensible that what gives you pleasure or trouble, has the same effect on me. but we are all mortal, and must surrender up to god that life he has given us, when he requires it. nouzhatoul-aouadat, your faithful slave, was endued with qualifications that deserved your esteem, and i cannot but approve your expressing it after her death; but consider all your grief will not restore her to life. therefore, madam, if you love me, and will take my advice, be comforted for this loss, take care of a life which you know is precious to me, and constitutes all the happiness of mine." if the princess was charmed with these tender sentiments which the caliph expressed in his compliments, she was amazed to hear of nouzhatoulaouadat's death. this news threw her into such astonishment, that she was not able to return an answer for some time. at last recovering, she replied with an air expressive of surprise, "commander of the faithful, i am very sensible of all your tender sentiments; but give me leave to say, i cannot comprehend the news you tell me of the death of my slave, who is in perfect health. my affliction is for the death of abou hassan, her husband, your favourite, whom i esteemed, as much for the regard you had for him, as his having so often diverted me agreeably, and for whom i had as great a value as yourself. but the little concern you shew for his death, and your so soon forgetting a man in whose company you have so often told me you took so much pleasure, surprises me; and this insensibility seems the greater, from the deception you would put upon me in changing his death for that of my slave." the caliph, who thought that he was perfectly well informed of the death of the slave, and had just reason to believe so, because he had both seen and heard abou hassan, laughed, and shrugged up his shoulders, to hear zobeide talk in this manner. "mesrour," said he, to the eunuch, "what do you think of the princess's discourse? do not women sometimes lose their senses; for you have heard and seen all as well as myself?" then turning to zobeide, "madam," said he, "shed no more tears for abou hassan, for i can assure you he is well; but rather bewail the death of your dear slave. it is not many moments since her husband came in the most inexpressible affliction, to tell me of the death of his wife. i gave him a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade, to comfort him, and bury her; and mesrour, who was present, can tell you the same." the princess took this discourse of the caliph's to be all a jest, and thought he had a mind to impose upon her. "commander of the faithful," replied she, "though you are used to banter, i must tell you, this is not a proper time for pleasantry. what i tell you is very serious; i do not talk of my slave's death, but of abou hassan's, her husband, whose fate i bewail, and so ought you too." "madam," said the caliph, putting on a grave countenance, "i tell you without raillery that you are deceived; nouzhatoul-aouadat is dead, and abou hassan is alive, and in perfect health." zobeide was much piqued at this dry answer of the caliph. "commander of the faithful," replied she smartly, "god preserve you from continuing longer in this mistake, surely you would make me think your mind is not as usual. give me leave to repeat to you once more, that it is abou hassan who is dead, and that my slave nouzhatoul-aouadat, his widow, is living. it is not an hour since she went from hence. she came here in so disconsolate a state, that the sight of her was enough to have drawn tears from my eyes, if she had not told me her affliction. all my women, who wept with me, can bear me witness, and tell you also that i made her a present of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade; the grief which you found me in, was on account of the death of her husband; and just at the instant you entered, i was going to send you a compliment of condolence." at these words of zobeide, the caliph cried out in a fit of laughter, "this, madam, is a strange piece of obstinacy; but," continued he seriously, "you may depend upon nouzhatoul-aouadat's being dead." "i tell you no, sir," replied zobeide sharply; "it is abou hassan that is dead, and you shall never make me believe otherwise." upon this the caliph's anger rose in his countenance. he seated himself on the sofa at some distance from the princess, and speaking to mesrour, said, "go immediately, see which it is, and bring me word; for though i am certain that it is nouzhatoul-aouadat, i would rather take this method than be any longer obstinately positive about the matter, though of its certainty i am perfectly satisfied." no sooner had the caliph commanded than mesrour was gone. "you will see," continued he, addressing himself to zobeide, "in a moment, which of us is right." "for my part," replied zobeide, "i know very well that i am in the right, and you will find it to be abou hassan." "and for myself," returned the caliph, "i am so sure that it is nouzhatoul-aouadat, that i will lay you what wager you please that abou hassan is well." "do not think to come off so," said zobeide; "i accept your wager, and i am so well persuaded of his death, that i would willingly lay the thing dearest to me in the world against what you will, though it were of less value. you know what i have in my disposal, and what i value most; propose the bet, and i will stand to it." "since it is so," said the caliph, "i will lay my garden of pleasures against your palace of paintings, though the one is worth much more than the other." "is the question at present," replied zobeide, "if your garden is more valuable than my palace? that is not the point. you have made choice of what you thought fit belonging to me, as an equivalent against what you lay; i accept the wager, and that i will abide by it, i take god to witness." the caliph took the same oath, and both waited mesrour's return. while the caliph and zobeide were disputing so earnestly, and with so much warmth, abou hassan, who foresaw their difference, was very attentive to whatever might happen. as soon as he perceived mesrour through a window, at which he sat talking with his wife, and observed that he was coming directly to their apartment, he guessed his commission, and bade his wife make haste to act the dead part once more, as they had agreed, without loss of time; but they were so pressed, that abou hassan had much ado to wrap up his wife, and lay the piece of brocade which the caliph had given him upon her, before mesrour reached the house. this done, he opened the door of his apartment, and with a melancholy, dejected countenance, and his handkerchief before his eyes, went and sat down at the head of the pretended deceased. by the time he was seated, mesrour came into the room. the dismal sight which met his eyes, gave him a secret joy on account of the errand the caliph had sent him on. abou hassan rose up to meet him, and kissing his hand out of respect, said, sighing and sobbing, "you see me under the greatest calamity that ever could have befallen me the death of my dear wife, nouzhatoul-aouadat, whom you honoured with your favours." mesrour, affected by this discourse, could not refuse some tears to the memory of the deceased. he lifted up the cloth a little at the head, and peeping under it, let it down again, and said, with a deep sigh, "there is no other god but allah, we must all submit to his will, and every creature must return to him. nouzhatoul-aouadat, my good sister," added he, sighing, "thy days have been few: god have mercy on thee." then turning to abou hassan, who was all the time in tears, "we may well say," added he, "that women sometimes have whims, and lose their senses in a most unpardonable manner; for zobeide, good mistress as she is, is in that situation at present; she will maintain to the caliph that you are dead, and not your wife; and whatever the caliph can say to the contrary, he cannot persuade her otherwise. he called me to witness and confirm this truth; for you know i was present when you came and told him the sorrowful news: but all signifies nothing. they are both positive; and the caliph, to convince zobeide, has sent me to know the truth, but i fear i shall not be believed; for when women once take up a thing, they are not to be beaten out of it." "god keep the commander of the faithful in the possession and right use of his senses," replied abou hassan, still sighing and weeping; "you see how it is, and that i have not imposed upon his majesty. and i wish to heaven," continued he, to dissemble the better, "that i had no occasion to have told him the melancholy and afflicting news. alas! i cannot enough express my irreparable loss!" "that is true," replied mesrour, "and i can assure you i take a great share in your affliction; but you must be comforted, and not abandon yourself to your grief. i leave you with reluctance, to return to the caliph; but i beg the favour of you not to bury the corpse till i come again; for i will assist at the interment, and accompany it with my prayers." mesrour went to give an account of his visit. abou hassan attended him to the door, told him he did not deserve the honour he intended him: and for fear mesrour should return to say something else, followed him with his eyes for some time, and when he saw him at a distance, returned to his wife and released her. "this is already," said he, "a new scene of mirth, but i fancy it will not be the last; for certainly the princess zobeide will not believe mesrour, but will laugh at him, since she has too substantial a reason to the contrary; therefore we must expect some new event." while abou hassan was talking thus, nouzhatoul-aouadat had time to put on her clothes again, and both went and sat down on a sofa opposite to the window, where they could see all that passed. in the mean time, mesrour reached zobeide's apartment, and going into her closet laughing, clapped his hands like one who had something very agreeable to tell. the caliph, naturally impatient, and piqued a little at the princess's contradiction, as soon as he saw mesrour, "vile slave," said he, "is this a time to laugh? why do not you tell me which is dead, the husband or the wife?" "commander of the faithful," answered mesrour, putting on a serious countenance, "it is nouzhatoul-aouadat who is dead, for the loss of whom about hassan is as much afflicted as when he appeared before your majesty." the caliph not giving him time to pursue his story, interrupted him, and cried out, laughing heartily, "good news! zobeide, your mistress, was a moment ago possessed of the palace of paintings, and now it is mine. she staked it against my garden of pleasures, since you went; therefore you could not have done me greater pleasure. i will take care to reward you: but give me a true account of what you saw." "commander of the faithful," said mesrour, "when i came to abou hassan's apartment, i found the door open, and he was bewailing the death of his wife. he sat at the head of the deceased, who was laid out in the middle of the room, with her feet towards mecca, and was covered with the piece of brocade which your majesty presented to abou hassan. after i had expressed the share i took in his grief, i went and lifted up the pall at the head, and knew nouzhatoul-aouadat, though her face was much swelled and changed. i exhorted abou hassan in the best manner i could to be comforted; and when i came away, told him i would attend at his wife's funeral, and desired him not to remove the corpse till i came. this is all i can tell your majesty." "i ask no more," said the caliph, laughing heartily, "and i am well satisfied with your exactness." then addressing himself to zobeide, "well, madam," said he, "have you yet any thing to say against so certain a truth? will you still believe that nouzhatoul-aouadat is alive, and that abou hassan is dead? and will you not own that you have lost your wager?" "how, sir," replied zobeide, who would not believe one word mesrour said, "do you think that i regard that impertinent fellow of a slave, who knows not what he says? i am not blind or mad. with these eyes i saw nouzhatoul-aouadat in the greatest affliction; i spoke to her myself, and she told me that her husband was dead." "madam," replied mesrour, "i swear to you by your own life, and that of the commander of the faithful, which are both dear to me, that nouzhatoul-aouadat is dead, and abou hassan is living." "thou liest, base despicable slave," said zobeide in a rage, "and i will confound thee immediately." clapping her hands together, she called her women, who all approached. "come hither," said the princess to them, "and speak the truth. who was that who came and spoke with me a little before the caliph entered?" the women all answered that it was poor afflicted nouzhatoul-aouadat. "and what," added she, addressing herself to her treasurer, "did i order you to give her?" "madam," answered the treasurer, "i gave nouzhatoul-aouadat, by your orders, a purse of a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of brocade, which she carried away with her." "well, then, sorry slave," said zobeide to mesrour, in passion, "what have you to say to all this? whom do you think now i ought to believe, you or my treasurer, my women, and myself?" mesrour did not want for arguments to contradict the princess; but, as he was afraid of provoking her too much, chose rather to be silent, though he was satisfied that the wife was dead, and not the husband. during the whole of this dispute between zobeide and mesrour, the caliph, who heard the evidence on both sides, and was persuaded of the contrary of what the princess asserted, because he had himself seen and spoken to abou hassan, and from what mesrour had told him, laughed heartily to see zobeide so exasperated. "madam," said he to her, "once more i repeat that i know not who was the author of that saying, that 'women sometimes lose their wits,' but i am sure you make it good. mesrour has just come from abou hassan's, and tells you that he saw nouzhatoul-aouadat lying dead in the middle of the room, abou hassan alive, and sitting by her; and yet you will not believe this evidence, which nobody can reasonably refuse; i cannot comprehend this conduit." zobeide would not hear the caliph. "pardon me, commander of the faithful," replied she, "if i suspect you: i see that you have contrived with mesrour to vex me, and to try my patience. and as i perceive that this report was concerted between you, i beg leave to send a person to abou hassan's, to know whether or not i am in the wrong." the caliph consented, and the princess charged with this important commission an old nurse, who had lived with her from her infancy. "hark you nurse," said she, "you see my dispute with the commander of the faithful, and mesrour; i need tell you no more. go to abou hassan's or rather to nouzhatoul-aouadat's, for abou hassan is dead, and clear up this matter for me. if you bring me good news, a handsome present is your reward: make haste, and return immediately." the nurse set out, to the great joy of the caliph, who was delighted to see zobeide in this embarrassment; but mesrour, extremely mortified to find the princess so angry with him, did all he could to appease her, and to make her and the caliph both satisfied with him. he was overjoyed when zobeide sent the nurse; because he was persuaded that the report she must make would agree with his, justify him, and restore him to her favour. in the mean time abou hassan, who watched at the window, perceived the nurse at a distance, and guessing that she was sent by zobeide, called his wife, and told her that the princess's nurse was coming to know the truth. "therefore," said he, "make haste and lay me out." accordingly nouzhatoul-aouadat covered him with the brocade zobeide had given her, and put his turban upon his face. the nurse, eager to acquit herself of her commission, hobbled as fast as age would allow her, and entering the room, perceived nouzhatoul-aouadat in tears, her hair dishevelled, and seated at the head of her husband, beating her breast, with all the expressions of violent grief. the good old nurse went directly to the false widow. "my dear nouzhatoul-aouadat," said she, with a sorrowful countenance, "i come not to interrupt your grief and tears for a husband whom you loved so tenderly." "ah! good mother," replied the counterfeit widow, "you see my misfortune, and how unhappy i am from the loss of my beloved abou hassan. abou hassan, my dear husband!" cried she, "what have i done that you should leave me so soon? have i not always preferred your will to my own? alas! what will become of poor nouzhatoul-aouadat?" "this black-faced mesrour," cried the nurse, lifting up her hands, "deserves to be punished for having caused so great a difference between my good mistress and the commander of the faithful, by the falsehood he has told them. daughter," continued she, "that villain mesrour has asserted, with inconceivable impudence, before our good mistress, that you were dead, and abou hassan was alive." "alas! my good mother," cried nouzhatoul-aouadat, "i wish to heaven that it was true! i should not be in this sorrowful state, nor bewail a husband so dear to me!" at these words she wept afresh, and with redoubled tears and cries feigned the deepest sorrow. the nurse was so much moved by her tears, that she sat down by her, and cried too. then gently lifting up the turban and cloth, looked at the face of the corpse. "ah! poor abou hassan," she cried, covering his face again, "god have mercy upon thee. adieu, child," said she to nouzhatoul-aouadat: "if i could stay longer with you, i would with all my heart; but i am obliged to return immediately, to deliver my mistress from the uneasiness that black villain has occasioned her, by his impudent lie, assuring her with an oath that you were dead." as soon as the nurse was gone, nouzhatoul-aouadat wiped her eyes and released abou hassan; they both went and sat down on a sofa against the window, expecting what would be the end of this stratagem, and to be ready to act according as circumstances might require. the nurse, in the mean time, made all the haste she could to zobeide. the pleasure of carrying the princess news favourable to her wager, but still more the hopes of a good reward, added wings to her feet, and running into the princess's closet quite out of breath, she gave her a true account of all she had seen. zobeide hearkened to the old woman's relation with a most sensible pleasure; and when she had done, said, with a tone which shewed triumph at having, as she supposed, won her wager: "repeat it once more before the caliph, who looks upon us all to be fools, would make us believe we have no sense of religion, nor fear of god; and tell your story to that wicked black slave, who had the insolence to assert a wilful falsehood." mesrour, who expected the nurse's report would prove favourable on his side, was much mortified to find it so much the contrary, and so vexed at the anger zobeide expressed against him, for a thing which he thought himself surer of than any body, that he was glad of an opportunity of speaking his mind freely to the old women, which he durst not do to the princess. "old toothless," said he to the nurse, "you are a liar, and there is no truth in what you say; for i saw with my own eyes nouzhatoul-aouadat laid out in the middle of the room." "you are a notorious liar yourself," replied the nurse, with an insulting air, "to dare maintain so great a falsity before my face, who am just come from seeing abou hassan dead, laid out, and have left his wife alive." "i am not an impostor," replied mesrour; "it is you who endeavour to lead us all into error." "what impudence," said the nurse, "to dare tell me i lie in the presence of their majesties, when i saw just now with my own eyes what i have had the honour to tell them." "indeed, nurse," answered mesrour again, "you had better hold your tongue, for you certainly doat." zobeide, who could no longer endure this want of respect in mesrour, who, without any regard to her, treated her nurse so injuriously in her presence, without giving the old lady time to reply to so gross an affront, said to the caliph, "commander of the faithful, i demand justice for this insolence to us both." she was so enraged she could say no more, but burst into tears. the caliph, who had heard all the dispute, thought it very intricate. he mused some time, and could not tell what to think of so many contradictions. the princess on her part, as well as mesrour, the nurse, and all the women slaves, who were present, were as much puzzled, and remained silent. at last the caliph, addressing himself to zobeide, said, "i see we are all liars; myself first, then you, mesrour, and you, nurse; or at least it seems not one can be believed more than the other; therefore let us go ourselves to examine the truth, for i can see no other way to clear up these doubts." so saying, the caliph arose, the princess followed him, and mesrour went before to open the doors. "commander of the faithful," said he, "i am overjoyed that your majesty has taken this course; and shall be much more, when i shall make it plainly appear to the nurse, not that she doats, since the expression is unfortunately displeasing to my good mistress, but that her report is not true." the nurse wanted not a reply; "hold your tongue, black face," said she; "you doat yourself." zobeide, who was much provoked at mesrour, could not bear to hear him attack her nurse again without taking her part: "vile slave," said she, "say what you will, i maintain my nurse speaks the truth, and look upon you as a mere liar." "madam," replied mesrour, "if nurse is so very certain that nouzhatoul-aouadat is alive, and abou hassan dead, i will lay her what she dares of it." the nurse was as ready as he; "i dare," said she, "take you at your word: let us see if you dare unsay it." mesrour stood to his word; and they laid a piece of gold brocade with silver flowers before the caliph and the princess. the apartment from which the caliph and zobeide set out, though distant from abou hassan's, was nevertheless just opposite, so that he perceived them coming, and told his wife that he was much mistaken if the caliph and zobeide, preceded by mesrour, and followed by a great number of women, were not about to do them the honour of a visit. she looked through a lattice and saw them, seemed frightened, and cried out, "what shall we do? we are ruined." "fear nothing," replied abou hassan. "have you forgotten already what we agreed on? we will both feign ourselves dead, and you shall see all will go well. at the slow rate they are coming, we shall be ready before they reach the door." accordingly, abou hassan and his wife wrapped up and covered themselves with the pieces of brocade, and waited patiently for their visitors. mesrour, who came first, opened the door, and the caliph and zobeide, followed by their attendants, entered the room; but were struck with horror, and stood motionless, at the spectacle which presented itself to their view, not knowing what to think. at length zobeide breaking silence, said to the caliph, "alas! they are both dead! you have done much," continued she, looking at the caliph and mesrour, "to endeavour to make me believe that my dear slave was dead, and i find it is true: grief at the loss of her husband has certainly killed her." "say rather, madam," answered the caliph, prepossessed to the contrary, that nouzhatoul-aouadat died first, "the afflicted abou hassan sunk under his grief, and could not survive his dear wife; you ought, therefore, to confess that you have lost your wager, and that your palace of paintings is mine." "hold there," answered zobeide, warmed at being contradicted by the caliph; "i will maintain you have lost your garden of pleasures. abou hassan died first; since my nurse told you, as well as me, that she saw her alive, and weeping for the death of her husband." the dispute of the caliph and zobeide brought on another between mesrour and the nurse, who had wagered as well as they; each affirmed to have won, and at length they proceeded to abuse each other very grossly. at last the caliph, reflecting on what had passed, began to think that zobeide had as much reason as himself to maintain that she had won. in this embarrassment of not being able to find out the truth, he advanced towards the corpses, and sat down at the head, searching for some expedient that might gain him the victory over zobeide. "i swear," cried he presently after, "by the holy name of god, that i will give a thousand pieces of gold to him who can tell me which of these two died first." no sooner were these words out of the caliph's mouth, than he heard a voice under abou hassan's piece of brocade say, "commander of the faithful, i died first, give me the thousand pieces of gold." at the same instant abou hassan threw off the piece of brocade, and springing up, prostrated himself at his feet, while his wife did the same to zobeide, keeping on her piece of brocade out of decency. the princess at first shrieked out, but recovering herself, expressed great joy to see her dear slave rise again, just when she was almost inconsolable at having seen her dead. "ah! wicked nouzhatoul-aouadat," cried she, "what have i suffered for your sake? however, i forgive you from my heart, since you are not dead." the caliph was not so much surprised, when he heard abou hassan's voice: but thought he should have died with laughing at this unravelling of the mystery, and to hear abou hassan ask so seriously for the thousand pieces of gold. "what, abou hassan," said he, continuing to laugh aloud, "hast thou conspired against my life, to kill me a second time with laughing? how came this thought into your head, to surprise zobeide and me thus, when we least thought of such a trick?" "commander of the faithful," replied abou hassan, "i will declare to your majesty the whole truth, without the least reserve. your majesty knows that i always loved to eat and drink well' and the wife you gave me rather increased than restrained this propensity. with these dispositions your majesty may easily suppose we might spend a good estate; and to make short of my story, we were not sparing of what your majesty so generously gave us. this morning, accounting with our caterer, who took care to provide every thing for us, and paying what we owed him, we found we had nothing left. then, reflections on what was past, and resolutions to manage better for the future, crowded into our thoughts; we formed a thousand projects, all of which we rejected. at last, the shame of seeing ourselves reduced to so low a condition, and not daring to tell your majesty, made us contrive this stratagem to relieve our necessities, and to divert you, which we hope your majesty will be pleased to pardon." the caliph was satisfied with abou hassan's sincerity, and zobeide, who had till now been very serious, began to laugh at the thought of abou hassan's scheme. the caliph, who had not ceased laughing at the singularity of the adventure, rising, said to abou hassan and his wife, "follow me; i will give you the thousand pieces of gold i promised, for joy to find you are not dead." zobeide desired him to let her make her slave a present of the same sum, for the same reason. by this means abou hassan and his wife nouzhatoul-aouadat preserved the favour of the caliph haroon al rusheed and the princess zobeide, and by their liberalities were enabled to pursue their pleasures. the story of alla ad deen; or, the wonderful lamp. in the capital of one of the large and rich provinces of the kingdom of china, the name of which i do not recollect, there lived a tailor, named mustapha, who was so poor, that he could hardly, by his daily labour, maintain himself and his family, which consisted of a wife and son. his son, who was called alla ad deen, had been brought up in a very careless and idle manner, and by that means had contracted many vicious habits. he was wicked, obstinate, and disobedient to his father and mother, who, when he grew up, could not keep him within doors. he was in the habit of going out early in the morning, and would stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own age. when he was old enough to learn a trade, his father not being able to put him out to any other, took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle: but neither fair words nor the fear of chastisement were capable of fixing his lively genius. all his father's endeavours to keep him to his work were in vain; for no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for that day. mustapha chastised him, but alla ad deen was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness: and was so much troubled at not being able to reclaim him, that it threw him into a fit of sickness, of which he died in a few months. the mother, finding that her son would not follow his father's business, shut up the shop, sold off the implements of trade, and with the money she received for them, and what she could get by spinning cotton, thought to maintain herself and her son. alla ad deen, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, and who cared so little for his mother, that whenever she chid him, he would abuse her, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. this course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. in this situation, as he was one day playing according to custom in the street, with his vagabond associates, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. this stranger was a sorcerer, called by the writer of this story, the african magician; he was a native of africa, and had been but two days arrived from thence. the african magician, who was a good physiognomist, observing in alla ad deen's countenance something absolutely necessary for the execution of the design he was engaged in, inquired artfully about his family, who he was, and what were his inclinations; and when he had learned all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, "child, was not your father called mustapha the tailor?" "yes, sir," answered the boy; "but he has been dead a long time." at these words, the african magician threw his arms about alla ad deen's neck, and kissed him several times with tears in his eyes. alla ad deen, who observed his tears, asked him what made him weep. "alas! my son," cried the african magician with a sigh, "how can i forbear? "i am your uncle; your worthy father was my own brother. i have been many years abroad, and now i am come home with the hopes of seeing him, you tell me he is dead. i assure you it is a sensible grief to me to be deprived of the comfort i expected. but it is some relief to my affliction, that as far as i can remember him, i knew you at first sight, you are so like him; and i see i am not deceived." then he asked alla ad deen, putting his hand into his purse, where his mother lived; and as soon as he had informed him, gave him a handful of small money, saying, "go, my son, to your mother, give my love to her, and tell her that i will visit her to-morrow, if i have time, that i may have the satisfaction of seeing where my good brother lived so long, and ended his days." as soon as the african magician left his newly-adopted nephew, alla ad deen ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. "mother," said he, "have i an uncle?" "no, child," replied his mother, "you have no uncle by your father's side, or mine." "i am just now come," said alla ad deen, "from a man who says he is my uncle by my father's side, assuring me that he is his brother. he cried and kissed me when i told him my father was dead; and to shew you that what i tell you is truth," added he, pulling out the money, "see what he has given me. he charged me to give his love to you, and to tell you, if he has any time to-morrow, he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my father lived and died in." "indeed, child," replied the mother, "your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long time, and i never heard of another." the mother and son talked no more then of the african magician; but the next day alla ad deen's uncle found him playing in another part of the town with other children, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, and said to him, "carry this, child, to your mother, tell her that i will come and see her tonight, and bid her get us something for supper; but first shew me the house where you live." after alla ad deen had shewed the african magician the house, he carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told her of his uncle's intention, she went out and bought provisions; and considering she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her neighbours. she spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at night when it was ready, said to her son, "perhaps your uncle knows not how to find our house; go and bring him if you meet with him." though alla ad deen had shewed the magician the house, he was ready to go, when somebody knocked at the door, which he immediately opened: and the magician came in loaded with wine, and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a dessert. after the african magician had given what he brought into alla ad deen's hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to shew him the place where his brother mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so done, he fell down and kissed it several times, crying out with tears in his eyes, "my poor brother! how unhappy am i, not to have come soon enough to give you one last embrace." alla ad deen's mother desired him to sit down in the same place, but he declined. "no," said he, "i shall take care how i do that; but give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although i am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the master of a family so dear to me, i may at least have the pleasure of beholding the place where he used to sit." the widow pressed him no farther, but left him at liberty to sit where he pleased. when the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to enter into discourse with alla ad deen's mother. "my good sister," said he, "do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have been married to my brother mustapha of happy memory. i have been forty years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my late brother's; and during that time have travelled into the indies, persia, arabia, syria, and egypt, have resided in the finest towns of those countries; and afterwards crossed over into africa, where i made a longer stay. at last, as it is natural for a man, how distant soever it may be, to remember his native country, relations, and acquaintance, i was desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my dear brother; and finding i had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, i immediately made the necessary preparations, and set out. i will not tell you the length of time it took me, all the obstacles i met with, and what fatigues i have endured, to come hither; but nothing ever mortified and afflicted me so much, as hearing of my brother's death, for whom i always had a brotherly love and friendship. i observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and distinguished him among a number of children with whom he was at play; he can tell you how i received the most melancholy news that ever reached my ears. but god be praised for all things! it is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." the african magician perceiving that the widow began to weep at the remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning towards her son, asked him his name. "i am called alla ad deen," said he. "well, alla ad deen," replied the magician, "what business do you follow? are you of any trade?" at this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little abashed when his mother answered, "alla ad deen is an idle fellow; his father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all i can say to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not make him ashamed of it, i despair of his ever coming to any good. he knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees me endeavour to get bread by spinning cotton; for my part, i am resolved one of these days to turn him out of doors, and let him provide for himself." after these words, alla ad deen's mother burst into tears; and the magician said, "this is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself, and getting your livelihood. there are many sorts of trades, consider if you have not an inclination to some of them; perhaps you did not like your father's, and would prefer another: come, do not disguise your sentiments from me; i will endeavour to help you." but finding that alla ad deen returned no answer, "if you have no mind," continued he, "to learn any handicraft, i will take a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and with the money you make of them lay in fresh goods, and then you will live in an honourable way. consult your inclination, and tell me freely what you think of my proposal: you shall always find me ready to keep my word." this plan greatly flattered alla ad deen, who hated work, but had sense enough to know that such shops were much frequented, and the owners respected. he told the magician he had a greater inclination to that business than to any other, and that he should be much obliged to him for his kindness. "since this profession is agreeable to you," said the african magician, "i will carry you with me to-morrow, clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterwards we will think of opening a shop as i mentioned." the widow, who never till then could believe that the magician was her husband's brother, no longer doubted after his promises of kindness to her son. she thanked him for his good intentions; and after having exhorted alla ad deen to render himself worthy of his uncle's favour by good behaviour, served up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent matters; and then the magician, who saw that the night was pretty far advanced, took his leave, and retired. he came again the next day, as he had promised, and took alla ad deen with him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. he asked to see some that suited alla ad deen in size; and after choosing a suit for himself which he liked best, and rejecting others which he did not think handsome enough, he bade alla ad deen choose those he preferred. alla ad deen, charmed with the liberality of his new uncle, made choice of one, and the magician immediately paid for it. when alla ad deen found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his uncle thanks; who promised never to forsake him, but always to take him along with him; which he did to the most frequented places in the city, and particularly where the principal merchants kept their shops. when he brought him into the street where they sold the richest stuffs, and finest linens, he said to alla ad deen, "as you are soon to be a merchant, it is proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them." he then shewed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, and afterwards to the sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at last brought him to his own khan, where meeting with some merchants he had become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. this entertainment lasted till night, when alla ad deen would have taken leave of his uncle to go home; the magician would not let him go by himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magician, for being at so great an expense upon her child. "generous relation!" said she, "i know not how to thank you for your liberality! i know that my son is not deserving of your favours; and were he ever so grateful, and answered your good intentions, he would be unworthy of them. i thank you with all my soul, and wish you may live long enough to witness my son's gratitude, which he cannot better shew than by regulating his conduct by your good advice." "alla ad deen," replied the magician, "is a good boy, and i believe we shall do very well; but i am sorry for one thing, which is, that i cannot perform to-morrow what i promised, because, as it is friday, the shops will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or furnish one, but must wait till saturday. i will, however, call on him to-morrow and take him to walk in the gardens, where people of the best fashion generally resort. perhaps he has never seen these amusements, he has only hitherto been among children; but now he must see men." the african magician took his leave of the mother and the son, and retired. alla ad deen, who was overjoyed to be so well clothed, anticipated the pleasure of walking in the gardens. he had never been out of the town, nor seen the environs, which were very beautiful and pleasant. alla ad deen rose early the next morning, dressed himself, to be ready when his uncle called on him; and after he had waited some time, began to be impatient, and stood watching at the door; but as soon as he perceived him coming, he told his mother, took his leave of her, and ran to meet him. the magician caressed alla ad deen, and said, "come, my dear child, and i will shew you fine things." he then led him out at one of the gates of the city, to some magnificent houses, or rather palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody might enter. at every building he came to, he asked alla ad deen if he did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to answer when any one presented itself, crying out, "here is a finer house, uncle, than any we have seen yet." by this artifice, the cunning magician led alla ad deen some way into the country; and as he meant to carry him farther, to execute his design, he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens on the brink of a fountain of clear water, which discharged itself by a lion's mouth of bronze into a basin, pretending to be tired. "come, nephew," said he, "you must be weary as well as i; let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to pursue our walk." after they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided, and laid them on the edge of the basin. he broke a cake in two, gave one half to alla ad deen, and ate the other himself; and in regard to the fruit, left him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. during this short repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping company with vagabonds, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their conversation. "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, and you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." when they had eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk through gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which marked out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. by this means, the african magician drew alla ad deen insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. alla ad deen, who had never been so far before, began to find himself much tired with so long a walk, and said to the magician, "where are we going, uncle? we have left the gardens a great way behind us, and i see nothing but mountains; if we go much further, i do not know whether i shall be able to reach the town again?" "never fear, nephew," said the false uncle; "i will shew you another garden which surpasses all we have yet seen; it is not far off; and when we come there, you will say that you would have been sorry to have been so nigh, and not seen it." alla ad deen was soon persuaded; and the magician, to make the way seem shorter and less fatiguing, told him a great many stories. at last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height, and equal size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the magician intended to execute the design that had brought him from africa to china. "we will go no farther now," said he to alla ad deen: "i will shew you here some extraordinary things, which, when you have seen, you will thank me for: but while i strike a light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." alla ad deen found so many dried sticks, that before the magician had made a light, he had collected a great heap. the magician presently set them on fire, and when they were in a blaze, threw in some incense which raised a cloud of smoke. this he dispersed on each side, by pronouncing several magical words which alla ad deen did not understand. at the same time the earth trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle. alla ad deen was so frightened at what he saw, that he would have run away; but the magician caught hold of him, abused him, and gave him such a box on the ear, that he knocked him down. alla ad deen got up trembling, and with tears in his eyes, said to the magician, "what have i done, uncle, to be treated in this severe manner?" "i have my reasons," answered the magician: "i am your uncle, i supply the place of your father, and you ought to make no reply. but, child," added he, softening, "do not be afraid; for i shall not ask any thing of you, but that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages which i intend you." these fair promises calmed alla ad deen's fears and resentment; and when the magician saw that he was appeased, he said to him, "you see what i have done by virtue of my incense, and the words i pronounced. know then, that under this stone there is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the greatest monarch in the world: no person but yourself is permitted to lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what i may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and me." alla ad deen, amazed at all he saw and heard the magician say of the treasure which was to make him happy, forgot what was past, and rising, said, "well, uncle, what is to be done? command me, i am ready to obey." "i am overjoyed, child," said the african magician, embracing him; "take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "indeed, uncle," replied alla ad deen, "i am not strong enough, you must help me." "you have no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if i help you, we shall be able to do nothing; take hold of the ring, pronounce the names of your father and grandfather, then lift it up, and you will find it will come easily." alla ad deen did as the magician bade him, raised the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. when the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about three or four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower. "observe, my son," said the african magician, "what i direct. descend into the cave, and when you are at the bottom of those steps you will find a door open, which will lead you into a spacious vault, divided into three great halls, in each of which you will see four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; but take care you do not meddle with them. before you enter the first hall, be sure to tuck up your vest, wrap it about you, and then pass through the second into the third without stopping. above all things, have a care that you do not touch the walls, so much as with your clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. at the end of the third hall, you will find a door which opens into a garden planted with fine trees loaded with fruit; walk directly across the garden by a path which will lead you to five steps that will bring you upon a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. take the lamp down, and extinguish it: when you have thrown away the wick, and poured out the liquor, put it in your vestband and bring it to me. do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil; and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out. if you should wish for any of the fruit of the garden, you may gather as much as you please." after these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on one of alla ad deen's, telling him that it was a preservative against all evil, while he should observe what he had prescribed to him. after this instruction he said, "go down boldly, child, and we shall both be rich all our lives." alla ad deen jumped into the cave, descended the steps, and found the three halls just as the african magician had described. he went through them with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire; crossed the garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in his vestband. but as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly dry, he stopped in the garden to observe the fruit, which he only had a glimpse of in crossing it. all the trees were loaded with extraordinary fruit, of different colours on each tree. some bore fruit entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow: in short, there was fruit of all colours. the white were pearls; the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, amethysts; and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires. alla ad deen was altogether ignorant of their worth, and would have preferred figs and grapes, or any other fruits. but though he took them only for coloured glass of little value, yet he was so pleased with the variety of the colours, and the beauty and extraordinary size of the seeming fruit, that he resolved to gather some of every sort; and accordingly filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes. some he wrapped up in the skirts of his vest, which was of silk, large and wrapping, and crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. alla ad deen, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the value of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, made all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the african magician expected him with the utmost impatience. as soon as alla ad deen saw him, he cried out, "pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "give me the lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you." "indeed, uncle," answered alla ad deen, "i cannot now; it is not troublesome to me: but i will as soon as i am up." the african magician was so obstinate, that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and alla ad deen, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused to give it to him till he was out of the cave. the african magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into the fire, which he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical words, than the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into its place, with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the magician and alla ad deen. this action of the african magician's plainly shewed him to be neither alla ad deen's uncle, nor mustapha the tailor's brother; but a true african. africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in magic of any in the whole world, and he had applied himself to it from his youth. after forty years' experience in enchantments, geomancy, fumigations, and reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful than any monarch; and by a late operation of geomancy, he had discovered that this lamp lay concealed in a subterraneous place in the midst of china, in the situation already described. fully persuaded of the truth of this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of africa; and after a long and fatiguing journey, came to the town nearest to this treasure. but though he had a certain knowledge of the place where the lamp was, he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter the subterraneous place, but must receive it from the hands of another person. for this reason he had addressed himself to alla ad deen, whom he looked upon as a young lad whose life was of no consequence, and fit to serve his purpose, resolving, as soon as he should get the lamp into his hands, to sacrifice him to his avarice and wickedness, by making the fumigation mentioned before, and repeating two magical words, the effect of which would remove the stone into its place, so that no witness would remain of the transaction. the blow he had given alla ad deen was intended to make him obey the more readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he should ask for it. but his too great precipitation, and his fear lest somebody should come that way during their dispute, and discover what he wished to keep secret, produced an effect quite contrary to what he had proposed to himself. when the african magician saw that all his hopes were frustrated forever, he returned the same day for africa; but went quite round the town, and at some distance from it, lest some persons who had observed him walk out with the boy, on seeing him come back without him, should entertain any suspicions, and stop him. according to all appearances, there was no prospects of alla ad deen being any more heard of. but the magician, when he had contrived his death, forgot the ring he had put upon his finger, which preserved him, though he knew not its virtue. it may seem astonishing that the loss of that, together with the lamp, did not drive the magician to despair; but magicians are so much used to misfortunes, and events contrary to their wishes, that they do not lay them to heart, but still feed themselves, to the end of life, with unsubstantial notions and chimeras. the surprise of alla ad deen, who had never suspected this treachery from his pretended uncle, after all his caresses and what he had done for him, is more easily to be imagined than expressed. when he found himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp; but in vain, since his cries could not be heard. he descended to the bottom of the steps, with a design to get into the garden, but the door, which was opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. he then redoubled his cries and tears, sat down on the steps, without any hopes of ever seeing light again, and in a melancholy certainty of passing from the present darkness into that of a speedy death. alla ad deen remained in this state two days, without eating or drinking, and on the third looked upon death as inevitable. clasping his hands with an entire resignation to the will of god, he said, "there is no strength or power but in the great and high god." in this action of joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger, and of which he knew not yet the virtue. immediately a genie of enormous size and frightful aspect rose out of the earth, his head reaching the roof of the vault, and said to him, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all who may possess the ring on thy finger; i, and the other slaves of that ring." at another time, alla ad deen, who had not been used to such appearances, would have been so frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation, "whoever thou art, deliver me from this place, if thou art able." he had no sooner spoken these words, than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had caused the earth to open. it was some time before his eyes could bear the light, after being so long in total darkness: but after he had endeavoured by degrees to support it, and began to look about him, he was much surprised not to find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had got so soon out of its bowels. there was nothing to be seen but the place where the fire had been, by which he could nearly judge the situation of the cave. then turning himself towards the town, he perceived it at a distance in the midst of the gardens that surrounded it, and saw the way by which the magician had brought him. returning god thanks to find himself once more in the world, he made the best of his way home. when he got within his mother's door, the joy to see her and his weakness for want of sustenance for three days made him faint, and he remained for a long time as dead. his mother, who had given him over for lost, seeing him in this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself. as soon as he recovered, the first words he spoke, were, "pray, mother, give me something to eat, for i have not put a morsel of anything into my mouth these three days." his mother brought what she had, and set it before him. "my son," said she, "be not too eager, for it is dangerous; eat but little at a time, and take care of yourself. besides, i would not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell me what has happened to you when you are recovered. it is a great comfort to me to see you again, after the affliction i have been in since friday, and the pains i have taken to learn what was become of you." alla ad deen took his mother's advice, and ate and drank moderately. when he had done, "mother," said he to her, "i cannot help complaining of you, for abandoning me so easily to the discretion of a man who had a design to kill me and who at this very moment thinks my death certain. you believed he was my uncle, as well as i; and what other thoughts could we entertain of a man who was so kind to me, and made such advantageous proffers? but i must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and only made me those promises to accomplish my death; but for what reason neither you nor i can guess. for my part, i can assure you, i never gave him any cause to justify the least ill treatment from him. you shall judge yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the time i left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked design." alla ad deen then related to his mother all that had happened to him from the friday, when the magician took him to see the palaces and gardens about the town, and what fell out in the way, till they came to the place between the two mountains where the great prodigy was to be performed; how, with incense which the magician threw into the fire, and some magical words which he pronounced, the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable treasure. he forgot not the blow the magician had given him, in what manner he softened again, and engaged him by great promises, and putting a ring to his finger, to go down into the cave. he did not omit the least circumstance of what he saw in crossing the three halls and the garden, and his taking the lamp, which he pulled out of his bosom and shewed to his mother, as well as the transparent fruit of different colours, which he had gathered in the garden as he returned. but, though these fruits were precious stones, brilliant as the sun, and the reflection of a lamp which then lighted the room might have led them to think they were of great value, she was as ignorant of their worth as her son, and cared nothing for them. she had been bred in a low rank of life, and her husband's poverty prevented his being possessed of jewels, nor had she, her relations, or neighbours, ever seen any; so that we must not wonder that she regarded them as things of no value, and only pleasing to the eye by the variety of their colours. alla ad deen put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa, and continued his story, telling his mother, that when he returned to the mouth of the cave, upon his refusal to give the magician the lamp till he should get out, the stone, by his throwing some incense into the fire, and using two or three magical words, shut him in, and the earth closed. he could not help bursting into tears at the representation of the miserable condition he was in, at finding himself buried alive in a dismal cave, till by the touching of his ring, the virtue of which he was till then an entire stranger to, he, properly speaking, came to life again. when he had finished his story, he said to his mother, "i need say no more, you know the rest. this is my adventure, and the danger i have been exposed to since you saw me." alla ad deen's mother heard with so much patience as not to interrupt him this surprising and wonderful relation, notwithstanding it could be no small affliction to a mother, who loved her son tenderly: but yet in the most moving part which discovered the perfidy of the african magician, she could not help shewing, by marks of the greatest indignation, how much she detested him; and when her son had finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile impostor. she called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. "without doubt, child," added she, "he is a magician, and they are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with the devil. bless god for preserving you from his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon him, and implored his assistance." she said a great deal more against the magician's treachery; but finding that whilst she talked, alla ad deen, who had not slept for three days and nights, began to doze, she left him to his repose and retired. alla ad deen, who had not closed his eyes while he was in the subterraneous abode, slept very soundly till late the next morning; when the first thing he said to his mother was that he wanted something to eat, and that she could not do him a greater kindness than to give him his breakfast. "alas! child," said she, "i have not a bit of bread to give you, you ate up all the provisions i had in the house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long before i will bring you some: i have a little cotton, which i have spun; i will go and sell it, buy bread, and something for our dinner." "mother," replied alla ad deen, "keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp i brought home with me yesterday; i will go and sell it, and the money i shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." alla ad deen's mother took the lamp, and said to her son, "here it is, but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner i believe it would bring something more." she took some fine sand and water to clean it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice like thunder, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i and the other slaves of the lamp." alla ad deen's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when alla ad deen, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "i am hungry, bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered dishes of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; six large white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. all these he placed upon a carpet, and disappeared; this was done before alla ad deen's mother recovered from her swoon. alla ad deen had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face, to recover her: whether that or the smell of the meat brought her to life again, it was not long before she came to herself. "mother," said alla ad deen, "do not mind this; get up, and come and eat; here is what will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme hunger: do not let such delicious meat get cold." his mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savoury odour which exhaled from the dishes. "child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality? has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "it is no matter, mother," said alla ad deen, "let us sit down and eat; for you have almost as much need of a good breakfast as myself; when we have done, i will tell you." accordingly both mother and son sat down, and ate with the better relish as the table was so well furnished. but all the time alla ad deen's mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, though she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the novelty more than the value attracted her attention. the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet after this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day. when alla ad deen's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, "i expect now that you should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while i was in a swoon;" which he readily complied with. she was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the appearance of the genie; and said to him, "but, son, what have we to do with genii? i never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. how came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "mother," answered alla ad deen, "the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me, though he resembles him in size; no, they had quite different persons and habits; they belong to different masters. if you remember, he that i first saw, called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand: but i believe you did not hear him, for i think you fainted as soon as he began to speak." "what!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that cursed genie addressing himself rather to me than to you? ah my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. i will never touch it. i had rather you would sell it, than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have any thing to do with genii, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." "with your leave, mother," replied alla ad deen, "i shall now take care how i sell a lamp, which may be so serviceable both to you and me. have not you been an eye-witness of what it has procured us? and it shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence and maintenance. you may suppose as i do, that my false and wicked uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long and tedious a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession this wonderful lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and silver which he knew was in the halls, and which i have seen with my own eyes. he knew too well the worth of this lamp, not to prefer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath discovered the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great shew, and exciting the envy and jealousy of our neighbours. however, since the genii frighten you so much, i will take it out of your sight, and put it where i may find it when i want it. the ring i cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had never seen me again; and though i am alive now, perhaps, if it was gone, i might not be so some moments hence; therefore i hope you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger. who knows what dangers you and i may be exposed to, which neither of us can foresee, and from which it may deliver us." as alla ad deen's arguments were just, his mother had nothing to say against them; she only replied, that he might do what he pleased, for her part, she would have nothing to do with genii, but would wash her hands of them, and never say anything more about them. by the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought; and the next day alla ad deen, who could not bear the thoughts of hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a jew whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. the cunning jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found that it was good silver, asked alla ad deen at how much he valued it. alla ad deen, who knew not its value, and never had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honour. the jew was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether alla ad deen understood the material or the full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. alla ad deen, taking the money very eagerly, retired with so much haste, that the jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavour to get some change out of the piece of gold; but he ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible for him to overtake him. before alla ad deen went home, he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some time. after this manner they lived, till alla ad deen had sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a bargain. when he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, where, after the jew had examined the weight of the tray, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which alla ad deen was very well satisfied. they lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner, and alla ad deen, though used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads of his own age ever since his adventure with the african magician. he spent his time in walking about, and conversing with decent people, with whom he gradually got acquainted. sometimes he would stop at the principal merchants' shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their discourse, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world. when all the money was spent, alla ad deen had recourse again to the lamp. he took it in his hand, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie immediately appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." "i am hungry," said alla ad deen, "bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared, and presently returned with a tray, the same number of covered dishes as before, set them down, and vanished. alla ad deen's mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genie came; and when she returned, was almost as much surprised as before at the prodigious effect of the lamp. however, she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as they liked, she set enough by to last them two or three days. as soon as alla ad deen found that their provisions were expended, he took one of the dishes, and went to look for his jew chapman; but passing by a goldsmith's shop, who had the character of a very fair and honest man, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, and said, "my lad, i have often observed you go by, loaded as you are at present, and talk with such a jew, and then come back again empty handed. i imagine that you carry something which you sell to him; but perhaps you do not know that he is the greatest rogue even among the jews, and is so well known, that nobody of prudence will have anything to do with him. what i tell you is for your own good. if you will shew me what you now carry, and it is to be sold, i will give you the full worth of it; or i will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you." the hopes of getting more money for his plate induced alla ad deen to pull it from under his vest, and shew it to the goldsmith, who at first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, asked him if he had sold such as that to the jew, when alla ad deen told him that he had sold him twelve such, for a piece of gold each. "what a villain!" cried the goldsmith; "but," added he, "my son, what is passed cannot be recalled. by shewing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, i will let you see how much the jew has cheated you." the goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and after he had mentioned how much an ounce of fine silver cost, assured him that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to pay down immediately. "if you dispute my honesty," said he, "you may go to any other of our trade, and if he gives you more, i will be bound to forfeit twice as much; for we gain only the fashion of the plate we buy, and that the fairest dealing jews are not contented with." alla ad deen thanked him for his fair dealing, so greatly to his advantage, took the gold, and never after went to any other person, but sold him all his dishes and the tray, and had as much for them as the weight came to. though alla ad deen and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with the same frugality as before, except that alla ad deen dressed better; as for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she earned by spinning cotton. after their manner of living, it may easily be supposed, that the money for which alla ad deen had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to maintain them some time. during this interval, alla ad deen frequented the shops of the principal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk stuffs, and jewellery, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, acquired a knowledge of the world, and respectable demeanour. by his acquaintance among the jewellers, he came to know that the fruits which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of coloured glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to mention this to any one, not even to his mother. one day as alla ad deen was walking about the town, he heard an order proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, and keep within doors, while the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, went to the baths and returned. this proclamation inspired alla ad deen with eager curiosity to see the princess's face, which he could not do without admission into the house of some acquaintance, and then only through a window; which did not satisfy him, when he considered that the princess, when she went to the baths, would be closely veiled; but to gratify his curiosity, he presently thought of a scheme, which succeeded; it was to place himself behind the door of the bath, which was so situated that he could not fail of seeing her face. alla ad deen had not waited long before the princess came, and he could see her plainly through a chink of the door without being discovered. she was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves and eunuchs, who walked on each side, and behind her. when she came within three or four paces of the door of the baths, she took off her veil, and gave alla ad deen an opportunity of a full view. as soon as alla ad deen had seen the princess, his heart could not withstand those inclinations so charming an object always inspires. the princess was the most beautiful brunette in the world; her eyes were large, lively, and sparkling; her looks sweet and modest; her nose was of a just proportion and without a fault, her mouth small, her lips of a vermilion red and charmingly agreeable symmetry; in a word, all the features of her face were perfectly regular. it is not therefore surprising that alla ad deen, who had never before seen such a blaze of charms, was dazzled, and his senses ravished by such an assemblage. with all these perfections the princess had so fine a form, and so majestic an air, that the sight of her was sufficient to inspire love and admiration. after the princess had passed by, and entered the baths, alla ad deen remained some time astonished, and in a kind of ecstacy, retracing and imprinting the idea of so charming an object deeply in his mind. but at last, considering that the princess was gone past him, and that when she returned from the bath her back would be towards him, and then veiled, he resolved to quit his hiding place and go home. he could not so far conceal his uneasiness but that his mother perceived it, was surprised to see him so much more thoughtful and melancholy than usual; and asked what had happened to make him so, or if he was ill? he returned her no answer, but sat carelessly down on the sofa, and remained silent, musing on the image of the charming buddir al buddoor. his mother, who was dressing supper, pressed him no more. when it was ready, she served it up, and perceiving that he gave no attention to it, urged him to eat, but had much ado to persuade him to change his place; which when he did, he ate much less than usual, all the time cast down his eyes, and observed so profound a silence, that she could not obtain a word in answer to all the questions she put, in order to find the reason of so extraordinary an alteration. after supper, she asked him again why he was so melancholy, but could get no information, and he determined to go to bed rather than give her the least satisfaction. without examining how he passed the night, his mind full as it was with the charms of the princess, i shall only observe that as he sat next day on the sofa, opposite his mother, as she was spinning cotton, he spoke to her in these words: "i perceive, mother, that my silence yesterday has much troubled you; i was not, nor am i sick, as i fancy you believed; but i assure you, that what i felt then, and now endure, is worse than any disease. i cannot explain what ails me; but doubt not what i am going to relate will inform you. "it was not proclaimed in this quarter of the town, and therefore you could know nothing of it, that the sultan's daughter was yesterday to go to the baths. i heard this as i walked about the town, and an order was issued that all the shops should be shut up in her way thither, and everybody keep within doors, to leave the streets free for her and her attendants. as i was not then far from the bath, i had a great curiosity to see the princess's face; and as it occurred to me that the princess, when she came nigh the door of the bath, would pull her veil off, i resolved to conceal myself behind the door. you know the situation of the door, and may imagine that i must have had a full view of her. the princess threw off her veil, and i had the happiness of seeing her lovely face with the greatest security. this, mother, was the cause of my melancholy and silence yesterday; i love the princess with more violence than i can express; and as my passion increases every moment, i cannot live without the possession of the amiable buddir al buddoor, and am resolved to ask her in marriage of the sultan her father." alla ad deen's mother listened with surprise to what her son told her; but when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she could not help bursting out into a loud laugh. alla ad deen would have gone on with his rhapsody, but she interrupted him. "alas! child," said she, "what are you thinking of? you must be mad to talk thus." "i assure you, mother," replied alla ad deen, "that i am not mad, but in my right senses; i foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and extravagance; but i must tell you once more that i am resolved to demand the princess of the sultan in marriage, and your remonstrances shall not prevent me." "indeed, son," replied the mother seriously, "i cannot help telling you that you have forgotten yourself; and if you would put this resolution of yours in execution, i do not see whom you can prevail upon to venture to make the proposal for you." "you yourself," replied he immediately. "i go to the sultan!" answered the mother, amazed and surprised. "i shall be cautious how i engage in such an errand. why, who are you, son," continued she, "that you can have the assurance to think of your sultan's daughter? have you forgotten that your father was one of the poorest tailors in the capital, and that i am of no better extraction; and do not you know that sultans never marry their daughters but to princes, sons of sovereigns like themselves?" "mother," answered alla ad deen, "i have already told you that i foresaw all that you have said, or can say: and tell you again, that neither your discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change my mind. i have told you that you must ask the princess in marriage for me: it is a favour i desire of you, and i beg of you not to refuse, unless you would rather see me in my grave, than by your compliance give me new life." the good old woman was much embarrassed, when she found alla ad deen obstinately persisting in so wild a design. "my son," said she again, "i am your mother, who brought you into the world, and there is nothing that is reasonable but i would readily do for you. if i were to go and treat about your marriage with some neighbour's daughter, whose circumstances were equal with yours, i would do it with all my heart; and even then they would expect you should have some little estate or fortune, or be of some trade. when such poor folks as we are wish to marry, the first thing they ought to think of, is how to live. but without reflecting on the meanness of your birth, and the little merit and fortune you have to recommend you, you aim at the highest pitch of exaltation; and your pretensions are no less than to demand in marriage the daughter of your sovereign, who with one single word can crush you to pieces. i say nothing of what respects yourself. i leave you to reflect on what you have to do, if you have ever so little thought. i come now to consider what concerns myself. how could so extraordinary a thought come into your head, as that i should go to the sultan and make a proposal to him to give his daughter in marriage to you? suppose i had, not to say the boldness, but the impudence to present myself before the sultan, and make so extravagant a request, to whom should i address myself to be introduced to his majesty? do you not think the first person i should speak to would take me for a mad woman, and chastise me as i should deserve? suppose, however, that there is no difficulty in presenting myself for an audience of the sultan, and i know there is none to those who go to petition for justice, which he distributes equally among his subjects; i know too that to those who ask a favour he grants it with pleasure when he sees it is deserved, and the persons are worthy of it. but is that your case? do you think you have merited the honour you would have me ask for you? are you worthy of it? what have you done to claim such a favour, either for your prince or country? how have you distinguished yourself? if you have done nothing to merit so high a distinction, nor are worthy of it, with what face shall i ask it? how can i open my mouth to make the proposal to the sultan? his majestic presence and the lustre of his court would absolutely confound me, who used even to tremble before my dear husband your father, when i asked him for any thing. there is another reason, my son, which you do not think of, which is that nobody ever goes to ask a favour of the sultan without a present. but what presents have you to make? and if you had any that were worthy of the least attention of so great a monarch, what proportion could they bear to the favour you would ask? therefore, reflect well on what you are about, and consider, that you aspire to an object which it is impossible for you to obtain." alla ad deen heard very calmly all that his mother could say to dissuade him from his design, and after he had weighed her representations in all points, replied: "i own, mother, it is great rashness in me to presume to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want of consideration to ask you with so much heat and precipitancy to go and make the proposal to the sultan, without first taking proper measures to procure a favourable reception, and therefore beg your pardon. but be not surprised that through the violence of my passion i did not at first see every measure necessary to procure me the happiness i seek. i love the princess, or rather i adore her, and shall always persevere in my design of marrying her. i am obliged to you for the hint you have given me, and look upon it as the first step i ought to take to procure the happy issue i promise myself. "you say it is not customary to go to the sultan without a present, and that i have nothing worthy of his acceptance. as to the necessity of a present, i agree with you, and own that i never thought of it; but as to what you say that i have nothing fit to offer, do not you think, mother, that what i brought home with me the day on which i was delivered from an inevitable death, may be an acceptable present? i mean what you and i both took for coloured glass: but now i am undeceived, and can tell you that they are jewels of inestimable value, and fit for the greatest monarchs. i know the worth of them by frequenting the shops; and you may take my word that all the precious stones which i saw in the most capital jewellers' possessions were not to be compared to those we have, either for size or beauty, and yet they value theirs at an excessive price. in short, neither you nor i know the value of ours; but be it as it may, by the little experience i have, i am persuaded that they will be received very favourably by the sultan: you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, when we have arranged them according to their different colours." alla ad deen's mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels out of the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order according to his fancy. but the brightness and lustre they emitted in the day-time, and the variety of the colours, so dazzled the eyes both of mother and son, that they were astonished beyond measure; for they had only seen them by the light of a lamp; and though the latter had beheld them pendant on the trees like fruit beautiful to the eye, yet as he was then but a boy, he looked on them only as glittering playthings. after they had admired the beauty of the jewels some time, alla ad deen said to his mother, "now you cannot excuse yourself from going to the sultan, under pretext of not having a present to make him, since here is one which will gain you a favourable reception." though the good widow, notwithstanding the beauty and lustre of the precious stones, did not believe them so valuable as her son estimated them, she thought such a present might nevertheless be agreeable to the sultan, but still she hesitated at the request. "my son," said she, "i cannot conceive that your present will have its desired effect, or that the sultan will look upon me with a favourable eye; i am sure, that if i attempt to deliver your strange message, i shall have no power to open my mouth; therefore i shall not only lose my labour, but the present, which you say is so invaluable, and shall return home again in confusion, to tell you that your hopes are frustrated. i have represented the consequence, and you ought to believe me; but," added she, "i will exert my best endeavour to please you, and wish i may have power to ask the sultan as you would have me; but certainly he will either laugh at me, send me back like a fool, or be in so great a rage, as to make us both the victims of his fury." she used many other arguments to endeavour to make him change his mind; but the charms of the princess had made too great an impression on his heart for him to be dissuaded from his design. he persisted in importuning his mother to execute his resolution, and she, as much out of tenderness as for fear he should be guilty of greater extravagance, complied with his request. as it was now late, and the time for admission to the palace was passed, it was put off till the next day. the mother and son talked of different matters the remaining part of the day; and alla ad deen strove to encourage her in the task she had undertaken; while she, notwithstanding all his arguments, could not persuade herself she should succeed; and it must be confessed she had reason enough to doubt. "child," said she to alla ad deen, "if the sultan should receive me as favourably as i wish for your sake, should even hear my proposal with calmness, and after this scarcely-to-be-expected reception should think of asking me where lie your riches and your estate (for he will sooner inquire after these than your person), if, i say, he should ask me these questions, what answer would you have me return him?" "let us not be uneasy, mother," replied alla ad deen, "about what may never happen. first, let us see how the sultan receives, and what answer he gives you. if it should so fall out, that he desires to be informed of what you mention, i have thought of an answer, and am confident that the lamp which hath supported us so long will not fail me in time of need." the tailor's widow could not say any thing against what her son then proposed; but reflected that the lamp might be capable of doing greater wonders than just providing victuals for them. this consideration satisfied her, and at the same time removed all the difficulties which might have prevented her from undertaking the service she had promised her son with the sultan. alla ad deen, who penetrated into his mother's thoughts, said to her, "above all things, mother, be sure to keep secret our possession of the lamp, for thereon depends the success we have to expect;" and after this caution, alla ad deen and his mother parted to go to rest. but violent love, and the great prospect of so immense a fortune, had so much possessed the son's thoughts, that he could not repose himself so well as he could have wished. he rose before day-break, awakened his mother, pressing her to get herself dressed to go to the sultan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great officers of state went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always assisted in person. alla ad deen's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels the day before, wrapped in two napkins, one finer than the other, which was tied at the four corners for more easy carriage, and set forward for the sultan's palace. when she came to the gates, the grand vizier, the other viziers and most distinguished lords of the court, were just gone in; but, notwithstanding the crowd of people who had business was great, she got into the divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. she placed herself just before the sultan, grand vizier, and the great lords, who sat in council, on his right and left hand. several causes were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan rising, returned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did those whose business had called them thither; some pleased with gaining their causes, others dissatisfied at the sentences pronounced against them, and some in expectation of theirs being heard the next sitting. alla ad deen's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go home. when alla ad deen saw her return with the present designed for the sultan, he knew not what to think of her success, and in his fear lest she should bring him some ill news, had not courage to ask her any questions; but she, who had never set foot in the sultan's palace before, and knew not what was every day practised there, freed him from his embarrassment, and said to him, with a great deal of simplicity, "son, i have seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me too; for i placed myself just before him; but he was so much taken up with those who attended on all sides of him, that i pitied him, and wondered at his patience. at last i believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to speak to him, but went away, at which i was well pleased, for indeed i began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying so long. but there is no harm done; i will go again to-morrow; perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." though his passion was very violent, alla ad deen was forced to be satisfied with this delay, and to fortify himself with patience. he had at least the satisfaction to find that his mother had got over the greatest difficulty, which was to procure access to the sultan, and hoped that the example of those she saw speak to him would embolden her to acquit herself better of her commission when a favourable opportunity might offer to speak to him. the next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present, as early as the day before, but when she came there, she found the gates of the divan shut, and understood that the council sat but every other day, therefore she must come again the next. this news she carried to her son, whose only relief was to guard himself with patience. she went six times afterwards on the days appointed, placed herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little success as the first morning, and might have perhaps come a thousand times to as little purpose, if luckily the sultan himself had not taken particular notice of her: for only those who came with petitions approached the sultan, when each pleaded their cause in its turn, and alla ad deen's mother was not one of them. on the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when the sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier, "i have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly every day that i give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin: she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the audience, and affects to place herself just before me. do you know what she wants?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, who knew no more than the sultan what she wanted, but did not wish to seem uninformed, "your majesty knows that women often make complaints on trifles; perhaps she may come to complain to your majesty that somebody has sold her some bad flour, or some such trifling matter." the sultan was not satisfied with this answer, but replied, "if this woman comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that i may hear what she has to say." the grand vizier made answer by lowering his hand, and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. by this time, the tailor's widow was so much used to go to audience, and stand before the sultan, that she did not think it any trouble, if she could but satisfy her son that she neglected nothing that lay in her power to please him: the next audience day she went to the divan, placed herself in front of the sultan as usual; and before the grand vizier had made his report of business, the sultan perceived her, and compassionating her for having waited so long, said to the vizier, "before you enter upon any business, remember the woman i spoke to you about; bid her come near, and let us hear and dispatch her business first." the grand vizier immediately called the chief of the mace-bearers who stood ready to obey his commands; and pointing to her, bade him go to that woman, and tell her to come before the sultan. the chief of the officers went to alla ad deen's mother, and at a sign he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan's throne, where he left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. the old woman, after the example of others whom she saw salute the sultan, bowed her head down to the carpet, which covered the platform of the throne, and remained in that posture till the sultan bade her rise, which she had no sooner done, than he said to her, "good woman, i have observed you to stand a long time, from the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you here?" after these words, alla ad deen's mother prostrated herself a second time; and when she arose, said, "monarch of monarchs, before i tell your majesty the extraordinary and almost incredible business which brings me before your high throne, i beg of you to pardon the boldness or rather impudence of the demand i am going to make, which is so uncommon, that i tremble, and am ashamed to propose it to my sovereign." in order to give her the more freedom to explain herself, the sultan ordered all to quit the divan but the grand vizier, and then told her she might speak without restraint. alla ad deen's mother, not content with this favour of the sultan's to save her the trouble and confusion of speaking before so many people, was notwithstanding for securing herself against his anger, which, from the proposal she was going to make, she was not a little apprehensive of; therefore resuming her discourse, she said, "i beg of your majesty, if you should think my demand the least injurious or offensive, to assure me first of your pardon and forgiveness." "well," replied the sultan, "i will forgive you, be it what it may, and no hurt shall come to you: speak boldly." when alla ad deen's mother had taken all these precautions, for fear of the sultan's anger, she told him faithfully how alla ad deen had seen the princess buddir al buddoor, the violent love that fatal sight had inspired him with, the declaration he had made to her of it when he came home, and what representations she had made "to dissuade him from a passion no less disrespectful," said she, "to your majesty, as sultan, than to the princess your daughter. but," continued she, "my son, instead of taking my advice and reflecting on his presumption, was so obstinate as to persevere, and to threaten me with some desperate act, if i refused to come and ask the princess in marriage of your majesty; and it was not without the greatest reluctance that i was led to accede to his request, for which i beg your majesty once more to pardon not only me, but also alla ad deen my son, for entertaining so rash a project as to aspire to so high an alliance." the sultan hearkened to this discourse with mildness, and without shewing the least anger; but before he gave her any answer, asked her what she had brought tied up in the napkin. she took the china dish, which she had set down at the foot of the throne, before she prostrated herself before him; untied it, and presented it to the sultan. the sultan's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the dish. he remained for some time motionless with admiration. at last, when he had recovered himself, he received the present from alla ad deen's mother's hand, crying out in a transport of joy, "how rich, how beautiful!" after he had admired and handled all the jewels, one after another, he turned to his grand vizier, and shewing him the dish, said, "behold, admire, wonder, and confess that your eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." the vizier was charmed. "well," continued the sultan, "what sayst thou to such a present? is it not worthy of the princess my daughter? and ought i not to bestow her on one who values her at so great price?" these words put the grand vizier into extreme agitation. the sultan had some time before signified to him his intention of bestowing the princess on a son of his; therefore he was afraid, and not without grounds, that the sultan, dazzled by so rich and extraordinary a present, might change his mind. therefore going to him, and whispering him in the ear, he said, "i cannot but own that the present is worthy of the princess; but i beg of your majesty to grant me three months before you come to a final resolution. i hope, before that time, my son, on whom you have had the goodness to look with a favourable eye, will be able to make a nobler present than alla ad deen, who is an entire stranger to your majesty." the sultan, though he was fully persuaded that it was not possible for the vizier to provide so considerable a present for his son to make the princess, yet as he had given him hopes, hearkened to him, and granted his request. turning therefore to the old widow, he said to her, "good woman, go home, and tell your son that i agree to the proposal you have made me; but i cannot marry the princess my daughter, till the paraphernalia i design for her be got ready, which cannot be finished these three months; but at the expiration of that time come again." alla ad deen's mother returned home much more gratified than she had expected, since she had met with a favourable answer, instead of the refusal and confusion she had dreaded. from two circumstances alla ad deen, when he saw his mother returning, judged that she brought him good news; the one was, that she returned sooner than ordinary; and the other, the gaiety of her countenance. "well, mother," said he, "may i entertain any hopes, or must i die with despair?" when she had pulled off her veil, and had seated herself on the sofa by him, she said to him, "not to keep you long in suspense, son, i will begin by telling you, that instead of thinking of dying, you have every reason to be well satisfied." then pursuing her discourse, she told him, that she had an audience before everybody else which made her come home so soon; the precautions she had taken lest she should have displeased the sultan, by making the proposal of marriage between him and the princess buddir al buddoor, and the condescending answer she had received from the sultan's own mouth; and that as far as she could judge, the present had wrought a powerful effect. "but when i least expected it," said she, "and he was going to give me an answer, and i fancied a favourable one, the grand vizier whispered him in the ear, and i was afraid might be some obstacle to his good intentions towards us, and so it happened, for the sultan desired me to come to audience again this day three months." alla ad deen thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this news, and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the good success of which was of so great importance to his peace. though from his impatience to obtain the object of his passion, three months seemed an age, yet he disposed himself to wait with patience, relying on the sultan's word, which he looked upon to be irrevocable. but all that time he not only counted the hours, days, and weeks, but every moment. when two of the three months were past, his mother one evening going to light the lamp, and finding no oil in the house, went out to buy some, and when she came into the city, found a general rejoicing. the shops, instead of being shut up, were open, dressed with foliage, silks, and carpeting, every one striving to show their zeal in the most distinguished manner according to his ability. the streets were crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. alla ad deen's mother asked the oil-merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of public festivity. "whence came you, good woman," said he, "that you don't know that the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor, the sultan's daughter, to-night? she will presently return from the baths; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnized." this was news enough for alla ad deen's mother. she ran till she was quite out of breath home to her son, who little suspected any such event. "child," cried she, "you are undone! you depend upon the sultan's fine promises, but they will come to nothing." alla ad deen was alarmed at these words. "mother," replied he, "how do you know the sultan has been guilty of a breach of promise?" "this night," answered the mother, "the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess buddir al buddoor." she then related how she had heard it; so that from all circumstances, he had no reason to doubt the truth of what she said. at this account, alla ad deen was thunder-struck. any other man would have sunk under the shock; but a sudden hope of disappointing his rival soon roused his spirits, and he bethought himself of the lamp, which had on every emergence been so useful to him; and without venting his rage in empty words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he only said, "perhaps, mother, the vizier's son may not be so happy to-night as he promises himself: while i go into my chamber a moment, do you get supper ready." she accordingly went about it, but guessed that her son was going to make use of the lamp, to prevent, if possible, the consummation of the marriage. when alla ad deen had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed it in the same place as before, when immediately the genie appeared, and said to him, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their possession; i and the other slaves of the lamp." "hear me," said alla ad deen; "thou hast hitherto brought me whatever i wanted as to provisions; but now i have business of the greatest importance for thee to execute. i have demanded the princess buddir al buddoor in marriage of the sultan her father; he promised her to me, only requiring three months delay; but instead of keeping that promise, has this night married her to the grand vizier's son. what i ask of you is, that as soon as the bride and bridegroom are retired, you bring them both hither in their bed." "master," replied the genie, "i will obey you. have you any other commands?" "none at present," answered alla ad deen; the genie then disappeared. alla ad deen having left his chamber, supped with his mother, with the same tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the princess's marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least concern'; he then retired to his own chamber again, and left his mother to go to bed; but sat up waiting the execution of his orders to the genie. in the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest magnificence in the sultan's palace to celebrate the princess's nuptials; and the evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great rejoicings till midnight, when the grand vizier's son, on a signal given him by the chief of the princess's eunuchs, slipped away from the company, and was introduced by that officer into the princess's apartment, where the nuptial bed was prepared. he went to bed first, and in a little time after, the sultaness, accompanied by her own women, and those of the princess, brought the bride, who, according to the custom of new-married ladies, made great resistance. the sultaness herself helped to undress her, put her into bed by a kind of violence: and after having kissed her, and wished her good night, retired with the women to her own apartments. no sooner was the door shut, than the genie, as the faithful slave of the lamp, and punctual in executing the command of those who possessed it, without giving the bridegroom the least time to caress his bride, to the great amazement of them both, took up the bed, and transported it in an instant into alla ad deen's chamber, where he set it down. alla ad deen, who had waited impatiently for this moment, did not suffer the vizier's son to remain long in bed with the princess. "take this new-married man," said he to the genie, "shut him up in the out-house, and come again tomorrow morning before day-break." the genie instantly forced the vizier's son out of bed, carried him whither alla ad deen had commanded him; and after he had breathed upon him, which prevented him stirring, left him there. passionate as was alla ad deen's love for the princess, he did not talk much to her when they were alone; but only said with a respectful air, "fear nothing, adorable princess, you are here in safety; for, notwithstanding the violence of my passion, which your charms have kindled, it shall never exceed the bounds of the profound adoration i owe you. if i have been forced to come to this extremity, it is not with any intention of affronting you, but to prevent an unjust rival's possessing you, contrary to the sultan your father's promise in favour of myself." the princess, who knew nothing of these particulars, gave very little attention to what alla ad deen could say. the fright and amazement of so surprising and unexpected an adventure had alarmed her so much that he could not get one word from her. however, he undressed himself, took the bridegroom's place, but lay with his back to the princess, putting a sabre between himself and her, to shew that he deserved to be put to death, if he attempted anything against her honour. alla ad deen, satisfied with having thus deprived his rival of the happiness he had flattered himself with, slept very soundly, though the princess buddir al buddoor never passed a night so ill in her life; and if we consider the condition in which the genie left the grand vizier's son, we may imagine that the new bridegroom spent it much worse. alla ad deen had no occasion the next morning to rub the lamp to call the genie; who appeared at the hour appointed, just when he had done dressing himself, and said to him, "i am here, master, what are your commands?" "go," said alla ad deen, "fetch the vizier's son out of the place where you left him, put him into his bed again, and carry it to the sultan's palace, from whence you brought it." the genie presently returned with the vizier's son. alla ad deen took up his sabre, the bridegroom was laid by the princess, and in an instant the nuptial-bed was transported into the same chamber of the palace from whence it had been brought. but we must observe, that all this time the genie never was visible either to the princess or the grand vizier's son. his hideous form would have made them die with fear. neither did they hear any thing of the discourse between alla ad deen and him; they only perceived the motion of the bed, and their transportation from one place to another; which we may well imagine was enough to alarm them. as soon as the genie had set down the nuptial bed in its proper place, the sultan tapped at the door to wish her good morning. the grand vizier's son, who was almost perished with cold, by standing in his thin under garment all night, and had not had time to warm himself in bed, no sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, and ran into the robing-chamber, where he had undressed himself the night before. the sultan having opened the door, went to the bed-side, kissed the princess between the eyes, according to custom, wishing her a good morrow, but was extremely surprised to see her so melancholy. she only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction or great dissatisfaction. he said a few words to her; but finding that he could not get a word from her, attributed it to her modesty, and retired. nevertheless, he suspected that there was something extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told her in what a state he had found the princess, and how she had received him. "sir," said the sultaness, "your majesty ought not to be surprised at this behaviour; new-married people have naturally a reserve about them; two or three days hence she will receive the sultan her father as she ought: but i will go and see her," added she; "i am much deceived if she receives me in the same manner." as soon as the sultaness was dressed, she went to the princess's apartment, who was still in bed. she undrew the curtain, wished her good morrow, and kissed her. but how great was her surprise when she returned no answer; and looking more attentively at her, she perceived her to be much dejected, which made her judge that something had happened, which she did not understand "how comes it, child," said the sultaness, "that you do not return my caresses? ought you to treat your mother after this manner? i am induced to believe something extraordinary has happened; come, tell me freely, and leave me no longer in a painful suspense." at last the princess broke silence with a deep sigh, and said, "alas! most honoured mother, forgive me if i have failed in the respect i owe you. my mind is so full of the extraordinary circumstances which have befallen me this night, that i have not yet recovered my amazement and alarm." she then told her, how the instant after she and her husband were together, the bed was transported into a dark dirty room, where he was taken from her and carried away, but where she knew not; and that she was left alone with a young man, who, after he had said something to her, which her fright did not suffer her to hear, laid himself in her husband's place, but first put his sabre between them; and in the morning her husband was brought to her again, when the bed was transported back to her own chamber in an instant. "all this," said she, "was but just done, when the sultan my father came into my chamber. i was so overwhelmed with grief, that i had not power to speak, and am afraid that he is offended at the manner in which i received the honour he did me; but i hope he will forgive me, when he knows my melancholy adventure, and the miserable state i am in at present." the sultaness heard all the princess told her very patiently, but would not believe it. "you did well, child," said she, "not to speak of this to your father: take care not to mention it to anybody; for you will certainly be thought mad if you talk in this manner." "madam," replied the princess, "i can assure you i am in my right senses; ask my husband, and he will tell you the same circumstances." "i will," said the sultaness, "but if he should talk in the same manner, i shall not be better persuaded of the truth. come, rise, and throw off this idle fancy; it will be a strange event, if all the feasts and rejoicings in the kingdom should be interrupted by such a vision. do not you hear the trumpets of congratulation, and concerts of the finest music? cannot these inspire you with joy and pleasure, and make you forget the fancies of an imagination disturbed by what can have been only a dream?" at the same time the sultaness called the princess's women, and after she had seen her get up, and begin dressing, went to the sultan's apartment, told him that her daughter had got some odd notions in her head, but that there was nothing in them but idle phantasy. she then sent for the vizier's son, to know of him something of what the princess had told her; but he, thinking himself highly honoured to be allied to the sultan, and not willing to lose the princess, denied what had happened. "that is enough," answered the sultaness, "i ask no more, i see you are wiser than my daughter." the rejoicings lasted all that day in the palace, and the sultaness, who never left the princess, forgot nothing to divert her, and induce her to take part in the various diversions and shows; but she was so struck with the idea of what had happened to her in the night, that it was easy to see her thoughts were entirely taken up with it. neither was the grand vizier's son in less tribulation, though his ambition made him disguise his feelings so well, that nobody doubted of his being a happy bridegroom. alla ad deen, who was well acquainted with what passed in the palace, was sure the new-married couple were to sleep together again, notwithstanding the troublesome adventure of the night before; and therefore, having as great an inclination to disturb them, had recourse to his lamp, and when the genie appeared, and offered his service, he said to him, "the grand vizier's son and the princess buddir al buddoor are to sleep together again to-night: go, and as soon as they are in bed, bring the bed hither, as thou didst yesterday." the genie obeyed as faithfully and exactly as the day before; the grand vizier's son passed the night as coldly and disagreeably, and the princess had the mortification again to have alla ad deen for her bed-fellow, with the sabre between them. the genie, according to orders, came the next morning, brought the bridegroom, laid him by his bride, and then carried the bed and new-married couple back again to the palace. the sultan, after the reception the princess had given him, was very anxious to know how she had passed the second night, and therefore went into her chamber as early as the morning before. the grand vizier's son, more ashamed and mortified with the ill success of this last night, no sooner heard him coming, than he jumped out of bed, and ran hastily into the robing-chamber. the sultan went to the princess's bed-side, and after the same caresses he had given her the former morning, bade her good morrow. "well daughter," said he, "are you in a better humour than yesterday?" still the princess was silent, and the sultan perceiving her to be more troubled, and in greater confusion than before, doubted not that something very extraordinary was the cause; but provoked that his daughter should conceal it, he said to her in a rage, with his sabre in his hand, "daughter, tell me what is the matter, or i will cut off your head immediately." the princess, more frightened at the menaces and tone of the enraged sultan than at the sight of the drawn sabre, at last broke silence, and said with tears in her eyes, "my dear father and sultan, i ask your majesty's pardon if i have offended you, and hope, that out of your goodness and clemency you will have compassion on me, when i shall have told you in what a miserable condition i have spent this last night, as well as the preceding." after this preamble, which appeased and affected the sultan, she told him what had happened to her in so moving a manner, that he, who loved her tenderly, was most sensibly grieved. she added, "if your majesty doubts the truth of this account, you may inform yourself from my husband, who, i am persuaded, will tell you the same thing." the sultan immediately felt all the extreme uneasiness so surprising an adventure must have given the princess. "daughter," said he, "you are much to blame for not telling me this yesterday, since it concerns me as much as yourself. i did not marry you with an intention to make you miserable, but that you might enjoy all the happiness you deserve and might hope for from a husband who to me seemed agreeable to you. efface all these troublesome ideas from your memory; i will take care that you shall have no more disagreeable and insupportable nights." as soon as the sultan had returned to his own apartment, he sent for the grand vizier: "vizier," said he, "have you seen your son, and has he told you anything?" the vizier replied, "no." the sultan related all the circumstances of which the princess had informed him, and afterwards said, "i do not doubt but that my daughter has told me the truth; but nevertheless i should be glad to have it confirmed by your son, therefore go and ask him how it was." the grand vizier went immediately to his son, communicated what the sultan had told him, and enjoined him to conceal nothing, but to relate the whole truth. "i will disguise nothing from you, father," replied the son, "for indeed all that the princess has stated is true; but what relates particularly to myself she knows nothing of. since my marriage, i have passed two nights beyond imagination or expression disagreeable, not to mention the fright i was in at finding my bed lifted four times, transported from one place to another, without being able to guess how it was done. you may judge of the miserable condition i was in, passing two whole nights in nothing but my under vestments, standing in a kind of closet, unable to stir out of the place or to make the least movement, though i could not perceive any obstacle to prevent me. yet i must tell you, that all this ill usage does not in the least lessen those sentiments of love, respect, and gratitude i entertain for the princess, and of which she is so deserving; but i must confess, that notwithstanding all the honour and splendour that attends marrying my sovereign's daughter, i would much rather die, than continue in so exalted an alliance if i must undergo nightly much longer what i have already endured. i do not doubt but that the princess entertains the same sentiments, and that she will readily agree to a separation, which is so necessary both for her repose and mine. therefore, father, i beg, by the same tenderness which led you to procure me so great an honour, to obtain the sultan's consent that our marriage may be declared null and void." notwithstanding the grand vizier's ambition to have his son allied to the sultan, the firm resolution he saw he had formed to be separated from the princess made him not think it proper to propose to him to have patience for a few days, to see if this disappointment would not have an end; but he left him to give an account of what he had related to him, and without waiting till the sultan himself, whom he found disposed to it, spoke of setting aside the marriage, he begged of him to give his son leave to retire from the palace, alleging it was not just that the princess should be a moment longer exposed to so terrible a persecution upon his son's account. the grand vizier found no great difficulty to obtain what he asked, as the sultan had determined already; orders were given to put a stop to all rejoicings in the palace and town, and expresses dispatched to all parts of his dominions to countermand them; and, in a short time, all rejoicings ceased. this sudden and unexpected change gave rise both in the city and kingdom to various speculations and inquiries; but no other account could be given of it, except that both the vizier and his son went out of the palace very much dejected. nobody but alla ad deen knew the secret. he rejoiced within himself at the happy success procured by his lamp, which now he had no more occasion to rub, to produce the genie to prevent the consummation of the marriage, as he had certain information it was broken off, and that his rival had left the palace. neither the sultan nor the grand vizier, who had forgotten alla ad deen and his request, had the least thought that he had any concern in the enchantment which caused the dissolution of the marriage. alla ad deen waited till the three months were completed, which the sultan had appointed for the consummation of the marriage between the princess buddir al buddoor and himself; and the next day sent his mother to the palace, to remind the sultan of his promise. alla ad deen's mother went to the palace, and stood in the same place as before in the hall of audience. the sultan no sooner cast his eyes upon her than he knew her again, remembered her business, and how long he had put her off: therefore when the grand vizier was beginning to make his report, the sultan interrupted him, and said, "vizier, i see the good woman who made me the present of jewels some months ago; forbear your report, till i have heard what she has to say." the vizier looking about the divan, perceived the tailor's widow, and sent the chief of the mace-bearers to conduct her to the sultan. alla ad deen's mother came to the foot of the throne, prostrated herself as usual, and when she rose, the sultan asked her what she would have. "sir," said she, "i come to represent to your majesty, in the name of my son alla ad deen, that the three months, at the end of which you ordered me to come again, are expired; and to beg you to remember your promise." the sultan, when he had fixed a time to answer the request of this good woman, little thought of hearing any more of a marriage, which he imagined must be very disagreeable to the princess, when he considered the meanness and poverty of her dress and appearance; but this summons for him to fulfill his promise was somewhat embarrassing; he declined giving an answer till he had consulted his vizier, and signified to trim the little inclination he had to conclude a match for his daughter with a stranger, whose rank he supposed to be very mean. the grand vizier freely told the sultan his thoughts, and said to him, "in my opinion, sir, there is an infallible way for your majesty to avoid a match so disproportionable, without giving alla ad deen, were he known to your majesty, any cause of complaint; which is, to set so high a price upon the princess, that, however rich he may be, he cannot comply with. this is the only evasion to make him desist from so bold, not to say rash, an undertaking, which he never weighed before he engaged in it." the sultan, approving of the grand vizier's advice, turned to the tailor's widow, and said to her, "good woman, it is true sultans ought to abide by their word, and i am ready to keep mine, by making your son happy in marriage with the princess my daughter. but as i cannot marry her without some further valuable consideration from your son, you may tell him, i will fulfill my promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of massive gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already made me a present of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. on these conditions i am ready to bestow the princess my daughter upon him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and i will wait till you bring me his answer." alla ad deen's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's throne, and retired. in her way home, she laughed within herself at her son's foolish imagination. "where," says she, "can he get so many large gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? must he go again to that subterraneous abode, the entrance into which is stopped up, and gather them off the trees? but where will he get so many such slaves as the sultan requires? it is altogether out of his power, and i believe he will not be much pleased with my embassy this time." when she came home, full of these thoughts, she said to her son, "indeed, child, i would not have you think any farther of your marriage with the princess. the sultan received me very kindly, and i believe he was well inclined to you; but if i am not much deceived the grand vizier has made him change his mind, as you will guess from what i have to tell you. after i had represented to his majesty that the three months were expired, and begged of him to remember his promise, i observed that he whispered with his grand vizier before he gave me his answer." she then gave her son an exact account of what the sultan had said to her, and the conditions on which he consented to the match. afterwards she said to him, "the sultan expects your answer immediately; but," continued she, laughing, "i believe he may wait long enough." "not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied alla ad deen: "the sultan is mistaken, if he thinks by this exorbitant demand to prevent my entertaining thoughts of the princess. i expected greater difficulties, and that he would have set a higher price upon her incomparable charms. i am very well pleased; his demand is but a trifle to what i could have done for her. but while i think of satisfying his request, go and get something for our dinner, and leave the rest to me." as soon as his mother was gone out to market, alla ad deen took the lamp, and rubbing it, the genie appeared, and offered his service as usual. "the sultan," said alla ad deen to him, "gives me the princess his daughter in marriage; but demands first forty large trays of massive gold, full of the fruits of the garden from whence i took this lamp; and these he expects to have carried by as many black slaves, each preceded by a young handsome white slave, richly clothed. go, and fetch me this present as soon as possible, that i may send it to him before the divan breaks up." the genie told him his command should be immediately obeyed, and disappeared. in a little time afterwards the genie returned with forty black slaves, each bearing on his head a heavy tray of pure gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every sort of precious stones, all larger and more beautiful than those presented to the sultan. each tray was covered with silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of gold; these, together with the white slaves, quite filled the house, which was but a small one, the little court before it, and a small garden behind. the genie asked if he had any other commands, and alla ad deen telling him that he wanted nothing farther, he disappeared. when alla ad deen's mother came from market, she was much surprised to see so many people and such vast riches. as soon as she had laid down her provisions, she was going to pull off her veil; but he prevented her, and said, "mother, let us lose no time; before the sultan and the divan rise, i would have you return to the palace with this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence and exactness of the ardent and sincere desire i have to procure myself the honour of this alliance." without waiting for his mother's reply, alla ad deen opened the street-door, and made the slaves walk out; each white slave followed by a black with a tray upon his head. when they were all out, the mother followed the last black slave; he shut the door, and then retired to his chamber, full of hopes that the sultan, after this present, which was such as he required, would receive him as his son-in-law. the first white slave who went out made all the people who were going by stop; and before they were all clear of the house, the streets were crowded with spectators, who ran to see so extraordinary and magnificent a procession. the dress of each slave was so rich, both for the stuff and the jewels, that those who were dealers in them valued each at no less than a million of money; besides the neatness and propriety of the dress, the noble air, fine shape and proportion of each slave were unparalleled; their grave walk at an equal distance from each other, the lustre of the jewels curiously set in their girdles of gold, in beautiful symmetry, and the egrets of precious stones in their turbans, which were of an unusual but elegant taste, put the spectators into such great admiration, that they could not avoid gazing at them, and following them with their eyes as far as possible; but the streets were so crowded with people, that none could move out of the spot they stood on. as they had to pass through several streets to the palace, a great part of the city had an opportunity of seeing them. as soon as the first of these slaves arrived at the palace gate, the porters formed themselves into order, taking him for a prince from the richness and magnificence of his habit, and were going to kiss the hem of his garment; but the slave, who was instructed by the genie, prevented them, and said, "we are only slaves, our master will appear at a proper time." the first slave, followed by the rest, advanced into the second court, which was very spacious, and in which the sultan's household was ranged during the sitting of the divan. the magnificence of the officers, who stood at the head of their troops, was considerably eclipsed by the slaves who bore alla ad deen's present, of which they themselves made a part. nothing was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the sultan's palace; and all the lustre of the lords of his court was not to be compared to them. as the sultan, who had been informed of their march, and approach to the palace, had given orders for them to be admitted, they met with no obstacle, but went into the divan in regular order, one part filing to the right, and the other to the left. after they were all entered, and had formed a semicircle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the carpet with their foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did the same. when they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts. in the meantime alla ad deen's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, and having paid her respects, said to the sultan, "sir, my son is sensible this present, which he has sent your majesty, is much below the princess buddir al buddoor's worth; but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it, and make it agreeable to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he has endeavoured to conform to the conditions you were pleased to impose." the sultan was not able to give the least attention to this compliment. the moment he cast his eyes on the forty trays, full of the most precious, brilliant, and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, and the fourscore slaves, who appeared by the elegance of their persons, and the richness and magnificence of their dress, like so many princes, he was so struck, that he could not recover from his admiration. instead of answering the compliment of alla ad deen's mother, he addressed himself to the grand vizier, who could not any more than the sultan comprehend from whence such a profusion of richness could come. "well, vizier," said he aloud, "who do you think it can be that has sent me so extraordinary a present, and neither of us know? do you think him worthy of the princess buddir al buddoor, my daughter?" the vizier, notwithstanding his envy and grief to see a stranger preferred to be the sultan's son-in-law before his son, durst not disguise his sentiments. it was too visible that alla ad deen's present was more than sufficient to merit his being received into royal alliance; therefore, consulting his master's feelings, he returned this answer: "i am so far from having any thoughts that the person who has made your majesty so noble a present is unworthy of the honour you would do him, that i should say he deserved much more, if i was not persuaded that the greatest treasure in the world ought not to be put in competition with the princess your majesty's daughter." this speech was applauded by all the lords who were then in council. the sultan made no longer hesitation, nor thought of informing himself whether alla ad deen was endowed with all the qualifications requisite in one who aspired to be his son-in-law. the sight alone of such immense riches, and alla ad deen's quickness in satisfying his demand, without starting the least difficulty at the exorbitant conditions he had imposed, easily persuaded him, that he could want nothing to render him accomplished, and such as he desired. therefore, to send alla ad deen's mother back with all the satisfaction she could desire, he said to her, "my good lady, go and tell your son that i wait with open arms to embrace him, and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess my daughter from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me." as soon as the tailor's widow had retired, overjoyed as a woman in her condition must have been, to see her son raised beyond all expectations to such exalted fortune, the sultan put an end to the audience; and rising from his throne, ordered that the princess's eunuchs should come and carry the trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his leisure. the fourscore slaves were conducted in to the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent appearance, ordered them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see through the lattices he had not exaggerated in his account of them. in the meantime alla ad deen's mother got home, and shewed in her air and countenance the good news she brought her son "my son," said she to him, "you have now all the reason in the world to be pleased: you are, contrary to my expectations, arrived at the height of your desires. not to keep you too long in suspense, the sultan, with the approbation of the whole court, has declared that you are worthy to possess the princess buddir al buddoor, waits to embrace you and conclude your marriage; therefore, you must think of making some preparations for your interview, which may answer the high opinion he has formed of your person; and after the wonders i have seen you do, i am persuaded nothing can be wanting. but i must not forget to tell you the sultan waits for you with great impatience, therefore lose no time in paying your respects." alla ad deen, enraptured with this news, and full of the object which possessed his soul, made his mother very little reply, but retired to his chamber. there, after he had rubbed his lamp, which had never failed him in whatever he wished for, the obedient genie appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i want to bathe immediately, and you must afterwards provide me the richest and most magnificent habit ever worn by a monarch." no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, and transported him into a hummum of the finest marble of all sorts of colours; where he was undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. from the hall he was led to the bath, which was of a moderate heat, and he was there rubbed and washed with various scented waters. after he had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out, quite a different man from what he was before. his skin was clear white and red, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, he found, instead of his own, a suit, the magnificence of which astonished him. the genie helped him to dress, and when he had done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he had any other commands. "yes," answered alla ad deen, "i expect you to bring me as soon as possible a charger, that surpasses in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables, with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons worth a million of money. i want also twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried the present to the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and twenty more to go before me in two ranks. besides these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the princess buddir al buddoor's, each carrying a complete dress fit for any sultaness. i want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go, and make haste." as soon as alla ad deen had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for alla ad deen's mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all to alla ad deen. of the ten purses alla ad deen took four, which he gave to his mother, telling her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's palace. the six slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to march before him, three on the right hand and three on the left. afterwards he presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her they were her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for her use. when alla ad deen had thus settled matters, he told the genie he would call for him when he wanted him, and thereupon the genie disappeared. alla ad deen's thoughts now were only upon answering, as soon as possible, the desire the sultan had shown to see him. he dispatched one of the forty slaves to the palace, with an order to address himself to the chief of the porters, to know when he might have the honour to come and throw himself at the sultan's feet. the slave soon acquitted himself of his commission, and brought for answer, that the sultan waited for him with impatience. alla ad deen immediately mounted his charger, and began his march, in the order we have already described; and though he never was on horseback before, appeared with such extraordinary grace, that the most experienced horseman would not have taken him for a novice. the streets through which he was to pass were almost instantly filled with an innumerable concourse of people, who made the air echo with acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. neither did these acclamations and shouts of joy come from those alone who scrambled for the money, but from a superior rank of people, who could not forbear applauding alla ad deen's generosity. not only those who knew him when he played in the streets like a vagabond did not recollect him, but those who saw him but a little while before hardly recognised him, so much were his features altered: such were the effects of the lamp, as to procure by degrees to those who possessed it perfections suitable to the rank to which the right use of it advanced them. much more attention was paid to alla ad deen's person than to the pomp and magnificence of his attendants, as a similar show had been seen the day before when the slaves walked in procession with the present to the sultan. nevertheless the horse was much admired by good judges, who knew how to discern his beauties, without being dazzled by the jewels and richness of the furniture. when the report was everywhere spread, that the sultan was going to give the princess in marriage to alla ad deen, nobody regarded his birth, nor envied his good fortune, so worthy he seemed of it in the public opinion. when he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his reception; and when he came to the gate of the second court, he would have alighted from his horse, agreeably to the custom observed by the grand vizier, the commander in chief of the empire, and governors of provinces of the first rank; but the chief of the mace-bearers who waited on him by the sultan's order prevented him, and attended him to the grand hall of audience, where he helped him to dismount; though alla ad deen endeavoured to prevent him, but could not prevail. the officers formed themselves into two ranks at the entrance of the hall. the chief put alla ad deen on his right hand, and through the midst of them led him to the sultan's throne. as soon as the sultan perceived alla ad deen, he was no less surprised to see him more richly and magnificently habited than ever he had been himself, than struck at his good mien, fine shape, and a certain air of unexpected dignity, very different from the meanness of his mother's late appearance. but, notwithstanding, his amazement and surprise did not hinder him from rising off his throne, and descending two or three steps, quick enough to prevent alla ad deen's throwing himself at his feet. he embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy at his arrival. after this civility alla ad deen would have thrown himself at his feet again; but he held him fast by the hand, and obliged him to sit close to the throne. alla ad deen then addressed the sultan, saying, "i receive the honour which your majesty out of your great condescension is pleased to confer; but permit me to assure you, that i have not forgotten that i am your slave; that i know the greatness of your power, and that i am not in sensible how much my birth is below the splendour and lustre of the high rank to which i am raised. if any way," continued he, "i could have merited so favourable a reception, i confess i owe it merely to the boldness which chance inspired in me to raise my eyes, thoughts, and desires to the divine princess, who is the object of my wishes. i ask your majesty's pardon for my rashness, but i cannot dissemble, that i should die with grief were i to lose my hopes of seeing them accomplished." "my son," answered the sultan, embracing him a second time, "you would wrong me to doubt for a moment of my sincerity: your life from this moment is too dear to me not to preserve it, by presenting you with the remedy which is at my disposal. i prefer the pleasure of seeing and hearing you before all your treasure added to my own." after these words, the sultan gave a signal, and immediately the air echoed with the sound of trumpets, hautboys, and other musical instruments: and at the same time the sultan led alla ad deen into a magnificent hall, where was laid out a most splendid collation. the sultan and alla ad deen ate by themselves, while the grand vizier and the great lords of the court, according to their dignity and rank, sat at different tables. the conversation turned on different subjects; but all the while the sultan took so much pleasure in looking at his intended son-in-law, that he hardly ever took his eyes off him; and throughout the whole of their conversation alla ad deen showed so much good sense, as confirmed the sultan in the high opinion he had formed of him. after the feast, the sultan sent for the chief judge of his capital, and ordered him to draw up immediately a contract of marriage between the princess buddir al buddoor his daughter and alla ad deen. in the mean time the sultan and he entered into another conversation on various subjects, in the presence of the grand vizier and the lords of the court, who all admired the solidity of his wit, the great ease and freedom wherewith he delivered himself, the justness of his remarks, and his energy in expressing them. when the judge had drawn up the contract in all the requisite forms, the sultan asked alla ad deen if he would stay in the palace, and solemnize the ceremonies of marriage that day. to which he answered, "sir, though great is my impatience to enjoy your majesty's goodness, yet i beg of you to give me leave to defer it till i have built a palace fit to receive the princess; therefore i petition you to grant me a convenient spot of ground near your palace, that i may the more frequently pay my respects, and i will take care to have it finished with all diligence." "son," said the sultan, "take what ground you think proper, there is space enough on every quarter round my palace; but consider, i cannot see you too soon united with my daughter, which alone is wanting to complete my happiness." after these words he embraced alla ad deen again, who took his leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always lived at court. alla ad deen returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. as soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and called the genie as before, who in the usual manner made him a tender of his service. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i have every reason to commend your exactness in executing hitherto punctually whatever i have demanded; but now if you have any regard for the lamp your protector, you must show, if possible, more zeal and diligence than ever. i would have you build me, as soon as you can, a palace opposite, but at a proper distance from the sultan's, fit to receive my spouse the princess buddir al buddoor. i leave the choice of the materials to you, that is to say, porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, or the finest marble of various colours, and also the architecture of the building. but i expect that on the terraced roof of this palace you will build me a large hall crowned with a dome, and having four equal fronts; and that instead of layers of bricks, the walls be formed of massive gold and silver, laid alternately; that each front shall contain six windows, the lattices of all which, except one, which must be left unfinished, shall be so enriched in the most tasteful workmanship, with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, that they shall exceed every thing of the kind ever seen in the world. i would have an inner and outer court in front of the palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, take care that there be laid in a place which you shall point out to me a treasure of gold and silver coin. besides, the edifice must be well provided with kitchens and offices, storehouses, and rooms to keep choice furniture in, for every season of the year. i must have stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage. there must be officers to attend the kitchens and offices, and women slaves to wait on the princess. you understand what i mean; therefore go about it, and come and tell me when all is finished." by the time alla ad deen had instructed the genie resetting the building of his palace, the sun was set. the next morning, before break of day, our bridegroom, whose love for the princess would not let him sleep, was up, when the genie presented himself, and said, "sir, your palace is finished, come and see how you like it." alla ad deen had no sooner signified his consent, than the genie transported him thither in an instant, and he found it so much beyond his expectation, that he could not enough admire it. the genie led him through all the apartments, where he met with nothing but what was rich and magnificent, with officers and slaves, all habited according to their rank and the services to which they were appointed. the genie then showed him the treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, where alla ad deen saw heaps of purses, of different sizes, piled up to the top of the ceiling, and disposed in most excellent order. the genie assured him of the treasurer's fidelity, and thence led him to the stables, where he showed him some of the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing them; from thence they went to the store-houses, which were filled with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. when alla ad deen had examined the palace from top to bottom, and particularly the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found it much beyond whatever he could have imagined, he said, "genie, no one can be better satisfied than i am; and indeed i should be much to blame if i found any fault. there is only one thing wanting which i forgot to mention; that is, to lay from the sultan's palace to the door of the apartment designed for the princess, a carpet of fine velvet for her to walk upon." the genie immediately disappeared, and alla ad deen saw what he desired executed in an instant. the genie then returned, and carried him home before the gates of the sultan's palace were opened. when the porters, who had always been used to an open prospect, came to open the gates, they were amazed to find it obstructed, and to see a carpet of velvet spread from the grand entrance. they did not immediately look how far it extended; but when they could discern alla ad deen's palace distinctly, their surprise was increased. the news of so extraordinary a wonder was presently spread through the palace. the grand vizier, who arrived soon after the gates were open, being no less amazed than others at this novelty, ran and acquainted the sultan, but endeavoured to make him believe it to be all enchantment. "vizier," replied the sultan, "why will you have it to be enchantment? you know as well as i that it must be alla ad deen's palace, which i gave him leave to build, for the reception of my daughter. after the proof we have had of his riches, can we think it strange, that he should raise a palace in so short a time? he wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders are to be done with money in only one night. confess sincerely that the enchantment you talk of proceeds from a little envy on account of your son's disappointment." the hour of going to council put an end to the conversation. when alla ad deen had been conveyed home, and had dismissed the genie, he found his mother up, and dressing herself in one of those suits which had been brought her. by the time the sultan rose from the council, alla ad deen had prepared his mother to go to the palace with her slaves, and desired her, if she saw the sultan, to tell him she should do herself the honour to attend the princess towards evening to her palace. accordingly she went; but though she and the women slaves who followed her were all dressed like sultanesses, yet the crowd was not near so great as the preceding day, because they were all veiled, and had each an upper garment on agreeable to the richness and magnificence of their habits. alla ad deen mounted his horse, and took leave of his paternal house forever, taking care not to forget his wonderful lamp, by the assistance of which he had reaped such advantages, and arrived at the utmost height of his wishes, and went to the palace in the same pomp as the day before. as soon as the porters of the sultan's palace saw alla ad deen's mother, they went and informed the sultan, who immediately ordered the bands of trumpets, cymbals, drums, fifes and hautboys, placed in different parts of the palace, to play, so that the air resounded with concerts which inspired the whole city with joy: the merchants began to adorn their shops and houses with fine carpets and silks, and to prepare illuminations against night. the artisans of every description left their work, and the populace repaired to the great space between the royal palace and that of alla ad deen; which last drew all their attention, not only because it was new to them, but because there was no comparison between the two buildings. but their amazement was to comprehend by what unheard-of miracle so magnificent a palace could have been so soon erected, it being apparent to all that there were no prepared materials, or any foundations laid the day before. alla ad deen's mother was received in the palace with honour, and introduced into the princess buddir al buddoor's apartment by the chief of the eunuchs. as soon as the princess saw her, she rose, saluted, and desired her to sit down on a sofa; and while her women finished dressing and adorning her with the jewels which alla ad deen had presented to her, a collation was served up. at the same time the sultan, who wished to be as much with his daughter as possible before he parted with her, came in and paid the old lady great respect. alla ad deen's mother had talked to the sultan in public, but he had never seen her with her veil off, as she was then; and though she was somewhat advanced in years, she had the remains of a good face, which showed what she had been in her youth. the sultan, who had always seen her dressed very meanly, not to say poorly, was surprised to find her as richly and magnificently attired as the princess his daughter. this made him think alla ad deen equally prudent and wise in whatever he undertook. when it was night, the princess took her leave of the sultan her father: their adieus were tender, and accompanied with tears. they embraced each other several times, and at last the princess left her own apartment for alla ad deen's palace, with his mother on her left hand carried in a superb litter, followed by a hundred women slaves, dressed with surprising magnificence. all the bands of music, which had played from the time alla ad deen's mother arrived, being joined together, led the procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of black eunuchs, in two files, with their officers at their head. four hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and alla ad deen's palaces, made it as light as day. in this order the princess proceeded in her litter on the carpet, which was spread from the sultan's palace, preceded by bands of musicians, who, as they advanced, joining with those on the terraces of alla ad deen's palace, formed a concert, which increased the joyful sensations not only of the crowd assembled in the great square, but of the metropolis and its environs. at length the princess arrived at the new palace. alla ad deen ran with all imaginable joy to receive her at the grand entrance. his mother had taken care to point him out to the princess, in the midst of the officers who surrounded him, and she was charmed with his person. "adorable princess," said alla ad deen, accosting her, and saluting her respectfully, as soon as she had entered her apartment, "if i have the misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in aspiring to the possession of so lovely a princess, and my sultan's daughter, i must tell you, that you ought to blame your bright eyes and charms, not me." "prince (as i may now call you)," answered the princess, "i am obedient to the will of my father; and it is enough for me to have seen you to tell you that i obey without reluctance." alla ad deen, charmed with so agreeable and satisfactory an answer, would not keep the princess standing; but took her by the hand, which he kissed with the greatest demonstration of joy, and led her into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, where, by the care of the genie, a noble feast was served up. the dishes were of massive gold, and contained the most delicate viands. the vases, basins, and goblets, were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable to this display. the princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected in one place, said to alla ad deen, "i thought, prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight of this hall alone is sufficient to show i was deceived." alla ad deen led the princess to the place appointed for her, and as soon as she and his mother were seated, a band of the most harmonious instruments, accompanied with the voices of beautiful ladies, began a concert, which lasted without intermission to the end of the repast. the princess was so charmed, that she declared she had never heard anything like it in the sultan her father's court; but she knew not that these musicians were fairies chosen by the genie, the slave of the lamp. when the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers, who performed, according to the custom of the country, several figure dances, singing at the same time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. about midnight alla ad deen's mother conducted the bride to the nuptial apartment, and he soon after retired. the next morning when alla ad deen left the bridal chamber, his attendants presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another habit as rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. he then ordered one of the horses appointed for his use to be got ready, mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace. the sultan received him with the same honours as before, embraced him, placed him on the throne near him, and ordered a collation. alla ad deen said, "i beg your majesty will dispense with my eating with you to-day; i came to entreat you to take a repast in the princess's palace, attended by your grand vizier, and all the lords of your court." the sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great lords of his court, accompanied alla ad deen. the nearer the sultan approached alla ad deen's palace, the more he was struck with its beauty, but was much more amazed when he entered it; and could not forbear breaking out into exclamations of approbation. but when he came into the hall, and cast his eyes on the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large perfect stones, he was so much surprised, that he remained some time motionless. after he recovered himself, he said to his vizier, "is it possible that there should be such a stately palace so near my own, and i be an utter stranger to it till now?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "your majesty may remember that the day before yesterday you gave alla ad deen, whom you accepted for your son-in-law, leave to build a palace opposite your own, and that very day at sunset there was no palace on this spot, but yesterday i had the honour first to tell you that the palace was built and finished." "i remember," replied the sultan, "but never imagined that the palace was one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the world besides shall we find walls built of massive gold and silver, instead of brick, stone, or marble; and diamonds, rubies, and emeralds composing the windows!" the sultan would examine and admire the beauty of all the windows, and counting them, found that there were but three-and-twenty so richly adorned, and he was greatly astonished that the twenty-fourth was left imperfect. "vizier," said he, for that minister made a point of never leaving him, "i am surprised that a hall of this magnificence should be left thus imperfect." "sir," replied the grand vizier, "without doubt alla ad deen only wanted time to finish this window like the rest; for it is not to be supposed but that he has sufficient jewels for the purpose, or that he will not complete it the first opportunity." alla ad deen, who had left the sultan to go and give some orders, returned just as the vizier had finished his remark. "son," said the sultan to him, "this hall is the most worthy of admiration of any in the world; there is only one thing that surprises me, which is to find one of the windows unfinished. is it from the forgetfulness or negligence of the workmen, or want of time, that they have not put the finishing stroke to so beautiful a piece of architecture?" "sir," answered alla ad deen, "it was for none of these reasons that your majesty sees it in this state. the omission was by design, it was by my orders that the workmen left it thus, since i wished that your majesty should have the glory of finishing this hall, and of course the palace." "if you did it with this intention," replied the sultan, "i take it kindly, and will give orders about it immediately." he accordingly sent for the most considerable jewellers and goldsmiths in his capital. alla ad deen then conducted the sultan into the saloon where he had regaled his bride the preceding night. the princess entered immediately afterwards, and received the sultan her father with an air that showed how happy she was with her marriage. two tables were immediately spread with the most delicious meats, all served up in gold dishes. the sultan, princess, alla ad deen, his mother, and the grand vizier, sat down at the first, and all the lords of the court at the second, which was very long. the sultan was much pleased with the cookery, and owned he had never eaten anything more excellent. he said the same of the wines, which were delicious; but what he most of all admired, were four large sideboards, profusely furnished with large flagons, basins, and cups, all of massive gold, set with jewels. he was besides charmed with several bands of music, which were ranged along the hall, and formed most agreeable concerts. when the sultan rose from table, he was informed that the jewellers and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and showed them the window which was unfinished. "i sent for you," said he, "to fit up this window in as great perfection as the rest; examine them well and make all the dispatch you can." the jewellers and goldsmiths examined the three-and-twenty windows with great attention, and after they had consulted together, to know what each could furnish, they returned, and presented themselves before the sultan, whose principal jeweller, undertaking to speak for the rest, said, "sir, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to obey your majesty; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for so great a work." "i have more than are necessary," said the sultan; "come to my palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." when the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be brought out, and the jewellers took a great quantity, particularly those alla ad deen had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making any greet advance in their work. they came again several times for more, and in a month's time had not finished half their work. in short, they used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half done. alla ad deen, who knew that all the sultan's endeavours to make this window like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewellers and goldsmiths, and not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the sultan and to the vizier. they undid in a few hours what they had been six weeks about, and retired, leaving alla ad deen alone in the hall. he took the lamp which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i ordered thee to leave one of the four-and-twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and thus hast executed my commands punctually; now i would have thee make it like the rest." the genie immediately disappeared. alla ad deen went out of the hall, and returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like the others. in the meantime, the jewellers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, and were introduced into the sultan's presence; where the chief jeweller, presenting the precious stones which he had brought back, said, in the name of all the rest, "your majesty knows how long we have been upon the work you were pleased to set us about, in which we used all imaginable industry. it was far advanced, when prince alla ad deen commanded us not only to leave off, but to undo what we had already begun, and bring your majesty your jewels back." the sultan asked them if alla ad deen had given them any reason for so doing, and they answering that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he mounted, and rode to his son-in law's palace, with some few attendants on foot. when he came there, he alighted at the stair-case, which led up to the hall with the twenty-four windows, and went directly up to it, without giving previous notice to alla ad deen; but it happened that at that very juncture alla ad deen was opportunely there, and had just time to receive him at the door. the sultan, without giving alla ad deen time to complain obligingly of his not having given notice, that he might have acquitted himself with the more becoming respect, said to him, "son, i come myself to know the reason why you commanded the jewellers to desist from work, and take to pieces what they had done." alla ad deen disguised the true reason, which was, that the sultan was not rich enough in jewels to be at so great an expense, but said, "i beg of you now to see if any thing is wanting." the sultan went directly to the window which was left imperfect, and when he found it like the rest, fancied that he was mistaken, examined the two windows on each side, and afterwards all the four-and-twenty; but when he was convinced that the window which several workmen had been so long about was finished in so short a time, he embraced alla ad deen, and kissed him between his eyes. "my son," said he, "what a man you are to do such surprising things always in the twinkling of an eye; there is not your fellow in the world; the more i know, the more i admire you." alla ad deen received these praises from the sultan with modesty, and replied in these words: "sir, it is a great honour to me to deserve your majesty's good-will and approbation, and i assure you, i shall study to deserve them more." the sultan returned to his palace, but would not let alla ad deen attend him. when he came there, he found his grand vizier waiting, to whom he related the wonder he had witnessed, with the utmost admiration, and in such terms as left the minister no room to doubt but that the facet was as the sultan related it; though he was the more confirmed in his belief, that alla ad deen's palace was the effect of enchantment, as he had told the sultan the first moment he saw it. he was going to repeat the observation, but the sultan interrupted him, and said, "you told me so once before; i see, vizier, you have not forgotten your son's espousals to my daughter." the frank vizier plainly saw how much the sultan was prepossessed, therefore avoided disputes and let him remain in his own opinion. the sultan as soon as he rose every morning went into the closet, to look at alla ad deen's palace, and would go many times in a day to contemplate and admire it. alla ad deen did not confine himself in his palace; but took care to shew himself once or twice a week in the town, by going sometimes to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the grand vizier, who affected to pay his court to him on certain days, or to do the principal lords of the court the honour to return their visits after he had regaled them at his palace. every time he went out, he caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the streets and squares, which were generally on those occasions crowded. besides, no one came to his palace gates to ask alms, but returned satisfied with his liberality. in short, he so divided his time, that not a week passed but he went either once or twice a hunting, sometimes in the environs of the city, sometimes farther off; at which time the villages through which he passed felt the effects of his generosity, which gained him the love and blessings of the people: and it was common for them to swear by his head. thus, without giving the least umbrage to the sultan, to whom he paid all imaginable respect, alla ad deen, by his affable behaviour and liberality, had won the affections of the people, and was more beloved than the sultan himself. with all these good qualities he shewed a courage and a zeal for the public good which could not be sufficiently applauded. he gave sufficient proofs of both in a revolt on the borders of the kingdom; for he no sooner understood that the sultan was levying an army to disperse the rebels than he begged the command of it, which he found not difficult to obtain. as soon as he was empowered, he marched with so much expedition, that the sultan heard of the defeat of the rebels before he had received an account of his arrival in the army. and though this action rendered his name famous throughout the kingdom, it made no alteration in his disposition; but he was as affable after his victory as before. alla ad deen had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the african magician, who undesignedly had been the instrument of raising him to so high a pitch of prosperity, recalled him to his recollection in africa, whither, after his expedition, he had returned. and though he was almost persuaded that alla ad deen must have died miserably in the subterraneous abode where he had left him, yet he had the curiosity to inform himself about his end with certainty; and as he was a great geomancer, he took out of a cupboard a square covered box, which he used in his geomantic observations: then sat himself down on the sofa, set it before him, and uncovered it. after he had prepared and levelled the sand which was in it, with an intention to discover whether or no alla ad deen had died in the subterraneous abode, he cast the points, drew the figures, and formed a horoscope, by which, when he came to examine it, he found that alla ad deen, instead of dying in the cave, had made his escape, lived splendidly, was in possession of the wonderful lamp, had married a princess, and was much honoured and respected. the magician no sooner understood by the rules of his diabolical art, that alla ad deen had arrived to this height of good fortune, than his face became inflamed with anger, and he cried out in a rage, "this sorry tailor's son has discovered the secret and virtue of the lamp! i believed his death to be certain; but find that he enjoys the fruit of my labour and study! i will, however, prevent his enjoying it long, or perish in the attempt." he was not a great while deliberating on what he should do, but the next morning mounted a barb, set forwards, and never stopped but to refresh himself and horse, till he arrived at the capital of china. he alighted, took up his lodging in a khan, and stayed there the remainder of the day and the night, to refresh himself after so long a journey. the next day, his first object was to inquire what people said of alla ad deen; and, taking a walk through the town, he went to the most public and frequented places, where persons of the best distinction met to drink a certain warm liquor, which he had drunk often during his former visit. as soon as he had seated himself, he was presented with a cup of it, which he took; but listening at the same time to the discourse of the company on each side of him, he heard them talking of alla ad deen's palace. when he had drunk off his liquor, he joined them, and taking this opportunity, inquired particularly of what palace they spoke with so much commendation. "from whence come you?" said the person to whom he addressed himself; "you must certainly be a stranger not to have seen or heard talk of prince alla ad deen's palace" (for he was called so after his marriage with the princess). "i do not say," continued the man, "that it is one of the wonders of the world, but that it is the only wonder of the world; since nothing so grand, rich, and magnificent was ever beheld. certainly you must have come from a great distance, or some obscure corner, not to have heard of it, for it must have been talked of all over the world. go and see it, and then judge whether i have told you more than the truth." "forgive my ignorance," replied the african magician; "i arrived here but yesterday, and came from the farthest part of africa, where the fame of this palace had not reached when i came away. the business which brought me hither was so urgent, that my sole objets was to arrive as soon as i could, without stopping anywhere, or making any acquaintance. but i will not fail to go and see it; my impatience is so great, i will go immediately and satisfy my curiosity, if you will do me the favour to shew me the way thither." the person to whom the african magician addressed himself took a pleasure in shewing him the way to alla ad deen's palace, and he got up and went thither instantly. when he came to the palace, and had examined it on all sides, he doubted not but that alla ad deen had made use of the lamp to build it. without attending to the inability of a poor tailor's son, he knew that none but the genii, the slaves of the lamp, the attaining of which he had missed, could have performed such wonders; and piqued to the quick at alla ad deen's happiness and splendour, he returned to the khan where he lodged. the next point was to ascertain where the lamp was; whether alla ad deen carried it about with him, or where he kept it; and this he was to discover by an operation of geomancy. as soon as he entered his lodging, he took his square box of sand, which he always carried with him when he travelled, and after he had performed some operations, he found that the lamp was in alla ad deen's palace, and so great was his joy at the discovery that he could hardly contain himself. "well," said he, "i shall have the lamp, and defy alla ad deen's preventing my carrying it off, and making him sink to his original meanness, from which he has taken so high a flight." it was alla ad deen's misfortune at that time to be absent in the chase for eight days, and only three were expired, which the magician came to know by this means. after he had performed the magical operation, which gave him so much joy, he went to the superintendent of the khan, entered into conversation with him on indifferent subjects, and among the rest, told him he had been to see alla ad deen's palace; and after exaggerating on all that he had seen most worthy of observation, added, "but my curiosity leads me farther, and i shall not be satisfied till i have seen the person to whom this wonderful edifice belongs." "that will be no difficult matter," replied the master of the khan, "there is not a day passes but he gives an opportunity when he is in town, but at present he is not at the palace, and has been gone these three days on a hunting-match, which will last eight." the magician wanted to know no more; he took his leave of the superintendent of the khan, and returning to his own chamber, said to himself, "this is an opportunity i ought by no means to neglect, but must make the best use of it." to that end, he went to a coppersmith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of the shop told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have patience till the next day, he would have them ready. the magician appointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be handsome and well polished. after promising to pay him well, he returned to his inn. the next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his full price, put them into a basket which he bought on purpose, and with the basket hanging on his arm, went directly to alla ad deen's palace: as he approached he began crying, "who will change old lamps for new ones?" as he went along, a crowd of children collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool, to offer to change new lamps for old ones. the african magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they could say to him, but still continued crying, "who will change old lamps for new?" he repeated this so often, walking backwards and forwards in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, and not being able to distinguish his words, owing to the hooting of the children and increasing mob about him, sent one of her women slaves to know what he cried. the slave was not long before she returned, and ran into the hall, laughing so heartily, that the princess could not forbear herself. "well, giggler," said the princess, "will you tell me what you laugh at?" "madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear laughing, to see a fool with a basket on his arm, full of fine new lamps, ask to change them for old ones; the children and mob, crowding about him so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in derision of him." another female slave hearing this, said, "now you speak of lamps, i know not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one upon a shelf of the prince's robing-room, and whoever owns it will not be sorry to find a new one in its stead. if the princess chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this fool is so silly as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking any thing for the exchange." the lamp this slave spoke of was the wonderful lamp, which alla ad deen had laid upon the shelf before he departed for the chase; this he had done several times before; but neither the princess, the slaves, nor the eunuchs, had ever taken notice of it. at all other times except when hunting he carried it about his person. the princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest that alla ad deen, not to mention herself, had to keep it safe, entered into the pleasantry, and commanded a eunuch to take it, and make the exchange. the eunuch obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to the palace gates than he saw the african magician, called to him, and shewing him the old lamp, said, "give me a new lamp for this." the magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. there could be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. he snatched it eagerly out of the eunuch's hand, and thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade him choose which he liked best. the eunuch picked out one, and carried it to the princess; but the exchange was no sooner made than the place rung with the shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. the african magician gave everybody leave to laugh as much as they pleased; he stayed not long near the palace, but made the best of his way, without crying any longer, "new lamps for old ones." his end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children and the mob. as soon as he was out of the square between the two palaces, he hastened down the streets which were the least frequented; and having no more occasion for his lamps or basket, set all down in an alley where nobody saw him: then going down another street or two, he walked till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at length reached a lonely spot, where he stopped for a time to execute the design he had in contemplation, never caring for his horse which he had left at the khan, but thinking himself perfectly compensated by the treasure he had acquired. in this place the african magician passed the remainder of the day, till the darkest time of night, when he pulled the lamp out of his breast and rubbed it. at that summons the genie appeared, and said, "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; both i and the other slaves of the lamp." "i command thee," replied the magician, "to transport me immediately and the palace which thou and the other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, with all the people in it, to africa." the genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other genii, the slaves of the lamp immediately transported him and the palace entire, to the spot whither he was desired to convey it. as soon as the sultan rose the next morning, according to custom, he went into his closet, to have the pleasure of contemplating and admiring alla ad deen's palace; but when he first looked that way, and instead of a palace saw an empty space such as it was before the palace was built, he thought he was mistaken, and rubbed his eyes; but when he looked again, he still saw nothing more the second time than the first, though the weather was fine, the sky clear, and the dawn advancing had made all objects very distinct. he looked again in front, to the right and left, but beheld nothing more than he had formerly been used to see from his window. his amazement was so great, that he stood for some time turning his eyes to the spot where the palace had stood, but where it was no longer to be seen. he could not comprehend how so large a palace as alla ad deen's, which he had seen plainly every day for some years, and but the day before, should vanish so soon, and not leave the least remains behind. "certainly," said he to himself, "i am not mistaken; it stood there: if it had fallen, the materials would have lain in heaps; and if it had been swallowed up by an earthquake, there would be some mark left." at last, though he was convinced that no palace stood now opposite his own, he could not help staying some time at his window, to see whether he might not be mistaken. at last he retired to his apartment, not without looking behind him before he quitted the spot ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition, and in the meantime sat down, his mind agitated by so many different conjectures that he knew not what to resolve. the grand vizier did not make the sultan wait long for him, but came with so much precipitation, that neither he nor his attendants, as they passed, missed alla ad deen's palace; neither did the porters, when they opened the palace gates observe any alteration. when he came into the sultan's presence, he said to him, "the haste in which your majesty sent for me makes me believe something extraordinary has happened, since you know that this is a day of public audience, and i should not have failed of attending at the usual time." "indeed," said the sultan, "it is something very extraordinary, as you say, and you will allow it to be so: tell me what is become of alla ad deen's palace?" "his palace!" replied the grand vizier, in amazement, "i thought as i passed it stood in its usual place; such substantial buildings are not so easily removed." "go into my closet," said the sultan, "and tell me if you can see it." the grand vizier went into the closet, where he was struck with no less amazement than the sultan had been. when he was well assured that there was not the least appearance of this palace, he returned to the sultan. "well," said the sultan, "have you seen alla ad deen's palace?" "no," answered the vizier; "but your majesty may remember that i had the honour to tell you, that palace, which was the subject of your admiration, with all its immense riches, was only the work of magic and a magician; but your majesty would not pay the least attention to what i said." the sultan, who could not deny what the grand vizier had represented to him, flew into the greater passion: "where is that impostor, that wicked wretch," said he, "that i may have his head taken off immediately?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "it is some days since he came to take his leave of your majesty, on pretence of hunting; he ought to be sent for, to know what is become of his palace, since he cannot be ignorant of what has been transacted." "that is too great an indulgence," replied the sultan: "command a detachment of horse to bring him to me loaded with chains." the grand vizier gave orders for a detachment, and instructed the officer who commanded them how they were to act, that alla ad deen might not escape. the detachment pursued their orders; and about five or six leagues from the town met him returning from the chase. the officer advanced respectfully, and informed him the sultan was so impatient to see him, that he had sent his party to accompany him home. alla ad deen had not the least suspicion of the true reason of their meeting him; but when he came within half a league of the city, the detachment surrounded him, when the officer addressed himself to him, and said, "prince, it is with great regret that i declare to you the sultan's order to arrest you, and to carry you before him as a criminal: i beg of you not to take it ill that we acquit ourselves of our duty, and to forgive us." alla ad deen, who felt himself innocent, was much surprised at this declaration, and asked the officer if he knew what crime he was accused of; who replied, he did not. then alla ad deen, finding that his retinue was much interior to this detachment, alighted off his horse, and said to the officers, "execute your orders; i am not conscious that i have committed any offence against the sultan's person or government." a heavy chain was immediately put about his neck, and fastened round his body, so that both his arms were pinioned down; the officer then put himself at the head of the detachment, and one of the troopers taking hold of the end of the chain and proceeding after the officer, led alla ad deen, who was obliged to follow him on foot, into the city. when this detachment entered the suburbs, the people, who saw alla ad deen thus led as a state criminal, never doubted but that his head was to be cut off; and as he was generally beloved, some took sabres and other arms; and those who had none gathered stones, and followed the escort. the last division faced about to disperse them; but their numbers presently increased so much, that the soldiery began to think it would be well if they could get into the sultan's palace before alla ad deen was rescued; to prevent which, according to the different extent of the streets, they took care to cover the ground by extending or closing. in this manner they with much difficulty arrived at the palace square, and there drew up in a line, till their officer and troopers with alla ad deen had got within the gates, which were immediately shut. alla ad deen was carried before the sultan, who waited for him, attended by the grand vizier, in a balcony; and as soon as he saw him, he ordered the executioner, who waited there for the purpose, to strike off his head without hearing him or giving him leave to clear himself. as soon as the executioner had taken off the chain that was fastened about alla ad deen's neck and body, and laid down a skin stained with the blood of the many he had executed, he made the supposed criminal kneel down, and tied a bandage over his eyes. then drawing his sabre, took his aim by flourishing it three times in the air, waiting for the sultan's giving the signal to strike. at that instant the grand vizier perceiving that the populace had forced the guard of horse, crowded the great square before the palace, and were scaling the walls in several places, and beginning to pull them down to force their way in; he said to the sultan, before he gave the signal, "i beg of your majesty to consider what you are going to do, since you will hazard your palace being destroyed; and who knows what fatal consequence may follow?" "my palace forced!" replied the sultan; "who can have that audacity?" "sir," answered the grand vizier, "if your majesty will but cast your eyes towards the great square, and on the palace walls, you will perceive the truth of what i say." the sultan was so much alarmed when he saw so great a crowd, and how enraged they were, that he ordered the executioner to put his sabre immediately into the scabbard, to unbind alla ad deen, and at the same time commanded the porters to declare to the people that the sultan had pardoned him, and that they might retire. those who had already got upon the walls, and were witnesses of what had passed, abandoned their design and got quickly down, overjoyed that they had saved the life of a man they dearly loved, and published the news amongst the rest, which was presently confirmed by the mace-bearers from the top of the terraces. the justice which the sultan had done to alla ad deen soon disarmed the populace of their rage; the tumult abated, and the mob dispersed. when alla ad deen found himself at liberty, he turned towards the balcony, and perceiving the sultan, raised his voice, and said to him in a moving manner, "i beg of your majesty to add one favour more to that which i have already received, which is, to let me know my crime?" "your crime," answered the sultan; "perfidious wretch! do you not know it? come hither, and i will shew it you." alla ad deen went up, when the sultan, going before him without looking at him, said, "follow me;" and then led him into his closet. when he came to the door, he said, "go in; you ought to know whereabouts your palace stood: look round and tell me what is become of it?" alla ad deen looked, but saw nothing. he perceived the spot upon which his palace had stood; but not being able to divine how it had disappeared, was thrown into such great confusion and amazement, that he could not return one word of answer. the sultan growing impatient, demanded of him again, "where is your palace, and what is become of my daughter?" alla ad deen, breaking silence, replied, "sir, i perceive and own that the palace which i have built is not in its place, but is vanished; neither can i tell your majesty where it may be, but can assure you i had no concern in its removal." "i am not so much concerned about your palace," replied the sultan, "i value my daughter ten thousand times more, and would have you find her out, otherwise i will cause your head to be struck off, and no consideration shall divert me from my purpose." "i beg of your majesty," answered alla ad deen, "to grant me forty days to make my inquiries; and if in that time i have not the success i wish, i will offer my head at the foot of your throne, to be disposed of at your pleasure." "i give you the forty days you ask," said the sultan; "but think not to abuse the favour i shew you, by imagining you shall escape my resentment; for i will find you out in whatsoever part of the world you may conceal yourself." alla ad deen went out of the sultan's presence with great humiliation, and in a condition worthy of pity. he crossed the courts of the palace, hanging down his head, and in such great confusion, that he durst not lift up his eyes. the principal officers of the court, who had all professed themselves his friends, and whom he had never disobliged, instead of going up to him to comfort him, and offer him a retreat in their houses, turned their backs to avoid seeing him. but had they accosted him with a word of comfort or offer of service, they would have no more known alla ad deen. he did not know himself, and was no longer in his senses, as plainly appeared by his asking everybody he met, and at every house, if they had seen his palace, or could tell him any news of it. these questions made the generality believe that alla ad deen was mad. some laughed at him, but people of sense and humanity, particularly those who had had any connection of business or friendship with him, really pitied him. for three days he rambled about the city in this manner, without coming to any resolution, or eating anything but what some compassionate people forced him to take out of charity. at last, as he could no longer in his unhappy condition stay in a city where he had lately been next to the sultan, he took the road to the country; and after he had traversed several fields in wild uncertainty, at the approach of night came to the bank of a river. there, possessed by his despair, he said to himself, "where shall i seek my palace? in what province, country, or part of the world, shall i find that and my dear princess, whom the sultan expects from me? i shall never succeed; i had better free myself at once from fruitless endeavours, and such bitter grief as preys upon me." he was just going to throw himself into the river, but, as a good moosulmaun, true to his religion, he thought he should not do it without first saying his prayers. going to prepare himself, he went to the river's brink, in order to perform the usual ablutions. the place being steep and slippery, from the water beating against it, he slid down, and had certainly fallen into the river, but for a little rock which projected about two feet out of the earth. happily also for him he still had on the ring which the african magician had put on his finger before he went down into the subterraneous abode to fetch the precious lamp. in slipping down the bank he rubbed the ring so hard by holding on the rock, that immediately the same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had left him. "what wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on their finger; both i and the other slaves of the ring." alla ad deen, agreeably surprised at an apparition he so little expected in his present calamity, replied, "save my life, genie, a second time, either by shewing me to the place where the palace i caused to be built now stands, or immediately transporting it back where it first stood." "what you command me," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; i am only the slave of the ring; you must address yourself to the slave of the lamp." "if that be the case," replied alla ad deen, "i command thee, by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the world soever it may be, and set me down under the window of the princess buddir al buddoor." these words were no sooner out of his mouth, than the genie transported him into africa, to the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, at no great distance from a city, and placing him exactly under the window of the princess's apartment, left him. all this was done almost in an instant. alla ad deen, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, knew his palace and the princess buddir al buddoor's apartment again; but as the night was far advanced, and all was quiet in the palace, he retired to some distance, and sat down at the foot of a large tree. there, full of hopes, and reflecting on his happiness, for which he was indebted to chance, he found himself in a much more comfortable situation than when he was arrested and carried before the sultan; being now delivered from the immediate danger of losing his life. he amused himself for some time with these agreeable thoughts; but not having slept for two days, was not able to resist the drowsiness which came upon him, but fell fast asleep. the next morning, as soon as day appeared, alla ad deen was agreeably awakened by the singing not only of the birds which had roosted in the tree under which he had passed the night, but also of those which frequented the thick groves of the palace garden. when he cast his eyes on that wonderful edifice, he felt inexpressible joy at thinking he might possibly soon be master of it again, and once more possess his dear princess buddir al buddoor. pleased with these hopes, he immediately arose, went towards the princess's apartment, and walked some time under her window in expectation of her rising, that he might see her. during this expectation, he began to consider with himself whence the cause of his misfortune had proceeded; and after mature reflection, no longer doubted that it was owing to having trusted the lamp out of his sight. he accused himself of negligence in letting it be a moment away from him. but what puzzled him most was, that he could not imagine who had been so envious of his happiness. he would soon have guessed this, if he had known that both he and his palace were in africa, the very name of which would soon have made him remember the magician his declared enemy; but the genie, the slave of the ring, had not made the least mention of the name of the country, nor had alla ad deen inquired. the princess rose earlier that morning than she had done since her transportation into africa by the magician, whose presence she was forced to support once a day, because he was master of the palace; but she had always treated him so harshly that he dared not reside in it. as she was dressing, one of the women looking through the window, perceived alla ad deen, and instantly told her mistress. the princess, who could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, and seeing alla ad deen, immediately opened it. the noise of opening the window made alla ad deen turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. "to lose no time," said she to him, "i have sent to have the private door opened for you; enter, and come up." the private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was soon opened, and alla ad deen conducted up into the chamber. it is impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so cruel a separation. after embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat down, and alla ad deen said, "i beg of you, princess, in god's name, before we talk of anything else, to tell me, both for your own sake, the sultan your father's, and mine, what is become of an old lamp which i left upon a shelf in my robing-chamber, when i departed for the chase." "alas! dear husband," answered the princess, "i was afraid our misfortune might be owing to that lamp: and what grieves me most is, that i have been the cause of it." "princess," replied alla ad deen, "do not blame yourself, since it was entirely my fault, for i ought to have taken more care of it. but let us now think only of repairing the loss; tell me what has happened, and into whose hands it has fallen." the princess then related how she had changed the old lamp for a new one, which she ordered to be fetched, that he might see it, and how the next morning she found herself in the unknown country they were then in, which she was told was africa, by the traitor, who had transported her thither by his magic art. "princess," said alla ad deen, interrupting her, "you have informed me who the traitor is, by telling me we are in africa. he is the most perfidious of men; but this is neither a time nor place to give you a full account of his villainies. i desire you only to tell me what he has done with the lamp, and where he has put it?" "he carries it carefully wrapped up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this i can assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and shewed it to me in triumph." "princess," said alla ad deen, "do not be displeased that i trouble you with so many questions, since they are equally important to us both. but to come to what most particularly concerns me; tell me, i conjure you, how so wicked and perfidious a man treats you?" "since i have been here," replied the princess, "he repairs once every day to see me; and i am persuaded the little satisfaction he receives from his visits makes him come no oftener. all his addresses tend to persuade me to break that faith i have pledged to you, and to take him for my husband; giving me to understand, i need not entertain hopes of ever seeing you again, for that you were dead, having had your head struck off by the sultan my father's order. he added, to justify himself, that you were an ungrateful wretch; that your good fortune was owing to him, and a great many other things of that nature which i forbear to repeat: but as he received no other answer from me but grievous complaints and tears, he was always forced to retire with as little satisfaction as he came. i doubt not his intention is to allow me time to overcome my grief, in hopes that afterwards i may change my sentiments; and if i persevere in an obstinate refusal, to use violence. but my dear husband's presence removes all my apprehensions." "i am confident my attempts to punish the magician will not be in vain," replied alla ad deen, "since my princess's fears are removed, and i think i have found the means to deliver you from both your enemy and mine; to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the town. i shall return by noon, will then communicate my design, and what must be done by you to ensure success. but that you may not be surprised, i think it proper to acquaint you, that i shall change my apparel, and beg of you to give orders that i may not wait long at the private door, but that it may be opened at the first knock;" all which the princess promised to observe. when alla ad deen was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him; and when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him to change habits, which the man agreed to. when they had made the exchange, the countryman went about his business, and alla ad deen to the city. after traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where all descriptions of merchants and artisans had their particular streets, according to their trades. he went into that of the druggists; and going into one of the largest and best furnished shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder which he named. the druggist, judging alla ad deen by his habit to be very poor, and that he had not money enough to pay for it, told him he had it, but that it was very dear; upon which alla ad deen penetrated his thoughts, pulled out his purse, and shewing him some gold, asked for half a dram of the powder; which the druggist weighed, wrapped up in paper, and gave him, telling him the price was a piece of gold. alla ad deen put the money into his hand, and staying no longer in the town than just to get a little refreshment, returned to the palace, where he waited not long at the private door. when he came into the princess's apartment, he said to her, "princess, perhaps the aversion you tell me you have for your ravisher may be an objection to your executing what i am going to propose; but permit me to say it is proper that you should at this juncture dissemble a little, and do violence to your inclinations, if you would deliver yourself from him, and give my lord the sultan your father the satisfaction of seeing you again." "if you will take my advice," continued he, "dress yourself this moment in one of your richest habits, and when the african magician comes, make no difficulty to give him the best reception; receive him with a cheerful countenance, so that he may imagine time has removed your affliction and disgust at his addresses. in your conversation, let him understand that you strive to forget me; and that he may be the more fully convinced of your sincerity, invite him to sup with you, and tell him you should be glad to taste of some of the best wines of his country. he will presently go to fetch you some. during his absence, put into one of the cups you are accustomed to drink out of this powder, and setting it by, charge the slave you may order that night to attend you, on a signal you shall agree upon, to bring that cup to you. when the magician and you have eaten and drunk as much as you choose, let her bring you the cup, and then change cups with him. he will esteem it so great a favour that he will not refuse, but eagerly quaff it off; but no sooner will he have drunk, than you will see him fall backwards. if you have any reluctance to drink out of his cup, you may pretend only to do it, without fear of being discovered; for the effect of the powder is so quick, that he will not have time to know whether you drink or not." when alla ad deen had finished, "i own," answered the princess, "i shall do myself great violence in consenting to make the magician such advances as i see are absolutely necessary; but what cannot one resolve to do against a cruel enemy? i will therefore follow your advice, since both my repose and yours depend upon it." after the princess had agreed to the measures proposed by alla ad deen, he took his leave, and went and spent the rest of the day in the neighbourhood of the palace till it was night, and he might safely return to the private door. the princess, who had remained inconsolable at being separated not only from her husband, whom she had loved from the first moment, and still continued to love more out of inclination than duty, but also from the sultan her father, who had always showed the most tender and paternal affection for her, had, ever since their cruel separation, lived in great neglect of her person. she had almost forgotten the neatness so becoming persons of her sex and quality, particularly after the first time the magician paid her a visit; and she had understood by some of the women, who knew him again, that it was he who had taken the old lamp in exchange for a new one, which rendered the sight of him more abhorred. however, the opportunity of taking the revenge he deserved made her resolve to gratify alla ad deen. as soon, therefore, as he was gone, she sat down to dress, and was attired by her women to the best advantage in the richest habit of her wardrobe. her girdle was of the finest and largest diamonds set in gold, her necklace of pearls, six on a side, so well proportioned to that in the middle, which was the largest ever seen, and invaluable, that the greatest sultanesses would have been proud to have been adorned with only two of the smallest. her bracelets, which were of diamonds and rubies intermixed, corresponded admirably to the richness of the girdle and necklace. when the princess buddir al buddoor was completely dressed, she consulted her glass and women upon her adjustment; and when she found she wanted no charms to flatter the foolish passion of the african magician, she sat down on a sofa expecting his arrival. the magician came at the usual hour, and as soon as he entered the great hall where the princess waited to receive him, she rose with an enchanting grace and smile, and pointed with her hand to the most honourable place, waiting till he sat down, that she might sit at the same time which was a civility she had never shown him before. the african magician, dazzled more with the lustre of the princess's eyes than the glittering of the jewels with which she was adorned, was much surprised. the smiling and graceful air with which she received him, so opposite to her former behaviour, quite fascinated his heart. when he was seated, the princess, to free him from his embarrassment, broke silence first, locking at him all the time in such a manner as to make him believe that he was not so odious to her as she had given him to understand hitherto and said, "you are doubtless amazed to find me so much altered to-day; but your surprise will not be so great when i acquaint you, that i am naturally of a disposition so opposite to melancholy and grief, sorrow and uneasiness, that i always strive to put them as far away as possible when i find the subject of them is past. i have reflected on what you told me of alla ad deen's fate, and know my father's temper so well, that i am persuaded with you he could not escape the terrible effects of the sultan's rage; therefore, should i continue to lament him all my life, my tears cannot recall him. for this reason, since i have paid all the duties decency requires of me to his memory, now he is in the grave i think i ought to endeavour to comfort myself. these are the motives of the change you see in me; i am resolved to banish melancholy entirely; and, persuaded that you will bear me company tonight, i have ordered a supper to be prepared; but as i have no wines but those of china, i have a great desire to taste of the produce of africa, and doubt not your procuring some of the best." the african magician, who had looked upon the happiness of getting so soon and so easily into the princess buddir al buddoor's good graces as impossible, could not think of words expressive enough to testify how sensible he was of her favours: but to put an end the sooner to a conversation which would have embarrassed him, if he had engaged farther in it, he turned it upon the wines of africa, and said, "of all the advantages africa can boast, that of producing the most excellent wines is one of the principal. i have a vessel of seven years old, which has never been broached; and it is indeed not praising it too much to say it is the finest wine in the world. if my princess," added he, "will give me leave, i will go and fetch two bottles, and return again immediately." "i should be sorry to give you that trouble," replied the princess; "you had better send for them." "it is necessary i should go myself," answered the african magician; "for nobody but myself knows where the key of the cellar is laid, or has the secret to unlock the door." "if it be so," said the princess, "make haste back; for the longer you stay, the greater will be my impatience, and we shall sit down to supper as soon as you return." the african magician, full of hopes of his expected happiness, rather flew than ran, and returned quickly with the wine. the princess, not doubting but he would make haste, put with her own hand the powder alla ad deen had given her into the cup set apart for that purpose. they sat down at the table opposite to each other, the magician's back towards the sideboard. the princess presented him with the best at the table, and said to him, "if you please, i will entertain you with a concert of vocal and instrumental music; but, as we are only two, i think conversation maybe more agreeable." this the magician took as a new favour. after they had eaten some time, the princess called for some wine, drank the magician's health, and afterwards said to him, "indeed you had a full right to commend your wine, since i never tasted any so delicious." "charming princess," said he, holding in his hand the cup which had been presented to him, "my wine becomes more exquisite by your approbation." "then drink my health," replied the princess; "you will find i understand wines." he drank the princess's health, and returning the cup, said, "i think myself fortunate, princess, that i reserved this wine for so happy an occasion; and own i never before drank any in every respect so excellent." when they had each drunk two or three cups more, the princess, who had completely charmed the african magician by her civility and obliging behaviour, gave the signal to the slave who served them with wine, bidding her bring the cup which had been filled for her, and at the same time bring the magician a full goblet. when they both had their cups in their hands, she said to him, "i know not how you express your loves in these parts when drinking together? with us in china the lover and his mistress reciprocally exchange cups, and drink each other's health." at the same time she presented to him the cup which was in her hand, and held out her hand to receive his. he hastened to make the exchange with the more pleasure, because he looked upon this favour as the most certain token of an entire conquest over the princess, which raised his rapture to the highest pitch. before he drank, he said to her, with the cup in his hand, "indeed, princess, we africans are not so refined in the art of love as you chinese: and your instructing me in a lesson i was ignorant of, informs me how sensible i ought to be of the favour done me. i shall never, lovely princess, forget my recovering, by drinking out of your cup, that life, which your cruelty, had it continued, must have made me despair of." the princess, who began to be tired with this impertinent declaration of the african magician, interrupted him, and said, "let us drink first, and then say what you will afterwards;" at the same time she set the cup to her lips, while the african magician, who was eager to get his wine off first, drank up the very last drop. in finishing it, he had reclined his head back to shew his eagerness, and remained some time in that state. the princess kept the cup at her lips, till she saw his eyes turn in his head, when he fell backwards lifeless on the sofa. the princess had no occasion to order the private door to be opened to alla ad deen; for her women were so disposed from the great hall to the foot of the staircase, that the word was no sooner given that the african magician was fallen backwards, than the door was immediately opened. as soon as alla ad deen entered the hall, he saw the magician stretched backwards on the sofa. the princess rose from her seat, and ran overjoyed to embrace him; but he stopped her, and said, "princess, it is not yet time; oblige me by retiring to your apartment; and let me be left alone a moment, while i endeavour to transport you back to china as speedily as you were brought from thence." when the princess, her women and eunuchs, were gone out of the hall, alla ad deen shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of the magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp, which was carefully wrapped up, as the princess had told him, and unfolding and rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "i have called to command thee, on the part of thy good mistress this lamp, to transport this palace instantly into china, to the place from whence it was brought hither." the genie bowed his head in token of obedience, and disappeared. immediately the palace was transported into china, and its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short interval of time. alla ad deen went to the princess's apartment, and embracing her, said, "i can assure you, princess, that your joy and mine will be complete tomorrow morning." the princess, guessing that alla ad deen must be hungry, ordered the dishes, served up in the great hall, to be brought down. the princess and alla ad deen ate as much as they thought fit, and drank of the african magician's old wine; during which time their conversation could not be otherwise than satisfactory, and then they retired to their own chamber. from the time of the transportation of alla ad deen's palace, the princess's father had been inconsolable for the loss of her. he could take no rest, and instead of avoiding what might continue his affliction, he indulged it without restraint. before the disaster he used to go every morning into his closet to please himself with viewing the palace, he went now many times in the day to renew his tears, and plunge himself into the deepest melancholy, by the idea of no more seeing that which once gave him so much pleasure, and reflecting how he had lost what was most dear to him in this world. the very morning of the return of alla ad deen's palace, the sultan went, by break of day, into his closet to indulge his sorrows. absorbed in himself, and in a pensive mood, he cast his eyes towards the spot, expecting only to see an open space; but perceiving the vacancy filled up, he at first imagined the appearance to be the effect of a fog; looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt it was his son-in-law's palace. joy and gladness succeeded to sorrow and grief. he returned immediately into his apartment, and ordered a horse to be saddled and brought to him without delay, which he mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the palace. alla ad deen, who foresaw what would happen, rose that morning by day-break, put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and went up into the hall of twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived the sultan approaching, and got down soon enough to receive him at the foot of the great staircase, and to help him to dismount. "alla ad deen," said the sultan, "i cannot speak to you till i have seen and embraced my daughter." he led the sultan into the princess's apartment. the happy father embraced her with his face bathed in tears of joy; and the princess, on her side, shewed him all the testimonies of the extreme pleasure the sight of him afforded her. the sultan was some time before he could open his lips, so great was his surprise and joy to find his daughter again, after he had given her up for lost; and the princess, upon seeing her father, let fall tears of rapture and affection. at last the sultan broke silence, and said, "i would believe, daughter, your joy to see me makes you seem as little changed as if no misfortune had befallen you; yet i cannot be persuaded but that you have suffered much alarm; for a large palace cannot be so suddenly transported as yours has been, without causing great fright and apprehension i would have you tell me all that has happened, and conceal nothing from me." the princess, who took great pleasure in giving the sultan the satisfaction he demanded, said, "if i appear so little altered, i beg of your majesty to consider that i received new life yesterday morning by the presence of my dear husband and deliverer alla ad deen, whom i looked upon and bewailed as lost to me; and the happiness of seeing and embracing of whom has almost recovered me to my former state of health. my greatest suffering was only to find myself forced from your majesty and my dear husband; not only from the love i bore my husband, but from the uneasiness i laboured under through fear that he, though innocent, might feel the effects of your anger, to which i knew he was left exposed. i suffered but little from the insolence of the wretch who had carried me off; for having secured the ascendant over him, i always put a stop to his disagreeable overtures, and was as little constrained as i am at present. "as to what relates to my transportation, alla ad deen had no concern in it; i was myself the innocent cause of it." to persuade the sultan of the truth of what she said, she gave him a full account of how the african magician had disguised himself, and offered to change new lamps for old ones; how she had amused herself in making that exchange, being entirely ignorant of the secret and importance of the wonderful lamp; how the palace and herself were carried away and transported into africa, with the african magician, who was recognised by two of her women and the eunuch who made the exchange of the lamp, when he had the audacity, after the success of his daring enterprise, to propose himself for her husband; how he persecuted her till alla ad deen's arrival; how they had concerted measures to get the lamp from him again, and the success they had fortunately met with by her dissimulation in inviting him to supper, and giving him the cup with the powder prepared for him. "for the rest," added she, "i leave it to alla ad deen to recount." alla ad deen had not much to tell the sultan, but only said, "when the private door was opened i went up into the great hall, where i found the magician lying dead on the sofa, and as i thought it not proper for the princess to stay there any longer, i desired her to go down into her own apartment, with her women and eunuchs. as soon as i was alone, and had taken the lamp out of the magician's breast, i made use of the same secret he had done, to remove the palace, and carry off the princess; and by that means the palace was re-conveyed to the place where it stood before; and i have the happiness to restore the princess to your majesty, as you commanded me. but that your majesty may not think that i impose upon you, if you will give yourself the trouble to go up into the hall, you may see the magician punished as he deserved." the sultan, to be assured of the truth, rose instantly, and went into the hall, where, when he saw the african magician dead, and his face already livid by the strength of the poison, he embraced alla ad deen with great tenderness, and said, "my son, be not displeased at my proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love; and therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me." "sir," replied alla ad deen, "i have not the least reason to complain of your majesty's conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty required. this infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause of my misfortune. when your majesty has leisure, i will give you an account of another villanous action he was guilty of towards me, which was no less black and base than this, from which i was preserved by the providence of god in a very miraculous way." "i will take an opportunity, and that very shortly," replied the sultan, "to hear it; but in the mean time let us think only of rejoicing, and the removal of this odious object." alla ad deen ordered the magician's corpse to be removed and thrown upon a dunghill, for birds and beasts to prey upon. in the mean time, the sultan commanded the drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of music to announce his joy to the public, and a festival of ten days to be proclaimed for the return of the princess and alla ad deen. thus alla ad deen escaped once more the almost inevitable danger of losing his life; but this was not the last, since he ran as great a hazard a third time. the african magician had a younger brother, who was equally skilful as a necromancer, and even surpassed him in villany and pernicious designs. as they did not live together, or in the same city, but oftentimes when one was in the east, the other was in the west, they failed not every year to inform themselves, by their art, each where the other resided, and whether they stood in need of one another's assistance. some time after the african magician had failed in his enterprise against alla ad deen, his younger brother, who had heard no tidings of him, and was not in africa, but in a distant country, had the wish to know in what part of the world he sojourned, the state of his health, and what he was doing; and as he, as well as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him, he prepared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. on examining the planetary mansions, he found that his brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he was in the capital of the kingdom of china; also that the person who had poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess, a sultan's daughter. when the magician had informed himself of his brother's fate, he lost no time in useless regret, which could not restore him to life; but resolving immediately to revenge his death, departed for china; where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long tract of country without delay, he arrived after incredible fatigues. when he came to the capital of china, he took a lodging. the next day he walked through the town, not so much to observe the beauties, which were indifferent to him, as to take proper measures to execute his pernicious designs. he introduced himself into the most frequented places, where he listened to everybody's discourse. in a place where people resort to divert themselves with games of various kinds, and where some were conversing, while others played, he heard some persons talk of the virtue and piety of a woman called fatima, who was retired from the world, and of the miracles she wrought. as he fancied that this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he had conceived, he took one of the company aside, and requested to be informed more particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of miracles she performed. "what!" said the person whom he addressed, "have you never seen or heard of her? she is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her austerities, and her exemplary life. except mondays and fridays, she never stirs out of her little cell; and on those days on which she comes into the town she does an infinite deal of good; for there is not a person that has the headache but is cured by her laying her hand upon them." the magician wanted no further information. he only asked the person in what part of the town this holy woman's cell was situated. after he had informed himself on this head, he determined on the detestable design of murdering her and assuming her character. with this view he watched all her steps the first day she went out after he had made this inquiry, without losing sight of her till evening, when he saw her re-enter her cell. when he had fully observed the place, he went to one of those houses where they sell a certain hot liquor, and where any person may pass the night, particularly in the great heats, when the people of that country prefer lying on a mat to a bed. about midnight, after the magician had satisfied the master of the house for what little he had called for, he went out, and proceeded directly to the cell of fatima. he had no difficulty to open the door, which was only fastened with a latch, and he shut it again after he had entered, without any noise. when he entered the cell, he perceived fatima by moonlight lying in the air on a sofa covered only by an old mat, with her head leaning against the wall. he awakened her, and clapped a dagger to her breast. the pious fatima opening her eyes, was much surprised to see a man with a dagger at her breast ready to stab her, and who said to her, "if you cry out, or make the least noise, i will kill you; but get up, and do as i shall direct you." fatima, who had lain down in her habit, got up, trembling with fear. "do not be so much frightened," said the magician; "i only want your habit, give it me and take mine." accordingly fatima and he changed clothes. he then said to her, "colour my face, that i may be like you;" but perceiving that the poor creature could not help trembling, to encourage her he said, "i tell you again you need not fear anything: i swear by the name of god i will not take away your life." fatima lighted her lamp, led him into the cell, and dipping a soft brush in a certain liquor, rubbed it over his face, assured him the colour would not change, and that his face was of the same hue as her own: after which, she put her own head-dress on his head, also a veil, with which she shewed him how to hide his face as he passed through the town. after this, she put a long string of beads about his neck, which hung down to the middle of his body, and giving him the stick she used to walk with in his hand, brought him a looking-glass, and bade him look if he was not as like her as possible. the magician found himself disguised as he wished to be; but he did not keep the oath he so solemnly swore to the good fatima; but instead of stabbing her, for fear the blood might discover him, he strangled her; and when he found she was dead, threw her body into a cistern just by the cell. the magician, thus disguised like the holy woman fatima, spent the remainder of the night in the cell. the next morning, two hours after sunrise, though it was not a day the holy woman used to go out on, he crept out of the cell, being well persuaded that nobody would ask him any questions; or, if they should, he had an answer ready for them. as one of the first things he did after his arrival was to find out alla ad deen's palace, where he was to complete his designs, he went directly thither. as soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him to be, they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. some begged his blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, only the hem of his garment; while others, whether their heads ached, or they wished to be preserved against that disorder, stooped for him to lay his hands upon them; which he did, muttering some words in form of prayer; and, in short, counterfeited so well, that everybody took him for the holy woman. after frequently stopping to satisfy people of this description, who received neither good nor harm from this imposition of hands, he came at last to the square before alla ad deen's palace. the crowd was so great that the eagerness to get at him increased in proportion. those who were the most zealous and strong forced their way through the crowd. there were such quarrels, and so great a noise, that the princess, who was in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, heard it, and asked what was the matter; but nobody being able to give her an answer, she ordered them to inquire and inform her. one of her women looked out of a window, and then told her it was a great crowd of people collected about the holy woman to be cured of the headache by the imposition of her hands. the princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had never seen her, was very desirous to have some conversation with her, which the chief of the eunuchs perceiving, told her it was an easy matter to bring her to her, if she desired and commanded it; and the princess expressing her wishes, he immediately sent four eunuchs for the pretended holy woman. as soon as the crowd saw the eunuchs, they made way, and the magician perceiving also that they were coming for him, advanced to meet them, overjoyed to find his plot proceeded so well. "holy woman," said one of the eunuchs, "the princess wants to see you, and has sent us for you." "the princess does me too great an honour," replied the false fatima; "i am ready to obey her command," and at the same time followed the eunuchs to the palace. when the magician, who under a holy garment disguised a wicked heart, was introduced into the great hall, and perceived the princess, he began a prayer, which contained a long enumeration of vows and good wishes for the princess's health and prosperity, and that she might have every thing she desired. he then displayed all his hypocritical rhetoric, to insinuate himself into the princess's favour under the cloak of piety, which it was no hard matter for him to do; for as the princess herself was naturally good, she was easily persuaded that all the world were like her, especially those who made profession of serving god in solitude. when the pretended fatima had finished his long harangue, the princess said to him, "i thank you, good mother, for your prayers: i have great confidence in them, and hope god will hear them. come, and sit by me." the false fatima sat down with affected modesty: the princess then resuming her discourse, said, "my good mother, i have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; it is to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of living; and that i may learn from your good example how to serve god." "princess," said the counterfeit fatima, "i beg of you not to ask what i cannot consent to, without neglecting my prayers and devotion." "that shall be no hinderance to you," answered the princess; "i have a great many apartments unoccupied; you shall choose which you like best, and have as much liberty to perform your devotions as if you were in your own cell." the magician, who desired nothing more than to introduce himself into the palace, where it would be a much easier matter for him to execute his designs, under the favour and protection of the princess, than if he had been forced to come and go from the cell to the palace, did not urge much to excuse himself from accepting the obliging offer which the princess made him. "princess," said he, "whatever resolution a poor wretched woman as i am may have made me renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, i dare not presume to oppose the will and commands of so pious and charitable a princess." upon this the princess, rising up, said, "come with me, i will shew you what vacant apartments i have, that you may make choice of that you like best." the magician followed the princess, and of all the apartments she shewed him, made choice of that which was the worst furnished, saying it was too good for him, and that he only accepted of it to please her. afterwards the princess would have brought him back again into the great hall to make him dine with her; but he considering that he should then be obliged to shew his face, which he had always taken care to conceal; and fearing that the princess should find out that he was not fatima, he begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desiring to eat that slight repast in his own apartment. the princess granted his request, saying, "you may be as free here, good mother, as if you were in your own cell: i will order you a dinner, but remember i expect you as soon as you have finished your repast." after the princess had dined, and the false fatima had been informed by one of the eunuchs that she was risen from table, he failed not to wait upon her. "my good mother," said the princess, "i am overjoyed to have the company of so holy a woman as yourself, who will confer a blessing upon this palace. but now i am speaking of the palace, pray how do you like it? and before i shew it all to you, tell me first what you think of this hall." upon this question, the counterfeit fatima, who, to act his part the better, affected to hang down his head, without so much as ever once lifting it, at last looked up, and surveyed the hall from one end to the other. when he had examined it well, he said to the princess, "as far as such a solitary being as i am, who am unacquainted with what the world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly admirable and most beautiful; there wants but one thing." "what is that, good mother?" demanded the princess; "tell me, i conjure you. for my part, i always believed, and have heard say, it wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be supplied." "princess," said the false fatima, with great dissimulation, "forgive me the liberty i have taken; but my opinion is, if it can be of any importance, that if a roe's egg were hung up in the middle of the dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and your palace would be the wonder of the unit verse." "my good mother," said the princess, "what bird is a roe, and where may one get an egg?" "princess," replied the pretended fatima, "it is a bird of prodigious size, which inhabits the summit of mount caucasus; the architect who built your palace can get you one." after the princess had thanked the false fatima for what she believed her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; but could not forget the roe's egg, which she resolved to request of alla ad deen when he returned from hunting. he had been gone six days, which the magician knew, and therefore took advantage of his absence; but he returned that evening after the false fatima had taken leave of the princess, and retired to his apartment. as soon as he arrived, he went directly to the princess's apartment, saluted and embraced her, but she seemed to receive him coldly. "my princess," said he, "i think you are not so cheerful as you used to be; has any thing happened during my absence, which has displeased you, or given you any trouble or dissatisfaction in the name of god, do not conceal it from me; i will leave nothing undone that is in my power to please you." "it is a trifling matter," replied the princess, "which gives me so little concern that i could not have thought you could have perceived it in my countenance; but since you have unexpectedly discovered some alteration, i will no longer disguise a matter of so little consequence from you." "i always believed," continued the princess, "that our palace was the most superb, magnificent, and complete in the world: but i will tell you now what i find fault with, upon examining the hall of four-and-twenty windows. do not you think with me, that it would be complete if a roe's egg were hung up in the midst of the dome?" "princess," replied alla ad deen, "it is enough that you think there wants such an ornament; you shall see by the diligence used to supply that deficiency, that there is nothing which i would not do for your sake." alla ad deen left the princess buddir al buddoor that moment, and went up into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where pulling out of his bosom the lamp, which, after the danger he had been exposed to, he always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said alla ad deen, "there wants a roe's egg to be hung up in the midst of the dome; i command thee, in the name of this lamp, to repair the deficiency." alla ad deen had no sooner pronounced these words, than the genie gave so loud and terrible a cry, that the hall shook, and alla ad deen could scarcely stand upright. "what! wretch," said the genie, in a voice that would have made the most undaunted man tremble, "is it not enough that i and my companions have done every thing for you, but you, by an unheard-of ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and hang him up in the midst of this dome? this attempt deserves that you, your wife, and your palace, should be immediately reduced to ashes: but you are happy that this request does not come from yourself. know then, that the true author is the brother of the african magician, your enemy, whom you have destroyed as he deserved. he is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman fatima, whom he has murdered; and it is he who has suggested to your wife to make this pernicious demand. his design is to kill you, therefore take care of yourself." after these words, the genie disappeared. alla ad deen lost not a word of what the genie had said. he had heard talk of the holy woman fatima, and how she pretended to cure the headache. he returned to the princess's apartment, and without mentioning a word of what had happened, sat down, and complained of a great pain which had suddenly seized his head; upon which the princess ordered the holy woman to be called, and then told him how she had invited her to the palace, and that she had appointed her an apartment. when the pretended fatima came, alla ad deen said, "come hither, good mother; i am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time; i am tormented with a violent pain in my head, and request your assistance, by the confidence i have in your good prayers, and hope you will not refuse me that favour which you do to so many persons afflicted with this complaint." so saying, he arose, but held down his head. the counterfeit fatima advanced towards him, with his hand all the time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his gown; which alla ad deen observing, he seized his hand before he had drawn it, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the floor. "my dear husband, what have you done?" cried the princess in surprise. "you have killed the holy woman." "no, my princess," answered alla ad deen, with emotion, "i have not killed fatima, but a villain, who would have assassinated me, if i had not prevented him. this wicked wretch," added he, uncovering his face, "has strangled fatima, whom you accuse me of killing, and disguised himself in her clothes with intent to murder me: but that you may know him better, he is brother to the african magician." alla ad deen then informed her how he came to know these particulars, and afterwards ordered the dead body to be taken away. thus was alla ad deen delivered from the persecution of two brothers, who were magicians. within a few years afterwards, the sultan died in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess buddir al buddoor, as lawful heir of the throne, succeeded him, and communicating the power to alla ad deen, they reigned together many years, and left a numerous and illustrious posterity. adventure of the caliph haroon al rusheed. the caliph haroon al rusheed was one day suffering from depression of spirits, when his faithful and favourite grand vizier jaaffier came to him. this minister finding him alone, which was seldom the case, and perceiving as he approached that he was in a very melancholy humour, and never lifted up his eyes, stopped till he should vouchsafe to look at him. at last the caliph turned his eyes towards him, but presently withdrew them again, and remained in the same posture motionless as before. the grand vizier, observing nothing in the caliph's eyes which regarded him personally, took the liberty to speak to him, and said, "commander of the faithful, will your majesty give me leave to ask whence proceeds this melancholy, of which you always seemed to me so little susceptible?" "indeed, vizier," answered the caliph, brightening up his countenance, "i am very little subject to it, and had not perceived it but for you, but i will remain no longer in this hippish mood. if no new affair brought you hither, you will gratify me by inventing something to dispel it." "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "my duty obliged me to wait on you, and i take the liberty to remind your majesty, that this is the day which you have appointed to inform yourself of the good government of your capital and its environs; and this occasion very opportunely presents itself to dispel those clouds which obscure your natural gaiety." "you do well to remind me," replied the caliph, "for i had entirely forgotten it; go and change your dress, while i do the same." they each put on the habit of a foreign merchant, and under that disguise went out by a private door of the palace-garden, which led into the country. after they had gone round part of the city to the banks of the euphrates, at some distance from the walls, without having observed anything disorderly, they crossed the river in the first boat they met, and making a tour on the other side, crossed the bridge, which formed the communication betwixt the two parts of the town. at the foot of this bridge they met an old blind man, who asked alms of them; the caliph turned about, and put a piece of gold into his hand. the blind man instantly caught hold of his hand, and stopped him; "charitable person," said he, "whoever you are, whom god hath inspired to bestow alms on me, do not refuse the favour i ask of you, to give me a box on the ear, for i deserve that, and a greater punishment." having thus spoken, he let the caliph's hand go, that he might strike, but for fear he should pass on without doing it, held him fast by his clothes. the caliph, surprised both at the words and action of the blind man, said, "i cannot comply with your request. i will not lessen the merit of my charity, by treating you as you would have me." after these words, he endeavoured to get away from the blind man. the blind man, who expected this reluctance of his benefactor, exerted himself to detain him. "sir," said he, "forgive my boldness and importunity; i desire you would either give me a box on the ear, or take your alms back again, for i cannot receive it but on that condition, without breaking a solemn oath, which i have sworn to god; and if you knew the reason, you would agree with me that the punishment is very slight." the caliph, unwilling to be detained any longer, yielded to the importunity of the blind man, and gave him a very slight blow: whereupon he immediately let him go, thanked and blessed him. when the caliph and vizier had got so me small distance from the blind man, the caliph said to jaaffier, "this blind man must certainly have some very uncommon reasons, which make him behave himself in this manner to all who give him alms. i should be glad to know them; therefore return, tell him who i am, and bid him not fail to come to my palace about prayer-time in the afternoon of to-morrow, that i may have some conversation with him." the grand vizier returned, bestowed his alms on the blind man, and after he had given him a box on the ear, told him the caliph's order, and then returned to the caliph. when they came into the town, they found in a square a great crowd of spectators, looking at a handsome well-shaped young man, who was mounted on a mare, which he drove and urged full speed round the place, spurring and whipping the poor creature so barbarously, that she was all over sweat and blood. the caliph, amazed at the inhumanity of the rider, stopped to ask the people if they knew why he used the mare so ill; but could learn nothing, except that for some time past he had every day, at the same hour, treated her in the same manner. at they went along, the caliph bade the grand vizier take particular notice of the place, and not fail to order the young man to attend the next day at the hour appointed to the blind man. but before the caliph got to his palace, he observed in a street, which he had not passed through a long time before, an edifice newly built, which seemed to him to be the palace of some one of the great lords of the court. he asked the grand vizier if he knew to whom it belonged; who answered he did not, but would inquire; and thereupon asked a neighbour, who told him that the house was that of one khaujeh hassan, surnamed al hubbaul, on account of his original trade of rope-making, which he had seen him work at himself, when poor; that without knowing how fortune had favoured him, he supposed he must have acquired great wealth, as he defrayed honourably and splendidly the expenses he had been at in building. the grand vizier rejoined the caliph, and gave him a full account of what he had heard. "i must see this fortunate rope-maker," said the caliph, "therefore go and tell him to come to my palace at the same hour you have ordered the other two." accordingly the vizier obeyed. the next day, after afternoon prayers, the caliph retired to his own apartment, when the grand vizier introduced the three persons we have been speaking of, and presented them to the caliph. they all three prostrated themselves before the throne, and when they rose up, the caliph asked the blind man his name, who answered, it was baba abdoollah. "baba abdoollah," replied the caliph, "your manner of asking alms seemed so strange to me yesterday, that if it had not been for some private considerations i should not have complied with your request, but should have prevented you from giving any more offence to the public. i ordered you to come hither, to know from yourself what could have induced you to make the indiscreet oath you told me of, that i may judge whether you have done well, and if i ought to suffer you to continue a practice that appears to me to set so ill an example. tell me freely how so extravagant a thought came into your head, and do not disguise any thing from me, for i will absolutely know the truth." baba abdoollah, intimidated by this reprimand, cast himself a second time at the foot of the caliph's throne, with his face to the ground, and when he rose up, said, "commander of the faithful, i most humbly ask your majesty's pardon for my presumption, in daring to have required, and almost forced you to do a thing which indeed appears so contrary to reason. i acknowledge my offence, but as i did not then know your majesty, i implore your clemency, and hope you will consider my ignorance. "as to the extravagance of my action, i own it, and own also that it must seem strange to mankind; but in the eye of god it is a slight penance i have enjoined myself for an enormous crime of which i have been guilty, and for which, if all the people in the world were each to give me a box on the ear, it would not be a sufficient atonement. your majesty will judge of this yourself, when, in telling my story, in obedience to your commands i shall inform you what that heinous crime was." the story of baba abdoollah. commander of the faithful, i was born at bagdad, had a moderate fortune left me by my father and mother, who died within a few days of each other. though i was then but young, i did not squander away my fortune as most young men do, in idle expenses and debauchery; on the contrary, i neglected no opportunity to increase it by my industry. at last i became rich enough to purchase fourscore camels, which i let out to merchants for caravans, who paid me well for every journey i went with them throughout the extent of your majesty's dominions. in the midst of this prosperity, and with an ardent desire of growing much richer, as i was returning one day with my camels unloaded from bussorah, whither i had carried some bales that were to be embarked for the indies, i met with good pasturage, at some distance from any habitation; made a halt, and let my beasts graze for some time. while i was seated, a dervish, who was walking to bussorah, came and sat down by me to rest himself: i asked him whence he came, and where he was going; he put the same questions to me: and when we had satisfied each other's curiosity, we produced our provisions and ate together. during our repast, after we had talked on many indifferent subjects, the dervish told me that he knew of a spot a small distance from thence, where there were such immense riches, that if all my fourscore camels were loaded with the gold and jewels that might be taken from it, they would not be missed. this intelligence surprised and charmed me; and i was so overjoyed, that i could scarcely contain myself. i could not believe that the dervish was capable of telling me a falsehood; therefore i fell upon his neck, and said, "good dervish, i know you value not the riches of this world, therefore of what service can the knowledge of this treasure be to you? you are alone, and cannot carry much of it away; shew me where it is, i will load all my camels, and as an acknowledgment of the favour done me, will present you with one of them." indeed i offered very little, but after he had communicated the secret to me, my desire of riches was become so violent, that i thought it a great deal, and looked upon the seventy-nine camel loads which i reserved for myself as nothing in comparison of what i allowed him. the dervish, though he saw my avarice, was not however angry at the unreasonable return i proposed to make him, but replied without the least concern, "you are sensible, brother, that what you offer me is not proportionable to the valuable favour you ask of me. i might have chosen whether i would communicate my secret to you or not, and have kept the treasure to myself: but what i have told you is sufficient to shew my good intentions; it is in my power to oblige you, and make both our fortunes. i have, however, another proposition more just and equitable to make to you; it lies in your own breast whether or no you will agree to it. "you say," continued the dervish, "that you have fourscore camels: i am ready to conduct you to the place where the treasure lies, and we will load them with as much jewels and gold as they can carry, on condition that when they are so loaded you will let me have one half, and you be contented with the other; after which we will separate, and take our camels where we may think fit. you see there is nothing but what is strictly equitable in this division; for if you give me forty camels, you will procure by my means wherewithal to purchase thousands." i could not but agree there was a great deal of justice in what the dervish said: but without considering what riches i should gain in accepting of the condition he proposed, i could not without reluctance think of parting with my forty camels, especially when i reflected that the dervish would then be as rich as myself. avarice made me unmindful that i was beforehand making an ungrateful return for a favour, purely gratuitous. but there was no time to hesitate; i must either accept of the proposal, or resolve to repent all my lifetime of losing, by my own fault, an opportunity of obtaining an immense fortune. that instant i collected all my camels, and after we had travelled some time, we came into a valley, the pass into which was so narrow, that two camels could not go a-breast. the two mountains which bounded this valley formed nearly a circle, but were so high, craggy, and steep, that there was no fear of our being seen by any body. when we came between these two mountains, the dervish said to me, "stop your camels, make them kneel that we may load them the easier, and i will proceed to discover the treasure." i did as the dervish directed; and going to him soon after, found him with a match in one hand, gathering sticks to light a fire; which he had no sooner done, than he cast some incense into it, and pronouncing certain words which i did not understand, there presently arose a thick cloud. he divided this cloud, when the rock, though of a prodigious perpendicular height, opened like two folding doors, and exposed to view a magnificent palace in the hollow of the mountain, which i supposed to be rather the workmanship of genii than of men; for man could hardly have attempted such a bold and surprising work. but this, i must tell your majesty, was an afterthought which did not occur to me at the moment; so eager was i for the treasures which displayed themselves to my view, that i did not even stop to admire the magnificent columns and arcades which i saw on all sides; and, without attention to the regularity with which the treasures were ranged, like an eagle seizing her prey, i fell upon the first heap of golden coin that was near me. my sacks were all large, and with my good will i would have filled them all; but i was obliged to proportion my burden to the strength of my camels. the dervish did the same; but i perceived he paid more attention to the jewels, and when he told me the reason, i followed his example, so that we took away much more jewels than gold. when we had filled our sacks, and loaded our camels, we had nothing left to do but to shut up the treasure and go our way. but before we parted, the dervish went again into the treasury, where there were a great many wrought vessels of gold of different forms. i observed that he took out of one of these vessels a little box of a certain wood, which i knew not, and put it into his breast; but first shewed me that it contained only a kind of glutinous ointment. the dervish used the same incantations to shut the treasury as he had done to open it; and after he pronounced certain words, the doors closed, and the rock seemed as solid and entire as before. we now divided our camels. i put myself at the head of the forty which i had reserved for myself, and the dervish placed himself at the head of the rest which i had given him. we came out of the valley by the way we had entered, and travelled together till we came to the great road, where we were to part; the dervish to go to bussorah, and i to bagdad. to thank him for so great a kindness, i made use of the most expressive terms, testifying my gratitude for the preference he had given me before all other men in letting me have a share of such riches. we embraced each other with great joy, and taking our leave, pursued our different routes. i had not gone far, following my camels, which paced quietly on in the track i had put them into, before the demon of ingratitude and envy took possession of my heart, and i deplored the loss of my other forty, but much more the riches wherewith they were loaded. "the dervish," said i to myself, "has no occasion for all this wealth, since he is master of the treasure, and may have as much as he pleases;" so i gave myself up to the blackest ingratitude, and determined immediately to take the camels with their loading from him. to execute this design, i first stopped my own camels, then ran after the dervish, and called to him as loud as i could, giving him to understand that i had something material to say to him, and made a sign to him to stop, which he accordingly did. when i came up to him, i said, "brother, i had no sooner parted from you, but a thought came into my head, which neither of us had reflected on before. you are a recluse dervish, used to live in tranquillity, disengaged from all the cares of the world, and intent only upon serving god. you know not, perhaps, what trouble you have taken upon yourself, to take care of so many camels. if you would take my advice, you would keep but thirty; you will find them sufficiently troublesome to manage. take my word; i have had experience." "i believe you are right," replied the dervish, who found he was not able to contend with me; "i own i never thought of this. i begin already to be uneasy at what you have stated. choose which ten you please, and take them, and go on in god's keeping." i set ten apart, and after i had driven them off, i put them in the road to follow my others. i could not have imagined that the dervish would be so easily persuaded to part with his camels, which increased my covetousness, and made me flatter myself, that it would be no hard matter to get ten more: wherefore, instead of thanking him for his present, i said to him again; "brother, the interest i take in your repose is so great, that i cannot resolve to part from you without desiring you to consider once more how difficult a thing it is to govern thirty loaded camels, especially for you who are not used to such work: you will find it much better to return me as many more back as you have done already. what i tell you is not for my own sake and interest, but to do you the greater kindness. ease yourself then of the camels, and leave them to me, who can manage a hundred as well as one." my discourse had the desired effect upon the dervish, who gave me, without any hesitation, the other ten camels; so that he had but twenty left and i was master of sixty, and might boast of greater riches than any sovereign princes. any one would have thought i should now have been content; but as a person afflicted with a dropsy, the more he drinks the more thirsty he is, so i became more greedy and desirous of the other twenty camels. i redoubled my solicitations and importunities, to make the dervish condescend to grant me ten of the twenty, which he did with a good grace: and as to the other ten he had left, i embraced him, kissed his feet, and caressed him, conjuring him not to refuse me, but to complete the obligation i should ever have to him, so that at length he crowned my joy, by giving me them also. "make a good use of them, brother," said the dervish, "and remember that god can take away riches as well as give them, if we do not assist the poor, whom he suffers to be in want, on purpose that the rich may merit by their charity a recompense in the other world." my infatuation was so great that i could not profit by such wholesome advice. i was not content, though i had my forty camels again, and knew they were loaded with an inestimable treasure. but a thought came into my head, that the little box of ointment which the dervish shewed me had something in it more precious than all the riches which i was obliged to him for: the place from whence the dervish took it, said i to myself, and his care to secure it, makes me believe there is something mysterious in it. this determined me to obtain it. i had just embraced him and bade him adieu; but as i turned about from him, i said, "what will you do with that little box of ointment? it seems such a trifle, it is not worth your carrying away. i entreat you to make me a present of it; for what occasion has a dervish, as you are, who has renounced the vanities of the world, for perfumes, or scented ointments?" would to heaven he had refused me that box; but if he had, i was stronger than he, and resolved to have taken it from him by force; that for my complete satisfaction it might not be said he had carried away the smallest part of the treasure. the dervish, far from denying me, readily pulled it out of his bosom, and presenting it to me with the best grace in the world, said, "here, take it, brother, and be content; if i could do more for you, you needed but to have asked me; i should have been ready to satisfy you." when i had the box in my hand, i opened it, and looking at the ointment, said to him, "since you are so good, i am sure you will not refuse me the favour to tell me the particular use of this ointment." "the use is very surprising and wonderful," replied the dervish: "if you apply a little of it round the left eye, and upon the lid, you will see at once all the treasures contained in the bosom of the earth; but if you apply it to the right eye, it will make you blind." "i would make the experiment myself. take the box," said i to the dervish, "and apply some to my left eye. you understand how to do it better than i, and i long to experience what seems so incredible." accordingly i shut my left eye, and the dervish took the trouble to apply the unguent; i opened my eye, and was convinced he had told me truth. i saw immense treasures, and such prodigious riches, so diversified, that it is impossible for me to give an account of them; but as i was obliged to keep my right eye shut with my hand, and that tired me, i desired the dervish to apply some of the pomatum to that eye. "i am ready to do it," said the dervish; "but you must remember what i told you, that if you put any of it upon your right eye, you would immediately be blind; such is the virtue of the ointment." far from being persuaded of the truth of what the dervish said, i imagined, on the contrary, that there was some new mystery, which he meant to hide from me. "brother," replied i, smiling, "i see plainly you wish to mislead me; it is not natural that this ointment should have two such contrary effects." "the matter is as i tell you," replied the dervish, taking the name of god to bear witness; "you ought to believe me, for i cannot disguise the truth." i would not believe the dervish, who spoke like an honest man. my insurmountable desire of seeing at my will all the treasures in the world and perhaps of enjoying those treasures to the extent i coveted, had such an effect upon me, that i could not hearken to his remonstrances, nor be persuaded of what was however but too true, as to my lasting misfortune i soon experienced. i persuaded myself that if the ointment, by being applied to the left eye, had the virtue of shewing me all the treasures of the earth, by being applied to the right, it might have the power of putting them in my disposal. possessed with this thought, i obstinately pressed the dervish to apply the ointment to my right eye; but he as positively refused. "brother," said he, "after i have done you so much service, i cannot resolve to do you so great an injury; consider with yourself what a misfortune it is to be deprived of one's eye-sight: do not reduce me to the hard necessity of obliging you in a thing which you will repent of all your life." i persisted in my obstinacy, and said to him in strong terms, "brother, i earnestly desire you to lay aside all your difficulties. you have granted me most generously all that i have asked of you hitherto, and would you have me go away dissatisfied with you at last about a thing of so little consequence? for god's sake grant me this last favour; whatever happens i will not lay the blame on you, but take it upon myself alone." the dervish made all the resistance possible, but seeing that i was able to force him to do it, he said, "since you will absolutely have it so, i will satisfy you;" and thereupon he took a little of the fatal ointment, and applied it to my right eye, which i kept shut; but alas! when i came to open it, i could distinguish nothing with either eye but thick darkness, and became blind as you see me now. "ah! dervish," i exclaimed in agony, "what you forewarned me of has proved but too true. fatal curiosity," added i, "insatiable desire of riches, into what an abyss of miseries have they cast me! i am now sensible what a misfortune i have brought upon myself; but you, dear brother," cried i, addressing myself to the dervish, "who are so charitable and good, among the many wonderful secrets you are acquainted with, have you not one to restore to me my sight again?" "miserable wretch!" answered the dervish, "if you would have been advised by me, you would have avoided this misfortune, but you have your deserts; the blindness of your mind was the cause of the loss of your eyes. it is true i have secrets, some of which, during the short time we have been together, you have by my liberality witnessed; but i have none to restore to you your sight. pray to god, therefore, if you believe there is one; it is he alone that can restore it to you. he gave you riches, of which you were unworthy, on that account takes them from you again, and will by my hands give them to men not so ungrateful as yourself." the dervish said no more, and i had nothing to reply. he left me to myself overwhelmed with confusion, and plunged in inexpressible grief. after he had collected my camels, he drove them away, and pursued the road to bussorah. i cried out loudly as he was departing, and entreated him not to leave me in that miserable condition, but to conduct me at least to the first caravanserai; but he was deaf to my prayers and entreaties. thus deprived of sight and all i had in the world, i should have died with affliction and hunger, if the next day a caravan returning from bussorah had not received me charitably, and brought me back to bagdad. after this manner was i reduced without remedy from a condition worthy the envy of princes for riches and magnificence, though not for power, to beggary without resource. i had no other way to subsist but by asking charity, which i have done till now. but to expiate my offence against god, i enjoined myself, by way of penance, a box on the ear from every charitable person who should commiserate my condition. "this, commander of the faithful, is the motive which seemed so strange to your majesty yesterday, and for which i ought to incur your indignation. i ask your pardon once more as your slave, and submit to receive the chastisement i deserve. and if you vouchsafe to pronounce any thing beyond the penance i have imposed upon myself, i am ready to undergo it, since i am persuaded you must think it too slight and much too little for my crime." the blind man having concluded his story, the caliph said, "baba abdoollah, your sin has been great; but god be praised, you feel the enormity of your guilt, and your penance proves your repentance. you must continue it, not ceasing to ask of god pardon in every prayer your religion obliges you to say daily: but that you may not be prevented from your devotions by the care of getting your living, i will settle a charity on you during your life, of four silver dirhems a day, which my grand vizier shall give you daily with the penance, therefore do not go away, but wait till he has executed my orders." at these words, baba abdoollah prostrated himself before the caliph's throne, returned him thanks, and wished him all happiness and prosperity. the caliph, very well satisfied with the story of baba abdoollah and the dervish, addressed himself to the young man who used his mare so ill, and asked him his name; to which he replied, it was syed naomaun. "syed naomaun," resumed the caliph, "i have seen horses exercised all my life, and have often exercised them myself, but never in so barbarous a manner as you yesterday treated your mare in the full square, to the great offence of all the spectators, who murmured loudly at your conduct. i myself was not less displeased, and had nearly, contrary to my intention, discovered who i was, to have punished your cruelty. by your air and behaviour you do not seem to be a barbarous or cruel man; and therefore i would fain believe that you had reason for what you did, since i am informed that this was not the first time, but that you practise the same treatment every day. i would know what is the cause, and sent for you for that purpose, that you should tell me the truth, and disguise nothing from me." syed naomaun understood what the caliph demanded of him. the relation was painful to him. he changed colour several times, and could not help shewing how greatly he was embarrassed. however, he must resolve to tell his story; but before he spoke, he prostrated himself before the caliph's throne, and after he rose up, endeavoured to speak to satisfy the caliph, but was so confounded, not so much at the presence of the caliph, as by the nature of his relation, that he was speechless. the caliph, notwithstanding his natural impatience to be obeyed, shewed not the least anger at syed naomaun's silence: he saw plainly, that he either had not assurance to speak before him, or was intimidated by the tone of his voice; or, in short, that there was something to be concealed in his story. "syed naomaun," said the caliph, to encourage him, "recollect yourself, but tell your story as if you were speaking not to me, but to your most familiar friend. if there is any thing in your relation which troubles you, and you think i may be offended at it, i pardon you beforehand: therefore be not uneasy, but speak boldly and freely, and disguise nothing." syed naomaun, encouraged by these words, said, "commander of the faithful, whatever apprehensions a man may be under at your majesty's presence, i am sensible those respectful sensations would not deprive me of the use of my speech, so as to fail in my obedience, in giving you satisfaction in any other matter but this you now ask of me. i dare not say i am the most perfect of men; yet i am not wicked enough to have committed, or to have had an intention of committing any thing against the laws to fear their severity; and yet i cannot say i am exempt from sin through ignorance. in this case i do not say that i depend upon your majesty's pardon, but will submit myself to your justice, and receive the punishment i deserve. i own, that the manner in which i have for some time treated my mare, and which your majesty has witnessed, is strange, and sets an ill example: but i hope you will think the motive well grounded, and that i am more worthy of compassion than chastisement: but not to keep your majesty any longer in suspense by a long preamble, i will tell you my story." the story of syed naomaun. i shall not trouble your majesty with my birth, which is not illustrious enough to merit your attention. for my situation, my parents, by their good economy, left me enough to live on like an honest man, free from ambition, or being burdensome to any one. with these advantages, the only blessing i wanted to render my happiness complete was an amiable wife, who might share them with me; but that was a blessing it did not please god to grant me: on the contrary, it was my misfortune to have one, who, the very next day after our wedding, began to exercise my patience in a manner not to be conceived by any one who has not had the same trial. as it is the custom for us to marry without seeing or knowing whom we are to espouse, your majesty is sensible that a husband has no reason to complain, when he finds that the wife who has been chosen for him is not horribly ugly and deformed, and that her carriage, wit, and behaviour make amends for any slight bodily imperfections. the first time i saw my wife with her face uncovered, after she was brought home with the usual ceremonies to my house, i rejoiced to find that i had not been imposed upon in the description of her person, which pleased me, and she was perfectly agreeable to my inclination. the next day after our wedding, when our dinner was served up, which consisted of several dishes, i went into the room where the cloth was laid, and not finding my wife there, ordered her to be called. after making me wait a long time, she came. i dissembled my impatience, we sat down, and i began with the rice, which i took up as usual. on the other hand, my wife, instead of using her hand as everybody does, pulled a little case out of her pocket, and took out of it a kind of bodkin, with which she picked up the rice, and put it into her mouth, grain by grain. surprised at this manner of eating, i said to her, "ameeneh," (which was her name,) "are you used to eat rice so in your family, or do you do it because you are a little eater, or would you count the grains, that you may not eat more at one time than another? if you do it out of frugality, or to teach me not to be extravagant, you have no reason to fear, as i can assure you we shall not ruin ourselves that way. we have, god be thanked! enough to live at our ease, without depriving ourselves of necessaries. do not restrain yourself, my dear ameeneh, but eat as you see me eat." the kind manner in which i made these remonstrances might have produced some obliging answer; but she, without saying a word, continued to eat as she had begun. at last, to make me the more uneasy, she ate a grain of rice at intervals only; and instead of eating any of the other meats with me, she only now and then put some crumbs of bread into her mouth, but not so much as a sparrow would have pecked. i was much provoked at her obstinacy; but yet, to indulge and excuse her, i imagined that she had not been used to eat with men, before whom she might perhaps have been taught to restrain herself; but at the same time thought she carried it too far out of pure simplicity. i fancied again that she might have breakfasted late, or that she might have a wish to eat alone, and more at liberty. these considerations prevented me from saying more to her then, to ruffle her temper, by shewing any sign of dissatisfaction. after dinner i left her, but not with an air that shewed any displeasure. at supper, and the next day, and every time we ate together, she behaved herself in the same manner. i knew it was impossible for a woman to live on so little food as she took, and that there must be some mystery in her conduct, which i did not understand. this made me resolve to dissemble; i appeared to take no notice of her actions, in hopes that time would bring her to live with me as i desired she should. but my hopes were in vain, and it was not long before i was convinced they were so. one night, when ameeneh thought me fast asleep, she got out of bed softly, dressed herself with great precaution, not to make a noise for fear of awaking me. i could not comprehend her design, but curiosity made me feign a sound sleep. as soon as she had dressed herself, she went softly out of the room. when she was gone, i arose, threw my cloak over my shoulders, and had time enough to see from a window that looked into my court-yard, that she opened the street-door and went out. i immediately ran down to the door, which she had left half open, and followed her by moonlight, till i saw her enter a burying-ground just by our house. i got to the end of the wall, taking care not to be seen, and looking over, saw ameeneh with a ghoul. your majesty knows that the ghouls of both sexes are wandering demons, which generally infest old buildings; from whence they rush out, by surprise, on people that pass by, kill them, and eat their flesh; and for want of such prey, will sometimes go in the night into burying-grounds, and feed on dead bodies which they dig up. i was struck with astonishment and horror to see my wife with this ghoul. they dug up a dead body which had been buried but that day, and the ghoul cut off pieces of the flesh, which they ate together by the grave-side, conversing during their shocking and inhuman repast. but i was too far off to hear their discourse, which must have been as strange as their meal, the remembrance of which still makes me shudder. when they had finished this horrible feast, they threw the remains of the dead body into the grave again, and filled it up with the earth which they had dug out. i left them at their work, made haste home, and leaving the door half open as i had found it, went into my chamber, and to bed again, where i pretended to be fast asleep. soon afterwards ameeneh returned without the least noise, undressed herself, and came to bed, rejoicing, as i imagined, that she had succeeded so well without being discovered. my mind was so full of the idea of such an abominable action as i had witnessed, that i felt great reluctance to lie by a person who could have had any share in the guilt of it, and was a long time before i could fall asleep. however, i got a short nap; but waked at the first call to public prayers at day-break, got up, dressed myself, and went to the mosque. after prayers i went out of the town, spent the morning in walking in the gardens, and thinking what i should do to oblige my wife to change her mode of living. i rejected all the violent measures that suggested themselves to my thoughts, and resolved to use gentle means to cure her unhappy and depraved inclination. in this state of reverie i insensibly reached home by dinner-time. as soon as ameeneh saw me enter the house, she ordered dinner to be served up; and as i observed she continued to eat her rice in the same manner, by single grains, i said to her, with all the mildness possible, "you know, ameeneh, what reason i had to be surprised, when the day after our marriage i saw you eat rice in so small a quantity, and in a manner which would have offended any other husband but myself: you know also, i contented myself with telling you that i was uneasy at it, and desired you to eat of the other meats, which i had ordered to be dressed several ways to endeavour to suit your taste, and i am sure my table did not want for variety: but all my remonstrances have had no effect, and you persist in your sullen abstemiousness. i have said nothing, because i would not constrain you, and should be sorry that any thing i now say should make you uneasy; but tell me, ameeneh, i conjure you, are not the meats served up at my table better than the flesh of a human corpse?" i had no sooner pronounced these words than ameeneh, who perceived that i had discovered her last night's horrid voraciousness with the ghoul, flew into a rage beyond imagination. her face became as red as scarlet, her eyes ready to start out of her head, and she foamed with passion. the terrible state in which she appeared alarmed me so much, that i stood motionless, and was not able to defend myself against the horrible wickedness she meditated against me, and which will surprise your majesty. in the violence of her passion, she dipped her hand into a basin of water, which stood by her, and muttering between her teeth some words, which i could not hear, she threw some water in my face, and exclaimed, in a furious tone, "wretch, receive the punishment of thy prying curiosity, and become a dog!" ameeneh, whom i did not before know to be a sorceress, had no sooner pronounced these diabolical words, than i was immediately transformed into a dog. my amazement and surprise at so sudden and unexpected a metamorphosis prevented my thinking at first of providing for my safety. availing herself of this suspense, she took up a great stick, with which she laid on me such heavy blows, that i wonder they did not kill me. i thought to have escaped her rage, by running into the yard; but she pursued me with the same fury, and notwithstanding all my activity i could not avoid her blows. at last, when she was tired of running after and beating me, and enraged that she had not killed me, as she desired, she thought of another method to effect her purpose: she half opened the street-door, that she might endeavour to squeeze me to death, as i ran out to preserve my life. dog as i was, i instantly perceived her pernicious design; and as present danger inspires a presence of mind, to elude her vigilance i watched her face and motions so well, that i took my opportunity, and passed through quick enough to save myself and escape her malice, though she pinched the end of my tail. the pain i felt made me cry out and howl as i ran along the streets, which collected all the dogs about me, and i got bit by several of them; but to avoid their pursuit, i ran into the shop of a man who sold boiled sheep's heads, tongues, and feet, where i saved myself. the man at first took my part with much compassion, by driving away the dogs that followed me, and would have run into his house. my first care was to creep into a corner to hide myself; but i found not the sanctuary and protection i hoped for. my host was one of those extravagantly superstitious persons who think dogs unclean creatures, and if by chance one happens to touch them in the streets, cannot use soap and water enough to wash their garments clean. after the dogs who chased me were all dispersed and gone, he did all he could to drive me out of his house, but i was concealed out of his reach, and spent that night in his shop in spite of him; and indeed i had need of rest to recover from ameeneh's ill-treatment. not to weary your majesty with trifling circumstances, i shall not particularize the melancholy reflections i made on my metamorphosis; but only tell you, that my host having gone out the next morning to lay in a stock of sheep's heads, tongues, and trotters, when he returned, he opened his shop, and while he was laying out his goods, i crept from my corner, and got among some other dogs of the neighbourhood, who had followed my host by the scent of his meat, and surrounded the shop, in expectation of having some offal thrown to them. i joined them, and put myself among them in a begging posture. my host observing me, and considering that i had eaten nothing while i lay in the shop, distinguished me from the rest, by throwing me larger pieces of meat, and oftener than the other dogs. after he had given me as much as he thought fit, i looked at him earnestly, and wagged my tail, to shew him i begged he would repeat his favours. but he was inflexible, and opposed my entrance with a stick in his hand, and with so stern a look, that i felt myself obliged to seek a new habitation. i stopped at the shop of a baker in the neighbourhood, who was of a lively gay temper, quite the reverse of the offal butcher. he was then at breakfast, and though i made no sign that i wanted any thing, threw me a piece of bread. instead of catching it up greedily, as dogs usually do, i looked at him, moving my head and wagging my tail, to shew my gratitude; at which he was pleased, and smiled. though i was not hungry, i ate the piece of bread to please him, and i ate slowly to shew him that it was out of respect to him. he observed this, and permitted me to continue near the shop. i sat down and turned myself to the street, to shew him i then only wanted his protection; which he not only granted, but by his caresses encouraged me to come into the house. this i did in a way that shewed it was with his leave. he was pleased, and pointed me out a place where to lie, of which i took possession, and kept while i lived with him. i was always well treated; and whenever he breakfasted, dined, or supped, i had my share of provisions; and, in return, i loved him, and was faithful, as gratitude required of me. i always had my eyes upon him, and he scarcely stirred out of doors, or went into the city on business, but i was at his heels. i was the more exact, because i perceived my attention pleased him; for whenever he went out, without giving me time to see him, he would call chance, which was the name he gave me. at this name i used to spring from my place, jump, caper, run before the door, and never cease fawning on him, till he went out; and then i always either followed him, or ran before him, continually looking at him to shew my joy. i had lived some time with this baker, when a woman came one day into the shop to buy some bread, who gave my master a piece of bad money among some good, which he returned, and requested her to exchange. the woman refused to take it again, and affirmed it to be good. the baker maintained the contrary, and in the dispute told the woman, he was sure that the piece of money was so visibly bad, that his dog could distinguish it; upon which he called me by name. i immediately jumped on the counter, and the baker throwing the money down before me, said, "see, and tell me which of these pieces is bad?" i looked over all the pieces of money, and then set my paw upon that which was bad, separated it from the rest, looking in my master's face, to shew it him. the baker, who had only called me to banter the woman, was much surprised to see me so immediately pitch upon the bad money. the woman thus convicted had nothing to say for herself, but was obliged to give another piece instead of the bad one. as soon as she was gone, my master called in some neighbours, and enlarged very much on my capacity, telling them what had happened. the neighbours desired to make the experiment, and of all the bad money they shewed me, mixed with good, there was not one which i did not set my paw upon, and separate from the rest. the woman also failed not to tell everybody she met what had happened; so that the fame of my skill in distinguishing good money from bad was not only spread throughout the neighbourhood, but over all that part of the town, and insensibly through the whole city. i had business enough every day; for i was obliged to shew my skill to all customers who came to buy bread of my master. in short, my reputation procured my master more business than he could manage, and brought him customers from the most distant parts of the town; this run of business lasted so long, that he owned to his friends and neighbours, that i was a treasure to him. my little knowledge made many people envy my master's good fortune, and lay snares to steal me away, which obliged him always to keep me in his sight. one day a woman came like the rest out of curiosity to buy some bread, and seeing me sit upon the counter, threw down before me six pieces of money, among which was one that was bad. i separated it presently from the others, and setting my paw upon it, looked in the woman's face, as much as to say, "is it not so?" the woman looking at me replied, "yes, you are in the right, it is bad:" and staying some time in the shop, to look at and admire me, at last paid my master for his bread, but when she went out of the shop, made a sign, unknown to him, for me to follow her. i was always attentive to any means likely to deliver me out of so strange a metamorphosis, and had observed that the woman examined me with an extraordinary attention. i imagined that she might know something of my misfortune, and the melancholy condition i was reduced to: however, i let her go, and contented myself with looking at her. after walking two or three steps, she turned about, and seeing that i only looked at her, without stirring from my place, made me another sign to follow her. without deliberating any longer, and observing that my master was busy cleaning his oven, and did not mind me, i jumped off the counter, and followed the woman, who seemed overjoyed. after we had gone some way, she stopped at a house, opened the door, and called to me to come in, saying, "you will not repent following me." when i had entered, she shut the door, and conducted me to her chamber, where i saw a beautiful young lady working embroidery. this lady, who was daughter to the charitable woman who had brought me from the baker's, was a very skilful enchantress, as i found afterwards. "daughter," said the mother, "i have brought you the much-talked-of baker's dog, that can tell good money from bad. you know i gave you my opinion respecting him when i first heard of him, and told you, i fancied he was a man changed into a dog by some wicked magician. to-day i determined to go to that baker for some bread, and was myself a witness of the wonders performed by this dog, who has made such a noise in bagdad. what say you, daughter, am i deceived in my conjecture?" "mother, you are not," answered the daughter, "and i will disenchant him immediately." the young lady arose from her sofa, put her hand into a basin of water, and throwing some upon me, said, "if thou wert born a dog, remain so, but if thou wert born a man, resume thy former shape, by the virtue of this water." at that instant the enchantment was broken, and i became restored to my natural form. penetrated with the greatness of this kindness, i threw myself at my deliverer's feet; and after i had kissed the hem of her garment, said, "my dear deliverer, i am so sensible of your unparalleled humanity towards a stranger, as i am, that i beg of you to tell me yourself what i can do to shew my gratitude; or rather dispose of me as a slave, to whom you have a just right, since i am no more my own, but entirely yours: and that you may know who i am, i will tell you my story in as few words as possible." after i had informed her who i was, i gave her an account of my marriage with ameeneh, of the complaisance i had shewn her, my patience in bearing with her humour, her extraordinary behaviour, and the savage inhumanity with which she had treated me out of her inconceivable wickedness, and finished my story with my transformation, and thanking her mother for the inexpressible happiness she had procured me. "syed naomaun," said the daughter to me, "let us not talk of the obligation you say you owe me; it is enough for me that i have done any service to so honest a man. but let us talk of ameeneh your wife. i was acquainted with her before your marriage; and as i know her to be a sorceress, she also is sensible that i have some of the same kind of knowledge as herself, since we both learnt it of the same mistress. we often meet at the baths, but as our tempers are different, i avoid all opportunities of contracting an intimacy with her, which is no difficult matter, as she does the same by me. i am not at all surprised at her wickedness: but what i have already done for you is not sufficient; i must complete what i have begun. it is not enough to have broken the enchantment by which she has so long excluded you from the society of men. you must punish her as she deserves, by going home again, and assuming the authority which belongs to you. i will give you the proper means. converse a little with my mother till i return to you." my deliveress went into a closet, and while she was absent, i repeated my obligations to the mother as well as the daughter. she said to me, "you see my daughter has as much skill in the magic art as the wicked ameeneh; but makes such use of it, that you would be surprised to know the good she has done, and daily does, by exercising her science. this induces me to let her practise it; for i should not permit her, if i perceived she made an improper application of it in the smallest instance." the mother then related some of the wonders she had seen her perform: by this time the daughter returned with a little bottle in her hand. "syed naomaun," said she, "my books which i have been consulting tell me that ameeneh is now abroad, but will be at home presently. they also inform me that she pretended before your servants to be very uneasy at your absence, and made them believe, that at dinner you recollected some business which obliged you to go out immediately; that as you went, you left the door open, and a dog running into the hall where she was at dinner, she had beaten him out with a great stick. "take this little bottle, go home immediately, and wait in your own chamber till ameeneh comes in, which she will do shortly. as soon as she returns, run down into the court, and meet her face to face. in her surprise at seeing you so unexpectedly, she will turn her back to run away; have the bottle ready, and throw some of the liquor it contains upon her, pronouncing at the same time these words: 'receive the chastisement of thy wickedness.' i will tell you no more; you will see the effect." after these instructions i took leave of my benefactress, and her mother, with all the testimonies of the most perfect gratitude, and a sincere protestation never to forget my obligation to them; and then went home. all things happened as the beautiful and humane enchantress had foretold. ameeneh was not long before she came home. as she entered the court, i met her with the bottle in my hand. upon seeing me, she shrieked; and as she turned to run towards the door, i threw the liquor upon her, pronouncing the words which the young lady had taught me, when she was instantly transformed into the mare which your majesty saw me upon yesterday. at that instant, owing to the surprise she was in, i easily seized her by the mane, and notwithstanding her resistance, led her into the stable, where i put a halter upon her head, and when i had tied her to the rack, reproaching her with her baseness, i chastised her with a whip till i was tired, and have punished her every day since in the manner which your majesty has witnessed. "i hope, commander of the faithful," concluded syed naomaun, "your majesty will not disapprove of my conduct, but will rather think i have shewn so wicked and pernicious a woman more indulgence than she deserved." when the caliph found that syed naomaun had ended his story, he said to him, "your adventure is very singular, and the wickedness of your wife inexcusable; therefore i do not condemn the chastisement you have hitherto given her; but i would have you consider how great a punishment it is to be reduced to the condition of beasts, and wish you would be content with the chastisement you have already inflicted. i would order you to go and address yourself to the young enchantress, to end the metamorphosis she has inflicted, but that i know the obstinacy and incorrigible cruelty of magicians of both sexes, who abuse their art; which makes me apprehensive that a second effect of your wife's revenge might be more fatal than the first." the caliph, who was naturally mild and compassionate to all criminals, after he had declared his mind to syed naomaun, addressed himself to the third person the grand vizier had summoned to attend him. "khaujeh hassan," said he, "passing yesterday by your house, it seemed so magnificent that i felt a curiosity to know to whom it belonged, and was told that you, whose trade is so mean that a man can scarcely get his bread by it, have built this house after you had followed this trade some years. i was likewise informed that you make a good use of the riches god has blessed you with, and your neighbours speak well of you. "all this pleases me well," added the caliph, "but i am persuaded that the means by which providence has been pleased to bestow these gifts on you must have been very extraordinary. i am curious to know the particulars from your own mouth, and sent for you on purpose to have that satisfaction. speak truly, that when i know your story, i may rejoice in your good fortune. "but that you may not suspect my curiosity, and believe i have any other interest than what i tell you, i declare, that far from having any pretensions, i give you my word you shall enjoy freely all you possess." on these assurances of the caliph, khaujeh hassan prostrated himself before the throne, with his forehead down to the carpet, and when he rose up, said, "commander of the faithful, some persons might have been alarmed at having been summoned to appear before your majesty; but knowing that my conscience was clear, and that i had committed nothing against the laws or your majesty, but, on the contrary, had always the most respectful sentiments and the profoundest veneration for your person, my only fear was, that i should not be able to support the splendour of your presence. but nevertheless on the public report of your majesty's receiving favourably, and hearing the meanest of your subjects, i took courage, and never doubted but i should have confidence enough to give you all the satisfaction you might require of me. besides, your majesty has given me a proof of your goodness, by granting me your protection before you know whether i deserve it. i hope, however, you will retain the favourable sentiments you have conceived of me, when, in obedience to your command, i shall have related my adventures." after this compliment to conciliate the caliph's good-will and attention, and after some moments' recollection, khaujeh hassan related his story in the following manner: the story of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul. commander of the faithful, that your majesty may the better understand by what means i arrived at the happiness i now enjoy, i must acquaint you, there are two intimate friends, citizens of bagdad, who can testify the truth of what i shall relate, and to whom, after god, the author of all good, i owe my prosperity. these two friends are called, the one saadi, the other saad. saadi, who is very rich, was always of opinion that no man could be happy in this world without wealth, to live independent of every one. saad was of a different opinion; he agreed that riches were necessary to comfort, but maintained that the happiness of a man's life consisted in virtue, without any farther eagerness after worldly goods than what was requisite for decent subsistence, and benevolent purposes. saad himself is one of this number, and lives very happily and contentedly in his station: but though saadi is infinitely more opulent, their friendship is very sincere, and the richest sets no more value on himself than the other. they never had any dispute but on this point; in all other things their union of opinion has been very strict. one day as they were talking upon this subject, as i have since been informed by them both, saadi affirmed, that poverty proceeded from men's being born poor, or spending their fortunes in luxury and debauchery, or by some of those unforeseen fatalities which do not often occur. "my opinion," said he, "is, that most people's poverty is owing to their wanting at first a sufficient sum of money to raise them above want, by employing their industry to improve it; for," continued he, "if they once had such a sum, and made a right use of it, they would not only live well, but would in time infallibly grow rich." saad could not agree in this sentiment: "the way," said he, "which you propose to make a poor man rich, is not so certain as you imagine. your plan is very hazardous, and i can bring many good arguments against your opinion, but that they would carry us too far into dispute, i believe, with as much probability, that a poor man may become rich by other means as well as by money: and there are people who have raised as large and surprising fortunes by mere chance, as others have done by money, with all their good economy and management to increase it by the best conducted trade." "saad," replied saadi, "i see we shall not come to any determination by my persisting to oppose my opinion against yours. i will make an experiment to convince you, by giving, for example, a sum of money to some artisan, whose ancestors from father to son have always been poor, lived only from day to day, and died as indigent as they were born. if i have not the success i expect, you shall try if you will have better by the means you shall employ." some days after this dispute, the two friends happened to walk out together, and passing through the street where i was at work at my trade of rope-making, which i learnt of my father, who learnt of his, and he of his ancestors; and by my dress and appearance, it was no hard matter for them to guess my poverty. saad, remembering saadi's engagement, said, "if you have not forgotten what you said to me, there is a man," pointing to me, "whom i can remember a long time working at his trade of rope-making, and in the same poverty: he is a worthy subject for your liberality, and a proper person to make your experiment upon." "i so well remember the conversation," replied saadi, "that i have ever since carried a sufficient sum about me for the purpose, but only waited for an opportunity of our being together, that you might be witness of the fact. let us go to him, and know if he is really necessitous." the two friends came to me, and i, seeing that they wished to speak to me, left off work: they both accosted me with the common salutation, and saadi, wishing me peace, asked me my name. i returned their salutation, and answered saadi's question, saying to him, "sir, my name is hassan; but by reason of my trade, i am commonly known by the name of hassan al hubbaul." "hassan," replied saadi, "as there is no occupation but what a man may live by, i doubt not but yours produces enough for you to live well upon; and i am amazed, that during the long time you have worked at your trade, you have not saved enough to lay in a good stock of hemp to extend your manufacture and employ more hands, by the profit of whose work you would soon increase your income." "sir," replied i, "you will be no longer amazed that i have not saved money and taken the way you mention to become rich, when you come to know that, let me work as hard as i may from morning till night, i can hardly get enough to keep my family in bread and pulse. i have a wife and five children, not one of whom is old enough to be of the least assistance to me. i must feed and clothe them, and in our poor way of living, they still want many necessaries, which they can ill do without and though hemp is not very dear, i must have money to buy it. this is the first thing i do with any money i receive for my work; otherwise i and my family must starve. "now judge, sir," added i, "if it be possible that i should save any thing for myself and family: it is enough that we are content with the little god sends us, and that we have not the knowledge or desire of more than we want, but can live as we have been always bred up, and are not reduced to beg." when i had given saadi this account, he said to me, "hassan, i am not so much surprised as i was, for i comprehend what obliges you to be content in your station. but if i should make you a present of a purse of two hundred pieces of gold, would not you make a good use of it? and do not you believe, that with such a sum you could become soon as rich as the principal of your occupation?" "sir," replied i, "you seem to be so good a gentleman, that i am persuaded you would not banter me, but that the offer you make me is serious; and i dare say, without presuming too much upon myself, that a considerably less sum would be sufficient to make me not only as rich as the first of our trade, but that in time i should be richer than all of them in this city together, though bagdad is so large and populous." the generous saadi showed me immediately that in what he said he was serious. he pulled a purse out of his bosom, and putting it into my hands, said, "here, take this purse; you will find it contains two hundred pieces of gold: i pray god bless you with them, and give you grace to make the good use of them i desire; and believe me, my friend saad, whom you see here, and i shall both take great pleasure in finding they may contribute towards making you more happy than you now are." when i had got the purse, the first thing i did was to put it into my bosom; but the transport of my joy was so great, and i was so much penetrated with gratitude, that my speech failed me and i could give my benefactor no other tokens of my feelings than by laying hold of the hem of his garment and kissing it; but he drew it from me hastily, and he and his friend pursued their walk. as soon as they were gone, i returned to my work, and my first thought was, what i should do with my purse to keep it safe. i had in my poor house neither box nor cupboard to lock it up in, nor any other place where i could be sure it would not be discovered if i concealed it. in this perplexity, as i had been used, like many poor people of my condition, to put the little money i had in the folds of my turban, i left my work, and went into the house, under pretence of wrapping my turban up anew. i took such precautions that neither my wife nor children saw what i was doing. but first i laid aside ten pieces of gold for present necessaries, and wrapped the rest up in the folds of the linen which went about my cap. the principal expense i was at that day was to lay in a good stock of hemp, and afterwards, as my family had eaten no flesh meat a long time, i went to the shambles, and bought something for supper. as i was carrying home the meat i had bought, a famished vulture flew upon me, and would have taken it away, if i had not held it very fast; but, alas! i had better have parted with it than lost my money; the faster i held my meat, the more the bird struggled to get it, drawing me sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, but would not quit the prize; till unfortunately in my efforts my turban fell on the ground. the vulture immediately let go his hold, but seizing my turban, flew away with it. i cried out so loud, that i alarmed all the men, women, and children in the neighbourhood, who joined their shouts and cries to make the vulture quit his hold; for by such means these voracious birds are often frightened so as to quit their prey. but our cries did not avail; he carried off my turban, and we soon lost sight of him, and it would have been in vain for me to fatigue myself with running after him. i went home very melancholy at the loss of my money. i was obliged to buy a new turban, which diminished the small remainder of the ten pieces; for i had laid out several in hemp. the little that was left was not sufficient to give me reason to indulge the great hopes i had conceived. but what troubled me most, was the little satisfaction i should be able to give my benefactor for his ineffectual generosity, when he should come to hear what a misfortune i had met with, which he would perhaps regard as incredible, and consequently an idle excuse. while the remainder of the ten pieces lasted, my little family and i lived better than usual; but i soon relapsed into the same poverty, and the same inability to extricate myself from wretchedness. however, i never murmured nor repined; "god," said i, "was pleased to give me riches when i least expelled them; he has thought fit to take them from me again almost at the same time, because it so pleased him, and they were at his disposal; yet i will praise his name for all the benefits i have received, as it was his good pleasure, and submit myself, as i have ever done hitherto, to his will." these were my sentiments, while my wife, from whom i could not keep secret the loss i had sustained, was inconsolable. in my trouble i had told my neighbours, that when i lost my turban i lost a hundred and ninety pieces of gold; but as they knew my poverty, and could not comprehend how i should have got so great a sum by my work, they only laughed at me. about six months after this misfortune, which i have related to your majesty, the two friends walking through that part of the town where i lived, the neighbourhood brought me to saad's recollection. "we are now," said he to saadi, "not far from the street where hassan the ropemaker lives; let us call and see what use he has made of the two hundred pieces of gold you gave him, and whether they have enabled him to take any steps towards bettering his fortune." "with all my heart," replied saadi; "i have been thinking of him some days, and it will be a great pleasure and satisfaction to me to have you with me, as a witness of the proof of my argument. you will see undoubtedly a great alteration. i expect we shall hardly know him again." just as saadi said this, the two friends turned the corner of the street, and saad, who perceived me first at a distance, said to his friend, "i believe you reckon without your host. i see hassan, but can discern no change in his person, for he is as shabbily dressed as when we saw him before; the only difference that i can perceive is, that his turban looks something better. observe him yourself, and see whether i am in the wrong." as they drew nearer to me, saadi saw me too, and found saad was in the right, but could not tell to what he should attribute the little alteration he saw in my person; and was so much amazed, that he could not speak when he came up to me. "well, hassan," said saad, "we do not ask you how affairs go since we saw you last; without doubt they are in a better train." "gentlemen," replied i, addressing myself to them both, "i have the great mortification to tell you, that your desires, wishes, and hopes, as well as mine, have not had the success you had reason to expect, and i had promised myself; you will scarcely believe the extraordinary adventure that has befallen me. i assure you nevertheless, on the word of an honest man, and you ought to believe me, for nothing is more true than what i am going to tell you." i then related to them my adventure, with the same circumstances i had the honour to tell your majesty. saadi rejected my assertion, and said, "hassan, you joke, and would deceive me; for what you say is a thing incredible. what have vultures to do with turbans? they only search for something to satisfy their hunger. you have done as all such people as yourself generally do. if they have made any extraordinary gain, or any good fortune happens to them, which they never expected, they throw aside their work, take their pleasure, make merry, while the money lasts; and when they have eaten and drunk it all out, are reduced to the same necessity and want as before. you would not be so miserable, but because you deserve it, and render yourself unworthy of any service done to you." "sir," i replied, "i bear all these reproaches, and am ready to bear as many more, if they were more severe, and all with the greater patience because i do not think i deserve them. the thing is so publicly known in this part of the town, that there is nobody but can satisfy you of the truth of my assertions. if you inquire, you will find that i do not impose upon you. i own, i never heard of vultures flying away with turbans; but this has actually happened to me, like many other things, which do not fall out every day, and yet have actually happened." saad took my part, and told saadi a great many as surprising stories of vultures, some of which he affirmed he knew to be true, insomuch that at last he pulled his purse out of his vestband, and counted out two hundred pieces of gold into my hand, which i put into my bosom for want of a purse. when saadi had presented me with this sum, he said, "hassan, i make you a present of these two hundred pieces; but take care to put them in a safer place, that you may not lose them so unfortunately as you have done the others, and employ them in such a manner that they may procure you the advantages which the others would have done." i told him that the obligation of this his second kindness was much greater than i deserved, after what had happened, and that i should be sure to make good use of his advice. i would have said a great deal more, but he did not give me time, for he went away, and continued his walk with his friend. as soon as they were gone, i left off work, and went home, but finding neither my wife nor children within, i pulled out my money, put ten pieces by, and wrapped up the rest in a clean linen cloth, tying it fast with a knot; but then i was to consider where i should hide this linen cloth that it might be safe. after i had considered some time, i resolved to put it in the bottom of an earthen vessel full of bran, which stood in a corner, which i imagined neither my wife nor children would look into. my wife came home soon after, and as i had but little hemp in the house, i told her i should go out to buy some, without saying any thing to her about the two friends. while i was absent, a sandman, who sells scouring earth for the hair and body, which women use in the baths, passed through our street, and called, "cleansing, ho!" my wife, who wanted some, beckoned to him: but as she had no money, asked him if he would make an exchange of some earth for some bran. the sandman asked to see the bran. my wife shewed him the pot; the bargain was made; she had the cleansing earth, with which she filled a dust hole i had made to the house, and the sandman took the pot and bran along with him. not long after i came home with as much hemp as i could carry, and followed by five porters loaded also with hemp. after i had satisfied them for their trouble, i sat down to rest myself; and looking about me, could not see the pot of bran. it is impossible for me to express to your majesty my surprise and the effect it had on me at the moment. i asked my wife hastily what was become of it; when she told me the bargain she had made with the sandman, which she thought to be a very good one. "ah! unfortunate woman!" cried i, "you know not the injury you have done me, yourself, and our children, by making that bargain, which has ruined us for ever. you thought you only sold the bran, but with the bran you have enriched the sandman with a hundred and ninety pieces of gold, which saadi with his friend came and made me a second present of." my wife was like one distracted, when she knew what a fault she had committed through ignorance. she cried, beat her breast, and tore her hair and clothes. "unhappy wretch that i am," cried she, "am i fit to live after so dreadful a mistake! where shall i find this sandman? i know him not, i never saw him in our street before. oh! husband," added she, "you were much to blame to be so reserved in a matter of such importance this had never happened, if you had communicated the secret to me." in short, i should never finish my story were i to tell your majesty what her grief made her say. you are not ignorant how eloquent women often are in their afflictions. "wife," said i, "moderate your grief: by your weeping and howling you will alarm the neighbourhood, and there is no reason they should be informed of our misfortunes. they will only laugh at, instead of pitying us. we had best bear our loss patiently, and submit ourselves to the will of god, and bless him, for that out of two hundred pieces of gold which he had given us, he has taken back but a hundred and ninety, and left us ten, which, by the use i shall make of them will be a great relief to us." my wife at first did not relish my arguments; but as time softens the greatest misfortunes, and makes them more supportable, she at last grew easy, and had almost forgotten them. "it is true," said i to her, "we live but poorly; but what have the rich which we have not? do not we breathe the same air, enjoy the same light and the same warmth of the sun? therefore what conveniences have they more than we, that we should envy their happiness? they die as well as we. in short, while we live in the fear of god, as we should always do, the advantage they have over us is so very inconsiderable, that we ought not to covet it." i will not tire your majesty any longer with my moral reflections. my wife and i comforted ourselves, and i pursued my trade with as much alacrity as before these two mortifying losses, which followed one another so quickly. the only thing that troubled me sometimes was, how i should look saadi in the face when he should come and ask me how i had improved his two hundred pieces of gold, and advanced my fortune by means of his liberality. i saw no remedy but to resolve to submit to the confusion i should feel, though it was by no fault of mine this time, any more than before, that our misfortune had happened. the two friends stayed away longer this time than the former, though saad had often spoken to saadi, who always put it off; for, said he, "the longer we stay away, the richer hassan will be, and i shall have the greater satisfaction." saad, who had not the same opinion of the effect of his friend's generosity, replied, "you fancy then that your last present will have been turned to a better account than the former. i would advise you not to flatter yourself too much, for fear you may be more sensibly mortified if it should prove otherwise." "why," replied saadi, "vultures do not fly away with turbans every day; and hassan will have been more cautious this time." "i do not doubt it," replied saad; "but," added he, "there are other accidents that neither you nor i can think of; therefore, i say again, moderate your expectations, and do not depend too much on hassan's success; for to tell you what i think, and what i always thought (whether you like to hear it or not), i have a secret presentiment that you will not have accomplished your purpose, and that i shall succeed better in proving that a poor man may sooner become rich by other means than money." one day, when saad and saadi were disputing upon this subject, saad observed that enough had been said; "i am resolved," continued he, "to inform myself this very day what has passed; it is a pleasing time for walking, let us not lose it, but go and see which of us has lost the wager." i saw them at a distance, was overcome with confusion, and was just going to leave my work, to run and hide myself. however i refrained, appeared very earnest at work, made as if i had not seen them, and never lifted up my eyes till they were close to me and had saluted me, and then i could not help myself. i hung down my head, told them my last misfortune, with all the circumstances, and that i was as poor as when they first saw me. "after that," i added, "you may say that i ought to have hidden my money in another place than in a pot of bran, which was carried out of my house the same day: but that pot had stood there many years, and had never been removed, whenever my wife parted with the bran. could i guess that a sandman should come by that very day, my wife have no money, and would make such an exchange? you may indeed allege, that i ought to have told my wife of it; but i will never believe that such prudent persons, as i am persuaded you are, would have given me that advice; and if i had put my money anywhere else, what certainty could i have had that it would be more secure?" "i see, sir," said i, addressing myself to saadi, "that it has pleased god, whose ways are secret and impenetrable, that i should not be enriched by your liberality, but that i must remain poor: however, the obligation is the same as if it had wrought the desired effect." after these words i was silent; and saadi replied, "though i would persuade myself, hassan, that all you tell us is true, and not owing to your debauchery or ill management, yet i must not be extravagant, and ruin myself for the sake of an experiment. i do not regret in the least the four hundred pieces of gold i gave you to raise you in the world. i did it in duty to god, without expecting any recompense but the pleasure of doing good. if any thing makes me repent, it is, that i did not address myself to another, who might have made a better use of my charity." then turning about to his friend, "saad," continued he, "you may know by what i have said that i do not entirely give up the cause. you may now make your experiment, and let me see that there are ways, besides giving money, to make a poor man's fortune. let hassan be the man. i dare say, whatever you may give him he will not be richer than he was with four hundred pieces of gold." saad had a piece of lead in his hand, which he shewed saadi. "you saw me," said he, "take up this piece of lead, which i found on the ground; i will give it hassan, and you shall see what it is worth." saadi, burst out laughing at saad. "what is that bit of lead worth," said he, "a farthing? what can hassan do with that?" saad presented it to me, and said, "take it, hassan; let saadi laugh, you will tell us some news of the good luck it has brought you one time or another." i thought saad was in jest, and had a mind to divert himself: however i took the lead, and thanked him. the two friends pursued their walk, and i fell to work again. at night when i pulled off my clothes to go to bed, the piece of lead, which i had never thought of from the time he gave it me, tumbled out of my pocket. i took it up, and laid it on the place that was nearest me. the same night it happened that a fisherman, a neighbour, mending his nets, found a piece of lead wanting; and it being too late to buy any, as the shops were shut, and he must either fish that night, or his family go without bread the next day, he called to his wife and bade her inquire among the neighbours for a piece. she went from door to door on both sides of the street, but could not get any, and returned to tell her husband her ill success. he asked her if she had been to several of their neighbours, naming them, and among the rest my house. "no indeed," said the wife, "i have not been there; that was too far off, and if i had gone, do you think i should have found any? i know by experience they never have any thing when one wants it." "no matter," said the fisherman, "you are an idle hussy; you must go there; for though you have been there a hundred times before without getting any thing, you may chance to obtain what we want now. you must go." the fisherman's wife went out grumbling, came and knocked at my door, and waked me out of a sound sleep. i asked her what she wanted. "hassan," said she, as loud as she could bawl, "my husband wants a bit of lead to load his nets with; and if you have a piece, desires you to give it him." the piece of lead which saad had given me was so fresh in my memory, and had so lately dropped out of my clothes, that i could not forget it. i told my neighbour i had some; and if she would stay a moment my wife should give it to her. accordingly, my wife, who was wakened by the noise as well as myself, got up, and groping about where i directed her, found the lead, opened the door, and gave it to the fisherman's wife, who was so overjoyed that she promised my wife, that in return for the kindness she did her and her husband, she would answer for him we should have the first cast of the nets. the fisherman was so much rejoiced to see the lead, which he so little expected, that he much approved his wife's promise. he finished mending his nets, and went a-fishing two hours before day, according to custom. at the first throw he caught but one fish, about a yard long, and proportionable in thickness; but afterwards had a great many successful casts; though of all the fish he took none equalled the first in size. when the fisherman had done fishing, he went home, where his first care was to think of me. i was extremely surprised, when at my work, to see him come to me with a large fish in his hand. "neighbour," said he, "my wife promised you last night, in return for your kindness, whatever fish i should catch at my first throw; and i approved her promise. it pleased god to send me no more than this one for you, which, such as it is, i desire you to accept. i wish it had been better. had he sent me my net full, they should all have been yours." "neighbour," said i, "the bit of lead which i sent you was such a trifle, that it ought not to be valued at so high a rate: neighbours should assist each other in their little wants. i have done no more for you than i should have expected from you had i been in your situation; therefore i would refuse your present, if i were not persuaded you gave it me freely, and that i should offend you; and since you will have it so, i take it, and return you my hearty thanks." after these civilities, i took the fish, and carried it home to my wife. "here," said i, "take this fish, which the fisherman our neighbour has made me a present of, in return for the bit of lead he sent to us for last night: i believe it is all we can expect from the present saad made me yesterday, promising me that it would bring me good luck;" and then i told her what had passed between the two friends. my wife was much startled to see so large a fish. "what would you have me do with it?" said she. "our gridiron is only fit to broil small fish; and we have not a pot big enough to boil it." "that is your business," answered i; "dress it as you will, i shall like it either way." i then went to my work again. in gutting the fish, my wife found a large diamond, which, when she washed it, she took for a piece of glass: indeed she had heard talk of diamonds, but if she had ever seen or handled any she would not have known how to distinguish them. she gave it to the youngest of our children for a plaything, and his brothers and sisters handed it about from one to another, to admire its brightness and beauty. at night when the lamp was lighted, and the children were still playing with the diamond, they perceived that it gave a light, when my wife, who was getting them their supper, stood between them and the lamp; upon which they snatched it from one another to try it; and the younger children fell a-crying, that the elder would not let them have it long enough. but as a little matter amuses children, and makes them squabble and fall out, my wife and i took no notice of their noise, which presently ceased, when the bigger ones supped with us, and my wife had given the younger each their share. after supper the children got together again, and began to make the same noise. i then called to the eldest to know what was the matter, who told me it was about a piece of glass, which gave a light when his back was to the lamp. i bade him bring it to me, made the experiment myself, and it appeared so extraordinary, that i asked my wife what it was. she told me it was a piece of glass, which she had found in gutting the fish. i thought no more than herself but that it was a bit of glass, but i was resolved to make a farther experiment of it; and therefore bade my wife put the lamp in the chimney, which she did, and still found that the supposed piece of glass gave so great a light, that we might see to go to bed without the lamp. so i put it out, and placed the bit of glass upon the chimney to light us. "look," said i, "this is another advantage that saad's piece of lead procures us: it will spare us the expense of oil." when the children saw the lamp was put out, and the bit of glass supplied the place, they cried out so loud, and made so great a noise from astonishment, that it was enough to alarm the neighbourhood; and before my wife and i could quiet them we were forced to make a greater noise, nor could we silence them till we had put them to bed; where after talking a long while in their way about the wonderful light of a bit of glass, they fell asleep. after they were asleep, my wife and i went to bed by them; and next morning, without thinking any more of the glass, i went to my work as usual; which ought not to seem strange for such a man as i, who had never seen any diamonds, or if i had, never attended to their value. but before i proceed, i must tell your majesty that there was but a very slight partition-wall between my house and my next neighbour's, who was a very rich jew, and a jeweller; and the chamber that he and his wife lay in joined to ours. they were both in bed, and the noise my children made awakened them. the next morning the jeweller's wife came to mine to complain of being disturbed out of their first sleep. "good neighbour rachel," (which was the jew's wife's name,) said my wife, "i am very sorry for what happened, and hope you will excuse it: you know it was caused by the children, and they will laugh and cry for a trifle. come in, and i will shew you what was the occasion of the noise." the jewess went in with her, and my wife taking the diamond (for such it really was, and a very extraordinary one) out of the chimney, put it into her hands. "see here," said she, "it was this piece of glass that caused all the noise;" and while the jewess, who understood all sorts of precious stones, was examining the diamond with admiration, my wife told her how she found it in the fish's belly, and what happened. "indeed, ayesha," (which was my wife's name,) said the jeweller's wife, giving her the diamond again, "i believe as you do it is a piece of glass; but as it is more beautiful than common glass, and i have just such another piece at home, i will buy it, if you will sell it." the children, who heard them talking of selling their plaything, presently interrupted their conversation, crying and begging their mother not to part with it, who, to quiet them, promised she would not. the jewess being thus prevented in her intended swindling bargain by my children, went away, but first whispered my wife, who followed her to the door, if she had a mind to sell it, not to shew it to anybody without acquainting her. the jew went out early in the morning to his shop in that part of the town where the jewellers sell their goods. thither his wife followed, and told him the discovery she had made. she gave him an account of the size and weight of the diamond as nearly as she could guess, also of its beauty, water, and lustre, and particularly of the light which it gave in the night according to my wife's account, which was the more credible as she was uninformed. the jew sent his wife immediately to treat, to offer her a trifle at first, as she should think fit, and then to raise her price by degrees; but be sure to bring it, cost what it would. accordingly his wife came again to mine privately, and asked her if she would take twenty pieces of gold for the piece of glass she had shown her. my wife, thinking the sum too considerable for a mere piece of glass as she had thought it, would not make any bargain; but told her, she could not part with it till she had spoken to me. in the mean time i came from my work to dinner. as they were talking at the door, my wife stopped me, and asked if i would sell the piece of glass she had found in the fish's belly for twenty pieces of gold, which our neighbour offered her. i returned no answer; but reflected immediately on the assurance with which saad, in giving me the piece of lead, told me it would make my fortune. the jewess, fancying that the low price she had offered was the reason i made no reply, said, "i will give you fifty, neighbour, if that will do." as soon as i found that she rose so suddenly from twenty to fifty, i told her that i expected a great deal more. "well, neighbour," said she, "i will give you a hundred, and that is so much, i know not whether my husband will approve my offering it." at this new advance, i told her i would have a hundred thousand pieces of gold for it; that i saw plainly that the diamond, for such i now guessed it must be, was worth a great deal more, but to oblige her and her husband, as they were neighbours, i would limit myself to that price, which i was determined to have; and if they refused to give it, other jewellers should have it, who would give a great deal more. the jewess confirmed me in this resolution, by her eagerness to conclude a bargain; and by coming up at several biddings to fifty thousand pieces, which i refused. "i can offer you no more," said she, "without my husband's consent. he will be at home at night; and i would beg the favour of you to let him see it, which i promised." at night when the jew came home, his wife told him what she had done; that she had got no forwarder with my wife or me; that she offered, and i had refused, fifty thousand pieces of gold; but that i had promised to stay till night at her request. he observed the time when i left off work, and came to me. "neighbour hassan", said he, "i desire you would shew me the diamond your wife shewed to mine." i brought him in, and shewed it to him. as it was very dark, and my lamp was not lighted, he knew instantly, by the light the diamond gave, and by the lustre it cast in my hand, that his wife had given him a true account of it. he looked at and admired it a long time. "well, neighbour," said he, "my wife tells me she offered you fifty thousand pieces of gold: i will give you twenty thousand more." "neighbour," said i, "your wife can tell you that i valued my diamond at a hundred thousand pieces, and i will take nothing less." he haggled a long time with me, in hopes that i would make some abatement: but finding at last that i was positive, and for fear that i should shew it to other jewellers, as i certainly should have done, he would not leave me till the bargain was concluded on my own terms. he told me that he had not so much money at home, but would pay it all to me on the morrow, that very instant fetched two bags of a thousand pieces each, as an earnest; and the next day, though i do not know how he raised the money, whether he borrowed it of his friends, or let some other jewellers into partnership with him, he brought me the sum we had agreed for at the time appointed, and i delivered to him the diamond. having thus sold my diamond, and being rich, infinitely beyond my hopes, i thanked god for his bounty; and would have gone and thrown myself at saad's feet to express my gratitude, if i had known where he lived; as also at saadi's, to whom i was first obliged, though his good intention had not the same success. afterwards i thought of the use i ought to make of so considerable a sum. my wife, with the vanity natural to her sex, proposed immediately to buy rich clothes for herself and children; to purchase a house, and furnish it handsomely. i told her we ought not to begin with such expenses; "for," said i, "money should only be spent, so that it may produce a fund from which we may draw without its failing. this i intend, and shall begin to-morrow." i spent all that day and the next in going to the people of my own trade, who worked as hard every day for their bread as i had done; and giving them money beforehand, engaged them to work for me in different sorts of rope-making, according to their skill and ability, with a promise not to make them wait for their money, but to pay them as soon as their work was done. by this means i engrossed almost all the business of bagdad, and everybody was pleased with my exactness and punctual payment. as so great a number of workmen produced, as your majesty may judge, a large quantity of work, i hired warehouses in several parts of the town to hold my goods, and appointed over each a clerk, to sell both wholesale and retail; and by this economy received considerable profit and income. afterwards, to unite my concerns in one spot, i bought a large house, which stood on a great deal of ground, but was ruinous, pulled it down, and built that your majesty saw yesterday, which, though it makes so great an appearance, consists, for the most part, of warehouses for my business, with apartments absolutely necessary for myself and family. some time after i had left my old mean habitation, and removed to this, saad and saadi, who had scarcely thought of me from the last time they had been with me, as they were one day walking together, and passing by our street, resolved to call upon me: but great was their surprise when they did not see me at work. they asked what was become of me, and if i was alive or dead. their amazement was redoubled, when they were told i was become a great manufacturer, and was no longer called plain hassan, but khaujeh hassan al hubbaul, and that i had built in a street, which was named to them, a house like a palace. the two friends went directly to the street, and in the way, as saadi could not imagine that the bit of lead which saad had given me could have been the raising of my fortune, he said to him, "i am overjoyed to have made hassan's fortune: but i cannot forgive the two lies he told me, to get four hundred pieces instead of two; for i cannot attribute it to the piece of lead you gave him." "so you think," replied saad: "but so do not i. i do not see why you should do khaujeh hassan so much injustice as to take him for a liar. you must give me leave to believe that he told us the truth, disguised nothing from us, that the piece of lead which i gave him is the cause of his prosperity: and you will find he will presently tell us so." during their discourse the two friends came into the street where i lived, asked whereabouts my house stood; and being shewn it, could hardly believe it to be mine. they knocked at the door, and my porter opened it; when saadi, fearing to be guilty of rudeness in taking the house of a nobleman for that he was inquiring after, said to the porter, "we are informed that this is the house of khaujeh hassan al hubbaul: tell us if we are mistaken." "you are very right, sir," said the porter, opening the door wider; "it is the same; come in; he is in the hall, and any of the slaves will point him out to you." i had no sooner set my eyes upon the two friends, than i knew them. i rose from my seat, ran to them, and would have kissed the hem of their garments; but they would not suffer it, and embraced me. i invited them to a sofa made to hold four persons, which was placed full in view of my garden. i desired them to sit down, and they would have me take the place of honour. i assured them i had not forgotten that i was poor hassan the ropemaker, nor the obligations i had to them; but were this not the case, i knew the respect due to them, and begged them not to expose me. they sat down in the proper place, and i seated myself opposite to them. then saadi, addressing himself to me, said, "khaujeh hassan, i cannot express my joy to see you in the condition i wished you, when i twice made you a present of two hundred pieces of gold, for i mean not to upbraid you; though i am persuaded that those four hundred pieces have made this wonderful change in your fortune, which i behold with pleasure. one thing only vexes me, which is, that you should twice disguise the truth from me, pretending that your losses were the effect of misfortunes which now seem to me more than ever incredible. was it not because, when we were together the last time, you had so little advanced your small income with the four hundred pieces of gold, that you were ashamed to own it? i am willing to believe this, and wait to be confirmed in my opinion." saad heard this speech of saadi's with impatience, not to say indignation, which he shewed by casting down his eyes and shaking his head: he did not, however, interrupt him. when he had done, he said to him, "forgive me, saadi, if i anticipate khaujeh hassan, before he answers you, to tell you, that i am vexed at your prepossession against his sincerity, and that you still persist in not believing the assurances he has already given you. i have told you before, and i repeat it once more, that i believe those two accidents which befell him, upon his bare assertion; and whatever you may say, i am persuaded they are true; but let him speak himself, and say which of us does him justice." after this discourse of the two friends, i said, addressing myself to them both, "gentlemen, i should condemn myself to perpetual silence, on the explanation you ask of me, if i were not certain the dispute you have had on my account cannot break that friendship which subsists between you; therefore i will declare to you the truth, since you require it; and with the same sincerity as before." i then told them every circumstance your majesty has heard, without forgetting the least. all my protestations had no effect on saadi, to cure him of his prejudice. "khaujeh hassan," replied he, "the adventure of the fish, and diamond found in his belly, appears to me as incredible as the vulture's flying away with your turban, and the exchange of the scouring earth. be it as it may, i am equally convinced that you are no longer poor, but rich as i intended you should be, by my means; and i rejoice sincerely." as it grew late, they arose up to depart; when i stopped them, and said, "gentlemen, there is one favour i have to ask; i beg of you not to refuse to do me the honour to stay and take a slight supper with me, also a bed to-night, and to-morrow i will carry you by water to a small country-house, which i bought for the sake of the air, and we will return the same day on my horses." "if saad has no business that calls him elsewhere," said saadi, "i consent." saad told him that nothing should prevent his enjoying his company. we have only to send a slave to my house, that we may not be waited for. i provided a slave; and while they were giving him their orders, i went and ordered supper. while it was getting ready, i shewed my benefactors my house, and all my offices, which they thought very extensive considering my fortune: i call them both benefactors without distinction, because without saadi, saad would never have given me the piece of lead; and without saad, saadi would not have given me the four hundred pieces of gold. then i brought them back again into the hall, where they asked me several questions about my concerns; and i gave them such answers as satisfied them. during this conversation, my servants came to tell me that supper was served up. i led them into another hall, where they admired the manner in which it was lighted, the furniture, and the entertainment i had provided. i regaled them also with a concert of vocal and instrumental music during the repast, and afterwards with a company of dancers, and other entertainments, endeavouring as much as possible to shew them my gratitude. the next morning, as we had agreed to set out early to enjoy the fresh air, we repaired to the river-side by sun-rise, and went on board a pleasure-boat well carpeted that waited for us; and in less than an hour and a half, with six good rowers, and the stream, we arrived at my country house. when we went ashore, the two friends stopped to observe the beauty of the architecture of my house, and to admire its advantageous situation for prospects, which were neither too much limited nor too extensive, but such as made it very agreeable. i then conducted them into all the apartments, and shewed them the out-houses and conveniences; with all which they were very well pleased. afterwards we walked in the gardens, where what they were most struck with was a grove of orange and lemon trees, loaded with fruit and flowers, which were planted at equal distances, and watered by channels cut from a neighbouring stream. the close shade, the fragrant smell which perfumed the air, the soft murmurings of the water, the harmonious notes of an infinite number of birds, and many other agreeable circumstances, struck them in such a manner, that they frequently stopped to express how much they were obliged to me for bringing them to so delightful a place, and to congratulate me on my great acquisitions, with other compliments. i led them to the end of the grove, which was very long and broad, where i shewed them a wood of large trees, which terminated my garden, and afterwards a summer-house, open on all sides, shaded by a clump of palm-trees, but not so as to injure the prospect; i then invited them to walk in, and repose themselves on a sofa covered with carpets and cushions. two of my boys, whom i had sent into the country, with a tutor, for the air, had gone just then into the wood, and seeing a nest which was built in the branches of a lofty tree, they attempted to get at it; but as they had neither strength nor skill to accomplish their object, they shewed it to the slave who waited on them, and bade him climb the tree for it. the slave, when he came to it, was much surprised to find it composed of a turban: however he took it, brought it down, and shewed it to my children; and as he thought that i might like to see a nest that was so uncommon, he gave it to the eldest boy to bring to me. i saw the children at a distance, coming back to us, overjoyed to have procured a nest. "father," said the eldest, "we have found a nest in a turban." the two friends and i were very much surprised at the novelty; but i much more, when i recognized the turban to be that which the vulture had flown away with. after i had examined it well, and turned it about, i said to my guests, "gentlemen, have you memories good enough to remember the turban i had on the day you did me the honour first to speak to me?" "i do not think," said saad, "that either my friend or i gave any attention to it; but if the hundred and ninety pieces of gold are in it, we cannot doubt of it." "sir," replied i, "there is no doubt but it is the same turban; for besides that i know it perfectly well, i feel by the weight it is too heavy to be any other, and you will perceive this if you give yourself the trouble to take it in your hand." then after taking out the birds, and giving them to the children, i put it into his hands, and he gave it to saadi. "indeed," said saadi, "i believe it to be your turban; which i shall, however, be better convinced of when i see the hundred and ninety pieces of gold." "now, sir," added i, taking the turban again, "observe well before i unwrap it, that it is of no very fresh date in the tree; and the state in which you see it, and the nest so neatly made in it, without having been touched by the hand of man, are sufficient proofs that the vulture drops or laid it in the tree upon the day it was seized; and that the branches hindered it from falling to the ground. excuse my making this remark, since it concerns me so much to remove all suspicions of fraud." saad backed me in what i urged; and said, "saadi, this regards you and not me, for i am verily persuaded that khaujeh hassan does not impose upon us." while saad was talking, i pulled off the linen cloth which was wrapped about the cap of the turban, and took out the purse, which saadi knew to be the same he had given me. i emptied it on the carpet before them, and said, "there, gentlemen, there is the money, count it, and see if it be right;" which saad did, and found it to be one hundred and ninety pieces of gold. then saadi, who could not deny so manifest a truth, addressing himself to me said, "i agree, khaujeh hassan, that this money could not serve to enrich you; but the other hundred and ninety pieces, which you would make me believe you hid in a pot of bran, might." "sir," answered i, "i have told you the truth in regard to both sums: you would not have me retract, to make myself a liar." "khaujeh hassan," said saad, "leave saadi to his own opinion; i consent with all my heart that he believes you are obliged to him for one part of your good fortune, by means of the last sum he gave you, provided he will agree that i contributed to the other half by the bit of lead, and will not pretend to dispute the valuable diamond found in the fish's belly." "i agree to it," answered saadi, "but still you must give me liberty to believe that money is not to be amassed without money." "what," replied saad, "if chance should throw a diamond in my way worth fifty thousand pieces of gold, and i should have that sum given me for it, can it be said i got that sum by money?" they disputed no farther at this time; we rose, and went into the house, just as dinner was serving up. after dinner, i left my guests together, to pass away the heat of the day more at their liberty, and with great composure, while i went to give orders to my housekeeper and gardener. afterwards i returned to them again, and we talked of indifferent matters till it grew a little cooler; when we returned into the garden for fresh air, and stayed till sun-set. we then mounted on horseback, and got to bagdad by moonlight, two hours after, followed by one of my slaves. it happened, i know not by what negligence of my servants, that we were then out of grain for the horses, and the storehouses were all shut up; when one of my slaves seeking about the neighbourhood for some, met with a pot of bran in a shop; bought the bran, and brought the pot along with him, promising to carry it back again the next day. the slave emptied the bran, and dividing it with his hands among the horses, felt a linen cloth tied up, and very heavy; he brought the cloth to me in the condition that he found it, and presented it to me, telling me, that it might perhaps be the cloth he had often heard me talk of among my friends. overjoyed, i said to my two benefactors, "gentlemen, it has pleased god that you should not part from me without being fully convinced of the truth of what i have assured you. there are the other hundred and ninety pieces of gold which you gave me," continued i, addressing myself to saadi; "i know it well by the cloth, which i tied up with my own hands;" and then i told out the money before them. i ordered the pot to be brought to me, knew it to be the same; and sent to my wife to ask if she recognized it, ordering them to say nothing to her of what had happened. she knew it immediately, and sent me word that it was the same pot she had exchanged full of bran for the scouring-earth. saadi readily submitted, renounced his incredulity; and said to saad, "i yield to you, and acknowledge that money is not always the means of becoming rich." when saadi had spoken, i said to him, "i dare not propose to return you the three hundred and eighty pieces of gold which it hath pleased god should be found, to undeceive you as to the opinion of my honesty. i am persuaded that you did not give them to me with an intention that i should return them; but as i ought to be content with what providence has sent me from other quarters, and i do not design to make use of them; if you approve of my proposal, to-morrow i will give them to the poor, that god may bless us both." the two friends lay at my house that night also; and next day, after embracing me, returned home, well pleased with the reception i had given them, and to find i did not make an improper use of the riches heaven had blessed me with. i thanked them both, and regarded the permission they gave me to cultivate their friendship, and to visit them, as a great honour. the caliph was so attentive to khaujeh hassan's story, that he had not perceived the end of it, but by his silence. "khaujeh hassan," said he, "i have not for a long time heard any thing that has given me so much pleasure, as having been informed of the wonderful ways by which god gave thee thy riches to make thee happy in this world. thou oughtest to continue to return him thanks by the good use thou makest of his blessings. i am glad i can tell thee, that the same diamond which made thy fortune is now in my treasury; and i am happy to learn how it came there: but because there may remain in saadi some doubts on the singularity of this diamond, which i esteem the most precious and valuable jewel i possess, i would have you carry him with saad to my treasurer, who shall shew it them, to remove saadi's unbelief, and to let him see that money is not the only means of making a poor man rich in a short time, without labour. i would also have you tell the keeper of my treasury this story, that he may have it put into writing, and that it may be kept with the diamond." after these words the caliph signified to khaujeh hassan, syed naomaun, and baba abdoollah, by bowing of his head, that he was satisfied with them; they all took their leaves, by prostrating themselves at the throne, and then retired. the story of ali baba and the forty robbers destroyed by a slave. in a town in persia, there lived two brothers, one named cassim, the other ali baba. their father left them scarcely any thing; but as he had divided his little property equally between them, it should seem their fortune ought to have been equal; but chance determined otherwise. cassim married a wife who soon after became heiress to a large sum, and a warehouse full of rich goods; so that he all at once became one of the richest and most considerable merchants, and lived at his ease. ali baba on the other hand, who had married a woman as poor as himself, lived in a very wretched habitation, and had no other means to maintain his wife and children but his daily labour of cutting wood, and bringing it upon three asses, which were his whole substance, to town to sell. one day, when ali baba was in the forest, and had just cut wood enough to load his asses, he saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which seemed to be driven towards him: he observed it very attentively, and distinguished soon after a body of horse. though there had been no rumour of robbers in that country, ali baba began to think that they might prove such, and without considering what might become of his asses, was resolved to save himself. he climbed up a large, thick tree, whose branches, at a little distance from the ground, were so close to one another that there was but little space between them. he placed himself in the middle, from whence he could see all that passed without being discovered; and the tree stood at the base of a single rock, so steep and craggy that nobody could climb up it. the troop, who were all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of this rock, and there dismounted. ali baba counted forty of them, and, from their looks and equipage, was assured that they were robbers. nor was he mistaken in his opinion: for they were a troop of banditti, who, without doing any harm to the neighbourhood, robbed at a distance, and made that place their rendezvous; but what confirmed him in his opinion was, that every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn which they brought behind them. then each of them took his saddle wallet, which seemed to ali baba to be full of gold and silver from its weight. one, who was the most personable amongst them, and whom he took to be their captain, came with his wallet on his back under the tree in which ali baba was concealed, and making his way through some shrubs, pronounced these words so distinctly, "open, sesame," that ali baba heard him. as soon as the captain of the robbers had uttered these words, a door opened in the rock; and after he had made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut again of itself. the robbers stayed some time within the rock, and ali baba, who feared that some one, or all of them together, might come out and catch him, if he should endeavour to make his escape, was obliged to sit patiently in the tree. he was nevertheless tempted to get down, mount one of their horses, and lead another, driving his asses before him with all the haste he could to town; but the uncertainty of the event made him choose the safest course. at last the door opened again, and the forty robbers came out. as the captain went in last, he came out first, and stood to see them all pass by him; when ali baba heard him make the door close by pronouncing these words, "shut, sesame." every man went and bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again; and when the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come. ali baba did not immediately quit his tree; for, said he to himself, they may have forgotten something and may come back again, and then i shall be taken. he followed them with his eyes as far as he could see them; and afterwards stayed a considerable time before he descended. remembering the words the captain of the robbers used to cause the door to open and shut, he had the curiosity to try if his pronouncing them would have the same effect. accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood before it, and said, "open, sesame." the door instantly flew wide open. ali baba, who expected a dark dismal cavern, was surprised to see it well lighted and spacious, in form of a vault, which received the light from an opening at the top of the rock. he saw all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and valuable carpeting, piled upon one another; gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. the sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one another. ali baba did not stand long to consider what he should do, but went immediately into the cave, and as soon as he had entered, the door shut of itself. but this did not disturb him, because he knew the secret to open it again. he never regarded the silver, but made the best use of his time in carrying out as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, at several times, as he thought his three asses could carry. he collected his asses, which were dispersed, and when he had loaded them with the bags, laid wood over in such a manner that they could not be seen. when he had done he stood before the door, and pronouncing the words, "shut, sesame," the door closed after him, for it had shut of itself while he was within, but remained open while he was out. he then made the best of his way to town. when ali baba got home, he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the bags, carried them into his house, and ranged them in order before his wife, who sat on a sofa. his wife handled the bags, and finding them full of money, suspected that her husband had been robbing, insomuch that she could not help saying, "ali baba, have you been so unhappy as to______." "be quiet, wife," interrupted ali baba, "do not frighten yourself, i am no robber, unless he may be one who steals from robbers. you will no longer entertain an ill opinion of me, when i shall tell you my good fortune." he then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold, as dazzled his wife's eyes; and when he had done, told her the whole adventure from beginning to end; and, above all, recommended her to keep it secret. the wife, cured of her fears, rejoiced with her husband at their good fortune, and would count all the gold, piece by piece. "wife," replied ali baba, "you do not know what you undertake, when you pretend to count the money; you will never have done. i will dig a hole, and bury it; there is no time to be lost". "you are in the right, husband," replied she; "but let us know, as nigh as possible, how much we have. i will borrow a small measure in the neighbourhood, and measure it, while you dig the hole." "what you are going to do is to no purpose, wife," said ali baba; "if you would take my advice, you had better let it alone, but keep the secret, and do what you please." away the wife ran to her brother-in-law cassim, who lived just by, but was not then at home; and addressing herself to his wife, desired her to lend her a measure for a little while. her sister-in-law asked her, whether she would have a great or a small one? the other asked for a small one. she bade her stay a little, and she would readily fetch one. the sister-in-law did so, but as she knew ali baba's poverty, she was curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to her with an excuse, that she was sorry that she had made her stay so long, but that she could not find it sooner. ali baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold, filled it and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done: when she was very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to so many as they did, and went to tell her husband, who had almost finished digging the hole. while ali baba was burying the gold, his wife, to shew her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the measure back again, but without taking notice that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom. "sister," said she, giving it to her again, "you see that i have not kept your measure long; i am obliged to you for it, and return it with thanks." as soon as ali baba's wife was gone, cassim's looked at the bottom of the measure, and was in inexpressible surprise to find a piece of gold stuck to it. envy immediately possessed her breast. "what!" said she, "has ali baba gold so plentiful as to measure it? where has that poor wretch got all this wealth?" cassim, her husband, was not at home, but at his counting-house, which he left always in the evening. his wife waited for him, and thought the time an age; so great was her impatience to tell him the circumstance, at which she guessed he would be as much surprised as herself. when cassim came home, his wife said to him, "cassim, i know you think yourself rich, but you are much mistaken; ali baba is infinitely richer than you; he does not count his money but measures it." cassim desired her to explain the riddle, which she did, by telling him the stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and shewed him the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined. cassim, instead of being pleased, conceived a base envy at his brother's prosperity; he could not sleep all that night, and went to him in the morning before sun-rise. cassim, after he had married the rich widow, had never treated ali baba as a brother, but neglected him. "all baba," said he, accosting him, "you are very reserved in your affairs; you pretend to be miserably poor, and yet you measure gold." "how, brother?" replied ali baba; "i do not know what you mean: explain yourself." "do not pretend ignorance," replied cassim, shewing him the piece of gold his wife had given him. "how many of these pieces," added he, "have you? my wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday." by this discourse, ali baba perceived that cassim and his wife, through his own wife's folly, knew what they had so much reason to conceal; but what was done could not be recalled; therefore, without shewing the least surprise or trouble, he confessed all, told his brother by what chance he had discovered this retreat of the thieves, in what place it was; and offered him part of his treasure to keep the secret. "i expect as much," replied cassim haughtily; "but i must know exactly where this treasure is, and how i may visit it myself when i choose; otherwise i will go and inform against you, and then you will not only get no more, but will lose all you have, and i shall have a share for my information." ali baba, more out of his natural good temper, than frightened by the insulting menaces of his unnatural brother, told him all he desired, and even the very words he was to use to gain admission into the cave. cassim, who wanted no more of ali baba, left him, resolving to be beforehand with him, and hoping to get all the treasure to himself. he rose the next morning, long before the sun, and set out for the forest with ten mules bearing great chests, which he designed to fill; and followed the road which ali baba had pointed out to him. he was not long before he reached the rock, and found out the place by the tree, and other marks which his brother had given him. when he reached the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words, "open, sesame," the door immediately opened, and when he was in, closed upon him. in examining the cave, he was in great admiration to find much more riches than he had apprehended from ali baba's relation. he was so covetous, and greedy of wealth, that he could have spent the whole day in feasting his eyes with so much treasure, if the thought that he came to carry some away had not hindered him. he laid as many bags of gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern, but his thoughts were so full of the great riches he should possess, that he could not think of the necessary word to make it open, but instead of sesame, said "open, barley," and was much amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. he named several sorts of grain, but still the door would not open. cassim had never expected such an incident, and was so alarmed at the danger he was in, that the more he endeavoured to remember the word sesame, the more his memory was confounded, and he had as much forgotten it as if he had never heard it mentioned. he threw down the bags he had loaded himself with, and walked distractedly up and down the cave, without having the least regard to the riches that were round him. about noon the robbers chanced to visit their cave, and at some distance from it saw cassim's mules straggling about the rock, with great chests on their backs. alarmed at this novelty, they galloped full speed to the cave. they drove away the mules, which cassim had neglected to fasten, and they strayed through the forest so far, that they were soon out of sight. the robbers never gave themselves the trouble to pursue them, being more concerned to know who they belonged to. and while some of them searched about the rock, the captain and the rest went directly to the door, with their naked sabres in their hands, and pronouncing the proper words, it opened. cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet from the middle of the cave, never doubted of the arrival of the robbers, and his approaching death; but was resolved to make one effort to escape from them. to this end he rushed to the door, and no sooner heard the word sesame, which he had forgotten, and saw the door open, than he ran out and threw the leader down, but could not escape the other robbers, who with their sabres soon deprived him of life. the first care of the robbers after this was to examine the cave. they found all the bags which cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to load his mules, and carried them again to their places, without missing what ali baba had taken away before. then holding a council, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they guessed that cassim, when he was in, could not get out again; but could not imagine how he had entered. it came into their heads that he might have got down by the top of the cave; but the aperture by which it received light was so high, and the rock so inaccessible without, besides that nothing shewed that he had done so, that they gave up this conjecture. that he came in at the door they could not believe however, unless he had the secret of making it open. in short, none of them could imagine which way he had entered; for they were all persuaded nobody knew their secret, little imagining that ali baba had watched them. it was a matter of the greatest importance to them to secure their riches. they agreed therefore to cut cassim's body into four quarters, to hang two on one side and two on the other, within the door of the cave, to terrify any person who should attempt the same thing, determining not to return to the cave till the stench of the body was completely exhaled. they had no sooner taken this resolution than they put it in execution, and when they had nothing more to detain them, left the place of their hoards well closed. they mounted their horses, went to beat the roads again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. in the mean time, cassim's wife was very uneasy when night came, and her husband was not returned. she ran to ali baba in alarm, and said, "i believe, brother-in-law, that you know cassim, your brother, is gone to the forest, and upon what account; it is now night, and he is not returned; i am afraid some misfortune has happened to him." ali baba, who had expected that his brother, after what he had said, would go to the forest, had declined going himself that day, for fear of giving him any umbrage; therefore told her, without any reflection upon her husband's unhandsome behaviour, that she need not frighten herself, for that certainly cassim would not think it proper to come into the town till the night should be pretty far advanced. cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned her husband to keep the business secret, was the more easily persuaded to believe her brother-in-law. she went home again, and waited patiently till midnight. then her fear redoubled, and her grief was the more sensible because she was forced to keep it to herself. she repented of her foolish curiosity, and cursed her desire of penetrating into the affairs of her brother and sister-in-law. she spent all the night in weeping; and as soon as it was day, went to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her coming. ali baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to desire him to go to see what was become of cassim, but departed immediately with his three asses, begging of her first to moderate her affliction. he went to the forest, and when he came near the rock, having seen neither his brother nor the mules in his way, was seriously alarmed at finding some blood spilt near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but when he had pronounced the word, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal sight of his brother's quarters. he was not long in determining how he should pay the last dues to his brother, but without adverting to the little fraternal affection he had shown for him, went into the cave, to find something to enshroud his remains, and having loaded one of his asses with them, covered them over with wood. the other two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them with wood also as before; and then bidding the door shut, came away; but was so cautious as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that he might not go into the town before night. when he came home, he drove the two asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the care of unloading them to his wife, while he led the other to his sister-in-law's house. ali baba knocked at the door, which was opened by morgiana, an intelligent slave, fruitful in inventions to insure success in the most difficult undertakings: and ali baba knew her to be such. when he came into the court, he unloaded the ass, and taking morgiana aside, said to her, "the first thing i ask of you is an inviolable secrecy, which you will find is necessary both for your mistress's sake and mine. your master's body is contained in these two bundles, and our business is, to bury him as if he had died a natural death. go, tell your mistress i want to speak with her; and mind what i have said to you." morgiana went to her mistress, and ali baba followed her. "well, brother," said she, with great impatience, "what news do you bring me of my husband? i perceive no comfort in your countenance." "sister," answered ali baba, "i cannot satisfy your inquiries unless you hear my story from the beginning to the end, without speaking a word; for it is of as great importance to you as to me to keep what has happened secret." "alas!" said she, "this preamble lets me know that my husband is not to be found; but at the same time i know the necessity of the secrecy you require, and i must constrain myself: say on, i will hear you." ali baba then detailed the incidents of his journey, till he came to the finding of cassim's body. "now," said he, "sister, i have something to relate which will afflict you the more, because it is perhaps what you so little expect; but it cannot now be remedied; if my endeavours can comfort you, i offer to put that which god hath sent me to what you have, and marry you: assuring you that my wife will not be jealous, and that we shall live happily together. if this proposal is agreeable to you, we mast think of acting so as that my brother should appear to have died a natural death. i think you may leave the management of the business to morgiana, and i will contribute all that lies in my power to your consolation." what could cassim's widow do better than accept of this proposal? for though her first husband had left behind him a plentiful substance, his brother was now much richer, and by the discovery of this treasure might be still more so. instead, therefore, of rejecting the offer, she regarded it as the sure means of comfort; and drying up her tears, which had begun to flow abundantly, and suppressing the outcries usual with women who have lost their husbands, shewed ali baba that she approved of his proposal. ali baba left the widow, recommended to morgiana to act her part well, and then returned home with his ass. morgiana went out at the same time to an apothecary, and asked for a sort of lozenges, which he prepared, and were very efficacious in the most dangerous disorders. the apothecary inquired who was ill at her master's? she replied with a sigh, "her good master cassim himself: that they knew not what his disorder was, but that he could neither eat nor speak." after these words, morgiana carried the lozenges home with her, and the next morning went to the same apothecary's again, and with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence which they used to give to sick people only when at the last extremity. "alas!" said she, taking it from the apothecary, "i am afraid that this remedy will have no better effect than the lozenges; and that i shall lose my good master." on the other hand, as ali baba and his wife were often seen to go between cassim's and their own house all that day, and to seem melancholy, nobody was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable shrieks and cries of cassim's wife and morgiana, who gave out every where that her master was dead. the next morning, soon after day appeared, morgiana, who knew a certain old cobbler that opened his stall early, before other people, went to him, and bidding him good morrow, put a piece of gold into his hand. "well," said baba mustapha, which was his name, and who was a merry old fellow, looking at the gold, though it was hardly day-light, and seeing what it was, "this is good hansel: what must i do for it? i am ready." "baba mustapha," said morgiana, "you must take with you your sewing tackle, and go with me; but i must tell you, i shall blindfold you when you come to such a place." baba mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these words. "oh! oh!" replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience, or against my honour?" "god forbid!" said morgiana, putting another piece of gold into his hand, "that i should ask any thing that is contrary to your honour; only come along with me, and fear nothing." baba mustapha went with morgiana, who, after she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief at the place she had mentioned, conveyed him to her deceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes till he had entered the room where she had put the corpse together. "baba mustapha," said she, "you must make haste and sew these quarters together; and when you have done, i will give you another piece of gold." after baba mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece of gold as she had promised, and recommending secrecy to him, carried him back to the place where she first bound his eyes, pulled off the bandage, and let him go home, but watched him that he returned towards his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for fear he should have the curiosity to return and dodge her; she then went home. by the time morgiana had warmed some water to wash the body, ali baba came with incense to embalm it, after which it was sewn up in a winding sheet. not long after, the joiner, according to ali baba's orders, brought the bier, which morgiana received at the door, and helped ali baba to put the body into it; when she went to the mosque to inform the imaum that they were ready. the people of the mosque, whose business it was to wash the dead, offered to perform their duty, but she told them that it was done already. morgiana had scarcely got home before the imaum and the other ministers of the mosque arrived. four neighbours carried the corpse on their shoulders to the burying-ground, following the imaum, who recited some prayers. morgiana, as a slave to the deceased, followed the corpse, weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair: and ali baba came after with some neighbours, who often relieved the others in carrying the corpse to the burying-ground. cassim's wife stayed at home mourning, uttering lamentable cries with the women of the neighbourhood, who came according to custom during the funeral, and joining their lamentations with hers, filled the quarter far and near with sorrow. in this manner cassim's melancholy death was concealed, and hushed up between ali baba, his wife, cassim's widow, and morgiana, with so much contrivance, that nobody in the city had the least knowledge or suspicion of the cause of it. three or four days after the funeral, ali baba removed his few goods openly to the widow's house; but the money he had taken from the robbers he conveyed thither by night; soon after the marriage with his sister-in-law was published, and as these marriages are common, nobody was surprised. as for cassim's warehouse, ali baba gave it to his own eldest son, promising that if he managed it well, he would soon give him a fortune to marry very advantageously according to his situation. let us now leave ali baba to enjoy the beginning of his good fortune, and return to the forty robbers. they came again at the appointed time to visit their retreat in the forest; but great was their surprise to find cassim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold. "we are certainly discovered," said the captain, "and if we do not speedily apply some remedy, shall gradually lose all the riches which our ancestors and ourselves have, with so much pains and danger, been so many years amassing together. all that we can think of the loss which we have sustained is, that the thief whom we surprised had the secret of opening the door, and we came luckily as he was coming out: but his body being removed, and with it some of our money, plainly shews that he had an accomplice; and as it is likely that there were but two who had discovered our secret, and one has been caught, we must look narrowly after the other. what say you, my lads?" all the robbers thought the captain's proposal so advisable, that they unanimously approved of it, and agreed that they must lay all other enterprises aside, to follow this closely, and not give it up till they had succeeded. "i expected no less," said the captain, "from your fidelity to our cause: but, first of all, one of you who is bold, artful, and enterprising, must go into the town, disguised as a traveller and a stranger, to try if he can hear any talk of the strange death of the man whom we have killed, as he deserved; and endeavour to find out who he was, and where he lived. this is a matter of the first importance for us to ascertain, that we may do nothing which we may have reason to repent of, by discovering ourselves in a country where we have lived so long unknown, and where we have so much reason to continue: but to warn him who shall take upon himself this commission, and to prevent our being deceived by his giving us a false report, which may be the cause of our ruin; i ask you all, if you do not think that in case of treachery, or even error of judgment, he should suffer death?" without waiting for the suffrages of his companions, one of the robbers started up, and said, "i submit to this condition, and think it an honour to expose my life, by taking the commission upon me; but remember, at least, if i do not succeed, that i neither wanted courage nor good will to serve the troop." after this robber had received great commendations from the captain and his comrades, he disguised himself so that nobody would take him for what he was; and taking his leave of the troop that night, went into the town just at day-break; and walked up and down, till accidentally he came to baba mustapha's stall, which was always open before any of the shops. baba mustapha was seated with an awl in his hand, just going to work. the robber saluted him, bidding him good morrow; and perceiving that he was old, said, "honest man, you begin to work very early: is it possible that one of your age can see so well? i question, even if it were somewhat lighter, whether you could see to stitch." "certainly," replied baba mustapha, "you must be a stranger, and do not know me; for old as i am, i have extraordinary good eyes; and you will not doubt it when i tell you that i sewed a dead body together in a place where i had not so much light as i have now." the robber was overjoyed to think that he had addressed himself, at his first coming into the town, to a man who in all probability could give him the intelligence he wanted. "a dead body!" replied he with affected amazement, to make him explain himself. "what could you sew up a dead body for? you mean, you sewed up his winding sheet." "no, no," answered baba mustapha, "i perceive your meaning; you want to have me speak out, but you shall know no more." the robber wanted no farther assurance to be persuaded that he had discovered what he sought. he pulled out a piece of gold, and putting it into baba mustapha's hand, said to him, "i do not want to learn your secret, though i can assure you i would not divulge it, if you trusted me with it. the only thing which i desire of you is, to do me the favour to shew me the house where you stitched up the dead body." "if i were disposed to do you that favour," replied baba mustapha, holding the money in his hand, ready to return it, "i assure you i cannot; and you may believe me, on my word. i was taken to a certain place, where i was blinded, i was then led to the house, and afterwards brought back again in the same manner; you see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing what you desire." "well," replied the robber, "you may, however, remember a little of the way that you were led blindfolded. come, let me blind your eyes at the same place. we will walk together; perhaps you may recognize some part; and as every body ought to be paid for their trouble, there is another piece of gold for you; gratify me in what i ask you." so saying, he put another piece of gold into his hand. the two pieces of gold were great temptations to baba mustapha. he looked at them a long time in his hand, without saying a word, thinking with himself what he should do; but at last he pulled out his purse, and put them in. "i cannot assure you," said he to the robber, "that i can remember the way exactly; but since you desire, i will try what i can do." at these words baba mustapha rose up, to the great joy of the robber, and without shutting his shop, where he had nothing valuable to lose, he led the robber to the place where morgiana had bound his eyes. "it was here," said baba mustapha, "i was blindfolded; and i turned as you see me." the robber, who had his handkerchief ready, tied it over his eyes, walked by him till he stopped, partly leading, and partly guided by him. "i think," said baba mustapha, "i went no farther," and he had now stopped directly at cassim's house, where ali baba then lived. the thief, before he pulled off the band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which he had ready in his hand; and then asked him if he knew whose house that was? to which baba mustapha replied, that as he did not live in that neighbourhood he could not tell. the robber, finding he could discover no more from baba mustapha, thanked him for the trouble he had taken, and left him to go back to his stall, while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he should be very well received. a little after the robber and baba mustapha had parted, morgiana went out of ali baba's house upon some errand, and upon her return, seeing the mark the robber had made, stopped to observe it. "what can be the meaning of this mark?" said she to herself; "somebody intends my master no good: however, with whatever intention it was done, it is advisable to guard against the worst." accordingly, she fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or three doors on each side, in the same manner, without saying a word to her master or mistress. in the mean time the thief rejoined his troop in the forest, and recounted to them his success; expatiating upon his good fortune, in meeting so soon with the only person who could inform him of what he wanted to know. all the robbers listened to him with the utmost satisfaction; when the captain, after commending his diligence, addressing himself to them all, said, "comrades, we have no time to lose: let us set off well armed, without its appearing who we are; but that we may not excite any suspicion, let only one or two go into the town together, and join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great square. in the mean time our comrade, who brought us the good news, and i, will go and find out the house, that we may consult what had best be done." this speech and plan were approved of by all, and they were soon ready. they filed off in parties of two each, after some interval of time, and got into the town without being in the least suspected. the captain and he who had visited the town in the morning as spy, came in the last. he led the captain into the street where he had marked ali baba's residence; and when they came to the first of the houses which morgiana had marked, he pointed it out. but the captain observed that the next door was chalked in the same manner, and in the same place; and shewing it to his guide, asked him which house it was, that, or the first? the guide was so confounded, that he knew not what answer to make; but still more puzzled, when he and the captain saw five or six houses similarly marked. he assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so that he could not distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at. the captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went directly to the place of rendezvous, and told the first of his troops whom he met that they had lost their labour, and must return to their cave. he himself set them the example, and they all returned as they had come. when the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy of death. he condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who was appointed to cut off his head. but as the safety of the troop required that an injury should not go unpunished, another of the gang, who promised himself that he should succeed better, presented himself, and his offer being accepted, he went and corrupted baba mustapha, as the other had done; and being shewn the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight, with red chalk. not long after morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before, marked the other neighbours' houses in the same place and manner. the robber, at his return to his company, valued himself much on the precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of distinguishing ali baba's house from the others; and the captain and all of them thought it must succeed. they conveyed themselves into the town with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain came to the street, they found the same difficulty; at which the captain was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and much more dissatisfied; while the robber, who had been the author of the mistake, underwent the same punishment; which he willingly submitted to. the captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the residence of their plunderer. he found by their example that their heads were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore resolved to take upon himself the important commission. accordingly he went and addressed himself to baba mustapha, who did him the same service he had done to the other robbers. he did not set any particular mark on the house, but examined and observed it so carefully, by passing often by it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it. the captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and informed of what he wanted to know, returned to the forest; and when he came into the cave, where the troop waited for him, said, "now, comrades, nothing can prevent our full revenge, as i am certain of the house, and in my way hither i have thought how to put it into execution, but if any one can form a better expedient, let him communicate it." he then told them his contrivance; and as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large leather jars, one full of oil, and the others empty. in two or three days' time the robbers had purchased the mules and jars, and as the mouths of the jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, the captain caused them to be widened; and after having put one of his men into each, with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving open the seam which had been undone to leave them room to breathe, he rubbed the jars on the outside with oil from the full vessel. things being thus prepared, when the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their driver, set out with them, and reached the town by the dusk of the evening, as he had intended. he led them through the streets till he came to ali baba's, at whose door he designed to have knocked; but was prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a little fresh air. he stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and said, "i have brought some oil a great way, to sell at to-morrow's market; and it is now so late that i do not know where to lodge. if i should not be troublesome to you, do me the favour to let me pass the night with you, and i shall be very much obliged by your hospitality." though ali baba had seen the captain of the robbers in the forest, and had heard him speak, it was impossible to know him in the disguise of an oil-merchant. he told him he should be welcome, and immediately opened his gates for the mules to go into the yard. at the same time he called to a slave, and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, not only to put them into the stable, but to give them fodder; and then went to morgiana, to bid her get a good supper for his guest. he did more. to make his guest as welcome as possible, when he saw the captain had unloaded his mules, and that they were put into the stables as he had ordered, and he was looking for a place to pass the night in the air, he brought him into the hall where he received his company, telling him he would not suffer him to be in the court. the captain excused himself on pretence of not being troublesome; but really to have room to execute his design, and it was not till after the most pressing importunity that he yielded. ali baba, not content to keep company with the man who had a design on his life till supper was ready, continued talking with him till it was ended, and repeating his offer of service. the captain rose up at the same time with his host; and while ali baba went to speak to morgiana he withdrew into the yard, under pretence of looking at his mules. ali baba, after charging morgiana afresh to take care of his guest, said to her, "to-morrow morning i design to go to the bath before day; take care my bathing-linen be ready, give them to abdoollah," which was the slave's name, "and make me some good broth against i return." after this he went to bed. in the mean time the captain of the robbers went from the stable to give his people orders what to do; and beginning at the first jar, and so on to the last, said to each man: "as soon as i throw some stones out of the chamber window where i lie, do not fail to cut the jar open with the knife you have about you for the purpose, and come out, and i will immediately join you." after this he returned into the house, when morgiana taking up a light, conducted him to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put the light out soon after, and laid himself down in his clothes, that he might be the more ready to rise. morgiana, remembering ali baba's orders, got his bathing-linen ready, and ordered abdoollah to set on the pot for the broth; but while she was preparing it, the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house, nor any candles. what to do she did not know, for the broth must be made. abdoollah seeing her very uneasy, said, "do not fret and teaze yourself, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of one of the jars." morgiana thanked abdoollah for his advice, took the oil-pot, and went into the yard; when as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within said softly, "is it time?" though the robber spoke low, morgiana was struck with the voice the more, because the captain, when he unloaded the mules, had taken the lids off this and all the other jars to give air to his men, who were ill enough at their ease, almost wanting room to breathe. as much surprised as morgiana naturally was at finding a man in a jar instead of the oil she wanted, many would have made such a noise as to have given an alarm, which would have been attended with fatal consequences; whereas morgiana comprehending immediately the importance of keeping silence, from the danger ali baba, his family, and herself were in, and the necessity of applying a speedy remedy without noise, conceived at once the means, and collecting herself without shewing the least emotions, answered, "not yet, but presently." she went in this manner to all the jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. by this means, morgiana found that her master ali baba, who thought that he had entertained an oil merchant, had admitted thirty-eight robbers into his house, regarding this pretended merchant as their captain. she made what haste she could to fill her oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen; where, as soon as she had lighted her lamp, she took a great kettle, went again to the oil-jar, filled the kettle, set it on a large wood-fire, and as soon as it boiled went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber within. when this action, worthy of the courage of morgiana, was executed without any noise, as she had projected, she returned into the kitchen with the empty kettle; and having put out the great fire she had made to boil the oil, and leaving just enough to make the broth, put out the lamp also, and remained silent; resolving not to go to rest till she had observed what might follow through a window of the kitchen, which opened into the yard. she had not waited long before the captain of the robbers got up, opened the window, and finding no light, and hearing no noise, or any one stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing little stones, several of which hit the jars, as he doubted not by the sound they gave. he then listened, but not hearing or perceiving any thing, whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, he began to grow very uneasy, threw stones again a second and also a third time, and could not comprehend the reason that none of them should answer his signal. much alarmed, he went softly down into the yard, and going to the first jar, whilst asking the robber whom he thought alive if he was in readiness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of the jar. hence he suspected that his plot to murder ali baba and plunder his house was discovered. examining all the jars one after another, he found that all his gang were dead; and by the oil he missed out of the last jar guessed the means and manner of their death. enraged to despair at having failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led from the yard to the garden, and climbing over the walls, made his escape. when morgiana heard no noise, and found, after waiting some time, that the captain did not return, she concluded that he had chosen rather to make his escape by the garden than the street-door, which was double locked. satisfied and pleased to have succeeded so well, in saving her master and family, she went to bed. ali baba rose before day, and, followed by his slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the important event which had happened at home; for morgiana had not thought it safe to wake him before, for fear of losing her opportunity; and after her successful exploit she thought it needless to disturb him. when he returned from the baths, the sun was risen; he was very much surprised to see the oil-jars, and that the merchant was not gone with the mules. he asked morgiana, who opened the door, and had let all things stand as they were, that he might see them, the reason of it? "my good master," answered she, "god preserve you and all your family; you will be better informed of what you wish to know when you have seen what i have to shew you, if you will but give yourself the trouble to follow me." as soon as morgiana had shut the door, ali baba followed her; when she requested him to look into the first jar and see if there was any oil. ali baba did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and cried out. "do not be afraid," said morgiana, "the man you see there can neither do you nor any body else any harm. he is dead." "ah, morgiana!" said ali baba, "what is it you shew me? explain yourself." "i will," replied morgiana; "moderate your astonishment, and do not excite the curiosity of your neighbours; for it is of great importance to keep this affair secret. look into all the other jars." ali baba examined all the other jars, one after another: and when he came to that which had the oil in, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood for some time motionless, sometimes looking at the jars, and sometimes at morgiana, without saying a word, so great was his surprise: at last, when he had recovered himself, he said, "and what is become of the merchant?" "merchant!" answered she, "he is as much one as i am; i will tell you who he is, and what is become of him; but you had better hear the story in your own chamber; for it is time for your health that you had your broth after your bathing." while ali baba retired to his chamber, morgiana went into the kitchen to fetch the broth, but before he would drink it, he first entreated her to satisfy his impatience, and tell him what had happened, with all the circumstances; and she obeyed him. "last night, sir," said she, "when you were gone to bed, i got your bathing-linens ready, and gave them to abdoollah; afterwards i set on the pot for the broth, but as i was preparing the materials, the lamp, for want of oil, went out; and as there was not a drop more in the house, i looked for a candle, but could not find one: abdoollah seeing me vexed, put me in mind of the jars of oil which stood in the yard. i took the oil-pot, went directly to the jar which stood nearest to me; and when i came to it, heard a voice within, saying, 'is it time?' without being dismayed, and comprehending immediately the malicious intention of the pretended oil-merchant, i answered, 'not yet, but presently.' i then went to the next, when another voice asked me the same question, and i returned the same answer; and so on, till i came to the last, which i found full of oil; with which i filled my pot. "when i considered that there were thirty seven robbers in the yard, who only waited for a signal to be given by the captain, whom you took to be an oil-merchant, and entertained so handsomely, i thought there was no time to be lost; i carried my pot of oil into the kitchen, lighted the lamp, afterwards took the biggest kettle i had, went and filled it full of oil, set it on the fire to boil, and then poured as much into each jar as was sufficient to prevent them from executing the pernicious design they had meditated: after this i retired into the kitchen, and put out the lamp; but before i went to bed, waited at the window to know what measures the pretended merchant would take. "after i had watched some time for the signal, he threw some stones out of the window against the jars, but neither hearing nor perceiving any body stirring, after throwing three times, he came down, when i saw him go to every jar, after which, through the darkness of the night, i lost sight of him. i waited some time longer, and finding that he did not return, doubted not but that, seeing he had missed his aim, he had made his escape over the walls of the garden. persuaded that the house was now safe, i went to bed. "this," said morgiana, "is the account you asked of me; and i am convinced it is the consequence of what i observed some days ago, but did not think fit to acquaint you with: for when i came in one morning early, i found our street door marked with white chalk, and the next morning with red; upon which, both times, without knowing what was the intention of those chalks, i marked two or three neighbours' doors on each side in the same manner. if you reflect on this, and what has since happened, you will find it to be a plot of the robbers of the forest, of whose gang there are two wanting, and now they are reduced to three: all this shews that they had sworn your destruction, and it is proper you should be upon your guard, while there is one of them alive: for my part i shall neglect nothing necessary to your preservation, as i am in duty bound." when morgiana had left off speaking, ali baba was so sensible of the great service she had done him, that he said to her, "i will not die without rewarding you as you deserve: i owe my life to you, and for the first token of my acknowledgment, give you your liberty from this moment, till i can complete your recompense as i intend. i am persuaded with you, that the forty robbers have laid snares for my destruction. god, by your means, has delivered me from them as yet, and i hope will continue to preserve me from their wicked designs, and by averting the danger which threatened me, will deliver the world from their persecution and their cursed race. all that we have to do is to bury the bodies of these pests of mankind immediately, and with all the secrecy imaginable, that nobody may suspect what is become of them. but that labour abdoollah and i will undertake." ali baba's garden was very long, and shaded at the farther end by a great number of large trees. under these he and the slave dug a trench, long and wide enough to hold all the robbers, and as the earth was light, they were not long in doing it. afterwards they lifted the bodies out of the jars, took away their weapons, carried them to the end of the garden, laid them in the trench, and levelled the ground again. when this was done, ali baba hid the jars and weapons; and as he had no occasion for the mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in the market by his slave. while ali baba took these measures to prevent the public from knowing how he came by his riches in so short a time, the captain of the forty robbers returned to the forest with inconceivable mortification; and in his agitation, or rather confusion, at his ill success, so contrary to what he had promised himself, entered the cave, not being able, all the way from the town, to come to any resolution how to revenge himself of ali baba. the loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to him. "where are you, my brave lads," cried he, "old companions of my watchings, inroads, and labour? what can i do without you? did i collect you only to lose you by so base a fate, and so unworthy of your courage! had you died with your sabres in your hands, like brave men, my regret had been less! when shall i enlist so gallant a troop again? and if i could, can i undertake it without exposing so much gold and treasure to him who hath already enriched himself out of it? i cannot, i ought not to think of it, before i have taken away his life. i will undertake that alone which i could not accomplish with your powerful assistance; and when i have taken measures to secure this treasure from being pillaged, i will provide for it new masters and successors after me, who shall preserve and augment it to all posterity." this resolution being taken, he was not at a loss how to execute his purpose; but easy in his mind, and full of hopes, slept all that night very quietly. when he awoke early next morning, he dressed himself, agreeably to the project he had formed, went to the town, and took a lodging in a khan. as he expected what had happened at ali baba's might make a great noise, he asked his host what news there was in the city? upon which the inn-keeper told him a great many circumstances, which did not concern him in the least. he judged by this, that the reason why ali baba kept his affairs so secret, was for fear people should know where the treasure lay; and because he knew his life would be sought on account of it. this urged him the more to neglect nothing to rid himself of so cautious an enemy. the captain now assumed the character of a merchant, and conveyed gradually a great many sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the cavern, but with all the necessary precautions imaginable to conceal the place whence he brought them. in order to dispose of the merchandizes, when he had amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which happened to be opposite to cassim's, which ali baba's son had occupied since the death of his uncle. he took the name of khaujeh houssain, and as a new-comer, was, according to custom, extremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants his neighbours. ali baba's son was from his vicinity one of the first to converse with khaujeh houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship more particularly, when, two or three days after he was settled, he recognized ali baba, who came to see his son, and stopped to talk with him as he was accustomed to do. when he was gone, the impostor learnt from his son who he was. he increased his assiduities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, made him some small presents, and often asked him to dine and sup with him; when he treated him very handsomely. ali baba's son did not choose to lie under such obligation to khaujeh houssain, without making the like return; but was so much straitened for want of room in his house, that he could not entertain him so well as he wished; he therefore acquainted his father ali baba with his intention, and told him that it did not look well for him to receive such favours from khaujeh houssain, without inviting him in return. ali baba, with great pleasure, took the treat upon himself. "son," said he, "to-morrow being friday, which is a day that the shops of such great merchants as khaujeh houssain and yourself are shut, get him to take a walk with you, and as you come back, pass by my door, and call in. it will look better to have it happen accidentally, than if you gave him a formal invitation. i will go and order morgiana to provide a supper." the next day ali baba's son and khaujeh houssain met by appointment, took their walk, and as they returned, ali baba's son led khaujeh houssain through the street where his father lived; and when they came to the house, stopped and knocked at the door. "this, sir," said he, "is my father's house; who, from the account i have given him of your friendship, charged me to procure him the honour of your acquaintance; and i desire you to add this pleasure to those for which i am already indebted to you." though it was the sole aim of khaujeh houssain to introduce himself into ali baba's house, that he might kill him without hazarding his own life or making any noise; yet he excused himself, and offered to take his leave. but a slave having opened the door, ali baba's son took him obligingly by the hand, and in a manner forced him in. ali baba received khaujeh houssain with a smiling countenance, and in the most obliging manner he could wish. he thanked him for all the favours he had done his son; adding withal, the obligation was the greater, as he was a young man not much acquainted with the world, and that he might contribute to his information. khaujeh houssain returned the compliment, by assuring ali baba, that though his son might not have acquired the experience of older men, he had good sense equal to the experience of many others. after a little more conversation on different subjects, he offered again to take his leave; when ali baba, stopping him, said, "where are you going, sir, in so much haste? i beg you would do me the honour to sup with me, though what i have to give you is not worth your acceptance; but such as it is, i hope you will accept it as heartily as i give it." "sir," replied khaujeh houssain, "i am thoroughly persuaded of your good-will; and if i ask the favour of you not to take it ill that i do not accept your obliging invitation, i beg of you to believe that it does not proceed from any slight or intention to affront, but from a reason which you would approve if you knew it." "and what may that reason be, sir," replied ali baba, "if i may be so bold as to ask you?" "it is," answered khaujeh houssain, "that i can eat no victuals that have any salt in them; therefore judge how i should feel at your table." "if that is the only reason," said ali baba, "it ought not to deprive me of the honour of your company at supper; for, in the first place, there is no salt ever put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have to-night, i promise you there shall be none in that. therefore you must do me the favour to stay. i will return immediately." ali baba went into the kitchen, and ordered morgiana to put no salt to the meat that was to be dressed that night; and to make quickly two or three ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure to put no salt in them. morgiana, who was always ready to obey her master, could not help, this time, seeming somewhat dissatisfied at his strange order. "who is this difficult man," said she, "who eats no salt with his meat? your supper will be spoiled, if i keep it back so long." "do not be angry, morgiana," replied ali baba: "he is an honest man; therefore do as i bid you." morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, and had a curiosity to see this man who ate no salt. to this end, when she had finished what she had to do in the kitchen, she helped abdoollah to carry up the dishes; and looking at khaujeh houssain, knew him at first sight, notwithstanding his disguise, to be the captain of the robbers, and examining him very carefully, perceived that he had a dagger under his garment. "i am not in the least amazed," said she to herself, "that this wicked wretch, who is my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with him, since he intends to assassinate him; but i will prevent him". morgiana, while they were eating, made the necessary preparations for executing one of the boldest acts ever meditated, and had just determined, when abdoollah came for the dessert of fruit, which she carried up, and as soon as abdoollah had taken the meat away, set it upon the table; after that, she placed three glasses by ali baba, and going out, took abdoollah with her to sup, and to give ali baba the more liberty of conversation with his guest. khaujeh houssain, or rather the captain of the robbers, thought he had now a favourable opportunity of being revenged on ali baba. "i will," said he to himself, "make the father and son both drunk: the son, whose life i intend to spare, will not be able to prevent my stabbing his father to the heart; and while the slaves are at supper, or asleep in the kitchen, i can make my escape over the gardens as before." instead of going to supper, morgiana, who had penetrated the intentions of the counterfeit khaujeh houssain, would not give him time to put his villanous design into execution, but dressed herself neatly with a suitable head-dress like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to which there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the same metal, and put a handsome mask on her face. when she had thus disguised herself, she said to abdoollah, "take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his son's guest, as we do sometimes when he is alone." abdoollah took his tabor and played all the way into the hall before morgiana, who, when she came to the door, made a low obeisance, with a deliberate air, in order to draw attention, and by way of asking leave to exhibit her skill. abdoollah, seeing that his master had a mind to say something, left off playing. "come in, morgiana," said ali baba, "and let khaujeh houssain see what you can do, that he may tell us what he thinks of you." "but, sir," said he, turning towards his guest, "do not think that i put myself to any expense to give you this diversion, since these are my slave and my cook and housekeeper; and i hope you will not find the entertainment they give us disagreeable." khaujeh houssain, who did not expect this diversion after supper, began to fear he should not be able to improve the opportunity he thought he had found; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to secure it another time, by keeping up a friendly correspondence with the father and son; therefore, though he could have wished ali baba would have declined the dance, he pretended to be obliged to him for it, and had the complaisance to express his satisfaction at what he saw pleased his host. as soon as abdoollah saw that ali baba and khaujeh houssain had done talking, he began to play on the tabor, and accompanied it with an air; to which morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced in such a manner as would have created admiration in any other company besides that before which she now exhibited, among whom, perhaps, none but the false khaujeh houssain was in the least attentive to her, the rest having seen her so frequently. after she had danced several dances with equal propriety and grace, she drew the poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance, in which she outdid herself, by the many different figures, light movements, and the surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with which she accompanied it. sometimes she presented the poniard to one's breast, sometimes to another's, and oftentimes seeming to strike her own. at last, as if she was out of breath, she snatched the tabor from abdoollah with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her right, presented the other side of the tabor, after the manner of those who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality of the spectators. ali baba put a piece of gold into the tabor, as did also his son; and khaujeh houssain seeing that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse out of his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his hand into it, morgiana, with a courage and resolution worthy of herself, plunged the poniard into his heart. ali baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried out aloud. "unhappy wretch!" exclaimed ali baba, "what have you done to ruin me and my family?" "it was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered morgiana; "for see here," continued she (opening the pretended khaujeh houssain's garment, and shewing the dagger), "what an enemy you had entertained! look well at him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious oil-merchant, and the captain of the gang of forty robbers. remember, too, that he would eat no salt with you; and what would you have more to persuade you of his wicked design? before i saw him i suspected him as soon as you told me you had such a guest. i knew him, and you now find that my suspicion was not groundless." ali baba, who immediately felt the new obligation he had to morgiana for saving his life a second time, embraced her: "morgiana," said he, "i gave you your liberty, and then promised you that my gratitude should not stop there, but that i would soon give you higher proofs of its sincerity, which i now do by making you my daughter-in-law." then addressing himself to his son, he said, "i believe you, son, to be so dutiful a child, that you will not refuse morgiana for your wife. you see that khaujeh houssain sought your friendship with a treacherous design to take away my life; and, if he had succeeded, there is no doubt but he would have sacrificed you also to his revenge. consider, that by marrying morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and your own." the son, far from shewing any dislike, readily consented to the marriage; not only because he would not disobey his father, but also because it was agreeable to his inclination. after this, they thought of burying the captain of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so privately that nobody discovered their bones till many years after, when no one had any concern in the publication of this remarkable history. a few days afterwards, ali baba celebrated the nuptials of his son and morgiana with great solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that his friends and neighbours, whom he invited, had no knowledge of the true motives of the marriage; but that those who were not unacquainted with morgiana's good qualities commended his generosity and goodness of heart. ali baba forbore, after this marriage, from going again to the robbers' cave, as he had done from the time he had brought away his brother cassim's mangled remains, for fear of being surprised. he kept away after the death of the thirty-seven robbers and their captain, supposing the other two, whom he could get no account of, might be alive. at the year's end, when he found they had not made any attempt to disturb him, he had the curiosity to make another journey, taking the necessary precautions for his safety. he mounted his horse, and when he came to the cave, and saw no footsteps of men or horses, looked upon it as a good sign. he alighted, tied his horse to a tree, then approaching the entrance, and pronouncing the words, open, sesame, the door opened. he entered the cavern, and by the condition he found things in, judged that nobody had been there since the false khaujeh houssain, when he had fetched the goods for his shop, that the gang of forty robbers was completely destroyed, and no longer doubted that he was the only person in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, so that all the treasure was at his sole disposal. having brought with him a wallet, he put into it as much gold as his horse would carry, and returned to town. afterwards ali baba carried his son to the cave, taught him the secret, which they handed down to their posterity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, lived in great honour and splendour. the story of ali khaujeh, a merchant of bagdad. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a merchant whose name was ali khaujeh, who was neither one of the richest nor poorest of his line. he was a bachelor, and lived in the house which had been his father's, independent and content with the profit he made by his trade. but happening to dream for three successive nights that a venerable old man came to him, and, with a severe look, reprimanded him for not having made a pilgrimage to mecca, he was much troubled. as a good mussulmaun, he knew he was obliged to undertake a pilgrimage; but as he had a house, shop, and goods, he had always believed that they might stand for a sufficient reason to excuse him, endeavouring by his charity, and other good works, to atone for that neglect. after this dream, however, his conscience was so much pricked, that the fear lest any misfortune should befall him made him resolve not to defer it any longer; and to be able to go that year, he sold off his household goods, his shop, and with it the greatest part of his merchandize, reserving only some articles, which he thought might turn to a better account at mecca; and meeting with a tenant for his house, let that also. his affairs being thus disposed, he was ready to depart when the bagdad caravan set out for mecca: the only thing he had to do was to lodge in some place of security a sum of a thousand pieces of gold, which would have been troublesome to carry with him, with the money he had set apart to defray his expenses on the road, and for other purposes. to this end, he made choice of a jar of a suitable size, put the thousand pieces of gold into it, and covered them over with olives. when he had closed the mouth of the jar, he carried it to a merchant, a particular friend of his, and said to him, "you know, brother, that in a few days i mean to depart with the caravan, on my pilgrimage to mecca. i beg the favour of you to take charge of a jar of olives, and keep it for me till i return." the merchant promised him he would, and in an obliging manner said, "here, take the key of my warehouse, and set your jar where you please. i promise you shall find it there when you return." on the day the caravan was to set out ali khaujeh joined it, with a camel loaded with what goods he had thought fit to carry, which also served him to ride on. he arrived safe at mecca, where he visited, with other pilgrims, the temple so much celebrated and frequented by the faithful of all nations every year, who came from all parts of the world, and observed religiously the ceremonies prescribed them. when he had acquitted himself of the duties of his pilgrimage, he exposed the merchandize he had brought with him for sale or barter, as might be most profitable. two merchants passing by, and seeing ali khaujeh's goods, thought them so choice, that they stopped some time to look at, though they had no occasion for them; and when they had satisfied their curiosity, one of them said to the other, as they were going away, "if this merchant knew to what profit these goods would turn at cairo he would carry them thither, and not sell them here, though this is a good mart." ali khaujeh heard these words; and as he had often heard talk of the beauties of egypt, he was resolved to take the opportunity of seeing them, by performing a journey thither. therefore, after having packed up his goods again, instead of returning to bagdad, he set out for egypt, with the caravan of cairo. when he came thither, he found his account in his journey, and in a few days sold all his goods to a greater advantage than he had hoped for. with the money he bought others, with an intent to go to damascus: and while he waited for the opportunity of a caravan, which was to depart in six weeks, visited all the curiosities of cairo, as also the pyramids, and sailing up the nile, viewed the famous towns on each side of that river. as the damascus caravan took jerusalem in their way, our bagdad merchant had the opportunity of visiting the temple, regarded by the mussulmauns to be the most holy, after that of mecca, whence this city takes its name of biel al mukkuddus, or most sacred mansion. ali khaujeh found damascus so delicious a place, being environed by verdant meadows, pleasantly watered, and delightful gardens, that it exceeded the descriptions given of it in the journals of travellers. here he made a long abode, but, nevertheless, did not forget his native bagdad: for which place he at length set out, and arrived at aleppo, where he made some stay; and from thence, after having passed the euphrates, he bent his course to moussoul, with an intention, in his return, to come by a shorter way down the tigris. when ali khaujeh came to moussoul, some persian merchants, with whom he had travelled from aleppo, and with whom he had contracted a great friendship, had obtained so great an influence over him by their civilities and agreeable conversation, that they easily persuaded him not to leave them till he should have visited sheerauz, from whence he might easily return to bagdad with a considerable profit. they led him through the towns of sultania, rei, coam, caschan, ispahan, and from thence to sheerauz; from whence he had the complaisance to bear them company to hindoostan, and then returned with them again to sheerauz; insomuch, that including the stay made in every town, he was seven years absent from bagdad, whither he then resolved to return. all this time his friend, with whom he had left his jar of olives, neither thought of him nor them; but at the time when he was on the road with a caravan from sheerauz, one evening as this merchant was supping with his family, the discourse happened to fall upon olives, and his wife was desirous to eat some, saying, she had not tasted any for a long while. "now you speak of olives," said the merchant, "you put me in mind of a jar which ali khaujeh left with me seven years ago, when he went to mecca; and put it himself in my warehouse to be kept for him against he returned. what is become of him i know not; though, when the caravan came back, they told me he was gone for egypt. certainly he must be dead, since he has not returned in all this time; and we may eat the olives, if they prove good. give me a plate and a candle, i will go and fetch some of them, and we will taste them." "for god's sake, husband," said the wife, "do not commit so base an action; you know that nothing is more sacred than what is committed to one's care and trust. you say ali khaujeh has left mecca, and is not returned; but you have been told that he is gone into egypt; and how do you know but that he may be gone farther? as you have no intelligence of his death, he may return to-morrow for any thing you can tell: and what a disgrace would it be to you and your family if he should come, and you not restore him his jar in the same condition he left it? i declare i have no desire for the olives, and will not taste them, for when i mentioned them it was only by way of conversation; besides, do you think that they can be good, after they have been kept so long? they most be all mouldy, and spoiled; and if ali khaujeh should return, as i have a strong persuasion he will, and should find they had been opened, what will he think of your honour? i beg of you to let them alone." the wife had not argued so long with her husband, but that she read his obstinacy in his face. in short, he never regarded what she said, but got up, took a candle and a plate, and went into the warehouse. "well, husband," said the wife again, "remember i have no hand in this business; and that you cannot lay any thing to my charge, if you should have cause to repent of your conduit." the merchant's ears were deaf to these remonstrances of his wife, and he persisted in his design. when he came into the warehouse, he opened the jar, and found the olives mouldy; but to see if they were all so to the bottom, he turned some of them upon the plate; and by shaking the jar, some of the gold tumbled out. at the sight of the gold, the merchant, who was naturally covetous, looked into the jar, perceived that he had shaken out almost all the olives, and what remained was gold coin. he immediately put the olives into the jar again, covered it up, and returned to his wife. "indeed, wife," said he, "you were in the right to say that the olives were all mouldy; for i found them so, and have made up the jar just as ali khaujeh left it; so that he will not perceive that they have been touched, if he should return." "you had better have taken my advice," said the wife, "and not have meddled with them. god grant no mischief happens in consequence!" the merchant was not more affected with his wife's last words than he had been by her former, but spent almost the whole night in thinking how he might appropriate ali khaujeh's gold to his own use, and keep possession of it in case he should return and ask him for the jar. the next morning he went and bought some olives of that year, took out the old with the gold, and filled the jar with the new, covered it up, and put it in the place where ali khaujeh had left it. about a month after the merchant had committed this unworthy action, ali khaujeh arrived at bagdad; and as he had let his house, alighted at a khan, choosing to stay there till he had announced his arrival to his tenant, and given him time to provide himself with another residence. the next morning ali khaujeh went to pay a visit to the merchant his friend, who received him in the most obliging manner; and expressed great joy at his return, after so many years absence; telling him, that he had begun to lose all hopes of ever seeing him again. after the usual compliments on both sides on such a meeting, ali khaujeh desired the merchant to return him the jar of olives which he had left with him, and to excuse the liberty he had taken in giving him so much trouble. "my dear friend," replied the merchant, "you are to blame to make these apologies, your vessel has been no inconvenience to me; on such an occasion i should have made as free with you: there is the key of my warehouse, go and fetch your jar; you will find it in the place where you left it." ali khaujeh went into the merchant's warehouse, took his jar; and after having returned him the key with thanks for the favour he had done: him, returned with it to the khan where he lodged; but on opening the jar, and putting his hand down as low as the pieces of gold had lain, was greatly surprised to find none. at first he thought he might perhaps be mistaken; and, to discover the truth, poured out all the olives into his travelling kitchen-utensils, but without so much as finding one single piece of money. his astonishment was so great, that he stood for some time motionless; then lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, "is it possible that a man, whom i took for my friend, should be guilty of such baseness?" ali khaujeh, alarmed at the apprehension of so considerable a loss, returned immediately to the merchant. "my good friend," said he, "be not surprised to see me come back so soon. i own the jar of olives to be the same i placed in your warehouse; but with the olives i put into it a thousand pieces of gold, which i do not find. perhaps you might have occasion for them, and have employed them in trade: if so they are at your service till it may be convenient for you to return them; only put me out of my pain, and give me an acknowledgment, after which you may pay me at your own convenience." the merchant, who had expected that ali khaujeh would come with such a complaint, had meditated an answer. "friend ali khaujeh," said he, "when you brought your jar to me did i touch it? did not i give you the key of my warehouse, did not you carry it there yourself, and did not you find it in the same place, covered in the same manner as when you left it? and if you had put gold in it, you must have found it. you told me it contained olives, and i believed you. this is all i know of the matter: you may disbelieve me if you please; but i never touched them." ali khaujeh used all the mild methods he could think of to oblige the merchant to restore his property. "i love peace and quietness," said he to him, "and shall be sorry to come to those extremities which will bring the greatest disgrace upon you; consider, that merchants, as we are, ought to abandon all interest to preserve a good reputation. once again i tell you, i shall be greatly concerned if your obstinacy oblige me to force you to do me justice; for i would rather almost lose what is my right than have recourse to law." "ali khaujeh," replied the merchant, "you agree that you left a jar of olives with me; and now you have taken it away, you come and ask me for a thousand pieces of gold. did you ever tell me that such a sum was in the jar? i did not even know that they were olives, for you never showed them to me. i wonder you do not ask me for diamonds and pearls instead of gold; be gone about your business, and do not raise a mob about my warehouse;" for some persons had already collected. these words were pronounced in such great heat and passion, as not only made those who stood about the warehouse already stay longer, and create a greater mob, but the neighbouring merchants came out of their shops to learn what the dispute was between ali khaujeh and the merchant, and endeavoured to reconcile them; but when ali khaujeh had informed them of his grievance, they asked the merchant what he had to say. the merchant owned that he had kept the jar for ali khaujeh in his warehouse, but denied that ever he had meddled with it; swore that he knew it contained olives, only because ali khaujeh told him so, and requested them all to bear witness of the insult and affront offered him. "you bring it upon yourself," said ali khaujeh taking him by the arm; "but since you use me so basely, i cite you to the law of god: let us see whether you will have the assurance to say the same thing before the cauzee." the merchant could not refuse the summons, which every mussulmaun is bound to observe, or be declared a rebel against religion; but said, "with all my heart; we shall soon see who is in the wrong." ali khaujeh carried the merchant before the magistrate, where he accused him of having, by breach of trust, defrauded him of a thousand pieces of gold, which he had left with him. the cauzee demanded if he had any witnesses; to which he replied, that he had not taken that precaution, because he had believed the person he trusted his money with to be his friend, and always took him for an honest man. the merchant made the same defence he had done before the merchants his neighbours, offering to make oath that he never had the money he was accused of, and that he did not so much as know there was such a sum; upon which the cauzee took his oath, and dismissed him acquitted for want of evidence. ali khaujeh, extremely mortified to find that he must sit down with so considerable a loss, protested against the sentence, declaring to the cauzee that he would appeal to the caliph, who would do him justice; which protestation the magistrate regarded as the effect of the common resentment of those who lose their cause; and thought he had done his duty in acquitting a person who had been accused without witnesses. while the merchant returned home triumphing over ali khaujeh and overjoyed at his good fortune, the latter went and drew up a petition; and the next day observing the time when the caliph came from noon tide prayers, placed himself in the street he was to pass through; and holding out his hand with the petition, an officer appointed for that purpose, who always goes before the caliph, came and took it to present it. as ali khaujeh knew that it was the caliph's custom to read the petitions at his return to the palace, he went into the court, and waited till the officer who had taken the petition came out of the caliph's apartment, who told him that the caliph had appointed an hour to hear him next day; and then asking him where the merchant lived, he sent to notify to him to attend at the same time. that same evening, the caliph, accompanied by the grand vizier jaaffier, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs, went disguised through the town, as it was his custom occasionally to do; when, on passing through a street, the caliph heard a noise, and mending his pace, came to a gateway, which led into a little court, in which he perceived ten or twelve children playing by moonlight. the caliph, who was curious to know at what play the children were engaged, sat down on a stone bench just by; and heard one of the liveliest of the children say, "let us play at the cauzee i will be the magistrate; bring ali khaujeh and the merchant who cheated him of the thousand pieces of gold before me." these words of the child put the caliph in mind of the petition ali khaujeh had given him that day, and made him redouble his attention to see the issue of the trial. as the affair of ali khaujeh and the merchant had made a great noise in bagdad, it had not escaped the children, who all accepted the proposition with joy, and agreed on the part each was to act: not one of them refused him who made the proposal to be cauzee: and when he had taken his seat, which he did with all the seeming gravity of a judge, another, as an officer of the court, presented two boys before him; one as ali khaujeh, and the other as the merchant against whom he complained. the pretended cauzee then directing his discourse to the feigned ali khaujeh, asked him what he had to lay to that merchant's charge? ali khaujeh after a low obeisance, informed the young cauzee of the fact, related every particular, and afterwards begged that he would use his authority, that he might not lose so considerable a sum of money. the feigned cauzee, turning about to the merchant, then asked him why he did not return the money which ali khaujeh demanded of him? the feigned merchant alleged the same reasons as the real merchant had done before the cauzee himself, and offered to confirm by oath that what he had said was truth. "not so fast," replied the pretended cauzee; "before you come to your oath, i should be glad to see the jar of olives. ali khaujeh," said he, addressing himself to the boy who acted that part, "have you brought the jar?" "no," replied he. "then go and fetch it immediately," said the other. the pretended ali khaujeh went immediately, and returning, feigned to set a jar before the cauzee, telling him that it was the same he had left with the accused person, and received from him again. but to omit no part of the formality, the supposed cauzee asked the merchant if it was the same; and as by his silence he seemed not to deny it, he ordered it to be opened. he that represented ali khaujeh seemed to take off the cover, and the pretended cauzee made as if he looked into it. "they are fine olives," said he, "let me taste them;" and then pretending to eat some, added, "they are excellent: but," continued he, "i cannot think that olives will keep seven years, and be so good, therefore send for some olive-merchants, and let me hear what is their opinion." two boys, as olive-merchants, then presented themselves. "are you olive-merchants?" said the sham cauzee. "tell me how long olives will keep fit to eat." "sir," replied the two merchants, "let us take what care we can, they will hardly be worth any thing the third year; for then they have neither taste nor colour." "if it be so," answered the cauzee, "look into that jar, and tell me how long it is since those olives were put into it?" the two merchants pretended to examine and to taste the olives, and told the cauzee they were new and good. "you are mistaken," said the young cauzee; "ali khaujeh says he put them into the jar seven years ago." "sir," replied the merchants, "we can assure you they are of this year's growth: and we will maintain there is not a merchant in bagdad but will say the same." the feigned merchant who was accused would have objected against the evidence of the olive-merchants; but the pretended cauzee would not suffer him. "hold your tongue," said he, "you are a rogue; let him be impaled." the children then concluded their play, clapping their hands with great joy, and seizing the feigned criminal to carry him to execution. words cannot express how much the caliph haroon al rusheed admired the sagacity and sense of the boy who had passed so just a sentence, in an affair which was to be pleaded before himself the next day. he withdrew, and rising off the bench, asked the grand vizier, who heard all that had passed, what he thought of it. "indeed, commander of the true believers," answered the grand vizier jaaffier, "i am surprised to find so much sagacity in one so young." "but," answered the caliph, "do you know one thing? i am to pronounce sentence in this very cause to-morrow; the true ali khaujeh presented his petition to me to-day; and do you think," continued he, "that i can give a better sentence?" "i think not," answered the vizier, "if the case is as the children represented it." "take notice then of this house," said the caliph, "and bring the boy to me to-morrow, that he may try this cause in my presence; and also order the cauzee, who acquitted the merchant, to attend to learn his duty from a child. take care likewise to bid ali khaujeh bring his jar of olives with him, and let two olive-merchants attend." after this charge he pursued his rounds, without meeting with any thing worth his attention. the next day the vizier went to the house where the caliph had been a witness of the children's play, and asked for the master; but he being abroad, his wife appeared thickly veiled. he asked her if she had any children. to which she answered, she had three; and called them. "my brave boys," said the vizier, "which of you was the cauzee when you played together last night?" the eldest made answer, it was he: but, not knowing why he asked the question, coloured. "come along with me, my lad," said the grand vizier; "the commander of the faithful wants to see you." the mother was alarmed when she saw the grand vizier would take her son with him, and asked, upon what account the caliph wanted him? the grand vizier encouraged her, and promised that he should return again in less than an hour's time, when she would know it from himself. "if it be so, sir," said the mother, "give me leave to dress him first, that he may be fit to appear before the commander of the faithful:" which the vizier readily complied with. as soon as the child was dressed, the vizier carried him away and presented him to the caliph, at the time he had appointed to hear ali khaujeh and the merchant. the caliph, who saw that the boy was much abashed, in order to encourage him, said, "come to me, child, and tell me if it was you that determined the affair between ali khaujeh and the merchant who had cheated him of his money? i saw and heard the decision, and am very well pleased with you." the boy answered modestly, that it was he. "well, my son," replied the caliph, "come and sit down by me, and you shall see the true ali khaujeh, and the true merchant." the caliph then took him by the hand, seated him on the throne by him, and asked for the two parties. when they were introduced, they prostrated themselves before the throne, bowing their heads quite down to the carpet that covered it. afterwards the caliph said to them, "plead each of you your causes before this child, who will hear and do you justice: and if he should be at a loss i will assist him." ali khaujeh and the merchant pleaded one after the other; but when the merchant proposed his oath as before, the child said, "it is too soon; it is proper that we should see the jar of olives." at these words ali khaujeh presented the jar, placed it at the caliph's feet, and opened it. the caliph looked at the olives, took one and tasted it, giving another to the boy. afterwards the merchants were called, who examined the olives, and reported that they were good, and of that year. the boy told them, that ali khaujeh affirmed that it was seven years since he had put them up; when they returned the same answer as the children, who had represented them the night before. though the wretch who was accused saw plainly that these merchants' opinion must convict him, yet he would say something in his own justification. but the child, instead of ordering him to be impaled, looked at the caliph, and said "commander of the faithful, this is no jesting matter; it is your majesty that must condemn him to death, and not i, though i did it yesterday in play." the caliph, fully satisfied of the merchant's villany, delivered him into the hands of the ministers of justice to be impaled. the sentence was executed upon him, after he had confessed where he had concealed the thousand pieces of gold, which were restored to ali khaujeh. the monarch, most just and equitable, then turning to the cauzee, bade him learn of that child to acquit himself more exactly of his duty; and embracing the boy, sent him home with a purse of a hundred pieces of gold as a token of his liberality and admiration of his acuteness. end of volume . the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume iv. the story of the enchanted horse the story of prince ahmed, and the fairy perie banou the story of the sisters who envied their younger sister story of the three sharpers and the sultan the adventures of the abdicated sultan history of mahummud, sultan of cairo story of the first lunatic story of the second lunatic story of the retired sage and his pupil, related to the sultan by the second lunatic story of the broken-backed schoolmaster story of the wry-mouthed schoolmaster story of the sisters and the sultana their mother story of the bang-eater and the cauzee story of the bang-eater and his wife the sultan and the traveller mhamood al hyjemmee the koord robber story of the husbandman story of the three princes and enchanting bird story of a sultan of yemen and his three sons story of the first sharper in the cave history of the sultan of hind story of the fisherman's son story of abou neeut and abou neeuteen; or, the well-intentioned and the double-minded adventure of a courtier, related by himself to his parton, an ameer of egypt story of the prince of sind, and fatima, daughter of amir bin naomaun story of the lovers of syria; or, the heroine story of hyjauje, the tyrannical governor of coufeh, and the young syed story of ins alwujjood and wird al ikmaum, daughter of ibrahim, vizier to sultan shamikh the adventures of mazin of khorassaun story of the sultan the dervish, and the barber's son adventures of aleefa daughter of mherejaun sultan of hind, and eusuff, son of sohul, sultan of sind adventures of the three princes, sons of the sultan of china story of the good vizier unjustly imprisoned story of the lady of cairo and her four gallants the cauzee's story story of the merchant, his daughter, and the prince of eerauk adventures of the cauzee, his wife, &c the sultan's story of himself conclusion the story of the enchanted horse. the nooroze, or the new day, which is the first of the year and spring, is observed as a solemn festival throughout all persia, which has been continued from the time of idolatry; and our prophet's religion, pure as it is, and true as we hold it, has not been able to abolish that heathenish custom, and the superstitious ceremonies which are observed, not only in the great cities, but celebrated with extraordinary rejoicings in every little town, village, and hamlet. but the rejoicings are the most splendid at the court, for the variety of new and surprising spectacles, insomuch that strangers are invited from the neighbouring states, and the most remote parts, by the rewards and liberality of the sovereign, towards those who are the most excellent in their invention and contrivance. in short, nothing in the rest of the world can compare with the magnificence of this festival. one of these festival days, after the most ingenious artists of the country had repaired to sheerauz, where the court then resided, had entertained the king and all the court with their productions, and had been bountifully and liberally rewarded according to their merit and to their satisfaction by the monarch; when the assembly was just breaking up, a hindoo appeared at the foot of the throne, with an artificial horse richly caparisoned, and so naturally imitated, that at first sight he was taken for a living animal. the hindoo prostrated himself before the throne; and pointing to the horse, said to the emperor, "though i present myself the last before your majesty, yet i can assure you that nothing shewn to-day is so wonderful as this horse, on which i beg your majesty would be pleased to cast your eyes." "i see nothing more in the horse," said the emperor, "than the natural resemblance the workman has given him; which the skill of another workman may possibly execute as well or better." "sir," replied the hindoo, "it is not for his outward form and appearance that i recommend my horse to your majesty's examination as wonderful, but the use to which i can apply him, and which, when i have communicated the secret to them, any other persons may make of him. whenever i mount him, be it where it may, if i wish to transport myself through the air to the most distant part of the world, i can do it in a very short time. this, sir, is the wonder of my horse; a wonder which nobody ever heard speak of, and which i offer to shew your majesty, if you command me." the emperor of persia, who was fond of every thing that was curious, and notwithstanding the many prodigies of art he had seen had never beheld or heard of anything that came up to this, told the hindoo, that nothing but the experience of what he asserted could convince him: and that he was ready to see him perform what he had promised. the hindoo instantly put his foot into the stirrup, mounted his horse with admirable agility, and when he had fixed himself in the saddle, asked the emperor whither he pleased to command him. about three leagues from sheerauz there was a lofty mountain discernible from the large square before the palace, where the emperor, his court, and a great concourse of people, then were. "do you see that mountain?" said the emperor, pointing to it; "it is not a great distance from hence, but it is far enough to judge of the speed you can make in going and returning. but because it is not possible for the eye to follow you so far, as a proof that you have been there, i expect that you will bring me a branch of a palm-tree that grows at the bottom of the hill." the emperor of persia had no sooner declared his will than the hindoo turned a peg, which was in the hollow of the horse's neck, just by the pummel of the saddle; and in an instant the horse rose off the ground and carried his rider into the air with the rapidity of lightning to such a height, that those who had the strongest sight could not discern him, to the admiration of the emperor and all the spectators. within less than a quarter of an hour they saw him returning with the palm branch in his hand; but before he descended, he took two or three turns in the air over the spot, amid the acclamations of all the people; then alighted on the spot whence he had set off, without receiving the least shock from the horse to disorder him. he dismounted, and going up to the throne, prostrated himself, and laid the branch of the palm-tree at the feet of the emperor. the emperor, who had viewed with no less admiration than astonishment this unheard-of sight which the hindoo had exhibited, conceived a great desire to have the horse; and as he persuaded himself that he should not find it a difficult matter to treat with the hindoo, for whatever sum of money he should value it at, began to regard it as the most valuable thing in his treasury. "judging of thy horse by his outward appearance," said he to the hindoo, "i did not think him so much worth my consideration. as you have shewn me his merits, i am obliged to you for undeceiving me; and to prove to you how much i esteem it, i will purchase him of you, if he is to be sold." "sir," replied the hindoo, "i never doubted that your majesty, who has the character of the most liberal prince on earth, would set a just value on my work as soon as i had shewn you on what account he was worthy your attention. i also foresaw that you would not only admire and commend it, but would desire to have it. though i know his intrinsic value, and that my continuing master of him would render my name immortal in the world; yet i am not so fond of fame but i can resign him, to gratify your majesty; however, in making this declaration, i have another to add, without which i cannot resolve to part with him, and perhaps you may not approve of it. "your majesty will not be displeased," continued the hindoo, "if i tell you that i did not buy this horse, but obtained him of the inventor, by giving him my only daughter in marriage, and promising at the same time never to sell him; but if i parted with him to exchange him for something that i should value beyond all else." the hindoo was proceeding, when at the word exchange, the emperor of persia interrupted him. "i am willing," said he, "to give you whatever you may ask in exchange. you know my kingdom is large, and contains many great, rich, and populous cities; i will give you the choice of which you like best, in full sovereignty for life." this exchange seemed royal and noble to the whole court; but was much below what the hindoo had proposed to himself, who had raised his thoughts much higher. "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for the offer you make me," answered he, "and cannot thank you enough for your generosity; yet i must beg of you not to be displeased if i have the presumption to tell you, that i cannot resign my horse, but by receiving the hand of the princess your daughter as my wife: this is the only price at which i can part with my property." the courtiers about the emperor of persia could not forbear laughing aloud at this extravagant demand of the hindoo; but the prince firoze shaw, the eldest son of the emperor, and presumptive heir to the crown, could not hear it without indignation. the emperor was of a very different opinion, and thought he might sacrifice the princess of persia to the hindoo, to satisfy his curiosity. he remained however undetermined, considering what he should do. prince firoze shaw, who saw his father hesitated what answer to make, began to fear lest he should comply with the hindoo's demand, and regarded it as not only injurious to the royal dignity, and to his sister, but also to himself; therefore to anticipate his father, he said, "sir, i hope your majesty will forgive me for daring to ask, if it is possible your majesty should hesitate about a denial to so insolent a demand from such an insignificant fellow, and so scandalous a juggler? or give him reason to flatter himself a moment with being allied to one of the most powerful monarchs in the world? i beg of you to consider what you owe to yourself, to your own blood, and the high rank of your ancestors." "son," replied the emperor of persia, "i much approve of your remonstrance, and am sensible of your zeal for preserving the lustre of your birth; but you do not consider sufficiently the excellence of this horse; nor that the hindoo, if i should refuse him, may make the offer somewhere else, where this nice point of honour may be waived. i shall be in the utmost despair if another prince should boast of having exceeded me in generosity, and deprived me of the glory of possessing what i esteem as the most singular and wonderful thing in the world. i will not say i consent to grant him what he asked. perhaps he has not well considered his exorbitant demand: and putting my daughter the princess out of the question, i may make another agreement with him that will answer his purpose as well. but before i conclude the bargain with him, i should be glad that you would examine the horse, try him yourself, and give me your opinion." as it is natural for us to flatter ourselves in what we desire, the hindoo fancied, from what he had heard, that the emperor was not entirely averse to his alliance, and that the prince might become more favourable to him; therefore, he expressed much joy, ran before the prince to help him to mount, and shewed him how to guide and manage the horse. the prince mounted without the hindoo's assisting him; and no sooner had he got his feet in both stirrups, but without staying for the artist's advice, he turned the peg he had seen him use, when instantly the horse darted into the air, quick as an arrow shot out of a bow by the most adroit archer; and in a few moments the emperor his father and the numerous assembly lost sight of him. neither horse nor prince were to be seen. the hindoo, alarmed at what had happened, prostrated himself before the throne, and said, "your majesty must have remarked the prince was so hasty, that he would not permit me to give him the necessary instructions to govern my horse. from what he saw me do, he was ambitious of shewing that he wanted not my advice. he was too eager to shew his address, but knows not the way, which i was going to shew him, to turn the horse, and make him descend at the wish of his rider. therefore, the favour i ask of your majesty is, not to make me accountable for what accidents may befall him; you are too just to impute to me any misfortune that may attend him." this address of the hindoo much surprised and afflicted the emperor, who saw the danger his son was in to be inevitable, if, as the hindoo said, there was a secret to bring him back, different from that which carried him away; and asked, in a passion, why he did not call him the moment he ascended? "sir," answered the hindoo, "your majesty saw as well as i with what rapidity the horse flew away. the surprise i was then, and still am in, deprived me of the use of my speech; but if i could have spoken, he was got too far to hear me. if he had heard me, he knew not the secret to bring him back, which, through his impatience, he would not stay to learn. but, sir," added he, "there is room to hope that the prince, when he finds himself at a loss, will perceive another peg, and as soon as he turns that, the horse will cease to rise, and descend to the ground, when he may turn him to what place he pleases by guiding him with the bridle." notwithstanding all these arguments of the hindoo, which carried great appearance of probability, the emperor of persia was much alarmed at the evident danger of his son. "i suppose," replied he, "it is very uncertain whether my son may perceive the other peg, and make a right use of it; may not the horse, instead of lighting on the ground, fall upon some rock, or tumble into the sea with him?" "sir," replied the hindoo, "i can deliver your majesty from this apprehension, by assuring you, that the horse crosses seas without ever falling into them, and always carries his rider wherever he may wish to go. and your majesty may assure yourself, that if the prince does but find out the other peg i mentioned, the horse will carry him where he pleases. it is not to be supposed that he will stop any where but where he can find assistance, and make himself known." "be it as it may," replied the emperor of persia, "as i cannot depend upon the assurance you give me, your head shall answer for my son's life, if he does not return safe in three days' time, or i should hear that he is alive." he then ordered his officers to secure the hindoo, and keep him close prisoner; after which he retired to his palace in affliction that the festival of nooroze should have proved so inauspicious. in the mean time the prince was carried through the air with prodigious velocity; and in less than an hour's time had ascended so high, that he could not distinguish any thing on the earth, but mountains and plains seemed confounded together. it was then he began to think of returning, and conceived he might do this by turning the same peg the contrary way, and pulling the bridle at the same time. but when he found that the horse still rose with the same swiftness, his alarm was great. he turned the peg several times, one way and the other, but all in vain. it was then he grew sensible of his fault, in not having learnt the necessary precautions to guide the horse before he mounted. he immediately apprehended the great danger he was in, but that apprehension did not deprive him of his reason. he examined the horse's head and neck with attention, and perceived behind the right ear another peg, smaller than the other. he turned that peg, and presently perceived that he descended in the same oblique manner as he had mounted, but not so swiftly. night had overshadowed that part of the earth over which the prince was when he found out and turned the small peg; and as the horse descended, he by degrees lost sight of the sun, till it grew quite dark; insomuch that, instead of choosing what place he would go to, he was forced to let the bridle lie upon the horse's neck, and wait patiently till he alighted, though not without the dread lest it should be in the desert, a river, or the sea. at last the horse stopped upon some solid substance about midnight, and the prince dismounted very faint and hungry, having eaten nothing since the morning, when he came out of the palace with his father to assist at the festival. he found himself to be on the terrace of a magnificent palace, surrounded with a balustrade of white marble, breast high; and groping about, reached a staircase, which led down into an apartment, the door of which was half open. few but prince firoze shaw would have ventured to descend those stairs dark as it was, and in the danger he exposed himself to from friends or foes. but no consideration could stop him. "i do not come," said he to himself, "to do anybody harm; and certainly, whoever meets or sees me first, and finds that i have no arms in my hands, will not attempt any thing against my life, before they hear what i have to say for myself." after this reflection, he opened the door wider, without making any noise, went softly down the stairs, that he might not awaken anybody; and when he came to a landing-place on the staircase, found the door of a great hall, that had a light in it, open. the prince stopped at the door, and listening, heard no other noise than the snoring of some people who were fast asleep. he advanced a little into the room, and by the light of a lamp saw that those persons were black eunuchs, with naked sabres laid by them; which was enough to inform him that this was the guard-chamber of some sultan or princess; which latter it proved to be. in the next room to this the princess lay, as appeared by the light, the door being open, through a silk curtain, which drew before the door-way, whither prince firoze shaw advanced on tip-toe, without waking the eunuchs. he drew aside the curtain, went in, and without staying to observe the magnificence of the chamber, gave his attention to something of greater importance. he saw many beds; only one of them on a sofa, the rest on the floor. the princess slept in the first, and her women in the others. this distinction was enough to direct the prince. he crept softly towards the bed, without waking either the princess or her women, and beheld a beauty so extraordinary, that he was charmed, and inflamed with love at the first sight. "o heavens!" said he to himself, "has my fate brought me hither to deprive me of my liberty, which hitherto i have always preserved? how can i avoid certain slavery, when those eyes shall open, since, without doubt, they complete the lustre of this assemblage of charms! i must quickly resolve, since i cannot stir without being my own murderer; for so has necessity ordained." after these reflections on his situation, and on the princess's beauty, he fell on his knees, and twitching gently the princess's sleeve, pulled it towards him. the princess opened her eyes, and seeing a handsome man on his knees, was in great surprise; yet seemed to shew no sign of fear. the prince availed himself of this favourable moment, bowed his head to the ground, and rising said, "beautiful princess, by the most extraordinary and wonderful adventure, you see at your feet a suppliant prince, son of the emperor of persia, who was yesterday morning in his court, at the celebration of a solemn festival, but is now in a strange country, in danger of his life, if you have not the goodness and generosity to afford him your assistance and protection. these i implore, adorable princess, with confidence that you will not refuse me. i have the more ground to persuade myself, as so much beauty and majesty cannot entertain inhumanity." the personage to whom prince firoze shaw so happily addressed himself was the princess of bengal, eldest daughter of the rajah of that kingdom, who had built this palace at a small distance from his capital, whither she went to take the benefit of the country air. after she had heard the prince with all the candour he could desire, she replied with equal goodness, "prince, you are not in a barbarous country; take courage; hospitality, humanity, and politeness are to be met with in the kingdom of bengal, as well as in that of persia. it is not merely i who grant you the protection you ask; you not only have found it in my palace, but will meet it throughout the whole kingdom; you may believe me, and depend on what i say." the prince of persia would have thanked the princess for her civility, and had already bowed down his head to return the compliment; but she would not give him leave to speak. "notwithstanding i desire," said she, "to know by what miracle you have come hither from the capital of persia in so short a time; and by what enchantment you have been able to penetrate so far as to come to my apartment, and to have evaded the vigilance of my guards; yet, as it is impossible but you must want some refreshment, and regarding you as a welcome guest, i will waive my curiosity, and give orders to my women to regale you, and shew you an apartment, that you may rest yourself after your fatigue, and be better able to satisfy my curiosity." the princess's women, who awoke at the first words which the prince addressed to the princess, were in the utmost surprise to see a man at the princess's feet, as they could not conceive how he had got thither, without waking them or the eunuchs. they no sooner comprehended the princess's intentions, than they were ready to obey her commands. they each took a wax candle, of which there were great numbers lighted up in the room; and after the prince had respectfully taken leave, went before and conducted him into a handsome chamber; where, while some were preparing the bed, others went into the kitchen; and notwithstanding it was so unseasonable an hour, they did not make prince firoze shaw wait long, but brought him presently a collation; and when he had eaten as much as he chose, removed the trays, and left him to taste the sweets of repose. in the mean time, the princess of bengal was so struck with the charms, wit, politeness, and other good qualities which she had discovered in her short interview with the prince, that she could not sleep: but when her women came into her room again asked them if they had taken care of him, if he wanted any thing; and particularly, what they thought of him? the women, after they had satisfied her as to the first queries, answered to the last: "we do not know what you may think of him, but, for our parts, we are of opinion you would be very happy if your father would marry you to so amiable a youth; for there is not a prince in all the kingdom of bengal to be compared to him; nor can we hear that any of the neighbouring princes are worthy of you." this flattering compliment was not displeasing to the princess of bengal; but as she had no mind to declare her sentiments, she imposed silence, telling them that they talked without reflection, bidding them return to rest, and let her sleep. the next day the princess took more pains in dressing and adjusting herself at the glass than she had ever done before. she never tired her women's patience so much, by making them do and undo the same thing several times. she adorned her head, neck, arms, and waist, with the finest and largest diamonds she possessed. the habit she put on was one of the richest stuffs of the indies, of a most beautiful colour, and made only for kings, princes, and princesses. after she had consulted her glass, and asked her women, one after another, if any thing was wanting to her attire, she sent to know, if the prince of persia was awake; and as she never doubted but that, if he was up and dressed, he would ask leave to come and pay his respects to her, she charged the messenger to tell him she would make him the visit, and she had her reasons for this. the prince of persia, who by the night's rest had recovered the fatigue he had undergone the day before, had just dressed himself, when he received the princess of bengal's compliments by one of her women. without giving the lady who brought the message leave to communicate it, he asked her, if it was proper for him then to go and pay his respects to the princess; and when the lady had acquitted herself of her errand, he replied, "it shall be as the princess thinks fit; i came here to be solely at her pleasure." as soon as the princess understood that the prince of persia waited for her, she immediately went to pay him a visit. after mutual compliments, the prince asking pardon for having waked the princess out of a profound sleep, and the princess inquiring after his health, and how he had rested, the princess sat down on a sofa, as did also the prince, though at some distance, out of respect. the princess then resuming the conversation, said, "i would have received you, prince, in the chamber in which you found me last night; but as the chief of my eunuchs has the liberty of entering it, and never comes further without my leave, from my impatience to hear the surprising adventure which procured me the happiness of seeing you, i chose to come hither, that we may not be interrupted; therefore i beg of you to give me that satisfaction, which will highly oblige me." prince firoze shaw, to gratify the princess of bengal, began with describing the festival of the nooroze, and mentioned the shows which had amazed the court of persia, and the people of sheerauz. afterwards he came to the enchanted horse; the description of which, with the account of the wonders which the hindoo had performed before so august an assembly, convinced the princess that nothing of that kind could be imagined more surprising in the world. "you may well think, charming princess," continued the prince of persia, "that the emperor my father, who cares not what he gives for any thing that is rare and curious, would be very desirous to purchase such a curiosity. he asked the hindoo what he would have for him; who made him an extravagant reply, telling him, that he had not bought him, but taken him in exchange for his only daughter, and could not part with him but on the like condition, which was to have his consent to marry the princess my sister. "the crowd of courtiers, who stood about the emperor my father, hearing the extravagance of this proposal, laughed loudly; i for my part conceived such great indignation, that i could not disguise it; and the more, because i saw that my father was doubtful what answer he should give. in short, i believe he would have granted him what he asked, if i had not represented to him how injurious it would be to his honour; yet my remonstrance could not bring him entirely to quit his design of sacrificing the princess my sister to so despicable a person. he fancied he should bring me over to his opinion, if once i could comprehend, as he imagined he did, the singular worth of this horse. with this view he would have me mount, and make a trial of him myself. "to please my father, i mounted the horse, and as soon as i was upon his back, put my hand on a peg, as i had seen the hindoo do before, to make the horse mount into the air, without stopping to take instructions of the owner for his guidance or descent. the instant i touched the peg, the horse ascended, as swift as an arrow shot out of a bow, and i was presently at such a distance from the earth that i could not distinguish any object. from the swiftness of the motion i was for some time unapprehensive of the danger to which i was exposed; when i grew sensible of it, i endeavoured to turn the peg the contrary way. but the experiment would not answer my expectation, for still the horse rose, and carried me a greater distance from the earth. at last i perceived another peg, which i turned, and then i grew sensible that the horse descended towards the earth, and presently found myself so surrounded with darkness, that it was impossible for me to guide the machine. in this condition i laid the bridle on his neck, and trusted myself to the will of god to dispose of my fate. "at length the horse stopped, i got off his back, and examining whereabouts i might be, perceived myself on the terrace of this palace, and found the door of the staircase half open. i came softly down the stairs, and seeing a door open, put my head into the room, perceived some eunuchs asleep, and a great light in an adjoining chamber. the necessity i was under, notwithstanding the inevitable danger to which i should be exposed, if the eunuchs had waked, inspired me with the boldness, or rather rashness, to cross that room to get to the other. "it is needless," added the prince, "to tell you the rest, since you are not unacquainted with all that passed afterwards. but i am obliged in duty to thank you for your goodness and generosity, and to beg of you to let me know how i may shew my gratitude. according to the law of nations i am already your slave, and cannot make you an offer of my person; there only remains my heart: but, alas! princess, what do i say? my heart is no longer my own, your charms have forced it from me, but in such a manner, that i will never ask for it again, but yield it up; give me leave, therefore, to declare you mistress both of my heart and inclination." these last words of the prince were pronounced with such an air and tone, that the princess of bengal never doubted of the effect she had expected from her charms; neither did she seem to resent the precipitate declaration of the prince of persia. her blushes served but to heighten her beauty, and render her more amiable in his eyes. as soon as she had recovered herself, she replied, "prince, you have given me sensible pleasure, by telling me your wonderful adventure. but, on the other hand, i can hardly forbear shuddering, when i think on the height you were in the air; and though i have the good fortune to see you here safe and well, i was in pain till you came to that part where the horse fortunately descended upon the terrace of my palace. the same thing might have happened in a thousand other places. i am glad that chance has given me the preference to the whole world, and of the opportunity of letting you know, that it could not have conducted you to any place where you could have been received with greater pleasure. "but, prince," continued she, "i should think myself offended, if i believed that the thought you mentioned of being my slave was serious, and that it did not proceed from your politeness rather than from a sincerity of sentiment; for, by the reception i gave you yesterday, you might assure yourself you are here as much at liberty as in the midst of the court of persia. "as to your heart," added the princess, in a tone which shewed nothing less than a refusal, "as i am persuaded that you have not lived so long without disposing of it, and that you could not fail of making choice of a princess who deserves it, i should be sorry to give you an occasion to be guilty of infidelity to her." prince firoze shaw would have protested that when he left persia he was master of his own heart: but, at that instant, one of the princess's ladies in waiting came to tell that a collation was served up. this interruption delivered the prince and princess from an explanation, which would have been equally embarrassing to both, and of which they stood in need. the princess of bengal was fully convinced of the prince of persia's sincerity; and the prince, though the princess had not explained herself, judged nevertheless from some words she had let fall, that he had no reason to complain. as the lady held the door open, the princess of bengal said to the prince, rising off her seat, as he did also from his, "i am not used to eat so early; but as i fancied you might have had but an indifferent supper last night, i ordered breakfast to be got ready sooner than ordinary." after this compliment she led him into a magnificent hall, where a cloth was laid covered with great plenty of choice and excellent viands; and as soon as they were seated, many beautiful slaves of the princess, richly dressed, began a most agreeable concert of vocal and instrumental music, which lasted the whole time of eating. this concert was so sweet and well managed, that it did not in the least interrupt the prince and princess's conversation. the prince served the princess with the choicest of every thing, and strove to outdo her in civility, both by words and actions, which she returned with many new compliments: and in this reciprocal commerce of civilities and attentions, love made a greater progress in both than a concerted interview would have promoted. when they rose, the princess conducted the prince into a large and magnificent saloon, embellished with paintings in blue and gold, and richly furnished; there they both sat down in a balcony, which afforded a most agreeable prospect into the palace garden, which prince firoze shaw admired for the vast variety of flowers, shrubs, and trees, which were full as beautiful as those of persia, but quite different. here taking the opportunity of entering into conversation with the princess, he said, "i always believed, madam, that no part of the world but persia afforded such stately palaces and beautiful gardens; but now i see, that other great monarchs know as well how to build mansions suitable to their power and greatness; and if there is a difference in the manner of building, there is none in the degree of grandeur and magnificence." "prince," replied the princess of bengal, "as i have no idea of the palaces of persia, i cannot judge of the comparison you have made of mine. but, however sincere you seem to be, i can hardly think it just, but rather incline to believe it a compliment: i will not despise my palace before you; you have too good an eye, too good a taste not to form a sound judgment. but i assure you, i think it very indifferent when i compare it with the king my father's, which far exceeds it for grandeur, beauty, and richness; you shall tell me yourself what you think of it, when you have seen it: for since a chance has brought you so nigh to the capital of this kingdom, i do not doubt but you will see it, and make my father a visit, that he may pay you all the honour due to a prince of your rank and merit." the princess flattered herself, that by exciting in the prince of persia a curiosity to see the capital of bengal, and to visit her father, the king, seeing him so handsome, wise, and accomplished a prince, might perhaps resolve to propose an alliance with him, by offering her to him as a wife. and as she was well persuaded she was not indifferent to the prince, and that he would be pleased with the proposal, she hoped to attain to the utmost of her wishes, and preserve all the decorum becoming a princess, who would appear resigned to the will of her king and father; but the prince of persia did not return her an answer according to her expectation. "princess," he replied, "the preference which you give the king of bengal's palace to your own is enough to induce me to believe it much exceeds it: and as to the proposal of my going and paying my respects to the king your father, i should not only do myself a pleasure, but an honour. but judge, princess, yourself, would you advise me to present myself before so great a monarch, like an adventurer, without attendants, and a train suitable to my rank?" "prince," replied the princess, "let not that give you any pain; if you will but go, you shall want no money to have what train and attendants you please: i will furnish you; and we have traders here of all nations in great numbers, and you may make choice of as many as you please to form your household." prince firoze shaw penetrated the princess of bengal's intention, and this sensible mark of her love still augmented his passion, which, notwithstanding its violence, made him not forget his duty. without any hesitation he replied, "princess, i should most willingly accept of the obliging offer you make me, for which i cannot sufficiently shew my gratitude, if the uneasiness my father must feel on account of my absence did not prevent me. i should be unworthy of the tenderness he has always had for me, if i should not return as soon as possible to calm his fears. i know him so well, that while i have the happiness of enjoying the conversation of so lovely a princess, i am persuaded he is plunged into the deepest grief, and has lost all hopes of seeing me again. i trust you will do me the justice to believe, that i cannot, without ingratitude, and being guilty of a crime, dispense with going to restore to him that life, which a too long deferred return may have endangered already. "after this, princess," continued the prince of persia, "if you will permit me, and think me worthy to aspire to the happiness of becoming your husband, as my father has always declared that he never would constrain me in my choice, i should find it no difficult matter to get leave to return, not as a stranger, but as a prince, to contract an alliance with your father by our marriage; and i am persuaded that the emperor will be overjoyed when i tell him with what generosity you received me, though a stranger in distress." the princess of bengal was too reasonable, after what the prince of persia had said, to persist any longer in persuading him to pay a visit to the raja of bengal, or to ask any thing of him contrary to his duty and honour. but she was much alarmed to find he thought of so sudden a departure; fearing, that if he took his leave of her so soon, instead of remembering his promise, he would forget when he ceased to see her. to divert him from his purpose, she said to him, "prince, my intention of proposing a visit to my father was not to oppose so just a duty as that you mention, and which i did not foresee. but i cannot approve of your going so soon as you propose; at least grant me the favour i ask of a little longer acquaintance; and since i have had the happiness to have you alight in the kingdom of bengal, rather than in the midst of a desert, or on the top of some steep craggy rock, from which it would have been impossible for you to descend, i desire you will stay long enough to enable you to give a better account at the court of persia of what you may see here." the sole end the princess had in this request was, that the prince of persia, by a longer stay, might become insensibly more passionately enamoured of her charms; hoping thereby that his ardent desire of returning would diminish, and then he might be brought to appear in public, and pay a visit to the rajah of bengal. the prince of persia could not well refuse her the favour she asked, after the kind reception she had given him; and therefore politely complied with her request; and the princess's thoughts were directed to render his stay agreeable by all the amusements she could devise. nothing went forward for several days but concerts of music, accompanied with magnificent feasts and collations in the gardens, or hunting-parties in the vicinity of the palace, which abounded with all sorts of game, stags, hinds, and fallow deer, and other beasts peculiar to the kingdom of bengal, which the princess could pursue without danger. after the chase, the prince and princess met in some beautiful spot, where a carpet was spread, and cushions laid for their accommodation. there resting themselves, after their violent exercise, they conversed on various subjects. the princess took pains to turn the conversation on the grandeur, power, riches, and government of persia; that from the prince's replies she might have an opportunity to talk of the kingdom of bengal, and its advantages, and engage him to resolve to make a longer stay there; but she was disappointed in her expectations. the prince of persia, without the least exaggeration, gave so advantageous an account of the extent of the kingdom of persia, its magnificence and riches, its military force, its commerce by sea and land with the most remote parts of the world, some of which were unknown even to him; the vast number of large cities it contained, almost as populous as that which the emperor had chosen for his residence, where he had palaces furnished ready to receive him at all seasons of the year; so that he had his choice always to enjoy a perpetual spring; that before he had concluded, the princess found the kingdom of bengal to be very much inferior to that of persia in a great many respects. when he had finished his relation, he begged of her to entertain him with a description of bengal. the princess after much entreaty gave prince firoze shaw that satisfaction; but by lessening a great many advantages the kingdom of bengal was well known to have over that of persia, she betrayed the disposition she felt to accompany him, so that he believed she would consent at the first proposition he should make; but he thought it would not be proper to make it till he had shewed her so much deference as to stay with her long enough to make the blame fall on herself, in case she wished to detain him from returning to his father. two whole months the prince of persia abandoned himself entirely to the will of the princess of bengal, yielding to all the amusements she contrived for him, for she neglected nothing to divert him, as if she thought he had nothing else to do but to pass his whole life with her in this manner. but he now declared seriously he could not stay longer, and begged of her to give him leave to return to his father; repeating again the promise he had made her to come back soon in a style worthy of her and himself, and to demand her in marriage of the rajah of bengal. "and, princess," observed the prince of persia, "that you may not suspect the truth of what i say; and that by my asking this permission you may not rank me among those false lovers who forget the object of their affection as soon as absent from them; to shew that my passion is real, and not feigned, and that life cannot be pleasant to me when absent from so lovely a princess, whose love to me i cannot doubt is mutual; i would presume, were i not afraid you would be offended at my request, to ask the favour of taking you along with me." as the prince saw that the princess blushed at these words, without any mark of anger, he proceeded, and said, "princess, as for my father's consent, and the reception he will give you, i venture to assure you he will receive you with pleasure into his alliance; and as for the rajah of bengal, after all the love and tender regard he has always expressed for you, he must be the reverse of what you have described him, an enemy to your repose and happiness, if he should not receive in a friendly manner the embassy which my father will send to him for his approbation of our marriage." the princess returned no answer to this address of the prince of persia; but her silence, and eyes cast down, were sufficient to inform him that she had no reluctance to accompany him into persia. the only difficulty she felt was, that the prince knew not well enough how to govern the horse, and she was apprehensive of being involved with him in the same difficulty as when he first made the experiment. but the prince soon removed her fear, by assuring her she might trust herself with him, for that after the experience he had acquired, he defied the hindoo himself to manage him better. she thought therefore only of concerting measures to get off with him so secretly, that nobody belonging to the palace should have the least suspicion of their design. the next morning, a little before day-break, when all the attendants were asleep, they went upon the terrace of the palace. the prince turned the horse towards persia, and placed him where the princess could easily get up behind him; which she had no sooner done, and was well settled with her arms about his waist, for her better security, than he turned the peg, when the horse mounted into the air, and making his usual haste, under the guidance of the prince, in two hours time the prince discovered the capital of persia. he would not alight at the great square from whence he had set out, nor in the palace, but directed his course towards a pleasure-house at a little distance from the capital. he led the princess into a handsome apartment, where he told her, that to do her all the honour that was due to her, he would go and inform his father of their arrival, and return to her immediately. he ordered the housekeeper of the palace, who was then present, to provide the princess with whatever she had occasion for. after the prince had taken his leave of the princess, he ordered a horse to be saddled, which he mounted, after sending back the housekeeper to the princess, with orders to provide her refreshments immediately, and then set forwards for the palace. as he passed through the streets he was received with acclamations by the people, who were overjoyed to see him again. the emperor his father was giving audience, when he appeared before him in the midst of his council. he received him with ecstacy, and embracing him with tears of joy and tenderness, asked him, what was become of the hindoo's horse. this question gave the prince an opportunity of describing the embarrassment and danger he was in when the horse ascended into the air, and how he had arrived at last at the princess of bengal's palace, the kind reception he had met with there, and that the motive which had induced him to stay so long with her was the affection she had shewn him; also, that after promising to marry her, he had persuaded her to accompany him into persia. "but, sir," added the prince, "i felt assured that you would not refuse your consent, and have brought her with me on the enchanted horse, to a palace where your majesty often goes for your pleasure; and have left her there, till i could return and assure her that my promise was not in vain." after these words, the prince prostrated himself before the emperor to obtain his consent, when his father raised him up, embraced him a second time, and said to him, "son, i not only consent to your marriage with the princess of bengal, but will go and meet her myself, and thank her for the obligation i in particular have to her, and will bring her to my palace, and celebrate your nuptials this day." the emperor now gave orders for his court to make preparations for the princess's entry; that the rejoicings should be announced by the royal band of military music, and that the hindoo should be fetched out of prison and brought before him. when the hindoo was conducted before the emperor, he said to him, "i secured thy person, that thy life, though not a sufficient victim to my rage and grief, might answer for that of the prince my son, whom, however, thanks to god! i have found again: go, take your horse, and never let me see your face more." as the hindoo had learned of those who brought him out of prison that prince firoze shaw was returned with a princess, and was also informed of the place where he had alighted and left her, and that the emperor was making preparations to go and bring her to his palace; as soon as he got out of the presence, he bethought himself of being revenged upon the emperor and the prince. without losing any time, he went directly to the palace, and addressing himself to the keeper, told him, he came from the prince of persia for the princess of bengal, and to conduct her behind him through the air to the emperor, who waited in the great square of his palace to gratify the whole court and city of sheerauz with that wonderful sight. the palace-keeper, who knew the hindoo, and that the emperor had imprisoned him, gave the more credit to what he said, because he saw that he was at liberty. he presented him to the princess of bengal; who no sooner understood that he came from the prince of persia than she consented to what the prince, as she thought, had desired of her. the hindoo, overjoyed at his success, and the ease with which he had accomplished his villany, mounted his horse, took the princess behind him, with the assistance of the keeper, turned the peg, and instantly the horse mounted into the air. at the same time the emperor of persia, attended by his court, was on the road to the palace where the princess of bengal had been left, and the prince of persia was advanced before, to prepare the princess to receive his father; when the hindoo, to brave them both, and revenge himself for the ill-treatment he had received, appeared over their heads with his prize. when the emperor of persia saw the ravisher, he stopped. his surprise and affliction were the more sensible, because it was not in his power to punish so high an affront. he loaded him with a thousand imprecations, as did also all the courtiers, who were witnesses of so signal a piece of insolence and unparalleled artifice and treachery. the hindoo, little moved with their curses, which just reached his ears, continued his way, while the emperor, extremely mortified at so great an insult, but more so that he could not punish the author, returned to his palace in rage and vexation. but what was prince firoze shaw's grief at beholding the hindoo hurrying away the princess of bengal, whom he loved so passionately that he could not live without her! at a spectacle so little expected he was confounded, and before he could deliberate with himself what measures to pursue, the horse was out of sight. he could not resolve how to act, whether he should return to his father's palace, and shut himself in his apartment, to give himself entirely up to his affliction, without attempting to pursue the ravisher. but as his generosity, love, and courage, would not suffer this, he continued on his way to the palace where he had left his princess. when he arrived, the palace-keeper, who was by this time convinced of his fatal credulity, in believing the artful hindoo, threw himself at his feet with tears in his eyes, accused himself of the crime, which unintentionally he had committed, and condemned himself to die by his hand. "rise," said the prince to him, "i do not impute the loss of my princess to thee, but to my own want of precaution. but not to lose time, fetch me a dervish's habit, and take care you do not give the least hint that it is for me." not far from this palace there stood a convent of dervishes, the superior of which was the palace-keeper's particular friend. he went to his chief, and telling him that a considerable officer at court and a man of worth, to whom he had been very much obliged and wished to favour, by giving him an opportunity to withdraw from some sudden displeasure of the emperor, readily obtained a complete dervish's habit, and carried it to prince firoze shaw. the prince immediately pulled off his own dress, put it on, and being so disguised, and provided with a box of jewels, which he had brought as a present to the princess, left the palace, uncertain which way to go, but resolved not to return till he had found out his princess, and brought her back again, or perish in the attempt. but to return to the hindoo; he governed his enchanted horse so well, that he arrived early next morning in a wood, near the capital of the kingdom of cashmeer. being hungry, and concluding the princess was so also, he alighted in that wood, in an open part of it, and left the princess on a grassy spot, close to a rivulet of clear fresh water. during the hindoo's absence, the princess of bengal, who knew that she was in the power of a base ravisher, whose violence she dreaded, thought of escaping from him, and seeking out for some sanctuary. but as she had eaten scarcely any thing on her arrival at the palace, was so faint, that she could not execute her design, but was forced to abandon it and stay where she was, without any other resource than her courage, and a firm resolution rather to suffer death than be unfaithful to the prince of persia. when the hindoo returned, she did not wait to be entreated, but ate with him, and recovered herself enough to answer with courage to the insolent language he now began to hold to her. after many threats, as she saw that the hindoo was preparing to use violence, she rose up to make resistance, and by her cries and shrieks drew towards them a company of horsemen, which happened to be the sultan of cashmeer and his attendants, who, as they were returning from hunting, happily for the princess of bengal, passed through that part of the wood, and ran to her assistance, at the noise she made. the sultan addressed himself to the hindoo, demanded who he was, and wherefore he ill treated the lady? the hindoo, with great impudence, replied, "that she was his wife, and what had any one to do with his quarrel with her?" the princess, who neither knew the rank nor quality of the person who came so seasonably to her relief, told the hindoo he was a liar; and said to the sultan, "my lord, whoever you are whom heaven has sent to my assistance, have compassion on a princess, and give no credit to that impostor. heaven forbid that i should be the wife of so vile and despicable a hindoo! a wicked magician, who has forced me away from the prince of persia, to whom i was going to be united, and has brought me hither on the enchanted horse you behold there." the princess of bengal had no occasion to say more to persuade the sultan of cashmeer that what she told him was truth. her beauty, majestic air, and tears, spoke sufficiently for her. justly enraged at the insolence of the hindoo, he ordered his guards to surround him, and strike off his head: which sentence was immediately executed. the princess, thus delivered from the persecution of the hindoo, fell into another no less afflicting. the sultan conducted her to his palace, where he lodged her in the most magnificent apartment, next his own, commanded a great number of women slaves to attend her, and ordered a guard of eunuchs. he led her himself into the apartment he had assigned her; where, without giving her time to thank him for the great obligation she had received, he said to her, "as i am certain, princess, that you must want rest, i will take my leave of you till to-morrow, when you will be better able to relate to me the circumstances of this strange adventure;" and then left her. the princess of bengal's joy was inexpressible at finding herself delivered from the violence of the hindoo, of whom she could not think without horror. she flattered herself that the sultan of cashmeer would complete his generosity by sending her back to the prince of persia when she should have told him her story, and asked that favour of him; but she was much deceived in these hopes; for her deliverer had resolved to marry her himself the next day; and for that end had ordered rejoicings to be made by day-break, by beating of drums, sounding of trumpets, and other instruments expressive of joy; which not only echoed through the palace, but throughout the whole city. the princess of bengal was awakened by these tumultuous concerts; but attributed them to a very different cause from the true one. when the sultan of cashmeer, who had given orders that he should be informed when the princess was ready to receive a visit, came to wait upon her; after he had inquired after her health, he acquainted her that all those rejoicings were to render their nuptials the more solemn; and at the same time desired her assent to the union. this declaration put her into such agitation that she fainted away. the women-slaves, who were present, ran to her assistance; and the sultan did all he could to bring her to herself, though it was a long time before they succeeded. but when she recovered, rather than break the promise she had made to prince firoze shaw, by consenting to marry the sultan of cashmeer, who had proclaimed their nuptials before he had asked her consent, she resolved to feign madness. she began to utter the most extravagant expressions before the sultan, and even rose off her seat as if to attack him; insomuch that he was greatly alarmed and afflicted, that he had made such a proposal so unseasonably. when he found that her frenzy rather increased than abated, he left her with her women, charging them never to leave her alone, but to take great care of her. he sent often that day to inquire how she did; but received no other answer than that she was rather worse than better. at night she seemed more indisposed than she had been all day, insomuch that the sultan deferred the happiness he had promised himself. the princess of bengal continued to talk wildly, and shew other marks of a disordered mind, next day and the following; so that the sultan was induced to send for all the physicians belonging to his court, to consult them upon her disease, and to ask if they could cure her. the physicians all agreed that there were several sorts and degrees of this disorder, some curable and others not; and told the sultan, that they could not judge of the princess of bengal's unless they might see her; upon which the sultan ordered the eunuchs to introduce them into the princess's chamber, one after another, according to their rank. the princess, who foresaw what would happen, and feared, that if she let the physicians feel her pulse, the least experienced of them would soon know that she was in good health, and that her madness was only feigned, flew into such a well-dissembled rage and passion, that she appeared ready to injure those who came near her; so none of them durst approach her. some who pretended to be more skilful than the rest, and boasted of judging of diseases only by sight, ordered her some potions, which she made the less difficulty to take, well knowing she could be sick or well at pleasure, and that they could do her no harm. when the sultan of cashmeer saw that his court physicians could not cure her, he called in the most celebrated and experienced of the city, who had no better success. afterwards he sent for the most famous in the kingdom, who met with no better reception than the others from the princess, and what they prescribed had no effect. afterwards he dispatched expresses to the courts of neighbouring sultans, with the princess's case, to be distributed among the most famous physicians, with a promise of a munificent reward to any of them who should come and effect her cure. various physicians arrived from all parts, and tried their skill; but none could boast of better success than their predecessors, or of restoring the princess's faculties, since it was a case that did not depend on medicine, but on the will of the princess herself. during this interval firoze shaw, disguised in the habit of a dervish, travelled through many provinces and towns, involved in grief; and endured excessive fatigue, not knowing which way to direct his course, or whether he might not be pursuing the very opposite road from what he ought, in order to hear the tidings he was in search of. he made diligent inquiry after her at every place he came to; till at last passing through a city of hindoostan, he heard the people talk much of a princess of bengal, who ran mad on the day of the intended celebration of her nuptials with the sultan of cashmeer. at the name of the princess of bengal, and supposing that there could exist no other princess of bengal than her upon whose account he had undertaken his travels, he hastened towards the kingdom of cashmeer, and upon his arrival at the capital took up his lodging at a khan, where the same day he was informed of the story of the princess, and the fate of the hindoo magician, which he had so richly deserved. from the circumstances, the prince was convinced that she was the beloved object he had sought so long. being informed of all these particulars, he provided himself against the next day with a physician's habit, and having let his beard grow during his travels, he passed the more easily for the character he assumed, went to the palace, impatient to behold his beloved, where he presented himself to the chief of the officers, and observed modestly, that perhaps it might be looked upon as a rash undertaking to attempt the cure of the princess, after so many had failed; but that he hoped some specifics, from which he had experienced success, might effect the desired relief. the chief of the officers told him he was welcome, that the sultan would receive him with pleasure, and that if he should have the good fortune to restore the princess to her former health, he might expect a considerable reward from his master's liberality: "stay a moment," added he, "i will come to you again immediately." some time had elapsed since any physician had offered himself; and the sultan of cashmeer with great grief had begun to lose all hope of ever seeing the princess restored to health, that he might marry, and shew how much he loved her. he ordered the officer to introduce the physician he had announced. the prince of persia was presented, when the sultan, without wasting time in superfluous discourse, after having told him the princess of bengal could not bear the sight of a physician without falling into most violent transports, which increased her malady, conducted him into a closet, from whence, through a lattice, he might see her without being observed. there firoze shaw beheld his lovely princess sitting melancholy, with tears in her eyes, and singing an air in which she deplored her unhappy fate, which had deprived her, perhaps, for ever, of the object she loved so tenderly. the prince was sensibly affected at the melancholy condition in which he found his dear princess, but he wanted no other signs to comprehend that her disorder was feigned, or that it was for love of him that she was under so grievous an affliction. when he came out of the closet, he told the sultan that he had discovered the nature of the princess's complaint, and that she was not incurable; but added withal, that he must speak with her in private, and alone, as, notwithstanding her violent agitation at the sight of physicians, he hoped she would hear and receive him favourably. the sultan ordered the princess's chamber door to be opened, and firoze shaw went in. as soon as the princess saw him (taking him by his habit to be a physician), she rose up in a rage, threatening him, and giving him the most abusive language. he made directly towards her, and when he was nigh enough for her to hear him, for he did not wish to be heard by any one else, said to her, in a low voice, "princess, i am not a physician, but the prince of persia, and am come to procure you your liberty." the princess, who knew the sound of the voice, and the upper features of his face, notwithstanding he had let his beard grow so long, grew calm at once, and a secret joy and pleasure overspread her face, the effect of seeing the person so much desired so unexpectedly. her agreeable surprise deprived her for some time of the use of speech, and gave firoze shaw time to tell her as briefly as possible, how despair had seized him when he saw the hindoo carry her away; the resolution he afterwards had taken to leave every thing to find her out, and never to return home till he had regained her out of the hands of the perfidious wretch; and by what good fortune, at last, after a long and fatiguing journey, he had the satisfaction to find her in the palace of the sultan of cashmeer. he then desired the princess to inform him of all that happened to her, from the time she was taken away, till that moment when he had the happiness to converse with her, telling her, that it was of the greatest importance to know this, that he might take the most proper measures to deliver her from the tyranny of the sultan of cashmeer. the princess informed him how she was delivered from the hindoo's violence by the sultan, as he was returning from hunting; how she was alarmed the next day, by a declaration he had made of his precipitate design to marry her, without even the ceremony of asking her consent; that this violent and tyrannical conduct put her into a swoon; after which she thought she had no other way than what she had taken, to preserve herself for a prince to whom she had given her heart and faith; or die, rather than marry the sultan, whom she neither loved, nor could ever love. the prince of persia then asked her, if she knew what became of the horse, after the death of the hindoo magician. to which she answered, that she knew not what orders the sultan had given; but supposed, after the account she had given him of it, he would take care of it as a curiosity. as firoze shaw never doubted but that the sultan had the horse, he communicated to the princess his design of making use of it to convey them both into persia; and after they had consulted together on the measures they should take, they agreed that the princess should dress herself the next day, and receive the sultan civilly, but without speaking to him. the sultan of cashmeer was overjoyed when the prince of persia stated to him what effect his first visit had had towards the cure of the princess. on the following day, when the princess received him in such a manner as persuaded him her cure was far advanced, he regarded him as the greatest physician in the world; and seeing her in this state, contented himself with telling her how rejoiced he was at her being likely soon to recover her health. he exhorted her to follow the directions of so skilful a physician, in order to complete what he had so well begun; and then retired without waiting for her answer. the prince of persia, who attended the sultan of cashmeer out of the princess's chamber, as he accompanied him, asked if, without failing in due respect, he might inquire, how the princess of bengal came into the dominions of cashmeer thus alone, since her own country was far distant? this he said on purpose to introduce some conversation about the enchanted horse, and to know what was become of it. the sultan, who could not penetrate into the prince's motive, concealed nothing from him; but informed him of what the princess had related, when he had delivered her from the hindoo magician: adding, that he had ordered the enchanted horse to be kept safe in his treasury as a great curiosity, though he knew not the use of it. "sir," replied the pretended physician, "the information which your majesty has given your devoted slave affords me a means of curing the princess. as she was brought hither on this horse, and the horse is enchanted, she hath contracted something of the enchantment, which can be dissipated only by a certain incense which i am acquainted with. if your majesty would entertain yourself, your court, and the people of your capital, with the most surprising sight that ever was beheld, let the horse be brought into the great square before the palace, and leave the rest to me. i promise to show you, and all that assembly, in a few moments time, the princess of bengal completely restored in body and mind. but the better to effect what i propose, it will be requisite that the princess, should be dressed as magnificently as possible, and adorned with the most valuable jewels your majesty may possess." the sultan would have undertaken much more difficult things to have arrived at the enjoyment of his desires, which he expected soon to accomplish. the next day, the enchanted horse was, by his order, taken out of the treasury, and placed early in the great square before the palace. a report was spread through the town that there was something extraordinary to be seen, and crowds of people flocked thither from all parts, insomuch that the sultan's guards were placed to prevent disorder, and to keep space enough round the horse. the sultan of cashmeer, surrounded by all his nobles and ministers of state, was placed on a scaffold erected on purpose. the princess of bengal, attended by a number of ladies whom the sultan had assigned her, went up to the enchanted horse, and the women helped her to mount. when she was fixed in the saddle, and had the bridle in her hand, the pretended physician placed round the horse at a proper distance many vessels full of lighted charcoal, which he had ordered to be brought, and going round them with a solemn pace, cast in a strong and grateful perfume; then collected in himself, with downcast eyes, and his hands upon his breast, he ran three times about the horse, making as if he pronounced some mystical words. the moment the pots sent forth a dark cloud of pleasant smell, which so surrounded the princess, that neither she nor the horse could be discerned, watching his opportunity, the prince jumped nimbly up behind her, and reaching his hand to the peg, turned it; and just as the horse rose with them into the air, he pronounced these words, which the sultan heard distinctly, "sultan of cashmeer, when you would marry princesses who implore your protection, learn first to obtain their consent." thus the prince delivered the princess of bengal, and carried her the same day to the capital of persia, where he alighted in the square of the palace, before the emperor his father's apartment, who deferred the solemnization of the marriage no longer than till he could make the preparations necessary to render the ceremony pompous and magnificent, and evince the interest he took in it. after the days appointed for the rejoicings were over, the emperor of persia's first care was to name and appoint an ambassador to go to the rajah of bengal with an account of what had passed, and to demand his approbation and ratification of the alliance contracted by this marriage; which the rajah of bengal took as an honour, and granted with great pleasure and satisfaction. the story of prince ahmed, and the fairy perie banou. there was a sultan who had peaceably filled the throne of india many years, and had the satisfaction in his old age to have three sons the worthy imitators of his virtues, who, with the princess his niece, were the ornaments of his court. the eldest of the princes was called houssain, the second ali, the youngest ahmed, and the princess his niece nouronnihar. the princess nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of the sultan, to whom in his lifetime he had allowed a considerable revenue. but that prince had not been married long before he died, and left the princess very young. the sultan, in consideration of the brotherly love and friendship that had always subsisted between them, besides a great attachment to his person, took upon himself the care of his daughter's education, and brought her up in his palace with the three princes; where her singular beauty and personal accomplishments, joined to a lively wit and irreproachable virtue, distinguished her among all the princesses of her time. the sultan, her uncle, proposed to marry her when she arrived at a proper age, and by that means to contract an alliance with some neighbouring prince; and was thinking seriously on the subject, when he perceived that the three princes his sons loved her passionately. this gave him much concern, though his grief did not proceed from a consideration that their passion prevented his forming the alliance he designed, but the difficulty he foresaw to make them agree, and that the two youngest should consent to yield her up to their eldest brother. he spoke to each of them apart; and remonstrated on the impossibility of one princess being the wife of three persons, and the troubles they would create if they persisted in their attachment. he did all he could to persuade them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favour of one of them; or to desist from their pretensions, to think of other matches which he left them free liberty to choose, and suffer her to be married to a foreign attachment. but as he found them obstinate, he sent for them all together, and said, "my children, since i have not been able to dissuade you from aspiring to marry the princess your cousin; and as i have no inclination to use my authority, to give her to one in preference to his brothers, i trust i have thought of an expedient which will please you all, and preserve harmony among you, if you will but hear me, and follow my advice. i think it would not be amiss if you were to travel separately into different countries, so that you might not meet each other: and as you know i am very curious, and delight in every thing that is rare and singular, i promise my niece in marriage to him who shall bring me the most extraordinary rarity; chance may lead you to form your own judgment of the singularity of the things which you bring, by the comparison you make of them, so that you will have no difficulty to do yourselves justice by yielding the preference to him who has deserved it; and for the expense of travelling, i will give each of you a sum suited to your rank, and for the purchase of the rarity you shall search after; which shall not be laid out in equipage and attendants, as much display, by discovering who you are, would not only deprive you of the liberty to acquit yourselves of your charge, but prevent your observing those things which may merit your attention, and may be most useful to you." as the three princes were always submissive and obedient to the sultan's will, and each flattered himself fortune might prove favourable to him, and give him possession of the princess nouronnihar, they all consented to the proposal. the sultan gave them the money he promised; and that very day they issued orders for the preparations for their travels, and took leave of their father, that they might be ready to set out early next morning. they all went out at the same gate of the city, each dressed like a merchant, attended by a trusty officer, habited as a slave, and all well mounted and equipped. they proceeded the first day's journey together; and slept at a caravanserai, where the road divided into three different tracks. at night when they were at supper together, they all agreed to travel for a year, to make their present lodging their rendezvous; and that the first who came should wait for the rest; that as they had all three taken leave together of the sultan, they might return in company. the next morning by break of day, after they had embraced and wished each other reciprocally good success, they mounted their horses, and took each a different road. prince houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders of the extent, power, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of bisnagar, bent his course towards the indian coast; and after three months' travelling, joining himself to different caravans, sometimes over deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes through populous and fertile countries, arrived at bisnagar, the capital of the kingdom of that name, and the residence of its maharajah. he lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants; and having learnt that there were four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts kept their shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather the maharajah's palace, on a large extent of ground, as the centre of the city, surrounded by three courts, and each gate distant two leagues from the other, he went to one of these quarters the next day. prince houssain could not view this quarter without admiration. it was large, divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded from the sun, but yet very light. the shops were all of the same size and proportion; and all who dealt in the same sort of goods, as well as all the artists of the same profession, lived in one street. the number of shops stocked with all kinds of merchandizes, such as the finest linens from several parts of india, some painted in the most lively colours, and representing men, landscapes, trees, and flowers; silks and brocades from persia, china, and other places; porcelain from japan and china; foot carpets of all sizes; surprised him so much, that he knew not how to believe his eyes: but when he came to the shops of the goldsmiths and jewellers (for those two trades were exercised by the same merchants), he was in a kind of ecstasy, at beholding such prodigious quantities of wrought gold and silver, and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones exposed to sale. but if he was amazed at seeing so many treasures in one place, he was much more surprised when he came to judge of the wealth of the whole kingdom, by considering, that except the brahmins, and ministers of the idols, who profess a life retired from worldly vanity, there was not an indian, man or woman, through the extent of the kingdom, but wore necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments about their legs and feet, made of pearls, and precious stones, which appeared with the greater lustre, as they were blacks, which colour admirably set off their brilliancy. another object which prince houssain particularly admired was the great number of flower-sellers who crowded the streets; for the indians are such great lovers of flowers that not one will stir without a nosegay of them in his hand, or a garland of them on his head; and the merchants keep them in pots in their shops, so that the air of the whole quarter, however extensive, is perfectly perfumed. after prince houssain had passed through that quarter, street by street, his thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen, he was much fatigued; which a merchant perceiving, civilly invited him to sit down in his shop. he accepted his offer; but had not been seated long, before he saw a crier pass with a piece of carpeting on his arm, about six feet square, and crying it at thirty purses. the prince called to the crier, and asked to see the carpeting, which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not only for the size of it, but the meanness of the materials. when he had examined it well, he told the crier that he could not comprehend how so small a piece of carpeting, and of so indifferent an appearance, could be set at so high a price. the crier, who took him for a merchant, replied, "sir, if this price seems so extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when i tell you, i have orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part with it under." "certainly," answered prince houssain, "it must have something very extraordinary in it, which i know nothing of." "you have guessed right, sir," replied the crier, "and will own it when you come to know, that whoever sits on this piece of carpeting may be transported in an instant wherever he desires to be, without being stopped by any obstacle." at this account, the prince of the indies, considering that the principal motive of his tour was to carry the sultan his father home some singular rarity, thought that he could not meet with any which would afford him more satisfaction. "if the carpeting," said he to the crier, "has the virtue you attribute to it, i shall not think forty purses too much; but shall make you a present besides." "sir," replied the crier, "i have told you the truth; and it will be an easy matter to convince you of it, as soon as you have made the bargain for forty purses, on condition i shew you the experiment. but as i suppose you have not so much with you, and to receive them, i must go with you to the khan where you lodge; with the leave of the master of this shop we will go into the back warehouse, where i will spread the carpeting; and when we have both sat down, and you have formed the wish to be transported into your apartment at the khan, if we are not conveyed thither, it shall be no bargain, and you shall be at your liberty. as to your present, as i am paid for my trouble by the seller, i shall receive it as a favour, and feel much obliged by your liberality." on this assurance of the crier, the prince accepted the conditions, and concluded the bargain; then having obtained the master's leave, they went into his back-shop, where they both sat down on the carpeting; and as soon as the prince had formed his wish to be transported into his apartment at the khan, he in an instant found himself and the crier there: as he wanted not a more convincing proof of the virtue of the carpeting, he counted to the crier forty purses of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself. in this manner prince houssain became the possessor of the carpeting, and was overjoyed that at his arrival at bisnagar he had found so rare a curiosity, which he never doubted must of course gain him the possession of nouronnihar. in short, he thought it impossible for the princes, his younger brothers, to meet with any thing to be compared with it. it was in his power, by sitting on this carpeting, to be at the place of rendezvous that very day; but as he would be obliged to wait there for his brothers, as they had agreed, and as he was desirous of seeing the maharajah of bisnagar and his court, and to inform himself of the strength, laws, customs, and religion of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode in this capital, and to spend some months in satisfying his curiosity. it was the custom of the maharajah of bisnagar to give all foreign merchants access to his person once a week; so that in his assumed character prince houssain saw him often: and as this prince was of an engaging presence, sensible and accomplished, he distinguished himself among the merchants, and was preferred before them all by the maharajah, who addressed himself to him to be informed of the person of the sultan of the indies, and of the government, strength, and riches of his dominions. the rest of his time the prince employed in viewing what was most remarkable in and about the city; and among the objects which were most worthy of admiration, he visited a temple remarkable for being built all of brass. it was ten cubits square, and fifteen high; but its greatest ornament was an idol of the height of a man, of massive gold; its eyes were two rubies, set so artificially, that it seemed to look at those who viewed it, on which side soever they turned: besides this, there was another not less curious, in the environs of the city, in the midst of a lawn of about ten acres, which was like a delicious garden full of roses and the choicest flowers, surrounded by a low wall, breast high, to keep out the cattle. in the midst of this lawn was raised a terrace, a man's height, and covered with such beautiful cement, that the whole pavement seemed to be but one single stone, most highly polished. a temple was erected in the middle of this terrace, having a spire rising about fifty cubits high from the building, which might be seen for several leagues round. the temple was thirty cubits long, and twenty broad; built of red marble, highly polished. the inside of the spire was adorned with three compartments of fine paintings: and there was not a part in the whole edifice but what was embellished with paintings, or relievos, and gaudy idols from top to bottom. every night and morning there were superstitious ceremonies performed in this temple, which were always succeeded by sports, concerts of music, dancing, singing, and feasts. the brahmins of the temple, and the inhabitants of this suburb, had nothing to subsist on but the offerings of pilgrims, who came in crowds from the most distant parts of the kingdom to perform their vows. prince houssain was also spectator of a solemn festival, which was celebrated every year at the court of bisnagar, at which all the governors of provinces, commanders of fortified places, all heads and magistrates of towns, and the brahmins most celebrated for their learning, were usually present; and some lived so far off, that they were four months in coming. this assembly, composed of such innumerable multitudes of hindoos encamped in variously coloured tents, on a plain of vast extent, was a splendid sight, as far as the eye could reach. in the centre of this plain was a square of great length and breadth, closed on one side by a large scaffolding of nine stories, supported by forty pillars, raised for the maharajah and his court, and those strangers whom he admitted to audience once a week: within, it was adorned and furnished magnificently with rich carpets and cushions; and on the outside were painted landscapes, wherein all sorts of beasts, birds, and insects, even flies and gnats, were drawn very naturally. other scaffolds of at least four or five stories, and painted almost all with the same fanciful brilliancy, formed the other three sides. but what was more particular in these scaffolds, they could turn, and make them change their fronts so as to present different decorations to the eye every hour. on each side of the square, at some little distance from each other, were ranged a thousand elephants, sumptuously caparisoned, each having upon his back a square wooden stage, finely gilt, upon which were musicians and buffoons. the trunks, ears, and bodies of these elephants were painted with cinnabar and other colours, representing grotesque figures. but what prince houssain most of all admired, as a proof of the industry, address, and inventive genius of the hindoos, was to see the largest of these elephants stand with his four feet on a post fixed into the earth, and standing out of it above two feet, playing and beating time with his trunk to the music. besides this, he admired another elephant as large as the former, placed upon a plank, laid across a strong beam about ten feet high, with a sufficiently heavyweight at the other end, which balanced him, while he kept time, by the motions of his body and trunk, with the music, as well as the other elephant. the hindoos, after having fastened on the counterpoise, had drawn the other end of the board down to the ground, and made the elephant get upon it. prince houssain might have made a longer stay in the kingdom and court of bisnagar, where he would have been agreeably diverted by a great variety of other wonders, till the last day of the year, whereon he and his brothers had appointed to meet. but he was so well satisfied with what he had seen, and his thoughts ran so much upon the object of his love, that after such success in meeting with his carpet, reflecting on the beauty and charms of the princess nouronnihar increased every day the violence of his passion, and he fancied he should be the more easy and happy the nearer he was to her. after he had satisfied the master of the khan for his apartment, and told him the hour when he might come for the key, without mentioning how he should travel, he shut the door, put the key on the outside, and spreading the carpet, he and the officer he had brought with him sat down upon it, and as soon as he had formed his wish, were transported to the caravanserai at which he and his brothers were to meet, and where he passed for a merchant till their arrival. prince ali, the second brother, who had designed to travel into persia, in conformity with the intention of the sultan of the indies, took that road, having three days after he parted with his brothers joined a caravan; and in four months arrived at sheerauz, which was then the capital of the empire of persia; and having in the way contracted a friendship with some merchants, passed for a jeweller, and lodged in the same khan with them. the next morning, while the merchants opened their bales of merchandises, prince ali, who travelled only for his pleasure, and had brought nothing but necessaries with him, after he had dressed himself, took a walk into that quarter of the town where they sold precious stones, gold and silver works, brocades, silks, fine linens, and other choice and valuable articles, and which was at sheerauz called the bezestein. it was a spacious and well-built street, arched over, within the arcades of which were shops. prince ali soon rambled through the bezestein, and with admiration judged of the riches of the place by the prodigious quantities of the most precious merchandises exposed to view. but among the criers who passed backwards and forwards with several sorts of goods, offering to sell them, he was not a little surprised to see one who held in his hand an ivory tube, of about a foot in length, and about an inch thick, which he cried at forty purses. at first he thought the crier mad, and to inform himself, went to a shop, and said to the merchant who stood at the door, "pray, sir, is not that man" (pointing to the crier, who cried the ivory tube at forty purses) "mad? if he is not, i am much deceived." "indeed, sir," answered the merchant, "he was in his right senses yesterday; and i can assure you he is one of the ablest criers we have, and the most employed of any, as being to be confided in when any thing valuable is to be sold; and if he cries the ivory tube at forty purses, it must be worth as much or more, on some account or other which does not appear. he will come by presently, when we will call him, and you shall satisfy yourself: in the mean time sit down on my sofa, and rest yourself." prince ali accepted the merchant's obliging offer, and presently afterwards the crier arrived. the merchant called him by his name, and pointing to the prince, said to him, "tell that gentleman, who asked me if you were in your right senses, what you mean by crying that ivory tube, which seems not to be worth much, at forty purses? i should indeed be much amazed myself, if i did not know you were a sensible man." the crier, addressing himself to prince ali, said, "sir, you are not the only person that takes me for a madman, on account of this tube; you shall judge yourself whether i am or no, when i have told you its property; and i hope you will value it at as high a price as those i have shewed it to already, who had as bad an opinion of me as you have. "first, sir," pursued the crier, presenting the ivory tube to the prince, "observe, that this tube is furnished with a glass at both ends; by looking through one of them, you will see whatever object you wish to behold." "i am," said the prince, "ready to make you all proper reparation for the reflection i have cast upon you, if you can make the truth of what you advance appear; and" (as he had the ivory tube in his hand, after he had looked at the two glasses), he said, "shew me at which of these ends i must look, that i may be satisfied." the crier presently shewed him, and he looked through; wishing, at the same time, to see the sultan his father, whom he immediately beheld in perfect health, sitting on his throne, in the midst of his council. next, as there was nothing in the world so dear to him, after the sultan, as the princess nouronnihar, he wished to see her; and instantly beheld her laughing, and in a gay humour, with her women about her. prince all wanted no other proof to persuade him that this tube was the most valuable article, not only in the city of sheerauz, but in all the world; and believed, that if he should neglect to purchase it, he should never meet with an equally wonderful curiosity. he said to the crier, "i am very sorry that i have entertained so erroneous an opinion of you, but hope to make amends by buying the tube, for i should be sorry if any body else had it; so tell me the lowest price the owner has fixed; and do not give yourself any farther trouble to hawk it about, but go with me and i will pay you the money." the crier assured him, with an oath, that his last orders were to take no less than forty purses; and if he disputed the truth of what he said, he would carry him to his employer. the prince believed him, took him to the khan where he lodged, told him out the money, and received the tube. prince ali was overjoyed at his purchase; and persuaded himself, that as his brothers would not be able to meet with any thing so rare and admirable, the princess nouronnihar must be the recompense of his fatigue and travels. he thought now of only visiting the court of persia incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in and about sheerauz, till the caravan with which he came might be ready to return to the indies. he satisfied his curiosity, and when the caravan took its departure, the prince joined the former party of merchants his friends, and arrived happily without any accident or trouble, further than the length of the journey and fatigue of travelling, at the place of rendezvous, where he found prince houssain, and both waited for prince ahmed. prince ahmed took the road of samarcand, and the day after his arrival, went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein; where he had not walked long before he heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his hand, cry it at five-and-thirty purses. he stopped the crier, and said to him, "let me see that apple, and tell me what virtue or extraordinary property it possesses, to be valued at so high a rate?" "sir," replied the crier, giving it into his hand, "if you look at the mere outside of this apple it is not very remarkable; but if you consider its properties, and the great use and benefit it is of to mankind, you will say it is invaluable, and that he who possesses it is master of a great treasure. it cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases, whether fever, pleurisy, plague, or other malignant distempers; for even if the patient is dying, it will recover him immediately, and restore him to perfect health: and this merely by the patient's smelling to it." "if one may believe you," replied prince ahmed, "the virtues of this apple are wonderful, and it is indeed invaluable: but what ground has the purchaser to be persuaded that there is no exaggeration in the high praises you bestow on it?" "sir," replied the crier, "the truth is known by the whole city of samarcand; but without going any farther, ask all these merchants you see here, and hear what they say; you will find several of them will tell you they had not been alive this day had they not made use of this excellent remedy; and that you may the better comprehend what it is, i must tell you it is the fruit of the study and experience of a celebrated philosopher of this city, who applied himself all his lifetime to the knowledge of the virtues of plants and minerals, and at last attained to this composition, by which he performed such surprising cures, as will never be forgotten; but died suddenly himself, before he could apply his own sovereign remedy; and left his wife and a great many young children behind in very indifferent circumstances, who, to support her family, and to provide for her children, has resolved to sell it." while the crier was detailing to prince ahmed the virtues of the artificial apple, many persons came about them, and confirmed what he declared; and one amongst the rest said he had a friend dangerously ill, whose life was despaired of; which was a favourable opportunity to shew the experiment. upon which prince ahmed told the crier he would give him forty purses for the apple if it cured the sick person by smelling to it. the crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to prince ahmed, "come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple shall be yours; and i say this with the greater confidence, as it is an undoubted fact that it will always have the same effect, as it already has had whenever it has been applied to save from death so many persons whose lives were despaired of." in short, the experiment succeeded; and the prince, after he had counted out to the crier forty purses, and had received the apple from him, waited with the greatest impatience for the departure of a caravan for the indies. in the mean time he saw all that was curious at and about samarcand, and principally the valley of sogd, which is reckoned by the arabians one of the four paradises of this world, for the beauty of its fields, gardens, and palaces, and for its fertility in fruit of all sorts, and all the other pleasures enjoyed there in the fine season. ahmed joined himself to the first caravan that set out for the indies, and notwithstanding the inevitable inconveniences of so long a journey, arrived in perfect health at the caravanserai, where the princes houssain and ali waited for him. ali, who had arrived some time before ahmed, asked houssain how long he had been there? who told him, "three months;" to which he replied, "then certainly you have not been very far." "i will tell you nothing now," said prince houssain, "of where i have been, but only assure you, i was above three months travelling to the place i went to." "but then," replied prince ali, "you made a short stay there." "indeed, brother," said prince houssain, "you are mistaken; i resided at one place above four months, and might have stayed longer." "unless you flew back," returned ali again, "i cannot comprehend how you can have been three months here, as you would make me believe." "i tell you the truth," added houssain, "and it is a riddle which i shall not explain to you, till our brother ahmed joins us; when i will let you know what rarity i have purchased in my travels. i know not what you have got, but believe it to be some trifle, because i do not perceive that your baggage is increased." "and pray what have you brought?" demanded prince ali, "for i can see nothing but an ordinary piece of carpeting, with which you cover your sofa; and therefore i think i may return your raillery; and as you seem to make what you have brought a secret, you cannot take it amiss that i do the same with respect to what i have procured." "i consider the rarity i have purchased," replied houssain, "to excel all others whatever, and should not make any difficulty to shew it you, and make you allow that it is so, and at the same time tell you how i came by it, without being in the least apprehensive that what you have got is to be preferred to it: but it is proper that we should wait till our brother ahmed arrives, when we may communicate our good fortune to each other." prince all would not enter into a dispute with prince houssain on the preference he gave his rarity, but was persuaded, that if his perspective glass was not preferable, it was impossible it should be inferior to it; and therefore agreed to stay till prince ahmed arrived, to produce his purchase. when prince ahmed joined his brothers, they embraced with tenderness, and complimented each other on the happiness of meeting together at the same place they had set out from. houssain, as the eldest brother, then assumed the discourse, and said to them, "brothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to entertain ourselves with the particulars of our travels. let us come to that which is of the greatest importance for us to know; and as i do not doubt you remember the principal motive which engaged us to travel, let us not conceal from each other the curiosities we have brought, but shew them, that we may do ourselves justice beforehand, and judge to which of us the sultan our father may give the preference. "to set the example," continued houssain, "i will tell you, that the rarity which i have brought from the kingdom of bisnagar is the carpeting on which i sit, which looks but ordinary, and makes no shew; but when i have declared its virtues, you will be struck with admiration, and confess you never heard of any thing like it. whoever sits on it, as we do, and desires to be transported to any place, be it ever so far distant, he is immediately carried thither. i made the experiment myself, before i paid the forty purses, which i most readily gave for it; and when i had fully satisfied my curiosity at the court of bisnagar, and wished to return here, i made use of no other conveyance than this wonderful carpet for myself and servant, who can tell you how long we were on our journey. i will shew you both the experiment whenever you please. i expect now that you should tell me whether what you have brought is to be compared with this carpet." here prince houssain finished his commendations of the excellency of his carpet; and prince ali, addressing himself to him, said, "i must own, brother, that your carpet is one of the most surprising curiosities, if it has, as i do not doubt, the property you speak of. but you must allow that there may be other rarities, i will not say more, but at least as wonderful, in another way; and to convince you there are, here is an ivory tube, which appears to the eye no more a prodigy than your carpet; it cost me as much, and i am as well satisfied with my purchase as you can be with yours; and you will be so just as to own that i have not been imposed upon, when you shall know by experience, that by looking at one end you see whatever object you wish to behold. i would not have you take my word," added prince ali, presenting the tube to him; "take it, make trial of it yourself." houssain took the ivory tube from prince ali, and put that end to his eye which ali directed, with an intention to see the princess nouronnihar; when ali and prince ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed upon him, were extremely surprised to see his countenance change in such a manner, as expressed extraordinary alarm and affliction. prince houssain did not give them time to ask what was the matter, but cried out, "alas! princes, to what purpose have we undertaken such long and fatiguing journeys, but with the hopes of being recompensed by the possession of the charming nouronnihar, when in a few moments that lovely princess will breathe her last. i saw her in her bed, surrounded by her women and eunuchs, all in tears, who seem to expect her death. take the tube, behold yourselves the miserable state she is in, and mingle your tears with mine." prince ali took the tube out of houssain's hand, and after he had seen the same object with sensible grief, presented it to ahmed, who took it, to behold the melancholy sight which so much concerned them all. when prince ahmed had taken the tube out of ali's hands, and saw that the princess nouronnihar's end was so near, he addressed himself to his two brothers, and said, "princes, the princess nouronnihar, equally the object of our vows, is indeed just at death's door; but provided we make haste and lose no time, we may preserve her life." he then took the artificial apple out of his bosom, and shewing it to his brothers, resumed, "this apple cost me as much and more than either the carpet or tube. the opportunity which now presents itself to shew you its wonderful property makes me not regret the forty purses i gave for it. but not to keep you longer in suspense, it has this virtue; if a sick person smells to it, though in the last agonies, it will restore him to perfect health immediately. i have made the experiment, and can show you its wonderful effect on the person of the princess nouronnihar, if we hasten to assist her." "if that be all," replied prince houssain, "we cannot make more dispatch than by transporting ourselves instantly into her chamber by means of my carpet. come, lose no time, sit down, it is large enough to hold us all: but first let us give orders to our servants to set out immediately, and join us at the palace." as soon as the order was given, the princes ali and ahmed sat down by houssain, and as their interest was the same, they all framed the same wish, and were transported instantaneously into the princess nouronnihar's chamber. the presence of the three princes, who were so little expected, alarmed the princess's women and eunuchs, who could not comprehend by what enchantment three men should be among them; for they did not know them at first; and the eunuchs were ready to fall upon them, as people who had got into a part of the palace where they were not allowed to come; but they presently found their mistake. prince ahmed no sooner saw himself in nouronnihar's chamber, and perceived the princess dying, but he rose off the carpet, as did also the other two princes, went to the bed-side, and put the apple to her nostrils. the princess instantly opened her eyes, and turned her head from one side to another, looking at the persons who stood about her; she then rose up in the bed, and asked to be dressed, with the same freedom and recollection as if she had awaked out of a sound sleep. her women presently informed her, in a manner that shewed their joy, that she was obliged to the three princes her cousins, and particularly to prince ahmed, for the sudden recovery of her health. she immediately expressed her joy at seeing them, and thanked them all together, but afterwards prince ahmed in particular. as she desired to dress, the princes contented themselves with telling her how great a pleasure it was to them to have come soon enough to contribute each in any degree towards relieving her from the imminent danger she was in, and what ardent prayers they had offered for the continuance of her life; after which they retired. while the princess was dressing, the princes went to throw themselves at the sultan their father's feet; but when they came to him, they found he had been previously informed of their unexpected arrival by the chief of the princess's eunuchs, and by what means the princess had been so suddenly cured. the sultan received and embraced them with the greatest joy, both for their return, and the wonderful recovery of the princess his niece, whom he loved as if she had been his own daughter, and who had been given over by the physicians. after the usual compliments, the princes presented each the rarity which he had brought: prince houssain his carpet, prince ali his ivory tube, and prince ahmed the artificial apple; and after each had commended his present, as he put it into the sultan's hands, they begged of him to pronounce their fate, and declare to which of them he would give the princess nouronnihar, according to his promise. the sultan of the indies having kindly heard all that the princes had to say in favour of their rarities, without interrupting them, and being well informed of what had happened in relation to the princess nouronnihar's cure, remained some time silent, considering what answer he should make. at last he broke silence, and said to them in terms full of wisdom, "i would declare for one of you, my children, if i could do it with justice; but consider whether i can? it is true, ahmed, the princess my niece is obliged to your artificial apple for her cure: but let me ask you, whether you could have been so serviceable to her if you had not known by ali's tube the danger she was in, and if houssain's carpet had not brought you to her so soon? your tube, ali, informed you and your brothers that you were likely to lose the princess your cousin, and so far she is greatly obliged to you. you must also grant, that the knowledge of her illness would have been of no service without the artificial apple and the carpet. and as for you, houssain, the princess would be very ungrateful if she did not show her sense of the value of your carpet, which was so necessary a means towards effecting her cure. but consider, it would have been of little use, if you had not been acquainted with her illness by ali's tube, or if ahmed had not applied his artificial apple. therefore, as neither the carpet, the ivory tube, nor the artificial apple has the least preference to the other articles, but as, on the contrary, their value has been perfectly equal, i cannot grant the princess to any one of you; and the only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the glory of having equally contributed to restore her to health. "as this is the case," added the sultan, "you see that i must have recourse to other means to determine me with certainty in the choice i ought to make; and as there is time enough between this and night, i will do it to-day. go and procure each of you a bow and arrow, repair to the plain where the horses are exercised; i will soon join you, and will give the princess nouronnihar to him who shoots the farthest. "i do not, however, forget to thank you all in general, and each in particular, for the present you have brought me. i have many rarities in my collection already, but nothing that comes up to the miraculous properties of the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple, which shall have the first places among them, and shall be preserved carefully, not only for curiosity, but for service upon all proper occasions." the three princes had nothing to object to the decision of the sultan. when they were dismissed his presence, they each provided themselves with a bow and arrow, which they delivered to one of their officers, and went to the plain appointed, followed by a great concourse of people. the sultan did not make them wait long for him: as soon as he arrived, prince houssain, as the eldest, took his bow and arrow, and shot first. prince ali shot next, and much beyond him; and prince ahmed last of all; but it so happened, that nobody could see where his arrow fell; and notwithstanding all the search made by himself and all the spectators, it was not to be found. though it was believed that he had shot the farthest, and had therefore deserved the princess nouronnihar, it was however necessary that his arrow should be found, to make the matter more evident and certain; but notwithstanding his remonstrances, the sultan determined in favour of prince ali, and gave orders for preparations to be made for the solemnization of the nuptials, which were celebrated a few days after with great magnificence. prince houssain would not honour the feast with his presence; his passion for the princess nouronnihar was so sincere and ardent, that he could scarcely support with patience the mortification of seeing her in the arms of prince ali: who, he said, did not deserve her better nor love her more than himself. in short, his grief was so violent and insupportable, that he left the court, and renounced all right of succession to the crown, to turn dervish, and put himself under the discipline of a famous chief, who had gained great reputation for his exemplary life; and had taken up his abode, and that of his disciples, whose number was great, in an agreeable solitude. prince ahmed, urged by the same motive, did not assist at prince ali and the princess nouronnihar's nuptials, any more than his brother houssain, yet did not renounce the world as he had done. but as he could not imagine what could have become of his arrow, he resolved to search for it, that he might not have any thing to reproach himself with. with this intent he went to the place where the princes houssain's and ali's were gathered up, and proceeding straight forwards from thence looked carefully on both sides as he advanced. he went so far, that at last he began to think his labour was in vain; yet he could not help proceeding till he came to some steep craggy rocks, which would have obliged him to return, had he been ever so desirous to continue his course. as he approached these rocks, he perceived an arrow, which he took up, looked earnestly at it, and was in the greatest astonishment to find it was the same he had shot. "certainly," said he to himself, "neither i, nor any man living, could shoot an arrow so far; and finding it laid flat, not sticking into the ground, he judged that it had rebounded from the rock. there must be some mystery in this, said he to himself again, and it may be to my advantage. perhaps fortune, to make amends for depriving me of what i thought the greatest happiness of my life, may have reserved a greater blessing for my comfort." as these rocks were full of sharp points and indentures between them, the prince meditating, entered into one of the cavities, and looking about, beheld an iron door, which seemed to have no lock. he feared it was fastened; but pushing against it, it opened, and discovered an easy descent, which he walked down with his arrow in his hand. at first he thought he was going into a dark place, but presently a light quite different from that which he had quitted succeeded; and entering into a spacious square, he, to his surprise, beheld a magnificent palace, the admirable structure of which he had not time to look at: for at the same instant, a lady of majestic air, and of a beauty to which the richness of her habit and the jewels which adorned her person added no advantage, advanced, attended by a troop of ladies, or whom it was difficult to distinguish which was the mistress, as all were so magnificently dressed. as soon as ahmed perceived the lady, he hastened to pay his respects; and the lady seeing him coming, prevented him. addressing him first, she said, "come near, prince ahmed, you are welcome." it was with no small surprise that the prince heard himself named in a palace he had never heard of, though so nigh to his father's capital, and he could not comprehend how he should be known to a lady who was a stranger to him. at last he returned the lady's compliment, by throwing himself at her feet, and rising up, said to her, "lady, i return you a thousand thanks for the assurance you give me of welcome to a place where i had reason to believe my imprudent curiosity had made me penetrate too far. but may i, without being guilty of rudeness, presume to inquire by what adventure you know me? and how you who live in the same neighbourhood should be so little known by me?" "prince," said the lady, "let us go into the hall; there i will gratify you in your request more commodiously for us both." after these words, the lady led prince ahmed into the hall, the noble structure of which, displaying the gold and azure which embellished the dome, and the inestimable richness of the furniture, appeared so great a novelty to him, that he could not forbear his admiration, but exclaimed, that he had never beheld its equal. "i can assure you," replied the lady, "that this is but a small part of my palace, as you will judge when you have seen all the apartments." she then sat down on a sofa; and when the prince at her entreaty had seated himself by her, she continued, "you are surprised, you say, that i know you, and am not known by you; but you will be no longer surprised when i inform you who i am. you cannot be ignorant, as the koran informs you, that the world is inhabited by genii as well as men: i am the daughter of one of the most powerful and distinguished of these genii, and my name is perie banou; therefore you ought not to wonder that i know you, the sultan your father, the princes your brothers, and the princess nouronnihar. i am no stranger to your loves or your travels, of which i could tell you all the circumstances, since it was i myself who exposed to sale the artificial apple which you bought at samarcand, the carpet which prince houssain purchased at bisnagar, and the tube which prince ali brought from sheerauz. this is sufficient to let you know that i am not unacquainted with every thing that relates to you. i have to add, that you seemed to me worthy of a more happy fate than that of possessing the princess nouronnihar; and that you might attain to it, i was present when you drew your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond prince houssain's. i seized it in the air, and gave it the necessary motion to strike against the rocks near which you found it. it is in your power to avail yourself of the favourable opportunity which presents itself to make you happy." as the fairy perie banou pronounced the last words with a different tone, and looked at the same time tenderly at the prince, with downcast eyes and a modest blush upon her cheeks, it was not difficult for him to comprehend what happiness she meant. he reflected that the princess nouronnihar could never be his, saw that perie banou excelled her infinitely in beauty and accomplishments, and, as far as he could conjecture by the magnificence of the palace, in immense riches. he blessed the moment that he thought of seeking after his arrow a second time, and yielding to his inclination, which drew him towards the new object which had fired his heart: he then replied, "should i, all my life, have the happiness of being your slave, and the admirer of the many charms which ravish my soul, i should think myself the happiest of men. pardon the presumption which inspires me to ask this favour, and do not refuse to admit into your court a prince who is entirely devoted to you." "prince," answered the fairy, "as i have been, long my own mistress, and have no dependence on a parent's consent, it is not as a slave that i would admit you into my court, but as master of my person, and all that belongs to me, by pledging your faith to me, and taking me as your wife. i hope you will not think it indecorous, that i anticipate you in this proposal. i am, as i said, mistress of my will; and must add, that the same customs are not observed among fairies as with human-kind, in whom it would not have been decent to have made such advances: but it is what we do, and we suppose we confer obligation by the practice." ahmed made no answer to this declaration, but was so penetrated with gratitude, that he thought he could not express it better than by prostration to kiss the hem of her garment; which she would not give him time to do, but presented her hand, which he kissed a thousand times, and kept fast locked in his. "well, prince ahmed," said she, "will you pledge your faith to me, as i do mine to you?" "yes, madam," replied the prince, in an ecstacy of joy. "what can i do more fortunate for myself, or with greater pleasure? yes, my sultaness, i give it you with my heart without the least reserve." "then," answered the fairy, "you are my husband, and i am your wife. our fairy marriages are contracted with no other ceremonies, and yet are more firm and indissoluble than those among men, with all their formalities. but as i suppose," pursued she, "that you have eaten nothing to-day, a slight repast shall be served up for you while preparations are making for our nuptial feast this evening, and then i will shew you the apartments of my palace." some of the fairy's women who came into the hall with them, and guessed her intentions, went immediately out, and returned with some excellent viands and wines. when ahmed had refreshed himself, the fairy led him through all the apartments, where he saw diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels, intermixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry, and all kinds of the most precious marbles; not to mention the richness of the furniture, which was inestimable; the whole disposed in such elegant profusion, that the prince acknowledged there could not be any thing in the world equal to it. "prince," said the fairy, "if you admire my humble abode so much, what would you say to the palaces of the chiefs of our genii, which are much more beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? i could also shew you my garden; but we will leave that till another time. night draws near, and it will be time to go to supper." the next hall which the fairy led the prince into, where the cloth was laid for the feast, was the only apartment he had not seen, and it was not in the least inferior to the others. at his entrance, he admired the infinite number of wax candles perfumed with amber, the multitude of which, instead of being confused, were placed with so just a symmetry, as to form an agreeable and pleasant light. a large beaufet was set out with all sorts of gold plate, so finely wrought, that the workmanship was much more valuable than the weight of the gold. several bands of beautiful women richly dressed, and whose voices were ravishing, began a concert, accompanied by the most harmonious instruments he had ever heard. when they were seated, the fairy took care to help prince ahmed to the most delicious meats, which she named as she invited him to eat of them, and which the prince had never heard of, but found so exquisite, that he commended them in the highest terms, saying, that the entertainment which she gave him far surpassed those among men. he found also the same excellence in the wines, which neither he nor the fairy tasted till the dessert was served up, which consisted of the choicest sweetmeats and fruits. after the dessert, the fairy perie banou and prince ahmed rose and repaired to a sofa, with cushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered with all sorts of large flowers, laid at their backs. presently after a great number of genii and fairies danced before them to the chamber where the nuptial bed was prepared; and when they came to the entrance, divided themselves into two rows, to let them pass, after which they made obeisance and retired. the nuptial festivity was renewed the next day; or rather, every day following the celebration was a continued feast, which the fairy perie banou knew how to diversify, by new delicacies, new concerts, new dances, new shows, and new diversions; which were all so gratifying to his senses, that ahmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men, could not have experienced equal enjoyment. the fairy's intention was not only to give the prince convincing proofs of the sincerity of her love, by so many attentions; but to let him see, that as he had no pretensions at his father's court, he could meet with nothing comparable to the happiness he enjoyed with her, independently of her beauty and attractions, and to attach him entirely to herself. in this attempt she succeeded so well, that ahmed's passion was not in the least diminished by possession; but increased so much, that if he had been so inclined, it was not in his power to forbear loving her. at the end of six months, prince ahmed, who always loved and honoured the sultan his father, felt a great desire to know how he was; and as that desire could not be satisfied without his absenting himself, he mentioned his wish to the fairy, and requested she would give him leave to visit the sultan. this request alarmed the fairy, and made her fear it was only an excuse to leave her. she said to him, "what disgust can i have given to you to ask me this permission? is it possible you should have forgotten that you have pledged your faith to me, or have you ceased to love one who is so passionately fond of you? are not the proofs i have repeatedly given you of my affection sufficient?" "my queen," replied the prince, "i am perfectly convinced of your love, and should be unworthy of it, if i did not testify my gratitude by a reciprocal affection. if you are offended at the permission i solicit, i entreat you to forgive me, and i will make all the reparation in my power. i did not make the request with any intention of displeasing you, but from a motive of respect towards my father, whom i wish to free from the affliction in which my so long absence must have overwhelmed him, and which must be the greater, as, i have reason to presume, he believes that i am dead. but since you do not consent that i should go and afford him that comfort, i will deny myself the pleasure, as there is nothing to which i would not submit to please you." ahmed did not dissemble, for he loved her at heart as much as he had assured her by this declaration; and the fairy expressed her satisfaction. but as he could not absolutely abandon his design, he frequently took an opportunity to speak to her of the great qualifications of the sultan his father: and above all, of his particular tenderness towards himself, in hopes he might at length be able to move her. as the prince had supposed, the sultan of the indies, in the midst of the rejoicings on account of the nuptials of prince ali and the princess nouronnihar, was sensibly afflicted at the absence of the other two princes his sons, though it was not long before he was informed of the resolution houssain had taken to forsake the world, and the place he had chosen for his retreat. as a good father, whose happiness consists in seeing his children about him, especially when they are deserving of his tenderness, he would have been better pleased had he stayed at his court, near his person; but as he could not disapprove of his choice of the state of perfection which he had entered, he supported his absence more patiently. he made the most diligent search after ahmed, and dispatched couriers to all the provinces of his dominions, with orders to the governors to stop him, and oblige him to return to court: but all the pains he took had not the desired success, and his affliction, instead of diminishing, increased. he would make it the subject of his conversation with his grand vizier; and would say to him, "vizier, thou knowest i always loved ahmed the most of all my sons; and thou art not insensible of the means i have in vain used to find him out. my grief is so heavy, i shall sink under it, if thou hast not compassion on me; if thou hast any regard for the preservation of my life, i conjure thee to assist and advise me." the grand vizier, no less attached to the person of the sultan than zealous to acquit himself well of the administration of the affairs of state, considering how to give his sovereign some ease, recollected a sorceress, of whom he had heard wonders, and proposed to send for and consult her. the sultan consented, and the grand vizier, upon her arrival, introduced her into the presence. the sultan said to the sorceress, "the affliction i have been in since the marriage of my son prince ali to the princess nouronnihar, my niece, on account of the absence of prince ahmed, is so well known, and so public, that thou canst be no stranger to it. by thy art and skill canst thou tell me what is become of him? if he be alive, where he is? what he is doing? and if i may hope ever to see him again?" to this the sorceress replied, "it is impossible, sir, for me, however skilful in my profession, to answer immediately the questions your majesty asks; but if you allow me till to-morrow, i will endeavour to satisfy you." the sultan granted her the time, and permitted her to retire, with a promise to recompense her munificently, if her answer proved agreeable to his hopes. the sorceress returned the next day, and the grand vizier presented her a second time to the sultan. "sir," said she, "notwithstanding all the diligence i have used in applying the rules of my art to obey your majesty in what you desire to know, i have not been able to discover any thing more than that prince ahmed is alive. this is certain, and you may depend upon it; but as to where he is i cannot discover." the sultan of the indies was obliged to remain satisfied with this answer; which left him in the same uneasiness as before as to the prince's situation. to return to prince ahmed. he so often entertained the fairy perie banou with talking about his father, though without speaking any more of his desire to visit him, that she fully comprehended what he meant; and perceiving the restraint he put upon himself, and his fear of displeasing her after her first refusal, she inferred, from the repeated proofs he had given her, that his love for her was sincere; and judging by herself of the injustice she committed in opposing a son's tenderness for his father, and endeavouring to make him renounce that natural affection, she resolved to grant him the permission which she knew he so ardently desired. one day she said to him, "prince, the request you made to be allowed to go and see the sultan your father gave me apprehension that it was only a pretext to conceal inconstancy, and that was the sole motive of my refusal; but now, as i am fully convinced by your actions and words that i can depend on your honour and the fidelity of your love, i change my resolution, and grant you the permission you seek, on condition that you will first swear to me that your absence shall not be long. you ought not to be uneasy at this condition, as if i asked it out of distrust. i impose it only because i know that it will give you no concern, convinced, as i have already told you i am, of the sincerity of your love." prince ahmed would have thrown himself at the fairy's feet to shew his gratitude, but she prevented him. "my sultaness," said he, "i am sensible of the great favour you grant me; but want words to express my thanks. supply this defect, i conjure you, by your own feelings, and be persuaded i think much more. you may believe that the oath will give me no uneasiness, and i take it more willingly, since it is not possible for me to live without you. i go, but the haste i will make to return shall shew you, that it is not the fear of being foresworn, but my inclination, which is to live with you for ever, that urges me; and if with your consent i now and then deprive myself of your society, i shall always avoid the pain a too long absence would occasion me." "prince," replied perie banou, delighted with his sentiments, "go when you please; but do not take it amiss that i give you some advice how you shall conduct yourself. first, i do not think it proper for you to inform your father of our marriage, neither of my quality, nor the place of our residence. beg of him to be satisfied with knowing that you are happy, that you want nothing from him, and let him know that the sole end of your visit is to make him easy respecting your fate." perie banou then appointed twenty horsemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend him. when all was ready, prince ahmed took his leave of the fairy, embraced her, and renewed his promise to return soon. a charger, which was most richly caparisoned, and as beautiful a creature as any in the sultan of the indies' stables, was brought to him, which he mounted with extraordinary grace, which gave great pleasure to the fairy; and after he had bidden her adieu, he set forward on his journey. as it was no great distance to his father's capital, prince ahmed soon arrived there. the people, rejoiced to see him again, received him with acclamations, and followed him in crowds to the palace. the sultan received and embraced him with great joy; complaining at the same time, with a fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his long absence had occasioned; which, he said, was the more distressing, as fortune having decided in favour of prince ali his brother, he was afraid he might have committed some act of despair. "sir," replied prince ahmed, "i leave it to your majesty to consider, if after having lost the princess nouronnihar, who was the only object of my desires, i could bear to be a witness of ali's happiness. if i had been capable of such unworthy apathy, what would the court and city have thought of my love, or what your majesty? love is a passion we cannot suppress at our will; while it lasts, it rules and governs us in spite of our boasted reason. your majesty knows, that when i shot my arrow, the most extraordinary accident that ever befell mortal happened to me, for surely it was such, that in so large and level a plain as that where the horses are exercised, it should not be possible to find my arrow. i lost your decision in my favour, which was as much due to my love, as to that of the princes my brothers. though thus vanquished by the caprice of fate, i lost no time in vain complaints; but to satisfy my perplexed mind, upon what i could not comprehend, i left my attendants, and returned alone to look for my arrow. i sought all about the place where houssain's and ali's arrows were found, and where i imagined mine must have fallen, but all my labour was in vain. i was not discouraged, but continued my search in a direct line, and after this manner had gone above a league, without being able to meet with any thing like an arrow, when i reflected that it was not possible that mine should have flown so far. i stopped, and asked myself whether i was in my right senses, to flatter myself with having had strength to shoot an arrow so much farther than any of the strongest archers in the world were able to do. after i had argued thus with myself, i was ready to abandon my enterprise; but when on the point of putting my resolution in execution, i found myself drawn forward against my will; and after having gone four leagues, to that part of the plain where it is bounded by rocks, i perceived an arrow. i ran, took it up, and knew it to be the same which i had shot. far from thinking your majesty had done me any injustice in declaring for my brother ali, i interpreted what had happened to me quite otherwise, and never doubted there was a mystery in it to my advantage; the discovery of which i ought not to neglect, and which i found out without going from the spot. but as to this mystery i beg your majesty will not be offended if i remain silent, and that you will be satisfied to know from my own mouth that i am happy, and content with my fate. "in the midst of my happiness, the only thing that troubled me, or was capable of disturbing me, was the uneasiness i feared your majesty would experience on account of my leaving the court, and your not knowing what was become of me. i thought it my duty to satisfy you in this point. this was the only motive which brought me hither; the only favour i ask of your majesty is to give me leave to come occasionally to pay you my duty, and inquire after your health." "son," answered the sultan of the indies, "i cannot refuse you the permission you ask, but i should much rather you would resolve to stay with me. at least tell me where i may hear of you, if you should fail to come, or when i may think your presence necessary." "sir," replied the prince, "what your majesty requires is part of the mystery i spoke of. i beg of you to allow me to remain silent on this head; for i shall come so frequently where my duty calls, that i am afraid i shall sooner be thought troublesome than be accused of negligence, when my presence may be necessary." the sultan of the indies pressed ahmed no more, but said to him, "son, i wish to penetrate no farther into your secrets, but leave you at your liberty. i can only tell you, that you could not have done me greater pleasure than by your presence, having restored to me the joy i have not felt for a long time; and that you shall always be welcome when you can come, without interrupting your business or your pleasure." prince ahmed stayed but three days at his father's court, and on the fourth returned to the fairy perie banou, who received him with the greater joy, as she did not expect him so soon. his expedition made her condemn herself for suspecting his want of fidelity. she never dissembled, but frankly owned her weakness to the prince, and asked his pardon. so perfect was the union of the two lovers, that they had but one will. a month after prince ahmed's return from visiting his father, as the fairy had observed that since the time when he gave her an account of his journey, and his conversation with his father, in which he asked his permission to come and see him from time to time, he had never spoken of the sultan, whereas before he was frequently mentioning him, she thought he forebore on her account, and therefore took an opportunity to say to him one day, "tell me, prince, have you forgotten the sultan your father? do not you remember the promise you made to pay your duty to him occasionally? i have not forgotten what you told me at your return, and put you in mind of it, that you may acquit yourself of your promise when you may feel inclined." "madam," replied ahmed, with equal animation, "as i know i am not guilty of the forgetfulness you lay to my charge, i rather choose to be thus reproached, however undeservedly, than expose myself to a refusal, by manifesting a desire for what it might have given you pain to grant." "prince," said the fairy, "i would not have you in this affair have so much consideration for me, since it is a month since you have seen the sultan your father. i think you should not be longer in renewing your visits. pay him one to-morrow, and after that, go and visit once a month, without speaking to me, or waiting for my permission. i readily consent to such an arrangement." prince ahmed went the next morning with the same attendants as before, but much more magnificently mounted, equipped, and dressed, and was received by the sultan with the same joy and satisfaction. for several months he constantly paid him visits, and always in a richer and more brilliant equipage. at last the sultan's favourites, who judged of prince ahmed's power by the splendour of his appearance, abused the privilege the sultan accorded them of speaking to him with freedom, to make him jealous of his son. they represented that it was but common prudence to discover where the prince had retired, and how he could afford to live so magnificently, since he had no revenue assigned for his expenses; that he seemed to come to court only to insult him, by affecting to shew that he wanted nothing from his father to enable him to live like a prince; and that it was to be feared he might court the people's favour and dethrone him. the sultan of the indies was so far from thinking that prince ahmed could be capable of so wicked a design, that he said to them in displeasure, "you are mistaken, my son loves me, and i am the more assured of his tenderness and fidelity, as i have given him no reason to be disgusted." at these words, one of the favourites took an opportunity to say, "your majesty, in the opinion of the most sensible people, could not have taken a better method than you did with the three princes, respecting their marriage with the princess nouronnihar; but who knows whether prince ahmed has submitted to his fate with the same resignation as prince houssain? may not he imagine that he alone deserved her; and that your majesty, by leaving the match to be decided by chance, has done him injustice? "your majesty may say," added the malicious favourite, "that prince ahmed has manifested no appearance of dissatisfaction; that our fears are vain; that we are too easily alarmed, and are to blame in suggesting to you suspicions of this kind, which may, perhaps, be unfounded, against a prince of your blood. but, sir," pursued the favourite, "it may be also, that these suspicions are well grounded. your majesty must be sensible, that in so nice and important an affair you cannot be too much on your guard, and should take the safest course. consider, it is the prince's interest to dissemble, amuse, and deceive you; and the danger is the greater, as he resides not far from your capital; and if your majesty give but the same attention that we do, you may observe that every time he comes his attendants are different, their habits new, and their arms clean and bright, as if just come from the maker's hands; and their horses look as if they had only been walked out. these are sufficient proofs that prince ahmed does not travel far, so that we should think ourselves wanting in our duty did we not make our humble remonstrances, in order that, for your own preservation and the good of your people, your majesty may take such measures as you shall think advisable." when the favourite had concluded these insinuations, the sultan said, "i do not believe my son ahmed is so wicked as you would persuade me he is; however, i am obliged to you for your advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds from good intention and loyalty to my person." the sultan of the indies said this, that his favourites might not know the impressions their observations had made on his mind. he was, however, so much alarmed by them, that he resolved to have prince ahmed watched, unknown to his grand vizier. for this end he sent for the sorceress, who was introduced by a private door into his closet. "you told me the truth," said he, "when you assured me my son ahmed was alive, for which i am obliged to you. you must do me another kindness. i have seen him since, and he comes to my court every month; but i cannot learn from him where he resides, and do not wish to force his secret from him; but believe you are capable of satisfying my curiosity, without letting him, or any of my court, know any thing of the discovery. you know that he is at this time with me, and usually departs without taking leave of me, or any of my court. place yourself immediately upon the road, and watch him so as to find out where he retires, and bring me information." the sorceress left the sultan, and knowing the place where prince ahmed had found his arrow, went immediately thither, and concealed herself near the rocks, so as not to be seen. the next morning prince ahmed set out by daybreak, without taking leave either of the sultan or any of his court, according to custom. the sorceress seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till suddenly she lost sight of him and his attendants. the steepness of the rocks formed an insurmountable barrier to men, whether on horseback or on foot, so that the sorceress judged that the prince retired either into some cavern, or some subterraneous place, the abode of genies or fairies. when she thought the prince and his attendants must have far advanced into whatever concealment they inhabited, she came out of the place where she had hidden herself, and explored the hollow way where she had lost sight of them. she entered it, and proceeding to the spot where it terminated after many windings, looked carefully on all sides. but notwithstanding all her acuteness she could perceive no opening, nor the iron gate which prince ahmed had discovered. for this door was to be seen by or opened to none but men, and only to those whose presence was agreeable to the fairy perie banou, but not at all to women. the sorceress, who saw it was in vain for her to search any farther, was obliged to be satisfied with the insufficient discovery she had made, and returned to communicate it to the sultan. when she had told him what she had explored, she added, "your majesty may easily understand, after what i have had the honour to tell you, that it will be no difficult matter to obtain you the satisfaction you desire concerning prince ahmed's conduct. to do this, i only ask time, that you will have patience, and give me leave to act, without inquiring what measures i design to take." the sultan was pleased with the conduct of the sorceress, and said to her, "do you as you think fit; i will wait patiently the event of your promises:" and to encourage her, he presented her with a diamond of great value, telling her, it was only an earnest of the ample recompense she should receive when she should have performed the important service which he left to her management. as prince ahmed, after he had obtained the fairy perie banou's leave, never failed once a month to visit his father, the sorceress knowing the time, went a day or two before to the foot of the rock where she had lost sight of him and his attendants, and waited there to execute the project she had formed. the next morning prince ahmed went out as usual at the iron gate, with the same attendants as before, passed the sorceress, and seeing her lie with her head on the rock, complaining as if she was in great pain, he pitied her, turned his horse, and asked what he could do to relieve her? the artful sorceress, without lifting up her head, looked at the prince in such a manner as to increase his compassion, and answered in broken accents and sighs, as if she could hardly breathe, that she was going to the city; but in the way was taken with so violent a fever, that her strength failed her, and she was forced to stop and lie down where he saw her, far from any habitation, and without any hopes of assistance. "good woman," replied the prince, "you are not so far from help as you imagine. i will assist you, and convey you where you shall not only have all possible care taken of you, but where you will find a speedy cure: rise, and let one of my people take you behind him." at these words, the sorceress, who pretended sickness only to explore where the prince resided, and his situation, did not refuse the charitable offer, and to shew her acceptance rather by her actions than her words, made many affected efforts to rise, pretending that the violence of her illness prevented her. at the same time, two of the prince's attendants alighting, helped her up, and placed her behind another. they mounted their horses again, and followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which was opened by one of his retinue. when he came into the outward court of the fairy's palace, without dismounting himself, he sent to tell her he wanted to speak with her. the fairy came with all imaginable haste, not knowing what had made prince ahmed return so soon; who, not giving her time to ask, said, "my princess, i desire you would have compassion on this good woman," pointing to the sorceress, who was taken off the horse by two of his retinue; "i found her in the condition you see her, and promised her the assistance she requires. i recommend her to your care, and am persuaded that you, from inclination, as well as my request, will not abandon her." the fairy, who had her eyes fixed on the pretended sick woman all the time the prince was speaking, ordered two of her women to take her from the men who supported her, conduct her into an apartment of the palace, and take as much care of her as they would of herself. whilst the two women were executing the fairy's commands, she went up to prince ahmed, and whispering him in the ear, said, "prince, i commend your compassion, which is worthy of you and your birth. i take great pleasure in gratifying your good intention; but permit me to tell you i am afraid it will be but ill rewarded. this woman is not so sick as she pretends to be; and i am much mistaken if she is not sent hither on purpose to occasion you great trouble. but do not be concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded that i will deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid for you. go and pursue your journey." this address of the fairy's did not in the least alarm prince ahmed. "my princess," said he, "as i do not remember i ever did, or designed to do, any body injury, i cannot believe any one can have a thought of injuring me; but if they have, i shall not forbear doing good whenever i have an opportunity." so saying, he took leave of the fairy, and set forward again for his father's capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by the sultan, who constrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the anxiety arising from the suspicions suggested by his favourites. in the mean time, the two women to whom perie banou had given her orders conveyed the sorceress into an elegant apartment, richly furnished. they first set her down upon a sofa, with her back supported by a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed on the same sofa, the quilt of which was finely embroidered with silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the coverlid cloth of gold. when they had put her into bed (for the old sorceress pretended that her fever was so violent she could not help herself in the least), one of the women went out, and returned soon with a china cup in her hand, full of a certain liquor, which she presented to the sorceress, while the other helped her to sit up. "drink this," said the attendant, "it is the water of the fountain of lions, and a sovereign remedy against fevers. you will find the effect of it in less than an hour's time." the sorceress, the better to dissemble, took it, after a great deal of entreaty, as if she did it with reluctance. when she was laid down again, the two women covered her up: "lie quiet," said she, who brought her the china cup, "and get a little sleep, if you can: we will leave you, and hope to find you perfectly recovered when we return an hour hence." the sorceress, who came not to act a sick part long, but to discover prince ahmed's retreat, being fully satisfied in what she wanted to know, would willingly have declared that the potion had then had its effect, so great was her desire to return to the sultan, to inform him of the success of her commission: but as she had been told that the potion did not operate immediately, she was forced to wait the women's return. the two women came again at the time they had mentioned, and found the sorceress seated on the sofa; who, when she saw them open the door of the apartment, cried out, "o the admirable potion! it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told me it would, and i have waited with impatience to desire you to conduct me to your charitable mistress, to thank her for her kindness, for which i shall always feel obliged; but being thus cured as by a miracle, i would not lose time, but prosecute my journey." the two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after they had told the sorceress how glad they were that she was cured so soon, walked before her, and conducted her through several apartments, all more superb than that wherein she had lain, into a large hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the palace. perie banou was seated in this hall, upon a throne of massive gold, enriched with diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size, and attended on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly dressed. at the sight of so much splendour, the sorceress was not only dazzled, but so struck, that after she had prostrated herself before the throne, she could not open her lips to thank the fairy, as she had proposed. however, perie banou saved her the trouble, and said, "good woman, i am glad i had an opportunity to oblige you, and that you are able to pursue your journey. i will not detain you; but perhaps you may not be displeased to see my palace: follow my women, and they will shew it you." the old sorceress, who had not power nor courage to say a word, prostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that covered the foot of the throne, took her leave, and was conducted by the two fairies through the same apartments which were shewn to prince ahmed at his first arrival, and at sight of their uncommon magnificence she made frequent exclamations. but what surprised her most of all was, that the two fairies told her, that all she saw and so much admired was a mere sketch of their mistress's grandeur and riches; for that in the extent of her dominions she had so many palaces that they could not tell the number of them, all of different plans and architecture, but equally magnificent. in speaking of many other particulars, they led her at last to the iron gate at which prince ahmed had brought her in; and after she had taken her leave of them, and thanked them for their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a good journey. after the sorceress had gone a little way, she turned to observe the door, that she might know it again, but all in vain; for, as was before observed, it was invisible to her and all other women. except in this circumstance, she was very well satisfied with her success, and posted away to the sultan. when she came to the capital, she went by many by-ways to the private door of the palace. the sultan being informed of her arrival, sent for her into his apartment, and perceiving a melancholy hang upon her countenance, thought she had not succeeded, and said to her, "by your looks, i guess that your journey has been to no purpose, and that you have not made the discovery i expected from your diligence." "sir," replied the sorceress, "your majesty must give me leave to represent that you ought not to judge by my looks whether or no i have acquitted myself well in the execution of the commands you were pleased to honour me with; but by the faithful report i shall make you of all that has happened to me, and by which you will find that i have not neglected any thing that could render me worthy of your approbation. the melancholy you observe proceeds from another cause than the want of success, which i hope your majesty will have ample reason to be satisfied with. i do not tell you the cause; the relation i shall give will inform you." the sorceress now related to the sultan of the indies how, pretending to be sick, prince ahmed compassionating her, had her carried into a subterraneous abode, and presented and recommended her to a fairy of incomparable beauty, desiring her by her care to restore her health. she then told him with how much condescension the fairy had immediately ordered two women to take care of her, and not to leave her till she was recovered; which great condescension, said she, could proceed from no other female, but from a wife to a husband. afterwards the old sorceress failed not to dwell on her surprise at the front of the palace, which she said had not its equal for magnificence in the world. she gave a particular account of the care they took of her, after they had led her into an apartment; of the potion they made her drink, and of the quickness of her cure; which she had pretended as well as her sickness, though she doubted not the virtue of the draught; the majesty of the fairy seated on a throne, brilliant with jewels, the value of which exceeded all the riches of the kingdom of the indies, and all the other treasures beyond computation contained in that vast palace. here the sorceress finishing the relation of the success of her commission, and continuing her discourse, said, "what does your majesty think of these unheard-of riches of the fairy? perhaps you will say, you are struck with admiration, and rejoice at the good fortune of prince ahmed your son, who enjoys them in common with the fairy. for my part, sir, i beg of your majesty to forgive me if i take the liberty to say that i think otherwise, and that i shudder when i consider the misfortunes which may happen to you from his present situation. and this is the cause of the melancholy which i could not so well dissemble, but that you soon perceived it. i would believe that prince ahmed, by his own good disposition, is incapable of undertaking anything against your majesty; but who can answer that the fairy, by her attractions and caresses, and the influence she has over him, may not inspire him with the unnatural design of dethroning your majesty, and seizing the crown of the indies? this is what your majesty ought to consider as of the utmost importance." though the sultan of the indies was persuaded that prince ahmed's natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being moved at the representations of the old sorceress, and said, "i thank you for the pains you have taken, and your wholesome caution. i am so sensible of its great importance that i shall take advice upon it." he was consulting with his favourites, when he was told of the sorceress's arrival. he ordered her to follow him to them. he acquainted them with what he had learnt, communicated to them the reason he had to fear the fairy's influence over the prince, and asked them what measures they thought most proper to be taken to prevent so great a misfortune as might possibly happen. one of the favourites, taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said, "your majesty knows who must be the author of this mischief. in order to prevent it, now he is in your court, and in your power, you ought not to hesitate to put him under arrest; i will not say take away his life, for that would make too much noise; but make him a close prisoner." this advice all the other favourites unanimously applauded. the sorceress, who thought it too violent, asked the sultan leave to speak, which being granted, she said, "i am persuaded it is the zeal of your counsellors for your majesty's interest that makes them propose arresting prince ahmed. but they will not take it amiss if i offer to your and their consideration, that if you arrest the prince you must also detain his retinue. but they are all genies. do they think it will be so easy to surprise, seize, and secure their persons? will they not disappear, by the property they possess of rendering themselves invisible, and transport themselves instantly to the fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered her husband? and can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? would it not be better, if by any other means which might not make so great a noise, the sultan could secure himself against any ill designs prince ahmed may have, and not involve his majesty's honour? if his majesty has any confidence in my advice, as genies and fairies can do things impracticable to men, he will rather trust prince ahmed's honour, and engage him by means of the fairy to procure certain advantages, by flattering his ambition, and at the same time narrowly watching him. for example; every time your majesty takes the field, you are obliged to be at a great expense, not only in pavilions and tents for yourself and army, but likewise in mules and camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry their baggage. request the prince to procure you a tent, which can be carried in a man's hand, but so large as to shelter your whole army. "i need say no more to your majesty. if the prince brings such a tent, you may make other demands of the same nature, so that at last he may sink under the difficulties and the impossibility of executing them, however fertile in means and inventions the fairy, who has enticed him from you by her enchantments, may be; so that in time he will be ashamed to appear, and will be forced to pass the rest of his life with the fairy, excluded from any commerce with this world; when your majesty will have nothing to fear from him, and cannot be reproached with so detestable an action as the shedding of a son's blood, or confining him for life in a prison." when the sorceress had finished her speech, the sultan asked his favourites if they had any thing better to propose; and finding them all silent, determined to follow her advice, as the most reasonable and most agreeable to his mild manner of government. the next day when the prince came into his father's presence, who was talking with his favourites, and had sat down by him, after a conversation on different subjects, the sultan, addressing himself to prince ahmed, said, "son, when you came and dispelled those clouds of melancholy which your long absence had brought upon me, you made the place you had chosen for your retreat a mastery. i was satisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that you were content with your condition, sought not to penetrate into your secret, which i found you did not wish i should. i know not what reason you had thus to treat a father, who ever was and still continues anxious for your happiness. i now know your good fortune. i rejoice with you, and much approve of your conduct in marrying a fairy so worthy of your love, and so rich and powerful as i am informed she is. powerful as i am, it was not possible for me to have procured for you so great a match. now you are raised to so high a rank, as to be envied by all but a father, i not only desire to preserve the good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between us, but request that you will use your influence with your wife, to obtain her assistance when i may want it. i will therefore make a trial of your interest this day. "you are not insensible at what a great expense, not to say trouble to my generals, officers, and myself, every time i take the field, they provide tents, mules, camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry them. if you consider the pleasure you would do me, i am persuaded you could easily procure from the fairy a pavilion that might be carried in a man's hand, and which would extend over my whole army; especially when you let her know it is for me. though it may be a difficult thing to procure, she will not refuse you. all the world knows fairies are capable of executing most extraordinary undertakings." prince ahmed never expected that the sultan his father would have made a demand like this, which appeared to him so difficult, not to say impossible. though he knew not absolutely how great the power of genii and fairies was, he doubted whether it extended so far as to furnish such a tent as his father desired. moreover, he had never asked any thing of the fairy perie banou, but was satisfied with the continual proofs she had given him of her passion, and had neglected nothing to persuade her that his heart perfectly corresponded without any views beyond maintaining himself in her good graces: he was therefore in the greatest embarrassment what answer to make. at last he replied, "if, sir, i have concealed from your majesty what has happened to me, and what course i took after finding my arrow, the reason was, that i thought it of no great importance to you to be informed of such circumstances; and though i know not how this mystery has been revealed to you, i cannot deny but your information is correct. i have married the fairy you speak of. i love her, and am persuaded she loves me in return. but i can say nothing as to the influence your majesty believes i have over her. it is what i have not yet proved, nor thought of trying, but could wish you would dispense with my making the experiment, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving and being beloved, with all that disinterestedness i had proposed to myself. however, the demand of a father is a command upon every child, who, like me, thinks it his duty to obey him in every thing. and though it is with the greatest reluctance, i will not fail to ask my wife the favour your majesty desires, but cannot promise you to obtain it; and if i should not have the honour to come again to pay you my respects, it will be the sign that i have not been able to succeed in my request: but beforehand, i desire you to forgive me, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this extremity." "son," replied the sultan of the indies, "i should be sorry that what i ask should oblige you to deprive me of the gratification of seeing you as usual. i find you do not know the power a husband has over a wife; and yours would shew that her love to you was very slight, if, with the power she possesses as a fairy, she should refuse so trifling a request as that i have begged you to make. lay aside your fears, which proceed from your believing yourself not to be loved so well as you love her. go; only ask her. you will find the fairy loves you better than you imagine; and remember that people, for want of requesting, often lose great advantages. think with yourself, that as you love her, you could refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves you, she will not deny your requests." all these representations of the sultan of the indies could not satisfy prince ahmed, who would rather he had asked anything else than, as he supposed, what must expose him to the hazard of displeasing his beloved perie banou; and so great was his vexation that he left the court two days sooner than he used to do. when he returned, the fairy, to whom he always before had appeared with a gay countenance, asked him the cause of the alteration she perceived in his looks; and finding that instead of answering he inquired after her health, to avoid satisfying her, she said to him, "i will answer your question when you have answered mine." the prince declined a long time, protesting that nothing was the matter with him; but the more he denied the more she pressed him, and said, "i cannot bear to see you thus: tell me what makes you uneasy, that i may remove the cause, whatever it may be; for it must be very extraordinary if it is out of my power, unless it be the death of the sultan your father; in that case, time, with all that i will contribute on my part, can alone comfort you." prince ahmed could not long withstand the pressing instances of the fairy. "madam," said he, "god prolong the sultan my father's life, and bless him to the end of his days. i left him alive and in perfect health; therefore that is not the cause of the melancholy you perceive in me. the sultan, however, is the occasion of it, and i am the more concerned because he has imposed upon me the disagreeable necessity of importuning you. you know the care i have at your desire taken to conceal from him the happiness i have enjoyed in living with you, and of having received the pledge of your faith after having pledged my love to you. how he has been informed of it i cannot tell." here the fairy interrupted prince ahmed, and said, "but i know. remember what i told you of the woman who made you believe she was sick, on whom you took so much compassion. it is she who has acquainted your father with what you have taken so much care to hide from him. i told you that she was no more sick than you or i, and she has made it appear so; for, in short, after the two women, whom i charged to take care of her, had given her the water sovereign against all fevers, but which however she had no occasion for, she pretended that it had cured her, and was brought to take her leave of me that she might go the sooner to give an account of the success of her undertaking. she was in so much haste, that she would have gone away without seeing my palace if i had not, by bidding my two women shew it her, given her to understand that it was worth her seeing. but proceed and tell me what is the necessity your father has imposed on you to be so importunate, which, be persuaded, however, you can never be to your affectionate wife." "madam," pursued prince ahmed, "you may have observed that hitherto i have been content with your love, and have never asked you any other favour: for what, after the possession of so amiable a wife, can i desire more? i know how great your power is, but i have taken care not to make proof of it to please myself. consider then, i conjure you, that it is not myself, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly as i think, asks of you a pavilion large enough to shelter him, his court, and army, from the violence of the weather, when he takes the field, and which a man may carry in his hand. once more remember it is not i, but the sultan my father who asks this favour." "prince," replied the fairy smiling, "i am sorry that so trifling a matter should disturb and make you so uneasy as you appear. i see plainly two things have contributed towards it: one is, the law you have imposed on yourself, to be content with loving me, being beloved by me, and deny yourself the liberty of soliciting the least favour that might try my power. the other, i do not doubt, whatever you may say, was, that you thought that what your father asked was out of my power. as to the first, i commend you, and shall love you the better, if possible, for it; and for the second, i must tell you that what the sultan your father requests is a trifle; as upon occasion i can do him more important service. therefore be easy in your mind, and persuaded that far from thinking myself importuned i shall always take real pleasure in performing whatever you can desire." perie banou then sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she said, "noor-jehaun" (which was her name), "bring me the largest pavilion in my treasury." noor-jehaun returned presently with a pavilion, which could not only be held, but concealed in the palm of the hand, when it was closed, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it prince ahmed to look at. when prince ahmed saw the pavilion, which the fairy called the largest in her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to banter him, and his surprise soon appeared in his countenance; which perie banou perceiving, she burst out a laughing. "what! prince," cried she, "do you think i jest with you? you will see that i am in earnest. noor-jehaun," said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of prince ahmed's hands, "go and set it up, that he may judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough." the treasurer went out immediately with it from the palace, and carried it to such a distance, that when she had set it up, one end reached to the palace. the prince, so far from thinking it small, found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his father; and then said to perie banou, "i ask my princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what i have seen, i believe there is nothing impossible to you." "you see," said the fairy, "that the pavilion is larger than your father may have occasion for; but you are to observe that it has one property, that it becomes larger or smaller, according to the extent of the army it is to cover, without applying any hands to it." the treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first size, brought it and put it into the prince's hands. he took it, and without staying longer than till the next day, mounted his horse, and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his father. the sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he had asked for was beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince's speedy return. he took the tent, but after he had admired its smallness, his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself when he had set it up in the great plain before-mentioned, and found it large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field. regarding this excess in its dimension as what might be troublesome in the use, prince ahmed told him that its size would always be proportionable to his army. to outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligation to the prince for so noble a present, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy; and to shew what a value he set upon it, ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. but within himself he felt greater jealousy than his flatterers and the sorceress had suggested to him; considering, that by the fairy's assistance the prince his son might perform things infinitely above his own power, notwithstanding his greatness and riches; therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went to consult the sorceress again, who advised him to engage the prince to bring him some of the water of the fountain of lions. in the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all his court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he addressed himself to him in these words: "son, i have already expressed to you how much i am obliged for the present of the tent you have procured me, which i esteem the most valuable curiosity in my treasury: but you must do one thing more, which will be no less agreeable to me. i am informed that the fairy your spouse makes use of a certain water, called the water of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous; and as i am perfectly well persuaded my health is dear to you, i do not doubt but you will ask her for a bottle of that water, and bring it me as a sovereign remedy, which i may use as i have occasion. do me this important service, and complete the duty of a good son towards a tender father." prince ahmed, who believed that the sultan his father would have been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon him which might hazard the fairy's displeasure, was thunderstruck at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him of granting him whatever lay in her power. after a long silence, he said, "i beg of your majesty to be assured, that there is nothing i would not undertake to procure which may contribute to the prolonging of your life, but i could wish it might not be by the means of my wife. for this reason i dare not promise to bring the water. all i can do is, to assure you i will request it of her; but it will be with as great reluctance as i asked for the tent." the next morning prince ahmed returned to the fairy perie banou, and related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at his father's court from the giving of the tent, which he told her he received with the utmost gratitude, to the new request he had charged him to make. he added: "but, my princess, i only tell you this as a plain account of what passed between me and my father. i leave you to your own pleasure, whether you will gratify or reject this his new desire. it shall be as you please." "no, no," replied the fairy, "i am glad that the sultan of the indies knows that you are not indifferent to me. i will satisfy him, and whatever advice the sorceress may give him (for i see that he hearkens to her counsel), he shall find no fault with you or me. there is much wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by what i am going to tell you. the fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep alternately, while the other two are awake. but let not that frighten you. i will supply you with means to pass by them without danger." the fairy perie banou was at that time at work with her needle; and as she had by her several clues of thread, she took up one, and presenting it to prince ahmed, said, "first take this clue of thread, i will tell you presently the use of it. in the second place, you must have two horses; one you must ride yourself, and the other you must lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, that must be killed to-day. in the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which i will give you, to bring the water in. set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the iron gate throw before you the clue of thread, which will roll till it reaches the gates of the castle. follow it, and when it stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. the two that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. be not alarmed, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. fill your bottle without alighting, and return with the same expedition. the lions will be so busy eating they will let you pass unmolested." prince ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed him by the fairy, and followed her directions punctually. when he arrived at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with intrepidity, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned safe. when he had got a little distance from the castle gates, he turned about; and perceiving two of the lions coming after him, drew his sabre, and prepared himself for defence. but as he went forwards, he saw one of them turn out of the road at some distance, and shewed by his head and tail that he did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other stayed behind to follow. he therefore put his sword again into its scabbard. guarded in this manner he arrived at the capital of the indies; but the lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan's palace; after which they returned the way they had come, though not without alarming the populace, who fled or hid themselves to avoid them, notwithstanding they walked gently and shewed no signs of fierceness. a number of officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and conduct him to the sultan's apartment, who was at that time conversing with his favourites. he approached the throne, laid the bottle at the sultan's feet, kissed the rich carpet which covered the footstool, and rising, said, "i have brought you, sir, the salutary water which your majesty so much desired to store up among other rarities in your treasury; but at the same time wish you such health as never to have occasion to make use of it." after the prince had concluded his compliment, the sultan placed him on his right hand, and said, "son, i am much obliged to you for this valuable present; as also for the great danger you have exposed yourself to on my account (which i have been informed of by the sorceress, who knows the fountain of lions); but do me the pleasure, continued he, to inform me by what address, or rather by what incredible power, you have been preserved." "sir," replied prince ahmed, "i have no share in the compliment your majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my spouse, and i take no other merit than that of having followed her advice." then he informed the sultan what that advice was, by the relation of his expedition, and how he had conducted himself. when he had done, the sultan, who shewed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous, retired into an inward apartment, whence he sent for the sorceress. the sorceress, on her arrival, saved the sultan the trouble of telling her of the success of prince ahmed's journey, which she had heard before she came, and therefore was prepared with a new request. this she communicated to the sultan, who declared it the next day to the prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, in these words: "son, i have one thing yet to ask of you; after which, i shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your interest with your wife. this request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feet long, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundred weight, which he uses as a quarter-staff, and who can speak." prince ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world as his father had described, would gladly have excused himself; but the sultan persisted in his demand, and told him the fairy could do more incredible things. next day the prince returned to the subterraneous kingdom of perie banou, to whom he related his father's new demand, which, he said, he looked upon to be a thing more impossible than the two first. "for," added he, "i cannot imagine there is or can be such a man in the world; without doubt he has a mind to try whether i am silly enough to search, or if there is such a man he seeks my ruin. in short, how can we suppose that i should lay hold of a man so small, armed as he describes? what arms can i use to reduce him to submission? if there are any means, i beg you will tell me how i may come off with honour this time also." "do not alarm yourself, prince," replied the fairy: "you ran a risk in fetching the water of the fountain of the lions for your father; but there is no danger in finding this man. it is my brother schaibar, who is so far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of so violent a nature, that nothing can prevent his giving bloody marks of his resentment for a slight offence; yet, on the other hand, is so liberal as to oblige any one in whatever they desire. he is made exactly as the sultan your father has described him; and has no other arms than a bar of iron of five hundred pounds weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes him respected. i will send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what i tell you; but prepare yourself not to be alarmed at his extraordinary figure." "what! my queen," replied prince ahmed, "do you say schaibar is your brother? let him be ever so ugly or deformed i shall be so far from being frightened at his appearance, that i shall love and honour him, and consider him as my nearest relation." the fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal: out of the latter she took some incense, and threw it into the fire, when there arose a thick cloud of smoke. some moments after, the fairy said to prince ahmed, "prince, there comes my brother; do you see him?" the prince immediately perceived schaibar, who was but a foot and a half high, coming gravely with his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard thirty feet long, which supported itself before him, and a pair of thick moustaches in proportion, tucked up to his ears, and almost covering his face: his eyes were very small, like a pig's, and deep sunk in his head, which was of an enormous size, and on which he wore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had a hump behind and and before. if prince ahmed had not known that schaibar was perie banou's brother, he would not have been able to behold him without fear; but knowing who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least concern. schaibar, as he came forwards, looked at the prince with an eye that would have chilled his soul in his body, and asked perie banou, when he first accosted her, who that man was? to which she replied, "he is my husband, brother; his name is ahmed; he is a son of the sultan of the indies. the reason why i did not invite you to my wedding was, i was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which i heard with pleasure you returned victorious; on his account i have taken the liberty now to call for you." at these words, schaibar, looking at prince ahmed with a favourable eye, which however diminished neither his fierceness nor savage look, said, "is there any thing, sister, wherein i can serve him? he has only to speak. it is enough for me that he is your husband, to engage me to do for him whatever he desires." "the sultan his father," replied perie banou, "has a curiosity to see you, and i desire he may be your guide to the sultan's court." "he needs but lead the way; i will follow him," replied schaibar. "brother," resumed perie banou, "it is too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the mean time, as it is fit you should know all that has passed between the sultan of the indies and prince ahmed since our marriage, i will inform you this evening." the next morning, after schaibar had been informed of all that was proper for him to know, he set out with prince ahmed, who was to present him to the sultan. when they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people, as soon as they saw schaibar, ran and hid themselves in their shops and houses, shutting their doors, while others taking to their heels, communicated their fear to all they met, who stayed not to look behind them; insomuch, that schaibar and prince ahmed, as they went along, found all the streets and squares desolate, till they came to the palace, where the porters, instead of preventing schaibar from entering, ran away too; so that the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne and giving audience. here likewise the officers, at the approach of schaibar, abandoned their posts, and gave them free admittance. schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be presented by prince ahmed, and accosted the sultan of the indies in these words: "you have asked for me," said he; "see, here i am, what would you have with me?" the sultan, instead of answering, clapped his hands before his eyes, and turned away his head, to avoid the sight of so terrible an object. schaibar was so much provoked at this uncivil and rude reception, after he had given him the trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar, saying, "speak, then;" let it fall on his head, and killed him, before prince ahmed could intercede in his behalf. all that he could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from him on his right hand, representing to him that he had always given the sultan his father good advice. "these are they then," said schaibar, "who gave him bad;" and as he pronounced these words, he killed all the other viziers on the right and left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan, who were prince ahmed's enemies. every time he struck he crushed some one or other, and none escaped but those who, not rendered motionless by fear, saved themselves by flight. when this terrible execution was over, schaibar came out of the council-hall into the court-yard with the iron bar upon his shoulder, and looking at the grand vizier, who owed his life to prince ahmed, said, "i know there is here a certain sorceress, who is a greater enemy of the prince my brother-in-law than all those base favourites i have chastised; let her be brought to me immediately." the grand vizier instantly sent for her, and as soon as she was brought, schaibar, knocking her down with his iron bar, said, "take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign sickness again;" he left her dead on the spot. after this he said, "this is not yet enough; i will treat the whole city in the same manner, if they do not immediately acknowledge prince ahmed my brother-in-law as sultan of the indies." then all who were present made the air ring with the repeated acclamations of "long life to sultan ahmed;" and immediately after, he was proclaimed through the whole metropolis. schaibar caused him to be clothed in the royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had made all swear homage and fidelity, returned to his sister perie banou, whom he brought with great pomp, and made her to be owned sultaness of the indies. as for prince ali and princess nouronnihar, as they had no concern in the conspiracy, prince ahmed assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent the rest of their lives. afterwards he sent an officer to houssain, to acquaint him with the change, and make him an offer of any province he might choose; but that prince thought himself so happy in his solitude, that he desired the officer to return his brother thanks for the kindness he designed him, assuring him of his submission; but that the only favour he desired was, to be indulged with leave to live retired in the place he had chosen for his retreat. the story of the sisters who envied their younger sister. there was an emperor of persia named khoosroo shaw, who, when he first came to his crown, in order to obtain a knowledge of affairs, took great pleasure in night adventures, attended by a trusty minister. he often walked in disguise through the city, and met with many adventures. after the ceremonies of his father's funeral-rites and his own inauguration were over, the new sultan, as well from inclination as duty, went out one evening attended by his grand vizier, disguised like himself, to observe what was transacting in the city. as he was passing through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner sort, he heard some people talking very loud; and going close to the house whence the noise proceeded, and looking through a crack in the door, perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing together after supper. by what the eldest said, he presently understood the subject of their conversation was wishes: "for," said she, "since we have got upon wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan's baker for my husband, for then i shall eat my fill of that bread, which by way of excellence is called the sultan's: let us see if your tastes are as good as mine." "for my part," replied the second sister, "i wish i was wife to the sultan's chief cook, for then i should eat of the most excellent dishes; and as i am persuaded that the sultan's bread is common in the palace, i should not want any of that; therefore you see," addressing herself to her eldest sister, "that i have a better taste than you." the youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit than the two elder, spoke in her turn: "for my part, sisters," said she, "i shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight; and since we are upon wishing, i wish to be the emperor's queen consort. i would make him father of a prince, whose hair should be gold on one side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cried, the tears from his eyes should be pearl; and when he smiled, his vermilion lips should look like a rose-bud fresh blown." the three sisters' wishes, particularly that of the youngest, seemed so singular to the sultan, that he resolved to gratify them in their desires; but without communicating his design to his grand vizier, he charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three sisters before him the following day. the grand vizier, in executing the emperor's orders, would but just give the sisters time to dress themselves to appear before him, without telling them the reason. he brought them to the palace, and presented them to the emperor, who said to them, "do you remember the wishes you expressed last night, when you were all in so pleasant a mood? speak the truth; i must know what they were." at these unexpected words of the emperor, the three sisters were much confounded. they cast down their eyes and blushed, and the colour which rose in the cheeks of the youngest quite captivated the emperor's heart. modesty, and fear lest they might have offended the emperor by their conversation, kept them silent. the emperor perceiving their confusion, said, to encourage them, "fear nothing, i did not send for you to distress you; and since i see that is the effect of the question i asked, without my intending it, as i know the wish of each, i will relieve you from your fears. you," added he, "who wished to be my wife shall have your desire this day; and you," continued he, addressing himself to the two elder sisters, "shall also be married to my chief baker and cook." as soon as the sultan had declared his pleasure, the youngest sister, setting her eldest an example, threw herself at the emperor's feet, to express her gratitude. "sir," said she, "my wish, since it is come to your majesty's knowledge, was expressed only in the way of conversation and amusement. i am unworthy of the honour you do me, and supplicate your pardon for my presumption." the two other sisters would have excused themselves also; but the emperor interrupting them, said, "no, no; it shall be as i have declared; every one's wish shall be fulfilled." the nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the emperor had resolved, but in a different manner. the youngest sister's were solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the emperors of persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan's chief baker, and the other as head cook. the two elder felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that of their younger sister. this consideration made them far from being content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their late wishes, and much beyond their hopes. they gave themselves up to an excess of jealousy, which not only disturbed their joy, but was the cause of great troubles and afflictions to the queen consort their younger sister. they had not an opportunity to communicate their thoughts to each other on the preference the emperor had given her, but were altogether employed in preparing themselves for the celebration of their marriages. some days afterwards, when they had an opportunity of seeing each other at the public baths, the eldest said to the other, "well, what say you to our sister's great fortune? is not she a fine person to be a queen!" "i must own," said the other sister, "i cannot conceive what charms the emperor could discover to be so bewitched by the young gipsy. was it a reason sufficient for him not to cast his eyes on you, because she was somewhat younger? you were as worthy of his bed; and in justice he ought to have preferred you." "sister," said the elder, "i should not have regretted if his majesty had but pitched upon you; but that he should choose that hussy really grieves me. but i will revenge myself; and you, i think, are as much concerned as me; therefore i propose that we should contrive measures, and act in concert in a common cause: communicate to me what you think the likeliest way to mortify her, while i, on my side, will inform you what my desire of revenge shall suggest to me." after this wicked agreement, the two sisters saw each other frequently, and consulted how they might disturb and interrupt the happiness of the queen. they proposed a great many ways, but in deliberating about the manner of executing them, found so many difficulties, that they durst not attempt them. in the mean time, they often went together to make her visits with a detestable dissimulation, and every time shewed her all the marks of affection they could devise, to persuade her how overjoyed they were to have a sister raised to so high a fortune. the queen, on her part, constantly received them with all the demonstrations of esteem they could expect: from a sister who was not puffed up with her high dignity, and loved them as cordially as before. some months after her marriage, the queen found herself to be with child. the emperor expressed great joy, which was communicated to all the court, and spread throughout the empire of persia. upon this news the two sisters came to pay their compliments, and proffered their service to deliver her, desiring her, if not provided with a midwife, to accept of them. the queen said to them most obligingly, "sisters, i should desire nothing more, if it was absolutely in my power to make the choice. i am however obliged to you for your good-will, but must submit to what the emperor shall order on this occasion. let your husbands employ their friends to make interest, and get some courtier to ask this favour of his majesty; and if he speaks to me about it, be assured that i shall not only express the pleasure he does me, but thank him for making choice of you." the two husbands applied themselves to some courtiers their patrons, and begged of them to use their interest to procure their wives the honour they aspired to. those patrons exerted themselves so much in their behalf, that the emperor promised them to consider of the matter, and was as good as his word; for in conversation with the queen, he told her, that he thought her sisters were the most proper persons to assist her in her labour; but would not name them before he had asked her consent. the queen, sensible of the deference the emperor so obligingly paid her, said to him, "sir, i was prepared to do as your majesty might please to command. but since you have been so kind as to think of my sisters, i thank you for the regard you have shewn them for my sake; and therefore i shall not dissemble, that i had rather have them than strangers." the emperor named the queen's two sisters to be her midwives; and from that time they went frequently to the palace, overjoyed at the opportunity they should have of executing the detestable wickedness they had meditated against the queen. when the queen's time was up she was safely delivered of a young prince, as bright as the day; but neither his innocence nor beauty could move the cruel hearts of the merciless sisters. they wrapped him up carelessly in his cloths, and put him into a basket, which they abandoned to the stream of a small canal, that ran under the queen's apartment, and declared that she was delivered of a little dead dog, which they produced. this disagreeable intelligence was announced to the emperor, who became so angry at the circumstance, that he was likely to have occasioned the queen's death, if his grand vizier had not represented to him, that he could not, without injustice, make her answerable for the caprices of nature. in the mean time, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was carried by the stream beyond a wall, which bounded the prospect of the queen's apartment, and from thence floated with the current down the gardens. by chance the intendant of the emperor's gardens, one of the principal and most considerable officers of the kingdom, was walking in the garden by the side of this canal, and perceiving a basket floating, called to a gardener, who was not far off, to bring it to shore, that he might see what it contained. the gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him. the intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a child, which, though he knew it could be but just born, had very fine features. this officer had been married several years, but though he had always been desirous of having children, heaven had never blessed him with any. this accident interrupted his walk: he made the gardener follow him with the child; and when he came to his own house, which was situated at the entrance into the gardens of the palace, went into his wife's apartment. "wife," said he, "as we have no children of our own, god has sent us one. i recommend him to you; provide him a nurse, and take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this moment, i acknowledge him as such." the intendant's wife received the child with great joy, and took particular pleasure in the care of him. the intendant himself would not inquire too narrowly whence the child came. he saw plainly it came not far off the queen's apartment; but it was not his business to examine too closely into what had passed, nor to create disturbances in a place where peace was so necessary. the following year the queen consort was brought to bed of another prince, on whom the unnatural sisters had no more compassion than on his brother; but exposed him likewise in a basket, and set him adrift in the canal, pretending this time that the sultaness was delivered of a cat. it was happy also for this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal side, who had it carried to his wife, and charged her to take as much care of it as of the former; which was as agreeable to her inclination as it was to that of the intendant. the emperor of persia was more enraged this time against the queen than before, and she had felt the effects of his anger if the grand vizier's remonstrances had not prevailed. the third time the queen lay in she was delivered of a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as the princes her brothers; for the two sisters being determined not to desist from their detestable schemes, till they had seen the queen their younger sister at least cast off, turned out, and humbled, exposed this infant also on the canal. but the princess, as well as the two princes her brothers, was preserved from death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens. to this inhumanity the two sisters added a lie and deceit as before. they produced a piece of wood, and affirmed it to be a false birth of which the queen had been delivered. khoosroo shaw could no longer contain himself, when he was informed of the new extraordinary birth. "what!" said he; "this woman, unworthy of my bed, will fill my palace with monsters, if i let her live any longer! no, it shall not be; she is a monster herself, and i must rid the world of her." he pronounced sentence of death, and ordered the grand vizier to see it executed. the grand vizier and the courtiers who were present cast themselves at the emperor's feet, to beg of him to revoke the sentence. "your majesty, i hope, will give me leave," said the grand vizier, "to represent to you, that the laws which condemn persons to death were made to punish crimes; the three extraordinary labours of the queen are not crimes; for in what can she be said to have contributed towards them? many other women have had, and have the same every day, and are to be pitied, but not punished. your majesty may abstain from seeing her, but let her live. the affliction in which she will spend the rest of her life, after the loss of your favour, will be a punishment sufficiently distressing." the emperor of persia considered with himself, and reflecting that it was unjust to condemn the queen to death for what had happened, said, "let her live then; i will spare her life; but it shall be on this condition, that she shall desire to die more than once every day. let a wooden shed be built for her at the gate of the principal mosque, with iron bars to the windows, and let her be put into it, in the coarsest habit; and every mussulmaun that shall go into the mosque to prayers shall spit in her face. if any one fail, i will have him exposed to the same punishment; and that i maybe punctually obeyed, i charge you, vizier, to appoint persons to see this done." the emperor pronounced his sentence in such a tone that the grand vizier durst not further remonstrate; and it was executed, to the great satisfaction of the two envious sisters. a shed was built, and the queen, truly worthy of compassion, was put into it, and exposed ignominiously to the contempt of the people; which usage, as she did not deserve it, she bore with a patient resignation that excited the admiration as well as compassion of those who judged of things better than the vulgar. the two princes and the princess were, in the mean time, nursed and brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife with all the tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all shewed marks of superior dignity, but the princess in particular, which discovered itself every day by their docility and inclinations above trifles, different from those of common children, and by a certain air which could only belong to exalted birth. all this increased the affections of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest prince bahman, and the second perviz, both of them names of the most ancient emperors of persia, and the princess, perie-zadeh, which name also had been borne by several queens and princesses of the kingdom. as soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess their sister, who was often with them, shewing a great desire to learn, the intendant, pleased with her quickness, employed the same master to teach her also. her emulation, vivacity, and piercing wit, made her in a little time as great a proficient as her brothers. from that time the brothers and sister had the same masters in geography, poetry, history, and even the secret sciences; and made so wonderful a progress, that their tutors were amazed, and frankly owned that they could teach them no farther. at the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing and play upon all sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride she would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through all the exercises with them, learning to ride also, to bend the bow, and dart the reed or javelin, and often-times outdid them in the race, and other contests of agility. the intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted children so accomplished in all the perfections of body and mind, and that they so well requited the expense he had been at in their education, that he resolved to be at a still greater: for as he had till then been content only with his lodge at the entrance of the garden, and kept no country house, he purchased a country seat at a short distance from the city, surrounded by a large tract of arable land, meadows, and woods. as the house was not sufficiently handsome nor convenient, he pulled it down, and spared no expense in building a mansion more magnificent. he went every day to hasten, by his presence, the great number of workmen he employed; and as soon as there was an apartment ready to receive him, passed several days together there when his presence was not necessary at court; and by the same exertions, the interior was furnished in the richest manner, answerably to the magnificence of the edifice. afterwards he made gardens, according to a plan drawn by himself. he took in a large extent of ground, which he walled round, and stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and princess might divert themselves with hunting when they chose. when this country seat was finished and fit for habitation, the intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the emperor's feet, and after representing how long he had served, and the infirmities of age which he found growing upon him, begged he would permit him to resign his charge into his majesty's disposal, and retire. the emperor gave him leave, with the more pleasure because he was satisfied with his long services, both in his father's reign and his own; and when he granted it, asked what he should do to recompense him? "sir," replied the intendant of the gardens, "i have received so many obligations from your majesty and the late emperor your father of happy memory, that i desire no more than the honour of dying in your favour." he took his leave of the emperor, and retired with the two princes and the princess to the country retreat he had built. his wife had been dead some years, and he himself had not lived above six months with them before he was surprised by so sudden a death, that he had not time to give them the least account of the manner in which he had discovered them. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, who knew no other father than the intendant of the emperor's gardens, regretted and bewailed him as such, and paid all the honours in his funeral obsequies which love and filial gratitude required of them. satisfied with the plentiful fortune he had left them, they lived together in perfect union, free from the ambition of distinguishing themselves at court, or aspiring to places of honour and dignity, which they might easily have obtained. one day when the two princes were hunting, and the princess had remained at home, a religious old woman came to the gate, and desired leave to go in to say her prayers, it being then the hour. the servants asked the princess's permission, who ordered them to shew her into the oratory, which the intendant of the emperor's gardens had taken care to fit up in his house, for want of a mosque in the neighbourhood. she bade them also, after the good woman had finished her prayers, shew her the house and gardens, and then bring her to her. the old woman went into the oratory, said her prayers, and when she came out two of the princess's women invited her to see the house and gardens; which civility she accepted, followed them from one apartment to another, and observed, like a person who understood what belonged to furniture, the nice arrangement of every thing. they conducted her also into the garden, the disposition of which she found so well planned, that she admired it, observing that the person who had formed it must have been an excellent master of his art. afterwards she was brought before the princess, who waited for her in the great hall, which in beauty and richness exceeded all that she had admired in the other apartments. as soon as the princess saw the devout woman, she said to her, "my good mother, come near and sit down by me. i am overjoyed at the happiness of having the opportunity of profiting for some moments by the good example and conversation of such a person as you, who have taken the right way by dedicating yourself to the service of god. i wish every one were as wise." the devout woman, instead of sitting on a sofa, would only sit upon the edge of one. the princess would not permit her to do so, but rising from her seat,'and taking her by the hand, obliged her to come and sit by her. the good woman, sensible of the civility, said, "madam, i ought not to have so much respect shewn me; but since you command, and are mistress of your own house, i will obey you." when she had seated herself, before they entered into any conversation, one of the princess's women brought a little low stand of mother of pearl and ebony, with a china dish full of cakes upon it, and many others set round it full of fruits in season, and wet and dry sweetmeats. the princess took up one of the cakes, and presenting her with it, said, "eat, good mother, and make choice of what you like best; you had need to eat after coming so far." "madam," replied the good woman, "i am not used to eat such delicacies; but will not refuse what god has sent me by so liberal a hand as yours." while the devout woman was eating, the princess ate a little too, to bear her company, and asked her many questions upon the exercise of devotion which she practised, and how she lived: all which she answered with great modesty. talking of several things, at last she asked her what she thought of the house, and how she liked it. "madam," answered the devout woman, "i must certainly have very bad taste to disapprove any thing in it, since it is beautiful, regular, and magnificently furnished with exactness and judgment, and all its ornaments adjusted in the best manner. its situation is an agreeable spot, and no garden can be more delightful; but yet if you will give me leave to speak my mind freely, i will take the liberty to tell you, that this house would be incomparable if it had three things which are wanting to complete it." "my good mother," replied the princess perie-zadeh, "what are those? i conjure you, in god's name, to tell me what they are: i will spare nothing to get them, if it be possible." "madam," replied the devout woman, "the first of these three things is the speaking bird, so singular a creature, that it draws round it all the singing birds of the neighbourhood, which come to accompany his song. the second is the singing tree, the leaves of which are so many mouths, which form an harmonious concert of different voices, and never cease. the third is the yellow water of a gold colour, a single drop of which being poured into a vessel properly prepared, it increases so as to fill it immediately, and rises up in the middle like a fountain, which continually plays, and yet the basin never overflows." "ah! my good mother," cried the princess, "how much am i obliged to you for the knowledge of these curiosities! they are surprising, and i never before heard there were such wonderful rarities in the world; but as i am persuaded that you know, i expect that you should do me the favour to inform me where they are to be found." "madam," replied the good woman, "i should be unworthy the hospitality you have with so much goodness shewn me, if i should refuse to satisfy your curiosity in that point; and am glad to have the honour to tell you, that these curiosities are all to be met with in the same spot on the confines of this kingdom, towards india. the road to it lies before your house, and whoever you send needs but follow it for twenty days, and on the twentieth let him only ask the first person he meets where the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water are, and he will be informed." after saying this, she rose from her seat, took her leave, and went her way. the princess perie-zadeh's thoughts were so taken up with what the devout woman had told her of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water, that she never perceived her departure, till she wanted to ask her some question for her better information; for she thought that what she had told her was not a sufficient reason for exposing herself by undertaking a long journey, possibly to no purpose. however, she would not send after her, but endeavoured to remember all she had told her; and when she thought she had recollected every word, took real pleasure in thinking of the satisfaction she should have if she could get these wonderful curiosities into her possession; but the difficulties she apprehended, and the fear of not succeeding, made her very uneasy. she was absorbed in these thoughts when her brothers returned from hunting; who, when they entered the great hall, instead of finding her lively and gay, as she used to be be, were amazed to see her so pensive, and hanging down her head as if something troubled her. "sister," said prince bahman, "what is become of all your mirth and gaiety? are you not well? or has some misfortune befallen you? has any body given you reason to be so melancholy? tell us, that we may know how to act, and give you some relief. if any one has affronted you, we will resent his insolence." the princess remained in the same posture some time without answering; but at last lifted up her eyes to look at her brothers, and then held them down again, telling them nothing disturbed her. "sister," said prince bahman, "you conceal the truth from us; there must be something of consequence. it is impossible we could observe so sudden a change if nothing was the matter with you. you would not have us satisfied with the evasive answer you have given: do not conceal any thing, unless you would have us suspect that you renounce the strict union which has hitherto subsisted between us from our infancy." the princess, who had not the smallest intention to offend her brothers, would not suffer them to entertain such a thought, but said, "when i told you nothing disturbed me, i meant nothing that was of importance to you; but to me it is of some consequence; and since you press me to tell you by our strict union and friendship, which are so dear to me, i will. you think, and i always believed so too, that this house was so complete that nothing was wanting. but this day i have learned that it wants three rarities, which would render it so perfect that no country seat in the world could be compared with it. these three things are, the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water. after she had informed them wherein consisted the excellency of these rarities," "a devout woman," added she, "has made this discovery to me, told me the place where they are to be found, and the way thither. perhaps you may imagine these things to be trifles, and of little consequence to render our house complete, that without these additions it will always be thought sufficiently elegant with what it already contains, and that we can do without them. you may think as you please; but i cannot help telling you that i am persuaded they are absolutely necessary, and i shall not be easy without them. therefore, whether you value them or not, i desire you to consider what person you may think proper for me to send in search of the curiosities i have mentioned." "sister," replied prince bahman, "nothing can concern you in which we have not an equal interest. it is enough that you have an earnest desire for the things you mention to oblige us to take the same interest; but if you had not, we feel ourselves inclined of our own accord and for our own individual satisfaction. i am persuaded my brother is of the same opinion, and therefore we ought to undertake this conquest; for the importance and singularity of the undertaking deserve that name. i will take that charge upon myself; only tell me the place, and the way to it, and i will defer my journey no longer than till to-morrow." "brother," said prince perviz, "it is not proper that you, who are the head and director of our family, should be absent. i desire my sister would join with me to oblige you to abandon your design, and allow me to undertake it. i hope to acquit myself as well as you, and it will be a more regular proceeding." "i am persuaded of your good-will, brother," replied prince bahman, "and that you would succeed as well as myself in this journey; but i have resolved, and will undertake it. you shall stay at home with our sister, and i need not recommend her to you." he spent the remainder of the day in making preparations for his journey, and informing himself from the princess of the directions which the devout woman had left her. the next morning bahman mounted his horse, and perviz and the princess embraced, and wished him a good journey. but in the midst of their adieus, the princess recollected what she had not thought of before. "brother," said she, "i had quite forgotten the accidents which attend travellers. who knows whether i shall ever see you again? alight, i beseech you, and give up this journey. i would rather be deprived of the sight and possession of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water, than run the risk of never seeing you more." "sister," replied bahman, smiling at the sudden fears of the princess, "my resolution is fixed, but were it not, i should determine upon it now, and you must allow me to execute it. the accidents you speak of befall only those who are unfortunate; but there are more who are not so. however, as events are uncertain, and i may fail in this undertaking, all i can do is to leave you this knife." bahman, pulling a knife from his vestband, and presenting it in the sheath to the princess, said, "take this knife, sister, and give yourself the trouble sometimes to pull it out of the sheath: while you see it clean as it is now, it will be a sign that i am alive; but if you find it stained with blood, then you may believe me dead, and indulge me with your prayers." the princess could obtain nothing more of bahman. he bade adieu to her and prince perviz for the last time, and rode away. when he got into the road he never turned to the right hand nor to the left, but went directly forward towards india. the twentieth day he perceived on the road side a hideous old man, who sat under a tree some small distance from a thatched house, which was his retreat from the weather. his eye-brows were as white as snow, as was also the hair of his head; his whiskers covered his mouth, and his beard and hair reached down to his feet. the nails of his hands and feet were grown to an extensive length; a flat broad umbrella covered his head. he had no clothes, but only a mat thrown round his body. this old man was a dervish, for many years retired from the world, to give himself up entirely to the service of god; so that at last he became what we have described. prince bahman, who had been all that morning very attentive to see if he could meet with any body who could give him information of the place he was in search of, stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in conformity to the directions which the devout woman had given the princess perie-zadeh, and leading his horse by the bridle, advanced towards him, and saluting him, said, "god prolong your days, good father, and grant you the accomplishment of your desires." the dervish returned the prince's salutation, but so unintelligibly that he could not understand one word he said: prince bahman perceiving that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's whiskers hanging over his mouth, and unwilling to go any farther without the instructions he wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about him, and having tied his horse to a branch of the tree, said, "good dervish, i want to have some talk with you: but your whiskers prevent my understanding what you say: and if you will consent, i will cut off some part of them and of your eye-brows, which disfigure you so much that you look more like a bear than a man." the dervish did not oppose the offer; and when the prince had cut off as much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a good complexion, and that he did not seem so old as he really was. "good dervish," said he, "if i had a glass i would shew you how young you look: you are now a man, but before nobody could tell what you were." the kind behaviour of prince bahman made the dervish smile, and return his compliment. "sir," said he, "whoever you are, i am obliged by the good office you have performed, and am ready to shew my gratitude by doing any thing in my power for you. you must have alighted here upon some account or other. tell me what it is, and i will endeavour to serve you." "good dervish," replied prince bahman, "i am in search of the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water; i know these three rarities are not far from hence, but cannot tell exactly the place where they are to be found; if you know, i conjure you to shew me the way, that i may not lose my labour after so long a journey." the prince, while he spoke, observed that the dervish changed countenance, held down his eyes, looked very serious, and instead of making any reply, remained silent; which obliged him to say to him again, "good father, i fancy you heard me; tell me whether you know what i ask you, that i may not lose my time, but inform myself somewhere else." at last the dervish broke silence. "sir," said he to prince bahman, "i know the way you ask of me; but the regard which i conceived for you the first moment i saw you, and which is grown stronger by the service you have done me, kept me in suspense, whether i should give you the satisfaction you desire." "what motive can hinder you?" replied the prince; "and what difficulties do you find in so doing?" "i will tell you," replied the dervish; "the danger you are going to expose yourself to is greater than you may suppose. a number of gentlemen of as much bravery and courage as you can possibly possess have passed this way, and asked me the same question. when i had used all my endeavours to persuade them to desist, they would not believe me; at last, i yielded, to their importunities; i was compelled to shew them the way, and i can assure you they have all perished, for i have not seen one come back. therefore, if you have any regard for your life, take my advice, go no farther, but return home." prince bahman persisted in his resolution. "i will not suppose," said he to the dervish, "but that your advice is sincere. i am obliged to you for the friendship you express for me; but whatever may be the danger, nothing shall make me change my intention: whoever attacks me, i am well armed, and can say i am as brave as any one." "but they who will attack you are not to be seen," replied the dervish; "how will you defend yourself against invisible persons?" "it is no matter," answered the prince; "all you say shall not persuade me to do any thing contrary to my duty. since you know the way, i conjure you once more to inform me." when the dervish found he could not prevail upon prince bahman, and that he was obstinately bent to pursue his journey notwithstanding his friendly remonstrance, he put his hand into a bag that lay by him and pulled out a bowl, which he presented to him. "since i cannot prevail on you to attend to my advice," said he, "take this bowl; when you are on horseback throw it before you, and follow it to the foot of a mountain, where it will stop. as soon as the bowl stops, alight, leave your horse with the bridle over his neck, and he will stand in the same place till you return. as you ascend you will see on your right and left a great number of large black stones, and will hear on all sides a confusion of voices, which will utter a thousand injurious abuses to discourage you, and prevent your reaching the summit of the mountain. be not afraid; but above all things, do not turn your head to look behind you; for in that instant you will be changed into such a black stone as those you see, which are all youths who have failed in this enterprise. if you escape the danger of which i give you but a faint idea, and get to the top of the mountain, you will see a cage, and in that cage is the bird you seek; ask him which are the singing tree and the yellow water, and he will tell you. i have nothing more to say; this is what you have to do, and the danger you have to avoid; but if you are prudent, you will take my advice, and not expose your life. consider once more while you have time that the difficulty is almost insuperable." "i am obliged to you for your repeated advice," replied prince bahman, after he had received the bowl, "but cannot follow it. however, i will endeavour to conform myself to that part of it which bids me not look behind me as i shall ascend the mountain, and i hope to come and see you again soon, and thank you when i have obtained what i am seeking." after these words, to which the dervish made no other answer than that he should be overjoyed to see him again, the prince mounted his horse, took his leave of the dervish with a respectful salute, and threw the bowl before him. the bowl rolled away unceasingly with as much swiftness as when prince bahman first hurled it from his hand, which obliged him to put his horse to the same pace to avoid losing sight of it, and when it had reached the foot of the mountain it stopped. the prince alighted from his horse, laid the bridle on his neck; and having first surveyed the mountain, and seen the black stones, began to ascend; but had not gone four steps, before he heard the voices mentioned by the dervish, though he could see nobody. some said, "where is that fool going? where is he going? what would he have? do not let him pass." others, "stop him, catch him, kill him;" and others with a voice like thunder, "thief! assassin! murderer!" while some in a gibing tone cried, "no, no, do not hurt him; let the pretty fellow pass, the cage and bird are kept for him." notwithstanding all these troublesome voices, prince bahman ascended with courage and resolution for some time, but the voices redoubled with so loud a din near him, both behind and before, that at last he was seized with dread, his legs trembled under him, he staggered, and finding that his strength failed him, he forgot the dervish's advice, turned about to run down the hill, and was that instant changed into a black stone; a metamorphosis which had happened to many before him, who had attempted the ascent. his horse likewise underwent the same change. from the time of prince bahman's departure, the princess perie-zadeh always wore the knife and sheath in her girdle, and pulled it out several times in a day, to know whether her brother was alive. she had the consolation to understand he was in perfect health, and to talk of him frequently with prince perviz, who sometimes prevented her by asking her what news. on the fatal day that prince bahman was transformed into a stone, as prince perviz and the princess were talking together in the evening, as usual, the prince desired his sister to pull out the knife to know how their brother did. the princess readily complied, and seeing the blood run down the point was seized with so much horror that she threw it down. "ah! my dear brother," cried she, "i have been the cause of your death, and shall never see you more! why did i tell you of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water; or rather, of what importance was it to me to know whether the devout woman thought this house ugly or handsome, or complete or not? i wish to heaven she had never addressed herself to me? deceitful hypocrite!" added she, "is this the return you have made for the kind reception i gave you? why did you tell me of a bird, a tree, and a water, which, imaginary as i am persuaded they are, by my dear brother's death, yet disturb me by your enchantment?" prince perviz was as much afflicted at the death of prince bahman as the princess; but not to waste time in needless regret, as he knew that she still passionately desired possession of the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water, he interrupted her, saying, "sister, our regret for our brother is vain and useless; our grief and lamentations cannot restore him to life; it is the will of god, we must submit to it, and adore the decrees of the almighty without searching into them. why should you now doubt of the truth of what the holy woman told you? do you think she spoke to you of three things that were not in being? and that she invented them on purpose to deceive you, who had given her no cause to do so, but received her with so much goodness and civility? let us rather believe that our brother's death is owing to some error on his part, or some accident which we cannot conceive. it ought not therefore to prevent us from pursuing our object. i offered to go this journey, and am now more resolved than ever; his example has no effect upon my resolution; to-morrow i will depart." the princess did all she could to dissuade prince perviz, conjuring him not to expose her to the danger of losing two brothers; but he was obstinate, and all the remonstrances she could urge had no effect upon him. before he went, that she might know what success he had, he left her a string of a hundred pearls, telling her, that if they would not run when she should count them upon the string, but remain fixed, that would be a certain sign he had undergone the same fate as his brother; but at the same time told her he hoped it would never happen, but that he should have the happiness to see her again to their mutual satisfaction. prince perviz, on the twentieth day after his departure, met the same dervish in the same place as his brother bahman had done before him. he went directly up to him, and after he had saluted, asked him, if he could tell him where to find the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water? the dervish urged the same difficulties and remonstrances as he had done to prince bahman, telling him, that a young gentleman, who very much resembled him, was with him a short time before; that, overcome by his importunity and pressing instances, he had shewn him the way, given him a guide, and told him how he should act to succeed; but that he had not seen him since, and doubted not but he had shared the same fate as all other adventurers. "good dervish," answered prince perviz, "i know whom you speak of; he was my elder brother, and i am informed of the certainty of his death, but know not the cause." "i can tell you," replied the dervise; "he was changed into a black stone, as all i speak of have been; and you must expect the same transformation, unless you observe more exactly than he has done the advice i gave him, in case you persist in your resolution, which i once more entreat you to renounce." "dervish," said prince perviz, "i cannot sufficiently express how much i am obliged for the concern you take in my life, who am a stranger to you, and have done nothing to deserve your kindness: but i thoroughly considered this enterprise before i undertook it, and i cannot now relinquish it: therefore i beg of you to do me the same favour you have done my brother. perhaps i may have better success in following your directions." "since i cannot prevail with you," said the dervish, "to give up your obstinate resolution, if my age did not prevent me, and i could stand, i would get up to reach you a bowl i have here, which will shew you the way." without giving the dervish time to say more, the prince alighted from his horse and went to the dervish, who had taken a bowl out of his bag, in which he had a great many, and gave it him, with the same directions he had given prince bahman; and after warning him not to be discouraged by the voices he should hear without seeing any body, however threatening they might be, but to continue his way up the hill till he saw the cage and bird, he let him depart. prince perviz thanked the dervish, and when he had remounted, and taken leave, threw the bowl before his horse, and spurring him at the same time, followed it. when the bowl came to the bottom of the hill it stopped, the prince alighted, and stood some time to recollect the dervish's directions. he encouraged himself, and began to walk up with a resolution to reach the summit; but before he had gone above six steps, he heard a voice, which seemed to be near, as of a man behind him, say in an insulting tone, "stay, rash youth, that i may punish you for your presumption." upon this affront the prince, forgetting the dervish's advice, clapped his hand upon his sword, drew it, and turned about to revenge himself; but had scarcely time to see that nobody followed him before he and his horse were changed into black stones. in the mean time the princess perie-zadeh, several times a day after her brother's departure, counted her chaplet. she did not omit it at night, but when she went to bed put it about her neck; and in the morning when she awoke counted over the pearls again to see if they would slide. the day that prince perviz was transformed into a stone, she was counting over the pearls as she used to do, when all at once they became immoveably fixed, a certain token that the prince her brother was dead. as she had determined what to do in case it should so happen, she lost no time in outward demonstrations of grief, which she concealed as much as possible; but having disguised herself in man's apparel, armed and equipped, she mounted her horse the next morning, having told her servants she should return in two or three days, and took the same road her brothers had done. the princess, who had been used to ride on horseback in hunting, supported the fatigue of so long a journey better than most ladies could have done; and as she made the same stages as her brothers, she also met with the dervish on the twentieth day. when she came near him, she alighted off her horse, leading him by the bridle, went and sat down by the dervish, and after she had saluted him, said, "good dervish, give me leave to rest myself; and do me the favour to tell me if you have not heard that there are somewhere in this neighbourhood a speaking bird, a singing tree, and golden water." "princess," answered the dervish, "for so i must call you, since by your voice i know you to be a woman disguised in man's apparel, i thank you for your compliment, and receive the honour you do me with great pleasure. i know the place well where these things are to be found: but what makes you ask me this question?" "good dervish," replied the princess, "i have had such a flattering relation of them given me, that i have a great desire to possess them." "madam," replied the dervish, "you have been told the truth. these curiosities are more singular and surprising than they have been represented to you: but you have not been made acquainted with the difficulties which must be surmounted in order to obtain them. if you had been fully informed of these, you would not have undertaken so troublesome and dangerous an enterprise. take my advice, go no farther, return, and do not urge me to contribute towards your ruin." "good father," said the princess, "i have travelled a great way, and should be sorry to return without executing my design. you talk of difficulties, and danger of life; but you do not tell me what those difficulties are, and wherein the danger consists. this is what i desire to know, that i may consider and judge whether i can trust my courage and strength to brave them." the dervish repeated to the princess what he had said to the princes bahman and perviz, exaggerating the difficulties of climbing up to the top of the mountain, where she was to make herself mistress of the bird, which would inform her of the singing tree and golden water. he magnified the noise and din of the terrible threatening voices which she would hear on all sides of her, without seeing any body, and the great number of black stones, alone sufficient to strike terror. he entreated her to reflect that those stones were so many brave gentlemen, so metamorphosed for having omitted to observe the principal condition of success in the perilous undertaking, which was not to look behind them before they had got possession of the cage. when the dervish had done, the princess replied, "by what i comprehend from your discourse, the difficulties of succeeding in this affair are, first, the getting up to the cage without being frightened at the terrible din of voices i shall hear; and secondly, not to look behind me: for this last, i hope i shall be mistress enough of myself to observe it. as to the first, i own that those voices, such as you represent them to be, are capable of striking terror into the most undaunted; but as in all enterprises and dangers every one may use stratagem, i desire to know of you if i may use any in one of so great importance." "and what stratagem is it you would employ?" said the dervish. "to stop my ears with cotton," answered the princess, "that the voices, however loud and terrible, may make the less impression upon my imagination, and my mind remain free from that disturbance which might cause me to lose the use of my reason." "princess," replied the dervish, "of all the persons who have addressed themselves to me for information, i do not know that ever one made use of the contrivance you propose. all i know is, that they all perished. if you persist in your design, you may make the experiment. you will be fortunate if it succeeds; but i would advise you not to expose yourself to the danger." "my good father," replied the princess, "nothing can hinder my persisting in my design. i am sure my precaution will succeed, and am resolved to try the experiment. nothing remains for me but to know which way i must go; i conjure you not to deny me the favour of that information." the dervish exhorted her again, for the last time, to consider well what she was going to do; but finding her resolute, he took out a bowl, and presenting it to her, said, "take this bowl; mount your horse again, and when you have thrown it before you, follow it through all its windings, till it stops at the bottom of the mountain, there alight, and ascend the hill. go; you know the rest." after the princess had thanked the dervish, and taken her leave of him, she mounted her horse, threw the bowl before her, and followed it till it stopped at the foot of the mountain. the princess alighted, stopped her ears with cotton; and after she had well examined the path leading to the summit, began with a moderate pace, and walked up with intrepidity. she heard the voices, and perceived the great service the cotton was to her. the higher she went, the louder and more numerous the voices seemed; but they were not capable of making any impression upon her. she heard a great many affronting speeches and raillery very disagreeable to a woman, which she only laughed at. "i mind not," said she to herself, "all that can be said, were it worse; i only laugh at them, and shall pursue my way." at last she got so high, that she could perceive the cage and the bird, which endeavoured, with the voices, to frighten her, crying in a thundering tone, notwithstanding the smallness of its size, "retire, fool, and approach no nearer." the princess, encouraged by this object, redoubled her speed, and by effort gained the summit of the mountain, where the ground was level; then running directly to the cage, and clapping her hand upon it, cried, "bird, i have you, and you shall not escape me." while perie-zadeh was pulling the cotton out of her ears, the bird said to her, "heroic princess, be not angry with me for joining with those who exerted themselves to preserve my liberty. though in a cage, i was content with my condition; but since i am destined to be a slave, i would rather be yours than any other person's, since you have obtained me so courageously. from this instant, i swear inviolable fidelity, and an entire submission to all your commands. i know who you are; you do not: but the time will come when i shall do you essential service, which i hope you will think yourself obliged to me for. as a proof of my sincerity, tell me what you desire, and i am ready to obey you." the princess's joy was the more inexpressible, because the conquest she had made had cost her the lives of two beloved brothers, and given her more trouble and danger than she could have imagined, notwithstanding what the dervish had represented to her. "bird," said she, "it was my intention to have told you that i wish for many things which are of importance; but i am overjoyed that you have shewn your good-will and prevented me. i have been told that there is not far off a golden water, the property of which is very wonderful; before all things, i ask you to tell me where it is." the bird shewed her the place, which was just by, and she went and filled a little silver flagon which she had brought with her. she returned to the bird and said, "bird, this is not enough; i want also the singing tree; tell me where it is." "turn about," said the bird, "and you will see behind you a wood, where you will find this tree." the princess went into the wood, and by the harmonious concert she heard soon knew the tree among many others, but it was very large and high. she came back to the bird, and said to it, "bird, i have found the singing tree, but i can neither pull it up by the roots, nor carry it." the bird replied, "it is not necessary that you should take it up by the roots; it will be sufficient to break off a branch, and carry it to plant in your garden; it will take root as soon as it is put into the earth, and in a little time will grow to as fine a tree as that you have seen." when the princess had obtained possession of the three things which the devout woman had told her of, and for which she had conceived so great a desire, she said again to the bird, "bird, what you have yet done for me is not sufficient. you have been the cause of the death of my two brothers, who must be among the black stones which i saw as i ascended the mountain. i wish to take them home with me." the bird seemed reluctant to satisfy the princess in this point, and indeed made some difficulty to comply. "bird," said the princess, "remember you told me that you were my slave. you are so; and your life is in my disposal." "that i cannot deny," answered the bird; "but although what you now ask is more difficult than all the rest, yet i will do it for you. cast your eyes around," added he, "and look if you can see a little pitcher." "i see it already," said the princess. "take it then," said he, "and as you descend the mountain, sprinkle a little of the water that is in it upon every black stone." the princess took up the pitcher accordingly, carried with her the cage and bird, the flagon of golden water, and the branch of the singing tree, and as she descended the mountain, threw a little of the water on every black stone, which was changed immediately into a man; and as she did not miss one stone, all the horses, both of the princes her brothers, and of the other gentlemen, resumed their natural forms. she instantly recognized bahman and perviz, as they did her, and ran to embrace her. she returned their embraces, and expressed her amazement. "what do you here, my dear brothers?" said she; they told her they had been asleep. "yes," replied she, "and if it had not been for me, perhaps you might have slept till the day of judgment. do not you remember that you came to fetch the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water? and did not you see, as you came along, the place covered with black stones? look and see if there be any now. the gentlemen and their horses who surround us, and you yourselves, were these black stones. if you desire to know how this wonder was performed," continued she, shewing the pitcher, which she set down at the foot of the mountain, having no further use for it, "it was done by virtue of the water which was in this pitcher, with which i sprinkled every stone. after i had made the speaking bird (which you see in this cage) my slave, by his directions i found out the singing tree, a branch of which i have now in my hand; and the yellow water, which this flagon is filled with; but being still unwilling to return without taking you with me, i constrained the bird, by the power i had over him, to afford me the means. he told me where to find this pitcher, and the use i was to make of it." the princes bahman and perviz learnt by this relation the obligation they had to the princess their sister; as did all the other gentlemen, who were collected round, and expressed to the princess, that, far from envying her happiness in the conquest she had made, and which they all had aspired to, they thought they could not any otherwise acknowledge the favour she had done them, or better express their gratitude to her for restoring them to life again, than by declaring themselves all her slaves, and that they were ready to obey her in whatever she should command. "gentlemen," replied the princess, "if you had given any attention to my words you might have observed that i had no other intention in what i have done than to recover my brothers; therefore, if you have received any benefit, you owe me no obligation, and i have no further share in your compliment than your politeness towards me, for which i return you my thanks. in other respects, i regard each of you individually as free as you were before your misfortunes, and i rejoice with you at the happiness which has accrued to you by my means. let us however stay no longer in a place where we have nothing to detain us; but mount our horses, and return to our respective homes." the princess took her horse, which stood in the place where she had left him.--before she mounted, prince bahman desired her to give him the cage to carry. "brother," replied the princess, "the bird is my slave, and i will carry him myself; if you will take the pains to carry the branch of the singing tree, there it is; only hold the cage while i get on horseback." when she had mounted her horse; and prince bahman had given her the cage, she turned about and said to prince perviz, "i leave the flagon of golden water to your care, if it will not be too much trouble for you to carry it." prince perviz took charge of it with pleasure. when bahman, perviz, and all the gentlemen had mounted their horses, the princess waited for some of them to lead the way. the two princes paid that compliment to the gentlemen, and they again to the princess, who, finding that none of them would accept of the honour, but that it was reserved for her, addressed herself to them and said, "gentlemen, i expect that some of you should lead the way;" to which one who was nearest to her, in the name of the rest, replied, "madam, were we ignorant of the respect due to your sex, yet after what you have done for us there is no deference we would not willingly pay you, notwithstanding your modesty; we entreat you no longer to deprive us of the happiness of following you." "gentlemen," said the princess, "i do not deserve the honour you do me, and accept it only because you desire it." at the same time she led the way, and the two princes and the gentlemen followed. this illustrious company called upon the dervish as they passed, to thank him for his reception and wholesome advice, which they had all found to be sincere. but he was dead: whether of old age, or because he was no longer necessary to shew the way to the obtaining the three rarities which the princess perie-zadeh had secured, did not appear. they pursued their route, but lessened in their numbers every day. the gentlemen who, as we said before, had come from different countries, after severally repeating their obligations to the princess and her brothers, took leave of them one after another as they approached the road they had come. as soon as the princess reached home, she placed the cage in the garden; and the bird no sooner began to warble than he was surrounded by nightingales, chaffinches, larks, linnets, goldfinches, and every species of birds of the country. and the branch of the singing tree was no sooner set in the midst of the parterre, a little distance from the house, than it took root, and in a short time became a large tree, the leaves of which gave as harmonious a concert as those of the tree from which it was gathered. a large basin of beautiful marble was placed in the garden; and when it was finished, the princess poured into it all the yellow water from the flagon, which instantly increased and swelled so much that it soon reached up to the edges of the basin, and afterwards formed in the middle a fountain twenty feet high, which fell again into the basin perpetually without running over. the report of these wonders was presently spread abroad, and as the gates of the house and those of the gardens were shut to nobody, a great number of people came to admire them. some days after, when the princes bahman and perviz had recovered from the fatigue of their journey, they resumed their former way of living; and as their usual diversion was hunting, they mounted their horses and went for the first time since their return, not to their own demesne, but two or three leagues from their house. as they pursued their sport, the emperor of persia came in pursuit of game upon the same ground. when they perceived by the number of horsemen in different places that he would soon be up, they resolved to discontinue their chase, and retire to avoid encountering him; but in the very road they took they chanced to meet him in so narrow a way that they could not retreat without being seen. in their surprise they had only time to alight, and prostrate themselves before the emperor, without lifting up their heads to look at him. the emperor, who saw they were as well mounted and dressed as if they had belonged to his court, had the curiosity to see their faces. he stopped, and commanded them to rise. the princes rose up, and stood before him with an easy and graceful air, accompanied with respectful modest countenances. the emperor took some time to view them before he spoke: and after he had admired their good air and mien, asked them who they were, and where they lived. "sir," said prince bahman, "we are the sons of the late intendant of your majesty's gardens: and live in a house which he built a little before he died, till we should be fit to serve your majesty, and ask of you some employ when opportunity offered." "by what i perceive," replied the emperor, "you love hunting." "sir," replied prince bahman, "it is our common exercise, and what none of your majesty's subjects who intend to bear arms in your armies ought, according to the ancient custom of the kingdom, to neglect." the emperor, charmed with so prudent an answer, said, "since it is so, i should be glad to see your expertness in the chase; choose your own game." the princes mounted their horses again, and followed the emperor; but had not gone far before they saw many wild beasts together. prince bahman chose a lion, and prince perviz a bear; and pursued them with so much intrepidity, that the emperor was surprised. they came up with their game nearly at the same time, and darted their javelins with so much skill and address, that they pierced, the one the lion, and the other the bear, so effectually, that the emperor saw them fall one after the other. immediately afterwards prince bahman pursued another bear, and prince perviz another lion, and killed them in a short time, and would have beaten out for fresh game, but the emperor would not let them, and sent to them to come to him. when they approached he said, "if i would have given you leave, you would soon have destroyed all my game: but it is not that which i would preserve, but your persons; for i am so well assured your bravery may one time or other be serviceable to me, that from this moment your lives will be always dear to me." the emperor, in short, conceived so great a kindness for the two princes, that he invited them immediately to make him a visit: to which prince bahman replied, "your majesty does us an honour we do not deserve; and we beg you will excuse us." the emperor, who could not comprehend what reason the princes could have to refuse this token of his favour, pressed them to tell him why they excused themselves. "sir," said prince bahman, "we have a sister younger than ourselves, with whom we live in such perfect union, that we undertake nothing before we consult her, nor she any thing without asking our advice." "i commend your brotherly affection," answered the emperor. "consult your sister, meet me here tomorrow, and give me an answer." the princes went home, but neglected to speak of their adventure in meeting the emperor, and hunting with him, and also of the honour he had done them, by asking them to go home with him; yet did not the next morning fail to meet him at the place appointed. "well," said the emperor, "have you spoken to your sister? and has she consented to the pleasure i expect of seeing you?" the two princes looked at each other and blushed. "sir," said prince bahman, "we beg your majesty to excuse us: for both my brother and i forgot." "then remember to-day," replied the emperor, "and be sure to bring me an answer to-morrow." the princes were guilty of the same fault a second time, and the emperor was so good-natured as to forgive their negligence; but to prevent their forgetfulness the third time, he pulled three little golden balls out of a purse, and put them into prince bahman's bosom. "these balls," said he, smiling, "will prevent your forgetting a third time what i wish you to do for my sake; since the noise they will make by falling on the floor, when you undress, will remind you, if you do not recollect it before." the event happened just as the emperor foresaw; and without these balls the princes had not thought of speaking to their sister of this affair. for as prince bahman unloosed his girdle to go to bed the balls dropped on the floor, upon which he ran into prince perviz's chamber, when both went into the princess perie-zadeh's apartment, and after they had asked her pardon for coming at so unseasonable a time, they told her all the circumstances of their meeting the emperor. the princess was somewhat surprised at this intelligence. "your meeting with the emperor," said she, "is happy and honourable, and may in the end be highly advantageous to you, but it is very disagreeable and distrustful to me. it was on my account, i know, you refused the emperor, and i am infinitely obliged to you for doing so. i know by this your affection is equal to my own, since you would rather be guilty of incivility towards the emperor than violate the brotherly union we have sworn to each other. you judge right, for if you had once gone you would insensibly have been engaged to leave me, to devote yourselves to him. but do you think it an easy matter absolutely to refuse the emperor what he seems so earnestly to desire? monarchs will be obeyed in their desires, and it may be dangerous to oppose them; therefore, if to follow my inclination i should dissuade you from shewing the complaisance he expects from you, it may expose you to his resentment, and may render myself and you miserable. these are my sentiments: but before we conclude upon any thing let us consult the speaking bird, and hear what he says; he is penetrating, and has promised his assistance in all difficulties." the princess sent for the cage, and after she had related the circumstances to the bird in the presence of her brothers, asked him what they should do in this perplexity? the bird answered, "the princes your brothers must conform to the emperor's pleasure, and in their turn invite him to come and see your house." "but, bird," replied the princess, "my brothers and i love one another, and our friendship is yet undisturbed. will not this step be injurious to that friendship?" "not at all," replied the bird; "it will tend rather to cement it." "then," answered the princess, "the emperor will see me." the bird told her it was necessary he should, and that everything would go better afterwards. next morning the princes met the emperor hunting, who, at as great a distance as he could make himself be heard, asked them if they had remembered to speak to their sister? prince bahman approached, and answered, "sir, your majesty may dispose of us as you please; we are ready to obey you; for we have not only obtained our sister's consent with great ease, but she took it amiss that we should pay her that deference in a matter wherein our duty to your majesty was concerned. but if we have offended, we hope you will pardon us." "do not be uneasy on that account," replied the emperor; "so far from taking amiss what you have done, i highly approve of your conduct, and hope you will have the same deference and attachment to my person, if i have ever so little share in your friendship." the princes, confounded at the emperor's goodness, returned no other answer but a low obeisance, to shew the great respect with which they received it. the emperor, contrary to his usual custom, did not hunt long that day. presuming that the princes possessed wit equal to their courage and bravery, he longed with impatience to converse with them more at liberty. he made them ride on each side of him, an honour which, without speaking of the principal courtiers who accompanied him, was envied by the grand vizier, who was much mortified to see them preferred before him. when the emperor entered his capital, the eyes of the people, who stood in crowds in the streets, were fixed upon the two princes bahman and perviz; and they were earnest to know who they might be, whether foreigners or natives. all, however, agreed in wishing that the emperor had been blessed with two such handsome princes, and said, "he might have had children as old, if the queen, who had suffered the punishment of her misfortune, had been more fortunate in her lyings-in." the first thing that the emperor did when he arrived at his palace was to conduct the princes into the principal apartments; who praised without affectation, like persons conversant in such matters, the beauty and symmetry of the rooms, and the richness of the furniture and ornaments. afterwards a magnificent repast was served up, and the emperor made them sit with him, which they at first refused; but finding it was his pleasure, they obeyed. the emperor, who had himself much learning, particularly in history, foresaw that the princes, out of modesty and respect, would not take the liberty of beginning any conversation. therefore, to give them an opportunity, he furnished them with subjects all dinner-time. but whatever subject he introduced, they shewed so much wit, judgment, and discernment, that he was struck with admiration. "were these my own children," said he to himself, "and i had improved their talents by suitable education, they could not have been more accomplished or better informed." in short, he took such great pleasure in their conversation, that after having sat longer than usual he led them into his closet, where he pursued his conversation with them, and at last said, "i never supposed that there were among my subjects in the country youths so well brought up, so lively, so capable; and i never was better pleased with any conversation than yours: but it is time now we should relax our minds with some diversion; and as nothing is more capable of enlivening the mind than music, you shall hear a vocal and instrumental concert which may not be disagreeable to you." the emperor had no sooner spoken for them than the musicians, who had orders to attend, entered, and answered fully the expectations the princes had been led to entertain of their abilities. after the concerts, an excellent farce was acted, and the entertainment was concluded by dancers of both sexes. the two princes seeing night approach, prostrated themselves at the emperor's feet; and having first thanked him for the favours and honours he had heaped upon them, asked his permission to retire; which was granted by the emperor, who, in dismissing them, said, "i give you leave to go; but remember i brought you to the palace myself only to shew you the way; you will be always welcome, and the oftener you come the greater pleasure you will do me." before they went out of the emperor's presence, prince bahman said, "sir, may we presume to request that your majesty will do us and our sister the honour to pass by our house, and rest and refresh yourself after your fatigue, the first time you take the diversion of hunting in that neighbourhood? it is not worthy your presence; but monarchs sometimes have vouchsafed to take shelter in a cottage." "my children," replied the emperor; "your house cannot be otherwise than beautiful, and worthy of its owners. i will call and see it with pleasure, which will be the greater for having for my hosts you and your sister, who is already dear to me from the account you give me of the rare qualities with which she is endowed; and this satisfaction i will defer no longer than to-morrow. early in the morning i will be at the place where i shall never forget that i first saw you. meet me, and you shall be my guides." when the princes bahman and perviz had returned home, they gave the princess an account of the distinguished reception the emperor had given them; and told her that they had invited him to do them the honour, as he passed by, to call at their house; and that he had appointed the next day. "if it be so," replied the princess, "we must think of preparing a repast fit for his majesty; and for that purpose i think it would be proper we should consult the speaking bird, he will tell us perhaps what meats the emperor likes best." the princes approved of her plan, and after they had retired she consulted the bird alone. "bird," said she, "the emperor will do us the honour to-morrow to come and see our house, and we are to entertain him; tell us what we shall do to acquit ourselves to his satisfaction." "good mistress," replied the bird, "you have excellent cooks, let them do the best they can; but above all things, let them prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, which must be set before the emperor in the first course before all the other dishes." "cucumbers stuffed full of pearls!" cried princess perie-zadeh, with amazement; "surely, bird, you do not know what you say; it is an unheard-of dish. the emperor may admire it as a piece of magnificence, but he will sit down to eat, and not to admire pearls; besides, all the pearls i possess are not enough for such a dish." "mistress," said the bird, "do what i say, and be not uneasy about what may happen. nothing but good will follow. as for the pearls, go early to-morrow morning to the foot of the first tree on your right hand in the park, dig under it, and you will find more than you want." that night the princess ordered a gardener to be ready to attend her, and the next morning early led him to the tree which the bird had told her of, and bade him dig at its foot. when the gardener came to a certain depth, he found some resistance to the spade, and presently discovered a gold box about a foot square, which he shewed the princess. "this," said she, "is what i brought you for; take care not to injure it with the spade." when the gardener took up the box, he gave it into the princess's hands, who, as it was only fastened with neat little hasps, soon opened it, and found it full of pearls of a moderate size, but equal, and fit for the use that was to be made of them. very well satisfied with having found this treasure, after she had shut the box again she put it under her arm, and went back to the house, while the gardener threw the earth into the hole at the foot of the tree as it had been before. the princes bahman and perviz, who, as they were dressing themselves in their own apartments, saw the princess their sister in the garden earlier than usual, as soon as they could get out went to her, and met her as she was returning, with a gold box under her arm, which much surprised them. "sister," said bahman, "you carried nothing with you when we saw you before with the gardener, and now we see you have a golden box: is this some treasure found by the gardener, and did he come and tell you of it?" "no, brother," answered the princess; "i took the gardener to the place where this casket was concealed, and shewed him where to dig: but you will be more amazed when you see what it contains." the princess opened the box, and when the princes saw that it was full of pearls, which, though small, were of great value; they asked her how she came to the knowledge of this treasure? "brothers," said she, "if nothing more pressing calls you elsewhere, come with me, and i will tell you." "what more pressing business," said prince perviz, "can we have than to be informed of what concerns us so much? we have nothing to do to prevent our attending you." the princess, as they returned to the house, gave them an account of her having consulted the bird, as they had agreed she should, and the answer he had given her; the objection she had raised to preparing a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, and how he had told her where to find this box. the princes and princess formed many conjectures to penetrate into what the bird could mean by ordering them to prepare such a dish; and after much conversation, though they could not by any means guess at his reason, they nevertheless agreed to follow his advice exactly. as soon as the princess entered the house, she called for the head cook; and after she had given him directions about the entertainment for the emperor, said to him, "besides all this, you must dress an extraordinary dish for the emperor's own eating, which nobody else must have any thing to do with besides yourself. this dish must be of cucumbers stuffed with these pearls;" and at the same time she opened him the box, and shewed him the pearls. the chief cook, who had never heard of such a dish, started back, and shewed his thoughts by his looks; which the princess penetrating, said, "i see you take me to be mad to order such a dish, which you never heard of, and which one may say with certainty was never made. i know this as well as you; but i am not mad, and give you these orders with the most perfect recollection. you must invent and do the best you can, and bring me back what pearls are left." the cook could make no reply, but took the box and retired: and afterwards the princess gave directions to all the domestics to have every thing in order, both in the house and gardens, to receive the emperor. next day the two princes went to the place appointed; and as soon as the emperor of persia arrived the chase began, which lasted till the heat of the sun obliged him to leave off. while prince bahman stayed to conduit the emperor to their house, prince perviz rode before to shew the way, and when he came in sight of the house, spurred his horse, to inform the princess perie-zadeh that the emperor was approaching; but she had been told by some servants whom she had placed to give notice, and the prince found her waiting ready to receive him. when the emperor had entered the court-yard, and alighted at the portico, the princess came and threw herself at his feet, and the two princes informed him she was their sister, and besought him to accept her respects. the emperor stooped to raise her, and after he had gazed some time on her beauty, struck with her fine person and dignified air, he said, "the brothers are worthy of the sister, and she worthy of them; since, if i may judge of her understanding by her person, i am not amazed that the brothers would do nothing without their sister's consent; but," added he, "i hope to be better acquainted with you, my daughter, after i have seen the house." "sir," said the princess, "it is only a plain country residence, fit for such people as we are, who live retired from the great world. it is not to be compared with houses in great cities, much less with the magnificent palaces of emperors." "i cannot perfectly agree with you in opinion," said the emperor very obligingly, "for its first appearance makes me suspect you; however, i will not pass my judgment upon it till i have seen it all; therefore be pleased to conduct me through the apartments." the princess led the emperor through all the rooms except the hall; and, after he had considered them very attentively and admired their variety, "my daughter," said he to the princess, "do you call this a country house? the finest and largest cities would soon be deserted, if all country houses were like yours. i am no longer surprised that you take so much delight in it, and despise the town. now let me see the garden, which i doubt not is answerable to the house." the princess opened a door which led into the garden; and the first object which presented itself to the emperor's view was the golden fountain. surprised at so rare an object, he asked from whence that wonderful water, which gave so much pleasure to behold, had been procured; where was its source; and by what art it was made to play so high, that he thought nothing in the world was to be compared to it? he said he would presently take a nearer view of it. the princess then led him to the spot where the harmonious tree was planted; and there the emperor heard a concert, different from all he had ever heard before; and stopping to see where the musicians were, he could discern nobody far or near; but still distinctly heard the music, which ravished his senses. "my daughter," said he to the princess, "where are the musicians whom i hear? are they under ground, or invisible in the air? such excellent performers will hazard nothing by being seen; on the contrary, they would please the more." "sir," answered the princess smiling, "they are not musicians, but the leaves of the trees your majesty sees before you, which form this concert; and if you will give yourself the trouble to go a little nearer, you will be convinced, and the voices will be the more distinct." the emperor went nearer, and was so charmed with the sweet harmony, that he would never have been tired with hearing it, but that his desire to have a nearer view of the fountain of yellow water forced him away. "daughter," said he, "tell me, i pray you, whether this wonderful tree was found in your garden by chance, or was a present made to you, or have you procured it from some foreign country? it must certainly have come from a great distance, otherwise, curious as i am after natural rarities, i should have heard of it. what name do you call it by?" "sir," replied the princess, "this tree has no other name than that of the singing tree, and is not a native of this country. it would at present take up too much time to tell your majesty by what adventures it came here; its history is connected with the yellow water, and the speaking bird, which came to me at the same time, and which your majesty may see after you have taken a nearer view of the golden water. but if it be agreeable to your majesty, after you have rested yourself, and recovered the fatigue of hunting, which must be the greater because of the sun's intense heat, i will do myself the honour of relating it to you." "my daughter," replied the emperor, "my fatigue is so well recompensed by the wonderful things you have shewn me, that i do not feel it the least. i think only of the trouble i give you. let us finish by seeing the yellow water. i am impatient to see and admire the speaking bird." when the emperor came to the yellow water, his eyes were fixed so steadfastly upon the fountain, that he could not take them off. at last, addressing himself to the princess, he said, "as you tell me, daughter, that this water has no spring or communication, i conclude that it is foreign, as well as the singing tree." "sir," replied the princess, "it is as your majesty conjectures; and to let you know that this water has no communication with any spring, i must inform you that the basin is one entire stone, so that the water cannot come in at the sides or underneath. but what your majesty will think most wonderful is, that all this water proceeded but from one small flagon, emptied into this basin, which increased to the quantity you see, by a property peculiar to itself, and formed this fountain." "well," said the emperor, going from the fountain, "this is enough for one time. i promise myself the pleasure to come and visit it often; but now let us go and see the speaking bird." as he went towards the hall, the emperor perceived a prodigious number of singing birds in the trees around, filling the air with their songs and warblings, and asked, why there were so many there, and none on the other trees in the garden? "the reason, sir," answered the princess, "is, because they come from all parts to accompany the song of the speaking bird, which your majesty may see in a cage in one of the windows of the hall we are approaching; and if you attend, you will perceive that his notes are sweeter than those of any of the other birds, even the nightingale." the emperor went into the hall; and as the bird continued singing, the princess raised her voice, and said, "my slave, here is the emperor, pay your compliments to him." the bird left off singing that instant, when all the other birds ceased also, and it said, "the emperor is welcome; god prosper him, and prolong his life." as the entertainment was served on the sofa near the window where the bird was placed, the sultan replied, as he was taking his seat, "bird, i thank you, and am overjoyed to find in you the sultan and king of birds." as soon as the emperor saw the dish of cucumbers set before him, thinking it was stuffed in the best manner, he reached out his hand and took one; but when he cut it, was in extreme surprise to find it stuffed with pearls. "what novelty is this?" said he "and with what design were these cucumbers stuffed thus with pearls, since pearls are not to be eaten?" he looked at the two princes and princess to ask them the meaning: when the bird interrupting him, said, "can your majesty be in such great astonishment at cucumbers stuffed with pearls, which you see with your own eyes, and yet so easily believe that the queen your wife was delivered of a dog, a cat, and a piece of wood?" "i believed these things," replied the emperor, "because the midwives assured me of the facts." "those midwives, sir," replied the bird, "were the queen's two sisters, who, envious of her happiness in being preferred by your majesty before them, to satisfy their envy and revenge, have abused your majesty's credulity. if you interrogate them, they will confess their crime. the two brothers and the sister whom you see before you are your own children, whom they exposed, and who were taken in by the intendant of your gardens, who provided nurses for them, and took care of their education." this speech of the bird's presently cleared up the emperor's understanding. "bird," cried he, "i believe the truth which you discover to me. the inclination which drew me to them told me plainly they must be my own blood. come then, my sons, come, my daughter, let me embrace you, and give you the first marks of a father's love and tenderness." the emperor then rose, and after having embraced the two princes and the princess, and mingled his tears with theirs, said, "it is not enough, my children; you must embrace each other, not as the children of the intendant of my gardens, to whom i have been so much obliged for preserving your lives, but as my own children, of the royal blood of the monarchs of persia, whose glory, i am persuaded, you will maintain." after the two princes and princess had embraced mutually with new satisfaction, the emperor sat down again with them, and finished his meal in haste; and when he had done, said, "my children, you see in me your father; to-morrow i will bring the queen your mother, therefore prepare to receive her." the emperor afterwards mounted his horse, and returned with expedition to his capital. the first thing he did, as soon as he had alighted and entered his palace, was to command the grand vizier to seize the queen's two sisters. they were taken from their houses separately, convicted, and condemned to be quartered; which sentence was put in execution within an hour. in the mean time the emperor khoosroo shaw, followed by all the lords of his court who were then present, went on foot to the door of the great mosque; and after he had taken the queen out of the strict confinement she had languished under for so many years, embracing her in the miserable condition to which she was then reduced, said to her with tears in his eyes, "i come to entreat your pardon for the injustice i have done you, and to make you the reparation i ought; which i have begun, by punishing the unnatural wretches who put the abominable cheat upon me; and i hope you will look upon it as complete, when i present to you two accomplished princes, and a lovely princess, our children. come and resume your former rank, with all the honours which are your due." all this was done and said before great crowds of people, who flocked from all parts at the first news of what was passing, and immediately spread the joyful intelligence through the city. next morning early the emperor and queen, whose mournful humiliating dress was changed for magnificent robes, went with all their court to the house built by the intendant of the gardens, where the emperor presented the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, to their enraptured mother. "these, much injured wife," said he, "are the two princes your sons, and this princess your daughter; embrace them with the same tenderness i have done, since they are worthy both of me and you." the tears flowed plentifully down their cheeks at these tender embraces, especially the queen's, from the comfort and joy of having two such princes for her sons, and such a princess for her daughter, on whose account she had so long endured the severest afflictions. the two princes and the princess had prepared a magnificent repast for the emperor and queen, and their court. as soon as that was over, the emperor led the queen into the garden, and shewed her the harmonious tree and the beautiful effect of the yellow fountain. she had seen the bird in his cage, and the emperor had spared no panegyric in his praise during the repast. when there was nothing to detain the emperor any longer, he took horse, and with the princes bahman and perviz on his right hand, and the queen consort and the princess at his left, preceded and followed by all the officers of his court, according to their rank, returned to his capital. crowds of people came out to meet them, and with acclamations of joy ushered them into the city, where all eyes were fixed not only upon the queen, the two princes, and the princess, but also upon the bird, which the princess carried before her in his cage, admiring his sweet notes, which had drawn all the other birds about him, which followed him, flying from tree to tree in the country, and from one house-top to another in the city. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, where at length brought to the palace with this pomp, and nothing was to be seen or heard all that night but illuminations and rejoicings both in the palace and in the utmost parts of the city, which lasted many days, and were continued throughout the empire of persia, as intelligence of the joyful event reached the several provinces. story of the sultan of yemen and his three sons. there was in the land of yemen (arabia felix) a sultan, under whom were three tributary princes. he had four children, three sons and a daughter. he possessed greater treasures than could be estimated, as well as innumerable camels, horses, and flocks of sheep; and was held in awe by all contemporary sovereigns. after a long and prosperous reign, age brought with it infirmity, and he at length became incapable of appearing in his hall of audience; upon which he commanded his sons to his presence, and said to them, "my wish is to divide among you, before my death, all my possessions, that you may be satisfied, and live in unanimity and brotherly affection with each other, and in obedience to my dying commands." they exclaimed, "to hear is to obey." the sultan then said, "my will is, that the eldest be sovereign in my room; that the second possess my treasures; and the third every description of animals. let no, one encroach upon another, but all assist each other." he then caused them to sign an agreement to abide by his bequests, and shortly afterwards was received into the mercy of the almighty; upon which his sons prepared what was suitable to his dignity for his funeral. they washed the corpse, enshrouded it, prayed over it, and having committed it to the earth, returned to their palaces; where the viziers, officers of state, and inhabitants of the metropolis, high and low, rich and poor, attended to console with them on the loss of their father. the news of the death of the sultan was soon spread abroad into all the provinces, and deputations from every city came to condole with the princes. after these ceremonies, the eldest prince demanded that he should be inaugurated sultan in the room of the deceased monarch, agreeably to his will; but this was not possible, as each of the other brothers was ambitious of being sovereign. contention and disputes now arose between them for the government, till at length the elder brother, wishing to avoid civil war, said, "let us go and submit to the arbitration of one of the tributary sultans, and to let him whom he adjudges the kingdom peaceably enjoy it." to this they assented, as did also the viziers; and they departed, unattended, towards the capital of one of the tributary sultans. when the princes had proceeded about half way on their journey, they reached a verdant spot, abounding in herbage and flowers, with a clear rivulet running through it, the convenience of which made them halt to refresh themselves. they sat down and were eating, when one of the brothers casting his eyes on the grass, said, "a camel has lately passed this way loaded, half with sweetmeats and half with grain." "true," cried another, "and he was blind of one eye." "yes," exclaimed the third, "and he had lost his tail." they had scarcely concluded their remarks, when the owner of the camel came up to them (for he had heard what they had said, and was convinced, as they had described the beast and his load, that they must have stopped him), crying out, that they had stolen his camel. "we have not seen him," answered the princes, "nor touched him." "by allah!" replied he, "none but you can have taken him; and if you will not deliver him up, i will complain of you to the sultan." they rejoined, "it is well; let us go to the sultan." when all four had reached the palace, information was given of the arrival of the princes, and they were admitted to an audience, the owner of the camel following, who bawled out, "these men, my lord, by their own confession, have stolen my property, for they described him and the load he carried." the man then related what each of the princes, had said; upon which the sultan demanded if it was true. they answered, "my lord, we have not seen the camel; but we chanced, as we were sitting on the grass taking some refreshment, to observe that part of the pasture had been grazed; upon which we supposed that the camel must have been blind of an eye, as the grass was only eaten on one side. we then observed the dung of a camel in one heap on the ground, which made us agree that its tail must have been cut off, as it is the custom for camels to shake their tails, and scatter it abroad. on the grass where the camel had lain down, we saw on one side flies collected in great numbers, but none on the other: this made us conclude that one of the panniers must have contained sweets, and the other only grain." upon hearing the above, the sultan said to the complainant, "friend, go and look for thy camel, for these observations do not prove the theft on the accused, but only the strength of their understandings and penetration." the sultan now ordered apartments for the princes, and directed that they should be entertained in a manner befitting their rank; after which he left them to their repose. in the evening, when the usual meal was brought in, the elder prince having taken up a cake of bread, said, "this bread, i am sure, was made by a sick woman." the second, on tasting some kid, exclaimed, "this kid was suckled by a bitch:" and the third cried out, "certainly this sultan must be illegitimate." at this instant the sultan, who had been listening, entered hastily, and exclaimed, "wherefore utter ye these affronting speeches?" "inquire," replied the princes, "into what you have heard, and you will find all true." the sultan now retired to his haram, and on inquiry, found that the woman who had kneaded the bread was sick. he then sent for the shepherd, who owned that the dam of the kid having died, he had suckled it upon a bitch. next, in a violent passion, he proceeded to the apartments of the sultana mother, and brandishing his cimeter--threatened her with death, unless she confessed whether he was son to the late sultan or not. the sultana was alarmed, and said, "to preserve my life, i must speak truth. know then that thou art the son of a cook. thy father had no male offspring, at which he was uneasy: on the same day myself and the wife of the cook lay in, i of a daughter and she of a son. i was fearful of the coolness of the sultan, and imposed upon him the son of the cook for his own: that son art thou, who now enjoyest an empire." the spurious sultan left the sultana in astonishment at the penetration of the brothers, whom he summoned to his presence, and inquired of them on what grounds they had founded their just suspicions respecting the bread, the kid, and himself. "my lord," replied the elder prince, "when i broke the cake, the flour fell out in lumps; and hence i guessed that she who made it had not strength to knead it sufficiently, and must have been unwell." "it is as thou hast said," replied the sultan. "the fat of the kid," continued the second brother, "was all next the bone, and the flesh of every other animal but the dog has it next the skin. hence my surmise that it must have been suckled by a bitch." "thou wert right," answered the sultan; "but now for myself." "my reason for supposing thee illegitimate," said the youngest prince, "was, because thou didst not associate with us, who are of the same rank with thyself. every man has properties which he inherits from his father, his grandfather, or his mother. from his father, generosity, or avarice; from his grandfather, valour or cowardice; from his mother, bashfulness or impudence." "thou hast spoken justly," replied the sultan; "but why came ye to ask judgment of me, since ye are so much better able to decide difficult questions than myself? return home, and agree among yourselves." the princes did so; and obeyed the will of their father. story of the three sharpers and the sultan. three very ingenious sharpers who associated together, being much distressed, agreed, in hopes of obtaining immediate relief, that they would go to the sultan, and pretend each to superior ability in some occupation. accordingly they proceeded to the metropolis, but found admission to the presence difficult; the sultan being at a garden palace surrounded by guards, who would not let them approach. upon this they consulted, and agreed to feign a quarrel, in hopes that their clamour would draw the notice of the sultan. it did so: he commanded them to be brought before him, inquired who they were, and the cause of their dispute. "we were disputing," said they, "concerning the superiority of our professions; for each of us possesses complete skill in his own." "what are your professions?" replied the sultan. "i am," said one, "o sovereign, a lapidary of wonderful skill." "i fear thou art an astonishing rascal," exclaimed the sultan. "i am," said the second sharper, "a genealogist of horses." "and i," continued the third, "a genealogist of mankind, knowing every one's true descent; an art much more wonderful than that of either of my companions, for no one possesses it but myself, nor ever did before me." the sultan was astonished, but gave little credit to their pretensions: yet he said to himself, "if these men speak truth, they are worthy of encouragement. i will keep them near me till i have occasion to try them; when, if they prove their abilities, i will promote them; but if not, i will put them to death." he then allotted them an apartment, with an allowance of three cakes of bread and a mess of pottage daily; but placed spies over them, fearing lest they might escape. not long after this, a present of rarities was brought to the sultan, among which were two precious stones; one of them remarkably clear in its water, and the other with a flaw. the sultan now bethought himself of the lapidary, and sent for him to his presence, when he gave him the clear jewel to examine, and demanded what he thought it was worth. the sharper took the stone, and with much gravity turned it backwards and forwards in his hands, examining it with minute attention on every part; after which he said, "my lord, this jewel has a flaw in the very centre of it." when the sultan heard this, he was enraged against the sharper, and gave orders to strike off his head; saying, "this stone is free from blemish, and yet thou pretendest it hath a flaw." the executioner now advanced, laid hold of the sharper, bound him, and was going to strike, when the vizier entered, and seeing the sultan enraged, and the sharper under the cimeter, inquired the cause. being informed, he advanced towards the sultan, and said, "my lord, act not thus, but first break the stone: should a flaw appear in it, the words of this man are true; but if it be found free from blemish, put him to death." the sultan replied, "thy advice is just:" and broke it in two with his mace. in the middle he found a flaw, at which he was astonished, and exclaimed to the sharper, "by what means couldst thou discover the blemish?" he replied, "by the acuteness of my sight." the sultan then released him, and said, "take him back to his companions, allow him a mess of pottage to himself, and two cakes of bread." some time after this a tribute came from one of the provinces, part of which consisted of a beautiful black colt, in colour resembling the hue of the darkest night. the sultan was delighted with the animal, and spent whole days in admiring him. at length he bethought himself of the sharper who had pretended to be a genealogist of horses, and commanded him to his presence. when he appeared, the sultan said, "art thou a judge of horses?" he replied, "yes, my lord," upon which the sultan exclaimed, "it is well! but i swear by him who appointed me guardian of his subjects, and said to the universe, be! and it was, that should i find untruth in thy declaration, i will strike off thy head." the man replied, "to hear is to submit." after this they brought out the colt, that he might examine him. the sharper desired the groom to mount the colt and pace him before him, which he did backwards and forwards, the fiery animal all the while plunging and rearing. at length the genealogist said, "it is enough:" and turning to the sultan exclaimed, "my lord, this colt is singularly beautiful, of true blood by his sire, his paces exquisite and proportions just; but in him there is one blemish; could that be done away, he would be all perfection; nor would there be upon the face of the earth his equal among all the various breeds of horses." "what can that blemish be?" said the sultan. "his sire," rejoined the genealogist, "was of true blood, but his dam of another species of animal; and, if commanded, i will inform you." "speak," said the sultan. "the dam of this beautiful colt," continued the genealogist, "was a buffalo." when the sultan heard this he flew into a rage, and commanded an executioner to strike off the head of the sharper; exclaiming, "thou accursed dog! how could a buffalo bring forth a colt?" "my lord," replied the sharper, "the executioner is in attendance; but send for the person who presented the colt, and inquire of him the truth. if my words prove just, my skill will be ascertained; but if what i have said be false, then let my head pay the forfeit for my tongue." upon this the sultan sent for the master of the colt to attend his presence. when the master of the colt appeared before him, the sultan inquired whether it was purchased of another person, or had been bred by himself? to which the man replied, "my lord, i will relate nothing but the truth. the production of this colt is surprising. his sire belonged to me, and was of the true breed of sea-horses: he was always kept in an enclosure by himself, as i was fearful of his being injured; but it happened one day in the spring, that the groom took him for air into the country, and picqueted him in the plain. by chance a cow-buffalo coming near the spot, the stallion became outrageous, broke his heel-ropes, joined the buffalo, which after the usual period of gestation, produced this colt, to our great astonishment." the sultan was surprised at this relation. he commanded the genealogist to be sent for, and upon his arrival said, "thy words have proved true, and thy wonderful skill in the breed of horses is ascertained; but by what mark couldst thou know that the dam of this colt was a buffalo?" the man replied, "my lord, the mark is visible in the colt itself. it is not unknown to any person of observation, that the hoof of a horse is nearly round, but the hoof of a buffalo thick and longish, like this colt's: hence i judged that the dam must certainly have been a buffalo." the sultan now dismissed him graciously, and commanded that he should be allowed daily a mess of pottage, and two cakes of bread. not long after this the sultan bethought himself of the third sharper, who pretended that he was the genealogist of man, and sent for him to the presence. on his appearance he said, "thou canst trace the descent of man?" "yes, my lord," replied the genealogist. upon this the sultan commanded an eunuch to take him into his haram, that he might examine the descent of his favourite mistress. upon his introduction, he looked at the lady on this side and on that, through her veil, till he was satisfied, when he came out; and the sultan exclaimed, "well, what hast thou discovered in my mistress?" he replied, "my lord, she is all perfect in elegance, beauty, grace, stature, bloom, modesty, accomplishments, and knowledge, so that every thing desirable centres in herself; but still there is one point that disgraces her, from which if she was free, it is not possible she could be excelled in anything among the whole of the fair sex." when the sultan had heard this, he rose up angrily, and drawing his cimeter, ran towards the genealogist, intending to strike off his head. just as he was going to strike, some of the attendants said, "my lord, put not the man to death before thou art convinced of his falsehood." upon which the sultan exclaimed, "what fault appeared to thee in my mistress?" "o sultan," replied the man, "she is, as to herself, all perfect; but her mother was a rope-dancer." upon this the sultan immediately sent for the father of the lady, and said, "inform me truly who was the mother of thy daughter, or i will put thee to death." "mighty prince," replied the father, "there is no safety for man but in the truth. her mother was a rope-dancer, whom i took when very young from a company of strolling mummers, and educated. she grew up most beautiful and accomplished: i married her, and she produced me the girl whom thou hast chosen." when the sultan heard this, his rage cooled, but he was filled with astonishment; and said to the genealogist, "inform me what could shew thee that my mistress was the daughter of a rope-dancer?" "my lord," replied the man, "this cast of people have always their eyes very black, and their eyebrows bushy; such are hers: and from them i guessed her descent." the sultan was now convinced of his skill, dismissed him graciously, and commanded that he should be allowed a mess of pottage and three cakes of bread daily, which was done accordingly. some time after this the sultan reflected on the three sharpers, and said to himself, "these men have proved their skill in whatever i have tried them. the lapidary was singularly excellent in his art, the horse genealogist in his, and the last has proved his upon my mistress. i have an inclination to know my own descent beyond a doubt." he then ordered the genealogist into his presence, and said, "dost thou think thou canst prove my descent?" "yes, my lord," replied the man, "but on condition that you spare my life after i shall have informed you; for the proverb says, 'when the sultan is present, beware of his anger, as there is no delay when he commands to strike.'" "there shall be safety for thee," exclaimed the sultan, "in my promise, an obligation that can never be forfeited." "o sultan," continued the genealogist, "when i shall inform thee of thy parentage and descent, let not there be any present who may hear me." "wherefore?" replied the sultan. "my lord," answered the sharper, "you know the attributes of the deity should be veiled in mystery." the sultan now commanded all his attendants to retire, and when they were alone, the genealogist advanced and said, "mighty prince, thou art illegitimate, and the son of an adulteress." as soon as the sultan heard this, his colour changed, he turned pale, and fainted away. when he was recovered, he remained some time in deep contemplation, after which he exclaimed, "by him who constituted me the guardian of his people, i swear that if thy assertion be found true i will abdicate my kingdom, and resign it to thee, for royalty cannot longer become me; but should thy words prove void of foundation, i will put thee to instant death." "to hear is to assent," replied the sharper. the sultan now arose, entered the haram, and bursting into his mother's apartment with his cimeter drawn, exclaimed, "by him who divided the heavens from the earth, shouldst thou not answer faithfully to what i shall inquire, i will cut thee to pieces with this cimeter." the queen, trembling with alarm, said, "what dost thou ask of me?" "inform me," replied the sultan, "of whom am i the son?" "since truth only can save me," cried the princess, "know that thou art the offspring of a cook. my husband had no children either male or female, on which account he became sad, and lost his health and appetite. in a court of the haram we had several sorts of birds, and one day the sultan fancying he should relish one of them, ordered the cook to kill and dress it. i happened then to be in the bath alone. "as i was in the bath," continued the sultana, "i saw the cook endeavouring to catch the birds. at that instant it occurred to my mind from the instigation of satan, that if i bore not a son, after the death of the sultan my influence would be lost. i tempted the man, and thou art the produce of my crime. the signs of my pregnancy soon appeared; and when the sultan was informed of them, he recovered his health, and rejoiced exceedingly, and conferred favours and presents on his ministers and courtiers daily, till the time of my delivery. on that day he chanced to be upon a hunting excursion at a country palace; but when intelligence was brought him of the birth of a son, he instantly returned to me, and issued orders for the city to be decorated, which was done for forty days together, out of respect to the sultan. such was my crime, and such was thy birth." the sultan now returned to the adventurer, and commanded him to pull off his clothes, which he did; when the sultan, disrobing himself, habited him in the royal vestments, after which he said, "inform me whence thou judgest that i was a bastard?" "my lord," replied the adventurer, "when each of us shewed our skill in what was demanded, you ordered him only an allowance of a mess of pottage and three cakes of bread. hence i judged you to be the offspring of a cook, for it is the custom of princes to reward the deserving with wealth and honours, but you only gratified us with victuals from your kitchen." the sultan replied, "thou hast spoken truly." he then made him put on the rest of the royal robes and ornaments, and seated him upon the throne; after which he disguised himself in the habit of a dervish, and wandered from his abdicated dominions. when the lucky adventurer found himself in possession of the throne, he sent for his companions; and finding they did not recognize him in his royal habiliments, dismissed them with liberal presents, but commanded them to quit his territories with the utmost expedition, lest they should discover him. after this, with a satisfied mind, he fulfilled the duties of his new station with a liberality and dignity that made the inhabitants of the metropolis and all the provinces bless him, and pray for the prolongation of his reign. the adventures of the abdicated sultan. the abdicated prince, disguised as a dervish, did not cease travelling in a solitary mood till he came to the city of cairo, which he perceived to be in repose and security, and well regulated. here he amused himself with walking through several streets, till he had reached the royal palace, and was admiring its magnificent architecture and extent, and the crowds passing in and out, when the sultan with his train appeared in sight returning from a hunting excursion, upon which he retired to one side of the road. the sultan observing his dignified demeanour, commanded one of his attendants to invite him to the palace, and entertain him till he should inquire after him. when the sultan had reposed himself from the fatigue of his exercise, he sent for the supposed dervish to his presence, and said, "from what kingdom art thou arrived?" he answered, "i am, my lord, a wandering dervish." "well," replied the sultan, "but inform me on what account thou art come here." on which he said, "my lord, this cannot be done but in privacy." "let it be so," rejoined the sultan; and rising up, led him into a retired apartment of the palace. the supposed dervish then related what had befallen him, the cause of his having abdicated his kingdom, and taken upon himself the character of a religious. the sultan was astonished at his self-denial, and exclaimed, "blessed be his holy name, who exalteth and humbleth whom he will by his almighty power; but my history is more surprising than thine. i will relate it to thee, and conceal nothing." history of mahummud, sultan of cairo. at my first outset in the world i was an indigent man, and possessed none of the conveniences of life, till at length i became possessed of ten pieces of silver, which i resolved to expend in amusing myself. with this intention, i one day walked into the principal market, intending first to purchase somewhat delicate to feast upon. while i was looking about me, a man passed by, with a great crowd following and laughing at him, for he led in an iron chain a monstrous baboon, which he cried for sale at the price of ten pieces of silver. something instinctively impelled me to purchase the creature, so i paid him the money, and took my bargain to my lodging; but on my arrival, was at a loss how to procure a meal for myself or the baboon. while i was considering what i should do, the baboon having made several springs, became suddenly transformed into a handsome young man, beautiful as the moon at the fourteenth night of its appearance, and addressed me, saying, "shekh mahummud, thou hast purchased me for ten pieces of silver, being all thou hadst, and art now thinking how thou canst procure food for me and thyself." "that is true," replied i; "but in the name of allah, from whence dost thou come?" "ask no questions," replied my companion, "but take this piece of gold, and purchase us somewhat to eat and drink." i took the gold, did as he had desired, and we spent the evening merrily together in feasting and conversation, till it was time to repose. in the morning the young man said, "my friend, this lodging is not fitting for us; go, and hire a better." "to hear is to obey," replied i, and departed to the principal serai, where i hired an upper apartment, to which we removed. he then gave me ten deenars, with orders to purchase carpets and cushions, which i did, and on my return found before him a package, containing princely vestments. these he gave to me, desiring that i would go to the bath, and, after bathing, put them on. i obeyed his commands, dressed myself, and found in each pocket a hundred deenars. i was not a little proud of my improved appearance in the rich robes. on my return, he praised my figure, and seated me by him, when we refreshed ourselves, and chatted on various subjects. at length he gave me a bundle, desiring that i would present it to the sultan, and at the same time demand his daughter in marriage for myself, assuring me that my request would meet a ready compliance. the young man commanded a slave he had bought to attend me, who carried the bundle, and i set out for the palace; near which i found a great crowd of grandees, officers, and guards, who seeing me so richly habited, inquired respectfully what i wanted. upon my replying that my business was with the sultan, they informed the ushers, who introduced me to the presence. i made the customary obeisance, and the sultan returned my salute; after which i presented the bundle before him, saying, "will my lord accept this trifle, becoming my humble situation to offer, but certainly not worthy the royal dignity to receive?" the sultan commanded the package to be opened; when, lo! it contained a complete dress of royal apparel, richer than had ever been before seen, at which the sultan was astonished, and exclaimed, "heavens! i have nothing like this, nor ever possessed so magnificent a suit; it shall be accepted: but inform me, shekh, what thou requirest in return for so valuable an offering." "mighty sovereign," replied i, "my wish is to become thy relation by espousing that precious gem of the casket of beauty, thy incomparable daughter." when the sultan had heard this request, he turned towards his vizier and said, "advise me how i should act in this affair." upon which the minister replied, "shew him, my lord, your most valuable diamond, and inquire if he has any one equally precious to match it as a marriage present for your daughter." the sultan did so; when i said, "if i present two, will you give me your daughter?" to which he assented, and i took my leave, carrying with me the diamond, to shew the young man as a model. upon my arrival at our serai, i informed him of what passed, when he examined the diamond, and said, "the day is now far spent, but tomorrow i will procure ten like it, which thou shalt present to the sultan." accordingly in the morning he walked out, and in the space of an hour returned with ten diamonds, which he gave me, and i hastened with them to the sultan. when he beheld the precious stones he was enraptured at their brilliancy, and again consulted his vizier how he should act in this business. "my lord," replied the minister, "you only required one diamond of the shekh, and he has presented you with ten: it is therefore incumbent upon you to give him your daughter." the sultan now sent for the cauzees and effendis, who drew up the deed of espousals, which they gave me, when i returned to our serai, and shewed it to the young man, who said, "it is well; go and complete thy marriage; but i entreat that thou wilt not consummate thy nuptials till i shall give thee permission." "to hear is to obey," replied i. when it was night i entered the princess's apartment, but sat down at a distance from her, and did not speak till morning, when i bade her farewell, and took my leave for the day. i observed the same conduct the second night and the third, upon which, offended at my coldness, she complained to her mother, who informed the sultan of my affronting behaviour. the sultan sent for me to his presence, and with much anger threatened, if i should continue my coldness to the princess another evening, that he would put me to death. upon this i hastened to inform my friend at the serai, who commanded, that when i should next be alone with my wife i should demand of her a bracelet which she wore upon her right arm, and bring it to him, after which i might consummate my nuptials. i replied, "to hear is to obey;" and the next evening, when i entered the apartment, said to my wife, "if thou desirest that we should live happily together, give me the bracelet on thy right arm." she did so immediately, when i carried it to the young man, and, returning to the palace, slept, as i supposed, with the princess till morning. guess, however, what was my surprise, when on awaking i found myself lying in my first humble lodging, stripped of my rich vestments, and saw on the ground my former mean attire; namely, an old vest, a pair of tattered drawers, and a ragged turban, as full of holes as a sieve. when i had somewhat recovered my senses, i put them on and walked out in a melancholy mood, regretting my lost happiness, and not knowing what i should do to recover it. as i strolled towards the palace, i beheld sitting in the street a fortune-teller, who had some written papers before him, and was casting omens for the bystanders. i advanced, and made him a salute, which he returned kindly; and after looking attentively in my face, exclaimed, "what! has that accursed wretch betrayed thee, and torn thee from thy wife?" i replied, "yes." upon this he desired me to wait a little, and seated me by him. when his employers were departed, he said, "my friend, the ape which you purchased for ten pieces of silver, and who soon after was transformed into a young man, is not of human race, but a genie deeply in love with the princess whom you married. however, he could not approach her while she wore the bracelet, containing a powerful charm, upon her right arm, and therefore made use of thee to obtain it. he is now with her, but i will soon effect his destruction, that genii and men may be secure from his wickedness, for he is one of the rebellious and accursed spirits who disobeyed our lord solomon, son of david." after this, the fortune-teller wrote a note, which having sealed and directed, he gave it to me, saying, "go to a certain spot, wait there, and observe those who may approach. fortify thy mind, and when thou shall see a great personage attended by a numerous train, present to him this letter, when he will accomplish thy desires." i took the note, immediately departed for the place to which the fortune-teller had directed me, and after travelling all night and half the next day reached it, and sat down to wait for what might happen. the evening shut in, and about a fourth part of the night had passed, when a great glare of lights appeared advancing towards me from a distance; and as it shone nearer, i perceived persons carrying flambeaux and lanterns, also a numerous train of attendants, as if belonging to some mighty sultan. my mind was alarmed, but i recovered myself, and resolved to stay where i was. a great concourse passed by me, marching two and two, and at length there appeared a sultan of the genii, surrounded by a splendid attendance; upon which i advanced as boldly as i could, and having prostrated myself, presented the letter, which he opened, and read aloud, as follows: "be it known unto thee, o sultan of the genii, that the bearer of this is in distress, from which thou must relieve him by destroying his enemy. shouldst thou not assist him, beware of thy own safety. farewell." when the sultan of the genii had read the note, he called out to one of his messengers, who immediately attended before him, and commanded him to bring into his presence without delay the genie who had enchanted the daughter of the sultan of cairo. "to hear is to obey," replied the messenger, and instantly disappearing, was absent for about an hour, when he returned with the criminal, and placed him before the sultan of the genii, who exclaimed, "accursed wretch, hast thou ill-treated this man?" "mighty sovereign," replied the genie, "my crime proceeded from love of the princess, who wore a charm in her bracelet which prevented my approaching her, and therefore i made use of this man. he procured me the charm, and i now have her in my power; but i love her tenderly, and have not injured her." "return the bracelet instantly," replied the sultan of the genii, "that the man may recover his wife, or i will command an executioner to strike off thy head." the offending genie, who was of an accursed and obstinate race, upon hearing these words was inflamed with passion, and insolently cried out, "i will not return the bracelet, for no one shall possess the princess but myself." having said thus, he attempted to fly away, but in vain. the sultan of the genii now commanded his attendants to bind the criminal in chains, which they did, and having forced the bracelet from him, struck off his head. the sultan then presented me the charm, which was no sooner in my hand than all the genii vanished from my sight, and i found myself dressed as before, in the rich habit given me by the pretended young man. i proceeded to the city, which i entered, and when i came near the palace was recognized by the guards and courtiers, who cried out in raptures of joy, "our lost prince is at length returned." they paid their respects, and i entered the apartment of the princess, whom i found in a deep sleep, in which state she had been ever since my departure. on my replacing the bracelet on her arm, she awoke. after this we lived together in all happiness till the death of her father, who appointed me his successor, having no son, so that i am what i am. when the sultan of cairo had finished his narrative, the abdicated prince expressed his surprise at his adventures: upon which the sultan said, "wonder not, my brother, at the dispensations of the almighty, for he worketh in secret, and when he pleaseth revealeth his mysteries. since thou hast quitted thy kingdom, if thou choosest, thou shalt be my vizier, and we will live together as friends and brothers." "to hear is to obey," replied the prince. the sultan then constituted him vizier, enrobed him in a rich uniform, and committed to him his seal, the inkstand, and other insignia of office, at the same time conferring upon him a magnificent palace, superbly furnished with gorgeous carpets, musnuds, and cushions: belonging to it were also extensive gardens. the vizier entered immediately upon his new office; held his divans regularly twice every day, and judged so equitably on all appeals brought before him, that his fame for justice and impartiality was soon spread abroad; insomuch, that whoever had a cause or dispute willingly referred it to his decision, and was satisfied with it, praying for his life and prosperity. in this state he remained for many years, the sovereign pleased with him, and he happy under the protection of the sultan of cairo, so that he did not regret his abdicated kingdom. it happened one evening that the mind of the sultan was depressed, upon which he sent for the vizier, who attended; when he said, "vizier, my mind is so uneasy that nothing will amuse me." "enter then," replied the minister, "into thy cabinet, and look at thy jewels, the examination of which may perhaps entertain thee." the sultan did so, but it had no effect on his lassitude; when he said, "vizier, this dispiritedness will not quit me, and nothing gives me pleasure within my palace; let us, therefore, walk out in disguise." "to hear is to obey," replied the vizier. they then retired into a private chamber, and putting on the habits of dervishes of arabia, strolled through the city till they reached a hospital for lunatics, which they entered. here they beheld two men, one reading and the other listening to him; when the sultan said to himself, "this is surprising;" and addressed the men, saying, "are you really mad?" they replied, "we are not mad, but our stories are so wonderful, that were they recorded on a tablet of adamant, they would remain for examples to them who would be advised." "let us hear them," said the sultan; upon which, the man who had been reading exclaimed, "hear mine first!" and thus began. story of the first lunatic. i was a merchant, and had a warehouse in which were indian goods of all sorts, and of the highest value, and i bought and sold to great advantage. one day as i was sitting in my warehouse, according to custom, busy in buying and selling, an old woman came in, telling her beads, and greeted me. i returned her salute, when she sat down, and said, "sir, have you any choice indian cloths?" "yes, my mistress," replied i, "of all sorts that you can possibly wish for." "bring them," said she. i showed her a piece of great value, with which she was highly pleased, and inquired the price. "five hundred deenars," replied i: she took out her purse, paid me the money, and went away with the cloth; upon which i had a profit of one hundred and fifty deenars. she returned the next day, bought another piece, paid for it, and, in short, did the same for fifteen days successively, paying me regularly for each purchase. on the sixteenth day she came to my shop as usual, chose the cloth and was going to pay me, but missed her purse; upon which she said, "sir, i have unfortunately left my purse at home." "mistress," replied i, "it is of no consequence; take the cloth, and if you return, well, if not, you are welcome to this trifle:" she would not take it: i pressed her, but in vain. much friendly argument passed between us, till at length she said, "sir, you contradict, and i contradict, but we shall never agree unless you will favour me by accompanying me to my house to receive the value of your goods; so lock up your warehouse, lest any thing should be lost in your absence." accordingly i fastened my doors, and accompanied her; we walked on conversing, till we came near her house, when she pulled out a handkerchief from her girdle, and said, "my desire is to tie this over thy eyes." "on what account?" replied i. "because," said she, "in our way are several houses, the gates of which are open, and the women sitting in their balconies, so that possibly thy eyes may glance upon some one of them, and thy heart be distracted with love; for in this part are many beautiful damsels, who would fascinate even a religious, and therefore i am alarmed for thy peace." upon this i said to myself, "this old woman advises me properly," and i consented to her demand; when she bound the handkerchief over my eyes, and we proceeded till we arrived at her house. she knocked at the door, which was opened by a damsel, and we entered. the old lady then took the handkerchief from my eyes, when i looked around me, and perceived that i was in a mansion having several quadrangles, highly ornamented, and resembling the palaces of the sultan. the old lady now desired me to retire into a room, which i did, and there beheld heaped together all the pieces of cloth which she had purchased of me, at which i was surprised, but still more so when two damsels beautiful as resplendent moons approached, and having divided a piece of cloth into halves, each took one, and wrapped it round her hand. they then sprinkled the floor with rose water and other scents, wiping it with the cloth, and rubbing it till it became bright as silver; after which they withdrew into an adjoining room, and brought out at least fifty stools, which they set down, and placed over each a rich covering, with cushions of tissue. they then fetched a large stool of gold, and having put upon it a carpet and cushions of gold brocade, retired. not long after this, there descended from the staircase by two and two, as many damsels in number as the stools; upon each of which one sat down. at last descended a lady attended by ten damsels, who placed herself upon the larger stool. when i beheld her, my lord, my senses forsook me, and i was in raptures at her beauty, her stature, and elegance, as she chatted and laughed with her companions. at length she exclaimed, "my dear mother!" when the old woman entered; to whom she said, "hast thou brought the young man?" she replied, "yes, my daughter, he is ready to attend thee." upon which the lady said, "introduce him to me." when i heard this i was alarmed, and said to myself, "there is no refuge but in the most high god; doubtless she has discovered my being here, and will command me to be put to death." the old woman came to me, and leading me by the hand, took me before the lady seated on the golden stool, who, on seeing me, smiled, made a graceful salute, and waved her hand for a seat to be brought, which was done, and placed close to her own. she then commanded me to sit down, which i did with much confusion. when i was seated, the lady began to chat and joke with me, saying, "what think you of my appearance and my beauty, do you judge me worthy of your affection? shall i be your partner and you mine?" when i had heard these words, i replied, "how, dear lady, dare i presume, who am not worthy to be your servant, to arrive at such an honour?" upon this, she said, "young man, my words have no evasion in them; be not discouraged, or fearful of returning me an answer, for my heart is devoted to thy love." i now perceived, my lord, that the lady was anxious to marry me; but could not conceive on what account, or who could have given her intelligence concerning me. she continued to shew me so many pleasing attentions, that at length i was emboldened to say, "lady, if your words to me are sincere, according to the proverb, no time is so favourable as the present." "there cannot," said she, "be a more fortunate day than this for our union." upon this i replied, "my dear lady, how can i allot for you a proper dowry?" "the value of the cloth you intrusted to the old lady, who is my mother," answered she, "is sufficient." "that cannot be enough," rejoined i. "nothing more shall be added," exclaimed the lady; "and my intention is this instant to send for the cauzee and witnesses, and i will choose a trustee, that they may unite us without delay. we will celebrate our nuptials this very evening, but upon one condition." "what is that?" replied i. she answered, "that you bind yourself not to address or hold conversation with any woman but myself." my lord, i was eager to be in possession of so beautiful a woman, and therefore said to her, "i agree, and will never contradict thee either by my words or actions." she then sent for the cauzee and witnesses, and appointed a trustee, after which we were married. after the ceremony, she ordered coffee and sherbet, gave money to the cauzee, a dress of honour to her trustee, and they departed. i was lost in astonishment, and said to myself, "do i dream, or am i awake?" she now commanded her damsels to empty the warm bath, fill it afresh, and prepare cloths and necessaries for bathing. when they had done as she desired, she ordered the eunuchs in waiting to conduct me to the hummaum, and gave them a rich dress. they led me into an elegant apartment, difficult for speech to describe. they spread many-coloured carpets, upon which i sat down and undressed; after which i entered the hummaum, and perceived delightful odours from sandal wood, of comorin, and other sweets diffusing from every part. here they seated me, covered me with perfumed soaps, and rubbed me till my body became bright as silver; when they brought the basins, and i washed with warm water, after which they gave me rose-water, and i poured it over me. they next brought in sweet-smelling salves, which i rubbed over me, and then repaired to the hummaum, where i found a royal dress, in which the eunuchs arrayed me; and after perfuming me with incense of sandal wood, brought in confections, coffee, and sherberts of various sorts, with which i refreshed myself. i then left the bath with my attendants, who shewed me into the grand hall of the palace, which was spread with most magnificent carpets, stools, and cushions. here the lady met me, attired in a new habit, more sumptuous than i had seen her in before. when i beheld my bride, she appeared to me, from the richness of her ornaments, like a concealed treasure from which the talisman had just been removed. she sat down by me, and smiled so fascinatingly upon me, i could no longer contain my rapture. in a short time she retired, but soon returned again in a dress richer than her last. i again embraced her, and in short, my lord, we remained together for ten days in the height of happiness and enjoyment. at the end of this period i recollected my mother, and said to my wife, "it is so long since i have been absent from home, and since my mother has not seen me, that i am certain she must be anxious concerning me. will you permit me to visit her and look after my warehouse?" "there can be no impediment," replied she; "you may visit your mother daily, and employ yourself in your warehouse, but the old woman must conduct you and bring you back;" to which i assented. the old lady then came in, tied a handkerchief over my eyes, conducted me to the spot where she had first blindfolded me, and said, "you will return here about the time of evening prayer, and will find me waiting." i left her, and repaired to my mother, whom i found in great affliction at my absence, and weeping bitterly. upon seeing me, she ran and embraced me with tears of joy. i said, "weep not, my dear mother, for my absence has been owing to the highest good fortune." i then informed her of my lucky adventure, when she exclaimed, "may allah protect thee, my son, but visit me at least every two days, that my affection for thee may be gratified." i then went to my warehouse, and employed myself as usual till evening, when i returned to the place appointed, where i found the old lady, who blindfolded me as before, and conducted me to the palace of my wife, who received me with fondness. for three months i continued to go and come in this manner, but i could not help wishing to know whom i had married, and wondering at the affluence, splendour, and attendance that appeared around her. at length i found an opportunity of being in private with one of her black slaves, and questioned her concerning her mistress. "my lord," replied she, "the history of my mistress is wonderful; but i dare not relate it, lest she should put me to death." upon this, i assured her, that if she would inform me, no one should know it but myself, and i took an oath of secrecy, when she began as follows: "my mistress one day went to a public bath, intending to amuse herself, for which purpose she made such preparations of delicacies and rarities, as were worth a camel's load of treasure, and when she left the hummaum, made an excursion to a garden, where a splendid collation was laid out. here she continued enjoying herself till evening, when she ordered her retinue to make ready for departure, and the fragments of the entertainment to be distributed among the poor. on her return, she passed through the street in which is your warehouse. it was upon a friday, when you were sitting in conversation with a friend, arrayed in your best attire. she beheld you, her heart was stricken with love, but no one perceived her emotion. however, she had no sooner reached her palace than she became low and melancholy, and her appetite failed her. at length she took to her bed, her colour left her, sleep forsook her, and she became very weak. upon this her mother went to call in a physician, that he might consider what might be the cause of her daughter's indisposition; but on the way she met a skilful old lady, with whom she returned home. "the old lady on feeling the pulse of her patient, and after asking several questions, could perceive in her no bodily ailment or pain; upon which she judged she was in love, but did not venture to speak to her before her mother of her suspicions. she took leave, and said, 'by god's blessing thou wilt soon recover; i will return tomorrow, and bring with me an infallible medicine.' she then took her mother aside, and said, 'my good lady, be not angry at what i shall remark, but thy daughter has no bodily disorder; she is in love, and there can be no cure for her but by a union with her beloved.' the mother, on the departure of the old lady, repaired to her daughter, and with much difficulty, after twenty days of denial (for my mistress's modesty was hurt), obtained from her a description of your person, and the street in which you lived; upon which she behaved to you in the manner you are well acquainted with, brought you here, and you know what followed. such is her history," concluded the black slave, "which you must not reveal." "i will not," replied i; and after this i continued to live very happily with my wife, going daily to see my mother, to attend in my warehouse, and return in the evening, conducted as usual by the old lady my mother-in-law. one day, after the expiration of some months, as i was sitting in my warehouse, a damsel came into the street with the image of a cock, composed of jewelry. it was set with pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones, and she offered it to the merchants for sale; when they began bidding for it at five hundred deenars, and went to nine hundred and fifty; all which i observed in silence and did not interfere by speaking or bidding. at length the damsel came up to me, and said, "my lord, all the merchants have increased in bidding for my precious toy, but you have neither bidden, nor taken any notice of me." "i have no occasion for it," replied i. "nay," exclaimed she, "but you must bid something more." "since i must," i answered, "i will give fifty deenars more, which will be just a thousand." she accepted the price, and i went into my warehouse to fetch the money to pay her, saying to myself, "i will present this curiosity to my wife, as it may please her." when i was going to pay the money, the damsel would not take it, but said, "my lord, i have a request to make, which is, that i may snatch one kiss from your cheek as the price of my jewelry, for i want nothing else." upon this, i thought to myself, a single kiss of my cheek is an easy price for the value of a thousand deenars, and consented; when she came up to me and gave me a kiss, but at the same time a most severe bite; left the piece of jewelry, and went away with the greatest haste. in the evening i repaired to the house of my wife, and found the old lady waiting as usual at the accustomed spot. she tied the handkerchief over my eyes, and when she had conducted me home, took it off. i found my wife sitting upon her golden stool, but dressed in scarlet, and with an angry countenance; upon which i said to myself, "god grant all may be well." i approached her, took out the toy set with diamonds and rubies (thinking that on sight of it her ill-humour would vanish), and said, "my mistress, accept this, for it is curious, and i purchased it for thee." she took it into her hand, and examined it on all sides; after which she exclaimed, "didst thou really purchase this on my account?" "by heavens," replied i, "i bought it for thy sake, for a thousand deenars." upon this she frowned angrily upon me, and exclaimed, "what means that wound upon thy cheek?" i was overwhelmed with confusion. while i was in this state, she called out to her attendants, who immediately descended the staircase, carrying the headless corpse of a young girl, the head placed upon the middle of the body. i looked, and knew it to be the head of the damsel who had sold me the piece of jewelry for a kiss, and had bitten my cheek. my wife now exclaimed, "i had no occasion for such baubles, for i have many of them; but i wished to know if thou wert so faithful to thy agreement with me, as not to address another woman than myself, and sent the girl to try thee. since thy promise has been broken, begone, and return no more." when my wife had finished her speech, the old woman took me by the hand, tied the handkerchief over my eyes, and conducted me to the usual spot, when she said, "begone!" and disappeared. i was so overcome by the sad adventure, and the loss of my wife, that i ran through the streets like one frantic, crying, "ah, what beauty, what grace, what elegance did she possess!" upon which, the people, supposing me distracted, conducted me to this hospital, and bound me in fetters, as you see. when the sultan had heard the young man's story, he was much affected, inclined his head for some instants in deep thought, then said to his vizier, "by allah, who has intrusted me with sovereignty, if thou dost not discover the lady who married this young man, thy head shall be forfeited." the vizier was alarmed, but recovering himself, replied, "allow me three days to search," to which the sultan consented. the vizier then took with him the young man, and for two days was at a loss how to find out the house. at length he inquired if he should know the spot where the handkerchief was tied over his eyes, and the gateway at which it was taken off, of both which the youth professed to be certain. he conducted the minister to the street where he was blindfolded, and they reached a gateway, at which the vizier knocked. it was opened by the domestics, who knowing the vizier, and seeing the young man with him, were alarmed, and ran to communicate the quality of the visitants to their mistress. she desired to know the commands of the vizier, who informed her, that it was the sultan's pleasure she should be reconciled to her husband; to which she replied, "since the sultan hath commanded, my duty is obedience." the young man was reunited to his wife, who was the daughter of a former sultan of cairo. such were the adventures of the young man who was reading in the hospital. we now recite those of the youth who was listening to him. upon the sultan's inquiring his story, he began as follows. story of the second lunatic. my lord, i was by profession a merchant, and on my commencing business the youngest of my trade, having but just entered my sixteenth year. as i was one day busy in my warehouse, a damsel entering, put into my hands a packet, which, on opening, i found to contain several copies of verses in praise of myself, with a letter expressive of ardent affection for my person. supposing them meant only as banter, i foolishly flew into a passion, seized the bearer, and beat her severely. on her departure, i reflected on my improper behaviour, dreaded lest she should complain to her relations, and that they might revenge themselves upon me by some sudden assault. i repented of what i had done, but alas! it was when repentance would not avail. ten days had passed, when, as i was sitting in my warehouse as usual, a young lady entered most superbly dressed, and odoriferously perfumed. she resembled in brightness the moon on its fourteenth night, so that when i gazed upon her my senses forsook me, and i was incapable of attention to any thing but herself. she addressed me, saying, "young man, have you in your warehouse any female ornaments?" to which i replied, "of all sorts, my lady, that you can possibly require." upon this she desired to see some bracelets for the ankles, which i shewed her, when holding out her foot, she desired me to try them on. i did so. after this, she asked for a necklace, and opening her veil, made me tie it on. she then chose a pair of bracelets, and extending her hands, desired me to put them on her wrists, which i did; after which, she inquired the amount of the whole, when i exclaimed, "fair lady, accept them as a present, and inform me whose daughter thou art." she replied, "i am the daughter of the chief magistrate;" when i said, "my wish is to demand thee in marriage of thy father." she consented that i should, but observed, "when you ask me of my father, he will say, i have only one daughter, who is a cripple, and wretchedly deformed. do thou, however, reply, that thou art willing to accept her, and if he remonstrates, still insist upon wedding her." i then asked when i should make my proposals. she replied, "the best time to visit my father is on the eed al koorbaun, which is three days hence, as thou wilt then find with him all his relations and friends, and our espousals will add to his festivity." agreeably to the lady's instructions, on the third day following i repaired with several of my friends to the house of the chief magistrate, and found him sitting in state, receiving the compliments of the day from the chief inhabitants of the city. we made our obeisance, which he graciously noticed, received us with kindness, and entered familiarly into conversation. a collation was brought in, the cloth spread, and we partook with him of the viands, after which we drank coffee. i then stood up, saying, "my lord, i am desirous of espousing the chaste lady your daughter, more precious than the richest gem." when the chief magistrate heard my speech, he inclined his head for some time towards the earth in deep thought, after which he said, "son, my daughter is an unfortunate cripple, miserably deformed." to this i replied, "to have her for my wife is all i wish." the magistrate then said, "if thou wilt have a wife of this description, it must be on condition that she shall not be taken from my house, that thou shalt consummate the marriage here, and abide with me." i replied, "to hear is to obey;" believing that she was the beautiful damsel who had visited my warehouse, and whose charms i had so rapturously beheld. in short, the nuptial ceremony was performed, when i said to myself, "heavens! is it possible that i am become master of this beautiful damsel, and shall possess her charms!" when night set in, the domestics of the chief magistrate introduced me into the chamber of my bride. i ran eagerly to gaze upon her beauty, but guess my mortification when i beheld her a wretched dwarf, a cripple, and deformed, as her father had represented. i was overcome with horror at the sight of her, distracted with disappointment, and ashamed of my own foolish credulity, but i dared not complain, as i had voluntarily accepted her as my wife from the magistrate: i sat down silently in one corner of the chamber, and she in another, for i could not bring myself to approach her, as she was disgusting to the sight of man, and my soul could not endure her company. at day-break i left the house of my father-in-law, repaired to my warehouse, which i opened, and sat down much distressed in mind, with my head dizzy, like one suffering from intoxication, when lo! who should appear before me but the lady who had put upon me so mortifying a trick. she entered, and paid me the customary salute. i was enraged, and began to abuse her, saying, "wherefore hast thou put upon me such a stratagem?" when she replied, "wretch, recollect the day that i brought thee a packet, in return for which you seized, beat, reviled, and drove me scornfully away. in retaliation for such treatment, i have taken revenge by giving thee such a delectable bride." i now fell at her feet, entreated her forgiveness, and expressed my repentance; upon which, smiling upon me, she said, "be not uneasy, for as i have plunged thee into a dilemma, i will also relieve thee from it. go to the aga of the leather-dressers, give him a sum of money, and desire him to call thee his son; then repair with him, attended by his followers and musicians, to the house of the chief magistrate. when he inquires the cause of their coming, let the aga say, 'my lord, we are come to congratulate thy son-in-law, who is my beloved child, on his marriage with thy daughter, and to rejoice with him.' the magistrate will be furiously enraged, and exclaim, 'dog, is it possible that, being a leather-dresser, thou durst marry the daughter of the chief magistrate?' do thou then reply, 'my lord, my ambition was to be ennobled by your alliance, and as i have married your lordship's daughter, the mean appellation of leather-dresser will soon be forgotten and lost in the glorious title of the son-in-law of your lordship; i shall be promoted under your protection, and purified from the odour of the tan-pit, so that my offspring will smell as sweet as that of a syed." i did as the lady had directed me, and having bribed the chief of the leather-dressers, he accompanied me with the body of his trade, and a numerous party of musicians, vocal and instrumental, to my father-in-law's house, before which they began to sing and dance with great clamour every now and then crying out, "long live our noble kinsman! long live the son-in-law of the chief magistrate!" the magistrate inquired into the cause of our intrusive rejoicing, when i told him my kinsfolk were congratulating me upon my alliance with his illustrious house, and come to thank him for the honour he had done the whole body of leather-dressers in my person. the chief magistrate on hearing this was passionately enraged, and abused me; but reflecting that without my consent the supposed disgrace of his noble house could not be done away, he became calm, and offered me money to divorce his daughter. at first i pretended unwillingness, but at length affecting to be moved by his earnest entreaties, accepted forty purses of gold, which he gave me to repudiate my deformed wife, and i returned home with a lightened heart. the day following, the lady came to my warehouse, when i thanked her for having freed me from my ridiculous marriage, and begged her to accept of me as a husband. to this she consented, but said she was, she feared, too meanly born for me to marry, as her father was but a cook, though of eminence in his way, and very rich. i replied, "even though he were a leather-dresser, thy charms would grace a throne." in short, my lord, we were married, and have lived together very happily from the day of our union to the present time. such is my story, but it is not so surprising as that of the learned man and his pupil, whose adventures were among the miracles of the age, which i will relate. story of the retired sage and his pupil, related to the sultan by the second lunatic, there was a learned and devout sage, who in order to enjoy his studies and contemplations uninterrupted, had secluded himself from the world in one of the cells of the principal mosque of the city, which he never left but upon the most pressing occasions. he had led this retired life some years, when a boy one day entered his cell, and earnestly begged to be received as his pupil and domestic. the sage liked his appearance, consented to his request, inquired who were his parents, and whence he came; but the lad could not inform him, and said, "ask not who i am, for i am an orphan, and know not whether i belong to heaven or earth." the shekh did not press him, and the boy served him with the most undeviating punctuality and attention for twelve years, during which he received his instructions in every branch of learning, and became a most accomplished youth. at the end of the twelve years, the youth one day heard some young men praising the beauty of the sultan's daughter, and saying that her charms were unequalled by those of all the princesses of the age. this discourse excited his curiosity to behold so lovely a creature. he repaired to his master, saying, "my lord, i understand that the sultan hath a most beautiful daughter, and my soul longs ardently for an opportunity of beholding her, if only for an instant." the sage exclaimed, "what have such as we to do, my son, with the daughters of sovereigns or of others? we are a secluded order, and should refrain ourselves from associating with the great ones of this world." the old man continued to warn his pupil against the vanities of the age, and to divert him from his purpose; but the more he advised and remonstrated, the more intent the youth became on his object, which affected his mind so much, that he grew very uneasy, and was continually weeping. the sage observing his distress was afflicted at it, and at length said to the youth, "will one look at the princess satisfy thy wishes?" "it shall," replied the pupil. the sage then anointed one of his eyes with a sort of ointment; when lo! he became to appearance as a man divided into half, and the sage ordered him to go and hop about the city. the youth obeyed his commands, but he had no sooner got into the street than he was surrounded by a crowd of passengers, who gazed with astonishment at his appearance. the report of so strange a phenomenon as a half man soon spread throughout the city, and reached the palace of the sultan, who sent for the supposed monster to the presence. the youth was conveyed to the palace, where the whole court gazed upon him with wonder; after which he was taken into the haram, to gratify the curiosity of the women. he beheld the princess, and was fascinated by the brilliancy of her charms, insomuch, that he said to himself, "if i cannot wed her, i will put myself to death." the youth being at length dismissed from the palace, returned home; his heart tortured with love for the daughter of the sultan. on his arrival, the sage inquired if he had seen the princess. "i have," replied the youth, "but one look is not enough, and i cannot rest until i shall sit beside her, and feast my eyes till they are wearied with gazing upon her." "alas! my son," exclaimed the old man, "i fear for thy safety: we are religious men, and should avoid temptations; nor does it become us to have any thing to do with the sultan." to this the youth replied, "my lord, unless i shall sit beside her, and touch her neck with my hands, i shall, through despair, put myself to death." at these words, the sage was alarmed for the safety of his pupil, and said to himself, "i will, if possible, preserve this amiable youth, and perchance allah may gratify his wishes." he then anointed both his eyes with an ointment, which had the effect of rendering him invisible to human sight. after this, he said, "go, my son, and gratify thy wishes, but return again, and be not too long absent from thy duty." the youth hastened towards the royal palace, which he entered unperceived, and proceeded into the haram, where he seated himself near the daughter of the sultan. for some time he contented himself with gazing on her beauty, but at length extending his hands, touched her softly on the neck. as soon as she felt his touch, the princess, alarmed, shrieked out violently, and exclaimed, "i seek refuge with allah, from satan the accursed." her mother and the ladies present, affrighted at her outcries, eagerly inquired the cause; when she said, "eblees, or some other evil spirit, hath this instant touched me on the neck." upon this, the mother was alarmed and sent for her nurse, who, when informed of what had happened, declared, "that nothing was so specific to drive away evil spirits as the smoke of camel's hair;" a quantity of which was instantly brought, and being set fire to, the smoke of it filled the whole apartment, and so affected the eyes of the young man, that they watered exceedingly, when he unthinkingly wiped them with his handkerchief, so that with his tears the ointment was soon washed off. the ointment was no sooner wiped away from his eyes than the young man became visible, and the princess, her mother, and the ladies, all at once uttered a general cry of astonishment and alarm; upon which the eunuchs rushed into the apartment. seeing the youth, they surrounded him, beat him unmercifully, then bound him with cords, and dragged him before the sultan, whom they informed of his having been found in the royal haram. the sultan, enraged, sent for an executioner, and commanded him to seize the culprit, to clothe him in a black habit patched over with flame colour, to mount him upon a camel, and after parading with him through the streets of the city, to put him to death. the executioner took the young man, dressed him as he had been directed, placed him upon the camel, and led him through the city, preceded by guards and a crier, who bawled out, "behold the merited punishment of him who has dared to violate the sanctuary of the royal haram." the procession was followed by an incalculable crowd of people, who were astonished at the beauty of the young man, and the little concern he seemed to feel at his own situation. at length the procession arrived in the square before the great mosque, when the sage, disturbed by the noise and concourse of the people, looked from the window of his cell, and beheld the disgraceful situation of his pupil. he was moved to pity, and instantly calling upon the genii (for by his knowledge of magic and every abstruse science he had them all under his control), commanded them to bring him the youth from the camel, and place in his room, without being perceived, some superannuated man. they did so, and when the multitude saw the youth, as it were, transformed into a well-known venerable shekh, they were stricken with awe, and said, "heavens! the young man turns out to be our reverend chief of the herb-sellers;" for the old man had long been accustomed to dispose of greens and sugarcane at the college gate near the great mosque, and was the oldest in his trade. the executioner, on beholding the change of appearance in his prisoner, was confounded. he returned to the palace with the old man upon the camel, and followed by the crowd. he hastened or contrive my death to the sultan, and said, "my lord, the young man is vanished, and in his room became seated upon the camel this venerable shekh, well known to the whole city." on hearing this, the sultan was alarmed, and said to himself, "whoever has been able to perform this, can do things much more surprising he may depose me from my kingdom." the sultan's fears increased so much, that he was at a loss how to act. he summoned his vizier, and said, "advise me what to do in the affair of this strange youth, for i am utterly confounded." the vizier for some time inclined his head towards the ground in profound thought, then addressing the sultan, said, "my lord, no one could have done this but by the help of genii, or by a power which we cannot comprehend, and he may possibly, if irritated, do you in future a greater injury respecting your daughter. i advise, therefore, that you cause it to be proclaimed throughout the city, that whoever has done this, if he will appear before you shall have pardon on the word of a sultan, which can never be broken. should he then surrender himself, espouse him to your daughter, when perhaps his mind may be reconciled by her love. he has already beheld her, and seen the ladies of the haram, so that nothing can save your honour but his union with the princess." the sultan approved the advice of his vizier, the proclamation was issued, and the crier proceeded through several streets, till at length he reached the square of the great mosque. the pupil hearing the proclamation, was enraptured, and running to his patron, declared his intention of surrendering himself to the sultan. "my son," said the sage, "why shouldst thou do so? hast thou not already suffered sufficiently?" the youth replied, "nothing shall prevent me." upon which the sage exclaimed, "go then, my son, and my midnight prayers shall attend thee." the youth now repaired to the hummaum, and having bathed, dressed himself in his richest habit; after which he discovered himself to the crier, who conducted him to the palace. he made a profound obeisance to the sultan, at the same time uttering an eloquent prayer for his long life and prosperity. the sultan was struck with his manly beauty, the gracefulness of his demeanour, and the propriety of his delivery, and said, "young stranger, who art thou, and from whence dost thou come?" "i am," replied the youth, "the half man whom you saw, and have done what you are already acquainted with." the sultan now requested him to sit in the most honourable place, and entered into conversation on various subjects. he put to him several difficult questions in science, to which the youth replied with such judgment, that his abilities astonished him, and he said to himself, "this young man is truly worthy of my daughter." he then addressed him, saying, "young man, my wish is to unite thee to my daughter, for thou hast already seen her, also her mother, and after what has passed no one will marry her." the youth replied, "i am ready in obedience, but must advise with my friends." "go then," said the sultan, "consult with thy friends, and return quickly." the young man repaired to the sage, and having informed him of what had passed between himself and the sultan, signified his wish to marry the princess, when the shekh replied, "do so, my son; there can be in the measure no crime, as it is a lawful alliance." "but i wish," said the youth, "to invite the sultan to visit you." "by all means," answered the sage. "my lord," rejoined the pupil, "since i first came, and you honoured me in your service, i have beheld you in no other residence but this confined cell, from which you have never stirred night or day. how can i invite the sultan here?" "my son," exclaimed the shekh, "go to the sultan, rely upon allah, who can work miracles in favour of whom he chooseth, and say unto him, 'my patron greets thee, and requests thy company to an entertainment five days hence.'" the youth did as he was directed, and having returned to his master, waited upon him as before, but anxiously wishing for the fifth day to arrive. on the fifth day, the sage said to his impatient pupil, "let us remove to our own house, that we may prepare for the reception of the sultan, whom you must conduct to me." they arose, and walked, till on coming to a ruinous building about the middle of the city, the walls of which were fallen in heaps, the shekh said, "my son, this is my mansion, hasten and bring the sultan." the pupil, in astonishment, exclaimed, "my lord, this abode is a heap of ruins, how can i invite the sultan here, it would only disgrace us?" "go," repeated the sage, "and dread not the consequences." upon this the youth departed, but as he went on could not help saying to himself, "surely my master must be insane, or means to make a jest of us." when he had reached the palace he found the sultan expecting him; upon which he made his obeisance, and said, "will my lord honour me by his company?" the sultan arose, mounted his horse, and attended by his whole court, followed the youth to the place chosen by the venerable shekh. it now appeared a royal mansion, at the gates of which were ranged numerous attendants in costly habits, respectfully waiting. the young man, at sight of this transformed appearance, was confounded in such a manner that he could hardly retain his senses. he said to himself, "it was but this instant that i beheld this place a heap of ruins, yet now it is a palace far more magnificent than any belonging to this sultan. i am astonished, but must keep the secret to myself." the sultan alighted, as did also his courtiers, and entered the palace. they were surprised and delighted at the splendour of the first court, but much more so at the superior magnificence of a second; into which they were ushered, and introduced into a spacious hall, where they found the venerable shekh sitting to receive them. the sultan made a low obeisance; upon which the sage just moved his head, but did not rise. the sultan then sat down, when the shekh greeted him, and they entered into conversation on various subjects; but the senses of the sultan were confounded at the dignified demeanour of his host, and the splendid objects around him. at length the shekh desired his pupil to knock at a door and order breakfast to be brought in, which he did: when lo! the door opened, and there entered a hundred slaves, bearing upon their heads golden trays, on which were placed dishes of agate, cornelian, and other stones, filled with various eatables, which they arranged in order before the sultan. he was astonished, for he had nothing so magnificent in his own possession. he then partook of the sumptuous collation, as did also the venerable shekh, and all the courtiers, till they were satisfied; after which they drank coffee and sherbets of various sorts, when the sultan and the sage conversed on religious and literary subjects, and the former was edified by the remarks of the latter. when it was noon the shekh again desired his pupil to knock at another door, and order dinner to be brought in. he had no sooner done so, than immediately a hundred slaves, different from the former, entered, bearing trays of the richest viands. they spread the cloth before the sultan, and arranged the dishes, which were each thickly set with precious stones, at which he was more astonished than before. when all had eaten till they were satisfied, basins and ewers, some of gold and others of agate, were carried round, and they washed their hands; after which the shekh said to the sultan, "have you fixed what my son must give as the dower of your daughter?" to this, the sultan replied, "i have already received it." this he said out of compliment; but the shekh replied, "my lord, the marriage cannot be valid without a dower." he then presented a vast sum of money, with many jewels, for the purpose to his pupil; after which he retired with the sultan into a chamber, and arrayed him in a splendid habit; rich dresses were also given to each of his attendants according to their rank. the sultan then took leave of the shekh, and returned with his intended son-in-law to the palace. when evening arrived the young man was introduced into the apartment of the princess, which he found spread with the richest carpets, and perfumed with costly essences, but his bride was absent: at which he was somewhat surprised, but supposed her coming was put off till midnight, for which he waited with impatience. midnight came, but no bride appeared; when a thousand uneasy sensations afflicted his mind, and he continued in restless anxiety till morning: nor were the father and mother of the princess less impatient; for supposing she was with her husband, they waited anxiously, and were mortified at the delay. at daylight, the mother, unable to bear longer suspense, entered the chamber; when the young man, rather angrily, inquired what had delayed the coming of his bride. "she entered before thee," replied the mother. "i have not seen her," answered the bridegroom. upon this the sultana shrieked with affright, calling aloud on her daughter, for she had no other child but her. her cries alarmed the sultan, who rushing into the apartment, was informed that the princess was missing, and had not been seen since her entrance in the evening. search was now made in every quarter of the palace, but in vain; and the sultan, sultana, and the bridegroom, were involved in the deepest distress. to account for the sudden disappearance of the princess, be it known, that a genie used often to divert himself with visiting the haram of the sultan; and happening to be there on the marriage night, was so captivated by the charms of the bride, that he resolved to steal her away. accordingly, having rendered himself invisible, he waited in the nuptial chamber, and upon her entering bore her off, and soared into the air. at length he alighted with his prey in a delightful garden, far distant from the city; placed the princess in a shady arbour, and set before her delicious fruits; but contented himself with gazing upon her beauty. the young bridegroom, when recovered from his first alarm, bethought himself of his tutor, and, together with the sultan, repaired to the palace where the splendid entertainment had been given. here they found every thing in the same order as on the day of festivity, and were kindly received by the venerable shekh; who on hearing of the loss of the princess, desired them to be comforted. he then commanded a chafing-dish of lighted charcoal to be set before him, and after some moments of contemplation, cast into it some perfumes, over which he pronounced incantations. he had scarcely ended them, when lo! the earth shook, whirlwinds arose, lightnings flashed, and clouds of dust darkened the air, from which speedily descended winged troops, bearing superb standards and massive spears. in the centre of them appeared three sultans of the genii, who bowing low before the shekh, exclaimed all at once, "master, hail! we are come to obey thy commands." the shekh now addressed them, saying, "my orders are, that you instantly bring me the accursed spirit who hath carried off the bride of my son;" when the genii replied, "to hear is to obey:" and immediately detached fifty of their followers to reconduct the princess to her chamber, and drag the culprit to the presence of the sage. these commands were no sooner issued than they were performed. ten of the genii carefully conveyed the bride to her apartment, while the rest having seized the offending genie, dragged him before the sage, who commanded the three sultans to burn him to ashes, which was executed in an instant. all this was done in the presence of the sultan, who was wrapt in astonishment, and viewed with awe the tremendously gigantic figures of the genii, wondering at the submissive readiness with which they obeyed the commands of the venerable shekh. when the offending genie was consumed to ashes, the shekh renewed his incantations; during which the sultans of the genii, with their followers, bowed themselves before him, and when he had ended, vanished from sight. the sultan and the bridegroom having taken leave of the shekh, returned to the palace, where all was now gladness for the safe return of the princess. the marriage was consummated, and the young man was so happy with his bride, that he did not quit the haram for seven days. on the eighth, the sultan ordered public rejoicings to be made, and invited all the inhabitants of the city to feast at the royal cost; causing it to be proclaimed, that no one, either rich or poor, should for three days presume to eat at home, light a fire, or burn a lamp in his own house, but all repair to the nuptial festival of the daughter of the sultan. ample provision was made for all comers in the courts of the palace, and the officers of the household attended day and night to serve the guests according to their quality. during one of the nights of this grand festival, the sultan being anxious to know if his proclamation was generally obeyed, resolved to walk through the city in disguise. accordingly he and his vizier, in the habit of dervishes of persia, having quitted the palace privately, began their excursion, and narrowly examined several streets. at length they came to a close alley, in one of the houses of which they perceived a light, and heard the sound of voices. when they had reached the door, they heard a person say to another, "our sultan understands not how to treat properly, nor is he liberal, since the poor have it not in their option to partake of the costly feast he has prepared for his daughter's nuptials. he should have distributed his bounty among the wretched, who dare not presume to enter the palace in their ragged garments, by sending it to their home." the sultan, upon hearing this, said to the vizier, "we must enter this house;" and knocked at the door, when a person cried out, "who is there?" "guests," replied the sultan. "you shall be welcome to what we have," answered the person, and opened the door. on entering, the sultan beheld three mean-looking old men, one of whom was lame, the second broken-backed, and the third wry-mouthed. he then inquired the cause of their misfortunes; to which they answered, "our infirmities proceeded from the weakness of our understandings." the sultan upon this replied in a whisper to his vizier, that at the conclusion of the festival he should bring the three men to his presence, in order that he might learn their adventures. when they had tasted of their homely fare, the sultan and vizier rose up, and having presented the three maimed companions with a few deenars, took leave and departed. they strolled onwards. it was now near midnight when they reached a house in which, through a lattice, they could perceive three girls with their mother eating a slender meal; during which, at intervals, one of them sung, and the other two laughed and talked. the sultan resolved to enter the house, and commanded the vizier to knock at the door, which he did; when one of the sisters cried out, "who knocks at our door at this advanced time of night?" "we are two foreign dervishes," replied the vizier; to which the ladies answered, "we are women of virtue, and have no men in our house to whom you can be introduced: repair to the festival of the sultan, who will entertain you!" "alas!" continued the vizier, "we are strangers unacquainted with the way to the palace, and dread lest the magistrate of the police should meet and apprehend us. we beg that you will afford us lodging till daylight: we will then depart, and you need not apprehend from us any improper behaviour." when the mother of the ladies heard this she pitied the strangers, and commanded them to open the door: upon which the sultan and vizier having entered, paid their respects and sat down; but the former, on observing the beauty of the sisters and their elegant demeanour, could not contain himself, and said, "how comes it that you dwell by yourselves, have no husbands or any male to protect you?" the younger sister replied, "impertinent dervish, withhold thy inquiries! our story is surprising; but unless thou wert sultan, and thy companion vizier, you could not appreciate our adventures." the sultan upon this remark became silent on the subject, and they discoursed upon indifferent matters till near daylight, when the pretended dervishes took a respectful leave, and departed. at the door the sultan commanded the vizier to mark it, so that he might know it again, being resolved, when the nuptial festivities should be concluded, to send for the ladies and hear their story. on the last evening of the festival the sultan bestowed dresses of honour on all his courtiers; and on the following day, affairs returning to their usual course, he commanded his vizier to bring before him the three maimed men, and ordered them to relate the cause of their misfortunes, which they did as follows. story of the broken-backed schoolmaster. formerly, o mighty sultan, was a schoolmaster, and had under my tuition nearly seventy scholars, of whose manners i was as careful as of their learning: so much did i make them respect me, that whenever i sneezed they laid down their writing boards, stood up with arms crossed, and with one voice exclaimed, "god have mercy upon our tutor!" to which i replied, "may he have mercy upon me and you, and all who have children." if any one of the boys did not join in this prayer, i used to beat him severely. one fine afternoon my scholars requested leave to visit a certain garden some distance from the town, which i granted; and they clubbed their pittances to purchase sweetmeats and fruits. i attended them on this excursion, and was as much delighted as themselves with the pleasure they enjoyed, and their childish gambols. when evening approached we returned homewards, and on the way, my boys having fatigued themselves with play, as well as eaten much sweets and fruit, were seized with extreme thirst, of which they heavily complained. at length we reached a draw-well, but, alas! it had no bucket or cord. i pitied their situation, and resolved, if possible, to relieve them. i requested them to give me their turbans, which i tied to each other; but as they were altogether not long enough to reach the water, i fixed one of the turbans round my body, and made them let one down into the well, where i filled a small cup i had with me, which they drew up repeatedly till their thirst was satisfied. i then desired them to draw me up again, which they attempted; and i had reached nearly the mouth of the well, when i was unfortunately seized with a fit of sneezing; upon which the boys mechanically, as they had been accustomed to do in school, one and all let go their hold, crossed their arms, and exclaimed, "god have mercy upon our venerable tutor!" while i tumbled at once to the bottom of the well, and broke my back. i cried out from the agony of pain, and the children ran on all sides for help. at length some charitable passengers drew me out, and placing me upon an ass, carried me home; where i languished for a considerable time, and never could recover my health sufficiently again to attend to my school. thus did i suffer for my foolish pride: for had i not been so tenacious of respect from my scholars, they would not upon my sneezing have let go their hold and broken my back. when the broken-backed schoolmaster had finished his story, the old man with the wry-mouth thus began: story of the wry-mouthed schoolmaster. i also, o sultan, was a schoolmaster; and so strict with my pupils, that i allowed them no indulgence, but even kept them to their studies frequently after the usual hours. at length, one more cunning than the rest resolved, in revenge, to play me a trick. he instructed the lads as they came into school to say to me, "dear master, how pale you look!" not feeling myself ill, i, though surprised at their remarks, did not much regard them on the first day; but a second, and so on to a fifth passing, on each of which all the pupils on entrance uttered the same exclamation, i began to think some fatal disorder had seized me, and resolved, by way of prevention, to take physic. i did so the following morning, and remained in my wife's apartments; upon which the unlucky lads, clubbing their pittances together to the amount of about a hundred faloose, requested my acceptance of the money as an offering for my recovery; and i was so pleased with the present that i gave them a holiday. the receipt of cash in so easy a manner was so agreeable to me, that i feigned illness for some days; my pupils made an offering as usual, and were allowed to play. on the tenth day the cunning urchin who had planned the scheme came into my chamber, as customary, with an offering of faloose. i happened then to have before me a boiled egg, which, upon seeing him enter, i clapped into my mouth, supposing, that if he perceived me well enough to eat he might not give me the money. he, however, observed the trick, and coming up to me with affected condolence, exclaimed, "dear master, how your cheeks are swelled!" at the same time pressing his hands upon my face. the egg was boiling hot, and gave me intolerable pain, while the young wit pretended compassionately to stroke my visage. at length, he pressed my jaws together so hard that the egg broke, when the scalding yolk ran down my throat, and over my beard: upon which the artful lad cried out in seeming joy, "god be praised, my dear master, that the dreadful imposthume has discharged itself; we, your pupils, will all return thanks for your happy recovery." my mouth was contracted by the scald in the manner you behold, and i became so ridiculed for my folly, that i was obliged to shut up my school. the sultan having heard the other man's story, which was of but little interest, dismissed the three foolish schoolmasters with a present, commanded the vizier to go and recognize the house of the three ladies and their mother, it being his intention to visit them again in disguise and hear their adventures. the vizier hastened to the street, but to his surprise and mortification found all the houses marked in the same manner, for the youngest sister having overheard the sultan's instructions, had done this to prevent a discovery of their residence. the vizier returned to the sultan, and informed him of the trick which had been played. he was much vexed, but the circumstance excited his curiosity in a greater degree. at length the vizier bethought himself of a stratagem, and said, "my lord, let a proclamation be issued for four days successively throughout the city, that whoever presumes after the first watch of the night to have a lamp lighted in his house, shall have his head struck off, his goods confiscated, his house razed to the ground, and his women dishonoured. it is possible, as these ladies did not regard your proclamation at the nuptials of the princess, they may disobey this, and by that means we may discover their residence." the sultan approved the contrivance of the vizier, caused the proclamation to be made, and waited impatiently for the fourth night, when he and his minister having disguised themselves as before, proceeded to the street in which the ladies lived. a light appeared only in one house, which it being now tolerably certain was that they were in quest of, they knocked at the door. immediately on their knocking the youngest sister called out, "who is at the door?" and they replied, "we are dervishes, and entreat to be your guests." she exclaimed, "what can you want at such a late hour, and where did you lodge last night?" they answered, "our quarters are at a certain serai, but we have lost our way, and are fearful of being apprehended by the officers of police. let your kindness then induce you to open the door, and afford us shelter for the remainder of the night: it will be a meritorious act in the eye of heaven." the mother overhearing what was said, ordered the door to be opened. when they were admitted, the old lady and her daughters rose up, received them respectfully, and having seated them, placed refreshments before them, of which they partook, and were delighted with their treatment. at length the sultan said, "daughters, you cannot but know of the royal proclamation; how comes it that you alone of all the inhabitants of the city have disobeyed it by having lights in your house after the first watch of the night?" upon this the youngest sister replied, "good dervish, even the sultan should not be obeyed but in his reasonable commands, and as this proclamation against lighting our lamps is tyrannical, it ought not to be complied with, consistently with the law of scripture; for the koraun says, 'obedience to a creature in a criminal matter, is a sin against the creator.' the sultan (may god pardon him!) acts against scripture, and obeys the dictates of satan. we three sisters, with our good mother, make it a rule to spin every night a certain quantity of cotton, which in the morning we dispose of, and of the price of our labour we lay out a part in provisions, and the remainder in a new supply of materials for working to procure us a subsistence." the sultan now whispered to his vizier, saying, "this damsel astonishes me by her answers; endeavour to think of some question that may perplex her." "my lord," replied the vizier, "we are here in the characters of strangers and dervishes as their guests: how then can we presume to disturb them by improper questions?" the sultan still insisted upon his addressing them: upon which, the vizier said to the ladies, "obedience to the sultan's orders is incumbent upon all subjects." "it is true he is our sovereign," exclaimed the youngest sister, "but how can he know whether we are starving or in affluence?" "suppose," replied the vizier, "he should send for you to the presence, and question you concerning your disobedience to his commands, what could you advance in excuse for yourselves?" "i would say to the sultan," rejoined she, "'your majesty has acted in contradiction to the divine law.'" the vizier upon this turned towards the sultan, and said in a whisper, "let us leave off disputing further with this lady on points of law or conscience, and inquire if she understands the fine arts." the sultan put the question; upon which she replied, "i am perfect in all:" and he then requested her to play and sing. she retired immediately, but soon returning with a lute, sat down, tuned it, and played in a plaintive strain, which she accompanied with the following verses: "it is praiseworthy in subjects to obey their sovereigns, but his reign will continue long who gains their affections by kindness. be liberal in thy manners, and he who is dependent upon thee will pray for thy life, for the free man alone can feel gratitude. to him who confers gifts man will ever resort, for bounty is fascinating. sadden not with denial the countenance of the man of genius, for the liberal mind is disgusted at stinginess and haughty demeanour. not a tenth part of mankind understand what is right, for human nature is ignorant, rebellious, and ungrateful." when the sultan had heard these verses, he remained for some time immersed in thought; then whispering his vizier, said, "this quotation was certainly meant in allusion to ourselves, and i am convinced they must know that i am their sultan, and thou vizier, for the whole tenor of their conversation shews their knowledge of us." he then addressed the lady, saying, "your music, your performance, your voice, and the subject of your stanzas have delighted me beyond expression." upon this she sang the following verse: "men endeavour to attain station and riches during an age of toil and oppression, while, alas! their accounts to heaven and their graves are decreed from their very birth." the sultan, from the purport of these last verses, was more assured than ever that she knew his quality. she did not leave off singing and playing till day-light, when she retired, and brought in a breakfast, of which the sultan and the vizier partook; after which she said, "i hope you will return to us this night at the conclusion of the first watch, and be our guests." the sultan promised, and departed in admiration at the beauty of the sisters, their accomplishments, and graceful manners; saying to the vizier, "my soul is delighted with the charms of these elegant women." the following evening the sultan and vizier, disguised as usual, repaired to the house of the sisters, taking with them some purses of deenars, and were received with the same respectful welcome. being seated, supper was set before them, and after it basins and ewers to wash their hands. coffee was then served up, and conversation on various subjects amused them till the prayer time of the first watch; they then arose, performed their ablutions, and prayed. when, their devotions were ended, the sultan presented a purse of a thousand deenars to the youngest sister, and said, "expend this upon your necessary occasions." she took the purse with a profound obeisance, kissed his hands, and was convinced, as she had before suspected, that he must be the sultan; at the same time hinting privately to her mother and sisters the quality of their guests, and prostrating herself before him. the other ladies upon this arose, and followed the example of their sister; when the sultan said aside to his vizier, "they certainly know us:" and then turning to the ladies, addressed them saying, "we are merely dervishes, and you pay us a respect only due to sovereigns; i beseech you refrain." the youngest sister again fell at his feet, and repeated the following verse: "may prosperous fortune daily accompany thee in spite of the malice of the envious! may thy days be bright and those of thy enemies gloomy!" "i am convinced thou art the sultan, and thy companion thy vizier." the sultan replied, "what reason have you for such a supposition?" she answered, "from your dignified demeanour and liberal conduct, for the signs of royalty cannot be concealed even in the habit of a recluse." the sultan replied, "you have indeed judged truly, but inform me how happens it, that you have with you no male protectors?" she answered, "my lord the sultan, our history is so wonderful, that were it written on a tablet of adamant it might serve as an example in future ages to such as would be advised." the sultan requested her to relate it, which she did in the following manner. story of the sisters and the sultana their mother. we are not, my lord the sultan, natives of this city, but of eerauk, of which country our father was sovereign, and our mother his sultana the most beautiful woman of her time, insomuch that her fame was celebrated throughout distant regions. it chanced that in our infancy our father the sultan marched upon a hunting excursion throughout his dominions, for some months, leaving his vizier to conduct affairs at the capital. not long after the departure of the sultan, our mother, taking the air on the roof of the palace, which adjoined that of the vizier, who was then sitting upon his terrace, her image was reflected in a mirror which he held in his hand. he was fascinated with her beauty, and resolved, if possible, to seduce her to infidelity and compliance with his wishes. the day following he sent the female superintendant of his haram with a package, containing a most superb dress, and many inestimable jewels, to the sultana, requesting her acceptance of them, and that she would allow him to see her either at the palace or at his own house. my mother, when the old woman was admitted into her apartments, received her with kindness, supposing that she must be intrusted with some confidential message from the vizier respecting the affairs of her husband, or with letters from him. the old woman having paid her obeisance, opened the bundle, and displayed the rich dress and dazzling jewels; when my mother, admiring them much, inquired the value, and what merchant had brought them to dispose of. the wretched old woman, supposing that the virtue of the sultana would not be proof against such a valuable present, impudently disclosed the passion of the vizier: upon which my mother, indignant with rage at this insult offered to her virtue and dignity, drew a sabre, which was near, and exerting all her strength, struck off the head of the procuress, which, with the body, she commanded her attendants to cast into the common sewer of the palace. the vizier finding his messenger did not return, the next day despatched another, to signify that he had sent a present to the sultana, but had not heard whether it had been delivered. my mother commanded the infamous wretch to be strangled, and the corpse to be thrown into the same place as that of the old woman, but she did not make public the vizier's baseness, hoping that he would reform. he, however, continued every day to send a female domestic, and my mother to treat her in the same way as the others till the sultan's return; but my mother, not wishing to destroy the vizier, and still trusting that he would repent of his conduct, for in other respects he was a faithful and prudent minister, kept his treachery a secret from my father. some years after this, the sultan my father resolved on a pilgrimage to mecca, and having, as before, left the vizier in charge of his kingdom, departed. when he had been gone ten days, the vizier, still rapturously in love, and yet presumtuously hoping to attain his wishes, sent a female domestic, who, being admitted into the apartment of the sultana, said, "for heaven's sake have compassion on my master, for his heart is devoted to love, his senses are disturbed, and his body is wasted away. pity his condition, revive his heart, and restore his health by the smiles of condescension." when my mother heard this insolent message, she in a rage commanded her attendants to seize the unfortunate bearer, and having strangled her, to leave the carcase for public view in the outer court of the palace, but without divulging the cause of her displeasure. her orders were obeyed. when the officers of state and others saw the body they informed the vizier, who, resolving to be revenged, desired them for the present to be silent, and on the sultan's return he would make known on what account the sultana had put to death his domestic, of which they could bear testimony. when the time of the sultan's return from mecca approached, and the treacherous vizier judged he was on his march, he wrote and despatched to him the following letter: "after prayers for thy health, be it known, that since thy absence the sultana has sent to me five times, requesting improper compliances, to which i would not consent, and returned for answer, that however she might wish to abuse my sovereign, i could not do it, for i was left by him guardian of his honour and his kingdom: to say more would be superfluous." the messenger reached the sultan's camp when distant eight days' journey from the city, and delivered the letter. on reading it the countenance of my father became pale, his eyes rolled with horror, he instantly ordered his tents to be struck, and moved by forced marches till he arrived within two days' journey of his capital. he then commanded a halting day, and despatched two confidential attendants with orders to conduct our innocent and unfortunate mother, with us three sisters, a day's distance from the city, and then to put us to death. they accordingly dragged us from the haram, and carried us into the country; but on arriving at the spot intended for our execution, their hearts were moved with compassion, for our mother had conferred many obligations on these men and their families. they said one to another, "by heavens, we cannot murder them!" and informed us of what the vizier had written to our father: upon which the sultana exclaimed, "god knows that he hath most falsely accused me;" and she then related to them all that she had done, with the strictest fidelity. the men were moved even to tears at her misfortunes, and said, "we are convinced that thou hast spoken truly." they then caught some fawns of the antelope, killed them, and having required an under garment from each of us, dipped it in the blood, after which they broiled the flesh, with which we satisfied our hunger. our preservers now bade us farewell, saying, "we intrust you to the protection of the almighty, who never forsaketh those who are committed to his care;" and then departed from us. we wandered for ten days in the desert, living on such fruits as we could find, without beholding any signs of population, when, at length, fortunately we reached a verdant spot, abounding in various sorts of excellent vegetables and fruits. here also was a cave, in which we resolved to shelter ourselves till a caravan might pass by. on the fourth day of our arrival one encamped near our asylum. we did not discover ourselves, but when the caravan marched, speedily followed its track at some distance, and after many days of painful exertion reached this city, where, having taken up our lodging in a serai, we returned thanks to the almighty assister of the distressed innocent for our miraculous escape from death and the perils of the desert. we must now quit for awhile the unfortunate sultana and her daughters, to learn the adventures of the sultan her husband. as he drew near his capital, the treacherous vizier, attended by the officers of government and the principal inhabitants of the city, came out to meet him; and both high and low congratulated his safe return from the sacred pilgrimage. the sultan, as soon as he had alighted at his palace, retired with the vizier alone, and commanded him to relate the particulars of the atrocious conduct of his wife; upon which he said, "my lord, the sultana in your absence despatched to me a slave, desiring me to visit her, but i would not, and i put the slave to death that the secret might be hidden; hoping she might repent of her weakness, but she did not, and repeated her wicked invitation five times. on the fifth i was alarmed for your honour, and acquainted you of her atrocious behaviour." the sultan, on hearing the relation of the vizier, held down his head for some time in profound thought, then lifting it up, commanded the two attendants whom he had despatched with orders to put his wife and children to death to be brought before him. on their appearance, he said, "what have you done in execution of the charge i gave you?" they replied, "we have performed that which you commanded to be done, and as a testimony of our fidelity, behold these garments dyed with the blood of the offenders!" the sultan took the garments; but the recollection of his beauteous consort, her former affectionate endearments, of the happiness he had enjoyed with her, and of the innocence of his guiltless children, so affected his mind, that he wept bitterly and fainted away. on his recovery he turned to the vizier, and said, "is it possible thou canst have spoken the truth?" he replied, "i have." the sultan, after a long pause, again said to the two attendants, "have you really put to death my innocent children with their guilty mother?" they remained silent. the sultan exclaimed, "why answer ye not, and wherefore are ye silent?" they replied, "my lord, the honest man cannot support a lie, for lying is the distinction of traitors." when the vizier heard these words his colour changed, his whole frame was disordered, and a trembling seized him, which the sultan perceiving, he said to the attendants, "what mean you by remarking that lying is the distinction of traitors? is it possible that ye have not put them to death? declare the truth instantly, or by the god who hath appointed me guardian of his people, i will have you executed with the most excruciating torments." the two men now fell at the feet of the sultan, and said, "dread sovereign, we conveyed, as thou commandest us, the unfortunate sultana and thy daughters to the middle of the desert, when we informed them of the accusation of the vizier and thy orders concerning them. the sultana, after listening to us with fortitude, exclaimed, 'there is no refuge or asylum but with the almighty; from god we came, and to god we must return; but if you put us to death, you will do it wrongfully, for the treacherous vizier hath accused me falsely, and he alone is guilty.' she then informed us of his having endeavoured to corrupt her by rich presents, and that she had put his messengers to death." the sultan at these words exclaimed in agony, "have ye slain them, or do they yet live?" "my lord," replied the attendants, "we were so convinced of the innocence of the sultana, that we could not put her to death. we caught some fawn antelopes, killed them, and having dipped these garments belonging to the abused mother and your children in their blood, dressed the flesh, and gave it to our unfortunate mistress and thy daughters, after which we said to them, 'we leave you in charge of a gracious god who never deserts his trust; your innocence will protect you.' we then left them in the midst of the desert, and returned to the city." the sultan turned in fury towards the vizier, and exclaimed, "wretched traitor! and is it thus thou hast estranged from me my beloved wife and innocent children?" the self-convicted minister uttered not a word, but trembled like one afflicted with the palsy. the sultan commanded instantly an enormous pile of wood to be kindled, and the vizier, being bound hand and foot, was forced into an engine, and cast from it into the fire, which rapidly consumed him to ashes. his house was then razed to the ground, his effects left to the plunder of the populace, and the women of his haram and his children sold for slaves. we now return to the three princesses and their mother. when the sultan had heard their adventures, he sympathized with their misfortunes, and was astonished at the fortitude with which they had borne their afflictions, saying to his vizier, "how sad has been their lot! but blessed be allah, who, as he separateth friends, can, when he pleaseth, give them a joyful meeting." he then caused the sultana and the princesses to be conveyed to his palace, appointed them proper attendants and apartments suitable to their rank, and despatched couriers to inform the sultan their father of their safety. the messengers travelled with the greatest expedition, and on their arrival at the capital, being introduced, presented their despatches. the sultan opened them, and began to read; but when he perceived the contents, was so overcome with joy, that, uttering a loud exclamation of rapture, he fell to the ground and fainted away. his attendants were alarmed, lifted him up, and took means for his recovery. when he was revived, he informed them of his sultana and daughters being still alive, and ordered a vessel to be prepared to convey them home. the ship was soon ready, and being laden with every necessary for the accommodation of his family, also rich presents for the friendly sultan who had afforded them protection, sailed with a favourable wind, and speedily arrived at the desired haven. the commander of the vessel was welcomely received by the sultan, who issued orders for his entertainment and that of his whole crew at the royal cost, and at the expiration of three days the sultana and her daughters, being anxious to return home after so long an absence, and that so unfortunate, took leave and embarked. the sultan made them valuable presents, and the wind being fair they set sail. for three days the weather was propitious, but on the evening of the last a contrary gale arose, when they cast anchor, and lowered their topmasts. at length the storm increased to such violence that the anchor parted, the masts fell overboard, and the crew gave themselves over for lost. the vessel was driven about at the mercy of the tempest till midnight, all on board weeping and wailing, when at length she struck upon the rocks, and went to pieces. such of the crew whose deaths were decreed perished, and those whose longer life was predestined escaped to shore, some on planks, some on chests, and some on the broken timbers of the ship, but all separated from each other. the sultana mother was tossed about till daylight on a plank, when she was perceived by the commander of the vessel, who with three of his crew had taken to the ship's boat. he took her in, and after three days' rowing they reached a mountainous coast, on which they landed, and advanced into the country. they had not proceeded far when they perceived a great dust, which clearing up, displayed an approaching army. to their joyful surprise it proved to be that of the sultan, who, after the departure of the vessel, dreading lest an accident might happen, had marched in hopes of reaching the city where they were before his wife and daughters should sail, in order to conduct them home by land. it is impossible to describe the meeting of the sultan and his consort, but their joy was clouded by the absence of their daughters, and the dreadful uncertainty of their fate. when the first raptures of meeting were over, they wept together, and exclaimed, "we are from god, and to god we must return." after forty days' march they arrived at their capital, but continually regretting the princesses, saying, "alas, alas! most probably they have been drowned, but even should they have escaped to shore, perhaps they may have been separated; and ah! what calamities may have befallen them!" constantly did they bemoan together in this manner, immersed in grief, and taking no pleasure in the enjoyments of life. the youngest princess, after struggling with the waves till almost exhausted, was fortunately cast ashore on a pleasant coast, where she found some excellent fruits and clear fresh water. being revived, she reposed herself awhile, and then walked from the beach into the country; but she had not proceeded far, when a young man on horseback with some dogs following him met her, and upon hearing that she had just escaped shipwreck, mounted her before him, and having conveyed her to his house, committed her to the care of his mother. she received her with compassionate kindness, and during a whole month assiduously attended her, till by degrees she recovered her health and beauty. the young man was legal heir to the kingdom, but his succession had been wrested from him by a usurper, who, however, dying soon after the arrival of the princess, he was reinstated in his rights and placed on the throne, when he offered her his hand; but she said, "how can i think of marriage while i know not the condition of my unfortunate family, or enjoy repose while my mother and sisters are perhaps suffering misery? when i have intelligence of their welfare i will be grateful to my deliverer." the young sultan was so much in love with the princess, that the most distant hope gave him comfort, and he endeavoured to wait patiently her pleasure; but the nobles of the country were anxious to see him wedded, he being the last of his race, and importuned him to marry. he promised to conform to their wishes, but much time elapsing, they became importunate and discontented, when his mother, dreading a rebellion, earnestly entreated the princess to consent to a union as the only measure that could prevent disturbances. the princess, who really loved her preserver, was unwilling to endanger the safety of one to whom she owed such important obligations, and at length consented, when the marriage was celebrated with the greatest pomp and rejoicings. at the expiration of three years the sultana was delivered of two sons, whose birth added to the felicity of the union. the second princess, after being long driven about by the waves upon a plank, was at length cast on shore near a large city, which she entered, and was fortunately compassionated by a venerable matron, who invited her to her house, and adopted her as a daughter in the room of her own, who had lately died. here she soon recovered her health and beauty. it chanced that the sultan of this city, who was much beloved for his gentle government and liberality, was taken ill, and not withstanding the skill of the most celebrated physicians, daily became worse, insomuch that his life was despaired of, to the general grief of the people. the princess having heard her venerable protectress lament the danger of the sultan, said, "my dear mother, i will prepare a dish of pottage, which, if you will carry to the sultan, and he can be prevailed upon to eat it, will, by the blessing of allah, recover him from his disorder." "i fear," replied the matron, "i shall hardly be allowed admittance to the palace, much less to present him the pottage." "you can but try," answered the princess; "and even the attempt at a good action is acceptable to god." "well," rejoined the old woman, "prepare your pottage, my dear daughter, and i will endeavour to get admission." the princess prepared the dish of pottage, composed of various minerals, herbs, and perfumes, and when it was ready the old woman took it to the sultan's palace. the guards and eunuchs inquired what she had brought, when she said, "a dish of pottage, which i request you will present to the sultan, and beg him to eat as much of it as he can, for by god's help it will restore him to health." the eunuchs introduced her into the chamber of their sick sovereign, when the old woman taking off the cover of the dish, such a grateful perfume exhaled from the contents as revived his spirits. being informed what the venerable matron had brought, he thanked her and tasted the pottage, which was so agreeably flavoured that he ate part of it with an appetite to which he had been long a stranger. he then presented the bearer with a purse of deenars, when she returned home, informed the princess of her welcome reception, and of the present she had received. the sultan had no sooner eaten part of the pottage than he felt an inclination to repose, and sunk into a refreshing sleep, which lasted for some hours. on his awakening he found himself wonderfully revived, and having a desire afresh to eat, finished the whole. he now wished for more, and inquired after the old woman, but none of his attendants could inform him where she lived. however, in the evening she brought another mess, which the princess had prepared, and the sultan ate it with renewed appetite; after which, though before quite helpless, he was now able to sit up and even to walk. he inquired of the old woman if it was her own preparation; to which she replied, "no, my lord, but my daughter dressed it, and entreated me to bring it." the sultan exclaimed, "she cannot be thy own daughter, as her skill shews her of much higher quality." he then made her a present, and requested that she would bring him every morning a fresh supply, to which she said, "to hear is to obey;" and retired. the princess sent regularly for seven mornings successively a dish of pottage, and the sultan as regularly presented her adopted mother with a purse of deenars; for such was the rapidity of his recovery, that at the expiration of the sixth day he was perfectly well, and on the seventh he mounted his horse and repaired to his country palace to make the absolution of health and enjoy the fresh air. during her visits he had questioned the old lady concerning her adopted daughter, and she so described her beauty, virtues, and accomplishments, that his heart was smitten, and he became anxious to see her. the sultan, in order to gratify his curiosity, disguised himself one day in the habit of a dervish, and repairing to the house of the old woman, knocked at the door. on being questioned what he wanted, he replied, "i am a wandering dervish, a stranger in this city, and distressed with hunger." the old woman being fearful of admitting an unknown person, would have sent him away, but the princess exclaimed, "hospitality to strangers is incumbent upon us, especially to the religious poor." upon this he was admitted, and the princess having seated him respectfully, set victuals before him, of which he ate till he was satisfied, and having washed, rose up, thanked the old woman and her supposed daughter for their bounty, and retired, but his sight was fascinated with her beauty, and his heart devoted to her love. the sultan on his return to the palace sent for the old woman, and on her arrival presented her with a rich dress and valuable jewels, desiring that she would give them to her daughter, and prevail upon her to put them on. the old lady promised obedience, and as she walked homewards, said to herself, "if this adopted daughter of mine is wise, she will comply with the sultan's desires, and put on the dress, but if she does not, i will expel her from my house." when she reached home, she displayed the superb habit and the dazzling ornaments; but the princess at first refused to accept them, till at length, moved by the entreaties of her protectress, whom she could not disoblige, she put them on, and the old lady was delighted with her appearance. the sultan, who had slipped on a female dress, having covered himself with a close veil, followed the old woman to her house, and listened at the door to know if the daughter would accept his present. when he found that she had put on the dress, he was overcome with rapture, and hastening back to his palace, sent again for the old lady, to whom he signified his wish to marry her daughter. when the princess was informed of the offer she consented, and the sultan, attended by a splendid cavalcade, conducted her that evening to his palace, where the cauzee united them in marriage. a general feast was made for all the inhabitants of the city for seven days successively, and the sultan and the princess enjoyed the height of felicity. in the course of five years the almighty blessed them with a son and two daughters. the eldest princess on the wreck of the ship having clung to a piece of timber, was after much distress floated on shore, where she found a man's habit, and thinking it a safe disguise for the protection of her honour, she dressed herself in it, and proceeded to a city which appeared near the coast. on her entrance she was accosted by a maker of cotton wallets for travelling, who observing that she was a stranger, and supposing her a man, asked if she would live with him, as he wanted an assistant. being glad to secure any asylum, she accepted his offer of maintenance, and daily wages of half a dirhem. he conducted her to his house, and treated her with kindness. the next day she entered upon her business, and so neat was the work she executed, that in a short time her master's shop was more frequented than any other. it happened that the shop was situated near the palace of the sultan. one morning the princess his daughter looking through the lattice of a balcony beheld the seeming young man at work, with the sleeves of his vest drawn up to his shoulder: his arms were white and polished as silver, and his countenance brilliant as the sun unobscured by clouds. the daughter of the sultan was captivated in the snare of love. the sultan's daughter continued gazing at the supposed young man till he withdrew from work, when she retired to her apartment; but so much was she fascinated by his charms, that she became restless, and at length indisposed. her nurse who attended her felt her pulse, and asked her several questions, but could find no symptoms of bodily illness upon her. she said, "my dear daughter, i am convinced that nothing has afflicted thee but desire of some youth with whom thou art in love." the princess exclaimed, "my dear mother, as thou hast discovered my secret, thou wilt, i trust, not only keep it sacred, but bring to me the man i love." the nurse replied, "no one can keep a secret closer than myself, so that you may safely confide it to my care." the princess then said, "mother, my heart is captivated by the young man who works in the shop opposite my windows, and if i cannot meet him i shall die of grief." the nurse replied, "my dear mistress, he is the most beautiful youth of the age, and the women of the whole city are distracted with his charms; yet he is so bashful as to answer no advances, and shrinks from notice like a school-boy, but i will endeavour to overcome his shyness, and procure you a meeting." having said thus, she went immediately to the wallet-maker's, and giving him a piece of gold, desired he would let his assistant accompany her home with two of his best wallets. the man was pleased with her generosity, and selecting his choicest manufacture, commanded his journeyman to accompany the nurse. the old woman led the disguised princess through by-paths to a private passage of the palace, and introduced her into the apartments of the daughter of the sultan, who received her supposed beloved with emotions of joy too violent to be concealed. pretending to admire the goods, she asked some questions, and giving him twenty pieces of gold, desired him to return with more goods on the following evening, to which the seeming journeyman replied, "to hear is to obey." the disguised princess on her return home delivered the twenty pieces of gold to her employer, who was alarmed, and inquired from whence they came: upon which she informed him of her adventure, when the wallet-maker was in greater terror than before, and said to himself, "if this intrigue goes on, the sultan will discover it, i shall be put to death, and my family ruined on account of this young man and his follies." he then besought him not to repeat his visit, but he answered, "i cannot forbear, though i dread my death may be the consequence." in short, the disguised princess went every evening with the old nurse to the apartments of the sultan's daughter, till at length the sultan one night suddenly entered, and perceiving, he supposed, a man with the princess, commanded him to be seized and bound hand and foot. the sultan then sent for an executioner, resolved to put the culprit to death. the executioner on his arrival seized the disguised princess; but what was the surprise of all present, when, on taking off the turban and vest, they discovered her sex. the sultan commanded her to be conducted to his haram, and inquired her story, when having no resource but the truth, she related her adventures. when the princess had informed the sultan of the treachery of the vizier, the consequent conduct of her father, the distress of her mother, her sisters and herself, their being relieved, and her escape from shipwreck, with what had happened since, he was filled with wonder and compassion, and ordered his daughter to accommodate her in the haram. the love of the latter was now changed to sincere friendship, and under her care and attentions the unfortunate princess in a few months recovered her former beauty. it chanced that the sultan visiting his daughter was fascinated with the charms of the princess, but unwilling to infringe the rules of hospitality concealed his love, till at length he became dangerously ill, when the daughter suspecting the matter, prevailed upon him to reveal the cause of his complaint. she then informed her friend, and entreated her to accept her father in marriage; but the princess said, at the same time weeping bitterly, "misfortune hath separated me from my family; i know not whether my sisters, my father and my mother, are living, or, if so, what is their condition. how can i be happy or merry, while they are perhaps involved in misery?" the daughter of the sultan did not refrain from comforting the unfortunate princess, at the same time representing the hopeless condition of her father, till at length she consented to the marriage. this joyful intelligence speedily revived the love-lorn sultan, and the nuptials were celebrated with the utmost joy and magnificence. the aged sultan and sultana continued to lament the loss of their daughters for some years, when at length the former resolved to travel in search of them, and having left the government in charge of his wife, departed, attended only by his vizier. they both assumed the habit of dervishes, and after a month's uninterrupted travelling reached a large city extending along the sea coast, close upon which the sultan of it had erected a magnificent pleasure house, where the pretended dervishes beheld him sitting in one of the pavilions with his two sons, one six and the other seven years old. they approached, made their obeisance, and uttered a long invocation, agreeably to the usage of the religious, for his prosperity. the sultan returned their compliment, desired them to be seated, and having conversed with them till evening, dismissed them with a present, when they repaired to a caravanserai, and hired an apartment. on the following day, after amusing themselves with viewing the city, they again repaired to the beach, and saw the sultan sitting with his children, as before. while they were admiring the beauty of the structure, the younger prince, impelled by an unaccountable impulse, came up to them, gazed eagerly at them, and when they retired followed them to their lodging, which they did not perceive till he had entered with them and sat down. the old sultan was astonished at the child's behaviour, took him in his arms, kissed and fondled him, after which he desired him to return to his parents, but the boy insisted upon staying, and remained four days, during which the pretended dervishes did not stir from their caravanserai. the sultan missing his son, supposed that he had gone to his mother, and she imagined that he was still with his father; but on the latter entering the haram the loss was discovered. messengers were despatched every way, but no tidings of the boy could be obtained. the miserable parents now supposed that he had fallen into the sea and was drowned. nets were dragged, and divers employed for three days, but in vain. on the fifth day orders were issued to search every house in the city, when the infant prince was at length discovered at the caravanserai in the apartment of the pretended dervishes, who were ignominiously dragged before the sultan. the sultan was transported with joy at the recovery of his son, but supposing the dervishes had meant to steal him away, he ordered them instantly to be put to death. the executioners seized them, bound their hands behind them, and were going to strike, when the child with loud outcries ran up, and clinging to the knees of the elder victim could not be forced away. the sultan was astonished, and ordering the execution for the present to be delayed, went and informed the mother of the child of his wonderful behaviour. the sultana, on hearing it, was no less surprised than the sultan, and felt a curiosity to hear from the dervish himself on what account he had enticed away her son. she said, "it is truly extraordinary that the boy should express such affection for a strange dervish. send for him to your closet, and order him to relate his adventures, to which i will listen from behind a curtain." the sultan sent for the supposed dervish, and commanding all his attendants to retire, withdrew with him into his closet, and desired him to be seated; after which he said, "wicked dervish, what could have induced thee to entice away my son, or to visit my kingdom?" he replied, "heaven knows, o sultan, i did not entice him. the boy followed me to my lodging, when i said, 'my son, return to thy father,' but he would not; and i remained in continual dread till what was decreed occurred." the sultan was softened, spoke kindly to him, and begged him to relate his adventures, when the pretended dervish wept, and said, "my history is a wonderful one. i had a friend whom i left as my agent and guardian to my family, while i was performing a pilgrimage to mecca; but had scarcely left my house ten days, when accidently seeing my wife he endeavoured to debauch her, and sent an old woman with a rich present to declare his adulterous love. my wife was enraged, and put the infamous messenger to death. he sent a second, and a third, whom she also killed." these last words were scarcely spoken, when the sultana bursting from her concealment ran up to the dervish, fell upon his neck, and embraced him: upon which, the sultan her husband was enraged, put his hand to his cimeter, and exclaimed, "what means this shameless behaviour?" the sultana, at once laughing and crying with rapture, informed him that the supposed dervish was her father: upon which the sultan also fell at his feet and welcomed him. he then ordered the other dervish his vizier to be released, commanded royal robes to be brought for his father-in-law, and a suite of apartments in the palace to be prepared for his reception, with an attendance befitting his dignity. when the old sultan had spent some time with his youngest daughter thus happily recovered, he became anxious to search after the others, and signified his intention of departing; but his son-in-law declared that he would accompany him on the expedition with a number of his nobles, and an army, lest some fatal accident might occur from his being unattended. preparations were accordingly made for march, the two sultans encamped without the city, and in a few days began their expedition, which proved successful to their wishes. the aged monarch having recovered his children retired to his own kingdom, where he reigned prosperously till the angel of death summoned him to paradise. story of the bang-eater and the cauzee. in a certain city there was a vagabond fellow much addicted to the use of bang, who got his livelihood by fishing. when he had sold the product of his day's labour, he laid part of it out in provisions and part in bang, with which (his day's, work over) he solaced himself till he became intoxicated, and such was his constant practice. one night, having indulged more than ordinary, his senses were unusually stupefied; and in this, condition he had occasion to come down into the square in which was his lodging. it happened to be the fourteenth night of the moon, when she shone uncommonly bright, and shed such a lustre upon the ground, that the bang-eater from the dizziness of his head mistook the bright undulations of her reflection on the pavement for water, and fancied he was upon the brink of the river. he returned to his chamber, and brought down his line, supposing that he should catch his usual prey. the bang-eater threw out his line, made of strong cord, and baited on several hooks with bits of flesh, into the square, when a dog, allured by the scent, swallowed one of the pieces, and feeling pain from the hook which stuck in his throat, pulled strongly at the cord. the bang-eater, supposing he had caught a monstrous fish, lugged stoutly, but in vain. the dog, agonized by the hook, resisted; at the same time yelping hideously, when the bang-eater, unwilling to quit his prey, yet fearing he should be dragged into the imaginary river, bellowed aloud for help. the watch came up, seized him, and perceiving him intoxicated, carried him bound to the cauzee. it happened that the cauzee often privately indulged himself with bang. seeing the intoxicated situation of the fisherman, he pitied his condition, and ordered him to be put into a chamber to sleep off his disorder; at the same time saying to himself, "this is a man after my own heart, and to-morrow evening i will enjoy myself with him." the fisherman was well taken care of during the day, and at night the cauzee sent for him to his apartment; where, after eating, they took each a powerful dose of bang, which soon operating upon their brains, they began to sing, dance, and commit a thousand extravagancies. the noise which they made attracted the notice of the sultan, who with his vizier was traversing the city, disguised as merchants. finding the doors open, they entered, and beheld the cauzee and his companion in the height of their mirth, who welcomed them, and they sat down. at length, after many ridiculous tricks, the fisherman starting up, exclaimed, "i am the sultan!" "and i," rejoined the cauzee, "am my lord the bashaw!" "bashaw!" continued the fisherman, "if i choose i can strike off thy head." "i know it," returned the cauzee, "but at present i am not worth beheading; give me first a rich government, that i may be worth punishing." "thou sayest true," answered the fisherman; "i must make thee fat before thou wilt be fit for killing." the sultan laughed at their extravagancies, and said to his vizier, "i will amuse myself with these vagabonds to-morrow evening:" then rising up, he and his minister departed. the next evening the cauzee and the fisherman indulged themselves as before, and while they were making merry, the sultan and his vizier entered, but in different disguises from those they had worn on the former night. they brought with them a strong confection of opium, which they presented to their hosts, who, highly delighted, greedily devoured it, and such were the effects that they became madder than ever. at length, the fisherman starting up, exclaimed, "the sultan is deposed, and i am sovereign in his stead." "suppose the sultan should hear thee," replied the prince. "if he opposes me," cried the fisherman, "i will order my bashaw to strike off his head; but i will now punish thee for thy insolent question." he then ran up and seized the sultan by the nose, the cauzee at the same time attacking the vizier: it was with difficulty that they made their escape from the house. the sultan, notwithstanding his tweak by the nose, resolved to divert himself further with the bang-eaters, and the next evening putting on a fresh disguise, repaired to the cauzee's house with his vizier; where he found the happy companions in high glee. they had taken it into their heads to dance, which they did with such vehemence, and for so long a time, that at length they fell down with fatigue. when they had rested a little, the fisherman perceiving the sultan, said, "whence comest thou?" "we are strangers," replied the sultan, "and only reached this city to-night; but on our way through the streets, hearing your mirth, we made bold to enter, that we might participate it with you. are ye not, however, fearful lest the sultan should hear you on his rounds, and punish you for an infringement of the laws?" "how should the sultan hear us?" answered the fisherman; "he is in his palace, and we in our own house, though, perhaps, much merrier than he, poor fellow, with the cares of state upon his mind, notwithstanding his splendour." "how comes it," rejoined the sovereign, "that you have not visited the sultan? for you are merry fellows, and i think he would encourage you." "we fear," replied the fisherman, "his guards would beat us away." "never mind them," said the sultan; "if you choose i will give you a letter of recommendation, which i am sure he will pay attention to, for we were intimate when youths." "let us have it," cried the fisherman. the sultan wrote a note, directed to himself, and departed. in the morning the cauzee and the fisherman repaired to the palace, and delivered the note to one of the guards, who, on sight of it, placed it on his head, prostrated himself to the ground, and then introduced them to the sultan. having read the letter, the sultan commanded them to be led into separate apartments, and to be treated respectfully. at noon a handsome collation was served up to each, and at sunset a full service, after which they were presented with coffee. when about two hours of the night had passed, the sultan ordered them into his presence, and on their making their obeisance returned their salutes, and desired them to be seated, saying, "where is the person who gave you this letter?" "mighty sultan," replied the fisherman, "two men who last night visited our house inquired why we did not repair to your majesty, and partake of your bounty. we replied, that we feared the guards would drive us away; when one of them gave us this note, saying, 'fear not; take this recommendation to the sultan, with whom in my youth i was intimate.' we followed his direction, and have found his words to be true. we inquired whence they came; but they would not tell us more than that they were strangers in this city." "it is," continued the sultan, "absolutely necessary that you should bring them to my presence, for it is long since i have beheld my old friends." "permit us then to return home, where they may possibly visit us again," said the fisherman, "and we will oblige them to come with us." "how can you do that," replied the sultan, "when the other evening you could not prevent your guest escaping, though you had him by the nose?" the poor fisherman, and his companion the cauzee, were now confounded at the discovery that it was the sultan himself who had witnessed their intoxication and ridiculous transports. they trembled, turned pale, and fell prostrate to the ground, crying, "pardon, pardon, gracious sovereign, for the offences we have committed, and the insult which in our madness we offered to the sacred person of your majesty." the sultan, after laughing heartily at their distress, replied, "your pardon is granted, for the insult was involuntary, though deserved, as i was an impertinent intruder on your privacy; make yourselves easy, and sit down; but you must each of you relate to me your adventures, or some story that you have heard." the cauzee and the fisherman, having recovered from their confusion, obeyed the commands of the sultan, and being seated, the latter related the following tale. story of the bang-eater and his wife. there lived formerly, near bagdad, a half-witted fellow, who was much addicted to the use of bang. being reduced to poverty, he was obliged to sell his stock. one day he went to the market to dispose of a cow; but the animal being in bad order, no one would bid for it, and after waiting till he was weary he returned homewards. on the way he stopped to repose himself under a tree, and tied the cow to one of the branches while he ate some bread, and drank of an infusion of his beloved bang, which he always carried with him. in a short time it began to operate, so as to bereave him of the little sense he possessed, and his head was filled with ridiculous reveries. while he was musing, a magpie beginning to chatter from her nest in the tree, he fancied it was a human voice, and that some woman had asked to purchase his cow: upon which he said, "reverend mother of solomon, dost thou wish to buy my cow?" the bird croaked again. "well," replied he, "what wilt thou give if i will sell her a bargain." the bird repeated her croak. "never mind," said the foolish fellow, "for though thou hast forgotten to bring thy purse, yet, as i dare say thou art an honest woman, and hast bidden me ten deenars, i will trust thee with the cow, and call on friday for the money." the bird renewed her croaking, which he fancied to be thanks for his confidence; so leaving the cow tied to the branch of the tree, he returned home exulting in the good bargain he had made for the animal. when he entered the house, his wife inquired what he had gotten for the cow; to which he replied, that he had sold her to an honest woman named am solomon, who had promised to pay him on the next friday ten pieces of gold. the wife was contented, and when friday arrived, her idiot of a husband having, as usual, taken a dose of bang, repaired to the tree, and hearing the bird chattering, as before, said, "well, my good mother, hast thou brought the gold?" the bird croaked. supposing the imaginary woman refused to pay him, he became angry, and threw up his spade, which frightening the bird, it flew from the nest, and alighted on a heap of soil at some distance. he fancied that am solomon had desired him to take his money from the heap, into which he dug with his spade, and found a brazen vessel full of gold coin. this discovery convinced him he was right, and being, notwithstanding his weakness, naturally honest, he only took ten pieces; then replacing the soil, said, "may allah requite thee for thy punctuality, good mother!" and returned to his wife, to whom he gave the money, informing her at the same time of the great treasure his friend am solomon possessed, and where it was concealed. the wife waited till night, when she went and brought away the pot of gold; which her husband observing, said, "it is dishonest to rob one who has paid us so punctually, and if thou dost not return it to its place, i will inform the (walee) officer of police." the wife laughed at his folly; but fearing the ill consequences of his executing his threat, she planned a stratagem to prevent them. going to the market, she purchased some broiled meat and fish ready dressed, which she brought privately home, and concealed in the house. at night, the husband having regaled himself with his beloved bang, retired to sleep off his intoxication; but about midnight she strewed the provisions she had brought at the door, and awakening her partner, cried out, in pretended astonishment, "dear husband, a most wonderful phenomenon has occurred; there has been a violent storm while you slept, and, strange to tell, it has rained pieces of broiled meat and fish, which now lie at the door!" the husband, still in a state of stupefaction from the bang, got up, went to the door, and seeing the provisions, was persuaded of the truth of his wife's story. the fish and flesh were gathered up, and he partook with much glee of the miraculous treat; but he still threatened to inform the walee of her having stolen the treasure of the good old woman am solomon. in the morning the foolish bang-eater actually repaired to the walee, and informed him that his wife had stolen a pot of gold, which she had still in her possession. the walee upon this apprehended the woman, who denied the accusation, when she was threatened with death. she then said, "my lord, the power is in your hands; but i am an injured woman, as you will find by questioning my unfortunate husband; who, alas! is deranged in his intellects. ask him when i committed the theft." the walee did so; to which he replied, "it was on the evening of that night on which it rained broiled flesh and fish ready dressed." "wretch!" exclaimed the walee, "dost thou dare to utter falsehoods before me? who ever saw it rain any thing but water?" "as i hope for life, my lord," replied the bang-eater, "i speak the truth; for my wife and myself ate of the fish and flesh which fell from the clouds." the woman being appealed to, denied the assertion of her husband. the walee being now convinced that the man was crazy, released his wife, and sent the husband to the madhouse; where he remained some days, till the wife, pitying his condition, contrived to get him released by the following stratagem. she visited her husband, and desired him when any one inquired of him if he had seen it rain flesh and fish, to answer, "no: who ever saw it rain any thing but water?" she then informed the keeper that he was come to his senses, and desired him to put the question. on his answering properly he was released. the fisherman had not long been in the service of the sultan, when walking one day near the house of a principal merchant, his daughter chanced to look through a window, and the buffoon was so struck with her beauty that he became devoted to love. daily did he repair to the same spot for weeks together in hopes of once seeing her, but in vain; for she did not again appear at the window. at length, his passion had such an effect upon him that he fell sick, kept his bed, and began to rave, exclaiming, "ah! what charming eyes, what a beautiful complexion, what a graceful stature has my beloved!" in this situation he was attended by an old woman, who, compassionating his case, desired him to reveal the cause of his uneasiness. "my dear mother," replied he, "i thank thee for thy kindness; but unless thou canst assist me i must soon die." he then related what he had seen, and described to her the house of the merchant. when she said, "son, be of good cheer; for no one could so readily have assisted thee in this dilemma as myself. have patience, and i will speedily return with intelligence of thy beloved." having spoken thus, she departed, and upon reaching her own house disguised herself as a devotee. throwing over her shoulders a coarse woollen gown, holding in one hand a long string of beads, in the other a walking staff, she proceeded to the merchant's house, at the gate of which she cried, "god is god, there is no god but god; may his holy name be praised, and may god be with you," in a most devout tone. the merchant's daughter, on hearing this devout ejaculation, came to the door, saluted the old woman with great respect, and said, "dear mother, pray for me:" when she exclaimed, "may allah protect thee, my beloved child, from all injury!" the young lady then introduced her into the house, seated her in the most honourable place, and with her mother sat down by her. they conversed on religious subjects till noon, when the old woman called for water, performed her ablutions, and recited prayers of an unusual length: upon which the mother and daughter remarked to one another that the aged matron must certainly be a most religious character. when prayers were ended, they set a collation before her; but she declined partaking, saying, "i am to day observing a fast." this increased their respect and admiration of her sanctity, so that they requested her to remain with them till sunset, and break her fast with them, to which she consented. at sunset she prayed again, after which she ate a little, and then uttered many pious exhortations. in short, the mother and daughter were so pleased with her, that they invited her to stay all night. in the morning, she rose early, made her ablutions, prayed for a considerable time, and concluded with a blessing upon her entertainers in learned words, which they could not understand. when she rose up, they supported her by the arms respectfully, and entreated her longer stay; but she declined it, and having taken leave, departed; promising, however, with the permission of allah, to make them soon another visit. on the second day following, the old woman repaired again to the merchant's house, and was joyfully received by the mother and daughter; who, kissing her hands and feet, welcomed her return. she behaved the same as before, and inspired them with stronger veneration for her sandity. her visits now grew frequent, and she was always a welcome guest in the merchant's family. at length, one evening she entered, and said, "i have an only daughter, whose espousals are now celebrating, and this night the bride goes in state to her husband's house. my desire is that my good young lady should attend the ceremony, and receive the benefit of my prayers." the mother replied, "i am unwilling to let her go, lest some accident should befall her:" upon which the pretended religious exclaimed, "what canst thou fear, while i and other devout women shall be with her?" the daughter expressing great eagerness to attend the nuptials, her mother at length consented. when the merchant's daughter had adorned herself in her richest habit, she accompanied the old woman; who, after leading her through several streets, conducted her to the lodging of the late fisherman, but now favourite to the sultan, who was eagerly expecting her arrival. the young lady was astonished on her entrance at beholding a comely looking man; who, she saw, could hardly restrain his raptures at the sight of her. her first alarm was great at finding herself betrayed into such a snare by the hypocritical beldam; but having naturally much presence of mind, she concealed her fears, and considered how she might escape. she sat down, and after looking round the apartment affected to laugh, saying to the gallant, "it is commonly usual when a lover invites his mistress to his house to have an entertainment prepared; for what is love without the accompaniment of a feast? if you wish, therefore, that i should spend the evening here, go and bring in some good cheer, that our joy may be complete. i will with my good mother wait your return." the gallant, rejoiced at her commands, exclaimed, "thou hast spoken truly, and to hear is to obey;" after which, he went towards the market to order a splendid entertainment. when he was gone, the young lady locked the door after him, and thanking the old woman for introducing her to so handsome a lover, threw her off her guard, while she walked about the apartment meditating her escape. at length she found in one corner of it a sharp sabre, and drawing up her sleeve to her elbow, she grasped the weapon, which she struck with such force at her false friend, who was reclining on a sofa, as to cleave the head of the abandoned procuress in two, and she fell down weltering in her blood, to rise no more. the merchant's daughter now searched the room, and finding a rich dress which the favourite usually wore when he visited the sultan, rolled it up in a bundle, and carrying it under her veil, unlocked the door, and hastened homewards. luckily she reached her father's house without interruption. her mother welcomed her with joy; but on perceiving the bundle, said, "my dear daughter, what can have been given thee at the nuptials of a poor religious?" the daughter, whose mind had been over agitated with her late adventure, was not able to answer; her spirits sunk at the recollection of her narrow escape, and she fainted away. the mother shrieked aloud with affright, which brought in her husband and attendants, who used various means for the young lady's recovery; and at length, having regained her senses, she related what had passed. the merchant having cursed the memory of the old woman for her hypocritical deception, comforted his virtuous daughter, and taking up the dress which he knew, and to whom it belonged, hastened to make his complaint to the sultan. when the sultan had heard the complaint of the merchant, he was enraged against his unworthy favourite, and commanded him to be apprehended; but he could no where be found, for having on his return home seen the old woman weltering in her blood, he guessed what had happened; and apprehensive of being called to an account, putting on a mean disguise, made his escape from the city. fortunately for him a caravan was just taking its departure, and with it he travelled for five days successively, with a mind tortured by disappointed love, and the fear of discovery. at length the caravan passed the confines of his late master, and encamped before a large city, which he entered, and having hired a room at a caravanserai, he resolved to repose, and seek out for some employment less dangerous than making love, or serving princes. when he had rested himself for some days, he repaired to a market, where labourers stood to be hired; and had not waited long, when a woman coming up asked if he wanted work, to which he replied in the affirmative. she then said, "part of the wall round the court of my house is so much decayed, that i must have it taken down and rebuilt, and if thou art willing to undertake the job i will employ thee." on his consenting, she led him to her house, and shewing him the wall, gave him a pick-axe, directing him as he went on to place the stones in one heap and the rubbish in another. he replied, "to hear is to obey." she then brought him some provision and water, when he refreshed himself, and having thanked god that he had escaped, and was able to get his living, began his task, which he continued till sunset. his employer paid him ten pieces of silver for his day's work, and he returned contented to his lodging. the following morning he again went to labour, and was treated with the same kindness as before. about noon, as he was stocking up the foundation of the wall he found a copper vessel, which upon examination proved to be full of golden coin. he carried the vessel to his lodging, where he counted the money, upwards of a hundred deenars, and returned to his work. as he was coming home in the evening, he saw a crowd following a man who carried upon his head a large chest, which he offered for sale at a hundred deenars, but refused to mention the contents. the fisherman was seized with an irresistible impulse to purchase the chest, and having a small silver coin of not more value than a silver penny, said to himself, "i will try my fate, possibly it may contain something valuable; but if not, i will disregard the disappointment;" ordered it to be conveyed to his lodging, and paid the price demanded. he then locked his door and opened the chest, when, to his astonishment, he beheld in it a beautiful girl very richly dressed, but apparently lifeless. however, on putting his hand to her mouth, he perceived that she breathed, and was only in a deep sleep, from which he endeavoured to awake her, but in vain. he then took her out of the chest, laid her gently on his carpet, and continued to gaze at her charms; till at length about midnight she awoke, and in an exclamation of alarm and surprise exclaimed, "gracious allah, where am i?" when the lady's first alarm had subsided, she asked the fisherman how he had brought her to his lodging, and on being informed of the circumstances her mind became easy; for he behaved towards her with respectful attention. concealing for the present her condition and adventures, she said, "this lodging is too mean, on the morrow you must hire a better. serve me with fidelity, do as i desire, and you shall be amply rewarded." the fisherman, who, cautioned by his last love adventure, was fearful of taking liberties, and awed by her dignified demeanour, made a profound obeisance, and professed himself her slave. he set before her the best refreshments he could procure, and when she had supped left her, and retired to sleep in a separate chamber. early the next morning he went and hired a decent house, to which he conveyed her in a covered litter, and did not cease to attend upon her in all her commands for twenty days, she supplying him with money to purchase necessaries. it is proper now to mention, that the lady bought by the fisherman in the chest was the favourite mistress of the sultan: having deserted for her all his other women, they had become envious; but the sultana, who, before the arrival of koout al koolloob (for such was her name) had presided over the haram, was more mortified than the rest, and had resolved to effect her removal. for this a favourable opportunity soon occurred, owing to the sultan's departure for twenty days upon a hunting excursion. in a day or two after his absence, the sultana invited koout al koolloob to an entertainment, and having mixed a strong soporific in some sherbet, presented it her to drink. the effect of the potion was instantaneous, and she sunk into a trance; when the sultana putting her into the chest, commanded it to be given to a broker, and sold without examination of the contents, for a hundred deenars; hoping, that whoever might be the purchaser, he would be so fascinated with the charms of the beautiful koout al koolloob, as to enjoy his good fortune in secrecy; and that she should thus get rid of a rival without the crime of assassination. when the sultan returned from his excursion, immediately on entering the palace he inquired for his favourite; when the sultana entering with affected sadness, said, "alas! my lord, the beautiful and affectionate koout al koolloob, unable to bear the pangs of absence, three days after your departure fell sick, and having lingered for seven days, was gathered to the mercy of the almighty." the sultan, on hearing this, burst into an agony of grief, and exclaimed, "there is no asylum or refuge but with god; from god we came, and to god we must return." he was overcome with affliction, and remained the whole night involved in melancholy. in the morning he sent for his vizier, and commanded him to look out for a spot on the bank of the river for the erection of a building in which he might sit retired, and meditate on his beloved koout al koolloob. the vizier replied, "to hear is to obey;" and taking with him an architect, fixed upon a pleasant spot, on which he ordered him to mark out a space of ninety yards in length and seventy in breadth for the intended building. the necessary materials, of stone and marbles, were soon collected, and the work was begun upon; which the minister for two days superintended in person. on the third the sultan came to view the progress. he approved of the plan, and said, "it is truly beautiful; but, alas! only worthy of the residence of koout al koolloob;" after which he wept bitterly. seeing the distress of the sultan, his vizier said, "my lord, be resigned under distress; for the wise have written, be moderate when prosperity occurs, and when calamity afflicts thee exercise patience.'" the sultan replied, "it is true, o vizier, that resignation is praiseworthy, and impatience blamable; for a poet has justly said, 'be calm under adversity; for calmness can alone extricate from danger.' to affliction joy often succeeds, and after trouble we generally enjoy repose; but, alas! human nature cannot divest itself of feeling; and koout al koolloob was so dear to me, and so delighted my soul, that i dread i shall never find another mistress her equal in beauty and accomplishments." the vizier consoled his master, and at length prevailed upon him to submit to his misfortune with some degree of resignation. the sultan and vizier daily repaired to view the progress of the new edifice, the report of which had spread through the city, and at length reached koout al koolloob, who said to the fisherman, "we are every day expending our money, and getting nothing: suppose, therefore, you seek employment in the building which the sultan is erecting. report says that he is liberal, so that possibly advantage may accrue." the fisherman replied, "my dear mistress, how shall i bear the least absence from you?" for he loved her, and she perceiving it, often dreaded that he would have made advances; but the remembrance of what he had endured from the conduct of the merchant's daughter had made him cautious. she replied, "dost thou really love me?" "canst thou doubt it?" answered he; "thou art my life, and the light of my eyes!" "if so," exclaimed she, "take this necklace, and when you think of me as you are working, look at it, and it will console you till your return home." the fisherman obeyed the commands of koout al koolloob, repaired to the spot where the edifice was erecting, and beheld the sultan and vizier observing the workmen. the former inquired if he wanted employment, to which he replied in the affirmative, and was hired. he began his labour; but so much was his mind engaged with his mistress, that every now and then, dropping his implements, he drew out the necklace, and looking upon it heaved a deep sigh, which the sultan observing, said to his vizier, "this man, perchance, is more unhappy than myself; let us call him to us, and inquire into his circumstances." the vizier brought him to the presence, and desired him to tell honestly why he had sighed so deeply. "alas!" replied he, "i am absent from my beloved, who gave me this necklace to look at whenever i might think upon her; and my mind is so taken up with her, that i cannot help laying down my tools, and admiring it constantly." when the sultan saw the necklace, he recollected that it was one which he had purchased for koout al koolloob for a thousand deenars. he concealed his agitation, and said, "to whom does this necklace belong?" "to my slave," replied the labourer, "whom i purchased for a hundred deenars." "canst thou admit us to thy lodging," rejoined the sultan, "that we may see her?" "i dread," answered the labourer, "that her modesty may be offended; but i will consult her, and if she assents, i will invite you to my lodging." "that is but just," said the sultan, "and no more than what is proper." the labourer at sunset returned home, and informed koout al koolloob of his adventure, when she desired him on the morrow to purchase what was requisite for a decent entertainment, at the same time giving him five deenars. in the morning he bought what she had desired, and going to his work, informed the sultan and vizier that they were welcome to his homely fare, and to see his slave; or rather, said he, "my divinity, for as such i have at humble distance adored her." the sultan and vizier accompanied the labourer to his house where they were astonished to find prepared an elegant collation, of which they partook; after which they drank sherbet and coffee. the sultan then desired to see his slave, who just made her appearance, but retired immediately. however, the sultan knew her; and said to the labourer, "wilt thou dispose of this damsel?" "i cannot, my lord," replied the labourer, "for my soul is wholly occupied with her love, though as yet unreturned." "may thy love be rewarded!" exclaimed the sultan; "but bring her with thee at sunset to the palace." "to hear is to obey," replied the labourer. at sunset the labourer conducted his slave to the palace, when the eunuchs attended, and would have led her into the haram; but he clung round her, and exclaimed, "she is my beloved, and i cannot part with her." upon this the sultan related the circumstances of his having lost her; and requested him to give her up. knowing that he durst not oppose the sovereign, he submitted to his commands with resignation, when the sultan presented him with fifteen hundred deenars, and a beautiful slave, also a rich dress, at the same time receiving him among the most distinguished of his officers. so well did he conduct himself in his new station, that in a short time he was promoted to the rank of prime minister, and fulfilled the duties of it with such ability and integrity, that he became celebrated by the title of the just vizier. such was the celebrity of the vizier's decisions, that in a short time appeals were made from the most distant provinces to his judgment. one of the most remarkable cases was the following. two women belonging to one man conceived on the same day, and were delivered, one of a boy, the other of a girl, at the same time, and in one apartment. the female infant died, when each laid claim to the male child. the magistrates, unable to decide between the mothers, referred the decision to the just vizier; who, on hearing the circumstances, commanded two eggs to be brought, and the contents to be drawn out without breaking the shells; after which he ordered them to be filled with milk from the breast of each woman. this being done, he placed the shells in separate scales, and finding one outweigh the other, declared that she whose milk was heaviest must be the mother of the male child; but the other woman was not satisfied with this decision, and still affirmed she was the mother of the boy. the vizier, vexed at her obstinacy, now commanded the infant to be cut in two; when she, whom he had said was the mother, fell into agonies, and besought its life; but the other was unmoved, and assented to the death of the child. he then ordered her to be severely punished, and committed the boy to its afflicted mother. on being asked on what proofs he had grounded his decision, he replied, "on two: the first, because the milk of a woman having produced a male child is always heavier than that of the mother of a female infant: the second, because the pretended mother consented to the boy's death; and i supposed it impossible for a woman to agree to the destruction of her offspring, which is a part of herself." the sultan and the traveller mhamood al hyjemmee. there was a sultan, who one evening being somewhat low-spirited, sent for his vizier, and said, "i know not the cause, but my mind is uneasy, and i want something to divert it." "if so," replied the vizier, "i have a friend, named mhamood al hyjemmee, a celebrated traveller, who has witnessed many wonderful occurrences, and can relate a variety of astonishing narratives. shall i send for him to the presence?" "by all means," answered the sultan, "that i may hear his relations." the minister departed, and informed his friend that the sultan desired to see him. "to hear is to obey," replied mhamood, and hastened with the vizier to the palace. when they had entered the palace, mhamood made the obeisance usual to the caliphs, and uttered a poetical invocation for the prosperity of the sultan, who returned his salute; and after desiring him to be seated, said, "mhamood, my mind is uneasy, and as i hear you are acquainted with many curious events, i wish you to relate some of them to amuse me." mhamood replied, "to hear is to obey;" and thus began an adventure of his own. the koord robber. some years ago i took a journey from my own country to the land of yemen, accompanied by a slave, who was a lad of much ready wit, and who carried a wallet containing a few necessaries. as we were entering a town, a rascally koord snatched the wallet from his hands, and asserted that it was his own, which we had stolen from him: upon which, i called out to some passengers to assist me in the recovery of my property, and they helped me to carry the sharper before the cauzee, to whom i complained of his assault. the magistrate asked the koord what he had to allege in his defence; to which he replied, "my lord, i lost this wallet some days since, and found it in possession of the complainant, who pretends that it is his own, and will not resign it." "if it be thine," rejoined the cauzee, "describe to me what it contains, when i shall be satisfied that thou speakest the truth." the koord assented, and with a loud voice cried out, "in this wallet, my lord, are two chests, in which are collyrium for the eyes, a number of rich napkins, drinking vessels of gold, lamps, cooking utensils, dishes, basins, and ewers; also bales of merchandize, jewels, gold, silks, and other precious articles, with a variety of wearing apparel, carpets, cushions, eating cloths, and other things too tedious to enumerate; besides, i can bring a number of my brother koords to testify to the truth of what i have said, and that the wallet is mine." when the koord had finished, the cauzee smiled, and asked me and my slave what we could describe to be in the wallet: upon which, my slave said, "my lord, there is nothing in it of what the koord has mentioned, for it contains only both worlds, with all their lands, seas, cities, habitations, men, animals, and productions of every kind." the cauzee laughed, and turning to the koord, said, "friend, thou hast heard what has past; what further canst thou say?" "the bag is mine," continued the koord: upon which, the cauzee ordered it to be emptied; when, lo! there were found in it some cakes of bread, a few limes, a little pepper, and a cruet of oil. seeing this, the koord exclaimed, "pardon me, my lord the cauzee, i have been mistaken, the wallet is not mine; but i must away and search for the thief who has stolen my valuable property." having said this, he ran off, leaving the cauzee, myself, and the spectators bursting with laughter at his impudent knavery. the sultan was much diverted with the relation of mhamood, and requested him to relate another story, which he did as follows. story of the husbandman. a certain husbandman having reared some choice vegetables and fruits earlier than usual, resolved to present them to the sultan, in hopes of receiving a handsome present. he accordingly loaded his ass and set off for the capital, on the road to which he met the sultan, whom he had never before seen; and who being on a hunting excursion had separated from his attendants. the sultan inquired where he was going, and what he carried. "i am repairing," said the husbandman, "to our lord the sultan, in hopes that he will reward me with a handsome price for my fruits and vegetables, which i have reared earlier than usual." "what dost thou mean to ask him?" replied the sultan. "a thousand deenars," answered the husbandman; "which if he refuses to give, i will demand five hundred; should he think that sum too much, i will come down to two hundred; and if he declines to give so much, i will ask thirty deenars, from which price i will not depart." the sultan now left the husbandman, and hastening to the city, entered the palace, where the latter soon after arrived with his fruits, and was introduced to the presence. having made his obeisance, the sultan returning his salute, said, "father, what hast thou brought with thee?" "fruits, reared earlier than usual," answered the husbandman: to which the sultan replied, "they are acceptable," and uncovering them, sent a part by the eunuchs into his haram, and distributed the rest to his courtiers, excepting a few which he ate himself, talking all the while to the countryman, whose sensible remarks gave him much pleasure. he presented him with two hundred deenars, and the ladies of the haram sent him a present of half that sum. the sultan then desired him to return home, give the money to his family, and come back with speed, as he wished to enjoy his conversation. the husbandman having replied, "to hear is to obey," blessed the sultan for his bounty, and hastening home gave the deenars to his wife, informing her that he was invited to spend the evening at court, and took his leave. it was sunset when he arrived at the palace, and the sultan being at his evening meal invited him to partake. when they were satisfied, they performed their ablutions, and having said the evening prayer, and read a portion of the koraun, the sultan, desiring him to be seated, commanded the husbandman to relate him some narrative. the husbandman being seated, thus began. story of the three princes and enchanting bird. it has been lately related that there was formerly a sovereign of the east who had three sons, the eldest of whom had heard some traveller describe a particular country where there was a bird called bulbul al syach, who transformed any passenger who came near him into stone. the prince resolved to see this wonderful bird; and requested leave to travel from his father, who endeavoured in vain to divert him from his purpose. he took leave, and on his departure, pulling off a ring set with a magical gem, gave it to his second brother, saying, "whenever you perceive this ring press hard upon your finger, be assured that i am lost beyond recovery." having begun his journey, he did not cease travelling till he reached the spot where was the bird's cage, in which it used to pass the night, but in the daytime it flew about for exercise and food. it was the custom of the bird to return about sunset to the cage; when, if it perceived any person near, it would cry out in a plaintive tone, "who will say to a poor wanderer, lodge? who will say to an unhappy bulbul, lodge?" and if the person replied, "lodge, poor bird!" it immediately hovered over his head, and scattering upon him some earth from its bill, the person became transformed into a stone. such proved the fate of the unfortunate prince. the transformation of the eldest prince had no sooner taken place than the ring pressed hard upon the finger of the second, who exclaimed, "alas! alas! my brother is lost; but i will travel, and endeavour to find out his condition." it was in vain that the sultan his father, and the sultana his mother, remonstrated. he departed after he had delivered the magical ring to his younger brother, and journeyed till he reached the cage of the bird; who having ensnared him to pronounce the word lodge, scattered some earth upon his head, when he, also, immediately became transformed into stone. at this instant the youngest prince was sitting at a banquet with his father; when the ring pressed so hard to his finger, as to put him to much pain. he rose up, and exclaimed, "there is no refuge or asylum but with god; for his we are, and to him we must return." the sultan, upon this, inquired the cause of his grief; when he said, "my brother has perished." the old sultan was loudly lamenting the loss of his two children, when the youngest continued, "i will travel and learn the fate of my brothers." "alas!" said the father, "is it not enough that i have lost them, but thou also wilt rush into destruction? i entreat thee not to leave me." "father," replied the prince, "fate impels me to search for my brothers, whom, perhaps, i may recover; but if i fail, i shall only have done my duty." having said this, he departed, in spite of the tears and lamentations of his parents, and travelled till he had reached the residence of the bird; where he found his brothers transformed into images of stone. at sunset the bird began its usual tone; but the prince suspecting some deceit, forbore to speak, till at length the bulbul retired to his cage, and fell asleep; when watching the opportunity, the prince darted upon it, and fastened the door. the bird awoke at the noise, and seeing himself caught, said, "thou hast won the prize, o glorious son of a mighty sultan!" "if so," exclaimed the prince, "inform me by what means thou hast enchanted so many persons as i see around me changed into images of marble, and how i may release them from their unhappy state." "behold," replied the bird, "yonder two heaps of earth, one white and the other blue. the blue enchants, and the other will recover from transformation." the prince immediately took up handfuls of the white earth, and scattering it over the numerous images, they instantly became animated and restored to all their functions. he embraced his two brothers, and received their thanks; also those of the sons of many sultans, bashaws, and great personages, for giving them new life. they informed him that near the spot was a city, all the inhabitants of which had been, like them, transformed into stone. to this he repaired, and having relieved them from their enchantment, the people out of gratitude made him rich presents, and would have chosen him for their sovereign, but he declined their offer, and resolved to conduct his brothers in safety to their father. the two elder princes, notwithstanding they owed the restoration of their lives to their brother, became envious of the valuable presents he had received, and of the fame he would acquire at home for his achievement. they said to one another, "when we reach the capital the people will applaud him, and say, 'lo! the two elder brothers have been rescued from destruction by the youngest.'" the youngest prince being supplied with horses, camels, and carriages, for himself and companions, began his march homewards, and proceeded by easy stages towards the capital of his father; within one day's journey of which was a reservoir of water lined with marble. on the brink of this he ordered his tents to be pitched, resolving to pass the night and enjoy himself in feasting with his brothers. an elegant entertainment was prepared, and he sat with them till it was time to repose; when they retired to their tents, and he lay down to sleep, having on his finger a ring, which he had found in the cage of the bulbul. the envious brothers thinking this a fit opportunity to destroy their generous preserver, arose in the dead of night, and taking up the prince, cast him into the reservoir, and escaped to their tents undiscovered. in the morning they issued orders of march, the tents were struck, and the camels loaded; but the attendants missing the youngest prince, inquired after him; to which the brothers replied, that being asleep in his tent, they were unwilling to disturb him. this satisfied them, and having pursued their march they reached the capital of their father, who was overjoyed at their return, and admired the beauty of the bulbul, which they had carried with them; but he inquired with eagerness what was become of their brother. the brothers replied, "we know nothing of him, and did not till now hear of his departure in search of the bird, which we have brought with us." the sultan dearly loved his youngest son; and on hearing that his brothers had not seen him, beat his hands together, exclaiming, "alas! alas! there is no refuge or asylum but with the almighty, from whom we came, and to whom we must return." we must now return to the youngest brother. when he was cast into the reservoir he awoke, and finding himself in danger, exclaimed, "i seek deliverance from that god who relieveth his servants from the snares of the wicked." his prayer was heard, and he reached the bottom of the reservoir unhurt; where he seated himself on a ledge, when he heard persons talking. one said to another, "some son of man is near." "yes," replied the other, "he is the youngest son of our virtuous sultan; who, after having delivered his two brothers from enchantment, hath been treacherously cast into this reservoir." "well," answered the first voice, "he may easily escape, for he has a ring upon his finger, which if he will rub a genie will appear to him and perform whatever he may command." the prince no sooner heard these words than he rubbed his hand over the ring, when a good genie appearing, said, "prince, what are thy commands?" "i command," replied the prince, "that thou instantly prepare me tents, camels, domestics, guards, and every thing suitable to my condition." "all is ready," answered the genie; who, at the same instant taking him from the ledge, conducted him into a splendid encampment, where the troops received him with acclamations. he ordered signals of march to be sounded, and proceeded towards the capital of his father. when he had arrived near the city, he commanded his tents to be pitched on the plain. immediately his orders were obeyed, the tents were raised (a most magnificent one for himself), before which the servants raised a gorgeous awning, and sprinkled water to lay the dust. the cooks lighted their fires, and a great smoke ascended, which filled the plain. the inhabitants of the city were astonished at the approach of the army, and when they saw the encampment pitched, supposed it to be that of a powerful enemy preparing for assaulting them. intelligence of this unexpected host was conveyed to the sultan; who, on hearing it, instead of alarm, felt a pleasure which he could not account for, and said, "gracious allah! my heart is filled with delight; but why i know not." immediately he commanded his suite to attend, and repaired to the encampment of his son, to whom he was introduced; but the prince being habited very richly, and differently from what he had seen him in, was not known by the sultan. the prince received his father with the honours due to his rank, and when they were seated, and had entered into conversation, said, "what is become of thy youngest son?" the words were scarcely uttered, when the old sultan fell fainting to the earth. on his recovery, he exclaimed, "alas! my son's imprudence led him to travel, and he has fallen a prey to the beasts of the forest." "be comforted," replied the prince; "the disasters of fortune have not reached thy son, for he is alive and in health." "is it possible?" cried the sultan; "ah! tell me where i shall find him!" "he is before thee," replied the prince: upon which, the sultan looking more closely, knew him, fell upon his neck, wept, and sunk to the earth overpowered with ecstacy. when the sultan had recovered, he desired his son to relate his adventures, which he did from first to last. just as he had finished the elder brothers arrived, and seeing him in such splendour, hung down their heads, abashed and unable to speak; but yet more envious than ever. the old sultan would have put them to death for their treachery, but the youngest prince said, "let us leave them to the almighty, for whoever commits sin will meet its punishment in himself." when the husbandman had concluded the above story, the sultan was so highly pleased that he presented him with a large sum of money, and a beautiful slave, inquiring at the same time if he could divert him with another story, to which he replied in the affirmative. on another night, when the sultan and the countryman had sat down to converse, the former desired him to relate some ancient story, when the latter began as follows. story of a sultan of yemen and his three sons. it has been related, that in the kingdom of yemen there was a sultan who had three sons, two of whom were born of the same mother, and the third of another wife, with whom becoming disgusted from some caprice, and having degraded her to the station of a domestic, he suffered her and her son to live unnoticed among the servants of the haram. the two former, one day, addressed their father, requesting his permission to hunt: upon which he presented them each with a horse of true blood, richly caparisoned, and ordered proper domestics to attend them to the chase. when they had departed, the unfortunate youngest brother repaired to his unhappy mother, and expressed his wishes to enjoy, like the elder princes, the pleasures of the field. "my son," replied she, "it is not in my power to procure thee a horse or other necessaries." upon this he wept bitterly; when she gave him some of her silver ornaments, which he took, and having sold them, with the price purchased a foundered steed. having mounted it, and provided himself with some bread, he followed the track of his brothers for two days, but on the third lost his way. after wandering two days more he beheld upon the plain a string of emeralds and pearls, which shone with great lustre. having taken it up, he wreathed it round his turban, and returned homewards exulting in his prize; but when he had arrived near the city his brothers met him, pulled him from his horse, beat him, and forced it from him. he excelled them both in prowess and vigour, but he was fearful of the sultan's displeasure, and his mother's safety, should he punish his insulters. he therefore submitted to the indignity and loss, and retired. the two cowardly princes entered the palace, and presented the string of jewels to the sultan; who, after admiring it, said, "i shall not rest satisfied till the bird arrives to whom this certainly must have belonged:" upon which the brothers replied, "we will travel in search of it, and bring it to our august father and sultan." preparations being made, the brothers departed, and the youngest prince having mounted his lame steed followed them. after three days' journey he reached an arid desert, which having passed over by great exertion, he arrived almost exhausted at a city; which on entering he found resounding with the shrieks of lamentation and woe. at length he met with a venerable old man, to whom having made a respectful salute, he inquired of him the cause of such universal mourning. "my son," replied the old man, "on a certain day during the last forty-three years, a terrible monster has appeared before our city, demanding a beautiful virgin to be delivered up to him, threatening to destroy it in case of refusal. unable to defend ourselves, we have complied with his demand, and the damsels of the city have drawn lots for the dreadful sacrifice; but this year the chance has fallen upon the beautiful daughter of our sultan. this is the day of the monster's usual arrival, and we are involved in universal lamentation for her unhappy fate." when the young prince heard the above, he, under the direction of the old man, repaired to the place of the monster's resort, resolved to conquer him or die. scarcely had he reached it, when the princess approached it, splendidly habited, but with a dejected head, and drowned in tears. he made a respectful salute, which she returned, saying, "hasten, young man, from this spot, for a monster will soon appear, to whom, by my unhappy fate, i am destined. should he discover thee, he will tear thee in pieces." "princess," replied he, "i know the circumstance, and am resolved to become a ransom for thy beauty." the prince had hardly uttered these words, when a column of dust arose; from which with dreadful howlings and fury the monster issued, lashing his gigantic sides with his thick tail. the princess shrieked, and wept in the agonies of fear; but the prince drawing his sabre, put himself in the way of the savage monster; who, enraged, snorted fire from his wide nostrils, and made a spring at the prince. the gallant youth with wonderful agility evaded his talons, and darting from side to side of the monster, watched his opportunity, till rushing upon him, he cleft his head asunder just between his eyes, when the huge creature fell down and growled his last in a tremendous roar. the princess, on seeing the monster expire, ran to her deliverer, wiped the dust and sweat from his face with her veil, uttering grateful thanks, to which he replied, "return to thy lamenting parents;" but she would not, and said, "my lord, and light of my eyes, thou must be mine and i thine." "that is perhaps impossible," rejoined the prince; and hastening from her, he returned to the city, where he took up his lodging in an obscure corner. she now repaired to the palace. on her entrance, the sultan and her mother were astonished, and inquired in alarm the cause of her return; fearing that she had escaped from the monster, who would in revenge destroy the city. the princess related the story of her deliverance by a handsome youth: upon which, the sultan, with his attendants, and most of the inhabitants of the place, repaired to view the monster, whom they found extended dead on the earth. the whole city was now filled with grateful thanksgivings and universal rejoicing. the sultan, eager to shew his gratitude to the gallant youth, said to the princess, "shouldst thou know thy deliverer wert thou to see him again?" "certainly!" replied she; for love had impressed his image on her mind too strongly to be ever erased. the sultan, upon this, issued a proclamation, commanding every male in the city to pass under the windows of his daughter's apartment; which was done successively for three days; but she did not recognize her beloved champion. the sultan then inquired if all the men of the city had obeyed his commands, and was informed that all had done so, except a young man at a certain serai, who was a foreigner, and therefore had not attended. the sultan ordered him to appear; and he had no sooner approached the window than the princess threw down upon his head an embroidered handkerchief, exclaiming, "this is our deliverer from the fangs of the monster." the sultan now ordered the young prince to be introduced to his presence, to which he advanced, making the obeisances customary to royal personages in a graceful manner. "art thou the destroyer of the monster?" exclaimed the sultan. "i am," answered the prince. "tell me how i can reward thee?" replied the sultan. "my request to god and your majesty," answered the prince, "is, that the princess thy daughter may be given me in marriage." "rather ask me a portion of my treasures," rejoined the sultan. upon this, the officers of the court observed, that as he had saved the princess from death, he was worthy of her; and the sultan at length consenting, the marriage knot was tied. the young prince received his bride, and the nuptials were consummated. towards the close of night he arose, and having taken off her ring, put his own in its room on her finger, and wrote upon the palm of her hand, "i am called alla ad deen, the son of a potent sultan, who rules in yemen; if thou canst come to me there, well; otherwise remain with thy father." when the prince had done as above related, he left his bride asleep, and quitting the palace and city, pursued his travels; during which he married another wife, whom he had saved from an elephant in a similar way: he left her in the same manner as the first. when the prince had left his second wife, he proceeded in search of the bird to whom the string of emeralds and pearls had belonged, and at length reached the city of its mistress, who was daughter to the sultan, a very powerful monarch. having entered the capital, he walked through several streets, till at last he perceived a venerable old man, whose age seemed to be, at least, that of a hundred years, sitting alone. he approached him, and having paid his respects, sat down, and entering into conversation, at length said, "canst thou, my uncle, afford me any information respecting a bird, whose chain is composed of pearls and emeralds, or of its mistress?" the old man remained silent, involved in thought, for some instants; after which, he said, "my son, many sultans and princes have wished to attain this bird and the princess, but failed in the attempt; however, do thou procure seven lambs, kill them, flay and cut them up into halves. in the palace are eight courts, at the gates of seven of which are placed two hungry lions; and in the latter, where the princess resides, are stationed forty slaves. go, and try thy fortune." the prince having thanked the old man, took his leave, procured the lambs, cut them up as directed, and towards midnight, when the step of man had ceased from passing, repaired to the first gate of the palace, before which he beheld two monstrous lions, their eyes flaming like the mouth of a lighted oven. he cast before each half a lamb, and while they were devouring it passed on. by the same stratagem he arrived safely into the eighth court: at the gate of which lay the forty slaves sunk in profound sleep. he entered cautiously, and beheld the princess in a magnificent hall, reposing on a splendid bed; near which hung her bird in a cage of gold wire strung with valuable jewels. he approached gently, and wrote upon the palm of her hand, "i am alla ad deen, son of a sultan of yemen. i have seen thee sleeping, and taken away thy bird. shouldst thou love me, or wish to recover thy favourite, come to my father's capital." he then departed from the palace, and having reached the plain, stopped to repose till morning. the prince being refreshed, at day-light having invoked allah to protect him from discovery, travelled till sunset, when he discovered an arab encampment, to which he repaired and requested shelter. his petition was readily attended to by the chief; who seeing him in possession of the bird, which he knew, said to himself, "this young man must be a favourite of heaven, or he could not have obtained a prize for which so many potent sultans, princes, and viziers, have vainly fallen sacrifices." he entertained him with hospitality, but asked no questions, and in the morning dismissed him with prayers for his welfare, and a present of a beautiful horse. alla ad deen having thanked his generous host took leave, and proceeded unceasingly till he arrived within sight of his father's capital. on the plain he was again overtaken by his two brothers, returning from their unsuccessful expedition, who seeing the bird and splendid cage in his possession, dragged him suddenly from his horse, beat him cruelly, and left him. they entered the city, and presenting the cage to their father, framed an artful tale of danger and escapes that they had undergone in procuring it; on hearing which, the sultan loaded them with caresses and praises, while the unfortunate alla ad deen retired bruised and melancholy to his unhappy mother. the young prince informed his mother of his adventures, complained heavily of his loss, and expressed his resolves to be revenged upon his envious brothers. she comforted him, entreated him to be patient, and wait for the dispensations of allah; who, in proper season, would shew his power in the revealment of justice. we now return to the princess who had lost her bird. when she awoke in the morning, and missed her bird, she was alarmed; but on perceiving what was written upon her palm still more so. she shrieked aloud; her attendants ran in, and finding her in a frantic state, informed the sultan; who, anxious for her safety, hastened to the apartment. the princess being somewhat recovered, related the loss of her bird, shewed the writing on her hand, and declared that she would marry no one but him who had seen her asleep. the sultan finding remonstrances vain, agreed to accompany his daughter in search of the prince, and issued orders for his army to prepare for a march to yemen. when the troops were assembled, the sultan conducted his daughter to the camp, and on the day following marched; the princess with her ladies being conveyed in magnificent equipages. no halt was made till the army arrived near the city, where alia ad deen had delivered the daughter of its sultan by killing the elephant. a friendly ambassador being dispatched to request permission to encamp and purchase a supply of provisions, he was honourably received, and the sultan of the city proceeded in great pomp to visit his brother monarch, who then informed him of the object of his expedition. this convinced the other sultan that the stealer of the bird must also have been the deliverer of his daughter, and he resolved to join in the search. accordingly, after three days of splendid entertainments and rejoicings, the two sultans, with the two princesses, and their united forces, moved towards yemen. their route lay through the capital, the daughter of whose sultan alla ad deen had saved from the fangs of the savage monster. on the arrival of the allies at this city an explanation similar to the last took place, and the third sultan resolved to accompany them in search of the husband of his daughter, who readily agreed to join the other princesses. they marched; and on the route the princess who had lost her bird was fully informed by the others of the beauty, prowess, and manly vigour of alla ad deen; which involved her more than ever in anxious impatience to meet him. at length, by continued and uninterrupted movements, the three sultans reached yemen, and pitched their encampments about sunset on a verdant plain well watered, near the capital. it was with much dread and apprehension that the sultan of yemen beheld such a numerous host encamped so near his residence; but he concealed his fears, and gave proper orders for securing it from surprise during the night. with the morning his alarms were removed, as the allied sultans dispatched an ambassador with rich presents, assurances that they had no hostile intentions, and a request that he would honour them by a visit to their camp, and furnish it with supplies. the sultan complied with the invitation, and the suite being prepared, he proceeded, attended by all his courtiers in the highest magnificence, to the encampment; where he was received with due honours. at the outposts the three sultans met him, and after the usual greetings of ceremony conducted him to a splendid tent made of crimson velvet, the fringes and ropes of which were composed of gold threads, the pins of solid silver, and the lining of the richest silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of raised work in silks of all colours, intermixed with foils and gold. it was covered with superb carpets, and at the upper end on a platform spread with gold brocade were placed four stools, the coverings of which, and the cushions, were magnificent beyond description, being made of persian velvet, fringed and flowered with costly pearls. when the four sultans were seated, and some conversation had taken place, in which the latter was informed of the occasion of the others having marched into his country, the cloth was spread, and a magnificent entertainment served up in dishes of agate, crystal, and gold. the basins and ewers for washing were of pure gold set with jewels. such was the richness of every thing, that the sultan with difficulty refrained from shewing his surprise, and inwardly exclaimed, "by allah, till now i never have beheld such a profusion of splendour, elegance, and valuable furniture!" when the meal was ended, coffee, various sorts of confections, and sherbets were brought in; after which the company conversed. the three sultans inquired of their royal guest if he had any children, to which he replied that he had two sons. the sultans then requested that he would send for them: upon which, their father dispatched a messenger to summon them to his presence. they repaired to the camp, mounted on chargers richly caparisoned, and most splendidly dressed. on their entering the tent, the princesses, who were seated in a recess concealed from view by blinds of gold wire, gazed eagerly at them; and she who had lost her bird inquired of the other two if either of them was their husband. they replied in the negative, remarking that he was of personal beauty, and dignified appearance, far superior to these princes. the three sultans, also, questioned their daughters on the subject, and received similar answers. the sultans, upon this, inquired of the father of the princes if he had any other sons; to which he replied that he had one; but that he had long rejected him, and also his mother, from notice; and that they lived among the domestics of the palace. the sultans entreated to see him, and he was introduced, but in a mean habit. the two princesses whom he had delivered from the monsters and married immediately recognized him, and exclaimed together, "this is truly our beloved husband!" he was then embraced by the sultans, and admitted to his wives; who fell upon his neck in transports of joy and rapture, kissing him between his eyes, while the princess who had lost the bird prostrated herself before him, covered with a veil, and kissed his hand. after this scene the young prince returned to his father, and the other sultans, who received him respectfully, and seated him by them, at which the father was astonished; but more so, when, turning to his brothers, he addressed them, saying, "which of you first found the string of emeralds and pearls?" to this they made no reply: when he continued, "who of you killed the monster, destroyed the elephant, or, fortifying his mind, dared to enter the palace of this sultan, and bring away the cage with the bird? when you both, coward-like, rushed upon me, robbed me of my prizes, and wounded me, i could easily have overcome you; but i felt that there was a season appointed by providence for justice upon you and my wretched father, who rejected my mother and myself, depriving us of our just claims." having thus spoken, he drew his sabre, and rushing upon the two guilty princes struck them dead, each at one blow. he would, in his rage, have attacked his father; but the sultans prevented him, and having reconciled them, the old sultan promised to leave him his heir, and to restore his mother to her former rank and consequence. his nuptials with the third princess were then celebrated; and their fathers, after participating for forty days in the magnificent entertainments given on the occasion, took leave, and returned to their several kingdoms. the old sultan finding himself, from age, incapable of the cares of government, resigned the throne to his son, whose authority was gladly submitted to by the people, who admired his prowess and gallantry. some time after his accession to the kingdom, attended only by some select courtiers, and without the cumbrous appendages of royalty, he left his capital upon a hunting excursion. in the course of the sport, passing over a desert plain, he came to a spot where was the opening of a cave, into which he entered, and observed domestic utensils and other marks of its being inhabited; but no one was then within it. the curiosity of the sultan being excited, he resolved to wait until the owners of the cave should appear, and cautioned his attendants not to mention his rank. he had not sat long, when a man was seen advancing with a load of provisions and two skins of water. on his coming to the mouth of the cave, the sultan addressed him, saying, "whence comest thou, where art thou going, and what dost thou carry?" "i am," replied the man, "one of three companions, who inhabit this cave, having fled from our city to avoid imprisonment, and every ten days one of us goes to purchase provisions: to-day was my turn, and my friends will be here presently." "what was the cause of your flight?" rejoined the sultan. "as to that," answered the man, "it can only be communicated by the relation of our adventures, which are curious, and if you wish to hear them, stay with us to-night, and we will each, in our turn, relate his own story." the sultan upon this, said to himself, "i will not move from this spot until i have heard their adventures;" and immediately dispatched his attendants, excepting a few, with orders to bring from the city some necessaries for the night. "for," thought he, "hearing these stories will be pleasanter than hunting, as they may, perhaps, inform my mind." he remained in the cave with his few followers; and soon after arrived the two other inmates, who were succeeded by the sultan's messengers with the requisites for a substantial repast, of which all partook without ceremony. when it was finished, the sultan desired the owners of the cave to relate their adventures; and they replied, "to hear is to obey:" the first beginning as follows. story of the first sharper in the cave. my father died when i was a youth, leaving my mother and myself with little property, but an old she-goat, which we sold, and with the price bought a calf, and nourished her as well as we could for a whole year; when my mother desired me to go and dispose of her in the market. accordingly i went, and soon perceived that there was not a fatter or finer beast in the market. the company of butchers, composed of forty persons, fixed their eyes upon the calf, and supposing me an ignorant lad, resolved to have her for little or nothing, and feast themselves upon her flesh. after concerting among themselves, one of them coming up, said, "my lad, dost thou mean to sell this she-goat?" "goat!" replied i, "it is a calf." "nay," answered he, "surely thou must be blind or under enchantment; but, old as the goat is, if thou wilt sell it, i will give thee a koorsh for her." i angrily refused, and he went away; when presently up came another; and, in short, in regular succession the whole forty, the last of whom was the chief of the butchers. i perceived the connivance to cheat me, and resolving to be revenged, said, "i am convinced i am deceived, so you shall have the goat, if such she is, for the koorsh, provided you let me have her tail." this was agreed to, and it being cut off, i delivered my calf to the chief of the butchers, received the money, and returned home. on my arrival at home, my mother asked if i had sold the calf; to which i replied, "yes, for a koorsh, and her tail into the bargain." she thought me stupid or mad, and inquired what i would do with the latter. i answered, "i will be amply revenged on the sharpers, who pretended that my calf was a she-goat, and force from them, at least, a thousand times the price they gave me." after this, i skinned the tail, cut the leather into thongs, and twisted them into a whip with hard thick knots. i then disguised myself in female attire, taking pains to make myself look as handsome as possible with the assistance of my mother, who put soorma into my eyelids, and arranged my eyebrows, stained my hands with hinna, and directed me how to ogle and smile. in short, as i was then a beardless lad, and reckoned comely, i appeared as a very desirable maiden in my disguise. on my arrival at the house of the chief of the butchers, i found him sitting with his companions in the court. the whole of my calf had been cooked in various ways, and they were just going to spread the cloth and feast upon it. on my entrance i made a profound salutation: upon which they all rose up to return it, and having treated me welcomely, whispered one to another, saying, "by allah, this will be a night of glorious festivity, illumined by so much beauty! however, our chief must have the preference, this night shall be his; after which we will all cast lots for his turn of enjoyment." when we had feasted on my calf, and the night was far advanced, the butchers took leave, departed to their homes, and i remained alone with the chief, who began to entertain me with amusing conversation. observing a rope hanging from the ceiling of an apartment, i, as if ignorant of its purpose, inquired the use of it; when the venerable chief of the butchers informed me it was for suspending animals to cut up; also, occasionally his dependants, whose crimes required the punishment of flogging. upon this i expressed a great desire to be tied with the rope, drawn up, and swung for amusement. "my dear lady," replied he, "the cord will hurt thy delicate skin; but thou shall put it round me, draw me up, and see the use without injuring thyself." i consented to the wish of the chief butcher, placed the cord under his arms, and drew him up till the ends of his toes scarcely touched the ground. i then secured the rope, and for some moments kept running playfully round him, and tickling his sides, which made him laugh with delight. at length, tired of his posture, he desired me to release him; but i refused, saying, "my dear chief, i have not yet finished my amusement;" after which i tore the clothes from his back, as if in merriment. when i had done this, i pulled out my whip, which was well knotted, saying, "this is the tail of a she-goat, and not of a calf." the butcher now began to be somewhat alarmed, asking me who i was, and whence i came? to which i replied, "i am the owner of the fat calf, of which thou and thy villanous companions so rascally cheated me." i then bared my arm to my elbow, and so belaboured his back and sides with my whip that he roared in agony; nor did i leave off till his skin was completely flayed, and he fainted from the pain. after this i searched the apartment, found a bag containing three hundred deenars, some handsome dresses, and other valuable articles, all of which i bundled up, and carried off; leaving the chief of the butchers, suspended, to his fate. when i had reached home, i gave my prize to my mother, saying, "this is only part of the value of my calf, which i have just received of the purchaser." early in the morning the butchers repaired, as usual, to the residence of their chief, and finding the door of the court-yard locked, joked one with another, saying, "our old gentleman has been so fatigued with his happiness that he sleeps longer than ordinary." they waited till near noon, when they called out for admittance; but receiving no answer, became apprehensive of some disaster, and forcing the door, found their chief suspended, almost lifeless, and his scars dropping blood. to their inquiries into the cause of his doleful situation, he replied, "that pretended vixen was no woman, but a brawny youth, the owner of the calf; who, in return for our roguery, has flogged me thus, and carried off all he could find in my chamber worth having." the butchers vowed revenge, saying, "we will seize and put him to death;" but their chief requested them for the present to be patient, and carry him to a warm bath, that he might wash and get his wounds dressed. i observed the chief butcher enter the bathing house alone, while his followers waited at the gate: upon which i went to a slaughter-house, poured over my back the blood of a sheep, dabbed it with plaisters of cotton, and leaning on a crutch, as if in agony of pain, repaired to the bath. at first the butchers refused me admittance, saying their chief was within; but on my entreating their compassion for my miserable condition, they at length permitted me to enter. passing through the different rooms, i came to the bath, in which i found the unfortunate chief washing his scars. i pulled out my whip, and having said to him, "shekh, this is the tail of my calf!" flogged him again so severely that he fainted; after which i made my escape by another entrance to the hummaum, which opened into a different street. the butchers growing impatient at the long stay of their chief in the bath, at length entered, and found him in extreme agony. he informed them of this second revenge of the owner of the calf, and requested that he would take him into the country, pitch a tent for his reception, and remain to guard him till he should be cured of his wounds. they did so; but i watched their motions, and disguising myself, repaired in the evening towards the tent. here i found a bedouin arab, whom i bribed with a piece of gold to cry out, "i am the owner of the calf, and will have the life of your chief!" cautioning him at the same time, after he had so exclaimed, to make his escape as quickly as possible from the butchers, who would pursue him. "i shall not heed them," replied he, "though they may be mounted on the fleetest coursers." having said this, the bedouin went up close to the tents, bawling out vociferously, as i had directed him: upon which all the butchers started up and pursued him, but in vain, to a great distance. i then entered the tent in which the chief was reposing alone, and pulling out my whip, once more flogged him till he roared with agony. when i was tired i bundled up such articles as i could lay my hands on; and returning home, presented them to my mother, saying, "here is the balance of the price of our calf." the butchers having attempted to overtake the bedouin, till they were wearied with running, but in vain, returned to their chief, whom they found in a fainting fit from the pain of his wounds. having sprinkled water on his face, they recovered him so far that he was able to inform them of what had happened; and to request them to convey him once more to his own house, to give out that he was dead of his wounds, and make a mock funeral; when, possibly, the owner of the calf, believing him departed this life, might cease to torment him. the butchers obeyed the commands of their chief, and reporting that he was dead, laid him in a litter, and marched in mournful procession towards the burying ground, followed by a great concourse of people. mixing with the crowd, in disguise, i at length stooped under the litter, and giving the chief, who lay extended in a winding sheet, a smart poke with a pointed stick, up he jumped, to the astonishment of the beholders; who cried out, "a miracle! a miracle! the dead is raised to life!" while i made my escape in the throng; but being fearful that the many tricks i had played, especially this last, might excite inquiry, and lead to a discovery, i fled from the city, and resolved to remain in this cave till curiosity should subside. the sultan exclaimed, "these adventures are surprising;" when the second inhabitant of the cave said, "my lord, my story is much more wonderful than the last; for i contrived not only to be dead and buried, but to escape from the tomb." "possibly," said the sultan, "thy adventures may have been stranger than those of this man; but if any of you are acquainted with the memoirs of ancient monarchs, i could wish you to relate them; however, at present, i must take you with me to the palace, that i may make you welcome." when the men heard this proposition, they were alarmed, and cried out, "what, my lord, would you carry us to the city from which we have escaped to save our lives?" "fear not," replied he, "i am the sultan, and was amusing myself with hunting when i chanced to discover your cave." they bowed themselves before him, and exclaimed, "to hear is to obey;" after which they attended him to the city. on their arrival, the sultan ordered them proper apartments and suitable entertainment, and invested each of them with a rich habit. for some days they remained enjoying themselves; when, at length, one evening the sultan commanded them to his presence, and requested a narrative, when one of them related the following story. history of the sultan of hind. in ancient days there lived a sultan of hind, than whom no prince of the age was greater in extent of territory, riches, or force; but heaven had not allotted to him offspring, either male or female: on which account he was involved in sorrow. one morning, being even more melancholy than usual, he put on a red habit, and repaired to his divan; when his vizier, alarmed at the robes of mourning, said, "what can have occasioned my lord to put on this gloomy habit?" "alas!" replied the sultan, "my soul is this morning overclouded with melancholy." "repair then to the treasury," said the vizier, "and view thy wealth; as, perhaps, the lustre of gold, and the brilliant sparkling of jewels, may amuse thy senses and disperse thy sorrow." "vizier," answered the sultan, "this world to me is all vanity; i regard nothing but the contemplation of the deity: yet how can i be relieved from melancholy, since i have lived to this age and he has not blessed me with children, either sons or daughters, who are the ornaments of manhood in this world?" the sultan had scarcely ceased speaking, when a human figure of a dusky hue appeared before him, and said, "my sovereign, here is a confection left me by my ancestors, with an assurance, that whoever might eat of it would have offspring." the sultan eagerly took the confection, and by the blessing of allah, one of the ladies of his haram conceived that very night. when her pregnancy was made known to him, the sultan was overjoyed, distributed large sums in charity to the poor, and every day comforted the distressed by his bounty. when the sultana had gone her full time, she was delivered of a son beautiful in aspect, and of graceful person; at which the sultan became overjoyed, and on that day set apart one half of his treasures for the use of the infant prince, who was intrusted to the charge of experienced nurses. after he had thrived sufficiently at the breast he was weaned, and at six years of age put under the care of learned tutors, who taught him to write, to read the koran, and instructed him in the other several branches of literature. when he had completed his twelfth year, he was accomplished in horsemanship, archery, and throwing the lance, till at length he became a distinguished cavalier, and excelled the most celebrated equestrians. the young prince being on a certain day hunting in the vicinity of the capital, there suddenly appeared soaring and wheeling in the air a bird, whose plumage was of the most beautiful and glossy green. the prince let fly an arrow, but without effect, and the bird suddenly disappeared. it was in vain that he turned his eye to all quarters, in hopes of again discovering his wished-for prey, for the bird had flown out of sight, and the prince after searching in all directions till the close of day, returned vexed and much disappointed to his father's palace. on his entrance, the sultan and sultana perceiving his countenance gloomy, inquired the cause of his melancholy, when he informed them of the bird: upon which, they said, "dear son, the creatures of the almighty are innumerably diversified; and, doubtless, there are many birds as beautiful, and wonderfully more so than this, whose escape you so much regret." "it may be so," replied the prince; "but unless i shall be able to take this, which has so captivated my fancy, i will abstain from food." on the following morning the prince repaired again to the chase, and having reached the same spot on the plain, to his great joy beheld the green bird. having taken a cautious aim, he let fly an arrow; but she evaded it, and soared before him in the air. the prince spurred his courser and followed, keeping his desired prey in sight unceasingly till sunset; when both himself and his horse being exhausted he gave up the pursuit, and returned towards the city. as he was riding slowly, and almost fainting with hunger and fatigue, there met him a venerable looking personage, who said, "prince, both thyself and thy charger seem exhausted; what can have been the cause of such over exercise?" "father," answered the prince, "i have been pursuing, but in vain, a beautiful green bird, on which i had set my mind." "son," replied the sage, "if thou wert to follow it for a whole year's journey, thy pursuit would be useless; for thou couldst never take it. this bird comes from a city in the country of kafoor, in which are most delightful gardens abounding in such birds as this, and many other species still more beautiful, some of which sing enchantingly, and others talk like human beings; but, alas thou canst never reach that happy spot. give up then all thoughts of the bird, and seek some other object for a favourite that thou mayst enjoy repose, and no longer vex thyself for impossibilities." when the prince heard this from the old man, he exclaimed, "by allah! nothing shall prevent me from visiting the charming country thou hast mentioned;" and leaving the sage, he rode homewards, his mind wholly taken up in meditating on the land of kafoor. when the prince had reached the palace, the sultan perceiving his disordered state, inquired the adventures of the day; and being informed of his fruitless pursuit, and the remarks of the old man, said, "my son, discharge this idle chimera from thy mind, nor perplex thyself longer, since he who wishes for an impossibility may pine himself to death, but can never gain his desires: calm then thy soul, nor vex thyself longer in vain." "by allah!" answered the prince, "my soul, o my father, is captivated with the desire of possessing this bird more strongly than ever, from the words of the venerable old man; nor is it possible i can enjoy repose till i have travelled to the island of kafoor, and beheld the gardens containing such a wonderful feathered species." "alas! my dear son," exclaimed the sultan, "think how afflicting must be to myself and thy mother thy absence from our sight, and for our sakes give up such a fruitless expedition." the prince, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his father, continued obstinate, and said, "my travelling is inevitable: grant me then permission, or i will put myself to death." "if so," exclaimed the affrighted sultan, "there is no refuge or help but from the omnipotent allah: well has the proverb remarked, that the nestling would not be restrained from the air, when suddenly the raven pounced upon it and bore it away. heaven guard my son from the consequences of his imprudence." having said thus, the sultan commanded preparations for the requisites of travel, and ordered a force to accompany the headstrong prince; who, having taken leave of his afflicted parents, began his expedition towards the country of kafoor. the prince pursued his journey without any extraordinary adventure for a whole month, and at the expiration of it arrived at a spot from which branched out three roads. at the junction of them was erected a lofty pyramid, each face fronting one of the roads. on one face was inscribed, "this is named the path of safety:" on the second, "this is called the way of repentance:" and on the third, "whoever follows this road will not probably return." "i will pursue this last," said the prince to himself, and accordingly striking into it, proceeded onwards for twenty days, at the end of which he encamped near a desolated city, crumbling into ruin, wholly destitute of inhabitants. he commanded his attendants, as no provisions could be found in the city, to kill five sheep of the flocks he had brought with him, and dress them for their refreshment in various ways. when all were ready, and the simmaut was spread out, having performed his ablutions, he sat down with his principal followers. the prince and his company had scarcely seated themselves, when, lo! there advanced from the desolated city a genie, whom the prince seeing, stood up, and thus accosted, "hail! and welcome to the sovereign of the aoon, friendly to his brethren, and ruler of this extensive desert." he then addressed him, flatteringly, in fluent language and eloquent expression. the hair of this oone genie hung shaggily over his eyes, and flowed in matted tresses upon his shoulders. the prince took out a pair of scissors, and having condescendingly cut his hair, pared his nails, and washed him, seated him at the cloth, and placed before him the dish dressed peculiarly for himself. the oone ate, and was delighted with the affability of the prince, whom he addressed, saying, "by allah, o mahummud, son of a sultan! i am doomed to death by thy arrival here; but what, my lord, was thy object in coming?" upon this the prince informed him of his having seen the bird, his vain attempts to take her, the account he had received from the old man, and his resolution, in consequence of his information, to penetrate to the kingdom of kafoor, to visit the gardens, and bring away some of the wonderful birds. when the oone heard this, he said, "o son of a sultan, that country to thee is impenetrable, thou canst not reach it; for the distance from hence is a journey of three hundred years to the most laborious traveller; how then canst thou hope to arrive at it, much more return? but, my son, the good old proverb remarks, that kindness should be returned with kindness, and evil with evil, and that none are so cruel or so benevolent as the inhabitants of the desert. as thou hast treated me kindly, so, god willing, shalt thou have a return for thy goodness; but thou must leave here thy attendants and thy effects. thou and i only will go together, and i will accomplish thy wish in gratitude for what thou hast done for me." the prince immediately retired from his encampment with the oone, who said, "mount upon my shoulders." the prince obeyed the commands of the oone, who having first stopped his rider's ears with cotton, mounted into the air, and after soaring for some hours descended; when the prince found himself in the island of kafoor, and near the desired garden. having alighted from the shoulders of the generous oone, he examined the spot, beheld groves, blooming shrubs, flowers bordering clear streams, and beautiful birds chanting various melodies. the oone said, "behold the object, of thy search, enter the garden!" upon this the prince left him, passed the gate, which was open, and entered. he walked on every quarter, and depending from the branches of flowering shrubs saw cages holding a variety of beautiful birds, two birds in each cage. the prince took down a large cage, and having examined the birds, placed in it such as pleased him to the number of six, with which he was preparing to leave the garden; when at the gate a watchman met him, who cried out loudly, "a robber! a robber!" instantly numerous guards rushing out, seized the prince, bound, and carried him before the sultan, to whom they complained, saying, "we found in the garden this young man, carrying off a cage with six birds. he must certainly be a robber." the sultan addressed the prince, saying, "what induced thee, youthful stranger, to violate my property, trespass on the garden, and attempt stealing these birds?" the prince returned no answer: upon which the sultan exclaimed, "young man, thou art verging upon death; yet still, if thy soul is bent upon having these birds, bring me from the black island some bunches of grapes, which are composed of emeralds and diamonds, and i will give thee six birds in addition to those thou hast stolen." having said this, the sultan released the prince, who repaired to his generous friend the oone, whom he informed of the unlucky conclusion of his adventure. "our task is an easy one," answered the oone; "mount upon my shoulders." the prince did as he was desired, and after two hours flight the oone descended and alighted, when the prince found himself in the black island. he immediately advanced towards the garden in which was the fruit composed of emeralds and diamonds. on the way a monster met him of terrible appearance. the monster sprung at the prince, who, with surprising agility, drawing his sword, wounded the furious beast on the forehead with such effect, that, uttering a dreadful groan, he fell dead at his feet. it happened, by divine decree, that the sultan's daughter looking from a window of the haram, beheld the combat, and, stricken with the manly beauty and prowess of the prince, exclaimed, "who can withstand thy courage, or who resist thy all conquering charms?" but he did not see the princess, or hear her applause. the prince, after having slain the monster, proceeded to the garden, the gate of which he found open, and on entering, perceived variety of artificial trees composed of precious stones. among them was one resembling the vine, the fruits of which were of emeralds and diamonds. he plucked off six bunches, and was quitting the garden when a sentinel met him; who, being alarmed, cried out, "a robber! a robber!" the guards rushed out, and having bound him, carried him before the sultan, saying, "my lord, we found this youth stealing the fruit from the garden of jewels." the sultan was enraged, and on the point of ordering him to be put to death, when a number of persons entered, crying out, "good tidings to our sovereign." "on what account?" exclaimed the sultan. "the horrible monster," replied they, "who used annually to appear and devour our sons and daughters, we have just now found dead and cloven in two." the sultan was so rejoiced at this happy event, that he refrained from the blood of the prince, and exclaimed, "whoever has destroyed this monster let him come to me, and i swear by allah, who has invested me with royalty, that i will give him my daughter in marriage; and whatever else he may desire, even to the half of my empire." upon the sultan's declaration being proclaimed, several young men appeared, pretending that they had killed the monster, and gave various accounts of the combat, which made the prince smile. "by allah! it is strange," said the sultan, "that a youth in such a perilous situation should be so unconcerned as to smile." while the sultan was ruminating on this occurrence, a eunuch entered from the haram, requesting that he would come and speak to the princess his daughter, who had business of importance to communicate; upon which the sultan arose, and retired from the hall of audience. when the sultan had entered the princess's apartment, he said, "what can have happened which has occasioned you to send for me so suddenly?" she replied, "is it thy wish to know who slew the monster, and to reward the courageous hero?" "by allah," answered the sultan, "who created subjects and their sovereigns, if i can discover him, my first offer to him shall be to espouse thee, whatever be his condition, or though he dwell in the most distant region." the princess rejoined, "no one slew the monster but the youth who entered the garden of gems, and was bearing off the fruit, whom thou wast just now on the point of putting to death." when the sultan heard the above from his daughter, he returned to the divan, and calling the prince before him, said, "young man, i grant thee thy pardon; art thou he who destroyed the monster?" "i am," replied the prince. the sultan would instantly have summoned the cauzee to perform the espousals; but the prince said, "i have a friend to consult; permit me to retire, and i will soon return." the sultan consented, saying, "thy request is but reasonable; but come back quickly." the prince having repaired to his friend the oone, informed him of what had happened to him, and of the offer of the sultan's daughter in marriage: upon which the oone said, "accept the princess; but on condition that, if you marry her, you shall be allowed to carry her to your own kingdom." the prince having returned to the sultan, proposed his terms, which were readily agreed to, and the nuptials were celebrated with the most splendid magnificence. after abiding in the palace of the sultan for a month and three days, he requested permission to depart with his bride towards his own country, which was granted. on the departure of the prince, his father-in-law presented him with a hundred bunches of the grapes composed of emeralds and diamonds, and he repaired to his friend the oone; who, having first stopped their ears with cotton, mounted them upon his shoulders, and soaring into the air, after two hours descended near the capital of the island of kafoor. the prince, taking four bunches of the jewelled fruit, hastened to the palace, and laid them before the sultan; who, in astonishment, exclaimed, "surely, this young stranger must be a powerful magician, or how could he have travelled the distance of three hundred years' journey, and have accomplished his purpose in less time than three months! such an action is truly miraculous. hast thou, indeed, young man," said the sultan, "been at the black island?" "i have," answered the prince. "describe it to me," replied the sultan, "its appearance, its buildings, its gardens, and rivers." the prince having answered all his queries, the sultan said, "noble youth, you may assuredly ask of me whatever you wish!" "i want nothing but the birds," rejoined the prince. "they are thine," returned the sultan; "but annually on a certain day, and this is it, there descends from yonder mountain a monstrous vulture, which tears in pieces our men, women, and children; and having flown away with them in his gigantic talons devours their flesh. i have a beautiful daughter, whom, if thou canst overcome this calamitous monster, i will give to thee in marriage." the prince replied, "i will consult my friend;" and then returned to the oone, whom he informed of the offer; but he had scarcely done speaking, when, lo! the vulture appeared: upon which the oone, ascending into the air, attacked the monster, and after a fierce combat, tore him into halves; after which he descended to the prince, and said, "go to the sultan, and acquaint him that his destructive enemy is slain." the prince did as he was directed: upon which the sultan with his train, and an immense crowd of the inhabitants of the city, came out on horseback, and beheld the monstrous vulture, stretched dead on the ground, torn in halves. the sultan then conducted the prince of hind to the palace; where his marriage with the princess was instantly celebrated, amid the highest festivity and rejoicings; and after remaining a full month at the sultan's court, he requested leave to depart; when his father-in-law presented him with ten cages, in each of which were four of the beautiful birds of variously coloured plumage, and dismissed him, after an affectionate farewell, with his daughter. the prince having departed from the sultan repaired to his faithful friend the oone, who welcomed his return; and having mounted him upon his back with his two brides, his jewel fruit, and the cages, immediately ascended into the air, from whence, after soaring for some hours, he gradually descended, and alighted near the ruined city, where the prince had left his tents, cattle, and followers, whom he found anxiously expecting his arrival. the friendly oone had scarcely set him down, when he said to the prince, "my young friend mahummud, the obligation already conferred upon me by thy coming here was great; but i have one more favour to request." "what can that be?" replied the prince. "that thou leave not this spot," continued the oone, "until thou hast washed my corpse, enshrouded, and laid it in the grave." having said thus, the oone suddenly uttered one loud groan, and instantly his soul took its flight from the body. the astonished prince stood for some time overpowered with sorrow; but at length recovering himself, he, with the assistance of his domestics, washed the corpse, wrapped it in a winding sheet, and having prayed over it, deposited it in the earth. the funeral ceremonies of his friend being over, he commenced his march homewards, and after three days arrived in sight of the inscribed pyramid, near which he perceived an extensive encampment, which, on reconnoitring, he found to be that of his father. the aged sultan, unable to bear the absence of his son, had marched from his capital in hopes of overtaking him; but on his arrival at the junction of the three ways, being confounded at the sight of the inscriptions, he had halted, not knowing where to proceed. great was his joy on discovering the prince advancing towards that face of the pyramid on which was engraved, "whoever travels this road will probably never return." when the raptures of meeting and mutual congratulations were over, the prince informed the sultan of his wonderful and successful adventures, which overpowered him with astonishment and joy. after reposing a few days, they proceeded towards the capital of the sultan; where tidings having arrived of their approach, the inhabitants ornamented the city with silks, carpets, and transparent paintings; and the nobles and respectable persons issued forth with splendid trains to meet and congratulate their sovereign and the prince, who entered in triumphal procession, amid the greatest rejoicings and prayers for their welfare and prosperity. story of the fisherman's son. a fisherman's son having in company with his father caught a large fish, the latter proposed to present it to the sultan, in hopes of receiving a great reward. while he was gone home to fetch a basket, the son, moved by compassion, returned the fish into the water; but fearful of his father's anger, fled from his country, and repaired to a distant city, where he was entertained by a person as a servant. strolling one day in the market, he saw a jew purchase of a lad a cock at a very high price, and send it by his slave to his wife, with orders to keep it safely till his return home. the fisherman's son supposing that as the jew gave so great a price for the cock it must possess some extraordinary property, resolved to obtain it; and, accordingly, having bought two large fowls, carried them to the jew's wife, whom he informed that her husband had sent him for the cock, which he had exchanged for the fowls. she gave it him; and he having retired, killed the bird, in whose entrails he found a magical ring; which being rubbed by his touch, a voice proceeded from it demanding what were the commands of its possessor, which should be immediately executed by the genii who were servants of the ring. the fisherman's son was rejoiced at his good fortune, and while meditating what use he should make of his ring, passed by the sultan's palace, at the gates of which were suspended many human heads. he inquired the reason, and was informed that they were those of unfortunate princes, who having failed in performing the conditions on which the sultan's daughter was offered them in marriage, had been put to death. hoping to be more fortunate than them by the aid of his ring, he resolved to demand the princess's hand. he rubbed the ring, when the voice asked his commands: upon which he required a rich dress, and it was instantly laid before him. he put it on, repaired to the palace, and being introduced to the sultan, demanded his daughter to wife. the sultan consented, on condition that his life should be forfeited unless he should remove a lofty and extensive mound of sand that lay on one side of the palace, which must be done before he could wed the princess. he accepted the condition; but demanded an interval of forty days to perform the task. this being agreed to, he took his leave, and having repaired to his lodging, rubbed his ring, commanded the genii to remove the mound, and erect on the space it covered a magnificent palace, and to furnish it suitably for a royal residence. in fifteen days the task was completed; he was wedded to the princess, and declared heir to the sultan. in the mean while, the jew whom he had tricked of the cock and the magical ring resolved to travel in search of his lost prize, and at last arrived at the city, where he was informed of the wonderful removal of the mound, and the erection of the palace. he guessed that it must have been done by means of his ring, to recover which he planned the following stratagem. having disguised himself as a merchant, he repaired to the palace, and cried for sale valuable jewels. the princess hearing him, sent an attendant to examine them and inquire their price, when the jew asked in exchange only old rings. this being told to the princess, she recollected that her husband kept an old shabby looking ring in his writing stand, and he being asleep, she took it out, and sent it to the jew; who, knowing it to be the one he had so long sought for, eagerly gave for it all the jewels in his basket. he retired with his prize, and having rubbed the ring, commanded the genii to convey the palace and all its inhabitants, excepting the fisherman's son, into a distant desert island, which was done instantly. the fisherman's son, on awaking in the morning, found himself lying on the mound of sand, which had reoccupied its old spot. he arose, and in alarm lest the sultan should put him to death in revenge for the loss of his daughter, fled to another kingdom as quickly as possible. here he endured a disconsolate life, subsisting on the sale of some jewels, which he happened to have upon his dress at his flight. wandering one day through a town, a man offered him for sale a dog, a cat, and a rat, which he purchased, and kept, diverting his melancholy with their tricks, and uncommon playfulness together. these seeming animals proved to be magicians; who, in return for his kindness, agreed to recover for their master his lost prize, and informed him of their intention. he eagerly thanked them, and they all set out in search of the palace, the ring, and the princess. at length they reached the shore of the ocean, after much travel, and descried the island on which it stood, when the dog swam over, carrying on his back the cat and the rat. being landed, they proceeded to the palace; when the rat entered, and perceived the jew asleep upon a sofa, with the ring laid before him, which he seized in his mouth, and then returned to his companions. they began to cross the sea, as before, but when about half over the dog expressed a wish to carry the ring in his mouth. the rat refused, lest he should drop it; but the dog threatened, unless he would give it him, to dive and drown them both in the sea. the rat, alarmed for his life, complied with his demand: but the dog missed his aim in snatching at the ring, which fell into the ocean. they landed, and informed the fisherman's son of his loss: upon which he, in despair, resolved to drown himself; when suddenly, as he was going to execute his purpose, a great fish appearing with the ring in his mouth, swam close to shore, and having dropped it within reach of the despairing youth, miraculously exclaimed, "i am the fish which you released from captivity, and thus reward you for your generosity." the fisherman's son, overjoyed, returned to his father-in-law's capital, and at night rubbing the ring, commanded the genii to convey the palace to its old site. this being done in an instant, he entered the palace, and seized the jew, whom he commanded to be cast alive into a burning pile, in which he was consumed. from this period he lived happily with his princess, and on the death of the sultan succeeded to his dominions. story of abou neeut and abou neeuteen; or, the well-intentioned and the double-minded. a person named abou neeut, or the well-intentioned, being much distressed in his own country, resolved to seek a better livelihood in another. accordingly he took with him all he possessed, being only one single sherif, and began his journey. he had not travelled far when there overtook him a man, who entertained him with his conversation; in the course of which it appeared that his name was abou neeuteen, or double-minded. being upon the same scheme, they agreed to seek their fortunes together, and it was settled that abou neeut should be the purse-bearer of the common stock. the other possessed ten sherifs. after some days of toilsome journey they reached a city; on entering which, a beggar accosted them, crying out, "worthy believers, disburse your alms and ye shall be rewarded ten-fold." upon this, abou neeut gave him a sherif; when his companion, enraged at what he thought prodigality, demanded back his money, which was given him, and he marched off leaving his new friend without any thing. abou neeut, resigned to his fate, and relying on providence, proceeded to a mosque to pay his devotions, hoping to meet some charitable person who would relieve his necessities; but he was mistaken. for a night and day he remained in the mosque, but no one offered him charity. pressed by hunger, he in the dusk of evening stole out, and wandered with fainting steps through the streets. at length perceiving a servant throwing the fragments from an eating cloth, he advanced, and gathering them up, sat down in a corner, and gnawed the bones and half-eaten morsels with eagerness; after which, lifting up his eyes towards heaven, he thanked god for his scanty meal. the servant, who had observed his motions, was surprised and affected at his wretched condition and devotion, of which he informed his master; who, being a charitable man, took from his purse ten sherifs, which he ordered the servant to give to abou neeut. the servant, through avarice, having retained one sherif as a perquisite, delivered the rest to abou neeut; who, having counted the money, thanked god for his bounty; but said, agreeably to the scriptural declaration he ought to have had ten-fold for the sherif he had given to the beggar. the master of the servant overhearing this, called abou neeut up stairs; and having seated him, inquired his story, which he faithfully related to his host, who was a capital merchant, and was so much pleased at his pious simplicity, that he resolved to befriend him, and desired him to abide for the present in his house. abou neeut had resided some days with his friendly host, when the season arrived at which the merchant, who was punctual in discharging the duties of religion, having examined his stock, set apart the tenth of it in kind, and bestowed it upon his guest, whom he advised to open a shop and try his fortune in trade. abou neeut did so, and was so successful, that in a few years he became one of the most reputable merchants in the place. at the end of this period, sitting one day in his warehouse, he saw in the streets wretchedly habited, lean, and with eyes sunken and dim, his old companion abou neeuteen, begging alms of passengers with the importunate cry of distress. abou neeut compassionating his miserable situation, ordered a servant to call him to him; and on his arrival, having seated him, sent for refreshments to relieve his immediate want. he then invited him to spend the night at his house; and in the evening, having shut up his warehouse, conducted him home, where a bath was made warm for him, and when he had bathed, he was presented with a change of handsome apparel. supper was served, and when they had eaten till they were satisfied they conversed on several subjects. at length abou neeut exclaimed, "dost thou not recollect me, my brother?" "no, by allah, most liberal host," replied the other; "but who art thou?" "i was," answered abou neeut, "the companion of thy travel at such a period; but my disposition is still unchanged, nor have i forgotten our old connection. half of what i possess is thine." having said this, abou neeut balanced his accounts, and gave half of his property to his distressed fellow traveller; who with it stocked a warehouse, and traded for himself with good success. for some time the two friends lived near each other in great repute, when abou neeuteen growing restless, requested abou neeut to quit their present abode, and travel for recreation and profit. "my dear friend," replied abou neeut, "why should we travel? have we not here affluence and ease, and what more can we enjoy in any part of the world?" this remonstrance had no effect on abou neeuteen, who became so importunate, that at length his kind friend yielded to his whim; they loaded an ample stock of merchandize on mules and camels, and departed for the city of moussul. after travelling ten days, they one evening encamped near a deep well, round which they took up their lodging. in the morning abou neeut, by his own desire, was let down into the well, more readily to fill the water bags for the use of the caravan, men and cattle, little apprehending what was by providence decreed to befall him; for his ungrateful friend, who envied his prosperity, and coveted his wealth, having loaded the beasts, cut the rope at the top of the well, and leaving him to his fate, departed. abou neeut remained all day without food, but humbly putting his trust in allah for deliverance. about the middle of the following night he overheard two afreets in conversation with each other, when one said, "i am now perfectly happy: for at length i have possessed the beautiful princess of moussul, and no one can drive me away, unless by sprinkling the infusion of wormwood under her feet on a friday during divine service in the great mosque, a recipe which will hardly be found out." "i," continued the other afreet, "have been as fortunate as yourself: for i am in possession of such a hidden treasure of gold and jewels, under the mound near moussul, as cannot be computed, the talisman of which cannot be opened to any one unless by killing on the mound a white cock, and pouring over it the blood; which secret i judge, will not be found out by man." having said this, the afreets took their flight from the well. abou neeut treasured up in his mind the conversation of the afreets, and at day-light was happily delivered from the well by the arrival of a caravan, some of the followers of which were let down to fill water, and having discovered him, charitably drew him up, and gave him some refreshments. when he was somewhat revived by them, they inquired by what accident he had remained in the well; and he, concealing the treachery of his ungrateful companion, informed them that having reposed to sleep on the edge he had fallen in, and not being missed at the time by his fellow travellers, the caravan had proceeded on its journey. he then begged leave to accompany his generous deliverers to moussul, to which they agreed, and liberally furnished him with a conveyance. on entering the city abou neeut perceived all the people in motion, and on inquiring the reason, was informed that they were hastening to the great square before the palace, to see the beheading of a physician, who had failed in attempting to expel an evil spirit that had long possessed the daughter of the sultan, and that such had been the fate of many unhappy men who had tried their skill upon the unfortunate princess. upon this intelligence he hastened with all speed to the palace, and having obtained admission to the sultan, made the usual prostrations; after which he offered to expel the evil spirit, and begged as part of his reward the sparing of the life of the unsuccessful physician. to this the sultan for the present agreed; but declared, that should abou neeut fail in his undertaking, he would execute them together, as ignorant pretenders in their art. abou neeut then begged that the trial of his skill might be deferred till the friday, which he requested of the sultan might be solemnly observed, as the devout prayers of all true believers would draw down a blessing on his operations. the sultan consented; the unfortunate physician was released from the executioner, and commanded to be kept in the palace, in which abou neeut had also an apartment allotted him. proclamation was then made through the city for the strict celebration of the approaching sabbath, under pain of the royal displeasure on those who should neglect it. friday being arrived, and the whole city assembled at prayers, abou neeut prepared his infusion of wormwood, as the afreet had mentioned. being introduced into the apartment of the princess, who lay in a melancholy stupor, he poured the infusion upon her feet, when a loud yell was heard near her, and she starting up, as if from sleep, called upon her attendants to assist her in rising. news was immediately conveyed to the sultan of the princess's recovery, and he came overjoyed to witness her returned senses. he commanded public rejoicings to be made, large sums to be distributed in alms, and desired abou neeut to demand what he chose in reward for his important service, at the same time ordering the unsuccessful physician to be set at liberty, with a handsome present. abou neeut, who had been captivated by the beauty of the princess, asked, as his reward, her hand in marriage: upon which the sultan consulted with his viziers, who advised him to dismiss the petitioner for the present, with orders to return in the morning, when he should receive the sultan's decision on a request which demanded much consideration. when abou neeut had retired, the viziers represented to the sultan, that it was fitting the husband of his daughter should at least possess great wealth: for though abou neeut had expelled the evil spirit, yet if he could not support her in a manner becoming her rank, he was not worthy to marry her. they, therefore, advised him to select a number of his most valuable jewels, to shew them to abou neeut, and demand as a dowry for the princess some of equal estimation; which if he could produce he was ready to receive him as his son-in-law; but if not, he must accept a compensation for his services more suited to his condition than the royal alliance. on abou neeut's appearance at court the next morning the sultan displayed the jewels, and made the proposal advised by his viziers; when looking with the utmost indifference upon the brilliant stones before him, he assured the sultan that he would the next day present him with ten times the number, of superior value and lustre; which declaration astonished the whole court, as it was known that no prince possessed richer gems than those in possession of the sultan of moussul. abou neeut having taken leave of the sultan proceeded to the poultry market, and having purchased a cock entirely white and free from blemish, brought it to his lodgings, where he continued till the rising of the moon, when he walked out of the city alone, and speeded to the mound of blueish earth mentioned by the afreet of the well to contain the invaluable hidden treasure. being arrived at the mound, he ascended it, cut the throat of the cock, whose blood began to flow, when, lo! the earth shook, and soon made an opening, through which, to his great satisfaction, he perceived such heaps of inestimable precious stones, of all sorts, as are not to be adequately described, abou neeut now went back to the city, where, having procured ten camels, with two panniers on each, he returned and loaded them with his treasure, which he conveyed to his lodging, having first filled up the cavity of the mound. in the morning abou neeut repaired with his loaded camels to the palace, and entering the court of the divan, in which the sultan sat expecting him, after a profound obeisance, cried out, "descend for a moment, my lord, and examine the dowry of the princess." the sultan, arising from his throne, came down the steps of the hall, and the camels being made to kneel, he examined the panniers, and was so astonished at the richness of their contents, being jewels far surpassing his own in size and lustre, that he exclaimed, "by allah! if the treasuries of all the sultans of the world were brought together they could not afford gems equal to these." when somewhat recovered from his surprise, he inquired of his viziers how he should now act towards abou neeut; when they all unanimously cried out, "by all means give him your daughter." the marriage was then immediately celebrated with great splendour, and abou neeut conducted himself so well in his high station, that the sultan his father-in-law committed to him the giving public audience in his stead, and the decision of all appeals, three days in each week. some time had elapsed after his elevation, when abou neeut one day giving audience in the magnificent hall of one of his country palaces, beheld a man among the crowd of a sorrowful aspect, dressed in a wretched habit, who cried, "o true believers, o charitable gentlemen, relieve the distressed!" abou neeut commanded one of his mace-bearers to bring him to his presence, and on his appearance recognized his treacherous companion who had left him in the well. without making himself known, or betraying any emotion but that of compassion, he ordered attendants to conduct him to the warm bath; in which being refreshed, he was arrayed in a magnificent habit, and again brought to the divan. abou neeut having retired with him into a closet, said, "knowest them me not, my old friend?" "no, by allah," replied the other. "know then," returned he, "that i am abou neeut, thy benefactor and companion, whom you treacherously left in the well." he then related all his adventures, concluding them with an assurance, that so far from resenting his treachery, he regarded his conduit as the impulse of fate, and as the means by which he, himself, had attained his present dignity and affluence, which he would share with him. the envious heart of abou neeuteen was unconquerable; and instead of thanking the noble-minded abou neeut for his forgiveness and liberality, he exclaimed, "since the well has been to thee so fortunate, why should it not prove so also to me?" having said this, he hastily rose up and quitted abou neeut, who would not punish such rudeness, even without taking leave. abou neeuteen hastened with all speed to the well, and having descended by a rope, sat down, impatiently expecting the arrival of the afreets, who about midnight alighted, and resting themselves on the terrace above, began to inquire each other's adventures. "since we met last," said one, "i have been rendered miserable; for a cunning mussulmaun found out the secret of overpowering me, and has married my princess, nor can i revenge myself, for he is under the protection of a converted genie, whom the prophet has appointed to watch over him." "i," continued the other afreet, "have been equally unfortunate with thyself; for the same man who has wedded thy mistress discovered my hidden treasure, and keeps it in spite of my attempts to recover it: but let us fill up this abominable well, which must have been the cause of all our disasters." having said thus, the two afreets immediately hurled the terrace and large stones into the well, which crushed the ungrateful and envious abou neeuteen to atoms. some days after this, the good abou neeut, finding he did not return, repaired to the well, and seeing it fallen in, ordered it to be cleared; when the discovery of the body proved to him that the malicious spirit of the wretch had been the cause of his own destruction. he with reverence exclaimed, "there is no refuge but with the almighty; may he preserve us from envy, which is destructive to the envious alone!" abou neeut returned to the capital, where, not long after, his father-in-law the sultan dying, left him heir to his kingdom. his succession was disputed by the husbands of the two elder sisters of his wife; but the ministers and people being in favour of the sultan's will, they resigned their pretensions and submitted to his authority. his wife being brought to bed of a son, her sisters bribed the midwife to pretend that the sultana had produced a dog. they did the same by another son. at the third lying-in of the sultana abou neeut resolved to be present, and a beautiful princess appeared. the two infant princes having been thrown at the gate of one of the royal palaces, were taken up by the gardener and his wife, who brought them up as their own. abou neeut in visiting the garden with his daughter, who shewed an instinctive affection for them, from this, and their martial play with each other (having made horses of clay, bows and arrows, &c.), was induced to inquire of the gardener whether they were really his own children. the gardener upon this related the circumstance of his having found them exposed at the gate of the palace, and mentioned the times, which agreed exactly with those of the sultana's delivery. abou neeut then questioned the midwife, who confessed the imposition and wickedness of the sisters, whom he left to be punished by the pangs of their own consciences, convinced that envy is its own severest tormentor. the young princes were acknowledged; and the good abou neeut had the satisfaction of seeing them grow up to follow his example. adventure of a courtier, related by himself to his patron, an ameer of egypt. it is related by an historian that there was an ameer of the land of egypt, whose mind being one night unusually disturbed, he sent for one of his courtiers, a convivial companion, and said to him, "to-night my bosom, from what cause i know not, is uncommonly restless, and i wish thee to divert me by some amusing narrative." the courtier replied, "to hear is to obey: i will describe an adventure which i encountered in the youthful part of my life." when a very young man i was deeply in love with a beautiful arab maiden, adorned by every elegance and grace, who resided with her parents; and i used frequently to visit their camp, for her family was one of the desert tribes. one day my mind felt uncommonly anxious concerning her, and i resolved to seek relief by a visit; but when i reached the spot found neither my beloved nor any of her kindred. i questioned some passengers, who informed me that the family had removed their encampment from scarcity of forage for their herds and camels. i remained for some time on the ground; but observing no signs of their return, my impatience of absence became intolerable, and my love compelled me to travel in search of my charmer. though the shades of evening were falling, i replaced the saddle upon my camel, put on my vestments, and girding on my sabre proceeded. i had advanced some distance, when the night became dismally black, and from the darkness i now sunk into sands and hollows, and now ascended declivities, while the yells of wild beasts resounded on every quarter. my heart beat with apprehension, and my tongue did not cease to repeat the attributes of the almighty, our only defender in time of need. at length stupor overcame my senses, and i slept; while my camel quitted the track, and wandered from the route i had meant to pursue all night. suddenly my head was violently intercepted by the branch of a tree, and i was awakened by the blow, which gave me infinite pain. as i recovered myself i beheld trees, verdure sprinkled with flowers, and a clear rivulet; also a variety of birds, whose notes were melodiously sweet. i alighted from my camel, and laid the bridle on my arm, as the underwood of the thicket was closely entwined. i did not cease leading my camel till i was out of the thicket, when i remounted; but at a loss which way to go, and unknowing where providence might direct me, i reached the desert, and cast my eyes over the expanse; when, lo! at length a smoke appeared in the midst of it. i whipped my camel, and at length reached a fire, and near it observed a handsome tent, before which was a standard planted, surrounded by spears, horses picketted, and camels grazing. i said to myself, "what can mean this tent, which has a grand appearance, in so solitary a plain?" i then went to the rear of the tent, and exclaimed, "health to you, o inhabitants of this tent, and may the almighty to you be merciful!" upon this there advanced from it a youth, seemingly about nineteen, who appeared graceful as the rising moon, and valour and benevolence gleamed upon his aspect. he returned my salutation, and said, "brother arab, perchance thou hast missed thy way." i answered, "yes, shew it, and may god requite thee!" upon which he replied, "my dwelling, brother arab, is at present in this wild spot; but the night is dreary, and shouldst thou proceed there is no surety against wild beasts tearing thee in pieces. lodge, then, at present with me in safety, and repose, and when day shall appear i will direct thee on thy way." i alighted, when he took my camel, picketted her, and gave her water and fodder. he then retired for a while; but returned with a sheep, which he killed, flayed, and cut up; then lighted a fire, and when it was of a proper glow broiled part of the sheep, which he had previously seasoned with sundry dried herbs, seeds, and spices, and when ready presented his cookery to me. during his hospitalities i observed that my kind host sometimes beat his breast and wept, from which i guessed that he was in love, and a wanderer, like myself. my curiosity was raised; but i said within myself, "i am his guest, why should i intrude upon him by painful questions?" and refrained from inquiry. when i had eaten as much as sufficed me, the youth arose, went into his tent, and brought out a basin and ewer, with a napkin embroidered with silk and fringed with gold; also a cruet of rose water, in which musk had been infused. i was astonished at his proceedings, and the politeness of his demeanour, and exclaimed inwardly, "how wonderful is the abode of so accomplished a personage in this wild desert." we made our ablutions, and conversed awhile upon various subjects; after which my gentle host went to his tent, from whence he brought out a piece of red silk damask, which he divided between us, saying, "brother arab, go into my tent and choose thy place of repose, for last night and to-day great must have been thy hardship and fatigue." i entered the tent, and in one partition of it found a mattress of green damask: upon which, having pulled off my upper garments, i lay down, and slept so soundly that i never enjoyed, before or since, so refreshing a repose. at length i awoke, when night was far advanced, and became involved in thought respecting my hospitable host; but knew not what to conjecture, and was sinking again into slumber, when, lo! gentle murmurs struck my ears, than which i never heard sound more soft or tenderly affecting. i lifted up the curtain of my partition, and looked around, when i beheld a damsel more beautiful than any i had ever seen, seated by the generous owner of the tent. they wept and complained of the agonies of love, of separation and interruptions to their desire of frequent meetings. then i said within myself, "there is a wonderfully dignified appearance in this amiable youth, yet he lives alone, and i have seen no other tent on the plain. what can i conjecture, but that this damsel must be a daughter of one of the good genii, who has fallen in love with him, and upon her account he has retired to this solitary spot?" respect for their love made me drop the curtain; i drew the coverlid over me, and again fell asleep. when the morning dawned i awoke, dressed, and having performed my ablutions and prayers, said to the young man, who had already risen, "brother arab, if in addition to thy hospitalities already shewn thou wilt put me in my way, my obligations will be complete." he looked kindly, and said, "if convenient, my brother, let me entertain thee as my guest for three days." i could not refuse his hospitable request, and abode with him. on the third day i ventured to inquire his name and family, when he replied, "i am of the noble tribe of azzra," and i discovered that he was the son of my father's brother. "son of my uncle," exclaimed i, "what can have induced thee to court the seclusion of this desert spot, and to quit thy kinsmen, neighbours, and dependents?" upon hearing these words, the eyes of the youth became suffused with tears, he sighed, and said, "ah! my cousin, i passionately admired the daughter of my uncle, and was so devoted to her love that i asked her in marriage; but he refused me, and wedded her to another of our tribe richer than myself, who carried her to his abode. when she was thus torn from me, despair agitated my soul, i quitted my relations, friends, and companions, became enamoured of solitude, and retired to this lonely spot." when he had finished his communication, i said, "but where is the abode of thy beloved and thy successful rival?" he replied, "near the summit of yonder mountain, from whence, as frequently as opportunity will allow, in the stillness of night, when sleep hath overpowered the eyes of the village, she ventures to my tent, and we enjoy the company of each other; but believe me, my brother, our passion is innocent as devotional love. hence i dwell here in the manner you have witnessed, and while she visits me delightful will pass the hours, until allah shall execute his appointed decrees, and reward our constancy in this world, or consign us to the grave together." when the unfortunate youth had concluded his narration, at which i was affected with sincere compassion for his circumstances, an eager desire to relieve the lovers from their oppressors occupied my mind, and after much consideration i addressed him thus: "if thou choosest, i think i can point out a plan which, under the blessing of allah, may end the sufferings of thyself and thy beloved." he replied, "o son of my uncle, reveal it to me!" and i continued, saying, "when night shall arrive, and the damsel cometh, let us seat her upon my camel; for she is sure-footed and swift of pace; do thou then mount thy steed, and i will accompany you upon one of your camels. we will travel all night, and ere morning shall have passed the forest, when you will be safe, and thy heart will be rendered happy with thy beloved. the land of god is wide enough to afford us an asylum; and by heaven i swear, that while life remains i will be thy friend." the youth replied, "son of my uncle, i will consult upon thy plan with my beloved, for she is prudent and well-informed." when night had shut in, and the usual hour of the damsel's coming approached, my kind host impatiently expected her arrival; but in vain, for she did not appear. he rose, stood in the doorway of the tent, opened his mouth, and drew in the exhalations of the gale, then returned, sat down pensively for a few minutes, and at last bursting into tears, exclaimed, "ah! my cousin, there are no tidings of the daughter of my uncle, some, mishap must have befallen her. remain here while i go in search of intelligence." having said thus, he took up his sabre, his lance, and departed. when somewhat more than an hour had elapsed, i heard his footstep, and soon perceived him advancing, bearing something bulky in his arms, while he called loudly upon me in a distressful tone. i hastened towards him, and upon my arrival he exclaimed, "alas, alas! the beloved daughter of my uncle is no more, and i bear her remains. she was hastening, as usual, to my tent, when suddenly a lion sprung upon her in the path, and tore her in pieces. these relics are all that remain of my beloved." he then laid them down, and, lo! the thigh bones of the damsel and part of her ribs. he wept piteously, and said, "remain here till i return;" after which he departed with the swiftness of an arrow. in about an hour he returned, and in his hand was the head of the lion, which he threw down, and asked eagerly for water, which i brought him. he then washed his hands, cleansed the mouth of the lion, which he rapturously kissed, and wept bitterly for some moments. he then exclaimed, "by allah, i conjure thee, o son of my uncle, and by the ties of relationship between us, that thou observe my will; for within this hour i shall follow my beloved; be thou our mourner, and bury her remains with mine in the same grave." having said this, he retired into the sleeping partition of the tent; where he remained at his devotions for an hour, then came out, beat his breast, sighed deeply, and at length heaved his expiring groan, saying, "i come, i come, my beloved, i come!" and his pure soul took flight for the mansions of paradise. when i beheld his corpse, sad indeed was my condition, and from excess of sorrow i found it difficult to perform my promise; but at length i arose, washed, enshrouded, and laid the remains of these constant lovers in the same grave, near which i remained for three days in prayer and lamentation; after which i departed homewards: but have not failed annually to visit the spot, to bedew their grave with my tears, and pray for the mercy of allah to their souls and my own errors. story of the prince of sind, and fatima, daughter of amir bin naomaun. some ages back a certain sultan of sind had a son by a concubine, who behaved so rudely to his sultana, that she became dispirited and lost her health, which her favourite woman observing, resolved by stratagem to get rid of the prince. she advised her mistress, when he might next insult her, to say to him, "that he would never appear becoming his rank till he was beloved by fatima, daughter of a sultan named amir bin naomaun." the queen having followed the woman's directions, the prince resolved to travel to the country of the princess, and demand her in marriage. accordingly, having obtained the consent of the sultan his father, he departed with an attendance suitable to his rank. after marching for some time he entered a desert, which was covered with a numberless flight of locusts, that had fallen exhausted for want of food. pitying their distress, he ordered meal to be spread on the ground, when the locusts having refreshed themselves flew away. some days after this incident he reached a thick forest crowded with elephants, and herds of wild animals of every description; but as they did not attempt to attack him, and were in a starving condition, he ordered some of his cattle to be killed, and distributed to them for food. having satisfied themselves they retired, shewing every sign that dumbness would allow of being pleased with his kind treatment. on his march onwards the prince met a venerable old man, of whom he inquired the route to the territories of amir bin naomaun, and was informed that they were at no great distance; but only to be entered by a range of rugged and steep mountains composed of iron-stone, and next to impassable; also, that should he succeed in overcoming this difficulty, it was in vain to hope to attain the princess. the prince inquiring the reason, the old man continued, "sultan amir bin naomaun has resolved that no one shall wed his daughter unless he can perform three tasks which he will impose, and these are of so difficult a nature as not to be executed by the labour or ingenuity of man, and many unhappy princes have lost their heads in the attempt; for he puts them to death instantly on failure: be advised, therefore, and give up so fruitless an expedition." the prince, instead of listening to the admonition of the old man, resolved to proceed; and having requested his prayers and benedictions, continued his march. in a short time, having entered the passes of the mountains, he discovered vast caverns inhabited by a species of genii, who were employed in working upon masses of iron-stone, which they dug from the rock. the prince having entertained them with a hospitable feast, they, in return, shewed him the easiest route through the stupendous mountains, and he at length arrived in safety before the capital of sultan amir bin naomaun, to whom he sent an envoy, requesting leave to encamp on the plain, and to offer himself as a candidate for the beautiful princess his daughter. the sultan, in reply, acceded to his petition, and invited him to the palace; where, in the evening, he was led into a court, in which was placed an immense vessel filled with three kinds of grain mixed together, which (as his first task towards obtaining the princess) he was to separate entirely from each other, and put into three heaps; which if not accomplished before sunrise, he was then to forfeit his head in punishment for his temerity. it being now too late to recede, the prince resigned himself to providence; and the gates of the court being locked upon him, he prayed to allah, and began to separate the grains; but finding his progress vain, his spirits deserted him about midnight, and he left off his fruitless labour in despair, endeavouring to reconcile himself to death. while he was praying for fortitude to bear him up in his last moments, a voice was heard, saying, "be comforted, and receive the reward of thy charity to famished insects." immediately after this the heavens were obscured, as if by thick clouds, which descended on the court, when, lo! this phenomenon proved to be myriads of locusts; who, alighting on the vessel, in a few hours emptied it of all the grain, which they disposed of, each in its kind, in three several heaps, and having given a general buzzing of salutation, took flight, and vanished into the air. the prince was overjoyed at the miraculous accomplishment of his task by the grateful locusts, and having offered up thanks to allah and the prophet for his deliverance from impending destruction, composed himself to rest, doubting not but that they would assist him to overcome the two remaining labours. great was the surprise of the sultan amir bin naomaun, when, on coming at daylight to the court, he beheld his intended victim in a profound sleep, and the grain in three separate heaps, neatly piled up in the form of domes. the prince awaking, saluted him, and demanded to be informed of his next task; but the sultan put him off to the evening, until when he entertained him at the palace with a most magnificent feast; and his obdurate heart was so softened by the noble address and demeanour of his guest, that he wished he might be able to overcome the remaining impositions and become his son-in-law. the princess, also, who had the curiosity to look at him through the blinds of her apartments, was so fascinated with his appearance that she prayed for his success. when night had set in, the prince was conducted to an open plain in front of the palace, in the centre of which was a large reservoir full of clear water, which the sultan commanded him to drain off before sunrise, or forfeit his life. the prince remained alone on the brink of the reservoir with rather somewhat more hope of success than he had felt of overcoming his task of the preceding night; nor was he disappointed, for about midnight a voice was heard exclaiming, "prince, benevolence is never unrequited:" and, lo! the plain was filled with elephants, rhinoceroses, camels, dromedaries, lions, tigers, and every species of wild beasts, in such immense droves as could not be numbered, who, advancing in turn to the reservoir, drank in such quantity that it, at length, was completely emptied, and became as dry as if just finished. the beasts then expressing pleasure by their varying natural noises at having served their benefactor departed, and left him to enjoy the deliverance from the labour imposed upon him. the prince, now more assured than ever that he was the favourite of allah and the prophet, after offering up prayers with a relieved heart, slept comfortably in a building creeled on the margin of the reservoir, and was only awakened by the call of the sultan at sun-rise, who was more astonished at the accomplishment of this labour than the former, though certainly each was equally difficult. he conducted the prince to his palace, and the day was spent in the highest festivity. at the approach of night the prince was conducted to his third task, which was to complete and fit up before daylight from a vast mass of planks of the choicest timber ready stored the doors, windows, and balconies of an unfinished palace, much larger than that which the sultan inhabited. the prince at the apprehension of the consequences of failure was somewhat alarmed; but the recollection of his former aids supported him, and after offering up his devotions he sat down, composedly waiting for the decision of providence on his fate. his resignation was accepted, for at midnight he was roused from his contemplations by the sounds of sawing, planing, hammering, nailing, and the songs of happy work-men. looking up he perceived his friends of the iron mountains; who, all saluting him, cried out, "prince, set your heart at rest, for we are come to repay you for your hospitable feast." before daylight the palace was fitted up in a manner more elegant than can be described, and every door, window, and balcony painted with the most brilliant colours, flowered with silver and gold. the grateful labourers of the iron mountains having finished their work, respectfully saluted the prince and departed. the prince having taken a grateful leave of his useful friends, walked through the palace, and was eagerly employed in admiring its elegance and the magnificence of their finishing hand, when the sultan amir bin naomaun, who from his apartments at sun-rise had observed the miraculous completion, appeared, having hastened to examine the superb workmanship, and to congratulate his son-in-law, for as such he now acknowledged him, and as the favoured of allah, and of the last of prophets. he conducted the prince to the palace, and the most magnificent preparations being made, the nuptials with his daughter were celebrated in the new edifice, where the bride and bridegroom enjoyed themselves for three months, at the expiration of which the prince begged permission to return to his father's dominions, which he reached just in time to release him from the attack of an inimical sultan, who had invaded the country, and laid close siege to his capital. his father received him with rapture, and the prince having made an apology to the sultana for his former rude behaviour, she received his excuses, and having no child of her own readily adopted him as her son; so that the royal family lived henceforth in the utmost harmony, till the death of the sultan and sultana, when the prince succeeded to the empire. story of the lovers of syria; or, the heroine. there formerly dwelt in the city of damascus two brothers, one poor and the other rich, the former of whom had a son, and the latter a daughter. the poor man dying left his son, just emerging from infancy, to the protection of his wealthy uncle, who behaved to his unfortunate charge with paternal tenderness, till the youth, who had exchanged vows of love with his cousin, requested her in marriage; when the father refused, and expelled him from his house. the young lady, however, who ardently loved him, agreed to elope, and having one night escaped from her father's dwelling, repaired to the object of her affection; who, having had notice of her intentions, had prepared two horses and a mule to carry their baggage. they travelled all night, and by morning reached a sea-port, where they found a ship ready to sail, in which, having secured a passage, the lady immediately embarked; but the lover remained on shore to dispose of the horses and mule. while he was seeking for a purchaser in the market, a fair wind sprung up, and the master of the ship having weighed anchor, hoisted sail and departed: the lady in vain entreating him to wait the return of her beloved, or send her on shore, for he was captivated with her beauty. finding herself thus ensnared, as she was a woman of strong mind, instead of indulging in unavailing complaint, she assumed a satisfied air; and as the only way to preserve her honour, received the addresses of the treacherous master with pretended complacency, and consented to receive him as a husband at the first port at which the ship might touch. with these assurances he was contented, and behaved to her with honourable deference, and affectionate respect. at length the vessel anchored near a city, to which the captain went to make preparations for his marriage; but the lady, while he was on shore, addressed the ship's crew, setting forth with such force his treacherous conduct to herself, and offering such rewards if they would convey her to her lover at the port they had left, that the honest sailors were moved in her favour, agreed to obey her as their mistress, and hoisting sail, left the master to shift for himself. after some days of favourable weather, a contrary gale blowing hard, the vessel was driven far out of her course, and for shelter obliged to anchor in the first haven that offered, which proved to be that of a large city, the capital of a potent sultan, whose officers came on board to examine the vessel, and inquire into her cargo and destination. these men, to their great surprise, finding it commanded by a lady of exquisite beauty, reported her charms to the sultan, who resolved to possess them, and sent her an offer of marriage; to which she seemingly consented, and the sultan commanded the most splendid preparations to be made for the nuptials. when all was ready, he sent onboard the vessel the daughter of his vizier, with other ladies, thirty-nine in number, magnificently attired, to wait upon his bride, and attend her on shore. they were graciously received by the politic lady, and invited to refresh themselves in the grand cabin, which she had elegantly adorned with costly hangings, and prepared in it a superb collation, to which they sat down. she then dismissed the boats in which they came, sending a message to the sultan that she should entertain the ladies on board till the next morning, when she would repair on shore and conclude their marriage. she behaved towards her new guests with such winning affability, that they one and all admired their expected sultana, and partook of the entertainment with the highest satisfaction; but what was their surprise when, in the middle of the night, she commanded the crew to weigh anchor, having first warned them, on pain of her displeasure and immediate death, to keep silence, and raise no alarm in the harbour. the vessel sailed, and put to sea without being molested, when the intrepid commandress consoled the affrighted ladies, related to them her own adventures, and assured them that when she should have rejoined her lover, they should, if they chose it, be honourably restored to their homes; but in the mean time she hoped they would contentedly share her fortunes. this behaviour, by degrees, so won upon their minds, that the ladies forgot their sorrows, became pleased with their situation, and in a short time were so attached to their new mistress, that they would not have left her had it been in their power. after some weeks sail, it became necessary to steer towards the first coast that should present itself, to lay in a supply of fresh water and provisions, and land appearing, the vessel anchored, when the lady with her companions went on shore. here they were surrounded by forty robbers, who threatened to take them prisoners; when the heroic lady, desiring her friends to conceal their fears, assumed a smiling countenance, and addressing the chief of the banditti, assured him there would be no occasion for force, as she and her companions were ready to share their love, being women who were above the prejudices of their sex, and had devoted themselves to pleasure, in search of which they roved on board their vessel from one coast to another, and would now stay with them as long as they might wish for their company. this declaration suiting the depraved minds of the robbers, they laid aside their fierce looks and warlike weapons, bringing abundance of all sorts of provisions to regale their expected mistresses, with whom they sat down to a plentiful repast, which was heightened by a store of wines which the lady had brought in her boats from the ship. mirth and jollity prevailed; but the fumes of the liquors, in which the politic lady had infused strong opiates, suddenly operated upon their senses, and they fell down one and all in a state of stupefaction. she then with her companions drew the sabres of their brutal admirers and put them all to death excepting the chief, whom they bound hand and foot with strong cords, and after cutting off his beard and mustachios, tied his own cimeter round his neck, leaving him to feel mortification worse than death on the recovery of his senses, namely, the sight of his slaughtered fellows, and regret at the loss of his imagined happiness. the ladies then stripped the caves of the robbers of the vast wealth which they had hoarded up from their plunders, and having carried it on board their boats, with a stock of water and provisions, returned to the ship, weighed anchor, and sailed triumphant and rejoicing from such a dangerous coast. after some weeks' sail they again descried land, to which they approached, and discovered a spacious harbour, round which rose a vast city, the buildings of which were sublimely lofty, adorned with flights of marble steps to the water's edge, and crowned with domes and minarets topped with pinnacles of gold. the enterprising lady having anchored, clothed herself and her companions in magnificent male habits; after which she ordered the boats to be hoisted out, and they were rowed ashore by part of their crew richly dressed. on landing, they found all the inhabitants of the city in mourning, and making doleful lamentation for their late sultan, who had died only a few days before. the gallant appearance of a stranger so nobly attended created much surprise, and intelligence of the arrival was instantly conveyed to the vizier, who acted as regent till the election of a new monarch, which ceremony was just on the point of taking place. the minister, who thought he perceived in such a critical arrival the work of fate, immediately waited on the now supposed prince, whom he invited to be present at the election; at the same time informing him that when in this kingdom a sultan died without issue, the laws appointed that his successor should be chosen by the alighting of a bird on his shoulder, which bird would be let fly among the crowd assembled in the square before the palace. the seeming prince accepted the invitation, and with the disguised ladies was conducted to a gorgeous pavilion, open on all sides, to view the ceremony. the ominous bird being loosened from his chain, soared into the air to a great height, then gradually descending, flew round and round the square repeatedly, even with the faces of the spectators. at length it darted into the pavilion, where the lady and her companions were seated, fluttered around her head, and at length rested upon her shoulder, giving at the same time a cry of exultation, stretching its neck, and flapping its wings. immediately upon this, the viziers and courtiers bowed themselves to the ground, and the assembled crowd prostrated themselves on the earth, crying out, "long live our glorious sultan, the chosen of providence, the elected by the decrees of fate!" the disguised lady was instantly conducted to the palace, seated on a splendid throne, and proclaimed amidst the acclamations of the people, sovereign of an extensive empire; nor were the abilities of her mind unequal to the task of government. in a few days the vizier offered to the supposed sultan his daughter in marriage; and his offer being accepted, the nuptials were celebrated with the utmost magnificence; but what was the astonishment of the bride, when, instead of being caressed, the sultan on retiring with her became cold and reserved, rose from her, and spent the night in prayer. in the morning the sultana was questioned by her mother; who, on her relating the behaviour of the husband, observed, that possibly from his youth he might be over reserved; but that love would naturally in time operate its effect. several evenings past in the same manner, when the bride, mortified at such coldness, could no longer restrain herself, and said, "why, my lord, if you disliked me, did you take me to wife? but if you love not as other men, tell me so, and i will suffer my misfortune in silence." the lady, moved by this remonstrance, replied, "most virtuous princess, would that for your sake i were of the sex you suppose me; but, alas! i am like you a woman, disappointed in love." she then related to her the wonderful adventures she had undergone since leaving her father's house, at which the vizier's daughter was so affected that she vowed for her a lasting friendship, agreed to keep her secret, and live with her till such times as chance should restore her lover. in return for this kindness the lady promised that should the object of her affections ever arrive, he should marry them both, and that she should have the precedence in the ceremony of union. the two friends having thus agreed, the vizier's daughter regained her cheerfulness, and means were taken to convince her father, mother, and friends of the consummation of the nuptials. from this time they lived in perfect happiness together, one exercising the authority of sultan to the satisfaction of the subject, and the other acting the part of a satisfied and obedient wife; but still both were anxious to meet their mutual husband. as the capital of the kingdom was a mart for most nations of the world, the pretended sultan formed the following stratagem for discovering her beloved, not doubting but that he would travel over all parts of the world in search of the object of his affection. she erected a most magnificent caravanserai, furnished with baths hot and cold, and every convenience for the weary traveller. when it was finished, she issued a proclamation, that sojourners from all parts should be welcome to lodge in it, and be provided with every necessary till they could accommodate themselves in the city, or pursued, if only travellers, their journey to another part. over the gate of this edifice she placed an exact statue of herself, and gave orders to the guards that whatever stranger, on looking at it, should shew signs of agitation, or utter words signifying that he knew the original, should be immediately seized and confined in the palace. many weeks had not passed when the father of this enterprising lady, who had travelled many thousands of miles in search of his daughter, arrived at the gate, and on seeing the statue, exclaimed, "alas! alas! how like my poor, lost child!" he was immediately carried to the palace, lodged in a magnificent apartment, treated with the highest respect; but kept in complete ignorance as to the cause of his confinement and his future fate. not long after this, his disconsolate nephew, who, on the departure of the treacherous captain, had wandered from city to city in hopes of finding his mistress, arrived, and repaired to the caravanserai. on sight of the statue his feelings overcame him; he sighed and fainted: when he was taken up by the guards and lodged in the palace, where being come to himself, he was astonished at the respect and attention paid him by the domestics, and the splendid manner in which he was entertained; but it was in vain that he inquired the cause of his detention, the only answer he could get being, "have patience, my lord, and repose yourself till providence shall free you from our confinement." soon after this the master of the ship, who had visited port after port in hopes of recovering his vessel, reached the city, and hearing of the hospitality with which all strangers were received at the caravanserai of the sultan, repaired to the gateway; but no sooner had he cast his eyes on the statue, than he exclaimed, "ah! how like to the artful yet virtuous woman who cheated me of my property by stealing my ship." immediately he was seized by the guards, and conveyed to the palace, but treated with kindness. many days had not succeeded to this event, when the sultan and the vizier, whose daughter with the thirty-nine ladies had been so artfully carried away from them by the enterprising heroine of this history, made their appearance at the gateway of the caravanserai, and on beholding the statue, cried out, "surely this is the likeness of her who deprived us of our children; ah! that we could find her and be revenged on her hypocrisy!" on saying this they were apprehended and taken to the palace, where they were conducted to apartments suitable to their rank. in a few days afterwards the chief of the banditti, who, burning with the ireful resolution of revenging the deaths of his associates, had travelled from place to place in hopes of finding the object of his fury, arrived at the gateway, and observing the statue, roared out in a rage, "surely this is the resemblance of my tormenter; oh! that i could meet thy original, so that i might have the satisfaction of making her blood atone for the murder of my friends!" instantly, as he had spoken, the guards at the gate rushing upon him, bound him hand and foot, conveyed him to the palace, where he was confined in a loathsome dungeon, and fed on the coarsest viands. the pretended sultan having now all the parties in her power, one morning ascended her throne in full audience, and commanded them to be brought before her. when they had made their obeisance, she commanded them to relate the cause of their having journeyed to her capital; but the royal presence rendered them incapable of uttering a word: upon which she exclaimed, "since you cannot speak, i will;" and then discovered to their astonished minds the adventures of each, which had occasioned their travelling. she then discovered herself, and fell upon the necks of her father and lover, with whom she retired into the private apartments. the sultan and his vizier were made happy in the company of the daughter of the latter and the other ladies. the master of the ship, as his troubles had atoned for his irregular behaviour, was received into favour, and had his vessel restored; but the savage chief of the banditti was put to death, by being cast into a burning pile, that no further injury might be offered to mankind. in a few days, the most magnificent preparations being made, the double nuptials of the heroic lady and her friend the vizier's daughter were celebrated with her constant lover, to whom she resigned her throne, and the happy wives lived together in felicity, undisturbed by jealousy of the husband's attention to either, so equally did they share his love. the sultan and vizier, after being long entertained at the court, took leave, and returned, under an escort, to their own country; but the daughter and the thirty-nine ladies could not be prevailed upon to accompany them, only to visit and bid farewell to their parents, for such was their attachment to their gallant mistress, that they came back immediately, and were espoused to the principle nobles of her court. years of unusual happiness passed over the heads of the fortunate adventurers of this history, until death, the destroyer of all things, conducted them to a grave which must one day be the resting-place for ages of us all, till the receiving angel shall sound his trumpet. story of hyjauje, the tyrannical governor of coufeh, and the young syed. as hyjauje (the ommiad caliph) was was one day seated in his hall of audience, surrounded by his nobles and dependents, tremblingly awaiting his commands, for his countenance resembled that of an enraged lion, there suddenly entered, unceremoniously, into the assembly a beardless youth of noble but sickly aspect, arrayed in tattered garments, for misfortune had changed his original situation, and poverty had withered the freshness of his opening youth. he made the customary obeisance to the governor, who returned his salute, and said, "who art thou, boy? what hast thou to say, and wherefore hast thou intruded thyself into the company of princes, as if thou wert invited? who art thou, and of whom art thou the son?" "of my father and mother," replied the youth. "but how earnest thou here?" "in my clothes." "from whence?" "from behind me." "where art thou going?" "before me." "upon what dost thou travel?" "upon the earth" hyjauje, vexed at the pertness of the youth, exclaimed, "quit this trifling, and inform me whence thou comest." "from egypt." "art thou from cairo?" "why askest thou?" said the boy? "because," replied hyjauje, "her sands are of gold, and her river nile miraculously fruitful; but her women are wanton, free to every conqueror, and her men unstable." "i am not from thence, but from damascus," cried the youth. "then," said hyjauje, "thou art from a most rebellious place, filled with wretched inhabitants, a wavering race, neither jews nor christians." "but i am not from thence," replied the youth, "but from khorassan." "that is a most impure country," said hyjauje, "whose religion is worthless, for the inhabitants are of all barbarians the most savage. plunderers of flocks, they know not mercy, their poor are greedy, and their rich men misers." "i am not of them," cried the youth, "but of moussul." "then," exclaimed hyjauje, "thou art of an unnatural and adulterous race, whose youths are catamites, and whose old men are obstinate as asses." "but i am from yemen," said the boy. "if so," answered the tyrant, "thou belongest to a comfortless region, where the most honourable profession is robbery, where the middling ranks tan hides, and where a wretched poor spin wool and weave coarse mantles." "but i am from mecca," said the boy. "then," replied hyjauje, "thou comest from a mine of perverseness, stupidity, ignorance, and slothfulness; for from among its people god raised up his prophet, whom they disbelieved, rejected, and forced away to a strange nation, who loved, venerated, and assisted him in spite of the men of mecca. but whence comest thou, youth? for thy pertness is become troublesome, and my inclination leads me to punish thee for thy impertinence." "had i been assured that thou durst kill me," cried the youth, "i should not have appeared before thee; but thou canst not." "woe to thee, rash boy," exclaimed hyjauje; "who is he that can prevent my executing thee instantly?" "to thee be thy woe," replied the youth: "he can prevent thee who directs man and his inmost thoughts, and who never falsifieth his gracious promises." "he it is," cried the tyrant, "who instigates me to put thee to death." "withhold thy blaspheming," replied the youth; "it is not god, but satan that prompts thy mind to my murder, and with god i hope for refuge from the accursed: but know, that i am from the glorious medina, the seat of religion, virtue, respectability, and honour, descended of the race of bin ghalib, and family of ali, son of abou talib, whom god has glorified and approved, and will protect all his posterity, which you would extirpate; but you cannot root it out, for it will flourish even to the last day of the existence of this world." the tyrant was now overcome with rage, and commanded the youthful syed to be slain; but his nobles and officers interceded for him, saying, while they bowed their necks before him, "pardon, pardon; behold our heads and our lives a ransom for his! for god's sake accept our intercession, o ameer, for this youth is not deserving of death." "forbear your entreaties," exclaimed the tyrant, "for were an angel to cry from heaven, 'do not slay him!' i would not attend." upon this the young syed said, "thou ravest, o hyjauje; who art thou that an angel should be commissioned for thy sake?" the tyrant, struck with his magnanimity, became calm, and commanding the executioner to release the youth, said, "for the present i forbear, and will not kill thee unless thy answers to my further questions shall deserve it." they then entered on the following dialogue; hyjauje hoping to entrap him in discourse. hyjauje. how can the creature approach the perfection of the almighty? syed. by prayer, by fasting, by the commanded alms, by pilgrimage, and fighting for the cause of god. h. i serve him by shedding the blood of infidel man. you pretend that hassan and houssain, your ancestors, were descendants of the prophet; but how can that be, when god has declared in the koran mahummud was not of your obstinate race; but the prophet of god, and last of divine messengers? s. hear the answer to that in the verse following it. "hath not a prophet come unto you of your own nation? receive him, and from what he hath forbidden be forbidden." surely, then, god hath forbidden the shedding of the blood of him whom he sanctified. h. thou hast spoken justly, young man; but inform me what god hath daily and nightly commanded us as obligatory to do? s. to pray five times. h. what to observe in each year? s. to keep the month of ramzaun as a fast. h. what to perform in the course of life? s. to make a pilgrimage to mecca, the temple of god. h. truly said; but what hath mostly dignified and enlightened arabia? s. the tribe of koreish. h. wherefore? s. because of our holy prophet's being a member of it. h. who were the most skilful in horsemanship in all arabia, the most valiant, and of best conduct in war? s. the tribe of hashim. h. why think you so? s. because my grandfather imaum ali, son of abou talib, was one of it. h. what tribe of arabs is most famous for benevolence, and celebrated for liberality? s. the family of tai. h. wherefore? s. because hatim belonged to it. h. which of the tribes have been most disgraceful to arabia, and most oppressive to its inhabitants? s. the tribe of sukkeef. h. why so? s. because thou belongest to it. the tyrant could scarcely now contain his anger; but said, hoping to cut the youth off from reply, "tell me, is the capricorn of the heavens male or female?" to which he answered, "shew me its tail, that i may inform thee." the tyrant laughed, and continued his questions as follows: h. wert thou ever in love? s. yes, completely immersed in it. h. with whom? s. with my god, who will, i trust, pardon me for my errors, and deliver me from thee this day. h. knowest thou thy god? s. yes. h. by what means? s. by the scriptures, which he caused to descend to his prophet. h. dost thou guard the koran? s. does it fly from me, that i should guard it? h. what dost thou learn from it? s. that god commanded its rules to be obeyed. h. hast thou read and understood it? s. yes. h. if so, tell me, first, what passage in it is most sublime. secondly, which most commanding. thirdly, which most just. fourthly, which most alarming. fifthly, which most encouraging. sixthly, that which jews and christians both believe in. seventhly, that in which god has spoken purely of himself; that where he speaks of the angels; that in which he mentions the prophets; that where he alludes to those destined to paradise; and that in which he speaks of those devoted to hell; that which includes ten points; and that which eblis the accursed delivered. s. by god's help i will answer thee. the most sublime passage is the koorsee: the most commanding, "god insisteth on justice:" the most just, "whoever diminishes the least of a measure, god will requite him doubly, and the same to whoever addeth the least:" the most alarming, "all expect to enter paradise:" the most encouraging, "o my servants, who have mortified yourselves, despair not of the mercy of god!" that in which are ten points, "god created the heavens and the earth, the revolutions of night and day; also, the firmament over the waters that it might profit man:" that which is believed alike by jews and christians, "the jew saith that the christian is in error, and the christian saith that the jew is mistaken, they both believe so; and both are in error:" that in which god hath spoken purely of himself, "i have not created genii and men but to worship me:" that in which he speaks of the angels, "they said, we have no knowledge, but what thou hast taught us; for thou only art wise and all-knowing:" that which speaks of the prophets, "how could we deliver you a verse without the order of god, on whom the faithful will rely:" that which mentions the devoted to hell, "god hath cast us down from heaven, for we were transgressors:" that which describes the blessed, "praised be god, who hath divested us of all sorrow, for our lord is merciful and gracious:" that which satan spoke, "none will profit by thy mercy but thy servants the blessed." hyjauje involuntarily exclaimed, "praised be god, who giveth wisdom to whom it pleaseth him; but i have found none so learned of such tender age." having thus spoken, he put many other questions to the youth in every science, and he answered them so readily that the tyrant was overcome with admiration, and offered him a residence at his court; but the young man declined it, and requested his dismission, which he granted, conferring upon him a beautiful female slave richly habited, a thousand pieces of gold, and a steed elegantly caparisoned. the courtiers were astonished at the bounty of the tyrant, which he perceiving, said, "be not surprised, for the advice he hath given me was worthy of reward, and 'cursed is he who doth not requite a sincere adviser,' declareth our sacred koran." story of ins al wujjood and wird al ikmaum, daughter of ibrahim, vizier to sultan shamikh. many ages past there was a very powerful sultan who had a vizier named ibrahim, and this minister had a daughter the most beautiful of her sex and accomplished of her age, so that she became distinguished by the appellation of wird al ikmaum, or the rose among flowers. it was the custom of sultan shamikh to hold annually a general assembly of all the nobles of his kingdom, and persons eminent for science or the arts, during which they were magnificently entertained at the royal expense. the former displayed their prowess in martial exercises before the sovereign, and the latter the productions of their genius and skill; when valuable prizes were bestowed by the arbitration of appointed judges on those who deserved them. on one of the days of this festival, the vizier's daughter from a latticed balcony of the palace, in which she sat to view the sports, was so struck with the manly figure and agility of a young nobleman named ins al wujjood (or the perfection of human nature), that love took possession of her mind. she pointed him out to a female confidant, and gave her a letter to convey to the object of her affections. the young nobleman, who had heard her praises, was enraptured by his good fortune, and the next day, having obtained as full a sight of her beauties as could be had through the golden wires of the balcony, retired overcome by love. letters now passed daily, and almost hourly, between them; but they were impatient for a meeting, which was at length planned; but the note fixing the place and time was unfortunately dropped by the confidant and carried to the vizier; who, alarmed for the honour of his family, sent his daughter the same night to a far distant castle belonging to himself, and situated on an island in a vast lake, surrounded by mountainous deserts thinly inhabited. the unfortunate lady was obliged to submit to her fate, but before her departure contrived to write on the outside of her balcony the following words, "they are carrying me off, but i know not where." in the morning her lover repairing, as usual, in hopes of seeing his mistress in the balcony, read the unwelcome intelligence, which for a time deprived him of his senses. when somewhat recovered he resolved to leave the court, though then the chief favourite of the sultan, and go in search of his beloved. having put on the habit of a wandering devotee, he, on the following evening, quitted the city, and recommending himself to providence, set out, but knew not whither. many weeks did he travel, but could find no traces of his beloved object; when suddenly, passing through a thick forest, there met him a monstrous lion, from whom he thought it impossible to escape, and having uttered a prayer for the happiness of his beloved, and repeated the testimony of martyrdom, he resigned himself to his fate, and waited the spring of his expected devourer. what was his surprise when the majestic animal, instead of making him his prey, on approaching close to him, having looked compassionately in his face, licked his hands, and turning round, walked gently onwards, moving his head, as if to signify the youth should follow him. ins al wujjood did so, and was conducted through the forest by the lion; who, ascending a high mountain, suddenly stopped at the entrance of a cave, to which was a door of iron, then moving his head, and once more licking the hands of his companion, the generous animal left him, and retired back to the woods. the youth now went to the cave, and having knocked at the door, it was opened by a venerable hermit, who bade him welcome, brought him warm water to wash his feet, and set before him refreshments of various kinds. when he had eaten, he inquired the cause of his coming to such a desolate country; and ins al wujjood having related his adventures, the old man exclaimed, "thou art a favourite of heaven, or the lion would have devoured thee; despair not, therefore, of success, for my mind presages that thou wilt be happy, nor shalt thou want my assistance." ins al wujjood having thanked him for his hospitality and generous offers, the hermit informed him, that for nearly twenty years past he had not beheld a human face till a few days prior to his coming, when, wandering over the mountains, he had seen an encampment on the margin of the great lake below, in which appeared a crowd of men and women, some very richly habited, part of whom had embarked on board a stately yacht, and the remainder having taken leave of them, struck their tents, and returned by the road they had come. "most probably," said the hermit, "the yacht may have conveyed thy mistress to the castle which stands on an island in the middle of the lake, and if so thou shalt soon be safely landed: for the rest providence must be thy guide. i will this night remember thee in my prayers, and meditate on what can be done for thy benefit." having said this, the hermit conducted the wanderer to a chamber, and left him to his repose. the beautiful wird al ikmaum during this time remained overwhelmed with uneasiness in her confinement, and it was in vain that her attendants tried to amuse her. she wandered melancholy through the magnificent gardens of the castle, the groves of which were filled with every variety of birds, whose harmony was delightful; but the soft cooing of the turtle dove and the plaintive note of the lovelorn nightingale alone caught her attention. to these she would listen for hours together, reclined on a mossy bank, and fancy their pensive strains the language of her beloved. such was her daily employment, nor would she quit the garden till forced by her attendants to take shelter from the falling dews of night. we now return to her lover. fatigue and the consoling assurances of the friendly hermit had greatly composed the mind of ins al wujjood, who enjoyed a refreshing sleep, nor did he awake till the sun was mounted high in the heavens, when he joined his venerable host in his devotions; after which they partook of a repast of bread, milk, and fresh fruits. this ended, the old man requested him to fetch from the forest a bundle of the filaments of palm bark, which, when brought to him, he plaited into a shape resembling a little boat, and giving it to ins al wujjood, said, "repair to the lake, and put this into the water, when it will become instantly large enough to hold thee, then embark in it, and trust to heaven for the rest. farewell!" ins al wujjood having taken leave of his venerable friend the hermit, with many thanks, did as he had been commanded, and soon arrived on the margin of the lake, into which he launched his little vessel, when, to his great surprise, it instantaneously became a handsome boat with the sails set. he got into it, and a fair wind springing up was soon out of sight of land. for some days he was wafted over the deep; but at length the shore of an island appeared, on which he landed, and made his boat fast to the trunk of a large tree. he then walked into the country, and found it beautifully interspersed with green meadows, clear streams, and shady groves of bending fruit trees, on the branches of which all sorts of birds were warbling in their different strains. having refreshed himself with several fruits, he proceeded onwards, and at length came in sight of a superb edifice, to the gateway of which he advanced; but found it locked. for three days he waited in hopes of seeing some of its inhabitants, but in vain. however on the fourth morning the gate was opened by a man, who seeing ins al wujjood, advanced towards him, and inquired who he was, whence he came, and what was his reason for waiting at the gate. "i am of ispahaun," replied ins al wujjood, "and was shipwrecked in a trading voyage upon this coast, to the shore of which i alone of all my companions had the good fortune to escape." upon hearing this the man burst into tears, embraced him, and said, "may god preserve thee from future calamities! i am also a native of ispahaun, where also dwelt my cousin, whom i dearly loved, and by whom i was beloved. at this happy period of my youth a nation stronger than ours made war against us, overcame us, and among other captives forced me from my country; after which they sold me as a slave to my present master: but come, my dear countryman, enter the palace, and repose thyself in my apartment, where we will endeavour to console each other under our misfortunes till providence shall restore us to our homes." ins al wujjood gladly accepted such a friendly invitation, and on entering the court beheld a lofty and wide-spreading tree, from the branches of which were suspended several golden cages, each inhabited by a beautiful bird, and each striving to rival the other in melody, as if in welcome of his approach. he inquired of his host to whom the splendid edifice belonged, and was informed to the vizier of sultan shamikh; who, to secure his daughter from the vicissitudes of fortune, had lodged her here, and only visited her annually to inquire after her health, and bring the necessary supplies for her convenience and the support of her attendants in the castle. upon hearing the above circumstances, ins al wujjood was nearly overcome with ecstacy; but restraining his feelings, exclaimed to himself, "at length i have reached the abode of my beloved, and may hope for success;" which was yet, however, afar off. his charming mistress, little thinking that her lover was so near, and weary of absence and the solitude of her abode, had that very evening resolved to escape from confinement. in the darkness of night she accordingly let herself down from the battlements by a silken rope, which she had twisted from slips of various robes, and reached the ground unhurt. with haste she fled towards the sea shore, where she perceived a fishing boat, the owner of which, though at first alarmed, supposing her, from her dazzling appearance (for she was covered with jewels), to be an ensnaring genie, at length, on her assurances that she was really a woman, admitted her into his vessel. she thanked him for his kindness, which she rewarded by the gift of many rich jewels, and requested to be conveyed across the lake. the fisherman hoisted sail, and for some hours the wind was prosperous; but now a heavy tempest arose, which tossed them constantly in imminent danger for three days, and drove them far from their intended course. at length the gale subsided, the sea became assuaged, and land appeared. as they approached the shore a stately city rose to their view, the buildings of which seemed unusually magnificent. under the terrace of the sultan's palace they safely, at last, cast anchor; and it chanced that the prince, who was named dara, was then sitting with his daughter in a balcony to enjoy the fresh sea breeze, and the view of the extensive harbour, crowded with the vessels of every country. perceiving the boat, the sultan commanded his officers to bring the master and his crew to the presence. great was his surprise at the introduction of the beautiful wird al ikmaum. from her rich dress, dignified air, and demeanour, he concluded her to be of superior rank, and having seated her near his daughter, he graciously requested to be informed of the name of her country, and the cause of her having travelled to his capital; to which she replied in eloquent language, giving a summary detail of all her adventures. the sultan consoled her by encouraging assurances of his protection, promised to exert his authority to effect a union with her beloved, and immediately dispatched his vizier with costly presents to sultan shamikh, requesting him to send ins al wujjood to his court. the vizier, after a prosperous voyage, having reached the capital of sultan shamikh, presented his offerings, and made known the request of his master; to which the sultan replied, that nearly a year had elapsed since ins al wujjood had, to his great regret, absented himself from his court, nor had any tidings been obtained of the place of his retirement; but that he would order his vizier to accompany the ambassador in search of his retreat, being willing to oblige his master the sultan to the utmost of his power. accordingly, after a repose of some days, the two viziers departed in search of ins al wujjood, but without knowing where to bend their journey. at length they reached the shore of the ocean of kunnooz, on which they embarked in a hired vessel, and sailed to the mountainous island of tukkalla, of which the vizier of sultan shamikh gave to his companion the following account. "this island was some ages back inhabited by genii; a princess of whom became violently enamoured of a handsome young man, a son of an ameer of the city of misr, or cairo, whom she beheld in her flight sleeping in his father's garden in the heat of the day. she sat down by him, and having gently awoke him, the youth, on looking up, to his astonishment and rapture saw a most beautiful damsel who courted his addresses: he was not backward in offering them; and mutual protestations of love and constancy took place. after some hours of happiness the genie princess took an affectionate leave, promising soon to visit him again, and vanished from sight. the youth remained musing on his fortunate adventure till the dews of night began to fall, when his parents, fearful of some injury, sent attendants to conduct him to their palace, but he refused to go; and talked, as it appeared to them, so incoherently concerning his beloved, that they thought him distracted; seized him roughly, and forced him homewards. his father and mother were alarmed: it was in vain that they courted him to partake of refreshment; he was sullen and gloomy, and at length abruptly retired to his chamber, where he remained in restless anxiety all night, waiting impatiently for morning, that he might revisit the happy spot where his charmer had promised again to meet him. "at early dawn the ameer's son repaired to the garden, and was soon gratified with the sight of his beloved; but while they were exchanging mutual protestations of regard, the mother of the genie princess, who had suspected from her daughter's conduct that she was carrying on some intrigue, and had followed her in the air unperceived, suddenly appeared. rushing upon the lovers, she seized her daughter by the hair, beat, and abused her in the harshest language for having disgraced the honour of the genii by an amour with a wretched son of mortality: to all which the genie princess replied, that her remonstrances were vain; she had fixed her affections, and would rather be torn into a thousand pieces than desert the object of her heart. the mother upon this finding the case desperate, and being herself softened by the uncommon beauty of the youth, who had fallen at her feet, entreating mercy for his beloved, at length relented, and agreed to sanctify their loves by her consent to their marriage. it was accordingly celebrated; and this island, which after the name of the genie princess was called tukkalla, was fixed upon for the place of their residence. its magnificent palace still remains, after the lapse of many ages, and is at present in my possession. here i hope to meet my only daughter, whom i brought to reside in it nearly a year ago, to secure her from the attempts of a young courtier, on whom she had, against my consent, fixed her affections." the two viziers now disembarked, and proceeded up the island; but what was the astonishment and mortification of ibrahim on learning, when he arrived at the palace, that his daughter had escaped, nor had the attendants heard of her since her departure, though they had repeatedly searched every quarter of the island. perceiving among his attendants whom he had left at the palace a strange young man of pallid countenance, wasted frame, and melancholy air, the vizier inquired how he had come among them; and received for reply, that he was a shipwrecked merchant of ispahaun, whom they had taken in for the sake of charity. ibrahim now requested of the vizier of sultan dara that he would return to his master, and inform him of their vain search after ins al wujjood; at the same time desiring him to receive into his suite the supposed merchant as far as the city of ispahaun, which lay in his route. to this the vizier of sultan dara consented: and the two ministers having taken a friendly leave of each other separated, and departed for their several capitals. the vizier of sultan dara, in the course of the journey, became so pleased with the agreeable manners of the supposed merchant, that he often conversed with him familiarly; and at length the young man, emboldened by his condescending attention, ventured to inquire the cause of his travels to regions so distant from his own country: upon which he was informed of the arrival of the beautiful wird al ikmaum at the court of sultan dara; of the compassion of that sultan for her misfortunes; his generous protection; and his own fruitless mission in search of her lover ins al wujjood. a this happy intelligence, the latter, overcome with ecstacy, could no longer contain himself, but discovered who he was; and the vizier was also overjoyed at knowing, when least expected, that he had found the despaired of object of his long journey. he embraced the young man, congratulated him upon the speedy termination of absence from his beloved, and the happy union which awaited him. he then made him an inmate of his own tents, supplied him with rich attire, and every necessary becoming the condition of a person for whose fortunes he knew his sovereign to be so highly concerned. ins al wujjood, now easy in mind, and renovated by the happy prospects before him, daily recovered health and strength, so that by the time of their arrival at the capital of sultan dara he had regained his pristine manliness and vigour. when the vizier waited upon his master the sultan dara to communicate his successful commission, the sultan commanded the youth to his presence. ins al wujjood performed the usual obeisance of kissing the ground before the throne, with the graceful demeanour of one who had been used to a court. the sultan graciously returned his salutation, and commanded him to be seated; after which he requested him to relate his adventures, which he did in eloquent language, interspersing in his narrative poetical quotations, and extempore verses applicable to the various incidents and situations. the sultan was charmed with his story; and when he had finished its relation, sent for a cauzee and witnesses to tie the marriage knot between the happy ins al wujjood and the beautiful wird al ikmaum; at the same time dispatching a messenger to announce the celebration of the nuptials to sultan shamikh and ibrahim his vizier, who were bewailing their supposed irrecoverable losses; one that of his favourite, and the latter that of his daughter. sultan dara detained the happy couple at his court for some time, after which he dismissed them with valuable presents to their own country, which they reached in safety, and were received with the most heart-felt rejoicings by the sultan and the repentant vizier, who now recompensed them by his kindness for the former cruelty of his behaviour towards them; so that in favour with the sultan, and happy in their own family, the lovers henceforth enjoyed every earthly felicity, sweetened by the reflection on past distresses, till the angel of death summoned them to submit to the final destination of mortality. the adventures of mazin of khorassaun. in ancient days there resided in the city of khorassaun a youth named mazin, who, though brought up by his mother, a poor widow, to the humble occupation of a dyer, was so celebrated for his personal accomplishments and capacity as to become the admiration of crowds, who daily flocked to his shop to enjoy the pleasure of his conversation. this young man was as good as he was able, nor did flattery take away his humility, or make him dissatisfied with his laborious occupation, which he followed with industry unceasing, and maintained his mother and himself decently from the fruits of his labour. so delicate was his taste in the choice of colours, that veils, turbans, and vests of mazin's dyeing were sought after by all the young and gay of khorassaun; and many of the females would often cast a wishful glance at him from under their veils as they gave him their orders. mazin, however, was destined by fate not always to remain a dyer, but for higher fortunes and surprising adventures. as he was one day busy in his occupation, a man of hijjem came to his shop, and after looking at him earnestly for some moments, exclaimed, "alas, that such a noble youth should be confined to drudge at so mean an employment!" "i thank you, father, for your compassion," replied mazin, "but honest industry can never be disgraceful." "true," said the old man of hijjem, "yet if providence puts affluence and distinction in our way, should we refuse it?" "by no means," said mazin; "canst thou point me out the way to it without making me forfeit my integrity? if so, i assure thee i am not so fond of my trade but i would be glad to live at ease in an honest manner without it; for i should like to enjoy leisure to follow my studies, which have already gained me some little celebrity." "son," said the hijjemmee, "thy wishes shall be satisfied: thou hast no father, but i will be one to thee; from this instant i adopt thee as my son. i possess the art of transmuting common metals into gold: be ready at thy shop early in the morning, when i will meet thee. farewell!" having thus said, the old man took leave. mazin's curiosity and ambition were raised: he shut up his shop sooner than usual, and returned with a full heart to his mother, to whom he communicated the offered kindness of the hijjemmee. the good woman, after some moments of reflection, said, "son, i fear some evil lurks under this apparent kindness, for we live in wicked days, when men profess more than they mean to do for the sake of attaining an object; be cautious then, and do not till thou hast proof of his sincerity regard his office. we have at present all we want, and what can riches give more?" mazin agreed to the propriety of his mother's advice, and promised to be wary. they ate their usual cheerful meal, and retired to rest; but the young man could sleep but little, and he longed with impatience for the morning that was to put him into possession of the art of transmuting metals into gold. the morning arrived, and mazin repaired impatiently to his shop, where he had soon after the satisfaction of seeing his adopted father, who came bearing in his hands a crucible. "welcome, son!" "welcome, father!" was the mutual salutation; after which the hijjemmee desired mazin to kindle a fire: he did so, when the old man inquired of mazin if he had any old metal, iron, brass, copper, &c. mazin produced some pieces of an old pot of the latter metal, which were put into the crucible. when melted, the hijiemmee took from his turban a paper containing powder of a yellowish hue, which he threw into the crucible, over which he repeated some cabalistic words while he stirred the melting metal. at length he took it from the fire, and to his astonishment mazin beheld a large lump of pure gold, which the hijiemmee desired him to carry to a goldsmith's and get it exchanged for coin he did did so, and received a handsome sum, with which he returned to his adopted father. "well, my son," said the hijjemmee, "art thou now convinced of my skill, and my sincerity in offering to promote thy fortunes?" "i am," said mazin, "and am ready to follow wherever thou choosest, in hopes of learning this invaluable secret" "that shall soon be thine," replied the transmuter of metals; "i will sup with thee this evening, and in the privacy of retirement give thee the necessary instruction." mazin, overjoyed, immediately shut up his shop, and with his adopted father repaired to his own house, where he seated him in his best apartment. he then went to his mother, desiring that she would go and spend the night at a neighbour's, shewing her the gold which his broken copper had procured, as a proof of the sincerity of his new friend. the old lady no longer doubted upon such evidence, and cheerfully took leave and departed to a friend's house. mazin next went to a cook's shop, from which he returned laden with every sort of refreshment, nor was wine forgotten, though forbidden to the faithful. the adopted father and son ate heartily, at the same time pushing about the spirit-stirring liquor, till at last mazin, who had not been used to drink wine, became intoxicated. the wily magician, for such in fact was his pretended friend, watching his opportunity, infused into the goblet of his unsuspecting host a certain potent drug, which mazin had scarcely drunk oft, when he fell back upon his cushion totally insensible, the treacherous wizard tumbled him into a large chest, and shutting the lid, locked it. he then ransacked the apartments of the house of every thing portable worth having, which, with the gold, he put into another chest, then fetching in porters, he made them take up the chests and follow him to the seaside, where a vessel waited his orders to sail, and embarked with the unfortunate mazin and his plunder. the anchor was weighed, and the wind being fair, the ship was soon out of sight of the land. mazin's mother early in the morning returning to her house found the door open, her son missing, and the rooms ransacked of all her valuables. she gave a loud shriek, tore her hair, beat her bosom, and threw herself on the ground, crying out for her son, who she thought must have been murdered by the treacherous magician, against whose professions she had warned him to be cautious, till the sight of the transmuted gold had deceived her, as well as the unfortunate victim of his accursed arts. some neighbours hearing her lamentations rushed in, lifted her from the ground, and inquired the cause of her distress; which, when informed of, they endeavoured to alleviate by every consolation in their power, but in vain: the afflicted old lady was not to be comforted. she commanded a tombstone to be raised in the court-yard, over which she sat night and day bewailing her son, taking scarcely food sufficient to preserve her miserable existence. the infidel hijjemmee, who was a wicked magician and a worshipper of fire, by name bharam, hated the true believers, one of whom annually for several years past he had inveigled by his offers of instructing in the science of transmuting metals into his power; and after making him subservient to his purposes in procuring the ingredients necessary for his art, had treacherously put him to death, lest the secret should be divulged: such was now his intention towards the unfortunate mazin. on the evening of the second day after the sailing of the vessel, bharam thought proper to awaken his victim to a sense of his misery. he opened the chest, which had been placed in his cabin, and poured a certain liquid down the throat of mazin, who instantly sneezed several times; then opening his eyes, gazed for some minutes wildly around him. at length, seeing the magician, observing the sea, and feeling the motion of the ship, his mind surmised to him the misfortune which had happened; and he guessed his having fallen into the snares of the treacherous bharam, against which his mother had warned him, but in vain. still, being a virtuous mussulmaun, he would not complain against the decrees of heaven; and instead of lamentation uttered the following verse of the sacred koran: "there is no support or refuge but from the almighty, whose we are, and to whom we must return. deal gently with me, o my god, in the dictates of thy omnipotence; and make me resigned under thy chastening, o lord of all being." having finished the above prayer, mazin turning humbly towards his accursed betrayer, said in a supplicating tone, "what hast thou done, my father? didst thou not promise me enjoyment and pleasure?" the magician, after striking him, with a scowling and malignant sneer, exclaimed, "thou dog! son of a dog! my pleasure is in thy destruction. nine and thirty such ill-devoted wretches as thyself have i already sacrificed, and thou shalt make the fortieth victim to my enjoyment, unless thou wilt abjure thy faith, and become, like me, a worshipper of the sacred fire, in which case thou shalt be my son, and i will teach thee the art of making gold." "cursed be thou, thy religion, and thy art," exclaimed the enraged mazin: "god forbid that for the pleasures of this world i should apostatize from our holy prophet, and give up the glorious rewards reserved in certain store for his faithful disciples. thou mayest indeed destroy my body, but my soul despises thy torments" "vile dog!" roared out the now furious sorcerer, "i will try thy constancy." he then called in his slaves, who held mazin on the floor of the cabin while their abominable master beat him with a knotted whip till he was covered with a gore of blood, but the resolute youth, instead of complaining, uttered only prayers to heaven for divine support under his pangs, and strength of fortitude to acquire the glory of martyrdom. at length the magician, exhausted by his cruel exercise, desisted, and making his slaves load his unfortunate victim with heavy fetters, chained him down with only a coarse mat to lie upon in a dark closet, in which was placed some stinking water and coarse bread, just sufficient to keep up his miserable existence. mazin's courage was not to be overcome he washed his wounds, and comforted himself with the hope that if he died he should enjoy the blisses of paradise, or if providence had decreed his continuance in life, that the same providence would present a mode of relief from his present and future afflictions. in this assurance he took a little of his wretched fare, and in spite of the agony of his wounds fell asleep, but only to awake to fresh misery in the morning he was again persecuted by his cruel tormentor, who for three months daily harassed him with blows, with revilings, and every sort of insult that malice could invent or cruelty devise. hitherto the wind had been fair, and the vessel had nearly reached the desired haven, when suddenly it changed, and a most tremendous storm arose the waves threatened to swallow up or dash the vessel in pieces, so that all gave themselves over for lost. at this crisis the sailors, who believed that the tempest was sent by heaven as a judgment for their suffering the unfortunate mazin to be so cruelly tormented, went in a body to the accursed bharam, and accused him of having brought down the wrath of god upon the crew by his persecution of the young mussulmaun; at the same time threatening to cast him overboard if he did not instantly release the youth from his confinement. to show the seriousness of their resolves, the sailors seized the slaves who had been the instruments of the magician's cruelty, and threw them into the sea, which so alarmed the treacherous bharam that he immediately released mazin from his chains, fell at his feet, begging pardon for his hard usage, and promising if they escaped the storm to conduct him safely to his own country, and fulfil his promise of instructing him in the secret of making gold. wonderful to relate! but no sooner was mazin freed from his fetters than the violence of the tempest lessened, by degrees the winds subsided, the waves abated their swell, and the sea no longer threatened to overwhelm them: in a few hours all was calm and security, and a prosperous gale enabled the shattered vessel to resume her course. the sailors now regarding mazin as one immediately befriended by heaven, treated him with the greatest respect and attention; and the hypocritical magician pretending sorrow for his late cruelties, strove to procure his forgiveness and good opinion by every art of flattery and affected contrition; which had such an effect on the ingenuous youth that he forgot his treachery, again believed his fair promises and assurances that the torments he had undergone had only been inflicted as trials of his constancy and belief in the true religion, virtues necessary to be proved before the grand secret of transmuting metals could be trusted to his keeping. the remainder of the voyage was prosperous and happy, and at the expiration of three months more the vessel anchored on the wished for coast, which was rocky, and the beach strewed with pebbles of every colour. the magician having given orders to the master of the vessel to wait a month for their return, disembarked with mazin, and they proceeded together into the country. when they had got out of sight of the ship the magician sat down, and taking from his vestband a small drum, began to beat upon it with two sticks, when instantly a whirlwind arose, and a thick column of dust rolled towards them from the desert. mazin was alarmed, and began to repent having left the vessel; when the magician, seeing his colour change, desired him to calm his apprehensions, for which there was no cause, that he had only to obey his orders and be happy. he had scarcely spoken when the wind ceased, the dust dispersed, and three camels stood before them, one of which was laden with water and provisions; the others were bridled and very richly caparisoned. bharam having mounted one, and, at his desire, mazin the other, they travelled without ceasing, except to take the necessary refreshment and repose, for seven days and nights successively over a wild and sandy desert. on the eighth morning they reached a beautifully fertile tract, delightfully watered by clear streams; the ground verdant, shaded by spreading trees laden with fruit, on whose branches various birds warbled melodiously, and beneath them antelopes and other forest animals sported unmolested. at the end of a thick avenue rose to view a capacious dome of blue and green enamel, resting upon four columns of solid gold, each pillar exceeding in value the treasures of the sovereigns of persia and greece. they approached the dome, stopped their camels and dismounted, and turned the animals to graze. this splendid building was surrounded by a delightful garden, in which the now happy mazin and the magician reposed themselves all that day and night. at some distance from this enchanting spot appeared a stupendous fabric, whose numerous turrets and lofty pinnacles glittered to the eye, and denoted a palace of uncommon magnificence, so that the curiosity of mazin was raised, and he could not help inquiring of his companion to whom such a superb edifice might belong. the magician, rather roughly, desired him for the present to ask no questions concerning a place which belonged to his most bitter enemies, who were evil genii, and of whom at a proper time he would give him the history. mazin was silent, but from the magician's manner he began to forbode some new treachery. in the morning bharam beat his magical drum, and the three camels appealed, when mazin and his companion mounted, pursuing their journey in the same manner as before for seven days, with a speed more resembling flight than the pace of travel, for their camels were supernatural. on the eighth morning the magician inquired of mazin what he saw on the horizon. "i behold," said he, "to appearance, a range of thick black clouds extending from east to west." "they are not clouds," replied bharam, "but lofty mountains, called the jubbal al sohaub, or mountains of clouds, from their cloud-like appearance, on their summit lies the object of our journey, which with thy assistance we shall soon obtain, and return to our vessel more enriched than all the sovereigns of the world, but thou must be sure to obey me in whatever i may command." mazin promised to do so, but his heart trembled within him as he beheld the gloomy prospect before him, and recollected the boast which the accursed magician had made of his having sacrificed thirty-nine youthful victims on these mountains, and also his threat on board the ship to make the fortieth offering of himself. he repented of having trusted himself from the vessel, but it was now too late to recede. he resigned himself to the same providence who had relieved his sufferings in his voyage, and concealed, as well as he could, his uneasiness from the magician, who now endeavoured to sooth and flatter him with artful promises and caresses. for four days longer they pursued their route, when it was stopped by the black mountains, which formed, as it were, a wall inaccessible, for the precipices were perpendicular, as if scarped by art, and their tremendous height cast a dark and gloomy shade to a vast distance. they now dismounted, and turned their camels to graze, when the magician took out of his package three loaves and a sum of water, after which he lighted a fire; then having beat his talismanic drum, the camels again appeared, the smallest of which he killed, embowelled, and carefully flayed off the skin, the inside of which he washed with water. having done thus, he addressed mazin, saying, "my son, the task must now be thine to crown our labours with success. enter this skin, with these loaves and this water bag for thy sustenance while thou remainest on the summit of the mountain. be not afraid, for no harm can happen i will sew up the skin, leaving room enough for the admission of air. by and by a roc will descend, and seizing it in her talons carry thee easily through the air. when she shall have alighted on the table-land of the mountain, rip open the stitches of the skin with thy dagger, and the roc on seeing thee will be instantly scared, and fly far away. then arise, gather as much as possible of a black dust which thou wilt find thickly strewed on the ground; put it into this bag, and throw it down to me, after which i will contrive an easy means for thy descent, and when thou hast rejoined me we will return to our vessel, and i will convey thee safely back to thy own country. the dust, which has the quality of transmuting metals into gold, we will share between us, and shall each have enough to rival all the treasuries on earth." mazin finding it in vain to oppose, allowed himself to be sewn up in the camel's skin with the loaves and water, recommending himself by mental prayer to the protection of allah and his prophet. the magician having finished his work retired to some distance, when, as he had said, a monstrous roc, darting from a craggy precipice, descended with the rapidity of lightning, grasped the skin in her widely extended talons, and soaring swifter than the eagle soon alighted on the table-land of the mountain; when mazin, feeling himself on the ground, ripped the stitches of his dangerous enclosure, and the roc being alarmed, uttered a loud scream and flew away. mazin now arose, and walked upon the surface of the mountain, which he found covered with black dust; but he beheld also the skeletons of the young men whom the accursed bharam, after they had served his purpose, had left to perish. his blood became chilled with horror at the view, as he apprehended the same unhappy fate: he however filled his bag with the black powder, and advanced to the edge of a precipice, from which he beheld the magician eagerly looking upwards to discover him. mazin called out; and when the hypocrite saw him, he began dancing and capering for joy, at the same time exclaiming, "welcome, welcome, my son! my best friend, beloved child! all our dangers are now over, throw me down the bag." "i will not," said mazin, "but will give it thee when thou hast conveyed me safely from this perilous summit." "that is not in my power," answered bharam, "till i shall have the bag: cast it down, and i swear by the fire which i worship immediately to procure thee a safe descent." mazin, relying on his oath, and seeing no other chance of escape, cast down the bag; which having taken up, the accursed sorcerer mounted his camel and was departing. the unhappy mazin in agony called after him, saying, "surely thou wilt not forfeit thy oath, nor leave me to perish!" "perish thou must, mussulmaun dog!" exclaimed the treacherous magician, "that my secret may be kept, nor can thy boasted prophet save thee from destruction; for around thee are mountains impassable, and below a fathomless sea. i have obtained what i wished, and leave thee to thy fate." having said thus he speeded onwards, and was soon out of sight. mazin was now in an agony of despair, not a ray of hope comforted his mind; he beat his bosom, threw himself on the ground amid the mouldering skeletons of the former victims to the treachery of the magician, and lay for some time in a state of insensibility. at length the calls of hunger and thirst forced him back to a sense of wretched existence; and the love of life, however miserable, made him have recourse to his water and his loaves. being somewhat revived, religion came to his aid, and he began to pray for resignation to submit to the decrees of heaven, however painful. he then walked to the edge of the mountain overhanging the sea, which he observed to wash the base of the rock without any beach, at sight of which a desperate chance of escape struck his mind: this was, to throw himself from the precipice into the ocean, in hopes, should he survive the fall and rise to the surface, he might reach land. he commended himself to god, shut his eyes, held in his breath, and giving a desperate spring, plunged headlong into the dreadful abyss, which providentially received him unhurt, and a friendly wave drove him on shore; where, however, he remained some minutes in a lifeless stupor, owing to the rapidity of his descent from the brain-sickening precipice. when his senses returned mazin looked wildly around him, at first scarcely able to bear the light from the recollection of the dizzy eminence from which he had plunged; and an uneasy interval elapsed before he could persuade himself that the certainty of death was past. convinced at length of this, he prostrated himself to the earth, and exclaimed, "in god alone is our refuge and support! i thought i should have perished, but his providence has sustained me." he then wept exceedingly, entreated forgiveness of his offences, read several passages from the koran, which he had preserved in his vestband, repeated the whole of his rosary, and besought the intercession of the prophet for his deliverance from future dangers. after this he walked onwards till evening, the fruits of the forest his food, his drink the water of the streams, and his resting place the green turf. such was his progress, that after three days he reached the spot under the mountain where he had been taken up by the roc in the camel's skin. he now recognized the road he had come; and after measuring back his steps for nine days, beheld on the last the superb palace, concerning which he had inquired of the magician, who had informed him it was inhabited by evil genii, his most bitter enemies. for some time mazin hesitated whether he should advance to the gates of the palace; but considering that no greater calamity could happen to him than he had already endured, he contemned danger, and boldly advanced to a grand lodge built of white marble exquisitely polished. he entered, and beheld on one of the raised platforms which skirted the passage into the court two beautiful damsels playing at the game of chess; one of whom on beholding him exclaimed, "surely, sister, this is the young man who passed this way about a month ago with bharam the magician?" "i am he!" exclaimed mazin, at the same time throwing himself at her feet, "and entreat your hospitable protection." the lady, raising him from the ground, said, "stranger, you resemble so much a once beloved brother, that i feel inclined to adopt thee as such, if my sister will also agree to do so." the other lady readily assented. they then embraced mazin, seated him between them, and requested to be informed of his adventures, of which he gave them a true narration. when mazin had concluded his story, the ladies expressed compassion for his misfortunes, and the strongest resentment against the accursed magician, whom they vowed to punish by a tormenting death for having had the insolence to accuse them of being evil genii. they then proceeded to acquaint him with the cause of their residence in this secluded palace, saying, "brother, for as such we shall henceforward regard you, our father is a most potent sultan of a race of good genii, who were converted by solomon, the son of david, to the true faith; we are seven daughters by the same mother; but for some cause which we do not know the sultan our father, being fearful of our becoming connected with mankind, has placed us in this solitary spot. this palace was erected by genii for our accommodation; the meadows and forests around it are delightful, and we often amuse ourselves with field sports, there being plenty of every sort of game, as you must have observed. when we want horses or camels we have only to beat a small magical drum, and they instantly attend our call, ready caparisoned. our five sisters are at present at the chase, but will soon return. set thy heart at rest, forget thy misfortunes, which are now at an end, and thou shall live with us in ease and pleasure." the five sisters soon returned, and mazin's adventures being recounted to them they also adopted him as their brother; and he continued with these ladies, who strove to divert him all in their power by repeated rounds of amusements: one day they hunted, another hawked, another fished, and their indoor pleasures were varied and delightful; so that mazin soon recovered his health, and was happy to the extent of his wishes. a year had elapsed, when mazin one day riding out for his amusement to the enamelled dome supported on four golden columns, perceived under it the accursed magician, and with him a youth, whom, like himself, he had inveigled into his snares, and devoted also to destruction. the rage of mazin was kindled at the sight; he drew his sabre, and rushing unperceived behind the sorcerer, who was in the act of flaying a camel for the purposes already described, seized him by his hair, and exclaimed, "wretch! the judgment of heaven at length hath overtaken thee, and soon shall thy impure soul be plunged into that fire thou hast blasphemously adored." the magician struggled, but in vain. he then implored for mercy and forgiveness; but mazin, convinced by experience that he deserved none, struck off his head at one blow. then informing the intended victim, who stood near gazing with astonishment, of the wicked arts of the accursed bharam, and of his own narrow escape from almost certain destruction, he advised the young man to remount his camel, and return to the spot where he had disembarked from the vessel, which would safely convey him back to his own country. the youth, having thanked him for his deliverance, took his leave; and mazin returned to the palace, carrying with him the head of the magician as a trophy of his victory. he was highly applauded for his prowess by the sisters, who rejoiced in the destruction of so cruel an enemy to mankind. many days had not elapsed after this event, when one morning mazin and the sisters sitting together in a gallery of the palace, observed a thick cloud of dust rising from the desert and approaching towards them. as it came nearer they perceived through it a troop of horsemen; upon which the sisters, desiring mazin to retire into an inner chamber, went to the gateway to inquire who the strangers might be. they were servants of the genie sultan, father to the ladies, and sent by him to conduct them to his presence, in order to attend the nuptials of a near relation. upon this summons the sisters prepared for the journey, and at the end of three days departed, assuring mazin that they would return in a month. at taking leave they gave him the keys of every apartment in the palace, telling him that he might open every door except one, which to enter might be attended with unpleasant consequences, and therefore had better be avoided. mazin promised to observe their caution; and for many days was so well amused in examining the magnificent rooms and curiosities of the palace, that he did not feel a wish to transgress till the forbidden door alone remained unopened. having then nothing to divert him, he could not resist the impulse of curiosity, but unlocked the door, which opened on a marble staircase by which he ascended to the terraced roof of the palace, from whence a most delightful prospect feasted his sight. on one side his eye was arrested by an extensive garden, in the centre of which, under shady trees, was a basin of clear water, lined with gems of every colour and description. he resolved to visit this enchanting object; and descending the staircase, explored his way through a long arcade, which led him at length into the garden, in which he diverted himself with the scenery it afforded for some time. he then retired to an alcove on the margin of the basin, and sat down; but had not rested many moments, when to his astonishment he beheld descending from the sky a company of beautiful damsels, whose robes of light green silk floating in the air seemed their only support. alarmed at such a preternatural appearance, he retired to the end of the alcove, from whence he watched their motions. they alighted on the brink of the water, and having thrown off their robes, stood to the enraptured view of mazin in native loveliness. never had he beheld such enchanting beauty; but one even more exquisitely charming than the rest attracted his gaze, and from the instant fixed the affections of his heart. they now plunged into the basin, where for some time they amused themselves by swimming, every now and then playfully dashing the water over themselves and at each other. when satiated with frolic they came out of the water, sat for some time on the verdant margin, then dressed themselves, and adjusting their robes to the air, soared aloft, and were soon far from the sight of the enamoured mazin, who followed them till his eyes could stretch no farther; then despairing of ever again beholding the object of his affections, he fainted on the grass, and it was some time before he recovered his senses. he returned melancholy to the palace, and spent the night in reposeless agitation. the following morning the seven sisters returned; and she who had first welcomed him to their abode, and had ever since retained for mazin the purest affection, ran with eagerness to inquire after his health. great was her affliction on beholding him upon his bed, pale, and apparently in a state of rapid decay. after many kind questions, to which he returned no answers, she entreated earnestly, by the vow of brotherly and sisterly adoption which had past between them, that he would inform her of the cause of his unhappy dejection; assuring him that she would use every exertion to remove it, and gratify his wishes, be they what they might, however difficult to be obtained. mazin upon this, in a feeble tone, related his adventure in the garden; and declared that unless the beautiful (he supposed celestial) damsel could be obtained for him he must die of grief. the sister bade him be comforted, for in a short time his desires should be satisfied, which revived his spirits, and he accompanied his kind hostess to welcome home her sisters, who received him with their usual hospitality, but were grieved and alarmed at the sad alteration in his appearance, of which they inquired the reason, and were informed that it was the effect of absence from his generous patronesses. the next morning the sisters went upon a hunting excursion for ten days, only one (his kindest friend) remained in the palace, under pretence of attending mazin, whose health, she said, was too delicate to bear the exercise of the chase. when the others were departed, she informed mazin that the beautiful beings he had seen in the garden were of a race of genie much more powerful than her own, that they inhabited a country surrounded by seas and deserts not to be approached by human exertion, that the ladies he beheld were sisters to the queen of these genii, whose subjects were entirely female, occasionally visited by male genii, with whom they were in alliance for the sake of population, and to whom all the males were sent away as soon as born. she further told him, that these females had the power, from their silken robes, of soaring through the air with a flight an hundred times swifter than that of any bird, that they were fond of recreating in verdant spots, and bathing in the clearest waters, and that the garden he had seen them in was a favourite place of their resort, so that they would probably soon visit it again. "possibly," continued she, "they may recreate themselves there to-day; we will be on the watch, and if they appear, you must fix your eye on your favourite, mark where she places her robes, and while they are in the water seize and conceal them, for deprived of these she cannot fly away, and you may make her your prisoner. bring her to the palace, and endeavour by tenderness and endearing attention to gain her affection and consent to marriage; but remember when she is in your power to keep her robes from her, for should she regain possession of them she would certainly return to the flying islands, and you would see her no more." mazin and his adopted sister now repaired to the garden, and seated themselves in the alcove, nor had they been there long when the fair genii appeared as before, descended on the margin of the basin, and all having undressed, each laying her robes by themselves, rushed playfully into the water, in which they began to swim, dive, and besprinkle playfully each other. mazin, whose eager eye had ardently watched his beloved, swiftly, but cautiously, snatching up the robes of his mistress, conveyed them to the alcove unobserved by the fair bathers; who, when they had sufficiently amused themselves, quitted the water, and ascending the bank, began to dress; but how can we describe the distressful confusion of the unhappy genie whose robes had been stolen? big tears rolled down her beautiful cheeks, she beat her bosom, tore her hair, and uttered loud shrieks, while her sisters, instead of consoling her, were concerned only for their own safety, and dressing themselves with confused haste, bade her farewell, mounted into the air, and disappeared. on their departure, mazin and his adopted sister approached, and saluting the disconsolate genie endeavoured to console her, but for the present in vain, her mind being intent only on the sad captivity she thought awaited her, and the loss of her native country and relations. they led her gently to the palace, and mazin, retiring respectfully, left her to the care of his adopted sister, who by a thousand endearments and attentions so gained upon her, that in two days the genie began to recover her spirits, and consented to receive mazin as her husband, when the ladies should return from the chase. on their arrival at the palace they were informed by their sisters of what had happened, and introduced to the fair stranger; who, diverted by their company and attentions, now scarcely regretted her captivity. preparations were made for the nuptials, and in a short time mazin was made happy in the possession of his beloved genie. a round of festivities succeeded their marriage, and the seven sisters strove with each other who should by invention of new amusements make their residence among them most delightful to the happy pair mazin, however, now began to think of his mother and his native city with fond regret, and at length begged leave of his kind patronesses to return home, to which request they, from admiration of his filial love, though unwilling to part, consented, and a day was fixed for his departure. the time being arrived, the sisters beat their magical drum, when several camels appeared at the gates of the palace heavily laden with the richest goods, a large sum of money, valuable jewels, and refreshments for the journey, led by proper attendants. one camel carried a splendid litter for the conveyance of his wife, and another was richly caparisoned for the use of mazin, who, having taken an affectionate leave of his generous benefactresses, whom he promised to revisit at some future time, departed, and pursued the route back towards the sea shore, where he had disembarked with the magician. on the journey nothing remarkable occurred, and on their arrival at the coast they found a vessel ready to receive them, when the wind proving fair, a short time carried them safely to bussorah, where mazin had the satisfaction of finding his mother alive, though greatly wasted with constant grief and lamentation for his loss. to describe the joy of their meeting is impossible, for never was there more tender affection between parent and child than subsisted between mazin and his mother. she seemed to gain new life from his recovery, and again to grow young. the fair genie, who was now in the way of being a mother, appeared perfectly contented in her situation, and mazin, so unexpectedly restored to his country, was happy in the possession of all he wished; for the generous sisters had bestowed such wealth upon him, that, in addition to the domestic felicity he enjoyed, he was now one of the richest persons in all bussorah. three years had rolled away in undisturbed happiness, during which the fair genie had borne him two sons, when mazin thought it grateful to perform his promise to the seven sisters, the benevolent foundresses of his good fortune. having accordingly made preparations for his journey, he committed his wife's native robes to the care of his mother, giving her the key of a secret recess in which he had lodged them, but with a strict charge not to let the genie put them on, lest an irresistible impulse might inspire her to fly away to her own country; for though in general she had seemed contented, he had heard her now and then express a wish to be again with her own friends and species. the mother promised obedience, and mazin having taken an affectionate leave of her, his wife and children, with assurances of speedy return, embarked on board a vessel and pursued his voyage, which was uncommonly prosperous. on his landing he found camels waiting his arrival on the beach, for the genie ladies, by magic arts, knew of his coming, and had stationed them for his conveyance to their palace, which he reached in safety, and was received with the most affectionate welcomes and hospitality. some time after the departure of mazin, his wife requested her mother-in-law's permission to amuse herself at a public bath, and the old lady willingly accompanied her and the children to the most celebrated hummaum in the city, which was frequented by the ladies and those of the chief personages of the court, the caliph haroon al rusheed then happening to be at bussorah. when they reached the bath there were then in it some of the principal female slaves, attendants of zobeide, who, on the entrance of mazin's wife, were struck with her uncommon beauty, and instantly collecting round her, rapturously gazed upon her as she was undressing. the slaves of zobeide did not cease to admire mazin's wife till she left the hummaum, and even followed her till she entered her own house, when dusk had begun to gloom, and they became apprehensive of their mistress's being displeased at their long absence, and so it happened. upon entering into her presence, zobeide exclaimed, "where have ye loitered, and what has been the cause of your unusually long stay at the hummaum?" upon which they looked confusedly at each other, and remained silent. the sultana then said in anger, "instantly inform me of the cause of your delay!" when they related the wonderful beauty of mazin's wife, and dwelt so much upon her charms, that zobeide was overcome by curiosity to behold them. on the following day she sent for the mother of mazin, who obeyed the summons with fear and trembling, wondering what could have made the caliph's consort desirous of seeing a person of her inferior rank. mazin's mother prostrated herself, and kissed the feet of the sultana, who graciously raising her, said, "am mazin, our wish is that you introduce to me your son's wife, of whose beauty i have heard such a description, that i long to behold her." when the mother of mazin heard these words, her heart sunk within her, she trembled, but dared not refuse the command of zobeide, and she said, "to hear is to obey!" after which she took leave, with the usual ceremony of prostration before the throne of the sultana. when the mother of mazin left the princess zobeide she returned towards her own house; and when she had reached it, entered to her son's wife, and said, "our sultana zobeide hath invited thee to an entertainment." the wife of mazin was delighted, instantly rose up, arrayed herself in the richest apparel she was mistress of, and dressed her two children in their choicest garments and ornaments then with them, the mother of her husband, and a black slave, she proceeded, till they reached the palace of the princess zobeide, which they entered, and found her sitting in impatient expectation. they kissed the ground be fore her, and prayed for her prosperity. when the sultana zobeide beheld the wife of mazin her senses were confounded, her heart fluttered, she was astonished at her beauty, elegance, graceful stature, and blooming complexion, and exclaimed, "gracious heaven! where could such a form as this have been created?" then she seated her guests, and ordered a collation to be brought in, which was done immediately, when they ate and were satisfied, but zobeide could not keep her eyes from the wife of mazin of bussorah. she kissed her, and questioned her concerning what had befallen herself and her husband. her astonishment was redoubled on the relation of their adventures. the wife of mazin then said, "my princess, if you are thus surprised, though you have not seen me in my native robes, how would you be delighted at my appearance in them! if, therefore, you wish to gratify your curiosity by beholding a miracle, you must command the mother of my husband to bring my country dress." upon this zobeide commanded the mother of mazin to fetch the flying robes, and as she dared not disobey the sultana of the caliph, she went home, and speedily returned with them. zobeide took them into her hands, examined them, and was surprised at their fashion and texture. at length she gave them to the wife of mazin. when the wife of mazin had received the robes, she unfolded them, and going into the open court of the palace, arrayed herself in them, then taking her children in her arms, mounted with them suddenly into the air. when she had ascended to about the height of sixty feet, she called out to the mother of her husband, saying, "give my adieu, dear mother, to my lord, and tell him, should ardent love for me affect him he may come to me in the islands of waak al waak." after this speech she soared towards the clouds, till she was hidden from their eyes, and speeded to her own country. when the mother of mazin beheld her in the air, she beat her cheeks, scattered dust upon her head, and cried aloud to the princess zobeide, "this is thy mischief." zobeide was not able to answer or reprove her boldness from the excess of her sorrow and regret, which made her repent, when repentance could not avail. the old lady returned in despair to her own habitation. thus it happened to the persons above mentioned, but how was it with the affairs of mazin? he did not cease travelling for some time, till he arrived at the palace of the seven sisters, and paid his respects. they were rejoiced at his arrival, and inquired after his wife, when he informed them she was well, and that god had blessed him with two children, both sons, which added to their satisfaction. he remained with them for some time, after which he entreated their permission to depart. they took a tender leave of him, when he bade them farewell, and returned towards his own country; nor did he halt till he arrived in safety at bussorah. when he entered his house he found his mother alone, mournfully weeping and lamenting what had happened in his absence. seeing her in this state, he inquired the cause, upon which she informed him of all that had occurred, from the beginning to the conclusion. when mazin had heard the unwelcome intelligence, he cried out in an agony of distress for the loss of his wife and children, fell fainting to the ground, and forgot his own existence. his mother, on beholding his condition, beat her cheeks, and sprinkled water upon his face till he came to himself, when he wept and said to his mother, "inform me what my wife may have spoken on her departure." she repeated her farewell words: upon hearing which his distress and ardent longing for his wife and children was redoubled. he remained mournfully at home for the space of ten days, after which he resolved upon the journey to the islands of waak al waak, distant from bussorah one hundred and fifty years of travel. mazin departed from his mother after he had taken leave and entreated her prayers for his success, but the aged matron was so affected that she ordered her tomb to be prepared, and did nothing but weep and lament night and day for her son, who did not halt till he had reached the palace of the seven sisters. when they saw him they were surprised, and said to one another, "there must be some urgent cause for his returning so speedily." they saluted him, and inquired after his affairs: upon which he informed them of the desertion of his wife, what she had said at going away, and of his resolves to travel to the islands of waak al waak. the seven ladies replied, "this expedition is impossible to be accomplished either by thee or any of thy race; for these islands are distant a hundred and fifty years' journey, so that thou canst not live to reach them." mazin exclaimed, "my attempting it, however, is incumbent upon me, though i may perish on the road: if god has decreed my reunion with my wife i shall meet her again; but if not, i shall die and be received into the mercy of the almighty." the sisters did not cease to importune him to lay aside the journey, but it was impossible for him to obey them or remain at ease; upon which their grief for his situation increased. they knew that the distance was such as he could never overcome by human aid, or rejoin his wife, but they respected his ardent love for her and his children. on this account they consulted with one another how to assist him on the journey. he remained with them a month, but unable to repose or enjoy their entertainments. the sisters had two uncles, one named abd al kuddoos, and the other abd al sulleeb, who lived at three months distance from them, to whom they wrote in recommendation of mazin as follows. "the bearer is our friend mazin of bussorah. if you can direct him how to reach the islands of waak al waak, assist him; but if not, prevent him from proceeding, lest he plunge himself into destruction. at present he will not attend to our advice or reproofs, from excess of love to his wife and children, but through you there may finally occur to him safety and success." when they had sealed this letter they gave it to mazin, and bestowed also upon him, of water and provisions, what would suffice for three months' consumption, laden upon camels, and a steed for his conveyance, upon which he took leave of them with many thanks, fully resolved to pursue his journey to the islands of waak al waak. with much pain and difficulty he pursued his journey, nor had he any pleasure either in eating or drinking during the three months of his pilgrimage. at length he reached a verdant pasturage, in which was a variety of flowers, flocks of sheep, and cattle feeding. it was indeed a paradise upon earth. in one part of it he perceived a pleasant eminence on which were buildings: he advanced to them, and entered a court. within it he beheld a venerable looking personage, his beard flowing to his middle, whom he saluted; when the sage returned his compliments, welcomed him with respectful demeanour, and congratulated him on his arrival. he seated him, and laid before him a collation, of which they both ate till they were satisfied. mazin lodged with him that night, and in the morning the sage inquired of him his situation, and the reason of his coming to such a sequestered spot. mazin informed him; and, behold! this personage was abd al kuddoos; who, when he heard his guest mention particulars of his brother's children, redoubled his attentions to him, and said, "did they give you any letter?" mazin replied, "yes." he eagerly exclaimed, "give it to me." he gave it him, when he opened it, read it to himself, and considered the contents word byword. abd al kuddoos gazed earnestly at mazin; reflected on his adventures, at which he was astonished; and how he had plunged himself into danger and difficulty in such a wild pursuit. he then said to him, "my son, my advice is, that thou return by the way which thou hast come, and no longer vex thy soul on account of impossibilities, for this business thou canst not accomplish. i will write to the daughters of my brother what shall make thee happy with them, and restore thy peace. return then to them, and perplex not thyself farther, for between this spot and the islands of waak al waak is the distance of a hundred and fifty years' journey. on the way also are numerous perils, for in it are the abodes of genii, the haunts of wild beasts, and monstrous serpents, and some parts also where food cannot be had or thirst be gratified. have compassion then, my son, upon thyself, and rush not on destruction." abd al kuddoos continued to dissuade him from his resolution during three days, but he would not hear advice or reproof. on the third he prepared to depart, being sufficiently refreshed; upon which the old man, seeing his steadiness, arose, kindled a fire, cast into it some perfumes, and uttered incantations, to mazin unintelligible; when suddenly appeared a genie, in stature forty cubits; he was one of the subdued spirits of our lord solomon. he muttered and growled, saying, "for what, my lord, hast thou summoned me here? shall i tear up this eminence by the roots, and hurl it beyond the mountains of kaaf?" abd al kuddoos replied, "god be merciful to thee; i have occasion for thee, and request that thou wilt accomplish my wish in one day:" upon which the genie answered, "to hear is to obey." abd al kuddoos then said to the genie, "take up this young man, and convey him to my brother abd al sullecb." he consented, though the distance was a common journey of seventy years. the genie advanced, seized mazin, and placing him upon his shoulders, soared with him through the air from morning till sunset, when he descended before abd al sulleeb, paid his respects, and informed him of the commands of his brother abd al kuddoos. upon this he greeted mazin, who presented him the letter from the daughters of his brother, which he opened and read. when he had examined the contents, he was astonished at the circumstances which had befallen mazin, his arrival with him, and his resolve to penetrate to the islands of waak al waak. he then said to him, "my son, i advise that thou vex not thyself with these difficulties and dangers, for thou canst never attain thy object, or reach these islands." mazin now began to despair, and at the remembrance of his wife and children to weep bitterly, insomuch that he fainted, which, when abd al sulleeb beheld, his heart sympathized with his unhappy condition. he perceived that he would not return from his pursuit, or be controlled, and therefore thought it best to assist his progress towards the islands. going into another apartment, he kindled a fire, over which he sprinkled some perfumes, and uttered incantations; when, lo! ten genii presented themselves before him, and said, "inform us, my lord, what thou desirest, and we will bring it thee in an instant." he replied, "may god be gracious unto you!" and related to them the story of maxin, his wife, and children. when the ten genii had heard the narration, they exclaimed, "this affair is wonderful and miraculous; however, we will take and convey him safely over the mountains and deserts, to the extent of our country and dominion, and leave him there, but cannot promise further assistance, as we dare not pass a step beyond our own territories, for the land belongs to others. in it are innumerable horrors, and we dread the inhabitants." mazin having heard what they said, exclaimed, "i accept your offer with gratitude." the ten genii now took up mazin, soared with him through the air for a night and day, till they came to the limits of their territories, and then set him down in a country called the land of kafoor, took, their leaves, and vanished from his sight. he walked onwards, and did not neglect to employ his tongue in prayer, beseeching from god deliverance and the attainment of his wishes. often would he exclaim, "o god, deliverer from bondage, who canst guide in safety over mountains, who feedest the wild beasts of the forest, who decreest life and death, thou canst grant me if thou choosest relief from all my distress, and free me from all my sorrows." in this manner did he travel onwards during ten days; on the last of which he beheld three persons contending with each other, each man trying to kill his fellow. he was astonished at their conduit, but advanced towards them. upon his approach they desisted from combat, and one and all exclaimed, "we will be judged before his young man, and whoever contradicts his opinion shall be deemed in the wrong." to this they agreed, and coming up to mazin, demanded from him a just arbitration in their dispute. they then displayed before him a cap, a small copper drum, and a wooden ball, saying, "we are three brothers, by the same father and mother, who are both received into the mercy of god, leaving behind them these articles. they are three, and we are three; but a dispute hath fallen out among us respecting their allotment, as each of us says, 'i will have the cap.' our contention made us proceed to blows, but now we are desirous that thou shouldst arbitrate between us, and allot an article to each of us as thou shall judge best, when we will rest satisfied with thy decision, but should either contradict it he shall be adjuged an offender." when mazin heard the above he was surprised, and said to himself, "these articles are so paltry and of such trifling value as not to be worth an arbitration; for surely this shabby cap, the drum, and the wooden ball, cannot be worth altogether more than half a deenar; but i will inquire farther about them." he then said, "my brethren, wherein lies the value of these three things about which you were contending, for to me they appear of very little worth." they replied, "dear uncle, each of them has a property worth treasuries of wealth, and to each of them belongs a tale so wonderful, that wert thou to write it on a tablet of adamant it would remain an example for those who will be admonished." mazin then requested that they would relate to him the stories of the three articles, when they said, "the eldest brother shall first deliver the account of one, its properties, what can be gained from them, and we will not conceal any thing from thee." "this cap," said the elder brother, "is called the cap of invisibility, by which, whoever possesseth it may become sovereign of the world. when he puts it on, he may enter where he pleases, for none can perceive him, either genii or men, so that he may convey away whatever he chooses, unseen, in security. he may enter the cabinets of kings and statesmen, and hear all they converse upon respecting political intrigues. does he covet wealth, he may visit the royal treasuries, and plunder them at his pleasure; or does he wish for revenge, he can kill his enemy without being detected. in short, he may act as he pleases without fear of discovery." mazin now said to himself, "this cap can become nobody but me, to whom it will be most advantageous in the object of my expedition. perhaps it may conduct me to my wife and children, and i may obtain from its possession all i wish. it is certainly one of the wonders of the world and rarities of the age, not to be found among the riches of kings of the present day." when he had ruminated thus, he said, "i am acquainted with the properties of the cap, what are those of the drum?" the second brother began, saying, "whoever has this drum in his possession, should he be involved in a difficult situation, let him take it out of its case, and with the sticks gently beat upon the characters engraven on the copper; when, if his mind be collected and his courage firm, there will appear to him wonderful matters. the virtue of it consists in the words inscribed upon it, which were written by our lord solomon bin david in talismanic characters, each of which has control over certain spirits and princes of the genii, and a power that cannot be described in speech. hence, whoever is master of this drum may become superior to all the monarchs of the present day, for, on his beating it in the manner already described, when he is pressed for help, all the princes of the genii, with their sons, will appear also their troops and followers, ready to obey his commands. whatever he may order them to execute they will perform by virtue of the talisman of our lord solomon bin david." when mazin of bussorah had heard the above, he said to himself, "this drum is fitting only for me, as i have much more need of it than the brothers. it will protect me from all evil in the islands of waak al waak, should i reach them, and meet with my wife and children. it is true, if i take only the cap i may be able to enter all places, but this drum will keep injury from me, and with it i shall be secure from all enemies." after this, he said, "i have been informed of the virtues of the cap, and the properties of the drum, there now only remains the account of the wooden ball, that i may give judgment between you, therefore let the third brother speak." he answered, "to hear is to obey." the third brother said, "my dear uncle, whoever possesses this ball will find in it wonderful properties, for it brings distant parts near, and makes near distant, it shortens long journeys, and lengthens short ones if any person wish to perform one of two hundred years in two days, let him take it from its case, then lay it upon the ground and mention what place he desires to go, it will instantly be in motion, and rush over the earth like the blast of the stormy gale. he must then follow it till he arrives at the place desired, which he will have the power to do with ease." when the youth had concluded his description of the virtue of the wooden ball, mazin resolved within himself to take this also from the brothers, and said, "if your wish be that i should arbitrate between you, i must first prove the virtues of these three articles, and afterwards let each take that which may fall to him by decision." the three brothers exclaimed, "we have heard, and we consent; act as thou thinkest best, and may god protect thee in thy undertakings!" mazin then put on the cap, placed the drum under his vestband, took up the ball and placed it on the ground, when it speeded before him swiftly as the gale. he followed it till it came to the gate of a building which it entered, and mazin also went in with it. the brothers ran till they were fatigued, and cried out, "thou hast sufficiently tried them;" but in vain, for by this time there was between him and them the distance of ten years' journey. mazin now rested, took the drum in his hands, rubbed his fingers over the talismanic characters, hesitated whether he should strike them with the sticks, then labored lightly upon them, when, lo! a voice exclaimed, "mazin, thou hast gained thy desires. "thou wilt not, however," continued the voice, "arrive at thy object till after much trouble, but take care of the ball in this spot, for thou art at present in the land of the evil genii." upon this, mazin took up the ball and concealed it in his clothes; but he was overcome with astonishment at hearing words without seeing the speaker, and exclaimed, "who art thou, my lord?" "i am," replied the voice, "one of the slaves of the characters which thou seest engraved upon the drum, and unremittingly in attendance; but the other servants will not appear except the drum be beaten loudly, when three hundred and sixty chiefs will attend thy commands, each of whom has under his authority ten thousand genii, and every individual of them numerous followers." mazin now inquired the distance of the islands of waak al waak; to which the voice replied, "three years' journey:" upon which he struck the ball before him, and followed it. he next arrived in a region infested by serpents, dragons, and ravenous beasts, in the mountains of which were mines of copper. he now again tabored gently upon the drum, when the voice exclaimed, "i am ready to obey thy commands." "inform me," said mazin, "what is the name of this country?" "it is called," answered the voice, "the land of dragons and ravenous animals. be careful then of thyself, and make no delay, nor regard fatigue, for these mountains are not to be passed without a chance of trouble from the inhabitants, who are genii, and in their caves are furious wild beasts." upon this he struck the ball afresh, and followed it unceasingly, till at length he reached the sea shore, and perceived the islands of waak al waak at a distance, whose mountains appeared of a fiery red, like the sky gilded by the beams of the setting sun. when he beheld them he was struck with awe and dread; but recovering, he said to himself, "why should i be afraid? since god has conducted me hither, he will protect me; or, if i die, i shall be relieved from my troubles, and be received into the mercy of god." he then gathered some fruits, which he ate, drank some water, and having performed his devotions, laid himself down to sleep, nor did he awake till the morning. in the morning mazin had recourse to his drum, which he rubbed gently, when the voice inquired his commands. "how am i," said he, "to pass this sea, and enter the islands?" "that is not to be done," replied the voice, "without the assistance of a sage who resides in a cell on yonder mountains, distant from hence a day's journey, but the ball will conduct thee there in half an hour. when you reach his abode, knock softly at the door, when he will appear, and inquire whence you come, and what you want. on entering he will receive thee kindly, and desire thee to relate thy adventures from beginning to end. conceal nothing from him, for he alone can assist thee in passing the sea." mazin then struck the ball, and followed it till he arrived at the abode of the hermit, the gate of which he found locked he knocked, when a voice from within said, "who is at the gate?" "a guest," replied mazin upon which the sage arose and opened the door, admitted him, and entertained him kindly for a whole night and day, after which mazin ventured to inquire how he might pass the sea the sage replied, "what occasions thy searching after such an object?" mazin answered, "my lord, i intend to enter the islands, and with that view have i travelled far distant from my own country." when the sage heard this, he stood up before him, took a book, opened it, and read in it to himself for some time, every now and then casting a look of astonishment upon mazin. at length he raised his head and said, "heavens! what troubles, disasters, and afflictions in exile have been decreed to this youth in the search of his object!" upon this mazin exclaimed, "wherefore, my lord, did you look at the book and then at me so earnestly?" the sage replied, "my son, i would instruct thee how to reach the islands, since such is thy desire, but thou canst not succeed in thy desires till after much labour and inconvenience. however, at present relate to me thy adventures from first to last" mazin rejoined, "my story, my lord, is such a surprising one, that were it engraven on tablets of adamant, it would be an example for such as would take warning." when he had related his story from beginning to end, the sage exclaimed, "god willing thou wilt attain thy wishes:" upon which mazin inquired concerning the sea surrounding the islands, and how he could overcome such an impediment to his progress; when the sage answered, "by god's permission, in the morning we will repair to the mountains, and i will shew thee the wonders of the seas." when god permitted morning to dawn the hermit arose, took mazin with him, and they ascended the mountains, till they reached a structure resembling a fortress, which they entered, and proceeded into the inmost court, in which was an immense colossal statue of brass, hollowed into pipes, having in the midst of it a reservoir lined with marble, the work of magicians. when mazin beheld this he was astonished, and began to tremble with fear at the vastness of the statue, and what miraculous power it might contain. the hermit now kindled a fire, threw into it some perfumes, and muttered some unintelligible words, when suddenly dark clouds arose, from which burst out eddies of tempestuous wind, lightnings, claps of thunder, groans, and frightful noises, and in the midst of the reservoir appeared boiling waves, for it was near the ocean surrounding the islands. the hermit did not cease to utter his incantations, until the hurricane and noises had subsided by his authority, for he was more powerful than any of the magicians, and had command over the rebellious genii. he now said to mazin, "go out, and look towards the ocean surrounding the islands." mazin repaired to the summit of the mountain, and looked towards the sea, but could not discover the smallest trace of its existence: upon which he was astonished at the miraculous power of the hermit. he returned to him, exclaiming, "i can behold no remains of the ocean, and the islands appear joined to the main land;" when the sage said, "my son, place thy reliance on god and pursue thy object," after which he vanished from sight. mazin now proceeded into the islands, and did not stop till he had reached a verdant spot watered by clear rivulets, and shaded by lofty trees. it was now sunrise, and among the wonders which he beheld was a tree like the weeping willow, on which hung, by way of fruit, beautiful damsels, who exclaimed, "praised be god our creator, and former of the islands of waak al waak." they then dropped from the tree and expired. at sight of this prodigy his senses were confounded, and he exclaimed, "by heavens, this is miraculously surprising!" when he had recovered himself, he roamed through the groves, and admired the contrivances of the almighty till sunset, when he sat down to rest. he had not sat long when there approached towards him a masculinely looking old woman of disagreeable countenance, at sight of whom mazin was alarmed. the matron guessing that he was in fear of her, said to him, "what is thy name, what are thy wants? art thou of this country? inform me; be not afraid or apprehensive, for i will request of god that i may be the means of forwarding thy wishes." on hearing these words the heart of mazin was encouraged, and he rerelated to her his adventures from first to last. when she had heard them, she knew that he must be husband to the sister of her mistress, who was queen of the islands of waak al waak, and said, "thy object is a difficult one, but i will assist thee all in my power." the old woman now conducted mazin through by-paths to the capital of the island, and led him unperceived in the darkness of night, when the inhabitants had ceased to pass through the streets, to her own house. she then set before him refreshments, and having eaten and drunk till he was satisfied, he praised god for his arrival; when the matron informed him concerning his wife, that she had endured great troubles and afflictions since her separation, and repented sincerely of her flight. upon hearing this, mazin wept bitterly, and fainted with anguish. when revived by the exertions of the old woman, she comforted him by promises of speedy assistance to complete his wishes, and left him to his repose. next morning the old woman desiring mazin to wait patiently for her return, repaired to the palace, where she found the queen and her sisters in consultation concerning the wife of mazin, and saying, "this wretch hath espoused a man, by whom she has children, but now she is returned, we will put her to death after divers tortures." upon the entrance of the old lady they arose, saluted her with great respect, and seated her, for she had been their nurse. when she had rested a little, she said, "were you not conversing about your unfortunate sister? but can ye reverse the decrees of god?" "dear nurse," replied they, "no one can avoid the will of heaven, and had she wedded one of our own nature there would have been no disgrace, but she has married a human being of bussorah, and has children by him, so that our species will despise us, and tauntingly say, 'your sister is a harlot.' her death is therefore not to be avoided." the nurse rejoined, "if you put her to death your scandal will be greater than hers, for she was wedded lawfully, and her offspring is legitimate; but i wish to see her." the eldest sister answered, "she is now confined in a subterraneous dungeon;" upon which the nurse requested permission to visit her, which was granted, and one of the sisters attended to conduct her to the prison. the nurse, on her arrival at the prison, found the wife of mazin in great distress from the cruelty of her sisters. her children were playing about her, but very pallid, from the closeness of their confinement. on the entrance of the nurse she stood up, made her obeisance, and began to weep, saying, "my dear nurse, i have been long in this dungeon, and know not what in the end may be my fate." the old woman kissed her cheeks, and said, "my dear daughter, god will bring thee relief, perchance on this very day." when the wife of mazin heard this, she said, "good heavens! your words, my dear nurse, recall a gleam of comfort that last night struck across my mind from a voice, which said, 'be comforted, o wife of mazin, for thy deliverance is near.'" upon this the old woman replied, "thou shalt indeed be comforted, for thy husband is at my abode, and will speedily release thee." the unfortunate prisoner, overcome with joy, fainted away, but was soon restored by the nurse's sprinkling water upon her face, when she opened her eyes and said, "i conjure thee by heaven, my dear nurse, inform me if thou speakest truth, or dissemblest." "i not only speak truth," answered the nurse, "but by god's help thou shalt meet thy husband this day." after this she left her. the nurse, upon her return home, inquired of mazin if he had skill to take his wife away, provided he was admitted into the dungeon at night. he replied, "yes." when night was set in, she conducted him to the spot where she was confined, left him near the gate, and went her way. he then put on his cap of invisibility, and remained unperceived all night by any one. early in the morning the queen, his wife's eldest sister, advanced, opened the gate of the prison, and entered, when he followed unseen behind her, and seated himself in a corner of the apartment. the queen went up to her sister, and beat her cruelly with a whip, while her children wept around her, till the blood appeared upon her body, when she left her hanging by her hair from a pillar, went out, and locked the door of the dungeon. mazin now arose, unloosed his wife's hair, and pulling off the cap, appeared before her, when she exclaimed, "from whence didst thou come?" they then embraced each other, and he said. "ah, why didst thou act thus, leave me in such affliction, and plunge thyself into such distress, which, indeed, thy conduct hath almost deserved?" "it is true," replied she; "but what is past is past, and reproach will not avail, unless thus canst effect our escape:" upon which he exclaimed, "does thy inclination really lead thee to accompany me to my own country?" she answered, "yes; do with me what thou choosest." they remained in endearment with their children until evening, when the keeper of the dungeon approaching, mazin put on his cap of invisibility. the keeper having set down the provisions for the night, retired into a recess of the dungeon and fell asleep; when mazin and his family sat down and refreshed themselves. perceiving the keeper asleep, mazin tried the door and found it unlocked; upon which, he, with his wife and children, left the prison, and travelled as quickly as possible all night. when the queen, in the morning, was informed of her sister's escape she was enraged, and made incantations, on which seven thousand genii attended, with whom she marched out in pursuit, resolved to cut the fugitives in pieces. mazin, looking behind him, perceived a cloud of dust, and soon appeared the forces of his wife's sister, who cried out on seeing him, with dreadful howls, "where will ye go, ye wretches, ye accursed? where can ye hide yourselves?" upon this mazin took out his drum, and beat it violently, when, lo! there appeared before him legions of genii, in number more than could be reckoned, and they fought with the armies of the queen, who was taken prisoner, with her principal attendants. when the wife of mazin beheld her sister in this distress her compassion was moved towards her, and she said to her husband, "hurt not my sister, nor use her ill, for she is my elder:" upon which he treated her respectfully, and commanded tents to be pitched for her and her court. peace being established, the sisters took an affectionate leave, and mazin, with his family, departed for the residence of abd al sulleeb, which they speedily reached with the assistance of the genii, and the directing ball. the old man received him kindly, and inquired his adventures, when he related them to him; at which he was surprised, especially at the account of the cap, the drum, and the ball; of which last mazin begged his acceptance, being now near home, and having no farther occasion for its use. abd al sulleeb was much pleased, and entertained him magnificently for three days, when mazin wishing to depart, the old man presented him with rich gifts, and dismissed him. mazin was continuing his route, when suddenly a band of a hundred banditti appeared, resolved to plunder and put him and his companions to death, with which design they kept advancing. mazin called out to them, "brother arabs, let the covenant of god be between you and me, keep at a distance from me." when they heard this they increased their insolence, surrounded him, and supposed they should easily seize all that he had; but especially when they beheld his wife, and the beauty she was endowed with, they said one to another, "let us put him to death, and not suffer him to live." each man resolved within himself, saying, "i will seize this damsel, and not take the plunder." when mazin saw that they were bent upon attacking him, to seize his wife and plunder his effects, he took out his drum and beat upon it in a slight manner, when, behold! ten genii appeared before him, requiring his commands. he replied, "i wish the dispersion of yonder horsemen;" upon which one of the ten advanced among the hundred banditti, and uttered such a tremendous yell as made the mountains reverberate the sound. immediately as he sent forth the yell, the banditti, in alarm, dispersed themselves among the rocks, when such as fell from their horses' backs fled on foot; so that they lost their reputation, and were ridiculed among the chiefs of the abbasside tribes. mazin now pursued his journey, and did not halt till he had reached the abode of abd al kuddoos, who advanced to meet him and saluted him, but was astonished when he beheld his company, and the wealth he had obtained. mazin related what had befallen him, of dangers, and hunger, and thirst; his safe arrival in the islands of waak al waak; the deliverance of his wife from prison, and the defeat of the army sent to oppose his return. he mentioned also the reconciliation between the sisters of his wife, and whatever had happened to him from first to last. abd al kuddoos was greatly astonished at these adventures, and said to mazin of bussorah, "truly, my son, these events are most surprising, and can have never occurred to any but thyself." mazin remained three days to repose himself, and was treated with hospitality and respect until the fourth, when he resolved to continue his journey, and took leave. he proceeded towards his own country, and did not halt on the way till he arrived with the seven sisters, the owners of the palace, who had so much befriended him. when mazin of bussorah arrived near the palace of the seven sisters, they came out to meet him, saluted him and his wife, and conducted them within; but they were astonished at his return, and at first could scarcely believe his success, wondering that he had not perished on the road, or been torn in pieces by the wild beasts of the desert; for they had regarded it as impossible that he should ever reach the islands of waak al waak. when they were seated, they requested him to relate to them all that had befallen him, which he did from first to last, and they were more than ever astonished at his uncommon adventures. after this they introduced a collation, and spread the cloth, when they ate till they were satisfied, and then wrote a letter and dispatched it to the mother of mazin, congratulating her on the health of her son, and his safe return with his wife and children. mazin remained with the ladies a month, enjoying himself in feasting and amusements, after which he begged permission to depart to his own country, for his heart was anxious for his mother. they dismissed him, and he travelled unceasingly till he arrived at bussorah. he entered the city at sunset, and proceeded to his own house, when his mother came out, saluted him, and embraced him. she had erected her tomb in the court of her house, and had wept night and day till she became blind, but when the letter arrived from the sisters, from the rapture of joy her sight returned unto her again. she beheld the children of her son, embraced them, and that night was to her as an eed or festival. when god had caused the morning to dawn, the chief personages of bussorah visited mazin to congratulate him on his return, and the principal ladies came to his mother, and rejoiced with her on the safety of her son. at length intelligence of it reached the caliph haroon al rusheed, who sent for mazin to his presence. having entered the audience chamber, he made the usual obeisance, when the caliph returned his salute, and commanded him to sit. when he was seated, the caliph demanded that he should relate the whole of what had befallen him, to which he answered, "to hear is to obey." mazin then recited his adventures from the time the fire-worshipper who had stolen him from his mother by his stratagems, the mode of his coming to the palace of the seven ladies, the manner in which he obtained his wife, her flight from the palace of the empress zobeide, his journey to the islands of waak al waak, also the dangers and difficulties he had encountered from first to last. the caliph was astonished, and said, "the substance of these adventures must not be lost or concealed, but shall be recorded in writing." he then commanded an amanuensis to attend, and seated mazin of bussorah by him, until he had taken down his adventures from beginning to end. story of the sultan, the dervish, and the barber's son. in the capital of a sultan named rammaud lived a barber, who had a son growing up to manhood, possessing great accomplishments of mind and person, and whose wit and humour drew numerous customers to his shop. one day a venerable dervish entering it, sat down, and calling for a looking glass, adjusted his beard and whiskers, at the same time asking many questions of the young man; after which he laid down a sherif, rose up, and departed. the next day he came again, and for several days following, always finishing his visit by leaving a piece of gold upon the looking-glass, to the great satisfaction of the barber, who from his other customers never usually received more than sonic coppers of little value; but though he liked the gold, his suspicions were raised against the generous donor, supposing him to be a necromancer, who had some evil design against his son, whom, therefore, he cautioned to be upon his guard. the visits of the dervish were continued as usual for some time; when one day he found the barber's son alone in the shop, and was informed that his father had gone to divert himself with viewing some experiments which the sultan was making of the mixture of various metals, being an adept in chemistry, and eager in search of the philosopher's stone. the dervish now invited the young man to accompany him to the spot where the experiments were making, and on their arrival they saw a vast furnace, into which the sultan and his attendants cast pieces of metal of various sorts. the dervish having taken a lump of ore from his wallet threw it into the furnace; then addressing the young barber, said, "i must for the present bid you farewell, as i have a journey to take; but if the sultan should inquire after me, let him know i am to be found in a certain city, and will attend his summons." having said this, the dervish presented the barber's son with a purse of gold, took his leave, and the youth returned home. great was the surprise of the sultan, when the metals in the furnace were all melted, to find them converted into a mass of solid gold, which proved, on assay, to be of the purest quality. every one was questioned as to what he had cast into the furnace, when there appeared no reason to suppose the transmutation could have been effected by such an accidental mixture of metals. at length it was remarked, that a dervish, accompanying the barber's son, had cast in a lump of ore, and immediately disappeared. upon this the sultan summoned the youth to his presence, and inquiring after his companion, was informed of the place of his residence, and of what, on his departure, he had said to him. the sultan was overjoyed at the welcome intelligence, and dispatched the young man, with an honourable attendance, to conduct the venerable dervish to his presence, where being arrived, he was received with the most distinguishing attention, and the barber's son was promoted to high office. after some days, the sultan requested the dervish to instruct him in the transmutation of metals, which he readily did, as well as in many other occult mysteries; which so gratified his royal patron, that he trusted the administration of government to his care. this disgusted the ministers and courtiers, who could not bear to be controlled by a stranger, and therefore resolved to effect his ruin. by degrees they persuaded their credulous master that the dervish was a magician, who would in time possess himself of his throne, and the sultan, alarmed, resolved to put him to death. with this intention, calling him to the presence, he accused him of sorcery, and commanded an executioner to strike off his head. "forbear awhile," exclaimed the dervish, "and let me live till i have shown you the most wonderful specimen of my art." to this the sultan consented, when the dervish, with chalk, drew a circle of considerable extent round the sultan and his attendants, then stepping into the middle of it, he drew a small circle round himself, and said, "now seize me if you can;" and immediately disappeared from sight. at the same instant, the sultan and his courtiers found themselves assaulted by invisible agents, who, tearing off their robes, whipped them with scourges till the blood flowed in streams from their lacerated backs. at length the punishment ceased, but the mortification of the sultan did not end here, for all the gold which the dervish had transmuted returned to its original metals. thus, by his unjust credulity, was a weak prince punished for his ungrateful folly. the barber and his son also were not to be found, so that the sultan could gain no intelligence of the dervish, and he and his courtiers became the laughingstock of the populace for years after their merited chastisement. adventures of aleefa, daughter of mherejaun, sultan of hind, and eusuff, son of sohul, sultan of sind. mherejaun, sultan of hind, was many years without any progeny, and immersed in melancholy at the thought of his kingdom's passing to another family. one evening, while indulging his gloomy thoughts, he dropped into a doze, from which he was roused by a voice exclaiming, "sultan, thy wife this night shall conceive. if she bears a son, he will increase the glory of thy house; but if a daughter, she will occasion thee disgrace and misfortune." in due time the favourite sultana was delivered of a daughter, to the great mortification of the parents, who would have destroyed her had not her infant smiles diverted their anger. she was brought up in the strictest privacy, and at the end of twelve years the sultan had her conveyed to a strong citadel erected in the middle of a deep lake, hoping in such a confinement to prevent her from fulfilling the prediction which had been made concerning her. nothing could excel the magnificence of her abode, where she was left only with female attendants of the highest accomplishments, but no male was allowed to approach even the borders of the lake, except when supplies were conveyed for the use of its fair inhabitants, who were then restricted to their apartments. the gate of the citadel was entrusted to the care of an old lady, the princess's nurse. for three years the fair aleefa lived happy in her splendid prison, but the decree of fate was not to be overcome, and an event predestined by heaven overturned the cautious project of sultan mherejaun. eusuff, a dissipated young prince, son to the sultan of sind, having offended his father, fled from his court, and with a few attendants reached the borders of the lake, in his way to seek an asylum in the territories of mherejaun. curious to know who inhabited the citadel in the midst of it, he swam over the lake, and landed at the gate, which he found shut, but no one answered his loudest call for admission. upon this he wrote a note, requesting compassion to a helpless stranger, and having fixed it to an arrow, shot it over the battlements. it luckily for him fell at the feet of the princess, then walking in one of the courts of her palace. she prevailed upon her nurse to open the gate, and at sight of eusuff fell in love with him, as he did with her. he was admitted, and the tenderest interviews took place between them. joy and pleasure prevailed in the citadel, while the prince's attendants remained, expecting his return, on the banks of the lake. after some time, sultan sohul wishing to be reconciled to his son, and having learnt the route he had taken, dispatched his nephew named yiah to assure him of forgiveness, and invite him to return to sind. yiah arriving at the lake, was informed by eusuff's attendants that the prince had entered the citadel, since which they had not seen or heard anything of him. yiah, upon this, penned a note expressive of the sultan's forgiveness, and his wish to see the prince, which he fixed to an arrow and shot it into the palace, in the garden of which it fell, as eusuff and aleefa were walking for their amusement. the prince, on reading the note, overcome with joy at the intelligence of his father's forgiveness of his errors, resolved to return home and pay his duty to his parents. he communicated his design to the princess, who was plunged into the deepest sorrow at the thought of his departure, but he comforted her by assurances of his speedy return, declaring that nothing but filial duty could have torn him from her, even for a moment. she now implored him to to take her with him, but eusuff prudently represented that such a step could only disgrace her fame and enrage her father, who, on discovery of her flight, would invade the kingdom of sind with his powerful armies, and a scene of unnecessary bloodshed would ensue. on the contrary, it they waited patiently, sultan mherejaun might be prevailed upon to consent to their union; but, in the mean time, he would visit her often, while their meetings might, through the fidelity of their mutual attendants, be kept secret. aleefa, though unwilling, was obliged to acknowledge the justice of his reasoning, and consented to his departure; but on his taking leave, with tears and embraces entreated him not to be long absent, which he promised, and with truth, for his love was sincere, and it was with difficulty he submitted to the call of duty to a forgiving parent. eusuff having swam the lake with his bow and quiver upon his head, as before, rejoined his companions, who rejoiced to see him. he was received by his cousin yiah with transports of affection, and informed of what had happened since his departure from court; after which the prince related his love adventure with the fair aleefa, at the same time requesting his secrecy, and that he would charge the same on his attendants, as to his having been in the citadel, which he should earnestly beg also of his companions to observe. after a night's repose the two princes marched towards sind, and when within a day's distance from the capital, dispatched a courier to give notice of their approach. sultan sohul, overcome with joy at the recovery of his son, having commanded the city to be ornamented and splendid entertainments to be made for his triumphal entry, with his whole court in their most magnificent array advanced to meet him. the prince, on seeing his father's train, dismounted, fell on his face, then running up, eagerly embraced the stirrup of the old sultan, who threw himself upon his neck in a transport of joy, and wept over him with tears of affectionate rapture. a horse sumptuously caparisoned was now brought for the prince's mounting, and the father and son rode side by side into the city, amid the acclamations of all ranks of people; while, as they proceeded, basins full of silver and gold, coined for the occasion, were showered amongst the assembled crowds in the streets. it is impossible to describe the tender interview between the prince and the queen his mother, whose heart had been nearly broken on the flight of her son, or the glad transports of eusuff's own ladies, who were in number three wives and forty concubines. suffice it to say, that all was joy and pleasure in the palace, except in the breast of eusuff; who mingled with the satisfaction of return to his family an ardent desire to meet again the beautiful aleefa, so that the caresses of his women gave him no pleasure; and when he retired to his apartment, he did not, as was usual, call any of them to his presence, but passed the night alone, thinking of his beloved. morning invited him to new scenes of festivity, prepared by his happy parents, who little suspected how soon they were again to lose their son. eusuff having sacrificed a few days (to him long as the eve of dissolution) to his sense of duty, could no longer restrain his impatience, but with a faithful slave named hullaul, mounted on a favourite courser behind him, left the palace undiscovered in the darkness of night, and speeded with the swiftness of the gale towards the citadel of aleefa. being arrived on the banks of the lake, he secured his saddle and bridle among some bushes, and was carried with his attendant safely through the water by his noble steed. unbounded was the joy of the princess at again meeting her faithful lover, nor was his rapture less than hers. having committed hullaul to the care of the ladies of aleefa, they retired to their apartment. thirty days rolled on almost unperceived by eusuff, who forgot his parents, his family, and country, in the delights of love. on the thirtieth evening, as eusuff and aleefa were viewing the beautiful prospect from the terrace of the palace, they perceived a boat sailing towards it, which, as it drew nearer, the princess knew to belong to her father the sultan mherejaun; upon which she requested her lover to keep himself concealed from view, while she received the persons in the vessel. eusuff accordingly withdrew into a chamber, the lattice of which looked upon the lake; but how can we express his indignant surprise, and furious jealousy, when he beheld landing from the boat two handsome young men, into the arms of one of whom aleefa threw herself with eager transport, and after mutual embraces they withdrew together into the palace. without considering that his supposed rival might be a near relation to the princess, as he in fact was, being her first cousin, who had been brought up with her till her confinement to the lake; eusuff suffered himself to be overcome by unworthy suspicion, and resolved to quit for ever a faithless mistress. having written an angry letter upraiding her with falsehood, and bidding her farewell, he with his attendant hullaul mounted his courser; then delivering his note to one of the females, to be given to the princess, he swam over the lake and speeded rapidly to his own country, where he was once more joyfully received by his parents and family; and in order to forget the charms of aleefa, he indulged himself in mirth and pleasure with his lately forsaken ladies, who, delighted with the long-wished-for return of his affection, strove with each ether who should please him best. the unsuspecting aleefa was engaged with her cousin sohaul and ali bin ibrahim, a faithful eunuch who was his attendant, asking a thousand questions and listening to the news of her father's court, when eusuff's letter was put into her hands. rising up, she withdrew into a closet, opened it, and was much vexed at its ungrateful contents; but knowing herself innocent, and trusting that her lover would return when convinced of his mistake, she composed her mind as firmly as she, could till the departure of her cousin, who after some days took leave and returned to the capital of mherejaun, leaving behind him the eunuch, to the great satisfaction of the princess, who hoped to make him the mediator between her and her beloved. nor was she mistaken. when unfolding to him the whole of her adventures with eusuff, he agreed to be the bearer of a letter, and explain to him the cause of his needless suspicion. having swam the lake with the fair aleefa's packet wrapped in his clothes upon his head, the faithful ah in twenty days reached the city of sind, and demanding an audience in private, which was readily granted, delivered his commission to the prince. eusuff, whose anger was now calmed, and who had already begun to feel uneasy at absence from the still reigning favourite of his heart, on perusing her letter was overcome with joy. he listened eagerly to the account of his fancied rival by the eloquent ali bin ibrohim, to whom he expressed his conviction of her constancy, his own sorrow for his unreasonable desertion of her, and his intention of departing to visit her the next night, till when he desired the eunuch to repose himself after his fatigue. ali bin ibrahim was then lodged, by the prince's orders, in one of the most splendid apartments of the palace, and respectfully waited upon by the domestics of his court. the night following, eusuff having ordered his favourite hullaul to make preparations, departed from sind as before, with the eunuch mounted on a second courser. they in a few days reached the borders of the lake, swam over, and to the great joy of the once more happy aleefa arrived at the citadel. the recollection of the pains of absence added a zest to the transports of reunion, and the lovers were, if possible, more delighted with each other than before their separation. the faithful ali bin ibrahim was now dismissed with invaluable presents of precious stones, and returned to the court of mherejaun, the time for his stay at the citadel of the lake being expired. on his arrival, the sultan, anxious for intelligence of his daughter's health, took him into his closet, and while he was questioning him, by some accident the eunuch's turban unfortunately falling off, the precious stones, which, with a summary of the adventures of eusuff and aleefa, and his own embassy to sind, were wrapped in the folds, tumbled upon the floor. the sultan knew the jewels, and examining the turban, to make farther discoveries, found the paper, which he eagerly read; and furious was his wrath, when from the contents it appeared that all his caution to guard against the decrees of heaven had been vain, that the princess had been seduced, and his house dishonoured. he sternly inquired of the trembling ali if eusuff was yet with his daughter, and was answered in the affirmative, when he immediately gave orders for vessels to be prepared for his departure, hoping to take him prisoner, and at the same time commanded his army to march along the banks of the lake and encamp opposite the citadel. the unfortunate eunuch was thrown into a dungeon and loaded with heavy chains, after he had been bastinadoed almost to death; but still faithful to the lovers, he prevailed upon his gaoler by a large bribe during the night to permit him to dispatch a note by a trusty messenger to the princess, apprising her of the misfortune which had happened, in hopes that she would have time to escape with eusuff towards his own country before her father's arrival. fortunately for the lovers, this information reached them the next morning, when they consulted what measures to pursue, and it was agreed, that instead of both quitting the citadel, only eusuff and hullaul should return to sind, as the princess was unequal to such a rapid journey, but that in order to ensure her safety, the slaves should, on the sultan's arrival, assure him that she had gone off with her lover, when he would either return home or pursue the prince with his army; who, however, mounted as he was on so swift a courser, could not be overtaken. it was also settled that eusuff, on his arrival in his own country, should send an embassy to mherejaun, declaring his marriage with aleefa, and requesting pardon, and leave to pay his duty as his son-in-law. this stratagem had in part its effect, but no precaution could ward off the fulfilment of the prediction at the princess's birth, which was that she should occasion the disgrace and death of her father. mherejaun armed at the citadel a few hours after eusuff's escape, and was informed by her attendants that she had also accompanied him in his flight; upon which the enraged sultan, hurried on by fate, without stopping to search the palace in which his daughter was concealed, hastened to join his troops on the banks of the lake, and with a vast army pursued the sindian prince, who, however, reached his capital in safety. on his arrival, having informed his father of his adventures, the old sultan, eager to gratify his son, approved of his additional marriage with the fair aleefa, and dispatched an embassy to mherejaun, who by this time was in the territory of sind, laying it waste with fire and sword, no troops scarcely being opposed to his sudden invasion. he received the ambassador with mortifying haughtiness, bidding him return to his master, and inform him that he never would forgive the seduction of his daughter, in revenge for which he had taken a solemn oath to overturn the kingdom of sind, raze the capital, and feast his eyes with the blood of the old sultan and his son. on receipt of this ungracious reply to his proposals, the sultan and eusuff had no alternative but to oppose so inveterate a foe. they collected their troops, by whom they were much beloved, and marched to meet the enemy, whom, after an obstinate battle, they defeated, and mherejaun was slain in the action. it is impossible to resist the decrees of heaven. from god we came, and to god we must return. eusuff, after the action, behaved with the greatest humility to the conquered, and had the body of the unfortunate mherejaun embalmed and laid in a splendid litter, in which it was conducted by a numerous escort, in respectful solemnity, to the capital of hind, and deposited with funeral pomp, becoming the rank of the deceased, in a magnificent mausoleum, which had been erected by himself, as is customary among the sovereigns of asia. the prince, at the same time, dispatched letters of condolence to the mother of aleefa, lamenting the fate of mherejaun, whom he had been, much against his will, necessitated to oppose in battle, and expressing his ardent love for her daughter, a marriage with whom was his highest hope, as it was his first wish to console the mother of his beloved in her misfortunes. the sultana, who had received intelligence of the decisive victory and the death of her husband, and who expected, instead of such conduct, to see the victor besieging her capital, felt some alleviation of her sorrow in the prospect of saving her people from destruction, by consenting to an union between eusuff and aleefa. her answer accordingly was favourable, upon which the prince of sind repaired to the lake, and conducting his willing bride to the capital of hind, at the expiration of the stated time of mourning for mherejaun, their nuptials were celebrated with all possible magnificence, amid the united acclamations of the subjects, who readily acknowledged his authority, and had no cause to repent of their submission to his yoke. his next care was to inform the caliph mamoon, who was then commander of the faithful at bagdad, of the events which had happened, accompanying his petition with a great sum of money, and offerings of all the rarities the countries of hind and sind afforded; among which were ten beautiful slaves, highly accomplished in singing, dancing, and a talent for poetry. they recited extempore verses before the caliph, but the subject of each was so expressive of their wish to return to their beloved sovereign, and delivered in so affecting a manner, that mamoon, though delighted with their wit and beauty, sacrificed his own pleasure to their feelings, and sent them back to eusuff by the officer who carried the edict, confirming him in his dominions, where the prince of sind and the fair aleefa continued long, amid a numerous progeny, to live the protectors of their happy subjects. adventures of the three princes, sons of the sultan of china. a sultaness of china being seized with an alarming illness was given over by the physicians, who declared her case incurable by any other means than the water of life, which they feared it was next to impossible to obtain before nature would be exhausted; the country in which, if anywhere, it was to be found, being so very distant. such, however, was the affection of the sultaness's three sons, that in hopes of saving their mother they resolved to go in search of the precious medicine, and departed immediately in the route pointed out by the physicians. after travelling without success to their inquiries through divers countries, they agreed to separate, in hopes that one of them at least might be fortunate enough to procure the wished-for miraculous liquid, and return home in time to save their mother. having taken an affectionate farewell, each pursued his journey alone. the eldest prince, after a fatiguing walk (for the brothers had thought it prudent to lay aside their dignity, and as safest to disguise themselves in mean habits) over a wild country, arrived at last within sight of a large city, inhabited by blasphemous jews, near which, in a superb synagogue, he laid himself down on a carpet to repose, being quite exhausted with toil and hunger. he had not rested long, when a jew rabbi entering the building, the prince begged for the love of god a little refreshment; but the wicked infidel, who hated true believers, instead of relieving, cruelly put him to death with his sabre, and wrapping the corpse in a mat, threw it into a corner of the synagogue. by ill fortune, on the day following the second prince arrived, and was treated in the same manner by the barbarous jew, and on the next came also the youngest brother to the same place, where he was met by the base assassin, who would have killed him also, had not the extraordinary beauty of the young prince struck his covetous mind with the idea of making him a slave, and selling him for a large sum of money. speaking therefore to him in a kind manner he brought him refreshments, and inquired if he was willing to be his servant, and employ himself in cleaning the synagogue and lighting the lamps; to which the prince, being in an exhausted condition, seemingly assented, seeing no other means of present support, but secretly resolved to escape when recovered from his fatigue. the jew now took him to his house in the city, and showed him, apparently, the same tenderness as he used towards his own children. the next day the prince repaired to his allotted task of cleaning the synagogue, where, to his grief and horror, he presently discovered the bodies of his unfortunate brothers. while he lamented their unhappy fate with showers of tears, the recollection of his own perilous situation, in the power of their murderer, filled his mind with terror; but after the agonies of thought were over, the natural courage of a princely heart rose in his bosom, and he meditated how to revenge the death of his brothers on the savage infidel. an opportunity happened that same night. the prince having composed his mind, finished his work, and when the jew arrived to examine it, dissembled so well, that no appearance of his inward melancholy was displayed. the jew applauded his diligence, and taking him home, made him sit down to supper with himself and family, consisting of a wife and two young lads. it being the middle of summer, and the weather sultry, they retired to sleep on the open terrace of the house, which was very lofty. in the dead of night, when the jew and his family were fast locked in the arms of slumber, the prince, who had purposely kept himself awake, seized the sabre of the treacherous infidel, and with a dexterous blow struck off his head; then snatching up the two children, hurled them headlong from the terrace, so that their brains were dashed out on the stone pavement of the court below. he then uplifted the sabre to destroy the jew's wife, but the thought that she might be of use to him withheld his hand. he awoke her gently, commanded her to make no noise, and follow him down stairs, where, by degrees, he informed her of his adventures, the discovery he had made of the murder of his brothers, and his revenge on her treacherous husband and ill-fated children, whom, however, he would not have destroyed had he not been apprehensive of their cries alarming the neighbourhood. the moosulmaun woman, for such she secretly was, did not regard the death of the wicked jew, who had married her against her will, and often used her with great harshness, and her sorrows for the children were softened by the salvation of her own life. she also felt sentiments of tenderness towards the prince, whose injuries in the murder of his unfortunate brothers had compelled him to revenge, and felt herself obliged to his mercy in letting her live. she now informed him that in the jew's laboratory were many valuable medicines, and among them the very water of life he was in search of; which intelligence was most gratifying to the prince, who offered to take the woman under his protection, and she willingly consented to accompany him to a country inhabited by true believers. having packed up the medicines, with some valuable jewels, and put them, with various refreshments and necessaries, on two camels, they mounted and left the city undiscovered, nor did any accident occur on their journey; but on reaching the capital of china, the prince found that his father was dead, while his mother, contrary to expectation, lingered in painful existence. the ministers, who had with difficulty, in hopes of the three brothers' arrival, kept the next relations of the throne from disputing their right to ascend it, were rejoiced at his return; and on being informed of the untimely end of the two elder princes, immediately proclaimed him sultan. his first care was to administer comfort and relief to his afflicted mother, on whom the water of life had an instantaneous effect; his next, to regulate the affairs of his government, which he did with such ability, justice, and moderation, that he became endeared to his subjects, and an example to other sovereigns. as the sultan, some time after his accession, was one day amusing himself in the chase, he saw a venerable arab, accompanied by his daughter, travelling on horseback. by accident the young female's veil being blown aside, displayed such beauty to the eyes of the sultan, as instantly fascinated his heart, and made him wish to have her for his sultana. he immediately made offers to her father of his alliance; but great was his mortification and surprise when the arab rejected them, saying, "that he had sworn not to give his daughter to any one who was not master of some useful trade, by which a livelihood might be earned." "father," replied the sultan, "what occasion is there that i should learn a mean occupation, when i have the wealth of a kingdom at my command?" "because," rejoined the arab, "such are the vicissitudes of the world, that you may lose your kingdom and starve, if not able to work in some way for your living." the sultan, unlike some princes, who would have seized the lady and punished the arab for his freedom, felt the force of his remark, applauded his wisdom, and requested that he would not betroth her to another, as he was resolved to make himself worthy of becoming his son-in-law by learning some handicraft, till when he hoped they would accept of an abode near the palace. to this the old man readily consented; and in a short time the sultan, eager to possess his bride, became such an adept in the handicraft of making ornamental mats for sofas and cushions of cane and reeds, that the arab agreed to the nuptials, which were celebrated with all possible splendour and rejoicing, while the subjects admired more than ever the justice and moderation of their sovereign; so true is it, that, unless in depraved states, a good prince makes a good people. some years rolled on in uninterrupted felicity to the sultan and his beloved partner. it was the custom of the former frequently to visit in the disguise of a dervish the various quarters of the city, by which means he learnt the opinions of the people, and inspected the conduct of the police. one day in an excursion of this sort he passed by a cook's shop, and being hungry, stepped in to take some refreshment. he was, with seeming respect, conducted to a back room spread with flowered carpeting, over which was a covering of muslin transparently fine. pulling off his slippers, he entered the room and sat down upon a neat musnud, but to his surprise and terror it instantly sunk under him, and he found himself at the bottom of a dark vault, where by a glimmering light he could discern several naked bodies of unfortunate persons who had been murdered, and presently appeared, descending from a narrow staircase, a black slave of savage countenance, who, brandishing a huge cimeter, cried out, "wretch, prepare thyself to die!" the sultan was alarmed, but his presence of mind did not forsake him. "what good," said he, "will my death do you or your employers? i have nothing about me but the humble habit i wear; but if you spare my life, i possess an art that will produce your employers considerable wealth." upon this, the slave going to the master of the house informed him of what the supposed dervish had said, when the treacherous cook came to inquire after the promised riches. "give me only some reeds and canes, varnished of different colours," said the sultan, "and i will make a mat, which if you carry to the palace and present to the vizier, he will purchase it for a thousand pieces of gold." the desired articles were furnished, and the sultan setting to work, in a few days finished a mat, in which he ingeniously contrived to plait in flowery characters, known only to himself and his vizier, the account of his situation. when finished, he gave it to his treacherous host, who admired the beauty of the workmanship, and not doubting of the reward, carried it to the palace, where he demanded admission, saying he had a curiosity to offer for sale. the vizier, who was then giving audience to petitioners, commanded him to be brought in; but what was his astonishment when the mat was unfolded, to see pourtrayed upon it the imminent danger of the sultan, whom he supposed to be in his haram, and whose absence the sultana had, in order to prevent confusion, commanded to be kept secret, hoping for his speedy return. the vizier instantly summoning his guards seized the villanous cook, and proceeding to his house, released the sultan from his confinement. the house was razed to the ground, and the abominable owner, with his guilty family, put to death. the sultan exultingly felt the use of having learnt a useful art, which had been the means of saving his life. story of the good vizier unjustly imprisoned. a certain vizier, though perfectly loyal and of the strictest integrity, having been falsely accused by his enemies, was, without due examination of the charges brought against him, thrown into prison, where, by orders from the sultan, he was confined to a gloomy dungeon, and allowed only bread and water for his daily food. in this wretched abode he lay for seven years, at the expiration of which, the sultan his master, who was in the habit of walking about the city in disguise to amuse himself, chanced to pass by the house of his injured minister, dressed as a dervish. to his surprise he saw it open, and a crowd of domestics busy in cleaning the apartments, and preparing for the reception of the owner, who, they said, had commanded them by a messenger from the prison to put things in order, as he should that day be restored to the sultan's favour, and return home. the sultan, who, so far from intending to release the unfortunate vizier, had almost erased the remembrance of him from his mind, was astonished at the report of the domestics, but thought his long confinement might possibly have disturbed the brain of his prisoner, who in his madness might have fancied his deliverance to be at hand. he resolved however to go and visit the prison disguised as he was, and see the vizier. having purchased a quantity of bread and cakes, he proceeded to the gaol, and requested, under pretence of fulfilling a vow he had made to feed the prisoners, to be admitted, and allowed to distribute his charity among them. the gaoler granted his request, and permitted him to visit the different cells. at length he came to that of the vizier, who was employed earnestly at his devotions, which on the entrance of the supposed dervish he suspended, and inquired his business. "i come," said he, "for though unknown to you i have always prayed for your welfare, to congratulate you on your approaching deliverance, which i understand you have announced to your domestics, but fear without foundation, not having heard of any orders for the purpose from the sultan." "that may be true, charitable dervish," said the vizier, "but depend upon it before night i shall be released and restored to office." "i wish it may be so," replied the sultan; "but upon what ground do you build an expectation, the gratification of which appears to me so improbable?" "be seated, good dervish, and i will tell you," rejoined the vizier, and began as follows: "know then, my friend, experience has convinced me that the height of prosperity is always quickly succeeded by adverse fortune, and the depth of affliction by sudden relief. when i was in office, beloved by the people for my lenient administration, and distinguished by the sultan, whose honour and advantage were the constant objects of my care, and for whose welfare i have never ceased to pray even in this gloomy dungeon, i was one evening taking the air upon the river in a splendid barge with some favourite companions. as we were drinking coffee, the cup i held in my hand, which was made of a single emerald of immense value, and which i highly prized, slipped from it and fell into the water; upon which i ordered the barge to be stopped, and sent for a diver, to whom i promised an ample reward should he recover the cup. he undressed, and desired me to point out the place at which it fell; when i, having in my hand a rich diamond ring, heedlessly, in a fit of absence, threw it into that part of the river. while i was exclaiming against my own stupidity, the diver made a plunge towards where i had cast the ring, and in less than two minutes reappeared with the coffee-cup in his hand, when to my great surprise within it i found also my ring. i rewarded him liberally, and was exulting in the recovery of my jewels, when it suddenly struck my mind, that such unusual good fortune must speedily be followed by some disaster. this reflection made me melancholy, and i returned home with a foreboding sadness, nor without cause, for that very night my enemies accused me falsely of treason to the sultan, who believed the charge, and next morning i was hurried to this gloomy cell, where i have now remained seven years with only bread and water for my support. god, however, has given me resignation to his decrees, and this day an accident occurred which makes me confident of release before night, and restoration to the sultan's favour, which, as i have always done, i will endeavour to deserve. you must know, venerable dervish, that this morning i felt an unconquerable longing to taste a bit of flesh, and earnestly entreated my keeper, giving him at the same time a piece of gold, to indulge my wish. the man, softened by the present, brought me a stew, on which i prepared to make a delicious meal; but while, according to custom before eating, i was performing my ablutions, guess my mortification, when a huge rat running from his hole leaped into the dish which was placed upon the floor. i was near fainting with agony at the sight, and could not refrain from tears; but at length recovering from the poignancy of disappointment, the rays of comfort darted upon my mind, and i reflected that as disgrace and imprisonment had instantaneously followed the fortunate recovery of my cup and ring, so this mortification, a greater than which could not have happened, would be immediately succeeded by returning prosperity. in this conviction i prevailed on the gaoler to order my domestics to make ready my house and expect my return." the disguised sultan, who, while the vizier was speaking, felt every word impress him more and more with the conviction of his innocence, had much difficulty to support his assumed character; but not choosing his visit to the prison should be known at present, he restrained his feelings, and when the minister had finished took his leave, saying, he hoped his presage would be fulfilled. he then returned undiscovered to the palace, and entering his cabinet, resumed his usual habit; after which he issued orders for the release of the vizier, sending him a robe of honour and splendid attendants to escort him to court, at the same time condemning to confiscation and imprisonment his malicious accusers. on his arrival, the sultan received the vizier with the most gracious distinction; and having presented him with the canopy of state, the seal and the inkstand set with rich jewels, the insignia of office, conducted him to a private chamber, where falling upon his neck he embraced him, and requesting him to forget past oppression, informed him of his disguised visit to the prison; after which he dismissed him to his own palace. story of the lady of cairo and her four gallants. a virtuous lady of cairo, who seldom left her house but upon urgent business, one day returning from the bath, passed by the tribunal of the cauzee just as it was breaking up, when the magistrate perceived her, and struck with her dignity and elegance of gait, from which he judged of her beauty, called her to him, and in a soft whisper expressed his desire of a private interview. the lady being resolved to punish him for his unworthy conduct, seemingly consented, and desired him to repair to her house that evening, which he gladly promised. she then pursued her route homewards, but was on the way accosted by three other men, who made her similar proposals, all which she accepted, and fixed that evening for receiving their visits. the first of these gallants was the customs tax-collector of cairo, the second the chief of the butchers, and the third a rich merchant. when the lady returned to her house she informed her husband of what had happened, and begged him to permit her to execute a stratagem that she had formed to punish their insolence, which would not only afford himself and her much laughable amusement, but solid advantage, as doubtless the lovers would each bring with him a handsome present. the husband, who knew he could trust the virtue of his wife, readily consented, and the lady having prepared a handsome entertainment, adorned herself in her richest apparel, and seated herself to receive her guests. evening had just shut in, when the venerable cauzee having finished his sunset devotions, impatiently repaired first to his mistress and knocked at the door, which the lady opened and led him upstairs, where he presented her with a rosary of valuable pearl; after which she made him undress, and in place of his robes put on a loose vest of yellow muslin, and a parti-coloured cap, her husband all the while looking at them through the door of a closet, and ready to burst his sides with laughter as he beheld the tender grimaces of the enamoured magistrate. the happiness of the venerable gallant was however soon changed to frightful alarm, for he had scarcely sat down and begun to partake of some refreshment, when a loud rap was heard at the door; upon which the lady starting up in well-affected terror, cried out, "mahummud protect us! for this is my husband's knock, and if he finds you here, he will put us both to death." the cauzee's heart sank within him, and he became more dead than alive; but the lady somewhat revived him by thrusting him into her bed-chamber, desiring him to remain still, as possibly a way might be found for his escape. he gladly retired, secretly vowing that if spared from his present threatening distress, satan should no more tempt him to make love or break the sacred law. the lady having disposed of the cauzee, hastened to the door, where she found the expecting tax-collector, who brought with him, as a present, a set of jewels. she shewed him upstairs, took off his rich clothes, and made him put on a crimson vest, and a green cap with black spots. he had scarcely sat down when the door again resounded, and she played over the same game as she had done with the cauzee, who on his also entering the bed-chamber was somewhat pleased at seeing a brother magistrate in the same ridiculous plight with himself. the venerable lovers condoled by signs with each other, but dared not speak for fear of discovery. the chief of the butchers, on his arrival, was next ushered up stairs, and his present received, then made to undress and put on a blue vest with a scarlet cap, ornamented with sea shells and bits of tinsel; but he had scarce time to finish, when a fourth loud rap was heard at the door, the scene of alarm was renewed, and the frightened gallant hurried into the room to keep company with his rivals. now appeared the respectable merchant, who presented the cunning lady with several rich veils, pieces of silk, and embroidered muslins, after which he was asked to undress and enrobe himself in a sky coloured vest and a cap striped with red and white; which he had hardly put on when a thundering knock at the gate put an end to his transports, and the wife pretending great alarm, as it was her husband's rap, forced him into the bed-chamber, where, to his surprise he discovered three of his intimate acquaintance. the husband, who had left his hiding place and knocked at the door, now entered, and after saluting his wife, sat down, when having partaken of the refreshments provided for the gallants, the happy couple entered into conversation loud enough to be overheard by the wretched inamorati, who were quaking for fear of discovery. "light of my eyes," said the husband, "didst thou meet with any thing amusing to-day in thy visit to the bath? and if so, divert me with an account of it." "i did, indeed," said the lady, "for i met with four antic creatures, whom" (at hearing this the unfortunate lovers gave themselves over for lost) "i had a great inclination to bring home with me" (here they recovered a little from their alarm) "to divert us, but fearful of your displeasure i did not; however, if agreeable, we can send for them to-morrow." the frighted gallants now indulged some hope of escape through the kindness of their cunning mistress, and began to breathe a little freer, but very short was the suspension of their fears. "i am sorry thou didst not bring them," said the husband, "because business will to-morrow call me from home, and i shall be absent for some days." upon this, the lady laughing, said, "well, then, you must know that in fact i have brought them, and was diverting myself with them when you came in, but fearful you might suspect something wrong i hurried them into our bed-chamber, in order to conceal them till i had tried your temper, hoping, should you not be in good humour, to find some means of letting them out undiscovered." it is impossible to describe the alarm into which the wretched gallants were now plunged, especially when the husband commanded his wife to bring them out one by one, saying, "let each entertain us with a dance and then recite a story, but if they do not please me, i will strike off their heads." "heaven protect us," said the cauzee, "how can men of our gravity dance? but there is no resisting the decrees of fate, nor do i see any chance of escape from this artful baggage and her savage husband but by performing as well as we can." his companions were of the same opinion, and mustered what courage they could to act as they should be ordered. the wife now entered the chamber, and putting a tambourine into the cauzee's hands, led him out and began to play a merry tune upon her lute, to which the affrighted magistrate danced with a thousand antics and grimaces like an old baboon, beating time with the tambourine, to the great delight of the husband, who every now and then jeeringly cried out, "really wife, if i did not know this fellow was a buffoon, i should take him for our cauzee; but god forgive me, i know our worthy magistrate is either at his devotions, or employed in investigating cases for to-morrow's decision." upon this the cauzee danced with redoubled vigour, and more ridiculous gestures, in hopes of evading discovery. at length he was overpowered by such unusual exercise; but the husband had no mercy upon his sufferings, and made him continue capering by threatening the bastinado, till the tired judge was exhausted, and fainted upon the floor in a bath of perspiration, when they held him up, and pouring a goblet of wine down his throat it somewhat revived him. he was now suffered to breathe a little, and something given him to eat, which, with a second cup of liquor, recovered his strength. the husband now demanded his story; and the cauzee, assuming the gesture of a coffee-house droll, began as follows. the cauzee's story. a young tailor, whose shop was opposite the house of an officer, was so attracted from his work by the appearance of a beautiful young lady, his wife, in her balcony, that he became desperately in love, and would sit whole days waiting her coming, and when she showed herself make signs of his passion. for some time his ridiculous action diverted her, but at length she grew tired of the farce she had kept up by answering his signals, and of the interruption it gave to her taking the fresh air, so that she resolved to punish him for his presumption, and oblige him to quit his stall. having laid her plan, one day when her husband was gone out for a few hours she dispatched a female slave to invite the tailor to drink coffee. to express the rapture of the happy snip is impossible. he fell at the feet of the slave, which he kissed as the welcome messengers of good tidings, gave her a piece of gold, and uttered some nonsensical verses that he had composed in praise of his beloved; then dressing himself in his best habit, he folded his turban in the most tasty manner, and curled his mustachios to the greatest advantage, after which he hastened exultingly to the lady's house, and was admitted to her presence. she sat upon a rich musnud, and gracefully lifting up her veil welcomed the tailor, who was so overcome that he had nearly fainted away with excess of rapture. she desired him to be seated, but such was his bashfulness that he would not approach farther than the corner of the carpet. coffee was brought in, and a cup presented him; but not being used to such magnificence and form, and his eyes, also, being staringly fixed on the beauties of the lady, instead of carrying the cup to his mouth, he hit his nose and overthrew the liquid upon his vest. the lady smiled, and ordered him another cup; but while he was endeavouring to drink it with a little more composure, a loud knock was heard at the door, and she starting up, cried out with great agitation, "good heavens! this is my husband's knock; if he finds us together he will sacrifice us to his fury!" the poor tailor, in terror, fell flat upon the carpet, when the lady and her slave threw some cold water upon his face, and when a little recovered hurried him away to a chamber, into which they forced him, and desired him to remain quiet, as the only means of saving his life. here he remained quivering and trembling, more alive than dead, but perfectly cured of his love, and vowing never again to look up at a balcony. when the tailor was disposed of, the lady again sat down upon her stool, and ordered her slave to open the gate. upon her husband's entering the room he was surprised at beholding things set out for an entertainment, and inquired who had been with her; when she replied tartly, "a lover." "and where is he now?" angrily replied the officer. "in yonder chamber, and if you please you may sacrifice him to your fury, and myself afterwards." the officer demanded the key, which she gave him; but while this was passing, the agony of the unfortunate tailor was worse than death; he fully expecting every moment to have his head struck off: in short, he was in a most pitiable condition. the officer went to the door, and had put the key into the lock, when his wife burst suddenly into a fit of laughter: upon which he exclaimed angrily, "who do you laugh at?" "why, at yourself, to be sure, my wise lord," replied the lady; "for who but yourself could suppose a woman serious when she told him where to find out a concealed lover? i wanted to discover how far jealousy would carry you, and invented this trick for the purpose," the officer, upon this, was struck with admiration of his wife's pleasantry and his own credulity, which so tickled his fancy that he laughed immoderately, begged pardon for his foolish conduct, and they spent the evening cheerfully together; after which, the husband going to the bath, his wife charitably released the almost dead tailor, and reproving him for his impertinence, declared if he ever again looked up at her balcony she would contrive his death. the tailor, perfectly cured of love for his superior in life, made the most abject submission, thanked her for his deliverance, hurried home, prayed heartily for his escape, and the very next day took care to move from so dangerous a neighbourhood. the husband and wife were highly diverted with the cauzee's story, and after another dance permitted him to depart, and get home as well as he could in his ridiculous habit. how he got there, and what excuse he was able to make for so unmagisterial an appearance, we are not informed; but strange whispers went about the city, and the cauzee's dance became the favourite one or the strolling drolls, whom he had often the mortification of seeing taking him off as he passed to and from the tribunal, and not unfrequently in causes of adultery the evidences and culprits would laugh in his face. he, however, never again suffered satan to tempt him, and was scarcely able to look at a strange woman, so great was his fear of being led astray. when the cauzee was gone, the lady, repairing to the apartment, brought out the grave tax-collector, whom her husband addressed by name, saying, "venerable sir, how long have you turned droll? can you favour me with a dance?" the tax-collector made no reply, but began capering, nor was he permitted to stop till quite tired. he was then allowed to sit, some refreshment was given him, and when revived he was desired to tell a story: knowing resistance vain, he complied. after having finished he was dismissed, and the other gallants were brought in and treated in a like manner. story of the merchant, his daughter, and the prince of eerauk. a certain rich merchant was constantly repining, because providence had not added to his numerous blessings that of a child to inherit his vast wealth. this want destroyed the power of affluence to make him happy, and he importuned heaven with unceasing prayers. at length one evening, just as he had concluded his devotions, he heard a voice, saying, "thy request has been heard, and thou wilt have a daughter, but she will give thee much uneasiness in her fourteenth year by an amour with the prince of eerauk, and remember there is no avoiding the decrees of fate." the merchant's wife that same night conceived, and at the usual time brought forth a daughter, who grew up an exquisite beauty. no pains were spared in her education, so that at thirteen she became most accomplished, and the fame of her charms and perfections was spread throughout the city. the merchant enjoyed the graces of his child, but at the same time his heart was heavy with anxiety for her fate, whenever he called to mind the prediction concerning her; so that at length he determined to consult a celebrated dervish, his friend, on the possible means of averting the fulfilment of the prophecy. the dervish gave him but little hopes of being able to counteract the will of heaven, but advised him to carry the beautiful maiden to a sequestered mansion, situated among unfrequented mountains surrounding it on all sides, and the only entrance to which was by a dark cavern hewn out of the solid rock, which might be safely guarded by a few faithful domestics. "here," said the dervish, "your daughter may pass the predicted year, and if any human care can avail she may be thus saved from the threatened dishonour; but it is in vain for man to fight against the arms of heaven, therefore prepare thy mind for resignation to its decrees." the merchant followed the advice of his friend, and having made the necessary preparations, accompanied by him, and attended by some white and black slaves of both sexes, arrived, after a month's journey, with his daughter, at the desired mansion; in which having placed her, he, after a day's repose, took his departure homewards with the dervish. ample stores of all necessaries for her accommodation had been laid in, and slaves male and female were left for her attendance and protection. not many days, had elapsed when an incident occurred, clearly proving the emptiness of human caution against the predestination of fate. the prince of eerauk being upon a hunting excursion outrode his attendants, and missing his way, reached the gate of the cavern leading to the mansion, which was guarded by two black slaves, who seeing a stranger, cried out to him to withdraw. he stopped his horse, and in a supplicating tone requested protection and refreshment for the night, as he had wandered from the road, and was almost exhausted from weariness and want of food. the slaves were moved by the representation of his distress, as well as awed by his noble appearance, and apprehending no danger from a single person, conducted him through the cavern, into the beautiful valley, in which stood the mansion. they then informed their mistress of his arrival, who commanded him to be introduced into an apartment, in which an elegant entertainment was provided, where she gave him the most hospitable reception. to become known to each other was to love; nor was it long ere the prediction respecting the merchant's daughter proved fully verified. some months passed in mutual happiness; when the prince, becoming anxious to return to his friends, took leave of his mistress, promising when he had seen his family to visit her again, and make her his wife. on his way he met the merchant, who was coming to see his daughter. halting at the same spot they fell into conversation, in which each inquired after the other's situation, and the prince, little aware to whom he was speaking, related his late adventure. the merchant, convinced that all his caution had been vain, concealed his uneasiness, resolved to take his daughter home, make the best of what had happened, and never again to struggle against fate. on his arrival at the cavern he found his daughter unwell; and before they reached their own abode she was delivered of a male infant, who, to save her credit, was left exposed in a small tent with a sum of money laid under its pillow, in hopes that the first passenger would take the child under his care. it so happened, that a caravan passing by, the leader of it, on examining the tent and seeing the infant, took it up, and having no children adopted it as his own. the prince of eerauk having seen his parents, again repaired to visit his beautiful mistress, and on his journey to the cavern once more met the merchant, who, at his daughter's request, was travelling towards eerauk to acquaint him with her situation. the prince, overjoyed, accompanied the merchant home, married the young lady, and with her parents returned to his dominions. their exposed son, after long inquiry, was discovered, and liberal rewards bestowed on the leader of the caravan, who at his own request was permitted to reside in the palace of eerauk, and superintend the education of his adopted son. adventures of the cauzee, his wife, &c. in the capital of bagdad there was formerly a cauzee, who filled the seat of justice with the purest integrity, and who by his example in private life gave force to the strictness of his public decrees. after some years spent in this honourable post, he became anxious to make the pilgrimage to mecca; and having obtained permission of the caliph, departed on his pious journey, leaving his wife, a beautiful woman, under the protection of his brother, who promised to respect her as his daughter. the cauzee, however, had not long left home, when the brother, instigated by passion, made love to his sister-in-law, which she rejected with scorn; being, however, unwilling to expose so near a relative to her husband, she endeavoured to divert him from his purpose by argument on the heinousness of his intended crime, but in vain. the abominable wretch, instead of repenting, a gain and again offered his love, and at last threatened, if she would not accept his love, to accuse her of adultery, and bring upon her the punishment of the law. this threat having no effect, the atrocious villain suborned evidences to swear that they had seen her in the act of infidelity, and she was sentenced to receive one hundred strokes with a knotted whip, and be banished from the city. having endured this disgraceful punishment, the unhappy lady was led through bagdad by the public executioner, amid the taunts and scorns of the populace; after which she was thrust oat of the gates and left to shift for herself. relying on providence, and without complaining of its decrees, she resolved to travel to mecca, in hopes of meeting her husband, and clearing her defamed character to him, whose opinion alone she valued. when advanced some days on her journey she entered a city, and perceived a great crowd of people following the executioner, who led a young man by a rope tied about his neck. inquiring the crime of the culprit, she was informed that he owed a hundred deenars, which being unable to pay, he was sentenced to be hung, such being the punishment of insolvent debtors in that city. the cauzee's wife, moved with compassion, immediately tendered the sum, being nearly all she had, when the young man was released, and falling upon his knees before her, vowed to dedicate his life to her service. she related to him her intention of making the pilgrimage to mecca, upon which the young man requested to accompany and protect her, to which she consented. they set out on their journey; but had not proceeded many days, when the youth forgot his obligations, and giving way to impulse, insulted his benefactress by offering her his love. the unfortunate lady reasoned with him on the ingratitude of his conduct, and the youth seemed to be convinced and repentant, but revenge rankled in his heart. some days after this they reached the sea-shore, where the young man perceiving a ship, made a signal to speak with it, and the master letting down his boat sent it to land; upon which the young man going on board the vessel, informed the master that he had for sale a handsome female slave, for whom he asked a thousand deenars. the master, who had been used to purchase slaves upon that coast, went on shore, and looking at the cauzee's wife, paid the money to the wicked young man, who went his way, and the lady was carried on board the ship, supposing that her companion had taken the opportunity of easing her fatigue, by procuring her a passage to some sea-port near mecca: but her persecution was not to end here. in the evening she was insulted by attentions of the master of the vessel, who being surprised at her coolness, informed her that he had purchased her as his slave for a thousand deenars. the unfortunate lady told him that she was a free woman, but this had no effect on the brutish sailor, who finding tenderness ineffectual proceeded to force and blows in order to reduce her to submit to his authority. her strength was almost exhausted, when suddenly the ship struck upon a rock, the master was hurried upon deck, and in a few moments the vessel went to pieces. providentially the virtuous wife laying hold of a plank was wafted to the shore, after being for several hours buffeted by the waves. having recovered her senses she walked inland, and found a pleasant country abounding in fruits and clear streams, which satisfied her hunger and thirst. on the second day she arrived at a magnificent city, and on entering it was conducted to the sultan, who inquiring her story, she informed him that she was a woman devoted to a religious life, and was proceeding on the pilgrimage to mecca, when her vessel was shipwrecked on his coast, and whether any of the crew had escaped she knew not, as she had seen none of them since her being cast ashore on a plank; but as now the hopes of her reaching the sacred house were cut off, if the sultan would allot her a small hut, and a trifling pittance for her support, she would spend the remainder of her days in prayers for the prosperity of himself and his subjects. the sultan, who was truly devout, and pitied the misfortune of the lady, gladly acceded to her request, and allotted a pleasant garden-house near his palace for her residence, at which he often visited her, and conversed with her on religious topics, to his great edification and comfort, for she was sensibly pious. not long after her arrival, several refractory vassals who had for years withheld their usual tribute, and against whom the good sultan, unwilling to shed blood, though his treasury much felt the defalcation, had not sent a force to compel payment, unexpectedly sent in their arrears; submissively begged pardon for their late disobedience, and promised in future to be loyal in their duty. the sultan, who attributed this fortunate event to the successful prayers of his virtuous guest, mentioned his opinion to his courtiers in full divan, and they to their dependents. as, according to the proverb, the sheep always follow their leader, so it was in the present instance. all ranks of people on every emergency flocked to beg the prayers and counsel of the sultan's favourite devotee; and such was their efficacy, that her clients every day became more numerous, nor were they ungrateful; so that in a short time the offerings made to her amounted in value to an incalculable sum. her reputation was not confined to the kingdom of her protector, but spread gradually abroad through all the countries in the possession of true believers, who came from all parts of asia to solicit her prayers. her residence was enlarged to a vast extent, in which she supported great numbers of destitute persons, as well as entertained the crowds of poor people who came in pilgrimage to so holy a personage as she was now esteemed. but we must now return to her pious husband. the good cauzee having finished the ceremonies of his pilgrimage at mecca, where he resided one year, and visited all the holy spots around, returned to bagdad: but dreadful was his agony and grief when informed that his wife had played the harlot, and that his brother, unable to bear the disgrace of his family, had left the city, and had not been heard of since. this sad intelligence had such an effect upon his mind, that he resolved to give up worldly concerns, and adopt the life of a wandering religious, to move from place to place, from country to country, and visit the devotees celebrated for sanctity in each. for two years he travelled through various kingdoms, and at length hearing of his wife's fame, though he little supposed the much-talked-of female saint stood in that relation to himself, he resolved to pay his respects to so holy a personage. with this view he journeyed towards the capital of the sultan her protector, hoping to receive benefit from her pious conversation and prayers. the cauzee on his way overtook his treacherous brother, who, repenting of his wicked life, had turned mendicant, and was going to confess his sins, and ask the prayers for absolution of the far-famed religious woman. time and alteration of dress, for they were both habited as dervishes, caused the brothers not to know each other. as fellow travellers they entered into conversation; and finding they were both bound the same way, agreed to continue their journey together. they had not proceeded many days when they came up with a driver of camels, who informed them that he was upon the same errand as themselves, having been guilty of a horrid crime, the reflection upon which tormented his conscience, and made life miserable; that he was going to confess his sins to the pious devotee, and consult her on whatever penance could atone for his villany, of which he had heartily repented, and hoped to obtain the mercy of heaven by a sincere reformation of life. the crime of this wretch was no less than murder; the circumstances of which we forgot to detail in its proper place. the cauzee's wife immediately after her expulsion from bagdad, and before she had met the young man who sold her for a slave, had taken shelter in the hut of a camel breeder, whose wife owed her great obligations, and who received her with true hospitality and kindness; consoling her in her misfortunes, dressing her wounds, and insisting on her stay till she should be fully recovered of the painful effects of her unjust and disgraceful punishment; and in this she was seconded by the honest husband. with this humble couple, who had an infant son, she remained some time, and was recovering her spirits and beauty when the wicked camel breeder, first mentioned, arrived on a visit to her host; and being struck with her beauty made love to her, which she mildly but firmly rejected, informing him that she was a married woman. blinded by passion, the wretch pressed his addresses repeatedly, but in vain; till at length, irritated by refusal, he changed his love into furious anger, and resolved to revenge his disappointed lust by her death. with this view he armed himself with a poniard; and about midnight, when the family were asleep, stole into the chamber where she reposed, and close by her the infant son of her generous host. the villain being in the dark made a random stroke, not knowing of the infant, and instead of stabbing the object of his revenge, plunged his weapon into the bosom of the child, who uttered loud screams; upon which the assassin, fearful of detection, ran away, and escaped from the house. the cauzee's wife awaking in a fright, alarmed her unhappy hosts, who, striking a light, came to her assistance; but how can we describe their agonizing affliction when they beheld their beloved child expiring, and their unfortunate guest, who had swooned away, bathed in the infant's blood. from such a scene we turn away, as the pen is incapable of description. the unhappy lady at length revived, but their darling boy was gone for ever. some days after this tragical event she began her pilgrimage, and, as above stated, reached the city where she released the young man from his cruel creditors, and was shortly afterwards ungratefully sold by him as a slave. but to return to the good cauzee and his wicked companions. they had not travelled far when they overtook a young man, who saluted them, and inquired their course; of which being informed, he begged to join in company, saying, that he also was going to pay his respects to the celebrated religious, in hopes that by her prayers he might obtain pardon of god for a most flagitious ingratitude; the remorse for which had rendered him a burthen to himself ever since the commission of the crime. the four pilgrims pursued their journey, and a few days afterwards overtook the master of a vessel, who told them he had some time back suffered shipwreck; since which he had undergone the severest distress, and was now going to request the aid of the far-famed woman, whose charities and miraculous prayers had been noised abroad through all countries. the companions then invited him to join them, and they proceeded on the pilgrimage together, till at length they reached the capital of the good sultan who protected the cauzee's wife. the five pilgrims having entered the city, repaired immediately to the abode of the respected devotee; the courts of which were crowded with petitioners from all parts, so that they could with difficulty gain admission. some of her domestics seeing they were strangers newly arrived, and seemingly fatigued, kindly invited them, into an apartment, and to repose themselves while they informed their mistress of their arrival; which having done, they brought word that she would see them when the crowd was dispersed, and hear their petitions at her leisure. refreshments were then brought in, of which they were desired to partake, and the pilgrims having make their ablutions, sat down to eat, all the while admiring and praising the hospitality of their pious hostess; who, unperceived by them, was examining their persons and features through the lattice of a balcony, at one end of the hall. her heart beat with joyful rapture when she beheld her long lost husband, whose absence she had never ceased to deplore, but scarcely expected ever to meet him again; and great was her surprise to find him in company with his treacherous brother, her infamous intending assassin, her ungrateful betrayer the young man, and the master of the vessel to whom he had sold her as a slave. it was with difficulty she restrained her feelings; but not choosing to discover herself till she should hear their adventures, she withdrew into her chamber, and being relieved by tears prostrated herself on the earth, and offered up thanksgivings to the protector of the just, who had rewarded her patience under affliction by succeeding blessings, and at length restored to her the partner of her heart. having finished her devotions, she sent to the sultan requesting him to send her a confidential officer, who might witness the relations of five visitors whom she was going to examine. on his arrival she placed him where he could listen unseen; and covering herself with a veil, sat down on her stool to receive the pilgrims, who being admitted, bowed their foreheads to the ground; when requesting them to arise, she addressed them as follows: "you are welcome, brethren, to my humble abode, to my counsel and my prayers, which, by god's mercy, have sometimes relieved the repentant sinner; but as it is impossible i can give advice without hearing a case, or pray without knowing the wants of him who entreats me, you must relate your histories with the strictest truth, for equivocation, evasion, or concealment, will prevent my being of any service; and this you may depend upon, that the prayers of a liar tend only to his own destruction." having said this, she ordered the cauzee to remain, but the other four to withdraw; as she should, to spare their shame before each other, hear their cases separately. the good cauzee having no sins to confess related his pilgrimage to mecca; the supposed infidelity of his wife; and his consequent resolve to spend his days in visiting sacred places and holy personages, among whom she stood so famous, that to hear her edifying conversation, and entreat the benefit of her prayers for his unhappy wife, was the object of his having travelled to her sacred abode. when he had finished his narrative the lady dismissed him to another chamber, and heard one by one the confessions of his companions; who not daring to conceal any thing, related their cruel conduct towards herself, as above-mentioned; but little suspecting that they were acknowledging their guilt to the intended victim of their evil passions. after this the cauzee's wife commanded the officer to conduct all five to the sultan, and inform him of what he had heard them confess. the sultan, enraged at the wicked behaviour of the cauzee's brother, the camel-driver, the young man, and the master of the vessel, condemned them to death; and the executioner was preparing to put the sentence in force, when the lady arriving at the presence demanded their pardon; and to his unspeakable joy discovered herself to her delighted husband. the sultan complying with her request, dismissed the criminals; but prevailed on the cauzee to remain at his court, where for the remainder of his life this upright judge filled the high office of chief magistrate with honour to himself, and satisfaction to all who had causes tried before him; while he and his faithful partner continued striking examples of virtue and conjugal felicity. the sultan was unbounded in his favour towards them, and would often pass whole evenings in their company in friendly conversation, which generally turned upon the vicissitudes of life, and the goodness of providence in relieving the sufferings of the faithful, by divine interposition, at the very instant when ready to sink under them and overwhelmed with calamity. "i myself," said the sultan, "am an example of the protection of heaven, as you, my friends, will learn from my adventures." he then began as follows. the sultan's story of himself. though now seated on a throne, i was not born to such exalted rank, but am the son of a rich merchant in a country far distant from this which i now govern. my father brought me up to his own profession; and by instruction and example encouraged me to be virtuous, diligent, and honest. soon after i had attained to the age of manhood death snatched away this valuable parent, who in his last moments gave me instructions for my future conduct; but particularly requested that nothing might ever prevail upon me to take an oath, though ever so just or necessary to my concerns. i assured him it would not: soon after which he breathed his last, leaving me, my mother, and sister in sincere grief for his loss. after the funeral i examined his property, and found myself in possession of a vast sum of money, besides an ample stock in trade, two-thirds of which i immediately paid to my mother and sister, who retired to a house which they purchased for themselves. many weeks had not elapsed when a merchant set up a claim on my father's estate for a sum of money equal to nearly the whole that i possessed: i asked him for his bond, but he had none, yet swore solemnly to the justice of his demand. i had no doubt of the falsity of his oath, but as i had promised never to swear, i could not disprove it by mine, and therefore was obliged to pay the money, which i did entirely from my own share, not choosing to distress my mother and sister by lessening theirs. after this, other unjust demands were preferred, and i paid them, rather than falsify my promise to my father, though by so doing i became reduced to the most abject poverty, as still i would not trouble my mother. at length i resolved to quit my native city, and seek for subsistence in a distant country as clerk to a merchant, or in any other way that might offer. i accordingly set out alone, and had travelled some days, when in passing over a sandy desert i met a venerable looking personage dressed in white, who kindly accosting me, inquired the object of my journey: upon which i related my story. the old man blessed me, highly praised the steadfastness of my adherence to the promise i had made to a dying father; and said, "my son, be not dismayed, thy virtuous conduct has been approved by our holy prophet, who has interceded for thee at the throne of bounty: follow me, and reap the reward of thy sufferings." i did as he desired; and we, after some time, reached this city, which was then wholly depopulated, and even this palace in a state of decay. on our entrance my venerable guide bade me welcome, saying, "here heaven has decreed thee to reign, and thou wilt soon become a powerful sultan." he then conducted me to the palace, and we descended from one of the apartments into a vault, where to my astonishment i beheld vast heaps of gold and silver ingots, large bags of coins of the same metals, and several rich chests filled with jewels of inestimable value, of all which he saluted me master. i was overcome with astonishment; but said, "of what use is all this wealth in a depopulated city? and how can i be a sultan without subjects?" the old man smiled, and said, "have patience, my son; this evening a numerous caravan will arrive here composed of emigrants, who are in search of a settlement, and they will elect thee their sovereign." his words proved true; the caravan arrived, when the old man invited them to inhabit the city; his offer was gladly accepted, and by his direction they declared me their sultan. my protector remained with me a whole year, during which he gave me instructions how to govern, and i became what i am. heaven has prospered my endeavours to do good: the fame of my liberality, justice, and clemency soon spread abroad; the city was soon filled by industrious inhabitants, who repaired the decayed buildings, and erected new ones. the country round became well cultivated, and our port was filled with vessels from every quarter. i shortly after sent for my family, for i had left behind me a wife and two sons; and you may guess from your own joy at meeting after long separation what must have been mine on such an occasion. my venerable patron, at the expiration of the year, one day thus addressed me: "my son, as my mission is completed i must now leave you; but be not alarmed, for provided thou continuest to act as thou hast begun, we shall meet again. know that i am the prophet khizzer, and was sent by heaven to protect thee. mayest thou deserve its blessings!" having said this he embraced me in his arms, and then vanished, how i know not, from my sight. for some time i continued rapt in astonishment and wonder, which at length gave place to reverential awe and gratitude to heaven; by degrees i recovered myself, and bowed down with fervent devotion. i have endeavoured to follow the admonitions of my holy adviser. it is unnecessary to say more; you see my state and the happiness i enjoy. conclusion. the sultan of the indies could not but admire the prodigious and inexhaustible memory of the sultaness his wife, who had entertained him so many nights with such a variety of interesting stories. a thousand and one nights had passed away in these innocent amusements, which contributed so much towards removing the sultan's unhappy prejudice against the fidelity of women. his temper was softened. he was convinced of the merit and great wisdom of the sultaness scheherazade. he remembered with what courage she had offered to be his wife, without fearing the death to which she knew she exposed herself, as so many sultanesses had suffered within her knowledge. these considerations, and the many other good qualities he knew her to possess, induced him at last to forgive her. "i see, lovely scheherazade," said he, "that you can never be at a loss for these little stories, which have so long diverted me. you have appeased my anger. i freely renounce the law i had imposed on myself. i restore your sex to my favourable opinion, and will have you to be regarded as the deliverer of the many damsels i had resolved to sacrifice to my unjust resentment." the sultaness cast herself at his feet, and embraced them tenderly with all the marks of the most lively and perfect gratitude. the grand vizier was the first who learned this agreeable intelligence from the sultan's own mouth. it was instantly carried to the city, towns, and provinces; and gained the sultan, and the lovely scheherazade his consort, universal applause, and the blessings of all the people of the extensive empire of the indies. end of volume . aladdin and the magic lamp there once lived a poor tailor, who had a son called aladdin, a careless, idle boy who would do nothing but play all day long in the streets with little idle boys like himself. this so grieved the father that he died; yet, in spite of his mother's tears and prayers, aladdin did not mend his ways. one day, when he was playing in the streets as usual, a stranger asked him his age, and if he was not the son of mustapha the tailor. "i am, sir," replied aladdin; "but he died a long while ago." on this the stranger, who was a famous african magician, fell on his neck and kissed him saying: "i am your uncle, and knew you from your likeness to my brother. go to your mother and tell her i am coming." aladdin ran home and told his mother of his newly found uncle. "indeed, child," she said, "your father had a brother, but i always thought he was dead." however, she prepared supper, and bade aladdin seek his uncle, who came laden with wine and fruit. he fell down and kissed the place where mustapha used to sit, bidding aladdin's mother not to be surprised at not having seen him before, as he had been forty years out of the country. he then turned to aladdin, and asked him his trade, at which the boy hung his head, while his mother burst into tears. on learning that aladdin was idle and would learn no trade, he offered to take a shop for him and stock it with merchandise. next day he bought aladdin a fine suit of clothes and took him all over the city, showing him the sights, and brought him home at nightfall to his mother, who was overjoyed to see her son so fine. next day the magician led aladdin into some beautiful gardens a long way outside the city gates. they sat down by a fountain and the magician pulled a cake from his girdle, which he divided between them. then they journeyed onwards till they almost reached the mountains. aladdin was so tired that he begged to go back, but the magician beguiled him with pleasant stories and lead him on in spite of himself. at last they came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley. "we will go no farther," said his uncle. "i will show you something wonderful; only do you gather up sticks while i kindle a fire." when it was lit the magician threw on it a powder he had about him, at the same time saying some magical words. the earth trembled a little in front of them, disclosing a square flat stone with a brass ring in the middle to raise it by. aladdin tried to run away, but the magician caught him and gave him a blow that knocked him down. "what have i done, uncle?" he said piteously; whereupon the magician said more kindly: "fear nothing, but obey me. beneath this stone lies a treasure which is to be yours, and no one else may touch it, so you must do exactly as i tell you." at the word treasure aladdin forgot his fears, and grasped the ring as he was told, saying the names of his father and grandfather. the stone came up quite easily, and some steps appeared. "go down," said the magician; "at the foot of those steps you will find an open door leading into three large halls. tuck up your gown and go through them without touching anything, or you will die instantly. these halls lead into a garden of fine fruit trees. walk on till you come to niche in a terrace where stands a lighted lamp. pour out the oil it contains, and bring it me." he drew a ring from his finger and gave it to aladdin, bidding him prosper. aladdin found everything as the magician had said, gathered some fruit off the trees, and, having got the lamp, arrived at the mouth of the cave. the magician cried out in a great hurry: "make haste and give me the lamp." this aladdin refused to do until he was out of the cave. the magician flew into a terrible passion, and throwing some more powder on to the fire, he said something, and the stone rolled back into its place. the man left the country, which plainly showed that he was no uncle of aladdin's but a cunning magician, who had read in his magic books of a wonderful lamp, which would make him the most powerful man in the world. though he alone knew where to find it, he could only receive it from the hand of another. he had picked out the foolish aladdin for this purpose, intending to get the lamp and kill him afterwards. for two days aladdin remained in the dark, crying and lamenting. at last he clasped his hands in prayer, and in so doing rubbed the ring, which the magician had forgotten to take from him. immediately an enormous and frightful genie rose out of the earth, saying: "what wouldst thou with me? i am the slave of the ring, and will obey thee in all things." aladdin fearlessly replied, "deliver me from this place!" whereupon the earth opened, and he found himself outside. as soon as his eyes could bear the light he went home, but fainted on the threshold. when he came to himself he told his mother what had passed, and showed her the lamp and the fruits he had gathered in the garden, which were in reality precious stones. he then asked for some food. "alas! child," she said, "i have nothing in the house, but i have spun a little cotton and will go sell it." aladdin bade her keep her cotton, for he would sell the lamp instead. as it was very dirty, she began to rub it, that it might fetch a higher price. instantly a hideous genie appeared, and asked what she would have. she fainted away, but aladdin, snatching the lamp, said boldly: "fetch me something to eat!" the genie returned with a silver bowl, twelve silver plates containing rich meats, two silver cups, and two bottles of wine. aladdin's mother, when she came to herself, said: "whence comes this splendid feast?" "ask not, but eat," replied aladdin. so they sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and aladdin told his mother about the lamp. she begged him to sell it, and have nothing to do with devils. "no," said aladdin, "since chance hath made us aware of its virtues, we will use it, and the ring likewise, which i shall always wear on my finger." when they had eaten all the genie had brought, aladdin sold one of the silver plates, and so on until none were left. he then had recourse to the genie, who gave him another set of plates, and thus they lived many years. one day aladdin heard an order from the sultan proclaimed that everyone was to stay at home and close his shutters while the princess his daughter went to and from the bath. aladdin was seized by a desire to see her face, which was very difficult, as she always went veiled. he hid himself behind the door of the bath, and peeped through a chink. the princess lifted her veil as she went in, and looked so beautiful that aladdin fell in love with her at first sight. he went home so changed that his mother was frightened. he told her he loved the princess so deeply he could not live without her, and meant to ask her in marriage of her father. his mother, on hearing this, burst out laughing, but aladdin at last prevailed upon her to go before the sultan and carry his request. she fetched a napkin and laid in it the magic fruits from the enchanted garden, which sparkled and shone like the most beautiful jewels. she took these with her to please the sultan, and set out, trusting in the lamp. the grand vizier and the lords of council had just gone in as she entered the hall and placed herself in front of the sultan. he, however, took no notice of her. she went every day for a week, and stood in the same place. when the council broke up on the sixth day the sultan said to his vizier: "i see a certain woman in the audience-chamber every day carrying something in a napkin. call her next time, that i may find out what she wants." next day, at a sign from the vizier, she went up to the foot of the throne and remained kneeling until the sultan said to her: "rise, good woman, and tell me what you want." she hesitated, so the sultan sent away all but the vizier, and bade her speak freely, promising to forgive her beforehand for anything she might say. she then told him of her son's violent love for the princess. "i prayed him to forget her," she said, "but in vain; he threatened to do some desperate deed if i refused to go and ask your majesty for the hand of the princess. now i pray you to forgive not me alone, but my son aladdin." the sultan asked her kindly what she had in the napkin, whereupon she unfolded the jewels and presented them. he was thunderstruck, and turning to the vizier, said: "what sayest thou? ought i not to bestow the princess on one who values her at such a price?" the vizier, who wanted her for his own son, begged the sultan to withhold her for three months, in the course of which he hoped his son could contrive to make him a richer present. the sultan granted this, and told aladdin's mother that, though he consented to the marriage, she must not appear before him again for three months. aladdin waited patiently for nearly three months, but after two had elapsed, his mother, going into the city to buy oil, found everyone rejoicing, and asked what was going on. "do you not know," was the answer, "that the son of the grand vizier is to marry the sultan's daughter tonight?" breathless she ran and told aladdin, who was overwhelmed at first, but presently bethought him of the lamp. he rubbed it and the genie appeared, saying: "what is thy will?" aladdin replied: "the sultan, as thou knowest, has broken his promise to me, and the vizier's son is to have the princess. my command is that to-night you bring hither the bride and bridegroom." "master, i obey," said the genie. aladdin then went to his chamber, where, sure enough, at midnight the genie transported the bed containing the vizier's son and the princess. "take this new-married man," he said, "and put him outside in the cold, and return at daybreak." whereupon the genie took the vizier's son out of bed, leaving aladdin with the princess. "fear nothing," aladdin said to her; "you are my wife, promised to me by your unjust father, and no harm will come to you." the princess was too frightened to speak, and passed the most miserable night of her life, while aladdin lay down beside her and slept soundly. at the appointed hour the genie fetched in the shivering bridegroom, laid him in his place, and transported the bed back to the palace. presently the sultan came to wish his daughter good-morning. the unhappy vizier's son jumped up and hid himself, while the princess would not say a word and was very sorrowful. the sultan sent her mother to her, who said: "how comes it, child, that you will not speak to your father? what has happened?" the princess sighed deeply, and at last told her mother how, during the night, the bed had been carried into some strange house, and what had passed there. her mother did not believe her in the least, but bade her rise and consider it an idle dream. the following night exactly the same thing happened, and next morning, on the princess's refusing to speak, the sultan threatened to cut off her head. she then confessed all, bidding him ask the vizier's son if it were not so. the sultan told the vizier to ask his son, who owned the truth, adding that, dearly as he loved the princess, he had rather die than go through another such fearful night, and wished to be separated from her. his wish was granted, and there was an end of feasting and rejoicing. when the three months were over, aladdin sent his mother to remind the sultan of his promise. she stood in the same place as before, and the sultan, who had forgotten aladdin, at once remembered him, and sent for her. on seeing her poverty the sultan felt less inclined than ever to keep his word, and asked his vizier's advice, who counselled him to set so high a value on the princess that no man living would come up to it. the sultan than turned to aladdin's mother, saying: "good woman, a sultan must remember his promises, and i will remember mine, but your son must first send me forty basins of gold brimful of jewels, carried by forty black slaves, led by as many white ones, splendidly dressed. tell him that i await his answer." the mother of aladdin bowed low and went home, thinking all was lost. she gave aladdin the message adding, "he may wait long enough for your answer!" "not so long, mother, as you think," her son replied. "i would do a great deal more than that for the princess." he summoned the genie, and in a few moments the eighty slaves arrived, and filled up the small house and garden. aladdin made them to set out to the palace, two by two, followed by his mother. they were so richly dressed, with such splendid jewels, that everyone crowded to see them and the basins of gold they carried on their heads. they entered the palace, and, after kneeling before the sultan, stood in a half-circle round the throne with their arms crossed, while aladdin's mother presented them to the sultan. he hesitated no longer, but said: "good woman, return and tell your son that i wait for him with open arms." she lost no time in telling aladdin, bidding him make haste. but aladdin first called the genie. "i want a scented bath," he said, "a richly embroidered habit, a horse surpassing the sultan's, and twenty slaves to attend me. besides this, six slaves, beautifully dressed, to wait on my mother; and lastly, ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses." no sooner said then done. aladdin mounted his horse and passed through the streets, the slaves strewing gold as they went. those who had played with him in his childhood knew him not, he had grown so handsome. when the sultan saw him he came down from his throne, embraced him, and led him into a hall where a feast was spread, intending to marry him to the princess that very day. but aladdin refused, saying, "i must build a palace fit for her," and took his leave. once home, he said to the genie: "build me a palace of the finest marble, set with jasper, agate, and other precious stones. in the middle you shall build me a large hall with a dome, its four walls of massy gold and silver, each side having six windows, whose lattices, all except one which is to be left unfinished, must be set with diamonds and rubies. there must be stables and horses and grooms and slaves; go and see about it!" the palace was finished the next day, and the genie carried him there and showed him all his orders faithfully carried out, even to the laying of a velvet carpet from aladdin's palace to the sultan's. aladdin's mother then dressed herself carefully, and walked to the palace with her slaves, while he followed her on horseback. the sultan sent musicians with trumpets and cymbals to meet them, so that the air resounded with music and cheers. she was taken to the princess, who saluted her and treated her with great honour. at night the princess said good-bye to her father, and set out on the carpet for aladdin's palace, with his mother at her side, and followed by the hundred slaves. she was charmed at the sight of aladdin, who ran to receive her. "princess," he said, "blame your beauty for my boldness if i have displeased you." she told him that, having seen him, she willingly obeyed her father in this matter. after the wedding had taken place, aladdin led her into the hall, where a feast was spread, and she supped with him, after which they danced till midnight. next day aladdin invited the sultan to see the palace. on entering the hall with the four-and-twenty windows with their rubies, diamonds and emeralds, he cried, "it is a world's wonder! there is only one thing that surprises me. was it by accident that one window was left unfinished?" "no, sir, by design," returned aladdin. "i wished your majesty to have the glory of finishing this palace." the sultan was pleased, and sent for the best jewelers in the city. he showed them the unfinished window, and bade them fit it up like the others. "sir," replied their spokesman, "we cannot find jewels enough." the sultan had his own fetched, which they soon used, but to no purpose, for in a month's time the work was not half done. aladdin knowing that their task was vain, bade them undo their work and carry the jewels back, and the genie finished the window at his command. the sultan was surprised to receive his jewels again, and visited aladdin, who showed him the window finished. the sultan embraced him, the envious vizier meanwhile hinting that it was the work of enchantment. aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. he was made captain of the sultan's armies, and won several battles for him, but remained as courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and content for several years. but far away in africa the magician remembered aladdin, and by his magic arts discovered that aladdin, instead of perishing miserably in the cave, had escaped, and had married a princess, with whom he was living in great honour and wealth. he knew that the poor tailor's son could only have accomplished this by means of the lamp, and travelled night and day till he reached the capital of china, bent on aladdin's ruin. as he passed through the town he heard people talking everywhere about a marvelous palace. "forgive my ignorance," he asked, "what is the palace you speak of?" "have you not heard of prince aladdin's palace," was the reply, "the greatest wonder in the world? i will direct you if you have a mind to see it." the magician thanked him who spoke, and having seen the palace knew that it had been raised by the genie of the lamp, and became half mad with rage. he determined to get hold of the lamp, and again plunge aladdin into the deepest poverty. unluckily, aladdin had gone a-hunting for eight days, which gave the magician plenty of time. he bought a dozen lamps, put them into a basket, and went to the palace, crying: "new lamps for old!" followed by a jeering crowd. the princess, sitting in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, sent a slave to find out what the noise was about, who came back laughing, so that the princess scolded her. "madam," replied the slave, "who can help laughing to see an old fool offering to exchange fine new lamps for old ones?" another slave, hearing this, said, "there is an old one on the cornice there which he can have." now this was the magic lamp, which aladdin had left there, as he could not take it out hunting with him. the princess, not knowing its value, laughingly bade the slave take it and make the exchange. she went and said to the magician: "give me a new lamp for this." he snatched it and bade the slave take her choice, amid the jeers of the crowd. little he cared, but left off crying his lamps, and went out of the city gates to a lonely place, where he remained till nightfall, when he pulled out the lamp and rubbed it. the genie appeared, and at the magician's command carried him, together with the palace and the princess in it, to a lonely place in africa. next morning the sultan looked out of the window towards aladdin's palace and rubbed his eyes, for it was gone. he sent for the vizier and asked what had become of the palace. the vizier looked out too, and was lost in astonishment. he again put it down to enchantment, and this time the sultan believed him, and sent thirty men on horseback to fetch aladdin back in chains. they met him riding home, bound him, and forced him to go with them on foot. the people, however, who loved him, followed, armed, to see that he came to no harm. he was carried before the sultan, who ordered the executioner to cut off his head. the executioner made aladdin kneel down, bandaged his eyes, and raised his scimitar to strike. at that instant the vizier, who saw that the crowd had forced their way into the courtyard and were scaling the walls to rescue aladdin, called to the executioner to stay his hand. the people, indeed, looked so threatening that the sultan gave way and ordered aladdin to be unbound, and pardoned him in the sight of the crowd. aladdin now begged to know what he had done. "false wretch!" said the sultan, "come hither," and showed him from the window the place where his palace had stood. aladdin was so amazed he could not say a word. "where is your palace and my daughter?" demanded the sultan. "for the first i am not so deeply concerned, but my daughter i must have, and you must find her or lose your head." aladdin begged for forty days in which to find her, promising if he failed to return to suffer death at the sultan's pleasure. his prayer was granted, and he went forth sadly from the sultan's presence. for three days he wandered about like a madman, asking everyone what had become of his palace, but they only laughed and pitied him. he came to the banks of a river, and knelt down to say his prayers before throwing himself in. in doing so he rubbed the ring he still wore. the genie he had seen in the cave appeared, and asked his will. "save my life, genie," said aladdin, "and bring my palace back." "that is not in my power," said the genie; "i am only the slave of the ring; you must ask him of the lamp." "even so," said aladdin, "but thou canst take me to the palace, and set me down under my dear wife's window." he at once found himself in africa, under the window of the princess, and fell asleep out of sheer weariness. he was awakened by the singing of the birds, and his heart was lighter. he saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owning to the loss of the lamp, and vainly wondered who had robbed him of it. that morning the princess rose earlier than she had done since she had been carried into africa by the magician, whose company she was forced to endure once a day. she, however, treated him so harshly that he dared not live there altogether. as she was dressing, one of her women looked out and saw aladdin. the princess ran and opened the window, and at the noise she made, aladdin looked up. she called to him to come to her, and great was the joy of these lovers at seeing each other again. after he had kissed her aladdin said: "i beg of you, princess, in god's name, before we speak of anything else, for your own sake and mine, tell me what has become of an old lamp i left on the cornice in the hall of four-and-twenty windows when i went a-hunting." "alas," she said, "i am the innocent cause of our sorrows," and told him of the exchange of the lamp. "now i know," cried aladdin, "that we have to thank the african magician for this! where is the lamp?" "he carries it about with him," said the princess. "i know, for he pulled it out of his breast to show me. he wishes me to break my faith with you and marry him, saying that you were beheaded by my father's command. he is forever speaking ill of you, but i only reply by my tears. if i persist, i doubt not but he will use violence." aladdin comforted her, and left her for a while. he changed clothes with the first person he met in the town, and having bought a certain powder returned to the princess, who let him in by a little side door. "put on your most beautiful dress," he said to her, "and receive the magician with smiles, leading him to believe that you have forgotten me. invite him to sup with you, and say you wish to taste the wine of his country. he will go for some, and while he is gone i will tell you what to do." she listened carefully to aladdin and when he left her, arrayed herself gaily for the first time since she left china. she put on a girdle and head-dress of diamonds and seeing in a glass that she was more beautiful than ever, received the magician, saying, to his great amazement: "i have made up my mind that aladdin is dead, and that all my tears will not bring him back to me, so i am resolved to mourn no more, and have therefore invited you to sup with me; but i am tired of the wines of china, and would fain taste those of africa." the magician flew to his cellar, and the princess put the powder aladdin had given her in her cup. when he returned she asked him to drink her health in the wine of africa, handing him her cup in exchange for his, as a sign she was reconciled to him. before drinking the magician made her a speech in praise of her beauty, but the princess cut him short, saying: "let us drink first, and you shall say what you will afterwards." she set her cup to her lips and kept it there, while the magician drained his to the dregs and fell back lifeless. the princess then opened the door to aladdin, and flung her arms around his neck; but aladdin went to the dead magician, took the lamp out of his vest, and bade the genie carry the palace and all in it back to china. this was done, and the princess in her chamber felt only two little shocks, and little thought she was home again. the sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning for his lost daughter, happened to look up, and rubbed his eyes, for there stood the palace as before! he hastened thither, and aladdin received him in the hall of the four-and-twenty windows, with the princess at his side. aladdin told him what had happened, and showed him the dead body of the magician, that he might believe. a ten days' feast was proclaimed, and it seemed as if aladdin might now live the rest of his life in peace; but it was not meant to be. the african magician had a younger brother, who was, if possible, more wicked and more cunning than himself. he travelled to china to avenge his brother's death, and went to visit a pious woman called fatima, thinking she might be of use to him. he entered her cell and clapped a dagger to her breast, telling her to rise and do his bidding on pain of death. he changed clothes with her, coloured his face like hers, put on her veil, and murdered her, that she might tell no tales. then he went towards the palace of aladdin, and all the people, thinking he was the holy woman, gathered round him, kissing his hands and begging his blessing. when he got to the palace there was such a noise going on round him that the princess bade her slave look out the window and ask what was the matter. the slave said it was the holy woman, curing people by her touch of their ailments, whereupon the princess, who had long desired to see fatima, sent for her. on coming to the princess the magician offered up a prayer for her health and prosperity. when he had done the princess made him sit by her, and begged him to stay with her always. the false fatima, who wished for nothing better, consented, but kept his veil down for fear of discovery. the princess showed him the hall, and asked him what he thought of it. "it is truly beautiful," said the false fatima. "in my mind it wants but one thing." "and what is that?" said the princess. "if only a roc's egg," replied he, "were hung up from the middle of this dome, it would be the wonder of the world." after this the princess could think of nothing but the roc's egg, and when aladdin returned from hunting he found her in a very ill humour. he begged to know what was amiss, and she told him that all her pleasure in the hall was spoilt for want of a roc's egg hanging from the dome. "if that is all," replied aladdin, "you shall soon be happy." he left her and rubbed the lamp, and when the genie appeared commanded him to bring a roc's egg. the genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that i have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? you and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the african magician, whom you destroyed. he is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. he it was who put that wish into your wife's head. take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." so saying, the genie disappeared. aladdin went back to the princess, saying his head ached, and requesting that the holy fatima should be fetched to lay her hands on it. but when the magician came near, aladdin, seizing his dagger, pierced him to the heart. "what have you done?" cried the princess. "you have killed the holy woman!" "not so," replied aladdin, "but a wicked magician," and told her of how she had been deceived. after this aladdin and his wife lived in peace. he succeeded the sultan when he died, and reigned for many years, leaving behind him a long line of kings. the arabian nights the arabian nights their best-known tales edited by kate douglas wiggin and nora a. smith illustrated by maxfield parrish new york charles scribner's sons mcmix copyright, , by charles scribner's sons published october, preface _little excuse is needed, perhaps, for any fresh selection from the famous "tales of a thousand and one nights," provided it be representative enough, and worthy enough, to enlist a new army of youthful readers. of the two hundred and sixty-four bewildering, unparalleled stories, the true lover can hardly spare one, yet there must always be favourites, even among these. we have chosen some of the most delightful, in our opinion; some, too, that chanced to appeal particularly to the genius of the artist. if, enticed by our choice and the beauty of the pictures, we manage to attract a few thousand more true lovers to the fountain-book, we shall have served our humble turn. the only real danger lies in neglecting it, in rearing a child who does not know it and has never fallen under its spell._ _you remember maimoune, in the story of prince camaralzaman, and what she said to danhasch, the genie who had just arrived from the farthest limits of china? "be sure thou tellest me nothing but what is true or i shall clip thy wings!" this is what the modern child sometimes says to the genies of literature, and his own wings are too often clipped in consequence._ _"the empire of the fairies is no more. reason has banished them from ev'ry shore; steam has outstripped their dragons and their cars, gas has eclipsed their glow-worms and their stars."_ _Édouard laboulaye says in his introduction to nouveaux contes bleus: "mothers who love your children, do not set them too soon to the study of history; let them dream while they are young. do not close the soul to the first breath of poetry. nothing affrights me so much as the reasonable, practical child who believes in nothing that he cannot touch. these sages of ten years are, at twenty, dullards, or what is still worse, egoists."_ _when a child has once read of prince agib, of gulnare or periezade, sinbad or codadad, in this or any other volume of its kind, the magic will have been instilled into the blood, for the oriental flavour in the arab tales is like nothing so much as magic. true enough they are a vast storehouse of information concerning the manners and the customs, the spirit and the life of the moslem east (and the youthful reader does not have to study lane's learned foot-notes to imbibe all this), but beyond and above the knowledge of history and geography thus gained, there comes something finer and subtler as well as something more vital. the scene is indian, egyptian, arabian, persian; but bagdad and balsora, grand cairo, the silver tigris, and the blooming gardens of damascus, though they can be found indeed on the map, live much more truly in that enchanted realm that rises o'er "the foam of perilous seas in faery lands forlorn." what craft can sail those perilous seas like the book that has been called a great three-decker to carry tired people to islands of the blest? "the immortal fragment," says sir richard burton, who perhaps knew the arabian nights as did no other european, "will never be superseded in the infallible judgment of childhood. the marvellous imaginativeness of the tales produces an insensible brightness of mind and an increase of fancy-power, making one dream that behind them lies the new and unseen, the strange and unexpected--in fact, all the glamour of the unknown."_ _it would be a delightful task to any boy or girl to begin at the beginning and read the first english version of these famous stories, made from the collection of m. galland, professor of arabic in the royal college of paris. the fact that they had passed from arabic into french and from french into english did not prevent their instantaneous popularity. this was in or thereabouts, and the world was not so busy as it is nowadays, or young men would not have gathered in the middle of the night under m. galland's window and cried: "o vous, qui savez de si jolis contes, et qui les racontez si bien, racontez nous en un!"_ _you can also read them in scott's edition or in lane's (both of which, but chiefly the former, we have used as the foundation of our text), while your elders--philologists or orientalists--are studying the complete versions of john payne or sir richard burton. you may leave the wiseacres to wonder which were told in china or india, arabia or persia, and whether the first manuscript dates back to or earlier._ _we, like many other editors, have shortened the stories here and there, omitting some of the tedious repetitions that crept in from time to time when arabian story-tellers were adding to the text to suit their purposes._ _mr. andrew lang says amusingly that he has left out of his special versions "all the pieces that are suitable only for arabs and old gentlemen," and we have done the same; but we have taken no undue liberties. we have removed no genies nor magicians, however terrible; have cut out no base deed of vizier nor noble deed of sultan; have diminished the size of no roc's egg, nor omitted any single allusion to the great and only haroun al-raschid, caliph of bagdad, commander of the faithful, who must have been a great inspirer of good stories._ _enter into this "treasure house of pleasant things," then, and make yourself at home in the golden palaces, the gem-studded caves, the bewildering gardens. sit by its mysterious fountains, hear the plash of its gleaming cascades, unearth its magic lamps and talismans, behold its ensorcelled princes and princesses._ _nowhere in the whole realm of literature will you find such a marvel, such a wonder, such a nonesuch of a book; nowhere will you find impossibilities so real and so convincing; nowhere but in what henley calls:_ _"... that blessed brief of what is gallantest and best in all the full-shelved libraries of romance. the book of rocs, sandalwood, ivory, turbans, ambergris, cream-tarts, and lettered apes, and calenders, and ghouls, and genies--o so huge they might have overed the tall minster tower, hands down, as schoolboys take a post; in truth the book of camaralzaman, schemselnihar and sinbad, scheherezade the peerless, bedreddin, badroulbadour, cairo and serendib and candahar, and caspian, and the dim, terrific bulk-- ice-ribbed, fiend-visited, isled in spells and storms-- of kaf ... that centre of miracles the sole, unparalleled arabian nights."_ kate douglas wiggin. august, . contents the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water the story of the fisherman and the genie the history of the young king of the black isles the story of gulnare of the sea the story of aladdin; or, the wonderful lamp the story of prince agib the story of the city of brass the story of ali baba and the forty thieves the history of codadad and his brothers the story of sinbad the voyager illustrations from drawings in colors by maxfield parrish the talking bird it will be sufficient to break off a branch and carry it to plant in your garden the fisherman and the genie the smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist the young king of the black isles when he came to this part of his narrative the young king could not restrain his tears gulnare of the sea and she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells until the sea foamed and was agitated aladdin at the same time the earth, trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle prince agib and when the boat came to me i found in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast, engraven with names and talismans prince agib at the approach of evening i opened the first closet and, entering it, found a mansion like paradise the city of brass and when they had ascended that mountain they saw a city than which eyes had not beheld any greater the story of ali baba and the forty thieves cassim ... was so alarmed at the danger he was in that the more he endeavoured to remember the word _sesame_ the more his memory was confounded the history of codadad and his brothers as it drew near we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck second voyage of sinbad the spot where she left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley third voyage of sinbad having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder the arabian nights "when the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free in the silken sail of infancy, the tide of time flow'd back with me, the forward-flowing time of time; and many a sheeny summer morn, adown the tigris i was borne, by bagdat's shrines of fretted gold, high-walled gardens green and old; true mussulman was i and sworn, for it was in the golden prime of good haroun alraschid. "anight my shallop, rustling thro' the low and bloomèd foliage, drove the fragrant, glistening deeps, and clove the citron-shadows in the blue: by garden porches on the brim, the costly doors flung open wide, gold glittering thro' lamplight dim, and broider'd sofas on each side: in sooth it was a goodly time, for it was in the golden prime of good haroun alraschid." alfred, lord tennyson. the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water there was an emperor of persia named kosrouschah, who, when he first came to his crown, in order to obtain a knowledge of affairs, took great pleasure in night excursions, attended by a trusty minister. he often walked in disguise through the city, and met with many adventures, one of the most remarkable of which happened to him upon his first ramble, which was not long after his accession to the throne of his father. after the ceremonies of his father's funeral rites and his own inauguration were over, the new sultan, as well from inclination as from duty, went out one evening attended by his grand vizier, disguised like himself, to observe what was transacting in the city. as he was passing through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner sort, he heard some people talking very loud; and going close to the house whence the noise proceeded, and looking through a crack in the door, perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing together after supper. by what the eldest said he presently understood the subject of their conversation was wishes: "for," said she, "since we are talking about wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan's baker for my husband, for then i shall eat my fill of that bread, which by way of excellence is called the sultan's; let us see if your tastes are as good as mine." "for my part," replied the second sister, "i wish i was wife to the sultan's chief cook, for then i should eat of the most excellent dishes; and as i am persuaded that the sultan's bread is common in the palace, i should not want any of that; therefore you see," addressing herself to her eldest sister, "that i have a better taste than you." the youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit than the two elder, spoke in her turn: "for my part, sisters," said she, "i shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight; and since we are upon wishing, i wish to be the emperor's queen-consort. i would make him father of a prince, whose hair should be gold on one side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cried, the tears from his eyes should be pearls; and when he smiled, his vermilion lips should look like a rosebud fresh-blown." the three sisters' wishes, particularly that of the youngest, seemed so singular to the sultan, that he resolved to gratify them in their desires; but without communicating his design to his grand vizier, he charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three sisters before him the following day. the grand vizier, in executing the emperor's orders, would but just give the sisters time to dress themselves to appear before his majesty, without telling them the reason. he brought them to the palace, and presented them to the emperor, who said to them, "do you remember the wishes you expressed last night, when you were all in so pleasant a mood? speak the truth; i must know what they were." at these unexpected words of the emperor, the three sisters were much confounded. they cast down their eyes and blushed, and the colour which rose in the cheeks of the youngest quite captivated the emperor's heart. modesty, and fear lest they might have offended by their conversation, kept them silent. the emperor, perceiving their confusion, said to encourage them, "fear nothing, i did not send for you to distress you; and since i see that without my intending it, this is the effect of the question i asked, as i know the wish of each, i will relieve you from your fears. you," added he, "who wished to be my wife, shall have your desire this day; and you," continued he, addressing himself to the two elder sisters, "shall also be married to my chief baker and cook." as soon as the sultan had declared his pleasure, the youngest sister, setting her elders an example, threw herself at the emperor's feet to express her gratitude. "sir," said she, "my wish, since it is come to your majesty's knowledge, was expressed only in the way of conversation and amusement. i am unworthy of the honour you do me, and supplicate your pardon for my presumption." the other two sisters would have excused themselves also, but the emperor, interrupting them, said, "no, no; it shall be as i have declared; the wishes of all shall be fulfilled." the nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the emperor had resolved, but in a different manner. the youngest sister's were solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the emperors of persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan's chief baker, and the other as head cook. the two elder felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that of their younger sister. this consideration made them far from being content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their late wishes, and much beyond their hopes. they gave themselves up to an excess of jealousy, which not only disturbed their joy, but was the cause of great trouble and affliction to the queen-consort, their younger sister. they had not an opportunity to communicate their thoughts to each other on the preference the emperor had given her, but were altogether employed in preparing themselves for the celebration of their marriages. some days afterward, when they had an opportunity of seeing each other at the public baths, the eldest said to the other: "well, what say you to our sister's great fortune? is not she a fine person to be a queen!" "i must own," said the other sister, "i cannot conceive what charms the emperor could discover to be so bewitched by her. was it a reason sufficient for him not to cast his eyes on you, because she was somewhat younger? you were as worthy of his throne, and in justice he ought to have preferred you." "sister," said the elder, "i should not have regretted if his majesty had but pitched upon you; but that he should choose that little simpleton really grieves me. but i will revenge myself; and you, i think, are as much concerned as i; therefore, i propose that we should contrive measures and act in concert: communicate to me what you think the likeliest way to mortify her, while i, on my side, will inform you what my desire of revenge shall suggest to me." after this wicked agreement, the two sisters saw each other frequently, and consulted how they might disturb and interrupt the happiness of the queen. they proposed a great many ways, but in deliberating about the manner of executing them, found so many difficulties that they durst not attempt them. in the meantime, with a detestable dissimulation, they often went together to make her visits, and every time showed her all the marks of affection they could devise, to persuade her how overjoyed they were to have a sister raised to so high a fortune. the queen, on her part, constantly received them with all the demonstrations of esteem they could expect from so near a relative. some time after her marriage, the expected birth of an heir gave great joy to the queen and emperor, which was communicated to all the court, and spread throughout the empire. upon this news the two sisters came to pay their compliments, and proffered their services, desiring her, if not provided with nurses, to accept of them. the queen said to them most obligingly: "sisters, i should desire nothing more, if it were in my power to make the choice. i am, however, obliged to you for your goodwill, but must submit to what the emperor shall order on this occasion. let your husbands employ their friends to make interest, and get some courtier to ask this favour of his majesty, and if he speaks to me about it, be assured that i shall not only express the pleasure he does me but thank him for making choice of you." the two husbands applied themselves to some courtiers, their patrons, and begged of them to use their interest to procure their wives the honour they aspired to. those patrons exerted themselves so much in their behalf that the emperor promised them to consider of the matter, and was as good as his word; for in conversation with the queen he told her that he thought her sisters were the most proper persons to be about her, but would not name them before he had asked her consent. the queen, sensible of the deference the emperor so obligingly paid her, said to him, "sir, i was prepared to do as your majesty might please to command. but since you have been so kind as to think of my sisters, i thank you for the regard you have shown them for my sake, and therefore i shall not dissemble that i had rather have them than strangers." the emperor therefore named the queen's two sisters to be her attendants; and from that time they went frequently to the palace, overjoyed at the opportunity they would have of executing the detestable wickedness they had meditated against the queen. shortly afterward a young prince, as bright as the day, was born to the queen; but neither his innocence nor beauty could move the cruel hearts of the merciless sisters. they wrapped him up carelessly in his cloths and put him into a basket, which they abandoned to the stream of a small canal that ran under the queen's apartment, and declared that she had given birth to a puppy. this dreadful intelligence was announced to the emperor, who became so angry at the circumstance, that he was likely to have occasioned the queen's death, if his grand vizier had not represented to him that he could not, without injustice, make her answerable for the misfortune. in the meantime, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was carried by the stream beyond a wall which bounded the prospect of the queen's apartment, and from thence floated with the current down the gardens. by chance the intendant of the emperor's gardens, one of the principal officers of the kingdom, was walking in the garden by the side of this canal, and, perceiving a basket floating, called to a gardener who was not far off, to bring it to shore that he might see what it contained. the gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him. the intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a child, which, though he knew it could be but just born, had very fine features. this officer had been married several years, but though he had always been desirous of having children, heaven had never blessed him with any. this accident interrupted his walk: he made the gardener follow him with the child, and when he came to his own house, which was situated at the entrance to the gardens of the palace, went into his wife's apartment. "wife," said he, "as we have no children of our own, god has sent us one. i recommend him to you; provide him a nurse, and take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this moment, i acknowledge him as such." the intendant's wife received the child with great joy, and took particular pleasure in the care of him. the intendant himself would not inquire too narrowly whence the infant came. he saw plainly it came not far off from the queen's apartment, but it was not his business to examine too closely into what had passed, nor to create disturbances in a place where peace was so necessary. the following year another prince was born, on whom the unnatural sisters had no more compassion than on his brother, but exposed him likewise in a basket and set him adrift in the canal, pretending, this time, that the sultana had given birth to a cat. it was happy also for this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal side, for he had it carried to his wife, and charged her to take as much care of it as of the former, which was as agreeable to her inclination as it was to his own. the emperor of persia was more enraged this time against the queen than before, and she had felt the effects of his anger if the grand vizier's remonstrances had not prevailed. the third year the queen gave birth to a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as her brothers, for the two sisters, being determined not to desist from their detestable schemes till they had seen the queen cast off and humbled, claimed that a log of wood had been born and exposed this infant also on the canal. but the princess, as well as her brothers, was preserved from death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens. kosrouschah could no longer contain himself, when he was informed of the new misfortune. he pronounced sentence of death upon the wretched queen and ordered the grand vizier to see it executed. the grand vizier and the courtiers who were present cast themselves at the emperor's feet, to beg of him to revoke the sentence. "your majesty, i hope, will give me leave," said the grand vizier, "to represent to you, that the laws which condemn persons to death were made to punish crimes; the three extraordinary misfortunes of the queen are not crimes, for in what can she be said to have contributed toward them? your majesty may abstain from seeing her, but let her live. the affliction in which she will spend the rest of her life, after the loss of your favour, will be a punishment sufficiently distressing." the emperor of persia considered with himself, and, reflecting that it was unjust to condemn the queen to death for what had happened, said: "let her live then; i will spare her life, but it shall be on this condition: that she shall desire to die more than once every day. let a wooden shed be built for her at the gate of the principal mosque, with iron bars to the windows, and let her be put into it, in the coarsest habit; and every mussulman that shall go into the mosque to prayers shall heap scorn upon her. if any one fail, i will have him exposed to the same punishment; and that i may be punctually obeyed, i charge you, vizier, to appoint persons to see this done." the emperor pronounced his sentence in such a tone that the grand vizier durst not further remonstrate; and it was executed, to the great satisfaction of the two envious sisters. a shed was built, and the queen, truly worthy of compassion, was put into it and exposed ignominiously to the contempt of the people, which usage she bore with a patient resignation that excited the compassion of those who were discriminating and judged of things better than the vulgar. the two princes and the princess were, in the meantime, nursed and brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife with the tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all showed marks of superior dignity, which discovered itself every day by a certain air which could only belong to exalted birth. all this increased the affections of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest prince bahman, and the second perviz, both of them names of the most ancient emperors of persia, and the princess, periezade, which name also had been borne by several queens and princesses of the kingdom. as soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess, their sister, who was often with them, showing a great desire to learn, the intendant, pleased with her quickness, employed the same master to teach her also. her vivacity and piercing wit made her, in a little time, as great a proficient as her brothers. from that time the brothers and sister had the same masters in geography, poetry, history, and even the secret sciences, and made so wonderful a progress that their tutors were amazed, and frankly owned that they could teach them nothing more. at the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing and play upon all sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride she would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through all the exercises with them, learning to ride also, to bend the bow, and dart the reed or javelin, and oftentimes outdid them in the race and other contests of agility. the intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted children so accomplished in all the perfections of body and mind, and that they so well requited the expense he had been at in their education, that he resolved to be at a still greater; for, as he had until then been content simply with his lodge at the entrance of the garden, and kept no country-house, he purchased a mansion at a short distance from the city, surrounded by a large tract of arable land, meadows, and woods. as the house was not sufficiently handsome nor convenient, he pulled it down, and spared no expense in building a more magnificent residence. he went every day to hasten, by his presence, the great number of workmen he employed, and as soon as there was an apartment ready to receive him, passed several days together there when his presence was not necessary at court; and by the same exertions, the interior was furnished in the richest manner, in consonance with the magnificence of the edifice. afterward he made gardens, according to a plan drawn by himself. he took in a large extent of ground, which he walled around, and stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and princess might divert themselves with hunting when they chose. when this country seat was finished and fit for habitation, the intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the emperor's feet, and, after representing how long he had served, and the infirmities of age which he found growing upon him, begged that he might be permitted to resign his charge into his majesty's disposal and retire. the emperor gave him leave, with the more pleasure, because he was satisfied with his long services, both in his father's reign and his own, and when he granted it, asked what he should do to recompense him. "sir," replied the intendant of the gardens, "i have received so many obligations from your majesty and the late emperor, your father, of happy memory, that i desire no more than the honour of dying in your favour." he took his leave of the emperor and retired with the two princes and the princess to the country retreat he had built. his wife had been dead some years, and he himself had not lived above six months with his charges before he was surprised by so sudden a death that he had not time to give them the least account of the manner in which he had discovered them. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess periezade, who knew no other father than the intendant of the emperor's gardens, regretted and bewailed him as such, and paid all the honours in his funeral obsequies which love and filial gratitude required of them. satisfied with the plentiful fortune he had left them, they lived together in perfect union, free from the ambition of distinguishing themselves at court, or aspiring to places of honour and dignity, which they might easily have obtained. one day when the two princes were hunting, and the princess had remained at home, a religious old woman came to the gate, and desired leave to go in to say her prayers, it being then the hour. the servants asked the princess's permission, who ordered them to show her into the oratory, which the intendant of the emperor's gardens had taken care to fit up in his house, for want of a mosque in the neighbourhood. she bade them, also, after the good woman had finished her prayers, to show her the house and gardens and then bring her to the hall. the old woman went into the oratory, said her prayers, and when she came out two of the princess's women invited her to see the residence, which civility she accepted, followed them from one apartment to another, and observed, like a person who understood what belonged to furniture, the nice arrangement of everything. they conducted her also into the garden, the disposition of which she found so well planned, that she admired it, observing that the person who had formed it must have been an excellent master of his art. afterward she was brought before the princess, who waited for her in the great hall, which in beauty and richness exceeded all that she had admired in the other apartments. as soon as the princess saw the devout woman, she said to her: "my good mother, come near and sit down by me. i am overjoyed at the happiness of having the opportunity of profiting for some moments by the example and conversation of such a person as you, who have taken the right way by dedicating yourself to the service of god. i wish every one were as wise." the devout woman, instead of sitting on a sofa, would only sit upon the edge of one. the princess would not permit her to do so, but rising from her seat and taking her by the hand, obliged her to come and sit by her. the good woman, sensible of the civility, said: "madam, i ought not to have so much respect shown me; but since you command, and are mistress of your own house, i will obey you." when she had seated herself, before they entered into any conversation, one of the princess's women brought a low stand of mother-of-pearl and ebony, with a china dish full of cakes upon it, and many others set round it full of fruits in season, and wet and dry sweetmeats. the princess took up one of the cakes, and presenting her with it, said: "eat, good mother, and make choice of what you like best; you had need to eat after coming so far." "madam," replied the good woman, "i am not used to eat such delicacies, but will not refuse what god has sent me by so liberal a hand as yours." while the devout woman was eating, the princess ate a little too, to bear her company, and asked her many questions upon the exercise of devotion which she practised and how she lived; all of which she answered with great modesty. talking of various things, at last the princess asked her what she thought of the house, and how she liked it. "madam," answered the devout woman, "i must certainly have very bad taste to disapprove anything in it, since it is beautiful, regular, and magnificently furnished with exactness and judgment, and all its ornaments adjusted in the best manner. its situation is an agreeable spot, and no garden can be more delightful; but yet, if you will give me leave to speak my mind freely, i will take the liberty to tell you that this house would be incomparable if it had three things which are wanting to complete it." "my good mother," replied the princess periezade, "what are those? i entreat you to tell me what they are; i will spare nothing to get them." "madam," replied the devout woman, "the first of these three things is the talking bird, so singular a creature, that it draws round it all the songsters of the neighbourhood which come to accompany its voice. the second is the singing tree, the leaves of which are so many mouths which form an harmonious concert of different voices and never cease. the third is the golden water, a single drop of which being poured into a vessel properly prepared, it increases so as to fill it immediately, and rises up in the middle like a fountain, which continually plays, and yet the basin never overflows." "ah! my good mother," cried the princess, "how much am i obliged to you for the knowledge of these curiosities! i never before heard there were such rarities in the world; but as i am persuaded that you know, i expect that you should do me the favour to inform me where they are to be found." "madam," replied the good woman, "i should be unworthy the hospitality you have shown me if i should refuse to satisfy your curiosity on that point, and am glad to have the honour to tell you that these curiosities are all to be met with in the same spot on the confines of this kingdom, toward india. the road lies before your house, and whoever you send needs but follow it for twenty days, and on the twentieth only let him ask the first person he meets where the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water are, and he will be informed." after saying this, she rose from her seat, took her leave, and went her way. the princess periezade's thoughts were so taken up with the talking bird, singing tree, and golden water, that she never perceived the devout woman's departure, till she wanted to ask her some question for her better information; for she thought that what she had been told was not a sufficient reason for exposing herself by undertaking a long journey. however, she would not send after her visitor, but endeavoured to remember all the directions, and when she thought she had recollected every word, took real pleasure in thinking of the satisfaction she should have if she could get these curiosities into her possession; but the difficulties she apprehended and the fear of not succeeding made her very uneasy. she was absorbed in these thoughts when her brothers returned from hunting, who, when they entered the great hall, instead of finding her lively and gay, as she was wont to be, were amazed to see her so pensive and hanging down her head as if something troubled her. "sister," said prince bahman, "what is become of all your mirth and gaiety? are you not well? or has some misfortune befallen you? tell us, that we may know how to act, and give you some relief. if any one has affronted you, we will resent his insolence." the princess remained in the same posture some time without answering, but at last lifted up her eyes to look at her brothers, and then held them down again, telling them nothing disturbed her. "sister," said prince bahman, "you conceal the truth from us; there must be something of consequence. it is impossible we could observe so sudden a change if nothing was the matter with you. you would not have us satisfied with the evasive answer you have given; do not conceal anything, unless you would have us suspect that you renounce the strict union which has hitherto subsisted between us." the princess, who had not the smallest intention to offend her brothers, would not suffer them to entertain such a thought, but said: "when i told you nothing disturbed me, i meant nothing that was of importance to you, but to me it is of some consequence; and since you press me to tell you by our strict union and friendship, which are so dear to me, i will. you think, and i always believed so too, that this house was so complete that nothing was wanting. but this day i have learned that it lacks three rarities which would render it so perfect that no country seat in the world could be compared with it. these three things are the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water." after she had informed them wherein consisted the excellency of these rarities, "a devout woman," added she, "has made this discovery to me, told me the place where they are to be found, and the way thither. perhaps you may imagine these things of little consequence; that without these additions our house will always be thought sufficiently elegant, and that we can do without them. you may think as you please, but i cannot help telling you that i am persuaded they are absolutely necessary, and i shall not be easy without them. therefore, whether you value them or not, i desire you to consider what person you may think proper for me to send in search of the curiosities i have mentioned." "sister," replied prince bahman, "nothing can concern you in which we have not an equal interest. it is enough that you desire these things to oblige us to take the same interest; but if you had not, we feel ourselves inclined of our own accord and for our own individual satisfaction. i am persuaded my brother is of the same opinion, and therefore we ought to undertake this conquest, for the importance and singularity of the undertaking deserve that name. i will take the charge upon myself; only tell me the place and the way to it, and i will defer my journey no longer than till to-morrow." "brother," said prince perviz, "it is not proper that you, who are the head of our family, should be absent. i desire my sister should join with me to oblige you to abandon your design, and allow me to undertake it. i hope to acquit myself as well as you, and it will be a more regular proceeding." "i am persuaded of your goodwill, brother," replied prince bahman, "and that you would succeed as well as myself in this journey; but i have resolved and will undertake it. you shall stay at home with our sister, and i need not recommend her to you." the next morning bahman mounted his horse, and perviz and the princess embraced and wished him a good journey. but in the midst of their adieus, the princess recollected what she had not thought of before. "brother," said she, "i had quite forgotten the accidents which attend travellers. who knows whether i shall ever see you again? alight, i beseech you, and give up this journey. i would rather be deprived of the sight and possession of the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water, than run the risk of never seeing you more." "sister," replied bahman, smiling at her sudden fears, "my resolution is fixed. the accidents you speak of befall only those who are unfortunate; but there are more who are not so. however, as events are uncertain, and i may fail in this undertaking, all i can do is to leave you this knife." bahman pulling a knife from his vestband, and presenting it to the princess in the sheath, said: "take this knife, sister, and give yourself the trouble sometimes to pull it out of the sheath; while you see it clean as it is now, it will be a sign that i am alive; but if you find it stained with blood, then you may believe me dead and indulge me with your prayers." the princess could obtain nothing more of bahman. he bade adieu to her and prince perviz for the last time and rode away. when he got into the road, he never turned to the right hand nor to the left, but went directly forward toward india. the twentieth day he perceived on the roadside a hideous old man, who sat under a tree near a thatched house, which was his retreat from the weather. his eyebrows were as white as snow, as was also the hair of his head; his whiskers covered his mouth, and his beard and hair reached down to his feet. the nails of his hands and feet were grown to an extensive length, while a flat, broad umbrella covered his head. he had no clothes, but only a mat thrown round his body. this old man was a dervish for so many years retired from the world to give himself up entirely to the service of god that at last he had become what we have described. prince bahman, who had been all that morning very attentive, to see if he could meet with anybody who could give him information of the place he was in search of, stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in conformity to the directions which the devout woman had given the princess periezade, and leading his horse by the bridle, advanced toward him and saluting him, said: "god prolong your days, good father, and grant you the accomplishment of your desires." the dervish returned the prince's salutation, but so unintelligibly that he could not understand one word he said and prince bahman, perceiving that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's whiskers hanging over his mouth, and unwilling to go any further without the instructions he wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about him, and having tied his horse to a branch of the tree, said: "good dervish, i want to have some talk with you, but your whiskers prevent my understanding what you say; and if you will consent, i will cut off some part of them and of your eyebrows, which disfigure you so much that you look more like a bear than a man." the dervish did not oppose the offer, and when the prince had cut off as much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a good complexion, and that he was not as old as he seemed. "good dervish," said he, "if i had a glass i would show you how young you look: you are now a man, but before, nobody could tell what you were." the kind behaviour of prince bahman made the dervish smile and return his compliment. "sir," said he, "whoever you are, i am obliged by the good office you have performed, and am ready to show my gratitude by doing anything in my power for you. you must have alighted here upon some account or other. tell me what it is, and i will endeavour to serve you." "good dervish," replied prince bahman, "i am in search of the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water; i know these three rarities are not far from hence, but cannot tell exactly the place where they are to be found; if you know, i conjure you to show me the way, that i may not lose my labour after so long a journey." the prince, while he spoke, observed that the dervish changed countenance, held down his eyes, looked very serious, and remained silent, which obliged him to say to him again: "good father, tell me whether you know what i ask you, that i may not lose my time, but inform myself somewhere else." at last the dervish broke silence. "sir," said he to prince bahman, "i know the way you ask of me; but the regard which i conceived for you the first moment i saw you, and which is grown stronger by the service you have done me, kept me in suspense as to whether i should give you the satisfaction you desire." "what motive can hinder you?" replied the prince; "and what difficulties do you find in so doing?" "i will tell you," replied the dervish; "the danger to which you are going to expose yourself is greater than you may suppose. a number of gentlemen of as much bravery as you can possibly possess have passed this way, and asked me the same question. when i had used all my endeavours to persuade them to desist, they would not believe me; at last i yielded to their importunities; i was compelled to show them the way, and i can assure you they have all perished, for i have not seen one come back. therefore, if you have any regard for your life, take my advice, go no farther, but return home." prince bahman persisted in his resolution. "i will not suppose," said he to the dervish, "but that your advice is sincere. i am obliged to you for the friendship you express for me; but whatever may be the danger, nothing shall make me change my intention: whoever attacks me, i am well armed, and can say i am as brave as any one." "but they who will attack you are not to be seen," replied the dervish; "how will you defend yourself against invisible persons?" "it is no matter," answered the prince, "all you say shall not persuade me to do anything contrary to my duty. since you know the way, i conjure you once more to inform me." when the dervish found he could not prevail upon prince bahman, and that he was obstinately bent to pursue his journey, notwithstanding his friendly remonstrance, he put his hand into a bag that lay by him and pulled out a bowl, which he presented to him. "since i cannot prevail on you to attend to my advice," said he, "take this bowl and when you are on horseback throw it before you, and follow it to the foot of a mountain, where it will stop. as soon as the bowl stops, alight, leave your horse with the bridle over his neck, and he will stand in the same place till you return. as you ascend you will see on your right and left a great number of large black stones, and will hear on all sides a confusion of voices, which will utter a thousand abuses to discourage you, and prevent your reaching the summit of the mountain. be not afraid; but, above all things, do not turn your head to look behind you, for in that instant you will be changed into such a black stone as those you see, which are all youths who have failed in this enterprise. if you escape the danger of which i give you but a faint idea, and get to the top of the mountain, you will see a cage, and in that cage is the bird you seek; ask him which are the singing tree and the golden water, and he will tell you. i have nothing more to say; this is what you have to do, and if you are prudent you will take my advice and not expose your life. consider once more while you have time that the difficulties are almost insuperable." "i am obliged to you for your advice," replied prince bahman, after he had received the bowl, "but cannot follow it. however, i will endeavour to conform myself to that part of it which bids me not to look behind me, and i hope to come and thank you when i have obtained what i am seeking." after these words, to which the dervish made no other answer than that he should be overjoyed to see him again, the prince mounted his horse, took leave of the dervish with a respectful salute, and threw the bowl before him. the bowl rolled away with as much swiftness as when prince bahman first hurled it from his hand, which obliged him to put his horse to the same pace to avoid losing sight of it, and when it had reached the foot of the mountain it stopped. the prince alighted from his horse, laid the bridle on his neck, and having first surveyed the mountain and seen the black stones, began to ascend, but had not gone four steps before he heard the voices mentioned by the dervish, though he could see nobody. some said: "where is that fool going? where is he going? what would he have? do not let him pass." others: "stop him, catch him, kill him:" and others with a voice like thunder: "thief! assassin! murderer!" while some in a gibing tone cried: "no, no, do not hurt him; let the pretty fellow pass, the cage and bird are kept for him." notwithstanding all these troublesome voices, prince bahman ascended with resolution for some time, but the voices redoubled with so loud a din, both behind and before, that at last he was seized with dread, his legs trembled under him, he staggered, and finding that his strength failed him, he forgot the dervish's advice, turned about to run down the hill, and was that instant changed into a black stone; a metamorphosis which had happened to many before him who had attempted the ascent. his horse, likewise, underwent the same change. from the time of prince bahman's departure, the princess periezade always wore the knife and sheath in her girdle, and pulled it out several times in a day, to know whether her brother was alive. she had the consolation to understand he was in perfect health and to talk of him frequently with prince perviz. on the fatal day that prince bahman was transformed into a stone, as prince perviz and the princess were talking together in the evening, as usual, the prince desired his sister to pull out the knife to know how their brother did. the princess readily complied, and seeing the blood run down the point was seized with so much horror that she threw it down. "ah! my dear brother," cried she, "i have been the cause of your death, and shall never see you more! why did i tell you of the talking bird, singing tree, and golden water; or rather, of what importance was it to me to know whether the devout woman thought this house ugly or handsome, or complete or not? i wish to heaven she had never addressed herself to me!" prince perviz was as much afflicted at the death of prince bahman as the princess, but not to waste time in needless regret, as he knew that she still passionately desired possession of the marvellous treasures, he interrupted her, saying: "sister, our regret for our brother is vain; our lamentations cannot restore him to life; it is the will of god; we must submit and adore the decrees of the almighty without searching into them. why should you now doubt of the truth of what the holy woman told you? do you think she spoke to you of three things that were not in being, and that she invented them to deceive you who had received her with so much goodness and civility? let us rather believe that our brother's death is owing to some error on his part, or some accident which we cannot conceive. it ought not therefore to prevent us from pursuing our object. i offered to go this journey, and am now more resolved than ever; his example has no effect upon my resolution; to-morrow i will depart." the princess did all she could to dissuade prince perviz, conjuring him not to expose her to the danger of losing two brothers; but he was obstinate, and all the remonstrances she could urge had no effect upon him. before he went, that she might know what success he had, he left her a string of a hundred pearls, telling her that if they would not run when she should count them upon the string, but remain fixed, that would be a certain sign he had undergone the same fate as his brother; but at the same time told her he hoped it would never happen, but that he should have the delight of seeing her again. prince perviz, on the twentieth day after his departure, met the same dervish in the same place as his brother bahman had done before him. he went directly up to him, and after he had saluted, asked him if he could tell him where to find the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water. the dervish urged the same remonstrances as he had done to prince bahman, telling him that a young gentleman, who very much resembled him, was with him a short time before; that, overcome by his importunity, he had shown him the way, given him a guide, and told him how he should act to succeed, but that he had not seen him since, and doubted not but he had shared the same fate as all other adventurers. "good dervish," answered prince perviz, "i know whom you speak of; he was my elder brother, and i am informed of the certainty of his death, but know not the cause." "i can tell you," replied the dervish; "he was changed into a black stone, as all i speak of have been; and you must expect the same transformation, unless you observe more exactly than he has done the advice i gave him, in case you persist in your resolution, which i once more entreat you to renounce." "dervish," said prince perviz, "i cannot sufficiently express how much i am obliged for the concern you take in my life, who am a stranger to you, and have done nothing to deserve your kindness; but i thoroughly considered this enterprise before i undertook it; therefore i beg of you to do me the same favour you have done my brother. perhaps i may have better success in following your directions." "since i cannot prevail with you," said the dervish, "to give up your obstinate resolution, if my age did not prevent me, and i could stand, i would get up to reach you a bowl i have here, which will show you the way." without giving the dervish time to say more, the prince alighted from his horse and went to the dervish, who had taken a bowl out of his bag, in which he had a great many, and gave it him, with the same directions he had given prince bahman; and after warning him not to be discouraged by the voices he should hear, however threatening they might be, but to continue his way up the hill till he saw the cage and bird, he let him depart. prince perviz thanked the dervish, and when he had remounted and taken leave, threw the bowl before his horse, and spurring him at the same time, followed it. when the bowl came to the bottom of the hill it stopped, the prince alighted, and stood some time to recollect the dervish's directions. he encouraged himself, and began to walk up with a resolution to reach the summit; but before he had gone above six steps, he heard a voice, which seemed to be near, as of a man behind him, say in an insulting tone: "stay, rash youth, that i may punish you for your presumption." upon this affront the prince, forgetting the dervish's advice, clapped his hand upon his sword, drew it, and turned about to revenge himself; but had scarcely time to see that nobody followed him before he and his horse were changed into black stones. in the meantime the princess periezade, several times a day after her brother's departure, counted her chaplet. she did not omit it at night, but when she went to bed put it about her neck, and in the morning when she awoke counted over the pearls again to see if they would slide. the day that prince perviz was transformed into a stone she was counting over the pearls as she used to do, when all at once they became immovably fixed, a certain token that the prince, her brother, was dead. as she had determined what to do in case it should so happen, she lost no time in outward demonstrations of grief, which she concealed as much as possible, but having disguised herself in man's apparel, she mounted her horse the next morning, armed and equipped, having told her servants she should return in two or three days, and took the same road that her brothers had done. the princess, who had been used to ride on horseback in hunting, supported the fatigue of so long a journey better than most ladies could have done; and as she made the same stages as her brothers, she also met with the dervish on the twentieth day. when she came near him, she alighted from her horse, leading him by the bridle, went and sat down by the dervish, and after she had saluted him, said: "good dervish, give me leave to rest myself; and do me the favour to tell me if you have not heard that there are somewhere in this neighbourhood a talking bird, a singing tree, and golden water." "princess," answered the dervish, "for so i must call you, since by your voice i know you to be a woman disguised in man's apparel, i know the place well where these things are to be found; but what makes you ask me this question?" "good dervish," replied the princess, "i have had such a flattering relation of them given me, that i have a great desire to possess them." "madam," replied the dervish, "you have been told the truth. these curiosities are more singular than they have been represented, but you have not been made acquainted with the difficulties which must be surmounted in order to obtain them. if you had been fully informed of these, you would not have undertaken so dangerous an enterprise. take my advice, return, and do not urge me to contribute toward your ruin." "good father," said the princess, "i have travelled a great way, and should be sorry to return without executing my design. you talk of difficulties and danger of life, but you do not tell me what those difficulties are, and wherein the danger consists. this is what i desire to know, that i may consider and judge whether i can trust my courage and strength to brave them." the dervish repeated to the princess what he had said to the princes bahman and perviz, exaggerating the difficulties of climbing up to the top of the mountain, where she was to make herself mistress of the bird, which would inform her of the singing tree and golden water. he magnified the din of the terrible threatening voices which she would hear on all sides of her, and the great number of black stones alone sufficient to strike terror. he entreated her to reflect that those stones were so many brave gentlemen, so metamorphosed for having omitted to observe the principal condition of success in the perilous undertaking, which was not to look behind them before they had got possession of the cage. when the dervish had done, the princess replied: "by what i comprehend from your discourse, the difficulties of succeeding in this affair are, first, the getting up to the cage without being frightened at the terrible din of voices i shall hear; and, secondly, not to look behind me. for this last, i hope i shall be mistress enough of myself to observe it; as to the first, i own that voices, such as you represent them to be, are capable of striking terror into the most undaunted; but as in all enterprises and dangers every one may use stratagem, i desire to know of you if i may use any in one of so great importance." "and what stratagem is it you would employ?" said the dervish. "to stop my ears with cotton," answered the princess, "that the voices, however terrible, may make the less impression upon my imagination, and my mind remain free from that disturbance which might cause me to lose the use of my reason." "princess," replied the dervish, "of all the persons who have addressed themselves to me for information, i do not know that ever one made use of the contrivance you propose. all i know is that they all perished. if you persist in your design, you may make the experiment. you will be fortunate if it succeeds, but i would advise you not to expose yourself to the danger." "my good father," replied the princess, "i am sure my precaution will succeed, and am resolved to try the experiment. nothing remains for me but to know which way i must go, and i conjure you not to deny me that information." the dervish exhorted her again to consider well what she was going to do; but finding her resolute, he took out a bowl, and presenting it to her, said: "take this bowl, mount your horse again, and when you have thrown it before you, follow it through all its windings, till it stops at the bottom of the mountain; there alight and ascend the hill. go, you know the rest." after the princess had thanked the dervish, and taken her leave of him, she mounted her horse, threw the bowl before her, and followed it till it stopped at the foot of the mountain. she then alighted, stopped her ears with cotton, and after she had well examined the path leading to the summit began with a moderate pace and walked up with intrepidity. she heard the voices and perceived the great service the cotton was to her. the higher she went, the louder and more numerous the voices seemed, but they were not capable of making any impression upon her. she heard a great many affronting speeches and raillery very disagreeable to a woman, which she only laughed at. "i mind not," said she to herself, "all that can be said, were it worse; i only laugh at them and shall pursue my way." at last, she climbed so high that she could perceive the cage and the bird which endeavoured, in company with the voices, to frighten her, crying in a thundering tone, notwithstanding the smallness of its size: "retire, fool, and approach no nearer." the princess, encouraged by this sight, redoubled her speed, and by effort gained the summit of the mountain, where the ground was level; then running directly to the cage and clapping her hand upon it, cried: "bird, i have you, and you shall not escape me." while periezade was pulling the cotton out of her ears the bird said to her: "heroic princess, be not angry with me for joining with those who exerted themselves to preserve my liberty. though in a cage, i was content with my condition; but since i am destined to be a slave, i would rather be yours than any other person's, since you have obtained me so courageously. from this instant, i swear entire submission to all your commands. i know who you are. you do not; but the time will come when i shall do you essential service, for which i hope you will think yourself obliged to me. as a proof of my sincerity, tell me what you desire and i am ready to obey you." the princess's joy was the more inexpressible, because the conquest she had made had cost her the lives of two beloved brothers, and given her more trouble and danger than she could have imagined. "bird," said she, "it was my intention to have told you that i wish for many things which are of importance, but i am overjoyed that you have shown your goodwill and prevented me. i have been told that there is not far off a golden water, the property of which is very wonderful; before all things, i ask you to tell me where it is." the bird showed her the place, which was just by, and she went and filled a little silver flagon which she had brought with her. she returned at once and said: "bird, this is not enough; i want also the singing tree; tell me where it is." "turn about," said the bird, "and you will see behind you a wood where you will find the tree." the princess went into the wood, and by the harmonious concert she heard, soon knew the tree among many others, but it was very large and high. she came back again and said: "bird, i have found the singing tree, but i can neither pull it up by the roots nor carry it." the bird replied: "it is not necessary that you should take it up; it will be sufficient to break off a branch and carry it to plant in your garden; it will take root as soon as it is put into the earth, and in a little time will grow to as fine a tree as that you have seen." when the princess had obtained possession of the three things for which she had conceived so great a desire, she said again: "bird, what you have yet done for me is not sufficient. you have been the cause of the death of my two brothers, who must be among the black stones i saw as i ascended the mountain. i wish to take the princes home with me." the bird seemed reluctant to satisfy the princess in this point, and indeed made some difficulty to comply. "bird," said the princess, "remember you told me that you were my slave. you are so; and your life is in my disposal." "that i cannot deny," answered the bird; "but although what you now ask is more difficult than all the rest, yet i will do it for you. cast your eyes around," added he, "and look if you can see a little pitcher." "i see it already," said the princess. "take it then," said he, "and as you descend the mountain, sprinkle a little of the water that is in it upon every black stone." the princess took up the pitcher accordingly, carried with her the cage and bird, the flagon of golden water, and the branch of the singing tree, and as she descended the mountain, threw a little of the water on every black stone, which was changed immediately into a man; and as she did not miss one stone, all the horses, both of her brothers and of the other gentlemen, resumed their natural forms also. she instantly recognised bahman and perviz, as they did her, and ran to embrace her. she returned their embraces and expressed her amazement. "what do you here, my dear brothers?" said she, and they told her they had been asleep. "yes," replied she, "and if it had not been for me, perhaps you might have slept till the day of judgment. do not you remember that you came to fetch the talking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water, and did not you see, as you came along, the place covered with black stones? look and see if there be any now. the gentlemen and their horses who surround us, and you yourselves, were these black stones. if you desire to know how this wonder was performed," continued she, showing the pitcher, which she set down at the foot of the mountain, "it was done by virtue of the water which was in this pitcher, with which i sprinkled every stone. after i had made the talking bird (which you see in this cage) my slave, by his directions i found out the singing tree, a branch of which i have now in my hand; and the golden water, with which this flagon is filled; but being still unwilling to return without taking you with me, i constrained the bird, by the power i had over him, to afford me the means. he told me where to find this pitcher, and the use i was to make of it." the princes bahman and perviz learned by this relation the obligation they had to their sister, as did all the other gentlemen, who expressed to her that, far from envying her happiness in the conquest she had made, and which they all had aspired to, they thought they could not better express their gratitude for restoring them to life again, than by declaring themselves her slaves, and that they were ready to obey her in whatever she should command. "gentlemen," replied the princess, "if you had given any attention to my words, you might have observed that i had no other intention in what i have done than to recover my brothers; therefore, if you have received any benefit, you owe me no obligation, and i have no further share in your compliment than your politeness toward me, for which i return you my thanks. in other respects, i regard each of you as quite as free as you were before your misfortunes, and i rejoice with you at the happiness which has accrued to you by my means. let us, however, stay no longer in a place where we have nothing to detain us, but mount our horses and return to our respective homes." [illustration] _it will be sufficient to break off a branch and carry it to plant in your garden._ the princess took her horse, which stood in the place where she had left him. before she mounted, prince bahman desired her to give him the cage to carry. "brother," replied the princess, "the bird is my slave and i will carry him myself; if you will take the pains to carry the branch of the singing tree, there it is; only hold the cage while i get on horseback." when she had mounted her horse, and prince bahman had given her the cage, she turned about and said to prince perviz: "i leave the flagon of golden water to your care, if it will not be too much trouble for you to carry it," and prince perviz accordingly took charge of it with pleasure. when bahman, perviz, and all the gentlemen had mounted their horses, the princess waited for some of them to lead the way. the two princes paid that compliment to the gentlemen, and they again to the princess, who, finding that none of them would accept the honour, but that it was reserved for her, addressed herself to them and said: "gentlemen, i expect that some of you should lead the way;" to which one who was nearest to her, in the name of the rest, replied: "madam, were we ignorant of the respect due to your sex, yet after what you have done for us there is no deference we would not willingly pay you, notwithstanding your modesty; we entreat you no longer to deprive us of the happiness of following you." "gentlemen," said the princess, "i do not deserve the honour you do me, and accept it only because you desire it." at the same time she led the way, and the two princes and the gentlemen followed. this illustrious company called upon the dervish as they passed, to thank him for his reception and wholesome advice, which they had all found to be sincere. he was dead, however; whether of old age, or because he was no longer necessary to show the way to obtaining the three rarities, did not appear. they pursued their route, but lessened in their numbers every day. the gentlemen who, as we said before, had come from different countries, after severally repeating their obligations to the princess and her brothers, took leave of them one after another as they approached the road by which they had come. as soon as the princess reached home, she placed the cage in the garden, and the bird no sooner began to warble than he was surrounded by nightingales, chaffinches, larks, linnets, goldfinches, and every species of birds of the country. the branch of the singing tree was no sooner set in the midst of the parterre, a little distance from the house, than it took root and in a short time became a large tree, the leaves of which gave as harmonious a concert as those of the parent from which it was gathered. a large basin of beautiful marble was placed in the garden, and when it was finished, the princess poured into it all the golden water from the flagon, which instantly increased and swelled so much that it soon reached up to the edges of the basin, and afterward formed in the middle a fountain twenty feet high, which fell again into the basin perpetually, without running over. the report of these wonders was presently spread abroad, and as the gates of the house and those of the gardens were shut to nobody, a great number of people came to admire them. some days after, when the princes bahman and perviz had recovered from the fatigue of their journey, they resumed their former way of living; and as their usual diversion was hunting, they mounted their horses and went for the first time since their return, not to their own demesne, but two or three leagues from their house. as they pursued their sport, the emperor of persia came in pursuit of game upon the same ground. when they perceived, by the number of horsemen in different places, that he would soon be up, they resolved to discontinue their chase, and retire to avoid encountering him; but in the very road they took they chanced to meet him in so narrow a way that they could not retreat without being seen. in their surprise they had only time to alight and prostrate themselves before the emperor, without lifting up their heads to look at him. the emperor, who saw they were as well mounted and dressed as if they had belonged to his court, had a curiosity to see their faces. he stopped and commanded them to rise. the princes rose up and stood before him with an easy and graceful air, accompanied with modest countenances. the emperor took some time to view them before he spoke, and after he had admired their good air and mien, asked them who they were and where they lived. "sir," said prince bahman, "we are the sons of the late intendant of your majesty's gardens, and live in a house which he built a little before he died, till we should be fit to serve your majesty and ask of you some employ when opportunity offered." "by what i perceive," replied the emperor, "you love hunting." "sir," replied prince bahman, "it is our common exercise, and what none of your majesty's subjects who intend to bear arms in your armies, ought, according to the ancient custom of the kingdom, to neglect." the emperor, charmed with so prudent an answer, said: "since it is so, i should be glad to see your expertness in the chase; choose your own game." the princes mounted their horses again and followed the emperor, but had not gone far before they saw many wild beasts together. prince bahman chose a lion and prince perviz a bear, and pursued them with so much intrepidity that the emperor was surprised. they came up with their game nearly at the same time, and darted their javelins with so much skill and address that they pierced the one the lion and the other the bear so effectually that the emperor saw them fall one after the other. immediately afterward prince bahman pursued another bear, and prince perviz another lion, and killed them in a short time, and would have beaten out for fresh game, but the emperor would not let them, and sent to them to come to him. when they approached he said: "if i had given you leave, you would soon have destroyed all my game; but it is not that which i would preserve, but your persons; for i am so well assured your bravery may one time or other be serviceable to me, that from this moment your lives will be always dear to me." the emperor, in short, conceived so great a kindness for the two princes, that he invited them immediately to make him a visit, to which prince bahman replied: "your majesty does us an honour we do not deserve, and we beg you will excuse us." the emperor, who could not comprehend what reason the princes could have to refuse this token of his favour, pressed them to tell him why they excused themselves. "sir," said prince bahman, "we have a sister younger than ourselves, with whom we live in such perfect union, that we undertake nothing before we consult her, nor she anything without asking our advice." "i commend your brotherly affection," answered the emperor. "consult your sister, meet me to-morrow, and give me an answer." the princes went home, but neglected to speak of their adventure in meeting the emperor and hunting with him, and also of the honour he had done them, yet did not the next morning fail to meet him at the place appointed. "well," said the emperor, "have you spoken to your sister, and has she consented to the pleasure i expect of seeing you?" the two princes looked at each other and blushed. "sir," said prince bahman, "we beg your majesty to excuse us, for both my brother and i forgot." "then remember to-day," replied the emperor, "and be sure to bring me an answer to-morrow." the princes were guilty of the same fault a second time, and the emperor was so good-natured as to forgive their negligence; but to prevent their forgetfulness the third time, he pulled three little golden balls out of a purse, and put them into prince bahman's bosom. "these balls," said he, smiling, "will prevent your forgetting a third time what i wish you to do for my sake; since the noise they will make by falling on the floor when you undress will remind you, if you do not recollect it before." the event happened just as the emperor foresaw; and without these balls the princes had not thought of speaking to their sister of this affair, for as prince bahman unloosed his girdle to go to bed the balls dropped on the floor, upon which he ran into prince perviz's chamber, when both went into the princess periezade's apartment, and after they had asked her pardon for coming at so unseasonable a time, they told her all the circumstances of their meeting the emperor. the princess was somewhat surprised at this intelligence. "your meeting with the emperor," said she, "is happy and honourable and may in the end be highly advantageous to you, but it places me in an awkward position. it was on my account, i know, you refused the emperor, and i am infinitely obliged to you for doing so. i know by this that you would rather be guilty of incivility toward the emperor than violate the union we have sworn to each other. you judge right, for if you had once gone you would insensibly have been engaged to devote yourselves to him. but do you think it an easy matter absolutely to refuse the emperor what he seems so earnestly to desire? monarchs will be obeyed in their desires, and it may be dangerous to oppose them; therefore, if to follow my inclination i should dissuade you from obeying him, it may expose you to his resentment, and may render myself and you miserable. these are my sentiments; but before we conclude upon anything let us consult the talking bird and hear what he says; he is penetrating, and has promised his assistance in all difficulties." the princess sent for the cage, and after she had related the circumstances to the bird in the presence of her brothers, asked him what they should do in this perplexity. the bird answered: "the princes, your brothers, must conform to the emperor's pleasure, and in their turn invite him to come and see your house." "but, bird," replied the princess, "my brothers and i love one another, and our friendship is yet undisturbed. will not this step be injurious to that friendship?" "not at all," replied the bird; "it will tend rather to cement it." "then," answered the princess, "the emperor will see me." the bird told her it was necessary he should, and that everything would go better afterward. next morning the princes met the emperor hunting, who asked them if they had remembered to speak to their sister. prince bahman approached and answered: "sir, we are ready to obey you, for we have not only obtained our sister's consent with great ease, but she took it amiss that we should pay her that deference in a matter wherein our duty to your majesty was concerned. if we have offended, we hope you will pardon us." "do not be uneasy," replied the emperor. "i highly approve of your conduct, and hope you will have the same deference and attachment to my person, if i have ever so little share in your friendship." the princes, confounded at the emperor's goodness, returned no other answer but a low obeisance. the emperor, contrary to his usual custom, did not hunt long that day. presuming that the princes possessed wit equal to their courage and bravery, he longed with impatience to converse with them more at liberty. he made them ride on each side of him, an honour which was envied by the grand vizier, who was much mortified to see them preferred before him. when the emperor entered his capital, the eyes of the people, who stood in crowds in the streets, were fixed upon the two princes bahman and perviz; and they were earnest to know who they might be. all, however, agreed in wishing that the emperor had been blessed with two such handsome princes, and said that his children would have been about the same age, if the queen had not been so unfortunate as to lose them. the first thing the emperor did when he arrived at his palace was to conduct the princes into the principal apartments, who praised without affectation the beauty and symmetry of the rooms, and the richness of the furniture and ornaments. afterward a magnificent repast was served up, and the emperor made them sit with him, which they at first refused; but finding it was his pleasure, they obeyed. the emperor, who had himself much learning, particularly in history, foresaw that the princes, out of modesty and respect, would not take the liberty of beginning any conversation. therefore, to give them an opportunity, he furnished them with subjects all dinner-time. but whatever subject he introduced, they shewed so much wit, judgment, and discernment, that he was struck with admiration. "were these my own children," said he to himself, "and i had improved their talents by suitable education, they could not have been more accomplished or better informed." in short, he took such great pleasure in their conversation, that, after having sat longer than usual, he led them into his closet, where he pursued his conversation with them, and at last said: "i never supposed that there were among my subjects in the country youths so well brought up, so lively, so capable; and i never was better pleased with any conversation than yours; but it is time now we should relax our minds with some diversion; and as nothing is more capable of enlivening the mind than music, you shall hear a vocal and instrumental concert which may not be disagreeable to you." the emperor had no sooner spoken than the musicians, who had orders to attend, entered, and answered fully the expectations the princes had been led to entertain of their abilities. after the concerts, an excellent farce was acted, and the entertainment was concluded by dancers of both sexes. the two princes, seeing night approach, prostrated themselves at the emperor's feet; and having first thanked him for the favours and honours he had heaped upon them, asked his permission to retire; which was granted by the emperor, who, in dismissing them, said: "i give you leave to go; but remember, you will be always welcome, and the oftener you come the greater pleasure you will do me." before they went out of the emperor's presence, prince bahman said: "sir, may we presume to request that your majesty will do us and our sister the honour to pass by our house, and refresh yourself after your fatigue, the first time you take the diversion of hunting in that neighbourhood? it is not worthy of your presence; but monarchs sometimes have vouchsafed to take shelter in a cottage." "my children," replied the emperor, "your house cannot be otherwise than beautiful and worthy of its owners. i will call and see it with pleasure, which will be the greater for having for my hosts you and your sister, who is already dear to me from the account you give me of the rare qualities with which she is endowed: and this satisfaction i will defer no longer than to-morrow. early in the morning i will be at the place where i shall never forget that i first saw you. meet me, and you shall be my guides." when the princes bahman and perviz had returned home, they gave the princess an account of the distinguished reception the emperor had given them, and told her that they had invited him to do them the honour, as he passed by, to call at their house, and that he had appointed the next day. "if it be so," replied the princess, "we must think of preparing a repast fit for his majesty; and for that purpose i think it would be proper we should consult the talking bird, who will tell us, perhaps, what meats the emperor likes best." the princes approved of her plan, and after they had retired she consulted the bird alone. "bird," said she, "the emperor will do us the honour to-morrow to come and see our house, and we are to entertain him; tell us what we shall do to acquit ourselves to his satisfaction." "good mistress," replied the bird, "you have excellent cooks, let them do the best they can; but above all things, let them prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, which must be set before the emperor in the first course before all the other dishes." "cucumbers stuffed full of pearls!" cried princess periezade with amazement; "surely, bird, you do not know what you say; it is an unheard of dish. the emperor may admire it as a piece of magnificence, but he will sit down to eat, and not to admire pearls; besides, all the pearls i possess are not enough for such a dish." "mistress," said the bird, "do what i say, and be not uneasy about what may happen. nothing but good will follow. as for the pearls, go early to-morrow morning to the foot of the first tree on your right hand in the park, dig under it, and you will find more than you want." that night the princess ordered a gardener to be ready to attend her, and the next morning early, led him to the tree which the bird had told her of, and bade him dig at its foot. when the gardener came to a certain depth, he found some resistance to the spade, and presently discovered a gold box about a foot square, which he showed the princess. "this," said she, "is what i brought you for; take care not to injure it with the spade." when the gardener took up the box, he gave it into the princess's hands, who, as it was only fastened with neat little hasps, soon opened it, and found it full of pearls of a moderate size, but equal and fit for the use that was to be made of them. very well satisfied with having found this treasure, after she had shut the box again, she put it under her arm and went back to the house, while the gardener threw the earth into the hole at the foot of the tree as it had been before. the princes bahman and perviz, who, as they were dressing themselves in their own apartments, saw their sister in the garden earlier than usual, as soon as they could get out went to her, and met her as she was returning with a gold box under her arm, which much surprised them. "sister," said bahman, "you carried nothing with you when we saw you before with the gardener, and now we see you have a golden box; is this some treasure found by the gardener, and did he come and tell you of it?" "no, brother," answered the princess, "i took the gardener to the place where this casket was concealed, and showed him where to dig; but you will be more amazed when you see what it contains." the princess opened the box, and when the princes saw that it was full of pearls, which, though small, were of great value, they asked her how she came to the knowledge of this treasure. "brothers," said she, "come with me and i will tell you." the princess, as they returned to the house, gave them an account of her having consulted the bird, as they had agreed she should, and the answer he had given her; the objection she had raised to preparing a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, and how he had told her where to find this box. the sister and brothers formed many conjectures to penetrate into what the bird could mean by ordering them to prepare such a dish; but after much conversation, they agreed to follow his advice exactly. as soon as the princess entered the house, she called for the head cook; and after she had given him directions about the entertainment for the emperor, said to him: "besides all this, you must dress an extraordinary dish for the emperor's own eating, which nobody else must have anything to do with besides yourself. this dish must be of cucumbers stuffed with these pearls;" and at the same time she opened him the box, and showed him the jewels. the chief cook, who had never heard of such a dish, started back, and showed his thoughts by his looks; which the princess penetrating, said: "i see you take me to be mad to order such a dish, which one may say with certainty was never made. i know this as well as you; but i am not mad, and give you these orders with the most perfect recollection. you must invent and do the best you can, and bring me back what pearls are left." the cook could make no reply, but took the box and retired; and afterward the princess gave directions to all the domestics to have everything in order, both in the house and gardens, to receive the emperor. next day the two princes went to the place appointed, and as soon as the emperor of persia arrived the chase began and lasted till the heat of the sun obliged him to leave off. while prince bahman stayed to conduct the emperor to their house, prince perviz rode before to show the way, and when he came in sight of the house, spurred his horse, to inform the princess that the emperor was approaching; but she had been told by some servants whom she had placed to give notice, and the prince found her waiting ready to receive him. when the emperor had entered the court-yard and alighted at the portico, the princess came and threw herself at his feet, and the two princes informed him she was their sister, and besought him to accept her respects. the emperor stooped to raise her, and after he had gazed some time on her beauty, struck with her fine person and dignified air, he said: "the brothers are worthy of the sister, and she worthy of them; since, if i may judge of her understanding by her person, i am not amazed that the brothers would do nothing without their sister's consent; but," added he, "i hope to be better acquainted with you, my daughter, after i have seen the house." "sir," said the princess, "it is only a plain country residence, fit for such people as we are, who live retired from the great world. it is not to be compared with the magnificent palaces of emperors." "i cannot perfectly agree with you in opinion," said the emperor very obligingly, "for its first appearance makes me suspect you; however, i will not pass my judgment upon it till i have seen it all; therefore be pleased to conduct me through the apartments." the princess led the emperor through all the rooms except the hall; and, after he had considered them very attentively, and admired their variety, "my daughter," said he to the princess, "do you call this a country house? the finest and largest cities would soon be deserted if all country houses were like yours. i am no longer surprised that you despise the town. now let me see the garden, which i doubt not is answerable to the house." the princess opened a door which led into the garden, and the first object which presented itself to the emperor's view was the golden fountain. surprised at so rare an object, he asked from whence that wonderful water, which gave so much pleasure to behold, had been procured; where was its source, and by what art it was made to play so high. he said he would presently take a nearer view of it. the princess then led him to the spot where the harmonious tree was planted; and there the emperor heard a concert, different from all he had ever heard before; and stopping to see where the musicians were, he could discern nobody far or near, but still distinctly heard the music which ravished his senses. "my daughter," said he to the princess, "where are the musicians whom i hear? are they under ground, or invisible in the air? such excellent performers will hazard nothing by being seen; on the contrary, they would please the more." "sir," answered the princess, smiling, "they are not musicians, but the leaves of the tree your majesty sees before you, which form this concert; and if you will give yourself the trouble to go a little nearer, you will be convinced, and the voices will be the more distinct." the emperor went nearer and was so charmed with the sweet harmony that he would never have been tired with hearing it, but that his desire to have a nearer view of the fountain of golden water forced him away. "daughter," said he, "tell me, i pray you, whether this wonderful tree was found in your garden by chance, or was a present made to you, or have you procured it from some foreign country? it must certainly have come from a great distance, otherwise curious as i am after natural rarities i should have heard of it. what name do you call it by?" "sir," replied the princess, "this tree has no other name than that of the singing tree, and is not a native of this country. it would at present take up too much time to tell your majesty by what adventures it came here; its history is connected with the golden water and the talking bird, which came to me at the same time, and which your majesty may presently see. but if it be agreeable to your majesty, after you have rested yourself and recovered the fatigue of hunting, which must be the greater because of the sun's intense heat, i will do myself the honour of relating it to you." "my daughter," replied the emperor, "my fatigue is so well recompensed by the wonderful things you have shown me, that i do not feel it in the least. let me see the golden water, for i am impatient to see and admire afterward the talking bird." when the emperor came to the golden water, his eyes were fixed so steadfastly upon the fountain, that he could not take them off. at last, addressing himself to the princess, he said: "as you tell me, daughter, that this water has no spring or communication, i conclude that it is foreign, as well as the singing tree." "sir," replied the princess, "it is as your majesty conjectures; and to let you know that this water has no communication with any spring, i must inform you that the basin is one entire stone, so that the water cannot come in at the sides or underneath. but what your majesty will think most wonderful is that all this water proceeded but from one small flagon, emptied into this basin, which increased to the quantity you see, by a property peculiar to itself, and formed this fountain." "well," said the emperor, going from the fountain, "this is enough for one time. i promise myself the pleasure to come and visit it often; but now let us go and see the talking bird." as he went toward the hall, the emperor perceived a prodigious number of singing birds in the trees around, filling the air with their songs and warblings, and asked why there were so many there and none on the other trees in the garden. "the reason, sir," answered the princess, "is because they come from all parts to accompany the song of the talking bird, which your majesty may see in a cage in one of the windows of the hall we are approaching; and if you attend, you will perceive that his notes are sweeter than those of any of the other birds, even the nightingale's." the emperor went into the hall; and as the bird continued singing, the princess raised her voice, and said, "my slave, here is the emperor, pay your compliments to him." the bird left off singing that instant, when all the other birds ceased also, and said: "the emperor is welcome; god prosper him and prolong his life!" as the entertainment was served on the sofa near the window where the bird was placed, the sultan replied, as he was taking his seat: "bird, i thank you, and am overjoyed to find in you the sultan and king of birds." as soon as the emperor saw the dish of cucumbers set before him, thinking they were prepared in the best manner, he reached out his hand and took one; but when he cut it, was in extreme surprise to find it stuffed with pearls. "what novelty is this?" said he; "and with what design were these cucumbers stuffed thus with pearls, since pearls are not to be eaten?" he looked at his hosts to ask them the meaning when the bird interrupting him, said: "can your majesty be in such great astonishment at cucumbers stuffed with pearls, which you see with your own eyes, and yet so easily believe that the queen, your wife, gave birth to a dog, a cat, and a piece of wood?" "i believed those things," replied the emperor, "because the attendants assured me of the facts." "those attendants, sir," replied the bird, "were the queen's two sisters, who, envious of her happiness in being preferred by your majesty before them, to satisfy their envy and revenge, have abused your majesty's credulity. if you interrogate them, they will confess their crime. the two brothers and the sister whom you see before you are your own children, whom they exposed, and who were taken in by the intendant of your gardens, who provided nurses for them, and took care of their education." this speech presently cleared up the emperor's understanding. "bird," cried he, "i believe the truth which you discover to me. the inclination which drew me to them told me plainly they must be of my own blood. come then, my sons, come, my daughter, let me embrace you, and give you the first marks of a father's love and tenderness." the emperor then rose, and after having embraced the two princes and the princess, and mingled his tears with theirs, said: "it is not enough, my children; you must embrace each other, not as the children of the intendant of my gardens, to whom i have been so much obliged for preserving your lives, but as my own children, of the royal blood of the monarchs of persia, whose glory, i am persuaded you will maintain." after the two princes and princess had embraced mutually with new satisfaction, the emperor sat down again with them, and finished his meal in haste; and when he had done, said: "my children, you see in me your father; to-morrow i will bring the queen, your mother, therefore prepare to receive her." the emperor afterward mounted his horse, and returned with expedition to his capitol. the first thing he did, as soon as he had alighted and entered his palace, was to command the grand vizier to seize the queen's two sisters. they were taken from their houses separately, convicted, and condemned to death; which sentence was put in execution within an hour. in the meantime, the emperor kosrouschah, followed by all the lords of his court who were then present, went on foot to the door of the great mosque; and after he had taken the queen out of the strict confinement she had languished under for so many years, embracing her in the miserable condition to which she was then reduced, said to her with tears in his eyes: "i come to entreat your pardon for the injustice i have done you, and to make you the reparation i ought; which i have begun, by punishing the unnatural wretches who put the abominable cheat upon me; and i hope you will look upon it as complete, when i present to you two accomplished princes and a lovely princess, our children. come and resume your former rank, with all the honours which are your due." all this was done and said before great crowds of people who flocked from all parts at the first news of what was passing, and immediately spread the joyful intelligence through the city. next morning early the emperor and queen, whose mournful humiliating dress was changed for magnificent robes, went with all their court to the house built by the intendant of the gardens, where the emperor presented the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess periezade to their enraptured mother. "these, much injured wife," said he, "are the two princes your sons, and the princess your daughter; embrace them with the same tenderness i have done, since they are worthy both of me and you." the tears flowed plentifully down their cheeks at these tender embraces, especially the queen's, from the comfort and joy of having two such princes for her sons, and such a princess for her daughter, on whose account she had so long endured the severest afflictions. the two princes and the princess had prepared a magnificent repast for the emperor and queen and their court. as soon as that was over, the emperor led the queen into the garden, and shewed her the harmonious tree and the beautiful effect of the golden fountain. she had seen the bird in his cage, and the emperor had spared no panegyric in his praise during the repast. when there was nothing to detain the emperor any longer, he took horse, and with the princes bahman and perviz on his right hand, and the queen consort and the princess at his left, preceded and followed by all the officers of his court, according to their rank, returned to his capital. crowds of people came out to meet them, and with acclamations of joy ushered them into the city, where all eyes were fixed not only upon the queen, and her royal children, but also upon the bird, which the princess carried before her in his cage, admiring his sweet notes, which had drawn all the other birds about him, and followed him flying from tree to tree in the country, and from one house top to another in the city. the princes bahman and perviz and the princess periezade were at length brought to the palace with pomp, and nothing was to be seen or heard all that night but illuminations and rejoicings both in the palace and in the utmost parts of the city, which lasted many days, and were continued throughout the empire of persia, as intelligence of the joyful event reached the several provinces. the story of the fisherman and the genie there was once an aged fisherman who was so poor that he could scarcely earn as much as would maintain himself, his wife, and three children. he went every day to fish betimes in the morning, and imposed it as a law upon himself not to cast his nets above four times a day. he went one morning by moonlight, and coming to the seaside, undressed himself, and cast in his nets. as he drew them toward the shore, he found them very heavy, and thought he had a good draught of fish, at which he rejoiced; but a moment after, perceiving that instead of fish his net contained nothing but the carcass of an ass, he was much vexed. when he had mended his nets, which the carcass of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a basket full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. "o fortune!" cried he, with a lamentable tone, "be not angry with me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. i came hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou pronouncest against me a sentence of death. i have no other trade but this to subsist by, and, notwithstanding all my care, i can scarcely provide what is necessary for my family. but i am to blame to complain of thee; thou takest pleasure to persecute honest people, and advancest those who have no virtue to recommend them." having finished this complaint, he fretfully threw away the basket, and, washing his nets from the slime, cast them a third time, but brought up nothing except stones, shells, and mud. no language can express his disappointment; he was almost distracted. however, when day began to appear, he did not forget to say his prayers like a good mussulman, and he added to them this petition: "lord, thou knowest that i cast my nets only four times a day; i have already drawn them three times, without the least reward for my labour: i am only to cast them once more; i pray thee to render the sea favourable to me, as thou didst to moses." the fisherman, having finished this prayer, cast his nets the fourth time; and when he thought it was proper, drew them as formerly with great difficulty; but instead of fish found nothing in them but a vessel of yellow copper, which, from its weight, seemed not to be empty; and he observed that it was fastened and closed with lead, having the impression of a seal upon it. this turn of fortune rejoiced him: "i will sell it," said he, "to the founder, and with the money buy a measure of corn." he examined the vessel on all sides, and shook it to see if its contents made any noise, but heard nothing. this circumstance, with the impression of the seal upon the cover, made him think it enclosed something precious. to try this, he took a knife and opened it with very little labour. he turned the mouth downward, but nothing came out, which surprised him extremely. he placed it before him, but while he viewed it attentively, there burst forth a very thick smoke, which obliged him to retire two or three paces back. the smoke ascended to the clouds, and, extending itself along the sea and upon the shore, formed a great mist, which filled the fisherman with astonishment. when the smoke was all out of the vessel, it reunited, and became a solid body, of which was formed a genie twice as high as the greatest of giants. at the sight of such a monster the fisherman would fain have fled, but was so frightened that he could not move. "solomon," cried the genie immediately, "solomon, the great prophet, pardon, pardon; i will never more oppose your will, i will obey all your commands." the fisherman, when he heard these words of the genie, recovered his courage and said to him: "thou proud spirit, what is it you say? it is above eighteen hundred years since the prophet solomon died, and we are now at the end of time. tell me your history, and how you came to be shut up in this vessel." the genie, turning to the fisherman with a fierce look, said: "thou must address me with more courtesy; thou art a presumptuous fellow to call me a proud spirit; speak to me more respectfully, or i will kill thee." "ah!" replied the fisherman, "why should you kill me? did i not just now set you at liberty, and have you already forgotten my services?" "no, i remember it," said the genie, "but that shall not save thy life: i have only one favour to grant thee." "and what is that?" asked the fisherman. "it is," answered the genie, "to give thee thy choice in what manner thou wouldst have me put thee to death." "but wherein have i offended you?" demanded the fisherman. "is that your reward for the service i have rendered you?" "i cannot treat thee otherwise," said the genie; "and that thou mayest know the reason, hearken to my story." "i am one of those rebellious spirits that opposed the will of solomon, the son of david, and to avenge himself, that monarch sent asaph, the son of barakhia, his chief minister, to apprehend me. asaph seized my person, and brought me by force before his master's throne. "solomon commanded me to acknowledge his power, and to submit to his commands. i bravely refused, and told him i would rather expose myself to his resentment, than swear fealty as he required. to punish me, he shut me up in this copper vessel; and that i might not break my prison, he himself stamped upon this leaden cover his seal with the great name of god engraven upon it. he then gave the vessel to one of the genies who had submitted, with orders to throw me into the sea. "during the first hundred years of my imprisonment, i swore that if any one should deliver me before the expiration of that period, i would make him rich, even after his death; but that century ran out, and nobody did me the good office. during the second, i made an oath that i would open all the treasures of the earth to any one that might set me at liberty; but with no better success. in the third, i promised to make my deliverer a potent monarch, and to grant him every day three requests, of what nature soever they might be; but this century passed as well as the two former, and i continued in prison. at last, being angry to find myself a prisoner so long, i swore that if afterward any one should deliver me, i would kill him without mercy, and grant him no favour but to choose the manner of his death; and, therefore, since thou hast delivered me to-day, i give thee that choice." [illustration] _the smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist._ this discourse afflicted the fisherman extremely: "i am very unfortunate," cried he, "to come hither to do such a kindness to one that is so ungrateful. i beg you to consider your injustice, and revoke such an unreasonable oath; pardon me, and heaven will pardon you; if you grant me my life, heaven will protect you from all attempts against your own." "no, thy death is resolved on," said the genie, "only choose in what manner thou wilt die." the fisherman, perceiving the genie to be resolute, was extremely grieved, not so much for himself, as on account of his three children, and bewailed the misery they must be reduced to by his death. he endeavoured still to appease the genie, and said, "alas! be pleased to take pity on me, in consideration of the service i have done you." "i have told thee already," replied the genie, "it is for that very reason i must kill thee." "that is strange," said the fisherman, "are you resolved to reward good with evil? the proverb truly says, 'he who does good to one who deserves it not, is always ill rewarded.'" "do not lose time," interrupted the genie; "all thy chattering shall not divert me from my purpose; make haste, and tell me what kind of death thou preferrest?" necessity is the mother of invention. the fisherman bethought himself of a stratagem. "since i must die then," said he to the genie, "i submit to the will of heaven; but before i choose the manner of my death, i conjure you, by the great name which was engraven upon the seal of the prophet solomon, to answer me truly the question i am going to ask you." the genie finding himself obliged to a positive answer by this adjuration, trembled, and replied to the fisherman: "ask what thou wilt, but make haste." the genie having thus promised to speak the truth, the fisherman said to him: "i wish to know if you were actually in this vessel: dare you swear it by the name of the great god?" "yes," replied the genie, "i do swear by his great name that i was." "in good faith," answered the fisherman, "i cannot believe you; the vessel is not capable of holding one of your size, and how should it be possible that your whole body could lie in it?" "i swear to thee, notwithstanding," replied the genie, "that i was there just as you see me here. is it possible that thou dost not believe me after the solemn oath i have taken?" "truly not i," said the fisherman; "nor will i believe you, unless you go into the vessel again." upon this the body of the genie dissolved and changed itself into smoke, extending as before upon the seashore; and at last being collected, it began to re-enter the vessel, which it continued to do by a slow and equal motion, till no part remained out; when immediately a voice came forth, which said to the fisherman: "well, incredulous fellow, dost thou not believe me now?" the fisherman, instead of answering the genie, took the cover of lead, and having speedily replaced it on the vessel, "genie," cried he, "now it is your turn to beg my favour, and to choose which way i shall put you to death; but it is better that i should throw you into the sea, whence i took you: and then i will build a house upon the shore, where i will reside and give notice to all fishermen who come to throw in their nets, to beware of such a wicked genie as you are, who have made an oath to kill him that shall set you at liberty." the genie, enraged at these expressions, struggled to free himself; but it was impossible, for the impression of solomon's seal prevented him. perceiving that the fisherman had the advantage of him, he thought fit to dissemble his anger; "fisherman," said he, "take heed you do not what you threaten; for what i spoke to you was only by way of jest." "o genie!" replied the fisherman, "thou who wast but a moment ago the greatest of all genies, and now art the least of them, thy crafty discourse will signify nothing, to the sea thou shalt return. if thou hast been there already so long as thou hast told me, thou mayest very well stay there till the day of judgment. i begged of thee, in god's name, not to take away my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; i am obliged to treat thee in the same manner." the genie omitted nothing that he thought likely to prevail with the fisherman: "open the vessel," said he, "give me my liberty, and i promise to satisfy you to your own content." "thou art a traitor," replied the fisherman, "i should deserve to lose my life, if i were such a fool as to trust thee." "my good fisherman," replied the genie, "i conjure you once more not to be guilty of such cruelty; consider that it is not good to avenge one's self, and that, on the other hand, it is commendable to do good for evil; do not treat me as imama formerly treated ateca." "and what did imama to ateca?" inquired the fisherman. "ho!" cried the genie, "if you have a mind to be informed, open the vessel: do you think that i can be in a humour to relate stories in so strait a prison? i will tell you as many as you please, when you have let me out." "no," said the fisherman, "i will not let thee out; it is in vain to talk of it; i am just going to throw thee into the bottom of the sea." "hear me one word more," cried the genie; "i promise to do you no hurt; nay, far from that, i will show you a way to become exceedingly rich." the hope of delivering himself from poverty prevailed with the fisherman. "i could listen to thee," said he, "were there any credit to be given to thy word; swear to me, by the great name of god, that thou wilt faithfully perform what thou promisest, and i will open the vessel; i do not believe thou wilt dare to break such an oath." the genie swore to him, upon which the fisherman immediately took off the covering of the vessel. at that instant the smoke ascended, and the genie, having resumed his form, the first thing he did was to kick the vessel into the sea. this action alarmed the fisherman. "genie," said he, "will not you keep the oath you just now made?" the genie laughed at his fear, and answered: "fisherman, be not afraid, i only did it to divert myself, and to see if you would be alarmed at it; but to convince you that i am in earnest, take your nets and follow me." as he spoke these words, he walked before the fisherman, who having taken up his nets, followed him, but with some distrust. they passed by the town, and came to the top of a mountain, from whence they descended into a vast plain, which brought them to a lake that lay betwixt four hills. when they reached the side of the lake, the genie said to the fisherman: "cast in your nets and catch fish." the fisherman did not doubt of taking some, because he saw a great number in the water; but he was extremely surprised when he found they were of four colours; white, red, blue, and yellow. he threw in his nets and brought out one of each colour. having never seen the like before, he could not but admire them, and, judging that he might get a considerable sum for them, he was very joyful. "carry those fish," said the genie to him, "and present them to your sultan; he will give you more money for them. you may come daily to fish in this lake; but i give you warning not to throw in your nets above once a day, otherwise you will repent." having spoken thus, he struck his foot upon the ground, which opened, and after it had swallowed him up, closed again. the fisherman, being resolved to follow the genie's advice, forbore casting in his nets a second time, and returned to the town very well satisfied, and making a thousand reflections upon his adventure. he went immediately to the sultan's palace to offer his fish, and his majesty was much surprised when he saw the wonders which the fisherman presented. he took them up one after another, and viewed them with attention; and after having admired them a long time, "take those fish," said he to his vizier, "and carry them to the cook whom the emperor of the greeks has sent me. i cannot imagine but that they must be as good as they are beautiful." the vizier carried them as he was directed, and delivering them to the cook, said: "here are four fish just brought to the sultan; he orders you to dress them." he then returned to the sultan, who commanded him to give the fisherman four hundred pieces of gold, which he did accordingly. the fisherman, who had never seen so much money, could scarcely believe his good fortune, but thought the whole must be a dream, until he found it otherwise, by being able to provide necessaries for his family with the produce of his nets. as soon as the sultan's cook had cleaned the fish, she put them upon the fire in a frying-pan, with oil, and when she thought them fried enough on one side, she turned them upon the other; but, o monstrous prodigy! scarcely were they turned, when the wall of the kitchen divided, and a young lady of wonderful beauty entered from the opening. she held a rod in her hand and was clad in flowered satin, with pendants in her ears, a necklace of large pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies. she moved toward the frying-pan, to the great amazement of the cook, and striking one of the fish with the end of the rod, said: "fish, fish, are you in your duty?" the fish having answered nothing, she repeated these words, and then the four fish lifted up their heads, and replied: "yes, yes: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." as soon as they had finished these words, the lady overturned the frying-pan, and returned into the open part of the wall, which closed immediately, and became as it was before. the cook was greatly frightened at what had happened, and coming a little to herself went to take up the fish that had fallen on the hearth, but found them blacker than coal and not fit to be carried to the sultan. this grievously troubled her, and she fell to weeping most bitterly. "alas!" said she, "what will become of me? if i tell the sultan what i have seen, i am sure he will not believe me, but will be enraged against me." while she was thus bewailing herself, the grand vizier entered, and asked her if the fish were ready. she told him all that had occurred, which we may easily imagine astonished him; but without speaking a word of it to the sultan he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and sending immediately for the fisherman bid him bring four more such fish, for a misfortune had befallen the others, so that they were not fit to be carried to the royal table. the fisherman, without saying anything of what the genie had told him, told the vizier he had a great way to go for them, in order to excuse himself from bringing them that day, but said that he would certainly bring them on the morrow. accordingly the fisherman went away by night, and coming to the lake, threw in his nets betimes next morning, took four fish like the former, and brought them to the vizier at the hour appointed. the minister took them himself, carried them to the kitchen, and shutting himself up with the cook, she cleaned them and put them on the fire. when they were fried on one side, and she had turned them upon the other, the kitchen wall again opened, and the same lady came in with the rod in her hand, struck one of the fish, spoke to it as before, and all four gave her the same answer. after they had spoken to the young lady, she overturned the frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the wall. the grand vizier being witness to what had passed, "this is too wonderful and extraordinary," said he, "to be concealed from the sultan; i will inform him of this prodigy." the sultan, being much surprised, sent immediately for the fisherman, and said to him: "friend, cannot you bring me four more such fish?" the fisherman replied: "if your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days, i will do it." having obtained his time, he went to the lake immediately, and at the first throwing in of his net he caught four fish, and brought them directly to the sultan, who was so much the more rejoiced, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him four hundred pieces of gold. as soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to be carried into his closet, with all that was necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up with the vizier, the minister cleaned them, put them into the pan, and when they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came out a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with a great green staff in his hand. he advanced toward the pan, and touching one of the fish with his staff, said, with a terrible voice: "fish, are you in your duty?" at these words the fish raised up their heads, and answered: "yes, yes; we are; if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome and are content." the fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced them to a coal. having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again into the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it did before. "after what i have seen," said the sultan to the vizier, "it will not be possible for me to be easy; these fish, without doubt, signify something extraordinary." he sent for the fisherman, and when he came, said to him: "fisherman, the fish you have brought us make me very uneasy; where did you catch them?" "sir," answered he, "i fished for them in a lake situated betwixt four hills, beyond the mountain that we see from hence." "know'st thou not that lake?" said the sultan to the vizier. "no," replied the vizier, "i never so much as heard of it, although i have for sixty years hunted beyond that mountain." the sultan asked the fisherman how far the lake might be from the palace. the fisherman answered it was not above three hours' journey; upon this assurance the sultan commanded all his court to take horse, and the fisherman served them for a guide. they all ascended the mountain, and at the foot of it they saw, to their great surprise, a vast plain that nobody had observed till then, and at last they came to the lake, which they found to be situated betwixt four hills, as the fisherman had described. the water was so transparent that they observed all the fish to be like those which the fisherman had brought to the palace. the sultan stood upon the bank of the lake, and after beholding the fish with admiration, demanded of his courtiers if it were possible they had never seen this lake which was within so short a distance of the town. they all answered that they had never so much as heard of it. "since you all agree that you never heard of it," said the sultan, "and as i am no less astonished than you are at this novelty, i am resolved not to return to my palace till i learn how this lake came here, and why all the fish in it are of four colours." having spoken thus, he ordered his court to encamp; and immediately his pavilion and the tents of his household were planted upon the banks of the lake. when night came the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke to the grand vizier thus: "vizier, my mind is uneasy; this lake transported hither, the black that appeared to us in my closet, and the fish that we heard speak; all these things so much excite my curiosity that i cannot resist my impatient desire to have it satisfied. to this end i am resolved to withdraw alone from the camp, and i order you to keep my absence secret: stay in my pavilion, and to-morrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers come to attend my levee, send them away and tell them that i am somewhat indisposed and wish to be alone; and the following days tell them the same thing, till i return." the grand vizier endeavoured to divert the sultan from this design; he represented to him the danger to which he might be exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain; but it was to no purpose; the sultan was resolved. he put on a suit fit for walking and took his cimeter; and as soon as he found that all was quiet in the camp, went out alone, and passed over one of the hills without much difficulty; he found the descent still more easy, and when he came to the plain, walked on till the sun arose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a vast building. he rejoiced at the sight, in hopes of receiving there the information he sought. when he drew near, he found it was a magnificent palace, or rather a strong castle, of black polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as glass. being highly pleased that he had so speedily met with something worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle, and considered it with attention. he then advanced toward the gate, which had two leaves, one of them open; though he might immediately have entered, yet he thought it best to knock. this he did at first softly, and waited for some time; but seeing no one, and supposing he had not been heard, he knocked harder the second time, and after that he knocked again and again, but no one yet appearing, he was exceedingly surprised; for he could not think that a castle in such repair was without inhabitants. "if there be no one in it," said he to himself, "i have nothing to fear; and if it be inhabited, i have wherewith to defend myself." at last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cried: "is there no one here to receive a stranger who comes in for some refreshment as he passes by?" he repeated the same words two or three times; but though he spoke very loud, he was not answered. the silence increased his astonishment: he came into a spacious court, and looked on every side for inhabitants, but discovered none. perceiving nobody in the court, he entered the grand halls, which were hung with silk tapestry, the alcoves and sofas covered with stuffs of mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of india. he came afterward into a superb saloon, in the middle of which was a fountain, with a lion of massy gold at each angle: water issued from the mouths of the four lions, and as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls resembling a jet d'eau, which, springing from the middle of the fountain, rose nearly to the top of a cupola painted in arabesque. the castle, on three sides, was encompassed by a garden, with parterres of flowers and shrubbery; and to complete the beauty of the place, an infinite number of birds filled the air with their harmonious notes, and always remained there, nets being spread over the garden, and fastened to the palace to confine them. the sultan walked from apartment to apartment, where he found everything rich and magnificent. being tired with walking, he sat down in a veranda, which had a view over the garden, reflecting upon what he had seen, when suddenly he heard the voice of one complaining, in lamentable tones. he listened with attention, and heard distinctly these words: "o fortune! thou who wouldst not suffer me longer to enjoy a happy lot, forbear to persecute me, and by a speedy death put an end to my sorrows. alas! is it possible that i am still alive, after so many torments as i have suffered!" the sultan rose up, advanced toward the place whence he heard the voice, and coming to the door of a great hall, opened it, and saw a handsome young man, richly habited, seated upon a throne raised a little above the ground. melancholy was painted on his countenance. the sultan drew near and saluted him; the young man returned his salutation, by an inclination of his head, not being able to rise, at the same time saying: "my lord, i should rise to receive you, but am hindered by sad necessity, and therefore hope you will not be offended." "my lord," replied the sultan, "i am much obliged to you for having so good an opinion of me: as to the reason of your not rising, whatever your apology be, i heartily accept it. being drawn hither by your complaints, and afflicted by your grief, i come to offer you my help. i flatter myself that you will relate to me the history of your misfortunes; but inform me first of the meaning of the lake near the palace, where the fish are of four colours; whose castle is this; how you came to be here; and why you are alone." instead of answering these questions, the young man began to weep bitterly. "how inconstant is fortune!" cried he; "she takes pleasure to pull down those she has raised. where are they who enjoy quietly the happiness which they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and serene?" the sultan, moved with compassion to see him in such a condition, prayed him to relate the cause of his excessive grief. "alas! my lord," replied the young man, "how is it possible but i should grieve, and my eyes be inexhaustible fountains of tears?" at these words, lifting up his robe, he showed the sultan that he was a man only from the head to the girdle, and that the other half of his body was black marble. the sultan was much surprised when he saw the deplorable condition of the young man. "that which you show me," said he, "while it fills me with horror, excites my curiosity, so that i am impatient to hear your history, which, no doubt, must be extraordinary, and i am persuaded that the lake and the fish make some part of it; therefore i conjure you to relate it. you will find some comfort in so doing, since it is certain that the unfortunate find relief in making known their distress." "i will not refuse your request," replied the young man, "though i cannot comply without renewing my grief. but i give you notice beforehand, to prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for things which surpass all that the imagination can conceive." the history of the young king of the black isles "you must know, my lord," said the wretched prisoner, "that my father, named mahmoud, was monarch of this country. this is the kingdom of the black isles, which takes its name from the four small neighbouring mountains; for those mountains were formerly isles, and the capital where the king, my father, resided was situated on the spot now occupied by the lake you have seen. the sequel of my history will inform you of the reason for those changes. "the king, my father, died when he was seventy years of age; i had no sooner succeeded him than i married, and the lady i chose to share the royal dignity with me was my cousin. i had so much reason to be satisfied with her affection, and, on my part, loved her with so much tenderness, that nothing could surpass the harmony of our union. this lasted five years, at the end of which time i perceived the queen ceased to delight in my attentions. "one day, after dinner, while she was at the bath, i found myself inclined to repose, and lay down upon a sofa. two of her ladies, who were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head and the other at my feet, with fans in their hands to moderate the heat, and to prevent the flies from disturbing me. they thought i was asleep, and spoke in whispers; but as i only closed my eyes, i heard all their conversation. "one of them said to the other, 'is not the queen wrong, not to love so amiable a prince?' 'certainly,' replied her companion; 'i do not understand the reason, neither can i conceive why she goes out every night, and leaves him alone! is it possible that he does not perceive it?' 'alas!' said the first, 'how should he? she mixes every evening in his liquor the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night that she has time to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear she comes and wakes him by the smell of something she puts under his nostrils.' "you may guess, my lord, how much i was surprised at this conversation, and with what sentiments it inspired me; yet whatever emotion it excited i had sufficient self-command to dissemble, and feigned to awake without having heard a word. "the queen returned from the bath, we supped together, and she presented me with a cup full of such liquid as i was accustomed to drink; but instead of putting it to my mouth, i went to a window that was open, threw out the water so quickly that she did not perceive it, and returned. "soon after, believing that i was asleep, she arose with so little precaution, that she whispered loud enough for me to hear her distinctly, 'sleep on, and may you never wake again!' and so saying, she dressed herself, and went out of the chamber. "as soon as the queen, my wife, was gone, i arose in haste, took my cimeter, and followed her so quickly that i soon heard the sound of her feet before me, and then walked softly after her. she passed through several gates, which opened upon her pronouncing some magical words, and the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. i stopped at this gate, that she might not perceive me as she passed along a parterre; then looking after her as far as the darkness of the night permitted, i saw her enter a little wood, whose walks were guarded by thick palisadoes. i went thither by another way, and concealing myself, i saw her walking there with a man. "i did not fail to lend the most attentive ear to their discourse, and heard her address herself thus to her gallant: 'i do not deserve,' she said, 'to be reproached by you for want of diligence. you well know the reason; but if all the proofs of affection i have already given you be not sufficient to convince you of my sincerity, i am ready to give you others more decisive: you need but command me, you know my power; i will, if you desire it, before sunrise convert this great city, and this superb palace, into frightful ruins, inhabited only by wolves, owls, and ravens. if you would have me transport all the stones of those walls so solidly built, beyond mount caucasus, the bounds of the habitable world, speak but the word, and all shall be changed.' "as the queen finished this speech she and her companion came to the end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me. i had already drawn my cimeter, and the man being next me, i struck him on the neck, and brought him to the ground. i concluded i had killed him, and therefore retired speedily without making myself known to the queen, whom i chose to spare, because she was my kinswoman. "the wound i had given her companion was mortal; but by her enchantments she preserved him in an existence in which he could not be said to be either dead or alive. as i crossed the garden to return to the palace, i heard the queen loudly lamenting, and judging by her cries how much she was grieved, i was pleased that i had spared her life. "as soon as i had reached my apartment, i went to bed, and being satisfied with having punished the villain who had injured me, fell asleep. "next morning i arose, went to my closet, and dressed myself. i afterward held my council. at my return, the queen, clad in mourning, her hair dishevelled, and part of it torn off, presented herself before me, and said: 'i come to beg your majesty not to be surprised to see me in this condition. my heavy affliction is occasioned by intelligence of three distressing events which i have just received.' 'alas! what are they, madam?' said i. 'the death of the queen, my dear mother,' she replied, 'that of the king, my father, killed in battle, and of one of my brothers, who has fallen down a precipice.' "i was not displeased that she used these pretexts to conceal the true cause of her grief. 'madam,' said i, 'so far from blaming, i assure you i heartily commiserate your sorrow. i should feel surprise if you were insensible to such heavy calamities: weep on; your tears are so many proofs of your tenderness; but i hope that time and reflection will moderate your grief.' "she retired into her apartment, where, giving herself wholly up to sorrow, she spent a whole year in mourning and lamentation. at the end of that period, she begged permission to erect a burying-place for herself, within the bounds of the palace, where she would continue, she told me, to the end of her days: i consented, and she built a stately edifice, and called it the palace of tears. when it was finished, she caused the object of her care to be conveyed thither; she had hitherto prevented his dying, by potions which she had administered to him; and she continued to convey them to him herself every day after he came to the palace of tears. "yet, with all her enchantments, she could not cure the wretch; he was not only unable to walk or support himself, but had also lost the use of his speech, and exhibited no sign of life except in his looks. "every day the queen made him two long visits. i was well apprised of this, but pretended ignorance. one day my curiosity induced me to go to the palace of tears, to observe how my consort employed herself, and from a place where she could not see me, i heard her thus address the wounded ruffian: 'i am afflicted to the highest degree to behold you in this condition,' she cried, 'i am as sensible as yourself of the tormenting pain you endure; but, dear soul, i am continually speaking to you, and you do not answer me: how long will you remain silent? speak only one word: alas! the sweetest moments of my life are these i spend here in partaking of your grief.' "at these words, which were several times interrupted by her sighs, i lost all patience: and discovering myself, came up to her, and said, 'madam, you have wept enough, it is time to give over this sorrow, which dishonours us both; you have too much forgotten what you owe to me and to yourself.' 'sire,' said she, 'if you have any kindness or compassion for me left, i beseech you to put no restraint upon me; allow me to indulge my grief, which it is impossible for time to assuage.' "when i perceived that my remonstrance, instead of restoring her to a sense of duty, served only to increase her anguish, i ceased speaking and retired. she continued every day to visit her charge, and for two whole years abandoned herself to grief and despair. "i went a second time to the palace of tears, while she was there. i concealed myself again, and heard her thus cry out: 'it is now three years since you spoke one word to me; you answer not the proofs i give you of my devotion by my sighs and lamentations. is it from insensibility, or contempt? o tomb! tell me by what miracle thou becamest the depository of the rarest treasure the world ever contained.' "i must confess, my lord, i was enraged at these expressions; for, in truth, this adored mortal was by no means what you would imagine him to have been. he was a black indian, one of the original natives of this country. i was so enraged at the language addressed to him, that i discovered myself, and apostrophising the tomb in my turn, i cried, 'o tomb! why dost thou not swallow up that monster so revolting to human nature, or rather why dost thou not swallow up this pair of monsters?' "i had scarcely uttered these words, when the queen, who sat by the black, rose up like a fury: 'miscreant!' said she, 'thou art the cause of my grief; do not think i am ignorant of this, i have dissembled too long. it was thy barbarous hand that brought the object of my fondness into this lamentable condition; and thou hast the cruelty to come and insult me.' 'yes,' said i, in a rage, 'it was i who chastised that monster, according to his desert; i ought to have treated thee in the same manner; i now repent that i did not; thou hast too long abused my goodness.' as i spoke these words, i drew out my cimeter, and lifted up my hand to punish her; but regarding me steadfastly, she said with a jeering smile, 'moderate thine anger.' at the same time she pronounced words i did not understand; and afterward added, 'by virtue of my enchantments, i command thee to become half marble and half man.' immediately, my lord, i became what you see, a dead man among the living, and a living man among the dead. after this cruel sorceress, unworthy of the name of queen, had metamorphosed me thus, and brought me into this hall, by another enchantment she destroyed my capital, which was very flourishing and populous; she annihilated the houses, the public places and markets, and reduced the site of the whole to the lake and desert plain you have seen; the fishes of four colours in the waters are the four kinds of inhabitants, of different religions, which the city contained. the white are the mussulmans; the red, the persians, who worship fire; the blue, the christians; and the yellow, the jews. the four little hills were the four islands that gave name to this kingdom. i learned all this from the enchantress, who, to add to my affliction, related to me these effects of her rage. but this is not all; her revenge not being satisfied with the destruction of my dominions, and the metamorphosis of my person, she comes every day, and gives me over my naked shoulders a hundred lashes with a whip until i am covered with blood. when she has finished this part of my punishment, she throws over me a coarse stuff of goat's hair, and over that this robe of brocade, not to honour, but to mock me." when he came to this part of his narrative, the young king could not restrain his tears; and the sultan was himself so affected by the relation, that he could not find utterance for any words of consolation. shortly after, the young king, lifting up his eyes to heaven, exclaimed, "mighty creator of all things, i submit myself to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence: i endure my calamities with patience, since it is thy will that things should be as they are; but i hope that thy infinite goodness will ultimately reward me." the sultan, greatly moved by the recital of this affecting story, and anxious to avenge the sufferings of the unfortunate prince, said to him: "inform me whither this perfidious sorceress retires, and where may be found the vile wretch, who is entombed before his death." "my lord," replied the prince, "the indian, as i have already told you, is lodged in the palace of tears, in a superb tomb constructed in the form of a dome: this palace joins the castle on the side in which the gate is placed. as to the queen, i cannot tell you precisely whither she retires, but every day at sunrise she goes to visit her charge, after having executed her bloody vengeance upon me; and you see i am not in a condition to defend myself. she carries to him the potion with which she has hitherto prevented his dying, and always complains of his never having spoken to her since he was wounded." "prince," said the sultan, "your condition can never be sufficiently deplored: no one can be more sensibly affected by your misfortune than i am. never did anything so extraordinary befall any man! one thing only is wanting; the revenge to which you are entitled, and i will omit nothing in my power to effect it." in his subsequent conversation with the young prince the sultan told him who he was, and for what purpose he had entered the castle; and afterward informed him of a mode of revenge which he had devised. they agreed upon the measures they were to take for accomplishing their design, but deferred the execution of it till the following day. in the meantime, the night being far spent, the sultan took some rest; but the young prince passed the night as usual, without sleep, never having slept since he was enchanted. [illustration] _when he came to this part of his narrative the young king could not restrain his tears._ next morning the sultan arose with the dawn, and prepared to execute his design, by proceeding to the palace of tears. he found it lighted up with an infinite number of flambeaux of white wax, and perfumed by a delicious scent issuing from several censers of fine gold of admirable workmanship. as soon as he perceived the bed where the indian lay, he drew his cimeter and deprived him of his wretched life, dragged his corpse into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. after this he went and lay down in the black's bed, placed his cimeter under the covering, and waited to complete his design. the queen arrived shortly after. she first went into the chamber of her husband, the king of the black islands, stripped him, and with unexampled barbarity gave him a hundred stripes. the unfortunate prince filled the palace with his lamentations, and conjured her in the most affecting tone to take pity on him; but the cruel wretch ceased not till she had given the usual number of blows. "you had no compassion," said she, "and you are to expect none from me." after the enchantress had given her husband a hundred blows with the whip, she put on again his covering of goat's hair, and his brocade gown over all; she went afterward to the palace of tears, and as she entered renewed her tears and lamentations; then approaching the bed, where she thought the indian lay: "alas!" said she, addressing herself to the sultan, conceiving him to be the black, "my sun, my life, will you always be silent? are you resolved to let me die without affording me the comfort of hearing your voice?" the sultan, as if he had awaked out of a deep sleep, and counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks, answered the queen with a grave tone: "there is no strength or power but in god alone, who is almighty." at these words the enchantress, who did not expect them, uttered a loud exclamation of joy. "my dear lord," cried she, "do i not deceive myself; is it certain that i hear you, and that you speak to me?" "unhappy woman," said the sultan, "art thou worthy that i should answer thee?" "alas!" replied the queen, "why do you reproach me thus?" "the cries," returned the sultan, "the groans and tears of thy husband, whom thou treatest every day with so much indignity and barbarity, prevent my sleeping night or day. hadst thou disenchanted him, i should long since have been cured, and have recovered the use of my speech. this is the cause of my silence, of which you complain." "well," said the enchantress, "to pacify you, i am ready to execute your commands; would you have me restore him?" "yes," replied the sultan; "make haste to set him at liberty, that i be no longer disturbed by his lamentations." the enchantress went immediately out of the palace of tears; she took a cup of water, and pronounced some words over it, which caused it to boil, as if it had been on the fire. she afterward proceeded to the young king, and threw the water upon him, saying: "if the creator of all things did form thee as thou art at present, or if he be angry with thee, do not change; but if thou art in that condition merely by virtue of my enchantments, resume thy natural shape, and become what thou wast before." she had scarcely spoken these words when the prince, finding himself restored to his former condition, rose up and returned thanks to god. the enchantress then said to him, "get thee from this castle, and never return on pain of death." the young king, yielding to necessity, went away without replying a word, and retired to a remote place, where he patiently awaited the event of the design which the sultan had so happily begun. meanwhile the enchantress returned to the palace of tears, and supposing that she still spoke to the black, said, "dear love, i have done what you required; nothing now prevents your rising and giving me the satisfaction of which i have so long been deprived." the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the black, said: "what you have now done is by no means sufficient for my cure; you have only removed a part of the evil; you must cut it up by the root." "my lovely black," resumed the queen, "what do you mean by the root?" "wretched woman," replied the sultan, "understand you not that i allude to the town and its inhabitants, and the four islands, destroyed by thy enchantments? the fish every night at midnight raise their heads out of the lake, and cry for vengeance against thee and me. this is the true cause of the delay of my cure. go speedily, restore things to their former state, and at thy return i will give thee my hand, and thou shalt help me to arise." the enchantress, inspired with hope from these words, cried out in a transport of joy, "my heart, my soul, you shall soon be restored to your health, for i will immediately do as you command me." accordingly she went that instant, and when she came to the brink of the lake she took a little water in her hand, and sprinkling it, she pronounced some words over the fish and the lake, and the city was immediately restored. the fish became men, women, and children; mohammedans, christians, persians, or jews; freemen or slaves, as they were before: every one having recovered his natural form. the houses and shops were immediately filled with their inhabitants, who found all things as they were before the enchantment. the sultan's numerous retinue, who found themselves encamped in the largest square, were astonished to see themselves in an instant in the middle of a large, handsome, well-peopled city. to return to the enchantress: as soon as she had effected this wonderful change, she returned with all expedition to the palace of tears, that she might receive her reward. "my dear lord," cried she, as she entered, "i have done all that you required of me, then pray rise and give me your hand." "come near," said the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the black. she did so. "you are not near enough," he continued; "approach nearer." she obeyed. he then rose up, and seizing her by the arm so suddenly that she had not time to discover him, he with a blow of his cimeter cut her in two, so that one half fell one way and the other another. this done, he left the body on the spot, and going out of the palace of tears, went to seek the young king of the black isles, who waited for him with great impatience. when he found him, "prince," said he, embracing him, "rejoice; you have now nothing to fear; your cruel enemy is dead." the young prince returned thanks to the sultan in a manner that sufficiently evinced his gratitude, and in return wished him long life and happiness. "you may henceforward," said the sultan, "dwell peaceably in your capital, unless you will accompany me to mine, which is near: you shall there be welcome, and have as much honour shown you as if you were in your own kingdom." "potent monarch, to whom i am so much indebted," replied the king, "you think, then, that you are near your capital." "yes," said the sultan, "i know it is not above four or five hours' journey." "it will take you a whole year to return," said the prince. "i do indeed believe that you came hither from your capital in the time you mention, because mine was enchanted; but since the enchantment is taken off, things are changed: however, this shall not prevent my following you, were it to the utmost corners of the earth. you are my deliverer, and that i may give you proofs of my acknowledgment of this during my whole life, i am willing to accompany you, and to leave my kingdom without regret." the sultan was extremely surprised to understand that he was so far from his dominions, and could not imagine how it could be, but the young king of the black islands convinced him beyond a possibility of doubt. then the sultan replied: "it is no matter; the trouble of returning to my own country is sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction of having obliged you, and by acquiring you for a son; for since you will do me the honour to accompany me, as i have no child, i look upon you as such, and from this moment appoint you my heir and successor." the young prince then employed himself in making preparations for his journey, which were finished in three weeks, to the great regret of his court and subjects, who agreed to receive at his hands one of his nearest kindred for their monarch. at length the sultan and the young prince began their journey, with a hundred camels laden with inestimable riches from the treasury, followed by fifty handsome gentlemen on horseback, perfectly well mounted and dressed. they had a pleasant journey; and when the sultan, who had sent couriers to give advice of his delay, and of the adventure which had occasioned it, approached his capital, the principal officers came to receive him, and to assure him that his long absence had occasioned no alteration in his empire. the inhabitants also came out in great crowds, received him with acclamations, and made public rejoicings for several days. the day after his arrival the sultan acquainted his courtiers with his adoption of the king of the four black islands, who was willing to leave a great kingdom to accompany and live with him; and in reward for their loyalty, he made each of them presents according to their rank. as for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him a plentiful fortune, which made him and his family happy the rest of his days. the story of gulnare of the sea there was, in olden time, and in an ancient age and period, in the land of the persians, a king named shahzeman, and the place of his residence was khorassan. he had not been blest, during his whole life, with a male child nor a female; and he reflected upon this, one day, and lamented that the greater portion of his life had passed, and he had no heir to take the kingdom after him as he had inherited it from his fathers and forefathers. so the utmost grief befell him on this account. now while he was sitting one day, one of his mamelukes came in to him, and said to him: "o my lord, at the door is a slave-girl with a merchant: none more beautiful than she hath been seen." and he replied: "bring to me the merchant and the slave-girl." the merchant and the slave-girl therefore came to him; and when he saw her, he found her to resemble the lance in straightness and slenderness. she was wrapped in a garment of silk embroidered with gold, and the merchant uncovered her face, whereupon the place was illuminated by her beauty, and there hung down from her forehead seven locks of hair reaching to her anklets. the king, therefore, wondered at the sight of her, and at her beauty, and her stature and justness of form; and he said to the merchant: "o sheikh, for how much is this damsel to be sold?" the merchant answered: "o my lord, i purchased her for two thousand pieces of gold of the merchant who owned her before me, and i have been for three years travelling with her, and she hath cost, to the period of her arrival at this place, three thousand pieces of gold; and she is a present from me unto thee." upon this, the king conferred upon him a magnificent robe of honour, and gave orders to present him with ten thousand pieces of gold. so he took them, and kissed the hands of the king, thanking him for his beneficence, and departed. then the king committed the damsel to the tirewomen, saying to them: "amend the state of this damsel, and deck her, and furnish for her a private chamber, and take her into it." he also gave orders to his chamberlains that everything which she required should be conveyed to her. the seat of government where he resided was on the shore of the sea, and his city was called the white city. and they conducted the damsel into a private chamber, which chamber had windows overlooking the sea; and the king commanded his chamberlains to close all the doors upon her after taking to her all that she required. the king then went in to visit the damsel; but she rose not to him, nor took any notice of him. so the king said: "it seemeth that she hath been with people who have not taught her good manners." and looking at the damsel, he saw her to be a person surpassing in loveliness, her face was like the disk of the moon at the full, or the shining sun in the clear sky; and he wondered at her beauty, extolling the perfection of god, the creator: then the king advanced to the damsel, and seated himself by her side, pressed her to his bosom, and kissed her lips, which he found to be sweeter than honey. after this, he gave orders to bring tables of the richest viands, comprising dishes of every kind; and he ate, and put morsels into her mouth until she was satisfied; but she spoke not a single word. the king talked to her, and inquired of her her name; but she was silent, not uttering a word, nor returning him an answer, ceasing not to hang down her head toward the ground; and what protected her from the anger of the king was her beauty, and her tenderness of manner. so the king said within himself: "extolled be the perfection of god, the creator of this damsel! how elegant is she, saving that she doth not speak!"--then the king asked the female slaves whether she had spoken; and they answered him: "from the time of her arrival to the present moment she hath not spoken one word, and we have not heard her talk." the king therefore caused some of them to come, and sing to her, and make merry with her, thinking that then she might perhaps speak. accordingly the female slaves played before her with all kinds of musical instruments, and enacted sports and other performances, and they sang so that every one who was present was moved with delight, except the damsel, who looked at them and was silent, neither laughing nor speaking. so the heart of the king was contracted. he however inclined to her entirely, paying no regard to others, but relinquishing all the rest of his favourites. he remained with her a whole year, which seemed as one day, and still she spoke not; and he said to her one day, when his passion was excessive: "o desire of souls, verily the love that i have for thee is great, and i have relinquished for thy sake all my worldly portion, and been patient with thee a whole year. i beg god that he will, in his grace, soften thy heart toward me, and that thou mayest speak to me. or, if thou be dumb, inform me by a sign, that i may give up hope of thy speaking. i also beg of god that he will bless thee with a son that may inherit my kingdom after me; for i am solitary, having none to be my heir, and my age hath become great. i conjure thee, then, by allah, if thou love me, that thou return me a reply." and upon this, the damsel hung her head toward the ground, meditating. then she raised her head, and smiled in the face of the king, whereat it appeared to the king that lightning filled the private chamber; and she said: "o magnanimous king, god hath answered thy prayer; for i am about to bring thee a child, and the time is almost come. and were it not that i knew this thing, i had not spoken to thee one word." and when the king heard what she said, his face brightened up with happiness, and he kissed her hands by reason of the violence of his joy, and said: "praise be to god who hath favoured me with things that i desired; the first, thy speaking; and the second, thy information that thou art about to bring me a child." then the king arose and went forth from her, and seated himself upon the throne of his kingdom in a state of exceeding happiness; and he ordered the vizier to give out to the poor and the needy a hundred thousand pieces of gold as a thank-offering to god. so the vizier did as the king had commanded him. and after that, the king went in to the damsel, and embraced her, saying to her: "o my mistress, wherefore hath been this silence, seeing that thou hast been with me a whole year, awake and asleep, yet hast not spoken to me, except on this day?" the damsel answered: "hear, o king of the age, and know that i am a poor person, a stranger, broken-hearted: i have become separated from my mother, and my family, and my brother." and when the king heard her words, he knew her desire, and he replied: "as to thy saying that thou art poor, there is no occasion for such an assertion; for all my kingdom and possessions are at thy service, and as to thy saying, 'i have become separated from my mother and my family and my brother'--inform me in what place they are, and i will send to them, and bring them to thee." so she said to him: "know, o king, that my name is gulnare (_pomegranate flower_) of the sea. my father was one of the kings of the sea, and he died, and left to us the kingdom; but while we were enjoying it, another of the kings came upon us, and took the kingdom from our hands. i have also a brother named saleh, and my mother is of the women of the sea; and i quarrelled with my brother, and swore that i would throw myself into the hands of a man of the inhabitants of the land. accordingly i came forth from the sea, and sat upon the shore of an island in the moonlight, and there passed by a man who took me and sold me to this man from whom thou tookest me, and he was an excellent, virtuous man, a person of religion and fidelity and kindness. but had not thy heart loved me, and hadst thou not preferred me above all thy wives, i had not remained with thee one hour; for i should have cast myself into the sea from this window, and gone to my mother and my people. i was ashamed, however, to go to them; for they would imagine evil of me, and would not believe me, even though i should swear to them, were i to tell them that a king had purchased me with his money, and chosen me in preference to his other wives and all that his right hand possessed. this is my story, and peace be on thee!" and when he heard her words, he thanked her, and kissed her between the eyes, and said to her: "by allah, o my mistress, and light of my eyes, i cannot endure separation from thee for one hour; and if thou quit me, i shall die instantly. how then shall the affair be?" she answered: "o my master, the time of the birth is near, and my family must come." "and how," said the king, "do they walk in the sea without being wetted?" she answered: "we walk in the sea as ye walk upon the land, through the influence of the names engraved upon the seal of solomon, the son of david, upon both of whom be peace! but, o king, when my family and my brethren come, i will inform them that thou boughtest me with thy money, and hast treated me with beneficence, and it will be meet that thou confirm my assertion to them. they will also see thy state with their eyes, and will know that thou art a king, the son of a king." and thereupon the king said: "o my mistress, do what seemeth fit to thee, and what thou wishest; for i will comply with thy desire in all that thou wilt do." and the damsel said: "know, o king of the age, that we walk in the sea with our eyes open, and see what is in it, and we see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the sky as on the face of the earth, and this hurteth us not. know also, that in the sea are many peoples and various forms of all the kinds that are on the land; and know, moreover, that all that is on the land, in comparison with what is in the sea, is a very small matter." and the king wondered at her words. then the damsel took a bit of aloes-wood and, having lighted a fire in a perfuming-vessel, threw into it that bit, and she proceeded to speak words which no one understood; whereupon a great smoke arose, while the king looked on. after this, she said to the king: "o my lord, arise and conceal thyself in a closet, that i may shew thee my brother and my mother and my family without their seeing thee; for i desire to bring them, and thou shalt see in this place, at this time, a wonder, and shalt marvel at the various shapes and strange forms that god hath created." so the king arose immediately, and entered a closet, and looked to see what she would do. and she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells until the sea foamed and was agitated, and there came forth from it a young man of comely form, of beautiful countenance, like the moon at the full, with shining forehead, and red cheeks, and hair resembling pearls and jewels; he was, of all the creation, the most like to his sister, and the tongue of the case itself seemed to recite in his praise these verses:-- the moon becometh perfect once in each month; but the loveliness of thy face is perfect every day. its abode is in the heart of one sign at a time; but thine abode is in all hearts at once. [illustration] _and she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells until the sea foamed and was agitated._ afterward, there came forth from the sea a grizzly-haired old woman, and with her five damsels, resembling moons and bearing a likeness to the damsel whose name was gulnare. then the king saw the young man and the old woman and the damsels walk upon the surface of the water until they came to gulnare; and when they drew near to the window, and she beheld them, she rose to them and met them with joy. on their seeing her, they knew her, and they went in to her and embraced her, weeping violently; and they said to her: "o gulnare, how is it that thou leavest us for four years, and we know not the place in which thou art? by allah, we had no delight in food nor in drink a single day, weeping night and day on account of the excess of our longing to see thee." then the damsel began to kiss the hand of her brother, and the hand of her mother, and so also the hands of the daughters of her uncle, and they sat with her awhile, asking her respecting her state, and the things that had happened to her, and her present condition. so she said to them: "know ye, that when i quitted you, and came forth from the sea, i sat upon the shore of an island, and a man took me, and sold me to a merchant, and the merchant brought me to this city, and sold me to its king for ten thousand pieces of gold. then he treated me with attention, and forsook all his favourites for my sake, and was diverted by his regard for me from everything that he possessed and what was in his city." and when her brother heard her words, he said: "praise be to god who hath reunited us! but it is my desire, o my sister, that thou wouldst arise and go with us to our country and our family." so when the king heard the words of her brother, his reason fled in consequence of his fear lest the damsel should accept the proposal of her kindred, and he could not prevent her, though he was inflamed with love of her; wherefore he became perplexed in violent fear of her separation. but as to the damsel gulnare, on hearing the words of her brother she said: "by allah, o my brother, the man who purchased me is the king of this city, and he is a great king, and a man of wisdom, generous, of the utmost liberality. he hath treated me with honour, and he is a person of kindness, and of great wealth, but hath no male child nor a female. he hath shewn me favour too, and acted well to me in every respect; and from the day when i came to him to the present time, i have not heard from him a word to grieve my heart; but he hath not ceased to treat me with courtesy, and i am living with him in the most perfect of enjoyments. moreover, if i quitted him, he would perish: for he can never endure my separation even for a single hour. i also, if i quitted him, should die of my love for him in consequence of his kindness to me during the period of my residence with him; for if my father were living, my condition with him would not be like my condition with this great, glorious king. god (whose name be exalted!) afflicted me not, but compensated me well; and as the king hath not a male child nor a female, i beg god to bless me with a son that may inherit of this great king these palaces and possessions." and when her brother, and the daughters of her uncle, heard her words, their eyes became cheerful thereat, and they said to her: "o gulnare, thou art acquainted with our affection for thee, and thou art assured that thou art the dearest of all persons to us, and art certain that we desire for thee comfort, without trouble or toil. therefore if thou be not in a state of comfort, arise and accompany us to our country and our family; but if thou be comfortable here, in honour and happiness, this is our desire and wish." and gulnare replied: "by allah, i am in a state of the utmost enjoyment, in honour and desirable happiness." so when the king heard these words from her, he rejoiced, and he thanked her for them; his love for her penetrated to his heart's core, and he knew that she loved him as he loved her, and that she desired to remain with him to see his child which she was to bring to him. then the damsel gulnare of the sea gave orders to the female slaves to bring forward viands of all kinds; and gulnare herself was the person who superintended the preparation of the viands in the kitchen. so the female slaves brought to them the viands, and the sweetmeats, and the fruits; and she ate with her family. but afterward they said to her: "o gulnare, thy master is a man who is a stranger to us, and we have entered his abode without his permission, and thou praisest to us his excellence, and hast also brought to us his food, and we have eaten, but have not seen him, nor hath he seen us, nor come into our presence, nor eaten with us, that the bond of bread and salt might be established between us." and they all desisted from eating, and were enraged at her, and fire began to issue from their mouths as from cressets. so when the king beheld this, his reason fled, in consequence of the violence of his fear of them. then gulnare rose to them, and soothed their hearts; after which she walked along until she entered the closet in which was the king her master; and she said to him: "o my master, didst thou see, and didst thou hear my thanks to thee, and my praise of thee in the presence of my family; and didst thou hear what they said to me, that they desired to take me with them to our family and our country?" the king answered her: "i heard and saw. may god recompense thee! by allah, i knew not the extent of the love that thou feelest for me until this blessed hour." she replied: "o my master, is the recompense of beneficence aught but beneficence? how then could my heart be happy to quit thee, and to depart from thee? now i desire of thy goodness that thou come and salute my family, that they may see thee, and that pleasure and mutual friendship may ensue. for know, o king, that my brother and my mother and the daughters of my uncle have conceived a great love for thee in consequence of my praising thee to them, and they have said, 'we will not depart from thee to our country until we have an interview with the king, and salute him.'" and the king said to her: "i hear and obey; for this is what i desire." he then rose from his place, and went to them, and saluted them with the best salutation; and they hastened to rise to him; they met him in the most polite manner, and he sat with them in the pavilion, ate with them at the table, and remained with them for a period of thirty days. then they desired to return to their country and abode. so they took leave of the king and queen gulnare of the sea, and departed from them, after the king had treated them with the utmost honour. after this, gulnare gave birth to a boy, resembling the moon at the full, whereat the king experienced the utmost happiness, because he had not before been blessed with a son nor a daughter during his life. they continued the rejoicings, and the decoration of the city, for a period of seven days, in the utmost happiness and enjoyment; and on the seventh day, the mother of gulnare, and her brother, and the daughters of her uncle, all came, when they knew that she had given birth to her child. the king met them, rejoicing at their arrival, and said to them: "i said that i would not name my son until ye should come, and that ye should name him according to your knowledge." and they named him bedr basim (_smiling full moon_), all of them agreeing as to this name. they then presented the boy to his maternal uncle, saleh, who took him upon his hands, and, rising with him from among them, walked about the palace to the right and left; after which he went forth with him from the palace, descended with him to the sea, and walked on until he became concealed from the eye of the king. so when the king saw that he had taken his son, and disappeared from him at the bottom of the sea, he despaired of him, and began to weep and wail. but gulnare, seeing him in this state, said to him, "o king of the age, fear not nor grieve for thy son; for i love my child more than thou, and my child is with my brother; therefore fear not his being drowned. if my brother knew that any injury would betide the little one, he had not done what he hath done; and presently he will bring thee thy son safe, if it be the will of god, whose name be exalted!" and but a short time had elapsed when the sea was agitated, and the uncle of the little one came forth from it, having with him the king's son safe, and he flew from the sea until he came to them, with the little one in his arms, silent, and his face resembling the moon in the night of its fulness. then the uncle of the little one looked toward the king, and said to him: "perhaps thou fearedst some injury to thy son when i descended into the sea, having him with me." so he replied: "yes, o my master, i feared for him, and i did not imagine that he would ever come forth from it safe." and saleh said to him: "o king of the land, we applied to his eyes a lotion that we know, and repeated over him the names engraved upon the seal of solomon, the son of david; for when a child is born among us, we do to him as i have told thee. fear not therefore, on his account, drowning, nor suffocation, nor all the seas if he descend into them. like as ye walk upon the land, we walk in the sea." he then took forth from his pocket a case, written upon, and sealed; and he broke its seal, and scattered its contents, whereupon there fell from it strung jewels, consisting of all kinds of jacinths and other gems, together with three hundred oblong emeralds, and three hundred oblong large jewels, of the size of the eggs of the ostrich, the light of which was more resplendent than the light of the sun and the moon. and he said: "o king of the age, these jewels and jacinths are a present from me unto thee; for we never brought thee a present, because we knew not the place of gulnare's abode. so when we saw thee to have become united to her, and that we all had become one, we brought thee this present; and after every period of a few days, we will bring thee the like of it. for these jewels and jacinths with us are more plentiful than the gravel upon the land, and we know the excellent among them, and the bad, and the places where they are found, and they are easy of access to us."--and when the king looked at those jewels, his reason was confounded and his mind was bewildered, and he said: "by allah, one of these jewels is worth my kingdom!" then the king thanked saleh of the sea for his generosity, and looking toward the queen gulnare said to her: "i am abashed at thy brother; for he hath shewn favour to me, and presented me with this magnificent present, which the people of the earth would fail to procure." so gulnare thanked her brother for that which he had done; but her brother said: "o king of the age, to thank thee hath been incumbent on us; for thou hast treated my sister with beneficence, and we have entered thine abode, and eaten of thy provision." then saleh said: "if we stood serving thee, o king of the age, a thousand years, regarding nothing else, we could not requite thee, and our doing so would be but a small thing in comparison with thy desert." and saleh remained with the king, he and his mother and the daughters of his uncle, forty days; after which he arose and kissed the ground before the king, the husband of his sister. so the king said to him: "what dost thou desire, o saleh?" and he answered: "o king of the age, we desire of thy goodness that thou wouldst give us permission to depart; for we have become desirous of seeing again our family and our country and our relations and our homes. we will not, however, relinquish the service of thee, nor that of my sister nor the son of my sister; and by allah, o king of the age, to quit you is not pleasant to my heart; but how can we act, when we have been reared in the sea, and the land is not agreeable to us?" so when the king heard his words, he rose upon his feet, and bade farewell to saleh of the sea and his mother and the daughters of his uncle, and they wept together on account of the separation. then they said to the king: "we will never relinquish you, but after every period of a few days we will visit you." and after this, they flew toward the sea, and descended into it, and disappeared. the king treated gulnare with beneficence, and honoured her exceedingly, and the little one grew up well; and his maternal uncle, with his grandmother and the daughters of his uncle, after every period of a few days used to come to the residence of the king, and to remain with him a month, and then return to their places. the boy ceased not to increase in beauty and loveliness until his age became fifteen years; and he was incomparable in his perfect beauty, and his stature and his justness of form. he had learned writing and reading, and history and grammar and philology, and archery; and he learned to play with the spear; and he also learned horsemanship, and all that the sons of the kings required. there was not one of the children of the inhabitants of the city, men and women, that talked not of the charms of that young man; for he was of surpassing loveliness and perfection; and the king loved him greatly. then the king summoned the vizier and the emeers, and the lords of the empire, and the great men of the kingdom, and made them swear by binding oaths that they would make bedr basim king over them after his father; so they swore to him by binding oaths, and rejoiced thereat; and the king himself was beneficent to the people, courteous in speech and of auspicious aspect. and on the following day, the king mounted, together with the lords of the empire and all the emeers, and all the soldiers, and they ceased not to proceed until they arrived at the vestibule of the palace; the king's son riding. thereupon he alighted, and his father embraced him, he and the emeers, and they seated him upon the throne of the kingdom, while his father stood, as also did the emeers, before him. then bedr basim judged the people, displaced the tyrannical and invested the just, and continued to give judgment until near midday, when he rose from the throne of the kingdom, and went in to his mother, gulnare of the sea, having upon his head the crown, and resembling the moon. so when his mother saw him, and the king before him, she rose to him and kissed him, and congratulated him on his elevation to the dignity of sultan; and she offered up a prayer in favour of him and his father for length of life, and victory over their enemies. he then sat with his mother and rested; and when the time of afternoon-prayers arrived, he rode with the emeers before him until he came to the horse-course, where he played with arms till the time of nightfall, together with his father and the lords of his empire; after which he returned to the palace, with all the people before him. every day he used to ride to the horse-course; and when he returned, he sat to judge the people, and administered justice between the emeer and the poor man. he ceased not to do thus for a whole year; and after that, he used to ride to the chase, and go about through the cities and provinces that were under his rule making proclamation of safety and security, and doing as do the kings; and he was incomparable among the people of his age in glory and courage, and in justice to the people. now it came to pass that the old king, the father of bedr basim, fell sick one day, whereupon his heart throbbed, and he felt that he was about to be removed to the mansion of eternity. then his malady increased so that he was at the point of death. he therefore summoned his son, and charged him to take care of his subjects and his mother and all the lords of his empire and all the dependants. he also made them swear, and covenanted with them a second time, that they would obey his son; and he confided in their oaths. and after this he remained a few days, and was admitted to the mercy of god, whose name be exalted! his son bedr basim, and his wife gulnare and the emeers and viziers and the lords of the empire, mourned over him; and they made for him a tomb, and buried him in it, and continued the ceremonies of mourning for him a whole month. saleh, the brother of gulnare, and her mother, and the daughters of her uncle, also came, and consoled them for the loss of the king; and they said: "o gulnare, if the king hath died, he hath left this ingenuous youth, and he who hath left such as he is hath not died. this is he who hath not an equal, the crushing lion, and the splendid moon." then the lords of the empire, and the grandees, went in to the king bedr basim, and said to him: "o king, there is no harm in mourning for the king; but mourning becometh not any save women; therefore trouble not thy heart and ours by mourning for thy father; for he hath died and left thee, and he who hath left such as thou art hath not died." they proceeded to address him with soft words, and to console him, and after that they conducted him into the bath; and when he came forth from the bath, he put on a magnificent suit woven of gold, adorned with jewels and jacinths, and he put the royal crown upon his head, seated himself upon the throne of his kingdom, and performed the affairs of the people, deciding equitably between the strong and the weak, and exacting for the poor man his due from the emeer; wherefore the people loved him exceedingly. thus he continued to do for the space of a whole year; and after every short period, his family of the sea visited him; so his life was pleasant, and his eye was cheerful: and he ceased not to live in this state until he was visited by the terminator of delights and the separator of companions. this is the end of their story. the mercy of god be on them all! the story of aladdin; or, the wonderful lamp in the capital of one of the large and rich provinces of the kingdom of china there lived a tailor, named mustapha, who was so poor that he could hardly, by his daily labour, maintain himself and his family, which consisted of a wife and son. his son, who was called aladdin, had been brought up in a very careless and idle manner, and by that means had contracted many vicious habits. he was obstinate, and disobedient to his father and mother, who, when he grew up, could not keep him within doors. he was in the habit of going out early in the morning, and would stay out all day, playing in the streets with idle children of his own age. when he was old enough to learn a trade, his father, not being able to put him out to any other, took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle: but neither fair words nor the fear of chastisement were capable of fixing his lively genius. all his father's endeavours to keep him to his work were in vain; for no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for that day. mustapha chastised him, but aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness: and was so much troubled at not being able to reclaim him, that it threw him into a fit of sickness, of which he died in a few months. the mother, finding that her son would not follow his father's business, shut up the shop, sold off the implements of trade, and with the money she received for them, and what she could get by spinning cotton, thought to maintain herself and her son. aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, and who cared so little for his mother that whenever she chid him he would abuse her, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. this course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. in this situation, as he was one day playing with his vagabond associates, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. this stranger was a sorcerer, called the african magician; as he was a native of africa, and had been but two days arrived from thence. the african magician, who was a good physiognomist, observing in aladdin's countenance something absolutely necessary for the execution of the design he was engaged in, inquired artfully about his family, who he was, and what were his inclinations; and when he had learned all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said: "child, was not your father called mustapha, the tailor?" "yes, sir," answered the boy; "but he has been dead a long time." at these words, the african magician threw his arms about aladdin's neck, and kissed him several times with tears in his eyes. aladdin, who observed his tears, asked him what made him weep. "alas! my son," cried the african magician with a sigh, "how can i forbear? i am your uncle; your worthy father was my own brother. i have been many years abroad, and now i am come home with the hopes of seeing him, you tell me he is dead. but it is some relief to my affliction, that i knew you at first sight, you are so like him." then he asked aladdin, putting his hand into his purse, where his mother lived, and as soon as he had informed him, gave him a handful of small money, saying: "go, my son, to your mother, give my love to her, and tell her that i will visit her to-morrow, that i may have the satisfaction of seeing where my good brother lived so long." as soon as the african magician left his newly-adopted nephew, aladdin ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. "mother," said he, "have i an uncle?" "no, child," replied his mother, "you have no uncle by your father's side, or mine." "i am just now come," said aladdin, "from a man who says he is my uncle on my father's side. he cried and kissed me when i told him my father was dead; and to show you that what i tell you is truth," added he, pulling out the money, "see what he has given me; he charged me to give his love to you, and to tell you that to-morrow he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my father lived and died in." "indeed, child," replied the mother, "your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long time, and i never heard of another." the mother and son talked no more then of the african magician; but the next day aladdin's uncle found him playing in another part of the town with other youths, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, and said to him: "carry this, child, to your mother, tell her that i will come and see her to-night, and bid her get us something for supper; but first show me the house where you live." after aladdin had showed the african magician the house, he carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told her of his uncle's intention, she went out and bought provisions. she spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at night, when it was ready, said to her son: "perhaps your uncle knows not how to find our house; go and bring him if you meet with him." though aladdin had showed the magician the house, he was ready to go, when somebody knocked at the door, which he immediately opened; and the magician came in loaded with wine, and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a dessert. after the african magician had given what he brought into aladdin's hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to shew him the place where his brother mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so done, he fell down and kissed it several times, crying out with tears in his eyes: "my poor brother! how unhappy am i, not to have come soon enough to give you one last embrace." aladdin's mother desired him to sit down in the same place, but he declined. "no," said he, "but give me leave to sit opposite, that although i am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing one so dear to me, i may at least have the pleasure of beholding the place where he used to sit." when the magician had sat down, he began to enter into discourse with aladdin's mother: "my good sister," said he, "do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you were married to my brother mustapha. i have been forty years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my late brother's; and during that time have travelled into the indies, persia, arabia, syria, and egypt; have resided in the finest towns of those countries; and afterward crossed over into africa, where i made a longer stay. at last, as it is natural for a man to remember his native country, i was desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my dear brother; and finding i had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, i immediately made the necessary preparations, and set out. i will not tell you the length of time it took me, all the obstacles i met with, and what fatigues i have endured to come hither; but nothing ever afflicted me so much, as hearing of my brother's death. i observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and distinguished him among a number of lads with whom he was at play; he can tell you how i received the most melancholy news that ever reached my ears. but god be praised for all things! it is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." the african magician, perceiving that the widow began to weep at the remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning toward her son, asked him his name. "i am called aladdin," said he. "well, aladdin," replied the magician, "what business do you follow? are you of any trade?" at this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little abashed when his mother answered: "aladdin is an idle fellow; his father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not succeed; and since his death he does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not make him ashamed of it, i despair of his ever coming to any good. he knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees me endeavour to get bread by spinning cotton; for my part, i am resolved one of these days to turn him out of doors, and let him provide for himself." after these words, aladdin's mother burst into tears; and the magician said: "this is not well, nephew; you must think of getting your livelihood. there are many sorts of trades, consider if you have not an inclination to some of them; perhaps you did not like your father's and would prefer another; come, do not disguise your sentiments from me; i will endeavour to help you." but finding that aladdin returned no answer, "if you have no mind," continued he, "to learn any handicraft, i will take a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and with the money you make of them lay in fresh goods, and then you will live in an honourable way. consult your inclination, and tell me freely what you think of my proposal." this plan greatly flattered aladdin, who hated work but had sense enough to know that such shops were much frequented and the owners respected. he told the magician he had a greater inclination to that business than to any other, and that he should be much obliged to him for his kindness. "since this profession is agreeable to you," said the african magician, "i will carry you with me to-morrow, clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterward we will think of opening a shop as i mentioned." the widow, who never till then could believe that the magician was her husband's brother, no longer doubted after his promises of kindness to her son. she thanked him for his good intentions; and after having exhorted aladdin to render himself worthy of his uncle's favour by good behaviour, served up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent matters; and then the magician, who saw that the night was pretty far advanced, took his leave, and retired. he came again the next day, as he had promised, and took aladdin with him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. he asked to see some that suited aladdin in size; and aladdin, charmed with the liberality of his new uncle, made choice of one, and the magician immediately paid for it. when the boy found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his uncle thanks; who promised never to forsake him, but always to take him along with him; which he did to the most frequented places in the city, and particularly where the principal merchants kept their shops. when he brought him into the street where they sold the richest stuffs and finest linens, he said to aladdin: "as you are soon to be a merchant, it is proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them." he then showed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, and afterward to the sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at last brought him to his own khan, where, meeting with some merchants he had become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. this entertainment lasted till night, when aladdin would have taken leave of his uncle to go home, but the magician would not let him go by himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magician, for being at so great an expense for her child. "generous relation!" said she, "i know not how to thank you for your liberality! i wish you may live long enough to witness my son's gratitude, which he cannot better shew than by regulating his conduct by your good advice." "aladdin," replied the magician, "is a good boy, and i believe we shall do very well; but i am sorry for one thing, which is, that i cannot perform to-morrow what i promised, because, as it is friday, the shops will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or furnish one till saturday. i will, however, call on him to-morrow and take him to walk in the gardens, where people of the best fashion generally resort. perhaps he has never seen these amusements, he has only hitherto been among children; but now he must see men." the african magician then took his leave of the mother and the son, and retired. aladdin rose early the next morning, dressed himself to be ready, and after he had waited some time began to be impatient and stood watching at the door; but as soon as he perceived his uncle coming, he told his mother, took his leave of her, and ran to meet him. the magician caressed aladdin, and said: "come, my dear child, and i will shew you fine things." he then led him out at one of the gates of the city, to some magnificent palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody might enter. at every building he came to, he asked aladdin if he did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to answer when any one presented itself, crying out: "here is a finer house, uncle, than any we have seen yet." by this artifice, the cunning magician led aladdin some way into the country; and as he meant to carry him farther, pretending to be tired, he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens on the brink of a fountain of clear water, which discharged itself by a lion's mouth of bronze into a basin: "come, nephew," said he, "you must be weary as well as i; let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to pursue our walk." after they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided, and laid them on the edge of the basin. he broke a cake in two, gave one half to aladdin and ate the other himself; and in regard to the fruit, left him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. during this short repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping company with vagabonds, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their conversation; "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, and you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." when they had eaten as much as they liked, they pursued their walk through gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which marked out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. by this means, the african magician drew aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. aladdin, who had never been so far before, began to find himself much tired, and said to the magician: "where are we going, uncle? we have left the gardens a great way behind us, and i see nothing but mountains; if we go much farther, i do not know whether i shall be able to reach the town again!" "never fear, nephew," said the false uncle; "i will shew you another garden which surpasses all we have yet seen; and when we come there, you will say that you would have been sorry to have been so nigh, and not seen it." aladdin was soon persuaded; and the magician, to make the way seem shorter and less fatiguing, told him a great many stories. at last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height, and equal size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the magician intended to execute the design that had brought him from africa to china. "we will go no farther now," said he to aladdin: "i will shew you here some extraordinary things, which, when you have seen, you will thank me for: but while i strike a light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." aladdin collected a great heap and the magician presently set them on fire, and when they were in a blaze, threw in some incense which raised a cloud of smoke. this he dispersed on each side, by pronouncing several magical words which the lad did not understand. at the same time the earth, trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle. aladdin was so frightened at what he saw, that he would have run away; but the magician caught hold of him, abused him, and gave him such a box on the ear that he knocked him down. aladdin got up trembling, and with tears in his eyes, said to the magician: "what have i done, uncle, to be treated in this severe manner?" "i have my reasons," answered the magician; "i am your uncle, i supply the place of your father, and you ought to make no reply. but, child," added he, softening, "do not be afraid; for i shall not ask anything of you, but that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages which i intend you." these fair promises calmed aladdin's fears and resentment; and when the magician saw that he was appeased, he said to him: "you see what i have done by virtue of my incense, and the words i pronounced. know then, that under this stone there is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the greatest monarch in the world: no person but yourself is permitted to lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what i may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and me." aladdin, amazed at all he saw and heard the magician say of the treasure which was to make him happy forevermore, forgot what was past, and rising, said: "well, uncle, what is to be done? command me, i am ready to obey." "i am overjoyed, child," said the african magician, embracing him; "take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "indeed, uncle," replied aladdin, "i am not strong enough; you must help me." "you have no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if i help you, we shall be able to do nothing; take hold of the ring, pronounce the names of your father and grandfather, then lift it up, and you will find it will come easily." aladdin did as the magician bade him, raised the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. [illustration] _at the same time the earth, trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle._ when the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about three or four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower. "observe, my son," said the african magician, "what i direct. descend into the cave, and when you are at the bottom of those steps you will find a door which will lead you into a spacious vault, divided into three great halls, in each of which you will see four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; but take care you do not meddle with them. before you enter the first hall, be sure to tuck up your vest, wrap it about you, and then pass through the second into the third without stopping. above all, have a care that you do not touch the walls; for if you do, you will die instantly. at the end of the third hall, you will find a door which opens into a garden planted with fine trees loaded with fruit; walk directly across the garden by a path which will lead you to five steps that will bring you upon a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. take the lamp down, and extinguish it: when you have thrown away the wick, and poured out the liquor, put it in your vestband and bring it to me. do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil; and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out. if you should wish for any of the fruit of the garden, you may gather as much as you please." after these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on one of aladdin's, telling him that it was a preservative against all evil, while he should observe what he had prescribed to him. after this instruction he said: "go down boldly, child, and we shall both be rich all our lives." aladdin jumped into the cave, descended the steps, and found the three halls just as the african magician had described. he went through them with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire; crossed the garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in his vestband. but as he came down from the terrace, he stopped in the garden to observe the fruit, which he only had a glimpse of in crossing it. all the trees were loaded with extraordinary fruit, of different colours on each tree. some bore fruit entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow: in short, there was fruit of all colours. the white were pearls; the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, amethysts; and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires. aladdin was altogether ignorant of their worth, and would have preferred figs and grapes, or any other fruits. but though he took them only for coloured glass of little value, yet he was so pleased with the variety of the colours, and the beauty and extraordinary size of the seeming fruit, that he resolved to gather some of every sort; and accordingly filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes. some he wrapped up in the skirts of his vest, which was of silk, large and full, and he crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, made all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the african magician expected him with the utmost impatience. as soon as aladdin saw him, he cried out: "pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "give me the lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you." "indeed, uncle," answered aladdin, "i cannot now; it is not troublesome to me: but i will as soon as i am up." the african magician was so obstinate, that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and aladdin, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused to give it to him till he was out of the cave. the african magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into the fire, which he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical words, than the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into its place, with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the magician and aladdin. this action of the african magician's plainly shewed him to be neither aladdin's uncle, nor mustapha the tailor's brother; but a true african. africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in magic of any in the whole world, and he had applied himself to it from his youth. after forty years' experience in enchantments and reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful than any monarch; and by a late operation of geomancy, he had discovered that this lamp lay concealed in a subterranean place in the midst of china. fully persuaded of the truth of this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of africa; and after a long and fatiguing journey came to the town nearest to this treasure. but though he had a certain knowledge of the place where the lamp was, he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter the subterranean place, but must receive it from the hands of another person. for this reason he had addressed himself to aladdin, whom he looked upon as a lad fit to serve his purpose, resolving, as soon as he should get the lamp into his hands, to sacrifice him to his avarice and wickedness, by making the fumigation mentioned before, and repeating two magical words, the effect of which would remove the stone into its place, so that no witness would remain of the transaction. the blow he had given aladdin was intended to make him obey the more readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he should ask for it. but his too great precipitation, and his fear lest somebody should come that way and discover what he wished to keep secret, produced an effect quite contrary to what he had proposed. when the african magician saw that all his hopes were frustrated forever, he returned the same day for africa; but went quite round the town, and at some distance from it, lest some persons who had observed him walk out with the boy, on seeing him come back without him, should entertain suspicions, and stop him. according to all appearances, there was no prospect of aladdin being heard of any more. but the magician, when he had contrived his death, forgot the ring he had put upon his finger, which preserved him, though he knew not its virtue. it may seem astonishing that the loss of that, together with the lamp, did not drive the magician to despair; but magicians are so much used to misfortunes that they do not lay them to heart, but still feed themselves, to the end of life, with unsubstantial notions and chimeras. the surprise of aladdin, who had never suspected this treachery from his pretended uncle, is more easily to be imagined than expressed. when he found himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp; but in vain, since his cries could not be heard. he descended to the bottom of the steps, with a design to get into the garden, but the door, which was opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. he then redoubled his cries, sat down on the steps, without any hopes of ever seeing light again, and in a melancholy certainty of passing from the present darkness into that of a speedy death. aladdin remained in this state two days, without eating or drinking, and on the third looked upon death as inevitable. clasping his hands with resignation to the will of god, he said: "there is no strength or power but in the great and high god." in joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger, and of which he knew not yet the virtue. immediately a genie of enormous size and frightful aspect rose out of the earth, his head reaching the roof of the vault, and said to him: "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as the slave of all who may possess the ring on thy finger; i, and the other slaves of that ring." at another time, aladdin, who had not been used to such appearances, would have been so frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation: "whoever thou art, deliver me from this place, if thou art able." he had no sooner spoken these words, than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had caused the earth to open. it was some time before his eyes could bear the light, after being so long in total darkness: but after he had endeavoured by degrees to support it, and began to look about him, he was much surprised not to find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had got so soon out of its bowels. there was nothing to be seen but the place where the fire had been, by which he could nearly judge the situation of the cave. then turning himself toward the town, he perceived it at a distance in the midst of the gardens that surrounded it, and saw the way by which the magician had brought him. returning god thanks to find himself once more in the world, he made the best of his way home. when he got within his mother's door, the joy of seeing her and his weakness for want of food for three days made him faint, and he remained for a long time as dead. his mother, who had given him over for lost, seeing him in this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself. as soon as he recovered, the first words he spoke were: "pray, mother, give me something to eat, for i have not put a morsel of anything into my mouth these three days." his mother brought what she had, and set it before him. "my son," said she, "be not too eager, for it is dangerous; eat but little at a time, and take care of yourself. besides, i would not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell me what has happened to you when you are recovered. it is a great comfort to me to see you again, after the affliction i have been in since friday, and the pains i have taken to learn what was become of you." aladdin took his mother's advice, and ate and drank moderately. when he had done, "mother," said he to her, "i cannot help complaining of you, for abandoning me so easily to the discretion of a man who had a design to kill me, and who at this very moment thinks my death certain. you believed he was my uncle, as well as i; and what other thoughts could we entertain of a man who was so kind to me? but i must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and only made me those promises to accomplish my death; but for what reason neither you nor i can guess. you shall judge yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the time i left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked design." aladdin then related to his mother all that had happened to him, from the friday when the magician took him to see the palaces and gardens about the town, till they came to the place between the two mountains where the great deed was to be performed; how, with incense which the magician threw into the fire, and some magical words which he pronounced, the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable treasure. he did not forget the blow the magician had given him, and in what manner he softened again, and engaged him by great promises, and putting a ring on his finger, to go down into the cave. he did not omit the least circumstance of what he saw in crossing the three halls and the garden, and his taking the lamp, which he pulled out of his bosom and shewed to his mother: as well as the transparent fruit of different colours, which he had gathered in the garden as he returned. but, though these fruits were precious stones, brilliant as the sun, she was as ignorant of their worth as her son. she had been bred in a low rank of life, and her husband's poverty prevented his being possessed of jewels, nor had she, her relations, or neighbours ever seen any; so that we must not wonder that she regarded them as things of no value. aladdin put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa, and continued his story. when he had come to an end, aladdin said to his mother: "i need say no more! this is my adventure, and the dangers i have been exposed to since you saw me." his mother heard with much interest this surprising relation, notwithstanding it could be no small affliction to a mother who loved her son tenderly; but yet in the most moving part, which discovered the perfidy of the african magician, she could not help showing, by marks of the greatest indignation, how much she detested him; and when her son had finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile impostor. she called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. "without doubt, child," added she, "he is a magician, and they are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with the devil. bless god for preserving you from his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon him, and implored his assistance." she said a great deal more against the magician's treachery; but finding that whilst she talked, aladdin began to doze, she left him to his repose, and retired. aladdin, who had not closed his eyes while he was in the subterranean abode, slept very soundly till late the next morning; when the first thing he said to his mother was, that he wanted something to eat, and that she could not do him a greater kindness than to give him his breakfast. "alas! child," said she, "i have not a bit of bread to give you, you ate up all the provisions i had in the house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long before i will bring you some: i have a little cotton, which i have spun; i will go and sell it, buy bread, and something for our dinner." "mother," replied aladdin, "keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp i brought home with me yesterday; i will go and sell it, and the money i shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." aladdin's mother took the lamp, and said to her son: "here it is, but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner i believe it would bring something more." she took some fine sand and water to clean it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice like thunder: "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i and the other slaves of the lamp." aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when the lad, who had seen such another phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly: "i am hungry, bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered dishes of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; six large white bread-cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. all these he placed upon a carpet, and disappeared: this was done before aladdin's mother recovered from her swoon. aladdin fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face, to recover her: whether that or the smell of the meat brought her to life again, it was not long before she came to herself. "mother," said aladdin, "do not mind this; here is what will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme hunger: do not let such delicious meat get cold." his mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savoury odour which exhaled from the dishes. "child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality; has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "it is no matter, mother," said aladdin; "let us sit down and eat, for you have almost as much need of breakfast as myself; when we have done, i will tell you." accordingly, both mother and son sat down, and ate with the better relish as the table was so well furnished. but all the time aladdin's mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the dishes, though she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the novelty more than the value attracted her attention. the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet after this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day. when aladdin's mother had taken away what was left, she went and sat by her son on the sofa, saying: "i expect now that you should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while i was in a swoon;" which he readily complied with. she was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the appearance of the genie; and said to him: "but, son, what have we to do with genies? i never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. how came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "mother," answered aladdin, "the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me, though he resembles him in size; no, they had quite different persons and habits; they belong to different masters. if you remember, he that i first saw called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand: but i believe you did not hear him, for i think you fainted as soon as he began to speak." "what!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that cursed genie's addressing himself rather to me than to you? ah! my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. i will never touch it. i had rather you would sell it, than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." "with your leave, mother," replied aladdin, "i shall take care how i sell a lamp which may be so serviceable both to you and me. have you not been an eye-witness of what it has procured us? and it shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence. my false and wicked uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession this wonderful lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and silver which he knew was in the halls. he knew too well the worth of this lamp, not to prefer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath discovered the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great show, and exciting the envy and jealousy of our neighbours. however, since the genies frighten you so much, i will take it out of your sight, and put it where i may find it when i want it. the ring i cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had never seen me again; and though i am alive now, perhaps, if it was gone, i might not be so some moments hence; therefore i hope you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger. who knows what dangers you and i may be exposed to, which neither of us can foresee, and from which it may deliver us?" as aladdin's arguments were just, his mother had nothing to say against them; she only replied, that he might do what he pleased; for her part, she would have nothing to do with genies, but would wash her hands of them. by the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought: and the next day aladdin, who could not bear the thought of hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a jew whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. the cunning jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found that it was good silver, asked aladdin at how much he valued it. aladdin, who knew not its value, and never had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honour. the jew was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether aladdin understood the material or the full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it to him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. aladdin, taking the money very eagerly, retired with so much haste, that the jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavour to get some change out of the piece of gold; but the lad ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible for him to overtake him. before aladdin went home, he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some time. after this manner they lived, till aladdin had sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a bargain. when he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, where, after the jew had examined the weight of the tray, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which aladdin was very well satisfied. they lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner, for aladdin, though formerly used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads of his own age ever since his adventure with the african magician. he spent his time in walking about, and conversing with decent people, with whom he gradually got acquainted. sometimes he would stop at the principal merchants' shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their discourse, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world. when all the money was spent, aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. he took it in his hand, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, and rubbed it also, when the genie immediately appeared, and said: "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; i, and the other slaves of the lamp." "i am hungry," said aladdin; "bring me something to eat." the genie disappeared, and presently returned with a tray, and the same number of covered dishes as before, set them down, and vanished. aladdin's mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genie came; and when she returned, was almost as much surprised as before at the prodigious effect of the lamp. however, she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as they liked, she set enough by to last them two or three days. as soon as aladdin found that their provisions were expended, he took one of the dishes, and went to look for his jew again; but passing by the shop of a goldsmith, who had the character of a very fair and honest man, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, and said: "my lad, i have often observed you go by, loaded as you are at present, and talk with such a jew, and then come back again empty-handed. i imagine that you carry something which you sell to him; but perhaps you do not know that he is the greatest rogue even among the jews, and that nobody of prudence will have anything to do with him. if you will shew me what you now carry, and it is to be sold, i will give you the full worth of it; or i will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you." the hopes of getting more money for his plate induced aladdin to pull it from under his vest, and shew it to the goldsmith, who at first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver and asked him if he had sold such as that to the jew, when aladdin told him that he had sold him twelve such, for a piece of gold each. "what a villain!" cried the goldsmith; "but," added he, "my son, what is past cannot be recalled. by shewing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, i will let you see how much the jew has cheated you." the goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and after he had mentioned how much an ounce of fine silver was worth, assured him that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to pay down immediately. "if you dispute my honesty," said he, "you may go to any other of our trade, and if he gives you more, i will be bound to forfeit twice as much!" aladdin thanked him for his fair dealing, so greatly to his advantage, took the gold, and never after went to any other person, but sold him all his dishes and the tray. though aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with the same frugality as before, except that aladdin dressed better; as for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she earned by spinning cotton. after their manner of living, it may easily be supposed that the money for which aladdin had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to maintain them for some time. during this interval, aladdin frequented the shops of the principal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk stuffs, and jewelry, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, acquired a knowledge of the world, and respectable demeanour. by his acquaintance among the jewellers, he came to know that the fruits which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of coloured glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to mention this to any one, not even to his mother. one day as aladdin was walking about the town, he heard an order proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, and keep within doors, while the princess badroulboudour, the sultan's daughter, went to the baths and returned. this proclamation inspired aladdin with eager curiosity to see the princess's face, which he could not do without admission into the house of some acquaintance, and then only through a window; but to gratify his curiosity, he presently thought of a scheme, which succeeded; it was to place himself behind the door of the bath, which was so situated that he could not fail of seeing her face. aladdin had not waited long before the princess came, and he could see her plainly through a chink of the door without being discovered. she was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, and eunuchs, who walked on each side, and behind her. when she came within three or four paces of the door of the baths, she took off her veil, and gave aladdin an opportunity of a full view. as soon as aladdin had seen the princess, his heart could not withstand those inclinations so charming an object always inspires. she was the most beautiful brunette in the world; her eyes were large, lively, and sparkling; her looks sweet and modest; her nose was of a just proportion and without a fault, her mouth small, her lips of a vermilion red; in a word, all the features of her face were perfectly regular. it is not therefore surprising that aladdin, who had never before seen such a blaze of charms, was dazzled, and his senses ravished by such an assemblage. with all these perfections the princess had so majestic an air, that the sight of her was sufficient to inspire love and admiration. after the princess had passed by, and entered the baths, aladdin remained some time astonished and in a kind of ecstasy, retracing and imprinting the idea of so charming an object deeply in his mind, but at last, he resolved to quit his hiding-place and go home. he could not so far conceal his uneasiness but that his mother perceived it, was surprised to see him so much more thoughtful than usual; and asked if he were ill? he returned her no answer, but sat carelessly down on the sofa, and remained silently musing on the image of the charming badroulboudour. after supper, his mother asked him again why he was so melancholy, but could get no information, and he determined to go to bed rather than give her the least satisfaction. as he sat next day on the sofa, opposite his mother, however, as she was spinning cotton, he spoke to her in these words: "i perceive, mother, that my silence yesterday has much troubled you; i was not, nor am i ill; but i assure you, that what i felt then, and now endure, is worse than any disease. "it was not proclaimed in this quarter of the town, and therefore you could know nothing of it, that the sultan's daughter was yesterday to go to the baths. i had a great curiosity to see her face; and as it occurred to me that when she came nigh the bath, she would pull her veil off, i resolved to conceal myself behind the door. she did so and i had the happiness of seeing her lovely face with the greatest security. this, mother, was the cause of my silence yesterday; i love the princess with more violence than i can express; and as my passion increases every moment, i am resolved to ask her in marriage of the sultan, her father." aladdin's mother listened with interest to what her son told her; but when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she could not help bursting out into a loud laugh. he would have gone on with his rhapsody, but she interrupted him: "alas! child," said she, "what are you thinking of? you must be mad to talk thus." "i assure you, mother," replied aladdin, "that i am not mad, but in my right senses; i foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and extravagance; but i must tell you once more, that i am resolved to demand the princess in marriage!" "indeed, son," replied the mother seriously, "i cannot help telling you that you have forgotten yourself, and i do not see who will venture to make the proposal for you." "you yourself," replied he immediately. "i go to the sultan!" answered the mother, amazed. "i shall be cautious how i engage in such an errand. why, who are you, son," continued she, "that you can have the assurance to think of your sultan's daughter? have you forgotten that your father was one of the poorest tailors in the capital, and that i am of no better extraction; and do not you know that sultans never marry their daughters but to sons of sovereigns like themselves?" "mother," answered aladdin, "i foresaw all that you have said, or can say: and tell you that neither your discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change my mind. i have told you that you must ask the princess in marriage for me. i beg of you not to refuse, unless you would rather see me in my grave, than by your compliance give me new life." the good old woman was much embarrassed, when she found aladdin persisting in so wild a design. "my son," said she again, "i am your mother, and there is nothing that is reasonable but i would readily do for you. if i were to go and treat about your marriage with some neighbour's daughter, i would do it with all my heart; and even then they would expect you should have some little estate, or be of some trade. when such poor folks as we are wish to marry, the first thing they ought to think of, is how to live. but without reflecting on the meanness of your birth, and the little fortune you have to recommend you, you aim at the highest pitch of exaltation; and your pretensions are no less than to demand in marriage the daughter of your sovereign, who with one single word can crush you to pieces. how could so extraordinary a thought come into your head, as that i should go to the sultan and ask him to give his daughter in marriage to you? suppose i had the impudence to present myself before the sultan, to whom should i address myself to be introduced to his majesty? do you not think the first person i should speak to would take me for a mad woman, and chastise me as i should deserve? i know there is no difficulty to those who go to petition for justice, which the sultan distributes equally among his subjects; i know, too, that to those who ask a favour he grants it with pleasure when he sees it is deserved. but do you think you have merited the honour you would have me ask? what have you done to claim such a favour, either for your prince or country? how can i open my mouth to make the proposal to the sultan? his majestic presence and the lustre of his court would absolutely confound me. there is another reason, my son, which you do not think of, which is that nobody ever goes to ask a favour of the sultan without a present. but what presents have you to make? and what proportion could they bear to the favour you would ask? therefore, reflect well, and consider that you aspire to an object which it is impossible for you to obtain." aladdin heard very calmly all that his mother could say to dissuade him from his design, and after he had weighed her representations replied: "i own, mother, it is great rashness in me to presume to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want of consideration to ask you to go and make the proposal to the sultan, without first taking proper measures to procure a favourable reception, and i therefore beg your pardon. but be not surprised that i did not at first see every measure necessary to procure me the happiness i seek. i love the princess, and shall always persevere in my design of marrying her. i am obliged to you for the hint you have given me, and look upon it as the first step i ought to take to procure the happy issue i promise myself. "you say it is not customary to go to the sultan without a present, and that i have nothing worthy of his acceptance. do not you think, mother, that what i brought home with me the day on which i was delivered from death may be an acceptable present? i mean those things that you and i both took for coloured glass: but now i can tell you that they are jewels of inestimable value. i know the worth of them by frequenting the shops; and you may take my word that all the precious stones which i saw in the jewellers' shops were not to be compared to those we have, either for size or beauty; i am persuaded that they will be received very favourably by the sultan: you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, when we have arranged them according to their different colours." aladdin's mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels out of the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order according to his fancy. but the brightness and lustre they emitted in the daytime so dazzled the eyes both of mother and son, that they were astonished beyond measure; for they had only seen them by the light of a lamp; and though the latter had beheld them pendent on the trees like fruit beautiful to the eye, yet as he was then but a boy, he looked on them only as glittering playthings. after they had admired the beauty of the jewels some time, aladdin said to his mother: "now you cannot excuse yourself from going to the sultan, under pretext of not having a present to make him, since here is one which will gain you a favourable reception." though the good widow did not believe the precious stones so valuable as her son estimated them, she thought such a present might nevertheless be agreeable to the sultan, but she still hesitated. "my son," said she, "i cannot conceive that the sultan will look upon me with a favourable eye; i am sure, that if i attempt to deliver your strange message, i shall have no power to open my mouth; therefore i shall not only lose my labour, but the present, which you say is so valuable, and shall return home again in confusion, to tell you that your hopes are frustrated. but," added she, "i will do my best to please you, though certainly the sultan will either laugh at me, or be in so great a rage, as to make us both the victims of his fury." she used many other arguments to endeavour to make aladdin change his mind; but he persisted in importuning his mother to execute his resolution, and she, out of tenderness, complied with his request. as it was now late, and the time for admission to the palace was passed, the visit was put off till the next day. the mother and son talked of different matters the remaining hours; and aladdin strove to encourage her in the task she had undertaken; while she could not persuade herself she should succeed; and it must be confessed she had reason enough to doubt. "child," said she to aladdin, "if the sultan should hear my proposal with calmness, and after this should think of asking me where lie your riches and your estate, what answer would you have me return him?" "let us not be uneasy, mother," replied aladdin, "about what may never happen. first, let us see how the sultan receives, and what answer he gives you. if he desires to be informed of what you mention, i am confident that the lamp will not fail me in time of need." the tailor's widow reflected that the lamp might be capable of doing greater wonders than just providing victuals for them, and this removed all the difficulties which might have prevented her from undertaking the service she had promised. aladdin, who penetrated into his mother's thoughts, said to her: "above all things, mother, be sure to keep secret our possession of the lamp, for thereon depends the success we have to expect;" and after this caution they parted to go to rest. aladdin rose before daybreak, awakened his mother, pressing her to get herself dressed to go to the sultan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before the great officers of state went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always assisted in person. aladdin's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels the day before, wrapped in two napkins, one finer than the other, which was tied at the four corners for more easy carriage, and set out for the palace. when she came to the gates, the grand vizier, the other viziers, and most distinguished lords of the court, were just gone in; but, notwithstanding the great crowd of people who had business there, she got into the divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. she placed herself just before the sultan, grand vizier, and the great lords, who sat in council, on his right and left hand. several causes were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan rising, returned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did all those whose business had called them thither; some pleased with gaining their causes, others dissatisfied at the sentences pronounced against them, and some in expectation of being heard the next sitting. aladdin's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go home. when aladdin saw her return with the present, he knew not what to think, and in fear lest she should bring him some ill news, had not courage to ask her any questions; but she, who had never set foot into the sultan's palace before, and knew not what was every day practised there, freed him from his embarrassment, and said to him: "son, i have seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me too; for i placed myself just before him; but he was so much taken up with those who attended on all sides of him, that i pitied him, and wondered at his patience. at last i believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to speak to him, but went away, at which i was well pleased, for indeed i began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying so long. but there is no harm done; i will go again to-morrow; perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." though his passion was very violent, aladdin was forced to be satisfied, and to fortify himself with patience. he had at least the satisfaction to find that his mother had got over the greatest difficulty, which was to procure access to the sultan, and hoped that the example of those she saw speak to him would embolden her to acquit herself better of her commission when a favourable opportunity might offer. the next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present, as early as the day before, but when she came there, she found the gates of the divan shut, and understood that the council sat but every other day, therefore she must come again the next. this news she carried to her son, whose only relief was to guard himself with patience. she went six times afterward on the days appointed and placed herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little success as the first morning, and might have perhaps come a thousand times to as little purpose, if luckily the sultan himself had not taken particular notice of her. on the sixth day, after the divan was broken up, when the sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier: "i have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly every day that i give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin: she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the audience, and affects to place herself just before me. do you know what she wants?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, who knew no more than the sultan what she wanted, but did not wish to seem uninformed, "your majesty knows that women often make complaints on trifles; perhaps she may come to complain that somebody has sold her some bad flour, or some such trifling matter." the sultan was not satisfied with this answer, but replied: "if this woman comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that i may hear what she has to say." the grand vizier made answer by lowering his hand, and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. by this time, the tailor's widow was so much used to go to audience, and stand before the sultan, that she did not think it any trouble, if she could but satisfy her son that she neglected nothing that lay in her power to please him: so the next audience-day she went to the divan and placed herself in front of the sultan as usual; and before the grand vizier had made his report of business, the sultan perceived her, and compassionating her for having waited so long, said to the vizier: "before you enter upon any business, remember the woman i spoke to you about; bid her come near, and let us despatch her business first." the grand vizier immediately called the chief of the mace-bearers, and pointing to her, bade him tell her to come before the sultan. the chief of the officers went to aladdin's mother, and at a sign he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan's throne, where he left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. the old woman bowed her head down to the carpet, which covered the platform of the throne, and remained in that posture till the sultan bade her rise, when he said to her: "good woman, i have observed you to stand from the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you here?" after these words, aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time; and when she arose, said: "monarch of monarchs, before i tell your majesty the extraordinary and incredible business which brings me before your high throne, i beg of you to pardon the boldness of the demand i am going to make, which is so uncommon, that i tremble, and am ashamed to propose it to my sovereign." in order to give her the more freedom to explain herself, the sultan ordered all to quit the divan but the grand vizier, and then told her she might speak without restraint. aladdin's mother, not content with this favour of the sultan's to save her the confusion of speaking before so many people, was, notwithstanding, a little apprehensive; therefore, resuming her discourse, she said: "i beg of your majesty, if you should think my demand the least offensive, to assure me first of your forgiveness." "well," replied the sultan, "i will forgive you, be it what it may, and no hurt shall come to you: speak boldly." when aladdin's mother had taken all these precautions, she told him faithfully how aladdin had seen the princess badroulboudour, the violent love that fatal sight had inspired him with, the declaration he had made to her when he came home, and what she had said to dissuade him. "but," continued she, "my son, instead of taking my advice and reflecting on his presumption, was so obstinate as to persevere, and to threaten me with some desperate act, if i refused to come and ask the princess in marriage of your majesty; and it was not without the greatest reluctance that i was led to accede to his request, for which i beg your majesty once more to pardon not only me, but also aladdin my son, for entertaining so rash a project." the sultan hearkened to this discourse without shewing the least anger; but before he gave her any answer, asked her what she had brought tied up in the napkin? she took the china dish, which she had set down at the foot of the throne before she prostrated herself before him, untied it, and presented it to the sultan. the monarch's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the dish. he remained for some time motionless with admiration. at last, when he had recovered himself, he received the present, crying out in a transport of joy: "how rich, how beautiful!" after he had admired and handled all the jewels, one after another, he turned to his grand vizier, and shewing him the dish, said: "behold, admire, wonder, and confess that your eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." the vizier was charmed. "well," continued the sultan, "what sayest thou to such a present? is it not worthy of the princess, my daughter? and ought i not to bestow her on one who values her at so great price?" these words put the grand vizier into extreme agitation. the sultan had some time before signified to him his intention of bestowing the princess on a son of his; therefore he was afraid, and not without grounds, that the present might change his majesty's mind. therefore going to him, and whispering him in the ear, he said: "i cannot but own that the present is worthy of the princess; but i beg of your majesty to grant me three months before you come to a final resolution. i hope, before that time, my son, on whom you have had the goodness to look with a favourable eye, will be able to make a nobler present than aladdin, who is an entire stranger to your majesty." the sultan, though he was fully persuaded that it was not possible for the vizier to provide so considerable a present for his son, yet hearkened to him, and granted his request. turning therefore to the old widow, he said to her: "good woman, go home, and tell your son that i agree to the proposal you have made me; but i cannot marry the princess, my daughter, till the paraphernalia i design for her be got ready, which cannot be finished these three months; but at the expiration of that time, come again." the widow returned home much more gratified than she had expected, since she had met with a favourable answer. aladdin thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this news, and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the good success of which was of so great importance to his peace. when two of the three months were passed, his mother one evening going to light the lamp, and finding no oil in the house, went out to buy some, and when she came into the city, found a general rejoicing. the shops were open, dressed with foliage, silks, and carpeting, every one striving to shew their zeal in the most distinguished manner according to their ability. the streets were crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. aladdin's mother asked the oil-merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of public festivity? "whence come you, good woman," said he, "that you do not know that the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess badroulboudour, the sultan's daughter, to-night? she will presently return from the baths; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnised." this was news enough for aladdin's mother. she ran till she was quite out of breath home to her son, who little suspected any such event. "child," cried she, "you are undone! you depend upon the sultan's fine promises, but they will come to nothing." aladdin was alarmed at these words. "mother," replied he, "how do you know the sultan has been guilty of a breach of promise?" "this night," answered the mother, "the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess badroulboudour." she then related how she had heard it; so that he had no reason to doubt the truth of what she said. at this account, aladdin was thunderstruck. any other man would have sunk under the shock; but a sudden hope of disappointing his rival soon roused his spirits, and he bethought himself of the lamp, which had in every emergency been so useful to him; and without venting his rage in empty words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he only said: "perhaps, mother, the vizier's son may not be so happy to-night as he promises himself: while i go into my chamber a moment, do you get supper ready." she accordingly went about it, but guessed that her son was going to make use of the lamp, to prevent, if possible, the consummation of the marriage. when aladdin had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed it in the same place as before, when immediately the genie appeared, and said to him: "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their possession; i and the other slaves of the lamp." "hear me," said aladdin; "thou hast hitherto brought me whatever i wanted as to provisions; but now i have business of the greatest importance for thee to execute. i have demanded the princess badroulboudour in marriage of the sultan, her father; he promised her to me, only requiring three months' delay; but instead of keeping that promise, has this night planned to marry her to the grand vizier's son. what i ask of you is, that as soon as the two are made one, you bring them both hither to me." "master," replied the genie, "i will obey you. have you any other commands?" "none at present," answered aladdin, and then the genie disappeared. aladdin having left his chamber, supped with his mother, with the same tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the princess's marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least concern; he then retired to his own chamber again, but sat up waiting the execution of his orders to the genie. in the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest magnificence in the sultan's palace to celebrate the princess's nuptials; and the evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great rejoicings. no sooner had the bride and bridegroom slipped away from the company, however, than the genie, as the faithful slave of the lamp, and punctual in executing the command of those who possessed it, to the great amazement of them both, took them up and transported them in an instant to aladdin's chamber, where he set them down. aladdin had waited impatiently for this moment. "take this new-married man," said he to the genie, "shut him up in the house of office, and come again to-morrow morning before daybreak." the genie instantly carried the vizier's son whither aladdin had commanded him; and after he had breathed upon him, which prevented his stirring, left him there. passionate as was aladdin's love for the princess, he did not talk much to her when they were alone; but only said with a respectful air: "fear nothing, adorable princess; you are here in safety. if i have been forced to come to this extremity, it is to prevent an unjust rival's possessing you, contrary to your father's promise in favour of myself." the princess, who knew nothing of these particulars, gave very little attention to what aladdin could say. the fright and amazement of so surprising an adventure had alarmed her so much that he could not get one word from her. badroulboudour never passed a night so ill in her life; and if we consider the condition in which the genie left the grand vizier's son, we may imagine that the new bridegroom spent it much worse. aladdin had no occasion the next morning to rub the lamp to call the genie; who appeared at the hour appointed, and said to him: "i am here, master; what are your commands?" "go," said aladdin, "fetch the vizier's son out of the place where you left him, and carry the pair to the sultan's palace, from whence you brought them." the genie presently returned with the vizier's son, and in an instant they were transported into the same chamber of the palace from whence they had been brought. but we must observe, that all this time the genie never was visible either to the princess or the grand vizier's son. his hideous form would have made them die with fear. neither did they hear anything of the discourse between aladdin and him; they only perceived the motion through the air, and their transportation from one place to another; which we may well imagine was enough to alarm them. the sultan went to the room of the princess next morning and kissed her between the eyes, according to custom, wishing her a good morrow, but was extremely surprised to see her so melancholy. she only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction. he said a few words to her; but finding that he could not get an answer, was forced to retire. nevertheless, he suspected that there was something extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told her in what a state he had found the princess, and how she had received him. "sir," said the sultaness, "i will go and see her; i am much deceived if she receives me in the same manner." as soon as the sultaness was dressed, she went to the princess's apartment, who was still in bed. she undrew the curtain, wished her good morrow, and kissed her. but how great was her surprise when she returned no answer; and looking more attentively at her, she perceived her to be much dejected, which made her judge that something had happened, which she did not understand. "how comes it, child," said the sultaness, "that you do not return my caresses? ought you to treat your mother after this manner? i am induced to believe something extraordinary has happened; come, tell me freely, and leave me no longer in a painful suspense." at last the princess broke silence with a deep sigh, and said: "alas! most honoured mother, forgive me if i have failed in the respect i owe you. my mind is so full of the extraordinary circumstances which have befallen me that i have not yet recovered from my amazement and alarm." she then related her surprising adventures, which the sultaness heard very patiently, but could scarcely believe. "you did well, child," said she, "not to speak of this to your father: take care not to mention it to anybody; for you will certainly be thought mad if you talk in this manner." "madam," replied the princess, "i can assure you i am in my right senses; ask my husband and he will tell you the same circumstances." "i will," said the sultaness; "but if he should talk in the same manner, i shall not be better persuaded of the truth. come, rise, and throw off this idle fancy; it will be strange if all the feasts and rejoicings in the kingdom should be interrupted by such a vision. do not you hear the trumpets of congratulation, and concerts of the finest music? cannot these inspire you with joy and make you forget the fancies of a dream?" at the same time the sultaness called the princess's women, and after she had seen her get up, went to the sultan's apartment, told him that her daughter had got some odd notions in her head, but that there was nothing in them but idle phantasy. she then sent for the vizier's son, to know of him something of what the princess had told her; but he, thinking himself highly honoured to be allied to the sultan, and not willing to lose the princess, denied what had happened. "that is enough," answered the sultaness; "i ask no more. i see you are wiser than my daughter." the rejoicings lasted all that day in the palace, and the sultaness, who never left the princess, forgot nothing to divert her, and induce her to take part in the various diversions and shows; but she was so struck with the idea of what had happened to her in the night, that it was easy to see her thoughts were entirely taken up with it. neither was the grand vizier's son in less tribulation, though his ambition made him disguise his feelings so well, that nobody doubted of his being a happy bridegroom. aladdin, who was well acquainted with what passed in the palace, was resolved that the troublesome adventure of the night before should again disturb the unhappy pair, and therefore had recourse to his lamp, and when the genie appeared and offered his service, he said to him: "bring the grand vizier's son and the princess badroulboudour hither to-night, as thou didst yesterday." the genie obeyed as faithfully and exactly as the day before; the grand vizier's son passed the night as coldly and disagreeably, and the princess had the same alarm and mortification. the genie, according to orders, came the next morning, and returned the new-married couple again to the palace. the sultan, after the reception the princess had given him, was very anxious to know how she had passed the second night, and therefore went into her chamber as early as the morning before. after the same caresses he had given her the former morning, he bade her good-morrow. "well, daughter," said he, "are you in a better humour than yesterday?" still the princess was silent, and the sultan, perceiving her to be in greater confusion than before, doubted not that something very extraordinary was the cause; but provoked that his daughter should conceal it, he said to her in a rage, with his sabre in his hand: "daughter, tell me what is the matter, or i will cut off your head immediately." the princess, more frightened at the tone of the enraged sultan than at the sight of the drawn sabre, at last broke silence, and said with tears in her eyes: "my dear father and sultan, i ask your majesty's pardon if i have offended you, and hope that out of your goodness you will have compassion on me." after this preamble, which appeased the sultan, she told him what had happened to her in so moving a manner, that he, who loved her tenderly, was most sensibly grieved. she added: "if your majesty doubts the truth of this account, you may inform yourself from my husband, who will tell you the same thing." the sultan immediately felt all the uneasiness so surprising an adventure must have given the princess. "daughter," said he, "you are much to blame for not telling me this yesterday, since it concerns me as much as yourself. i did not marry you to make you miserable, but that you might enjoy all the happiness you might hope for from a husband, who to me seemed agreeable to you. efface all these troublesome ideas from your memory; i will take care that you shall have no more such disagreeable experiences." as soon as the sultan had returned to his own apartment, he sent for the grand vizier: "vizier," said he, "have you seen your son, and has he told you anything?" the vizier replied: "no." the sultan related all the circumstances of which the princess had informed him, and afterward said: "i do not doubt but that my daughter has told me the truth; but nevertheless i should be glad to have it confirmed by your son, therefore go and ask him how it was." the grand vizier went immediately to his son, communicated what the sultan had told him, and enjoined him to conceal nothing, but to relate the whole truth. "i will disguise nothing from you, father," replied the son, "for indeed all that the princess has stated is true. yet i must tell you, that all these experiences do not in the least lessen those sentiments of love and gratitude i entertain for her; but i must confess, that notwithstanding all the honour that attends marrying my sovereign's daughter, i would much rather die than continue in so exalted an alliance, if i must undergo much longer what i have already endured. i do not doubt but that the princess entertains the same sentiments, and that she will readily agree to a separation which is so necessary both for her repose and mine. therefore, father, i beg, by the same tenderness which led you to procure me so great an honour, to obtain the sultan's consent that our marriage may be declared null and void." notwithstanding the grand vizier's ambition to have his son allied to the sultan, the firm resolution he saw he had formed to be separated from the princess caused the father to give his majesty a full account of what had passed, begging him finally to give his son leave to retire from the palace, alleging it was not just that the princess should be a moment longer exposed to so terrible a persecution upon his son's account. the grand vizier found no great difficulty to obtain what he asked, as the sultan had determined upon it already; orders were given to put a stop to all rejoicings in the palace and town, and expresses despatched to all parts of his dominions to countermand his first orders; and in a short time, all merry-making ceased. this sudden change gave rise both in the city and kingdom to various speculations and inquiries; but no other account could be given of it, except that both the vizier and his son went out of the palace much dejected. nobody but aladdin knew the secret, who rejoiced at the happy success procured by his lamp. neither the sultan nor the grand vizier, who had forgotten aladdin and his request, had the least thought that he had any concern in the enchantment which caused the dissolution of the marriage. aladdin waited till the three months were completed, which the sultan had appointed for the consummation of the marriage between the princess badroulboudour and himself; and the next day sent his mother to the palace, to remind the sultan of his promise. the widow went to the palace, and stood in the same place as before in the hall of audience. the sultan no sooner cast his eyes upon her than he knew her again, remembered her business, and how long he had put her off: therefore, when the grand vizier was beginning to make his report, the sultan interrupted him, and said: "vizier, i see the good woman who made me the present of jewels some months ago; forbear your report, till i have heard what she has to say." the vizier, looking about the divan, perceived the tailor's widow, and sent the chief of the mace-bearers to conduct her to the sultan. aladdin's mother came to the foot of the throne, prostrated herself as usual, and when she rose, the sultan asked her what she would have. "sir," said she, "i come to represent to your majesty, in the name of my son, aladdin, that the three months, at the end of which you ordered me to come again, are expired; and to beg you to remember your promise." the sultan, when he had fixed a time to answer the request of this good woman, little thought of hearing any more of a marriage, which he imagined would be very disagreeable to the princess; so this summons for him to fulfil his promise was somewhat embarrassing; he declined giving an answer till he had consulted his vizier, and signified to him the little inclination he had to conclude a match for his daughter with a stranger, whose rank he supposed to be very mean. the grand vizier freely told the sultan his thoughts, and said to him: "in my opinion, sir, there is an infallible way for your majesty to avoid a match so disproportionate, without giving aladdin, were he known to your majesty, any cause of complaint; which is, to set so high a price upon the princess that, however rich he may be, he cannot comply with it. this is the only way to make him desist from so bold an undertaking." the sultan, approving of the grand vizier's advice, turned to the tailor's widow and said to her: "good woman, it is true sultans ought to abide by their words, and i am ready to keep mine, by making your son happy in marriage with the princess, my daughter. but as i cannot marry her without some further valuable consideration from your son, you may tell him, i will fulfil my promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of massy gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already made me a present of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. on these conditions i am ready to bestow the princess, my daughter, upon him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and i will wait till you bring me his answer." aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's throne, and retired. on her way home, she laughed within herself at her son's foolish imagination. "where," said she, "can he get so many large gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? must he go again to that subterranean abode and gather them off the trees? and where will he get so many such slaves as the sultan requires? it is altogether out of his power, and i believe he will not be much pleased with my embassy this time." when she came home, full of these thoughts, she said to her son: "indeed, child, i would not have you think any farther of your marriage with the princess. the sultan received me very kindly, and i believe he was well inclined to you; but if i am not much deceived the grand vizier has made him change his mind." she then gave her son an exact account of what the sultan had said to her, and the conditions on which he consented to the match. afterward she said to him: "the sultan expects your answer immediately; but," continued she, laughing, "i believe he may wait long enough." "not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied aladdin; "the sultan is mistaken, if he thinks by this exorbitant demand to prevent my entertaining thoughts of the princess. i expected that he would have set a higher price upon her incomparable charms. his demand is but a trifle to what i could have done for her. but while i think of satisfying his request, go and get something for our dinner, and leave the rest to me." as soon as his mother was gone out, aladdin took the lamp, and rubbing it, the genie appeared, and offered his service as usual. "the sultan," said aladdin to him, "gives me the princess his daughter in marriage; but demands first, forty large trays of massy gold, full of the fruits of the garden from whence i took this lamp; and these he expects to have carried by as many black slaves, each preceded by a young handsome white slave, richly clothed. go, and fetch me this present as soon as possible, that i may send it to him before the divan breaks up." the genie told him his command should be immediately obeyed, and disappeared. in a little time afterward the genie returned with forty black slaves, each bearing on his head a heavy tray of pure gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every sort of precious stones, all larger and more beautiful than those formerly presented to the sultan. each tray was covered with silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of gold: these, together with the white slaves, quite filled the house, which was but a small one, the little court before it, and a small garden behind. the genie asked if he had any other commands, and aladdin telling him that he wanted nothing further, he disappeared. when aladdin's mother came from market, she was much surprised to see so many people and such vast riches. as soon as she had laid down her provisions, she was going to pull off her veil; but her son prevented her, and said: "mother, let us lose no time; before the sultan and the divan rise, i would have you return to the palace with this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence of the ardent desire i have to procure myself the honour of this alliance." without waiting for his mother's reply, aladdin opened the street-door, and made the slaves walk out; each white slave followed by a black with a tray upon his head. when they were all out, the mother followed the last black slave; he shut the door, and then retired to his chamber, full of hopes that the sultan, after this present, which was such as he required, would receive him as his son-in-law. the first white slave who went out made all the people who were going by stop; and before they were all clear of the house, the streets were crowded with spectators, who ran to see so extraordinary and magnificent a procession. the dress of each slave was so rich, both for the stuff and the jewels, that those who were dealers in them valued each at no less than a million of money; besides, the neatness and propriety of the dress, the noble air, fine shape and proportion of each slave were unparalleled; their grave walk at an equal distance from each other, the lustre of the jewels, curiously set in their girdles of gold, and the egrets of precious stones in their turbans, put the spectators into such great admiration, that they could not avoid following them with their eyes as far as possible. as soon as the first of these slaves arrived at the palace gate, the porters formed themselves into order, taking him for a prince from the magnificence of his habit, and were going to kiss the hem of his garment; but the slave, who was instructed by the genie, prevented them, and said: "we are only slaves, our master will appear at a proper time." the first slave, followed by the rest, advanced into the second court, which was very spacious, and in which the sultan's household was ranged during the sitting of the divan. the magnificence of the officers, who stood at the head of their troops, was considerably eclipsed by the slaves who bore aladdin's present, of which they themselves made a part. as the sultan, who had been informed of their approach to the palace, had given orders for them to be admitted, they went into the divan in regular order, one part filing to the right, and the other to the left. after they were all entered, and had formed a semicircle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, prostrating themselves, and at the same time the white slaves did the same. when they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts. in the meantime aladdin's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, and having paid her respects, said to the sultan: "sir, my son is sensible that this present, which he has sent your majesty, is much below the princess badroulboudour's worth; but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it." the sultan was not able to give the least attention to this compliment. the moment he cast his eyes on the forty trays, full of the most precious and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, and the fourscore slaves, who appeared by the elegance of their persons, and the magnificence of their dress, like so many princes, he was overwhelmed. instead of answering the compliment of aladdin's mother, he addressed himself to the grand vizier, who could not any more than the sultan comprehend from whence such a profusion of richness could come. "well, vizier," said he aloud, "who do you think it can be that has sent me so extraordinary a present? do you think him worthy of the princess badroulboudour, my daughter?" the vizier, notwithstanding his envy and grief at seeing a stranger preferred to his son, durst not disguise his sentiments. it was too visible that aladdin's present was more than sufficient to merit his being received into royal alliance; therefore, consulting his master's feelings, he returned this answer: "i am so far from having any thoughts that the person who has made your majesty so noble a present is unworthy of the honour you would do him, that i should say he deserved much more, if i were not persuaded that the greatest treasure in the world ought not to be put in competition with the princess, your majesty's daughter." the sultan made no longer hesitation, nor thought of informing himself whether aladdin was endowed with all the qualifications requisite in one who aspired to be his son-in-law. the sight alone of such immense riches, and aladdin's quickness in satisfying his demand, without starting the least difficulty at the exorbitant conditions he had imposed, easily persuaded him that he could want nothing to render him accomplished, and such as he desired. therefore, to send aladdin's mother back with all the satisfaction she could desire, he said to her: "my good lady, go and tell your son that i wait with open arms to embrace him, and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess, my daughter, from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me." as soon as the tailor's widow had retired, overjoyed to see her son raised to such exalted fortune, the sultan put an end to the audience; and rising from his throne, ordered that the princess's eunuchs should come and carry the trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his leisure. the fourscore slaves were conducted into the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent appearance, ordered them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see through the lattices that he had not exaggerated in his account of them. in the meantime, aladdin's mother got home, and shewed in her countenance the good news she brought her son. "my son," said she to him, "you have now all the reason in the world to be pleased. the sultan, with the approbation of the whole court, has declared that you are worthy to possess the princess badroulboudour, and waits to embrace you, and conclude your marriage; therefore, you must think of making preparations for your interview, which may answer the high opinion he has formed of your person." aladdin, enraptured with this news, made little reply, but retired to his chamber. there, after he had rubbed the lamp, which had never failed him, the obedient genie appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i want to bathe immediately, and you must afterward provide me the richest and most magnificent habit ever worn by a monarch." no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie rendered him invisible, and transported him into a bath of the finest marble, where he was undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. from the hall he was led to the bath, which was of a moderate heat, and he was there rubbed with various scented waters. after he had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out quite a different man from what he was before. his skin was clear white and red, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, he found, instead of his own, a suit the magnificence of which astonished him. the genie helped him to dress, and when he had done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he had any other commands? "yes," answered aladdin, "i expect you to bring me as soon as possible a charger that surpasses in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables, with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons worth a million of money. i want also twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried the present to the sultan, to walk by my side, and twenty more to go before me in two ranks. besides these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the princess badroulboudour's, each carrying a complete dress fit for any sultaness. i want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go, and make haste." as soon as aladdin had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for aladdin's mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue. of the ten purses aladdin took four, which he gave to his mother, telling her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's palace. the six slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to march before him, three on the right hand and three on the left. afterward he presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her that they were her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for her use. when aladdin had thus settled matters, he told the genie he would call for him when he wanted him, and thereupon the genie disappeared. aladdin's thoughts now were only upon answering, as soon as possible, the desire the sultan had shewn to see him. he despatched one of the forty slaves to the palace, with an order to address himself to the chief of the porters, to know when he might have the honour to come and throw himself at the sultan's feet. the slave soon acquitted himself of his commission, and brought for answer that the sultan waited for him with impatience. aladdin immediately mounted his charger, and though he never was on horseback before, appeared with such extraordinary grace, that the most experienced horseman would not have taken him for a novice. the streets through which he was to pass were almost instantly filled with an innumerable concourse of people, who made the air echo with their acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. neither did these shouts of joy come from those alone who scrambled for the money, but from a superior rank of people, who could not forbear applauding aladdin's generosity. not only those who knew him when he played in the streets like a vagabond did not recollect him, but those who saw him but a little while before hardly recognised him, so much were his features altered: such were the effects of the lamp, as to procure by degrees to those who possessed it perfections suitable to the rank to which the right use of it advanced them. much more attention was paid to aladdin's person than to the pomp and magnificence of his attendants, as a similar show had been seen the day before, when the slaves walked in procession with the present to the sultan. nevertheless, the horse was much admired by good judges, who knew how to discern his beauties, without being dazzled by the jewels and richness of his furniture. when the report was everywhere spread that the sultan was going to give the princess in marriage to aladdin, nobody regarded his birth, nor envied his good fortune, so worthy he seemed of it in the public opinion. when he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his reception; and when he came to the gate of the second court, he would have alighted from his horse, agreeably to the custom observed by the grand vizier, the commander-in-chief of the empire, and governors of provinces of the first rank; but the chief of the mace-bearers, who waited on him by the sultan's order, prevented him, and attended him to the grand hall of audience, where he helped him to dismount. the officers formed themselves into two ranks at the entrance of the hall. the chief put aladdin on his right hand, and through the midst of them led him to the sultan's throne. as soon as the sultan perceived aladdin, he was no less surprised to see him more richly and magnificently habited than ever he had been himself, than struck at his good mien, fine shape, and a certain air of unexpected dignity, very different from the meanness of his mother's late appearance. but, notwithstanding, his amazement and surprise did not hinder him from rising off his throne, and descending two or three steps, quickly enough to prevent aladdin's throwing himself at his feet. he embraced him with all possible demonstrations of joy at his arrival. after this civility aladdin would have thrown himself at his feet again; but he held him fast by the hand, and obliged him to sit close to the throne. aladdin then addressed the sultan, saying: "i receive the honour which your majesty out of your great condescension is pleased to confer; but permit me to assure you that i know the greatness of your power, and that i am not insensible how much my birth is below the lustre of the high rank to which i am raised. i ask your majesty's pardon for my rashness, but i cannot dissemble that i should die with grief were i to lose my hopes of seeing myself united to the divine princess who is the object of my wishes." "my son," answered the sultan, embracing him a second time, "you would wrong me to doubt for a moment of my sincerity: your life from this moment is too dear to me not to preserve it, by presenting you with the remedy which is at my disposal." after these words, the sultan gave a signal, and immediately the air echoed with the sound of trumpets, hautboys, and other musical instruments: and at the same time he led aladdin into a magnificent hall, where was laid out a most splendid collation. the sultan and aladdin ate by themselves, while the grand vizier and the great lords of the court, according to their dignity and rank, sat at different tables. the conversation turned on different subjects; but all the while the sultan took so much pleasure in looking at his intended son-in-law, that he hardly ever took his eyes off him; and throughout the whole of their conversation aladdin shewed so much good sense, as confirmed the sultan in the high opinion he had formed of him. after the feast, the sultan sent for the chief judge of his capital, and ordered him to draw up immediately a contract of marriage between the princess badroulboudour, his daughter, and aladdin. when the judge had drawn up the contract in all the requisite forms, the sultan asked aladdin if he would stay in the palace, and solemnise the ceremonies of marriage that day; to which he answered: "sir, though great is my impatience to enjoy your majesty's goodness, yet i beg of you to give me leave to defer it till i have built a palace fit to receive the princess; therefore i petition you to grant me a convenient spot of ground near your abode, that i may the more frequently pay my respects, and i will take care to have it finished with all diligence." "son," said the sultan, "take what ground you think proper, there is space enough on every quarter round my palace; but consider, i cannot see you too soon united with my daughter, which alone is wanting to complete my happiness." after these words he embraced aladdin again, who took his leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always lived at court. aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. as soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and called the genie as before, who in the usual manner made him a tender of his service. "genie," said aladdin, "i have every reason to commend your exactness in executing hitherto punctually whatever i have demanded; but now, if you have any regard for the lamp, your protector, you must shew, if possible, more zeal and diligence than ever. i would have you build me, as soon as you can, a palace opposite, but at a proper distance from, the sultan's, fit to receive my spouse, the princess badroulboudour. i leave the choice of the materials to you, that is to say, porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, or the finest marble of various colours, and also the architecture of the building. but i expect that on the terraced roof of this palace you will build me a large hall crowned with a dome, and having four equal fronts; and that instead of layers of bricks, the walls be formed of massy gold and silver, laid alternately: that each front shall contain six windows, the lattices of all of which (except one, which must be left unfinished) shall be so enriched in the most tasteful workmanship, with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, that they shall exceed anything of the kind ever seen in the world. i would have an inner and outer court in front of the palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, take care that there be laid in a place which you shall point out to me, a treasure of gold and silver coin. besides, the edifice must be well provided with kitchens and offices, storehouses, and rooms to keep choice furniture in, for every season of the year. i must have stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage. there must be officers to attend the kitchens and offices, and women slaves to wait on the princess. you understand what i mean; therefore go about it, and come and tell me when all is finished." by the time aladdin had instructed the genie respecting the building of his palace, the sun was set. the next morning, before break of day, our bridegroom, whose love for the princess would not let him sleep, was up, when the genie presented himself and said: "sir, your palace is finished; come and see how you like it." aladdin had no sooner signified his consent, than the genie transported him thither in an instant, and he found it so much beyond his expectation, that he could not enough admire it. the genie led him through all the apartments, where he met with nothing but what was rich and magnificent, with officers and slaves all habited according to their rank and the services to which they were appointed. the genie then shewed him the treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, where aladdin saw heaps of purses, of different sizes, piled up to the top of the ceiling, and disposed in most excellent order. the genie assured him of the treasurer's fidelity, and thence led him to the stables, where he shewed him some of the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing them; from thence they went to the storehouses, which were filled with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. when aladdin had examined the palace from top to bottom, and particularly the hall with the four and twenty windows, and found it much beyond whatever he could have imagined, he said: "genie, no one can be better satisfied than i am; and indeed i should be much to blame if i found any fault. there is only one thing wanting which i forgot to mention; that is, to lay from the sultan's palace to the door of the apartment designed for the princess, a carpet of fine velvet for her to walk upon." the genie immediately disappeared, and aladdin saw what he desired executed in an instant. the genie then returned, and carried him home before the gates of the sultan's palace were opened. when the porters, who had always been used to an open prospect, came to open the gates, they were amazed to find it obstructed, and to see a carpet of velvet spread from the grand entrance. they did not immediately look how far it extended, but when they could discern aladdin's palace distinctly, their surprise was increased. the news of so extraordinary a wonder was presently spread through the palace. the grand vizier, who arrived soon after the gates were open, being no less amazed than others at this novelty, ran and acquainted the sultan, but endeavoured to make him believe it to be all enchantment. "vizier," replied the sultan, "why will you have it to be enchantment? you know as well as i that it must be aladdin's palace, which i gave him leave to build, for the reception of my daughter. after the proof we have had of his riches, can we think it strange that he should raise a palace in so short a time? he wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders are to be done with money in only one night. confess sincerely that the enchantment you talk of proceeds from a little envy on account of your son's disappointment." when aladdin had been conveyed home, and had dismissed the genie, he found his mother up, and dressing herself in one of those suits which had been brought her. by the time the sultan rose from the council, aladdin had prepared his mother to go to the palace with her slaves, and desired her, if she saw the sultan, to tell him she should do herself the honour toward evening to attend the princess to her palace. accordingly she went; but though she and the women slaves who followed her were all dressed like sultanesses, yet the crowd was not near so great as the preceding day, because they were all veiled, and each had on an upper garment agreeable to the richness and magnificence of their habits. aladdin, taking care not to forget his wonderful lamp, mounted his horse, left his paternal home forever, and went to the palace in the same pomp as the day before. as soon as the porters of the sultan's palace saw aladdin's mother, they went and informed the sultan, who immediately ordered the bands of trumpets, cymbals, drums, fifes, and hautboys, placed in different parts of the palace, to play, so that the air resounded with concerts which inspired the whole city with joy: the merchants began to adorn their shops and houses with fine carpets and silks, and to prepare illuminations against night. the artisans of every description left their work, and the populace repaired to the great space between the royal palace and that of aladdin; which last drew all their attention, not only because it was new to them, but because there was no comparison between the two buildings. but their amazement was to comprehend by what unheard-of miracle so magnificent a palace could have been so soon erected, it being apparent to all that there were no prepared materials, or any foundations laid the day before. aladdin's mother was received in the palace with honour, and introduced into the princess badroulboudour's apartment by the chief of the eunuchs. as soon as the princess saw her, she rose, saluted, and desired her to sit down on a sofa; and while her women finished dressing, and adorning her with the jewels which aladdin had presented to her, a collation was served up. at the same time the sultan, who wished to be as much with his daughter as possible before he parted with her, came in and paid the old lady great respect. aladdin's mother had talked to the sultan in public, but he had never seen her with her veil off, as she was then; and though she was somewhat advanced in years, she had the remains of a good face, which showed what she had been in her youth. the sultan, who had always seen her dressed very meanly, not to say poorly, was surprised to find her as richly and magnificently attired as the princess, his daughter. this made him think aladdin equally prudent and wise in whatever he undertook. when it was night, the princess left her own apartment for aladdin's palace, with his mother on her left hand carried in a superb litter, followed by a hundred women slaves, dressed with surprising magnificence. all the bands of music, which had played from the time aladdin's mother arrived, being joined together, led the procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of black eunuchs, in two files, with their officers at their head. four hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and aladdin's palaces, made it as light as day. at length the princess arrived at the new palace and aladdin ran with all imaginable joy to receive her at the grand entrance. his mother had taken care to point him out to the princess, in the midst of the officers who surrounded him, and she was charmed with his person. "adorable princess," said aladdin, accosting her, and saluting her respectfully, as soon as she had entered her apartment, "if i have the misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in aspiring to the possession of so lovely a creature, i must tell you, that you ought to blame your bright eyes and charms, not me." "prince," answered the princess, "i am obedient to the will of my father; and it is enough for me to have seen you, to tell you that i obey without reluctance." aladdin, charmed with so agreeable an answer, would not keep the princess standing; but took her by the hand, which he kissed with the greatest demonstration of joy, and led her into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles; where, by the care of the genie, a noble feast was served up. the dishes were of massy gold, and contained the most delicate viands, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable to this display. the princess, dazzled to see so much riches, said to aladdin: "i thought, prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight of this hall alone is sufficient to shew i was deceived." then aladdin led the princess to the place appointed for her, and as soon as she and his mother were seated, a band of the most harmonious instruments, accompanied with the voices of beautiful ladies, began a concert, which lasted without intermission to the end of the repast. the princess was so charmed, that she declared she had never heard anything like it in the sultan her father's court; but she knew not that these musicians were fairies chosen by the genie, the slave of the lamp. when the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers, who performed, according to the custom of the country, several figure dances, singing at the same time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. about midnight the happy pair retired to their apartments and the nuptial ceremonies were at an end. the next morning, when aladdin arose, his attendants presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another habit as magnificent as that worn the day before. he then ordered one of the horses appointed for his use to be got ready, mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace. the sultan received him with the same honours as before, embraced him, placed him on the throne near him, and ordered a collation. aladdin said: "i beg your majesty will dispense with my eating with you to-day; i came to entreat you to take a repast in the princess's palace, attended by your grand vizier, and all the lords of your court." the sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great lords of his court, accompanied aladdin. the nearer the sultan approached aladdin's palace, the more he was struck with its beauty, but was much more amazed when he entered it; and could not forbear breaking out into exclamations of approbation. but when he came into the hall, and cast his eyes on the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large perfect stones, he was so much surprised, that he remained some time motionless. after he recovered himself, he said to his vizier; "is it possible that there should be such a stately palace so near my own, and i be an utter stranger to it till now?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "your majesty may remember that the day before yesterday you gave aladdin, whom you accepted for a son-in-law, leave to build a palace opposite your own, and that very day at sunset there was no palace on this spot, but yesterday i had the honour first to tell you that the palace was built and finished." "i remember," replied the sultan, "but never imagined that the palace was one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the world besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and silver, instead of brick, stone, or marble; and diamonds, rubies, and emeralds composing the windows!" the sultan would examine and admire the beauty of all the windows, and counting them, found that there were but three and twenty so richly adorned, and he was greatly astonished that the twenty-fourth was left imperfect. "vizier," said he, for that minister made a point of never leaving him, "i am surprised that a hall of this magnificence should be left thus imperfect." "sir," replied the grand vizier, "without doubt aladdin only wanted time to finish this window like the rest; for it is not to be supposed but that he has sufficient jewels for the purpose, or that he will not complete it at the first opportunity." aladdin, who had left the sultan to go and give some orders, returned just as the vizier had finished his remark. "son," said the sultan to him, "this hall is the most worthy of admiration of any in the world; there is only one thing that surprises me, which is, to find one of the windows unfinished. is it from the forgetfulness or negligence of the workmen, or want of time, that they have not put the finishing stroke to so beautiful a piece of architecture?" "sir," answered aladdin, "it was for none of these reasons that your majesty sees it in this state. the omission was by design; it was by my orders that the workmen left it thus, since i wished that your majesty should have the glory of finishing this hall." "if you did it with this intention," replied the sultan, "i take it kindly, and will give orders about it immediately." he accordingly sent for the most considerable jewellers and goldsmiths in his capital. aladdin then conducted the sultan into the saloon where he had regaled his bride the preceding night. the princess entered immediately afterward, and received her father with an air that shewed how much she was satisfied with her marriage. two tables were immediately spread with the most delicious meats, all served up in gold dishes. the sultan was much pleased with the cookery, and owned he had never eaten anything more excellent. he said the same of the wines, which were delicious; but what he most of all admired were four large buffets, profusely furnished with large flagons, basins, and cups, all of massy gold, set with jewels. when the sultan rose from table, he was informed that the jewellers and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and shewed them the window which was unfinished: "i sent for you," said he, "to fit up this window in as great perfection as the rest; examine well, and make all the despatch you can." the jewellers and goldsmiths examined the three and twenty windows with great attention, and after they had consulted together they returned and presented themselves before the sultan, when the principal jeweller, undertaking to speak for the rest, said: "sir, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to obey your majesty; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for so great a work." "i have more than are necessary," said the sultan; "come to my palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." when the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be brought out, and the jewellers took a great quantity, particularly those aladdin had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making any great advance in their work. they came again several times for more, and in a month's time had not finished half their work. in short, they used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half done. aladdin, who knew that all the sultan's endeavours to make this window like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewellers and goldsmiths, and not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the sultan and to the vizier. they undid in a few hours what they had been six weeks about, and retired, leaving aladdin alone in the hall. he took the lamp, which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i ordered thee to leave one of the four and twenty windows of this hall imperfect and thou hast executed my commands punctually; now i would have thee make it like the rest." the genie immediately disappeared. aladdin went out of the hall, and returning soon after, found the window like the others. in the meantime, the jewellers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, and were introduced into the sultan's presence; where the chief jeweller, presenting the precious stones which he had brought back, said, in the name of all the rest: "your majesty knows how long we have been upon the work you were pleased to set us about, in which we used all imaginable industry. it was far advanced, when prince aladdin commanded us not only to leave off, but to undo what we had already begun, and bring your majesty your jewels back." the sultan asked them if aladdin had given them any reason for so doing, and they answering that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he mounted, and rode to his son-in-law's palace, with some few attendants on foot. when he came there, he alighted at the staircase, which led to the hall with the twenty-four windows, and went directly up to it, without giving previous notice to aladdin; but it happened that at that very juncture aladdin was opportunely there, and had just time to receive him at the door. the sultan, without giving aladdin time to complain obligingly of his not having given notice, that he might have acquitted himself with the more becoming respect, said to him: "son, i come myself to know the reason why you commanded the jewellers to desist from work, and take to pieces what they had done." aladdin disguised the true reason, which was, that the sultan was not rich enough in jewels to be at so great an expense, but said: "i beg of you now to see if anything is wanting." the sultan went directly to the window which was left imperfect, and when he found it like the rest, fancied that he was mistaken, examined the two windows on each side, and afterward all the four and twenty; but when he was convinced that the window which several workmen had been so long about was finished in so short a time, he embraced aladdin, and kissed him between his eyes. "my son," said he, "what a man you are to do such surprising things always in the twinkling of an eye: there is not your fellow in the world; the more i know, the more i admire you." aladdin received these praises from the sultan with modesty, and replied in these words: "sir, it is a great honour to me to deserve your majesty's goodwill and approbation, and i assure you, i shall study to deserve them more." the sultan returned to his palace, but would not let aladdin attend him. when he came there, he found his grand vizier waiting, to whom he related the wonder he had witnessed with the utmost admiration, and in such terms as left the minister no room to doubt but that the fact was as the sultan related it; though he was the more confirmed in his belief that aladdin's palace was the effect of enchantment, as he had told the sultan the first moment he saw it. he was going to repeat the observation, but the sultan interrupted him, and said: "you told me so once before; i see, vizier, you have not forgotten your son's espousals to my daughter." the grand vizier plainly saw how much the sultan was prepossessed, therefore avoided disputes, and let him remain in his own opinion. the sultan as soon as he rose every morning went into the closet, to look at aladdin's palace, and would go many times in a day to contemplate and admire it. aladdin did not confine himself in his palace; but took care to show himself once or twice a week in the town, by going sometimes to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers; or to visit the grand vizier, who affected to pay his court to him on certain days; or to do the principal lords of the court the honour to return their visits after he had regaled them at his palace. every time he went out, he caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the streets and squares, which were generally on these occasions crowded. besides, no one came to his palace gates to ask alms but returned satisfied with his liberality. in short, he so divided his time, that not a week passed but he went either once or twice a-hunting, sometimes in the environs of the city, sometimes farther off; at which time the villages through which he passed felt the effects of his generosity, which gained him the love and blessings of the people; and it was common for them to swear by his head. with all these good qualities he showed a zeal for the public good which could not be sufficiently applauded. he gave sufficient proofs of both in a revolt on the borders of the kingdom; for he no sooner understood that the sultan was levying an army to disperse the rebels than he begged the command of it, which he found not difficult to obtain. as soon as he was empowered, he marched with so much expedition, that the sultan heard of the defeat of the rebels before he had received an account of his son-in-law's arrival in the army. aladdin had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the african magician, who undesignedly had been the instrument of raising him to so high a pitch of prosperity, recalled him to his recollection in africa, whither, after his expedition, he had returned. and though he was almost persuaded that aladdin must have died miserably in the subterranean abode where he had left him, yet he had the curiosity to inform himself about his end with certainty; and as he was a great geomancer, he took out of a cupboard a square, covered box, which he used in his geomantic observations. after he had prepared and levelled the sand which was in it with an intention to discover whether or not aladdin had died, he cast the points, drew the figures, and formed a horoscope, by which, when he came to examine it, he found that instead of dying in the cave, his victim had made his escape, lived splendidly, was in possession of the wonderful lamp, had married a princess, and was much honoured and respected. the magician no sooner understood, by the rules of his diabolical art, that aladdin had arrived to this height of good fortune, than his face became inflamed with anger, and he cried out in a rage: "this sorry tailor's son has discovered the secret and virtue of the lamp! i believed his death to be certain; but find that he enjoys the fruit of my labour and study! i will, however, prevent his enjoying it long, or perish in the attempt." he was not a great while deliberating on what he should do, but the next morning mounted a barb, set forward, and never stopped but to refresh himself and his horse, till he arrived at the capital of china. he alighted, took up his lodging in a khan, and stayed there the remainder of the day and the night. the next day, his first object was to inquire what people said of aladdin; and, taking a walk through the town, he went to the most public and frequented places, where persons of the best distinction met to drink a certain warm liquor, which he had drunk often during his former visit. as soon as he had seated himself, he was presented with a cup of it, which he took; but listening at the same time to the discourse of the company on each side of him, he heard them talking of aladdin's palace. when he had drunk off his liquor, he joined them, and taking this opportunity, inquired particularly of what palace they spoke with so much commendation. "from whence come you?" said the person to whom he addressed himself; "you must certainly be a stranger not to have seen or heard talk of prince aladdin's palace. i do not say," continued the man, "that it is one of the wonders of the world, but that it is the only wonder of the world; since nothing so grand, rich, and magnificent was ever beheld. go and see it, and then judge whether i have told you more than the truth." "forgive my ignorance," replied the african magician; "i arrived here but yesterday from the farthest part of africa, where the fame of this palace had not reached when i came away. the business which brought me hither was so urgent, that my sole object was to arrive as soon as i could, without stopping anywhere, or making any acquaintance. but i will not fail to go and see it, if you will do me the favour to show me the way thither." the person to whom the african magician addressed himself took a pleasure in showing him the way to aladdin's palace, and he got up and went thither instantly. when he came to the palace, and had examined it on all sides, he doubted not but that aladdin had made use of the lamp to build it. without attending to the inability of a poor tailor's son, he knew that none but the genies, the slaves of the lamp, could have performed such wonders; and piqued to the quick at aladdin's happiness and splendour, he returned to the khan where he lodged. the next point was to ascertain where the lamp was; whether aladdin carried it about with him, or where he kept it; and this he was to discover by an operation of geomancy. as soon as he entered his lodging, he took his square box of sand, which he always carried with him when he travelled, and after he had performed some operations, he found that the lamp was in aladdin's palace, and so great was his joy at the discovery that he could hardly contain himself. "well," said he, "i shall have the lamp, and i defy aladdin to prevent my carrying it off, thus making him sink to his original meanness, from which he has taken so high a flight." it was aladdin's misfortune at that time to be absent in the chase for eight days, and only three were expired, which the magician came to know. after he had performed the magical operation he went to the superintendent of the khan, entered into conversation with him on indifferent subjects, and among the rest, told him he had been to see aladdin's palace; and after exaggerating on all that he had seen most worthy of observation, added: "but my curiosity leads me further, and i shall not be satisfied till i have seen the person to whom this wonderful edifice belongs." "that will be no difficult matter," replied the master of the khan; "there is not a day passes but he gives an opportunity when he is in town, but at present he has been gone these three days on a hunting-match, which will last eight." the magician wanted to know no more; he took his leave of the superintendent of the khan, and returning to his own chamber, said to himself: "this is an opportunity i ought by no means to neglect." to that end, he went to a coppersmith and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of the shop told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have patience till the next day, he would have them ready. the magician appointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be handsome and well polished. after promising to pay him well, he returned to his inn. the next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his full price, put them into a basket which he bought on purpose, and with the basket hanging on his arm, went directly to aladdin's palace; as he approached beginning to cry: "who will change old lamps for new ones?" as he went along, a crowd of children collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool. the african magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they could say to him, but still continued crying: "who will change old lamps for new?" he repeated this so often, walking backward and forward in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the hall with the four and twenty windows, hearing a man cry something and not being able to distinguish his words, owing to the hooting of the children, and increasing mob about him, sent one of her women slaves to know what he cried. the slave was not long before she returned, and ran into the hall, laughing so heartily that the princess could not forbear herself. "well, giggler," said the princess, "will you tell me what you laugh at?" "madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear laughing, to see a fool with a basket on his arm, full of fine new lamps, ask to change them for old ones?" another female slave hearing this, said: "now you speak of lamps, i know not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one upon a shelf of the prince's robing-room. if the princess chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this fool is so silly as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking anything for the exchange." the lamp this slave spoke of was the wonderful lamp, which aladdin had laid upon the shelf before he departed for the chase: this he had done several times before; but neither the princess, the slaves, nor the eunuchs had ever taken notice of it. at all other times except when hunting he carried it about his person. the princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest that aladdin, not to mention herself, had to keep it safe, entered into the pleasantry, and commanded a eunuch to take it and make the exchange. the eunuch obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to the palace gates than he saw the african magician, called to him, and showing him the old lamp, said: "give me a new lamp for this?" the magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. there could be no other such in the palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. he snatched it eagerly out of the eunuch's hand, and thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade him choose which he liked best. the eunuch picked out one, and carried it to the princess; but the exchange was no sooner made than the place rang with the shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. the african magician gave everybody leave to laugh as much as they pleased; he stayed not long near the palace, but made the best of his way, without crying any longer; "new lamps for old ones." his end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children and the mob. as soon as he was out of the square between the two palaces, he hastened down the streets which were the least frequented; and having no more occasion for his lamps or basket, set all down in an alley where nobody saw him: then going down another street or two, he walked till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at length reached a lonely spot, where he stopped for a time to execute the design he had in contemplation, never caring for his horse which he had left at the khan; but thinking himself perfectly compensated by the treasure he had acquired. in this place the african magician passed the remainder of the day, till the darkest time of night, when he pulled the lamp out of his breast and rubbed it. at that summons the genie appeared, and said: "what wouldst thou have? i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; both i and the other slaves of the lamp." "i command thee," replied the magician, "to transport me immediately and the palace which thou and the other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, with all the people in it, to africa." the genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other genies, the slaves of the lamp immediately transported him, and the palace entire, to the spot whither he was desired to convey it. as soon as the sultan rose the next morning, according to custom, he went into his closet, to have the pleasure of contemplating and admiring aladdin's palace; but when he first looked that way, and instead of a palace saw an empty space such as it was before the palace was built, he thought he was mistaken, and rubbed his eyes; but when he looked again, he still saw nothing more the second time than the first, though the weather was fine, the sky clear, and the dawn advancing had made all objects very distinct. he looked again in front, to the right and left, but beheld nothing more than he had formerly been used to see from his window. his amazement was so great, that he stood for some time turning his eyes to the spot where the palace had stood, but where it was no longer to be seen. he could not comprehend how so large a palace as aladdin's, which he had seen plainly every day for some years, and but the day before, should vanish so soon, and not leave the least remains behind. "certainly," said he to himself, "i am not mistaken; it stood there: if it had fallen, the materials would have lain in heaps; and if it had been swallowed up by an earthquake, there would be some mark left." at last he retired to his apartment, not without looking behind him before he quitted the spot, ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition, and in the meantime sat down, his mind agitated by so many different conjectures that he knew not what to resolve. the grand vizier did not make the sultan wait long for him, but came with so much precipitation, that neither he nor his attendants, as they passed, missed aladdin's palace; neither did the porters, when they opened the palace gates, observe any alteration. when he came into the sultan's presence, he said to him: "the haste in which your majesty sent for me makes me believe something extraordinary has happened, since you know this is a day of public audience, and i should not have failed of attending at the usual time." "indeed," said the sultan, "it is something very extraordinary, as you say, and you will allow it to be so: tell me what is become of aladdin's palace?" "his palace!" replied the grand vizier in amazement; "i thought as i passed it stood in its usual place." "go into my closet," said the sultan, "and tell me if you can see it." the grand vizier went into the closet, where he was struck with no less amazement than the sultan had been. when he was well assured that there was not the least appearance of the palace, he returned to the sultan. "well," said the sultan, "have you seen aladdin's palace?" "no," answered the vizier, "but your majesty may remember, that i had the honour to tell you, that the edifice, which was the subject of your admiration, was only the work of magic and a magician; but your majesty would not pay the least attention to what i said." the sultan, who could not deny what the grand vizier had represented to him, flew into the greater passion: "where is that impostor, that wicked wretch," said he, "that i may have his head taken off immediately?" "sir," replied the grand vizier, "it is some days since he came to take his leave of your majesty, on pretence of hunting; he ought to be sent for, to know what is become of his palace, since he cannot be ignorant of what has been transacted." "to send for him would be too great an indulgence," replied the sultan: "command a detachment of horse to bring him to me loaded with chains." the grand vizier gave orders for a detachment, and instructed the officer who commanded the men how they were to act, that aladdin might not escape. the detachment pursued its orders; and about five or six leagues from the town met him returning from the chase. the officer advanced respectfully, and informed him the sultan was so impatient to see him, that he had sent his party to accompany him home. aladdin had not the least suspicion of the true reason of their meeting him; but when he came within half a league of the city, the detachment surrounded him, when the officer addressed himself to him, and said; "prince, it is with great regret that i declare to you the sultan's order to arrest you, and to carry you before him as a criminal: i beg of you not to take it ill that we acquit ourselves of our duty, and to forgive us." aladdin, who felt himself innocent, was much surprised at this declaration, and asked the officer if he knew what crime he was accused of; who replied, he did not. then aladdin, finding that his retinue was much inferior to this detachment, alighted from his horse, and said to the officers: "execute your orders; i am not conscious that i have committed any offence against the sultan's person or government." a heavy chain was immediately put about his neck, and fastened round his body, so that both his arms were pinioned down; the officer then put himself at the head of the detachment, and one of the troopers taking hold of the end of the chain and proceeding after the officer, led aladdin, who was obliged to follow him on foot, into the city. when this detachment entered the suburbs, the people, who saw aladdin thus led as a state criminal, never doubted but that his head was to be cut off; and as he was generally beloved, some took sabres and other arms; and those who had none gathered stones, and followed the escort. their numbers presently increased so much, that the soldiery began to think it would be well if they could get into the sultan's palace before aladdin was rescued; to prevent which, according to the different extent of the streets, they took care to cover the ground by extending or closing. in this manner they with much difficulty arrived at the palace square, and there drew up in a line, till their officer and troopers with aladdin had got within the gates, which were immediately shut. aladdin was carried before the sultan, who waited for him, attended by the grand vizier; and as soon as he saw him he ordered the executioner, who waited there for the purpose, to strike off his head without hearing him, or giving him leave to clear himself. as soon as the executioner had taken off the chain that was fastened about aladdin's neck and body, he made the supposed criminal kneel down, and tied a bandage over his eyes. then drawing his sabre, he took his aim by flourishing it three times in the air, waiting for the sultan's giving the signal to strike. at that instant the grand vizier perceiving that the populace had crowded the great square before the palace, and were scaling the walls in several places, said to the sultan, before he gave the signal: "i beg of your majesty to consider what you are going to do, since you will hazard your palace being destroyed; and who knows what fatal consequence may follow?" "my palace forced!" replied the sultan; "who can have that audacity?" "sir," answered the grand vizier, "if your majesty will but cast your eyes toward the great square, and on the palace walls, you will perceive the truth of what i say." the sultan was so much alarmed when he saw so great a crowd, and how enraged they were, that he ordered the executioner to put his sabre immediately into the scabbard, to unbind aladdin, and at the same time commanded the porters to declare to the people that the sultan had pardoned him, and that they might retire. those who had already got upon the walls abandoned their design and got quickly down, overjoyed that they had saved the life of a man they dearly loved, and published the news amongst the rest, which was presently confirmed by the mace-bearers from the top of the terraces. the justice which the sultan had done to aladdin soon disarmed the populace of their rage; the tumult abated and the mob dispersed. when aladdin found himself at liberty, he turned toward the balcony, and perceiving the sultan, raised his voice, and said to him in a moving manner: "i beg of your majesty to add one favour more to that which i have already received, which is, to let me know my crime?" "your crime," answered the sultan; "perfidious wretch! do you not know it? come hither, and i will show it you." aladdin went up, when the sultan, going before him without looking at him, said: "follow me;" and then led him into his closet. when he came to the door, he said: "go in; you ought to know whereabouts your palace stood: look round and tell me what is become of it?" aladdin looked, but saw nothing. he perceived the spot upon which his palace had stood; but not being able to divine how it had disappeared, was thrown into such great confusion and amazement that he could not return one word of answer. the sultan, growing impatient, demanded of him again: "where is your palace, and what is become of my daughter?" aladdin, breaking silence, replied: "sir, i perceive and own that the palace which i have built is not in its place, but is vanished; neither can i tell your majesty where it may be, but can assure you i had no concern in its removal." "i am not so much concerned about your palace," replied the sultan; "i value my daughter ten thousand times more, and would have you find her out, otherwise i will cause your head to be struck off, and no consideration shall divert me from my purpose." "i beg of your majesty," answered aladdin, "to grant me forty days to make my inquiries; and if in that time i have not the success i wish, i will offer my head at the foot of your throne, to be disposed of at your pleasure." "i give you the forty days you ask," said the sultan; "but think not to escape my resentment if you fail; for i will find you out in whatsoever part of the world you may conceal yourself." aladdin went out of the sultan's presence with great humiliation, and in a condition worthy of pity. he crossed the courts of the palace, hanging down his head, and in such great confusion that he durst not lift up his eyes. the principal officers of the court, who had all professed themselves his friends, instead of going up to him to comfort him, turned their backs to avoid seeing him. but had they accosted him with an offer of service, they would have no more known aladdin. he did not know himself, and was no longer in his senses, as plainly appeared by his asking everybody he met, and at every house, if they had seen his palace, or could tell him any news of it. these questions made the generality believe that aladdin was mad. some laughed at him, but people of sense and humanity, particularly those who had had any connection of business or friendship with him, really pitied him. for three days he rambled about the city in this manner, without coming to any resolution or eating anything but what some compassionate people forced him to take out of charity. at last he took the road to the country; and after he had traversed several fields in wild uncertainty, at the approach of night came to the bank of a river. there, possessed by his despair, he said to himself: "where shall i seek my palace? in what province, country, or part of the world, shall i find that and my dear princess? i shall never succeed; i would better free myself at once from fruitless endeavours, and such bitter grief as preys upon me." he was just going to throw himself into the river, but, as a good mussulman, true to his religion, he thought he should not do it without first saying his prayers. going to prepare himself, he went to the river's brink, in order to perform the usual ablutions. the place being steep and slippery, he slid down, and had certainly fallen into the river, but for a little rock, which projected about two feet out of the earth. happily also for him, he still had on the ring which the african magician had put on his finger before he went down into the subterranean abode to fetch the precious lamp. in slipping down the bank he rubbed the ring so hard by holding on the rock, that immediately the same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had left him. "what wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "i am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on their finger; both i and the other slaves of the ring." aladdin, agreeably surprised at an apparition he so little expected in his present calamity, replied; "save my life, genie, a second time, either by showing me to the place where the palace i caused to be built now stands, or immediately transporting it back where it first stood." "what you command me," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; i am only the slave of the ring; you must address yourself to the slave of the lamp." "if that be the case," replied aladdin, "i command thee, by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the world soever it may be, and set me down under the window of the princess badroulboudour." these words were no sooner out of his mouth than the genie transported him into africa, to the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, and placing him exactly under the window of the princess's apartment, left him. all this was done almost in an instant. aladdin, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, knew his palace again; but as the night was far advanced and all was quiet, he retired to some distance, and sat down at the foot of a large tree. there, full of hopes, and reflecting on his happiness, for which he was indebted to chance, he found himself in a much more comfortable situation than when he was arrested and carried before the sultan, being now delivered from the immediate danger of losing his life. he amused himself for some time with these agreeable thoughts; but not having slept for two days, was unable to resist the drowsiness which came upon him, but fell fast asleep. the next morning, as soon as day appeared, aladdin was agreeably awakened by the singing not only of the birds which had roosted in the tree under which he had passed the night, but also of those which frequented the thick groves of the palace garden. when he cast his eyes on that wonderful edifice, he felt inexpressible joy at thinking he might soon be master of it again, and once more greet his dear princess badroulboudour. pleased with these hopes, he immediately arose, went toward the princess's apartment, and walked some time under her window in expectation of her rising, that he might see her. during this expectation, he began to consider with himself whence the cause of his misfortune had proceeded; and after mature reflection, no longer doubted that it was owing to having trusted the lamp out of his sight. he accused himself of negligence in letting it be a moment away from him. but what puzzled him most was, that he could not imagine who had been so envious of his happiness. he would soon have guessed this, if he had known that both he and his palace were now in africa, the very name of which would soon have made him remember the magician, his declared enemy; but the genie, the slave of the ring, had not made mention of the name of the country, nor had aladdin inquired. the princess rose earlier that morning than she had done since her transportation into africa by the magician, whose presence she was forced to support once a day, because he was master of the palace; though she had always treated him so harshly that he dared not reside in it. as she was dressing, one of the women looking through the window perceived aladdin, and instantly told her mistress. the princess, who could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, and seeing aladdin, immediately opened it. the noise of opening the window made aladdin turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess he saluted her with joy. "to lose no time," said she to him, "i have sent to have the private door opened for you; enter, and come up." the private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was soon opened, and aladdin conducted up into the chamber. it is impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so cruel a separation. after embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat down, and aladdin said: "i beg of you, princess, in heaven's name, before we talk of anything else, to tell me, both for your own sake, the sultan your father's, and mine, what is become of an old lamp which i left upon a shelf in my robing-chamber, when i departed for the chase." "alas! dear husband," answered the princess, "i was afraid our misfortune might be owing to that lamp: and what grieves me most is, that i have been the cause of it." "princess," replied aladdin, "do not blame yourself, for i ought to have taken more care of it. but let us now think only of repairing the loss; tell me what has happened, and into whose hands it has fallen." the princess then related how she had changed the old lamp for a new one, and how the next morning she found herself in the unknown country they were then in, which she was told was africa, by the traitor who had transported her thither by his magic art. "princess," said aladdin, interrupting her, "you have informed me who the traitor is, by telling me we are in africa. he is the most perfidious of men; but this is neither a time nor place to give you a full account of his villainies. i desire you only to tell me what he has done with the lamp, and where he has put it." "he carries it carefully wrapt up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this i can assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and showed it to me in triumph." "princess," said aladdin, "do not be displeased that i trouble you with so many questions, since they are equally important to us both. but to come to what most particularly concerns me: tell me, i conjure you, how so wicked and perfidious a man treats you?" "since i have been here," replied the princess, "he repairs once every day to see me; and i am persuaded the little satisfaction he receives from his visits makes him come no oftener. all his addresses tend to persuade me to break that faith i have pledged to you, and to take him for my husband; giving me to understand i need not entertain hopes of ever seeing you again, for that you were dead, having had your head struck off by my father's order. he added, to justify himself, that you were an ungrateful wretch; that your good fortune was owing to him, and a great many other things of that nature which i forbear to repeat: but as he received no other answer from me but grievous complaints and tears, he was always forced to retire with as little satisfaction as he came. i doubt not his intention is to allow me time to overcome my grief, in hopes that afterward i may change my sentiments. but my dear husband's presence removes all my apprehensions." "i am confident my attempts to punish the magician will not be in vain," replied aladdin, "since my princess's fears are removed, and i think i have found the means to deliver you from both your enemy and mine; to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the town. i shall return by noon, will then communicate my design, and what must be done by you to ensure success. but that you may not be surprised, i think it proper to acquaint you that i shall change my apparel, and beg of you to give orders that i may not wait long at the private door, but that it may be opened at the first knock." when aladdin was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him; and when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him to change habits, which the man agreed to. when they had made the exchange, the countryman went about his business, and aladdin to the city. after traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where all descriptions of merchants had their particular streets, according to their trades. he went into that of the druggists; and going into one of the largest and best-furnished shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder which he named. the druggist, judging aladdin by his habit to be very poor, and that he had not money enough to pay for it, told him he had it, but that it was very dear; upon which aladdin penetrating his thoughts, pulled out his purse, and showing him some gold, asked for half a drachm of the powder; which the druggist weighed, wrapped up in paper, and gave him, telling him the price was a piece of gold. aladdin put the money into his hand, and returned to the palace, where he waited not long at the private door. when he came into the princess's apartment, he said to her: "princess, perhaps the aversion you tell me you have for your captor may be an objection to your executing what i am going to propose; but permit me to say it is proper that you should dissemble a little, and do violence to your inclinations, if you would deliver yourself from him. "if you will take my advice," continued he, "dress yourself this moment in one of your richest habits, and when the african magician comes, make no difficulty to give him the best reception; so that he may imagine time has removed your disgust at his addresses. in your conversation let him understand that you strive to forget me; and that he may be the more fully convinced, invite him to sup with you, and tell him you should be glad to taste of some of the best wines of his country. he will presently go to fetch you some. during his absence, put into one of the cups which you are accustomed to drink of, this powder, and setting it by, charge the slave you may order that night to attend you, on a signal you shall agree upon, to bring that cup to you. when the magician and you have eaten and drunk as much as you choose, let her bring you the cup, and then change cups with him. he will esteem it so great a favour that he will not refuse, but eagerly quaff it off; but no sooner will he have drunk, than you will see him fall backward." when aladdin had finished, "i own," answered the princess, "i shall do myself violence in consenting to make the magician such advances; but what cannot one resolve to do against a cruel enemy? i will therefore follow your advice, since both my repose and yours depend upon it." after the princess had agreed to the measures proposed by aladdin, he took his leave and went and spent the rest of the day in the neighbourhood of the palace till it was night, and he might safely return to the private door. the princess, who had remained inconsolable at being parted from her husband, had, ever since their cruel separation, lived in great neglect of her person. she had almost forgotten the neatness so becoming persons of her sex and quality, particularly after the first time the magician paid her a visit and she had understood by some of the women, who knew him again, that it was he who had taken the old lamp in exchange for a new one. however, the opportunity of taking the revenge he deserved made her resolve to gratify aladdin. as soon, therefore, as he was gone, she sat down to dress, and was attired by her women to the best advantage in the richest habit of her wardrobe. her girdle was of the finest and largest diamonds set in gold, her necklace of pearls, six on a side, so well proportioned to that in the middle, which was the largest ever seen, that the greatest sultanesses would have been proud to have been adorned with only two of the smallest. her bracelets, which were of diamonds and rubies intermixed, corresponded admirably to the richness of the girdle and necklace. when the princess badroulboudour was completely dressed, she consulted her glass and women upon her adjustment; and when she found she wanted no charms to flatter the foolish passion of the african magician, she sat down on a sofa expecting his arrival. the magician came at the usual hour, and as soon as he entered the great hall where the princess waited to receive him, she rose with an enchanting grace and smile, and pointed with her hand to the most honourable place, waiting till he sat down, that she might sit at the same time, which was a civility she had never shown him before. the african magician, dazzled more with the lustre of the princess's eyes than the glittering of her jewels, was much surprised. the smiling air with which she received him, so opposite to her former behaviour, quite fascinated his heart. when he was seated, the princess, to free him from his embarrassment, broke silence first, looking at him all the time in such a manner as to make him believe that he was not so odious to her as she had given him to understand hitherto, and said; "you are doubtless amazed to find me so much altered to-day; but your surprise will not be so great when i acquaint you, that i am naturally of a disposition so opposite to melancholy and grief, that i always strive to put them as far away as possible when i find the subject of them is past. i have reflected on what you told me of aladdin's fate, and know my father's temper so well that i am persuaded, with you, he could not escape the terrible effects of the sultan's rage: therefore, should i continue to lament him all my life, my tears cannot recall him. for this reason, since i have paid all the duties decency requires of me to his memory, now he is in the grave i think i ought to endeavour to comfort myself. these are the motives of the change you see in me; i am resolved to banish melancholy entirely; and persuaded that you will bear me company to-night, i have ordered a supper to be prepared; but as i have no wines but those of china, i have a great desire to taste of the produce of africa, and doubt not your procuring some of the best." the african magician, who had looked upon the happiness of getting so soon and so easily into the princess badroulboudour's good graces as impossible, could not think of words expressive enough to testify how sensible he was of her favours: but to put an end the sooner to a conversation which would have embarrassed him, if he had engaged farther in it, he turned it upon the wines of africa, and said: "of all the advantages africa can boast, that of producing the most excellent wines is one of the principal. i have a vessel of seven years old, which has never been broached; and it is indeed not praising it too much to say it is the finest wine in the world. if my princess," added he, "will give me leave, i will go and fetch two bottles, and return again immediately." "i should be sorry to give you that trouble," replied the princess; "you had better send for them." "it is necessary i should go myself," answered the african magician, "for nobody but myself knows where the key of the cellar is laid, or has the secret to unlock the door." "if it be so," said the princess, "make haste back; for the longer you stay the greater will be my impatience, and we shall sit down to supper as soon as you return." the african magician, full of hopes of his expected happiness, rather flew than ran, and returned quickly with the wine. the princess, not doubting but he would make haste, put with her own hand the powder aladdin had given her into the cup set apart for that purpose. they sat down at the table opposite to each other, the magician's back toward the buffet. the princess presented him with the best at the table, and said to him: "if you please, i will entertain you with a concert of vocal and instrumental music; but as we are only two, i think conversation may be more agreeable." this the magician took as a new favour. after they had eaten some time, the princess called for some wine, drank the magician's health, and afterward said to him: "indeed you had a full right to commend your wine, since i never tasted any so delicious." "charming princess," said he, holding in his hand the cup which had been presented to him, "my wine becomes more exquisite by your approbation." "then drink my health," replied the princess: "you will find i understand wines." he drank the princess's health, and returning the cup said; "i think myself fortunate, princess, that i reserved this wine for so happy an occasion; and own i never before drank any in every respect so excellent." when they had each drunk two or three cups more, the princess, who had completely charmed the african magician by her obliging behaviour, gave the signal to the slave who served them with wine, bidding her bring the cup which had been filled for herself, and at the same time bring the magician a full goblet. when they both had their cups in their hands, she said to him: "i know not how you express your loves in these parts when drinking together. with us in china lovers reciprocally exchange cups, and drink each other's health:" at the same time she presented to him the cup which was in her hand, and held out her hand to receive his. he hastened to make the exchange with the more pleasure, because he looked upon this favour as a token of conquest over the princess, which raised his rapture to the highest pitch. before he drank, he said to her, with the cup in his hand: "indeed, princess, we africans are not so refined in the art of love as you chinese: and your instructing me in a lesson i was ignorant of, informs me how sensible i ought to be of the favour done me. i shall never, lovely princess, forget my recovering, by drinking out of your cup, that life, which your cruelty, had it continued, must have made me despair of." the princess, who began to be tired with his declarations, interrupted him and said: "let us drink first, and then say what you will afterward:" at the same time she set the cup to her lips, while the african magician, who was eager to get his wine off first, drank up the very last drop. in finishing it, he leaned his head back to show his eagerness, and remained some time in that state. the princess kept the cup at her lips till she saw his eyes turn in his head, when he fell backward lifeless on the sofa. the princess had no occasion to order the private door to be opened to aladdin; for her women were so disposed from the great hall to the foot of the staircase, that the word was no sooner given that the magician was fallen, than the door was immediately opened. as soon as aladdin entered the hall, he saw the magician stretched backward on the sofa. the princess rose from her seat, and ran overjoyed to embrace him; but he stopped her and said: "princess, it is not yet time; let me be left alone a moment, while i endeavour to transport you back to china as speedily as you were brought from thence." when the princess, her women and eunuchs, were gone out of the hall, aladdin shut the door, and, going directly to the dead body of the magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp which was carefully wrapped up, as the princess had told him, and unfolding and rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. "genie," said aladdin, "i have called to command thee, on the part of thy good mistress, this lamp, to transport this palace instantly into china, to the place from whence it was brought hither." the genie bowed his head in token of obedience, and disappeared. immediately the palace was transported into china, and its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short interval of time. from the time of the transportation of aladdin's palace, the princess's father had been inconsolable for the loss of her. before the disaster he used to go every morning into his closet to please himself with viewing the palace; he went now many times in the day to renew his tears, and plunge himself into the deepest melancholy, by reflecting how he had lost what was most dear to him in this world. the very morning of the return to the palace, the sultan went into his closet to indulge his sorrows. absorbed in himself, and in a pensive mood, he cast his eyes toward the spot, expecting only to see an open space; but perceiving the vacancy filled up, he at first imagined the appearance to be the effect of a fog; looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt that it was his son-in-law's palace. joy and gladness succeeded to sorrow and grief. he returned immediately into his apartment, and ordered a horse to be saddled and brought to him without delay, which he mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the palace. aladdin, who foresaw what would happen, rose that morning by daybreak, put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and went up into the hall of twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived the sultan approaching, and got down soon enough to receive him at the foot of the great staircase. "aladdin," said the sultan, "i cannot speak to you till i have seen and embraced my daughter." the happy father was then led to the princess's apartment and embraced her with his face bathed in tears of joy. the sultan was some time before he could open his lips, so great was his surprise and joy to find his daughter again, after he had given her up for lost; and the princess, upon seeing her father, let fall tears of rapture and affection. at last the sultan broke silence, and said: "i would believe, daughter, your joy to see me makes you seem as little changed as if no misfortune had befallen you; yet i cannot be persuaded but that you have suffered much alarm; for a large palace cannot be so suddenly transported as yours has been, without causing great fright and apprehension. i would have you tell me all that has happened, and conceal nothing from me." the princess, who took great pleasure in giving the sultan the satisfaction he demanded, said: "if i appear so little altered, i beg of your majesty to consider that i received new life yesterday morning by the presence of my dear husband and deliverer, aladdin, whom i looked upon and bewailed as lost to me. my greatest suffering was to find myself forced not only from your majesty, but from my dear husband; not only from the love i bore him, but from the uneasiness i laboured under through fear that he, though innocent, might feel the effects of your anger. as to what relates to my transportation, i was myself the innocent cause of it." to persuade the sultan of the truth of what she said, she gave him a full account of how the african magician had disguised himself, and offered to change new lamps for old ones; how she had amused herself in making that exchange; how the palace and herself were carried away and transported into africa, with the magician, who was recognised by two of her women and the eunuch who made the exchange of the lamp, when he had the audacity, after the success of his daring enterprise, to propose himself for her husband; how he persecuted her till aladdin's arrival; how they had concerted measures to get the lamp from him again, and the success they had fortunately met with by her dissimulation in inviting him to supper, and giving him the cup with the powder prepared for him. "for the rest," added she, "i leave it to aladdin to recount." aladdin had not much to tell the sultan, but only said: "when the private door was opened i went up into the great hall, where i found the magician lying dead on the sofa; and as i thought it not proper for the princess to stay there any longer, i desired her to go down into her own apartment, with her women and eunuchs. as soon as i was alone, and had taken the lamp out of the magician's breast, i made use of the same secret he had done, to remove the palace, and carry off the princess; and by that means the palace was reconveyed to the place where it stood before; and i have the happiness to restore the princess to your majesty. but that your majesty may not think that i impose upon you, if you will give yourself the trouble to go up into the hall, you may see the magician punished as he deserved." the sultan rose instantly and went into the hall, where, when he saw the african magician dead, and his face already livid by the strength of the poison, he embraced aladdin with great tenderness, and said: "my son, be not displeased at my proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love; and therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me." "sir," replied aladdin, "i have not the least reason to complain of your majesty's conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty required. this infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause of my misfortune. when your majesty has leisure, i will give you an account of another villainous action he was guilty of toward me, which was no less black and base than this." "i will take an opportunity, and that very shortly," replied the sultan, "to hear it; but in the meantime let us think only of rejoicing." the sultan then commanded the drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of music to announce his joy to the public, and a festival of ten days to be proclaimed for the return of the princess and aladdin. within a few years afterward, the sultan died in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess badroulboudour, as lawful heir of the throne, succeeded him, and communicating the power to aladdin, they reigned together many years, and left a numerous and illustrious progeny. the story of prince agib i was a king, and the son of a king; and when my father died, i succeeded to his throne, and governed my subjects with justice and beneficence. i took pleasure in sea-voyages; and my capital was on the shore of an extensive sea, interspersed with fortified and garrisoned islands, which i desired, for my amusement, to visit; i therefore embarked with a fleet of ten ships, and took with me provisions sufficient for a whole month. i proceeded twenty days, after which there arose against us a contrary wind; but at daybreak it ceased, and the sea became calm, and we arrived at an island, where we landed, and cooked some provisions and ate; after which we remained there two days. we then continued our voyage; and when twenty days more had passed, we found ourselves in strange waters, unknown to the captain, and desired the watch to look out from the mast head: so he went aloft, and when he had come down he said to the captain: "i saw, on my right hand, fish floating upon the surface of the water; and looking toward the midst of the sea, i perceived something looming in the distance, sometimes black, and sometimes white." when the captain heard this report of the watch, he threw his turban on the deck, and plucked his beard, and said to those who were with him: "receive warning of our destruction, which will befall all of us: not one will escape!" so saying, he began to weep; and all of us in like manner bewailed our lot. i desired him to inform us of that which the watch had seen. "o my lord," he replied, "know that we have wandered from our course since the commencement of the contrary wind that was followed in the morning by a calm, in consequence of which we remained stationary two days: from that period we have deviated from our course for twenty-one days, and we have no wind to carry us back from the fate which awaits us after this day. to-morrow we shall arrive at a mountain of black stone, called loadstone: the current is now bearing us violently toward it, and the ships will fall in pieces, and every nail in them will fly to the mountain, and adhere to it; for god hath given to the loadstone a secret property by virtue of which everything of iron is attracted toward it. on that mountain is such a quantity of iron as no one knoweth but god, whose name be exalted; for from times of old great numbers of ships have been destroyed by the influence of that mountain. there is, upon the summit of the mountain, a cupola of brass supported by ten columns, and upon the top of this is a horseman upon a horse of brass, having in his hand a brazen spear, and upon his breast suspended a tablet of lead, upon which are engraved mysterious names and talismans: and as long, o king, as this horseman remains upon the horse, so long will every ship that approaches be destroyed, with every person on board, and all the iron contained in it will cleave to the mountain: no one will be safe until the horseman shall have fallen from the horse." the captain then wept bitterly; and we felt assured that our destruction was inevitable, and every one of us bade adieu to his friend. on the following morning we drew near to the mountain; the current carried us toward it with violence, and when the ships were almost close to it, they fell asunder, and all the nails, and everything else that was of iron, flew from them toward the loadstone. it was near the close of day when the ships fell in pieces. some of us were drowned, and some escaped; but the greater number were drowned, and of those who saved their lives none know what became of the others, so stupefied were they by the waves and the boisterous wind. as for myself, god, whose name be exalted, spared me on account of the trouble and torment and affliction that he had predestined to befall me. i placed myself upon a plank, and the wind and waves cast it upon the mountain; and when i had landed, i found a practicable way to the summit, resembling steps cut in the rock: so i exclaimed: "in the name of god!" and offered up a prayer, and attempted the ascent, holding fast by the notches; and presently god stilled the wind, so that i arrived in safety at the summit. rejoicing greatly in my escape, i immediately entered the cupola, and performed prayers in gratitude to god for my preservation; after which i slept beneath the cupola, and heard a voice saying to me: "o son of khasib, when thou awakest, dig beneath thy feet, and thou wilt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, whereon are engraved talismans: then take the bow and arrows and shoot at the horseman that is upon the top of the cupola, and relieve mankind from this great affliction; for when thou hast shot at the horseman he will fall into the sea; the bow will also fall, and do thou bury it in its place; and as soon as thou hast done this, the sea will swell and rise until it attains the summit of the mountain; and there will appear upon it a boat bearing a man, different from him whom thou shalt have cast down, and he will come to thee, having an oar in his hand: then do thou embark with him; but utter not the name of god; and he will convey thee in ten days to a safe sea, where, on thy arrival, thou wilt find one who will take thee to thy city. all this shall be done if thou utter not the name of god." awaking from my sleep, i sprang up, and did as the voice had directed. i shot at the horseman, and he fell into the sea; and the bow having fallen from my hand, i buried it: the sea then became troubled, and rose to the summit of the mountain, and when i had stood waiting there a little while, i beheld a boat in the midst of the sea, approaching me. i praised god, whose name be exalted, and when the boat came to me, i found in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast, engraven with names and talismans. without uttering a word, i embarked in the boat, and the man rowed me ten successive days, after which i beheld the islands of security, whereupon, in the excess of my joy, i exclaimed: "there is no deity but god! god is most great!"--and as soon as i had done this, the man cast me out of the boat, and sank in the sea. being able to swim, i swam until night, when my arms and shoulders were tired, and, in this perilous situation, i repeated the profession of the faith, and gave myself up as lost; but the sea rose with the violence of the wind, and a wave like a vast castle threw me upon the land, in order to the accomplishment of the purpose of god. i ascended the shore, and after i had wrung out my clothes, and spread them upon the ground to dry, i slept; and in the morning i put on my clothes again, and, looking about to see which way i should go, i found a tract covered with trees; and when i had walked round it, i found that i was upon a small island in the midst of the sea; upon which i said within myself: "every time that i escape from one calamity i fall into another that is worse:" but while i was reflecting upon my unfortunate case, and wishing for death, i beheld a vessel bearing a number of men. i arose immediately, and climbed into a tree; and lo, the vessel came to the shore, and there landed from it ten black slaves bearing axes. they proceeded to the middle of the island, and, digging up the earth, uncovered and lifted up a trap-door, after which they returned to the vessel, and brought from it bread and flour, and clarified butter and honey, and sheep and everything that the wants of an inhabitant would require, continuing to pass backward and forward between the vessel and the trap-door, bringing loads from the former, and entering the latter, until they had removed all the stores from the ship. they then came out of the vessel with various clothes of the most beautiful description, and in the midst of them was an old sheikh, enfeebled and wasted by extreme age, leading by the hand a young man cast in the mould of graceful symmetry, and invested with such perfect beauty as deserved to be a subject for proverbs. he was like a fresh and slender twig, enchanting and captivating every heart by his elegant form. the party proceeded to the trap-door, and, entering it, became concealed from my eyes. they remained beneath about two hours, or more; after which, the sheikh and the slaves came out; but the youth came not with them; and they replaced the earth, and embarked and set sail. soon after, i descended from the tree, and went to the excavation. i removed the earth, and, entering the aperture, saw a flight of wooden steps, which i descended; and, at the bottom, i beheld a handsome dwelling-place, furnished with a variety of silken carpets; and there was the youth, sitting upon a high mattress, with sweet-smelling flowers and fruits placed before him. on seeing me, his countenance became pale; but i saluted him, and said: "let thy mind be composed, o my master: thou hast nothing to fear; for i am a man, and the son of a king, like thyself: fate hath impelled me to thee, that i may cheer thee in thy solitude." the youth, when he heard me thus address him, and was convinced that i was one of his own species, rejoiced exceedingly at my arrival, his colour returned, and, desiring me to approach him, he said: "o my brother, my story is wonderful: my father is a jeweller; he had slaves who made voyages by his orders, for the purposes of commerce, and he had dealings with kings; but he had never been blest with a son; and he dreamt that he was soon to have a son, but one whose life would be short; and he awoke sorrowful. shortly after, in accordance with the decrees of god, my mother gave birth to me; and my father was greatly rejoiced: the astrologers, however, came to him, and said: thy son will live fifteen years: his fate is intimated by the fact that there is in the sea a mountain called the mountain of loadstone, whereon is a horseman on a horse of brass, on the former of which is a tablet of lead suspended to his neck; and when the horseman shall be thrown down from his horse, thy son will be slain: the person who is to slay him is he who will throw down the horseman, and his name is king agib, the son of king khasib. my father was greatly afflicted at this announcement; and when he had reared me until i had nearly attained the age of fifteen years, the astrologers came again, and informed him that the horseman had fallen into the sea, and that it had been thrown down by king agib, the son of king khasib; on hearing which, he prepared for me this dwelling, and here left me to remain until the completion of the term, of which there now remain ten days. all this he did from fear lest king agib should kill me." [illustration] _and when the boat came to me i found in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast, engraven with names and talismans._ when i heard this, i was filled with wonder, and said within myself: "i am king agib, the son of king khasib, and it was i who threw down the horseman; but, by allah, i will neither kill him nor do him any injury." then said i to the youth: "far from thee be both destruction and harm, if it be the will of god: thou hast nothing to fear: i will remain with thee to serve thee, and will go forth with thee to thy father, and beg of him to send me back to my country, for the which he will obtain a reward." the youth rejoiced at my words, and i sat and conversed with him until night, when i spread his bed for him, and covered him, and slept near to his side. and in the morning i brought him water, and he washed his face, and said to me: "may god requite thee for me with every blessing. if i escape from king agib, i will make my father reward thee with abundant favours." "never," i replied, "may the day arrive that would bring thee misfortune!" i then placed before him some refreshments, and after we had eaten together, we passed the day conversing with the utmost cheerfulness. i continued to serve him for nine days; and on the tenth day the youth rejoiced at finding himself in safety, and said to me: "o my brother, i wish that thou wouldst in thy kindness warm for me some water, that i may wash myself and change my clothes; for i have smelt the odour of escape from death, in consequence of thy assistance." "with pleasure," i replied; and i arose, and warmed the water; after which, he entered a place concealed from my view, and, having washed himself and changed his clothes, laid himself upon the mattress to rest after his bath. he then said to me: "cut up for me, o my brother, a water-melon, and mix its juice with some sugar:" so i arose, and, taking a melon, brought it upon a plate, and said to him; "knowest thou, o my master, where is the knife?" "see, here it is," he answered, "upon the shelf over my head." i sprang up hastily, and took it from its sheath, and as i was drawing back, my foot slipped, as god had decreed, and i fell upon the youth, grasping in my hand the knife, which entered his body, and he died instantly. when i perceived that he was dead, and that i had killed him, i uttered a loud shriek, and beat my face, and rent my clothes: saying: "this is, indeed, a calamity! o my lord, i implore thy pardon, and declare to thee my innocence of his death! would that i had died before him!" with these reflections i ascended the steps, and, having replaced the trap-door, returned to my first station, and looked over the sea, where i saw the vessel that had come before, approaching, and cleaving the waves in its rapid course. upon this i said within myself: "now will the men come forth from the vessel, and find the youth slain, and they will slay me also:" so i climbed into a tree, and concealed myself among its leaves, and sat there till the vessel arrived and cast anchor, when the slaves landed with the old sheikh, the father of the youth, and went to the place, and removed the earth. they were surprised at finding it moist, and, when they had descended the steps, they discovered the youth lying on his back, exhibiting a face beaming with beauty, though dead, and clad in white and clean clothing, with the knife remaining in his body. they all wept at the sight, and the father fell down in a swoon, which lasted so long that the slaves thought he was dead. at length, however, he recovered, and came out with the slaves, who had wrapped the body of the youth in his clothes. they then took back all that was in the subterranean dwelling to the vessel, and departed. i remained, by day hiding myself in a tree, and at night walking about the open part of the island. thus i continued for the space of two months; and i perceived that, on the western side of the island, the water of the sea every day retired, until, after three months, the land that had been beneath it became dry. rejoicing at this, and feeling confident now in my escape, i traversed this dry tract, and arrived at an expanse of sand; whereupon i emboldened myself, and crossed it. i then saw in the distance an appearance of fire, and, advancing toward it, found it to be a palace, overlaid with plates of red copper, which, reflecting the rays of the sun, seemed from a distance to be fire: and when i drew near to it, reflecting upon this sight, there approached me an old sheikh, accompanied by ten young men who were all blind of one eye, at which i was extremely surprised. as soon as they saw me, they saluted me, and asked me my story, which i related to them from first to last; and they were filled with wonder. they then conducted me into the palace, where i saw ten benches, upon each of which was a mattress covered with a blue stuff; and each of the young men seated himself upon one of these benches, while the sheikh took his place upon a smaller one; after which they said to me: "sit down, o young man, and ask no question respecting our condition, nor respecting our being blind of one eye." then the sheikh arose, and brought to each of them some food, and the same to me also; and next he brought to each of us some wine: and after we had eaten, we sat drinking together until the time for sleep, when the young men said to the sheikh: "bring to us our accustomed supply"--upon which the sheikh arose, and entered a closet, from which he brought, upon his head, ten covered trays. placing these upon the floor, he lighted ten candles, and stuck one of them upon each tray; and, having done this, he removed the covers, and there appeared beneath them ashes mixed with pounded charcoal. the young men then tucked up their sleeves above the elbow, and blackened their faces, and slapped their cheeks, exclaiming: "we were reposing at our ease, and our impertinent curiosity suffered us not to remain so!" thus they did until the morning, when the sheikh brought them some hot water, and they washed their faces, and put on other clothes. on witnessing this conduct, my reason was confounded, my heart was so troubled that i forgot my own misfortunes, and i asked them the cause of their strange behaviour; upon which they looked toward me, and said: "o young man, ask not respecting that which doth not concern thee; but be silent; for in silence is security from error." i remained with them a whole month, during which, every night they did the same, and at length i said to them: "i conjure you by allah to remove this disquiet from my mind, and to inform me of the cause of your acting in this manner, and of your exclaiming; 'we were reposing at our ease, and our impertinent curiosity suffered us not to remain so!' if ye inform me not, i will leave you, and go my way." on hearing these words, they replied: "we have not concealed this affair from thee but in our concern for thy welfare, lest thou shouldst become like us, and the same affliction that hath befallen us happen also to thee." i said, however: "ye must positively inform me of this matter." "we give thee good advice," said they, "and do thou receive it, and ask us not respecting our case; otherwise thou wilt become blind of one eye, like us"--but i still persisted in my request; whereupon they said: "o young man, if this befall thee, know that thou wilt be banished from our company." they then all arose, and, taking a ram, slaughtered and skinned it, and said to me: "take this knife with thee, and introduce thyself into the skin of the ram, and we will sew thee up in it, and go away; whereupon a bird called the roc will come to thee, and, taking thee up by its talons, will fly away with thee, and set thee down upon a mountain: then cut open the skin with this knife, and get out, and the bird will fly away. thou must arise, as soon as it hath gone, and journey for half a day, and thou wilt see before thee a lofty palace, encased with red gold, set with various precious stones such as emeralds and rubies; and if thou enter it thy case will be as ours; for our entrance into that palace was the cause of our being blind of one eye; and if one of us would relate to thee all that hath befallen him, his story would be too long for thee to hear." they then sewed me up in the skin, and entered their palace; and soon after, there came an enormous white bird, which seized me, and flew away with me, and set me down upon the mountain; whereupon i cut open the skin, and got out; and the bird, as soon as it saw me, flew away. i rose up quickly, and proceeded toward the palace, which i found to be as they had described it to me; and when i had entered it, i beheld, at the upper end of a saloon, forty young damsels, beautiful as so many moons, and magnificently attired, who, as soon as they saw me, exclaimed: "welcome! welcome! o our master and our lord! we have been for a month expecting thee. praise be to god who hath blessed us with one who is worthy of us, and one of whom we are worthy!" after having thus greeted me, they seated me upon a mattress, and said; "thou art from this day our master and prince, and we are thy handmaids, and entirely under thy authority." they then brought to me some refreshments, and, when i had eaten and drunk, they sat and conversed with me, full of joy and happiness. so lovely were these ladies, that even a devotee, if he saw them, would gladly consent to be their servant, and to comply with all that they would desire. at the approach of night they all assembled around me, and placed before me a table of fresh and dried fruits, with other delicacies that the tongue cannot describe, and wine; and one began to sing, while another played upon the lute. the wine-cups circulated among us, and joy overcame me to such a degree as to obliterate from my mind every earthly care, and make me exclaim: "this is indeed a delightful life!" i passed a night of such enjoyment as i had never before experienced; and on the morrow i entered the bath; and, after i had washed myself, they brought me a suit of the richest clothing, and we again sat down to a repast. in this manner i lived with them a whole year; but on the first day of the new year, they seated themselves around me, and began to weep, and bade me farewell, clinging to my skirts. "what calamity hath befallen you?" said i. "ye are breaking my heart." they answered: "would that we had never known thee; for we have associated with many men, but have seen none like thee. may god, therefore, not deprive us of thy company." and they wept afresh. i said to them: "i wish that you would acquaint me with the cause of this weeping." "thou," they replied, "art the cause; yet now, if thou wilt attend to what we tell thee, we shall never be parted; but if thou act contrary to it, we are separated from this time; and our hearts whisper to us that thou wilt not regard our warning." "inform me," said i, "and i will attend to your directions." and they replied: "if then thou wouldst inquire respecting our history, know that we are the daughters of kings: for many years it hath been our custom to assemble here, and every year we absent ourselves during a period of forty days; then returning, we indulge ourselves for a year in feasting and drinking. this is our usual practice; and now we fear that thou wilt disregard our directions when we are absent from thee. we deliver to thee the keys of the palace, which are a hundred in number, belonging to a hundred closets. open each of these, and amuse thyself, and eat and drink, and refresh thyself, excepting the closet that hath a door of red gold; for if thou open this, the consequence will be a separation between us and thee. we conjure thee, therefore, to observe our direction, and to be patient during this period." upon hearing this, i swore to them that i would never open the closet to which they alluded; and they departed, urging me to be faithful to my promise. i remained alone in the palace, and at the approach of evening i opened the first closet, and, entering it, found a mansion like paradise, with a garden containing green trees loaded with ripe fruits, abounding with singing birds, and watered by copious streams. my heart was soothed by the sight, and i wandered among the trees, scenting the fragrance of the flowers, and listening to the warbling of the birds as they sang the praises of the one, the almighty. after admiring the mingled colours of the apple resembling the hue upon the cheek of the beloved maid and the sallow countenance of the perplexed and timid lover, the sweet-smelling quince diffusing an odour like musk and ambergris, and the plum shining as the ruby, i retired from this place, and, having locked the door, opened that of the next closet, within which i beheld a spacious tract planted with numerous palm-trees, and watered by a river flowing among rose-trees, and jasmine, and marjoram, and eglantine, and narcissus, and gilliflower, the odours of which, diffused in every direction by the wind, inspired me with the utmost delight. i locked again the door of the second closet, and opened that of the third. within this i found a large saloon, paved with marbles of various colours, and with costly minerals and precious gems, and containing cages constructed of sandal and aloes-wood with singing birds within them, and others upon the branches of trees which were planted there. my heart was charmed, my trouble was dissipated, and i slept there until the morning. i then opened the door of the fourth closet, and within this door i found a great building in which were forty closets with open doors; and entering these, i beheld pearls, and rubies, and chrysolites, and emeralds, and other precious jewels such as the tongue cannot describe. i was astonished at the sight, and said: "such things as these, i imagine, are not found in the treasury of any king. i am now the king of my age, and all these treasures, through the goodness of god, are mine." [illustration] _at the approach of evening i opened the first closet and, entering it, found a mansion like paradise._ thus i continued to amuse myself, passing from one place to another, until thirty-nine days had elapsed, and i had opened the doors of all the closets excepting that which they had forbidden me to open. my heart was then disturbed by curiosity respecting this hundredth closet, and the devil, in order to plunge me into misery, induced me to open it. i had not patience to abstain, though there remained of the appointed period only one day: so i approached the closet, and opened the door; and when i had entered, i perceived a fragrant odour, such as i had never before smelt, which intoxicated me so that i fell down insensible, and remained some time in this state: but at length recovering, i fortified my heart, and proceeded. i found the floor overspread with saffron, and the place illuminated by golden lamps and by candles, which diffused the odours of musk and ambergris. i saw also a black horse, of the hue of the darkest night, before which was a manger of white crystal filled with cleansed sesame, and another, similar to it, containing rose-water infused with musk: he was saddled and bridled, and his saddle was of red gold. wondering at the sight of him, i said within myself: "this must be an animal of extraordinary qualities;" and, seduced by the devil, i led him out, and mounted him; but he moved not from his place. i kicked him with my heel; but still he moved not: so i took a switch and struck him with it; and as soon as he felt the blow he uttered a sound like thunder, and, expanding a pair of wings, soared with me to an immense height through the air, and then alighted upon the roof of another palace, where he threw me from his back, and, by a violent blow with his tail upon my face, struck out my eye, and left me. thus it was i became blind of one eye. i then recollected the predictions of the ten young men. the horse again took wing, and soon disappeared. i got up much vexed at the misfortune i had brought upon myself. i walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then descended, and entered into a hall. i soon discovered by the ten benches in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, smaller than the rest, that i was in the castle whence i had been carried by the roc. the ten young men were not in the hall when i entered; but came in soon after, attended by the sheikh. they seemed not at all surprised to see me, nor at the loss of my eye; but said: "we are sorry that we cannot congratulate you on your return, as we could wish; but we are not the cause of your misfortune." "i should do you wrong," i replied, "to lay it to your charge; i have only myself to accuse." "if," said they, "it be a subject of consolation to the afflicted to know that others share their sufferings, you have in us this alleviation of your misfortune. all that has happened to you we have also endured; we each of us tasted the same pleasures during a year; and we had still continued to enjoy them, had we not opened the golden door, when the princesses were absent. you have been no wiser than we, and have incurred the same punishment. we would gladly receive you into our company, to join with us in the penance to which we are bound, and the duration of which we know not. but we have already stated to you the reasons that render this impossible: depart, therefore, and proceed to the court of bagdad, where you will meet with the person who is to decide your destiny." after they had explained to me the road i was to travel, i departed from them, with mournful heart and weeping eye, and, god having decreed me a safe journey hither, i arrived at bagdad, after i had shaved my beard, and become a mendicant. praise be to god, whose name be exalted, and whose purposes concerning me are as yet hid in darkness. the story of the city of brass there was, in olden time, in damascus of syria, a king, named abd-el-melik the son of marwan; and he was sitting, one day, having with him the great men of his empire, consisting of kings and sultans, when a discussion took place among them, respecting the traditions of former nations. they called to mind the stories of solomon, son of david, and the dominion which god had bestowed upon him over mankind, and the genies, and the birds, and the wild beasts, and they said: "we have heard from those who were before us, that god bestowed not upon any one the power which he bestowed upon solomon, so that he used to imprison the genies and the devils in bottles of brass, and pour molten lead over them, and seal a cover over them with his signet." then talib, one of the sultans, related, that a man once embarked in a ship with a company of others, and they voyaged to the island of sicily and ceased not in their course until there arose against them a wind which bore them away to an unknown land. this happened during the black darkness of night, and when the day shone forth, there came out to them, from caves in that land, people of black complexion and with naked bodies, like wild beasts, not understanding speech. they had a king of their own race, and none of them knew arabic save their king. so when they saw the ship and those who were in her, he came forth to them attended by a party of his companions, and saluted them and welcomed them: they acquainted him with their state; and he said to them, "no harm shall befall you; there hath not come to us any one of the sons of adam before you." and he entertained them with a banquet of the flesh of birds and of wild beasts and of fish. and after this, the people of the ship went down to divert themselves in the city, and they found one of the fishermen who had cast his net in the sea to catch fish, and he drew it up, and, lo, in it was a bottle of brass stopped with lead, which was sealed with the signet of solomon the son of david. and the fisherman came forth and broke it; whereupon there proceeded from it a blue smoke, which united with the clouds of heaven; and they heard a horrible voice, saying: "repentance! repentance! o prophet of god!" then, of that smoke there was formed a person of terrible aspect, of terrific make, whose head would reach as high as a mountain; and he disappeared from before their eyes. as to the people of the ship, their hearts were almost eradicated; but the blacks thought nothing of the event. and a man returned to the king, and asked him respecting this; and the king answered him: "know that this is one of the genies whom solomon, the son of david, when he was incensed against them, imprisoned in these bottles, and he poured lead over them, and threw them into the sea. when the fisherman casteth his net, it generally bringeth up these bottles; and when they are broken, there cometh forth from them a genie, who imagineth that solomon is still living; wherefore he repenteth, and saith: 'repentance! o prophet of god!'" and the prince of the faithful, abd-el-melik, wondered at these words, and said: "by allah, i desire to see some of these bottles!" so talib replied: "o prince of the faithful, thou art able to do so, and yet remain in thy country. send to thy brother abd-el-azeez, that he may write orders to the emeer moosa to journey from the western country to this mountain which we have mentioned, and to bring thee what thou desirest of these bottles; for the furthest tract of his province is adjacent to this mountain." and the prince of the faithful approved of his advice, and said: "o talib, thou hast spoken truth and i desire that thou be my messenger to moosa for this purpose." to this, talib replied: "most willingly, o prince of the faithful." and the king said to him: "go in dependence on the blessing of god, and his aid." then he gave orders that they should write for him a letter to his brother abd-el-azeez, his viceroy in egypt, and another letter to moosa, his viceroy in the western country, commanding him to journey, himself, in search of the bottles of solomon. he sealed the two letters, and delivered them to talib, commanding him to hasten, and he gave him riches and riders and footmen to aid him in his way. so talib went forth on his way to egypt, and when the emeer moosa knew of his approach, he went forth to him and met him, and rejoiced at his arrival; and talib handed to him the letter. so he took it and read it, and understood its meaning; and he put it upon his head, saying: "i hear and obey the command of the prince of the faithful." he determined to summon his great men; and they presented themselves; and he inquired of them respecting that which had been made known to him by the letter; whereupon they said: "o emeer, if thou desire him who will guide thee to that place, have recourse to the sheikh abd-es-samad; for he is a knowing man, and hath travelled much, and he is acquainted with the deserts and wastes and the seas, and their inhabitants and their wonders, and the countries and their districts. have recourse therefore to him, and he will direct thee to the object of thy desire." accordingly he gave orders to bring him, and he came before him; and, lo, he was a very old man, whom the vicissitudes of years and times had rendered decrepit. the emeer moosa saluted him, and said to him: "o sheikh abd-es-samad, our lord, the prince of the faithful, hath commanded us thus and thus, and i possess little knowledge of that land, and it hath been told me that thou art acquainted with that country and the routes. hast thou then a wish to accomplish the affair of the prince of the faithful?" the sheikh replied: "know, o emeer, that this route is difficult, far extending, with few tracks." the emeer said to him: "how long a period doth it require?" he answered: "it is a journey of two years and some months going, and the like returning; and on the way are difficulties and horrors, and extraordinary and wonderful things. but," he said, "god will assuredly make this affair easy to us through the blessing attendant upon thee, o viceroy of the prince of the faithful." after this they departed, and they continued their journey until they arrived at a palace; whereupon the sheikh said: "advance with us to this palace, which presenteth a lesson to him who will be admonished." so the emeer moosa advanced thither, together with the sheikh abd-es-samad and his chief companions, till they came to its entrance. and they found it open, and having lofty angles, and steps, among which were two wide steps of coloured marbles, the like of which hath not been seen: the ceilings and walls were decorated with gold and silver and minerals, and over the entrance was a slab, whereon was an inscription in ancient greek; and the sheikh abd-es-samad said: "shall i read it, o emeer?" the emeer answered; "advance and read." so he read it; and, lo, it was poetry; and it was this: here was a people whom, after their works, thou shalt see wept over for their lost dominion; and in this palace is the last information respecting lords collected in the dust. death hath destroyed them and disunited them, and in the dust they have lost what they amassed; as though they had only put down their loads to rest a while: quickly have they departed! and the emeer moosa wept and said: "there is no deity but god, the living, the enduring without failure!" then they attentively viewed the palace; and, lo, it was devoid of inhabitants, destitute of household and occupants: its courts were desolate, and its apartments were deserted; and in the midst of it was a chamber covered with a lofty dome, rising high into the air, around which were four hundred tombs. and the emeer moosa drew near to the dome-crowned chamber, and, lo, it had eight doors of sandalwood, with nails of gold, ornamented with stars of silver set with various jewels, and he beheld in it a long tomb, of terrible appearance, whereon was a tablet of iron of china; and the sheikh abd-es-samad drew near to it, and read its inscription; and, lo, on it was written: shouldst thou think upon me after the length of my age, and the vicissitudes of days and circumstances, i am the son of sheddad, who held dominion over mankind and each tract of the whole earth. all the stubborn troops became abject unto me, and esh-sham from misr unto adnan. in glory i reigned, abasing their kings, the people of the earth fearing my dominion; and i beheld the tribes and armies in my power, and saw the countries and their inhabitants dread me. when i mounted, i beheld my army comprising a million bridles upon neighing steeds; and i possessed wealth that could not be calculated, which i treasured up against misfortunes, determining to devote the whole of my property for the purpose of extending the term of my life. but the deity would nought save the execution of his purpose; and thus i became separated from my brethren. death, the disuniter of mankind, came to me, and i was removed from grandeur to the mansion of contempt; and i found the recompense of all my past actions, for which i am pledged: for i was sinful! then raise thyself, lest thou be upon a brink; and beware of calamities! mayest thou be led aright! and again the emeer moosa wept, in considering the fates of the people; after which, as they were going about through the different apartments of the palace, and viewing attentively its chambers and its places of diversion, they came to a table upon four legs of alabaster, whereon was inscribed: upon this table have eaten a thousand one-eyed kings, and a thousand kings each sound in both eyes. all of them have quitted the world, and taken up their abode in the burial-grounds and the graves. and the emeer moosa wrote down all this. then he went forth, and took not with him from the palace aught save the table. the soldiers proceeded, with the sheikh abd-es-samad before them shewing them the way, until all the first day had passed, and the second, and the third. they then came to a high hill, at which they looked, and, lo, upon it was a horseman of brass, on the top of whose spear was a wide and glistening head that almost deprived the beholder of sight, and on it was inscribed: o thou who comest unto me, if thou know not the way that leadeth to the city of brass, rub the hand of the horseman, and he will turn, and then will stop, and in whatsoever direction he stoppeth, thither proceed, without fear and without difficulty; for it will lead thee to the city of brass. and when the emeer moosa had rubbed the hand of the horseman, it turned like the blinding lightning, and faced a different direction from that in which they were travelling. the party therefore turned thither and journeyed on, and it was the right way. they took that route, and continued their course the same day and the next night until they had traversed a wide tract of country. and as they were proceeding, one day, they came to a pillar of black stone, wherein was a person sunk to his arm-pits, and he had two huge wings, and four arms; two of them like those of the sons of adam, and two like the fore-legs of lions, with claws. he had hair upon his head like the tails of horses, and two eyes like two burning coals, and he had a third eye, in his forehead, like the eye of the lynx, from which there appeared sparks of fire. he was black and tall; and he was crying out: "extolled be the perfection of my lord, who hath appointed me this severe affliction and painful torture until the day of resurrection!" when the party beheld him, their reason fled from them, and they were stupefied at the sight of his form, and retreated in flight; and the emeer moosa said to the sheikh abd-es-samad: "what is this?" he answered: "i know not what he is." and the emeer said: "draw near to him, and investigate his case: perhaps he will discover it, and perhaps thou wilt learn his history." so the sheikh abd-es-samad drew near to him, and said to him: "o thou person, what is thy name, and what is thy nature, and what hath placed thee here in this manner?" and the person answered him: "as to me, i am an efreet of the genies, and my name is dahish, and i am restrained here by the majesty of god." then the emeer moosa said: "o sheikh abd-es-samad, ask him what is the cause of his confinement in this pillar." he therefore asked respecting that, and the efreet answered him: "verily my story is wonderful; and it is this: "there belonged to one of the sons of iblees an idol of red carnelian, of which i was made guardian; and there used to worship it one of the kings of the sea, of great glory, leading, among his troops of the genies, a million warriors who smote with swords before him, and who answered his prayer in cases of difficulty. these genies who obeyed him were under my command and authority, following my words when i ordered them: all of them were in rebellion against solomon, the son of david; and i used to enter the body of the idol, and command them and forbid them. now the daughter of that king was a frequent adorer of the idol, assiduous in the worship of it, and she was the handsomest of the people of her age, endowed with beauty and loveliness, and elegance and perfection; and i described her to solomon, on whom be peace! so he sent to her father, saying to him: 'marry to me thy daughter, and break thy carnelian-idol, and bear witness that there is no deity but god, and that solomon is the prophet of god. but if thou refuse, i will come to thee with forces that shall leave thee like yesterday that hath passed.' and when the messenger of solomon came to him, the king of the sea was insolent, and magnified himself and was proud. then he said to his viziers: 'what say ye respecting the affair of solomon? for he hath sent demanding my daughter, and commanding me to break my carnelian-idol, and to adopt his faith.' and they replied: 'o great king, can solomon do aught unto thee, when thou art in the midst of this vast sea? he cannot prevail against thee; since the genies will fight on thy side; and thou shalt seek aid against him of thine idol that thou worshippest. the right opinion is, that thou consult thy red carnelian-idol, and hear what will be his reply: if he counsel thee to fight him, fight him; but otherwise, do not.' and upon this the king went immediately, and, going in to his idol, after he had offered a sacrifice and slain victims, fell down before it prostrate, and began to weep, and to seek counsel. "thereupon i entered the body of the idol, by reason of my ignorance, and my solicitude respecting the affair of solomon, and recited this couplet: 'as for me, i am not in fear of him; for i am acquainted with everything. if he wish to wage war with me, i will go forth, and i will snatch his soul from him.' so when the king heard my reply to him, his heart was strengthened, and he determined to wage war with solomon the prophet of god and to fight against him. accordingly, when the messenger of solomon came, he inflicted upon him a painful beating, and returned him a shameful reply; and he sent to threaten solomon, saying to him, by the messenger: 'dost thou threaten me with false words? either come thou to me, or i will go to thee.' "then the messenger returned to solomon, and acquainted him with all that had occurred. and when the prophet of god heard that, his resolution was roused, and he prepared his forces, consisting of genies and men, and wild beasts, and birds and reptiles. he commanded his vizier, ed-dimiryat, the king of the genies, to collect them from every place: so he collected for him, of the devils, six hundred millions. he also commanded asaf, his vizier of men, to collect his soldiers of mankind; and their number was one million, or more. he made ready the accoutrements and weapons, and mounted, with his forces, upon the magic carpet, with the birds flying over his head, and the wild beasts beneath the carpet marching, until he alighted upon his enemy's coast, and surrounded his island, having filled the land with the forces. he then sent to our king, saying to him: 'behold, i have arrived: therefore submit thyself to my authority, and acknowledge my mission, and break thine idol, and worship the one, the adored god, and marry to me thy daughter according to law, and say thou, and those who are with thee, i testify that there is no deity but god, and i testify that solomon is the prophet of god. if thou say that, peace and safety shall be thy lot. but if thou refuse, thy defending thyself from me in this island shall not prevent thee: for god hath commanded the wind to obey me, and i will order it to convey me unto thee on the carpet, and will make thee an example to restrain others.' so the messenger came to him, and communicated to him the message of the prophet! but the king said to him: 'there is no way for the accomplishment of this thing that he requireth: therefore inform him that i am coming forth unto him.' accordingly the messenger returned to solomon, and gave him the reply. the king then sent to the people of his country, and collected for himself, of the genies that were under his authority, a million; and to these he added others, of the devils that were in the islands and on the mountains; after which he made ready his forces, and opened the armouries, and distributed to them the weapons. and as to the prophet of god, he disposed his troops, commanding the wild beasts to form themselves into two divisions, on the right of the people and on their left, and commanding the birds to be upon the islands. he ordered them also when the assault should be made, to tear out the eyes of their antagonists with their beaks, and to beat their faces with their wings; and he ordered the wild beasts to tear in pieces their horses; and they replied: 'we hear and obey god and thee, o prophet of god!' then solomon set for himself a couch of alabaster adorned with jewels, and plated with plates of red gold, and he placed his vizier asaf on the right side, and his vizier, ed-dimiryat, on the left side, and the kings of mankind on his right, and the kings of the genies on his left, and the wild beasts and the vipers and serpents before him. "after this, they came upon us all together, and we contended with him in a wide tract for a period of two days; and calamity befell us on the third day, and the decree of god was executed among us. the first who charged upon solomon were i and my troops; and i said to my companions: 'keep in your places in the battle-field while i go forth to them and challenge ed-dimiryat.' and, lo, he came forth, like a great mountain, his fires flaming, and his smoke ascending; and he approached, and smote me with a flaming fire; and his arrow prevailed over my fire. he cried out at me with a prodigious cry, so that i imagined the heaven had fallen, and the mountains shook at his voice. then he commanded his companions, and they charged upon us all together: we also charged upon them: the fires rose and the smoke ascended, the hearts of the combatants were almost cleft asunder, and the battle raged. the birds fought in the air; and the wild beasts in the dust; and i contended with ed-dimiryat until he wearied me and i wearied him; after which my companions and troops were enervated, and my tribes were routed. i flew from before ed-dimiryat; but he followed me a journey of three months, until he overtook me. i had fallen down through fatigue, and he rushed upon me, and made me a prisoner. so i said to him: 'by him who hath exalted thee and abased me, pity me, and take me before solomon.' but when i came before solomon, he met me in a most evil manner: he caused this pillar to be brought, and hollowed it, and put me in it, and sealed me with his signet; after which, he chained me, and ed-dimiryat conveyed me to this place, where he set me down as thou seest me; and this pillar is my prison until the day of resurrection." the party therefore wondered at him, and at the horrible nature of his form; and the emeer moosa said: "there is no deity but god!" and the sheikh abd-es-samad said to the efreet: "o thou, i ask thee concerning a thing of which do thou inform us." the efreet replied: "ask concerning what thou wilt." and the sheikh said: "are there in this place any of the efreets confined in bottles of brass from the time of solomon?" he answered: "yes, in the sea of el-karkar, where are a people of the descendants of noah, whose country the deluge reached not, and they are separated there from the rest of the sons of adam." "and where," said the sheikh, "is the way to the city of brass, and the place wherein are the bottles? what distance is there between us and it?" the efreet answered: "it is near." so the party left him, and proceeded; and there appeared to them in the distance a great black object, with two fires corresponding with each other in position; whereupon the emeer moosa said to the sheikh: "what is this great black object, and these two corresponding fires?" the guide answered him: "be rejoiced, o emeer; for this is the city of brass, and this is the appearance of it that i find described in the book of hidden treasures; that its wall is of black stones, and it hath two towers of brass, which the beholder seeth resembling two corresponding fires; and thence it is named the city of brass." they ceased not to proceed until they arrived at it; and, lo, it was lofty, strongly fortified, rising high into the air, impenetrable: the height of its walls was eighty cubits, and it had five and twenty gates, none of which would open but by means of some artifice. they stopped before it, and endeavoured to discover one of its gates; but they could not; and the emeer moosa said to the sheikh abd-es-samad: "o sheikh, i see not to this city any gate." the sheikh replied: "o emeer, thus do i find it described in the book of hidden treasures; that it hath five and twenty gates, and that none of its gates may be opened but from within the city." "and how," said the emeer, "can we contrive to enter it, and divert ourselves with a view of its wonders?" then the emeer moosa ordered one of his young men to mount a camel, and ride round the city, in the hope that he might discover a trace of a gate. so one of his young men mounted, and proceeded around it for two days with their nights, prosecuting his journey with diligence, and not resting; and when the third day arrived, he came in sight of his companions, and he was astounded at that which he beheld of the extent of the city, and its height. then he said: "o emeer, the easiest place in it is this place at which ye have alighted." and thereupon the emeer moosa took talib and the sheikh abd-es-samad, and they ascended a mountain opposite the city, and overlooking it; and when they had ascended that mountain, they saw a city than which eyes had not beheld any greater. its pavilions were lofty, and its domes were shining; its rivers were running, its trees were fruitful, and its gardens bore ripe produce. it was a city with impenetrable gates, empty, still, without a voice but the owl hooting in its quarters, and the raven croaking in its thoroughfare-streets, and bewailing those who had been in it. and the emeer moosa fainted with sorrow; his tears ran down upon his cheeks, and he said: "by allah, indifference to the world is the most appropriate and the most sure course!" and when they came back to the troops, they passed the day devising means of entering the city; and the emeer moosa said to those of his chief officers who were around him: "how shall we contrive to enter the city, that we may see its wonders? perhaps we shall find in it something by which we may ingratiate ourselves with the prince of the faithful." talib replied: "let us make a ladder, and mount upon it, and perhaps we shall gain access to the gate from within." and the emeer said: "this is what occurred to my mind, and excellent is the advice." then he called to the carpenters and blacksmiths, and ordered them to make straight some pieces of wood, and to construct a ladder covered with plates of iron. and they did so, and made it strong. they employed themselves in constructing it a whole month, and many men were occupied in making it. and they set it up and fixed it against the wall, and it proved to be equal to the wall in height, as though it had been made for it before that day. so the emeer moosa wondered at it, and said: "god bless you! it seemeth, from the excellence of your work, as though ye had adapted it by measurement to the wall." he then said to the people: "which of you will ascend this ladder, and mount upon the wall, and walk along it, and contrive means of descending into the city, that he may see how the case is, and then inform us of the mode of opening the gate?" and one of them answered: "i will ascend it, o emeer, and descend and open the gate." the emeer therefore replied: "mount. god bless thee!" accordingly, the man ascended the ladder until he reached the top of it; when he stood, and fixed his eyes toward the city, clapped his hands, and cried out with his loudest voice, saying: "thou art beautiful!" then he cast himself down into the city, and was destroyed. so the emeer moosa said: "if we do thus with all our companions, there will not remain of them one; and we shall be unable to accomplish our affair, and the affair of the prince of the faithful. depart ye; for we have no concern with this city." but one of them said: "perhaps another than this may be more steady than he." and a second ascended, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth; and they ceased not to ascend by that ladder to the top of the wall, one after another, until twelve men of them had gone, acting as acted the first. therefore the sheikh abd-es-samad said: "there is none for this affair but myself, and the experienced is not like the inexperienced." but the emeer moosa said to him: "thou shalt not do that, nor will i allow thee to ascend to the top of this wall; for shouldst thou die, thou wouldst be the cause of the death of us all, and there would not remain of us one; since thou art the guide of the party." the sheikh, however, replied: "perhaps the object will be accomplished by my means, through the will of god, whose name be exalted!" and thereupon all the people agreed to his ascending. [illustration] _and when they had ascended that mountain they saw a city than which eyes had not beheld any greater._ then abd-es-samad arose, and, having said: "in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful!"--he ascended the ladder, repeating the praises of god, and reciting the verses of safety, until he reached the top of the wall; when he clapped his hands, and fixed his eyes. the people therefore all called out to him, and said: "o sheikh abd-es-samad, do not cast thyself down! if abd-es-samad fall, we all perish!" then abd-es-samad sat a long time repeating the praises of god, and reciting the verses of safety; after which he rose with energy, and called out with his loudest voice: "o emeer, no harm shall befall you; for god hath averted from me the effect of the artifice of the devil." so the emeer said to him: "what hast thou seen, o sheikh?" he answered: "when i reached the top of the wall i beheld ten damsels, like moons, who made a sign with their hands, as though they would say: 'come to us!' and it seemed to me that beneath me was a sea of water; whereupon i desired to cast myself down, as our companions did: but i beheld them dead; so i withheld myself from them, and recited some words of the book of god, whereupon he averted from me the influence of those damsels, and they departed; therefore i cast not myself down. there is no doubt that this is an enchantment which the people of this city contrived in order to repel from it every one who should wish to obtain access to it." he then walked along the wall till he came to the two towers of brass, when he saw that they had gates of gold, without any sign of the means of opening them. therefore the sheikh, looking attentively, saw in the middle of one of the gates a figure of a horseman of brass, having one hand extended, as though he were pointing with it, and on it was an inscription, which the sheikh read, and, lo, it contained these words: turn the pin that is in the middle of the front of the horseman's body twelve times, and then the gate will open. so he turned the pin twelve times; whereupon the gate opened immediately, with a noise like thunder; and the sheikh entered. he was a learned man, acquainted with all languages and characters. and he walked on until he entered a long passage, whence he descended some steps, and he found a place with handsome wooden benches, on which were people dead, and over their heads were elegant shields, and keen swords, and strung bows, and notched arrows. and behind the next gate were a bar of iron, and barricades of wood, and locks of delicate fabric, and strong apparatus. upon this, the sheikh said within himself: "perhaps the keys are with these people." then he looked, and, lo, there was a sheikh who appeared to be the oldest of them, and he was upon a high wooden bench among the dead men. so abd-es-samad said: "may not the keys of the city be with this sheikh! perhaps he was the gate-keeper of the city, and these were under his authority." he therefore drew near to him, and lifted up his garments, and, lo, the keys were hung to his waist. at the sight of them, abd-es-samad rejoiced exceedingly; and he took the keys, opened the locks, and pulled the gate and the barricades and other apparatus, which opened and the gate also opened, with a noise like thunder. upon this the sheikh exclaimed: "god is most great!" and the people made the same exclamation with him, rejoicing at the event. the emeer moosa also rejoiced at the safety of abd-es-samad, and at the opening of the gate of the city; the people thanked him for that which he had done, and all the troops hastened to enter the gate. but the emeer moosa cried out to them, saying to them: "o people, if all of us enter, we shall not be secure from accident. half shall enter, and half shall remain behind." the emeer moosa then entered the gate, and with him half of the people, who bore their weapons of war. and the party saw their companions lying dead: so they buried them. they saw also the gate-keepers and servants and chamberlains and lieutenants lying upon beds of silk, all of them dead. and they entered the market of the city, and beheld that the shops were open, and the scales hung up, and the utensils of brass ranged in order, and the stores were full of all kinds of goods. and they saw the merchants dead in their shops: their skins were dried, and they had become examples to him who would be admonished. and they left this place, and passed on to the silk-market, in which were silks and brocades interwoven with red gold and white silver upon various colours, and the owners were dead, lying upon skins, and appearing almost as though they would speak. leaving these, they went on to the market of jewels and pearls and jacinths; and they left it, and passed on to the market of the money-changers, whom they found dead, with varieties of silks beneath them, and their shops were filled with gold and silver. these they left, and they proceeded to the markets of the perfumers; and, lo, their shops were filled with varieties of perfumes, and bags of musk, and ambergris, and aloes-wood, and camphor; and the owners were all dead, not having with them any food. and when they went forth from the market of the perfumers, they found near unto it a palace, decorated, and strongly constructed; and they entered it, and found banners unfurled, and drawn swords, and strung bows and shields hung up by chains of gold and silver, and helmets gilded with red gold. and in the passages of that palace were benches of ivory, ornamented with plates of brilliant gold, and with silk, on which were men whose skins had dried upon the bones; the ignorant would imagine them to be sleeping; but, from the want of food, they had died, and tasted mortality. and the emeer moosa went on into the interior of the palace. there he beheld a great hall, and four large and lofty chambers, each one fronting another, wide, decorated with gold and silver and with various colours. in the midst of the hall was a great fountain of alabaster, over which was a canopy of brocade; and in those chambers were fountains lined with marble; and channels of water flowed along the floors of those chambers, the four streams meeting in a great tank lined with marbles of various colours. the emeer moosa then said to the sheikh abd-es-samad: "enter these chambers with us." so they entered the first chamber; and they found it filled with gold and with white silver, and pearls and jewels, and jacinths and precious minerals. they found in it also chests full of red and yellow and white brocades. and they went thence to the second chamber, and opened a closet in it, and, lo, it was filled with arms and weapons of war, consisting of gilded helmets, and coats of mail, and swords, and lances, and maces, and other instruments of war and battle. then they passed thence to the third chamber, in which they found closets having upon their doors closed locks, and over them were curtains worked with various kinds of embroidery. they opened one of these closets, and found it filled with weapons decorated with varieties of gold and silver and jewels. and they went thence to the fourth chamber, where also they found closets, one of which they opened, and they found it full of utensils for food and drink, consisting of various vessels of gold and silver, and saucers of crystal, and cups set with brilliant pearls and cups of carnelian, and other things. so they began to take what suited them of those things, and each of the soldiers carried off what he could. and when they determined to go forth from those chambers, they saw there a door inlaid with ivory and ebony, and adorned with plates of brilliant gold. over it was hung a curtain of silk worked with various kinds of embroidery, and upon it were locks of white silver, to be opened by artifice, without a key. the sheikh abd-es-samad therefore advanced to those locks, and he opened them by his knowledge and excellent skill. and the party entered a passage paved with marble, upon the sides of which were curtains whereon were figured various wild beasts and birds, all these being worked with red gold and white silver, and their eyes were of pearls and jacinths: whosoever beheld them was confounded. they then passed on, and found a saloon constructed of polished marble adorned with jewels. the beholder imagined that upon its floor was running water, and if any one walked upon it he would slip. the emeer moosa therefore ordered the sheikh abd-es-samad to throw upon it something that they might be enabled to walk on it; and he did this, and contrived so that they passed on. and they found in it a great dome constructed of stones gilded with red gold. the party had not beheld, in all that they had seen, anything more beautiful than it. and in the midst of that dome was a great dome-crowned structure of alabaster, around which were lattice windows, decorated, and adorned with oblong emeralds, such as none of the kings could procure. in it was a pavilion of brocade, raised upon columns of red gold, and within this were birds, the feet of which were of emeralds; beneath each bird was a net of brilliant pearls, spread over a fountain; and by the brink of the fountain was placed a couch adorned with pearls and jewels and jacinths, whereon was a damsel resembling the shining sun. eyes had not beheld one more beautiful. upon her was a garment of brilliant pearls, on her head was a crown of red gold, with a fillet of jewels, on her neck was a necklace of jewels in the middle of which were refulgent gems, and upon her forehead were two jewels the light of which was like that of the sun; and she seemed as though she were looking at the people, and observing them to the right and left. when the emeer moosa beheld this damsel, he wondered extremely at her loveliness, and was confounded by her beauty and the redness of her cheeks and the blackness of her hair. any beholder would imagine that she was alive, and not dead. and they said to her: "peace be on thee, o damsel!" but talib said to the emeer: "may god amend thy state! know that this damsel is dead. there is no life in her. how then can she return the salutation?" and he added: "o emeer, she is skilfully embalmed; and her eyes have been taken out after her death, and quicksilver hath been put beneath them, after which they have been restored to their places; so they gleam; and whenever the air putteth them in motion, the beholder imagineth that she twinkleth her eyes, though she is dead." and as to the couch upon which was the damsel, it had steps, and upon the steps were two slaves, one of them white and the other black; and in the hand of one of them was a weapon of steel, and in the hand of the other a jewelled sword that blinded the eyes; and before the two slaves was a tablet of gold, whereon was read an inscription, which was this: in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful. praise be to god, the creator of man; and he is the lord of lords, and the cause of causes. o thou, if thou know me not, i will acquaint thee with my name and my descent. i am tedmur, the daughter of the king of the amalekites. i possessed what none of the kings possessed, and ruled with justice, and acted impartially toward my subjects: i gave and bestowed, and i lived a long time in the enjoyment of happiness and an easy life, and possessing emancipated female and male slaves. thus i did until the summoner of death came to my abode, and disasters occurred before me. and the case was this: seven years in succession came upon us, during which no water descended on us from heaven, nor did any grass grow for us on the face of the earth. so we ate what food we had in our dwellings, and after that, we fell upon the beasts and ate them, and there remained nothing. upon this, therefore, i caused the wealth to be brought, and meted it with a measure, and sent it by trusty men, who went about with it through all the districts, not leaving unvisited a single large city, to seek for some food. but they found it not; and they returned to us with the wealth, after a long absence. so thereupon we exposed to view our riches and our treasures, locked the gates of the fortresses in our city, and submitted ourselves to the decree of our lord, committing our case to our master; and thus we all died, as thou beholdest, and left what we had built and what we had treasured. this is our story: whoso arriveth at our city, and entereth it, let him take of the wealth what he can, but not touch anything that is on my body; for it is the covering of my person. therefore let him fear god, and not seize aught of it; for he would destroy himself. peace be on you! i beg god, moreover, to save you from the evil of trials and sickness. the emeer moosa, when he heard these words, again wept and was admonished by what he witnessed. he then said to his companions: "bring the sacks, and fill them with part of these riches and these vessels and rarities and jewels." and thereupon, talib, the son of sahl, said to the emeer moosa: "o emeer, shall we leave this damsel with the things that are upon her? they are things that have no equal, nor is the like of them at any time found, and they are more than the riches thou hast taken, and will be the best present by which thou mayest ingratiate thyself with the prince of the faithful." but the emeer replied: "heardest thou not that which the damsel hath given as a charge, in the inscription upon this tablet? moreover, and especially, she hath given it as a charge offered in confidence, and we are not of the people of treachery." the vizier talib, however, said: "and on account of these words wilt thou leave these riches and these jewels, when she is dead? what then should she do with these things, which are the ornaments of the world, and the decoration of the living? with a garment of cotton might this damsel be covered, and we are more worthy of the things than she." then he drew near to the steps, and ascended them until he reached the spot between the two slaves, when, lo, one of these two smote him upon his back, and the other smote him with the sword that was in his hand, and struck off his head, and he fell down dead. so the emeer moosa said: "may god not regard with mercy thy resting-place! there was, in these riches, a sufficiency; and covetousness doth dishonour the person in whom it existeth!" he thereupon gave orders for the entry of the troops, who accordingly entered, and they loaded the camels with part of those riches and minerals; after which the emeer moosa commanded them to close the gate as it was before. they then proceeded along the sea-coast until they came in sight of a high mountain overlooking the sea. in it were many caves, and, lo, in these was a people of the blacks, clad in hides, and with burnouses of hides upon their heads, whose language was not known. and when they saw the troops, they ran away from them, and fled, while their women and their children stood at the entrances of the caves. so the emeer moosa said: "o sheikh abd-es-samad, what are these people?" and he answered: "these are the objects of the inquiry of the prince of the faithful." they therefore alighted, and the tents were pitched, and the riches were put down; and they had not rested when the king of the blacks came down from the mountain, and drew near to the troops. he was acquainted with the arabic language; wherefore, when he came to the emeer moosa, he saluted him; and the emeer returned his salutation, and treated him with honour. then the king of the blacks said to the emeer: "are ye of mankind, or of the genies?" the emeer answered: "as to us, we are of mankind; and as to you, there is no doubt but that ye are of the genies, because of your seclusion in this mountain that is separated from the world, and because of the greatness of your make." but the king of the blacks replied: "nay, we are a people of the race of adam, of the sons of ham, the son of noah, on whom be peace! and as to this sea, it is known by the name of el-karkar." the emeer moosa then said to him: "we are the associates of the king of el-islam, abd-el-melik the son of marwan; and we have come on account of the bottles of brass that are here in your sea, and wherein are the devils imprisoned from the time of solomon, the son of david. he hath commanded us to bring him some of them, that he may see them, and divert himself by the view of them." and the king of the blacks replied: "most willingly." then he feasted him with fish, and ordered the divers to bring up from the sea some of the bottles of solomon; and they brought up for them twelve bottles; wherewith the emeer moosa was delighted, and the sheikh abd-es-samad also, and the soldiers, on account of the accomplishment of the affair of the prince of the faithful. the emeer moosa thereupon presented to the king of the blacks many presents, and gave him large gifts. in like manner, too, the king of the blacks gave to the emeer moosa a present consisting of wonders of the sea. then they bade him farewell, and they journeyed back until they came to the land of syria, and went in to the prince of the faithful; whereupon the emeer moosa acquainted him with all that he had seen, and all that had occurred to him with respect to the verses and histories and admonitions, and told him of the case of talib the son of sahl. and the prince of the faithful said to him: "would that i had been with you, that i might have beheld what ye beheld!" he then took the bottles, and proceeded to open one after another, and the devils came forth from them, saying: "repentance, o prophet of god! we will not return to the like conduct ever!" and abd-el-melik the son of marwan wondered at this. after this, the prince of the faithful caused the riches to be brought before him, and divided them among the people. and he said: "god hath not bestowed upon any one the like of what he bestowed upon solomon the son of david." this is the end of that which hath come down to us, of the history of the city of brass, entire. and god is all-knowing. the story of ali baba and the forty thieves in a town in persia, there lived two brothers, one named cassim, the other ali baba. their father left them scarcely anything; but as he had divided his little property equally between them, it would seem that their fortune ought to have been equal; but chance determined otherwise. cassim married a wife, who soon after became heiress to a large sum, and to a warehouse full of rich goods; so that he all at once became one of the richest and most considerable merchants, and lived at his ease. ali baba, on the other hand, who had married a woman as poor as himself, lived in a very wretched habitation, and had no other means to maintain his wife and children but his daily labour of cutting wood, and bringing it to town to sell, upon three asses, which were his whole substance. one day, when ali baba was in the forest, and had just cut wood enough to load his asses, he saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which seemed to be driven toward him: he observed it very attentively, and distinguished soon after a body of horse. though there had been no rumour of robbers in that country, ali baba began to think that they might prove such, and without considering what might become of his asses, was resolved to save himself. he climbed up a large, thick tree, whose branches, at a little distance from the ground, were so close to one another that there was but little space between them. he placed himself in the middle, from whence he could see all that passed without being discovered; and the tree stood at the base of a single rock, so steep and craggy that nobody could climb up it. the troop, who were all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of this rock, and there dismounted. ali baba counted forty of them, and, from their looks and equipage, was assured that they were robbers. nor was he mistaken in his opinion; for they were a troop of banditti, who, without doing any harm to the neighbourhood, robbed at a distance, and made that place their rendezvous; but what confirmed him in his opinion was, that every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn which they brought behind them. then each of them took his saddle wallet, which seemed to ali baba to be full of gold and silver from its weight. one, who was the most personable amongst them, and whom he took to be their captain, came with his wallet on his back under the tree in which ali baba was concealed, and making his way through some shrubs, pronounced these words so distinctly: "_open, sesame_," that ali baba heard him. as soon as the captain of the robbers had uttered these words, a door opened in the rock; and after he had made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut again of itself. the robbers stayed some time within the rock, and ali baba, who feared that some one, or all of them together, might come out and catch him, if he should endeavour to make his escape, was obliged to sit patiently in the tree. he was nevertheless tempted to get down, mount one of their horses, and lead another, driving his asses before him with all the haste he could to town; but the uncertainty of the event made him choose the safest course. at last the door opened again, and the forty robbers came out. as the captain went in last, he came out first, and stood to see them all pass by him, when ali baba heard him make the door close by pronouncing these words: "_shut, sesame_." every man went and bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again; and when the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come. ali baba did not immediately quit his tree; for, said he to himself, they may have forgotten something and may come back again, and then i shall be taken. he followed them with his eyes as far as he could see them; and afterward stayed a considerable time before he descended. remembering the words the captain of the robbers used to cause the door to open and shut, he had the curiosity to try if his pronouncing them would have the same effect. accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood before it, and said: "_open, sesame!"_ the door instantly flew wide open. ali baba, who expected a dark dismal cavern, was surprised to see it well lighted and spacious, in the form of a vault, which received the light from an opening at the top of the rock. he saw all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk stuff, brocade, and valuable carpeting, piled upon one another; gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. the sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one another. ali baba did not stand long to consider what he should do, but went immediately into the cave, and as soon as he had entered, the door shut of itself, but this did not disturb him, because he knew the secret to open it again. he never regarded the silver, but made the best use of his time in carrying out as much of the gold coin as he thought his three asses could carry. he collected his asses, which were dispersed, and when he had loaded them with the bags, laid wood over in such a manner that they could not be seen. when he had done he stood before the door, and pronouncing the words: "_shut, sesame!"_ the door closed after him, for it had shut of itself while he was within, but remained open while he was out. he then made the best of his way to town. when ali baba got home, he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the bags, carried them into his house, and ranged them in order before his wife, who sat on a sofa. his wife handled the bags, and finding them full of money, suspected that her husband had been robbing, insomuch that she could not help saying: "ali baba, have you been so unhappy as to----" "be quiet, wife," interrupted ali baba, "do not frighten yourself; i am no robber, unless he may be one who steals from robbers. you will no longer entertain an ill opinion of me, when i shall tell you my good fortune." he then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold as dazzled his wife's eyes; and when he had done, told her the whole adventure from beginning to end; and, above all, recommended her to keep it secret. the wife, cured of her fears, rejoiced with her husband at their good fortune, and would count all the gold piece by piece. "wife," replied ali baba, "you do not know what you undertake, when you pretend to count the money; you will never have done. i will dig a hole, and bury it; there is no time to be lost." "you are in the right, husband," replied she; "but let us know, as nigh as possible, how much we have. i will borrow a small measure in the neighbourhood, and measure it, while you dig the hole." "what you are going to do is to no purpose, wife," said ali baba; "if you would take my advice, you had better let it alone; but keep the secret, and do what you please." away the wife ran to her brother-in-law cassim, who lived just by, but was not then at home; and addressing herself to his wife, desired her to lend her a measure for a little while. her sister-in-law asked her, whether she would have a great or a small one. the wife asked for a small one. the sister-in-law agreed to lend one, but as she knew ali baba's poverty, she was curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to her with an excuse, that she was sorry that she had made her stay so long, but that she could not find it sooner. ali baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold, filled it and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done: when she was very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to so many as they did, and went to tell her husband, who had almost finished digging the hole. while ali baba was burying the gold, his wife, to show her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the measure back again, but without taking notice that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom. "sister," said she, giving it to her again, "you see that i have not kept your measure long; i am obliged to you for it, and return it with thanks." as soon as her sister-in-law was gone, cassim's wife looked at the bottom of the measure, and was inexpressibly surprised to find a piece of gold stuck to it. envy immediately possessed her breast. "what!" said she, "has ali baba gold so plentiful as to measure it? where has that poor wretch got all this wealth?" cassim, her husband, was not at home, but at his counting-house, which he left always in the evening. his wife waited for him, and thought the time an age; so great was her impatience to tell him the circumstance, at which she guessed he would be as much surprised as herself. when cassim came home, his wife said to him: "cassim, i know you think yourself rich, but you are much mistaken; ali baba is infinitely richer than you; he does not count his money, but measures it." cassim desired her to explain the riddle, which she did, by telling him the stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and showed him the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined. cassim, instead of being pleased, conceived a base envy at his brother's prosperity; he could not sleep all that night, and went to him in the morning before sunrise, although after he had married the rich widow, he had never treated him as a brother, but neglected him. "ali baba," said he, accosting him, "you are very reserved in your affairs; you pretend to be miserably poor, and yet you measure gold." "how, brother?" replied ali baba; "i do not know what you mean: explain yourself." "do not pretend ignorance," replied cassim, showing him the piece of gold his wife had given him. "how many of these pieces," added he, "have you? my wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday." by this discourse, ali baba perceived that cassim and his wife, through his own wife's folly, knew what they had so much reason to conceal; but what was done could not be recalled; therefore, without shewing the least surprise or trouble, he confessed all, told his brother by what chance he had discovered this retreat of the thieves, in what place it was; and offered him part of his treasure to keep the secret. "i expect as much," replied cassim haughtily; "but i must know exactly where this treasure is, and how i may visit it myself when i choose; otherwise i will go and inform against you, and then you will not only get no more, but will lose all you have, and i shall have a share for my information." ali baba, more out of his natural good temper, than frightened by the menaces of his unnatural brother, told him all he desired, and even the very words he was to use to gain admission into the cave. cassim, who wanted no more of ali baba, left him, resolving to be beforehand with him, and hoping to get all the treasure to himself. he rose the next morning long before the sun, and set out for the forest with ten mules bearing great chests, which he designed to fill; and followed the road which ali baba had pointed out to him. he was not long before he reached the rock, and found out the place by the tree, and other marks, which his brother had given him. when he reached the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words: "_open, sesame!_" and the door immediately opened, and when he was in, closed upon him. in examining the cave, he was in great admiration to find much more riches than he had apprehended from ali baba's account. he was so covetous, and greedy of wealth, that he could have spent the whole day in feasting his eyes with so much treasure, if the thought that he came to carry some away had not hindered him. he laid as many bags of gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern, but his thoughts were so full of the great riches he should possess, that he could not think of the necessary word to make it open, but instead of "_sesame_," said: "_open, barley!_" and was much amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. he named several sorts of grain, but still the door would not open. cassim had never expected such an incident, and was so alarmed at the danger he was in, that the more he endeavoured to remember the word "_sesame_," the more his memory was confounded, and he had as much forgotten it as if he had never heard it mentioned. he threw down the bags he had loaded himself with and walked distractedly up and down the cave, without having the least regard to the riches that were round him. about noon the robbers chanced to visit their cave, and at some distance from it saw cassim's mules straggling about the rock, with great chests on their backs. alarmed at this novelty, they galloped full speed to the cave. they drove away the mules, which cassim had neglected to fasten, and they strayed through the forest so far, that they were soon out of sight. the robbers never gave themselves the trouble to pursue them, being more concerned to know to whom they belonged, and while some of them searched about the rock, the captain and the rest went directly to the door, with their naked sabres in their hands, and pronouncing the proper words, it opened. cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet from the middle of the cave, never doubted of the arrival of the robbers, and his approaching death; but was resolved to make one effort to escape from them. to this end he rushed to the door, and no sooner heard the word _sesame_, which he had forgotten, and saw the door open, than he ran out and threw the leader down, but could not escape the other robbers, who with their sabres soon deprived him of life. the first care of the robbers after this was to examine the cave. they found all the bags which cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to load his mules, and carried them again to their places, without missing what ali baba had taken away before. then holding a council, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they guessed that cassim, when he was in, could not get out again; but could not imagine how he had entered. it came into their heads that he might have got down by the top of the cave; but the aperture by which it received light was so high, and the rocks so inaccessible without, that they gave up this conjecture. that he came in at the door they could not believe, however, unless he had the secret of making it open. in short, none of them could imagine which way he had entered; for they were all persuaded nobody knew their secret, little imagining that ali baba had watched them. it was a matter of the greatest importance to them to secure their riches. they agreed therefore to cut cassim's body into quarters, to hang two on one side and two on the other, within the door of the cave, to terrify any person who should attempt again to enter. they had no sooner taken this resolution than they put it in execution, and when they had nothing more to detain them, left the place of their hoards well closed. they then mounted their horses, went to beat the roads again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. [illustration] _cassim ... was so alarmed at the danger he was in that the more he endeavoured to remember the word sesame the more his memory was confounded._ in the meantime, cassim's wife was very uneasy when night came, and her husband was not returned. she ran to ali baba in alarm, and said: "i believe, brother-in-law, that you know cassim, your brother, is gone to the forest, and upon what account; it is now night, and he is not returned; i am afraid some misfortune has happened to him." ali baba, who had expected that his brother, after what he had said, would go to the forest, had declined going himself that day, for fear of giving him any umbrage; therefore told her, without any reflection upon her husband's unhandsome behaviour, that she need not frighten herself, for that certainly cassim would not think it proper to come into the town till the night should be pretty far advanced. cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned her husband to keep the business secret, was the more easily persuaded to believe her brother-in-law. she went home again, and waited patiently till midnight. she repented of her foolish curiosity, and cursed her desire of penetrating into the affairs of her brother and sister-in-law. she spent all the night in weeping; and as soon as it was day, went to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her coming. ali baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to desire him to go and see what was become of cassim, but departed immediately with his three asses, begging of her first to moderate her affliction. he went to the forest, and when he came near the rock, having seen neither his brother nor the mules in his way, was seriously alarmed at finding some blood spilt near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but when he had pronounced the word, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal sight of his brother's body. without adverting to the little fraternal affection his brother had shewn for him, ali baba went into the cave to find something to enshroud his remains, and having loaded one of his asses with them, covered them over with wood. the other two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them with wood also as before; and then bidding the door shut, came away; but was so cautious as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that he might not go into the town before night. when he came home, he drove the two asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the care of unloading them to his wife, while he led the other to his sister-in-law's house. ali baba knocked at the door, which was opened by morgiana, an intelligent slave, fruitful in inventions to insure success in the most difficult undertakings: and ali baba knew her to be such. when he came into the court, he unloaded the ass, and taking morgiana aside, said to her: "the first thing i ask of you is an inviolable secrecy, both for your mistress's sake and mine. your master's body is contained in these two bundles, and our business is, to bury him as if he had died a natural death. go, tell your mistress i want to speak with her; and mind what i have said to you." morgiana went to her mistress, and ali baba followed her. "well, brother," said she, with impatience, "what news do you bring me of my husband? i perceive no comfort in your countenance." "sister," answered ali baba, "i cannot satisfy your inquiries unless you hear my story without speaking a word; for it is of as great importance to you as to me to keep what has happened secret." "alas!" said she, "this preamble lets me know that my husband is not to be found; but at the same time i know the necessity of secrecy, and i must constrain myself: say on, i will hear you." ali baba then detailed the incidents of his journey, till he came to the finding of cassim's body. "now," said he, "sister, i have something to relate which will afflict you the more, because it is what you so little expect; but it cannot now be remedied; if my endeavours can comfort you, i offer to put that which god hath sent me to what you have, and marry you: assuring you that my wife will not be jealous, and that we shall live happily together. if this proposal is agreeable to you, we must think of acting so that my brother should appear to have died a natural death. i think you may leave the management of the business to morgiana, and i will contribute all that lies in my power to your consolation." what could cassim's widow do better than accept of this proposal? for though her first husband had left behind him a plentiful substance, his brother was now much richer, and by the discovery of this treasure might be still more so. instead, therefore, of rejecting the offer, she regarded it as the sure means of comfort; and drying up her tears, which had begun to flow abundantly, and suppressing the outcries usual with women who have lost their husbands, showed ali baba that she approved of his proposal. ali baba left the widow, recommended to morgiana to act her part well, and then returned home with his ass. morgiana went out at the same time to an apothecary, and asked for a sort of lozenges which he prepared, and were very efficacious in the most dangerous disorders. the apothecary inquired who was ill at her master's? she replied with a sigh, her good master cassim himself: that they knew not what his disorder was, but that he could neither eat nor speak. after these words, morgiana carried the lozenges home with her, and the next morning went to the same apothecary's again, and with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence which they used to give to sick people only when at the last extremity. "alas!" said she, taking it from the apothecary, "i am afraid that this remedy will have no better effect than the lozenges; and that i shall lose my good master." on the other hand, as ali baba and his wife were often seen to go between cassim's and their own house all that day, and to seem melancholy, nobody was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable shrieks and cries of cassim's wife and morgiana, who gave out everywhere that her master was dead. the next morning, soon after day appeared, morgiana, who knew a certain old cobbler that opened his stall early, before other people, went to him, and bidding him good morrow, put a piece of gold into his hand. "well," said baba mustapha, which was his name, and who was a merry old fellow, looking at the gold, "this is good hansel: what must i do for it? i am ready." "baba mustapha," said morgiana, "you must take with you your sewing tackle, and go with me; but i must tell you, i shall blindfold you when you come to such a place." baba mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these words. "oh! oh!" replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience or against my honour?" "god forbid!" said morgiana, putting another piece of gold into his hand, "that i should ask anything that is contrary to your honour; only come along with me, and fear nothing." baba mustapha went with morgiana, who, after she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief, conveyed him to her deceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes till he had entered the room where she had put the corpse together. "baba mustapha," said she, "you must make haste and sew these quarters together; and when you have done, i will give you another piece of gold." after baba mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece of gold as she had promised, and recommending secrecy to him, carried him back to the place where she first bound his eyes, pulled off the bandage, and let him go home, but watched him that he returned toward his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for fear he should have the curiosity to return and track her. by the time morgiana had warmed some water to wash the body, ali baba came with incense to embalm it, after which it was sewn up in a winding-sheet. not long after, the joiner, according to ali baba's orders, brought the bier, which morgiana received at the door, and helped ali baba to put the body into it; when she went to the mosque to inform the imaum that they were ready. the people of the mosque, whose business it was to wash the dead, offered to perform their duty, but she told them that it was done already. morgiana had scarcely got home before the imaum and the other ministers of the mosque arrived. four neighbours carried the corpse on their shoulders to the burying-ground, following the imaum, who recited some prayers. morgiana, as a slave to the deceased, followed the corpse, weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair; and ali baba came after with some neighbours, who often relieved the others in carrying the corpse to the burying-ground. cassim's wife stayed at home mourning, uttering lamentable cries with the women of the neighbourhood, who came according to custom during the funeral, and joining their lamentations with hers, filled the quarter far and near with sorrow. in this manner cassim's melancholy death was concealed and hushed up between ali baba, his wife, cassim's widow, and morgiana, with so much contrivance, that nobody in the city had the least knowledge or suspicion of the cause of it. three or four days after the funeral, ali baba removed his few goods openly to the widow's house; but the money he had taken from the robbers he conveyed thither by night: soon after the marriage with his sister-in-law was published, and as these marriages are common in the mussulman religion, nobody was surprised. as for cassim's warehouse, ali baba gave it to his own eldest son, promising that if he managed it well, he would soon give him a fortune to marry very advantageously according to his situation. let us now leave ali baba to enjoy the beginning of his good fortune, and return to the forty robbers. they came again at the appointed time to visit their retreat in the forest; but great was their surprise to find cassim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold. "we are certainly discovered," said the captain, "and if we do not speedily apply some remedy, shall gradually lose all the riches which we have, with so much pains and danger, been so many years amassing together. all that we can think of the loss which we have sustained is, that the thief whom we surprised had the secret of opening the door, and we arrived luckily as he was coming out: but his body being removed, and with it some of our money, plainly shows that he had an accomplice; and as it is likely that there were but two who had discovered our secret, and one has been caught, we must look narrowly after the other. what say you, my lads?" all the robbers thought the captain's proposal so advisable, that they unanimously approved of it, and agreed that they must lay all other enterprises aside, to follow this closely, and not give it up till they had succeeded. "i expected no less," said the captain, "from your fidelity: but, first of all, one of you who is artful, and enterprising, must go into the town disguised as a traveller, to try if he can hear any talk of the strange death of the man whom we have killed, as he deserved; and endeavour to find out who he was, and where he lived. this is a matter of the first importance for us to ascertain, that we may do nothing which we may have reason to repent of, by discovering ourselves in a country where we have lived so long unknown. but to warn him who shall take upon himself this commission, and to prevent our being deceived by his giving us a false report, i ask you all, if you do not think that in case of treachery, or even error of judgment, he should suffer death?" without waiting for the suffrages of his companions, one of the robbers started up, and said: "i submit to this condition, and think it an honour to expose my life, by taking the commission upon me; but remember, at least, if i do not succeed, that i neither wanted courage nor good will to serve the troop." after this robber had received great commendations from the captain, he disguised himself, and taking his leave of the troop that night, went into the town just at daybreak; and walked up and down, till accidentally he came to baba mustapha's stall, which was always open before any of the shops. baba mustapha was seated with an awl in his hand, just going to work. the robber saluted him, bidding him good morrow; and perceiving that he was old, said: "honest man, you begin to work very early: is it possible that one of your age can see so well? i question, even if it were somewhat lighter, whether you could see to stitch." "certainly," replied baba mustapha, "you must be a stranger, and do not know me; for old as i am, i have extraordinarily good eyes; and you will not doubt it when i tell you that i sewed a dead body together in a place where i had not so much light as i have now." the robber was overjoyed to think that he had addressed himself, at his first coming into the town, to a man who in all probability could give him the intelligence he wanted. "a dead body!" replied he with affected amazement. "what could you sew up a dead body for? you mean you sewed up his winding-sheet." "no, no," answered baba mustapha, "i perceive your meaning; you want to have me speak out, but you shall know no more." the robber wanted no farther assurance to be persuaded that he had discovered what he sought. he pulled out a piece of gold, and putting it into baba mustapha's hand, said to him: "i do not want to learn your secret, though i can assure you i would not divulge it, if you trusted me with it; the only thing which i desire of you is, to do me the favour to shew me the house where you stitched up the dead body." "if i were disposed to do you that favour," replied baba mustapha, holding the money in his hand, ready to return it, "i assure you i cannot. i was taken to a certain place, where i was blinded, i was then led to the house, and afterward brought back again in the same manner; you see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing what you desire." "well," replied the robber, "you may, however, remember a little of the way that you were led blindfolded. come, let me blind your eyes at the same place. we will walk together; perhaps you may recognise some part; and as everybody ought to be paid for his trouble, there is another piece of gold for you; gratify me in what i ask you." so saying, he put another piece of gold into his hand. the two pieces of gold were great temptations to baba mustapha. he looked at them a long time in his hand, without saying a word, thinking with himself what he should do; but at last he pulled out his purse, and put them in. "i cannot assure you," said he to the robber, "that i can remember the way exactly; but since you desire, i will try what i can do." at these words baba mustapha rose up, to the great joy of the robber, and without shutting his shop, where he had nothing valuable to lose, he led the robber to the place where morgiana had bound his eyes. "it was here," said baba mustapha, "i was blindfolded; and i turned as you see me." the robber, who had his handkerchief ready, tied it over his eyes, walked by him till he stopped, partly leading, and partly guided by him. "i think," said baba mustapha, "i went no farther," and he had now stopped directly at cassim's house, where ali baba then lived. the thief, before he pulled off the band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which he had ready in his hand; and then asked him if he knew whose house that was; to which baba mustapha replied, that as he did not live in that neighbourhood he could not tell. the robber, finding he could discover no more from baba mustapha, thanked him for the trouble he had taken, and left him to go back to his stall, while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he should be very well received. a little after the robber and baba mustapha had parted, morgiana went out of ali baba's house upon some errand, and upon her return, seeing the mark the robber had made, stopped to observe it. "what can be the meaning of this mark?" said she to herself. "somebody intends my master no good: however, with whatever intention it was done, it is advisable to guard against the worst." accordingly, she fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or three doors on each side in the same manner, without saying a word to her master or mistress. in the meantime the thief rejoined his troop in the forest, and recounted to them his success. all the robbers listened to him with the utmost satisfaction; when the captain, after commending his diligence, addressing himself to them all, said: "comrades, we have no time to lose: let us set off well armed; but that we may not excite any suspicion, let only one or two go into the town together, and join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great square. in the meantime, our comrade who brought us the good news, and i, will go and find out the house, that we may consult what had best be done." this plan was approved of by all, and they were soon ready. they filed off in parties of two each, and got into the town without being in the least suspected. the captain, and he who had visited the town in the morning as spy, came in the last. he led the captain into the street where he had marked ali baba's residence; and when they came to the first of the houses which morgiana had marked, he pointed it out. but the captain observed that the next door was chalked in the same manner: and shewing it to his guide, asked him which house it was, that, or the first? the guide was so confounded, that he knew not what answer to make; but still more puzzled, when he saw five or six houses similarly marked. he assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest so that he could not distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at. the captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went directly to the place of rendezvous, and told the first of his troop whom he met that they had lost their labour, and must return to their cave. when the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy of death. he condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who was appointed to cut off his head. another of the gang, who promised himself that he should succeed better, immediately presented himself, and his offer being accepted, he went and corrupted baba mustapha, as the other had done; and being shewn the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight, with red chalk. not long after, morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before, marked the other neighbours' houses in the same place and manner. the robber, at his return to his company, valued himself much on the precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of distinguishing ali baba's house from the others; and the captain and all of them thought it must succeed. they conveyed themselves into the town with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain came to the street, they found the same difficulty: at which the captain was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and much more dissatisfied; while the unfortunate robber, who had been the author of the mistake, underwent the same punishment; which he willingly submitted to. the captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the residence of their plunderer. he found by their example that their heads were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore resolved to take upon himself the important commission. accordingly, he went and addressed himself to baba mustapha, who did him the same service he had done to the other robbers. he did not set any particular mark on the house, but examined and observed it so carefully, by passing often by it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it. the captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and informed of what he wanted to know, returned to the forest; and when he came into the cave, where the troop waited for him, said: "now, comrades, nothing can prevent our full revenge, as i am certain of the house, and in my way hither i have thought how to put it into execution, but if any one can form a better expedient, let him communicate it." he then told them his contrivance; and as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large leather jars, one full of oil, and the others empty. in two or three days' time the robbers had purchased the mules and jars, and as the mouths of the jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, the captain caused them to be widened; and after having put one of his men into each, with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving open the seam which had been undone to leave them room to breathe, he rubbed the jars on the outside with oil from the full vessel. things being thus prepared, when the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their driver, set out with them, and reached the town by the dusk of the evening, as he had intended. he led them through the streets till he came to ali baba's, at whose door he designed to have knocked; but was prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a little fresh air. he stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and said: "i have brought some oil a great way, to sell at to-morrow's market; and it is now so late that i do not know where to lodge. if i should not be troublesome to you, do me the favour to let me pass the night with you, and i shall be very much obliged by your hospitality." though ali baba had seen the captain of the robbers in the forest, and had heard him speak, it was hardly possible to know him in the disguise of an oil-merchant. he told him he should be welcome, and immediately opened his gates for the mules to go into the yard. at the same time he called to a slave, and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, to put them into the stable, and give them fodder; and then went to morgiana, to bid her get a good supper. he did more. when he saw the captain had unloaded his mules, and that they were put into the stables as he had ordered, and he was looking for a place to pass the night in the air, he brought him into the hall where he received his company, telling him he would not suffer him to be in the court. the captain excused himself on pretence of not being troublesome; but really to have room to execute his design, and it was not till after the most pressing importunity that he yielded. ali baba, not content to keep company, till supper was ready, with the man who had a design on his life, continued talking with him till it was ended, and repeating his offer of service. the captain rose up at the same time with his host; and while ali baba went to speak to morgiana he withdrew into the yard, under pretence of looking at his mules. ali baba, after charging morgiana afresh to take care of his guest, said to her: "to-morrow morning i design to go to the bath before day; take care my bathing linens be ready, give them to abdoollah," which was the slave's name, "and make me some good broth against i return." after this he went to bed. in the meantime, the captain went from the stable to give his people orders what to do; and beginning at the first jar, and so on to the last, said to each man: "as soon as i throw some stones out of the chamber window where i lie, do not fail to cut the jar open with the knife you have about you for the purpose, and come out, and i will immediately join you." after this he returned into the house, when morgiana, taking up a light, conducted him to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put the light out soon after, and laid himself down in his clothes, that he might be the more ready to rise. morgiana, remembering ali baba's orders, got his bathing linens ready, and ordered abdoollah to set on the pot for the broth; but while she was preparing it, the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house, nor any candles. what to do she did not know, for the broth must be made. abdoollah seeing her very uneasy, said: "do not fret and tease yourself, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of one of the jars." morgiana thanked abdoollah for his advice, took the oil-pot, and went into the yard; when as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within said softly: "is it time?" though the robber spoke low, morgiana was struck with the voice the more, because the captain, when he unloaded the mules, had taken the lids off this and all the other jars to give air to his men, who were ill enough at their ease, almost wanting room to breathe. as much surprised as morgiana naturally was at finding a man in a jar, instead of the oil she wanted, many would have made such an outcry as to have given an alarm; whereas morgiana comprehending immediately the importance of keeping silence, and the necessity of applying a speedy remedy without noise, conceived at once the means, and collecting herself without shewing the least emotion, answered: "not yet, but presently." she went in this manner to all the jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. by this means, morgiana found that her master ali baba, who thought that he had entertained an oil merchant, had admitted thirty-eight robbers into his house, regarding this pretended merchant as their captain. she made what haste she could to fill her oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen; where, as soon as she had lighted her lamp, she took a great kettle, went again to the oil-jar, filled the kettle, set it on a large wood-fire, and as soon as it boiled went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber within. when this action, worthy of the courage of morgiana, was executed without any noise, she returned into the kitchen with the empty kettle; and having put out the great fire she had made to boil the oil, and leaving just enough to make the broth, put out the lamp also, and remained silent; resolving not to go to rest till she had observed what might follow through a window of the kitchen, which opened into the yard. she had not waited long before the captain of the robbers got up, opened the window, and finding no light, and hearing no noise, or any one stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing little stones, several of which hit the jars, as he doubted not by the sound they gave. he then listened, but not hearing or perceiving anything whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, he began to grow very uneasy, threw stones again a second and also a third time, and could not comprehend the reason that none of them should answer his signal. much alarmed, he went softly down into the yard, and going to the first jar, whilst asking the robber, whom he thought alive, if he was in readiness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of the jar. hence he suspected that his plot to murder ali baba and plunder his house was discovered. examining all the jars one after another, he found that all the members of his gang were dead; and by the oil he missed out of the last jar guessed the means and manner of their death. enraged to despair at having failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led from the yard to the garden, and climbing over the walls, made his escape. when morgiana heard no noise, and found, after waiting some time, that the captain did not return, she concluded that he had chosen rather to make his escape by the garden than the street door, which was double-locked. satisfied and pleased to have succeeded so well, in saving her master and family, she went to bed. ali baba rose before day, and, followed by his slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the important event which had happened at home; for morgiana had not thought it safe to wake him before, for fear of losing her opportunity; and after her successful exploit she thought it needless to disturb him. when he returned from the baths, the sun was risen; he was very much surprised to see the oil jars and that the merchant was not gone with the mules. he asked morgiana, who opened the door, and had let all things stand as they were, that he might see them, the reason of it. "my good master," answered she, "god preserve you and all your family; you will be better informed of what you wish to know when you have seen what i have to show you, if you will but give yourself the trouble to follow me." as soon as morgiana had shut the door, ali baba followed her; when she requested him to look into the first jar and see if there was any oil. ali baba did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and cried out. "do not be afraid," said morgiana; "the man you see there can neither do you nor anybody else any harm. he is dead." "ah, morgiana!" said ali baba, "what is it you show me? explain yourself." "i will," replied morgiana; "moderate your astonishment, and do not excite the curiosity of your neighbours. look into all the other jars." ali baba examined all the other jars, and when he came to that which had the oil in, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood for some time motionless, sometimes looking at the jars, and sometimes at morgiana, without saying a word, so great was his surprise: at last, when he had recovered himself, he said: "and what is become of the merchant?" "merchant!" answered she, "he is as much one as i am; i will tell you who he is, and what is become of him: but you had better hear the story in your own chamber; for it is time for your health that you had your broth after your bathing." while ali baba retired to his chamber, morgiana went into the kitchen to fetch the broth, but before he would drink it, he first entreated her to satisfy his impatience, and tell him what had happened, with all the circumstances; and she obeyed him. "this," she said, when she had completed her story, "is the account you asked of me; and i am convinced it is the consequence of what i observed some days ago, but did not think fit to acquaint you with; for when i came in one morning early i found our street door marked with white chalk, and the next morning with red; upon which, both times without knowing what was the intention of those chalks, i marked two or three neighbours' doors on each side in the same manner. if you reflect on this, and what has since happened, you will find it to be a plot of the robbers of the forest, of whose gang there are two wanting, and now they are reduced to three: all this shows that they had sworn your destruction, and it is proper you should be upon your guard, while there is one of them alive: for my part, i shall neglect nothing necessary to your preservation, as i am in duty bound." when morgiana had left off speaking, ali baba was so sensible of the great service she had done him, that he said to her: "i will not die without rewarding you as you deserve; i owe my life to you, and for the first token of my acknowledgment, give you your liberty from this moment, till i can complete your recompense as i intend. i am persuaded with you, that the forty robbers have laid snares for my destruction. god, by your means, has delivered me from them as yet, and i hope will continue to preserve me from their wicked designs, and deliver the world from their persecution. all that we have to do is to bury the bodies of these pests of mankind immediately, and with all the secrecy imaginable, that nobody may suspect what is become of them. but that labour abdoollah and i will undertake." ali baba's garden was very long, and shaded at the farther end by a great number of large trees. under these he and the slave dug a trench, long and wide enough to hold all the robbers. afterward they lifted the bodies out of the jars, took away their weapons, carried them to the end of the garden, laid them in the trench, and levelled the ground again. when this was done, ali baba hid the jars and weapons; and as he had no occasion for the mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in the market by his slave. while ali baba took these measures to prevent the public from knowing how he came by his riches in so short a time, the captain of the forty robbers returned to the forest with inconceivable mortification; and in his confusion at his ill success, so contrary to what he had promised himself, entered the cave, not being able, all the way from the town, to come to any resolution how to revenge himself of ali baba. the loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to him. "where are you, my brave lads," cried he, "old companions of my watchings, inroads, and labour? what can i do without you? did i collect you only to lose you by so base a fate, and so unworthy of your courage! had you died with your sabres in your hands, like brave men, my regret had been less! when shall i enlist so gallant a troop again? and if i could, can i undertake it without exposing so much gold and treasure to him who hath already enriched himself out of it? i cannot, i ought not to think of it, before i have taken away his life. i will undertake that alone, which i could not accomplish with your powerful assistance; and when i have taken measures to secure this treasure from being pillaged, i will provide for it new masters and successors after me, who shall preserve and augment it to all posterity." this resolution being taken, he was not at a loss how to execute his purpose; but full of hopes, slept all that night very quietly. when he awoke early next morning, he dressed himself, agreeably to the project he had formed, went to the town, and took a lodging in a khan. as he expected what had happened at ali baba's might make a great noise, he asked his host what news there was in the city? upon which the innkeeper told him a great many circumstances, which did not concern him in the least. he judged by this, that the reason why ali baba kept his affairs so secret, was for fear people should know where the treasure lay; and because he knew his life would be sought on account of it. this urged him the more to neglect nothing to rid himself of so cautious an enemy. the captain now assumed the character of a merchant, and conveyed gradually a great many sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the cavern, but with all the necessary precautions imaginable to conceal the place whence he brought them. in order to dispose of the merchandise, when he had amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which happened to be opposite to cassim's, which ali baba's son had occupied since the death of his uncle. he took the name of khaujeh houssain, and as a newcomer, was, according to custom, extremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants his neighbours. ali baba's son was from his vicinity one of the first to converse with khaujeh houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship more particularly when, two or three days after he was settled, he recognised ali baba, who came to see his son, and stopped to talk with him as he was accustomed to do. when he was gone, the impostor learnt from his son who he was. he increased his assiduities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, made him some small presents, and often asked him to dine and sup with him. ali baba's son did not choose to lie under such obligation to khaujeh houssain, without making the like return; but was so much straitened for want of room in his house, that he could not entertain him so well as he wished; he therefore acquainted his father ali baba with his intention, and told him that it did not look well for him to receive such favours from khaujeh houssain without inviting him in return. ali baba, with great pleasure, took the treat upon himself. "son," said he, "to-morrow being friday, which is a day that the shops of such great merchants as khaujeh houssain and yourself are shut, get him to take a walk with you, and as you come back, pass by my door and call in. it will look better to have it happen accidentally, than if you gave him a formal invitation. i will go and order morgiana to provide a supper." the next day ali baba's son and khaujeh houssain met by appointment, took their walk, and as they returned, ali baba's son led khaujeh houssain through the street where his father lived; and when they came to the house, stopped and knocked at the door. "this, sir," said he, "is my father's house; who, from the account i have given him of your friendship, charged me to procure him the honour of your acquaintance." though it was the sole aim of khaujeh houssain to introduce himself into ali baba's house, that he might kill him without hazarding his own life or making any noise; yet he excused himself, and offered to take his leave. but a slave having opened the door, ali baba's son took him obligingly by the hand, and in a manner forced him in. ali baba received khaujeh houssain with a smiling countenance, and in the most obliging manner. he thanked him for all the favours he had done his son; adding withal, the obligation was the greater, as he was a young man not much acquainted with the world. khaujeh houssain returned the compliment, by assuring ali baba, that though his son might not have acquired the experience of older men, he had good sense equal to the knowledge of many others. after a little more conversation on different subjects, he offered again to take his leave; when ali baba, stopping him, said: "where are you going, sir, in so much haste? i beg you would do me the honour to sup with me, though what i have to give you is not worth your acceptance; but such as it is, i hope you will accept it as heartily as i give it." "sir," replied khaujeh houssain, "i am thoroughly persuaded of your good will; and if i ask the favour of you not to take it ill that i do not accept your obliging invitation, i beg of you to believe that it does not proceed from any slight or intention to affront, but from a reason which you would approve if you knew it. "and what may that reason be, sir," replied ali baba, "if i may be so bold as to ask you?" "it is," answered khaujeh houssain, "that i can eat no victuals that have any salt in them; therefore judge how i should feel at your table." "if that is the only reason," said ali baba, "it ought not to deprive me of the honour of your company at supper; for, in the first place, there is no salt ever put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have to-night, i promise you there shall be none in that. therefore you must do me the favour to stay. i will return immediately." ali baba went into the kitchen, and ordered morgiana to put no salt to the meat that was to be dressed that night; and to make quickly two or three ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure to put no salt in them. morgiana, who was always ready to obey her master, could not help seeming somewhat dissatisfied at his strange order. "who is this difficult man," said she, "who eats no salt with his meat? your supper will be spoiled, if i keep it back so long." "do not be angry, morgiana," replied ali baba; "he is an honest man; therefore do as i bid you." morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, and had a curiosity to see this man who ate no salt. to this end, when she had finished what she had to do in the kitchen, she helped abdoollah to carry up the dishes; and looking at khaujeh houssain, knew him at first sight, notwithstanding his disguise, to be the captain of the robbers, and examining him very carefully, perceived that he had a dagger under his garment. "i am not in the least amazed," said she to herself, "that this wicked wretch, who is my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with him, since he intends to assassinate him; but i will prevent him." morgiana, while they were eating, made the necessary preparations for executing one of the boldest acts ever meditated, and had just determined, when abdoollah came for the dessert of fruit, which she carried up, and as soon as he had taken the meat away, set upon the table; after that, she placed three glasses by ali baba, and going out, took abdoollah with her to sup, and to give ali baba the more liberty of conversation with his guest. khaujeh houssain, or rather the captain of the robbers, thought he had now a favourable opportunity of being revenged on ali baba. "i will," said he to himself, "make the father and son both drunk: the son, whose life i intend to spare, will not be able to prevent my stabbing his father to the heart; and while the slaves are at supper, or asleep in the kitchen, i can make my escape over the gardens as before." instead of going to supper, morgiana, who had penetrated the intentions of the counterfeit khaujeh houssain, would not give him time to put his villainous design into execution, but dressed herself neatly with a suitable head-dress like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to which there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the same metal, and put a handsome mask on her face. when she had thus disguised herself, she said to abdoollah: "take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his son's guest, as we do sometimes when he is alone." abdoollah took his tabor and played all the way into the hall before morgiana, who when she came to the door made a low obeisance, with a deliberate air, in order to draw attention, and by way of asking leave to exhibit her skill. abdoollah, seeing that his master had a mind to say something, left off playing. "come in, morgiana," said ali baba, "and let khaujeh houssain see what you can do, that he may tell us what he thinks of you. but, sir," said he, turning toward his guest, "do not think that i put myself to any expense to give you this diversion, since these are my slave and my cook and housekeeper; and i hope you will not find the entertainment they give us disagreeable." khaujeh houssain, who did not expect this diversion after supper, began to fear he should not be able to improve the opportunity he thought he had found: but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to secure it another time, by keeping up a friendly correspondence with the father and son; therefore, though he could have wished ali baba would have declined the dance, he had the complaisance to express his satisfaction at what he saw pleased his host. as soon as abdoollah saw that ali baba and khaujeh houssain had done talking, he began to play on the tabor, and accompanied it with an air; to which morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced in such a manner as would have created admiration in any other company besides that before which she now exhibited, among whom, perhaps, none but the false khaujeh houssain was in the least attentive to her, the rest having seen her so frequently. after she had danced several dances with equal propriety and grace, she drew the poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance, in which she outdid herself, by the many different figures, light movements, and the surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with which she accompanied it. sometimes she presented the poniard to one person's breast, sometimes to another's, and oftentimes seemed to strike her own. at last, as if she was out of breath, she snatched the tabor from abdoollah with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her right, presented the other side of the tabor, after the manner of those who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality of the spectators. ali baba put a piece of gold into the tabor, as did also his son: and khaujeh houssain, seeing that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse out of his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his hand into it, morgiana, with a courage and resolution worthy of herself, plunged the poniard into his heart. ali baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried out aloud. "unhappy wretch!" exclaimed ali baba, "what have you done to ruin me and my family?" "it was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered morgiana; "for see here," continued she (opening the pretended khaujeh houssain's garment, and showing the dagger), "what an enemy you had entertained! look well at him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious oil-merchant, and the captain of the gang of forty robbers. remember, too, that he would eat no salt with you; and what would you have more to persuade you of his wicked design? before i saw him, i suspected him as soon as you told me you had such a guest. i knew him, and you now find that my suspicion was not groundless." ali baba, who immediately felt the new obligation he had to morgiana for saving his life a second time, embraced her: "morgiana," said he, "i gave you your liberty, and then promised you that my gratitude should not stop there, but that i would soon give you higher proofs of its sincerity, which i now do by making you my daughter-in-law." then addressing himself to his son, he said: "i believe you, son, to be so dutiful a child, that you will not refuse morgiana for your wife. you see that khaujeh houssain sought your friendship with a treacherous design to take away my life; and, if he had succeeded, there is no doubt but he would have sacrificed you also to his revenge. consider, that by marrying morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and your own." the son, far from showing any dislike, readily consented to the marriage; not only because he would not disobey his father, but also because it was agreeable to his inclination. after this, they thought of burying the captain of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so privately that nobody discovered their bones till many years after, when no one had any concern in the publication of this remarkable history. a few days afterward, ali baba celebrated the nuptials of his son and morgiana with great solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that his friends and neighbours, whom he invited, had no knowledge of the true motives of the marriage; but that those who were not unacquainted with morgiana's good qualities commended his generosity and goodness of heart. ali baba forbore, after this marriage, from going again to the robbers' cave, as he had done, for fear of being surprised, from the time he had brought away his brother cassim's mangled remains. he had kept away after the death of the thirty-seven robbers and their captain, supposing the other two, whom he could get no account of, might be alive. at the year's end, when he found that they had not made any attempt to disturb him, he had the curiosity to make another journey, taking the necessary precautions for his safety. he mounted his horse, and when he came to the cave, and saw no footsteps of men or beasts, looked upon it as a good sign. he alighted, tied his horse to a tree, then approaching the entrance and pronouncing the words, _open, sesame!_ the door opened. he entered the cavern, and by the condition he found things in, judged that nobody had been there since the false khaujeh houssain, when he had fetched the goods for his shop; that the gang of forty robbers was completely destroyed, and no longer doubted that he was the only person in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, so that all the treasure was at his sole disposal. having brought with him a wallet, he put into it as much gold as his horse would carry, and returned to town. afterward ali baba carried his son to the cave, and taught him the secret, which they handed down to their posterity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, lived in great honour and splendour. the history of codadad and his brothers there formerly reigned in the city of harran a most magnificent and potent sultan, who loved his subjects, and was equally beloved by them. he was endued with all virtues, and wanted nothing to complete his happiness but an heir. he continually prayed to heaven for a child; and one night in his sleep, a prophet appeared to him and said: "your prayers are heard; you have obtained what you have desired; rise as soon as you awake, go to your prayers, and make two genuflexions; then walk into the garden of your palace, call your gardener, and bid him bring you a pomegranate; eat as many of the seeds as you please, and your wishes shall be accomplished." the sultan calling to mind his dream when he awoke, returned thanks to heaven, got up, prayed, made two genuflexions, and then went into his garden, where he took fifty pomegranate seeds, which he counted, and ate. some time afterward forty-nine of his wives presented him with sons, each one as vigorous as a young palm-tree, but pirouzè, the fiftieth wife, remained childless. the sultan, therefore, took an aversion to this lady and would have had her put to death had not his vizier prevented him, advising rather that she be sent to samaria, to her brother, sultan samer, with orders that she be well treated. not long after pirouzè had been retired to her brother's country, a most beautiful prince was born to her. the prince of samaria wrote immediately to the sultan of harran, to acquaint him with the birth of a son, and to congratulate him on the occasion. the sultan was much rejoiced at this intelligence, and answered prince samer as follows: "cousin, all my other wives have each presented me with a prince. i desire you to educate the child of pirouzè, to give him the name of codadad, and to send him to me when i may apply for him." the prince of samaria spared nothing that might improve the education of his nephew. he taught him to ride, draw the bow, and all other accomplishments becoming the son of a sovereign; so that codadad, at eighteen years of age, was looked upon as a prodigy. the young prince, being inspired with a courage worthy his birth, said one day to his mother: "madam, i begin to grow weary of samaria; i feel a passion for glory; give me leave to seek it amidst the perils of war. my father the sultan of harran has many enemies. why does he not call me to his assistance? must i spend my life in sloth, when all my brothers have the happiness to be fighting by his side?" "my son," answered pirouzè, "i am no less impatient to have your name become famous; i could wish you had already signalised yourself against your father's enemies; but we must wait till he requires it." "no, madam," replied codadad, "i have already waited too long. i burn to see the sultan, and am tempted to offer him my service, as a young stranger: no doubt but he will accept of it, and i will not discover myself till i have performed some glorious actions." pirouzè approved of his generous resolutions, and codadad departed from samaria, as if he had been going to the chase, without acquainting prince samer, lest he should thwart his design. he was mounted on a white charger, who had a bit and shoes of gold, his housing was of blue satin embroidered with pearls; the hilt of his cimeter was of one single diamond, and the scabbard of sandalwood, adorned with emeralds and rubies, and on his shoulder he carried his bow and quiver. in this equipage, which greatly set off his handsome person, he arrived at the city of harran, and soon found means to offer his service to the sultan; who being charmed with his beauty, and perhaps indeed by natural sympathy, gave him a favourable reception, and asked his name and quality. "sir," answered codadad, "i am son to an emir of grand cairo; an inclination to travel has made me quit my country, and understanding that you were engaged in war, i am come to your court to offer your majesty my service." the sultan, upon hearing this, shewed him extraordinary kindness, and gave him a command in his army. the young prince soon gained the esteem of the officers, and was admired by the soldiers. having no less wit than courage, he so far advanced himself in the sultan's esteem, as to become his favourite. all the ministers and other courtiers daily resorted to codadad, and were so eager to purchase his friendship, that they neglected the sultan's sons. the princes could not but resent this conduct, and all conceived an implacable hatred against him; but the sultan's affection daily increasing, he was never weary of giving him fresh testimonies of his regard. he always would have him near his person; and to shew his high opinion of his wisdom and prudence, committed to his care the other princes, though he was of the same age as they; so that codadad was made governor of his brothers. this only served to heighten their hatred. "is it come to this," said they, "that the sultan, not satisfied with loving a stranger more than us, will have him to be our governor, and not allow us to act without his leave? this is not to be endured. we must rid ourselves of this foreigner." "let us go together," said one of them, "and despatch him." "no, no," answered another; "we had better be cautious how we sacrifice ourselves. his death would render us odious to the sultan. let us destroy him by some stratagem. we will ask his permission to hunt, and, when at a distance from the palace, proceed to some other city and stay there some time. the sultan will wonder at our absence, and perceiving we do not return, perhaps put the stranger to death, or at least will banish him from court, for suffering us to leave the palace." all the princes applauded this artifice. they went together to codadad, and desired him to allow them to take the diversion of hunting, promising to return the same day. pirouzè's son was taken in the snare, and granted the permission his brothers desired. they set out, but never returned. they had been three days absent, when the sultan asked codadad where the princes were, for it was long since he had seen them. "sir," answered codadad, after making a profound reverence, "they have been hunting these three days, but they promised me they would return sooner." the sultan grew uneasy, and his uneasiness increased when he perceived the princes did not return the next day. he could not check his anger: "indiscreet stranger," said he to codadad, "why did you let my sons go without bearing them company? go, seek them immediately, and bring them to me, or your life shall be forfeited." these words chilled with alarm pirouzè's unfortunate son. he armed himself, departed from the city, and like a shepherd who had lost his flock, searched the country for his brothers, inquiring at every village whether they had been seen; but hearing no news of them, abandoned himself to the most lively grief. he was inconsolable for having given the princes permission to hunt, or for not having borne them company. after some days spent in fruitless search, he came to a plain of prodigious extent, in the midst whereof was a palace built of black marble. he drew near, and at one of the windows beheld a most beautiful lady; but set off with no other ornament than her own charms; for her hair was dishevelled, her garments torn, and on her countenance appeared all the marks of affliction. as soon as she saw codadad, and judged he might hear her, she directed her discourse to him, saying: "young man, depart from this fatal place, or you will soon fall into the hands of the monster that inhabits it: a black, who feeds only on human blood, resides in this palace; he seizes all persons whom their ill fate conducts to this plain, and shuts them up in his dungeons, whence they are never released, but to be devoured by him." "madam," answered codadad, "tell me who you are, and be not concerned for myself." "i am a lady of quality of grand cairo," replied the captive; "i was passing by this castle yesterday, on my way to bagdad, and met with the black, who killed all my attendants, and brought me hither. i beg of you," she cried, "to make your escape: the black will soon return; he is gone out to pursue some travellers he espied at a distance on the plain. lose no time, but fly." she had scarcely done speaking before the black appeared. he was of monstrous bulk, and of a dreadful aspect, mounted on a large tartar horse, and bore a heavy cimeter, that none but himself could wield. the prince seeing him, was amazed at his gigantic stature, directed his prayers to heaven to assist him, then drew his own cimeter, and firmly awaited his approach. the monster, despising so inconsiderable an enemy, called to him to submit without fighting. codadad by his conduct shewed that he was resolved to defend his life; for rushing upon the black, he wounded him on the knee. the monster, feeling himself wounded, uttered such a dreadful yell as made all the plain resound. he grew furious and foamed with rage, and raising himself on his stirrups, made at codadad with his dreadful cimeter. the blow was so violent, that it would have put an end to the young prince, had not he avoided it by a sudden spring. the cimeter made a horrible hissing in the air: but, before the black could have time to make a second blow, codadad struck him on his right arm with such force that he cut it off. the dreadful cimeter fell with the hand that held it, and the black, yielding under the violence of the stroke, lost his stirrups, and made the earth shake with the weight of his fall. the prince alighted at the same time, and cut off his enemy's head. just then the lady, who had been a spectator of the combat, and was still offering up her earnest prayers to heaven for the young hero, uttered a shriek of joy, and said to codadad: "prince and deliverer, finish the work you have begun; the black has the keys of this castle, take them and deliver me out of prison." the prince searched the wretch as he lay stretched on the ground, and found several keys. he opened the first door, and entered a court, where he saw the lady coming to meet him; she would have cast herself at his feet, the better to express her gratitude, but he would not permit her. she commended his valour, and extolled him above all the heroes in the world. he returned her compliments; and she appeared still more lovely to him near, than she had done at a distance. i know not whether she felt more joy at being delivered from the desperate danger she had been in, than he for having done so considerable a service to so beautiful a person. their conversation was interrupted by dismal cries and groans. "what do i hear?" said codadad; "whence come these miserable lamentations, which pierce my ears?" "my lord," said the lady, pointing to a little door in the court, "they come from thence. there are i know not how many wretched persons whom fate has thrown into the hands of the black. they are all chained, and the monster drew out one every day to devour." "it is an addition to my joy," answered the young prince, "to understand that my victory will save the lives of those unfortunate beings. come with me, madam, to partake in the satisfaction of giving them their liberty." having so said, they advanced toward the door of the dungeon, where codadad, pitying them, and impatient to put an end to their sufferings, presently put one of the keys into the lock. the noise made all the unfortunate captives, who concluded it was the black coming, according to custom, to seize one of them to devour, redouble their cries and groans. in the meantime, the prince had opened the door; he went down a steep staircase into a deep vault, which received some feeble light from a little window, and in which there were above a hundred persons, bound to stakes. "unfortunate travellers," said he to them, "who only expected the moment of an approaching death, give thanks to heaven which has this day delivered you by my means. i have slain the black by whom you were to be devoured, and am come to knock off your chains." the prisoners hearing these words, gave a shout of mingled joy and surprise. codadad and the lady began to unbind them; and as soon as any of them were loose, they helped to take off the fetters from the rest; so that in a short time they were all at liberty. they then kneeled down, and having returned thanks to codadad for what he had done for them, went out of the dungeon; but when they were come into the court, how was the prince surprised to see among the prisoners those he was in search of, and almost without hopes to find! "princes," cried he, "is it you whom i behold? may i flatter myself that it is in my power to restore you to the sultan your father, who is inconsolable for the loss of you? are you all here alive? alas! the death of one of you will suffice to damp the joy i feel for having delivered you." the forty-nine princes all made themselves known to codadad, who embraced them one after another, and told them how uneasy their father was on account of their absence. they gave their deliverer all the commendations he deserved, as did the other prisoners, who could not find words expressive enough to declare their gratitude. codadad, with them, searched the whole castle, where was immense wealth: curious silks, gold brocades, persian carpets, china satins, and an infinite quantity of other goods, which the black had taken from the caravans he had plundered, a considerable part whereof belonged to the prisoners codadad had then liberated. every man knew and claimed his property. the prince restored them their own, and divided the rest of the merchandise among them. then he said to them: "how will you carry away your goods? we are here in a desert place, and there is no likelihood of your getting horses." "my lord," answered one of the prisoners, "the black robbed us of our camels, as well as of our goods, and perhaps they may be in the stables of this castle." "that is not unlikely," replied codadad; "let us examine." accordingly they went to the stables, where they not only found the camels, but also the horses belonging to the sultan of harran's sons. all the merchants, overjoyed that they had recovered their goods and camels, together with their liberty, thought of nothing but prosecuting their journey; but first repeated their thanks to their deliverer. when they were gone, codadad, directing his discourse to the lady, said: "what place, madam, do you desire to go to? i intend to bear you company to the spot you shall choose for your retreat, and i question not but that all these princes will do the same." the sultan of harran's sons protested to the lady, that they would not leave her till she was restored to her friends. "princes," said she, "i am of a country too remote from here; and, besides that, it would be abusing your generosity to oblige you to travel so far. i must confess that i have left my native country for ever. i told you that i was a lady of grand cairo; but since you have shewn me so much favour, i should be much in the wrong in concealing the truth from you: i am a sultan's daughter. a usurper has possessed himself of my father's throne, after having murdered him, and i have been forced to fly to save my life." codadad and his brothers requested the princess to tell them her story, and after thanking them for their repeated protestations of readiness to serve her, she could not refuse to satisfy their curiosity, and began the recital of her adventures in the following manner. "there was in a certain island," said the princess, "a great city called deryabar, governed by a magnificent and virtuous sultan, who had no children, which was the only blessing wanting to make him happy. he continually addressed his prayers to heaven, but heaven only partially granted his requests, for the queen his wife, after a long expectation, brought forth a daughter. "i am that unfortunate princess; my father was rather grieved than pleased at my birth; but he submitted to the will of god, and caused me to be educated with all possible care, being resolved, since he had no son, to teach me the art of ruling, that i might supply his place after his death. "there was, at the court of deryabar, an orphan youth of good birth whom the sultan, my father, had befriended and educated according to his rank. he was very handsome, and, not wanting ability, found means to please my father, who conceived a great friendship for him. all the courtiers perceived it, and guessed that the young man might in the end be my husband. in this idea, and looking on him already as heir to the crown, they made their court to him, and every one endeavoured to gain his favour. he soon saw into their designs, and forgetting the distance there was between our conditions, flattered himself with the hopes that my father was fond enough of him to prefer him before all the princes in the world. he went farther; for the sultan not offering me to him as soon as he could have wished, he had the boldness to ask me of him. whatever punishment his insolence deserved, my father was satisfied with telling him he had other thoughts in relation to me. the youth was incensed at this refusal; he resented the contempt, as if he had asked some maid of ordinary extraction, or as if his birth had been equal to mine. nor did he stop here, but resolved to be revenged on the sultan, and with unparalleled ingratitude conspired against him. in short, he murdered him, and caused himself to be proclaimed sovereign of deryabar. the grand vizier, however, while the usurper was butchering my father came to carry me away from the palace, and secured me in a friend's house, till a vessel he had provided was ready to sail. i then left the island, attended only by a governess and that generous minister, who chose rather to follow his master's daughter than to submit to a tyrant. "the grand vizier designed to carry me to the courts of the neighbouring sultans, to implore their assistance, and excite them to revenge my father's death; but heaven did not concur in a resolution we thought so just. when we had been but a few days at sea, there arose such a furious storm, that our vessel, carried away by the violence of the winds and waves, was dashed in pieces against a rock. my governess, the grand vizier, and all that attended me, were swallowed up by the sea. i lost my senses; and whether i was thrown upon the coast, or whether heaven wrought a miracle for my deliverance, i found myself on shore when my senses returned. "in my despair and horror i was on the point of casting myself into the sea again; when i heard behind me a great noise of men and horses. i looked about to see what it might be, and espied several armed horsemen, among whom was one mounted on an arabian charger. he had on a garment embroidered with silver, a girdle set with precious stones, and a crown of gold on his head. though his habit had not convinced me that he was chief of the company, i should have judged it by the air of grandeur which appeared in his person. he was a young man extraordinarily well shaped, and perfectly beautiful. surprised to see a young lady alone in that place, he sent some of his officers to ask who i was. i answered only by weeping. the shore being covered with the wreck of our ship, they concluded that i was certainly some person who had escaped from the vessel. this conjecture excited the curiosity of the officers, who began to ask me a thousand questions, with assurances that their master was a generous prince, and that i should receive protection at his court. "the sultan, impatient to know who i was, grew weary of waiting the return of his officers, and drew near to me. he gazed on me very earnestly, and observing that i did not cease weeping, without being able to return an answer to their questions, he forbade them troubling me any more; and directing his discourse to me: 'madam,' said he, 'i conjure you to moderate your excessive affliction. i dare assure you that, if your misfortunes are capable of receiving any relief, you shall find it in my dominions. you shall live with the queen my mother, who will endeavour by her kindness to ease your affliction. i know not yet who you are, but i find i already take an interest in your welfare.' "i thanked the young sultan for his goodness to me, accepted his obliging offer; and to convince him that i was not unworthy of them, told him my condition. when i had done speaking, the prince assured me that he was deeply concerned at my misfortunes. he then conducted me to his palace, and presented me to the queen his mother, to whom i was obliged again to repeat my misfortunes. the queen seemed very sensible of my trouble, and conceived extreme affection for me. on the other hand, the sultan her son fell desperately in love with me, and soon offered me his hand and his crown. i was so taken up with the thoughts of my calamities, that the prince, though so lovely a person, did not make so great an impression on me as he might have done at another time. however, gratitude prevailing, i did not refuse to make him happy, and our nuptials were concluded with all imaginable splendour. "while the people were taken up with the celebration of their sovereign's nuptials, a neighbouring prince, his enemy, made a descent by night on the island with a great number of troops and surprised and cut to pieces my husband's subjects. we escaped very narrowly, for he had already entered the palace with some of his followers; but we found means to slip away and to get to the sea-coast, where we threw ourselves into a fishing-boat which we had the good fortune to meet with. two days we were driven about by the winds, without knowing what would become of us. the third day we espied a vessel making toward us under sail. we rejoiced at first, believing it had been a merchant-ship which might take us aboard; but what was our consternation, when, as it drew near, we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck. having boarded, five or six of them leaped into our boat, seized us, bound the prince, and conveyed us into their ship, where they immediately took off my veil. my youth and features touched them, and they all declared how much they were charmed at the sight of me. instead of casting lots, each of them claimed the preference, and me as his right. the dispute grew warm, they came to blows, and fought like madmen. the deck was soon covered with dead bodies, and they were all killed but one, who, being left sole possessor of me, said: 'you are mine. i will carry you to grand cairo, to deliver you to a friend of mine, to whom i have promised a beautiful slave. but who,' added he, looking upon the sultan, my husband, 'is that man? what relation does he bear to you? are you allied by blood or love?' 'sir,' answered i, 'he is my husband.' 'if so,' replied the pirate, 'in pity i must rid myself of him: it would be too great an affliction to him to see you disposed of to another.' having spoken these words, he took up the unhappy prince, who was bound, and threw him into the sea, notwithstanding all my endeavours to prevent him. "i shrieked in a dreadful manner at the sight of what he had done, and had certainly cast myself into the sea also, but that the pirate held me. he saw my design, and therefore bound me with cords to the main-mast, then hoisting sail, made toward the land, and got ashore. he unbound me and led me to a little town, where he bought camels, tents, and slaves, and then set out for grand cairo, designing, as he still said, to present me to his friend, according to his promise. "we had been several days upon the road, when, as we were crossing this plain yesterday, we descried the black who inhabited this castle. at a distance we took him for a tower, and when near us, could scarcely believe him to be a man. he drew his huge cimeter, and summoned the pirate to yield himself prisoner, with all his slaves and the lady he was conducting. you know the end of this dreadful adventure and can foresee what would have been my fate had you, generous prince, not come to my deliverance." [illustration] _as it drew near we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck._ as soon as the princess had finished the recital of her adventures, codadad declared to her that he was deeply concerned at her misfortunes. "but, madam," added he, "it shall be your own fault if you do not live at ease for the future. the sultan of harran's sons offer you a safe retreat in the court of their father; be pleased to accept of it, and if you do not disdain the affection of your deliverer, permit me to assure you of it, and to espouse you before all these princes; let them be witnesses to our contract." the princess consented, and the marriage was concluded that very day in the castle, where they found all sorts of provisions, with an abundance of delicious wine and other liquors. they all sat down at table; and after having eaten and drunk plentifully, took with them the rest of the provisions, and set out for the sultan of harran's court. they travelled several days, encamping in the pleasantest places they could find, and were within one day's journey of harran, when codadad, directing his discourse to all his company, said: "princes, i have too long concealed from you who i am. behold your brother codadad! i, as well as you, received my being from the sultan of harran, the prince of samaria brought me up, and the princess pirouzè is my mother. madam," added he, addressing himself to the princess of deryabar, "do you also forgive me for having concealed my birth from you? perhaps, by discovering it sooner, i might have prevented some disagreeable reflections, which may have been occasioned by a match you may have thought unequal." "no, sir," answered the princess "the opinion i at first conceived of you heightened every moment and you did not stand in need of the extraction you now discover to make me happy." the princes congratulated codadad on his birth, and expressed much satisfaction at being made acquainted with it. but in reality, instead of rejoicing, their hatred of so amiable a brother was increased. they met together at night, and forgetting that had it not been for the brave son of pirouzè they must have been devoured by the black, agreed among themselves to murder him. "we have no other course to choose," said one of them, "for the moment our father shall come to understand that this stranger, of whom he is already so fond, is our brother, he will declare him his heir, and we shall all be obliged to obey and fall down before him." he added much more, which made such an impression on their unnatural minds, that they immediately repaired to codadad, then asleep, stabbed him repeatedly, and leaving him for dead in the arms of the princess of deryabar, proceeded on their journey to the city of harran, where they arrived the next day. the sultan their father conceived the greater joy at their return, because he had despaired of ever seeing them again: he asked what had been the occasion of their stay. but they took care not to acquaint him with it, making no mention either of the black or of codadad; and only said, that being curious to see different countries, they had spent some time in the neighbouring cities. in the meantime codadad lay in his tent weltering in his blood and little differing from a dead man, with the princess his wife, who seemed to be in not much better condition than himself. she rent the air with her dismal shrieks, tore her hair, and bathing her husband's body with her tears, "alas! codadad, my dear codadad," cried she, "is it you whom i behold just departing this life? can i believe these are your brothers who have treated you so unmercifully, those brothers whom thy valour had saved? o heaven! which has condemned me to lead a life of calamities, if you will not permit me to have a consort, why did you permit me to find one? behold, you have now robbed me of two, just as i began to be attached to them." by these and other moving expressions the afflicted princess of deryabar vented her sorrow, fixing her eyes on the unfortunate codadad, who could not hear her; but he was not dead, and his consort, observing that he still breathed, ran to a large town she espied in the plain, to inquire for a surgeon. she was directed to one, who went immediately with her; but when they came to the tent, they could not find codadad, which made them conclude he had been dragged away by some wild beast to be devoured. the princess renewed her complaints and lamentations in a most affecting manner. the surgeon was moved, and being unwilling to leave her in so distressed a condition, proposed to her to return to the town, offering her his house and service. she suffered herself to be prevailed upon. the surgeon conducted her to his house, and without knowing, as yet, who she was, treated her with all imaginable courtesy and respect. he used all his endeavours to comfort her, but it was vain to think of removing her sorrow. "madam," said he to her one day, "be pleased to recount to me your misfortunes; tell me your country and your condition. perhaps i may give you some good advice, when i am acquainted with all the circumstances of your calamity." the surgeon's words were so efficacious, that they wrought on the princess, who recounted to him all her adventures; and when she had done, the surgeon directed his discourse to her: "madam," said he, "you ought not thus to give way to your sorrow; you ought rather to arm yourself with resolution, and perform what the duty of a wife requires of you. you are bound to avenge your husband. if you please, i will wait on you as your attendant. let us go to the sultan of harran's court; he is a good and a just prince. you need only represent to him in lively colours, how prince codadad has been treated by his brothers. i am persuaded he will do you justice." "i submit to your reasoning," answered the princess; "it is my duty to endeavour to avenge codadad; and since you are so generous as to offer to attend me, i am ready to set out." no sooner had she fixed this resolution, than the surgeon ordered two camels to be made ready, on which the princess and he mounted, and repaired to harran. they alighted at the first caravanserai they found, and inquired of the host the news at court. "deryabar," said he, "is in very great perplexity. the sultan had a son, who lived long with him as a stranger, and none can tell what is become of the young prince. one of the sultan's wives, named pirouzè, is his mother; she has made all possible inquiry, but to no purpose. the sultan has forty-nine other sons, all by different mothers, but not one of them has virtue enough to comfort him for the death of codadad; i say, his death, because it is impossible he should be still alive, since no intelligence has been heard of him, notwithstanding so much search has been made." the surgeon, having heard this account from the host, concluded that the best course the princess of deryabar could take was to wait upon pirouzè; but that step required much precaution: for it was to be feared that if the sultan of harran's sons should happen to hear of the arrival of their sister-in-law and her design, they might cause her to be conveyed away before she could discover herself. the surgeon weighed all these circumstances, and therefore, that he might manage matters with discretion, desired the princess to remain in the caravanserai, whilst he repaired to the palace, to observe which might be the safest way to conduct her to pirouzè. he went accordingly into the city, and was walking toward the palace, when he beheld a lady mounted on a mule richly accoutred. she was followed by several ladies mounted also on mules, with a great number of guards and black slaves. all the people formed a lane to see her pass along, and saluted her by prostrating themselves on the ground. the surgeon paid her the same respect, and then asked a calendar, who happened to stand by him, whether that lady was one of the sultan's wives. "yes, brother," answered the calendar, "she is, and the most honoured and beloved by the people, because she is the mother of prince codadad, of whom you must have heard." the surgeon asked no more questions, but followed pirouzè to a mosque, into which she went to distribute alms, and assist at the public prayers which the sultan had ordered to be offered up for the safe return of codadad. the surgeon broke through the throng and advanced to pirouzè's guards. he waited the conclusion of the prayers, and when the princess went out, stepped up to one of her slaves, and whispered him in the ear: "brother, i have a secret of moment to impart to the princess pirouzè: may not i be introduced into her apartment?" "if that secret," answered the slave, "relates to prince codadad i dare promise you shall have audience of her; but if it concern not him, it is needless for you to be introduced; for her thoughts are all engrossed by her son." "it is only about that dear son," replied the surgeon, "that i wish to speak to her." "if so," said the slave, "you need but follow us to the palace, and you shall soon have the opportunity." accordingly, as soon as pirouzè was returned to her apartment, the slave acquainted her that a person unknown had some important information to communicate to her, and that it related to prince codadad. no sooner had he uttered these words, than pirouzè expressed her impatience to see the stranger. the slave immediately conducted him into the princess's closet who ordered all her women to withdraw, except two, from whom she concealed nothing. as soon as she saw the surgeon, she asked him eagerly what news he had to tell her of codadad. "madam," answered the surgeon, after having prostrated himself on the ground, "i have a long account to give you, and such as will surprise you." he then related all the particulars of what had passed between codadad and his brothers, which she listened to with eager attention; but when he came to speak of the murder, the tender mother fainted away on her sofa, as if she had herself been stabbed like her son. her two women soon brought her to herself and the surgeon continued his relation; and when he had concluded, pirouzè said to him: "go back to the princess of deryabar, and assure her from me that the sultan shall soon own her for his daughter-in-law; and as for yourself, your services shall be rewarded as liberally as they deserve." when the surgeon was gone, pirouzè remained on the sofa in such a state of affliction as may easily be imagined; and yielding to her tenderness at the recollection of codadad, "o my son!" said she, "i must never then expect to see you more! unfortunate codadad, why did you leave me?" while she uttered these words, she wept bitterly, and her two attendants, moved by her grief, mingled their tears with hers. whilst they were all three in this manner vying in affliction, the sultan came into the closet, and seeing them in this condition, asked pirouzè whether she had received any bad news concerning codadad. "alas! sir," said she, "all is over, my son has lost his life, and to add to my sorrow, i cannot pay him the funeral rites; for, in all probability, wild beasts have devoured him." she then told him all she had heard from the surgeon, and did not fail to enlarge on the inhuman manner in which codadad had been murdered by his brothers. the sultan did not give pirouzè time to finish her relation, but transported with anger, and giving way to his passion, "madam," said he to the princess, "those perfidious wretches who cause you to shed these tears, and are the occasion of mortal grief to their father, shall soon feel the punishment due to their guilt." the sultan, having spoken these words, with indignation in his countenance, went directly to the presence-chamber, where all his courtiers attended, and such of the people as had petitions to present to him. they were alarmed to see him in passion, and thought his anger had been kindled against them. he ascended the throne, and causing his grand vizier to approach, "hassan," said he, "go immediately, take a thousand of my guards, and seize all the princes, my sons; shut them up in the tower used as a prison for murderers, and let this be done in a moment." all who were present trembled at this extraordinary command; and the grand vizier, without uttering a word, laid his hand on his head, to express his obedience, and hastened from the hall to execute his orders. in the meantime the sultan dismissed those who attended for audience, and declared he would not hear of any business for a month to come. he was still in the hall when the vizier returned. "are all my sons," demanded he, "in the tower?" "they are, sir," answered the vizier; "i have obeyed your orders." "this is not all," replied the sultan, "i have farther commands for you:" and so saying he went out of the hall of audience, and returned to pirouzè's apartment, the vizier following him. he asked the princess where codadad's widow had taken up her lodging. pirouzè's women told him, for the surgeon had not forgotten that in his relation. the sultan then turning to his minister, "go," said he, "to this caravanserai, and conduct a young princess who lodges there, with all the respect due to her quality, to my palace." the vizier was not long in performing what he was ordered. he mounted on horseback with all the emirs and courtiers, and repaired to the caravanserai, where the princess of deryabar was lodged, whom he acquainted with his orders; and presented her, from the sultan, with a fine white mule, whose saddle and bridle were adorned with gold, rubies, and diamonds. she mounted, and proceeded to the palace. the surgeon attended her, mounted on a beautiful tartar horse which the vizier had provided for him. all the people were at their windows, or in the streets, to see the cavalcade; and it being given out that the princess, whom they conducted in such state to court, was codadad's wife, the city resounded with acclamations, the air rung with shouts of joy, which would have been turned into lamentations had that prince's fatal adventure been known, so much was he beloved by all. the princess of deryabar found the sultan at the palace gate waiting to receive her: he took her by the hand and led her to pirouzè's apartment, where a very moving scene took place. codadad's wife found her affliction redouble at the sight of her husband's father and mother; as, on the other hand, those parents could not look on their son's wife without being much affected. she cast herself at the sultan's feet, and having bathed them with tears, was so overcome with grief that she was not able to speak. pirouzè was in no better state, and the sultan, moved by these affecting objects, gave way to his own feelings and wept. at length the princess of deryabar, being somewhat recovered, recounted the adventure of the castle and codadad's disaster. then she demanded justice for the treachery of the princes. "yes, madam," said the sultan, "those ungrateful wretches shall perish; but codadad's death must be first made public, that the punishment of his brothers may not cause my subjects to rebel; and though we have not my son's body, we will not omit paying him the last duties." this said, he directed his discourse to the vizier, and ordered him to cause to be erected a dome of white marble, in a delightful plain, in the midst of which the city of harran stands. then he appointed the princess of deryabar a suitable apartment in his palace, acknowledging her for his daughter-in-law. hassan caused the work to be carried on with such diligence, and employed so many workmen, that the dome was soon finished. within it was erected a tomb, which was covered with gold brocade. when all was completed, the sultan ordered prayers to be said, and appointed a day for the obsequies of his son. on that day all the inhabitants of the city went out upon the plain to see the ceremony performed. the gate of the dome was then closed, and all the people returned to the city. next day there were public prayers in all the mosques, and the same was continued for eight days successively. on the ninth the king resolved to cause the princes his sons to be beheaded. the people, incensed at their cruelty toward codadad, impatiently expected to see them executed. the scaffolds were erecting, but the execution was respited, because, on a sudden, intelligence was brought that the neighbouring princes who had before made war on the sultan of harran, were advancing with more numerous forces than on the first invasion, and were then not far from the city. this news gave new cause to lament the loss of codadad, who had signalised himself in the former war against the same enemies. the sultan, nothing dismayed, formed a considerable army, and being too brave to await the enemies' attack within his walls, marched out to meet them. they, on their side, being informed that the sultan of harran was marching to engage them, halted in the plain, and formed their army. as soon as the sultan discovered them, he also drew up his forces, and ranged them in order of battle. the signal was given, and he attacked them with extraordinary vigour; nor was the opposition inferior. much blood was shed on both sides, and the victory long remained dubious; but at length it seemed to incline to the sultan of harran's enemies, who, being more numerous, were upon the point of surrounding him, when a great body of cavalry appeared on the plain, and approached the two armies. the sight of this fresh party daunted both sides, neither knowing what to think of them; but their doubts were soon cleared; for they fell upon the flank of the sultan of harran's enemies with such a furious charge, that they soon broke and routed them. nor did they stop here; they pursued them, and cut most of them in pieces. the sultan of harran, who had attentively observed all that passed, admired the bravery of this strange body of cavalry, whose unexpected arrival had given the victory to his army. but, above all, he was charmed with their chief, whom he had seen fighting with a more than ordinary valour. he longed to know the name of the generous hero. impatient to see and thank him, he advanced toward him, but perceived he was coming to prevent him. the two princes drew near, and the sultan of harran, discovering codadad in the brave warrior who had just defeated his enemies, became motionless with joy and surprise. "father," said codadad to him, "you have sufficient cause to be astonished at the sudden appearance of a man whom perhaps you concluded to be dead. i should have been so, had not heaven preserved me still to serve you against your enemies." "o my son," cried the sultan, "is it possible that you are restored to me? alas! i despaired of seeing you more." so saying, he stretched out his arms to the young prince, who flew to such a tender embrace. "i know all, my son," said the sultan again, after having long held him in his arms. "i know what return your brothers have made you for delivering them out of the hands of the black; but you shall be revenged to-morrow. let us now go to the palace where your mother, who has shed so many tears on your account, expects to rejoice with us on the defeat of our enemies. what a joy will it be to her to be informed that my victory is your work!" "sir," said codadad, "give me leave to ask how you could know the adventure of the castle? have any of my brothers, repenting, owned it to you?" "no," answered the sultan; "the princess of deryabar has given us an account of everything, for she is in my palace, and came thither to demand justice against your brothers." codadad was transported with joy, to learn that the princess his wife was at the court. "let us go, sir," cried he to his father in rapture, "let us go to my mother, who waits for us. i am impatient to dry her tears, as well as those of the princess of deryabar." the sultan immediately returned to the city with his army, and re-entered his palace victorious, amidst the acclamations of the people, who followed him in crowds, praying to heaven to prolong his life, and extolling codadad to the skies. they found pirouzè and her daughter-in-law waiting to congratulate the sultan; but words cannot express the transports of joy they felt when they saw the young prince with him: their embraces were mingled with tears of a very different kind from those they had before shed for him. when they had sufficiently yielded to all the emotions that the ties of blood and love inspired, they asked codadad by what miracle he came to be still alive. he answered that a peasant mounted on a mule happening accidentally to come into the tent where he lay senseless, and perceiving him alone and stabbed in several places, had made him fast on his mule, and carried him to his house, where he applied to his wounds certain herbs, which recovered him. "when i found myself well," added he, "i returned thanks to the peasant, and gave him all the diamonds i had. i then made for the city of harran; but being informed by the way that some neighbouring princes had gathered forces, and were on their march against the sultan's subjects, i made myself known to the villagers, and stirred them up to undertake his defence. i armed a great number of young men, and heading them, happened to arrive at the time when the two armies were engaged." when he had done speaking, the sultan said: "let us return thanks to god for having preserved codadad; but it is requisite that the traitors who would have destroyed him should perish." "sir," answered the generous prince, "though they are wicked and ungrateful, consider they are your own flesh and blood: they are my brothers; i forgive their offence, and beg you to pardon them." this generosity drew tears from the sultan, who caused the people to be assembled, and declared codadad his heir. he then ordered the princes, who were prisoners, to be brought out loaded with irons. pirouzè's son struck off their chains, and embraced them all successively with as much sincerity and affection as he had done in the black's castle. the people were charmed with codadad's generosity, and loaded him with applause. the surgeon was next nobly rewarded in requital of the services he had done the princess of deryabar and the court of harran remained thereafter in perfect joy and felicity. the story of sinbad the voyager in the reign of the caliph haroun-al-raschid, there lived at bagdad a poor porter called hindbad. one day, when the weather was excessively hot, he was employed to carry a heavy burden from one end of the town to the other. having still a great way to go, he came into a street where a refreshing breeze blew on his face, and the pavement was sprinkled with rose water. as he could not desire a better place to rest, he took off his load, and sat upon it, near a large mansion. he was much pleased that he stopped in this place; for the agreeable smell of wood of aloes, and of pastils, that came from the house, mixing with the scent of the rose-water, completely perfumed the air. besides, he heard from within a concert of instrumental music, accompanied with the harmonious notes of nightingales. this charming melody, and the smell of savoury dishes, made the porter conclude there was a feast within. his business seldom leading him that way, he knew not to whom the mansion belonged; but to satisfy his curiosity he went to some of the servants, whom he saw standing at the gate in magnificent apparel, and asked the name of the proprietor. "how," replied one of them, "do you live in bagdad, and know not that this is the house of sinbad the sailor, that famous voyager, who has sailed round the world?" the porter, who had heard of this sinbad's riches, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, loud enough to be heard: "almighty creator of all things, consider the difference between sinbad and me! i am every day exposed to fatigues and calamities, and can scarcely get barley-bread for myself and my family, whilst happy sinbad expends immense riches and leads a life of pleasure. what has he done to obtain a lot so agreeable? and what have i done to deserve one so wretched?" whilst the porter was thus indulging his melancholy, a servant came out of the house, and taking him by the arm, bade him follow him, for sinbad, his master, wanted to speak to him. the servants brought him into a great hall, where a number of people sat round a table, covered with all sorts of savoury dishes. at the upper end sat a venerable gentleman, with a long white beard, and behind him stood a number of officers and domestics, all ready to attend his pleasure. this personage was sinbad. the porter, whose fear was increased at the sight of so many people, and of a banquet so sumptuous, saluted the company trembling. sinbad bade him draw near, and seating him at his right hand, served him himself, and gave him a cup of excellent wine. when the repast was over, sinbad addressed his conversation to hindbad, and inquired his name and employment. "my lord," answered he, "my name is hindbad." "i am very glad to see you," replied sinbad; "but i wish to hear from your own mouth what it was you lately said in the street." sinbad had himself heard the porter complain through the window, and this it was that induced him to have him brought in. at this request, hindbad hung down his head in confusion, and replied: "my lord, i confess that my fatigue put me out of humour, and occasioned me to utter some indiscreet words, which i beg you to pardon." "do not think i am so unjust," resumed sinbad, "as to resent such a complaint, but i must rectify your error concerning myself. you think, no doubt, that i have acquired, without labour and trouble, the ease which i now enjoy. but do not mistake; i did not attain to this happy condition, without enduring for several years more trouble of body and mind than can well be imagined. yes, gentlemen," he added, speaking to the whole company, "i can assure you my troubles were so extraordinary, that they were calculated to discourage the most covetous from undertaking such voyages as i did, to acquire riches. perhaps you have never heard a distinct account of my wonderful adventures; and since i have this opportunity, i will give you a faithful account of them, not doubting but it will be acceptable." the first voyage "i inherited from my father considerable property, the greater part of which i squandered in my youth in dissipation; but i perceived my error, and reflected that riches were perishable, and quickly consumed by such ill managers as myself, i further considered, that by my irregular way of living i wretchedly misspent my time; which is, of all things, the most valuable. struck with these reflections, i collected the remains of my fortune, and sold all my effects by public auction. i then entered into a contract with some merchants, who traded by sea. i took the advice of such as i thought most capable, and resolving to improve what money i had, i embarked with several merchants on board a ship which we had jointly fitted out. "we set sail, and steered our course toward the indies through the persian gulf, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, and by those of persia on the left. at first i was troubled with sea-sickness, but speedily recovered my health, and was not afterward subject to that complaint. "in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, whilst under sail, we were becalmed near a small island, but little elevated above the level of the water, and resembling a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and permitted such persons as were so inclined to land; of which number i was one. "but while we were enjoying ourselves in eating and drinking, and recovering ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island on a sudden trembled, and shook us terribly. "the motion was perceived on board the ship, and we were called upon to re-embark speedily, or we should all be lost; for what we took for an island proved to be the back of a sea monster. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but for myself, i was still upon the back of the creature when he dived into the sea, and i had time only to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship. meanwhile, the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to improve the favourable gale that had just risen, and hoisting his sails, pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible for me to recover the ship. "thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves all the rest of the day and the following night. by this time i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when happily a wave threw me against an island. the bank was high and rugged; so that i could scarcely have got up, had it not been for some roots of trees, which chance placed within reach. having gained the land, i lay down upon the ground half dead, until the sun appeared. then, though i was very feeble, both from hard labour and want of food, i crept along to find some herbs fit to eat, and had the good luck not only to procure some, but likewise to discover a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to recover me. after this i advanced farther into the island, and at last reached a fine plain, where at a great distance i perceived some horses feeding. i went toward them, and as i approached heard the voice of a man, who immediately appeared, and asked me who i was. i related to him my adventure, after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. "i partook of some provisions which they offered me. i then asked them what they did in such a desert place, to which they answered, that they were grooms belonging to the maha-raja, sovereign of the island, and that every year, at the same season they brought thither the king's horses for pasturage. they added, that they were to return home on the morrow, and had i been one day later, i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was at a great distance, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. "next morning they returned to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to the maha-raja. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i had come into his dominions. after i had satisfied him, he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want nothing; which commands his officers were so generous as to see exactly fulfilled. "being a merchant, i frequented men of my own profession, and particularly inquired for those who were strangers, that perchance i might hear news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return. they put a thousand questions respecting my country; and i, being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, asked them concerning everything which i thought worth knowing. "there belongs to this king an island named cassel. they assured me that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of degial. i determined to visit this wonderful place, and in my way thither saw fishes of one hundred and two hundred cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt, for they are so timorous, that they will fly upon the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fish about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. "as i was one day at the port after my return, a ship arrived, and as soon as she cast anchor, they began to unload her, and the merchants on board ordered their goods to be carried into the custom-house. as i cast my eye upon some bales, and looked to the name, i found my own, and perceived the bales to be the same that i had embarked at bussorah. i also knew the captain; but being persuaded that he believed me to be drowned, i went, and asked him whose bales these were. he replied that they belonged to a merchant of bagdad, called sinbad, who came to sea with him; but had unfortunately perished on the voyage, and that he had resolved to trade with the bales, until he met with some of his family, to whom he might return the profit. 'i am that sinbad,' said i, 'whom you thought to be dead, and those bales are mine.' "when the captain heard me speak thus, 'heavens!' he exclaimed, 'whom can we trust in these times? there is no faith left among men. i saw sinbad perish with my own eyes, as did also the passengers on board, and yet you tell me you are that sinbad. what impudence is this? you tell a horrible falsehood, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you.' 'have patience,' replied i; 'do me the favour to hear what i have to say.' then i told him how i had escaped, and by what adventure i met with the grooms of the maha-raja, who had brought me to his court. "the captain was at length persuaded that i was no cheat; for there came people from his ship who knew me, and expressed much joy at seeing me alive. at last he recollected me himself, and embracing me, 'heaven be praised,' said he, 'for your happy escape. i cannot express the joy it affords me; there are your goods, take and do with them as you please.' i thanked him, acknowledged his probity, and offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. "i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented them to the maha-raja, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities. i acquainted him with the circumstance of their recovery. he was pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and in return gave me one much more considerable. upon this, i took leave of him, and went aboard the same ship, after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of that country. i carried with me wood of aloes, sandal, camphire, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at bussorah, from whence i came to this city, with the value of one hundred thousand sequins. my family and i received one another with sincere affection. i bought slaves and a landed estate, and built a magnificent house. thus i settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries i had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life." sinbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to proceed with their concert, which the story had interrupted. the company continued enjoying themselves till the evening, when sinbad sent for a purse of a hundred sequins, and giving it to the porter, said: "take this, hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear more of my adventures." the porter went away, astonished at the honour done, and the present made him. the account of this adventure proved very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return thanks to god for what providence had sent them by the hand of sinbad. hindbad put on his best apparel next day, and returned to the bountiful traveller, who welcomed him heartily. when all the guests had arrived, dinner was served. when it was ended, sinbad, addressing himself to the company, said, "gentlemen, be pleased to listen to the adventures of my second voyage; they deserve your attention even more than those of the first." upon this every one held his peace, and sinbad proceeded. the second voyage "i designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad, but it was not long ere i grew weary of an indolent life. my inclination to trade revived. i bought goods proper for the commerce i intended, and put to sea a second time with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and after recommending ourselves to god, set sail. we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed on an island covered with several sorts of fruit-trees, but we could see neither man nor animal. we went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, along the streams that watered them. whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and others fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down near a stream betwixt two high trees which formed a thick shade. i made a good meal, and afterward fell asleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but when i awoke the ship was gone. "i got up and looked around me, but could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. i perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance, that i lost sight of her in a short time. "in this sad condition, i was ready to die with grief. i cried out in agony, and threw myself upon the ground, where i lay some time in despair. i upbraided myself a hundred times for not being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might have sufficed me all my life. but all this was in vain, and my repentance came too late. "at last i resigned myself to the will of god. not knowing what to do, i climbed up to the top of a lofty tree, from whence i looked about on all sides, to see if i could discover anything that could give me hopes. when i gazed toward the sea i could see nothing but sky and water; but looking over the land i beheld something white; and coming down, i took what provision i had left, and went toward it, the distance being so great that i could not distinguish what it was. "as i approached, i thought it to be a white dome, of a prodigious height and extent; and when i came up to it, i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw that it was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top, as it was so smooth. it was at least fifty paces round. "by this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. i remembered that i had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird called the roc, and conceived that the great dome which i so much admired must be its egg. as i perceived the roc coming, i crept close to the egg, so that i had before me one of the bird's legs, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. i tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that next morning she would carry me with her out of this desert island. after having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high, that i could not discern the earth; she afterward descended with so much rapidity that i lost my senses. but when i found myself on the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. "the spot where she left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. this was a new perplexity: so that when i compared this place with the desert island from which the roc had brought me i found that i had gained nothing by the change. "as i walked through this valley, i perceived it was strewed with diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. i took pleasure in looking upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such objects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the daytime to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and came out only in the night. "i spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at times in such places as i thought most convenient. when night came on, i went into a cave, where i thought i might repose in safety. i secured the entrance with a great stone to preserve me from the serpents; but not so far as to exclude the light. i supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began hissing round me, put me into such extreme fear, that i could not sleep. when day appeared, the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave trembling. i can justly say, that i walked upon diamonds, without feeling any inclination to touch them. at last i sat down, and notwithstanding my apprehensions, not having closed my eyes during the night, fell asleep, after having eaten a little more of my provision. but i had scarcely shut my eyes, when something that fell by me with a great noise awaked me. this was a large piece of raw meat; and at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. "i had always regarded as fabulous what i had heard sailors and others relate of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by merchants to obtain jewels from thence; but now i found that they had stated nothing but truth. for the fact is, that the merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley when the eagles have young ones; and, throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds upon whose points they fall stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the rocks to feed their young; the merchants at this time run to the nests, drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. "until i perceived the device i had concluded it to be impossible for me to leave this abyss, which i regarded as my grave; but now i changed my opinion, and began to think upon the means of my deliverance. i began to collect the largest diamonds i could find, and put them into the leather bag in which i used to carry my provisions. i afterward took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being made fast to my girdle. "i had scarcely placed myself in this posture when the eagles came. each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up, with the piece of meat to which i was fastened, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants immediately began their shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where i was. he was much alarmed when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of inquiring how i came thither, began to quarrel with me, and asked, why i stole his goods. 'you will treat me,' replied i, 'with more civility when you know me better. do not be uneasy, i have diamonds enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. what ever they have, they owe to chance, but i selected for myself in the bottom of the valley those which you see in this bag.' i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came crowding about us, much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story. "they conducted me to their encampment, and there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that in all the courts which they had visited they had never seen any of such size and perfection. i prayed the merchant who owned the nest to which i had been carried (for every merchant had his own), to take as many for his share as he pleased. he contented himself with one, and that the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more, 'no,' said he, 'i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will raise as great a fortune as i desire.' "i spent the night with the merchants, to whom i related my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned. i thought myself in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself out of danger. "the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days, and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place the next morning and travelled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took shipping at the first port we reached, and touched at the isle of roha, where the trees grow that yield camphire. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that one hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice of which the camphire is made exudes from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a vessel, where it thickens to a consistency, and becomes what we call camphire; after the juice is thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies. "in this island is also found the rhinoceros, an animal less than the elephant, but larger than the buffalo. it has a horn upon its nose, about a cubit in length; this horn is solid, and cleft through the middle. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his head; but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his eyes, and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and then, strange to relate! the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws, for food for her young ones. "in this island i exchanged some of my diamonds for merchandise. from hence we went to other ports, and at last, having touched at several trading towns of the continent, we landed at bussorah, from whence i proceeded to bagdad. there i immediately gave large presents to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches i had gained with so much fatigue." [illustration] _the spot where she left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley._ thus sinbad ended his relation, gave hindbad another hundred sequins, and invited him to come the next day to hear the account of the third voyage. the third voyage "i soon lost the remembrance of the perils i had encountered in my two former voyages," said sinbad, "and being in the flower of my age, i grew weary of living without business, and went from bagdad to bussorah with the richest commodities of the country. there i embarked again with some merchants. we made a long voyage and touched at several ports, where we carried on a considerable trade. one day, being out in the main ocean, we were overtaken by a dreadful tempest, which drove us from our course. the tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter, but we were obliged to cast anchor. when we had furled our sails, the captain told us that this, and some other neighbouring islands, were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and, though they were but dwarfs, yet we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them they would all fall upon us and destroy us. "we soon found that what he had told us was but too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, about two feet high, covered all over with red hair, came swimming towards us, and encompassed our ship. they spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language and they climbed up the sides of the ship with such agility as surprised us. they took down our sails, cut the cables, and hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterward carried the ship into another island, from whence they had come. "we went forward into the island, where we gathered some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. as we advanced, we perceived at a distance a vast pile of buildings, and made toward it. we found it to be a palace, elegantly built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony, which we forced open. we entered the court, where we saw before us a large apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of human bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and being fatigued with travelling, fell to the ground, seized with deadly apprehension, and lay a long time motionless. "the sun set, the gate of the apartment opened with a loud crash, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as tall as a lofty palm-tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as a burning coal. his fore-teeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of his mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse. his upper lip hung down upon his breast. his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at the sight of so frightful a giant we became insensible, and lay like dead men. "at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch looking at us. when he had considered us well, he advanced toward us, and laying his hand upon me, took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned me round as a butcher would do a sheep's head. after having examined me, and perceiving me to be so lean that i had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest one by one, and viewed them in the same manner. the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i would do a sparrow, and thrust a spit through him; he then kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his supper. having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder. he slept thus till morning. as to ourselves, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest, so that we passed the night in the most painful apprehension that can be imagined. when day appeared the giant awoke, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. "when we thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had preserved the whole of the night, and filled the palace with our lamentations and groans. "we spent the day in traversing the island, supporting ourselves with fruits and herbs as we had done the day before. in the evening we sought for some place of shelter, but found none; so that we were forced, whether we would or not, to go back to the palace. "the giant failed not to return, and supped once more upon one of our companions, after which he slept and snored till day, and then went out and left us as before. our situation appeared to us so dreadful that several of my comrades designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so painful a death, upon which one of the company answered that it would be much more reasonable to devise some method to rid ourselves of the monster. "having thought of a project for this purpose, i communicated it to my comrades, who approved it. 'brethren,' said i, 'you know there is much timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us make several rafts capable of bearing us. in the meantime, we will carry out the design i proposed to you for our deliverance from the giant, and if it succeed, we may remain here patiently awaiting the arrival of some ship; but if it happen to miscarry, we will take to our rafts and put to sea.' my advice was approved, and we made rafts capable of carrying three persons on each. "we returned to the palace toward the evening, and the giant arrived shortly after. we were forced to submit to seeing another of our comrades roasted, but at last we revenged ourselves on the brutish giant in the following manner. after he had finished his supper he lay down on his back and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore, according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once and blinded him. the pain made him break out into a frightful yell: he started up, and stretched out his hands, in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage: but we ran to such places as he could not reach; and after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate and went out, howling in agony. "we quitted the palace after the giant and came to the shore, where we had left our rafts, and put them immediately to sea. we waited till day, in order to get upon them in case the giant should come toward us with any guide of his own species; but we hoped if he did not appear by sunrise, and gave over his howling, which we still heard, that he would prove to be dead; and if that happened, we resolved to stay in that island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts. but day had scarcely appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied with two others almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming before him at a quick pace. "we did not hesitate to take to our rafts, and put to sea with all the speed we could. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore, entered the water up to the middle, and threw so exactly that they sunk all the rafts but that i was upon; and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and escaped the giants, but when we got out to sea we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and spent that night and the following day under the most painful uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good fortune to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit, which afforded us great relief and recruited our strength. "at night we went to sleep on the sea shore; but were awakened by the noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling noise as he wound himself along. it swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries, and the efforts he made to extricate himself from it; dashing him several times against the ground, it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor wretch's bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance. "as we walked about, when day returned, we saw a tall tree, upon which we designed to pass the following night, for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it before the dusk had fallen. shortly after, the serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree; raised itself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off. "i remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate as my two companions. this filled me with horror, and i advanced some steps to throw myself into the sea; but i withstood this dictate of despair, and submitted myself to the will of god. "in the meantime i collected a great quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, and making them up into faggots, made a wide circle with them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done this, when the evening came i shut myself up within this circle, feeling that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made; so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has fortunately reached a place of safety. when day appeared he retired, but i dared not to leave my fort until the sun arose. "i felt so much fatigued by the labour to which it had put me, and suffered so much from the serpent's poisonous breath, that death seemed more eligible to me than the horrors of such a state. i came down from the tree, and was going to throw myself into the sea, when god took compassion on me and i perceived a ship at a considerable distance. i called as loud as i could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it, that they might observe me. this had the desired effect; the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. as soon as i came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me, to know how i came into that desert island; and after i had related to them all that had befallen me, the oldest among them said that they had often heard of the giants that dwelt in that island, that they were cannibals; and as to the serpents, they added, that there were abundance of them that hid themselves by day, and came abroad by night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of their provisions; and the captain, seeing that i was in rags, was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. we continued at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat, where sandal wood is obtained, which is of great use in medicine. we entered the port, and came to anchor. the merchants began to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. in the meantime, the captain came to me and said: 'brother, i have here some goods that belonged to a merchant, who sailed some time on board this ship, and he being dead, i design to dispose of them for the benefit of his heirs.' the bales he spoke of lay on the deck, and showing them to me, he said: 'there are the goods; i hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have factorage.' i thanked him for thus affording me an opportunity of employing myself, because i hated to be idle. "the clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of the merchants to whom they belonged, and when he asked the captain in whose name he should enter those he had given me the charge of, 'enter them,' said the captain, 'in the name of sinbad.' i could not hear myself named without some emotion; and looking steadfastly on the captain, i knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island where i fell asleep. "i was not surprised that he, believing me to be dead, did not recognise me. 'captain,' said i, 'was the merchant's name, to whom those bales belonged, sinbad?' 'yes,' replied he, 'that was his name; he came from bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at bussorah.' 'you believe him, then, to be dead?' said i. 'certainly,' answered he. 'no, captain,' resumed i; 'look at me, and you may know that i am sinbad.' "the captain, having considered me attentively, recognised me. 'god be praised,' said he, embracing me, 'i rejoice that fortune has rectified my fault. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve.' i took them from him, and made him the acknowledgments to which he was entitled. "from the isle of salabat, we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from this island, we saw a tortoise twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also an amphibious animal like a cow, which gave milk; its skin is so hard, that they usually make bucklers of it. "in short, after a long voyage i arrived at bussorah, and from thence returned to bagdad, with so much wealth that i knew not its extent. i gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another considerable estate in addition to what i had already." [illustration] _having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder._ thus sinbad finished the history of his third voyage; gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, and invited him to dinner again the next day to hear the story of his fourth series of adventures. the fourth voyage "the pleasures which i enjoyed after my third voyage had not charms sufficient to divert me from another. my passion for trade, and my love of novelty, again prevailed. i therefore settled my affairs, and having provided a stock of goods fit for the traffic i designed to engage in, i set out on my journey. i took the route of persia, travelled over several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. we hoisted our sails, and touched at several ports of the continent, and then put out to sea; when we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of wind, as obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. but all was in vain; our endeavours had no effect, the sails were split in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; several of the merchants and seamen were drowned, and the cargo was lost. "i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get upon some planks, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us. there we found fruit and spring water, which preserved our lives. we stayed all night near the place where we had been cast ashore and next morning, as soon as the sun was up, advancing into the island, saw some houses, which we approached. as soon as we drew near, we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who seized us and carried us to their respective habitations. "i, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place; here they made us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to eat. my comrades, not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it themselves, thought only of satisfying their hunger, and ate with greediness. but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in a little time after, i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they knew not what they said. "the negroes fed us afterward with rice, prepared with oil of cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i also partook of it, but very sparingly. they gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they supplied us with rice to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. this accordingly happened, for they devoured my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat i grew leaner every day. the fear of death under which i laboured caused me to fall into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the negroes, having eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, and sick, deferred my death. "meanwhile i had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice was taken of what i did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses and to make my escape. an old man, who saw me and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but i redoubled my speed, and quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to return till night, which was usual with them. therefore, being sure that they could not arrive in time enough to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had secured; but i speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa-nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and saw some white people like myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place. this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. they came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in arabic who i was, and whence i came. i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the negroes. 'those negroes,' replied they, 'eat men, and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty?' i related to them the circumstances i have just mentioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised. "i stayed with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they had come. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince. he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures; and he afterward gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. "the island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the capital a place of great trade. this agreeable retreat was very comfortable to me, after my misfortunes, and the kindness of this generous prince completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favour with him than myself; and consequently every man in court and city sought to oblige me; so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. "i observed one thing which to me appeared very extraordinary. all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without bridle or stirrups. this made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how it came to pass. his majesty answered, that i talked to him of things which nobody knew the use of in his dominions. "i went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterward went to a smith, who made me a bit, according to the pattern i showed him, and also some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by large presents. "as i paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day: 'sinbad, i love thee and i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant.' 'sir,' answered i, 'there is nothing but i will do, as a mark of my obedience to your majesty.' 'i have a mind thou shouldst marry,' replied he, 'that so thou mayest stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own country.' i durst not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with my wife, and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. i was not, however, satisfied with my banishment, therefore designed to make my escape the first opportunity, and to return to bagdad. "at this time the wife of one of my neighbours fell sick, and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him absorbed in sorrow, i said to him as soon as i saw him: 'god preserve you and grant you a long life.' 'alas!' replied he, 'how do you think i should obtain the favour you wish me? i have not above an hour to live.' 'pray,' said i, 'do not entertain such a melancholy thought; i hope i shall enjoy your company many years.' 'i wish you,' he replied, 'a long life; but my days are at an end, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law which our ancestors established in this island, and it is always observed. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law.' "while he was giving me an account of this barbarous custom, the very relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred, friends, and neighbours came in a body to assist at the funeral. they dressed the corpse of the woman in her richest apparel, and all her jewels, as if it had been her wedding day; then they placed her in an open coffin, and began their march to the place of burial, the husband walking at the head of the company. they proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached the place of their destination, they took up a large stone, which covered the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the corpse with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband embracing his kindred and friends, suffered himself, without resistance, to be put into another open coffin with a pot of water, and seven small loaves, and was let down in the same manner. the ceremony being over, the aperture was again covered with the stone, and the company returned. "it is needless for me to tell you that i was a melancholy spectator of this funeral, while the rest were scarcely moved, the custom was to them so familiar. i could not forbear communicating to the king my sentiment respecting the practice: 'sir,' i said, 'i cannot but feel astonished at the strange usage observed in this country, of burying the living with the dead. i have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so cruel a law.' 'what do you mean, sinbad?' replied the king: 'it is a common law. i shall be interred with the queen, my wife, if she die first.' 'but, sir,' said i, 'may i presume to ask your majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law?' 'without doubt,' returned the king; 'they are not exempted, if they be married in this island.' "i returned home much depressed by this answer; for the fear of my wife's dying first and that i should be interred alive with her, occasioned me very uneasy reflections. but there was no remedy; i must have patience, and submit to the will of god. i trembled, however, at every little indisposition of my wife, and, alas! in a little time my fears were realised, for she fell sick and died. "the king and all his court expressed their wish to honour the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city did the same. when all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a coffin with all her jewels and her most magnificent apparel. the procession began, and as second actor in this doleful tragedy, i went next the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable fate. before we reached the mountain, i made an attempt to affect the minds of the spectators: i addressed myself to the king first, and then to all those that were round me; bowing before them to the earth, and kissing the border of their garments, i prayed them to have compassion upon me. 'consider,' said i, 'that i am a stranger, and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that i have another wife and children in my own country.' although i spoke in the most pathetic manner, no one was moved by my address; on the contrary, they ridiculed my dread of death as cowardly, made haste to let my wife's corpse into the pit, and lowered me down the next moment in an open coffin with a vessel full of water and seven loaves. "as i approached the bottom, i discovered by the aid of the little light that came from above the nature of this subterranean place; it seemed an endless cavern, and might be about fifty fathoms deep. "instead of losing my courage and calling death to my assistance in that miserable condition, however, i felt still an inclination to live, and to do all i could to prolong my days. i went groping about, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. though the darkness of the cave was so great that i could not distinguish day and night, yet i always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious than it had appeared to be at first. i lived for some days upon my bread and water, which being all spent, i at last prepared for death. "i was offering up my last devotions when i heard something tread, and breathing or panting as it walked. i advanced toward that side from whence i heard the noise, and on my approach the creature puffed and blew harder, as if running away from me. i followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as i approached. i pursued it for a considerable time, till at last i perceived a light, resembling a star; i went on, sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock, large enough to admit a man. "upon this, i stopped some time to rest, being much fatigued with the rapidity of my progress: afterward coming up to the hole, i got through, and found myself upon the seashore. i leave you to guess the excess of my joy: it was such that i could scarcely persuade myself that the whole was not a dream. "but when i was recovered from my surprise, and convinced of the reality of my escape, i perceived what i had followed to be a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter the cavern when the tides were high. "i examined the mountain, and found it to be situated betwixt the sea and the town, but without any passage to or communication with the latter; the rocks on the sea side being high and perpendicularly steep. i prostrated myself on the shore to thank god for this mercy, and afterward entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which i ate by daylight with a better appetite than i had done since my interment in the dark cavern. "i returned thither a second time, and groped among the coffins for all the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold bracelets, and rich stuffs i could find; these i brought to the shore, and tying them up neatly into bales, i laid them together upon the beach, waiting till some ship might appear. "after two or three days, i perceived a ship just come out of the harbour, making for the place where i was. i made a sign with the linen of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as i could. they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board, when they asked by what misfortune i came thither; i told them that i had suffered shipwreck two days before, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. it was fortunate for me that these people did not consider the place where i was, nor inquire into the probability of what i told them; but without hesitation took me on board. when i came to the ship, the captain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which i offered him. "we passed by several islands, and among others that called the isle of bells, about ten days' sail from serendib, and six from that of kela, where we landed. this island produces lead mines, indian canes, and excellent camphire. "the king of the isle of kela is very rich and powerful, and the isle of bells, which is about two days' journey in extent, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our traffic in that island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports; at last i arrived happily at bagdad with infinite riches. out of gratitude to god for his mercies, i contributed liberally toward the support of several mosques, and the subsistence of the poor, and gave myself up to the society of my kindred and friends, enjoying myself with them in festivities and amusements." here sinbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage. he made a new present of one hundred sequins to hindbad, whom he requested to return with the rest next day at the same hour to dine with him, and hear the story of his fifth voyage. hindbad and the other guests took their leave and retired. next morning when they all met, they sat down at table, and when dinner was over, sinbad began the relation of his fifth voyage as follows: the fifth voyage "all the troubles and calamities i had undergone," said he, "could not cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. i therefore bought goods, departed with them for the best seaport; and that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i remained there till one was built on purpose. when the ship was ready, i went on board with my goods: but not having enough to load her, i agreed to take with me several merchants of different nations with their merchandise. "we sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long navigation, the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of a roc, equal in size to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc in it just ready to be hatched, and its bill had begun to appear. the merchants whom i had taken on board, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets, pulled out the young roc, piecemeal, and roasted it. i had earnestly entreated them not to meddle with the egg, but they would not listen to me. "scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared in the air at a considerable distance from us two great clouds. the captain whom i had hired to navigate my ship, said they were the male and female roc that belonged to the young one and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. we hastened on board, and set sail with all possible expedition. "in the meantime, the two rocs approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. they flew back in the direction they had come, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could to endeavour to prevent that which unhappily befell us. "they soon returned, and we observed that each of them carried between its talons rocks of a monstrous size. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let fall a stone, but by the dexterity of the steersman it missed us. the other roc, to our misfortune, threw his burden so exactly upon the middle of the ship, as to split it into a thousand pieces. the mariners and passengers were all crushed to death, or sank. i myself was of the number of the latter; but as i came up again, i fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming sometimes with one hand, and sometimes with the other, i came to an island, and got safely ashore. "i sat down upon the grass, to recover myself from my fatigue, after which i went into the island to explore it. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green, and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water. i ate of the fruits, which i found excellent; and drank of the water, which was very good. "when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man, who appeared very weak and infirm. he was sitting on the bank of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went toward him and saluted him, but he only slightly bowed his head. i asked him why he sat so still, but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit. "i believed him really to stand in need of my assistance, took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with ease; but instead of doing so (which i laugh at every time i think of it) the old man, who to me appeared quite decrepit, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck. he sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight, that i thought he would have strangled me, the apprehension of which made me swoon and fall down. "notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me time to recover my breath. when i had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other that he forced me to rise up against my will. having arisen, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit. he never left me all day, and when i lay down to rest at night, laid himself down with me, holding always fast about my neck. every morning he pushed me to make me awake, and afterward obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. "one day i found in my way several dry calabashes that had fallen from a tree. i took a large one, and after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island; having filled the calabash, i put it by in a convenient place, and going thither again some days after, i tasted it, and found the wine so good, that it soon made me forget my sorrow, gave me new vigour, and so exhilarated my spirits, that i began to sing and dance as i walked along. "the old man, perceiving the effect which this liquor had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than before, made me a sign to give him some of it. i handed him the calabash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. there being a considerable quantity of it, he became intoxicated, and the fumes getting up into his head, he began to sing after his manner, and to dance, thus loosening his legs from about me by degrees. finding that he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion; i then took up a great stone, and crushed him. "i was extremely glad to be thus freed forever from this troublesome fellow. i now walked toward the beach, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor, to take in water. they were surprised to see me, but more so at hearing the particulars of my adventures. 'you fell,' said they, 'into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first who ever escaped strangling by his malicious tricks. he never quits those he has once made himself master of till he has destroyed them, and he has made this island notorious by the number of men he has slain.' "after having informed me of these things, they carried me with them to the ship, and the captain received me with great kindness, when they told him what had befallen me. he put out again to sea, and after some days' sail, we arrived at the harbour of a great city. "one of the merchants who had taken me into his friendship invited me to go along with him, and carried me to a place appointed for the accommodation of foreign merchants. he gave me a large bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather cocoa-nuts, desired them to take me with them. 'go,' said he, 'follow them, and act as you see them do, but do not separate from them, otherwise you may endanger your life.' having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. "we came to a thick forest of cocoa-trees, very lofty, with trunks so smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches that bore the fruit. when we entered the forest we saw a great number of apes of several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness. "the merchants with whom i was, gathered stones and threw them at the apes on the trees. i did the same, and the apes out of revenge threw cocoa-nuts at us so fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment. we gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa-nuts, which it had been impossible otherwise to have done. "when we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant who had sent me to the forest gave me the value of the cocoas i brought: 'go on,' said he, 'and do the like every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home.' i thanked him for his advice, and gradually collected as many cocoa-nuts as produced me a considerable sum. "the vessel in which i had come sailed with some merchants who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. i embarked in her all the nuts i had, and when she was ready to sail took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me. "we sailed toward the islands, where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari, where the best species of wood of aloes grows. i exchanged my cocoa in those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants a pearl-fishing. i hired divers, who brought me up some that were very large and pure. i embarked in a vessel that happily arrived at bussorah; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i made vast sums from my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from my other voyages, and endeavoured to dissipate my fatigues by amusements of different kinds." when sinbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred sequins to be given to hindbad, who retired with the other guests; but next morning the same company returned to dine; when sinbad requested their attention, and gave the following account of his sixth voyage: the sixth voyage "you long without doubt to know," said he, "how, after having been shipwrecked five times, and escaped so many dangers, i could resolve again to tempt fortune, and expose myself to new hardships. i am, myself, astonished at my conduct when i reflect upon it, and must certainly have been actuated by my destiny. but be that as it may, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the entreaties of my kindred, who did all in their power to dissuade me. "instead of taking my way by the persian gulf, i travelled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a seaport, where i embarked in a ship, the captain of which was bound on a long voyage. it was long indeed, for the captain and pilot lost their course. they, however, at last discovered where they were, but we had no reason to rejoice at the circumstance. suddenly we saw the captain quit his post, uttering loud lamentations. he threw off his turban, pulled his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason, and he answered, that he was in the most dangerous place in all the ocean. 'a rapid current carries the ship along with it,' said he, 'and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this peril; we cannot escape, if he do not take pity on us.' at these words he ordered the sails to be lowered; but all the ropes broke, and the ship was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she struck and went to pieces, yet in such a manner that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. "this being over, the captain said to us: 'god has done what pleased him. each of us may dig his grave, and bid the world adieu; for we are all in so fatal a place, that none shipwrecked here ever returned to their homes.' his discourse afflicted us sensibly, and we embraced each other, bewailing our deplorable lot. "the mountain at the foot of which we were wrecked formed part of the coast of a very large island. it was covered with wrecks, with human bones, and with a vast quantity of goods and riches. in all other places, rivers run from their channels into the sea, but here a river of fresh water runs out of the sea into a dark cavern, whose entrance is very high and spacious. what is most remarkable in this place is, that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen, that runs into the sea, which the fish swallow, and turn into ambergris: and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. trees also grow here, most of which are wood of aloes, equal in goodness to those of comari. "to finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it, it is not possible for ships to get off when once they approach within a certain distance. if they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current impel them; and if they come into it when a land-wind blows, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current carries them ashore: and what completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility of ascending the mountain, or of escaping by sea. "we continued upon the shore in a state of despair, and expected death every day. at first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus every one lived a longer or shorter time, according to his temperance, and the use he made of his provisions. "i survived all my companions, yet when i buried the last, i had so little provision remaining that i thought i could not long endure and i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it because there was no one left to inter me. "but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cavern. considering its probable course with great attention, i said to myself: 'this river, which runs thus under ground, must somewhere have an issue. if i make a raft, and leave myself to the current, it will convey me to some inhabited country, or i shall perish. if i be drowned, i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another.' "i immediately went to work upon large pieces of timber and cables, for i had choice of them, and tied them together so strongly that i soon made a very solid raft. when i had finished, i loaded it with rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and bales of rich stuffs. having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with two oars that i had made, and leaving it to the course of the river, resigned myself to the will of god. "as soon as i entered the cavern i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i floated some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it very nearly touched my head, which made me cautious afterward to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding my frugality, all my provisions were spent. then a pleasing stupor seized upon me. i cannot tell how long it continued; but when i revived, i was surprised to find myself in an extensive plain on the brink of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them, and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy, that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited aloud the following words in arabic: 'call upon the almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about anything else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good.' "one of the blacks, who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came toward me and said: 'brother, be not surprised to see us; we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water our fields. we observed something floating upon the water, and, perceiving your raft, one of us swam into the river and brought it hither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come?' i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food, and when i had satisfied my hunger, i related all that had befallen me, which they listened to with attentive surprise. as soon as i had finished, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic and interpreted to them what i said, that it was one of the most wonderful stories they had ever heard, and that i must go along with them, and tell it to their king myself; it being too extraordinary to be related by any other than the person to whom the events had happened. "they immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having helped me to mount, some of them walked before to shew the way, while the rest took my raft and cargo and followed. "we marched till we came to the capital of serendib, for it was in that island i had landed. the blacks presented me to their king; i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet. the prince ordered me to rise, received me with an obliging air, and made me sit down near him. "i related to the king all that i have told you, and his majesty was so surprised and pleased, that he commanded my adventures to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. at last my raft was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that equalled them. "observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him: 'sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the raft, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own.' he answered me with a smile: 'sinbad, i will take care not to covet anything of yours, or to take anything from you that god has given you; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you quit my dominions without marks of my liberality.' he then charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own expense. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his commission, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. "i went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in viewing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. "the capital of serendib stands at the end of a fine valley, in the middle of the island, encompassed by mountains the highest in the world. rubies and several sorts of minerals abound, and the rocks are for the most part composed of a metalline stone made use of to cut and polish other precious stones. all kinds of rare plants and trees grow there, especially cedars and cocoa-nut. there is also a pearl-fishing in the mouth of its principal river; and in some of its valleys are found diamonds. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of the mountain. "when i returned to the city, i prayed the king to allow me to return to my own country, and he granted me permission in the most honourable manner. he would needs force a rich present upon me; and when i went to take my leave of him, he gave me one much more considerable, and at the same time charged me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, saying to me: 'i pray you give this present from me, and this letter, to the caliph, and assure him of my friendship.' i took the present and letter and promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was pleased to honour me. "the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. the characters of this letter were of azure, and the contents as follows: "'the king of the indies, before whom march one hundred elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroun-al-raschid:-- "'though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it, however, as a brother, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear for you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with yourself. we conjure you this in quality of a brother. adieu.' "the present consisted, first, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a drachm each. . the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. . fifty thousand drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphire as big as pistachios. and, . a female slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was all covered over with jewels. "the ship set sail, and after a very successful navigation we landed at bussorah, and from thence i went to bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. "i took the king of serendib's letter and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the beautiful slave, and such of my own family as carried the gifts. i stated the reason of my coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my reverence, and, after a short speech, gave him the letter and present. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me if the prince were really so rich and potent as he represented himself in his letter. i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, said: 'commander of the faithful, i can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth. nothing is more worthy of admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand; and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright, with a column of gold, on the top of which is an emerald half a foot long and an inch thick; before him march a guard of one thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. "while the king is on his march, the officer who is before him on the same elephant cries from time to time, with a loud voice: 'behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with one hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds. behold the monarch greater than solomon, and the powerful maha-raja.' after he has pronounced those words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn: 'this monarch, so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die.' and the officer before replies: 'praise be to him who liveth for ever.' "furthermore, the king of serendib is so just that there are no judges in his dominions. his people have no need of them. they understand and observe justice rigidly of themselves.' "the caliph was much pleased with my account. 'the wisdom of that king,' said he, 'appears in his letter, and after what you tell me, i must confess, that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince.' having spoken thus, he dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present." sinbad left off, and his company retired, hindbad having first received one hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear the relation of his seventh and last voyage. the seventh and last voyage "being returned from my sixth voyage," said sinbad, "i absolutely laid aside all thoughts of travelling; for, besides that my age now required rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as i had encountered; so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. one day, however, as i was treating my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an officer of the caliph's inquired for me. i rose from table, and went to him. 'the caliph,' said he, 'has sent me to tell you that he must speak with you.' i followed the officer to the palace, where, being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. 'sinbad,' said he to me, 'i stand in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present to the king of serendib. it is but just i should return his civility.' "this command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder. 'commander of the faithful,' i replied, 'i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone. i have also made a vow never to go out of bagdad.' hence i took occasion to give him a full and particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience to hear out. "as soon as i had finished, 'i confess,' said he, 'that the things you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must for my sake undertake this voyage which i propose to you. you will only have to go to the isle of serendib, and deliver the commission which i give you, for you know it would not comport with my dignity to be indebted to the king of that island.' perceiving that the caliph insisted upon my compliance, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased, and ordered me one thousand sequins for the expenses of my journey. "i prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to bussorah, where i embarked, and had a very happy voyage. having arrived at the isle of serendib, i acquainted the king's ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy audience. they did so, and i was conducted to the palace, where i saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. that prince knew me immediately, and testified very great joy at seeing me, 'sinbad,' said he, 'you are welcome; i have many times thought of you since you departed; i bless the day on which we see one another once more.' i made my compliments to him, and after having thanked him for his kindness, delivered the caliph's letter and present, which he received with all imaginable satisfaction. "the caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, valued at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez, and alexandria; a vessel of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bas-relief a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. he sent him also a rich tablet, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the caliph's letter was as follows: "'greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, from the dependant on god, haroun-al-raschid, whom god hath set in the place of vicegerent to his prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to the potent and esteemed raja of serendib:-- 'we received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial residence, the garden of superior wits. we hope when you look upon it, you will perceive our good intention and be pleased with it. adieu.' "the king of serendib was highly gratified that the caliph answered his friendship. a little time after this audience, i solicited leave to depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it. i procured it, however, at last, and the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so speedily as i had hoped. god ordered it otherwise. "three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by corsairs, who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no vessel of force. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but for myself and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the corsairs saved us on purpose to make slaves of us. "we were all stripped, and instead of our own clothes, they gave us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. "i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely for a slave. some days after, not knowing who i was, he asked me if i understood any trade. i answered, that i was no mechanic, but a merchant, and that the corsairs who sold me, had robbed me of all i possessed. 'but tell me,' replied he, 'can you shoot with a bow?' i answered, that the bow was one of my exercises in my youth. he gave me a bow and arrows, and, taking me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a thick forest some leagues from the town. we penetrated a great way into the wood, and he bade me alight; then, shewing me a great tree, 'climb up that,' said he, 'and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall, come and give me notice.' having spoken this, he left me victuals, and returned to the town, and i continued upon the tree all night. "i saw no elephant during the night, but next morning, as soon as the sun was up, i perceived a great number. i shot several arrows among them, and at last one of the elephants fell, when the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my booty. when i had informed him, he gave me a good meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. we went afterwards together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant; my patron designing to return when it had fallen to pieces and take its teeth to trade with. "i continued this employment for two months, and killed an elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and sometimes upon another. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived with extreme amazement that, instead of passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, in such number that the plain was covered, and shook under them. they encompassed the tree in which i was concealed, with their trunks extended, and all fixed their eyes upon me. at this alarming spectacle i continued immovable, and was so much terrified, that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand. "my fears were not without cause; for after the elephants had stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and threw it on the ground. i fell with the tree; and the elephant, taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. he put himself afterward at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops, carried me a considerable way, then laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered with the bones and teeth of elephants. i confess to you, that this object furnished me with abundance of reflections. i admired the instinct of those animals; i doubted not but that was their burying-place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to persecute them, since i did it only for their teeth. i did not stay on the hill, but turned toward the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night, i came to my patron. "as soon as he saw me, 'ah, poor sinbad,' exclaimed he, 'i was in great trouble to know what was become of you. i have been at the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow and arrows on the ground, and i despaired of ever seeing you more. pray tell me what befell you, and by what good chance you are still alive.' i satisfied his curiosity, and going both of us next morning to the hill, he found to his great joy that what i had told him was true. we loaded the elephant which had carried us with as many teeth as he could bear; and when we were returned, 'brother,' said my patron, 'for i will treat you no more as my slave, after having made such a discovery as will enrich me, god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i declare before him, that i give you your liberty. i concealed from you what i am now going to tell you. "'the elephants of our forest have every year killed a great many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favour upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has some use for your service in the world. you have procured me incredible wealth. formerly we could not procure ivory but by exposing the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city is enriched by your means. i could engage all our inhabitants to contribute toward making your fortune, but i will have the glory of doing it myself.' "to this obliging declaration i replied: 'patron, god preserve you. your giving me my liberty is enough to discharge what you owe me, and i desire no other reward for the service i had the good fortune to do to you, and your city, but leave to return to my own country.' 'very well,' said he, 'the monsoon will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will then send you home, and give you wherewith to bear your charges.' i thanked him again for my liberty and his good intentions toward me. i stayed with him expecting the monsoon; and during that time, we made so many journeys to the hill that we filled all our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants, who traded in it, did the same, for it could not be long concealed from them. "the ships arrived at last, and my patron, himself having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, loaded half of it with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my passage, and besides obliged me to accept a present of some curiosities of the country of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favours, i went aboard. we set sail, and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was very extraordinary, i had it continually in my thoughts. "we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions. our vessel being come to a port on the main land in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to bussorah, i landed my proportion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i made vast sums by my ivory, bought several rarities for presents, and when my equipage was ready, set out in company with a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the way, and suffered much, but endured all with patience, when i considered that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, or from the other perils to which i had been exposed. "all these fatigues ended at last, and i arrived safe at bagdad. i went immediately to wait upon the caliph, and gave him an account of my embassy. that prince said he had been uneasy as i was so long in returning, but that he always hoped god would preserve me. when i told him the adventure of the elephants, he seemed much surprised, and would never have given any credit to it had he not known my veracity. he deemed this story, and the other relations i had given him, to be so curious, that he ordered one of his secretaries to write them in characters of gold, and lay them up in his treasury. i retired well satisfied with the honours i received, and the presents which he gave me; and ever since i have devoted myself wholly to my family, kindred and friends." sinbad here finished the relation of his seventh and last voyage, and then, addressing himself to hindbad, "well, friend," said he, "did you ever hear of any person that suffered so much as i have done, or of any mortal that has gone through so many vicissitudes? is it not reasonable that, after all this, i should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life?" as he said this, hindbad drew near to him, and kissing his hand, said, "i must acknowledge sir, that you have gone through many imminent dangers; my troubles are not comparable to yours; if they afflict me for a time, i comfort myself with the thoughts of the profit i get by them. you not only deserve a quiet life, but are worthy of all the riches you enjoy, because you make of them such a good and generous use. may you therefore continue to live in happiness till the day of your death!" sinbad then gave him one hundred sequins more, received him into the number of his friends and desired him to quit his porter's employment, and come and dine every day with him, that he might have ample reason to remember sinbad the voyager and his adventures. this ebook was produced by jc byers. text scanned and proofread by jc byers. (http://www.capitalnet.com/~jcbyers/index.htm) the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume only copies of the small paper edition are printed for america, of which this is no. london pickering and chatto the publishers' preface. this, the "aldine edition" of "the arabian nights entertainments," forms the first four volumes of a proposed series of reprints of the standard works of fiction which have appeared in the english language. it is our intention to publish the series in an artistic way, well illustrating a text typographically as perfect as possible. the texts in all cases will be carefully chosen from approved editions. the series is intended for those who appreciate well printed and illustrated books, or who are in want of a handy and handsome edition of such works to place upon their bookshelves. the exact origin of the tales, which appear in the arabic as "the thousand and one nights," is unknown. the caliph haroon al rusheed, who, figures in so lifelike a manner in many of the stories, was a contemporary of the emperor charlemagne, and there is internal evidence that the collection was made in the arabic language about the end of the tenth century. they undoubtedly convey a picturesque impression of the manners, sentiments, and customs of eastern mediaeval life. the stories were translated from the arabic by m. galland and first found their way into english in , when they were retranslated from m. galland's french text and at once became exceedingly popular. this process of double translation had great disadvantages; it induced dr. jonathan scott, oriental professor, to publish in , a new edition, revised and corrected from the arabic. it is upon this text that the present edition is formed. it will be found free from that grossness which is unavoidable in a strictly literal translation of the original into english; and which has rendered the splendid translations of sir r. burton and mr. j. payne quite unsuitable as the basis of a popular edition, though at the same time stamping the works as the two most perfect editions for the student. the scholarly translation of lane, by the too strict an adherence to oriental forms of expression, and somewhat pedantic rendering of the spelling of proper names, is found to be tedious to a very large number of readers attracted by the rich imagination, romance, and humour of these tales. the arabian nights entertainments. the chronicles of the sassanians, ancient kings of persia, who extended their empire into the indies, over all the adjacent islands, and a great way beyond the ganges, as far as china, acquaint us, that there was formerly a king of that potent family, who was regarded as the most excellent prince of his time. he was as much beloved by his subjects for his wisdom and prudence, as he was dreaded by his neighbours, on account of his velour, and well-disciplined troops. he had two sons; the elder shier-ear, the worthy heir of his father, and endowed with all his virtues; the younger shaw-zummaun, a prince of equal merit. after a long and glorious reign, this king died; and shier-ear mounted his throne. shaw-zummaun, being excluded from all share in the government by the laws of the empire, and obliged to live a private life, was so far from envying the happiness of his brother, that he made it his whole business to please him, and in this succeeded without much difficulty. shier-ear, who had naturally a great affection the prince his brother, gave him the kingdom of great tartary. shaw-zummaun went immediately and took possession of it, and fixed the seat of his government at samarcand, the metropolis of the country. after they had been separated ten years, shier-ear, being very desirous of seeing his brother, resolved to send an ambassador to invite him to his court. he made choice of his prime vizier for the embassy, and sent him to tartary, with a retinue answerable to his dignity. the vizier proceeded with all possible expedition to samarcand. when he came near the city, shaw-zummaun was informed of his approach, and went to meet him attended by the principal lords of his court, who, to shew the greater honour to the sultan's minister, appeared in magnificent apparel. the king of tartary received the ambassador with the greatest demonstrations of joy; and immediately asked him concerning the welfare of the sultan his brother. the vizier having acquainted him that he was in health, informed him of the purpose of his embassy. shaw-zummaun was much affected, and answered: "sage vizier, the sultan my brother does me too much honour; nothing could be more agreeable to me, for i as ardently long to see him as he does to see me. time has not diminished my friendship more than his. my kingdom is in peace, and i want no more than ten days to get myself ready to return with you. there is therefore no necessity for your entering the city for so short a period. i pray you to pitch your tents here, and i will order everything necessary to be provided for yourself and your attendants." the vizier readily complied; and as soon as the king returned to the city, he sent him a prodigious quantity of provisions of all sorts, with presents of great value. in the meanwhile, shaw-zummaun prepared for his journey, gave orders about his most important affairs, appointed a council to govern in his absence, and named a minister, of whose wisdom he had sufficient experience, and in whom he had entire confidence, to be their president. at the end of ten days, his equipage being ready, he took leave of the queen his wife, and went out of town in the evening with his retinue. he pitched his royal pavilion near the vizier's tent, and conversed with him till midnight. wishing once more to see the queen, whom he ardently loved, he returned alone to his palace, and went directly to her majesty's apartments. but she, not expecting his return, had taken one of the meanest officers of her household to her bed. the king entered without noise, and pleased himself to think how he should surprise his wife who he thought loved him with reciprocal tenderness. but how great was his astonishment, when, by the light of the flambeau, he beheld a man in her arms! he stood immovable for some time, not knowing how to believe his own eyes. but finding there was no room for doubt, "how!" said he to himself, "i am scarcely out of my palace, and but just under the walls of samarcand, and dare they put such an outrage upon me? perfidious wretches! your crime shall not go unpunished. as a king, i am bound to punish wickedness committed in my dominions; and as an enraged husband, i must sacrifice you to my just resentment." the unfortunate prince, giving way to his rage, then drew his cimeter, and approaching the bed killed them both with one blow, their sleep into death; and afterwards taking them up, he threw them out of a window into the ditch that surrounded the palace. having thus avenged himself, he returned to his pavilion without saying one word of what had happened, gave orders that the tents should be struck, and everything made ready for his journey. all was speedily prepared, and before day he began his march, with kettle-drums and other instruments of music, that filled everyone with joy, excepting the king; he was so much afflicted by the disloyalty of his wife, that he was seized with extreme melancholy, which preyed upon his spirits during the whole of his journey. when he drew near the capital of the indies, the sultan shier-ear and all his court came out to meet him. the princes were overjoyed to see one another, and having alighted, after mutual embraces and other marks of affection and respect, remounted, and entered the city, amidst the acclamations of the people. the sultan conducted his brother to the palace provided for him, which had a communication with his own by a garden. it was so much the more magnificent as it was set apart as a banqueting- house for public entertainments, and other diversions of the court, and its splendour had been lately augmented by new furniture. shier-ear immediately left the king of tartary, that he might give him time to bathe, and to change his apparel. as soon as he had done, he returned to him again, and they sat down together on a sofa or alcove. the courtiers out of respect kept at a distance, and the two princes entertained one another suitably to their friendship, their consanguinity, and their long separation. the time of supper being come, they ate together, after which they renewed their conversation, which continued till shier-ear, perceiving that it was very late, left his brother to repose. the unfortunate shaw-zummaun retired to bed. though the conversation of his brother had suspended his grief for some time, it returned again with increased violence; so that, instead of taking his necessary rest, he tormented himself with the bitterest reflections. all the circumstances of his wife's disloyalty presented themselves afresh to his imagination, in so lively a manner, that he was like one distracted. being able to sleep, he arose, and abandoned himself to the most afflicting thoughts, which made such an impression upon his countenance, as it was impossible for the sultan not to observe. "what," said he, "can be the matter with the king of tartary that he is so melancholy? has he any cause to complain of his reception? no, surely; i have received him as a brother whom i love, so that i can charge myself with no omission in that respect. perhaps it grieves him to be at such a distance from his dominions, or from the queen his wife? if that be the case, i must forthwith give him the presents i designed for him, that he may return to samarcand." accordingly the next day shier-ear sent him part of those presents, being the greatest rarities and the richest things that the indies could afford. at the same time he endeavoured to divert his brother every day by new objects of pleasure, and the most splendid entertainments. but these, instead of affording him ease, only increased his sorrow. one day, shier-ear having appointed a great hunting-match, about two days journey from his capital, in a place that abounded with deer, shaw-zummaun besought him to excuse his attendance, for his health would not allow him to bear him company. the sultan, unwilling to put any constraint upon him, left him at his liberty, and went a-hunting with his nobles. the king of tartary being thus left alone, shut himself up in his apartment, and sat down at a window that looked into the garden. that delicious place, and the sweet harmony of an infinite number of birds, which chose it for their retreat, must certainly have diverted him, had he been capable of taking pleasure in anything; but being perpetually tormented with the fatal remembrance of his queen's infamous conduct, his eyes were not so much fixed upon the garden, as lifted up to heaven to bewail his misfortune. while he was thus absorbed in grief, a circumstance occurred which attracted the whole of his attention. a secret gate of the sultan's palace suddenly opened, and there came out of it twenty women, in the midst of whom walked the sultaness, who was easily distinguished from the rest by her majestic air. this princess thinking that the king of tartary was gone a-hunting with his brother the sultan, came with her retinue near the windows of his apartment. for the prince had so placed himself that he could see all that passed in the garden without being perceived himself. he observed, that the persons who accompanied the sultaness threw off their veils and long robes, that they might be more at their ease, but he was greatly surprised to find that ten of them were black men, and that each of these took his mistress. the sultaness, on her part, was not long without her gallant. she clapped her hands, and called "masoud, masoud," and immediately a black descended from a tree, and ran towards her with great speed. modesty will not allow, nor is it necessary, to relate what passed between the blacks and the ladies. it is sufficient to say, that shaw-zummaun saw enough to convince him, that his brother was as much to be pitied as himself. this amorous company continued together till midnight, and having bathed together in a great piece of water, which was one of the chief ornaments of the garden, they dressed themselves, and re-entered the palace by the secret door, all except masoud, who climbed up his tree, and got over the garden wall as he had come in. these things having passed in the king of tartary's sight, filled him with a multitude of reflections. "how little reason had i," said he, "to think that none was so unfortunate as myself? it is surely the unavoidable fate of all husbands, since even the sultan my brother, who is sovereign of so-many dominions, and the greatest prince of the earth, could not escape. such being the case, what a fool am i to kill myself with grief? i am resolved that the remembrance of a misfortune so common shall never more disturb my peace." from that moment he forbore afflicting himself. he called for his supper, ate with a better appetite than he had done since his leaving samarcand, and listened with some degree of pleasure to the agreeable concert of vocal and instrumental music that was appointed to entertain him while at table. he continued after this very cheerful; and when he was informed that the sultan was returning, went to meet him, and paid him his compliments with great gaiety. shier-ear at first took no notice of this alteration. he politely expostulated with him for not bearing him company, and without giving him time to reply, entertained him with an account of the great number of deer and other game they had killed, and the pleasure he had received in the chase. shaw-zummaun heard him with attention; and being now relieved from the melancholy which had before depressed his spirits, and clouded his talents, took up the conversation in his turn, and spoke a thousand agreeable and pleasant things to the sultan. shier-ear, who expected to have found him in the same state as he had left him, was overjoyed to see him so cheerful: "dear brother," said he, "i return thanks to heaven for the happy change it has wrought in you during my absence. i am indeed extremely rejoiced. but i have a request to make to you, and conjure you not to deny me."i can refuse you nothing," replied the king of tartary; "you may command shaw-zummaun as you please: speak, i am impatient to know what you desire of me." "ever since you came to my court," resumed shier-ear, "i have found you immersed in a deep melancholy, and i have in vain attempted to remove it by different diversions. i imagined it might be occasioned by your distance from your dominions, or that love might have a great share in it; and that the queen of samarcand, who, no doubt, is an accomplished beauty, might be the cause. i do not know whether i am mistaken in my conjecture; but i must own, that it was for this very reason i would not importune you upon the subject, for fear of making you uneasy. but without myself contributing anything towards effecting the change, i find on my return that your mind is entirely delivered from the black vapour which disturbed it. pray do me the favour to tell me why you were so melancholy, and wherefore you are no longer so." the king of tartary continued for some time as if he had been meditating and contriving what he should answer; but at last replied, "you are my sultan and master; but excuse me, i beseech you, from answering your question." "no, dear brother," said the sultan, "you must answer me, i will take no denial." shaw- zummaun, not being able to withstand these pressing entreaties, replied, "well then, brother, i will satisfy you, since you command me ;" and having told him the story of the queen of samarcand's treachery "this," said he, "was the cause of my grief; judge whether i had not sufficient reason for my depression." "o! my brother," said the sultan, (in a tone which shewed what interest he took in the king of tartary's affliction), "what a horrible event do you tell me! i commend you for punishing the traitors who offered you such an outrage. none can blame you for what you have done. it was just; and for my part, had the case been mine, should scarcely have been so moderate. i could not have satisfied myself with the life of one woman; i should have sacrificed a thousand to my fury. i now cease to wonder at your melancholy. the cause was too afflicting and too mortifying not to overwhelm you. o heaven! what a strange adventure! nor do i believe the like ever befell any man but yourself. but i must bless god, who has comforted you; and since i doubt not but your consolation is well-grounded, be so good as to inform me what it is, and conceal nothing from me." shaw-zummaun was not so easily prevailed upon in this point as he had been in the other, on his brother's account. but being obliged to yield to his pressing instances, answered, "i must obey you then, since your command is absolute, yet i am afraid that my obedience will occasion your trouble to be greater than my own. but you must blame yourself, since you force me to reveal what i should otherwise have buried in eternal oblivion." "what you say," answered shier-ear, "serves only to increase my curiosity. discover the secret, whatever it be." the king of tartary being no longer able to refuse, related to him the particulars of the blacks in disguise, of the ungoverned passion of the sultaness, and her ladies; nor did he forget masoud. after having been witness to these infamous actions, he continued, "i believed all women to be naturally lewd; and that they could not resist their inclination. being of this opinion, it seemed to me to be in men an unaccountable weakness to place any confidence in their fidelity. this reflection brought on many others; and in short, i thought the best thing i could do was to make myself easy. it cost me some pains indeed, but at last i grew reconciled; and if you will take my advice, you will follow my example." though the advice was good, the sultan could not approve of it, but fell into a rage. "what!" said he, "is the sultaness of the indies capable of prostituting herself in so base a manner! no, brother, i cannot believe what you state unless i beheld it with my own eyes. yours must needs have deceived you; the matter is so important that i must be satisfied of it myself." "dear brother," answered shaw-zummaun, "that you may without much difficulty. appoint another hunting-match, and when we are out of town with your court and mine, we will rest under our tents, and at night let you and i return unattended to my apartments. i am certain the next day you will see a repetition of the scene." the sultan approving the stratagem, immediately appointed another hunting- match. and that same day the tents were pitched at the place appointed. the next day the two princes set out with all their retinue; they arrived at the place of encampment, and stayed there till night. shier-ear then called his grand vizier, and, without acquainting him with his design, commanded him during his absence to suffer no person to quit the camp on any presence whatever. as soon as he had given this order, the king of grand tartary and he took horse, passed through the camp incognito, returned to the city, and went to shaw-zummaun's apartment. they had scarcely placed themselves in the window whence the king of tartary had beheld the scene of the disguised blacks, when the secret gate opened, the sultaness and her ladies entered the garden with the blacks, and she having called to masoud, the sultan saw more than enough fully to convince him of his dishonour and misfortune. "oh heavens!" he exclaimed, "what indignity! what horror! can the wife of a sovereign be capable of such infamous conduct? after this, let no prince boast of being perfectly happy. alas! my brother," continued he, embracing the king of tartery, "let us both renounce the world, honour is banished out of it; if it flatter us one day, it betrays us the next. let us abandon our dominions, and go into foreign countries, where we may lead an obscure life, and conceal our misfortunes." shaw-zummaun did not at all approve of this plan, but did not think fit to contradict shierear in the heat of his passion. "dear brother," he replied, "your will shall be mine. i am ready to follow you whithersoever you please: but promise me that you will return, if we meet with any one more unhappy than ourselves." "to this i agree," said the sultan, "but doubt much whether we shall." "i am not of your opinion in this," replied the king of tartary; "i fancy our journey will be but short." having thus resolved, they went secretly out of the palace. they travelled as long as day-light continued; and lay the first night under trees. they arose about break of day, went on till they came to a fine meadow on the seashore, that was be-sprinkled with large trees they sat down under one of them to rest and refresh themselves, and the chief subject of their conversation was the infidelity or their wives. they had not rested long, before they heard a frightful noise from the sea, and a terrible cry, which filled them with fear. the sea then opened, and there arose something like a great black column, which reached almost to the clouds. this redoubled their terror, made them rise with haste, and climb up into a tree m bide themselves. they had scarcely got up, when looking to the place from whence the noise proceeded, and where the sea had opened, they observed that the black column advanced, winding about towards the: shore, cleaving the water before it. they could not at first think what this could mean, but in a little time they found that it was one of those malignant genies that are mortal enemies to mankind, and are always doing them mischief. he was black and frightful, had the shape of a giant, of a prodigious stature, and carried on his head a large glass box, fastened with four locks of fine steel. he entered the meadow with his burden, which he laid down just at the foot of the tree where the two princes were concealed, who gave themselves over as lost. the genie sat down by his box, and opening it with four keys that he had at his girdle, there came out a lady magnificently appareled, of a majestic stature, and perfect beauty. the monster made her sit down by him, and eyeing her with an amorous look, said, "lady, nay, most accomplished of all ladies who are admired for their beauty, my charming mistress, whom i carried off on your wedding-day, and have loved so constantly ever since, let me sleep a few moments by you; for i found myself so very drowsy that i came to this place to take a little rest." having spoken thus, he laid down his huge head upon the lady's knees, and stretching out his legs, which reached as far as the sea, he fell asleep presently, and snored so loud that he made the shores echo. the lady happening at this time to look up, saw the two princes in the tree, and made a sign to them with her hand to come down without making any noise. their fear was extreme when they found themselves discovered, and they prayed the lady, by other signs, to excuse them. but she, after having laid the monster's head softly on the ground, rose up and spoke to them, with a low but eager voice, to come down to her; she would take no denial. they informed her by signs that they were afraid of the genie, and would fain have been excused. upon which she ordered them to come down, and threatened if they did not make haste, to awaken the genie, and cause him to put them to death. these words so much intimidated the princes, that they began to descend with all possible precaution lest they should awake the genie. when they had come down, the lady took them by the hand, and going a little farther with them under the trees, made them a very urgent proposal. at first they rejected it, but she obliged them to comply by her threats. having obtained what she desired, she perceived that each of them had a ring on his finger, which she demanded. as soon as she had received them, she pulled out a string of other rings, which she shewed the princes, and asked them if they knew what those jewels meant? "no," said they, "we hope you will be pleased to inform us." "these are," she replied, "the rings of all the men to whom i have granted my favours. there are fourscore and eighteen, which i keep as memorials of them; and i asked for yours to make up the hundred. so that i have had a hundred gallants already, notwithstanding the vigilance of this wicked genie, who never leaves me. he may lock me up in this glass box and hide me in the bottom of the sea; but i find methods to elude his vigilance. you may see by this, that when a woman has formed a project, there is no husband or lover that can prevent her from putting it in execution. men had better not put their wives under such restraint, as it only serves to teach them cunning." having spoken thus to them, she put their rings on the same string with the rest, and sitting down by the monster, as before, laid his head again upon her lap, end made a sign to the princes to depart. they returned immediately the way they had come, and when they were out of sight of the lady and the genie shier-ear said to shaw-zummaun "well, brother, what do you think of this adventure? has not the genie a very faithful mistress? and do you not agree that there is no wickedness equal to that of women?" "yes, brother," answered the king of great tartary; "and you must also agree that the monster is more unfortunate, and more to be pitied than ourselves. therefore, since we have found what we sought for, let us return to our dominions, and let not this hinder us from marrying. for my part, i know a method by which to preserve the fidelity of my wife inviolable. i will say no more at present, but you will hear of it in a little time, and i am sure you will follow my example." the sultan agreed with his brother; and continuing their journey, they arrived in the camp the third night after their departure. the news of the sultan's return being spread, the courtiers came betimes in the morning before his pavilion to wait his pleasure. he ordered them to enter, received them with a more pleasant air than he had formerly done, and gave each of them a present. after which, he told them he would go no farther, ordered them to take horse, and returned with expedition to his palace. as soon as he arrived, he proceeded to the sultaness's apartment, commanded her to be bound before him, and delivered her to his grand vizier, with an order to strangle her, which was accordingly executed by that minister, without inquiring into her crime. the enraged prince did not stop here, but cut off the heads of all the sultaness's ladies with his own hand. after this rigorous punishment, being persuaded that no woman was chaste, he resolved, in order to prevent the disloyalty of such as he should afterwards marry, to wed one every night, and have her strangled next morning. having imposed this cruel law upon himself, he swore that he would put it in force immediately after the departure of the king of tartary, who shortly took leave of him, and being laden with magnificent presents, set forward on his journey. shaw-zummaun having departed, shier-ear ordered his grand vizier to bring him the daughter of one of his generals. the vizier obeyed. the sultan lay with her, and putting her next morning into his hands again in order to have her strangled, commanded him to provide him another the next night. whatever reluctance the vizier might feel to put such orders in execution, as he owed blind obedience to the sultan his master, he was forced to submit. he brought him then the daughter of a subaltern, whom he also put to death the next day. after her he brought a citizen's daughter; and, in a word, there was every day a maid married, and a wife murdered. the rumour of this unparalleled barbarity occasioned a general consternation in the city, where there was nothing but crying and lamentation. here, a father in tears, and inconsolable for the loss of his daughter; and there, tender mothers dreating lest their daughters should share the same fate, filling the air with cries of distress and apprehension. so that, instead of the commendation and blessings which the sultan had hitherto received from his subjects, their mouths were now filled with imprecations. the grand vizier who, as has been already observed, was the unwilling executioner of this horrid course of injustice, had two daughters, the elder called scheherazade, and the younger dinarzade. the latter was highly accomplished; but the former possessed courage, wit, and penetration, infinitely above her sex. she had read much, and had so admirable a memory, that she never forgot any thing she had read. she had successfully applied herself to philosophy, medicine, history, and the liberal arts; and her poetry excelled the compositions of the best writers of her time. besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her accomplishments were crowned by solid virtue. the vizier loved this daughter, so worthy of his affection. one day, as they were conversing together, she said to him, "father, i have one favour to beg of you, and most humbly pray you to grant it." "i will not refuse," answered he, "provided it be just and reasonable." "for the justice of it," resumed she, "there can be no question, and you may judge of this by the motive which obliges me to make the request. i wish to stop that barbarity which the sultan exercises upon the families of this city. i would dispel those painful apprehensions which so many mothers feel of losing their daughters in such a fatal manner." "your design, daughter," replied the vizier "is very commendable; but the evil you would remedy seems to me incurable. how do you propose to effect your purpose?" "father," said scheherazade, "since by your means the sultan makes every day a new marriage, i conjure you, by the tender affection you bear me, to procure me the honour of his bed." the vizier could not hear this without horror. "o heaven!" he replied in a passion, "have you lost your senses, daughter, that you make such a dangerous request? you know the sultan has sworn, that he will never lie above one night with the same woman, and to command her to be killed the next morning; would you then have me propose you to him? consider well to what your indiscreet zeal will expose you." "yes, dear father," replied the virtuous daughter, "i know the risk i run; but that does not alarm me. if i perish, my death will be glorious; and if i succeed, i shall do my country an important service." "no, no," said the vizier "whatever you may offer to induce me to let you throw yourself into such imminent danger, do not imagine that i will ever consent. when the sultan shall command me to strike my poniard into your heart, alas! i must obey; and what an employment will that be for a father! ah! if you do not dread death, at least cherish some fears of afflicting me with the mortal grief of imbuing my hands in your blood." "once more father," replied scheherazade, "grant me the favour i solicit." "your stubbornness," resumed the vizier "will rouse my anger; why will you run headlong to your ruin? they who do not foresee the end of a dangerous enterprise can never conduct it to a happy issue. i am afraid the same thing will happen to you as befell the ass, which was well off, but could not remain so." "what misfortune befell the ass?" demanded scheherazade. "i will tell you," replied the vizier, "if you will hear me." the ass, the ox, and the labourer. a very wealthy merchant possessed several country-houses, where he kept a large number of cattle of every kind. he retired with his wife and family to one of these estates, in order to improve it under his own direction. he had the gift of understanding the language of beasts, but with this condition, that he should not, on pain of death, interpret it to any one else. and this hindered him from communicating to others what he learned by means of this faculty. he kept in the same stall an ox and an ass. one day as he sat near them, and was amusing himself in looking at his children who were playing about him, he heard the ox say to the ass, "sprightly, o! how happy do i think you, when i consider the ease you enjoy, and the little labour that is required of you. you are carefully rubbed down and washed, you have well-dressed corn, and fresh clean water. your greatest business is to carry the merchant, our master, when he has any little journey to make, and were it not for that you would be perfectly idle. i am treated in a very different manner, and my condition is as deplorable as yours is fortunate. daylight no sooner appears than i am fastened to a plough, and made to work till night, which so fatigues me, that sometimes my strength entirely fails. besides, the labourer, who is always behind me, beats me continually. by drawing the plough, my tail is all flayed; and in short, after having laboured from morning to night, when i am brought in they give me nothing to eat but sorry dry beans, not so much as cleansed from dirt, or other food equally bad; and to heighten my misery, when i have filled my belly with such ordinary stuff, i am forced to lie all night in my own dung: so that you see i have reason to envy your lot." the ass did not interrupt the ox; but when he had concluded, answered, "they that called you a foolish beast did not lie. you are too simple; you suffer them to conduct you whither they please, and shew no manner of resolution. in the mean time, what advantage do you reap from all the indignities you suffer." you kill yourself for the ease, pleasure, and profit of those who give you no thanks for your service. but they would not treat you so, if you had as much courage as strength. when they come to fasten you to the stall, why do you not resist? why do you not gore them with your horns, and shew that you arc angry, by striking your foot against the ground? and, in short, why do not you frighten them by bellowing aloud? nature has furnished you with means to command respect; but you do not use them. they bring you sorry beans and bad straw; eat none of them, only smell and then leave them. if you follow my advice, you will soon experience a change, for which you will thank me." the ox took the ass's advice in very good part, and owned he was much obliged to him. "dear sprightly," added he, "i will not fail to do as you direct, and you shall see how i will acquit myself." here ended their conversation, of which the merchant lost not a word. early the next morning the labourer went for the ox. he fastened him to the plough and conducted him to his usual work. the ox, who had not forgotten the ass's counsel, was very troublesome and untowardly all that day, and in the evening, when the labourer brought him back to the stall, and began to fasten him, the malicious beast instead of presenting his head willingly as he used to do, was restive, and drew back bellowing; and then made at the labourer, as if he would have gored him with his horns. in a word, he did all that the ass had advised him. the day following, the labourer came as usual, to take the ox to his labour; but finding the stall full of beans, the straw that he had put in the night before not touched, and the ox lying on the ground with his legs stretched out, and panting in a strange manner, he believed him to be unwell, pitied him, and thinking that it was not proper to take him to work, went immediately and acquainted his master with his condition. the merchant perceiving that the ox had followed all the mischievous advice of the ass, determined to punish the latter, and accordingly ordered the labourer to go and put him in the ox's place, and to he sure to work him hard. the labourer did as he was desired. the ass was forced to draw the plough all that day, which fatigued him so much the more, as he was not accustomed to that kind of labour; besides he had been so soundly beaten, that he could scarcely stand when he came back. meanwhile, the ox was mightily pleased; he ate up all that was in his stall, and rested himself the whole day. he rejoiced that he had followed the ass's advice, blessed him a thousand times for the kindness he had done him, and did not fail to express his obligations when the ass had returned. the ass made no reply, so vexed was he at the ill treatment he had received; but he said within himself, "it is by my own imprudence i have brought this misfortune upon myself. i lived happily, every thing smiled upon me; i had all that i could wish; it is my own fault that i am brought to this miserable condition; and if i cannot contrive some way to get out of it, i am certainly undone." as he spoke, his strength was so much exhausted that he fell down in his stall, as if he had been half dead. here the grand vizier, himself to scheherazade, and said, "daughter, you act just like this ass; you will expose yourself to destruction by your erroneous policy. take my advice, remain quiet, and do not seek to hasten your death." "father," replied scheherazade, "the example you have set before me will not induce me to change my resolution. i will never cease importuning you until you present me to the sultan as his bride." the vizier, perceiving that she persisted in her demand, replied, "alas! then, since you will continue obstinate, i shall be obliged to treat you in the same manner as the merchant whom i before referred to treated his wife a short time after." the merchant understanding that the ass was in a lamentable condition, was desirous of knowing what passed between him and the ox, therefore after supper he went out by moonlight, and sat down by them, his wife bearing him company. after his arrival, he heard the ass say to the ox "comrade, tell me, i pray you, what you intend to do to-morrow, when the labourer brings you meat?" "what will i do?" replied the ox, "i will continue to act as you taught me. i will draw back from him and threaten him with my horns, as i did yesterday: i will feign myself ill, and at the point of death." "beware of that," replied the ass, "it will ruin you; for as i came home this evening, i heard the merchant, our master, say something that makes me tremble for you." "alas! what did you hear?" demanded the ox; "as you love me, withhold nothing from me, my dear sprightly." "our master," replied the ass, "addressed himself thus to the labourer: â��since the ox does not eat, and is not able to work, i would have him killed to-morrow, and we will give his flesh as an alms to the poor for god's sake, as for the skin, that will be of use to us, and i would have you give it the currier to dress; therefore be sure to send for the butcher.' this is what i had to tell you," said the ass. "the interest i feel in your preservation, and my friendship for you, obliged me to make it known to you, and to give you new advice. as soon as they bring you your bran and straw, rise up and eat heartily. our master will by this think that you are recovered, and no doubt will recall his orders for killing you; but, if you act otherwise, you will certainly be slaughtered." this discourse had the effect which the ass designed. the ox was greatly alarmed, and bellowed for fear. the merchant, who heard the conversation very attentively, fell into a loud fit of laughter. his wife was greatly surprised, and asked, "pray, husband, tell me what you laugh at so heartily, that i may laugh with you." "wife," replied he, "you must content yourself with hearing me laugh." "no," returned she, "i will know the reason." "i cannot afford you that satisfaction," he, "and can only inform you that i laugh at what our ass just now said to the ox. the rest is a secret, which i am not allowed to reveal." "what," demanded she "hinders you from revealing the secret?" "if i tell it you," replied he, "i shall forfeit my life." "you only jeer me," cried his wife, "what you would have me believe cannot be true. if you do not directly satisfy me as to what you laugh at, and tell me what the ox and the ass said to one another, i swear by heaven that you and i shall never bed together again." having spoken thus, she went into the house, and seating herself in a corner, cried there all night. her husband lay alone, and finding next morning that she continued in the same humour, told her, she was very foolish to afflict herself in that manner; that the thing was not worth so much; that it concerned her very little to know while it was of the utmost consequence to him to keep the secret: "therefore," continued he, "i conjure you to think no more of it." "i shall still think so much of it," replied she, "as never to forbear weeping till you have satisfied my curiosity." "but i tell you very seriously," answered he, "that it will cost me my life if i yield to your indiscreet solicitations." "let what will happen," said she, "i do insist upon it." "i perceive," resumed the merchant, "that it is impossible to bring you to reason, and since i foresee that you will occasion your own death by your obstinacy, i will call in your children, that they may see you before you die." accordingly he called for them, and sent for her father and mother, and other relations. when they were come and had heard the reason of their being summoned, they did all they could to convince her that she was in the wrong, but to no purpose: she told them she would rather die than yield that point to her husband. her father and mother spoke to her by herself, and told her that what she desired to know was of no importance to her; but they could produce no effect upon her, either by their authority or intreaties. when her children saw that nothing would prevail to draw her out of that sullen temper, they wept bitterly. the merchant himself was half frantic, and almost ready to risk his own life to save that of his wife, whom he sincerely loved. the merchant had fifty hens and one cock, with a dog that gave good heed to all that passed. while the merchant was considering what he had best do, he saw his dog run towards the cock as he was treading a hen, and heard him say to him: "cock, i am sure heaven will not let you live long; are you not ashamed to ad thus to-day?" the cock standing up on tiptoe, answered fiercely: "and why not to-day as well as other days?" "if you do not know," replied the dog, "then i will tell you, that this day our master is in great perplexity. his wife would have him reveal a secret which is of such a nature, that the disclosure would cost him his life. things are come to that pass, that it is to be feared he will scarcely have resolution enough to resist his wife's obstinacy; for he loves her, and is affected by the tears she continually sheds. we are all alarmed at his situation, while you only insult our melancholy, and have the impudence to divert yourself with your hens." the cock answered the dog's reproof thus: "what, has our master so little sense? he has but one wife, and cannot govern her, and though i have fifty, i make them all do what i please. let him use his reason, he will soon find a way to rid himself of his trouble." "how?" demanded the dog; "what would you have him do?" "let him go into the room where his wife is," resumed the cock, "lock the door, and take a stick and thrash her well; and i will answer for it, that will bring her to her senses, and make her forbear to importune him to discover what he ought not to reveal." the merchant had no sooner heard what the cock said, than he took up a stick, went to his wife, whom he found still crying, and shutting the door, belaboured her so soundly, that she cried out, "enough, husband, enough, forbear, and i will never ask the question more." upon this, perceiving that she repented of her impertinent curiosity, he desisted; and opening the door, her friends came in, were glad to find her cured of her obstinacy, and complimented her husband upon this happy expedient to bring his wife to reason. "daughter," added the grand vizier, "you deserve to be treated as the merchant treated his wife." "father," replied scheherazade, "i beg you would not take it ill that i persist in my opinion. i am nothing moved by the story of this woman. i could relate many, to persuade you that you ought not to oppose my design. besides, pardon me for declaring, that your opposition is vain; for if your paternal affection should hinder you from granting my request, i will go and offer myself to the sultan." in short, the father, being overcome by the resolution of his daughter, yielded to her importunity, and though he was much grieved that he could not divert her from so fatal a resolution, he went instantly to acquaint the sultan, that next night he would bring him scheherazade. the sultan was much surprized at the sacrifice which the grand vizier proposed to make. "how could you", said he, "resolve to bring me your own daughter?" "sir," answered the vizier, "it is her own offer. the sad destiny that awaits her could not intimidate her; she prefers the honour of being your majesty's wile for one night, to her life." "but do not act under a mistake, vizier," said the sultan; "to-morrow. when i place scheherazade in your hands, i expect you will put her to death; and if you fail, i swear that your own life shall answer." "sir," rejoined the vizier "my heart without doubt will be full of grief to execute your commands; but it is to no purpose for nature to murmur. though i am her father, i will answer for the fidelity of my hand to obey your order." shier-ear accepted his minister's offer, and told him he might bring his daughter when he pleased. t'he grand vizicr went with the intelligence to schcherazade, who received it with as much joy as if it had been the most agreeable information she could have received. she thanked her father for having so greatly obliged her; and perceiving that he was overwhelmed with grief, told him for his consolation, that she hoped he would never repent of having married her to the sultan; and that, on the contrary, he should have reason to rejoice at his compliance all his days. her business now was to adorn herself to appear before the sultan; but before she went, she took her sister dinarzade apart, and said to her, "my dear sister, i have need of your assistance in a matter of great importance, and must pray you not to deny it me. my father is going to conduct me to the sultan; do not let this alarm you, but hear me with patience. as soon as i am in his presence, i will pray him to allow you to lie in the bride- chamber, that i may enjoy your company this one night more. if i obtain that favour, as i hope to do, remember to awake me to- morrow an hour before day, and to address me in these or some such words: â��my sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you that till day-break, which will be very shortly, you will relate to me one of the entertaining stories of which you have read so many.' i will immediately tell you one; and i hope by this means to deliver the city from the consternation it is under at present." dinarzade answered that she would with pleasure act as she required her. the grand vizier conducted schcherazade to the palace, and retired, after having introduced her into the sultan's apartment. as soon as the sultan was left alone with her, he ordered her to uncover her face: he found her so beautiful that he was perfectly charmed; but perceiving her to be in tears, demanded the reason. "sir," answered scheherazade, "i have a sister who loves me tenderly, and i could wish that she might be allowed to pass the night in this chamber, that i might see her, and once more bid her adieu. will you be pleased to allow me the consolation of giving her this last testimony of my affection?" shier-ear having consented, dinarzade was sent for, who came with all possible expedition. an hour before day, dinarzade failed not to do as her sister had ordered. "my dear sister," cried she, "if you be not asleep, i pray that until daybreak, which will be very shortly, you will tell me one of those pleasant stories you have read. alas! this may perhaps be the last time that i shall enjoy that pleasure." scheherazade, instead of answering her sister, addressed herself to the sultan: "sir, will your majesty be pleased to allow me to afford my sister this satisfaction?" "with all my heart," replied the sultan. scheherazade then bade her sister attend, and afterwards, addressing herself to shier-ear, proceeded as follows. the merchant and the genie. there was formerly a merchant who possessed much property in lands, goods, and money, and had a great number of clerks, factors, and slaves. he was obliged from time to time to visit his correspondents on business; and one day being under the necessity of going a long journey on an affair of importance, he took horse, and carried with him a wallet containing biscuits and dates, because he had a great desert to pass over, where he could procure no sort of provisions. he arrived without any accident at the end of his journey; and having dispatched his affairs, took horse again, in order to return home. the fourth day of his journey, he was so much incommoded by the heat of the sun, and the reflection of that heat from the earth, that he turned out of the road, to refresh himself under some trees. he found at the root of a large tree a fountain of very clear running water. having alighted, he tied his horse to a branch, and sitting down by the fountain, took some biscuits and dates out of his wallet. as he ate his dates, he threw the shells carelessly in different directions. when he had finished his repast, being a good moosulmaun, he washed his hands, face, and feet, and said his prayers. before he had finished, and while he was yet on his knees, he saw a genie, white with age, and of a monstrous bulk, advancing towards him with a cimeter in his hand. the genie spoke to him in a terrible voice: "rise, that i may kill thee with this cimeter, as thou hast killed my son;" and accompanied these words with a frightful cry. the merchant being as much alarmed at the hideous shape of the monster as at his threatening language, answered him, trembling, "alas! my good lord, of what crime can i be guilty towards you, that you should take away my life?" "i will," replied the genie, "kill thee, as thou hast killed my son." "heavens," exclaimed the merchant, "how could i kill your son? i never knew, never saw him." "did not you sit down when you came hither?" demanded the genie: "did you not take dates out of your wallet, and as you ate them, did not you throw the shells about in different directions?" "i did all that you say," answered the merchant, "i cannot deny it." "if it be so," resumed the genie, "i tell thee that thou hast killed my son; and in this manner: when thou wert throwing the shells about, my son was passing by, and thou didst throw one into his eye, which killed him; therefore i must kill thee." "ah! my lord! pardon me!" cried the merchant. "no pardon," exclaimed the genie, "no mercy. is it not just to kill him that has killed another?" "i agree it is," replied the merchant, "but certainly i never killed your son; and if i have, it was unknown to me, and i did it innocently; i beg you therefore to pardon me, and suffer me to live." "no, no," returned the genie, persisting in his resolution, "i must kill thee, since thou hast killed my son." then taking the merchant by the arm, he threw him with his face on the ground, and lifted up his cimeter to cut off his head. the merchant, with tears, protested he was innocent, bewailed his wife and children, and supplicated the genie, in the most moving expressions. the genie, with his cimeter still lifted up, had the patience to hear his unfortunate victims to the end of his lamentations, but would not relent. "all this whining," said the monster, "is to no purpose; though you should shed tears of blood, they should not hinder me from killing thee, as thou hast killed my son." "what!" exclaimed the merchant, "can nothing prevail with you? will you absolutely take away the life of a poor innocent?" "yes," replied the genie, "i am resolved." as soon as she had spoken these words, perceiving it was day, and knowing that the sultan rose early in the morning to say his prayers, and hold his council, scheherazade discontinued her story. "dear sister," said dinarzade, "what a wonderful story is this!" "the remainder of it," replied scheherazade "is more surprising, and you will be of this opinion, if the sultan will but permit me to live over this day, and allow me to proceed with the relation the ensuing night." shier-ear, who had listened to scheherazade with much interest, said to himself, "i will wait till to-morrow, for i can at any time put her to death when she has concluded her story." having thus resolved not to put scheherazade to death that day, he rose and went to his prayers, and to attend his council. during this time the grand vizier was in the utmost distress. instead of sleeping, he spent the night in sighs and groans, bewailing the lot of his daughter, of whom he believed he should himself shortly be the executioner. as, with this melancholy prospect before him, he dreaded to meet the sultan, he was agreeably surprised when he found the prince entered the council chamber without giving him the fatal orders he expected. the sultan, according to his custom, spent the day in regulating his affairs; and when the night had closed in, retired with scheherazade. the next morning before day, dinarzade failed not to call to her sister: "my dear sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you till day-break, which is very near, to go on with the story you began last night." the sultan, without waiting for scheherazade to ask his permission, bade her proceed with the story of the genie and the merchant; upon which scheherazade continued her relation as follows. [fn: in the original work scheherazade continually breaks off to ask the sultan to spare her life for another day, that she may finish the story she is relating. as these interruptions considerably interfere with the continued interest of the stories, it has been deemed advisable to omit them.] when the merchant saw that the genie was going to cut off his head, he cried out aloud to him, "for heaven's sake hold your hand! allow me one word. have the goodness to grant me some respite, to bid my wife and children adieu, and to divide my estate among them by will, that they may not go to law after my death. when i have done this, i will come back and submit to whatever you shall please to command." "but," said the genie, "if i grant you the time you ask, i doubt you will never return?" "if you will believe my oath," answered the merchant, "i swear by all that is sacred, that i will come and meet you here without fail." "what time do you require then?" demanded the genie. "i ask a year," said the merchant; "i cannot in less settle my affairs, and prepare myself to die without regret. but i promise you, that this day twelve months i will return under these trees, to put myself into your hands." "do you take heaven to be witness to this promise?" said the genie. "i do," answered the merchant, "and you may rely on my oath." upon this the genie left him near the fountain, and disappeared. the merchant being recovered from his terror, mounted his horse, and proceeded on his journey, glad on the one hand that he had escaped so great a danger, but grieved on the other, when he reflected on his fatal oath. when he reached home, his wife and children received him with all the demonstrations of perfect joy. but he, instead of returning their caresses, wept so bitterly, that his family apprehended something calamitous had befallen him. his wife enquire reason of his excessive grief and tears; "we are all overjoyed," said she, "at your return; but you alarm us by your lamentations; pray tell us the cause of your sorrow." "alas!" replied the husband, "i have but a year to live." he then related what had passed betwixt him and the genie, and informed her that he had given him his oath to return at the end of the year, to receive death from his hands. when they heard this afflicting intelligence, they all began to lament in the most distressing manner. his wife uttered the most piteous cries, beat her face, and tore her hair. the children, all in tears, made the house resound with their groans; and the father, not being able to resist the impulse of nature, mingled his tears with theirs: so that, in a word, they exhibited the most affecting spectacle possible. on the following morning the merchant applied himself to put his affairs in order; and first of all to pay his debts. he made presents to his friends, gave liberal alms to the poor, set his slaves of both sexes at liberty, divided his property among his children, appointed guardians for such of them as were not of age; and after restoring to his wife all that was due to her by their marriage contract, he gave her in addition as much as the law would allow him. at last the year expired, and he was obliged to depart. he put his burial clothes in his wallet; but when he came to bid his wife and children adieu, their grief surpassed description. they could not reconcile their minds to the separation, but resolved to go and die with him. when, however, it became necessary for him to tear himself from these dear objects, he addressed them in the following terms: "my dear wife and children, i obey the will of heaven in quitting you. follow my example, submit with fortitude to this necessity, and consider that it is the destiny of man to die." having thus spoken, he went out of the hearing of the cries of his family; and pursuing his journey, arrived on the day appointed at the place where he had promised to meet the genie. he alighted, and seating himself down by the fountain, waited the coming of the genie, with all the sorrow imaginable. whilst he languished under this painful expectation, an old man leading a hind appeared and drew near him. after they had saluted one another, the old man said to him, "brother, may i ask why you are come into this desert place, which is possessed solely by evil spirits, and where consequently you cannot be safe? from the beautiful trees which are seen here, one might indeed suppose the place inhabited; but it is in reality a wilderness, where it is dangerous to remain long." the merchant satisfied his curiosity, and related to him the adventure which obliged him to be there. the old man listened with astonishment, and when he had done, exclaimed, "this is the most surprising thing in the world! and you are bound by the most inviolable oath. however, i will be witness of your interview with the genie." he then seated himself by the merchant, and they entered into conversation. "but i see day," said scheherazade, "and must leave off; yet the best of the story is to come." the sultan resolving to hear the end of it, suffered her to live that day also. the next morning dinarzade made the same request to her sister as before: "my dear sister," said she, "if you be not asleep, tell me one of those pleasant stories that you have read." but the sultan, wishing to learn what followed betwixt the merchant and the genie, bade her proceed with that, which she did as follows. sir, while the merchant and the old man who led the hind were conversing, they saw another old man coming towards them, followed by two black dogs; after they had saluted one another, he asked them what they did in that place? the old man with the hind told him the adventure of the merchant and genie, with all that had passed between them, particularly the merchant's oath. he added, that it was the day agreed on, and that he was resolved to stay and see the issue. the second old man thinking it also worth his curiosity, resolved to do the same, and took his seat by them. they had scarcely begun to converse together, when there arrived a third old man leading a mule. he addressed himself to the two former, and asked why the merchant who sat with them looked so melancholy? they told him the reason, which appeared to him so extraordinary, that he also resolved to witness the result; and for that purpose sat down with them. in a short time they perceived a thick vapour, like a cloud of dust raised by a whirlwind, advancing towards them. when it had come up to them it suddenly vanished, and the genie appeared; who, without saluting them, went to the merchant with a drawn cimeter, and taking him by the arm, said, "get thee up, that i may kill thee, as thou didst my son." the merchant and the three old men began to lament and fill the air with their cries. when the old man who led the hind saw the genie lay hold of the merchant, and about to kill him, he threw himself at the feet of the monster, and kissing them, said to him, "prince of genies, i most humbly request you to suspend your anger, and do me the favour to hear me. i will tell you the history of my life, and of the hind you see; and if you think it more wonderful and surprising than the adventure of the merchant, i hope you will pardon the unfortunate man a third of his offence." the genie took some time to deliberate on this proposal, but answered at last, "well then, i agree." the story of the first old man and the hind. i shall begin my story then; listen to me, i pray you, with attention. this hind you see is my cousin; nay, what is more, my wife. she was only twelve years of age when i married her, so that i may justly say, she ought to regard me equally as her father, her kinsman, and her husband. we lived together twenty years, without any children. her barrenness did not effect any change in my love; i still treated her with much kindness and affection. my desire of having children only induced me to purchase a slave, by whom i had a son, who was extremely promising. my wife being jealous, cherished a hatred for both mother and child, but concealed her aversion so well, that i knew nothing of it till it was too late. mean time my son grew up, and was ten years old, when i was obliged to undertake a long journey. before i went, i recommended to my wife, of whom i had no mistrust, the slave and her son, and prayed her to take care of them during my absence, which was to be for a whole year. she however employed that time to satisfy her hatred. she applied herself to magic, and when she had learnt enough of that diabolical art to execute her horrible design, the wretch carried my son to a desolate place, where, by her enchantments, she changed him into a calf, and gave him to my farmer to fatten, pretending she had bought him. her enmity did not stop at this abominable action, but she likewise changed the slave into a cow, and gave her also to my farmer. at my return, i enquired for the mother and child. "your slave," said she, "is dead; and as for your son, i know not what is become of him, i have not seen him this two months." i was afflicted at the death of the slave, but as she informed me my son had only disappeared, i was in hopes he would shortly return. however, eight months passed, and i heard nothing of him. when the festival of the great bairam was to be celebrated, i sent to my farmer for one of the fattest cows to sacrifice. he accordingly sent me one, and the cow which was brought me proved to be my slave, the unfortunate mother of my son. i bound her, but as i was going to sacrifice her, she bellowed piteously, and i could perceive tears streaming from her eyes. this seemed to me very extraordinary, and finding myself moved with compassion, i could not find in my heart to give her a blow, but ordered my farmer to get me another. my wife, who was present, was enraged at my tenderness, and resisting an order which disappointed her malice, she cried out, "what are you doing, husband? sacrifice that cow; your farmer has not a finer, nor one fitter for the festival." out of deference to my wife, i came again to the cow, and combating my compassion, which suspended the sacrifice, was going to give her the fatal blow, when the victim redoubling her tears, and bellowing, disarmed me a second time. i then put the mallet into the farmer's hands, and desired him to take it and sacrifice her himself, for her tears and bellowing pierced my heart. the farmer, less compassionate than myself; sacrificed her; but when he flayed her, found her to be nothing except bones, though to she seemed very fat. "take her yourself," said i to him, "dispose of her in alms, or any way you please: and if you have a very fat calf, bring it me in her stead." i did not enquire what he did with the cow, but soon after he had taken her away, he returned with a fat calf. though i knew not the calf was my son, yet i could not forbear being moved at the sight of him. on his part, as soon as he beheld me, he made so great an effort to come near me, that he broke his cord, threw himself at my feet, with his head against the ground, as if he meant to excite my compassion, conjuring me not to be so cruel as to take his life; and did as much as was possible for him, to signify that he was my son. i was more surprised and affected with this action, than with the tears of the cow. i felt a tender pity, which interested me on his behalf, or rather, nature did its duty. "go," said i to the farmer, "carry home that calf, take great care of him, and bring me another in his stead immediately." as soon as my wife heard me give this order, she exclaimed, "what are you about, husband? take my advice, sacrifice no other calf but that." "wife," i replied, "i will not sacrifice him, i will spare him, and pray do not you oppose me." the wicked woman had no regard to my wishes; she hated my son too much to consent that i should save him. i tied the poor creature, and taking up the fatal knife, was going to plunge it into my son's throat, when turning his eyes bathed with tears, in a languishing manner, towards me, he affected me so much that i had not strength to kill him. i let the knife fall, and told my wife positively that i would have another calf to sacrifice, and not that. she used all her endeavours to persuade me to change my resolution; but i continued firm, and pacified her a little, by promising that i would sacrifice him against the bairam of the following year. the next morning my farmer desired to speak with me alone. "i come," said he, "to communicate to you a piece of intelligence, for which i hope you will return me thanks. i have a daughter that has some skill in magic. yesterday, as i carried back the calf which you would not sacrifice, i perceived she laughed when she saw him, and in a moment after fell a weeping. i asked her why she acted two such opposite parts at one and the same time. â�� rather,' replied she, â�� the calf you bring back is our landlord's son; i laughed for joy to see him still alive, and wept at the remembrance of the sacrifice that was made the other day of his mother, who was changed into a cow. these two metamorphoses were made by the enchantments of our master's wife, who hated both the mother and son.' this is what my daughter told me," said the farmer, "and i come to acquaint you with it." i leave you to judge how much i was surprised. i went immediately to my farmer, to speak to his daughter myself. as soon as i arrived, i went forthwith to the stall where my son was kept; he could not return my embraces, but received them in such a manner, as fully satisfied me he was my son. the farmer's daughter then came to us: "my good maid," said i, "can you restore my son to his former shape?" "yes," she replied, "i can." "ah!" said i, "if you do, i will make you mistress of all my fortune." she answered me, smiling, "you are our master, and i well know what i owe to you; but i cannot restore your son to his former shape, except on two conditions: the first is, that you give him to me for my husband; and the second, that you allow me to punish the person who changed him into a calf." "as to the first," i replied, "i agree with all my heart: nay, i promise you more, a considerable fortune for yourself, independently of what i design for my son: in a word, you shall see how i will reward the great service i expect from you. as to what relates to my wife, i also agree; a person who has been capable of committing such a criminal action, justly deserves to be punished. i leave her to your disposal, only i must pray you not to take her life." "i am going then," answered she, "to treat her as she treated your son." "to this i consent," said i, "provided you first of all restore to me my son." the damsel then took a vessel full of water, pronounced over it words that i did not understand, and addressing herself to the calf, "o calf, if thou west created by the almighty and sovereign master of the world such as thou appearest at this time, continue in that form; but if thou be a man, and art changed into a calf by enchantment, return to thy natural shape, by the permission of the sovereign creator." as she spoke, she threw water upon him, and in an instant he recovered his natural form. "my son, my dear son," cried i, immediately embracing him with such a transport of joy that i knew not what i was doing, "it is heaven that hath sent us this young maid, to remove the horrible charm by which you were enchanted, and to avenge the injury done to you and your mother. i doubt not but in acknowledgment you will make your deliverer your wife, as i have promised." he joyfully consented; but before they married, she changed my wife into a hind; and this is she whom you see here. i desired she might have this shape, rather than another less agreeable, that we might see her in the family without horror. since that time, my son is become a widower, and gone to travel. it being now several years since i heard of him, i am come abroad to inquire after him; and not being willing to trust anybody with my wife, till i should return home, i thought fit to take her everywhere with me. "this is the history of myself and this hind: is it not one of the most wonderful and surprising?" "i admit it is," said the genie, "and on that account forgive the merchant one third of his crime." when the first old man had finished his story, the second, who led the two black dogs, addressed the genie, and said: "i am going to tell you what happened to me, and these two black dogs you see by me; and i am certain you will say, that my story is yet more surprising than that which you have just heard. but when i have done this, i hope you will be pleased to pardon the merchant another third of his offence." "i will," replied the genie, "provided your story surpass that of the hind." then the second old man began in this manner-- the story of the second old man and the two black dogs. great prince of genies, you must know that we are three brothers, the two black dogs and myself. our father, when he died, left each of us one thousand sequins. with that sum, we all became merchants. a little time after we had opened shop, my eldest brother, one of these two dogs, resolved to travel and trade in foreign countries. with this view, he sold his estate, and bought goods suited to the trade intended to follow. he went away, and was absent a whole year. at the expiration of this time, a poor man, who i thought had come to ask alms, presented himself before me in my shop. i said to him, "god help you." he returned my salutation, and continued, "is it possible you do not know me?" upon this i looked at him narrowly, and recognised him: "ah, brother," cried i, embracing him, "how could i know you in this condition?" i made him come into my house, and asked him concerning his health and the success of his travels. "do not ask me that question," said he; "when you see me, you see all: it would only renew my grief, to relate to you the particulars of the misfortunes i have experienced since i left you, which have reduced me to my present condition." i immediately shut up my shop, and taking him to a bath, gave him the best clothes i had. finding on examining my books, that i had doubled my stock, that is to say, that i was worth two thousand sequins, i gave him one half; "with that," said i, "brother, you may make up your loss." he joyfully accepted the present, and having repaired his fortunes, we lived together, as before. some time after, my second brother, who is the other of these two dogs, would also sell his estate. his elder brother and myself did all we could to divert him from his purpose, but without effect. he disposed of it, and with the money bought such goods as were suitable to the trade which he designed to follow. he joined a caravan, and departed. at the end of the year he returned in the same condition as my other brother. having myself by this time gained another thousand sequins, i made him a present of them. with this sum he furnished his shop, and continued his trade. some time after, one of my brothers came to me to propose that i should join them in a trading voyage; i immediately declined. "you have travelled," said i, "and what have you gained by it? who can assure me, that i shall be more successful than you have been?" it was in vain that they urged open me all the considerations they thought likely to gain me over to their design, for i constantly refused; but after having resisted their solicitations five whole years, they importuned me so much, that at last they overcame my resolution. when, however, the time arrived that we were to make preparations for our voyage, to buy the goods necessary to the undertaking, i found they had spent all, and had not one dirrim left of the thousand sequins i had given to each of them. i did not, on this account, upbraid them. on the contrary, my stock being still six thousand sequins, i shared the half of it with them, telling them, "my brothers, we must venture these three thousand sequins, and hide the rest in some secure place: that in case our voyage be not more successful than yours was formerly, we may have wherewith to assist us, and to enable us to follow our ancient way of living." i gave each of them a thousand sequins, and keeping as much for myself, i buried the other three thousand in a corner of my house. we purchased goods, and having embarked them on board a vessel, which we freighted betwixt us, we put to sea with a favourable wind. after two months sail, we arrived happily at port, where we landed, and had a very good market for our goods. i, especially, sold mine so well, that i gained ten to one. with the produce we bought commodities of that country, to carry back with us for sale. when we were ready to embark on our return, i met on the sea- shore a lady, handsome enough, but poorly clad. she walked up to me gracefully, kissed my hand, besought me with the greatest earnestness imaginable to marry her, and take her along with me. i made some difficulty to agree to this proposal; but she urged so many things to persuade me that i ought not to object to her on account of her poverty, and that i should have all the reason in the world to be satisfied with her conduct, that at last i yielded. i ordered proper apparel to be made for her; and after having married her, according to form, i took her on board, and we set sail. i found my wife possessed so many good qualities, that my love to her every day increased. in the mean time my two brothers, who had not managed their affairs as successfully as i had mine, envied my prosperity; and suffered their feelings to carry them so far, that they conspired against my life; and one night, when my wife and i were asleep, threw us both into the sea. my wife proved to be a fairy, and, by consequence, a genie, so that she could not be drowned; but for me, it is certain i must have perished, without her help. i had scarcely fallen into the water, when she took me up, and carried me to an island. when day appeared, she said to me, "you see, husband, that by saving your life, i have not rewarded you ill for your kindness to me. you must know, that i am a fairy, and being upon the sea-shore, when you were going to embark, i felt a strong desire to have you for my husband; i had a mind to try your goodness, and presented myself before you in disguise. you have dealt generously by me, and i am glad of an opportunity of returning my acknowledgment. but i am incensed against your brothers, and nothing will satisfy me but their lives." i listened to this discourse with admiration; i thanked the fairy the best way i could, for the great kindness she had done me; "but, madam," said i, "as for my brothers, i beg you to pardon them; whatever cause of resentment they have given me, i am not cruel enough to desire their death." i then informed her what i had done for them, but this increased her indignation; and she exclaimed, "i must immediately pursue those ungrateful traitors, and take speedy vengeance on them. i will destroy their vessel, and sink them into the bottom of the sea." "my good lady," replied i, "for heaven's sake forbear; moderate your anger, consider that they are my brothers, and that we ought to return good for evil." i pacified her by these words; and as soon as i had concluded, she transported me in a moment from the island to the roof of my own house, which was terraced, and instantly disappeared. i descended, opened the doors, and dug up the three thousand sequins i had formerly secreted. i went afterwards to my shop, which i also opened; and was complimented by the merchants, my neighbours, upon my return. when i went back to my house, i perceived there two black dogs, which came up to me in a very submissive manner: i could not divine the meaning of this circumstance, which greatly astonished me. but the fairy, who immediately appeared, said, "husband, be not surprised to see these dogs, they are your brothers." i was troubled at this declaration, and asked her by what power they were so transformed. "i did it," said she, "or at least authorised one of my sisters to do it, who at the same time sunk their ship. you have lost the goods you had on board, but i will compensate you another way. as to your two brothers, i have condemned them to remain five years in that shape. their perfidiousness too well deserves such a penance." having thus spoken and told me where i might hear of her, she disappeared. the five years being now nearly expired, i am travelling in quest of her; and as i passed this way, i met this merchant, and the good old man who led the hind, and sat down by them. this is my history, o prince of genies! do not you think it very extraordinary?" "i own it is," replied the genie, "and on that account i remit the merchant the second third of the crime which he has committed against me." as soon as the second old man had finished, the third began his story, after repeating the request of the two former, that the genie would pardon the merchant the other third of his crime, provided what he should relate surpassed in singularity of incidents the narratives he had already heard. the genie made him the same promise as he had given the others. the third old man related his story to the genie; and it exceeded the two former stories so much, in the variety of wonderful adventures, that the genie was astonished; and no sooner heard the conclusion, than he said to the old man, "i remit the other third of the merchant's crime on account of your story. he is greatly obliged to all of you, for having delivered him out of his danger by what you have related, for to this he owes his life." having spoken thus he disappeared, to the great contentment of the company. the merchant failed not to make due acknowledgment to his deliverers. they rejoiced to see him out of danger; and bidding him adieu, each of them proceeded on his way. the merchant returned to his wife and children, and passed the rest of his days with them in peace. the story of the fisherman. there was an aged fisherman, who was so poor, that he could scarcely as much as would maintain himself, his wife, and three children. he went every day to fish betimes in the morning; and imposed it as a law upon himself, not to cast his nets above four times a-day. he went one morning by moon-light, and coming to the seaside, undressed himself, and cast in his nets. as he drew them towards the shore, he found them very heavy, and thought he had a good draught of fish, at which he rejoiced; but in a moment after, perceiving that instead of fish his nets contained nothing but the carcass of an ass, he was much vexed. when the fisherman had mended his nets, which the carcass of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a basket full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. "o fortune!" cried he, with a lamentable tone, "be not angry with me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. i came hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou pronouncest against me a sentence of death. i have no other trade but this to subsist by: and notwithstanding all my care, i can scarcely provide what is absolutely necessary for my family. but i am to blame to complain of thee; thou takest pleasure to persecute honest people, and to leave great men in obscurity, while thou shewest favour to the wicked, and advancest those who have no virtue to recommend them." having finished this complaint, he fretfully threw away the basket, and washing his nets from the slime, cast them the third time; but brought up nothing, except stones, shells, and mud. no language can express his disappointment; he was almost distracted. however, when day began to appear, he did not forget to say his prayers, like a good moosulmaun, and he added to them this petition: "lord, thou knowest that i cast my nets only four times a day; i have already drawn them three times, without the least reward for my labour: i am only to cast them once more; i pray thee to render the sea favourable to me, as thou didst to moses " the fisherman having finished this prayer, cast his nets the fourth time; and when he thought it was proper, drew them as formerly, with great difficulty; but instead of fish, found nothing in them but a vessel of yellow copper, which from its weight seemed not to be empty; and he observed that it was shut up and sealed with lead, having the impression of a seal upon it. this turn of fortune rejoiced him; "i will sell it," said he, "to the founder, and with the money buy a measure of corn." he examined the vessel on all sides, and shook it, to try if its contents made any noise, but heard nothing. this circumstance, with the impression of the seal upon the leaden cover, made him think it inclosed something precious. to try this, he took a knife, and opened it with very little labour. he turned the mouth downward, but nothing came out; which surprised him extremely. he placed it before him, but while he viewed it attentively, there came out a very thick smoke, which obliged him to retire two or three paces back. the smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist, which we may well imagine filled the fisherman with astonishment. when the smoke was all out of the vessel, it re-united and became a solid body, of which was formed a genie twice as high as the greatest of giants. at the sight of a monster of such an unwieldy bulk, the fisherman would fain have fled, but was so frightened, that he could not move. "solomon," cried the genie immediately, "solomon, the great prophet, pardon, pardon; i will never more oppose your will, i will obey all your commands." when the fisherman heard these words of the genie, he recovered his courage, and said to him, "thou proud spirit, what is it you say? it is above eighteen hundred years since the prophet solomon died, and we are now at the end of time. tell me your history, and how you came to be shut up in this vessel." the genie turning to the fisherman, with a fierce look, said. "thou must speak to me with more respect; thou art a presumptuous fellow to call me a proud spirit." "very well," replied the fisherman, "shall i speak to you more civilly, and call you the owl of good luck?" "i say," answered the genie, "speak to me more respectfully, or i will kill thee." "ah!" replied the fisherman, "why would you kill me? did i not just now set you at liberty, and have you already forgotten my services?" "yes, i remember it," said the genie, "but that shall not save thy life: i have only one favour to grant thee." "and what is that?" asked the fisherman. "it is," answered the genie, "to give thee thy choice, in what manner thou wouldst have me put thee to death." "but wherein have i offended you?" demanded the fisherman. "is that your reward for the service i have rendered you?" "i cannot treat thee otherwise," said the genie; "and that thou mayest know the reason, hearken to my story." "i am one of those rebellious spirits that opposed the will of heaven; nearly all the other genies owned solomon, the great prophet, and yielded to his authority. sabhir and i were the only two that would never be guilty of a mean submission: and to avenge himself, that great monarch sent asaph, the son of barakhia, his chief minister, to apprehend me. that was accordingly done. asaph seized my person, and brought me by force before his master's throne. "solomon, the son of david, commanded me to acknowledge his power, and to submit to his commands: i bravely refused, and told him, i would rather expose myself to his resentment, than swear fealty as he required. to punish me, he shut me up in this copper vessel; and that i might not break my prison, he himself stamps upon this leaden cover, his seal with the great name of god engraver upon it. he then gave the vessel to one of the genies who had submitted, with orders to throw me into the sea, which to my sorrow were executed. "during the first hundred years of my imprisonment, i swore that if any one should deliver me before the expiration of that period, i would make him rich, even after his death: but that century ran out, and nobody did me that good office. during the second, i made an oath, that i would open all the treasures of the earth to any one that might set me at liberty; but with no better success. in the third, i promised to make my deliverer a potent monarch, to be always near him in spirit, and to grant him every day three requests, of what nature soever they might be: but this century passed as well as the two former, and i continued in prison. at last being angry, or rather mad, to find myself a prisoner so long, i swore, that if afterwards any one should deliver me, i would kill him without mercy, and grant him no other favour but to choose the manner of his death; and therefore, since thou hast delivered me to-day, i give thee that choice." this discourse afflicted the fisherman extremely: "i am very unfortunate," cried he, "to come hither to do such a kindness to one that is so ungrateful. i beg you to consider your injustice, and revoke such an unreasonable oath; pardon me, and heaven will pardon you; if you grant me my life, heaven will protest you from all attempts against your own." "no, thy death is resolved on," said the genie, "only choose in what manner you will die." the fisherman perceiving the genie to be resolute, was extremely grieved, not so much for himself, as on account of his three children; and bewailed the misery they must be reduced to by his death. he endeavoured still to appease the genie, and said, "alas! be pleased to take pity on me, in consideration of the service i have done you." "i have told thee already," replied the genie, "it is for that very reason i must kill thee." "that is strange," said the fisherman, "are you resolved to reward good with evil? the proverb says, â��that he who does good to one who deserves it not is always ill rewarded.' i must confess, i thought it was false; for certainly there can be nothing more contrary to reason, or the laws of society. nevertheless, i find now by cruel experience that it is but too true." "do not lose time," interrupted the genie; "all thy reasonings shall not divert me from my purpose: make haste, and tell me what kind of death thou preferest?" necessity is the mother of invention. the fisherman bethought himself of a stratagem. "since i must die then," said he to the genie, "i submit to the will of heaven; but before i choose the manner of my death, i conjure you by the great name which was engraver upon the seal of the prophet solomon, the son of david, to answer me truly the question i am going to ask you." the genie finding himself obliged to a positive answer by this adjuration, trembled; and replied to the fisherman, "ask what thou wilt, but make haste." the fisherman then said to him, "i wish to know if you were actually in this vessel: dare you swear it by the name of the great god?" "yes," replied the genie, "i do swear by that great name, that i was." "in good faith," answered the fisherman, "i cannot believe you; the vessel is not capable of holding one of your size, and how should it be possible that your whole body should lie in it?" "i swear to thee, notwithstanding," replied the genie, "that i was there just as you see me here: is it possible, that thou cost not believe me after the solemn oath i have taken?" "truly not i," said the fisherman; "nor will i believe you, unless you go into the vessel again." upon which the body of the genie dissolved and changed itself into smoke, extending as before upon the sea shore; and at last, being collected, it began to re-enter the vessel, which it continued to do by a slow and equal motion, till no part remained out; when immediately a voice came forth, which said to the fisherman, "well now, incredulous fellow, i am in the vessel, do not you believe me now?" the fisherman, instead of answering the genie, took the cover of lead, and having speedily replaced it on the vessel, "genie," cried he, "now it is your turn to beg my favour, and to choose which way i shall put you to death; but not so, it is better that i should throw you into the sea, whence i took you: and then i will build a house upon the shore, where i will reside and give notice to all fishermen who come to throw in their nets, to beware of such a wicked genie as thou art, who hast made an oath to kill him that shall set thee at liberty." the genie, enraged at these expressions, struggled to set himself at liberty; but it was impossible, for the impression of solomon's seal prevented him. perceiving that the fisherman had got the advantage of him, for he thought fit to dissemble his anger; "fishermen," said he, "take heed you do not what you threaten; for what i spoke to you was only by way of jest." "o genie!" replied the fisherman, "thou who wast but a moment ago the greatest of all genies, and now art the least of them, thy crafty discourse will signify nothing, to the sea thou shalt return. if thou hast been there already so long as thou hast told me, thou may'st very well stay there till the day of judgment. i begged of thee in god's name not to take away my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; i am obliged to treat thee in the same manner." the genie omitted nothing that he thought likely to prevail with the fisherman: "open the vessel," said he, "give me my liberty, and i promise to satisfy thee to thy own content." "thou art a traitor," replied the fisherman, "i should deserve to lose my life, if i were such a fool as to trust thee: thou wilt not fail to treat me in the same manner as a certain grecian king treated the physician douban. it is a story i have a mind to tell thee, therefore listen to it." the story of the grecian king and the physician douban. there was in the country of yunaun or greece, a king who was leprous, and his physicians had in vain endeavoured his cure; when a very able physician, named douban, arrived at his court. this physician had learnt the theory of his profession in greek, persian, turkish, arabic, latin, syriac, and hebrew books; he was an experienced natural philosopher, and fully understood the good and bad qualities of plants and drugs. as soon as he was informed of the king's distemper, and understood that his physicians had given him over, he found means to present himself before him. "i know," said he, after the usual ceremonials, "that your majesty's physicians have not been able to heal you of the leprosy; but if you will accept my service, i will engage to cure you without potions, or external applications." the king listened to what he said, and answered, "if you be able to perform what you promise, i will enrich you and your posterity. do you assure me that you will cure my leprosy without potion, or applying any external medicine?" "yes, sire," replied the physician, "i promise myself success, through god's assistance, and to-morrow, with your majesty's permission, i will make the trial." the physician returned to his quarters, made a hollow mace, and at the handle he put in his drugs; he made also a ball in such a manner as suited his purpose, with which next morning he presented himself before the king, and falling down at his feet, kissed the ground. the physician douban rose up, and after a profound reverence, said to the king, he judged it meet that his majesty should take horse, and go to the place where he used to play at mall. the king did so, and when he arrived there, the physician came to him with the mace, and said, "exercise yourself with this mace, and strike the ball until you find your hands and body perspire. when the medicine i have put up in the handle of the mace is heated with your hand, it will penetrate your whole body; and as soon as you perspire, you may leave off the exercise, for then the medicine will have had its effect. immediately on your return to your palace, go into the bath, and cause yourself to be well washed and rubbed; then retire to bed, and when you rise to- morrow you will find yourself cured." the king took the mace, and struck the ball, which was returned by his officers who played with him; he played so long, that his hands and his whole body were in a sweat, and then the medicine shut up in the handle of the mace had its operation, as the physician had said. upon this the king left off play, returned to his palace, entered the bath, and observed very exactly his physician had prescribed to him. the next morning when he arose, he perceived with equal wonder and joy, that his leprosy was cured, and his body as clean as if it had never been affected. as soon as he was dressed, he came into the hall of audience, where he ascended his throne, and shewed himself to his courtiers: who, eager to know the success of the new medicine, came thither betimes, and when they saw the king perfectly cured, expressed great joy. the physician douban entering the hall, bowed himself before the throne, with his face to the ground. the king perceiving him, made him sit down by his side, presented him to the assembly, and gave him all the commendation he deserved. his majesty did not stop here: but as he treated all his court that day, made him eat at his table alone with him. the grecian king was not satisfied with having admitted the physician douban to his table, but caused him to be clad in a rich robe, ordered him two thousand pieces of gold, and thinking that he could never sufficiently acknowledge his obligations to him, continued every day to load him with new favours. but this king had a vizier, who was avaricious, envious, and naturally capable of every kind of mischief. he could not behold without envy the presents that were given to the physician, whose other merits had already begun to make him jealous, and he therefore resolved to lessen him in the king's esteem. to effect this, he went to the king, and told him in private, that he had some information of the greatest consequence to communicate. the king having asked what it was? "sire," said he, "it is highly dangerous for a monarch to confide in a man whose fidelity he has never tried. though you heap favours upon the physician douban, your majesty does not know that he is a traitor, sent by your enemies to take away your life." "from whom," demanded the king, "have you the suggestion which you dare pronounce? consider to whom you are speaking, and that you are advancing what i shall not easily believe." "sire," replied the vizier, "i am well informed of what i have had the honour to reveal to your majesty; therefore do not rest in dangerous security: if your majesty be asleep, be pleased to awake; for i once more repeat, that the physician douban left his native country, and came to settle himself at your court, for the sole purpose of executing the horrible design which i have intimated." "no, no, vizier," interrupted the king; "i am certain, that this physician, whom you suspect to be a villain and a traitor, is one of the best and most virtuous of men. you know by what medicine, or rather by what miracle, he cured me of my leprosy: if he had had a design upon my life, why did he save me then? he needed only to have left me to my disease; i could not have escaped it, as life was fast decaying. forbear then to fill me with unjust suspicions: instead of listening to you, i tell you, that from this day forward i will give that great man a pension of a thousand pieces of gold per month for his life; nay, though i were to share with him all my riches and dominions, i should never pay him sufficiently for what he has done. i perceive it to be his virtue that raises your envy; but do not think i will be unjustly prejudiced against him. i remember too well what a vizier said to king sinbad, his master, to prevent his putting to death the prince his son." what the grecian king said about king sinbad raised the vizier's curiosity, who said, "i pray your majesty to pardon me, if i have the boldness to ask what the vizier of king sinbad said to his master to divert him from putting the prince his son to death." the grecian king had the condescension to satisfy him: "that vizier," said he, "after having represented to king sinbad, that he ought to beware, lest on the accusation of a mother-in-law he should commit an action of which he might afterwards repent, told him this story." the story of the husband and the parrot. a certain man had a beautiful wife, whom he loved so dearly, that he could scarcely allow her to be out of his sight. one day, some urgent affairs obliging him to go from home, he went to a place where all sorts of birds were sold, and bought a parrot, which not only spoke well, but could also give an account of every thing that was done in its presence. he brought it in a cage to his house, desired his wife to put it in his chamber, and take care of it during his absence, and then departed. on his return, he questioned the parrot concerning what had passed while he was from home, and the bird told him such things as gave him occasion to upbraid his wife. she concluded some of her slaves had betrayed her, but all of them swore they had been faithful, and agreed that the parrot must have been the tell- tale. upon this, the wife began to devise how she might remove her husband's jealousy, and at the same time revenge herself on the parrot. her husband being gone another journey, she commanded a slave in the night-time to turn a hand-mill under the parrot's cage; she ordered another to sprinkle water, in resemblance of rain, over the cage; and a third to move a looking-glass, backward and forward against a candle, before the parrot. the slaves spent a great part of the night in doing what their mistress desired them, and acquitted themselves with much skill. next night the husband returned, and examined the parrot again about what had passed during his absence. the bird answered, "good master, the lightning, thunder, and rain so much disturbed me all night, that i cannot tell how much i suffered." the husband, who knew that there had been neither thunder, lightning, nor rain in the night, fancied that the parrot, not having spoken truth in this, might also have lied in the other relation; upon which he took it out of the cage, and threw it with so much force to the ground that he killed it. yet afterwards he understood from his neigbours, that the poor parrot had not deceived him in what it had stated of his wife's base conduct, made him repent that he had killed it. when the grecian king had finished the story of the parrot, he added, "and you, vizier, because of the hatred you bear to the physician douban, who never did you any injury, you would have me cut him off; but i will beware lest i should repent as the husband did after killing his parrot." the mischievous vizier was too desirous of effecting the ruin of the physician douban to stop here. "sir," said he, "the death of the parrot was but a trifle, and i believe his master did not mourn for him long: but why should your fear of wronging an innocent man, hinder your putting this physician to death? is it not sufficient justification that he is accused of a design against your life? when the business in question is to secure the life of a king, bare suspicion ought to pass for certainty; and it is better to sacrifice the innocent than to spare the guilty. but, sir, this is not a doubtful case; the physician douban has certainly a mind to assassinate you. it is not envy which makes me his enemy; it is only my zeal, with the concern i have for preserving your majesty's life, that makes me give you my advice in a matter of this importance. if the accusation be false, i deserve to be punished in the same manner as a vizier formerly was." "what had the vizier done," demands the grecian king, "to deserve punishment?" "i will inform your majesty," said the vizier, "if you will be pleased to hear me." the story of the vizier that was punished. there was a king who had a son that loved hunting. he allowed him to pursue that diversion often; but gave orders to his grand vizier always to attend him. one hunting day, the huntsman having roused a deer, the prince, who thought the vizier followed him, pursued the game so far, and with so much earnestness, that he separated himself from the company. perceiving he had lost his way he stopped, and endeavoured to return to the vizier; but not knowing the country he wandered farther. whilst he was thus riding about, he met on his way a handsome lady, who wept bitterly. he stopped his horse, and enquired who she was, how she came to be alone in that place, and what she wanted. "i am," replied she, "the daughter of an indian king. as i was taking the air on horseback, in the country, i grew sleepy, and fell from my horse, who is run away, and i know not what is become of him." the young prince taking compassion on her, requested her to get up behind him, which she willingly did. as they were passing by the ruins of a house, the lady expressed a desire to alight. the prince stopped, and having put her down, dismounted himself, and went near the building, leading his horse after him. but you may judge how much he was surprised, when he heard the pretended lady utter these words: "be glad, my children, i bring you a young man for your repast;" and other voices, which answered immediately, "where is he, for we are very hungry?" the prince heard enough to convince him of his danger. he perceived that the lady, who called herself the daughter of an indian king, was one of those savage demons, called gholes, who live in desolated places, and employ a thousand wiles to surprise passengers, whom they afterwards devour. the prince instantly remounted his horse, and luckily escaped. the pretended princess appeared that very moment, and perceiving she had missed her prey, exclaimed, "fear nothing, prince: who are you? whom do you seek?" "i have lost my way," replied he, "and am endeavouring to find it." "if you have lost your way," said she, "recommend yourself to god, he will deliver you out of your perplexity." after the counterfeit indian princess had bidden the young prince recommend himself to god, he could not believe she spoke sincerely, but thought herself sure of him; and therefore lifting up his hands to heaven, said, "almighty lord, cast shine eyes upon me, and deliver me from this enemy." after this prayer, the ghole entered the ruins again, and the prince rode off with all possible haste. he happily found his way, and arrived safe at the court of his father, to whom he gave a particular account of the danger he had been in through the vizier's neglect: upon which the king, being incensed against that minister, ordered him to be immediately strangled. "sir," continued the grecian king's vizier, "to return to the physician douban, if you do not take care, the confidence you put in him will be fatal to you; i am very well assured that he is a spy sent by your enemies to attempt your majesty's life. he has cured you, you will say: but alas! who can assure you of that? he has perhaps cured you only in appearance, and not radically; who knows but the medicine he has given you, may in time have pernicious effects?" the grecian king was not able to discover the wicked design of his vizier, nor had he firmness enough to persist in his first opinion. this discourse staggered him: "vizier," said he, "thou art in the right; he may be come on purpose to take away my life, which he may easily do by the smell of his drugs." when the vizier found the king in such a temper as he wished, "sir," said he, "the surest and speediest method you can take to secure your life, is to send immediately for the physician douban, and order his head to be struck off." "in truth," said the king, "i believe that is the way we must take to frustrate his design." when he had spoken thus, he called for one of his officers, and ordered him to go for the physician; who, knowing nothing of the king's purpose, came to the palace in haste. "knowest thou," said the king, when he saw him, "why i sent for thee?" "no, sir," answered he; "i wait till your majesty be pleased to inform me." "i sent for thee," replied the king, "to rid myself of thee, by taking away thy life." no man can express the surprise of the physician, when he heard the sentence of death pronounced against him. "sir," said he, "why would your majesty take my life? what crime have i committed?" "i am informed," replied the king, "that you came to my court only to attempt my life; but to prevent you, i will be sure of yours. give the blow," said he to the executioner, who was present, "and deliver me from a perfidious wretch, who came hither on purpose to assassinate me." when the physician heard this cruel order, he readily judged that the honours and presents he had received from the king had procured him enemies, and that the weak prince was imposed on. he repented that he had cured him of his leprosy; but it was now too late. "is it thus," asked the physician, "that you reward me for curing you?" the king would not hearken to him, but a second time ordered the executioner to strike the fatal blow. the physician then had recourse to his prayers; "alas, sir," cried he, "prolong my days, and god will prolong yours; do not put me to death, lest god treat you in the same manner." the fisherman broke off his discourse here, to apply it to the genie. "well, genie," said he, "you see that what passed betwixt the grecian king and his physician douban is acted just now by us." the grecian king, continued he, instead of having regard to the prayers of the physician, who begged him to spare his life, cruelly replied, "no, no; i must of necessity cut you off, otherwise you may assassinate with as much art as you cured me." the physician, without bewailing himself for being so ill rewarded by the king, prepared for death. the executioner tied his hands, and was going to draw his cimeter. the courtiers who were present, being moved with compassion, begged the king to pardon him, assuring his majesty that he was not guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and that they would answer for his innocence: but the king was inflexible. the physician being on his knees, his eyes tied up, and ready to receive the fatal blow, addressed himself once more to the king: "sir," said he, "since your majesty will not revoke the sentence of death, i beg, at least, that you would give me leave to return to my house, to give orders about my burial, to bid farewell to my family, to give alms, and to bequeath my books to those who are capable of making good use of them. i have one particularly i would present to your majesty; it is a very precious book, and worthy of being laid up carefully in your treasury." "what is it," demanded the king, "that makes it so valuable?" "sir," replied the physician, "it possesses many singular and curious properties; of which the chief is, that if your majesty will give yourself the trouble to open it at the sixth leaf, and read the third line of the left page, my head, after being cut off, will answer all the questions you ask it." the king being curious, deferred his death till next day, and sent him home under a strong guard. the physician, during that time, put his affairs in order; and the report being spread, that an unheard of prodigy was to happen after his death, the viziers, emirs, officers of the guard, and, in a word, the whole court, repaired next day to the hall of audience, that they might be witnesses of it. the physician douban was brought in, and advancing to the foot of the throne, with a book in his hand, he called for a basin, and laid upon it the cover in which the book was wrapped; then presenting the book to the king, "take this," said he, "and after my head is cut off, order that it be put into the basin upon that cover; as soon as it is placed there, the blood will stop; then open the book, and my head will answer your questions. but permit me once more to implore your majesty's clemency; for god's sake grant my request, i protest to you that i am innocent." "your prayers," answered the king, "are in vain; and were it for nothing but to hear your head speak after your death, it is my will you should die." as he said this, he took the book out of the physician's hand, and ordered the executioner to do his duty. the head was so dexterously cut off that it fell into the basin, and was no sooner laid upon the cover of the book than the blood stopped; then to the great surprise of the king, and all the spectators, its eyes, and said, "sir, will your majesty be pleased to open the book?" the king proceeded to do so; but finding that the leaves adhered to each other, that he might turn them with more ease, he put his finger to his mouth, and wetted it with spittle. he did thus till he came to the sixth leaf, and finding no writing on the place where he was desired to look for it, "physician," said he, "there is nothing written." "turn over some more leaves," replied the head. the king went on, putting always his finger to his mouth, until the poison with which each leaf was imbued, coming to have its effect, the prince found himself suddenly taken with an extraordinary fit, his eye-sight failed, and he fell down at the foot of the throne in violent convulsions. when the physician douban, or rather his head, saw that the poison had taken effect, and that the king had but a few moments to live; "tyrant," it cried, "now you see how princes are treated, who, abusing their authority, cut off innocent men: god punishes soon or late their injustice and cruelty." scarcely had the head spoken these words, when the king fell down dead, and the head itself lost what life it had. as soon as the fisherman had concluded the history of the greek king and his physician douban, he made the application to the genie, whom he still kept shut up in the vessel. "if the grecian king," said he, "had suffered the physician to live, god would have continued his life also; but he rejected his most humble prayers, and the case is the same with thee, o genie! could i have prevailed with thee to grant me the favour i supplicated, i should now take pity on thee; but since, notwithstanding the extreme obligation thou west under to me, for having set thee at liberty, thou didst persist in thy design to kill me, i am obliged, in my turn, to be equally hard-hearted to thee." "my good friend fisherman," replied the genie, "i conjure thee once more, not to be guilty of such cruelty; consider, that it is not good to avenge one's self, and that on the other hand, it is commendable to do good for evil; do not treat me as imama formerly treated ateca." "and what did imama to ateca?" enquired the fisherman. "ho!" says the genie, "if you have a mind to be informed, open the vessel: do you think that i can be in an humour to relate stories in so strait a prison? i will tell you as many as you please, when you have let me out." "no," said the fisherman, "i will not let thee out; it is in vain to talk of it; i am just going to throw thee into the bottom of the sea." "hear me one word more," cried the genie; "i promise to do thee no hurt; nay, far from that, i will shew thee a way to become exceedingly rich." the hope of delivering himself from poverty, prevailed with the fisherman. "i could listen to thee," said he, "were there any credit to be given to thy word; swear to me by the great name of god, that you will faithfully perform what you promise, and i will open the vessel; i do not believe you will dare to break such an oath." the genie swore to him, upon which the fisherman immediately took off the covering of the vessel. at that instant the smoke ascended, and the genie having resumed his form, the first thing he did was to kick the vessel into the sea. this action alarmed the fisherman. "genie," said he, "will not you keep the oath you just now made? and must i say to you, as the physician douban said to the grecian king, suffer me to live, and god will prolong your days." the genie laughed at the fisherman's fear, and answered, "no, fisherman, be not afraid, i only did it to divert myself, and to see if thou wouldst be alarmed at it: but to convince thee that i am in earnest, take thy nets and follow me." as he spoke these words, he walked before the fisherman, who having taken up his nets, followed him, but with some distrust. they passed by the town, and came to the top of a mountain, from whence they descended into a vast plain, which brought them to a lake, that lay betwixt four hills. when they reached the side of the lake, the genie said to the fisherman, "cast in thy nets, and catch fish; "the fisherman did not doubt of taking some, because he saw a great number in the water; but he was extremely surprised, when he found they were of four colours, that is to say, white, red, blue, and yellow. he threw in his nets, and brought out one of each colour. having never seen the like before, he could not but admire them, and judging that he might get a considerable sum for them, he was very joyful. "carry those fish," said the genie to him, "and present them to thy sultan; he will give thee more money for them. thou mayest come every day to fish in this lake; but i give thee warning not to throw in thy nets above once a day, otherwise thou wilt repent." having spoken thus, he struck his foot upon the ground, which opened, and after it had swallowed him up closed again. the fisherman being resolved to follow the genie's advice, forbore casting in his nets a second time; and returned to the town very well satisfied; and making a thousand reflections upon his adventure. he went immediately to the sultan's palace, to offer his fish. the sultan was much surprised, when he saw the four fish which the fisherman presented. he took them up one after another, and viewed them with attention; and after having admired them a long time, "take those fish," said he to his vizier, "and carry them to the cook, whom the emperor of the greeks has sent me. i cannot imagine but that they must be as good as they are beautiful." the vizier, carried them as he was directed, and delivering them to the cook, said, "here are four fish just brought to the sultan; he orders you to dress them:" he then returned to the sultan his master, who ordered him to give the fisherman four hundred pieces of gold of the coin of that country, which he did accordingly. the fisherman, who had never seen so much money, could scarcely believe his good fortune, but thought the whole must be a dream, until he found it otherwise, by being able to provide necessaries for his family with the produce of his fish. as soon as the sultan's cook had gutted the fish, she put them upon the fire in a frying-pan, with oil, and when she thought them fried enough on one side, she turned them upon the other; but, o monstrous prodigy! scarcely were they turned, when the wall of the kitchen divided, and a young lady of wonderful beauty entered from the opening. she was clad in flowered satin, after the egyptian manner, with pendants in her ears, a necklace of large pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies, with a rod in her hand. she moved towards the frying-pan, to the great amazement of the cook, who continued fixed by the sight, and striking one of the fish with the end of the rod, said, "fish, fish, are you in duty?" the fish having answered nothing, she repeated these words, and then the four fish lifted up their heads, and replied, "yes, yes: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." as soon as they had finished these words, the lady overturned the frying-pan, and returned into the open part of the wall, which closed immediately, and became as it was before. the cook was greatly frightened at what had happened, and coming a little to herself, went to take up the fish that had fallen on the hearth, but found them blacker than coal, and not fit to be carried to the sultan. this grievously troubled her, and she fell to weeping most bitterly. "alas!" said she, "what will become of me? if i tell the sultan what i have seen, i am sure he will not believe me, but will be enraged against me." while she was thus bewailing herself, the grand vizier entered, and asked her if the fish were ready? she told him all that had occurred, which we may easily imagine astonished him; but without speaking a word of it to the sultan, he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and sending immediately for the fisherman, bid him bring four more such fish, for a misfortune had befallen the others, so that they were not fit to be carried to the sultan. the fisherman, without saying any thing of what the genie had told him, in order to excuse himself from bringing them that day, told the vizier, he had a great way to go for them, but would certainly bring them on the morrow. accordingly the fisherman went away by night, and coming to the lake, threw in his nets betimes next morning, took four fish like the former, and brought them to the vizier, at the hour appointed. the minister took them himself, carried them to the kitchen, and shutting himself up with the cook, she gutted them, and put them on the fire, as she had done the four others the day before. when they were fried on one side, and she had turned them upon the other, the kitchen wall again opened, and the same lady came in with the rod in her hand, struck one of the fish, spoke to it as before, and all four gave her the same answer. after the four fish had answered the young lady, she overturned the frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the wall. the grand vizier, being witness to what had passed: "this is too wonderful and extraordinary," said he, "to be concealed from the sultan; i will inform him of this prodigy." the sultan, being much surprised, sent immediately for the fisherman, and said to him, "friend, cannot you bring me four more such fish?" the fisherman replied, "if your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days, i will do it." having obtained his time, he went to the lake immediately, and at the first throwing in of his net, he caught four fish, and brought them directly to the sultan; who was so much the more rejoiced, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him four hundred pieces of gold. as soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to be carried into his closet, with all that was necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up with the vizier, the minister gutted them, put them into the pan, and when they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came out a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with a great green staff in his hand. he advanced towards the pan, and touching one of the fish with his staff, said with a terrible voice, "fish, are you in your duty?" at these words, the fish raised up their heads, and answered, "yes, yes; we are: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." the fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced the fish to a coal. having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again into the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it did before. "after what i have seen," said the sultan to the vizier, "it will not be possible for me to be easy: these fish, without doubt, signify something extraordinary." he sent for the fisherman, and when he came, said to him, "fisherman, the fish you have brought us, make me very uneasy; where did you catch them?" "sir," answered he, "i fished for them in a lake situated betwixt four hills, beyond the mountain that we see from hence." "knowst thou not that lake?" said the sultan to the vizier. "no," replied the vizier. "i never so much as heard of it, although i have for sixty years hunted beyond that mountain." the sultan asked the fisherman, how far the lake might be from the palace? the fisherman answered, it was not above three hours journey; upon this assurance, the sultan commanded all his court to take horse, and the fisherman served them for a guide. they all ascended the mountain, and at the foot of it they saw, to their great surprise, a vast plain, that nobody had observed till then, and at last they came to the lake, which they found to be situated betwixt four hills as the fisherman had described. the water was so transparent, that they observed all the fish to be like those which the fisherman had brought to the palace. the sultan stood upon the bank of the lake, and after beholding the fish with admiration, demanded of his courtiers, if it were possible they had never seen this lake, which was within so short a distance of the town. they all answered, that they had never so much as heard of it. "since you all agree that you never heard of it, and as i am no less astonished than you are, at this novelty, i am resolved not to return to my palace till i learn how this lake came here, and why all the fish in it are of four colours." having spoken thus, he ordered his court to encamp; and immediately his pavilion and the tents of his household were planted upon the banks of the lake. when night came, the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke to the grand vizier. thus: "vizier, my mind is uneasy: this lake transported hither; the black that appeared to us in my closet, and the fish that we heard speak; all these things so much excite my curiosity, that i cannot resist my impatient desire to have it satisfied. to this end, i am resolved to withdraw alone from the camp, and i order you to keep my absence secret: stay in my pavilion, and to-morrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers come to attend my levee, send them away, and tell them, that i am somewhat indisposed, and wish to be alone; and the following days tell them the same thing, till i return." the grand vizier. endeavoured to divert the sultan from this design; he represented to him the danger to which he might be exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain: but it was to no purpose; the sultan was resolved. he put on a suit fit for walking, and took his cimeter; and as soon as he found that all was quiet in the camp, went out alone, and passed over one of the hills without much difficulty; he found the descent still more easy, and when he came to the plain, walked on till the sun arose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a vast building. he rejoiced at the sight, in hopes of receiving there the information he sought. when he drew near, he found it was a magnificent palace, or rather a strong castle, of black polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as glass. being highly pleased that he had so speedily met with something worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle, and considered it with attention. he then advanced towards the gate, which had two leaves, one of them open; though he might immediately have entered, yet he thought it best to knock. this he did at first softly, and waited for some time; but seeing no one, and supposing he had not been heard, he knocked harder the second time, and after that he knocked again and again, but no one yet appearing, he was exceedingly surprised; for he could not think that a castle in such repair was without inhabitants. "if there be no one in it," said he to himself, "i have nothing to fear; and if it be inhabited, i have wherewith to defend myself." at last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cried, "is there no one here to receive a stranger, who comes in for some refreshment as he passes by?" he repeated the same words two or three times; but though he spoke very loud, he was not answered. the silence increased his astonishment: he came into a spacious court, and looked on every side for inhabitants, but discovered none. the sultan entered the grand halls, which were hung with silk tapestry, the alcoves and sofas were covered with stuffs of mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of india, mixed with gold and silver. he came afterwards into a superb saloon, in the middle of which was a fountain, with a lion of massy gold at each angle: water issued from the mouths of the four lions; and as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls, resembling a jet d'eau, which springing from the middle of the fountain, rose nearly to the top of a cupola painted in arabesque. the castle, on three sides, was encompassed by a garden, with parterres of flowers, shrubbery, and whatever could concur to embellish it; and to complete the beauty of the place, an infinite number of birds filled the air with their harmonious notes, and always remained there, nets being spread over the garden, and fastened to the palace to confine them. the sultan walked from apartment to apartment, where he found every thing rich and magnificent. being tired with walking, he sat down in a verandah or arcade closet, which had a view over the garden, reflecting what he had already seen, and then beheld: when suddenly he heard the voice of one complaining, in lamentable tones. he listened with attention, and heard distinctly these words: "o fortune! thou who wouldst not suffer me longer to enjoy a happy lot, forbear to persecute me, and by a speedy death put an end to my sorrows. alas! is it possible that i am still alive, after so many torments as i have suffered!" the sultan rose up, advanced toward the place whence he heard the voice; and coming to the door of a great hall, opened it, and saw a handsome young man, richly habited, seated upon a throne raised a little above the ground. melancholy was painted on his countenance. the sultan drew near, and saluted him; the young man returned his salutation by an inclination of his head, not being able to rise, at the same time saying, "my lord, i should rise to receive you; but am hindered by sad necessity, and therefore hope you will not be offended." "my lord," replied the sultan, "i am much obliged to you for having so good an opinion of me: as to the reason of your not rising, whatever your apology be, i heartily accept it. being drawn hither by your complaints, and afflicted by your grief, i come to offer you my help; would to god that it lay in my power to ease you of your trouble! i would do my utmost to effect it. i flatter myself that you will relate to me the history of your misfortunes; but inform me first of the meaning of the lake near the palace, where the fish are of four colours? whose this castle is? how you came to be here? and why you are alone?" instead of answering these questions, the young man began to weep bitterly. "how inconstant is fortune!" cried he; "she takes pleasure to pull down those she had raised. where are they who enjoy quietly the happiness which they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and serene?" the sultan, moved with compassion to see him in such a condition, prayed him to relate the cause of his excessive grief. "alas! my lord," replied the young man, "how is it possible but i should grieve, and my eyes be inexhaustible fountains of tears?" at these words, lifting up his robe, he shewed the sultan that he was a man only from the head to the girdle, and that the other half of his body was black marble. the sultan was much surprised, when he saw the deplorable condition of the young man. "that which you shew me," said he, "while it fills me with horror, excites my curiosity, so that i am impatient to hear your history, which, no doubt, must be extraordinary, and i am persuaded that the lake and the fish make some part of it; therefore i conjure you to relate it. you will find some comfort in so doing, since it is certain, that the unfortunate find relief in making known their distress." "i will not refuse your request," replied the young man, "though i cannot comply without renewing my grief. but i give you notice before hand, to prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for things which surpass all that the imagination can conceive." the history of the young king of the black isles. you must know that my father, named mahmoud, was king of this country. this is the kingdom of the black isles, which takes its name from the four small neighbouring mountains; for these mountains were formerly isles: the capital where the king my father resided was situated on the spot now occupied by the lake you have seen. the sequel of my history will inform you of those changes. the king my father died when he was seventy years of age; i had no sooner succeeded him, than i married, and the lady i chose to share the royal dignity with me, was my cousin. i had so much reason to be satisfied with her affection, and, on my part, loved her with so much tenderness, that nothing could surpass the harmony and pleasure of our union. this lasted five years, at the end of which time, i perceived the queen, my cousin, ceased to delight in my attentions. one day, after dinner, while she was at the bath, i found myself inclined to repose and lay down upon a sofa. two of her ladies, who were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head, and the other at my feet, with fans in their hands to moderate the heat, and to prevent the flies from disturbing me. they thought i was asleep, and spoke in whispers; but as i only closed my eyes, i heard all their conversation. one of them said to the other, "is not the queen wrong, not to love so amiable a prince?" "certainly," replied the other; "i do not understand the reason, neither can i conceive why she goes out every night, and leaves him alone!" "is it possible that he does not perceive it?" "alas!" said the first, "how should he? she mixes every evening in his liquor, the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night, that she has time to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear, she comes and lies down by him again, and wakes him by the smell of something she puts under his nostrils." you may guess, my lord, how much i was surprised at this conversation, and with what sentiments it inspired me; yet, whatever emotion it excited, i had sufficient self-command to dissemble, and feigned to awake without having heard a word. the queen returned from the bath, we supped together and she presented me with a cup full of such water as i was accustomed to drink; but instead of putting it to my mouth, i went to a window that was open, and threw out the water so quickly, that she did not perceive it, and returned. we went to bed together, and soon after, believing that i was asleep, she got up with so little precaution, that she said loud enough for me to hear her distinctly, "sleep on, and may you never wake again!" she dressed herself, and went out of the chamber. as soon as the queen my wife was gone, i dressed myself in haste, took my cimeter, and followed her so quickly, that i soon heard the sound of her feet before me, and then walked softly after her, for fear of being heard. she passed through several gates, which opened upon her pronouncing some magical words, and the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. i stopt at this gate, that she might not perceive me, as she passed along a parterre; then looking after her as far as the darkness of the night permitted, i saw her enter a little wood, whose walks were guarded by thick palisadoes. i went thither by another way, and concealing myself behind the palisadoes of a long walk, i saw her walking there with a man. i did not fail to lend the most attentive ear to their discourse, and heard her address herself thus to her gallant: "i do not deserve to be reproached by you for want of diligence. you well know the reason; but if all the proofs of affection i have already given you be not sufficient to convince you of my sincerity, i am ready to give you others more decisive: you need but command me, you know my power; i will, if you desire it, before sun-rise convert this great city, and this superb palace, into frightful ruins, inhabited only by wolves, owls, and revens. if you would have me transport all the stones of those walls so solidly built, beyond mount caucasus, or the bounds of the habitable world, speak but the word, and all shall be changed." as the queen finished these words she and her lover came to the end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me. i had already drawn my cimeter, and her lover being next me, i struck him on the neck, and brought him to the ground. i concluded i had killed him, and therefore retired speedily without making myself known to the queen, whom i chose to spare, because she was my kinswoman. the wound i had given her lover was mortal; but by her enchantments she preserved him in an existence in which he could not be said to be either dead or alive. as i crossed the garden to return to the palace, i heard the queen loudly lamenting, and judging by her cries how much she was grieved, i was pleased that i had spared her life. as soon as i had reached my apartment, i went to bed, and being satisfied with having punished the villain who had injured me, fell asleep; and when i awoke next morning, found the queen lying. i cannot tell you whether she slept or not; but i arose, went to my closet, and dressed myself. i afterwards held my council. at my return, the queen, clad in mourning, her hair dishevelled, and part of it torn off, presented herself before me, and said; "i come to beg your majesty not to be surprised to see me in this condition. my heavy affliction is occasioned by intelligence of three distressing events which i have just received." "alas! what are they, madam?" said i. "the death of the queen my dear mother," she replied, "that of the king my father killed in battle, and of one of my brothers, who has fallen down a precipice." i was not displeased that she used this pretext to conceal the true cause of her grief, and i concluded she had not suspected me of being the author of her lover's death. "madam," said i, "so far from blaming, i assure you i heartily commiserate your sorrow. i should feel surprise if you were insensible to such heavy calamities: weep on; your tears are so many proofs of your tenderness; but i hope that time and reflection will moderate your grief." she retired into her apartment, where, giving herself wholly up to sorrow, she spent a whole year in mourning and lamentation. at the end of that period, she begged permission to erect a burying place for herself, within the bounds of the palace, where she would continue, she told me, to the end of her days: i consented, and she built a stately edifice, crowned by a cupola, which may be seen from hence, and called it the palace of tears. when it was finished, she caused her lover to be conveyed thither, from the place to which she had caused him to be carried the night i wounded him: she had hitherto prevented his dying, by potions which she had administered to him; and she continued to convey them to him herself every day after he came to the palace of tears. yet, with all her enchantments, she could not cure him; he was not only unable to walk or support himself, but had also lost the use of his speech, and exhibited no sign of life except in his looks. though the queen had no other consolation but to see him, and to say to him all that her senseless passion could inspire, yet every day she made him two long visits. i was well apprised of this, but pretended ignorance. one day my curiosity induced me to go to the palace of tears, to observe how the princess employed herself, and from a place where she could not see me, i heard her thus address her lover: "i am afflicted to the highest degree to behold you in this condition; i am as sensible as yourself of the tormenting pain you endure; but, dear soul, i am continually speaking to you, and you do not answer me: how long will you remain silent? speak only one word: alas! the sweetest moments of my life are these i spend here in partaking of your grief. i cannot live at a distance from you, and would prefer the pleasure of having you always before me, to the empire of the universe." at these words, which were several times interrupted by her sighs and sobs, i lost all patience: and discovering myself, came up to her, and said, "madam, you have wept enough, it is time to give over this sorrow, which dishonours both; you have too much forgotten what you owe to me and to yourself." "sire," said she, "if you have any kindness or compassion for me left, i beseech you to put no restraint upon me; allow me to indulge my grief, which it is impossible for time to assuage." when i perceived that my remonstrance, instead of restoring her to a sense of duty, served only to increase her anguish, i gave over and retired. she continued every day to visit her lover, and for two whole years abandoned herself to grief and despair. i went a second time to the palace of tears, while she was there. i concealed myself again, and heard her thus address her lover: "it is now three years since you spoke one word to me; you answer not the proofs i give you of my love by my sighs and lamentations. is it from insensibility, or contempt? o tomb! hast thou destroyed that excess of affection which he bare me? hast thou closed those eyes that evinced so much love, and were all my delight? no, no, this i cannot think. tell me rather, by what miracle thou becamest the depositary of the rarest treasure the world ever contained." i must confess, my lord, i was enraged at these expressions; for, in truth, this beloved, this adored mortal, was by no means what you would imagine him to have been. he was a black indian, one of the original natives of this country. i was so enraged at the language addressed to him, that i discovered myself, and apostrophising the tomb in my turn; i cried, "o tomb! why dost not thou swallow up that monster so revolting to human nature, or rather why dost not thou swallow up both the lover and his mistress?" i had scarcely uttered these words, when the queen, who sat by the black, rose up like a fury. "miscreant!" said she "thou art the cause of my grief; do not think i am ignorant of this, i have dissembled too long. it was thy barbarous hand that brought the objets of my fondness into this lamentable condition; and thou hast the cruelty to come and insult a despairing lover." "yes," said i, in a rage, "it was i that chastised that monster, according to his desert; i ought to have treated thee in the same manner; i now repent that i did not; thou hast too long abused my goodness." as i spoke these words, i drew out my cimeter, and lifted up my hand to punish her; but regarding me stedfastly, she said with a jeering smile, "moderate thy anger." at the same time, she pronounced words i did not understand; and afterwards added, "by virtue of my enchantments, i command thee to become half marble and half man." immediately, my lord, i became what you see, a dead man among the living, and a living man among the dead. after the cruel sorceress, unworthy of the name of queen, had metamorphosed me thus, and brought me into this hall, by another enchantment she destroyed my capital, which was very flourishing and populous; she annihilated the houses, the public places and markets, and reduced the site of the whole to the lake and desert plain you have seen; the fishes of four colours in the lake are the four kinds of inhabitants of different religions, which the city contained. the white are the moosulmauns; the red, the persians, who worship fire; the blue, the christians and the yellow, the jews. the four little hills were the four islands that gave name to this kingdom. i learned all this from the enchantress, who, to add to my affliction, related to me these effects of her rage. but this is not all; her revenge not being satisfied with the destruction of my dominions, and the metamorphosis of my person, she comes every day, and gives me over my naked shoulders a hundred lashes with a whip until i am covered with blood. when she has finished this part of my punishment, she throws over me a coarse stuff of goat's hair, and over that this robe of brocade, not to honour, but to mock me. when he came to this part of the narrative, the young king could not restrain his tears; and the sultan was himself so affected by the relation, that he could not find utterance for any words of consolation. shortly after, the young king, lifting up his eyes to heaven, exclaimed, "mighty creator of all things, i submit myself to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence: i endure my calamities with patience, since it is thy will things should be as they are; but i hope thy infinite goodness will ultimately reward me." the sultan, greatly moved by the recital of this affecting story, and anxious to avenge the sufferings of the unfortunate prince, said to him, "inform me whither this perfidious sorceress retires, and where may be found her vile paramour, who is entombed before his death." "my lord," replied the prince, "her lover, as i have already told you, is lodged in the palace of tears, in a superb tomb constructed in the form of a dome: this palace joins the castle on the side in which the gate is placed. as to the queen, i cannot tell you precisely whither she retires, but every day at sun-rise she goes to visit her paramour, after having executed her bloody vengeance upon me; and you see i am not in a condition to defend myself. she carries to him the potion with which she had hitherto prevented his dying, and always complains of his never having spoken to her since he was wounded." "prince," said the sultan, "your condition can never be sufficiently deplored: no one can be more sensibly affected by your misfortunes than i am. never did any thing so extraordinary befall any man, and those who write your history will have the advantage of relating what surpasses all that has hitherto been recorded. one thing only is wanting; the revenge to which you are entitled, and i will omit nothing in my power to effect it." in his subsequent conversation with the young prince, the sultan told him who he was, and for what purpose he had entered the castle; and afterwards informed him of a mode of revenge which he had devised. they agreed upon the measures they were to take for accomplishing their design, but deferred the execution of it till the following day. in the mean time, the night being far spent, the sultan took some rest; but the young prince passed the night as usual, without sleep, having never slept since he was enchanted, still indulging some hopes of being speedily delivered from his misery. next morning the sultan arose with the dawn, and prepared to execute his design, hiding his upper garment, which might encumber him; he then proceeded to the palace of tears. he found it lighted up with an infinite number of flambeaux of white wax, and perfumed by a delicious scent issuing from several censers of fine gold of admirable workmanship. as soon as he perceived the bed where the black lay, he drew his cimeter, and without resistance deprived him of his wretched life, dragged his corpse into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. after this, he went and lay down in the black's bed, placed his cimeter under the covering, and waited to complete his design. the queen arrived shortly after. she first went into the chamber of her husband, the king of the black islands, stripped him, and with unexampled barbarity gave him a hundred stripes. the unfortunate prince filled the palace with his lamentations, and conjured her in the most affecting tone to take pity on him; but the cruel wretch ceased not till she had given the usual number of blows. "you had no compassion on my lover," said she, "and you are to expect none from me." after the enchantress had given the king, her husband, a hundred blows with the whip, she put on again his covering of goat's hair, and his brocade gown over all; she went afterwards to the palace of tears, and as she entered renewed her tears and lamentations: then approaching the bed, where she thought her paramour lay, "what cruelty," cried she, "was it to disturb the satisfaction so tender and passionate a lover as i am? o cruel prince, who reproachest me that i am inhuman, when i make thee feel the effects of my resentment! does not thy barbarity surpass my vengeance? traitor! in attempting the life of the object which i adore, hast thou not robbed me of mine? alas!" said she, addressing herself to the sultan, conceiving him to be the black "my sun, my life, will you always be silent! are you resolved to let me die, without affording me the comfort of hearing again from your own lips that you love me? my soul, speak one word to me at least, i conjure you." the sultan, as if he had awaked out of a deep sleep, and counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks, answered the queen with a grave tone, "there is no strength or power but in god alone, who is almighty." at these words the enchantress, who did not expect them, uttered a loud exclamation of joy. "my dear lord," cried she, "do not i deceive myself; is it certain that i hear you, and that you speak to me?" "unhappy woman," said the sultan, "art thou worthy that i should answer thee?" "alas!" replied the queen, "why do you reproach me thus?" "the cries," returned the sultan, "the groans and tears of thy husband, whom thou treatest every day with so much indignity and barbarity, prevent my sleeping night or day. hadst thou disenchanted him, i should long since have been cured, and have recovered the use of my speech. this is the cause of my silence, of which you complain." "well," said the enchantress, "to pacify you, i am ready to execute your commands; would you have me restore him?" "yes," replied the sultan; "make haste to set him at liberty, that i be no longer disturbed by his lamentations." the enchantress went immediately out of the palace of tears; she took a cup of water, and pronounced some words over it, which caused it to boil, as if it had been on the fire. she afterwards proceeded to the young king her husband, and threw the water upon him, saying, "if the creator of all things did form thee as thou art at present; or if he be angry with thee, do not change; but if thou art in that condition merely by virtue of my enchantments, resume thy natural shape, and become what thou west before." she had scarcely spoken these words, when the prince, finding himself restored to his former condition, rose up and returned thanks to god. the enchantress then said to him, "get thee from this castle, and never return on pain of death." the young king, yielding to necessity, went away from the enchantress, without replying a word; and retired to a remote place, where he patiently awaited the event of the design which the sultan had so happily begun. meanwhile, the enchantress returned to the palace of tears, and supposing that she still spoke to the black, said, "dear love, i have done what you required; nothing now prevents your rising and giving me the satisfaction of which i have so long been deprived." the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks, said, "what you have now done is by no means sufficient for my cure; you have only removed a part of the evil; you must cut it up by the root." "my lovely black," resumed the queen, "what do you mean by the root?" "wretched woman," replied the sultan, "understand you not that i allude to the town, and its inhabitants, and the four islands, destroyed by thy enchantments? the fish every night at midnight raise their heads out of the lake, and cry for vengeance against thee and me. this is the true cause of the delay of my cure. go speedily, restore things to their former state, and at thy return i will give thee my hand, and thou shalt help me to arise." the enchantress, inspired with hope from these words, cried out in a transport of joy, "my heart, my soul, you shall soon be restored to your health, for i will immediately do as you command me." accordingly she went that instant, and when she came to the brink of the lake, she took a little water in her hand, and sprinkling it, had no sooner pronounced some words over the fish and the lake, than the city was immediately restored. the fish became men, women, and children; mahummedans, christians, persians, or jews; freemen or slaves, as they were before: every one having recovered his natural form. the houses and shops were immediately filled with their inhabitants, who found all things as they were before the enchantment. the sultan's numerous retinue, who found themselves encamped in the largest square, were astonished to see themselves in an instant in the middle of a large, handsome, well-peopled city. to return to the enchantress: as soon as she had effected this wonderful change, she returned with all expedition to the palace of tears, that she might receive her reward. "my dear lord," cried she, as she entered, "i come to rejoice with you in the return of your health: i have done all that you required of me, then pray rise, and give me your hand." "come near," said the sultan, still counterfeiting the pronunciation of the blacks. she did so. "you are not near enough," he continued, "approach nearer." she obeyed. he then rose up, and seizing her by the arm so suddenly, that she had not time to discover him, he with a blow of his cimeter cut her in two, so that one half fell one way and the other another. this done he left the body on the spot, and going out of the palace of tears, went to seek the young king of the black isles, who waited for him with great impatience. when he found him, "prince," said he, embracing him, "rejoice; you have now nothing to fear; your cruel enemy is dead." the young prince returned thanks to the sultan in a manner that sufficiently the sincerity of his gratitude, and in return wished him long life and happiness. "you may henceforward," said the sultan, "dwell peaceably in your capital, unless you will accompany me to mine, which is near: you shall there be welcome, and have as much honour and respect shown you as if you were in your own kingdom." "potent monarch, to whom i am so much indebted," replied the king, "you think then that you are near your capital?" "yes," said the sultan, "i know it is not above four or five hours' journey." "it will take you a whole year to return," said the prince "i do indeed believe that you came hither from your capital in the time you mention, because mine was enchanted; but since the enchantment is taken off, things are changed: however, this shall not prevent my following you, were it to the utmost corners of the earth. you are my deliverer, and that i may give you proofs of my acknowledging this during my whole life, i am willing to accompany you, and to leave my kingdom without regret." the sultan was extremely surprised to understand that he was so far from his dominions, and could not imagine how it could be. but the young king of the black islands convinced him beyond a possibility of doubt. then the sultan replied, "it is no matter; the trouble of returning to my own country is sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction of having obliged you, and by acquiring you for a son; for since you will do me the honour to accompany me, as i have no child, i look upon you as such, and from this moment appoint you my heir and successor." the conversation between the sultan and the king of the black islands concluded with most affectionate embraces, after which the young prince employed himself in making preparations for his journey, which were finished in three weeks, to the great regret of his court and subjects, who agreed to receive at his hands one of his nearest kindred for their monarch. at length, the sultan and the young prince began their journey, with a hundred camels laden with inestimable riches from the treasury of the young king, followed by fifty handsome gentlemen on horseback, perfectly well mounted and dressed they had a pleasant journey; and when the sultan, who had sent couriers to give advice of his delay, and of the adventure which had occasioned it, approached his capital, the principal officers came to receive him, and to assure him that his long absence had occasioned no alteration in his empire. the inhabitants also came out in great crowds, received him with acclamations, and made public rejoicings for several days. the day after his arrival the sultan gave all his courtiers a very ample account of the circumstances, which, contrary to his expectation, had detained him so long. he acquainted them with his having adopted the king of the four black islands, who was willing to leave a great kingdom, to accompany and live with him; and, in reward for their loyalty, he made each of them presents according to their rank. as for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him a plentiful fortune, which made him and his family happy the rest of their days. story of the three calenders, sons of sultans; and of the five ladies of bagdad. in the reign of caliph haroon al rusheed, there was at bagdad, a porter, who, notwithstanding his mean and laborious business, was a fellow of wit and good humour. one morning as he was at the place where he usually plyed, with a great basket, waiting for employment, a handsome young lady, covered with a great muslin veil, accosted him, and said with a pleasant air, "hark you, porter, take your basket and follow me." the porter, charmed with these words, pronounced in so agreeable a manner, took his basket immediately, set it on his head, and followed the lady, exclaiming, "o happy day, o day of good luck!" in a short time the lady stopped before a gate that was shut, and knocked: a christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened it; and she put money into his hand, without speaking; but the christian, who knew what she wanted, went in, and in a little time, brought a large jug of excellent wine. "take this jug," said the lady to the porter, "and put it in your basket." this being done, she commanded him to follow her; and as she proceeded, the porter continued his exclamation, "o happy day! this is a day of agreeable surprise and joy." the lady stopped at a fruit-shop, where she bought several sorts of apples, apricots, peaches, quinces, lemons, citrons, oranges; myrtles, sweet basil, lilies, jessamin, and some other flowers and fragrant plants; she bid the porter put all into his basket, and follow her. as she went by a butcher's stall, she made him weigh her twenty five pounds of his best meat, which she ordered the porter to put also into his basket. at another shop, she took capers, tarragon, cucumbers, sassafras, and other herbs, preserved in vinegar: at another, she bought pistachios, walnuts, filberts, almonds, kernels of pine-apples, and such other fruits; and at another, all sorts of confectionery. when the porter had put all these things into his basket, and perceived that it grew full, "my good lady," said he, "you ought to have given me notice that you had so much provision to carry, and then i would have brought a horse, or rather a camel, for the purpose; for if you buy ever so little more, i shall not be able to bear it." the lady laughed at the fellow's pleasant humour, and ordered him still to follow her. she then went to a druggist, where she furnished herself with all manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a great piece of ambergris, and several other indian spices; this quite filled the porter's basket, and she ordered him to follow her. they walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned with fine columns, and had a gate of ivory. there they stopped, and the lady knocked softly. while the young lady and the porter waited for the opening of the gate, the porter made a thousand reflections. he wondered that such a fine lady should come abroad to buy provisions; he concluded she could not be a slave, her air was too noble, and therefore he thought she must needs be a woman of quality. just as he was about to ask her some questions upon this head, another lady came to open the gate, and appeared to him so beautiful, that he was perfectly surprised, or rather so much struck with her charms, that he had nearly suffered his basket to fall, for he had never seen any beauty that equalled her. the lady who brought the porter with her, perceiving his disorder, and knowing the cause, was greatly diverted, and took so much pleasure in watching his looks, that she forgot the gate was opened. "pray, sister," said the beautiful portress, "come in, what do you stay for? do not you see this poor man so heavy laden, that he is scarcely able to stand," when she entered with the porter, the lady who had opened the gate shut it, and all three, after having passed through a splendid vestibule, entered a spacious court, encompassed with an open gallery, which had a communication with several apartments of extraordinary magnificence. at the farther end of the court there was a platform, richly furnished, with a throne of amber in the middle, supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls of an extraordinary size, and covered with red satin embroidered with indian gold of admirable workmanship. in the middle of the court there was a fountain, faced with white marble, and full of clear water, which was copiously supplied out of the mouth of a lion of brass. the porter, though heavy laden, could not but admire the magnificence of this house, and the excellent order in which every thing was placed; but what particularly captivated his attention, was a third lady, who seemed to be more beautiful than the second, and was seated upon the throne just mentioned; she descended as soon as she saw the two others, and advanced towards them: he judged by the respect which the other ladies showed her, that she was the chief, in which he was not mistaken. this lady was called zobeide, she who opened the gate safie, and she who went to buy the provisions was named amene. zobeide said to the two ladies, when she came to them, "sisters, do not you see that this honest man is ready to sink under his burden, why do not you ease him of it?" then amene and safie took the basket, the one before and the other behind; zobeide also assisted, and all three together set it on the ground; then emptied it; and when they had done, the beautiful amene took out money, and paid the porter liberally. the porter was well satisfied with the money he had received; but when he ought to have departed, he could not summon sufficient resolution for the purpose. he was chained to the spot by the pleasure of beholding three such beauties, who appeared to him equally charming; for amene having now laid aside her veil, proved to be as handsome as either of the others. what surprised him most was, that he saw no man about the house, yet most of the provisions he had brought in, as the dry fruits, and the several sorts of cakes and confections, were adapted chiefly for those who could drink and make merry. zobeide thought at first, that the porter staid only to take breath, but perceiving that he remained too long, "what do you wait for," said she, "are you not sufficiently paid?" and turning to amene. she continued, "sister, give him something more, that he may depart satisfied." "madam," replied the porter, "it is not that which detains me, i am already more than paid for my services; i am sensible that i act rudely in staying longer than i ought, but i hope you will the goodness to pardon me, when i tell you, that i am astonished not to see a man with three ladies of such extraordinary beauty: and you know that a company of women without men is as melancholy as a company of men without women." to this he added several other pleasant things, to prove what he said, and did not forget the bagdad proverb, "that the table is not completely furnished, except there be four in company:" and so concluded, that since they were but three, they wanted another. the ladies fell a laughing at the porter's reasoning; after which zobeide gravely addressed him, "friend, you presume rather too much; and though you do not deserve that i should enter into any explanation with you, i have no objection to inform you that we are three sisters, who transact our affairs with so much secrecy that no one knows any thing of them. we have but too much reason to be cautious of acquainting indiscreet persons with our counsel; and a good author that we have read, says, â��keep thy own secret, and do not reveal it to any one. he that makes his secret known it no longer its master. if thy own breast cannot keep thy counsel, how canst thou expect the breast of another to be more faithful?'" "my ladies," replied the porter, "by your very air, i judged at first that you were persons of extraordinary merit, and i conceive that i am not mistaken. though fortune has not given me wealth enough to raise me above my mean profession, yet i have not omitted to cultivate my mind as much as i could, by reading books of science and history; and allow me, i beseech you, to say, that i have also read in another author a maxim which i have always happily followed: â��we conceal our secret from such persons only as are known to all the world to want discretion, and would abuse our confidence; but we hesitate not to discover it to the prudent, because we know that with them it is safe.' a secret in my keeping is as secure as if it were locked up in a cabinet, the key of which is lost, and the door sealed up." zobeide perceiving that the porter was not deficient in wit, but thinking he wished to share in their festivity, answered him, smiling, "you know that we have been making preparations to regale ourselves, and that, as you have seen, at a considerable expense; it is not just that you should now partake of the entertainment without contributing to the cost." the beautiful safie seconded her sister, and said to the porter, "friend. have you never heard the common saying, â��if you bring something with you, you shall carry something away, but if you bring nothing, you shall depart empty?'" the porter, notwithstanding his rhetoric, must, in all probability, have retired in confusion, if amene had not taken his part, and said to zobeide and safie, "my dear sisters, i conjure you to let him remain; i need not tell you that he will afford us some diversion, of this you perceive he is capable: i assure you, had it not been for his readiness, his alacrity, and courage to follow me, i could not have done so much business, in so short a time; besides, where i to repeat to you all the obliging expressions he addressed to me by the way, you would not feel surprised at my taking his part." at these words of amene, the porter was so transported with joy, that he fell on his knees, kissed the ground at her feet, and raising himself up, said, "most beautiful lady, you began my good fortune to-day, and now you complete it by this generous conduct; i cannot adequately express my acknowledgments. as to the rest, ladies," said he, addressing himself to all the three sisters, "since you do me so great an honour, do not think that i will abuse it, or look upon myself as deserving of the distinction. no, i shall always look upon myself as one of your most humble slaves." when he had spoken these words he would have returned the money he had received, but zobeide ordered him to keep it. "what we have once given," said she, "to reward those who have served us, we never take back. my friend, in consenting to your staying with us, i must forewarn you, that it is not the only condition we impose upon you that you keep inviolable the secret we may entrust to you, but we also require you to attend to the strictest rules of good manners." during this address, the charming amene put off the apparel she went abroad with, and fastened her robe to her girdle that she might act with the greater freedom; she then brought in several sorts of meat, wine, and cups of gold. soon after, the ladies took their places, and made the porter sit down by them, who was overjoyed to see himself seated with three such admirable beauties. after they had eaten a little, amene took a cup, poured some wine into it, and drank first herself; she then filled the cup to her sisters, who drank in course as they sat; and at last she filled it the fourth time for the porter, who, as he received it, kissed amene's hand; and before he drank, sung a song to this purpose. that as the wind bears with it the sweet scents of the purfumed places over which it passes, so the wine he was going to drink, coming from her fair hands, received a more exquisite flavour than it naturally possessed. the song pleased the ladies much, and each of them afterwards sung one in her turn. in short, they were all very pleasant during the repast, which lasted a considerable time, and nothing was wanting that could serve to render it agreeable. the day drawing to a close, safie spoke in the name of the three ladies, and said to the porter, "arise, it is time for you to depart." but the porter, not willing to leave good company, cried, "alas! ladies, whither do you command me to go in my present condition? what with drinking and your society, i am quite beside myself. i shall never find the way home; allow me this night to recover myself, in any place you please, but go when i will, i shall leave the best part of myself behind." amene pleaded the second time for the porter, saying, "sisters, he is right, i am pleased with the request, he having already diverted us so well; and, if you will take my advice, or if you love me as much as i think you do, let us keep him for the remainder of the night." "sister," answered zobeide, "we can refuse you nothing;" and then turning to the porter, said, "we are willing once more to grant your request, but upon this new condition, that, whatever we do in your presence relating either to ourselves or any thing else, you do not so much as open your mouth to ask the reason; for if you put any questions respecting what does not concern you, you may chance to hear what you will not like; beware therefore, and be not too inquisitive to pry into the motives of our actions. "madam," replied the porter, "i promise to abide by this condition, that you shall have no cause to complain, and far less to punish my indiscretion; my tongue shall be immovable on this occasion, and my eye like a looking-glass, which retains nothing of the objets that is set before it." "to shew you," said zobeide with a serious countenance, "that what we demand of you is not a new thing among us, read what is written over our gate on the inside." the porter went and read these words, written in large characters of gold: "he who speaks of things that do not concern him, shall hear things that will not please him." returning again to the three sisters, "ladies," said he, "i swear to you that you shall never hear me utter a word respecting what does not relate to me, or wherein you may have any concern." these preliminaries being settled, amene brought in supper, and after she had lighted up the room with tapers, made of aloe-wood and ambergris, which yield a most agreeable perfume, as well as a delicate light, she sat down with her sisters and the porter. they began again to eat and drink, to sing, and repeat verses. the ladies diverted themselves in intoxicating the porter, under pretext of making him drink their healths, and the repast was enlivened by reciprocal flashes of wit. when they were all in the best humour possible, they heard a knocking at the gate. when the ladies heard the knocking, they all three got up to open the gate; but safie was the nimblest; which her sisters perceiving, they resumed their seats. safie returning, said, "sisters, we have a very fine opportunity of passing a good part of the night pleasantly, and if you agree with me, you will not suffer it to go by. there are three calenders at our gate, at least they appear to be such by their habit; but what will surprise you is, they are all three blind of the right eye, and have their heads, beards, and eye-brows shaved. they say, they are but just come to bagdad, where they never were before; it being night, and not knowing where to find a lodging, they happened by chance to knock at this gate, and pray us, for the love of heaven, to have compassion on them, and receive them into the house. they care not what place we put them in, provided they may be under shelter; they would be satisfied with a stable. they are young and handsome, and seem not to want spirit. but i cannot without laughing think of their amusing and uniform figure." here safie laughed so heartily, that the two sisters and the porter could not refrain from laughing also. "my dear sisters," said she, "you will permit them to come in; it is impossible but that with such persons as i have described them to be, we shall finish the day better than we began it; they will afford us diversion enough, and put us to no charge, because they desire shelter only for this night, and resolve to leave us as soon as day appears." zobeide and amene made some difficulty to grant safie's request, for reasons which she herself well knew. but being very desirous to obtain this favour, they could not refuse her; "go then," said zobeide, "and bring them in, but do not forget to acquaint them that they must not speak of any thing which does not concern them, and cause them to read what is written over the gate." safie ran out with joy, and in a little time after returned with the three calenders. at their entrance they made a profound obeisance to the ladies, who rose up to receive them, and told them courteously that they were welcome, that they were glad of the opportunity to oblige them, and to contribute towards relieving the fatigues of their journey, and at last invited them to sit down with them. the magnificence of the place, and the civility they received, inspired the calenders with high respect for the ladies: but, before they sat down, having by chance cast their eyes upon the porter, whom they saw clad almost like those devotees with whom they have continual disputes respecting several points of discipline, because they never shave their beards nor eye-brows; one of them said, "i believe we have got here one of our revolted arabian brethren." the porter having his head warm with wine, took offence and with a fierce look, without stirring from his place, answered, "sit you down, and do not meddle with what does not concern you: have you not read the inscription over the gate? do not pretend to make people live after your fashion, but follow ours." "honest man," said the calender, "do not put yourself in a passion; we should be sorry to give you the least occasion; on the contrary, we are ready to receive your commands." upon which, to put an end to the dispute, the ladies interposed, and pacified them. when the calenders were seated, the ladies served them with meat; and safie, being highly pleased with them, did not let them want for wine. after the calenders had eaten and drunk liberally, they signified to the ladies, that they wished to entertain them with a concert of music, if they had any instruments in the house, and would cause them to be brought: they willingly accepted the proposal, and fair safie going to fetch them, returned again in a moment, and presented them with a flute of her own country fashion, another of the persian, and a tabor. each man took the instrument he liked, and all three together began to play a tune the ladies, who knew the words of a merry song that suited the air, joined the concert with their voices; but the words of the song made them now and then stop, and fall into excessive laughter. in the height of this diversion, when the company were in the midst of their jollity, a knocking was heard at the gate; safie left off singing, and went to see who it was. the caliph haroon al rusheed was frequently in the habit of walking abroad in disguise by night, that he might discover if every thing was quiet in the city, and see that no disorders were committed. this night the caliph went out on his rambles, accompanied by jaaffier his grand vizier, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs of his palace, all disguised in merchants' habits; and passing through the street where the three ladies dwelt, he heard the sound of music and fits of loud laughter; upon which he commanded the vizier, to knock, as he wished to enter to ascertain the reason. the vizier, in vain represented to him that the noise proceeded from some women who were merry-making, that without question their heads were warm with wine, and that it would not be proper he should expose himself to be affronted by them: besides, it was not yet an unlawful hour, and therefore he ought not to disturb them in their mirth. "no matter," said the caliph, "i command you to knock." jaaffier complied; safie opened the gate, and the vizier, perceiving by the light in her hand, that she was an incomparable beauty, with a very low salutation said, "we are three merchants of mossoul, who arrived here about ten days ago with rich merchandise, which we have in a warehouse at a caravan-serai, where we have also our lodging. we happened this evening to be with a merchant of this city, who invited us to his house, where we had a splendid entertainment: and the wine having put us in good humour, he sent for a company of dancers. night being come on, and the music and dancers making a great noise, the watch, passing by, caused the gate to be opened and some of the company to be taken up; but we had the good fortune to escape by getting over the wall. being strangers, and somewhat overcome with wine, we are afraid of meeting that or some other watch, before we get home to our khan. besides, before we can arrive there the gates will be shut, and will not be opened till morning: wherefore, hearing, as we passed by this way, the sound of music, we supposed you were not yet going to rest, and made bold to knock at your gate, to beg the favour of lodging ourselves in the house till morning; and if you think us worthy of your good company, we will endeavour to contribute to your diversion to the best of our power, to make some amends for the interruption we have given you; if not, we only beg the favour of staying this night in your vestibule." whilst jaaffier was speaking, safie had time to observe the vizier, and his two companions, who were said to be merchants like himself, and told them that she was not mistress of the house; but if they would have a minute's patience, she would return with an answer. safie made the business known to her sisters, who considered for some time what to do: but being naturally of a good disposition, and having granted the same favour to the three calenders, they at last consented to let them in. the caliph, his grand vizier, and the chief of the eunuchs, being introduced by the fair safie, very courteously saluted the ladies and the calenders. the ladies returned their salutations, supposing them to be merchants. zobeide, as the chief, addressed them with a grave and serious countenance, which was natural to her, and said, "you are welcome. but before i proceed farther, i hope you will not take it ill if we desire one favour of you." "alas!" said the vizier, "what favour? we can refuse nothing to such fair ladies." zobeide continued, "it is that, while here, you would have eyes, but no tongues; that you question us not for the reason of any thing you may see, and speak not of any thing that does not concern you, lest you hear what will by no means please you." "madam," replied the vizier, "you shall be obeyed. we are not censorious, nor impertinently curious; it is enough for us to notice affairs that concern us, without meddling with what does not belong to us." upon this they all sat down, and the company being united, they drank to the health of the new-comers. while the vizier, entertained the ladies in conversation, the caliph could not forbear admiring their extraordinary beauty, graceful behaviour, pleasant humour, and ready wit; on the other hand, nothing struck him with more surprise than the calenders being all three blind of the right eye. he would gladly have learnt the cause of this singularity; but the conditions so lately imposed upon himself and his companions would not allow him to speak. these circumstances, with the richness of the furniture, the exact order of every thing, and the neatness of the house, made him think they were in some enchanted place. their conversation happening to turn upon diversions, and the different ways of making merry; the calenders arose, and danced after their fashion, which augmented the good opinion the ladies had conceived of them, and procured them the esteem of the caliph and his companions. when the three calenders had finished their dance, zobeide arose, and taking amene by the hand, said, "pray, sister, arise, for the company will not be offended if we use our freedom, and their presence need not hinder the performance of our customary exercise." amene understanding her sister's meaning, rose from her seat, carried away the dishes, the flasks and cups, together with the instruments which the calenders had played upon. safie was not idle, but swept the room, put every thing again in its place, trimmed the lamps, and put fresh aloes and ambergris to them; this being done, she requested the three calenders to sit down upon the sofa at one side, and the caliph with his companions on the other: then addressing herself to the porter, she said, "get up, and prepare yourself to assist us in what we are going to do; a man like you, who is one of the family, ought not to be idle." the porter, being somewhat recovered from his wine, arose immediately, and having tied the sleeve of his gown to his belt, answered, "here am i, ready to obey your commands." "very well," replied safie, "stay till you are spoken to; and you shall not be idle long." a little time after, amene came in with a chair, which she placed in the middle of the room; and then went towards a closet. having opened the door, she beckoned to the porter, and said, "come hither and assist me." he obeyed, and entered the closet, and returned immediately, leading two black bitches, each of them secured by a collar and chain; they appeared as if they had been severely whipped with rods, and he brought them into the middle of the apartment. zobeide, rising from her seat between the calenders and the caliph, moved very gravely towards the porter; "come," said she, heaving a deep sigh, "let us perform our duty:" she then tucked up her sleeves above her elbows, and receiving a rod from safie, "porter," said she, "deliver one of the bitches to my sister amene, and bring the other to me." the porter did as he was commanded. upon this the bitch that he held in his hand began to howl, and turning towards zobeide, held her head up in a supplicating posture; but zobeide, having no regard to the sad countenance of the animal, which would have moved pity, nor to her cries that resounded through the house, whipped her with the rod till she was out of breath; and having spent her strength, threw down the rod, and taking the chain from the porter, lifted up the bitch by her paws, and looking upon her with a sad and pitiful countenance, they both wept: after which, zobeide, with her handkerchief, wiped the tears from the bitch's eye, kissed her, returned the chain to the porter, desired him to carry her to the place whence he took her, and bring her the other. the porter led back the whipped bitch to the closet, and receiving the other from amene, presented her to zobeide, who requested him to hold her as he had done the first, took up the rod, and treated her after the same manner; and when she had wept over her, she dried her eyes, kissed her, and returned her to the porter: but amene spared him the trouble of leading her back into the closet, and did it herself. the three calenders, with the caliph and his companions, were extremely surprised at this exhibition, and could not comprehend why zobeide, after having so furiously beaten those two bitches, that by the moosulman religion are reckoned unclean animals, should weep with them, wipe off their tears, and kiss them. they muttered among themselves, and the caliph, who, being more impatient than the rest, longed exceedingly to be informed of the cause of so strange a proceeding, could not forbear making signs to the vizier to ask the question: the vizier turned his head another way; but being pressed by repeated signs, he answered by others, that it was not yet time for the caliph to satisfy his curiosity. zobeide sat still some time in the middle of the room, where she had whipped the two bitches, to recover herself of her fatigue; and safie called to her, "dear sister, will you not be pleased to return to your place, that i may also aft my part?" "yes, sister," replied zobeide; and then went, and sat down upon the sofa, having the caliph, jaaffier, and mesrour, on her right hand, and the three calenders, with the porter, on her left. after zobeide had taken her seat, the whole company remained silent for some time; at last, safie, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, spoke to her sister amene, "dear sister, i conjure you to rise; you know what i would say." amene rose, and went into another closet, near to that where the bitches were, and brought out a case covered with yellow satin, richly embroidered with gold and green silk. she went towards safie and opened the case, from whence she took a lute, and presented it to her: and after some time spent in tuning it, safie began to play, and accompanying the instrument with her voice, sung a song about the torments that absence creates to lovers, with so much sweetness, that it charmed the caliph and all the company. having sung with much passion and action, she said to amene, "pray take it, sister, for my voice fails me; oblige the company with a tune, and a song in my stead." "very willingly," replied amene, who, taking the lute from her sister safie, sat down in her place. amene played and sung almost as long upon the same subject, but with so much vehemence, and was so much affected, or rather transported, by the words of the song, that her strength failed her as she finished. zobeide, desirous of testifying her satisfaction, said, "sister, you have done wonders, and we may easily see that you feel the grief you have expressed in so lively a manner." amene was prevented from answering this civility, her heart being so sensibly touched at the moment, that she was obliged, for air, to uncover her neck and bosom, which did not appear so fair as might have been expected; but, on the contrary, were black and full of scars, which surprised and affected all the spectators. however, this gave her no ease, for she fell into a fit. when zobeide and safie had run to help their sister, one of the calenders could not forbear saying, "we had better have slept in the streets than have come hither to behold such spectacles." the caliph, who heard this, came to him and the other calenders, and asked them what might be the meaning of all this? they answered, "we know no more than you do." "what," said the caliph, "are you not of the family? can you not resolve us concerning the two black bitches and the lady that fainted away, who appears to have been so basely abused?" "sir," said the calenders, "this is the first time of our being in the house; we came in but a few minutes before you." this increased the caliph's astonishment: "probably," said he, "this man who is with you may know something of the matter." one of the calenders beckoned the porter to come near; and asked him, whether he knew why those two black bitches had been whipped, and why amene's bosom was so scarred. "sir," said the porter, "i can swear by heaven, that if you know nothing of all this, i know as little as you do. it is true, i live in this city, but i never was in the house until now, and if you are surprised to see me i am as much so to find myself in your company; and that which increases my wonder is, that i have not seen one man with these ladies." the caliph and his company, as well as the calenders, had supposed the porter to be one of the family, and hoped he would have been able to give them the information they sought; but finding he could not, and resolving to satisfy his curiosity, the caliph said to the rest, "we are seven men, and have but three women to deal with; let us try if we can oblige them to explain what we have seen, and if they refuse by fair means, we are in a condition to compel them by force." the grand vizier jaaffier objected to this, and shewed the caliph what might be the consequence. without discovering the prince to the calenders, he addressed him as if he had been a merchant, and said, "consider, i pray you, that our reputation is at stake. you know the conditions on which these ladies consented to receive us, and which we agreed to observe; what will they say of us if we break them? we shall be still more to blame, if any mischief befall us; for it is not likely that they would have extorted such a promise from us, without knowing themselves to be in a condition to punish us for its violation." here the vizier took the caliph aside, and whispered to him, "the night will soon be at an end, and if your majesty will only be pleased to have so much patience, i will to-morrow morning bring these ladies before your throne, where you may be informed of all that you desire to know." though this advice was very judicious, the caliph rejected it, desired the vizier to hold his tongue, and said, he would not wait so long, but would immediately have his curiosity satisfied. the next business was to settle who should carry the message. the caliph endeavoured to prevail with the calenders to speak first; but they excused themselves, and at last they agreed that the porter should be the man: as they were consulting how to word this fatal question, zobeide returned from her sister amene, who was recovered of her fit. she drew near them, and having overheard them speaking pretty loud, said, "gentlemen, what is the subject of your conversation? what are you disputing about?" the porter answered immediately, "madam, these gentlemen beseech you to inform them why you wept over your two bitches after you had whipped them so severely, and how the bosom of that lady who lately fainted away came to be so full of scars? these are the questions i am ordered to ask in their name." at these words, zobeide put on a stern countenance, and turning towards the caliph and the rest of the company, "is it true, gentlemen," said she, "that you desired him to ask me these questions?" all of them, except the vizier jaaffier, who spoke not a word, answered, "yes." on which she exclaimed, in a tone that sufficiently expressed her resentment, "before we granted you the favour of receiving you into our house, and to prevent all occasion of trouble from you, because we are alone, we imposed the condition that you should not speak of any thing that did not concern you, lest you might hear that which would not please you; and yet after having received and entertained you, you make no scruple to break your promise. it is true that our easy temper has occasioned this, but that shall not excuse your rudeness." as she spoke these words, she gave three stamps with her foot, and clapping her hands as often together, cried, "come quickly:" upon this, a door flew open, and seven black slaves rushed in; every one seized a man, threw him on the ground, and dragged him into the middle of the room, brandishing a cimeter over his head. we may easily conceive the caliph then repented, but too late, that he had not taken the advice of his vizier, who, with mesrour, the calenders and porter, was from his ill-timed curiosity on the point of forfeiting his life. before they would strike the fatal blow, one of the slaves said to zobeide, and her sisters: "high, mighty, and adorable mistresses, do you command us to strike off their heads?" "stay," said zobeide, "i must examine them first." the frightened porter interrupted her thus: "in the name of heaven, do not put me to death for another man's crime. i am innocent; they are to blame." "alas!" said he, weeping, "how pleasantly did we pass our time! those blind calenders are the cause of this misfortune; there is no town in the world but suffers wherever these inauspicious fellows come. madam, i beg you not to destroy the innocent with the guilty, and consider, that it is more glorious to pardon such a wretch as i am, who have no way to help myself, than to sacrifice me to your resentment." zobeide, notwithstanding her anger, could not but laugh within herself at the porter's lamentation: but without replying to him, she spoke a second time to the rest; "answer me, and say who you are, otherwise you shall not live one moment longer: i cannot believe you to be honest men, or persons of authority or distinction in your own countries; for if you were, you would have been more modest and more respectful to us." the caliph, naturally warm, was infinitely more indignant than the rest, to find his life depending upon the command of a woman: but he began to conceive some hopes, when he found she wished to know who they all were; for he imagined she would not put him to death, when informed of his quality; therefore he spoke with a low voice to the vizier, who was near him, to declare it speedily: but the vizier, more prudent, resolved to save his master's honour, and not let the world know the affront he had brought upon himself by his own imprudence; and therefore answered, "we have what we deserve." but if he had intended to speak as the caliph commanded him, zobeide would not have allowed him time: for having turned to the calenders, and seeing them all blind with one eye, she asked if they were brothers. one of them answered, "no, madam, no otherwise than as we are calenders; that is to say, as we observe the same rules." "were you born blind of the right eye," continued she? "no, madam," answered he; "i lost my eye in such a surprising adventure, that it would be instructive to every body were it in writing: after that misfortune i shaved my beard and eyebrows, and took the habit of a calender which i now wear." zobeide asked the other two calenders the same question, and had the same answers; but the last who spoke added, "madam, to shew you that we are no common fellows, and that you may have some consideration for us, be pleased to know, that we are all three sons of sultans; and though we never met together till this evening, yet we have had time enough to make that known to one another; and i assure you that the sultans from whom we derive our being were famous in the world." at this discourse zobeide suppressed her anger, and said to the slaves, "give them their liberty a while, but remain where you are. those who tell us their history, and the occasion of their coming, do them no hurt, let them go where they please; but do not spare those who refuse to give us that satisfaction." the three calendars, the caliph, the grand vizier, jaaffier, the eunuch mesrour, and the porter, were all in the middle of the hall, seated upon a carpet in the presence of the three ladies, who reclined upon a sofa, and the slaves stood ready to do whatever their mistresses should command. the porter, understanding that he might extricate himself from danger by telling his history, spoke first, and said, "madam, you know my history already, and the occasion of my coming hither; so that what i have to say will be very short. my lady, your sister, called me this morning at the place where i plyed as porter to see if any body would employ me, that i might get my bread; i followed her to a vintner's, then to a herb-shop, then to one where oranges, lemons, and citrons were sold, then to a grocer's, next to a confectioner's, and a druggist's, with my basket upon my head as full as i was able to carry it; then i came hither, where you had the goodness to suffer me to continue till now, a favour that i shall never forget. this, madam, is my history." when the porter had done, zobeide said to him, "depart, let us see you here no more." "madam," replied the porter, "i beg you to let me stay; it would not be just, after the rest have had the pleasure to hear my history, that i should not also have the satisfaction of hearing theirs." and having spoken thus, he sat down at the end of the sofa, glad at heart to have escaped the danger that had frightened him so much. after him, one of the three calenders directing his speech to zobeide, as the principal of the three ladies, began thus: the history of the first calender. madam, in order to inform you how i lost my right eye, and why i was obliged to put myself into a calender's habit, i must tell you, that i am a sultan's son born: my father had a brother who reigned over a neighbouring kingdom; and the prince his son and i were nearly of the same age. after i had learned my exercises, the sultan my father granted me such liberty as suited my dignity. i went regularly every year to see my uncle, at whose court i amused myself for a month or two, and then returned again to my father's. these journeys cemented a firm and intimate friendship between the prince my cousin and myself. the last time i saw him, he received me with greater demonstrations of tenderness than he had done at any time before; and resolving one day to give me a treat, he made great preparations for that purpose. we continued a long time at table, and after we had both supped; "cousin," said he, "you will hardly be able to guess how i have been employed since your last departure from hence, about a year past. i have had a great many men at work to perfect a design i have formed; i have caused an edifice to be built, which is now finished so as to be habitable: you will not be displeased if i shew it you. but first you are to promise me upon oath, that you will keep my secret, according to the confidence i repose in you." the affection and familiarity that subsisted between us would not allow me to refuse him any thing. i very readily took the oath required of me: upon which he said to me, "stay here till i return, i will be with you in a moment; and accordingly he came with a lady in his hand, of singular beauty, and magnificently apparelled: he did not intimate who she was, neither did i think it would be polite to enquire. we sat down again with this lady at table, where we continued some time, conversing upon indifferent subjects; and now and then filling a glass to each other's health. after which the prince said, "cousin, we must lose no time; therefore pray oblige me by taking this lady along with you, and conducting her to such a place, where you will see a tomb newly built in form of a dome: you will easily know it; the gate is open; enter it together, and tarry till i come, which will be very speedily." being true to my oath, i made no farther enquiry, but took the lady by the hand, and by the directions which the prince my cousin had given me, i brought her to the place. we were scarcely got thither, when we saw the prince following us, carrying a pitcher of water, a hatchet, and a little bag of mortar. the hatchet served him to break down the empty sepulchre in the middle of the tomb; he took away the stones one after another, and laid them in a corner; he then dug up the ground, where i saw a trap-door under the sepulchre, which he lifted up, and underneath perceived the head of a staircase leading into a vault. then my cousin, speaking to the lady, said, "madam, it is by this way that we are to go to the place i told you of:" upon which the lady advanced, and went down, and the prince began to follow; but first turning to me, said, "my dear cousin, i am infinitely obliged to you for the trouble you have taken; i thank you. adieu." "dear cousin," i cried, "what is the meaning of this?" "be content," replied he; "you may return the way you came." i could get nothing farther from him, but was obliged to take my leave. as i returned to my uncle's palace, the vapours of the wine got up into my head; however, i reached my apartment, and went to bed. next morning, when i awoke, i began to reflect upon what had happened, and after recollecting all the circumstances of such a singular adventure, i fancied it was nothing but a dream. full of these thoughts, i sent to enquire if the prince my cousin was ready to receive a visit from me; but when they brought word back that he did not lie in his own lodgings that night, that they knew not what was become of him, and were in much trouble in consequence, i conceived that the strange event of the tomb was too true. i was sensibly afflicted, and went to the public burying-place, where there were several tombs like that which i had seen: i spent the day in viewing them one after another, but could not find that i sought for, and thus i spent four days successively in vain. you must know, that all this while the sultan my uncle was absent, and had been hunting for several days; i grew weary of waiting for him, and having prayed his ministers to make my apology at his return, left his palace, and set out towards my father's court. i left the ministers of the sultan my uncle in great trouble, surmising what was become of the prince: but because of my oath to keep his secret, i durst not tell them what i had seen. i arrived at my father's capital, where, contrary to custom, i found a numerous guard at the gate of the palace, who surrounded me as i entered. i asked the reason, and the commanding officer replied, "prince, the army has proclaimed the grand vizier, instead of your father, who is dead, and i take you prisoner in the name of the new sultan." at these words the guards laid hold of me, and carried me before the tyrant: i leave you to judge, madam, how much i was surprised and grieved. this rebel vizier, had long entertained a mortal hatred against me; for this reason. when i was a stripling, i loved to shoot with a cross-bow; and being one day upon the terrace of the palace with my bow, a bird happening to come by, i shot but missed him, and the ball by misfortune hit the vizier, who was taking the air upon the terrace of his own house, and put out one of his eyes. as soon as i understood this, i not only sent to make my excuse to him, but did it in person: yet he never forgave me, and, as opportunity offered, made me sensible of his resentment. but now that he had me in his power, he expressed his feelings; for he came to me like a madman, as soon as he saw me, and thrusting his finger into my right eye, pulled it out, and thus i became blind of one eye. but the usurper's cruelty did not stop here; he ordered me to be shut up in a machine, and commanded the executioner to carry me into the country, to cut off my head, and leave me to be devoured by birds of prey. the executioner conveyed me thus shut up into the country, in order to execute the barbarous sentence; but by my prayers and tears, i moved the man's compassion: "go," said he to me, "get you speedily out of the kingdom, and take heed of returning, or you will certainly meet your own ruin, and be the cause of mine." i thanked him for the favour he did me; and as soon as i was left alone, comforted myself for the loss of my eye, by considering that i had very narrowly escaped a much greater evil. being in such a condition, i could not travel far at a time; i retired to remote places during the day, and travelled as far by night as my strength would allow me. at last i arrived in the dominions of the sultan my uncle, and came to his capital. i gave him a long detail of the tragical cause of my return, and of the sad condition he saw me in. "alas!" cried he, "was it not enough for me to have lost my son, but must i have also news of the death of a brother i loved so dearly, and see you reduced to this deplorable condition?" he told me how uneasy he was that he could hear nothing of his son, notwithstanding all the enquiry he could make. at these words, the unfortunate father burst into tears, and was so much afflicted, that pitying his grief, it was impossible for me to keep the secret any longer; so that, notwithstanding my oath to the prince my cousin, i told the sultan all that i knew. his majesty listened to me with some sort of comfort, and when i had done, "nephew," said he, "what you tell me gives me some hope. i knew that my son ordered that tomb to be built, and i can guess pretty nearly the place; and with the idea you still have of it, i fancy we shall find it: but since he ordered it to be built privately, and you took your oath to keep his secret, i am of opinion, that we ought to go in quest of it without other attendants." but he had another reason for keeping the matter secret, which he did not then tell me, and an important one it was, as you will perceive by the sequel of my story. we disguised ourselves and went out by a door of the garden which opened into the fields, and soon found what we sought for. i knew the tomb, and was the more rejoiced, because i had formerly sought it a long time in vain. we entered, and found the iron trap pulled down at the head of the staircase; we had great difficulty in raising it, because the prince had fastened it inside with the water and mortar formerly mentioned, but at last we succeeded. the sultan my uncle descended first, i followed, and we went down about fifty steps. when we came to the foot of the stairs, we found a sort of antechamber, full of thick smoke of an ill scent, which obscured the lamp, that gave a very faint light. from this antechamber we came into another, very large, supported by columns, and lighted by several branched candlesticks. there was a cistern in the middle, and provisions of several sorts stood on one side of it; but we were much surprised not to see any person. before us there appeared a high estrade, which we mounted by several steps, and upon this there was a large bed, with curtains drawn. the sultan went up, and opening the curtains, perceived the prince his son and the lady in bed together, but burnt and changed to cinder, as if they had been thrown into a fire, and taken out before they were consumed. but what surprised me most was, that though this spectacle filled me with horror, the sultan my uncle, instead of testifying his sorrow to see the prince his son in such a condition, spat on his face, and exclaimed, with a disdainful air, "this is the punishment of this world, but that of the other will last to eternity;" and not content with this, he pulled off his sandal, and gave the corpse of his son a blow on the cheek. i cannot adequately express how much i was astonished when i saw the sultan my uncle abuse his son thus after he was dead. "sir," said i, "whatever grief this dismal sight has impressed upon me, i am forced to suspend it, to enquire of your majesty what crime the prince my cousin may have committed, that his corpse should deserve such indignant treatment?" "nephew," replied the sultan, "i must tell you, that my son (who is unworthy of that name) loved his sister from his infancy, as she did him: i did not check their growing fondness, because i did not foresee its pernicious consequence. this tenderness increased as they grew in years, and to such a height, that i dreaded the end of it. at last, i applied such remedies as were in my power: i not only gave my son a severe reprimand in private, laying before him the horrible nature of the passion he entertained, and the eternal disgrace he would bring upon my family, if he persisted; but i also represented the same to my daughter, and shut her up so close that she could have no conversation with her brother. but that unfortunate creature had swallowed so much of the poison, that all the obstacles which by my prudence i could lay in the way served only to inflame her love. "my son being persuaded of his sister's constancy, on presence of building a tomb, caused this subterraneous habitation to be made, in hopes of finding one day or other an opportunity to possess himself of that objets which was the cause of his flame, and to bring her hither. he took advantage of my absence, to enter by force into the place of his sister's confinement; but this was a circumstance which my honour would not suffer me to make public. and after so damnable an action, he came and shut himself up with her in this place, which he has supplied, as you see, with all sorts of provisions, that he might enjoy detestable pleasures, which ought to be a subject of horror to all the world; but god, who would not suffer such an abomination, has justly punished them both." at these words, he melted into tears, and i joined mine with his. after a while, casting his eyes upon me, "dear nephew," cried he, embracing me, "if i have lost that unworthy son, i shall happily find in you what will better supply his place." the reflections he made on the doleful end of the prince and princess his daughter made us both weep afresh. we ascended the stairs again, and departed at last from that dismal place. we let down the trap door, and covered it with earth, and such other materials as the tomb was built of, on purpose to hide, as much as lay in our power, so terrible an effect of the wrath of god. we had not been long returned to the palace, unperceived by any one, but we heard a confused noise of trumpets, drums, and other instruments of war. we soon understood by the thick cloud of dust, which almost darkened the air, that it was the arrival of a formidable army: and it proved to be the same vizier that had dethroned my father, and usurped his place, who with a vast number of troops was come to possess himself of that also of the sultan my uncle. my uncle, who then had only his usual guards about him, could not resist so numerous an enemy; they invested the city, and the gates being opened to them without any resistance, soon became masters of it, and broke into the palace where my uncle defended himself, and sold his life at a dear rate. i fought as valiantly for a while; but seeing we were forced to submit to a superior power, i thought on my retreat, which i had the good fortune to effect by some back ways, and got to one of the sultan's servants on whose fidelity i could depend. being thus surrounded with sorrows and persecuted by fortune, i had recourse to a stratagem, which was the only means left me to save my life: i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaved, and putting on a calender's habit, i passed, unknown by any, out of the city; after that, by degrees, i found it easy to quit my uncle's kingdom, by taking the bye-roads. i avoided passing through towns, until i had reached the empire of the mighty governor of the moosulmauns, the glorious and renowned caliph haroon al rusheed, when i thought myself out of danger; and considering what i was to do, i resolved to come to bagdad, intending to throw myself at the feet of that monarch, whose generosity is renowned throughout the world. "i shall move him to compassion," said i to myself, "by the relation of my uncommon misfortunes, and without doubt he will take pity on a persecuted prince, and not suffer me to implore his assistance in vain." in short, after a journey of several months, i arrived yesterday at the gate of this city, into which i entered about the dusk of evening ; and stopping a little while to consider which way i was to turn, another calender came up; he saluted me, and i him: "you appear," said i, "to be a stranger, as i am." "you are not mistaken," replied he. he had no sooner returned this answer, than a third calender overtook us. he saluted us, and told us he was a stranger newly come to bagdad; so that as brethren we joined together, resolving not to separate from one another. it was now late, and we knew not where to seek a lodging in the city, where we had never been before. but good fortune having brought us to your gate, we made bold to knock, when you received us with so much kindness, that we are incapable of rendering suitable thanks. "this, madam," said he, "is, in obedience to your commands, the account i was to give how i lost my right eye, wherefore my beard and eye-brows are shaved, and how i came to be with you at this time." "it is enough," said zobeide; "you may retire to what place you think fit." the calender begged the ladies' permission to stay till he had heard the relations of his two comrades, "whom i cannot," said he, "leave with honour;" and that he might also hear those of the three other persons in company. the story of the first calender seemed wonderful to the whole company, but especially to the caliph, who, notwithstanding the slaves stood by with their cimeters drawn, could not forbear whispering to the vizier "many stories have i heard, but never any that equalled in surprising incident that of the calender." whilst he was saying this, the second calender began, addressing himself to zobeide. the story of the second calender. madam, to obey your commands, and to shew you by what strange accident i became blind of the right eye, i must of necessity give you the account of my life. i was scarcely past my infancy, when the sultan my father (for you must know i am a prince by birth) perceived that i was endowed with good natural ability, and spared nothing proper for improving it. no sooner was i able to read and write, but i learned the koraun from beginning to end by heart, that admirable book, which contains the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and that i might be thoroughly instructed in it, i read the works of the most approved divines, by whose commentaries it had been explained. i added to this study, that of all the traditions collected from the mouth of our prophet, by the great men that were contemporary with him. i was not satisfied with the knowledge of all that had any relation to our religion, but made also a particular search into our histories. i made myself perfect in polite learning, in the works of poets, and versification. i applied myself to geography, chronology, and to speak the arabian language in its purity; not forgetting in the meantime all such exercises as were proper for a prince to understand. but one thing which i was fond of, and succeeded in, was penmanship; wherein i surpassed all the celebrated scribes of our kingdom. fame did me more honour than i deserved, for she not only spread the renown of my talents through all the dominions of the sultan my father, but carried it as far as the empire of hindoostan, whose potent monarch, desirous to see me, sent an ambassador with rich presents: my father, who rejoiced at this embassy for several reasons, was persuaded, that nothing could be more improving to a prince of my age than to travel and visit foreign courts; and he wished to gain the friendship of the indian monarch. i departed with the ambassador, but with no great retinue. when we had travelled about a month, we discovered at a distance a cloud of dust, and under that we saw very soon fifty horsemen well armed, who were robbers, advancing towards us at full speed. as we had ten horses laden with baggage, and presents to the sultan of hindoostan, from my father, and my retinue was but small, you may easily judge that these robbers came boldly up to us; and not being in a posture to make any opposition, we told them, that we were ambassadors, and hoped they would attempt nothing contrary to the respect due to such sacred characters, thinking by this means to save our equipage and our lives: but the robbers most insolently replied, "for what reason would you have us shew any respect to the sultan your master? we are none of his subjects, nor are we upon his territories:" having spoken thus, they surrounded and fell upon us: i defended myself as long as i could; but finding myself wounded, and seeing the ambassador with his attendants and mine lying on the ground, i made use of what strength was yet remaining in my horse, who was also very much wounded, and rode away as fast as he could carry me; but he shortly after, from weariness and the loss of blood, fell down dead. i cleared myself from him unhurt, and finding that i was not pursued, judged the robbers were not willing to quit the booty they had obtained. here you see me, alone, wounded, destitute of help, and in a strange country. i durst not take the high road, fearing i might fall again into the hands of these robbers. when i had bound up my wound, which was not dangerous, i walked on the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of mountain, where i perceived a passage into a cave; i went in, and staid there that night with little satisfaction, after i had eaten some fruits that i had gathered by the way. i continued my journey for several days following, without finding any place of abode: but after a month's time, i came to a large town well inhabited, and situated so much the more advantageously, as it was surrounded by several streams, so that it enjoyed perpetual spring. the pleasant objects which then presented themselves to my view afforded me some joy, and suspended for a time the sorrow with which i was overwhelmed. my face, hands, and feet were black and sun-burnt; and, by my long journey, my boots were quite worn out, so that i was forced to walk bare-footed; and besides, my clothes were all in rags i entered the town to inform myself where i was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop; who, perceiving by my air that i was a person of more note than my outward appearance bespoke, made me sit down by him, and asked me who i was, from whence i came, and what had brought me thither? i did not conceal anything that had befallen me, nor made i any scruple to discover my quality. the tailor listened to me with attention; but after had done speaking, instead of giving me any consolation, he augmented my sorrow: "take heed," said he, "how you discover to any person what you have related to me; for the prince of this country is the greatest enemy your father has, and he will certainly do you some mischief, should he hear of your being in this city." i made no doubt of the tailor's sincerity, when he named the prince: but since that enmity which is between my father and him has no relation to my adventures, i pass it over in silence. i returned the tailor thanks for his advice, expressed himself disposed to follow his counsel, and assured him that his favours should never be forgotten. he ordered something to be brought for me to eat, and offered me at the same time a lodging in his house, which i accepted. some days after, finding me tolerably well recovered of the fatigue i had endured by a long and tedious journey, and reflecting that most princes of our religion applied themselves to some art or calling that might be serviceable to them upon occasion, he asked me, if i had learned any whereby i might get a livelihood, and not be burdensome to others? i told him that i understood the laws, both divine and human; that i was a grammarian and poet; and above all, that i could write with great perfection. "by all this," said he, "you will not be able, in this country, to purchase yourself one morsel of bread; nothing is of less use here than those sciences; but if you will be advised by me, dress yourself in a labourer's habit; and since you appear to be strong, and of a good constitution, you shall go into the next forest and cut fire-wood, which you may bring to the market to be sold; and i can assure you this employment will turn to so good an account that you may live by it, without dependence upon any man; and by this means you will be in a condition to wait for the favourable minute, when heaven shall think fit to dispel those clouds of misfortune that thwart your happiness, and oblige you to conceal your birth; i will take care to supply you with a rope and a hatchet." the fear of being known, and the necessity i was under of getting a livelihood, made me agree to this proposal, notwithstanding the meanness and hardships that attended it. the day following the tailor brought me a rope. a hatchet, and a short coat, and recommended me to some poor people who gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. they conducted me to the wood, and the first day i brought in as much upon my head as procured me half a piece of gold, of the money of that country; for though the wood was not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce, by reason that few would be at the trouble of fetching it for themselves. i gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had advanced to me i continued this way of living for a whole year. one day, having by chance penetrated farther into the wood than usual, i happened to light on a pleasant spot, where i began to cut; and in pulling up the root of a tree, i espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap door of the same metal. i took away the earth that covered it, and having lifted it up, discovered a flight of stairs, which i descended with my axe in my hand. when i had reached the bottom, i found myself in a palace, and felt great consternation, on account of a great light which appeared as clear in it as if it had been above ground in the open air. i went forward along a gallery, supported by pillars of jasper, the base and capitals of messy gold: but seeing a lady of a noble and graceful air, extremely beautiful, coming towards me, my eyes were taken off from every other objets. being desirous to spare the lady the trouble of coming to me, i hastened to meet her; and as i was saluting her with a low obeisance, she asked me, "what are you, a man or a genie?" "a man, madam," said i; "i have no correspondence with genies." "by what adventure," said she, fetching a deep sigh, "are you come hither? i have lived here twenty-five years, and you are the: first man i have beheld in that time." her great beauty, which had already smitten me, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, emboldened me to say, "madam, before i have the honour to satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to tell you, that i am infinitely gratified with this unexpected meeting, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity of making you also more happy than you are." i related to her by what strange accident she beheld me, the son of a sultan, in such a condition as i appeared in her presence; and how fortune had directed that i should discover the entrance into that magnificent prison where i had found her, according to appearance, in an unpleasant situation. "alas! prince," said she, sighing once more, "you have just cause to believe this rich and pompous prison cannot be otherwise than a most wearisome abode: the most charming place in the world being no way delightful when we are detained there contrary to our will. it is not possible but you have heard of the sultan of the isle of ebene, so called from that precious wood which it produces in abundance; i am the princess his daughter. "the sultan, my father, had chosen for me a husband, a prince who was my cousin; but on my wedding-night, in the midst of the rejoicings of the court and capital, before i was conducted to my husband, a genie took me away. i fainted with alarm, and when i recovered, found myself in this place. i was long inconsolable, but time and necessity have accustomed me to see and receive the genie. twenty-five years i have continued in this place, where, i must confess, i have all that i can wish for necessary to life, and also every thing that can satisfy a princess fond of dress and splendour. "every ten days," continued the princess, "the genie comes hither, and remains with me one night, which he never exceeds; and the excuse he makes for it is, that he is married to another wife, who would grow jealous if she should know his infidelity. meanwhile, if i have occasion for him by day or night, as soon as i touch a talisman, which is at the entrance into my chamber, the genie appears. it is now the fourth day since he was here, and i do not expect him before the end of six more; so, if you please, you may stay five days, and i will endeavour to entertain you according to your quality and merit." i thought myself too fortunate, to have obtained so great a favour without asking, to refuse so obliging an offer. the princess made me go into a bath, the most commodious, and the most sumptuous imaginable; and when i came forth, instead of my own clothes i found another very costly suit, which i did not esteem so much for its richness, as because it made me appear worthy to be in her company. we sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions of the rarest indian brocade; and some time after she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. we ate, and passed the remaining part of the day with much satisfaction, as also the evening, together. the next day, as she contrived every means to please me, she brought in, at dinner, a bottle of old wine, the most excellent that ever was tasted, and out of complaisance drank some part of it with me. when my head grew warm with the agreeable liquor, "fair princess," said i, "you have been too long thus buried alive; follow me, enjoy the real day, of which you have been deprived so many years, and abandon this artificial though brilliant glare." "prince," replied she, with a smile, "leave this discourse; if you out of ten days will grant me nine, and resign the last to the genie, the fairest day would be nothing in my esteem." "princess," said i, "it is the fear of the genie that makes you speak thus; for my part, i value him so little, that i will break in pieces his talisman, with the conjuration that is written about it. let him come, i will expect him; and how brave or redoubtable soever he be, i will make him feel the weight of my arm: i swear solemnly that i will extirpate all the genies in the world, and him first." the princess, who knew the consequence, conjured me not to touch the talisman. "for that would be the means," said she, "of ruining both you and me; i know what belongs to genies better than you." the fumes of the wine did not suffer me to hearken to her reasons; but i gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in several pieces. the talisman was no sooner broken than the palace began to shake, and seemed ready to fall, with a hideous noise like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning, and alternate darkness. this terrible noise in a moment dispelled the fumes of my wine, and made me sensible, but too late, of the folly i had committed. "princess," cried i, "what means all this?" she answered, without any concern for her own misfortune, "alas! you are undone, if you do not fly immediately." i followed her advice, but my fears were so great, that i forgot my hatchet and cords. i had scarcely reached the stairs by which i had descended, when the enchanted palace opened at once, and made a passage for the genie: he asked the princess in great anger, "what has happened to you, and why did you call me?" "a violent spasm," said the princess, "made me fetch this bottle which you see here, out of which i drank twice or thrice, and by mischance made a false step, and fell upon the talisman, which is broken, and that is all." at this answer, the furious genie told her, "you are a false woman, and speak not the truth; how came that axe and those cords there?" "i never saw them till this moment," said the princess. "your coming in such an impetuous manner has, it may be, forced them up in some place as you came along, and so brought them hither without your knowing it." the genie made no other answer but what was accompanied with reproaches and blows, of which i heard the noise. i could not endure to hear the pitiful cries of the princess so cruelly abused. i had already taken off the suit she had presented to me, and put on my own, which i had laid on the stairs the day before, when i came out of the bagnio: i made haste upstairs, the more distracted with sorrow and compassion, as i had been the cause of so great a misfortune; and by sacrificing the fairest princess on earth to the barbarity of a merciless genie, i was becoming the most criminal and ungrateful of mankind. "it is true," said i, "she has been a prisoner these twenty-five years; but, liberty excepted she wanted nothing that could make her happy. my folly has put an end to her happiness, and brought upon her the cruelty of an unmerciful devil." i let down the trap-door, covered it again with earth, and returned to the city with a burden of wood, which i bound up without knowing what i did, so great was my trouble and sorrow. my landlord, the tailor, was very much rejoiced to see me: "your absence," said he, "has disquieted me much, as you had entrusted me with the secret of your birth, and i knew not what to think; i was afraid somebody had discovered you; god be praised for your return." i thanked him for his zeal and affection, but not a word durst i say of what had passed, nor of the reason why i came back without my hatchet and cords. i retired to my chamber, where i reproached myself a thousand times for my excessive imprudence: "nothing," said i, "could have paralleled the princess's good fortune and mine, had i forborne to break the talisman." while i was thus giving myself over to melancholy thoughts, the tailor came in and said, "an old man, whom i do not know, brings your hatchet and cords, which he found in his way as he tells me, and says he understood from your comrades that you lodge here; come out and speak to him, for he will deliver them to none but yourself." at these words i changed colour, and fell a trembling. while the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber-door opened, and the old man, having no patience to stay, appeared to us with my hatchet and cords. this was the genie, the ravisher of the fair princess of the isle of ebene, who had thus disguised himself, after he had treated her with the utmost barbarity. "i am a genie," said he, speaking to me, "son of the daughter of eblis, prince of genies: is not this your hatchet, and are not these your cords?" after the genie had put the question to me, he gave me no time to answer, nor was it in my power, so much had his terrible aspect disordered me. he grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and mounting into the air, carried me up to the skies with such swiftness, that i was not able to take notice of the way he conveyed me. he descended again in like manner to the earth, which on a sudden he caused to open with a stroke of his foot, and sunk down at once, when i found myself in the enchanted palace, before the fair princess of the isle of ebene. but, alas! what a spectacle was there! i saw what pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was quite naked, weltering in her blood, and laid upon the ground, more like one dead than alive, with her cheeks bathed in tears. "perfidious wretch!" said the genie to her, pointing at me, "is not this your gallant?" she cast her languishing eyes upon me, and answered mournfully, "i do not know him, i never saw him till this moment." "what!" said the genie, "he is the cause of thy being in the condition thou art justly in; and yet darest thou say thou cost not know him?" "if i do not know him," said the princess, "would you have me lie on purpose to ruin him?" "oh then," said the genie, pulling out a cimeter and presenting it to the princess, "if you never saw him before, take this, and cut off his head." "alas," replied the princess, "how is it possible that i should execute such an act? my strength is so far spent that i cannot lift up my arm; and if i could, how should i have the heart to take away the life of an innocent man, and one whom i do not know?" "this refusal," said the genie to the princess, "sufficiently informs me of your crime." upon which, turning to me, "and thou," said he, "dost thou not know her?" i should have been the most ungrateful wretch, and the most perfidious of all mankind, if i had not strewn myself as faithful to the princess as she had been to me, who had been the cause of her misfortunes. i therefore answered the genie, "how should i know her, when i never saw her till now?" "if it be so," said he, "take the cimeter and cut off her head: on this condition i will set thee at liberty, for then i shall be convinced that thou hast never seen her till this moment, as thou gayest." "with all my heart," replied i, and took the cimeter in my hand. do not think, madam, that i drew near to the fair princess of the isle of ebene to be the executioner of the genie's barbarity. i did it only to demonstrate by my behaviour, as much as possible, that as she had strewn her resolution to sacrifice her life for my sake, i would not refuse to sacrifice mine for hers. the princess, notwithstanding her pain and suffering, understood my meaning; which she signified by an obliging look, and made me understand her willingness to die for me; and that she was satisfied to see how ready i was also to die for her. upon this i stepped back, and threw the cimeter on the ground. "i should for ever," said i to the genie, "be hateful to all mankind were i to be so base as to murder, not only a person whom i do not know, but a lady like this, who is already on the point of expiring: do with me what you please, since i am in your power; i cannot obey your barbarous commands." "i see," said the genie, "that you both out-brave me, and insult my jealousy; but both of you shall know by my treatment of you of what i am capable." at these words the monster took up the cimeter and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other that she bade me for ever adieu. for the blood she had lost before, and that which gushed out then, did not permit her to live above one or two moments after this barbarous cruelty; the sight of which threw me into a fit. when i was come to myself again, i expostulated with the genie, why he made me languish in expectation of death: "strike," cried i, "for i am ready to receive the mortal blow, and expect it as the greatest favour you can show me." but instead of agreeing to that, "behold," said he, "how genies treat their wives whom they suspect of unfaithfulness; she has received thee here, and were i certain that she had put any further affront upon me, i would put thee to death this minute: but i will content myself with transforming thee into a dog, ape, lion, or bird; take thy choice of any of these, i will leave it to thyself." these words gave me some hopes of being able to appease him: "o genie," said i, "moderate your passion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously. i shall always remember your clemency, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world pardoned one of his neighbours that bore him a mortal hatred. the genie asked me what had passed between those two neighbours, and said, he would have patience till he heard the story, which i related to him; and i believe, madam, you will not be displeased if i now repeat it. the story of the envious man, and of him that he envied. in a considerable town two persons dwelt in adjoining houses. one of them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that the hated party resolved to remove to a distance, being persuaded that their being neighbours was the only cause of this animosity; for though he had done him several pieces of service, he found that his hatred was not diminished; he therefore sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the capital city of a kingdom which was not far distant. here he bought a little spot of ground, which lay about half a league from the city; where he had a convenient house, with a garden, and a pretty spacious court, wherein there was a deep well, which was not in use. the honest man having made this purchase put on a dervise's habit, intending to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in the house, where in a short time he established a numerous society of dervises. he soon came to be publicly known by his virtue, through which he acquired the esteem of many people, as well of the commonalty as of the chief of the city. in short, he was much honoured and courted by all ranks. people came from afar to recommend themselves to his prayers; and all who visited him, published what blessings they received through his means. the great reputation of this honest man having spread to the town from whence he had come, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he left his house and affairs with a resolution to ruin him. with this intent he went to the new convent of dervises, of which his former neighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of friendship. the envious man told him that he was come on purpose to communicate a business of importance, which he could not do but in private; and "that nobody may hear us, let us," said he, "take a walk in your court; and seeing night begins to draw on, command your dervises to retire to their cells." the chief of the dervises did as he was required. when the envious man saw that he was alone with this good man, he began to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court, till he saw his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well, he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without being seen by any one. having done thus, he returned, got out at the gate of the convent without being known, and reached his own house well satisfied with his journey, being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no more; but he found himself mistaken. this old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt. he perceived that there was something extraordinary in his fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; but he neither saw nor felt anything. he soon heard a voice, however, which said, "do you know what honest man this is, to whom we have done this piece of service?" another voice answered, "no." to which the first replied, "then i will tell you. this man out of charity, the purest ever known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had conceived against him; he had acquired such a general esteem, that the envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him; and he would have accomplished his design, had it not been for the assistance we have given this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan, who keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit to-morrow, to recommend the princess his daughter to his prayers." another voice asked, "what need had the princess of the dervise's prayers?" to which the first answered, "you do not know, it seems, that she is possessed by genie maimoun, the son of dimdim, who is fallen in love with her. but i well know how this good head of the dervises may cure her; the thing is very easy, and i will explain it to you. he has a black cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the bigness of a small piece of arabian money; let him only pull seven hairs out of the white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with the fume, she will not only be immediately cured, but be so safely delivered from maimoun, the son of dimdim, that he will never dare to approach her again." the head of the dervises remembered every word of the conversation between the fairies and the genies, who remained silent the remainder of the night. the next morning, as soon as daylight appeared, and he could discern the nature of his situation, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole, by which he crept out with ease. the other dervises, who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see him; he gave them a brief account of the wickedness of the man to whom he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired into his cell. shortly after the black cat, which the fairies and the genies had mentioned the night before, came to fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do; he took her up, and pulled seven hairs from the white spot that was upon her tail, and laid them aside for his use when occasion should serve. soon after sunrise the sultan, who would leave no means untried that he thought likely to restore the princess to perfect health, arrived at the gate of the convent. he commanded his guards to halt, whilst he with his principal officers went in. the dervises received him with profound respect. the sultan called their chief aside, and said, "good sheik, you may probably be already acquainted with the cause of my visit." "yes, sir," replied he gravely, "if i do not mistake, it is the disease of the princess which procures me this unmerited honour." "that is the real case," replied the sultan. "you will give me new life if your prayers, as i hope they may, restore my daughter's health." "sir," said the good man, "if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, i am in hopes, through god's assistance and favour, that she will be effectually cured." the prince, transported with joy, sent immediately for his daughter, who soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and eunuchs, but veiled, so that her face was not seen. the chief of the dervises caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner thrown the seven hairs upon the burning coals, than the genie maimoun, the son of dimdim, uttered a great cry, and without being seen, left the princess at liberty; upon which, she took the veil from her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, "where am i, and who brought me hither?" at these words the sultan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also kissed the chief of the dervises' hands, and said to his officers, "what reward does he deserve that has thus cured my daughter?" they all cried, "he deserves her in marriage." "that is what i had in my thoughts," said the sultan; "and i make him my son-in-law from this moment." some time after the prime vizier died, and the sultan conferred the place on the dervise. the sultan himself also died without heirs male; upon which the religious orders and the militia consulted together, and the good man was declared and acknowledged sultan by general consent. the honest dervise, having ascended the throne of his father-in- law, as he was one day in the midst of his courtiers on a march, espied the envious man among the crowd that stood as he passed along, and calling one of the viziers that attended him, whispered him in his ear, "go, bring me that man you see there; but take care you do not frighten him." the vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his presence, the sultan said, "friend, i am extremely glad to see you." upon which he called an officer, "go immediately," said he, "and cause to be paid to this man out of my treasury, one hundred pieces of gold: let him have also twenty loads of the richest merchandize in my storehouses, and a sufficient guard to conduit him to his house." after he had given this charge to the officer, he bade the envious man farewell, and proceeded on his march. when i had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the murderer of the princess of the isle of ebene, i made an application of it to himself: "o genie!" said i, "this bountiful sultan was not satisfied with merely overlooking the design of the envious man to take away his life, but also treated him kindly, and sent him back loaded with the favours i have enumerated." in short, i employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so good an example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible to move his compassion. "all that i can do for thee," said he, "is, to grant thee thy life; but do not flatter thyself that i will allow thee to return safe and well; i must let thee feel what i am able to do by my enchantments." so saying, he seized me violently, and carried me through the arched roof of the subterraneous palace, which opened to give him passage; he ascended with me into the air to such a height, that the earth appeared like a little white cloud; he then descended again like lightning, and alighted upon the summit of a mountain. here he took up a handful of earth, and pronouncing, or rather muttering, some words which i did not understand, threw it upon me. "quit," said he, "the form of a man, and take that of an ape." he instantly disappeared, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, and overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, not knowing whether i was near or far from my father's dominions. i descended the mountain, and entered a plain level country, which took me a month to travel over, and then i came to the sea- side. it happened at the time to be perfectly calm, and i espied a vessel about half a league from the shore: unwilling to lose so good an opportunity, i broke off a large branch from a tree, carried it into the sea, and placed myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars. i launched out in this posture, and rowed towards the ship. when i had approached sufficiently near to be seen, i exhibited to the seamen and passengers on the deck an extraordinary spectacle, and all of them regarded me with astonishment. in the meantime i got on board, and laying hold of a rope, jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech i found myself in great perplexity: and indeed the risk i ran was not less than when i was at the mercy of the genie. the merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, thought if they received me on board i should be the occasion of some misfortune to them during their voyage. on this account one of them said, "i will destroy him with a blow of this handspike;" another, "i will shoot an arrow through his body;" and a third, "let us throw him into the sea." some one of them would not have failed to carry his threat into execution had i not gone to the captain, thrown myself at his feet, and taken hold of his skirt in a supplicating posture. this action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion. he took me under his protection, threatened to be revenged on any one that would do me the least hurt, and loaded me with a thousand caresses. on my part, though i had not power to speak, i showed by my gestures every mark of gratitude in my power. the wind that succeeded the calm was not strong, but favourable; it continued to blow in the same direction for fifty days, and brought us safe to the port of a city, well peopled, and of great trade, the capital of a powerful state, where we came to anchor. our vessel was instantly surrounded with an infinite number of boats full of people, who came to congratulate their friends on their safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in the country from whence they had come, or out of curiosity to see a ship that had performed so long a voyage. amongst the rest, some officers came on board, desiring in the name of the sultan to speak with the merchants. the merchants appearing, one of the officers told them, "the sultan our master hath commanded us to acquaint you, that he rejoices in your safe arrival, and beseeches each of you to take the trouble to write a few lines upon this roll. that you may understand the design of this request, you must know that we had a prime vizier, who besides possessing great abilities for the management of public affairs could write in the highest perfection. this minister a few days since died. the event has greatly affected the sultan; and since he can never behold his writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow, not to give the place to any one who cannot write equally well. many have presented specimens of their skill; but to this day, no one in the empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place." those of the merchants who thought they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity, wrote one after another what they thought fit. after they had done, i advanced, and took the roll out of the gentleman's hand; but all the people, especially the merchants, cried out, that i would tear it, or throw it into the sea, till they saw how properly i held the roll, and made a sign that i would write in my turn: their apprehensions then changed into wonder. however, as they had never seen an ape that could write, and could not be persuaded that i was more ingenious than others of my kind, they wished to take the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. "let him alone," said he, "allow him to write. if he only scribbles the paper, i promise you that i will immediately punish him. if, on the contrary, he writes well, as i hope he will, because i never saw an ape so clever and ingenious, and so quick of apprehension, i declare that i will adopt him as my son." perceiving that no one opposed my design, i took the pen, and wrote six sorts of hands used among the arabians, and each specimen contained an extemporary distich or quatrain in praise of the sultan. my writing not only excelled that of the merchants, but was such as they had not before seen in that country. when i had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan. the sultan took little notice of any of the writings, except mine, which pleased him so much that he said to the officers, "take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest trappings, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade to put on the person who wrote the six hands, and bring him thither." at this command the officers could not forbear laughing. the sultan was incensed at their rudeness, and would have punished them had they not explained: "sir," said they, "we humbly beg your majesty's pardon: these hands were not written by a man, but by an ape." "what do you say?" exclaimed the sultan. "those admirable characters, are they not written by the hands of a man?" "no, sir," replied the officers; "we assure your majesty that it was an ape, who wrote them in our presence." the sultan was too much surprised at this account not to desire a sight of me, and therefore said, "do what i command you, and bring me speedily that wonderful ape." the officers returned to the vessel and shewed the captain their order, who answered, "the sultan's command must be obeyed." whereupon they clothed me with the rich brocade robe, and carried me ashore, where they set me on horseback, whilst the sultan waited for me at his palace with a great number of courtiers, whom he gathered together to do me the more honour. the procession commenced; the harbour, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses, were filled with an infinite number of people of all ranks, who flocked from every part of the city to see me; for the rumour was spread in a moment, that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier, and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, i arrived at the sultan's palace. i found the prince on his throne in the midst of the grandees; i made my obeisance three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterwards took my seat in the posture of an ape. the whole assembly viewed me with admiration, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should so well understand how to pay the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any. in short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete, could i have added speech to my behaviour; but apes never speak, and the advantage i had of having been a man did not now yield me that privilege. the sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but the chief of the eunuchs, a little young slave, and myself. he went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. as he sat at table he made me a sign to approach and eat with them: to shew my obedience i kissed the ground, arose, and placed myself at the table, and ate with discretion and moderation. before the table was cleared, i espied a standish, which i made a sign to have brought me; having got it, i wrote upon a large peach some verses expressive of my acknowledgment to the sultan; who having read them after i had presented the peach to him, was still more astonished. when the things were removed, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a glass. i drank, and wrote upon the glass some new verses, which explained the state i was reduced to, after many sufferings. the sultan read these likewise, and said, "a man that was capable of doing so much would be above the greatest of his species." the sultan caused to be brought to him a chessboard, and asked me by a sign if i understood that game, and would play with him? i kissed the ground, and laying my hand upon my head, signified that i was ready to receive that honour. he won the first game, but i won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at my success, i made a quatrain to satisfy him; in which i told him that two potent armies had been fighting furiously all day, but that they concluded a peace towards the evening, and passed the remaining part of the night very amicably together upon the field of battle. so many circumstances appearing to the sultan beyond whatever had either been seen or known of the cleverness or sense of apes, he determined not to be the only witness of these prodigies himself, but having a daughter, called the lady of beauty, on whom the chief of the eunuchs, then present, waited; "go," said the sultan to him, "and bid your lady come hither: i am desirous she should share my pleasure." the eunuch went, and immediately brought the princess, who had her face uncovered; but she had no sooner come into the room, than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, "sir, your majesty must needs have forgotten yourself; i am surprised that your majesty has sent for me to appear among men." "how, daughter!" said the sultan, "you do not know what you say: there is no one here, but the little slave, the eunuch your governor, and myself, who have the liberty to see your face; and yet you lower your veil, and blame me for having sent for you." "sir," said the princess, "your majesty shall soon understand that i am not in the wrong. that seeming ape is a young prince, son of a powerful sultan, and has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. a genie, son of the daughter of eblis, has maliciously done him this wrong, after having cruelly taken away the life of the princess of the isle of ebene." the sultan, astonished at this declaration, turned towards me, and speaking no more by signs, but in plain words, asked me, if what his daughter said was true? finding i could not speak, i put my hand to my head' to signify that what the princess spoke was correct. upon this the sultan said again to his daughter, "how do you know that this prince has been transformed by enchantments into an ape?" "sir," replied the lady of beauty, "your majesty may remember that when i was past my infancy i had an old lady who waited on me; she was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic, by virtue of which i can, in the twinkling of an eye, transport your capital into the midst of the sea, or beyond mount caucasus. by this science i know all enchanted persons at first sight: i know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted; therefore do not be surprised if i should forthwith relieve this prince, in spite of the enchantments, from that which prevents his appearing in your sight in his natural form." "daughter," said the sultan, "i did not believe you to have understood so much." "sir," replied the princess, "these things are curious and worth knowing; but i think i ought not to boast of them." "since it is so," said the sultan, "you can dispel the prince's enchantment." "yes, sir," said the princess, "i can restore him to his original shape." "do it then," said the sultan, "you cannot do me a greater pleasure; for i will have him to be my vizier, and he shall marry you." "sir," said the princess, "i am ready to obey you in all that you should be pleased to command me." the princess, the lady of beauty, went into her apartment, and brought thence a knife, which had some hebrew words engraven on the blade: she made the sultan, the master of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself, descend into a private court of the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. she placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in arabian characters, some of them ancient. when she had finished and prepared the circle as she thought fit, she placed herself in the centre of it, where she began incantations, and repeated verses of the koraun. the air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night, and the whole world were about to be dissolved: we found ourselves struck with consternation, and our fear increased when we saw the genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, appear suddenly in the shape of a lion of a gigantic size. as soon as the princess perceived this monster, "dog," said she, "instead of creeping before me, dare you present yourself in this shape, thinking to frighten me?" "and thou," replied the lion, "art thou not afraid to break the treaty which was solemnly made and confirmed between us by oath, not to wrong or do one another any injury?" "wretch," replied the princess, "i justly may reproach thee with having done so." the lion answered fiercely, "thou shalt quickly have thy reward for the trouble thou hast given me:" with that he opened his monstrous jaws, and sprang forward to devour her; but she, being on her guard, stepped back, got time to pull out one of her hairs, and by pronouncing three or four words, changed it into a sharp sword, with which she cut the lion in two through the middle. the two parts of the lion disappeared, while the head changed into a large scorpion. immediately the princess turned herself into a serpent, and fought the scorpion, who, finding himself worsted, took the shape of an eagle, and flew away: but the serpent at the same time took also the shape of an eagle, that was black and much stronger, and pursued him, so that we lost sight of them both. some time after they had disappeared, the ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a black and white cat, with her hair standing on end, and mewing in a frightful manner; a black wolf followed close after her, and gave her no time to rest. the cat, being thus hard pressed, changed into a worm, and being near a pomegranate accidentally fallen from a tree on the side of a canal which was deep, but not broad, pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself, but the pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, mounting up to the roof of the gallery, rolled there for some time backward and forward; it then fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces. the wolf had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a cock, and now fell to picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another; but finding no more, he came towards us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there were any more seed. there was one lying on the brink of the canal, which the cock perceiving as he went back, ran speedily thither; but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the river, and turned into a little fish. the cock leaped into the river, turned into a pike, and pursued the small fish; they continued both under water above two hours, and we knew not what was become of them, but suddenly we heard terrible cries, which made us tremble, and a little while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. they threw flashes of fire out of their mouths at each other, till they came to close combat; then the two fires increased, with a thick burning smoke which mounted so high that we had reason to apprehend it would set the palace on fire. but we very soon had a more pressing occasion of fear, for the genie having got loose from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew flames of fire upon us. we must all have perished had not the princess, running to our assistance, forced him to retire, and defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all her exertions, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being burnt, and his face scorched, the chief of the eunuchs from being stifled, and a spark from entering my right eye, and making it blind. the sultan and i expected but death, when we heard a cry of "victory! victory!" and instantly the princess appeared in her natural shape, but the genie was reduced to a heap of ashes. the princess approached us, and hastily called for a cup-full of water, which the young slave, who had received no hurt, brought her. she took it, and after pronouncing some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, "if thou art become an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man which thou hadst before." these words were hardly uttered, when i again became a man, in every respect as i was before my transformation, excepting the loss of my eye. i was prepared to return the princess my thanks, but she prevented me by addressing herself to her father: "sir, i have gained the victory over the genie, as your majesty may see; but it is a victory that costs me dear; i have but a few minutes to live, and you will not have the satisfaction to make the match you intended; the fire has pierced me during the terrible combat, and i find it is gradually consuming me. this would not have happened, had i perceived the last of the pomegranate seeds, and swallowed it, as i did the others when i was changed into a cock: the genie had fled thither as to his last intrenchment, and upon that the success of the combat depended, which would have been successful, and without danger to me. this oversight obliged me to have recourse to fire, and to fight with those mighty arms as i did, between heaven and earth, in your presence; for, in spite of all his redoubtable art and experience, i made the genie know that i understood more than he; i have conquered and reduced him to ashes, but i cannot escape death, which is approaching." the sultan suffered the princess, the lady of beauty, to go on with the recital of her combat, and when she had done, addressed her in a tone that sufficiently testified his grief; "my daughter," said he, "you see in what condition your father is; alas! i wonder that i am yet alive! your governor, the eunuch, is dead, and the prince whom you have delivered from his enchantment has lost one of his eyes." he could say no more, for his tears, sighs, and sobs, deprived him of the power of utterance. suddenly the princess exclaimed, "i burn! i burn!" she found that the fire had at last seized upon her vital parts, which made her still cry "i burn!" until death had put an end to her intolerable pains. the effect of that fire was so extraordinary, that in a few moments she was wholly reduced to ashes, as the genie had been. i cannot tell you, madam, how much i was grieved at so dismal a spectacle; i had rather all my life have continued an ape or a dog, than to have seen my benefactress thus miserably perish. the sultan being afflicted all that can be imagined, cried piteously, and beat himself on his head and breast, until being quite overcome with grief, he fainted away, which made me fear for his life. in the mean time, the eunuchs and officers came running at the sultan's lamentations, and with much difficulty brought him to himself. it was not necessary that the prince or myself should relate the circumstances of the adventure, to convince them of the affliction it had occasioned us. the two heaps of ashes, to which the princess and the genie had been reduced, were a sufficient demonstration. the sultan was hardly able to stand, but was under the necessity of being supported to his apartment. when the knowledge of this tragical event had spread through the palace and the city, all the people bewailed the misfortune of the princess, the lady of beauty, and commiserated the sultan's affliction. public mourning was observed for seven days, and many ceremonies were performed. the ashes of the genie were thrown into the air, but those of the princess were collected into a precious urn, to be preserved, and the urn was deposited in a superb mausoleum, constructed for that purpose on the spot where the princess had been consumed. the grief of the sultan for the loss of his daughter confined him to his chamber for a whole month. before he had fully recovered his strength he sent for me: "prince," said he, "attend to the commands i now give you; your life must answer if you do not carry them into execution." i assured him of exalt obedience; upon which he went on thus: "i have constantly lived in perfect felicity, but by your arrival all the happiness i possessed has vanished; my daughter is dead, her governor is no more, and it is only through a miracle that i am myself yet alive you are the cause of all these misfortunes, under which it is impossible that i should be comforted; depart hence therefore in peace, without farther delay, for i must myself perish if you remain any longer. i am persuaded that your presence brings misfortune with it. depart, and take care never to appear again in my dominions. no consideration whatever shall hinder me from making you repent your temerity should you violate my injunction." i was going to speak, but he prevented me by words full of anger; and i was obliged to quit the palace, rejected, banished, an outcast from the world. before i left the city i went into a bagnio, here i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and put on a calender's habit. i began my journey, not so much deploring my own miseries, as the death of the two fair princesses, of which i have been the occasion. i passed through many countries without making myself known; at last i resolved to come to bagdad, in hopes of getting myself introduced to the commander of the faithful, to move his compassion by relating to him my unfortunate adventures. i arrived this evening, and the first man i met was this calender, our brother, who spoke before me. you know the remaining part, madam, and the cause of my having the honour to be here. when the second calender had concluded his story, zobeide, to whom he had addressed his speech, said, "it is well, you are at liberty." but instead of departing, he also petitioned the lady to shew him the same favour vouchsafed to the first calender, and went and sat down by him. the history of the third calender. my story, most honourable lady, very much differs from what you have already heard. the two princes who have spoken before me have each lost an eye by the pure effects of their destiny, but mine i lost through my own fault, and by hastening to seek my own misfortune, as you shall hear by the sequel of the story. my name is agib, and i am the son of a sultan who was called cassib. after his death i took possession of his dominions, and continued in the city where he had resided. it is situated on the sea-coast, has one of the finest and safest harbours in the world, an arsenal capable of fitting out for sea one hundred and fifty men of war, besides merchantmen and light vessels. my kingdom is composed of several fine provinces upon the main land, besides a number of valuable islands, which lie almost in sight of my capital. my first object was to visit the provinces: i afterwards caused my whole fleet to be fitted out, and went to my islands to gain the hearts of my subjects by my presence, and to confirm them in their loyalty. these voyages gave me some taste for navigation, in which i took so much pleasure, that i resolved to make some discoveries beyond my own territories; to which end i caused ten ships to be fitted out, embarked, and set sail. our voyage was very pleasant for forty days successively, but on the forty-first night the wind became contrary, and withal so boisterous that we were near being lost: about break of day the storm abated, the clouds dispersed, and the weather became fair. we reached an island, where we remained two days to take in fresh provisions; and then put off again to sea. after ten days' sail we were in hopes of seeing land, for the tempests we had experienced had so much abated my curiosity, that i gave orders to steer back to my own coast; but i perceived at the same time that my pilot knew not where we were. upon the tenth day, a seaman being sent to look out for land from the mast head, gave notice that on starboard and larboard he could see nothing but sky and sea, but that right a-head he perceived a great blackness. the pilot changed colour at this account, and throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other, cried, "oh, sir, we are all lost; not one of us can escape; and with all my skill it is not in my power to effect our deliverance." having spoken thus, he lamented like a man who foresaw unavoidable ruin; his despondence threw the whole ship's crew into consternation. i asked him what reason he had thus to despair? he exclaimed, "the tempest has brought us so far out of our course, that to-morrow about noon we shall be near the black mountain, or mine of adamant, which at this very minute draws all your fleet towards it, by virtue of the iron in your ships; and when we approach within a certain distance, the attraction of the adamant will have such force, that all the nails will be drawn out of the sides and bottoms of the ships, and fasten to the mountain, so that your vessels will fall to pieces and sink. "this mountain," continued the pilot, "is inaccessible. on the summit there is a dome of fine brass, supported by pillars of the same metal, and on the top of that dome stands a horse, likewise of brass, with a rider on his back, who has a plate or lead fixed to his breast, upon which some talismanic characters are engraver. sir, the tradition is, that this statue is the chief cause why so many ships and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever continue to be fatal to all those who have the misfortune to approach, until it shall be thrown down." the pilot having finished his discourse, began to weep afresh, and all the rest of the ship's company did the same. i had no other thought but that my days were there to terminate. in the mean time every one began to provide for his own safety, and to that end took all imaginable precaution; and being uncertain of the event, they all made one another their heirs, by virtue of a will, for the benefit of those that should happen to be saved. the next morning we distinctly perceived the black mountain. about noon we were so near, that we found what the pilot had foretold to be true; for all the nails and iron in the ships flew towards the mountain, where they fixed, by the violence of the attraction, with a horrible noise; the ships split asunder, and their cargoes sunk into the sea. all my people were drowned, but god had mercy on me, and permitted me to save myself by means of a plank, which the wind drove ashore just at the foot of the mountain. i did not receive the least hurt, and my good fortune brought me to a landing place, where there were steps that led up to the summit of the mountain. at the sight of these steps, for there was not a space of ground either on the right or left whereon a man could set his foot, i gave thanks to god; and recommended myself to his holy protection, as i began to ascend the steps, which were so narrow, that had the wind raged it would have thrown me into the sea. but, at last, i reached the top, without accident. i went into the dome, and kneeling on the ground, gave god thanks for his mercies. i passed the night under the dome. in my sleep an old grave man appeared to me, and said, "hearken, agib; as soon as thou art awake dig up the ground under thy feet: thou wilt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain constellations, to deliver mankind from the many calamities that threaten them. shoot the three arrows at the statue, and the rider will fall into the sea, but the horse will fall by thy side; thou must bury it in the place where thou findest the bow and arrows: this being done, the sea will swell and rise to the foot of the dome. when it has come so high, thou wilt perceive a boat with one man holding an oar in each hand; this man is also of metal, but different from that thou hast thrown down; step on board, but without mentioning the name of god, and let him conduct thee. he will in ten days' time bring thee into another sea, where thou shalt find an opportunity to return to thy country, provided, as i have told thee, thou dost not mention the name of god during the whole voyage." this was the substance of the old man's discourse. when i awoke i felt much comforted by the vision, and did not fail to observe everything that he had commanded me. i took the bow and arrows out of the ground, shot at the horseman, and with the third arrow i overthrew him; he fell into the sea, and the horse fell by my side; i buried it in the place whence i took the bow and arrows. in the mean time, the sea swelled and rose up by degrees. when it came as high as the foot of the dome upon the top of the mountain, i saw, afar off, a boat rowing towards me, and i returned god thanks that everything succeeded according to my dream. at last the boat made land, and i perceived the man was made of metal, as i had dreamt. i stept aboard, and took great heed not to pronounce the name of god, neither spoke i one word. i sat down, and the man of metal began to row off from the mountain. he rowed without ceasing till the ninth day, when i saw some islands, which gave me hopes that i should escape all the danger that i feared. the excess of my joy made me forget what i was forbidden: "blessed be god," said i; "god be praised." i had no sooner spoken these words, than the boat sunk with the man of metal, leaving me upon the surface. i swam the remaining part of the day towards that land which appeared nearest. a very dark night succeeded, and not knowing where i was, i swam at random. my strength at last began to fail, and i despaired of being able to save myself, but the wind began to blow hard, and a wave vast as a mountain threw me on a flat, where it left me, and retreated. i made haste ashore, fearing another wave might wash me back. the first thing i did was to strip, wring the water out of my clothes, and lay them on the dry sand, which was still warm from the heat of the day. next morning the sun dried my clothes; i put them on, and went forward to discover what sort of country i was in. i had not walked far before i found i was upon a desert, though a very pleasant, island, as it displayed several sorts of trees and wild shrubs bearing fruit; but i perceived it was far from the continent, which much diminished the joy i felt at having escaped the danger of the seas. nevertheless, i recommended myself to god and prayed him to dispose of me according to his will. immediately after, i saw a vessel coming from the main land, before the wind, directly towards the island. i doubted not but they were coming to anchor there; and being uncertain what sort of people they might be, whether friends or foes, i thought it not safe to be seen. i got up into a very thick tree, from whence i might safely view them. the vessel came into a little creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying a spade and other instruments for digging up the ground. they went towards the middle of the island, where i saw them stop, and dig for a considerable time, after which i thought i perceived them lift up a trap door. they returned again to the vessel, and unloaded several sorts of provisions and furniture, which they carried to the place where they had been digging: they then descended, which made me suppose it led to a subterraneous dwelling. i saw them once more go to the ship, and return soon after with an old man, who led in his hand a handsome lad of about fourteen or fifteen years of age. they all descended when the trap door had been opened. after they had again come up, they let down the trap door, covered it over with earth, and returned to the creek where the ship lay, but i saw not the young man in their company. this made me believe that he had staid behind in the subterraneous place, a circumstance which exceedingly surprised me. the old man and the slaves went on board, and getting the vessel under weigh, steered their course towards the main land. when i perceived they had proceeded to such a distance that i could not be seen by them, i came down from the tree, and went directly to the place where i had seen the ground broken. i removed the earth by degrees, till i came to a stone that was two or three feet square. i lifted it up, and found that it covered the head of a flight of stairs, which were also of stone. i descended, and at the bottom found myself in a large room, furnished with a carpet, a couch covered with tapestry, and cushions of rich stuff, upon which the young man sat, with a fan in his hand. these things, together with fruits and flower-pot standing about him, i saw by the light of two wax tapers. the young man, when he perceived me was considerably alarmed; but to quiet his apprehensions, i said to him as i entered, "whoever you are, sir, do not fear; a sultan, and the son of a sultan, as i am, is not capable of doing you any injury: on the contrary, it is probable that your good destiny may have brought me hither to deliver you out of this tomb, where it seems you have been buried alive, for reasons to me unknown. but what surprises me (for you must know that i have been witness to all that hath passed since your coming into this island), is, that you suffered yourself to be entombed in this place without any resistance." the young man felt assured at these words, and with a smiling countenance requested me to take a seat by him. when i had complied, he said "prince, i am to acquaint you with what will surprise you by its singularity. "my father is a merchant jeweller, who, by his industry and professional skill, has acquired considerable property. he has many slaves, and also agents, whom he employs as supercargoes in his own ships, to maintain his correspondence at the several courts, which he furnishes with precious stones. "he had been long married without having issue, when it was intimated to him in a dream that he should have a son, though his life would be but short; at which he was much concerned when he awoke. some days after, my mother acquainted him that she was with child, and what she supposed to be the time of her conception agreed exactly with the day of his dream. at the end of nine months she was brought to bed of me; which occasioned great joy in the family. "my father, who had observed the very moment of my birth, consulted astrologers about my nativity; and was answered, â��your son shall live happily till the age of fifteen, when his life will be exposed to a danger which he will hardly be able to escape. but if his good destiny preserve him beyond that time, he will live to a great age. it will be' (said they) â��when the statue of brass, that stands upon the summit of the mountain of adamant, shall be thrown into the sea by prince agib, son of king cassib; and, as the stars prognosticate, your son will be killed fifty days afterwards by that prince.' "my father took all imaginable care of my education until this year, which is the fifteenth of my age. he had notice given him yesterday, that the statue of brass had been thrown into the sea about ten days ago. this news alarmed him much. "upon the prediction the astrologers, he sought by all means possible to falsify my horoscope, and to preserve my life. he took the precaution to form this subterranean habitation to hide me in, till the expiration of the fifty days after the throwing down of the statue; and therefore, as it is ten days since this happened, he came hastily hither to conceal me, and promised at the end of forty days to return and fetch me away. for my own part i am sanguine in my hopes, and cannot believe that prince agib will seek for me in a place under ground, in the midst of a desert island." while the jeweller's son was relating this story, i laughed at the astrologers who had foretold that i should take away his life; for i thought myself so far from being likely to verify their prediction, that he had scarcely done speaking, when i told him with great joy, "dear sir, trust in the goodness of god, and fear nothing; consider it as a debt you had to pay; but that you are acquitted of it from this hour. i rejoice that after my shipwreck i came so fortunately hither to defend you against all who would attempt your life. i will not leave you till the forty days have expired, of which the foolish astrologers have made you apprehensive; and in the mean while i will do you all the service in my power: after which, with leave of your father and yourself, i shall have the benefit of getting to the main land in your vessel; and when i am returned into my kingdom, i will remember the obligations i owe you, and endeavour to demonstrate my gratitude by suitable acknowedgments." this discourse encouraged the jeweller's son, and inspired him with confidence. i took care not to inform him i was the very agib whom he dreaded, lest i should alarm his fears, and used every precaution not to give him any cause to suspect who i was. we passed the time in various conversation till night came on. i found the young man of ready wit, and partook with him of his provisions, of which he had enough to have lasted beyond the forty days, though he had had more guests than myself. after supper we conversed for some time; and at last retired to bed. the next morning, when he arose, i held the basin of water to him; i also provided dinner, and at the proper time placed it on the table: after we had dined i invented a play for our amusement, not only for that day, but for those that followed. i prepared supper after the same manner as i had done the dinner; and having supped, we retired to bed as before. we had sufficient time to contrast mutual friendship and esteem for each other. i found he loved me; and i on my part regarded him with so much affection, that i often said to myself, "those astrologers who predicted to his father that his son should die by my hand were impostors; for it is not possible that i could commit so base a crime." in short, madam, we spent thirty-nine days in the pleasantest manner possible in this subterraneous abode. the fortieth day appeared: and in the morning, when the young man awoke, he said to me with a transport of joy that he could not restrain, "prince, this is the fortieth day, and i am not dead, thanks to god and your good company. my father will not fail to make you, very shortly, every acknowledgment of his gratitude for your attentions, and will furnish you with every necessary accommodation for your return to your kingdom: but," continued he, "while we are waiting his arrival, i beg you will provide me some warm water in that portable bath, that i may wash my body and change my dress, to receive my father with the more respect." i set the water on the fire, and when it was hot poured it into the moveable bath; the youth went in, and i both washed and rubbed him. at last he came out, and laid himself down in his bed that i had prepared. after he had slept a while, he awoke, and said, "dear prince, pray do me the favour to fetch me a melon and some sugar, that i may eat some to refresh me." out of several melons that remained i took the best, and laid it on a plate; and as i could not find a knife to cut it with, i asked the young man if he knew where there was one. "there is one," said he, "upon this cornice over my head:" i accordingly saw it there, and made so much haste to reach it, that, while i had it in my hand, my foot being entangled in the carpet, i fell most unhappily upon the young man, and the knife pierced his heart. at this spectacle i cried out with agony. i beat my head, my face, and breast; i tore my clothes; i threw myself on the ground with unspeakable sorrow and grief! "alas!" i exclaimed, "there were only some hours wanting to have put him out of that danger from which he sought sanctuary here; and when i thought the danger past, then i became his murderer, and verified the prediction. but, o lord!" said i, lifting up my face and my hands to heaven, "i intreat thy pardon, and if i be guilty of his death, let me not live any longer." after this misfortune i would have embraced death without any reluctance, had it presented itself to me. but what we wish, whether it be good or evil, will not always happen according to our desire. nevertheless, considering that all my tears and sorrows would not restore the young man to life, and, the forty days being expired, i might be surprised by his father, i quitted the subterranean dwelling, laid down the great stone upon the entrance, and covered it with earth. i had scarcely done, when, casting my eyes upon the sea towards the main land, i perceived the vessel coming to fetch away the young man. i began then to consider what i had best do. i said to myself, "if i am seen by the old man, he will certainly seize me, and perhaps cause me to be massacred by his slaves, when he has discovered that his son is killed: all that i can allege to justify myself will not convince him of my innocence. it is better then to withdraw while it is in my power, than to expose myself to his resentment." there happened to be near a large tree thick with leaves, which i ascended in hopes of concealment, and was no sooner fixed in a place where i could not be perceived, than i saw the vessel come to the creek where she lay the first time. the old man with his slaves landed immediately, and advanced towards the subterranean dwelling, with a countenance that shewed some hope; but when they saw the earth had been newly removed, they changed colour, particularly the old man. they lifted up the stone, and went down; they called the young man by his name, but he not answering, their fears increased. they proceeded to seek him; and at length found him lying upon the bed with the knife in his heart, for i had not power to take it out. at this sight they cried out lamentably, which increased my sorrow: the old man fell down in a swoon. the slaves, to give him air, brought him up in their arms, and laid him at the foot of the tree where i was concealed; but notwithstanding all the pains they took to recover him, the unfortunate father continued a long while insensible, and made them more than once despair of his life; but at last he came to himself. the slaves then brought up his son's corpse, dressed in his best apparel, and when they had made a grave they buried it. the old man, supported by two slaves, and his face covered with tears, threw the first earth upon the body, after which the slaves filled up the grave. this being done, all the furniture was brought up, and, with the remaining provisions, put on board the vessel. the old man, overcome with sorrow, and not being able to stand, was laid upon a litter, and carried to the ship, which stood out to sea, and in a short time was out of sight. after the old man and his slaves were gone, i was left alone upon the island. i lay that night in the subterranean dwelling, which they had shut up, and when the day came, i walked round the island, and stopped in such places as i thought most proper for repose. i led this wearisome life for a whole month. at the expiration of this time i perceived that the sea had receded; that the island had increased in dimensions; the main land too seemed to be drawing nearer. in fact, the water sunk so low, that there remained between me and the continent but a small stream, which i crossed, and the water did not reach above the middle of my leg. i walked so long a way upon the slime and sand that i was very weary: at last i got upon more firm ground, and when i had proceeded some distance from the sea, i saw a good way before me something that resembled a great fire, which afforded me some comfort; for i said to myself, i shall find here some persons, it not being possible that this fire should kindle of itself. as i drew nearer, however, i found my error, and discovered that what i had taken for a fire was a castle of red copper, which the beams of the sun made to appear at a distance like flames. i stopped in the neighbourhood of the castle, and sat down to admire its noble structure, and to rest myself. before i had taken such a view of this magnificent building as it deserved, i saw ten handsome young men coming along, as if they had been taking a walk; but what surprised me was, that they were all blind of the right eye. they were accompanied by an old man, who was very tall, and of a venerable aspect. i could not suppress my astonishment at the sight of so many half blind men in company, and every one deprived of the same eye. as i was conjecturing by what adventure these men could come together, they approached, and seemed glad to see me. after the first salutations, they inquired what had brought me thither. i told them my story would be somewhat tedious, but if they would take the trouble to sit down, would satisfy their curiosity. they did so, and i related to them all that had happened to me since i had left my kingdom, which filled them with astonishment. after i had concluded my account, the young gentlemen prayed me to accompany them into the castle. i accepted their offer, and we passed through a great many halls, ante-chambers, bed-chambers, and closets, very well furnished, and came at last into a spacious hall, where there were ten small blue sofas set round, separate from one another, on which they sat by day and slept at night. in the middle of this circle stood an eleventh sofa, not so high as the rest, but of the same colour, upon which the old man before-mentioned sat down, and the young gentlemen occupied the other ten. but as each sofa could only contain one man, one of the young men said to me, "comrade, sit down upon that carpet in the middle of the room, and do not inquire into anything that concerns us, nor the reason why we are all blind of the right eye; be content with what you see, and let not your curiosity extend any farther." the old man having sat a short time, arose, and went out; but he returned in a minute or two, brought in supper, distributed to each man separately his proportion, and likewise brought me mine, which i ate apart, as the rest did; and when supper was almost ended, he presented to each of us a cup of wine. they thought my story so extraordinary, that they made me repeat it after supper, and it furnished conversation for a good part of the night. one of the gentlemen observing that it was late, said to the old man, "you do not bring us that with which we may acquit ourselves of our duty." at these words the old man arose, and went into a closet, and brought out thence upon his head ten basins, one after another, all covered with blue stuff; he placed one before every gentleman, together with a light. they uncovered their basins, which contained ashes, coal-dust, and lamp-black; they mixed all together, and rubbed and bedaubed their faces with it in such a manner as to make themselves look very frightful. after having thus blackened themselves, they wept and lamented, beating their heads and breasts, and crying continually, "this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches." they continued this strange employment nearly the whole of the night, and when they left off, the old man brought them water, with which they washed their faces and hands; they changed all their clothes, which were spoiled, and put on others; so that they exhibited no appearance of what they had been doing. you may judge how uneasy i felt all this time. i wished a thousand times to break the silence which had been imposed upon me, and ask questions; nor was it possible for me to sleep that night. the next day, soon after we had arisen, we went out to walk, and then i said to them, "gentlemen, i declare to you, that i must renounce the law which you prescribed to me last night, for i cannot observe it. you are men of sense, you have convinced me that you do not want understanding; yet, i have seen you do such actions as none but madmen could be capable of. whatever misfortune befalls me, i cannot forbear asking, why you bedaubed your faces with black? how it has happened that each of you has but one eye? some singular circumstance must certainly be the cause; therefore i conjure you to satisfy my curiosity." to these pressing instances they answered only, that it was no business of mine to make such inquiries, and that i should do well to hold my peace. we passed that day in conversation upon indifferent subjects; and when night was come and every man had supped, the old man brought in the blue basins, and the young gentlemen as before bedaubed their faces, wept and beat themselves, crying, "this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches," and continued the same actions the following night. at last, not being able to resist my curiosity, i earnestly prayed them to satisfy me, or to shew me how to return to my own kingdom; for it was impossible for me to keep them company any longer, and to see every night such an odd exhibition, without being permitted to know the reason. one of the gentlemen answered on behalf of the rest, "do not wonder at our conduit in regard to yourself, and that hitherto we have not granted your request: it is out of kindness, to save you the pain of being reduced to the same condition with ourselves. if you have a mind to try our unfortunate destiny, you need but speak, and we will give you the satisfaction you desire." i told them i was resolved on it, let what would be the consequence. "once more," said the same gentleman, "we advise you to restrain your curiosity: it will cost you the loss of your right eye." "no matter," i replied; "be assured that if such a misfortune befall me, i will not impute it to you, but to myself." he farther represented to me, that when i had lost an eye i must not hope to remain with them, if i were so disposed, because their number was complete, and no addition could be made to it. i told them, that it would be a great satisfaction to me never to part from such agreeable gentlemen, but if there were a necessity for it, i was ready to submit; and let it cost me what it would, i begged them to grant my request. the ten gentlemen perceiving that i was so fixed in my resolution, took a sheep, killed it, and after they had taken off the skin, presented me with a knife, telling me it would be useful to me on an occasion which they would soon explain. "we must sew you in this skin," said they, "and then leave you; upon which a bird of a monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, and taking you for a sheep, will pounce upon you, and soar with you to the sky: but let not that alarm you; he will descend with you again, and lay you on the top of a mountain. when you find yourself on the ground, cut the skin with your knife, and throw it off. as soon as the roc sees you, he will fly away for fear, and leave you at liberty. do not stay, but walk on till you come to a spacious castle, covered with plates of gold, large emeralds, and other precious stones: go up to the gate, which always stands open, and walk in. we have each of us been in that castle; but will tell you nothing of what we saw, or what befell us there; you will learn by your own experience. all that we can inform you is, that it has cost each of us our right eye, and the penance which you have been witness to, is what we are obliged to observe in consequence of having been there. the history of each of us is so full of extraordinary adventures, that a large volume would not contain them. but we cannot explain ourselves farther." when the gentleman had thus spoken, i wrapt myself in the sheep's skin, held fast the knife which was given me; and after the young gentlemen had been at the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me alone. the roc they spoke of soon arrived; he pounced upon me, took me in his talons like a sheep, and carried me up the summit of the mountain. when i found myself on the ground, i cut the skin with the knife, and throwing it off, the roc at the sight of me flew sway. this roc is a white bird, of a monstrous size; his strength is such, that he can lift up elephants from the plains, and carry them to the tops of mountains, where he feeds upon them. being impatient to reach the castle, i lost no time; but made so much haste, that i got thither in half a day's journey, and i must say that i found it surpassed the description they had given me of its magnificence. the gate being open, i entered a square court, so large that there were round it ninety-nine gates of wood of sanders and aloes, and one of gold, without reckoning those of several superb staircases, that led to apartments above, besides many more which i could not see. the hundred doors i spoke of opened into gardens or store-houses full of riches, or into apartments which contained many things wonderful to be seen. i saw a door standing open just before me, through which i entered into a large hall. here i found forty young ladies of such perfect beauty as imagination could not surpass: they were all most sumptuously appareled. as soon as they saw me they arose, and without waiting my salutations, said to me, with demonstrations of joy, "noble sir, you are welcome." and one thus addressed me in the name of the rest, "we have long been in expectation of such a gentleman as you; your mien assures us, that you are master of all the good qualities we can desire; and we hope you will not find our company disagreeable or unworthy of yours." they obliged me, notwithstanding all the opposition i could make, to sit down on a seat that was higher than their own; and when i expressed my uneasiness, "that is your place," said they, "you are at present our lord, master, and judge, and we are your slaves, ready to obey your commands." nothing, madam, so much astonished me, as the solicitude and eagerness of those fair ladies to do me all possible service. one brought hot water to wash my feet, a second poured sweet scented water on my hands; others brought me all kinds of necessaries, and change of apparel; others again brought in a magnificent collation; and the rest came with glasses in their hands to fill me delicious wines, all in good order, and in the most charming manner possible. i ate and drank; after which the ladies placed themselves about me, and desired an account of my travels. i gave them a full relation of my adventures, which lasted till night came on. when i had finished my narrative to the forty ladies, some of them who sat nearest me staid to keep me company, whilst the rest, seeing it was dark, rose to fetch tapers. they brought a prodigious number, which by the wonderful light they emitted exhibited the resemblance of day, and they disposed them with so much taste as to produce the most beautiful effect possible. other ladies covered a table with dry fruits, sweetmeats, and everything proper to relish the liquor; a side-board was set out with several sorts of wine and other liquors. some of the ladies brought in musical instruments, and when everything was ready, they invited me to sit down to supper. the ladies sat down with me, and we continued a long while at our repast. they that were to play upon the instruments and sing arose, and formed a most charming concert. the others began a kind of ball, and danced two and two, couple after couple, with admirable grace. it was past midnight ere these amusements ended. at length one of the ladies said to me, "you are doubtless wearied by the journey you have taken to-day; it is time for you to retire to rest; your lodging is prepared: but before you depart choose which of us you like best to be your bedfellow." i answered, "that i knew not how to make my own choice, as they were all equally beautiful, witty, and worthy of my respects and service, and that i would not be guilty of so much incivility as to prefer one before another." the lady who had spoken to me before answered, "we are very well satisfied of your civility, and find it is your fear to create jealousy among us that occasions your diffidence; but let not this hinder you. we assure you, that the good fortune of her whom you choose shall cause no feeling of the kind; for we are agreed among ourselves, that every one of us shall in her turn have the same honour; and when forty days are past, to begin again; therefore make your selection, and lose no time to take the repose you need." i was obliged to yield to their entreaties, and offered my hand to the lady who spoke, and who, in return, gave me hers. we were conducted to a sumptuous apartment, where they left us; and then every one retired to her own chamber. i was scarcely dressed next morning, when the other thirty-nine ladies came into my chamber, all in different dresses from those they had worn the day before: they bade me good-morrow, and inquired after my health. after which they conveyed me to a bath, where they washed me themselves, and whether i would or no, served me with everything i needed; and when i came out of the bath, they made me put on another suit much richer than the former. we passed the whole day almost constantly at table; and when it was bed-time, they prayed me again to make choice of one of them for my companion in short, madam, not to weary you with repetitions, i must tell you that i continued a whole year among those forty ladies, and received them into my bed one after another: and during all the time of this voluptuous life, we met not with the least kind of trouble. when the year was expired, i was greatly surprised that these forty ladies, instead of appearing with their usual cheerfulness to ask me how i did, entered my chamber one morning all in tears. they embraced me with great tenderness one after another, saying, "adieu, dear prince, adieu! for we must leave you." their tears affected. i prayed them to tell me the reason of their grief, and of the separation they spoke of. "fair ladies, let me know," said i, "if it be in my power to comfort you, or if my assistance can be any way useful to you." instead of returning a direct answer, "would," said they, "we had never seen or known you! several gentlemen have honoured us with their company before you; but never one of them had that comeliness, that sweetness, that pleasantness of humour, and that merit which you possess; we know not how to live without you." after they had spoken these words, they began to weep bitterly. "my dear ladies," said i, "have the kindness not to keep me any longer in suspense: tell me the cause of your sorrow." "alas!" said they, "what but the necessity of parting from you could thus afflict us? perhaps we shall never see you more; but if it be your wish we should, and if you possess sufficient self-command for the purpose, it is not impossible but that we may again enjoy the pleasure of your company." "ladies," i replied, "i understand not what you mean; pray explain yourselves more clearly." "well," said one of them, "to satisfy you, we must acquaint you that we are all princesses, daughters of kings. we live here together in the manner you have seen; but at the end of every year we are obliged to be absent forty days upon indispensable duties, which we are not permitted to reveal: and afterwards we return again to this castle. yesterday was the last of the year; to day we must leave you, and this circumstance is the cause of our grief. before we depart we will leave you the keys of everything, especially those of the hundred doors, where you will find enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to relieve your solitude during our absence. but for your benefit, and our own personal interests, we recommend you to forbear opening the golden door; for if you do we shall never see you again; and the apprehension of this augments our grief. we hope, nevertheless, that you will attend to our advice; your own peace, and the happiness of your life, depends upon your compliance; therefore take heed. if you suffer yourself to be swayed by a foolish curiosity, you will do yourself a considerable injury. we conjure you to avoid the indiscretion, and to give us the satisfaction finding you here again at the end of forty days. we would willingly take the key of the golden door with us; but that it would be an affront to a prince like you to question your discretion and firmness." this speech of the fair princesses grieved me extremely. i omitted not to declare how much their absence would afflict me. i thanked then for their good advice, assuring them that i would follow it, and expressed my willingness to perform what was much more difficult, to secure the happiness of passing the rest of my days with ladies of such beauty and accomplishments. we separated with much tenderness, and after i had embraced them all, they departed, and i remained alone in the castle. the agreeableness of their company, their hospitality, their musical entertainments, and other amusements, had so much absorbed my attention during the whole year, that i neither had time nor desire to see the wonders contained in this enchanted palace. i did not even notice a thousand curious objects that every day offered themselves to my view, so much was i charmed by the beauty of those ladies, and the pleasure they seemed to take in promoting my gratification. their departure sensibly afflicted me; and though their absence was to be only forty days, it seemed to me an age to live without them. i determined not to forget the important advice they had given me, not to open the golden door; but as i was permitted to satisfy my curiosity in everything else, i took the first of the keys of the other doors, which were hung in regular order. i opened the first door, and entered an orchard, which i believe the universe could not equal. i could not imagine any thing to surpass it, except that which our religion promises us after death. the symmetry, the neatness, the admirable order of the trees, the abundance and diversity of unknown fruits, their freshness and beauty, delighted my senses. nor must i omit to inform you, that this delicious orchard was watered in a very particular manner. there were channels so artificially and proportionately dug, that they carried water in considerable quantities to the roots of such trees as required much moisture. others conveyed it in smaller quantities to those whose fruits were already formed: some carried still less to those whose fruits were swelling, and others carried only so much as was just requisite to water those which had their fruits come to perfection, and only wanted to be ripened. they far exceeded in size the ordinary fruits of our gardens. lastly, those channels that watered the trees whose fruit was ripe had no more moisture than just what would preserve them from withering. i should never have tired in examining and admiring so delightful a place; nor have left it, had i not conceived a still higher idea of the other things which i had not seen. i went out at last with my mind filled with the wonders i had viewed: i shut the door, and opened the next. instead of an orchard, i found here a flower garden, which was no less extraordinary in its kind. it contained a spacious plot, not watered so profusely as the former, but with greater niceness, furnishing no more water than just what each flower required. the roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils, hyacinths, anemonies, tulips, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of flowers, which do not grow in other places but at certain times, were there flourishing all at once, and nothing could be more delicious than the fragrant smell which they emitted. i opened the third door, and found a large aviary, paved with marble of several fine and uncommon colours. the trellis work was made of sandal wood and wood of aloes. it contained a vast number of nightingales, gold-finches, canary birds, larks, and other rare singing-birds, which i had never heard of; and the vessels that held their seed and water were of the most precious jasper or agate. besides, this aviary was so exceedingly neat, that, considering its extent, i judged there must be not less than a hundred persons to keep it clean; but all this while not one appeared, either here or in the gardens i had before examined; and yet i could not perceive a weed, or any thing superfluous or offensive to sight. the sun went down, and i retired, charmed with the chirping notes of the multitude of birds, who then began to perch upon such places as suited them for repose during the night. i went to my chamber, resolving on the following days to open all the rest of the doors, excepting that of gold. the next day i opened the fourth door. if what i had seen before was capable of exciting my surprise, what i now beheld transported me into perfect ecstacy. i entered a large court surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the description of which i will omit, to avoid prolixity. this building had forty doors, all open, and through each of them was an entrance into a treasury: several of these treasuries contained as much wealth as the largest kingdoms. the first was stored with heaps of pearls: and, what is almost incredible, the number of those stones which are most precious, and as large as pigeons' eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size. in the second treasury, there were diamonds, carbuncles, and rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; and in the two following, money. the rest contained amethysts, chrysolites, topazes, opals, turquoises, and hyacinths, with all the other stones known to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian, and coral, of which there was a store house filled, not only with branches, but whole trees. filled with astonishment and admiration at the view of all these riches, i exclaimed, "if all the treasures of the kings of the universe were gathered together in one place, they could not equal the value of these. how fortunate am i to possess all this wealth with so many admirable princesses! " i will not tire you, madam, with a detail of all the other objects of curiosity and value which i discovered on the following day. i shall only say, that thirty-nine days afforded me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so that there was only the hundredth door left, which i was forbidden to open. the fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses arrived, and had i but retained so much self-command as i ought to have had, i should have been this day the happiest of all mankind, whereas now i am the most unfortunate. they were to return the next day, and the pleasure of seeing them again ought to have restrained my curiosity: but through my weakness, which i shall ever repent, i yielded to the temptations of the evil spirit, who allowed me no rest till i had involved myself in the misfortunes i have since suffered. i opened that fatal door! but before i had moved my foot to enter, a smell pleasant enough, but too powerful for my senses, made me faint away. however, i soon recovered: but instead of taking warning from this incident to close the door, and restrain my curiosity, after waiting some time for the external air to correct the effluvia of the place, i entered, and felt myself no longer incommoded. i found myself in a spacious vaulted apartment, the pavement of which was strewed with saffron. it was illuminated by several large tapers which emitted the perfume of aloes and ambergris, and were placed in candlesticks of solid gold. this light was augmented by gold and silver lamps, burning perfumed oils of various kinds. among the many objects that attracted my attention was a black horse, of the most perfect symmetry and beauty that ever was beheld. i approached in order the better to observe him, and found he had on a saddle and bridle of massive gold, curiously wrought. one part of his manger was filled with clean barley and sesame, and the other with rose-water. i laid hold of his bridle, and led him out to view him by daylight. i mounted, and endeavoured to make him move: but finding he did not stir, i struck him with a switch i had taken up in his magnificent stable. he had no sooner felt the blow, than he began to neigh in a most horrible manner, and extending his wings, which i had not before perceived, flew up with me into the air. my thoughts were fully in keeping my seat; and considering the fear that had seized me, i sat well. at length he directed his course towards the earth, and lighted upon the terrace of a castle, and, without giving me time to dismount, shook me out of the saddle with such force, as to throw me behind him, and with the end of his tail he struck out my eye. thus it was i became blind of one eye. i then recollected the predictions of the ten young gentlemen. the horse again took wing, and soon disappeared. i got up much vexed at the misfortune i had brought upon myself. i walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then descended, and entered into a hall. i soon discoved by the ten sofas in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the rest, that i was in the castle whence i had been carried by the roc. the ten young gentlemen were not in the hall when i entered; but came in soon after, attended by the old man. they seemed not at all surprised to see me, nor at the loss of my eye; but said, "we are sorry that we cannot congratulate you on your return, as we could wish; but we are not the cause of your misfortune." "i should do you wrong," i replied, "to lay it to your charge; i have only myself to accuse." "if," said they, "it be a subject of consolation to the afflicted to know that others share their sufferings, you have in us this alleviation of your misfortune. all that has happened to you we have also endured; we each of us tasted the same pleasures during a year; and we had still continued to enjoy them, had we not opened the golden door, when the princesses were absent. you have been no wiser than we, and have incurred the same punishment. we would gladly receive you into our company, to join with us in the penance to which we are bound, and the duration of which we know not. but we have already stated to you the reasons that render this impossible: depart, therefore, and proceed to the court of bagdad, where you will meet with the person who is to decide your destiny." after they had explained to me the road i was to travel, i departed. on the road i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaven, and assumed a calender's habit. i have had a long journey, but at last i arrived this evening, and met these my brother calenders at the gate, being strangers as well as myself. we were mutually surprised at one another, to see that we were all blind of the same eye; but we had not leisure to converse long on the subject of our misfortunes. we have only had time enough to bring us hither, to implore those favours which you have been generously pleased to grant us. the third calender having finished this relation of his adventures, zobeide addressed him and his fellow calenders thus: "go wherever you think proper, you are at liberty." but one of them answered, "madam, we beg you to pardon our curiosity, and permit us to hear the stories of those gentlemen who have not yet spoken." then the lady turned to the caliph, the vizier jaaffier, and mesrour, and said to them, "it is now your turn to relate your adventures, therefore speak." the grand vizier who had all along been the spokesman, answered zobeide: "madam, in order to obey you, we need only repeat what we have already said. we are merchants of moussol come to bagdad to sell our merchandize, which lies in the khan where we lodge. we dined today with several other persons of our condition, at a merchant's house of this city; who, after he had treated us with choice dainties and excellent wines, sent for men and women dancers, and musicians. the great noise we made brought in the watch, who arrested some of the company, and we had the good fortune to escape: but it being already late, and the door of our khan shut up, we knew not whither to retire. we chanced as we passed along this street to hear mirth at your house, which made us determine to knock at your gate. this is all the account that we can give you, in obedience to your commands." zobeide having heard this statement, seemed to hesitate what to say, which the calenders perceiving, prayed her to grant the same favour to the three moussol merchants as she had done to them. "well then," said she, "you shall all be equally obliged to me; i pardon you all, provided you immediately depart." zobeide having given this command in a tone that signified she would be obeyed, the caliph, the vizier mesrour, the three calenders, and the porter departed, without saying one word: for the presence of the seven slaves with their weapons awed them into silence. as soon as they had quitted the house, and the gate was closed after them, the caliph said to the calenders, without making himself known, "you gentlemen, who are newly come to town, which way do you design to go, since it is not yet day?" "it is this," they replied, "that perplexes us." "follow us," resumed the caliph, "and we will convey you out of danger." he then whispered to the vizier, "take them along with you, and tomorrow morning bring them to me; i will cause their history to be put in writing, for it deserves a place in the annals of my reign." the vizier jaaffier took the three calenders along with him; the porter went to his quarters, and the caliph and mesrour returned to the palace. the caliph went to bed, but could not sleep, being perplexed by the extraordinary things he had seen and heard. but above all, he was most concerned to know the history of zobeide; what reason she could have to be so severe to the two black bitches, and why amene had her bosom so scarred. day began to appear whilst he was thinking upon these things; he arose and went to his council chamber, and sat upon his throne. the grand vizier entered soon after, and paid his respects as usual. "vizier," said the caliph, "the affairs that we have to consider at present are not very pressing; that of the three ladies and the two black bitches is the most urgent: my mind cannot rest till i am thoroughly satisfied, in all those matters that have so much surprised me. go, bring those ladies and the calenders at the same time; make haste, and remember that i impatiently expect your return." the vizier who knew his master's quick and fiery temper, hastened to obey, and went to the ladies, to whom he communicated, in a civil way,. the orders with which he was charged, to bring them before the caliph, without taking any notice of what had passed the night before at their house. the ladies put on their veils, and went with the vizier as he passed his own house, he took along with him the three calenders, who in the interval had learnt that they had seen and spoken with the caliph, without knowing him. the vizier conducted them to the palace with so much expedition, that the caliph was much pleased. this prince, that he might observe proper decorum before the officers of his court who were then present, ordered that the ladies should be placed behind the hangings of the door which led to his own chamber, and placed the three calenders near his person, who, by their respectful behaviour, sufficiently evinced that they were not ignorant before whom they had the honour to appear. when the ladies were thus disposed of, the caliph turned towards them, and said, "when i acquaint you that i was last night in your house, disguised in a merchant's habit, you may probably be alarmed, lest you may have given me offence; you may perhaps believe that i have sent for you for no other purpose than to shew some marks of my resentment; but be not afraid; you may rest assured that i have forgotten all that has past, and am well satisfied with your conduct. i wish that all the ladies of bagdad had as much discretion as you evinced before me. i shall always remember the moderation with which you acted, after the rudeness of which we were guilty. i was then a merchant of moussol, but am at present haroon al rusheed, the fifth caliph of the glorious house of abbas, and hold the place of our great prophet. i have only sent for you to know who you are, and to ask for what reason one of you, after severely whipping the two black bitches, wept with them? and i am no less curious to know, why another of you has her bosom so full of scars." though the caliph pronounced these words very distinctly, the three ladies heard him well enough, yet the vizier out of ceremony, repeated them. zobeide, after the caliph by his address had encouraged her, began thus: the story of zobeide. commander of the faithful, the relation which i am about to give your majesty is singularly extraordinary. the two black bitches and myself are sisters by the same father and mother; and i shall acquaint you by what strange accident they came to be metamorphosed. the two ladies who live with me, and are now here, are also my sisters by the father's side, but by another mother: she that has the scars upon her breast is named amene; the name of the other is safie, and my own zobeide. after our father's death, the property that he left was equally divided among us, and as soon as these two sisters received their portions, they left me to live with their mother. my other two sisters and myself stayed with our mother, who was then alive, and who when she afterwards died left each of us a thousand sequins. as soon as we had received our portions, the two eldest (for i am the youngest) married, and left me alone. some time after, my eldest sister's husband sold all that he had, and with that money and my sister's portion they went both into africa, where her husband, by riotous living and debauchery' spent all; and finding himself reduced to poverty, found a pretext for divorcing my sister, and put her away. she returned to this city, and having suffered incredible hardships by the way, came to me in so lamentable a condition that it would have moved the hardest heart to compassion to behold her. i received her with every possible tenderness, and inquiring into the cause of her distress, she told me with tears how inhumanly her husband had behaved towards her. her misfortunes affected me: and i mingled my tears with hers. i took her to a bath, clothed her with my own apparel, and thus addressed her: "sister, you are the elder, and i esteem you as my mother: during your absence, god has blest the portion that fell to my share, and the employment i follow of breeding silk-worms. assure yourself there is nothing i have but is at your service, and as much at your disposal as my own." we lived very comfortably together for some months. as we were one day conversing about our third sister, and wondering we received no intelligence of her, she came in as bad a condition as the eldest: her husband had treated her after the same manner; and i received her likewise with the same affection as i had done the former. some time after, my two sisters, on presence that they would not be chargeable to me, told me they intended to marry again. i observed, that if putting me to expense was the only reason, they might lay those thoughts aside, and be welcome to remain: for what i had would be sufficient to maintain us all three, in a manner answerable to our condition. "but," i added, "i rather believe you wish to marry again; i shall feel much surprised if such be the case. after the experience you have had of the little satisfaction there is in wedlock, is it possible you dare venture a second time? you know how rare it is to meet with a husband perfectly virtuous and deserving. believe what i say, and let us live together as comfortably as we can." all my persuasion was in vain; they were resolved to marry, and soon accomplished their wishes. but after some months were past, they returned again, and begged my pardon a thousand times for not following my advice. "you are our youngest sister," said they, "but abundantly more wise than we; if you will vouchsafe to receive us once more into your house, and account us your slaves, we shall never commit a similar fault again." my answer was, "dear sisters, i have not altered my mind with respect to you since we last parted: come again, and take part of what i have." upon this i embraced them, and we lived together as before. we continued thus a whole year in perfect love and harmony. seeing that god had increased my small stock, i projected a voyage, to embark some of it in a commercial speculation. to this end, i went with my two sisters to bussorah, where i bought a ship ready fitted for sea, and laded her with such merchandise as i had carried with me from bagdad. we set sail with a fair wind, and soon cleared the persian gulf; when we had reached the open sea, we steered our course to the indies; and the twentieth day saw land. it was a very high mountain, at the bottom of which we perceived a great town: having a fresh gale, we soon reached the harbour, and cast anchor. i had not patience to wait till my sisters were dressed to go along with me, but went ashore alone in the boat. making directly to the gate of the town, i saw there a great number of men upon guard, some sitting, and others standing with sticks in their hands; and they had all such dreadful countenances that i was greatly alarmed; but perceiving they remained stationary, and did not so much as move their eyes, i took courage, and went nearer, when i found they were all turned into stones. i entered the town and passed through several streets, where at different intervals stood men in various attitudes, but all motionless and petrified. in the quarter inhabited by the merchants i found most of the shops shut, and in such as were open i likewise found the people petrified. having reached a vast square, in the heart of the city, i perceived a large folding gate, covered with plates of gold, which stood open; a curtain of silk stuff seemed to be drawn before it: a lamp hung over the entrance. after i had surveyed the building, i made no doubt but it was the palace of the prince who reigned over that country: and being much astonished that i had not met with one living creature, i approached in hopes to find some. i lifted up the curtain, and was surprised at beholding no one but the guards in the vestibule all petrified; some standing, some sitting, and some lying. i came to a large court, where i saw before me a stately building, the windows of which were inclosed with gates of messy gold: i concluded it to be the queen's apartments. i entered; and in a large hall i found several black eunuchs turned into stone. i went from thence into a room richly furnished, where i perceived a lady in the same situation. i knew it to be the queen, by the crown of gold on her head, and a necklace of pearls about her neck, each of them as large as a nut; i approached her to have a nearer view of it, and never beheld a finer objets. i stood some time admiring the riches and magnificence of the room; but above all, the carpet, the cushions, and the sofas, which were all ornamented with indian stuff of gold, and representations of men and beasts in silver, admirably executed. i quitted the chamber where the petrified queen was, and passed through several other apartments and closets richly furnished, and at last came into a large room, where there was a throne of massive gold, raised several steps above the floor, and enriched with large enchased emeralds, and upon the throne there was a bed of rich stuff embroidered with pearls. what surprised me most was a sparkling light which came from above the bed. being curious to know whence it proceeded, i ascended the steps, and lifting up my head, saw a diamond as large as the egg of an ostrich, lying upon a low stool; it was so pure, that i could not find the least blemish in it, and it sparkled with so much brilliancy, that when i saw it by day-light i could not endure its lustre. at the head of the bed there stood on each side a lighted flambeau, but for what use i could not comprehend; however, it made me imagine that there was some living creature in this place; for i could not believe that the torches continued thus burning of themselves. several other rarities detained my curiosity in this room, which was inestimable in value, were it only for the diamond i mentioned. the doors being all open, or but half shut, i surveyed some other apartments, that were as beautiful as those i had already seen. i looked into the offices and store-rooms, which were full of riches. in short, the wonders that everywhere appeared so wholly engrossed my attention, that i forgot my ship and my sisters, and thought of nothing but gratifying my curiosity. in the mean time night came on, which reminded me that it was time to retire. i proposed to return the way i had entered, but i could not find it; i lost myself among the apartments; and perceiving i was come back again to the large room, where the throne, the couch, the large diamond, and the torches stood, i resolved to take my night's lodging there, and to depart the next morning early, to get aboard my ship. i laid myself down upon a couch, not without some dread to be alone in a desolate place; and this fear hindered my sleep. about midnight i heard a voice like that of a man reading the koraun, after the same manner, and in the same tone as it is read in our mosques. being extremely glad to hear it, i immediately arose, and taking a torch in my hand, passed from one chamber to another on that side from whence the sound proceeded. i came to the closet-door, and stood still, not doubting that it came from thence. i set down my torch upon the ground, and looking through a window, found it to be an oratory. it had, as we have in our mosques, a niche, to direct us whither we are to turn to say our prayers: there were also lamps hung up, and two candlesticks with large tapers of white wax burning. i saw a little carpet laid down like those we have to kneel upon when we say our prayers, and a comely young man sat on this carpet reading with great devotion the koraun, which lay before him on a desk. at this sight i was transported with admiration. i wondered how it came to pass that he should be the only living creature in a town where all the people were turned into stones, and i did not doubt but there was something in the circumstance very extraordinary. the door being only half shut, i opened it, went in, and standing upright before the niche, i repeated this prayer aloud: "praise be to god, who has favoured us with a happy voyage, and may he be graciously pleased to protect us in the same manner, until we arrive again in our own country. hear me, o lord, and grant my request." the young man turned his eyes towards me, and said, "my good lady, pray let me know who you are, and what has brought you to this desolate city? and, in return, i will you who i am, what has happened to me, why the inhabitants of this city are reduced to the state you see them in, and why i alone am safe in the midst of such a terrible disaster." i told him in a few words whence i had come, what had made me undertake the voyage, and how i safely arrived at the port after twenty days' sailing; when i had done, i prayed him to perform his promise, and told him how much i was struck by the frightful desolation which i had seen in the city. "lady," said the young man, "have patience for a moment." at these words he shut the koraun, put it into a rich case, and laid it in the niche. i took that opportunity to observe him, and perceiving in him so much good nature and beauty, i felt emotions i had never known before. he made me sit down by him, and before he began his discourse, i could not forbear saying, with an air that discovered the sentiments i felt, "amiable sir, dear object of my soul, i can scarcely have patience to wait for an account of all these wonderful objects that i have seen since i came into your city; and my curiosity cannot be satisfied too soon: therefore pray, sir, let me know by what miracle you alone are left alive among so many persons that have died in so strange a manner." "madam," said the young man, "by the prayer you just now addressed to him, you have given me to understand that you have a knowledge of the true god. i will acquaint you with the most remarkable effect of his greatness and power. you must know, that this city was the metropolis of a mighty kingdom, over which the sultan my father reigned. that prince, his whole court, the inhabitants of the city, and all his other subjects, were magi, worshippers of fire, and of nardoun, the ancient king of the giants, who rebelled against god. "but though i was born of an idolatrous father and mother, i had the good fortune in my youth to have a governess who was a good moosulmaun. â��dear prince,' would she oftentimes say, â��there is but one true god; take heed that you do not acknowledge and adore any other.' she taught me to read arabic, and the book she gave me to study was the koraun. as soon as i was capable of understanding it, she explained to me all the passages of this excellent book, and infused piety into my mind, unknown to my father or any other person. she happened to die, but not before she had perfectly instructed me in all that was necessary to convince me of the truth of the moosulmaun religion. after her death i persisted with constancy in the belief of its divinity: and i abhor the false god nardoun, and the adoration of fire. "about three years and some months ago, a thundering voice was suddenly sounded so distinctly, through the whole city, that nobody could miss hearing it. the words were these: â��inhabitants, abandon the worship of nardoun, and of fire, and worship the only god who shews mercy.' "this voice was heard three years successively, but no one was converted. on the last day of that year, at four o'clock in the morning, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, every one in the condition and posture they happened to be in. the sultan, my father, shared the same fate, for he was metamorphosed into a black stone, as he is to be seen in this palace, and the queen, my mother, had the like destiny. "i am the only person who did not suffer under that heavy judgment, and ever since i have continued to serve god with more fervency than before. i am persuaded, dear lady, that he has sent you hither for my comfort, for which i render him infinite thanks; for i must own that this solitary life is extremely irksome." all these expressions, and particularly the last, greatly increased my love for him. "prince," said i, "there is no doubt but providence has brought me into your port, to afford you an opportunity of withdrawing from this dismal place. the ship i came in may serve in some measure to convince you that i am in some esteem at bagdad, where i have left considerable property; and i dare engage to promise you sanctuary there, until the mighty commander of the faithful, vicegerent to our prophet whom you acknowledge, shew you the honour that is due to your merit. this renowned prince lives at bagdad, and as soon as he is informed of your arrival in his capital, you will find that it is not in vain to implore his assistance. it is impossible you can stay any longer in a city where all the objects you behold must renew your grief: my vessel is at your service, where you may absolutely command as you shall think fit." he accepted the offer, and we conversed the remainder of the night concerning our embarkation. as soon as it was day we left the palace, and went aboard my ship, where we found my sisters, the captain, and the slaves, all much troubled at my absence. after i had presented my sisters to the prince, i told them what had hindered my return the day before, how i had met with the young prince, his story, and the cause of the desolation of so fine a city. the seamen were taken up several days in unlading the merchandize i brought with me, and embarking in its stead all the precious things in the palace, such as jewels, gold, and money. we left the furniture and goods, which consisted of an infinite quantity of plate, &c., because our vessel could not carry it, for it would have required several vessels more to convey to bagdad all the riches that we might have chosen to take with us. after we had laden the vessel with what we thought most desirable, we took such provisions and water aboard as were necessary for our voyage (for we had still a great deal of those provisions left that we had taken in at bussorah); at last we set sail with a wind as favourable as we could wish. the young prince, my sisters and myself, enjoyed ourselves for some time very agreeably. but alas! this good understanding did not last long, for my sisters grew jealous of the friendship between the prince and myself, and maliciously asked me one day, what we should do with him when we came to bagdad? i perceived immediately that they put this question on purpose to discover my inclinations; therefore, resolving to put it off with a jest, i answered, "i will take him for my husband;" and upon that, turning myself to the prince, said, "sir, i humbly beg of you to give your consent, for as soon as we come to bagdad i desire to offer you my person to be your slave, to do you all the service that is in my power, and to resign myself wholly to your commands." the prince replied, "i know not, madam, whether you be in jest or no; but for my part, i seriously declare before these ladies, your sisters, that from this moment i heartily accept your offer, not with any intention to have you as a slave, but as my lady and mistress: nor will i pretend to have any power over your actions." at these words my sisters changed colour, and i could perceive afterwards that they did not love me as before. we entered the persian gulf, and had come within a short distance of bussorah (where i hoped, considering the fair wind, we might have arrived the day following), when in the night, while i was asleep, my sisters watched their opportunity, and threw me overboard. they did the same to the prince, who was drowned. i floated some minutes on the water, and by good fortune, or rather miracle, i felt ground. i went towards a dark spot, that, by what i could discern, seemed to be land, and proved to be a flat on the coast, which, when day appeared, i found to be a desert island, lying about twenty miles from bussorah. i soon dried my clothes in the sun, and as i walked along i found several kinds of fruit, and likewise fresh water, which gave me some hopes of preserving my life. i had just laid myself down to rest in a shade, when i perceived a very large winged serpent coming towards me, with an irregular waving movement, and hanging out its tongue, which induced me to conclude it had received some injury. i instantly arose, and perceived that it was pursued by a larger serpent which had hold of its tail, and was endeavouring to devour it. this perilous situation of the first serpent excited my pity, and instead of retreating i assumed courage to take up a stone that lay near me, and to throw it with all my strength at the other, which i hit upon the head and killed. the other, finding itself at liberty, took wing and flew away. i looked after it for some time till it disappeared. i then sought another shady spot for repose, and fell asleep. judge what was my surprise when i awoke, to see standing by me a black woman of lively and agreeable features, who held in her hand two bitches of the same colour, fastened together. i sat up, and asked her who she was? "i am," said she, "the serpent whom you lately delivered from my mortal enemy. i did not know in what way i could better requite the important services you have rendered me than by what i have just done. the treachery of your sisters was well known to me, and to avenge your wrongs, as soon as i was liberated by your generous assistance, i called together several of my companions, fairies like myself, conveyed into your storehouses at bagdad all the lading of your vessel, and afterwards sunk it. "these two black bitches are your sisters, whom i have transformed into this shape. but this punishment will not suffice; and my will is that you treat them hereafter in the way i shall direst." as soon as she had thus spoken the fairy took me under one of her arms, and the two bitches under the other, and conveyed us to my house in bagdad; where i found in my storehouses all the riches with which my vessel had been laden. before she left me, she delivered to me the two bitches, and said, "if you would not be changed into a similar form, i command you, in the name of him that governs the sea, to give each of your sisters every night one hundred lashes with a rod, as the punishment of the crime they have committed against yourself, and the young prince, whom they have drowned." i was forced to promise obedience. since that time i have whipped them every night, though with regret, whereof your majesty has been a witness. my tears testify with how much sorrow and reluctance i perform this painful duty; and in this your majesty may see i am more to be pitied than blamed. if there be any thing else relating to myself that you desire to know, my sister amene will give you full information in the relation of her story. after the caliph had heard zobeide with much astonishment, he desired his grand vizier to request amene to acquaint him wherefore her breast was disfigured with so many scars. amene addressed herself to the caliph, and began her story after this manner: the story of amene. commander of the faithful, to avoid repeating what your majesty has already heard in my sister's story, i shall only add, that after my mother had taken a house for herself to live in, during her widowhood, she gave me in marriage, with the portion my father left me, to a gentleman who had one of the best estates in the city. i had scarcely been a year married when i became a widow, and was left in possession of all my husband's property, which amounted to , sequins. the interest of this money was sufficient to maintain me very honourably. when the first six months of my mourning was over, i caused to be made for me ten different dresses, of such magnificence that each came to a thousand sequins; and at the end of the year i began to wear them. one day, while i was alone engaged in my domestic affairs, i was told that a lady desired to speak to me. i gave orders that she should be admitted. she was a person advanced in years; she saluted me by kissing the ground, and said to me kneeling, "dear lady, excuse the freedom i take to trouble you, the confidence i have in your charity makes me thus bold. i must acquaint your ladyship that i have an orphan daughter, who is to be married this day. she and i are both strangers, and have no acquaintance in this town; which much perplexes me, for we wish the numerous family with whom we are going to ally ourselves to think we are not altogether unknown and without credit: therefore, most beautiful lady, if you would vouchsafe to honour the wedding with your presence, we shall be infinitely obliged, because the ladies of our country, when informed that a lady of your rank has strewn us this respect, will then know that we are not regarded here as unworthy and despised persons. but, alas! madam, if you refuse this request, how great will be our mortification! we know not where else to apply." this poor woman's address, which she spoke with tears, moved my compassion. "good woman," said i, "do not afflict yourself, i will grant you the favour you desire; tell me whither i must go, and i will meet you as soon as i am dressed." the old woman was so transported with joy at my answer, that she kissed my feet before i had time to prevent her. "my compassionate lady," said she, rising, "god will reward the kindness you have shewed to your servants, and make your heart as joyful as you have made theirs. you need not at present trouble yourself; it will be time enough for you to go when i call for you in the evening. so farewell, madam, till i have the honour to see you again." as soon as she was gone, i took the suit i liked best, with a necklace of large pearls, bracelets, pendents for my ears, and rings set with the finest and most sparkling diamonds; for my mind presaged what would befall me. when the night closed in, the old woman called upon me, with a countenance full of joy. she kissed my hands, and said, "my dear lady, the relations of my son-in-law, who are the principal ladies of the city, are now met together; you may come when you please; i am ready to conduct you." we immediately set out; she walked before me, and i was followed by a number of my women and slaves properly dressed for the occasion. we stopt in a wide street, newly swept and watered, at a spacious gate with a lamp, by the light of which i read this inscription in golden letters over the entrance: "this is the everlasting abode of pleasure and joy." the old woman knocked, and the gate was opened immediately. i was conducted towards the lower end of the court, into a large hall, where i was received by a young lady of admirable beauty. she drew near, and after having embraced me, made me sit down by her upon a sofa, on which was raised a throne of precious wood set with diamonds. "madam," said she, "you are brought hither to assist at a wedding; but i hope it will be a different wedding from what you expected. i have a brother, one of the handsomest men in the world: he is fallen so much in love with the fame of your beauty, that his fate depends wholly upon you, and he will be the unhappiest of men if you do not take pity on him. he knows your quality, and i can assure you he is in no respect unworthy of your alliance. if my prayers, madam, can prevail, i shall join them with his, and humbly beg you will not refuse the proposal of being his wife." after the death of my husband i had not thought of marrying again. but i had no power to refuse the solicitation of so charming a lady. as soon as i had given consent by my silence, accompanied with a blush, the young lady claps her hands, and immediately a closet-door opened, out of which came a young man of a majestic air, and so graceful a behaviour, that i thought myself happy to have made so great a conquest. he sat down by me, and i found from his conversation that his merits far exceeded the eulogium of his sister. when she perceived that we were satisfied with one another, she claps her hands a second time, and out came a cauzee, who wrote our contract of marriage, signed it himself, and caused it to be attested by four witnesses he brought along with him. the only condition that my new husband imposed upon me was, that i should not be seen by nor speak to any other man but himself, and he vowed to me that, if i complied in this respect, i should have no reason to complain of him. our marriage was concluded and finished after this manner; so i became the principal actress in a wedding to which i had only been invited as a guest. about a month after our marriage, having occasion for some stuffs, i asked my husband's permission to go out to buy them, which he granted; and i took with me the old woman of whom i spoke before, she being one of the family, and two of my own female slaves. when we came to the street where the merchants reside, the old woman said, "dear mistress, since you want silk stuffs, i must take you to a young merchant of my acquaintance, who has a great variety; and that you may not fatigue yourself by running from shop to shop, i can assure you that you will find in his what no other can furnish." i was easily persuaded, and we entered a shop belonging to a young merchant who was tolerably handsome. i sat down, and bade the old woman desire him to shew me the finest silk stuffs he had. the woman desired me to speak myself; but i told her it was one of the articles of my marriage contract not to speak to any man but my husband, which i ought to keep. the merchant shewed me several stuffs, of which one pleased me better than the rest; but i bade her ask the price. he answered the old woman, "i will not sell it for gold or money, but i will make her a present of it, if she will give me leave to kiss her cheek." i ordered the old woman to tell him, that he was very rude to propose such a freedom. but instead of obeying me, she said, "what the merchant desires of you is no such great matter; you need not speak, but only present him your cheek." the stuff pleased me so much, that i was foolish enough to take her advice. the old woman and my slaves stood up, that nobody might see, and i put up my veil; but instead of kissing me, the merchant bit me so violently as to draw blood. the pain and my surprise were so great, that i fell down in a swoon, and continued insensible so long, that the merchant had time to escape. when i came to myself, i found my cheek covered with blood: the old woman and my slaves took care to cover it with my veil, that the people who came about us could not perceive it, but supposed i had only had a fainting fit. the old woman who accompanied me being extremely troubled at this accident, endeavoured to comfort me. "my dear mistress," said she, "i beg your pardon, for i am the cause of this misfortune, having brought you to this merchant, because he is my countryman: but i never thought he would be guilty of such a villainous action. but do not grieve; let us hasten home, i will apply a remedy that shall in three days so perfectly cure you, that not the least mark shall be visible." the fit had made me so weak, that i was scarcely able to walk. but at last i got home, where i again fainted, as i went into my chamber. meanwhile, the old woman applied her remedy; i came to myself, and went to bed. my husband came to me at night, and seeing my head bound up, asked me the reason. i told him i had the head-ache, which i hoped would have satisfied him, but he took a candle, and saw my cheek was hurt: "how comes this wound?" said he. though i did not consider myself as guilty of any great offence, yet i could not think of owning the truth. besides, to make such an avowal to a husband, i considered as somewhat indecorous; i therefore said, "that as i was going, under his permission, to purchase some silk stuff, a porter, carrying a load of wood, came so near to me, in a narrow street, that one of the sticks grazed my cheek; but had not done me much hurt." this account put my husband into a violent passion. "this act," said he, "shall not go unpunished. i will to-morrow order the lieutenant of the police to seize all those brutes of porters, and cause them to be hanged." fearful of occasioning the death of so many innocent persons, i said, "sir, i should be sorry so great a piece of injustice should be committed. pray refrain; for i should deem myself unpardonable, were i to be the cause of so much mischief." "then tell me sincerely," said he, "how came you by this wound." "i answered, "that it was occasioned by the inadvertency of a broom-seller upon an ass, who coming behind me, while he was looking another way, his ass came against me with so much violence, that i fell down, and hurt my cheek upon some glass." "if that is the case," said my husband, "to-morrow morning, before sun-rise, the grand vizier jaaffier shall be informed of this insolence, and cause all the broom-sellers to be put to death." "for the love of god, sir," said i, "let me beg of you to pardon them, for they are not guilty." "how, madam," he demanded, "what then am i to believe? speak, for i am resolved to know the truth from your own mouth." "sir," i replied, "i was taken with a giddiness, and fell down, and that is the whole matter." at these words my husband lost all patience. "i have," said he, "too long listened to your falsehoods." as he spoke he clapped his hands, and in came three slaves: "pull her out of bed," said he, "and lay her in the middle of the floor." the slaves obeyed, one holding me by the head, another by the feet; he commanded the third to fetch a cimeter, and when he had brought it, "strike," said he, "cut her in two, and then throw her into the tygris. this is the punishment i inflict on those to whom i have given my heart, when they falsify their promise." when he saw that the slave hesitated to obey him, "why do you not strike?" said he. "what do you wait for?" "madam," said the slave then, "you are near the last moment of your life, consider if you have any thing to dispose of before you die." i begged permission to speak one word, which was granted me. i lifted up my head, and casting an affectionate look on my husband, said, "alas! to what a condition am i reduced! must i then die in the prime of my youth!" i could say no more, for my tears and sighs choked my utterance. my husband was not at all moved, but, on the contrary, went on to reproach me; and it would have been in vain to attempt a reply. i had recourse to intreaties and prayers; but he had no regard to them, and commanded the slaves to proceed to execution. the old woman, who had been his nurse, came in just at that moment, fell down upon her knees, and endeavoured to appease his wrath. "my son," said she, "since i have been your nurse and brought you up, let me beg the favour of you to grant me her life. consider, that he who kills shall be killed, and that you will stain your reputation, and forfeit the esteem of mankind. what will the world say of such sanguinary violence?" she spoke these words in such an affecting manner, accompanied with tears, that she prevailed upon him at last to abandon his purpose, "well then," said he to his nurse, "for your sake i will spare her life; but she shall bear about her person some marks to make her remember her offence." when he had thus spoken, one of the slaves, by his order, gave me upon my sides and breast so many blows, with a little cane, that he tore away both skin and flesh, which threw me into a swoon. in this state he caused the same slaves, the executioners of his fury, to carry me into a house, where the old woman took care of me. i kept my bed four months; at last i recovered: the scars which, contrary to my wish, you saw yesterday, have remained ever since. as soon as i was able to walk, and go abroad, i resolved to retire to the house which was left me by my first husband, but i could not find the site whereon it had stood. my second husband, in the heat of his resentment, was not satisfied with the demolition of that, but caused every other house in the same street to be razed to the ground. i believe such an act of violence was never heard of before; but against whom could i complain? the perpetrator had taken good care to conceal himself. but suppose i had discovered him, is it not easily seen that his conduct must have proceeded from absolute power? how then could i dare to complain? being left thus destitute and helpless, i had recourse to my dear sister zobeide, whose adventures your majesty has just heard. to her i made known my misfortune; she received me with her accustomed goodness, and advised me to bear my ambition patience. "this is the way of the world," said she, "which either robs us of our property, our friends, or our lovers; and some. times of all together." in confirmation of her remark, she at the same time gave me an account of the loss of the young prince, occasioned by the jealousy of her two sisters. she told me also by what accident they were transformed into bitches: and in the last place, after a thousand testimonials of her love towards me, she introduced me to my youngest sister, who had likewise taken sanctuary with her after the death of her mother. having returned our grateful acknowledgments to god for having thus brought us together, we resolved to preserve our freedom, and never again to separate. we have now long enjoyed this tranquil life. as it was my business to manage the affairs of the house, i always took pleasure in going myself to purchase what we wanted. i happened to go abroad yesterday for this purpose, and the things i bought i caused to be carried home by a porter, who proving to be a sensible and jocose fellow, we kept with us for a little diversion. three calenders happened to come to our door as it began to grow dark, and prayed us to give them shelter till the next morning we admitted them upon certain conditions which they agreed to observe; and after we had made them sit at table with us, they in their own way entertained us with a concert of music. at this time we heard knocking at our gate. this proceeded from three merchants of moussol, men of good appearance, who begged the same favour which the calenders had obtained before. we consented upon the same conditions, but neither of them kept their promise. though we had power, as well as justice on our side, to punish them, yet we contented ourselves with demanding from them the history of their lives; and afterwards confined our revenge to dismissing them, after they had done, and denying them the asylum they requested. the caliph was well pleased to be thus informed of what he desired to know; and publicly expressed his admiration of what he had heard. the caliph having satisfied his curiosity, thought himself obliged to shew his generosity to the calender princes, and also to give the three ladies some proof of his bounty. he himself, without making use of his minister, the grand vizier, spoke to zobeide. "madam, did not this fairy, that shewed herself to you in the shape of a serpent, and imposed such a rigorous command upon you, tell you where her place of abode was? or rather, did she not promise to see you, and restore those bitches to their natural shape?" "commander of the faithful," answered zobeide, "i forgot to tell your majesty that the fairy left with me a bundle of hair, saying, that her presence would one day be of use to me; and then, if i only burnt two tufts of this hair, she would be with me in a moment, though she were beyond mount caucasus." "madam," demanded the caliph, "where is the bundle of hair?" she answered, "ever since that time i have been so careful of it, that i always carry it about me." upon which she pulled it out, opened the case which contained it, and shewed it to him. "well then," said the caliph, "let us bring the fairy hither; you could not call her in a better time, for i long to see her." zobeide having consented, fire was brought in, and she threw the whole bundle of hair into it. the palace at that instant began to shake, and the fairy appeared before the caliph in the form of a lady very richly dressed. "commander of the faithful," said she to the prince, "you see i am ready to receive your commands. the lady who gave me this call by your order did me essential service. to evince my gratitude, i revenged her of her sisters' inhumanity, by changing them to bitches; but if your majesty commands me, i will restore them to their former shape." "generous fairy," replied the caliph, "you cannot do me a greater pleasure; vouchsafe them that favour, and i will find some means to comfort them for their hard penance. but besides, i have another boon to ask in favour of that lady, who has had such cruel usage from an unknown husband. as you undoubtedly know all things, oblige me with the name of this barbarous wretch, who could not be contented to exercise his outrageous and unmanly cruelty upon her person, but has also most unjustly taken from her all her substance. i only wonder how such an unjust and inhuman action could be performed under my authority, and even in my residence, without having come to my knowledge." "to oblige your majesty," answered the fairy, "i will restore the two bitches to their former state, and i will so cure the lady of her scars, that it shall never appear she was so beaten; and i will also tell you who it was that abused her." the caliph sent for the two bitches from zobeide's house, and when they came, a glass of water was brought to the fairy by her desire. she pronounced over it some words which nobody understood; then throwing some part of it upon amene, and the rest upon the bitches, the latter became two ladies of surprising beauty, and the scars that were upon amene disappeared. after which the fairy said to the caliph, "commander of the faithful, i must now discover to you the unknown husband you enquire after. he is very nearly related to yourself, for it is prince amin, your eldest son, who falling passionately in love with this lady from the fame of her beauty, by stratagem had her brought to his house, where he married her. as to the blows he caused to be given her, he is in some measure excusable; for the lady his spouse had been a little too easy, and the excuses she had made were calculated to lead him to believe she was more faulty than she really was. this is all i can say to satisfy your curiosity." at these words she saluted the caliph, and vanished. the prince being filled with admiration, and having much satisfaction in the changes that had happened through his means, acted in such a manner as will perpetuate his memory to all ages. first, he sent for his son amin, told him that he was informed of his secret marriage, and how he had ill-treated amene upon a very slight cause. upon this the prince did not wait for his father's commands, but received her again immediately. after which the caliph declared that he would give his own heart and hand to zobeide, and offered the other three sisters to the calenders, sons of sultans, who accepted them for their brides with much joy. the caliph assigned each of them a magnificent palace in the city of bagdad, promoted them to the highest dignities of his empire, and admitted them to his councils. the chief cauzee of bagdad being called, with witnesses, wrote the contracts of marriage; and the caliph in promoting by his patronage the happiness of many persons who had suffered such incredible calamities, drew a thousand blessings upon himself. the story of sinbad the voyager. in the reign of the same caliph haroun al rusheed, whom i have already mentioned, there lived at bagdad a poor porter called hindbad. one day, when the weather was excessively hot, he was employed to carry a heavy burden from one end of the town to the other. being much fatigued, and having still a great way to go, he came into a street where a refreshing breeze blew on his face, and the pavement was sprinkled with rose-water. as he could not desire a better place to rest and recruit himself, he took off his load and sat upon it, near a large mansion. he was much pleased that he stopped in this place; for the agreeable smell of wood of aloes, and of pastils that came from the house, mixing with the scent of the rose-water, completely perfumed and embalmed the air. besides, he heard from within a concert of instrumental music, accompanied with the harmonious notes of nightingales, and other birds, peculiar to the climate. this charming melody, and the smell of several sorts of savoury dishes, made the porter conclude there was a feast, with great rejoicings within. his business seldom leading him that way, he knew not to whom the mansion belonged; but to satisfy his curiosity, he went to some of the servants, whom he saw standing at the gate in magnificent apparel, and asked the name of the proprietor. "how," replied one of them, "do you live in bagdad, and know not that this is the house of sinbad, the sailor, that famous voyager, who has sailed round the world?" the porter, who had heard of this sinbad's riches, could not but envy a man whose condition he thought to be as happy as his own was deplorable: and his mind being fretted with these reflections, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said loud enough to be heard, "almighty creator of all things, consider the difference between sinbad and me! i am every day exposed to fatigues and calamities, and can scarcely get coarse barley-bread for myself and my family, whilst happy sinbad profusely expends immense riches, and leads a life of continual pleasure. what has he done to obtain from thee a lot so agreeable? and what have i done to deserve one so wretched?" having finished his expostulation, he struck his foot against the ground, like a man absorbed in grief and despair. whilst the porter was thus indulging his melancholy, a servant came out of the house, and taking him by the arm, bade him follow him, for sinbad, his master, wanted to speak to him. sir, your majesty may easily imagine, that the repining hindbad was not a little surprised at this compliment. for, considering what he had said, he was afraid sinbad had sent for him to punish him: therefore he would have excused himself, alleging, that he could not leave his burden in the middle of the street. but sinbad's servants assured him they would look to it, and were so urgent with him, that he was obliged to yield. the servants brought him into a great hall, where a number of people sat round a table, covered with all sorts of savoury dishes. at the upper end sat a comely venerable gentleman, with a long white beard, and behind him stood a number of officers and domestics, all ready to attend his pleasure. this personage was sinbad. the porter, whose fear was increased at the sight of so many people, and of a banquet so sumptuous, saluted the company trembling. sinbad bade him draw near, and seating him at his right hand, served him himself, and gave him excellent wine, of which there was abundance upon the sideboard. when the repast was over, sinbad addressed his conversation to hindbad; and calling him brother, according to the manner of the arabians, when they are familiar one with another, enquired his name and employment. "my lord," answered he, "my name is hindbad." "i am very glad to see you," replied sinbad; "and i daresay the same on behalf of all the company: but i wish to hear from your own mouth what it was you lately said in the street." sinbad had himself heard the porter complain through the window, and this it was that induced him to have him brought in. at this request, hindbad hung down his head in confusion, and replied, "my lord, i confess that my fatigue put me out of humour, and occasioned me to utter some indiscreet words, which i beg you to pardon." "do not think i am so unjust," resumed sinbad, "as to resent such a complaint. i consider your condition, and instead of upbraiding, commiserate you. but i must rectify your error concerning myself. you think, no doubt, that i have acquired, without labour and trouble, the ease and indulgence which i now enjoy. but do not mistake; i did not attain to this happy condition, without enduring for several years more trouble of body and mind than can well be imagined. yes, gentlemen," he added, speaking to the whole company, "i can assure you, my troubles were so extraordinary, that they were calculated to discourage the most covetous from undertaking such voyages as i did, to acquire riches. perhaps you have never heard a distinct account of my wonderful adventures, and the dangers i encountered, in my seven voyages; and since i have this opportunity, i will give you a faithful account of them, not doubting but it will be acceptable." as sinbad wished to relate his adventures chiefly on the porter's account, he ordered his burden to be carried to the place of its destination, and then proceeded. the first voyage. i inherited from my father considerable property, the greater part of which i squandered in my youth in dissipation; but i perceived my error, and reflected that riches were perishable, and quickly consumed by such ill managers as myself. i farther considered, that by my irregular way of living i wretchedly misspent my time; which is, of all things, the most valuable. i remembered the saying of the great solomon, which i had frequently heard from my father; that death is more tolerable than poverty. struck with these reflections, i collected the remains of my fortune, and sold all my effects by public auction. i then entered into a contract with some merchants, who traded by sea. i took the advice of such as i thought most capable of assisting me: and resolving to improve what money i had, i went to bussorah, and embarked with several merchants on board a ship which we had jointly fitted out. we set sail, and steered our course towards the indies, through the persian gulf, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, and by those of persia on the left, and, according to common opinion is seventy leagues wide at the broadest place. the eastern sea, as well as that of the indies, is very spacious. it is bounded on one side by the coasts of abyssinia, and is , leagues in length to the isles of vakvak. at first i was troubled with the sea-sickness, but speedily recovered my health, and was not afterwards subject to that complaint. in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, whilst under sail, we were becalmed near a small island, but little elevated above the level of the water, and resembling a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and permitted such persons as were so inclined to land; of this number i was one. but while we were enjoying ourselves in eating and drinking, and recovering ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island on a sudden trembled, and shook us terribly. the trembling of the island was perceived on board the ship, and we were called upon to re-embark speedily, or we should all be lost; for what we took for an island proved to be the back of a sea monster. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but for myself i was still upon the back of the creature, when he dived into the sea, and i had time only to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship to make a fire. meanwhile, the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to improve the favourable gale that had just risen, and hoisting his sails pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible for me to recover the ship. thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves. i struggled for my life all the rest of the day and the following night. by this time i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when happily a wave threw me against an island, the bank was high and rugged; so that i could scarcely have got up, had it not been for some roots of trees, which fortune seemed to have preserved in this place for my safety. having reached the land, i lay down upon the ground half dead, until the sun appeared. then, though i was very feeble, both from hard labour and want of food, i crept along to find some herbs fit to eat, and had the good luck not only to procure some, but likewise to discover a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to recover me. after this i advanced farther into the island, and at last reached a fine plain, where at a great distance i perceived a horse feeding. i went towards it, fluctuating between hope and fear, for i knew not whether in advancing i was more likely to endanger or to preserve my life. as i approached, i perceived it to be a very fine mare, tied to a stake. whilst i was admiring its beauty, i heard from beneath the voice of a man, who immediately appeared, and asked me who i was? i related to him my adventure, after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. i partook of some provisions which they offered me. i then asked them what they did in such a desert place? to which they answered, that they were grooms belonging to maha-raja, sovereign of the island; that every year, at the same season, they brought thither the king's mares, and fastened them as i had seen, until they were covered by a sea-horse, who afterwards endeavoured to destroy the mares; but was prevented by their noise, and obliged to return to the sea. the mares when in foal were taken back, and the horses thus produced were kept for the king's use, and called seahorses. they added, that they were to return home on the morrow, and had i been one day later, i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was at a great distance, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. while they entertained me thus, the horse came out of the sea, as they had told me, covered the mare, and afterwards would have devoured her; but upon a great noise made by the grooms, he left her, and plunged into the sea. next morning they returned with their mares to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to the maha-raja. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i had come into his dominions? after i had satisfied him, he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want nothing; which commands his officers were so generous and careful as to see exactly fulfilled. being a merchant, i frequented men of my own profession, and particularly enquired for those who were strangers, that perchance i might hear news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return. for the maha-raja's capital is situated on the sea- coast, and has a fine harbour, where ships arrive daily from the different quarters of the world. i frequented also the society of the learned indians, and took delight to hear them converse; but withal, i took care to make my court regularly to the maha-raja, and conversed with the governors and petty kings, his tributaries, that were about him. they put a thousand questions respecting my country; and i being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, asked them concerning every thing which i thought worth knowing. there belongs to this king an island named cassel. they assured me that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of degial. i determined to visit this wonderful place, and in my way thither saw fishes of and cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt; for they are so timorous, that they will fly upon the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fish about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. as i was one day at the port after my return, a ship arrived, and as soon as she cast anchor, they began to unload her, and the merchants on board ordered their goods to be carried into the customhouse. as i cast my eye upon some bales, and looked to the name, i found my own, and perceived the bales to be the same that i had embarked at bussorah. i also knew the captain; but being persuaded that he believed me to be drowned, i went, and asked him whose bales these were? he replied, that they belonged to a merchant at bagdad, called sinbad, who came to sea with him; but one day, being near an island, as was supposed, he went ashore, with several other passengers, upon this island, which was only a monstrous fish, that lay asleep upon the the sur-face of the water: but as soon as he felt the heat of the fire they had kindled upon his back, to dress some victuals, began to move, and dived under water. most of the persons who were upon him perished, and among them the unfortunate sinbad. those bales belonged to him, and i am resolved to trade with them until i meet with some of his family, to whom i may return the profit. "i am that sinbad," said i, "whom you thought to be dead, and those bales are mine." when the captain heard me speak thus, "heavens!" he exclaimed, "whom can we trust in these times? there is no faith left among men. i saw sinbad perish with my own eyes, as did also the passengers on board, and yet you tell me you are that sinbad. what impudence is this? to look on you, one would take you to be a man of probity, and yet you tell a horrible falsehood, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you." "have patience," replied i; "do me the favour to hear what i have to say." "very well," said he, "speak, i am ready to hear you." then i told him how i had escaped, and by what adventure i met with the grooms of maha-raja, who had brought me to his court. his confidence began to abate upon this declaration, and he was at length persuaded that i was no cheat: for there came people from his ship who knew me, paid me great compliments, and expressed much joy at seeing me alive. at last he recollected me himself, and embracing me, "heaven be praised," said he, "for your happy escape. i cannot express the joy it affords, me; there are your goods, take and do with them as you please." i thanked him, acknowledged his probity, and in requital, offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented them to the maha-raja, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities. i acquainted him with the circumstance of their recovery. he was pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and in return gave me one much more considerable. upon this, i took leave of him, and went aboard the same ship, after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of that country. i carried with me wood of aloes, sandal, camphire, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at bussorah, from whence i came to this city, with the value of l , sequins. my family and i received one another with all the transports of sincere affection. i bought slaves of both sexes, and a landed estate, and built a magnificent house. thus i settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries i had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life. sinbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to proceed with their concert, which the story had interrupted. the company continued enjoying themselves till the evening, and it was time to retire, when sinbad sent for a purse of sequins and giving it to the porter, said, "take this, hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear more of my adventures." the porter went away, astonished at the honour done, and the present made him. the account of this adventure proved very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return thanks to god for what providence had sent him by the hand of sinbad. hindbad put on his best apparel next day, and returned to the bountiful traveller, who received him with a pleasant air, and welcomed him heartily. when all the guests had arrived, dinner was served, and continued a long time. when it was ended, sinbad, addressing himself to the company, said, "gentlemen, be pleased to listen to the adventures of my second voyage; they deserve your attention even more than those of the first." upon which every one held his peace, and sinbad proceeded. the second voyage. i designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad, as i had the honour to tell you yesterday; but it was not long ere i grew weary of an indolent life. my inclination to trade revived. i bought goods proper for the commerce i intended, and put to sea a second time with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and after recommending ourselves to god, set sail. we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed in an island covered with several sorts of fruit-trees, but we could see neither man nor animal. we went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, along the streams that watered them. whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and other fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down near a stream betwixt two high trees, which formed a thick shade. i made a good meal, and afterwards fell asleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but when i awoke the ship was gone. i was much alarmed at finding the ship gone. i got up and looked around me, but could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. i perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance, that i lost sight of her in a short time. i leave you to guess at my melancholy reflections in this sad condition: i was ready to die with grief. i cried out in agony; beat my head and breast, and threw myself upon the ground, where i lay some time in despair, one afflicting thought being succeeded by another still more afflicting. i upbraided myself a hundred times for not being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might have sufficed me all my life. but all this was in vain, and my repentance too late. at last i resigned myself to the will of god. not knowing what to do, i climbed up to the top of a lofty tree, from whence i looked about on all sides, to see if i could discover any thing that could give me hopes. when i gazed towards the sea i could see nothing but sky and water; but looking over the land i beheld something white; and coming down, i took what provision i had left, and went towards it, the distance being so great, that i could not distinguish what it was. as i approached, i thought it to be a white dome, of a prodigious height and extent; and when i came up to it, i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top as it was so smooth. it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. i remembered that i had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird called roc, and conceived that the great dome which i so much admired must be its egg. in short, the bird alighted, and sat over the egg. as i perceived her coming, i crept to the egg, so that i had before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. i tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc next morning would carry me with her out of this desert island. after having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high, that i could not discern the earth; she afterwards descended with so much rapidity that i lost my senses. but when i found myself on the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. the spot where it left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. this was a new perplexity: so that when i compared this place with the desert island from which the roc had brought me, i found that i had gained nothing by the change. as i walked through this valley, i perceived it was strewed with diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. i took pleasure in looking upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such objects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, and which i could not view without terror, namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the day-time to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc their enemy, and came out only in the night. i spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at times in such places as i thought most convenient. when night came on, i went into a cave, where i thought i might repose in safety. i secured the entrance, which was low and narrow, with a great stone to preserve me from the serpents; but not so far as to exclude the light. i supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began hissing round me, put me into such extreme fear, that you may easily imagine i did not sleep. when day appeared, the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave trembling. i can justly say, that i walked upon diamonds, without feeling any inclination to touch them. at last i sat down, and notwithstanding my apprehensions, not having closed my eyes during the night, fell asleep, after having eaten a little more of my provision. but i had scarcely shut my eyes, when something that fell by me with a great noise awaked me. this was a large piece of raw meat; and at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. i had always regarded as fabulous what i had heard sailors and others relate of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by merchants to obtain jewels from thence; but now i found that they had stated nothing but truth. for the fact is, that the merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley, when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than any where else, pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the precipices of the rocks to feed their young: the merchants at this time run to their nests, disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. until i perceived the device i had concluded it to be impossible for me to get from this abyss, which i regarded as my grave; but now i changed my opinion, and began to think upon the means of my deliverance. i began to collect together the largest diamonds i could find, and put them into the leather bag in which i used to carry my provisions. i afterwards took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being made fast to my girdle. i had scarcely placed myself in this posture when the eagles came. each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up, with the piece of meat to which i was fastened, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants immediately began their shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where i was. he was much alarmed when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of enquiring how i came thither began to quarrel with me, and asked, why i stole his goods? "you will treat me," replied i, "with more civility, when you know me better. do not be uneasy, i have diamonds enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. whatever they have they owe to chance, but i selected for myself in the bottom of the valley those which you see in this bag." i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came crowding about us, much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story. yet they did not so much admire my stratagem to effect my deliverance, as my courage in putting it into execution. they conducted me to their encampment, and there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that in all the courts which they had visited they had never seen any of such size and perfection. i prayed the merchant, who owned the nest to which i had been carried (for every merchant had his own), to take as many for his share as he pleased. he contented himself with one, and that too the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury, "no," said he, "i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will raise as great a fortune as i desire." i spent the night with the merchants, to whom i related my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned. i thought myself in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself out of danger. the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days. and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place the next morning, and travelled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took shipping at the first port we reached, and touched at the isle of roha, where the trees grow that yield camphire. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that one hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice, of which the camphire is made, exudes from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a vessel, where it thickens to a consistency, and becomes what we call camphire; after the juice is thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies. in this island is also found the rhinoceros, an animal less than the elephant, but larger than the buffalo. it has a horn upon its nose, about a cubit in length; this horn is solid, and cleft through the middle, upon this may be seen white lines, representing the figure of a man. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his head but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his eyes, and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and then, strange to relate! the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws, for food for her young ones. i pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest i should be troublesome to you. here i exchanged some of my diamonds for merchandize. from hence we went to other islands, and at last, having touched at several trading towns of the continent, we landed at bussorah, from whence i proceeded to bagdad. there i immediately gave large presents to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches i had brought, and gained with so much fatigue. thus sinbad ended the relation of the second voyage, gave hindbad another hundred sequins, and invited him to come the next day to hear the account of the third. the rest of the guests returned to their homes, and came again the following day at the same hour, and one may be sure the porter did not fail, having by this time almost forgotten his former poverty. when dinner was over, sinbad demanded attention, and gave them an account of his third voyage, as follows. the third voyage. i soon lost in the pleasures of life the remembrance of the perils i had encountered in my two former voyages; and being in the flower of my age, i grew weary of living without business, and hardening myself against the thought of any danger i might incur, went from bagdad to bussorah with the richest commodities of the country. there i embarked again with some merchants. we made a long voyage, and touched at several ports, where we carried on a considerable trade. one day, being out in the main ocean, we were overtaken by a dreadful tempest, which drove us from our course. the tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor. when we had furled our sails, the captain told us, that this, and some other neighbouring islands, were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and. though they were but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was such, that we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them, they would all fall upon us and destroy us. this account of the captain, continued sinbad put the whole company into great consternation and we soon found that what he had told us was but too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, about two feet high, covered all over with red hair, came swimming towards us, and encompassed our ship. they spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with such agility as surprised us. we beheld all this with dread, but without daring to defend ourselves, or to divert them from their mischievous design. in short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another island from whence they had come. all voyagers carefully avoided the island where they left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall presently hear; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience. we went forward into the island, where we gathered some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. as we advanced, we perceived at a distance a vast pile of building, and made towards it. we found it to be a palace, elegantly built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony of two leaves, which we forced open. we entered the court, where we saw before us a large apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of human bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and being fatigued with travelling, fell to the ground, seized with deadly apprehension, and lay a long time motionless. the sun set, and whilst we were in the lamentable condition i have described, the gate of the apartment opened with a loud crash, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as tall as a lofty palm-tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as a burning coal. his fore-teeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of his mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse. his upper lip hung down upon his breast. his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at the sight of so frightful a giant, we became insensible, and lay like dead men. at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch looking at us. when he had considered us well, he advanced towards us, and laying his hand upon me, took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned round as a butcher would do a sheep's head. after having examined me, and perceiving me to be so lean that i had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest one by one, and viewed them in the same manner. the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i would do a sparrow, and thrust a spit through him; he then kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his supper. having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder. he slept thus till morning. as to ourselves, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest, so that we passed the night in the most painful apprehension that can be imagined. when day appeared the giant awoke, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. when we thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had preserved the whole of the night, and filled the palace with our lamentations and groans. though we were several in number, and had but one enemy, it never occurred to us to effect our deliverance by putting him to death. this enterprize however, though difficult of execution, was the only design we ought naturally to have formed. we thought of several other expedients, but determined upon none; and submitting ourselves to what it should please god to order concerning us, we spent the day in traversing the island, supporting ourselves with fruits and herbs as we had done the day before. in the evening we sought for some place of shelter, but found none; so that we were forced, whether we would or not, to return to the palace. the giant failed not to return, and supped once more upon one of our companions, after which he slept, and snored till day, and then went out and left us as before. our situation appeared to us so dreadful, that several of my comrades designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so painful a death; and endeavoured to persuade the others to follow their example. upon which one of the company answered, "that we were forbidden to destroy ourselves: but even if that were not the case, it was much more reasonable to devise some method to rid ourselves of the monster who had destined us to so horrible a fate." having thought of a project for this purpose, i communicated it to my comrades, who approved it. "brethren," said i, "you know there is much timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us make several rafts capable of bearing us, and when they are done, leave them there till we find it convenient to use them. in the mean time, we will carry into execution the design i proposed to you for our deliverance from the giant, and if it succeed, we may remain here patiently awaiting the arrival of some ship to carry us out of this fatal island; but if it happen to miscarry, we will take to our rafts, and put to sea. i admit that by exposing ourselves to the fury of the waves, we run a risk of losing our lives; but is it not better to be buried in the sea than in the entrails of this monster, who has already devoured two of our number?" my advice was approved, and we made rafts capable of carrying three persons on each. we returned to the palace towards the evening, and the giant arrived shortly after. we were forced to submit to seeing another of our comrades roasted. but at last we revenged ourselves on the brutish giant in the following manner. after he had finished his cursed supper, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore, according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded him. the pain made him break out into a frightful yell: he started up, and stretched out his hands, in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage: but we ran to such places as he could not reach; and after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate, and went out, howling in agony. we quitted the palace after the giant, and came to the shore, where we had left our rafts, and put them immediately to sea. we waited till day, in order to get upon them, in case the giant should come towards us with any guide of his own species, but we hoped if he did not appear by sun-rising, and gave over his howling, which we still heard, that he would prove to be dead; and if that happened to be the case, we resolved to stay in that island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts: but day had scarcely appeared, when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied with two others almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming before him at a quick pace. we did not hesitate to take to our rafts, and put to sea with all the speed we could. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore, entered the water up to the middle, and threw so exactly, that they sunk all the rafts but that i was upon; and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants. but when we got out to sea, we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and tossed about, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, and spent that night and the following day under the most painful uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good fortune to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit, which afforded us great relief, and recruited our strength. at night we went to sleep on the sea-shore but were awakened by the noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling noise as he wound himself along. it swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries, and the efforts he made to extricate himself from it; dashing him several times against the ground, it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor wretch's bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance. the following day, to our great terror, we saw the serpent again, when i exclaimed, "o heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! we rejoiced yesterday at having escaped from the cruelty of a giant and the rage of the waves, now are we fallen into another danger equally dreadful." as we walked about, we saw a large tall tree upon which we designed to pass the following night, for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it according. shortly after, the serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree; raised himself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off. i remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate with my two companions. this filled me with horror, and i advanced some steps to throw myself into the sea; but the natural love of life prompting us to prolong it as long as we can, i withstood this dictate of despair, and submitted myself to the will of god, who disposes of our lives at his pleasure. in the mean time i collected together a great quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, . and making them up into faggots, made a wide circle with them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done this, when the evening came, i shut myself up within this circle, with the melancholy satisfaction, that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made; so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has fortunately reached a place of safety. when day appeared, he retired, but i dared not to leave my fort until the sun arose. i felt so much fatigued by the labour to which it had put me, and suffered so much from his poisonous breath, that death seemed more eligible to me than the horrors of such a state. i came down from the tree, and, not thinking of the resignation i had the preceding day resolved to exercise, i ran towards the sea, with a design to throw myself into it. god took compassion on my hopeless state; for just as i was going to throw myself into the sea, i perceived a ship at a considerable distance. i called as loud as i could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it, that they might observe me. this had the desired effect; the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. as soon as i came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me, to know how i came into that desert island; and after i had related to them all that had befallen me, the oldest among them said to me, they had several times heard of the giants that dwelt in that island, that they were cannibals, and ate men raw as well as roasted; and as to the serpents, they added, that there were abundance in the island that hid themselves by day, and came abroad by night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of their provisions; and the captain, seeing that i was in rags, was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. we continued at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat, where sandal wood is obtained, which is of great use in medicine. we entered the port, and came to anchor. the merchants began to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. in the mean time, the captain came to me, and said, "brother, i have here some goods that belonged to a merchant, who sailed some time on board this ship, and he being dead, i design to dispose of them for the benefit of his heirs, when i find who they are." the bales he spoke of lay on the deck, and shewing them to me, he said, "there are the goods; i hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have factorage." i thanked him for thus affording me an opportunity of employing myself, because i hated to be idle. the clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of the merchants to whom they belonged. and when he asked the captain in whose name he should enter those he had given me the charge of; "enter them," said the captain, "in the name of sinbad." i could not hear myself named without some emotion; and looking stedfastly on the captain, i knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island where i fell asleep, and sailed without me, or sending to see for me. but i could not recollect him at first, he was so much altered since i had seen him. i was not surprised that he, believing me to be dead, did not recognize me. "captain," said i, "was the merchant's name, to whom those bales belonged, sinbad?" "yes," replied he, "that was his name; he came from bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at bussorah. one day, when we landed at an island to take in water and other refreshments, i knew not by what mistake, i sailed without observing that he did not re-embark with us; neither i nor the merchants perceived it till four hours after. we had the wind in our stern, and so fresh a gale, that it was not then possible for us to tack about for him." "you believe him then to be dead?" said i. "certainly," answered he. "no, captain," i resumed; "look at me, and you may know that i am sinbad, whom you left in that desert island." the captain, continued sinbad, having considered me attentively, recognized me. "god be praised," said he, embracing me; "i rejoice that fortune has rectified my fault. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve." i took them from him, and made him the acknowledgments to which he was entitled. from the isle of salabat, we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from this island, we saw a tortoise twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also an amphibious animal like a cow, which gave milk; its skin is so hard, that they usually make bucklers of it. i saw another, which had the shape and colour of a camel. in short, after a long voyage, i arrived at bussorah, and from thence returned to bagdad, with so much wealth that i knew not its extent. i gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another considerable estate in addition to what i had already. thus sinbad finished the history of his third voyage; gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, invited him to dinner again the next day, to hear the story of his fourth voyage. hindbad and the company retired; and on the following day, when they returned, sinbad after dinner continued the relation of his adventures. the fourth voyage. the pleasures and amusements which i enjoyed after my third voyage had not charms sufficient to divert me from another. my passion for trade, and my love of novelty, again prevailed. i therefore settled my affairs, and having provided a stock of goods fit for the traffic i designed to engage in, i set out on my journey. i took the route of persia, travelled over several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. we hoisted our sails, and touched at several ports of the continent, and some of the eastern islands, and put out to sea: we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of wind, as obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. but all was in vain our endeavours had no effect; the sails were split in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; several of the merchants and seamen were drowned and the cargo was lost. i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get upon some planks, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us. there we found fruit and spring water, which preserved our lives. we staid all night near the place where we had been cast ashore, without consulting what we should do; our misfortune had so much dispirited us that we could not deliberate. next morning, as soon as the sun was up, we walked from the shore, and advancing into the island, saw some houses, which we approached. as soon as we drew near, we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who seized us, shared us among them, and carried us to their respective habitations. i, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place; here they made us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to eat. my comrades not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it themselves, thought only of satisfying their hunger, and ate with greediness. but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in little time after, i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they knew not what they said. the negroes fed us afterwards with rice, prepared with oil of cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i also partook of it, but very sparingly. they gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they supplied us with rice to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. this accordingly happened, for they devoured my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat, as the rest did, i grew leaner every day. the fear of death under which i laboured, turned all my food into poison. i fell into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the negroes, having killed and eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death. meanwhile i had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice was taken of what i did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. an old man, who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but instead of obeying him, i redoubled my speed, and quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to return till night, which was usual with them. therefore, being sure that they could not arrive time enough to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had secured; but i speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa- nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and saw some white people like myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place. this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. the people who gathered pepper came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in arabic who i was, and whence i came? i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied their curiosity, by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the negroes. "those negroes," replied they, "eat men, and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty?" i related to them the circumstances i have just mentioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised. i staid with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they had come. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince. he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him; and he afterwards gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. the island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the capital a place of great trade. this agreeable retreat was very comfortable to me after my misfortunes, and the kindness of this generous prince completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favour with him than myself; and, consequently, every man in court and city sought to oblige me; so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. i observed one thing, which to me appeared very extraordinary. all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without saddle, bridle, or stirrups. this made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how it came to pass? his majesty answered, that i talked to him of things which nobody knew the use of in his dominions. i went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterwards went to a smith, who made me a bit, according to the pattern i shewed him, and also some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by large presents. i could not avoid making several others for the ministers and principal officers of his household, who all of them made me presents that enriched me in a little time. i also made some for the people of best quality in the city, which gained me great reputation and regard. as i paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day, "sinbad, i love thee; and all my subjects who know thee, treat thee according to my example. i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant." "sir," answered i, "there is nothing but i will do, as a mark of my obedience to your majesty, whose power over me is absolute." "i have a mind thou shouldst marry," replied he, "that so thou mayst stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own country." i durst not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with my wife, and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. i was not, however, satisfied with my banishment, therefore designed to make my escape the first opportunity, and to return to bagdad; which my present settlement, how advantageous soever, could not make me forget. at this time the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom i had contrasted a very strict friendship, fell sick, and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him absorbed in sorrow, i said to him as soon as i saw him, "god preserve you and grant you a long life." "alas!" replied he, "how do you think i should obtain the favour you wish me? i have not above an hour to live." "pray," said i, "do not entertain such a melancholy thought; i hope i shall enjoy your company many years." "i wish you," he replied, "a long life; but my days are at an end, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law which our ancestors established in this island, and it is always observed inviolably. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law." while he was giving me an account of this barbarous custom, the very relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred, friends, and neighbours, came in a body to assist at the funeral. they dressed the corpse of the woman in her richest apparel, and all her jewels, as if it had been her wedding-day; then they placed her on an open coffin, and began their march to the place of burial. the husband walked at the head of the company, and followed the corpse. they proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached the place of their destination, they took up a large stone, which covered the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the corpse with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband, embracing his kindred and friends, suffered himself to be put into another open coffin without resistance, with a pot of water, and seven small loaves, and was let down in the same manner. the mountain was of considerable length, and extended along the sea- shore, and the pit was very deep. the ceremony being over, the aperture was again covered with the stone, and the company returned. it is needless for me to tell you that i was a most melancholy spectator this funeral, while the rest were scarcely moved, the custom was to them so familiar. i could not forbear communicating to the king my sentiment respecting the practice: "sir," i said, "i cannot but feel astonished at the strange usage observed in this country, of burying the living with the dead. i have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so cruel a law." "what do you mean, sinbad?" replied the king: "it is a common law. i shall be interred with the queen, my wife, if she die first." "but, sir," said i, "may i presume to ask your majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law?" "without doubt," returned the king (smiling at the occasion of my question), "they are not exempted, if they be married in this island." i returned home much depressed by this answer; for the fear of my wife's dying first, and that i should be interred alive with her, occasioned me very uneasy reflections. but there was no remedy; i must have patience, and submit to the will of god. i trembled however at every little indisposition of my wife. alas! in a little time my fears were realized, for she fell sick, and died. judge of my sorrow; to be interred alive, seemed to me as deplorable a termination of life as to be devoured by cannibals. it was necessary, however, to submit. the king and all his court expressed their wish to honour the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city did the same. when all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a coffin, with all her jewels and her most magnificent apparel. the procession began, and as second actor in this doleful tragedy, i went next the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable fate. before we reached the mountain, i made an attempt to affect the minds of the spectators: i addressed myself to the king first, and then to all those that were round me; bowing before them to the earth, and kissing the border of their garments, i prayed them to have compassion upon me. "consider," said i, "that i am a stranger, and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that i have another wife and children in my own country." although i spoke in the most pathetic manner, no one was moved by my address; on the contrary, they ridiculed my dread of death as cowardly, made haste to let my wife's corpse into the pit, and lowered me down the next moment in an open coffin, with full of water and seven loaves. in short, the fatal ceremony being performed, they covered over the mouth of the pit, notwithstanding my grief and piteous lamentations. as i approached the bottom, i discovered by the aid of the little light that came from above the nature of this subterranean place, it seemed an endless cavern, and might be about fifty fathom deep. i was annoyed by an insufferable stench proceeding from the multitude of bodies which i saw on the right and left; nay, i fancied that i heard some of them sigh out their last. however, when i got down, i immediately left my coffin, and getting at a distance from the bodies, held my nose, and lay down upon the ground, where i stayed a considerable time, bathed in tears. at last, reflecting on my melancholy case, "it is true," said i, "that god disposes all things according to the degrees of his providence; but, unhappy sinbad, hast thou any but thyself to blame that thou art brought to die so strange a death? would to god thou hadst perished in some of those tempests which thou hast escaped! then thy death had not been so lingering, and so terrible in all its circumstances. but thou hast drawn all this upon thyself by thy inordinate avarice. ah, unfortunate wretch! shouldst thou not rather have remained at home, and quietly enjoyed the fruits of thy labour?" such were the vain complaints with which i filled the cave, beating my head and breast out of rage and despair, and abandoning myself to the most afflicting thoughts. nevertheless, i must tell you, that instead of calling death to my assistance in that miserable condition, i felt still an inclination to live, and to do all i could to prolong my days. i went groping about, with my nose stopped, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. though the darkness of the cave was so great that i could not distinguish day and night, yet i always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious and fuller of bodies than it had appeared to be at first. i lived for some days upon my bread and water, which being all spent, i at last prepared for death. as i was thinking of death, i heard the stone lifted up from the mouth of the cave, and immediately the corpse of a man was let down when reduced to necessity, it is natural to come to extreme resolutions. while they let down the woman i approached the place where her coffin was to be put, and as soon as i perceived they were again covering the mouth of the cave, gave the unfortunate wretch two or three violent blows over the head, with a large bone; which stunned, or, to say the truth, killed her. i committed this inhuman action merely for the sake of the bread and water that was in her coffin, and thus i had provision for some days more. when that was spent, they letdown another dead woman, and a living man; i killed the man in the same manner, and, as there was then a sort of mortality in the town, by continuing this practice i did not want for provisions. one day after i had dispatched another woman, i heard something tread, and breathing or panting as it walked. i advanced towards that side from whence i heard the noise, and on my approach the creature puffed and blew harder, as if running away from me. i followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as i approached. i pursued it for a considerable time, till at last i perceived a light, resembling a star; i went on, sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock, large enough to admit a man. upon this, i stopped some time to rest, being much fatigued with the rapidity of my progress: afterwards coming up to the hole, i got through, and found myself upon the sea shore. i leave you to guess the excess of my joy: it was such, that i could scarcely persuade myself that the whole was not a dream. but when i was recovered from my surprise, and convinced of the reality of my escape, i perceived what i had followed to be a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter the cavern and feed upon the bodies of the dead. i examined the mountain, and found it to be situated betwixt the sea and the town, but without any passage to or communication with the latter; the rocks on the sea side being high and perpendicularly steep. i prostrated myself on the shore to thank god for this mercy, and afterwards entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which i ate by daylight with a better appetite than i had done since my interment in the dark cavern i returned thither a second time, and groped among the coffins for all the diamonds, rubies,, pearls, gold bracelets, and rich stuffs i could find; these i brought to the shore, and tying them up neatly into bales, with the cords that let down the coffins, i laid them together upon the beach, waiting till some ship might appear, without fear of rain, for it was then the dry season. after two or three days, i perceived a ship just come out of the harbour, making for the place where i was. i made a sign with the linen of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as i could. they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board, when they asked by what misfortune i came thither; i told them that i had suffered shipwreck two days before, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. it was fortunate for me that these people did not consider the place where i was, nor enquire into the probability of what i told them; but without hesitation took me on board with my goods. when i came to the ship, the captain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which i offered him. we passed by several islands, and among others that called the isle of bells, about ten days' sail from serendib, with a regular wind, and six from that of kela, where we landed. this island produces lead mines, indian canes, and excellent camphire. the king of the isle of kela is very rich and powerful, and the isle of bells, which is about two days journey in extent, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our traffic in that island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports; at last i arrived happily at bagdad with infinite riches, of which it is needless to trouble you with the detail. out of gratitude to god for his mercies, i contributed liberally towards the support of several mosques, and the subsistence of the poor, gave myself up to the society of my kindred and friends, enjoying myself with them in festivities and amusements. here sinbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage, which appeared more surprising to the company than the three former. he made a new present of one hundred sequins to hindbad, whom he requested to return with the rest next day at the same hour to dine with him, and hear the story of his fifth voyage. hindbad and the other guests took their leave and retired. next morning when they all met, they sat down at table, and when dinner was over, sinbad began the relation of his fifth voyage as follows. the fifth voyage. the pleasures i enjoyed had again charms enough to make me forget all the troubles and calamities i had undergone, but could not cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. i therefore bought goods, departed with them for the best sea-port; and there, that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i remained till one was built on purpose, at my own charge. when the ship was ready, i went on board with my goods; but not having enough to load her, i agreed to take with me several merchants of different nations with their merchandize. we sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long navigation the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of a roe, equal in size to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc it just ready to be hatched, and its bill had begun to appear. the merchants whom i had taken on board, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets, and made a hole in it, pulled out the young roc piecemeal, and roasted it. i had earnestly intreated them not to meddle with the egg, but they would not listen to me. scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared in the air at a considerable distance from us two great clouds. the captain whom i had hired to navigate my ship, knowing by experience what they meant, said they were the male and female roc that belonged to the young one, and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. we hastened on board, and set sail with all possible expedition. in the mean time, the two roes approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. they flew back in the direction they had come, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could to endeavour to prevent that which unhappily befell us. they soon returned, and we observed that each of them carried between its talons stones, or rather rocks, of a monstrous size. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let fall a stone, but by the dexterity of the steersman it missed us, and falling into the sea, divided the water so that we could almost see the bottom. the other roe, to our misfortune, threw his messy burden so exactly upon the middle of the ship, as to split it into a thousand pieces. the mariners and passengers were all crushed to death, or sunk. i myself was of the number of the latter; but as i came up again, i fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming sometimes with one hand, and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast my board, the wind and the tide favouring me, i came to an island, whose shore was very steep. i overcame that difficulty, however, and got ashore. i sat down upon the grass, to recover myself from my fatigue, after which i went into the island to explore it. it seemed to be a delicious garden. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green, and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water running in pleasant meanders. i ate of the fruits, which i found excellent; and drank of the water, which was very light and good. when night closed in, i lay down upon the grass in a convenient spot, but could not sleep an hour at a time, my mind being apprehensive of danger. i spent best part of the night in alarm, and reproached myself for my imprudence in not remaining at home, rather than undertaking this last voyage. these reflections carried me so far, that i began to form a design against my life; but daylight dispersed these melancholy thoughts. i got up, and walked among the trees, but not without some fears. when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man, who appeared very weak and infirm. he was sitting on the bank of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went towards him and saluted him, but he only slightly bowed his head. i asked him why he sat so still, but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit. i believed him really to stand in need of my assistance, took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with ease; but instead of doing so (which i laugh at every time i think of it) the old man, who to me appeared quite decrepid, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck, when i perceived his skin to resemble that of a cow. he sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight, that i thought he would have strangled me, the apprehension of which make me swoon and fall down. notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me time to recover my breath. when i had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other, that he forced me to rise up against my will. having arisen, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit such as we found. he never left me all day, and when i lay down to rest at night, laid himself down with me, holding always fast about my neck. every morning he pushed me to make me awake, and afterwards obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. you may judge then, gentlemen, what trouble i was in, to be loaded with such a burden of which i could not get rid. one day i found in my way several dry calebashes that had fallen from a tree. i took a large one, and after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island; having filled the calebash, i put it by in a convenient place, and going thither again some days after, i tasted it, and found the wine so good, that it soon made me forget my sorrow, gave me new vigour, and so exhilarated my spirits, that i began to sing and dance as i walked along. the old man, perceiving the effect which this liquor had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than before, made me a sign to give him some of it. i handed him the calebash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. there being a considerable quantity of it, he became drunk immediately, and the fumes getting up into his head, he began to sing after his manner, and to dance with his breech upon my shoulders. his jolting made him vomit, and he loosened his legs from about me by degrees. finding that he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion; i then took up a great stone, and crushed his head to pieces. i was extremely glad to be thus freed for ever from this troublesome fellow. i now walked towards the beach, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor, to take in water. they were surprised to see me, but more so at hearing the particulars of my adventures. "you fell," said they, "into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first who ever escaped strangling by his malicious tricks. he never quitted those he had once made himself master of, till he had destroyed them, and he has made this island notorious by the number of men he has slain; so that the merchants and mariners who landed upon it, durst not advance into the island but in numbers at a time." after having informed me of these things, they carried me with them to the ship; the captain received me with great kindness, when they told him what had befallen me. he put out again to sea, and after some days' sail, we arrived at the harbour of a great city, the houses of which were built with hewn stone. one of the merchants who had taken me into his friendship invited me to go along with him, and carried me to a place appointed for the accommodation of foreign merchants. he gave me a large bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather cocoa-nuts, desired them to take me with them. "go," said he, "follow them, and act as you see them do, but do not separate from them, otherwise you may endanger your life." having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. we came to a thick forest of cocoa-trees, very lofty, with trunks so smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches that bore the fruit. when we entered the forest we saw a great number of apes of several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness. the merchants with whom i was, gathered stones and threw them at the apes on the trees. i did the same, and the apes out of revenge threw cocoa-nuts at us so fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment. we gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa-nuts, which it had been impossible otherwise to have done. when we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant, who had sent me to the forest, gave me the value of the cocoas i brought: "go on," said he, "and do the like every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home." i thanked him for his advice, and gradually collected as many cocoa-nuts as produced me a considerable sum. the vessel in which i had come sailed with some merchants, who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. i expected the arrival of another, which anchored soon after for the like loading. i embarked in her all the cocoa-nuts i had, and when she was ready to sail, took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me; but he could not embark with me, because he had not finished his business at the port. we sailed towards the islands, where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari, where the best species of wood of aloes grows, and whose inhabitants have made it an inviolable law to themselves to drink no wine, and suffer no place of debauch. i exchanged my cocoa in those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants a pearl-fishing. i hired divers, who brought me up some that were very large and pure. i embarked in a vessel that happily arrived at bussorah; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i made vast sums of my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from my other voyages, and endeavoured to dissipate my fatigues by amusements of different kinds. when sinbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred sequins to be given to hindbad, who retired with the other guests; but next morning the same company returned to dine with rich sinbad; who, after having treated them as formerly, requested their attention, and gave the following account of his sixth voyage. the sixth voyage. gentlemen, you long without doubt to know, how, after having been shipwrecked five times, and escaped so many dangers, i could resolve again to tempt fortune, and expose myself to new hardships? i am, myself, astonished at my conduct when i reflect upon it, and must certainly have been actuated by my destiny. but be that as it may, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the intreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all in their power to dissuade me. instead of taking my way by the persian gulf, i travelled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where i embarked in a ship, the captain of which was bound on a long voyage. it was long indeed, and at the same time so unfortunate, that the captain and pilot lost their course. they however at last discovered where they were, but we had no reason to rejoice at the circumstance. suddenly we saw the captain quit his post, uttering loud lamentations. he threw off his turban, pulled his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason, and he answered, that he was in the most dangerous place in all the ocean. "a rapid current carries the ship along with it, and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this peril; we cannot escape, if he do not take pity on us." at these words he ordered the sails to be lowered; but all the ropes broke, and the ship was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she struck and went to pieces, yet in such a manner that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. this being over, the captain said to us, "god has done what pleased him. each of us may dig his grave, and bid the world adieu; for we are all in so fatal a place, that none shipwrecked here ever returned to their homes." his discourse afflicted us sensibly, and we embraced each other, bewailing our deplorable lot. the mountain at the foot of which we were wrecked formed part of the coast of a very large island. it was covered with wrecks, and from the vast number of human bones we saw everywhere, and which filled us with horror, we concluded that multitudes of people had perished there. it is also incredible what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore. all these objects served only to augment our despair. in all other places, rivers run from their channels into the sea, but here a river of fresh water runs out of the sea into a dark cavern, whose entrance is very high and spacious. what is most remarkable in this place is, that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen, that runs into the sea, which the fish swallow, and evacuate soon afterwards, turned into ambergris: and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. trees also grow here, most of which are wood of aloes, equal in goodness to those of comari. to finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it, it is not possible for ships to get off when once they approach within a certain distance. if they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current impel them; and if they come into it when a land-wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current carries them ashore: and what completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility of ascending the mountain, or of escaping by sea. we continued upon the shore in a state of despair, and expected death every day. at first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus every one lived a longer or shorter time, according to his temperance, and the use he made of his provisions. those who died first were interred by the survivors, and i paid the last duty to all my companions: nor are you to wonder at this; for besides that i husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, i had some of my own which i did not share with my comrades; yet when i buried the last, i had so little remaining, that i thought i could not long survive: i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was no one left to inter me. i must confess to you at the same time, that while i was thus employed, i could not but reproach myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that i had ever undertaken this last voyage. nor did i stop at reflections only, but had well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth. but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cavern. considering its probable course with great attention, i said to myself, "this river, which runs thus under ground, must somewhere have an issue. if i make a raft, and leave myself to the current, it will convey me to some inhabited country, or i shall perish. if i be drowned, i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another; and if i get out of this fatal place, i shall not only avoid the sad fate of my comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. who knows but fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous shelf, to compensate my shipwreck with usury." i immediately went to work upon large pieces of timber and cables, for i had choice of them, and tied them together so strongly, that i soon made a very solid raft. when i had finished, i loaded it with some bulses of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and bales of rich stuffs. having balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board with two oars that i had made, and leaving it to the course of the river, resigned myself to the will of god. as soon as i entered the cavern, i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i floated some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it very nearly touched my head, which made me cautious afterwards to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding my frugality, all my provisions were spent. then a pleasing stupor seized upon me. i cannot tell how long it continued; but when i revived, i was surprised to find myself in an extensive plain on the brink of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them, and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy, that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited the following words in arabic aloud: "call upon the almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about any thing else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good." one of the blacks, who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me, and said, "brother, be not surprised to see us, we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. we observed something floating upon the water, went to see what it was, and, perceiving your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it thither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come?" "i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy. their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food, and when i had satisfied my hunger, i related all that had befallen me, which they listened to with attentive surprise. as soon as i had finished, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic and interpreted to them what i said, that it was one of the most wonderful stories they had ever heard, and that i must go along with them, and tell it their king myself; it being too extraordinary to be related by any other than the person to whom the events had happened. i assured them that i was ready to do whatever they pleased. they immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having helped me to mount, some of them walked before to shew the way, while the rest took my raft and cargo and followed. we marched till we came to the capital of serendib, for it was in that island i had landed. the blacks presented me to their king; i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet. the prince ordered me to rise, received me with an obliging air, and made me sit down near him. he first asked me my name, and i answered, "people call me sinbad the voyager, because of the many voyages i have undertaken, and i am a citizen of bagdad." "but," resumed he, "how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last?" i concealed nothing from the king; i related to him all that i have told you, and his majesty was so surprised and pleased, that he commanded my adventures to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. at last my raft was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence; he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris, but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that equalled them. observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them one after another, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, "sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the raft, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own." he answered me with a smile, "sinbad, i will take care not to covet any thing of yours, or to take any thing from you that god has given you; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you quit my dominions without marks of my liberality." all the answer i returned were prayers for the prosperity of that nobly minded prince, and commendations of his generosity and bounty. he charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own expence. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his commission, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. i went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in viewing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. the isle of serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line; so that the days and nights there are always of twelve hours each, and the island is eighty parasangs in length, and as many in breadth. the capital stands at the end of a fine valley, in the middle of the island, encompassed by mountains the highest in the world. they are seen three days' sail off at sea. rubies and several sorts of minerals abound, and the rocks are for the most part composed of a metalline stone made use of to cut and polish other precious stones. all kinds of rare plants and trees grow there, especially cedars and cocoa-nut. there is also a pearl-fishing in the mouth of its principal river; and in some of its valleys are found diamonds. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of the mountain. when i returned to the city, i prayed the king to allow me to return to my own country, and he granted me permission in the most obliging and most honourable manner. he would needs force a rich present upon me; and when i went to take my leave of him, he gave me one much more considerable, and at the same time charged me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, "i pray you give this present from me, and this letter to the caliph, and assure him of my friendship." i took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was pleased to honour me. before i embarked, this prince sent for the captain and the merchants who were to go with me, and ordered them to treat me with all possible respect. the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. the characters of this letter were of azure, and the contents as follows: "the king of the indies, before whom march one hundred elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroon al rusheed. "though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it however as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear for you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with yourself. we conjure you this in quality of a brother. adieu." the present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a drachm each. . the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. . fifty thousand drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphire as big as pistachios. . a female slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was all covered over with jewels. the ship set sail, and after a very successful navigation we landed at bussorah, and from thence i went to bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. scheherazade stopped, because day appeared, and next night proceeded thus. i took the king of serendib's letter, and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the beautiful slave, and such of my own family as carried the presents. i stated the reason of my coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my reverence, and, after a short speech, gave him the letter and present. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me, if that prince were really so rich and potent as he represented himself in his letter? i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, said, "commander of the faithful, i can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth. i bear him witness. nothing is more worthy of admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public, he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand; and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright, with a column of gold, on the top of which is an emerald half a foot long, and an inch thick; before him march a guard of one thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. "while the king is on his march, the officer, who is before him on the same elephant, cries from time to time, with a loud voice, â��behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with one hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds. behold the monarch greater than solomon, and the powerful maha-raja.' after he has pronounced those words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn, â��this monarch, so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die.' and the officer before replies, â��praise be to him who lives for ever.' "farther, the king of serendib is so just, that there are no judges in his dominions. his people have no need of them. they understand and observe justice rigidly of themselves." the caliph was much pleased with my account. "the wisdom of that king," said he, "appears in his letter, and after what you tell me, i must confess, that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince." having spoken thus, he dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present. sinbad left off, and his company retired, hindbad having first received one hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear the relation of his seventh and last voyage. the seventh and last voyage. being returned from my sixth voyage, said sinbad, i absolutely laid aside all thoughts of travelling; for, besides that my age now required rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as i had encountered; so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. one day as i was treating my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an officer of the caliph's enquired for me. i rose from table, and went to him. "the caliph," he said, "has sent me to tell you, that he must speak with you." i followed the officer to the palace, where being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. "sinbad," said he to me, "i stand in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present to the king of serendib. it is but just i should return his civility." this command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder. "commander of the faithful," i replied, "i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone. i have also made a vow never to go out of bagdad." hence i took occasion to give him a full and particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience to hear out. as soon as i had finished, "i confess," said he, "that the things you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must for my sake undertake this voyage which i propose to you. you will only have to go to the isle of serendib, and deliver the commission which i give you. after that you are at liberty to return. but you must go; for you know it would not comport with my dignity, to be indebted to the king of that island." perceiving that the caliph insisted upon my compliance, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased, and ordered me one thousand sequins for the expences of my journey. i prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to bussorah, where i embarked, and had a very happy voyage. having arrived at the isle of serendib, i acquainted the king's ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy audience. they did so, and i was conducted to the palace in an honourable manner, where i saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. that prince knew me immediately, and testified very great joy at seeing me. "sinbad," said he, "you are welcome; i have many times thought of you since you departed; i bless the day on which we see one another once more." i made my compliment to him, and after having thanked him for his kindness, delivered the caliph's letter and present, which he received with all imaginable satisfaction. the caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, valued at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez, and alexandria; a vessel of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bass relief a man with one knee on the ground, who held bow and an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. he sent him also a rich tablet, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the caliph's letter was as follows: "greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, from the dependent on god, haroon al rusheed, whom god hath set in the place of vicegerent to his prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to the potent and esteemed raja of serendib. "we received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial residence, the garden of superior wits. we hope when you look upon it, you will perceive our good intention and be pleased with it. adieu." the king of serendib was highly gratified that the caliph answered his friendship. a little time after this audience, i solicited leave to depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it. i procured it however at last, and the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so speedily as i had hoped. god ordered it otherwise. three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by corsairs, who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no vessel of force. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but for myself and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the corsairs saved us on purpose to make slaves of us. we were all stripped, and instead of our own clothes, they gave us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely for a slave. some days after, not knowing who i was, he asked me if i understood any trade? i answered, that i was no mechanic, but a merchant, and that the corsairs, who sold me, had robbed me of all i possessed. "but tell me," replied he, "can you shoot with a bow?" i answered, that the bow was one of my exercises in my youth. he gave me a bow and arrows, and, taking me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a thick forest some leagues from the town. we penetrated a great way into the wood, and when he thought fit to stop, he bade me alight; then shewing me a great tree, "climb up that," said he, "and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall, come and give me notice." having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and returned to the town, and i continued upon the tree all night. i saw no elephant during that time, but next morning, as soon as the sun was up, i perceived a great number. i shot several arrows among them, and at last one of the elephants fell, when the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my booty. when i had informed him, he gave me a good meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. we went afterwards together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant; my patron designing to return when it was rotten, and take his teeth to trade with. i continued this employment for two months, and killed an elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and sometimes upon another. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived with extreme amazement, that, instead of passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, in such number that the plain was covered, and shook under them. they encompassed the tree in which i was concealed, with their trunks extended, and all fixed their eyes upon. at this alarming spectacle i continued immoveable, and was so much terrified, that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand. my fears were not without cause; for after the elephants had stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and threw it on the ground; i fell with the tree, and the elephant taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. he put himself afterwards at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops, carried me a considerable way, then laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. conceive, if you can, the condition i was in: i thought myself in a dream. after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered with the bones and teeth of elephants. i confess to you, that this object furnished me with abundance of reflections. i admired the instinct of those animals; i doubted not but that was their burying place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to persecute them, since i did it only for their teeth. i did not stay on the hill, but turned towards the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night, i came to my patron. i met no elephant in my way, which made me think they had retired farther into the forest, to leave me at liberty to come back to the hill without any obstacle. as soon as my patron saw me; "ah, poor sinbad," exclaimed he, "i was in great trouble to know what was become of you. i have been at the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow and arrows on the ground, and after having sought for you in vain, i despaired of ever, seeing you more. pray tell me what befell you, and by what good chance thou art still alive." i satisfied his curiosity, and going both of us next morning to the hill, he found to his great joy that what i had told him was true. we loaded the elephant which had carried us with as many teeth as he could bear; and when we were returned, "brother," said my patron, "for i will treat you no more as my slave, after having made such a discovery as will enrich me, god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i declare before him, that i give you your liberty. i concealed from you what i am now going to tell you. "the elephants of our forest have every year killed us a great many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. for all the cautions we could give them, those crafty animals destroyed them one time or other. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favour upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has some use for your service in the world. you have procured me incredible wealth. formerly we could not procure ivory but by exposing the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city is enriched by your means. do not think i pretend to have rewarded you by giving you your liberty, i will also give you considerable riches. i could engage all our city to contribute towards making your fortune, but i will have the glory of doing it myself." to this obliging declaration i replied, "patron, god preserve you. your giving me my liberty is enough to discharge what you owe me, and i desire no other reward for the service i had the good fortune to do to you and your city, but leave to return to my own country." "very well," said he, "the monsoon will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will then send you home, and give you wherewith to bear your charges." i thanked him again for my liberty and his good intentions towards me. i staid with him expecting the monsoon; and during that time, we made so many journeys to the hill, that we filled all our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants, who traded in it, did the same, for it could not be long concealed from them. the ships arrived at last, and my patron, himself having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, loaded half of it with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my passage, and besides obliged me to accept a present of some curiosities of the country of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favours, i went aboard. we set sail, and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was very extraordinary, i had it continually in my thoughts. we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions. our vessel being come to a port on the main land in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to bussorah, i landed my proportion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i made vast sums of my ivory, bought several rarities, which i intended for presents, and when my equipage was ready, set out in company with a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the way, and suffered much, but endured all with patience, when i considered that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, or from the other perils to which i had been exposed. all these fatigues ended at last, and i arrived safe at bagdad. i went immediately to wait upon the caliph, and gave him an account of my embassy. that prince said he had been uneasy, as i was so long in returning, but that he always hoped god would preserve me. when i told him the adventure of the elephants, he seemed much surprised, and would never have given any credit to it had he not known my veracity. he deemed this story, and the other relations i had given him, to be so curious, that he ordered one of his secretaries to write them in characters of gold, and lay them up in his treasury. i retired well satisfied with the honours i received, and the presents which he gave me; and ever since i have devoted myself wholly to my family, kindred, and friends. sinbad here finished the relation of his seventh and last voyage, and then addressing himself to hindbad, "well, friend," said he, "did you ever hear of any person that suffered so much as i have done, or of any mortal that has gone through so many vicissitudes? is it not reasonable that, after all this i should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life?" as he said this, hindbad drew near to him, and kissing his hand, said, "i must acknowledge, sir, that you have gone through many imminent dangers; my troubles are not comparable to yours: if they afflict me for a time, i comfort myself with the thoughts of the profit i get by them. you not only deserve a quiet life, but are worthy of all the riches you enjoy, because you make of them such a good and generous use. may you therefore continue to live in happiness and joy till the day of your death!" sinbad gave him one hundred sequins more, received him into the number of his friends, desired him to quit his porter's employment, and come and dine every day with him, that he might have reason to remember sinbad the voyager. the three apples. the caliph haroon al rusheed one day commanded the grand vizier jaffier to come to his palace the night following. "vizier," said he, "i will take a walk round the town, to inform myself what people say, and particularly how they are pleased with my officers of justice. if there be any against whom they have cause of just complaint, we will turn them out, and put others in their stead, who shall officiate better. if, on the contrary, there be any that have gained their applause, we will have that esteem for them which they deserve." the grand vizier being come to the palace at the hour appointed, the caliph, he, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs, disguised themselves so that they could not be known, and went out all three together. they passed through several places, and by several markets. as they entered a small street, they perceived by the light of the moon, a tall man, with a white beard, who carried nets on his head, and a staff in his hand. "to judge from his appearance," said the caliph, "that old man is not rich; let us go to him and inquire into his circumstances." "honest man," said the vizier, "who art thou?" the old man replied, "sir, i am a fisher, but one of the poorest and most miserable of the trade. i went from my house about noon a fishing, and from that time to this i have not been able to catch one fish; at the same time i have a wife and small children, and nothing to maintain them." the caliph, moved with compassion, said to the fisherman, "hast thou the courage to go back and cast thy net once more? we will give thee a hundred sequins for what thou shalt bring up." at this proposal, the fisherman, forgetting all his day's toil, took the caliph at his word, and returned to the tigris, accompanied by the caliph, jaaffier, and mesrour; saying to himself as he went, "these gentlemen seem too honest and reasonable not to reward my pains; and if they give me the hundredth part of what they promise, it will be an ample recompence." they came to the bank of the river, and the fisherman, having thrown in his net, when he drew it again, brought up a trunk close shut, and very heavy. the caliph made the grand vizier pay him one hundred sequins immediately, and sent him away. mesrour, by his master's order, carried the trunk on his shoulder, and the caliph was so very eager to know what it contained, that he returned to the palace with all speed. when the trunk was opened, they found in it a large basket made of palm-leaves, shut up, and the covering of it sewed with red thread. to satisfy the caliph's impatience, they would not take time to undo it, but cut the thread with a knife, and took out of the basket a package wrapt up in a sorry piece of hanging, and bound about with a rope; which being untied, they found, to their great amazement, the corpse of a young lady, whiter than snow, all cut in pieces. the astonishment of the caliph was great at this dreadful spectacle. his surprise was instantly changed into passion, and darting an angry look at the vizier, "thou wretch," said he, "is this your inspection into the actions of my people? do they commit such impious murders under thy ministry in my capital, and throw my subjects into the tigris, that they may cry for vengeance against me at the day of judgment? if thou dost not speedily avenge the murder of this woman, by the death of her murderer, i swear by heaven, that i will cause thee and forty more of thy kindred to be impaled." "commander of the faithful," replied the grand vizier, "i beg your majesty to grant me time to make enquiry." "i will allow thee no more," said the caliph, "than three days." the vizier jaaffier went home in great perplexity. "alas!" said he "how is it possible that in such a vast and populous city as bagdad, i should he able to detect a murderer, who undoubtedly committed the crime without witness, and perhaps may be already gone from hence? any other vizier than i would take some wretched person out of prison, and cause him to be put to death to satisfy the caliph; but i will not burden my conscience with such a barbarous action; i will rather die than preserve my life by the sacrifice of another innocent person." he ordered the officers of the police and justice to make strict search for the criminal. they sent their servants about, and they were not idle themselves, for they were no less concerned in this matter than the vizier. but all their endeavours were to no purpose; what pains soever they took they could not discover the murderer; so that the vizier concluded his life to be lost. the third day being arrived, an officer came to the unfortunate minister, with a summons to follow him, which the vizier obeyed. the caliph asked him for the murderer. he answered, "commander of the faithful, i have not found any person that could give me the least account of him." the caliph, full of fury and rage, gave him many reproachful words, and ordered that he and forty bermukkees should be impaled at the gate of the palace. in the mean while the stakes were preparing, and orders were sent to seize forty bermukkees in their houses; a public crier was sent about the city by the caliph's order, to cry thus: "those who have a desire to see the grand vizier jaaffier impaled, with forty of his kindred, let them come to the square before the palace." when all things were ready, the criminal judge, and many officers belonging to the palace, having brought out the grand vizier with the forty bermukkees, set each by the stake designed for him. the multitude of people that filled the square could not without grief and tears behold this tragical sight; for the grand vizier and the bermukkees were loved and honoured on account of their probity, bounty, and impartiality, not only in bagdad, but through all the dominions of the caliph. nothing could prevent the execution of this prince's severe and irrevocable sentence, and the lives of the most deserving people in the city were just going to be sacrificed, when a young man of handsome mien pressed through the crowd till he came up to the grand vizier, and after he had kissed his hand, said, "most excellent vizier, chief of the emirs of this court, and comforter of the poor, you are not guilty of the crime for which you stand here. withdraw, and let me expiate the death of the lady that was thrown into the tigris. it is i who murdered her, and i deserve to be punished for my offence." though these words occasioned great joy to the vizier, yet he could not but pity the young man, in whose look he saw something that instead of evincing guilt was engaging: but as he was about to answer him, a tall man advanced in years, who had likewise forced his way through the crowd, came up to him, saying, "do not believe what this young man tells you, i killed that lady who was found in the trunk, and this punishment ought only to fall upon me. i conjure you in the name of god not to punish the innocent for the guilty." "sir," said the young man to the vizier, "i do protest that i am he who committed this vile act, and nobody else had any concern in it." "my son," said the old man, "it is despair that brought you hither, and you would anticipate your destiny. i have lived a long while in the world, and it is time for me to be gone; let me therefore sacrifice my life for yours." "sir," said he again to the vizier, "i tell you once more i am the murderer; let me die without delay." the controversy between the old and the young man induced the grand vizier to carry them both before the caliph, to which the judge criminal consented, being glad to serve the vizier. when he came before the prince, he kissed the ground seven times, and spake after this manner: "commander of the faithful, i have brought here before your majesty this old and this young man, each of whom declares himself to be the sole murderer of the lady." the caliph asked the criminals which of them it was that so cruelly murdered the lady, and threw her into the tigris? the young man assured him it was he, but the old man maintained the contrary. "go," said the caliph to the grand vizier, "and cause them both to be impaled." "but, sir," said the vizier, "if only one of them be guilty, it would be unjust to take the lives of both." at these words the young man spoke again, "i swear by the great god, who has raised the heavens so high, that i am the man who killed the lady, cut her in pieces, and about four days ago threw her into the tigris. i renounce my part of happiness amongst the just at the day of judgment, if what i say be not truth; therefore i am he that ought to suffer." the caliph being surprised at this oath, believed him; especially since the old man made no answer. whereupon, turning to the young man, "wretch," said he, "what made thee commit that detestable crime, and what is it that moves thee to offer thyself voluntarily to die?" "commander of the faithful," said he, "if all that has past between that lady and me were set down in writing, it would be a history that might be useful to other men." "i command thee then to relate it," said the caliph. the young man obeyed, and began his history. the story of the lady who was murdered, and of the young man her husband. commander of the faithful, this murdered lady was my wife, daughter of this old man, who is my uncle by the father's side. she was not above twelve years old, when eleven years ago he gave her to me. i have three children by her, all boys, yet alive, and i must do her the justice to say, that she never gave me the least occasion for offence; she was chaste, of good behaviour, and made it her whole business to please me. and on my part i ardently loved her, and in every thing rather anticipated than opposed her wishes. about two months ago she fell sick; i took all imaginable care of her, and spared nothing that could promote her speedy recovery. after a month thus passed she began to grow better, and expressed a wish to go to the bath. before she went, "cousin," said she (for so she used to call me out of familiarity), "i long for some apples; if you would get me any, you would greatly please me. i have longed for them a great while, and i must own it is come to that height, that if i be not satisfied very soon, i fear some misfortune will befall me." "i will cheerfully try," said i, "and do all in my power to make you easy." i went immediately round all the markets and shops in the town to seek for apples, but i could not get one, though i offered to pay a sequin a piece. i returned home much dissatisfied at my failure; and for my wife, when she returned from the bagnio, and saw no apples, she became so very uneasy, that she could not sleep all night. i got up by times in the morning, and went through all the gardens, but had no better success than the day before; only i happened to meet an old gardener, who told me, that all my pains would signify nothing, for i could not expect to find apples any where but in your majesty's garden at bussorah. as i loved my wife passionately, and would not neglect to satisfy her, i dressed myself in a traveller's habit, and after i had told her my design, went to bussorah, and made my journey with such speed, that i returned at the end of fifteen days with three apples, which cost me a sequin apiece, for as there were no more left, the gardener would not let me have them for less. as soon as i came home, i presented them to my wife, but her longing had ceased, she satisfied herself with receiving them, and laid them down by her. in the mean time she continued sickly, and i knew not what remedy to procure for her relief. some few days after i returned from my journey, sitting in my shop in the public place where all sorts of fine stuffs are sold, i saw an ugly, tall, black slave come in, with an apple in his hand, which i knew to be one of those i had brought from bussorah. i had no reason to doubt it, because i was certain there was not one to be had in bagdad, nor in any of the gardens in the vicinity. i called to him, and said, "good slave, pr'ythee tell me where thou hadst this apple?" "it is a present" (said he, smiling) "from my mistress. i went to see her to-day, and found her out of order. i saw three apples lying by her, and asked her where she had them. she told me the good man, her husband, had made a fortnight's journey on purpose, and brought them to her. we had a collation together; and, when i took my leave of her, i brought away this apple." this account rendered me distracted. i rose, shut up my shop, ran home with all speed, and going to my wife's chamber, looked immediately for the apples, and seeing only two, asked what was become of the third. my wife, turning her head to the place where the apples lay, and perceiving there were but two, answered me coldly, "cousin, i know not what is become of it." at this reply i was convinced what the slave had told me was true; and giving myself up to madness and jealousy, drew my knife from my girdle, and thrust it into the unfortunate creature's throat. i afterwards cut off her head, and divided her body into four quarters, which i packed up in a bundle, sewed it up with a thread of red yarn, put all together in a trunk, and when night came, carried it on my shoulder down to the tigris, where i sunk it. the two youngest of my children were asleep, the third was out; but at my return, i found him sitting by my gate, weeping. i asked him the reason; "father," said he, "i took this morning from my mother, without her knowledge, one of those three apples you brought her, and kept it a long while; but, as i was playing some time ago with my little brother in the street, a tall slave passing by snatched it out of my hands, and carried it away. i ran after him, demanding it back, and besides told him, that it belonged to my mother, who was sick; and that you had made a fortnight's journey to procure it; but all to no purpose, he would not restore it. and as i still followed him, crying out, he turned and beat me, and then ran away as fast as he could from one lane to another, till at length i lost sight of him. i have since been walking without the town expecting your return, to pray you, dear father, not to tell my mother of it, lest it should make her worse!" when he had thus spoken he fell a weeping again more bitterly than before. my son's account afflicted me beyond measure. i then found myself guilty of an enormous crime, and repented too late of having so easily believed the calumnies of a wretched slave, who, from what he had learnt of my son, had invented that fatal falsehood. my uncle here present came just at that time to see his daughter, but instead of finding her alive, understood from me that she was dead, for i concealed nothing from him; and without staying for his censure, declared myself the greatest criminal in the world. upon this, instead of reproaching me, he joined his tears with mine, and we together wept three days without intermission, he for the loss of a daughter whom he had loved tenderly; and i for the loss of a beloved wife, of whom i had deprived myself in so cruel a manner by giving too easy credit to the report of a lying slave. this, commander of the faithful, is the sincere confession your majesty required from me. you have now heard all the circumstances of my crime, and i must humbly beg of you to order the punishment due for it; how severe soever it may be, i shall not in the least complain, but esteem it too easy and light. the caliph was much astonished at the young man's relation. but this just prince, finding he was rather to be pitied than condemned, began to speak in his favour: "this young man's crime," said he, "is pardonable before god, and excusable with men. the wicked slave is the sole cause of this murder; it is he alone that must be punished: wherefore," continued he, looking upon the grand vizier, "i give you three days' time to find him out; if you do not bring him within that space, you shall die in his stead." the unfortunate jaaffier, had thought himself out of danger, was perplexed at this order of the caliph; but as he durst not return any answer to the prince, whose hasty temper he knew too well, he departed from his presence, and retired melancholy to his house, convinced that he had but three days to live; for he was so fully persuaded that he should not find the slave, that he made not the least enquiry after him. "is it possible," said he, "that in such a city as bagdad, where there is an infinite number of negro slaves, i should be able to find him out that is guilty? unless god be pleased to interpose as he hath already to detest the murderer, nothing can save my life." he spent the first two days in mourning with his family, who sat round him weeping and complaining of the caliph's cruelty. the third day being arrived, he prepared himself to die with courage, as an honest minister, and one who had nothing to trouble his conscience; he sent for notaries and witnesses' who signed his will. after which he took leave of his wife and children, and bade them farewell. all his family were drowned in tears, so that there never was a more sorrowful spectacle. at last a messenger came from the caliph to tell him that he was out of all patience, having heard nothing from him concerning the negro slave whom he had commanded him to search for; "i am therefore ordered," said the messenger, "to bring you before his throne." the afflicted vizier, obeyed the mandate, but as he was going out, they brought him his youngest daughter, about five or six years of age, to receive his last blessing. as he had a particular affection for that child, he prayed the messenger to give him leave to stop a moment, and taking his daughter in his arms, kissed her several times: as he kissed her, he perceived she had something in her bosom that looked bulky, and had a sweet scent. "my dear little one," said he, "what hast thou in thy bosom?" "my dear father," she replied, "it is an apple which our slave rihan sold me for two sequins." at these words apple and slave, the grand vizier, uttered an exclamation of surprise, intermixed with joy, and putting his hand into the child's bosom, pulled out the apple. he caused the slave, who was not far off, to be brought immediately, and when he came, "rascal," said he, "where hadst thou this apple?" "my lord," replied the slave, "i swear to you that i neither stole it in your house, nor out of the commander of the faithful's garden; but the other day, as i was passing through a street where three or four children were at play, one of them having it in his hand, i snatched it from him, and carried it away. the child ran after me, telling me it was not his own, but belonged mother, who was sick; and that his father, to satisfy her longing, had made a long journey, and brought home three apples, whereof this was one, which he had taken from his mother without her knowledge. he said all he could to prevail upon me to give it him back, but i refused, and so brought it home, and sold it for two sequins to the little lady your daughter." jaaffier could not reflect without astonishment that the mischievousness of a slave had been the cause of an innocent woman's death, and nearly of his own. he carried the slave along with him, and when he came before the caliph, gave the prince an exact account of what the slave had told him, and the chance which led him to the discovery of his crime. never was any surprise so great as that of the caliph, yet he could not refrain from falling into excessive fits of laughter. at last he recovered himself, and with a serious air told the vizier, that since his slave had been the occasion of murder, he deserved an exemplary punishment. "i must own it," said the vizier, "but his guilt is not unpardonable: i remember the wonderful history of a vizier, of cairo, and am ready to relate it, upon condition that if your majesty finds it more astonishing than that which gives me occasion to tell it, you will be pleased to pardon my slave." "i consent," said the caliph; "but you undertake a hard task, for i do not believe you can save your slave, the story of the apples being so very singular." upon this, jaaffier began his story thus: the story of noor ad deen ali and buddir ad deen houssun. commander of the faithful, there was formerly a sultan of egypt, a strict observer of justice, gracious, merciful, and liberal, and his valour made him terrible to his neighbours. he loved the poor, and protected the learned, whom he advanced to the highest dignities. this sultan had a vizier, who was prudent, wise, sagacious, and well versed in all sciences. this minister had two sons, who in every thing followed his footsteps. the eldest was called shumse ad deen mahummud, and the younger noor ad deen ali. the latter was endowed with all the good qualities that man could possess. the vizier their father being dead, the sultan caused them both to put on the robes of a vizier, "i am as sorry," said he, "as you are for the loss of your father; and because i know you live together, and love one another cordially, i will bestow his dignity upon you conjointly; go, and imitate your father's conduct." the two new viziers humbly thanked the sultan, and retired to make due preparation for their father's interment. they did not go abroad for a month, after which they repaired to court, and attended their duties. when the sultan hunted, one of the brothers accompanied him, and this honour they had by turns. one evening as they were conversing together after a cheerful meal, the next day being the elder brother's turn to hunt with the sultan, he said to his younger brother, "since neither of us is yet married, and we live so affectionately together, let us both wed the same day sisters out of some family that may suit our quality. what do you think of this plan?" "brother," answered the other vizier, "there cannot be a better thought; for my part, i will agree to any thing you approve." "but this is not all," said the elder; "my fancy carries me farther: suppose both our wives should conceive the first night of our marriage, and should happen to be brought to bed on one day, yours of a son, and mine of a daughter, we will give them to each other in marriage." "nay," said noor ad deen aloud, "i must acknowledge that this prospect is admirable; such a marriage will perfect our union, and i willingly consent to it. but then, brother," said he farther, "if this marriage should happen, would you expect that my son should settle a jointure on your daughter?" "there is no difficulty in that," replied the other; "for i am persuaded, that besides the usual articles of the marriage contract, you will not fail to promise in his name at least three thousand sequins, three landed estates, and three slaves." "no," said the younger "i will not consent to that; are we not brethren, and equal in title and dignity? do not you and i know what is just? the male being nobler than the female, it is your part to give a large dowry with your daughter. by what i perceive, you are a man that would have your business done at another's charge." although noor ad deen spoke these words in jest, his brother being of a hasty temper, was offended, and falling into a passion said, "a mischief upon your son, since you prefer him before my daughter. i wonder you had so much confidence as to believe him worthy of her; you must needs have lost your judgment to think you are my equal, and say we are colleagues. i would have you to know, that since you are so vain, i would not marry my daughter to your son though you would give him more than you are worth." this pleasant quarrel between two brothers about the marriage of their children before they were born went so far, that shumse ad deen concluded by threatening: "were i not to-morrow," said he, "to attend the sultan, i would treat you as you deserve; but at my return, i will make you sensible that it does not become a younger brother to speak so insolently to his elder as you have done to me." upon this he retired to his apartment in anger. shumse ad deen rising early next morning, attended the sultan, who went to hunt near the pyramids. as for noor ad deen, he was very uneasy all night, and supposing it would not be possible to live longer with a brother who had treated him with so much haughtiness, he provided a stout mule, furnished himself with money and jewels, and having told his people that he was going on a private journey for two or three days, departed. when out of cairo, he rode by way of the desert towards arabia; but his mule happening to tire, was forced to continue his journey on foot. a courier who was going to bussorah, by good fortune overtaking him, took him up behind him. as soon as the courier reached that city, noor ad deen alighted, and returned him thanks for his kindness. as he went about to seek for a lodging, he saw a person of quality with a numerous retinue, to whom all the people shewed the greatest respect, and stood still till he had passed. this personage was grand vizier, to the sultan of bussorah, who was passing through the city to see that the inhabitants kept good order and discipline. this minister casting his eyes by chance on noor ad deen ali, perceiving something extraordinary in his aspect, looked very attentively upon him, and as he saw him in a traveller's habit, stopped his train, asked him who he was, and from whence he came? "sir," said noor ad deen, "i am an egyptian, born at cairo, and have left my country, because of the unkindness of a near relation, resolved to travel through the world, and rather to die than return home." the grand vizier, who was a good-natured man, after hearing these words, said to him, "son, beware; do not pursue your design; you are not sensible of the hardships you must endure. follow me; i may perhaps make you forget the misfortunes which have forced you to leave your own country." noor ad deen followed the grand vizier, who soon discovered his good qualities, and conceived for him so great an affection, that one day he said to him in private, "my son, i am, as you see, so far gone in years, that it is not probable i shall live much longer. heaven has bestowed on me only one daughter, who is as beautiful as you are handsome, and now fit for marriage. several nobles of the highest rank at this court have sought her for their sons, but i would not grant their request. i have an affection for you, and think you so worthy to be received into my family, that, preferring you before all those who have demanded her, i am ready to accept you for my son-in-law. if you like the proposal, i will acquaint the sultan my master that i have adopted you by this marriage, and intreat him to grant you the reversion of my dignity of grand vizier in the kingdom of bussorah. in the mean time, nothing being more requisite for me than ease in my old age, i will not only put you in possession of great part of my estate, but leave the administration of public affairs to your management." when the grand vizier had concluded this kind and generous proposal, noor ad deen fell at his feet, and expressing himself in terms that demonstrated his joy and gratitude, assured him, that he was at his command in every way. upon this the vizier sent for his chief domestics, ordered them to adorn the great hall of his palace, and prepare a splendid feast. he afterwards sent to invite the nobility of the court and city, to honour him with their company; and when they were all met (noor ad deen having made known his quality), he said to the noblemen present, for he thought it proper to speak thus on purpose to satisfy those to whom he had refused his alliance, "i am now, my lords, to discover a circumstance which hitherto i have keep a secret. i have a brother, who is grand vizier to the sultan of egypt. this brother has but one son, whom he would not marry in the court of egypt, but sent him hither to wed my daughter in order that both branches of our family may be united. his son, whom i knew to be my nephew as soon as i saw him, is the young man i now present to you as my son-in-law. i hope you will do me the honour to be present at his wedding, which i am resolved to celebrate this day." the noblemen, who could not be offended at his preferring his nephew to the great matches that had been proposed, allowed that he had very good reason for his choice, were willing to be witnesses to the ceremony, and wished that god might prolong his days to enjoy the satisfaction of the happy match. the lords met at the vizier of bussorah's palace, having testified their satisfaction at the marriage of his daughter with noor ad deen ali, sat down to a magnificent repast, after which, notaries came in with the marriage contrast, and the chief lords signed it; and when the company had departed, the grand vizier ordered his servants to have every thing in readiness for noor ad deen ali, to bathe. he had fine new linen, and rich vestments provided for him in the greatest profusion. having bathed and dressed, he was perfumed with the most odoriferous essences, and went to compliment the vizier, his father-in-law, who was exceedingly pleased with his noble demeanour. having made him sit down, "my son," said he, "you have declared to me who you are, and the office you held at the court of egypt. you have also told me of a difference betwixt you and your brother, which occasioned you to leave your country. i desire you to make me your entire confidant, and to acquaint me with the cause of your quarrel; for now you have no reason either to doubt my affection, or to conceal any thing from me." noor ad deen informed him of every circumstance of the quarrel; at which the vizier, burst out into a fit of laughter, and said, "this is one of the strangest occurrences i ever heard. is it possible, my son, that your quarrel should rise so high about an imaginary marriage? i am sorry you fell out with your elder brother upon such a frivolous matter; but he was also wrong in being angry at what you only spoke in jest, and i ought to thank heaven for that difference which has procured me such a son-in- law. but," continued the vizier, "it is late, and time for you to retire; go to your bride, my son, she expects you: to-morrow, i will present you to the sultan, and hope he will receive you in such a manner as shall satisfy us both." noor ad deen ali took leave of his father-in-law, and retired to his bridal apartment. it is remarkable that shumse ad deen mahummud happened also to marry at cairo the very same day that this marriage was solemnized at bussorah, the particulars of which are as follow: after noor ad deen ali left cairo, with an intention never to return, his elder brother, who was hunting with the sultan of egypt, was absent for a month; for the sultan being fond of the chase, continued it often for so long a period. at his return, shumse ad deen was much surprised when he understood, that under presence of taking a short journey his brother departed from cairo on a mule the same day as the sultan, and had never appeared since. it vexed him so much the more, because he did not doubt but the harsh words he had used had occasioned his flight. he sent a messenger in search of him, who went to damascus, and as far as aleppo, but noor ad deen was then at bussorah. when the courier returned and brought no news of him, shumse ad deen intended to make further inquiry after him in other parts; but in the meantime matched with the daughter of one of the greatest lords in cairo, upon the same day in which his brother married the daughter of the grand vizier, of bussorah. at the end of nine months the wife of shumse ad deen was brought to bed of a daughter at cairo, and on the same day the lady of noor ad deen was delivered of a son at bussorah, who was called buddir ad deen houssun. the grand vizier, of bussorah testified his joy for the birth of his grandson by gifts and public entertainments. and to shew his son-in-law the great esteem he had for him, he went to the palace, and most humbly besought the sultan to grant noor ad deen ali his office, that he might have the comfort before his death to see his son in-law made grand vizier, in his stead. the sultan, who had conceived a distinguished regard for noor ad deen when the vizier, had presensed him upon his marriage, and had ever since heard every body speak well of him, readily granted his father-in-law's request, and caused noor ad deen immediately to be invested with the robe and insignia of the vizarut, such as state drums, standards, and writing apparatus of gold richly enamelled and set with jewels. the next day, when the father saw his son-in-law preside in council, as he himself had done, and perform all the offices of grand vizier, his joy was complete. noor ad deen ali conducted himself with that dignity and propriety which shewed him to have been used to state affairs, and engaged the approbation of the sultan, and reverence and affection of the people. the old vizier of bussorah died about four years afterwards with great satisfaction, seeing a. branch of his family that promised so fair to support its future consequence and respectability. noor ad deen ali, performed his last duty to him with all possible love and gratitude. and as soon as his son buddir ad deen houssun had attained the age of seven years, provided him an excellent tutor, who taught him such things as became his birth. the child had a ready wit, and a genius capable of receiving all the good instructions that could be given. after buddir ad deen had been two years under the tuition of his master, who taught him perfectly to read, he learnt the koran by heart. his father put him afterwards to other tutors, by whom his mind was cultivated to such a degree, that when he was twelve years of age he had no more occasion for them. and then, as his physiognomy promised wonders, he was admired by all who saw him. hitherto his father had kept him to study, but now he introduced him to the sultan, who received him graciously. the people who saw him in the streets were charmed with his demeanour, and gave him a thousand blessings. his father proposing to render him capable of supplying his place, accustomed him to business of the greatest moment, on purpose to qualify him betimes. in short, he omitted nothing to advance a son he loved so well. but as he began to enjoy the fruits of his labour, he was suddenly seized by a violent fit of sickness; and finding himself past recovery, disposed himself to die a good mussulmaun. in that last and precious moment he forgot not his son, but called for him, and said, "my son, you see this world is transitory; there is nothing durable but in that to which i shall speedily go. you must therefore from henceforth begin to fit yourself for this change, as i have done; you must prepare for it without murmuring, so as to have no trouble of conscience for not having acted the part of a really honest man. as for your religion, you are sufficiently instructed in it, by what you have learnt from your tutors, and your own study; and as to what belongs to an upright man, i shall give you some instructions, of which i hope you will make good use. as it is a necessary thing to know one's self, and you cannot come to that knowledge without you first understand who i am, i shall now inform you. "i am a native of egypt; my father, your grandfather, was first minister to the sultan of that kingdom. i had myself the honour to be vizier, to that sultan, and so has my brother, your uncle, who i suppose is yet alive; his name is shumse ad deen mahummud. i was obliged to leave him, and come into this country, where i have raised myself to the high dignity i now enjoy. but you will understand all these matters more fully by a manuscript that i shall give you." at the same time, noor ad deen ali gave to his son a memorandum book, saying, "take and read it at your leisure; you will find, among other things, the day of my marriage, and that of your birth. these are circumstances which perhaps you may hereafter have occasion to know, therefore you must keep it very carefully." buddir ad deen houssun being sincerely afflicted to see his father in this condition, and sensibly touched with his discourse, could not but weep when he received the memorandum book, and promised at the same time never to part with it. that very moment noor ad deen fainted, so that it was thought he would have expired; but he came to himself again, and spoke as follows: "my son, the first instruction i give you, is, not to make yourself familiar with all sorts of people. the way to live happy is to keep your mind to yourself, and not to tell your thoughts too easily. "secondly, not to do violence to any body whatever, for in that case you will draw every body's hatred upon you. you ought to consider the world as a creditor, to whom you owe moderation, compassion, and forbearance. "thirdly, not to say a word when you are reproached; for, as the proverb says, â��he that keeps silence is out of danger.' and in this case particularly you ought to practice it. you also know what one of our poets says upon this subject, â��that silence is the ornament and safe-guard of life'; that our speech ought not to be like a storm of hail that spoils all. never did any man yet repent of having spoken too little, whereas many have been sorry that they spoke so much. "fourthly, to drink no wine, for that is the source of all vices. " fifthly, to be frugal in your way of living; if you do not squander your estate, it will maintain you in time of necessity. i do not mean you should be either profuse or niggardly; for though you have little, if you husband it well, and lay it out on proper occasions, you will have many friends; but if on the contrary you have great riches, and make but a bad use of them, all the world will forsake you, and leave you to yourself. in short, the virtuous noor ad deen continued till the last aspiration of his breath to give good advice to his son; and when he was dead he was magnificently interred. noor ad deen was buried with all the honours due to his rank. buddir ad deen houssun of bussorah, for so he was called, because born in that city, was with grief for the death of his father, that instead of a month's time to mourn, according to custom, he kept himself shut up in tears and solitude about two months, without seeing any body, or so much as going abroad to pay his duty to his sovereign. the sultan being displeased at his neglect, and looking upon it as a alight, suffered his passion to prevail, and in his anger, called for the new grand vizier, (for he had created another on the death of noor ad deen), commanded him to go to the house of the deceased, and seize upon it, with all his other houses, lands, and effects, without leaving any thing for buddir ad deen houssun, and to confine his person. the new grand vizier, accompanied by his officers, went immediately to execute his commission. but one of buddir ad deen houssun's slaves happening accidentally to come into the crowd, no sooner understood the vizier's errand, than he ran before to give his master warning. he found him sitting in the vestibule of his house, as melancholy as if his father had been but newly dead. he fell down at his feet out of breath, and alter he had kissed the hem of his garment, cried out, "my lord, save yourself immediately." the unfortunate youth lifting up his head, exclaimed, "what news dost thou bring?" "my lord," said he, "there is no time to be lost; the sultan is incensed against you, has sent to confiscate your estates, and to seize your person." the words of this faithful and affectionate slave occasioned buddir ad deen houssun great alarm. "may not i have so much time," said he, "as to take some money and jewels along with me?" ``no, sir," replied the slave, "the grand vizier, will be here this moment; be gone immediately, save yourself." the unhappy youth rose hastily from his sofa, put his feet in his sandals, and after he had covered his head with the skirt of his vest, that his face might not be known, fled, without knowing what way to go, to avoid the impending danger. he ran without stopping till he came to the public burying- ground, and as it was growing dark, resolved to pass that night in his father's tomb. it was a large edifice, covered by a dome, which noor ad deen ali, as is common with the mussulmauns, had erected for his sepulture. on the way buddir ad deen met a jew, who was a banker and merchant, and was returning from a place where his affairs had called him, to the city. the jew, knowing buddir ad deen, stopped, and saluted him very courteously. isaac the jew, after he had paid his respects to buddir ad deen houssun, by kissing his hand, said, "my lord, dare i be so bold as to ask whither you are going at this time of night alone, and so much troubled? has any thing disquieted you?" "yes," said buddir ad deen, "a while ago i was asleep, and my father appeared to me in a dream, looking very fiercely upon me, as if much displeased. i started out of my sleep in alarm, and came out immediately to go and pray upon his tomb." "my lord," said the jew (who did not know the true reason why buddir ad deen had left the town), "your father of happy memory, and my good lord, had store of merchandize in several vessels, which are yet at sea, and belong to you; i beg the favour of you to grant me the refusal of them before any other merchant. i am able to pay down ready money for all the goods that are in your ships: and to begin, if you will give me those that happen to come in the first that arrives in safety, i will pay you down in part of payment a thousand sequins," and drawing out a bag from under his vest, he shewed it him sealed up with one seal. buddir ad deen houssun being banished from home, and dispossessed of all that he had in the world, looked on this proposal of the jew as a favour from heaven, and therefore accepted it with joy. "my lord," said the jew, "then you sell me for a thousand sequins the lading of the first of your ships that shall arrive in port?" "yes," answered buddir ad deen, "i sell it to you for a thousand sequins; it is done." upon this the jew delivered him the bag of a thousand sequins, and offered to count them, but buddir ad deen said he would trust his word. "since it is so, my lord," said he, "be pleased to favour me with a small note of the bargain we have made." as he spoke, he pulled the inkhorn from his girdle, and taking a small reed out of it neatly cut for writing, presented it to him with a piece of paper. buddir ad deen houssun wrote these words: "this writing is to testify, that buddir ad deen houssun of bussorah, has sold to isaac the jew, for the sum of one thousand sequins, received in hand, the lading of the first of his ships that shall arrive in this port." this note he delivered to the jew, after having stamped it with his seal, and then took his leave of him. while isaac pursued his journey to the city, buddir ad deen made the best of his way to his father's tomb. when he came to it, he prostrated himself to the ground, and, with his eyes full of tears, deplored his miserable condition. "alas!" said he, "unfortunate buddir ad deen, what will become of thee? whither canst thou fly for refuge against the unjust prince who persecutes thee? was it not enough to be afflicted by the death of so dear a father? must fortune needs add new misfortunes to just complaints?" he continued a long time in this posture, but at last rose up, and leaning his head upon his father's tombstone, his sorrows returned more violently than before; so that he sighed and mourned, till, overcome with heaviness, he sunk upon the floor, and drops asleep. he had not slept long, when a genie, who had retired to the cemetery during the day, and was intending, according to his custom, to range about the world at night, entered the sepulchre, and finding buddir ad deen lying on his back, was surprised at his beauty. when the genie had attentively considered buddir ad deen houssun, he said to himself, "to judge of this creature by his beauty, he would seem to be an angel of the terrestrial paradise, whom god has sent to put the world in a flame by his charms." at last, after he had satisfied himself with looking at him, he tool; a flight into the air, where meeting by chance with a perie, they saluted one another; after which he said to her, "pray descend with me into the cemetery, where i dwell, and i will shew you a beauty worthy your admiration." the perie consented, and both descended in an instant; they came into the tomb. "look," said the genie, shewing her buddir ad deen houssun, "did you ever see a youth more beautiful?" the perie having attentively observed buddir ad deen, replied, "i must confess that he is a very handsome man, but i am just come from seeing an objets at cairo, more admirable than this; and if you will hear me, i will relate her unhappy fate." "you will very much oblige me," answered the genie. "you must know then," said the perie, "that the sultan of egypt has a vizier, shumse ad deen mahummud, who has a daughter most beautiful and accomplished. the sultan having heard of this young lady's beauty, sent the other day for her father, and said, â��i understand you have a daughter to marry; i would have her for my bride: will not you consent?' the vizier, who did not expect this proposal, was troubled, and instead of accepting it joyfully, which another in his place would certainly have done, he answered the sultan: â��may it please your majesty, i am not worthy of the honour you would confer upon me, and i most humbly beseech you to pardon me, if i do not accede to your request. you know i had a brother, who had the honour, as well as myself, to be one of your viziers: we had some difference together, which was the cause of his leaving me suddenly. since that time i have had no account of him till within these four days, that i heard he died at bussorah, being grand vizier to the sultan of that kingdom. "â��he has left a son, and there having been an agreement between us to match our children together, i am persuaded he intended that match when he died; and being desirous to fulfil the promise on my part, i conjure your majesty to grant me permission.' "the sultan of egypt, provoked at this denial of his vizier said to him in anger which he could not restrain: â��is this the way in which you requite my condescension in stooping so low as to desire your alliance? i know how to revenge your presumption in daring to prefer another to me, and i swear that your daughter shall be married to the most contemptible and ugly of my slaves.' having thus spoken, he angrily commanded the vizier to quit his presence. the vizier retired to his palace full of confusion, and overwhelmed in despair. "this very day the sultan sent for one of his grooms, who is hump-backed, big-bellied, crook legged, and as ugly as a hobgoblin; and after having commanded the vizier to marry his daughter to this ghastly slave, he caused the contract to be made and signed by witnesses in his own presence. the preparations for this fantastical wedding are all ready, and this very moment all the slaves belonging to the lords of the court of egypt are waiting at the door of a bath, each with a flambeau in his hand, for the crook-back groom, who is bathing, to go along with them to his bride, who is already dressed to receive him; and when i departed from cairo, the ladies met for that purpose were going to conduct her in her nuptial attire to the hall, where she is to receive her hump-backed bridegroom, and is this minute expecting him. i have seen her, and do assure you, that no person can behold her without admiration." when the perie left off speaking, the genie said to her, "whatever you think or say, i cannot be persuaded that the girl's beauty exceeds that of this young man." "i will not dispute it with you," answered the perie; "for i must confess he deserves to be married to that charming creature, whom they design for hump- back; and i think it were a deed worthy of us to obstruct the sultan of egypt's injustice, and put this young gentleman in the room of the slave." "you are in the right," answered the genie; "i am extremely obliged to you for so good a thought; let us deceive him. i consent to your revenge upon the sultan of egypt; let us comfort a distressed father, and make his daughter as happy as she thinks herself miserable. i will do my utmost endeavours to make this project succeed, and i am persuaded you will not be backward. i will be at the pains to carry him to cairo before he awakes, and afterwards leave it to your care to carry him elsewhere, when we have accomplished our design." the perie and the genie having thus concerted what they had to do, the genie lifted up buddir ad deen houssun gently, and with an inconceivable swiftness conveyed him through the air and set him down at the door of a building next to the bath, whence hump- back was to come with a train of slaves that waited for him. buddir ad deen awoke, and was naturally alarmed at finding himself in the middle of a city he knew not; he was going to cry out, but the genie touched him gently on the shoulder, and forbad him to speak. he then put a torch in his hand, saying, "go, and mix with the crowd at the door of the bath; follow them till you come into a hall, where they are going to celebrate a marriage. the bridegroom is a hump-backed fellow, and by that you will easily know him. put yourself at the right hand as you go in, open the purse of sequins you have in your bosom, distribute them among the musicians and dancers as they go along; and when you are got into the hall, give money also to the female slaves you see about the bride; but every time you put your hand in your purse, be sure to take out a whole handful, and do not spare them. observe to do everything exactly as i have desired you; be not afraid of any person, and leave the rest to a superior power, who will order matters as he thinks fit." buddir ad deen, being well instructed in all that he was to do, advanced towards the door of the bath. the first thing he did was to light his torch at that of a slave; and then mixing among them as if he belonged to some noblemen of cairo, he marched along as they did, and followed humpback, who came out of the bath, and mounted a horse from the sultan's own stable. buddir ad deen coming near to the musicians, and men and women dancers, who went just before the bridegroom, pulled out time after time whole handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among them: and as he thus gave his money with an unparalleled grace and engaging mien, all who received it fixed their eyes upon him; and after they had a full view of his face, they found him so handsome that they could not withdraw their attention. at last they came to the gates of the vizier who little thought his nephew was so near. the doorkeepers, to prevent any disorder, kept back all the slaves that carried torches, and would not admit them. buddir ad deen was likewise refused; but the musicians, who had free entrance, stood still, and protested they would not go in, if they hindered him from accompanying them. "he is not one of the slaves'" said they; "look upon him, and you will soon be satisfied. he is certainly a young stranger, who is curious to see the ceremonies observed at marriages in this city;" and saying thus, they put him in the midst of them, and carried him with them in spite of the porters. they took his torch out of his hand, gave it to the first they met, and having brought him into the hall, placed him at the right hand of the hump-backed bridegroom, who sat near the vizier's daughter on a throne most richly adorned. she appeared very lovely, but in her face there was nothing to be seen but vexation and grief. the cause of this was easily to be guessed, when she had by her side a bridegroom so very deformed, and so unworthy of her love. the nuptial seat was in the midst of an estrade. the ladies of the emirs, viziers, those of the sultan's bed-chamber, and several other ladies of the court and city, were placed on each side, a little lower, every one according to her rank, and richly dressed, holding a large wax taper in her hands. when they saw buddir ad deen houssun, all fixed their eyes upon him, and admiring his shape, his behaviour, and the beauty of his face, they could not forbear looking upon him. when he was seated every one deft their seats, came near him to have a full view of his face, and all found themselves moved with love and admiration. the disparity between buddir ad deen houssun and the hump-backed groom, who made such a contemptible figure, occasioned great murmuring among the company; insomuch that the ladies cried out, "we must give our bride to this handsome young gentleman, and not to this ugly humpback." nor did they rest here, but uttered imprecations against the sultan, who, abusing his absolute power, would unite ugliness and beauty together. they also mocked the bridegroom, so as to put him out of countenance, to the great satisfaction of the spectators, whose shouts for some time put a stop to the concert of music in the hall. at last the musicians began again, and the women who had dressed the bride surrounded her. each time that the bride retired to change her dress, she on her return passed by hump-back without giving him one look, and went towards buddir ad deen, before whom she presented herself in her new attire. on this occasion, buddir ad deen, according to the instructions given him by the genie, failed not to put his hands in his purse, and pulled out handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among the women that followed the bride. nor did he forget the players and dancers, but also threw money to them. it was pleasant to see how they pushed one another to gather it up. they shewed themselves thankful for his liberality. when the ceremony of changing habits was passed, the music ceased and the company retired. the bride repaired to the nuptial chamber, whither her attendants followed to undress her, and none remained in the hall but the hump-back groom, buddir ad deen, and some of the domestics. hump-back, who was enraged at buddir ad deen, suspecting him to be his rival, gave him a cross look, and said, "and thou, what dost thou wait for? why art thou not gone as well as the rest? depart!" buddir ad deen having no pretence to stay, withdrew, not knowing what to do with himself. but before he got out of the vestibule, the genie and the perie met and stopped him. "whither are you going?" said the perie; "stay, hump-back is not in the hall, return, and introduce yourself into the bride's chamber. as soon as you are alone with her, tell her boldly that you are her husband, that the sultan's intention was only to make sport with the groom. in the mean time we will take care that the hump-back shall not return, and let nothing hinder your passing the night with your bride, for she is yours and not his." while the perie thus encouraged buddir ad deen, and instructed him how he should behave himself, hump-back had really gone out of the room for a moment. the genie went to him in the shape of a monstrous cat, mewing at a most fearful rate. hump-back called to the cat, he clapped his hands to drive her away, but instead of retreating, she stood upon her hinder feet, staring with her eyes like fire, looking fiercely at him, mewing louder than she did at first, and increasing in size till she was as large as an ass. at this sight, hump-back would have cried out for help, but his fear was so great, that he stood gaping and could not utter one word. that he might have no time to recover, the genie changed himself immediately into a large buffalo, and in this stripe called to him, with a voice that redoubled his fear, "thou hump-backed villain!" at these words the affrighted groom cast himself upon the ground, and covering his face with his vest, that he might not see this dreadful beast, "sovereign prince of buffaloes," said he, "what is it you want of me?" "woe be to thee," replied the genie, "hast thou the presumption to venture to marry my mistress?" "o my lord," said hump-back, "i pray you to pardon me, if i am guilty, it is through ignorance. i did not know that this lady had a buffalo to her sweetheart: command me in anything you please, i give you my oath that i am ready to obey you." "by death," replied the genie; "if thou goest out from hence, or speakest a word till the sun rises, i will crush thy head to pieces. i warn thee to obey, for if thou hast the impudence to return, it shall cost thee thy life." when the genie had done speaking, he transformed himself into the shape of a man, took hump-back by the legs, and after having set him against the wall with his head downwards, "if thou stir," said he, "before the sun rise, as i have told thee already, i will take thee by the heels again, and dash thy head in a thousand pieces against the wall." to return to buddir ad deen. prompted by the genie and the presence of the perie, he returned to the hall, from whence he slips into the bride-chamber, where he sat down, expecting the success of his adventure. after a while the bride arrived, conducted by an old matron, who came no farther than the door, without looking in to see whether it were hump-back or another that was there, and then retired. the beautiful bride was agreeably surprised to find instead of hump-back a handsome youth, who gracefully addressed her. "what! my dear friend," said she, "by your being here at this time of night you must be my husband's comrade?" "no, madam," said buddir ad deen, "i am of another quality than that ugly hump-back." "but," said she, "you do not consider that you speak degradingly of my husband." "he your husband," replied he: "can you retain those thoughts so long? be convinced of your mistake, for so much beauty must never be sacrificed to the most contemptible of mankind. it is i that am the happy mortal for whom it is reserved. the sultan had a mind to make himself merry, by putting this trick upon the vizier your father, but he chose me to be your real husband. you might have observed how the ladies, the musicians, the dancers, your women, and all the servants of your family, were pleased with this comedy. we have sent hump-back to his stable again." at this discourse the vizier's daughter (who was more like one dead than alive when she came into the bride-chamber) put on a gay air, which made her so handsome, that buddir ad deen was charmed with her graces. "i did not expect," said she, "to meet with so pleasing a surprise; and i had condemned myself to live unhappy all my days. but my good fortune is so much the greater, that i possess in you a man worthy of my tenderest affection." buddir ad deen, overjoyed to see himself possessor of so many charms, retired with his bride, and laid his vesture aside, with the bag that he had from the jew; which, notwithstanding all the money he had dispersed, was still full. towards morning, while the two lovers were asleep, the genie, who had met again with the perie, said, "it is time to finish what we have so successfully carried on; let us not be overtaken by day- light, which will soon appear; go you and bring off the young man again without awaking him." the perie went into the bed-chamber where the two lovers were fast asleep, took up buddir ad deen in his under vest and drawers; and in company with the genie with wonderful swiftness fled away with him to the gates of damascus in syria, where they arrived just at the time when the officers of the mosques, appointed for that end, were calling the people to prayers at break of day. the perie laid buddir ad deen softly on the ground, close by the gate, and departed with the genie. the gate of the city being opened, and many people assembled, they were surprised to see a youth lying in his shirt and drawers upon the ground. one said, "he has been hard put to it to get away from his mistress, that he could not get time to put on his clothes." "look," said another, "how people expose themselves; sure enough he has spent most part of the night in drinking with his friends, till he has got drunk, and then, perhaps, having occasion to go out, instead of returning, is come this length, and not having his senses about him, was overtaken with sleep." others were of another opinion; but nobody could guess what had been the real occasion of his coming thither. a small puff of wind happening to blow at this time, uncovered his breast, which was whiter than snow. every one being struck with admiration at the fineness of his complexion, they spoke so loud that they awaked him. his surprise was as great as theirs, when he found himself at the gate of a city where he had never been before, and encompassed by a crowd of people gazing at him. "inform me," said he, "for god's sake, where i am, and what you would have?" one of the crowd spoke to him saying, "young man, the gates of the city were just now opened, and as we came out we found you lying here in this condition: have you lain here all night? and do not you know that you are at one of the gates of damascus?" "at one of the gates of damascus!" answered buddir ad deen, "surely you mock me. when i lay down to sleep last night i was at cairo." when he had said this, some of the people, moved with compassion for him, exclaimed, "it is a pity that such a handsome young man should have lost his senses;" and so went away. "my son," said an old man to him, "you know not what you say. how is it possible that you, being this morning at damascus, could be last night at cairo?" "it is true," said buddir ad deen, "and i swear to you, that i was all day yesterday at bussorah." he had no sooner said this than all the people fell into a fit of laughter, and cried out, "he's a fool, he's a madman." there were some, however, that pitied him because of his youth; and one among the company said to him, "my son, you must certainly be crazed, you do not consider what you say. is it possible that a man could yesterday be at bussorah, the same night at cairo, and this morning at damascus? surely you are asleep still, come rouse up your spirits." "what i say," answered buddir ad deen houssun, "is so true that last night i was married in the city of cairo." all those who laughed before, could not forbear again at this declaration. "recollect yourself," said the same person who spoke before; "you must have dreamt all this, and the fancy still possesses your brain." "i am sensible of what i say," answered the young man. "pray can you tell me how it was possible for me to go in a dream to cairo, where i am very certain i was in person, and where my bride was seven times brought before me, each time dressed in a different habit, and where i saw an ugly hump backed fellow, to whom they intended to give her? besides, i want to know what is become of my vest, my turban, and the bag of sequins i had at cairo?" though he assured them that all these things were matters of fact, yet they could not forbear to laugh at him: which put him into such confusion, that he knew not what to think of all those adventures. after buddir ad deen houssun had confidently affirmed all that he said to be true, he rose up to go into the town, and every one who followed him called out, "a madman, a fool." upon this some looked out at their windows, some came to their doors, and others joined with those that were about him, calling out as they did, "a madman;" but not knowing for what. in this perplexity the affrighted young man happened to come before a pastry-cook's shop, and went into it to avoid the rabble. this pastry-cook had formerly been captain to a troop of arabian robbers, who plundered the caravans; and though he was become a citizen of damascus, where he behaved himself to every one's satisfaction, yet he was dreaded by all who knew him; wherefore, as soon as he came out to the rabble who followed buddir ad deen, they dispersed. the pastry-cook asked him who he was, and what brought him thither. buddir ad deen told him all, not concealing his birth, nor the death of his father the grand vizier. he afterwards gave him an account why he had left bussorah; how, after he had fallen asleep the night following upon his father's tomb, he found himself when he awoke at cairo, where he had married a lady; and at last, in what amazement he was, when he found himself at damascus, without being able to penetrate into all those wonderful adventures. "your history is one of the most surprising," said the pastry- cook; "but if you will follow my advice, you will let no man know those matters you have revealed to me, but patiently wait till heaven thinks fit to put an end to your misfortunes. you shall be welcome to stay with me till then; and as i have no children, i will own you for my son, if you consent; after you are so adopted, you may freely walk the city, without being exposed any more to the insults of the rabble." though this adoption was below the son of a grand vizier, buddir ad deen was glad to accept of the pastry-cook's proposal, judging it the best thing he could do, considering his circumstances. the cook clothed him, called for witnesses, and went before a notary, where he acknowledged him for his son. after this, buddir ad deen lived with him under the name of houssun, and learned the pastry- trade. while this passed at damascus, the daughter of shumse ad deen awoke, and finding buddir ad deen gone, supposed he had risen softly for fear of disturbing her, but would soon return. as she was in expectation of him, her father the vizier. (who was vexed at the affront put upon him by the sultan) came and knocked at her chamber-door, to bewail her sad destiny. he called her by her name, and she knowing him by his voice, immediately got up, and opened the door. she kissed his hand, and received him with so much pleasure in her countenance, that she surprised the vizier. who expected to find her drowned in tears, and as much grieved as himself. "unhappy wretch!" said he in a passion, "do you appear before me thus? after the hideous sacrifice you have just consummated, can you see me with so much satisfaction?" the new bride seeing her father angry at her pleasant countenance, said to him, "for god's sake, sir, do not reproach me wrongfully; it is not the hump-back fellow, whom i abhor more than death, it is not that monster i have married. every body laughed him to scorn, and put him so out of countenance, that he was forced to run away and hide himself, to make room for a noble youth, who is my real husband." "what fable do you tell me?" said shumse ad deen, roughly. "what! did not crook-back lie with you tonight?" "no, sir," said she, "it was the youth i mentioned, who has large eyes and black eyebrows." at these words the vizier. lost all patience, and exclaimed in anger, "ah, wicked woman! you will make me distracted!" "it is you, father," said she, "that put me out of my senses by your incredulity." "so, it is not true," replied the vizier, "that hump-back----" "let us talk no more of hump-back," said she, "a curse upon hump-back. father, i assure you once more, that i did not bed with him, but with my dear spouse, who, i believe, is not far off." shumse ad deen went out to seek him, but, instead of seeing buddir ad deen, was surprised to find hump-back with his head on the ground, and his heels uppermost, as the genie had set him against the wall. "what is the meaning of this?" said he; "who placed you thus?" crookback, knowing it to be the vizier. answered, "alas! alas! it is you then that would marry me to the mistress of a genie in the form of a buffalo." shumse ad deen mabummud, when he heard hump-back speak thus, thought he was raving, bade him move, and stand upon his legs. "i will take care how i stir," said hump-back, "unless the sun be risen. know, sir, that when i came last night to your palace, suddenly a black cat appeared to me, and in an instant grew as big as a buffalo. i have not forgotten what he enjoined me, therefore you may depart, and leave me here." the vizier. instead of going away, took him by the heels, and made him stand up, when hump-back ran off, without looking behind him; and coming to the palace presented himself to the sultan, who laughed heartily when informed how the genie had served him. shumse ad deen returned to his daughter's chamber, more astonished than before. "my abused daughter," said he, "can you give me no farther light in this miraculous affair?" "sir," replied she, "i can give you no other account than i have done already. here are my husband's clothes, which he put off last night; perhaps you may find something among them that may solve your doubt." she then shewed him buddir ad deen's turban, which he examined narrowly on all sides, saying, "i should take this to be a vizier's turban, if it were not made after the bussorah fashion." but perceiving something to be sewed between the stuff and the lining, he called for scissors, and having unripped it, found the paper which noor ad deen ali had given to his son upon his deathbed, and which buddir ad deen houssun had sewn in his turban for security. shumse ad deen having opened the paper, knew his brother's hand, and found this superscription, "for my son buddir ad deen houssun." before he could make any reflections upon it, his daughter delivered him the bag, that lay under the garments, which he likewise opened, and found it full of sequins: for, notwithstanding all the liberality of buddir ad deen, it was still kept full by the genie and perie. he read the following words upon a note in the bag: "a thousand sequins belonging to isaac the jew." and these lines underneath, which the jew had written, "delivered to my lord buddir ad deen houssun, for the cargo of the first of those ships that formerly belonged to the noble vizier, his father, of blessed memory, sold to me upon its arrival in this place." he had scarcely read these words, when he groaned heavily, and fainted away. the vizier shumse ad deen being recovered from his fit by the aid of his daughter, and the women she called to her assistance; "daughter," said he, "do not alarm yourself at this accident, occasioned by what is scarcely credible. your bridegroom is your cousin, the son of my beloved and deceased brother. the thousand sequins in the bag reminds me of a quarrel i had with him, and is without the dowry he gives you. god be praised for all things, and particularly for this miraculous adventure, which demonstrates his almighty power." then looking again upon his brother's writing, he kissed it several times, shedding abundance of tears. he looked over the book from beginning to end. in it he found the date of his brother's arrival at bussorah, of his marriage, and of the birth of his son; and when he compared them with the day of his own marriage, and the birth of his daughter at cairo, he wondered at the exact coincidence which appeared in every circumstance. the happy discovery put him into such a transport of joy, that he took the book, with the ticket of the bag, and shewed them to the sultan, who pardoned what was past, and was so much pleased with the relation of this adventure, that he caused it with all its circumstances to be put in writing for the information of posterity. meanwhile, the vizier. shumse ad deen could not comprehend the reason why his nephew did not appear; he expected him every moment, and was impatient to receive him to his arms. after he had waited seven days in vain, he searched through all cairo, but could procure no intelligence of him, which threw him into great perplexity. "this is the strangest occurrence," said he, "that ever happened." in order to certify it, he thought fit to draw up in writing with his own hand an account of the manner in which the wedding had been solemnized; how the hall and his daughter's bed-chamber were furnished, with the other circumstances. he likewise made the turban, the bag, and the rest of buddir ad deen's raiment into a bundle, and locked them up. after some days were past, the vizier's daughter perceived herself pregnant, and after nine months was brought to bed of a son. a nurse was provided for the child, besides other women and slaves to wait upon him; and his grandfather called him agib. when young agib had attained the age of seven, the vizier, instead of teaching him to read at home, put him to school with a master who was in great esteem; and two slaves were ordered to wait upon him. agib used to play with his schoolfellows, and as they were all inferior to him in rank, they shewed him great respect, according to the example of their master, who many times would pass by faults in him that he would correct in his other pupils. this indulgence spoiled agib; he became proud and insolent, would have his play-fellows bear all from him, and would submit to nothing from them, but be master every where; and if any took the liberty to thwart him, he would call them a thousand names, and many times beat them. in short, all the scholars grew weary of his insolence, and complained of him to their master. he answered, "that they must have patience." but when he saw that agib grew still more and more overbearing, and occasioned him much trouble, "children," said he to his scholars, "i find agib is a little insolent gentleman; i will shew you how to mortify him, so that he shall never torment you any more. nay, i believe it will make him leave the school. when he comes again to-morrow, place yourselves round him, and let one of you call out, "come, let us play, but upon condition, that every one who desires to play shall tell his own name, and the names of his father and mother; they who refuse shall be esteemed bastards, and not be suffered to play in our company." next day when they were gathered together, they failed not to follow their master's instructions. they placed themselves round agib, and one of them called out, "let us begin a play, but on condition that he who cannot tell his own name, and that of his father and mother, shall not play at all." they all cried out, and so did agib, "we consent." then he that spoke first asked every one the question, and all fulfilled the condition except agib, who answered, "my name is agib, my mother is called the lady of beauty, and my father shumse ad deen mahummud, vizier to the sultan." at these words all the children cried out, "agib, what do you say? that is not the name of your father, but your grandfather." "a curse on you," said he in a passion. "what! dare you say that the vizier is not my father?" "no, no," cried they with great laughter, "he is your grandfather, and you shall not play with us. nay we will take care how we come into your company." having spoken thus, they all left him, scoffing him, and laughing among themselves, which mortified agib so much that he wept. the schoolmaster who was near, and heard all that passed, came up, and speaking to agib, said, "agib, do not you know that the vizier is not your father, but your grandfather, and the father of your mother the lady of beauty? we know not the name of your father any more than you do. we only know that the sultan was going to marry your mother to one of his grooms, a humpback fellow; but a genie lay with her. this is hard upon you, but ought to teach you to treat your schoolfellows with less haughtiness." agib being nettled at this, ran hastily out of the school. he went directly sobbing to his mother's chamber, who being alarmed to see him thus grieved, asked the reason. he could not answer for tears, so great was his mortification, and it was long ere he could speak plain enough to repeat what had been said to him, and had occasioned his sorrow. when he came to himself. "mother," said he "for the love of god be pleased to tell me who is my father?" "my son," she replied, "shumse ad deen mahummud, who every day caresses you so kindly, is your father." "you do not tell me truth," returned agib; "he is your father, and none of mine. but whose son am i?" at this question, the lady of beauty calling to mind her wedding night, which had been succeeded by a long widowhood, began to shed tears, repining bitterly at the loss of so handsome a husband as buddir ad deen. whilst the lady of beauty and agib were both weeping, the vizier entered, who demanded the reason of their sorrow. the lady told him the shame agib had undergone at school, which so much affected the vizier that he joined his tears with theirs, and judging from this that the misfortune which had happened to his daughter was the common discourse of the town, he was mortified to the quick. being thus afflicted, he went to the sultan's palace, and falling prostrate at his feet, most humbly intreated permission to make a journey in search of his nephew buddir ad deen houssun. for he could not bear any longer that the people of the city should believe a genie had disgraced his daughter. the sultan was much concerned at the vizier's affliction, approved his resolution, and gave him leave to travel. he caused a passport also to be written for him, requesting in the strongest terms all kings and princes in whose dominions buddir ad deen might sojourn, to grant that the vizier might conduct him to cairo. shumse ad deen, not knowing how to express his gratitude to the sultan, fell down before him a second time, while the floods of tears he shed bore sufficient testimony to his feelings. at last, having wished the sultan all manner of prosperity, he took his leave and returned to his house, where he disposed every thing for his journey; and the preparations were carried on with so much diligence, that in four days after he left the city, accompanied with his daughter the lady of beauty, and his grandson agib. they travelled nineteen days without intermission; but on the twentieth, arriving at a pleasant mead, a small distance from the gate of damascus, they halted, and pitched their tents upon the banks of a river which fertilizes the vicinity, and runs through the town, one of the pleasantest in syria, once the capital of the caliphs; and celebrated for its elegant buildings, the politeness of its inhabitants, and the abundance of its conveniences. the vizier declared he would stay in that pleasent place two days, and pursue his journey on the third. in the mean time he gave his retinue leave to go to damascus; and almost all of them made use of it: some influenced by curiosity to see a city they had heard so much of, and others by the opportunity of vending the egyptian goods they had brought with them, or buying stuffs, and the rarities of the country. the beautiful lady desiring her son agib might share in the satisfaction of viewing that celebrated city, ordered the black eunuch, who acted in quality of his governor, to conduct him thither. agib, in magnificent apparel, went with the eunuch, who had a large cane in his hand. they had no sooner entered the city, than agib, fair and glorious as the day, attracted the eyes of the people. some got out of their houses to gain a nearer and narrower view of him; others put their heads out of the windows, and those who passed along the street were not satisfied in stopping to look upon him, but kept pace with him, to prolong the pleasure of the agreeable sight: in fine, there was not a person that did not admire him, and bestow a thousand benedictions on the father and mother that had given being to so fine a child. by chance the eunuch and he passed by the shop of buddir ad deen houssun, and there the crowd was so great, that they were forced to halt. the pastry-cook who had adopted buddir ad deen houssun had died some years before, and left him his shop and all his property, and he conducted the pastry trade so dexterously, that he had gained great reputation in damascus. buddir ad deen seeing so great a crowd before his door, who were gazing so attentively upon agib and the black eunuch, stepped out to see them himself. having cast his eyes upon agib, buddir ad deen found himself moved, he knew not how, nor for what reason. he was not struck like the people with the brilliant beauty of the boy; another cause unknown to him gave rise to the uneasiness and emotion he felt. it was the force of blood that wrought in this tender father; who, laying aside his business, made up to agib, and with an engaging air, said to him: "my little lord, who hast won my soul, be so kind as to come into my shop, and eat a bit of such fare as i have; that i may have the pleasure of admiring you at my ease." these words he pronounced with such tenderness, that tears trickled from his eyes. little agib was moved when he saw his emotion; and turning to the eunuch, said, "this honest man speaks in such an affectionate manner, that i cannot avoid complying with his request; let us step into his house, and taste his pastry." "it would be a fine thing truly," replied the slave, "to see the son of a vizier go into a pastry-cook's shop to eat; do not imagine that i will suffer any such thing." "alas! my lord," cried buddir ad deen, "it is cruelty to trust the conduct of you in the hands of a person who treats you so harshly." then applying himself to the eunuch, "my good friend," continued he, "pray do not hinder this young lord from granting me the favour i ask; do not put such mortification upon me: rather do me the honour to walk in along with him, and by so doing, you will let the world know, that, though your outside is brown like a chestnut, your inside is as white. do you know," continued he, "that i am master of the secret to make you white, instead of being black as you are?" this set the eunuch a laughing, and then he asked what that secret was. "i will tell you," replied buddir ad deen, who repeated some verses in praise of black eunuchs, implying, that it was by their ministry that the honour of princes and of all great men was secured. the eunuch was so charmed with these verses, that, without further hesitation, he suffered agib to go into the shop, and went in with him himself. buddir ad deen houssun was overjoyed at having obtained what he had so passionately desired, and, falling again to the work he had discontinued "i was making," said he, "cream-tarts; and you must, with submission, eat of them. i am persuaded you will find them good; for my own mother, who made them incomparably well, taught me, and the people send to buy them of me from all quarters of the town." this said, he took a cream-tart out of the oven, and after strewing upon it some pomegranate kernels and sugar, set it before agib, who found it very delicious. another was served up to the eunuch, and he gave the same judgment. while they were both eating, buddir ad deen viewed agib very attentively; and after looking upon him again and again, it came into his mind that possibly he might have such a son by his charming wife, from whom he had been so soon and so cruelly separated; and the very thought drew tears from his eyes. he intended to have put some questions to little agib about his journey to damascus; but the child had no time to gratify his curiosity, for the eunuch pressing him to return to his grandfather's tent, took him away as soon as he had done eating. buddir ad deen houssun, not contented with looking after him, shut up his shop immediately, and followed him. buddir ad deen houssun ran after agib and the eunuch, and overtook them before they had reached the gate of the city. the eunuch perceiving he followed them, was extremely surprised: "you impertinent fellow," said he, with an angry tone, "what do you want?" "my dear friend," replied buddir ad deen, "do not trouble yourself; i have a little business out of town, and i must needs go and look after it." this answer, however, did not at all satisfy the eunuch, who turning to agib, said, "this is all owing to you; i foresaw i should repent of my complaisance; you would needs go into the man's shop; it was not wisely done in me to give you leave." "perhaps," replied agib, "he has real business out of town, and the road is free to every body." while this passed they kept walking together, without looking behind them, till they came near the vizier's tents, upon which they turned about to see if buddir ad deen followed them. agib, perceiving he was within two paces of him, reddened and whitened alternately, according to the different emotions that affected him. he was afraid the grand vizier his grandfather should come to know he had been in the pastry shop, and had eaten there. in this dread, he took up a large stone that lay at his foot and throwing it at buddir ad deen, hit him in the forehead, and wounded him so that his face was covered with blood. the eunuch gave buddir ad deen to understand, he had no reason to complain of a mischance that he had merited and brought upon himself. buddir ad deen turned towards the city staunching the blood of the wound with his apron, which he had not put off. "i was a fool," said he within himself, "for leaving my house, to take so much pains about this brat; for doubtless he would never have used me after this manner, if he had not thought i had some ill design against him." when he got home, he had his wound dressed, and softened the sense of his mischance by the reflection that there was an infinite number of people upon the earth, who were yet more unfortunate than he. buddir ad deen kept on the pastry-trade at damascus, and his uncle shumse ad deen mahummud went from thence three days after his arrival. he went by way of emaus, hanah, and halep; then crossed the euphrates, and after passing through mardin, moussoul, singier, diarbeker, and several other towns, arrived at last at bussorah. immediately after his arrival he desired audience of the sultan, who was no sooner informed of his quality than he admitted him to his presence, received him very favourably, and inquired the occasion of his journey to bussorah. "sire," replied the vizier "i come to know what is become of the son of my brother, who has had the honour to serve your majesty." "noor ad deen ali," said the sultan, "has been long dead; as for his son, all i can tell you of him is, that he disappeared suddenly, about two months after his father's death, and nobody has seen him since, notwithstanding all the inquiry i ordered to be made. but his mother, who is the daughter of one of my viziers, is still alive." shumse ad deen mahummud desired leave of the sultan to take her to egypt; and having obtained permission, without waiting till the next day, inquired after her place of abode, and that very hour went to her house, accompanied with his daughter and his grandson. the widow of noor ad deen ali resided still in the same place where her husband had lived. it was a stately fabric, adorned with marble pillars: but shumse ad deen did not stop to view it. at his entry he kissed the gate, and the piece of marble upon which his brother's name was written in letters of gold. he asked to speak with his sister-in-law, and was told by her servants, that she was in a small building covered by a dome, to which they directed in the middle of a very spacious court. this tender mother used to spend the greatest part of the day and night in that room which she had built as a representation of the tomb of her son buddir ad deen houssun, whom she supposed to be dead after so long an absence. she was pouring tears over his memorial when shumse ad deen entering, found her buried in the deepest affliction. he made his compliment, and after beseeching her to suspend her tears and sighs, informed her he had the honour to be her brother-in-law, and acquainted her with the reason of his journey from cairo to bussorah. shumse ad deen mahummud, after acquainting his sister-in-law with all that had passed at cairo on his daughter's wedding-night, and informing her of the surprise occasioned by the discovery of the paper sewed up in buddir ad deen's turban, presented to her agib and the beautiful lady. the widow of noor ad deen, who had still continued sitting like a woman dejected, and weaned from the affairs of this world, no sooner understood by his discourse that her dear son, whom she lamented so bitterly, might still be alive, than she arose, and repeatedly embraced the beautiful lady and her grandchild agib; and perceiving in the youth the features of buddir ad deen, drops tears different from what she had been so long accustomed to shed. she could not forbear kissing the youth, who, for his part, received her embraces with all the demonstrations of joy he was capable of shewing. "sister," said shumse ad deen, "it is time to dry your tears, and suppress your sighs; you must think of going with us to egypt. the sultan of bussorah gives me leave to carry you thither, and i doubt not you will consent. i am in hopes we shall at last find out your son my nephew; and if we do, the history of him, of you, of my own daughter, and of my own adventures, will deserve to be committed to writing, and transmitted to posterity." the widow of noor ad deen heard this proposal with pleasure, and ordered preparations to be made for her departure. while they were making, shumse ad deen desired a second audience, and after taking leave of the sultan, who dismissed him with ample marks of respect, and gave him a considerable present for himself, and another of great value for the sultan of egypt, he set out from bussorah once more for the city of damascus. when he arrived in the neighbourhood of damascus, he ordered his tents to be pitched without the gate, at which he designed to enter the city; and gave out he would tarry there three days, to give his suit rest, and buy up curiosities to present to the sultan of egypt. while he was employed in selecting the finest stuffs which the principal merchants had brought to his tents, agib begged the black eunuch his governor to carry him through the city, in order to see what he had not had leisure to view before; and to inquire what was become of the pastry cook whom he had wounded. the eunuch complying with his request, went along with him towards the city, after leave obtained of the beautiful lady his mother. they entered damascus by the paradise-gate, which lay next to the tents of the vizier they walked through the great squares and the public places where the richest goods were sold, and took a view of the superb mosque at the hour of prayer, between noon and sun- set. when they passed by the shop of buddir ad deen houssun, whom they still found employed in making cream tarts, "i salute you sir," said agib; "do you know me? do you remember you ever saw me before?" buddir ad deen hearing these words, fixed his eyes upon him, and recognizing him (such was the surprising effect of paternal love!), felt the same emotion as when he saw him first; he was confused, and instead of making any answer, continued a long time without uttering a word. at length, recovering himself, "my lord," said he, "be so kind as to come once more with your governor into my house, and taste a cream-tart. i beg your lordship's pardon, for the trouble i gave you in following you out of town; i was at that time not myself, i did not know what i did. you drew me after you, and the violence of the attraction was so soft, that i could not withstand it." agib, astonished at what buddir ad deen said, replied: "there is an excess in the kindness you express, and unless you engage under oath not to follow me when i go from hence, i will not enter your house. if you give me your promise, and prove a man of your word, i will visit you again to-morrow, since the vizier my grandfather, is still employed in buying up rarities for a present to the sultan of egypt." "my lord," replied buddir ad deen, "i will do whatever you would have me." this said, agib and the eunuch went into the shop. presently after, buddir ad deen set before them a cream-tart, that was full as good as what they had eaten before; "come," said agib, "sit down by me, and eat with us." buddir ad deen sat down, and attempted to embrace agib, as a testimony of the joy he conceived upon sitting by him. but agib pushed him away, desiring him not to be too familiar. buddir ad deen obeyed, and repeated some extempore verses in praise of agib: he did not eat, but made it his business to serve his guests. when they had done, he brought them water to wash, and a very white napkin to wipe their hands. then he filled a large china cup with sherbet, and put snow into it; and offering it to agib, "this," said he, "is sherbet of roses; and i am sure you never tasted better." agib having drunk of it with pleasure, buddir ad deen took the cup from him, and presented it to the eunuch, who drank it all off at once. in fine, agib and his governor having fared well, returned thanks to the pastry-cook for their good entertainment, and moved homewards, it being then late. when they arrived at the tents of shumse ad deen mahummud, agib's grandmother received him with transports of joy: her son ran always in her mind, and in embracing agib, the remembrance of him drew tears from her eyes. "ah, my child!" said she, "my joy would be perfect, if i had the pleasure of embracing your father as i now embrace you." she made agib sit by her, and put several questions to him, relating to the walk he had been taking with the eunuch; and when he complained of being hungry, she gave him a piece of cream-tart, which she had made for herself, and was indeed very good: she likewise gave some to the eunuch. agib no sooner touched the piece of cream-tart that had been set before him, than he pretended he did not like it, and left it uncut; and shubbaunee (which was the eunuch's name) did the same. the widow of noor ad deen ali observed with regret that her grandson did not like the tart. "what!" said she, "does my child thus despise the work of my hands? be it known to you, no one in the world can make such besides myself and your father, whom i taught." "my good mother," replied agib, "give me leave to tell you, if you do not know how to make better, there is a pastry- cook in this town that outdoes you. we were at his shop, and ate of one much better than yours." on hearing this, the grandmother, frowning upon the eunuch, said, "how now, shubbaunee, was the care of my grandchild committed to you, to carry him to eat at pastry-shops like a beggar?" "madam," replied the eunuch, "it is true, we did stop a little while and talked with the pastry-cook, but we did not eat with him." "pardon me," said agib, "we went into his shop, and there ate a cream-tart." upon this, the lady, more incensed against the eunuch than before, rose in a passion from the table, and running to the tent of shumse ad deen, informed him of the eunuch's crime; and that in such terms, as tended more to inflame the vizier than to dispose him to excuse it. the vizier who was naturally passionate, did not fail on this occasion to display his anger. he went forthwith to his sister- in-law's tent, and said to the eunuch, "wretch, have you the impudence to abuse the trust i repose in you?" shubbaunee, though sufficiently convicted by agib's testimony, denied the fact still. but the child persisting in what he had affirmed, "grandfather," said he, "i can assure you we not only ate, but that so very heartily, that we have no occasion for supper: besides, the pastry-cook treated us also with a great bowl of sherbet." "well," cried shumse ad deen, "after all this, will you continue to deny that you entered the pastry-cook's house, and ate there?" shubbaunee had still the impudence to swear it was not true. "then you are a liar," said the vizier "i believe my grandchild; but after all, if you can eat up this cream-tart i shall be persuaded you have truth on your side." though shubbaunee had crammed himself up to the throat before, he agreed to stand that test, and accordingly took a piece of tart; but his stomach rising against it, he was obliged to spit it out of his mouth. yet he still pursued the lie, and pretended he had over-eaten himself the day before, and had not recovered his appetite. the vizier irritated with all the eunuch's frivolous presences, and convinced of his guilt, ordered him to be soundly bastinadoed. in undergoing this punishment, the poor wretch shrieked out aloud, and at last confessed the truth; "i own," cried he, "that we did eat a cream-tart at the pastry cook's, and that it was much better than that upon the table." the widow of noor ad deen thought it was out of spite to her, and with a desire to mortify her, that shubbaunee commended the pastry-cook's tart; and accordingly said, "i cannot believe the cook's tarts are better than mine; i am resolved to satisfy myself upon that head. where does he live? go immediately and buy me one of his tarts." the eunuch repaired to buddir ad deen's shop, and said, "let me have one of your cream-tarts; one of our ladies wants to taste them." buddir ad deen chose one of the best, and gave it to the eunuch. shubbaunee returned speedily to the tents, gave the tart to noor ad deen's widow, who, snatching it greedily, broke a piece off; but no sooner put it to her mouth, than she cried out and swooned away. the vizier was extremely surprised at the accident; he threw water upon her face, and was very active in recovering her. as soon as she came to herself, "my god!" cried she, "it must needs be my son, my dear buddir ad deen who made this tart." when the vizier shumse ad deen heard his sister-in-law say, that the maker of the tart, brought by the eunuch, must needs be her son, he was overjoyed; but reflecting that his joy might prove groundless, and the conjecture of noor ad deen's widow be false, "madam," said he, "do you think there may not be a pastry-cook in the world, who knows how to make cream-tarts as well as your son?" "i own," replied she, "there may be pastry-cooks that can make as good tarts as he; but as i make them in a peculiar manner, and only my son was let into the secret, it must absolutely be he that made this. come, my brother," added she in a transport, "let us call up mirth and joy; we have at last found what we have been so long looking for." "madam," said the vizier answer, "i entreat you to moderate your impatience, for we shall quickly know the truth. all we have to do, is to bring the pastry-cook hither; and then you and my daughter will readily distinguish whether he be your son or not. but you must both be concealed so as to have a view of buddir ad deen while he cannot see you; for i would not have our interview and mutual discovery happen at damascus. my design is to delay the discovery till we return to cairo." this said, he left the ladies in their tent, and retired to his own; where he called for fifty of his men, and said to them: "take each of you a stick in your hands, and follow shubbaunee, who will conduct you to a pastry-cook in this city. when you arrive there, break and dash in pieces all you find in the shop: if he demand the reason of your outrage, only ask him in return if it was not he that made the cream-tart that was brought from his house. if he answer in the affirmative, seize his person, fetter him, and bring him along with you; but take care you do not beat him, nor do him the least harm. go, and lose no time." the vizier's orders were immediately executed. the detachment, conducted by the black eunuch, went with expedition to buddir ad deen's house, broke in pieces the plates, kettles, copper pans, and all the other moveables and utensils they met with, and inundated the sherbet-shop with cream and comfits. buddir ad deen, astonished at the sight, said with a pitiful tone, "pray, good people, why do you serve me so? what is the matter? what have i done?" "was it not you," said they, "that sold this eunuch the cream-tart?" "yes," replied he, "i am the man; and who says any thing against it? i defy any one to make a better." instead of giving him an answer, they continued to break all round them, and the oven itself was not spared. in the mean time the neighbours took the alarm, and surprised to see fifty armed men committing such a disorder, asked the reason of such violence; and buddir ad deen said once more to the rioters, "pray tell me what crime i have committed to deserve this usage?" "was it not you," replied they, "that made the cream-tart you sold to the eunuch?" "yes, yes, it was i," replied he; "i maintain it is a good one. i do not deserve this treatment." however, without listening to him, they seized his person, and, snatching the cloth off his turban, tied his hands with it behind his back, and, after dragging him by force out of his shop, marched off. the mob gathering, from compassion to buddir ad deen, took his part; but officers from the governor of the city dispersed the people, and favoured the carrying off of buddir ad deen, for shumse ad deen mahummud had in the mean time gone to the governor's house to acquaint him with the order he had given, and to demand the interposition of force to favour the execution; and the governor, who commanded all syria in the name of the sultan of egypt, was unwilling to refuse any thing to his master's vizier. it was in vain for buddir ad deen to ask those who carried him off, what fault had been found with his cream-tart: they gave him no answer. in short, they conducted him to the tents, and made him wait there till shumse ad deen returned from the governor of damascus. upon the vizier's return, the pretended culprit was brought before him. "my lord," said buddir ad deen, with tears in his eyes, "pray do me the favour to let me know wherein i have displeased you." "why, you wretch," exclaimed the vizier "was it not you that made the cream-tart you sent me?" "i own i am the man," replied buddir ad deen, "but pray what crime is that?" "i will punish you according to your deserts," said shumse ad deen, "it shall cost you your life, for sending me such a sorry tart." "ah!" exclaimed buddir ad deen, "is it a capital crime to make a bad cream-tart?" "yes," said the vizier "and you are to expect no other usage from me." while this interview lasted, the ladies, who were concealed behind curtains, saw buddir ad deen, and recognized him, notwithstanding he had been so long absent. they were so transported with joy, that they swooned away; and when they recovered, would fain have run up and fallen upon his neck, but the promise they had made to the vizier of not discovering themselves, restrained the tender emotions of love and of nature. shumse ad deen having resolved to set out that night, ordered the tents to be struck, and the necessary preparations to be made for his journey. he ordered buddir ad deen to be secured in a sort of cage, and laid on a camel. the vizier and his retinue began their march, and travelled the rest of that night, and all the next day, without stopping in the evening they halted, and buddir ad deen was taken out of his cage, in order to be served with the necessary refreshments, but still carefully kept at a distance from his mother and his wife; and during the whole expedition, which lasted twenty days, was served in the same manner. when they arrived at cairo, they encamped in the neighbourhood of the city; shumse ad deen called for buddir ad deen, and gave orders, in his presence, to prepare a stake. "alas!" said buddir ad deen, "what do you mean to do with a stake?" "why, to impale you," replied shumse ad deen, "and then to have you carried through all the quarters of the town, that the people may have the spectacle of a worthless pastry-cook, who makes cream-tarts without pepper." this said, buddir ad deen cried out so ludicrously, that shumse ad deen could hardly keep his countenance: "alas!" said he, "must i suffer a death as cruel as it is ignominious, for not putting pepper in a cream-tart?" "how," said buddir ad deen, "must i be rifled; must i be imprisoned in a chest, and at last impaled, and all for not putting pepper in a cream-tart? are these the actions of moosulmauns, of persons who make a profession of probity, justice, and good works?" with these words he shed tears, and then renewing his complaint; "no," continued he, "never was a man used so unjustly, nor so severely. is it possible they should be capable of taking a man's life for not putting pepper in a cream- tart? cursed be all cream-tarts, as well as the hour in which i was born! would to god l had died that minute!" the disconsolate buddir ad deen did not cease his lamentations; and when the stake was brought, cried out bitterly at the horrid sight. "heaven!" said he, "can you suffer me to die an ignominious and painful death? and all this, for what crime? not for robbery or murder, or renouncing my religion, but for not putting pepper in a cream tart," night being then pretty far advanced, the vizier ordered buddir ad deen to be conveyed again to his cage, saying to him, "stay there till to-morrow; the day shall not elapse before i give orders for your death." the chest or cage then was carried away and laid upon the camel that had brought it from damascus: at the same time all the other camels were loaded again; and the vizier mounting his horse, ordered the camel that carried his nephew to march before him, and entered the city with all his suit. after passing through several streets, where no one appeared, he arrived at his palace, where he ordered the chest to be taken down, but not opened till farther orders. while his retinue were unlading the other camels, he took buddir ad deen's mother and his daughter aside; and addressed himself to the latter: "god be praised," said he, "my child, for this happy occasion of meeting your cousin and your husband! you remember, of course, what order your chamber was in on your wedding night: go and put all things as they were then placed; and if your memory do not serve you, i can aid it by a written account, which i caused to be taken upon that occasion." the beautiful lady went joyfully to execute her father's orders; and he at the same time commanded the hall to be adorned as when buddir ad deen houssun was there with the sultan of egypt's hunch-backed groom. as he went over his manuscript, his domestics placed every moveable in the described order. the throne was not forgotten, nor the lighted wax candles. when every thing was arranged in the hall, the vizier went into his daughter's chamber and put in their due place buddir ad deen's apparel, with the purse of sequins. this done, he said to the beautiful lady, "undress yourself, my child, and go to bed. as soon as buddir ad deen enters your room, complain of his being from you so long, and tell him, that when you awoke, you were astonished you did not find him by you. press him to come to bed again; and to- morrow morning you will divert your mother-in-law and me, by giving us an account of your interview." this said, he went from his daughter's apartment, and left her to undress herself and go to bed. shumse ad deen mahummud ordered all his domestics to depart the hall, excepting two or three, whom he desired to remain. these he commanded to go and take buddir ad deen out of the cage, to strip him to his under vest and drawers, to conduct him in that condition to the hall, to leave him there alone, and shut the door upon him. buddir ad deen, though overwhelmed with grief, was asleep so soundly, that the vizier's domestics had taken him out of the chest and stripped him before he awoke; and they carried him so suddenly into the hall, that they did not give him time to see where he was. when he found himself alone in the hall, he looked round him, and the objects he beheld recalling to his memory the circumstances of his marriage, he perceived, with astonishment, that it was the place where he had seen the sultan's groom of the stables. his surprise was still the greater, when approaching softly the door of a chamber which he found open, he spied his own raiments where he remembered to have left them on his wedding night. "my god!" said he, rubbing his eyes, "am i asleep or awake?" the beautiful lady, who in the mean time was diverting herself with his astonishment, opened the curtains of her bed suddenly, and bending her head forward, "my dear lord," said she, with a soft, tender air, "what do you do at the door? you have been out of bed a long time. i was strangely surprised when i awoke in not finding you by me." buddir ad deen was enraptured; he entered the room, but reverting to all that had passed during a ten years' interval, and not being able to persuade himself that it could all have happened in the compass of one night, he went to the place where his vestments lay with the purse of sequins; and after examining them very carefully, exclaimed, "by allah these are mysteries which i can by no means comprehend!" the lady, who was pleased to see his confusion, said, once more, "my lord, what do you wait for?" he stepped towards the bed, and said to her, "is it long since i left you?" "the question," answered she, "surprises me. did not you rise from me but now? surely your mind is deranged." "madam," replied buddir ad deen, "i do assure you my thoughts are not very composed. i remember indeed to have been with you, but i remember at the same time, that i have since lived ten years at damascus. now, if i was actually in bed with you this night, i cannot have been from you so long. these two points are inconsistent. pray tell me what i am to think; whether my marriage with you is an illusion, or whether my absence from you is only a dream?" "yes, my lord," cried she, "doubtless you were light-headed when you thought you were at damascus." upon this buddir ad deen laughed heartily, and said, "what a comical fancy is this! i assure you, madam, this dream of mine will be very pleasant to you. do but imagine, if you please, that i was at the gate of damascus in my shirt and drawers, as i am here now; that i entered the town with the halloo of a mob who followed and insulted me; that i fled to a pastry cook who adopted me, taught me his trade, and left me all he had when he died; that after his death i kept a shop. in fine, i had an infinity of other adventures, too tedious to recount: and all i can say is, that it was well that i awoke, for they were going to impale me!" "and for what," cried the lady, feigning astonishment, "would they have used you so cruelly? surely you must have committed some enormous crime." "not the least," replied buddir ad deen; "it was for nothing but a mere trifle, the most ridiculous thing you can imagine. all the crime i was charged with, was selling a cream-tart that had no pepper in it." "as for that matter," said the beautiful lady laughing heartily, "i must say they did you great injustice." "ah!" replied he, "that was not all. for this cursed cream-tart was every thing in my shop broken to pieces, myself bound and fettered, and flung into a chest, where i lay so close, that methinks i am there still, but thanks be to god all was a dream." buddir ad deen was not easy all night. he awoke from time to time, and put the question to himself, whether he dreamed or was awake. he distrusted his felicity; and, to be sure whether it was true or not, looked round the room. "i am not mistaken," said he; "this is the same chamber where i entered instead of the hunch- backed groom of the stables; and i am now in bed with the fair lady designed for him." day-light, which then appeared, had not yet dispelled his uneasiness, when the vizier shumse ad deen, his uncle, knocked at the door, and at the same time went in to bid him good morrow. buddir ad deen was extremely surprised to see a man he knew so well, and who now appeared with a different air from that with which he pronounced the terrible sentence of death against him. "ah!" cried buddir ad deen, "it was you who condemned me so unjustly to a kind of death, the thoughts of which make me shudder, and all for a cream-tart without pepper." the vizier fell a laughing, and to put him out of suspense, told him how, by the ministry of a genie (for hunch-back's relation made him suspect the adventure), he had been at his palace, and had married his daughter instead of the sultan's groom of the stables; then he acquainted him that he had discovered him to be his nephew by the memorandum of his father, and pursuant to that discovery had gone from cairo to bussorah in quest of him. "my dear nephew," added he, embracing him with every expression of tenderness, "i ask your pardon for all i have made you undergo since i discovered you. i resolved to bring you to my palace before i told you your happiness; which ought now to be so much the dearer to you, as it has cost you so much perplexity and distress. to atone for all your afflictions, comfort yourself with the joy of being in the company of those who ought to be dearest to you. while you are dressing yourself i will go and acquaint your mother, who is beyond measure impatient to see you; and will likewise bring to you your son, whom you saw at damascus, and for whom, without knowing him, you shewed so much affection." no words can adequately express the joy of buddir ad deen, when he saw his mother and his son. they embraced, and shewed all the transports that love and tenderness could inspire. the mother spoke to buddir ad deen in the most moving terms; she mentioned the grief she had felt for his long absence, and the tears she had shed. little ajib, instead of flying his father's embraces, as at damascus, received them with all the marks of pleasure. and buddir ad deen houssun, divided between two objects so worthy of his love, thought he could not give sufficient testimonies of his affection. while this passed, the vizier was gone to the palace, to give the sultan an account of the happy success of his travels; and the sultan was so moved with the recital of the story, that he ordered it to be taken down in writing, and carefully preserved among the archives of the kingdom. after shumse ad deen's return to his palace, he sat down with his family, and all the household passed the day in festivity and mirth. the vizier jaaffier having thus concluded the story of buddir ad deen, told the caliph that this was what he had to relate to his majesty. the caliph found the story so surprising, that without farther hesitation he granted his slave rihan's pardon; and to console the young man for the grief of having unhappily deprived himself of a woman whom he had loved so tenderly, married him to one of his slaves, bestowed liberal gifts upon him, and maintained him till he died. the history of ganem, son of abou ayoub, and known by the surname of love's slave. there was formerly at damascus a merchant, who had by care and industry acquired great wealth, on which he lived in a very honourable manner. his name was abou ayoub, and he had one son and a daughter. the son was called ganem, but afterwards surnamed love's slave. his person was graceful, and the excellent qualities of his mind had been improved by able masters. the daughter's name was alcolom, signifying ravisher of hearts, because her beauty was so perfect that whoever saw her could not avoid loving her. abou ayoub died, and left immense riches: a hundred loads of brocades and other silks that lay in his warehouse were the least part. the loads were ready made up, and on every bale was written in large characters, "for bagdad." mahummud, the son of soliman, surnamed zinebi, reigned at that time at damascus, the capital of syria. his kinsman, haroon al rusheed, had bestowed that kingdom on him as his tributary. soon after the death of abou ayoub, ganem conversed with his mother about their domestic affairs, and concerning the loads of merchandize in the warehouse, asked her the meaning of what was written upon each bale. "my son," answered his mother, "your father used to travel sometimes into one province, and sometimes into another; and it was customary with him, before he set out, to write the name of the city he designed to repair to on every bade. he had provided all things to take a journey to bagdad, and was on the point of setting out, when death"----she had not power to finish; the lively remembrance of the loss of her husband would not permit her to say more, and drew from her a shower of tears. ganem could not see his mother so sensibly affected, without being equally so himself. they continued some time silent; but at length he recovered himself, and as soon as he found his mother calm enough to listen to him, said, "since my father designed these goods for bagdad, i will prepare myself to perform that journey; and i think it will be proper for me to hasten my departure, for fear those commodities should perish, or that we should lose the opportunity of selling them to the best advantage." abou ayoub's widow, who tenderly loved her son, was much concerned at this resolution, and replied, "my dear child, i cannot but commend you for designing to follow your father's example; but consider, that you are too young, inexperienced, and unaccustomed to the fatigue of travelling. besides, can you think of leaving me, and adding to that sorrow with which i am already oppressed? is it not better to sell those goods to the merchants of damascus, and take up with a moderate profit, than expose yourself to the danger of perishing?" it was in vain for her to oppose ganem's resolution by the strongest arguments; they had no weight with him. an inclination to travel, and to accomplish himself by a thorough knowledge of the world, urged him to set out, and prevailed over all his mother's remonstrances, her entreaties, and even her tears. he went to the market where slaves were sold, and bought such as were able-bodied, hired a hundred camels, and having provided all other necessaries, entered upon his journey, with five or six merchants of damascus, who were going to trade at bagdad. those merchants, attended by their slaves, and accompanied by several other travellers, made up such a considerable caravan, that they had nothing to fear from the bedouin arabs, who make it their only profession to range the country; and attack and plunder the caravans when they are not strong enough to repulse them. they had no other difficulty to encounter, than the usual fatigues of a long journey, which were easily forgotten when they came in sight of the city of bagdad, where they arrived in safety. they alighted at the most magnificent and most frequented khan in the city; but ganem chose to be lodged conveniently, and by himself. he only left his goods there in a warehouse for their greater security, and hired a spacious house in the neighbourhood, richly furnished, having a garden which was very delightful, on account of its many waterworks and shady groves. some days after this young merchant had been settled in his house, and perfectly recovered of the fatigue of his journey, he dressed himself richly, and repaired to the public place, where the merchants met to transact business. a slave followed him, carrying a parcel of fine stuffs and silks. the merchants received ganem very courteously, and their syndic, or chief, to whom he first made application, bought all his parcel, at the price set down in the ticket annexed to every piece of stuff. ganem continued his trade so successfully, that he every day sold all the goods he exposed. he had but one bale left, which he had caused to be carried from the warehouse to his own house; he then went to the public rendezvous, where he found all the shops shut. this seemed somewhat extraordinary to him and having asked the cause, he was told, that one of the first merchants, whom he knew, was dead, and that all his brother traders were gone to his funeral. ganem inquired for the mosque, where prayer was to be said, and whence the body was to be conducted to the grave; and having been informed, sent back his slave with the goods, and walked towards the mosque. he got thither before the prayers were ended, which were said in a hall hung with black satin. the corpse was taken up, and followed by the kindred, the merchants, and ganem, to the place of burial, which was at some distance without the city. it was a stone structure, in form of a dome, purposely built to receive the bodies of all the family of the deceased, and being very small, they had pitched tents around, that all the company might be sheltered during the ceremony. the monument was opened, and the corpse laid in it, after which it was shut up. then the imam, and other ministers of the mosque, sat down in a ring on carpets, in the largest tent, and recited the rest of the prayers. they also read the fateah, or introductory chapter of the koraun, appointed for the burial of the dead. the kindred and merchants sat round, in the same manner, behind the ministers. it was near night before all was ended: ganem who had not expected such a long ceremony, began to be uneasy, and the more so, when he saw meat served up, in memory of the deceased, according to the custom of the mahummedans. he was also told that the tents had been set up not only against the heat of the sun, but also against the evening dew, because they should not return to the city before the next morning. these words perplexed ganem. "i am a stranger," said he to himself, "and have the reputation of being a rich merchant; thieves may take the opportunity of my absence, and rob my house. my slaves may be tempted by so favourable an opportunity; they may run away with all the gold i have received for my goods, and whither shall i go to look for them?" full of these thoughts, he ate a few mouthfuls hastily, and slipped away from the company. he made all possible haste; but, as it often happens that the more a man hurries the less he advances, he went astray in the dark, so that it was near midnight when he came to the city gate; which, to add to his misfortune, was shut. this was a fresh affliction to him, and he was obliged to look for some convenient place in which to pass the rest of the night till the gate was opened. he went into a burial-place, so spacious, that it reached from the city to the very place he had left. he advanced to some high walls, which enclosed a small field, being the mausoleum of a family, and in which there was a palm-tree. ganem, finding that the burial-place where the palm-tree grew was open, went into it, and shut the door after him. he lay down on the grass and tried to sleep; but his uneasiness at being absent from home would not permit him. he got up, and after having passed before the door several times, opened it, without knowing why, and immediately perceived at a distance a light, which seemed to come towards him. he was startled at the sight, closed the door, which had nothing to secure it but a latch, and got up as fast as he could to the top of the palm-tree; looking upon that as the safest retreat under his present apprehensions. no sooner was he up, than by the help of the light which had alarmed him, he plainly perceived three men, whom, by their habit, he knew to be slaves, enter into the burial-place. one of them advanced with a lantern, and the two others followed him, loaded with a chest, between five and six feet long, which they carried on their shoulders. they set it down, and then one of the three slaves said to his comrades, "brethren, if you will be advised by me, we will leave the chest here, and return to the city." "no, no," replied another, "that would not be executing our mistress's orders; we may have cause to repent not doing as we were commanded. let us bury the chest, since we are enjoined so to do." the two other slaves complied. they began to break ground with the tools they had brought for that purpose. when they had made a deep trench, they put the chest into it, and covered it with the earth they had taken out, and then departed. ganem, who from the top of the palm-tree had heard every word the slaves had spoken, could not tell what to think of the adventure. he concluded that the chest must contain something of value, and that the person to whom it belonged had some particular reasons for causing it to be buried in the cemetery. he resolved immediately to satisfy his curiosity, came down from the palm- tree, the departure of the slaves having dissipated his fear, and fell to work upon the pit, plying his hands and feet so well, that in a short time he uncovered the chest, but found it secured by a padlock. this new obstacle to the satisfying of his curiosity was no small mortification to him, yet he was not discouraged, but the day beginning then to appear, he saw several great stones about the burial-place. he picked out one, with which he easily knocked off the padlock, and then with much impatience opened the chest. ganem was strangely surprised, when, instead of money, he discovered a young lady of incomparable beauty. her fresh and rosy complexion, and her gentle regular breathing, satisfied him she was alive, but he could not conceive why, if she were only asleep, she had not awaked at the noise he made in forcing off the padlock. her habit was so costly, with bracelets and pendants of diamonds, and a necklace of pearls, so large, that he made not the least doubt of her being one of the principal ladies of the court. at the sight of so beautiful an object, not only compassion and natural inclination to relieve persons in danger, but something more powerful, which ganem could not then account for, prevailed on him to afford the unfortunate beauty all the assistance in his power. he first shut the gate of the burial-place, which the slaves had left open; then, returning, took the lady in his arms, and laid her on the soft earth which he had thrown off the chest. as soon as she was exposed to the air, she sneezed, and, by the motion in turning her head, there came from her mouth a liquor, with which her stomach seemed to have been loaded; then opening and rubbing her eyes, she with such a voice as charmed ganem, whom she did not see, cried out, "zohorob bostan, shijher al mirjaun, casabos souccar, nouron nihar, nagmatos sohi, nonzbetos zaman, why do you not answer? where are you?" these were the names of six female slaves that used to wait on her. she called them, and wondered that nobody answered; but at length looking about, and perceiving she was in a burial-place, was seized with fear. "what," cried she, much louder than before, "are the dead raised? is the day of judgment come? what a wonderful change is this from evening to morning?" ganem did not think fit to leave the lady any longer in her perplexity, but presented himself before her with all possible respect, and in the most courteous manner. "madam," said he, "i am not able to express my joy at having happened to be here to do you the service i have, and to offer you all the assistance you may need under your present circumstances." in order to persuade the lady to repose confidence in him, he, in the first place, told her who he was, and what accident had brought him to that place. next he acquainted her with the coming of the three slaves, and how they had buried the chest. the lady, who had covered her face with her veil as soon as ganem appeared, was extremely sensible of the obligations she owed him. "i return thanks to god," said she "for having sent so worthy a person as you are to deliver me from death; but since you have begun so charitable a work, i conjure you not to leave it imperfect. let me beg of you to go into the city, and provide a muleteer, to come with his mule, and carry me to your house in this chest; for, should i go with you on foot, my dress being different from that of the city ladies, some one might take notice of it, and follow me, which it highly concerns me to prevent. when i shall be in your house, i will give you an account of myself; and in the mean time be assured that you have not obliged an ungrateful person." before the young merchant left the lady, he drew the chest out of the pit, which he filled up with earth, laid her again in the chest, and shut it in such a manner, that it did not look as if the padlock had been forced off; but for fear of stifling her, he did not put it quite close, leaving room for the admittance of air. going out of the burial-place, he drew the door after him; and the city gate being then open, soon found what he sought. he returned with speed to the burial place, and helped the muleteer to lay the chest across his mule, telling him, to remove all cause of suspicion, that he came to that place the night before, with another muleteer, who, being in haste to return home, had laid down the chest where he saw it. ganem, who, since his arrival at bagdad, had minded nothing but his business, was still unacquainted with the power of love, and now felt its first attacks. it had not been in his power to look upon the young lady without being dazzled; and the uneasiness he felt at following the muleteer at a distance, and the fear lest any accident might happen by the way that should deprive him of his conquest, taught him to unravel his thoughts. he was more than usually delighted, when, being arrived safe at home, he saw the chest unloaded. he dismissed the muleteer, and having caused a slave to shut the door of his house, opened the chest, helped the lady out, gave her his hand, and conducted her to his apartment, lamenting how much she must have endured in such close confinement. "if i have suffered," said she, "i have satisfaction sufficient in what you have done for me, and in the pleasure of seeing myself out of danger." though ganem's apartment was very richly furnished, the lady did not so much regard its appearance, as she did the handsome presence and engaging mien of her deliverer, whose politeness and obliging behaviour heightened her gratitude. she sat down on a sofa, and to give the merchant to understand how sensible she was of the service done her, took off her veil. ganem on his part was sensible of the favour so lovely a lady did in uncovering her face to him, or rather felt he had already a most violent passion for her. whatever obligations she owed him, he thought himself more than requited by so singular a favour. the lady dived into ganem's thoughts, yet was not at all alarmed, because he appeared very respectful. he, judging she might have occasion to eat, and not willing to trust any but himself with the care of entertaining so charming a guest, went out with a slave to an eating-house, to give directions for an entertainment. from thence he went to a fruiterer, where he chose the finest and best fruit; buying also the choicest wine, and the same bread that was eaten at the caliph's table. as soon as he returned home, he with his own hands made a pyramid of the fruit he had bought, and serving it up himself to the lady in a large dish, of the finest china-ware, "madam," said he, "be pleased to make choice of some of this fruit, while a more solid entertainment, and more worthy yourself, is preparing." he would have continued standing before her, but she declared she would not touch any thing, unless he sat down and ate with her. he obeyed; and when they had eaten a little, ganem observing that the lady's veil, which she laid down by her on a sofa, was embroidered along the edge with golden letters, begged her permission to look on the embroidery. the lady immediately took up the veil, and delivered it to him, asking him whether he could read? "madam," replied he, with a modest air, "a merchant would be ill-qualified to manage his business if he could not at least read and write." "well, then," said she, "read the words which are embroidered on that veil, which gives me an opportunity of telling you my story." ganem took the veil, and read these words, "i am yours, and you are mine, thou descendant from the prophet's uncle." that descendant from the prophet's uncle was the caliph haroon al rusheed, who then reigned, and was descended from abbas, mahummud's uncle. when ganem perceived these words, "alas! madam," said he, in a melancholy tone, "i have just saved your life, and this writing is my death! i do not comprehend all the mystery; but it convinces me i am the most unfortunate of men. pardon, madam, the liberty i take, but it was impossible for me to see you without giving you my heart. you are not ignorant yourself, that it was not in my power to refuse it you, and that makes my presumption excusable. i proposed to myself to touch your heart by my respectful behaviour, my care, my assiduity, my submission, my constancy; and no sooner have i formed the flattering design, than i am robbed of all my hopes. i cannot long survive so great a misfortune. but, be that as it will, i shall have the satisfaction of dying entirely yours. proceed, madam, i conjure you, and give me full information of my unhappy fate." he could not utter those words without letting fall some tears. the lady was moved; but was so far from being displeased at the declaration he made, that she felt secret joy; for her heart began to yield. however, she concealed her feelings, and as if she had not regarded what ganem had said. "i should have been very cautious," answered she, "of strewing you my veil, had i thought it would have given you so much uneasiness; but i do not perceive that what i have to say to you can make your condition so deplorable as you imagine." "you must understand," proceeded she, "in order to acquaint you with my story, that my name is fetnah (which signifies disturbance), which was given me at my birth, because it was judged that the sight of me would one day occasion many calamities. of this you cannot be ignorant, since there is nobody in bagdad but knows that the caliph, my sovereign lord and yours, has a favourite so called. "i was carried into his palace in my tenderest years, and i have been brought up with all the care that is usually taken with such persons of my sex as are destined to reside there. i made no little progress in all they took the pains to teach me; and that, with some share of beauty, gained me the affection of the caliph, who allotted me a particular apartment adjoining to his own. that prince was not satisfied with such a mark of distinction; he appointed twenty women to wait on me, and as many eunuchs; and ever since he has made me such considerable presents, that i saw myself richer than any queen in the world. you may judge by what i have said, that zobeide, the caliph's wife and kinswoman, could not but be jealous of my happiness. though haroon has all the regard imaginable for her, she has taken every possible opportunity to ruin me. "hitherto i had secured myself against all her snares, but at length i fell under the last effort of her jealousy; and, had it not been for you, must now have been exposed to inevitable death. i question not but she had corrupted one of my slaves, who last night, in some lemonade, gave me a drug, which causes such a dead sleep, that it is easy to dispose of those who have taken it; for that sleep is so profound, that nothing can dispel it for the space of seven or eight hours. i have the more reason to judge so, because naturally i am a very bad sleeper, and apt to wake at the least noise. "zobeide, the better to put her design in execution, has availed herself of the absence of the caliph, who went lately to put himself at the head of his troops, to chastise some neighbouring kings, who have formed a league of rebellion. were it not for this opportunity, my rival, outrageous as she is, durst not have presumed to attempt any thing against my life. i know not what she will do to conceal this action from the caliph, but you see it highly concerns me that you should keep my secret. my life depends on it. i shall be safe in your house as long as the caliph is from bagdad. it concerns you to keep my adventure private; for should zobeide know the obligation i owe you, she would punish you for having saved me. "when the caliph returns, i shall not need to be so much upon my guard. i shall find means to acquaint him with all that has happened, and i am fully persuaded he will be more earnest than myself to requite a service which restores me to his love." as soon as haroon al rusheed's beautiful favourite had done speaking, ganem said, "madam, i return you a thousand thanks for having given me the information i took the liberty to desire of you; and i beg of you to believe, that you are here in safety; the sentiments you have inspired are a pledge of my secrecy. "as for my slaves, they may perhaps fail of the fidelity they owe me, should they know by what accident and in what place i had the happiness to find you. i dare assure you, however, that they will not have the curiosity to inquire. it is so natural for young men to purchase beautiful slaves, that it will be no way surprising to them to see you here, believing you to be one, and that i have bought you. they will also conclude that i have some particular reasons for bringing you home as they saw i did. set your heart, therefore, at rest, as to that point, and remain satisfied that you shall be served with all the respect that is due to the favourite of so great a monarch as our sovereign the caliph. but great as he is, give me leave, madam, to declare, that nothing can make me recall the present i have made you of my heart. i know, and shall never forget, â��that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave;' but i loved you before you told me that you were engaged to the caliph; it is not in my power to overcome a passion which, though now in its infancy, has all the force of a love strengthened by a perfect of situation. i wish your august and most fortunate lover may avenge you of the malice of zobeide, by calling you back to him; and when you shall be restored to his wishes, that you may remember the unfortunate ganem, who is no less your conquest than the caliph. powerful as that prince is, i flatter myself he will not be able to blot me out of your remembrance. he cannot love you more passionately than i do; and i shall never cease to love you into whatever part of the world i may go to expire, after having lost you." fetnah perceived that ganem was under the greatest of afflictions, and his situation affected her; but considering the uneasiness she was likely to bring upon herself, by prosecuting the conversation on that subject, which might insensibly lead her to discover the inclination she felt for him; "i perceive," said she, "that this conversetion gives you too much uneasiness; let us change the subject, and talk of the infinite obligation i owe you. i can never sufficiently express my gratitude, when i reflect that, without your assistance, i should never again have beheld the light of the sun." it was happy for them both, that somebody just then knocked at the door; ganem went to see who it was, and found it to be one of his slaves come to acquaint him that the entertainment was ready. ganem, who, by way of precaution, would have none of his slaves come into the room where fetnah was, took what was brought, and served it up himself to his beautiful guest, whose soul was ravished to behold what attention he paid her. when they had eaten, ganem took away, as he had covered the table; and having delivered all things at the door of the apartment to his slaves, "madam," said he to fetnah, "you may now perhaps desire to take some rest; i will leave you, and when you have reposed yourself, you shall find me ready to receive your commands." having thus spoken, he left her, and went to purchase two women- slaves. he also bought two parcels, one of fine linen, and the other of all such things as were proper to make up a toilet fit for the caliph's favourite. having conducted home the two women- slaves, he presented them to fetnah, saying, "madam, a person of your quality cannot be without two waiting-maids, at least, to serve you; be pleased to accept of these." fetnah, admiring ganem's attention, said, "my lord, i perceive you are not one that will do things by halves: you add by your courtesy to the obligations i owe you already; but i hope i shall not die ungrateful, and that heaven will soon place me in a condition to requite all your acts of generosity." when the women-slaves were withdrawn into a chamber adjoining, he sat down on the sofa, but at some distance from fetnah, in token of respect. he then began to discourse of his passion. "i dare not so much as hope," said he, "to excite the least sensibility in a heart like yours, destined for the greatest prince in the world. alas! it would be a comfort to me in my misfortune, if i could but flatter myself, that you have not looked upon the excess of my love with indifference." "my lord," answered fetnah "alas! madam," said ganem, interrupting her at the word lord, "this is the second time you have done me the honour to call me lord; the presence of the women-slaves hindered me the first time from taking notice of it to you: in the name of god, madam, do not give me this title of honour; it does not belong to me; treat me, i beseech you, as your slave: i am, and shall never cease to be so." "no, no," replied fetnah, interrupting him in her turn, "i shall be cautious how i treat with such disrespect a man to whom i owe my life. i should be ungrateful, could i say or do any thing that did not become you. leave me, therefore, to follow the dictates of my gratitude, and do not require of me, that i should misbehave myself towards you, in return for the benefits i have received. i shall never be guilty of such conduct; i am too sensible of your respectful behaviour to abuse it; and i will not hesitate to own, that i do not regard your care with indifference. you know the reasons that condemn me to silence." ganem was enraptured at this declaration; he wept for joy, and not being able to find expressions significant enough, in his own opinion, to return fetnah thanks, was satisfied with telling her, that as she knew what she owed to the caliph, he, on his part, was not ignorant "that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave." night drawing on, he rose up to fetch a light, which he brought in himself, as also a collation. they both sat down at table, and at first complimented each other on the fruit as they presented it reciprocally. the excellence of the wine insensibly drew them both to drink; and having drunk two or three glasses, they agreed that neither should take another glass without first singing some air. ganem sung verses ex tempore, expressive of the vehemence of his passion; and fetnah, encouraged by his example, composed and sung verses relating to her adventure, and always containing something which ganem might take in a sense favourable to himself; except in this, she most exactly observed the fidelity due to the caliph. the collation continued till very late, and the night was far advanced before they thought of parting. ganem then withdrew to another apartment, leaving fetnah where she was, the women slaves he had bought coming in to wait upon her. they lived together in this manner for several days. the young merchant went not abroad, unless upon of the utmost consequence, and even for that took the time when the lady was reposing; for he could not prevail upon himself to lose a moment that might be spent in her company. all his thoughts were taken up with his dear fetnah, who, on her side, gave way to her inclination, confessed she had no less affection for him than he had for her. however, fond as they were of each other, their respect for the caliph kept them within due bounds, which still heightened their passion. whilst fetnah, thus snatched from the jaws of death, passed her time so agreeably with ganem, zobeide was not without some apprehensions in the palace of haroon al rusheed. no sooner had the three slaves, entrusted with the execution of her revenge, carried away the chest, without knowing what it contained, or so much as the least curiosity to inquire (being used to pay a blind obedience to her commands), than she was seized with a tormenting uneasiness; a thousand perplexing thoughts disturbed her rest; sleep fled from her eyes, and she spent the night in contriving how to conceal her crime. "my consort," said she, "loves fetnah more than ever he did any of his favourites. what shall i say to him at his return, when he inquires of me after her?" many contrivances occurred to her, but none were satisfactory. still she met with difficulties, and knew not where to fix. there lived with her a lady advanced in years, who had bred her up from her infancy. as soon as it was day, she sent for her, and having entrusted her with the secret, said, "my good mother, you have always assisted me with your advice; if ever i stood in need of it, it is now, when the business before you is to still my thoughts, distracted by a mortal anxiety, and to show me some way to satisfy the caliph." "my dear mistress," replied the old lady, "it had been much better not to have run yourself into the difficulties you labour under; but since the thing is done, the best consolation is to think no more of it. all that must now be thought of, is how to deceive the commander of the believers; and i am of opinion, that you should immediately cause a wooden image resembling a dead body to be carved. we will shroud it up in linen, and when shut up in a coffin, it shall be buried in some part of the palace; you shall then immediately cause a marble mausoleum to be built, in the form of a dome, over the burial place, and erect a tomb, which shall be covered with embroidered cloth, and set about with great candlesticks and large wax tapers. there is another thing," added the old lady, "which ought not to be forgotten; you must put on mourning, and cause the same to be done by your own and fetnah's women, your eunuchs, and all the officers of the palace. when the caliph returns, and sees you all and the palace in mourning, he will not fail to ask the occasion of it. you will then have an opportunity of insinuating yourself into his favour, by saying, it was out of respect to him that you paid the last honours to fetnah, snatched away by sudden death. you may tell him, you have caused a mausoleum to be built, and, in short, that you have paid all the last honours to his favourite, as he would have done himself had he been present. his passion for her being extraordinary, he will certainly go to shed tears upon her grave; and perhaps," added the old woman, â��`he will not believe she is really dead. he may, possibly, suspect you have turned her out of the palace through jealousy, and look upon all the mourning as an artifice to deceive him, and prevent his making inquiries after her. it is likely he will cause the coffin to be taken up and opened, and it is certain he will be convinced of her death, as soon as he shall see the figure of a dead body buried. he will be pleased with all you shall have done, and express his gratitude. as for the wooden image, i will myself undertake to have it cut by a carver in the city, who shall not know the purpose for which it is designed. as for your part, madam, order fetnah's woman, who yesterday gave her the lemonade, to give out, among her companions, that she has just found her mistress dead in her bed; and in order that they may only think of lamenting, without offering to go into her chamber, let her add, she has already acquainted you with the circumstance, and that you have ordered mesrour to cause her to be buried." as soon as the old lady had spoken, zobeide took a rich diamond ring out of her casket, and putting it on her finger, and embracing her in a transport of joy, said, "how infinitely am i beholden to you, my good mother! i should never have thought of so ingenious a contrivance. it cannot fail of success, and i begin to recover my peace. i leave the care of the wooden figure to you, and will go myself to order the rest." the wooden image was got ready with as much expedition as zobeide could have wished, and then conveyed by the old lady herself into fetnah's bed-chamber, where she dressed it like a dead body, and put it into a coffin. then mesrour, who was himself deceived by it, caused the coffin and the representation of fetnah to be carried away, and buried with the usual ceremonies in the place appointed by zobeide, the favourite's women weeping and lamenting, she who had given her the lemonade setting them an example by her cries and lamentations. that very day zobeide sent for the architect of the palace, and, according to orders, the mausoleum was finished in a short time. such potent princesses as the consort of a monarch, whose power extended from east to west, are always punctually obeyed in whatsoever they command. she soon put on mourning with all the court; so that the news of fetnah's death was quickly spread over the city. ganem was one of the last who heard of it; for, as i have before observed, he hardly ever went abroad. being, however, at length informed of it, "madam," said he to the caliph's fair favourite, "you are supposed in bagdad to be dead, and i do not question but that zobeide herself believes it. i bless heaven that i am the cause, and the happy witness of your being alive; would to god, that, taking advantage of this false report, you would share my fortune, and go far from hence to reign in my heart! but whither does this pleasing transport carry me? i do not consider that you are born to make the greatest prince in the world happy; and that only haroon al rusheed is worthy of you. supposing you could resolve to give him up for me, and that you would follow me, ought i to consent? no, it is my part always to remember, â��that what belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.'" the lovely fetnah, though moved by the tenderness of the passion he expressed, yet prevailed with herself not to encourage it. "my lord," said she to him, "we cannot obstruct the momentary triumph of zobeide. i am not surprised at the artifice she uses to conceal her guilt: but let her go on; i flatter myself that sorrow will soon follow her triumph. the caliph will return, and we shall find the means privately to inform him of all that has happened. in the mean time let us be more cautious than ever, that she may not know i am alive. i have already told you the consequences to be apprehended from such a discovery." at the end of three months the caliph returned to bagdad with glory, having vanquished all his enemies. he entered the palace with impatience to embrace fetnah; but was amazed to see all the officers in mourning; and his concern was redoubled when, approaching the apartment of zobeide, he beheld that princess coming to meet him in mourning with all her women. he immediately asked her the cause, with much agitation. "commander of the believers," answered zobeide, "i am in mourning for your slave fetnah; who died so suddenly that it was impossible to apply any remedy to her disorder." she would have proceeded, but the caliph did not give her time, being so agitated at the news, that he uttered a feeble exclamation, and fainted. on recovering himself, he, with a feeble voice, which sufficiently expressed his extreme grief, asked where his dear fetnah had been buried. "sir," said zobeide, "i myself took care of her funeral, and spared no cost to make it magnificent. i have caused a marble mausoleum to be built over her grave, and will attend you thither if you desire." the caliph would not permit zobeide to take that trouble, but contented himself to have mesrour to conduct him. he went thither just as he was, in his camp dress. when he saw the tomb, the wax- lights round it, and the magnificence of the mausoleum, he was amazed that zobeide should have performed the obsequies of her rival with so much pomp; and being naturally of a jealous temper, suspected his wife's generosity and fancied his mistress might perhaps be yet alive; that zobeide, taking advantage of his long absence, might have turned her out of the palace, ordering those she had entrusted to conduct her, to convey her so far off that she might never more be heard of. this was all he suspected; for he did not think zobeide wicked enough to have attempted the life of his favourite. the better to discover the truth himself, he ordered the tomb to be removed, and caused the grave and the coffin to be opened in his presence; but when he saw the linen wrapped round the wooden image, he durst not proceed any farther. this devout caliph thought it would be a sacrilegious act to suffer the body of the dead lady to be touched; and this scrupulous fear prevailed over his love and curiosity. he doubted not of fetnah's death. he caused the coffin to be shut up again, the grave to be filled, and the tomb to be made as it was before. the caliph thinking himself obliged to pay some respect to the grave of his favourite, sent for the ministers of religion, the officers of the palace, and the readers of the koraun; and, whilst they were collecting together, he remained in the mausoleum, moistening with his tears the marble that covered the phantom of his mistress. when all the persons he had sent for were come, he stood before the tomb, and recited long prayers; after which the readers of the koraun read several, chapters. the same ceremony was performed every day for a whole month, morning and evening, the caliph being always present, with the grand vizier, and the principal officers of the court, all of them in mourning, as well as the caliph himself, who all the time ceased not to honour the memory of fetnah with his tears, and would not hear of any business. the last day of the month, the prayers and reading of the koraun lasted from morning till break of day the next morning. the caliph, being tired with sitting up so long, went to take some rest in his apartment, and fell asleep upon a sofa, between two of the court ladies, one of them sitting at the bed's-head, and the other at the feet, who, whilst he slept, were working some embroidery, and observed a profound silence. she who sat at the bed's-head, and whose name was nouron-nihar, perceiving the caliph was asleep, whispered to the other, called nagmatos sohi,"there is great news! the commander of the believers our master will be overjoyed when he awakes, and hears what i have to tell him; fetnah is not dead, she is in perfect health." "o heavens!" cried nagmatos sohi, in a transport of joy, "is it possible, that the beautiful, the charming, the incomparable fetnah should be still among the living?" she uttered these words with so much vivacity, and so loud, that the caliph awoke. he asked why they had disturbed his rest? "alas! my sovereign lord," answered the slave, "pardon me this indiscretion; i could not without transport hear that fetnah is still alive; it caused such emotion in me, as i could not suppress." "what then is become of her," demanded the caliph, "if she is not dead?" "chief of the believers," replied the other, "i this evening received a note from a person unknown, written with fetnah's own hand; she gives me an account of her melancholy adventure, and orders me to acquaint you with it. i thought fit, before i fulfilled my commission, to let you take some few moments' rest, believing you must stand in need of it, after your fatigue; and----" "give me that note," said the caliph, interrupting her eagerly, "you were wrong to defer delivering it to me." the slave immediately presented to him the note, which he opened with much impatience, and in it fetnah gave a particular account of all that had befallen her, but enlarged a little too much on the attentions of ganem. the caliph, who was naturally jealous, instead of being provoked at the inhumanity of zobeide, was more concerned at the infidelity he fancied fetnah had been guilty of towards him. "is it so?" said he, after reading the note; "the perfidious wretch has been four months with a young merchant, and has the effrontery to boast of his attention to her. thirty days are past since my return to bagdad, and she now thinks of sending me news of herself. ungrateful creature! whilst i spend the days in bewailing her, she passes them in betraying me. go to, let us take vengeance of a bold woman, and that bold youth who affronts me." having spoken these words, the caliph rose, and went into a hall where he used to appear in public, and give audience to his court. the first gate was opened, and immediately all the courtiers, who were waiting without, entered. the grand vizier, came in, and prostrated himself before the throne. then rising, he stood before his master, who, in a tone which denoted he would be instantly obeyed, said to him, "jaaffier, your presence is requisite, for putting in execution an important affair i am about to commit to you. take four hundred men of my guards with you, and first inquire where a merchant of damascus lives whose name is ganem, the son of abou ayoub. when you have learnt this, repair to his house, and cause it to be razed to the foundations; but first secure ganem, and bring him hither, with my slave fetnah, who has lived with him these four months. i will punish her, and make an example of that insolent man, who has presumed to fail in respell to me." the grand vizier, having received this positive command, made a low prostration to the caliph, having his hand on his head, in token that he would rather lose it than disobey him, and departed. the first thing he did, was to send to the syndic of the dealers in foreign stuffs and silks, with strict orders to find out the house of the unfortunate merchant. the officer he sent with these orders brought him back word, that he had scarcely been seen for some months, and no man knew what could keep him at home, if he was there. the same officer likewise told jaaffier where ganem lived. upon this information, that minister, without losing time, went to the judge of the police, whom he caused to bear him company, and attended by a great number of carpenters and masons, with the necessary tools for razing a house, came to ganem's residence; and finding it stood detached from any other, he posted his soldiers round it, to prevent the young merchant's making his escape. fetnah and ganem had just dined: the lady was sitting at a window next the street; hearing a noise, she looked out through the lattice, and seeing the grand vizier, approach with his attendants, concluded she was their object as well as ganem. she perceived her note had been received, but had not expected such a consequence, having hoped that the caliph would have taken the matter in a different light. she knew not how long the prince had been returned from his campaign, and though she was acquainted with his jealous temper, yet apprehended nothing on that account. however, the sight of the grand vizier, and the soldiers made her tremble, not indeed for herself, but for ganem: she did not question clearing herself, provided the caliph would but hear her. as for ganem, whom she loved less out of gratitude than inclination, she plainly foresaw that his incensed rival might be apt to condemn him, on account of his youth and person. full of this thought, she turned to the young merchant and said, "alas! ganem, we are undone." ganem looked through the lattice, and was seized with dread, when he beheld the caliph's guards with their naked cimeters, and the grand vizier, with the civil magistrate at the head of them. at this sight he stood motionless, and had not power to utter one word. "ganem," said the favourite, "there is no time to be lost; if you love me, put on the habit of one of your slaves immediately, and disfigure your face and arms with soot. then put some of these dishes on your head; you may be taken for a servant belonging to the eating house, and they will let you pass. if they happen to ask you where the master of the house is, answer, without any hesitation, that he is within." "alas! madam," answered harem, concerned for himself than for fetnah, "you only take care of me, what will become of you?" "let not that trouble you," replied fetnah, "it is my part to look to that. as for what you leave in this house, i will take care of it, and i hope it will be one day faithfully restored to you, when the caliph's anger shall be over; but at present avoid his fury. the orders he gives in the heat of passion are always fatal." the young merchant's affliction was so great, that he knew not what course to pursue, and would certainly have suffered himself to be seized by the caliph's soldiers, had not fetnah pressed him to disguise himself. he submitted to her persuasions, put on the habit of a slave, daubed himself with soot, and as they were knocking at the door, all they could do was to embrace each other tenderly. they were both so overwhelmed with sorrow, that they could not utter a word. thus they parted. ganem went out with some dishes on his head: he was taken for the servant of an eating-house, and no one offered to stop him. on the contrary, the grand vizier, who was the first that met him, gave way and let him pass, little thinking that he was the man he looked for. those who were behind the grand vizier, made way as he had done, and thus favoured his escape he soon reached one of the gates, and got clear of the city. whilst he was making the best of his way from the grand vizier, that minister came into the room where fetnah was sitting on a sofa, and where there were many chests full of ganem's clothes, and of the money he had made of his goods. as soon as fetnah saw the grand vizier, come into the room, she fell upon her face, and continuing in that posture, as it were to receive her death; "my lord," said she, "i am ready to undergo the sentence passed against me by the commander of the believers; you need only make it known to me." "madam," answered jaaffier, falling also down till she had raised herself, "god forbid any man should presume to lay profane hands on you. i do not intend to offer you the least harm. i have no farther orders, than to intreat you will be pleased to go with me to the palace, and to conduct you thither, with the merchant that lives in this house." "my lord," replied the favourite, "let us go; i am ready to follow you. as for the young merchant, to whom i am indebted for my life, he is not here, he has been gone about a month since to damascus, whither his business called him, and has left these chests you see under my care, till he returns. i conjure you to cause them to be carried to the palace, and order them to be secured, that i may perform the promise i made him to take all possible care of them." "you shall be obeyed," said jaaffier, and immediately sent for porters, whom he commanded to take up the chests, and carry them to mesrour. as soon as the porters were gone, he whispered the civil magistrate, committing to him the care of seeing the house razed, but first to cause diligent search to be made for ganem, who, he suspected, might be hidden, notwithstanding what fetnah had told him. he then went out, taking her with him, attended by the two slaves who waited on her. as for ganem's slaves, they were not regarded; they ran in among the crowd, and it was not known what became of them. no sooner was jaaffier out of the house, than the masons and carpenters began to demolish it, and did their business so effectually, that in a few hours none of it remained. but the civil magistrate, not finding ganem, after the strictest search, sent to acquaint the grand vizier, before that minister reached the palace. "well," said haroon al rusheed, seeing him come into his closet, "have you executed my orders?" "yes," answered jaaffier "the house ganem lived in is levelled with the ground, and i have brought you your favourite fetnah; she is at your closet door, and i will call her in, if you command me. as for the young merchant, we could not find him, though every place has been searched, and fetnah affirms that he has been gone a month to damascus." never was passion equal to that of the caliph, when he heard that ganem had made his escape. as for his favourite, believing that she had been false to him, he would neither see nor speak to her. "mesrour," said he to the chief of the eunuchs, who was then present, "take the ungrateful and perfidious fetnah, and shut her up in the dark tower." that tower was within the precinct of the palace, and commonly served as a prison for the favourites who any way offended the caliph. mesrour being used to execute his sovereign's orders, however unjust, without making any answer, obeyed this with some reluctance. he signified his concern to fetnah, who was the more grieved because she had assured herself, that the caliph would not refuse to speak to her. she was obliged to submit to her hard fate, and to follow mesrour, who conducted her to the dark tower, and there left her. in the mean time, the enraged caliph dismissed his grand vizier, and only hearkening to his passion, wrote the following letter with his own hand to the king of syria, his cousin and tributary, who resided at damascus. "this letter is to inform you, that a merchant of damascus, whose name is ganem, the son of abou ayoub, has seduced the most amiable of my women slaves, called fetnah, and is fled. it is my will, that when you have read my letter, you cause search to be made for ganem, and secure him. when he is in your power, you shall cause him to be loaded with irons, and for three days successively let him receive fifty strokes of the bastinado. then let him be led through all parts of the city by a crier, proclaiming, â��this is the smallest punishment the commander of the believers inflicts on him that offends his lord, and debauches one of his slaves.' after that you shall send him to me under a strong guard. it is my will that you cause his house to be plundered; and after it has been razed, order the materials to be carried out of the city into the middle of the plain. besides this, if he has father, mother, sister, wives, daughters, or other kindred, cause them to be stripped; and when they are naked, expose them three days to the whole city, forbidding any person on pain of death to afford them shelter. i expect you will without delay execute my command." the caliph having written this letter, dispatched it by an express, ordering him to make all possible speed, and to take pigeons along with him, that he might the sooner hear what had been done by mahummud zinebi. the pigeons of bagdad have this peculiar quality, that from wherever they may be carried to, they return to bagdad as soon as they are set at liberty, especially when they have young ones. a letter rolled up is made fast under their wing, and by that means advice is speedily received from such places as it is desired. the caliph's courier travelled night and day, as his master's impatience required; and being come to damascus, went directly to king zinebi's palace, who sat upon his throne to receive the caliph's letter. the courier having delivered it, mahummud looking at it, and knowing the hand, stood up to shew his respect, kissed the letter, and laid it on his head, to denote he was ready submissively to obey the orders it contained. he opened it, and having read it, immediately descended from his throne, and without losing time, mounted on horseback with the principal officers of his household. he sent for the civil magistrate; and went directly to ganem's house, attended by all his guards. ganem's mother had never received any letter from him since he had left damascus; but the other merchants with whom he went to bagdad were returned, and all of them told her they had left her son in perfect however, seeing he did not return, she could not but be persuaded that he was dead, and was so fully convinced of this in her imagination, that she went into mourning. she bewailed ganem as if she had seen him die, and had herself closed his eyes: never mother expressed greater sorrow; and so far was she from seeking any comfort, that she delighted in indulging her grief. she had caused a dome to be built in the middle of the court belonging to her house, in which she placed a tomb. she spent the greatest part of the days and nights in weeping under that dome, as if her son had been buried there: her daughter bore her company, and mixed her tears with hers. it was now some time since they had thus devoted themselves to sorrow, and the neighbourhood, hearing their cries and lamentations, pitied such tender relations, when king mahummud zinebi knocked at the door, which being opened by a slave belonging to the family, he hastily entered the house, inquiring for ganem, the son of abou ayoub. though the slave had never seen king zinebi, she guessed by his retinue that he must be one of the principal officers of damascus. "my lord," said she, "that ganem you inquire for is dead; my mistress, his mother, is in that monument, lamenting him." the king, not regarding what was said by the slave, caused all the house to be diligently searched by his guards for ganem. he then advanced towards the monument, where he saw the mother and daughter sitting on a mat, and their faces appeared to him bathed in tears. these poor women immediately veiled themselves, as soon as they beheld a man at the door of the dome; but the mother, knowing the king of damascus, got up, and ran to cast herself at his feet. "my good lady," said he, "i was looking for your son, ganem, is he here?" "alas! sir," cried the mother, "it is a long time since he has ceased to be: would to god i had at least put him into his coffin with my own hands, and had had the comfort of having his bones in this monument! o my son, my dear son!" she would have said more, but was oppressed with such violent sorrow that she was unable to proceed. zinebi was moved; for he was a prince of a mild nature, and had much compassion for the sufferings of the unfortunate. "if ganem alone be guilty," thought he to himself, "why should the mother and the daughter, who are innocent, be punished? ah! cruel haroon al rusheed! what a mortification do you put upon me, in making me the executioner of your vengeance, obliging me to persecute persons who have not offended you." the guards whom the king had ordered to search for ganem, came and told him their search had been vain. he was fully convinced of this; the tears of those two women would not leave him any room to doubt. it distracted him to be obliged to execute the caliph's order. "my good lady," said he to ganem's mother, "quit this monument with your daughter, it is no place of safety for you." they went out, and he, to secure them against any insult, took off his own robe, and covered them both with it, bidding them keep close to him. he then ordered the populace to be let in to plunder, which was performed with the utmost rapaciousness, and with shouts which terrified ganem's mother and sister the more, because they knew not the reason. the rabble carried off the richest goods, chests full of wealth, fine persian and indian carpets, cushions covered with cloth of gold and silver, fine china ware; in short, all was taken away, till nothing remained but the bare walls of the house: and it was a dismal spectacle for the unhappy ladies, to see all their goods plundered, without knowing why they were so cruelly treated. when the house was plundered, mahummud ordered the civil magistrate to raze the house and monument; and while that was doing, he carried away the mother and daughter to his palace. there it was he redoubled their affliction, by acquainting them with the caliph's will. "he commands me," said he to them, "to cause you to be stripped, and exposed naked for three days to the view of the people. it is with the utmost reluctance that i execute such a cruel and ignominious sentence." the king delivered these words with such an air, as plainly made it appear his heart was really pierced with grief and compassion. though the fear of being dethroned prevented his following the dictates of his pity, yet he in some measure moderated the rigour of the caliph's orders, by causing large shifts, without sleeves, to be made of coarse horse-hair for ganem's mother, and his sister. the next day, these two victims of the caliph's rage were stripped of their clothes, and their horse-hair shifts put upon them; their head-dress was also taken away, so that their dishevelled hair hung floating on their backs. the daughter had the finest hair, and it hung down to the ground. in this condition they were exposed to the people. the civil magistrate, attended by his officers, were along with them, and they were conducted through the city. a crier went before them, who every now and then cried, "this is the punishment due to those who have drawn on themselves the indignation of the commander of the believers." whilst they walked in this manner along the streets of damascus, with their arms and feet naked, clad in such a strange garment, and endeavouring to hide their confusion under their hair, with which they covered their faces, all the people were dissolved in tears; more especially the ladies, considering them as innocent persons, as they beheld them through their lattice windows, and being particularly moved by the daughter's youth and beauty, they made the air ring with their shrieks, as they passed before their houses. the very children, frightened at those shrieks, and at the spectacle that occasioned them, mixed their cries with the general lamentation. in short, had an enemy been in damascus, putting all to fire and sword, the consternation could not have been greater. it was near night when this dismal scene concluded. the mother and daughter were both conducted back to king mahummud's palace. not being used to walk bare-foot, they were so spent, that they lay a long time in a swoon. the queen of damascus, highly afflicted at their misfortunes, notwithstanding the caliph's prohibition to relieve them, sent some of her women to comfort them, with all sorts of refreshments and wine, to recover their spirits. the queen's women found them still in a swoon, and almost past receiving any benefit by what they offered them. however, with much difficulty they were brought to themselves. ganem's mother immediately returned them thanks for their courtesy. "my good madam," said one of the queen's ladies to her, "we are highly concerned at your affliction, and the queen of syria, our mistress, has done us a favour in employing us to assist you. we can assure you, that princess is much afflicted at your misfortunes, as well as the king her consort." ganem's mother entreated the queen's women to return her majesty a thousand thanks from her and her daughter, and then directing her discourse to the lady who spoke to her, "madam," said she, "the king has not told me why the chief of the believers inflicts so many outrages on us: pray be pleased to tell us what crimes we have been guilty of." "my good lady," answered the other, "the origin of your misfortunes proceeds from your son ganem. he is not dead, as you imagine. he is accused of having seduced the beautiful fetnah, the best beloved of the caliph's favourites; but having, by flight, withdrawn himself from that prince's indignation, the punishment is fallen on you. all condemn the caliph's resentment, but all fear him; and you see king zinebi himself dares not resist his orders, for fear of incurring his displeasure. all we can do is to pity you, and exhort you to have patience." "i know my son," answered ganem's mother; "i have educated him carefully, and in that respect which is due to the commander of the believers. he cannot have committed the crime he is accused of; i dare answer for his innocence. but i will cease to murmur and complain, since it is for him that i suffer, and he is not dead. o ganem!" added she, in a transport of affection and joy, "my dear son ganem! is possible that you are still alive? i am no longer concerned for the loss of my fortune; and how harsh and unjust soever the caliph's orders may be, i forgive him, provided heaven has preserved my son. i am only concerned for my daughter; her sufferings alone afflict me; yet i believe her to be so good a sister as to follow my example." on hearing these words, the young lady, who till then had appeared insensible, turned to her mother, and clasping her arms about her neck, "yes, dear mother," said she, "i will always follow your example, whatever extremity your love for my brother may reduce us to." the mother and daughter thus interchanging their sighs and tears, continued a considerable time in such moving embraces. in the mean time the queen's women, who were much affected at the spectacle, omitted no persuasions to prevail with ganem's mother to take some sustenance. she ate a morsel out of complaisance, and her daughter did the like. the caliph having ordered that ganem's kindred should be exposed three days successively to the sight of the people, in the condition already mentioned, the unhappy ladies afforded the same spectacle the second time next day, from morning till night. but that day and the following, the streets, which at first had been full of people, were now quite empty. all the merchants, incensed at the ill usage of abou ayoub's widow and daughter, shut up their shops, and kept themselves close within their houses. the ladies, instead of looking through their lattice windows, withdrew into the back parts of their houses. there was not a person to be seen in the public places through which those unfortunate women were carried. it seemed as if all the inhabitants of damascus had abandoned their city. on the fourth day, the king resolving punctually to obey the caliph's orders, though he did not approve of them, sent criers into all quarters of the city to make proclamation, strictly commanding all the inhabitants of damascus, and strangers, of what condition soever, upon pain of death, and having their bodies cast to the dogs to be devoured, not to receive ganem's mother and sister into their houses, or give them a morsel of bread or a drop of water, and, in a word, not to afford them the least support, or hold the least correspondence with them. when the criers had performed what the king had enjoined them, that prince ordered the mother and the daughter to be turned out of the palace, and left to their choice to go where they thought fit. as soon as they appeared, all persons fled from them, so great an impression had the late prohibition made upon all. they easily perceived that every body shunned them; but not knowing the reason, were much surprised; and their amazement was the greater, when coming into any street, or among any persons, they recollected some of their best friends, who immediately retreated with as much haste as the rest. "what is the meaning of this," said ganem's mother; "do we carry the plague about us? must the unjust and barbarous usage we have received render us odious to our fellow-citizens? come, my child," added she, "let us depart from damascus with all speed; let us not stay any longer in a city where we are become frightful to our very friends." the two wretched ladies, discoursing in this manner, came to one of the extremities of the city, and retired to a ruined house to pass the night. thither some mussulmauns, out of charity and compassion, resorted to them after the day was shut in. they carried them provisions, but durst not stay to comfort them, for fear of being discovered, and punished for disobeying the caliph's orders. in the mean time king zinebi had let fly a pigeon to give the caliph an account of his exact obedience. he informed him of all that had been executed, and conjured him to direct what he would have done with ganem's mother and sister. he soon received the caliph's answer in the same way, which was, that he should banish them from damascus for ever. immediately the king of syria sent men to the old house, with orders to take the mother and daughter, and to conduct them three days' journey from damascus, and there to leave them, forbidding them ever to return to the city. zinebi's men executed their commission, but being less exact their master, in the strict performance of the caliph's orders, they in pity gave the wretched ladies some small pieces of money, and each of them a scrip, which they hung about their necks, to carry their provisions. in this miserable state they came to the first village. the peasants' wives flocked about them, and, as it appeared through their disguise that they were people of some condition, asked them what was the occasion of their travelling in a habit that did not seem to belong to them. instead of answering the question, they fell to weeping, which only served to heighten the curiosity of the peasants, and to move their compassion. ganem's mother told them what she and her daughter had endured; at which the good countrywomen were sensibly afflicted, and endeavoured to comfort them. they treated them as well as their poverty would permit, took off their horse-hair shifts, which were very uneasy to them, and put on them others which they gave them, with shoes, and something to cover their heads, and save their hair. having expressed their gratitude to those charitable women, jalib al koolloob and her mother departed from that village, taking short journeys towards aleppo. they used at dusk to retire near or into the mosques, where they passed the night on the mat, if there was any, or else on the bare pavement; and sometimes rested in the public places appointed for the use of travellers. as for sustenance, they did not want, for they often came to places where bread, boiled rice, and other provisions are distributed to all travellers who desire it. at length they came to aleppo, but would not stay there, and continuing their journey towards the euphrates, crossed the river, and entered mesopotamia, which they traversed as far as moussoul. thence, notwithstanding all they had endured, they proceeded to bagdad. that was the place they had fixed their thoughts upon, hoping to find ganem, though they ought not to have fancied that he was in a city where the caliph resided; but they hoped, because they wished it; their affection for him increasing instead of diminishing, with their misfortunes. their conversation was generally about him, and they inquired for him of all they met. but let us leave jalib al koolloob and her mother, and return to fetnah. she was still confined closely in the dark tower, since the day that had been so fatal to ganem and herself. however, disagreeable as her prison was to her, it was much less grievous than the thoughts of ganem's misfortune, the uncertainty of whose fate was a killing affliction. there was scarcely a moment in which she did not lament him. the caliph was accustomed to walk frequently at night within the enclosure of his palace, for he was the most inquisitive prince in the world, and sometimes, by those night-walks, came to the knowledge of things that happened in his court, which would otherwise never have reached his ear. one of those nights, in his walk, he happened to pass by the dark tower, and fancying he heard somebody talk, stops, and drawing near the door to listen, distinctly heard these words, which fetnah, whose thoughts were always on ganem, uttered with a loud voice: "o ganem, too unfortunate ganem! where are you at this time, whither has thy cruel fate led thee? alas! it is i that have made you wretched! why did you not let me perish miserably, rather than afford me your generous relief? what melancholy return have you received for your care and respect? the commander of the faithful, who ought to have rewarded, persecutes you; and in requital for having always regarded me as a person reserved for his bed, you lose your fortune, and are obliged to seek for safety in flight. o caliph, barbarous caliph, how can you exculpate yourself, when you shall appear with ganem before the tribunal of the supreme judge, and the angels shall testify the truth before your face? all the power you are now invested with, and which makes almost the whole world tremble, will not prevent your being condemned and punished for your violent and unjust proceedings." here fetnah ceased her complaints, her sighs and tears putting a stop to her utterance. this was enough to make the caliph reflect. he plainly perceived, that if what he had heard was true, his favourite must be innocent, and that he had been too hasty in giving such orders against ganem and his family. being resolved to be rightly informed in an affair which so nearly concerned him in point of equity, on which he valued himself, he immediately returned to his apartment, and that moment ordered mesrour to repair to the dark tower, and bring fetnah before him. by this command, and much more by the caliph's manner of speaking, the chief of the eunuchs guessed that his master designed to pardon his favourite, and take her to him again. he was overjoyed at the thought, for he respected fetnah, and had been much concerned at her disgrace; therefore flying instantly to the tower, "madam," said he to the favourite, with such an air as expressed his satisfaction, "be pleased to follow me; i hope you will never more return to this melancholy abode: the commander of the faithful wishes to speak with you, and i draw from this a happy omen." fetnah followed mesrour, who conducted her into the caliph's closet. she prostrated herself before him, and so continued, her face bathed in tears. "fetnah," said the caliph, without bidding her rise, "i think you charge me with violence and injustice. who is he, that, notwithstanding the regard and respell he had for me, is in a miserable condition? speak freely, you know the natural goodness of my disposition, and that i love to do justice." by these words the favourite was convinced that the caliph had heard what she had said, and availed herself of so favourable an opportunity to clear ganem. "commander of the true believers," said she, "if i have let fall any word that is not agreeable to your majesty, i most humbly beseech you to forgive me; but he whose innocence and wretched state you desire to be informed of is ganem, the unhappy son of abou ayoub, late a rich merchant of damascus. he saved my life from a grave, and afforded me a sanctuary in his house. i must own, that, from the first moment he saw me, he perhaps designed to devote himself to me, and conceived hopes of engaging me to admit his love. i guessed at this, by the eagerness which he shewed in entertaining me, and doing me all the good offices i so much wanted under the circumstances i was then in; but as soon as he heard that i had the honour to belong to you, â��ah, madam,' said he, â��that which belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.' from that moment, i owe this justice to his virtue to declare, his behaviour was always suitable to his words. you, commander of the true believers, well know with what rigour you have treated him, and you will answer for it before the tribunal of god." the caliph was not displeased with fetnah for the freedom of these words; "but may i," said he, "rely on the assurance you give me of ganem's virtue?" "yes," replied fetnah, "you may. i would not for the world conceal the truth from you; and to prove to you that i am sincere, i must make a confession, which perhaps may displease you, but i beg pardon of your majesty beforehand." "speak, daughter," said haroon al rusheed, "i forgive you all, provided you conceal nothing from me." "well, then," replied fetnah, "let me inform you, that ganem's respectful behaviour, joined to all the good offices he did me, gained him my esteem. i went further yet: you know the tyranny of love: i felt some tender inclination rising in my breast. he perceived it; but far from availing himself of my frailty, and notwithstanding the flame which consumed him, he still remained steady in his duty, and all that his passion could force from him were the words i have already repeated to your majesty, â��that which belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.'" this ingenuous confession might have provoked any other man than the caliph; but it completely appeased that prince. he commanded her to rise, and making her sit by him, "tell me your story," said he, "from the beginning to the end." she did so, with artless simplicity, passing slightly over what regarded zobeide, and enlarging on the obligations she owed to ganem; but above all, she highly extolled his discretion, endeavouring by that means to make the caliph sensible that she had been under the necessity of remaining concealed in ganem's house, to deceive zobeide. she concluded with the young merchant's escape, which she plainly told the caliph she had compelled him to, that he might avoid his indignation. when she had done speaking, the caliph said to her, "i believe all you have told me; but why was it so long before you let me hear from you? was there any need of staying a whole month after my return, before you sent me word where you were?" "commander of the true believers," answered fetnah, "ganem went abroad so very seldom, that you need not wonder we were not the first that heard of your return. besides, ganem, who took upon him to deliver the letter i wrote to nouron nihar, was a long time before he could find an opportunity of putting it into her own hands." "it is enough, fetnah," replied the caliph; "i acknowledge my fault, and would willingly make amends for it, by heaping favours on the young merchant of damascus. consider, therefore, what i can do for him. ask what you think fit, and i will grant it." hereupon the favourite fell down at the caliph's feet, with her face to the ground; and rising again, said, "commander of the true believers, after returning your majesty thanks for ganem, i most humbly entreat you to cause it to be published throughout your do minions, that you pardon the son of abou ayoub, and that he may safely come to you." "i must do more," rejoined the prince, "in requital for having saved your life, and the respect he has strewn for me, to make amends for the loss of his fortune. in short, to repair the wrong i have done to himself and his family, i give him to you for a husband." fetnah had no words expressive enough to thank the caliph for his generosity: she then withdrew into the apartment she had occupied before her melancholy adventure. the same furniture was still in it, nothing had been removed; but that which pleased her most was, to find ganem's chests and bales, which mesrour had received the caliph's orders to convey thither. the next day haroon al rusheed ordered the grand vizier, to cause proclamation to be made throughout all his dominions, that he pardoned ganem the son of abou ayoub; but this proved of no effect, for a long time elapsed without any news of the young merchant. fetnah concluded, that he had not been able to survive the pain of losing her. a dreadful uneasiness seized her mind; but as hope is the last thing which forsakes lovers, she entreated the caliph to give her leave to seek for ganem herself; which being granted, she took a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and went one morning out of the palace, mounted on a mule from the caliph's stables, very richly caparisoned. black eunuchs attended her, with a hand placed on each side of the mule's back. thus she went from mosque to mosque, bestowing her alms among the devotees of the mahummedan religion, desiring their prayers for the accomplishment of an affair, on which the happiness of two persons, she told them, depended. she spend the whole day and the thousand pieces of gold in giving alms at the mosques, and returned to the palace in the evening. the next day she took another purse of the same value, and in the like equipage as the day before, went to the square of the jewellers' shops, and stopping at the gateway without alighting, sent one of her black eunuchs for the syndic or chief of them. the syndic, who was a most charitable man, and spent above two- thirds of his income in relieving poor strangers, sick or in distress, did not make fetnah wait, knowing by her dress that she was a lady belonging to the palace. "i apply myself to you," said she, putting the purse into his hands, "as a person whose piety is celebrated throughout the city. i desire you to distribute that gold among the poor strangers you relieve, for i know you make it your business to assist those who apply to your charity. i am also satisfied that you prevent their wants, and that nothing is more grateful to you, than to have an opportunity of relieving their misery." "madam," answered the syndic, "i shall obey your commands with pleasure; but if you desire to exercise your charity in person, and will be pleased to step to my house, you will there see two women worthy of your compassion; i met them yesterday as they were coming into the city; they were in a deplorable condition, and it moved me the more, because i thought they were persons of rank. through all the rags that covered them, notwithstanding the impression the sun has made on their faces, i discovered a noble air, not to be commonly found in those people i relieve. i carried them both to my house, and delivered them to my wife, who was of the same opinion with me. she caused her slaves to provide them good beds, whilst she herself led them to our warm bath, and gave them clean linen. we know not as yet who they are, because we wish to let them take some rest before we trouble them with our questions." fetnah, without knowing why, felt a curiosity to see them. the syndic would have conducted her to his house, but she would not give him the trouble, and was satisfied that a slave should shew her the way. she alighted at the door, and followed the syndic's slave, who was gone before to give notice to his mistress, she being then in the chamber with jalib al koolloob and her mother, for they were the persons the syndic had been speaking of to fetnah. the syndic's wife being informed by the slave, that a lady from the palace was in her house, was hastening to meet her; but fetnah, who had followed the slave, did not give her time: on her coming into the chamber, the syndic's wife prostrated herself before her, to express the respect she had for all who belonged to the caliph. fetnah raised her up, and said, "my good lady, i desire you will let me speak with those two strangers that arrived at bagdad last night." "madam," answered the syndic's wife, "they lie in those beds you see by each other." the favourite immediately drew near the mother's, and viewing her carefully, "good woman," said she, "i come to offer you my assistance: i have considerable interest in this city, and may be of service to you and your companion." "madam," answered ganem's mother, "i perceive by your obliging offers, that heaven has not quite forsaken us, though we had cause to believe it had, after so many misfortunes as have befallen us." having uttered these words, she wept so bitterly that fetnah and the syndic's wife could not forbear letting fall some tears. the caliph's favourite having dried up hers, said to ganem's mother, "be so kind as to tell us your misfortunes, and recount your story. you cannot make the relation to any persons better disposed to use all possible means to comfort you." "madam," replied abou ayoub's disconsolate widow, "a favourite of the commander of the true believers, a lady whose name is fetnah, is the occasion of all our misfortunes." these words were like a thunderbolt to the favourite; but suppressing her agitation and concern, she suffered ganem's mother to proceed in the following manner: "i am the widow of abou ayoub, a merchant of damascus; i had a son called ganem, who, coming to trade at bagdad, has been accused of carrying off fetnah. the caliph caused search to be made for him every where, to put him to death; but not finding him, he wrote to the king of damascus, to cause our house to be plundered and razed, and to expose my daughter and myself three days successively, naked, to the populace, and then to banish us out of syria for ever. but how unworthy soever our usage has been, i should be still comforted were my son alive, and i could meet with him. what a pleasure would it be for his sister and me to see him again! embracing him we should forget the loss of our property, and all the evils we have suffered on his account. alas! i am fully persuaded he is only the innocent cause of them; and that he is no more guilty towards the caliph than his sister and myself." "no doubt of it," said fetnah, interrupting her there, "he is no more guilty than you are; i can assure you of his innocence; for i am that very fetnah, you so much complain of; who, through some fatality in my stars, have occasioned you so many misfortunes. to me you must impute the loss of your son, if he is no more; but if i have occasioned your misfortune, i can in some measure relieve it. i have already justified ganem to the caliph; who has caused it to be proclaimed throughout his dominions, that he pardons the son of abou ayoub; and doubt not he will do you as much good as he has done you injury. you are no longer his enemies. he waits for ganem, to requite the service he has done me, by uniting our fortunes; he gives me to him for his consort, therefore look on me as your daughter, and permit me to vow eternal duty and affection." "having so said, she bowed down on ganem's mother, who was so astonished that she could return no answer. fetnah held her long in her arms, and only left her to embrace the daughter, who, sitting up, held out her arms to receive her. when the caliph's favourite had strewn the mother and daughter all tokens of affection, as ganem's wife, she said to them, "the wealth ganem had in this city is not lost, it is in my apartment in the palace; but i know all the treasure of the world cannot comfort you without ganem, if i may judge of you by myself. blood is no less powerful than love in great minds; but why should we despair of seeing him again? we shall find him; the happiness of meeting with you makes me conceive fresh hopes. perhaps this is the last day of your sufferings, and the beginning of a greater felicity than you enjoyed in damascus, when ganem was with you." fetnah would have proceeded, but the syndic of the jewellers coming in interrupted her: "madam," said he to her, "i come from seeing a very moving object, it is a young man, whom a camel- driver had just carried to an hospital: he was bound with cords on a camel, because he had not strength enough to sit. they had already unbound him, and were carrying him into the hospital, when i happened to pass by. i went up to the young man, viewed him attentively, and fancied his countenance was not altogether unknown to me. i asked him some questions concerning his family and his country; but all the answers i could get were sighs and tears. i took pity on him, and being so much used to sick people, perceived that he had need to have particular care taken of him. i would not permit him to be put into the hospital; for i am too well acquainted with their way of managing the sick, and am sensible of the incapacity of the physicians. i have caused him to be brought to my own house, by my slaves; and they are now in a private room where i placed him, putting on some of my own linen, and treating him as they would do myself." fetnah's heart beat at these words of the jeweller, and she felt a sudden emotion, for which she could not account: "shew me," said she to the syndic, "into the sick man's room; i should be glad to see him." the syndic conducted her, and whilst she was going thither, ganem's mother said to jalib al koolloob, "alas! daughter, wretched as that sick stranger is, your brother, if he be living, is not perhaps in a more happy condition." the caliph's favourite coming into the chamber of the sick stranger, drew near the bed, in which the syndic's slaves had already laid him. she saw a young man, whose eyes were closed, his countenance pale, disfigured, and bathed in tears. she gazed earnestly on him, her heart beat, and she fancied she beheld ganem; but yet she would not believe her eyes. though she found something of ganem in the objets she beheld, yet in other respects he appeared so different, that she durst not imagine it was he that lay before her. unable, however, to withstand the earnest desire of being satisfied, "ganem," said she, with a trembling voice, "is it you i behold?" having spoken these words, she stopped to give the young man time to answer, but observing that he seemed insensible; "alas! ganem," added she, "it is not you that i address! my imagination being overcharged with your image, has given to a stranger a deceitful resemblance. the son of abou ayoub, however indisposed, would know the voice of fetnah." at the name of fetnah, ganem (for it was really he) opened his eyes, sprang up, and knowing the caliph's favourite; "ah! madam," said he, "by what miracle" he could say no more; such a sudden transport of joy seized him that he fainted away. fetnah and the syndic did all they could to bring him to himself; but as soon as they perceived he began to revive, the syndic desired the lady to withdraw, lest the sight of her should heighten his disorder. the young man having recovered, looked all around, and not seeing what he sought, exclaimed, "what is become of you, charming fetnah? did you really appear before my eyes, or was it only an illusion?" "no, sir," said the syndic, "it was no illusion. it was i that caused the lady to withdraw, but you shall see her again, as soon as you are in a condition to bear the interview. you now stand in need of rest, and nothing ought to obstruct your taking it. the situation of your affairs is altered, since you are, as i suppose, that ganem, in favour of whom the commander of the true believers has caused a proclamation to be made in bagdad, declaring, that he forgives him what is passed. be satisfied, for the present, with knowing so much; the lady, who just now spoke to you, will acquaint you with the rest, therefore think of nothing but recovering your health; i will contribute all in my power towards it." having spoke these words, he left ganem to take his rest, and went himself to provide for him such medicines as were proper to recover his strength, exhausted by hard living and toil. during this time fetnah was in the room with jalib al koolloob and her mother, where almost the same scene was acted over again; for when ganem's mother understood that the sick stranger whom the syndic had brought into his house was ganem himself, she was so overjoyed, that she also swooned away, and when, with the assistance of fetnah and the syndic's wife, she was again come to herself, she would have arisen to go and see her son; but the syndic coming in, hindered her, representing that ganem was so weak and emaciated, that it would endanger his life to excite in him those emotions, which must be the consequence of the unexpected sight of a beloved mother and sister. there was no occasion for the syndic's saying any more to ganem's mother; as soon as she was told that she could not converse with her son, without hazarding his life, she ceased insisting to go and see him. fetnah then said, "let us bless heaven for having brought us all together. i will return to the palace to give the caliph an account of these adventures, and tomorrow morning i will return to you." this said, she embraced the mother and the daughter, and went away. as soon as she came to the palace, she sent mesrour to request a private audience of the caliph, which was immediately granted; and being brought into the prince's closet, where he was alone, she prostrated herself at his feet, with her face on the ground, according to custom. he commanded her to rise, and having made her sit down, asked whether she had heard any news of ganem? "commander of the true believers," said she, "i have been so successful, that i have found him, and also his mother and sister." the caliph was curious to know how she had discovered them in so short a time, and she satisfied his inquiries, saying so many things in commendation of ganem's mother and sister, he desired to see them as well as the young merchant. though haroon al rusheed was passionate, and in his heat sometimes guilty of cruel actions; yet he was just, and the most generous prince in the world, when the storm of anger was over, and he was made sensible of the wrong he had done. having therefore no longer cause to doubt but that he had unjustly persecuted ganem and his family, and had publicly wronged them, he resolved to make them public satisfaction. "i am overjoyed," said he to fetnah, "that your search has proved so successful; it is a real satisfaction to me, not so much for your sake as for my own. i will keep the promise i have made you. you shall marry ganem, and i here declare you are no longer my slave; you are free. go back to that young merchant, and as soon as he has recovered his health, you shall bring him to me with his mother and sister." the next morning early fetnah repaired to the syndic of the jewellers, being impatient to hear of ganem's health, and tell the mother and daughter the good news she had for them. the first person she met was the syndic, who told her that ganem had rested well that night; and that his disorder proceeding altogether from melancholy, the cause being removed, he would soon recover his health. accordingly the son of abou ayoub was speedily much amended. rest, and the good medicines he had taken, but above all the different situation of his mind, had wrought so good an effect, that the syndic thought he might without danger see his mother, his sister, and his mistress, provided he was prepared to receive them; because there was ground to fear, that, not knowing his mother and sister were at bagdad, the sight of them might occasion too great surprise and joy. it was therefore resolved, that fetnah should first go alone into ganem's chamber, and then make a sign to the two other ladies to appear, when she thought it was proper. matters being so ordered, the syndic announced fetnah's coming to the sick man, who was so transported to see her, that he was again near fainting away, "well, ganem," said she, drawing near to his bed, "you have again found your fetnah, whom you thought you had lost for ever." "ah! madam," exclaimed he, eagerly interrupting her, "what miracle has restored you to my sight? i thought you were in the caliph's palace; he has doubtless listened to you. you have dispelled his jealousy, and he has restored you to his favour." "yes, my dear ganem," answered fetnah, "i have cleared myself before the commander of the true believers, who, to make amends for the wrong he has done you, bestows me on you for a wife." these last words occasioned such an excess of joy in ganem, that he knew not for a while how to express himself, otherwise than by that passionate silence so well known to lovers. at length he broke out in these words: "beautiful fetnah, may i give credit to what you tell me? may i believe that the caliph really resigns you to abou ayoub's son?" "nothing is more certain," answered the lady. "the caliph, who before caused search to be made for you, to take away your life, and who in his fury caused your mother and your sister to suffer a thousand indignities, desires now to see you, that he may reward the respect you had for him; and there is no question but that he will load your family with favours." ganem asked, what the caliph had done to his mother and sister, which fetnah told him; and he could not forbear letting fall some tears at the relation, notwithstanding the thoughts which arose in his mind at the prospect of being married to his mistress. but when fetnah informed him, that they were actually in bagdad, and in the same house with him, he appeared so impatient to see them, that the favourite could no longer defer giving him the satisfaction; and accordingly called them in. they were at the door waiting for that moment. they entered, went up to ganem, and embracing him in their turns, kissed him a thousand times. what tears were shed amidst those embraces! ganem's face was bathed with them, as well as his mother's and sisters; and fetnah let fall abundance. the syndic himself and his wife were so moved at the spectacle, that they could not forbear weeping, nor sufficiently admire the secret workings of providence which had brought together into their house four persons, whom fortune had so cruelly persecuted. when they had dried up their tears, ganem drew them afresh, by the recital of what he had suffered from the day he left fetnah, till the moment the syndic brought him to his house. he told them, that having taken refuge in a small village, he there fell sick; that some charitable peasants had taken care of him, but finding he did not recover, a camel-driver had undertaken to carry him to the hospital at bagdad. fetnah also told them all the uneasiness of her imprisonment, how the caliph, having heard her talk in the tower, had sent for her into his closet, and how she had cleared herself. in conclusion, when they had related what accidents had befallen them, fetnah said, "let us bless heaven, which has brought us all together again, and let us think of nothing but the happiness that awaits us. as soon as ganem has recovered his health, he must appear before the caliph, with his mother and sister; but i will go and make some provision for them." this said, she went to the palace, and soon returned with a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, which she delivered to the syndic, desiring him to buy apparel for the mother and daughter. the syndic, who was a man of a good taste, chose such as were very handsome, and had them made up with all expedition. they were finished in three days, and ganem finding himself strong enough, prepared to go abroad; but on the day he had appointed to pay his respects to the caliph, while he was making ready, with his mother and sister, the grand vizier, jaaffier came to the syndic's house. he had come on horseback, attended by a great number of officers. "sir," said he to ganem, as soon as he entered, "i am come from the commander of the true believers, my master and yours; the orders i have differ much from those which i do not wish to revive in your memory; i am to bear you company, and to present you to the caliph, who is desirous to see you." ganem returned no other answer to the vizier's compliment, than by profoundly bowing his head, and then mounted a horse brought from the caliph's stables, which he managed very gracefully. the mother and daughter were mounted on mules belonging to the palace, and whilst fetnah on another mule led them by a bye-way to the prince's court, jaaffier conducted ganem, and brought him into the hall of audience. the caliph was sitting on his throne, encompassed with emirs, viziers, and. other attendants and courtiers, arabs, persians, egyptians, africans, and syrians, of his own dominions, not to mention strangers. when the vizier had conducted ganem to the foot of the throne, the young merchant paid his obeisance, prostrating himself with his face to the ground, and then rising, made a handsome compliment in verse, which, though the effusion of the moment, met with the approbation of the whole court. after his compliment, the caliph caused him to approach, and said, "i am glad to see you, and desire to hear from your own mouth where you found my favourite, and all that you have done for her." ganem obeyed, and appeared so sincere, that the caliph was convinced of his veracity. he ordered a very rich vest to be given him, according to the custom observed towards those who are admitted to audience. after which he said to him, "ganem, i will have you live in my court." "commander of the true believers," answered the young merchant, "a slave has no will but his master's, on whom his life and fortune depend." the caliph was highly pleased with ganem's reply, and assigned him a considerable pension. he then descended from his throne, and causing only ganem and the grand vizier, follow him, retired into his own apartment. not questioning but that fetnah was in waiting, with abou ayoub's widow and daughter, he caused them to be called in. they prostrated themselves before him: he made them rise; and was so charmed by jalib al koolloob's beauty, that, after viewing her very attentively, he said, "i am so sorry for having treated your charms so unworthily, that i owe them such a satisfaction as may surpass the injury i have done. i take you to wife; and by that means shall punish zobeide, who shall become the first cause of your good fortune, as she was of your past sufferings. this is not all," added he, turning towards ganem's mother; "you are still young, i believe you will not disdain to be allied to my grand vizier, i give you to jaaffier, and you, fetnah, to ganem. let a cauzee and witnesses be called, and the three contracts be drawn up and signed immediately." ganem would have represented to the caliph, that it would be honour enough for his sister to be one of his favourites; but he was resolved to marry her. haroon thought this such an extraordinary story, that he ordered his historiographer to commit it to writing with all its circumstances. it was afterwards laid up in his library, and many copies being transcribed, it became public. end of volume . this ebook was produced by jc byers. text scanned by jc byers and proofread by the distributed proofers. the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume iv. the story of the enchanted horse the story of prince ahmed, and the fairy perie banou the story of the sisters who envied their younger sister story of the three sharpers and the sultan the adventures of the abdicated sultan history of mahummud, sultan of cairo story of the first lunatic story of the second lunatic story of the retired sage and his pupil, related to the sultan by the second lunatic story of the broken-backed schoolmaster story of the wry-mouthed schoolmaster story of the sisters and the sultana their mother story of the bang-eater and the cauzee story of the bang-eater and his wife the sultan and the traveller mhamood al hyjemmee the koord robber story of the husbandman story of the three princes and enchanting bird story of a sultan of yemen and his three sons story of the first sharper in the cave history of the sultan of hind story of the fisherman's son story of abou neeut and abou neeuteen; or, the well-intentioned and the double-minded adventure of a courtier, related by himself to his parton, an ameer of egypt story of the prince of sind, and fatima, daughter of amir bin naomaun story of the lovers of syria; or, the heroine story of hyjauje, the tyrannical governor of coufeh, and the young syed story of ins alwujjood and wird al ikmaun, daughter of ibrahim, vizier to sultan shamikh the adventures of mazin of khorassaun story of the sultan the dervish, and the barber's son adventures of aleefa daughter of mherejaun sultan of hind, and eusuff, son of sohul, sultan of sind adventures of the three princes, sons of the sultan of china story of the good vizier unjustly imprisoned story of the lady of cairo and her four gallants the cauzee's story story of the merchant, his daughter, and the prince of eerauk adventures of the cauzee, his wife, &c the sultan's story of himself conclusion the story of the enchanted horse. the nooroze, or the new day, which is the first of the year and spring, is observed as a solemn festival throughout all persia, which has been continued from the time of idolatry; and our prophet's religion, pure as it is, and true as we hold it, has not been able to abolish that heathenish custom, and the superstitious ceremonies which are observed, not only in the great cities, but celebrated with extraordinary rejoicings in every little town, village, and hamlet. but the rejoicings are the most splendid at the court, for the variety of new and surprising spectacles, insomuch that strangers are invited from the neighbouring states, and the most remote parts, by the rewards and liberality of the sovereign, towards those who are the most excellent in their invention and contrivance. in short, nothing in the rest of the world can compare with the magnificence of this festival. one of these festival days, after the most ingenious artists of the country had repaired to sheerauz, where the court then resided, had entertained the king and all the court with their productions, and had been bountifully and liberally rewarded according to their merit and to their satisfaction by the monarch; when the assembly was just breaking up, a hindoo appeared at the foot of the throne, with an artificial horse richly caparisoned, and so naturally imitated, that at first sight he was taken for a living animal. the hindoo prostrated himself before the throne; and pointing to the horse, said to the emperor, "though i present myself the last before your majesty, yet i can assure you that nothing shewn to-day is so wonderful as this horse, on which i beg your majesty would be pleased to cast your eyes." "i see nothing more in the horse," said the emperor, "than the natural resemblance the workman has given him; which the skill of another workman may possibly execute as well or better." "sir," replied the hindoo, "it is not for his outward form and appearance that i recommend my horse to your majesty's examination as wonderful, but the use to which i can apply him, and which, when i have communicated the secret to them, any other persons may make of him. whenever i mount him, be it where it may, if i wish to transport myself through the air to the most distant part of the world, i can do it in a very short time. this, sir, is the wonder of my horse; a wonder which nobody ever heard speak of, and which i offer to shew your majesty, if you command me." the emperor of persia, who was fond of every thing that was curious, and notwithstanding the many prodigies of art he had seen had never beheld or heard of anything that came up to this, told the hindoo, that nothing but the experience of what he asserted could convince him: and that he was ready to see him perform what he had promised. the hindoo instantly put his foot into the stirrup, mounted his horse with admirable agility, and when he had fixed himself in the saddle, asked the emperor whither he pleased to command him. about three leagues from sheerauz there was a lofty mountain discernible from the large square before the palace, where the emperor, his court, and a great concourse of people, then were. "do you see that mountain?" said the emperor, pointing to it; "it is not a great distance from hence, but it is far enough to judge of the speed you can make in going and returning. but because it is not possible for the eye to follow you so far, as a proof that you have been there, i expect that you will bring me a branch of a palm-tree that grows at the bottom of the hill." the emperor of persia had no sooner declared his will than the hindoo turned a peg, which was in the hollow of the horse's neck, just by the pummel of the saddle; and in an instant the horse rose off the ground and carried his rider into the air with the rapidity of lightning to such a height, that those who had the strongest sight could not discern him, to the admiration of the emperor and all the spectators. within less than a quarter of an hour they saw him returning with the palm branch in his hand; but before he descended, he took two or three turns in the air over the spot, amid the acclamations of all the people; then alighted on the spot whence he had set off, without receiving the least shock from the horse to disorder him. he dismounted, and going up to the throne, prostrated himself, and laid the branch of the palm-tree at the feet of the emperor. the emperor, who had viewed with no less admiration than astonishment this unheard-of sight which the hindoo had exhibited, conceived a great desire to have the horse; and as he persuaded himself that he should not find it a difficult matter to treat with the hindoo, for whatever sum of money he should value it at, began to regard it as the most valuable thing in his treasury. "judging of thy horse by his outward appearance," said he to the hindoo, "i did not think him so much worth my consideration. as you have shewn me his merits, i am obliged to you for undeceiving me; and to prove to you how much i esteem it, i will purchase him of you, if he is to be sold." "sir," replied the hindoo, "i never doubted that your majesty, who has the character of the most liberal prince on earth, would set a just value on my work as soon as i had shewn you on what account he was worthy your attention. i also foresaw that you would not only admire and commend it, but would desire to have it. though i know his intrinsic value, and that my continuing master of him would render my name immortal in the world; yet i am not so fond of fame but i can resign him, to gratify your majesty; however, in making this declaration, i have another to add, without which i cannot resolve to part with him, and perhaps you may not approve of it. "your majesty will not be displeased," continued the hindoo, "if i tell you that i did not buy this horse, but obtained him of the inventor, by giving him my only daughter in marriage, and promising at the same time never to sell him; but if i parted with him to exchange him for something that i should value beyond all else." the hindoo was proceeding, when at the word exchange, the emperor of persia interrupted him. "i am willing," said he, "to give you whatever you may ask in exchange. you know my kingdom is large, and contains many great, rich, and populous cities; i will give you the choice of which you like best, in full sovereignty for life." this exchange seemed royal and noble to the whole court; but was much below what the hindoo had proposed to himself, who had raised his thoughts much higher. "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for the offer you make me," answered he, "and cannot thank you enough for your generosity; yet i must beg of you not to be displeased if i have the presumption to tell you, that i cannot resign my horse, but by receiving the hand of the princess your daughter as my wife: this is the only price at which i can part with my property." the courtiers about the emperor of persia could not forbear laughing aloud at this extravagant demand of the hindoo; but the prince firoze shaw, the eldest son of the emperor, and presumptive heir to the crown, could not hear it without indignation. the emperor was of a very different opinion, and thought he might sacrifice the princess of persia to the hindoo, to satisfy his curiosity. he remained however undetermined, considering what he should do. prince firoze shaw, who saw his father hesitated what answer to make, began to fear lest he should comply with the hindoo's demand, and regarded it as not only injurious to the royal dignity, and to his sister, but also to himself; therefore to anticipate his father, he said, "sir, i hope your majesty will forgive me for daring to ask, if it is possible your majesty should hesitate about a denial to so insolent a demand from such an insignificant fellow, and so scandalous a juggler? or give him reason to flatter himself a moment with being allied to one of the most powerful monarchs in the world? i beg of you to consider what you owe to yourself, to your own blood, and the high rank of your ancestors." "son," replied the emperor of persia, "i much approve of your remonstrance, and am sensible of your zeal for preserving the lustre of your birth; but you do not consider sufficiently the excellence of this horse; nor that the hindoo, if i should refuse him, may make the offer somewhere else, where this nice point of honour may be waived. i shall be in the utmost despair if another prince should boast of having exceeded me in generosity, and deprived me of the glory of possessing what i esteem as the most singular and wonderful thing in the world. i will not say i consent to grant him what he asked. perhaps he has not well considered his exorbitant demand: and putting my daughter the princess out of the question, i may make another agreement with him that will answer his purpose as well. but before i conclude the bargain with him, i should be glad that you would examine the horse, try him yourself, and give me your opinion." as it is natural for us to flatter ourselves in what we desire, the hindoo fancied, from what he had heard, that the emperor was not entirely averse to his alliance, and that the prince might become more favourable to him; therefore, he expressed much joy, ran before the prince to help him to mount, and shewed him how to guide and manage the horse. the prince mounted without the hindoo's assisting him; and no sooner had he got his feet in both stirrups, but without staying for the artist's advice, he turned the peg he had seen him use, when instantly the horse darted into the air, quick as an arrow shot out of a bow by the most adroit archer; and in a few moments the emperor his father and the numerous assembly lost sight of him. neither horse nor prince were to be seen. the hindoo, alarmed at what had happened, prostrated himself before the throne, and said, "your majesty must have remarked the prince was so hasty, that he would not permit me to give him the necessary instructions to govern my horse. from what he saw me do, he was ambitious of shewing that he wanted not my advice. he was too eager to shew his address, but knows not the way, which i was going to shew him, to turn the horse, and make him descend at the wish of his rider. therefore, the favour i ask of your majesty is, not to make me accountable for what accidents may befall him; you are too just to impute to me any misfortune that may attend him." this address of the hindoo much surprised and afflicted the emperor, who saw the danger his son was in to be inevitable, if, as the hindoo said, there was a secret to bring him back, different from that which carried him away; and asked, in a passion, why he did not call him the moment he ascended? "sir," answered the hindoo, "your majesty saw as well as i with what rapidity the horse flew away. the surprise i was then, and still am in, deprived me of the use of my speech; but if i could have spoken, he was got too far to hear me. if he had heard me, he knew not the secret to bring him back, which, through his impatience, he would not stay to learn. but, sir," added he, "there is room to hope that the prince, when he finds himself at a loss, will perceive another peg, and as soon as he turns that, the horse will cease to rise, and descend to the ground, when he may turn him to what place he pleases by guiding him with the bridle." notwithstanding all these arguments of the hindoo, which carried great appearance of probability, the emperor of persia was much alarmed at the evident danger of his son. "i suppose," replied he, "it is very uncertain whether my son may perceive the other peg, and make a right use of it; may not the horse, instead of lighting on the ground, fall upon some rock, or tumble into the sea with him?" "sir," replied the hindoo, "i can deliver your majesty from this apprehension, by assuring you, that the horse crosses seas without ever falling into them, and always carries his rider wherever he may wish to go. and your majesty may assure yourself, that if the prince does but find out the other peg i mentioned, the horse will carry him where he pleases. it is not to be supposed that he will stop any where but where he can find assistance, and make himself known." "be it as it may," replied the emperor of persia, "as i cannot depend upon the assurance you give me, your head shall answer for my son's life, if he does not return safe in three days' time, or i should hear that he is alive." he then ordered his officers to secure the hindoo, and keep him close prisoner; after which he retired to his palace in affliction that the festival of nooroze should have proved so inauspicious. in the mean time the prince was carried through the air with prodigious velocity; and in less than an hour's time had ascended so high, that he could not distinguish any thing on the earth, but mountains and plains seemed confounded together. it was then he began to think of returning, and conceived he might do this by turning the same peg the contrary way, and pulling the bridle at the same time. but when he found that the horse still rose with the same swiftness, his alarm was great. he turned the peg several times, one way and the other, but all in vain. it was then he grew sensible of his fault, in not having learnt the necessary precautions to guide the horse before he mounted. he immediately apprehended the great danger he was in, but that apprehension did not deprive him of his reason. he examined the horse's head and neck with attention, and perceived behind the right ear another peg, smaller than the other. he turned that peg, and presently perceived that he descended in the same oblique manner as he had mounted, but not so swiftly. night had overshadowed that part of the earth over which the prince was when he found out and turned the small peg; and as the horse descended, he by degrees lost sight of the sun, till it grew quite dark; insomuch that, instead of choosing what place he would go to, he was forced to let the bridle lie upon the horse's neck, and wait patiently till he alighted, though not without the dread lest it should be in the desert, a river, or the sea. at last the horse stopped upon some solid substance about midnight, and the prince dismounted very faint and hungry, having eaten nothing since the morning, when he came out of the palace with his father to assist at the festival. he found himself to be on the terrace of a magnificent palace, surrounded with a balustrade of white marble, breast high; and groping about, reached a staircase, which led down into an apartment, the door of which was half open. few but prince firoze shaw would have ventured to descend those stairs dark as it was, and in the danger he exposed himself to from friends or foes. but no consideration could stop him. "i do not come," said he to himself, "to do anybody harm; and certainly, whoever meets or sees me first, and finds that i have no arms in my hands, will not attempt any thing against my life, before they hear what i have to say for myself." after this reflection, he opened the door wider, without making any noise, went softly down the stairs, that he might not awaken anybody; and when he came to a landing-place on the staircase, found the door of a great hall, that had a light in it, open. the prince stopped at the door, and listening, heard no other noise than the snoring of some people who were fast asleep. he advanced a little into the room, and by the light of a lamp saw that those persons were black eunuchs, with naked sabres laid by them; which was enough to inform him that this was the guard-chamber of some sultan or princess; which latter it proved to be. in the next room to this the princess lay, as appeared by the light, the door being open, through a silk curtain, which drew before the door-way, whither prince firoze shaw advanced on tip-toe, without waking the eunuchs. he drew aside the curtain, went in, and without staying to observe the magnificence of the chamber, gave his attention to something of greater importance. he saw many beds; only one of them on a sofa, the rest on the floor. the princess slept in the first, and her women in the others. this distinction was enough to direct the prince. he crept softly towards the bed, without waking either the princess or her women, and beheld a beauty so extraordinary, that he was charmed, and inflamed with love at the first sight. "o heavens!" said he to himself, "has my fate brought me hither to deprive me of my liberty, which hitherto i have always preserved? how can i avoid certain slavery, when those eyes shall open, since, without doubt, they complete the lustre of this assemblage of charms! i must quickly resolve, since i cannot stir without being my own murderer; for so has necessity ordained." after these reflections on his situation, and on the princess's beauty, he fell on his knees, and twitching gently the princess's sleeve, pulled it towards him. the princess opened her eyes, and seeing a handsome man on his knees, was in great surprise; yet seemed to shew no sign of fear. the prince availed himself of this favourable moment, bowed his head to the ground, and rising said, "beautiful princess, by the most extraordinary and wonderful adventure, you see at your feet a suppliant prince, son of the emperor of persia, who was yesterday morning in his court, at the celebration of a solemn festival, but is now in a strange country, in danger of his life, if you have not the goodness and generosity to afford him your assistance and protection. these i implore, adorable princess, with confidence that you will not refuse me. i have the more ground to persuade myself, as so much beauty and majesty cannot entertain inhumanity." the personage to whom prince firoze shaw so happily addressed himself was the princess of bengal, eldest daughter of the rajah of that kingdom, who had built this palace at a small distance from his capital, whither she went to take the benefit of the country air. after she had heard the prince with all the candour he could desire, she replied with equal goodness, "prince, you are not in a barbarous country; take courage; hospitality, humanity, and politeness are to be met with in the kingdom of bengal, as well as in that of persia. it is not merely i who grant you the protection you ask; you not only have found it in my palace, but will meet it throughout the whole kingdom; you may believe me, and depend on what i say." the prince of persia would have thanked the princess for her civility, and had already bowed down his head to return the compliment; but she would not give him leave to speak. "notwithstanding i desire," said she, "to know by what miracle you have come hither from the capital of persia in so short a time; and by what enchantment you have been able to penetrate so far as to come to my apartment, and to have evaded the vigilance of my guards; yet, as it is impossible but you must want some refreshment, and regarding you as a welcome guest, i will waive my curiosity, and give orders to my women to regale you, and shew you an apartment, that you may rest yourself after your fatigue, and be better able to satisfy my curiosity." the princess's women, who awoke at the first words which the prince addressed to the princess, were in the utmost surprise to see a man at the princess's feet, as they could not conceive how he had got thither, without waking them or the eunuchs. they no sooner comprehended the princess's intentions, than they were ready to obey her commands. they each took a wax candle, of which there were great numbers lighted up in the room; and after the prince had respectfully taken leave, went before and conducted him into a handsome chamber; where, while some were preparing the bed, others went into the kitchen; and notwithstanding it was so unseasonable an hour, they did not make prince firoze shaw wait long, but brought him presently a collation; and when he had eaten as much as he chose, removed the trays, and left him to taste the sweets of repose. in the mean time, the princess of bengal was so struck with the charms, wit, politeness, and other good qualities which she had discovered in her short interview with the prince, that she could not sleep: but when her women came into her room again asked them if they had taken care of him, if he wanted any thing; and particularly, what they thought of him? the women, after they had satisfied her as to the first queries, answered to the last: "we do not know what you may think of him, but, for our parts, we are of opinion you would be very happy if your father would marry you to so amiable a youth; for there is not a prince in all the kingdom of bengal to be compared to him; nor can we hear that any of the neighbouring princes are worthy of you." this flattering compliment was not displeasing to the princess of bengal; but as she had no mind to declare her sentiments, she imposed silence, telling them that they talked without reflection, bidding them return to rest, and let her sleep. the next day the princess took more pains in dressing and adjusting herself at the glass than she had ever done before. she never tired her women's patience so much, by making them do and undo the same thing several times. she adorned her head, neck, arms, and waist, with the finest and largest diamonds she possessed. the habit she put on was one of the richest stuffs of the indies, of a most beautiful colour, and made only for kings, princes, and princesses. after she had consulted her glass, and asked her women, one after another, if any thing was wanting to her attire, she sent to know, if the prince of persia was awake; and as she never doubted but that, if he was up and dressed, he would ask leave to come and pay his respects to her, she charged the messenger to tell him she would make him the visit, and she had her reasons for this. the prince of persia, who by the night's rest had recovered the fatigue he had undergone the day before, had just dressed himself, when he received the princess of bengal's compliments by one of her women. without giving the lady who brought the message leave to communicate it, he asked her, if it was proper for him then to go and pay his respects to the princess; and when the lady had acquitted herself of her errand, he replied, "it shall be as the princess thinks fit; i came here to be solely at her pleasure." as soon as the princess understood that the prince of persia waited for her, she immediately went to pay him a visit. after mutual compliments, the prince asking pardon for having waked the princess out of a profound sleep, and the princess inquiring after his health, and how he had rested, the princess sat down on a sofa, as did also the prince, though at some distance, out of respect. the princess then resuming the conversation, said, "i would have received you, prince, in the chamber in which you found me last night; but as the chief of my eunuchs has the liberty of entering it, and never comes further without my leave, from my impatience to hear the surprising adventure which procured me the happiness of seeing you, i chose to come hither, that we may not be interrupted; therefore i beg of you to give me that satisfaction, which will highly oblige me." prince firoze shaw, to gratify the princess of bengal, began with describing the festival of the nooroze, and mentioned the shows which had amazed the court of persia, and the people of sheerauz. afterwards he came to the enchanted horse; the description of which, with the account of the wonders which the hindoo had performed before so august an assembly, convinced the princess that nothing of that kind could be imagined more surprising in the world. "you may well think, charming princess," continued the prince of persia, "that the emperor my father, who cares not what he gives for any thing that is rare and curious, would be very desirous to purchase such a curiosity. he asked the hindoo what he would have for him; who made him an extravagant reply, telling him, that he had not bought him, but taken him in exchange for his only daughter, and could not part with him but on the like condition, which was to have his consent to marry the princess my sister. "the crowd of courtiers, who stood about the emperor my father, hearing the extravagance of this proposal, laughed loudly; i for my part conceived such great indignation, that i could not disguise it; and the more, because i saw that my father was doubtful what answer he should give. in short, i believe he would have granted him what he asked, if i had not represented to him how injurious it would be to his honour; yet my remonstrance could not bring him entirely to quit his design of sacrificing the princess my sister to so despicable a person. he fancied he should bring me over to his opinion, if once i could comprehend, as he imagined he did, the singular worth of this horse. with this view he would have me mount, and make a trial of him myself. "to please my father, i mounted the horse, and as soon as i was upon his back, put my hand on a peg, as i had seen the hindoo do before, to make the horse mount into the air, without stopping to take instructions of the owner for his guidance or descent. the instant i touched the peg, the horse ascended, as swift as an arrow shot out of a bow, and i was presently at such a distance from the earth that i could not distinguish any object. from the swiftness of the motion i was for some time unapprehensive of the danger to which i was exposed; when i grew sensible of it, i endeavoured to turn the peg the contrary way. but the experiment would not answer my expectation, for still the horse rose, and carried me a greater distance from the earth. at last i perceived another peg, which i turned, and then i grew sensible that the horse descended towards the earth, and presently found myself so surrounded with darkness, that it was impossible for me to guide the machine. in this condition i laid the bridle on his neck, and trusted myself to the will of god to dispose of my fate. "at length the horse stopped, i got off his back, and examining whereabouts i might be, perceived myself on the terrace of this palace, and found the door of the staircase half open. i came softly down the stairs, and seeing a door open, put my head into the room, perceived some eunuchs asleep, and a great light in an adjoining chamber. the necessity i was under, notwithstanding the inevitable danger to which i should be exposed, if the eunuchs had waked, inspired me with the boldness, or rather rashness, to cross that room to get to the other. "it is needless," added the prince, "to tell you the rest, since you are not unacquainted with all that passed afterwards. but i am obliged in duty to thank you for your goodness and generosity, and to beg of you to let me know how i may shew my gratitude. according to the law of nations i am already your slave, and cannot make you an offer of my person; there only remains my heart: but, alas! princess, what do i say? my heart is no longer my own, your charms have forced it from me, but in such a manner, that i will never ask for it again, but yield it up; give me leave, therefore, to declare you mistress both of my heart and inclination." these last words of the prince were pronounced with such an air and tone, that the princess of bengal never doubted of the effect she had expected from her charms; neither did she seem to resent the precipitate declaration of the prince of persia. her blushes served but to heighten her beauty, and render her more amiable in his eyes. as soon as she had recovered herself, she replied, "prince, you have given me sensible pleasure, by telling me your wonderful adventure. but, on the other hand, i can hardly forbear shuddering, when i think on the height you were in the air; and though i have the good fortune to see you here safe and well, i was in pain till you came to that part where the horse fortunately descended upon the terrace of my palace. the same thing might have happened in a thousand other places. i am glad that chance has given me the preference to the whole world, and of the opportunity of letting you know, that it could not have conducted you to any place where you could have been received with greater pleasure. "but, prince," continued she, "i should think myself offended, if i believed that the thought you mentioned of being my slave was serious, and that it did not proceed from your politeness rather than from a sincerity of sentiment; for, by the reception i gave you yesterday, you might assure yourself you are here as much at liberty as in the midst of the court of persia. "as to your heart," added the princess, in a tone which shewed nothing less than a refusal, "as i am persuaded that you have not lived so long without disposing of it, and that you could not fail of making choice of a princess who deserves it, i should be sorry to give you an occasion to be guilty of infidelity to her." prince firoze shaw would have protested that when he left persia he was master of his own heart: but, at that instant, one of the princess's ladies in waiting came to tell that a collation was served up. this interruption delivered the prince and princess from an explanation, which would have been equally embarrassing to both, and of which they stood in need. the princess of bengal was fully convinced of the prince of persia's sincerity; and the prince, though the princess had not explained herself, judged nevertheless from some words she had let fall, that he had no reason to complain. as the lady held the door open, the princess of bengal said to the prince, rising off her seat, as he did also from his, "i am not used to eat so early; but as i fancied you might have had but an indifferent supper last night, i ordered breakfast to be got ready sooner than ordinary." after this compliment she led him into a magnificent hall, where a cloth was laid covered with great plenty of choice and excellent viands; and as soon as they were seated, many beautiful slaves of the princess, richly dressed, began a most agreeable concert of vocal and instrumental music, which lasted the whole time of eating. this concert was so sweet and well managed, that it did not in the least interrupt the prince and princess's conversation. the prince served the princess with the choicest of every thing, and strove to outdo her in civility, both by words and actions, which she returned with many new compliments: and in this reciprocal commerce of civilities and attentions, love made a greater progress in both than a concerted interview would have promoted. when they rose, the princess conducted the prince into a large and magnificent saloon, embellished with paintings in blue and gold, and richly furnished; there they both sat down in a balcony, which afforded a most agreeable prospect into the palace garden, which prince firoze shaw admired for the vast variety of flowers, shrubs, and trees, which were full as beautiful as those of persia, but quite different. here taking the opportunity of entering into conversation with the princess, he said, "i always believed, madam, that no part of the world but persia afforded such stately palaces and beautiful gardens; but now i see, that other great monarchs know as well how to build mansions suitable to their power and greatness; and if there is a difference in the manner of building, there is none in the degree of grandeur and magnificence." "prince," replied the princess of bengal, "as i have no idea of the palaces of persia, i cannot judge of the comparison you have made of mine. but, however sincere you seem to be, i can hardly think it just, but rather incline to believe it a compliment: i will not despise my palace before you; you have too good an eye, too good a taste not to form a sound judgment. but i assure you, i think it very indifferent when i compare it with the king my father's, which far exceeds it for grandeur, beauty, and richness; you shall tell me yourself what you think of it, when you have seen it: for since a chance has brought you so nigh to the capital of this kingdom, i do not doubt but you will see it, and make my father a visit, that he may pay you all the honour due to a prince of your rank and merit." the princess flattered herself, that by exciting in the prince of persia a curiosity to see the capital of bengal, and to visit her father, the king, seeing him so handsome, wise, and accomplished a prince, might perhaps resolve to propose an alliance with him, by offering her to him as a wife. and as she was well persuaded she was not indifferent to the prince, and that he would be pleased with the proposal, she hoped to attain to the utmost of her wishes, and preserve all the decorum becoming a princess, who would appear resigned to the will of her king and father; but the prince of persia did not return her an answer according to her expectation. "princess," he replied, "the preference which you give the king of bengal's palace to your own is enough to induce me to believe it much exceeds it: and as to the proposal of my going and paying my respects to the king your father, i should not only do myself a pleasure, but an honour. but judge, princess, yourself, would you advise me to present myself before so great a monarch, like an adventurer, without attendants, and a train suitable to my rank?" "prince," replied the princess, "let not that give you any pain; if you will but go, you shall want no money to have what train and attendants you please: i will furnish you; and we have traders here of all nations in great numbers, and you may make choice of as many as you please to form your household." prince firoze shaw penetrated the princess of bengal's intention, and this sensible mark of her love still augmented his passion, which, notwithstanding its violence, made him not forget his duty. without any hesitation he replied, "princess, i should most willingly accept of the obliging offer you make me, for which i cannot sufficiently shew my gratitude, if the uneasiness my father must feel on account of my absence did not prevent me. i should be unworthy of the tenderness he has always had for me, if i should not return as soon as possible to calm his fears. i know him so well, that while i have the happiness of enjoying the conversation of so lovely a princess, i am persuaded he is plunged into the deepest grief, and has lost all hopes of seeing me again. i trust you will do me the justice to believe, that i cannot, without ingratitude, and being guilty of a crime, dispense with going to restore to him that life, which a too long deferred return may have endangered already. "after this, princess," continued the prince of persia, "if you will permit me, and think me worthy to aspire to the happiness of becoming your husband, as my father has always declared that he never would constrain me in my choice, i should find it no difficult matter to get leave to return, not as a stranger, but as a prince, to contract an alliance with your father by our marriage; and i am persuaded that the emperor will be overjoyed when i tell him with what generosity you received me, though a stranger in distress." the princess of bengal was too reasonable, after what the prince of persia had said, to persist any longer in persuading him to pay a visit to the raja of bengal, or to ask any thing of him contrary to his duty and honour. but she was much alarmed to find he thought of so sudden a departure; fearing, that if he took his leave of her so soon, instead of remembering his promise, he would forget when he ceased to see her. to divert him from his purpose, she said to him, "prince, my intention of proposing a visit to my father was not to oppose so just a duty as that you mention, and which i did not foresee. but i cannot approve of your going so soon as you propose; at least grant me the favour i ask of a little longer acquaintance; and since i have had the happiness to have you alight in the kingdom of bengal, rather than in the midst of a desert, or on the top of some steep craggy rock, from which it would have been impossible for you to descend, i desire you will stay long enough to enable you to give a better account at the court of persia of what you may see here." the sole end the princess had in this request was, that the prince of persia, by a longer stay, might become insensibly more passionately enamoured of her charms; hoping thereby that his ardent desire of returning would diminish, and then he might be brought to appear in public, and pay a visit to the rajah of bengal. the prince of persia could not well refuse her the favour she asked, after the kind reception she had given him; and therefore politely complied with her request; and the princess's thoughts were directed to render his stay agreeable by all the amusements she could devise. nothing went forward for several days but concerts of music, accompanied with magnificent feasts and collations in the gardens, or hunting-parties in the vicinity of the palace, which abounded with all sorts of game, stags, hinds, and fallow deer, and other beasts peculiar to the kingdom of bengal, which the princess could pursue without danger. after the chase, the prince and princess met in some beautiful spot, where a carpet was spread, and cushions laid for their accommodation. there resting themselves, after their violent exercise, they conversed on various subjects. the princess took pains to turn the conversation on the grandeur, power, riches, and government of persia; that from the prince's replies she might have an opportunity to talk of the kingdom of bengal, and its advantages, and engage him to resolve to make a longer stay there; but she was disappointed in her expectations. the prince of persia, without the least exaggeration, gave so advantageous an account of the extent of the kingdom of persia, its magnificence and riches, its military force, its commerce by sea and land with the most remote parts of the world, some of which were unknown even to him; the vast number of large cities it contained, almost as populous as that which the emperor had chosen for his residence, where he had palaces furnished ready to receive him at all seasons of the year; so that he had his choice always to enjoy a perpetual spring; that before he had concluded, the princess found the kingdom of bengal to be very much inferior to that of persia in a great many respects. when he had finished his relation, he begged of her to entertain him with a description of bengal. the princess after much entreaty gave prince firoze shaw that satisfaction; but by lessening a great many advantages the kingdom of bengal was well known to have over that of persia, she betrayed the disposition she felt to accompany him, so that he believed she would consent at the first proposition he should make; but he thought it would not be proper to make it till he had shewed her so much deference as to stay with her long enough to make the blame fall on herself, in case she wished to detain him from returning to his father. two whole months the prince of persia abandoned himself entirely to the will of the princess of bengal, yielding to all the amusements she contrived for him, for she neglected nothing to divert him, as if she thought he had nothing else to do but to pass his whole life with her in this manner. but he now declared seriously he could not stay longer, and begged of her to give him leave to return to his father; repeating again the promise he had made her to come back soon in a style worthy of her and himself, and to demand her in marriage of the rajah of bengal. "and, princess," observed the prince of persia, "that you may not suspect the truth of what i say; and that by my asking this permission you may not rank me among those false lovers who forget the object of their affection as soon as absent from them; to shew that my passion is real, and not feigned, and that life cannot be pleasant to me when absent from so lovely a princess, whose love to me i cannot doubt is mutual; i would presume, were i not afraid you would be offended at my request, to ask the favour of taking you along with me." as the prince saw that the princess blushed at these words, without any mark of anger, he proceeded, and said, "princess, as for my father's consent, and the reception he will give you, i venture to assure you he will receive you with pleasure into his alliance; and as for the rajah of bengal, after all the love and tender regard he has always expressed for you, he must be the reverse of what you have described him, an enemy to your repose and happiness, if he should not receive in a friendly manner the embassy which my father will send to him for his approbation of our marriage." the princess returned no answer to this address of the prince of persia; but her silence, and eyes cast down, were sufficient to inform him that she had no reluctance to accompany him into persia. the only difficulty she felt was, that the prince knew not well enough how to govern the horse, and she was apprehensive of being involved with him in the same difficulty as when he first made the experiment. but the prince soon removed her fear, by assuring her she might trust herself with him, for that after the experience he had acquired, he defied the hindoo himself to manage him better. she thought therefore only of concerting measures to get off with him so secretly, that nobody belonging to the palace should have the least suspicion of their design. the next morning, a little before day-break, when all the attendants were asleep, they went upon the terrace of the palace. the prince turned the horse towards persia, and placed him where the princess could easily get up behind him; which she had no sooner done, and was well settled with her arms about his waist, for her better security, than he turned the peg, when the horse mounted into the air, and making his usual haste, under the guidance of the prince, in two hours time the prince discovered the capital of persia. he would not alight at the great square from whence he had set out, nor in the palace, but directed his course towards a pleasure-house at a little distance from the capital. he led the princess into a handsome apartment, where he told her, that to do her all the honour that was due to her, he would go and inform his father of their arrival, and return to her immediately. he ordered the housekeeper of the palace, who was then present, to provide the princess with whatever she had occasion for. after the prince had taken his leave of the princess, he ordered a horse to be saddled, which he mounted, after sending back the housekeeper to the princess, with orders to provide her refreshments immediately, and then set forwards for the palace. as he passed through the streets he was received with acclamations by the people, who were overjoyed to see him again. the emperor his father was giving audience, when he appeared before him in the midst of his council. he received him with ecstacy, and embracing him with tears of joy and tenderness, asked him, what was become of the hindoo's horse. this question gave the prince an opportunity of describing the embarrassment and danger he was in when the horse ascended into the air, and how he had arrived at last at the princess of bengal's palace, the kind reception he had met with there, and that the motive which had induced him to stay so long with her was the affection she had shewn him; also, that after promising to marry her, he had persuaded her to accompany him into persia. "but, sir," added the prince, "i felt assured that you would not refuse your consent, and have brought her with me on the enchanted horse, to a palace where your majesty often goes for your pleasure; and have left her there, till i could return and assure her that my promise was not in vain." after these words, the prince prostrated himself before the emperor to obtain his consent, when his father raised him up, embraced him a second time, and said to him, "son, i not only consent to your marriage with the princess of bengal, but will go and meet her myself, and thank her for the obligation i in particular have to her, and will bring her to my palace, and celebrate your nuptials this day." the emperor now gave orders for his court to make preparations for the princess's entry; that the rejoicings should be announced by the royal band of military music, and that the hindoo should be fetched out of prison and brought before him. when the hindoo was conducted before the emperor, he said to him, "i secured thy person, that thy life, though not a sufficient victim to my rage and grief, might answer for that of the prince my son, whom, however, thanks to god! i have found again: go, take your horse, and never let me see your face more." as the hindoo had learned of those who brought him out of prison that prince firoze shaw was returned with a princess, and was also informed of the place where he had alighted and left her, and that the emperor was making preparations to go and bring her to his palace; as soon as he got out of the presence, he bethought himself of being revenged upon the emperor and the prince. without losing any time, he went directly to the palace, and addressing himself to the keeper, told him, he came from the prince of persia for the princess of bengal, and to conduct her behind him through the air to the emperor, who waited in the great square of his palace to gratify the whole court and city of sheerauz with that wonderful sight. the palace-keeper, who knew the hindoo, and that the emperor had imprisoned him, gave the more credit to what he said, because he saw that he was at liberty. he presented him to the princess of bengal; who no sooner understood that he came from the prince of persia than she consented to what the prince, as she thought, had desired of her. the hindoo, overjoyed at his success, and the ease with which he had accomplished his villany, mounted his horse, took the princess behind him, with the assistance of the keeper, turned the peg, and instantly the horse mounted into the air. at the same time the emperor of persia, attended by his court, was on the road to the palace where the princess of bengal had been left, and the prince of persia was advanced before, to prepare the princess to receive his father; when the hindoo, to brave them both, and revenge himself for the ill-treatment he had received, appeared over their heads with his prize. when the emperor of persia saw the ravisher, he stopped. his surprise and affliction were the more sensible, because it was not in his power to punish so high an affront. he loaded him with a thousand imprecations, as did also all the courtiers, who were witnesses of so signal a piece of insolence and unparalleled artifice and treachery. the hindoo, little moved with their curses, which just reached his ears, continued his way, while the emperor, extremely mortified at so great an insult, but more so that he could not punish the author, returned to his palace in rage and vexation. but what was prince firoze shaw's grief at beholding the hindoo hurrying away the princess of bengal, whom he loved so passionately that he could not live without her! at a spectacle so little expected he was confounded, and before he could deliberate with himself what measures to pursue, the horse was out of sight. he could not resolve how to act, whether he should return to his father's palace, and shut himself in his apartment, to give himself entirely up to his affliction, without attempting to pursue the ravisher. but as his generosity, love, and courage, would not suffer this, he continued on his way to the palace where he had left his princess. when he arrived, the palace-keeper, who was by this time convinced of his fatal credulity, in believing the artful hindoo, threw himself at his feet with tears in his eyes, accused himself of the crime, which unintentionally he had committed, and condemned himself to die by his hand. "rise," said the prince to him, "i do not impute the loss of my princess to thee, but to my own want of precaution. but not to lose time, fetch me a dervish's habit, and take care you do not give the least hint that it is for me." not far from this palace there stood a convent of dervishes, the superior of which was the palace-keeper's particular friend. he went to his chief, and telling him that a considerable officer at court and a man of worth, to whom he had been very much obliged and wished to favour, by giving him an opportunity to withdraw from some sudden displeasure of the emperor, readily obtained a complete dervish's habit, and carried it to prince firoze shaw. the prince immediately pulled off his own dress, put it on, and being so disguised, and provided with a box of jewels, which he had brought as a present to the princess, left the palace, uncertain which way to go, but resolved not to return till he had found out his princess, and brought her back again, or perish in the attempt. but to return to the hindoo; he governed his enchanted horse so well, that he arrived early next morning in a wood, near the capital of the kingdom of cashmeer. being hungry, and concluding the princess was so also, he alighted in that wood, in an open part of it, and left the princess on a grassy spot, close to a rivulet of clear fresh water. during the hindoo's absence, the princess of bengal, who knew that she was in the power of a base ravisher, whose violence she dreaded, thought of escaping from him, and seeking out for some sanctuary. but as she had eaten scarcely any thing on her arrival at the palace, was so faint, that she could not execute her design, but was forced to abandon it and stay where she was, without any other resource than her courage, and a firm resolution rather to suffer death than be unfaithful to the prince of persia. when the hindoo returned, she did not wait to be entreated, but ate with him, and recovered herself enough to answer with courage to the insolent language he now began to hold to her. after many threats, as she saw that the hindoo was preparing to use violence, she rose up to make resistance, and by her cries and shrieks drew towards them a company of horsemen, which happened to be the sultan of cashmeer and his attendants, who, as they were returning from hunting, happily for the princess of bengal, passed through that part of the wood, and ran to her assistance, at the noise she made. the sultan addressed himself to the hindoo, demanded who he was, and wherefore he ill treated the lady? the hindoo, with great impudence, replied, "that she was his wife, and what had any one to do with his quarrel with her?" the princess, who neither knew the rank nor quality of the person who came so seasonably to her relief, told the hindoo he was a liar; and said to the sultan, "my lord, whoever you are whom heaven has sent to my assistance, have compassion on a princess, and give no credit to that impostor. heaven forbid that i should be the wife of so vile and despicable a hindoo! a wicked magician, who has forced me away from the prince of persia, to whom i was going to be united, and has brought me hither on the enchanted horse you behold there." the princess of bengal had no occasion to say more to persuade the sultan of cashmeer that what she told him was truth. her beauty, majestic air, and tears, spoke sufficiently for her. justly enraged at the insolence of the hindoo, he ordered his guards to surround him, and strike off his head: which sentence was immediately executed. the princess, thus delivered from the persecution of the hindoo, fell into another no less afflicting. the sultan conducted her to his palace, where he lodged her in the most magnificent apartment, next his own, commanded a great number of women slaves to attend her, and ordered a guard of eunuchs. he led her himself into the apartment he had assigned her; where, without giving her time to thank him for the great obligation she had received, he said to her, "as i am certain, princess, that you must want rest, i will take my leave of you till to-morrow, when you will be better able to relate to me the circumstances of this strange adventure;" and then left her. the princess of bengal's joy was inexpressible at finding herself delivered from the violence of the hindoo, of whom she could not think without horror. she flattered herself that the sultan of cashmeer would complete his generosity by sending her back to the prince of persia when she should have told him her story, and asked that favour of him; but she was much deceived in these hopes; for her deliverer had resolved to marry her himself the next day; and for that end had ordered rejoicings to be made by day-break, by beating of drums, sounding of trumpets, and other instruments expressive of joy; which not only echoed through the palace, but throughout the whole city. the princess of bengal was awakened by these tumultuous concerts; but attributed them to a very different cause from the true one. when the sultan of cashmeer, who had given orders that he should be informed when the princess was ready to receive a visit, came to wait upon her; after he had inquired after her health, he acquainted her that all those rejoicings were to render their nuptials the more solemn; and at the same time desired her assent to the union. this declaration put her into such agitation that she fainted away. the women-slaves, who were present, ran to her assistance; and the sultan did all he could to bring her to herself, though it was a long time before they succeeded. but when she recovered, rather than break the promise she had made to prince firoze shaw, by consenting to marry the sultan of cashmeer, who had proclaimed their nuptials before he had asked her consent, she resolved to feign madness. she began to utter the most extravagant expressions before the sultan, and even rose off her seat as if to attack him; insomuch that he was greatly alarmed and afflicted, that he had made such a proposal so unseasonably. when he found that her frenzy rather increased than abated, he left her with her women, charging them never to leave her alone, but to take great care of her. he sent often that day to inquire how she did; but received no other answer than that she was rather worse than better. at night she seemed more indisposed than she had been all day, insomuch that the sultan deferred the happiness he had promised himself. the princess of bengal continued to talk wildly, and shew other marks of a disordered mind, next day and the following; so that the sultan was induced to send for all the physicians belonging to his court, to consult them upon her disease, and to ask if they could cure her. the physicians all agreed that there were several sorts and degrees of this disorder, some curable and others not; and told the sultan, that they could not judge of the princess of bengal's unless they might see her; upon which the sultan ordered the eunuchs to introduce them into the princess's chamber, one after another, according to their rank. the princess, who foresaw what would happen, and feared, that if she let the physicians feel her pulse, the least experienced of them would soon know that she was in good health, and that her madness was only feigned, flew into such a well-dissembled rage and passion, that she appeared ready to injure those who came near her; so none of them durst approach her. some who pretended to be more skilful than the rest, and boasted of judging of diseases only by sight, ordered her some potions, which she made the less difficulty to take, well knowing she could be sick or well at pleasure, and that they could do her no harm. when the sultan of cashmeer saw that his court physicians could not cure her, he called in the most celebrated and experienced of the city, who had no better success. afterwards he sent for the most famous in the kingdom, who met with no better reception than the others from the princess, and what they prescribed had no effect. afterwards he dispatched expresses to the courts of neighbouring sultans, with the princess's case, to be distributed among the most famous physicians, with a promise of a munificent reward to any of them who should come and effect her cure. various physicians arrived from all parts, and tried their skill; but none could boast of better success than their predecessors, or of restoring the princess's faculties, since it was a case that did not depend on medicine, but on the will of the princess herself. during this interval firoze shaw, disguised in the habit of a dervish, travelled through many provinces and towns, involved in grief; and endured excessive fatigue, not knowing which way to direct his course, or whether he might not be pursuing the very opposite road from what he ought, in order to hear the tidings he was in search of. he made diligent inquiry after her at every place he came to; till at last passing through a city of hindoostan, he heard the people talk much of a princess of bengal, who ran mad on the day of the intended celebration of her nuptials with the sultan of cashmeer. at the name of the princess of bengal, and supposing that there could exist no other princess of bengal than her upon whose account he had undertaken his travels, he hastened towards the kingdom of cashmeer, and upon his arrival at the capital took up his lodging at a khan, where the same day he was informed of the story of the princess, and the fate of the hindoo magician, which he had so richly deserved. from the circumstances, the prince was convinced that she was the beloved object he had sought so long. being informed of all these particulars, he provided himself against the next day with a physician's habit, and having let his beard grow during his travels, he passed the more easily for the character he assumed, went to the palace, impatient to behold his beloved, where he presented himself to the chief of the officers, and observed modestly, that perhaps it might be looked upon as a rash undertaking to attempt the cure of the princess, after so many had failed; but that he hoped some specifics, from which he had experienced success, might effect the desired relief. the chief of the officers told him he was welcome, that the sultan would receive him with pleasure, and that if he should have the good fortune to restore the princess to her former health, he might expect a considerable reward from his master's liberality: "stay a moment," added he, "i will come to you again immediately." some time had elapsed since any physician had offered himself; and the sultan of cashmeer with great grief had begun to lose all hope of ever seeing the princess restored to health, that he might marry, and shew how much he loved her. he ordered the officer to introduce the physician he had announced. the prince of persia was presented, when the sultan, without wasting time in superfluous discourse, after having told him the princess of bengal could not bear the sight of a physician without falling into most violent transports, which increased her malady, conducted him into a closet, from whence, through a lattice, he might see her without being observed. there firoze shaw beheld his lovely princess sitting melancholy, with tears in her eyes, and singing an air in which she deplored her unhappy fate, which had deprived her, perhaps, for ever, of the object she loved so tenderly. the prince was sensibly affected at the melancholy condition in which he found his dear princess, but he wanted no other signs to comprehend that her disorder was feigned, or that it was for love of him that she was under so grievous an affliction. when he came out of the closet, he told the sultan that he had discovered the nature of the princess's complaint, and that she was not incurable; but added withal, that he must speak with her in private, and alone, as, notwithstanding her violent agitation at the sight of physicians, he hoped she would hear and receive him favourably. the sultan ordered the princess's chamber door to be opened, and firoze shaw went in. as soon as the princess saw him (taking him by his habit to be a physician), she rose up in a rage, threatening him, and giving him the most abusive language. he made directly towards her, and when he was nigh enough for her to hear him, for he did not wish to be heard by any one else, said to her, in a low voice, "princess, i am not a physician, but the prince of persia, and am come to procure you your liberty." the princess, who knew the sound of the voice, and the upper features of his face, notwithstanding he had let his beard grow so long, grew calm at once, and a secret joy and pleasure overspread her face, the effect of seeing the person so much desired so unexpectedly. her agreeable surprise deprived her for some time of the use of speech, and gave firoze shaw time to tell her as briefly as possible, how despair had seized him when he saw the hindoo carry her away; the resolution he afterwards had taken to leave every thing to find her out, and never to return home till he had regained her out of the hands of the perfidious wretch; and by what good fortune, at last, after a long and fatiguing journey, he had the satisfaction to find her in the palace of the sultan of cashmeer. he then desired the princess to inform him of all that happened to her, from the time she was taken away, till that moment when he had the happiness to converse with her, telling her, that it was of the greatest importance to know this, that he might take the most proper measures to deliver her from the tyranny of the sultan of cashmeer. the princess informed him how she was delivered from the hindoo's violence by the sultan, as he was returning from hunting; how she was alarmed the next day, by a declaration he had made of his precipitate design to marry her, without even the ceremony of asking her consent; that this violent and tyrannical conduct put her into a swoon; after which she thought she had no other way than what she had taken, to preserve herself for a prince to whom she had given her heart and faith; or die, rather than marry the sultan, whom she neither loved, nor could ever love. the prince of persia then asked her, if she knew what became of the horse, after the death of the hindoo magician. to which she answered, that she knew not what orders the sultan had given; but supposed, after the account she had given him of it, he would take care of it as a curiosity. as firoze shaw never doubted but that the sultan had the horse, he communicated to the princess his design of making use of it to convey them both into persia; and after they had consulted together on the measures they should take, they agreed that the princess should dress herself the next day, and receive the sultan civilly, but without speaking to him. the sultan of cashmeer was overjoyed when the prince of persia stated to him what effect his first visit had had towards the cure of the princess. on the following day, when the princess received him in such a manner as persuaded him her cure was far advanced, he regarded him as the greatest physician in the world; and seeing her in this state, contented himself with telling her how rejoiced he was at her being likely soon to recover her health. he exhorted her to follow the directions of so skilful a physician, in order to complete what he had so well begun; and then retired without waiting for her answer. the prince of persia, who attended the sultan of cashmeer out of the princess's chamber, as he accompanied him, asked if, without failing in due respect, he might inquire, how the princess of bengal came into the dominions of cashmeer thus alone, since her own country was far distant? this he said on purpose to introduce some conversation about the enchanted horse, and to know what was become of it. the sultan, who could not penetrate into the prince's motive, concealed nothing from him; but informed him of what the princess had related, when he had delivered her from the hindoo magician: adding, that he had ordered the enchanted horse to be kept safe in his treasury as a great curiosity, though he knew not the use of it. "sir," replied the pretended physician, "the information which your majesty has given your devoted slave affords me a means of curing the princess. as she was brought hither on this horse, and the horse is enchanted, she hath contracted something of the enchantment, which can be dissipated only by a certain incense which i am acquainted with. if your majesty would entertain yourself, your court, and the people of your capital, with the most surprising sight that ever was beheld, let the horse be brought into the great square before the palace, and leave the rest to me. i promise to show you, and all that assembly, in a few moments time, the princess of bengal completely restored in body and mind. but the better to effect what i propose, it will be requisite that the princess, should be dressed as magnificently as possible, and adorned with the most valuable jewels your majesty may possess." the sultan would have undertaken much more difficult things to have arrived at the enjoyment of his desires, which he expected soon to accomplish. the next day, the enchanted horse was, by his order, taken out of the treasury, and placed early in the great square before the palace. a report was spread through the town that there was something extraordinary to be seen, and crowds of people flocked thither from all parts, insomuch that the sultan's guards were placed to prevent disorder, and to keep space enough round the horse. the sultan of cashmeer, surrounded by all his nobles and ministers of state, was placed on a scaffold erected on purpose. the princess of bengal, attended by a number of ladies whom the sultan had assigned her, went up to the enchanted horse, and the women helped her to mount. when she was fixed in the saddle, and had the bridle in her hand, the pretended physician placed round the horse at a proper distance many vessels full of lighted charcoal, which he had ordered to be brought, and going round them with a solemn pace, cast in a strong and grateful perfume; then collected in himself, with downcast eyes, and his hands upon his breast, he ran three times about the horse, making as if he pronounced some mystical words. the moment the pots sent forth a dark cloud of pleasant smell, which so surrounded the princess, that neither she nor the horse could be discerned, watching his opportunity, the prince jumped nimbly up behind her, and reaching his hand to the peg, turned it; and just as the horse rose with them into the air, he pronounced these words, which the sultan heard distinctly, "sultan of cashmeer, when you would marry princesses who implore your protection, learn first to obtain their consent." thus the prince delivered the princess of bengal, and carried her the same day to the capital of persia, where he alighted in the square of the palace, before the emperor his father's apartment, who deferred the solemnization of the marriage no longer than till he could make the preparations necessary to render the ceremony pompous and magnificent, and evince the interest he took in it. after the days appointed for the rejoicings were over, the emperor of persia's first care was to name and appoint an ambassador to go to the rajah of bengal with an account of what had passed, and to demand his approbation and ratification of the alliance contracted by this marriage; which the rajah of bengal took as an honour, and granted with great pleasure and satisfaction. the story of prince ahmed, and the fairy perie banou. there was a sultan who had peaceably filled the throne of india many years, and had the satisfaction in his old age to have three sons the worthy imitators of his virtues, who, with the princess his niece, were the ornaments of his court. the eldest of the princes was called houssain, the second ali, the youngest ahmed, and the princess his niece nouronnihar. the princess nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of the sultan, to whom in his lifetime he had allowed a considerable revenue. but that prince had not been married long before he died, and left the princess very young. the sultan, in consideration of the brotherly love and friendship that had always subsisted between them, besides a great attachment to his person, took upon himself the care of his daughter's education, and brought her up in his palace with the three princes; where her singular beauty and personal accomplishments, joined to a lively wit and irreproachable virtue, distinguished her among all the princesses of her time. the sultan, her uncle, proposed to marry her when she arrived at a proper age, and by that means to contract an alliance with some neighbouring prince; and was thinking seriously on the subject, when he perceived that the three princes his sons loved her passionately. this gave him much concern, though his grief did not proceed from a consideration that their passion prevented his forming the alliance he designed, but the difficulty he foresaw to make them agree, and that the two youngest should consent to yield her up to their eldest brother. he spoke to each of them apart; and remonstrated on the impossibility of one princess being the wife of three persons, and the troubles they would create if they persisted in their attachment. he did all he could to persuade them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favour of one of them; or to desist from their pretensions, to think of other matches which he left them free liberty to choose, and suffer her to be married to a foreign attachment. but as he found them obstinate, he sent for them all together, and said, "my children, since i have not been able to dissuade you from aspiring to marry the princess your cousin; and as i have no inclination to use my authority, to give her to one in preference to his brothers, i trust i have thought of an expedient which will please you all, and preserve harmony among you, if you will but hear me, and follow my advice. i think it would not be amiss if you were to travel separately into different countries, so that you might not meet each other: and as you know i am very curious, and delight in every thing that is rare and singular, i promise my niece in marriage to him who shall bring me the most extraordinary rarity; chance may lead you to form your own judgment of the singularity of the things which you bring, by the comparison you make of them, so that you will have no difficulty to do yourselves justice by yielding the preference to him who has deserved it; and for the expense of travelling, i will give each of you a sum suited to your rank, and for the purchase of the rarity you shall search after; which shall not be laid out in equipage and attendants, as much display, by discovering who you are, would not only deprive you of the liberty to acquit yourselves of your charge, but prevent your observing those things which may merit your attention, and may be most useful to you." as the three princes were always submissive and obedient to the sultan's will, and each flattered himself fortune might prove favourable to him, and give him possession of the princess nouronnihar, they all consented to the proposal. the sultan gave them the money he promised; and that very day they issued orders for the preparations for their travels, and took leave of their father, that they might be ready to set out early next morning. they all went out at the same gate of the city, each dressed like a merchant, attended by a trusty officer, habited as a slave, and all well mounted and equipped. they proceeded the first day's journey together; and slept at a caravanserai, where the road divided into three different tracks. at night when they were at supper together, they all agreed to travel for a year, to make their present lodging their rendezvous; and that the first who came should wait for the rest; that as they had all three taken leave together of the sultan, they might return in company. the next morning by break of day, after they had embraced and wished each other reciprocally good success, they mounted their horses, and took each a different road. prince houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders of the extent, power, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of bisnagar, bent his course towards the indian coast; and after three months' travelling, joining himself to different caravans, sometimes over deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes through populous and fertile countries, arrived at bisnagar, the capital of the kingdom of that name, and the residence of its maharajah. he lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants; and having learnt that there were four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts kept their shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather the maharajah's palace, on a large extent of ground, as the centre of the city, surrounded by three courts, and each gate distant two leagues from the other, he went to one of these quarters the next day. prince houssain could not view this quarter without admiration. it was large, divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded from the sun, but yet very light. the shops were all of the same size and proportion; and all who dealt in the same sort of goods, as well as all the artists of the same profession, lived in one street. the number of shops stocked with all kinds of merchandizes, such as the finest linens from several parts of india, some painted in the most lively colours, and representing men, landscapes, trees, and flowers; silks and brocades from persia, china, and other places; porcelain from japan and china; foot carpets of all sizes; surprised him so much, that he knew not how to believe his eyes: but when he came to the shops of the goldsmiths and jewellers (for those two trades were exercised by the same merchants), he was in a kind of ecstasy, at beholding such prodigious quantities of wrought gold and silver, and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones exposed to sale. but if he was amazed at seeing so many treasures in one place, he was much more surprised when he came to judge of the wealth of the whole kingdom, by considering, that except the brahmins, and ministers of the idols, who profess a life retired from worldly vanity, there was not an indian, man or woman, through the extent of the kingdom, but wore necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments about their legs and feet, made of pearls, and precious stones, which appeared with the greater lustre, as they were blacks, which colour admirably set off their brilliancy. another object which prince houssain particularly admired was the great number of flower-sellers who crowded the streets; for the indians are such great lovers of flowers that not one will stir without a nosegay of them in his hand, or a garland of them on his head; and the merchants keep them in pots in their shops, so that the air of the whole quarter, however extensive, is perfectly perfumed. after prince houssain had passed through that quarter, street by street, his thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen, he was much fatigued; which a merchant perceiving, civilly invited him to sit down in his shop. he accepted his offer; but had not been seated long, before he saw a crier pass with a piece of carpeting on his arm, about six feet square, and crying it at thirty purses. the prince called to the crier, and asked to see the carpeting, which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not only for the size of it, but the meanness of the materials. when he had examined it well, he told the crier that he could not comprehend how so small a piece of carpeting, and of so indifferent an appearance, could be set at so high a price. the crier, who took him for a merchant, replied, "sir, if this price seems so extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when i tell you, i have orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part with it under." "certainly," answered prince houssain, "it must have something very extraordinary in it, which i know nothing of." "you have guessed right, sir," replied the crier, "and will own it when you come to know, that whoever sits on this piece of carpeting may be transported in an instant wherever he desires to be, without being stopped by any obstacle." at this account, the prince of the indies, considering that the principal motive of his tour was to carry the sultan his father home some singular rarity, thought that he could not meet with any which would afford him more satisfaction. "if the carpeting," said he to the crier, "has the virtue you attribute to it, i shall not think forty purses too much; but shall make you a present besides." "sir," replied the crier, "i have told you the truth; and it will be an easy matter to convince you of it, as soon as you have made the bargain for forty purses, on condition i shew you the experiment. but as i suppose you have not so much with you, and to receive them, i must go with you to the khan where you lodge; with the leave of the master of this shop we will go into the back warehouse, where i will spread the carpeting; and when we have both sat down, and you have formed the wish to be transported into your apartment at the khan, if we are not conveyed thither, it shall be no bargain, and you shall be at your liberty. as to your present, as i am paid for my trouble by the seller, i shall receive it as a favour, and feel much obliged by your liberality." on this assurance of the crier, the prince accepted the conditions, and concluded the bargain; then having obtained the master's leave, they went into his back-shop, where they both sat down on the carpeting; and as soon as the prince had formed his wish to be transported into his apartment at the khan, he in an instant found himself and the crier there: as he wanted not a more convincing proof of the virtue of the carpeting, he counted to the crier forty purses of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself. in this manner prince houssain became the possessor of the carpeting, and was overjoyed that at his arrival at bisnagar he had found so rare a curiosity, which he never doubted must of course gain him the possession of nouronnihar. in short, he thought it impossible for the princes, his younger brothers, to meet with any thing to be compared with it. it was in his power, by sitting on this carpeting, to be at the place of rendezvous that very day; but as he would be obliged to wait there for his brothers, as they had agreed, and as he was desirous of seeing the maharajah of bisnagar and his court, and to inform himself of the strength, laws, customs, and religion of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode in this capital, and to spend some months in satisfying his curiosity. it was the custom of the maharajah of bisnagar to give all foreign merchants access to his person once a week; so that in his assumed character prince houssain saw him often: and as this prince was of an engaging presence, sensible and accomplished, he distinguished himself among the merchants, and was preferred before them all by the maharajah, who addressed himself to him to be informed of the person of the sultan of the indies, and of the government, strength, and riches of his dominions. the rest of his time the prince employed in viewing what was most remarkable in and about the city; and among the objects which were most worthy of admiration, he visited a temple remarkable for being built all of brass. it was ten cubits square, and fifteen high; but its greatest ornament was an idol of the height of a man, of massive gold; its eyes were two rubies, set so artificially, that it seemed to look at those who viewed it, on which side soever they turned: besides this, there was another not less curious, in the environs of the city, in the midst of a lawn of about ten acres, which was like a delicious garden full of roses and the choicest flowers, surrounded by a low wall, breast high, to keep out the cattle. in the midst of this lawn was raised a terrace, a man's height, and covered with such beautiful cement, that the whole pavement seemed to be but one single stone, most highly polished. a temple was erected in the middle of this terrace, having a spire rising about fifty cubits high from the building, which might be seen for several leagues round. the temple was thirty cubits long, and twenty broad; built of red marble, highly polished. the inside of the spire was adorned with three compartments of fine paintings: and there was not a part in the whole edifice but what was embellished with paintings, or relievos, and gaudy idols from top to bottom. every night and morning there were superstitious ceremonies performed in this temple, which were always succeeded by sports, concerts of music, dancing, singing, and feasts. the brahmins of the temple, and the inhabitants of this suburb, had nothing to subsist on but the offerings of pilgrims, who came in crowds from the most distant parts of the kingdom to perform their vows. prince houssain was also spectator of a solemn festival, which was celebrated every year at the court of bisnagar, at which all the governors of provinces, commanders of fortified places, all heads and magistrates of towns, and the brahmins most celebrated for their learning, were usually present; and some lived so far off, that they were four months in coming. this assembly, composed of such innumerable multitudes of hindoos encamped in variously coloured tents, on a plain of vast extent, was a splendid sight, as far as the eye could reach. in the centre of this plain was a square of great length and breadth, closed on one side by a large scaffolding of nine stories, supported by forty pillars, raised for the maharajah and his court, and those strangers whom he admitted to audience once a week: within, it was adorned and furnished magnificently with rich carpets and cushions; and on the outside were painted landscapes, wherein all sorts of beasts, birds, and insects, even flies and gnats, were drawn very naturally. other scaffolds of at least four or five stories, and painted almost all with the same fanciful brilliancy, formed the other three sides. but what was more particular in these scaffolds, they could turn, and make them change their fronts so as to present different decorations to the eye every hour. on each side of the square, at some little distance from each other, were ranged a thousand elephants, sumptuously caparisoned, each having upon his back a square wooden stage, finely gilt, upon which were musicians and buffoons. the trunks, ears, and bodies of these elephants were painted with cinnabar and other colours, representing grotesque figures. but what prince houssain most of all admired, as a proof of the industry, address, and inventive genius of the hindoos, was to see the largest of these elephants stand with his four feet on a post fixed into the earth, and standing out of it above two feet, playing and beating time with his trunk to the music. besides this, he admired another elephant as large as the former, placed upon a plank, laid across a strong beam about ten feet high, with a sufficiently heavyweight at the other end, which balanced him, while he kept time, by the motions of his body and trunk, with the music, as well as the other elephant. the hindoos, after having fastened on the counterpoise, had drawn the other end of the board down to the ground, and made the elephant get upon it. prince houssain might have made a longer stay in the kingdom and court of bisnagar, where he would have been agreeably diverted by a great variety of other wonders, till the last day of the year, whereon he and his brothers had appointed to meet. but he was so well satisfied with what he had seen, and his thoughts ran so much upon the object of his love, that after such success in meeting with his carpet, reflecting on the beauty and charms of the princess nouronnihar increased every day the violence of his passion, and he fancied he should be the more easy and happy the nearer he was to her. after he had satisfied the master of the khan for his apartment, and told him the hour when he might come for the key, without mentioning how he should travel, he shut the door, put the key on the outside, and spreading the carpet, he and the officer he had brought with him sat down upon it, and as soon as he had formed his wish, were transported to the caravanserai at which he and his brothers were to meet, and where he passed for a merchant till their arrival. prince ali, the second brother, who had designed to travel into persia, in conformity with the intention of the sultan of the indies, took that road, having three days after he parted with his brothers joined a caravan; and in four months arrived at sheerauz, which was then the capital of the empire of persia; and having in the way contracted a friendship with some merchants, passed for a jeweller, and lodged in the same khan with them. the next morning, while the merchants opened their bales of merchandises, prince ali, who travelled only for his pleasure, and had brought nothing but necessaries with him, after he had dressed himself, took a walk into that quarter of the town where they sold precious stones, gold and silver works, brocades, silks, fine linens, and other choice and valuable articles, and which was at sheerauz called the bezestein. it was a spacious and well-built street, arched over, within the arcades of which were shops. prince ali soon rambled through the bezestein, and with admiration judged of the riches of the place by the prodigious quantities of the most precious merchandises exposed to view. but among the criers who passed backwards and forwards with several sorts of goods, offering to sell them, he was not a little surprised to see one who held in his hand an ivory tube, of about a foot in length, and about an inch thick, which he cried at forty purses. at first he thought the crier mad, and to inform himself, went to a shop, and said to the merchant who stood at the door, "pray, sir, is not that man" (pointing to the crier, who cried the ivory tube at forty purses) "mad? if he is not, i am much deceived." "indeed, sir," answered the merchant, "he was in his right senses yesterday; and i can assure you he is one of the ablest criers we have, and the most employed of any, as being to be confided in when any thing valuable is to be sold; and if he cries the ivory tube at forty purses, it must be worth as much or more, on some account or other which does not appear. he will come by presently, when we will call him, and you shall satisfy yourself: in the mean time sit down on my sofa, and rest yourself." prince ali accepted the merchant's obliging offer, and presently afterwards the crier arrived. the merchant called him by his name, and pointing to the prince, said to him, "tell that gentleman, who asked me if you were in your right senses, what you mean by crying that ivory tube, which seems not to be worth much, at forty purses? i should indeed be much amazed myself, if i did not know you were a sensible man." the crier, addressing himself to prince ali, said, "sir, you are not the only person that takes me for a madman, on account of this tube; you shall judge yourself whether i am or no, when i have told you its property; and i hope you will value it at as high a price as those i have shewed it to already, who had as bad an opinion of me as you have. "first, sir," pursued the crier, presenting the ivory tube to the prince, "observe, that this tube is furnished with a glass at both ends; by looking through one of them, you will see whatever object you wish to behold." "i am," said the prince, "ready to make you all proper reparation for the reflection i have cast upon you, if you can make the truth of what you advance appear; and" (as he had the ivory tube in his hand, after he had looked at the two glasses), he said, "shew me at which of these ends i must look, that i may be satisfied." the crier presently shewed him, and he looked through; wishing, at the same time, to see the sultan his father, whom he immediately beheld in perfect health, sitting on his throne, in the midst of his council. next, as there was nothing in the world so dear to him, after the sultan, as the princess nouronnihar, he wished to see her; and instantly beheld her laughing, and in a gay humour, with her women about her. prince all wanted no other proof to persuade him that this tube was the most valuable article, not only in the city of sheerauz, but in all the world; and believed, that if he should neglect to purchase it, he should never meet with an equally wonderful curiosity. he said to the crier, "i am very sorry that i have entertained so erroneous an opinion of you, but hope to make amends by buying the tube, for i should be sorry if any body else had it; so tell me the lowest price the owner has fixed; and do not give yourself any farther trouble to hawk it about, but go with me and i will pay you the money." the crier assured him, with an oath, that his last orders were to take no less than forty purses; and if he disputed the truth of what he said, he would carry him to his employer. the prince believed him, took him to the khan where he lodged, told him out the money, and received the tube. prince ali was overjoyed at his purchase; and persuaded himself, that as his brothers would not be able to meet with any thing so rare and admirable, the princess nouronnihar must be the recompense of his fatigue and travels. he thought now of only visiting the court of persia incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in and about sheerauz, till the caravan with which he came might be ready to return to the indies. he satisfied his curiosity, and when the caravan took its departure, the prince joined the former party of merchants his friends, and arrived happily without any accident or trouble, further than the length of the journey and fatigue of travelling, at the place of rendezvous, where he found prince houssain, and both waited for prince ahmed. prince ahmed took the road of samarcand, and the day after his arrival, went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein; where he had not walked long before he heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his hand, cry it at five-and-thirty purses. he stopped the crier, and said to him, "let me see that apple, and tell me what virtue or extraordinary property it possesses, to be valued at so high a rate?" "sir," replied the crier, giving it into his hand, "if you look at the mere outside of this apple it is not very remarkable; but if you consider its properties, and the great use and benefit it is of to mankind, you will say it is invaluable, and that he who possesses it is master of a great treasure. it cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases, whether fever, pleurisy, plague, or other malignant distempers; for even if the patient is dying, it will recover him immediately, and restore him to perfect health: and this merely by the patient's smelling to it." "if one may believe you," replied prince ahmed, "the virtues of this apple are wonderful, and it is indeed invaluable: but what ground has the purchaser to be persuaded that there is no exaggeration in the high praises you bestow on it?" "sir," replied the crier, "the truth is known by the whole city of samarcand; but without going any farther, ask all these merchants you see here, and hear what they say; you will find several of them will tell you they had not been alive this day had they not made use of this excellent remedy; and that you may the better comprehend what it is, i must tell you it is the fruit of the study and experience of a celebrated philosopher of this city, who applied himself all his lifetime to the knowledge of the virtues of plants and minerals, and at last attained to this composition, by which he performed such surprising cures, as will never be forgotten; but died suddenly himself, before he could apply his own sovereign remedy; and left his wife and a great many young children behind in very indifferent circumstances, who, to support her family, and to provide for her children, has resolved to sell it." while the crier was detailing to prince ahmed the virtues of the artificial apple, many persons came about them, and confirmed what he declared; and one amongst the rest said he had a friend dangerously ill, whose life was despaired of; which was a favourable opportunity to shew the experiment. upon which prince ahmed told the crier he would give him forty purses for the apple if it cured the sick person by smelling to it. the crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to prince ahmed, "come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple shall be yours; and i say this with the greater confidence, as it is an undoubted fact that it will always have the same effect, as it already has had whenever it has been applied to save from death so many persons whose lives were despaired of." in short, the experiment succeeded; and the prince, after he had counted out to the crier forty purses, and had received the apple from him, waited with the greatest impatience for the departure of a caravan for the indies. in the mean time he saw all that was curious at and about samarcand, and principally the valley of sogd, which is reckoned by the arabians one of the four paradises of this world, for the beauty of its fields, gardens, and palaces, and for its fertility in fruit of all sorts, and all the other pleasures enjoyed there in the fine season. ahmed joined himself to the first caravan that set out for the indies, and notwithstanding the inevitable inconveniences of so long a journey, arrived in perfect health at the caravanserai, where the princes houssain and ali waited for him. ali, who had arrived some time before ahmed, asked houssain how long he had been there? who told him, "three months;" to which he replied, "then certainly you have not been very far." "i will tell you nothing now," said prince houssain, "of where i have been, but only assure you, i was above three months travelling to the place i went to." "but then," replied prince ali, "you made a short stay there." "indeed, brother," said prince houssain, "you are mistaken; i resided at one place above four months, and might have stayed longer." "unless you flew back," returned ali again, "i cannot comprehend how you can have been three months here, as you would make me believe." "i tell you the truth," added houssain, "and it is a riddle which i shall not explain to you, till our brother ahmed joins us; when i will let you know what rarity i have purchased in my travels. i know not what you have got, but believe it to be some trifle, because i do not perceive that your baggage is increased." "and pray what have you brought?" demanded prince ali, "for i can see nothing but an ordinary piece of carpeting, with which you cover your sofa; and therefore i think i may return your raillery; and as you seem to make what you have brought a secret, you cannot take it amiss that i do the same with respect to what i have procured." "i consider the rarity i have purchased," replied houssain, "to excel all others whatever, and should not make any difficulty to shew it you, and make you allow that it is so, and at the same time tell you how i came by it, without being in the least apprehensive that what you have got is to be preferred to it: but it is proper that we should wait till our brother ahmed arrives, when we may communicate our good fortune to each other." prince all would not enter into a dispute with prince houssain on the preference he gave his rarity, but was persuaded, that if his perspective glass was not preferable, it was impossible it should be inferior to it; and therefore agreed to stay till prince ahmed arrived, to produce his purchase. when prince ahmed joined his brothers, they embraced with tenderness, and complimented each other on the happiness of meeting together at the same place they had set out from. houssain, as the eldest brother, then assumed the discourse, and said to them, "brothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to entertain ourselves with the particulars of our travels. let us come to that which is of the greatest importance for us to know; and as i do not doubt you remember the principal motive which engaged us to travel, let us not conceal from each other the curiosities we have brought, but shew them, that we may do ourselves justice beforehand, and judge to which of us the sultan our father may give the preference. "to set the example," continued houssain, "i will tell you, that the rarity which i have brought from the kingdom of bisnagar is the carpeting on which i sit, which looks but ordinary, and makes no shew; but when i have declared its virtues, you will be struck with admiration, and confess you never heard of any thing like it. whoever sits on it, as we do, and desires to be transported to any place, be it ever so far distant, he is immediately carried thither. i made the experiment myself, before i paid the forty purses, which i most readily gave for it; and when i had fully satisfied my curiosity at the court of bisnagar, and wished to return here, i made use of no other conveyance than this wonderful carpet for myself and servant, who can tell you how long we were on our journey. i will shew you both the experiment whenever you please. i expect now that you should tell me whether what you have brought is to be compared with this carpet." here prince houssain finished his commendations of the excellency of his carpet; and prince ali, addressing himself to him, said, "i must own, brother, that your carpet is one of the most surprising curiosities, if it has, as i do not doubt, the property you speak of. but you must allow that there may be other rarities, i will not say more, but at least as wonderful, in another way; and to convince you there are, here is an ivory tube, which appears to the eye no more a prodigy than your carpet; it cost me as much, and i am as well satisfied with my purchase as you can be with yours; and you will be so just as to own that i have not been imposed upon, when you shall know by experience, that by looking at one end you see whatever object you wish to behold. i would not have you take my word," added prince ali, presenting the tube to him; "take it, make trial of it yourself." houssain took the ivory tube from prince ali, and put that end to his eye which ali directed, with an intention to see the princess nouronnihar; when ali and prince ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed upon him, were extremely surprised to see his countenance change in such a manner, as expressed extraordinary alarm and affliction. prince houssain did not give them time to ask what was the matter, but cried out, "alas! princes, to what purpose have we undertaken such long and fatiguing journeys, but with the hopes of being recompensed by the possession of the charming nouronnihar, when in a few moments that lovely princess will breathe her last. i saw her in her bed, surrounded by her women and eunuchs, all in tears, who seem to expect her death. take the tube, behold yourselves the miserable state she is in, and mingle your tears with mine." prince ali took the tube out of houssain's hand, and after he had seen the same object with sensible grief, presented it to ahmed, who took it, to behold the melancholy sight which so much concerned them all. when prince ahmed had taken the tube out of ali's hands, and saw that the princess nouronnihar's end was so near, he addressed himself to his two brothers, and said, "princes, the princess nouronnihar, equally the object of our vows, is indeed just at death's door; but provided we make haste and lose no time, we may preserve her life." he then took the artificial apple out of his bosom, and shewing it to his brothers, resumed, "this apple cost me as much and more than either the carpet or tube. the opportunity which now presents itself to shew you its wonderful property makes me not regret the forty purses i gave for it. but not to keep you longer in suspense, it has this virtue; if a sick person smells to it, though in the last agonies, it will restore him to perfect health immediately. i have made the experiment, and can show you its wonderful effect on the person of the princess nouronnihar, if we hasten to assist her." "if that be all," replied prince houssain, "we cannot make more dispatch than by transporting ourselves instantly into her chamber by means of my carpet. come, lose no time, sit down, it is large enough to hold us all: but first let us give orders to our servants to set out immediately, and join us at the palace." as soon as the order was given, the princes ali and ahmed sat down by houssain, and as their interest was the same, they all framed the same wish, and were transported instantaneously into the princess nouronnihar's chamber. the presence of the three princes, who were so little expected, alarmed the princess's women and eunuchs, who could not comprehend by what enchantment three men should be among them; for they did not know them at first; and the eunuchs were ready to fall upon them, as people who had got into a part of the palace where they were not allowed to come; but they presently found their mistake. prince ahmed no sooner saw himself in nouronnihar's chamber, and perceived the princess dying, but he rose off the carpet, as did also the other two princes, went to the bed-side, and put the apple to her nostrils. the princess instantly opened her eyes, and turned her head from one side to another, looking at the persons who stood about her; she then rose up in the bed, and asked to be dressed, with the same freedom and recollection as if she had awaked out of a sound sleep. her women presently informed her, in a manner that shewed their joy, that she was obliged to the three princes her cousins, and particularly to prince ahmed, for the sudden recovery of her health. she immediately expressed her joy at seeing them, and thanked them all together, but afterwards prince ahmed in particular. as she desired to dress, the princes contented themselves with telling her how great a pleasure it was to them to have come soon enough to contribute each in any degree towards relieving her from the imminent danger she was in, and what ardent prayers they had offered for the continuance of her life; after which they retired. while the princess was dressing, the princes went to throw themselves at the sultan their father's feet; but when they came to him, they found he had been previously informed of their unexpected arrival by the chief of the princess's eunuchs, and by what means the princess had been so suddenly cured. the sultan received and embraced them with the greatest joy, both for their return, and the wonderful recovery of the princess his niece, whom he loved as if she had been his own daughter, and who had been given over by the physicians. after the usual compliments, the princes presented each the rarity which he had brought: prince houssain his carpet, prince ali his ivory tube, and prince ahmed the artificial apple; and after each had commended his present, as he put it into the sultan's hands, they begged of him to pronounce their fate, and declare to which of them he would give the princess nouronnihar, according to his promise. the sultan of the indies having kindly heard all that the princes had to say in favour of their rarities, without interrupting them, and being well informed of what had happened in relation to the princess nouronnihar's cure, remained some time silent, considering what answer he should make. at last he broke silence, and said to them in terms full of wisdom, "i would declare for one of you, my children, if i could do it with justice; but consider whether i can? it is true, ahmed, the princess my niece is obliged to your artificial apple for her cure: but let me ask you, whether you could have been so serviceable to her if you had not known by ali's tube the danger she was in, and if houssain's carpet had not brought you to her so soon? your tube, ali, informed you and your brothers that you were likely to lose the princess your cousin, and so far she is greatly obliged to you. you must also grant, that the knowledge of her illness would have been of no service without the artificial apple and the carpet. and as for you, houssain, the princess would be very ungrateful if she did not show her sense of the value of your carpet, which was so necessary a means towards effecting her cure. but consider, it would have been of little use, if you had not been acquainted with her illness by ali's tube, or if ahmed had not applied his artificial apple. therefore, as neither the carpet, the ivory tube, nor the artificial apple has the least preference to the other articles, but as, on the contrary, their value has been perfectly equal, i cannot grant the princess to any one of you; and the only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the glory of having equally contributed to restore her to health. "as this is the case," added the sultan, "you see that i must have recourse to other means to determine me with certainty in the choice i ought to make; and as there is time enough between this and night, i will do it to-day. go and procure each of you a bow and arrow, repair to the plain where the horses are exercised; i will soon join you, and will give the princess nouronnihar to him who shoots the farthest. "i do not, however, forget to thank you all in general, and each in particular, for the present you have brought me. i have many rarities in my collection already, but nothing that comes up to the miraculous properties of the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple, which shall have the first places among them, and shall be preserved carefully, not only for curiosity, but for service upon all proper occasions." the three princes had nothing to object to the decision of the sultan. when they were dismissed his presence, they each provided themselves with a bow and arrow, which they delivered to one of their officers, and went to the plain appointed, followed by a great concourse of people. the sultan did not make them wait long for him: as soon as he arrived, prince houssain, as the eldest, took his bow and arrow, and shot first. prince ali shot next, and much beyond him; and prince ahmed last of all; but it so happened, that nobody could see where his arrow fell; and notwithstanding all the search made by himself and all the spectators, it was not to be found. though it was believed that he had shot the farthest, and had therefore deserved the princess nouronnihar, it was however necessary that his arrow should be found, to make the matter more evident and certain; but notwithstanding his remonstrances, the sultan determined in favour of prince ali, and gave orders for preparations to be made for the solemnization of the nuptials, which were celebrated a few days after with great magnificence. prince houssain would not honour the feast with his presence; his passion for the princess nouronnihar was so sincere and ardent, that he could scarcely support with patience the mortification of seeing her in the arms of prince ali: who, he said, did not deserve her better nor love her more than himself. in short, his grief was so violent and insupportable, that he left the court, and renounced all right of succession to the crown, to turn dervish, and put himself under the discipline of a famous chief, who had gained great reputation for his exemplary life; and had taken up his abode, and that of his disciples, whose number was great, in an agreeable solitude. prince ahmed, urged by the same motive, did not assist at prince ali and the princess nouronnihar's nuptials, any more than his brother houssain, yet did not renounce the world as he had done. but as he could not imagine what could have become of his arrow, he resolved to search for it, that he might not have any thing to reproach himself with. with this intent he went to the place where the princes houssain's and ali's were gathered up, and proceeding straight forwards from thence looked carefully on both sides as he advanced. he went so far, that at last he began to think his labour was in vain; yet he could not help proceeding till he came to some steep craggy rocks, which would have obliged him to return, had he been ever so desirous to continue his course. as he approached these rocks, he perceived an arrow, which he took up, looked earnestly at it, and was in the greatest astonishment to find it was the same he had shot. "certainly," said he to himself, "neither i, nor any man living, could shoot an arrow so far; and finding it laid flat, not sticking into the ground, he judged that it had rebounded from the rock. there must be some mystery in this, said he to himself again, and it may be to my advantage. perhaps fortune, to make amends for depriving me of what i thought the greatest happiness of my life, may have reserved a greater blessing for my comfort." as these rocks were full of sharp points and indentures between them, the prince meditating, entered into one of the cavities, and looking about, beheld an iron door, which seemed to have no lock. he feared it was fastened; but pushing against it, it opened, and discovered an easy descent, which he walked down with his arrow in his hand. at first he thought he was going into a dark place, but presently a light quite different from that which he had quitted succeeded; and entering into a spacious square, he, to his surprise, beheld a magnificent palace, the admirable structure of which he had not time to look at: for at the same instant, a lady of majestic air, and of a beauty to which the richness of her habit and the jewels which adorned her person added no advantage, advanced, attended by a troop of ladies, or whom it was difficult to distinguish which was the mistress, as all were so magnificently dressed. as soon as ahmed perceived the lady, he hastened to pay his respects; and the lady seeing him coming, prevented him. addressing him first, she said, "come near, prince ahmed, you are welcome." it was with no small surprise that the prince heard himself named in a palace he had never heard of, though so nigh to his father's capital, and he could not comprehend how he should be known to a lady who was a stranger to him. at last he returned the lady's compliment, by throwing himself at her feet, and rising up, said to her, "lady, i return you a thousand thanks for the assurance you give me of welcome to a place where i had reason to believe my imprudent curiosity had made me penetrate too far. but may i, without being guilty of rudeness, presume to inquire by what adventure you know me? and how you who live in the same neighbourhood should be so little known by me?" "prince," said the lady, "let us go into the hall; there i will gratify you in your request more commodiously for us both." after these words, the lady led prince ahmed into the hall, the noble structure of which, displaying the gold and azure which embellished the dome, and the inestimable richness of the furniture, appeared so great a novelty to him, that he could not forbear his admiration, but exclaimed, that he had never beheld its equal. "i can assure you," replied the lady, "that this is but a small part of my palace, as you will judge when you have seen all the apartments." she then sat down on a sofa; and when the prince at her entreaty had seated himself by her, she continued, "you are surprised, you say, that i know you, and am not known by you; but you will be no longer surprised when i inform you who i am. you cannot be ignorant, as the koran informs you, that the world is inhabited by genii as well as men: i am the daughter of one of the most powerful and distinguished of these genii, and my name is perie banou; therefore you ought not to wonder that i know you, the sultan your father, the princes your brothers, and the princess nouronnihar. i am no stranger to your loves or your travels, of which i could tell you all the circumstances, since it was i myself who exposed to sale the artificial apple which you bought at samarcand, the carpet which prince houssain purchased at bisnagar, and the tube which prince ali brought from sheerauz. this is sufficient to let you know that i am not unacquainted with every thing that relates to you. i have to add, that you seemed to me worthy of a more happy fate than that of possessing the princess nouronnihar; and that you might attain to it, i was present when you drew your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond prince houssain's. i seized it in the air, and gave it the necessary motion to strike against the rocks near which you found it. it is in your power to avail yourself of the favourable opportunity which presents itself to make you happy." as the fairy perie banou pronounced the last words with a different tone, and looked at the same time tenderly at the prince, with downcast eyes and a modest blush upon her cheeks, it was not difficult for him to comprehend what happiness she meant. he reflected that the princess nouronnihar could never be his, saw that perie banou excelled her infinitely in beauty and accomplishments, and, as far as he could conjecture by the magnificence of the palace, in immense riches. he blessed the moment that he thought of seeking after his arrow a second time, and yielding to his inclination, which drew him towards the new object which had fired his heart: he then replied, "should i, all my life, have the happiness of being your slave, and the admirer of the many charms which ravish my soul, i should think myself the happiest of men. pardon the presumption which inspires me to ask this favour, and do not refuse to admit into your court a prince who is entirely devoted to you." "prince," answered the fairy, "as i have been, long my own mistress, and have no dependence on a parent's consent, it is not as a slave that i would admit you into my court, but as master of my person, and all that belongs to me, by pledging your faith to me, and taking me as your wife. i hope you will not think it indecorous, that i anticipate you in this proposal. i am, as i said, mistress of my will; and must add, that the same customs are not observed among fairies as with human-kind, in whom it would not have been decent to have made such advances: but it is what we do, and we suppose we confer obligation by the practice." ahmed made no answer to this declaration, but was so penetrated with gratitude, that he thought he could not express it better than by prostration to kiss the hem of her garment; which she would not give him time to do, but presented her hand, which he kissed a thousand times, and kept fast locked in his. "well, prince ahmed," said she, "will you pledge your faith to me, as i do mine to you?" "yes, madam," replied the prince, in an ecstacy of joy. "what can i do more fortunate for myself, or with greater pleasure? yes, my sultaness, i give it you with my heart without the least reserve." "then," answered the fairy, "you are my husband, and i am your wife. our fairy marriages are contracted with no other ceremonies, and yet are more firm and indissoluble than those among men, with all their formalities. but as i suppose," pursued she, "that you have eaten nothing to-day, a slight repast shall be served up for you while preparations are making for our nuptial feast this evening, and then i will shew you the apartments of my palace." some of the fairy's women who came into the hall with them, and guessed her intentions, went immediately out, and returned with some excellent viands and wines. when ahmed had refreshed himself, the fairy led him through all the apartments, where he saw diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels, intermixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry, and all kinds of the most precious marbles; not to mention the richness of the furniture, which was inestimable; the whole disposed in such elegant profusion, that the prince acknowledged there could not be any thing in the world equal to it. "prince," said the fairy, "if you admire my humble abode so much, what would you say to the palaces of the chiefs of our genii, which are much more beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? i could also shew you my garden; but we will leave that till another time. night draws near, and it will be time to go to supper." the next hall which the fairy led the prince into, where the cloth was laid for the feast, was the only apartment he had not seen, and it was not in the least inferior to the others. at his entrance, he admired the infinite number of wax candles perfumed with amber, the multitude of which, instead of being confused, were placed with so just a symmetry, as to form an agreeable and pleasant light. a large beaufet was set out with all sorts of gold plate, so finely wrought, that the workmanship was much more valuable than the weight of the gold. several bands of beautiful women richly dressed, and whose voices were ravishing, began a concert, accompanied by the most harmonious instruments he had ever heard. when they were seated, the fairy took care to help prince ahmed to the most delicious meats, which she named as she invited him to eat of them, and which the prince had never heard of, but found so exquisite, that he commended them in the highest terms, saying, that the entertainment which she gave him far surpassed those among men. he found also the same excellence in the wines, which neither he nor the fairy tasted till the dessert was served up, which consisted of the choicest sweetmeats and fruits. after the dessert, the fairy perie banou and prince ahmed rose and repaired to a sofa, with cushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered with all sorts of large flowers, laid at their backs. presently after a great number of genii and fairies danced before them to the chamber where the nuptial bed was prepared; and when they came to the entrance, divided themselves into two rows, to let them pass, after which they made obeisance and retired. the nuptial festivity was renewed the next day; or rather, every day following the celebration was a continued feast, which the fairy perie banou knew how to diversify, by new delicacies, new concerts, new dances, new shows, and new diversions; which were all so gratifying to his senses, that ahmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men, could not have experienced equal enjoyment. the fairy's intention was not only to give the prince convincing proofs of the sincerity of her love, by so many attentions; but to let him see, that as he had no pretensions at his father's court, he could meet with nothing comparable to the happiness he enjoyed with her, independently of her beauty and attractions, and to attach him entirely to herself. in this attempt she succeeded so well, that ahmed's passion was not in the least diminished by possession; but increased so much, that if he had been so inclined, it was not in his power to forbear loving her. at the end of six months, prince ahmed, who always loved and honoured the sultan his father, felt a great desire to know how he was; and as that desire could not be satisfied without his absenting himself, he mentioned his wish to the fairy, and requested she would give him leave to visit the sultan. this request alarmed the fairy, and made her fear it was only an excuse to leave her. she said to him, "what disgust can i have given to you to ask me this permission? is it possible you should have forgotten that you have pledged your faith to me, or have you ceased to love one who is so passionately fond of you? are not the proofs i have repeatedly given you of my affection sufficient?" "my queen," replied the prince, "i am perfectly convinced of your love, and should be unworthy of it, if i did not testify my gratitude by a reciprocal affection. if you are offended at the permission i solicit, i entreat you to forgive me, and i will make all the reparation in my power. i did not make the request with any intention of displeasing you, but from a motive of respect towards my father, whom i wish to free from the affliction in which my so long absence must have overwhelmed him, and which must be the greater, as, i have reason to presume, he believes that i am dead. but since you do not consent that i should go and afford him that comfort, i will deny myself the pleasure, as there is nothing to which i would not submit to please you." ahmed did not dissemble, for he loved her at heart as much as he had assured her by this declaration; and the fairy expressed her satisfaction. but as he could not absolutely abandon his design, he frequently took an opportunity to speak to her of the great qualifications of the sultan his father: and above all, of his particular tenderness towards himself, in hopes he might at length be able to move her. as the prince had supposed, the sultan of the indies, in the midst of the rejoicings on account of the nuptials of prince ali and the princess nouronnihar, was sensibly afflicted at the absence of the other two princes his sons, though it was not long before he was informed of the resolution houssain had taken to forsake the world, and the place he had chosen for his retreat. as a good father, whose happiness consists in seeing his children about him, especially when they are deserving of his tenderness, he would have been better pleased had he stayed at his court, near his person; but as he could not disapprove of his choice of the state of perfection which he had entered, he supported his absence more patiently. he made the most diligent search after ahmed, and dispatched couriers to all the provinces of his dominions, with orders to the governors to stop him, and oblige him to return to court: but all the pains he took had not the desired success, and his affliction, instead of diminishing, increased. he would make it the subject of his conversation with his grand vizier; and would say to him, "vizier, thou knowest i always loved ahmed the most of all my sons; and thou art not insensible of the means i have in vain used to find him out. my grief is so heavy, i shall sink under it, if thou hast not compassion on me; if thou hast any regard for the preservation of my life, i conjure thee to assist and advise me." the grand vizier, no less attached to the person of the sultan than zealous to acquit himself well of the administration of the affairs of state, considering how to give his sovereign some ease, recollected a sorceress, of whom he had heard wonders, and proposed to send for and consult her. the sultan consented, and the grand vizier, upon her arrival, introduced her into the presence. the sultan said to the sorceress, "the affliction i have been in since the marriage of my son prince ali to the princess nouronnihar, my niece, on account of the absence of prince ahmed, is so well known, and so public, that thou canst be no stranger to it. by thy art and skill canst thou tell me what is become of him? if he be alive, where he is? what he is doing? and if i may hope ever to see him again?" to this the sorceress replied, "it is impossible, sir, for me, however skilful in my profession, to answer immediately the questions your majesty asks; but if you allow me till to-morrow, i will endeavour to satisfy you." the sultan granted her the time, and permitted her to retire, with a promise to recompense her munificently, if her answer proved agreeable to his hopes. the sorceress returned the next day, and the grand vizier presented her a second time to the sultan. "sir," said she, "notwithstanding all the diligence i have used in applying the rules of my art to obey your majesty in what you desire to know, i have not been able to discover any thing more than that prince ahmed is alive. this is certain, and you may depend upon it; but as to where he is i cannot discover." the sultan of the indies was obliged to remain satisfied with this answer; which left him in the same uneasiness as before as to the prince's situation. to return to prince ahmed. he so often entertained the fairy perie banou with talking about his father, though without speaking any more of his desire to visit him, that she fully comprehended what he meant; and perceiving the restraint he put upon himself, and his fear of displeasing her after her first refusal, she inferred, from the repeated proofs he had given her, that his love for her was sincere; and judging by herself of the injustice she committed in opposing a son's tenderness for his father, and endeavouring to make him renounce that natural affection, she resolved to grant him the permission which she knew he so ardently desired. one day she said to him, "prince, the request you made to be allowed to go and see the sultan your father gave me apprehension that it was only a pretext to conceal inconstancy, and that was the sole motive of my refusal; but now, as i am fully convinced by your actions and words that i can depend on your honour and the fidelity of your love, i change my resolution, and grant you the permission you seek, on condition that you will first swear to me that your absence shall not be long. you ought not to be uneasy at this condition, as if i asked it out of distrust. i impose it only because i know that it will give you no concern, convinced, as i have already told you i am, of the sincerity of your love." prince ahmed would have thrown himself at the fairy's feet to shew his gratitude, but she prevented him. "my sultaness," said he, "i am sensible of the great favour you grant me; but want words to express my thanks. supply this defect, i conjure you, by your own feelings, and be persuaded i think much more. you may believe that the oath will give me no uneasiness, and i take it more willingly, since it is not possible for me to live without you. i go, but the haste i will make to return shall shew you, that it is not the fear of being foresworn, but my inclination, which is to live with you for ever, that urges me; and if with your consent i now and then deprive myself of your society, i shall always avoid the pain a too long absence would occasion me." "prince," replied perie banou, delighted with his sentiments, "go when you please; but do not take it amiss that i give you some advice how you shall conduct yourself. first, i do not think it proper for you to inform your father of our marriage, neither of my quality, nor the place of our residence. beg of him to be satisfied with knowing that you are happy, that you want nothing from him, and let him know that the sole end of your visit is to make him easy respecting your fate." perie banou then appointed twenty horsemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend him. when all was ready, prince ahmed took his leave of the fairy, embraced her, and renewed his promise to return soon. a charger, which was most richly caparisoned, and as beautiful a creature as any in the sultan of the indies' stables, was brought to him, which he mounted with extraordinary grace, which gave great pleasure to the fairy; and after he had bidden her adieu, he set forward on his journey. as it was no great distance to his father's capital, prince ahmed soon arrived there. the people, rejoiced to see him again, received him with acclamations, and followed him in crowds to the palace. the sultan received and embraced him with great joy; complaining at the same time, with a fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his long absence had occasioned; which, he said, was the more distressing, as fortune having decided in favour of prince ali his brother, he was afraid he might have committed some act of despair. "sir," replied prince ahmed, "i leave it to your majesty to consider, if after having lost the princess nouronnihar, who was the only object of my desires, i could bear to be a witness of ali's happiness. if i had been capable of such unworthy apathy, what would the court and city have thought of my love, or what your majesty? love is a passion we cannot suppress at our will; while it lasts, it rules and governs us in spite of our boasted reason. your majesty knows, that when i shot my arrow, the most extraordinary accident that ever befell mortal happened to me, for surely it was such, that in so large and level a plain as that where the horses are exercised, it should not be possible to find my arrow. i lost your decision in my favour, which was as much due to my love, as to that of the princes my brothers. though thus vanquished by the caprice of fate, i lost no time in vain complaints; but to satisfy my perplexed mind, upon what i could not comprehend, i left my attendants, and returned alone to look for my arrow. i sought all about the place where houssain's and ali's arrows were found, and where i imagined mine must have fallen, but all my labour was in vain. i was not discouraged, but continued my search in a direct line, and after this manner had gone above a league, without being able to meet with any thing like an arrow, when i reflected that it was not possible that mine should have flown so far. i stopped, and asked myself whether i was in my right senses, to flatter myself with having had strength to shoot an arrow so much farther than any of the strongest archers in the world were able to do. after i had argued thus with myself, i was ready to abandon my enterprise; but when on the point of putting my resolution in execution, i found myself drawn forward against my will; and after having gone four leagues, to that part of the plain where it is bounded by rocks, i perceived an arrow. i ran, took it up, and knew it to be the same which i had shot. far from thinking your majesty had done me any injustice in declaring for my brother ali, i interpreted what had happened to me quite otherwise, and never doubted there was a mystery in it to my advantage; the discovery of which i ought not to neglect, and which i found out without going from the spot. but as to this mystery i beg your majesty will not be offended if i remain silent, and that you will be satisfied to know from my own mouth that i am happy, and content with my fate. "in the midst of my happiness, the only thing that troubled me, or was capable of disturbing me, was the uneasiness i feared your majesty would experience on account of my leaving the court, and your not knowing what was become of me. i thought it my duty to satisfy you in this point. this was the only motive which brought me hither; the only favour i ask of your majesty is to give me leave to come occasionally to pay you my duty, and inquire after your health." "son," answered the sultan of the indies, "i cannot refuse you the permission you ask, but i should much rather you would resolve to stay with me. at least tell me where i may hear of you, if you should fail to come, or when i may think your presence necessary." "sir," replied the prince, "what your majesty requires is part of the mystery i spoke of. i beg of you to allow me to remain silent on this head; for i shall come so frequently where my duty calls, that i am afraid i shall sooner be thought troublesome than be accused of negligence, when my presence may be necessary." the sultan of the indies pressed ahmed no more, but said to him, "son, i wish to penetrate no farther into your secrets, but leave you at your liberty. i can only tell you, that you could not have done me greater pleasure than by your presence, having restored to me the joy i have not felt for a long time; and that you shall always be welcome when you can come, without interrupting your business or your pleasure." prince ahmed stayed but three days at his father's court, and on the fourth returned to the fairy perie banou, who received him with the greater joy, as she did not expect him so soon. his expedition made her condemn herself for suspecting his want of fidelity. she never dissembled, but frankly owned her weakness to the prince, and asked his pardon. so perfect was the union of the two lovers, that they had but one will. a month after prince ahmed's return from visiting his father, as the fairy had observed that since the time when he gave her an account of his journey, and his conversation with his father, in which he asked his permission to come and see him from time to time, he had never spoken of the sultan, whereas before he was frequently mentioning him, she thought he forebore on her account, and therefore took an opportunity to say to him one day, "tell me, prince, have you forgotten the sultan your father? do not you remember the promise you made to pay your duty to him occasionally? i have not forgotten what you told me at your return, and put you in mind of it, that you may acquit yourself of your promise when you may feel inclined." "madam," replied ahmed, with equal animation, "as i know i am not guilty of the forgetfulness you lay to my charge, i rather choose to be thus reproached, however undeservedly, than expose myself to a refusal, by manifesting a desire for what it might have given you pain to grant." "prince," said the fairy, "i would not have you in this affair have so much consideration for me, since it is a month since you have seen the sultan your father. i think you should not be longer in renewing your visits. pay him one to-morrow, and after that, go and visit once a month, without speaking to me, or waiting for my permission. i readily consent to such an arrangement." prince ahmed went the next morning with the same attendants as before, but much more magnificently mounted, equipped, and dressed, and was received by the sultan with the same joy and satisfaction. for several months he constantly paid him visits, and always in a richer and more brilliant equipage. at last the sultan's favourites, who judged of prince ahmed's power by the splendour of his appearance, abused the privilege the sultan accorded them of speaking to him with freedom, to make him jealous of his son. they represented that it was but common prudence to discover where the prince had retired, and how he could afford to live so magnificently, since he had no revenue assigned for his expenses; that he seemed to come to court only to insult him, by affecting to shew that he wanted nothing from his father to enable him to live like a prince; and that it was to be feared he might court the people's favour and dethrone him. the sultan of the indies was so far from thinking that prince ahmed could be capable of so wicked a design, that he said to them in displeasure, "you are mistaken, my son loves me, and i am the more assured of his tenderness and fidelity, as i have given him no reason to be disgusted." at these words, one of the favourites took an opportunity to say, "your majesty, in the opinion of the most sensible people, could not have taken a better method than you did with the three princes, respecting their marriage with the princess nouronnihar; but who knows whether prince ahmed has submitted to his fate with the same resignation as prince houssain? may not he imagine that he alone deserved her; and that your majesty, by leaving the match to be decided by chance, has done him injustice? "your majesty may say," added the malicious favourite, "that prince ahmed has manifested no appearance of dissatisfaction; that our fears are vain; that we are too easily alarmed, and are to blame in suggesting to you suspicions of this kind, which may, perhaps, be unfounded, against a prince of your blood. but, sir," pursued the favourite, "it may be also, that these suspicions are well grounded. your majesty must be sensible, that in so nice and important an affair you cannot be too much on your guard, and should take the safest course. consider, it is the prince's interest to dissemble, amuse, and deceive you; and the danger is the greater, as he resides not far from your capital; and if your majesty give but the same attention that we do, you may observe that every time he comes his attendants are different, their habits new, and their arms clean and bright, as if just come from the maker's hands; and their horses look as if they had only been walked out. these are sufficient proofs that prince ahmed does not travel far, so that we should think ourselves wanting in our duty did we not make our humble remonstrances, in order that, for your own preservation and the good of your people, your majesty may take such measures as you shall think advisable." when the favourite had concluded these insinuations, the sultan said, "i do not believe my son ahmed is so wicked as you would persuade me he is; however, i am obliged to you for your advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds from good intention and loyalty to my person." the sultan of the indies said this, that his favourites might not know the impressions their observations had made on his mind. he was, however, so much alarmed by them, that he resolved to have prince ahmed watched, unknown to his grand vizier. for this end he sent for the sorceress, who was introduced by a private door into his closet. "you told me the truth," said he, "when you assured me my son ahmed was alive, for which i am obliged to you. you must do me another kindness. i have seen him since, and he comes to my court every month; but i cannot learn from him where he resides, and do not wish to force his secret from him; but believe you are capable of satisfying my curiosity, without letting him, or any of my court, know any thing of the discovery. you know that he is at this time with me, and usually departs without taking leave of me, or any of my court. place yourself immediately upon the road, and watch him so as to find out where he retires, and bring me information." the sorceress left the sultan, and knowing the place where prince ahmed had found his arrow, went immediately thither, and concealed herself near the rocks, so as not to be seen. the next morning prince ahmed set out by daybreak, without taking leave either of the sultan or any of his court, according to custom. the sorceress seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till suddenly she lost sight of him and his attendants. the steepness of the rocks formed an insurmountable barrier to men, whether on horseback or on foot, so that the sorceress judged that the prince retired either into some cavern, or some subterraneous place, the abode of genies or fairies. when she thought the prince and his attendants must have far advanced into whatever concealment they inhabited, she came out of the place where she had hidden herself, and explored the hollow way where she had lost sight of them. she entered it, and proceeding to the spot where it terminated after many windings, looked carefully on all sides. but notwithstanding all her acuteness she could perceive no opening, nor the iron gate which prince ahmed had discovered. for this door was to be seen by or opened to none but men, and only to those whose presence was agreeable to the fairy perie banou, but not at all to women. the sorceress, who saw it was in vain for her to search any farther, was obliged to be satisfied with the insufficient discovery she had made, and returned to communicate it to the sultan. when she had told him what she had explored, she added, "your majesty may easily understand, after what i have had the honour to tell you, that it will be no difficult matter to obtain you the satisfaction you desire concerning prince ahmed's conduct. to do this, i only ask time, that you will have patience, and give me leave to act, without inquiring what measures i design to take." the sultan was pleased with the conduct of the sorceress, and said to her, "do you as you think fit; i will wait patiently the event of your promises:" and to encourage her, he presented her with a diamond of great value, telling her, it was only an earnest of the ample recompense she should receive when she should have performed the important service which he left to her management. as prince ahmed, after he had obtained the fairy perie banou's leave, never failed once a month to visit his father, the sorceress knowing the time, went a day or two before to the foot of the rock where she had lost sight of him and his attendants, and waited there to execute the project she had formed. the next morning prince ahmed went out as usual at the iron gate, with the same attendants as before, passed the sorceress, and seeing her lie with her head on the rock, complaining as if she was in great pain, he pitied her, turned his horse, and asked what he could do to relieve her? the artful sorceress, without lifting up her head, looked at the prince in such a manner as to increase his compassion, and answered in broken accents and sighs, as if she could hardly breathe, that she was going to the city; but in the way was taken with so violent a fever, that her strength failed her, and she was forced to stop and lie down where he saw her, far from any habitation, and without any hopes of assistance. "good woman," replied the prince, "you are not so far from help as you imagine. i will assist you, and convey you where you shall not only have all possible care taken of you, but where you will find a speedy cure: rise, and let one of my people take you behind him." at these words, the sorceress, who pretended sickness only to explore where the prince resided, and his situation, did not refuse the charitable offer, and to shew her acceptance rather by her actions than her words, made many affected efforts to rise, pretending that the violence of her illness prevented her. at the same time, two of the prince's attendants alighting, helped her up, and placed her behind another. they mounted their horses again, and followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which was opened by one of his retinue. when he came into the outward court of the fairy's palace, without dismounting himself, he sent to tell her he wanted to speak with her. the fairy came with all imaginable haste, not knowing what had made prince ahmed return so soon; who, not giving her time to ask, said, "my princess, i desire you would have compassion on this good woman," pointing to the sorceress, who was taken off the horse by two of his retinue; "i found her in the condition you see her, and promised her the assistance she requires. i recommend her to your care, and am persuaded that you, from inclination, as well as my request, will not abandon her." the fairy, who had her eyes fixed on the pretended sick woman all the time the prince was speaking, ordered two of her women to take her from the men who supported her, conduct her into an apartment of the palace, and take as much care of her as they would of herself. whilst the two women were executing the fairy's commands, she went up to prince ahmed, and whispering him in the ear, said, "prince, i commend your compassion, which is worthy of you and your birth. i take great pleasure in gratifying your good intention; but permit me to tell you i am afraid it will be but ill rewarded. this woman is not so sick as she pretends to be; and i am much mistaken if she is not sent hither on purpose to occasion you great trouble. but do not be concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded that i will deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid for you. go and pursue your journey." this address of the fairy's did not in the least alarm prince ahmed. "my princess," said he, "as i do not remember i ever did, or designed to do, any body injury, i cannot believe any one can have a thought of injuring me; but if they have, i shall not forbear doing good whenever i have an opportunity." so saying, he took leave of the fairy, and set forward again for his father's capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by the sultan, who constrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the anxiety arising from the suspicions suggested by his favourites. in the mean time, the two women to whom perie banou had given her orders conveyed the sorceress into an elegant apartment, richly furnished. they first set her down upon a sofa, with her back supported by a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed on the same sofa, the quilt of which was finely embroidered with silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the coverlid cloth of gold. when they had put her into bed (for the old sorceress pretended that her fever was so violent she could not help herself in the least), one of the women went out, and returned soon with a china cup in her hand, full of a certain liquor, which she presented to the sorceress, while the other helped her to sit up. "drink this," said the attendant, "it is the water of the fountain of lions, and a sovereign remedy against fevers. you will find the effect of it in less than an hour's time." the sorceress, the better to dissemble, took it, after a great deal of entreaty, as if she did it with reluctance. when she was laid down again, the two women covered her up: "lie quiet," said she, who brought her the china cup, "and get a little sleep, if you can: we will leave you, and hope to find you perfectly recovered when we return an hour hence." the sorceress, who came not to act a sick part long, but to discover prince ahmed's retreat, being fully satisfied in what she wanted to know, would willingly have declared that the potion had then had its effect, so great was her desire to return to the sultan, to inform him of the success of her commission: but as she had been told that the potion did not operate immediately, she was forced to wait the women's return. the two women came again at the time they had mentioned, and found the sorceress seated on the sofa; who, when she saw them open the door of the apartment, cried out, "o the admirable potion! it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told me it would, and i have waited with impatience to desire you to conduct me to your charitable mistress, to thank her for her kindness, for which i shall always feel obliged; but being thus cured as by a miracle, i would not lose time, but prosecute my journey." the two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after they had told the sorceress how glad they were that she was cured so soon, walked before her, and conducted her through several apartments, all more superb than that wherein she had lain, into a large hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the palace. perie banou was seated in this hall, upon a throne of massive gold, enriched with diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size, and attended on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly dressed. at the sight of so much splendour, the sorceress was not only dazzled, but so struck, that after she had prostrated herself before the throne, she could not open her lips to thank the fairy, as she had proposed. however, perie banou saved her the trouble, and said, "good woman, i am glad i had an opportunity to oblige you, and that you are able to pursue your journey. i will not detain you; but perhaps you may not be displeased to see my palace: follow my women, and they will shew it you." the old sorceress, who had not power nor courage to say a word, prostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that covered the foot of the throne, took her leave, and was conducted by the two fairies through the same apartments which were shewn to prince ahmed at his first arrival, and at sight of their uncommon magnificence she made frequent exclamations. but what surprised her most of all was, that the two fairies told her, that all she saw and so much admired was a mere sketch of their mistress's grandeur and riches; for that in the extent of her dominions she had so many palaces that they could not tell the number of them, all of different plans and architecture, but equally magnificent. in speaking of many other particulars, they led her at last to the iron gate at which prince ahmed had brought her in; and after she had taken her leave of them, and thanked them for their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a good journey. after the sorceress had gone a little way, she turned to observe the door, that she might know it again, but all in vain; for, as was before observed, it was invisible to her and all other women. except in this circumstance, she was very well satisfied with her success, and posted away to the sultan. when she came to the capital, she went by many by-ways to the private door of the palace. the sultan being informed of her arrival, sent for her into his apartment, and perceiving a melancholy hang upon her countenance, thought she had not succeeded, and said to her, "by your looks, i guess that your journey has been to no purpose, and that you have not made the discovery i expected from your diligence." "sir," replied the sorceress, "your majesty must give me leave to represent that you ought not to judge by my looks whether or no i have acquitted myself well in the execution of the commands you were pleased to honour me with; but by the faithful report i shall make you of all that has happened to me, and by which you will find that i have not neglected any thing that could render me worthy of your approbation. the melancholy you observe proceeds from another cause than the want of success, which i hope your majesty will have ample reason to be satisfied with. i do not tell you the cause; the relation i shall give will inform you." the sorceress now related to the sultan of the indies how, pretending to be sick, prince ahmed compassionating her, had her carried into a subterraneous abode, and presented and recommended her to a fairy of incomparable beauty, desiring her by her care to restore her health. she then told him with how much condescension the fairy had immediately ordered two women to take care of her, and not to leave her till she was recovered; which great condescension, said she, could proceed from no other female, but from a wife to a husband. afterwards the old sorceress failed not to dwell on her surprise at the front of the palace, which she said had not its equal for magnificence in the world. she gave a particular account of the care they took of her, after they had led her into an apartment; of the potion they made her drink, and of the quickness of her cure; which she had pretended as well as her sickness, though she doubted not the virtue of the draught; the majesty of the fairy seated on a throne, brilliant with jewels, the value of which exceeded all the riches of the kingdom of the indies, and all the other treasures beyond computation contained in that vast palace. here the sorceress finishing the relation of the success of her commission, and continuing her discourse, said, "what does your majesty think of these unheard-of riches of the fairy? perhaps you will say, you are struck with admiration, and rejoice at the good fortune of prince ahmed your son, who enjoys them in common with the fairy. for my part, sir, i beg of your majesty to forgive me if i take the liberty to say that i think otherwise, and that i shudder when i consider the misfortunes which may happen to you from his present situation. and this is the cause of the melancholy which i could not so well dissemble, but that you soon perceived it. i would believe that prince ahmed, by his own good disposition, is incapable of undertaking anything against your majesty; but who can answer that the fairy, by her attractions and caresses, and the influence she has over him, may not inspire him with the unnatural design of dethroning your majesty, and seizing the crown of the indies? this is what your majesty ought to consider as of the utmost importance." though the sultan of the indies was persuaded that prince ahmed's natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being moved at the representations of the old sorceress, and said, "i thank you for the pains you have taken, and your wholesome caution. i am so sensible of its great importance that i shall take advice upon it." he was consulting with his favourites, when he was told of the sorceress's arrival. he ordered her to follow him to them. he acquainted them with what he had learnt, communicated to them the reason he had to fear the fairy's influence over the prince, and asked them what measures they thought most proper to be taken to prevent so great a misfortune as might possibly happen. one of the favourites, taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said, "your majesty knows who must be the author of this mischief. in order to prevent it, now he is in your court, and in your power, you ought not to hesitate to put him under arrest; i will not say take away his life, for that would make too much noise; but make him a close prisoner." this advice all the other favourites unanimously applauded. the sorceress, who thought it too violent, asked the sultan leave to speak, which being granted, she said, "i am persuaded it is the zeal of your counsellors for your majesty's interest that makes them propose arresting prince ahmed. but they will not take it amiss if i offer to your and their consideration, that if you arrest the prince you must also detain his retinue. but they are all genies. do they think it will be so easy to surprise, seize, and secure their persons? will they not disappear, by the property they possess of rendering themselves invisible, and transport themselves instantly to the fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered her husband? and can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? would it not be better, if by any other means which might not make so great a noise, the sultan could secure himself against any ill designs prince ahmed may have, and not involve his majesty's honour? if his majesty has any confidence in my advice, as genies and fairies can do things impracticable to men, he will rather trust prince ahmed's honour, and engage him by means of the fairy to procure certain advantages, by flattering his ambition, and at the same time narrowly watching him. for example; every time your majesty takes the field, you are obliged to be at a great expense, not only in pavilions and tents for yourself and army, but likewise in mules and camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry their baggage. request the prince to procure you a tent, which can be carried in a man's hand, but so large as to shelter your whole army. "i need say no more to your majesty. if the prince brings such a tent, you may make other demands of the same nature, so that at last he may sink under the difficulties and the impossibility of executing them, however fertile in means and inventions the fairy, who has enticed him from you by her enchantments, may be; so that in time he will be ashamed to appear, and will be forced to pass the rest of his life with the fairy, excluded from any commerce with this world; when your majesty will have nothing to fear from him, and cannot be reproached with so detestable an action as the shedding of a son's blood, or confining him for life in a prison." when the sorceress had finished her speech, the sultan asked his favourites if they had any thing better to propose; and finding them all silent, determined to follow her advice, as the most reasonable and most agreeable to his mild manner of government. the next day when the prince came into his father's presence, who was talking with his favourites, and had sat down by him, after a conversation on different subjects, the sultan, addressing himself to prince ahmed, said, "son, when you came and dispelled those clouds of melancholy which your long absence had brought upon me, you made the place you had chosen for your retreat a mastery. i was satisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that you were content with your condition, sought not to penetrate into your secret, which i found you did not wish i should. i know not what reason you had thus to treat a father, who ever was and still continues anxious for your happiness. i now know your good fortune. i rejoice with you, and much approve of your conduct in marrying a fairy so worthy of your love, and so rich and powerful as i am informed she is. powerful as i am, it was not possible for me to have procured for you so great a match. now you are raised to so high a rank, as to be envied by all but a father, i not only desire to preserve the good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between us, but request that you will use your influence with your wife, to obtain her assistance when i may want it. i will therefore make a trial of your interest this day. "you are not insensible at what a great expense, not to say trouble to my generals, officers, and myself, every time i take the field, they provide tents, mules, camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry them. if you consider the pleasure you would do me, i am persuaded you could easily procure from the fairy a pavilion that might be carried in a man's hand, and which would extend over my whole army; especially when you let her know it is for me. though it may be a difficult thing to procure, she will not refuse you. all the world knows fairies are capable of executing most extraordinary undertakings." prince ahmed never expected that the sultan his father would have made a demand like this, which appeared to him so difficult, not to say impossible. though he knew not absolutely how great the power of genii and fairies was, he doubted whether it extended so far as to furnish such a tent as his father desired. moreover, he had never asked any thing of the fairy perie banou, but was satisfied with the continual proofs she had given him of her passion, and had neglected nothing to persuade her that his heart perfectly corresponded without any views beyond maintaining himself in her good graces: he was therefore in the greatest embarrassment what answer to make. at last he replied, "if, sir, i have concealed from your majesty what has happened to me, and what course i took after finding my arrow, the reason was, that i thought it of no great importance to you to be informed of such circumstances; and though i know not how this mystery has been revealed to you, i cannot deny but your information is correct. i have married the fairy you speak of. i love her, and am persuaded she loves me in return. but i can say nothing as to the influence your majesty believes i have over her. it is what i have not yet proved, nor thought of trying, but could wish you would dispense with my making the experiment, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving and being beloved, with all that disinterestedness i had proposed to myself. however, the demand of a father is a command upon every child, who, like me, thinks it his duty to obey him in every thing. and though it is with the greatest reluctance, i will not fail to ask my wife the favour your majesty desires, but cannot promise you to obtain it; and if i should not have the honour to come again to pay you my respects, it will be the sign that i have not been able to succeed in my request: but beforehand, i desire you to forgive me, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this extremity." "son," replied the sultan of the indies, "i should be sorry that what i ask should oblige you to deprive me of the gratification of seeing you as usual. i find you do not know the power a husband has over a wife; and yours would shew that her love to you was very slight, if, with the power she possesses as a fairy, she should refuse so trifling a request as that i have begged you to make. lay aside your fears, which proceed from your believing yourself not to be loved so well as you love her. go; only ask her. you will find the fairy loves you better than you imagine; and remember that people, for want of requesting, often lose great advantages. think with yourself, that as you love her, you could refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves you, she will not deny your requests." all these representations of the sultan of the indies could not satisfy prince ahmed, who would rather he had asked anything else than, as he supposed, what must expose him to the hazard of displeasing his beloved perie banou; and so great was his vexation that he left the court two days sooner than he used to do. when he returned, the fairy, to whom he always before had appeared with a gay countenance, asked him the cause of the alteration she perceived in his looks; and finding that instead of answering he inquired after her health, to avoid satisfying her, she said to him, "i will answer your question when you have answered mine." the prince declined a long time, protesting that nothing was the matter with him; but the more he denied the more she pressed him, and said, "i cannot bear to see you thus: tell me what makes you uneasy, that i may remove the cause, whatever it may be; for it must be very extraordinary if it is out of my power, unless it be the death of the sultan your father; in that case, time, with all that i will contribute on my part, can alone comfort you." prince ahmed could not long withstand the pressing instances of the fairy. "madam," said he, "god prolong the sultan my father's life, and bless him to the end of his days. i left him alive and in perfect health; therefore that is not the cause of the melancholy you perceive in me. the sultan, however, is the occasion of it, and i am the more concerned because he has imposed upon me the disagreeable necessity of importuning you. you know the care i have at your desire taken to conceal from him the happiness i have enjoyed in living with you, and of having received the pledge of your faith after having pledged my love to you. how he has been informed of it i cannot tell." here the fairy interrupted prince ahmed, and said, "but i know. remember what i told you of the woman who made you believe she was sick, on whom you took so much compassion. it is she who has acquainted your father with what you have taken so much care to hide from him. i told you that she was no more sick than you or i, and she has made it appear so; for, in short, after the two women, whom i charged to take care of her, had given her the water sovereign against all fevers, but which however she had no occasion for, she pretended that it had cured her, and was brought to take her leave of me that she might go the sooner to give an account of the success of her undertaking. she was in so much haste, that she would have gone away without seeing my palace if i had not, by bidding my two women shew it her, given her to understand that it was worth her seeing. but proceed and tell me what is the necessity your father has imposed on you to be so importunate, which, be persuaded, however, you can never be to your affectionate wife." "madam," pursued prince ahmed, "you may have observed that hitherto i have been content with your love, and have never asked you any other favour: for what, after the possession of so amiable a wife, can i desire more? i know how great your power is, but i have taken care not to make proof of it to please myself. consider then, i conjure you, that it is not myself, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly as i think, asks of you a pavilion large enough to shelter him, his court, and army, from the violence of the weather, when he takes the field, and which a man may carry in his hand. once more remember it is not i, but the sultan my father who asks this favour." "prince," replied the fairy smiling, "i am sorry that so trifling a matter should disturb and make you so uneasy as you appear. i see plainly two things have contributed towards it: one is, the law you have imposed on yourself, to be content with loving me, being beloved by me, and deny yourself the liberty of soliciting the least favour that might try my power. the other, i do not doubt, whatever you may say, was, that you thought that what your father asked was out of my power. as to the first, i commend you, and shall love you the better, if possible, for it; and for the second, i must tell you that what the sultan your father requests is a trifle; as upon occasion i can do him more important service. therefore be easy in your mind, and persuaded that far from thinking myself importuned i shall always take real pleasure in performing whatever you can desire." perie banou then sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she said, "noor-jehaun" (which was her name), "bring me the largest pavilion in my treasury." noor-jehaun returned presently with a pavilion, which could not only be held, but concealed in the palm of the hand, when it was closed, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it prince ahmed to look at. when prince ahmed saw the pavilion, which the fairy called the largest in her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to banter him, and his surprise soon appeared in his countenance; which perie banou perceiving, she burst out a laughing. "what! prince," cried she, "do you think i jest with you? you will see that i am in earnest. noor-jehaun," said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of prince ahmed's hands, "go and set it up, that he may judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough." the treasurer went out immediately with it from the palace, and carried it to such a distance, that when she had set it up, one end reached to the palace. the prince, so far from thinking it small, found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his father; and then said to perie banou, "i ask my princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what i have seen, i believe there is nothing impossible to you." "you see," said the fairy, "that the pavilion is larger than your father may have occasion for; but you are to observe that it has one property, that it becomes larger or smaller, according to the extent of the army it is to cover, without applying any hands to it." the treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first size, brought it and put it into the prince's hands. he took it, and without staying longer than till the next day, mounted his horse, and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his father. the sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he had asked for was beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince's speedy return. he took the tent, but after he had admired its smallness, his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself when he had set it up in the great plain before-mentioned, and found it large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field. regarding this excess in its dimension as what might be troublesome in the use, prince ahmed told him that its size would always be proportionable to his army. to outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligation to the prince for so noble a present, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy; and to shew what a value he set upon it, ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. but within himself he felt greater jealousy than his flatterers and the sorceress had suggested to him; considering, that by the fairy's assistance the prince his son might perform things infinitely above his own power, notwithstanding his greatness and riches; therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went to consult the sorceress again, who advised him to engage the prince to bring him some of the water of the fountain of lions. in the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all his court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he addressed himself to him in these words: "son, i have already expressed to you how much i am obliged for the present of the tent you have procured me, which i esteem the most valuable curiosity in my treasury: but you must do one thing more, which will be no less agreeable to me. i am informed that the fairy your spouse makes use of a certain water, called the water of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous; and as i am perfectly well persuaded my health is dear to you, i do not doubt but you will ask her for a bottle of that water, and bring it me as a sovereign remedy, which i may use as i have occasion. do me this important service, and complete the duty of a good son towards a tender father." prince ahmed, who believed that the sultan his father would have been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon him which might hazard the fairy's displeasure, was thunderstruck at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him of granting him whatever lay in her power. after a long silence, he said, "i beg of your majesty to be assured, that there is nothing i would not undertake to procure which may contribute to the prolonging of your life, but i could wish it might not be by the means of my wife. for this reason i dare not promise to bring the water. all i can do is, to assure you i will request it of her; but it will be with as great reluctance as i asked for the tent." the next morning prince ahmed returned to the fairy perie banou, and related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at his father's court from the giving of the tent, which he told her he received with the utmost gratitude, to the new request he had charged him to make. he added: "but, my princess, i only tell you this as a plain account of what passed between me and my father. i leave you to your own pleasure, whether you will gratify or reject this his new desire. it shall be as you please." "no, no," replied the fairy, "i am glad that the sultan of the indies knows that you are not indifferent to me. i will satisfy him, and whatever advice the sorceress may give him (for i see that he hearkens to her counsel), he shall find no fault with you or me. there is much wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by what i am going to tell you. the fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep alternately, while the other two are awake. but let not that frighten you. i will supply you with means to pass by them without danger." the fairy perie banou was at that time at work with her needle; and as she had by her several clues of thread, she took up one, and presenting it to prince ahmed, said, "first take this clue of thread, i will tell you presently the use of it. in the second place, you must have two horses; one you must ride yourself, and the other you must lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, that must be killed to-day. in the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which i will give you, to bring the water in. set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the iron gate throw before you the clue of thread, which will roll till it reaches the gates of the castle. follow it, and when it stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. the two that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. be not alarmed, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. fill your bottle without alighting, and return with the same expedition. the lions will be so busy eating they will let you pass unmolested." prince ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed him by the fairy, and followed her directions punctually. when he arrived at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with intrepidity, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned safe. when he had got a little distance from the castle gates, he turned about; and perceiving two of the lions coming after him, drew his sabre, and prepared himself for defence. but as he went forwards, he saw one of them turn out of the road at some distance, and shewed by his head and tail that he did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other stayed behind to follow. he therefore put his sword again into its scabbard. guarded in this manner he arrived at the capital of the indies; but the lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan's palace; after which they returned the way they had come, though not without alarming the populace, who fled or hid themselves to avoid them, notwithstanding they walked gently and shewed no signs of fierceness. a number of officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and conduct him to the sultan's apartment, who was at that time conversing with his favourites. he approached the throne, laid the bottle at the sultan's feet, kissed the rich carpet which covered the footstool, and rising, said, "i have brought you, sir, the salutary water which your majesty so much desired to store up among other rarities in your treasury; but at the same time wish you such health as never to have occasion to make use of it." after the prince had concluded his compliment, the sultan placed him on his right hand, and said, "son, i am much obliged to you for this valuable present; as also for the great danger you have exposed yourself to on my account (which i have been informed of by the sorceress, who knows the fountain of lions); but do me the pleasure, continued he, to inform me by what address, or rather by what incredible power, you have been preserved." "sir," replied prince ahmed, "i have no share in the compliment your majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my spouse, and i take no other merit than that of having followed her advice." then he informed the sultan what that advice was, by the relation of his expedition, and how he had conducted himself. when he had done, the sultan, who shewed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous, retired into an inward apartment, whence he sent for the sorceress. the sorceress, on her arrival, saved the sultan the trouble of telling her of the success of prince ahmed's journey, which she had heard before she came, and therefore was prepared with a new request. this she communicated to the sultan, who declared it the next day to the prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, in these words: "son, i have one thing yet to ask of you; after which, i shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your interest with your wife. this request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feet long, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundred weight, which he uses as a quarter-staff, and who can speak." prince ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world as his father had described, would gladly have excused himself; but the sultan persisted in his demand, and told him the fairy could do more incredible things. next day the prince returned to the subterraneous kingdom of perie banou, to whom he related his father's new demand, which, he said, he looked upon to be a thing more impossible than the two first. "for," added he, "i cannot imagine there is or can be such a man in the world; without doubt he has a mind to try whether i am silly enough to search, or if there is such a man he seeks my ruin. in short, how can we suppose that i should lay hold of a man so small, armed as he describes? what arms can i use to reduce him to submission? if there are any means, i beg you will tell me how i may come off with honour this time also." "do not alarm yourself, prince," replied the fairy: "you ran a risk in fetching the water of the fountain of the lions for your father; but there is no danger in finding this man. it is my brother schaibar, who is so far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of so violent a nature, that nothing can prevent his giving bloody marks of his resentment for a slight offence; yet, on the other hand, is so liberal as to oblige any one in whatever they desire. he is made exactly as the sultan your father has described him; and has no other arms than a bar of iron of five hundred pounds weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes him respected. i will send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what i tell you; but prepare yourself not to be alarmed at his extraordinary figure." "what! my queen," replied prince ahmed, "do you say schaibar is your brother? let him be ever so ugly or deformed i shall be so far from being frightened at his appearance, that i shall love and honour him, and consider him as my nearest relation." the fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal: out of the latter she took some incense, and threw it into the fire, when there arose a thick cloud of smoke. some moments after, the fairy said to prince ahmed, "prince, there comes my brother; do you see him?" the prince immediately perceived schaibar, who was but a foot and a half high, coming gravely with his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard thirty feet long, which supported itself before him, and a pair of thick moustaches in proportion, tucked up to his ears, and almost covering his face: his eyes were very small, like a pig's, and deep sunk in his head, which was of an enormous size, and on which he wore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had a hump behind and and before. if prince ahmed had not known that schaibar was perie banou's brother, he would not have been able to behold him without fear; but knowing who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least concern. schaibar, as he came forwards, looked at the prince with an eye that would have chilled his soul in his body, and asked perie banou, when he first accosted her, who that man was? to which she replied, "he is my husband, brother; his name is ahmed; he is a son of the sultan of the indies. the reason why i did not invite you to my wedding was, i was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which i heard with pleasure you returned victorious; on his account i have taken the liberty now to call for you." at these words, schaibar, looking at prince ahmed with a favourable eye, which however diminished neither his fierceness nor savage look, said, "is there any thing, sister, wherein i can serve him? he has only to speak. it is enough for me that he is your husband, to engage me to do for him whatever he desires." "the sultan his father," replied perie banou, "has a curiosity to see you, and i desire he may be your guide to the sultan's court." "he needs but lead the way; i will follow him," replied schaibar. "brother," resumed perie banou, "it is too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the mean time, as it is fit you should know all that has passed between the sultan of the indies and prince ahmed since our marriage, i will inform you this evening." the next morning, after schaibar had been informed of all that was proper for him to know, he set out with prince ahmed, who was to present him to the sultan. when they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people, as soon as they saw schaibar, ran and hid themselves in their shops and houses, shutting their doors, while others taking to their heels, communicated their fear to all they met, who stayed not to look behind them; insomuch, that schaibar and prince ahmed, as they went along, found all the streets and squares desolate, till they came to the palace, where the porters, instead of preventing schaibar from entering, ran away too; so that the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne and giving audience. here likewise the officers, at the approach of schaibar, abandoned their posts, and gave them free admittance. schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be presented by prince ahmed, and accosted the sultan of the indies in these words: "you have asked for me," said he; "see, here i am, what would you have with me?" the sultan, instead of answering, clapped his hands before his eyes, and turned away his head, to avoid the sight of so terrible an object. schaibar was so much provoked at this uncivil and rude reception, after he had given him the trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar, saying, "speak, then;" let it fall on his head, and killed him, before prince ahmed could intercede in his behalf. all that he could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from him on his right hand, representing to him that he had always given the sultan his father good advice. "these are they then," said schaibar, "who gave him bad;" and as he pronounced these words, he killed all the other viziers on the right and left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan, who were prince ahmed's enemies. every time he struck he crushed some one or other, and none escaped but those who, not rendered motionless by fear, saved themselves by flight. when this terrible execution was over, schaibar came out of the council-hall into the court-yard with the iron bar upon his shoulder, and looking at the grand vizier, who owed his life to prince ahmed, said, "i know there is here a certain sorceress, who is a greater enemy of the prince my brother-in-law than all those base favourites i have chastised; let her be brought to me immediately." the grand vizier instantly sent for her, and as soon as she was brought, schaibar, knocking her down with his iron bar, said, "take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign sickness again;" he left her dead on the spot. after this he said, "this is not yet enough; i will treat the whole city in the same manner, if they do not immediately acknowledge prince ahmed my brother-in-law as sultan of the indies." then all who were present made the air ring with the repeated acclamations of "long life to sultan ahmed;" and immediately after, he was proclaimed through the whole metropolis. schaibar caused him to be clothed in the royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had made all swear homage and fidelity, returned to his sister perie banou, whom he brought with great pomp, and made her to be owned sultaness of the indies. as for prince ali and princess nouronnihar, as they had no concern in the conspiracy, prince ahmed assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent the rest of their lives. afterwards he sent an officer to houssain, to acquaint him with the change, and make him an offer of any province he might choose; but that prince thought himself so happy in his solitude, that he desired the officer to return his brother thanks for the kindness he designed him, assuring him of his submission; but that the only favour he desired was, to be indulged with leave to live retired in the place he had chosen for his retreat. the story of the sisters who envied their younger sister. there was an emperor of persia named khoosroo shaw, who, when he first came to his crown, in order to obtain a knowledge of affairs, took great pleasure in night adventures, attended by a trusty minister. he often walked in disguise through the city, and met with many adventures. after the ceremonies of his father's funeral-rites and his own inauguration were over, the new sultan, as well from inclination as duty, went out one evening attended by his grand vizier, disguised like himself, to observe what was transacting in the city. as he was passing through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner sort, he heard some people talking very loud; and going close to the house whence the noise proceeded, and looking through a crack in the door, perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing together after supper. by what the eldest said, he presently understood the subject of their conversation was wishes: "for," said she, "since we have got upon wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan's baker for my husband, for then i shall eat my fill of that bread, which by way of excellence is called the sultan's: let us see if your tastes are as good as mine." "for my part," replied the second sister, "i wish i was wife to the sultan's chief cook, for then i should eat of the most excellent dishes; and as i am persuaded that the sultan's bread is common in the palace, i should not want any of that; therefore you see," addressing herself to her eldest sister, "that i have a better taste than you." the youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit than the two elder, spoke in her turn: "for my part, sisters," said she, "i shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight; and since we are upon wishing, i wish to be the emperor's queen consort. i would make him father of a prince, whose hair should be gold on one side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cried, the tears from his eyes should be pearl; and when he smiled, his vermilion lips should look like a rose-bud fresh blown." the three sisters' wishes, particularly that of the youngest, seemed so singular to the sultan, that he resolved to gratify them in their desires; but without communicating his design to his grand vizier, he charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three sisters before him the following day. the grand vizier, in executing the emperor's orders, would but just give the sisters time to dress themselves to appear before him, without telling them the reason. he brought them to the palace, and presented them to the emperor, who said to them, "do you remember the wishes you expressed last night, when you were all in so pleasant a mood? speak the truth; i must know what they were." at these unexpected words of the emperor, the three sisters were much confounded. they cast down their eyes and blushed, and the colour which rose in the cheeks of the youngest quite captivated the emperor's heart. modesty, and fear lest they might have offended the emperor by their conversation, kept them silent. the emperor perceiving their confusion, said, to encourage them, "fear nothing, i did not send for you to distress you; and since i see that is the effect of the question i asked, without my intending it, as i know the wish of each, i will relieve you from your fears. you," added he, "who wished to be my wife shall have your desire this day; and you," continued he, addressing himself to the two elder sisters, "shall also be married to my chief baker and cook." as soon as the sultan had declared his pleasure, the youngest sister, setting her eldest an example, threw herself at the emperor's feet, to express her gratitude. "sir," said she, "my wish, since it is come to your majesty's knowledge, was expressed only in the way of conversation and amusement. i am unworthy of the honour you do me, and supplicate your pardon for my presumption." the two other sisters would have excused themselves also; but the emperor interrupting them, said, "no, no; it shall be as i have declared; every one's wish shall be fulfilled." the nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the emperor had resolved, but in a different manner. the youngest sister's were solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the emperors of persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan's chief baker, and the other as head cook. the two elder felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that of their younger sister. this consideration made them far from being content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their late wishes, and much beyond their hopes. they gave themselves up to an excess of jealousy, which not only disturbed their joy, but was the cause of great troubles and afflictions to the queen consort their younger sister. they had not an opportunity to communicate their thoughts to each other on the preference the emperor had given her, but were altogether employed in preparing themselves for the celebration of their marriages. some days afterwards, when they had an opportunity of seeing each other at the public baths, the eldest said to the other, "well, what say you to our sister's great fortune? is not she a fine person to be a queen!" "i must own," said the other sister, "i cannot conceive what charms the emperor could discover to be so bewitched by the young gipsy. was it a reason sufficient for him not to cast his eyes on you, because she was somewhat younger? you were as worthy of his bed; and in justice he ought to have preferred you." "sister," said the elder, "i should not have regretted if his majesty had but pitched upon you; but that he should choose that hussy really grieves me. but i will revenge myself; and you, i think, are as much concerned as me; therefore i propose that we should contrive measures, and act in concert in a common cause: communicate to me what you think the likeliest way to mortify her, while i, on my side, will inform you what my desire of revenge shall suggest to me." after this wicked agreement, the two sisters saw each other frequently, and consulted how they might disturb and interrupt the happiness of the queen. they proposed a great many ways, but in deliberating about the manner of executing them, found so many difficulties, that they durst not attempt them. in the mean time, they often went together to make her visits with a detestable dissimulation, and every time shewed her all the marks of affection they could devise, to persuade her how overjoyed they were to have a sister raised to so high a fortune. the queen, on her part, constantly received them with all the demonstrations of esteem they could expect: from a sister who was not puffed up with her high dignity, and loved them as cordially as before. some months after her marriage, the queen found herself to be with child. the emperor expressed great joy, which was communicated to all the court, and spread throughout the empire of persia. upon this news the two sisters came to pay their compliments, and proffered their service to deliver her, desiring her, if not provided with a midwife, to accept of them. the queen said to them most obligingly, "sisters, i should desire nothing more, if it was absolutely in my power to make the choice. i am however obliged to you for your good-will, but must submit to what the emperor shall order on this occasion. let your husbands employ their friends to make interest, and get some courtier to ask this favour of his majesty; and if he speaks to me about it, be assured that i shall not only express the pleasure he does me, but thank him for making choice of you." the two husbands applied themselves to some courtiers their patrons, and begged of them to use their interest to procure their wives the honour they aspired to. those patrons exerted themselves so much in their behalf, that the emperor promised them to consider of the matter, and was as good as his word; for in conversation with the queen, he told her, that he thought her sisters were the most proper persons to assist her in her labour; but would not name them before he had asked her consent. the queen, sensible of the deference the emperor so obligingly paid her, said to him, "sir, i was prepared to do as your majesty might please to command. but since you have been so kind as to think of my sisters, i thank you for the regard you have shewn them for my sake; and therefore i shall not dissemble, that i had rather have them than strangers." the emperor named the queen's two sisters to be her midwives; and from that time they went frequently to the palace, overjoyed at the opportunity they should have of executing the detestable wickedness they had meditated against the queen. when the queen's time was up she was safely delivered of a young prince, as bright as the day; but neither his innocence nor beauty could move the cruel hearts of the merciless sisters. they wrapped him up carelessly in his cloths, and put him into a basket, which they abandoned to the stream of a small canal, that ran under the queen's apartment, and declared that she was delivered of a little dead dog, which they produced. this disagreeable intelligence was announced to the emperor, who became so angry at the circumstance, that he was likely to have occasioned the queen's death, if his grand vizier had not represented to him, that he could not, without injustice, make her answerable for the caprices of nature. in the mean time, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was carried by the stream beyond a wall, which bounded the prospect of the queen's apartment, and from thence floated with the current down the gardens. by chance the intendant of the emperor's gardens, one of the principal and most considerable officers of the kingdom, was walking in the garden by the side of this canal, and perceiving a basket floating, called to a gardener, who was not far off, to bring it to shore, that he might see what it contained. the gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him. the intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a child, which, though he knew it could be but just born, had very fine features. this officer had been married several years, but though he had always been desirous of having children, heaven had never blessed him with any. this accident interrupted his walk: he made the gardener follow him with the child; and when he came to his own house, which was situated at the entrance into the gardens of the palace, went into his wife's apartment. "wife," said he, "as we have no children of our own, god has sent us one. i recommend him to you; provide him a nurse, and take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this moment, i acknowledge him as such." the intendant's wife received the child with great joy, and took particular pleasure in the care of him. the intendant himself would not inquire too narrowly whence the child came. he saw plainly it came not far off the queen's apartment; but it was not his business to examine too closely into what had passed, nor to create disturbances in a place where peace was so necessary. the following year the queen consort was brought to bed of another prince, on whom the unnatural sisters had no more compassion than on his brother; but exposed him likewise in a basket, and set him adrift in the canal, pretending this time that the sultaness was delivered of a cat. it was happy also for this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal side, who had it carried to his wife, and charged her to take as much care of it as of the former; which was as agreeable to her inclination as it was to that of the intendant. the emperor of persia was more enraged this time against the queen than before, and she had felt the effects of his anger if the grand vizier's remonstrances had not prevailed. the third time the queen lay in she was delivered of a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as the princes her brothers; for the two sisters being determined not to desist from their detestable schemes, till they had seen the queen their younger sister at least cast off, turned out, and humbled, exposed this infant also on the canal. but the princess, as well as the two princes her brothers, was preserved from death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens. to this inhumanity the two sisters added a lie and deceit as before. they produced a piece of wood, and affirmed it to be a false birth of which the queen had been delivered. khoosroo shaw could no longer contain himself, when he was informed of the new extraordinary birth. "what!" said he; "this woman, unworthy of my bed, will fill my palace with monsters, if i let her live any longer! no, it shall not be; she is a monster herself, and i must rid the world of her." he pronounced sentence of death, and ordered the grand vizier to see it executed. the grand vizier and the courtiers who were present cast themselves at the emperor's feet, to beg of him to revoke the sentence. "your majesty, i hope, will give me leave," said the grand vizier, "to represent to you, that the laws which condemn persons to death were made to punish crimes; the three extraordinary labours of the queen are not crimes; for in what can she be said to have contributed towards them? many other women have had, and have the same every day, and are to be pitied, but not punished. your majesty may abstain from seeing her, but let her live. the affliction in which she will spend the rest of her life, after the loss of your favour, will be a punishment sufficiently distressing." the emperor of persia considered with himself, and reflecting that it was unjust to condemn the queen to death for what had happened, said, "let her live then; i will spare her life; but it shall be on this condition, that she shall desire to die more than once every day. let a wooden shed be built for her at the gate of the principal mosque, with iron bars to the windows, and let her be put into it, in the coarsest habit; and every mussulmaun that shall go into the mosque to prayers shall spit in her face. if any one fail, i will have him exposed to the same punishment; and that i maybe punctually obeyed, i charge you, vizier, to appoint persons to see this done." the emperor pronounced his sentence in such a tone that the grand vizier durst not further remonstrate; and it was executed, to the great satisfaction of the two envious sisters. a shed was built, and the queen, truly worthy of compassion, was put into it, and exposed ignominiously to the contempt of the people; which usage, as she did not deserve it, she bore with a patient resignation that excited the admiration as well as compassion of those who judged of things better than the vulgar. the two princes and the princess were, in the mean time, nursed and brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife with all the tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all shewed marks of superior dignity, but the princess in particular, which discovered itself every day by their docility and inclinations above trifles, different from those of common children, and by a certain air which could only belong to exalted birth. all this increased the affections of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest prince bahman, and the second perviz, both of them names of the most ancient emperors of persia, and the princess, perie-zadeh, which name also had been borne by several queens and princesses of the kingdom. as soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess their sister, who was often with them, shewing a great desire to learn, the intendant, pleased with her quickness, employed the same master to teach her also. her emulation, vivacity, and piercing wit, made her in a little time as great a proficient as her brothers. from that time the brothers and sister had the same masters in geography, poetry, history, and even the secret sciences; and made so wonderful a progress, that their tutors were amazed, and frankly owned that they could teach them no farther. at the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing and play upon all sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride she would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through all the exercises with them, learning to ride also, to bend the bow, and dart the reed or javelin, and often-times outdid them in the race, and other contests of agility. the intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted children so accomplished in all the perfections of body and mind, and that they so well requited the expense he had been at in their education, that he resolved to be at a still greater: for as he had till then been content only with his lodge at the entrance of the garden, and kept no country house, he purchased a country seat at a short distance from the city, surrounded by a large tract of arable land, meadows, and woods. as the house was not sufficiently handsome nor convenient, he pulled it down, and spared no expense in building a mansion more magnificent. he went every day to hasten, by his presence, the great number of workmen he employed; and as soon as there was an apartment ready to receive him, passed several days together there when his presence was not necessary at court; and by the same exertions, the interior was furnished in the richest manner, answerably to the magnificence of the edifice. afterwards he made gardens, according to a plan drawn by himself. he took in a large extent of ground, which he walled round, and stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and princess might divert themselves with hunting when they chose. when this country seat was finished and fit for habitation, the intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the emperor's feet, and after representing how long he had served, and the infirmities of age which he found growing upon him, begged he would permit him to resign his charge into his majesty's disposal, and retire. the emperor gave him leave, with the more pleasure because he was satisfied with his long services, both in his father's reign and his own; and when he granted it, asked what he should do to recompense him? "sir," replied the intendant of the gardens, "i have received so many obligations from your majesty and the late emperor your father of happy memory, that i desire no more than the honour of dying in your favour." he took his leave of the emperor, and retired with the two princes and the princess to the country retreat he had built. his wife had been dead some years, and he himself had not lived above six months with them before he was surprised by so sudden a death, that he had not time to give them the least account of the manner in which he had discovered them. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, who knew no other father than the intendant of the emperor's gardens, regretted and bewailed him as such, and paid all the honours in his funeral obsequies which love and filial gratitude required of them. satisfied with the plentiful fortune he had left them, they lived together in perfect union, free from the ambition of distinguishing themselves at court, or aspiring to places of honour and dignity, which they might easily have obtained. one day when the two princes were hunting, and the princess had remained at home, a religious old woman came to the gate, and desired leave to go in to say her prayers, it being then the hour. the servants asked the princess's permission, who ordered them to shew her into the oratory, which the intendant of the emperor's gardens had taken care to fit up in his house, for want of a mosque in the neighbourhood. she bade them also, after the good woman had finished her prayers, shew her the house and gardens, and then bring her to her. the old woman went into the oratory, said her prayers, and when she came out two of the princess's women invited her to see the house and gardens; which civility she accepted, followed them from one apartment to another, and observed, like a person who understood what belonged to furniture, the nice arrangement of every thing. they conducted her also into the garden, the disposition of which she found so well planned, that she admired it, observing that the person who had formed it must have been an excellent master of his art. afterwards she was brought before the princess, who waited for her in the great hall, which in beauty and richness exceeded all that she had admired in the other apartments. as soon as the princess saw the devout woman, she said to her, "my good mother, come near and sit down by me. i am overjoyed at the happiness of having the opportunity of profiting for some moments by the good example and conversation of such a person as you, who have taken the right way by dedicating yourself to the service of god. i wish every one were as wise." the devout woman, instead of sitting on a sofa, would only sit upon the edge of one. the princess would not permit her to do so, but rising from her seat,'and taking her by the hand, obliged her to come and sit by her. the good woman, sensible of the civility, said, "madam, i ought not to have so much respect shewn me; but since you command, and are mistress of your own house, i will obey you." when she had seated herself, before they entered into any conversation, one of the princess's women brought a little low stand of mother of pearl and ebony, with a china dish full of cakes upon it, and many others set round it full of fruits in season, and wet and dry sweetmeats. the princess took up one of the cakes, and presenting her with it, said, "eat, good mother, and make choice of what you like best; you had need to eat after coming so far." "madam," replied the good woman, "i am not used to eat such delicacies; but will not refuse what god has sent me by so liberal a hand as yours." while the devout woman was eating, the princess ate a little too, to bear her company, and asked her many questions upon the exercise of devotion which she practised, and how she lived: all which she answered with great modesty. talking of several things, at last she asked her what she thought of the house, and how she liked it. "madam," answered the devout woman, "i must certainly have very bad taste to disapprove any thing in it, since it is beautiful, regular, and magnificently furnished with exactness and judgment, and all its ornaments adjusted in the best manner. its situation is an agreeable spot, and no garden can be more delightful; but yet if you will give me leave to speak my mind freely, i will take the liberty to tell you, that this house would be incomparable if it had three things which are wanting to complete it." "my good mother," replied the princess perie-zadeh, "what are those? i conjure you, in god's name, to tell me what they are: i will spare nothing to get them, if it be possible." "madam," replied the devout woman, "the first of these three things is the speaking bird, so singular a creature, that it draws round it all the singing birds of the neighbourhood, which come to accompany his song. the second is the singing tree, the leaves of which are so many mouths, which form an harmonious concert of different voices, and never cease. the third is the yellow water of a gold colour, a single drop of which being poured into a vessel properly prepared, it increases so as to fill it immediately, and rises up in the middle like a fountain, which continually plays, and yet the basin never overflows." "ah! my good mother," cried the princess, "how much am i obliged to you for the knowledge of these curiosities! they are surprising, and i never before heard there were such wonderful rarities in the world; but as i am persuaded that you know, i expect that you should do me the favour to inform me where they are to be found." "madam," replied the good woman, "i should be unworthy the hospitality you have with so much goodness shewn me, if i should refuse to satisfy your curiosity in that point; and am glad to have the honour to tell you, that these curiosities are all to be met with in the same spot on the confines of this kingdom, towards india. the road to it lies before your house, and whoever you send needs but follow it for twenty days, and on the twentieth let him only ask the first person he meets where the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water are, and he will be informed." after saying this, she rose from her seat, took her leave, and went her way. the princess perie-zadeh's thoughts were so taken up with what the devout woman had told her of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water, that she never perceived her departure, till she wanted to ask her some question for her better information; for she thought that what she had told her was not a sufficient reason for exposing herself by undertaking a long journey, possibly to no purpose. however, she would not send after her, but endeavoured to remember all she had told her; and when she thought she had recollected every word, took real pleasure in thinking of the satisfaction she should have if she could get these wonderful curiosities into her possession; but the difficulties she apprehended, and the fear of not succeeding, made her very uneasy. she was absorbed in these thoughts when her brothers returned from hunting; who, when they entered the great hall, instead of finding her lively and gay, as she used to be be, were amazed to see her so pensive, and hanging down her head as if something troubled her. "sister," said prince bahman, "what is become of all your mirth and gaiety? are you not well? or has some misfortune befallen you? has any body given you reason to be so melancholy? tell us, that we may know how to act, and give you some relief. if any one has affronted you, we will resent his insolence." the princess remained in the same posture some time without answering; but at last lifted up her eyes to look at her brothers, and then held them down again, telling them nothing disturbed her. "sister," said prince bahman, "you conceal the truth from us; there must be something of consequence. it is impossible we could observe so sudden a change if nothing was the matter with you. you would not have us satisfied with the evasive answer you have given: do not conceal any thing, unless you would have us suspect that you renounce the strict union which has hitherto subsisted between us from our infancy." the princess, who had not the smallest intention to offend her brothers, would not suffer them to entertain such a thought, but said, "when i told you nothing disturbed me, i meant nothing that was of importance to you; but to me it is of some consequence; and since you press me to tell you by our strict union and friendship, which are so dear to me, i will. you think, and i always believed so too, that this house was so complete that nothing was wanting. but this day i have learned that it wants three rarities, which would render it so perfect that no country seat in the world could be compared with it. these three things are, the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water." after she had informed them wherein consisted the excellency of these rarities, "a devout woman," added she, "has made this discovery to me, told me the place where they are to be found, and the way thither. perhaps you may imagine these things to be trifles, and of little consequence to render our house complete, that without these additions it will always be thought sufficiently elegant with what it already contains, and that we can do without them. you may think as you please; but i cannot help telling you that i am persuaded they are absolutely necessary, and i shall not be easy without them. therefore, whether you value them or not, i desire you to consider what person you may think proper for me to send in search of the curiosities i have mentioned." "sister," replied prince bahman, "nothing can concern you in which we have not an equal interest. it is enough that you have an earnest desire for the things you mention to oblige us to take the same interest; but if you had not, we feel ourselves inclined of our own accord and for our own individual satisfaction. i am persuaded my brother is of the same opinion, and therefore we ought to undertake this conquest; for the importance and singularity of the undertaking deserve that name. i will take that charge upon myself; only tell me the place, and the way to it, and i will defer my journey no longer than till to-morrow." "brother," said prince perviz, "it is not proper that you, who are the head and director of our family, should be absent. i desire my sister would join with me to oblige you to abandon your design, and allow me to undertake it. i hope to acquit myself as well as you, and it will be a more regular proceeding." "i am persuaded of your good-will, brother," replied prince bahman, "and that you would succeed as well as myself in this journey; but i have resolved, and will undertake it. you shall stay at home with our sister, and i need not recommend her to you." he spent the remainder of the day in making preparations for his journey, and informing himself from the princess of the directions which the devout woman had left her. the next morning bahman mounted his horse, and perviz and the princess embraced, and wished him a good journey. but in the midst of their adieus, the princess recollected what she had not thought of before. "brother," said she, "i had quite forgotten the accidents which attend travellers. who knows whether i shall ever see you again? alight, i beseech you, and give up this journey. i would rather be deprived of the sight and possession of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water, than run the risk of never seeing you more." "sister," replied bahman, smiling at the sudden fears of the princess, "my resolution is fixed, but were it not, i should determine upon it now, and you must allow me to execute it. the accidents you speak of befall only those who are unfortunate; but there are more who are not so. however, as events are uncertain, and i may fail in this undertaking, all i can do is to leave you this knife." bahman, pulling a knife from his vestband, and presenting it in the sheath to the princess, said, "take this knife, sister, and give yourself the trouble sometimes to pull it out of the sheath: while you see it clean as it is now, it will be a sign that i am alive; but if you find it stained with blood, then you may believe me dead, and indulge me with your prayers." the princess could obtain nothing more of bahman. he bade adieu to her and prince perviz for the last time, and rode away. when he got into the road he never turned to the right hand nor to the left, but went directly forward towards india. the twentieth day he perceived on the road side a hideous old man, who sat under a tree some small distance from a thatched house, which was his retreat from the weather. his eye-brows were as white as snow, as was also the hair of his head; his whiskers covered his mouth, and his beard and hair reached down to his feet. the nails of his hands and feet were grown to an extensive length; a flat broad umbrella covered his head. he had no clothes, but only a mat thrown round his body. this old man was a dervish, for many years retired from the world, to give himself up entirely to the service of god; so that at last he became what we have described. prince bahman, who had been all that morning very attentive to see if he could meet with any body who could give him information of the place he was in search of, stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in conformity to the directions which the devout woman had given the princess perie-zadeh, and leading his horse by the bridle, advanced towards him, and saluting him, said, "god prolong your days, good father, and grant you the accomplishment of your desires." the dervish returned the prince's salutation, but so unintelligibly that he could not understand one word he said: prince bahman perceiving that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's whiskers hanging over his mouth, and unwilling to go any farther without the instructions he wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about him, and having tied his horse to a branch of the tree, said, "good dervish, i want to have some talk with you: but your whiskers prevent my understanding what you say: and if you will consent, i will cut off some part of them and of your eye-brows, which disfigure you so much that you look more like a bear than a man." the dervish did not oppose the offer; and when the prince had cut off as much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a good complexion, and that he did not seem so old as he really was. "good dervish," said he, "if i had a glass i would shew you how young you look: you are now a man, but before nobody could tell what you were." the kind behaviour of prince bahman made the dervish smile, and return his compliment. "sir," said he, "whoever you are, i am obliged by the good office you have performed, and am ready to shew my gratitude by doing any thing in my power for you. you must have alighted here upon some account or other. tell me what it is, and i will endeavour to serve you." "good dervish," replied prince bahman, "i am in search of the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water; i know these three rarities are not far from hence, but cannot tell exactly the place where they are to be found; if you know, i conjure you to shew me the way, that i may not lose my labour after so long a journey." the prince, while he spoke, observed that the dervish changed countenance, held down his eyes, looked very serious, and instead of making any reply, remained silent; which obliged him to say to him again, "good father, i fancy you heard me; tell me whether you know what i ask you, that i may not lose my time, but inform myself somewhere else." at last the dervish broke silence. "sir," said he to prince bahman, "i know the way you ask of me; but the regard which i conceived for you the first moment i saw you, and which is grown stronger by the service you have done me, kept me in suspense, whether i should give you the satisfaction you desire." "what motive can hinder you?" replied the prince; "and what difficulties do you find in so doing?" "i will tell you," replied the dervish; "the danger you are going to expose yourself to is greater than you may suppose. a number of gentlemen of as much bravery and courage as you can possibly possess have passed this way, and asked me the same question. when i had used all my endeavours to persuade them to desist, they would not believe me; at last, i yielded, to their importunities; i was compelled to shew them the way, and i can assure you they have all perished, for i have not seen one come back. therefore, if you have any regard for your life, take my advice, go no farther, but return home." prince bahman persisted in his resolution. "i will not suppose," said he to the dervish, "but that your advice is sincere. i am obliged to you for the friendship you express for me; but whatever may be the danger, nothing shall make me change my intention: whoever attacks me, i am well armed, and can say i am as brave as any one." "but they who will attack you are not to be seen," replied the dervish; "how will you defend yourself against invisible persons?" "it is no matter," answered the prince; "all you say shall not persuade me to do any thing contrary to my duty. since you know the way, i conjure you once more to inform me." when the dervish found he could not prevail upon prince bahman, and that he was obstinately bent to pursue his journey notwithstanding his friendly remonstrance, he put his hand into a bag that lay by him and pulled out a bowl, which he presented to him. "since i cannot prevail on you to attend to my advice," said he, "take this bowl; when you are on horseback throw it before you, and follow it to the foot of a mountain, where it will stop. as soon as the bowl stops, alight, leave your horse with the bridle over his neck, and he will stand in the same place till you return. as you ascend you will see on your right and left a great number of large black stones, and will hear on all sides a confusion of voices, which will utter a thousand injurious abuses to discourage you, and prevent your reaching the summit of the mountain. be not afraid; but above all things, do not turn your head to look behind you; for in that instant you will be changed into such a black stone as those you see, which are all youths who have failed in this enterprise. if you escape the danger of which i give you but a faint idea, and get to the top of the mountain, you will see a cage, and in that cage is the bird you seek; ask him which are the singing tree and the yellow water, and he will tell you. i have nothing more to say; this is what you have to do, and the danger you have to avoid; but if you are prudent, you will take my advice, and not expose your life. consider once more while you have time that the difficulty is almost insuperable." "i am obliged to you for your repeated advice," replied prince bahman, after he had received the bowl, "but cannot follow it. however, i will endeavour to conform myself to that part of it which bids me not look behind me as i shall ascend the mountain, and i hope to come and see you again soon, and thank you when i have obtained what i am seeking." after these words, to which the dervish made no other answer than that he should be overjoyed to see him again, the prince mounted his horse, took his leave of the dervish with a respectful salute, and threw the bowl before him. the bowl rolled away unceasingly with as much swiftness as when prince bahman first hurled it from his hand, which obliged him to put his horse to the same pace to avoid losing sight of it, and when it had reached the foot of the mountain it stopped. the prince alighted from his horse, laid the bridle on his neck; and having first surveyed the mountain, and seen the black stones, began to ascend; but had not gone four steps, before he heard the voices mentioned by the dervish, though he could see nobody. some said, "where is that fool going? where is he going? what would he have? do not let him pass." others, "stop him, catch him, kill him;" and others with a voice like thunder, "thief! assassin! murderer!" while some in a gibing tone cried, "no, no, do not hurt him; let the pretty fellow pass, the cage and bird are kept for him." notwithstanding all these troublesome voices, prince bahman ascended with courage and resolution for some time, but the voices redoubled with so loud a din near him, both behind and before, that at last he was seized with dread, his legs trembled under him, he staggered, and finding that his strength failed him, he forgot the dervish's advice, turned about to run down the hill, and was that instant changed into a black stone; a metamorphosis which had happened to many before him, who had attempted the ascent. his horse likewise underwent the same change. from the time of prince bahman's departure, the princess perie-zadeh always wore the knife and sheath in her girdle, and pulled it out several times in a day, to know whether her brother was alive. she had the consolation to understand he was in perfect health, and to talk of him frequently with prince perviz, who sometimes prevented her by asking her what news. on the fatal day that prince bahman was transformed into a stone, as prince perviz and the princess were talking together in the evening, as usual, the prince desired his sister to pull out the knife to know how their brother did. the princess readily complied, and seeing the blood run down the point was seized with so much horror that she threw it down. "ah! my dear brother," cried she, "i have been the cause of your death, and shall never see you more! why did i tell you of the speaking bird, singing tree, and yellow water; or rather, of what importance was it to me to know whether the devout woman thought this house ugly or handsome, or complete or not? i wish to heaven she had never addressed herself to me? deceitful hypocrite!" added she, "is this the return you have made for the kind reception i gave you? why did you tell me of a bird, a tree, and a water, which, imaginary as i am persuaded they are, by my dear brother's death, yet disturb me by your enchantment?" prince perviz was as much afflicted at the death of prince bahman as the princess; but not to waste time in needless regret, as he knew that she still passionately desired possession of the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water, he interrupted her, saying, "sister, our regret for our brother is vain and useless; our grief and lamentations cannot restore him to life; it is the will of god, we must submit to it, and adore the decrees of the almighty without searching into them. why should you now doubt of the truth of what the holy woman told you? do you think she spoke to you of three things that were not in being? and that she invented them on purpose to deceive you, who had given her no cause to do so, but received her with so much goodness and civility? let us rather believe that our brother's death is owing to some error on his part, or some accident which we cannot conceive. it ought not therefore to prevent us from pursuing our object. i offered to go this journey, and am now more resolved than ever; his example has no effect upon my resolution; to-morrow i will depart." the princess did all she could to dissuade prince perviz, conjuring him not to expose her to the danger of losing two brothers; but he was obstinate, and all the remonstrances she could urge had no effect upon him. before he went, that she might know what success he had, he left her a string of a hundred pearls, telling her, that if they would not run when she should count them upon the string, but remain fixed, that would be a certain sign he had undergone the same fate as his brother; but at the same time told her he hoped it would never happen, but that he should have the happiness to see her again to their mutual satisfaction. prince perviz, on the twentieth day after his departure, met the same dervish in the same place as his brother bahman had done before him. he went directly up to him, and after he had saluted, asked him, if he could tell him where to find the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the golden water? the dervish urged the same difficulties and remonstrances as he had done to prince bahman, telling him, that a young gentleman, who very much resembled him, was with him a short time before; that, overcome by his importunity and pressing instances, he had shewn him the way, given him a guide, and told him how he should act to succeed; but that he had not seen him since, and doubted not but he had shared the same fate as all other adventurers. "good dervish," answered prince perviz, "i know whom you speak of; he was my elder brother, and i am informed of the certainty of his death, but know not the cause." "i can tell you," replied the dervish; "he was changed into a black stone, as all i speak of have been; and you must expect the same transformation, unless you observe more exactly than he has done the advice i gave him, in case you persist in your resolution, which i once more entreat you to renounce." "dervish," said prince perviz, "i cannot sufficiently express how much i am obliged for the concern you take in my life, who am a stranger to you, and have done nothing to deserve your kindness: but i thoroughly considered this enterprise before i undertook it, and i cannot now relinquish it: therefore i beg of you to do me the same favour you have done my brother. perhaps i may have better success in following your directions." "since i cannot prevail with you," said the dervish, "to give up your obstinate resolution, if my age did not prevent me, and i could stand, i would get up to reach you a bowl i have here, which will shew you the way." without giving the dervish time to say more, the prince alighted from his horse and went to the dervish, who had taken a bowl out of his bag, in which he had a great many, and gave it him, with the same directions he had given prince bahman; and after warning him not to be discouraged by the voices he should hear without seeing any body, however threatening they might be, but to continue his way up the hill till he saw the cage and bird, he let him depart. prince perviz thanked the dervish, and when he had remounted, and taken leave, threw the bowl before his horse, and spurring him at the same time, followed it. when the bowl came to the bottom of the hill it stopped, the prince alighted, and stood some time to recollect the dervish's directions. he encouraged himself, and began to walk up with a resolution to reach the summit; but before he had gone above six steps, he heard a voice, which seemed to be near, as of a man behind him, say in an insulting tone, "stay, rash youth, that i may punish you for your presumption." upon this affront the prince, forgetting the dervish's advice, clapped his hand upon his sword, drew it, and turned about to revenge himself; but had scarcely time to see that nobody followed him before he and his horse were changed into black stones. in the mean time the princess perie-zadeh, several times a day after her brother's departure, counted her chaplet. she did not omit it at night, but when she went to bed put it about her neck; and in the morning when she awoke counted over the pearls again to see if they would slide. the day that prince perviz was transformed into a stone, she was counting over the pearls as she used to do, when all at once they became immoveably fixed, a certain token that the prince her brother was dead. as she had determined what to do in case it should so happen, she lost no time in outward demonstrations of grief, which she concealed as much as possible; but having disguised herself in man's apparel, armed and equipped, she mounted her horse the next morning, having told her servants she should return in two or three days, and took the same road her brothers had done. the princess, who had been used to ride on horseback in hunting, supported the fatigue of so long a journey better than most ladies could have done; and as she made the same stages as her brothers, she also met with the dervish on the twentieth day. when she came near him, she alighted off her horse, leading him by the bridle, went and sat down by the dervish, and after she had saluted him, said, "good dervish, give me leave to rest myself; and do me the favour to tell me if you have not heard that there are somewhere in this neighbourhood a speaking bird, a singing tree, and golden water." "princess," answered the dervish, "for so i must call you, since by your voice i know you to be a woman disguised in man's apparel, i thank you for your compliment, and receive the honour you do me with great pleasure. i know the place well where these things are to be found: but what makes you ask me this question?" "good dervish," replied the princess, "i have had such a flattering relation of them given me, that i have a great desire to possess them." "madam," replied the dervish, "you have been told the truth. these curiosities are more singular and surprising than they have been represented to you: but you have not been made acquainted with the difficulties which must be surmounted in order to obtain them. if you had been fully informed of these, you would not have undertaken so troublesome and dangerous an enterprise. take my advice, go no farther, return, and do not urge me to contribute towards your ruin." "good father," said the princess, "i have travelled a great way, and should be sorry to return without executing my design. you talk of difficulties, and danger of life; but you do not tell me what those difficulties are, and wherein the danger consists. this is what i desire to know, that i may consider and judge whether i can trust my courage and strength to brave them." the dervish repeated to the princess what he had said to the princes bahman and perviz, exaggerating the difficulties of climbing up to the top of the mountain, where she was to make herself mistress of the bird, which would inform her of the singing tree and golden water. he magnified the noise and din of the terrible threatening voices which she would hear on all sides of her, without seeing any body, and the great number of black stones, alone sufficient to strike terror. he entreated her to reflect that those stones were so many brave gentlemen, so metamorphosed for having omitted to observe the principal condition of success in the perilous undertaking, which was not to look behind them before they had got possession of the cage. when the dervish had done, the princess replied, "by what i comprehend from your discourse, the difficulties of succeeding in this affair are, first, the getting up to the cage without being frightened at the terrible din of voices i shall hear; and secondly, not to look behind me: for this last, i hope i shall be mistress enough of myself to observe it. as to the first, i own that those voices, such as you represent them to be, are capable of striking terror into the most undaunted; but as in all enterprises and dangers every one may use stratagem, i desire to know of you if i may use any in one of so great importance." "and what stratagem is it you would employ?" said the dervish. "to stop my ears with cotton," answered the princess, "that the voices, however loud and terrible, may make the less impression upon my imagination, and my mind remain free from that disturbance which might cause me to lose the use of my reason." "princess," replied the dervish, "of all the persons who have addressed themselves to me for information, i do not know that ever one made use of the contrivance you propose. all i know is, that they all perished. if you persist in your design, you may make the experiment. you will be fortunate if it succeeds; but i would advise you not to expose yourself to the danger." "my good father," replied the princess, "nothing can hinder my persisting in my design. i am sure my precaution will succeed, and am resolved to try the experiment. nothing remains for me but to know which way i must go; i conjure you not to deny me the favour of that information." the dervish exhorted her again, for the last time, to consider well what she was going to do; but finding her resolute, he took out a bowl, and presenting it to her, said, "take this bowl; mount your horse again, and when you have thrown it before you, follow it through all its windings, till it stops at the bottom of the mountain, there alight, and ascend the hill. go; you know the rest." after the princess had thanked the dervish, and taken her leave of him, she mounted her horse, threw the bowl before her, and followed it till it stopped at the foot of the mountain. the princess alighted, stopped her ears with cotton; and after she had well examined the path leading to the summit, began with a moderate pace, and walked up with intrepidity. she heard the voices, and perceived the great service the cotton was to her. the higher she went, the louder and more numerous the voices seemed; but they were not capable of making any impression upon her. she heard a great many affronting speeches and raillery very disagreeable to a woman, which she only laughed at. "i mind not," said she to herself, "all that can be said, were it worse; i only laugh at them, and shall pursue my way." at last she got so high, that she could perceive the cage and the bird, which endeavoured, with the voices, to frighten her, crying in a thundering tone, notwithstanding the smallness of its size, "retire, fool, and approach no nearer." the princess, encouraged by this object, redoubled her speed, and by effort gained the summit of the mountain, where the ground was level; then running directly to the cage, and clapping her hand upon it, cried, "bird, i have you, and you shall not escape me." while perie-zadeh was pulling the cotton out of her ears, the bird said to her, "heroic princess, be not angry with me for joining with those who exerted themselves to preserve my liberty. though in a cage, i was content with my condition; but since i am destined to be a slave, i would rather be yours than any other person's, since you have obtained me so courageously. from this instant, i swear inviolable fidelity, and an entire submission to all your commands. i know who you are; you do not: but the time will come when i shall do you essential service, which i hope you will think yourself obliged to me for. as a proof of my sincerity, tell me what you desire, and i am ready to obey you." the princess's joy was the more inexpressible, because the conquest she had made had cost her the lives of two beloved brothers, and given her more trouble and danger than she could have imagined, notwithstanding what the dervish had represented to her. "bird," said she, "it was my intention to have told you that i wish for many things which are of importance; but i am overjoyed that you have shewn your good-will and prevented me. i have been told that there is not far off a golden water, the property of which is very wonderful; before all things, i ask you to tell me where it is." the bird shewed her the place, which was just by, and she went and filled a little silver flagon which she had brought with her. she returned to the bird and said, "bird, this is not enough; i want also the singing tree; tell me where it is." "turn about," said the bird, "and you will see behind you a wood, where you will find this tree." the princess went into the wood, and by the harmonious concert she heard soon knew the tree among many others, but it was very large and high. she came back to the bird, and said to it, "bird, i have found the singing tree, but i can neither pull it up by the roots, nor carry it." the bird replied, "it is not necessary that you should take it up by the roots; it will be sufficient to break off a branch, and carry it to plant in your garden; it will take root as soon as it is put into the earth, and in a little time will grow to as fine a tree as that you have seen." when the princess had obtained possession of the three things which the devout woman had told her of, and for which she had conceived so great a desire, she said again to the bird, "bird, what you have yet done for me is not sufficient. you have been the cause of the death of my two brothers, who must be among the black stones which i saw as i ascended the mountain. i wish to take them home with me." the bird seemed reluctant to satisfy the princess in this point, and indeed made some difficulty to comply. "bird," said the princess, "remember you told me that you were my slave. you are so; and your life is in my disposal." "that i cannot deny," answered the bird; "but although what you now ask is more difficult than all the rest, yet i will do it for you. cast your eyes around," added he, "and look if you can see a little pitcher." "i see it already," said the princess. "take it then," said he, "and as you descend the mountain, sprinkle a little of the water that is in it upon every black stone." the princess took up the pitcher accordingly, carried with her the cage and bird, the flagon of golden water, and the branch of the singing tree, and as she descended the mountain, threw a little of the water on every black stone, which was changed immediately into a man; and as she did not miss one stone, all the horses, both of the princes her brothers, and of the other gentlemen, resumed their natural forms. she instantly recognized bahman and perviz, as they did her, and ran to embrace her. she returned their embraces, and expressed her amazement. "what do you here, my dear brothers?" said she; they told her they had been asleep. "yes," replied she, "and if it had not been for me, perhaps you might have slept till the day of judgment. do not you remember that you came to fetch the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the yellow water? and did not you see, as you came along, the place covered with black stones? look and see if there be any now. the gentlemen and their horses who surround us, and you yourselves, were these black stones. if you desire to know how this wonder was performed," continued she, shewing the pitcher, which she set down at the foot of the mountain, having no further use for it, "it was done by virtue of the water which was in this pitcher, with which i sprinkled every stone. after i had made the speaking bird (which you see in this cage) my slave, by his directions i found out the singing tree, a branch of which i have now in my hand; and the yellow water, which this flagon is filled with; but being still unwilling to return without taking you with me, i constrained the bird, by the power i had over him, to afford me the means. he told me where to find this pitcher, and the use i was to make of it." the princes bahman and perviz learnt by this relation the obligation they had to the princess their sister; as did all the other gentlemen, who were collected round, and expressed to the princess, that, far from envying her happiness in the conquest she had made, and which they all had aspired to, they thought they could not any otherwise acknowledge the favour she had done them, or better express their gratitude to her for restoring them to life again, than by declaring themselves all her slaves, and that they were ready to obey her in whatever she should command. "gentlemen," replied the princess, "if you had given any attention to my words you might have observed that i had no other intention in what i have done than to recover my brothers; therefore, if you have received any benefit, you owe me no obligation, and i have no further share in your compliment than your politeness towards me, for which i return you my thanks. in other respects, i regard each of you individually as free as you were before your misfortunes, and i rejoice with you at the happiness which has accrued to you by my means. let us however stay no longer in a place where we have nothing to detain us; but mount our horses, and return to our respective homes." the princess took her horse, which stood in the place where she had left him.--before she mounted, prince bahman desired her to give him the cage to carry. "brother," replied the princess, "the bird is my slave, and i will carry him myself; if you will take the pains to carry the branch of the singing tree, there it is; only hold the cage while i get on horseback." when she had mounted her horse; and prince bahman had given her the cage, she turned about and said to prince perviz, "i leave the flagon of golden water to your care, if it will not be too much trouble for you to carry it." prince perviz took charge of it with pleasure. when bahman, perviz, and all the gentlemen had mounted their horses, the princess waited for some of them to lead the way. the two princes paid that compliment to the gentlemen, and they again to the princess, who, finding that none of them would accept of the honour, but that it was reserved for her, addressed herself to them and said, "gentlemen, i expect that some of you should lead the way;" to which one who was nearest to her, in the name of the rest, replied, "madam, were we ignorant of the respect due to your sex, yet after what you have done for us there is no deference we would not willingly pay you, notwithstanding your modesty; we entreat you no longer to deprive us of the happiness of following you." "gentlemen," said the princess, "i do not deserve the honour you do me, and accept it only because you desire it." at the same time she led the way, and the two princes and the gentlemen followed. this illustrious company called upon the dervish as they passed, to thank him for his reception and wholesome advice, which they had all found to be sincere. but he was dead: whether of old age, or because he was no longer necessary to shew the way to the obtaining the three rarities which the princess perie-zadeh had secured, did not appear. they pursued their route, but lessened in their numbers every day. the gentlemen who, as we said before, had come from different countries, after severally repeating their obligations to the princess and her brothers, took leave of them one after another as they approached the road they had come. as soon as the princess reached home, she placed the cage in the garden; and the bird no sooner began to warble than he was surrounded by nightingales, chaffinches, larks, linnets, goldfinches, and every species of birds of the country. and the branch of the singing tree was no sooner set in the midst of the parterre, a little distance from the house, than it took root, and in a short time became a large tree, the leaves of which gave as harmonious a concert as those of the tree from which it was gathered. a large basin of beautiful marble was placed in the garden; and when it was finished, the princess poured into it all the yellow water from the flagon, which instantly increased and swelled so much that it soon reached up to the edges of the basin, and afterwards formed in the middle a fountain twenty feet high, which fell again into the basin perpetually without running over. the report of these wonders was presently spread abroad, and as the gates of the house and those of the gardens were shut to nobody, a great number of people came to admire them. some days after, when the princes bahman and perviz had recovered from the fatigue of their journey, they resumed their former way of living; and as their usual diversion was hunting, they mounted their horses and went for the first time since their return, not to their own demesne, but two or three leagues from their house. as they pursued their sport, the emperor of persia came in pursuit of game upon the same ground. when they perceived by the number of horsemen in different places that he would soon be up, they resolved to discontinue their chase, and retire to avoid encountering him; but in the very road they took they chanced to meet him in so narrow a way that they could not retreat without being seen. in their surprise they had only time to alight, and prostrate themselves before the emperor, without lifting up their heads to look at him. the emperor, who saw they were as well mounted and dressed as if they had belonged to his court, had the curiosity to see their faces. he stopped, and commanded them to rise. the princes rose up, and stood before him with an easy and graceful air, accompanied with respectful modest countenances. the emperor took some time to view them before he spoke: and after he had admired their good air and mien, asked them who they were, and where they lived. "sir," said prince bahman, "we are the sons of the late intendant of your majesty's gardens: and live in a house which he built a little before he died, till we should be fit to serve your majesty, and ask of you some employ when opportunity offered." "by what i perceive," replied the emperor, "you love hunting." "sir," replied prince bahman, "it is our common exercise, and what none of your majesty's subjects who intend to bear arms in your armies ought, according to the ancient custom of the kingdom, to neglect." the emperor, charmed with so prudent an answer, said, "since it is so, i should be glad to see your expertness in the chase; choose your own game." the princes mounted their horses again, and followed the emperor; but had not gone far before they saw many wild beasts together. prince bahman chose a lion, and prince perviz a bear; and pursued them with so much intrepidity, that the emperor was surprised. they came up with their game nearly at the same time, and darted their javelins with so much skill and address, that they pierced, the one the lion, and the other the bear, so effectually, that the emperor saw them fall one after the other. immediately afterwards prince bahman pursued another bear, and prince perviz another lion, and killed them in a short time, and would have beaten out for fresh game, but the emperor would not let them, and sent to them to come to him. when they approached he said, "if i would have given you leave, you would soon have destroyed all my game: but it is not that which i would preserve, but your persons; for i am so well assured your bravery may one time or other be serviceable to me, that from this moment your lives will be always dear to me." the emperor, in short, conceived so great a kindness for the two princes, that he invited them immediately to make him a visit: to which prince bahman replied, "your majesty does us an honour we do not deserve; and we beg you will excuse us." the emperor, who could not comprehend what reason the princes could have to refuse this token of his favour, pressed them to tell him why they excused themselves. "sir," said prince bahman, "we have a sister younger than ourselves, with whom we live in such perfect union, that we undertake nothing before we consult her, nor she any thing without asking our advice." "i commend your brotherly affection," answered the emperor. "consult your sister, meet me here tomorrow, and give me an answer." the princes went home, but neglected to speak of their adventure in meeting the emperor, and hunting with him, and also of the honour he had done them, by asking them to go home with him; yet did not the next morning fail to meet him at the place appointed. "well," said the emperor, "have you spoken to your sister? and has she consented to the pleasure i expect of seeing you?" the two princes looked at each other and blushed. "sir," said prince bahman, "we beg your majesty to excuse us: for both my brother and i forgot." "then remember to-day," replied the emperor, "and be sure to bring me an answer to-morrow." the princes were guilty of the same fault a second time, and the emperor was so good-natured as to forgive their negligence; but to prevent their forgetfulness the third time, he pulled three little golden balls out of a purse, and put them into prince bahman's bosom. "these balls," said he, smiling, "will prevent your forgetting a third time what i wish you to do for my sake; since the noise they will make by falling on the floor, when you undress, will remind you, if you do not recollect it before." the event happened just as the emperor foresaw; and without these balls the princes had not thought of speaking to their sister of this affair. for as prince bahman unloosed his girdle to go to bed the balls dropped on the floor, upon which he ran into prince perviz's chamber, when both went into the princess perie-zadeh's apartment, and after they had asked her pardon for coming at so unseasonable a time, they told her all the circumstances of their meeting the emperor. the princess was somewhat surprised at this intelligence. "your meeting with the emperor," said she, "is happy and honourable, and may in the end be highly advantageous to you, but it is very disagreeable and distrustful to me. it was on my account, i know, you refused the emperor, and i am infinitely obliged to you for doing so. i know by this your affection is equal to my own, since you would rather be guilty of incivility towards the emperor than violate the brotherly union we have sworn to each other. you judge right, for if you had once gone you would insensibly have been engaged to leave me, to devote yourselves to him. but do you think it an easy matter absolutely to refuse the emperor what he seems so earnestly to desire? monarchs will be obeyed in their desires, and it may be dangerous to oppose them; therefore, if to follow my inclination i should dissuade you from shewing the complaisance he expects from you, it may expose you to his resentment, and may render myself and you miserable. these are my sentiments: but before we conclude upon any thing let us consult the speaking bird, and hear what he says; he is penetrating, and has promised his assistance in all difficulties." the princess sent for the cage, and after she had related the circumstances to the bird in the presence of her brothers, asked him what they should do in this perplexity? the bird answered, "the princes your brothers must conform to the emperor's pleasure, and in their turn invite him to come and see your house." "but, bird," replied the princess, "my brothers and i love one another, and our friendship is yet undisturbed. will not this step be injurious to that friendship?" "not at all," replied the bird; "it will tend rather to cement it." "then," answered the princess, "the emperor will see me." the bird told her it was necessary he should, and that everything would go better afterwards. next morning the princes met the emperor hunting, who, at as great a distance as he could make himself be heard, asked them if they had remembered to speak to their sister? prince bahman approached, and answered, "sir, your majesty may dispose of us as you please; we are ready to obey you; for we have not only obtained our sister's consent with great ease, but she took it amiss that we should pay her that deference in a matter wherein our duty to your majesty was concerned. but if we have offended, we hope you will pardon us." "do not be uneasy on that account," replied the emperor; "so far from taking amiss what you have done, i highly approve of your conduct, and hope you will have the same deference and attachment to my person, if i have ever so little share in your friendship." the princes, confounded at the emperor's goodness, returned no other answer but a low obeisance, to shew the great respect with which they received it. the emperor, contrary to his usual custom, did not hunt long that day. presuming that the princes possessed wit equal to their courage and bravery, he longed with impatience to converse with them more at liberty. he made them ride on each side of him, an honour which, without speaking of the principal courtiers who accompanied him, was envied by the grand vizier, who was much mortified to see them preferred before him. when the emperor entered his capital, the eyes of the people, who stood in crowds in the streets, were fixed upon the two princes bahman and perviz; and they were earnest to know who they might be, whether foreigners or natives. all, however, agreed in wishing that the emperor had been blessed with two such handsome princes, and said, "he might have had children as old, if the queen, who had suffered the punishment of her misfortune, had been more fortunate in her lyings-in." the first thing that the emperor did when he arrived at his palace was to conduct the princes into the principal apartments; who praised without affectation, like persons conversant in such matters, the beauty and symmetry of the rooms, and the richness of the furniture and ornaments. afterwards a magnificent repast was served up, and the emperor made them sit with him, which they at first refused; but finding it was his pleasure, they obeyed. the emperor, who had himself much learning, particularly in history, foresaw that the princes, out of modesty and respect, would not take the liberty of beginning any conversation. therefore, to give them an opportunity, he furnished them with subjects all dinner-time. but whatever subject he introduced, they shewed so much wit, judgment, and discernment, that he was struck with admiration. "were these my own children," said he to himself, "and i had improved their talents by suitable education, they could not have been more accomplished or better informed." in short, he took such great pleasure in their conversation, that after having sat longer than usual he led them into his closet, where he pursued his conversation with them, and at last said, "i never supposed that there were among my subjects in the country youths so well brought up, so lively, so capable; and i never was better pleased with any conversation than yours: but it is time now we should relax our minds with some diversion; and as nothing is more capable of enlivening the mind than music, you shall hear a vocal and instrumental concert which may not be disagreeable to you." the emperor had no sooner spoken for them than the musicians, who had orders to attend, entered, and answered fully the expectations the princes had been led to entertain of their abilities. after the concerts, an excellent farce was acted, and the entertainment was concluded by dancers of both sexes. the two princes seeing night approach, prostrated themselves at the emperor's feet; and having first thanked him for the favours and honours he had heaped upon them, asked his permission to retire; which was granted by the emperor, who, in dismissing them, said, "i give you leave to go; but remember i brought you to the palace myself only to shew you the way; you will be always welcome, and the oftener you come the greater pleasure you will do me." before they went out of the emperor's presence, prince bahman said, "sir, may we presume to request that your majesty will do us and our sister the honour to pass by our house, and rest and refresh yourself after your fatigue, the first time you take the diversion of hunting in that neighbourhood? it is not worthy your presence; but monarchs sometimes have vouchsafed to take shelter in a cottage." "my children," replied the emperor; "your house cannot be otherwise than beautiful, and worthy of its owners. i will call and see it with pleasure, which will be the greater for having for my hosts you and your sister, who is already dear to me from the account you give me of the rare qualities with which she is endowed; and this satisfaction i will defer no longer than to-morrow. early in the morning i will be at the place where i shall never forget that i first saw you. meet me, and you shall be my guides." when the princes bahman and perviz had returned home, they gave the princess an account of the distinguished reception the emperor had given them; and told her that they had invited him to do them the honour, as he passed by, to call at their house; and that he had appointed the next day. "if it be so," replied the princess, "we must think of preparing a repast fit for his majesty; and for that purpose i think it would be proper we should consult the speaking bird, he will tell us perhaps what meats the emperor likes best." the princes approved of her plan, and after they had retired she consulted the bird alone. "bird," said she, "the emperor will do us the honour to-morrow to come and see our house, and we are to entertain him; tell us what we shall do to acquit ourselves to his satisfaction." "good mistress," replied the bird, "you have excellent cooks, let them do the best they can; but above all things, let them prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, which must be set before the emperor in the first course before all the other dishes." "cucumbers stuffed full of pearls!" cried princess perie-zadeh, with amazement; "surely, bird, you do not know what you say; it is an unheard-of dish. the emperor may admire it as a piece of magnificence, but he will sit down to eat, and not to admire pearls; besides, all the pearls i possess are not enough for such a dish." "mistress," said the bird, "do what i say, and be not uneasy about what may happen. nothing but good will follow. as for the pearls, go early to-morrow morning to the foot of the first tree on your right hand in the park, dig under it, and you will find more than you want." that night the princess ordered a gardener to be ready to attend her, and the next morning early led him to the tree which the bird had told her of, and bade him dig at its foot. when the gardener came to a certain depth, he found some resistance to the spade, and presently discovered a gold box about a foot square, which he shewed the princess. "this," said she, "is what i brought you for; take care not to injure it with the spade." when the gardener took up the box, he gave it into the princess's hands, who, as it was only fastened with neat little hasps, soon opened it, and found it full of pearls of a moderate size, but equal, and fit for the use that was to be made of them. very well satisfied with having found this treasure, after she had shut the box again she put it under her arm, and went back to the house, while the gardener threw the earth into the hole at the foot of the tree as it had been before. the princes bahman and perviz, who, as they were dressing themselves in their own apartments, saw the princess their sister in the garden earlier than usual, as soon as they could get out went to her, and met her as she was returning, with a gold box under her arm, which much surprised them. "sister," said bahman, "you carried nothing with you when we saw you before with the gardener, and now we see you have a golden box: is this some treasure found by the gardener, and did he come and tell you of it?" "no, brother," answered the princess; "i took the gardener to the place where this casket was concealed, and shewed him where to dig: but you will be more amazed when you see what it contains." the princess opened the box, and when the princes saw that it was full of pearls, which, though small, were of great value; they asked her how she came to the knowledge of this treasure? "brothers," said she, "if nothing more pressing calls you elsewhere, come with me, and i will tell you." "what more pressing business," said prince perviz, "can we have than to be informed of what concerns us so much? we have nothing to do to prevent our attending you." the princess, as they returned to the house, gave them an account of her having consulted the bird, as they had agreed she should, and the answer he had given her; the objection she had raised to preparing a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, and how he had told her where to find this box. the princes and princess formed many conjectures to penetrate into what the bird could mean by ordering them to prepare such a dish; and after much conversation, though they could not by any means guess at his reason, they nevertheless agreed to follow his advice exactly. as soon as the princess entered the house, she called for the head cook; and after she had given him directions about the entertainment for the emperor, said to him, "besides all this, you must dress an extraordinary dish for the emperor's own eating, which nobody else must have any thing to do with besides yourself. this dish must be of cucumbers stuffed with these pearls;" and at the same time she opened him the box, and shewed him the pearls. the chief cook, who had never heard of such a dish, started back, and shewed his thoughts by his looks; which the princess penetrating, said, "i see you take me to be mad to order such a dish, which you never heard of, and which one may say with certainty was never made. i know this as well as you; but i am not mad, and give you these orders with the most perfect recollection. you must invent and do the best you can, and bring me back what pearls are left." the cook could make no reply, but took the box and retired: and afterwards the princess gave directions to all the domestics to have every thing in order, both in the house and gardens, to receive the emperor. next day the two princes went to the place appointed; and as soon as the emperor of persia arrived the chase began, which lasted till the heat of the sun obliged him to leave off. while prince bahman stayed to conduit the emperor to their house, prince perviz rode before to shew the way, and when he came in sight of the house, spurred his horse, to inform the princess perie-zadeh that the emperor was approaching; but she had been told by some servants whom she had placed to give notice, and the prince found her waiting ready to receive him. when the emperor had entered the court-yard, and alighted at the portico, the princess came and threw herself at his feet, and the two princes informed him she was their sister, and besought him to accept her respects. the emperor stooped to raise her, and after he had gazed some time on her beauty, struck with her fine person and dignified air, he said, "the brothers are worthy of the sister, and she worthy of them; since, if i may judge of her understanding by her person, i am not amazed that the brothers would do nothing without their sister's consent; but," added he, "i hope to be better acquainted with you, my daughter, after i have seen the house." "sir," said the princess, "it is only a plain country residence, fit for such people as we are, who live retired from the great world. it is not to be compared with houses in great cities, much less with the magnificent palaces of emperors." "i cannot perfectly agree with you in opinion," said the emperor very obligingly, "for its first appearance makes me suspect you; however, i will not pass my judgment upon it till i have seen it all; therefore be pleased to conduct me through the apartments." the princess led the emperor through all the rooms except the hall; and, after he had considered them very attentively and admired their variety, "my daughter," said he to the princess, "do you call this a country house? the finest and largest cities would soon be deserted, if all country houses were like yours. i am no longer surprised that you take so much delight in it, and despise the town. now let me see the garden, which i doubt not is answerable to the house." the princess opened a door which led into the garden; and the first object which presented itself to the emperor's view was the golden fountain. surprised at so rare an object, he asked from whence that wonderful water, which gave so much pleasure to behold, had been procured; where was its source; and by what art it was made to play so high, that he thought nothing in the world was to be compared to it? he said he would presently take a nearer view of it. the princess then led him to the spot where the harmonious tree was planted; and there the emperor heard a concert, different from all he had ever heard before; and stopping to see where the musicians were, he could discern nobody far or near; but still distinctly heard the music, which ravished his senses. "my daughter," said he to the princess, "where are the musicians whom i hear? are they under ground, or invisible in the air? such excellent performers will hazard nothing by being seen; on the contrary, they would please the more." "sir," answered the princess smiling, "they are not musicians, but the leaves of the trees your majesty sees before you, which form this concert; and if you will give yourself the trouble to go a little nearer, you will be convinced, and the voices will be the more distinct." the emperor went nearer, and was so charmed with the sweet harmony, that he would never have been tired with hearing it, but that his desire to have a nearer view of the fountain of yellow water forced him away. "daughter," said he, "tell me, i pray you, whether this wonderful tree was found in your garden by chance, or was a present made to you, or have you procured it from some foreign country? it must certainly have come from a great distance, otherwise, curious as i am after natural rarities, i should have heard of it. what name do you call it by?" "sir," replied the princess, "this tree has no other name than that of the singing tree, and is not a native of this country. it would at present take up too much time to tell your majesty by what adventures it came here; its history is connected with the yellow water, and the speaking bird, which came to me at the same time, and which your majesty may see after you have taken a nearer view of the golden water. but if it be agreeable to your majesty, after you have rested yourself, and recovered the fatigue of hunting, which must be the greater because of the sun's intense heat, i will do myself the honour of relating it to you." "my daughter," replied the emperor, "my fatigue is so well recompensed by the wonderful things you have shewn me, that i do not feel it the least. i think only of the trouble i give you. let us finish by seeing the yellow water. i am impatient to see and admire the speaking bird." when the emperor came to the yellow water, his eyes were fixed so steadfastly upon the fountain, that he could not take them off. at last, addressing himself to the princess, he said, "as you tell me, daughter, that this water has no spring or communication, i conclude that it is foreign, as well as the singing tree." "sir," replied the princess, "it is as your majesty conjectures; and to let you know that this water has no communication with any spring, i must inform you that the basin is one entire stone, so that the water cannot come in at the sides or underneath. but what your majesty will think most wonderful is, that all this water proceeded but from one small flagon, emptied into this basin, which increased to the quantity you see, by a property peculiar to itself, and formed this fountain." "well," said the emperor, going from the fountain, "this is enough for one time. i promise myself the pleasure to come and visit it often; but now let us go and see the speaking bird." as he went towards the hall, the emperor perceived a prodigious number of singing birds in the trees around, filling the air with their songs and warblings, and asked, why there were so many there, and none on the other trees in the garden? "the reason, sir," answered the princess, "is, because they come from all parts to accompany the song of the speaking bird, which your majesty may see in a cage in one of the windows of the hall we are approaching; and if you attend, you will perceive that his notes are sweeter than those of any of the other birds, even the nightingale." the emperor went into the hall; and as the bird continued singing, the princess raised her voice, and said, "my slave, here is the emperor, pay your compliments to him." the bird left off singing that instant, when all the other birds ceased also, and it said, "the emperor is welcome; god prosper him, and prolong his life." as the entertainment was served on the sofa near the window where the bird was placed, the sultan replied, as he was taking his seat, "bird, i thank you, and am overjoyed to find in you the sultan and king of birds." as soon as the emperor saw the dish of cucumbers set before him, thinking it was stuffed in the best manner, he reached out his hand and took one; but when he cut it, was in extreme surprise to find it stuffed with pearls. "what novelty is this?" said he "and with what design were these cucumbers stuffed thus with pearls, since pearls are not to be eaten?" he looked at the two princes and princess to ask them the meaning: when the bird interrupting him, said, "can your majesty be in such great astonishment at cucumbers stuffed with pearls, which you see with your own eyes, and yet so easily believe that the queen your wife was delivered of a dog, a cat, and a piece of wood?" "i believed these things," replied the emperor, "because the midwives assured me of the facts." "those midwives, sir," replied the bird, "were the queen's two sisters, who, envious of her happiness in being preferred by your majesty before them, to satisfy their envy and revenge, have abused your majesty's credulity. if you interrogate them, they will confess their crime. the two brothers and the sister whom you see before you are your own children, whom they exposed, and who were taken in by the intendant of your gardens, who provided nurses for them, and took care of their education." this speech of the bird's presently cleared up the emperor's understanding. "bird," cried he, "i believe the truth which you discover to me. the inclination which drew me to them told me plainly they must be my own blood. come then, my sons, come, my daughter, let me embrace you, and give you the first marks of a father's love and tenderness." the emperor then rose, and after having embraced the two princes and the princess, and mingled his tears with theirs, said, "it is not enough, my children; you must embrace each other, not as the children of the intendant of my gardens, to whom i have been so much obliged for preserving your lives, but as my own children, of the royal blood of the monarchs of persia, whose glory, i am persuaded, you will maintain." after the two princes and princess had embraced mutually with new satisfaction, the emperor sat down again with them, and finished his meal in haste; and when he had done, said, "my children, you see in me your father; to-morrow i will bring the queen your mother, therefore prepare to receive her." the emperor afterwards mounted his horse, and returned with expedition to his capital. the first thing he did, as soon as he had alighted and entered his palace, was to command the grand vizier to seize the queen's two sisters. they were taken from their houses separately, convicted, and condemned to be quartered; which sentence was put in execution within an hour. in the mean time the emperor khoosroo shaw, followed by all the lords of his court who were then present, went on foot to the door of the great mosque; and after he had taken the queen out of the strict confinement she had languished under for so many years, embracing her in the miserable condition to which she was then reduced, said to her with tears in his eyes, "i come to entreat your pardon for the injustice i have done you, and to make you the reparation i ought; which i have begun, by punishing the unnatural wretches who put the abominable cheat upon me; and i hope you will look upon it as complete, when i present to you two accomplished princes, and a lovely princess, our children. come and resume your former rank, with all the honours which are your due." all this was done and said before great crowds of people, who flocked from all parts at the first news of what was passing, and immediately spread the joyful intelligence through the city. next morning early the emperor and queen, whose mournful humiliating dress was changed for magnificent robes, went with all their court to the house built by the intendant of the gardens, where the emperor presented the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, to their enraptured mother. "these, much injured wife," said he, "are the two princes your sons, and this princess your daughter; embrace them with the same tenderness i have done, since they are worthy both of me and you." the tears flowed plentifully down their cheeks at these tender embraces, especially the queen's, from the comfort and joy of having two such princes for her sons, and such a princess for her daughter, on whose account she had so long endured the severest afflictions. the two princes and the princess had prepared a magnificent repast for the emperor and queen, and their court. as soon as that was over, the emperor led the queen into the garden, and shewed her the harmonious tree and the beautiful effect of the yellow fountain. she had seen the bird in his cage, and the emperor had spared no panegyric in his praise during the repast. when there was nothing to detain the emperor any longer, he took horse, and with the princes bahman and perviz on his right hand, and the queen consort and the princess at his left, preceded and followed by all the officers of his court, according to their rank, returned to his capital. crowds of people came out to meet them, and with acclamations of joy ushered them into the city, where all eyes were fixed not only upon the queen, the two princes, and the princess, but also upon the bird, which the princess carried before her in his cage, admiring his sweet notes, which had drawn all the other birds about him, which followed him, flying from tree to tree in the country, and from one house-top to another in the city. the princes bahman and perviz, and the princess perie-zadeh, where at length brought to the palace with this pomp, and nothing was to be seen or heard all that night but illuminations and rejoicings both in the palace and in the utmost parts of the city, which lasted many days, and were continued throughout the empire of persia, as intelligence of the joyful event reached the several provinces. story of the sultan of yemen and his three sons. there was in the land of yemen (arabia felix) a sultan, under whom were three tributary princes. he had four children, three sons and a daughter. he possessed greater treasures than could be estimated, as well as innumerable camels, horses, and flocks of sheep; and was held in awe by all contemporary sovereigns. after a long and prosperous reign, age brought with it infirmity, and he at length became incapable of appearing in his hall of audience; upon which he commanded his sons to his presence, and said to them, "my wish is to divide among you, before my death, all my possessions, that you may be satisfied, and live in unanimity and brotherly affection with each other, and in obedience to my dying commands." they exclaimed, "to hear is to obey." the sultan then said, "my will is, that the eldest be sovereign in my room; that the second possess my treasures; and the third every description of animals. let no, one encroach upon another, but all assist each other." he then caused them to sign an agreement to abide by his bequests, and shortly afterwards was received into the mercy of the almighty; upon which his sons prepared what was suitable to his dignity for his funeral. they washed the corpse, enshrouded it, prayed over it, and having committed it to the earth, returned to their palaces; where the viziers, officers of state, and inhabitants of the metropolis, high and low, rich and poor, attended to console with them on the loss of their father. the news of the death of the sultan was soon spread abroad into all the provinces, and deputations from every city came to condole with the princes. after these ceremonies, the eldest prince demanded that he should be inaugurated sultan in the room of the deceased monarch, agreeably to his will; but this was not possible, as each of the other brothers was ambitious of being sovereign. contention and disputes now arose between them for the government, till at length the elder brother, wishing to avoid civil war, said, "let us go and submit to the arbitration of one of the tributary sultans, and to let him whom he adjudges the kingdom peaceably enjoy it." to this they assented, as did also the viziers; and they departed, unattended, towards the capital of one of the tributary sultans. when the princes had proceeded about half way on their journey, they reached a verdant spot, abounding in herbage and flowers, with a clear rivulet running through it, the convenience of which made them halt to refresh themselves. they sat down and were eating, when one of the brothers casting his eyes on the grass, said, "a camel has lately passed this way loaded, half with sweetmeats and half with grain." "true," cried another, "and he was blind of one eye." "yes," exclaimed the third, "and he had lost his tail." they had scarcely concluded their remarks, when the owner of the camel came up to them (for he had heard what they had said, and was convinced, as they had described the beast and his load, that they must have stopped him), crying out, that they had stolen his camel. "we have not seen him," answered the princes, "nor touched him." "by allah!" replied he, "none but you can have taken him; and if you will not deliver him up, i will complain of you to the sultan." they rejoined, "it is well; let us go to the sultan." when all four had reached the palace, information was given of the arrival of the princes, and they were admitted to an audience, the owner of the camel following, who bawled out, "these men, my lord, by their own confession, have stolen my property, for they described him and the load he carried." the man then related what each of the princes, had said; upon which the sultan demanded if it was true. they answered, "my lord, we have not seen the camel; but we chanced, as we were sitting on the grass taking some refreshment, to observe that part of the pasture had been grazed; upon which we supposed that the camel must have been blind of an eye, as the grass was only eaten on one side. we then observed the dung of a camel in one heap on the ground, which made us agree that its tail must have been cut off, as it is the custom for camels to shake their tails, and scatter it abroad. on the grass where the camel had lain down, we saw on one side flies collected in great numbers, but none on the other: this made us conclude that one of the panniers must have contained sweets, and the other only grain." upon hearing the above, the sultan said to the complainant, "friend, go and look for thy camel, for these observations do not prove the theft on the accused, but only the strength of their understandings and penetration." the sultan now ordered apartments for the princes, and directed that they should be entertained in a manner befitting their rank; after which he left them to their repose. in the evening, when the usual meal was brought in, the elder prince having taken up a cake of bread, said, "this bread, i am sure, was made by a sick woman." the second, on tasting some kid, exclaimed, "this kid was suckled by a bitch:" and the third cried out, "certainly this sultan must be illegitimate." at this instant the sultan, who had been listening, entered hastily, and exclaimed, "wherefore utter ye these affronting speeches?" "inquire," replied the princes, "into what you have heard, and you will find all true." the sultan now retired to his haram, and on inquiry, found that the woman who had kneaded the bread was sick. he then sent for the shepherd, who owned that the dam of the kid having died, he had suckled it upon a bitch. next, in a violent passion, he proceeded to the apartments of the sultana mother, and brandishing his cimeter--threatened her with death, unless she confessed whether he was son to the late sultan or not. the sultana was alarmed, and said, "to preserve my life, i must speak truth. know then that thou art the son of a cook. thy father had no male offspring, at which he was uneasy: on the same day myself and the wife of the cook lay in, i of a daughter and she of a son. i was fearful of the coolness of the sultan, and imposed upon him the son of the cook for his own: that son art thou, who now enjoyest an empire." the spurious sultan left the sultana in astonishment at the penetration of the brothers, whom he summoned to his presence, and inquired of them on what grounds they had founded their just suspicions respecting the bread, the kid, and himself. "my lord," replied the elder prince, "when i broke the cake, the flour fell out in lumps; and hence i guessed that she who made it had not strength to knead it sufficiently, and must have been unwell." "it is as thou hast said," replied the sultan. "the fat of the kid," continued the second brother, "was all next the bone, and the flesh of every other animal but the dog has it next the skin. hence my surmise that it must have been suckled by a bitch." "thou wert right," answered the sultan; "but now for myself." "my reason for supposing thee illegitimate," said the youngest prince, "was, because thou didst not associate with us, who are of the same rank with thyself. every man has properties which he inherits from his father, his grandfather, or his mother. from his father, generosity, or avarice; from his grandfather, valour or cowardice; from his mother, bashfulness or impudence." "thou hast spoken justly," replied the sultan; "but why came ye to ask judgment of me, since ye are so much better able to decide difficult questions than myself? return home, and agree among yourselves." the princes did so; and obeyed the will of their father. story of the three sharpers and the sultan. three very ingenious sharpers who associated together, being much distressed, agreed, in hopes of obtaining immediate relief, that they would go to the sultan, and pretend each to superior ability in some occupation. accordingly they proceeded to the metropolis, but found admission to the presence difficult; the sultan being at a garden palace surrounded by guards, who would not let them approach. upon this they consulted, and agreed to feign a quarrel, in hopes that their clamour would draw the notice of the sultan. it did so: he commanded them to be brought before him, inquired who they were, and the cause of their dispute. "we were disputing," said they, "concerning the superiority of our professions; for each of us possesses complete skill in his own." "what are your professions?" replied the sultan. "i am," said one, "o sovereign, a lapidary of wonderful skill." "i fear thou art an astonishing rascal," exclaimed the sultan. "i am," said the second sharper, "a genealogist of horses." "and i," continued the third, "a genealogist of mankind, knowing every one's true descent; an art much more wonderful than that of either of my companions, for no one possesses it but myself, nor ever did before me." the sultan was astonished, but gave little credit to their pretensions: yet he said to himself, "if these men speak truth, they are worthy of encouragement. i will keep them near me till i have occasion to try them; when, if they prove their abilities, i will promote them; but if not, i will put them to death." he then allotted them an apartment, with an allowance of three cakes of bread and a mess of pottage daily; but placed spies over them, fearing lest they might escape. not long after this, a present of rarities was brought to the sultan, among which were two precious stones; one of them remarkably clear in its water, and the other with a flaw. the sultan now bethought himself of the lapidary, and sent for him to his presence, when he gave him the clear jewel to examine, and demanded what he thought it was worth. the sharper took the stone, and with much gravity turned it backwards and forwards in his hands, examining it with minute attention on every part; after which he said, "my lord, this jewel has a flaw in the very centre of it." when the sultan heard this, he was enraged against the sharper, and gave orders to strike off his head; saying, "this stone is free from blemish, and yet thou pretendest it hath a flaw." the executioner now advanced, laid hold of the sharper, bound him, and was going to strike, when the vizier entered, and seeing the sultan enraged, and the sharper under the cimeter, inquired the cause. being informed, he advanced towards the sultan, and said, "my lord, act not thus, but first break the stone: should a flaw appear in it, the words of this man are true; but if it be found free from blemish, put him to death." the sultan replied, "thy advice is just:" and broke it in two with his mace. in the middle he found a flaw, at which he was astonished, and exclaimed to the sharper, "by what means couldst thou discover the blemish?" he replied, "by the acuteness of my sight." the sultan then released him, and said, "take him back to his companions, allow him a mess of pottage to himself, and two cakes of bread." some time after this a tribute came from one of the provinces, part of which consisted of a beautiful black colt, in colour resembling the hue of the darkest night. the sultan was delighted with the animal, and spent whole days in admiring him. at length he bethought himself of the sharper who had pretended to be a genealogist of horses, and commanded him to his presence. when he appeared, the sultan said, "art thou a judge of horses?" he replied, "yes, my lord," upon which the sultan exclaimed, "it is well! but i swear by him who appointed me guardian of his subjects, and said to the universe, be! and it was, that should i find untruth in thy declaration, i will strike off thy head." the man replied, "to hear is to submit." after this they brought out the colt, that he might examine him. the sharper desired the groom to mount the colt and pace him before him, which he did backwards and forwards, the fiery animal all the while plunging and rearing. at length the genealogist said, "it is enough:" and turning to the sultan exclaimed, "my lord, this colt is singularly beautiful, of true blood by his sire, his paces exquisite and proportions just; but in him there is one blemish; could that be done away, he would be all perfection; nor would there be upon the face of the earth his equal among all the various breeds of horses." "what can that blemish be?" said the sultan. "his sire," rejoined the genealogist, "was of true blood, but his dam of another species of animal; and, if commanded, i will inform you." "speak," said the sultan. "the dam of this beautiful colt," continued the genealogist, "was a buffalo." when the sultan heard this he flew into a rage, and commanded an executioner to strike off the head of the sharper; exclaiming, "thou accursed dog! how could a buffalo bring forth a colt?" "my lord," replied the sharper, "the executioner is in attendance; but send for the person who presented the colt, and inquire of him the truth. if my words prove just, my skill will be ascertained; but if what i have said be false, then let my head pay the forfeit for my tongue." upon this the sultan sent for the master of the colt to attend his presence. when the master of the colt appeared before him, the sultan inquired whether it was purchased of another person, or had been bred by himself? to which the man replied, "my lord, i will relate nothing but the truth. the production of this colt is surprising. his sire belonged to me, and was of the true breed of sea-horses: he was always kept in an enclosure by himself, as i was fearful of his being injured; but it happened one day in the spring, that the groom took him for air into the country, and picqueted him in the plain. by chance a cow-buffalo coming near the spot, the stallion became outrageous, broke his heel-ropes, joined the buffalo, which after the usual period of gestation, produced this colt, to our great astonishment." the sultan was surprised at this relation. he commanded the genealogist to be sent for, and upon his arrival said, "thy words have proved true, and thy wonderful skill in the breed of horses is ascertained; but by what mark couldst thou know that the dam of this colt was a buffalo?" the man replied, "my lord, the mark is visible in the colt itself. it is not unknown to any person of observation, that the hoof of a horse is nearly round, but the hoof of a buffalo thick and longish, like this colt's: hence i judged that the dam must certainly have been a buffalo." the sultan now dismissed him graciously, and commanded that he should be allowed daily a mess of pottage, and two cakes of bread. not long after this the sultan bethought himself of the third sharper, who pretended that he was the genealogist of man, and sent for him to the presence. on his appearance he said, "thou canst trace the descent of man?" "yes, my lord," replied the genealogist. upon this the sultan commanded an eunuch to take him into his haram, that he might examine the descent of his favourite mistress. upon his introduction, he looked at the lady on this side and on that, through her veil, till he was satisfied, when he came out; and the sultan exclaimed, "well, what hast thou discovered in my mistress?" he replied, "my lord, she is all perfect in elegance, beauty, grace, stature, bloom, modesty, accomplishments, and knowledge, so that every thing desirable centres in herself; but still there is one point that disgraces her, from which if she was free, it is not possible she could be excelled in anything among the whole of the fair sex." when the sultan had heard this, he rose up angrily, and drawing his cimeter, ran towards the genealogist, intending to strike off his head. just as he was going to strike, some of the attendants said, "my lord, put not the man to death before thou art convinced of his falsehood." upon which the sultan exclaimed, "what fault appeared to thee in my mistress?" "o sultan," replied the man, "she is, as to herself, all perfect; but her mother was a rope-dancer." upon this the sultan immediately sent for the father of the lady, and said, "inform me truly who was the mother of thy daughter, or i will put thee to death." "mighty prince," replied the father, "there is no safety for man but in the truth. her mother was a rope-dancer, whom i took when very young from a company of strolling mummers, and educated. she grew up most beautiful and accomplished: i married her, and she produced me the girl whom thou hast chosen." when the sultan heard this, his rage cooled, but he was filled with astonishment; and said to the genealogist, "inform me what could shew thee that my mistress was the daughter of a rope-dancer?" "my lord," replied the man, "this cast of people have always their eyes very black, and their eyebrows bushy; such are hers: and from them i guessed her descent." the sultan was now convinced of his skill, dismissed him graciously, and commanded that he should be allowed a mess of pottage and three cakes of bread daily, which was done accordingly. some time after this the sultan reflected on the three sharpers, and said to himself, "these men have proved their skill in whatever i have tried them. the lapidary was singularly excellent in his art, the horse genealogist in his, and the last has proved his upon my mistress. i have an inclination to know my own descent beyond a doubt." he then ordered the genealogist into his presence, and said, "dost thou think thou canst prove my descent?" "yes, my lord," replied the man, "but on condition that you spare my life after i shall have informed you; for the proverb says, 'when the sultan is present, beware of his anger, as there is no delay when he commands to strike.'" "there shall be safety for thee," exclaimed the sultan, "in my promise, an obligation that can never be forfeited." "o sultan," continued the genealogist, "when i shall inform thee of thy parentage and descent, let not there be any present who may hear me." "wherefore?" replied the sultan. "my lord," answered the sharper, "you know the attributes of the deity should be veiled in mystery." the sultan now commanded all his attendants to retire, and when they were alone, the genealogist advanced and said, "mighty prince, thou art illegitimate, and the son of an adulteress." as soon as the sultan heard this, his colour changed, he turned pale, and fainted away. when he was recovered, he remained some time in deep contemplation, after which he exclaimed, "by him who constituted me the guardian of his people, i swear that if thy assertion be found true i will abdicate my kingdom, and resign it to thee, for royalty cannot longer become me; but should thy words prove void of foundation, i will put thee to instant death." "to hear is to assent," replied the sharper. the sultan now arose, entered the haram, and bursting into his mother's apartment with his cimeter drawn, exclaimed, "by him who divided the heavens from the earth, shouldst thou not answer faithfully to what i shall inquire, i will cut thee to pieces with this cimeter." the queen, trembling with alarm, said, "what dost thou ask of me?" "inform me," replied the sultan, "of whom am i the son?" "since truth only can save me," cried the princess, "know that thou art the offspring of a cook. my husband had no children either male or female, on which account he became sad, and lost his health and appetite. in a court of the haram we had several sorts of birds, and one day the sultan fancying he should relish one of them, ordered the cook to kill and dress it. i happened then to be in the bath alone. "as i was in the bath," continued the sultana, "i saw the cook endeavouring to catch the birds. at that instant it occurred to my mind from the instigation of satan, that if i bore not a son, after the death of the sultan my influence would be lost. i tempted the man, and thou art the produce of my crime. the signs of my pregnancy soon appeared; and when the sultan was informed of them, he recovered his health, and rejoiced exceedingly, and conferred favours and presents on his ministers and courtiers daily, till the time of my delivery. on that day he chanced to be upon a hunting excursion at a country palace; but when intelligence was brought him of the birth of a son, he instantly returned to me, and issued orders for the city to be decorated, which was done for forty days together, out of respect to the sultan. such was my crime, and such was thy birth." the sultan now returned to the adventurer, and commanded him to pull off his clothes, which he did; when the sultan, disrobing himself, habited him in the royal vestments, after which he said, "inform me whence thou judgest that i was a bastard?" "my lord," replied the adventurer, "when each of us shewed our skill in what was demanded, you ordered him only an allowance of a mess of pottage and three cakes of bread. hence i judged you to be the offspring of a cook, for it is the custom of princes to reward the deserving with wealth and honours, but you only gratified us with victuals from your kitchen." the sultan replied, "thou hast spoken truly." he then made him put on the rest of the royal robes and ornaments, and seated him upon the throne; after which he disguised himself in the habit of a dervish, and wandered from his abdicated dominions. when the lucky adventurer found himself in possession of the throne, he sent for his companions; and finding they did not recognize him in his royal habiliments, dismissed them with liberal presents, but commanded them to quit his territories with the utmost expedition, lest they should discover him. after this, with a satisfied mind, he fulfilled the duties of his new station with a liberality and dignity that made the inhabitants of the metropolis and all the provinces bless him, and pray for the prolongation of his reign. the adventures of the abdicated sultan. the abdicated prince, disguised as a dervish, did not cease travelling in a solitary mood till he came to the city of cairo, which he perceived to be in repose and security, and well regulated. here he amused himself with walking through several streets, till he had reached the royal palace, and was admiring its magnificent architecture and extent, and the crowds passing in and out, when the sultan with his train appeared in sight returning from a hunting excursion, upon which he retired to one side of the road. the sultan observing his dignified demeanour, commanded one of his attendants to invite him to the palace, and entertain him till he should inquire after him. when the sultan had reposed himself from the fatigue of his exercise, he sent for the supposed dervish to his presence, and said, "from what kingdom art thou arrived?" he answered, "i am, my lord, a wandering dervish." "well," replied the sultan, "but inform me on what account thou art come here." on which he said, "my lord, this cannot be done but in privacy." "let it be so," rejoined the sultan; and rising up, led him into a retired apartment of the palace. the supposed dervish then related what had befallen him, the cause of his having abdicated his kingdom, and taken upon himself the character of a religious. the sultan was astonished at his self-denial, and exclaimed, "blessed be his holy name, who exalteth and humbleth whom he will by his almighty power; but my history is more surprising than thine. i will relate it to thee, and conceal nothing." history of mahummud, sultan of cairo. at my first outset in the world i was an indigent man, and possessed none of the conveniences of life, till at length i became possessed of ten pieces of silver, which i resolved to expend in amusing myself. with this intention, i one day walked into the principal market, intending first to purchase somewhat delicate to feast upon. while i was looking about me, a man passed by, with a great crowd following and laughing at him, for he led in an iron chain a monstrous baboon, which he cried for sale at the price of ten pieces of silver. something instinctively impelled me to purchase the creature, so i paid him the money, and took my bargain to my lodging; but on my arrival, was at a loss how to procure a meal for myself or the baboon. while i was considering what i should do, the baboon having made several springs, became suddenly transformed into a handsome young man, beautiful as the moon at the fourteenth night of its appearance, and addressed me, saying, "shekh mahummud, thou hast purchased me for ten pieces of silver, being all thou hadst, and art now thinking how thou canst procure food for me and thyself." "that is true," replied i; "but in the name of allah, from whence dost thou come?" "ask no questions," replied my companion, "but take this piece of gold, and purchase us somewhat to eat and drink." i took the gold, did as he had desired, and we spent the evening merrily together in feasting and conversation, till it was time to repose. in the morning the young man said, "my friend, this lodging is not fitting for us; go, and hire a better." "to hear is to obey," replied i, and departed to the principal serai, where i hired an upper apartment, to which we removed. he then gave me ten deenars, with orders to purchase carpets and cushions, which i did, and on my return found before him a package, containing princely vestments. these he gave to me, desiring that i would go to the bath, and, after bathing, put them on. i obeyed his commands, dressed myself, and found in each pocket a hundred deenars. i was not a little proud of my improved appearance in the rich robes. on my return, he praised my figure, and seated me by him, when we refreshed ourselves, and chatted on various subjects. at length he gave me a bundle, desiring that i would present it to the sultan, and at the same time demand his daughter in marriage for myself, assuring me that my request would meet a ready compliance. the young man commanded a slave he had bought to attend me, who carried the bundle, and i set out for the palace; near which i found a great crowd of grandees, officers, and guards, who seeing me so richly habited, inquired respectfully what i wanted. upon my replying that my business was with the sultan, they informed the ushers, who introduced me to the presence. i made the customary obeisance, and the sultan returned my salute; after which i presented the bundle before him, saying, "will my lord accept this trifle, becoming my humble situation to offer, but certainly not worthy the royal dignity to receive?" the sultan commanded the package to be opened; when, lo! it contained a complete dress of royal apparel, richer than had ever been before seen, at which the sultan was astonished, and exclaimed, "heavens! i have nothing like this, nor ever possessed so magnificent a suit; it shall be accepted: but inform me, shekh, what thou requirest in return for so valuable an offering." "mighty sovereign," replied i, "my wish is to become thy relation by espousing that precious gem of the casket of beauty, thy incomparable daughter." when the sultan had heard this request, he turned towards his vizier and said, "advise me how i should act in this affair." upon which the minister replied, "shew him, my lord, your most valuable diamond, and inquire if he has any one equally precious to match it as a marriage present for your daughter." the sultan did so; when i said, "if i present two, will you give me your daughter?" to which he assented, and i took my leave, carrying with me the diamond, to shew the young man as a model. upon my arrival at our serai, i informed him of what passed, when he examined the diamond, and said, "the day is now far spent, but tomorrow i will procure ten like it, which thou shalt present to the sultan." accordingly in the morning he walked out, and in the space of an hour returned with ten diamonds, which he gave me, and i hastened with them to the sultan. when he beheld the precious stones he was enraptured at their brilliancy, and again consulted his vizier how he should act in this business. "my lord," replied the minister, "you only required one diamond of the shekh, and he has presented you with ten: it is therefore incumbent upon you to give him your daughter." the sultan now sent for the cauzees and effendis, who drew up the deed of espousals, which they gave me, when i returned to our serai, and shewed it to the young man, who said, "it is well; go and complete thy marriage; but i entreat that thou wilt not consummate thy nuptials till i shall give thee permission." "to hear is to obey," replied i. when it was night i entered the princess's apartment, but sat down at a distance from her, and did not speak till morning, when i bade her farewell, and took my leave for the day. i observed the same conduct the second night and the third, upon which, offended at my coldness, she complained to her mother, who informed the sultan of my affronting behaviour. the sultan sent for me to his presence, and with much anger threatened, if i should continue my coldness to the princess another evening, that he would put me to death. upon this i hastened to inform my friend at the serai, who commanded, that when i should next be alone with my wife i should demand of her a bracelet which she wore upon her right arm, and bring it to him, after which i might consummate my nuptials. i replied, "to hear is to obey;" and the next evening, when i entered the apartment, said to my wife, "if thou desirest that we should live happily together, give me the bracelet on thy right arm." she did so immediately, when i carried it to the young man, and, returning to the palace, slept, as i supposed, with the princess till morning. guess, however, what was my surprise, when on awaking i found myself lying in my first humble lodging, stripped of my rich vestments, and saw on the ground my former mean attire; namely, an old vest, a pair of tattered drawers, and a ragged turban, as full of holes as a sieve. when i had somewhat recovered my senses, i put them on and walked out in a melancholy mood, regretting my lost happiness, and not knowing what i should do to recover it. as i strolled towards the palace, i beheld sitting in the street a fortune-teller, who had some written papers before him, and was casting omens for the bystanders. i advanced, and made him a salute, which he returned kindly; and after looking attentively in my face, exclaimed, "what! has that accursed wretch betrayed thee, and torn thee from thy wife?" i replied, "yes." upon this he desired me to wait a little, and seated me by him. when his employers were departed, he said, "my friend, the ape which you purchased for ten pieces of silver, and who soon after was transformed into a young man, is not of human race, but a genie deeply in love with the princess whom you married. however, he could not approach her while she wore the bracelet, containing a powerful charm, upon her right arm, and therefore made use of thee to obtain it. he is now with her, but i will soon effect his destruction, that genii and men may be secure from his wickedness, for he is one of the rebellious and accursed spirits who disobeyed our lord solomon, son of david." after this, the fortune-teller wrote a note, which having sealed and directed, he gave it to me, saying, "go to a certain spot, wait there, and observe those who may approach. fortify thy mind, and when thou shall see a great personage attended by a numerous train, present to him this letter, when he will accomplish thy desires." i took the note, immediately departed for the place to which the fortune-teller had directed me, and after travelling all night and half the next day reached it, and sat down to wait for what might happen. the evening shut in, and about a fourth part of the night had passed, when a great glare of lights appeared advancing towards me from a distance; and as it shone nearer, i perceived persons carrying flambeaux and lanterns, also a numerous train of attendants, as if belonging to some mighty sultan. my mind was alarmed, but i recovered myself, and resolved to stay where i was. a great concourse passed by me, marching two and two, and at length there appeared a sultan of the genii, surrounded by a splendid attendance; upon which i advanced as boldly as i could, and having prostrated myself, presented the letter, which he opened, and read aloud, as follows: "be it known unto thee, o sultan of the genii, that the bearer of this is in distress, from which thou must relieve him by destroying his enemy. shouldst thou not assist him, beware of thy own safety. farewell." when the sultan of the genii had read the note, he called out to one of his messengers, who immediately attended before him, and commanded him to bring into his presence without delay the genie who had enchanted the daughter of the sultan of cairo. "to hear is to obey," replied the messenger, and instantly disappearing, was absent for about an hour, when he returned with the criminal, and placed him before the sultan of the genii, who exclaimed, "accursed wretch, hast thou ill-treated this man?" "mighty sovereign," replied the genie, "my crime proceeded from love of the princess, who wore a charm in her bracelet which prevented my approaching her, and therefore i made use of this man. he procured me the charm, and i now have her in my power; but i love her tenderly, and have not injured her." "return the bracelet instantly," replied the sultan of the genii, "that the man may recover his wife, or i will command an executioner to strike off thy head." the offending genie, who was of an accursed and obstinate race, upon hearing these words was inflamed with passion, and insolently cried out, "i will not return the bracelet, for no one shall possess the princess but myself." having said thus, he attempted to fly away, but in vain. the sultan of the genii now commanded his attendants to bind the criminal in chains, which they did, and having forced the bracelet from him, struck off his head. the sultan then presented me the charm, which was no sooner in my hand than all the genii vanished from my sight, and i found myself dressed as before, in the rich habit given me by the pretended young man. i proceeded to the city, which i entered, and when i came near the palace was recognized by the guards and courtiers, who cried out in raptures of joy, "our lost prince is at length returned." they paid their respects, and i entered the apartment of the princess, whom i found in a deep sleep, in which state she had been ever since my departure. on my replacing the bracelet on her arm, she awoke. after this we lived together in all happiness till the death of her father, who appointed me his successor, having no son, so that i am what i am. when the sultan of cairo had finished his narrative, the abdicated prince expressed his surprise at his adventures: upon which the sultan said, "wonder not, my brother, at the dispensations of the almighty, for he worketh in secret, and when he pleaseth revealeth his mysteries. since thou hast quitted thy kingdom, if thou choosest, thou shalt be my vizier, and we will live together as friends and brothers." "to hear is to obey," replied the prince. the sultan then constituted him vizier, enrobed him in a rich uniform, and committed to him his seal, the inkstand, and other insignia of office, at the same time conferring upon him a magnificent palace, superbly furnished with gorgeous carpets, musnuds, and cushions: belonging to it were also extensive gardens. the vizier entered immediately upon his new office; held his divans regularly twice every day, and judged so equitably on all appeals brought before him, that his fame for justice and impartiality was soon spread abroad; insomuch, that whoever had a cause or dispute willingly referred it to his decision, and was satisfied with it, praying for his life and prosperity. in this state he remained for many years, the sovereign pleased with him, and he happy under the protection of the sultan of cairo, so that he did not regret his abdicated kingdom. it happened one evening that the mind of the sultan was depressed, upon which he sent for the vizier, who attended; when he said, "vizier, my mind is so uneasy that nothing will amuse me." "enter then," replied the minister, "into thy cabinet, and look at thy jewels, the examination of which may perhaps entertain thee." the sultan did so, but it had no effect on his lassitude; when he said, "vizier, this dispiritedness will not quit me, and nothing gives me pleasure within my palace; let us, therefore, walk out in disguise." "to hear is to obey," replied the vizier. they then retired into a private chamber, and putting on the habits of dervishes of arabia, strolled through the city till they reached a hospital for lunatics, which they entered. here they beheld two men, one reading and the other listening to him; when the sultan said to himself, "this is surprising;" and addressed the men, saying, "are you really mad?" they replied, "we are not mad, but our stories are so wonderful, that were they recorded on a tablet of adamant, they would remain for examples to them who would be advised." "let us hear them," said the sultan; upon which, the man who had been reading exclaimed, "hear mine first!" and thus began. story of the first lunatic. i was a merchant, and had a warehouse in which were indian goods of all sorts, and of the highest value, and i bought and sold to great advantage. one day as i was sitting in my warehouse, according to custom, busy in buying and selling, an old woman came in, telling her beads, and greeted me. i returned her salute, when she sat down, and said, "sir, have you any choice indian cloths?" "yes, my mistress," replied i, "of all sorts that you can possibly wish for." "bring them," said she. i showed her a piece of great value, with which she was highly pleased, and inquired the price. "five hundred deenars," replied i: she took out her purse, paid me the money, and went away with the cloth; upon which i had a profit of one hundred and fifty deenars. she returned the next day, bought another piece, paid for it, and, in short, did the same for fifteen days successively, paying me regularly for each purchase. on the sixteenth day she came to my shop as usual, chose the cloth and was going to pay me, but missed her purse; upon which she said, "sir, i have unfortunately left my purse at home." "mistress," replied i, "it is of no consequence; take the cloth, and if you return, well, if not, you are welcome to this trifle:" she would not take it: i pressed her, but in vain. much friendly argument passed between us, till at length she said, "sir, you contradict, and i contradict, but we shall never agree unless you will favour me by accompanying me to my house to receive the value of your goods; so lock up your warehouse, lest any thing should be lost in your absence." accordingly i fastened my doors, and accompanied her; we walked on conversing, till we came near her house, when she pulled out a handkerchief from her girdle, and said, "my desire is to tie this over thy eyes." "on what account?" replied i. "because," said she, "in our way are several houses, the gates of which are open, and the women sitting in their balconies, so that possibly thy eyes may glance upon some one of them, and thy heart be distracted with love; for in this part are many beautiful damsels, who would fascinate even a religious, and therefore i am alarmed for thy peace." upon this i said to myself, "this old woman advises me properly," and i consented to her demand; when she bound the handkerchief over my eyes, and we proceeded till we arrived at her house. she knocked at the door, which was opened by a damsel, and we entered. the old lady then took the handkerchief from my eyes, when i looked around me, and perceived that i was in a mansion having several quadrangles, highly ornamented, and resembling the palaces of the sultan. the old lady now desired me to retire into a room, which i did, and there beheld heaped together all the pieces of cloth which she had purchased of me, at which i was surprised, but still more so when two damsels beautiful as resplendent moons approached, and having divided a piece of cloth into halves, each took one, and wrapped it round her hand. they then sprinkled the floor with rose water and other scents, wiping it with the cloth, and rubbing it till it became bright as silver; after which they withdrew into an adjoining room, and brought out at least fifty stools, which they set down, and placed over each a rich covering, with cushions of tissue. they then fetched a large stool of gold, and having put upon it a carpet and cushions of gold brocade, retired. not long after this, there descended from the staircase by two and two, as many damsels in number as the stools; upon each of which one sat down. at last descended a lady attended by ten damsels, who placed herself upon the larger stool. when i beheld her, my lord, my senses forsook me, and i was in raptures at her beauty, her stature, and elegance, as she chatted and laughed with her companions. at length she exclaimed, "my dear mother!" when the old woman entered; to whom she said, "hast thou brought the young man?" she replied, "yes, my daughter, he is ready to attend thee." upon which the lady said, "introduce him to me." when i heard this i was alarmed, and said to myself, "there is no refuge but in the most high god; doubtless she has discovered my being here, and will command me to be put to death." the old woman came to me, and leading me by the hand, took me before the lady seated on the golden stool, who, on seeing me, smiled, made a graceful salute, and waved her hand for a seat to be brought, which was done, and placed close to her own. she then commanded me to sit down, which i did with much confusion. when i was seated, the lady began to chat and joke with me, saying, "what think you of my appearance and my beauty, do you judge me worthy of your affection? shall i be your partner and you mine?" when i had heard these words, i replied, "how, dear lady, dare i presume, who am not worthy to be your servant, to arrive at such an honour?" upon this, she said, "young man, my words have no evasion in them; be not discouraged, or fearful of returning me an answer, for my heart is devoted to thy love." i now perceived, my lord, that the lady was anxious to marry me; but could not conceive on what account, or who could have given her intelligence concerning me. she continued to shew me so many pleasing attentions, that at length i was emboldened to say, "lady, if your words to me are sincere, according to the proverb, no time is so favourable as the present." "there cannot," said she, "be a more fortunate day than this for our union." upon this i replied, "my dear lady, how can i allot for you a proper dowry?" "the value of the cloth you intrusted to the old lady, who is my mother," answered she, "is sufficient." "that cannot be enough," rejoined i. "nothing more shall be added," exclaimed the lady; "and my intention is this instant to send for the cauzee and witnesses, and i will choose a trustee, that they may unite us without delay. we will celebrate our nuptials this very evening, but upon one condition." "what is that?" replied i. she answered, "that you bind yourself not to address or hold conversation with any woman but myself." my lord, i was eager to be in possession of so beautiful a woman, and therefore said to her, "i agree, and will never contradict thee either by my words or actions." she then sent for the cauzee and witnesses, and appointed a trustee, after which we were married. after the ceremony, she ordered coffee and sherbet, gave money to the cauzee, a dress of honour to her trustee, and they departed. i was lost in astonishment, and said to myself, "do i dream, or am i awake?" she now commanded her damsels to empty the warm bath, fill it afresh, and prepare cloths and necessaries for bathing. when they had done as she desired, she ordered the eunuchs in waiting to conduct me to the hummaum, and gave them a rich dress. they led me into an elegant apartment, difficult for speech to describe. they spread many-coloured carpets, upon which i sat down and undressed; after which i entered the hummaum, and perceived delightful odours from sandal wood, of comorin, and other sweets diffusing from every part. here they seated me, covered me with perfumed soaps, and rubbed me till my body became bright as silver; when they brought the basins, and i washed with warm water, after which they gave me rose-water, and i poured it over me. they next brought in sweet-smelling salves, which i rubbed over me, and then repaired to the hummaum, where i found a royal dress, in which the eunuchs arrayed me; and after perfuming me with incense of sandal wood, brought in confections, coffee, and sherberts of various sorts, with which i refreshed myself. i then left the bath with my attendants, who shewed me into the grand hall of the palace, which was spread with most magnificent carpets, stools, and cushions. here the lady met me, attired in a new habit, more sumptuous than i had seen her in before. when i beheld my bride, she appeared to me, from the richness of her ornaments, like a concealed treasure from which the talisman had just been removed. she sat down by me, and smiled so fascinatingly upon me, i could no longer contain my rapture. in a short time she retired, but soon returned again in a dress richer than her last. i again embraced her, and in short, my lord, we remained together for ten days in the height of happiness and enjoyment. at the end of this period i recollected my mother, and said to my wife, "it is so long since i have been absent from home, and since my mother has not seen me, that i am certain she must be anxious concerning me. will you permit me to visit her and look after my warehouse?" "there can be no impediment," replied she; "you may visit your mother daily, and employ yourself in your warehouse, but the old woman must conduct you and bring you back;" to which i assented. the old lady then came in, tied a handkerchief over my eyes, conducted me to the spot where she had first blindfolded me, and said, "you will return here about the time of evening prayer, and will find me waiting." i left her, and repaired to my mother, whom i found in great affliction at my absence, and weeping bitterly. upon seeing me, she ran and embraced me with tears of joy. i said, "weep not, my dear mother, for my absence has been owing to the highest good fortune." i then informed her of my lucky adventure, when she exclaimed, "may allah protect thee, my son, but visit me at least every two days, that my affection for thee may be gratified." i then went to my warehouse, and employed myself as usual till evening, when i returned to the place appointed, where i found the old lady, who blindfolded me as before, and conducted me to the palace of my wife, who received me with fondness. for three months i continued to go and come in this manner, but i could not help wishing to know whom i had married, and wondering at the affluence, splendour, and attendance that appeared around her. at length i found an opportunity of being in private with one of her black slaves, and questioned her concerning her mistress. "my lord," replied she, "the history of my mistress is wonderful; but i dare not relate it, lest she should put me to death." upon this, i assured her, that if she would inform me, no one should know it but myself, and i took an oath of secrecy, when she began as follows: "my mistress one day went to a public bath, intending to amuse herself, for which purpose she made such preparations of delicacies and rarities, as were worth a camel's load of treasure, and when she left the hummaum, made an excursion to a garden, where a splendid collation was laid out. here she continued enjoying herself till evening, when she ordered her retinue to make ready for departure, and the fragments of the entertainment to be distributed among the poor. on her return, she passed through the street in which is your warehouse. it was upon a friday, when you were sitting in conversation with a friend, arrayed in your best attire. she beheld you, her heart was stricken with love, but no one perceived her emotion. however, she had no sooner reached her palace than she became low and melancholy, and her appetite failed her. at length she took to her bed, her colour left her, sleep forsook her, and she became very weak. upon this her mother went to call in a physician, that he might consider what might be the cause of her daughter's indisposition; but on the way she met a skilful old lady, with whom she returned home. "the old lady on feeling the pulse of her patient, and after asking several questions, could perceive in her no bodily ailment or pain; upon which she judged she was in love, but did not venture to speak to her before her mother of her suspicions. she took leave, and said, 'by god's blessing thou wilt soon recover; i will return tomorrow, and bring with me an infallible medicine.' she then took her mother aside, and said, 'my good lady, be not angry at what i shall remark, but thy daughter has no bodily disorder; she is in love, and there can be no cure for her but by a union with her beloved.' the mother, on the departure of the old lady, repaired to her daughter, and with much difficulty, after twenty days of denial (for my mistress's modesty was hurt), obtained from her a description of your person, and the street in which you lived; upon which she behaved to you in the manner you are well acquainted with, brought you here, and you know what followed. such is her history," concluded the black slave, "which you must not reveal." "i will not," replied i; and after this i continued to live very happily with my wife, going daily to see my mother, to attend in my warehouse, and return in the evening, conducted as usual by the old lady my mother-in-law. one day, after the expiration of some months, as i was sitting in my warehouse, a damsel came into the street with the image of a cock, composed of jewelry. it was set with pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones, and she offered it to the merchants for sale; when they began bidding for it at five hundred deenars, and went to nine hundred and fifty; all which i observed in silence and did not interfere by speaking or bidding. at length the damsel came up to me, and said, "my lord, all the merchants have increased in bidding for my precious toy, but you have neither bidden, nor taken any notice of me." "i have no occasion for it," replied i. "nay," exclaimed she, "but you must bid something more." "since i must," i answered, "i will give fifty deenars more, which will be just a thousand." she accepted the price, and i went into my warehouse to fetch the money to pay her, saying to myself, "i will present this curiosity to my wife, as it may please her." when i was going to pay the money, the damsel would not take it, but said, "my lord, i have a request to make, which is, that i may snatch one kiss from your cheek as the price of my jewelry, for i want nothing else." upon this, i thought to myself, a single kiss of my cheek is an easy price for the value of a thousand deenars, and consented; when she came up to me and gave me a kiss, but at the same time a most severe bite; left the piece of jewelry, and went away with the greatest haste. in the evening i repaired to the house of my wife, and found the old lady waiting as usual at the accustomed spot. she tied the handkerchief over my eyes, and when she had conducted me home, took it off. i found my wife sitting upon her golden stool, but dressed in scarlet, and with an angry countenance; upon which i said to myself, "god grant all may be well." i approached her, took out the toy set with diamonds and rubies (thinking that on sight of it her ill-humour would vanish), and said, "my mistress, accept this, for it is curious, and i purchased it for thee." she took it into her hand, and examined it on all sides; after which she exclaimed, "didst thou really purchase this on my account?" "by heavens," replied i, "i bought it for thy sake, for a thousand deenars." upon this she frowned angrily upon me, and exclaimed, "what means that wound upon thy cheek?" i was overwhelmed with confusion. while i was in this state, she called out to her attendants, who immediately descended the staircase, carrying the headless corpse of a young girl, the head placed upon the middle of the body. i looked, and knew it to be the head of the damsel who had sold me the piece of jewelry for a kiss, and had bitten my cheek. my wife now exclaimed, "i had no occasion for such baubles, for i have many of them; but i wished to know if thou wert so faithful to thy agreement with me, as not to address another woman than myself, and sent the girl to try thee. since thy promise has been broken, begone, and return no more." when my wife had finished her speech, the old woman took me by the hand, tied the handkerchief over my eyes, and conducted me to the usual spot, when she said, "begone!" and disappeared. i was so overcome by the sad adventure, and the loss of my wife, that i ran through the streets like one frantic, crying, "ah, what beauty, what grace, what elegance did she possess!" upon which, the people, supposing me distracted, conducted me to this hospital, and bound me in fetters, as you see. when the sultan had heard the young man's story, he was much affected, inclined his head for some instants in deep thought, then said to his vizier, "by allah, who has intrusted me with sovereignty, if thou dost not discover the lady who married this young man, thy head shall be forfeited." the vizier was alarmed, but recovering himself, replied, "allow me three days to search," to which the sultan consented. the vizier then took with him the young man, and for two days was at a loss how to find out the house. at length he inquired if he should know the spot where the handkerchief was tied over his eyes, and the gateway at which it was taken off, of both which the youth professed to be certain. he conducted the minister to the street where he was blindfolded, and they reached a gateway, at which the vizier knocked. it was opened by the domestics, who knowing the vizier, and seeing the young man with him, were alarmed, and ran to communicate the quality of the visitants to their mistress. she desired to know the commands of the vizier, who informed her, that it was the sultan's pleasure she should be reconciled to her husband; to which she replied, "since the sultan hath commanded, my duty is obedience." the young man was reunited to his wife, who was the daughter of a former sultan of cairo. such were the adventures of the young man who was reading in the hospital. we now recite those of the youth who was listening to him. upon the sultan's inquiring his story, he began as follows. story of the second lunatic. my lord, i was by profession a merchant, and on my commencing business the youngest of my trade, having but just entered my sixteenth year. as i was one day busy in my warehouse, a damsel entering, put into my hands a packet, which, on opening, i found to contain several copies of verses in praise of myself, with a letter expressive of ardent affection for my person. supposing them meant only as banter, i foolishly flew into a passion, seized the bearer, and beat her severely. on her departure, i reflected on my improper behaviour, dreaded lest she should complain to her relations, and that they might revenge themselves upon me by some sudden assault. i repented of what i had done, but alas! it was when repentance would not avail. ten days had passed, when, as i was sitting in my warehouse as usual, a young lady entered most superbly dressed, and odoriferously perfumed. she resembled in brightness the moon on its fourteenth night, so that when i gazed upon her my senses forsook me, and i was incapable of attention to any thing but herself. she addressed me, saying, "young man, have you in your warehouse any female ornaments?" to which i replied, "of all sorts, my lady, that you can possibly require." upon this she desired to see some bracelets for the ankles, which i shewed her, when holding out her foot, she desired me to try them on. i did so. after this, she asked for a necklace, and opening her veil, made me tie it on. she then chose a pair of bracelets, and extending her hands, desired me to put them on her wrists, which i did; after which, she inquired the amount of the whole, when i exclaimed, "fair lady, accept them as a present, and inform me whose daughter thou art." she replied, "i am the daughter of the chief magistrate;" when i said, "my wish is to demand thee in marriage of thy father." she consented that i should, but observed, "when you ask me of my father, he will say, i have only one daughter, who is a cripple, and wretchedly deformed. do thou, however, reply, that thou art willing to accept her, and if he remonstrates, still insist upon wedding her." i then asked when i should make my proposals. she replied, "the best time to visit my father is on the eed al koorbaun, which is three days hence, as thou wilt then find with him all his relations and friends, and our espousals will add to his festivity." agreeably to the lady's instructions, on the third day following i repaired with several of my friends to the house of the chief magistrate, and found him sitting in state, receiving the compliments of the day from the chief inhabitants of the city. we made our obeisance, which he graciously noticed, received us with kindness, and entered familiarly into conversation. a collation was brought in, the cloth spread, and we partook with him of the viands, after which we drank coffee. i then stood up, saying, "my lord, i am desirous of espousing the chaste lady your daughter, more precious than the richest gem." when the chief magistrate heard my speech, he inclined his head for some time towards the earth in deep thought, after which he said, "son, my daughter is an unfortunate cripple, miserably deformed." to this i replied, "to have her for my wife is all i wish." the magistrate then said, "if thou wilt have a wife of this description, it must be on condition that she shall not be taken from my house, that thou shalt consummate the marriage here, and abide with me." i replied, "to hear is to obey;" believing that she was the beautiful damsel who had visited my warehouse, and whose charms i had so rapturously beheld. in short, the nuptial ceremony was performed, when i said to myself, "heavens! is it possible that i am become master of this beautiful damsel, and shall possess her charms!" when night set in, the domestics of the chief magistrate introduced me into the chamber of my bride. i ran eagerly to gaze upon her beauty, but guess my mortification when i beheld her a wretched dwarf, a cripple, and deformed, as her father had represented. i was overcome with horror at the sight of her, distracted with disappointment, and ashamed of my own foolish credulity, but i dared not complain, as i had voluntarily accepted her as my wife from the magistrate: i sat down silently in one corner of the chamber, and she in another, for i could not bring myself to approach her, as she was disgusting to the sight of man, and my soul could not endure her company. at day-break i left the house of my father-in-law, repaired to my warehouse, which i opened, and sat down much distressed in mind, with my head dizzy, like one suffering from intoxication, when lo! who should appear before me but the lady who had put upon me so mortifying a trick. she entered, and paid me the customary salute. i was enraged, and began to abuse her, saying, "wherefore hast thou put upon me such a stratagem?" when she replied, "wretch, recollect the day that i brought thee a packet, in return for which you seized, beat, reviled, and drove me scornfully away. in retaliation for such treatment, i have taken revenge by giving thee such a delectable bride." i now fell at her feet, entreated her forgiveness, and expressed my repentance; upon which, smiling upon me, she said, "be not uneasy, for as i have plunged thee into a dilemma, i will also relieve thee from it. go to the aga of the leather-dressers, give him a sum of money, and desire him to call thee his son; then repair with him, attended by his followers and musicians, to the house of the chief magistrate. when he inquires the cause of their coming, let the aga say, 'my lord, we are come to congratulate thy son-in-law, who is my beloved child, on his marriage with thy daughter, and to rejoice with him.' the magistrate will be furiously enraged, and exclaim, 'dog, is it possible that, being a leather-dresser, thou durst marry the daughter of the chief magistrate?' do thou then reply, 'my lord, my ambition was to be ennobled by your alliance, and as i have married your lordship's daughter, the mean appellation of leather-dresser will soon be forgotten and lost in the glorious title of the son-in-law of your lordship; i shall be promoted under your protection, and purified from the odour of the tan-pit, so that my offspring will smell as sweet as that of a syed." i did as the lady had directed me, and having bribed the chief of the leather-dressers, he accompanied me with the body of his trade, and a numerous party of musicians, vocal and instrumental, to my father-in-law's house, before which they began to sing and dance with great clamour every now and then crying out, "long live our noble kinsman! long live the son-in-law of the chief magistrate!" the magistrate inquired into the cause of our intrusive rejoicing, when i told him my kinsfolk were congratulating me upon my alliance with his illustrious house, and come to thank him for the honour he had done the whole body of leather-dressers in my person. the chief magistrate on hearing this was passionately enraged, and abused me; but reflecting that without my consent the supposed disgrace of his noble house could not be done away, he became calm, and offered me money to divorce his daughter. at first i pretended unwillingness, but at length affecting to be moved by his earnest entreaties, accepted forty purses of gold, which he gave me to repudiate my deformed wife, and i returned home with a lightened heart. the day following, the lady came to my warehouse, when i thanked her for having freed me from my ridiculous marriage, and begged her to accept of me as a husband. to this she consented, but said she was, she feared, too meanly born for me to marry, as her father was but a cook, though of eminence in his way, and very rich. i replied, "even though he were a leather-dresser, thy charms would grace a throne." in short, my lord, we were married, and have lived together very happily from the day of our union to the present time. such is my story, but it is not so surprising as that of the learned man and his pupil, whose adventures were among the miracles of the age, which i will relate. story of the retired sage and his pupil, related to the sultan by the second lunatic, there was a learned and devout sage, who in order to enjoy his studies and contemplations uninterrupted, had secluded himself from the world in one of the cells of the principal mosque of the city, which he never left but upon the most pressing occasions. he had led this retired life some years, when a boy one day entered his cell, and earnestly begged to be received as his pupil and domestic. the sage liked his appearance, consented to his request, inquired who were his parents, and whence he came; but the lad could not inform him, and said, "ask not who i am, for i am an orphan, and know not whether i belong to heaven or earth." the shekh did not press him, and the boy served him with the most undeviating punctuality and attention for twelve years, during which he received his instructions in every branch of learning, and became a most accomplished youth. at the end of the twelve years, the youth one day heard some young men praising the beauty of the sultan's daughter, and saying that her charms were unequalled by those of all the princesses of the age. this discourse excited his curiosity to behold so lovely a creature. he repaired to his master, saying, "my lord, i understand that the sultan hath a most beautiful daughter, and my soul longs ardently for an opportunity of beholding her, if only for an instant." the sage exclaimed, "what have such as we to do, my son, with the daughters of sovereigns or of others? we are a secluded order, and should refrain ourselves from associating with the great ones of this world." the old man continued to warn his pupil against the vanities of the age, and to divert him from his purpose; but the more he advised and remonstrated, the more intent the youth became on his object, which affected his mind so much, that he grew very uneasy, and was continually weeping. the sage observing his distress was afflicted at it, and at length said to the youth, "will one look at the princess satisfy thy wishes?" "it shall," replied the pupil. the sage then anointed one of his eyes with a sort of ointment; when lo! he became to appearance as a man divided into half, and the sage ordered him to go and hop about the city. the youth obeyed his commands, but he had no sooner got into the street than he was surrounded by a crowd of passengers, who gazed with astonishment at his appearance. the report of so strange a phenomenon as a half man soon spread throughout the city, and reached the palace of the sultan, who sent for the supposed monster to the presence. the youth was conveyed to the palace, where the whole court gazed upon him with wonder; after which he was taken into the haram, to gratify the curiosity of the women. he beheld the princess, and was fascinated by the brilliancy of her charms, insomuch, that he said to himself, "if i cannot wed her, i will put myself to death." the youth being at length dismissed from the palace, returned home; his heart tortured with love for the daughter of the sultan. on his arrival, the sage inquired if he had seen the princess. "i have," replied the youth, "but one look is not enough, and i cannot rest until i shall sit beside her, and feast my eyes till they are wearied with gazing upon her." "alas! my son," exclaimed the old man, "i fear for thy safety: we are religious men, and should avoid temptations; nor does it become us to have any thing to do with the sultan." to this the youth replied, "my lord, unless i shall sit beside her, and touch her neck with my hands, i shall, through despair, put myself to death." at these words, the sage was alarmed for the safety of his pupil, and said to himself, "i will, if possible, preserve this amiable youth, and perchance allah may gratify his wishes." he then anointed both his eyes with an ointment, which had the effect of rendering him invisible to human sight. after this, he said, "go, my son, and gratify thy wishes, but return again, and be not too long absent from thy duty." the youth hastened towards the royal palace, which he entered unperceived, and proceeded into the haram, where he seated himself near the daughter of the sultan. for some time he contented himself with gazing on her beauty, but at length extending his hands, touched her softly on the neck. as soon as she felt his touch, the princess, alarmed, shrieked out violently, and exclaimed, "i seek refuge with allah, from satan the accursed." her mother and the ladies present, affrighted at her outcries, eagerly inquired the cause; when she said, "eblees, or some other evil spirit, hath this instant touched me on the neck." upon this, the mother was alarmed and sent for her nurse, who, when informed of what had happened, declared, "that nothing was so specific to drive away evil spirits as the smoke of camel's hair;" a quantity of which was instantly brought, and being set fire to, the smoke of it filled the whole apartment, and so affected the eyes of the young man, that they watered exceedingly, when he unthinkingly wiped them with his handkerchief, so that with his tears the ointment was soon washed off. the ointment was no sooner wiped away from his eyes than the young man became visible, and the princess, her mother, and the ladies, all at once uttered a general cry of astonishment and alarm; upon which the eunuchs rushed into the apartment. seeing the youth, they surrounded him, beat him unmercifully, then bound him with cords, and dragged him before the sultan, whom they informed of his having been found in the royal haram. the sultan, enraged, sent for an executioner, and commanded him to seize the culprit, to clothe him in a black habit patched over with flame colour, to mount him upon a camel, and after parading with him through the streets of the city, to put him to death. the executioner took the young man, dressed him as he had been directed, placed him upon the camel, and led him through the city, preceded by guards and a crier, who bawled out, "behold the merited punishment of him who has dared to violate the sanctuary of the royal haram." the procession was followed by an incalculable crowd of people, who were astonished at the beauty of the young man, and the little concern he seemed to feel at his own situation. at length the procession arrived in the square before the great mosque, when the sage, disturbed by the noise and concourse of the people, looked from the window of his cell, and beheld the disgraceful situation of his pupil. he was moved to pity, and instantly calling upon the genii (for by his knowledge of magic and every abstruse science he had them all under his control), commanded them to bring him the youth from the camel, and place in his room, without being perceived, some superannuated man. they did so, and when the multitude saw the youth, as it were, transformed into a well-known venerable shekh, they were stricken with awe, and said, "heavens! the young man turns out to be our reverend chief of the herb-sellers;" for the old man had long been accustomed to dispose of greens and sugarcane at the college gate near the great mosque, and was the oldest in his trade. the executioner, on beholding the change of appearance in his prisoner, was confounded. he returned to the palace with the old man upon the camel, and followed by the crowd. he hastened or contrive my death to the sultan, and said, "my lord, the young man is vanished, and in his room became seated upon the camel this venerable shekh, well known to the whole city." on hearing this, the sultan was alarmed, and said to himself, "whoever has been able to perform this, can do things much more surprising he may depose me from my kingdom." the sultan's fears increased so much, that he was at a loss how to act. he summoned his vizier, and said, "advise me what to do in the affair of this strange youth, for i am utterly confounded." the vizier for some time inclined his head towards the ground in profound thought, then addressing the sultan, said, "my lord, no one could have done this but by the help of genii, or by a power which we cannot comprehend, and he may possibly, if irritated, do you in future a greater injury respecting your daughter. i advise, therefore, that you cause it to be proclaimed throughout the city, that whoever has done this, if he will appear before you shall have pardon on the word of a sultan, which can never be broken. should he then surrender himself, espouse him to your daughter, when perhaps his mind may be reconciled by her love. he has already beheld her, and seen the ladies of the haram, so that nothing can save your honour but his union with the princess." the sultan approved the advice of his vizier, the proclamation was issued, and the crier proceeded through several streets, till at length he reached the square of the great mosque. the pupil hearing the proclamation, was enraptured, and running to his patron, declared his intention of surrendering himself to the sultan. "my son," said the sage, "why shouldst thou do so? hast thou not already suffered sufficiently?" the youth replied, "nothing shall prevent me." upon which the sage exclaimed, "go then, my son, and my midnight prayers shall attend thee." the youth now repaired to the hummaum, and having bathed, dressed himself in his richest habit; after which he discovered himself to the crier, who conducted him to the palace. he made a profound obeisance to the sultan, at the same time uttering an eloquent prayer for his long life and prosperity. the sultan was struck with his manly beauty, the gracefulness of his demeanour, and the propriety of his delivery, and said, "young stranger, who art thou, and from whence dost thou come?" "i am," replied the youth, "the half man whom you saw, and have done what you are already acquainted with." the sultan now requested him to sit in the most honourable place, and entered into conversation on various subjects. he put to him several difficult questions in science, to which the youth replied with such judgment, that his abilities astonished him, and he said to himself, "this young man is truly worthy of my daughter." he then addressed him, saying, "young man, my wish is to unite thee to my daughter, for thou hast already seen her, also her mother, and after what has passed no one will marry her." the youth replied, "i am ready in obedience, but must advise with my friends." "go then," said the sultan, "consult with thy friends, and return quickly." the young man repaired to the sage, and having informed him of what had passed between himself and the sultan, signified his wish to marry the princess, when the shekh replied, "do so, my son; there can be in the measure no crime, as it is a lawful alliance." "but i wish," said the youth, "to invite the sultan to visit you." "by all means," answered the sage. "my lord," rejoined the pupil, "since i first came, and you honoured me in your service, i have beheld you in no other residence but this confined cell, from which you have never stirred night or day. how can i invite the sultan here?" "my son," exclaimed the shekh, "go to the sultan, rely upon allah, who can work miracles in favour of whom he chooseth, and say unto him, 'my patron greets thee, and requests thy company to an entertainment five days hence.'" the youth did as he was directed, and having returned to his master, waited upon him as before, but anxiously wishing for the fifth day to arrive. on the fifth day, the sage said to his impatient pupil, "let us remove to our own house, that we may prepare for the reception of the sultan, whom you must conduct to me." they arose, and walked, till on coming to a ruinous building about the middle of the city, the walls of which were fallen in heaps, the shekh said, "my son, this is my mansion, hasten and bring the sultan." the pupil, in astonishment, exclaimed, "my lord, this abode is a heap of ruins, how can i invite the sultan here, it would only disgrace us?" "go," repeated the sage, "and dread not the consequences." upon this the youth departed, but as he went on could not help saying to himself, "surely my master must be insane, or means to make a jest of us." when he had reached the palace he found the sultan expecting him; upon which he made his obeisance, and said, "will my lord honour me by his company?" the sultan arose, mounted his horse, and attended by his whole court, followed the youth to the place chosen by the venerable shekh. it now appeared a royal mansion, at the gates of which were ranged numerous attendants in costly habits, respectfully waiting. the young man, at sight of this transformed appearance, was confounded in such a manner that he could hardly retain his senses. he said to himself, "it was but this instant that i beheld this place a heap of ruins, yet now it is a palace far more magnificent than any belonging to this sultan. i am astonished, but must keep the secret to myself." the sultan alighted, as did also his courtiers, and entered the palace. they were surprised and delighted at the splendour of the first court, but much more so at the superior magnificence of a second; into which they were ushered, and introduced into a spacious hall, where they found the venerable shekh sitting to receive them. the sultan made a low obeisance; upon which the sage just moved his head, but did not rise. the sultan then sat down, when the shekh greeted him, and they entered into conversation on various subjects; but the senses of the sultan were confounded at the dignified demeanour of his host, and the splendid objects around him. at length the shekh desired his pupil to knock at a door and order breakfast to be brought in, which he did: when lo! the door opened, and there entered a hundred slaves, bearing upon their heads golden trays, on which were placed dishes of agate, cornelian, and other stones, filled with various eatables, which they arranged in order before the sultan. he was astonished, for he had nothing so magnificent in his own possession. he then partook of the sumptuous collation, as did also the venerable shekh, and all the courtiers, till they were satisfied; after which they drank coffee and sherbets of various sorts, when the sultan and the sage conversed on religious and literary subjects, and the former was edified by the remarks of the latter. when it was noon the shekh again desired his pupil to knock at another door, and order dinner to be brought in. he had no sooner done so, than immediately a hundred slaves, different from the former, entered, bearing trays of the richest viands. they spread the cloth before the sultan, and arranged the dishes, which were each thickly set with precious stones, at which he was more astonished than before. when all had eaten till they were satisfied, basins and ewers, some of gold and others of agate, were carried round, and they washed their hands; after which the shekh said to the sultan, "have you fixed what my son must give as the dower of your daughter?" to this, the sultan replied, "i have already received it." this he said out of compliment; but the shekh replied, "my lord, the marriage cannot be valid without a dower." he then presented a vast sum of money, with many jewels, for the purpose to his pupil; after which he retired with the sultan into a chamber, and arrayed him in a splendid habit; rich dresses were also given to each of his attendants according to their rank. the sultan then took leave of the shekh, and returned with his intended son-in-law to the palace. when evening arrived the young man was introduced into the apartment of the princess, which he found spread with the richest carpets, and perfumed with costly essences, but his bride was absent: at which he was somewhat surprised, but supposed her coming was put off till midnight, for which he waited with impatience. midnight came, but no bride appeared; when a thousand uneasy sensations afflicted his mind, and he continued in restless anxiety till morning: nor were the father and mother of the princess less impatient; for supposing she was with her husband, they waited anxiously, and were mortified at the delay. at daylight, the mother, unable to bear longer suspense, entered the chamber; when the young man, rather angrily, inquired what had delayed the coming of his bride. "she entered before thee," replied the mother. "i have not seen her," answered the bridegroom. upon this the sultana shrieked with affright, calling aloud on her daughter, for she had no other child but her. her cries alarmed the sultan, who rushing into the apartment, was informed that the princess was missing, and had not been seen since her entrance in the evening. search was now made in every quarter of the palace, but in vain; and the sultan, sultana, and the bridegroom, were involved in the deepest distress. to account for the sudden disappearance of the princess, be it known, that a genie used often to divert himself with visiting the haram of the sultan; and happening to be there on the marriage night, was so captivated by the charms of the bride, that he resolved to steal her away. accordingly, having rendered himself invisible, he waited in the nuptial chamber, and upon her entering bore her off, and soared into the air. at length he alighted with his prey in a delightful garden, far distant from the city; placed the princess in a shady arbour, and set before her delicious fruits; but contented himself with gazing upon her beauty. the young bridegroom, when recovered from his first alarm, bethought himself of his tutor, and, together with the sultan, repaired to the palace where the splendid entertainment had been given. here they found every thing in the same order as on the day of festivity, and were kindly received by the venerable shekh; who on hearing of the loss of the princess, desired them to be comforted. he then commanded a chafing-dish of lighted charcoal to be set before him, and after some moments of contemplation, cast into it some perfumes, over which he pronounced incantations. he had scarcely ended them, when lo! the earth shook, whirlwinds arose, lightnings flashed, and clouds of dust darkened the air, from which speedily descended winged troops, bearing superb standards and massive spears. in the centre of them appeared three sultans of the genii, who bowing low before the shekh, exclaimed all at once, "master, hail! we are come to obey thy commands." the shekh now addressed them, saying, "my orders are, that you instantly bring me the accursed spirit who hath carried off the bride of my son;" when the genii replied, "to hear is to obey:" and immediately detached fifty of their followers to reconduct the princess to her chamber, and drag the culprit to the presence of the sage. these commands were no sooner issued than they were performed. ten of the genii carefully conveyed the bride to her apartment, while the rest having seized the offending genie, dragged him before the sage, who commanded the three sultans to burn him to ashes, which was executed in an instant. all this was done in the presence of the sultan, who was wrapt in astonishment, and viewed with awe the tremendously gigantic figures of the genii, wondering at the submissive readiness with which they obeyed the commands of the venerable shekh. when the offending genie was consumed to ashes, the shekh renewed his incantations; during which the sultans of the genii, with their followers, bowed themselves before him, and when he had ended, vanished from sight. the sultan and the bridegroom having taken leave of the shekh, returned to the palace, where all was now gladness for the safe return of the princess. the marriage was consummated, and the young man was so happy with his bride, that he did not quit the haram for seven days. on the eighth, the sultan ordered public rejoicings to be made, and invited all the inhabitants of the city to feast at the royal cost; causing it to be proclaimed, that no one, either rich or poor, should for three days presume to eat at home, light a fire, or burn a lamp in his own house, but all repair to the nuptial festival of the daughter of the sultan. ample provision was made for all comers in the courts of the palace, and the officers of the household attended day and night to serve the guests according to their quality. during one of the nights of this grand festival, the sultan being anxious to know if his proclamation was generally obeyed, resolved to walk through the city in disguise. accordingly he and his vizier, in the habit of dervishes of persia, having quitted the palace privately, began their excursion, and narrowly examined several streets. at length they came to a close alley, in one of the houses of which they perceived a light, and heard the sound of voices. when they had reached the door, they heard a person say to another, "our sultan understands not how to treat properly, nor is he liberal, since the poor have it not in their option to partake of the costly feast he has prepared for his daughter's nuptials. he should have distributed his bounty among the wretched, who dare not presume to enter the palace in their ragged garments, by sending it to their home." the sultan, upon hearing this, said to the vizier, "we must enter this house;" and knocked at the door, when a person cried out, "who is there?" "guests," replied the sultan. "you shall be welcome to what we have," answered the person, and opened the door. on entering, the sultan beheld three mean-looking old men, one of whom was lame, the second broken-backed, and the third wry-mouthed. he then inquired the cause of their misfortunes; to which they answered, "our infirmities proceeded from the weakness of our understandings." the sultan upon this replied in a whisper to his vizier, that at the conclusion of the festival he should bring the three men to his presence, in order that he might learn their adventures. when they had tasted of their homely fare, the sultan and vizier rose up, and having presented the three maimed companions with a few deenars, took leave and departed. they strolled onwards. it was now near midnight when they reached a house in which, through a lattice, they could perceive three girls with their mother eating a slender meal; during which, at intervals, one of them sung, and the other two laughed and talked. the sultan resolved to enter the house, and commanded the vizier to knock at the door, which he did; when one of the sisters cried out, "who knocks at our door at this advanced time of night?" "we are two foreign dervishes," replied the vizier; to which the ladies answered, "we are women of virtue, and have no men in our house to whom you can be introduced: repair to the festival of the sultan, who will entertain you!" "alas!" continued the vizier, "we are strangers unacquainted with the way to the palace, and dread lest the magistrate of the police should meet and apprehend us. we beg that you will afford us lodging till daylight: we will then depart, and you need not apprehend from us any improper behaviour." when the mother of the ladies heard this she pitied the strangers, and commanded them to open the door: upon which the sultan and vizier having entered, paid their respects and sat down; but the former, on observing the beauty of the sisters and their elegant demeanour, could not contain himself, and said, "how comes it that you dwell by yourselves, have no husbands or any male to protect you?" the younger sister replied, "impertinent dervish, withhold thy inquiries! our story is surprising; but unless thou wert sultan, and thy companion vizier, you could not appreciate our adventures." the sultan upon this remark became silent on the subject, and they discoursed upon indifferent matters till near daylight, when the pretended dervishes took a respectful leave, and departed. at the door the sultan commanded the vizier to mark it, so that he might know it again, being resolved, when the nuptial festivities should be concluded, to send for the ladies and hear their story. on the last evening of the festival the sultan bestowed dresses of honour on all his courtiers; and on the following day, affairs returning to their usual course, he commanded his vizier to bring before him the three maimed men, and ordered them to relate the cause of their misfortunes, which they did as follows. story of the broken-backed schoolmaster. formerly, o mighty sultan, was a schoolmaster, and had under my tuition nearly seventy scholars, of whose manners i was as careful as of their learning: so much did i make them respect me, that whenever i sneezed they laid down their writing boards, stood up with arms crossed, and with one voice exclaimed, "god have mercy upon our tutor!" to which i replied, "may he have mercy upon me and you, and all who have children." if any one of the boys did not join in this prayer, i used to beat him severely. one fine afternoon my scholars requested leave to visit a certain garden some distance from the town, which i granted; and they clubbed their pittances to purchase sweetmeats and fruits. i attended them on this excursion, and was as much delighted as themselves with the pleasure they enjoyed, and their childish gambols. when evening approached we returned homewards, and on the way, my boys having fatigued themselves with play, as well as eaten much sweets and fruit, were seized with extreme thirst, of which they heavily complained. at length we reached a draw-well, but, alas! it had no bucket or cord. i pitied their situation, and resolved, if possible, to relieve them. i requested them to give me their turbans, which i tied to each other; but as they were altogether not long enough to reach the water, i fixed one of the turbans round my body, and made them let one down into the well, where i filled a small cup i had with me, which they drew up repeatedly till their thirst was satisfied. i then desired them to draw me up again, which they attempted; and i had reached nearly the mouth of the well, when i was unfortunately seized with a fit of sneezing; upon which the boys mechanically, as they had been accustomed to do in school, one and all let go their hold, crossed their arms, and exclaimed, "god have mercy upon our venerable tutor!" while i tumbled at once to the bottom of the well, and broke my back. i cried out from the agony of pain, and the children ran on all sides for help. at length some charitable passengers drew me out, and placing me upon an ass, carried me home; where i languished for a considerable time, and never could recover my health sufficiently again to attend to my school. thus did i suffer for my foolish pride: for had i not been so tenacious of respect from my scholars, they would not upon my sneezing have let go their hold and broken my back. when the broken-backed schoolmaster had finished his story, the old man with the wry-mouth thus began: story of the wry-mouthed schoolmaster. i also, o sultan, was a schoolmaster; and so strict with my pupils, that i allowed them no indulgence, but even kept them to their studies frequently after the usual hours. at length, one more cunning than the rest resolved, in revenge, to play me a trick. he instructed the lads as they came into school to say to me, "dear master, how pale you look!" not feeling myself ill, i, though surprised at their remarks, did not much regard them on the first day; but a second, and so on to a fifth passing, on each of which all the pupils on entrance uttered the same exclamation, i began to think some fatal disorder had seized me, and resolved, by way of prevention, to take physic. i did so the following morning, and remained in my wife's apartments; upon which the unlucky lads, clubbing their pittances together to the amount of about a hundred faloose, requested my acceptance of the money as an offering for my recovery; and i was so pleased with the present that i gave them a holiday. the receipt of cash in so easy a manner was so agreeable to me, that i feigned illness for some days; my pupils made an offering as usual, and were allowed to play. on the tenth day the cunning urchin who had planned the scheme came into my chamber, as customary, with an offering of faloose. i happened then to have before me a boiled egg, which, upon seeing him enter, i clapped into my mouth, supposing, that if he perceived me well enough to eat he might not give me the money. he, however, observed the trick, and coming up to me with affected condolence, exclaimed, "dear master, how your cheeks are swelled!" at the same time pressing his hands upon my face. the egg was boiling hot, and gave me intolerable pain, while the young wit pretended compassionately to stroke my visage. at length, he pressed my jaws together so hard that the egg broke, when the scalding yolk ran down my throat, and over my beard: upon which the artful lad cried out in seeming joy, "god be praised, my dear master, that the dreadful imposthume has discharged itself; we, your pupils, will all return thanks for your happy recovery." my mouth was contracted by the scald in the manner you behold, and i became so ridiculed for my folly, that i was obliged to shut up my school. the sultan having heard the other man's story, which was of but little interest, dismissed the three foolish schoolmasters with a present, commanded the vizier to go and recognize the house of the three ladies and their mother, it being his intention to visit them again in disguise and hear their adventures. the vizier hastened to the street, but to his surprise and mortification found all the houses marked in the same manner, for the youngest sister having overheard the sultan's instructions, had done this to prevent a discovery of their residence. the vizier returned to the sultan, and informed him of the trick which had been played. he was much vexed, but the circumstance excited his curiosity in a greater degree. at length the vizier bethought himself of a stratagem, and said, "my lord, let a proclamation be issued for four days successively throughout the city, that whoever presumes after the first watch of the night to have a lamp lighted in his house, shall have his head struck off, his goods confiscated, his house razed to the ground, and his women dishonoured. it is possible, as these ladies did not regard your proclamation at the nuptials of the princess, they may disobey this, and by that means we may discover their residence." the sultan approved the contrivance of the vizier, caused the proclamation to be made, and waited impatiently for the fourth night, when he and his minister having disguised themselves as before, proceeded to the street in which the ladies lived. a light appeared only in one house, which it being now tolerably certain was that they were in quest of, they knocked at the door. immediately on their knocking the youngest sister called out, "who is at the door?" and they replied, "we are dervishes, and entreat to be your guests." she exclaimed, "what can you want at such a late hour, and where did you lodge last night?" they answered, "our quarters are at a certain serai, but we have lost our way, and are fearful of being apprehended by the officers of police. let your kindness then induce you to open the door, and afford us shelter for the remainder of the night: it will be a meritorious act in the eye of heaven." the mother overhearing what was said, ordered the door to be opened. when they were admitted, the old lady and her daughters rose up, received them respectfully, and having seated them, placed refreshments before them, of which they partook, and were delighted with their treatment. at length the sultan said, "daughters, you cannot but know of the royal proclamation; how comes it that you alone of all the inhabitants of the city have disobeyed it by having lights in your house after the first watch of the night?" upon this the youngest sister replied, "good dervish, even the sultan should not be obeyed but in his reasonable commands, and as this proclamation against lighting our lamps is tyrannical, it ought not to be complied with, consistently with the law of scripture; for the koraun says, 'obedience to a creature in a criminal matter, is a sin against the creator.' the sultan (may god pardon him!) acts against scripture, and obeys the dictates of satan. we three sisters, with our good mother, make it a rule to spin every night a certain quantity of cotton, which in the morning we dispose of, and of the price of our labour we lay out a part in provisions, and the remainder in a new supply of materials for working to procure us a subsistence." the sultan now whispered to his vizier, saying, "this damsel astonishes me by her answers; endeavour to think of some question that may perplex her." "my lord," replied the vizier, "we are here in the characters of strangers and dervishes as their guests: how then can we presume to disturb them by improper questions?" the sultan still insisted upon his addressing them: upon which, the vizier said to the ladies, "obedience to the sultan's orders is incumbent upon all subjects." "it is true he is our sovereign," exclaimed the youngest sister, "but how can he know whether we are starving or in affluence?" "suppose," replied the vizier, "he should send for you to the presence, and question you concerning your disobedience to his commands, what could you advance in excuse for yourselves?" "i would say to the sultan," rejoined she, "'your majesty has acted in contradiction to the divine law.'" the vizier upon this turned towards the sultan, and said in a whisper, "let us leave off disputing further with this lady on points of law or conscience, and inquire if she understands the fine arts." the sultan put the question; upon which she replied, "i am perfect in all:" and he then requested her to play and sing. she retired immediately, but soon returning with a lute, sat down, tuned it, and played in a plaintive strain, which she accompanied with the following verses: "it is praiseworthy in subjects to obey their sovereigns, but his reign will continue long who gains their affections by kindness. be liberal in thy manners, and he who is dependent upon thee will pray for thy life, for the free man alone can feel gratitude. to him who confers gifts man will ever resort, for bounty is fascinating. sadden not with denial the countenance of the man of genius, for the liberal mind is disgusted at stinginess and haughty demeanour. not a tenth part of mankind understand what is right, for human nature is ignorant, rebellious, and ungrateful." when the sultan had heard these verses, he remained for some time immersed in thought; then whispering his vizier, said, "this quotation was certainly meant in allusion to ourselves, and i am convinced they must know that i am their sultan, and thou vizier, for the whole tenor of their conversation shews their knowledge of us." he then addressed the lady, saying, "your music, your performance, your voice, and the subject of your stanzas have delighted me beyond expression." upon this she sang the following verse: "men endeavour to attain station and riches during an age of toil and oppression, while, alas! their accounts to heaven and their graves are decreed from their very birth." the sultan, from the purport of these last verses, was more assured than ever that she knew his quality. she did not leave off singing and playing till day-light, when she retired, and brought in a breakfast, of which the sultan and the vizier partook; after which she said, "i hope you will return to us this night at the conclusion of the first watch, and be our guests." the sultan promised, and departed in admiration at the beauty of the sisters, their accomplishments, and graceful manners; saying to the vizier, "my soul is delighted with the charms of these elegant women." the following evening the sultan and vizier, disguised as usual, repaired to the house of the sisters, taking with them some purses of deenars, and were received with the same respectful welcome. being seated, supper was set before them, and after it basins and ewers to wash their hands. coffee was then served up, and conversation on various subjects amused them till the prayer time of the first watch; they then arose, performed their ablutions, and prayed. when, their devotions were ended, the sultan presented a purse of a thousand deenars to the youngest sister, and said, "expend this upon your necessary occasions." she took the purse with a profound obeisance, kissed his hands, and was convinced, as she had before suspected, that he must be the sultan; at the same time hinting privately to her mother and sisters the quality of their guests, and prostrating herself before him. the other ladies upon this arose, and followed the example of their sister; when the sultan said aside to his vizier, "they certainly know us:" and then turning to the ladies, addressed them saying, "we are merely dervishes, and you pay us a respect only due to sovereigns; i beseech you refrain." the youngest sister again fell at his feet, and repeated the following verse: "may prosperous fortune daily accompany thee in spite of the malice of the envious! may thy days be bright and those of thy enemies gloomy!" "i am convinced thou art the sultan, and thy companion thy vizier." the sultan replied, "what reason have you for such a supposition?" she answered, "from your dignified demeanour and liberal conduct, for the signs of royalty cannot be concealed even in the habit of a recluse." the sultan replied, "you have indeed judged truly, but inform me how happens it, that you have with you no male protectors?" she answered, "my lord the sultan, our history is so wonderful, that were it written on a tablet of adamant it might serve as an example in future ages to such as would be advised." the sultan requested her to relate it, which she did in the following manner. story of the sisters and the sultana their mother. we are not, my lord the sultan, natives of this city, but of eerauk, of which country our father was sovereign, and our mother his sultana the most beautiful woman of her time, insomuch that her fame was celebrated throughout distant regions. it chanced that in our infancy our father the sultan marched upon a hunting excursion throughout his dominions, for some months, leaving his vizier to conduct affairs at the capital. not long after the departure of the sultan, our mother, taking the air on the roof of the palace, which adjoined that of the vizier, who was then sitting upon his terrace, her image was reflected in a mirror which he held in his hand. he was fascinated with her beauty, and resolved, if possible, to seduce her to infidelity and compliance with his wishes. the day following he sent the female superintendant of his haram with a package, containing a most superb dress, and many inestimable jewels, to the sultana, requesting her acceptance of them, and that she would allow him to see her either at the palace or at his own house. my mother, when the old woman was admitted into her apartments, received her with kindness, supposing that she must be intrusted with some confidential message from the vizier respecting the affairs of her husband, or with letters from him. the old woman having paid her obeisance, opened the bundle, and displayed the rich dress and dazzling jewels; when my mother, admiring them much, inquired the value, and what merchant had brought them to dispose of. the wretched old woman, supposing that the virtue of the sultana would not be proof against such a valuable present, impudently disclosed the passion of the vizier: upon which my mother, indignant with rage at this insult offered to her virtue and dignity, drew a sabre, which was near, and exerting all her strength, struck off the head of the procuress, which, with the body, she commanded her attendants to cast into the common sewer of the palace. the vizier finding his messenger did not return, the next day despatched another, to signify that he had sent a present to the sultana, but had not heard whether it had been delivered. my mother commanded the infamous wretch to be strangled, and the corpse to be thrown into the same place as that of the old woman, but she did not make public the vizier's baseness, hoping that he would reform. he, however, continued every day to send a female domestic, and my mother to treat her in the same way as the others till the sultan's return; but my mother, not wishing to destroy the vizier, and still trusting that he would repent of his conduct, for in other respects he was a faithful and prudent minister, kept his treachery a secret from my father. some years after this, the sultan my father resolved on a pilgrimage to mecca, and having, as before, left the vizier in charge of his kingdom, departed. when he had been gone ten days, the vizier, still rapturously in love, and yet presumtuously hoping to attain his wishes, sent a female domestic, who, being admitted into the apartment of the sultana, said, "for heaven's sake have compassion on my master, for his heart is devoted to love, his senses are disturbed, and his body is wasted away. pity his condition, revive his heart, and restore his health by the smiles of condescension." when my mother heard this insolent message, she in a rage commanded her attendants to seize the unfortunate bearer, and having strangled her, to leave the carcase for public view in the outer court of the palace, but without divulging the cause of her displeasure. her orders were obeyed. when the officers of state and others saw the body they informed the vizier, who, resolving to be revenged, desired them for the present to be silent, and on the sultan's return he would make known on what account the sultana had put to death his domestic, of which they could bear testimony. when the time of the sultan's return from mecca approached, and the treacherous vizier judged he was on his march, he wrote and despatched to him the following letter: "after prayers for thy health, be it known, that since thy absence the sultana has sent to me five times, requesting improper compliances, to which i would not consent, and returned for answer, that however she might wish to abuse my sovereign, i could not do it, for i was left by him guardian of his honour and his kingdom: to say more would be superfluous." the messenger reached the sultan's camp when distant eight days' journey from the city, and delivered the letter. on reading it the countenance of my father became pale, his eyes rolled with horror, he instantly ordered his tents to be struck, and moved by forced marches till he arrived within two days' journey of his capital. he then commanded a halting day, and despatched two confidential attendants with orders to conduct our innocent and unfortunate mother, with us three sisters, a day's distance from the city, and then to put us to death. they accordingly dragged us from the haram, and carried us into the country; but on arriving at the spot intended for our execution, their hearts were moved with compassion, for our mother had conferred many obligations on these men and their families. they said one to another, "by heavens, we cannot murder them!" and informed us of what the vizier had written to our father: upon which the sultana exclaimed, "god knows that he hath most falsely accused me;" and she then related to them all that she had done, with the strictest fidelity. the men were moved even to tears at her misfortunes, and said, "we are convinced that thou hast spoken truly." they then caught some fawns of the antelope, killed them, and having required an under garment from each of us, dipped it in the blood, after which they broiled the flesh, with which we satisfied our hunger. our preservers now bade us farewell, saying, "we intrust you to the protection of the almighty, who never forsaketh those who are committed to his care;" and then departed from us. we wandered for ten days in the desert, living on such fruits as we could find, without beholding any signs of population, when, at length, fortunately we reached a verdant spot, abounding in various sorts of excellent vegetables and fruits. here also was a cave, in which we resolved to shelter ourselves till a caravan might pass by. on the fourth day of our arrival one encamped near our asylum. we did not discover ourselves, but when the caravan marched, speedily followed its track at some distance, and after many days of painful exertion reached this city, where, having taken up our lodging in a serai, we returned thanks to the almighty assister of the distressed innocent for our miraculous escape from death and the perils of the desert. we must now quit for awhile the unfortunate sultana and her daughters, to learn the adventures of the sultan her husband. as he drew near his capital, the treacherous vizier, attended by the officers of government and the principal inhabitants of the city, came out to meet him; and both high and low congratulated his safe return from the sacred pilgrimage. the sultan, as soon as he had alighted at his palace, retired with the vizier alone, and commanded him to relate the particulars of the atrocious conduct of his wife; upon which he said, "my lord, the sultana in your absence despatched to me a slave, desiring me to visit her, but i would not, and i put the slave to death that the secret might be hidden; hoping she might repent of her weakness, but she did not, and repeated her wicked invitation five times. on the fifth i was alarmed for your honour, and acquainted you of her atrocious behaviour." the sultan, on hearing the relation of the vizier, held down his head for some time in profound thought, then lifting it up, commanded the two attendants whom he had despatched with orders to put his wife and children to death to be brought before him. on their appearance, he said, "what have you done in execution of the charge i gave you?" they replied, "we have performed that which you commanded to be done, and as a testimony of our fidelity, behold these garments dyed with the blood of the offenders!" the sultan took the garments; but the recollection of his beauteous consort, her former affectionate endearments, of the happiness he had enjoyed with her, and of the innocence of his guiltless children, so affected his mind, that he wept bitterly and fainted away. on his recovery he turned to the vizier, and said, "is it possible thou canst have spoken the truth?" he replied, "i have." the sultan, after a long pause, again said to the two attendants, "have you really put to death my innocent children with their guilty mother?" they remained silent. the sultan exclaimed, "why answer ye not, and wherefore are ye silent?" they replied, "my lord, the honest man cannot support a lie, for lying is the distinction of traitors." when the vizier heard these words his colour changed, his whole frame was disordered, and a trembling seized him, which the sultan perceiving, he said to the attendants, "what mean you by remarking that lying is the distinction of traitors? is it possible that ye have not put them to death? declare the truth instantly, or by the god who hath appointed me guardian of his people, i will have you executed with the most excruciating torments." the two men now fell at the feet of the sultan, and said, "dread sovereign, we conveyed, as thou commandest us, the unfortunate sultana and thy daughters to the middle of the desert, when we informed them of the accusation of the vizier and thy orders concerning them. the sultana, after listening to us with fortitude, exclaimed, 'there is no refuge or asylum but with the almighty; from god we came, and to god we must return; but if you put us to death, you will do it wrongfully, for the treacherous vizier hath accused me falsely, and he alone is guilty.' she then informed us of his having endeavoured to corrupt her by rich presents, and that she had put his messengers to death." the sultan at these words exclaimed in agony, "have ye slain them, or do they yet live?" "my lord," replied the attendants, "we were so convinced of the innocence of the sultana, that we could not put her to death. we caught some fawn antelopes, killed them, and having dipped these garments belonging to the abused mother and your children in their blood, dressed the flesh, and gave it to our unfortunate mistress and thy daughters, after which we said to them, 'we leave you in charge of a gracious god who never deserts his trust; your innocence will protect you.' we then left them in the midst of the desert, and returned to the city." the sultan turned in fury towards the vizier, and exclaimed, "wretched traitor! and is it thus thou hast estranged from me my beloved wife and innocent children?" the self-convicted minister uttered not a word, but trembled like one afflicted with the palsy. the sultan commanded instantly an enormous pile of wood to be kindled, and the vizier, being bound hand and foot, was forced into an engine, and cast from it into the fire, which rapidly consumed him to ashes. his house was then razed to the ground, his effects left to the plunder of the populace, and the women of his haram and his children sold for slaves. we now return to the three princesses and their mother. when the sultan had heard their adventures, he sympathized with their misfortunes, and was astonished at the fortitude with which they had borne their afflictions, saying to his vizier, "how sad has been their lot! but blessed be allah, who, as he separateth friends, can, when he pleaseth, give them a joyful meeting." he then caused the sultana and the princesses to be conveyed to his palace, appointed them proper attendants and apartments suitable to their rank, and despatched couriers to inform the sultan their father of their safety. the messengers travelled with the greatest expedition, and on their arrival at the capital, being introduced, presented their despatches. the sultan opened them, and began to read; but when he perceived the contents, was so overcome with joy, that, uttering a loud exclamation of rapture, he fell to the ground and fainted away. his attendants were alarmed, lifted him up, and took means for his recovery. when he was revived, he informed them of his sultana and daughters being still alive, and ordered a vessel to be prepared to convey them home. the ship was soon ready, and being laden with every necessary for the accommodation of his family, also rich presents for the friendly sultan who had afforded them protection, sailed with a favourable wind, and speedily arrived at the desired haven. the commander of the vessel was welcomely received by the sultan, who issued orders for his entertainment and that of his whole crew at the royal cost, and at the expiration of three days the sultana and her daughters, being anxious to return home after so long an absence, and that so unfortunate, took leave and embarked. the sultan made them valuable presents, and the wind being fair they set sail. for three days the weather was propitious, but on the evening of the last a contrary gale arose, when they cast anchor, and lowered their topmasts. at length the storm increased to such violence that the anchor parted, the masts fell overboard, and the crew gave themselves over for lost. the vessel was driven about at the mercy of the tempest till midnight, all on board weeping and wailing, when at length she struck upon the rocks, and went to pieces. such of the crew whose deaths were decreed perished, and those whose longer life was predestined escaped to shore, some on planks, some on chests, and some on the broken timbers of the ship, but all separated from each other. the sultana mother was tossed about till daylight on a plank, when she was perceived by the commander of the vessel, who with three of his crew had taken to the ship's boat. he took her in, and after three days' rowing they reached a mountainous coast, on which they landed, and advanced into the country. they had not proceeded far when they perceived a great dust, which clearing up, displayed an approaching army. to their joyful surprise it proved to be that of the sultan, who, after the departure of the vessel, dreading lest an accident might happen, had marched in hopes of reaching the city where they were before his wife and daughters should sail, in order to conduct them home by land. it is impossible to describe the meeting of the sultan and his consort, but their joy was clouded by the absence of their daughters, and the dreadful uncertainty of their fate. when the first raptures of meeting were over, they wept together, and exclaimed, "we are from god, and to god we must return." after forty days' march they arrived at their capital, but continually regretting the princesses, saying, "alas, alas! most probably they have been drowned, but even should they have escaped to shore, perhaps they may have been separated; and ah! what calamities may have befallen them!" constantly did they bemoan together in this manner, immersed in grief, and taking no pleasure in the enjoyments of life. the youngest princess, after struggling with the waves till almost exhausted, was fortunately cast ashore on a pleasant coast, where she found some excellent fruits and clear fresh water. being revived, she reposed herself awhile, and then walked from the beach into the country; but she had not proceeded far, when a young man on horseback with some dogs following him met her, and upon hearing that she had just escaped shipwreck, mounted her before him, and having conveyed her to his house, committed her to the care of his mother. she received her with compassionate kindness, and during a whole month assiduously attended her, till by degrees she recovered her health and beauty. the young man was legal heir to the kingdom, but his succession had been wrested from him by a usurper, who, however, dying soon after the arrival of the princess, he was reinstated in his rights and placed on the throne, when he offered her his hand; but she said, "how can i think of marriage while i know not the condition of my unfortunate family, or enjoy repose while my mother and sisters are perhaps suffering misery? when i have intelligence of their welfare i will be grateful to my deliverer." the young sultan was so much in love with the princess, that the most distant hope gave him comfort, and he endeavoured to wait patiently her pleasure; but the nobles of the country were anxious to see him wedded, he being the last of his race, and importuned him to marry. he promised to conform to their wishes, but much time elapsing, they became importunate and discontented, when his mother, dreading a rebellion, earnestly entreated the princess to consent to a union as the only measure that could prevent disturbances. the princess, who really loved her preserver, was unwilling to endanger the safety of one to whom she owed such important obligations, and at length consented, when the marriage was celebrated with the greatest pomp and rejoicings. at the expiration of three years the sultana was delivered of two sons, whose birth added to the felicity of the union. the second princess, after being long driven about by the waves upon a plank, was at length cast on shore near a large city, which she entered, and was fortunately compassionated by a venerable matron, who invited her to her house, and adopted her as a daughter in the room of her own, who had lately died. here she soon recovered her health and beauty. it chanced that the sultan of this city, who was much beloved for his gentle government and liberality, was taken ill, and not withstanding the skill of the most celebrated physicians, daily became worse, insomuch that his life was despaired of, to the general grief of the people. the princess having heard her venerable protectress lament the danger of the sultan, said, "my dear mother, i will prepare a dish of pottage, which, if you will carry to the sultan, and he can be prevailed upon to eat it, will, by the blessing of allah, recover him from his disorder." "i fear," replied the matron, "i shall hardly be allowed admittance to the palace, much less to present him the pottage." "you can but try," answered the princess; "and even the attempt at a good action is acceptable to god." "well," rejoined the old woman, "prepare your pottage, my dear daughter, and i will endeavour to get admission." the princess prepared the dish of pottage, composed of various minerals, herbs, and perfumes, and when it was ready the old woman took it to the sultan's palace. the guards and eunuchs inquired what she had brought, when she said, "a dish of pottage, which i request you will present to the sultan, and beg him to eat as much of it as he can, for by god's help it will restore him to health." the eunuchs introduced her into the chamber of their sick sovereign, when the old woman taking off the cover of the dish, such a grateful perfume exhaled from the contents as revived his spirits. being informed what the venerable matron had brought, he thanked her and tasted the pottage, which was so agreeably flavoured that he ate part of it with an appetite to which he had been long a stranger. he then presented the bearer with a purse of deenars, when she returned home, informed the princess of her welcome reception, and of the present she had received. the sultan had no sooner eaten part of the pottage than he felt an inclination to repose, and sunk into a refreshing sleep, which lasted for some hours. on his awakening he found himself wonderfully revived, and having a desire afresh to eat, finished the whole. he now wished for more, and inquired after the old woman, but none of his attendants could inform him where she lived. however, in the evening she brought another mess, which the princess had prepared, and the sultan ate it with renewed appetite; after which, though before quite helpless, he was now able to sit up and even to walk. he inquired of the old woman if it was her own preparation; to which she replied, "no, my lord, but my daughter dressed it, and entreated me to bring it." the sultan exclaimed, "she cannot be thy own daughter, as her skill shews her of much higher quality." he then made her a present, and requested that she would bring him every morning a fresh supply, to which she said, "to hear is to obey;" and retired. the princess sent regularly for seven mornings successively a dish of pottage, and the sultan as regularly presented her adopted mother with a purse of deenars; for such was the rapidity of his recovery, that at the expiration of the sixth day he was perfectly well, and on the seventh he mounted his horse and repaired to his country palace to make the absolution of health and enjoy the fresh air. during her visits he had questioned the old lady concerning her adopted daughter, and she so described her beauty, virtues, and accomplishments, that his heart was smitten, and he became anxious to see her. the sultan, in order to gratify his curiosity, disguised himself one day in the habit of a dervish, and repairing to the house of the old woman, knocked at the door. on being questioned what he wanted, he replied, "i am a wandering dervish, a stranger in this city, and distressed with hunger." the old woman being fearful of admitting an unknown person, would have sent him away, but the princess exclaimed, "hospitality to strangers is incumbent upon us, especially to the religious poor." upon this he was admitted, and the princess having seated him respectfully, set victuals before him, of which he ate till he was satisfied, and having washed, rose up, thanked the old woman and her supposed daughter for their bounty, and retired, but his sight was fascinated with her beauty, and his heart devoted to her love. the sultan on his return to the palace sent for the old woman, and on her arrival presented her with a rich dress and valuable jewels, desiring that she would give them to her daughter, and prevail upon her to put them on. the old lady promised obedience, and as she walked homewards, said to herself, "if this adopted daughter of mine is wise, she will comply with the sultan's desires, and put on the dress, but if she does not, i will expel her from my house." when she reached home, she displayed the superb habit and the dazzling ornaments; but the princess at first refused to accept them, till at length, moved by the entreaties of her protectress, whom she could not disoblige, she put them on, and the old lady was delighted with her appearance. the sultan, who had slipped on a female dress, having covered himself with a close veil, followed the old woman to her house, and listened at the door to know if the daughter would accept his present. when he found that she had put on the dress, he was overcome with rapture, and hastening back to his palace, sent again for the old lady, to whom he signified his wish to marry her daughter. when the princess was informed of the offer she consented, and the sultan, attended by a splendid cavalcade, conducted her that evening to his palace, where the cauzee united them in marriage. a general feast was made for all the inhabitants of the city for seven days successively, and the sultan and the princess enjoyed the height of felicity. in the course of five years the almighty blessed them with a son and two daughters. the eldest princess on the wreck of the ship having clung to a piece of timber, was after much distress floated on shore, where she found a man's habit, and thinking it a safe disguise for the protection of her honour, she dressed herself in it, and proceeded to a city which appeared near the coast. on her entrance she was accosted by a maker of cotton wallets for travelling, who observing that she was a stranger, and supposing her a man, asked if she would live with him, as he wanted an assistant. being glad to secure any asylum, she accepted his offer of maintenance, and daily wages of half a dirhem. he conducted her to his house, and treated her with kindness. the next day she entered upon her business, and so neat was the work she executed, that in a short time her master's shop was more frequented than any other. it happened that the shop was situated near the palace of the sultan. one morning the princess his daughter looking through the lattice of a balcony beheld the seeming young man at work, with the sleeves of his vest drawn up to his shoulder: his arms were white and polished as silver, and his countenance brilliant as the sun unobscured by clouds. the daughter of the sultan was captivated in the snare of love. the sultan's daughter continued gazing at the supposed young man till he withdrew from work, when she retired to her apartment; but so much was she fascinated by his charms, that she became restless, and at length indisposed. her nurse who attended her felt her pulse, and asked her several questions, but could find no symptoms of bodily illness upon her. she said, "my dear daughter, i am convinced that nothing has afflicted thee but desire of some youth with whom thou art in love." the princess exclaimed, "my dear mother, as thou hast discovered my secret, thou wilt, i trust, not only keep it sacred, but bring to me the man i love." the nurse replied, "no one can keep a secret closer than myself, so that you may safely confide it to my care." the princess then said, "mother, my heart is captivated by the young man who works in the shop opposite my windows, and if i cannot meet him i shall die of grief." the nurse replied, "my dear mistress, he is the most beautiful youth of the age, and the women of the whole city are distracted with his charms; yet he is so bashful as to answer no advances, and shrinks from notice like a school-boy, but i will endeavour to overcome his shyness, and procure you a meeting." having said thus, she went immediately to the wallet-maker's, and giving him a piece of gold, desired he would let his assistant accompany her home with two of his best wallets. the man was pleased with her generosity, and selecting his choicest manufacture, commanded his journeyman to accompany the nurse. the old woman led the disguised princess through by-paths to a private passage of the palace, and introduced her into the apartments of the daughter of the sultan, who received her supposed beloved with emotions of joy too violent to be concealed. pretending to admire the goods, she asked some questions, and giving him twenty pieces of gold, desired him to return with more goods on the following evening, to which the seeming journeyman replied, "to hear is to obey." the disguised princess on her return home delivered the twenty pieces of gold to her employer, who was alarmed, and inquired from whence they came: upon which she informed him of her adventure, when the wallet-maker was in greater terror than before, and said to himself, "if this intrigue goes on, the sultan will discover it, i shall be put to death, and my family ruined on account of this young man and his follies." he then besought him not to repeat his visit, but he answered, "i cannot forbear, though i dread my death may be the consequence." in short, the disguised princess went every evening with the old nurse to the apartments of the sultan's daughter, till at length the sultan one night suddenly entered, and perceiving, he supposed, a man with the princess, commanded him to be seized and bound hand and foot. the sultan then sent for an executioner, resolved to put the culprit to death. the executioner on his arrival seized the disguised princess; but what was the surprise of all present, when, on taking off the turban and vest, they discovered her sex. the sultan commanded her to be conducted to his haram, and inquired her story, when having no resource but the truth, she related her adventures. when the princess had informed the sultan of the treachery of the vizier, the consequent conduct of her father, the distress of her mother, her sisters and herself, their being relieved, and her escape from shipwreck, with what had happened since, he was filled with wonder and compassion, and ordered his daughter to accommodate her in the haram. the love of the latter was now changed to sincere friendship, and under her care and attentions the unfortunate princess in a few months recovered her former beauty. it chanced that the sultan visiting his daughter was fascinated with the charms of the princess, but unwilling to infringe the rules of hospitality concealed his love, till at length he became dangerously ill, when the daughter suspecting the matter, prevailed upon him to reveal the cause of his complaint. she then informed her friend, and entreated her to accept her father in marriage; but the princess said, at the same time weeping bitterly, "misfortune hath separated me from my family; i know not whether my sisters, my father and my mother, are living, or, if so, what is their condition. how can i be happy or merry, while they are perhaps involved in misery?" the daughter of the sultan did not refrain from comforting the unfortunate princess, at the same time representing the hopeless condition of her father, till at length she consented to the marriage. this joyful intelligence speedily revived the love-lorn sultan, and the nuptials were celebrated with the utmost joy and magnificence. the aged sultan and sultana continued to lament the loss of their daughters for some years, when at length the former resolved to travel in search of them, and having left the government in charge of his wife, departed, attended only by his vizier. they both assumed the habit of dervishes, and after a month's uninterrupted travelling reached a large city extending along the sea coast, close upon which the sultan of it had erected a magnificent pleasure house, where the pretended dervishes beheld him sitting in one of the pavilions with his two sons, one six and the other seven years old. they approached, made their obeisance, and uttered a long invocation, agreeably to the usage of the religious, for his prosperity. the sultan returned their compliment, desired them to be seated, and having conversed with them till evening, dismissed them with a present, when they repaired to a caravanserai, and hired an apartment. on the following day, after amusing themselves with viewing the city, they again repaired to the beach, and saw the sultan sitting with his children, as before. while they were admiring the beauty of the structure, the younger prince, impelled by an unaccountable impulse, came up to them, gazed eagerly at them, and when they retired followed them to their lodging, which they did not perceive till he had entered with them and sat down. the old sultan was astonished at the child's behaviour, took him in his arms, kissed and fondled him, after which he desired him to return to his parents, but the boy insisted upon staying, and remained four days, during which the pretended dervishes did not stir from their caravanserai. the sultan missing his son, supposed that he had gone to his mother, and she imagined that he was still with his father; but on the latter entering the haram the loss was discovered. messengers were despatched every way, but no tidings of the boy could be obtained. the miserable parents now supposed that he had fallen into the sea and was drowned. nets were dragged, and divers employed for three days, but in vain. on the fifth day orders were issued to search every house in the city, when the infant prince was at length discovered at the caravanserai in the apartment of the pretended dervishes, who were ignominiously dragged before the sultan. the sultan was transported with joy at the recovery of his son, but supposing the dervishes had meant to steal him away, he ordered them instantly to be put to death. the executioners seized them, bound their hands behind them, and were going to strike, when the child with loud outcries ran up, and clinging to the knees of the elder victim could not be forced away. the sultan was astonished, and ordering the execution for the present to be delayed, went and informed the mother of the child of his wonderful behaviour. the sultana, on hearing it, was no less surprised than the sultan, and felt a curiosity to hear from the dervish himself on what account he had enticed away her son. she said, "it is truly extraordinary that the boy should express such affection for a strange dervish. send for him to your closet, and order him to relate his adventures, to which i will listen from behind a curtain." the sultan sent for the supposed dervish, and commanding all his attendants to retire, withdrew with him into his closet, and desired him to be seated; after which he said, "wicked dervish, what could have induced thee to entice away my son, or to visit my kingdom?" he replied, "heaven knows, o sultan, i did not entice him. the boy followed me to my lodging, when i said, 'my son, return to thy father,' but he would not; and i remained in continual dread till what was decreed occurred." the sultan was softened, spoke kindly to him, and begged him to relate his adventures, when the pretended dervish wept, and said, "my history is a wonderful one. i had a friend whom i left as my agent and guardian to my family, while i was performing a pilgrimage to mecca; but had scarcely left my house ten days, when accidently seeing my wife he endeavoured to debauch her, and sent an old woman with a rich present to declare his adulterous love. my wife was enraged, and put the infamous messenger to death. he sent a second, and a third, whom she also killed." these last words were scarcely spoken, when the sultana bursting from her concealment ran up to the dervish, fell upon his neck, and embraced him: upon which, the sultan her husband was enraged, put his hand to his cimeter, and exclaimed, "what means this shameless behaviour?" the sultana, at once laughing and crying with rapture, informed him that the supposed dervish was her father: upon which the sultan also fell at his feet and welcomed him. he then ordered the other dervish his vizier to be released, commanded royal robes to be brought for his father-in-law, and a suite of apartments in the palace to be prepared for his reception, with an attendance befitting his dignity. when the old sultan had spent some time with his youngest daughter thus happily recovered, he became anxious to search after the others, and signified his intention of departing; but his son-in-law declared that he would accompany him on the expedition with a number of his nobles, and an army, lest some fatal accident might occur from his being unattended. preparations were accordingly made for march, the two sultans encamped without the city, and in a few days began their expedition, which proved successful to their wishes. the aged monarch having recovered his children retired to his own kingdom, where he reigned prosperously till the angel of death summoned him to paradise. story of the bang-eater and the cauzee. in a certain city there was a vagabond fellow much addicted to the use of bang, who got his livelihood by fishing. when he had sold the product of his day's labour, he laid part of it out in provisions and part in bang, with which (his day's, work over) he solaced himself till he became intoxicated, and such was his constant practice. one night, having indulged more than ordinary, his senses were unusually stupefied; and in this, condition he had occasion to come down into the square in which was his lodging. it happened to be the fourteenth night of the moon, when she shone uncommonly bright, and shed such a lustre upon the ground, that the bang-eater from the dizziness of his head mistook the bright undulations of her reflection on the pavement for water, and fancied he was upon the brink of the river. he returned to his chamber, and brought down his line, supposing that he should catch his usual prey. the bang-eater threw out his line, made of strong cord, and baited on several hooks with bits of flesh, into the square, when a dog, allured by the scent, swallowed one of the pieces, and feeling pain from the hook which stuck in his throat, pulled strongly at the cord. the bang-eater, supposing he had caught a monstrous fish, lugged stoutly, but in vain. the dog, agonized by the hook, resisted; at the same time yelping hideously, when the bang-eater, unwilling to quit his prey, yet fearing he should be dragged into the imaginary river, bellowed aloud for help. the watch came up, seized him, and perceiving him intoxicated, carried him bound to the cauzee. it happened that the cauzee often privately indulged himself with bang. seeing the intoxicated situation of the fisherman, he pitied his condition, and ordered him to be put into a chamber to sleep off his disorder; at the same time saying to himself, "this is a man after my own heart, and to-morrow evening i will enjoy myself with him." the fisherman was well taken care of during the day, and at night the cauzee sent for him to his apartment; where, after eating, they took each a powerful dose of bang, which soon operating upon their brains, they began to sing, dance, and commit a thousand extravagancies. the noise which they made attracted the notice of the sultan, who with his vizier was traversing the city, disguised as merchants. finding the doors open, they entered, and beheld the cauzee and his companion in the height of their mirth, who welcomed them, and they sat down. at length, after many ridiculous tricks, the fisherman starting up, exclaimed, "i am the sultan!" "and i," rejoined the cauzee, "am my lord the bashaw!" "bashaw!" continued the fisherman, "if i choose i can strike off thy head." "i know it," returned the cauzee, "but at present i am not worth beheading; give me first a rich government, that i may be worth punishing." "thou sayest true," answered the fisherman; "i must make thee fat before thou wilt be fit for killing." the sultan laughed at their extravagancies, and said to his vizier, "i will amuse myself with these vagabonds to-morrow evening:" then rising up, he and his minister departed. the next evening the cauzee and the fisherman indulged themselves as before, and while they were making merry, the sultan and his vizier entered, but in different disguises from those they had worn on the former night. they brought with them a strong confection of opium, which they presented to their hosts, who, highly delighted, greedily devoured it, and such were the effects that they became madder than ever. at length, the fisherman starting up, exclaimed, "the sultan is deposed, and i am sovereign in his stead." "suppose the sultan should hear thee," replied the prince. "if he opposes me," cried the fisherman, "i will order my bashaw to strike off his head; but i will now punish thee for thy insolent question." he then ran up and seized the sultan by the nose, the cauzee at the same time attacking the vizier: it was with difficulty that they made their escape from the house. the sultan, notwithstanding his tweak by the nose, resolved to divert himself further with the bang-eaters, and the next evening putting on a fresh disguise, repaired to the cauzee's house with his vizier; where he found the happy companions in high glee. they had taken it into their heads to dance, which they did with such vehemence, and for so long a time, that at length they fell down with fatigue. when they had rested a little, the fisherman perceiving the sultan, said, "whence comest thou?" "we are strangers," replied the sultan, "and only reached this city to-night; but on our way through the streets, hearing your mirth, we made bold to enter, that we might participate it with you. are ye not, however, fearful lest the sultan should hear you on his rounds, and punish you for an infringement of the laws?" "how should the sultan hear us?" answered the fisherman; "he is in his palace, and we in our own house, though, perhaps, much merrier than he, poor fellow, with the cares of state upon his mind, notwithstanding his splendour." "how comes it," rejoined the sovereign, "that you have not visited the sultan? for you are merry fellows, and i think he would encourage you." "we fear," replied the fisherman, "his guards would beat us away." "never mind them," said the sultan; "if you choose i will give you a letter of recommendation, which i am sure he will pay attention to, for we were intimate when youths." "let us have it," cried the fisherman. the sultan wrote a note, directed to himself, and departed. in the morning the cauzee and the fisherman repaired to the palace, and delivered the note to one of the guards, who, on sight of it, placed it on his head, prostrated himself to the ground, and then introduced them to the sultan. having read the letter, the sultan commanded them to be led into separate apartments, and to be treated respectfully. at noon a handsome collation was served up to each, and at sunset a full service, after which they were presented with coffee. when about two hours of the night had passed, the sultan ordered them into his presence, and on their making their obeisance returned their salutes, and desired them to be seated, saying, "where is the person who gave you this letter?" "mighty sultan," replied the fisherman, "two men who last night visited our house inquired why we did not repair to your majesty, and partake of your bounty. we replied, that we feared the guards would drive us away; when one of them gave us this note, saying, 'fear not; take this recommendation to the sultan, with whom in my youth i was intimate.' we followed his direction, and have found his words to be true. we inquired whence they came; but they would not tell us more than that they were strangers in this city." "it is," continued the sultan, "absolutely necessary that you should bring them to my presence, for it is long since i have beheld my old friends." "permit us then to return home, where they may possibly visit us again," said the fisherman, "and we will oblige them to come with us." "how can you do that," replied the sultan, "when the other evening you could not prevent your guest escaping, though you had him by the nose?" the poor fisherman, and his companion the cauzee, were now confounded at the discovery that it was the sultan himself who had witnessed their intoxication and ridiculous transports. they trembled, turned pale, and fell prostrate to the ground, crying, "pardon, pardon, gracious sovereign, for the offences we have committed, and the insult which in our madness we offered to the sacred person of your majesty." the sultan, after laughing heartily at their distress, replied, "your pardon is granted, for the insult was involuntary, though deserved, as i was an impertinent intruder on your privacy; make yourselves easy, and sit down; but you must each of you relate to me your adventures, or some story that you have heard." the cauzee and the fisherman, having recovered from their confusion, obeyed the commands of the sultan, and being seated, the latter related the following tale. story of the bang-eater and his wife. there lived formerly, near bagdad, a half-witted fellow, who was much addicted to the use of bang. being reduced to poverty, he was obliged to sell his stock. one day he went to the market to dispose of a cow; but the animal being in bad order, no one would bid for it, and after waiting till he was weary he returned homewards. on the way he stopped to repose himself under a tree, and tied the cow to one of the branches while he ate some bread, and drank of an infusion of his beloved bang, which he always carried with him. in a short time it began to operate, so as to bereave him of the little sense he possessed, and his head was filled with ridiculous reveries. while he was musing, a magpie beginning to chatter from her nest in the tree, he fancied it was a human voice, and that some woman had asked to purchase his cow: upon which he said, "reverend mother of solomon, dost thou wish to buy my cow?" the bird croaked again. "well," replied he, "what wilt thou give if i will sell her a bargain." the bird repeated her croak. "never mind," said the foolish fellow, "for though thou hast forgotten to bring thy purse, yet, as i dare say thou art an honest woman, and hast bidden me ten deenars, i will trust thee with the cow, and call on friday for the money." the bird renewed her croaking, which he fancied to be thanks for his confidence; so leaving the cow tied to the branch of the tree, he returned home exulting in the good bargain he had made for the animal. when he entered the house, his wife inquired what he had gotten for the cow; to which he replied, that he had sold her to an honest woman named am solomon, who had promised to pay him on the next friday ten pieces of gold. the wife was contented, and when friday arrived, her idiot of a husband having, as usual, taken a dose of bang, repaired to the tree, and hearing the bird chattering, as before, said, "well, my good mother, hast thou brought the gold?" the bird croaked. supposing the imaginary woman refused to pay him, he became angry, and threw up his spade, which frightening the bird, it flew from the nest, and alighted on a heap of soil at some distance. he fancied that am solomon had desired him to take his money from the heap, into which he dug with his spade, and found a brazen vessel full of gold coin. this discovery convinced him he was right, and being, notwithstanding his weakness, naturally honest, he only took ten pieces; then replacing the soil, said, "may allah requite thee for thy punctuality, good mother!" and returned to his wife, to whom he gave the money, informing her at the same time of the great treasure his friend am solomon possessed, and where it was concealed. the wife waited till night, when she went and brought away the pot of gold; which her husband observing, said, "it is dishonest to rob one who has paid us so punctually, and if thou dost not return it to its place, i will inform the (walee) officer of police." the wife laughed at his folly; but fearing the ill consequences of his executing his threat, she planned a stratagem to prevent them. going to the market, she purchased some broiled meat and fish ready dressed, which she brought privately home, and concealed in the house. at night, the husband having regaled himself with his beloved bang, retired to sleep off his intoxication; but about midnight she strewed the provisions she had brought at the door, and awakening her partner, cried out, in pretended astonishment, "dear husband, a most wonderful phenomenon has occurred; there has been a violent storm while you slept, and, strange to tell, it has rained pieces of broiled meat and fish, which now lie at the door!" the husband, still in a state of stupefaction from the bang, got up, went to the door, and seeing the provisions, was persuaded of the truth of his wife's story. the fish and flesh were gathered up, and he partook with much glee of the miraculous treat; but he still threatened to inform the walee of her having stolen the treasure of the good old woman am solomon. in the morning the foolish bang-eater actually repaired to the walee, and informed him that his wife had stolen a pot of gold, which she had still in her possession. the walee upon this apprehended the woman, who denied the accusation, when she was threatened with death. she then said, "my lord, the power is in your hands; but i am an injured woman, as you will find by questioning my unfortunate husband; who, alas! is deranged in his intellects. ask him when i committed the theft." the walee did so; to which he replied, "it was on the evening of that night on which it rained broiled flesh and fish ready dressed." "wretch!" exclaimed the walee, "dost thou dare to utter falsehoods before me? who ever saw it rain any thing but water?" "as i hope for life, my lord," replied the bang-eater, "i speak the truth; for my wife and myself ate of the fish and flesh which fell from the clouds." the woman being appealed to, denied the assertion of her husband. the walee being now convinced that the man was crazy, released his wife, and sent the husband to the madhouse; where he remained some days, till the wife, pitying his condition, contrived to get him released by the following stratagem. she visited her husband, and desired him when any one inquired of him if he had seen it rain flesh and fish, to answer, "no: who ever saw it rain any thing but water?" she then informed the keeper that he was come to his senses, and desired him to put the question. on his answering properly he was released. the fisherman had not long been in the service of the sultan, when walking one day near the house of a principal merchant, his daughter chanced to look through a window, and the buffoon was so struck with her beauty that he became devoted to love. daily did he repair to the same spot for weeks together in hopes of once seeing her, but in vain; for she did not again appear at the window. at length, his passion had such an effect upon him that he fell sick, kept his bed, and began to rave, exclaiming, "ah! what charming eyes, what a beautiful complexion, what a graceful stature has my beloved!" in this situation he was attended by an old woman, who, compassionating his case, desired him to reveal the cause of his uneasiness. "my dear mother," replied he, "i thank thee for thy kindness; but unless thou canst assist me i must soon die." he then related what he had seen, and described to her the house of the merchant. when she said, "son, be of good cheer; for no one could so readily have assisted thee in this dilemma as myself. have patience, and i will speedily return with intelligence of thy beloved." having spoken thus, she departed, and upon reaching her own house disguised herself as a devotee. throwing over her shoulders a coarse woollen gown, holding in one hand a long string of beads, in the other a walking staff, she proceeded to the merchant's house, at the gate of which she cried, "god is god, there is no god but god; may his holy name be praised, and may god be with you," in a most devout tone. the merchant's daughter, on hearing this devout ejaculation, came to the door, saluted the old woman with great respect, and said, "dear mother, pray for me:" when she exclaimed, "may allah protect thee, my beloved child, from all injury!" the young lady then introduced her into the house, seated her in the most honourable place, and with her mother sat down by her. they conversed on religious subjects till noon, when the old woman called for water, performed her ablutions, and recited prayers of an unusual length: upon which the mother and daughter remarked to one another that the aged matron must certainly be a most religious character. when prayers were ended, they set a collation before her; but she declined partaking, saying, "i am to day observing a fast." this increased their respect and admiration of her sanctity, so that they requested her to remain with them till sunset, and break her fast with them, to which she consented. at sunset she prayed again, after which she ate a little, and then uttered many pious exhortations. in short, the mother and daughter were so pleased with her, that they invited her to stay all night. in the morning, she rose early, made her ablutions, prayed for a considerable time, and concluded with a blessing upon her entertainers in learned words, which they could not understand. when she rose up, they supported her by the arms respectfully, and entreated her longer stay; but she declined it, and having taken leave, departed; promising, however, with the permission of allah, to make them soon another visit. on the second day following, the old woman repaired again to the merchant's house, and was joyfully received by the mother and daughter; who, kissing her hands and feet, welcomed her return. she behaved the same as before, and inspired them with stronger veneration for her sandity. her visits now grew frequent, and she was always a welcome guest in the merchant's family. at length, one evening she entered, and said, "i have an only daughter, whose espousals are now celebrating, and this night the bride goes in state to her husband's house. my desire is that my good young lady should attend the ceremony, and receive the benefit of my prayers." the mother replied, "i am unwilling to let her go, lest some accident should befall her:" upon which the pretended religious exclaimed, "what canst thou fear, while i and other devout women shall be with her?" the daughter expressing great eagerness to attend the nuptials, her mother at length consented. when the merchant's daughter had adorned herself in her richest habit, she accompanied the old woman; who, after leading her through several streets, conducted her to the lodging of the late fisherman, but now favourite to the sultan, who was eagerly expecting her arrival. the young lady was astonished on her entrance at beholding a comely looking man; who, she saw, could hardly restrain his raptures at the sight of her. her first alarm was great at finding herself betrayed into such a snare by the hypocritical beldam; but having naturally much presence of mind, she concealed her fears, and considered how she might escape. she sat down, and after looking round the apartment affected to laugh, saying to the gallant, "it is commonly usual when a lover invites his mistress to his house to have an entertainment prepared; for what is love without the accompaniment of a feast? if you wish, therefore, that i should spend the evening here, go and bring in some good cheer, that our joy may be complete. i will with my good mother wait your return." the gallant, rejoiced at her commands, exclaimed, "thou hast spoken truly, and to hear is to obey;" after which, he went towards the market to order a splendid entertainment. when he was gone, the young lady locked the door after him, and thanking the old woman for introducing her to so handsome a lover, threw her off her guard, while she walked about the apartment meditating her escape. at length she found in one corner of it a sharp sabre, and drawing up her sleeve to her elbow, she grasped the weapon, which she struck with such force at her false friend, who was reclining on a sofa, as to cleave the head of the abandoned procuress in two, and she fell down weltering in her blood, to rise no more. the merchant's daughter now searched the room, and finding a rich dress which the favourite usually wore when he visited the sultan, rolled it up in a bundle, and carrying it under her veil, unlocked the door, and hastened homewards. luckily she reached her father's house without interruption. her mother welcomed her with joy; but on perceiving the bundle, said, "my dear daughter, what can have been given thee at the nuptials of a poor religious?" the daughter, whose mind had been over agitated with her late adventure, was not able to answer; her spirits sunk at the recollection of her narrow escape, and she fainted away. the mother shrieked aloud with affright, which brought in her husband and attendants, who used various means for the young lady's recovery; and at length, having regained her senses, she related what had passed. the merchant having cursed the memory of the old woman for her hypocritical deception, comforted his virtuous daughter, and taking up the dress which he knew, and to whom it belonged, hastened to make his complaint to the sultan. when the sultan had heard the complaint of the merchant, he was enraged against his unworthy favourite, and commanded him to be apprehended; but he could no where be found, for having on his return home seen the old woman weltering in her blood, he guessed what had happened; and apprehensive of being called to an account, putting on a mean disguise, made his escape from the city. fortunately for him a caravan was just taking its departure, and with it he travelled for five days successively, with a mind tortured by disappointed love, and the fear of discovery. at length the caravan passed the confines of his late master, and encamped before a large city, which he entered, and having hired a room at a caravanserai, he resolved to repose, and seek out for some employment less dangerous than making love, or serving princes. when he had rested himself for some days, he repaired to a market, where labourers stood to be hired; and had not waited long, when a woman coming up asked if he wanted work, to which he replied in the affirmative. she then said, "part of the wall round the court of my house is so much decayed, that i must have it taken down and rebuilt, and if thou art willing to undertake the job i will employ thee." on his consenting, she led him to her house, and shewing him the wall, gave him a pick-axe, directing him as he went on to place the stones in one heap and the rubbish in another. he replied, "to hear is to obey." she then brought him some provision and water, when he refreshed himself, and having thanked god that he had escaped, and was able to get his living, began his task, which he continued till sunset. his employer paid him ten pieces of silver for his day's work, and he returned contented to his lodging. the following morning he again went to labour, and was treated with the same kindness as before. about noon, as he was stocking up the foundation of the wall he found a copper vessel, which upon examination proved to be full of golden coin. he carried the vessel to his lodging, where he counted the money, upwards of a hundred deenars, and returned to his work. as he was coming home in the evening, he saw a crowd following a man who carried upon his head a large chest, which he offered for sale at a hundred deenars, but refused to mention the contents. the fisherman was seized with an irresistible impulse to purchase the chest, and having a small silver coin of not more value than a silver penny, said to himself, "i will try my fate, possibly it may contain something valuable; but if not, i will disregard the disappointment;" ordered it to be conveyed to his lodging, and paid the price demanded. he then locked his door and opened the chest, when, to his astonishment, he beheld in it a beautiful girl very richly dressed, but apparently lifeless. however, on putting his hand to her mouth, he perceived that she breathed, and was only in a deep sleep, from which he endeavoured to awake her, but in vain. he then took her out of the chest, laid her gently on his carpet, and continued to gaze at her charms; till at length about midnight she awoke, and in an exclamation of alarm and surprise exclaimed, "gracious allah, where am i?" when the lady's first alarm had subsided, she asked the fisherman how he had brought her to his lodging, and on being informed of the circumstances her mind became easy; for he behaved towards her with respectful attention. concealing for the present her condition and adventures, she said, "this lodging is too mean, on the morrow you must hire a better. serve me with fidelity, do as i desire, and you shall be amply rewarded." the fisherman, who, cautioned by his last love adventure, was fearful of taking liberties, and awed by her dignified demeanour, made a profound obeisance, and professed himself her slave. he set before her the best refreshments he could procure, and when she had supped left her, and retired to sleep in a separate chamber. early the next morning he went and hired a decent house, to which he conveyed her in a covered litter, and did not cease to attend upon her in all her commands for twenty days, she supplying him with money to purchase necessaries. it is proper now to mention, that the lady bought by the fisherman in the chest was the favourite mistress of the sultan: having deserted for her all his other women, they had become envious; but the sultana, who, before the arrival of koout al koolloob (for such was her name) had presided over the haram, was more mortified than the rest, and had resolved to effect her removal. for this a favourable opportunity soon occurred, owing to the sultan's departure for twenty days upon a hunting excursion. in a day or two after his absence, the sultana invited koout al koolloob to an entertainment, and having mixed a strong soporific in some sherbet, presented it her to drink. the effect of the potion was instantaneous, and she sunk into a trance; when the sultana putting her into the chest, commanded it to be given to a broker, and sold without examination of the contents, for a hundred deenars; hoping, that whoever might be the purchaser, he would be so fascinated with the charms of the beautiful koout al koolloob, as to enjoy his good fortune in secrecy; and that she should thus get rid of a rival without the crime of assassination. when the sultan returned from his excursion, immediately on entering the palace he inquired for his favourite; when the sultana entering with affected sadness, said, "alas! my lord, the beautiful and affectionate koout al koolloob, unable to bear the pangs of absence, three days after your departure fell sick, and having lingered for seven days, was gathered to the mercy of the almighty." the sultan, on hearing this, burst into an agony of grief, and exclaimed, "there is no asylum or refuge but with god; from god we came, and to god we must return." he was overcome with affliction, and remained the whole night involved in melancholy. in the morning he sent for his vizier, and commanded him to look out for a spot on the bank of the river for the erection of a building in which he might sit retired, and meditate on his beloved koout al koolloob. the vizier replied, "to hear is to obey;" and taking with him an architect, fixed upon a pleasant spot, on which he ordered him to mark out a space of ninety yards in length and seventy in breadth for the intended building. the necessary materials, of stone and marbles, were soon collected, and the work was begun upon; which the minister for two days superintended in person. on the third the sultan came to view the progress. he approved of the plan, and said, "it is truly beautiful; but, alas! only worthy of the residence of koout al koolloob;" after which he wept bitterly. seeing the distress of the sultan, his vizier said, "my lord, be resigned under distress; for the wise have written, 'be moderate when prosperity occurs, and when calamity afflicts thee exercise patience.'" the sultan replied, "it is true, o vizier, that resignation is praiseworthy, and impatience blamable; for a poet has justly said, 'be calm under adversity; for calmness can alone extricate from danger.' to affliction joy often succeeds, and after trouble we generally enjoy repose; but, alas! human nature cannot divest itself of feeling; and koout al koolloob was so dear to me, and so delighted my soul, that i dread i shall never find another mistress her equal in beauty and accomplishments." the vizier consoled his master, and at length prevailed upon him to submit to his misfortune with some degree of resignation. the sultan and vizier daily repaired to view the progress of the new edifice, the report of which had spread through the city, and at length reached koout al koolloob, who said to the fisherman, "we are every day expending our money, and getting nothing: suppose, therefore, you seek employment in the building which the sultan is erecting. report says that he is liberal, so that possibly advantage may accrue." the fisherman replied, "my dear mistress, how shall i bear the least absence from you?" for he loved her, and she perceiving it, often dreaded that he would have made advances; but the remembrance of what he had endured from the conduct of the merchant's daughter had made him cautious. she replied, "dost thou really love me?" "canst thou doubt it?" answered he; "thou art my life, and the light of my eyes!" "if so," exclaimed she, "take this necklace, and when you think of me as you are working, look at it, and it will console you till your return home." the fisherman obeyed the commands of koout al koolloob, repaired to the spot where the edifice was erecting, and beheld the sultan and vizier observing the workmen. the former inquired if he wanted employment, to which he replied in the affirmative, and was hired. he began his labour; but so much was his mind engaged with his mistress, that every now and then, dropping his implements, he drew out the necklace, and looking upon it heaved a deep sigh, which the sultan observing, said to his vizier, "this man, perchance, is more unhappy than myself; let us call him to us, and inquire into his circumstances." the vizier brought him to the presence, and desired him to tell honestly why he had sighed so deeply. "alas!" replied he, "i am absent from my beloved, who gave me this necklace to look at whenever i might think upon her; and my mind is so taken up with her, that i cannot help laying down my tools, and admiring it constantly." when the sultan saw the necklace, he recollected that it was one which he had purchased for koout al koolloob for a thousand deenars. he concealed his agitation, and said, "to whom does this necklace belong?" "to my slave," replied the labourer, "whom i purchased for a hundred deenars." "canst thou admit us to thy lodging," rejoined the sultan, "that we may see her?" "i dread," answered the labourer, "that her modesty may be offended; but i will consult her, and if she assents, i will invite you to my lodging." "that is but just," said the sultan, "and no more than what is proper." the labourer at sunset returned home, and informed koout al koolloob of his adventure, when she desired him on the morrow to purchase what was requisite for a decent entertainment, at the same time giving him five deenars. in the morning he bought what she had desired, and going to his work, informed the sultan and vizier that they were welcome to his homely fare, and to see his slave; or rather, said he, "my divinity, for as such i have at humble distance adored her." the sultan and vizier accompanied the labourer to his house where they were astonished to find prepared an elegant collation, of which they partook; after which they drank sherbet and coffee. the sultan then desired to see his slave, who just made her appearance, but retired immediately. however, the sultan knew her; and said to the labourer, "wilt thou dispose of this damsel?" "i cannot, my lord," replied the labourer, "for my soul is wholly occupied with her love, though as yet unreturned." "may thy love be rewarded!" exclaimed the sultan; "but bring her with thee at sunset to the palace." "to hear is to obey," replied the labourer. at sunset the labourer conducted his slave to the palace, when the eunuchs attended, and would have led her into the haram; but he clung round her, and exclaimed, "she is my beloved, and i cannot part with her." upon this the sultan related the circumstances of his having lost her; and requested him to give her up. knowing that he durst not oppose the sovereign, he submitted to his commands with resignation, when the sultan presented him with fifteen hundred deenars, and a beautiful slave, also a rich dress, at the same time receiving him among the most distinguished of his officers. so well did he conduct himself in his new station, that in a short time he was promoted to the rank of prime minister, and fulfilled the duties of it with such ability and integrity, that he became celebrated by the title of the just vizier. such was the celebrity of the vizier's decisions, that in a short time appeals were made from the most distant provinces to his judgment. one of the most remarkable cases was the following. two women belonging to one man conceived on the same day, and were delivered, one of a boy, the other of a girl, at the same time, and in one apartment. the female infant died, when each laid claim to the male child. the magistrates, unable to decide between the mothers, referred the decision to the just vizier; who, on hearing the circumstances, commanded two eggs to be brought, and the contents to be drawn out without breaking the shells; after which he ordered them to be filled with milk from the breast of each woman. this being done, he placed the shells in separate scales, and finding one outweigh the other, declared that she whose milk was heaviest must be the mother of the male child; but the other woman was not satisfied with this decision, and still affirmed she was the mother of the boy. the vizier, vexed at her obstinacy, now commanded the infant to be cut in two; when she, whom he had said was the mother, fell into agonies, and besought its life; but the other was unmoved, and assented to the death of the child. he then ordered her to be severely punished, and committed the boy to its afflicted mother. on being asked on what proofs he had grounded his decision, he replied, "on two: the first, because the milk of a woman having produced a male child is always heavier than that of the mother of a female infant: the second, because the pretended mother consented to the boy's death; and i supposed it impossible for a woman to agree to the destruction of her offspring, which is a part of herself." the sultan and the traveller mhamood al hyjemmee. there was a sultan, who one evening being somewhat low-spirited, sent for his vizier, and said, "i know not the cause, but my mind is uneasy, and i want something to divert it." "if so," replied the vizier, "i have a friend, named mhamood al hyjemmee, a celebrated traveller, who has witnessed many wonderful occurrences, and can relate a variety of astonishing narratives. shall i send for him to the presence?" "by all means," answered the sultan, "that i may hear his relations." the minister departed, and informed his friend that the sultan desired to see him. "to hear is to obey," replied mhamood, and hastened with the vizier to the palace. when they had entered the palace, mhamood made the obeisance usual to the caliphs, and uttered a poetical invocation for the prosperity of the sultan, who returned his salute; and after desiring him to be seated, said, "mhamood, my mind is uneasy, and as i hear you are acquainted with many curious events, i wish you to relate some of them to amuse me." mhamood replied, "to hear is to obey;" and thus began an adventure of his own. the koord robber. some years ago i took a journey from my own country to the land of yemen, accompanied by a slave, who was a lad of much ready wit, and who carried a wallet containing a few necessaries. as we were entering a town, a rascally koord snatched the wallet from his hands, and asserted that it was his own, which we had stolen from him: upon which, i called out to some passengers to assist me in the recovery of my property, and they helped me to carry the sharper before the cauzee, to whom i complained of his assault. the magistrate asked the koord what he had to allege in his defence; to which he replied, "my lord, i lost this wallet some days since, and found it in possession of the complainant, who pretends that it is his own, and will not resign it." "if it be thine," rejoined the cauzee, "describe to me what it contains, when i shall be satisfied that thou speakest the truth." the koord assented, and with a loud voice cried out, "in this wallet, my lord, are two chests, in which are collyrium for the eyes, a number of rich napkins, drinking vessels of gold, lamps, cooking utensils, dishes, basins, and ewers; also bales of merchandize, jewels, gold, silks, and other precious articles, with a variety of wearing apparel, carpets, cushions, eating cloths, and other things too tedious to enumerate; besides, i can bring a number of my brother koords to testify to the truth of what i have said, and that the wallet is mine." when the koord had finished, the cauzee smiled, and asked me and my slave what we could describe to be in the wallet: upon which, my slave said, "my lord, there is nothing in it of what the koord has mentioned, for it contains only both worlds, with all their lands, seas, cities, habitations, men, animals, and productions of every kind." the cauzee laughed, and turning to the koord, said, "friend, thou hast heard what has past; what further canst thou say?" "the bag is mine," continued the koord: upon which, the cauzee ordered it to be emptied; when, lo! there were found in it some cakes of bread, a few limes, a little pepper, and a cruet of oil. seeing this, the koord exclaimed, "pardon me, my lord the cauzee, i have been mistaken, the wallet is not mine; but i must away and search for the thief who has stolen my valuable property." having said this, he ran off, leaving the cauzee, myself, and the spectators bursting with laughter at his impudent knavery. the sultan was much diverted with the relation of mhamood, and requested him to relate another story, which he did as follows. story of the husbandman. a certain husbandman having reared some choice vegetables and fruits earlier than usual, resolved to present them to the sultan, in hopes of receiving a handsome present. he accordingly loaded his ass and set off for the capital, on the road to which he met the sultan, whom he had never before seen; and who being on a hunting excursion had separated from his attendants. the sultan inquired where he was going, and what he carried. "i am repairing," said the husbandman, "to our lord the sultan, in hopes that he will reward me with a handsome price for my fruits and vegetables, which i have reared earlier than usual." "what dost thou mean to ask him?" replied the sultan. "a thousand deenars," answered the husbandman; "which if he refuses to give, i will demand five hundred; should he think that sum too much, i will come down to two hundred; and if he declines to give so much, i will ask thirty deenars, from which price i will not depart." the sultan now left the husbandman, and hastening to the city, entered the palace, where the latter soon after arrived with his fruits, and was introduced to the presence. having made his obeisance, the sultan returning his salute, said, "father, what hast thou brought with thee?" "fruits, reared earlier than usual," answered the husbandman: to which the sultan replied, "they are acceptable," and uncovering them, sent a part by the eunuchs into his haram, and distributed the rest to his courtiers, excepting a few which he ate himself, talking all the while to the countryman, whose sensible remarks gave him much pleasure. he presented him with two hundred deenars, and the ladies of the haram sent him a present of half that sum. the sultan then desired him to return home, give the money to his family, and come back with speed, as he wished to enjoy his conversation. the husbandman having replied, "to hear is to obey," blessed the sultan for his bounty, and hastening home gave the deenars to his wife, informing her that he was invited to spend the evening at court, and took his leave. it was sunset when he arrived at the palace, and the sultan being at his evening meal invited him to partake. when they were satisfied, they performed their ablutions, and having said the evening prayer, and read a portion of the koraun, the sultan, desiring him to be seated, commanded the husbandman to relate him some narrative. the husbandman being seated, thus began. story of the three princes and enchanting bird. it has been lately related that there was formerly a sovereign of the east who had three sons, the eldest of whom had heard some traveller describe a particular country where there was a bird called bulbul al syach, who transformed any passenger who came near him into stone. the prince resolved to see this wonderful bird; and requested leave to travel from his father, who endeavoured in vain to divert him from his purpose. he took leave, and on his departure, pulling off a ring set with a magical gem, gave it to his second brother, saying, "whenever you perceive this ring press hard upon your finger, be assured that i am lost beyond recovery." having begun his journey, he did not cease travelling till he reached the spot where was the bird's cage, in which it used to pass the night, but in the daytime it flew about for exercise and food. it was the custom of the bird to return about sunset to the cage; when, if it perceived any person near, it would cry out in a plaintive tone, "who will say to a poor wanderer, lodge? who will say to an unhappy bulbul, lodge?" and if the person replied, "lodge, poor bird!" it immediately hovered over his head, and scattering upon him some earth from its bill, the person became transformed into a stone. such proved the fate of the unfortunate prince. the transformation of the eldest prince had no sooner taken place than the ring pressed hard upon the finger of the second, who exclaimed, "alas! alas! my brother is lost; but i will travel, and endeavour to find out his condition." it was in vain that the sultan his father, and the sultana his mother, remonstrated. he departed after he had delivered the magical ring to his younger brother, and journeyed till he reached the cage of the bird; who having ensnared him to pronounce the word lodge, scattered some earth upon his head, when he, also, immediately became transformed into stone. at this instant the youngest prince was sitting at a banquet with his father; when the ring pressed so hard to his finger, as to put him to much pain. he rose up, and exclaimed, "there is no refuge or asylum but with god; for his we are, and to him we must return." the sultan, upon this, inquired the cause of his grief; when he said, "my brother has perished." the old sultan was loudly lamenting the loss of his two children, when the youngest continued, "i will travel and learn the fate of my brothers." "alas!" said the father, "is it not enough that i have lost them, but thou also wilt rush into destruction? i entreat thee not to leave me." "father," replied the prince, "fate impels me to search for my brothers, whom, perhaps, i may recover; but if i fail, i shall only have done my duty." having said this, he departed, in spite of the tears and lamentations of his parents, and travelled till he had reached the residence of the bird; where he found his brothers transformed into images of stone. at sunset the bird began its usual tone; but the prince suspecting some deceit, forbore to speak, till at length the bulbul retired to his cage, and fell asleep; when watching the opportunity, the prince darted upon it, and fastened the door. the bird awoke at the noise, and seeing himself caught, said, "thou hast won the prize, o glorious son of a mighty sultan!" "if so," exclaimed the prince, "inform me by what means thou hast enchanted so many persons as i see around me changed into images of marble, and how i may release them from their unhappy state." "behold," replied the bird, "yonder two heaps of earth, one white and the other blue. the blue enchants, and the other will recover from transformation." the prince immediately took up handfuls of the white earth, and scattering it over the numerous images, they instantly became animated and restored to all their functions. he embraced his two brothers, and received their thanks; also those of the sons of many sultans, bashaws, and great personages, for giving them new life. they informed him that near the spot was a city, all the inhabitants of which had been, like them, transformed into stone. to this he repaired, and having relieved them from their enchantment, the people out of gratitude made him rich presents, and would have chosen him for their sovereign, but he declined their offer, and resolved to conduct his brothers in safety to their father. the two elder princes, notwithstanding they owed the restoration of their lives to their brother, became envious of the valuable presents he had received, and of the fame he would acquire at home for his achievement. they said to one another, "when we reach the capital the people will applaud him, and say, 'lo! the two elder brothers have been rescued from destruction by the youngest.'" the youngest prince being supplied with horses, camels, and carriages, for himself and companions, began his march homewards, and proceeded by easy stages towards the capital of his father; within one day's journey of which was a reservoir of water lined with marble. on the brink of this he ordered his tents to be pitched, resolving to pass the night and enjoy himself in feasting with his brothers. an elegant entertainment was prepared, and he sat with them till it was time to repose; when they retired to their tents, and he lay down to sleep, having on his finger a ring, which he had found in the cage of the bulbul. the envious brothers thinking this a fit opportunity to destroy their generous preserver, arose in the dead of night, and taking up the prince, cast him into the reservoir, and escaped to their tents undiscovered. in the morning they issued orders of march, the tents were struck, and the camels loaded; but the attendants missing the youngest prince, inquired after him; to which the brothers replied, that being asleep in his tent, they were unwilling to disturb him. this satisfied them, and having pursued their march they reached the capital of their father, who was overjoyed at their return, and admired the beauty of the bulbul, which they had carried with them; but he inquired with eagerness what was become of their brother. the brothers replied, "we know nothing of him, and did not till now hear of his departure in search of the bird, which we have brought with us." the sultan dearly loved his youngest son; and on hearing that his brothers had not seen him, beat his hands together, exclaiming, "alas! alas! there is no refuge or asylum but with the almighty, from whom we came, and to whom we must return." we must now return to the youngest brother. when he was cast into the reservoir he awoke, and finding himself in danger, exclaimed, "i seek deliverance from that god who relieveth his servants from the snares of the wicked." his prayer was heard, and he reached the bottom of the reservoir unhurt; where he seated himself on a ledge, when he heard persons talking. one said to another, "some son of man is near." "yes," replied the other, "he is the youngest son of our virtuous sultan; who, after having delivered his two brothers from enchantment, hath been treacherously cast into this reservoir." "well," answered the first voice, "he may easily escape, for he has a ring upon his finger, which if he will rub a genie will appear to him and perform whatever he may command." the prince no sooner heard these words than he rubbed his hand over the ring, when a good genie appearing, said, "prince, what are thy commands?" "i command," replied the prince, "that thou instantly prepare me tents, camels, domestics, guards, and every thing suitable to my condition." "all is ready," answered the genie; who, at the same instant taking him from the ledge, conducted him into a splendid encampment, where the troops received him with acclamations. he ordered signals of march to be sounded, and proceeded towards the capital of his father. when he had arrived near the city, he commanded his tents to be pitched on the plain. immediately his orders were obeyed, the tents were raised (a most magnificent one for himself), before which the servants raised a gorgeous awning, and sprinkled water to lay the dust. the cooks lighted their fires, and a great smoke ascended, which filled the plain. the inhabitants of the city were astonished at the approach of the army, and when they saw the encampment pitched, supposed it to be that of a powerful enemy preparing for assaulting them. intelligence of this unexpected host was conveyed to the sultan; who, on hearing it, instead of alarm, felt a pleasure which he could not account for, and said, "gracious allah! my heart is filled with delight; but why i know not." immediately he commanded his suite to attend, and repaired to the encampment of his son, to whom he was introduced; but the prince being habited very richly, and differently from what he had seen him in, was not known by the sultan. the prince received his father with the honours due to his rank, and when they were seated, and had entered into conversation, said, "what is become of thy youngest son?" the words were scarcely uttered, when the old sultan fell fainting to the earth. on his recovery, he exclaimed, "alas! my son's imprudence led him to travel, and he has fallen a prey to the beasts of the forest." "be comforted," replied the prince; "the disasters of fortune have not reached thy son, for he is alive and in health." "is it possible?" cried the sultan; "ah! tell me where i shall find him!" "he is before thee," replied the prince: upon which, the sultan looking more closely, knew him, fell upon his neck, wept, and sunk to the earth overpowered with ecstacy. when the sultan had recovered, he desired his son to relate his adventures, which he did from first to last. just as he had finished the elder brothers arrived, and seeing him in such splendour, hung down their heads, abashed and unable to speak; but yet more envious than ever. the old sultan would have put them to death for their treachery, but the youngest prince said, "let us leave them to the almighty, for whoever commits sin will meet its punishment in himself." when the husbandman had concluded the above story, the sultan was so highly pleased that he presented him with a large sum of money, and a beautiful slave, inquiring at the same time if he could divert him with another story, to which he replied in the affirmative. on another night, when the sultan and the countryman had sat down to converse, the former desired him to relate some ancient story, when the latter began as follows. story of a sultan of yemen and his three sons. it has been related, that in the kingdom of yemen there was a sultan who had three sons, two of whom were born of the same mother, and the third of another wife, with whom becoming disgusted from some caprice, and having degraded her to the station of a domestic, he suffered her and her son to live unnoticed among the servants of the haram. the two former, one day, addressed their father, requesting his permission to hunt: upon which he presented them each with a horse of true blood, richly caparisoned, and ordered proper domestics to attend them to the chase. when they had departed, the unfortunate youngest brother repaired to his unhappy mother, and expressed his wishes to enjoy, like the elder princes, the pleasures of the field. "my son," replied she, "it is not in my power to procure thee a horse or other necessaries." upon this he wept bitterly; when she gave him some of her silver ornaments, which he took, and having sold them, with the price purchased a foundered steed. having mounted it, and provided himself with some bread, he followed the track of his brothers for two days, but on the third lost his way. after wandering two days more he beheld upon the plain a string of emeralds and pearls, which shone with great lustre. having taken it up, he wreathed it round his turban, and returned homewards exulting in his prize; but when he had arrived near the city his brothers met him, pulled him from his horse, beat him, and forced it from him. he excelled them both in prowess and vigour, but he was fearful of the sultan's displeasure, and his mother's safety, should he punish his insulters. he therefore submitted to the indignity and loss, and retired. the two cowardly princes entered the palace, and presented the string of jewels to the sultan; who, after admiring it, said, "i shall not rest satisfied till the bird arrives to whom this certainly must have belonged:" upon which the brothers replied, "we will travel in search of it, and bring it to our august father and sultan." preparations being made, the brothers departed, and the youngest prince having mounted his lame steed followed them. after three days' journey he reached an arid desert, which having passed over by great exertion, he arrived almost exhausted at a city; which on entering he found resounding with the shrieks of lamentation and woe. at length he met with a venerable old man, to whom having made a respectful salute, he inquired of him the cause of such universal mourning. "my son," replied the old man, "on a certain day during the last forty-three years, a terrible monster has appeared before our city, demanding a beautiful virgin to be delivered up to him, threatening to destroy it in case of refusal. unable to defend ourselves, we have complied with his demand, and the damsels of the city have drawn lots for the dreadful sacrifice; but this year the chance has fallen upon the beautiful daughter of our sultan. this is the day of the monster's usual arrival, and we are involved in universal lamentation for her unhappy fate." when the young prince heard the above, he, under the direction of the old man, repaired to the place of the monster's resort, resolved to conquer him or die. scarcely had he reached it, when the princess approached it, splendidly habited, but with a dejected head, and drowned in tears. he made a respectful salute, which she returned, saying, "hasten, young man, from this spot, for a monster will soon appear, to whom, by my unhappy fate, i am destined. should he discover thee, he will tear thee in pieces." "princess," replied he, "i know the circumstance, and am resolved to become a ransom for thy beauty." the prince had hardly uttered these words, when a column of dust arose; from which with dreadful howlings and fury the monster issued, lashing his gigantic sides with his thick tail. the princess shrieked, and wept in the agonies of fear; but the prince drawing his sabre, put himself in the way of the savage monster; who, enraged, snorted fire from his wide nostrils, and made a spring at the prince. the gallant youth with wonderful agility evaded his talons, and darting from side to side of the monster, watched his opportunity, till rushing upon him, he cleft his head asunder just between his eyes, when the huge creature fell down and growled his last in a tremendous roar. the princess, on seeing the monster expire, ran to her deliverer, wiped the dust and sweat from his face with her veil, uttering grateful thanks, to which he replied, "return to thy lamenting parents;" but she would not, and said, "my lord, and light of my eyes, thou must be mine and i thine." "that is perhaps impossible," rejoined the prince; and hastening from her, he returned to the city, where he took up his lodging in an obscure corner. she now repaired to the palace. on her entrance, the sultan and her mother were astonished, and inquired in alarm the cause of her return; fearing that she had escaped from the monster, who would in revenge destroy the city. the princess related the story of her deliverance by a handsome youth: upon which, the sultan, with his attendants, and most of the inhabitants of the place, repaired to view the monster, whom they found extended dead on the earth. the whole city was now filled with grateful thanksgivings and universal rejoicing. the sultan, eager to shew his gratitude to the gallant youth, said to the princess, "shouldst thou know thy deliverer wert thou to see him again?" "certainly!" replied she; for love had impressed his image on her mind too strongly to be ever erased. the sultan, upon this, issued a proclamation, commanding every male in the city to pass under the windows of his daughter's apartment; which was done successively for three days; but she did not recognize her beloved champion. the sultan then inquired if all the men of the city had obeyed his commands, and was informed that all had done so, except a young man at a certain serai, who was a foreigner, and therefore had not attended. the sultan ordered him to appear; and he had no sooner approached the window than the princess threw down upon his head an embroidered handkerchief, exclaiming, "this is our deliverer from the fangs of the monster." the sultan now ordered the young prince to be introduced to his presence, to which he advanced, making the obeisances customary to royal personages in a graceful manner. "art thou the destroyer of the monster?" exclaimed the sultan. "i am," answered the prince. "tell me how i can reward thee?" replied the sultan. "my request to god and your majesty," answered the prince, "is, that the princess thy daughter may be given me in marriage." "rather ask me a portion of my treasures," rejoined the sultan. upon this, the officers of the court observed, that as he had saved the princess from death, he was worthy of her; and the sultan at length consenting, the marriage knot was tied. the young prince received his bride, and the nuptials were consummated. towards the close of night he arose, and having taken off her ring, put his own in its room on her finger, and wrote upon the palm of her hand, "i am called alla ad deen, the son of a potent sultan, who rules in yemen; if thou canst come to me there, well; otherwise remain with thy father." when the prince had done as above related, he left his bride asleep, and quitting the palace and city, pursued his travels; during which he married another wife, whom he had saved from an elephant in a similar way: he left her in the same manner as the first. when the prince had left his second wife, he proceeded in search of the bird to whom the string of emeralds and pearls had belonged, and at length reached the city of its mistress, who was daughter to the sultan, a very powerful monarch. having entered the capital, he walked through several streets, till at last he perceived a venerable old man, whose age seemed to be, at least, that of a hundred years, sitting alone. he approached him, and having paid his respects, sat down, and entering into conversation, at length said, "canst thou, my uncle, afford me any information respecting a bird, whose chain is composed of pearls and emeralds, or of its mistress?" the old man remained silent, involved in thought, for some instants; after which, he said, "my son, many sultans and princes have wished to attain this bird and the princess, but failed in the attempt; however, do thou procure seven lambs, kill them, flay and cut them up into halves. in the palace are eight courts, at the gates of seven of which are placed two hungry lions; and in the latter, where the princess resides, are stationed forty slaves. go, and try thy fortune." the prince having thanked the old man, took his leave, procured the lambs, cut them up as directed, and towards midnight, when the step of man had ceased from passing, repaired to the first gate of the palace, before which he beheld two monstrous lions, their eyes flaming like the mouth of a lighted oven. he cast before each half a lamb, and while they were devouring it passed on. by the same stratagem he arrived safely into the eighth court: at the gate of which lay the forty slaves sunk in profound sleep. he entered cautiously, and beheld the princess in a magnificent hall, reposing on a splendid bed; near which hung her bird in a cage of gold wire strung with valuable jewels. he approached gently, and wrote upon the palm of her hand, "i am alla ad deen, son of a sultan of yemen. i have seen thee sleeping, and taken away thy bird. shouldst thou love me, or wish to recover thy favourite, come to my father's capital." he then departed from the palace, and having reached the plain, stopped to repose till morning. the prince being refreshed, at day-light having invoked allah to protect him from discovery, travelled till sunset, when he discovered an arab encampment, to which he repaired and requested shelter. his petition was readily attended to by the chief; who seeing him in possession of the bird, which he knew, said to himself, "this young man must be a favourite of heaven, or he could not have obtained a prize for which so many potent sultans, princes, and viziers, have vainly fallen sacrifices." he entertained him with hospitality, but asked no questions, and in the morning dismissed him with prayers for his welfare, and a present of a beautiful horse. alla ad deen having thanked his generous host took leave, and proceeded unceasingly till he arrived within sight of his father's capital. on the plain he was again overtaken by his two brothers, returning from their unsuccessful expedition, who seeing the bird and splendid cage in his possession, dragged him suddenly from his horse, beat him cruelly, and left him. they entered the city, and presenting the cage to their father, framed an artful tale of danger and escapes that they had undergone in procuring it; on hearing which, the sultan loaded them with caresses and praises, while the unfortunate alla ad deen retired bruised and melancholy to his unhappy mother. the young prince informed his mother of his adventures, complained heavily of his loss, and expressed his resolves to be revenged upon his envious brothers. she comforted him, entreated him to be patient, and wait for the dispensations of allah; who, in proper season, would shew his power in the revealment of justice. we now return to the princess who had lost her bird. when she awoke in the morning, and missed her bird, she was alarmed; but on perceiving what was written upon her palm still more so. she shrieked aloud; her attendants ran in, and finding her in a frantic state, informed the sultan; who, anxious for her safety, hastened to the apartment. the princess being somewhat recovered, related the loss of her bird, shewed the writing on her hand, and declared that she would marry no one but him who had seen her asleep. the sultan finding remonstrances vain, agreed to accompany his daughter in search of the prince, and issued orders for his army to prepare for a march to yemen. when the troops were assembled, the sultan conducted his daughter to the camp, and on the day following marched; the princess with her ladies being conveyed in magnificent equipages. no halt was made till the army arrived near the city, where alia ad deen had delivered the daughter of its sultan by killing the elephant. a friendly ambassador being dispatched to request permission to encamp and purchase a supply of provisions, he was honourably received, and the sultan of the city proceeded in great pomp to visit his brother monarch, who then informed him of the object of his expedition. this convinced the other sultan that the stealer of the bird must also have been the deliverer of his daughter, and he resolved to join in the search. accordingly, after three days of splendid entertainments and rejoicings, the two sultans, with the two princesses, and their united forces, moved towards yemen. their route lay through the capital, the daughter of whose sultan alla ad deen had saved from the fangs of the savage monster. on the arrival of the allies at this city an explanation similar to the last took place, and the third sultan resolved to accompany them in search of the husband of his daughter, who readily agreed to join the other princesses. they marched; and on the route the princess who had lost her bird was fully informed by the others of the beauty, prowess, and manly vigour of alla ad deen; which involved her more than ever in anxious impatience to meet him. at length, by continued and uninterrupted movements, the three sultans reached yemen, and pitched their encampments about sunset on a verdant plain well watered, near the capital. it was with much dread and apprehension that the sultan of yemen beheld such a numerous host encamped so near his residence; but he concealed his fears, and gave proper orders for securing it from surprise during the night. with the morning his alarms were removed, as the allied sultans dispatched an ambassador with rich presents, assurances that they had no hostile intentions, and a request that he would honour them by a visit to their camp, and furnish it with supplies. the sultan complied with the invitation, and the suite being prepared, he proceeded, attended by all his courtiers in the highest magnificence, to the encampment; where he was received with due honours. at the outposts the three sultans met him, and after the usual greetings of ceremony conducted him to a splendid tent made of crimson velvet, the fringes and ropes of which were composed of gold threads, the pins of solid silver, and the lining of the richest silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of raised work in silks of all colours, intermixed with foils and gold. it was covered with superb carpets, and at the upper end on a platform spread with gold brocade were placed four stools, the coverings of which, and the cushions, were magnificent beyond description, being made of persian velvet, fringed and flowered with costly pearls. when the four sultans were seated, and some conversation had taken place, in which the latter was informed of the occasion of the others having marched into his country, the cloth was spread, and a magnificent entertainment served up in dishes of agate, crystal, and gold. the basins and ewers for washing were of pure gold set with jewels. such was the richness of every thing, that the sultan with difficulty refrained from shewing his surprise, and inwardly exclaimed, "by allah, till now i never have beheld such a profusion of splendour, elegance, and valuable furniture!" when the meal was ended, coffee, various sorts of confections, and sherbets were brought in; after which the company conversed. the three sultans inquired of their royal guest if he had any children, to which he replied that he had two sons. the sultans then requested that he would send for them: upon which, their father dispatched a messenger to summon them to his presence. they repaired to the camp, mounted on chargers richly caparisoned, and most splendidly dressed. on their entering the tent, the princesses, who were seated in a recess concealed from view by blinds of gold wire, gazed eagerly at them; and she who had lost her bird inquired of the other two if either of them was their husband. they replied in the negative, remarking that he was of personal beauty, and dignified appearance, far superior to these princes. the three sultans, also, questioned their daughters on the subject, and received similar answers. the sultans, upon this, inquired of the father of the princes if he had any other sons; to which he replied that he had one; but that he had long rejected him, and also his mother, from notice; and that they lived among the domestics of the palace. the sultans entreated to see him, and he was introduced, but in a mean habit. the two princesses whom he had delivered from the monsters and married immediately recognized him, and exclaimed together, "this is truly our beloved husband!" he was then embraced by the sultans, and admitted to his wives; who fell upon his neck in transports of joy and rapture, kissing him between his eyes, while the princess who had lost the bird prostrated herself before him, covered with a veil, and kissed his hand. after this scene the young prince returned to his father, and the other sultans, who received him respectfully, and seated him by them, at which the father was astonished; but more so, when, turning to his brothers, he addressed them, saying, "which of you first found the string of emeralds and pearls?" to this they made no reply: when he continued, "who of you killed the monster, destroyed the elephant, or, fortifying his mind, dared to enter the palace of this sultan, and bring away the cage with the bird? when you both, coward-like, rushed upon me, robbed me of my prizes, and wounded me, i could easily have overcome you; but i felt that there was a season appointed by providence for justice upon you and my wretched father, who rejected my mother and myself, depriving us of our just claims." having thus spoken, he drew his sabre, and rushing upon the two guilty princes struck them dead, each at one blow. he would, in his rage, have attacked his father; but the sultans prevented him, and having reconciled them, the old sultan promised to leave him his heir, and to restore his mother to her former rank and consequence. his nuptials with the third princess were then celebrated; and their fathers, after participating for forty days in the magnificent entertainments given on the occasion, took leave, and returned to their several kingdoms. the old sultan finding himself, from age, incapable of the cares of government, resigned the throne to his son, whose authority was gladly submitted to by the people, who admired his prowess and gallantry. some time after his accession to the kingdom, attended only by some select courtiers, and without the cumbrous appendages of royalty, he left his capital upon a hunting excursion. in the course of the sport, passing over a desert plain, he came to a spot where was the opening of a cave, into which he entered, and observed domestic utensils and other marks of its being inhabited; but no one was then within it. the curiosity of the sultan being excited, he resolved to wait until the owners of the cave should appear, and cautioned his attendants not to mention his rank. he had not sat long, when a man was seen advancing with a load of provisions and two skins of water. on his coming to the mouth of the cave, the sultan addressed him, saying, "whence comest thou, where art thou going, and what dost thou carry?" "i am," replied the man, "one of three companions, who inhabit this cave, having fled from our city to avoid imprisonment, and every ten days one of us goes to purchase provisions: to-day was my turn, and my friends will be here presently." "what was the cause of your flight?" rejoined the sultan. "as to that," answered the man, "it can only be communicated by the relation of our adventures, which are curious, and if you wish to hear them, stay with us to-night, and we will each, in our turn, relate his own story." the sultan upon this, said to himself, "i will not move from this spot until i have heard their adventures;" and immediately dispatched his attendants, excepting a few, with orders to bring from the city some necessaries for the night. "for," thought he, "hearing these stories will be pleasanter than hunting, as they may, perhaps, inform my mind." he remained in the cave with his few followers; and soon after arrived the two other inmates, who were succeeded by the sultan's messengers with the requisites for a substantial repast, of which all partook without ceremony. when it was finished, the sultan desired the owners of the cave to relate their adventures; and they replied, "to hear is to obey:" the first beginning as follows. story of the first sharper in the cave. my father died when i was a youth, leaving my mother and myself with little property, but an old she-goat, which we sold, and with the price bought a calf, and nourished her as well as we could for a whole year; when my mother desired me to go and dispose of her in the market. accordingly i went, and soon perceived that there was not a fatter or finer beast in the market. the company of butchers, composed of forty persons, fixed their eyes upon the calf, and supposing me an ignorant lad, resolved to have her for little or nothing, and feast themselves upon her flesh. after concerting among themselves, one of them coming up, said, "my lad, dost thou mean to sell this she-goat?" "goat!" replied i, "it is a calf." "nay," answered he, "surely thou must be blind or under enchantment; but, old as the goat is, if thou wilt sell it, i will give thee a koorsh for her." i angrily refused, and he went away; when presently up came another; and, in short, in regular succession the whole forty, the last of whom was the chief of the butchers. i perceived the connivance to cheat me, and resolving to be revenged, said, "i am convinced i am deceived, so you shall have the goat, if such she is, for the koorsh, provided you let me have her tail." this was agreed to, and it being cut off, i delivered my calf to the chief of the butchers, received the money, and returned home. on my arrival at home, my mother asked if i had sold the calf; to which i replied, "yes, for a koorsh, and her tail into the bargain." she thought me stupid or mad, and inquired what i would do with the latter. i answered, "i will be amply revenged on the sharpers, who pretended that my calf was a she-goat, and force from them, at least, a thousand times the price they gave me." after this, i skinned the tail, cut the leather into thongs, and twisted them into a whip with hard thick knots. i then disguised myself in female attire, taking pains to make myself look as handsome as possible with the assistance of my mother, who put soorma into my eyelids, and arranged my eyebrows, stained my hands with hinna, and directed me how to ogle and smile. in short, as i was then a beardless lad, and reckoned comely, i appeared as a very desirable maiden in my disguise. on my arrival at the house of the chief of the butchers, i found him sitting with his companions in the court. the whole of my calf had been cooked in various ways, and they were just going to spread the cloth and feast upon it. on my entrance i made a profound salutation: upon which they all rose up to return it, and having seated me welcomely, whispered one to another, saying, "by allah, this will be a night of glorious festivity, illumined by so much beauty! however, our chief must have the preference, this night shall be his; after which we will all cast lots for his turn of enjoyment." when we had feasted on my calf, and the night was far advanced, the butchers took leave, departed to their homes, and i remained alone with the chief, who began to entertain me with amusing conversation. observing a rope hanging from the ceiling of an apartment, i, as if ignorant of its purpose, inquired the use of it; when the venerable chief of the butchers informed me it was for suspending animals to cut up; also, occasionally his dependants, whose crimes required the punishment of flogging. upon this i expressed a great desire to be tied with the rope, drawn up, and swung for amusement. "my dear lady," replied he, "the cord will hurt thy delicate skin; but thou shall put it round me, draw me up, and see the use without injuring thyself." i consented to the wish of the chief butcher, placed the cord under his arms, and drew him up till the ends of his toes scarcely touched the ground. i then secured the rope, and for some moments kept running playfully round him, and tickling his sides, which made him laugh with delight. at length, tired of his posture, he desired me to release him; but i refused, saying, "my dear chief, i have not yet finished my amusement;" after which i tore the clothes from his back, as if in merriment. when i had done this, i pulled out my whip, which was well knotted, saying, "this is the tail of a she-goat, and not of a calf." the butcher now began to be somewhat alarmed, asking me who i was, and whence i came? to which i replied, "i am the owner of the fat calf, of which thou and thy villanous companions so rascally cheated me." i then bared my arm to my elbow, and so belaboured his back and sides with my whip that he roared in agony; nor did i leave off till his skin was completely flayed, and he fainted from the pain. after this i searched the apartment, found a bag containing three hundred deenars, some handsome dresses, and other valuable articles, all of which i bundled up, and carried off; leaving the chief of the butchers, suspended, to his fate. when i had reached home, i gave my prize to my mother, saying, "this is only part of the value of my calf, which i have just received of the purchaser." early in the morning the butchers repaired, as usual, to the residence of their chief, and finding the door of the court-yard locked, joked one with another, saying, "our old gentleman has been so fatigued with his happiness that he sleeps longer than ordinary." they waited till near noon, when they called out for admittance; but receiving no answer, became apprehensive of some disaster, and forcing the door, found their chief suspended, almost lifeless, and his scars dropping blood. to their inquiries into the cause of his doleful situation, he replied, "that pretended vixen was no woman, but a brawny youth, the owner of the calf; who, in return for our roguery, has flogged me thus, and carried off all he could find in my chamber worth having." the butchers vowed revenge, saying, "we will seize and put him to death;" but their chief requested them for the present to be patient, and carry him to a warm bath, that he might wash and get his wounds dressed. i observed the chief butcher enter the bathing house alone, while his followers waited at the gate: upon which i went to a slaughter-house, poured over my back the blood of a sheep, dabbed it with plaisters of cotton, and leaning on a crutch, as if in agony of pain, repaired to the bath. at first the butchers refused me admittance, saying their chief was within; but on my entreating their compassion for my miserable condition, they at length permitted me to enter. passing through the different rooms, i came to the bath, in which i found the unfortunate chief washing his scars. i pulled out my whip, and having said to him, "shekh, this is the tail of my calf!" flogged him again so severely that he fainted; after which i made my escape by another entrance to the hummaum, which opened into a different street. the butchers growing impatient at the long stay of their chief in the bath, at length entered, and found him in extreme agony. he informed them of this second revenge of the owner of the calf, and requested that he would take him into the country, pitch a tent for his reception, and remain to guard him till he should be cured of his wounds. they did so; but i watched their motions, and disguising myself, repaired in the evening towards the tent. here i found a bedouin arab, whom i bribed with a piece of gold to cry out, "i am the owner of the calf, and will have the life of your chief!" cautioning him at the same time, after he had so exclaimed, to make his escape as quickly as possible from the butchers, who would pursue him. "i shall not heed them," replied he, "though they may be mounted on the fleetest coursers." having said this, the bedouin went up close to the tents, bawling out vociferously, as i had directed him: upon which all the butchers started up and pursued him, but in vain, to a great distance. i then entered the tent in which the chief was reposing alone, and pulling out my whip, once more flogged him till he roared with agony. when i was tired i bundled up such articles as i could lay my hands on; and returning home, presented them to my mother, saying, "here is the balance of the price of our calf." the butchers having attempted to overtake the bedouin, till they were wearied with running, but in vain, returned to their chief, whom they found in a fainting fit from the pain of his wounds. having sprinkled water on his face, they recovered him so far that he was able to inform them of what had happened; and to request them to convey him once more to his own house, to give out that he was dead of his wounds, and make a mock funeral; when, possibly, the owner of the calf, believing him departed this life, might cease to torment him. the butchers obeyed the commands of their chief, and reporting that he was dead, laid him in a litter, and marched in mournful procession towards the burying ground, followed by a great concourse of people. mixing with the crowd, in disguise, i at length stooped under the litter, and giving the chief, who lay extended in a winding sheet, a smart poke with a pointed stick, up he jumped, to the astonishment of the beholders; who cried out, "a miracle! a miracle! the dead is raised to life!" while i made my escape in the throng; but being fearful that the many tricks i had played, especially this last, might excite inquiry, and lead to a discovery, i fled from the city, and resolved to remain in this cave till curiosity should subside. the sultan exclaimed, "these adventures are surprising;" when the second inhabitant of the cave said, "my lord, my story is much more wonderful than the last; for i contrived not only to be dead and buried, but to escape from the tomb." "possibly," said the sultan, "thy adventures may have been stranger than those of this man; but if any of you are acquainted with the memoirs of ancient monarchs, i could wish you to relate them; however, at present, i must take you with me to the palace, that i may make you welcome." when the men heard this proposition, they were alarmed, and cried out, "what, my lord, would you carry us to the city from which we have escaped to save our lives?" "fear not," replied he, "i am the sultan, and was amusing myself with hunting when i chanced to discover your cave." they bowed themselves before him, and exclaimed, "to hear is to obey;" after which they attended him to the city. on their arrival, the sultan ordered them proper apartments and suitable entertainment, and invested each of them with a rich habit. for some days they remained enjoying themselves; when, at length, one evening the sultan commanded them to his presence, and requested a narrative, when one of them related the following story. history of the sultan of hind. in ancient days there lived a sultan of hind, than whom no prince of the age was greater in extent of territory, riches, or force; but heaven had not allotted to him offspring, either male or female: on which account he was involved in sorrow. one morning, being even more melancholy than usual, he put on a red habit, and repaired to his divan; when his vizier, alarmed at the robes of mourning, said, "what can have occasioned my lord to put on this gloomy habit?" "alas!" replied the sultan, "my soul is this morning overclouded with melancholy." "repair then to the treasury," said the vizier, "and view thy wealth; as, perhaps, the lustre of gold, and the brilliant sparkling of jewels, may amuse thy senses and disperse thy sorrow." "vizier," answered the sultan, "this world to me is all vanity; i regard nothing but the contemplation of the deity: yet how can i be relieved from melancholy, since i have lived to this age and he has not blessed me with children, either sons or daughters, who are the ornaments of manhood in this world?" the sultan had scarcely ceased speaking, when a human figure of a dusky hue appeared before him, and said, "my sovereign, here is a confection left me by my ancestors, with an assurance, that whoever might eat of it would have offspring." the sultan eagerly took the confection, and by the blessing of allah, one of the ladies of his haram conceived that very night. when her pregnancy was made known to him, the sultan was overjoyed, distributed large sums in charity to the poor, and every day comforted the distressed by his bounty. when the sultana had gone her full time, she was delivered of a son beautiful in aspect, and of graceful person; at which the sultan became overjoyed, and on that day set apart one half of his treasures for the use of the infant prince, who was intrusted to the charge of experienced nurses. after he had thrived sufficiently at the breast he was weaned, and at six years of age put under the care of learned tutors, who taught him to write, to read the koran, and instructed him in the other several branches of literature. when he had completed his twelfth year, he was accomplished in horsemanship, archery, and throwing the lance, till at length he became a distinguished cavalier, and excelled the most celebrated equestrians. the young prince being on a certain day hunting in the vicinity of the capital, there suddenly appeared soaring and wheeling in the air a bird, whose plumage was of the most beautiful and glossy green. the prince let fly an arrow, but without effect, and the bird suddenly disappeared. it was in vain that he turned his eye to all quarters, in hopes of again discovering his wished-for prey, for the bird had flown out of sight, and the prince after searching in all directions till the close of day, returned vexed and much disappointed to his father's palace. on his entrance, the sultan and sultana perceiving his countenance gloomy, inquired the cause of his melancholy, when he informed them of the bird: upon which, they said, "dear son, the creatures of the almighty are innumerably diversified; and, doubtless, there are many birds as beautiful, and wonderfully more so than this, whose escape you so much regret." "it may be so," replied the prince; "but unless i shall be able to take this, which has so captivated my fancy, i will abstain from food." on the following morning the prince repaired again to the chase, and having reached the same spot on the plain, to his great joy beheld the green bird. having taken a cautious aim, he let fly an arrow; but she evaded it, and soared before him in the air. the prince spurred his courser and followed, keeping his desired prey in sight unceasingly till sunset; when both himself and his horse being exhausted he gave up the pursuit, and returned towards the city. as he was riding slowly, and almost fainting with hunger and fatigue, there met him a venerable looking personage, who said, "prince, both thyself and thy charger seem exhausted; what can have been the cause of such over exercise?" "father," answered the prince, "i have been pursuing, but in vain, a beautiful green bird, on which i had set my mind." "son," replied the sage, "if thou wert to follow it for a whole year's journey, thy pursuit would be useless; for thou couldst never take it. this bird comes from a city in the country of kafoor, in which are most delightful gardens abounding in such birds as this, and many other species still more beautiful, some of which sing enchantingly, and others talk like human beings; but, alas thou canst never reach that happy spot. give up then all thoughts of the bird, and seek some other object for a favourite that thou mayst enjoy repose, and no longer vex thyself for impossibilities." when the prince heard this from the old man, he exclaimed, "by allah! nothing shall prevent me from visiting the charming country thou hast mentioned;" and leaving the sage, he rode homewards, his mind wholly taken up in meditating on the land of kafoor. when the prince had reached the palace, the sultan perceiving his disordered state, inquired the adventures of the day; and being informed of his fruitless pursuit, and the remarks of the old man, said, "my son, discharge this idle chimera from thy mind, nor perplex thyself longer, since he who wishes for an impossibility may pine himself to death, but can never gain his desires: calm then thy soul, nor vex thyself longer in vain." "by allah!" answered the prince, "my soul, o my father, is captivated with the desire of possessing this bird more strongly than ever, from the words of the venerable old man; nor is it possible i can enjoy repose till i have travelled to the island of kafoor, and beheld the gardens containing such a wonderful feathered species." "alas! my dear son," exclaimed the sultan, "think how afflicting must be to myself and thy mother thy absence from our sight, and for our sakes give up such a fruitless expedition." the prince, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his father, continued obstinate, and said, "my travelling is inevitable: grant me then permission, or i will put myself to death." "if so," exclaimed the affrighted sultan, "there is no refuge or help but from the omnipotent allah: well has the proverb remarked, that the nestling would not be restrained from the air, when suddenly the raven pounced upon it and bore it away. heaven guard my son from the consequences of his imprudence." having said thus, the sultan commanded preparations for the requisites of travel, and ordered a force to accompany the headstrong prince; who, having taken leave of his afflicted parents, began his expedition towards the country of kafoor. the prince pursued his journey without any extraordinary adventure for a whole month, and at the expiration of it arrived at a spot from which branched out three roads. at the junction of them was erected a lofty pyramid, each face fronting one of the roads. on one face was inscribed, "this is named the path of safety:" on the second, "this is called the way of repentance:" and on the third, "whoever follows this road will not probably return." "i will pursue this last," said the prince to himself, and accordingly striking into it, proceeded onwards for twenty days, at the end of which he encamped near a desolated city, crumbling into ruin, wholly destitute of inhabitants. he commanded his attendants, as no provisions could be found in the city, to kill five sheep of the flocks he had brought with him, and dress them for their refreshment in various ways. when all were ready, and the simmaut was spread out, having performed his ablutions, he sat down with his principal followers. the prince and his company had scarcely seated themselves, when, lo! there advanced from the desolated city a genie, whom the prince seeing, stood up, and thus accosted, "hail! and welcome to the sovereign of the aoon, friendly to his brethren, and ruler of this extensive desert." he then addressed him, flatteringly, in fluent language and eloquent expression. the hair of this oone genie hung shaggily over his eyes, and flowed in matted tresses upon his shoulders. the prince took out a pair of scissors, and having condescendingly cut his hair, pared his nails, and washed him, seated him at the cloth, and placed before him the dish dressed peculiarly for himself. the oone ate, and was delighted with the affability of the prince, whom he addressed, saying, "by allah, o mahummud, son of a sultan! i am doomed to death by thy arrival here; but what, my lord, was thy object in coming?" upon this the prince informed him of his having seen the bird, his vain attempts to take her, the account he had received from the old man, and his resolution, in consequence of his information, to penetrate to the kingdom of kafoor, to visit the gardens, and bring away some of the wonderful birds. when the oone heard this, he said, "o son of a sultan, that country to thee is impenetrable, thou canst not reach it; for the distance from hence is a journey of three hundred years to the most laborious traveller; how then canst thou hope to arrive at it, much more return? but, my son, the good old proverb remarks, that kindness should be returned with kindness, and evil with evil, and that none are so cruel or so benevolent as the inhabitants of the desert. as thou hast treated me kindly, so, god willing, shalt thou have a return for thy goodness; but thou must leave here thy attendants and thy effects. thou and i only will go together, and i will accomplish thy wish in gratitude for what thou hast done for me." the prince immediately retired from his encampment with the oone, who said, "mount upon my shoulders." the prince obeyed the commands of the oone, who having first stopped his rider's ears with cotton, mounted into the air, and after soaring for some hours descended; when the prince found himself in the island of kafoor, and near the desired garden. having alighted from the shoulders of the generous oone, he examined the spot, beheld groves, blooming shrubs, flowers bordering clear streams, and beautiful birds chanting various melodies. the oone said, "behold the object, of thy search, enter the garden!" upon this the prince left him, passed the gate, which was open, and entered. he walked on every quarter, and depending from the branches of flowering shrubs saw cages holding a variety of beautiful birds, two birds in each cage. the prince took down a large cage, and having examined the birds, placed in it such as pleased him to the number of six, with which he was preparing to leave the garden; when at the gate a watchman met him, who cried out loudly, "a robber! a robber!" instantly numerous guards rushing out, seized the prince, bound, and carried him before the sultan, to whom they complained, saying, "we found in the garden this young man, carrying off a cage with six birds. he must certainly be a robber." the sultan addressed the prince, saying, "what induced thee, youthful stranger, to violate my property, trespass on the garden, and attempt stealing these birds?" the prince returned no answer: upon which the sultan exclaimed, "young man, thou art verging upon death; yet still, if thy soul is bent upon having these birds, bring me from the black island some bunches of grapes, which are composed of emeralds and diamonds, and i will give thee six birds in addition to those thou hast stolen." having said this, the sultan released the prince, who repaired to his generous friend the oone, whom he informed of the unlucky conclusion of his adventure. "our task is an easy one," answered the oone; "mount upon my shoulders." the prince did as he was desired, and after two hours flight the oone descended and alighted, when the prince found himself in the black island. he immediately advanced towards the garden in which was the fruit composed of emeralds and diamonds. on the way a monster met him of terrible appearance. the monster sprung at the prince, who, with surprising agility, drawing his sword, wounded the furious beast on the forehead with such effect, that, uttering a dreadful groan, he fell dead at his feet. it happened, by divine decree, that the sultan's daughter looking from a window of the haram, beheld the combat, and, stricken with the manly beauty and prowess of the prince, exclaimed, "who can withstand thy courage, or who resist thy all conquering charms?" but he did not see the princess, or hear her applause. the prince, after having slain the monster, proceeded to the garden, the gate of which he found open, and on entering, perceived variety of artificial trees composed of precious stones. among them was one resembling the vine, the fruits of which were of emeralds and diamonds. he plucked off six bunches, and was quitting the garden when a sentinel met him; who, being alarmed, cried out, "a robber! a robber!" the guards rushed out, and having bound him, carried him before the sultan, saying, "my lord, we found this youth stealing the fruit from the garden of jewels." the sultan was enraged, and on the point of ordering him to be put to death, when a number of persons entered, crying out, "good tidings to our sovereign." "on what account?" exclaimed the sultan. "the horrible monster," replied they, "who used annually to appear and devour our sons and daughters, we have just now found dead and cloven in two." the sultan was so rejoiced at this happy event, that he refrained from the blood of the prince, and exclaimed, "whoever has destroyed this monster let him come to me, and i swear by allah, who has invested me with royalty, that i will give him my daughter in marriage; and whatever else he may desire, even to the half of my empire." upon the sultan's declaration being proclaimed, several young men appeared, pretending that they had killed the monster, and gave various accounts of the combat, which made the prince smile. "by allah! it is strange," said the sultan, "that a youth in such a perilous situation should be so unconcerned as to smile." while the sultan was ruminating on this occurrence, a eunuch entered from the haram, requesting that he would come and speak to the princess his daughter, who had business of importance to communicate; upon which the sultan arose, and retired from the hall of audience. when the sultan had entered the princess's apartment, he said, "what can have happened which has occasioned you to send for me so suddenly?" she replied, "is it thy wish to know who slew the monster, and to reward the courageous hero?" "by allah," answered the sultan, "who created subjects and their sovereigns, if i can discover him, my first offer to him shall be to espouse thee, whatever be his condition, or though he dwell in the most distant region." the princess rejoined, "no one slew the monster but the youth who entered the garden of gems, and was bearing off the fruit, whom thou wast just now on the point of putting to death." when the sultan heard the above from his daughter, he returned to the divan, and calling the prince before him, said, "young man, i grant thee thy pardon; art thou he who destroyed the monster?" "i am," replied the prince. the sultan would instantly have summoned the cauzee to perform the espousals; but the prince said, "i have a friend to consult; permit me to retire, and i will soon return." the sultan consented, saying, "thy request is but reasonable; but come back quickly." the prince having repaired to his friend the oone, informed him of what had happened to him, and of the offer of the sultan's daughter in marriage: upon which the oone said, "accept the princess; but on condition that, if you marry her, you shall be allowed to carry her to your own kingdom." the prince having returned to the sultan, proposed his terms, which were readily agreed to, and the nuptials were celebrated with the most splendid magnificence. after abiding in the palace of the sultan for a month and three days, he requested permission to depart with his bride towards his own country, which was granted. on the departure of the prince, his father-in-law presented him with a hundred bunches of the grapes composed of emeralds and diamonds, and he repaired to his friend the oone; who, having first stopped their ears with cotton, mounted them upon his shoulders, and soaring into the air, after two hours descended near the capital of the island of kafoor. the prince, taking four bunches of the jewelled fruit, hastened to the palace, and laid them before the sultan; who, in astonishment, exclaimed, "surely, this young stranger must be a powerful magician, or how could he have travelled the distance of three hundred years' journey, and have accomplished his purpose in less time than three months! such an action is truly miraculous. hast thou, indeed, young man," said the sultan, "been at the black island?" "i have," answered the prince. "describe it to me," replied the sultan, "its appearance, its buildings, its gardens, and rivers." the prince having answered all his queries, the sultan said, "noble youth, you may assuredly ask of me whatever you wish!" "i want nothing but the birds," rejoined the prince. "they are thine," returned the sultan; "but annually on a certain day, and this is it, there descends from yonder mountain a monstrous vulture, which tears in pieces our men, women, and children; and having flown away with them in his gigantic talons devours their flesh. i have a beautiful daughter, whom, if thou canst overcome this calamitous monster, i will give to thee in marriage." the prince replied, "i will consult my friend;" and then returned to the oone, whom he informed of the offer; but he had scarcely done speaking, when, lo! the vulture appeared: upon which the oone, ascending into the air, attacked the monster, and after a fierce combat, tore him into halves; after which he descended to the prince, and said, "go to the sultan, and acquaint him that his destructive enemy is slain." the prince did as he was directed: upon which the sultan with his train, and an immense crowd of the inhabitants of the city, came out on horseback, and beheld the monstrous vulture, stretched dead on the ground, torn in halves. the sultan then conducted the prince of hind to the palace; where his marriage with the princess was instantly celebrated, amid the highest festivity and rejoicings; and after remaining a full month at the sultan's court, he requested leave to depart; when his father-in-law presented him with ten cages, in each of which were four of the beautiful birds of variously coloured plumage, and dismissed him, after an affectionate farewell, with his daughter. the prince having departed from the sultan repaired to his faithful friend the oone, who welcomed his return; and having mounted him upon his back with his two brides, his jewel fruit, and the cages, immediately ascended into the air, from whence, after soaring for some hours, he gradually descended, and alighted near the ruined city, where the prince had left his tents, cattle, and followers, whom he found anxiously expecting his arrival. the friendly oone had scarcely set him down, when he said to the prince, "my young friend mahummud, the obligation already conferred upon me by thy coming here was great; but i have one more favour to request." "what can that be?" replied the prince. "that thou leave not this spot," continued the oone, "until thou hast washed my corpse, enshrouded, and laid it in the grave." having said thus, the oone suddenly uttered one loud groan, and instantly his soul took its flight from the body. the astonished prince stood for some time overpowered with sorrow; but at length recovering himself, he, with the assistance of his domestics, washed the corpse, wrapped it in a winding sheet, and having prayed over it, deposited it in the earth. the funeral ceremonies of his friend being over, he commenced his march homewards, and after three days arrived in sight of the inscribed pyramid, near which he perceived an extensive encampment, which, on reconnoitring, he found to be that of his father. the aged sultan, unable to bear the absence of his son, had marched from his capital in hopes of overtaking him; but on his arrival at the junction of the three ways, being confounded at the sight of the inscriptions, he had halted, not knowing where to proceed. great was his joy on discovering the prince advancing towards that face of the pyramid on which was engraved, "whoever travels this road will probably never return." when the raptures of meeting and mutual congratulations were over, the prince informed the sultan of his wonderful and successful adventures, which overpowered him with astonishment and joy. after reposing a few days, they proceeded towards the capital of the sultan; where tidings having arrived of their approach, the inhabitants ornamented the city with silks, carpets, and transparent paintings; and the nobles and respectable persons issued forth with splendid trains to meet and congratulate their sovereign and the prince, who entered in triumphal procession, amid the greatest rejoicings and prayers for their welfare and prosperity. story of the fisherman's son. a fisherman's son having in company with his father caught a large fish, the latter proposed to present it to the sultan, in hopes of receiving a great reward. while he was gone home to fetch a basket, the son, moved by compassion, returned the fish into the water; but fearful of his father's anger, fled from his country, and repaired to a distant city, where he was entertained by a person as a servant. strolling one day in the market, he saw a jew purchase of a lad a cock at a very high price, and send it by his slave to his wife, with orders to keep it safely till his return home. the fisherman's son supposing that as the jew gave so great a price for the cock it must possess some extraordinary property, resolved to obtain it; and, accordingly, having bought two large fowls, carried them to the jew's wife, whom he informed that her husband had sent him for the cock, which he had exchanged for the fowls. she gave it him; and he having retired, killed the bird, in whose entrails he found a magical ring; which being rubbed by his touch, a voice proceeded from it demanding what were the commands of its possessor, which should be immediately executed by the genii who were servants of the ring. the fisherman's son was rejoiced at his good fortune, and while meditating what use he should make of his ring, passed by the sultan's palace, at the gates of which were suspended many human heads. he inquired the reason, and was informed that they were those of unfortunate princes, who having failed in performing the conditions on which the sultan's daughter was offered them in marriage, had been put to death. hoping to be more fortunate than them by the aid of his ring, he resolved to demand the princess's hand. he rubbed the ring, when the voice asked his commands: upon which he required a rich dress, and it was instantly laid before him. he put it on, repaired to the palace, and being introduced to the sultan, demanded his daughter to wife. the sultan consented, on condition that his life should be forfeited unless he should remove a lofty and extensive mound of sand that lay on one side of the palace, which must be done before he could wed the princess. he accepted the condition; but demanded an interval of forty days to perform the task. this being agreed to, he took his leave, and having repaired to his lodging, rubbed his ring, commanded the genii to remove the mound, and erect on the space it covered a magnificent palace, and to furnish it suitably for a royal residence. in fifteen days the task was completed; he was wedded to the princess, and declared heir to the sultan. in the mean while, the jew whom he had tricked of the cock and the magical ring resolved to travel in search of his lost prize, and at last arrived at the city, where he was informed of the wonderful removal of the mound, and the erection of the palace. he guessed that it must have been done by means of his ring, to recover which he planned the following stratagem. having disguised himself as a merchant, he repaired to the palace, and cried for sale valuable jewels. the princess hearing him, sent an attendant to examine them and inquire their price, when the jew asked in exchange only old rings. this being told to the princess, she recollected that her husband kept an old shabby looking ring in his writing stand, and he being asleep, she took it out, and sent it to the jew; who, knowing it to be the one he had so long sought for, eagerly gave for it all the jewels in his basket. he retired with his prize, and having rubbed the ring, commanded the genii to convey the palace and all its inhabitants, excepting the fisherman's son, into a distant desert island, which was done instantly. the fisherman's son, on awaking in the morning, found himself lying on the mound of sand, which had reoccupied its old spot. he arose, and in alarm lest the sultan should put him to death in revenge for the loss of his daughter, fled to another kingdom as quickly as possible. here he endured a disconsolate life, subsisting on the sale of some jewels, which he happened to have upon his dress at his flight. wandering one day through a town, a man offered him for sale a dog, a cat, and a rat, which he purchased, and kept, diverting his melancholy with their tricks, and uncommon playfulness together. these seeming animals proved to be magicians; who, in return for his kindness, agreed to recover for their master his lost prize, and informed him of their intention. he eagerly thanked them, and they all set out in search of the palace, the ring, and the princess. at length they reached the shore of the ocean, after much travel, and descried the island on which it stood, when the dog swam over, carrying on his back the cat and the rat. being landed, they proceeded to the palace; when the rat entered, and perceived the jew asleep upon a sofa, with the ring laid before him, which he seized in his mouth, and then returned to his companions. they began to cross the sea, as before, but when about half over the dog expressed a wish to carry the ring in his mouth. the rat refused, lest he should drop it; but the dog threatened, unless he would give it him, to dive and drown them both in the sea. the rat, alarmed for his life, complied with his demand: but the dog missed his aim in snatching at the ring, which fell into the ocean. they landed, and informed the fisherman's son of his loss: upon which he, in despair, resolved to drown himself; when suddenly, as he was going to execute his purpose, a great fish appearing with the ring in his mouth, swam close to shore, and having dropped it within reach of the despairing youth, miraculously exclaimed, "i am the fish which you released from captivity, and thus reward you for your generosity." the fisherman's son, overjoyed, returned to his father-in-law's capital, and at night rubbing the ring, commanded the genii to convey the palace to its old site. this being done in an instant, he entered the palace, and seized the jew, whom he commanded to be cast alive into a burning pile, in which he was consumed. from this period he lived happily with his princess, and on the death of the sultan succeeded to his dominions. story of abou neeut and abou neeuteen; or, the well-intentioned and the double-minded. a person named abou neeut, or the well-intentioned, being much distressed in his own country, resolved to seek a better livelihood in another. accordingly he took with him all he possessed, being only one single sherif, and began his journey. he had not travelled far when there overtook him a man, who entertained him with his conversation; in the course of which it appeared that his name was abou neeuteen, or double-minded. being upon the same scheme, they agreed to seek their fortunes together, and it was settled that abou neeut should be the purse-bearer of the common stock. the other possessed ten sherifs. after some days of toilsome journey they reached a city; on entering which, a beggar accosted them, crying out, "worthy believers, disburse your alms and ye shall be rewarded ten-fold." upon this, abou neeut gave him a sherif; when his companion, enraged at what he thought prodigality, demanded back his money, which was given him, and he marched off leaving his new friend without any thing. abou neeut, resigned to his fate, and relying on providence, proceeded to a mosque to pay his devotions, hoping to meet some charitable person who would relieve his necessities; but he was mistaken. for a night and day he remained in the mosque, but no one offered him charity. pressed by hunger, he in the dusk of evening stole out, and wandered with fainting steps through the streets. at length perceiving a servant throwing the fragments from an eating cloth, he advanced, and gathering them up, sat down in a corner, and gnawed the bones and half-eaten morsels with eagerness; after which, lifting up his eyes towards heaven, he thanked god for his scanty meal. the servant, who had observed his motions, was surprised and affected at his wretched condition and devotion, of which he informed his master; who, being a charitable man, took from his purse ten sherifs, which he ordered the servant to give to abou neeut. the servant, through avarice, having retained one sherif as a perquisite, delivered the rest to abou neeut; who, having counted the money, thanked god for his bounty; but said, agreeably to the scriptural declaration he ought to have had ten-fold for the sherif he had given to the beggar. the master of the servant overhearing this, called abou neeut up stairs; and having seated him, inquired his story, which he faithfully related to his host, who was a capital merchant, and was so much pleased at his pious simplicity, that he resolved to befriend him, and desired him to abide for the present in his house. abou neeut had resided some days with his friendly host, when the season arrived at which the merchant, who was punctual in discharging the duties of religion, having examined his stock, set apart the tenth of it in kind, and bestowed it upon his guest, whom he advised to open a shop and try his fortune in trade. abou neeut did so, and was so successful, that in a few years he became one of the most reputable merchants in the place. at the end of this period, sitting one day in his warehouse, he saw in the streets wretchedly habited, lean, and with eyes sunken and dim, his old companion abou neeuteen, begging alms of passengers with the importunate cry of distress. abou neeut compassionating his miserable situation, ordered a servant to call him to him; and on his arrival, having seated him, sent for refreshments to relieve his immediate want. he then invited him to spend the night at his house; and in the evening, having shut up his warehouse, conducted him home, where a bath was made warm for him, and when he had bathed, he was presented with a change of handsome apparel. supper was served, and when they had eaten till they were satisfied they conversed on several subjects. at length abou neeut exclaimed, "dost thou not recollect me, my brother?" "no, by allah, most liberal host," replied the other; "but who art thou?" "i was," answered abou neeut, "the companion of thy travel at such a period; but my disposition is still unchanged, nor have i forgotten our old connection. half of what i possess is thine." having said this, abou neeut balanced his accounts, and gave half of his property to his distressed fellow traveller; who with it stocked a warehouse, and traded for himself with good success. for some time the two friends lived near each other in great repute, when abou neeuteen growing restless, requested abou neeut to quit their present abode, and travel for recreation and profit. "my dear friend," replied abou neeut, "why should we travel? have we not here affluence and ease, and what more can we enjoy in any part of the world?" this remonstrance had no effect on abou neeuteen, who became so importunate, that at length his kind friend yielded to his whim; they loaded an ample stock of merchandize on mules and camels, and departed for the city of moussul. after travelling ten days, they one evening encamped near a deep well, round which they took up their lodging. in the morning abou neeut, by his own desire, was let down into the well, more readily to fill the water bags for the use of the caravan, men and cattle, little apprehending what was by providence decreed to befall him; for his ungrateful friend, who envied his prosperity, and coveted his wealth, having loaded the beasts, cut the rope at the top of the well, and leaving him to his fate, departed. abou neeut remained all day without food, but humbly putting his trust in allah for deliverance. about the middle of the following night he overheard two afreets in conversation with each other, when one said, "i am now perfectly happy: for at length i have possessed the beautiful princess of moussul, and no one can drive me away, unless by sprinkling the infusion of wormwood under her feet on a friday during divine service in the great mosque, a recipe which will hardly be found out." "i," continued the other afreet, "have been as fortunate as yourself: for i am in possession of such a hidden treasure of gold and jewels, under the mound near moussul, as cannot be computed, the talisman of which cannot be opened to any one unless by killing on the mound a white cock, and pouring over it the blood; which secret i judge, will not be found out by man." having said this, the afreets took their flight from the well. abou neeut treasured up in his mind the conversation of the afreets, and at day-light was happily delivered from the well by the arrival of a caravan, some of the followers of which were let down to fill water, and having discovered him, charitably drew him up, and gave him some refreshments. when he was somewhat revived by them, they inquired by what accident he had remained in the well; and he, concealing the treachery of his ungrateful companion, informed them that having reposed to sleep on the edge he had fallen in, and not being missed at the time by his fellow travellers, the caravan had proceeded on its journey. he then begged leave to accompany his generous deliverers to moussul, to which they agreed, and liberally furnished him with a conveyance. on entering the city abou neeut perceived all the people in motion, and on inquiring the reason, was informed that they were hastening to the great square before the palace, to see the beheading of a physician, who had failed in attempting to expel an evil spirit that had long possessed the daughter of the sultan, and that such had been the fate of many unhappy men who had tried their skill upon the unfortunate princess. upon this intelligence he hastened with all speed to the palace, and having obtained admission to the sultan, made the usual prostrations; after which he offered to expel the evil spirit, and begged as part of his reward the sparing of the life of the unsuccessful physician. to this the sultan for the present agreed; but declared, that should abou neeut fail in his undertaking, he would execute them together, as ignorant pretenders in their art. abou neeut then begged that the trial of his skill might be deferred till the friday, which he requested of the sultan might be solemnly observed, as the devout prayers of all true believers would draw down a blessing on his operations. the sultan consented; the unfortunate physician was released from the executioner, and commanded to be kept in the palace, in which abou neeut had also an apartment allotted him. proclamation was then made through the city for the strict celebration of the approaching sabbath, under pain of the royal displeasure on those who should neglect it. friday being arrived, and the whole city assembled at prayers, abou neeut prepared his infusion of wormwood, as the afreet had mentioned. being introduced into the apartment of the princess, who lay in a melancholy stupor, he poured the infusion upon her feet, when a loud yell was heard near her, and she starting up, as if from sleep, called upon her attendants to assist her in rising. news was immediately conveyed to the sultan of the princess's recovery, and he came overjoyed to witness her returned senses. he commanded public rejoicings to be made, large sums to be distributed in alms, and desired abou neeut to demand what he chose in reward for his important service, at the same time ordering the unsuccessful physician to be set at liberty, with a handsome present. abou neeut, who had been captivated by the beauty of the princess, asked, as his reward, her hand in marriage: upon which the sultan consulted with his viziers, who advised him to dismiss the petitioner for the present, with orders to return in the morning, when he should receive the sultan's decision on a request which demanded much consideration. when abou neeut had retired, the viziers represented to the sultan, that it was fitting the husband of his daughter should at least possess great wealth: for though abou neeut had expelled the evil spirit, yet if he could not support her in a manner becoming her rank, he was not worthy to marry her. they, therefore, advised him to select a number of his most valuable jewels, to shew them to abou neeut, and demand as a dowry for the princess some of equal estimation; which if he could produce he was ready to receive him as his son-in-law; but if not, he must accept a compensation for his services more suited to his condition than the royal alliance. on abou neeut's appearance at court the next morning the sultan displayed the jewels, and made the proposal advised by his viziers; when looking with the utmost indifference upon the brilliant stones before him, he assured the sultan that he would the next day present him with ten times the number, of superior value and lustre; which declaration astonished the whole court, as it was known that no prince possessed richer gems than those in possession of the sultan of moussul. abou neeut having taken leave of the sultan proceeded to the poultry market, and having purchased a cock entirely white and free from blemish, brought it to his lodgings, where he continued till the rising of the moon, when he walked out of the city alone, and speeded to the mound of blueish earth mentioned by the afreet of the well to contain the invaluable hidden treasure. being arrived at the mound, he ascended it, cut the throat of the cock, whose blood began to flow, when, lo! the earth shook, and soon made an opening, through which, to his great satisfaction, he perceived such heaps of inestimable precious stones, of all sorts, as are not to be adequately described, abou neeut now went back to the city, where, having procured ten camels, with two panniers on each, he returned and loaded them with his treasure, which he conveyed to his lodging, having first filled up the cavity of the mound. in the morning abou neeut repaired with his loaded camels to the palace, and entering the court of the divan, in which the sultan sat expecting him, after a profound obeisance, cried out, "descend for a moment, my lord, and examine the dowry of the princess." the sultan, arising from his throne, came down the steps of the hall, and the camels being made to kneel, he examined the panniers, and was so astonished at the richness of their contents, being jewels far surpassing his own in size and lustre, that he exclaimed, "by allah! if the treasuries of all the sultans of the world were brought together they could not afford gems equal to these." when somewhat recovered from his surprise, he inquired of his viziers how he should now act towards abou neeut; when they all unanimously cried out, "by all means give him your daughter." the marriage was then immediately celebrated with great splendour, and abou neeut conducted himself so well in his high station, that the sultan his father-in-law committed to him the giving public audience in his stead, and the decision of all appeals, three days in each week. some time had elapsed after his elevation, when abou neeut one day giving audience in the magnificent hall of one of his country palaces, beheld a man among the crowd of a sorrowful aspect, dressed in a wretched habit, who cried, "o true believers, o charitable gentlemen, relieve the distressed!" abou neeut commanded one of his mace-bearers to bring him to his presence, and on his appearance recognized his treacherous companion who had left him in the well. without making himself known, or betraying any emotion but that of compassion, he ordered attendants to conduct him to the warm bath; in which being refreshed, he was arrayed in a magnificent habit, and again brought to the divan. abou neeut having retired with him into a closet, said, "knowest them me not, my old friend?" "no, by allah," replied the other. "know then," returned he, "that i am abou neeut, thy benefactor and companion, whom you treacherously left in the well." he then related all his adventures, concluding them with an assurance, that so far from resenting his treachery, he regarded his conduit as the impulse of fate, and as the means by which he, himself, had attained his present dignity and affluence, which he would share with him. the envious heart of abou neeuteen was unconquerable; and instead of thanking the noble-minded abou neeut for his forgiveness and liberality, he exclaimed, "since the well has been to thee so fortunate, why should it not prove so also to me?" having said this, he hastily rose up and quitted abou neeut, who would not punish such rudeness, even without taking leave. abou neeuteen hastened with all speed to the well, and having descended by a rope, sat down, impatiently expecting the arrival of the afreets, who about midnight alighted, and resting themselves on the terrace above, began to inquire each other's adventures. "since we met last," said one, "i have been rendered miserable; for a cunning mussulmaun found out the secret of overpowering me, and has married my princess, nor can i revenge myself, for he is under the protection of a converted genie, whom the prophet has appointed to watch over him." "i," continued the other afreet, "have been equally unfortunate with thyself; for the same man who has wedded thy mistress discovered my hidden treasure, and keeps it in spite of my attempts to recover it: but let us fill up this abominable well, which must have been the cause of all our disasters." having said thus, the two afreets immediately hurled the terrace and large stones into the well, which crushed the ungrateful and envious abou neeuteen to atoms. some days after this, the good abou neeut, finding he did not return, repaired to the well, and seeing it fallen in, ordered it to be cleared; when the discovery of the body proved to him that the malicious spirit of the wretch had been the cause of his own destruction. he with reverence exclaimed, "there is no refuge but with the almighty; may he preserve us from envy, which is destructive to the envious alone!" abou neeut returned to the capital, where, not long after, his father-in-law the sultan dying, left him heir to his kingdom. his succession was disputed by the husbands of the two elder sisters of his wife; but the ministers and people being in favour of the sultan's will, they resigned their pretensions and submitted to his authority. his wife being brought to bed of a son, her sisters bribed the midwife to pretend that the sultana had produced a dog. they did the same by another son. at the third lying-in of the sultana abou neeut resolved to be present, and a beautiful princess appeared. the two infant princes having been thrown at the gate of one of the royal palaces, were taken up by the gardener and his wife, who brought them up as their own. abou neeut in visiting the garden with his daughter, who shewed an instinctive affection for them, from this, and their martial play with each other (having made horses of clay, bows and arrows, &c.), was induced to inquire of the gardener whether they were really his own children. the gardener upon this related the circumstance of his having found them exposed at the gate of the palace, and mentioned the times, which agreed exactly with those of the sultana's delivery. abou neeut then questioned the midwife, who confessed the imposition and wickedness of the sisters, whom he left to be punished by the pangs of their own consciences, convinced that envy is its own severest tormentor. the young princes were acknowledged; and the good abou neeut had the satisfaction of seeing them grow up to follow his example. adventure of a courtier, related by himself to his patron, an ameer of egypt. it is related by an historian that there was an ameer of the land of egypt, whose mind being one night unusually disturbed, he sent for one of his courtiers, a convivial companion, and said to him, "to-night my bosom, from what cause i know not, is uncommonly restless, and i wish thee to divert me by some amusing narrative." the courtier replied, "to hear is to obey: i will describe an adventure which i encountered in the youthful part of my life." when a very young man i was deeply in love with a beautiful arab maiden, adorned by every elegance and grace, who resided with her parents; and i used frequently to visit their camp, for her family was one of the desert tribes. one day my mind felt uncommonly anxious concerning her, and i resolved to seek relief by a visit; but when i reached the spot found neither my beloved nor any of her kindred. i questioned some passengers, who informed me that the family had removed their encampment from scarcity of forage for their herds and camels. i remained for some time on the ground; but observing no signs of their return, my impatience of absence became intolerable, and my love compelled me to travel in search of my charmer. though the shades of evening were falling, i replaced the saddle upon my camel, put on my vestments, and girding on my sabre proceeded. i had advanced some distance, when the night became dismally black, and from the darkness i now sunk into sands and hollows, and now ascended declivities, while the yells of wild beasts resounded on every quarter. my heart beat with apprehension, and my tongue did not cease to repeat the attributes of the almighty, our only defender in time of need. at length stupor overcame my senses, and i slept; while my camel quitted the track, and wandered from the route i had meant to pursue all night. suddenly my head was violently intercepted by the branch of a tree, and i was awakened by the blow, which gave me infinite pain. as i recovered myself i beheld trees, verdure sprinkled with flowers, and a clear rivulet; also a variety of birds, whose notes were melodiously sweet. i alighted from my camel, and laid the bridle on my arm, as the underwood of the thicket was closely entwined. i did not cease leading my camel till i was out of the thicket, when i remounted; but at a loss which way to go, and unknowing where providence might direct me, i reached the desert, and cast my eyes over the expanse; when, lo! at length a smoke appeared in the midst of it. i whipped my camel, and at length reached a fire, and near it observed a handsome tent, before which was a standard planted, surrounded by spears, horses picketted, and camels grazing. i said to myself, "what can mean this tent, which has a grand appearance, in so solitary a plain?" i then went to the rear of the tent, and exclaimed, "health to you, o inhabitants of this tent, and may the almighty to you be merciful!" upon this there advanced from it a youth, seemingly about nineteen, who appeared graceful as the rising moon, and valour and benevolence gleamed upon his aspect. he returned my salutation, and said, "brother arab, perchance thou hast missed thy way." i answered, "yes, shew it, and may god requite thee!" upon which he replied, "my dwelling, brother arab, is at present in this wild spot; but the night is dreary, and shouldst thou proceed there is no surety against wild beasts tearing thee in pieces. lodge, then, at present with me in safety, and repose, and when day shall appear i will direct thee on thy way." i alighted, when he took my camel, picketted her, and gave her water and fodder. he then retired for a while; but returned with a sheep, which he killed, flayed, and cut up; then lighted a fire, and when it was of a proper glow broiled part of the sheep, which he had previously seasoned with sundry dried herbs, seeds, and spices, and when ready presented his cookery to me. during his hospitalities i observed that my kind host sometimes beat his breast and wept, from which i guessed that he was in love, and a wanderer, like myself. my curiosity was raised; but i said within myself, "i am his guest, why should i intrude upon him by painful questions?" and refrained from inquiry. when i had eaten as much as sufficed me, the youth arose, went into his tent, and brought out a basin and ewer, with a napkin embroidered with silk and fringed with gold; also a cruet of rose water, in which musk had been infused. i was astonished at his proceedings, and the politeness of his demeanour, and exclaimed inwardly, "how wonderful is the abode of so accomplished a personage in this wild desert." we made our ablutions, and conversed awhile upon various subjects; after which my gentle host went to his tent, from whence he brought out a piece of red silk damask, which he divided between us, saying, "brother arab, go into my tent and choose thy place of repose, for last night and to-day great must have been thy hardship and fatigue." i entered the tent, and in one partition of it found a mattress of green damask: upon which, having pulled off my upper garments, i lay down, and slept so soundly that i never enjoyed, before or since, so refreshing a repose. at length i awoke, when night was far advanced, and became involved in thought respecting my hospitable host; but knew not what to conjecture, and was sinking again into slumber, when, lo! gentle murmurs struck my ears, than which i never heard sound more soft or tenderly affecting. i lifted up the curtain of my partition, and looked around, when i beheld a damsel more beautiful than any i had ever seen, seated by the generous owner of the tent. they wept and complained of the agonies of love, of separation and interruptions to their desire of frequent meetings. then i said within myself, "there is a wonderfully dignified appearance in this amiable youth, yet he lives alone, and i have seen no other tent on the plain. what can i conjecture, but that this damsel must be a daughter of one of the good genii, who has fallen in love with him, and upon her account he has retired to this solitary spot?" respect for their love made me drop the curtain; i drew the coverlid over me, and again fell asleep. when the morning dawned i awoke, dressed, and having performed my ablutions and prayers, said to the young man, who had already risen, "brother arab, if in addition to thy hospitalities already shewn thou wilt put me in my way, my obligations will be complete." he looked kindly, and said, "if convenient, my brother, let me entertain thee as my guest for three days." i could not refuse his hospitable request, and abode with him. on the third day i ventured to inquire his name and family, when he replied, "i am of the noble tribe of azzra," and i discovered that he was the son of my father's brother. "son of my uncle," exclaimed i, "what can have induced thee to court the seclusion of this desert spot, and to quit thy kinsmen, neighbours, and dependents?" upon hearing these words, the eyes of the youth became suffused with tears, he sighed, and said, "ah! my cousin, i passionately admired the daughter of my uncle, and was so devoted to her love that i asked her in marriage; but he refused me, and wedded her to another of our tribe richer than myself, who carried her to his abode. when she was thus torn from me, despair agitated my soul, i quitted my relations, friends, and companions, became enamoured of solitude, and retired to this lonely spot." when he had finished his communication, i said, "but where is the abode of thy beloved and thy successful rival?" he replied, "near the summit of yonder mountain, from whence, as frequently as opportunity will allow, in the stillness of night, when sleep hath overpowered the eyes of the village, she ventures to my tent, and we enjoy the company of each other; but believe me, my brother, our passion is innocent as devotional love. hence i dwell here in the manner you have witnessed, and while she visits me delightful will pass the hours, until allah shall execute his appointed decrees, and reward our constancy in this world, or consign us to the grave together." when the unfortunate youth had concluded his narration, at which i was affected with sincere compassion for his circumstances, an eager desire to relieve the lovers from their oppressors occupied my mind, and after much consideration i addressed him thus: "if thou choosest, i think i can point out a plan which, under the blessing of allah, may end the sufferings of thyself and thy beloved." he replied, "o son of my uncle, reveal it to me!" and i continued, saying, "when night shall arrive, and the damsel cometh, let us seat her upon my camel; for she is sure-footed and swift of pace; do thou then mount thy steed, and i will accompany you upon one of your camels. we will travel all night, and ere morning shall have passed the forest, when you will be safe, and thy heart will be rendered happy with thy beloved. the land of god is wide enough to afford us an asylum; and by heaven i swear, that while life remains i will be thy friend." the youth replied, "son of my uncle, i will consult upon thy plan with my beloved, for she is prudent and well-informed." when night had shut in, and the usual hour of the damsel's coming approached, my kind host impatiently expected her arrival; but in vain, for she did not appear. he rose, stood in the doorway of the tent, opened his mouth, and drew in the exhalations of the gale, then returned, sat down pensively for a few minutes, and at last bursting into tears, exclaimed, "ah! my cousin, there are no tidings of the daughter of my uncle, some, mishap must have befallen her. remain here while i go in search of intelligence." having said thus, he took up his sabre, his lance, and departed. when somewhat more than an hour had elapsed, i heard his footstep, and soon perceived him advancing, bearing something bulky in his arms, while he called loudly upon me in a distressful tone. i hastened towards him, and upon my arrival he exclaimed, "alas, alas! the beloved daughter of my uncle is no more, and i bear her remains. she was hastening, as usual, to my tent, when suddenly a lion sprung upon her in the path, and tore her in pieces. these relics are all that remain of my beloved." he then laid them down, and, lo! the thigh bones of the damsel and part of her ribs. he wept piteously, and said, "remain here till i return;" after which he departed with the swiftness of an arrow. in about an hour he returned, and in his hand was the head of the lion, which he threw down, and asked eagerly for water, which i brought him. he then washed his hands, cleansed the mouth of the lion, which he rapturously kissed, and wept bitterly for some moments. he then exclaimed, "by allah, i conjure thee, o son of my uncle, and by the ties of relationship between us, that thou observe my will; for within this hour i shall follow my beloved; be thou our mourner, and bury her remains with mine in the same grave." having said this, he retired into the sleeping partition of the tent; where he remained at his devotions for an hour, then came out, beat his breast, sighed deeply, and at length heaved his expiring groan, saying, "i come, i come, my beloved, i come!" and his pure soul took flight for the mansions of paradise. when i beheld his corpse, sad indeed was my condition, and from excess of sorrow i found it difficult to perform my promise; but at length i arose, washed, enshrouded, and laid the remains of these constant lovers in the same grave, near which i remained for three days in prayer and lamentation; after which i departed homewards: but have not failed annually to visit the spot, to bedew their grave with my tears, and pray for the mercy of allah to their souls and my own errors. story of the prince of sind, and fatima, daughter of amir bin naomaun. some ages back a certain sultan of sind had a son by a concubine, who behaved so rudely to his sultana, that she became dispirited and lost her health, which her favourite woman observing, resolved by stratagem to get rid of the prince. she advised her mistress, when he might next insult her, to say to him, "that he would never appear becoming his rank till he was beloved by fatima, daughter of a sultan named amir bin naomaun." the queen having followed the woman's directions, the prince resolved to travel to the country of the princess, and demand her in marriage. accordingly, having obtained the consent of the sultan his father, he departed with an attendance suitable to his rank. after marching for some time he entered a desert, which was covered with a numberless flight of locusts, that had fallen exhausted for want of food. pitying their distress, he ordered meal to be spread on the ground, when the locusts having refreshed themselves flew away. some days after this incident he reached a thick forest crowded with elephants, and herds of wild animals of every description; but as they did not attempt to attack him, and were in a starving condition, he ordered some of his cattle to be killed, and distributed to them for food. having satisfied themselves they retired, shewing every sign that dumbness would allow of being pleased with his kind treatment. on his march onwards the prince met a venerable old man, of whom he inquired the route to the territories of amir bin naomaun, and was informed that they were at no great distance; but only to be entered by a range of rugged and steep mountains composed of iron-stone, and next to impassable; also, that should he succeed in overcoming this difficulty, it was in vain to hope to attain the princess. the prince inquiring the reason, the old man continued, "sultan amir bin naomaun has resolved that no one shall wed his daughter unless he can perform three tasks which he will impose, and these are of so difficult a nature as not to be executed by the labour or ingenuity of man, and many unhappy princes have lost their heads in the attempt; for he puts them to death instantly on failure: be advised, therefore, and give up so fruitless an expedition." the prince, instead of listening to the admonition of the old man, resolved to proceed; and having requested his prayers and benedictions, continued his march. in a short time, having entered the passes of the mountains, he discovered vast caverns inhabited by a species of genii, who were employed in working upon masses of iron-stone, which they dug from the rock. the prince having entertained them with a hospitable feast, they, in return, shewed him the easiest route through the stupendous mountains, and he at length arrived in safety before the capital of sultan amir bin naomaun, to whom he sent an envoy, requesting leave to encamp on the plain, and to offer himself as a candidate for the beautiful princess his daughter. the sultan, in reply, acceded to his petition, and invited him to the palace; where, in the evening, he was led into a court, in which was placed an immense vessel filled with three kinds of grain mixed together, which (as his first task towards obtaining the princess) he was to separate entirely from each other, and put into three heaps; which if not accomplished before sunrise, he was then to forfeit his head in punishment for his temerity. it being now too late to recede, the prince resigned himself to providence; and the gates of the court being locked upon him, he prayed to allah, and began to separate the grains; but finding his progress vain, his spirits deserted him about midnight, and he left off his fruitless labour in despair, endeavouring to reconcile himself to death. while he was praying for fortitude to bear him up in his last moments, a voice was heard, saying, "be comforted, and receive the reward of thy charity to famished insects." immediately after this the heavens were obscured, as if by thick clouds, which descended on the court, when, lo! this phenomenon proved to be myriads of locusts; who, alighting on the vessel, in a few hours emptied it of all the grain, which they disposed of, each in its kind, in three several heaps, and having given a general buzzing of salutation, took flight, and vanished into the air. the prince was overjoyed at the miraculous accomplishment of his task by the grateful locusts, and having offered up thanks to allah and the prophet for his deliverance from impending destruction, composed himself to rest, doubting not but that they would assist him to overcome the two remaining labours. great was the surprise of the sultan amir bin naomaun, when, on coming at daylight to the court, he beheld his intended victim in a profound sleep, and the grain in three separate heaps, neatly piled up in the form of domes. the prince awaking, saluted him, and demanded to be informed of his next task; but the sultan put him off to the evening, until when he entertained him at the palace with a most magnificent feast; and his obdurate heart was so softened by the noble address and demeanour of his guest, that he wished he might be able to overcome the remaining impositions and become his son-in-law. the princess, also, who had the curiosity to look at him through the blinds of her apartments, was so fascinated with his appearance that she prayed for his success. when night had set in, the prince was conducted to an open plain in front of the palace, in the centre of which was a large reservoir full of clear water, which the sultan commanded him to drain off before sunrise, or forfeit his life. the prince remained alone on the brink of the reservoir with rather somewhat more hope of success than he had felt of overcoming his task of the preceding night; nor was he disappointed, for about midnight a voice was heard exclaiming, "prince, benevolence is never unrequited:" and, lo! the plain was filled with elephants, rhinoceroses, camels, dromedaries, lions, tigers, and every species of wild beasts, in such immense droves as could not be numbered, who, advancing in turn to the reservoir, drank in such quantity that it, at length, was completely emptied, and became as dry as if just finished. the beasts then expressing pleasure by their varying natural noises at having served their benefactor departed, and left him to enjoy the deliverance from the labour imposed upon him. the prince, now more assured than ever that he was the favourite of allah and the prophet, after offering up prayers with a relieved heart, slept comfortably in a building creeled on the margin of the reservoir, and was only awakened by the call of the sultan at sun-rise, who was more astonished at the accomplishment of this labour than the former, though certainly each was equally difficult. he conducted the prince to his palace, and the day was spent in the highest festivity. at the approach of night the prince was conducted to his third task, which was to complete and fit up before daylight from a vast mass of planks of the choicest timber ready stored the doors, windows, and balconies of an unfinished palace, much larger than that which the sultan inhabited. the prince at the apprehension of the consequences of failure was somewhat alarmed; but the recollection of his former aids supported him, and after offering up his devotions he sat down, composedly waiting for the decision of providence on his fate. his resignation was accepted, for at midnight he was roused from his contemplations by the sounds of sawing, planing, hammering, nailing, and the songs of happy work-men. looking up he perceived his friends of the iron mountains; who, all saluting him, cried out, "prince, set your heart at rest, for we are come to repay you for your hospitable feast." before daylight the palace was fitted up in a manner more elegant than can be described, and every door, window, and balcony painted with the most brilliant colours, flowered with silver and gold. the grateful labourers of the iron mountains having finished their work, respectfully saluted the prince and departed. the prince having taken a grateful leave of his useful friends, walked through the palace, and was eagerly employed in admiring its elegance and the magnificence of their finishing hand, when the sultan amir bin naomaun, who from his apartments at sun-rise had observed the miraculous completion, appeared, having hastened to examine the superb workmanship, and to congratulate his son-in-law, for as such he now acknowledged him, and as the favoured of allah, and of the last of prophets. he conducted the prince to the palace, and the most magnificent preparations being made, the nuptials with his daughter were celebrated in the new edifice, where the bride and bridegroom enjoyed themselves for three months, at the expiration of which the prince begged permission to return to his father's dominions, which he reached just in time to release him from the attack of an inimical sultan, who had invaded the country, and laid close siege to his capital. his father received him with rapture, and the prince having made an apology to the sultana for his former rude behaviour, she received his excuses, and having no child of her own readily adopted him as her son; so that the royal family lived henceforth in the utmost harmony, till the death of the sultan and sultana, when the prince succeeded to the empire. story of the lovers of syria; or, the heroine. there formerly dwelt in the city of damascus two brothers, one poor and the other rich, the former of whom had a son, and the latter a daughter. the poor man dying left his son, just emerging from infancy, to the protection of his wealthy uncle, who behaved to his unfortunate charge with paternal tenderness, till the youth, who had exchanged vows of love with his cousin, requested her in marriage; when the father refused, and expelled him from his house. the young lady, however, who ardently loved him, agreed to elope, and having one night escaped from her father's dwelling, repaired to the object of her affection; who, having had notice of her intentions, had prepared two horses and a mule to carry their baggage. they travelled all night, and by morning reached a sea-port, where they found a ship ready to sail, in which, having secured a passage, the lady immediately embarked; but the lover remained on shore to dispose of the horses and mule. while he was seeking for a purchaser in the market, a fair wind sprung up, and the master of the ship having weighed anchor, hoisted sail and departed: the lady in vain entreating him to wait the return of her beloved, or send her on shore, for he was captivated with her beauty. finding herself thus ensnared, as she was a woman of strong mind, instead of indulging in unavailing complaint, she assumed a satisfied air; and as the only way to preserve her honour, received the addresses of the treacherous master with pretended complacency, and consented to receive him as a husband at the first port at which the ship might touch. with these assurances he was contented, and behaved to her with honourable deference, and affectionate respect. at length the vessel anchored near a city, to which the captain went to make preparations for his marriage; but the lady, while he was on shore, addressed the ship's crew, setting forth with such force his treacherous conduct to herself, and offering such rewards if they would convey her to her lover at the port they had left, that the honest sailors were moved in her favour, agreed to obey her as their mistress, and hoisting sail, left the master to shift for himself. after some days of favourable weather, a contrary gale blowing hard, the vessel was driven far out of her course, and for shelter obliged to anchor in the first haven that offered, which proved to be that of a large city, the capital of a potent sultan, whose officers came on board to examine the vessel, and inquire into her cargo and destination. these men, to their great surprise, finding it commanded by a lady of exquisite beauty, reported her charms to the sultan, who resolved to possess them, and sent her an offer of marriage; to which she seemingly consented, and the sultan commanded the most splendid preparations to be made for the nuptials. when all was ready, he sent onboard the vessel the daughter of his vizier, with other ladies, thirty-nine in number, magnificently attired, to wait upon his bride, and attend her on shore. they were graciously received by the politic lady, and invited to refresh themselves in the grand cabin, which she had elegantly adorned with costly hangings, and prepared in it a superb collation, to which they sat down. she then dismissed the boats in which they came, sending a message to the sultan that she should entertain the ladies on board till the next morning, when she would repair on shore and conclude their marriage. she behaved towards her new guests with such winning affability, that they one and all admired their expected sultana, and partook of the entertainment with the highest satisfaction; but what was their surprise when, in the middle of the night, she commanded the crew to weigh anchor, having first warned them, on pain of her displeasure and immediate death, to keep silence, and raise no alarm in the harbour. the vessel sailed, and put to sea without being molested, when the intrepid commandress consoled the affrighted ladies, related to them her own adventures, and assured them that when she should have rejoined her lover, they should, if they chose it, be honourably restored to their homes; but in the mean time she hoped they would contentedly share her fortunes. this behaviour, by degrees, so won upon their minds, that the ladies forgot their sorrows, became pleased with their situation, and in a short time were so attached to their new mistress, that they would not have left her had it been in their power. after some weeks sail, it became necessary to steer towards the first coast that should present itself, to lay in a supply of fresh water and provisions, and land appearing, the vessel anchored, when the lady with her companions went on shore. here they were surrounded by forty robbers, who threatened to take them prisoners; when the heroic lady, desiring her friends to conceal their fears, assumed a smiling countenance, and addressing the chief of the banditti, assured him there would be no occasion for force, as she and her companions were ready to share their love, being women who were above the prejudices of their sex, and had devoted themselves to pleasure, in search of which they roved on board their vessel from one coast to another, and would now stay with them as long as they might wish for their company. this declaration suiting the depraved minds of the robbers, they laid aside their fierce looks and warlike weapons, bringing abundance of all sorts of provisions to regale their expected mistresses, with whom they sat down to a plentiful repast, which was heightened by a store of wines which the lady had brought in her boats from the ship. mirth and jollity prevailed; but the fumes of the liquors, in which the politic lady had infused strong opiates, suddenly operated upon their senses, and they fell down one and all in a state of stupefaction. she then with her companions drew the sabres of their brutal admirers and put them all to death excepting the chief, whom they bound hand and foot with strong cords, and after cutting off his beard and mustachios, tied his own cimeter round his neck, leaving him to feel mortification worse than death on the recovery of his senses, namely, the sight of his slaughtered fellows, and regret at the loss of his imagined happiness. the ladies then stripped the caves of the robbers of the vast wealth which they had hoarded up from their plunders, and having carried it on board their boats, with a stock of water and provisions, returned to the ship, weighed anchor, and sailed triumphant and rejoicing from such a dangerous coast. after some weeks' sail they again descried land, to which they approached, and discovered a spacious harbour, round which rose a vast city, the buildings of which were sublimely lofty, adorned with flights of marble steps to the water's edge, and crowned with domes and minarets topped with pinnacles of gold. the enterprising lady having anchored, clothed herself and her companions in magnificent male habits; after which she ordered the boats to be hoisted out, and they were rowed ashore by part of their crew richly dressed. on landing, they found all the inhabitants of the city in mourning, and making doleful lamentation for their late sultan, who had died only a few days before. the gallant appearance of a stranger so nobly attended created much surprise, and intelligence of the arrival was instantly conveyed to the vizier, who acted as regent till the election of a new monarch, which ceremony was just on the point of taking place. the minister, who thought he perceived in such a critical arrival the work of fate, immediately waited on the now supposed prince, whom he invited to be present at the election; at the same time informing him that when in this kingdom a sultan died without issue, the laws appointed that his successor should be chosen by the alighting of a bird on his shoulder, which bird would be let fly among the crowd assembled in the square before the palace. the seeming prince accepted the invitation, and with the disguised ladies was conducted to a gorgeous pavilion, open on all sides, to view the ceremony. the ominous bird being loosened from his chain, soared into the air to a great height, then gradually descending, flew round and round the square repeatedly, even with the faces of the spectators. at length it darted into the pavilion, where the lady and her companions were seated, fluttered around her head, and at length rested upon her shoulder, giving at the same time a cry of exultation, stretching its neck, and flapping its wings. immediately upon this, the viziers and courtiers bowed themselves to the ground, and the assembled crowd prostrated themselves on the earth, crying out, "long live our glorious sultan, the chosen of providence, the elected by the decrees of fate!" the disguised lady was instantly conducted to the palace, seated on a splendid throne, and proclaimed amidst the acclamations of the people, sovereign of an extensive empire; nor were the abilities of her mind unequal to the task of government. in a few days the vizier offered to the supposed sultan his daughter in marriage; and his offer being accepted, the nuptials were celebrated with the utmost magnificence; but what was the astonishment of the bride, when, instead of being caressed, the sultan on retiring with her became cold and reserved, rose from her, and spent the night in prayer. in the morning the sultana was questioned by her mother; who, on her relating the behaviour of the husband, observed, that possibly from his youth he might be over reserved; but that love would naturally in time operate its effect. several evenings past in the same manner, when the bride, mortified at such coldness, could no longer restrain herself, and said, "why, my lord, if you disliked me, did you take me to wife? but if you love not as other men, tell me so, and i will suffer my misfortune in silence." the lady, moved by this remonstrance, replied, "most virtuous princess, would that for your sake i were of the sex you suppose me; but, alas! i am like you a woman, disappointed in love." she then related to her the wonderful adventures she had undergone since leaving her father's house, at which the vizier's daughter was so affected that she vowed for her a lasting friendship, agreed to keep her secret, and live with her till such times as chance should restore her lover. in return for this kindness the lady promised that should the object of her affections ever arrive, he should marry them both, and that she should have the precedence in the ceremony of union. the two friends having thus agreed, the vizier's daughter regained her cheerfulness, and means were taken to convince her father, mother, and friends of the consummation of the nuptials. from this time they lived in perfect happiness together, one exercising the authority of sultan to the satisfaction of the subject, and the other acting the part of a satisfied and obedient wife; but still both were anxious to meet their mutual husband. as the capital of the kingdom was a mart for most nations of the world, the pretended sultan formed the following stratagem for discovering her beloved, not doubting but that he would travel over all parts of the world in search of the object of his affection. she erected a most magnificent caravanserai, furnished with baths hot and cold, and every convenience for the weary traveller. when it was finished, she issued a proclamation, that sojourners from all parts should be welcome to lodge in it, and be provided with every necessary till they could accommodate themselves in the city, or pursued, if only travellers, their journey to another part. over the gate of this edifice she placed an exact statue of herself, and gave orders to the guards that whatever stranger, on looking at it, should shew signs of agitation, or utter words signifying that he knew the original, should be immediately seized and confined in the palace. many weeks had not passed when the father of this enterprising lady, who had travelled many thousands of miles in search of his daughter, arrived at the gate, and on seeing the statue, exclaimed, "alas! alas! how like my poor, lost child!" he was immediately carried to the palace, lodged in a magnificent apartment, treated with the highest respect; but kept in complete ignorance as to the cause of his confinement and his future fate. not long after this, his disconsolate nephew, who, on the departure of the treacherous captain, had wandered from city to city in hopes of finding his mistress, arrived, and repaired to the caravanserai. on sight of the statue his feelings overcame him; he sighed and fainted: when he was taken up by the guards and lodged in the palace, where being come to himself, he was astonished at the respect and attention paid him by the domestics, and the splendid manner in which he was entertained; but it was in vain that he inquired the cause of his detention, the only answer he could get being, "have patience, my lord, and repose yourself till providence shall free you from our confinement." soon after this the master of the ship, who had visited port after port in hopes of recovering his vessel, reached the city, and hearing of the hospitality with which all strangers were received at the caravanserai of the sultan, repaired to the gateway; but no sooner had he cast his eyes on the statue, than he exclaimed, "ah! how like to the artful yet virtuous woman who cheated me of my property by stealing my ship." immediately he was seized by the guards, and conveyed to the palace, but treated with kindness. many days had not succeeded to this event, when the sultan and the vizier, whose daughter with the thirty-nine ladies had been so artfully carried away from them by the enterprising heroine of this history, made their appearance at the gateway of the caravanserai, and on beholding the statue, cried out, "surely this is the likeness of her who deprived us of our children; ah! that we could find her and be revenged on her hypocrisy!" on saying this they were apprehended and taken to the palace, where they were conducted to apartments suitable to their rank. in a few days afterwards the chief of the banditti, who, burning with the ireful resolution of revenging the deaths of his associates, had travelled from place to place in hopes of finding the object of his fury, arrived at the gateway, and observing the statue, roared out in a rage, "surely this is the resemblance of my tormenter; oh! that i could meet thy original, so that i might have the satisfaction of making her blood atone for the murder of my friends!" instantly, as he had spoken, the guards at the gate rushing upon him, bound him hand and foot, conveyed him to the palace, where he was confined in a loathsome dungeon, and fed on the coarsest viands. the pretended sultan having now all the parties in her power, one morning ascended her throne in full audience, and commanded them to be brought before her. when they had made their obeisance, she commanded them to relate the cause of their having journeyed to her capital; but the royal presence rendered them incapable of uttering a word: upon which she exclaimed, "since you cannot speak, i will;" and then discovered to their astonished minds the adventures of each, which had occasioned their travelling. she then discovered herself, and fell upon the necks of her father and lover, with whom she retired into the private apartments. the sultan and his vizier were made happy in the company of the daughter of the latter and the other ladies. the master of the ship, as his troubles had atoned for his irregular behaviour, was received into favour, and had his vessel restored; but the savage chief of the banditti was put to death, by being cast into a burning pile, that no further injury might be offered to mankind. in a few days, the most magnificent preparations being made, the double nuptials of the heroic lady and her friend the vizier's daughter were celebrated with her constant lover, to whom she resigned her throne, and the happy wives lived together in felicity, undisturbed by jealousy of the husband's attention to either, so equally did they share his love. the sultan and vizier, after being long entertained at the court, took leave, and returned, under an escort, to their own country; but the daughter and the thirty-nine ladies could not be prevailed upon to accompany them, only to visit and bid farewell to their parents, for such was their attachment to their gallant mistress, that they came back immediately, and were espoused to the principle nobles of her court. years of unusual happiness passed over the heads of the fortunate adventurers of this history, until death, the destroyer of all things, conducted them to a grave which must one day be the resting-place for ages of us all, till the receiving angel shall sound his trumpet. story of hyjauje, the tyrannical governor of coufeh, and the young syed. as hyjauje (the ommiad caliph) was was one day seated in his hall of audience, surrounded by his nobles and dependents, tremblingly awaiting his commands, for his countenance resembled that of an enraged lion, there suddenly entered, unceremoniously, into the assembly a beardless youth of noble but sickly aspect, arrayed in tattered garments, for misfortune had changed his original situation, and poverty had withered the freshness of his opening youth. he made the customary obeisance to the governor, who returned his salute, and said, "who art thou, boy? what hast thou to say, and wherefore hast thou intruded thyself into the company of princes, as if thou wert invited? who art thou, and of whom art thou the son?" "of my father and mother," replied the youth. "but how earnest thou here?" "in my clothes." "from whence?" "from behind me." "where art thou going?" "before me." "upon what dost thou travel?" "upon the earth" hyjauje, vexed at the pertness of the youth, exclaimed, "quit this trifling, and inform me whence thou comest." "from egypt." "art thou from cairo?" "why askest thou?" said the boy? "because," replied hyjauje, "her sands are of gold, and her river nile miraculously fruitful; but her women are wanton, free to every conqueror, and her men unstable." "i am not from thence, but from damascus," cried the youth. "then," said hyjauje, "thou art from a most rebellious place, filled with wretched inhabitants, a wavering race, neither jews nor christians." "but i am not from thence," replied the youth, "but from khorassan." "that is a most impure country," said hyjauje, "whose religion is worthless, for the inhabitants are of all barbarians the most savage. plunderers of flocks, they know not mercy, their poor are greedy, and their rich men misers." "i am not of them," cried the youth, "but of moussul." "then," exclaimed hyjauje, "thou art of an unnatural and adulterous race, whose youths are catamites, and whose old men are obstinate as asses." "but i am from yemen," said the boy. "if so," answered the tyrant, "thou belongest to a comfortless region, where the most honourable profession is robbery, where the middling ranks tan hides, and where a wretched poor spin wool and weave coarse mantles." "but i am from mecca," said the boy. "then," replied hyjauje, "thou comest from a mine of perverseness, stupidity, ignorance, and slothfulness; for from among its people god raised up his prophet, whom they disbelieved, rejected, and forced away to a strange nation, who loved, venerated, and assisted him in spite of the men of mecca. but whence comest thou, youth? for thy pertness is become troublesome, and my inclination leads me to punish thee for thy impertinence." "had i been assured that thou durst kill me," cried the youth, "i should not have appeared before thee; but thou canst not." "woe to thee, rash boy," exclaimed hyjauje; "who is he that can prevent my executing thee instantly?" "to thee be thy woe," replied the youth: "he can prevent thee who directs man and his inmost thoughts, and who never falsifieth his gracious promises." "he it is," cried the tyrant, "who instigates me to put thee to death." "withhold thy blaspheming," replied the youth; "it is not god, but satan that prompts thy mind to my murder, and with god i hope for refuge from the accursed: but know, that i am from the glorious medina, the seat of religion, virtue, respectability, and honour, descended of the race of bin ghalib, and family of ali, son of abou talib, whom god has glorified and approved, and will protect all his posterity, which you would extirpate; but you cannot root it out, for it will flourish even to the last day of the existence of this world." the tyrant was now overcome with rage, and commanded the youthful syed to be slain; but his nobles and officers interceded for him, saying, while they bowed their necks before him, "pardon, pardon; behold our heads and our lives a ransom for his! for god's sake accept our intercession, o ameer, for this youth is not deserving of death." "forbear your entreaties," exclaimed the tyrant, "for were an angel to cry from heaven, 'do not slay him!' i would not attend." upon this the young syed said, "thou ravest, o hyjauje; who art thou that an angel should be commissioned for thy sake?" the tyrant, struck with his magnanimity, became calm, and commanding the executioner to release the youth, said, "for the present i forbear, and will not kill thee unless thy answers to my further questions shall deserve it." they then entered on the following dialogue; hyjauje hoping to entrap him in discourse. hyjauje. how can the creature approach the perfection of the almighty? syed. by prayer, by fasting, by the commanded alms, by pilgrimage, and fighting for the cause of god. h. i serve him by shedding the blood of infidel man. you pretend that hassan and houssain, your ancestors, were descendants of the prophet; but how can that be, when god has declared in the koran mahummud was not of your obstinate race; but the prophet of god, and last of divine messengers? s. hear the answer to that in the verse following it. "hath not a prophet come unto you of your own nation? receive him, and from what he hath forbidden be forbidden." surely, then, god hath forbidden the shedding of the blood of him whom he sanctified. h. thou hast spoken justly, young man; but inform me what god hath daily and nightly commanded us as obligatory to do? s. to pray five times. h. what to observe in each year? s. to keep the month of ramzaun as a fast. h. what to perform in the course of life? s. to make a pilgrimage to mecca, the temple of god. h. truly said; but what hath mostly dignified and enlightened arabia? s. the tribe of koreish. h. wherefore? s. because of our holy prophet's being a member of it. h. who were the most skilful in horsemanship in all arabia, the most valiant, and of best conduct in war? s. the tribe of hashim. h. why think you so? s. because my grandfather imaum ali, son of abou talib, was one of it. h. what tribe of arabs is most famous for benevolence, and celebrated for liberality? s. the family of tai. h. wherefore? s. because hatim belonged to it. h. which of the tribes have been most disgraceful to arabia, and most oppressive to its inhabitants? s. the tribe of sukkeef. h. why so? s. because thou belongest to it. the tyrant could scarcely now contain his anger; but said, hoping to cut the youth off from reply, "tell me, is the capricorn of the heavens male or female?" to which he answered, "shew me its tail, that i may inform thee." the tyrant laughed, and continued his questions as follows: h. wert thou ever in love? s. yes, completely immersed in it. h. with whom? s. with my god, who will, i trust, pardon me for my errors, and deliver me from thee this day. h. knowest thou thy god? s. yes. h. by what means? s. by the scriptures, which he caused to descend to his prophet. h. dost thou guard the koran? s. does it fly from me, that i should guard it? h. what dost thou learn from it? s. that god commanded its rules to be obeyed. h. hast thou read and understood it? s. yes. h. if so, tell me, first, what passage in it is most sublime. secondly, which most commanding. thirdly, which most just. fourthly, which most alarming. fifthly, which most encouraging. sixthly, that which jews and christians both believe in. seventhly, that in which god has spoken purely of himself; that where he speaks of the angels; that in which he mentions the prophets; that where he alludes to those destined to paradise; and that in which he speaks of those devoted to hell; that which includes ten points; and that which eblis the accursed delivered. s. by god's help i will answer thee. the most sublime passage is the koorsee: the most commanding, "god insisteth on justice:" the most just, "whoever diminishes the least of a measure, god will requite him doubly, and the same to whoever addeth the least:" the most alarming, "all expect to enter paradise:" the most encouraging, "o my servants, who have mortified yourselves, despair not of the mercy of god!" that in which are ten points, "god created the heavens and the earth, the revolutions of night and day; also, the firmament over the waters that it might profit man:" that which is believed alike by jews and christians, "the jew saith that the christian is in error, and the christian saith that the jew is mistaken, they both believe so; and both are in error:" that in which god hath spoken purely of himself, "i have not created genii and men but to worship me:" that in which he speaks of the angels, "they said, we have no knowledge, but what thou hast taught us; for thou only art wise and all-knowing:" that which speaks of the prophets, "how could we deliver you a verse without the order of god, on whom the faithful will rely:" that which mentions the devoted to hell, "god hath cast us down from heaven, for we were transgressors:" that which describes the blessed, "praised be god, who hath divested us of all sorrow, for our lord is merciful and gracious:" that which satan spoke, "none will profit by thy mercy but thy servants the blessed." hyjauje involuntarily exclaimed, "praised be god, who giveth wisdom to whom it pleaseth him; but i have found none so learned of such tender age." having thus spoken, he put many other questions to the youth in every science, and he answered them so readily that the tyrant was overcome with admiration, and offered him a residence at his court; but the young man declined it, and requested his dismission, which he granted, conferring upon him a beautiful female slave richly habited, a thousand pieces of gold, and a steed elegantly caparisoned. the courtiers were astonished at the bounty of the tyrant, which he perceiving, said, "be not surprised, for the advice he hath given me was worthy of reward, and 'cursed is he who doth not requite a sincere adviser,' declareth our sacred koran." story of ins al wujjood and wird al ikmaum, daughter of ibrahim, vizier to sultan shamikh. many ages past there was a very powerful sultan who had a vizier named ibrahim, and this minister had a daughter the most beautiful of her sex and accomplished of her age, so that she became distinguished by the appellation of wird al ikmaum, or the rose among flowers. it was the custom of sultan shamikh to hold annually a general assembly of all the nobles of his kingdom, and persons eminent for science or the arts, during which they were magnificently entertained at the royal expense. the former displayed their prowess in martial exercises before the sovereign, and the latter the productions of their genius and skill; when valuable prizes were bestowed by the arbitration of appointed judges on those who deserved them. on one of the days of this festival, the vizier's daughter from a latticed balcony of the palace, in which she sat to view the sports, was so struck with the manly figure and agility of a young nobleman named ins al wujjood (or the perfection of human nature), that love took possession of her mind. she pointed him out to a female confidant, and gave her a letter to convey to the object of her affections. the young nobleman, who had heard her praises, was enraptured by his good fortune, and the next day, having obtained as full a sight of her beauties as could be had through the golden wires of the balcony, retired overcome by love. letters now passed daily, and almost hourly, between them; but they were impatient for a meeting, which was at length planned; but the note fixing the place and time was unfortunately dropped by the confidant and carried to the vizier; who, alarmed for the honour of his family, sent his daughter the same night to a far distant castle belonging to himself, and situated on an island in a vast lake, surrounded by mountainous deserts thinly inhabited. the unfortunate lady was obliged to submit to her fate, but before her departure contrived to write on the outside of her balcony the following words, "they are carrying me off, but i know not where." in the morning her lover repairing, as usual, in hopes of seeing his mistress in the balcony, read the unwelcome intelligence, which for a time deprived him of his senses. when somewhat recovered he resolved to leave the court, though then the chief favourite of the sultan, and go in search of his beloved. having put on the habit of a wandering devotee, he, on the following evening, quitted the city, and recommending himself to providence, set out, but knew not whither. many weeks did he travel, but could find no traces of his beloved object; when suddenly, passing through a thick forest, there met him a monstrous lion, from whom he thought it impossible to escape, and having uttered a prayer for the happiness of his beloved, and repeated the testimony of martyrdom, he resigned himself to his fate, and waited the spring of his expected devourer. what was his surprise when the majestic animal, instead of making him his prey, on approaching close to him, having looked compassionately in his face, licked his hands, and turning round, walked gently onwards, moving his head, as if to signify the youth should follow him. ins al wujjood did so, and was conducted through the forest by the lion; who, ascending a high mountain, suddenly stopped at the entrance of a cave, to which was a door of iron, then moving his head, and once more licking the hands of his companion, the generous animal left him, and retired back to the woods. the youth now went to the cave, and having knocked at the door, it was opened by a venerable hermit, who bade him welcome, brought him warm water to wash his feet, and set before him refreshments of various kinds. when he had eaten, he inquired the cause of his coming to such a desolate country; and ins al wujjood having related his adventures, the old man exclaimed, "thou art a favourite of heaven, or the lion would have devoured thee; despair not, therefore, of success, for my mind presages that thou wilt be happy, nor shalt thou want my assistance." ins al wujjood having thanked him for his hospitality and generous offers, the hermit informed him, that for nearly twenty years past he had not beheld a human face till a few days prior to his coming, when, wandering over the mountains, he had seen an encampment on the margin of the great lake below, in which appeared a crowd of men and women, some very richly habited, part of whom had embarked on board a stately yacht, and the remainder having taken leave of them, struck their tents, and returned by the road they had come. "most probably," said the hermit, "the yacht may have conveyed thy mistress to the castle which stands on an island in the middle of the lake, and if so thou shalt soon be safely landed: for the rest providence must be thy guide. i will this night remember thee in my prayers, and meditate on what can be done for thy benefit." having said this, the hermit conducted the wanderer to a chamber, and left him to his repose. the beautiful wird al ikmaum during this time remained overwhelmed with uneasiness in her confinement, and it was in vain that her attendants tried to amuse her. she wandered melancholy through the magnificent gardens of the castle, the groves of which were filled with every variety of birds, whose harmony was delightful; but the soft cooing of the turtle dove and the plaintive note of the lovelorn nightingale alone caught her attention. to these she would listen for hours together, reclined on a mossy bank, and fancy their pensive strains the language of her beloved. such was her daily employment, nor would she quit the garden till forced by her attendants to take shelter from the falling dews of night. we now return to her lover. fatigue and the consoling assurances of the friendly hermit had greatly composed the mind of ins al wujjood, who enjoyed a refreshing sleep, nor did he awake till the sun was mounted high in the heavens, when he joined his venerable host in his devotions; after which they partook of a repast of bread, milk, and fresh fruits. this ended, the old man requested him to fetch from the forest a bundle of the filaments of palm bark, which, when brought to him, he plaited into a shape resembling a little boat, and giving it to ins al wujjood, said, "repair to the lake, and put this into the water, when it will become instantly large enough to hold thee, then embark in it, and trust to heaven for the rest. farewell!" ins al wujjood having taken leave of his venerable friend the hermit, with many thanks, did as he had been commanded, and soon arrived on the margin of the lake, into which he launched his little vessel, when, to his great surprise, it instantaneously became a handsome boat with the sails set. he got into it, and a fair wind springing up was soon out of sight of land. for some days he was wafted over the deep; but at length the shore of an island appeared, on which he landed, and made his boat fast to the trunk of a large tree. he then walked into the country, and found it beautifully interspersed with green meadows, clear streams, and shady groves of bending fruit trees, on the branches of which all sorts of birds were warbling in their different strains. having refreshed himself with several fruits, he proceeded onwards, and at length came in sight of a superb edifice, to the gateway of which he advanced; but found it locked. for three days he waited in hopes of seeing some of its inhabitants, but in vain. however on the fourth morning the gate was opened by a man, who seeing ins al wujjood, advanced towards him, and inquired who he was, whence he came, and what was his reason for waiting at the gate. "i am of ispahaun," replied ins al wujjood, "and was shipwrecked in a trading voyage upon this coast, to the shore of which i alone of all my companions had the good fortune to escape." upon hearing this the man burst into tears, embraced him, and said, "may god preserve thee from future calamities! i am also a native of ispahaun, where also dwelt my cousin, whom i dearly loved, and by whom i was beloved. at this happy period of my youth a nation stronger than ours made war against us, overcame us, and among other captives forced me from my country; after which they sold me as a slave to my present master: but come, my dear countryman, enter the palace, and repose thyself in my apartment, where we will endeavour to console each other under our misfortunes till providence shall restore us to our homes." ins al wujjood gladly accepted such a friendly invitation, and on entering the court beheld a lofty and wide-spreading tree, from the branches of which were suspended several golden cages, each inhabited by a beautiful bird, and each striving to rival the other in melody, as if in welcome of his approach. he inquired of his host to whom the splendid edifice belonged, and was informed to the vizier of sultan shamikh; who, to secure his daughter from the vicissitudes of fortune, had lodged her here, and only visited her annually to inquire after her health, and bring the necessary supplies for her convenience and the support of her attendants in the castle. upon hearing the above circumstances, ins al wujjood was nearly overcome with ecstacy; but restraining his feelings, exclaimed to himself, "at length i have reached the abode of my beloved, and may hope for success;" which was yet, however, afar off. his charming mistress, little thinking that her lover was so near, and weary of absence and the solitude of her abode, had that very evening resolved to escape from confinement. in the darkness of night she accordingly let herself down from the battlements by a silken rope, which she had twisted from slips of various robes, and reached the ground unhurt. with haste she fled towards the sea shore, where she perceived a fishing boat, the owner of which, though at first alarmed, supposing her, from her dazzling appearance (for she was covered with jewels), to be an ensnaring genie, at length, on her assurances that she was really a woman, admitted her into his vessel. she thanked him for his kindness, which she rewarded by the gift of many rich jewels, and requested to be conveyed across the lake. the fisherman hoisted sail, and for some hours the wind was prosperous; but now a heavy tempest arose, which tossed them constantly in imminent danger for three days, and drove them far from their intended course. at length the gale subsided, the sea became assuaged, and land appeared. as they approached the shore a stately city rose to their view, the buildings of which seemed unusually magnificent. under the terrace of the sultan's palace they safely, at last, cast anchor; and it chanced that the prince, who was named dara, was then sitting with his daughter in a balcony to enjoy the fresh sea breeze, and the view of the extensive harbour, crowded with the vessels of every country. perceiving the boat, the sultan commanded his officers to bring the master and his crew to the presence. great was his surprise at the introduction of the beautiful wird al ikmaum. from her rich dress, dignified air, and demeanour, he concluded her to be of superior rank, and having seated her near his daughter, he graciously requested to be informed of the name of her country, and the cause of her having travelled to his capital; to which she replied in eloquent language, giving a summary detail of all her adventures. the sultan consoled her by encouraging assurances of his protection, promised to exert his authority to effect a union with her beloved, and immediately dispatched his vizier with costly presents to sultan shamikh, requesting him to send ins al wujjood to his court. the vizier, after a prosperous voyage, having reached the capital of sultan shamikh, presented his offerings, and made known the request of his master; to which the sultan replied, that nearly a year had elapsed since ins al wujjood had, to his great regret, absented himself from his court, nor had any tidings been obtained of the place of his retirement; but that he would order his vizier to accompany the ambassador in search of his retreat, being willing to oblige his master the sultan to the utmost of his power. accordingly, after a repose of some days, the two viziers departed in search of ins al wujjood, but without knowing where to bend their journey. at length they reached the shore of the ocean of kunnooz, on which they embarked in a hired vessel, and sailed to the mountainous island of tukkalla, of which the vizier of sultan shamikh gave to his companion the following account. "this island was some ages back inhabited by genii; a princess of whom became violently enamoured of a handsome young man, a son of an ameer of the city of misr, or cairo, whom she beheld in her flight sleeping in his father's garden in the heat of the day. she sat down by him, and having gently awoke him, the youth, on looking up, to his astonishment and rapture saw a most beautiful damsel who courted his addresses: he was not backward in offering them; and mutual protestations of love and constancy took place. after some hours of happiness the genie princess took an affectionate leave, promising soon to visit him again, and vanished from sight. the youth remained musing on his fortunate adventure till the dews of night began to fall, when his parents, fearful of some injury, sent attendants to conduct him to their palace, but he refused to go; and talked, as it appeared to them, so incoherently concerning his beloved, that they thought him distracted; seized him roughly, and forced him homewards. his father and mother were alarmed: it was in vain that they courted him to partake of refreshment; he was sullen and gloomy, and at length abruptly retired to his chamber, where he remained in restless anxiety all night, waiting impatiently for morning, that he might revisit the happy spot where his charmer had promised again to meet him. "at early dawn the ameer's son repaired to the garden, and was soon gratified with the sight of his beloved; but while they were exchanging mutual protestations of regard, the mother of the genie princess, who had suspected from her daughter's conduct that she was carrying on some intrigue, and had followed her in the air unperceived, suddenly appeared. rushing upon the lovers, she seized her daughter by the hair, beat, and abused her in the harshest language for having disgraced the honour of the genii by an amour with a wretched son of mortality: to all which the genie princess replied, that her remonstrances were vain; she had fixed her affections, and would rather be torn into a thousand pieces than desert the object of her heart. the mother upon this finding the case desperate, and being herself softened by the uncommon beauty of the youth, who had fallen at her feet, entreating mercy for his beloved, at length relented, and agreed to sanctify their loves by her consent to their marriage. it was accordingly celebrated; and this island, which after the name of the genie princess was called tukkalla, was fixed upon for the place of their residence. its magnificent palace still remains, after the lapse of many ages, and is at present in my possession. here i hope to meet my only daughter, whom i brought to reside in it nearly a year ago, to secure her from the attempts of a young courtier, on whom she had, against my consent, fixed her affections." the two viziers now disembarked, and proceeded up the island; but what was the astonishment and mortification of ibrahim on learning, when he arrived at the palace, that his daughter had escaped, nor had the attendants heard of her since her departure, though they had repeatedly searched every quarter of the island. perceiving among his attendants whom he had left at the palace a strange young man of pallid countenance, wasted frame, and melancholy air, the vizier inquired how he had come among them; and received for reply, that he was a shipwrecked merchant of ispahaun, whom they had taken in for the sake of charity. ibrahim now requested of the vizier of sultan dara that he would return to his master, and inform him of their vain search after ins al wujjood; at the same time desiring him to receive into his suite the supposed merchant as far as the city of ispahaun, which lay in his route. to this the vizier of sultan dara consented: and the two ministers having taken a friendly leave of each other separated, and departed for their several capitals. the vizier of sultan dara, in the course of the journey, became so pleased with the agreeable manners of the supposed merchant, that he often conversed with him familiarly; and at length the young man, emboldened by his condescending attention, ventured to inquire the cause of his travels to regions so distant from his own country: upon which he was informed of the arrival of the beautiful wird al ikmaum at the court of sultan dara; of the compassion of that sultan for her misfortunes; his generous protection; and his own fruitless mission in search of her lover ins al wujjood. a this happy intelligence, the latter, overcome with ecstacy, could no longer contain himself, but discovered who he was; and the vizier was also overjoyed at knowing, when least expected, that he had found the despaired of object of his long journey. he embraced the young man, congratulated him upon the speedy termination of absence from his beloved, and the happy union which awaited him. he then made him an inmate of his own tents, supplied him with rich attire, and every necessary becoming the condition of a person for whose fortunes he knew his sovereign to be so highly concerned. ins al wujjood, now easy in mind, and renovated by the happy prospects before him, daily recovered health and strength, so that by the time of their arrival at the capital of sultan dara he had regained his pristine manliness and vigour. when the vizier waited upon his master the sultan dara to communicate his successful commission, the sultan commanded the youth to his presence. ins al wujjood performed the usual obeisance of kissing the ground before the throne, with the graceful demeanour of one who had been used to a court. the sultan graciously returned his salutation, and commanded him to be seated; after which he requested him to relate his adventures, which he did in eloquent language, interspersing in his narrative poetical quotations, and extempore verses applicable to the various incidents and situations. the sultan was charmed with his story; and when he had finished its relation, sent for a cauzee and witnesses to tie the marriage knot between the happy ins al wujjood and the beautiful wird al ikmaum; at the same time dispatching a messenger to announce the celebration of the nuptials to sultan shamikh and ibrahim his vizier, who were bewailing their supposed irrecoverable losses; one that of his favourite, and the latter that of his daughter. sultan dara detained the happy couple at his court for some time, after which he dismissed them with valuable presents to their own country, which they reached in safety, and were received with the most heart-felt rejoicings by the sultan and the repentant vizier, who now recompensed them by his kindness for the former cruelty of his behaviour towards them; so that in favour with the sultan, and happy in their own family, the lovers henceforth enjoyed every earthly felicity, sweetened by the reflection on past distresses, till the angel of death summoned them to submit to the final destination of mortality. the adventures of mazin of khorassaun. in ancient days there resided in the city of khorassaun a youth named mazin, who, though brought up by his mother, a poor widow, to the humble occupation of a dyer, was so celebrated for his personal accomplishments and capacity as to become the admiration of crowds, who daily flocked to his shop to enjoy the pleasure of his conversation. this young man was as good as he was able, nor did flattery take away his humility, or make him dissatisfied with his laborious occupation, which he followed with industry unceasing, and maintained his mother and himself decently from the fruits of his labour. so delicate was his taste in the choice of colours, that veils, turbans, and vests of mazin's dyeing were sought after by all the young and gay of khorassaun; and many of the females would often cast a wishful glance at him from under their veils as they gave him their orders. mazin, however, was destined by fate not always to remain a dyer, but for higher fortunes and surprising adventures. as he was one day busy in his occupation, a man of hijjem came to his shop, and after looking at him earnestly for some moments, exclaimed, "alas, that such a noble youth should be confined to drudge at so mean an employment!" "i thank you, father, for your compassion," replied mazin, "but honest industry can never be disgraceful." "true," said the old man of hijjem, "yet if providence puts affluence and distinction in our way, should we refuse it?" "by no means," said mazin; "canst thou point me out the way to it without making me forfeit my integrity? if so, i assure thee i am not so fond of my trade but i would be glad to live at ease in an honest manner without it; for i should like to enjoy leisure to follow my studies, which have already gained me some little celebrity." "son," said the hijjemmee, "thy wishes shall be satisfied: thou hast no father, but i will be one to thee; from this instant i adopt thee as my son. i possess the art of transmuting common metals into gold: be ready at thy shop early in the morning, when i will meet thee. farewell!" having thus said, the old man took leave. mazin's curiosity and ambition were raised: he shut up his shop sooner than usual, and returned with a full heart to his mother, to whom he communicated the offered kindness of the hijjemmee. the good woman, after some moments of reflection, said, "son, i fear some evil lurks under this apparent kindness, for we live in wicked days, when men profess more than they mean to do for the sake of attaining an object; be cautious then, and do not till thou hast proof of his sincerity regard his office. we have at present all we want, and what can riches give more?" mazin agreed to the propriety of his mother's advice, and promised to be wary. they ate their usual cheerful meal, and retired to rest; but the young man could sleep but little, and he longed with impatience for the morning that was to put him into possession of the art of transmuting metals into gold. the morning arrived, and mazin repaired impatiently to his shop, where he had soon after the satisfaction of seeing his adopted father, who came bearing in his hands a crucible. "welcome, son!" "welcome, father!" was the mutual salutation; after which the hijjemmee desired mazin to kindle a fire: he did so, when the old man inquired of mazin if he had any old metal, iron, brass, copper, &c. mazin produced some pieces of an old pot of the latter metal, which were put into the crucible. when melted, the hijiemmee took from his turban a paper containing powder of a yellowish hue, which he threw into the crucible, over which he repeated some cabalistic words while he stirred the melting metal. at length he took it from the fire, and to his astonishment mazin beheld a large lump of pure gold, which the hijiemmee desired him to carry to a goldsmith's and get it exchanged for coin he did did so, and received a handsome sum, with which he returned to his adopted father. "well, my son," said the hijjemmee, "art thou now convinced of my skill, and my sincerity in offering to promote thy fortunes?" "i am," said mazin, "and am ready to follow wherever thou choosest, in hopes of learning this invaluable secret" "that shall soon be thine," replied the transmuter of metals; "i will sup with thee this evening, and in the privacy of retirement give thee the necessary instruction." mazin, overjoyed, immediately shut up his shop, and with his adopted father repaired to his own house, where he seated him in his best apartment. he then went to his mother, desiring that she would go and spend the night at a neighbour's, shewing her the gold which his broken copper had procured, as a proof of the sincerity of his new friend. the old lady no longer doubted upon such evidence, and cheerfully took leave and departed to a friend's house. mazin next went to a cook's shop, from which he returned laden with every sort of refreshment, nor was wine forgotten, though forbidden to the faithful. the adopted father and son ate heartily, at the same time pushing about the spirit-stirring liquor, till at last mazin, who had not been used to drink wine, became intoxicated. the wily magician, for such in fact was his pretended friend, watching his opportunity, infused into the goblet of his unsuspecting host a certain potent drug, which mazin had scarcely drunk oft, when he fell back upon his cushion totally insensible, the treacherous wizard tumbled him into a large chest, and shutting the lid, locked it. he then ransacked the apartments of the house of every thing portable worth having, which, with the gold, he put into another chest, then fetching in porters, he made them take up the chests and follow him to the seaside, where a vessel waited his orders to sail, and embarked with the unfortunate mazin and his plunder. the anchor was weighed, and the wind being fair, the ship was soon out of sight of the land. mazin's mother early in the morning returning to her house found the door open, her son missing, and the rooms ransacked of all her valuables. she gave a loud shriek, tore her hair, beat her bosom, and threw herself on the ground, crying out for her son, who she thought must have been murdered by the treacherous magician, against whose professions she had warned him to be cautious, till the sight of the transmuted gold had deceived her, as well as the unfortunate victim of his accursed arts. some neighbours hearing her lamentations rushed in, lifted her from the ground, and inquired the cause of her distress; which, when informed of, they endeavoured to alleviate by every consolation in their power, but in vain: the afflicted old lady was not to be comforted. she commanded a tombstone to be raised in the court-yard, over which she sat night and day bewailing her son, taking scarcely food sufficient to preserve her miserable existence. the infidel hijjemmee, who was a wicked magician and a worshipper of fire, by name bharam, hated the true believers, one of whom annually for several years past he had inveigled by his offers of instructing in the science of transmuting metals into his power; and after making him subservient to his purposes in procuring the ingredients necessary for his art, had treacherously put him to death, lest the secret should be divulged: such was now his intention towards the unfortunate mazin. on the evening of the second day after the sailing of the vessel, bharam thought proper to awaken his victim to a sense of his misery. he opened the chest, which had been placed in his cabin, and poured a certain liquid down the throat of mazin, who instantly sneezed several times; then opening his eyes, gazed for some minutes wildly around him. at length, seeing the magician, observing the sea, and feeling the motion of the ship, his mind surmised to him the misfortune which had happened; and he guessed his having fallen into the snares of the treacherous bharam, against which his mother had warned him, but in vain. still, being a virtuous mussulmaun, he would not complain against the decrees of heaven; and instead of lamentation uttered the following verse of the sacred koran: "there is no support or refuge but from the almighty, whose we are, and to whom we must return. deal gently with me, o my god, in the dictates of thy omnipotence; and make me resigned under thy chastening, o lord of all being." having finished the above prayer, mazin turning humbly towards his accursed betrayer, said in a supplicating tone, "what hast thou done, my father? didst thou not promise me enjoyment and pleasure?" the magician, after striking him, with a scowling and malignant sneer, exclaimed, "thou dog! son of a dog! my pleasure is in thy destruction. nine and thirty such ill-devoted wretches as thyself have i already sacrificed, and thou shalt make the fortieth victim to my enjoyment, unless thou wilt abjure thy faith, and become, like me, a worshipper of the sacred fire, in which case thou shalt be my son, and i will teach thee the art of making gold." "cursed be thou, thy religion, and thy art," exclaimed the enraged mazin: "god forbid that for the pleasures of this world i should apostatize from our holy prophet, and give up the glorious rewards reserved in certain store for his faithful disciples. thou mayest indeed destroy my body, but my soul despises thy torments" "vile dog!" roared out the now furious sorcerer, "i will try thy constancy." he then called in his slaves, who held mazin on the floor of the cabin while their abominable master beat him with a knotted whip till he was covered with a gore of blood, but the resolute youth, instead of complaining, uttered only prayers to heaven for divine support under his pangs, and strength of fortitude to acquire the glory of martyrdom. at length the magician, exhausted by his cruel exercise, desisted, and making his slaves load his unfortunate victim with heavy fetters, chained him down with only a coarse mat to lie upon in a dark closet, in which was placed some stinking water and coarse bread, just sufficient to keep up his miserable existence. mazin's courage was not to be overcome he washed his wounds, and comforted himself with the hope that if he died he should enjoy the blisses of paradise, or if providence had decreed his continuance in life, that the same providence would present a mode of relief from his present and future afflictions. in this assurance he took a little of his wretched fare, and in spite of the agony of his wounds fell asleep, but only to awake to fresh misery in the morning he was again persecuted by his cruel tormentor, who for three months daily harassed him with blows, with revilings, and every sort of insult that malice could invent or cruelty devise. hitherto the wind had been fair, and the vessel had nearly reached the desired haven, when suddenly it changed, and a most tremendous storm arose the waves threatened to swallow up or dash the vessel in pieces, so that all gave themselves over for lost. at this crisis the sailors, who believed that the tempest was sent by heaven as a judgment for their suffering the unfortunate mazin to be so cruelly tormented, went in a body to the accursed bharam, and accused him of having brought down the wrath of god upon the crew by his persecution of the young mussulmaun; at the same time threatening to cast him overboard if he did not instantly release the youth from his confinement. to show the seriousness of their resolves, the sailors seized the slaves who had been the instruments of the magician's cruelty, and threw them into the sea, which so alarmed the treacherous bharam that he immediately released mazin from his chains, fell at his feet, begging pardon for his hard usage, and promising if they escaped the storm to conduct him safely to his own country, and fulfil his promise of instructing him in the secret of making gold. wonderful to relate! but no sooner was mazin freed from his fetters than the violence of the tempest lessened, by degrees the winds subsided, the waves abated their swell, and the sea no longer threatened to overwhelm them: in a few hours all was calm and security, and a prosperous gale enabled the shattered vessel to resume her course. the sailors now regarding mazin as one immediately befriended by heaven, treated him with the greatest respect and attention; and the hypocritical magician pretending sorrow for his late cruelties, strove to procure his forgiveness and good opinion by every art of flattery and affected contrition; which had such an effect on the ingenuous youth that he forgot his treachery, again believed his fair promises and assurances that the torments he had undergone had only been inflicted as trials of his constancy and belief in the true religion, virtues necessary to be proved before the grand secret of transmuting metals could be trusted to his keeping. the remainder of the voyage was prosperous and happy, and at the expiration of three months more the vessel anchored on the wished for coast, which was rocky, and the beach strewed with pebbles of every colour. the magician having given orders to the master of the vessel to wait a month for their return, disembarked with mazin, and they proceeded together into the country. when they had got out of sight of the ship the magician sat down, and taking from his vestband a small drum, began to beat upon it with two sticks, when instantly a whirlwind arose, and a thick column of dust rolled towards them from the desert. mazin was alarmed, and began to repent having left the vessel; when the magician, seeing his colour change, desired him to calm his apprehensions, for which there was no cause, that he had only to obey his orders and be happy. he had scarcely spoken when the wind ceased, the dust dispersed, and three camels stood before them, one of which was laden with water and provisions; the others were bridled and very richly caparisoned. bharam having mounted one, and, at his desire, mazin the other, they travelled without ceasing, except to take the necessary refreshment and repose, for seven days and nights successively over a wild and sandy desert. on the eighth morning they reached a beautifully fertile tract, delightfully watered by clear streams; the ground verdant, shaded by spreading trees laden with fruit, on whose branches various birds warbled melodiously, and beneath them antelopes and other forest animals sported unmolested. at the end of a thick avenue rose to view a capacious dome of blue and green enamel, resting upon four columns of solid gold, each pillar exceeding in value the treasures of the sovereigns of persia and greece. they approached the dome, stopped their camels and dismounted, and turned the animals to graze. this splendid building was surrounded by a delightful garden, in which the now happy mazin and the magician reposed themselves all that day and night. at some distance from this enchanting spot appeared a stupendous fabric, whose numerous turrets and lofty pinnacles glittered to the eye, and denoted a palace of uncommon magnificence, so that the curiosity of mazin was raised, and he could not help inquiring of his companion to whom such a superb edifice might belong. the magician, rather roughly, desired him for the present to ask no questions concerning a place which belonged to his most bitter enemies, who were evil genii, and of whom at a proper time he would give him the history. mazim was silent, but from the magician's manner he began to forbode some new treachery. in the morning bharam beat his magical drum, and the three camels appealed, when mazim and his companion mounted, pursuing their journey in the same manner as before for seven days, with a speed more resembling flight than the pace of travel, for their camels were supernatural. on the eighth morning the magician inquired of mazim what he saw on the horizon. "i behold," said he, "to appearance, a range of thick black clouds extending from east to west." "they are not clouds," replied bharam, "but lofty mountains, called the jubbal al sohaub, or mountains of clouds, from their cloud-like appearance, on their summit lies the object of our journey, which with thy assistance we shall soon obtain, and return to our vessel more enriched than all the sovereigns of the world, but thou must be sure to obey me in whatever i may command." mazin promised to do so, but his heart trembled within him as he beheld the gloomy prospect before him, and recollected the boast which the accursed magician had made of his having sacrificed thirty-nine youthful victims on these mountains, and also his threat on board the ship to make the fortieth offering of himself. he repented of having trusted himself from the vessel, but it was now too late to recede. he resigned himself to the same providence who had relieved his sufferings in his voyage, and concealed, as well as he could, his uneasiness from the magician, who now endeavoured to sooth and flatter him with artful promises and caresses. for four days longer they pursued their route, when it was stopped by the black mountains, which formed, as it were, a wall inaccessible, for the precipices were perpendicular, as if scarped by art, and their tremendous height cast a dark and gloomy shade to a vast distance. they now dismounted, and turned their camels to graze, when the magician took out of his package three loaves and a sum of water, after which he lighted a fire; then having beat his talismanic drum, the camels again appeared, the smallest of which he killed, embowelled, and carefully flayed off the skin, the inside of which he washed with water. having done thus, he addressed mazin, saying, "my son, the task must now be thine to crown our labours with success. enter this skin, with these loaves and this water bag for thy sustenance while thou remainest on the summit of the mountain. be not afraid, for no harm can happen i will sew up the skin, leaving room enough for the admission of air. by and by a roc will descend, and seizing it in her talons carry thee easily through the air. when she shall have alighted on the table-land of the mountain, rip open the stitches of the skin with thy dagger, and the roc on seeing thee will be instantly scared, and fly far away. then arise, gather as much as possible of a black dust which thou wilt find thickly strewed on the ground; put it into this bag, and throw it down to me, after which i will contrive an easy means for thy descent, and when thou hast rejoined me we will return to our vessel, and i will convey thee safely back to thy own country. the dust, which has the quality of transmuting metals into gold, we will share between us, and shall each have enough to rival all the treasuries on earth." mazim finding it in vain to oppose, allowed himself to be sewn up in the camel's skin with the loaves and water, recommending himself by mental prayer to the protection of allah and his prophet. the magician having finished his work retired to some distance, when, as he had said, a monstrous roc, darting from a craggy precipice, descended with the rapidity of lightning, grasped the skin in her widely extended talons, and soaring swifter than the eagle soon alighted on the table-land of the mountain; when mazin, feeling himself on the ground, ripped the stitches of his dangerous enclosure, and the roc being alarmed, uttered a loud scream and flew away. mazin now arose, and walked upon the surface of the mountain, which he found covered with black dust; but he beheld also the skeletons of the young men whom the accursed bharam, after they had served his purpose, had left to perish. his blood became chilled with horror at the view, as he apprehended the same unhappy fate: he however filled his bag with the black powder, and advanced to the edge of a precipice, from which he beheld the magician eagerly looking upwards to discover him. mazin called out; and when the hypocrite saw him, he began dancing and capering for joy, at the same time exclaiming, "welcome, welcome, my son! my best friend, beloved child! all our dangers are now over, throw me down the bag." "i will not," said mazin, "but will give it thee when thou hast conveyed me safely from this perilous summit." "that is not in my power," answered bharam, "till i shall have the bag: cast it down, and i swear by the fire which i worship immediately to procure thee a safe descent." mazin, relying on his oath, and seeing no other chance of escape, cast down the bag; which having taken up, the accursed sorcerer mounted his camel and was departing. the unhappy mazin in agony called after him, saying, "surely thou wilt not forfeit thy oath, nor leave me to perish!" "perish thou must, mussulmaun dog!" exclaimed the treacherous magician, "that my secret may be kept, nor can thy boasted prophet save thee from destruction; for around thee are mountains impassable, and below a fathomless sea. i have obtained what i wished, and leave thee to thy fate." having said thus he speeded onwards, and was soon out of sight. mazin was now in an agony of despair, not a ray of hope comforted his mind; he beat his bosom, threw himself on the ground amid the mouldering skeletons of the former victims to the treachery of the magician, and lay for some time in a state of insensibility. at length the calls of hunger and thirst forced him back to a sense of wretched existence; and the love of life, however miserable, made him have recourse to his water and his loaves. being somewhat revived, religion came to his aid, and he began to pray for resignation to submit to the decrees of heaven, however painful. he then walked to the edge of the mountain overhanging the sea, which he observed to wash the base of the rock without any beach, at sight of which a desperate chance of escape struck his mind: this was, to throw himself from the precipice into the ocean, in hopes, should he survive the fall and rise to the surface, he might reach land. he commended himself to god, shut his eyes, held in his breath, and giving a desperate spring, plunged headlong into the dreadful abyss, which providentially received him unhurt, and a friendly wave drove him on shore; where, however, he remained some minutes in a lifeless stupor, owing to the rapidity of his descent from the brain-sickening precipice. when his senses returned mazin looked wildly around him, at first scarcely able to bear the light from the recollection of the dizzy eminence from which he had plunged; and an uneasy interval elapsed before he could persuade himself that the certainty of death was past. convinced at length of this, he prostrated himself to the earth, and exclaimed, "in god alone is our refuge and support! i thought i should have perished, but his providence has sustained me." he then wept exceedingly, entreated forgiveness of his offences, read several passages from the koran, which he had preserved in his vestband, repeated the whole of his rosary, and besought the intercession of the prophet for his deliverance from future dangers. after this he walked onwards till evening, the fruits of the forest his food, his drink the water of the streams, and his resting place the green turf. such was his progress, that after three days he reached the spot under the mountain where he had been taken up by the roc in the camel's skin. he now recognized the road he had come; and after measuring back his steps for nine days, beheld on the last the superb palace, concerning which he had inquired of the magician, who had informed him it was inhabited by evil genii, his most bitter enemies. for some time mazin hesitated whether he should advance to the gates of the palace; but considering that no greater calamity could happen to him than he had already endured, he contemned danger, and boldly advanced to a grand lodge built of white marble exquisitely polished. he entered, and beheld on one of the raised platforms which skirted the passage into the court two beautiful damsels playing at the game of chess; one of whom on beholding him exclaimed, "surely, sister, this is the young man who passed this way about a month ago with bharam the magician?" "i am he!" exclaimed mazin, at the same time throwing himself at her feet, "and entreat your hospitable protection." the lady, raising him from the ground, said, "stranger, you resemble so much a once beloved brother, that i feel inclined to adopt thee as such, if my sister will also agree to do so." the other lady readily assented. they then embraced mazin, seated him between them, and requested to be informed of his adventures, of which he gave them a true narration. when mazin had concluded his story, the ladies expressed compassion for his misfortunes, and the strongest resentment against the accursed magician, whom they vowed to punish by a tormenting death for having had the insolence to accuse them of being evil genii. they then proceeded to acquaint him with the cause of their residence in this secluded palace, saying, "brother, for as such we shall henceforward regard you, our father is a most potent sultan of a race of good genii, who were converted by solomon, the son of david, to the true faith; we are seven daughters by the same mother; but for some cause which we do not know the sultan our father, being fearful of our becoming connected with mankind, has placed us in this solitary spot. this palace was erected by genii for our accommodation; the meadows and forests around it are delightful, and we often amuse ourselves with field sports, there being plenty of every sort of game, as you must have observed. when we want horses or camels we have only to beat a small magical drum, and they instantly attend our call, ready caparisoned. our five sisters are at present at the chase, but will soon return. set thy heart at rest, forget thy misfortunes, which are now at an end, and thou shall live with us in ease and pleasure." the five sisters soon returned, and mazin's adventures being recounted to them they also adopted him as their brother; and he continued with these ladies, who strove to divert him all in their power by repeated rounds of amusements: one day they hunted, another hawked, another fished, and their indoor pleasures were varied and delightful; so that mazin soon recovered his health, and was happy to the extent of his wishes. a year had elapsed, when mazin one day riding out for his amusement to the enamelled dome supported on four golden columns, perceived under it the accursed magician, and with him a youth, whom, like himself, he had inveigled into his snares, and devoted also to destruction. the rage of mazin was kindled at the sight; he drew his sabre, and rushing unperceived behind the sorcerer, who was in the act of flaying a camel for the purposes already described, seized him by his hair, and exclaimed, "wretch! the judgment of heaven at length hath overtaken thee, and soon shall thy impure soul be plunged into that fire thou hast blasphemously adored." the magician struggled, but in vain. he then implored for mercy and forgiveness; but mazin, convinced by experience that he deserved none, struck off his head at one blow. then informing the intended victim, who stood near gazing with astonishment, of the wicked arts of the accursed bharam, and of his own narrow escape from almost certain destruction, he advised the young man to remount his camel, and return to the spot where he had disembarked from the vessel, which would safely convey him back to his own country. the youth, having thanked him for his deliverance, took his leave; and mazin returned to the palace, carrying with him the head of the magician as a trophy of his victory. he was highly applauded for his prowess by the sisters, who rejoiced in the destruction of so cruel an enemy to mankind. many days had not elapsed after this event, when one morning mazin and the sisters sitting together in a gallery of the palace, observed a thick cloud of dust rising from the desert and approaching towards them. as it came nearer they perceived through it a troop of horsemen; upon which the sisters, desiring mazin to retire into an inner chamber, went to the gateway to inquire who the strangers might be. they were servants of the genie sultan, father to the ladies, and sent by him to conduct them to his presence, in order to attend the nuptials of a near relation. upon this summons the sisters prepared for the journey, and at the end of three days departed, assuring mazin that they would return in a month. at taking leave they gave him the keys of every apartment in the palace, telling him that he might open every door except one, which to enter might be attended with unpleasant consequences, and therefore had better be avoided. mazin promised to observe their caution; and for many days was so well amused in examining the magnificent rooms and curiosities of the palace, that he did not feel a wish to transgress till the forbidden door alone remained unopened. having then nothing to divert him, he could not resist the impulse of curiosity, but unlocked the door, which opened on a marble staircase by which he ascended to the terraced roof of the palace, from whence a most delightful prospect feasted his sight. on one side his eye was arrested by an extensive garden, in the centre of which, under shady trees, was a basin of clear water, lined with gems of every colour and description. he resolved to visit this enchanting object; and descending the staircase, explored his way through a long arcade, which led him at length into the garden, in which he diverted himself with the scenery it afforded for some time. he then retired to an alcove on the margin of the basin, and sat down; but had not rested many moments, when to his astonishment he beheld descending from the sky a company of beautiful damsels, whose robes of light green silk floating in the air seemed their only support. alarmed at such a preternatural appearance, he retired to the end of the alcove, from whence he watched their motions. they alighted on the brink of the water, and having thrown off their robes, stood to the enraptured view of mazin in native loveliness. never had he beheld such enchanting beauty; but one even more exquisitely charming than the rest attracted his gaze, and from the instant fixed the affections of his heart. they now plunged into the basin, where for some time they amused themselves by swimming, every now and then playfully dashing the water over themselves and at each other. when satiated with frolic they came out of the water, sat for some time on the verdant margin, then dressed themselves, and adjusting their robes to the air, soared aloft, and were soon far from the sight of the enamoured mazin, who followed them till his eyes could stretch no farther; then despairing of ever again beholding the object of his affections, he fainted on the grass, and it was some time before he recovered his senses. he returned melancholy to the palace, and spent the night in reposeless agitation. the following morning the seven sisters returned; and she who had first welcomed him to their abode, and had ever since retained for mazin the purest affection, ran with eagerness to inquire after his health. great was her affliction on beholding him upon his bed, pale, and apparently in a state of rapid decay. after many kind questions, to which he returned no answers, she entreated earnestly, by the vow of brotherly and sisterly adoption which had past between them, that he would inform her of the cause of his unhappy dejection; assuring him that she would use every exertion to remove it, and gratify his wishes, be they what they might, however difficult to be obtained. mazin upon this, in a feeble tone, related his adventure in the garden; and declared that unless the beautiful (he supposed celestial) damsel could be obtained for him he must die of grief. the sister bade him be comforted, for in a short time his desires should be satisfied, which revived his spirits, and he accompanied his kind hostess to welcome home her sisters, who received him with their usual hospitality, but were grieved and alarmed at the sad alteration in his appearance, of which they inquired the reason, and were informed that it was the effect of absence from his generous patronesses. the next morning the sisters went upon a hunting excursion for ten days, only one (his kindest friend) remained in the palace, under pretence of attending mazin, whose health, she said, was too delicate to bear the exercise of the chase. when the others were departed, she informed mazin that the beautiful beings he had seen in the garden were of a race of genie much more powerful than her own, that they inhabited a country surrounded by seas and deserts not to be approached by human exertion, that the ladies he beheld were sisters to the queen of these genii, whose subjects were entirely female, occasionally visited by male genii, with whom they were in alliance for the sake of population, and to whom all the males were sent away as soon as born. she further told him, that these females had the power, from their silken robes, of soaring through the air with a flight an hundred times swifter than that of any bird, that they were fond of recreating in verdant spots, and bathing in the clearest waters, and that the garden he had seen them in was a favourite place of their resort, so that they would probably soon visit it again. "possibly," continued she, "they may recreate themselves there to-day; we will be on the watch, and if they appear, you must fix your eye on your favourite, mark where she places her robes, and while they are in the water seize and conceal them, for deprived of these she cannot fly away, and you may make her your prisoner. bring her to the palace, and endeavour by tenderness and endearing attention to gain her affection and consent to marriage; but remember when she is in your power to keep her robes from her, for should she regain possession of them she would certainly return to the flying islands, and you would see her no more." mazin and his adopted sister now repaired to the garden, and seated themselves in the alcove, nor had they been there long when the fair genii appeared as before, descended on the margin of the basin, and all having undressed, each laying her robes by themselves, rushed playfully into the water, in which they began to swim, dive, and besprinkle playfully each other. mazin, whose eager eye had ardently watched his beloved, swiftly, but cautiously, snatching up the robes of his mistress, conveyed them to the alcove unobserved by the fair bathers; who, when they had sufficiently amused themselves, quitted the water, and ascending the bank, began to dress; but how can we describe the distressful confusion of the unhappy genie whose robes had been stolen? big tears rolled down her beautiful cheeks, she beat her bosom, tore her hair, and uttered loud shrieks, while her sisters, instead of consoling her, were concerned only for their own safety, and dressing themselves with confused haste, bade her farewell, mounted into the air, and disappeared. on their departure, mazin and his adopted sister approached, and saluting the disconsolate genie endeavoured to console her, but for the present in vain, her mind being intent only on the sad captivity she thought awaited her, and the loss of her native country and relations. they led her gently to the palace, and mazin, retiring respectfully, left her to the care of his adopted sister, who by a thousand endearments and attentions so gained upon her, that in two days the genie began to recover her spirits, and consented to receive mazin as her husband, when the ladies should return from the chase. on their arrival at the palace they were informed by their sisters of what had happened, and introduced to the fair stranger; who, diverted by their company and attentions, now scarcely regretted her captivity. preparations were made for the nuptials, and in a short time mazin was made happy in the possession of his beloved genie. a round of festivities succeeded their marriage, and the seven sisters strove with each other who should by invention of new amusements make their residence among them most delightful to the happy pair mazin, however, now began to think of his mother and his native city with fond regret, and at length begged leave of his kind patronesses to return home, to which request they, from admiration of his filial love, though unwilling to part, consented, and a day was fixed for his departure. the time being arrived, the sisters beat their magical drum, when several camels appeared at the gates of the palace heavily laden with the richest goods, a large sum of money, valuable jewels, and refreshments for the journey, led by proper attendants. one camel carried a splendid litter for the conveyance of his wife, and another was richly caparisoned for the use of mazin, who, having taken an affectionate leave of his generous benefactresses, whom he promised to revisit at some future time, departed, and pursued the route back towards the sea shore, where he had disembarked with the magician. on the journey nothing remarkable occurred, and on their arrival at the coast they found a vessel ready to receive them, when the wind proving fair, a short time carried them safely to bussorah, where mazin had the satisfaction of finding his mother alive, though greatly wasted with constant grief and lamentation for his loss. to describe the joy of their meeting is impossible, for never was there more tender affection between parent and child than subsisted between mazin and his mother. she seemed to gain new life from his recovery, and again to grow young. the fair genie, who was now in the way of being a mother, appeared perfectly contented in her situation, and mazin, so unexpectedly restored to his country, was happy in the possession of all he wished; for the generous sisters had bestowed such wealth upon him, that, in addition to the domestic felicity he enjoyed, he was now one of the richest persons in all bussorah. three years had rolled away in undisturbed happiness, during which the fair genie had borne him two sons, when mazin thought it grateful to perform his promise to the seven sisters, the benevolent foundresses of his good fortune. having accordingly made preparations for his journey, he committed his wife's native robes to the care of his mother, giving her the key of a secret recess in which he had lodged them, but with a strict charge not to let the genie put them on, lest an irresistible impulse might inspire her to fly away to her own country; for though in general she had seemed contented, he had heard her now and then express a wish to be again with her own friends and species. the mother promised obedience, and mazin having taken an affectionate leave of her, his wife and children, with assurances of speedy return, embarked on board a vessel and pursued his voyage, which was uncommonly prosperous. on his landing he found camels waiting his arrival on the beach, for the genie ladies, by magic arts, knew of his coming, and had stationed them for his conveyance to their palace, which he reached in safety, and was received with the most affectionate welcomes and hospitality. some time after the departure of mazin, his wife requested her mother-in-law's permission to amuse herself at a public bath, and the old lady willingly accompanied her and the children to the most celebrated humnaum in the city, which was frequented by the ladies and those of the chief personages of the court, the caliph haroon al rusheed then happening to be at bussorah. when they reached the bath there were then in it some of the principal female slaves, attendants of zobeide, who, on the entrance of mazin's wife, were struck with her uncommon beauty, and instantly collecting round her, rapturously gazed upon her as she was undressing. the slaves of zobeide did not cease to admire mazin's wife till she left the hummaum, and even followed her till she entered her own house, when dusk had begun to gloom, and they became apprehensive of their mistress's being displeased at their long absence, and so it happened. upon entering into her presence, zobeide exclaimed, "where have ye loitered, and what has been the cause of your unusually long stay at the hummaum?" upon which they looked confusedly at each other, and remained silent. the sultana then said in anger, "instantly inform me of the cause of your delay!" when they related the wonderful beauty of mazin's wife, and dwelt so much upon her charms, that zobeide was overcome by curiosity to behold them. on the following day she sent for the mother of mazin, who obeyed the summons with fear and trembling, wondering what could have made the caliph's consort desirous of seeing a person of her inferior rank. mazin's mother prostrated herself, and kissed the feet of the sultana, who graciously raising her, said, "am mazin, our wish is that you introduce to me your son's wife, of whose beauty i have heard such a description, that i long to behold her." when the mother of mazin heard these words, her heart sunk within her, she trembled, but dared not refuse the command of zobeide, and she said, "to hear is to obey!" after which she took leave, with the usual ceremony of prostration before the throne of the sultana. when the mother of mazin left the princess zobeide she returned towards her own house; and when she had reached it, entered to her son's wife, and said, "our sultana zobeide hath invited thee to an entertainment." the wife of mazin was delighted, instantly rose up, arrayed herself in the richest apparel she was mistress of, and dressed her two children in their choicest garments and ornaments then with them, the mother of her husband, and a black slave, she proceeded, till they reached the palace of the princess zobeide, which they entered, and found her sitting in impatient expectation. they kissed the ground be fore her, and prayed for her prosperity. when the sultana zobeide beheld the wife of mazin her senses were confounded, her heart fluttered, she was astonished at her beauty, elegance, graceful stature, and blooming complexion, and exclaimed, "gracious heaven! where could such a form as this have been created?" then she seated her guests, and ordered a collation to be brought in, which was done immediately, when they ate and were satisfied, but zobeide could not keep her eyes from the wife of mazin of bussorah. she kissed her, and questioned her concerning what had befallen herself and her husband. her astonishment was redoubled on the relation of their adventures. the wife of mazin then said, "my princess, if you are thus surprised, though you have not seen me in my native robes, how would you be delighted at my appearance in them! if, therefore, you wish to gratify your curiosity by beholding a miracle, you must command the mother of my husband to bring my country dress." upon this zobeide commanded the mother of mazin to fetch the flying robes, and as she dared not disobey the sultana of the caliph, she went home, and speedily returned with them. zobeide took them into her hands, examined them, and was surprised at their fashion and texture. at length she gave them to the wife of mazin. when the wife of mazin had received the robes, she unfolded them, and going into the open court of the palace, arrayed herself in them, then taking her children in her arms, mounted with them suddenly into the air. when she had ascended to about the height of sixty feet, she called out to the mother of her husband, saying, "give my adieu, dear mother, to my lord, and tell him, should ardent love for me affect him he may come to me in the islands of waak al waak." after this speech she soared towards the clouds, till she was hidden from their eyes, and speeded to her own country. when the mother of mazin beheld her in the air, she beat her cheeks, scattered dust upon her head, and cried aloud to the princess zobeide, "this is thy mischief." zobeide was not able to answer or reprove her boldness from the excess of her sorrow and regret, which made her repent, when repentance could not avail. the old lady returned in despair to her own habitation. thus it happened to the persons above mentioned, but how was it with the affairs of mazin? he did not cease travelling for some time, till he arrived at the palace of the seven sisters, and paid his respects. they were rejoiced at his arrival, and inquired after his wife, when he informed them she was well, and that god had blessed him with two children, both sons, which added to their satisfaction. he remained with them for some time, after which he entreated their permission to depart. they took a tender leave of him, when he bade them farewell, and returned towards his own country; nor did he halt till he arrived in safety at bussorah. when he entered his house he found his mother alone, mournfully weeping and lamenting what had happened in his absence. seeing her in this state, he inquired the cause, upon which she informed him of all that had occurred, from the beginning to the conclusion. when mazin had heard the unwelcome intelligence, he cried out in an agony of distress for the loss of his wife and children, fell fainting to the ground, and forgot his own existence. his mother, on beholding his condition, beat her cheeks, and sprinkled water upon his face till he came to himself, when he wept and said to his mother, "inform me what my wife may have spoken on her departure." she repeated her farewell words: upon hearing which his distress and ardent longing for his wife and children was redoubled. he remained mournfully at home for the space of ten days, after which he resolved upon the journey to the islands of waak al waak, distant from bussorah one hundred and fifty years of travel. mazin departed from his mother after he had taken leave and entreated her prayers for his success, but the aged matron was so affected that she ordered her tomb to be prepared, and did nothing but weep and lament night and day for her son, who did not halt till he had reached the palace of the seven sisters. when they saw him they were surprised, and said to one another, "there must be some urgent cause for his returning so speedily." they saluted him, and inquired after his affairs: upon which he informed them of the desertion of his wife, what she had said at going away, and of his resolves to travel to the islands of waak al waak. the seven ladies replied, "this expedition is impossible to be accomplished either by thee or any of thy race; for these islands are distant a hundred and fifty years' journey, so that thou canst not live to reach them." mazin exclaimed, "my attempting it, however, is incumbent upon me, though i may perish on the road: if god has decreed my reunion with my wife i shall meet her again; but if not, i shall die and be received into the mercy of the almighty." the sisters did not cease to importune him to lay aside the journey, but it was impossible for him to obey them or remain at ease; upon which their grief for his situation increased. they knew that the distance was such as he could never overcome by human aid, or rejoin his wife, but they respected his ardent love for her and his children. on this account they consulted with one another how to assist him on the journey. he remained with them a month, but unable to repose or enjoy their entertainments. the sisters had two uncles, one named abd al kuddoos, and the other abd al sulleeb, who lived at three months distance from them, to whom they wrote in recommendation of mazin as follows. "the bearer is our friend mazin of bussorah. if you can direct him how to reach the islands of waak al waak, assist him; but if not, prevent him from proceeding, lest he plunge himself into destruction. at present he will not attend to our advice or reproofs, from excess of love to his wife and children, but through you there may finally occur to him safety and success." when they had sealed this letter they gave it to mazin, and bestowed also upon him, of water and provisions, what would suffice for three months' consumption, laden upon camels, and a steed for his conveyance, upon which he took leave of them with many thanks, fully resolved to pursue his journey to the islands of waak al waak. with much pain and difficulty he pursued his journey, nor had he any pleasure either in eating or drinking during the three months of his pilgrimage. at length he reached a verdant pasturage, in which was a variety of flowers, flocks of sheep, and cattle feeding. it was indeed a paradise upon earth. in one part of it he perceived a pleasant eminence on which were buildings: he advanced to them, and entered a court. within it he beheld a venerable looking personage, his beard flowing to his middle, whom he saluted; when the sage returned his compliments, welcomed him with respectful demeanour, and congratulated him on his arrival. he seated him, and laid before him a collation, of which they both ate till they were satisfied. mazin lodged with him that night, and in the morning the sage inquired of him his situation, and the reason of his coming to such a sequestered spot. mazin informed him; and, behold! this personage was abd al kuddoos; who, when he heard his guest mention particulars of his brother's children, redoubled his attentions to him, and said, "did they give you any letter?" mazin replied, "yes." he eagerly exclaimed, "give it to me." he gave it him, when he opened it, read it to himself, and considered the contents word byword. abd al kuddoos gazed earnestly at mazin; reflected on his adventures, at which he was astonished; and how he had plunged himself into danger and difficulty in such a wild pursuit. he then said to him, "my son, my advice is, that thou return by the way which thou hast come, and no longer vex thy soul on account of impossibilities, for this business thou canst not accomplish. i will write to the daughters of my brother what shall make thee happy with them, and restore thy peace. return then to them, and perplex not thyself farther, for between this spot and the islands of waak al waak is the distance of a hundred and fifty years' journey. on the way also are numerous perils, for in it are the abodes of genii, the haunts of wild beasts, and monstrous serpents, and some parts also where food cannot be had or thirst be gratified. have compassion then, my son, upon thyself, and rush not on destruction." abd al kuddoos continued to dissuade him from his resolution during three days, but he would not hear advice or reproof. on the third he prepared to depart, being sufficiently refreshed; upon which the old man, seeing his steadiness, arose, kindled a fire, cast into it some perfumes, and uttered incantations, to mazin unintelligible; when suddenly appeared a genie, in stature forty cubits; he was one of the subdued spirits of our lord solomon. he muttered and growled, saying, "for what, my lord, hast thou summoned me here? shall i tear up this eminence by the roots, and hurl it beyond the mountains of kaaf?" abd al kuddoos replied, "god be merciful to thee; i have occasion for thee, and request that thou wilt accomplish my wish in one day:" upon which the genie answered, "to hear is to obey." abd al kuddoos then said to the genie, "take up this young man, and convey him to my brother abd al sullecb." he consented, though the distance was a common journey of seventy years. the genie advanced, seized mazin, and placing him upon his shoulders, soared with him through the air from morning till sunset, when he descended before abd al sulleeb, paid his respects, and informed him of the commands of his brother abd al kuddoos. upon this he greeted mazin, who presented him the letter from the daughters of his brother, which he opened and read. when he had examined the contents, he was astonished at the circumstances which had befallen mazin, his arrival with him, and his resolve to penetrate to the islands of waak al waak. he then said to him, "my son, i advise that thou vex not thyself with these difficulties and dangers, for thou canst never attain thy object, or reach these islands." mazin now began to despair, and at the remembrance of his wife and children to weep bitterly, insomuch that he fainted, which, when abd al sulleeb beheld, his heart sympathized with his unhappy condition. he perceived that he would not return from his pursuit, or be controlled, and therefore thought it best to assist his progress towards the islands. going into another apartment, he kindled a fire, over which he sprinkled some perfumes, and uttered incantations; when, lo! ten genii presented themselves before him, and said, "inform us, my lord, what thou desirest, and we will bring it thee in an instant." he replied, "may god be gracious unto you!" and related to them the story of mazin, his wife, and children. when the ten genii had heard the narration, they exclaimed, "this affair is wonderful and miraculous; however, we will take and convey him safely over the mountains and deserts, to the extent of our country and dominion, and leave him there, but cannot promise further assistance, as we dare not pass a step beyond our own territories, for the land belongs to others. in it are innumerable horrors, and we dread the inhabitants." mazin having heard what they said, exclaimed, "i accept your offer with gratitude." the ten genii now took up mazin, soared with him through the air for a night and day, till they came to the limits of their territories, and then set him down in a country called the land of kafoor, took, their leaves, and vanished from his sight. he walked onwards, and did not neglect to employ his tongue in prayer, beseeching from god deliverance and the attainment of his wishes. often would he exclaim, "o god, deliverer from bondage, who canst guide in safety over mountains, who feedest the wild beasts of the forest, who decreest life and death, thou canst grant me if thou choosest relief from all my distress, and free me from all my sorrows." in this manner did he travel onwards during ten days; on the last of which he beheld three persons contending with each other, each man trying to kill his fellow. he was astonished at their conduit, but advanced towards them. upon his approach they desisted from combat, and one and all exclaimed, "we will be judged before his young man, and whoever contradicts his opinion shall be deemed in the wrong." to this they agreed, and coming up to mazin, demanded from him a just arbitration in their dispute. they then displayed before him a cap, a small copper drum, and a wooden ball, saying, "we are three brothers, by the same father and mother, who are both received into the mercy of god, leaving behind them these articles. they are three, and we are three; but a dispute hath fallen out among us respecting their allotment, as each of us says, 'i will have the cap.' our contention made us proceed to blows, but now we are desirous that thou shouldst arbitrate between us, and allot an article to each of us as thou shall judge best, when we will rest satisfied with thy decision, but should either contradict it he shall be adjuged an offender." when mazin heard the above he was surprised, and said to himself, "these articles are so paltry and of such trifling value as not to be worth an arbitration; for surely this shabby cap, the drum, and the wooden ball, cannot be worth altogether more than half a deenar; but i will inquire farther about them." he then said, "my brethren, wherein lies the value of these three things about which you were contending, for to me they appear of very little worth." they replied, "dear uncle, each of them has a property worth treasuries of wealth, and to each of them belongs a tale so wonderful, that wert thou to write it on a tablet of adamant it would remain an example for those who will be admonished." mazin then requested that they would relate to him the stories of the three articles, when they said, "the eldest brother shall first deliver the account of one, its properties, what can be gained from them, and we will not conceal any thing from thee." "this cap," said the elder brother, "is called the cap of invisibility, by which, whoever possesseth it may become sovereign of the world. when he puts it on, he may enter where he pleases, for none can perceive him, either genii or men, so that he may convey away whatever he chooses, unseen, in security. he may enter the cabinets of kings and statesmen, and hear all they converse upon respecting political intrigues. does he covet wealth, he may visit the royal treasuries, and plunder them at his pleasure; or does he wish for revenge, he can kill his enemy without being detected. in short, he may act as he pleases without fear of discovery." mazin now said to himself, "this cap can become nobody but me, to whom it will be most advantageous in the object of my expedition. perhaps it may conduct me to my wife and children, and i may obtain from its possession all i wish. it is certainly one of the wonders of the world and rarities of the age, not to be found among the riches of kings of the present day." when he had ruminated thus, he said, "i am acquainted with the properties of the cap, what are those of the drum?" the second brother began, saying, "whoever has this drum in his possession, should he be involved in a difficult situation, let him take it out of its case, and with the sticks gently beat upon the characters engraven on the copper; when, if his mind be collected and his courage firm, there will appear to him wonderful matters. the virtue of it consists in the words inscribed upon it, which were written by our lord solomon bin david in talismanic characters, each of which has control over certain spirits and princes of the genii, and a power that cannot be described in speech. hence, whoever is master of this drum may become superior to all the monarchs of the present day, for, on his beating it in the manner already described, when he is pressed for help, all the princes of the genii, with their sons, will appear also their troops and followers, ready to obey his commands. whatever he may order them to execute they will perform by virtue of the talisman of our lord solomon bin david." when mazin of bussorah had heard the above, he said to himself, "this drum is fitting only for me, as i have much more need of it than the brothers. it will protect me from all evil in the islands of waak al waak, should i reach them, and meet with my wife and children. it is true, if i take only the cap i may be able to enter all places, but this drum will keep injury from me, and with it i shall be secure from all enemies." after this, he said, "i have been informed of the virtues of the cap, and the properties of the drum, there now only remains the account of the wooden ball, that i may give judgment between you, therefore let the third brother speak." he answered, "to hear is to obey." the third brother said, "my dear uncle, whoever possesses this ball will find in it wonderful properties, for it brings distant parts near, and makes near distant, it shortens long journeys, and lengthens short ones if any person wish to perform one of two hundred years in two days, let him take it from its case, then lay it upon the ground and mention what place he desires to go, it will instantly be in motion, and rush over the earth like the blast of the stormy gale. he must then follow it till he arrives at the place desired, which he will have the power to do with ease." when the youth had concluded his description of the virtue of the wooden ball, mazin resolved within himself to take this also from the brothers, and said, "if your wish be that i should arbitrate between you, i must first prove the virtues of these three articles, and afterwards let each take that which may fall to him by decision." the three brothers exclaimed, "we have heard, and we consent; act as thou thinkest best, and may god protect thee in thy undertakings!" mazin then put on the cap, placed the drum under his vestband, took up the ball and placed it on the ground, when it speeded before him swiftly as the gale. he followed it till it came to the gate of a building which it entered, and mazin also went in with it. the brothers ran till they were fatigued, and cried out, "thou hast sufficiently tried them;" but in vain, for by this time there was between him and them the distance of ten years' journey. mazin now rested, took the drum in his hands, rubbed his fingers over the talismanic characters, hesitated whether he should strike them with the sticks, then labored lightly upon them, when, lo! a voice exclaimed, "mazin, thou hast gained thy desires. "thou wilt not, however," continued the voice, "arrive at thy object till after much trouble, but take care of the ball in this spot, for thou art at present in the land of the evil genii." upon this, mazin took up the ball and concealed it in his clothes; but he was overcome with astonishment at hearing words without seeing the speaker, and exclaimed, "who art thou, my lord?" "i am," replied the voice, "one of the slaves of the characters which thou seest engraved upon the drum, and unremittingly in attendance; but the other servants will not appear except the drum be beaten loudly, when three hundred and sixty chiefs will attend thy commands, each of whom has under his authority ten thousand genii, and every individual of them numerous followers." mazin now inquired the distance of the islands of waak al waak; to which the voice replied, "three years' journey:" upon which he struck the ball before him, and followed it. he next arrived in a region infested by serpents, dragons, and ravenous beasts, in the mountains of which were mines of copper. he now again tabored gently upon the drum, when the voice exclaimed, "i am ready to obey thy commands." "inform me," said mazin, "what is the name of this country?" "it is called," answered the voice, "the land of dragons and ravenous animals. be careful then of thyself, and make no delay, nor regard fatigue, for these mountains are not to be passed without a chance of trouble from the inhabitants, who are genii, and in their caves are furious wild beasts." upon this he struck the ball afresh, and followed it unceasingly, till at length he reached the sea shore, and perceived the islands of waak al waak at a distance, whose mountains appeared of a fiery red, like the sky gilded by the beams of the setting sun. when he beheld them he was struck with awe and dread; but recovering, he said to himself, "why should i be afraid? since god has conducted me hither, he will protect me; or, if i die, i shall be relieved from my troubles, and be received into the mercy of god." he then gathered some fruits, which he ate, drank some water, and having performed his devotions, laid himself down to sleep, nor did he awake till the morning. in the morning mazin had recourse to his drum, which he rubbed gently, when the voice inquired his commands. "how am i," said he, "to pass this sea, and enter the islands?" "that is not to be done," replied the voice, "without the assistance of a sage who resides in a cell on yonder mountains, distant from hence a day's journey, but the ball will conduct thee there in half an hour. when you reach his abode, knock softly at the door, when he will appear, and inquire whence you come, and what you want. on entering he will receive thee kindly, and desire thee to relate thy adventures from beginning to end. conceal nothing from him, for he alone can assist thee in passing the sea." mazin then struck the ball, and followed it till he arrived at the abode of the hermit, the gate of which he found locked he knocked, when a voice from within said, "who is at the gate?" "a guest," replied mazin upon which the sage arose and opened the door, admitted him, and entertained him kindly for a whole night and day, after which mazin ventured to inquire how he might pass the sea the sage replied, "what occasions thy searching after such an object?" mazin answered, "my lord, i intend to enter the islands, and with that view have i travelled far distant from my own country." when the sage heard this, he stood up before him, took a book, opened it, and read in it to himself for some time, every now and then casting a look of astonishment upon mazin. at length he raised his head and said, "heavens! what troubles, disasters, and afflictions in exile have been decreed to this youth in the search of his object!" upon this mazin exclaimed, "wherefore, my lord, did you look at the book and then at me so earnestly?" the sage replied, "my son, i would instruct thee how to reach the islands, since such is thy desire, but thou canst not succeed in thy desires till after much labour and inconvenience. however, at present relate to me thy adventures from first to last" mazin rejoined, "my story, my lord, is such a surprising one, that were it engraven on tablets of adamant, it would be an example for such as would take warning." when he had related his story from beginning to end, the sage exclaimed, "god willing thou wilt attain thy wishes:" upon which mazin inquired concerning the sea surrounding the islands, and how he could overcome such an impediment to his progress; when the sage answered, "by god's permission, in the morning we will repair to the mountains, and i will shew thee the wonders of the seas." when god permitted morning to dawn the hermit arose, took mazin with him, and they ascended the mountains, till they reached a structure resembling a fortress, which they entered, and proceeded into the inmost court, in which was an immense colossal statue of brass, hollowed into pipes, having in the midst of it a reservoir lined with marble, the work of magicians. when mazin beheld this he was astonished, and began to tremble with fear at the vastness of the statue, and what miraculous power it might contain. the hermit now kindled a fire, threw into it some perfumes, and muttered some unintelligible words, when suddenly dark clouds arose, from which burst out eddies of tempestuous wind, lightnings, claps of thunder, groans, and frightful noises, and in the midst of the reservoir appeared boiling waves, for it was near the ocean surrounding the islands. the hermit did not cease to utter his incantations, until the hurricane and noises had subsided by his authority, for he was more powerful than any of the magicians, and had command over the rebellious genii. he now said to mazin, "go out, and look towards the ocean surrounding the islands." mazin repaired to the summit of the mountain, and looked towards the sea, but could not discover the smallest trace of its existence: upon which he was astonished at the miraculous power of the hermit. he returned to him, exclaiming, "i can behold no remains of the ocean, and the islands appear joined to the main land;" when the sage said, "my son, place thy reliance on god and pursue thy object," after which he vanished from sight. mazin now proceeded into the islands, and did not stop till he had reached a verdant spot watered by clear rivulets, and shaded by lofty trees. it was now sunrise, and among the wonders which he beheld was a tree like the weeping willow, on which hung, by way of fruit, beautiful damsels, who exclaimed, "praised be god our creator, and former of the islands of waak al waak." they then dropped from the tree and expired. at sight of this prodigy his senses were confounded, and he exclaimed, "by heavens, this is miraculously surprising!" when he had recovered himself, he roamed through the groves, and admired the contrivances of the almighty till sunset, when he sat down to rest. he had not sat long when there approached towards him a masculinely looking old woman of disagreeable countenance, at sight of whom mazin was alarmed. the matron guessing that he was in fear of her, said to him, "what is thy name, what are thy wants? art thou of this country? inform me; be not afraid or apprehensive, for i will request of god that i may be the means of forwarding thy wishes." on hearing these words the heart of mazin was encouraged, and he rerelated to her his adventures from first to last. when she had heard them, she knew that he must be husband to the sister of her mistress, who was queen of the islands of waak al waak, and said, "thy object is a difficult one, but i will assist thee all in my power." the old woman now conducted mazin through by-paths to the capital of the island, and led him unperceived in the darkness of night, when the inhabitants had ceased to pass through the streets, to her own house. she then set before him refreshments, and having eaten and drunk till he was satisfied, he praised god for his arrival; when the matron informed him concerning his wife, that she had endured great troubles and afflictions since her separation, and repented sincerely of her flight. upon hearing this, mazin wept bitterly, and fainted with anguish. when revived by the exertions of the old woman, she comforted him by promises of speedy assistance to complete his wishes, and left him to his repose. next morning the old woman desiring mazin to wait patiently for her return, repaired to the palace, where she found the queen and her sisters in consultation concerning the wife of mazin, and saying, "this wretch hath espoused a man, by whom she has children, but now she is returned, we will put her to death after divers tortures." upon the entrance of the old lady they arose, saluted her with great respect, and seated her, for she had been their nurse. when she had rested a little, she said, "were you not conversing about your unfortunate sister? but can ye reverse the decrees of god?" "dear nurse," replied they, "no one can avoid the will of heaven, and had she wedded one of our own nature there would have been no disgrace, but she has married a human being of bussorah, and has children by him, so that our species will despise us, and tauntingly say, 'your sister is a harlot.' her death is therefore not to be avoided." the nurse rejoined, "if you put her to death your scandal will be greater than hers, for she was wedded lawfully, and her offspring is legitimate; but i wish to see her." the eldest sister answered, "she is now confined in a subterraneous dungeon;" upon which the nurse requested permission to visit her, which was granted, and one of the sisters attended to conduct her to the prison. the nurse, on her arrival at the prison, found the wife of mazin in great distress from the cruelty of her sisters. her children were playing about her, but very pallid, from the closeness of their confinement. on the entrance of the nurse she stood up, made her obeisance, and began to weep, saying, "my dear nurse, i have been long in this dungeon, and know not what in the end may be my fate." the old woman kissed her cheeks, and said, "my dear daughter, god will bring thee relief, perchance on this very day." when the wife of mazin heard this, she said, "good heavens! your words, my dear nurse, recall a gleam of comfort that last night struck across my mind from a voice, which said, 'be comforted, o wife of mazin, for thy deliverance is near.'" upon this the old woman replied, "thou shalt indeed be comforted, for thy husband is at my abode, and will speedily release thee." the unfortunate prisoner, overcome with joy, fainted away, but was soon restored by the nurse's sprinkling water upon her face, when she opened her eyes and said, "i conjure thee by heaven, my dear nurse, inform me if thou speakest truth, or dissemblest." "i not only speak truth," answered the nurse, "but by god's help thou shalt meet thy husband this day." after this she left her. the nurse, upon her return home, inquired of mazin if he had skill to take his wife away, provided he was admitted into the dungeon at night. he replied, "yes." when night was set in, she conducted him to the spot where she was confined, left him near the gate, and went her way. he then put on his cap of invisibility, and remained unperceived all night by any one. early in the morning the queen, his wife's eldest sister, advanced, opened the gate of the prison, and entered, when he followed unseen behind her, and seated himself in a corner of the apartment. the queen went up to her sister, and beat her cruelly with a whip, while her children wept around her, till the blood appeared upon her body, when she left her hanging by her hair from a pillar, went out, and locked the door of the dungeon. mazin now arose, unloosed his wife's hair, and pulling off the cap, appeared before her, when she exclaimed, "from whence didst thou come?" they then embraced each other, and he said. "ah, why didst thou act thus, leave me in such affliction, and plunge thyself into such distress, which, indeed, thy conduct hath almost deserved?" "it is true," replied she; "but what is past is past, and reproach will not avail, unless thus canst effect our escape:" upon which he exclaimed, "does thy inclination really lead thee to accompany me to my own country?" she answered, "yes; do with me what thou choosest." they remained in endearment with their children until evening, when the keeper of the dungeon approaching, mazin put on his cap of invisibility. the keeper having set down the provisions for the night, retired into a recess of the dungeon and fell asleep; when mazin and his family sat down and refreshed themselves. perceiving the keeper asleep, mazin tried the door and found it unlocked; upon which, he, with his wife and children, left the prison, and travelled as quickly as possible all night. when the queen, in the morning, was informed of her sister's escape she was enraged, and made incantations, on which seven thousand genii attended, with whom she marched out in pursuit, resolved to cut the fugitives in pieces. mazin, looking behind him, perceived a cloud of dust, and soon appeared the forces of his wife's sister, who cried out on seeing him, with dreadful howls, "where will ye go, ye wretches, ye accursed? where can ye hide yourselves?" upon this mazin took out his drum, and beat it violently, when, lo! there appeared before him legions of genii, in number more than could be reckoned, and they fought with the armies of the queen, who was taken prisoner, with her principal attendants. when the wife of mazin beheld her sister in this distress her compassion was moved towards her, and she said to her husband, "hurt not my sister, nor use her ill, for she is my elder:" upon which he treated her respectfully, and commanded tents to be pitched for her and her court. peace being established, the sisters took an affectionate leave, and mazin, with his family, departed for the residence of abd al sulleeb, which they speedily reached with the assistance of the genii, and the directing ball. the old man received him kindly, and inquired his adventures, when he related them to him; at which he was surprised, especially at the account of the cap, the drum, and the ball; of which last mazin begged his acceptance, being now near home, and having no farther occasion for its use. abd al sulleeb was much pleased, and entertained him magnificently for three days, when mazin wishing to depart, the old man presented him with rich gifts, and dismissed him. mazin was continuing his route, when suddenly a band of a hundred banditti appeared, resolved to plunder and put him and his companions to death, with which design they kept advancing. mazin called out to them, "brother arabs, let the covenant of god be between you and me, keep at a distance from me." when they heard this they increased their insolence, surrounded him, and supposed they should easily seize all that he had; but especially when they beheld his wife, and the beauty she was endowed with, they said one to another, "let us put him to death, and not suffer him to live." each man resolved within himself, saying, "i will seize this damsel, and not take the plunder." when mazin saw that they were bent upon attacking him, to seize his wife and plunder his effects, he took out his drum and beat upon it in a slight manner, when, behold! ten genii appeared before him, requiring his commands. he replied, "i wish the dispersion of yonder horsemen;" upon which one of the ten advanced among the hundred banditti, and uttered such a tremendous yell as made the mountains reverberate the sound. immediately as he sent forth the yell, the banditti, in alarm, dispersed themselves among the rocks, when such as fell from their horses' backs fled on foot; so that they lost their reputation, and were ridiculed among the chiefs of the abbasside tribes. mazin now pursued his journey, and did not halt till he had reached the abode of abd al kuddoos, who advanced to meet him and saluted him, but was astonished when he beheld his company, and the wealth he had obtained. mazin related what had befallen him, of dangers, and hunger, and thirst; his safe arrival in the islands of waak al waak; the deliverance of his wife from prison, and the defeat of the army sent to oppose his return. he mentioned also the reconciliation between the sisters of his wife, and whatever had happened to him from first to last. abd al kuddoos was greatly astonished at these adventures, and said to mazin of bussorah, "truly, my son, these events are most surprising, and can have never occurred to any but thyself." mazin remained three days to repose himself, and was treated with hospitality and respect until the fourth, when he resolved to continue his journey, and took leave. he proceeded towards his own country, and did not halt on the way till he arrived with the seven sisters, the owners of the palace, who had so much befriended him. when mazin of bussorah arrived near the palace of the seven sisters, they came out to meet him, saluted him and his wife, and conducted them within; but they were astonished at his return, and at first could scarcely believe his success, wondering that he had not perished on the road, or been torn in pieces by the wild beasts of the desert; for they had regarded it as impossible that he should ever reach the islands of waak al waak. when they were seated, they requested him to relate to them all that had befallen him, which he did from first to last, and they were more than ever astonished at his uncommon adventures. after this they introduced a collation, and spread the cloth, when they ate till they were satisfied, and then wrote a letter and dispatched it to the mother of mazin, congratulating her on the health of her son, and his safe return with his wife and children. mazin remained with the ladies a month, enjoying himself in feasting and amusements, after which he begged permission to depart to his own country, for his heart was anxious for his mother. they dismissed him, and he travelled unceasingly till he arrived at bussorah. he entered the city at sunset, and proceeded to his own house, when his mother came out, saluted him, and embraced him. she had erected her tomb in the court of her house, and had wept night and day till she became blind, but when the letter arrived from the sisters, from the rapture of joy her sight returned unto her again. she beheld the children of her son, embraced them, and that night was to her as an eed or festival. when god had caused the morning to dawn, the chief personages of bussorah visited mazin to congratulate him on his return, and the principal ladies came to his mother, and rejoiced with her on the safety of her son. at length intelligence of it reached the caliph haroon al rusheed, who sent for mazin to his presence. having entered the audience chamber, he made the usual obeisance, when the caliph returned his salute, and commanded him to sit. when he was seated, the caliph demanded that he should relate the whole of what had befallen him, to which he answered, "to hear is to obey." mazin then recited his adventures from the time the fire-worshipper who had stolen him from his mother by his stratagems, the mode of his coming to the palace of the seven ladies, the manner in which he obtained his wife, her flight from the palace of the empress zobeide, his journey to the islands of waak al waak, also the dangers and difficulties he had encountered from first to last. the caliph was astonished, and said, "the substance of these adventures must not be lost or concealed, but shall be recorded in writing." he then commanded an amanuensis to attend, and seated mazin of bussorah by him, until he had taken down his adventures from beginning to end. story of the sultan, the dervish, and the barber's son. in the capital of a sultan named rammaud lived a barber, who had a son growing up to manhood, possessing great accomplishments of mind and person, and whose wit and humour drew numerous customers to his shop. one day a venerable dervish entering it, sat down, and calling for a looking glass, adjusted his beard and whiskers, at the same time asking many questions of the young man; after which he laid down a sherif, rose up, and departed. the next day he came again, and for several days following, always finishing his visit by leaving a piece of gold upon the looking-glass, to the great satisfaction of the barber, who from his other customers never usually received more than sonic coppers of little value; but though he liked the gold, his suspicions were raised against the generous donor, supposing him to be a necromancer, who had some evil design against his son, whom, therefore, he cautioned to be upon his guard. the visits of the dervish were continued as usual for some time; when one day he found the barber's son alone in the shop, and was informed that his father had gone to divert himself with viewing some experiments which the sultan was making of the mixture of various metals, being an adept in chemistry, and eager in search of the philosopher's stone. the dervish now invited the young man to accompany him to the spot where the experiments were making, and on their arrival they saw a vast furnace, into which the sultan and his attendants cast pieces of metal of various sorts. the dervish having taken a lump of ore from his wallet threw it into the furnace; then addressing the young barber, said, "i must for the present bid you farewell, as i have a journey to take; but if the sultan should inquire after me, let him know i am to be found in a certain city, and will attend his summons." having said this, the dervish presented the barber's son with a purse of gold, took his leave, and the youth returned home. great was the surprise of the sultan, when the metals in the furnace were all melted, to find them converted into a mass of solid gold, which proved, on assay, to be of the purest quality. every one was questioned as to what he had cast into the furnace, when there appeared no reason to suppose the transmutation could have been effected by such an accidental mixture of metals. at length it was remarked, that a dervish, accompanying the barber's son, had cast in a lump of ore, and immediately disappeared. upon this the sultan summoned the youth to his presence, and inquiring after his companion, was informed of the place of his residence, and of what, on his departure, he had said to him. the sultan was overjoyed at the welcome intelligence, and dispatched the young man, with an honourable attendance, to conduct the venerable dervish to his presence, where being arrived, he was received with the most distinguishing attention, and the barber's son was promoted to high office. after some days, the sultan requested the dervish to instruct him in the transmutation of metals, which he readily did, as well as in many other occult mysteries; which so gratified his royal patron, that he trusted the administration of government to his care. this disgusted the ministers and courtiers, who could not bear to be controlled by a stranger, and therefore resolved to effect his ruin. by degrees they persuaded their credulous master that the dervish was a magician, who would in time possess himself of his throne, and the sultan, alarmed, resolved to put him to death. with this intention, calling him to the presence, he accused him of sorcery, and commanded an executioner to strike off his head. "forbear awhile," exclaimed the dervish, "and let me live till i have shown you the most wonderful specimen of my art." to this the sultan consented, when the dervish, with chalk, drew a circle of considerable extent round the sultan and his attendants, then stepping into the middle of it, he drew a small circle round himself, and said, "now seize me if you can;" and immediately disappeared from sight. at the same instant, the sultan and his courtiers found themselves assaulted by invisible agents, who, tearing off their robes, whipped them with scourges till the blood flowed in streams from their lacerated backs. at length the punishment ceased, but the mortification of the sultan did not end here, for all the gold which the dervish had transmuted returned to its original metals. thus, by his unjust credulity, was a weak prince punished for his ungrateful folly. the barber and his son also were not to be found, so that the sultan could gain no intelligence of the dervish, and he and his courtiers became the laughingstock of the populace for years after their merited chastisement. adventures of aleefa, daughter of mherejaun, sultan of hind, and eusuff, son of sohul, sultan of sind. mherejaun, sultan of hind, was many years without any progeny, and immersed in melancholy at the thought of his kingdom's passsing to another family. one evening, while indulging his gloomy thoughts, he dropped into a doze, from which he was roused by a voice exclaiming, "sultan, thy wife this night shall conceive. if she bears a son, he will increase the glory of thy house; but if a daughter, she will occasion thee disgrace and misfortune." in due time the favourite sultana was delivered of a daughter, to the great mortification of the parents, who would have destroyed her had not her infant smiles diverted their anger. she was brought up in the strictest privacy, and at the end of twelve years the sultan had her conveyed to a strong citadel erected in the middle of a deep lake, hoping in such a confinement to prevent her from fulfilling the prediction which had been made concerning her. nothing could excel the magnificence of her abode, where she was left only with female attendants of the highest accomplishments, but no male was allowed to approach even the borders of the lake, except when supplies were conveyed for the use of its fair inhabitants, who were then restricted to their apartments. the gate of the citadel was entrusted to the care of an old lady, the princess's nurse. for three years the fair aleefa lived happy in her splendid prison, but the decree of fate was not to be overcome, and an event predestined by heaven overturned the cautious project of sultan mherejaun. eusuff, a dissipated young prince, son to the sultan of sind, having offended his father, fled from his court, and with a few attendants reached the borders of the lake, in his way to seek an asylum in the territories of mherejaun. curious to know who inhabited the citadel in the midst of it, he swam over the lake, and landed at the gate, which he found shut, but no one answered his loudest call for admission. upon this he wrote a note, requesting compassion to a helpless stranger, and having fixed it to an arrow, shot it over the battlements. it luckily for him fell at the feet of the princess, then walking in one of the courts of her palace. she prevailed upon her nurse to open the gate, and at sight of eusuff fell in love with him, as he did with her. he was admitted, and the tenderest interviews took place between them. joy and pleasure prevailed in the citadel, while the prince's attendants remained, expecting his return, on the banks of the lake. after some time, sultan sohul wishing to be reconciled to his son, and having learnt the route he had taken, dispatched his nephew named yiah to assure him of forgiveness, and invite him to return to sind. yiah arriving at the lake, was informed by eusuff's attendants that the prince had entered the citadel, since which they had not seen or heard anything of him. yiah, upon this, penned a note expressive of the sultan's forgiveness, and his wish to see the prince, which he fixed to an arrow and shot it into the palace, in the garden of which it fell, as eusuff and aleefa were walking for their amusement. the prince, on reading the note, overcome with joy at the intelligence of his father's forgiveness of his errors, resolved to return home and pay his duty to his parents. he communicated his design to the princess, who was plunged into the deepest sorrow at the thought of his departure, but he comforted her by assurances of his speedy return, declaring that nothing but filial duty could have torn him from her, even for a moment. she now implored him to to take her with him, but eusuff prudently represented that such a step could only disgrace her fame and enrage her father, who, on discovery of her flight, would invade the kingdom of sind with his powerful armies, and a scene of unnecessary bloodshed would ensue. on the contrary, it they waited patiently, sultan mherejaun might be prevailed upon to consent to their union; but, in the mean time, he would visit her often, while their meetings might, through the fidelity of their mutual attendants, be kept secret. aleefa, though unwilling, was obliged to acknowledge the justice of his reasoning, and consented to his departure; but on his taking leave, with tears and embraces entreated him not to be long absent, which he promised, and with truth, for his love was sincere, and it was with difficulty he submitted to the call of duty to a forgiving parent. eusuff having swam the lake with his bow and quiver upon his head, as before, rejoined his companions, who rejoiced to see him. he was received by his cousin yiah with transports of affection, and informed of what had happened since his departure from court; after which the prince related his love adventure with the fair aleefa, at the same time requesting his secrecy, and that he would charge the same on his attendants, as to his having been in the citadel, which he should earnestly beg also of his companions to observe. after a night's repose the two princes marched towards sind, and when within a day's distance from the capital, dispatched a courier to give notice of their approach. sultan sohul, overcome with joy at the recovery of his son, having commanded the city to be ornamented and splendid entertainments to be made for his triumphal entry, with his whole court in their most magnificent array advanced to meet him. the prince, on seeing his father's train, dismounted, fell on his face, then running up, eagerly embraced the stirrup of the old sultan, who threw himself upon his neck in a transport of joy, and wept over him with tears of affectionate rapture. a horse sumptuously caparisoned was now brought for the prince's mounting, and the father and son rode side by side into the city, amid the acclamations of all ranks of people; while, as they proceeded, basins full of silver and gold, coined for the occasion, were showered amongst the assembled crowds in the streets. it is impossible to describe the tender interview between the prince and the queen his mother, whose heart had been nearly broken on the flight of her son, or the glad transports of eusuff's own ladies, who were in number three wives and forty concubines. suffice it to say, that all was joy and pleasure in the palace, except in the breast of eusuff; who mingled with the satisfaction of return to his family an ardent desire to meet again the beautiful aleefa, so that the caresses of his women gave him no pleasure; and when he retired to his apartment, he did not, as was usual, call any of them to his presence, but passed the night alone, thinking of his beloved. morning invited him to new scenes of festivity, prepared by his happy parents, who little suspected how soon they were again to lose their son. eusuff having sacrificed a few days (to him long as the eve of dissolution) to his sense of duty, could no longer restrain his impatience, but with a faithful slave named hullaul, mounted on a favourite courser behind him, left the palace undiscovered in the darkness of night, and speeded with the swiftness of the gale towards the citadel of aleefa. being arrived on the banks of the lake, he secured his saddle and bridle among some bushes, and was carried with his attendant safely through the water by his noble steed. unbounded was the joy of the princess at again meeting her faithful lover, nor was his rapture less than hers. having committed hullaul to the care of the ladies of aleefa, they retired to their apartment. thirty days rolled on almost unperceived by eusuff, who forgot his parents, his family, and country, in the delights of love. on the thirtieth evening, as eusuff and aleefa were viewing the beautiful prospect from the terrace of the palace, they perceived a boat sailing towards it, which, as it drew nearer, the princess knew to belong to her father the sultan mherejaun; upon which she requested her lover to keep himself concealed from view, while she received the persons in the vessel. eusuff accordingly withdrew into a chamber, the lattice of which looked upon the lake; but how can we express his indignant surprise, and furious jealousy, when he beheld landing from the boat two handsome young men, into the arms of one of whom aleefa threw herself with eager transport, and after mutual embraces they withdrew together into the palace. without considering that his supposed rival might be a near relation to the princess, as he in fact was, being her first cousin, who had been brought up with her till her confinement to the lake; eusuff suffered himself to be overcome by unworthy suspicion, and resolved to quit for ever a faithless mistress. having written an angry letter upraiding her with falsehood, and bidding her farewell, he with his attendant hullaul mounted his courser; then delivering his note to one of the females, to be given to the princess, he swam over the lake and speeded rapidly to his own country, where he was once more joyfully received by his parents and family; and in order to forget the charms of aleefa, he indulged himself in mirth and pleasure with his lately forsaken ladies, who, delighted with the long-wished-for return of his affection, strove with each ether who should please him best. the unsuspecting aleefa was engaged with her cousin sohaul and ali bin ibrahim, a faithful eunuch who was his attendant, asking a thousand questions and listening to the news of her father's court, when eusuff's letter was put into her hands. rising up, she withdrew into a closet, opened it, and was much vexed at its ungrateful contents; but knowing herself innocent, and trusting that her lover would return when convinced of his mistake, she composed her mind as firmly as she, could till the departure of her cousin, who after some days took leave and returned to the capital of mherejaun, leaving behind him the eunuch, to the great satisfaction of the princess, who hoped to make him the mediator between her and her beloved. nor was she mistaken. when unfolding to him the whole of her adventures with eusuff, he agreed to be the bearer of a letter, and explain to him the cause of his needless suspicion. having swam the lake with the fair aleefa's packet wrapped in his clothes upon his head, the faithful ah in twenty days reached the city of sind, and demanding an audience in private, which was readily granted, delivered his commission to the prince. eusuff, whose anger was now calmed, and who had already begun to feel uneasy at absence from the still reigning favourite of his heart, on perusing her letter was overcome with joy. he listened eagerly to the account of his fancied rival by the eloquent ali bin ibrohim, to whom he expressed his conviction of her constancy, his own sorrow for his unreasonable desertion of her, and his intention of departing to visit her the next night, till when he desired the eunuch to repose himself after his fatigue. ali bin ibrahim was then lodged, by the prince's orders, in one of the most splendid apartments of the palace, and respectfully waited upon by the domestics of his court. the night following, eusuff having ordered his favourite hullaul to make preparations, departed from sind as before, with the eunuch mounted on a second courser. they in a few days reached the borders of the lake, swam over, and to the great joy of the once more happy aleefa arrived at the citadel. the recollection of the pains of absence added a zest to the transports of reunion, and the lovers were, if possible, more delighted with each other than before their separation. the faithful ali bin ibrahim was now dismissed with invaluable presents of precious stones, and returned to the court of mherejaun, the time for his stay at the citadel of the lake being expired. on his arrival, the sultan, anxious for intelligence of his daughter's health, took him into his closet, and while he was questioning him, by some accident the eunuch's turban unfortunately falling off, the precious stones, which, with a summary of the adventures of eusuff and aleefa, and his own embassy to sind, were wrapped in the folds, tumbled upon the floor. the sultan knew the jewels, and examining the turban, to make farther discoveries, found the paper, which he eagerly read; and furious was his wrath, when from the contents it appeared that all his caution to guard against the decrees of heaven had been vain, that the princess had been seduced, and his house dishonoured. he sternly inquired of the trembling ali if eusuff was yet with his daughter, and was answered in the affirmative, when he immediately gave orders for vessels to be prepared for his departure, hoping to take him prisoner, and at the same time commanded his army to march along the banks of the lake and encamp opposite the citadel. the unfortunate eunuch was thrown into a dungeon and loaded with heavy chains, after he had been bastinadoed almost to death; but still faithful to the lovers, he prevailed upon his gaoler by a large bribe during the night to permit him to dispatch a note by a trusty messenger to the princess, apprising her of the misfortune which had happened, in hopes that she would have time to escape with eusuff towards his own country before her father's arrival. fortunately for the lovers, this information reached them the next morning, when they consulted what measures to pursue, and it was agreed, that instead of both quitting the citadel, only eusuff and hullaul should return to sind, as the princess was unequal to such a rapid journey, but that in order to ensure her safety, the slaves should, on the sultan's arrival, assure him that she had gone off with her lover, when he would either return home or pursue the prince with his army; who, however, mounted as he was on so swift a courser, could not be overtaken. it was also settled that eusuff, on his arrival in his own country, should send an embassy to mherejaun, declaring his marriage with aleefa, and requesting pardon, and leave to pay his duty as his son-in-law. this stratagem had in part its effect, but no precaution could ward off the fulfilment of the prediction at the princess's birth, which was that she should occasion the disgrace and death of her father. mherejaun armed at the citadel a few hours after eusuff's escape, and was informed by her attendants that she had also accompanied him in his flight; upon which the enraged sultan, hurried on by fate, without stopping to search the palace in which his daughter was concealed, hastened to join his troops on the banks of the lake, and with a vast army pursued the sindian prince, who, however, reached his capital in safety. on his arrival, having informed his father of his adventures, the old sultan, eager to gratify his son, approved of his additional marriage with the fair aleefa, and dispatched an embassy to mherejaun, who by this time was in the territory of sind, laying it waste with fire and sword, no troops scarcely being opposed to his sudden invasion. he received the ambassador with mortifying haughtiness, bidding him return to his master, and inform him that he never would forgive the seduction of his daughter, in revenge for which he had taken a solemn oath to overturn the kingdom of sind, raze the capital, and feast his eyes with the blood of the old sultan and his son. on receipt of this ungracious reply to his proposals, the sultan and eusuff had no alternative but to oppose so inveterate a foe. they collected their troops, by whom they were much beloved, and marched to meet the enemy, whom, after an obstinate battle, they defeated, and mherejaun was slain in the action. it is impossible to resist the decrees of heaven. from god we came, and to god we must return. eusuff, after the action, behaved with the greatest humility to the conquered, and had the body of the unfortunate mherejaun embalmed and laid in a splendid litter, in which it was conducted by a numerous escort, in respectful solemnity, to the capital of hind, and deposited with funeral pomp, becoming the rank of the deceased, in a magnificent mausoleum, which had been erected by himself, as is customary among the sovereigns of asia. the prince, at the same time, dispatched letters of condolence to the mother of aleefa, lamenting the fate of mherejaun, whom he had been, much against his will, necessitated to oppose in battle, and expressing his ardent love for her daughter, a marriage with whom was his highest hope, as it was his first wish to console the mother of his beloved in her misfortunes. the sultana, who had received intelligence of the decisive victory and the death of her husband, and who expected, instead of such conduct, to see the victor besieging her capital, felt some alleviation of her sorrow in the prospect of saving her people from destruction, by consenting to an union between eusuff and aleefa. her answer accordingly was favourable, upon which the prince of sind repaired to the lake, and conducting his willing bride to the capital of hind, at the expiration of the stated time of mourning for mherejaun, their nuptials were celebrated with all possible magnificence, amid the united acclamations of the subjects, who readily acknowledged his authority, and had no cause to repent of their submission to his yoke. his next care was to inform the caliph mamoon, who was then commander of the faithful at bagdad, of the events which had happened, accompanying his petition with a great sum of money, and offerings of all the rarities the countries of hind and sind afforded; among which were ten beautiful slaves, highly accomplished in singing, dancing, and a talent for poetry. they recited extempore verses before the caliph, but the subject of each was so expressive of their wish to return to their beloved sovereign, and delivered in so affecting a manner, that mamoon, though delighted with their wit and beauty, sacrificed his own pleasure to their feelings, and sent them back to eusuff by the officer who carried the edict, confirming him in his dominions, where the prince of sind and the fair aleefa continued long, amid a numerous progeny, to live the protectors of their happy subjects. adventures of the three princes, sons of the sultan of china. a sultaness of china being seized with an alarming illness was given over by the physicians, who declared her case incurable by any other means than the water of life, which they feared it was next to impossible to obtain before nature would be exhausted; the country in which, if anywhere, it was to be found, being so very distant. such, however, was the affection of the sultaness's three sons, that in hopes of saving their mother they resolved to go in search of the precious medicine, and departed immediately in the route pointed out by the physicians. after travelling without success to their inquiries through divers countries, they agreed to separate, in hopes that one of them at least might be fortunate enough to procure the wished-for miraculous liquid, and return home in time to save their mother. having taken an affectionate farewell, each pursued his journey alone. the eldest prince, after a fatiguing walk (for the brothers had thought it prudent to lay aside their dignity, and as safest to disguise themselves in mean habits) over a wild country, arrived at last within sight of a large city, inhabited by blasphemous jews, near which, in a superb synagogue, he laid himself down on a carpet to repose, being quite exhausted with toil and hunger. he had not rested long, when a jew rabbi entering the building, the prince begged for the love of god a little refreshment; but the wicked infidel, who hated true believers, instead of relieving, cruelly put him to death with his sabre, and wrapping the corpse in a mat, threw it into a corner of the synagogue. by ill fortune, on the day following the second prince arrived, and was treated in the same manner by the barbarous jew, and on the next came also the youngest brother to the same place, where he was met by the base assassin, who would have killed him also, had not the extraordinary beauty of the young prince struck his covetous mind with the idea of making him a slave, and selling him for a large sum of money. speaking therefore to him in a kind manner he brought him refreshments, and inquired if he was willing to be his servant, and employ himself in cleaning the synagogue and lighting the lamps; to which the prince, being in an exhausted condition, seemingly assented, seeing no other means of present support, but secretly resolved to escape when recovered from his fatigue. the jew now took him to his house in the city, and showed him, apparently, the same tenderness as he used towards his own children. the next day the prince repaired to his allotted task of cleaning the synagogue, where, to his grief and horror, he presently discovered the bodies of his unfortunate brothers. while he lamented their unhappy fate with showers of tears, the recollection of his own perilous situation, in the power of their murderer, filled his mind with terror; but after the agonies of thought were over, the natural courage of a princely heart rose in his bosom, and he meditated how to revenge the death of his brothers on the savage infidel. an opportunity happened that same night. the prince having composed his mind, finished his work, and when the jew arrived to examine it, dissembled so well, that no appearance of his inward melancholy was displayed. the jew applauded his diligence, and taking him home, made him sit down to supper with himself and family, consisting of a wife and two young lads. it being the middle of summer, and the weather sultry, they retired to sleep on the open terrace of the house, which was very lofty. in the dead of night, when the jew and his family were fast locked in the arms of slumber, the prince, who had purposely kept himself awake, seized the sabre of the treacherous infidel, and with a dexterous blow struck off his head; then snatching up the two children, hurled them headlong from the terrace, so that their brains were dashed out on the stone pavement of the court below. he then uplifted the sabre to destroy the jew's wife, but the thought that she might be of use to him withheld his hand. he awoke her gently, commanded her to make no noise, and follow him down stairs, where, by degrees, he informed her of his adventures, the discovery he had made of the murder of his brothers, and his revenge on her treacherous husband and ill-fated children, whom, however, he would not have destroyed had he not been apprehensive of their cries alarming the neighbourhood. the moosulmaun woman, for such she secretly was, did not regard the death of the wicked jew, who had married her against her will, and often used her with great harshness, and her sorrows for the children were softened by the salvation of her own life. she also felt sentiments of tenderness towards the prince, whose injuries in the murder of his unfortunate brothers had compelled him to revenge, and felt herself obliged to his mercy in letting her live. she now informed him that in the jew's laboratory were many valuable medicines, and among them the very water of life he was in search of; which intelligence was most gratifying to the prince, who offered to take the woman under his protection, and she willingly consented to accompany him to a country inhabited by true believers. having packed up the medicines, with some valuable jewels, and put them, with various refreshments and necessaries, on two camels, they mounted and left the city undiscovered, nor did any accident occur on their journey; but on reaching the capital of china, the prince found that his father was dead, while his mother, contrary to expectation, lingered in painful existence. the ministers, who had with difficulty, in hopes of the three brothers' arrival, kept the next relations of the throne from disputing their right to ascend it, were rejoiced at his return; and on being informed of the untimely end of the two elder princes, immediately proclaimed him sultan. his first care was to administer comfort and relief to his afflicted mother, on whom the water of life had an instantaneous effect; his next, to regulate the affairs of his government, which he did with such ability, justice, and moderation, that he became endeared to his subjects, and an example to other sovereigns. as the sultan, some time after his accession, was one day amusing himself in the chase, he saw a venerable arab, accompanied by his daughter, travelling on horseback. by accident the young female's veil being blown aside, displayed such beauty to the eyes of the sultan, as instantly fascinated his heart, and made him wish to have her for his sultana. he immediately made offers to her father of his alliance; but great was his mortification and surprise when the arab rejected them, saying, "that he had sworn not to give his daughter to any one who was not master of some useful trade, by which a livelihood might be earned." "father," replied the sultan, "what occasion is there that i should learn a mean occupation, when i have the wealth of a kingdom at my command?" "because," rejoined the arab, "such are the vicissitudes of the world, that you may lose your kingdom and starve, if not able to work in some way for your living." the sultan, unlike some princes, who would have seized the lady and punished the arab for his freedom, felt the force of his remark, applauded his wisdom, and requested that he would not betroth her to another, as he was resolved to make himself worthy of becoming his son-in-law by learning some handicraft, till when he hoped they would accept of an abode near the palace. to this the old man readily consented; and in a short time the sultan, eager to possess his bride, became such an adept in the handicraft of making ornamental mats for sofas and cushions of cane and reeds, that the arab agreed to the nuptials, which were celebrated with all possible splendour and rejoicing, while the subjects admired more than ever the justice and moderation of their sovereign; so true is it, that, unless in depraved states, a good prince makes a good people. some years rolled on in uninterrupted felicity to the sultan and his beloved partner. it was the custom of the former frequently to visit in the disguise of a dervish the various quarters of the city, by which means he learnt the opinions of the people, and inspected the conduct of the police. one day in an excursion of this sort he passed by a cook's shop, and being hungry, stepped in to take some refreshment. he was, with seeming respect, conducted to a back room spread with flowered carpeting, over which was a covering of muslin transparently fine. pulling off his slippers, he entered the room and sat down upon a neat musnud, but to his surprise and terror it instantly sunk under him, and he found himself at the bottom of a dark vault, where by a glimmering light he could discern several naked bodies of unfortunate persons who had been murdered, and presently appeared, descending from a narrow staircase, a black slave of savage countenance, who, brandishing a huge cimeter, cried out, "wretch, prepare thyself to die!" the sultan was alarmed, but his presence of mind did not forsake him. "what good," said he, "will my death do you or your employers? i have nothing about me but the humble habit i wear; but if you spare my life, i possess an art that will produce your employers considerable wealth." upon this, the slave going to the master of the house informed him of what the supposed dervish had said, when the treacherous cook came to inquire after the promised riches. "give me only some reeds and canes, varnished of different colours," said the sultan, "and i will make a mat, which if you carry to the palace and present to the vizier, he will purchase it for a thousand pieces of gold." the desired articles were furnished, and the sultan setting to work, in a few days finished a mat, in which he ingeniously contrived to plait in flowery characters, known only to himself and his vizier, the account of his situation. when finished, he gave it to his treacherous host, who admired the beauty of the workmanship, and not doubting of the reward, carried it to the palace, where he demanded admission, saying he had a curiosity to offer for sale. the vizier, who was then giving audience to petitioners, commanded him to be brought in; but what was his astonishment when the mat was unfolded, to see pourtrayed upon it the imminent danger of the sultan, whom he supposed to be in his haram, and whose absence the sultana had, in order to prevent confusion, commanded to be kept secret, hoping for his speedy return. the vizier instantly summoning his guards seized the villanous cook, and proceeding to his house, released the sultan from his confinement. the house was razed to the ground, and the abominable owner, with his guilty family, put to death. the sultan exultingly felt the use of having learnt a useful art, which had been the means of saving his life. story of the good vizier unjustly imprisoned. a certain vizier, though perfectly loyal and of the strictest integrity, having been falsely accused by his enemies, was, without due examination of the charges brought against him, thrown into prison, where, by orders from the sultan, he was confined to a gloomy dungeon, and allowed only bread and water for his daily food. in this wretched abode he lay for seven years, at the expiration of which, the sultan his master, who was in the habit of walking about the city in disguise to amuse himself, chanced to pass by the house of his injured minister, dressed as a dervish. to his surprise he saw it open, and a crowd of domestics busy in cleaning the apartments, and preparing for the reception of the owner, who, they said, had commanded them by a messenger from the prison to put things in order, as he should that day be restored to the sultan's favour, and return home. the sultan, who, so far from intending to release the unfortunate vizier, had almost erased the remembrance of him from his mind, was astonished at the report of the domestics, but thought his long confinement might possibly have disturbed the brain of his prisoner, who in his madness might have fancied his deliverance to be at hand. he resolved however to go and visit the prison disguised as he was, and see the vizier. having purchased a quantity of bread and cakes, he proceeded to the gaol, and requested, under pretence of fulfilling a vow he had made to feed the prisoners, to be admitted, and allowed to distribute his charity among them. the gaoler granted his request, and permitted him to visit the different cells. at length he came to that of the vizier, who was employed earnestly at his devotions, which on the entrance of the supposed dervish he suspended, and inquired his business. "i come," said he, "for though unknown to you i have always prayed for your welfare, to congratulate you on your approaching deliverance, which i understand you have announced to your domestics, but fear without foundation, not having heard of any orders for the purpose from the sultan." "that may be true, charitable dervish," said the vizier, "but depend upon it before night i shall be released and restored to office." "i wish it may be so," replied the sultan; "but upon what ground do you build an expectation, the gratification of which appears to me so improbable?" "be seated, good dervish, and i will tell you," rejoined the vizier, and began as follows: "know then, my friend, experience has convinced me that the height of prosperity is always quickly succeeded by adverse fortune, and the depth of affliction by sudden relief. when i was in office, beloved by the people for my lenient administration, and distinguished by the sultan, whose honour and advantage were the constant objects of my care, and for whose welfare i have never ceased to pray even in this gloomy dungeon, i was one evening taking the air upon the river in a splendid barge with some favourite companions. as we were drinking coffee, the cup i held in my hand, which was made of a single emerald of immense value, and which i highly prized, slipped from it and fell into the water; upon which i ordered the barge to be stopped, and sent for a diver, to whom i promised an ample reward should he recover the cup. he undressed, and desired me to point out the place at which it fell; when i, having in my hand a rich diamond ring, heedlessly, in a fit of absence, threw it into that part of the river. while i was exclaiming against my own stupidity, the diver made a plunge towards where i had cast the ring, and in less than two minutes reappeared with the coffee-cup in his hand, when to my great surprise within it i found also my ring. i rewarded him liberally, and was exulting in the recovery of my jewels, when it suddenly struck my mind, that such unusual good fortune must speedily be followed by some disaster. this reflection made me melancholy, and i returned home with a foreboding sadness, nor without cause, for that very night my enemies accused me falsely of treason to the sultan, who believed the charge, and next morning i was hurried to this gloomy cell, where i have now remained seven years with only bread and water for my support. god, however, has given me resignation to his decrees, and this day an accident occurred which makes me confident of release before night, and restoration to the sultan's favour, which, as i have always done, i will endeavour to deserve. you must know, venerable dervish, that this morning i felt an unconquerable longing to taste a bit of flesh, and earnestly entreated my keeper, giving him at the same time a piece of gold, to indulge my wish. the man, softened by the present, brought me a stew, on which i prepared to make a delicious meal; but while, according to custom before eating, i was performing my ablutions, guess my mortification, when a huge rat running from his hole leaped into the dish which was placed upon the floor. i was near fainting with agony at the sight, and could not refrain from tears; but at length recovering from the poignancy of disappointment, the rays of comfort darted upon my mind, and i reflected that as disgrace and imprisonment had instantaneously followed the fortunate recovery of my cup and ring, so this mortification, a greater than which could not have happened, would be immediately succeeded by returning prosperity. in this conviction i prevailed on the gaoler to order my domestics to make ready my house and expect my return." the disguised sultan, who, while the vizier was speaking, felt every word impress him more and more with the conviction of his innocence, had much difficulty to support his assumed character; but not choosing his visit to the prison should be known at present, he restrained his feelings, and when the minister had finished took his leave, saying, he hoped his presage would be fulfilled. he then returned undiscovered to the palace, and entering his cabinet, resumed his usual habit; after which he issued orders for the release of the vizier, sending him a robe of honour and splendid attendants to escort him to court, at the same time condemning to confiscation and imprisonment his malicious accusers. on his arrival, the sultan received the vizier with the most gracious distinction; and having presented him with the canopy of state, the seal and the inkstand set with rich jewels, the insignia of office, conducted him to a private chamber, where falling upon his neck he embraced him, and requesting him to forget past oppression, informed him of his disguised visit to the prison; after which he dismissed him to his own palace. story of the lady of cairo and her four gallants. a virtuous lady of cairo, who seldom left her house but upon urgent business, one day returning from the bath, passed by the tribunal of the cauzee just as it was breaking up, when the magistrate perceived her, and struck with her dignity and elegance of gait, from which he judged of her beauty, called her to him, and in a soft whisper expressed his desire of a private interview. the lady being resolved to punish him for his unworthy conduct, seemingly consented, and desired him to repair to her house that evening, which he gladly promised. she then pursued her route homewards, but was on the way accosted by three other men, who made her similar proposals, all which she accepted, and fixed that evening for receiving their visits. the first of these gallants was the customs tax-collector of cairo, the second the chief of the butchers, and the third a rich merchant. when the lady returned to her house she informed her husband of what had happened, and begged him to permit her to execute a stratagem that she had formed to punish their insolence, which would not only afford himself and her much laughable amusement, but solid advantage, as doubtless the lovers would each bring with him a handsome present. the husband, who knew he could trust the virtue of his wife, readily consented, and the lady having prepared a handsome entertainment, adorned herself in her richest apparel, and seated herself to receive her guests. evening had just shut in, when the venerable cauzee having finished his sunset devotions, impatiently repaired first to his mistress and knocked at the door, which the lady opened and led him upstairs, where he presented her with a rosary of valuable pearl; after which she made him undress, and in place of his robes put on a loose vest of yellow muslin, and a parti-coloured cap, her husband all the while looking at them through the door of a closet, and ready to burst his sides with laughter as he beheld the tender grimaces of the enamoured magistrate. the happiness of the venerable gallant was however soon changed to frightful alarm, for he had scarcely sat down and begun to partake of some refreshment, when a loud rap was heard at the door; upon which the lady starting up in well-affected terror, cried out, "mahummud protect us! for this is my husband's knock, and if he finds you here, he will put us both to death." the cauzee's heart sank within him, and he became more dead than alive; but the lady somewhat revived him by thrusting him into her bed-chamber, desiring him to remain still, as possibly a way might be found for his escape. he gladly retired, secretly vowing that if spared from his present threatening distress, satan should no more tempt him to make love or break the sacred law. the lady having disposed of the cauzee, hastened to the door, where she found the expecting tax-collector, who brought with him, as a present, a set of jewels. she shewed him upstairs, took off his rich clothes, and made him put on a crimson vest, and a green cap with black spots. he had scarcely sat down when the door again resounded, and she played over the same game as she had done with the cauzee, who on his also entering the bed-chamber was somewhat pleased at seeing a brother magistrate in the same ridiculous plight with himself. the venerable lovers condoled by signs with each other, but dared not speak for fear of discovery. the chief of the butchers, on his arrival, was next ushered up stairs, and his present received, then made to undress and put on a blue vest with a scarlet cap, ornamented with sea shells and bits of tinsel; but he had scarce time to finish, when a fourth loud rap was heard at the door, the scene of alarm was renewed, and the frightened gallant hurried into the room to keep company with his rivals. now appeared the respectable merchant, who presented the cunning lady with several rich veils, pieces of silk, and embroidered muslins, after which he was asked to undress and enrobe himself in a sky coloured vest and a cap striped with red and white; which he had hardly put on when a thundering knock at the gate put an end to his transports, and the wife pretending great alarm, as it was her husband's rap, forced him into the bed-chamber, where, to his surprise he discovered three of his intimate acquaintance. the husband, who had left his hiding place and knocked at the door, now entered, and after saluting his wife, sat down, when having partaken of the refreshments provided for the gallants, the happy couple entered into conversation loud enough to be overheard by the wretched inamorati, who were quaking for fear of discovery. "light of my eyes," said the husband, "didst thou meet with any thing amusing to-day in thy visit to the bath? and if so, divert me with an account of it." "i did, indeed," said the lady, "for i met with four antic creatures, whom" (at hearing this the unfortunate lovers gave themselves over for lost) "i had a great inclination to bring home with me" (here they recovered a little from their alarm) "to divert us, but fearful of your displeasure i did not; however, if agreeable, we can send for them to-morrow." the frighted gallants now indulged some hope of escape through the kindness of their cunning mistress, and began to breathe a little freer, but very short was the suspension of their fears. "i am sorry thou didst not bring them," said the husband, "because business will to-morrow call me from home, and i shall be absent for some days." upon this, the lady laughing, said, "well, then, you must know that in fact i have brought them, and was diverting myself with them when you came in, but fearful you might suspect something wrong i hurried them into our bed-chamber, in order to conceal them till i had tried your temper, hoping, should you not be in good humour, to find some means of letting them out undiscovered." it is impossible to describe the alarm into which the wretched gallants were now plunged, especially when the husband commanded his wife to bring them out one by one, saying, "let each entertain us with a dance and then recite a story, but if they do not please me, i will strike off their heads." "heaven protect us," said the cauzee, "how can men of our gravity dance? but there is no resisting the decrees of fate, nor do i see any chance of escape from this artful baggage and her savage husband but by performing as well as we can." his companions were of the same opinion, and mustered what courage they could to act as they should be ordered. the wife now entered the chamber, and putting a tambourine into the cauzee's hands, led him out and began to play a merry tune upon her lute, to which the affrighted magistrate danced with a thousand antics and grimaces like an old baboon, beating time with the tambourine, to the great delight of the husband, who every now and then jeeringly cried out, "really wife, if i did not know this fellow was a buffoon, i should take him for our cauzee; but god forgive me, i know our worthy magistrate is either at his devotions, or employed in investigating cases for to-morrow's decision." upon this the cauzee danced with redoubled vigour, and more ridiculous gestures, in hopes of evading discovery. at length he was overpowered by such unusual exercise; but the husband had no mercy upon his sufferings, and made him continue capering by threatening the bastinado, till the tired judge was exhausted, and fainted upon the floor in a bath of perspiration, when they held him up, and pouring a goblet of wine down his throat it somewhat revived him. he was now suffered to breathe a little, and something given him to eat, which, with a second cup of liquor, recovered his strength. the husband now demanded his story; and the cauzee, assuming the gesture of a coffee-house droll, began as follows. the cauzee's story. a young tailor, whose shop was opposite the house of an officer, was so attracted from his work by the appearance of a beautiful young lady, his wife, in her balcony, that he became desperately in love, and would sit whole days waiting her coming, and when she showed herself make signs of his passion. for some time his ridiculous action diverted her, but at length she grew tired of the farce she had kept up by answering his signals, and of the interruption it gave to her taking the fresh air, so that she resolved to punish him for his presumption, and oblige him to quit his stall. having laid her plan, one day when her husband was gone out for a few hours she dispatched a female slave to invite the tailor to drink coffee. to express the rapture of the happy snip is impossible. he fell at the feet of the slave, which he kissed as the welcome messengers of good tidings, gave her a piece of gold, and uttered some nonsensical verses that he had composed in praise of his beloved; then dressing himself in his best habit, he folded his turban in the most tasty manner, and curled his mustachios to the greatest advantage, after which he hastened exultingly to the lady's house, and was admitted to her presence. she sat upon a rich musnud, and gracefully lifting up her veil welcomed the tailor, who was so overcome that he had nearly fainted away with excess of rapture. she desired him to be seated, but such was his bashfulness that he would not approach farther than the corner of the carpet. coffee was brought in, and a cup presented him; but not being used to such magnificence and form, and his eyes, also, being staringly fixed on the beauties of the lady, instead of carrying the cup to his mouth, he hit his nose and overthrew the liquid upon his vest. the lady smiled, and ordered him another cup; but while he was endeavouring to drink it with a little more composure, a loud knock was heard at the door, and she starting up, cried out with great agitation, "good heavens! this is my husband's knock; if he finds us together he will sacrifice us to his fury!" the poor tailor, in terror, fell flat upon the carpet, when the lady and her slave threw some cold water upon his face, and when a little recovered hurried him away to a chamber, into which they forced him, and desired him to remain quiet, as the only means of saving his life. here he remained quivering and trembling, more alive than dead, but perfectly cured of his love, and vowing never again to look up at a balcony. when the tailor was disposed of, the lady again sat down upon her stool, and ordered her slave to open the gate. upon her husband's entering the room he was surprised at beholding things set out for an entertainment, and inquired who had been with her; when she replied tartly, "a lover." "and where is he now?" angrily replied the officer. "in yonder chamber, and if you please you may sacrifice him to your fury, and myself afterwards." the officer demanded the key, which she gave him; but while this was passing, the agony of the unfortunate tailor was worse than death; he fully expecting every moment to have his head struck off: in short, he was in a most pitiable condition. the officer went to the door, and had put the key into the lock, when his wife burst suddenly into a fit of laughter: upon which he exclaimed angrily, "who do you laugh at?" "why, at yourself, to be sure, my wise lord," replied the lady; "for who but yourself could suppose a woman serious when she told him where to find out a concealed lover? i wanted to discover how far jealousy would carry you, and invented this trick for the purpose," the officer, upon this, was struck with admiration of his wife's pleasantry and his own credulity, which so tickled his fancy that he laughed immoderately, begged pardon for his foolish conduct, and they spent the evening cheerfully together; after which, the husband going to the bath, his wife charitably released the almost dead tailor, and reproving him for his impertinence, declared if he ever again looked up at her balcony she would contrive his death. the tailor, perfectly cured of love for his superior in life, made the most abject submission, thanked her for his deliverance, hurried home, prayed heartily for his escape, and the very next day took care to move from so dangerous a neighbourhood. the husband and wife were highly diverted with the cauzee's story, and after another dance permitted him to depart, and get home as well as he could in his ridiculous habit. how he got there, and what excuse he was able to make for so unmagisterial an appearance, we are not informed; but strange whispers went about the city, and the cauzee's dance became the favourite one or the strolling drolls, whom he had often the mortification of seeing taking him off as he passed to and from the tribunal, and not unfrequently in causes of adultery the evidences and culprits would laugh in his face. he, however, never again suffered satan to tempt him, and was scarcely able to look at a strange woman, so great was his fear of being led astray. when the cauzee was gone, the lady, repairing to the apartment, brought out the grave tax-collector, whom her husband addressed by name, saying, "venerable sir, how long have you turned droll? can you favour me with a dance?" the tax-collector made no reply, but began capering, nor was he permitted to stop till quite tired. he was then allowed to sit, some refreshment was given him, and when revived he was desired to tell a story: knowing resistance vain, he complied. after having finished he was dismissed, and the other gallants were brought in and treated in a like manner. story of the merchant, his daughter, and the prince of eerauk. a certain rich merchant was constantly repining, because providence had not added to his numerous blessings that of a child to inherit his vast wealth. this want destroyed the power of affluence to make him happy, and he importuned heaven with unceasing prayers. at length one evening, just as he had concluded his devotions, he heard a voice, saying, "thy request has been heard, and thou wilt have a daughter, but she will give thee much uneasiness in her fourteenth year by an amour with the prince of eerauk, and remember there is no avoiding the decrees of fate." the merchant's wife that same night conceived, and at the usual time brought forth a daughter, who grew up an exquisite beauty. no pains were spared in her education, so that at thirteen she became most accomplished, and the fame of her charms and perfections was spread throughout the city. the merchant enjoyed the graces of his child, but at the same time his heart was heavy with anxiety for her fate, whenever he called to mind the prediction concerning her; so that at length he determined to consult a celebrated dervish, his friend, on the possible means of averting the fulfilment of the prophecy. the dervish gave him but little hopes of being able to counteract the will of heaven, but advised him to carry the beautiful maiden to a sequestered mansion, situated among unfrequented mountains surrounding it on all sides, and the only entrance to which was by a dark cavern hewn out of the solid rock, which might be safely guarded by a few faithful domestics. "here," said the dervish, "your daughter may pass the predicted year, and if any human care can avail she may be thus saved from the threatened dishonour; but it is in vain for man to fight against the arms of heaven, therefore prepare thy mind for resignation to its decrees." the merchant followed the advice of his friend, and having made the necessary preparations, accompanied by him, and attended by some white and black slaves of both sexes, arrived, after a month's journey, with his daughter, at the desired mansion; in which having placed her, he, after a day's repose, took his departure homewards with the dervish. ample stores of all necessaries for her accommodation had been laid in, and slaves male and female were left for her attendance and protection. not many days, had elapsed when an incident occurred, clearly proving the emptiness of human caution against the predestination of fate. the prince of eerauk being upon a hunting excursion outrode his attendants, and missing his way, reached the gate of the cavern leading to the mansion, which was guarded by two black slaves, who seeing a stranger, cried out to him to withdraw. he stopped his horse, and in a supplicating tone requested protection and refreshment for the night, as he had wandered from the road, and was almost exhausted from weariness and want of food. the slaves were moved by the representation of his distress, as well as awed by his noble appearance, and apprehending no danger from a single person, conducted him through the cavern, into the beautiful valley, in which stood the mansion. they then informed their mistress of his arrival, who commanded him to be introduced into an apartment, in which an elegant entertainment was provided, where she gave him the most hospitable reception. to become known to each other was to love; nor was it long ere the prediction respecting the merchant's daughter proved fully verified. some months passed in mutual happiness; when the prince, becoming anxious to return to his friends, took leave of his mistress, promising when he had seen his family to visit her again, and make her his wife. on his way he met the merchant, who was coming to see his daughter. halting at the same spot they fell into conversation, in which each inquired after the other's situation, and the prince, little aware to whom he was speaking, related his late adventure. the merchant, convinced that all his caution had been vain, concealed his uneasiness, resolved to take his daughter home, make the best of what had happened, and never again to struggle against fate. on his arrival at the cavern he found his daughter unwell; and before they reached their own abode she was delivered of a male infant, who, to save her credit, was left exposed in a small tent with a sum of money laid under its pillow, in hopes that the first passenger would take the child under his care. it so happened, that a caravan passing by, the leader of it, on examining the tent and seeing the infant, took it up, and having no children adopted it as his own. the prince of eerauk having seen his parents, again repaired to visit his beautiful mistress, and on his journey to the cavern once more met the merchant, who, at his daughter's request, was travelling towards eerauk to acquaint him with her situation. the prince, overjoyed, accompanied the merchant home, married the young lady, and with her parents returned to his dominions. their exposed son, after long inquiry, was discovered, and liberal rewards bestowed on the leader of the caravan, who at his own request was permitted to reside in the palace of eerauk, and superintend the education of his adopted son. adventures of the cauzee, his wife, &c. in the capital of bagdad there was formerly a cauzee, who filled the seat of justice with the purest integrity, and who by his example in private life gave force to the strictness of his public decrees. after some years spent in this honourable post, he became anxious to make the pilgrimage to mecca; and having obtained permission of the caliph, departed on his pious journey, leaving his wife, a beautiful woman, under the protection of his brother, who promised to respect her as his daughter. the cauzee, however, had not long left home, when the brother, instigated by passion, made love to his sister-in-law, which she rejected with scorn; being, however, unwilling to expose so near a relative to her husband, she endeavoured to divert him from his purpose by argument on the heinousness of his intended crime, but in vain. the abominable wretch, instead of repenting, a gain and again offered his love, and at last threatened, if she would not accept his love, to accuse her of adultery, and bring upon her the punishment of the law. this threat having no effect, the atrocious villain suborned evidences to swear that they had seen her in the act of infidelity, and she was sentenced to receive one hundred strokes with a knotted whip, and be banished from the city. having endured this disgraceful punishment, the unhappy lady was led through bagdad by the public executioner, amid the taunts and scorns of the populace; after which she was thrust oat of the gates and left to shift for herself. relying on providence, and without complaining of its decrees, she resolved to travel to mecca, in hopes of meeting her husband, and clearing her defamed character to him, whose opinion alone she valued. when advanced some days on her journey she entered a city, and perceived a great crowd of people following the executioner, who led a young man by a rope tied about his neck. inquiring the crime of the culprit, she was informed that he owed a hundred deenars, which being unable to pay, he was sentenced to be hung, such being the punishment of insolvent debtors in that city. the cauzee's wife, moved with compassion, immediately tendered the sum, being nearly all she had, when the young man was released, and falling upon his knees before her, vowed to dedicate his life to her service. she related to him her intention of making the pilgrimage to mecca, upon which the young man requested to accompany and protect her, to which she consented. they set out on their journey; but had not proceeded many days, when the youth forgot his obligations, and giving way to impulse, insulted his benefactress by offering her his love. the unfortunate lady reasoned with him on the ingratitude of his conduct, and the youth seemed to be convinced and repentant, but revenge rankled in his heart. some days after this they reached the sea-shore, where the young man perceiving a ship, made a signal to speak with it, and the master letting down his boat sent it to land; upon which the young man going on board the vessel, informed the master that he had for sale a handsome female slave, for whom he asked a thousand deenars. the master, who had been used to purchase slaves upon that coast, went on shore, and looking at the cauzee's wife, paid the money to the wicked young man, who went his way, and the lady was carried on board the ship, supposing that her companion had taken the opportunity of easing her fatigue, by procuring her a passage to some sea-port near mecca: but her persecution was not to end here. in the evening she was insulted by attentions of the master of the vessel, who being surprised at her coolness, informed her that he had purchased her as his slave for a thousand deenars. the unfortunate lady told him that she was a free woman, but this had no effect on the brutish sailor, who finding tenderness ineffectual proceeded to force and blows in order to reduce her to submit to his authority. her strength was almost exhausted, when suddenly the ship struck upon a rock, the master was hurried upon deck, and in a few moments the vessel went to pieces. providentially the virtuous wife laying hold of a plank was wafted to the shore, after being for several hours buffeted by the waves. having recovered her senses she walked inland, and found a pleasant country abounding in fruits and clear streams, which satisfied her hunger and thirst. on the second day she arrived at a magnificent city, and on entering it was conducted to the sultan, who inquiring her story, she informed him that she was a woman devoted to a religious life, and was proceeding on the pilgrimage to mecca, when her vessel was shipwrecked on his coast, and whether any of the crew had escaped she knew not, as she had seen none of them since her being cast ashore on a plank; but as now the hopes of her reaching the sacred house were cut off, if the sultan would allot her a small hut, and a trifling pittance for her support, she would spend the remainder of her days in prayers for the prosperity of himself and his subjects. the sultan, who was truly devout, and pitied the misfortune of the lady, gladly acceded to her request, and allotted a pleasant garden-house near his palace for her residence, at which he often visited her, and conversed with her on religious topics, to his great edification and comfort, for she was sensibly pious. not long after her arrival, several refractory vassals who had for years withheld their usual tribute, and against whom the good sultan, unwilling to shed blood, though his treasury much felt the defalcation, had not sent a force to compel payment, unexpectedly sent in their arrears; submissively begged pardon for their late disobedience, and promised in future to be loyal in their duty. the sultan, who attributed this fortunate event to the successful prayers of his virtuous guest, mentioned his opinion to his courtiers in full divan, and they to their dependents. as, according to the proverb, the sheep always follow their leader, so it was in the present instance. all ranks of people on every emergency flocked to beg the prayers and counsel of the sultan's favourite devotee; and such was their efficacy, that her clients every day became more numerous, nor were they ungrateful; so that in a short time the offerings made to her amounted in value to an incalculable sum. her reputation was not confined to the kingdom of her protector, but spread gradually abroad through all the countries in the possession of true believers, who came from all parts of asia to solicit her prayers. her residence was enlarged to a vast extent, in which she supported great numbers of destitute persons, as well as entertained the crowds of poor people who came in pilgrimage to so holy a personage as she was now esteemed. but we must now return to her pious husband. the good cauzee having finished the ceremonies of his pilgrimage at mecca, where he resided one year, and visited all the holy spots around, returned to bagdad: but dreadful was his agony and grief when informed that his wife had played the harlot, and that his brother, unable to bear the disgrace of his family, had left the city, and had not been heard of since. this sad intelligence had such an effect upon his mind, that he resolved to give up worldly concerns, and adopt the life of a wandering religious, to move from place to place, from country to country, and visit the devotees celebrated for sanctity in each. for two years he travelled through various kingdoms, and at length hearing of his wife's fame, though he little supposed the much-talked-of female saint stood in that relation to himself, he resolved to pay his respects to so holy a personage. with this view he journeyed towards the capital of the sultan her protector, hoping to receive benefit from her pious conversation and prayers. the cauzee on his way overtook his treacherous brother, who, repenting of his wicked life, had turned mendicant, and was going to confess his sins, and ask the prayers for absolution of the far-famed religious woman. time and alteration of dress, for they were both habited as dervishes, caused the brothers not to know each other. as fellow travellers they entered into conversation; and finding they were both bound the same way, agreed to continue their journey together. they had not proceeded many days when they came up with a driver of camels, who informed them that he was upon the same errand as themselves, having been guilty of a horrid crime, the reflection upon which tormented his conscience, and made life miserable; that he was going to confess his sins to the pious devotee, and consult her on whatever penance could atone for his villany, of which he had heartily repented, and hoped to obtain the mercy of heaven by a sincere reformation of life. the crime of this wretch was no less than murder; the circumstances of which we forgot to detail in its proper place. the cauzee's wife immediately after her expulsion from bagdad, and before she had met the young man who sold her for a slave, had taken shelter in the hut of a camel breeder, whose wife owed her great obligations, and who received her with true hospitality and kindness; consoling her in her misfortunes, dressing her wounds, and insisting on her stay till she should be fully recovered of the painful effects of her unjust and disgraceful punishment; and in this she was seconded by the honest husband. with this humble couple, who had an infant son, she remained some time, and was recovering her spirits and beauty when the wicked camel breeder, first mentioned, arrived on a visit to her host; and being struck with her beauty made love to her, which she mildly but firmly rejected, informing him that she was a married woman. blinded by passion, the wretch pressed his addresses repeatedly, but in vain; till at length, irritated by refusal, he changed his love into furious anger, and resolved to revenge his disappointed lust by her death. with this view he armed himself with a poniard; and about midnight, when the family were asleep, stole into the chamber where she reposed, and close by her the infant son of her generous host. the villain being in the dark made a random stroke, not knowing of the infant, and instead of stabbing the object of his revenge, plunged his weapon into the bosom of the child, who uttered loud screams; upon which the assassin, fearful of detection, ran away, and escaped from the house. the cauzee's wife awaking in a fright, alarmed her unhappy hosts, who, striking a light, came to her assistance; but how can we describe their agonizing affliction when they beheld their beloved child expiring, and their unfortunate guest, who had swooned away, bathed in the infant's blood. from such a scene we turn away, as the pen is incapable of description. the unhappy lady at length revived, but their darling boy was gone for ever. some days after this tragical event she began her pilgrimage, and, as above stated, reached the city where she released the young man from his cruel creditors, and was shortly afterwards ungratefully sold by him as a slave. but to return to the good cauzee and his wicked companions. they had not travelled far when they overtook a young man, who saluted them, and inquired their course; of which being informed, he begged to join in company, saying, that he also was going to pay his respects to the celebrated religious, in hopes that by her prayers he might obtain pardon of god for a most flagitious ingratitude; the remorse for which had rendered him a burthen to himself ever since the commission of the crime. the four pilgrims pursued their journey, and a few days afterwards overtook the master of a vessel, who told them he had some time back suffered shipwreck; since which he had undergone the severest distress, and was now going to request the aid of the far-famed woman, whose charities and miraculous prayers had been noised abroad through all countries. the companions then invited him to join them, and they proceeded on the pilgrimage together, till at length they reached the capital of the good sultan who protected the cauzee's wife. the five pilgrims having entered the city, repaired immediately to the abode of the respected devotee; the courts of which were crowded with petitioners from all parts, so that they could with difficulty gain admission. some of her domestics seeing they were strangers newly arrived, and seemingly fatigued, kindly invited them, into an apartment, and to repose themselves while they informed their mistress of their arrival; which having done, they brought word that she would see them when the crowd was dispersed, and hear their petitions at her leisure. refreshments were then brought in, of which they were desired to partake, and the pilgrims having make their ablutions, sat down to eat, all the while admiring and praising the hospitality of their pious hostess; who, unperceived by them, was examining their persons and features through the lattice of a balcony, at one end of the hall. her heart beat with joyful rapture when she beheld her long lost husband, whose absence she had never ceased to deplore, but scarcely expected ever to meet him again; and great was her surprise to find him in company with his treacherous brother, her infamous intending assassin, her ungrateful betrayer the young man, and the master of the vessel to whom he had sold her as a slave. it was with difficulty she restrained her feelings; but not choosing to discover herself till she should hear their adventures, she withdrew into her chamber, and being relieved by tears prostrated herself on the earth, and offered up thanksgivings to the protector of the just, who had rewarded her patience under affliction by succeeding blessings, and at length restored to her the partner of her heart. having finished her devotions, she sent to the sultan requesting him to send her a confidential officer, who might witness the relations of five visitors whom she was going to examine. on his arrival she placed him where he could listen unseen; and covering herself with a veil, sat down on her stool to receive the pilgrims, who being admitted, bowed their foreheads to the ground; when requesting them to arise, she addressed them as follows: "you are welcome, brethren, to my humble abode, to my counsel and my prayers, which, by god's mercy, have sometimes relieved the repentant sinner; but as it is impossible i can give advice without hearing a case, or pray without knowing the wants of him who entreats me, you must relate your histories with the strictest truth, for equivocation, evasion, or concealment, will prevent my being of any service; and this you may depend upon, that the prayers of a liar tend only to his own destruction." having said this, she ordered the cauzee to remain, but the other four to withdraw; as she should, to spare their shame before each other, hear their cases separately. the good cauzee having no sins to confess related his pilgrimage to mecca; the supposed infidelity of his wife; and his consequent resolve to spend his days in visiting sacred places and holy personages, among whom she stood so famous, that to hear her edifying conversation, and entreat the benefit of her prayers for his unhappy wife, was the object of his having travelled to her sacred abode. when he had finished his narrative the lady dismissed him to another chamber, and heard one by one the confessions of his companions; who not daring to conceal any thing, related their cruel conduct towards herself, as above-mentioned; but little suspecting that they were acknowledging their guilt to the intended victim of their evil passions. after this the cauzee's wife commanded the officer to conduct all five to the sultan, and inform him of what he had heard them confess. the sultan, enraged at the wicked behaviour of the cauzee's brother, the camel-driver, the young man, and the master of the vessel, condemned them to death; and the executioner was preparing to put the sentence in force, when the lady arriving at the presence demanded their pardon; and to his unspeakable joy discovered herself to her delighted husband. the sultan complying with her request, dismissed the criminals; but prevailed on the cauzee to remain at his court, where for the remainder of his life this upright judge filled the high office of chief magistrate with honour to himself, and satisfaction to all who had causes tried before him; while he and his faithful partner continued striking examples of virtue and conjugal felicity. the sultan was unbounded in his favour towards them, and would often pass whole evenings in their company in friendly conversation, which generally turned upon the vicissitudes of life, and the goodness of providence in relieving the sufferings of the faithful, by divine interposition, at the very instant when ready to sink under them and overwhelmed with calamity. "i myself," said the sultan, "am an example of the protection of heaven, as you, my friends, will learn from my adventures." he then began as follows. the sultan's story of himself. though now seated on a throne, i was not born to such exalted rank, but am the son of a rich merchant in a country far distant from this which i now govern. my father brought me up to his own profession; and by instruction and example encouraged me to be virtuous, diligent, and honest. soon after i had attained to the age of manhood death snatched away this valuable parent, who in his last moments gave me instructions for my future conduct; but particularly requested that nothing might ever prevail upon me to take an oath, though ever so just or necessary to my concerns. i assured him it would not: soon after which he breathed his last, leaving me, my mother, and sister in sincere grief for his loss. after the funeral i examined his property, and found myself in possession of a vast sum of money, besides an ample stock in trade, two-thirds of which i immediately paid to my mother and sister, who retired to a house which they purchased for themselves. many weeks had not elapsed when a merchant set up a claim on my father's estate for a sum of money equal to nearly the whole that i possessed: i asked him for his bond, but he had none, yet swore solemnly to the justice of his demand. i had no doubt of the falsity of his oath, but as i had promised never to swear, i could not disprove it by mine, and therefore was obliged to pay the money, which i did entirely from my own share, not choosing to distress my mother and sister by lessening theirs. after this, other unjust demands were preferred, and i paid them, rather than falsify my promise to my father, though by so doing i became reduced to the most abject poverty, as still i would not trouble my mother. at length i resolved to quit my native city, and seek for subsistence in a distant country as clerk to a merchant, or in any other way that might offer. i accordingly set out alone, and had travelled some days, when in passing over a sandy desert i met a venerable looking personage dressed in white, who kindly accosting me, inquired the object of my journey: upon which i related my story. the old man blessed me, highly praised the steadfastness of my adherence to the promise i had made to a dying father; and said, "my son, be not dismayed, thy virtuous conduct has been approved by our holy prophet, who has interceded for thee at the throne of bounty: follow me, and reap the reward of thy sufferings." i did as he desired; and we, after some time, reached this city, which was then wholly depopulated, and even this palace in a state of decay. on our entrance my venerable guide bade me welcome, saying, "here heaven has decreed thee to reign, and thou wilt soon become a powerful sultan." he then conducted me to the palace, and we descended from one of the apartments into a vault, where to my astonishment i beheld vast heaps of gold and silver ingots, large bags of coins of the same metals, and several rich chests filled with jewels of inestimable value, of all which he saluted me master. i was overcome with astonishment; but said, "of what use is all this wealth in a depopulated city? and how can i be a sultan without subjects?" the old man smiled, and said, "have patience, my son; this evening a numerous caravan will arrive here composed of emigrants, who are in search of a settlement, and they will elect thee their sovereign." his words proved true; the caravan arrived, when the old man invited them to inhabit the city; his offer was gladly accepted, and by his direction they declared me their sultan. my protector remained with me a whole year, during which he gave me instructions how to govern, and i became what i am. heaven has prospered my endeavours to do good: the fame of my liberality, justice, and clemency soon spread abroad; the city was soon filled by industrious inhabitants, who repaired the decayed buildings, and erected new ones. the country round became well cultivated, and our port was filled with vessels from every quarter. i shortly after sent for my family, for i had left behind me a wife and two sons; and you may guess from your own joy at meeting after long separation what must have been mine on such an occasion. my venerable patron, at the expiration of the year, one day thus addressed me: "my son, as my mission is completed i must now leave you; but be not alarmed, for provided thou continuest to act as thou hast begun, we shall meet again. know that i am the prophet khizzer, and was sent by heaven to protect thee. mayest thou deserve its blessings!" having said this he embraced me in his arms, and then vanished, how i know not, from my sight. for some time i continued rapt in astonishment and wonder, which at length gave place to reverential awe and gratitude to heaven; by degrees i recovered myself, and bowed down with fervent devotion. i have endeavoured to follow the admonitions of my holy adviser. it is unnecessary to say more; you see my state and the happiness i enjoy. conclusion. the sultan of the indies could not but admire the prodigious and inexhaustible memory of the sultaness his wife, who had entertained him so many nights with such a variety of interesting stories. a thousand and one nights had passed away in these innocent amusements, which contributed so much towards removing the sultan's unhappy prejudice against the fidelity of women. his temper was softened. he was convinced of the merit and great wisdom of the sultaness scheherazade. he remembered with what courage she had offered to be his wife, without fearing the death to which she knew she exposed herself, as so many sultanesses had suffered within her knowledge. these considerations, and the many other good qualities he knew her to possess, induced him at last to forgive her. "i see, lovely scheherazade," said he, "that you can never be at a loss for these little stories, which have so long diverted me. you have appeased my anger. i freely renounce the law i had imposed on myself. i restore your sex to my favourable opinion, and will have you to be regarded as the deliverer of the many damsels i had resolved to sacrifice to my unjust resentment." the sultaness cast herself at his feet, and embraced them tenderly with all the marks of the most lively and perfect gratitude. the grand vizier was the first who learned this agreeable intelligence from the sultan's own mouth. it was instantly carried to the city, towns, and provinces; and gained the sultan, and the lovely scheherazade his consort, universal applause, and the blessings of all the people of the extensive empire of the indies. end of volume . editorial note: project gutenberg also has the translation of this work by richard f. burton in volumes. the book of the thousand nights and one night: now first completely done into english prose and verse, from the original arabic, by john payne (author of "the masque of shadows," "intaglios: sonnets," "songs of life and death," "lautrec," "the poems of master francis villon of paris," "new poems," etc, etc.). in nine volumes: volume the second. delhi edition contents of the second volume. . the history of king omar ben ennuman and his sons sherkan and zoulmekan a. story of taj el mulouk and the princess dunya aa. story of aziz and azizeh b. bakoun's story of the hashish-eater c. hemmand the bedouin's story the book of the thousand nights and one night the history of king omar ben ennuman and his sons sherkan and zoulmekan. there reigned once in the city of peace, (baghdad), before the khalifate of abdulmelik ben merwan,[fn# ] a king called omar ben ennuman, who was of the mighty giants and had subdued the kings of persia and the emperors of the east, for none could warm himself at his fire[fn# ] nor cope with him in battle, and when he was angry, there came sparks out of his nostrils. he had gotten him the dominion over all countries, and god had subjected unto him all creatures; his commands were obeyed in all the great cities and his armies penetrated the most distant lands: the east and west came under his rule, with the regions between them, hind and sind and china and hejaz and yemen and the islands of india and china, syria and mesopotamia and the land of the blacks and the islands of the ocean and all the famous rivers of the earth, jaxartes and bactrus, nile and euphrates. he sent his ambassadors to the farthest parts of the earth, to fetch him true report, and they returned with tidings of justice and peace, bringing him assurance of loyalty and obedience and invocations of blessings on his head; for he was a right noble king and there came to him gifts and tribute from all parts of the world. he had a son called sherkan, who was one of the prodigies of the age and the likest of all men to his father, who loved him with an exceeding love and had appointed him to be king after him. the prince grew up till he reached man's estate and was twenty years old, and god subjected all men to him, for he was gifted with great might and prowess in battle, humbling the champions and destroying all who made head against him. so, before long, this sherkan became famous in all quarters of the world and his father rejoiced in him: and his might waxed, till he passed all bounds and magnified himself, taking by storm the citadels and strong places. now king omar had four lawful wives, but god had vouchsafed him no son by them, except sherkan, whom he had gotten of one of them, and the rest were barren. moreover he had three hundred and threescore concubines, after the number of the days of the coptic year, who were of all nations, and he had lodged them all within his palace. for he had built twelve pavilions, after the number of the months of the year, in each thirty chambers, and appointed to each of his concubines a night, which he lay with her and came not to her again for a full year. as providence would have it, one of them conceived and her pregnancy was made known, whereupon the king rejoiced with an exceeding joy, saying, "mayhap it will be a son, in which case all my offspring will be males." then he recorded the date of her conception and made much of her. but when the news came to sherkan, he was troubled and it was grievous to him, for he said, "verily, there cometh one who shall dispute the kingdom with me." so he said to himself, "if this damsel bear a male child, i will kill it." but he kept this his intent secret in his heart. now the damsel in question was a greek girl, by name sufiyeh,[fn# ] whom the king of roum,[fn# ] lord of caesarea, had sent to king omar as a present, together with great store of rarities. she was the fairest of face and most graceful of all his women and the most careful of his honour and was gifted with abounding wit and surpassing loveliness. she had served the king on the night of his lying with her, saying to him, "o king, i desire of the god of the heavens that he grant thee of me a male child, so i may rear him well and do my utmost endeavour to educate him and preserve him from harm." and her words pleased the king. she passed the time of her pregnancy in devout exercises, praying fervently to god to grant her a goodly male child and make his birth easy to her, till her months were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of delivery. now the king had given an eunuch charge to let him know if the child she should bring forth were male or female; and in like manner his son sherkan had sent one to bring him news of this. in due time, sufiyeh was delivered of a child, which the midwives took and found to be a girl with a face more radiant than the moon. so they announced this to the bystanders, whereupon the eunuch carried the news to the king and sherkan's messenger did the like with his master, who rejoiced with exceeding joy; but after these two had departed, sufiyeh said to the midwives, "wait with me awhile, for i feel there is yet somewhat in my entrails." then she moaned and the pains of labour took her again but god made it easy to her and she gave birth to a second child. the midwives looked at it and found it a boy like the full moon, with flower-white forehead and rose-red cheeks; whereupon the damsel and her eunuchs and attendants rejoiced and she was delivered of the afterbirth, whilst all who were in the palace set up cries of joy. the other damsels heard of this and envied her; and the news came to omar, who was glad and rejoiced. then he rose and went to her and kissed her head, after which he looked at the boy and bending down to it, kissed it, whilst the damsels smote the tabrets and played on instruments of music; and he commanded that the boy should be named zoulmekan and the girl nuzbet ez zeman, which was done accordingly. then he appointed nurses, wet and dry, and eunuchs and attendants to serve them and assigned them rations of sugar and liquors and oil and other necessaries, such as the tongue fails to set out. moreover the people of baghdad heard of the children that god had vouchsafed to the king; so they decorated the city and made proclamation of the good news. then came the amirs and viziers and grandees and wished the king joy of his son and daughter, wherefore he thanked them and bestowed dresses of honour and favours and largesse on them and on all who were present, gentle and simple. then he bade carry great store of jewellery and apparel and money to sufiyeh and charged her to rear the children carefully and educate them well. after this wise, four years passed by, during which time the king sent every few days to seek news of sufiyeh and her children; but all this while, his son sherkan knew not that a male child had been born to his father, having news only of the birth of his daughter nuzhet ez zeman, and they hid the thing from him, until years and days had passed by, whilst he was busied in contending with the men of war and tilting against the cavaliers. one day, as the king was sitting on his throne, there came in to him his chamberlains, who kissed the earth before him and said, "o king, there be come ambassadors from the king of the greeks, lord of constantinople the mighty, and they desire to be admitted to pay their respects to thee: so if the king give them leave to enter, we will admit them, and if not, there is no appeal from his decree." he bade admit them, and when they entered, he turned to them and asked them how they did and the reason of their coming. they kissed the earth before him and replied, "o illustrious king and lord of the long arm,[fn# ] know that king afridoun, lord of the lands of the greeks and of the nazarene armies, holding the empire of constantinople, hath sent us to make known to thee that he is now waging grievous war with a fierce rebel, the lord of caesarea; and the cause of this war is as follows. one of the kings of the arabs, awhile since, chanced, in one of his conquests, upon a treasure of the time of alexander, from which he carried away countless riches and amongst other things, three round jewels, of the bigness of an ostrich's egg, from a mine of pure white jewels, never was seen the like. upon each of these jewels were graven talismans in the greek character, and they had many properties and virtues, amongst the rest that if one of them were hung round the neck of a new-born child, no ailment would hurt him nor would he moan or be fevered, so long as it was about his neck. when they came to the hands of the arabian king and he knew their virtues, he sent the three jewels, together with other presents and rarities, as a gift to king afridoun, and to that end fitted out two ships, one bearing the treasure and presents and the other men to guard them against whoso should offer them hindrance on the sea, being nevertheless assured that none would dare waylay them, for that he was king of the arabs, more by token that their way lay through the sea in the dominions of the king of constantinople and they were bound to him, nor were there on the shores of that sea any but subjects of the most mighty king afridoun. the ships set out and sailed till they drew near our city, when there sallied out on them certain corsairs of the country and amongst them troops of the king of caesarea, who took all the treasures and rarities in the ships, together with the three jewels, and slew the men. when the news came to our king, he sent an army against them, but they defeated it; then he sent another army, stronger than the first, but they put this also to the rout; whereupon the king was wroth and swore that he would go out against them in person at the head of his whole army and not turn back from them, till he had left caesarea in ruins and laid waste all the lands and cities over which its king held sway. so he craves of the lord of the age and the time, the king of baghdad and khorassan, that he succour us with an army, to the end that glory may redound to him; and he has sent by us somewhat of various kinds of presents and begs the king to favour him by accepting them and accord us his aid." then they kissed the earth before king omar and brought out the presents, which were fifty slave-girls of the choicest of the land of the greeks, and fifty white male slaves in tunics of brocade, rich girdles of gold and silver and in their ears pendants of gold and fine pearls, worth a thousand dinars each. the damsels were adorned after the same fashion and clad in stuffs worth much money. when the king saw them, he rejoiced in them and accepted them. then he commanded that the ambassadors should be honourably entreated and summoning his viziers, took counsel with them of what he should do. accordingly, one of them, an old man named dendan, arose and kissing the earth before king omar, said, "o king, thou wouldst do well to equip numerous army and set over it thy son sherkan, with us as his lieutenants; and to my mind it behoves thee to do thus, for two reasons: first, that the king of the greeks hath appealed to thee for aid and hath sent thee presents, and thou hast accepted them; and secondly, that no enemy dares attack our country, and that if thy host succour the king of the greeks and his foe be put to the rout, the glory will fall to thee and the news of it will be noised abroad in all cities and countries; and especially, when the tidings reach the islands of the ocean and the people of western africa, they will send thee presents and tribute." when the king heard the vizier's speech, it pleased him and he approved his counsel: so he bestowed on him dress of honour and said to him, "it is with such as thee that kings take counsel and it befits that thou command the van of the army and my son sherkan the main battle." then he sent for sherkan and expounded the matter to him, telling him what the ambassadors and the vizier had said, and enjoined him to take arms and prepare to set out, charging him not to cross the vizier dendan in aught that he should do. then he bade him choose from among his troops ten thousand horsemen armed cap-a-pie and inured to war and hardship. accordingly, sherkan rose at once and chose out ten thousand horsemen, in obedience to his father's commandment, after which he entered his palace and mustered his troops and distributed money to them, saying, "ye have three days to make ready." they kissed the earth before him and proceeded at once to make their preparations for the campaign; whilst sherkan repaired to the armouries and provided himself with all the arms and armour that he needed, and thence to the stables, whence he took horses of choice breeds and others. when the three days were ended, the troops marched out of baghdad, and king omar came forth to take leave of his son, who kissed the earth before him, and he gave him seven thousand purses.[fn# ] then he turned to the vizier dendan and commended to his care his son sherkan's army and charged the latter to consult the vizier in all things, to which they both promised obedience. after this, the king returned to baghdad and sherkan commanded the officers to draw out the troops in battle array. so they mustered them and the number of the army was ten thousand horsemen, besides footmen and followers. then they loaded the beasts and beat the drums and blew the clarions and unfurled the banners and the standards, whilst sherkan mounted, with the vizier dendan by his side and the standards waving over them, and the army set out and fared on, with the ambassadors in the van, till the day departed and the night came, when they halted and encamped for the night. on the morrow, as soon as god brought in the day, they took horse and continued their march, nor did they cease to press onward, guided by the ambassadors, for the space of twenty days. on the twenty-first day, at nightfall, they came to a wide and fertile valley, whose sides were thickly wooded and covered with grass, and there sherkan called a three days' halt. so they dismounted and pitched their tents, dispersing right and left in the valley, whilst the vizier dendan and the ambassadors alighted in the midst. as for sherkan, when he had seen the tents pitched and the troops dispersed on either side and had commanded his officers and attendants to camp beside the vizier dendan, he gave reins to his horse, being minded to explore the valley and himself mount guard over the army, having regard to his father's injunctions and to the fact that they had reached the frontier of the land of roum and were now in the enemy's country. so he rode on alone along the valley, till a fourth part of the night was passed, when he grew weary and sleep overcame him, so that he could no longer spur his horse. now he was used to sleep on horseback; so when drowsiness got the better of him, he fell asleep and the horse paced on with him half the night and entered a forest; but sherkan awoke not, till the steed smote the earth with his hoof. then he started from sleep and found himself among trees; and the moon arose and lighted up the two horizons. he was troubled at finding himself alone in this place and spoke the words, which whoso says shall never be confounded, that is to say, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!" but as he rode on, in fear of the wild beasts, behold, the trees thinned and the moon shone out upon a meadow as it were one of the meads of paradise and he heard therein a noise of talk and pleasant laughter such as ravishes the wit of men. so king sherkan dismounted and tying his horse to a tree, fared on a little way, till he espied a stream of running water and heard a woman talking and saying in arabic, "by the virtue of the messiah, this is not handsome of you! but whoso speaks a word, i will throw her down and bind her with her girdle." he followed in the direction of the voice and saw gazelles frisking and wild cattle pasturing and birds in their various voices expressing joy and gladness: and the earth was embroidered with all manner of flowers and green herbs, even as says of it the poet in the following verses: earth has no fairer sight to show than this its blossom-time, with all the gently running streams that wander o'er its face. it is indeed the handiwork of god omnipotent, the lord of every noble gift and giver of all grace! midmost the meadow stood a monastery, and within the enclosure was a citadel that rose high into the air in the light of the moon. the stream passed through the midst of the monastery and therenigh sat ten damsels like moons, high-bosomed maids, clad in dresses and ornaments that dazzled the eyes, as says of them the poet: the meadow glitters with the troops of lovely ones that wander there. its grace and beauty doubled are by these that are so passing fair. virgins that, with their swimming gait, the hearts of all that see ensnare; along whose necks, like trails of grapes, stream down the tresses of their hair: proudly they walk, with eyes that dart the shafts and arrows of despair, and all the champions of the world are slain by their seductive air. sherkan looked at the ten girls and saw in their midst a lady like the moon at its full, with ringleted hair and shining forehead, great black eyes and curling brow-locks, perfect in person and attributes, as says the poet: her beauty beamed on me with glances wonder-bright: the slender syrian spears are not so straight and slight: she laid her veil aside, and lo, her cheeks rose-red! all manner lovelyness was in their sweetest sight. the locks, that o'er her brow fell down, were like the night, from out of which there shines a morning of delight. then sherkan heard her say to the girls, "come on, that i may wrestle with you, ere the moon set and the dawn come." so they came up to her, one after another, and she overthrew them, one by one, and bound their hands behind them with their girdles. when she had thrown them all, there turned to her an old woman, who was before her, and said, as if she were wroth with her, "o wanton, dost thou glory in overthrowing these girls? behold, i am an old woman, yet have i thrown them forty times! so what hast thou to boast of? but if thou have strength to wrestle with me, stand up that i may grip thee and put thy head between thy feet." the young lady smiled at her words, although her heart was full of anger against her, and said, "o my lady dhat ed dewahi, wilt indeed wrestle with me, or dost thou jest with me?" "i mean to wrestle with thee in very deed," replied she. "stand up to me then," said the damsel, "if thou have strength to do so." when the old woman heard this, she was sore enraged and the hair of her body stood on end, like that of a hedge-hog. then she sprang up, whilst the damsel confronted her, and said, "by the virtue of the messiah, i will not wrestle with thee, except i be naked." "o baggage!" so she loosed her trousers and putting her hand under her clothes, tore them off her body; then, taking a handkerchief of silk, she bound it about her middle and became as she were a bald afriteh or a pied snake. then she turned to the young lady and said to her, "do as i have done." all this time, sherkan was watching them and laughing at the loathly favour of the old woman. so the damsel took a sash of yemen stuff and doubled it about her waist, then tucked up her trousers and showed legs of alabaster and above them a hummock of crystal, soft and swelling, and a belly that exhaled musk from its dimples, as it were a bed of blood-red anemones, and breasts like double pomegranates. then the old woman bent to her and they took hold of one another, whilst sherkan raised his eyes to heaven and prayed to god that the damsel might conquer the old hag. presently, the former bored in under the latter, and gripping her by the breech with the left hand and by the gullet with the right, hoisted her off the ground; whereupon the old woman strove to free herself and in the struggle wriggled out of the girl's hands and fell on her back. up went her legs and showed her hairy tout in the moonlight, and she let fly two great cracks of wind, one of which smote the earth, whilst the other smoked up to the skies. at this sherkan laughed, till he fell to the ground, and said, "he lied not who dubbed thee lady of calamities![fn# ] verily, thou sawest her prowess against the others." then he arose and looked right and left, but saw none save the old woman thrown down on her back. so he drew near to hear what should pass between them; and behold, the young lady came up to the old one and throwing over her a veil of fine silk, helped her to dress herself, making excuses to her and saying, "o my lady dhat ed dewahi, i did not mean to throw thee so roughly, but thou wriggledst out of my hands; so praised be god for safety!" she returned her no answer, but rose in her confusion and walked away out of sight, leaving the young lady standing alone, by the other girls thrown down and bound. then said sherkan to himself, "to every fortune there is a cause. sleep fell not on me nor did the steed bear me hither but for my good fortune; for of a surety this damsel and what is with her shall be my prize." so he turned back and mounted and drew his scimitar; then he gave his horse the spur and he started off with him, like an arrow from a bow, whilst he brandished his naked blade and cried out, "god is most great!" when the damsel saw him, she sprang to her feet and running to the bank of the river, which was there six cubits wide, made a spring and landed on the other side, where she turned and standing, cried out in a loud voice, "who art thou, sirrah, that breakest in on our pastime, and that with thy whinger bared, as thou wert charging an army? whence comest thou and whither art thou bound? speak the truth, and it shall profit thee, and do not lie, for lying is of the loser's fashion. doubtless thou hast strayed this night from thy road, that thou hast happened on this place. so tell me what thou seekest: if thou wouldst have us set thee in the right road, we will do so, or if thou seek help, we will help thee." when sherkan heard her words, he replied, "i am a stranger of the muslims, who am come out by myself in quest of booty, and i have found no fairer purchase this moonlit night than these ten damsels; so i will take them and rejoin my comrades with them." quoth she, "i would have thee to know that thou hast not yet come at the booty: and as for these ten damsels, by allah, they are no purchase for thee! indeed, the fairest purchase thou canst look for is to win free of this place; for thou art now in a mead, where, if we gave one cry, there would be with us anon four thousand knights. did i not tell thee that lying is shameful?" and he said, "the fortunate man is he to whom god sufficeth and who hath no need of other than him." "by the virtue of the messiah," replied she, "did i not fear to have thy death at my hand, i would give a cry that would fill the meadow on thee with horse and foot; but i have pity on the stranger: so if thou seek booty, i require of thee that thou dismount from thy horse and swear to me, by thy faith, that thou wilt not approach me with aught of arms, and we will wrestle, i and thou. if thou throw me, lay me on thy horse and take all of us to thy booty; and if i throw thee, thou shalt be at my commandment. swear this to me, for i fear thy perfidy, since experience has it that, as long as perfidy is in men's natures, to trust in every one is weakness. but if thou wilt swear, i will come over to thee." quoth sherkan (and indeed he lusted after her and said to himself, "she does not know that i am a champion of the champions."), "impose on me whatever oath thou deemest binding, and i will swear not to draw near thee till thou hast made thy preparations and sayest, 'come and wrestle with me.' if thou throw me, i have wealth wherewith to ransom myself, and if i throw thee, i shall get fine purchase." then said she, "swear to me by him who hath lodged the soul in the body and given laws to mankind, that thou wilt not beset me with aught of violence, but by way of wrestling; else mayst thou die out of the pale of islam." "by allah," exclaimed sherkan, "if a cadi should swear me, though he were cadi of the cadis, he would not impose on me the like of this oath!" then he took the oath she required and tied his horse to a tree, sunken in the sea of reverie and saying in himself, "glory to him who fashioned her of vile water!"[fn# ] then he girt himself and made ready for wrestling and said to her, "cross the stream to me." quoth she, "it is not for me to come to thee: if thou wilt, do thou cross over to me." "i cannot do that," replied he, and she said, "o boy, i will come to thee." so she gathered her skirts and making a spring, landed on the other side of the river by him; whereupon he drew near to her, wondering at her beauty and grace, and saw a form that the hand of omnipotence had tanned with the leaves of the jinn and which had been fostered by divine solicitude, a form on which the zephyrs of fair fortune had blown and over whose creation favourable planets had presided. then she called out to him, saying, "o muslim, come and wrestle before the day break!" and tucked up her sleeves, showing a fore-arm like fresh curd; the whole place was lighted up by its whiteness and sherkan was dazzled by it. then he bent forward and clapped his hands and she did the like, and they took hold and gripped each other. he laid his hands on her slender waist, so that the tips of his fingers sank into the folds of her belly, and his limbs relaxed and he stood in the stead of desire, for there was displayed to him a body, in which was languishment of hearts, and he fell a-trembling like the persian reed in the hurricane. so she lifted him up and throwing him to the ground, sat down on his breast with buttocks like a hill of sand, for he was not master of his reason. then she said to him, "o muslim, it is lawful among you to kill christians; what sayst thou to my killing thee?" "o my lady," replied he, "as for killing me, it is unlawful; for our prophet (whom god bless and preserve!) hath forbidden the slaying of women and children and old men and monks." "since this was revealed unto your prophet," rejoined she, "it behoves us to be even with him therein; so rise: i give thee thy life, for beneficence is not lost upon men." then she got off his breast and he rose and brushed the earth from his head, and she said to him, "be not abashed; but, indeed, one who enters the land of the greeks in quest of booty and to succour kings against kings, how comes it that there is no strength in him to defend himself against a woman?" "it was not lack of strength in me," replied he; "nor was it thy strength that overthrew me, but thy beauty: so if thou wilt grant me another bout, it will be of thy favour." she laughed and said, "i grant thee this: but these damsels have been long bound and their arms and shoulders are weary, and it were fitting i should loose them, since this next bout may peradventure be a long one." then she went up to the girls and unbinding them, said to them in the greek tongue, "go and put yourselves in safety, till i have brought to nought this muslim's craving for you." so they went away, whilst sherkan looked at them and they gazed at him and the young lady. then she and he drew near again and set breast against breast; but, when he felt her belly against his, his strength failed him, and she feeling this, lifted him in her hands, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, and threw him to the ground. he fell on his back, and she said to him, "rise, i give thee thy life a second time. i spared thee before for the sake of thy prophet, for that he forbade the killing of women, and i do so this second time because of thy weakness and tender age and strangerhood; but i charge thee, if there be, in the army sent by king omar ben ennuman to the succour of the king of constantinople, a stronger than thou, send him hither and tell him of me, for in wrestling there are divers kinds of strokes and tricks, such as feinting and the fore-tripe and the back-tripe and the leg-crick and the thigh-twist and the jostle and the cross-buttock." "by allah, o my lady," replied sherkan, (and indeed he was greatly incensed against her), "were i the chief es sefedi or mohammed caimal or ibn es seddi,[fn# ] i had not observed the fashion thou namest; for, by allah, it was not by thy strength that thou overthrewest me, but by filling me with the desire of thy buttocks, because we people of chaldaea love great thighs, so that nor wit nor foresight was left in me. but now if thou have a mind to try another fall with me, with my wits about me, i have a right to this one bout more, by the rules of the game, for my presence of mind has now returned to me." "hast thou not had enough of wrestling, o conquered one?" rejoined she. "however, come, if thou wilt; but know that this bout must be the last." then they took hold of each other and he set to in earnest and warded himself against being thrown down: so they strained awhile, and the damsel found in him strength such as she had not before observed and said to him, "o muslim, thou art on thy guard!" "yes," replied he; "thou knowest that there remaineth but this bout, and after each of us will go his own way." she laughed and he laughed too: then she seized the opportunity to bore in upon him unawares, and gripping him by the thigh, threw him to the ground, so that he fell on his back. she laughed at him and said, "thou art surely an eater of bran; for thou art like a bedouin bonnet, that falls at a touch, or a child's toy, that a puff of air overturns. out on thee, thou poor creature! go back to the army of the muslims and send us other than thyself, for thou lackest thews, and cry us among the arabs and persians and turks and medes, 'whoso has might in him, let him come to us.'" then she made a spring and landed on the other side of the stream and said to sherkan, laughing, "it goes to my heart to part with thee; get thee to thy friends, o my lord, before the morning, lest the knights come upon thee and take thee on the points of their lances. thou hast not strength enough to defend thee against women; so how couldst thou make head against men and cavaliers?" and she turned to go back to the monastery. sherkan was confounded and called out to her, saying, "o my lady, wilt thou go away and leave the wretched stranger, the broken-hearted slave of love?" so she turned to him, laughing, and said, "what wouldst thou? i grant thy prayer." "have i set foot in thy country and tasted the sweetness of thy favours," replied sherkan, "and shall i return without eating of thy victual and tasting thy hospitality? indeed i am become one of thy servitors." quoth she, "none but the base refuses hospitality; on my head and eyes be it! do me the favour to mount and ride along the bank of the stream, abreast of me, for thou art my guest." at this sherkan rejoiced and hastening back to his horse, mounted and rode along the river-bank, keeping abreast of her, till he came to a drawbridge, that hung by pulleys and chains of steel, made fast with hooks and padlocks. here stood the ten damsels awaiting the lady, who spoke to one of them in the greek tongue and said to her, "go to him and take his horse's rein and bring him over to the monastery." so she went up to sherkan and led him over the bridge to the other side and he followed her, amazed at what he saw and saying in himself, "would the vizier dendan were with me, to look on these fair faces with his own eyes." then he turned to the young lady and said to her, "o wonder of beauty, now art thou doubly bound to me, firstly, by the bond of comradeship, and secondly for that thou carriest me to thy house and i accept of thy hospitality and am at thy disposal and under thy protection. so do me the favour to go with me to the land of islam, where thou shalt look upon many a lion-hearted prince and know who i am." his speech angered her and she said to him, "by the virtue of the messiah, thou art keen of wit with me! but i see now what depravity is in thy heart and how thou allowest thyself to say a thing that proves thee a traitor. how should i do what thou sayest, when i know that, if i came to thy king omar ben ennuman, i should never win free of him? for he has not the like of me among his women nor in his palace, all lord of baghdad and khorassan as he is, with his twelve palaces, in number as the months of the year, and his concubines therein, in number as the days thereof; and if i come to him, he will not respect me, for that ye hold it lawful to take possession of the like of me, as it is said in your scripture, 'that which your right hand possesses.'[fn# ] so how canst thou speak thus to me? as for thy saying, 'thou shalt look upon the champions of the muslims,' by the messiah, thou sayst that which is not true; for i saw your army, when it reached our country, these two days ago, and i did not see that your ordinance was that of kings, but beheld you only as a rabble of men collected together. and as for thy saying, 'thou shalt know who i am,' i did not show thee courtesy of any intent to honour thee, but out of pride in myself; and the like of thee should not say this to the like of me, even though thou be sherkan himself, king omar ben ennuman's son, who is renowned in these days." "and dost thou know sherkan?" asked he. "yes," replied she; "and i know of his coming with an army of ten thousand horse, for that he was sent by his father with these troops to the succour of the king of constantinople." "o my lady," rejoined sherkan, "i conjure thee, as thou believest in thy religion, tell me the cause of all this, that i may know truth from falsehood and with whom the fault lies." "by the virtue of thy faith," replied she, "were it not that i fear lest the news of me be bruited abroad that i am of the daughters of the greeks, i would adventure myself and sally forth against the ten thousand horse and kill their chief, the vizier dendan, and take their champion sherkan. nor would there be any reproach to me in this, for i have read books and know the arabic language and have studied good breeding and polite letters. but i have no need to vaunt my own prowess to thee, for thou hast tasted of my quality and proved my strength and skill and pre-eminence in wrestling; nor if sherkan himself had been in thy place to-night and it had been said to him, 'leap this river,' could he have done so. and i could wish well that the messiah would throw him into my hands here in this monastery, that i might go forth to him in the habit of a man and pull him from his saddle and take him prisoner and lay him in fetters." when sherkan heard this, pride and heat and warlike jealousy overcame him and he was minded to discover himself and lay violent hands on her but her beauty held him back from her, and he repeated the following verse: their charms, whatever fault the fair commit, a thousand intercessors bring for it. so she went up, and he after her; whilst he looked at her back and saw her buttocks smiting against each other, like the billows in the troubled sea; and he recited the following verses: in her face an advocate harbours, who blots out her every fault from the hearts of mankind, for he is mighty to intercede. whenas i look at her face, i cry in my wonder aloud, "the moon of the skies in the night of her full is risen indeed!" if the afrit of belkis[fn# ] himself should wrestle a fall with her, her charms would throw him forthright, for all his strength and speed. they went on till they reached a vaulted gate, arched over with marble. this she opened and entered with sherkan into a long vestibule, vaulted with ten arches from each of which hung a lamp of crystal, shining like the rays of the sun. the damsels met her at the end of the vestibule, bearing perfumed flambeaux and having on their heads kerchiefs embroidered with all manner jewels and went on before her, till they came to the inward of the monastery, where sherkan saw couches set up all around, facing one another and overhung with curtains spangled with gold. the floor was paved with all kinds of variegated marbles, and in the midst was a basin of water, with four-and-twenty spouts of gold around it, from which issued water like liquid silver; whilst at the upper end stood a throne covered with silks of royal purple. then said the damsel, "o my lord, mount this throne." so he seated himself on it, and she withdrew: and when she had been absent awhile, he asked the servants of her, and they said, "she hath gone to her sleeping-chamber; but we will serve thee as thou shalt order." so they set before him rare meats and he ate till he was satisfied, when they brought him a basin of gold and an ewer of silver, and he washed his hands. then his mind reverted to his troops, and he was troubled, knowing not what had befallen them in his absence and thinking how he had forgotten his father's injunctions, so that he abode oppressed with anxiety and repenting of what he had done, till the dawn broke and the day appeared, when he lamented and sighed and became drowned in the sea of melancholy, repeating the following verses: i lack not of prudence and yet in this case i've been fooled; so what shift shall avail unto me? if any could ease me of love and its stress, of my might and my virtue i'd set myself free. but alas! my heart's lost in the maze of desire, and no helper save god in my strait can i see. hardly had he finished, when up came more than twenty damsels like moons, encompassing the young lady, who appeared amongst them as the full moon among stars. she was clad in royal brocade and girt with a woven girdle set with various kinds of jewels, that straitly clasped her waist and made her buttocks stand out as they were a hill of crystal upholding a wand of silver; and her breasts were like double pomegranates. on her head she wore a network of pearls, gemmed with various kinds of jewels, and she moved with a coquettish swimming gait, swaying wonder-gracefully, whilst the damsels held up her skirts. when sherkan saw her beauty and grace, he was transported for joy and forgot his army and the vizier dendan end springing to his feet, cried out, "beware, beware of that girdle rare!" and repeated the following verses: heavy of buttocks, languorous of gait, with limber shape and breasts right delicate, she hides what passion in her bosom burns; yet cannot i my heat dissimulate. her maidens, like strung pearls, behind her fare, now all dispersed now knit in ordered state. she fixed her eyes on him and considered him awhile, till she was assured of him, when she came up to him and said, "indeed the place is honoured and illumined by thy presence, o sherkan! how didst thou pass the night, o hero, after we went away and left thee? verily lying is a defect and a reproach in kings, especially in great kings; and thou art sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman; so henceforth tell me nought but truth and strive not to keep the secret of thy condition, for falsehood engenders hatred and enmity. the arrow of destiny hath fallen on thee, and it behoves thee to show resignation and submission." when sherkan heard what she said, he saw nothing for it but to tell her the truth so he said, "i am indeed sherkan, son of omar ben ennuman, whom fortune hath afflicted and cast into this place: so now do whatsoever thou wilt." she bowed her head a long while, then turned to him and said, "reassure thyself and be of good cheer; for thou art my guest, and bread and salt have passed between us; so art thou in my safeguard and under my protection. have no fear; by the virtue of the messiah, if all the people of the earth sought to harm thee, they should not come at thee till the breath had left my body for thy sake; for thou art under my protection and that of the messiah." then she sat down by his side and began to sport with him, till his alarm subsided and he knew that, had she been minded to kill him, she would have done so on the past night. after awhile, she spoke in the greek tongue to one of her serving-women, who went away and returned in a little with a goblet and a tray of food; but sherkan abstained from eating, saying in himself, "maybe she hath put somewhat in this meat." she knew what was in his thought; so she turned to him and said, "by the virtue of the messiah, the case is not as thou deemest, nor is there aught in this food of what thou suspectest! were i minded to kill thee, i had done so before now." then she came to the table and ate a mouthful of every dish, whereupon sherkan came forward and fell to. she was pleased at this, and they both ate till they were satisfied, after which she let bring perfumes and sweet-smelling herbs and wines of all colours and kinds, in vessels of gold and silver and crystal. she filled a first cup and drank it off, before offering it to sherkan, even as she had done with the food. then she filled a second time and gave the cup to him. he drank and she said to him, "see, o muslim, how thou art in the utmost delight and pleasure of life!" and she ceased not to drink and to ply him with drink, till he took leave of his wits, for the wine and the intoxication of love for her. presently she said to the serving-maid, "o merjaneh, bring us some instruments of music." "i hear and obey," replied merjaneh, and going out, returned immediately with a lute, a persian harp, a tartar flute and an egyptian dulcimer. the young lady took the lute and tuning it, sang to it in a dulcet voice, softer than the zephyr and sweeter than the waters of tesnim,[fn# ] the following verses: may allah assoilzie thine eyes! how much is the blood they have shed! how great is the tale of the shafts thy pitiless glances have sped! i honour the mistress, indeed, that harshly her suitor entreats; 'tis sin in the loved to relent or pity a lover misled. fair fortune and grace to the eyes that watch the night, sleepless, for thee, and hail to the heart of thy slave, by day that is heavy as lead! 'tis thine to condemn me to death, for thou art my king and my lord. with my life i will ransom the judge, who heapeth unright on my head. then each of the damsels rose and taking an instrument played and sang to it in the greek language. the lady their mistress, sang also, to sherkan's delight. then she said to him, "o muslim, dost thou understand what i say?" "no," replied he; "it was the beauty of thy finger-tips that threw me into ecstasies." she laughed and said, "if i sang to thee in arabic, what wouldst thou do?" "i should lose the mastery of my reason," replied he. so she took an instrument and changing the measure, sang the following verses: parting must ever bitter be; how shall one bear it patiently? three things are heavy on my heart, absence, estrangement, cruelty. i love a fair to whom i'm thrall, and severance bitter is to me. then she looked at sherkan and found he had lost his senses for delight: and he lay amongst them insensible awhile, after which he revived and recalling the singing inclined to mirth. then they fell again to drinking and ceased not from sport and merriment till the day departed with the evening and the night let fall her wings. thereupon she rose and retired to her chamber. sherkan enquired after her and being told that she was gone to her bedchamber, said, "i commend her to the safe-keeping of god and to his protection!" as soon as it was day, a waiting-woman came to him and said, "my mistress bids thee to her." so he rose and followed her, and as he drew near her lodging, the damsels received him with smitten tabrets and songs of greeting and escorted him to a great door of ivory set with pearls and jewels. here they entered and he found himself in a spacious saloon, at the upper end of which was a great estrade, carpeted with various kinds of silk, and round it open lattices giving upon trees and streams. about the place were figures, so fashioned that the air entered them and set in motion instruments of music within them, and it seemed to the beholder as if they spoke. here sat the young lady, looking on the figures; but when she saw sherkan, she sprang to her feet and taking him by the hand, made him sit down by her and asked him how he had passed the night. he blessed her and they sat talking awhile, till she said to him, "knowest thou aught touching lovers and slaves of passion?" "yes," replied he; "i know some verses on the subject." "let me hear them," said she. so he repeated the following verses: pleasure and health, o azzeh, and good digestion to thee! how with our goods and our names and our honours thou makest free! by allah, whene'er i blow hot, she of a sudden blows cold, and no sooner do i draw near, than off at a tangent flies she! indeed, as i dote upon azzeh, as soon as i've cleared me of all that stands between us and our loves, she turns and abandons me; as a traveller that trusts in the shade of a cloud for his noontide rest, but as soon as he halts, the shade flits and the cloud in the distance cloth flee. when she heard this, she said, "verily kutheiyir[fn# ] was a poet of renown and a master of chaste eloquence and attained rare perfection in praise of azzeh, especially when he says: 'if azzeh should before a judge the sun of morning cite, needs must the umpire doom to her the meed of beauty bright; and women all, who come to me, at her to rail and flite, god make your cheeks the sandal-soles whereon her feet alight!' "and indeed it is reported," added she, "that azzeh was endowed with the extreme of beauty and grace." then she said to sherkan, "o king's son, dost thou know aught of jemil's[fn# ] verses to butheineh?" "yes," replied he; "none knows jemil's verses better than i." and he repeated the following: "up and away to the holy war, jemil!" they say; and i, "what have i to do with waging war except among the fair?" for deed and saying with them alike are full of ease and cheer, and he's a martyr[fn# ] who tilts with them and falleth fighting there. if i say to butheineh, "what is this love, that eateth my life away?" she answers, "tis rooted fast in thy heart and will increase fore'er." or if i beg her to give me back some scantling of my wit, wherewith to deal with the folk and live, she answereth, "hope it ne'er!" thou willst my death, ah, woe is me! thou willst nought else but that; yet i, i can see no goal but thee, towards which my wishes fare. "thou hast done well, o king's son," said she, "and jemil also did excellently well. but what would butheineh have done with him that he says, 'thou wishest to kill me and nought else?'" "o my lady," replied he, "she sought to do with him what thou seekest to do with me, and even that will not content thee." she laughed at his answer, and they ceased not to carouse till the day departed and the night came with the darkness. then she rose and went to her sleeping-chamber, and sherkan slept in his place till the morning. as soon as he awoke, the damsels came to him with tambourines and other instruments of music, according to their wont, and kissing the earth before him, said to him, "in the name of god, deign to follow us; for our mistress bids thee to her." so he rose and accompanied the girls, who escorted him, smiting on tabrets and other instruments of music, to another saloon, bigger than the first and decorated with pictures and figures of birds and beasts, passing description. sherkan wondered at the fashion of the place and repeated the following verses: my rival plucks, of the fruits of the necklets branching wide, pearls of the breasts in gold enchased and beautified with running fountains of liquid silver in streams and cheeks of rose and beryl, side by side. it seemeth, indeed, as if the violet's colour vied with the sombre blue of the eyes, with antimony dyed.[fn# ] when the lady saw sherkan, she came to meet him, and taking him by the hand, said to him, "o son of king omar ben ennuman, hast thou any skill in the game of chess?" "yes," replied he; "but do not thou be as says the poet." and he repeated the following verses: i speak, and passion, the while, folds and unfolds me aye; but a draught of the honey of love my spirits thirst could stay. i sit at the chess with her i love, and she plays with me, with white and with black; but this contenteth me no way. meseemeth as if the king were set in the place of the rook and sought with the rival queens a bout of the game to play. and if i looked in her eyes, to spy the drift of her moves, the amorous grace of her glance would doom me to death straightaway. then she brought the chess-board and played with him; but instead of looking at her moves, he looked at her face and set the knight in the place of the elephant[fn# ] and the elephant in the place of the knight. she laughed and said to him, "if this be thy play, thou knowest nothing of the game." "this is only the first bout," replied he; "take no count of it." she beat him, and he replaced the pieces and played again with her; but she beat him a second time and a third and a fourth and a fifth. so she fumed to him and said, "thou art beaten in everything." "o my lady," answered he, "how should one not be beaten, who plays with the like of thee?" then she called for food, and they ate and washed their hands, after which the maids brought wine, and they drank. presently, the lady took the dulcimer, for she was skilled to play thereon, and sang to it the following verses: fortune is still on the shift, now gladness and now woe; i liken it to the tide, in its ceaseless ebb and flow. so drink, if thou have the power, whilst it is yet serene, lest it at unawares depart, and thou not know. they gave not over carousing till nightfall, and this day was pleasanter than the first. when the night came, the lady went to her sleeping-chamber, leaving sherkan with the damsels. so he threw himself on the ground and slept till the morning, when the damsels came to him with tambourines and other musical instruments, according to their wont. when he saw them, he sat up; and they took him and carried him to their mistress, who came to meet him and taking him by the hand, made him sit down by her side. then she asked him how he had passed the night, to which he replied by wishing her long life; and she took the lute and sang the following verses: incline not to parting, i pray, for bitter its taste is alway. the sun at his setting grows pale, to think he must part from the day. hardly had she made an end of singing, when there arose of a sudden a great clamour, and a crowd of men and knights rushed into the place, with naked swords gleaming in their hands, crying out in the greek tongue, "thou hast fallen into our hands, o sherkan! be sure of death!" when he heard this, he said to himself, "by allah, she hath laid a trap for me and held me in play, till her men should come! these are the knights with whom she threatened me: but it is i who have thrown myself into this peril." then he turned to the lady to reproach her, but saw that she had changed colour; and she sprang to her feet and said to the new-comers, "who are ye?" "o noble princess and unpeered pearl," replied the knight their chief, "dost thou know who is this man with thee?" "not i," answered she. "who is he?" quoth the knight, "he is the despoiler of cities and prince of cavaliers, sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman. this is he who captures the citadels and masters the most impregnable strengths. the news of him reached king herdoub, thy father, by the report of the old princess dhat ed dewahi; and thou hast done good service to the army of the greeks by helping them to lay hands on this pestilent lion." when she heard this, she looked at the knight and said to him, "what is thy name?" and he answered, "my name is masoureh son of thy slave mousoureh ben kasherdeh, chief of the nobles." quoth she, "and how camest thou in to me without my leave?" "o our lady," replied he, "when i came to the gate, neither chamberlain nor porter offered me any hindrance; but all the gate-keepers rose and forewent me as of wont; though, when others come, they leave them standing at the gate, whilst they ask leave for them to enter. but this is no time for long talk, for the king awaits our return to him with this prince, who is the mainstay of the army of islam, that he may kill him and that his troops may depart whence they came, without our having the toil of fighting them." "thou sayest an ill thing," rejoined the princess. "verily, the lady dhat ed dewahi lied; and she hath avouched a vain thing, of which she knows not the truth; for by the virtue of the messiah, this man who is with me is not sherkan, nor is he a captive, but a stranger, who came to us, seeking hospitality, and we received him as a guest. so, even were we assured that this was sherkan and did we know that it was he beyond doubt, it would suit ill with my honour that i should deliver into your hands one who hath come under my safeguard. betray me not, therefore, in the person of my guest, neither bring me into ill repute among men; but return to the king my father and kiss the earth before him and tell him that the case is not according to the report of the lady dhat ed dewahi." "o abrizeh," replied the knight masoureh, "i cannot go back to the king without his enemy." quoth she (and indeed she was angry), "out on thee! return to him with the answer, and no blame shall fall on thee." but he said, "i will not return without him." at this her colour changed and she exclaimed, "a truce to talk and idle words; for of a verity this man would not have come in to us, except he were assured that he could of himself make head against a hundred horse; and if i said to him, 'art thou sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman?' he would answer, 'yes.' nathless, it is not in your power to hinder him; for if ye beset him, he will not turn back from you, till he have slain all that are in the place. behold, he is with me and i will bring him before you, with his sword and buckler in his hands." "if i be safe from thy wrath," replied masoureh, "i am not safe from that of thy father, and when i see him, i shall sign to the knights to take him prisoner, and we will carry him, bound and abject, to the king." when she heard this, she said, "the thing shall not pass thus, for it would be a disgrace. this man is but one and ye are a hundred. so, an ye be minded to attack him, come out against him, one after one, that it may appear to the king which is the valiant amongst you." "by the messiah," rejoined masoureh, "thou sayest sooth, and none but i shall go out against him first!" then she said, "wait till i go to him and tell him and hear what he says. if he consent, it is well but if he refuse, ye shall not anywise come at him, for i and my damsels and all that are in the house will be his ransom." so she went to sherkan and told him the case, whereat he smiled and knew that she had not betrayed him, but that the matter had been bruited abroad, till it came to the king, against her wish. so he laid all the blame on himself, saying, "how came i to venture myself in the country of the greeks?" then he said to her, "indeed, to let them tilt against me, one by one, were to lay on them a burden more than they can bear. will they not come out against me, ten by ten?" "that were knavery and oppression," replied she. "one man is a match for another." when he heard this, he sprang to his feet and made towards them, with his sword and battle-gear; and masoureh also sprang up and rushed on him. sherkan met him like a lion and smote him with his sword upon the shoulder, that the blade came out gleaming from his back and vitals. when the princess saw this, sherkan's prowess was magnified in her eyes and she knew that she had not overthrown him by her strength, but by her beauty and grace. so she turned to the knights and said to them, "avenge your chief!" thereupon out came the slain man's brother, a fierce warrior, and rushed upon sherkan, who delayed not, but smote him on the shoulders, and the sword came out, gleaming, from his vitals. then cried the princess, "o servants of the messiah, avenge your comrades!" so they ceased not to come out against him, one by one, and he plied them with the sword, till he had slain fifty knights, whilst the princess looked on. and god cast terror into the hearts of those who were left, so that they held back and dared not meet him in single combat, but rushed on him all at once; and he drove at them with a heart firmer than a rock and smote them as the thresher smiteth the corn, till he had driven sense and life forth of them. then the princess cried out to her damsels, saying, "who is left in the monastery?" "none but the porters," replied they; whereupon she went up to sherkan and embraced him, and he returned with her to the saloon, after he had made an end of the mellay. now there remained a few of the knights hidden in the cells of the convent, and when abrizeh saw this, she rose and going away, returned, clad in a strait-ringed coat of mail and holding in her hand a scimitar of indian steel. and she said, "by the virtue of the messiah, i will not be grudging of myself for my guest nor will i abandon him, though for this i abide a reproach in the land of the greeks!" then she counted the dead and found that he had slain fourscore of the knights and other twenty had taken flight. when she saw how he had dealt with them, she said to him, "god bless thee, o sherkan! the cavaliers may well glory in the like of thee!" then he rose and wiping his sword of the blood of the slain, repeated the following verses: how often in battle i've cleft the array and given the champions to wild beasts a prey! ask all men what happened to me and to them, when i drove through the ranks on the sword-smiting day. i left ail their lions of war overthrown: on the sun-scorched sands of those countries they lay. when he had finished, the princess came up to him and kissed his hand; then she put off her coat of mail, and he said to her, "o my lady, wherefore didst thou don that coat of mail and bare thy sabre?" "it was of my care for thee against yonder wretches," replied she. then she called the porters and said to them, "how came you to let the king's men enter my house, without my leave!" "o princess," replied they, "we have not used to need to ask leave for the king's messengers, and especially for the chief of the knights." quoth she, "i think you were minded to dishonour me and slay my guest." and she bade sherkan strike off their heads. he did so and she said to the rest of her servants, "indeed, they deserved more than that." then turning to sherkan, she said to him, "now that there hath become manifest to thee what was hidden, i will tell thee my story. know, then, that i am the daughter of herdoub, king of roum; my name is abrizeh and the old woman called dhat ed dewahi is my grandmother, my father's mother. she it was who told my father of thee, and she will certainly cast about to ruin me, especially as thou hast slain my father's men and it is noised abroad that i have made common cause with the muslims. wherefore it were wiser that i should leave dwelling here, what while dhat ed dewahi is behind me; but i claim of thee the like kindness and courtesy i have shown thee, for my father and i are now become at odds on thine account. so do not thou omit to do aught that i shall say to thee, for indeed all this hath fallen out through thee." at this, sherkan was transported for joy and his breast dilated, and he said, "by allah, none shall come at thee, whilst my life lasts in my body! but canst thou endure the parting from thy father and thy folk?" "yes," answered she. so sherkan swore to her and they made a covenant of this. then said she, "now my heart is at ease; but there is one other condition i must exact of thee." "what is that?" asked sherkan. "it is," replied she, "that thou return with thy troops to thine own country." "o my lady," said he, "my father, king omar ben ennuman, sent me to make war upon thy father, on account of the treasure he took from the king of constantinople, and amongst the rest three great jewels, rich in happy properties." "reassure thyself," answered she; "i will tell thee the truth of the matter and the cause of the feud between us and the king of constantinople. know that we have a festival called the festival of the monastery, for which each year the kings' daughters of various countries and the wives and daughters of the notables and merchants resort to a certain monastery and abide there seven days. i was wont to resort thither with the rest; but when there befell hostility between us, my father forbade me to be present at the festival for the space of seven years. one year, it chanced that amongst the young ladies who resorted to the festival as of wont, there came the king's daughter of constantinople, a handsome girl called sufiyeh. they tarried at the monastery six days, and on the seventh, the folk went away; but sufiyeh said, 'i will not return to constantinople, but by sea.' so they fitted her out a ship, in which she embarked, she and her suite, and put out to sea; but as they sailed, a contrary wind caught them and drove the ship from her course, till, as fate and providence would have it, she fell in with a ship of the christians from the island of camphor, with a crew of five hundred armed franks, who had been cruising about for some time. when they sighted the sails of the ship in which were sufiyeh and her maidens, they gave chase in all haste and coming up with her before long, threw grapnels on board and made fast to her. then they made all sail for their own island and were but a little distant from it, when the wind veered and rent their sails and cast them on to a reef on our coast. thereupon we sallied forth on them, and looking on them as booty driven to us by fate, slew the men and made prize of the ships, in which we found the treasures and rarities in question and forty damsels, amongst whom was sufiyeh. we carried the damsels to my father, not knowing that the king's daughter of constantinople was among them, and he chose out ten of them, including sufiyeh, for himself, and divided the rest among his courtiers. then he set apart sufiyeh and four other girls and sent them to thy father, king omar ben ennuman, together with other presents, such as cloth and stuffs of wool and grecian silks. thy father accepted them and chose out from amongst the five girls the princess sufiyeh, daughter of king afridoun; nor did we hear aught more of the matter till the beginning of this year, when king afridoun wrote to my father in terms which it befits not to repeat, reproaching and menacing him and saying to him, 'two years ago, there fell into thy hands a ship of ours, that had been seized by a company of frankish corsairs and in which was my daughter sufiyeh, attended by near threescore damsels. yet thou sentest none to tell me of this and i could not make the case public, lest disgrace fall on my repute among the kings, by reason of my daughter's dishonour. so i kept the affair secret till this year, when i communicated with certain of the frankish pirates and sought news of my daughter from the kings of the islands. they replied, "by allah, we carried her not forth of thy realm, but we have heard that king herdoub took her from certain pirates." and they told me all that had befallen her. so now, except thou wish to be at feud with me and design to disgrace me and dishonour my daughter, thou wilt forthright, as soon as this letter reaches thee, send my daughter back to me. but if thou pay no heed to my letter and disobey my commandment, i will assuredly requite thee thy foul dealing and the baseness of thine acts.' when my father read this letter, it was grievous to him and he regretted not having known that sufiyeh, king afridoun's daughter, was amongst the captured damsels, that he might have sent her back to her father; and he was perplexed about the affair, for that, after the lapse of so long a time, he could not send to king omar ben ennuman and demand her back from him, the more that he had lately heard that god had vouchsafed him children by this very sufiyeh. so when we considered the matter, we knew that this letter was none other than a great calamity; and nothing would serve but that my father must write an answer to it, making his excuses to king afridoun and swearing to him that he knew not that his daughter was among the girls in the ship and setting forth how he had sent her to king omar ben ennuman and god had vouchsafed him children by her. when my father's reply reached king afridoun, he rose and sat down and roared and foamed at the mouth, exclaiming, 'what! shall he make prize of my daughter and she become a slave-girl and be passed from hand to hand and sent for a gift to kings, and they lie with her without a contract? by the virtue of the messiah and the true faith, i will not desist till i have taken my revenge for this and wiped out my disgrace, and indeed i will do a deed that the chroniclers shall chronicle after me.' so he took patience till he had devised a plot and laid great snares, when he sent an embassy to thy father king omar, to tell him that which thou hast heard so that thy father equipped thee and an army with thee and sent thee to him, afridoun's object being to lay hold of thee and thine army with thee. as for the three jewels of which he told thy father, he spoke not the truth of them; for they were with sufiyeh and my father took them from her, when she fell into his hands, she and her maidens, and gave them to me, and they are now with me. so go thou to thy troops and turn them back, ere they fare farther into the land of the franks and the country of the greeks; for as soon as you are come far enough into the inward of the country, they will stop the roads upon you, and there will be no escape for you from their hands till the day of rewards and punishments. i know that thy troops are still where thou leftest them, because thou didst order them to halt there three days; and they have missed thee all this time and know not what to do." when sherkan heard her words, he was absent awhile in thought then he kissed abrizeh's hand and said, "praise be to god who hath bestowed thee on me and appointed thee to be the cause of my salvation and that of those who are with me! but it is grievous to me to part from thee and i know not what will become of thee after my departure." quoth she, "go now to thy troops and lead them back, whilst ye are yet near your own country. if the ambassadors are still with them, lay hands on them, that the case may be made manifest to thee, and after three days i will rejoin thee and we will all enter baghdad together; but forget thou not the compact between us." then she rose to bid him farewell and assuage the fire of longing; so she took leave of him and embraced him and wept sore; whereupon passion and desire were sore upon him and he also wept and repeated the following verses: i bade her farewell, whilst my right hand was wiping my eyes, and still with my left, the while, i held her in close embrace. then, "fearest thou not disgrace?" quoth she; and i answered, "no. sure, on the parting-day, for lovers there's no disgrace!" then sherkan left her and went without the monastery, where they brought him his horse and he mounted and rode down the bank of the stream, till he came to the bridge, and crossing it, entered the forest. as soon as he was clear of the trees and came to the open country, he was aware of three horsemen pricking towards him. so he drew his sword and rode on cautiously: but as they drew near he recognized them and behold, it was the vizier dendan and two of his officers. when they saw him and knew him, they dismounted and saluting him, asked the reason of his absence, whereupon he told them all that had passed between him and the princess abrizeh from first to last. the vizier returned thanks to god the most high for his safety and said, "let us at once depart hence, for the ambassadors that were with us are gone to inform their king of our arrival, and belike he will hasten to fall on us and seize us." so they rode on in haste, till they came to the camp, when sherkan commanded to depart forthright, and the army set out and journeyed by forced marches for five days, at the end of which time they alighted in a thickly wooded valley, where they rested awhile. then they set out again and fared on till they came to the frontiers of their own country. here they felt themselves in safety and halted to rest; and the country people came out to them with guest-gifts and victual and fodder for the cattle. they lay there and rested two days; after which sherkan bade the vizier dendan fare forward to baghdad with his troops, and he did so. but sherkan himself abode behind with a hundred horse, till the rest of the army had been gone a day, when he mounted, he and his men, and fared on two parasangs' space, till they came to a narrow pass between two mountains and behold, there arose a great cloud of dust in their front. so they halted their horses awhile, till the dust lifted and discovered a hundred cavaliers, as they were fierce lions, cased in complete steel as soon as they came within earshot of sherkan and his men, they cried out to them, saying, "by john and mary, we have gotten what we hoped! we have been following you by forced marches, night and day, till we forewent you in this place. so alight and lay down your arms and yield yourselves, that we may grant you your lives." when sherkan heard this, his eyes rolled and his cheeks flushed and he said, "o dogs of nazarenes, how dare ye enter our country and set foot on our earth? and doth not this suffice you, but ye must adventure yourselves and give us such words as these? do ye think to escape out of our hands and return to your country?" then he cried out to his hundred horse, saying, "up and at these dogs, for they are even as you in number!" so saying, he drew his sword and drove at them, without further parley, he and his hundred men. the franks received them with hearts stouter than stone, and they met, man to man. then fell champion upon champion and there befell a sore strife and great was the terror and the roar of the battle; nor did they leave jousting and foining and smiting with swords, till the day departed and the night came with the darkness; when they drew apart, and sherkan mustered his men and found them all unhurt, save four who were slightly wounded. then said he to them, "by allah, all my life i have waded in the surging sea of war and battle, but never saw i any so firm and stout in sword-play and shock of men as these warriors!" "know, o king," replied they, "that there is among them a frank cavalier, who is their leader, and indeed he is a man of valour and his strokes are terrible: but, by allah, he spares us, great and small; for whoso falls into his hands, he lets him go and forbears to slay him. by allah, an he would, he could kill us all!" when sherkan heard this, he was confounded and said, "to-morrow, we will draw out and defy them to single combat, for we are a hundred to their hundred; and we will seek help against them from the lord of the heavens." meanwhile, the franks came to their leader and said to him, "of a truth, we have not come by our desire of these this day." "to-morrow," quoth he, "we will draw out and joust against them, one by one." so they passed the night in this mind, and both camps kept watch till the morning. as soon as god the most high brought on the day, king sherkan mounted, with his hundred horse, and they betook themselves to the field, where they found the franks ranged in battle array, and sherkan said to his men, "verily, our enemies are of the same mind as we; so up and at them briskly." then came forth a herald of the franks and cried out, saying, "let there be no fighting betwixt us to-day, except by way of single combat, a champion of yours against one of ours!" thereupon one of sherkan's men came out from the ranks and spurring between the two parties, cried out, "who is for jousting? who is for fighting? let no laggard nor weakling come out against me to-day!" hardly had he made an end of speaking, when there sallied forth to him a frankish horseman, armed cap-a-pie and clad in cloth of gold, riding on a gray horse, and he had no hair on his cheeks. he drove his horse into the midst of the field and the two champions fell to cutting and thrusting, nor was it long before the frank smote the muslim with his lance and unhorsing him, took him prisoner and bore him off in triumph. at this, his comrades rejoiced and forbidding him to go out again, sent forth another to the field, to whom sallied out a second muslim, the brother of the first. the two drove at each other and fought for a little, till the frank ran at the muslim and throwing him off his guard by a feint, smote him with the butt-end of his spear and unhorsed him and took him prisoner. after this fashion, the muslims ceased not to come forth and the franks to unhorse them and take them prisoner, till the day departed and the night came with the darkness. now they had captured twenty cavaliers of the muslims, and when sherkan saw this, it was grievous to him, and he mustered his men and said to them, "what is this thing that hath befallen us? to-morrow morning, i myself will go out into the field and seek to joust with their chief and learn his reason for entering our country and warn him against fighting. if he persist, we will do battle with him, and if he proffer peace, we will make peace with him." they passed the night thus, and when god brought on the day, both parties mounted and drew out in battle array. then sherkan was about to sally forth, when behold, more than half of the franks dismounted and marched on foot, before one of them, who was mounted, to the midst of the field. sherkan looked at this cavalier and behold, he was their chief. he was clad in a tunic of blue satin and a close-ringed shirt of mail; his face was as the full moon at its rising and he had no hair on his cheeks. in his hand he held a sword of indian steel, and he was mounted on a black horse with a white star, like a dirhem, on his forehead. he spurred into the midst of the field and signing to the muslims, cried out with fluent speech in the arabic tongue, saying, "ho, sherkan! ho, son of omar ben ennuman, thou that stormest the citadels and layest waste the lands, up and out to joust and battle with him who halves the field with thee! thou art prince of thy people and i am prince of mine; and whoso hath the upper hand, the other's men shall come under his sway." hardly had he made an end of speaking, when out came sherkan, with a heart full of wrath, and spurring his horse into the midst of the field, drove like an angry lion at the frank, who awaited him with calm and steadfastness and met him as a champion should. then they fell to cutting and thrusting, nor did they cease to wheel and turn and give and take, as they were two mountains clashing together or two seas breaking one against the other, till the day departed and the night brought on the darkness, when they drew apart and returned, each to his people. as soon as sherkan reached his comrades, he said to them, "never in my life saw i the like of this cavalier; and he has one fashion i never yet beheld in any. it is that, when he has a chance of dealing his adversary a deadly blow, he reverses his lance and smites him with the butt. of a truth, i know not what will be the issue between him and me; but i would we had in our army his like and the like of his men." then he passed the night in sleep, and when it was morning, the frank spurred out to the mid-field, where sherkan met him, and they fell to fighting and circling one about the other, whilst all necks were stretched out to look at them; nor did they cease from battle and swordplay and thrusting with spears, till the day departed and the night came with the darkness, when they drew asunder and returned each to his own camp. then each related to his comrades what had befallen him with his adversary, and the frank said to his men, "to-morrow shall decide the matter." so they both passed the night in sleep, and as soon as it was day, they mounted and drove at each other and ceased not to fight till the middle of the day. then the frank made a shift, first spurring his horse and then checking him with the bridle, so that he stumbled and threw him; whereupon sherkan fell on him and was about to smite him with his sword and make an end of the long strife, when the frank cried out, "o sherkan, this is not the fashion of champions! it is only the beaten[fn# ] who deal thus with women." when sherkan heard this, he raised his eyes to the frank's face and looking straitly at him, knew him for none other than the princess abrizeh, whereupon he threw the sword from his hand and kissing the earth before her, said to her, "what moved thee to do this thing?" quoth she, "i was minded to prove thee in the field and try thy stoutness in battle. these that are with me are all of them my women, and they are all maids; yet have they overcome thy horsemen in fair fight; and had not my horse stumbled with me, thou shouldst have seen my strength and prowess." sherkan smiled at her speech and said, "praised be god for safety and for my reunion with thee, o queen of the age!" then she cried out to her damsels to loose the prisoners and dismount. they did as she bade and came and kissed the earth before her and sherkan, who said to them, "it is the like of you that kings treasure up against the hour of need." then he signed to his comrades to salute the princess; so they dismounted all and kissed the earth before her, for they knew the story. after this, the whole two hundred mounted and rode day and night for six days' space, till they drew near to baghdad when they halted and sherkan made abrizeh and her companions put off their male attire and don the dress of the women of the greeks. then he despatched a company of his men to baghdad to acquaint his father with his arrival in company with the princess abrizeh, daughter of king herdoub, to the intent that he might send some one to meet her. they passed the night in that place, and when god the most high brought on the day, sherkan and his company took horse and fared on towards the city. on the way, they met the vizier dendan, who had come out with a thousand horse, by commandment of king omar, to do honour to the princess abrizeh and to sherkan. when they drew near, the vizier and his company dismounted and kissed the earth before the prince and princess, then mounted again and escorted them, till they reached the city and came to the palace. sherkan went in to his father, who rose and embraced him and questioned him of what had happened. so he told him all that had befallen him, including what the princess abrizeh had told him and what had passed between them and how she had left her father and her kingdom and had chosen to depart and take up her abode with them. and he said to his father, "indeed, the king of constantinople had plotted to do us a mischief, because of his daughter sufiyeh, for that the king of caesarea had made known to him her history and the manner of her being made a gift to thee, he not knowing her to be king afridoun's daughter; else would he have restored her to her father. and of a verity, we were only saved from these perils by the lady abrizeh, and never saw i a more valiant than she!" and he went on to tell his father of the wrestling and the jousting from beginning to end. when king omar heard his son's story, abrizeh was exalted in his eyes, and he longed to see her and sent sherkan to fetch her. so sherkan went out to her and said, "the king calls for thee." she replied, "i hear and obey;" and he took her and brought her in to his father, who was seated on his throne, attended only by the eunuchs, having dismissed his courtiers and officers. the princess entered and kissing the ground before him, saluted him in choice terms. he was amazed at her fluent speech and thanked her for her dealing with his son sherkan and bade her be seated. so she sat down and uncovered her face, which when the king saw, his reason fled and he made her draw near and showed her especial favour, appointing her a palace for herself and her damsels and assigning them due allowances. then he asked her of the three jewels aforesaid, and she replied, "o king of the age, they are with me." so saying, she rose and going to her lodging, opened her baggage and brought out a box, from which she took a casket of gold. she opened the casket and taking out the three jewels, kissed them and gave them to the king and went away, taking his heart with her. then the king sent for his son sherkan and gave him one of the three jewels. sherkan enquired of the other two, and the king replied, "o my son, i mean to give one to thy brother zoulmekan and the other to thy sister nuzhet ez zeman." when sherkan heard that he had a brother (for up to that time he had only known of his sister) he turned to his father and said to him, "o king, hast thou a son other than myself?" "yes," answered omar, "and he is now six years old." and he told him that his name was zoulmekan and that he and nuzhet ez zeman were twins, born at a birth. this news was grievous to sherkan, but he hid his chagrin and said, "the blessing of god the most high be upon them!" and he threw the jewel from his hand and shook the dust off his clothes. quoth his father, "what made thee change colour, when i told thee of this, seeing that the kingdom is assured to thee after me? for, verily, the troops have sworn to thee and the amirs and grandees have taken the oath of succession to thee; and this one of the three jewels is thine." at this, sherkan bowed his head and was ashamed to bandy words with his father: so he accepted the jewel and went away, knowing not what to do for excess of anger, and stayed not till he reached the princess abrizeh's palace. when she saw him, she rose to meet him and thanked him for what he had done and called down blessings on him and his father. then she sat down and made him sit by her side. after awhile, she saw anger in his face and questioned him, whereupon he told her that god had vouchsafed his father two children, a boy and a girl, by sufiyeh, and that he had named the boy zoulmekan and the girl nuzhet ez zeman. "he has given me one of the jewels," continued he, "and kept the other two for them. i knew not of zoulmekan's birth till this day, and he is now six years old. so when i learnt this, wrath possessed me and i threw down the jewel: and i tell thee the reason of my anger and hide nothing from thee. but i fear lest the king take thee to wife, for he loves thee and i saw in him signs of desire for thee: so what wilt thou say, if he wish this?" "know, o sherkan," replied the princess, "that thy father has no dominion over me, nor can he take me without my consent; and if he take me by force, i will kill myself. as for the three jewels, it was not my intent that he should give them to either of his children and i had no thought but that he would lay them up with his things of price in his treasury; but now i desire of thy favour that thou make me a present of the jewel that he gave thee, if thou hast accepted it." "i hear and obey," replied sherkan and gave her the jewel. then said she, "fear nothing," and talked with him awhile. presently she said, "i fear lest my father hear that i am with you and sit not down with my loss, but do his endeavour to come at me; and to that end he may ally himself with king afridoun and both come on thee with armies and so there befall a great turmoil." "o my lady," replied sherkan, "if it please thee to sojourn with us, take no thought of them, though all that be in the earth and in the ocean gather themselves together against us!" "it is well," rejoined she; "if ye entreat me well, i will tarry with you, and if ye deal evilly by me, i will depart from you." then she bade her maidens bring food; so they set the tables, and sherkan ate a little and went away to his own house, anxious and troubled. meanwhile, king omar betook himself to the lodging of the lady sufiyeh, who rose to her feet, when she saw him, and stood till he was seated. presently, his two children, zoulmekan and nuzbet ez zeman, came to him, and he kissed them and hung a jewel round each one's neck, at which they rejoiced and kissed his hands. then they went to their mother, who rejoiced in them and wished the king long life; and he said to her, "why hast thou not told me, all this time, that thou art king afridoun's daughter, that i might have advanced thee and enlarged thee in dignity and used thee with increase of honour and consideration?" "o king," replied sufiyeh, "what could i desire greater or more exalted than this my standing with thee, overwhelmed as i am with thy favours and thy goodness? and god to boot hath blessed me by thee with two children, a son and a daughter." her answer pleased the king and he set apart for her and her children a splendid palace. moreover, he appointed for their service eunuchs and attendants and doctors and sages and astrologers and physicians and surgeons and in every way redoubled in favour and munificence towards them. nevertheless, he was greatly occupied with love of the princess abrizeh and burnt with desire of her night and day; and every night, he would go in to her, and talk with her and pay his court to her, but she gave him no answer, saying only, "o king of the age, i have no desire for men at this present." when he saw that she repelled him, his passion and longing increased till, at last, when he was weary of this, he called his vizier dendan and opening his heart to him, told him how love for the princess abrizeh was killing him and how she refused to yield to his wishes and he could get nothing of her. quoth the vizier, "as soon as it is dark night, do thou take a piece of henbane, the bigness of a diner, and go in to her and drink wine with her. when the hour of leave-taking draws near, fill a last cup and dropping the henbane in it, give it to her to drink, and she will not reach her sleeping chamber, ere the drug take effect on her. then do thou go in to her and take thy will of her." "thy counsel is good," said the king, and going to his treasury, took thence a piece of concentrated henbane, which if an elephant smelt, he would sleep from year to year. he put it in his bosom and waited till some little of the night was past, when he betook himself to the palace of the princess, who rose to receive him; but he bade her sit down. so she sat down, and he by her, and he began to talk with her of drinking, whereupon she brought the table of wine and set it before him. then she set on the drinking-vessels, and lighted the candles and called for fruits and confections and sweetmeats and all that pertains to drinking. so they fell to drinking and ceased not to carouse, till drunkenness crept into the princess's head. when the king saw this, he took out the piece of henbane and holding it between his fingers, filled a cup and drank it off; then filled another cup, into which he dropped the henbane, unseen of abrizeh, and saying, "thy health!" presented it to her. she took it and drank it off; then rose and went to her sleeping-chamber. he waited awhile, till he was assured that the drug had taken effect on her and gotten the mastery of her senses, when he went in to her and found her lying on her back, with a lighted candle at her head and another at her feet. she had put off her trousers, and the air raised the skirt of her shift and discovered what was between her thighs. when the king saw this, he took leave of his senses for desire and satan tempted him and he could not master himself, but put off his trousers and fell upon her and did away her maidenhead. then he went out and said to one of her women, by name merjaneh, "go in to thy mistress, for she calls for thee." so she went in to the princess and found her lying on her back, with the blood running down her thighs; whereupon she took a handkerchief and wiped away the blood and tended her mistress and lay by her that night. as soon as it was day, she washed the princess's hands and feet and bathed her face and mouth with rose-water, whereupon she sneezed and yawned and cast up the henbane. then she revived and washed her hands and mouth and said to merjaneh, "tell me what has befallen me." so she told her what had passed and how she had found her, lying on her back, with the blood running down her thighs, wherefore she knew that the king had played the traitor with her and had undone her and taken his will of her. at this she was afflicted and shut herself up, saying to her damsels, "let no one come in to me and say to all that i am ill, till i see what god will do with me." the news of her illness came to the king, and he sent her cordials and sherbet of sugar and confections. some months passed thus, during which time the king's flame subsided and his desire for her cooled, so that he abstained from her. now she had conceived by him, and in due time, her pregnancy appeared and her belly swelled, wherefore the world was straitened upon her and she said to her maid merjaneh, "know that it is not the folk who have wronged me, but i who sinned against myself in that i left my father and mother and country. indeed, i abhor life, for my heart is broken and i have neither courage nor strength left. i used, when i mounted my horse, to have the mastery of him, but now i have no strength to ride. if i be brought to bed in this place, i shall be dishonoured among my women, and every one in the palace will know that he has taken my maidenhead in the way of shame; and if i return to my father, with what face shall i meet him or have recourse to him? how well says the poet: wherewith shall i be comforted, that am of all bereft, to whom nor folk nor home nor friend nor dwelling-place is left?" quoth merjaneh, "it is for thee to command; i will obey." and abrizeh said, "i would fain leave this place privily, so that none shall know of me but thou, and return to my father and mother; for when flesh stinketh, there is nought for it but its own folk, and god shall do with me as he will." "it is well, o princess," replied merjaneh. so she made ready in secret and waited awhile, till the king went out to hunt and sherkan betook himself to certain of the fortresses to sojourn there awhile. then she said to merjaneh, "i wish to set out to-night, but how shall i do? for already i feel the pangs of labour, and if i abide other four or five days, i shall be brought to bed here, and how then can i go to my country? but this is what was written on my forehead." then she considered awhile and said, "look us out a man who will go with us and serve us by the way, for i have no strength to bear arms." "by allah, o my lady," replied merjaneh, "i know none but a black slave called ghezban, who is one of the slaves of king omar ben ennuman; he is a stout fellow and keeps guard at the gate of our palace. the king appointed him to attend us, and indeed we have overwhelmed him with favours. i will go out and speak with him of the matter and promise him money and tell him that, if he have a mind to tarry with us, we will marry him to whom he will. he told me before to-day that he had been a highwayman; so if he consent, we shall have our desire and come to our own country." "call him, that i may talk with him," said the princess. so merjaneh went out and said to the slave, "o ghezban, god prosper thee, do thou fall in with what my lady says to thee." then she took him by the hand and brought him to abrizeh. he kissed the princess's hands and when she saw him, her heart took fright at him, but she said to herself, "necessity is imperious," and to him, "o ghezban, wilt thou help us against the perfidies of fortune and keep my secret, if i discover it to thee?" when the slave saw her, his heart was taken by storm and he fell in love with her forthright, and could not choose but answer, "o my mistress, whatsoever thou biddest me do, i will not depart from it." quoth she, "i would have thee take me and this my maid and saddle us two camels and two of the king's horses and set on each horse a saddle-bag of stuff and somewhat of victual, and go with us to our own country; where, if thou desire to abide with us, i will marry thee to her thou shalt choose of my damsels; or if thou prefer to return to thine own country, we will send thee thither, with as much money as will content thee." when ghezban heard this, he rejoiced greatly and replied, "o my lady, i will serve thee faithfully and will go at once and saddle the horses." then he went away, rejoicing and saying in himself, "i shall get my will of them; and if they will not yield to me, i will kill them and take their riches." but this his intent he kept to himself and presently returned, mounted on one horse and leading other two and two camels. he brought the horses to the princess, who mounted one and made merjaneh mount the other, albeit she was suffering from the pains of labour and could scarce possess herself for anguish. then they set out and journeyed night and day through the passes of the mountains, till there remained but a day's journey between them and their own country, when the pangs of travail came upon abrizeh and she could no longer sit her horse. so she said to ghezban, "set me down, for the pains of labour are upon me," and cried to merjaneh, saying, "do thou alight and sit down by me and deliver me." they both drew rein and dismounting from their horses, helped the princess to alight, and she aswoon for stress of pain. when ghezban saw her on the ground, satan entered into him and he drew his sabre and brandishing it in her face, said, "o my lady, vouchsafe me thy favours." with this, she turned to him and said, "it were a fine thing that i should yield to black slaves, after having i refused kings and princes!" and she was wroth with him and said, "what words are these? out on thee! do not talk thus in my presence and know that i will never consent to what thou sayst, though i drink the cup of death. wait till i have cast my burden and am delivered of the after-birth, and after, if thou be able thereto, do with me as thou wilt; but, an thou leave not lewd talk at this time, i will slay myself and leave the world and be at peace from all this." and she recited the following verses: o ghezban, unhand me and let me go freer sure, fortune is heavy enough upon me. my lord hath forbidden me whoredom. "the fire shall be the transgressor's last dwelling," quoth he: so look not on me with the eye of desire, for surely to lewdness i may not agree; and if thou respect not mine honour and god nor put away filthy behaviour from thee, i will call with my might on the men of my tribe and draw them ail hither from upland and lea. were i hewn, limb from limb, with the yemani sword, yet never a lecher my visage should see of the freeborn and mighty; so how then should i let a whoreson black slave have possession of me? when ghezban heard this, he was exceeding angry; his eyes grew bloodshot and his face became of the colour of dust; his nostrils swelled, his lips protruded and the terrors of his aspect redoubled. and he repeated the following verses: abrizeh, have mercy nor leave me to sigh, who am slain by the glance of thy yemani eye![fn# ] my body is wasted, my patience at end, and my heart for thy cruelty racked like to die. thy glances with sorcery ravish all hearts; my reason is distant and passion is nigh. though thou drewst to thy succour the world full of troops, i'd not stir till my purpose accomplished had i. thereupon abrizeh wept sore and said to him, "out on thee, o ghezban! how darest thou demand this of me, o son of shame and nursling of lewdness? dost thou think all folk are alike!" when the pestilent slave heard this, he was enraged and his eyes reddened: and he came up to her and smote her with the sword on her neck and killed her. then he made off into the mountains, driving her horse before him with the treasure. in the agonies of death, she gave birth to a son, like the moon, and merjaneh took him and laid him by her side, after doing him the necessary offices; and behold, the child fastened to its mother's breast, and she dead. when merjaneh saw this, she cried out grievously and rent her clothes and cast dust on her head and buffeted her cheeks, till the blood came, saying, "alas, my mistress! alas, the pity of it! thou art dead by the hand of a worthless black slave, after all thy prowess!" as she sat weeping, there arose a great cloud of dust and darkened the plain; but, after awhile, it lifted and discovered a numerous army. now this was the army of king herdoub, the princess abrizeh's father, who, hearing that his daughter had fled to baghdad, she and her maidens, and that they were with king omar ben ennuman, had come out with his troops to seek tidings of her from travellers who might have seen her with king omar at baghdad. when he had gone a day's journey from his capital, he espied three horsemen afar off and made towards them, thinking to ask whence they came and seek news of his daughter. now these three were his daughter and merjaneh and ghezban; and when the latter saw the troops drawing near, he feared for himself; so he killed abrizeh and fled. when they came up and king herdoub saw his daughter lying dead and merjaneh weeping over her, he threw himself from his horse and fell down in a swoon. so all his company dismounted and pitching the tents, set up a great pavilion for the king, without which stood the grandees of the kingdom. at the sight of her lord the king, merjaneh's tears redoubled, and when he came to himself, he questioned her and she told him all that had passed, how he that had slain his daughter was a black slave, belonging to king omar ben ennuman, and how the latter had dealt with the princess. when king herdoub heard this, the world grew black in his sight and he wept sore. then he called for a litter and laying his dead daughter therein, returned to caesarea and carried her into the palace. then he went in to his mother dhat ed dewahi and said to her, "shall the muslims deal thus with my daughter? king omar ben ennuman despoiled her by force of her honour and after this, one of his black slaves slew her. by the messiah, i will assuredly be revenged for her and clear away the stain from my honour! else i shall kill myself with my own hand." and he wept passing sore. quoth his mother, "it was none other than merjaneh killed her, for she hated her in secret. but do not thou fret for taking revenge for thy daughter, for, by the virtue of the messiah, i will not turn back from king omar ben ennuman, till i have slain him and his sons; and i will assuredly do a deed, passing the power of wise men and champions, of which the chroniclers shall tell in all countries and places: but needs must thou obey me in all i shall direct, for he who is firmly set on aught shall surely compass his desire." "by the virtue of the messiah," replied he, "i will not cross thee in aught that thou shalt say!" then said she, "bring me a number of damsels, high-bosomed maids, and summon the wise men of the time and let them teach them philosophy and the art of conversation and making verses and the rules of behaviour before kings, and let them talk with them of all manner of science and edifying knowledge. the sages must be muslims, that they may teach the damsels the language and traditions of the arabs, together with the history of the khalifs and the pedigree of the kings of islam; and if we persevere in this for the space of four years, we shall attain our end. so possess thy soul in patience and wait; for, as one of the arabs says, 'it is a little thing to wait forty years for one's revenge.' when we have taught the girls these things, we shall be able to do our will with our enemy, for he is a doting lover of women and has three hundred and threescore concubines, to which are now added a hundred of the flower of thy damsels, that were with thy late daughter. so, as soon as we have made an end of their education, i will take them and set out with them." when the king heard his mother's words, he rejoiced and came up to her and kissed her head. then he rose at once and despatched messengers and couriers to the ends of the earth, to fetch him muslim sages. so they betook them to distant lands and brought him thence the sages and doctors whom he sought. when they were before him, he made much of them and bestowed on them dresses of honour, appointing them stipends and allowances and promising them much money, whenas they should have taught the damsels. then he committed the latter to their charge, enjoining them to instruct them in all manner of knowledge, sacred and profane, and all polite accomplishments; and they set themselves to do his bidding. as for king omar ben ennuman, when he returned from hunting, he sought the princess abrizeh, but found her not nor could any give him news of her. this was grievous to him and he said, "how did she leave the palace, unknown of any? had my kingdom been at stake in this, it were in a parlous case! never again will i go a-hunting till i have sent to the gates those who shall keep good guard over them!" and he was sore vexed and heavy at heart for the loss of the princess abrizeh. presently, his son sherkan returned from his journey; and he told him what had happened and how the princess had fled, whilst he was absent a-hunting, whereat he was greatly concerned. then king omar took to visiting his children every day and making much of them and brought them wise men and doctors, to teach them, appointing them stipends and allowances. when sherkan saw this, he was exceeding wroth and jealous of his brother and sister, so that the signs of chagrin appeared in his face and he ceased not to languish by reason of this, till one day his father said to him, "what ails thee, that i see thee grown weak in body and pale of face?" "o my father," replied sherkan, "every time i see thee fondle my brother and sister and make much of them, jealousy seizes on me, and i fear lest it grow on me, till i slay them and thou slay me in return. this is the reason of my weakness of body and change of colour. but now i crave of thy favour that thou give me one of thine outlying fortresses, that i may abide there the rest of my life, for as the byword says, 'it is better and fitter for me to be at a distance from my friend; for when the eye seeth not, the heart doth not grieve.'" and he bowed his head. when the king heard sherkan's words and knew the cause of his ailment, he soothed him and said to him, "o my son, i grant thee this. i have not in my realm a greater than the fortress of damascus, and the government of it is thine from this time." so saying, he called his secretaries of state and bade them make out sherkan's patent of investiture to the viceroyalty of damascus of syria. then he equipped sherkan and formally invested him with the office and gave him his final instructions, enjoining him to policy and good government; and the prince took leave of his father and the grandees and officers of state and set out for his government, taking with him the vizier dendan. when he arrived at damascus, the townspeople beat the drums and blew the trumpets and decorated the city and came out to meet him in great state, whilst all the notables and grandees walked in procession, each according to his rank. soon after sherkan's departure, the governors of king omar's children presented themselves before him and said to him, "o our lord, thy children's education is now complete and they are versed in all polite accomplishments and in the rules of manners and etiquette." at this the king rejoiced with an exceeding joy and conferred bountiful largesse upon the wise men, seeing zoulmekan grown up and flourishing and skilled in horsemanship. the prince had now reached the age of fourteen and occupied himself with piety and devout exercises, loving the poor and wise men and the students of the koran, so that all the people of baghdad loved him, men and women. one day, the procession of the mehmil[fn# ] of irak passed round baghdad, previously to the departure of the pilgrimage to the holy places[fn# ] and tomb of the prophet.[fn# ] when zoulmekan saw the procession, he was seized with longing to go on the pilgrimage; so he went in to his father and said to him, "i come to ask thy leave to make the pilgrimage." but his father forbade him, saying, "wait till next year, and i will go with thee." when zoulmekan saw that the fulfilment of his desire was postponed, he betook himself to his sister nuzhet ez zeman, whom he found standing at prayer. as soon as she had made an end of her devotions, he said to her, "i am dying of desire to see the holy house of god at mecca and to visit the prophet's tomb. i asked my father's leave, but he forbade me: so i mean to take somewhat of money and set out privily on the pilgrimage, without his knowledge." "i conjure thee by allah," exclaimed she, "to take me with thee and that thou forbid me not to visit the tomb of the prophet, whom god bless and preserve!" and he answered, "as soon as it is dark night, do thou leave this place, without telling any, and come to me." accordingly, she waited till the middle of the night, when she donned a man's habit and went to the gate of the palace, where she found zoulmekan with camels ready harnessed. so they mounted and riding after the caravan, mingled with the irak pilgrims, and god decreed them a prosperous journey, so that they entered mecca the holy in safety, standing upon arafat and performing the various rites of the pilgrimage. then they paid a visit to the tomb of the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) and thought to return with the pilgrims to their native land; but zoulmekan said to his sister, "o my sister, it is in my mind to visit jerusalem and the tomb of abraham the friend of god (on whom be peace)." "i also desire to do this," replied she. so they agreed upon this, and he went out and took passage for himself and her and they made ready and set out with a company of pilgrims bound for jerusalem. that very night she fell sick of an ague and was grievously ill, but presently recovered, after which her brother also sickened. she tended him during the journey, but the fever increased on him and he grew weaker and weaker, till they arrived at jerusalem, where they alighted at a khan and hired a lodging there. here they abode some time, whilst zoulmekan's weakness increased on him, till he was wasted with sickness and became delirious. at this, his sister was greatly afflicted and exclaimed, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! it is he who hath decreed this." they sojourned there awhile, his sickness ever increasing and she tending him, till all their money was spent and she had not so much as a dirhem left. then she sent a servant of the khan to the market, to sell some of her clothes, and spent the price upon her brother; and so she sold all she had, piece by piece, till she had nothing left but an old rug; whereupon she wept and exclaimed, "god is the orderer of the past and the future!" presently, her brother said to her, "o my sister, i feel recovery drawing near and i long for a little roast meat." "o my brother," replied she, "i am ashamed to beg; but tomorrow i will enter some rich man's house and serve him and earn somewhat for our living." then she bethought herself awhile and said, "it is hard to me to leave thee and thou in this state, but i must perforce go." "god forbid!" rejoined he. "thou wilt be put to shame; but there is no power and no virtue but in god!" and he wept and she wept too. then she said, "o my brother, we are strangers and this whole year have we dwelt here; yet none hath knocked at our door. shall we then die of hunger? i know no resource but that i go out and earn somewhat to keep us alive, till thou recover from thy sickness; when we will return to our native land." she sat weeping with him awhile, after which she rose and veiling her head with a camel-cloth, which the owner had forgotten with them, embraced her brother and went forth, weeping and knowing not whither she should go. zoulmekan abode, awaiting her return, till the evening; but she came not, and the night passed and the morning came, but still she returned not; and so two days went by. at this he was greatly troubled and his heart fluttered for her, and hunger was sore upon him. at last he left the chamber and calling the servant of the inn, bade him carry him to the bazaar. so he carried him to the market and laid him down there; and the people of jerusalem came round him and were moved to tears at his condition. he signed to them for somewhat to eat; so they took money from some of the merchants and bought food and fed him therewith; after which they carried him to a shop, where they laid him on a mat of palm-leaves and set a vessel of water at his head. at nightfall, they all went away, sore concerned for him, and in the middle of the night, he called to mind his sister, and his sickness redoubled on him, so that he abstained from eating and drinking and became insensible. when the people of the market saw him thus, they took thirty dirhems for him from the merchants and hiring a camel, said to the driver, "carry this sick man to damascus and leave him at the hospital; peradventure he may be cured and recover his health." "on my head be it!" replied he; but he said to himself, "how shall i take this sick man to damascus, and he nigh upon death?" so he carried him away and hid with him till the night, when he threw him down on the fuel-heap in the stoke-hole of a bath and went his way. in the morning, the stoker of the bath came to his work and finding zoulmekan cast on his back on the fuel-heap, exclaimed, "could they find no other place in which to throw this dead man?" so saying, he gave him a push with his foot, and he moved, whereupon quoth the stoker, "this is some one who has eaten hashish and thrown himself down at hazard." then he looked at him and saw that he had no hair on his face and was endowed with grace and comeliness; so he took pity on him and knew that he was sick and a stranger. "there is no power and no virtue but in god!" said he "i have sinned against this youth; for indeed the prophet (whom god bless and preserve!) enjoins hospitality to strangers." then he lifted him up and carrying him to his own house, committed him to his wife and bade her tend him. so she spread him a bed and laid a cushion under his head, then heated water and washed his hands and feet and face. meanwhile, the stoker went to the market and buying rose-water and sherbet of sugar, sprinkled zoulmekan's face with the one and gave him to drink of the other. then he fetched a clean shirt and put it on him. with this, zoulmekan scented the breeze of recovery and life returned to him; and he sat up and leant against the pillow. at this the stoker rejoiced and exclaimed, "o my god, i beseech thee, by thy hidden mysteries, make the salvation of this youth to be at my hands!" and he nursed him assiduously for three days, giving him to drink of sherbet of sugar and willow-flower water and rose-water and doing him all manner of service and kindness, till health began to return to his body and he opened his eyes and sat up. presently the stoker came in and seeing him sitting up and showing signs of amendment, said to him, "how dost thou now, o my son?" "thanks be to god," replied zoulmekan, "i am well and like to recover, if so he please." the stoker praised the lord of all for this and going to the market, bought ten chickens, which he carried to his wife and said to her, "kill two of these for him every day, one in the morning and the other at nightfall." so she rose and killed a fowl, then boiling it, brought it to him and fed him with the flesh and gave him the broth to drink. when he had done eating, she brought hot water and he washed his hands and lay back upon the pillow; whereupon she covered him up and he slept till the time of afternoon-prayer. then she killed another fowl and boiled it; after which she cut it up and bringing it to zoulmekan, said, "eat, o my son!" presently, her husband entered and seeing her feeding him, sat down at his head and said to him, "how is it with thee now, o my son?" "thanks be to god for recovery!" replied he. "may he requite thee thy goodness to me!" at this the stoker rejoiced and going out, bought sherbet of violets and rose-water and made him drink it. now his day's earnings at the bath were five dirhems, of which he spent every day two dirhems for zoulmekan, one for sweet waters and sherbets and another for fowls; and he ceased not to entreat him thus kindly for a whole month, till the trace of illness ceased from him and he was quite recovered whereupon the stoker and his wife rejoiced and the former said to him, "o my son, wilt thou go with me to the bath?" "willingly," replied he. so the stoker went to the market and fetched an ass, on which he mounted zoulmekan and supported him in the saddle, till they came to the bath then he made him alight and sit down, whilst he repaired to the market and bought lote-leaves and lupin-meal,[fn# ] with which he returned to the bath and said to zoulmekan, "o my son, in the name of god, enter, and i will wash thy body." so they both entered the inner room of the bath, and the stoker fell to rubbing zoulmekan's legs and was going on to wash his body with the lote-leaves and powder, when there came to them a bathman, whom the keeper of the bath had sent to zoulmekan, and seeing the stoker rubbing and washing the latter, said to him, "this is trespassing on the keeper's rights." "by allah," replied the stoker, "the master overwhelms us with his favours!" then the bathman proceeded to shave zoulmekan's head, after which he and the stoker washed and returned to the latter's house, where he clad zoulmekan in a shirt of fine stuff and a tunic of his own and gave him a handsome turban and girdle and wound a silken kerchief about his neck. meanwhile the stoker's wife had killed two chickens and cooked them for him; so, as soon as zoulmekan entered and seated himself on the couch, the stoker arose and dissolving sugar in willow-flower water, made him drink it. then he brought the tray of food and cutting up the chickens, fed him with the meat and broth, till he was satisfied, when he washed his hands and praised god for recovery, saying to the stoker, "it is to thee, under god the most high, that i owe my life!" "leave this talk," replied the stoker, "and tell us the manner of thy coming to this city and whence thou art; for i see signs of gentle breeding in thy face." "tell me first how thou camest to fall in with me," said zoulmekan; "and after i will tell thee my story." "as for that," rejoined the stoker, "i found thee lying on the rubbish-heap, by the door of the stoke-house, as i went to my work, near the morning, and knew not who had thrown thee down there. so i carried thee home with me; and this all i have to tell." quoth zoulmekan, "glory to him who quickens the bones, though they be rotten! indeed, o my brother, thou hast not done good to one who is unworthy, and thou shalt reap the reward of this. but where am i now?" "in the city of jerusalem," replied the stoker; whereupon zoulmekan called to mind his strangerhood and his separation from his sister and wept. then he discovered his secret to the stoker and told him his story, repeating the following verses: they heaped up passion on my soul, beyond my strength to bear, and for their sake my heart is racked with weariness and care. ah, be ye pitiful to me, o cruel that ye are, for e'en my foes do pity me, since you away did fare! grudge not to grant unto mine eyes a passing glimpse of you, to ease the longing of my soul and lighten my despair. i begged my heart to arm itself with patience for your loss. "patience was never of my wont," it answered; "so forbear." then he redoubled his weeping, and the stoker said to him, "weep not, but rather praise god for safety and recovery." quoth zoulmekan, "how far is it hence to damascus?" "six days' journey," answered the stoker "wilt thou send me thither?" asked zoulmekan. "o my lord," replied the stoker, "how can i let thee go alone, and thou a young lad and a stranger? if thou be minded to make the journey to damascus, i will go with thee; and if my wife will listen to me and accompany me, i will take up my abode there; for it goes to my heart to part with thee." then said he to his wife, "wilt thou go with me to damascus or wilt thou abide here, whilst i bring this my lord thither and return to thee? for he is bent upon, going to damascus, and by allah, it is hard to me to part with him, and i fear for him from the highway robbers." quoth she, "i will go with you." and he said, "praised be god for accord!" then he rose and selling all his own and his wife's gear, bought a camel and hired an ass for zoulmekan; and they set out and reached damascus at nightfall after six days' journey. they alighted there, and the stoker went to the market and bought meat and drink. they had dwelt but five days in damascus, when his wife sickened and after a few days' illness, was translated to the mercy of god. the stoker mourned for her with an exceeding grief, and her death was no light matter to zoulmekan, for she had tended him assiduously and he was grown used to her. presently, he turned to the stoker and finding him mourning, said to him, "do not grieve, for we must all go in at this gate."[fn# ] "god requite thee with good, o my son!" replied the stoker. "surely he will compensate us with his bounties and cause our mourning to cease. what sayst thou, o my son? shall we walk abroad to view damascus and cheer our spirits?" "thy will is mine," replied zoulmekan. so the stoker took him by the hand, and they sallied forth and walked on, till they came to the stables of the viceroy of damascus, where they found camels laden with chests and carpets and brocaded stuffs and saddle-horses and bactrian camels and slaves, white and black, and folk running to and fro and a great bustle. quoth zoulmekan, "i wonder to whom all these camels and stuffs and servants belong!" so he asked one of the slaves, and he replied, "these are presents that the viceroy of damascus is sending to king omar ben ennuman, with the tribute of syria." when zoulmekan heard his father's name, his eyes filled with tears and he repeated the following verses: ye that are far removed from my desireful sight, ye that within my heart are sojourners for aye, your comeliness is gone and life no more for me is sweet, nor will the pains of longing pass away. if god one day decree reunion of our loves, how long a tale of woes my tongue will have to say! then he wept and the stoker said to him, "o my son, thou art hardly yet recovered; so take heart and do not weep, for i fear a relapse for thee." and he applied himself to comfort him and cheer him, whilst zoulmekan sighed and bemoaned his strangerhood and separation from his sister and his family and repeated the following verses, with tears streaming from his eyes: provide thee for the world to come, for needs must thou be gone; or soon or late, for every one the lot of death is drawn. thy fortune in this world is but delusion and regret; thy life in it but vanity and empty chaff and awn. the world, indeed, is but as 'twere a traveller's halting-place, who makes his camels kneel at eve and fares on with the dawn. and he continued to weep and lament, whilst the stoker wept too for the loss of his wife, yet ceased not to comfort zoulmekan till the morning. when the sun rose, he said to him, "meseems thou yearnest for thy native land?" "even so," replied zoulmekan, "and i may not tarry here; so i will commend thee to god's care and set out with these people and journey with them, little by little, till i come to my country." "and i with thee," said the stoker; "for i cannot bear to part with thee. i have done thee service, and i mean to complete it by tending thee on the way." at this, zoulmekan rejoiced and said, "may god abundantly requite thee for me!" then the stoker went out and selling the camel, bought another ass, which he brought to zoulmekan, saying, "this is for thee to ride by the way; and when thou art weary of riding, thou canst dismount and walk." "may god bless thee and help me to requite thee!" said zoulmekan. "indeed, thou hast dealt with me more lovingly than one with his brother." then the stoker provided himself with victual for the journey, and they waited till it was dark night, when they laid their provisions and baggage on the ass and set out on their journey. to return to nuzhet ez zeman, when she left her brother in the khan and went out to seek service with some one, that she might earn wherewith to buy him the roast meat he longed for, she fared on, weeping and knowing not whither to go, whilst her mind was occupied with concern for her brother and with thoughts of her family and her native land. and she implored god the most high to do away these afflictions from them and repeated the following verses: the shadows darken and passion stirs up my sickness amain, and longing rouses within me the old desireful pain. the anguish of parting hath taken its sojourn in my breast, and love and longing and sorrow have maddened heart and brain. passion hath made me restless and longing consumes my soul and tears discover the secret that else concealed had lain. i know of no way to ease me of sickness and care and woe, nor can my weak endeavour reknit love's severed skein. the fire of my heart with yearnings and longing grief is fed and for its heat, the lover to live in hell is fain. o thou that thinkest to blame me for what betides me, enough; god knows i suffer with patience whate'er he doth ordain. i swear i shall ne'er find solace nor be consoled for love, the oath of the children of passion, whose oaths are ne'er in vain! bear tidings of me, i prithee, o night, to the bards of love and that in thee i sleep not be witness yet again! she walked on, weeping and turning right and left, as she went, till there espied her an old man who had come into the town from the desert with other five bedouins. he took note of her and seeing that she was charming, but had nothing on her head but a piece of camel-cloth, marvelled at her beauty and said in himself, "this girl is pretty enough to dazzle the wit, but it is clear she is in poor case, and whether she be of the people of the city or a stranger, i must have her." so he followed her, little by little, till presently he came in front of her and stopping the way before her in a narrow lane, called out to her, saying, "harkye, daughterling, art thou a freewoman or a slave?" when she heard this, she said to him, "by thy life, do not add to my troubles! "quoth he, "god blessed me with six daughters, but five of them died and only one is left me, the youngest of them all; and i came to ask thee if thou wert of the people of this city or a stranger, that i might take thee and carry thee to her, to bear her company and divert her from mourning for her sisters, if thou hast no parents, i will use thee as one of them, and thou and she shall be as my two children." when she heard what he said, she bowed her head for bashfulness and said to herself, "surely i may trust myself to this old man." then she said to him, "o uncle, i am a girl of the arabs (of irak) and a stranger, and i have a sick brother; but i will go with thee to thy daughter on one condition; that is, that i may spend the day only with her and go to my brother at night. i am a stranger and was high in honour among my people, yet am i become cast down and abject. i came with my brother from the land of hejaz and i fear lest he know not where i am." when the bedouin heard this, he said to himself, "by allah, i have gotten what i sought!" then he turned to her and said, "there shall none be dearer to me than thou; i only wish thee to bear my daughter company by day, and thou shalt go to thy brother at nightfall. or, if thou wilt, bring him to dwell with us." and he ceased not to give her fair words and coax her, till she trusted in him and agreed to serve him. then he went on before her and she followed him, whilst he winked to his men to go on in advance and harness the camels and load them with food and water, ready for setting out as soon as he should come up. now this bedouin was a base-born wretch, a highway-robber and a brigand, a traitor to his friend and a past master in craft and roguery. he had no daughter and no son, and was but a wayfarer in jerusalem, when, by the decree of god, he fell in with this unhappy girl. he held her in converse till they came without the city, where he joined his companions and found they had made ready the camels. so he mounted a camel, taking nuzhet ez zeman up behind him, and they rode on all night, making for the mountains, for fear any should see them. by this, she knew that the bedouin's proposal was a snare and that he had tricked her; and she gave not over weeping and crying out the whole night long. a little before the dawn, they halted and the bedouin came up to nuzhet ez zeman and said to her, "o wretch, what is this weeping! by allah, an thou hold not thy peace, i will beat thee to death, city faggot that thou art!" when she heard this, she abhorred life and longed for death; so she turned to him and said, "o accursed old man, o greybeard of hell, did i trust in thee and hast thou played me false, and now thou wouldst torture me?" when he heard her words, he cried out, "o insolent wretch, dost thou dare to bandy words with me?" and he came up to her and beat her with a whip, saying, "an thou hold not thy peace, i will kill thee." so she was silent awhile, but she called to mind her brother and her former happy estate and wept in secret. next day, she turned to the bedouin and said to him, "how couldst thou deal thus perfidiously with me and lure me into these desert mountains, and what wilt thou do with me?" when he heard her words, he hardened his heart and said to her, "o pestilent baggage, wilt thou bandy words with me?" so saying, he took the whip and brought it down on her back, till she well-nigh fainted. then she bowed down and kissed his feet; and he left beating her and began to revile her, saying, "by my bonnet, if i see or hear thee weeping, i will cut out thy tongue and thrust it up thy kaze, city strumpet that thou art!" so she was silent and made him no reply, for the beating irked her; but sat down, with her arms round her knees and bowing her head, fell a-musing on her case. then she bethought her of her former ease and affluence and her present abasement, and called to mind her brother and his sickness and forlorn condition and how they were both strangers in a foreign land; whereat the tears coursed down her cheeks and she wept silently and repeated the following verses: the tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, and no estate of life for men endureth evermo'. all things that to the world belong have each their destined end and to all men a term is set, which none may overgo. how long must i oppression bear and peril and distress! ah, how i loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show! may god not prosper them, these days, wherein i am oppressed of fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe! my purposes are brought to nought, my loves are reft in twain by exile's rigour, and my hopes are one and all laid low. o ye, who pass the dwelling by, wherein my dear ones are, bear them the news of me and say, my tears for ever flow. when she had finished, the bedouin came up to her and taking compassion on her, bespoke her kindly and wiped away her tears. then he gave her a cake of barley-bread and said to her, "i do not love to be answered, when i am angry: so henceforth give me no more of these insolent words, and i will sell thee to an honest fellow like myself, who will use thee well, even as i have done." "it is well," answered she; and when the night was long upon her and hunger gnawed her, she ate a little of the barley-cake. in the middle of the night, the bedouin gave the signal for departure; so they loaded the camels and he mounted one of them, taking nuzhet ez zeman up behind him. then they set out and journeyed, without stopping, for three days, till they reached the city of damascus, where they alighted at the sultan's khan, hard by the viceroy's gate. now she had lost her colour and her charms were changed by grief and the fatigue of the journey, and she ceased not to weep. so the bedouin came up to her and said, "hark ye, city wench! by my bonnet, an thou leave not this weeping, i will sell thee to a jew!" then he took her by the hand and carried her to a chamber, where he left her and went to the bazaar. here he went round to the merchants who dealt in slave-girls and began to parley with them, saying, "i have with me a slave-girl, whose brother fell ill, and i sent him to my people at jerusalem, that they might tend him till he was cured. the separation from him was grievous to her, and since then, she does nothing but weep. now i purpose to sell her, and i would fain have whoso is minded to buy her of me speak softly to her and say to her, 'thy brother is with me in jerusalem, ill;' and i will be easy with him about her price." quoth one of the merchants, "how old is she?" "she is a virgin, just come to the age of puberty," replied the bedouin, "and is endowed with sense and breeding and wit and beauty and grace. but from the day i sent her brother to jerusalem, she has done nothing but grieve for him, so that her beauty is fallen away and her value lessened." when the merchant heard this, he said, "o chief of the arabs, i will go with thee and buy this girl of thee, if she be as thou sayest for wit and beauty and accomplishments; but it must be upon conditions, which if thou accept, i will pay thee her price, and if not, i will return her to thee." "if thou wilt," said the bedouin, "take her up to prince sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman, lord of baghdad and of the land of khorassan, and i will agree to whatever conditions thou mayst impose on me; for when he sees her, she will surely please him, and he will pay thee her price and a good profit to boot for thyself." "it happens," rejoined the merchant, "that i have just now occasion to go to him, that i may get him to sign me patent, exempting me from customs-dues, and i desire of him also a letter of recommendation to his father king omar. so, if he take the girl, i will pay thee down her price at once." "i agree to this," answered the bedouin. so they returned together to the khan, where the bedouin stood at the door of the girl's chamber and called out, saying, "ho, najiyeh!" which was the name he had given her. when she heard him, she wept and made no answer. then he turned to the merchant and said to him, "there she sits. do thou go up to her and look at her and speak kindly to her, as i enjoined thee." so he went up to her courteously and saw that she was wonder-lovely and graceful especially as she was acquainted with the arabic tongue; and he said to the bedouin, "verily she is even as thou saidst, and i shall get of the sultan what i will for her." then he said to her, "peace be on thee, o daughterling! how dost thou?" she turned to him and replied, "this was written in the book of destiny." then she looked at him and seeing him to be a man of reverend appearance, with a handsome face, said to herself, "i believe this man comes to buy me. if i hold aloof from him, i shall abide with this tyrant, and he will beat me to death. in any case, this man is comely of face and makes me hope for better treatment from him than from this brute of a bedouin. mayhap he only comes to hear me talk; so i will give him a fair answer." all this while, she had kept her eyes fixed on the ground; then she raised them to him and said in a sweet voice, "and upon thee be peace, o my lord, and the mercy of god and his blessing! this is what is commanded of the prophet, whom god bless and preserve! as for thine enquiry how i do, if thou wouldst know my condition, it is such as thou wouldst not wish but to thine enemies." and she was silent. when the merchant heard what she said, he was beside himself for delight in her and turning to the bedouin, said to him, "what is her price, for indeed she is illustrious!" at this the bedouin was angry and said, "thou wilt turn me the girl's head with this talk! why dost thou say that she is illustrious,[fn# ] for all she is of the scum of slave-girls and of the refuse of the people? i will not sell her to thee." when the merchant heard this, he knew he was dull-witted and said to him, "calm thyself, for i will buy her of thee, notwithstanding the defects thou mentionest." "and how much wilt thou give me for her?" asked the bedouin "none should name the child but its father," replied the merchant. "name thy price for her." "not so," rejoined the bedouin; "do thou say what thou wilt give." quoth the merchant in himself, "this bedouin is an addle-pated churl. by allah, i cannot tell her price, for she has mastered my heart with her sweet speech and her beauty: and if she can read and write, it will be the finishing touch to her good fortune and that of her purchaser. but this bedouin does not know her value." then he turned to the latter and said to him, "o elder of the arabs, i will give thee two hundred dinars for her, in cash, clear of the tax and the sultan's dues." when the bedouin heard this, he flew into a violent passion and cried out at the merchant, saying, "begone about thy business! by allah, wert thou to offer me two hundred dinars for the piece of camel-cloth on her head, i would not sell it to thee! i will not sell her, but will keep her by me, to pasture the camels and grind corn." and he cried out to her, saying, "come, thou stinkard, i will not sell thee." then he turned to the merchant and said to him, "i thought thee a man of judgment; but, by my bonnet, if thou begone not from me, i will let thee hear what will not please thee!" "verily," said the merchant to himself, "this bedouin is mad and knows not the girl's value, and i will say no more to him about her price for the present; for by allah, were he a man of sense, he would not say, 'by my bonnet!' by allah, she is worth the kingdom of the chosroes and i will give him what he will, though it be all i have." then he said to him, "o elder of the arabs, calm thyself and take patience and tell me what clothes she has with thee." "clothes!" cried the bedouin; "what should the baggage want with clothes? the camel-cloth in which she is wrapped is ample for her." "with thy leave," said the merchant, "i will lift her veil and examine her as folk examine girls whom they think of buying." "up and do what thou wilt," replied the other, "and god keep thy youth! examine her, inside and out, and if thou wilt, take off her clothes and look at her naked." "god forbid!" said the merchant; "i will but look at her face." then he went up to her, confounded at her beauty and grace, and seating himself by her side, said to her, "o my mistress, what is thy name?" "dost thou ask what is my name now," said she, "or what it was formerly?" "hast thou then two names?" asked the merchant. "yes," replied she, "my whilom name was nuzhet ez zeman;[fn# ] but my name at this present is ghusset ez zeman."[fn# ] when the merchant heard this, his eyes filled with tears, and he said to her, "hast thou not a sick brother?" "indeed, my lord, i have," answered she; "but fortune hath parted us, and he lies sick in jerusalem." the merchant's heart was confounded at the sweetness of her speech, and he said to himself, "verily, the bedouin spoke the truth of her." then she called to mind her brother and how he lay sick in a strange land, whilst she was parted from him and knew not what was become of him; and she thought of all that had befallen her with the bedouin and of her severance from her father and mother and native land; and the tears ran down her cheeks and she repeated the following verses: may god keep watch o'er thee, belov'd, where'er thou art, thou that, though far away, yet dwellest in my heart! where'er thy footsteps lead, may he be ever near, to guard thee from time's shifts and evil fortune's dart! thou'rt absent, and my eyes long ever for thy sight, and at thy thought the tears for aye unbidden start. would that i knew alas! what country holds thee now, in what abode thou dwell'st, unfriended and apart! if thou, in the green o the rose, still drink o' the water of life, my drink is nought but tears, since that thou didst depart. if sleep e'er visit thee, live coals of my unrest, strewn betwixt couch and side, for aye my slumbers thwart all but thy loss to me were but a little thing, but that and that alone is sore to me, sweetheart. when the merchant heard her verses, he wept and put out his hand to wipe away her tears; but she let down her veil, saying, "god forbid, o my master!" the bedouin, who was sitting at a little distance, watching them, saw her cover her face and concluded that she would have hindered him from handling her: so he rose and running to her, dealt her such a blow on the shoulders with a camel's halter he had in his hand, that she fell to the ground on her face. her eyebrow smote against a stone, which cut it open, and the blood streamed down her face; whereupon she gave a loud scream and fainted away. the merchant was moved to tears for her and said in himself, "i must and will buy this damsel, though i pay down her weight in gold, and deliver her from this tyrant." and he began to reproach the bedouin, whilst nuzhet ez zeman lay insensible. when she came to herself, she wiped away her tears and bound up her head: then, raising her eyes to heaven, she sought her lord with a sorrowful heart and repeated the following verses: have ruth on one who once was rich and great, whom villainy hath brought to low estate. she weeps with never-ceasing tears and says, "there's no recourse against the laws of fate." then she turned to the merchant and said to him, in a low voice, "by allah, do not leave me with this tyrant, who knows not god the most high! if i pass this night with him, i shall kill myself with my own hand: save me from him, and god will save thee from hell-fire." so the merchant said to the bedouin, "o chief of the arabs, this girl is none of thine affair; so do thou sell her to me for what thou wilt." "take her," said the bedouin, "and pay me down her price, or i will carry her back to the camp and set her to feed the camels and gather their droppings."[fn# ] quoth the merchant, "i will give thee fifty thousand dinars for her." "god will open,"[fn# ] replied the bedouin. "seventy thousand," said the merchant. "god will open," repeated the other; "she hath cost me more than that, for she hath eaten barley-bread with me to the value of ninety thousand dinars." quoth the merchant, "thou and all thy people and thy whole tribe in all your lives have not eaten a thousand dinars' worth of barley: but i will make thee one offer, which if thou accept not, i will set the viceroy of damascus on thee, and he will take her from thee by force." "say on," rejoined the bedouin. "a hundred thousand," said the merchant. "i will sell her to thee at that price," answered the bedouin; "i shall be able to buy salt with that." the merchant laughed and going to his house, returned with the money and gave it to the bedouin, who took it and made off, saying, "i must go to jerusalem: it may be i shall happen on her brother, and i will bring him here and sell him." so he mounted and journeyed to jerusalem, where he went to the khan and enquired for zoulmekan, but could not find him. meanwhile, the merchant threw his gaberdine over nuzhet ez zeman and carried her to his house, where he dressed her in the richest clothes he could buy. then he carried her to the bazaar, where he bought her what jewellery she chose and put it in a bag of satin, which he laid before her, saying, "this is all for thee, and i ask nothing of thee in return but that, when thou comest to the viceroy of damascus, thou tell him what i gave for thee and that it was little compared with thy value: and if he buy thee, tell him how i have dealt with thee and ask of him for me a royal patent, with a recommendation to his father king omar ben ennuman, lord of baghdad, to the intent that he may forbid the taking toll on my stuffs or other goods in which i traffic." when she heard his words, she wept and sobbed, and the merchant said to her, "o my mistress, i note that, every time i mention baghdad, thine eyes fill with tears: is there any one there whom thou lovest? if it be a merchant or the like, tell me; for i know all the merchants and so forth there; and an thou wouldst send him a message, i will carry it for thee." "by allah," replied she, "i have no acquaintance among merchants and the like! i know none there but king omar ben ennuman." when the merchant heard this, he laughed and was greatly rejoiced and said in himself, "by allah, i have gotten my desire!" then he said to her, "hast thou then been shown to him?" "no," answered she; "but i was brought up with his daughter and he holds me dear and i have much credit with him; so if thou wouldst have him grant thee a patent of exemption, give me ink-horn and paper, and i will write thee a letter, which, when thou reachest baghdad, do thou deliver into the king's own hand and say to him, 'thy handmaid nuzhet ez zeman salutes thee and would have thee to know that the changing chances of the nights and days have smitten her, so that she has been sold from place to place and is now with the viceroy of damascus.'" the merchant wondered at her eloquence and his affection for her increased and he said to her, "i cannot think but that men have abused thine understanding and sold thee for money. tell me, dost thou know the koran?" "i do," answered she; "and i am also acquainted with philosophy and medicine and the prolegomena and the commentaries of galen the physician on the canons of hippocrates, and i have commented him, as well as the simples of ibn beltar, and have studied the works of avicenna, according to the canon of mecca, as well as other treatises. i can solve enigmas and establish parallels[fn# ] and discourse upon geometry and am skilled in anatomy. i have read the books of the shafiyi[fn# ] sect and the traditions of the prophet, i am well read in grammar and can argue with the learned and discourse of all manner of sciences. moreover i am skilled in logic and rhetoric and mathematics and the making of talismans and calendars and the cabala, and i understand all these branches of knowledge thoroughly. but bring me ink-horn and paper, and i will write thee a letter that will profit thee at baghdad and enable thee to dispense with passports." when the merchant heard this, he cried out, "excellent! excellent! happy he in whose palace thou shalt be!" then he brought her ink-horn and paper and a pen of brass and kissed the earth before her, to do her honour. she took the pen and wrote the following verses: "what ails me that sleep hath forsaken my eyes and gone astray? have you then taught them to waken, after our parting day! how comes it your memory maketh the fire in my heart to rage? is't thus with each lover remembers a dear one far away? how sweet was the cloud of the summer, that watered our days of yore! 'tis flitted, before of its pleasance my longing i could stay. i sue to the wind and beg it to favour the slave of love, the wind that unto the lover doth news of you convey. a lover to you complaineth, whose every helper fails. indeed, in parting are sorrows would rend the rock in sway. "these words are from her whom melancholy destroys and whom watching hath wasted; in her darkness there are no lights found, and she knows not night from day. she tosses from side to side on the couch of separation and her eyes are blackened with the pencils of sleeplessness; she watches the stars and strains her sight into the darkness: verily, sadness and emaciation have consumed her and the setting forth of her case would be long. no helper hath she but tears and she reciteth the following verses: "no turtle warbles on the branch, before the break of morn, but stirs in me a killing grief, a sadness all forlorn. no lover, longing for his loves, complaineth of desire, but with a doubled stress of woe my heart is overborne. of passion i complain to one who hath no ruth on me. how soul and body by desire are, one from other, torn!" then her eyes brimmed over with tears, and she wrote these verses also: "love-longing, the day of our parting, my body with mourning smote, and severance from my eyelids hath made sleep far remote. i am so wasted for yearning and worn for sickness and woe, that, were it not for my speaking, thou'dst scarce my presence note." then she wept and wrote at the foot of the scroll, "this is from her who is far from her people and her native land, the sorrowful-hearted nuzhet ez zeman." she folded the letter and gave it to the merchant, who took it and reading what was written in it, rejoiced and exclaimed, "glory to him who fashioned thee!" then he redoubled in kindness and attention to her all that day; and at nightfall, he sallied out to the market and bought food, wherewith he fed her; after which he carried her to the bath and said to the tire-woman, "as soon as thou hast made an end of washing her head, clothe her and send and let me know.' meanwhile he fetched food and fruit and wax candles and set them on the dais in the outer room of the bath; and when the tire-woman had done washing her, she sent to tell the merchant, and nuzhet ez zeman went out to the outer room, where she found the tray spread with food and fruit. so she ate, and the tire-woman with her, and gave what was left to the people and keeper of the bath. then she slept till the morning, and the merchant lay the night in a place apart. when he awoke, he came to her and waking her, presented her with a shift of fine silk, a kerchief worth a thousand dinars, a suit of turkish brocade and boots embroidered with red gold and set with pearls and jewels. moreover, he hung in each of her ears a circlet of gold, with a fine pearl therein, worth a thousand dinars, and threw round her neck a collar of gold, with bosses of garnet and a chain of amber beads, that hung down between her breasts to her middle. now this chain was garnished with ten balls and nine crescents and each crescent had in its midst a beazel of ruby and each ball a beazel of balass ruby. the worth of the chain was three thousand dinars and each of the balls was worth twenty thousand dirhems, so that her dress in all was worth a great sum of money. when she had put these on, the merchant bade her make her toilet, and she adorned herself to the utmost advantage. then he bade her follow him and walked on before her through the streets, whilst the people wondered at her beauty and exclaimed, "blessed be god, the most excellent creator! o fortunate man to whom she shall belong!" till they reached the sultan's palace; when he sought an audience of sherkan and kissing the earth before him, said, "o august king, i have brought thee a rare gift, unmatched in this time and richly covered with beauty and good qualities." "let me see it," said sherkan. so the merchant went out and returning with nuzhet ez zeman, made her stand before sherkan. when the latter beheld her, blood drew to blood, though he had never seen her, having only heard that he had a sister called nuzhet ez zeman and a brother called zoulmekan and not having made acquaintance with them, in his jealousy of them, because of the succession. then said the merchant, "o king, not only is she without peer in her time for perfection of beauty and grace, but she is versed to boot in all learning, sacred and profane, besides the art of government and the abstract sciences." quoth sherkan, "take her price, according to what thou gavest for her, and go thy ways." "i hear and obey," replied the merchant; "but first i would have thee write me a patent, exempting me for ever from paying tithe on my merchandise." "i will do this," said sherkan; "but first tell me what you paid for her." quoth the merchant, "i bought her for a hundred thousand dinars, and her clothes cost me as much more." when the sultan heard this, he said, "i will give thee more than this for her," and calling his treasurer, said to him, "give this merchant three hundred and twenty thousand dinars; so will he have a hundred and twenty thousand dinars profit." then he summoned the four cadis and paid him the money in their presence; after which he said to them, "i call you to witness that i free this my slave-girl and purpose to marry her." so the cadis drew up the act of enfranchisement, and the sultan scattered much gold on the heads of those present, which was picked up by the pages and eunuchs. then they drew up the contract of marriage between sherkan and nuzhet ez zeman, after which he bade write the merchant a perpetual patent, exempting him from tax and tithe upon his merchandise and forbidding all and several to do him let or hindrance in all his government, and bestowed on him a splendid dress of honour. then all who were present retired, and there remained but the cadis and the merchant; whereupon quoth sherkan to the former, "i wish you to hear such discourse from this damsel as may prove her knowledge and accomplishment in all that this merchant avouches of her, that we may be certified of the truth of his pretensions." "good," answered they; and he commanded the curtains to be drawn before nuzhet ez zeman and her attendants, who began to wish her joy and kiss her hands and feet, for that she was become the viceroy's wife. then they came round her and easing her of the weight of her clothes and ornaments, began to look upon her beauty and grace. presently the wives of the amirs and viziers heard that king sherkan had bought a damsel unmatched for beauty and accomplishments and versed in all branches of knowledge, at the price of three hundred and twenty thousand dinars, and that he had set her free and married her and summoned the four cadis to examine her. so they asked leave of their husbands and repaired to the palace. when they came in to her, she rose and received them with courtesy, welcoming them and promising them all good. moreover, she smiled in their faces and made them sit down in their proper stations, as if she had been brought up with them, so that their hearts were taken with her and they all wondered at her good sense and fine manners, as well as at her beauty and grace, and said to each other, "this damsel is none other than a queen, the daughter of a king." then they sat down, magnifying her, and said to her, "o our lady, our city is illumined by thy presence, and our country and kingdom are honoured by thee. the kingdom indeed is thine and the palace is thy palace, and we all are thy handmaids; so do not thou shut us out from thy favours and the sight of thy beauty." and she thanked them for this. all this while the curtains were drawn between nuzhet ez zeman and the women with her, on the one side, and king sherkan and the cadis and merchant seated by him, on the other. presently, sherkan called to her and said, "o queen, the glory of thine age, this merchant describes thee as being learned and accomplished and asserts that thou art skilled in all branches of knowledge, even to astrology: so let us hear something of all this and give us a taste of thy quality." "o king," replied she, "i hear and obey. the first subject of which i will treat is the art of government and the duties of kings and what behoves governors of lawful commandments and what is incumbent on them in respect of pleasing manners. know then, o king, that all men's works tend either to religion or to worldly life, for none attains to religion save through this world, because it is indeed the road to the next world. now the world is ordered by the doings of its people, and the doings of men are divided into four categories, government (or the exercise of authority), commerce, husbandry (or agriculture) and craftsmanship. to government are requisite perfect (knowledge of the science of) administration and just judgment; for government is the centre (or pivot) of the edifice of the world, which is the road to the future life since that god the most high hath made the world to be to his servants even as victual to the traveller for the attainment of the goal: and it is needful that each man receive of it such measure as shall bring him to god, and that he follow not in this his own mind and desire. if the folk would take of the goods of the world with moderation and equity, there would be an end of contentions; but they take thereof with violence and iniquity and persist in following their own inclinations; and their licentiousness and evil behaviour in this give birth to strife and contention. so they have need of the sultan, that he may do justice between them and order their affairs prudently, and if he restrain not the folk from one another, the strong will get the mastery over the weak. ardeshir says that religion and the kingship are twin; religion is a treasure and the king its keeper; and the divine ordinances and men's own judgment indicate that it behoves the folk to adopt a ruler to hold the oppressor back from the oppressed and do the weak justice against the strong and to restrain the violence of the proud and the unjust. for know, o king, that according to the measure of the ruler's good morals, even so will be the time; as says the apostle of god (on whom be peace and salvation), 'there are two classes, who if they be virtuous, the people will be virtuous, and if they be depraved, the people also will be depraved: even princes and men of learning.' and it is said by a certain sage, 'there are three kinds of kings, the king of the faith, the king who watches over and protects those things that are entitled to respect and honour, and the king of his own inclinations. the king of the faith constrains his subjects to follow the laws of their faith, and it behoves that he be the most pious of them all, for it is by him that they take pattern in the things of the faith; and the folk shall do obedience to him in what he commands in accordance with the divine ordinances; but he shall hold the discontented in the same esteem as the contented, because of submission to the divine decrees. as for the king of the second order, he upholds the things of the faith and of the world and compels the folk to follow the law of god and to observe the precepts of humanity; and it behoves him to conjoin the sword and the pen; for whoso goeth astray from what the pen hath written, his feet slip, and the king shall rectify his error with the edge of the sword and pour forth his justice upon all men. as for the third kind of king, he hath no religion but the following his own lusts and fears not the wrath of his lord, who set him on the throne; so his kingdom inclines to ruin, and the end of his arrogance is in the house of perdition.' and another sage says, 'the king has need of many people, but the folk have need of but one king; wherefore it behoves that he be well acquainted with their natures, to the end that he may reduce their difference to concord, that he may encompass them one and all with his justice and overwhelm them with his bounties.' and know, o king, that ardeshir, styled jemr shedid, third of the kings of persia, conquered the whole world and divided it into four parts and let make for himself four seal-rings, one for each division of his realm. the first seal was that of the sea and the police and of prohibition, and on it was written, 'alternatives.' the second was the seal of revenue and of the receipt of monies, and on it was written, 'culture.' the third was the seal of the commissariat, and on it was written, 'plenty.' the fourth was the seal of (the court of enquiry into) abuses, and on it was written, 'justice.' and these remained in use in persia until the revelation of islam. king chosroes also, wrote to his son, who was with the army, 'be not over-lavish to thy troops, or they will come to have no need of thee; neither be niggardly with them, or they will murmur against thee. do thy giving soberly and confer thy favours advisedly; be liberal to them in time of affluence and stint them not in time of stress.' it is said that an arab of the desert came once to the khalif mensour[fn# ] and said to him, 'starve thy dog and he will follow thee.' when the khalif heard his words, he was enraged, but aboulabbas et tousi said to him, 'i fear that, if some other than thou should show him a cake of bread, the dog would follow him and leave thee.' thereupon the khalif's wrath subsided and he knew that the bedouin had meant no offence and ordered him a present. and know, o king, that abdulmelik ben merwan wrote to his brother abdulaziz, when he sent him to egypt, as follows: 'pay heed to thy secretaries and thy chamberlains, for the first will acquaint thee with necessary matters and the second with matters of etiquette and ceremonial observance, whilst the tribute that goes out from thee will make thy troops known to thee.' omar ben el khettab[fn# ] (whom god accept) was in the habit, when he engaged a servant, of laying four conditions on him, the first that he should not ride the baggage-beasts, the second that he should not wear fine clothes, the third that he should not eat of the spoil and the fourth that he should not delay to pray after the proper time. it is said that there is no wealth better than understanding and no understanding like common sense and prudence and no prudence like the fear of god; that there is no offering like good morals and no measure like good breeding and no profit like earning the divine favour;[fn# ] that there is no piety like the observance of the limits of the law and no science like that of meditation, no devotion like the performance of the divine precepts, no safeguard like modesty, no calculation like humility and no nobility like knowledge. so guard the head and what it contains and the body and what it comprises and remember death and calamity. says ali[fn# ], (whose face god honour!), 'beware of the wickedness of women and be on thy guard against them. consult them not in aught, but be not grudging of complaisance to them, lest they be tempted to have recourse to intrigue.' and also, 'he who leaves the path of moderation and sobriety, his wits become perplexed.' and omar (whom god accept) says, 'there are three kinds of women, first, the true-believing, god-fearing woman, loving and fruitful, helping her husband against fate, not helping fate against her husband; secondly, she who loves and tenders her children, but no more; and thirdly, the woman who is as a shackle that god puts on the neck of whom he will. men also are three: the first, who is wise, when he exercises his judgment; the second, wiser than he, who, when there falls on him somewhat of which he knows not the issue, seeks folk of good counsel and acts by their advice; and the third, who is addle-headed, knowing not the right way nor heeding those who would instruct him.' justice is indispensable in all things; even slave-girls have need of justice; and highway robbers, who live by violence, bear witness of this, for did they not deal equitably among themselves and observe fairness in their divisions, their order would fall to pieces. for the rest, the chief of noble qualities is generosity and benevolence. how well says the poet: 'by largesse and mildness the youth chief of his tribe became, and it were easy for thee to follow and do the same.' and quoth another: 'in mildness stability lies and clemency wins us respect, and safety in soothfastness is for him who is soothfast and frank; and he who would get himself praise and renown for his wealth from the folk, in the racecourse of glory must be, for munificence, first in the rank.'" and nuzhet ez zeman discoursed upon the policy and behaviour of kings, till the bystanders said, "never heard we one reason of the duties of kings like this damsel! mayhap she will favour us with discourse upon some subject other than this." when she heard this, she said, "as for the chapter of good breeding,[fn# ] it is wide of scope, for it is a compend of perfections. there came in one day to the khalif muawiyeh[fn# ] one of his boon-companions, who spoke of the people of irak and the goodness of their wit; and the khalif's wife meisoun, mother of yezid, heard him. so, when he was gone, she said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, prithee let some of the people of irak come in to thee and talk with them, that i may hear their discourse.' so the khalif said to his attendants, 'who is at the door?' and they answered, 'the benou temim.' 'let them come in,' said he. so they came in and with them ahnaf ben cais.[fn# ] now muawiyeh had drawn a curtain between himself and meisoun, that she might hear what they said without being seen herself; and he said to ahnaf, 'o abou behr,[fn# ] pray, near and tell me what counsel thou hast for me.' quoth ahnaf, 'part thy hair and trim thy moustache and clip thy nails and pluck out the hair of thine armpits and shave thy pubes and be constant in the use of the toothstick, for therein are two-and-seventy virtues, and make the friday (complete) ablution as an expiation for what is between the two fridays.' 'what is thy counsel to thyself?' asked muawiyeh. 'to plant my feet firmly on the ground,' replied ahnaf, 'to move them with deliberation and keep watch over them with my eyes.' 'how,' asked the khalif, 'dost thou carry thyself, when thou goest in to the common folk of thy tribe?' 'i lower my eyes modestly,' replied ahnaf, 'and salute them first, abstaining from what does not concern me and being sparing of words.' 'and how, when thou goest in to thine equals?' asked muawiyeh. 'i give ear to them, when they speak,' answered the other, 'and do not assail them, when they err.' 'and how dost thou,' said the khalif, 'when thou goest in to thy chiefs?' 'i salute without making any sign,' answered ahnaf, 'and await the response: if they bid me draw near, i do so, and if they bid me stand aloof, i withdraw.' 'how dost thou with thy wife?' asked the khalif. 'excuse me from answering this, o commander of the faithful!' replied he; but muawiyeh said, 'i conjure thee to answer.' then said ahnaf, 'i entreat her kindly and show her pleasant familiarity and am large in expenditure, for women were created of a crooked rib.' 'and how,' asked the khalif, 'dost thou when thou hast a mind to lie with her?' 'i speak to her to perfume herself,' answered the other, 'and kiss her till she is moved to desire; then, if it be as thou knowest, i throw her on her back. if the seed abide in her womb, i say, "o my god, make it blessed and let it not be a castaway, but fashion it into a goodly shape!" then i rise from her and betake myself to the ablution, first pouring water over my hands and then over my body and returning thanks to god for the delight he hath given me.' 'thou hast answered excellently well,' said muawiyeh; 'and now tell me what thou wouldst have.' quoth ahnaf, 'i would have thee rule thy subjects in the fear of god and do equal justice amongst them.' so saying, he withdrew from the khalif's presence, and when he had gone, meisoun said, 'were there but this man in irak, he would suffice to it.' this (continued nuzhet ez zeman) is a small fraction of the chapter of good breeding. know o king, that muyekib was intendant of the treasury during the khalifate of omar ben khettab. 'one day (quoth he) the khalif's son came to me and i gave him a dirhem from the treasury. then i returned to my own house, and presently, as i was sitting, there came to me a messenger, bidding me to the khalif. so i was afraid and went to him, and when i came into his presence, i saw in his hand the dirhem i had given his son. "harkye, muyekib," said he, "i have found somewhat concerning thy soul." "what is it, o commander of the faithful?" asked i; and he answered, "it is that thou wilt have to render an account of this dirhem to the people of mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation) on the day of resurrection."' this same omar wrote a letter to abou mousa el ashari,[fn# ] to the following purport, 'when these presents reach thee, give the people what is theirs and send the rest to me.' and he did so. when othman succeeded to the khalifate, he wrote a like letter to abou mousa, who did his bidding and sent him the tribute accordingly, and with it came ziad[fn# ] when the latter laid the tribute before othman, the khalif's son came in and took a dirhem, whereupon ziad fell a-weeping. 'why dost thou weep?' asked othman. quoth ziad, 'i once brought omar ben khettab the like of this, and his son took a dirhem, whereupon omar bade snatch it from his hand. now thy son hath taken of the tribute, yet have i seen none rebuke him nor take the money from him.' and othman said, 'where wilt thou find the like of omar?' again, zeid ben aslam relates of his father that he said, 'i went out one night with omar, and we walked on till we espied a blazing fire in the distance. quoth omar, "this must be travellers, who are suffering from the cold: let us join them." so we made for the fire, and when we came to it, we found a woman who had lighted a fire under a cauldron, and by her side were two children, crying. "peace on you, o folk of the light!" said omar, for he misliked to say, "folk of the fire;"[fn# ] "what ails you?" quoth she, "the cold and the night irk us." "what ails these children that they weep?" asked he. "they are hungry," replied she. "and what is in this cauldron?" asked omar. "it is what i quiet them with," answered she, "and god will question omar ben khettab of them, on the day of resurrection." "and what," rejoined the khalif, "should omar know of their case?" "why then," said she, "should he undertake the governance of the people's affairs and yet be unmindful of them?" then omar turned to me and said, "come with me." so we both set off running till we reached the treasury, where he took out a sack of flour and a pot of fat and said to me, "put these on my back." "o commander of the faithful," said i, "i will carry them for thee." "wilt thou bear my burden for me on the day of resurrection?" replied he. so i put the things on his back, and we set off, running, till we came to the woman, when he threw down the sack. then he took out some of the flour and put it in the cauldron and saying to the woman, "leave it to me," fell to blowing the fire; now he had a great beard and i saw the smoke issuing from the interstices thereof, till the flour was cooked, when he threw in some of the fat and said to the woman, "do thou feed the boys whilst i cool the food for them." so they ate their fill and he left the rest with her. then he turned to me and said, "o aslam, i see it was indeed hunger made them weep; and i am glad i did not go away without finding out the reason of the light i saw."' it is said that omar passed, one day, by a flock of sheep, kept by a slave, and asked the latter to sell him a sheep. 'they are not mine,' replied the shepherd. 'thou art the man i sought,' said omar and buying him of his master, set him free, whereupon the slave exclaimed, 'o my god, thou hast bestowed on me the lesser emancipation; vouchsafe me now the greater!'[fn# ] they say also, that omar ben khettab was wont to give his servants sweet milk and eat coarse fare himself and to clothe them softly and wear himself coarse garments. he gave all men their due and exceeded in his giving to them. he once gave a man four thousand dirhems and added thereto yet a thousand, wherefore it was said to him, 'why dost thou not favour thy son as thou favourest this man?' he answered, 'this man's father stood firm in fight on the day of uhud.'[fn# ] el hassan relates that omar once came (back from an expedition) with much money and that hefseh[fn# ] came to him and said, 'o commander of the faithful, be mindful of the due of kinship!' 'o hefseh,' replied he, 'god hath indeed enjoined us to satisfy the dues of kinship, but of our own monies, not those of the true believers. indeed, thou pleasest thy family, but angerest thy father.' and she went away, dragging her skirts. says omar's son, 'i implored god one year (after omar's death) to show me my father, till at last i saw him wiping the sweat from his brow and said to him, "how is it with thee, o my father?" "but for god's mercy," answered he, "thy father had perished." then said nuzhet ez zeman, "hear, o august king, the second division of the first chapter of the instances of the followers of the prophet and other pious men. says el hassan of bassora,[fn# ] 'not a soul of the sons of adam goes forth of the world, without grieving for three things, failure to enjoy what he has amassed, failure to compass what he hoped and failure to provide himself with sufficient provision for that to which he goes.[fn# ]' it was said to sufyan,[fn# ] 'can a man be devout and yet possess wealth?' 'yes,' replied he, 'so he be patient under affliction and return thanks, when god giveth to him.' when abdallah ben sheddad was on his death-bed, he sent for his son mohammed and admonished him, saying, 'o my son, i see the messenger of death calling me and so i charge thee to cherish the fear of god, both in public and private. praise god and be true in thy speech, for the praise of god brings increase of prosperity, and piety in itself is the best of provision,[fn# ] even as says one of the poets: i see not that bliss lies in filling one's chest; the god-fearing man can alone be called blest. for piety aye winneth increase of god; so of all men's provision 'tis surely the best. when omar ben abdulaziz[fn# ] succeeded to the khalifate, he went to his own house and laying hands on all that his family and household possessed, put it into the public treasury. so the ommiades[fn# ] betook themselves for aid to his father's sister, fatimeh, daughter of merwan, and she sent to omar, saying, 'i must needs speak with thee.' so she came to him by night, and when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down, he said to her, 'o aunt, it is for thee to speak first, since it is at thine instance that we meet; tell me, therefore, what thou wouldst with me.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied she, 'it is thine to speak first, for thy judgment perceives that which is hidden from the senses.' then said the khalif, 'of a verity god sent mohammed as a mercy to some and a punishment to others; and he chose out for him what was with him and withdrew him to himself, leaving the people a river, whereof the thirsty of them might drink. after him he made abou bekr the truth-teller khalif and he left the river in its pristine state, doing what was pleasing to god. then arose omar and worked a work and furnished forth a strife, of which none might do the like when othman came, he diverted a stream from the river, and muawiyeh in his turn sundered several streams from it. in like manner, yezid and the sons of merwan, abdulmelik and welid and suleiman[fn# ], ceased not to take from the river and dry up the main stream, till the commandment devolved upon me, and now i am minded to restore the river to its normal condition.' when fatimeh heard this, she said, 'i came, wishing only to speak and confer with thee, but if this be thy word, i have nothing to say to thee.' then she returned to the ommiades and said to them, 'see what you have brought on you by allying yourselves with omar ben khettab.' [fn# ] when omar was on his deathbed, he gathered his children round him, and meslemeh[fn# ] ben abdulmelik said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, wilt thou leave thy children beggars and thou their protector? none can hinder thee from giving them in thy lifetime what will suffice them out of the treasury; and this indeed were better than leaving it to revert to him who shall come after thee.' omar gave him a look of wrath and wonder and replied, 'o meslemeh, i have defended them all the days of my life, and shall i make them miserable after my death? my sons are like other men, either obedient to god the most high or disobedient: if the former, god will prosper them, and if the latter, i will not help them in their disobedience. know, o meslemeh, that i was present, even as thou, when such an one of the sons of merwan was buried, and i fell asleep by him and saw him in a dream given over to one of the punishments of god, to whom belong might and majesty. this terrified me and made me tremble, and i vowed to god that, if ever i came to the throne, i would not do as the dead man had done. this vow i have striven to fulfil all the days of my life, and i hope to be received into the mercy of my lord.' quoth meslemeh, 'a certain man died and i was present at his funeral. i fell asleep and meseemed i saw him, as in a dream, clad in white clothes and walking in a garden full of running waters. he came up to me and said, "o meslemeh, it is for the like of this that governors (or men who bear rule) should work."' many are the instances of this kind, and quoth one of the men of authority, 'i used to milk the ewes in the khalifate of omar ben abdulaziz, and one day, i met a shepherd, among whose sheep were wolves. i thought them to be dogs, for i had never before seen wolves; so i said to the shepherd, "what dost thou with these dogs?" "they are not dogs, but wolves," replied he. quoth i, "can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them?" "when the head is whole," replied he, "the body is whole also."' omar ben abdulaziz preached once from a mud pulpit, and after praising and glorifying god the most high, said three words and spoke as follows, 'o folk, make clean your hearts, that your outward lives may be clean to your brethren, and abstain from the things of the world. know that from adam to this present, there is no one man alive among the dead. dead are abdulmelik and those who forewent him, and omar also will die, and those who come after him.' quoth meslemeh (to this same omar, when he was dying), 'o commander of the faithful, shall we set a pillow behind thee, that thou mayest lean on it a little?' but omar answered, 'i fear lest it be a fault about my neck on the day of resurrection.' then he gasped for breath and fell back in a swoon; whereupon fatimeh cried out, saying, 'ho, meryem! ho, muzahim! ho, such an one! look to this man!' and she began to pour water on him, weeping, till he revived, and seeing her in tears, said to her, 'o fatimeh, why dost thou weep?' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied she, 'i saw thee lying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostration before god the most high in death and of thy departure from the world and separation from us. this is what made me weep.' 'enough, o fatimeh,' answered he; 'indeed thou exceedest.' then he would have risen, but fell down, and fatimeh strained him to her, saying, 'thou art to me as my father and my mother, o commander of the faithful! we cannot speak to thee, all of us.'[fn# ] again (continued nuzhet ez zeman), omar ben abdulaziz wrote to the people of the festival at mecca, as follows, 'i call god to witness, in the holy month, in the holy city and on the day of the great pilgrimage, that i am innocent of your oppression and of the wickedness of him that doth you wrong, in that i have neither commanded this nor purposed it, neither hath any report of aught thereof reached me (till now) nor have i had knowledge of it; and i trust therefore that god will pardon it to me. none hath authority from me to do oppression, for i shall assuredly be questioned (at the last day) concerning every one who hath been wrongfully entreated. so if any one of my officers swerve from the right and act without law or authority,[fn# ] ye owe him no obedience, till he return to the right way.' he said also (may god accept of him), 'i do not wish to be relieved from death, for that it is the supreme thing for which the true believer is rewarded.' quoth one of authority, 'i went one day to the commander of the faithful, omar ben abdulaziz, who was then khalif, and saw before him twelve dirhems, which he bade take to the treasury. so i said to him, "o commander of the faithful, thou impoverishest thy children and reducest them to beggary, leaving nothing for them. thou wouldst do well to appoint somewhat by will to them and to those who are poor of the people of thy house." "draw near to me," answered he. so i drew near to him and he said, "as for thy saying, 'thou beggarest thy children; provide for them and for the poor of thy household,' it is without reason, for god will replace me to my children and to those who are poor of the people of my house, and he will be their guardian. verily, they are like other men; he who fears god, god will provide him a happy issue, and he that is addicted to sin, i will not uphold him in his disobedience." then he called his sons before him, and they were twelve in number. when he beheld them, his eyes filled with tears and he said to them, "your father is between two things; either ye will be rich and he will enter the fire, or ye will be poor and he enter paradise; and your father's entry into paradise is liefer to him than that ye should be rich. so go, god be your helper, for to him i commit your affair."' quoth khalid ben sefwan,[fn# ] 'yusuf ben omar[fn# ] accompanied me to hisham ben abdulmelik,[fn# ] and i met him as he came forth with his kinsmen and attendants. he alighted and a tent was pitched for him. when the people had taken their seats, i came up to the side of the carpet (on which the khalif was reclining) and waiting till my eyes met his, bespoke him thus, "may god fulfil his bounty to thee, o commander of the faithful, and direct into the right way the affairs he hath committed to thy charge, and may no harm mingle with thy cheer! o commander of the faithful, i have an admonition for thee, which i have gleaned from the history of the kings of time past!" at this, he sat up and said to me, "o son of sefwan, say what is in thy mind." "o commander of the faithful," quoth i, "one of the kings before thee went forth, in a time before thy time, to this very country and said to his companions, 'saw ye ever any in the like of my state or to whom hath been given even as it hath been given unto me?' now there was with him one of those who survive to bear testimony to the faith and are upholders of the truth and walkers in its highway, and he said, 'o king, thou askest of a grave matter. wilt thou give me leave to answer?' 'yes,' replied the king, and the other said, 'dost thou judge thy present state to be temporary or enduring?' 'it is a temporary thing,' replied the king. 'why then,' asked the man, 'do i see thee exult in that which thou wilt enjoy but a little while and whereof thou wilt be questioned at length and for the rendering an account whereof thou wilt be as a pledge?' 'whither shall i flee,' asked the king, 'and where is that i must seek?' 'abide in thy kingship,' replied the other, 'and apply thyself to obey the commandments of god the most high; or else don thy worn-out clothes and devote thyself to the service of thy lord, till thine appointed hour come to thee.' then he left him, saying, 'i will come to thee again at daybreak.' so he knocked at his door at dawn and found that the king had put off his crown and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress of his exhortation." when hisham heard this, he wept till his beard was drenched and putting off his rich apparel, shut himself up in his palace. then the grandees and courtiers came to me and said, "what is this thou hast done with the commander of the faithful? thou hast marred his cheer and troubled his life!"' "but (continued nuzhet ez zeman, addressing herself to sherkan) how many admonitory instances are there not that bear upon this branch of the subject! indeed, it is beyond my power to report all that pertains to this head in one sitting; but, with length of days, o king of the age, all will be well." then said the cadis, "o king, of a truth this damsel is the wonder of the time and the unique pearl of the age! never in all our lives heard we the like." and they called down blessings on sherkan and went away. then said he to his attendants, "prepare the wedding festivities and make ready food of all kinds." so they addressed themselves to do his bidding, and he bade the wives of the amirs and viziers and grandees depart not until the time of the wedding banquet and of the unveiling of the bride. hardly was the time of afternoon-prayer come, when the tables were spread with roast meats and geese and fowls and all that the heart can desire or that can delight the eye; and all the people ate till they were satisfied. moreover, the king had sent for all the singing-women of damascus and they were present, together with all the slave-girls of the king and the notables who knew how to sing. when the evening came and it grew dark, they lighted flambeaux, right and left, from the gate of the citadel to that of the palace, and the amirs and viziers and grandees defiled before king sherkan, whilst the singers and the tire-women took nuzhet ez zeman, to dress and adorn her, but found she needed no adorning. meantime king sherkan went to the bath and coming out, sat down on his bed of estate, whilst they unveiled the bride before him in seven different dresses; after which they eased her of the weight of her dresses and ornaments and gave such injunctions as are usually given to girls on their wedding-night. then sherkan went in to her and took her maidenhead; and she at once conceived by him, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and commanded the sages to record the date of her conception. on the morrow, he went forth and seated himself on his throne, and the grandees came in to him and gave him joy. then he called his private secretary and bade him write to his father, king omar ben ennuman, a letter to the following effect: "know that i have bought me a damsel, who excels in learning and accomplishment and is mistress of all kinds of knowledge. i have set her free and married her and she has conceived by me. and needs must i send her to baghdad to visit my brother zoulmekan and my sister nuzhet ez zeman." and he went on to praise her wit and salute his brother and sister, together with the vizier dendan and all the amirs. then he sealed the letter and despatched it to his father by a courier, who was absent a whole month, after which time he returned with the old king's answer. sherkan took it and read as follows, after the usual preamble, "in the name of god," etc., "this is from the afflicted and distraught, him who hath lost his children and is (as it were) an exile from his native land, king omar ben ennuman, to his son sherkan. know that, since thy departure from me, the place is become contracted upon me, so that i can no longer have patience nor keep my secret: and the reason of this is as follows. it chanced that zoulmekan sought my leave to go on the pilgrimage, but i, fearing for him the shifts of fortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year or the year after. soon after this, i went out to hunt and was absent a whole month. when i returned, i found that thy brother and sister had taken somewhat of money and set out by stealth with the caravan of pilgrims. when i knew this, the wide world became strait on me, o my son; but i awaited the return of the caravan, hoping that they would return with it. accordingly, when the caravan came back, i questioned the pilgrims of them, but they could give me no news of them; so i put on mourning apparel for them, being heavy at heart and sleepless and drowned in the tears of my eyes." then followed these verses: their image is never absent a breathing-while from my breast, i have made it within my bosom the place of the honoured guest, but that i look for their coming, i would not live for an hour, and but that i see them in dreams, i ne'er should lie down to rest. the letter went on (after the usual salutations to sherkan and those of his court), "do not thou therefore neglect to seek news of them, for indeed this is a dishonour to us." when sherkan read the letter, he mourned for his father, but rejoiced in the loss of his brother and sister. now nuzhet ez zeman knew not that he was her brother nor he that she was his sister, although he paid her frequent visits, both by day and by night, till the months of her pregnancy were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of delivery. god made the delivery easy to her and she gave birth to a daughter, whereupon she sent for sherkan and said to him, "this is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt." quoth he, "folk use to name their children on the seventh day." then he bent down to kiss the child and saw, hung about her neck, a jewel, which he knew at once for one of those that the princess abrizeh had brought from the land of the greeks. at this sight, his senses fled, his eyes rolled and wrath seized on him, and he looked at nuzhet ez zeman and said to her, "o damsel, whence hadst thou this jewel?" when she heard this, she replied, "i am thy lady and the lady of all in thy palace. art thou not ashamed to say to me, 'o damsel'?[fn# ] indeed, i am a queen, the daughter of a king; and now concealment shall cease and the truth be made known. i am nuzhet ez zeman, daughter of king omar ben ennuman." when sherkan heard this, he was seized with trembling and bowed his head towards the earth, whilst his heart throbbed and his colour paled, for he knew that she was his sister by the same father. then he lost his senses; and when he revived, he abode in amazement, but did not discover himself to her and said to her, "o my lady, art thou indeed the daughter of king omar ben ennuman?" "yes," replied she; and he said, "tell me how thou camest to leave thy father and be sold for a slave." so she told him all that had befallen her, from first to last, how she had left her brother sick in jerusalem and how the bedouin had lured her away and sold her to the merchant. when sherkan heard this all was certified that she was indeed his sister, he said to himself, "how can i have my sister to wife? by allah, i must marry her to one of my chamberlains; and if the thing get wind, i will avouch that i divorced her before consummation and married her to my chief chamberlain." then he raised his head and said, "o nuzhet ez zeman, thou art my very sister; for i am sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman, and may god forgive us the sin into which we have fallen!" she looked at him and seeing that he spoke the truth, became as one bereft of reason and wept and buffeted her face, exclaiming, "there is no power and no virtue but in god! verily we have fallen into grievous sin! what shall i do and what answer shall i make my father and my mother, when they say to me, 'whence hadst thou thy daughter'?" quoth sherkan, "i purpose to marry thee to my chief chamberlain and let thee bring up my daughter in his house, that none may know thee to be my sister. this that hath befallen us was ordained of god for a purpose of his own, and there is no way to cover ourselves but by thy marriage with the chamberlain, ere any know." then he fell to comforting her and kissing her head, and she said to him, "what wilt thou call the child?" "call her kuzia fekan,"[fn# ] replied he. then he gave her in marriage to the chief chamberlain, and they reared the child in his house, on the laps of the slave-girls, till, one day, there came to king sherkan a courier from his father, with a letter to the following purport, "in the name of god, etc. know, o puissant king, that i am sore afflicted for the loss of my children: sleep fails me and wakefulness is ever present with me. i send thee this letter that thou mayst make ready the tribute of syria and send it to us, together with the damsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for i long to see her and hear her discourse; because there has come to us from the land of the greeks a devout old woman, with five damsels, high-bosomed maids, endowed with knowledge and accomplishments and all fashions of learning that befit mortals; and indeed the tongue fails to describe this old woman and her companions. as soon as i saw the damsels, i loved them and wished to have them in my palace and at my commandment, for none of the kings possesses the like of them; so i asked the old woman their price, and she replied, 'i will not sell them but for the tribute of damascus.' and by allah, this is but little for them, for each one of them is worth the whole price. so i agreed to this and took them into my palace, and they remain in my possession. wherefore do thou expedite the tribute to us, that the old woman may return to her own country; and send us the damsel, that she may strive with them before the doctors; and if she overcome them, i will send her back to thee with the year's revenue of baghdad." when sherkan read this letter, he went in to his brother-in-law and said to him, "call the damsel to whom i married thee." so she came, and he showed her the letter and said to her, "o my sister, what answer wouldst thou have me make to this letter?" "it is for thee to judge," replied she. then she recalled her people and her native land and yearned after them; so she said to him, "send me and my husband the chamberlain to baghdad, that i may tell my father how the bedouin seized me and sold me to the merchant, and how thou boughtest me of him and gavest me in marriage to the chamberlain, after setting me free." "be it so," replied sherkan. then he made ready the tribute in haste and gave it to the chamberlain, bidding him make ready for baghdad, and furnished him with camels and mules and two travelling litters, one for himself and the other for the princess. moreover, he wrote a letter to his father and committed it to the chamberlain. then he took leave of his sister, after he had taken the jewel from her and hung it round his daughter's neck by a chain of fine gold; and she and her husband set out for baghdad the same night. now their caravan was the very one to which zoulmekan and his friend the stoker had joined themselves, as before related, having waited till the chamberlain passed them, riding on a dromedary, with his footmen around him. then zoulmekan mounted the stoker's ass and said to the latter, "do thou mount with me." but he said, "not so: i will be thy servant." quoth zoulmekan, "needs must thou ride awhile." "it is well," replied the stoker; "i will ride when i grow tired." then said zoulmekan, "o my brother, thou shalt see how i will do with thee, when i come to my own people." so they journeyed on till the sun rose, and when it was the hour of the noonday rest, the chamberlain called a halt, and they alighted and rested and watered their camels. then he gave the signal for departure and they journeyed for five days, till they came to the city of hemah, where they made a three days' halt; then set out again and fared on, till they reached the province of diarbekir. here there blew on them the breezes of baghdad, and zoulmekan bethought him of his father and mother and his native land and how he was returning to his father without his sister: so he wept and sighed and complained, and his regrets increased on him, and he repeated the following verses: how long wilt thou delay from me, beloved one? i wait: and yet there comes no messenger with tidings of thy fate. alack, the time of love-delight and peace was brief indeed! ah, that the days of parting thus would of their length abate! take thou my hand and put aside my mantle and thou'lt find my body wasted sore; and yet i hide my sad estate. and if thou bid me be consoled for thee, "by god," i say, "i'll ne'er forget thee till the day that calls up small and great!" "leave this weeping and lamenting," said the stoker, "for we are near the chamberlain's tent." quoth zoulmekan, "needs must i recite somewhat of verse, so haply it may allay the fire of my heart." "god on thee," cried the stoker, "leave this lamentation, till thou come to thine own country; then do what thou wilt, and i will be with thee, wherever thou art." "by allah," replied zoulmekan, "i cannot forbear from this!" then he set his face towards baghdad and began to repeat verses. now the moon was shining brightly and shedding her light on the place, and nuzhet ez zeman could not sleep that night, but was wakeful and called to mind her brother and wept. presently, she heard zoulmekan weeping and repeating the following verses: the southern lightning gleams in the air and rouses in me the old despair, the grief for a dear one, loved and lost, who filled me the cup of joy whilere. it minds me of her who fled away and left me friendless and sick and bare. o soft-shining lightnings, tell me true, are the days of happiness past fore'er? chide not, o blamer of me, for god hath cursed me with two things hard to bear, a friend who left me to pine alone, and a fortune whose smile was but a snare. the sweet of my life was gone for aye, when fortune against me did declare; she brimmed me a cup of grief unmixed, and i must drink it and never spare. or ever our meeting 'tide, sweetheart, methinks i shall die of sheer despair, i prithee, fortune, bring back the days when we were a happy childish pair; the days, when we from the shafts of fate, that since have pierced us, in safety were! ah, who shall succour the exiled wretch, who passes the night in dread and care, and the day in mourning for her whose name, delight of the age[fn# ], bespoke her fair? the hands of the baseborn sons of shame have doomed us the wede of woe to wear. then he cried out and fell down in a swoon, and when nuzhet ez zeman heard his voice in the night, her heart was solaced and she rose and called the chief eunuch, who said to her, "what is thy will?" quoth she, "go and fetch me him who recited verses but now." "i did not hear him," replied he; "the people are all asleep." and she said, "whomsoever thou findest awake, he is the man." so he went out and sought, but found none awake but the stoker; for zoulmekan was still insensible, and, nuzhet ez zeman, going up to the former, said to him, "art thou he who recited verses but now, and my lady heard him?" the stoker concluded that the lady was wroth and was afraid and replied, "by allah, 'twas not i!" "who then was it?" rejoined the eunuch. "point him out to me. thou must know who it was, seeing that thou art awake." the stoker feared for zoulmekan and said in himself, "maybe the eunuch will do him some hurt." so he answered, "i know not who it was." "by allah," said the eunuch, "thou liest, for there is none awake here but thou! so needs must thou know him." "by allah," replied the stoker, "i tell thee the truth! it must have been some passer-by who recited the verses and disturbed me and aroused me, may god requite him!" quoth the eunuch, "if thou happen upon him, point him out to me and i will lay hands on him and bring him to the door of my lady's litter; or do thou take him with thine own hand." "go back," said the stoker, "and i will bring him to thee." so the eunuch went back to his mistress and said to her, "none knows who it was; it must have been some passer-by." and she was silent. meanwhile, zoulmekan came to himself and saw that the moon had reached the zenith and felt the breath of the breeze that goes before the dawn; whereupon his heart was moved to longing and sadness, and he cleared his throat and was about to recite verses, when the stoker said to him, "what wilt thou do?" "i have a mind to repeat somewhat of verse," answered zoulmekan, "that i may allay therewith the fire of my heart." quoth the other, "thou knowest not what befell me, whilst thou wert aswoon, and how i only escaped death by beguiling the eunuch." "tell me what happened," said zoulrnekan. "whilst thou wert aswoon," replied the stoker, "there came up to me but now an eunuch, with a long staff of almond-tree wood in his hand, who looked in all the people's faces, as they lay asleep, and finding none awake but myself, asked me who it was recited the verses. i told him it was some passer-by; so he went away and god delivered me from him; else had he killed me. but first he said to me, 'if thou hear him again, bring him to us.'" when zoulmekan heard this, he wept and said, "who is it would forbid me to recite? i will surely do so, come what may; for i am near my own country and care for no one." "dost thou wish to destroy thyself?" asked the stoker; and zoulmekan answered, "i cannot help reciting verses." "verily," said the stoker, "i see this will bring about a parting between us here though i had promised myself not to leave thee, till i had brought thee to thy native city and re-united thee with thy mother and father. thou hast now been with me a year and a half, and i have never baulked thee or harmed thee in aught. what ails thee then, that thou must needs recite, seeing that we are exceeding weary with travel and watching and all the folk are asleep, for they need sleep to rest them of their fatigue." but zoulmekan answered, "i will not be turned from my purpose." then grief moved him and he threw off disguise and began to repeat the following verses: halt by the camp and hail the ruined steads by the brake, and call on her name aloud; mayhap she will answer make. and if for her absence the night of sadness darken on thee, light in its gloom a fire with longings for her sake. though the snake of the sand-hills hiss, small matter is it to me if it sting me, so i the fair with the lips of crimson take. o paradise, left perforce of the spirit, but that i hope for ease in the mansions of bliss, my heart would surely break! and these also: time was when fortune was to us even as a servant is, and in the loveliest of lands our happy lives did kiss. ah, who shall give me back the abode of my belov'd, wherein the age's joy[fn# ] and place's light[fn# ] erst dwelt in peace and bliss? then he cried out three times and fell down senseless, and the stoker rose and covered him. when nuzhet ez zeman heard the first verses, she called to mind her mother and father and brother; and when she heard the second, mentioning the names of herself and her brother and their sometime home, she wept and calling the eunuch, said to him, "out on thee! but now i heard him who recited the first time do so again, and that hard by. so, by allah, an thou fetch him not to me, i will rouse the chamberlain on thee, and he shall beat thee and turn thee away. but take these hundred dinars and give them to him and do him no hurt, but bring him to me gently. if he refuse, give him this purse of a thousand dinars and leave him and return to me and tell me, after thou hast informed thyself of his place and condition and what countryman he is. return quickly and do not linger, and beware lest thou come back and say, 'i could not find him.'" so the eunuch went out and fell to examining the people and treading amongst them, but found none awake, for the folk were all asleep for weariness, till he came to the stoker and saw him sitting up, with his head uncovered. so he drew near him and seizing him by the hand, said to him, "it was thou didst recite the verses!" the stoker was affrighted and replied, "no, by allah, o chief of the people, it was not i!" but the eunuch said, "i will not leave thee till thou show me who it was; for i fear to return to my lady without him." thereupon the stoker feared for zoulmekan and wept sore and said to the eunuch, "by allah, it was not i, nor do i know who it was. i only heard some passer-by recite verses: so do not thou commit sin on me, for i am a stranger and come from jerusalem, and abraham the friend of god be with thee!" "come thou with me," rejoined the eunuch, "and tell my lady this with thine own mouth, for i see none awake but thee." quoth the stoker, "hast thou not seen me sitting here and dost thou not know my station? thou knowest none can stir from his place, except the guards seize him. so go thou to thy mistress and if thou hear any one reciting again, whether it be near or far, it will be i or some one whom i shall know, and thou shalt not know of him but by me." then he kissed the eunuch's head and spoke him fair, till he went away; but he made a circuit and returning secretly, came and hid himself behind the stoker, fearing to go back to his mistress empty-handed. as soon as he was gone, the stoker aroused zoulmekan and said to him, "awake and sit up, that i may tell thee what has happened." so zoulmekan sat up, and the stoker told him what had passed, and he answered, "let me alone; i will take no heed of this and i care for none, for i am near my own country." quoth the stoker, "why wilt thou obey thine own inclinations and the promptings of the devil? if thou fearest no one, i fear for thee and myself; so god on thee, recite no more verses, till thou come to thine own country! indeed, i had not thought thee so self-willed. dost thou not know that this lady is the wife of the chamberlain and is minded to chide thee for disturbing her. belike, she is ill or restless for fatigue, and this is the second time she hath sent the eunuch to look for thee." however, zoulmekan paid no heed to him, but cried out a third time and repeated the following verses: the carping tribe i needs must flee; their railing chafes my misery. they blame and chide at me nor know they do but fan the flame in me. "she is consoled," they say. and i, "can one consoled for country be?" quoth they, "how beautiful she is!" and i, "how dear-belov'd is she!" "how high her rank!" say they; and i, "how base is my humility!" now god forfend i leave to love, deep though i drink of agony! nor will i heed the railing race, who carp at me for loving thee. hardly had he made an end of these verses when the eunuch, who had heard him from his hiding, came up to him; whereupon the stoker fled and stood afar off, to see what passed between them. then said the eunuch to zoulmekan, "peace be on thee, o my lord!" "and on thee be peace," replied zoulmekan, "and the mercy of god and his blessing!" "o my lord," continued the eunuch, "this is the third time i have sought thee this night, for my mistress bids thee to her." quoth zoulmekan, "whence comes this bitch that seeks for me? may god curse her and her husband too!" and he began to revile the eunuch, who could make him no answer, because his mistress had charged him to do zoulmekan no violence nor bring him, save of his free will, and if he would not come, to give him the thousand dinars. so he began to speak him fair and say to him, "o my lord, take this (purse) and go with me. we will do thee no unright nor wrong thee in aught; but we would have thee bend thy gracious steps with me to my mistress, to speak with her and return in peace and safety; and thou shalt have a handsome present." when zoulmekan heard this, he arose and went with the eunuch, stepping over the sleeping folk, whilst the stoker followed them at a distance, saying to himself, "alas, the pity of his youth! to-morrow they will hang him. how base it will be of him, if he say it was i who bade him recite the verses!" and he drew near to them and stood, watching them, without their knowledge, till they came to nuzhet ez zeman's tent, when the eunuch went in to her and said, "o my lady, i have brought thee him whom thou soughtest, and he is a youth, fair of face and bearing the marks of gentle breeding." when she heard this, her heart fluttered and she said, "let him recite some verses, that i may hear him near at hand, and after ask him his name and extraction." so the eunuch went out to zoulmekan and said to him, "recite what verses thou knowest, for my lady is here hard by, listening to thee, and after i will ask thee of thy name and extraction and condition." "willingly," replied he; "but as for my name, it is blotted out and my trace among men is passed away and my body wasted. i have a story, the beginning of which is not known nor can the end of it be described, and behold, i am even as one who hath exceeded in drinking wine, till he hath lost the mastery of himself and is afflicted with distempers and wanders from his right mind, being perplexed about his case and drowned in the sea of melancholy." when nuzhet ez zeman heard this, she broke out into loud weeping and sobbing and said to the eunuch, "ask him if he have lost a beloved one, such as his father or mother." the eunuch did as she bade him, and zoulmekan replied, "yes, i have lost all whom i loved: but the dearest of all to me was my sister, from whom fate hath parted me." when nuzhet ez zeman heard this, she exclaimed, "may god the most high reunite him with those he loves!" then said she to the eunuch, "tell him to let me hear somewhat on the subject of his separation from his people and his country." the eunuch did so, and zoulmekan sighed heavily and repeated the following verses: ah, would that i knew they were ware of the worth of the heart they have won! would i knew through what passes they fare, from what quarter they look on the sun! are they living, i wonder, or dead? can it be that their life's race is run? ah, the lover is ever distraught and his life for misgivings undone! and also these: i vow, if e'er the place shall bless my longing sight, wherein my sister dwells, the age's dear delight,[fn# ] i'll take my fill of life and all the sweets of peace, midst trees and flowing streams: and maidens fair and bright the lute's enchanting tones shall soothe me to repose, what while i quaff full cups of wine like living light and honeyed dews of love suck from the deep-red lips of lovelings sleepy-eyed, with tresses black as night. when he had finished, nuzhet ez zeman lifted up a corner of the curtain of the litter and looked at him. as soon as her eyes fell on him, she knew him for certain and cried out, "o my brother! o zoulmekan!" he looked at her and knew her and cried out, "o my sister! o nuzhet ez zeman!" then she threw herself upon him, and he received her in his arms, and they both fell down in a swoon. when the eunuch saw this, he wondered and throwing over them somewhat to cover them, waited till they should recover. after awhile, they came to themselves, and nuzhet ez zeman rejoiced exceedingly. grief and anxiety left her and joys flocked upon her and she repeated the following verses: fate swore 'twould never cease to plague my life and make me rue. thou hast not kept thine oath, o fate; so look thou penance do. gladness is come and my belov'd is here to succour me; so rise unto the summoner of joys, and quickly too. i had no faith in paradise of olden time, until i won the nectar of its streams from lips of damask hue. when zoulmekan heard this, he pressed his sister to his breast, whilst, for the excess of his joy, the tears streamed from his eyes and he repeated the following verses: long time have i bewailed the severance of our loves, with tears that from my lids streamed down like burning rain, and vowed that, if the days should reunite us two, my lips should never speak of severance again. joy hath o'erwhelmed me so, that, for the very stress of that which gladdens me, to weeping i am fain. tears are become to you a habit, o my eyes, so that ye weep alike for gladness and for pain. they sat awhile at the door of the litter, conversing, till she said to him, "come with me into the litter and tell me all that has befallen thee, and i will do the like." so they entered and zoulmekan said, "do thou begin." accordingly, she told him all that had happened to her since their separation and said, "praised be god who hath vouchsafed thee to me and ordained that, even as we left our father together, so we shall return to him together! now tell me how it has fared with thee since i left thee." so he told her all that had befallen him and how god had sent the stoker to him, and how he had journeyed with him and spent his money on him and tended him night and day. she praised the stoker for this, and zoulmekan added, "indeed, o my sister, the man hath dealt with me in such benevolent wise as would not a lover with his mistress or a father with his son, for that he fasted and gave me to eat, and went afoot, whilst he made me ride; and i owe my life to him." "god willing," said she, "we will requite him for all this, according to our power." then she called the eunuch, who came and kissed zoulmekan's hand, and she said, "take thy reward for glad tidings, o face of good omen! it was thy hand reunited me with my brother; so the purse i gave thee and its contents are thine. but now go to thy master and bring him quickly to me." the eunuch rejoiced and going to the chamberlain, summoned him to his mistress. accordingly, he came in to his wife and finding zoulmekan with her, asked who he was. so she told him all that had befallen them, first and last, and added, "know, o chamberlain, that thou hast gotten no slave-girl to wife: but the daughter of king omar ben ennuman: for i am nuzhet ez zeman, and this is my brother zoulmekan." when the chamberlain heard her story, he knew it for the manifest truth and was certified that he was become king omar ben ennuman's son-in-law and said to himself, "i shall surely be made governor of some province." then he went up to zoulmekan and gave him joy of his safety and re-union with his sister, and bade his servants forthwith make him ready a tent and one of the best of his own horses to ride. then said nuzhet ez zeman, "we are now near my country and i would fain be alone with my brother, that we may enjoy one another's company and take our fill of each other, before we reach baghdad; for we have been long parted." "be it as thou wilt," replied the chamberlain and going forth, sent them wax candles and various kinds of sweetmeats, together with three costly suits of clothes for zoulmekan. then he returned to the litter, and nuzhet ez zeman said to him, "bid the eunuch find the stoker and give him a horse to ride and provide him a tray of food morning and evening, and let him be forbidden to leave us." the chamberlain called the eunuch and charged him accordingly; so he took his pages with him and went out in search of the stoker, whom he found at the tail of the caravan, saddling his ass and preparing for flight. the tears were running down his cheeks, out of fear for himself and grief for his separation from zoulmekan, and he was saying to himself, "indeed, i warned him for the love of god, but he would not listen to me. o that i knew what is become of him!" before he had done speaking, the eunuch came up and stood behind him, whilst the pages surrounded him. the stoker turned and seeing the eunuch and the pages round him, changed colour and trembled in every nerve for affright, exclaiming, "verily, he knows not the value of the good offices i have done him! i believe he has denounced me to the eunuch and made me an accomplice in his offence." then the eunuch cried out at him, saying, "who was it recited the verses? liar that thou art, why didst thou tell me that thou knewest not who it was, when it was thy companion? but now i will not leave thee till we come to baghdad, and what betides thy comrade shall betide thee." quoth the stoker, "verily, what i feared has fallen on me." and he repeated the following verse: 'tis e'en as i feared it would be: we are god's and to him return we. then said the eunuch to the pages, "take him off the ass." so they took him off the ass and setting him on a horse, carried him along with the caravan, surrounded by the pages, to whom said the eunuch, "if a hair of him be missing, it shall be the worse for you." but he bade them privily treat him with consideration and not humiliate him. when the stoker saw himself in this case, he gave himself up for lost and turning to the eunuch, said to him, "o chief, i am neither this youth's brother nor anywise akin to him; but i was a stoker in a bath and found him lying asleep on the fuel-heap." then the caravan fared on and the stoker wept and imagined a thousand things in himself, whilst the eunuch walked by his side and told him nothing, but said to him, "you disturbed our mistress by reciting verses, thou and the lad: but have no fear for thyself." this he said, laughing at him the while in himself. when the caravan halted, they brought them food, and he and the eunuch ate from one dish. then the eunuch let bring a gugglet of sherbet of sugar and after drinking himself, gave it to the stoker, who drank; but all the while his tears ceased not flowing, out of fear for himself and grief for his separation from zoulmekan and for what had befallen them in their strangerhood. so they travelled on with the caravan, whilst the chamberlain now rode by the door of his wife's litter, in attendance on zoulmekan and the princess, and now gave an eye to the stoker, and nuzhet ez zeman and her brother occupied themselves with converse and mutual condolence; and so they did till they came within three days' journey of baghdad. here they alighted at eventide and rested till the morning, when they woke and were about to load the beasts, when behold, there appeared afar off a great cloud of dust, that obscured the air, till it became as dark as night. thereupon the chamberlain cried out to them to stay their preparations for departure, and mounting with his officers rode forward in the direction of the dust-cloud. when they drew near it, they perceived under it a numerous army, like the full flowing sea, with drums and flags and standards and horsemen and footmen. the chamberlain marvelled at this: and when the troops saw him, there came forth from amongst them a troop of five hundred horse, who fell upon him and his suite and surrounded them, five for one; whereupon said he to them, "what is the matter and what are these troops, that ye use us thus?" "who art thou?" asked they. "whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?" and he answered, "i am the chamberlain of the viceroy of damascus, king sherkan, son of king omar ben ennuman, lord of baghdad and of the land of khorassan, and i bring tribute and presents from him to his father in baghdad." when the horsemen heard speak of king omar, they let their kerchiefs fall over their faces and wept, saying, "alas! king omar is dead, and he died poisoned. but fare ye on, no harm shall befall you, and join his grand vizier dendan." when the chamberlain heard this, he wept sore and exclaimed, "alas, our disappointment in this our journey!" then he and his suite rode on, weeping, till they reached the main body of the army and sought access to the vizier dendan, who called a halt and causing his pavilion to be pitched, sat down on a couch therein and commanded to admit the chamberlain. then he bade him be seated and questioned him; and he replied that he was the viceroy's chamberlain of damascus and was bound to king omar with presents and the tribute of syria. the vizier wept at the mention of king omar's name and said, "king omar is dead by poison, and the folk fell out amongst themselves as to whom they should make king after him, so that they were like to come to blows on this account; but the notables and grandees interposed and restored peace, and the people agreed to refer the matter to the decision of the four cadis, who adjudged that we should go to damascus and fetch thence the late king's son sherkan and make him king over his father's realm. some of them would have chosen his second son zoulmekan, were it not that he and his sister nuzhet ez zeman set out five years ago for mecca, and none knows what is become of them." when the chamberlain heard this, he knew that his wife had told him the truth and grieved sore for the death of king omar, what while he was greatly rejoiced, especially at the arrival of zoulmekan, for that he would now become king of baghdad in his father's room. so he turned to the vizier and said to him, "verily, your affair is a wonder of wonders! know, o chief vizier, that here, where you have encountered me, god giveth you rest from fatigue and bringeth you that you desire after the easiest of fashions, in that he restoreth to you zoulmekan and his sister nuzhet ez zeman, whereby the matter is settled and made easy." when the vizier heard this, he rejoiced greatly and said, "o chamberlain, tell me their story and the reason of their having been so long absent." so he repeated to him the whole story and told him that nuzhet ez zeman was his wife. as soon as he had made an end of his tale, the vizier sent for the amirs and viziers and grandees and acquainted them with the matter; whereat they rejoiced greatly and wondered at the happy chance. then they went in to the chamberlain and did their service to him, kissing the earth before him; and the vizier dendan also rose and stood before him, in token of respect. after this the chamberlain held a great council, and he and the vizier sat upon a throne, whilst all the amirs and officers of state took their places before them, according to their several ranks. then they dissolved sugar in rose-water and drank, after which the amirs sat down to hold council and bade the rest mount and ride forward leisurely, till they should make an end of their deliberations and overtake them. so the officers kissed the earth before them and mounting, rode onward, preceded by the standards of war. when the amirs had finished their conference, they mounted and rejoined the troops; and the chamberlain said to the vizier dendan, "i think it well to ride on before you, that i may notify zoulmekan of your coming and choice of him as sultan over the head of his brother sherkan, and that i may make him ready a place befitting his dignity." "it is well thought," answered the vizier. then the chamberlain rose and dendan also rose, to do him honour, and brought him presents, which he conjured him to accept. on like wise did all the amirs and officers of state, calling down blessings on him and saying to him, "mayhap thou will make mention of our case to king zoulmekan and speak to him to continue us in our dignities." the chamberlain promised what they asked and the vizier dendan sent with him tents and bade the tent-pitchers set them up at a days journey from the city. then the chamberlain mounted and rode forward, full of joy and saying in himself, "how blessed is this journey!" and indeed his wife was exalted in his eyes, she and her brother zoulmekan. they made all haste, till they reached a place distant a day's journey from baghdad, where he called a halt and bade his men alight and make ready a sitting place for the sultan zoulmekan, whilst he rode forward with his pages and alighting at a distance from nuzhet ez zeman's litter, commanded the eunuchs to ask the princess's leave to admit him. they did so and she gave leave; whereupon he went in to her and her brother and told them of the death of their father, king omar ben ennuman, and how the heads of the people had made zoulmekan king over them in his stead; and he gave them joy of the kingdom. when they heard this, they both wept for their father and asked the manner of his death. "the news rests with the vizier dendan," replied the chamberlain, "who will be here to-morrow with all the troops; and it only remains for thee, o prince, to do what they counsel, since they have chosen thee king; for if thou do not this, they will crown another, and thou canst not be sure of thyself with another king. haply he will kill thee, or discord may befall between you and the kingdom pass out of your hands." zoulmekan bowed his head awhile, then raised it and said, "i accept;" for indeed he saw that the chamberlain had counselled him rightly and that there was no refusing; "but, o uncle, how shall i do with my brother sherkan?" "o my son," replied the chamberlain, "thy brother will be sultan of damascus, and thou sultan of baghdad; so gird up thy resolution and prepare to do what befits thy case." then he presented him with a suit of royal raiment and a dagger of state, that the vizier dendan had brought with him, and leaving him, returned to the tent-pitchers and bade them choose out a spot of rising ground and pitch thereon a spacious and splendid pavilion, wherein the sultan might sit to receive the amirs and grandees. then he ordered the cooks to make ready rich food and serve it up and the water-carriers to set up the water-troughs. they did as he bade them and presently there arose a cloud of dust and spread till it obscured the horizon. after awhile, the breeze dispersed it, and there appeared under it the army of baghdad and khorassan, led by the vizier dendan, all rejoicing in the accession of zoulmekan. now zoulmekan had donned the royal robes and girt himself with the sword of state: so the chamberlain brought him a steed and he mounted, surrounded by the rest of the company on foot, and rode between the tents, till he came to the royal pavilion, where he entered and sat down, with the royal dagger across his thighs, whilst the chamberlain stood in attendance on him and his servants stationed themselves in the vestibule of the pavilion, with drawn swords in their hands. presently, up came the troops and sought admission to the king's presence; so the chamberlain went in to zoulmekan and asked his leave, whereupon he bade admit them, ten by ten. accordingly, the chamberlain went out to them and acquainted them with the king's orders, to which they replied, "we hear and obey." then he took ten of them and carried them, through the vestibule, into the presence of the sultan, whom when they saw, they were awed; but he received them with the utmost kindness and promised them all good. so they gave him joy of his safe return and invoked god's blessing upon him, after which they took the oath of fealty to him, and kissing the earth before him, withdrew. then other ten entered and he received them in the same manner; and they ceased not to enter, ten by ten, till none was left but the vizier dendan. so he went in and kissed the earth before zoulmekan, who rose to meet him, saying, "welcome, o noble vizier and father! verily, thine acts are those of a precious counsellor, and judgment and foresight are in the hands of the subtle, the all wise." then he commanded the chamberlain to go out and cause the tables to be spread at once and bid the troops thereto. so they came and ate and drank. moreover, he bade dendan call a ten days' halt of the army, that he might be private with him and learn from him the manner of his father's death. accordingly, the vizier went forth and transmitted the king's wishes to the troops, who received his commands with submission and wished him eternity of glory. moreover, he gave them leave to divert themselves and ordered that none of the lords in waiting should go in to the king for his service for the space of three days. then zoulmekan waited till nightfall, when he went in to his sister nuzhet ez zeman and said to her, "dost thou know the fashion of my father's death or not?" "i have no knowledge of it," replied she, and drew a silken curtain before herself, whilst zoulmekan seated himself without the curtain and sending for the vizier, bade him relate to him in detail the manner of king omar's death. "know then, o king," replied dendan, "that king omar ben ennuman, when he returned to baghdad from his hunting excursion, enquired for thee and thy sister, but could not find you and knew that you had gone on the pilgrimage, whereat he was greatly concerned and angered, and his breast was contracted. he abode thus a whole year, seeking news of you from all who came and went, but none could give him any tidings of you. at the end of this time, as we were one day in attendance upon him, there came to us an old woman, as she were a devotee, accompanied by five damsels, high-bosomed maids, like moons, endowed with such beauty and grace as the tongue fails to describe; and to crown their perfections, they knew the koran by heart and were versed in various kinds of learning and in the histories of bygone peoples. the old woman sought an audience of the king, and he bade admit her; whereupon she entered and kissed the ground before him. now i was then sitting by his side, and he, seeing in her the signs of devoutness and asceticism, made her draw near and sit down by him. so she sat down and said to him, 'know, o king, that with me are five damsels, whose like no king possesses, for they are endowed with beauty and grace and wit. they know the koran and the traditions and are skilled in all manner of learning and in the history of bygone peoples. they are here before thee, at thy disposal; for it is by proof that folk are prized or disdained.' thy late father looked at the damsels and their favour pleased him; so he said to them, 'let each of you tell me something of what she knows of the history of bygone folk and peoples of times past.' thereupon one of them came forward and kissing the earth before him, spoke as follows, 'know, o king, that it behoves the man of good breeding to eschew impertinence and adorn himself with excellencies, observing the divine precepts and shunning mortal sins; and to this he should apply himself with the assiduity of one who, if he stray therefrom, is lost; for the foundation of good breeding is virtuous behaviour. know that the chief reason of existence is the endeavour after life everlasting and the right way thereto is the service of god: so it behoves thee to deal righteously with the people; and swerve not from this rubrick, for the mightier folk are in dignity, the more need they have of prudence and foresight; and indeed kings need this more than common folk, for the general cast themselves into affairs, without taking thought to the issue of them. be thou prodigal both of thyself and thy treasure in the way of god and know that, if an enemy dispute with thee, thou mayst litigate with him and refute him with proof and ward thyself against him; but as for thy friend, there is none can judge between thee and him but righteousness and fair-dealing. wherefore, choose thy friend for thyself, after thou hast proved him. if he be a man of religion, let him be zealous in observing the external letter of the law and versed in its inner meaning, as far as may be: and if he be a man of the world, let him be free-born, sincere, neither ignorant nor perverse, for the ignorant man is such that even his parents might well flee from him, and a liar cannot be a true friend, for the word "friend"[fn# ] is derived from "truth,"[fn# ] that emanates from the bottom of the heart; and how can this be the case, when falsehood is manifest upon the tongue? know, therefore, that the observance of the law profits him who practices it: so love thy brother, if he be after this fashion, and do not cast him off, even if thou see in him that which thou mislikest; for a friend is not like a wife whom one can divorce and take again; but his heart is like glass; once broken, it cannot be mended. and god bless him who says: be careful not to hurt men's hearts nor work them aught of dole, for hard it is to bring again a once estranged soul; and hearts, indeed, whose loves in twain by discord have been rent are like a broken glass, whose breach may never be made whole. the wise say (continued she), "the best of friends is he who is the most assiduous in good counsel, the best of actions is that which is fairest in its result, and the best of praise is (not) that which is in the mouths of men." it is said also, "it behoves not the believer to neglect to thank god, especially for two favours, health and reason." again, "he who honoureth himself, his lust is a light matter to him, and he who makes much of small troubles, god afflicts him with great ones: he who obeys his own inclination neglects his duties and he who listens to the slanderer loses the true friend. he who thinks well of thee, do thou fulfil his thought of thee. he who exceeds in contention sins, and he who does not beware of upright is not safe from the sword." now will i tell thee somewhat of the duties of judges. know, o king, that no judgment serves the cause of justice except it be given after deliberation, and it behoves the judge to treat all people alike, to the intent that the rich and noble may not be encouraged to oppression nor the poor and weak despair of justice. he should extract proof from him who complains and impose an oath upon him who denies; and compromise is lawful between muslims, except it be a compromise sanctioning an unlawful or forbidding a lawful thing. if he have done aught during the day, of which he is doubtful, the judge should reconsider it and apply his discernment to elucidating it, that (if he have erred) he may revert to the right, for to do justice is a religious obligation and to return to that which is right is better than perseverance in error. then he should study the precedents and the law of the case and do equal justice between the suitors, fixing his eye upon the truth and committing his affair to god, to whom belong might and majesty. let him require proof of the complainant, and if he adduce it, let him put the defendant to his oath; for this is the ordinance of god. he should receive the testimony of competent muslim witnesses, one against another, for god the most high hath commanded judges to judge by externals, he himself taking charge of the secret things. it behoves the judge also to avoid giving judgment, whilst suffering from stress of pain or hunger, and that in his decisions between the folk he seek to please god, for he whose intent is pure and who is at peace with his conscience, god shall guarantee him against what is between him and the people. quoth ez zuhri,[fn# ] "there are three things, which if they be found in a cadi, he should be deposed; namely, if he honour the base, love praise and fear dismissal." it is related that omar ben abdulaziz once deposed a cadi, who asked him why he had done so. "it has come to my knowledge," replied omar, "that thy speech is greater than thy condition." it is said also that iskender[fn# ] said to his cadi, "i have invested thee with this function and committed to thee in it my soul and my honour and manhood; so do thou guard it with thy soul and thine understanding." to his cook he said, "thou art the governor of my body; so look thou tender it." to his secretary he said, "thou art the controller of my wit: so do thou watch over me in what thou writest for me."' with this the first damsel retired and a second one came forward and kissing the earth seven times before the king thy father, spoke as follows: 'the sage lucman[fn# ] said to his son, "there are three men whom thou shalt not know, but in three several cases; thou shalt not know the merciful man but in time of anger, nor the brave man but in time of war nor thy friend but when thou hast need of him." it is said that the oppressor shall repent, though the people praise him, and that the oppressed is safe, though the people blame him. quoth god the most high, "[fn# ] think not that those who rejoice in their deeds and love to be praised for that which they have not done, shall escape punishment; indeed there is reserved for them a grievous punishment." quoth mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation), "works are according to intentions, and to each man is attributed that which he intends." he saith also, "there is a part of the human body, which being whole, all the rest is whole, and which being corrupt, the whole body is corrupt; it is the heart. and indeed the heart is the most marvellous part of man, since it is that which ordereth his whole affair; if covetise stir in it, desire destroys him, and if affliction master it, anguish slays him: if anger rage in it, danger is sore upon him, and if it be blest with contentment, he is safe from discontent; if fear overtake it, he is filled with mourning, and if calamity smite it, affliction betideth him. if a man gain wealth, his heart is peradventure diverted thereby from the remembrance of his lord, and if poverty afflict him, his heart is distracted by care, or if disquietude waste his heart, weakness reduces him to impotence. so, in any case, there is nothing will profit him but that he be mindful of god and occupy himself with gaining his living and securing his place in paradise." it was asked of a certain wise man, "who is the most ill-conditioned of men?" "he," replied the sage, "whose lusts master his manhood and whose mind exceeds in the pursuit of objects of high emprise, so that his knowledge increases and his excuse diminishes; and how excellent is what the poet says: the freest of all men from need of the arrogant meddler am i, the fool who's unguided of god and judges the folk all awry; for wealth and good gifts are a loan and each man at last shall be clad as it were in a mantle, with that which hid in his bosom doth lie. if thou enter on aught by a door that is other than right, thou wilt err; but the right door will dead thee aright, for sure, if thou enter there by." as for anecdotes of devotees (continued the maiden), quoth hisham ben besher, "i said to omar ben ubeid, 'what is true devoutness?' and he answered, 'the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) hath expounded it, when he says, "the devout is he who takes thought to death and calamity and prefers that which is eternal to that which passes away, who counts not the morrow as of his days, but reckons himself among the dead."'" and it is related that abou dherr[fn# ] used to say, "poverty is dearer to me than riches and sickness than health." quoth one of the listeners, "may god have mercy on abou dherr! for my part, i say, 'he who puts his trust in the goodness of the election of god the most high should be content with that condition of which the almighty hath made choice for him.'" quoth one of the companions (of the prophet), "ibn ali aqfa[fn# ] prayed with us the morning-prayer one day. when he had done, he read the seventy-fourth chapter (of the koran), beginning, 'o thou that coverest thyself!' till he came to where god says, 'when the trumpet is blown,' and fell down dead." it is said that thabit el benani wept till he well nigh lost his eyes. they brought him a man to tend him, who said to him, "i will cure thee, provided thou do my bidding." "in what respect?" asked thabit. "in that thou leave weeping," replied the physician. "what is the use of my eyes," rejoined thabit, "if they do not weep?" said a man to mohammed ibn abdallah, "exhort me." "i exhort thee," replied he, "to be an abstinent possessor in this world and a greedy slave in the next." "how so?" asked the other; and mohammed said, "the abstinent man in this world possesses both this world and the world to come." quoth ghauth ben abdallah, "there were two brothers among the people of israel, one of whom said to the other, 'what is the worst thing thou hast done?' 'one day,' answered the other, 'i came upon a nest of young birds; so i took out one and threw it back into the nest; but the others drew apart from it. this is the worst thing i ever did; so now tell me what is the worst thing thou hast ever done.' 'when i betake myself to prayer,' rejoined the first, 'i am fearful to have done so only for the sake of the reward. this is the worst thing i have done.' now their father heard what they said and exclaimed, 'o my god, if they speak the truth, take them to thyself!' quoth one of the wise men, 'verily these were of the most virtuous of children.'" quoth said ben jubeir,[fn# ] "i was once in company with fuzaleh ibn ubeid and said to him, 'give me some good counsel.' 'bear in mind these two things,' replied he. 'attribute no partner to god, and do no hurt to any of his creatures.' and he repeated the following verses: be as thou wilt and banish dread and care, for god is bountiful and debonair; so of two things, the doing hurt to men and giving god a partner, thou beware." and how well saith the poet: if thou neglect with pious works for death to furnish thee and after meet with one equipped with store of piety, thou wilt, when all too late, repent that thou wert not like him and didst not for the other world make ready as did he.' then the second damsel withdrew and a third came forward and spoke as follows. 'indeed, the chapter of piety is a very wide one; but i will mention what occurs to me thereof, concerning pious men of old time. quoth a certain holy man, "i rejoice in death, though i am not assured of ease therein, save that i know death interposes between a man and his works; so i hope for multiplication of good works and cessation of evil ones." itaa es selemi, when he had made an end of an exhortation, was wont to tremble and weep sore. it was asked him why he did this and he replied, "i purpose (or am about) to enter upon a grave matter, and it is the standing up before god the most high, to do in accordance with my exhortation." in like manner zein el aabidin[fn# ] was wont to tremble when he rose to pray. being asked the reason of this, he replied, "do ye not know before whom i stand and to whom i address myself?" it is said that there lived near sufyan eth thauri[fn# ] a blind man who, when the month of ramazan came, went out with the folk to pray, but remained silent and hung back (in repeating the prayers). said sufyan, "on the day of resurrection, he shall come with the people of the koran[fn# ] and they will be distinguished from their fellows by excess of honour." quoth sufyan, "were the soul stablished in the heart as it befits, it would fly away, for joy and longing for paradise and grief and fear of hell-fire." it is related also of sufyan that he said, "to look upon the face of a tyrant is a sin."' then the third damsel retired and a fourth came forward, who said, 'i will treat of sundry traditions of pious men. it is related that bishr el hafi[fn# ] said, "i once heard khalid say, 'beware of secret hypocrisy.' quoth i, 'what is secret hypocrisy?' he answered, 'when one of you, in praying, prolongs his inclinations and prostrations till a cause of impurity[fn# ] come upon him.'" quoth one of the sages, "the doing of good works expiates evil deeds." quoth ibrahim ben adhem[fn# ], "i sought assiduously of bishr el hafi that he should acquaint me with some of the theological mysteries; but he said, 'o my son, it behoves us not to teach this knowledge to every one; of every hundred, five, even as the poor-rate upon money.' i thought his answer excellent, and when i went to pray, i saw bishr praying: so i stood behind him, inclining myself in prayer, till the muezzin made his call. then rose a man of poor appearance and said, 'o folk, beware of truth, when it is hurtful, for there is no harm in beneficial falsehood, and in compulsion is no choice: speech profits not in the absence of good qualities nor is there any hurt in silence, when they exist.' presently i saw bishr drop a danic[fn# ] so i picked it up and exchanged it for a dirhem, which i gave him. 'i will not take it,' said he. quoth i, 'it is a fair exchange;' but he answered, 'i cannot barter the riches of the world to come for those of this world.'" it is reported also that bishr's sister once went to ahmed ben hembel[fn# ] and said to him, "o imam of the faith, we are a family that work for our living by day and spin thread by night; and oftentimes, the cressets of the watch of baghdad pass by and we on the roof spinning by their light. is this forbidden to us?" "who art thou?" asked ahmed. "i am the sister of bishr el hafi," replied she. "o household of bishr," rejoined the imam, "i shall never cease to quafl full draughts of piety and continence from your hearts." quoth one of the learned, "when god wills well to any man, he opens upon him the gate of action." malik ibn dinar,[fn# ] when he passed through the bazaar and saw aught that he wished for, was wont to say, "o soul, take patience, for i will not accord to thee what thou desirest." he said also (may god accept of him), "the salvation of the soul lies in resistance to its desires and its ruin in submission to them." quoth mensour ben ammar,[fn# ] "i set out one year on the pilgrimage and was making for mecca by way of cufa, when, one overcast night, i heard a voice crying out from the womb of the night and saying, 'o my god, by thy power and thy glory, i meant not by my disobedience to transgress against thee, for indeed i am not ignorant of thee; but my fault is one thou didst foreordain to me from all eternity; so do thou pardon me my sin, for indeed i disobeyed thee of my ignorance!' when he had made an end of his prayer, he recited aloud the verse, 'o ye who believe, keep yourselves and your households from the fire whose fuel is men and stones!"[fn# ] then i heard a fall, but knew not what it was and passed on. on the morrow, as we went our way, we fell in with a funeral train, followed by an old woman, whose strength had left her. i questioned her of the dead, and she replied, 'this is the funeral of a man who passed by us yesterday, whilst my son was standing at prayer. the latter recited a verse from the book of god the most high, when behold the man's gall-bladder burst and he fell dead.'" therewith the fourth damsel retired and the fifth, coming forward, spoke as follows: 'i also will repeat what occurs to me in the way of devotional anecdotes. meslemeh ben dinar used to say, "the making sound the secret thoughts covers sins, both great and small, and when the believer is resolved to leave sinning, help comes to him." also, "every piece of good fortune, that does not draw one nearer to god, is a calamity, for a little of this world distracts from a great deal of the world to come and a great deal of the first makes thee forget the whole of the latter." it was asked of abou hazim,[fn# ] "who is the most fortunate of men?" "he who spends his life in the service of god," replied he. "and who is the most foolish of mankind?" asked the other. "he who sells his part in the world to come for the worldly goods of others," answered abou hazim. it is reported that moses (on whom be peace), when he came to the waters of midian, exclaimed, "o my lord, indeed i am in need of that which thou sendest down to me of good!" and he asked of his lord and not of his folk. there came two damsels and he drew water for them and gave not precedence to the shepherds. when they returned to their father jethro (on whom be peace!) they told him, and he said to one of them, "haply, he is hungry: go back to him and bid him hither." so she covered her face and returning to moses, said to him, "my father bids thee to him, that he may reward thee for having drawn water for us." moses was averse to this and unwilling to follow her. now she was a woman large in the buttocks, and the wind blowing upon her gown, discovered this; which when moses saw, he lowered his eyes and said to her, "do thou walk behind me." so she followed him, till he came to jethro's house, where the evening meal was ready. "o moses," said jethro, "i desire to reward thee for having drawn water for them." but he answered, "i am of a people who sell nothing of the fashion of the next world for earthly gold and silver." "o youth," rejoined jethro, "nevertheless thou art my guest, and it is my wont and that of my fathers to do honour to the guest by setting food before him." so moses sat down and ate. then jethro hired moses for eight pilgrimages, that is to say, eight years, and appointed to him for hire the hand of his daughter, and moses' service to him was to stand for her dowry. as says the holy writ of him (quoth jethro), "i am minded to marry thee to one of these my daughters, on condition that thou serve me eight years, and if thou serve out the ten, it will be of thine own will, for i do not wish to press hardly on thee."[fn# ] a certain man once said to one of his friends, "thou hast made me desolate, for that i have not seen thee this long while." quoth the other, "i have been distracted from thee by ibn shihab; dost thou know him?" "yes," replied the first; "he hath been my neighbour these thirty years, but i have never spoken to him." "indeed," rejoined his friend, "thou forgettest god in forgetting thy neighbour! if thou lovedst god, thou wouldst love thy neighbour. knowst thou not that a neighbour has a claim upon his neighbour, even as the right of kindred?" quoth hudheifeh, "we entered mecca with ibrahim ben adhem,[fn# ] and whilst making the prescribed circuits about the kaabeh, we met with shekic the balkhi. quoth ibrahim to shekic, 'what is your fashion in your country?' 'when we are vouchsafed [food],' replied he, 'we eat, and when we suffer hunger, we take patience.' 'this is the fashion of the dogs of balkh,' rejoined ibrahim. 'but we, when we are blest with plenty, we do honour to god, and when we suffer famine, we praise him.' and shekic seated himself before ibrahim and said to him, 'thou art my master.'" quoth mohammed ben amran, "a man once asked of hatim el asemm[fn# ], 'what maketh thee to trust in god?' 'two things,' replied he, 'i know that what god has appointed for my daily bread shall be eaten by none but myself; so my heart is at rest as to that; and i know that i was not created without god's knowledge and am abashed before him.'" then the fifth damsel retired and the old woman came forward and kissing the earth before thy father nine times, spoke as follows: 'thou hast heard, o king, what these all have said on the subject of piety; and i will follow their example in relating what i have heard of the famous men of times past. it is said that the imam es shafi[fn# ] divided the night into three portions, the first for study, the second for sleep and the third for prayer. the imam abou henifeh[fn# ] was wont also to pass half the night in prayer. one day a man pointed him out to another, as he passed, and said, "yonder man watches the whole night." quoth abou henifeh, "when i heard this, i was abashed before god, to hear myself praised for what was not in me; so, after this, i used to watch the whole night." er rebya relates that es shafi used to recite the whole koran seventy times over during the month of ramazan, and that in prayer. quoth es shafi (may god accept of him!), "for ten years i never ate my fill of barley-bread, for satiety hardens the heart and deadens the wit and induces sleep and enfeebles one from standing up (to pray)." it is reported of abdallah ben mohammed es sekra that he said, "i was once talking with omar, and he said to me, 'never saw i a more god-fearing or eloquent man than mohammed ben idris es shafi. i went out one day with el harith ben lebib es suffar, who was a disciple of el muzeni[fn# ] and had a fine voice, and he read the saying or the most high, 'on that day, they shall not speak nor shall it be permitted to them to excuse themselves.'[fn# ] i saw es shafi's colour change; his skin shuddered, and he was violently moved and fell down senseless. when he revived, he said, 'i seek refuge with god from the stead of the liars and the fate of the negligent! o my god, the hearts of the wise abase themselves before thee. o my god, of thy goodness, accord to me the remission of my sins, adorn me with thy protection and pardon me my shortcomings, by the magnanimity of thine essence!' then i rose and went away." quoth one of the pious, "when i entered baghdad, es shafi was there. i sat down on the river-bank, to make the ablution before prayer; and as i was thus occupied, there came up one who said to me, 'o youth, make thine ablution well and god will make it well for thee in this world and the world to come.' i turned and saw a man, with a company of people after him. so i hastened to finish my ablutions and followed him. presently, he turned and said to me, 'dost thou want aught?' 'yes,' answered i; 'i desire that thou teach me somewhat of that which god the most high hath taught thee.' 'know, then,' said he, 'that he who believes in god the most high shall be saved and he who is jealous of his faith shall be delivered from destruction, and he who practices abstinence in this world, his eyes shall be solaced on the morrow (of death). shall i tell thee any more?' 'assuredly,' replied i. 'abstain from the things of this world,' continued he, 'and be greedy of the good of the world to come. be sincere and faithful in all thy dealings, and thou shalt be saved with the elect.' then he went on and i asked about him and was told that he was the imam es shafi. es shafi was wont to say, "i would have the folk profit by this wisdom (of mine), on condition that none of it be attributed to me." also, "i never disputed with any one, but i would that god the most high should give him the knowledge of the truth and aid him to expound it; nor did i ever dispute with any, but for the showing forth of the truth, and i recked not whether god should manifest it by my lips or his." he said also (may god accept of him!), "if thou fear to grow conceited of thy learning, bethink thee whose grace thou seekest and what good it is thou yearnest after and what punishment thou dreadest." it was told to abou henifeh that the commander of the faithful abou jaafer el mensour had named him cadi and ordered him a present of ten thousand dirhems; but he would not accept of this; and when the day came on which the money was to be paid, he prayed the morning-prayer, then covered his head with his cloak and spoke not. when the khalif's messenger came with the money, he went in to the imam and accosted him, but he would not speak to him. quoth the messenger, "this money is lawfully thine." "i know that it is lawfully mine," replied the imam; "but i abhor that the love of tyrants should take hold upon my heart." "canst thou not go in to them and guard thyself from loving them?" asked the other. "can i look to enter the sea, without wetting my clothes?" answered abou henifeh. another of es shafi's sayings is as follows: o soul, if thou be fain to do as i shall say, thou shalt be free from need and great of grace for aye. put far away from thee ambitions and desires, for lo, how oft a wish to death hath led the way! among the sayings of sufyan eth thauri, with which he admonished ali ben el hassan es selemi was the following, "look that thou practice sincerity and beware of falsehood and treachery and hypocrisy and presumption for god annuls good works with either of these things. borrow not but of him who is merciful to his debtors and let thy comrade be one who will cause thee to abstain from the world. let the thought of death be ever present with thee and be constant in asking pardon of god and beseeching of him peace for what remains of thy life. give loyal counsel to every true-believer, when he asks thee concerning the things of his faith, and beware of betraying a believer, for he who betrays a believer betrays god and his apostle. avoid dissension and litigation and leave that which awakens doubt in thee, betaking;, thyself rather to those things that will not disquiet thee; so shalt thou be at peace. enjoin that which is just and forbid that which is evil, so shalt thou be beloved of god. make fair thine inner man, and god shall make fair thine outer man. accept the excuse of him who excuses himself to thee and hate none of the true-believers. draw near unto those that reject thee and forgive those that oppress thee; so shalt thou be the companion of the prophets. commit thine affair to god, both in public and in private, and fear him with the fear of one who knows that he must die and be raised again to stand before the almighty, remembering that thou art destined for one of two dwellings, either paradise the glorious or the flaming fire."' having spoken thus, the old woman sat down beside the damsels. when the late king thy father heard their discourse, he knew that they were the most accomplished of the people of their time and seeing their beauty and grace and the greatness of their learning, he showed them all favour. moreover, he turned to the old woman and entreated her with honour, setting apart for her and her damsels the palace that had been the lodging of the princess abrizeh, to which he let carry all that they needed of the best. here they abode ten days, and whenever the king visited them, he found the old woman absorbed in prayer, watching by night and fasting by day; wherefore love of her took hold upon his heart and he said to me, 'o vizier, verily this old woman is a pious soul, and reverence for her is strong in my heart.' on the eleventh day, the king visited her, that he might pay her the price of the five damsels; but she said to him, 'o king, know that the price of these passes the competence of men, for i seek for them neither gold nor silver nor jewels, be it little or much.' the king wondered at this and said, 'o my lady, what is their price?' 'i will not sell them to thee,' replied she, 'save on condition that thou fast a whole month, watching by night and fasting by day for the love of god the most high: but if thou wilt do this, they are thine, to use as thou pleasest.' the king wondered at the perfectness of her piety and devotion and abnegation and she was magnified in his eyes, and he said, 'may god make this pious old woman to profit us!' so he agreed to her proposal, and she said to him, 'i will help thee with my prayers.' then she called for a gugglet of water and muttered over it words in an unknown language and abode awhile, speaking over it things that we understood not. then she covered it with a cloth and sealing it up, gave it to the king, saying, 'when thou has fasted ten days, break thy fast on the eleventh night with what is in this cup, for it will root out the love of the world from thy heart and fill it with light and faith. as for me, i purpose to go out to-morrow to visit my brethren of the invisible world, for i yearn after them, and i will return to thee when the ten days are past.' so the king took the gugglet and setting it apart in a closet of his palace, locked the door and put the key in his pocket. next day, the old woman departed and the king entered upon his fast. when he had accomplished the first ten days thereof, he opened the gugglet and drank what was therein and found it cordial to his stomach. within the next ten days, the old woman returned, bringing sweetmeats wrapped in a green leaf, like no leaf of a tree. she went in to the king and saluted him; and when he saw her he rose to meet her, saying, 'welcome, o pious lady!' 'o king,' said she, 'the spirits salute thee, for i told them of thee, and they rejoiced in thee and have sent thee this cake, which is of the sweetmeats of the other world. do thou break thy fast on it at the end of the day.' the king rejoiced greatly at this and exclaimed, 'praised be god who hath given me brethren of the invisible world!' and he thanked the old woman and kissed her hands and entreated her and the damsels with exceeding honour. then he fasted till twenty days were past, at the end of which time the old woman came to him and said, 'know, o king, that i told the spirits of the love that is between thee and me and how i had left the damsels with thee, and they were glad that the damsels should belong to a king like thee; for they were wont, when they saw them, to be strenuous in offering up effectual prayer on their behalf. so i would fain carry them to the spirits, that they may benefit by their favours, and they shall surely not return to thee without some treasure of the treasures of the earth, that thou, after the completion of thy fast, mayst occupy thyself with their dress and help thyself to the fulfilment of thy wishes with that which they shall bring thee.' the king thanked her and said, 'but that i fear to cross thee, i would not accept the treasure or aught else: but when wilt thou set out with them?' 'on the seven-and-twentieth night,' replied she; 'and i will bring them back to thee at the end of the month, by which time thou wilt have accomplished thy fast and they will have had their courses and be free from impurity. then they shall become thine and be at thy disposal. by allah, each one of them is worth many times thy kingdom!' 'i know it, o pious lady,' replied the king. then said the old woman, 'if there be any one in thy palace who is dear to thee, thou wouldst do well to send her with me, that she may find solace and seek a blessing of the spirits.' quoth the king, 'i have a greek slave called sufiyeh, by whom god hath vouchsafed me two children, a son and a daughter: but they were lost years ago. take her with thee, that she may get the spirits' blessing: it may be they will pray god for her, that her children may be restored to her.' 'it is well,' replied the old woman; for indeed this was what she most desired. the king gave not over fasting till the seven-and-twentieth night, when the old woman said to him, 'o my son, i am about to go to the spirits; so bring me sufiyeh.' accordingly, he sent for her and delivered her to the old woman, who placed her with the other damsels. then she went in to her chamber and bringing out a sealed cup, presented it to the king, saying, 'on the thirtieth day, do thou go to the bath and when thou comest out, enter one of the closets in thy palace and drink the liquor that is in this cup. then sleep, and thou shalt attain what thou seekest, and peace be on thee!' the king was glad and thanked her and kissed her hands. quoth she, 'i commend thee to god;' and he said, 'when shall i see thee again, o pious lady? indeed i love not to part with thee.' then she called down blessings on him and departed with the five damsels and the princess sufiyeh; whilst the king fasted other three days, till the end of the month, when he went to the bath and coming out, shut himself up in a closet, commanding that none should go in to him. then he drank what was in the cup and lay down to sleep. we sat awaiting him till the end of the day, but he did not come out and we said, 'belike he is tired with the bath and with watching by night and fasting by day, and sleepeth.' so we waited till next day; but still he did not come out. then we stood at the closet-door and cried aloud, so haply he might awake and ask what was the matter. but nothing came of this: so at last we lifted the door off its hinges and going in, found the king dead, with his flesh torn into strips and his bones broken in pieces. when we saw him in this case, it was grievous to us, and we took up the cup and found in its cover a piece of paper, on which was written the following, 'he who does evil leaves no regrets behind him. this is the reward of him who plays the traitor with kings' daughters and debauches them: and we make known to all who happen upon this scroll that sherkan, when he came to our country, debauched our princess abrizeh; nor did this suffice him, but he must take her from us and bring her to you. then he (omar ben ennuman) (debauched her and) sent her away, in company of a black slave, who slew her and we found her lying dead in the desert. this is none of kings' fashion, and he who did this is requited with nought but his deserts. so do ye suspect none of having killed him, for none slew him but the cunning witch, whose name is dhat ed dewahi. and behold, i have taken the king's wife sufiyeh and have carried her to her father king afridoun of constantinople. moreover, we will assuredly make war upon you and kill you and take your land from you, and ye shall be cut off even to the last man, nor shall there be left of you a living soul, no, nor a blower of the fire, except he serve the cross and the girdle.' when we read this, we knew that the old woman had cheated us and carried out her plot against us: so we cried out and buffeted our faces and wept sore. however, weeping availed us nothing and the troops fell out as to whom they should make sultan. some would have thee and others thy brother sherkan; and we ceased not to wrangle about this for the space of a month, at the end of which time certain of us drew together and agreed to repair to thy brother sherkan. so we set out and journeyed on till we fell in with thee: and this is the manner of the death of king omar ben ennuman.' when the vizier had made an end of his story, zoulmekan and his sister wept, and the chamberlain wept also. then said the latter to zoulmekan, "o king, weeping will profit thee nothing; nor will aught avail thee but that thou fortify thy heart and strengthen thy resolution and stablish thy power; for verily he is not dead who leaves the like of thee behind him." so zoulmekan gave over weeping and causing his throne to be set up without the pavilion, commanded the army to pass in review before him. then he sat down on the throne, with the chamberlain by his side and all the arm-bearers behind him, whilst the vizier dendan and the rest of the amirs and grandees stood before him, each in his several room. then said zoulmekan to dendan, "acquaint me with the particulars of my father's treasures." dendan answered, "i hear and obey," and gave him to know the amount and nature of the late king's treasure and what was in the treasury of money and jewels and other precious things. so zoulmekan gave largesse to the army and bestowed a sumptuous dress of honour on the vizier dendan, saying, "i confirm thee in thine office." whereupon dendan kissed the earth before him and wished him long life. then he bestowed dresses of honour on the amirs, after which he turned to the chamberlain and said, "bring out before us the tribute of damascus, that is with thee." so he laid before him the chests of money and jewels and rarities, and he took them and divided them all amongst the troops, till there was nothing left. and the amirs kissed the ground before him and wished him long life, saying, "never saw we a king, who gave the like of these gifts." then they all went away to their own tents, and when it was morning, zoulmekan gave orders for departure. so they set out and journeyed for three days, till on the fourth day they drew near to baghdad. when they entered the city, they found it decorated, and king zoulmekan went up to his father's palace and sat down on the throne, whilst the amirs of the army and the vizier dendan and the chamberlain of damascus stood before him. then he bade his private secretary write a letter to his brother sherkan, acquainting him with all that had passed and adding, "as soon as thou hast read this letter, make ready thine affair and join us with thine army, that we may make war upon the infidels and take vengeance on them for our father and wipe out the stain upon our honour." then he folded the letter and sealed it and said to dendan, "none shall carry this letter but thou; and i would have thee speak my brother fair and say to him, 'if thou have a mind to thy father's kingdom, it is thine, and thy brother shall be viceroy for thee in damascus; for to this effect am i instructed by him."' so the vizier went out from before him and proceeded to make ready for his journey. then zoulmekan set apart a magnificent house for the stoker and furnished it with sumptuous furniture and lodged him therein. one day, he went out a-hunting and as he was returning to baghdad, one of the amirs presented him with horses of fine breeds and damsels whose beauty beggars description. one of the damsels pleased him: so he went in to her and lay with her, and she conceived by him forthright. after awhile, the vizier dendan returned from damascus, bringing him news of his brother sherkan and that he was then on his way to him, and said to him, "thou wouldst do well to go out to meet him." zoulmekan replied, "i hear and obey;" and riding forth with his grandees a day's journey from baghdad, pitched his tents and halted to await the coming of his brother. next morning, the army of syria appeared, with king sherkan in its midst, a bold cavalier, a fierce lion and a warrior against whom none might make head. as the squadrons drew nigh and the dust-clouds neared and the troops came up with banners flying, zoulmekan and his attendants rode forward to meet sherkan; and when the king saw his brother, he would have dismounted, but sherkan conjured him not to do so and himself set foot to the ground and walked towards him. as soon as he reached zoulmekan, the latter threw himself upon him, and they embraced and wept and condoled with one another. then they mounted and rode onward, they and their troops, till they reached baghdad, where they alighted and went up to the royal palace and passed the night there. next morning, zoulmekan went forth and bade proclaim a holy war and summon the troops from all parts. they abode a whole month, awaiting the coming of the levies, whilst the folk poured in from all parts of the kingdom, and every one who came they entreated with honour and munificence and promised him all manner of good. then sherkan said to zoulmekan, "o my brother, tell me thy history." so he told him all that had befallen him, first and last, including the benevolent dealing of the stoker with him. "hast thou requited him his kindness to thee?" asked sherkan. "not yet," replied zoulmekan, "but, god willing, i will surely do so, as soon as i return from this expedition and am at leisure to attend to him." therewith, sherkan was certified that his sister nuzhet ez zeman had told him the truth; but he concealed what had passed between them and contented himself with sending his salutation to her by her husband the chamberlain. she returned his greeting in the same fashion, calling down blessings on him and enquiring after her daughter kuzia fekan, to which he replied that the child was well and in all health and safety. then he went to his brother to take counsel with him for departure; and zoulmekan said, "o my brother, we will set out as soon as the army is complete and the arabs have come in from all parts." so he bade make ready the wheat and other provisions and munitions of war and went in to his wife, who was now five months gone with child; and he put under her hand mathematicians and astrologers, to whom he appointed stipends and allowances. then, three months after the arrival of the army of syria, as soon as the troops were all assembled and the arabs had come in, he set out, at the head of his troops, with his brother sherkan on his right and his brother-in-law the chamberlain on his left hand. the name of the general of the army of the medes was rustem and that of the general of the army of the turks behram. so the squadrons broke up and marched forward and the companies and battalions filed past in battle array, till the whole army was in motion. they ceased not to fare on for the space of a month; halting three days a week to rest, by reason of the greatness of the host, till they came to the country of the greeks; and as they drew near, the people of the villages and hamlets took fright at them and fled to constantinople. to return to dhat ed dewahi. as soon as she reached her own country and felt herself in safety, she said to her son, king herdoub, "be consoled; for i have avenged thy daughter abrizeh and killed king omar ben ennuman and brought back the princess sufiyeh. so now let us go to the king of constantinople and carry him back his daughter and tell him what has happened, that he may be on his guard and prepare his forces and that we may do the like; for i know that the muslims will not delay to attack us." "let us wait till they draw near our country," replied herdoub, "that we may make us ready meantime and assemble our power." accordingly they fell to levying their forces and preparing for war, so that by the time the news of the muslims' advance reached them, they were ready for defence. then king herdoub and his mother set out for constantinople, and king afridoun, hearing of the arrival of the king of the greeks, came forth to meet him and asked how it was with him and the cause of his visit. so herdoub acquainted him with the doing; of his mother dhat ed dewahi, how she had slain the muslim king and recovered the princess sufiyeh and that the muslims had assembled their forces and were on their way to attack them, wherefore it behoved that they two should join powers and meet them. king afridoun rejoiced in the recovery of his daughter and the death of king omar and sent to all countries, to seek succour and acquaint the folk with the reason of the slaying of king omar. so the christian troops flocked to him from all quarters, and before three months were past, the army of the greeks was complete, besides which there joined themselves to him the french and germans and ragusans and genoese and venetians and all the hosts of the pale faces and warriors from all the lands of the franks, and the earth was straitened on them by reason of their multitude. then afridoun the great king commanded to depart; so they set out from constantinople and ceased not to defile through the city for the space of ten days. they fared on till they reached a spacious valley, hard by the salt sea, where they halted three days; and on the fourth day, they were about to set out again, when news came to them of the approach of the army of islam and the defenders of the faith of the best of men.[fn# ] so they halted other three days, and on the seventh day, they espied a great cloud of dust which spread till it covered the whole country; nor was an hour of the day past before the dust lifted and melted away into the air, and its darkness was pierced and dispersed by the starry sheen of lance-points and spear-heads and the flashing of sword-blades. presently, there appeared the banners of islam and the mohammedan ensigns and the mailed horsemen surged forward, like the letting loose of the billows of the sea, clad in cuirasses as they were clouds girdled about moons. thereupon the christian horsemen rode forward and the two hosts met, like two seas clashing together, and eyes fell upon eyes. the first to spur into the fight was the vizier dendan, with the army of syria, thirty thousand cavaliers, followed by rustem, the general of the medes, and behram, the general of the turks, with other twenty thousand horse, behind whom came the men of the sea-coast, sheathed in glittering mail as they were full moons passing through a night of clouds. then the christian host called upon jesus and mary and the defiled cross, and fell upon the vizier dendan and the army of syria. now this was in pursuance of a stratagem devised by dhat ed dewahi; for, before his departure, king afridoun had gone in to her and said, "it is thou hast brought this great stress on us; so do thou advise me how i shall do and what plan i shall follow." "o great king and mighty priest," replied she, "i will teach thee a shift, which would baffle iblis himself, though he should call to his aid against it all his grisly hosts. it is that you send fifty thousand men in ships to the mountain of smoke and there let them land and stir not till the standards of islam come upon you, when do you up and at them. then let the troops from the seaward sally out upon the muslims and take them in rear, whilst you confront them from the landward. so not one of them shall escape, and our stress shall cease and abiding peace enure to us." her counsel commended itself to king afridoun and he replied, "it is well; thy counsel shall be followed, o princess of cunning old women and recourse of kings warring for their blood-revenge!" so when the army of islam came upon them in that valley, of a sudden the flames began to run among the tents and the swords to play upon men's bodies. then came up the army of baghdad and khorassan, six score thousand horse, with zoulmekan at their head. when the host of the infidels that lay by the sea saw them, they came out and followed in their steps, and zoulmekan, seeing this, cried out to his men, saying, "turn back to the infidels, o people of the chosen prophet, and fall upon those who deny and transgress the authority of the compassionate, the merciful!" so they turned and fought with the christians, and sherkan came up with another wing of the muslim army, near six score thousand men, whilst the infidels numbered nigh upon sixteen hundred thousand. when the muslims mingled in the mellay, their hearts were strengthened and they cried out, saying, "god hath promised to succour us and abandon the infidels!" and they clashed together with swords and spears. as for sherkan, he made himself a passage through the ranks and raged among the masses of the foe, fighting so fierce a battle that it would have made children grow grey for fear; nor did he leave to tourney among the infidels and work havoc upon them with the keen-edged scimitar, shouting, "god is most great!" till he drove them back to the brink of the sea. then the strength of the foe failed and god gave the victory to the faith of submission,[fn# ] and they fought, drunken without wine, till they slew of the infidels forty and five thousand in that encounter, whilst of the muslims but three thousand and five hundred fell. moreover, the lion of the faith, king sherkan, and his brother zoulmekan slept not that night, but occupied themselves with looking to the wounded and heartening their men with assurance of victory and salvation and promise of a recompense in the world to come. meanwhile king afridoun assembled the captains of his host and said to them, "verily, we had accomplished our intent and had solaced our hearts, but for our over-confidence in our numbers: it was that which undid us." but dhat ed dewahi said to them, "assuredly nought shall profit you, except ye seek the favour of the messiah and put your trust in the true faith; for by the virtue of the messiah, the whole strength of the muslims lies in that devil, king sherkan!" "to-morrow," said afridoun, "i will draw out in battle array and send out against them the famous cavalier, luca ben shemlout; for if king sherkan come out to joust with him, he will slay him and the other champions of the muslims, till not one is left; and i purpose this night to sacre you all by fumigation with the holy incense." when the amirs heard this, they kissed the earth before him. now the incense in question was the excrement of the chief patriarch, which was sought for with such instance and so highly valued, that the high priests of the greeks used to mix it with musk and ambergris and send it to all the countries of the christians in silken sachets; and kings would pay a thousand dinars for every drachm of it, for they sought it to perfume brides withal and the chief of them were wont to use a little of it in ointment for the eyes and as a remedy in sickness and colic. but the priests used to mix their own excrement with it, for that the excrement of the chief patriarch could not suffice for half a score countries. so, as soon as the day broke and the morning appeared with its lights and shone, the horsemen ran to arms, and king afridoun summoned the chief of his knights and nobles and invested them with dresses of honour. then he made the sign of the cross on their foreheads and incensed them with the incense aforesaid; after which he called for luca ben shemlout, surnamed the sword of the messiah, and after incensing him and rubbing his palate with the holy excrement, daubed and smeared his cheeks and anointed his moustaches with the remainder. now there was no stouter champion in the land of the greeks than this accursed luca, nor any doughtier at bowshot or smiting with swords or thrusting with spears in the mellay; but he was foul of favour, for his face was as the face of a jackass, his shape that of an ape and his look as the look of a malignant serpent, and the being near unto him was more grievous than parting from the beloved. moreover, he was black as night and his breath was fetid as that of the lion; he was crooked as a bow and grim-visaged as the pard, and he was branded with the mark of the infidels. he kissed afridoun's feet and the king said to him, "it is my wish that thou go out against sherkan, king of damascus, and hasten to deliver us from this affliction." quoth luca, "i hear and obey." and the king made the sign of the cross on his forehead and felt assured of speedy help from heaven, whilst luca went out and mounted a sorrel horse. now he was clad in a red tunic and a hauberk of gold set with jewels and bore a three-barbed spear, as he were iblis the accursed on the day of marshalling his hosts to battle. then he rode forward, he and his troop of infidels, as they were driving to the fire, preceded by a herald, crying aloud in the arabic tongue and saying, "ho, followers of mohammed, let none of you come out to-day but your champion sherkan, the sword of islam, lord of damascus of syria!" hardly had he made an end of speaking, when there arose a mighty tumult in the plain, all the people heard its voice, that called to mind the day of weeping. the cowards trembled and all necks turned towards the sound, and behold, it was king sherkan. for, when zoulmekan saw that accursed infidel spur out into the plain, he turned to sherkan and said to him, "of a surety they seek for thee." "should it be so," replied sherkan, "it were pleasing to me." so when they heard the herald, they knew luca to be the champion of the greeks. now he was one of the greatest of villains, one who made hearts to ache, and had sworn to clear the land of the muslims; and indeed the medes and turks and kurds feared his mischief. so sherkan drove at him like an angry lion, mounted on a courser like a wild gazelle, and coming nigh to him, shook his javelin in his hand, as it were a darting viper, and recited the following verses: i have a sorrel horse, right swift and eath to guide, shall give thee of its might what thou mayst ill abide. ay, and a limber spear i have, full keen of point, as 'twere the dam of deaths upon its shaft did ride; and eke a trenchant sword of ind, which when i draw, thou'dst deem that levins flashed and darted far and wide, luca understood not what he said nor did he apprehend the vehemence of the verse; but he smote his forehead with his hand, in honour of the cross drawn thereon, and kissed it, then ran at sherkan with lance pointed at him. when he came within spear-shot, he threw the javelin into the air, till it was lost to sight, and catching it with the other hand, as do the jugglers, hurled it at sherkan. it sped from his hand, like a shooting star, and the people clamoured and feared for sherkan: but as it drew near him, he put out his hand and caught it in full flight, to the amazement of the beholders. then he shook it, till it was well-nigh broken, and hurled it up into the air, till it disappeared from sight. as it descended, he caught it again, in less than the twinkling of an eye, and cried out from the bottom of his heart, saying, "by the virtue of him who created the seven heavens, i will make this accursed fellow the byword of the world!" then he hurled the javelin at luca ben shemlout, who thought to do as sherkan had done and catch it in mid-flight; but sherkan made haste and sped another dart at him, which smote him on the forehead amiddleward the sign of the cross, and god hurried his soul to the fire and the ill stead.[fn# ] when the infidels saw luca fall dead, they buffeted their faces, crying, "alas!" and "woe worth the day!" and called for aid upon the priests of the monasteries, saying, "where are the crosses?" so the monks offered up prayers and the christians all drew together against sherkan and brandishing their swords and lances, rushed forward to the attack. army met army and men's breasts fell under the hoofs of the horses, whilst the sword and the spear ruled and arms and wrists grew weak and it was as if the horses had been made without legs; nor did the herald of war cease to call to battle, till all arms were weary and the day departed and the night came with the darkness. so the two hosts drew apart whilst every warrior staggered like a drunken man, for stress of war and much thrusting and smiting, and the ground was hidden with the slain; sore were the wounds and the hurt knew not by whom he died. then sherkan joined his brother and the chamberlain and the vizier dendan and said to them, "verily god hath opened a door for the destruction of the infidels, praised be the lord of the two worlds!" "let us never cease to praise god," replied zoulmekan, "for that he hath dispelled trouble from the arabs and the persians. indeed the folk, generation after generation, shall tell of thy prowess against the accursed luca, the falsifier of the evangel,[fn# ] of thy catching the javelin in mid-flight and smiting the enemy of god among men; and thy report shall endure until the end of time." then said sherkan, "harkye, o grand chamberlain and doughty captain!" "at thy service," answered he. quoth sherkan, "take the vizier dendan and twenty thousand men and lead them, by a forced march, seven parasangs towards the sea, till ye come near the shore, at two parasangs' distance from the foe. then hide in the hollows of the ground, till ye hear the tumult of the infidels disembarking from the ships; and when the swords have begun to play between us and them and ye see our troops falling back, as if defeated, and all the infidels following them, as well those in front as those from the sea-ward and the tents, do ye lie in wait for them: and as soon as ye see the standard with the words, 'there is no god but god, and mohammed is his apostle!' up with the green banner and fall on their rear, shouting, 'god is most great!' and do your endeavour, that they may not interpose between the retreating army and the sea." the chamberlain agreed to this, and he and the vizier dendan took twenty thousand men and set out at once, even as sherkan had commanded. as soon as it was morning the troops donned their armour and drawing their swords, set their spears in rest and sprang to horse. then the christians drew out in battle array upon the hills and plains and the priests cried out and all heads were uncovered. moreover, those who were in the ships hoisted the cross at their mast-heads and making from all sides towards the shore, landed their horses and addressed them to the fray, whilst the swords glittered and the javelins glanced like levies against the cuirasses. so they all joined battle and the mill-wheels of death rushed round over footmen and horsemen: heads flew from bodies and tongues grew mute and eyes dim; gall-bladders burst and skulls were cloven in sunder and wrists shorn in twain; whilst the horses plashed in pools of blood and men gripped each other by the beards. the host of islam called out, "peace and blessing on the prince of mankind and glory and praise in the highest to the compassionate one!" whilst the infidels shouted, "glory to the cross and the girdle and the vine-juice and the presser and the priests and the monks and the festival of palms and the metropolitan!" presently, zoulmekan and sherkan held back and their troops gave way and feigned to retreat before the infidels, who pursued them, deeming them routed, and made ready to cut and thrust. then the host of the muslims began to chant the first verses of the chapter of the cow,[fn# ] whilst the slain were trampled under the hoofs of the horses and the heralds of the greeks cried out, "ho, servants of the messiah! ho, people of the true faith! ho, followers of the pope! verily the divine grace shines upon you, for see, the hosts of islam incline to tree! so turn ye not your backs to them, but let your swords bite on their necks and hold not your hands from them, else are ye outcasts from the messiah, son of mary, who spoke even in the cradle!" thereupon afridoun thought that the infidels were victorious, knowing not that this was but a stratagem of the muslims, and sent to king herdoub, to give him the glad tidings of success, adding, "it was nought but the excrement of the arch-patriarch that availed us, in that the fragrance of it exhaled from the beards and moustaches of the servants of the cross near and far; and i swear, by the miracles of the messiah and by the waters of baptism, that i will not leave upon the earth a single defender of islam!"[fn# ] so the messenger betook himself to king herdoub whilst the infidels called to each other saying, "let us take our wreak for luca!" and king herdoub cried out, "vengeance for abrizeh!" with this, king zoulmekan cried out to his men, saying, "ho, servants of the requiting king. up and smite the children of blasphemy and disobedience with the white of the sword and the brown of the spear!" so the muslims turned upon the infidels and plied them with the keen-edged scimitar, whilst their herald cried aloud, "up, ye lovers of the chosen prophet and at the enemies of the faith! now is the time for those, who hope for salvation on the day of fear, to win the favour of the bountiful, the forgiving one, for verily paradise is under the shadow of swords!" so sherkan and his men fell upon the infidels and cut off their retreat and tourneyed among the ranks, when lo, a cavalier of goodly presence opened a passage through the army of the greeks and circled hither and thither amongst them, cutting and thrusting and covering the ground with heads and bodies, so that the infidels feared him and their necks bent under his blows. he was girt with two swords, that of his glances and a scimitar, and armed with two lances, one of cane and the other the straightness of his shape; over his shoulders flowed down his hair, whose beauty might have stood him in stead of many warriors, even as says the poet: flowing hair, as i deem, is not fair to the sight, except it be spread, on the day of the fight, o'er a youth with a spear that he giveth to drink of the blood of full many a beard-bearing knight. or as says another: i turned to him, what while he girt his faulchion on, and said, "surely, the sabres of thy looks should stand thee in sword's stead." quoth he, "the sabres of my looks i keep for those who love, my sword for those who have no wit of passion's goodlihead." when sherkan. saw him, he said to him, "ho, champion of the champions! i conjure thee, by the koran and the attributes of the compassionate one, tell me who thou art: for verily by thy deeds this day thou hast pleased the requiting king, whom one thing distracts not from another, in that thou hast discomfited the children of impiety and disbelief." quoth the horseman, "thou art he who sworest brotherhood to me but yesterday: how quickly thou hast forgotten me!" then he uncovered his face, so that what was hidden of his beauty was disclosed, and lo, it was none other than zoulmekan! when sherkan knew his brother, he rejoiced in him, except that he feared for him from the throng of adversaries and the onslaught of the champions; and this for two reasons, the first, his tender age and exposure to the evil eye, and the second, that his life was the mainstay of the empire. so he said to him, "o king, thou adventurest thy life, and indeed i am in fear for thee from the foe; so join thy horse to mine, and thou wouldst do well not to hazard thyself forth of these squadrons, that we may shoot at the enemy with thine unerring shaft." quoth zoulmekan, "i wish to equal thee in battle and i will not spare myself before thee in fight." then the host of islam rushed upon the infidels and encompassing them on all sides, waged a right holy war on them and broke the power of the children of impiety and pride and corruption. king herdoub sighed when he saw the evil case that had fallen on the greeks, and they turned their backs and addressed themselves to flight, making for the ships, when lo, there came out upon them from the sea shore a new army, led by the vizier dendan, him who was wont to make the champions bite the dust, and the chamberlain of syria, with twenty thousand doughty cavaliers, and fell upon their rear with sword and spear, whilst the army of islam pressed them in front and flank. then some of the muslims turned against those that were in the ships and rained perditions on them, till they threw themselves into the sea, and they slew of them much people, more than a hundred thousand knights, nor did one of their champions escape, great or small. moreover, they took their ships, with all the baggage and treasure therein, and the muslims got that day booty, the like of which was never gotten of time past; nor did ever ear hear of such a battle. but twenty of the ships escaped, and amongst the booty were fifty thousand horses, besides treasure and spoil past count or reckoning, whereat the muslims rejoiced with an exceeding joy and thanked god for the aid and protection he had vouchsafed them. meanwhile, the news reached constantinople that king afridoun had gotten the victory over the muslims, and dhat ed dewahi said, "i know that my son king herdoub is no runagate and that he has nought to fear from the hosts of islam, but will bring the whole world to the nazarene faith." then she commanded the city to be decorated, and the people held high festival and drank wines, knowing not what god had decreed to them. whilst they were in the midst of their rejoicings, behold, the raven of affliction croaked against them and up came the twenty ships of fugitives, amongst them the king of caesarea. king afridoun met them on the sea-shore, and they told him all that had befallen them, weeping sore and lamenting, whereupon rejoicing was turned into dismay, and king afridoun was filled with consternation and knew that there was no repairing their mischance. the women gathered together to make moan and lament: and the city was filled with mourning; all hearts failed, whilst the hired mourners cried aloud and weeping and wailing arose on all sides. when king herdoub met king afridoun, he told him the truth of the case and how the flight of the muslims was but a stratagem and said to him, "look not to see any of the troops, save those that have already reached thee." when afridoun heard this, he fell down in a swoon with his nose under his feet; and as soon as he revived he exclaimed, "surely the messiah was wroth with the army, that he delivered them thus into the hands of the muslims!" then came the arch-patriarch sadly to king afridoun who said to him, "o our father, destruction hath overtaken our army and the messiah hath punished us." "grieve not nor be concerned," replied the patriarch; "for it cannot be but that one of you has sinned against the messiah, and all have been punished for his sin; but now we will read prayers for you in the churches, that the mohammedan hosts may be repelled from you." after this, dhat ed dewahi came to afridoun and said to him, "o king, verily the muslims are many, and we shall never prevail against them, save by wile: wherefore i purpose to work upon them by stratagem and repair to the army of islam; haply i may be able to carry out my intent against their leader and slay their champion, even as i slew his father. if i succeed, not one of them shall return to his native land, for all their strength lies in him; but i wish to have some christians of syria, such as go out from time to time to sell their goods, to help me in carrying out my plan." "be it so, whenas thou wilt," replied the king. so she bade fetch a hundred men, natives of nejran in syria, and said to them, "ye have heard what has befallen the christians with the muslims?" "yes," replied they; and the king said, "this woman has devoted herself to the messiah and purposes to go forth with you, disguised as mohammedans, to work out a device, which shall profit us and hinder the muslim host from us: so if ye also are willing to devote yourselves to christ, i will give you a quintal of gold. those of you who escape shall have the money, and those of you who are slain christ will reward." "o king," replied they, "we devote ourselves to the messiah, and we will be thy sacrifice." then the old woman took drugs and simples and boiled them in water, till the black essence of them was extracted. she waited till it was cold, then dipped the end of a handkerchief therein and coloured her face therewith.. moreover she put on, over her clothes, a long gaberdine with an embroidered border and taking in her hand a rosary, went in to king afridoun, who knew her not nor did any of his companions know her, till she discovered herself to them, when they all praised her for her cunning and her son rejoiced and said, "may the messiah never fail thee!" then she took with her the syrian christians, and set out for the army of baghdad. now this accursed old woman was a witch of the witches, past mistress in sorcery and deception, knavish, crafty, debauched and perfidious, with foul breath, red eyelids, sallow cheeks, pale face, bleared eyes, mangy body, grizzled hair, humped back, withered complexion and running nostrils. she had studied the scriptures of islam and made the pilgrimage to the holy house of god,[fn# ] to come to the knowledge of the mohammedan ordinances and the doctrines of the koran; and she had professed judaism in jerusalem two years' space, that she might perfect herself in the magical arts of men and jinn; so that she was a plague of plagues and a calamity of calamities, utterly depraved and having no religion. now the chief reason of her sojourn with her son, king herdoub, was on account of the maidens at his court: for she was given to tribadism and could not exist without it: so if any damsel pleased her, she was wont to teach her the art and rub saffron on her, till she fainted away for excess of pleasure. whoso obeyed her, she used to favour and spake interest for her with her son; and whoso repelled her, she would contrive to destroy. this was known to merjaneh and rihaneh and utriyeh, the handmaids of abrizeh, and the princess loathed the old woman and abhorred to lie with her because of the ill smell from her armpits and the stench of her wind, more fetid than carrion, and the roughness of her body, coarser than palm fibre. she was wont to bribe those who served her desires with jewels and instruction; but abrizeh held aloof from her and sought refuge with the all-wise, the omniscient; for well does the poet say: o thou that abasest thyself to those that are rich and great and lordest it with disdain o'er those of low estate, thou that thinkest to gild thy baseness by gathering gold, the scenting of aught that's foul skills not its stench to abate! to continue. as soon as dhat ed dewahi had departed, her son went in to afridoun and said to him, "o king, we have no need of the chief patriarch nor of his prayers, but will act according to my mother's counsel and await what she will do of her craft without end with the muslim host, for they are on the march hither with all their strength and will quickly be with us." when king afridoun heard this, terror took hold upon his heart and he wrote letters forthright to all the countries of the christians, saying, "it behoves none of the followers of the messiah or soldiers of the cross to hold back, especially the folk of the citadels and strong places: but let them all come to us foot and horse and women and children, for the muslim hosts already tread our soil. so hasten, hasten, ere what we fear come to pass." now dhat ed dewahi had clad her companions in the habit of muslim merchants and had provided herself with a hundred mules laden with stuffs of antioch, such as gold woven satin and royal brocade and so forth, and with a letter from king afridoun to the following effect: "these are merchants from the land of syria, who have been with us: so it behoves none to do them let or hindrance nor take tithe of them, till they reach their own country and the place of their security, for by merchants a country flourishes and grows rich, and these are no men of war nor evil-doers." so, as soon as she came without the city, she said to them, "o folk, i wish to work out a plot for the destruction of the muslims." "o princess," replied they, "command us what thou wilt; we are at thy disposal, and may the messiah prosper thy dealing!" then she donned a gown of fine white wool and rubbing her forehead, till she made a great mark (as of a scar), anointed it with an ointment of her own fashion, so that it shone greatly. now she was lean-bodied and hollow-eyed, and she bound her legs tightly round with cords just above her feet, till she drew near the muslim camp, when she unwound them, leaving the marks of the cords deeply embedded in the flesh. then she anointed the weals with dragon's blood and bade her companions beat her severely and lay her in a chest. "how can we beat thee," replied they, "who art our sovereign lady and mother of the supreme king?" quoth she, "we blame not nor reproach him who goeth to the jakes, and in time of necessity, forbidden things become lawful. when ye have laid me in the chest, set it on the back of one of the mules and pass on with it and the other goods through the muslim camp, crying aloud the profession of the faith of unity.[fn# ] if any hinder you, give up the mules and their lading and betake yourself to their king zoulmekan and cast yourselves on his protection, saying, 'we were in the country of the infidels and they took nothing from us, but wrote us a passport, that none should hinder us: so why do ye seize upon our goods? see, here is the letter of the king of the greeks, commanding that none shall do us let or hindrance.' if he say to you, 'what profit had ye of your commerce in the land of the greeks?' answer him, 'we profited in that it was given us to accomplish the deliverance of a pious man, who had lain nigh fifteen years in a dungeon under the earth, crying out for help, yet none helped him. on the contrary, the infidels tortured him night and day. we knew not of this: but after we had sojourned awhile in constantinople, having sold our goods and bought others in their stead, we made ready to set out and return to our native land. we spent the night before our departure, conversing about our journey, and when the day broke, we saw a figure painted upon the wall; and behold, as we drew nigh it, it moved and said, "o muslims, is there amongst you one who is minded to gain the favour of the lord of the two worlds?" "how so?" asked we. "know," replied the figure, "that god hath made me speak to you, to the intent that your belief may be fortified and that your faith may inspire you and that you may go forth of the country of the infidels and repair to the camp of the muslims. where ye shall find the sword of the compassionate one, the champion of the age, king sherkan, him by whom he shall conquer constantinople and destroy the followers of the christian heresy. on the third day of your journey, you will come to [a town, in which stands] a hermitage known as the hermitage of metronhena. make for it with a pure intent and do your utmost endeavour to come into the hermitage, for therein is a true believer from jerusalem, by name abdallah, one of the holiest of men, whom god hath blessed with supernatural powers, such as dispel doubts and obscurity. him certain of the monks seized by fraud and shut in an underground dungeon, where he has lain many a year. so, if ye desire to gain the favour of the lord of the faithful, ye cannot accomplish a more acceptable work than the deliverance of this holy man." when we heard what the figure said, we knew that this holy man was indeed of the chiefest of the devotees and heart-whole servants of god; so we set out and after three days' journey, came in sight of the town, and making for it, passed the day in buying and selling, as is the wont of merchants. as soon as the day had departed and the night was come with the darkness, we repaired to the hermitage, wherein was the dungeon, and presently heard the holy man chant some verses of the koran and repeat the following lines: i strive with my heart, for anguish that's well-nigh cleft in twain, and there ebbs and flows in my bosom a flooding sea of pain. indeed, there is no deliverance, and death is near at hand; yet death than long affliction were kinder and more fain. o lightning, if thou visit my native land and folk, if for the fair ones' lustre thine own red brilliance wane carry my salutation to those i love and say, i lie in a far greek dungeon and cry for help in vain. how can i win to join them, since that the ways with wars are blocked and the gate of succour is barred with many a chain?' when once ye have brought me into the muslim camp," added the old woman, "i know how i will make shift to beguile them and slay them all, even to the last man." when the christians heard what she said, they kissed her hands and laid her in a chest, after they had beaten her grievously, in obedience to her commands, seeing it to be incumbent on them to do her bidding in this, then made for the muslim camp. meanwhile, the muslims sat down to converse with each other, after they had made an end of the battle and the pillage, and zoulmekan said to his brother, "verily, god hath given us the victory, because of our just dealing and concord amongst ourselves; wherefore, o sherkan, do thou continue to obey my commandment, in submission to god (to whom belong might and majesty), for i mean to slay ten kings and fifty thousand of the greeks, in revenge for my father, and enter constantinople." "my life be thy ransom against death!" replied sherkan. "needs must i follow forth the holy war, though i tarry many a year in the infidels' country. but, o my brother, i have in damascus a daughter called kuzia fekan, who is one of the marvels of the time, and i love her heartily." "and i also," said zoulmekan, "have left my wife with child and near her time, nor do i know what god will vouchsafe me by her. but, o my brother, promise me that, if she bring me a son, thou wilt grant me thy daughter for my son and pledge me thy faith thereon." "with all my heart," replied sherkan and put out his hand to his brother, saying, "if thou be blessed with a son, i will give him my daughter kuzia fekan to wife." at this zoulmekan rejoiced, and they fell to giving each other joy of the victory, whilst the vizier dendan also congratulated them and said to them "know, o kings, that god hath given us the victory, for that we have devoted ourselves to him (to whom belong might and majesty) and have left our homes and families: and it is my counsel that we follow up the foe and press upon them and harass them; it may be god shall bring us to our desire and we shall destroy our enemies. if it please you, do ye embark in the ships and sail upon the sea, whilst we fare forward by land and bear the brunt of the battle." and he ceased not to urge them to action, repeating the following verses: the goodliest of delights it is one's foes to slay and on the backs of steeds the spoil to bear away. oft comes a messenger with promise of a friend, and the friend comes himself without a trysting-day. and these also: as i live, i will make of war my mother and the spear my brother and the sword my father, and for fere i will take each shag-haired warrior that meets death with a smile, as if to die in battle were e'en his wish most dear! "glory be to god," continued he, "who hath vouchsafed us his almighty aid and hath given us spoil of silver and fine gold!" then zoulmekan commanded to depart; and the army set out and fared on, by forced marches, toward constantinople, till they came to a wide and blooming champaign, full of all things fair, with wild cattle frisking and gazelles passing to and fro. now they had traversed great deserts and had been six days cut off from water, when they drew near this meadow and saw therein waters welling and trees laden with ripe fruits and the land as it were paradise; it had donned its adornments and decked itself.[fn# ] the branches of its trees swayed gently to and fro, drunken with the new wine of the dew, and therein were conjoined the fresh sweetness of the fountains of paradise and the soft breathings of the zephyr. mind and eye were confounded with its beauty, even as says the poet: look on the verdant smiling mead, with flowers and herbs beseen, as 'twere the spring thereon had spread a mantle all of green. if thou behold it with the eye of sense alone, thou'lt see nought but as 'twere a lake wherein the water waves, i ween: but with thy mind's eye look; thou'lt see a glory in the trees and lo' amidst the boughs above, the waving banners' sheen! or as another says: the river's a cheek that the sun has rosy made; for ringlets it borrows the cassia's creeping shade. the water makes anklets of silver about the legs of the boughs, and the flowers for crowns o'er all are laid. when zoulmekan saw this champaign, with its thick-leaved trees and its blooming flowers and warbling birds, he turned to his brother sherkan and said to him, "o my brother, verily damascus hath not in it the like of this place. we will abide here three days, that we may rest ourselves and that the troops may regain strength and their souls be fortified to encounter the accursed infidels." so they halted and pitched their camp there. presently, they heard a noise of voices afar, and zoulmekan enquiring the cause thereof, was told that a caravan of syrian merchants had halted there to rest and that the muslim troops had come on them and had haply seized some of their goods, that they had brought from the country of the infidels. after awhile, up came the merchants, crying out and appealing to the king for redress. so zoulmekan bade bring them before him, and they said to him, "o king, we have been in the country of the infidels and they spoiled us of nothing: why then do our brothers the muslims despoil us of our goods, and that in their own country? when we saw your troops, we went up to them, thinking no evil, and they robbed us of what we had with us." then they brought out to him the letter of the king of constantinople, and sherkan took it and reading it, said to them, "we will restore you what has been taken from you; but it behoved you not to carry merchandise to the country of the infidels." "o our lord," replied they, "of a truth, god moved us to go thither, that we might win what never champion won the like of, no, not even thou in ail thy battles." "what was it that ye won?" asked sherkan. "o king," replied they, "we will not tell thee, except in private; for if this thing be noised among the folk, it may come to the ears of the king of constantinople, and this will be the cause of our ruin and of the ruin of all muslims that resort to the land of the greeks." (now they had hidden the chest wherein was dhat ed dewahi.) so zoulmekan and his brother brought them to a private place, where they repeated to him the story of the devotee, even as the old woman had lessoned them, and wept till they made the two kings weep. there withal sherkan's heart yearned to the devotee and he was moved to pity for him and zeal for the service of god the most high. so he said to the syrians, "did ye rescue the holy man or is he still in the hermitage?" quoth they, "we delivered him and slew the hermit, fearing for ourselves; after which we made haste to fly, for fear of death; but a trusty man told us that in this hermitage are quintals of gold and silver and jewels." then they fetched the chest and brought out the accursed old woman, as she were a cassia[fn# ] pod, for excess of blackness and leanness, and laden with fetters and shackles. when zoulmekan and the bystanders saw her, they took her for a man of the dower of god's servants and the most excellent of devotees, more by token of the shining of her forehead for the ointment with which she had anointed it. so zoulmekan and sherkan wept sore and kissed her hands and feet, sobbing aloud: but she signed to them and said, "give over weeping and hear my words." so they left weeping, in obedience to her, and she said, "know that i was content to accept what my lord did unto me, knowing that the affliction that befell me was a trial from him (to whom belong might and majesty); since that for him who is not patient under trial and affliction there is no coming to the delights of paradise. i had indeed besought him that i might return to my native land, yet not for impatience of the sufferings decreed to me, but that i might die under the hoofs of the horses of the warriors of the faith, who, being slain in battle, live again without suffering death,"[fn# ]; and she repeated the following couplets: the fortress[fn# ] is sinai's self and the fire of war burns free, and thou art moses and this the time appointed to thee. throw down thy rod, for lo, it shall swallow up all they make! and fear not; i trow the ropes of the folk no serpents be.[fn# ] read thou the lines of the foe for chapters,[fn# ] the day of the fight, and let thy sword mark on their necks the verses, what while they flee. then her eyes ran over with tears and her forehead shone like gleaming light, and sherkan rose and kissed her hand and caused food to be set before her: but she refused it, saying, "i have not broken my fast (till sunset) for fifteen years; and how should i do so now, whenas my lord hath been bountiful to me in delivering me from the captivity of the infidels and doing away from me that which was more grievous than the fiery torment? i will wait till sun down." so at nightfall sherkan and zoulmekan came to her with food and said, "eat, o pious man." but she said, "this is no time for eating; it is the hour for doing my service to the requiting king." then she took up her station in the prayer-niche and stood praying till the night was spent; and she ceased not to do thus for three days and nights, sitting not but at the time of salutation.[fn# ] when zoulmekan saw this her behaviour, belief in her took firm hold upon his heart and he said to sherkan, "cause a tent of perfumed leather to be pitched for this holy man and appoint a servant to wait upon him." on the fourth day, she called for food; so they brought her all kinds of meats that could allure the sense or delight the eye; but of all this she ate but one cake of bread with salt. then she turned again to her fast, and when the night came, she rose anew to pray: and sherkan said to zoulmekan, "verily, this man carries renunciation of the world to the utmost extreme, and were it not for this holy war, i would join myself to him and worship god in his service, till i came before his presence. and now i would fain enter his tent and talk with him awhile." "and i also," said zoulmekan. "to-morrow we sally forth against constantinople, and we shall find no time like the present." "and i also," said the vizier dendan, "desire to see this holy man; haply he will pray for me that i may find my death in this holy war and come to the presence of my lord, for i am weary of the world." so as soon as night had darkened on them, they repaired to the tent of the witch dhat et dewahi and finding her standing praying, fell a-weeping, for pity of her: but she paid no heed to them till the night was half spent, when she ended her devotions by pronouncing the salutation (to the guardian angels). then she turned to them and greeted them, saying, "wherefore come ye?" "o holy man," said they, "didst thou not hear us weeping round thee?" "to him who stands before god," replied she, "there remains nor sight nor hearing for the things of this world." quoth they, "we would have thee tell us the manner of thy captivity and offer up prayer for us this night, for that will profit us more than the possession of constantinople." "by allah," answered she, "were ye not the leaders of the muslims, i would not tell you aught of this; for i complain not but to god alone. however, to you i will relate the circumstance of my captivity. know, then, that i was in jerusalem with certain saints and ecstatics, and did not magnify myself among them, for that god had endowed me with humility and abnegation, till one night i chanced to go down to the lake and walked upon the water. there withal there entered into me pride, whence i know not, and i said to myself, 'who can walk upon the water, like unto me?' and from that time my heart became hardened and god afflicted me with the love of travel. so i journeyed to the land of the greeks and visited it in every part during a whole year, leaving no place but i worshipped god therein. when i came to the place (where the syrians found me) i ascended the mountain and saw there a hermitage, inhabited by a monk called metrouhena. when he saw me, he came out to me and kissed my hands and feet, saying, 'verily, i have seen thee, since thou camest into the land of the greeks, and thou hast filled me with longing for the land of islam.' then he took my hand and carrying me into the hermitage, brought me to a dark place, where he took me unawares and locking the door on me, left me there forty days, without meat or drink; for it was his intent to kill me by starvation. one day it chanced that a knight called decianus came to the hermitage, accompanied by ten squires and his daughter temathil, a girl of incomparable beauty. the monk told them of me, and decianus said, 'bring him out, for surely there is not a bird's meal of flesh left on him.' so they opened the door of the dungeon and found me standing erect in the niche, praying and reciting the koran and glorifying god and humbling myself to him. when they saw this, the monk exclaimed, 'this man is indeed a sorcerer of the sorcerers!' then they all came in on me, and decianus and his company beat me grievously, till i desired death and reproached myself, saying, 'this is the reward of him who glorifies himself and takes credit for that which god hath bestowed upon him, beyond his own competence! for, indeed, my soul, pride and arrogance have crept into thee. dost thou not know that pride angers the lord and hardens the heart and brings men to the fire?' then they laid me in fetters and returned me to my place, which was a dungeon under the earth. every three days, they threw me down a cake of barley-bread and a draught of water; and every month or two, came decianus to the hermitage, with his daughter temathil, who is now grown up, for when i first saw her, she was nine years old, and i abode fifteen years in the dungeon, so that she must be now four-and twenty years of age. there is not in our land nor in the land of the greeks a fairer than she, and her father feared lest the king (of constantinople) should take her from him; for she had vowed herself to the service of the messiah and rode with decianus in the habit of a cavalier, so that none who saw her knew her for a woman. in this hermitage her father had laid up his treasures, for all who had aught of price were wont to deposit it there, and i saw there all manner of gold and silver and jewels and precious vessels and rarities, none may keep count of them save god the most high. ye are more worthy of these riches than the infidels; so do ye lay hands on that which is in the hermitage and divide it among the muslims, and especially among those who wage the holy war. when these merchants came to constantinople and sold their merchandise, the image on the wall spoke to them, by god's special grace to me; so they made for the hermitage and tortured metrouhena, after the most grievous fashion, and dragged him by the beard, till he showed them where i was, when they took me and fled for fear of death. to-morrow, temathil will visit the hermitage as of wont, and her father and his squires will come after her, to protect her: so, an ye would be witness of these things, take me with you and i will deliver to you the treasure and the riches of the knight decianus, that are stored up in that mountain; for i saw them bring out vessels of gold and silver to drink in and heard a damsel of their company sing to them in arabic. alas, that so sweet a voice should not be busied in reciting the koran! so, an ye will, i will bring you to the hermitage and ye shall hide there, against the coming of decianus and his daughter. then take her, for she is only fit for the king of the age, sherkan, or for king zoulmekan." when they heard her words, they all rejoiced, with the exception of the vizier dendan, who put no faith in her story, for her words took no hold on his reason and he was confounded at her discourse and signs of doubt and disbelief appeared in his face; but he feared to speak with her, for awe of the king. then she said, "i fear lest decianus come and seeing the troops encamped here, be afraid to enter the hermitage." so zoulmekan resolved to despatch the army towards constantinople and said, "i mean to take a hundred horse and many mules and make for the mountain, where we will load the mules with the treasure." then he sent for the chamberlain and for the captains of the turks and medes and said to them, 'as soon as it is day, do ye strike camp and set out for constantinople. thou, o chamberlain, shall fill my place in council and command, and thou, o rustem, shalt be my brother's deputy in battle. let none know that we are not with you, and after three days we will rejoin you." then he chose out a hundred of the stoutest cavaliers, and he and sherkan and dendan set out for the hermitage, with mules and chests for the transport of the treasure. as soon as it was morning, the chamberlain gave the signal for departure, and the troops set out, thinking that the two kings and the vizier were with them. now the syrians that were with dhat ed dewahi had taken their departure privily, after they had gone in to her and kissed her hands and feet and gotten her leave and taken her orders. then she waited till it was dark night and going in to zoulmekan and his companions, said to them, "come, let us set out for the mountain, and take with you a few men." they obeyed her and left five horsemen at the foot of the mountain, whilst the rest rode on before dhat ed dewahi, to whom new strength seemed given for excess of joy, so that zoulmekan said to his companions, "glory be to god who sustains this holy man, whose like we never saw!" now she had written a letter to the king of constantinople and despatched it by a carrier-pigeon, acquainting him with what had passed and adding, "do thou send me ten thousand horsemen of the stoutest of the greeks and let them come stealthily along the foot of the mountains, lest the muslim host get sight of them, to the hermitage and hide themselves there, till i come to them with the muslim king and his brother, for i have inveigled them and will bring them thither, together with the vizier dendan and a hundred horse, no more, that i may deliver to them the crosses that are in the hermitage. i am resolved to slay the monk metrouhena, since my scheme cannot be carried out but at the cost of his life. if my plot work well, not one of the muslims shall return to his own country, no, not a living soul nor a blower of the fire; and metrouhena shall be a sacrifice for the followers of the christian faith and the servants of the cross, and praise be to the messiah, first and last!" when this letter reached constantinople, the keeper of the pigeons carried it to king afridoun, who read it and forthwith equipped ten thousand cavaliers with horses and dromedaries and mules and victual and bade them repair to the hermitage and hide there; and they did as he commanded them. meanwhile. when zoulmekan and his companions reached the hermitage, they entered and met the monk metrouhena, who came out to see who they were; whereupon quoth dhat ed dewahi, "slay this accursed fellow.' so they fell on him with their swords and made him drink the cup of death. then the accursed old woman carried them to the place of offerings[fn# ] and brought out to them treasures and precious things, more than she had promised them, which they laid in chests and loaded the mules therewith. as for temathil and her father, they came not, for fear of the muslims, and zoulmekan tarried there, awaiting her, the whole of that day and two more, till sherkan said to him, "by allah, i am troubled at heart for the army of islam, for i know not what is come of them." "and i also am concerned for them," replied zoulmekan. "we have come by a great treasure and i do not believe that temathil or any one else will come to the hermitage, after that which has befallen the host of the christians. so we should do well to content ourselves with what god has given us and depart; and haply he will help us break open constantinople." so they came down from the mountain, for dhat ed dewahi dared not gainsay them, for fear of betraying herself, and rode on till they reached the head of a defile, in which the old woman had laid an ambush for them with the ten thousand horse. as soon as the latter saw them, they made at them from all sides, couching their lances and baring their sabres, whilst they shouted the watchword of their infidel faith and set the arrows of their mischief to the strings. when zoulmekan saw them, he was ware that they were a mighty host and said, "who can have given these troops advice of us?" "o my brother," replied sherkan, "this is no time for talking, but for smiting with swords and shooting with arrows; so gird up your courage and strengthen your hearts, for this pass is like a street with two gates: though, by the virtue of the lord of the arabs and the persians, were not the place so strait, i would bring them to nought, though they were a hundred thousand men!" "had we known this," said zoulmekan, "we would have brought with us five thousand horse." "if we had ten thousand," rejoined the vizier, "they would avail ail us nothing in this narrow place: but god will succour us against them. i know this defile and its straitness, and there are many places of refuge in it; for i have been here on an expedition with king omar ben ennuman, what while we laid siege to constantinople. we camped in this place, and there is here water colder than snow. so come, let us win? out of this pass ere the infidels increase on us and get the start of us to the mountain-top, that they may hurl down rocks upon us and we be powerless to come at them." so they hurried on, to get out of the defile: but dhat ed dewahi looked at them and said, "what is it ye fear, ye who have vowed yourselves to god the most high, to work his will? by allah, i was imprisoned underground for fifteen years, yet never gainsaid i god in aught he did with me! fight ye in the way of god; whoso of ye is killed, paradise shall be his abode, and whoso kills, his endeavour shall be for his glory." when they heard her words, their concern and anxiety ceased from them and they stood firm, awaiting the onset of the infidels, who fell on them from all sides, whilst the swords played upon their necks and the cup of death went round amongst them. the muslims fought right valiantly for the service of god and wrought upon his enemies with stroke of sword and push of pike; whilst zoulmekan smote upon the men and made the champions bite the dust and their heads fly from their bodies, five by five and ten by ten, till he had done to death a number of them past count. presently, he looked at the old woman and saw her waving her sword and heartening them, and all who feared fled to her for shelter; but (in secret) she was beckoning to the infidels to kill sherkan. so troop after troop rushed on him to slay him: but each troop he charged and drove back, with the sword in their loins; and indeed he thought it was the holy man's blessing that gave him the victory over them and said in himself, "verily god looks on this holy man with eyes of favour and strengthens my prowess against the infidels with the purity of his intent: for i see that they fear me and cannot stand against me, but every one who attacks me turns tail and flees." so they battled the rest of the day, and when the night fell, the muslims took refuge in a cave, being hard pressed and weary with stress of battle; and five-and-forty of them were slain that day by rocks that the infidels rolled down on them. when they were gathered together, they sought the devotee, but could find no trace of him. this was grievous to them and they said, "belike, he hath died a martyr." quoth sherkan "i saw him heartening the men with divine instances and sacring them with verses of the koran." whilst they were talking, behold, the accursed old woman stood before them, with the head of the captain of the ten thousand horse, a noble knight, a fierce champion and an obstinate devil, in her hand. now one of the turks had slain him with an arrow, and god hurried his soul to the fire: and when the infidels saw what the muslim had done with their leader, they all fell on him and hewed him in pieces with their swords, and god hastened with his soul to paradise. then the old woman cut off the knight's head and carrying it to sherkan and zoulmekan and the vizier, threw it at their feet; whereupon sherkan exclaimed, "praised be god that we see thee in safety, o holy man and devout champion of the faith!" "o my son," replied she, "i have sought a martyr's death this day, throwing myself midmost the host of the infidels, but they feared me. when ye separated, a holy jealousy seized me for you; so i rushed on the knight their captain, though he was reckoned a match for a thousand horse, and smote him and severed his head from his body. not one of the infidels could come near me, so i took his head and have brought it to you, that you may be heartened in the holy strife and work out the will of the lord of the faithful with your swords. and now i will leave you to strive against the infidels, whilst i go to your army, though they be at the gates of constantinople, and return with twenty thousand horse to destroy these unbelievers." quoth sherkan, "how wilt thou win to them, o holy man, seeing that the valley is blocked up by the infidels on all sides?" "god will veil me from their eyes," replied she, "and they shall not see me; nor if any saw me, would he dare to attack me, for i shall be absorbed in god and he will fend off his enemies from me." "thou sayst sooth, o holy man," rejoined sherkan, "for indeed i have been witness of this; so, if thou canst set out at the first of the night, it will be the better for us." "i will set out forthright," replied she; "and, an thou wilt, thou shalt go with me, and none shall see thee. if thy brother also have a mind to go, we will take him, but none else; for the shadow of a saint can cover but two." "as for me," said sherkan, "i will not leave my comrades; but, if my brother please, he will do well to go with thee and win free of this strait; for he is the stronghold of the muslims and the sword of the lord of the two worlds; and if it be his pleasure, let him take with him the vizier dendan, or whom else he may choose, and send us ten thousand horse to succour us against these villains." so they agreed to this and dhat ed dewahi said, "wait till i go on before you and look if the infidels be asleep or awake." quoth they, "we will go with thee and trust our affair to god." "if i do your bidding," replied she, "do not blame me, but blame yourselves; for it is my counsel that you wait till i have spied you out the state of the case." then said sherkan, "go and return quickly, for we shall be awaiting thee." so she went out and sherkan turned to his brother and said, "were not this holy man a miracle-worker, he had never slain yonder doughty knight. this is a sufficient measure of his power, and indeed the strength of the infidels is broken by the slaying of their leader, for he was a fierce warrior and a stubborn devil." whilst they were thus devising of the power of the devotee, behold, the cursed old woman returned and promised them victory over the unbelievers; whereupon they thanked her, and she said, "where is the king of the age zoulmekan?" "here am i," replied he. "take thy vizier," said she, "and follow me, that we may win out to constantinople." now she had acquainted the infidels with the cheat she had put on the muslims, and they rejoiced mightily and said, "we shall not be content till we have slain their king in return for the death of our general; for we had no stouter cavalier than he; but when thou bringest him to us, we will carry him to king afridoun." then she went out with zoulmekan and dendan and walked on before them, saying, "fare on with the blessing of the most high god!" they did as she bade them, for the arrow of fate and destiny had fallen on them, and she led them on, through the midst of the christian camp, till they came to the narrow pass aforesaid. whilst the enemy watched them, but did them no hindrance; for the old woman had enjoined this on them. when zoulmekan and dendan saw that the infidels did them no hindrance, the vizier exclaimed, "by allah, this is one of the holy man's miracles! without doubt he is of the elect." "by allah," said zoulmekan, "i think the infidels must be blind, for we see them, and they see us not." whilst they were thus praising the holy man and recounting his virtues, behold, the infidels fell upon them from all sides and seized them, saying, "is there any one else with you, that we may seize upon him?" quoth dendan, "see ye not yon other man that is before us?" "by the messiah and the monks and the primate and the metropolitan," replied they, "we see none but you!" and zoulmekan said, "by allah, this is a chastisement decreed to us by god!" then the christians laid shackles on their feet and set men to guard them during the night, whilst dhat ed dewahi fared on and disappeared from their sight. so they fell to lamenting and said, "verily, the gainsaying of pious men leads to greater stress than this, and we are punished by the strait into which we have fallen." meanwhile, sherkan passed the night in the cavern with his companions, and when the day broke, he arose and prayed the morning-prayer. then he and his men made ready to do battle with the infidels, and he encouraged them and promised them all good. then they sallied out against the christians, who cried out to them from afar as soon as they saw them, saying, "o muslims, we have taken your sultan and your vizier that has the ordering of your affairs; and except ye leave fighting us, we will slay you to the last man, but if ye yield to us, we will take you to our king, who will make peace with you, on condition that you leave our country and return to your own land and do us no harm, and we will do you no harm. if you accept, it will be well for you; but if you refuse, you have nothing to hope for but death. so now we have told you, and this is our last word to you." when sherkan heard this and was certified of the captivity of his brother and the vizier dendan, he was greatly troubled and wept; his strength failed him and he made sure of death, saying inwardly, "i wonder what was the cause of their capture? did they fail of respect to the holy man or disobey him, or what?" then they rushed upon the unbelievers and slew great plenty of them. the valiant, that day, was known from the faint-hearted, and the swords and spears were dyed with blood; for the infidels flocked on them from all sides, as flies flock to wine; but sherkan and his men ceased not to wage the fight of those who fear not death nor let it hinder them from the pursuit of victory, till the valley ran with blood and the earth was full of the slain. so fought they on till nightfall, when the two parties separated, each to his own place, and the muslims returned to the grotto, where both victory and loss were manifest to them, and there was no dependence for them but on god and the sword. that day there had been slain of them five-and-thirty men of the chief amirs, and they had put to the sword thousands of the infidels, both horse and foot. when sherkan saw this, the case was grievous to him, and he said to his comrades, "what shall we do?" "that which god wills," replied they. on the morning of the second day, sherkan said to the remnant of his troop, "if ye go forth to fight, not one of you will remain alive and we have but little food and water left; so meseems ye would do better to draw your swords and stand at the door of the cavern, to hinder any from entering. peradventure the holy man may have traversed the christian host, without being seen of the unbelievers, and may win to constantinople and return with ten thousand horse, to succour us against the infidels." "this is the better course," replied they, "and there is no doubt of its expediency." so they went out and held the opening of the grotto, standing in its sides; and every one of the infidels who sought to come in, they slew. thus did they fend off the enemy from the door of the cavern and make head against all their assaults, till the day departed and the night came with the shadows, by which time king sherkan had but five-and-twenty men left. then said the christians to each other, "when shall these battles have an end? we are weary of fighting the muslims." and one of them said, "up and let us fall on them, for there be but five-and-twenty and of them left. if we cannot prevail on them to fight, let us light a fire upon them; and if they submit and yield themselves up, we will take them prisoners: else we will leave them to serve as fuel to the fire, so that they shall become a warning to men of understanding. may the messiah not have mercy on their fathers and may the sojourn of the christians be no abiding-place for them!" so they repaired to the cavern and heaping up faggots in the door-way, set fire to them. thereupon, sherkan and his companions made sure of death and yielded themselves up. the unbelievers thought to kill them, but the knight their captain said to those who counselled this, "it is for none but king afridoun to kill them, that he may quench thereby his thirst for vengeance; wherefore it behoves us to keep them prisoners till the morrow, when we will journey with them to constantinople and deliver them to king afridoun, who shall deal with them as he pleases." "this is the right course," replied they; and he commanded to pinion the prisoners and set guards over them. then, as soon as it was dark, the infidels gave themselves up to feasting and merry-making and called for wine and drank, till they all fell backward. presently, sherkan turned to his brother zoulmekan and said to him "my brother, how shall we get free?" "by allah," replied zoulmekan, "i know not; for we are here like birds in a cage." at this sherkan was angry and sighed for excess of wrath and stretched himself, till his bonds broke; whereupon he went up to the captain of the guard and taking from his bosom the keys of the fetters, freed zoulmekan and dendan and the rest of the prisoners. then said he, "let us slay three of these infidels and don their clothes, we three; so shall we be disguised as greeks and pass through them without their knowing us, and win out to our army." "this is no safe counsel," replied zoulmekan "for if we kill them, i fear some of their comrades may hear their groans and the enemy he roused upon us and kill us. it were better to make our way out of the pass." so they agreed upon this and set out. when they had left the head of the defile a little way behind, they saw horses picketed and their riders sleeping by them: and sherkan said to his brother, "let us each take one of these steeds." so they took five-and-twenty horses, one for each man, and mounted and rode on till they were out of reach, whilst god sent sleep upon the infidels for a secret purpose of his own. meanwhile, sherkan gathered as many swords and spears as he could from the sleepers and faring on after his comrades, found them awaiting him, on coals of fire on his account, and said to them, "have no fear, since god protects us. i have that to propose, which meseems will advantage us." "what is it?" asked they, and he said, "it is that we all climb to the mountain-top and cry out with one voice, 'god is most great! the army of islam is upon you! god is most great!' if we do this, their company will surely be dissolved, for they are too drunken to find out the trick, but will think that the muslim troops have encompassed them on all sides and have become mingled with them; so they will fall on one another with their swords, in the confusion of drunkenness and sleep, and we will cleave them asunder with their own brands and the sword will go round amongst them till the morning." "this plan is not good," replied zoulmekan. "we should do better to make our way to our army and keep silence; for, if we cry out, 'god is most great!' they will wake and fall on us, and not one of us will escape." "by allah," rejoined sherkan, "though they be roused on us, i desire urgently that ye fall in with my plan, for nothing but good can come of it." so they agreed and ascending the mountain, shouted out, "god is most great!" and the hills and trees and stones cried out with them, "god is most great!" for the fear of the almighty. when the unbelievers heard this, they started up from sleep and did on their armour, crying out to one another and saying, "by the messiah, the enemy is upon us." then they fell on each other and slew of their own men more than any knows save god the most high. as soon as it was day, they sought for the captives, but found them not, and their captains said, "it was the prisoners who did this; so up and hasten after them, till ye overtake them, when we will make them quaff the cup of punishment; and let not trouble nor panic possess you." so they sprang to horse and rode after the fugitives, nor was it long before they overtook them and surrounded them. wheu zoulmekan saw this, he was seized with terror and said to his brother, "what i feared is come upon us, and now it only remains for us to fight for the faith." but sherkan held his peace. then zoulmekan and his companions rushed down from the hill-top, crying out, "god is most great!" and addressed themselves to fight and sell their lives in the service of the lord of the faithful, when, behold, they heard many voices crying out, "there is no god but god! god is most great! peace and salvation upon the bringer of glad tidings, the admonisher of mankind!"[fn# ] so they turned towards the sound and saw a company of muslims pricking towards them, whereupon their courage revived and sherkan ran at the christians, crying out, "there is no god but god! god is most great!" so that the earth shook as with an earthquake and the unbelievers broke asunder and fled into the mountains, whither the muslims followed them with sword and spear and made their heads fly from their bodies, till the day departed and the night came with the darkness. then the muslims drew together and passed the night rejoicing; and when the day broke and the morning arose with its light and shone, they saw behram, the captain of the medes, and rustem, the captain of the turks, advancing to join them, with twenty thousand cavaliers, as they were fierce lions. as soon as they saw zoulmekan, the chiefs dismounted and saluting him, kissed the earth before him; and he said to them, "rejoice ye in the glad news of the victory of the muslims and the discomfiture of the unbelievers!" then they gave each other joy of their deliverance and of the greatness of the reward that awaited them in the world to come. now the manner of the coming of the succours was as follows. when behram and rustem and the chamberlain came in sight of constantinople, with the muslim army, they saw that the christians had manned the walls and towers and set all their strengths in order of defence, for that they knew of the approach of the host of islam, through the craft and perfidy of the old woman dhat ed dewahi. so, when they heard the clash of arms and tramp of horse-hoofs and saw the mohammedan standards and the ensigns of the faith of the unity of god emerging from the dust-clouds and heard the voices of the muslims chanting the koran aloud and glorifying the compassionate one, and the army of islam drew near, as it were the swollen sea, for the multitude of footmen and horsemen and women and children, they poured forth like a flight of locusts or the streaming of water from the rain-clouds; and the captain of the turks said to the captain of the medes, "o amir, of a truth, we are in jeopardy from the multitude of the foe on the walls. look at yonder forts and at the folk like the tempestuous sea with its clashing billows. indeed the infidels out-number us a hundred times and we cannot be sure but that some spy may inform them that we are without a leader. verily, we are in peril from these enemies, whose number may not be told and whose extent is limitless, especially in the absence of king zoulmekan and his brother sherkan and the illustrious vizier dendan. if they know of this, they will be emboldened to attack us in their absence and will cut off us to the last man; not one of us will escape alive. so it is my counsel that we each take ten thousand horse and repair to the hermitage of metrouhena and the meadow of meloukhna in quest of our brothers and our chiefs. if thou follow my counsel, it may be we shall be the cause of their deliverance, in case they be hard pressed by the infidels; and if not, no blame will rest on me. but, if we go, it were well that we return quickly, for suspicion is part of prudence." the other fell in with his counsel; so they chose twenty thousand horse and set out for the hermitage by cross roads. to return to dhat ed dewahi. as soon as she had delivered zoulmekan and his companions into the hands of the infidels, she mounted a swift horse, saying to the christians, "i mean to rejoin the muslim army before constantinople and contrive for their destruction; for i will tell them that their chiefs are dead, and when they hear this, their alliance will be dissolved and their confederation broken up and their host dispersed. then will i go to king afridoun and my son king herdoub, and they will sally forth on them with their troops and destroy them, nor leave one of them alive." so she mounted and fared on across country all that night, and at daybreak, she sighted the army of behram and rustem advancing towards her. so she turned aside into a wayside copse and alighting there, hid her horse among the trees, saying to herself, "belike they are returning, routed, from the assault of constantinople." however, as she drew near, she saw that their standards were not reversed and knew that they were not retreating because of defeat, but that they feared for their king and their chiefs. when she was assured of this, she hastened up to them, running at the top of her speed, like a stubborn satan as she was, and cried out, "hasten, o soldiers of the merciful one, hasten to the holy war against the hosts of satan!" when behram saw her, he dismounted and kissing the earth before her, said, "what is behind thee, o friend of god?"[fn# ] "do not ask of evil case and sore disasters," answered she. "know that, when our comrades had taken the treasure from the hermitage and were on their way back to constantinople, there came out on them a great host and a fierce of unbelievers." and she repeated to them the story, in such wise as to fill them with trouble and terror, and added, "the most of them are dead, and there are but five-and-twenty left." "o holy man," said behram, "when didst thou leave them?" "but last night," replied she. "glory be to god," exclaimed he, "who hath rolled up the distance for thee like a carpet, so that thou hast sped thus, walking upon thy feet and leant upon a palm-tree staff! but thou art one of the friends of god, that fly like birds, when possessed by the stress of his commandment!" then he mounted his horse, perplexed and confounded for that which he had heard from the lying old beldam and saying, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high! verily our labour is lost and our hearts are heavy within us, for our king is a prisoner and those who are with him!" then they fared on in haste and stayed not the whole of that day and night, till at daybreak they reached the head of the pass and heard zoulmekan and sherkan shouting, "there is no god but god! god is most great!" whereupon they drove at the unbelievers and overwhelmed them, as the torrent overwhelms the plains, shouting out their war-cries, till the stoutest champions were affrighted and the mountains were cloven by the noise. on the morrow, they foregathered with zoulmekan, and each recognised the other as has been before set out. then they kissed the earth before the king and his brother sherkan, and the latter told them all that had befallen him and his men in the grotto, whereat they marvelled and said, "hasten back with us to constantinople, for we left our companions there, and our hearts are with them." so they made haste to depart, commending themselves to the subtle, the all-wise; and zoulmekan exhorted the muslims to steadfastness, reciting the following verses: to thee be the praise, o thou that meritest thanks and praise! and mayest thou never cease to succour me all my days! i grew up in exile, but thou, my god, wast ever my friend. 'twas thou didst decree me success and broughtest me forth of the maze. thou hast given me lordship and wealth and fortune and girded my midst with the falchion of valour and wreathed my forehead with victory's bays. thou hast shadowed me under thy wings and made me to prosper amain and hast graced me with favours untold, of thy bounties abounding always: thou hast saved me from all that i feared, by the counsel of him whom i trust, the vizier and chief of the chiefs, the hero and pride of our days. by thy favour we fell on the greeks and smote them with sword and with spear; but again to the fight they returned, in garments blood-red for affrays. so i feigned to be routed and flee and give back from the fight; then i turned on the toe, as the fierce lion turns on the hunters, that find him at gaze. i left them laid low on the plain, as 'twere they were drunken with wine, not the wine that is pressed from the grape, but that of death's cup of amaze; whilst their ships all fell under our hand and ours was the empery grown: from the east to the west, sea and shore, we were lords of the lands and the ways. then there came to our camp the recluse, the saint, whose miraculous power is blazoned in desert and town, wherever the sun sheds its rays. he joined us, his vengeance to wreak on all that believe not in god. indeed, it is known to the folk what came of our strife and our frays. they slew of us some, but they woke on the morrow in paradise, each lodged in a palace on high, whereunder a river strays. when zoulmekan had made an end of reciting these verses, his brother sherkan gave him joy of his safety and praise for that he had done; after which they set out by forced marches to rejoin their army. meanwhile, dhat ed dewahi, after she had spoken with rustem and behram, returned to the coppice, where she took her horse and mounting, sped on, till she drew near the host of the muslims that lay leaguer before constantinople, when she lighted down from her steed and led it to the chamberlain's pavilion. when he saw her, he signed to her with his hand and said, "welcome, o pious recluse!" then he questioned her of what had befallen, and she repeated to him her disquieting and deluding report, saying, "indeed i fear for the amirs rustem and behram, for that i met them on the way and sent them and their following to the king and his companions. they are but twenty thousand horse, and the unbelievers are more in number than they; so i would now have thee send of the rest of thy troops in haste to their succour, lest they be slain to the last man." and she said to them "hasten! hasten!" when the chamberlain and the muslims heard these her words, their hearts sank within them and they wept; but she said to them, "ask aid of god and be patient under this affliction, taking example by those that have been before you of the people of islam, for god hath prepared paradise, with its palaces, for those who die martyrs; and needs must all die, but death is most praiseworthy, when it comes in fighting for the faith." when the chamberlain heard this speech of the accursed old woman, he called for the amir behram's brother, a cavalier named terkash, and choosing out for him ten thousand intrepid veterans, bade him set out at once. so he departed forthright and marched all that day and the next night, till he neared the muslims. when the day dawned, sherkan saw the dust of them and feared for his companions, saying, "if these troops that are nearing us be muslims, our victory is assured; but if they be christians, there is no gainsaying the decrees of fate." then he turned to his brother zoulmekan and said to him, "fear not, for i will ransom thee with my life from destruction. if these be muslim troops then were it an increase of god's favours; but if they be our foes, there is nothing for it but to fight them. yet do i long to see the holy man once again before i die, so he may pray for me that i may not die except a martyr." whilst he was thus speaking, behold, there appeared the banners with the words, "there is no god but god and mohammed is his apostle" inscribed on them, and he cried out to the new-comers, saying, "how is it with the muslims?" "they are in weal and safety," replied they; "and we come not hither but out of concern for you." then the chief of the succours dismounted and kissing the earth before sherkan, said, "o my lord, the sultan and the vizier dendan and rustem and my brother behram, are they all in safety?" "they are all well," answered the prince; "but who brought thee tidings of us?" "it was the holy man," said terkash. "he told us that he had met my brother behram and rustem and had sent them to you and also that the infidels had encompassed you and were more in number than you; yet meseems the case is the contrary of this and that you are victorious." "and how did the holy man reach you?" asked sherkan. "walking on his feet," replied the amir; "and he had compassed, in the space of a single day and night, ten days' journey for a diligent horseman." "verily, he is a friend of god," said sherkan; "but where is he now?" quoth terkash, "we left him with our troops, the people of faith, encouraging them to do battle with the infidels and rebels." therewith sherkan was glad and thanked god for their own deliverance and that of the holy man and commended the dead to the mercy of god saying, "this was written in the book of fate." then they set out for constantinople by forced marches, and whilst they were on the road thither, behold, a cloud of dust arose before them and spread till the prospect was hidden and the day darkened by it. sherkan looked at it and said, "verily, i fear lest this be the infidels who have routed the army of islam, for that this dust covers the country and blots out the two horizons." presently there appeared midmost the dust a pillar of darkness and came towards them, blacker than the blackness of (evil) fortune and more dreadful than the terrors of the day of judgment. horse and foot hastened up to look at it and know its meaning, when, behold, they saw it to be the recluse aforesaid; so they crowded round him to kiss his hands, and he cried out, "o people of the best of men[fn# ], the lamp of the darkness, the infidels have overcome the muslims by craft, for they fell upon them in their tents, whilst they deemed themselves in safety, and made a sore slaughter of them; so hasten to the aid of the believers in the unity of god and deliver them from those that deny him!" when sherkan heard this, his heart was sore troubled and he alighted from his horse, in amazement, and kissed the recluse's hands and feet. in like wise did his brother zoulmekan and the rest of the troops, except the vizier dendan, who dismounted not, but said, "by allah, my heart revolts from this devotee, for i never knew aught but evil come of these that make a show of devotion to religion. leave him and hasten to rejoin your comrades for this fellow is of those that are outcast from the gate of mercy of the lord of the two worlds! how often have i come out to war with king omar ben ennuman and trodden the earth of these lands!" "put away from thee this foul thought," said sherkan. "hast thou not seen this holy man excite the faithful to battle, recking nought of spears and swords? wherefore, slander him not, for slander is blameworthy and the flesh of pious folk is poisoned. look how he encourages us to battle, and did not god love him, he had not rolled up the distance for him (like a carpet), after he had aforetime cast him into grievous torment?" then sherkan let bring a nubian mule for her riding and said to her, "mount, pious man, god-fearing and holy!" but she refused, feigning self-denial, that she might attain her end: and they knew not that the pretended devotee was such an one as he of whom the poet says: he prayeth and fasteth amain for an end that he hath in view. when once he has gained his end, fasting and prayer, adieu! so she walked among the horsemen and the footmen, like a crafty fox meditating an assault, and began to uplift her voice, chanting the koran aloud and celebrating the praises of the compassionate one. then they pressed forward till they reached the mohammedan camp, where sherkan found the muslims in a state of confusion and the chamberlain upon the brink of retreat, whilst the sword wrought havoc among the faithful, good and bad. now the cause of this weakness among the muslims was that the accursed old woman dhat ed dewahi, when she saw that behram and rustem had set forward with their troops to join sherkan and zoulmekan, repaired to the camp or the muslims before constantinople and wrought upon the chamberlain to despatch the amir terkash, as hath been before set out, to the further succour of the princes, purposing in this to divide the muslim forces and weaken them. then she left them and going to the walls of constantinople, called with a loud voice on the knights of the greeks, saying, "throw me down a cord that i may tie thereto this letter, which do ye carry to king afridoun and my son king herdoub, that they may read it and do as is written therein." so they let down a string and she tied thereto a letter, to the following purport, "from the chiefest of calamities and the greatest of afflictions, dhat ed dewahi, to king afridoun. know that i have contrived a device for the destruction of the muslims, so rest you quiet. i made their sultan and the vizier dendan prisoners and returned to their camp and acquainted them therewith, whereupon their power was broken and their strength weakened. moreover, i have wrought on them to send ten thousand men under the amir terkash to the succour of the captives, and there be now but few men left with the besiegers. wherefore, it is my counsel that ye sally forth, with all your power, whilst it is yet day, and fall on them in their tents and slay them to the last man for the messiah looks down upon you and the virgin favours you; and i hope that the messiah will not forget this that i have done." when this letter came to king afridoun, he rejoiced greatly and sending at once for king herdoub, read the letter to him, whereat he was exceeding glad and said, "see the craft of my mother; verily it dispenses with swords, and her aspect stands in stead of the terrors of the day of fear." "may the messiah not bereave us of her," rejoined afridoun, "nor deprive her of her craft and knavery[fn# ]." then he gave orders for the sally, and the news was noised abroad in the city. so the christian troops and soldiers of the cross drew their keen sabres and sallied forth of the city, shouting out their impious war-cries and blaspheming the lord of all creatures. when the chamberlain saw them, he said, "behold, the christians are upon us, whilst the most part of our troops are gone to the succour of king zoulmekan! they surely know of the absence of our sultan and most like they will attack us." therewith he waxed angry and cried out, "ho, soldiers of islam and defenders of the true faith, if you flee, you are lost, and if you stand fast, you will conquer! know that courage lies in endurance and that no case is so desperate but that god is able to bring about its relief. may he bless you and look upon you with eyes of compassion! "then the muslims cried out, "god is most great!" and the believers in the divine unity shouted the profession of the faith and the two hosts joined battle. the mill-wheels of war whirled round, with cutting and thrusting; the swords and spears played and the plains and valleys were filled with blood. the priests and monks prayed aloud, girding on their girdles and uplifting the crosses, whilst the muslims shouted out the praises of the requiting king and chanted verses of the koran. the hosts of the compassionate god fought against the legions of satan and heads flew from bodies, what while the good angels hovered above the people of the chosen prophet, nor did the sword cease to play, till the day departed and the night came with the shadows. now the unbelievers had encompassed the muslims and made sure of overcoming the host of the true faith with the dawn, deeming not that they could escape destruction. as soon as it was light, the chamberlain mounted, he and his men, trusting that god would help them, and the two armies came together and joined battle. the fight raged all along the line and heads flew from bodies, whilst the brave stood fast and the faint-hearted turned their backs and fled; and the judge of death judged and gave sentence, so that the champions fell from their saddles and the meadows were heaped with the slain. then the muslims began to give back and the greeks took possession of some of their tents; whereupon the muslims were about to break and retreat, when behold, up came sherkan, with the rest of their troops and the standards of the believers in the unity of god, and fell upon the infidels, followed by zoulmekan and the vizier dendan and the amirs behram and rustem and terkash. when the christians saw this, they lost their senses and their reason fled, and the dust clouds rose till they covered the country, whilst the true believers joined their pious comrades. then sherkan accosted the chamberlain and praised him for his steadfastness, and he in turn gave him joy of his timely succour. therewith the muslims rejoiced and their hearts were fortified; so they rushed upon the foe and devoted themselves to god, in the battle for the faith. when the infidels saw the mohammedan standards and read thereon the words proclaiming the unity of god, they shrieked aloud and said, "woe!" and "ruin!" and besought succour of the priests and monks. moreover they fell to calling upon jesus and mary and the abhorrent cross and stayed their hands from the battle, whilst king afridoun went up to king herdoub (to consult with him), for the two kings stood one at the head of each wing. now there was with them also a famous cavalier named lawiya, who was in command of the centre, and the infidels drew out in battle-array; but indeed they were full of alarm and disquiet. meanwhile, the muslims arrayed their forces and sherkan came to his brother zoulmekan and said to him, "o king of the age, doubtless they mean to joust? and that is also what we desire; but it is my wish to set in our van-ward battle the stoutest-hearted of our men: for wise ordering is the half of life." "as thou wilt, o man of good counsel," replied the sultan. "it is my wish," added sherkan, "to be myself in the centre of the line, with the vizier dendan on my left and thee on my right, whilst behram and rustem command the right and left wing; and thou, o mighty king, shalt be under the standards and the ensigns, for that thou art our stay and upon thee, after god, is our dependence, and we will all be thy ransom from aught that can harm thee." zoulmekan thanked him and the battle-cries arose and the sabres were drawn, when, behold, there came forth a cavalier from the grecian ranks; and as he drew near, they saw that he was mounted on a slow-paced mule, fleeing with her master from the shock of swords. her housings were of white silk, surmounted by a carpet of cashmere stuff, and on her back sat a gray-bearded old man of comely and reverend aspect, clad in a gown of white wool. he spurred her on till he came to the muslims, to whom said he, "i am an ambassador to you, and all an ambassador has to do is to deliver his message; so give me a safe conduct and the right of speech, that i may do my errand to you." "thou art in safety," replied sherkan; "fear neither stroke of sword nor thrust of lance." thereupon the old man dismounted and taking the cross from his neck, (laid it) before the sultan and carried himself humbly to him, after the fashion of one who hopes for fair treatment. then said the muslims to him, "what is thy news?" he answered, "i am an ambassador from king afridoun, whom i counselled to avert the destruction of all these manly bodies and images of the compassionate; and it seemed good to him to stop the shedding of blood and limit the strife to the encounter of two horsemen in battle; so he agreed to this and says to you, 'verily, i will ransom my troops with my life; so let the muslim king do likewise and ransom his army with his life. if he kill me, there will be no stability left in the army of the greeks, and if i kill him, it will be the like with the muslims.'" when sherkan heard this, he said, "o monk, we agree to this, for it is just; and behold i will joust: with him, for i am champion of the muslims, even as he of the christians; and if he slay me, he will have gained the victory and there will remain for the muslim army nothing but flight. so return to him, o monk, and tell him that the combat shall be for to-morrow, seeing that to-day we are weary with our journey; but after rest there shall be neither reproach nor blame." so the monk returned, rejoicing, to king afridoun and king herdoub and told them what sherkan had said, whereat afridoun was exceeding glad and lightened of anxiety and trouble and said in himself, "no doubt but this sherkan is the hardest hitter of them with the sword and the dourest at push of pike; and when i have slain him, their hearts will fail them and their strength will be broken." now dhat ed dewahi had written to king afridoun of this and told him that sherkan was a cavalier of cavaliers and a champion of champions and had warned him against him; but afridoun was a stalwart cavalier, who fought in many a fashion; he could hurl stones and javelins and smite with the iron mace and feared not the doughtiest of prowess in the dint of war. so when he heard from the monk that sherkan agreed to joust, he well-nigh lost his reason for stress of joy, for that he had confidence in himself and deemed that none could stand against him. then the infidels passed the night in joy and merry-making and wine-drinking, and as soon as it was day, the two armies drew out in battle array, with their brown spears and white swords. presently, they saw a cavalier prick out into the plain, mounted on a stout and swift charger equipped for war: he was of great stature and was clad in a cuirass of steel made for stress of battle. on his breast he wore a jewelled mirror and in his hand he bore a keen scimitar and a lance of khelenj wood[fn# ] of curious frankish workmanship. he uncovered his face and cried out, saying, "whoso knoweth me hath enough of me, and whoso knoweth me not shall see who i am. i am afridoun he who is overborne by the blessing of shewahi dhat ed dewahi." before he had made an end of speaking, sherkan, the champion of the muslims, spurred out to meet him, mounted on a sorrel horse worth a thousand [dinars] of red gold, with housings embroidered in pearls and jewels, and girt with a sword of watered indian steel, that shore through necks and made hard ventures easy. he drove his charger between the two armies, whilst the horsemen all gazed on him, and cried out to afridoun, saying, "out on thee, o accursed one, dost thou think me as one of the horsemen thou hast met, that cannot stand against thee in the mellay?" then they rushed upon one another and came together like two mountains crashing or two seas breaking each against each. so they advanced and retreated and drew together and parted and ceased not to joust and battle with stroke of sword and thrust of spear, whilst the two armies looked on. some said, "afridoun will conquer," and other some, "sherkan;" and they stayed not their hands from the battle, till the clamour of the bystanders subsided and the dust-clouds rose and the day waned and the sun began to grow pale. then king afridoun cried out to sherkan, saying, "by the virtue of the messiah and the true faith, thou art a doughty horseman and a stalwart fighting man, but thou art guileful and thy nature is not that of the freeborn and meseemeth thy fashion is other than praiseworthy nor is thy fighting that of a prince; for see, thy people even thee with slaves[fn# ] and bring thee out a charger other than thine, that thou mayst (mount him and) return to the battle. but by the virtue of the messiah, thy fighting fatigues me and i am weary of cutting and thrusting with thee; and if thou wert purposed to do battle with me tonight thou wouldst not change aught of thy harness nor thy horse till thou hadst shown the cavaliers thy valour and skill in fight." when sherkan heard him say that his own folk evened him with slaves, he was angry and turned towards his men, meaning to sign to them and bid them not prepare him change of armour or horse, when, behold, afridoun shook his javelin in the air and hurled it at sherkan. now, when the latter turned, he found none behind him and knew that this was a trick of the accursed infidel; so he wheeled round in haste and seeing the javelin coming at him, swerved from it, till his head was level with the pommel of his saddle. the javelin grazed his breast and pierced the skin, for sherkan was high-bosomed: so he gave one cry and swooned away. then the accursed afridoun was glad, thinking that he had slain him, and called to the christians to rejoice, whereat the infidels were encouraged and the true believers wept. when zoulmekan saw his brother reeling from side to side in his saddle, so that he had well-nigh fallen, he sent cavaliers to his succour; whereupon the infidels drove at the muslims and the two hosts joined battle, whilst the keen yemen blades played among them. the first to reach sherkan were dendan and rustem and behram, who found him on the point of falling off his horse; so they stayed him in his saddle and carried him to zoulmekan; then giving him in charge to his servants, returned to the battle. then the strife redoubled and the weapons clashed, and there was nought to be heard but the roar of the battle nor to be seen but blood flowing and necks bending beneath the blows; nor did the swords cease to play on men's necks nor the strife to rage more and more, till the most part of the night was past and the two hosts were weary of battle. so they called a truce and each army returned to its tents, whilst all the infidels repaired to king afridoun and kissed the earth before him, and the priests and monks wished him joy of his victory over sherkan. then he went up into constantinople and sat down upon his throne; and king herdoub came to him and said, "may the messiah strengthen thine arm and cease never to be thy helper and hearken to the prayers of my pious mother on thy behalf! know that the muslims can make no stand, now they have lost sherkan." "to-morrow," replied afridoun, "shall end the war, for i will seek out zoulmekan and slay him, and their army shall turn tail and take to flight." meanwhile, zoulmekan returned to his tent thinking of nothing but his brother, and going in to the latter's pavilion, found him in evil plight; whereat he was sore troubled and sent for the vizier dendan and the amirs behram and rustem, that he might take counsel with them. when they entered, they were all of accord to summon the physicians to treat sherkan, and they wept and said, "the age will not lightly afford his like!" they watched by him all that night, and towards morning there came to them the pretended recluse, weeping. when zoulmekan saw her, he rose to receive her; and she stroked sherkan's wound with her hand, chanting somewhat of the koran and repeating some of the signs of the compassionate one. then she kept watch over him till the day, when he came to himself and opening his eyes, moved his tongue in his mouth and spoke. at this zoulmekan rejoiced, saying, "verily the blessing of the holy man hath taken effect on him!" and sherkan said, "praised be god for recovery; indeed, i am well now. yonder accursed one played me false, and but that i swerved aside quicklier than lightning, the javelin had pierced me through and through. so praised be god for my safety! how is it with the muslims?" "they weep for thee," answered zoulmekan. quoth sherkan, "i am well and in good case; but where is the holy man?" now she was sitting by him and said, "at thy head." so he turned to her and kissed her hand; and she said, "o my son, it behoves thee to arm thyself with patience, and god shall make great thy reward; for the guerdon is measured by that which has been endured." quoth sherkan, "pray for me," and she did so. as soon as it was morning and the day arose and shone, the muslims sallied out into the field, and the christians made ready to cut and thrust. then the host of the muslims advanced and offered battle; and zoulmekan and afridoun made ready to tilt at one another. but when zoulmekan sallied out into the field, there came with him dendan and behram and the chamberlain, saying, "we will be thy sacrifice." "by the holy house and the well zemzem and the stead of abraham,"[fn# ] exclaimed he, "i will not be hindered from going forth against these barbarians!" so he rode out into the field and played with sword and spear, till both armies wondered; then he rushed upon the right wing of the greek army and slew two knights and in like manner dealt he with the left wing. then he stayed his steed in the midst of the field and cried out, "where is afridoun, that i may make him drink the cup of humiliation?" but king herdoub conjured afridoun not to budge from the field, saying, "o king, it was thy turn yesterday: to-day it is mine. i reck not of his prowess." so he pricked out towards zoulmekan, with a sabre in his hand and under him a jet black horse, swift as he were abjer, he that was antar's horse, even as says the poet: he vies with the glance of the eye on a swift-footed steed, that fares as it had a mind to outstrip fate. the hue of his hide is the blackest of all things black, like night, when the shadows shroud it in sable state. the sound of his neighing troubles the hearts of men, as it were thunder that echoes in heaven's gate. if he run a race with the wind, he leads the way, nor can the lightning outstrip him, early or late. then each rushed upon the other, guarding himself from his blows and showing the rare qualities that were in him and the wonders of his prowess; and they fell to advancing and retreating and ceased not to flee and return to the attack and wheel hither and thither, till the breasts of the bystanders were straitened (for anxiety) and they were weary of waiting for the event. at last, zoulmekan cried out and rushing upon herdoub, king of caesarea, dealt him such a blow that he shore his head from his body and made an end of him. when the infidels saw this, they all rushed at zoulmekan, who met them in mid-field, and they fell to cutting and thrusting, till the blood ran in streams. then the muslims cried out, "god is most great;" and "there is no god but god;" and invoked blessings on the giver of good tidings, the admonisher of mankind,[fn# ] and there befell a great battle. but god sent help to the faithful and confusion to the infidels. the vizier dendan shouted, "avenge king omar ben ennuman and his son sherkan!" and baring his head, cried out to the turks. now there were beside him more than twenty thousand horse, who all charged with him as one man, and the unbelievers found nothing for it but flight. so they turned their backs to flee, whilst the keen sabres wrought havoc amongst them and the muslims slew of them that day more than fifty thousand cavaliers and took more than that: and much people also were slain at the going in of the gates by reason of the greatness of the crowd, whilst the christians mounted the walls, fearing an assault. then the muslims returned to their tents, fortified and victorious, and king zoulmekan went in to his brother, whom he found in the most joyous case. so he returned thanks to the bountiful, the exalted one and gave sherkan joy of his deliverance. "verily," answered he, "we are all under the benediction of this holy and god-fearing man, nor would you have been victorious, but for his effectual prayers; for all day he hath never ceased to invoke victory on the muslims. i found strength return to me, when i heard you cry, 'god is most great!' for then i knew you had gotten the better of your enemies. but now tell me, o my brother, what befell thee." so he told him all that had passed, how he had slain the accursed herdoub and he had gone to the malediction of god; and sherkan praised his prowess. when dhat ed dewahi heard tell of her son's death, the blood fled from her face and her eyes ran over with streaming tears; however, she kept her counsel and feigned to the muslims that she was glad and wept for excess of joy: but she said in herself, "by the virtue of the messiah, there remains no profit of my life, if i make not his heart bleed for his brother sherkan, even as he has made mine bleed for king herdoub, the mainstay of the christian faith and the hosts of the cross!" the vizier dendan and zoulmekan and the chamberlain abode with sherkan, till they had dressed his wound and anointed it; after which they gave him medicines and he began to recover his strength; whereat they were exceeding glad and told the troops, who rejoiced greatly, saying, "to-morrow he will ride with us and take part in the siege." then said sherkan to them, "you have fought all day and are weary, and it behoves that you return to your tents and sleep and not watch." so they went away all to their tents and there remained none with sherkan but dhat ed dewahi and a few servants. he talked with her awhile, then lay down to rest, he and his servants, and soon sleep overcame them all and they were as dead men. but the old woman abode awake and looking at sherkan, saw that he was drowned in sleep. so she sprang to her feet, as she were a bald she-bear or a speckled snake, and drew from her girdle a poisoned knife, that would have melted a rock if laid thereon; then going up to sherkan, she drew the knife across his throat and cut off his head. after this, she went up to the sleeping servants and cut off their heads also, lest they should awake. then she left the tent and made for the sultan's pavilion, but finding the guards awake, turned to that of the vizier. he was reading the koran and seeing her, said, "welcome, o holy man!" when she heard this, her heart trembled and she said, "the reason of my coming hither at this time is that i heard the voice of a friend of god and am going to him." then she went away, but the vizier said to himself, "by allah, i will follow the holy man to-night!" so he rose and went after her: but the accursed old woman heard his footsteps and knew that he was following her: wherefore she feared discovery and said in herself, "except i put him off with some trick, he will discover me." so she turned and said to him from afar, "harkye, vizier, i am going after this saint, that i may know who he is; and after i will ask his leave for thee to join him. then i will come back and tell thee; for i fear to let thee accompany me, without his leave, lest he take umbrage at seeing thee with me." when the vizier heard this, he was abashed and knew not what to answer; so he left her and returning to his tent, would have slept; but sleep was not favourable to him and the world was straitened upon him. so he rose and went out, saying in himself, "i will go talk with sherkan till the morning." but when he came to sherkan's tent, he found the blood running like a rivulet and saw the servants lying dead. at this he gave a cry that aroused all who were asleep, and they hastened to him and seeing the blood streaming, set up a clamour of weeping and lamentation. the noise awoke the sultan, who enquired what was the matter, and they said to him, "sherkan and his servants are murdered." so he rose in haste and entering the tent, saw his brother's headless trunk and the vizier by it shrieking aloud. at this sight, he swooned away and all the troops stood round him, weeping and crying aloud, till he came to himself, when he looked at sherkan and wept sore, whilst all who were present did the like. then said zoulmekan, "know ye who did this, and how is it i see not the recluse, him who hath put away the things of the world?" quoth the vizier, "and who should have been the cause of this our affliction, save that devotee of satan? by allah, my heart shrank from him from the first, because i know that all who profess to be absorbed in the things of the faith are corrupt and treacherous!" and he told the king how he would have followed the devotee, but he forbade him; whereupon the folk broke out into weeping and lamentation and besought him who is ever near at hand, him who answereth prayer, to cause the false recluse, who denied his evidences, to fall into their hands. then they laid sherkan out and buried him in the mountain aforesaid, mourning over his renowned virtues, after which they looked for the opening of the city-gate; but it opened not and none appeared to them on the walls; whereat they wondered exceedingly, and king zoulmekan said, "by allah, i will not turn back from them, though i tarry here years and years, till i take my wreak of my brother sherkan and lay constantinople in ruins and slay the king of the nazarenes, even if death overcome me and i be at rest from this sorry world!" then he brought out the treasure he had taken from the hermitage of metrouhena and mustering the troops, divided it amongst them, nor was there one of them but he gave him what contented him. moreover, he called together three hundred horse of every division and said to them, "do ye send succours to your family, for i am resolved to camp here, till i have taken my revenge for my brother sherkan, even if i die in this place." then he summoned couriers and gave them letters and charged them to do the soldiers' errands to their families and let them know that they were safe and in good heart, but that they were encamped before constantinople, resolved either to destroy it or perish, and that, though they should abide there months and years, they would not depart thence till they had taken the city. moreover, he bade dendan write to his sister nuzhet ez zeman, acquainting her with what had befallen them and with their situation and commending his child to her care, since that, when he went out to war, his wife was near her delivery and must needs by that time have been brought to bed; and if she had given birth to a son, he charged the messengers to hasten their return and bring him the news. then he gave them money and they set out at once, and all the people came out to take leave of them and entrust them with the money and the messages they wished to send to their families. after they had departed, zoulmekan turned to the vizier and commanded him to push forward with the army against the city walls. so the troops advanced, but found none on the walls, whereat they marvelled and zoulmekan was troubled. to return to dhat ed dewahi. as soon as she had slain sherkan, she hastened to the walls of constantinople and called out in the greek tongue to the guards, to throw her down a rope. quoth they, "who art thou?" and she said, "i am the princess dhat ed dewahi." they knew her and threw her down a rope, to which she tied herself, and they drew her up into the city. then she went in to king afridoun and said to him, "what is this i hear from the muslims? they say that my son king herdoub is slain." he answered, "it is true;" and when she heard this, she shrieked out and wept so grievously, that she made afridoun and all who were present weep also. then she told the king how she had slain sherkan and thirty of his servants, whereat he rejoiced and thanked her and kissed her hands and exhorted her to resignation for the loss of her son. "by the messiah," said she, "i will not rest content with killing one of the muslim dogs in revenge for my son, a king of the kings of the age! but i will assuredly make shift to kill the sultan zoulmekan and the vizier dendan and the chamberlain and rustem and behram and ten thousand cavaliers of the army of islam to boot; for it shall never be that my son's head be paid with the blood-wit of sherkan's head only." then said she to afridoun, "it is my wish that mourning be made for my son herdoub and that the girdle be cut and the crosses broken." "do what thou wilt," replied afridoun; "i will not gainsay thee in aught. and if thou prolong thy mourning, it were a little thing; for though the muslims beleaguer us years and years, they will never compass their will of us nor get aught of us but trouble and weariness." then she took ink-horn and paper and wrote the following letter: "shewaha dhat ed dewahi to the host of the muslims. know that i entered your country and duped your nobles and slew your king omar ben ennuman in the midst of his palace. moreover, i slew, in the battle of the mountain pass and of the grotto, many of your men, and the last i killed were sherkan and his servants. and if fortune favour me and satan obey me, i will assuredly kill your sultan and the vizier dendan, for i am she who came to you in the disguise of a recluse and ye were the dupes of my tricks and devices. wherefore, if you be minded to be in safety, depart at once; and if you covet your own destruction, abide where you are; for though ye abide here years and years, ye shall not come by your desire of us; and so peace be on you." then she devoted three days to mourning for her son king herdoub, and on the fourth day, she called a knight and bade him make the letter fast to an arrow and shoot it into the muslim camp; after which she entered the church and gave herself up to weeping and lamentation for the loss of her son, saying to him who took the kingship after him, "nothing will serve me but i must kill zoulmekan and all the princes of islam." meanwhile, the muslims passed three days in concern and anxiety, and on the fourth day, they saw a knight on the wall, holding a bow and about to shoot an arrow to which was fastened a letter. so they waited till he had shot, and the king bade the vizier dendan take the letter and read it. he did so, and when zoulmekan heard its purport, his eyes filled with tears and he shrieked for anguish at the old woman's perfidy, and dendan said, "by allah, my heart shrank from her!" "how could this traitress impose upon us twice?" exclaimed zoulmekan. "by allah, i will not depart hence till i fill her kaze with molten lead and set her in a cage, as men do birds, then bind her with her hair and crucify her at the gate of constantinople." then he addressed himself again to the leaguer of the city, promising his men that, if it should be taken, he would divide its treasures equally among them. after this, he bethought him of his brother and wept sore; and his tears ceased not to flow, till his body was wasted with grief, as it were a bodkin. but the vizier dendan came in to him and said, "take comfort and be consoled; thy brother died not but because his hour was come, and there is no profit in this mourning. how well says the poet: that which is not to be shall by no means be brought to pass, and that which is to be shall come, unsought, even at the time ordained: but he that knoweth not the truth is still deceived and finds his hopes grown nought. wherefore do thou leave this weeping and lamentation and strengthen thy heart to bear arms." "o vizier," replied zoulmekan, "my heart is heavy for the death of my brother and father and our absence from our native land, and my mind is concerned for my subjects." thereupon the vizier and the bystanders wept; but they ceased not from the leaguer of constantinople, till, after awhile, news arrived from baghdad, by one of the amirs, that the sultan's wife had given birth to a son and that the princess nuzhet ez zeman had named him kanmakan. moreover, his sister wrote to him that the boy bid fair to be a prodigy and that she had commanded the priests and preachers to pray for them from the pulpits; also, that they were all well and had been blessed with abundant rains and that his comrade the stoker was in the enjoyment of all prosperity, with slaves and servants to attend upon him; but that he was still ignorant of what had befallen him. zoulmekan rejoiced greatly at this news and said to the vizier dendan, "now is my hope fulfilled and my back strengthened, in that i have been vouchsafed a son. wherefore i am minded to leave mourning and let make recitations of the koran over my brother's tomb and do almsdeeds on his account." quoth the vizier, "it is well." then he caused tents to be pitched over his brother's tomb and they gathered together such of the troops as could repeat the koran. some fell to reciting the koran, whilst others chanted the litanies of the praise of god, and thus they did till the morning, when zoulmekan went up to the tomb of his brother sherkan and shedding copious tears, repeated the following verses: they bore him forth, whilst all who went behind him wept and cried such cries as moses gave, when god broke down the mountain side, till to a tomb they came, whose grave seemed dug in all men's hearts by whom the unity of god is held and glorified. i had not thought, or ere they bore thee forth upon the bier, to see my joy upon the hands of men uplifted ride; nor, till they laid thee in the grave, could i have ever deemed that stars could leave their place in heaven and in the dark earth hide. is the indweller of the tomb the hostage of a pit, in which, for that his face is there, splendour and light abide? lo, praise has ta'en upon itself to bring him back to life; now that his body's hid, his fame's shown forth and magnified. when he had made an end of reciting these verses, he wept and all the troops wept with him; then he threw himself on the tomb, wild with grief, and the vizier repeated the words of the poet: that which fleets past thou hast left and won what endureth for aye, and even as thou are the folk, that were and have passed away; and yet it was not of thy will that thou quittedst this house of the world; for here hadst thou joy and delight of all that befell in thy day. how oft hast thou proven thyself a succour and shield from the foe, when the arrows and javelins of war flew thick in the midst of the fray! i see that this world's but a cheat and a vanity after all, and ever to seek out the truth all creatures desire and essay! the lord of the empyrean vouchsafe thee in heaven to dwell and the guide assign thee therein a goodly sojourn, i pray! i bid thee adieu with a sigh and i see, for the loss of thee, the east and the west o'ershadowed with mourning and dismay. when the vizier had finished, he wept sore, and the tears fell from his eyes, like a network of pearls. then came forward one of sherkan's boon-companions, weeping till his eyes resembled rivers, and recalled the dead man's noble qualities, reciting the following cinquains: where be thy giving, alas! and the hand of thy bounty fled? they lie in the earth, and my body is wasted for drearihead. o guide of the camel-litters,[fn# ] (may god still gladden thy stead!) my tears on my cheeks have written, in characters of red, that which would both rejoice thee and fill thee with pain and dread! by allah, 'twixt me and my heart, not a word of thee is said nor doth the thought of thy grace and thy glory pass through my head, but that mine eyes are wounded by dint of the tears i shed! yea, if to rest on another my glance be ever led, may my lids be drawn in slumber by longing for the dead! then zoulmekan and dendan wept sore and the whole army lamented aloud; after which they all withdrew to their tents, and zoulmekan turned to dendan and took counsel with him concerning the conduct of the war. on this wise they passed days and nights, what while zoulmekan was weighed down with grief and concern, till at last he said to the vizier, "i have a mind to hear stories of adventures and chronicles of kings and tales of folk oppressed of love, so haply god may make this to solace the heavy anxiety that is on my heart and do away from me weeping and lamentation." "o king," replied dendan, "if nought but hearing pleasant tales of bygone kings and peoples and stories of folk oppressed of love and so forth can dispel thy trouble, the thing is easy, for i had no other business, in the lifetime of thy late father, than to tell him stories and repeat verses to him; so, this very night, i will tell thee a story of a lover and his beloved, which shall lighten thy heart." when zoulmekan heard this, his heart yearned after that which the vizier promised him and he did nothing but watch for the coming of the night, that he might hear what he had to tell. so, no sooner had the night closed in, than he bade light the lamps and the candles and bring all that was needful of meat and drink and perfumes and what not and sending for dendan, rustem, behram, terkash and the grand chamberlain, turned to the vizier and said, "o vizier, behold, the night is come and hath let down its veils over us, and we desire that thou tell us that which thou didst promise us." "with all my heart," replied the vizier "know, o august king, that i have heard tell a story of a lover and a loved one and of the discourse between them and of the rare and pleasant things that befell them, a story such as does away care from the heart and dispels sorrow like unto that of the patriarch jacob: and it is as follows: story of taj el mulouk and the princess dunya. there stood once, behind the mountains of ispahan, a town called the green city, in which dwelt a king named suleiman shah, a man of virtue and beneficence, just, generous and loyal, to whom travellers resorted from all parts, for his renown was noised abroad in all cities and countries; and he reigned over the country for many years, in all honour and prosperity, save that he had neither wife nor child. now he had a vizier who was akin to him in goodness and generosity, and one day, he sent for him and said to him, 'o my vizier, my heart is heavy and my patience at end and my strength fails me, for that i have neither wife nor child. this is not of the fashion of kings that rule over all, princes and beggars; for they rejoice in leaving behind them children, who shall succeed them and by whom both their number and strength are multiplied. quoth the prophet (whom god bless and preserve), "marry and engender and multiply, that i may boast myself of you over the peoples on the day of resurrection." so what is thy counsel, o vizier? advise me what is fitting to be done.' when the vizier heard this, the tears streamed from his eyes and he replied, 'god forbid, o king of the age, that i should speak on that which is of the pertinence of the compassionate one! wilt thou have me cast into the fire by the wrath of the all-powerful king? buy a concubine.' 'know, o vizier,' rejoined the king, 'that when a prince buys a female slave, he knows neither her condition nor her lineage and thus cannot tell if she be of mean extraction, that he may abstain from her, or of gentle blood, that he may be intimate with her. so if he have commerce with her, belike she will conceive by him and her son be a hypocrite, a tyrant and a shedder of blood. indeed such a woman may be likened to a salt soil, which, if one till it, yields only worthless crops; for it may be the son in question will be obnoxious to the wrath of his lord, doing not that which he commandeth him neither abstaining from that which he forbiddeth him. wherefore i will never risk being the cause of this, through the purchase of a concubine; and it is my will, therefore, that thou demand for me in marriage the daughter of some one of the kings, whose lineage is known and whose beauty is renowned. if thou canst direct me to some king's daughter of the muslims, who is a woman of good birth and piety, i will seek her hand and marry her before witnesses, that the favour of the lord of all creatures may accrue to me thereby.' 'o king,' said the vizier, 'god hath fulfilled thy need and hath brought thee to thy desire; for it hath come to my knowledge that king zehr shah, lord of the white country, hath a daughter of surpassing beauty, whom report fails to describe; she hath not her equal in this age, being perfect in beauty and symmetry, with melting black eyes and long hair, slender-waisted and heavy-hipped. when she draws nigh, she seduces, and when she turns her back, she slays, ravishing heart and sight, even as says of her the poet: a slender one, her shape confounds the branch of the cassia tree; nor sun nor moon can with her face for brightness evened be. meseems, the water of her mouth is honey blent with wine; ay, and her teeth are finer pearls than any in the sea. the purest white and deepest black meet in her glittering glance and shapelier than the black-eyed maids of paradise is she. how many a man her eyes have slain, who perished in despair; the love of her's a way wherein are fear and misery. if i would live, behold, she's death! i may not think of her, lest i should die; for, lacking her, life's nothing worth to me. so it is my counsel, o king, that thou despatch to her father a sagacious and experienced ambassador, versed in the conduct of affairs, who shall with courteous and persuasive speech demand her in marriage for thee; for she hath not her equal in the world, far or near. so shalt thou enjoy her beauty in the way of right and the lord of glory be content with thee; for it is reported of the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) that he said, "there is no monkery in islam." at this the king was transported to the perfection of delight; his heart was lightened and his breast dilated and care and anxiety ceased from him; and he said to the vizier, 'none shall go about this business but thou, by reason of thy consummate wit and good breeding; wherefore do thou make ready by the morrow and depart and demand me this girl in marriage, with whom thou hast made my heart to be engrossed; nor do thou return to me but with her.' 'i hear and obey,' replied the vizier, and withdrawing to his own house, made ready a present such as befits kings, of jewels and other precious things, light of carriage but heavy of worth, besides arabian horses and coats of mail, fine-wrought as those which david made,[fn# ] and chests of treasure, such as speech &fails to describe. these all he loaded upon camels and mules and set out, with flags and banners flying before him and attended by a hundred white slaves and the like number of black and a hundred slave-girls. the king charged him to return to him speedily; so he set out, leaving suleiman shah on coals of fire, engrossed night and day with desire for the princess, and fared on, without ceasing, night and day, across plains and deserts, till there remained but a day's journey between him and the city to which he was bound. here he halted on the banks of a river, and calling one of his chief officers, bade him hasten forward to king zehr shah and announce his approach. accordingly, the messenger rode on in haste to the city and was about to enter it, when the king, who chanced to be seated in one of his pleasaunces before the gate, espied him and knowing him for a stranger, bade bring him before him. so when the messenger came into his presence, he informed him of the approach of the vizier of the mighty king suleiman shah, lord of the green country and of the mountains of ispahan; whereat king zehr shah rejoiced and bade him welcome. then he carried him to his palace and said to him, 'where didst thou leave the vizier?' 'i left him,' replied the messenger, 'at the first of the day, on the banks of such a river, and he will be with thee to-morrow, may god continue his favours to thee and have mercy upon thy parents!' whereupon the king commanded one of his viziers to take the better part of his nobles and chamberlains and officers and grandees and go out to meet the ambassador, in honour of king suleiman shah, for that his dominion extended over the country. meanwhile, king suleiman's vizier abode in his stead, till the night was half spent, when he set out for the city; but hardly had the day appeared and the sun risen upon the hills and plains, when he saw king zehr shah's vizier approaching with his retinue and the two parties joined company at some parasangs' distance from the city. at this the vizier made sure of the success of his errand and saluted the new-comers, who escorted him to the king's palace and forewent him to the seventh vestibule, where none might enter on horseback, for it was near the presence chamber of the king. so the vizier alighted and walked on till he came to a lofty hall, at the upper end whereof stood a couch of alabaster, set with pearls end jewels and having four elephants' tusks for feet. it was covered with a mattress of green satin, embroidered with red gold, and surmounted by a canopy adorned with pearls and jewels, and on it sat king zehr shah, whilst his officers of state stood in attendance on him. when the vizier stood before him, he composed himself and loosing his tongue, displayed such skill of speech as befits viziers and saluted the king in eloquent and complimentary language, reciting the following verses in his honour: he cometh, bending gracefully in his robes and shedding dew of bounty over the thirsting land and the folk to him that sue. indeed, he charmeth; nor amulets nor spells nor magic may avail to ward off the faithful glance of those his eyes from you. say to the censurers, "blame me not: whilst life abide in me, i'll never swerve from the love of him nor turn to love anew." lo, slumber surely is tired of me and fallen in love with him, and even my heart hath played me false and but to him is true! o heart, thou art not the only one that loves and tenders him, so get thee gone and bide with him and leave me here to rue! except the praise of the king zehr shah it be that folk acclaim, there's nought rejoices mine ears, in sooth, to hearken thereunto. a king, the sight of whose glorious face would well thy pains repay; though thou shouldst lavish thy heart's best blood, so great a grace to woo. if thou be minded to offer up a pious prayer for him, thou'lt find but true believer, and sharers the whole world through. o folk of this realm, if any forswear his governance and look for another, i hold him none of the faithful few when the vizier had made an end of his speech, the king bade him draw near and showed him the utmost honour then seating him by his own side, he smiled in his face and made him a gracious reply. they conversed till the time of the morning-meal, when the attendants brought in the tables of food and they all ate till they were satisfied, after which the tables were removed and all who were present withdrew, with the exception of the chief officers; which when the vizier saw, he rose to his feet, and after complimenting the king a second time and kissing the earth before him, spoke as follows: 'o mighty king and august prince, i have travelled hither and am come to thee upon an errand, wherein is profit and good and prosperity for thee; and it is that i come as ambassador to thee, seeking the hand of thy noble and illustrious daughter, from the most just, loyal and excellent king suleiman shah, lord of the green country and of the mountains of ispahan, who sends thee many and rare presents and gifts of price, ardently desiring thine alliance. art thou, then, minded to him as he to thee?' and he was silent, awaiting a reply. when the king heard his words he sprang to his feet and kissed the earth respectfully before the vizier, to the amazement of the bystanders, whose minds were confounded at his condescension to the ambassador. then he praised him who is the lord of glory and honour and replied, still standing, 'o mighty vizier and illustrious lord, hear what i say. verily we are of the subjects of king suleiman shah and are ennobled by his alliance and aspire ardently thereto. my daughter is one of his handmaids, and it is my dearest wish that he may become my stay and my support in time of need.' then he summoned the cadis and the witnesses, who took act that king suleiman had deputed his vizier his proxy to conclude the marriage, and king zehr shah joyfully consented on behalf of his daughter. so the cadis drew up the marriage contract and offered up prayers for the happiness and prosperity of the contracting parties; after which the vizier arose and fetching the gifts and rarities and precious things that he had brought with him, laid them all before the king, who betook himself to the equipment of his daughter, honourably entreating the vizier and feasting great and small; and they held high festival for two months, omitting nought that could gladden heart and eye. when all was ready that was needful for the bride, the king caused the tents to be pitched without the city and they packed the bride's clothes and jewels in chests and loaded them on mules and camels. now he had provided his daughter with greek handmaids and turkish slave-girls and great store of jewels and precious things, and had let make for her a litter of red gold inlaid with pearls and jewels, which within was as one of the chambers of a palace and without as one of the pavilions of paradise, whilst its mistress seemed as she were of the lovely hours. moreover, he furnished her also with twenty mules for the journey and brought her three parasangs forward on her road, after which he bade her and the vizier farewell and returned to his own city in peace and gladness. meanwhile, the vizier and his company fared on by forced marches, traversing plains and deserts and staying not day or night, till they came within three days' journey of king suleiman's capital, when the vizier despatched a messenger to acquaint the king with their arrival. the messenger hastened forward till he reached the king's presence and announced to him the coming of the bride, whereat he rejoiced and bestowed on him a dress of honour. then he bade his troops don their richest apparel and sally forth in grand procession, with banners flying, to meet the princess and her company and do them honour, and let cry throughout the city that neither cloistered damsel nor honoured lady nor infirm old woman should fail to go forth to meet the bride. so they all went out to meet her and the chiefest of them vied in doing her service, meaning to bring her to the king's palace by night. moreover, the grandees agreed to decorate the road and stand on either side, whilst the bride should pass by, clad in the robes her father had given her and preceded by her eunuchs and serving-women. so at the appointed time, she made her appearance, surrounded by the troops, these on her right hand and those on her left, and the litter ceased not going with her, till they drew near the palace; nor was there any one but came forth to gaze upon the show. the drums beat and the lances were brandished, the trumpets blared and the banners fluttered and the horses pranced, whilst fragrant odours breathed around, till they reached the gate of the palace and the pages entered with the litter through the private gate. the place shone with its splendours and the walls glittered for the lustre of its ornaments. when the night came, the eunuchs threw open the doors of the bride-chamber and stood on either hand; whereupon the bride entered, among her damsels, like the moon among stars or a pearl of matchless beauty in a string of lesser pearls, and seated herself upon a couch of alabaster inlaid with pearls and jewels, that had been set for her there. then came the king in to her and god filled his heart with love of her; so he did away her maidenhead, and his trouble and disquiet ceased from him. she conceived by him the first night, and he abode with her well-nigh a month, at the end of which time he went forth and seating himself on his throne of state, dispensed justice to his subjects, till the months of her pregnancy were accomplished. towards daybreak on the last night of the ninth month, the queen was seized with the pangs of labour; so she sat down on the stool of delivery and god made the travail easy to her, so that she gave birth to a male child, on whom appeared the signs of happy fortune. when the king heard of this, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and rewarded the bearer of the good tidings with much treasure. then, of his gladness, he went in to the child and kissed him between the eyes, wondering at his brilliant beauty; for in him was the saying of the poet made truth: god hath a lion given in him unto the forts of fame and in the heaven of high estate hath set another star. lo, at his birth, the spears shake all and all the wild deer start and all the chieftains of the folk and all the men of war! so mount him not upon the breasts, for he shall surely deem that horses' backs for such as he the softer sitting are; and wean ye him from sucking milk, for he eftsoon shall find the blood of foemen in the field the sweeter drink by far. the midwives took the new-born child and cut the cord of his navel, after which they anointed his eyes with kohl and named him taj el mulouk kharan. he was suckled at the breast of delight and reared in the lap of favouring fortune, and the days ran on and the years passed by, till he reached the age of seven. then the king his father summoned the doctors and learned men and bade them teach his son writing and science and polite letters. this they did for some years, till he had learnt all that was needful, when the king took him out of the professors' hands and committed him to a master, who taught him horsemanship and the use of arms, till the boy attained the age of fourteen and became proficient in martial exercises. moreover, he outshone all the people of his time for the excess of his beauty; so that, whenever he went abroad on any occasion, all who saw him were ravished with him and made verses in his honour, and even the virtuous were seduced by his brilliant loveliness. quoth the poet of him: a tender branch, that from the breeze hath ta'en its nourishment! i clipped him and straightway became drunk with his sweetest scent; not drunken with the drunkenness of one who drinketh wine, but with the honey of his mouth fulfilled of languishment. all loveliness comprised is within his perfect form, so that o'er all the hearts of men he reigns omnipotent. by god, forgetfulness of him shall never cross my mind. what while i wear the chains of life, nor even when they're rent! lo, if i live, in love of him i'll live; and, if i die of love-longing for him, i'll say, "o rare! o excellent!" when he reached his eighteenth year, the tender down began to invade the table of his rosy cheeks, which were adorned by a black mole like a grain of ambergris, and he captivated the minds and eyes of all who looked on him, even as says of him the poet in the following verses: he is become the khalif of beauty in joseph's place; the hearts of all lovers dread him, whenas they see his grace. pause thou with me and fasten thy gaze on him! thou'lt see the sign of the khalifate set in sable[fn# ] on his face. and as says another: thine eyes have never looked upon a fairer sight, of all the things that are to see beneath the sky, than yonder mole of brown, that nestles on his face, midmost the rosy cheek, beneath the coal-black eye. and a third: i marvel at yon mole that serves the fire eternal, upon his cheek, yet is not burned, all kafir[fn# ] though it be; and eke i marvel that he's sent or god, with every glance to work true miracles; and yet a sorcerer is he! the many gall-bladders that burst for him it is that make the shining fringes of his cheek so black and bright to see. and yet a fourth: i wonder to hear the folk ask of the water of life and question in which of the lands its magical fountain flows whenas i see it well from the damask lips of a fawn, under his tender moustache and his cheek's perennial rose. and eke 'tis a wonder of wonders that moses,[fn# ] finding it there flowing, yet took no patience nor laid him down to repose. when he came to man's estate, his beauty increased and he had many comrades and friends; and every one who drew near to him hoped that he would become sultan after his father's death and that he himself might be one of his officers. he had a passion for hunting and would hardly leave the chase a single hour. his father would have restrained him, fearing for him the perils of the desert: and the wild beasts; but he paid no heed to him. one day, he bade his attendants take ten days' provender and setting out for the chase, rode on into the desert four days long, at the end of which time he came to a verdant champaign, full of wild beasts pasturing and trees laden with ripe fruit and springs welling forth. then he said to his followers, 'set up the nets in a wide circle and let our general rendezvous be at the mouth of the ring, in such a spot.' so they staked out a wide circle with the nets; and there gathered together a multitude of all kinds of wild beasts and gazelles, which cried out for fear of them and threw themselves in terror right in the face of the horses. then they loosed the dogs and sakers and hunting lynxes on them and smote them with arrows in the vitals; so, by the time they came to the closed end of the ring of nets, they took a great number of the wild beasts, and the rest fled. then the prince sat down by the water-side and letting spread the game before himself, apportioned it among his men, after he had set apart the choicest thereof for his father king suleiman and despatched it to him; and other part he divided among the officers of his court. he passed the night in that place, and when it was morning, there came up a caravan of merchants, with their slaves and servants, and halted by the water and the verdure. when taj el mulouk saw this, he said to one of his companions, 'go, bring me news of yonder folk and ask them why they have halted here.' so the man went up to them and said, 'tell me who ye are, and answer quickly.' 'we are merchants,' replied they, 'and have halted here to rest, for that the next station is distant and we have confidence in king suleiman shah and his son taj el mulouk, knowing that all who alight in their dominions are in peace and safety; and we have with us precious stuffs, that we have brought for the prince.' the messenger returned with this news to the prince, who said, i will not depart hence till i see what they have brought for me. then he mounted and rode to the caravan, followed by his servants. the merchants rose to receive him and invoked on him the aid and favour of god, with continuance of glory and virtues; after which they pitched him a pavilion of red satin, emblazoned with pearls and jewels, in which they spread him a royal divan, upon a silken carpet embroidered at the upper end with emeralds. the prince seated himself on the divan, whilst his servants stood in attendance upon him, and bade the merchants bring out all that they had with them. accordingly, they produced all their merchandise, and he viewed it and took of it what liked him, paying them the price. then he remounted and was about to ride onward, when his eyes fell on a handsome young man, well dressed and elegantly made, with flower-white forehead and face brilliant as the moon, save that his beauty was wasted and that pallor had invaded his cheeks by reason of separation from those he loved: sighing and lamentation were grievous upon him and the tears streamed from his eyelids, as he repeated the following verses: absence is long and care and fear are heavy on my soul, whilst from mine eyes the tears, o friend, without cessation roll. alas, i left my heart behind upon the parting day, and now sans heart, sans hope, abide all lonely in my dole. pause with me, o my friend, what while i take my leave of one by whose sweet speech diseases all and sorrows are made whole. having said this, he wept awhile and fell down in a swoon, whilst taj el mulouk looked at him wonderingly then coming to himself, he stared fixedly before him, with distracted air, and repeated these other verses: i rede thee beware of her glance, for, lo, 'tis a wizard, i ween! none 'scapeth unscathed of the shafts of her eyes, that has gazed on their sheen. for, trust me, black eyes, that are armed with the grace of a languorous look, are swifter and sharper to wound than scimitars, tempered and keen. and let not thy mind be beguiled by the sweet and the soft of her words; for the fever that springs from her speech o'ermasters the senses, demesne. soft-sided, were silk but to press on her skin, it would cause it to bleed, so delicate-bodied she is and so nesh, as forsooth thou hast seen. right chary she is of the charms 'twixt her neck and her anklets that lie, and what is the sweetest of scents to the fragrance that breathes from my queen! then he gave a sob and swooned away a second time. when taj el mulouk saw him thus, he was perplexed about his case and went up to him. so when he came to himself and saw the prince standing by him, he sprang to his feet and kissed the earth before him; and taj el mulouk said to him, 'why didst thou not show us thy merchandise?' 'o my lord,' answered the young merchant, 'there is nought among my stock worthy of thine august highness.' 'it matters not,' said the prince, 'thou must show me what thou hast and acquaint me with thy case; for i see thee weeping-eyed and mournful-hearted. if thou hast been wronged, we will do away thine oppression, and if thou be in debt, we will discharge thy debt; for my heart aches for thee, since i first set eyes on thee.' then he called for seats and they set him a chair of ebony and ivory, netted with gold and silk, and spread him a silken carpet. so he sat down on the chair and bidding the young merchant seat himself on the carpet, again commanded him to show him his merchandise. 'o my lord,' said he, 'do not name this to me; for i have nought worthy of thee.' 'i will have it so,' rejoined taj el mulouk and bade some of the servants fetch the goods. so they brought them in spite of the merchant; and when he saw this, the tears streamed from his eyes and he wept and sighed and lamented; sobs rose from his bosom and he repeated the following verses: by the witching amorous sweetness and the blackness of thine eyes, by the tender flexile softness in thy slender waist that lies, by the graces and the languor of thy body and thy shape, by the fount of wine and honey from thy coral lips that rise, o my hope, to see thine image in my dreams were sweeter far than were safety to the fearful, languishing in woful wise! then he opened his bales and displayed their contents to taj el mulouk, piece by piece, till he came to a mantle of satin brocaded with gold, worth two thousand dinars from which, when he opened it, there fell a piece of linen. as soon as he saw this, he caught up the piece of linen in haste and hid it under his thigh; and indeed he seemed as though he had lost his reason, and he repeated the following verses: when shall my sad tormented heart be healed, alas, of thee? the pleiades were nearer far than is thy grace to me. distance estrangement, longing pain and fire of love laid waste, procrastination and delay, in these my life doth flee. for no attainment bids me live nor exile slays me quite, travel no nigher doth me bring, nor wilt thou nearer be. there is no justice to be had of thee nor any ruth in thee; no winning to thy grace and yet no breaking free. alack, for love of thee, the ways are straitened all on me; so that i know not where i go nor any issue see! the prince wondered greatly at his behaviour, and said to him, 'what is that piece of linen?' 'o my lord,' replied the merchant, 'thou hast no concern with it.' 'show it me,' said the prince; and the merchant answered, 'o my lord, it was on account of this piece of linen that i refused to show thee my goods; for i cannot let thee look on it.' but taj el mulouk rejoined, 'i must and will see it;' and insisted and became angry. so he drew it out from under his thigh, weeping and lamenting and redoubling his sighs and groans, and repeated the following verses: blame ye the lover not, for blame but irketh him to hear; indeed, i spoke him truth, but he to me would lend no ear. god have her in his care, my moon that rises far away, down in the valley, midst the camp, from out the collars' sphere![fn# ] i left her; would to god my love had left me peace of life! so had i never parted been from her that held me dear. o how she pleaded for my sake upon our parting day, what while adown her cheeks and mine tear followed upon tear! may god belie me not! the wede of my excuse from me was all to rent for loss of her; but i will mend my cheer. no bed is easy to my side, nor is her resting-place ayemore reposeful unto her, now i'm no longer near. for fate with an ill-omened hand hath wrought upon our loves and hindered me from my delight and her from hers, yfere. indeed, what time it filled the cup, whereof she drank what i e'en made her drink, it poured us out grief, all unmixed and sheer. quoth taj el mulouk, 'thy conduct perplexes me; tell me why thou weepest at the sight of this piece of linen.' when the young merchant heard speak of the piece of linen, he sighed and answered, 'o my lord, my story is a strange and eventful one, with regard to this piece of linen and her from whom i had it and her who wrought the figures and emblems that be thereon.' so saying, he unfolded the piece of linen, and behold, thereon were the figures of two gazelles, facing one another, one wrought in silk and gold and the other in silver with a ring of red gold and three bugles of chrysolite about its neck. when taj el mulouk saw the figures and the beauty of their fashion, he exclaimed, 'glory be to god who teacheth man that which he knoweth not!' and his heart was filled with longing to hear the merchant's story; so he said to him, 'tell me thy story with her who gave thee these gazelles.' 'know, o my lord,' replied the young man, 'that story of aziz and azizeh. my father was one of the chief merchants (of my native town) and god had vouchsafed him no other child than myself; but i had a cousin, the daughter of my father's brother, who was brought up with me in our house; for her father was dead and before his death, he had agreed with my father that i should marry her. so when i reached man's estate and she became a woman, they did not separate us, and we ceased not to sleep on the same couch, knowing no evil, albeit she was more thoughtful, more intelligent and quicker-witted than i, till at last, my father spoke to my mother and said, "this very year we will draw up the contract of marriage between aziz and azizeh." so they agreed upon this, and he betook himself to preparing victual for the marriage festivities. when he had made an end of his preparations and there remained nought but to draw up the contract and consummate the marriage, he appointed the wedding for a certain friday, after the congregational prayers, and going round to his friends among the merchants and others, acquainted them with this, whilst my mother invited her female friends and kindred. when the day came, they cleaned the guest-chamber and washed the marble floor, then spread carpets about the house and set out thereon what was needful, after they had hung the walls with cloth of gold. now the folk had agreed to come to our house after the friday-prayers; so my father went and let make cates and dishes of sweetmeats, and there remained nothing to do but to draw up the contract. then my mother sent me to the bath and sent after me a suit of new clothes of the richest kind which i put on, when i came out. the clothes were perfumed, and as i went along, there exhaled from them a delicious fragrance, that scented the way. i was about to repair to the mosque, when i bethought me of one of my friends and was minded to go in quest of him that he might be present at the drawing up of the contract, saying in myself, "this will occupy me till near the time of prayer." so i turned back and came to a by-street, that i had never before entered. now i was in a profuse perspiration, from the effects of the bath and the new clothes on my body, and the sweat streamed from me, whilst the perfume of my clothes was wafted abroad: so i sat down to rest on a stone bench at the upper end of the street, spreading under me an embroidered handkerchief i had with me. the heat redoubled on me, so that my forehead sweated and the drops ran down on to my cheeks; but i could not wipe my face with my handkerchief, because i lay upon it. so i was about to take the skirt of my gaberdine and wipe my cheeks with it, when suddenly there fell on me from above a white handkerchief, softer to the feel than the zephyr and pleasanter to the sight than recovery to the sick. i seized on it and looking up to see whence it came, my eyes met those of the lady who gave me these gazelles. she was looking out of a wicket in a lattice of brass and never saw my eyes a fairer than she; my tongue fails to picture her beauty. when she saw me looking at her, she put her forefinger to her mouth, then joined her middle and index fingers and laid them on her bosom, between her breasts; after which she drew in her head and shut the wicket. with this, fire broke out and raged in my heart; the glance i had of her cost me a thousand sighs and i abode perplexed, having heard no word from her and understanding not the meaning of her signs. i looked again at the window, but found it shut and waited till sundown but heard no sound and saw no one. when i despaired of seeing her again, i rose and taking up the handkerchief, opened it, whereupon there exhaled from it a scent of musk, which caused me such ease that meseemed i was in paradise. then i spread it out before me and there dropped from it a little scroll of paper. i opened the scroll, which was scented with a delicious perfume, and found written therein the following verses: i sent my love a scroll, complaining of desire writ in a fine, small hand; for writings vary still. "why is thy writing thus," my lover said to me, "attenuate and small, uneath to read and ill?" quoth i, "because i too am wasted, ay, and thin. thus should their writing be, who weary at love's will." then, casting my eyes on the beauty of the handkerchief, i saw embroidered on one of its borders the following verses: the down of his whiskers writes (good luck to it for a scribe!) two lines, in the basil[fn# ] hand, on the table of his face. o the wilderment of the moon at him, when he appears! and o the shame of the branch at sight of his flexile grace! and on the opposite border were the following verses: the whiskers write upon his cheeks, with ambergris on pearl, two lines, as 'twere with jet upon an apple, line for line. death harbours in his languid eyes and slays with every glance; and in his cheeks is drunkenness, and not in any wine. when i read what was written on the handkerchief, the flames of love raged in my heart, and longing and trouble redoubled on me. so i took the handkerchief and the scroll and went home, knowing no means to compass my desire, for that i was inexperienced in love affairs and unskilled in the interpretation of the language of signs used therein. the night was far spent before i reached my house, and when i entered, i found my cousin sitting weeping. as soon as she saw me, she wiped away her tears and coming up to me, took off my (outer) clothes and asked me the reason of my absence, saying, "all the folk, amirs and notables and merchants and others, assembled here, and the cadi and the witnesses came also at the appointed time. they ate and sat awhile, awaiting thy coming for the drawing up of the contract, till they despaired of thee, when they dispersed and went their ways. and indeed," added she, "thy father was exceeding wroth, by reason of this, and swore that he would not celebrate our marriage till next year, for that he hath spent much money on this occasion. what hath befallen thee to make thee tarry till now?" "o my cousin," replied i, "do not ask me what hath befallen me." then i told her all that had passed and showed her the handkerchief and the scroll. she took them and read what was written therein; whereupon the tears ran down her cheeks and she repeated the following verses: who says to thee, the first of love is free, tell him, not so; but, on the contrary, 'tis all constraint, wherein no blame can be. history indeed attests this verity; it does not style the good coin falsified. say, if thou wilt, the taste of pain is sweet, or to be spurned by fortune's flying feet; of need or vengeance, fortune or defeat, with joy or dole it makes the heart to beat: 'twixt phrase and counterphrase i'm stupefied. but as for him whose happy days are light, fair maids, whose lips with smiles are ever bright, borne on the fragrant gales of their delight, who hath his will, unhindered of despite, 'tis not with him a craven heart may bide. then she asked me what she said and what signs she made to me. "she spoke not," answered i; "but put her index finger to her mouth, then joining it to her middle finger, laid them both on her bosom and pointed in the ground, after which she drew in her head and shut the wicket and i saw her no more. she took my heart with her and i sat till sundown, expecting her to appear again at the window; but she came not: so, when i despaired of her, i rose and went home. this is my story, and i beg thee to help me in this my affliction." with this, she raised her face to me and said, "o my cousin, if thou soughtest my eye, i would tear it from its socket for thee, and i cannot choose but help thee to thy desire and her also to hers; for she is passionately enamoured of thee, even as thou of her." "and what is the meaning of her signs?" asked i. "as for the putting her finger to her mouth," replied azizeh, "it meant that thou art to her as her soul to her body and that she would bite upon union with thee with her wisdom-teeth. the handkerchief is the token of greeting from lover to beloved and the scroll is a sign that her heart is bound up in thee. as for the laying her two fingers between her breasts, it is as if she said to thee, 'return hither after two days, that the sight of thy countenance may dispel my anguish.' for know, o my cousin, that she loves thee and trusts in thee. this is my reading of her signs, and could i come and go at will, i would quickly bring you and her together and cover you both with my skirt." i thanked her and said to myself, "i will wait two days." so i abode two days in the house, without going out, and ate not nor drank, but lay with my head in my cousin's lap, whilst she comforted me and bade me take heart and be of good cheer. when the two days were past, she said to me, "take courage and dress thyself and go to her, according to the tryst." then she rose and changed my clothes and perfumed me with incense. so i took heart and went out and walked on till i came to the by-street, where i sat down on the bench. after awhile, the wicket opened and i looked up and seeing the lady, fell down in a swoon. when i revived, i took courage to look again at her and again became insensible. then i came to myself and looking at her, saw that she had a mirror and a red handkerchief in her hand. when she saw me, she bared her forearms and smote her breast with her palm and five fingers; after which she raised her hands and holding the mirror forth of the wicket, took the red handkerchief and retired with it, but immediately returned and putting out her hand with the handkerchief, lowered it towards the ground and raised it again three several times. then she wrung it out and folded it in her hands, bowing her head the while; after which she drew in her head and shutting the window, went away, without saying a word, leaving me confounded and knowing not what she meant. i sat there till the evening and did not return home till near midnight, when i found my cousin sitting, weeping bitterly and repeating the following verses: ah me, what ails the censurer, that he at thee should flite? how shall i be consoled for thee, and thou a sapling slight? o thou, the splendour of whose sight has ta'en my heart by storm, whose supple bending grace compels to passion's utmost height,[fn# ] whose eyes, with turkish languor caught, work havoc in the breast and leave such wounds as ne'er were made by falchion in the fight! thou layst on me a heavy load of passion and desire, on me that am too weak to bear a shift upon me dight. ay, tears of blood i weep, for that my censors say to me, "a sudden sword, from out his lids thou lovest, shall thee smite." ah, would my heart were like to thine, even as my body is like to thy waist, all thin and frail and dwindled for despite! thou, that my prince in beauty art, a steward[fn# ] hast, whose rule aggrieves me and a chamberlain[fn# ] that doth me foul upright. he lies who says, "all loveliness in joseph was comprised." how many josephs are there not within thy beauty bright! i force myself to turn from thee, for fear of spying eyes, though sore it irks me to forswear the solace of thy sight. at this, trouble and grief redoubled on me and i fell down in a corner; whereupon she sprang up and coming to me, lifted me up and took off my outer clothes and wiped my face with her sleeve. then she asked me how i had fared, and i told her all that had happened. "o my cousin," said she, "as for her sign to thee with her palm and five fingers, it meant, 'return after five days;' and her gestures with the mirror and the putting forth of her head and the lowering and raising of the red handkerchief meant, 'sit in the dyer's shop, till my messenger come to thee.'" when i heard this, fire flamed up in my heart and i exclaimed, "o my cousin, by allah, thou sayst sooth in this thine interpretation; for i saw the shop of a jewish dyer in the street." then i wept, and she said, "o my cousin, summon up resolution and be steadfast of heart: others are occupied with love for years and are constant to endure the ardour of passion, whilst thou hast but a week[fn# ] to wait; so why art thou thus impatient?" then she went on to cheer me with comfortable talk and brought me food: so i took a mouthful, but could not eat and abstained from meat and drink and knew not the solace of sleep, till my colour paled and i lost my good looks; for i had never before been in love nor tasted the ardour of passion. so i fell sick and my cousin also sickened on my account; but every night she would divert me with stories of love and lovers, till i fell asleep; and whenever i awoke, i used to find her wakeful for my sake, with the tears running down her cheeks. thus we did till the five days were past, when she rose and heating water, bathed me with it. then she dressed me and said to me, "go to her and may god fulfil your wish and bring thee to thy desire of thy beloved!" so i went out and walked on, till i came to the by-street. i found the dyer's shop shut, for it was saturday, and sat before it, till i heard the call to afternoon-prayer. then the sun turned pale, the muezzins chanted the call to the prayer of sunset and the night came; but i saw no sign nor heard aught of her. with this, i feared for myself, sitting there alone; so i rose and went home, staggering like a drunken man. when i reached the house, i found my cousin azizeh standing, with one hand grasping a peg driven into the wall and the other on her breast; and she was sighing heavily and repeating the following verses: the longing of a bedouin maid, whose folk are far away, who yearns after the willow of the hejaz and the hay,[fn# ] whose tears, when she on travellers lights, might for their water serve and eke her passion, with its heat, their bivouac-fire purvey, is not more fierce nor ardent than my longing for my love, who deems that i commit a crime in loving him alway. when she had finished, she turned and seeing me, wiped away her tears and mine with her sleeve. then she smiled in my face and said, "o my cousin, god grant thee joy of that which he hath given thee! why didst thou not pass the night with thy beloved and why hast thou not fulfilled thy desire of her?" when i heard what she said, i gave her a kick in the breast and she fell over on to the edge of the estrade and struck her forehead against a peg there. i looked at her and saw that her forehead was cut open and the blood running; but she was silent and did not utter a syllable. she made some tinder of rags and staunching the wound with it, bound her forehead with a bandage; after which she wiped up the blood that had fallen on the carpet, and it was as if nothing had happened. then she came up to me and smiling in my face, said, with gentle speech, "by allah, o my cousin, i had it not in my thought to mock at thee or at her! i was troubled with a pain in my head and thought to be let blood, but now thou hast eased my head and brow; so tell me what has befallen thee to-day." so i told her what had passed and she wept and said, "o my cousin, rejoice in the near fulfilment of thy desire and the attainment of thy hopes. verily, this is a sign of acceptance; she only stayed away, because she wished to try thee and know if thou wert patient and sincere in thy love for her or not. to-morrow, do thou go to her at the old place and note what signs she makes to thee; for indeed thy gladness is near and the end of thy grief is at hand." and she went on to comfort me; but my trouble and affliction ceased not to increase on me. presently, she brought me food, but i kicked the dishes away, so that their contents were scattered in all directions, and said, "every lover is a madman; he inclines not to food neither enjoys sleep." "by allah, o my cousin," answered she, "these are indeed the signs of love!" and the tears streamed down her cheeks, whilst she gathered the fragments of the dishes and wiped up the food; then she sat down by me and talked to me, whilst i prayed god to hasten the coming of the day. when, at last, the morning arose with its light and shone, i went out and hastening to the by-street in question, sat down on the bench, when behold, the wicket opened and she put out her head, laughing. then she went in and returned with a mirror, a bag, a pot of flowering plants and a lamp. first, she took the mirror and putting it into the bag, tied it up and threw it back into the room; after which she let down her hair over her face and set the lamp an instant on the pot of flowers; then took up all the things and shutting the window, went away, without saying a word. my heart was tortured by her obscure signs and mysterious gestures, and passion and distraction redoubled on me. so i retraced my steps, tearful-eyed and mournful-hearted, and returning home, found azizeh sitting, with her face to the wall; for her heart was on fire for grief and anxiety and jealousy; albeit the love she bore me forbade her to acquaint me with what she suffered, by reason of what she saw of the excess of my passion and distraction (for another). i looked at her and saw that she had two bandages on her head, one on account of the wound on her forehead, and the other over her eye, which pained her for excess of weeping; and she was in very sorry plight, weeping and repeating the following verses: i count the nights, night after night, the weary nights and slow; yet would i, once upon a time, unreckoned let them go. i have no knowledge, o my friend, of that which god ordains of leila or what he decrees to me, but this i know he to another her adjudged and cursed me with her love: so hath he not afflicted me with other than her woe. when she had finished, she looked round and seeing me through her tears, wiped them away and came up to me, but could not speak for excess of emotion. so she was silent awhile, then said to me, "o my cousin, tell me what befell thee with her this time." so i told her all that had passed, and she said, "be patient, for the time of thy delight is come, and thou hast won to the attainment of thy hopes. as for her sign with the mirror and the bag, it was as if she said to thee, 'when the sun is set;' and the letting down of her hair over her face signified, when the night is come and hath let fall the blackness of the dark and overmastered the daylight, come hither.' as for her gesture with the flower-pot and the lamp, it meant, 'when thou comest, enter the garden behind the street, and where as thou seest the lamp burning, go thither and seat thyself beneath it and wait for me; for the love of thee is killing me.'" when i heard this, i cried out for excess of passion and said, "how long wilt thou deceive me with promises and i go to her, but get not my will nor find any truth in thine interpreting?" at this, she laughed and replied, "thou needest but have patience for the rest of the day, till the light depart and the night come with the darkness, and thou shalt enjoy fruition and accomplish thy hopes. and indeed this is true without leasing." and she repeated the following verses: let the days pass, as they list, and fare, and enter thou not the house of despair. full oft when the quest of a thing is hard, the next hour brings us the end of our care. then she came to me and began to comfort me with soothing words, but dared not offer me food, fearing my wrath and seeking to make me incline to her: so she only took off my upper garment and said to me, "sit, o my cousin, that i may entertain thee with talk, till the end of the day; and god willing, thou shalt be with thy beloved as soon as it is night." but i paid no heed to her and gave not over looking for the coming of the night, saying, "o lord, hasten the coming of the night!" till the hour of the evening-prayer, when she wept sore and giving me a grain of pure musk, said to me, "o my cousin, put this in thy mouth, and when thou foregatherest with thy beloved and hast taken thy will of her and she hath granted thee thy desire, repeat to her this verse: tell me, o lovers, for god's sake, i do entreat of you, when love is sore upon a maid, alack! what shall she do?" and she kissed me and made me swear not to repeat this to my mistress, till i should be about to leave her. then i went out and walked on till i came to the garden. i found the door open; so i entered, and seeing a light in the distance, made towards it and came to a great pavilion, vaulted over with a dome of ivory and ebony, from the midst of which hung the lamp. the floor was spread with silken carpets, embroidered in gold and silver, and under the lamp stood a great candle, burning in a stand of gold. midmost the pavilion was a fountain, adorned with all manner of figures; and by it stood a table of food, covered with a silken napkin, and a great porcelain vase full of wine, with a goblet of crystal, sprayed with gold. near these was a great covered dish of silver, which i uncovered and found therein fruits of all kinds, figs and pomegranates and grapes and oranges and citrons and shaddocks, together with all manner sweet-scented flowers, such as roses and jasmine and myrtle and eglantine and narcissus and all kinds of sweet-smelling herbs; but i saw there not a living soul, no, not even a slave, male or female, to guard these things. i was transported with delight at what i saw, and my grief and anxiety ceased from me. so i sat down to await the coming of the beloved of my heart: but the first hour of the night passed by, and the second and the third, and still she came not. then i grew sore an hungred, for that it was long since i had tasted food by reason of the violence of my passion: but when i found the garden even as my cousin had told me and saw the truth of her interpretation of my mistress's signs, my mind was set at rest and i made sure of attaining my desire, so that nature resumed its sway and i felt the pangs of hunger. moreover the odour of the viands on the table excited in me a longing to eat: so i went up to the table, and lifting the cover, found in the middle a porcelain dish, containing four fricasseed fowls, seasoned with spices, round which were four smaller dishes, one containing sweetmeats, another conserve of pomegranate-seeds, a third almond patties and a fourth honey fritters, and the contents of these dishes were part sweet and part acid. so i ate of the fritters and a piece of meat, then went on to the almond patties and ate what i would of them; after which i attacked the sweetmeats, of which i ate a spoonful or two or three or four, ending with part of a fowl and a mouthful of bread. with this my stomach became full and my limbs heavy and i grew drowsy; so i laid my head on a cushion, after having washed my hands, and sleep overcame me; and i knew not what happened to me after this nor did i awake till the sun's heat burnt me, for that i had not tasted sleep for days. when i awoke, i found myself lying on the naked marble, with a piece of salt and another of charcoal on my stomach; so i stood up and shook my clothes and turned right and left, but could see no one. at this i was perplexed and afflicted; the tears ran down my cheeks and i mourned grievously for myself. then i returned home, and when i entered, i found my cousin beating her bosom and weeping like the rain-clouds, as she repeated the following verses: from out my loved one's land a breeze blows cool and sweet: the fragrance of its wafts stirs up the ancient heat. blow, zephyr of the east! each lover hath his lot, his heaven-appointed doom of fortune or defeat. lo, if we might, we would embrace thee for desire, even as a lover clips his mistress, when they meet. whenas my cousin's face is absent, god forbids all pleasance [unto me] and all life has of sweet. ah, would i knew his heart was even as is mine, all wasted and consumed by passion's flaming feet! when she saw me, she rose in haste and wiping away her tears, accosted me with her soft speech, saying, "o my cousin, verily god hath been gracious to thee in thy love, in that she whom thou lovest loves thee, whilst i pass my time in weeping and lamenting my separation from thee that blamest and chidest me; but may god not reproach thee for my sake!" then she smiled in my face, a sad smile, and caressed me; then taking off my outer clothes, she spread them out and said, "by allah, this is not the scent of one who hath enjoyed his mistress! tell me what has befallen thee, o my cousin." so i told her all that had passed, and she smiled again, a sad smile, and said, "verily, my heart is full of pain; but may he not live who would hurt thy heart! indeed, this woman makes herself extravagantly difficult to thee, and by allah, i fear for thee from her. know that the meaning of the salt is that thou wert drowned in sleep and she likens thee to insipid food, at which the soul sickens; and it is as if she said to thee, 'it behoves that thou be salted, lest nature reject thee. thou professest to be of the true lovers, but sleep is forbidden to a lover; therefore, thy love is false.' but it is her love for thee that is false; for she saw thee asleep, yet awoke thee not, and were her love for thee sincere, she had aroused thee. as for the charcoal, it means, 'god blacken thy face, for that thou makest a lying presence of love, whereas thou art but a child and hast no concern but to eat and drink and sleep!' this is the interpretation of her signs, and may god the most high deliver thee from her!" when i heard my cousin's words, i beat my breast with my hand and cried out, "by allah, this is the truth, for i slept and lovers sleep not! indeed, i have sinned against myself, for nought could have done me more hurt than eating and sleeping. what shall i do!" then i wept sore and said to her, "have compassion on me and tell me what to do, so may god have compassion on thee: else i shall die." now my cousin loved me very dearly; so she replied, "on my head and eyes. but, o my cousin, as i have told thee often, could i go in and out at will, i would very soon bring you together and cover you both with my skirt: nor would i do this but hoping to win thy favour. god willing, i will do my utmost endeavour to bring about your union; but hearken thou to me and do as i bid thee. go to the garden at nightfall and sit down in the same place and look thou eat not, for eating induces sleep; and beware of sleeping, for she will not come to thee, till a fourth part of the night be passed. and may god save thee from her mischief!" when i heard this, i rejoiced and besought god to hasten the night. as soon as it was dark, i rose to go, and my cousin said to me, "if thou foregather with her, repeat to her the verse i taught thee, at the time of leave-taking." "on my head and eyes," replied i, and going out, repaired to the garden, where i found all as on the previous night, with meat and drink spread ready, and dessert and flowers and so forth. i went up into the pavilion and smelt the odour of the viands and my soul lusted after them; but i forbore awhile, till at last i could no longer restrain my appetite. so i went up to the table, and raising the cover, found a dish of fowls, surrounded by four smaller dishes, containing various meats. i ate a mouthful of each dish and a piece of meat and as much as i would of the sweetmeat: then i tasted a dish of rice dressed with honey and saffron and liking it, supped of it by the spoonful, till i was satisfied and my belly was full. with this, my eyelids became heavy; so i took a cushion and put it under my head, saying, "surely i can recline upon it, without going to sleep." then i closed my eyes and slept, nor did i wake till the sun had risen, when i found myself lying on the bare marble, with a die of bone, a play-stick,[fn# ] a green date-stone[fn# ] and a carob-bean on my stomach. there was no furniture nor aught else in the place, and it was as if there had been nothing there yesterday. so i rose and shaking all these things off me, went out in a rage, and going home, found my cousin sighing and repeating the following verses: wasted body and heart a-bleeding for despair and tears that down my cheeks stream on and on for e'er, and a beloved one persistent in disdain; yet all a fair one does must needs be right and fair. o cousin mine, thou'st filled my heart with longing pain and wounded are mine eyes with tears that never spare. i chid her and reviled her, at which she wept; then wiping away her tears, she came up to me and kissed me and pressed me to her bosom, whilst i held back from her and blamed myself. then she said to me, "o my cousin, meseems thou didst sleep again last night?" "yes," replied i; "and when i awoke, i found on my stomach a die of bone, a play-stick, a green date-stone and a carob-bean, and i know not why she did this." then i wept and said to her, "expound to me her meaning in this and tell me what i shall do and help me in this my strait." "on my head and eyes," answered she. "know then that, by the figure of the die and the play-stick, she says to thee, 'thy body is present, but thy heart absent. love is not thus: so do not reckon thyself among lovers.' as for the date-stone, it is as if she said to thee, 'if thou wert in love, thy heart would be on fire with passion and thou wouldst not taste the delight of sleep; for the sweet of love is like a green date and kindles a fire in the entrails.' as for the carob-bean, it signifies, 'the lover's heart is wearied; so be thou patient under our separation, even as job was patient.'" when i heard this, fires raged in my entrails and grief redoubled upon my heart and i cried out, saying, "god ordained sleep to me, of my ill-fortune!" then i said to her, "o my cousin, i conjure thee by my life, contrive me some device whereby i may win to her!" she wept and answered, "o aziz, o my cousin, verily my heart is full of melancholy thought and i cannot speak: but go thou again to-night to the same place and look that thou sleep not, and thou shalt surely attain thy desire. this is my counsel and peace be on thee." "god willing," said i, "i will not sleep, but will do as thou biddest me." then she rose and set food before me, saying, "eat now what may suffice thee, that thy heart may be free." so i ate my fill, and when the night came, my cousin rose and bringing me a sumptuous suit of clothes, clad me therein. then she made me promise to repeat the verse aforesaid to my mistress and bade me beware of sleeping. so i left her and repairing to the garden, went up into the pavilion, where i occupied myself with gazing on the garden, holding my eyes open with my fingers and wagging my head from side to side, as the night darkened on me. presently i grew hungry with watching, and the smell of the meats, being wafted towards me, increased my hunger: so i went up to the table and taking off the cover, ate a piece of meat and a mouthful of every dish; after which i turned to the vessel of wine, saying in myself, "i will drink one cup." so i drank one cup and a second and a third, till i had drunk full half a score, when the air smote me and i fell to the earth like a dead man. i lay thus till day, when i awoke and found myself without the garden, with a large sharp knife and an iron dirhem[fn# ] on my stomach. i arose trembling and taking the knife and the dirhem, went home where i found my cousin saying, "verily, i am in this house wretched and sorrowful, having no helper but weeping." when i entered, i fell down at full length and fainted, throwing the knife and the dirhem from my hand. as soon as i came to myself, i told her what had passed and said, "indeed, i shall never enjoy my desire." the sight of my tears and my passion redoubled her distress on my account, and she said, "verily, i can no more. i warned thee against sleeping; but thou wouldst not listen to my counsel, and my words profited thee nothing." "by allah," cried i, "i conjure thee to explain to me the meaning of the knife and the dirhem." "by the dirhem," replied she, "she alludes to her right eye, and it is as if she said to thee, 'i swear, by the lord of all creatures and by my right eye, that, if thou come here again and sleep, i will slay thee with this knife!' and indeed, o my cousin, i fear for thee from her malice; my heart is full of anguish for thee and i cannot speak. nevertheless, if thou canst be sure of thyself not to sleep, return to her and thou shalt attain thy desire; but if thou sleep, according to thy wont, she will surely slay thee." "o my cousin," said i, "what shall i do? i conjure thee, by allah, to help me in this my affliction!" "on my head and eyes," replied she. "if thou wilt hearken to me and do as i say, thou shalt have thy will." quoth i, "i will indeed hearken to thee and do thy bidding." and she said, "when it is time for thee to go, i will tell thee." then she pressed me to her bosom and laying me on the bed, rubbed my feet, till drowsiness overcame me and i was drowned in sleep; when she took a fan and seating herself at my head, ceased not to fan my face till the end of the day. then she awoke me, and i found her sitting at my head weeping, with the fan in her hand and her clothes wet with tears. when she saw that i was awake, she wiped away her tears and fetching food, set it before me. i refused it, but she said to me, "didst thou not promise to do my bidding? eat." so i ate and did not cross her, and she proceeded to put the food into my mouth and i to eat, till i was full. then she made me drink sherbet of jujube-fruit and sugar and washed my hands and dried them with a napkin; after which she sprinkled me with rose-water, and i sat with her awhile, restored to health and spirits. when the night had closed in, she dressed me and said to me, "o my cousin, watch all night and sleep not; for she will not come to thee this time till the last of the night, and god willing, thou shalt foregather with her this night: but do not forget my charge." then she wept, and my heart was sore for her by reason of her much weeping, and i said to her, "what is the charge thou gavest me?" "when thou art about to take leave of her," replied she, "repeat to her the verse i taught thee." so i left her, full of gladness, and repairing to the garden, entered the pavilion, where i sat down satiated with food, and watched till a fourth part of the night was past. the night was tedious to me as it were a year: but i remained awake, till it was three quarters spent and the cocks cried out and i became sore an hungred for long watching. so i went up to the table and ate my fill, whereupon my head grew heavy and i was on the point of falling asleep, when i espied a light making towards me from afar. so i sprang up and washed my hands and mouth and roused myself; and before long, up came the lady, accompanied by ten damsels, in whose midst she shone, like the full moon among the stars. she was clad in a dress of green satin, embroidered with red gold, and she was as says the poet: she lords it over her lovers in garments all of green, with open vest and collars and flowing hair beseen. "what is thy name?" i asked her, and she replied, "i'm she who burns the hearts of lovers on coals of love and teen." i made my moan unto her of passion and desire; "upon a rock," she answered, "thy plaints are wasted clean." "even if thy heart," i told her, "be rock in very deed, yet hath god made fair water well from the rock, i ween." when she saw me, she laughed and said, "how is it that thou art awake and that sleep hath not overcome thee. now that thou hast passed the night without sleep, i know that thou art in love, for it is the mark of a lover to watch the night for stress of longing." then she signed to her women and they went away, whereupon she came up to me and strained me to her bosom and kissed me and sucked my upper lip, whilst i kissed her and sucked her lower lip. i put my hand to her waist and pressed it and we came to the ground at the same moment. then she undid her trousers and they fell down to her anklets and we fell to clipping and toying and cricketing and speaking softly and biting and intertwining of legs and going round about the house and the corners thereof,[fn# ] till her senses failed her for delight and she swooned away. and indeed that night was heart-gladdening and eye-refreshing, even as says the poet: the sweetest of all the nights that ever the world can show! the cup in it stinted never from hand to hand to go. therein i did dissever mine eyes from sleep and made the ear-drop[fn# ] and the anklet[fn# ] foregather evermo'. we lay together till the morning, when i would have gone away, but she stopped me, saying, "stay, till i tell thee somewhat and give thee a charge." so i waited, whilst she undid a handkerchief and taking out this piece of linen, spread it out before me. i saw worked on it these two figures of gazelles and admired it exceedingly; and she said to me, "keep this carefully, for it is my sister's work." "what is thy sister's name?" asked i, and she answered, "nour el huda." then i took the piece of linen and went away, joyful, after we had agreed that i should visit her every night in the garden; but in my joy i forgot to repeat to her the verse my cousin had taught me. when i reached home, i found azizeh lying down; but, as soon as she saw me, she rose, with the tears running from her eyes, and coming up to me, kissed me on the breast and said, "didst thou repeat the verse to her, as i enjoined thee?" "i forgot it," answered i; "and here is what made me forget it." and i threw the piece of linen down before her. she rose and sat down again, but was unable to contain herself and her eyes ran over with tears, whilst she repeated the following verses: o thou that seekest severance, forbear; let not the fair delude thee with their sleight. softly, for fortune's nature is deceit and parting is the end of love-delight. then she said, "o my cousin, give me this piece of linen." so i gave it to her, and she took it and unfolding it, saw what was therein. when the time came for my going to my mistress, she said to me, "go and peace be with thee; and when thou art about to leave her, repeat to her the verse i taught thee and which thou forgottest." quoth i, "repeat it to me." so she repeated it. then i went to the garden and entered the pavilion, where i found the lady awaiting me. when she saw me, she rose and kissed me and made me sit in her lap; and we ate and drank and did our desire as on the previous night. in the morning, i repeated to her my cousin's verse: tell me, o lovers, for god's sake i do entreat of you, when love is sore upon a maid, alack! what shall she do? when she heard this, her eyes filled with tears and she answered with the following verse: against her passion she must strive and hide her case from view and humble and submissive be, whatever may ensue. this i committed to memory and returned home, rejoiced at having done my cousin's errand. when i entered the house, i found azizeh lying on the bed and my mother at her head, weeping over her condition. when the latter saw me, she said to me, "out on thee for a cousin! how couldst thou leave the daughter of thine uncle in ill case and not ask what ailed her?" azizeh, seeing me, raised her head and sat up and said, "o aziz, didst thou repeat the verse to her?" "yes," replied i; "and she wept and recited, in answer, another verse, which i remember." "tell it me," said azizeh. i did so; and she wept and repeated the following verses: how shall she temper her desire, it doth her fire undo, and still with each recurring day her heart is cleft in two. indeed, she strives for patience fair, but findeth nought in her except a heart too weak to bear the love that makes her rue. "when thou goest to thy mistress as of wont," added she, "repeat to her these verses also." "i hear and obey," answered i and betook myself, at the wonted time, to the garden, where there passed between my mistress and myself what the tongue fails to describe. as i was about to leave her, i repeated to her my cousin's verses; whereupon the tears streamed from her eyes and she replied: if she her secret cannot hide and lack of patience due, i see no help for her but death, of all things old and new. then i returned home, where i found azizeh fallen of a swoon and my mother sitting at her head. when she heard my voice, she opened her eyes and said, "o aziz, didst thou repeat the verses to her?" "yes," answered i; "and she replied with this verse." and i repeated it; whereupon my cousin swooned again, and when she came to herself, she recited the following verses: "i hearken, i obey, i die; yet bear to one who slew my hopes of union and delight, my greeting and adieu. fair fall the happy of their joy, alack! and fair befall the wretched lover of the cup that's set her lips unto." when it was night, i repaired, as of wont, to the garden, where i found my mistress awaiting me. we sat down and ate and drank, after which we did our need and slept till the morning; and as i was going away, i repeated to her azizeh's verses. when she heard them, she gave a loud cry and was greatly moved and exclaimed, "alas! alas! she who said these words is dead!" then she wept and said to me, "out on thee! what kin is she, who spoke thus, to thee?" "she is the daughter of my father's brother," replied i. "thou liest," rejoined she. "by allah, were she thy cousin, thou wouldst have loved her even as she loved thee! it is thou who hast killed her, and may god in like manner kill thee! by allah, hadst thou told me thou hadst a cousin, i would not have admitted thee to my favours!" quoth i, "indeed, she is my cousin, and it was she who interpreted to me thy signs and taught me how to come at thee and how i should deal with thee; and but for her, i had never won to thee." "did she then know of us?" asked she. "yes," answered i; and she exclaimed, "god give thee sorrow of thy youth, even as thou hast wasted hers!" then she said to me, "go and see after her." so i went away, troubled at heart, and when i reached our street, i heard a sound of wailing, and asking about it, was answered, "we found azizeh dead behind the door." i entered the house, and when my mother saw me, she said to me, "her death lies at thy door, and may god not acquit thee of her blood! out on thee for a cousin!" then came my father, and we laid her out and did her the last offices and buried her. moreover, we let make recitations of the koran over her tomb and abode there three days, after which we returned home, grieving for her. when i entered the house, my mother came to me and said, "i would fain know what thou didst to her, to break her heart, for, o my son, i questioned her many times of the cause of her malady, but she would tell me nothing. so, god on thee, tell me what thou didst to her, that she died." quoth i, "i did nothing." "may god avenge her on thee!" rejoined my mother. "she told me nothing, but kept her secret till she died, of her affection for thee. but when she died, i was with her, and she opened her eyes and said to me, 'o wife of my uncle, may god hold thy son guiltless of my blood and punish him not for that he hath done with me! and now he transporteth me from this transitory house of the world to the other and eternal dwelling-place.' 'o my daughter,' said i, 'god preserve thee and preserve thy youth!' and i questioned her of the cause of her illness; but she made me no answer. then she smiled and said, 'o wife of my uncle, when my cousin is about to repair to the place whither he goes every day, bid him repeat these two words at his going away: "faith is fair and perfidy foul." for this is of my tenderness over him, that i am solicitous for him in my lifetime and after my death.' then she gave me somewhat for thee and made me swear that i would not give it to thee, till i should see thee weeping for her and lamenting her death. the thing is with me, and when i see thee as i have said, i will give it to thee." "show it me," quoth i: but she would not. then i gave myself up to my pleasures and thought no more of my cousin's death; for i was light-witted and would fain have been with my beloved day and night. so hardly had the night fallen, when i betook myself to the garden, where i found the lady sitting on coals of fire, for much waiting. as soon as she saw me, she ran to me and throwing her arms about my neck, enquired of my cousin. "she is dead," replied i; "and we have caused litanies and recitations of the koran to be performed for her; and it is now four nights since she died." when she heard this, she shrieked aloud and wept, saying, "did i not tell thee that thou hadst slain her? hadst thou let me know of her before her death, i would have requited her the kindness she did me, in that she served me and brought thee to me; for but for her, we had never come together; and i fear lest some calamity befall thee by reason of thy sin against her." quoth i, "she acquitted me before she died." and i repeated to her what my mother had told me. "god on thee," rejoined she, "when thou returnest to thy mother, learn what it is she hath for thee." quoth i, "my mother also said to me, 'before thy cousin died, she laid a charge upon me, saying, "when thy son is about to go whither of wont, teach him these two words, 'faith is fair and perfidy foul.'" when my mistress heard this, she exclaimed, "the mercy of god the most high be upon her! indeed, she hath delivered thee from me, for i had it in mind to do thee a mischief, but now i will not hurt thee nor trouble thee." i wondered at this and said to her, "what then didst thou purpose to do with me, and we lovers?" quoth she, "thou art infatuated with me; for thou art young and witless; thy heart is free from guile and thou knowest not our perfidy and malice. were she yet alive, she would protect thee, for she is the cause of thy preservation and hath delivered thee from destruction. and now i charge thee that thou speak not with neither accost any of our sex, young or old, for thou art young and simple and knowest not the wiles of women and their malice, and she who explained the signs to thee is dead. and indeed i fear for thee, lest thou fall into some calamity and find none to deliver thee from it, now that thy cousin is dead. alas, the pity of her! would god i had known her before her death, that i might have visited her and requited her the fair service she did me! the mercy of the most high be upon her, for she kept her secret and revealed not what she suffered, and but for her, thou hadst never won to me! but there is one thing i desire of thee." "what is it?" said i. "it is," answered she, "that thou bring me to her grave, that i may visit her in the tomb wherein she is and write some verses thereon." "to-morrow," replied i, "if it be the will of god." then i lay with her that night, and she ceased not, from time to time, to say, "would thou hadst told me of thy cousin, before her death!" and i said to her, "what is the meaning of the two words she taught me?" but she made me no answer. as soon as it was day, she rose and taking a purse of dinars, said to me, "come, show me her tomb, that i may visit it and grave some verses thereon and build a dome over it and commend her to the mercy of god and bestow these dinars in alms for her soul." "i hear and obey," replied i and went on before her, whilst she followed me, giving alms by the way and saying to all to whom she gave, "this is an alms for the soul of azizeh, who kept her counsel, till she drank the cup of death, and discovered not the secret of her passion." and she stinted not thus to give alms and say, "for azizeh's soul," till the purse was empty and we came to the burial-place. when she saw the tomb, she wept and threw herself upon it; then pulling out a graver of steel and a light mallet, she graved the following verses, in fine characters, upon the stone at the head of the tomb: i passed by a ruined tomb, in the midst of a garden-way, upon whose letterless stone seven blood-red anemones lay. "who sleeps in this unmarked grave?" i said; and the earth, "bend low; for a lover lies here and waits for the resurrection day." "god help thee, o victim of love," i cried, "and bring thee to dwell in the highest of all the heavens of paradise, i pray! how wretched are lovers all, even in the sepulchre, when their very graves are covered with ruin and decay! lo, if i might, i would plant thee a garden round about and with my streaming tears the thirst of its flowers allay!" then she returned to the garden, weeping, and i with her, and she said to me, "by allah, thou shalt never leave me!" "i hear and obey," answered i. then i devoted myself wholly to her and paid her frequent visits, and she was good and generous to me. as often as i passed the night with her, she would make much of me and ask me of the two words my cousin told my mother, and i would repeat them to her. i abode thus a whole year, till, what with eating and drinking and dalliance and wearing change of rich raiment, i waxed stout and fat, so that i lost all thought of sorrow and anxiety and forgot my cousin azizeh. at the end of this time, i went one day to the bath, where i refreshed myself and put on a rich suit of clothes, scented with various perfumes; then, coming out i drank a cup of wine and smelt the fragrance of my new clothes, whereupon my breast dilated, for i knew not the perfidy of fortune nor the calamities of events. when the hour of evening-prayer came, i thought to repair to my mistress; but being heated with wine, i knew not where i went, so that, on the way, my drunkenness turned me into a by-street called en nekib, where, as i was going along, i met an old woman with a lighted flambeau in one hand and a folded letter in the other; and she was weeping and repeating the following verses: o welcome, bearer of glad news, thrice welcome to my sight; how sweet and solaceful to me thy tidings of delight! thou that the loved one's greeting bringst unto my longing soul, god's peace, what while the zephyr blows, dwell with thee day and night! when she saw me, she said to me, "o my son, canst thou read?" and i, of my officiousness, answered, "yes, o old aunt." "then, take this letter," rejoined she, "and read it to me." so i took the letter, and unfolding it, read it to her. now it contained the greetings of an absent man to his friends; and when she heard its purport, she rejoiced and was glad and called down blessings on me, saying, "may god dispel thine anxiety, as thou hast dispelled mine!" then she took the letter and walked on. meanwhile, i was seized with a pressing need and squatted down on my heels to make water. when i had finished, i stood up and cleansed myself with pebbles, then shaking down my clothes, was about to go my way, when the old woman came up to me again and bending down to kiss my hand, said, "o my lord, god give thee joy of thy youth! i entreat thee to go with me to yonder door, for i told them what thou readest to me of the letter, and they believe me not: so come with me two steps and read them the letter from behind the door and accept my devout prayers." "what is the history of this letter?" asked i; and she answered, "o my son, it is from my son, who hath been absent from us these ten years. he set out with merchandise and tarried long in foreign parts, till we lost hope of him, supposing him to be dead. now comes this letter from him, and he has a sister, who weeps for him day and night; so i said to her, 'he is in good health and case.' but she will not believe and says, 'thou must needs bring me one who will read the letter in my presence, that my heart may be set at rest and my mind eased.' thou knowest, o my son, that those who love are prone to imagine evil: so do me the favour to go with me and read the letter, standing without the door, whilst i call his sister to listen behind the curtain, so shalt thou dispel our anxiety and fulfil our need. quoth the prophet (whom god bless and preserve), 'he who eases an afflicted one of one of the troubles of this world, god will ease him of a hundred troubles;' and according to another tradition, 'whoso relieves his brother of one of the troubles of this world, god will relieve him of two-and-seventy troubles of the day of resurrection.' and i have betaken myself to thee; so do not disappoint me." "i hear and obey," replied i. "do thou go before me." so she went on and i followed her a little way, till she came to the gate of a large handsome house, whose door was plated with copper. i stood without the door, whilst the old woman cried out in persian, and before i could think, a damsel ran up, with a nimble and agile step. she had tucked up her trousers to her knees, so that i saw a pair of legs that confounded mind and eye, for they were like columns of alabaster, adorned with anklets of gold, set with jewels. as says the poet, describing her: o thou who barest thy leg for lovers to look upon, that by the sight of the leg the rest they may infer, who passest the cup around midst thy gallants, brisk and free, nought seduces the folk but the cup[fn# ] and the cup-bearer.[fn# ] she had seemingly been engaged in work of some kind, for she had tucked the end of her shift within the ribbon of her trousers and thrown the skirt of her robe over her arm. her sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, so that i could see her white wrists and forearms, on which were two pairs of bracelets, with clasps of great pearls and round her neck was a collar of precious stones. her ears were adorned with pendants of pearls and on her head she wore a kerchief of brocade, embroidered with jewels of price. when i saw her i was confounded at her beauty, for she was like the shining sun. then she said, with clear and dulcet speech, never heard i sweeter, "o my mother, is this he who cometh to read the letter?" "it is," replied the old woman; and she put out her hand to me with the letter. now she was standing about half a rod within the door; so i stretched out my hand and put my head and shoulders within the door, thinking to draw near her and read the letter, when behold, before i knew what she would be at, the old woman thrust her head into my back and pushed me forward, with the letter in my hand, so that before i could think, i found myself in the vestibule. then she entered, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, and had but to shut the door. when the damsel saw me in the vestibule, she came up to me and straining me to her bosom, threw me to the floor, then knelt upon my breast and kneaded my belly with her hands, till i lost my senses. then she took me by the hand and led me unable to resist, for the violence of her pressure, through seven vestibules, whilst the old woman went before us with the lighted candle, till we came to a great saloon, with four daises, in which a horseman might play at ball. here she released me, saying, "open thine eyes." so i opened them, still giddy for the excess of her pressing and pummelling, and saw that the whole place was built of the finest alabaster and hung and carpeted with stuffs of silk and brocade, with cushions and divans of the same. therein also were two benches of brass and a couch of red gold set with pearls and jewels, befitting none save kings like unto thee. then said she, "o aziz, which wouldst thou rather, life or death?" "life," answered i; and she said, "if life be liefer to thee, thou must marry me." quoth i, "it were odious to me to marry the like of thee." "if thou marry me," rejoined she, "thou wilt at least be safe from the daughter of delileh the crafty." "and who is she?" asked i. she laughed and replied, "how comes it that thou knowest her not, seeing that to-day thou hast companied with her a year and four months, may god the most high destroy her and afflict her with one worse than herself! by allah, there lives not a more perfidious than she! how many hath she not slain before thee and what deeds hath she not done! nor can i understand how thou hast been so long in her company, yet hath she not killed thee nor done thee any hurt." when i heard this, i marvelled exceedingly and said, "who made thee to know of her, o my lady?" "i know of her," said she, "as the age knows of its calamities: but now i would fain have thee tell me all that has passed between you, that i may know the cause of thy deliverance from her." so i told her all that had happened, including the story of my cousin azizeh. when she heard of the latter's death, her eyes ran over with tears and she smote hand upon hand and cried out, "god have mercy on her, for she lost her youth in his service, and may he replace her to thee! by allah, o aziz, it was she who was the cause of thy preservation from the daughter of delileh and but for her, thou hadst been lost! now she is dead and i fear for thee from the other's perfidy and mischief; but my heart is full and i cannot speak." "by allah," quoth i, "all this happened, even as thou sayest!" and she shook her head and said, "there lives not this day the like of azizeh." "and when she was dying," continued i, "she bade me repeat to my mistress these two words, 'faith is fair and perfidy foul.'" when she heard this, she exclaimed, "by allah, o aziz, it was this that saved thee from dying by her hand: and now my heart is at ease for thee from her for she will never slay thee and thy cousin preserved thee, both in her lifetime and after her death. by allah, i have desired thee this many a day, but could not get at thee till now and except by a trick, which succeeded with thee for thou art inexperienced and knowest not the malice of women nor the wiles of old women." "no, by allah!" rejoined i. then said she to me, "be of good cheer and take comfort; the dead is in the mercy of god and the living shall be fairly entreated. thou art a handsome youth, and i do not desire thee but according to the ordinance of god and of his prophet, on whom be peace and salvation! whatever thou desirest of money and stuff, thou shalt have without stint, and i will not impose any toil on thee, for there is with me always bread baked and water in the pitcher. all i ask of thee is that thou do with me even as the cock does." "and what is it the cock does?" asked i. at this she laughed and clapped her hands and fell over on her back for excess of laughter: then she sat up and said, "o light of my eyes, dost thou not know what the cock's business is?" "no, by allah!" replied i; and she said, "the cock's business is to eat and drink and tread." i was abashed at her words and said, "is that the cock's business?" "yes," answered she; "and all i ask of thee now is to gird thy loins and strengthen thy resolution and swive thy best." then she clapped her hands and cried out, saying, "o my mother, bring hither those who are with thee." whereupon in came the old woman, carrying a veil of silk and accompanied by four lawful witnesses, who saluted me and sat down. then she lighted four candles, whilst the young lady covered herself with the veil and deputed one of the witnesses to execute the contract on her behalf. so they drew up the marriage contract and she acknowledged to have received the whole of her dowry, both precedent and contingent, and to be indebted to me in the sum of ten thousand dirhems. then he gave the witnesses their fee and they withdrew whence they came; whereupon she put off her clothes and abode in a shift of fine silk, laced with gold, after which she took me by the hand and carried me up to the couch, saying, "there is no blame in what is lawful." she lay down on her back and drawing me on to her breast, heaved a sigh and followed it up with an amorous gesture. then she pulled up the shift above her breasts, and when i saw her thus, i could not choose but thrust into her, after i had sucked her lips, whilst she moaned and made a show of bashfulness and wept without tears. and indeed the case reminded me of the saying of the poet: when i drew up her shift and discovered the terrace-roof of her kaze, i found it as strait as my humour or eke my worldly ways. so i drove it incontinent in, halfway; and she heaved a sigh. "for what dost thou sigh?" quoth i. "for the rest of it, sure," she says. then said she, "o my beloved, to it and do thy best, for i am thine handmaid. my life on thee, give it me, all of it, that i may take it in my hand and thrust it into my entrails!" and she ceased not to excite me with sobs and sighs and amorous gestures, in the intervals of kissing and clipping, till we attained the supreme felicity and the term of our desires. we lay together till the morning, when i would have gone out; but she came up to me, laughing, and said, "thinkest thou that going out of the bath is the same as going in?[fn# ] verily, i believe thou deemest me to be the like of the daughter of delileh. beware of such a thought, for thou art my husband by contract and according to law. if thou be drunken, return to thy right mind and know that this house is opened but one day in every year. go down and look at the great door." so i went down and found the door locked and nailed up and returned and told her so. "know, o aziz," said she, "that we have in this house flour and grain and fruits and pomegranates and sugar and meat and sheep and fowls and so forth, enough to serve us for many years; and henceforth, the door will not be opened till after the lapse of a whole year, nor shalt thou find thyself without till then." quoth i, "there is no power and no virtue but in god!" "and what can this irk thee," rejoined she, "seeing thou knowest the cock's craft, of which i told thee?" then she laughed and i laughed too, and i conformed to what she said and abode with her, plying the cock's craft, eating and drinking and cricketing, twelve whole months, during which time she conceived by me and brought me a son. at the end of the year, i heard the door opened and men came in with manchets and flour and sugar. thereupon, i would have gone out, but my wife said, "wait till nightfall and go out as thou camest in." so i waited till the hour of evening-prayer, and was about to go forth in fear and trembling, when she stopped me, saying, "by allah, i will not let thee go, except thou swear to return this night before the closing of the door." i agreed to this, and she made me take a solemn oath by sword and koran and the oath of divorce to boot that i would return to her. then i left her and going straight to the garden, found the door open as usual; whereat i was angry and said to myself, "i have been absent a whole year and come here at unawares and find the place open as of wont! i wonder, is the damsel still in her old case? algates i must enter and see, before i go to my mother, more by token that it is now nightfall." so i entered and making for the pavilion, found the daughter of delileh sitting there with her head on her knee and her hand to her cheek. her colour was changed and her eyes sunken; but when she saw me, she exclaimed, "praised be god for thy safety!" and would have risen, but fell down for joy. i was abashed before her and hung my head; but presently went up to her, and kissing her, said, "how knewest thou that i should come to thee to-night?" "i knew it not," replied she. "by allah, this whole year past i have not tasted sleep, but have watched every night, expecting thee, from the day thou wentest out from me and i gave thee the new suit of clothes, and thou didst promise me to go to the bath and come back! so i abode awaiting thee that night and a second and a third; but thou camest not till now, and i ever expecting thy coming, for this is the way of lovers. and now i would have thee tell me what has been the cause of thine absence this year long." so i told her all that had happened: and when she knew that i was married, her colour paled. "i have come to thee to-night," added i; "but i must leave thee before day." quoth she, "doth it not suffice her to have tricked thee into marrying her and kept thee prisoner with her a whole year, but she must make thee take the oath of divorce to return to her before morning and not allow thee to divert thyself with thy mother or me nor suffer thee to pass one night with either of us, away from her? how, then, must it be with one from whom thou hast been absent a whole year, and i knew thee before she did? but may god have compassion on thy cousin azizeh, for there befell her what never befell any and she endured what never any endured else and died, oppressed and rejected of thee; yet was it she protected thee against me. indeed, i thought thou didst love me, so let thee take thine own way; else had i not let thee go safe and sound, when i had it in my power to hold thee in duresse and destroy thee." then she wept and waxed wroth and shuddered in my face and looked at me with angry eyes. when i saw this, i was terrified at her and trembled in every nerve, for she was like a dreadful ghoul and i like a bean over the fire. then said she, "thou art of no use to me, now thou art married and hast a child, nor art thou any longer fit for my company. i care only for bachelors and not for married men; for they profit us nothing. thou hast sold me for yonder stinking nosegay; but by allah, i will make the baggage's heart ache for thee, for thou shalt not live either for me or for her!" then she gave a loud cry, and ere i could think, up came ten damsels and threw me on the ground; whereupon she rose and taking a knife, said, "i will slaughter thee like a he-goat; and that will be less than thy desert, for thy behaviour to me and to thy cousin before me." when i found myself at the mercy of her women, with my cheeks stained with dust, and saw her sharpen the knife, i made sure of death and cried out to her for mercy. but she only redoubled in inhumanity and ordered the maids to bind my hands behind me, which they did, and throwing me on my back, sat down on my stomach and held my head. then two of them sat on my shins, whilst other two held my hands, and she bade a third pair beat me. so they beat me till i lost my senses and my voice failed. when i revived, i said to myself, "it were easier and better for me to have my throat cut than to be beaten thus!" and i remembered how my cousin used to say to me, "god keep thee from her mischief!" and cried out and wept, till my voice failed and i remained without breath or motion. then she sharpened the knife and said to the girls, "uncover him." with this god inspired me to repeat to her the two words my cousin had bequeathed me, and i said, "o my lady, dost thou not know that faith is fair and perfidy foul?" when she heard this, she cried out and said, "god pity thee, azizeh, and give thee paradise in exchange for thy wasted youth! verily, she served thee in her lifetime and after her death, and now she has saved thee alive out of my hands with these two words. nevertheless, i cannot leave thee thus, but i must e'en set my mark on thee, to spite yonder shameless baggage, who has kept thee from me." then she called out to the damsels and bade them bind my feet with cords and sit on me. they did her bidding, whilst i lay insensible, and she fetched a pan of copper and setting it on a brazier, poured into it oil of sesame, in which she fried cheese.[fn# ] then she came up to me and unfastening my trousers, tied a cord round my cullions and giving it to two of her women, bade them pull at it. they did so, and i swooned away and was for excess of pain in a world other than this. then she came with a steel scalpel and cut off my yard, so that i remained like a woman: after which she seared the wound with the boiling oil and rubbed it with a powder, and i the while unconscious. when i came to myself, the blood had ceased to flow; so she bade the damsels unbind me and gave me a cup of wine to drink. then said she to me, "go now to her whom thou hast married and who grudged me a single night, and the mercy of god be on thy cousin azizeh, who discovered not her secret! indeed she was the cause of thy preservation, for hadst thou not repeated those words to me, i had surely slain thee. rise and go to whom thou wilt, for thou hadst nothing of mine, save what i have cut off, and now i have no part in thee, nor have i any further care or occasion for thee: so begone about thy business and bless thy cousin's memory!" with that, she gave me a push with her foot, and i rose, hardly able to walk, and went little by little, till i came to the door of my wife's house i found it open, so i threw myself within it and fell down in a swoon; whereupon my wife came out and lifting me up, carried me into the saloon and found that i was like unto a woman. then i fell into a deep sleep; but when i awoke, i found myself thrown down at the gate of the garden. i rose, groaning for pain and misery, and made my way to my mother's house, where i found her weeping for me and saying, "o my son, would i knew where thou art!" so i drew near and threw myself upon her, and when she saw me, she knew that i was ill, for my face was at once pale and livid. then i called to mind my cousin and all the kind offices she had been wont to do me and knew that she had indeed loved me; so i wept for her and my mother wept also. presently, she said to me, "o my son, thy father is dead." at this my anguish redoubled, and i wept till i lost my senses. when i came to myself, i looked at the place where azizeh had been used to sit and wept anew, till i all but fainted for excess of grief; and i ceased not to weep and lament thus till midnight, when my mother said to me, "thy father has been dead these ten days." "i shall never think of any one but my cousin azizeh," answered i; "and indeed i deserve all that hath befallen me, in that i abandoned her who loved me so dear." "what hath befallen thee?" asked my mother. so i told her all that had happened, and she wept awhile, then rose and set meat and drink before me. i ate a little and drank, after which i repeated my story to her, and she exclaimed, "praised be god that she did but this to thee and forbore to slay thee!" then she tended me and medicined me till i regained my health: and when my recovery was complete, she said to me, "o my son, i will now bring out to thee that which thy cousin committed to me in trust for thee; for it is thine. she made me swear not to give it thee, till i should see thee recalling her to mind and weeping over her and thine affections severed from other than her; and now i see these conditions fulfilled in thee." so she arose and opening a chest, took out the piece of linen, with the figures of gazelles worked thereon, which i had given azizeh; and i opened it and found written therein the following verses: who moved thee, fairest one, to use this rigour of disdain and slay, with stress of love, the souls that sigh for thee in vain? if thou recall me not to mind beyond our parting-day, god knows the thought of thee with me for ever shall remain! thou smitest me with cruel words, that yet are sweet to me: wilt thou one day, though but in dreams, to look upon me deign? i had not thought the ways of love were languishment and woe and stress of soul until, alas! to love thee i was fain. i knew not weariness till i the captive of thine eyes became and all my soul was bound in passion's fatal chain. even my foes have ruth on me and pity my distress: but thou, o heart of steel, wilt ne'er have mercy on my pain. by god, although i die, i'll ne'er forget thee, o my hope, nor comfort take, though life itself for love should waste and wane! when i read these verses, i wept sore and buffeted my face; then i unfolded the scroll, and there fell from it another. i opened it and found these words written therein: "know, o my cousin, that i acquit thee of my blood and i beseech god to make accord between thee and her whom thou lovest: but if aught befall thee through the daughter of delileh the crafty, return thou not to her neither resort to any other woman and bear thine affliction patiently, for were not the ordained term of thy life a long one, thou hadst perished long ago: but praised be god, who hath appointed my last day before thine! my peace be upon thee; preserve the cloth with the gazelles figured thereon and let it not leave thee, for it used to keep me company, whenas thou wert absent from me; but i conjure thee, by allah, if thou chance to fall in with her who wrought these gazelles and it be in thy power to foregather with her, hold aloof from her and do not let her approach thee nor marry her; and if thou happen not on her and find no way to her, look thou company not with any other of her sex. know that she who wrought these gazelles is the daughter of the king of the camphor islands and every year she works a like cloth and despatches it to far countries, that her report and the beauty of her broidery, which none in the world can match, may be bruited abroad, as for thy beloved, the daughter of delileh, this cloth came to her hand, and she used to ensnare folk with it, showing it to them and saying, 'i have a sister who wrought this.' but she lied in this saying, may god bring her to shame! this, then, is my parting counsel to thee, and i have not charged thee thus, but because i know that, after my death, the world will be straitened on thee and belike, by reason of this, thou wilt leave thy native land and wander in foreign countries, and hearing of her who wrought these figures, be minded to foregather with her. then wilt thou remember me and it shall not avail thee nor wilt thou know my value till after my death." when i had read the scroll and understood what was written therein, i fell again to weeping, and my mother wept because i did; and i ceased not to gaze upon it and weep till nightfall. i abode thus a whole year, at the end of which time the merchants, with whom i am in this caravan, prepared to set out from my native town, and my mother counselled me to equip myself and journey with them, so haply i might find forgetfulness and my sorrow cease from me, saying, "take comfort and put away from thee this mourning and travel for a year or two or three, till the caravan returns, when peradventure thy breast may be dilated and thy heart lightened." she ceased not to persuade me thus, till i provided myself with merchandise and set out with the caravan. but all the time of my journey, my tears have never ceased flowing; and at every station where we halt, i open this piece of linen and look on these gazelles and call to mind my cousin azizeh and weep for her as thou hast seen, for indeed she loved me very dearly and died, oppressed and rejected of me; i did her nought but ill and she did me nought but good. when these merchants return from their journey, i shall return with them, by which time i shall have been a whole year absent; yet is my sorrow greater than ever and my grief and affliction were but increased by my visit to the islands of camphor and the castle of crystal. the islands in question are seven in number and are ruled by a king, shehriman by name, who hath a daughter called dunya; and i was told that it was she who wrought these gazelles and that this thou seest was of her broidery. when i knew this, yearning redoubled on me and i became a prey to consuming languor and drowned in the sea of melancholy thought; and i wept over myself, for that i was become even as a woman, without manly gear like other men, and that there was no recourse for me. from the day of my departure from the camphor islands, i have been tearful-eyed and sorrowful-hearted, and i know not whether it will be given me to return to my native land and die by my mother or not, for i am weary of the world.' when the young merchant had made an end of telling his story, he wept and groaned and complained and gazed upon the figures wrought on the piece of linen, whilst the tears streamed down his cheeks and he repeated the following verses: 'needs must thy sorrow have an end,' quoth many an one 'and cease and i, needs must your chiding end and let me be at peace.' 'after awhile,' say they; and i, 'who will ensure me life, o fools, until the hands of grief their grip of me release?' and also these: god knows that, since my severance from thee, full sore i've wept, so sore that needs my eyes must run for very tears in debt! 'have patience,' quoth my censurers, 'and thou shalt win them yet.' and i, 'o thou that blamest me, whence should i patience get?' then said he, 'this, o prince, is my story: hast thou ever heard a stranger one?' taj el mulouk marvelled greatly at the young merchant's tale and said to him, 'by allah, thou hast suffered that which never befell any but thyself, but thou hast life appointed to thee, which thou must needs fulfil; and now i would fain have thee tell me how thou sawest the lady who wrought these gazelles.' 'o my lord,' answered aziz, 'i got me access to her by a stratagem, and it was this. when i entered her city with the caravan, i went forth and wandered about the gardens [till i came to one walled in and] abounding in trees, whose keeper was a venerable old man of advanced age. i asked him to whom the garden belonged, and he replied, "to the lady dunya, the king's daughter. we are now beneath her palace," added he; "and when she is minded to divert herself, she opens the private door and walks in the garden and breathes the fragrance of the flowers." so i said to him, "favour me by allowing me to sit in the garden till she comes; haply i may be fortunate enough to catch a sight of her as she passes." "there can be no harm in that," answered he. so i gave him money and said to him, "buy us something to eat." he took the money joyfully and opening the door, admitted me into the garden and carried me to a pleasant spot, where he bade me sit down and await his return. then he brought me fruit and leaving me, returned after awhile with a roasted lamb, of which we ate till we had enough, my heart yearning the while for a sight of the princess. presently, as we sat, the postern opened and the keeper said to me, "rise and hide thyself." i did so; and behold a black eunuch put out his head through the wicket and said, "o elder, is there any one with thee?" "no," answered he; and the eunuch said, "shut the garden gate." so the keeper shut the gate, and the lady dunya came in by the private door. when i saw her, methought the moon had risen above the horizon and was shining; so i looked at her a long while and longed for her, as a man athirst longs for water. after a time she withdrew and shut the door; whereupon i left the garden and sought my lodging, knowing that i could not win to her and that i was no mate for her, more by token that i was become like unto a woman, having no manly gear, and she was a king's daughter and i but a merchant; so how could i have access to the like of her or to any other woman? accordingly, when my companions made ready for departure, i too made ready and set out with them, and we journeyed till we arrived at this place, where we met with thee. this then is my story, and peace be on thee!' when taj el mulouk heard the young merchant's account of the princess dunya and her beauty, fires raged in his bosom and his heart and thought were occupied with love for her; passion and longing were sore upon him and he knew not what to do. then he mounted his horse and taking aziz with him, returned to his father's capital, where he assigned the merchant a house and supplied him with all that he needed in the way of meat and drink and clothing. then he left him and returned to his palace, with the tears running down his cheeks, for report [whiles] stands in stead of sight and very knowledge. he abode thus till his father came in to him and finding him pale-faced, lean of body and tearful eyed, knew that some chagrin had betided him and said to him, 'o my son, acquaint me with thy case and tell me what hath befallen thee, that thy colour is changed and thy body wasted.' so he told him all that had passed and how he had heard from aziz of the princess dunya and had fallen in love with her on hearsay, without having set eyes on her. 'o my son,' said the king, 'she is the daughter of a king whose country is far distant from ours: so put away this thought from thee and go into thy mother's palace. there are five hundred damsels like moons, and whichsoever of them pleaseth thee, take her; or else we will seek thee in marriage some one of the kings' daughters, fairer than the lady dunya.' 'o my father,' answered taj el mulouk, 'i desire none other, for she it is who wrought the gazelles that i saw, and i must have her; else i will flee into the deserts and waste places and slay myself for her sake.' then said his father, 'o my son, have patience with me, till i send to her father and demand her hand in marriage, as i did with thy mother. it may be that god will bring thee to thy desire; and if her father will not consent, i will shake his kingdom under him with an army, whose van shall be upon him, whilst the rear is yet with me.' then he sent for aziz and said to him, 'o my son, dost thou know the way to the camphor islands?' 'yes,' answered he; and the king said, 'it is my wish that thou accompany my vizier thither.' 'i hear and obey, o king of the age,' replied aziz; whereupon the king summoned his vizier and said to him, 'devise me some plan, whereby my son's affair may be rightly managed, and go to the king of the camphor islands and demand his daughter in marriage for tej el mulouk.' 'i hear and obey,' answered the vizier. then taj el mulouk returned to his dwelling place and his longing redoubled and impatience and unease were sore upon him; and when the night darkened upon him, he wept and sighed and complained and repeated the following verses: the shadows darken and my tears flow aye without avail, whilst in my heart the fires of love rage on and never fail. question the nights of me, and they will testify to thee that i in all their endless hours do nought but weep and wait. wakeful for love-longing and grief, i lie and watch the stars all night, what while upon my cheeks the tears fall down like hail. lowly and helpless i abide, for such as lovers be have, as it were, nor kith nor kin to help them in their bale. then he swooned away and did not recover his senses till the morning, when there came to him one of his father's servants and standing at his head, summoned him to the king's presence. so he went with him, and his father seeing that his pallor had increased, exhorted him to patience and promised him union with her he loved. then he equipped aziz and the vizier for the journey and gave them presents for the princess's father; and they set out and fared on night and day, till they drew near the camphor islands, when the vizier called a halt on the banks of a stream and despatched a messenger to acquaint the king of his arrival. the messenger had not long been gone, when they saw, advancing towards them, the king's chamberlains and amirs, who met them at a parasang's distance from the city and escorted them to the royal presence. they laid before the king the gifts with which they were charged and enjoyed his hospitality three days. on the fourth day the vizier rose and going in to the king, stood before him and acquainted him with the object of his visit; whereat he was perplexed and knew not what answer to make him, for that his daughter was averse from men and did not desire to marry. so he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and calling one of his eunuchs, said to him, 'go to thy mistress, the princess dunya, and repeat to her what thou hast heard and tell her this vizier's errand.' so the eunuch went out and returning after a while, said to the king, 'o king of the age, when i went to the lady dunya and told her what i had heard, she was exceeding wroth and made at me with a staff, meaning to break my head; whereupon i fled from her, and she said to me, 'if my father force me to marry, him whom i wed i will kill.' then said the king to the vizier and aziz, 'salute the king your master and tell him what ye have heard and that my daughter is averse from men and hath no mind to marry.' so they returned, without having accomplished the object of their journey, and fared on till they rejoined the king and told him what had passed; whereupon he commanded the chief to summon the troops for war. but the vizier said to him, 'o king, do not this, for the king is not at fault, seeing that, when his daughter learnt our business, she sent to say that, if her father forced her to marry, she would kill her husband and herself after him: so the refusal comes from her.' when the king heard this, he feared for taj el mulouk and said, 'if i make war on the king of the camphor islands and carry off his daughter, she will kill herself and it will profit me nothing.' so he told his son how the case stood, and he said, 'o my father, i cannot live without her; so i will go to her and cast about to get me access to her, though i die in the attempt.' 'how wilt thou go to her?' asked his father; and he answered, 'in the disguise of a merchant.' then said the king, 'if thou must go and there is no help for it, take with thee aziz and the vizier.' he agreed to this, and the king took money from his treasuries and made ready for him merchandise, to the value of a hundred thousand dinars; and when the night came taj el mulouk went to aziz's lodging and passed the night there, heart-smitten and taking no delight in food nor sleep; for melancholy was heavy upon him and he was agitated with longing for his beloved. so he besought the creator to unite him with her and wept and groaned and complained, repeating the following verses: shall union after estrangement betide us, perchance, some day? shall i ever make moan of my passion to thee, i wonder, and say, 'how oft have i called thee to mind, whilst the night in its trances slept! thou hast made me waken, whilst all but i in oblivion lay. then he wept sore and aziz wept with him, for that he remembered his cousin; and they both ceased not to do thus till the morning, when taj el mulouk rose and went in to his mother in his travelling dress. she asked him of his case, and he told her what was to do; so she gave him fifty thousand dinars and bade him farewell, offering up prayers for his safety and for his union with his beloved. then he left her and betaking himself to his father, asked his leave to depart. the king granted him leave and presenting him with other fifty thousand dinars, let pitch a tent for him without the city, in which they abode two days, then set out on their journey. and taj el mulouk delighted in aziz's company and said to him, 'o my brother, i can never bear to be parted from thee.' 'nor i from thee,' replied aziz; 'and fain would i die at thy feet: but, o my brother, my heart is concerned for my mother.' 'when we have attained our wish,' said the prince, 'all will be well.' as for the vizier, he exhorted taj el mulouk to patience, whilst aziz entertained him with talk and recited verses to him and diverted him with stories and anecdotes; and so they fared on day and night for two whole months, till the way became tedious to the prince and the fires of passion redoubled on him. so he repeated the following verses: long is the road and restlessness and grief redouble aye, whilst in my breast the fires of love rage ever night and day o thou, the goal of all my hopes, sole object of my wish, i swear by him, the most high god, who moulded man from clay, for love of thee i bear a load of longing and desire, such as the mountains of es shumm might ne'er withal away! indeed, o lady of my world,[fn# ] love slayeth me outright; no breath of life in me is left, my fainting spright to stay but for the hope of union with thee, that lures me on, my weary body had no strength to furnish forth the way. when he had finished, he wept and aziz wept with him, from a lacerated heart, till the vizier was moved to pity by their weeping and said to the prince, 'o my lord, take courage and be of good cheer; all will yet be well.' 'o vizier,' said taj el mulouk, 'indeed i am weary of the length of the way. tell me how far we are distant yet from the city.' 'but a little way,' replied aziz. then they continued their journey, traversing valleys and plains and hills and stony wastes, till one night, as taj el mulouk was asleep, he dreamt that his beloved was with him and that he embraced her and pressed her to his bosom; and he awoke, trembling and delirious with emotion, and repeated the following verses: my heart is maddened for love and my tears for ever flow, and longing is ever upon me and unrelenting woe. my plaint is, for tears, as the mourning of women bereft of young, and i moan, when the darkness gathers, as the turtles, sad and low. yet, if the breezes flutter from the land where thou dost dwell, their wafts o'er the earth, sun-weaned, a grateful coolness throw. peace be on thee, my beloved, as long as the cushat flies, as long as the turtles warble, as long as the zephyrs blow! when he had finished, the vizier came to him and said, 'rejoice; this is a good sign: so comfort thyself and be of good cheer, for thou shalt surely compass thy desire.' and aziz also came to him and exhorted him to patience and applied himself to divert him, talking with him and telling him stories. so they pressed on, night and day, other two months, till, one day, at sunrise, there appeared to them some white thing in the distance and taj el mulouk said to aziz, 'what is yonder whiteness?' 'o my lord,' answered he, 'that is the fortress of crystal and the city that thou seekest.' at this the prince rejoiced, and they fared forward till they drew near the city, to the exceeding joy of taj el mulouk, whose grief and anxiety ceased from him. they entered, in the guise of merchants, the king's son being habited as a merchant of importance, and repaired to a great khan, known as the merchants' lodging. quoth taj el mulouk to aziz, 'is this the resort of the merchants?' 'yes,' replied he; 'it is the khan in which i lodged when i was here before.' so they alighted there and making their beasts kneel down, unloaded them and laid up their goods in the warehouses. they abode four days, resting; at the end of which time, the vizier proposed that they should hire a large house. to this they assented and hired a spacious house, fitted up for festivities, where they took up their abode, and the vizier and aziz studied to devise some plan of conduct for taj el mulouk, whilst the latter remained in a state of perplexity, knowing not what to do. the vizier could think of nothing but that he should set up as a merchant in the stuff-market; so he turned to the prince and aziz and said to them, 'if we tarry thus, we shall not compass our desire nor attain our aim; but i have bethought me of somewhat, in which, if it please god, we shall find our advantage.' 'do what seemeth good to thee,' replied taj el mulouk; 'indeed there is a blessing on the aged, more by token that thou art versed in the conduct of affairs: so tell me what is in thy mind.' 'it is my counsel,' rejoined the vizier, 'that we hire thee a shop in the stuff-bazaar, where thou mayst sit to sell and buy. every one, great and small, hath need of silken and other stuffs; so if thou be patient and abide in thy shop, thine affairs will prosper, if it please god, especially as thou art comely of aspect. moreover, i would have thee make aziz thy factor and set him within the shop, to hand thee the pieces of stuffs and silks.' when taj el mulouk heard this, he said, 'this is a good counsel.' so he took out a handsome suit of merchant's clothes, and putting it on, set out for the bazaar, followed by his servants, to one of whom he had given a thousand dinars, wherewith to fit up the shop. when they came to the stuff-market and the merchants saw taj el mulouk's beauty and grace, they were confounded and some said, 'sure rizwan hath opened the gates of paradise and left them unguarded, so that this passing lovely youth hath come out.' and others, 'belike this is one of the angels.' they asked for the shop of the overseer of the market, and the merchants directed them to it. so they repaired thither and saluted him, and he and those who were with him rose to them and seated them and made much of them because of the vizier, whom they saw to be a man of age and reverend aspect; and seeing aziz and taj el mulouk in his company, they said to one another, 'doubtless this old man is the father of these two youths.' then said the vizier, 'which of you is the overseer of the market?' 'this is he,' answered they; whereupon he came forward and the vizier, observing him, saw him to be an old man of grave and dignified carriage, with slaves and servants, white and black. he greeted them in the friendliest manner and was lavish in his attentions to them: then he made them sit by his side and said to them, 'have you any business which we may have the pleasure of transacting?' 'yes,' answered the vizier. 'i am an old man, stricken in years, and have with me these two youths, with whom i have travelled through many towns and countries, tarrying a whole year in every city (of importance) on our way, that they might take their pleasure in viewing it and come to know its people. now i have chosen to make a stay in this your town; so i would fain have thee allot me a handsome shop in the best situation, wherein i may establish them, that they may traffic and learn to buy and sell and give and take, whilst they divert themselves with the sight of the place and acquire the uses of its people.' 'good,' said the overseer, and looking at the two youths, rejoiced in them and conceived a great affection for them. now he was a great lover of bewitching glances, preferring the commerce of boys to that of girls and inclining to their love. so he said in himself, 'these be fine purchase; glory to him who created and fashioned them out of vile water!'[fn# ] and rising, stood before them like a servant, to do them honour. then he went out and made ready for them a shop in the midst of the market, than which there was no larger nor better in the bazaar, for it was spacious and handsomely decorated and fitted with shelves of ebony and ivory; after which he delivered the keys to the vizier, who was dressed as an old merchant, saying, 'take them, o my lord, and may god make it a blessed abiding-place to thy sons!' the vizier took the keys, and they returned to the khan and caused their servants to transport to the shop all their goods and stuffs and valuables, of which they had great plenty, worth treasures of money. next morning, the vizier carried the two young men to the bath, where they washed and put on rich clothes and perfumed themselves to the utmost therein. now each of them was passing fair to look upon, and the bath enhanced their charms to the utmost, even as says the poet: good luck to him who in the bath doth serve him as his squire, handling a body 'gotten sure 'twixt water and the fire! with skilful hands he showeth forth the marvels of his craft, in that he gathers very musk[fn# ] from what is like camphire. when the overseer heard that they had gone to the bath, he sat down to await them, and presently they came up to him, like two gazelles, with red cheeks and black eyes and shining faces, as they were two lustrous moons or two fruit-laden saplings. when he saw them, he rose and said to them, 'may your bath profit you ever!' whereupon taj el mulouk replied, with the sweetest of speech, 'may god be bountiful to thee, o my father! why didst thou not come with us and bathe in our company?' then they both bent over his hands and kissing them, walked before him to the shop, to do him honour and show their respect for him, for that he was chief of the merchants and the market, as well as their sense of his kindness in giving them the shop. when he saw their hips quivering, emotion and longing redoubled on him and he could not contain himself, but puffed and snorted and devoured them with his eyes, repeating the following verses: the heart in them studies the chapter of worship unshared sheer no proofs of more gods to worship than one it readeth here. no wonder it is they tremble by reason of their weight; how much is there not of motion in that revolving sphere! and also these: two fair ones walking on the earth mine eyes did late espy; two that i needs must love although they walked upon mine eye. when they heard this, they begged him to enter the bath with them a second time. he could hardly believe his ears and hastening thither, went in with them. the vizier had not yet left the bath; so when he heard of the overseer's coming, he came out and meeting him in the outer room of the bath, invited him to enter. he refused, but taj el mulouk took him by one hand and aziz by the other and carried him into a cabinet, the impure old man submitting to them, whilst his emotion increased on him. then taj el mulouk swore that none but he should wash him and aziz that none but he should pour water on him. he would have refused, albeit this was what he desired; but the vizier said to him, 'they are thy sons; let them wash thee and bathe thee.' 'god preserve them to thee!' exclaimed the overseer. 'by allah, thy coming and theirs hath brought blessing and fortune upon our city!' and he repeated the following verses: thou cam'st, and the mountains about us grew green and glittered, with flowers for the bridegroom beseen; whilst earth and her creatures cried, 'welcome to thee, thrice welcome, that comest in glory and sheen!' they thanked him for this, and taj el mulouk proceeded to wash him, whilst aziz poured water over him and he thought himself in paradise. when they had made an end of his service, he called down blessings on them and sat talking with the vizier, gazing the while on the youths. presently, the servants brought them towels, and they dried themselves and donned their clothes. then they went out, and the vizier said to the overseer, 'o my lord, verily the bath is the paradise of this world.' 'may god vouchsafe it[fn# ] to thee,' replied the overseer, 'and health to thy sons and guard them from the evil eye! do you remember aught that the poets have said in praise of the bath?' 'yes,' said taj el mulouk and repeated the following verses: the life of the bath is the pleasantest part of life, except that the time of our sojourn there is slight. a heaven, wherein 'tis irksome to us to bide: a hell, into which we enter with delight. 'and i also,' said aziz, 'remember some verses in praise of the bath.' quoth the overseer, 'let us hear them.' so he repeated the following: i know a house, wherein flowers from the sheer stone blow; most goodly, when the flames about it rage and glow. thou deem'st it hell, and yet, in truth, 'tis paradise and most that be therein are sun and moons, i trow. his verses pleased the overseer and he wondered at their grace and eloquence and said, 'by allah, ye possess both beauty and eloquence! but now listen to me.' and he chanted the following verses: o pleasaunce of hell-fire and paradise of pain! bodies and souls therein indeed are born again. i marvel at a house, whose pleasantness for aye doth flourish, though the flames beneath it rage amain. a sojourn of delight to those who visit it it is; the pools on them their tears in torrents rain. then he fed his eyes on the gardens of their beauty and repeated the following verses: i went to the bath-keeper's house and entered his dwelling-place and found no door-keeper there but met me with smiling face. i sojourned awhile in his heaven[fn# ] and visited eke his hell[fn# ] and thanked both malik[fn# ] and rizwan[fn# ] for solace and kindly grace. they were charmed with these verses, and the overseer invited them to his house; but they declined and resumed to their own lodging, to rest from the great heat of the bath. they took their ease there and ate and drank and passed the night in the greatest comfort and delight, till morning, when they arose from sleep and making their ablutions, prayed the morning-prayer and drank the morning-draught. as soon as the sun had risen and the markets and shops were open, they went out to the bazaar and opened their shop, which their servants had already furnished, after the handsomest fashion, with prayer-rugs and silken carpets and a pair of divans, each worth a hundred dinars. on each divan they had spread a rug, garded with gold and fit for a king, and in the midst of the shop stood a third seat of still greater elegance, even as the case required. taj el mulouk sat down on one couch and aziz on another, whilst the vizier seated himself on that in the centre, and the servants stood before them. the people of the city heard of them and crowded to them, so that they sold some of their goods and the report of taj el mulouk's beauty and grace spread throughout the place. some days passed thus, and every day the people flocked to them more and more, till the vizier, after exhorting the prince to keep his secret, commended him to aziz's care and went home, that he might be alone and cast about for some device that might profit them. meanwhile, the two young men sat talking and the prince said to aziz, 'it may be some one will come from the princess dunya.' so he abode in expectation of this days and nights, whilst his heart was troubled and he knew neither sleep nor rest: for desire had gotten the mastery of him and passion and longing were sore upon him, so that he forewent the solace of sleep and abstained from meat and drink; yet ceased he not to be like the full moon. one day, as he sat in the shop, there came up an old woman, followed by two slave-girls. she stopped before taj el mulouk and observing his grace and elegance and symmetry, marvelled at his beauty and sweated in her clothes, exclaiming, 'glory to him who created thee out of vile water and made thee a ravishment to all who look upon thee!' and she fixed her eyes on him and said, 'this is sure no mortal, but a noble angel.' then she drew near and saluted him, whereupon he returned her salute and (being prompted thereto by aziz) rose to his feet to receive her and smiled in her face after which he made her sit down by his side and fanned her, till she was rested and refreshed, when she turned to him and said, 'o my son, o thou that art perfect in graces and charms, art thou of this country?' 'by allah, o my lady,' answered he in the sweetest and pleasantest of voices, 'i was never in this country in my life till now, nor do i sojourn here save for my diversion.' 'may all honour and prosperity attend thee!' rejoined she. 'what stuffs has thou brought with thee? show me something handsome; for the fair should bring nothing but what is fair.' when he heard her words, his heart fluttered and he knew not what she meant; but aziz made a sign to him, and he replied, 'i have everything thou canst desire, and amongst the rest goods that befit none but kings and kings' daughters; so tell me for whom thou seekest the stuff, that i may show thee what will befit her.' this he said, that he might learn the meaning of her words; and she rejoined, 'i want a stuff fit for the princess dunya, daughter of king shehriman.' when the prince heard the name of his beloved, he rejoiced greatly and said to aziz, 'give me such a bale.' so aziz brought it and opened it before taj el mulouk, who said to the old woman, 'choose what will suit her; for these are goods only to be found with me.' so she chose goods worth a thousand dinars and said, 'how much is this?' and ceased not the while to talk with him and rub the inside of her thighs with the palm of her hand. 'shall i haggle with the like of thee about this paltry price?' answered he. 'praised be god who hath brought me acquainted with thee!' 'the name of god be upon thee!' exclaimed she. 'i commend thy fair face to the protection of the lord of the daybreak! fair face and pleasant speech! happy the woman who lies in thy bosom and clasps thy waist in her arms and enjoys thy youth, especially if she be fair and graceful like unto thee!' at this, taj el mulouk laughed till he fell backward and said (in himself), 'o thou who fulfillest desires by means of dissolute old women! they are indeed the accomplishers of desires!' then said she, 'o my son, what is thy name?' and he answered, 'my name is taj el mulouk.'[fn# ] 'this is a name of kings and kings' sons,' rejoined she; 'and thou art clad in a merchant's habit.' quoth aziz, 'for the love his parents and family bore him and the value they set on him, they named him thus.' 'thou sayst sooth,' replied the old woman. 'may god guard you both from the evil eye and the malice of the enemy and the envious, though hearts be broken by your charms!' then she took the stuff and went away, amazed at the prince's beauty and grace and symmetry, and going in to the princess dunya, said to her, 'o my lady, i have brought thee some handsome stuff.' 'show it me,' said the princess. 'here it is,' answered the old woman; 'turn it over, o my treasure, and examine it.' so the princess looked at the stuff and was amazed at its beauty and said, 'o my nurse, this is indeed handsome stuff! i have never seen its like in our city.' 'o my lady,' replied the nurse, 'he who sold it me is handsomer still. it would seem as if rizwan had left the gates of paradise open and this youth had come out. i would he might sleep this night with thee and lie between thy breasts! he hath come hither with these stuffs for amusement's sake, and he is a ravishment to all who set eyes on him.' the princess laughed at her words and said, 'allah afflict thee, o pernicious old woman! thou dotest and there is no sense left in thee. give me the stuff, that i may look at it anew.' so she gave it her, and she examined it again and seeing that though small, it was of great value, was moved to admiration, for she had never in her life seen its like, and exclaimed, 'by allah, this is a handsome stuff.' 'o my lady,' said the old woman, 'if thou sawest him who sold it to me, thou wouldst know him for the handsomest of all that be upon the face of the earth.' quoth the princess, 'didst thou ask him if he had any need, that we might satisfy it?' the nurse shook her head and answered, 'god keep thy sagacity! assuredly he has a want, may thy skill not fail thee. what man is free from wants?' 'go back to him,' rejoined the princess; 'salute him for me, and say to him, "our land and town are honoured by thy visit, and if thou hast any need, we will fulfil it to thee, on our head and eyes."' so the old woman returned to taj el mulouk, and when he saw her, his heart leapt for joy and he rose to his feet and taking her hand, seated her by his side. as soon as she was rested she told him what the princess had said, whereat he rejoiced exceedingly; his breast dilated and gladness entered his heart, and he said in himself, 'verily, i have gotten my desire.' then said he to the old woman, 'belike thou wilt take her a message from me and bring me her answer.' 'i hear and obey,' replied she. so he said to aziz, 'bring me inkhorn and paper and a pen of brass.' aziz brought him what he sought, and he took the pen and wrote the following verses: i send thee, o my hope, a letter, to complain of all my soul endures for parting and its pain. six lines it hath; the first, 'a fire is in my heart;' the next line setteth forth my passion all in vain; the third, 'my patience fails and eke my life doth waste;' the fourth, 'all love with me for ever shall remain.' the fifth, 'when shall mine eyes behold thee? and the sixth, 'when shall the day betide of meeting for us twain? and by way of subscription he wrote these words, 'this letter is from the captive of desire, prisoned in the hold of longing, from which there is no deliverance but in union and intercourse with her whom he loveth, after absence and separation: for he suffereth grievous torment by reason of his severance from his beloved.' then his tears rushed out and he wrote the following verses: i write to thee, my love, and the tears run down as i write; for the tears of my eyes, alack i cease never day or night. yet do i not despair; mayhap, of god his grace, the day shall dawn for us of union and delight. then he folded the letter and sealed it and gave it to the old woman, saying, 'carry it to the lady dunya.' 'i hear and obey,' answered she; whereupon he gave her a thousand dinars and said to her, 'o my mother, accept this, as a token of my affection.' she took the letter and the money, calling down blessings on him, and returned to the princess. when the latter saw her, she said to her, 'o my nurse, what is it he asks, that we may fulfil his wish to him?' 'o my lady,' replied the old woman, 'he sends thee this letter by me, and i know not what is in it.' the princess took the letter and reading it, exclaimed, 'who and what is this merchant that he should dare to write to me thus?' and she buffeted her face, saying, 'what have we done that we should come in converse with shopkeepers? alas! alas! by allah, but that i fear god the most high, i would put him to death and crucify him before his shop!' 'what is in the letter,' asked the old woman, 'to trouble thy heart and move thine anger thus? doth it contain a complaint of oppression or demand for the price of the stuff?' 'out on thee!' answered the princess. 'there is none of this in it, nought but words of love and gallantry. this is all through thee: else how should this devil know me?' 'o my lady,' rejoined the old woman, 'thou sittest in thy high palace and none may win to thee, no, not even the birds of the air. god keep thee and keep thy youth from blame and reproach! thou art a princess, the daughter of a king, and needest not reck of the barking of dogs. blame me not that i brought thee this letter, knowing not what was in it; but it is my counsel that thou send him an answer, threatening him with death and forbidding him from this idle talk. surely he will abstain and return not to the like of this.' 'i fear,' said the princess, 'that, if i write to him, he will conceive hopes of me.' quoth the old woman, 'when he reads thy threats and menace of punishment, he will desist.' so the princess called for inkhorn and paper and pen of brass and wrote the following verses: o thou who feignest thee the prey of love and wakefulness and plainst of that thou dost endure for passion and distress thinkst thou, deluded one, to win thy wishes of the moon? did ever any of a moon get union and liesse? i rede thee put away the thought of this thou seekst from thee, for that therein but peril is for thee and weariness. if thou to this thy speech return, a grievous punishment shall surely fall on thee from me and ruin past redress. by him, the almighty god, i swear, who moulded man from clay, him who gave fire unto the sun and lit the moon no less if thou offend anew, for sure, upon a cross of tree i'll have thee crucified for all thy wealth and goodliness! then she folded the letter and giving it to the old woman, said, 'carry this to him and bid him desist from this talk.' 'i hear and obey,' replied she, and taking the letter, returned, rejoicing, to her own house, where she passed the night and in the morning betook herself to the shop of taj el mulouk, whom she found expecting her. at sight of her, he well-nigh lost his reason for delight, and when she came up to him, he rose to his feet and seated her by his side. then she brought out the letter and gave it to him, saying, 'read this. when the princess read thy letter, she was angry; but i coaxed her and jested with her till i made her laugh, and she had pity on thee and has returned thee an answer.' he thanked her and bade aziz give her a thousand dinars: then he read her letter and fell to weeping sore, so that the old woman's heart was moved to pity for him and his tears and complaints grieved her. so she said to him, 'o my son, what is there in this scroll, that makes thee weep?' 'she threatens me with death and crucifixion,' replied he, 'and forbids me to write to her: but if i write not, my death were better than my life. so take thou my answer to her letter and let her do what she will.' 'by the life of thy youth,' rejoined the old woman, 'needs must i venture my life for thee, that i may bring thee to thy desire and help thee to win that thou hast at heart!' and he said, 'whatever thou dost, i will requite thee therefor, and do thou determine of it; for thou art versed in affairs and skilled in all fashions of intrigue: difficult matters are easy to thee: and god can do all things.' then he took a scroll and wrote therein the following verses: my love with slaughter threatens me, woe's me for my distress! but death is foreordained; to me, indeed, 'twere happiness; better death end a lover's woes than that a weary life he live, rejected and forlorn, forbidden from liesse. visit a lover, for god's sake, whose every helper fails, and with thy sight thy captive slave and bondman deign to bless! have ruth upon me, lady mine, for loving thee; for all, who love the noble, stand excused for very passion's stress. then he sighed heavily and wept, till the old woman wept also and taking the letter, said to him, 'take heart and be of good cheer, for it shall go hard but i bring thee to thy desire.' then she rose and leaving him on coals of fire, returned to the princess, whom she found still pale with rage at taj el mulouk's first letter. the nurse gave her his second letter, whereupon her anger redoubled and she said, 'did i not say he would conceive hopes of us?' 'what is this dog,' replied the old woman, 'that he should conceive hopes of thee?' quoth the princess, 'go back to him and tell him that, if he write to me again, i will have his head cut off.' 'write this in a letter,' answered the nurse, 'and i will take it to him, that his fear may be the greater.' so she took a scroll and wrote thereon the following verses: harkye thou that letst the lessons of the past unheeded lie, thou that lookst aloft, yet lackest power to win thy goal on high, thinkest thou to reach es suha,[fn# ] o deluded one, although even the moon's too far to come at, shining in the middle sky? how then dar'st thou hope my favours and aspire to twinned delight and my spear-straight shape and slender in thine arms to girdle sigh? leave this purpose, lest mine anger fall on thee some day of wrath, such as e'en the parting-places shall with white for terror dye. then she folded the letter and gave it to the old woman, who took it and returned to taj el mulouk. when he saw her, he rose to his feet and exclaimed, 'may god not bereave me of the blessing of thy coming!' quoth she, 'take the answer to thy letter.' he took it and reading it, wept sore and said, 'would some one would slay me now, for indeed death were easier to me than this my state!' then he took pen and inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: o my hope, have done with rigour; lay disdain and anger by, visit one who, drowned in passion, doth for love and longing sigh. think not, under thine estrangement, that my life i will endure. lo, my soul, for very severance from thy sight, is like to die. then he folded the letter and gave it to the old woman, saying, 'grudge it not to me, though i have wearied thee to no purpose.' and he bade aziz give her other thousand dinars, saying, 'o my mother, needs must this letter result in perfect union or complete separation.' 'o my son,' replied she, 'by allah, i desire nought but thy weal; and it is my wish that she be thine, for indeed thou art the resplendent moon and she the rising sun. if i do not bring you together, there is no profit in my life: these ninety years have i lived in the practice of wile and intrigue; so how should i fail to unite two lovers, though in defiance of law?' then she took leave of him, after comforting his heart, and returned to the palace. now she had hidden the letter in her hair: so she sat down by the princess and rubbing her head, said, 'o my lady, maybe thou wilt comb out my hair: for it is long since i went to the bath.' the princess bared her arms to the elbow and letting down the old woman's hair, began to comb it, when out dropped the letter and dunya seeing it, asked what it was. quoth the nurse, 'this paper must have stuck to me, as i sat in the merchant's shop: give it me, that i may return it to him; belike it contains some reckoning of which he hath need.' but the princess opened it, and reading it, cried out, 'this is one of thy tricks, and hadst thou not reared me, i would lay violent hands on thee forthright! verily god hath afflicted me with this merchant: but all that hath befallen me with him is of thy contrivance. i know not whence this fellow can have come: none but he would venture to affront me thus, and i fear lest this my case get wind, the more that it concerns one who is neither of my rank nor of my peers.' 'none would dare speak of this,' rejoined the old woman, 'for fear of thine anger and awe of thy father; so there can be no harm in sending him an answer.' 'o my nurse,' said the princess, 'verily this fellow is a devil. how can he dare to use such language to me and not dread the sultan's wrath? indeed, i am perplexed about his case: if i order him to be put to death, it were unjust; and if i leave him, his presumption will increase.' 'write him a letter,' rejoined the old woman; 'it may be he will desist.' so she called for pen and ink and paper and wrote the following verses: again and again i chide thee, yet folly ever again lures thee: how long, with my writing, in verse shall i bid thee refrain, whilst thou but growest in boldness for all forbidding? but i no grace save to keep thy secret, unto thy prayers may deign. conceal thy passion nor ever reveal it; for, an thou speak, i will surely show thee no mercy nor yet my wrath contain. if to thy foolish daring thou turn thee anew, for sure, the raven of evil omen shall croak for thee death and bane; and slaughter shall come upon thee ere long, and under the earth to seek for a place of abiding, god wot, thou shalt be fain. thy people, o self-deluder, thou'lt leave in mourning for thee; ay, all their lives they shall sorrow for thee, fordone and slain. then she folded the letter and committed it to the old woman, who took it and returning to taj el mulouk, gave it to him. when he read it, he knew that the princess was hard-hearted and that he should not win to her; so he complained to the vizier and besought his advice. quoth he, 'nothing will profit thee save that thou write to her and invoke the wrath of god upon her.' and he said to aziz, 'o my brother, do thou write to her in my name, according to thy knowledge.' so aziz took a scroll and wrote the following verses: o lord, by the five elders, deliver me, i pray, and her, for whom i suffer, in like affliction lay! thou knowest that i weary in raging flames of love; whilst she i love is cruel and saith me ever nay. how long shall i be tender to her, despite my pain? how long shall she ride roughshod o'er my weakness night and day? in agonies i wander of never-ceasing death and find nor friend nor helper, o lord, to be my stay. full fain would i forget her; but how can i forget, when for desire my patience is wasted all away? thou that forbidst my passion the sweets of happy love, art thou then safe from fortune, that shifts and changes aye? art thou not glad and easeful and blest with happy life, whilst i, for thee, an exile from folk and country stray? then he folded the letter and gave it to taj el mulouk, who read the verses and was pleased with them. so he handed the letter to the old woman, who took it and carried it to the princess. when she read it, she was greatly enraged and said, 'all that has befallen me comes from this pernicious old woman!' then she cried out to the damsels and eunuchs, saying, 'seize this accursed old trickstress and beat her with your slippers!' so they beat her till she swooned away; and when she revived, the princess said to her, 'by allah, o wicked old woman, did i not fear god the most high, i would kill thee!' then she bade them beat her again, and they did so, till she fainted a second time, whereupon the princess ordered them to drag her forth and throw her without the palace. so they dragged her along on her face and threw her down before the gate. when she came to herself, she rose and made the best of her way home, walking and resting by turns. she passed the night in her own house and in the morning, she went to taj el mulouk and told him what had passed, at which he was distressed and said, 'o my mother, this that has befallen thee is grievous to us; but all things are according to fate and destiny.' 'take comfort and be of good cheer,' replied she; 'for i will not give over striving, till i have brought thee and her together and made thee to enjoy the vile baggage who hath tortured me with beating.' quoth the prince, 'tell me the reason of her aversion to men.' 'it arose from what she saw in a dream,' answered the old woman. 'and what was this dream?' asked the prince. 'one night,' replied she, 'as she lay asleep, she saw a fowler spread his net upon the ground and scatter grain round it. then he sat down hard by, and all the birds in the neighbourhood flocked to the net. amongst the rest she saw a pair of pigeons, male and female; and whilst she was watching the net, the male bird's foot caught in it and he began to struggle, whereupon all the other birds took fright and flew away. but presently his mate came back and hovered over him, then alighted on the net, unobserved by the fowler, and fell to picking and pulling at the mesh in which the male bird's foot was entangled with her beak, till she released him and they flew away together. then the fowler came up and mended his net and seated himself afar off. after awhile, the birds came back and the female pigeon was caught in the net, whereupon all the other birds took fright and flew away; and the male pigeon flew away with the rest and did not return to his mate. then came the fowler and took the female pigeon and killed her. so the princess awoke, troubled by her dream, and said, "all males are worthless, like this pigeon: and men in general are wanting in goodness to women."' when the old woman had made an end of her story, the prince said to her, 'o my mother, i desire to have one look at her, though it be my death; so do thou contrive me some means of seeing her.' 'know then,' answered she, 'that she hath under her palace windows a pleasure-garden, to which she resorts once in every month by the private door. in ten days, the time of her thus going forth will arrive; so when she is about to visit the garden, i will come and tell thee, that thou mayst go thither and meet her. and look thou quit not the garden, for haply, if she sees thy beauty and grace, her heart will be taken with love of thee, and love is the most potent means of union.' 'i hear and obey,' replied taj el mulouk. then he and aziz left the shop, and taking the old woman with them, showed her where they lodged. then said the prince to aziz, 'i have no further need of the shop, having fulfilled my purpose of it; so i give it to thee with all that is in it; for that thou hast come abroad with me and hast left thy country for my sake.' aziz accepted his gift and they sat conversing awhile, the prince questioning the young merchant of the strange passages of his life and the latter acquainting him with the particulars thereof. presently, they went to the vizier and acquainting him with taj el mulouk's purpose, asked him what they should do. 'let us go to the garden,' answered he. so they donned their richest clothes and went forth, followed by three white slaves, to the garden, which they found thick with trees and abounding in rills. at the gate, they saw the keeper sitting; so they saluted him and he returned their salute. then the vizier gave him a hundred dinars, saying, 'prithee, take this spending-money and fetch us something to eat; for we are strangers and i have with me these two lads, whom i wish to divert.' the gardener took the money and said to them, 'enter and take your pleasure in the garden, for it is all yours; and sit down till i bring you what you require.' so he went to the market, and the vizier and his companions entered the garden. in a little while, the gardener returned with a roasted lamb and bread as white as cotton, which he placed before them, and they ate and drank; after which he set on sweetmeats, and they ate of them, then washed their hands and sat talking. presently the vizier said to the gardener, 'tell me about this garden: is it thine or dost thou rent it?' 'it does not belong to me,' replied he, 'but to the princess dunya, the king's daughter.' 'what is thy wage?' asked the vizier, and the gardener answered, 'one dinar every month and no more.' then the vizier looked round about the garden and seeing in its midst a pavilion, lofty but old and dilapidated, said to the keeper, 'o elder, i am minded to do here a good work, by which thou shalt remember me.' 'o my lord,' rejoined the other, 'what is that?' 'take these three hundred dinars,' answered the vizier. when the keeper heard speak of the dinars, he said, 'o my lord, do what thou wilt.' so the vizier gave him the money, saying, 'god willing, we will work a good work in this place.' then they left the garden and returned to their lodging, where they passed the night. next day, the vizier sent for a plasterer and a painter and a skilful goldsmith, and furnishing them with all the tools and materials that they required, carried them to the garden, where he bade them plaster the walls of the pavilion and decorate it with various kinds of paintings. then he sent for gold and ultramarine and said to the painter, 'paint me on the wall, at the upper end of the saloon, a fowler, with his nets spread and birds lighted round them and a female pigeon fallen into the net and entangled therein by the bill. let this fill one compartment of the wall, and on the other paint the fowler seizing the pigeon and setting the knife to her throat, whilst the third compartment of the picture must show a great hawk seizing the male pigeon, her mate, and digging his talons into him.' the painter did as the vizier bade him, and when he and the other workmen had finished, they took their hire and went away. then the vizier and his companions took leave of the gardener and returned to their lodging, where they sat down to converse. and taj el mulouk said to aziz, 'o my brother, recite me some verses: haply it may dilate my breast and dispel my sad thoughts and assuage the fire of my heart.' so aziz chanted the following verses: all that they fable lovers feel of anguish and despite, i in myself comprise, and so my strength is crushed outright; and if thou seekst a watering-place, see, from my streaming eyes, rivers of tears for those who thirst run ever day and night. or, if thou fain wouldst look upon the ruin passion's hands can wreak on lovers, let thy gaze upon my body light. and his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated these verses also: who loves not the necks and the eyes of the fair and pretends, forsooth, to know the delight of the world, god wot, he speaks not the truth for in love is a secret meaning that none may win to know save he who has loved indeed and known its wrath and ruth. may god not lighten my heart of passion for her i love nor ease my eyelids, for love, of wakefulness in my youth! then he sang the following: avicenna pretends, in his writings renowned, that the lover's best medicine is song and sweet sound and dalliance with one of his sex like his love and drinking, with waters and fruits all around. i took me another, to heal me for thee, and fate was propitious and grace did abound yet i knew love a mortal disease, against which avicenna his remedy idle i found. taj el mulouk was pleased with his verses and wondered at his eloquence and the excellence of his recitation, saying, 'indeed thou hast done away from me somewhat of my concern.' then said the vizier, 'of a truth there occurred to those of times past what astounds those who hear it.' 'if thou canst recall any fine verse of this kind,' quoth the prince, 'i prithee let us hear it and keep the talk in vogue.' so the vizier chanted the following verses: methought thy favours might be bought and thou to give consent to union won by gifts of gold and grace and blandishment: and eke, for ignorance, i deemed thy love an easy thing, thy love in which the noblest souls for languor are forspent; until i saw thee choose one out and gratify that one with sweet and subtle favours. then, to me 'twas evident thy graces never might be won by any artifice; so underneath my wing my head i hid incontinent and in the nest of passion made my heart's abiding-place, wherein my morning and my night for evermore are pent. meanwhile the old woman remained shut up in her house till it befell that the princess was taken with a desire to divert herself in the garden. now this she had been wont to do only in company with her nurse; so she sent for her and spoke her fair and made her peace with her, saying, 'i wish to go forth to the garden, that i may divert myself with the sight of its trees and fruits and gladden my heart with its flowers.' 'i hear and obey,' replied the old woman; 'but let me first go to my house and change my dress, and i will be with thee anon.' 'go,' said the princess; 'but be not long absent from me.' so the old woman left her and repairing to taj el mulouk, said to him, 'don thy richest clothes and go to the gardener and salute him and make shift to hide thyself in the garden.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he; and she agreed with him upon a signal to be made by her to him and returned to the princess. as soon as she was gone, the vizier and aziz rose and dressed taj el mulouk in a right costly suit of kings' raiment, worth five thousand dinars, and girt his middle with a girdle of gold set with jewels. then he repaired to the garden and found the keeper seated at the gate. as soon as the latter saw him, he sprang to his feet and received him with all respect and consideration and opening the gate, said, 'enter and take thy pleasure in the garden.' now the gardener knew not that the princess was to visit the garden that day: but taj el mulouk had been there but a little while, when he heard a noise and ere he could think, out came the eunuchs and damsels by the private door. when the gardener saw this, he came up to the prince and said to him, 'o my lord, what is to be done? the princess dunya, the king's daughter, is here.' 'fear not,' replied the prince; 'no harm shall befall thee: for i will conceal myself somewhere about the garden.' so the gardener exhorted him to the utmost prudence and went away. presently, the princess entered the garden, attended by her damsels and the old woman, who said to herself, 'if these eunuchs abide with us, we shall not attain our object.' so she said to the princess, 'o my lady, i have somewhat to say to thee that will be for thy heart's ease.' 'say on,' replied the princess. 'o my lady,' said the old woman, 'thou hast no present need of these eunuchs; send them away, for thou wilt not be able to divert thyself at thine ease, whilst they are with us.' 'thou art right,' rejoined the princess. so she dismissed the eunuchs and began to walk about, whilst taj el mulouk fed his eyes on her beauty and grace, without her knowledge, and fainted every time he looked at her, by reason of her surpassing loveliness. the old woman held her in converse and drew her on till they reached the pavilion, which the vizier had caused to be decorated afresh, when the princess entered and looking round, perceived the picture of the fowler and the birds; whereupon she exclaimed, 'glory be to god! this is the very presentment of what i saw in my dream.' she continued to gaze at the painting, full of admiration, and presently she said, 'o my nurse, i have been wont to blame and dislike men, by reason of my having seen in my dream the female pigeon abandoned by her mate; but now see how the male pigeon was minded to return and set her free; but the hawk met him and tore him in pieces.' the old woman, however, feigned ignorance and ceased not to hold her in converse, till they drew near the place where the prince lay hidden, whereupon she signed to him to come out and walk under the windows of the pavilion. he did so: and presently the princess, chancing to look out, saw him and noting his beauty and symmetry, said to the old woman, 'o my nurse, whence comes yonder handsome youth?' 'i know nothing of him,' replied the old woman, 'except that i think he must be some great king's son, for he attains the utmost extreme of beauty and grace.' the princess fell passionately in love with him; the spells that bound her were dissolved and her reason was overcome by his beauty and elegance. so she said to the old woman, 'o my nurse this is indeed a handsome youth.' 'thou art in the right o my lady!' replied the nurse and signed to taj el mulouk to go home. so he went away, not daring to cross her though desire flamed in him and he was distraught for love and longing, and taking leave of the gardener, returned to his lodging, where he told the vizier and aziz all that had passed. they exhorted him to patience, saying, 'did not the old woman know that there was an object to be gained by thy departure, she had not signed to thee to return home.' meanwhile, desire and passion redoubled upon the princess, and she was overcome with love-longing and said to the old woman, 'i know not how i shall foregather with this youth, but through thee.' 'god be my refuge from satan the accursed!' exclaimed the old woman. 'thou that art averse from men! how comes it that thou art thus afflicted with love of this young man? though, by allah, none is worthy of thy youth but he!' 'o my nurse,' said the princess, 'help me to foregather with him, and thou shalt have of me a thousand dinars and a dress worth as much more: but if thou aid me not to come at him, i shall assuredly die.' 'go to thy palace,' replied the nurse, 'and leave me to devise means for bringing you together. i will risk my life to content you both.' so the princess returned to her palace, and the old woman betook herself to taj el mulouk, who rose to receive her and entreated her with respect and honour, making her sit by his side. then said she, 'the device hath succeeded,' and told him all that had passed between the princess and herself. 'when is our meeting to be?' asked he. 'to-morrow,' replied the old woman. so he gave her a thousand dinars and a dress of equal value, and she took them and returned to the princess, who said to her, as soon as she saw her, 'o my nurse, what news of my beloved?' 'i have discovered where he lives,' replied she, 'and will bring him to thee to-morrow.' at this the princess was glad and gave her a thousand dinars and a dress worth as much more, with which she returned to her own house, where she passed the night. next morning, she went to taj el mulouk and dressing him in women's clothes, said to him, 'follow me and sway from side to side, as thou goest, and do not hasten in thy walk nor take heed of any that speaks to thee.' then she went out and walked on, followed by the prince, whom she continued to lesson and hearten by the way, that he might not be afraid, till they came to the palace gate. she entered and the prince after her, and she led him through doors and vestibules, till they had passed six doors. as they approached the seventh door, she said to him, 'take courage and when i call out to thee and say, "pass, o damsel!" do not hesitate, but hasten on. when thou art in the vestibule, thou wilt see on thy left a gallery, with doors along it: count five doors and enter the sixth, for therein is thy desire.' 'and whither wilt thou go?' asked the prince. 'nowhere,' answered she; 'except that i may drop behind thee and the chief eunuch may detain me, whilst i talk with him.' then they went up to the door, where the chief eunuch was stationed, and he, seeing taj el mulouk with her, dressed as a slave-girl, said to the old woman, 'what girl is this with thee?' quoth she, 'this is a slave-girl of whom the princess dunya has heard that she is skilled in different arts, and she hath a mind to buy her.' 'i know no slave-girl,' rejoined the eunuch, 'nor any one else; and none shall enter here without being searched by me, according to the king's orders.' at this the old woman feigned to be angry and said, 'i thought thee a man of sense and good breeding: but, if thou be changed, i will let the princess know of it and how thou hinderest her slave-girl.' then she cried out to taj el mulouk, saying, 'pass on, o damsel!' so he passed on into the vestibule, whilst the eunuch was silent and said nothing. then the prince counted five doors and entered the sixth, where he found the princess dunya standing awaiting him. as soon as she saw him, she knew him and pressed him to her bosom, and he returned her embrace. then the old woman came in to them, having made a pretext to dismiss the princess's attendants for fear of discovery, and the princess said to her, 'do thou keep the door.' so she and taj el mulouk abode alone together and passed the night in kissing and embracing and twining leg with leg. when the day drew near, she left him and shutting the door upon him, passed in to another apartment, where she sat down according to her wont, whilst her women came in to her, and she attended to their affairs and conversed with them awhile. then she said to them, 'leave me now, for i wish to be alone.' so they withdrew and she betook herself to taj el mulouk, and the old woman brought them food, of which they ate and after fell again to amorous dalliance, till the dawn. then the princess left him, and locked the door as before; and they ceased not to do thus for a whole month. meanwhile, the vizier and aziz, when they found that the prince did not return from the princess's palace all this while, gave him up for lost and aziz said to the vizier, 'o my father, what shall we do?' 'o my son,' answered he, 'this is a difficult matter, and except we return to his father and tell him, he will blame us.' so they made ready at once and setting out, journeyed night and day along the valleys, in the direction of the green country, till they reached king suleiman's capital and presenting themselves before him, acquainted him with what had befallen his son and how they had heard no news of him, since he entered the princess's palace. at this the king was greatly troubled and regret was sore upon him, and he let call a holy war throughout his realm. then he encamped without the town with his troops and took up his abode in his pavilion, whilst the levies came from all parts of the kingdom; for his subjects loved him by reason of his much justice and beneficence. as soon as his forces were assembled, he took horse, with an army covering the country as far as the eye could reach, and departed in quest of his son taj el mulouk. meanwhile, the latter sojourned with the princess half a year's time, whilst every day they redoubled in mutual affection and distraction and passion and love-longing and desire so pressed upon taj el mulouk, that at last he opened his mind to the princess and said to her, 'know, o beloved of my heart and entrails, that the longer i abide with thee, the more longing and passion and desire increase on me, for that i have not yet fulfilled the whole of my desire.' 'what then wouldst thou have, o light of my eyes and fruit of my entrails?' asked she. 'if thou desire aught beside kissing and embracing and entwining of legs, do what pleases thee; for, by allah, none hath any part in us.' 'it is not that i desire,' rejoined he; 'but i would fain acquaint thee with my true history. i am no merchant, but a king, the son of a king, and my father is the supreme king suleiman shah, who sent his vizier ambassador to thy father, to demand thy hand for me in marriage, but thou wouldst not consent.' then he told her his story from first to last, nor is there any profit in repeating it, and added, 'and now i wish to return to my father, that he may send an ambassador to thy father, to demand thy hand for me, so we may be at ease.' when she heard this, she rejoiced greatly, because it fell in with her own wishes, and they passed the night on this understanding. but by the decree of fate, it befell that sleep overcame them that night above all nights and they slept till the sun had risen. now at this hour, king shehriman was sitting on his chair of estate, with his amirs and grandees before him, when the chief of the goldsmiths presented himself before him carrying a large box, which he opened and brought out therefrom a small casket worth a hundred thousand dinars, for that which was therein of rubies and emeralds and other jewels, beyond the competence of any king. when the king saw this, he marveled at its beauty and turning to the chief eunuch (him with whom the old woman had had to do, as before related), said to him, 'o kafour, take this casket to the princess dunya.' the eunuch took the casket and repairing to the princess's apartment, found the door shut and the old woman lying asleep on the threshold; whereupon said he, 'asleep at this hour?' his voice aroused the old woman, who was terrified and said to him, 'wait till i fetch the key.' then she went out and fled for her life; but the eunuch, having his suspicions of her, lifted the door off its hinges and entering, found the princess and taj el mulouk lying asleep in each other's arms. at this sight he was confounded and was about to return to the king, when the princess awoke, and seeing him, was terrified and changed colour and said to him, 'o kafour, veil thou what god hath veiled.' but he replied, 'i cannot conceal aught from the king;' and locking the door on them, returned to shehriman, who said to him, 'hast thou given the casket to the princess?' 'here is the casket,' answered the eunuch. 'take it, for i cannot conceal aught from thee. know that i found a handsome young man in the princess's arms, and they asleep in one bed.' the king commanded them to be fetched and said to them, 'what manner of thing is this!' and being violently enraged, seized a dagger and was about to strike taj el mulouk with it, when the princess threw herself upon him and said to her father, 'slay me before him.' the king reviled her and commanded her to be taken back to her chamber: then he turned to taj el mulouk and said to him, 'woe to thee! whence art thou? who is thy father and what hath emboldened thee to debauch my daughter?' 'know, o king,' replied the prince, 'that if thou put me to death, thou wilt repent it, for it will be thy ruin and that of all in thy dominions.' 'how so?' asked the king. 'know,' answered taj el mulouk, 'that i am the son of king suleiman shah, and before thou knowest it, he will be upon thee with his horse and foot.' when king shehriman heard this, he would have forborne to kill taj el mulouk and put him in prison, till he should know the truth of his words; but his vizier said to him, 'o king of the age, it is my counsel that thou make haste to slay this gallows-bird, that dares debauch kings' daughters.' so the king said to the headsman, 'strike off his head; for he is a traitor.' accordingly, the headsman took him and binding him fast, raised his hand to the amirs, as if to consult them, a first and a second time, thinking to gain time; but the king said to him, 'how long wilt thou consult the amirs? if thou do so again, i will strike off thine own head.' so the headsman raised his hand, till the hair of his armpit appeared, and was about to smite off taj el mulouk's head, when suddenly loud cries arose and the people closed their strops; whereupon the king said to him, 'wait awhile,' and despatched one to learn the news. presently, the messenger returned and said, 'i see an army like the stormy sea with its clashing billows; the earth trembles with the tramp of their horses, and i know not the reason of their coming.' when the king heard this, he was confounded and feared lest his realm should be torn from him; so he turned to his vizier and said, 'have not any of our troops gone forth to meet this army?' but before he had done speaking, his chamberlains entered with messengers from the approaching host, and amongst them the vizier who had accompanied taj el mulouk. they saluted the king, who rose to receive them and bidding them draw near, enquired the reason of their coming; whereupon the vizier came forward and said, 'know that he who hath invaded thy realm is no king like unto the kings and sultans of time past.' 'who is he?' asked shehriman, and the vizier replied, 'he is the lord of justice and loyalty, the report of whose magnanimity the caravans have blazed abroad, the sultan suleiman shah, lord of the green country and the two columns and the mountains of ispahan, he who loves justice and equity and abhors iniquity and oppression. he saith to thee that his son, the darling of his heart and the fruit of his loins, is with thee and in this thy city; and if he find him in safety, his aim is won and thou shalt have praise and thanks; but if he have disappeared from thy dominions or if aught have befallen him, look thou for ruin and the laying waste of thy realm; for this thy city shall become a desert, in which the raven shall croak. thus have i done my errand to thee and peace be on thee!' when king shehriman heard these words, his heart was troubled and he feared for his kingdom: so he cried out for his grandees and viziers and chamberlains and officers; and when they appeared, he said to them, 'out on you! go down and search for the young man!' now the prince was still under the headsman's hands, but he was changed by the fright he had undergone. presently, the vizier, chancing to look aside, saw the prince on the carpet of blood and knew him; so he threw himself upon him, as did the other envoys. then they loosed his bonds and kissed his hands and feet, whereupon he opened his eyes and recognizing his father's vizier and his friend aziz, fell down in a swoon, for excess of delight in them. when king shehriman saw that the coming of the army was indeed on this youth's account, he was confounded and feared greatly; so he went up to taj el mulouk and kissing his head, said to him, with streaming eyes, 'o my son, bear me not malice neither blame the sinner for his evil-doing: but have compassion on my gray hairs and do not lay waste my kingdom.' but taj el mulouk drew near unto him and kissing his hand, replied, 'fear not: no harm shall come to thee, for indeed thou art to me as my father; but look that nought befall my beloved, the lady dunya.' 'o my lord,' replied the king, 'fear not for her; nought but joy shall betide her.' and he went on to excuse himself to him and made his peace with king suleiman's vizier, to whom he promised much money, if he would conceal from the king what he had seen. then he bade his officers carry the prince to the bath and clothe him in one of the best of his own suits and bring him back speedily. so they carried him to the bath and brought him back to the presence-chamber, after having clad him in the suit that the king had set apart for him. when he entered, the king rose to receive him and made all his grandees stand in attendance on him. then he sat down to converse with aziz and the vizier and acquainted them with what had befallen him; after which they told him how they had returned to his father and given him to know of his son's perilous plight and added, 'and indeed our coming hath brought thee relief and us gladness.' quoth he, 'good fortune hath attended your every action, first and last.' meanwhile, king shehriman went in to his daughter, the princess dunya, and found her weeping and lamenting for taj el mulouk. moreover, she had taken a sword and fixed the hilt in the earth, with the point to her heart between her breasts; and she bent over it, saying, 'needs must i kill myself and not live after my beloved.' when her father entered and saw her in this case, he cried out, 'o princess of kings' daughters, hold thy hand and have compassion on thy father and the people of thy realm!' then he came up to her and said, 'god forbid that an ill thing should befall thy father for thy sake!' and he told her that her lover was the son of king suleiman shah and sought her to wife and that the marriage waited only for her consent; whereat she smiled and said, 'did i not tell thee that he was a king's son? by allah, i must let him crucify thee on a piece of wood worth two dirhems!' 'o my daughter,' answered the king, 'have mercy on me, so may god have mercy on thee!' 'harkye,' rejoined she, 'make haste and bring him to me without delay.' the king replied, 'on my head and eyes be it,' and returning in haste to taj el mulouk, repeated her words in his ear. so he arose and accompanied the king to the princess, who caught hold of him and embraced him in her father's presence and kissed him, saying, 'thou hast made me a weary woman!' then she turned to her father and said to him, 'sawst thou ever any do hurt to the like of this fair creature, more by token that he is a king, the son of a king, and of the free-bon, guarded against abominations?' therewith shehriman went out and shutting the door on them with his own hand, returned to the vizier and the other envoys and bade them report to their king that his son was in health and gladness and enjoying all delight of life with his beloved. so they returned to king suleiman and acquainted him with this, whereat he rejoiced and exclaimed, 'praised be god who hath brought my son to his desire!' meanwhile, king shehriman despatched largesse of money and victual to king suleiman's troops, and choosing out a hundred coursers and a hundred dromedaries and a hundred white slaves and a hundred concubines and a hundred black slaves and a hundred female slaves, sent them all to the king as a present. then he took horse, with his grandees and chief officers, and rode out of the city in the direction of king suleiman's camp. as soon as the latter knew of his approach, he rose and advancing some paces to meet him, took him in his arms and made him sit down beside himself on the royal couch, where they conversed awhile frankly and cheerfully. then food was set before them, followed by sweetmeats and fruits, and they ate till they were satisfied. presently, they were joined by taj el mulouk, richly dressed and adorned, and when his father saw him, he rose and embraced him and kissed him. then the two kings seated him between them, whilst all who were present rose to do him honour; and they sat conversing awhile, after which quoth king suleiman to king shehriman, 'i wish to have the contract between my son and thy daughter drawn up in the presence of witnesses, that the marriage may be made public, as of wont.' 'i hear and obey,' answered king shehriman and summoned the cadi and the witnesses, who came and drew up the marriage contract between the prince and princess. then they gave largesse of money and sweetmeats and burnt perfumes and sprinkled essences. and indeed it was a day of joy and festivity, and the grandees and soldiers rejoiced therein. then king shehriman proceeded to equip his daughter; and taj el mulouk said to his father, 'of a truth, this young man aziz is a man of great worth and generosity and hath done me right noble service, having wearied for me and travelled with me till he brought me to my desire. indeed, he ceased never to have patience with me and exhort me to patience, till i accomplished my intent; and he has now companied with us two whole years, cut off from his native land. so now i purpose to equip him with merchandise, that he may depart with a light heart; for his country is near at hand.' 'it is well seen,' replied his father: so they made ready a hundred loads of the richest and most costly stuffs, which taj el mulouk presented to aziz, saying, 'o my brother and my true friend, take these loads and accept them from me, as a gift and token of affection, and go in peace to thine own country.' aziz accepted the presents and kissing the earth before the prince and his father, bade them farewell. moreover, taj el mulouk mounted and brought him three miles on his homeward way, after which aziz conjured him to turn back, saying, 'by allah, o my lord, were it not for my mother, i would never part from thee! but leave me not without news of thee.' 'so be it,' replied taj el mulouk. then the prince returned to the city, and aziz journeyed on, till he came to his native town and repairing to his mother's house, found that she had built him a monument in the midst of the courtyard and used to visit it continually. when he entered, he found her, with her hair dishevelled and spread over the tomb, weeping and repeating the following verses: indeed, i'm very patient 'gainst all that can betide; yet do i lack of patience thine absence to abide. who is there can have patience after his friend and who bows not the head to parting, that comes with rapid stride? then sobs burst up out of her breast, and she repeated these verses also: what ails me? i pass by the graveyard, saluting the tomb of my son, and yet no greeting he gives me and answer comes there none. "how shall i give thee an answer, who lie in the grip of the grave, the hostage of earth and corruption," replies the beloved one. "the dust hath eaten my beauties and i have forgotten thee, shut in from kindred and lovers and stars and moon and sun." then aziz came in to her, and when she saw him, she fell down in a swoon for joy. he sprinkled water on her, till she revived and rising, took him in her arms and strained him to her bosom, whilst he in like manner embraced her. then they exchanged greetings, and she asked the reason of his long absence, whereupon he told her all that had befallen him from first to last and how taj el mulouk had given him a hundred loads of wealth and stuffs. at this she rejoiced, and aziz abode with his mother in his native town, weeping for what had befallen him with the daughter of delileh the crafty, even her who had gelded him. meanwhile, taj el mulouk went in to his beloved, the princess dunya, and did away her maidenhead. then king shehriman proceeded to equip his daughter for her journey with her husband and father-in-law and let bring them victual and gifts and rarities. so they loaded their beasts and set forth, whilst shehriman brought them three days' journey on their way, till king suleiman begged him to return. so he took leave of them and turned back, and taj el mulouk and his wife and father journeyed on, night and day, with their troops, till they drew near the capital of the green country. as soon as the news of their coming became known, the folk decorated the city; so in they entered, and the king sitting down on his chair of estate, with his son by his side, gave alms and largesse and loosed those who were in bonds. then he held a second bridal for his son, and the sound of the singing-women and players upon instruments of music ceased not for a whole month, during which time the tire-women stinted not to adorn the bride and display her in various dresses; and she tired not of the unveiling nor did they weary of gazing on her. then taj el mulouk, after having companied awhile with his father and mother, took up his sojourn with his wife, and they abode in all delight of life and fair fortune, till there came to them the destroyer of delights." when the vizier had made an end of the story of taj el mulouk and the princess dunya, zoulmekan said to him, "of a truth, it is the like of thee who lighten the mourning heart and are worthy to be the companions of kings and to guide their policy in the right way." meanwhile, they ceased not from the leaguer of constantinople; and there they lay four whole years, till they yearned after their native land and the troops murmured, being weary of siege and vigil and stress of war by night and by day. then king zoulmekan summoned rustem and behram and terkash and bespoke them thus, "know that all these years we have lain here and have not come by our intent and have gotten us but increase of trouble and concern; for indeed we came, thinking to take our wreak for king omar ben ennuman and behold, my brother sherkan was slain; so is our sorrow grown two sorrows and our affliction two afflictions. all this came of the old woman dhat ed dewahi, for it was she who slew the sultan in his kingdom and carried off his wife, the princess sufiyeh; nor did this suffice her, but she must put another cheat on us and slay my brother sherkan: and indeed i have bound myself and sworn by the most solemn oaths to avenge them of her. what say ye? ponder my words and answer me." with this, they bowed their heads and answered, "it is for the vizier dendan to decide." so the vizier came forward and said, "o king of the age, it avails us nothing to tarry here, and it is my counsel that we strike camp and return to our own country, there to abide awhile and after return and fall upon the worshippers of idols." "this is a good counsel," replied the king; "for indeed the folk weary for a sight of their families, and i also am troubled with yearning after my son kanmakan and my brother's daughter kuzia fekan, for she is in damascus and i know not how it is with her." so he bade the herald call the retreat after three days, whereupon the troops rejoiced and blessed the vizier dendan. then they fell to preparing for the homeward march and on the fourth day, they beat the drums and unfurled the banners and the army set forth, the vizier in the van and the king riding in the mid-battle, with the great chamberlain by his side, and journeyed night and day, till they reached baghdad. the folk rejoiced in their return, and care and hardship ceased from them, whilst those who had stayed at home came forth to meet those who had been so long absent and each amir betook him to his own house. as for zoulmekan, he went up to the palace and went into his son kanmakan, who had now reached the age of seven and used to go down [into the tilting-ground] and ride. as soon as the king was rested of his journey, he entered the bath with his son, and returning, seated himself on his chair of estate, whilst the vizier dendan took up his station before him and the amirs and grandees of the realm entered and stood in attendance upon him. then he called for his comrade the stoker, who had befriended him in his strangerhood; and when he came, the king rose to do him honour and made him sit by his own side. now he had acquainted the vizier with all the kindness and fair service that the stoker had done him; so the vizier and all the amirs made much of him. the stoker had waxed fat and burly with rest and good living, so that his neck was like an elephant's neck and his face like a porpoise's belly. moreover, he was grown dull of wit, for that he had never stirred from his place; so at the first he knew not the king by his aspect. but zoulmekan came up to him smilingly and saluted him after the friendliest fashion, saying, "how hast thou made haste to forget me!" so the stoker roused himself and looking steadfastly on zoulmekan knew him: whereupon he sprang to his feet and exclaimed. "o my friend, who hath made thee sultan?" zoulmekan laughed at him and the vizier, coming up to him, expounded the whole story to him and said, "he was thy brother and thy friend; and now he is king of the land and needs must thou get great good of him. so i counsel thee, if he say to thee, 'ask a boon of me,' ask not but for some great thing; for thou art very dear to him." quoth the stoker, "i fear lest, if i ask of him aught, he may not choose to grant it or may not be able thereto." "have no care," answered the vizier; "whatsoever thou asketh, he will give thee." "by allah," rejoined the stoker, "i must ask of him a thing that is in my thought! every night i dream of it and implore god to vouchsafe it to me." "take heart," said the vizier. "by allah, if thou askedst of him the government of damascus, in the room of his brother he would surely give it thee." with this, the stoker rose to his feet and zoulmekan signed to him to sit; but he refused, saying, "god forfend! the days are gone by of my sitting in thy presence." "not so," answered the sultan; "they endure even now. thou wert the cause that i am now alive, and by allah, what thing soever thou askest of me, i will give it to thee! but ask thou first of god, and then of me." "o my lord," said the stoker, "i fear...," "fear not," quoth the sultan. "i fear," continued he, "to ask aught and that thou shouldst refuse it to me." at this the king laughed and replied, "if thou askedst of me the half of my kingdom, i would share it with thee: so ask what thou wilt and leave talking." "i fear...," repeated the stoker. "do not fear," said the king. "i fear," went on the stoker, "lest i ask a thing and thou be not able thereto." with this, the sultan waxed wroth and said, "ask what thou wilt." then said the stoker, "i ask, first of god and then of thee, that thou write me a patent of mastership over all the stokers in jerusalem." the sultan and all who were present laughed and zoulmekan said, "ask somewhat other than this." "o my lord," replied the stoker, "said i not i feared thou wouldst not choose to grant me what i should ask or be not able thereto?" therewith the vizier nudged him once and twice and thrice, and every time he began, "i ask of thee..." quoth the sultan, "ask and be speedy." so he said, "i beseech thee to make me captain of the scavengers in jerusalem or damascus." then all those who were present laughed, till they fell backward, and the vizier beat him. so he turned to the vizier and said to him, "what art thou that thou shouldst beat me? it is no fault of mine: didst thou not bid me ask some considerable thing? let me go to my own country." with this, the sultan knew that he was jesting and took patience with him awhile; then turned to him and said, "o my brother, ask of me some considerable thing, befitting our dignity." so the stoker said, "o king of the age, i ask first of god and then of thee, that thou make me viceroy of damascus in the room of thy brother." "god granteth thee this," answered the king. so the stoker kissed the ground before him, and he bade set him a chair in his rank and put on him a viceroy's habit. then he wrote him a patent of investiture and sealing it with his own seal, said to the vizier, "none shall go with him but thou; and when thou returnest, do thou bring with thee my brother's daughter, kuzia fekan." "i hear and obey," answered the vizier and taking the stoker, went down with him and made ready for the journey. then the king appointed the stoker servants and officers and gave him a new litter and princely equipage and said to the amirs, "whoso loves me, let him honour this man and give him a handsome present." so they brought him every one his gift, according to his competence; and the king named him ziblcan, [fn# ] and conferred on him the surname of honour of el mujahid.[fn# ] as soon as the new viceroy's gear was ready, he went up with the vizier to the king, to take leave of him and ask his permission to depart. the king rose to him and embracing him, exhorted him to do justice among his subjects and deal fairly with them and bade him make ready for war against the infidels after two years then they took leave of each other and king ziblcan, surnamed el mujahid, set out on his journey, after the amirs had brought him slaves and servants, even to five thousand in number, who rode after him. the grand chamberlain also took horse, as did behram, captain of the medes, and rustem, captain of the persians, and terkash, captain of the arabs, and rode with him three days' journey, to do him honour and take their leaves of him. then they returned to baghdad and the sultan ziblcan and the vizier dendan fared on, with their company, till they drew near damascus. now news was come upon the wings of birds, to the notables of damascus that king zoulmekan had made sultan over damascus a sultan called ziblcan el mujahid; so when he reached the city, he found it decorated in his honour, and all the folk came out to gaze on him. he entered damascus in great state and went up to the citadel, where he sat down upon his chair of estate, whilst the vizier dendan stood in attendance on him, to acquaint him with the ranks and stations of the amirs. then the grandees came in to him and kissed hands and called down blessings on him. he received them graciously and bestowed on them gifts and dresses of honour; after which he opened the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops, great and small. then he governed and did justice and proceeded to equip the lady kuzia fekan, daughter of king sherkan, appointing her a litter of silken stuff. moreover, he furnished the vizier dendan also for the return journey and would have made him a gift of money, but he refused, saying, "thou art near the time of the tryst with the king, and haply thou wilt have need of money, or we may send to seek of thee funds for the holy war or what not." when the vizier was ready, the viceroy brought kuzia fekan to him and made her mount the litter, giving her ten damsels to do her service. moreover, he mounted, to bid the vizier farewell, and they set forward, whilst ziblcan returned to damascus and busied himself in ordering the affairs of his government and making ready his harness of war, against such time as king zoulmekan should send to him there for. meanwhile the vizier and his company fared forward by easy stages, till they came, after a month's travel, to ruhbeh[fn# ] and thence pushed on, till they drew near baghdad. then he despatched messengers, to inform king zoulmekan of his arrival; and he, when he heard this, took horse and rode out to meet him. the vizier would have dismounted to receive him, but the king conjured him not to do so and spurred his steed, till he came up to him. then he questioned him of ziblcan, whereto the vizier replied that he was well and that he had brought with him his brother's daughter, kuzia fekan. at this the king rejoiced and said to dendan, "go thou and rest thee of the fatigue of the journey, and after three days come to me again." "with all my heart," replied the vizier and betook himself to his own house, whilst the king went up to his palace and went in to his brother's daughter, who was then a girl of eight years old. when he saw her, he rejoiced in her and sorrowed sore for her father. then he let make for her clothes and gave her splendid jewels and ornaments and bade lodge her with his son kanmakan in one place. so they both grew up, the brightest and bravest of the people of their time; but kuzia fekan grew up possessed of good sense and understanding and knowledge of the issues of events, whilst kanmakan grew up generous and freehanded, taking no thought to the issue of aught. now kuzia fekan used to ride a-horseback and fare forth with her cousin into the open plain and range at large with him in the desert; and they both learnt to smite with swords and thrust with spears. so they grew up, till each of them attained the age of twelve, when king zoulmekan, having completed his preparations and provisions for the holy war, summoned the vizier dendan and said to him, "know that i am minded to do a thing, which i will discover to thee, and do thou with speed return me an answer thereon." "what is that, o king of the age?" asked the vizier. "i am resolved," said the king, "to make my son kanmakan king and rejoice in him in my lifetime and do battle before him, till death overcome me. what deemest thou of this?" the vizier kissed the earth before the king and replied, "o king and sultan, lord of the age and the time, this that is in thy mind is indeed good, save that it is now no time to carry it out, for two reasons: the first, that thy son kanmakan is yet of tender age; and the second, that it is of wont that he who makes his son king in his lifetime, lives but a little thereafterward." "know, o vizier," rejoined the king, "that we will make the grand chamberlain guardian over him, for he is art and part of us and he married my sister, so that he is to me as a brother." quoth the vizier, "do what seemeth good to thee: we will obey thine orders." then the king sent for the grand chamberlain and the grandees of the kingdom and said to them, "ye know that this my son kanmakan is the first cavalier of the age and that he hath no peer in jousting and martial exercises; and now i appoint him to be sultan over you in my stead and i make his uncle, the grand chamberlain, guardian over him." "o king of the age," replied the chamberlain, "i am but an offset of thy bounty." and the king said, "o chamberlain, verily this my son kanmakan and my niece kuzia fekan are brothers' children; so i marry them one to the other and i call those present to witness thereof." then he made over to his son such treasures as beggar description and going in to his sister nuzhet ez zeman told her what he had done, whereat she rejoiced greatly and said, "verily, they are both my children. may god preserve thee to them many a year!" "o my sister," replied he, "i have accomplished that which was in my heart of the world and i have no fear for my son: yet it were well that thou shouldst have a watchful eye to him and to his mother." and he went on to commend to the chamberlain and nuzhet ez zeman his son and niece and wife. thus did he nights and days till he [fell sick and] deeming surely that he should drink the cup of death, took to his bed and abode thus a whole year, whilst the chamberlain took upon himself the ordering of the people and the realm. at the end of this time, the king summoned his son kanmakan and the vizier dendan and said to the former, "o my son, this vizier shall be thy father, when i am dead; for know that i am about to leave this transitory house of life for that which is eternal. and indeed i have fulfilled my lust of this world; yet there remaineth in my heart one regret, which may god dispel at thy hands!" "what regret is that, o my father?" asked his son. "o my son," answered zoulmekan, "it is that i die without having avenged thy grandfather omar ben ennuman and thine uncle sherkan on an old woman whom they call dhat ed dewahi; but, so god grant thee aid, do not thou fail to take thy wreak on her and to wipe out the disgrace we have suffered at the hands of the infidels. beware of the old woman's craft and do as the vizier shall counsel thee; for that he from of old time hath been the pillar of our realm." and his son assented to what he said. then the king's eyes ran over with tears and his sickness redoubled on him, nor did it leave to press sore upon him four whole years, during which time his brother-in-law the chamberlain held sway over the country, judging and commanding and forbidding, to the contentment of the people and the nobles, and all the land prayed for him[fn# ] what while zoulmekan was occupied with his malady. as for kanmakan, he had no thought but of riding and tilting with spears and shooting with arrows, and thus also did his cousin kuzia fekan; for they were wont to go forth at the first of the day and return at nightfall, when she would go in to her mother and he to his, to find her sitting weeping by his father's bed. then he would tend his father till daybreak, when he would go forth again with his cousin, according to their wont. now zoulmekan's sufferings were long upon him and he wept and recited these verses: my strength is past away, my tale of days is told and i, alas! am left even as thou dost behold. in honour's day, the first amongst my folk was i, and in the race for fame the foremost and most bold. would that before my death i might but see my son the empery in my stead over the people hold and rush upon his foes and take on them his wreak, at push of sword and pike, in fury uncontrolled. lo, i'm a man fordone, in this world and the next, except my spright of god be solaced and consoled! when he had made an end of repeating these verses he laid his head on his pillow and his eyes closed and he slept. in his sleep he saw one who said to him, "rejoice for thy son shall fill the lands with justice and have the mastery over them and men shall obey him." then he awoke gladdened by this happy omen that he had seen, and after a few days, death smote him, whereat great grief fell on the people of baghdad, and gentle and simple mourned for him. but time passed over him, as if he had never been, and kanmakan's estate was changed; for the people of baghdad set him aside and put him and his family in a place apart. when his mother saw this, she fell into the sorriest of plights and said, "needs must i go to the grand chamberlain, and i hope for the favour of the subtle, the all-wise one!" then she betook herself to the house of the chamberlain, who was now become sultan, and found him sitting upon his couch. so she went in to his wife nuzhet ez zeman and wept sore and said, "verily, the dead have no friends. may god never bring you to need and may you cease not to rule justly over rich and poor many days and years! thine ears have heard and thine eyes have seen all that was ours aforetime of kingship and honour and dignity and wealth and goodliness of life and condition; and now fortune hath turned upon us, and fate and the time have played us false and wrought hostilely with us; wherefore i come to thee, craving thy bounties, i that have been used to confer favours; for when a man dies, women and girls are brought low after him." and she repeated the following verses: let it suffice thee that death is the worker of wonders and know that the lives which are gone from our sight will never return to us mo'. the days of the life of mankind are nothing but journeys, i wot, whose watering-places for aye are mixed with misfortune and woe. yet nothing afflicteth my heart like the loss of the good and the great, whom the stresses of adverse events have compassed about and laid low. when nuzhet ez zeman heard this, she remembered her brother zoulmekan and his son kanmakan and making her draw near to her, said to her, "by allah, i am now rich and thou poor, and by allah, we did not leave to seek thee out, but that we feared to wound thy heart, lest thou shouldst deem our gifts to thee an alms. of a truth, all the good that we now enjoy is from thee and thy husband: so our house is thy house and our place thy place, and all that we have of wealth and goods is thine." then she clad her richly and appointed her a lodging in the palace, adjoining her own; and she and her son abode therein in all delight of life. him also did nuzhet ez zeman clothe in kings' raiment and gave them handmaids to do them service. after a little, she told her husband of her brother's widow, whereat his eyes filled with tears and he said, "wouldst thou see the world after thee, look upon the world after another than thyself. entertain her honourably and enrich her poverty." meanwhile, kanmakan and kuzia fekan grew up and flourished, like unto two fruit-laden saplings or two shining moons, till they reached the age of fifteen. as for the girl, she was indeed the fairest of the cloistered maids, with lovely face and smooth cheeks, slender waist, heavy hips and arrowy shape, lips sweeter than old wine and spittle as it were the fountain selsebil of paradise, even as saith the poet, describing her: from her mouth's honeyed dew, meseems, the first-pressed wine is drawn and on her sweetest lips the grapes, from which it's crushed, are grown; and when thou makest her to bend, its vines sway in her shape. blessed be he who fashioned her and may not be made known! for indeed god had united in her every attribute of beauty: her shape put to shame the willow-wand and the rose sought grace before her cheeks; the water of her mouth made mock of clear wine, and she gladdened heart and eyes, even as saith of her the poet: goodly and glorious she is, and perfect in every charm. her eyelashes put to shame kohl and the users of kohl. even as a sword in the hand of ali, the vicar of god, so is the glance of her eye to a lover's heart and soul. as for kanmakan, he was no less accomplished in grace and excelling in perfection; there was none could match with him in beauty and qualities, and valour shone from between his liquid black eyes, testifying for him and not against him. the hardest hearts inclined to him; and when the tender down of his lips and cheeks began to sprout, many were the poems made in his honour: as for example quoth one: unshown was my excuse, till on his cheek the hair grew and the darkness crept, bewildered, here and there. a fawn, when eyes of men are fixed upon his charms, his glances straight on them a trenchant poniard bare. and another: his lovers' souls have woven upon his cheek, i ween, a net the blood has painted with all its ruddy sheen. oh, how at them i marvel! they're martyrs; yet they dwell in fire, and for their raiment, they're clad in sendal green.[fn# ] it chanced, one festival day, that kuzia fekan went out, surrounded by her handmaids, to visit certain kindred of the court; and indeed beauty encompassed her; the rose of her cheek vied with the mole thereon, her teeth flashed from her smiling lips, like the petals of the camomile flower, and she was as the resplendent moon. her cousin kanmakan began to turn about her and devour her with his eyes. then he took courage and giving loose to his tongue, repeated the following verses: when shall the mourning heart be healed of anger and disdain? when, rigour ceasing, shall the lips of union smile again? would god i knew if i shall lie, some night, within the arms of a beloved, in whose heart is somewhat of my pain! when she heard this, she was angry and putting on a haughty air, said to him, "hast thou a mind to shame me among the folk, that thou speakest thus of me in thy verse? by allah, except thou leave this talk, i will assuredly complain of thee to the grand chamberlain, sultan of baghdad and khorassan and lord of justice and equity, whereby disgrace and punishment will fall on thee?" to this kanmakan made no reply, but returned to baghdad: and kuzia fekan also returned home and complained of her cousin to her mother, who said to her, "o my daughter, belike he meant thee no ill, and is he not an orphan? indeed, he said nought that implied reproach to thee; so look thou tell none of this, lest it come to the sultan's ears and he cut short his life and blot out his name and make it even as yesterday, whose remembrance hath passed away." how ever, kanmakan's case was not hidden from the people, and his love for kuzia fekan became known in baghdad, so that the women talked of it. moreover, his heart became contracted and his patience waned and he knew not what to do. then longed he to give vent to the anguish he endured, by reason of the pangs of separation; but he feared her anger and her rebuke: so he recited the following verses: what though i be fearful, anon, of her wrath, whose humour serene is grown troubled and dour, i bear it with patience, as he who is sick endureth a caut'ry in hopes of a cure. his verses came one day to the knowledge of king sasan (for so had they named the grand chamberlain, on his assumption of the sultanate), as he sat on his throne, and he was told of the love the prince bore to kuzia fekan; whereat he was sore vexed, and going in to his wife nuzhet ez zeman, said to her, "verily, to bring together fire and dry grass is of the greatest of risks; and men may not be trusted with women, so long as eyes cast furtive glances and eyelids quiver. now thy nephew kanmakan is come to man's estate and it behoves us to forbid him access to the harem; nor is it less needful that thy daughter be kept from the company of men, for the like of her should be cloistered." "thou sayest sooth, o wise king," answered she. next day came kanmakan, according to his wont, and going in to his aunt, saluted her. she returned his greeting and said to him, "o my son, i have somewhat to say to thee, that i would fain leave unsaid; yet must i tell it thee, in my own despite." "speak," said he. "know then," rejoined she, "that thine uncle the chamberlain, the father of kuzia fekan, has heard of thy love for her and the verses thou madest of her and has ordered that she be kept from thee; wherefore, if thou have occasion for aught from us, i will send it to thee from behind the door, and thou shalt not look upon kuzia fekan nor return hither from day forth." when he heard this, he withdrew, without speaking a word, and betook himself to his mother, to whom he related what his aunt had said to him. quoth she, "this all comes of thy much talk. thou knowest that the news of thy passion for kuzia fekan is noised abroad everywhere and how thou eatest their victual and makest love to their daughter." "and who should have her but i?" replied the prince. "she is the daughter of my father's brother and i have the best of rights to her." "these are idle words," rejoined his mother. "be silent, lest thy talk come to king sasan's ears and it prove the cause of thy losing her and of thy ruin and increase of affliction. they have not sent us the evening meal to-night and we shall die of want; and were we in any land other than this, we were already dead of the pangs of hunger or the humiliation of begging our bread." when kanmakan heard his mother's words, his anguish redoubled; his eyes ran over with tears and he sobbed and complained and repeated the following verses: give o'er this unrelenting blame, that never lets me be! my heart loves her to whom it's thrall and may not struggle free. look not to me for any jot of patience, for i swear by god his house, my patience all is clean divorced from me! blamers to prudence me exhort; i heed them not, for i in my avouchment am sincere of love and constancy. they hinder me by very force from visiting my dear, though, by the merciful, nor rogue am i nor debauchee! indeed, my bones, whenas they hear the mention of her name, do quake and tremble even as birds from sparrow-hawks that flee. o daughter of my uncle, say to him who chides at love, that i, by allah, am distraught with love-longing for thee. and he said to his mother, "i can dwell no longer in my aunt's house nor among these people, but will go forth and abide in the corners of the city." so he and his mother left the palace and took up their abode in one of the quarters of the poorer sort: and she used to go from time to time to king sasan's palace and take thence food for her own and her son's subsistence. one day, kuzia fekan took her aside and said to her, "alas, my aunt, how is it with thy son?" "o my daughter," replied she, "sooth to say, he is tearful-eyed and mournful-hearted, being fallen into the snare of thy love." and she repeated to her the verses he had made; whereupon kuzia fekan wept and said, "by allah, i rebuked not him for his words of ill-will or dislike to him, but because i feared the malice of enemies for him. indeed, my passion for him is double that he feels for me; words fail to set out my yearning for him; and were it not for the extravagances of his tongue and the wanderings of his wit, my father had not cut off his favours from him nor decreed unto him exclusion and prohibition. however, man's fortune is nought but change, and patience in every case is most becoming; peradventure he who ordained our severance will vouchsafe us reunion!" and she repeated the following: o son of mine uncle, the like of thine anguish i suffer, the like of thy passion i feel; yet hide i from men what i suffer for longing, and shouldst thou not also thy passion conceal? when his mother heard this, she thanked her and blessed her: then she left her and returning to her son, told him what his mistress had said; whereupon his desire for her increased. but he took heart, being eased of his despair, and the turmoil of his spirits was quelled. and he said, "by allah, i desire none but her!" and he repeated the following verses: give over thy chiding; i'll hearken no whit to the flouts of my foes: indeed i've discovered my secret that nought should have made me disclose; and she, whose enjoyment i hoped for, alack! is far distant from me; mine eyes watch the hours of the dark, whilst she passes the night in repose. so the days and nights went by, whilst kanmakan lay tossing upon coals of fire, till he reached the age of seventeen: and indeed his beauty was now come to perfection and his wit had ripened. one night, as he lay awake, he communed with himself and said, "why should i keep silence, till i consume away, and see not my love? my only fault is poverty: so, by allah, i will go out from this land and wander afar in the plains and valleys; for my condition in this city is one of misery and i have no friend nor lover in it to comfort me; wherefore i will distract myself by absence from my native land, till i die and am at peace from abasement and tribulation." and he repeated the following verses: though my soul weary for distress and flutter fast for woe, yet of its nature was it ne'er to buckle to a foe. excuse me; for indeed my heart is like a book, whereof the superscription's nought but tears, that aye unceasing flow. behold my cousin, how she seems a maid of paradise, a houri come, by rizwan's grace, to visit us below! who seeks the glances of her eyes and dares the scathing stroke of their bright swords, shall hardly 'scape their swift and deadly blow. lo, i will wander o'er the world, to free my heart from bale and compensation for its loss upon my soul bestow! yea, i will range the fields of war and tilt against the brave and o'er the champions will i ride roughshod and lay them low. then will i come back, glad at heart and rich in goods and store, driving the herds and flocks as spoil before me, as i go. so he went out in the darkness of the night, barefoot, wearing a short-sleeved tunic and a skull-cap of felt seven years old and carrying a cake of dry bread, three days stale, and betook himself to the gate el arij of baghdad. here he waited till the gate opened, when he was the first to go forth; and he went out at random and wandered in the deserts day and night. when the night came, his mother sought him, but found him not, whereupon the world, for all its wideness, was straitened upon her and she took no delight in aught of its good. she looked for him a first day and a second and a third, till ten days were past, but no news of him reached her. then her breast became contracted and she shrieked and lamented, saying, "o my son, o my delight, thou hast revived my sorrows! did not what i endured suffice, but thou must depart from the place of my abiding? after thee, i care not for food nor delight in sleep, and but tears and mourning are left me. o my son, from what land shall i call thee? what country hath given thee refuge?" and her sobs burst up, and she repeated the following verses: we know that, since you went away, by grief and pain we're tried. the bows of severance on us full many a shaft have plied. they girt their saddles on and gainst the agonies of death left me to strive alone, whilst they across the sand-wastes tried. deep in the darkness of the night a ring-dove called to me, complaining of her case; but i, "give o'er thy plaint," replied. for, by thy life, an if her heart were full of dole, like mine, she had not put a collar on nor yet her feet had dyed. my cherished friend is gone and i for lack of him endure all manner sorrows which with me for ever will abide. then she abstained from food and drink and gave herself up to weeping and lamentation. her grief became known and all the people of the town and country wept with her and said, "where is thine eye, o zoulmekan?" and they bewailed the rigour of fate, saying, "what can have befallen him, that he left his native town and fled from the place where his father used to fill the hungry and do justice and mercy?" and his mother redoubled her tears and lamentations, till the news of kanmakan's departure came to king sasan through the chief amirs, who said to him, "verily, he is the son of our (late) king and the grandson of king omar ben ennuman and we hear that he hath exiled himself from the country." when king sasan heard these words, he was wroth with them and ordered one of them to be hanged, whereat the fear of him fell upon the hearts of the rest and they dared not speak one word. then he called to mind all the kindness that zoulmekan had done him and how he had commended his son to his care; wherefore he grieved for kanmakan and said "needs must i have search made for him in all countries." so he summoned terkash and bade him choose a hundred horse and go in quest of the prince. accordingly he went out and was absent ten days, after which he returned and said, "i can learn no tidings of him and have come on no trace of him, nor can any tell me aught of him." with this, king sasan repented him of that which he had done with kanmakan; whilst his mother abode without peace or comfort, nor would patience come at her call: and thus twenty heavy days passed over her. to return to kanmakan. when he left baghdad, he went forth, perplexed about his case and knowing not whither he should go: so he fared on alone into the desert for the space of three days and saw neither footman nor horseman. sleep deserted him and his wakefulness redoubled, for he pined for his people and his country. so he wandered on, eating of the herbs of the earth and drinking of its waters and resting under its trees at the hour of the noontide heats, till he came to another road, into which he turned and following it other three days, came to a land of green fields and smiling valleys, abounding in the fruits of the earth. it had drunken of the beakers of the clouds, to the sound of the voices of the turtle and the ring-dove, till its hill-sides were enamelled with verdure and its fields were fragrant. at this sight, kanmakan recalled his father's city baghdad, and for excess of emotion repeated the following verses: i wander on, in hope i may return some day, yet know not when that day shall be. what drove me forth was that i found no means to fend awe, the ills that pressed on me. then he wept, but presently wiped away his tears and ate of the fruits of the earth. then he made his ablutions and prayed the ordained prayers that he had neglected all this time; after which he sat in that place, resting, the whole day. when the night came, he lay down and slept till midnight, when he awoke and heard a man's voice repeating the following verses: life unto me is worthless, except i see the shine of the flashing teeth of my mistress and eke her face divine. the bishops in the convents pray for her day and night and in the mosques the imams fall prone before her shrine. death's easier than the rigours of a beloved one, whose image never cheers me, whenas i lie and pine. o joy of boon-companions, when they together be and lover and beloved in one embrace entwine! still more so in the season of spring, with all its flowers, what time the world is fragrant with blossoms sweet and fine. up, drinker of the vine-juice, and forth, for seest thou not earth gilt with blooms and waters all welling forth like wine? when kanmakan heard this, it revived his sorrows; his tears ran down his cheeks like rivers and flames of fire raged in his heart. he rose to see who it was that spoke, but saw none, for the thickness of the dark; whereupon passion increased on him and he was alarmed and restlessness possessed him. so he descended to the bottom of the valley and followed the banks of the stream, till he heard one sighing heavily, and the same voice recited the followed verses: though thou have used to dissemble the love in thy heart for fear, give on the day of parting, free course to sob and tear. 'twixt me and my beloved were vows of love and troth; so cease i for her never to long and wish her near. my heart is full of longing; the zephyr, when it blows, to many a thought of passion stirs up my heavy cheer. doth she o' the anklets hold me in mind, whilst far away, though between me and saada were solemn vows and dear? shall the nights e'er unite us, the nights of dear delight, and shall we tell our suff'rings, each in the other's ear? "thou seduced by passion for us," quoth she, and i, "god keep thy lovers all! how many have fallen to thy spear?" if mine eyes taste the pleasance of sleep, while she's afar, may god deny their vision her beauties many a year! o the wound in mine entrails! i see no cure for it save love-delight and kisses from crimson lips and clear. when kanmakan heard this, yet saw no one, he knew that the speaker was a lover like unto himself, debarred the company of her whom he loved; and he said to himself; "it were fitting that this man should lay his head to mine and become my comrade in this my strangerhood." then he hailed the speaker and cried out to him, saying "o thou that goest in the sombre night, draw near to me and tell me thy history. haply thou shalt find in me one who will succour thee in shine affliction." "o thou that answerest my complaint and wouldst know my history," rejoined the other, "who art thou amongst the cavaliers? art thou a man or a genie? answer me speedily ere thy death draw near, for these twenty days have i wandered in this desert and have seen no one nor heard any voice but thine." when kanmakan heard this, he said to himself, "his case is like unto mine, for i also have wandered twenty days in the desert and have seen none nor heard any voice: but i will make him no answer till the day." so he was silent and the other called out to him, saying, "o thou that callest, if thou be of the jinn, go in peace, and if thou be a man, stay awhile, till the day break and the night flee with the dark." so they abode each in his own place, reciting verses and weeping with abundant tears, till the light of day appeared and the night departed with the darkness. then kanmakan looked at the other and found him a youth of the bedouin arabs, clad in worn clothes and girt-with a rusty sword, and the signs of passion were apparent on him. so he went up to him and accosting him, saluted him. the bedouin returned the salute and greeted him courteously, but made little account of him, for what he saw of his tender years and his condition, which was that of a poor man. so he said to him, "o youth, of what tribe art thou and to whom art thou kin among the arabs? what is thy history and wherefore goest thou by night, after the fashion of champions? indeed, thou spokest to me in the night words such as are spoken of none but magnanimous cavaliers and lionhearted warriors; and now thy life is in my hand. but i have compassion on thee by reason of thy tender age; so i will make thee my companion, and thou shalt go with me, to do me service." when kanmakan heard him speak thus unseemly, after what he had shown him of skill in verse, he knew that he despised him and thought to presume with him; so he answered him with soft and dulcet speech, saying, "o chief of the arabs, leave my tenderness of age and tell me thy story and why thou wanderest by night in the desert, reciting verses. thou talkest of my serving thee; who then art thou and what moved thee to speak thus?" "harkye, boy!" answered the bedouin, "i am subbah, son of remmah ben hummam. my people are of the arabs of syria, and i have a cousin called nejmeh, who brings delight to all that look on her. my father died, and i was brought up in the house of my uncle, the father of nejmeh; but when i grew up and my cousin became a woman, they excluded her from me and me from her, seeing that i was poor and of little estate. however, the chiefs of the arabs and the heads of the tribes went in to her father and rebuked him, and he was abashed before them and consented to give me his daughter, but upon condition that i should bring him as her dower fifty head of horses and fifty dromedaries and fifty camels laden with wheat and a like number laden with barley, together with ten male and ten female slaves. the dowry he imposed upon me was beyond my competence; for he exacted more than the due marriage portion. so now i am travelling from syria to irak, having passed twenty days without seeing other than thyself, and i mean to go to baghdad, that i may note what rich and considerable merchants start thence. then i will go out in their track and seize their goods, for i will kill their men and drive off their camels with their loads. but what manner of man art thou?" "thy case is like unto mine," replied kanmakan; "save that my complaint is more grievous than thine; for my cousin is a king's daughter, and the dowry of which thou hast spoken would not content her family, nor would they be satisfied with the like of that from me." "surely," said subbah, "thou art mad or light-headed for excess of passion! how can thy cousin be a king's daughter? thou hast no sign of princely rank on thee, for thou art but a mendicant." "o chief of the arabs," rejoined kanmakan, "marvel not at my case, for it is due to the shifts of fortune; and if thou desire proof of me, behold, i am kanmakan, son of king zoulmekan, son of king omar ben ennuman, lord of baghdad and khorassan, and fortune hath played the tyrant with me; for my father died and (my uncle) king sasan took the sultanate. so i fled forth from baghdad, secretly, lest any should see me, and have wandered twenty days, without seeing any but thyself. so now i have discovered to thee my case, and my history is as thy history and my need as thy need." when subbah heard this, he cried out and said, "o joy! i have attained my desire! i will have no booty this day but thyself; for, since thou art of the lineage of kings and hast come out in the habit of a beggar, it cannot be but thy people will seek thee, and if they find thee in any one's hand, they will ransom thee with much treasure. so put thy hands behind thee, o my lad, and walk before me." "softly, o brother of the arabs," answered kanmakan; "my people will not ransom me with silver nor with gold, no, not with a brass dirhem; and i am a poor man, having with me neither much nor little: so leave this behaviour with me and take me to comrade. let us go forth of the land of irak and wander over the world, so haply we may win dower and marriage-portion and enjoy our cousins' embraces." when subbah heard this, he was angry; his arrogance and heat redoubled and he said, "out on thee, o vilest of dogs! dost thou bandy words with me? turn thy back, or i will chastise thee." at this kanmakan smiled and answered, "why should i turn my back for thee? is there no equity in thee? dost thou not fear to bring reproach upon the arabs by driving a man like myself captive, in dishonour and humiliation, before thou hast proved him in the field, to know if he be a warrior or a coward?" the bedouin laughed and replied, "by allah, i wonder at thee! thou art a boy in years, but old in talk. these words should come from none but a doughty champion: what wantest thou of equity? "if thou wilt have me be thy captive, to serve thee," said kanmakan, "throw down thine arms and put off thine upper clothes and wrestle with me; and whichever of us throws the other shall have his will of him and make him his servant." the other laughed and said, "i think thy much talk denotes the nearness of thy death." then he threw down his sword and tucking up his skirt, drew near unto kanmakan, and they gripped each other. but the bedouin found that kanmakan had the better of him and outweighed him, as the quintal outweighs the dinar; and he looked at his legs and saw that they were as firmly planted as two well-builded minarets or two tent-poles driven into the ground or two immovable mountains. so he knew that he himself was not able to cope with him and repented of having come to wrestle with him, saying in himself, "would i had fallen on him with my weapons!" then kanmakan took hold of him and mastering him shook him, till he thought his guts would burst in his belly and roared out, "hold thy hand, o boy!" he heeded him not, but shook him again, and lifting him from the ground, made with him towards the stream, that he might throw him therein: whereupon the bedouin cried out, saying, "o valiant man, what wilt thou do with me?" quoth kanmakan, "i mean to throw thee into this stream: it will carry thee to the tigris. the tigris will bring thee to the river isa and the isa to the euphrates, and the euphrates will bear thee to thine own country; so thy people will see thee and know thy manlihead and the sincerity of thy passion." when subbah heard this, he cried out and said, "o champion of the desert, do not with me the deed of the wicked, but let me go, by the life of thy cousin, the jewel of the fair!" with this, kanmakan set him down; and when he found himself at liberty, he ran to his sword and buckler and taking them up, stood plotting in himself treachery and a sudden attack on kanmakan. the latter read his intent in his eye and said to him, "i know what is in thy mind, now thou hast hold of thy sword and buckler. thou hast neither strength nor skill for wrestling, but thou thinkest that, wert thou on horseback and couldst wheel about and ply me with thy sword, i had been slain long ago. but i will give thee thy will, so there may be no despite left in thy heart. give me the buckler and fall on me with thy sword; either i shall kill thee or thou me." "here it is," answered subbah and throwing him the shield, drew his sword and rushed at him. kanmakan took the buckler in his right hand and began to fend himself with it, whilst subbah struck at him with the sword, saying at each stroke, "this is the finishing one!" but kanmakan received all his blows on his buckler and they fell harmless, though he did not strike back again, having no weapon of offence; and subbah ceased not to smite at him, till his arm was weary. when the prince saw this, he rushed at him and seizing him in his arms, shook him and threw him to the ground. then he turned him over on his face and binding his arms behind him with the hangers of his sword, began to drag him by the feet towards the river: whereupon cried subbah, "what wilt thou do with me, o youth and cavalier of the age and hero of the field?" "did i not tell thee," answered kanmakan, "that it was my intent to send thee by the river to thy people and thy tribe, lest their hearts be troubled for thee and thou miss thy cousin's bride-feast?" at this, subbah shrieked aloud and wept and said, "do not thus, o champion of the time! let me go and make me one of thy servants." and he wept and wailed and recited the following verses: an outcast from my folk (how long my exile lasts!) am i. would god i knew if i in this my strangerhood shall die! i perish, and my folk know not the place where i am slain; i fall in exile, far away from her for whom i sigh. kanmakan had compassion on him and said to him, "make a covenant with me and swear to be a true comrade to me and to bear me company whithersoever i may go." "it is well," replied subbah and took the required oath. so kanmakan loosed him, and he rose and would have kissed the prince's hand; but he forbade him. then the bedouin opened his wallet and taking out three barley-cakes, laid them before kanmakan, and they both sat down on the bank of the stream to eat. when they had done eating, they made the ablution and prayed, after which they sat talking of what had befallen each of them from his people and the shifts of fortune. then said kanmakan, "whither dost thou now intend?" "i purpose," replied subbah, "to repair to baghdad, thy native town, and abide there, till god vouchsafe me the marriage-portion." "up then," rejoined the other, "and to the road! i abide here." so the bedouin took leave of him and set out for baghdad, whilst kanmakan remained behind, saying to himself, "o my soul, how shall i return poor and needy? by allah, i will not go back empty-handed, and if god please, i will assuredly work my deliverance!" then he went to the stream and made his ablutions and prayed to his lord, laying his brow in the dust and saying, "o my god, thou that makest the dew to fall and feedest the worm in the rock, vouchsafe me, i beseech thee, my livelihood, of thy power and the graciousness of thy compassion!" then he pronounced the salutation that closes prayer and sat, turning right and left and knowing not which way to take. presently, he saw, making towards him, a horseman whose back was bowed and who let the reins droop. he sat still and after awhile the horseman came up to him, when, behold, he was at the last gasp and made sure of death, for he was grievously wounded. the tears streamed down his cheeks, like water from the mouths of skins, and he said to kanmakan, "o chief of the arabs, take me to friend, whilst i live, for thou wilt not find my like, and give me a little water, harmful though the drinking of water be to a wounded man, especially whilst the blood is flowing and the life with it. if i live, i will give thee what shall heal thy distress and thy poverty; and if i die, mayst thou be blessed for thy good intent!" now this horseman had under him a stallion of the most generous breed, with legs like shafts of marble, the tongue fails to describe it; and when kanmakan looked at it, he was seized with longing admiration and said in himself, "verily, the like of this stallion is not to be found in our time." then he helped the rider to alight and entreated him friendly and gave him a little water to drink; after which he waited till he was rested and said to him, "who has dealt thus with thee?" "i will tell thee the truth of the case," answered the wounded man. "i am a horse-thief and all my life i have occupied myself with stealing and snatching horses, night and day, and my name is ghessan, surnamed the plague of all stables and horses. i heard tell of this stallion, that he was with king afridoun in the land of the greeks, where they had named him el catoul and surnamed him el mejnoun. so i journeyed to constantinople on his account, and whilst i was watching my opportunity to get at him, there came out an old woman, much considered among the greeks and whose word is law with them, a past mistress in all manner of trickery, by name shewahi dhat ed dewahi. she had with her this stallion and ten slaves, no more, to attend on her and it, and was bound for baghdad, there to sue for peace and pardon from king sasan. so i went out in their track, thinking to get the horse, and ceased not to follow them, but was unable to get at the stallion, by reason of the strict guard kept by the slaves, till they reached this country and i feared lest they should enter the city of baghdad. as i was casting about to steal the horse, behold, a great cloud of dust arose and covered the prospect. presently it opened and disclosed fifty horsemen, banded together to waylay merchants and led by a captain by name kehrdash, like a raging lion, yea, in battle a lion that lays heroes flat even as a carpet. they bore down on the old woman and her company, shouting and surrounding them, nor was it long before they bound her and the ten slaves and made off with their captives and the horse, rejoicing. when i saw this, i said to myself, 'my toil is wasted and i have not attained my desire.' however, i waited to see how the affair would result, and when the old woman found herself a captive, she wept and said to kehrdash, 'o doughty champion and invincible warrior, what wilt thou do with an old woman and slaves, now thou hast thy will of the horse?' and she beguiled him with soft words and promises that she would send him horses and cattle, till he released her and her slaves. then he went his way, he and his comrades, and i followed them to this country, watching my opportunity, till at last i succeeded in stealing the horse, whereupon i mounted him and drawing a whip from my wallet, struck him with it. when the robbers heard this, they came out on me and surrounded me on all sides and shot arrows and cast spears at me, whilst i stuck fast on the horse's back and he defended me with his hoofs, till at last he shot out with me from amongst them, like an arrow from the bow or a shooting star, after i had gotten a grievous wound in the press of the battle. since that time, i have passed three days in the saddle, without tasting food or sleep, so that my strength is wasted and the world is become of no account to me. but thou hast dealt kindly with me and hast had pity on me: and i see thee naked of body and sorrowful of aspect; yet are the marks of gentle breeding manifest on thee. so tell me, what and whence art thou and whither art thou bound?" "my name is kanmakan," answered the prince, "son of king zoulmekan, son of king omar ben ennuman. my father died, and a base man seized the throne after his death and became king over great and small." then he told him all his story from first to last; and the thief said to him, (and indeed he had compassion on him), "by allah, thou art a man of great account and exceeding nobility and thou shalt surely win to high estate and become the first cavalier of thy time! if thou canst lift me into the saddle and mount behind me and bring me to my country, thou shalt have honour in this world and a reward on the day of calling of men one to another;[fn# ] for i have no strength left to hold myself in the saddle; and if i die by the way, the steed is thine; for thou art worthier of it than any other." "by allah," said kanmakan, "if i could carry thee on my shoulders or share my life with thee, i would do so, without the horse! for i am of those that love to do good and succour the afflicted. so make ready to set out and put thy trust in the subtle, the all-wise." and he would have lifted him on to the horse and set forward, trusting in god the succourable. but the robber said, "wait for me a little." then he closed his eyes and opening his hands, said, "i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is the apostle of god! o glorious one, pardon me my mortal sin, for none can pardon mortal sins save thou!" and he made ready for death and recited the following verses: i've ranged through all countries, oppressing mankind, and in drinking of wine i have wasted my days. i've waded through torrents, the horses to steal and i've used with my guile the high places to raze. my case is right grievous and great is my guilt, and catoul, alas! is the end of my ways. i hoped of this horse i should get my desire; but vain was my journey and vain my essays. all my life i have stolen the steeds, and my death was decreed of the lord of all power and all praise. so, in fine, for the good of the stranger, the poor, the orphan, i've wearied in toils and affrays. when he had finished, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth; then giving one sob, he departed this life. kanmakan rose and dug a grave and laid him in the earth. then he went up to the stallion and kissed it and wiped its face and rejoiced with an exceeding joy, saying, "none has the like of this horse, no, not even king sasan." so much for kanmakan. meanwhile, news came to king sasan that the vizier dendan and half the army had thrown off their allegiance to him and sworn that they would have no king but kanmakan and the vizier had bound the troops by a solemn covenant and had gone with them to the islands of india and ethiopia, where he had gathered together a host like the swollen sea, none could tell its van from its rear. moreover, he was resolved to make for baghdad and possess himself of the kingdom and slay all who should let him, having sworn not to return the sword of war to its sheath, till he had set kanmakan on the throne. when this news came to sasan, he was drowned in the sea of melancholy, knowing that the whole state had furled against him, great and small, and trouble and anxiety were sore on him. so he opened his treasuries and distributed that which was therein among his officers and prayed for kanmakan's return, that he might draw his heart to him with fair usage and bounty and make him commander of those troops that remained faithful to him, hoping thus to prop his [falling] power. the news of this reached kanmakan by the merchants; so he returned in haste to baghdad, riding on the aforesaid stallion, and the news of his coming reached king sasan, as he sat perplexed upon his throne; whereupon he despatched all the troops and head-men of baghdad to meet him. so all who were in baghdad went out to meet the prince and escorted him to the palace and kissed the threshold, whilst the damsels and eunuchs went in to his mother and gave her the good tidings of his return. she came to him and kissed him between the eyes, but he said to her, "o my mother, let me go to my uncle king sasan, who hath overwhelmed us with favours and benefits." then he repaired to the palace, whilst all the people marvelled at the beauty of the stallion and said, "no king is like unto this man." so he went in to king sasan, who rose to receive him; and kanmakan saluted him and kissing his hands, offered him the horse as a present. the king bade him welcome, saying, "welcome and fair welcome to my son kanmakan! by allah, the world hath been straitened on me by reason of thine absence, but praised be god for thy safety!" and kanmakan called down blessings on him. then the king looked at the stallion and knowing it for the very horse, catoul by name, that he had seen in such and such a year, whilst at the leaguer of constantinople with king zoulmekan, said to kanmakan, "i! thy father could have come by this horse, he would have bought him with a thousand chargers of price: but now let the honour return to thee who deservest it. we accept the steed and return it to thee as a gift, for thou hast more right to it than any man alive, being the prince of cavaliers." then he bade bring forth for him dresses of honour and led horses and appointed him the chief lodging in the palace, giving him much money and showing him the utmost honour, for that he feared the issue of the vizier dendan's doings. at this kanmakan rejoiced and despondency and humiliation ceased from him. then he went to his house and said to his mother, "o my mother, how is it with my cousin?" "by allah, o my son," answered she, "my concern for thine absence hath distracted me from any other, even to thy beloved; especially as she was the cause of thine exile and separation from me." then he complained to her of his sufferings, saying, "o my mother, go to her and speak with her; haply she will favour me with a sight of her and dispel my anguish." "o my son," replied his mother, "idle desires abase the necks of men; so put away from thee this thought that will but lead to vexation; for i will not go to her nor carry her such a message." thereupon he told her what he had heard from the horse-thief concerning dhat ed dewahi, how she was then in their land, on her way to baghdad, and added, "it was she who slew my uncle and grandfather, and needs must i avenge them and wipe out our reproach." then he left her and repaired to an old woman, by name saadaneh, a cunning, perfidious and pernicious beldam, past mistress in all kinds of trickery and deceit to her he complained of what he suffered for love of his cousin kuzia fekan and begged her to go to her and implore her favour for him. "i hear and obey," answered the old woman and betaking herself to kuzia fekan's palace, interceded with her in his favour. then she returned to him and said, "thy cousin salutes thee and will visit thee this night at the middle hour." at this he rejoiced and sat down to await the fulfilment of his cousin's promise. at the appointed hour she came to him, wrapped in a veil of black silk, and aroused him from sleep, saying, "how canst thou pretend to love me, when thou art sleeping, heart-free, after the goodliest fashion?" so he awoke and said, "o desire of my heart, by allah, i slept not but hoping that thine image might visit me in dreams!" then she chid him tenderly and repeated the following verses: wert thou indeed a lover true and leal, thou hadst not suffered slumber on thee creep. o thou who feign'st to walk the ways of love, the watch of passion and desire to keep, son of my uncle, sure the eyes of those who're love-distraught know not the taste of sleep. when he heard his cousin's words, he was abashed before her and rose and excused himself. then they embraced and complained to each other of the anguish of separation; and thus they did, till the dawn broke and the day flowered forth over the lands; when she rose to depart. at this, kanmakan wept and sighed and repeated the following verses: she came to me, after her pride had driven me to despair, she in whose lips the teeth as the pearls of her necklace were. i kissed her a thousand times and clipped her close in my arms and lay all night with my cheek pressed close to the cheek of the fair; till the day, that must sever our loves, as 'twere the blade of a sword that flashes forth of its sheath, gleamed out on us unaware. then she took leave of him and returned to her palace. now she let certain of her damsels into her secret, and one of them told the king, who went in to kuzia fekan and drawing his sabre upon her, would have slain her: but her mother nuzhet ez zeman entered and said to him, 'by allah, do her no hurt, lest it be noised among the folk and thou become a reproach among the kings of the age! thou knowest that kanmakan is no base-born wretch, but a man of honour and nobility, who would not do aught that could shame him, and she was reared with him. so take patience and be not hasty; for verily the report is spread abroad, among the people of the palace and all the folk of the city, how the vizier dendan hath levied troops from all countries and is on his way hither to make kanmakan king." "by allah," said the king, "needs must i cast him into a calamity, such that neither earth shall bear him nor sky shadow him! i did but speak him fair and entreat him with favour, because of my subjects and officers, lest they should turn to him; but thou shalt see what will betide." then he left her and went out to order the affairs of the kingdom. next day, kanmakan came in to his mother and said to her, "o my mother, i am resolved to go forth a-raiding in quest of booty. i will waylay caravans and seize horses and flocks and slaves black and white, and as soon as my store is waxed great and my case is bettered, i will demand my cousin kuzia fekan in marriage of my uncle." "o my son," replied she, "of a truth the goods of men are not as a wastril camel, ready to thy hand; but between thee and them are sword-strokes and lance-thrusts and men that eat wild beasts and lay waste countries and snare lions and trap lynxes." quoth he, "god forbid that i should turn from my purpose, till i have attained my desire!" then he despatched the old woman to kuzia fekan, to tell her that he was about to set out in quest of a dowry befitting her, saying, "thou must without fail bring me an answer from her." "i hear and obey," repled the old woman and going forth, presently returned with kuzia fekan's answer, which was that she would come to him at midnight. so he abode awake till one half of the night was past, when disquietude got hold on him, and before he was aware, she came in to him, saying, "my life be thy ransom from wakefulness!" and he sprang up to receive her, exclaiming, "o desire of my heart, my life be thy ransom from all things evil!" then he acquainted her with his intent, and she wept; but he said, "weep not, o my cousin; for i beseech him who decreed our separation to vouchsafe us reunion and felicity." then kanmakan went in to his mother and took leave of her, after which he girt on his sword and donned turban and chin-band and mounting his horse catoul, rode through the streets of baghdad, till he reached the gate of the city. here he found his comrade subbah ben remmah going out, who, seeing him, ran to his stirrup and saluted him. he returned his greeting, and subbah said to him, "o my brother, how camest thou by this steed and sword and clothes, whilst i up to now have gotten nothing but my sword and target?" quoth kanmakan, "the hunter returns not but with game after the measure of his intent. a little after thy departure, fortune came to me: so now wilt thou go with me and work thine intent in my company and journey with me in this desert?" "by the lord of the kaabeh," replied subbah, "from this time forth i will call thee nought but 'my lord!'" then he ran on before the horse with his sword hanging from his neck and his budget between his shoulder-blades, and they pushed on into the desert four days' space, eating of the gazelles they caught and drinking of the water of the springs. on the fifth day, they came in sight of a high hill, at whose foot was a spring encampment and a running stream. the knolls and hollows were filled with camels and oxen and sheep and horses, and little children played about the cattle-folds. when kanmakan saw this, he was right glad and his breast was filled with joy; so he addressed himself to battle, that he might take the camels and the cattle, and said to subbah, "come, let us fall upon this good, whose owners have left it unguarded, and do battle for it with near and far, so haply it may fall to our lot and we will share it between us." "o my lord," replied subbah, "verily they to whom these herds belong are much people, and among them are doughty horsemen and footmen. if we cast ourselves into this great danger, neither of us will return to his people; but we shall both be cut off utterly and leave our cousins desolate." when kanmakan heard this, he laughed and knew that he was a coward: so he left him and rode down the hill, intent on rapine, shouting and chanting aloud the following verses: o the house of en numan is mickle of might! we're the champions with swords on the squadrons that smite! when the fury of battle flames high in our hearts, we're aye to be found in the front of the fight. the poor man amongst us may slumber secure nor see the foul favour of want or upright. i hope for the succour of him in whose hand is the kingdom, the maker of body and spright. then he rushed upon the cattle, like a camel in heat, and drove them all, oxen and sheep and horses and camels, before him. therewith the slaves ran at him with their bright swords and their long lances; and at their head was a turkish horseman, a stout champion, doughty in battle and onset and skilled to wield the tawny spear and the white sabre. he drove at kanmakan, saying, "out on thee! knewest thou to whom these cattle belong, thou hadst not done this thing! know that they are the good of the greek band, the champions of the sea and the circassian troop, and they are a hundred cavaliers, all stern warriors, who have forsworn the commandment of all kings. there has been stolen from them a steed of great price, and they have vowed not to return hence, but with it." when kanmakan heard these words, he cried out, saying, "o losers, this that i bestride is the steed itself, after which ye seek and for whose sake ye would do battle with me! so come out against me, all of you at once, and do your dourest!" so saying, he cried out between catoul's ears and he ran at them, as he were a ghoul. then kanmakan drove at the turk and smote him and overthrew him and let out his life; after which he turned upon a second and a third and a fourth and bereft them also of life. when the slaves saw this, they were afraid of him, and he cried out and said to them, "ho, sons of whores, drive out the cattle and the horses, or i will dye my spear in your blood!" so they untethered the cattle and began to drive them out, and subbah came down to kanmakan, crying out with a loud voice and rejoicing greatly; when, behold, there arose a cloud of dust and grew till it covered the prospect, and there appeared under it a hundred cavaliers, like fierce lions. with this subbah fled up on to the hill, that he might gaze upon the fight in safety, saying, "i am no warrior but in sport and jest." then the hundred cavaliers made towards kanmakan from all sides, and one of them accosted him, saying, "whither goest thou with this good?" "i have made prize of them," replied he, "and am carrying them away; and i forbid you from them, for know that he who is before you is a terrible lion and an illustrious champion and a sword that cuts wherever it turns!" when the horseman heard this, he looked at kanmakan and saw that he was a cavalier as he were a strong lion, whilst his face was as the full moon rising on its fourteenth night, and valour shone from between his eyes. now this horseman was the chief of the hundred horse, and his name was kehrdash; and what he saw in kanmakan of the perfection of martial grace, together with surpassing beauty and comeliness, reminded him of a mistress of his, by name fatin. now this fatin was one of the fairest of women in face, for god had given her beauty and grace and charms and noble qualities of all kinds, such as the tongue fails to describe. moreover, the cavaliers of the tribe feared her prowess and the champions of the land stood in awe of her, and she had sworn that she would not marry nor give any possession of her, except he should conquer her, saying to her father, "none shall approach me, except he master me in the field and the stead of war." kehrdash was one of her suitors, and when the news reached him of the vow she had taken, he thought scorn to fight with a girl, fearing reproach; and one of his friends said to him, "thou art accomplished in beauty and manly qualities; so if thou contend with her, even though she be stronger than thou, thou must needs overcome her, for when she sees thy beauty and grace, she will be discomfited before thee, seeing that women by nature incline unto men, as is not unknown to thee." nevertheless he refused and would not contend with her, albeit indeed she loved him, for what she had heard of his beauty and velour: and he ceased not to abstain from her thus, till he met with kanmakan, as hath been set down. now he took the prince for his beloved fatin and was afraid; so he went up to him and said, "out on thee, o fatin! thou comest to show me thy prowess; but now alight from thy steed, that i may talk with thee, for i have driven off these cattle and waylaid horsemen and champions, all for the sake of thy beauty and grace, which are without peer. so now thou shalt marry me, that kings' daughters may wait on thee, and thou shalt become queen of these countries." when kanmakan heard this, the fires of wrath flamed up in him and he cried out, saying, "out on thee, o dog of the barbarians! leave thy raving of fatin and come to cutting and thrusting, for eftsoon thou shalt lie in the dust." so saying, he began to wheel about him and offer battle. then kehrdash observed him more closely and saw that he was indeed a doughty knight and a stalwart champion; and the error of his thought was manifest to him, whenas he saw the tender down that adorned his cheeks, as it were myrtles springing from the heart of a red rose. and he feared his onslaught and said to those that were with him, "out on you! let one of you attack him and show him the keen sword and the quivering spear; for know that for a company to do battle with one man is foul shame, even though he be a doughty man of war and an invincible champion." with this, there ran at kanmakan a lion-like horseman, mounted on a black horse with white feet and a star on his forehead, the bigness of a dirhem, astounding sight and wit, as he were abjer, that was antar's steed: even as saith of him the poet: see, where the stallion yonder comes, that with a fierce delight drives to the battle, mingling earth with heaven in his might. meseems, the morning smote his brow and to avenge himself thereon, he plunges straight and deep into its heart of light. he rushed upon kanmakan, who met him in mid-career, and they wheeled about awhile in the dint of battle, exchanging blows such as confound the wit and dim the sight, till kanmakan took the other at vantage and smote him a swashing blow, that shore through turban and iron skull-cap and reached his head, and he fell from his saddle, as a camel falls, when he rolls over. then a second came out to him and a third and a fourth and a fifth, and he did with them all as he had done with the first. thereupon the rest rushed upon him, all at once, for indeed they were wild with rage and concern; but it was not long before he had transfixed them all with the point of his lance. when kehrdash saw his feats of arms, he knew that he was stout of heart and concluded that he was the phoenix of the champions and heroes of the age: so he feared death and said to kanmakan, "i give thee thy life and pardon thee the blood of my comrades, for i have compassion on thee by reason of thy fair youth. so take what thou wilt of the cattle and go thy ways, for life is better for thee [than death]." "thou lackest not of the generosity of the noble,"[fn# ] replied kanmakan; "but leave this talk and flee for thy life and reck not of blame nor think to get back the booty; but take the straight path for thine own safety." when kehrdash heard this, he waxed exceeding wroth and his anger moved him to that which was the cause of his death; so he said to kanmakan, "out on thee! knewest thou who i am, thou wouldst not talk thus in the open field. i am the doughty lion known as kehrdash, he who despoils great kings and waylays all the travellers and seizes the merchants' goods. yonder steed under thee is what i am seeking and i call upon thee to tell me how thou camest by it." "know," replied kanmakan, "that this steed was being carried to my uncle king sasan in the company of a certain old woman, attended by ten slaves, when thou fellest upon her and tookest the horse from her; and i have a debt of blood against this old woman for the sake of my grandfather king omar ben ennuman and my uncle king sherkan." "out on thee!" said kehrdash. "who is thy father, o thou that hast no (known) mother?" "know," answered the prince, "that i am kanmakan, son of zoulmekan, son of omar ben ennuman." quoth kehrdash, "thy perfection cannot be denied, nor yet the union in thee of martial virtue and comeliness: but go in peace, for thy father showed us favour and bounty." "by allah, o vile wretch," rejoined kanmakan, "i will not so far honour thee as to overcome thee in the open field!" at this the bedouin was wroth and they drove at one another, shouting aloud, whilst their horses pricked up their ears and raised their tails. they clashed together with such a dint, that it seemed to each as if the heavens were split in sunder, and strove like two butting rams, smiting one another with thick-coming spear-strokes. presently, kehrdash aimed a blow at kanmakan; but he evaded it and turning upon the brigand, smote him in the breast, that the head of the spear issued from his back. then he collected the horses and cattle and cried out to the slaves, saying, "up and drive them off briskly!" with this down came subbah and accosting kanmakan, said to him, "thou hast quitted thee right well, o hero of the age! i prayed god for thee and he heard my prayer." then he cut off kehrdash's head and kanmakan laughed and said, "out on thee, subbah! i thought thee a man of valour." quoth the bedouin, "forget not thy slave in the division of the spoil, so haply i may win therewith to marry my cousin nejmeh." "thou shalt surely have a share in it," answered kanmakan, "but now keep watch over the booty and the slaves." then they set out and journeyed night and day till they drew near baghdad, and all the troops heard of kanmakan and saw the booty and the brigand's head on the point of subbah's spear. moreover, the merchants knew kehrdash's head and rejoiced, for he was a noted highwayman, saying, "allah hath rid mankind of him!" and they marvelled at his death and called down blessings on his slayer. then all the people of baghdad came to kanmakan, seeking to know what had befallen him, and he told them what had passed, whereupon they were taken with awe of him and all the champions and men of war feared him. after this, he drove his spoil to the palace and planting the spear, on which was kehrdash's head, before the gate, gave largesse to the people of camels and horses so that they loved him and all hearts inclined to him. then he took subbah and lodged him in a spacious dwelling, giving him part of the booty; after which he went in to his mother and told her all that had befallen him. meanwhile the news of him reached the king, who rose and shutting himself up with his chief officers, said to them, "i wish to reveal to you my secret and acquaint you with the truth of my case. know that kanmakan will be the cause of our expulsion from the kingdom; for he has slain kehrdash, albeit he had with him the tribes of the turks and the kurds, and our affair with him will assuredly result in our destruction, seeing that the most part of our troops are his kinsmen and ye know what the vizier dendan hath done; how he refuses to recognize me, after all the favours i have done him, and is become a traitor to his faith. indeed, it has come to my knowledge that he hath levied an army in the provinces and goeth about to make kanmakan king, for that the kingdom was his father's and his grandfather's before him, and he will surely slay me without mercy." when they heard this, they replied, "o king, verily he[fn# ] is unequal to this, and did we not know him to have been reared by thee, not one of us would take thought to him. we are at thy commandment; if thou wilt have us slay him, we will do so, and if thou wilt have him kept at a distance, we will chase him away." when king sasan heard this, he said, "verily, it were wise to slay him: but needs must ye take an oath of it." so they all pledged themselves to kill him, to the intent that, when the vizier dendan came and heard of his death, his might should be weakened and fail of that which he designed to do. when they had made this compact with him, the king bestowed great gifts upon them and dismissing them, retired to his own apartments. now the troops refused their service, awaiting what should befall, for they saw that the most part of the army was with the vizier dendan. presently, the news of these things came to kuzia fekan and caused her much concern; so that she sent for the old woman, who was wont to carry messages between her and her cousin, and bade her go to him and warn him of the plot against his life. accordingly, she repaired to kanmakan and gave him the princess's message, to which he replied, "bear my cousin my salutation and say to her, 'the earth is god's (to whom belong might and majesty), and he maketh whom he willeth of his servants to inherit it. how excellent is the saying of the poet: the kingship is god's alone, and him who would fain fulfil his wishes he driveth away and maketh him rue for his ill. had i or another than i a handsbreadth of earth to my own, the godship were sundered in twain and two were the power and the will.'" the old woman returned to kuzia fekan with kanmakan's reply and told her that he abode in the city. meanwhile, king sasan awaited his going forth from baghdad, that he might send after him and kill him; till, one day, it befell that kanmakan went out to hunt, accompanied by subbah, who would not leave him day or night. he caught ten gazelles and among them one that had soft black eyes and turned right and left; so he let her go, and subbah said to him, "why didst thou let her go?" kanmakan laughed and set the others free also, saying, "it behoves us, of humanity, to release gazelles that have young, and this one only turned from side to side, to look for her young ones: so i let her go and released the others in her honour." quoth subbah, "do thou release me, that i may go to my people." at this kanmakan laughed and smote him on the breast with the butt of his spear, and he fell to the ground, writhing like a serpent. whilst they were thus occupied, they saw cloud of dust and heard the tramp of horse; and presently there appeared a troop of armed cavaliers. now king sasan had heard of kanmakan's going out and sending for an amir of the medes, called jami, and twenty men, had given them money and bidden them slay kanmakan. so, when they drew near the prince, they rushed at him and he met them in mid-career and killed them all, to the last man. meanwhile the king took horse and riding out to meet his men, found them all slain, whereat he wondered and turned back; but the people of the city laid hands on him and bound him straitly. as for kanmakan, he left that place behind him and rode onward with subbah. as he went, he saw a youth sitting at the door of a house in his road and saluted him. the youth returned his greeting and going into the house, brought out two platters, one full of milk and the other of brewis swimming in (clarified) butter, which he set before kanmakan, saying, "favour me by eating of my victual." but he refused and the young man said to him, "what ails thee, o man, that thou wilt not eat?" "i have a vow upon me," replied the prince. "what is the cause of thy vow?" asked the youth, and kanmakan answered, "know that king sasan seized upon my kingdom wrongfully and oppressively, albeit it was my father's and my grandfather's before me; yet he laid hands upon the throne by force, after my father's death, and took no count of me, for that i was of tender years. so i have bound myself by a vow to eat no man's victual, till i have eased my heart of my enemy." "rejoice," rejoined the youth, "for god hath fulfilled thy vow. know that he is in prison and methinks he will soon die." "in what house is he imprisoned?" asked kanmakan. "in yonder high pavilion," answered the other. the prince looked and saw the folk entering and buffeting sasan, who was suffering the agonies of death. so he went up to the pavilion and noted what was therein; after which he returned to his place and sitting down to meat, ate what sufficed him and put the rest in his budget. then he waited till it was dark night. and the youth, whose guest he was, slept; when he rose and repaired to the pavilion in which sasan was confined. now about it were dogs, guarding it, and one of them ran at him; so he took out of his wallet a piece of meat and threw it to him. he ceased not to do thus, till he came to the pavilion and making his way to the place where sasan was, laid his hand upon his head; whereupon he said in a loud voice, "who art thou?" "i am kanmakan," replied the prince, "whom thou wentest about to kill; but god made thee fall into the evil thyself hadst devised. did it not suffice thee to take my kingdom and that of my father, but thou must go about to kill me?" and sasan swore a vain oath that he had not plotted his death and that the report was untrue. so kanmakan forgave him and said to him, "follow me." quoth he, "i cannot walk a single step for weakness." "if the case be thus," replied kanmakan, "we will get us two horses and ride forth and seek the open country." so they took horse and rode till daybreak, when they prayed the morning-prayer and fared on till they came to a garden, where they sat down and talked awhile. then kanmakan rose and said to sasan, "is there aught of bitterness left in thy heart against me?" "no, by allah!" replied sasan. so they agreed to return to baghdad and subbah the bedouin said, "i will go on before you, to give the folk notice of your coming." then he rode on in advance, acquainting men and women with the news; so all the people came out to meet kanmakan with tabrets and flutes; and kuzia fekan also came out, like the full moon shining in all her splendour in the thick darkness of the night. kanmakan met her, and their hearts yearned each to each and their bodies longed one for the other. there was no talk among the people of the time but of kanmakan; for the cavaliers bore witness of him that he was the most valiant of the folk of the age and said, "it is not just that other than he should be king over us; but the throne of his grandfather shall revert to him as it was." meanwhile king sasan went in to his wife nuzhet ez zeman, who said to him, "i hear that the folk talk of nothing but kanmakan and attribute to him such qualities as beggar description." "hearing is not like seeing," replied the king; "i have seen him, but have noted in him not one of the attributes of perfection. not all that is heard is said; but the folk ape one another in extolling and cherishing him, and god makes his praise to run on the lips of men, so that there incline to him the hearts of the people of baghdad and of the perfidious traitor the vizier dendan, who has levied troops from all countries and arrogates to himself the right of naming a king of the country and chooses that it shall be under the hand of a worthless orphan." "what then dost thou purpose to do?" asked nuzhet ez zeman. "i mean to kill him," replied the king, "that the vizier may be baulked of his intent and return to his allegiance to me, seeing nothing for it but my service." quoth she, "perfidy is a foul thing with strangers, and how much more with kinsfolk? thou wouldst do better to marry him to thy daughter kuzia fekan and give heed to what was said of old time: if fate set over thee a man, though thou than he be worthier and this be grievous unto thee, yield him the honour due to his estate; thou'lt find he will advantage thee, though near or far thou be. speak not thy thought of him; else wilt thou be of those who of their own accord the way of weal do flee. many in the harem oft are brighter than the bride; but time is on her side, and opportunity." when sasan heard this, he rose in anger and said to her, "were it not that to kill thee would bring disgrace and reproach on me, i would take off thy head with my sword and make an end of thee." quoth she, "i did but jest with thee." and rose and kissed his head and hands, saying, "thou art right, and we will cast about for some means to kill him." when he heard this, he was glad and said, "make haste and contrive some device to relieve me of my affliction; for i am at my wit's end." said she, "i will make shift to do away his life for thee." "how so?" asked he; and she answered, "by means of our female slave bakoun." now this bakoun was past mistress in all kinds of knavery and was one of the most pernicious of old women, in whose religion it was not lawful to abstain from wickedness; she had brought up kanmakan and kuzia fekan, and the former had her in so great affection, that he was wont to sleep at her feet. so when king sasan heard his wife name her, he said, "this is a good counsel," and sending for the old woman, told her what had passed and bade go about to kill kanmakan, promising her all good. "o my lord," replied she, "thy commandment shall be done: but i would have thee give me a dagger that has been tempered in water of dearth,[fn# ] that i may despatch him the quicklier for thee." "so be it," said sasan and gave her a knife that would well-nigh forego destiny. now this woman had heard stories and verses and committed to memory great store of witty traits and anecdotes: so she took the dagger and went out, considering how she should compass kanmakan's destruction. then she repaired to the prince, whom she found sitting awaiting [the coming of a messenger with] his cousin's tryst; so that night his thought was taken up with kuzia fekan and the fires of love for her raged in his heart. bakoun went in to him, saying, "the time of union is at hand and the days of separation are over and gone." when he heard this, he said, "how is it with kuzia fekan?" and she answered, "know that she is distraught for love of thee." at this he rose and taking off his [upper] clothes, put them on her and promised her all good. then said she, "know that i mean to pass this night with thee, that i may repeat to thee what talk i have heard and divert thee with tales of many a slave of love, whom passion hath made sick." quoth he, "tell me a story, that will gladden my heart and dispel my cares." "with all my heart," answered she and sitting down beside him, with the dagger under her clothes, began thus, "the pleasantest thing i ever heard was as follows: bakoun's story of the hashish-eater. a certain man loved the fair and spent his substance on them, till he became a beggar and used to go about the streets and markets, seeking his bread. one day, as he went along, a splinter of iron pierced his finger and made it bleed; so he sat down and wiping away the blood, bound up his finger. then he went on, crying out, till he came to a bath, and entering found it clean (and empty). so he took off his clothes and sitting down by the basin, fell to pouring water on his head, till he was tired, when he went out to the room in which was the tank of cold water. finding none there, he shut himself up [in a cabinet] and taking out a piece of hashish, swallowed it. the fumes of the drug spread through his brain and he rolled over on to the marble floor. then the hashish made it appear to him as if a great lord were kneading him and as if two slaves stood at his head, one bearing a bowl and the other washing gear and all the requisites of the bath. when he saw this, he said to himself, 'meseems these are mistaken in me; or else they are of the company of us hashish-eaters.' then he stretched out his legs and it seemed to him that the bathman said to him, 'o my lord, the time of thy going forth draws near and it is to-day thy turn of service (at the palace).' at this he laughed and said, 'as god wills, o hashish!' then he sat and said nothing, whilst the bathman took him by the hand and raising him up, girt his middle with a waist-cloth of black silk, after which the two slaves followed him, with the bowls and implements, till they brought him into a cabinet, wherein they set perfumes burning. he found the place full of various kinds of fruits and sweet-scented flowers, and they cut him a melon and seated him on a stool of ebony, whilst the bathman stood to wash him and the slaves poured water on him; after which they rubbed him down well and said, 'o our lord the vizier, may the bath profit thee and mayst thou come to delight everlasting!' then they went out and shut the door on him; and he took up the waist-cloth and laughed till he well-nigh lost his senses. he gave not over laughing for some time and saying to himself, 'what ails them to bespeak me as if i were a vizier and style me "master" and "our lord"? surely they are dreaming now; but presently they will know me and say, "this fellow is a beggar," and take their fill of cuffing me on the nape of the neck.' presently, he felt hot and opened the door, whereupon it seemed to him that a little white slave and an eunuch entered, carrying a parcel. the slave opened the parcel and brought out three kerchiefs of silk, one of which he threw over his head, a second over his shoulders, and a third he tied round his waist. moreover, the eunuch gave him a pair of bath-clogs, and he put them on; after which in came eunuchs and slaves and supported him, laughing the while, to the outer hall, which he found hung and spread with magnificent furniture, such as beseems none but kings; and the pages hastened up to him and seated him on the divan. then they fell to kneading him, till sleep overcame him and he dreamt that he had a girl in his arms. so he kissed her and set her between his thighs; then, clipping her as a man clips a woman, took his yard in his hand and was about to have at her, when he heard one saying to him, 'awake, thou good-for-nought! the hour of noon is come and thou art still asleep.' he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the merge of the cold-water tank, with a crowd of people about him, laughing at him; for the napkin was fallen from his middle and discovered his yard in point. so he knew that all this was but an imbroglio of dreams and an illusion of hashish and was vexed and said to him who had aroused him, 'would thou hadst waited till i had put it in!' then said the folk, 'art thou not ashamed, o hashish-eater, and thou lying asleep and naked, with thy yard on end?' and they cuffed him, till the nape of his neck was red. now he was starving, yet had he tasted the savour of delight in sleep." when kanmakan heard this story, he laughed till he fell backward and said to bakoun, "o my nurse, this is indeed a rare story; i never heard its like. hast thou any more?" "yes," answered she and went on to tell him diverting stories and laughable anecdotes, till sleep overcame him. then she sat by him till the most part of the night was past, when she said to herself, "it is time to profit by the occasion." so she unsheathed the dagger and drawing near to kanmakan, was about to slaughter him, when, behold, in came his mother. when bakoun saw her, she rose to meet her, and fear got hold on her and she fell a-trembling, as if she had the ague. the princess mother marvelled to see her thus and aroused her son, who awoke and found her sitting at his head. now the reason of her coming was that kuzia fekan heard of the plot to kill kanmakan and said to his mother, "o wife of my uncle, go to thy son, ere that wicked baggage bakoun kill him." and she told her what had passed, from beginning to end. so she rose at once and stayed not for aught, till she came to her son's lodgings, just as bakoun was about to slay him. when he awoke, he said to his mother, "o my mother, indeed thou comest at a good time, for my nurse bakoun has been with me this night." then he turned to bakoun and said to her, "my life on thee, knowest thou any story better than those thou hast told me?" "what i have told thee," answered she, "is nothing to what i will tell thee; but that must be for another time." then she rose to go, hardly believing that she should escape with her life, for she perceived of her cunning that his mother knew what was toward; and he said, "go in peace." so she went her way, and his mother said to him, "o my son, blessed be this night, wherein god the most high hath delivered thee from this accursed woman!" "how so?" asked he, and she told him the whole story. "o my mother," said he, "whoso is fated to live finds no slayer; nor, though he be slain, will he die; but now it were wise that we depart from amongst these enemies and let god do what he will." so, as soon as it was day, he left the city and joined the vizier dendan, and certain things befell between king sasan and nuzhet ez zeman, which caused her also to leave the city and join herself to kanmakan and dendan, as did likewise such of the king's officers as inclined to their party. then they took counsel together what they should do and agreed to make an expedition into the land of the greeks and take their revenge for the death of king omar ben ennuman and his son sherkan. so they set out with this intent and after adventures which it were tedious to set out, but the drift of which will appear from what follows, they fell into the hands of rumzan, king of the greeks. next morning, king rumzan caused dendan and kanmakan and their company to be brought before him and seating them at his side, bade spread the tables of food. so they ate and drank and took heart of grace, after having made sure of death, for that, when they were summoned to the king's presence, they said to one another, "he has not sent for us but to put us to death." then said the king, "i have had a dream, which i related to the monks and they said, 'none can expound it to thee but the vizier dendan.'" "and what didst thou see in thy dream, o king of the age?" asked dendan. "i dreamt," answered the king, "that i was in a pit, as it were a black well, where meseemed folk were tormenting me; and i would have risen, but fell on my feet and could not get out of the pit. then i turned and saw on the ground a girdle of gold and put out my hand to take it; but when i raised it from the ground, i saw it was two girdles. so i girt my middle with them, and behold, they became one girdle; and this, o vizier, is my dream and what i saw in sleep." "o our lord the sultan," said dendan, "this thy dream denotes that thou hast a brother or a brother's son or an uncle's son or other near kinsman of thy flesh and blood [of whom thou knowest not]." when the king heard this, he looked at kanmakan and dendan and nuzhet ez zeman and kuzia fekan and the rest of the captives and said in himself, "if i cut off these people's heads, their troops will lose heart for the loss of their chiefs and i shall be able to return speedily to my realm, lest the kingdom pass out of my hands." so he called the headsman and bade him strike off kanmakan's head, when behold, up came rumzan's nurse and said to him, "o august king, what wilt thou do?" quoth he, "i mean to put these captives to death and throw their heads among their troops; after which i will fall upon them, i and all my men, and kill all we may and put the rest to the rout; so will this be the end of the war and i shall return speedily to my kingdom, ere aught befall among my subjects." when the nurse heard this, she came up to him and said in the frank tongue, "how canst thou slay thine own brother's son and thy sister and thy sister's daughter?" when he heard this, he was exceeding angry and said to her, "o accursed woman, didst thou not tell me that my mother was murdered and that my father died by poison? didst thou not give me a jewel and say to me, 'this jewel was thy father's'? why didst thou not tell me the truth?" "all that i told thee is true," replied she: "but thy case and my own are wonderful and thine and my history extraordinary. my name is merjaneh and thy mother's name was abrizeh. she was gifted with such beauty and grace and valour that proverbs were made of her, and her prowess was renowned among men of war. thy father was king omar ben ennuman, lord of baghdad and khorassan. he sent his son sherkan on an expedition, in company with this very vizier dendan; and sherkan thy brother separated himself from the troops and fell in with thy mother queen abrizeh, in a privy garden of her palace, whither we had resorted to wrestle, she and i and her other damsels. he came on us by chance and wrestled with thy mother, who overcame him by the splendour of her beauty and her valour. then she entertained him five days in her palace, till the news of this came to her father, by the old woman shewahi, surnamed dhat ed dewahi, whereupon she embraced islam at sherkan's hands and he carried her by stealth to baghdad, and with her myself and rihaneh and other twenty damsels. when we came to thy father's presence, he fell in love with thy mother and going in to her one night, foregathered with her, and she became with child by him of thee. now thy mother had three jewels, which she gave to thy father, and he gave one of them to his daughter nuzhet ez zeman, another to thy brother zoulmekan and the third to thy brother sherkan. this last thy mother took from sherkan, and i kept it for thee. when the time of the princess's delivery drew near, she yearned after her own people and discovered her secret to me; so i went privily to a black slave called ghezban and telling him our case, bribed him to go with us. accordingly, he took us and fled forth the city with us by stealth towards the land of the greeks, till we came to a desert place on the borders of our own country. here the pangs of labour came upon thy mother, and the slave, being moved by lust, sought of her a shameful thing; whereat she cried out loudly and was sore affrighted at him. in the excess of her alarm, she gave birth to thee at once, and at this moment there arose, in the direction of our country, a cloud of dust which spread till it covered the plain. at this sight, the slave feared for his life; so, in his rage, he smote queen abrizeh with his sword and slew her, then, mounting his horse, went his way. presently, the dust lifted and discovered thy grandfather, king herdoub, who, seeing thy mother his daughter dead on the ground, was sorely troubled and questioned me of the manner of her death and why she had left her father's kingdom. so i told him all that had happened, first and last; and this is the cause of the feud between the people of the land of the greeks and the people of baghdad. then we took up thy dead mother and buried her; and i took thee and reared thee, and hung this jewel about thy neck. but, when thou camest to man's estate, i dared not acquaint thee with the truth of the matter, lest it should stir up a war of revenge between you. moreover, thy grandfather had enjoined me to secrecy, and i could not gainsay the commandment of thy mother's father, herdoub, king of the greeks. this, then, is why i forbore to tell thee that thy father was king omar ben ennuman; but, when thou camest to the throne, i told thee [what thou knowest]; and the rest i could not reveal to thee till this moment. so now, o king of the age, i have discovered to thee my secret and have acquainted thee with all that i know of the matter; and thou knowest best what is in thy mind." when nuzhet ez zeman heard what the king's nurse said, she cried out, saying, "this king rumzan is my brother by my father king omar ben ennuman, and his mother was the princess abrizeh, daughter of herdoub, king of the greeks; and i know this damsel merjaneh right well." with this, trouble and perplexity got hold upon rumzan and he caused nuzhet ez zeman to be brought up to him forthright. when he looked upon her, blood drew to blood and he questioned her of his history. so she told me all she knew, and her story tallied with that of his nurse; whereupon he was assured that he was indeed of the people of irak and that king omar ben ennuman was his father. so he caused his sister to be unbound, and she came up to him and kissed his hands, whilst her eyes ran over with tears. he wept also to see her weeping, and brotherly love entered into him and his heart yearned to his brother's son kanmakan. so he sprang to his feet and taking the sword from the headsman's hands, bade bring the captives up to him. at this, they made sure of death; but he cut their bonds with the sword and said to merjaneh, "explain the matter to them, even as thou hast explained it to me." "o king," replied she, "know that this old man is the vizier dendan and he is the best of witnesses to my story, seeing that he knows the truth of the case." then she turned to the captives and repeated the whole story to them and to the princes of the greeks and the franks who were present with them, and they all confirmed her words. when she had finished, chancing to look at kanmakan, she saw on his neck the fellow jewel to that which she had hung round king rumzan's neck, whereupon she gave such a cry, that the whole palace rang again, and said to the king, "know, o my son, that now my certainty is still more assured, for the jewel that is about the neck of yonder captive is the fellow to that i hung to thy neck, and this is indeed thy brother's son kanmakan." then she turned to kanmakan and said to him, "o king of the age, let me see that jewel." so he took it from his neck and gave it to her. then she asked nuzhet ez zeman of the third jewel and she gave it to her, whereupon she delivered the two to king rumzan, and the truth of the matter was made manifest to him and he was assured that he was indeed prince kanmakan's uncle and that his father was king omar ben ennuman. so he rose at once and going up to the vizier dendan, embraced him; then he embraced prince kanmakan, and they cried aloud for very gladness. the joyful news was blazed abroad and they beat the drums and cymbals, whilst the flutes sounded and the people held high festival. the army of irak and syria heard the clamour of rejoicing among the greeks; so they mounted, all of them, and king ziblcan also took horse, saying in himself, "what can be the cause of this clamour and rejoicing in the army of the franks?" then the muslim troops made ready for fight and advancing into the field, drew out in battle array. presently, king rumzan turned and seeing the army deployed in battalia, enquired the reason and was told the state of the case; so he bade kuzia fekan return at once to the muslim troops and acquaint them with the accord that had betided and how it was come to light that he was kanmakan's uncle. so she set out, putting away from her sorrows and troubles, and stayed not till she came to king ziblcan, whom she found tearful-eyed, fearing for the captive chiefs and princes. she saluted him and told him all that had passed, whereat the muslims' grief was turned to gladness. then he and all his officers took horse and followed the princess to the pavilion of king rumzan, whom they found sitting with his nephew, prince kanmakan. now they had taken counsel with the vizier dendan concerning king ziblcan and had agreed to commit to his charge the city of damascus of syria and leave him king over it as before, whilst themselves entered irak. accordingly, they confirmed him in the viceroyalty of damascus and bade him set out at once for his government, so he departed with his troops and they rode with him a part of the way, to bid him farewell. then they returned and gave orders for departure, whereupon the two armies united and king rumzan and his nephew set out, surrounded by their nobles and grandees. and indeed kanmakan rejoiced in his uncle king rumzan and called down blessings on the nurse merjaneh, who had made them known to each other; but the two kings said to one another, "our hearts will never be at rest nor our wrath appeased, till we have taken our wreak of the old woman shewahi, surnamed dhat ed dewahi, and wiped out the blot upon our honour." so they fared on till they drew near baghdad, and sasan, hearing of their approach, came out to meet them and kissed the hand of the king of the greeks, who bestowed on him a dress of honour. then king rumzan sat down on the throne and seated his nephew at his side, who said to him, "o my uncle, this kingdom befits none but thee." "god forbid," replied rumzan, "that i should supplant thee in thy kingdom!" so the vizier dendan counselled them to share the throne between them, ruling each one day in turn, and they agreed to this. then they made feasts and offered sacrifices and held high festival, whilst king kanmakan spent his nights with his cousin kuzia fekan; and they abode thus awhile. one day, as the two kings sat, rejoicing in the happy ending of their troubles, they saw a cloud of dust arise and up came a merchant, who ran to them, shrieking and crying out for succour. "o kings of the age," said he, "how comes it that i was in safety in the country of the infidels and am plundered in your realm, what though it be a land of peace and justice?" king rumzan questioned him of his case, and he replied, "i am a merchant, who have been nigh a score of years absent from my native land, travelling in far countries; and i have a patent of exemption from damascus, which the late viceroy king sherkan wrote me, for that i had made him gift of a slave-girl. now i was returning to irak, having with me a hundred loads of rarities of ind; but, as i drew near baghdad, the seat of your sovereignty and the abiding-place of your peace and your justice, there came out upon me bedouins and kurds banded together from all parts, who slew my men and robbed me of all my goods. this is what hath befallen me." then he wept and bemoaned himself before the two kings, who took compassion on him and swore that they would sally out upon the thieves. so they set out with a hundred horse, each reckoned worth thousands of men, and the merchant went before them, to guide them in the right way. they fared on all that day and the following night till daybreak, when they came to a valley abounding in streams and trees. here they found the bandits dispersed about the valley, having divided the treasure between them; but there was yet some of it left. so they fell upon them and surrounded them on all sides, nor was it long before they made prize of them all, to the number of near three hundred horsemen, banded together of the scourings of the arabs. they bound them all, and taking what they could find of the merchant's goods, returned to baghdad, where the two kings sat down upon one throne and passing the prisoners in review before them, questioned them of their condition and their chiefs. so they pointed out to them three men and said, "these are our only chiefs, and it was they who gathered us together from all parts and countries." the kings bade lay on these three and set the rest free, after taking from them all the goods in their possession and giving them to the merchant, who examined them and found that a fourth of his stock was missing. the two kings engaged to make good his loss, whereupon he pulled out two letters, one in the handwriting of sherkan and the other in that of nuzhet ez zeman; for this was the very merchant who had bought nuzhet ez zeman of the bedouin, as hath been before set forth. kanmakan examined the letters and recognized the handwriting of his uncle sherkan and his aunt nuzhet ez zeman; then (for that he knew the latter's history) he went in to her with that which she had written and told her the merchant's story. she knew her own handwriting and recognizing the merchant, despatched to him guest-gifts (of victual and what not) and commended him to her brother and nephew, who ordered him gifts of money and slaves and servants to wait on him, besides which the princess sent him a hundred thousand dirhems in money and fifty loads of merchandise, together with other rich presents. then she sent for him and made herself known to him, whereat he rejoiced greatly and kissed her hands, giving her joy of her safety and union with her brother and thanking her for her bounty: and he said to her, "by allah, a good deed is not lost upon thee!" then she withdrew to her own apartment and the merchant sojourned with them three days, after which he took leave of them and set out to return to damascus. after this, the two kings sent for the three robber-chiefs and questioned them of their condition, whereupon one of them came forward and said, "know that i am a bedouin, who use to lie in wait, by the way, to steal children and virgin girls and sell them to merchants; and this i did for many a year until these latter days, when satan incited me to join these two gallows-birds in gathering together all the riff-raff of the arabs and other peoples, that we might waylay merchants and plunder caravans." said the two kings, "tell us the rarest of the adventures that have befallen thee in kidnapping children and girls." "o kings of the age," replied he, "the strangest thing that ever happened to me was as follows. two-and-twenty years ago, being at jerusalem, i saw a girl come out of the khan, who was possessed of beauty and grace, albeit she was but a servant and was clad in worn clothes, with a piece of camel-cloth on her head; so i entrapped her by guile and setting her on a camel, made off with her into the desert, thinking to carry her to my own people and there set her to pasture the camels and collect their dung (for fuel); but she wept so sore, that after beating her soundly, i carried her to damascus, where a merchant saw her and being astounded at her beauty and accomplishments, bid me more and more for her, till at last i sold her to him for a hundred thousand dinars. i heard after that he clothed her handsomely and presented her to the viceroy of damascus, who gave him for her her price thrice told; and this, by my life, was but little for such a damsel! this, o kings of the age, is the strangest thing that ever befell me." the two kings wondered at his story; but, when nuzhet ez zeman heard it, the light in her face became darkness, and she cried out and said to her brother, "sure, this is the very bedouin who kidnapped me in jerusalem!" and she told them all that she had endured from him in her strangerhood of hardship and blows and hunger and humiliation, adding, "and now it is lawful to me to slay him." so saying, she seized a sword and made at him; but he cried out and said, "o kings of the age, let her not kill me, till i have told you the rare adventures that have betided me." and kanmakan said to her, "o my aunt, let him tell his story, and after do with him as thou wilt." so she held her hand and the kings said to him, "now let us hear thy story." "o kings of the age," said he, "if i tell you a rare story, will you pardon me?" "yes," answered they. then said the bedouin, "know that hemmad the bedouin's story. awhile ago, i was sore wakeful one night and thought the dawn would never break: so, as soon as it was day, i rose and girding on my sword, mounted my steed and set my lance in rest. then i rode out to hunt, and as i went along, a company of men accosted me and asked me whither i went. i told them, and they said, 'we will bear thee company.' so we all fared on together, and presently we saw an ostrich and gave chase; but it evaded us and spreading its wings, fled before us and drew us on after it, till it brought us to a desert, wherein there was neither grass nor water, nor was aught to be heard there save the hissing of serpents, the wailing of jinn and the howling of ghouls. here we lost sight of the ostrich, nor could we tell whether it had flown up into the sky or sunk into the ground. then we turned our horses' heads and thought to go back; but found that our return would be toilsome and dangerous at that time of exceeding heat; for the heat was grievous to us, so that we were sore athirst and our horses stood still. so we made sure of death; but as we were in this case, we espied a spacious meadow afar off, wherein were gazelles frisking. there was a tent pitched and by the tent-side a horse tethered and a spear stuck in the earth, whose head glittered in the sun. when we saw this, our hearts revived, after we had despaired, and we turned our horses' heads towards the meadow and rode on, till we came to a spring, where we alighted and drank and watered our beasts. then i was seized with a frenzy of curiosity and went up to the door of the tent, where i saw a young man like the new moon, without hair on his cheeks, and on his right hand a slender damsel, as she were a willow wand. no sooner did i set eyes on the girl, than love of her got hold upon my heart and i saluted the young man, who returned my greeting. then said i to him, 'o brother of the arabs, tell me who thou art and what is this damsel to thee?' with this, he bent down his head awhile, then raised it and replied, 'tell me first who thou art and what are these horsemen with thee.' 'i am hemmad, son of el fezari,' answered i, 'the renowned cavalier, who is reckoned as five hundred horse among the arabs. we went forth this morning to hunt and were overcome by thirst; so i came to the door of this tent, thinking to get of thee a draught of water.' when he heard this, he turned to the fair maiden and said to her, 'bring this man water and what there is of food.' so she went in, trailing her skirts, whilst her feet stumbled in her long hair and the golden bangles tinkled on her ankles, and returned after a little, bearing in her right hand a silver vessel of cold water and in her left a bowl full of milk and dates and flesh of wild cattle. but, of the excess of my passion for her, i could take of her nor meat nor drink, and i recited to her the following verses, applying them to her: the dye of the henna upon her hand doth show, as 'twere a raven new lighted on fresh-fall'n snow; and see the full moon and the sun beside her face, this dim and the other fearful for shame and woe. then, after i had eaten and drunk, i said to the youth, 'o chief of the arabs, i have told thee truly who and what i am, and now i would fain have thee do the like by me and tell me the truth of thy case.' 'as for this damsel,' replied he, 'she is my sister.' quoth i, 'it is my desire that thou give her to me to wife of free will: else will i slay thee and take her by force.' with this, he bowed his head awhile, then raised his eyes to me and answered, 'thou sayest sooth in avouching thyself a renowned cavalier and a famous champion and the lion of the desert; but if ye all attack me treacherously and slay me and take my sister by force, it will be a stain upon your honour. if ye be, as thou sayest, cavaliers that are counted among the champions and fear not the shock of battle, give me time to don my armour and gird on my sword and set my lance in rest and mount my horse. then will we go forth into the field and fight; and if i conquer you, i will kill you, every man of you; and if you overcome me and slay me, this damsel my sister is thine.' 'this is but just,' answered i, 'and we oppose it not.' then i turned my horse's head, mad for love of the damsel, and rode back to my companions, to whom i set forth her beauty and grace, as also the comeliness of the young man and his valour and strength of soul and how he avouched himself a match for a thousand horse. moreover, i described to them the tent and all the riches and rarities it contained and said to them, 'be sure that this youth would not have taken up his abode alone in this desert place, were he not a man of great prowess: so i propose that whoso slays him shall take his sister.' and they agreed to this. then we armed ourselves and mounting, rode to the tent, where we found the young man armed and mounted; but his sister ran up to him, with her veil drenched with tears, and laying hold of his stirrup, cried out, saying, 'alas!' and 'woe worth the day!' in her fear for her brother, and recited the following verses: to god above i make my moan of sorrow and affright. mayhap, the empyrean's lord will smite them with dismay. they fain would kill thee, brother mine, with malice aforethought, though never cause of anger was nor fault forewent the fray. yet for a champion art thou known among the men of war, the doughtiest knight that east or west goes camping by the way. thou wilt thy sister's honour guard, whose might is small, for thou her brother art and she for thee unto the lord doth pray let not the foe possess my soul nor seize on me perforce and work their cruel will on me, without my yea or nay. by god his truth, i'll never live in any land where thou art not albeit all the goods of plenty it display! but i will slay myself for love and yearning for thy sake and in the darksome tomb i'll make my bed upon the clay. when he heard her words, he wept sore and turning his horse's head towards her, made answer with the following verses: stand by and see the wondrous deeds that i will do this day, whenas we meet and i on them rain blows in the mellay. e'en though the lion of the war, the captain of the host, the stoutest champion of them all, spur out into the fray, i'll deal a thaalebiyan[fn# ] blow at him and in his heart i'll let my spear, even to the shaft, its thirst for blood allay. if i defend thee not from all that seek thee, sister mine, may i be slaughtered and my corse given to the birds of prey! ay, i will battle for thy sake, with all the might i may, and books shall story after me the marvels of this day. then said he, 'o my sister, give ear to what i shall enjoin on thee.' and she answered, 'i hear and obey.' quoth he, 'if i fall, let none possess thee;' and she buffeted her face and said, 'god forbid, o my brother, that i should see thee laid low and yield myself to thine enemies!' with this he put out his hand to her and drew aside her veil, whereupon her face shone forth, like the sun from out clouds. then he kissed her between the eyes and bade her farewell; after which he turned to us and said, 'ho, cavaliers! come ye as guests or are you minded to cut and thrust? if ye come as guests, rejoice in hospitality; and if ye covet the shining moon,[fn# ] come out against me, one by one, and fight.' then came out to him a sturdy horseman, and the young man said to him, 'tell me thy name and thy father's name, for i have sworn to fight with none whose name and whose father's name tally with mine and my father's, and if it be thus with thee, i will give thee up the girl.' 'my name is bilal,'[fn# ] answered the other; and the young man repeated the following verses: thou liest when thou talkest of "benefits"; for lo, thou comest with mischief and malice and woe! so, an thou be doughty, heed well what i say: i'm he who the braver in the battle lays low with a keen-cutting sword, like the horn of the moon; so look (and beware) for a hill-shaking blow! then they ran at one another, and the youth smote his adversary in the breast, that the lance-head issued from his back. with this, another came out, and the youth repeated the following verses: o dog, that art noisome of stench and of sight, what is there of worth that to come by is light? 'tis only the lion, of race and of might right noble, recks little of life in the fight. nor was it long before he left him also drowned in his blood and cried out, 'who will come out to me?' so a third horseman pricked out, reciting the following verses: i come to thee, with a fire in my breast that blazes free, and call on my comrades all to the fight to follow me. though thou hast slain the chiefs of the arabs, yet, perdie, thou shalt not 'scape this day from those that follow thee! when the youth heard this, he answered him, saying: thou com'st, like theright evil fiend that thou art, with a lie on thy lips and a fraud at thy heart; this day shalt thou taste of a death-dealing dart and a spear that shall rid thee of life with its smart. then he smote him on the breast, that the spear-point issued from his back, and cried out, saying, 'will another come out?' so a fourth came out and the youth asked him his name. he replied, 'my name is hilal.'[fn# ] and the youth repeated these verses: thou err'st, that wouldst plunge in my sea of affray and thinkest to daunt me with lies and dismay. lo, i, to whose chant thou hast hearkened this day, thy soul, ere thou know'st it, will ravish away! then they drove at one another and exchanged blows; but the youth's stroke forewent that of his adversary and slew him: and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him. when i saw my comrades slain, i said in myself, 'if i fight with him, i shall not be able to withstand him, and if i flee, i shall become a byword among the arabs.' however, the youth gave me no time to think, but ran at me and laying hold of me, dragged me from my saddle. i swooned away and he raised his sword to cut off my head; but i clung to his skirts and he lifted me in his hand, as i were a sparrow [in the clutches of a hawk]. when the maiden saw this, she rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him, kissed him between the eyes. then he delivered me to her, saying, 'take him and entreat him well, for he is come under our rule.' so she took hold of the collars of my coat-of-arms and led me away by them as one would lead a dog. then she did off her brother's armour and clad him in a robe, after which she brought him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down, and said to him, 'may god whiten thine honour and make thee to be as a provision against the shifts of fortune!' and he answered her with the following verses: my sister said, (who saw my lustrous forehead blaze midmost the war, as shine the sun's meridian rays) "god bless thee for a brave, to whom, when he falls on, the desert lions bow in terror and amaze!" "question the men of war," i answered her, "of me, whenas the champions flee before my flashing gaze. i am the world-renowned for fortune and for might, whose prowess i uplift to what a height of praise! o hemmad, thou hast roused a lion, who shall show thee death that comes as swift as vipers in the ways." when i heard what he said, i was perplexed about my affair, and considering my condition and how i was become a captive, i was lessened in my own esteem. then i looked at the damsel and said to myself, 'it is she who is the cause of all this trouble;' and i fell a-marvelling at her beauty and grace, till the tears streamed from my eyes and i recited the following verses: reproach me not, o friend, nor chide me for the past, for i will pay no heed to chiding and dispraise. lo, i am clean distraught for one, whom when i saw, fate in my breast forthright the love of her did raise. her brother was my foe and rival in her love, a man of mickle might and dreadful in affrays. then the maiden set food before her brother, and he bade me eat with him, whereat i rejoiced and felt assured of my life. when he had made an end of eating, she brought him a flagon of wine and he drank, till the fumes of the wine mounted to his head and his face flushed. then he turned to me and said, 'harkye, hemmad, dost thou know me?' 'by thy life,' answered i, 'i am rich in nought but ignorance!' said he, 'i am ibad ben temim ben thaalebeh, and indeed god giveth thee thy liberty and spareth thee confusion.' then he drank to my health and gave me a cup of wine and i drank it off. then he filled me a second and a third and a fourth, and i drank them all; and he made merry with me and took an oath of me that i would never betray him. so i swore to him a thousand oaths that i would never deal perfidiously with him, but would be a friend and a helper to him. then he bade his sister bring me ten dresses of silk; so she brought them and laid them on me, and this gown i have on my body is one of them. moreover, he made her bring one of the best of the riding camels, laden with stuffs and victual, and a sorrel horse, and gave the whole to me. i abode with them three days, eating and drinking, and what he gave me is with me to this day. at the end of this time, he said to me, 'o hemmad, o my brother, i would fain sleep awhile and rest myself. i trust myself to thee; but if thou see horsemen making hither, fear not, for they are of the beni thaalebeh, seeking to wage war on me.' then he laid his sword under his head and slept; and when he was drowned in slumber, the devil prompted me to kill him; so i rose, and drawing the sword from under his head, dealt him a blow that severed his head from his body. his sister heard what i had done, and rushing out from within the tent, threw herself on his body, tearing her clothes and repeating the following verses: carry the tidings to the folk, the saddest news can be; but man from god his ordinance no whither hath to flee. now art thou slaughtered, brother mine, laid prostrate on the earth, thou whose bright face was as the round of the full moon to see. indeed, an evil day it was, the day thou mettest them, and after many a fight, thy spear is shivered, woe is me! no rider, now that thou art dead, in horses shall delight nor evermore shall woman bear a male to match with thee. hemmad this day hath played thee false and foully done to death; unto his oath and plighted faith a traitor base is he. he deemeth thus to have his will and compass his desire; but satan lieth to his dupes in all he doth decree. when she had ended, she turned to me and said, 'o man of accursed lineage, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay him, whenas he purposed to send thee back to thy country with gifts and victual and it was his intent also to marry thee to me at the first of the month?' then she drew a sword she had with her, and planting it in the ground, with the point set to her breast, threw herself thereon and pressed upon it, till the blade issued from her back and she fell to the ground, dead. i mourned for her and wept and repented when repentance availed me nothing. then i went in haste to the tent and taking whatever was light of carriage and great of worth, went my way: but in my haste and fear, i took no heed of my (dead) comrades, nor did i bury the maiden and the youth. this, then, is my story, and it is still more extraordinary than that of the serving-maid i kidnapped in jerusalem." when nuzet ez zeman heard these words of the bedouin, the light in her eyes was changed to darkness, and she rose and drawing the sword, smote him amiddleward the shoulder-blades, that the point issued from his throat. the bystanders said to her, "why hast thou made haste to slay him?" and she answered, "praised be god who hath granted me to avenge myself with my own hand!" and she bade the slaves drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the dogs. then they turned to the second prisoner, who was a black slave, and said to him, "what is thy name? tell us the truth of thy case." "my name is ghezban," answered he and told them what had passed between himself and the princess abrizeh and how he had slain her and fled. hardly had he made an end of his story, when king rumzan struck off his head with his sabre, saying, "praised be god that gave me life! i have avenged my mother with my own hand." then he repeated to them what his nurse merjaneh had told him of this same ghezban; after which they turned to the third prisoner and said to him, "tell us who thou art and speak the truth." now this was the very camel-driver, whom the people of jerusalem hired to carry zoulmekan to the hospital at damascus; but he threw him down on the fuel-heap and went his way. so he told them how he had dealt with zoulmekan, whereupon kanmakan took his sword forthright and cut off his head, saying, "praised be god who hath given me life, that i might requite this traitor what he did with my father, for i have heard this very story from king zoulmekan himself!" then they said to each other "it remains only for us to take our wreak of the old woman shewahi, yclept dhat ed dewahi, for that she is the prime cause of all these troubles. who will deliver her into our hands, that we may avenge ourselves upon her and wipe out our dishonour?" and king rumzan said, "needs must we bring her hither." so he wrote a letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid old woman, giving her to know that he had subdued the kingdoms of damascus and mosul and irak and had broken up the host of the muslims and captured their princes and adding, "i desire thee of all urgency to come to me without delay, bringing with thee the princess sufiyeh, daughter of king afridoun, and whom thou wilt of the nazarene chiefs, but no troops; for the country is quiet and under our hand." and he despatched the letter to her, which when she read, she rejoiced greatly and forthwith equipping herself and sufiyeh, set out with their attendants and journeyed, without stopping, till they drew near baghdad. then she sent a messenger to acquaint the king of her arrival, whereupon quoth rumzan, "we should do well to don the habit of the franks and go out to meet the old woman, to the intent that we may be assured against her craft and perfidy." so they clad themselves in frankish apparel, and when kuzia fekan saw them, she exclaimed, "by the lord of worship, did i not know you, i should take you to be indeed franks!" then they sallied forth, with a thousand horse, to meet the old woman, and king rumzan rode on before them. as soon as his eyes met hers, he dismounted and walked towards her, and she, recognizing him, dismounted also and embraced him; but he pressed her ribs with his hands, till he well-nigh broke them. quoth she, "what is this, o my son?" but before she had done speaking, up came kanmakan and dendan, and the horsemen with them cried out at the women and slaves and took them all prisoners. then the two kings returned to baghdad, with their captives, and rumzan bade decorate the city three days long, at the end of which time they brought out the old woman, with a tall red bonnet of palm-leaves on her head, diademed with asses' dung, and preceded by a herald, proclaiming aloud, "this is the reward of those who presume to lay hands on kings and kings' sons!" then they crucified her on one of the gates of baghdad; and her companions, seeing what befell her, all embraced the faith of islam. as for kanmakan and his uncle rumzan and his aunt nuzhet ez zeman, they marvelled at the wonderful events that had betided them and bade the scribes set them down orderly in books, that those who came after might read. then they all abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there overtook them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and this is all that hath come down to us of the dealings of fortune with king omar ben ennuman and his sons sherkan and zoulmekan and his son's son kanmakan and his daughter nuzhet ez zeman and her daughter kuzia fekan. end of vol. ii. notes to volume . [fn# ] a.h. - . [fn# ] i.e. none could approach him in the heat of fight. [fn# ] sophia. [fn# ] apparently palestine (in this case). [fn# ] i.e. man of might and munificence. [fn# ] about £ , . [fn# ] dhai ed dewahi. [fn# ] i.e. sperma hominis. [fn# ] apparently the names of noted wrestlers. [fn# ] a phrase of frequent occurrence in the koran, meaning "your female slaves" or "the women ye have captured in war." [fn# ] quoth he (solomon), "o chiefs, which of you will bring me her throne?" (i.e. that of belkis, queen of sheba) ......."i," said an afrit of the jinn, "will bring it thee, ere thou canst rise from thy stead, for i am able thereto and faithful!"--koran xxvii. , . [fn# ] one of the fountains of paradise. [fn# ] kutheiyir ibn ali juma, a well-known poet of the seventh and eighth centuries at medina. he was celebrated for his love of azzeh, in whose honour most of his poems were written. the writer (or copyist) of this tale has committed an anachronism in introducing these verses, as kutheiyir was a contemporary of the khalif abdulmelik ben merwan before whose time sherkan and his father (both imaginary characters) are stated( see supra, p. {vol. , fn# }) to have lived; but the whole narrative is full of the grossest anachronisms, too numerous, indeed, to notice. [fn# ] jemil ben mamer, another celebrated arabian poet and lover, a friend and contemporary of kutheiyir. [fn# ] a person who dies for love is esteemed a martyr by the arabs. [fn# ] i suspect these verses to have been introduced in error by some copyist. they appear utterly meaningless in this context. [fn# ] the bishop. [fn# ] apparently referring in jest to her speech to him see supra, p. {see text, vol. , after fn# }, "thou art beaten in everything." [fn# ] he likens the glance of her eye to the blade of a yemen sword,--a comparison of frequent occurrence in arabic poetry. [fn# ] mehmil. a decorated framework or litter borne by a camel, sent as an emblem of royalty with the caravan of pilgrims to mecca, by way of honour to the occasion and to the sacred object of the pilgrimage, much as great people send their empty carriages to attend the funeral of a person for whose memory they wish to show their respect. the introduction of the mehmil here is another of the many anachronisms of the story, as the custom is said not to here come into use till a much later period. [fn# ] mecca. [fn# ] medina. [fn# ] oriental substitutes for soap. [fn# ] i.e., death. [fn# ] apparently the bedouin was angry with the merchant for praising the girl to her face and perhaps also alarmed at finding that he had kidnapped a young lady of consequence, where he only thought to have made prize of a pretty wench of humble condition and friendless. [fn# ] delight of the age. [fn# ] affliction (or wrath) of the age. [fn# ] for fuel. [fn# ] "god will open on me another gate (or means) of making my living." a common formula, meaning, "it is not enough." [fn# ] or state problems. [fn# ] one of the four great muslim sects or schools of theology, taking its name from the imam es shafi (see post, p. , note). {see vol. fn# } [fn# ] second of the abbasside khalifs, a.h. - . [fn# ] the second khalif after mohammed (a.h. - ) and the most renowned for piety and just government of all the borders of the office, except perhaps his descendant omar ben abdulaziz (a.h. - ). [fn# ] as a reward (in the next world) for good deeds. [fn# ] the fourth khalif. [fn# ] the word rendered "good breeding" may also be translated "polite accomplishments" or "mental discipline" and has a great number of other meanings. [fn# ] sixth khalif and founder of the ommiade dynasty (a.h. ). [fn# ] one of the most notable men of the day, chief of the great tribe of the benou temim. he was a contemporary of the prophet and was held in much esteem by muawiyeh. [fn# ] surname of ahnaf. [fn# ] governor of bassora and other places under the first four khalifs. [fn# ] ziad teen abou sufyan, illegitimate brother of the khalif muawiyeh, afterwards governor of bassora cufa and the hejaz. [fn# ] because it might have been taken to mean, "inhabitants of hell." [fn# ] i.e. death. [fn# ] a battle fought near medina, a.d. , in which mohammed was defeated by the meccans under abou sufyan. [fn# ] one of mohammed's widows and omar's own daughter. [fn# ] a well-known man of letters and theologian of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] i.e. to prepare himself by good works, etc., for the world to come. [fn# ] a celebrated cufan theologian of the eighth century. [fn# ] i.e. for the next world. [fn# ] the eighth khalif of the ommiade dynasty, a rival in piety and single-mindedness of omar ben khettab. [fn# ] the descendants of umeyyeh and kinsmen of the reigning house. [fn# ] the second, fifth, sixth and seventh khalifs of the ommiade dynasty. [fn# ] the mother of omar ben abdulaziz was a granddaughter of omar ben khettab. [fn# ] brother of omar's successor, yezid ii. [fn# ] this passage apparently belongs to the previous account of omar's death-bed; but i have left it as it stands in the text, as it would be a hopeless task to endeavour to restore this chaos of insipid anecdote and devotional commonplace to anything like symmetry. [fn# ] lit. with (or by) neither book (i.e. koran) nor sunneh (i.e. the traditions of the prophet). [fn# ] chief of the tribe of temim and one of the most elegant orators of the eighth century. [fn# ] surnamed eth thekefi, governor of yemen and irak: also a well known orator, but a most cruel and fantastic tyrant. [fn# ] tenth khalif of the ommiade dynasty (a.d. - ). [fn# ] i.e. slave-girl. [fn# ] i.e. it was decreed, so it was. [fn# ] nuzhet ez zeman. [fn# ] nuzhet ez zeman. [fn# ] zoulmekan. [fn# ] nuzhet ez zeman. [fn# ] sedic. [fn# ] sidc. [fn# ] mohammed ibn shihab ez zuhri, a celebrated traditionist and jurisconsult of medina in the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] alexander. [fn# ] the celebrated fabulist, said to have been a black slave of the time of david, but supposed by some to be identical with aesop. [fn# ] koran iii. . [fn# ] one of the companions of the prophet. [fn# ] one of the contemporaries of mohammed and a noted traditionist (or repeater of the sayings of the prophet) at cufa in the seventh century. [fn# ] a noted traditionist and expounder of the koran in the first century of the muslim era. he was a black and a native of cufa. [fn# ] son of the martyr hussein and grandson of the khalif ali. [fn# ] a very eminent doctor of the law and traditionist of the eighth century. he was a native of cufa and was regarded as one of the great exemplars of the true believers. [fn# ] i.e. those who love and obey the precepts of the koran. [fn# ] i.e. barefoot. a native of merv and a famous ascetic of the eighth and ninth centuries. [fn# ] necessitating a fresh ablution, before the prayer can be ended. [fn# ] another noted ascetic of the time. [fn# ] about a penny. [fn# ] a well-known legist and devotee of the eighth and ninth centuries at baghdad, sounder of one of the four great orthodox muslim schools. [fn# ] a famous theologian and devotee of the eighth century at bassora. [fn# ] a noted preacher and traditionist of khorassan in the ninth, century. [fn# ] koran .xvi. . [fn# ] a traditionist of medina. who flourished in the eighth century. [fn# ] this paragraph is part extract from and part paraphrase of the koran xxviii - . [fn# ] a well-known pietist of the eighth century. [fn# ] abou hatim el asemm (the deaf), a famous balkhi theologian of the ninth century. [fn# ] one of two of the most famous theologians of the second century of the hegira and the founders of two of the four great mohammedan schools. [fn# ] one of two of the most famous theologians of the second century of the hegira and the founders of two of the four great mohammedan schools. [fn# ] ismail ibn yehya el muzeni, a famous egyptian doctor of the law pupil of es shafi and imam of the shafiyite school in the ninth century. [fn# ] koran lxxvii. , . [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] islam. [fn# ] "in hell shall they (the unbelievers) burn, and ill shall be (their) stead."--koran, xiv. . [fn# ] mohammed pretended that his coming had been foretold in the gospels and that the christians had falsified the passage (john xvi. ) promising the advent of the comforter (<greek> ) by substituting the latter word for <greek> , glorious, renowned, praised, i.e. mohammed. [fn# ] the second chapter of the koran, beginning, "this is the book, etc." [fn# ] it appears by what follows that afridoun, supposing the victory to be gained, returned to constantinople immediately after sending this message and left the command of the army to king herdoub. [fn# ] at mecca. [fn# ] i.e. there is no god but god. [fn# ] koran, x. . [fn# ] cassia fistularis, a kind of carob. [fn# ] "say not of those who are slain in the way (service) of god that they are dead; nay, they are living." koran, ii . [fn# ] apparently constantinople. [fn# ] this verse alludes to the garbled version of the miracle of aaron's rod given in the koran, which attributes the act to moses and makes the egyptian sorcerers throw down ropes, to which by their art they give the appearance of serpents. [fn# ] i.e., of the koran. [fn# ] a certain formula, invoking peace on the prophet and all men recurring at the end of the five daily prayers and pronounced sitting. [fn# ] ex voto. [fn# ] i.e. mohammed. [fn# ] "what news bringest thou, o saint?" [fn# ] i.e. mohammed. [fn# ] these epithets are often applied by the arabs, in a complimentary sense, to anyone who works great havoc among his enemies by his prowess and cunning. [fn# ] see vol. i. p. , note. {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] i.e. deal with thee as if thou wert slave-born and therefore not used to knightly fashions nor able to endure stress of battle. [fn# ] a chapel so called in the temple at mecca. [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] protector of the women that ride therein. [fn# ] the mohammedans have a legend that god gave david extraordinary skill in working iron and making chain mail, that he might earn his living without drawing upon the public treasury. "and we gave david a grace from us and softened for him iron (saying), 'make thou coats of mail and adjust the rings duly and deal rightly, for i look upon what ye do."' --koran, xxxiv. . [fn# ] this appears to be an allusion to the colours of the house of abbas, which were black. [fn# ] kafir means "black" as well as "infidel." [fn# ] one of the mohammedan legends represents moses as seeking the water of life. [fn# ] the allusion here is to the face of a beloved one, which is likened to a moon rising out of her dress. [fn# ] an ornamental hand, said to be so called from the resemblance of the pen with which it is written to the leaf of the sweet basil. [fn# ] lit. "the love of the beni udhra," an arabian tribe, famous for the passion and devotion with which love was practiced among them. [fn# ] syn. eye (nazir). [fn# ] syn. eyebrow (hajib). [fn# ] i.e. including the two days that had already elapsed. [fn# ] i.e. a graceful youth of the province in which mecca is situate. [fn# ] a small piece of wood used in a children's out-door game called tab. [fn# ] the stone of the beleh or "green" date, not allowed to ripen. [fn# ] or drachm-weight. [fn# ] an audacious parody of the consecrated expression used to describe the ceremonious circumambulation of the kaabeh at mecca. [fn# ] subaudiantur autem utriusque sexûs pudenda. [fn# ] subaudiantur autem utriusque sexûs pudenda. [fn# ] subaudiatur vas muliebre. [fn# ] the word sac (leg), when used in the oblique case, as it would necessarily be here, makes saki, i.e. cup-bearer. a play upon the double meaning is evidently intended. [fn# ] in the east, bathers pay on leaving the bath. [fn# ] as a styptic. [fn# ] dunya. [fn# ] semen hominis. [fn# ] i.e. the rolls of dirt that come off under the bathman's hands. [fn# ] paradise. [fn# ] the cold room of the bath. [fn# ] the hot room. [fn# ] the door-keeper of hell. [fn# ] the door-keeper of paradise. [fn# ] i.e. crown of kings. [fn# ] an obscure star in the great bear. [fn# ] zibl means "dung" or "sweepings." can (khan) means "chief." [fn# ] i.e., him who fights for the faith. [fn# ] a town on the euphrates, on the borders of syria and mesopotamia. [fn# ] i.e. recognized him as king by naming him in the public prayers. [fn# ] i.e. the silky whiskers, which it is common, in poetry, to call green likening them to newly-sprouted herbage. [fn# ] i.e. the day of judgment. [fn# ] ironical. [fn# ] i.e. kanmakan. [fn# ] meaning, apparently, poisoned. [fn# ] i.e. with a blow worthy of the members of the family of thaalebeb to which (see post, p. {see ...said he, 'i am ibad ben temin ben thaalebh, and indeed...}) he belonged. [fn# ] i.e. his sister. [fn# ] i.e. benefits. [fn# ] i.e. new moon. the thousand and one days; a companion to the "_arabian nights._" with introduction by miss pardoe. [illustration: p. .] london: william lay, king william street, strand. . introduction. the compiler of the graceful little volume which i have the pleasure of introducing to the public, has conferred an undeniable benefit upon the youth of england by presenting to them a collection of oriental tales, which, rich in the elements of interest and entertainment, are nevertheless entirely free from the licentiousness which renders so many of the fictions of the east, beautiful and brilliant as they are, most objectionable for young and ardent minds. there is indeed no lack of the wonderful in the pages before us, any more than in the arabian and persian tales already so well known: but it will be seen that the supernatural agency in the narratives is used as a means to work out totally different results. there is, in truth, scarcely one of these tales which does not inculcate a valuable moral lesson; as may be seen by reference to "the powder of longevity," "the old camel," and "the story of the dervise abounadar" among several, others. the present collection of eastern stories has been principally derived from the works of different oriental scholars on the continent, and little doubt can be entertained of the genuineness of their origin; while they have been carefully selected, and do honour to the good taste of their compiler. an acknowledgment is also due to him for his adherence to the good old orthography to which we have all been accustomed from our childhood, in the case of such titles as "caliph," "vizier," "houri," "genii," &c.; as, however critically correct and learned the spelling of mr. lane may be in his magnificent version of the "thousand and one nights," and however appropriate to a work of so much research and value to oriental students, it would have been alike fatiguing and out of character to have embarrassed a volume, simply intended for the amusement of youthful readers, by a number of hard and unfamiliar words, difficult of pronunciation to all save the initiated; and for the pleasure of the young requiring translation fully as much as the narrative itself. in one of the tales there will be at once detected a portion of the favourite old story of aladdin's lamp, in the subterranean gem-garden discovered by the handsome youth; while in another, mention is made of the already-familiar legend of the hidden city of ad, so popular among the ancient arabs[ ]; but these repetitions will cease to create any surprise when it is remembered that the professional story-tellers of the east are a wandering race, who travel from city to city, exhibiting their talent during seasons of festivity, in the palaces of the wealthy and the public coffee-houses. those admitted to the women's apartments are universally aged crones, whose volubility is something marvellous; and they are always welcome guests to the indolent beauties, who listen to them for hours together without a symptom of weariness, as they pour forth their narratives in a monotonous voice strangely displeasing to european ears. the men, while reciting their tales, indulge in violent gesticulations and contortions of the body, which appear to produce great delight in their audience. since they generally travel two or three in company; and, save in rare cases of improvisation, their stock of narrative is common to all, it is their ambition so individually to embellish, heighten, and amplify their subject-matter, as to outshine their competitors; and it is consequently to this cause that the numerous variations of the same tale which have reached europe must be attributed. taken altogether, there can be no doubt that the "thousand and one days" merit the warm welcome which i trust awaits them. j. p. london, feb. . contents. i. page hassan abdallah, or the enchanted keys story of hassan story of the basket-maker story of the dervise abounadar conclusion of the story of hassan ii. soliman bey and the three story tellers first story teller second story teller third story teller iii. prince khalaf and the princess of china story of prince al abbas continuation of prince khalaf and the princess of china story of lin-in story of prince khalaf concluded iv. the wise dey v. the tunisian sage vi. the nose for gold vii. the treasures of basra history of aboulcassem conclusion of the treasures of basra viii. the old camel ix. the story of medjeddin x. king bedreddin-lolo and his vizir story of the old slippers story of atalmulc the sorrowful continuation of king bedreddin-lolo and his vizir story of malek and the princess schirine conclusion [illustration] the "thousand and one days;" or, arabian tales. i. the story of hassan abdallah; or, the enchanted keys. theilon, caliph of egypt, died, after having bequeathed his power to his son, mohammed, who, like a wise and good prince, proceeded to root out abuses, and finally caused peace and justice to flourish throughout his dominions. instead of oppressing his people by new taxes, he employed the treasures, which his father had amassed by violence, in supporting learned men, rewarding the brave, and assisting the unfortunate. every thing succeeded under his happy sway; the risings of the nile were regular and abundant; every year the soil produced rich harvests; and commerce, honoured and protected, caused the gold of foreign nations to flow abundantly into the ports of egypt. mohammed determined, one day, to take the census of the officers of his army, and of all the persons in public situations whose salaries were paid out of the treasury. the vizirs, to the number of forty, first made their appearance and knelt in succession before the sovereign. they were, for the most part, men venerable from their age, and some of them had long beards of snowy whiteness. they all wore on their heads tiaras of gold, enriched with precious stones, and carried in their hands long staves as badges of their power. one enumerated the battles in which he had been engaged, and the honourable wounds he had received; another recounted the long and laborious studies he had pursued, in order to render himself master of the various sciences, and to qualify himself to serve the state by his wisdom and knowledge. after the vizirs, came the governors of provinces, the generals, and the great officers of the army; and next to them the civil magistrates, and all who were entrusted with the preservation of the peace and the awarding of justice. behind these walked the public executioner, who, although stout and well-fed, like a man who had nothing to do, went along as if depressed with grief, and instead of carrying his sword naked on his shoulder, he kept it in its scabbard. when he came into the presence of the prince, he threw himself at his feet, and exclaimed, "o mighty prince, the day of justice and of munificence is at last about to dawn on me! since the death of the terrible theilon, under whose reign my life was happy and my condition prosperous, i have seen my occupation and its emoluments diminish daily. if egypt continue thus to live in peace and plenty, i shall run great danger of perishing with hunger, and my family will be brought to misery and ruin." mohammed listened in silence to the complaints of the headsman, and acknowledged that there was some foundation for them, for his salary was small, and the chief part of his profits arose from what he obtained from criminals, either by way of gift, or as a rightful fee. in times of trouble, quarrelling, and violence, he had lived, in fact, in a state of ease and affluence, while now, under the present prosperous reign, he had nothing better than the prospect of beggary before him. "is it then true," exclaimed the caliph, "that the happiness of all is a dream? that what is joy to one, may be the cause of grief to another? o executioner, fear not as to your fate! may it, indeed, please god that, under my reign, your sword,--which is almost as often an instrument of vengeance as of justice,--may remain useless and covered with rust. but, in order to enable you to provide for the wants of yourself and your family, without the unhappy necessity of exercising your fatal office, you shall receive every year the sum of two hundred dinars." in this way all the officers and servants of the palace passed before the notice of the prince; he interrogated each on the nature of his occupation and his past services, on his means of existence, and on the salary which he received. when he found that any one held a situation of a painful and difficult nature, for which he was inadequately remunerated, the caliph diminished his duties and increased his pay; and, on the other hand, when he found the contrary to be the case, he lessened the salary and increased the duties of the office. after having, in this way, performed many acts of wisdom and justice, the caliph observed, among the officers of the civil service, a sheik, whose wrinkled countenance and stooping figure indicated his great age. the caliph called him up, in order to inquire what was his employment in the palace, and the sum which it yielded him. "prince," the old man replied, "my only employment is to take care of a chest that was committed to my charge by your father, the late caliph, and for attending to which he allowed me ten pieces of gold a month." "it seems to me," replied mohammed, "that the reward is great for so slight a service. pray what are the contents of this chest?" "i received it," replied the sheik, "in charge forty years ago, and i solemnly swear to you that i know not what it contains." the caliph commanded the chest to be brought to him, which was of pure gold, and most richly adorned. the old man opened it. it contained a manuscript written in brilliant characters on the skin of a gazelle, painted purple and sprinkled with a red dust. neither the prince, however, nor his ministers, nor the ulemas who were present, could decipher the writing. by the caliph's order, the wise men of egypt were summoned, as well as others from syria, persia, and india, but to no purpose; not one was able to interpret the mysterious characters. the book remained open for a long time, exposed to the gaze of all, and a great reward was offered to any one who could bring forward a person of sufficient learning to read it. some time after this, a savant who had left egypt in the reign of theilon, and had now returned after a long absence, chanced to hear of the mysterious book, and said that he knew what it was, and could explain its history. the caliph immediately admitted him to an audience, and the old man addressed him as follows: "o sovereign ruler, may the almighty prolong your days! only one man can read this book, its rightful master, the sheik hassan abdallah, son of el-achaar. this man had travelled through many lands, and penetrated into the mysterious city of aram, built on columns, from which he brought this book, which no one but himself could read. he made use of it in his experiments in alchemy, and by its aid he could transmute the most worthless metals into gold. the caliph theilon, your father, having learned this, commanded the sage to be brought before him, with a view of compelling him to reveal the secret of his knowledge. hassan abdallah refused to do so, for fear of putting into the hands of the unjust an instrument of such terrible power; and the prince, in a rage, laid hold of the chest, and ordered the sage to be thrown into prison, where he still remains, unless he has died since that time, which is forty years ago." on hearing this, mohammed immediately despatched his officers to visit the prisons, and, on their return, learned with pleasure that hassan was still alive. the caliph ordered him to be brought forth and arrayed in a dress of honour; and, on his appearing in the audience chamber, the prince made him sit down beside him, and begged him to forgive the unjust treatment which his father had caused him to undergo. he then told him how he had accidentally discovered that he was still alive; and at last, placing the mysterious book before him, said, "old man, if this book could make me the owner of all the treasures of the world, i would not consent to possess it, since it only belongs to me by injustice and violence." on hearing these words, hassan burst into tears. "o god," he exclaimed, "all wisdom proceeds from thee! thou causest to arise from the same soil the poisonous and the wholesome plant. every where good is placed by the side of evil. this prince, the support of the feeble, the defender of the oppressed, who has conferred on me the happiness of spending my remaining years in the light of day, is the son of the tyrant who plunged egypt in mourning, and who kept me for forty years in a loathsome dungeon. prince," added the old man, addressing mohammed, "what i refused to the wrath of your father, i willingly grant to your virtues: this book contains the precepts of the true science, and i bless heaven that i have lived long enough to teach it to you. i have often risked my life to become the master of this wonderful book, which was the only article of value that i brought from aram, that city into which no man can enter who is not assisted by heaven." the caliph embraced the old man, and, calling him his father, begged him to relate what he had seen in the city of aram. "prince," replied hassan, "it is a long story, as long, nearly, as my whole life." he then proceeded as follows. [illustration: story of the enchanted keys, p. .] the story of hassan abdallah. i am the only son of one of the richest inhabitants of egypt. my father, who was a man of extensive knowledge, employed my youth in the study of science; and at twenty years of age i was already honourably mentioned among the ulemas, when my father bestowed a young maiden on me as my wife, with eyes brilliant as the stars, and with a form elegant and light as that of the gazelle. my nuptials were magnificent, and my days flowed on in peace and happiness. i lived thus for ten years, when at last this beautiful dream vanished. it pleased heaven to afflict me with every kind of misfortune: the plague deprived me of my father; war destroyed my dear brothers; my house fell a prey to the flames; my richly-laden ships were buried beneath the waves. reduced to misery and want, my only resource was in the mercy of god and the compassion of the faithful whom i met while i frequented the mosques. my sufferings, from my own wretched state of poverty, and that of my wife and children, were cruel indeed. one day when i had not received any charitable donations, my wife, weeping, took some of my clothes, and gave them to me in order to sell them at the bazaar. on the way thither i met an arab of the desert, mounted on a red camel. he greeted me, and said, "peace be with you, my brother! can you tell me where the sheik hassan abdallah, the son of el-achaar, resides in the city?" being ashamed of my poverty, and thinking i was not known, i replied, "there is no man at cairo of that name." "god is great!" exclaimed the arab; "are you not hassan abdallah, and can you send away your guest by concealing your name?" greatly confused, i then begged him to forgive me, and laid hold of his hands to kiss them, which he would not permit me to do, and i then accompanied him to my house. on the way there i was tormented by the reflection that i had nothing to set before him; and when i reached home i informed my wife of the meeting i had just had. "the stranger is sent by god," said she; "and even the children's bread shall be his. go, sell the clothes which i gave you; buy some food for our guest with the money, and if any thing should remain over, we will partake of it ourselves." in going out it was necessary that i should pass through the apartment where the arab was. as i concealed the clothes, he said to me, "my brother, what have you got there hid under your cloak?" i replied that it was my wife's dress, which i was carrying to the tailor. "show it to me," he said. i showed it to him, blushing. "o merciful god," he exclaimed, "you are going to sell it in order to get money to enable you to be hospitable towards me! stop, hassan! here are ten pieces of gold; spend them in buying what is needful for our own wants and for those of your family." i obeyed, and plenty and happiness seemed to revisit my abode. every day the arab gave me the same sum, which, according to his orders, i spent in the same way; and this continued for fifteen days. on the sixteenth day my guest, after chatting on indifferent matters, said to me, "hassan, would you like to sell yourself to me?" "my lord," i replied, "i am already yours by gratitude." "no," he replied, "that is not what i mean; i wish to make you my property, and you shall fix the price yourself." thinking he was joking, i replied, "the price of a freeman is one thousand dinars if he is killed at a single blow; but if many wounds are inflicted upon him, or if he should be cut in many pieces, the price is then one thousand five hundred dinars." "very well," answered my guest, "i will pay you this last-mentioned sum if you will consent to the bargain." when i saw that he was speaking seriously, i asked for time in order to consult my family. "do so," he replied, and then went out to look after some affairs in the city. when i related the strange proposal of my guest, my mother said, "what can this man want to do with you?" the children all clung to me, and wept. my wife, who was a wise and prudent woman, remarked, "this detestable stranger wants, perhaps, to get back what he has spent here. you have nothing but this wretched house, sell it, and give him the money, but don't sell yourself." i passed the rest of the day and the following night in reflection, and was in a state of great uncertainty. with the sum offered by the stranger i could at least secure bread for my family. but why wish to purchase me? what could he intend to do? before next morning, however, i had come to a decision. i went to the arab and said, "i am yours." untying his sash, he took out one thousand five hundred gold pieces, and giving them to me, said, "fear not, my brother, i have no designs against either your life or your liberty; i only wish to secure a faithful companion during a long journey which i am about to undertake." overwhelmed with joy, i ran with the money to my wife and mother; but they, without listening to my explanations, began weeping and crying as if they were lamenting for the dead. "it is the price of flesh and blood," they exclaimed; "neither we nor our children will eat bread procured at such a cost!" by dint of argument, however, i succeeded at length in subduing their grief; and having embraced them, together with my children, i set out to meet my new master. by order of the arab i purchased a camel renowned for its speed, at the price of a hundred drachms; i filled our sacks with food sufficient for a long period; and then, mounting our camels, we proceeded on our journey. we soon reached the desert. here no traces of travellers were to be seen, for the wind effaced them continually from the surface of the moving sand. the arab was guided in his course by indications known only to himself. we travelled thus together for five days under a burning sun; each day seemed longer to me than a night of suffering or of fear. my master, who was of a lively disposition, kept up my courage by tales which i remember even now with pleasure after forty years of anguish; and you will forgive an old man for not being able to resist the pleasure of relating some of them to you. the following story, he said, had been recounted to him by the basket-maker himself, a poor man whom he had found in prison, and whom he had charitably found means to release. the story of the basket-maker. i was born of poor and honest parents; and my father, who was a basket-maker by trade, taught me to plait all kinds of baskets. so long as i had only myself to care for, i lived tolerably well on the produce of my labour; but when i reached twenty years of age, and took a wife, who in a few years presented me with several children, my gains proved insufficient to maintain my family. a basket-maker earns but little; one day he gets a drachm, the next he may get two, or perhaps only half a drachm. in this state of things i and my children had often to endure the pangs of hunger. one day it happened that i had just finished a large basket; it was well and strongly made, and i hoped to obtain at least three drachms for it. i took it to the bazaar and through all the streets, but no purchaser appeared. night came on and i went home. when my wife and children saw me return without any food, they began to cry and to ask for bread, but as i had none to give them, i could only weep with them: the night was long and sorrowful. at daybreak my wife awoke me, saying, "go, and sell the basket at any price you can get for it, were it only half a drachm." i set out, and perambulated the streets and squares, but night came on again without my finding a purchaser. my wife burst out into a great rage. "what!" she said, "do you still bring back this basket? do you wish to see us die with hunger?" i assured her that i had tried every means, but in vain, to sell the basket. she then took some articles of her own, and told me to go and sell them, and procure some bread for the children. i did as she said, and my famished family partook of a miserable repast, which my depressed state of mind prevented me from sharing with them. i slept little that night; and as soon as it was day i performed my devotions, and prayed to god to come to my assistance. i then went out again with my unsaleable basket, with which i made many weary and fruitless rounds through the whole city. at noon, overwhelmed with fatigue and famished with hunger, i sat down at the door of a mosque, where the voice of the muezzim was calling the faithful to prayer. i entered to implore of god's goodness that i might be able, by his assistance, to sell the basket. prayer being ended, the faithful left the mosque, and i found myself alone with a venerable persian, named saadi, who seemed lost in contemplation. rising to go away, he passed near me, and noticing how pale i was, he said, "friend, you are too much addicted to wine, and your health suffers from it." "my lord," i replied, "do not believe it; i have never tasted wine; my weakness and paleness arise from my not having had any food for the last two days." i then related to him my life, my occupation, and my wretched state. whilst listening to me the stranger shed tears; and when i had finished speaking, he said, "god be praised, my brother! for i can put an end to your troubles: take this," putting a purse of gold into my hands; "run to the market, and buy meat, bread, and fruits for the refreshment of yourself and family. what i have given you will last you for a year to come; and in exchange, i only ask you to meet me here, at the same day and hour, every year." so saying, he departed. i could scarcely think but that i had been dreaming; the purse, however, proved that i was indeed awake. i opened it, and found in it a hundred pieces of gold! overjoyed, i ran to the bazaar, and, in pursuance of the orders of the benevolent donor, i purchased enough, not only to satisfy the calls of hunger, but also food of such a nourishing nature, as had never entered my house before. the whole i put into my basket, and hastened to return home. having reached the door, i listened, being curious to know what was going on. my children were uttering lamentations, and their mother was endeavouring to quiet them by repeating, for the hundredth time, her advice, to be quiet, and not to weep, for that their father would be sure to return with something to eat. i then entered the room, exclaiming, that god had heard them, and had sent them a plentiful supply for a long time to come. but when i showed them the purse and its contents, my wife shouted out, "what! have you then killed and robbed some one? are we to become the object of the inquiries and suspicions of the police?" i then related my fortunate meeting with the old man, and while embracing me with tears of joy, and a conscience at ease, my family partook, with me, of a plentiful repast, at the same time invoking blessings on our unknown benefactor. for a whole year i lived happily in this manner. the day fixed upon by the stranger having arrived, i went to the mosque, after having attired myself in a becoming manner. the persian came and seated himself beside me. when prayers were ended, and all the worshippers had departed, he turned towards me and said, with a smiling look, "o my brother! how has the time passed with you since our last interview?" "thanks to your generosity, my lord," i replied, "my life has been spent in a tranquil and happy manner." the stranger then questioned me as to my courage, address, and love of travelling; and to all his questions i replied in a satisfactory manner, and, in my turn, asked him if i could be of any service to him. "noureddin," he replied, "i intend setting out on a journey, and i wish you to accompany me as my servant. i shall employ you in a respectable and becoming manner; and if you show yourself obedient and devoted to my interests, you will have no reason to repent it. the journey will last two months; look, here are thirty dinars; buy provisions, that your family may want for nothing during your absence. in eight days you must bid adieu to your wife and children, and come to meet me here, bringing a supply of rice and dates, and arming yourself with a yatagan, to defend yourself in case of our being attacked." i then went to my wife, and told her what the stranger required of me. "he is our benefactor," she replied; "it is your duty to obey him." i spent the eight days in laying in a store of food for my family and for the journey, and on the appointed day, after embracing my wife and children, i went to the mosque, where i found the persian. the muezzim having proclaimed the hour of prayer, we joined in it; and afterwards i followed him to a desert place, where were two fine horses well harnessed and yoked, which we unloosed and mounted, and then set out on our journey. after having traversed deserts and mountains during a whole month, we arrived at a fertile plain, watered by a fine river, whose peaceful and limpid waters winding about a thick forest, formed it into peninsula: a pavilion, with a golden cupola, seemed to rise out of this mass of verdure, and shone in the sun's rays as if it had been on fire. [illustration: the pavilion with the golden cupola, p. ] the persian now said to me, "noureddin, enter this forest, and give me an account of what you see." i obeyed, but i had scarcely walked an hour, when i saw two huge lions with manes erect. seized with alarm, i drew back, and running away reached my master out of breath, who only laughed at my fears, and assured me that i was needlessly afraid of the monsters. he wanted me to return, but i refused, and he was obliged to come back along with me. having approached the lions, the persian charmed them by some magical words, on which they became as submissive as lambs, remained motionless, and permitted us to pass. we journeyed on for many hours in the recesses of the forest, meeting, to my great dread, with what appeared to be troops of horsemen, sword in hand, and giants, armed with clubs, ready to strike us. all these fantastic beings disappeared at the sight of my master, and we reached at last the pavilion which crowned the forest. my master then said to me, "go, noureddin, to this pavilion; remove the belt of iron chains which fastens the gates, while i go and pray to the great solomon to be propitious to our enterprise." i did as he commanded me; but when i let the chains fall, a frightful noise was heard, which made the earth shake under my feet. more dead than alive, i returned to the persian, who, having finished his prayer, entered the pavilion. at the end of an hour he came out, bringing a book with him written in the sacred language. he began to read it; and when he had finished, with his countenance radiant with delight he exclaimed, "o thrice fortunate saadi! thou possessest at last this holy book,--the sum of wisdom, the mirror of the good and the terror of the wicked! may the perusal of this garden of roses lead the children of adam back to that original innocence from which they have so fatally departed! hearken to these maxims and sentences, worthy to be the guides of mankind from the shepherd to the king:-- 'he who learns the rules of wisdom without conforming his life to them, is like the man who tills his field but never sows any seed therein. 'virtue does not consist in acquiring the riches of this world, but in attaching all hearts by benefits and good offices. 'if you are insensible to the sufferings of the unfortunate, you do not deserve the name of a man. 'it is better to be loaded with chains for having told the truth, than to be freed from them by means of a lie. 'a wicked person that accuses you of licentiousness should be made to blush, in his turn, by your virtues and your innocence. 'man should remember that he is born of the earth, and that his pride will one day come to an end in it. 'crystal is found every where; but nothing is more rare than the diamond, and hence the difference in their value. 'instruction only bears fruit in so far as it is assisted by your own endeavours. 'the discipline of the master is of greater benefit to the child than the indulgence of the father. 'so long as the tree is young it is easy to fashion it as you please; but when it has been permitted to grow, nothing but fire can straighten it. 'woe to the man of might, who devours the substance of the people! at last some dire calamity will, of a surety, overtake him. 'the most awful spectacle at the day of judgment will be, says the prophet, to see pious slaves in paradise, and hard and merciless masters in hell. 'do you ask whether the ant beneath your feet has a right to complain? yes; just as much right as you would have if crushed to atoms by an elephant. 'encouragement towards the wicked is a wrong done to the good; and the severest attack on virtue is to be indulgent to crime. 'the perpetrator of an unjust action dies, but his memory is held in everlasting abhorrence. the just man dies, and his good actions bear fruit unto eternity. 'be assured that thou wilt be rewarded if thine actions are good, whether thou wearest the dress of the dervise or the crown of the king. 'would a king have nothing to fear from his enemies, let him live in peace with his subjects. 'o my brother! the world forsakes us all. fix thy heart on the creator of the universe, and all will be well with thee. 'what signifies it, whether we die in a stable or on a throne? 'at your morning and evening prayer be able to say, almighty god, be pleased to remember thy servant, who has never forgotten thee!' "my ambition is satisfied," resumed the persian, "by the possession of this book; but a fortune of that description would be no fortune to you, noureddin. you stand in need of a material treasure; and this sacred volume tells me where we ought to look for it. quick! mount your steed, and let us proceed so long as solomon favours us." leaping into our saddles, therefore, we set off at full gallop, and entering the desert, journeyed thus for two days and a night. on the evening of the second day we arrived at a city situated on a high mountain, and surrounded with white walls which shone like silver. we passed the night under the trees of an adjoining wood; and next day, having offered up our prayers, looked about for some way of entering the city, the gates of which were shut, and within which there reigned a perfect stillness. my master went round the walls, and in his examination of them he discovered a stone slab, in which was fastened an iron ring. we endeavoured to move the slab, but could not. the persian then ordered me to take the horses and to fasten them to the ring with our sashes; and by this means we succeeded in removing the stone, which discovered the entrance to a subterraneous passage. my master said to me, "noureddin, follow me; by this passage we shall get into the city." on leaving the subterraneous passage we heard a noise like that which might be produced by the loud puffing of the bellows of a forge, and we supposed for a moment that the city was inhabited. this strange noise was nothing else than the hissing of two winged serpents, which advanced towards us at a frightful pace. with the sacred book in his hand the persian advanced to meet them, and with one touch of this talisman laid them prostrate on the ground. this obstacle being overcome, we traversed the whole city, admiring its squares, houses, mosques, and palaces. but what had become of the inhabitants? by what scourge had they been cut off, or what reason had induced them to quit so beautiful a city? how long ago was it inhabited? my mind was lost in conjectures about what seemed so far beyond my comprehension, and my master made no reply to the questions which i addressed to him. at length we stopped at the open railing of some gardens surrounding an enormous palace, which surpassed all that the imagination could conceive. bushy thickets; orchards covered with flowers and fruits; enamelled meads, watered by murmuring streams; parterres planted with the rarest and most variegated flowers, every where met the eye. the persian sat down under the shadow of a tree, opened the book, and commenced reading, and when he had finished ordered me to enter the palace. i reached it by a staircase that could only have been constructed by the hands of genii; it was formed of the most rare and costly marble, as were also the statues which were placed at the sides. after having walked through many spacious and magnificent apartments richly adorned, i entered a subterranean hall, still larger and more splendid. a hundred crystal lustres, brilliant with gold and precious stones, and lit up with thousands of wax-lights, shed a refulgence more dazzling than the day. its walls were covered with paintings, in which the spirit of evil strove in vain for the mastery over the spirit of good, and a long series of the statues of justly-renowned dead princes were ranged all around. vacant pedestals, waiting to receive monarchs still living, whose names were inscribed on them, were also to be seen. in the centre of this subterranean apartment, a throne of gold arose, incrusted with pearls and rubies. on this throne an old man was reposing, with a countenance pale as death, but whose open eyes shone with a supernatural brilliancy. i saluted him respectfully, but he made no gesture. i spoke to him, and he made no reply. seized with astonishment and fear, i returned to my master and told him what i had seen. "god be praised!" he said, "we are now near the end of our enterprise. return, noureddin, to the old man; go up to him fearlessly, and bring to me the chest on which his head rests." i obeyed, and on my return to the subterranean hall i drew near to the throne, to which three silver steps led up. when i placed my foot on the first step the old man stood up; in spite of my surprise i ascended the second step, when, seizing a bow, he placed a keen-pointed arrow in it, and aimed it at me. without any consideration of my benefactor's orders, i jumped backwards and took to flight anew. when the arab saw me, he said, "is this what you promised me? cowardly man, come with me, and you will find inestimable riches!" i then conducted him to the place where the old man was to be found. when my master was near the throne, he ascended the first step, and the old man arose; at the second step he took his bow and arrow; and at the third he shot it at my master, who received it on the sacred book, from which it rebounded as from a steel cuirass, and fell broken on the ground. the old man fell back motionless on the throne, and his eyes ceased to shine. my master then laid hold of the mysterious chest of which he had spoken to me, and took from it the magic key which opened subterranean recesses where heaps of pearls, diamonds, and rubies were deposited. the persian allowed me to take as much as i pleased. i filled my trousers and the folds of my robe and turban with the finest pearls, the largest diamonds, and many other kinds of precious stones. as saadi the wise passed by all these treasures without looking at them, i said to him, "o my lord, why do you leave here all this wealth, and take away with you, as the reward of so many fatigues, an article of so little value? the book of wisdom is now useless; what man is there who does not think himself wise?" "my son," replied the old man, "i am near the end of my career, and my life has been spent in the search after true wisdom. if i have done nothing to improve mankind, god, when i appear before him, will reckon with me not only for the evil i shall have done, but also for the good i may have neglected to do. as for you, who have a wife and children, i approve of your wishing to provide for their future condition." we left the enchanted city and its treasures, which i greatly regretted not being able to carry away. when we reached the open country, i looked back to gaze upon the palace and city, but they had disappeared, at which i expressed my astonishment to my master, who replied, "noureddin, do not seek to fathom the mysteries of knowledge, but be contented to rejoice with me at the success of our journey." we then directed our faces towards bagdad, and at the end of a short time arrived there, without meeting with any thing else worth relating. my family were rejoiced at my return and at the good fortune i had so unexpectedly met with. the old man abode with us for some time, which he employed in reading the gulistan and in giving me useful counsels as to my future conduct. "noureddin," he said, "you are the possessor of great wealth; know how to make a good use of it; always remember the wretched condition in which i found you in the mosque; beware of bad company and pretended friends and flatterers; avoid covetousness, and be charitable toward the poor; remember the uncertainty of riches, and how providence often punishes those who give way to ingratitude and pride." besides his good advice, he would often relate to me instructive histories by way of example, and i shall not tire you too much if i repeat one of them to you. the story of the dervise abounadar. a dervise, venerable from his age, fell ill at the house of a woman who was a widow, and who lived in a state of great poverty in the outskirts of balsora. he was so affected by the care and zeal with which she had nursed him, that at the time of his departure he said to her, "i have noticed that your means are sufficient for yourself alone, and are not adequate for the additional support of your only son, the young mujahid; but if you will entrust him to my care, i will do my utmost to repay through him the obligations which i am under to your care." the good woman received the proposal with pleasure, and the dervise took his departure with the young man, stating, at the same time, that they were to be absent two years on a journey. while travelling in various countries the widow's son lived in opulence with his protector, who gave him excellent instructions, attended to him in a dangerous illness which he had, and, in short, treated him in every respect as if he had been his only son. mujahid often said how grateful he was for such kindness, and the old man's constant reply was, "my son, gratitude is shown by actions, not words; at the proper time and place we shall see how you estimate my conduct towards you." one day, in their journeyings, they reached a place out of the beaten road, and the dervise said to abdallah, "we are now at the end of our travels; i am about to cause the earth to open and allow you to enter a place where you will find one of the greatest treasures in the bosom of the globe; have you courage sufficient to descend into this subterranean recess?" mujahid declared that he might be depended upon for his obedience and zeal. the dervise then lighted a small fire, into which he threw some perfumes, and when he had pronounced some prayers the earth opened, and the dervise said to the young man, "you can now enter; remember that it is in your power to render me a great service, and that the present occasion is perhaps the only one when you can prove to me that you are not ungrateful. do not allow yourself to be dazzled by all the wealth which you will find, but think only of getting possession of an iron chandelier with twelve branches which you will see near a door; lose no time in bringing it to me." the youth promised to attend to all that was required of him, and plunged into the subterraneous recess full of confidence in himself. forgetting, however, what had been so expressly enjoined upon him, while he was busy filling his pockets with the gold and diamonds spread around in prodigious quantities, the entrance by which he had descended was closed. he had, however, the presence of mind to lay hold of the iron chandelier which the dervise had urged him to bring away; and although he was now, by the closing of the entrance, placed in circumstances which were enough to appal a stouter heart, he did not abandon himself to despair. while trying to discover some way of escape from a place which was likely otherwise to be his grave, he saw but too plainly that the opening had been closed upon him on account of his not having strictly followed the dervise's orders; and reflecting on the kindness and care with which he had been treated, he bitterly reproached himself for his ingratitude. at length, after a busy search and much anxiety, he was fortunate enough to discover a narrow passage that led out of this dark cavern. the opening was covered over with briers and thorns, through which he managed to struggle, and thus recovered the light of day. he looked around him every where for the dervise in order to deliver the chandelier to him, but in vain; he was not to be seen. unable to recognize any of the places where he had been, he walked at random, and was very much astonished to find himself, after a short time, at his mother's door, from which he had thought himself at a great distance. in reply to her inquiries respecting the dervise, he frankly told her all that had happened, and the danger he had encountered in order to gratify the fancy of the dervise; and then he showed her the riches with which he was loaded. his mother concluded, on seeing all this wealth, that the dervise only wanted to try his courage and obedience, and that he ought to take advantage of his good luck, adding, that such was no doubt the intention of the holy man. while they gazed on these treasures with avidity, and framed a thousand dazzling projects for spending them, the whole vanished suddenly from their eyes. mujahid then reproached himself again for his ingratitude and disobedience; and looking at the iron chandelier which alone remained of all his treasure, said, "what has happened is just. i have lost what i had no wish to render back; and the chandelier, which i desired to give to the dervise, remains with me,--a proof that it belongs to him, and that the rest was improperly obtained." so saying, he placed the chandelier in the middle of his mother's small house. when night came on, mujahid thought he would put a light in the chandelier, by way of turning it to some use. no sooner had he done this, than a dervise immediately appeared, who, after turning round, vanished, and threw a small coin behind him. mujahid, whose thoughts were occupied all next day with what he had seen the evening before, wished to see what would be the event if he placed a light in each of the twelve branches. he did so, and twelve dervises immediately appeared, who, after wheeling round, also became invisible, each of them at the same time throwing down a small coin. every day mujahid repeated the same ceremony with the same success; but he could only make it occur once in twenty-four hours. the moderate sum with which the dervises supplied him daily was sufficient for the subsistence of himself and his mother, and for a long time this was all that he desired. by and by, however, his imagination began to feast itself with the idea of the riches of the cavern, the sight of those which he had once thought to be safe in his possession, and the schemes which he had formed as to the use to be made of his wealth; all these things had left so deep an impression on his mind, that he found it impossible to rest. he resolved, therefore, if possible, to find out the dervise, and to take him the chandelier, in the hope of obtaining the treasure by bringing to the holy man an article for which he had shown so strong a desire. fortunately mujahid recollected the dervise's name, and the name of the city, magnebi, where he dwelt. he set out on his journey as soon as possible, bidding farewell to his mother, and taking the chandelier with him, which supplied him every evening, after being lit, with the means of supporting himself, without having occasion to resort for assistance to the compassion of the faithful. when he reached magnebi, his first inquiry was after the house where abounadar lodged. he was so well known, that the first person he met could tell him his residence. on arriving at the house, or rather palace, he found fifty porters keeping watch at the door, each of them bearing a wand with a golden apple for its handle. the courts of the palace were crowded with slaves and domestics; indeed, no prince's residence ever displayed greater splendour. mujahid, struck with astonishment and admiration, was reluctant to proceed further. "either," said he to himself, "i have described the person whom i wanted imperfectly, or those to whom i spoke must have wished to make a mock of me, observing that i was a stranger. this is not the residence of a dervise, but of a king." mujahid was in this state of embarrassment when a man came up to him and said, "you are welcome, mujahid; my master, abounadar, has been long expecting you;" and so saying, he conducted him into a magnificent garden, where the dervise was seated. mujahid, struck with the riches which he saw every where around him, would have thrown himself at his feet, but abounadar would not permit him, and interrupted him when he was about to make a merit of bringing back the chandelier which he presented to him, by saying, "you are an ungrateful wretch. do you think to impose upon me? i know all your thoughts; and if you had known the worth of this chandelier, you would never have brought it to me. i shall now make you acquainted with its true use." in each of the branches of the chandelier he now placed a light; and when the dervises had turned round, abounadar gave each of them a blow with a stick, and immediately they were converted into twelve heaps of sequins, diamonds, and other precious stones. "look," he said, "at the use to be made of this wonderful chandelier. my only reason, however, for wishing to place it in my cabinet, was on account of its being a talisman composed by a sage whom i revered; and i shall be always happy to show it to persons who visit me. to prove to you," he continued, "that curiosity is the only reason which induced me to procure the lamp, take the keys of my cellars, open them, and judge for yourself of the extent of my opulence, and say if i should not be the most insatiably avaricious of all men, not to be contented with what i have." mujahid took the keys, and made a survey of twelve magazines so filled with every description of precious stones, that he was unable to tell which of them most deserved his admiration. regret at having restored the chandelier, and at not having discovered its uses, now wrung his heart intensely. abounadar seemed not to perceive this, but on the contrary loaded mujahid with caresses, kept him for some days in his palace, and desired his servants to treat him as they would himself. on the evening before the day fixed for his departure, abounadar said to him, "mujahid, my son, i think, from what has occurred, that you are now cured of the frightful sin of ingratitude; however, i owe you something for having undertaken so long a journey for the purpose of bringing to me an article which i wished to possess. you may now depart; i will detain you no longer. to-morrow you will find at the gate of my palace one of my horses to carry you home. i will make you a present of it, together with a slave who will bring you two camels loaded with gold and precious stones, which you can select for yourself from among my treasures." during the night mujahid was restless and uneasy, and unable to think of any thing except the chandelier and its wonderful qualities. for a long time he said to himself, "it was in my power; abounadar would never have obtained it but for me. what risks did i not encounter in the subterranean cave in order to secure it! why is it that he is now the fortunate owner of this treasure of treasures? is it not owing to my fidelity, or rather folly, in bringing it to him, that he now profits by the trouble and danger i underwent in the long journey i had to make? and what does he give me in return? only two miserable camels loaded with gold and precious stones, when in a moment the chandelier could supply me with ten times as much! it is abounadar who is ungrateful, and not i who am so. what injury shall i do him by taking the chandelier? not any; for he is rich, and wants nothing more." these ideas determined him, at last, to do all in his power to get possession of the chandelier; and it was not difficult to do so. he knew where to find it, and having taken it, he placed it at the bottom of one of his sacks which he had filled with the treasure given to him, and put the sack, along with the others, on the back of one of the camels. his only desire now was to get away, and after having hurriedly bid farewell to the generous abounadar, he took his departure, with his slave and camels. when now at some considerable distance from balsora, he sold his slave, not wishing to retain him as a witness of his former poverty, or of the source of his wealth. he purchased another, and went straight to his mother's house, whom he scarcely noticed, so absorbed was he with his treasures. his first care was to place the camels' luggage in a secure place; and, in his impatience to feast his eyes with solid riches, he placed lights in the chandelier without delay. the twelve dervises made their appearance, and he bestowed on each of them a blow with all his might, being afraid of not complying sufficiently with the laws of the talisman; but he had not noticed that abounadar, when striking them, held his stick in his left hand. mujahid naturally held his in his right hand, and the dervises, instead of being changed into heaps of treasure, drew from beneath their robes formidable bludgeons, with which they all belaboured him so long and so severely, that they left him nearly dead, after which they disappeared, carrying with them the camels and all their burdens, the horse, the slave, and the chandelier. thus, for not being contented with a large fortune honestly acquired, mujahid fell into a state of misery from which he never recovered--a suitable punishment for his ingratitude and avarice. the old man at last took his leave of us, and returned to schiraz, his native place, bearing with him the blessings of all my family. after saadi's departure, i unhappily neglected to follow his good advice. i purchased a new and splendid residence, where i lived in great splendour and luxury. instead of being grateful to heaven for its bounty, i became proud and insolent. i entertained and feasted all the gay companions i could meet with, while i refused to give alms, and drove the needy from my door; in short, i spent my money rapidly, and made the worst possible use of what i had so mysteriously acquired. my treasure soon began to run low; still i lived in the same profuse extravagance, until at last all was spent, and i found that, for some time, i had been living upon credit. the truth could no longer be concealed, and, being unable to meet the demands upon me, i had to sell off the whole of my property. a small sum would have sufficed to release me, so that i might again return to my trade, and, for this purpose, i appealed for assistance to my former friends and companions. not one of these, however, would come forward in my behalf. the produce of the sale of my house and effects was insufficient to pay my debts, and i was consequently thrown into prison, where i have remained for three years, my family, in the mean time, living upon the casual alms of the faithful. the aid you have rendered me will suffice to set me free, and i am now resolved to labour with diligence, in order to repair, as far as possible, my past folly. [illustration: shooting at the enchanted keys, p. ] continuation of the story of hassan abdallah. in this manner our journey was beguiled, and on the sixth day, in the morning, we entered on an immense plain, whose glittering soil seemed composed of silver dust. in the middle of the plain arose a lofty pillar of granite, surmounted by a statue of copper, representing a young man, whose right hand was stretched out open, and to each of whose fingers was suspended a key; the first was of iron, the second of lead, the third of bronze, the fourth of copper, and the fifth of gold. this statue was the workmanship of an enchanter, and each key was a talisman; whoever was led by accident or his own free will into this desert, and became possessed of these keys, inherited the destiny attached to them. the first was the key of calamities, the second of physical sufferings, the third of death, the fourth of glory, and the last of knowledge and wealth. i was ignorant of all these matters; but my master had become acquainted with them from a learned indian, who had also informed him that the keys could only be obtained by shooting them down with arrows. the arab planted his foot near to the column, and then fixing an arrow in his bow, which was of a foreign make, he shot it towards the statue, but, whether from want of skill or intentionally, the arrow did not reach halfway. he then said to me, "hassan, you have now an opportunity of discharging your debt to me, and of purchasing your liberty. you are both strong and skilful; take this bow and arrows, and bring me down those keys." i took the bow, and perceived that it was of persian workmanship, and made by a skilful hand. in my youth, i had accustomed myself to this exercise, and had acquired great reputation in it. desirous of displaying my attainments, i bent the bow with all my strength, and with the first arrow i brought down the first key. overjoyed, i took it up, and presented it to my master. "keep it," he said; "it is the reward of your skill." with a second arrow, i brought down the leaden one. the arab would not touch it, and i took it, and put it in my belt, along with the other. with two other arrows, i brought down two more keys--the copper key and the golden key. my companion took them up, uttering exclamations of delight. "o hassan," he said, "god be praised! blessed be he who trained your arm and practised your eye to such accuracy. i am proceeding happily towards the accomplishment of my object." i was about to aim at the last key--that of death, and had raised my bow for that purpose, but he forbade me, and struck my arm to prevent my shooting. in doing this, he caused the arrow to fall and pierce my foot, producing a painful wound. having dressed it as well as he could, he assisted me to mount my camel, and we thereupon continued our journey. after three days and nights of laborious travelling, we arrived in the neighbourhood of a small wood, where we stopped to spend the night. i set about looking for water, and some refreshing fruits, and particularly some with whose good qualities i was acquainted, but i could find nothing eatable. at last i discovered in the crevice of a rock a small spring, which invited me, by its clear and limpid waters, to refresh myself; but stooping down to drink, i heard the voice of my companion shouting to me not to taste the water, for that it was poisoned. "what matters it," i said, "whether i die of thirst or of poison?" "this water," he said, "comes from the infernal regions, and passes through the mass of sulphur, bitumen, and metals that feed the fires in the centre of the earth; and if you drink, you will in all probability fall a victim to your imprudence." although bitter, the water was so clear and fresh, that without heeding what he said, i drank some of it, and feeling refreshed for the time, i agreed to proceed on our journey, but i had scarcely gone on a hundred paces, when i was attacked by the most racking pains, and with many exclamations and cries to heaven for help, i endeavoured to moderate the speed of my camel, who was following his companion at a brisk pace. my tortures became so great, that i called aloud to the arab, and begged him to stop; he consented, when i dismounted and walked for some time, which partly relieved me. the arab chid me for my disobedience to his commands, and taking out a small phial from his pocket, gave me a few drops of a cordial, which in a short time completely cured me. towards evening we came near a high mountain, where we stopped to take a little rest. the arab said, "god be praised, to-day will not be a fast day with us! by experience i have learned to collect a healthy and refreshing nourishment from a quarter where you would only find poison." he then went to a bush with leaves of a very thick and prickly nature, and having cut off some of them with his sabre, and stript them, of their skins, he extracted from them a yellow and sugary substance, similar in taste to figs, and i partook of the food until i was quite satisfied and refreshed. i was beginning to forget my sufferings, and hoped to pass the night in peaceful slumber, but when the moon arose my master said to me, "i expect you to perform a signal service for me; you have to ascend this mountain, and when at the summit, you must wait for sunrise; then, standing up and turning towards the east, you must offer up your devotions and descend; but take care, and do not allow yourself to be overtaken by sleep, for the emanations which arise from the ground in this place are extremely noxious, and you may suffer severely from them." although overwhelmed with fatigue and pain, i obeyed the arab's orders, remembering that he had given bread to my children; and that, perhaps, should i refuse, he would abandon me in this savage wilderness. i ascended the mountain and reached the summit about midnight. the soil was bare and stony; not a shrub, not a blade of grass was to be found upon it. the extreme cold, together with fatigue, threw me into such a state of torpor that i could not resist lying down on the earth and falling asleep. i awoke at the rising of the sun to fulfil my instructions. i stood up with difficulty; my aching limbs refused to support my body; my head hung down as if made of lead, and i was unable to lift up my paralyzed arms. making a painful effort, and holding myself up towards the east, i invoked the name of god. i then endeavoured to descend the mountain, but it was so steep, and my weakness was so great, that at the first step my limbs tottered under me, and i fell, and rolled down the mountain with frightful rapidity; stones and thorns were the only obstacles to my descent, and they tore my dress and my skin, causing me to bleed at every pore. at length i reached the bottom of the hill, near to where my master was stretched on the ground, tracing lines on it with such attention, that he did not observe in what a state i was. "god be thanked and praised," he said, without noticing me; "we were born under a happy planet; every thing succeeds with us! thanks to you, hassan, i have just discovered what i wanted, by measuring the shadow projected by your head from the summit of the mountain. assist me to dig where i have stuck my lance." he raised his head, and seeing me extended on the earth, motionless, came up to me, and exclaimed, "what! in disobedience to my orders you have slept on the mountain, and imbibed its unwholesome vapours into your blood! do not despair, however, i will cure you;" and he took from his pocket a lancet, with which, before i could offer any resistance, he made small incisions in different parts of my body, from which i bled profusely. he then dressed my wounds and bruises carefully, and i felt a little better. seeing that i was too weak to assist him, he began to dig in the earth himself at the place which he had marked. he soon exposed to view a tomb of white marble, which he opened; it contained some human bones, and a book written in letters of gold on the skin of the gazelle. my master began reading it with attention: at length his pale brow became lit up with pleasure, and his eyes sparkled with delight. "hassan abdallah," he said to me, "this book teaches me the way to the mysterious city; we shall soon enter into aram, built on columns, where no mortal has ever as yet penetrated; it is there that we shall find the principle of earthly riches, the germ of the metallic mines which god has placed in the centre of the earth." "my lord," i replied, "i share with you in your joy; but this treasure is of little or no advantage to me; i would rather, i assure you, be poor and in good health at cairo, than rich and in wretchedness here." "ungrateful man!" he exclaimed; "i am labouring for your advantage as well as for my own, intending to share with you the fruit of our journey, as i have done until now." "true," i said, "but, alas! all the ill fortunes and calamities fall to me." however, after some further assurances on the part of the arab, i became pacified, and the same day, after having laid in a stock of fruits, we reascended our camels, and continued our journey towards the east. we journeyed thus for three days and nights. the fourth day in the morning we perceived in the horizon the appearance of a large mirror, which reflected the sunbeams. on drawing near we saw that it was a river of quicksilver; it was crossed by a bridge of crystal, without balustrades, but so narrow and slippery that no man in his senses would think of attempting to pass it. my master told me to unsaddle the camels, to let them feed at liberty, and to prepare woollen slippers with thick and soft soles for both of us; and having ordered me to walk behind him without looking to the right hand or to the left, he crossed the bridge with a firm step, and i followed him trembling. after we had crossed the river and proceeded for some hours, we found ourselves at the entrance of a gloomy valley. it was surrounded on all sides with black rocks, hard as iron, and here and there on the ground were spread human bones, bleached by time. through the dark foliage of the shrubs which grew there might be seen the undulating and scaly forms of serpents gliding along. i retreated hastily from this den of horror, but could not discover the spot at which i had entered, the rocks seeming every where to rise up like the walls of a great cavern. i began to weep, and said to my companion, "you have led me on to death by the path of suffering and misery; i shall never see my wife and children again. why have you torn me away from my poor but peaceful home?" "hassan," he said to me, "be a man! have patience; we shall soon get out of this horrible place. wait a few moments, and i will show you how we may escape." so saying, he sat down on the ground, and, opening the mysterious book, began turning over the pages and reading in it as calmly as if he had been sitting in his own house. after a short time he called to me, and said, "my friend, call up your courage, your task is easy; you are a skilful marksman; take this bow and arrows; examine the valley until you meet with a huge serpent with a black head, kill him and bring his head and heart to me." "alas!" i said, weeping, "is this indeed a thing so easy for me? why will you not do it yourself? we are too fortunate not to be molested by these monsters; why should we go in search of them?" upon this he started up with a fierce aspect, and, drawing his sword, swore that he would kill me that instant if i did not obey him. "do you see all these bones?" he said. "they are the bones of men who disobeyed me, and who died in consequence by my hand." trembling, i took the bow and arrows, and went among the rocks where the serpents were to be found. selecting one which appeared to me to answer the description given me, i took aim at its head, and, invoking the assistance of heaven, discharged my arrow. the serpent, mortally wounded, sprung up, and twisting and contorting itself in a frightful manner, fell dead on the ground. when i was certain that he was dead, i took my knife, cut off his head, and took out his heart. with these bloody trophies i returned to my master, who received me with a smiling countenance. "forgive me," he said, "for employing threats towards you; in reality i was anxious to save you from a miserable fate. the men to whom these bones belonged died here of hunger by their own fault; they proved deficient in courage, and i was compelled, in spite of myself, to abandon them to their fate." "now," he continued, "come and assist me to make a fire." i collected dry leaves and small branches of trees, of which he made a small heap; then turning an enchanted diamond towards the sun, which was then in its meridian, a ray of light issued from the precious stone which set the materials in a blaze. he next drew from under his robe a small iron vase and three phials; the first, of ruby, contained the elements of winds; the second, of emerald, contained a ray of moonlight; and the third, which was of gold, contained the blood of a phoenix. all these substances he placed in the vase, and added the heart and brain of the serpent. he then opened the book and put the vase on the fire, pronouncing at the same time some words which to me were unintelligible. when he had finished, he uncovered his shoulders, as the pilgrims do at their departure, and dipping a portion of his garment in the mixture, handed it to me, desiring me to rub his back and shoulders with it. as i did so i observed the skin swell out and wings spring forth, which, visibly increasing in size, soon reached the ground. the arab spread them and began to rise in the air. fear of remaining in this doleful place lent me courage, and laying hold with all my might of the end of his girdle, i was borne up along with him, and in a few moments we bade farewell to the black rocks of this fatal valley. presently, as we pursued this aërial tour, we found ourselves soaring above an immense plain, surrounded by a precipice of crystal, tinged with azure and purple. the earth seemed formed of golden dust, and the pebbles upon it looked like precious stones. before us were the lofty walls of a city crowded with magnificent palaces and delicious gardens. lost in admiration of this glorious scene, the arab forgot to keep his wings moving, and we descended rapidly towards the ground, which i of course reached first, he falling upon me. i then perceived his wings gradually diminish, and by degrees wholly disappear. when i noticed this to him, he replied, that, unfortunately, science was limited in its powers; it enabled him to construct wings of great power, but could not avail for their preservation beyond a certain time. "to become the possessor," said he, "of the ingredients which you saw me employ in forming these wings, i have spent thirty years of my life, the lives of many men, and money sufficient for a king's ransom. the wings helped me but for a few moments, long enough, however, for my purpose; they have borne me to glory and fortune. rejoice, hassan abdallah; behold aram, the city built on columns, the mysterious city!" [illustration: the escape of hassan abdallah and the arab from the enchanted valley, p. .] we then approached the walls; they were built of alternate layers of bricks of gold and silver. the battlements were of marble, cut and sculptured by the hands of genii. there were eight gates in the walls,--the number of the gates of paradise; the first was of silver, the second of gold, the third of agate, the fourth of coral, the fifth of pearl, the sixth of topaz, the seventh of emerald, and the eighth of ruby. the arab informed me that this city had been built by the famous enchanter tchedad, the son of aad, who had exhausted upon it all the treasures of earth, sea, and sky. he wanted in his pride to rival the glory of the almighty by this piece of workmanship; but god, to punish him, struck him and his family with lightning at the very instant he and they were solemnly taking possession of the palace. an impenetrable veil hangs over the city ever since, and no one has been able to discover it. we went forward, invoking the name of god; the streets were lined with palaces adorned with columns of marble, agate, and all kinds of costly materials; streams of odoriferous waters embalmed and refreshed the atmosphere; trees of a wondrous form furnished a delicious shelter from the rays of the sun, and in their branches birds of song produced concerts of ravishing sweetness. the very air that one breathed seemed to fascinate the mind, and to lift it up to heaven. the arab, taking me by the hand, conducted me towards the palace of tchedad; its construction, in point of art and splendour of adornment, was unspeakably magnificent. terraces, formed of coloured crystal, were supported on a thousand columns of gold. in the midst of the palace was an enchanted garden, where the earth, breathing of musk, bore fruits and flowers of marvellous richness and beauty. three rivers surrounded the garden, flowing with wine, rose-water, and honey. in the centre of the garden there was a pavilion, whose dome, formed of a single emerald, overshadowed a throne of gold covered with pearls and rubies. on the throne there was a small chest of gold; the arab opened it, and found in it a red powder. "throw away this dust," i said, "and fill the casket with precious stones." "poor fool that you are," he replied; "this dust is the source of all the riches of the world; it is red sulphur. a small portion of it is sufficient to change into gold the basest metals. with it i can build palaces, found cities, purchase the life of men and the admiration of beautiful women. i can even, if i please, cause myself to become prince and king; but i cannot by it prolong my life a single day, or efface an hour from my by-past existence. god alone is great! god alone is eternal!" whilst he thus spoke, i employed myself in collecting precious stones and pearls, filling with them my girdle, pockets, and turban. "unhappy man!" he cried, "what are you doing? you will bring down upon us the vengeance of heaven. we are only permitted to touch this casket; and if we should attempt to carry out of the valley a leaf from one of these trees, or a stone from off the ground, instantaneous death would be our lot." i immediately emptied my pockets, much to my regret, and followed my master, not however without often turning my head aside to look at the incalculable riches spread around me. fearing that i should fall a prey to the seductions of wealth, my master took me by the hand and led me out of the city. we quitted it by the path by which we came, but more slowly than we approached. when we arrived at the crystal precipice it opened before us, and we passed through it; when we had done so, we looked about in vain for the wonderful plain and the city,--they could no longer be seen. we found ourselves on the brink of the river of quicksilver, and crossed the bridge. our camels were feeding on the flowery herbage, and i ran to mine with delight, as to an old friend. after refastening our girths, we mounted and set out on the road to egypt. we were three months in reaching cairo. during all this time i suffered many privations; my health was destroyed, and i endured every kind of evil. from some fatality, the cause of which was unknown to me at the time, i alone was exposed to all the accidents of the journey, while my companion continued in health and comfort, passing safely through every danger. i discovered afterwards that all my misfortunes arose from my having in my possession the enchanted keys. this was one day towards the close of our journey, when the arab confessed to me that he was aware of this fatal quality of theirs, and that it was in order to free himself from it that he purchased me. when i wanted to throw away the accursed keys, he withheld me. "patience and resignation," said he, "and these virtues only, can exhaust their evil influence, and for your own sake i would advise you to keep them to the end. all will turn out eventually for your good." a few days after receiving this communication we arrived at cairo, and i immediately ran to my home, the door of which was open and broken, and the interior occupied by crowds of famished and prowling dogs, who had taken up their abode there. a neighbour, who heard me calling out in an agony of despair, opened her door, and said to me, "hassan abdallah, is that you? well may you be astounded! know that some time after your departure,--that is, about five months ago,--some thieves, knowing that you were absent, and that there was no male slave left to take care of your house, broke into your house during the night, insulted the women, and went off with all the property that you had left. your mother died a few days after, in consequence. your wife, in her destitution, resolved to go to alexandria, to her brother. the caravan which she accompanied was attacked by the arabs of the desert, who, being enraged at the resistance they met with, put all to the sword without mercy." on hearing these sad tidings, i shed many tears, and returning to the arab, accused him with being the cause of all my misfortunes. "god is the author and end of all things," he said to me, and then, taking me by the hand, led me along with him. it appeared that on the same day he had hired a magnificent palace, to this he now compelled me to repair and reside with him; and for my consolation, he told me that he would share with me the treasures of science, and teach me to read in the book of alchemy. here we resided a long time: whenever his costly fancies caused him to be in want of money, he used to have several hundred-weight of lead conveyed secretly to him, and when it was melted he threw some small portions of red sulphur into it, and in a moment the vile metal was changed into the purest gold. in the midst of all this luxury, i continued ill and unhappy; my feeble body was unable to support the weight, or to endure the contact of the rich clothes and the precious stuffs with which i was covered. the most delicate food was served up to me in vain, and the most delicious wines; i only felt disgusted and disinclined towards them all. i had superb apartments, beds formed of sweet smelling and costly woods, and divans of purple; but sleep, in spite of all, was a stranger to my eyes. i called on death, but he refused to come to me. the arab, on the other hand, passed his time in pleasure and feasting. the palace gardens extended to the banks of the nile; they were planted with the rarest trees, brought at a great expense from india, persia, china, and the isles. machines, constructed with great skill, raised the water of the nile, and caused it to fall in fresh and brilliant jets into marble reservoirs, "'mid orange groves and myrtle bowers, that breathed a gale of fragrance round," mingled with the perfume of jasmines and roses; there were silken pavilions, embroidered with gold, and supported on pillars of gold and silver; brilliant lamps, enclosed in globes of crystal, shed over all a light soft and effulgent as that of the moon. there, on each returning night, the arab received his companions, and treated them with the utmost magnificence. his liberality made every one who approached him his friend, and they styled him the great, the magnificent. he would sometimes come to see me at the pavilion, where my illness compelled me to remain, a solitary prisoner. on one such occasion, he paid me his visit after a night of pleasure, early in the morning. he was heated with wine, his face red, and his eyes shining with a strange lustre. he sat down beside me, and taking hold of my hand, began singing, and when he had concluded, shut his eyes, leaned his head on his breast, and appeared to fall asleep. alarmed at length at his unnatural stillness, i leaned over to him; his breathing had ceased, he had expired. perceiving that all help was useless, i began to rummage his pockets, his girdle, and his turban, in the hope of finding the keys of happiness and of wisdom, but could not discover them. i thereupon, in spite of my bad state of health, and without losing a moment, laid hold of the casket containing the book of alchemy and the red sulphur; and considering that i might lawfully regard myself as the legitimate proprietor, i carried it secretly to my former house, which i had previously caused to be rebuilt and provided with new furniture. returning to the palace just as i had left it, i began to cry aloud, and to ask for help; the slaves and servants ran immediately to know what was the matter, and i then sent them to bring the best physician, even the caliph's, if he could be found. when the medical men came they declared that the stranger had died by the will of god. i then gave orders for the funeral. his body, attired in the richest vestments, was placed, exposed to view, in a coffin of aloe-wood, lined with gold. a cloth of a marvellously fine tissue, which had been manufactured for a persian prince, served for a coverlet. fifty servants, all dressed in mourning attire, bore, in turns, the coffin on their shoulders; and every good mussulman who passed by, hastened to lend his assistance, if it were only by a helping hand. a considerable number of women, hired for the purpose, followed the bier, uttering plaintive cries. the keepers of the mosque sung sacred verses, and the crowd repeated, "god is god! there is no god but god! he alone is eternal." in this order, accompanied by numerous friends whom the arab had made by his generosity, we proceeded to the cemetery, southward of the city, and near to the gate of bab-el-masr (the gate of victory). i gave a purse of gold to a skilful architect, with orders to raise a tomb to the memory of my master. returning to the palace, it fell to my lot, of course, to preside at the funeral repast. this painful duty was scarcely over, when i saw some officers from the caliph arrive, who were commanded by his order to take possession of the wealth contained in the palace, and which belonged to him, as a stranger's heir. i was driven away, and left the palace, taking with me, in appearance, nothing but the dress which i wore, but, in reality, the owner of an inestimable treasure. betaking myself to my house, i resolved to live there an unknown and peaceful life, passing the time in the study of the sciences, and only using the red sulphur to impart benefit to others in secret. a curious and jealous neighbour having ascended the terrace of my house one evening, and seen me at work, effecting the transmutation of the lead into gold, told my secret to his wife, who repeated it at the bath, and next morning all cairo was acquainted with it. the report reached the ears of the caliph, theilon, who sent for me, and told me that he knew i possessed the great secret of knowledge, and that if i would share it with him, he would overwhelm me with honours, and associate me with him in rank. i refused to the impious man the distinguished favour which god had denied to him. transported with rage, he caused me to be loaded with chains, and thrown into a gloomy dungeon; and being baffled in his attempts to penetrate my secret, he placed the casket and the book under the care of a person on whose fidelity he could depend, hoping to force the secret from me by the sufferings which he made me endure. in this state i have lived for forty years. by my persecutor's orders, i have been made to undergo all kinds of privations and tortures, and only knew of his death by my being relieved from punishment. this morning, when kneeling on the ground at my devotions, i put my hand on a strange and hard substance. looking at it, i perceived that it was the fatal keys which i had years ago buried under the floor of my dungeon. they were so worn by rust and damp, that they crumbled into powder in my hand, and i then thought that god intended to have pity upon me, and that my afflictions were about to end, either by death or the alleviation of my sufferings. a few moments after, your officers came and set me at liberty. "now, o king!" continued the old man, "i have lived long enough, since i have been permitted to approach the greatest and most upright of monarchs." mohammed, overjoyed at performing an act of justice, thanked heaven for having sent him such a treasure, and being desirous to prove its reality, he caused one thousand hundred-weight of lead to be melted in immense caldrons; and having mixed some of the red powder in the fiery mass, and pronounced over it the magical words dictated to him by the old man, the base metal was instantly changed into pure gold. the caliph, in order to propitiate the favour of heaven, resolved to employ this treasure in the building of a mosque which should transcend by its magnificence every other in the world. he collected architects from all the neighbouring countries, laid before them the plan of a vast edifice, unfettered by the difficulties or expense of its execution. the architects traced out an immense quadrangle, the sides of which faced the four cardinal points of the heavens. at each corner a tower of prodigious height was placed, of admirable proportions; the top of the structure was surrounded with a gallery and crowned with a dome of gilt copper. on each side of the edifice one thousand pillars were raised, supporting arches of an elegant curve and solid construction, and on the arches terraces were laid out with balustrades of gold of exquisite workmanship. in the centre of the edifice an immense pavilion was erected, whose construction was of so light and elegant a nature, that one would have thought it reached from earth to heaven. the vault was inlaid with azure-coloured enamel and studded with golden stars. marbles of the rarest kinds formed the pavement, and the walls consisted of a mosaic formed of jasper, porphyry, agate, mother-of-pearl, sapphires, rubies, and other precious stones. the pillars and arches were covered with arabesques and verses from the koran, carved in relief, and painted. no wood was employed in the building of this wonderful edifice, which was therefore fire-proof. mohammed spent seven years in erecting this celebrated mosque, and expended on it a sum of two millions of dinars. although so old, hassan abdallah recovered his health and strength, and lived to be a hundred years of age, honoured with the esteem and the friendship of the caliph. the mosque built by the caliph mohammed is still to be seen at cairo, and is the largest and the finest of all the mosques of that great city. * * * * * one day, very shortly after the completion of the mosque, the caliph and hassan abdallah were absent for three days on a journey. mohammed communicated to no one but his first vizir his intention; but on his return he assembled his whole court, and informed them that the object of the expedition had been to bury the casket, with the book and the powder, where it was impossible they could ever be discovered. "i have done," added mohammed, "what i could to consecrate this wonderful treasure, but i would not trust even myself any longer with so dangerous a temptation." footnotes: [ ] most of our readers will also recognize in the story of the princess schirine the groundwork of one of hans andersen's beautiful danish tales, "the flying trunk." ii. soliman bey and the three story-tellers. soliman bey, passing one day along a street in cairo, saw three common-looking men seated at the door of a coffee-house and sipping their cup of mocha. from their dull and meaningless looks he conjectured that they were under the influence of haschich[ ]. after looking at them attentively, the bey saluted them, and was pursuing his way, when he suddenly found himself obliged to stop, as a long train of camels, heavily laden, blocked up the street and prevented him from passing on. the bey, having nothing better to do, amused himself by scrutinizing attentively the eaters of haschich, who were old men. a warm discussion seemed to be going on among them; they raised their arms, vied with each other who should cry the loudest, and made the strangest possible grimaces; but owing to the distance at which he stood, he was unable to hear what they said. on his return home, being curious to know the subject of their dispute, he sent his officer to beg these three originals to wait upon him. when they arrived, he said to them, "what were you disputing about, my friends, when i passed you?" "may allah prolong your days!" replied one of them; "we were disputing about which of us it was to whom the salutation belonged that your highness addressed to us, for each of us took that honour to himself." the bey burst out laughing. "i greeted," he said, after a moment's reflection, "him among you who did the greatest number of foolish things while intoxicated by the haschich." "it was i, my lord," they all at once exclaimed. "stop," replied the bey; "let each of you tell me one of the tricks played him by the haschich, and the honour of my greeting shall be his who shall have committed the greatest act of folly; and do you begin," added the bey, pointing to one of the men. the first story-teller. "be it known to you, my lord," said the first story-teller, "that a short time ago i had in my purse a thousand piastres, which were enough for my expenses, and i was contented with my lot. one day, however, i had been taking a walk, and on my return i sat down to rest and chewed a bit of haschich, took my coffee, and lit my pipe; in two or three hours my head began to buzz. i went out again and walked about the streets. in front of a coffee-house i noticed some men collected round an _improvisatore_, who was singing and accompanying himself on the timbrel. i sat down in the circle and asked for coffee. i lighted my pipe and commenced listening. the improvisatore depicted a young girl. oh, how beautiful she was! it was impossible not to love her. compared with her iyleika[ ] was but as a star in the presence of the sun, and ablia[ ] but as the dirt of the street. i was so captivated by his description of the beautiful girl, that when he ceased i gave him all the money i had about me. "next day, at the same hour, while the haschich was boiling in my brain, i ran to the coffee-house, where the improvisatore was commencing the continuation of his yesterday's story. he now told how paladins and padishahs disputed for the possession of my adorable haridée, and how she disdained their love and refused their offers. i became more distracted this time than before, and the improvisatore got from me twice as much as he did the day before. i gave him all that i had, even to the last farthing. "next day i never left my little seat at the _café_. the improvisatore struck his tambourine this time with more vehemence while singing the charms of the beautiful haridée. he then began to relate how haridée was in love with a certain worthless fellow. at this it was impossible to tell what i felt; the hydra of jealousy devoured my heart and poured a maddening poison through my veins. i became as one deprived of all sense and feeling. but stop; the parents have separated the lovers and plunged them in an ocean of tears. i again breathed more freely, and emptied my pockets to fill the purse of the improvisatore. "thus were passed many days in succession. the flame of love and the stings of jealousy tormented me without ceasing. the haschich did its part unremittingly, and threw me at one moment into fire, and at another into ice and snow, hurling me from the height of bliss into the depths of misery. my fortunes fell with me, and i soon became totally destitute. but my thoughts were otherwise taken up than with eating or drinking; my love for haridée had become the only source to me of life and action. in this way, with empty stomach and purse, i went one day to the _café_ after having paid a few paras for a little haschich. i listened--the voice of the improvisatore trembled; in truth he wept, and grief was depicted on his features. "'what has happened?' i asked, drawing near to him. "'poor haridée!' he replied. "'what is the matter? what has taken place?' i exclaimed. "'she is dead!' he muttered. "i wept, i tore my clothes, and fled i scarce knew where. when the first transports of my despair had subsided, i saw pass before my eyes, still under the influence of the haschich, the funeral of haridée. the mournful cry of 'there is no god but god, and mahomet is his prophet,' echoed in my ears, amidst the outcries and the lamentations of the women. i ran like a madman from street to street, while the crowd followed on my path with the coffin of haridée, and the frightful groans and cries burst forth louder and louder on my ears. at length, worn out, and sore all over, i fell down in a state of complete unconsciousness, and when i came to myself, i perceived that i was at the threshold of my own home. i arose, and endeavoured to recal past events, which as they woke up in my memory caused me to feel the utmost surprise. my purse was empty, my heart broken, and the blood was flowing down my face, for in my fall i had cut open my head. after remaining a whole day in the house, i took a small piece of haschich and went to a coffee-house near at hand, where my friend the landlord poured me out a cup of mocha, and gave me a pipe. it was there that i met my two friends, and received from you, my gracious lord, a look, and a nod." "this story is not a bad one," replied soliman bey, "but do not too hastily take to yourself the honour of my greeting; let me hear first what the others have to say." the second story-teller. "know, my lord," replied the second, "that i was formerly a rich and respected merchant, with a beautiful wife and fine children. my life was like a morning of spring-time--clear, peaceful, and balmy. but haschich has ruined the structure of my happiness, and destroyed it from the roof to the foundations. one day when i had imbibed a little of this fatal poison, i was reclining, after the labours of the day, on my sofa, sipping from time to time a mouthful of coffee, and inhaling a whiff of perfumed _latakia_. my wife was occupied at my side in embroidery, and my children were at play in the room, which they made ring again with their shrill voices. at length, my brain becoming overpowered by the vapours of the haschich, the thickening fancies began to chase each other in quick succession, and my imagination at length became morbidly excited. the cries of my children seemed insupportable to me. i ordered them several times to be quiet, but the brats, wild with their games and noise, paid no attention to me. at last i lost patience, laid hold of my stick, and rapped angrily on the floor, ordering them sternly to be quiet. in the midst of this fit of anger, i stopped short, all of a sudden. the floor of my apartment emitted a hollow sound, as if there were a vault beneath it. the haschich suggested to me that there might be hidden treasure down below. 'oh, oh,' i said to myself, 'i must not be in a hurry. if i should discover the treasure in my wife's presence, she will foolishly run and trumpet it about to all our neighbours. what good would that do? let me consider, then, what i shall do to get her away.' intoxicated as i was, there was no need to deliberate long. i darted from my seat, exclaiming, 'woman! thou art separated from me by a triple divorce!'[ ] "my wife became pale as death. she threw aside her embroidery, and rose up. "'what is the matter, my dear husband? what has happened? of what have i been guilty?' "'don't say a word! and hasten this moment to leave the house, with your children.' "'but pray inform me, my lord and master, when and how i have given you any cause of complaint? we have now lived together twelve years in perfect peace and harmony, and never been but on the most affectionate terms; tell me.' "'no more explanations,' i replied; 'here are a thousand _grouches_[ ]. go to your room, and take of the furniture as much as you require, and return to your father's house.' "sadly and sorrowfully she thereupon proceeded to collect her wearing apparel, uttering mournful cries and lamentations, and taking her children with her, left the house. "'now!' i exclaimed, with satisfaction, 'now, i am quite alone.' "'silence, abou-kalif,' whispered the haschich to me; 'don't be in such haste. suppose you find this treasure, who knows but that at the first meeting of haschich-eaters, you will disclose your discovery to all the world. put yourself to the proof beforehand, by some effectual means, and thus find out if your tongue have sufficient self-command to keep still, and not say one word too much.' "faithful to the voice of my inward monitor, i arose, and taking from my chest the sum of five hundred grouches, went to pay a visit to the vali[ ]. "'here,' said i to him, 'take this money, and give me on the soles of my feet five hundred blows with a leathern thong, and, while laying them on, ask me if i have seen, found, or discovered any thing?' "the man was extremely surprised at my request, and refused to comply with it; but the people about him said that my body was my own, and that i was at liberty to dispose of it as i thought proper. 'take his money,' they said to him, 'and give him a hearty flogging.' "the vali, shrugging his shoulders, gave the signal; i was laid on the ground, my feet were tied together, and the lash whistled and sung on my bare feet. at each blow, the question i had suggested was asked, and i replied in the negative. this system of question and answer went on till the last blow. fairly exhausted with the pain, i fell down the moment i attempted to stand up. i therefore crawled along on my knees, and reached my ass, on whose back i managed, somehow or other, to raise myself, and thus reached my home. "a few days' rest having restored me in some measure, i resolved to prosecute my search for the hidden treasure. but the haschich, to which i had not forgotten on that day to pay my usual respects, stopped me in my intention. 'o abou-kalif,' it muttered in my ear, 'you have not yet put yourself sufficiently to the proof. are you now in a fit state to resist all attempts to make you disclose your secret? submit to another trial, my good fellow!' this suggestion was all-powerful, and i submitted forthwith. i drew from my strong-box one thousand grouches, and went to the aga of the janissaries. 'take this money,' i said to him, 'and give me in exchange for it a thousand stripes with a thong on the bare back; asking me between the blows, have you seen any thing? have you found any thing? have you discovered any thing?' the aga did not keep me waiting long for a reply,--and having pocketed the money, bestowed upon me most faithfully the full complement of the lashes desired. "at the conclusion of the whipping my soul seemed hovering on my lips, as if about to leave my mutilated body, which was quite prostrated by the infliction. i was obliged to be carried to my ass, and it was many days before i could set my feet to the ground. when i had recovered a little, i recollected all the details of the strange adventure which had brought upon me the acute anguish that i felt in every part of my body; and the more i reflected on the matter, the more vividly i saw the fatal consequences that would follow from too much confidence in the suggestions inspired by the haschich. i cursed the hateful ideas produced by the vapours of this drug, and promised myself that i would amend my ways, and repair, as far as possible, my injustice to my wife. but at the very moment when this praiseworthy resolution arose in my brain and diffused its odours there, like a fresh-opening flower, my hand, from the strength of habit, sought for the tin box that lay under my pillow, and drew from it a white particle, which i placed in my mouth, as if to mock all the weak efforts of my will. in fact, while my mind was occupied in planning a final rupture with the perfidious hempen-seed, my enemy stole in on me like a midnight robber by night, imposed his yoke, and overthrew completely all my good intentions. unwittingly i found myself again in the power of the enemy. 'well, abou-kalif,' he said, 'arise. the precautions you have taken are sufficiently severe; it is time to set to work, and not allow the favourable moment to escape, otherwise you may repent it.' in this manner spake the delusive poison working within me, and i was wholly in its power, incapable of resistance. i rose from my bed with a frightful pain in my back and sides, dragged myself along towards the mysterious flag-stone, and with my heart beating violently, and my brain cloudy and obscured, i set to work to raise the stone, which speedily yielded to my efforts. in a state of the highest excitement, i sat down on the edge of the cavern with my legs hanging down into it, and my hands leaning on its sides; i scarcely dared to look downwards. the haschich, however, pushed me forwards, and seemed to press on my shoulders. my hands at last yielded, and i fell down. o my sovereign and master, do not ask where i found myself; enough that i felt myself stifled. the noisome matter into which i had fallen up to the chin, being disturbed and agitated, had emitted exhalations which fairly suffocated me. i strove to cry out, but in vain. i fainted, and lost all consciousness. "meanwhile, whilst i, pursued by the fatal influence of the haschich, had fallen over the edge of the precipice, where i was now struggling, my disconsolate wife had begged her father to allow her to make inquiry respecting me. 'i know,' she said, weeping, 'that a sudden attack of madness has seized him, and that the real cause of his sending me away, as well as of all the evil that has just befallen us, is the haschich. let no curse fall upon him. no doubt my husband will change his conduct with regard to me, as i cannot reproach myself with any thing; i will therefore go and see what has happened to him.' 'well, my child, you may go,' replied her father; 'i shall not seek to hinder you.' she went, and knocked at the door, but no one replied. she then inquired of the neighbours if abou-kalif was at home; they said they had not seen him leave the house for the last week. on being told this, she had the door burst open, and, followed by a crowd of neighbours of both sexes, searched for me for a long time in vain. at last, however, i was discovered, half dead and stifled. they pulled me out, cleansed and sweetened me, and attired me in a fresh suit of clothes; after which i left the house to breathe the fresh air and recover myself. it was not long, however, before the haschich regained its old dominion over me, and led me to the coffee-house, where you saw me, and condescended to honour me with your greeting." "not quite so soon," exclaimed the bey, holding his sides with laughter; "your story is also a very good one, but before i award to you the honour of my salutation, i must hear what your other companion has got to say." the third story-teller. "sovereign and master," commenced the third eater of haschich, "no longer ago than a week i was so happy and satisfied with my lot, that in truth i would not have exchanged it even for your own. i had a house filled with every comfort, plenty of money, and a wife who was a miracle of beauty. one day this charming better half of myself, after having passed all the day in the bath, returned from it looking so clean, fresh, and rosy, that my head, where the haschich which i had been taking for the last hour and a half was breeding disorder, became on fire and was lost. my eyes grew intoxicated with my wife, as if i had then beheld her beauty for the first time, and my heart bounded like the holy waves of the nile during a storm. "'dear cousin,' i cried, for she was my cousin as well as my wife, 'how captivating you are to-day! i am over head and ears in love with you again!' "at this instant the haschich suggested to me to divorce her immediately in order to contract a new marriage and taste again the bliss of a first union. no sooner said than done; i pronounced the prescribed phrase, and the next day i celebrated a new marriage with her[ ]. when the festivities were over, i conducted my relations and guests to the door, which, from absence of mind, i had forgotten to shut. "'dear cousin,' said my wife to me when we were alone, 'go and shut the street door.' "'it would be strange indeed if i did,' i replied. 'am i just made a bridegroom, clothed in silk, wearing a shawl and a dagger set with diamonds, and am i to go and shut the door? why, my dear, you are crazy; go and shut it yourself!' "'oh indeed!' she exclaimed; 'am i, young, robed in a satin dress, with lace and precious stones, am i to go and shut the court-yard door? no, indeed, it is you who have become crazy, and not i. come, let us make a bargain,' she continued; 'and let the first who speaks get up and bar the door.' "'agreed,' i replied, and straightway i became mute, and she too was silent, while we both sat down, dressed as we were in our nuptial attire, looking at each other, and seated on opposite sofas. we remained thus for one--two--hours. during this time thieves happening to pass by, and seeing the door open, entered and laid hold of whatever came to their hand. we heard footsteps in the house, but opened not our mouths; the robbers came even into our room, and saw us seated, motionless and indifferent to all that took place. they continued therefore their pillage, collecting together every thing valuable, and even dragging away the carpets from beneath us; they then laid hands on our own persons, which they despoiled of every article worth taking, while we, in the fear of losing our wager, said not a word. "having thus cleared the house, the thieves departed quietly, but we remained on our seats, saying not a syllable. towards morning a police officer came round on his tour of inspection, and, seeing our door opened, walked in. having searched all the rooms and found no one, he entered the apartment where we were seated, and inquired the meaning of what he saw. neither my wife nor i would condescend to reply. the officer became angry, and ordered our heads to be cut off. the executioner's sword was just about to perform its office, when my wife cried out, 'sir, he is my husband, spare him!' "'oh, oh!' i exclaimed, overjoyed and clapping my hands, 'you have lost the wager; go, shut the door.' "i then explained the whole affair to the police officer, who shrugged his shoulders and went away, leaving us in a truly dismal plight. immediately after i went to a coffee-house, where you deigned to honour me with a salutation." * * * * * at the conclusion of this story the bey, who was ready to die with laughter, exclaimed, "this time it is you who are in the right; you are truly entitled to my respects." footnotes: [ ] an intoxicating drug, like opium. [ ] personages who figure in arabian legends. [ ] this is the legal form of pronouncing a divorce among the mahometans. [ ] a small coin, in circulation in turkey, about the value of eighteenpence of our money. it is probably from the same root as the german _groschen_. [ ] the public executioner. [ ] the mahometans may immediately take back the woman whom they had divorced, but a fresh marriage ceremony must take place. iii. the story of prince khalaf and the princess of china. prince khalaf was the son of an aged khan of the nagäi-tartars. the history of his time makes honourable mention of his name. it relates that he surpassed all the princes of the age in beauty, in wisdom, and in valour; that he was as learned as the greatest doctors of his age; that he could fathom the deepest mysteries of the commentaries on the koran; and that he knew by heart the sayings of the prophet: it speaks of him, in short, as the hero of asia and the wonder of the east. this prince was the soul of the councils of his father timurtasch. when he gave advice, the most accomplished statesmen approved it, and could not sufficiently admire his prudence and wisdom. if, moreover, it were necessary to take up arms, he was immediately seen at the head of the troops of the state, seeking out the enemy, engaging them and vanquishing them. he had already won several victories, and the nagäis had rendered themselves so formidable by their repeated successes, that the neighbouring nations did not venture to quarrel with them. such was the prosperous state of affairs in the khan's dominions, when an ambassador from the sultan of carisma arrived at the court of timurtasch, and demanded in the name of his master that the nagäis should henceforth pay him a yearly tribute; he added that in default he would come in person, with an overwhelming force, and compel them to submit, at the same time depriving their sovereign of his crown as a punishment for his refusal. on hearing this arrogant message, the khan immediately assembled his council in order to decide whether to pay the tribute rather than risk a war with so powerful an enemy, or whether to treat his menaces with contempt and prepare to repel the invaders. khalaf, with the majority of the council, were of the latter opinion, and the ambassador being dismissed with a refusal, took his departure for carisma. the khan lost no time in sending deputies to the neighbouring nations, in order to represent to them that it was to their interest to unite with him against the sultan of carisma, whose ambition now exceeded all bounds, and who would undoubtedly exact the same tribute from them if he should succeed in conquering the nagäis. the deputies succeeded in these negotiations; the neighbouring nations and tribes, and amongst them the circassians, engaged to join in the proposed confederation, and to furnish among them a quota of fifty thousand men. on this promise, the khan proceeded to raise fresh troops, in addition to the army which he already had on foot. while the nagäis were making these preparations, the sultan of carisma assembled an army of two hundred thousand men, and crossed the jaxartes at cogende. he marched through the countries of ilac and saganac, where he found abundance of provisions; and had advanced as far as jund, before the army of the khan, commanded by prince khalaf, was able to take the field, in consequence of the circassians and the other auxiliary troops not having been able sooner to join him. as soon as these succours arrived, khalaf marched direct towards jund, but he had scarcely passed jenge kemt, when his scouts informed him that the enemy was close at hand, and was advancing to attack him. the young prince immediately ordered his troops to halt, and proceeded to arrange them in order of battle. the two armies were nearly equal in numbers, and the men who composed them equally courageous. the battle which ensued was bloody and obstinate. the sultan did all that a warrior skilled in the conduct of armies could do; and the prince khalaf, on his side, more than could be expected from so young a general. at one time the nagäi-tartars had the advantage, at another they were obliged to yield to the carismians; at last both parties, alternately victors and vanquished, were obliged by the approach of night to sound a retreat. the combat was to have recommenced in the morning; but, in the mean time, the leader of the circassians went secretly to the sultan, and offered to abandon the cause of the nagäis, provided the sultan would pledge himself, on oath, never to exact tribute from the circassians upon any pretence whatever. the sultan having consented, the treaty was confirmed, and the circassian leader, instead of occupying his place next day in the army of the khan, detached his troops from the nagäis, and took the road back to his own country. this treachery was a terrible blow to prince khalaf, who, seeing himself now much weakened in numbers, would have withdrawn for the time from the conflict; but there was no possibility of retreat. the carismians advanced furiously to the charge, and taking advantage of the ground which allowed them to extend their lines, they surrounded the nagäis on all sides. the latter, notwithstanding that they had been deserted by their best auxiliaries, did not lose their courage. animated by the example of their prince, they closed their ranks, and for a long time firmly sustained the terrible onset of their enemies. at last, however, resistance became hopeless, and khalaf, seeing all hope at an end, thought of nothing but his escape, which he fortunately succeeded in effecting. the moment the sultan was apprised of his flight, he sent six thousand horsemen to endeavour to capture him, but he eluded their pursuit, by taking roads that were unknown to them; and after a few days' hard riding through unfrequented and unknown tracts, arrived at his father's court, where he spread sorrow and consternation, by the disastrous tidings he brought. if this piece of news deeply afflicted timurtasch, the intelligence he next received drove him to despair. an officer who had escaped from the battle, brought word that the sultan of carisma had put to the sword nearly all the nagäis, and that he was advancing with all possible speed, fully resolved to put the whole family of the khan to death, and to absorb the nation into his own kingdom. the khan then repented of having refused to pay the tribute, but he fully recognized the force of the arab proverb, "when the city is in ruins, what is the use of repentance?" as time pressed, and it was necessary to fly, for fear of falling into the hands of the sultan, the khan, the princess elmaze (diamond), his wife, and khalaf, made a selection of all their most precious treasures, and departed from the capital, astracan, accompanied by several officers of the palace, who refused to abandon them in their need, as well as by such of the troops as had cut their way through the ranks of their enemies with the young prince. they directed their march towards bulgaria; their object being to beg an asylum at the court of some sovereign prince. they had now been several days on their journey, and had gained the caucasus, when a swarm of some four thousand suddenly poured down upon them from that range. although khalaf had scarcely a hundred men with him, he steadily received the furious attack of the robbers, of whom numbers fell; his troops, however, were by degrees overpowered and slaughtered, and he himself remained in the power of the bandits, some of whom fell upon the spoil, whilst others butchered the followers of the khan. they only spared the lives of that prince, his wife, and his son, leaving them, however, almost naked in the midst of the mountains. it is impossible to describe the grief of timurtasch when he saw himself reduced to this extremity. he envied the fate of those whom he had seen slain before his eyes, and giving way to despair, sought to destroy himself. the princess burst into tears, and made the air resound with her lamentations and groans. khalaf alone had strength to support the weight of their misfortunes; he was possessed of an indomitable courage. the bitter lamentations which the khan and his wife uttered were his greatest trouble. "oh, my father! oh, my mother!" said he, "do not succumb to your misfortunes. remember that it is god who wills that you should be thus wretched. let us submit ourselves without a murmur to his absolute decrees. are we the first princes whom the rod of justice has struck? how many rulers before us have been driven from their kingdoms, and after wandering about for years in foreign lands, sharing the lot of the most abject of mortals, have been in the end restored to their thrones! if god has the power to pluck off crowns, has he not also the power to restore them? let us hope that he will commiserate our misery, and that he will in time change into prosperity the deplorable condition in which we now are." [illustration: prince khalaf holding back his father, p. .] with such arguments he endeavoured to console his father and mother, and to some extent succeeded; they experienced a secret consolation, and at last allowed themselves to take comfort. "so be it, my son," said the khan, "let us bow to providence; and since these evils which encompass us are written in the book of fate, let us endure them without repining." at these words the royal party made up their minds to be firm under their misfortunes, and proceeded to continue their journey on foot, the robbers having taken their horses. they wandered on for a long time, living upon the fruits they found in the valleys; but at length they entered upon a desert, where the earth yielded nothing upon which they could subsist, and now their courage deserted them. the khan, far advanced in years, began to feel his strength fail him; and the princess, worn out with the fatigue of the journey she had made, could scarcely hold out any longer. in this predicament, khalaf, although wofully tired himself, had no resource but to carry them by turns on his shoulders. at last all three, overwhelmed by hunger, thirst, and weariness, arrived at a spot abounding with frightful precipices. it was a hill, very steep, and intersected with deep chasms, forming what appeared to be dangerous passes. through these, however, seemed to be the only way by which to enter upon the vast plain which stretched out beyond; for both sides of the hill were so encumbered with brambles and thorns, that it was impossible to force a way through. when the princess perceived the chasms, she uttered a piercing cry, and the khan at length lost his patience. he rushed furiously forward. "i can bear this no longer," said he to his son; "i yield to my hard destiny; i succumb to so much suffering. i will throw myself headlong into one of these deep gulfs, which, doubtless, heaven has reserved for my tomb. i will escape the tyranny of wickedness. i prefer death to such a miserable existence." the khan, yielding himself up to the frenzy which had taken possession of him, was on the point of throwing himself down one of the precipices, when prince khalaf seized him in his arms and held him back. "oh, my father!" said he, "what are you doing? why give way to this transport of fury? is it thus that you show the submission you owe to the decrees of heaven? calm yourself. instead of displaying a rebellious impatience of its will, let us endeavour to deserve by our constancy its compassion and favour. i confess that we are in a deplorable state, and that we can scarcely take a step without danger amidst these abysses; but there may be another road by which we can enter the plain: let me go and see if i can find one. in the mean time, my lord, calm the violence of your transports, and remain near the princess; i will return immediately." "go, then, my son," replied the khan, "we will await you here; do not fear that i will any longer give way to despair." the young prince traversed the whole hill without being able to discover any path. he was oppressed with the deepest grief; he threw himself on the ground, sighed, and implored the help of heaven. he rose up, and again searched for some track that would conduct them to the plain. at length he found one. he followed it, returning thanks to heaven for the discovery, and advanced to the foot of a tree which stood at the entrance of the plain, and which covered with its shade a fountain of pure transparent water. he also perceived other trees laden with fruit of an extraordinary size. delighted with this discovery, he ran to inform his father and mother, who received the news with the greater joy, since they now began to hope that heaven had begun to compassionate their misery. khalaf conducted them to the fountain, where all three bathed their faces and their hands and quenched the burning thirst which consumed them. they then ate of the fruits which the young prince gathered for them, and which, in their state of exhaustion from want of food, appeared to them delicious. "my lord," said khalaf to his father, "you see the injustice of your complaints. you imagined that heaven had forsaken us; i implored its succour, and it has succoured us. it is not deaf to the voice of the unfortunate who put their whole trust in its mercy." they remained near the fountain two or three days to repose and recruit their wasted strength. after that they collected as much of the fruit as they could carry, and advanced into the plain, hoping to find their way to some inhabited place. they were not deceived in their expectations; they soon perceived before them a town which appeared large and splendidly built. they made their way to it, and having arrived at the gates, resolved to remain there and wait for night, not wishing to enter the town during the day, covered with dust and perspiration, and with what little clothing the robbers had left them, travel-worn and rent with brambles. they selected a tree which cast a delicious shade, and stretched themselves upon the grass at its foot. they had reposed there some time, when an old man came out of the town and directed his steps to the same place, to enjoy the cool shade. he sat down near them after making them a profound obeisance. they in turn saluted him, and then inquired what was the name of the town. "it is called jaic," replied the old man. "the king, ileuge-khan, makes it his residence. it is the capital of the country, and derives its name from the river which flows through it. you must be strangers since you ask me that question." "yes," replied the khan, "we come from a country very far from here. we were born in the kingdom of chrisnia, and we dwell upon the banks of the caspian sea; we are merchants. we were travelling with a number of other merchants in captchak; a large band of robbers attacked our caravan and pillaged us; they spared our lives, but have left us in the situation in which you see us. we have traversed mount caucasus, and found our way here without knowing where we were directing our steps." the old man, who had a compassionate heart for the distress of his neighbour, expressed his sympathy for their misfortunes, and, to assure them of his sincerity, offered them shelter in his house. he made the offer with such cordiality, that, even if they had not needed it, they would have felt some difficulty in refusing. as soon as night set in he conducted them to his home. it was a small house, very plainly furnished; but every thing was neat, and wore the appearance rather of simplicity than of poverty. as the old man entered he gave some orders in an undertone to one of his slaves, who returned in a short time followed by two boys, one of whom carried a large bundle of men's and women's clothes ready made, the other was laden with all sorts of veils, turbans, and girdles. prince khalaf and his father each took a caftan of cloth and a brocaded dress with a turban of indian muslin, and the princess a complete suit. after this their host gave the boys the price of the clothes, sent them away, and ordered supper. two slaves brought the table and placed upon it a tray covered with dishes of china, sandal, and aloe-wood, and several cups of coral perfumed with ambergris. they then served up a repast, delicate, yet without profusion. the old man endeavoured to raise the spirits of his guests; but perceiving that his endeavours were vain, "i see clearly," said he, "that the remembrance of your misfortunes is ever present to your minds. you must learn how to console yourselves for the loss of the goods of which the robbers have plundered you. travellers and merchants often experience similar mishaps. i was myself once robbed on the road from moussul to bagdad. i nearly lost my life on that occasion, and i was reduced to the miserable condition in which i found you. if you please i will relate my history; the recital of my misfortunes may encourage you to support yours." saying this, the good old man ordered his slaves to retire, and spoke as follows. the story of prince al abbas. i am the son of the king of moussul, the great ben-ortoc. as soon as i had reached my twentieth year, my father permitted me to make a journey to bagdad; and, to support the rank of a king's son in that great city, he ordered a splendid suite to attend me. he opened his treasures and took out for me four camel-loads of gold; he appointed officers of his own household to wait upon me, and a hundred soldiers of his guard to form my escort. i took my departure from moussul with this numerous retinue in order to travel to bagdad. nothing happened the first few days; but one night, whilst we were quietly reposing in a meadow where we had encamped, we were suddenly attacked so furiously by an overwhelming body of bedouin arabs, that the greater part of my people were massacred almost before i was aware of the danger. after the first confusion i put myself at the head of such of the guards and officers of my father's household as had escaped the first onslaught, and charged the bedouins. such was the vigour of our attack, that more than three hundred fell under our blows. as the day dawned, the robbers, who were still sufficiently numerous to surround us on all sides, seeing our insignificant numbers, and ashamed and irritated by the obstinate resistance of such a handful of men, redoubled their efforts. it was in vain that we fought with the fury of desperation; they overpowered us; and at length we were forced to yield to numbers. they seized our arms and stripped off our clothes, and then, instead of reserving us for slaves, or letting us depart, as people already sufficiently wretched, in the state to which we were reduced, they resolved to revenge the deaths of their comrades; and were cowards and barbarians enough to slaughter the whole of their defenceless prisoners. all my people perished; and the same fate was on the point of being inflicted on me, when making myself known to the robbers, "stay, rash men," i exclaimed, "respect the blood of kings. i am prince al abbas, only son of ben-ortoc, king of moussul, and heir to his throne." "i am glad to learn who thou art," replied the chief of the bedouins. "we have hated thy father mortally these many years; he has hanged several of our comrades who fell into his hands; thou shalt be treated after the same manner." thereupon they bound me; and the villains, after first sharing among them all my baggage, carried me along with them to the foot of a mountain between two forests, where a great number of small grey tents were pitched. here was their well-concealed camping ground. they placed me under the chief's tent, which was both loftier and larger than the rest. here i was kept a whole day, after which they led me forth and bound me to a tree, where, awaiting the lingering death that was to put an end to my existence, i had to endure the mortification of finding myself surrounded by the whole gang, insulted with bitter taunts, and every feeling miserably outraged. i had been tied to the tree for some considerable time, and the last moments of my life appeared fast approaching, when a scout came galloping in to inform the chief of the bedouins that a splendid chance offered itself seven leagues from thence; that a large caravan was to encamp the next evening in a certain spot, which he named. the chief instantly ordered his companions to prepare for the expedition; this was accomplished in a very short time. they all mounted their horses, and left me in their camp, not doubting but at their return they would find me a corpse. but heaven, which renders useless all the resolves of men which do not agree with its eternal decrees, would not suffer me to perish so young. the wife of the robber chief had, it seems, taken pity on me; she managed to creep stealthily, during the night, to the tree where i was bound, and said to me, "young man, i am touched by thy misfortune, and i would willingly release thee from the dangers that surround thee; but, if i were to unbind thee, dost thou think that thou hast strength enough left to escape." i replied, "the same good god who has inspired thee with these charitable feelings will give me strength to walk." the woman loosed my cords, gave me an old caftan of her husband's, and showing me the road, "take that direction," said she, "and thou wilt speedily arrive at an inhabited place." i thanked my kind benefactress, and walked all that night without deviating from the road she had pointed out. the next day, i perceived a man on foot, who was driving before him a horse, laden with two large packages. i joined him, and, after telling him that i was an unfortunate stranger, who did not know the country, and had missed my way, i inquired of him where he was going. "i am going," replied he, "to sell my merchandise at bagdad, and i hope to arrive there in two days." i accompanied this man, and only left him when i entered that great city; he went about his business, and i retired to a mosque, where i remained two days and two nights. i had no desire to go forth into the streets; i was afraid of meeting persons from moussul, who might recognize me. so great was my shame at finding myself in this plight, that far from thinking of making my condition known, i wished to conceal it, even from myself. hunger at length overcame my shame, or rather i was obliged to yield to that necessity which brooks no refusal. i resolved to beg my bread, until some better prospect presented itself. i stood before the lower window of a large house, and solicited alms with a loud voice. an old female slave appeared almost immediately, with a loaf in her hand, which she held out to me. as i advanced to take it, the wind by chance raised the curtain of the window, and allowed me to catch a glimpse of the interior of the chamber; there i saw a young lady of surpassing beauty; her loveliness burst upon my vision like a flash of lightning. i was completely dazzled. i received the bread without thinking what i was about, and stood motionless before the old slave, instead of thanking her, as i ought to have done. i was so surprised, so confused, and so violently enamoured, that doubtless she took me for a madman; she disappeared, leaving me in the street, gazing intently, though fruitlessly, at the window, for the wind did not again raise the curtain. i passed the whole day awaiting a second favourable breeze. not until i perceived night coming on, could i make up my mind to think of retiring; but before quitting the house, i asked an old man, who was passing, if he knew to whom it belonged. "it is," replied he, "the house of mouaffac, the son of adbane; he is a man of rank, and, moreover, a rich man and a man of honour. it is not long since he was the governor of the city, but he quarrelled with the cadi, who found means of ruining him in the estimation of the caliph, and thereby caused him to lose his appointment." with my thoughts fully taken up by this adventure, i slowly wandered out of the city, and entering the great cemetery determined to pass the night there. i ate my bread without appetite, although my long fast ought to have given me a good one, and then lay down near a tomb, with my head resting on a pile of bricks. it was with difficulty that i composed myself to sleep: the daughter of mouaffac had made too deep an impression upon me; the remembrance of her loveliness excited my imagination too vividly, and the little food i had eaten was not enough to cause the usual tendency to a refreshing sleep. at length, however, i dozed off, in spite of the ideas that filled my imagination; but my sleep was not destined to be of long duration; a loud noise within the tomb soon awoke me. alarmed at the disturbance, the cause of which i did not stay to ascertain, i started up, with the intention of flying from the cemetery, when two men, who were standing at the entrance of the tomb, perceiving me, stopped me, and demanded who i was, and what i was doing there. "i am," i replied, "an unfortunate stranger, whom misfortune has reduced to live upon the bounty of the charitable, and i came here to pass the night, as i have no place to go to in the town." "since thou art a beggar," said one of them, "thank heaven that thou hast met with us; we will furnish thee with an excellent supper." so saying, they dragged me into the tomb, where four of their comrades were eating large radishes and dates, and washing them down with copious draughts of raki. they made me sit near them, at a long stone that served as a table, and i was obliged to eat and drink, for politeness' sake. i suspected them to be what they really were, that is to say, thieves, and they soon confirmed my suspicions by their discourse. they began to speak of a considerable theft they had just committed, and thought that it would afford me infinite pleasure to become one of their gang; they made me the offer, which threw me into great perplexity. you may imagine that i had no desire to associate myself with such fellows, but i was fearful of irritating them by a refusal. i was embarrassed, and at a loss for a reply, when a sudden event freed me from my trouble. the lieutenant of the cadi, followed by twenty or thirty _asas_ (archers) well armed, entered the tomb, seized the robbers and me, and took us all off to prison, where we passed the remainder of the night. the following day, the cadi came and interrogated the prisoners. the thieves confessed their crime, as they saw there was no use in denying it; for myself, i related to the judge how i had met with them, and, as they corroborated my statement, i was put on one side. the cadi wished to speak to me in private, before he set me free. accordingly, he presently came over to me, and asked what took me into the cemetery where i was caught, and how i spent my time in bagdad. in fact, he asked me a thousand questions, all of which i answered with great candour, only concealing the royalty of my birth. i recounted to him all that had happened to me, and i even told him of my having stopped before the window of mouaffac's house to beg, and of my having seen, by chance, a young lady who had charmed me. at the name of mouaffac i noticed the eyes of the cadi sparkle, with a curious expression. he remained a few moments immersed in thought; then, assuming a joyous countenance, he said, "young man, it depends only on thyself to possess the lady thou sawest yesterday. it was doubtless mouaffac's daughter; for i have been informed that he has a daughter of exquisite beauty. though thou wert the most abject of beings, i would find means for thee to possess the object of thine ardent wishes. thou hast but to leave it to me, and i will make thy fortune." i thanked him, without being able to penetrate his designs, and then by his orders followed the aga of his black eunuchs, who released me from the prison, and took me to the bath. whilst i was there, the judge sent two of his _tchaous_ (guards) to mouaffac's house, with a message that the cadi wished to speak to him upon business of the greatest importance. mouaffac accompanied the guards back. as soon as the cadi saw him coming he went forward to meet him, saluted him, and kissed him several times. mouaffac was in amazement at this reception. "ho! ho!" said he to himself, "how is this, that the cadi, my greatest enemy, is become so civil to me to-day? there is something at the bottom of all this." "friend mouaffac," said the judge, "heaven will not suffer us to be enemies any longer. it has furnished us with an opportunity of extinguishing that hatred which has separated our families for so many years. the prince of bozrah arrived here last night. he left bozrah without taking leave of his father the king. he has heard of your daughter; and from the description of her beauty which he has received, he has become so enamoured of her, that he is resolved to ask her in marriage. he wishes me to arrange the marriage,--a task which is the more agreeable to me, as it will be the means of reconciling us." "i am astounded," replied mouaffac, "that the prince of bozrah should have condescended to confer upon me the honour of marrying my daughter; and that you of all men should be the chosen means of communicating this happiness to me, as you have always shown yourself so anxious to injure me." "let us not speak of the past, friend mouaffac," returned the cadi; "pray let all recollection of what we have done to annoy each other be obliterated in our happiness at the splendid connexion which is to unite your daughter with the prince of bozrah; let us pass the remainder of our days in good fellowship." mouaffac was naturally as good and confiding as the cadi was crafty and bad: he allowed himself to be deceived by the false expressions of friendship that his enemy displayed. he stifled his hatred in a moment, and received without distrust the perfidious caresses of the cadi. they were in the act of embracing each other, and pledging an inviolable friendship, when i entered the room, conducted by the aga. this officer, on my coming out of the bath, had clothed me with a beautiful dress, which he had ready, and a turban of indian muslin, with a gold fringe that hung down to my ear, and altogether my appearance was such as fully to bear out the statements of the cadi. "great prince," said the cadi as soon as he perceived me, "blessed be your feet, and your arrival in bagdad, since it has pleased you to take up your abode with me. what tongue can express to you the gratitude i feel for so great an honour? here is mouaffac, whom i have informed of the object of your visit to this city. he consents to give you in marriage his daughter, who is as beautiful as a star." mouaffac then made me a profound obeisance, saying, "o son of the mighty, i am overwhelmed with the honour you are willing to confer upon my daughter; she would esteem herself sufficiently honoured in being made a slave to one of the princesses of your harem." judge of the astonishment that this discourse caused me. i knew not what to answer. i saluted mouaffac without speaking; but the cadi, perceiving my embarrassment, and fearing lest i should make some reply which would destroy his plot, instantly took up the conversation. "i venture to submit," said he, "that the sooner the marriage contract is made in presence of the proper witnesses the better." so saying, he ordered his aga to go for the witnesses, and in the mean time drew up the contract himself. when the aga arrived with the witnesses, the contract was read before them. i signed it, then mouaffac, and then the cadi, who attached his signature the last. the judge then dismissed the witnesses, and turning to mouaffac said, "you know that with great people these affairs are not managed as with persons of humble rank. besides, in this case you readily perceive that silence and despatch are necessary. conduct this prince, then, to your house, for he is now your son-in-law; give speedy orders for the consummation of the marriage, and take care that every thing is arranged as becomes his exalted rank." i left the cadi's house with mouaffac. we found two mules richly caparisoned awaiting us at the door; the judge insisted upon our mounting them with great ceremony. mouaffac conducted me to his house; and when we were in the court-yard dismounted first, and with a respectful air presented himself to hold my stirrup,--a ceremony to which of course i was obliged to submit. he then took me by the hand and conducted me to his daughter, with whom he left me alone, after informing her of what had passed at the cadi's. zemroude, persuaded that her father had espoused her to a prince of bozrah, received me as a husband who would one day place her upon the throne,--and i, the happiest of men, passed the day at her feet, striving by tender and conciliating manners to inspire her with love for me. i soon perceived that my pains were not bestowed in vain, and that my youth and ardent affection produced a favourable impression upon her. with what rapture did this discovery fill me! i redoubled my efforts, and i had the gratification of remarking that each moment i made advances in her esteem. in the mean time mouaffac had prepared a splendid repast to celebrate his daughter's nuptials, at which several members of his family were present. the bride appeared there more brilliant and more beautiful than the houris. the sentiments with which i had already inspired her, seemed to add new lustre to her beauty. the next morning i heard a knock at my chamber-door; i got up and opened it. there stood the black aga of the cadi carrying a large bundle of clothes. i thought that perhaps the cadi had sent robes of honour to my wife and myself, but i was deceived. "sir adventurer," said the negro in a bantering tone, "the cadi sends his salutations, and begs you to return the dress he lent you yesterday to play the part of the prince of bozrah in. i have brought you back your own old garment, and the rest of the tatters, which are more suited to your station than the other." i was astounded at the application; my eyes were opened, and i saw through the whole malicious scheme of the cadi. however, making a virtue of necessity, i gravely restored to the aga the robe and turban of his master, and retook my own old caftan, which was a mass of rags. zemroude had heard part of the conversation; and seeing me covered with rags, "o heavens!" she exclaimed, "what is the meaning of this change, and what has that man been saying to you?" "my princess," i replied, "the cadi is a great rascal, but he is the dupe of his own malice. he thinks he has given you a beggar for a husband, a man born in the lowest grade, but you are, indeed, the wife of a prince, and my rank is in no way inferior to that of the husband, whose hand you fancy you have received. i am to the full the equal of the prince of bozrah, for i am the only son of the king of moussul, and am heir to the kingdom of the great ben-ortoc; my name is al abbas." i then related my history to her, without suppressing the least circumstance. when i had finished the recital, "my prince," said she, "even were you not the son of a great king, i should love you none the less; and, believe me, that if i am overjoyed to learn the circumstance of your exalted birth, it is but out of regard to my father, who is more dazzled by the honours of the world than i; my only ambition is to possess a husband who will love me alone, and not grieve me by giving me rivals." i did not fail to protest that i would love her, and her alone, all my life, with which assurance she appeared delighted. she then summoned one of her women, and ordered her to proceed with all speed and secrecy to a merchant's, and buy a dress, ready made, of the richest materials that could be procured. the slave who was charged with this commission acquitted herself in the most satisfactory manner. she returned speedily, bringing a magnificent dress and robe, and a turban of indian muslin as handsome, even handsomer, than what i had worn the previous day, so that i found myself even more gorgeously dressed than on the occasion of my first interview with my father-in-law. "well, my lord," said zemroude, "do you think the cadi has much reason to be satisfied with his work? he thought to heap reproaches on my family, and he has bestowed upon it an imperishable honour. he thinks that we are now overwhelmed with shame. what will be his grief when he knows that he has conferred such a benefit upon his enemy? but before he is made aware of your birth, we must invent some means of punishing him for his wicked designs against us. i will take that task upon me. there is in this city a dyer, who has a daughter most frightfully ugly. i will not tell you further," she continued, checking herself. "i will not deprive you of the pleasure of the surprise. i shall only let you know that i have conceived a project which will drive the cadi nearly mad, and make him the laughingstock of the court and the city." she then dressed herself in plain clothes, and covering her face with a thick veil, asked my permission to go out, which i granted her. she went alone, repaired to the cadi's house, and placed herself in one corner of the hall, where the judge gave audience. he no sooner cast his eyes upon her, than he was struck with her majestic figure; he sent an officer to ask who she was, and what she desired. she answered that she was the daughter of an artisan in the town, and that she wished to speak to the cadi on important private business. the officer having borne her answer to the cadi, the judge made a sign to zemroude to approach, and enter his private apartment, which was on one side of the court; she complied, making a low obeisance. when she entered the cadi's private apartment, she took her seat upon the sofa, and raised her veil. the cadi had followed her, and as he seated himself near her, was astonished at her beauty. "well! my dear child," said he, patronizingly, "of what service can i be to you?" "my lord," she replied, "you, who have the power to make the laws obeyed, who dispense justice to rich and poor alike, listen, i pray you, to my complaint, and pity the unfortunate situation in which i am placed." "explain yourself," replied the judge, already moved, "and i swear by my head and my eyes that i will do every thing that is possible, ay, and impossible, to serve you." "know then, my lord," replied zemroude, "that, notwithstanding the attractions which heaven has bestowed upon me, i live in solitude and obscurity in a house, forbidden not only to men, but even to women, so that even the conversation of my own sex is denied me. not that advantageous proposals were at one time wanting for my hand; i should have been married long ago, if my father had not had the cruelty to refuse me to all who have asked me in marriage. to one he says, i am as withered as a dead tree; to another, that i am bloated with unnatural fat; to this one, that i am lame, and have lost the use of my hands; to that one, that i have lost my senses, that i have a cancer on my back, that i am dropsical; in fact, he wishes to make me out a creature not worthy the society of human beings, and has so decried me, that he has at length succeeded in making me the reproach of the human race; nobody inquires about me now, and i am condemned to perpetual celibacy." when she ceased speaking she pretended to weep, and played her part so well that the judge allowed himself to be deceived. "what can be the reason, my angel," said he, "that your father prevents your marrying? what can his motive be?" "i know not, my lord," replied zemroude; "i cannot conceive what his intentions can be; but i confess my patience is exhausted. i can no longer live in this state. i have found means to leave home, and i have escaped to throw myself into your arms, and to implore your help; take pity on me, i implore you, and interpose your authority, that justice may be done to me, otherwise i will not answer for my life." "no, no," replied he, "you shall not die, neither shall you waste your youth in tears and sighs. it only remains with yourself to quit the darkness in which your perfections are buried, and to become this very day the wife of the cadi of bagdad. yes, lovely creature, more fair than the houris, i am ready to marry you, if you will consent." "my lord," replied the lady, "even were not your station one of the most dignified and honourable in the city, i could have no objection to give you my hand, for you appear to be one of the most amiable of men; but i fear that you will not be able to obtain the consent of my father, notwithstanding the honour of the alliance." "don't trouble yourself upon that point," replied the judge, "i will pledge myself as to the issue; only tell me in what street your father lives, what his name is, and what his profession." "his name is ousta omar," replied zemroude; "he is a dyer, he lives upon the eastern quay of the tigris, and in front of his door is a palm-tree laden with dates." "that is enough," said the cadi; "you can return home now; you shall soon hear from me, depend upon my word." the lady, after bestowing a gracious smile upon him, covered her face again with her veil, left the private chamber, and returned to me. "we shall be revenged," she said, laughing gaily; "our enemy, who thought to make us the sport of the people, will himself become so." the judge had scarcely lost sight of zemroude, ere he sent an officer to ousta omar, who was at home. "you are to come to the cadi," said the man, "he desires to speak with you, and he commanded me to bring you before him." the dyer grew pale at these words, he thought that some one had lodged a complaint against him before the judge, and that it was on that account the officer had come to fetch him. he rose, however, and followed in silence, but in great uneasiness. as soon as he appeared before the cadi, the judge ordered him into the same chamber where he had had the interview with zemroude, and made him sit upon the same sofa. the artisan was so astonished at the honour paid him, that he changed colour several times. "master omar," said the cadi, "i am glad to see you; i have heard you spoken very well of this long time past. i am informed that you are a man of good character, that you regularly say your prayers five times a day, and that you never fail to attend the great mosque on friday; besides, i know that you never eat pork, and never drink wine nor date-spirits; in fact, that whilst you are at work one of your apprentices reads the koran." "that is true," replied the dyer; "i know above four thousand _hadits_ (sayings of mahomet), and i am making preparations for a pilgrimage to mecca." "i assure you," replied the cadi, "that all this gives me the greatest pleasure, for i passionately love all good mussulmen. i am also informed that you keep concealed at home a daughter of an age to marry; is that true?" "great judge," answered ousta omar, "whose palace serves as a haven and refuge for the unfortunate who are tossed about by the storms of the world, they have told you true. i have a daughter who is old enough, in all conscience, to be married, for she is more than thirty years old; but the poor creature is not fit to be presented to a man, much less to so great a man as the cadi of bagdad; she is ugly, or rather frightful, lame, covered with blotches, an idiot; in a word, she is a monster whom i cannot take too much pains to hide from the world." "indeed," said the cadi, "that is what i expected, master omar. i was certain that you would thus praise your daughter; but know, my friend, that this blotchy, idiotic, lame, frightful person, in short, this monster, with all her defects, is loved to distraction by a man who desires her for his wife, and that man is myself." at this speech the dyer seemed to doubt whether he were awake; he pinched himself, rubbed his eyes, and then looking the cadi full in the face, said, "if my lord, the cadi, wishes to be merry, he is master; he may make a jest of my child as much as he pleases." "no, no," replied the cadi, "i am not joking, i am in love with your daughter, and i ask her in marriage." the artisan at these words burst into a fit of laughter. "by the prophet," cried he, "somebody wants to give you something to take care of. i give you fair warning, my lord, that my daughter has lost the use of her hands, is lame, dropsical." "i know all about that," replied the judge, "i recognize her by her portrait. i have a peculiar liking for that sort of girls, they are my taste." "i tell you," insisted the dyer, "she is not a fit match for you. her name is cayfacattaddhari (the monster of the age), and i must confess that her name is well chosen." "come, come!" replied the cadi, in an impatient and imperious tone, "this is enough, i am sick of all these objections. master omar, i ask you to give me this cayfacattaddhari just as she is, so not another word." the dyer, seeing him determined to espouse his daughter, and more than ever persuaded that some person had made him fall in love with her upon false representations for fun, said to himself, "i must ask him a heavy _scherbeha_ (dowry): the amount may disgust him, and he will think no more of her." "my lord," said he, "i am prepared to obey you; but i will not part with cayfacattaddhari unless you give me a dowry of a thousand golden sequins beforehand." "that is rather a large sum," said the cadi, "still i will pay it you." he immediately ordered a large bagful of sequins to be brought, a thousand were counted out, which the dyer took after weighing them, and the judge then ordered the marriage contract to be drawn out. when, moreover, it was ready for signature, the artisan protested that he would not sign it except in the presence of a hundred lawyers at least. "you are very distrustful," said the cadi; "but never mind, i will satisfy your wishes, for i don't intend to let your daughter slip through my fingers." he thereupon sent immediately for all the neighbouring doctors, alfayins, mollahs, persons connected with the mosques and courts of law, of whom far more crowded in than the dyer required. when all the witnesses had arrived at the cadi's, ousta omar spoke thus, "my lord cadi, i give you my daughter in marriage, since you absolutely require me to do so; but i declare before all these gentlemen that it is on condition, that if you are not satisfied with her when you see her, and you wish afterwards to repudiate her, you will give her a thousand gold sequins, such as i have received from you." "well! so be it," replied the cadi, "i promise it before all this assembly. art thou content?" the dyer replied in the affirmative, and departed, saying that he would send the bride. he had scarcely left the house before the enamoured judge gave orders to have an apartment furnished in the most splendid manner to receive his new bride. velvet carpets were laid down, new draperies hung up, and sofas of silver brocade placed round the walls, whilst several braziers perfumed the chamber with delicious scents. all was at length in readiness, and the cadi impatiently awaited the arrival of cayfacattaddhari. the fair bride, however, not making her appearance so speedily as his eagerness expected, he called his faithful aga, and said, "the lovely object of my affections ought to be here by this time, i think. what can detain her so long at her father's? how slow the moments appear which retard my happiness!" at length his impatience could brook no longer delay, and he was on the point of sending the aga to ousta omar's, when a porter arrived carrying a deal case covered with green taffeta. "what hast thou got there, my friend," inquired the judge. "my lord," replied the porter, placing the box on the ground, "it is your bride; you have only to take off the covering and you will see what she is like." the cadi removed the cloth and saw a girl three feet and a half high: she had a lank visage covered with blotches, eyes sunk deep in their sockets and as red as fire, not the least vestige of a nose, but above her mouth two horrid wide nostrils like those of a crocodile. he could not look at this object without horror; he hastily replaced the cover, and, turning to the porter, cried, "what am i to do with this miserable creature?" "my lord," replied the porter, "it is the daughter of master omar, the dyer, who told me you had married her from choice." "merciful heavens!" exclaimed the cadi, "is it possible to marry such a monster as that?" at that moment the dyer, who had foreseen the surprise of the judge, arrived. "wretch," said the cadi, "what dost thou take me for? thou certainly hast an amazing amount of impudence to dare to play me such a trick as this. dost thou dare thus to treat me who have it in my power to revenge myself on my enemies; me who, when i please, can put the like of thee in fetters? dread my wrath, wretch! instead of the hideous monster which thou hast sent me, give me instantly thy other daughter, whose beauty is unparalleled, or thou shalt experience what an angry cadi can do!" "my lord," replied omar, "spare your threats, i beg, and don't be angry with me. i swear by the creator of the light that i have no other daughter but this. i told you a thousand times that she would not suit you; you would not believe--whose fault is it?" the cadi at these words felt his soul sink within him, and said to the dyer, "master omar, a damsel of the most exquisite loveliness came here this morning and told me that you were her father, and that you represented her to the world as a perfect monster, indeed so much so, that no one would ask her in marriage." "my lord," returned the dyer, "that girl must have been playing you a trick; you must have some enemy." the cadi bent his head on his bosom, and remained some time in deep thought. "it is a misfortune that was destined to befal me; let us say no more about it; have your daughter taken back home; keep the thousand sequins you have got, but don't ask for any more, if you wish us to be friends." although the judge had sworn before witnesses that he would give a thousand sequins more if omar's daughter did not please him, the artisan did not dare to endeavour to compel him to keep his word, for he knew him to be a most vindictive man, and one who would easily find an opportunity of revenging himself upon any one he disliked, and was, of course, afraid to offend him. he thought it better to be content with what he had received. "my lord," said he, "i will obey you, and relieve you of my daughter, but you must, if you please, divorce her first." "oh! true," said the cadi; "i have not the least objection; be assured that shall soon be done." accordingly, he instantly sent for his naib, and the divorce was made out in due form, after which master omar took leave of the judge, and ordered the porter to bear the wretched cayfacattaddhari back home. this adventure was speedily noised all over the city. every body laughed at it, and warmly applauded the trick which had been played upon the cadi, who could not escape the ridicule in which the whole city indulged at his expense. we carried our revenge still further. by mouaffac's advice, i presented myself before the prince of the faithful, to whom i told my name and related my story. i did not suppress, as you may imagine, the circumstances which put the malice of the cadi in so strong a light. the caliph, after listening to me with the greatest attention, received me very graciously. "prince," said he, "why did you not come at once to me? doubtless you were ashamed of your condition, but you might, without a blush, have presented yourself before my face, even in your wretched state. does it depend upon men themselves to be happy or unhappy? is it not allah that spins the thread of our destiny? ought you to have feared an ungracious reception? no! you know that i love and esteem king ben-ortoc, your father; my court was a safe asylum for you." the caliph embraced me, and conferred on me a _gulute_ (robe of honour) and a beautiful diamond which he wore on his finger. he regaled me with excellent sherbet, and when i returned to my father-in-law's house, i found six large bales of persian brocade, gold and silver, two pieces of damask, and a beautiful persian horse richly caparisoned. in addition, he reinstated mouaffac in the government of bagdad; and as to the cadi, by way of punishment for his malicious attempt to deceive zemroude and her father, he deposed him, and condemned him to perpetual imprisonment, and, to crown his misery, ordered him as a companion in his confinement the daughter of ousta omar. a few days after my marriage, i sent a courier to moussul, to inform my father of all that had happened to me since my departure from his court, and to assure him that i would return shortly, with the lady whom i had married. i waited most impatiently for the return of the courier; but, alas! he brought me back news which deeply afflicted me. he informed me that ben-ortoc having heard that four thousand bedouin arabs had attacked me, and that my escort had been cut to pieces, persuaded that i no longer lived, took my supposed death so much to heart that he died; that prince amadeddin zingui, my cousin-german, occupied the throne; that he reigned with equity; and that, nevertheless, although he was generally beloved, the people no sooner learned that i was still alive, than they gave themselves up to the greatest joy. prince amadeddin himself, in a letter which the courier placed in my hands, assured me of his fidelity, and expressed his impatience for my return, in order that he might restore the crown to me, and become the first subject in my dominions. this news decided me to hasten my return to moussul. i took my leave of the prince of the faithful, who ordered a detachment of three thousand cavalry of his own guard to escort me to my kingdom, and, after embracing mouaffac and his wife, i departed from bagdad with my beloved zemroude, who would almost have died of grief at the separation from her parents, if her love for me had not somewhat moderated the violence of her sorrow. about halfway between bagdad and moussul, the vanguard of my escort discovered a body of troops marching towards us. concluding at once that it was a body of bedouin arabs, i immediately drew up my men, and was fully prepared for the attack, when my scouts brought me word, that those whom we had taken for robbers and enemies were, in fact, troops from moussul, who had set out to meet me, with amadeddin at their head. this prince, on his part, having learned who we were, left his little army to meet me, accompanied by the principal nobles of moussul. when he reached the spot where i was awaiting him, he addressed me in the same tone in which his letter had been couched, submissively and respectfully, whilst all the nobles who accompanied him assured me of their zeal and fidelity. i thought it my duty to show my entire confidence in them, by dismissing the soldiers of the caliph's guard. i had no reason to repent of this step; far from being capable of forming any treacherous design, prince amadeddin did all in his power to give me proofs of his attachment. when we came to moussul, our safe and auspicious arrival was celebrated by gifts to the mosques, abundant alms to the poor, fêtes, and an illumination of the palace gardens with lamps of a thousand different colours. the people in general testified the delight they felt at my return by acclamations, and for a space of three days gave themselves up entirely to great rejoicings. the booths of the itinerant merchants, and the bazaars, were hung within and without with draperies, and at night they were lit up by lamps, which formed the letters of a verse of the koran, so that every shop having its particular verse, this holy book was to be read entire in the city; and it appeared as though the angel gabriel had brought it a second time in letters of light to our great prophet. in addition to this pious illumination, before each shop were placed large dishes, plates of pillau, of all sorts of colours, in the form of pyramids, and huge bowls of sherbet and pomegranate juice, for the passers-by to eat and drink at pleasure. in all the cross streets were to be seen dancers, displaying their graceful evolutions to the sounds of drums, lutes, and tambourines. the different trades formed a procession, consisting of cars decorated with tinsel and many-coloured flags, and with the tools used in their trades; and after traversing the principal streets, defiled to the music of pipes, cymbals, and trumpets, before my balcony, where zemroude was sitting by my side, and after saluting us, shouted at the top of their voices, "blessing and health to thee, apostle of god, god give the king victory." it was not enough for me to share these honours with the daughter of mouaffac, my study was to find out every thing that would afford her any pleasure. i caused her apartments to be adorned with every thing most rare and pleasing to the sight. her suite was composed of twenty-five young circassian ladies, slaves in my father's harem; some sang and played the lute exquisitely, others excelled on the harp, and the rest danced with the greatest grace and lightness. i also gave her a black aga, with twelve eunuchs, who all possessed some talent which might contribute to her amusement. i reigned over faithful and devoted subjects; every day i loved zemroude more and more, and she as ardently reciprocated my attachment. my days passed thus in perfect happiness, till one day a young dervise appeared at my court. he introduced himself to the principal nobles, and gained their friendship by his pleasing and agreeable manners, as well as by his wit and his happy and brilliant repartees. he accompanied them to the chase, he entered into all their gaieties, and was a constant guest at their parties of pleasure. every day some of my courtiers spoke to me of him as a man of charming manners, so that at last they excited in me a desire to see and converse with the agreeable stranger. far from finding his portrait overdrawn, he appeared to me even more accomplished than they had represented him. his conversation charmed me, and i was disabused of an error into which many persons of quality fall, namely, that men of wit and high sentiment are only to be met with at court. i experienced so much pleasure in the company of the dervise, and he seemed so well suited to manage affairs of the greatest importance, that i wished to appoint him my minister, but he thanked me, and told me he had made a vow never to accept any employment, that he preferred a free and independent life, that he despised honours and riches, and was content with what god, who cares for the lowest animals, should provide for him; in a word, he was content with his condition. i admired a man so much raised above worldly considerations, and conceived the greatest esteem for him; i received him with pleasure each time he presented himself at court; if he was among the crowd of courtiers my eyes sought him out, and to him i most frequently addressed myself; i insensibly became so attached to him, that i made him my exclusive favourite. one day during a hunt, i had strayed from the main body of my followers, and the dervise was alone with me. he began by relating his travels, for although young he had travelled extensively. he spoke of several curious things he had seen in india, and, amongst others, of an old bramin whom he knew. "this great man," said he, "knew an infinity of secrets, each more extraordinary than the former. nature had no mystery but what he could fathom. he died in my arms," said the dervise, "but as he loved me, before he expired he said, 'my son, i wish to teach you a secret by which you may remember me, but it is on condition that you reveal it to no one.' i promised to keep it inviolate, and on the faith of my promise he taught me the secret." "indeed!" said i, "what is the nature of the secret? is it the secret of making gold?" "no, sire," replied he, "it is a greater and much more precious secret than that. it is the power of reanimating a dead body. not that i can restore the same soul to the body it has left, heaven alone can perform that miracle; but i can cause my soul to enter into a body deprived of life, and i will prove it to your highness whenever you shall please." "most willingly!" said i, "now, if you please." at that moment there passed by us most opportunely a doe; i let fly an arrow, which struck her, and she fell dead. "now let me see," said i, "if you can reanimate this creature." "sire," replied the dervise, "your curiosity shall soon be gratified; watch well what i am about to do." he had scarcely uttered these words, when i beheld with amazement his body fall suddenly without animation, and at the same moment i saw the doe rise with great nimbleness. i will leave you to judge of my surprise. although there was no room left to doubt what i beheld, i could hardly believe the evidence of my senses. the creature, however, came to me, fondled me, and after making several bounds, fell dead again, and immediately the body of the dervise, which lay stretched at my feet, became reanimated. i was delighted at so wonderful a secret, and entreated the dervise to impart it to me. [illustration: the dervise and the prince, p. .] "sire," said he, "i deeply regret that i cannot comply with your desire; for i promised the dying bramin not to disclose it to any one, and i am a slave to my word." the more the dervise excused himself from satisfying my wishes, the more did i feel my curiosity excited. "in the name of allah," said i, "do not refuse to comply with my entreaties. i promise thee never to divulge the secret, and i swear by him who created us both never to employ it to a bad purpose." the dervise considered a moment, then turning to me said, "i cannot resist the wishes of a king whom i love more than my life; i will yield to your desire. it is true," added he, "that i only gave a simple promise to the bramin. i did not bind myself by an inviolable oath. i will impart my secret to your highness. it consists only in remembering two words; it is sufficient to repeat them mentally to be able to reanimate a dead body." he then taught me the two magic words. i no sooner knew them, than i burned to test their power. i pronounced them, with the intention to make my soul pass into the body of the doe, and in a moment i found myself metamorphosed into the animal. but the delight i experienced at the success of the trial was soon converted into consternation; for no sooner had my spirit entered into the body of the doe, than the dervise caused his to pass into mine, and then suddenly drawing my bow, the traitor was on the point of shooting me with one of my own arrows, when, perceiving his intention, i took to flight, and by my speed just escaped the fatal shaft. nevertheless, he let fly the arrow at me with so true an aim, that it just grazed my shoulder. i now beheld myself reduced to live with the beasts of the forests and mountains. happier for me would it have been if i had resembled them more perfectly, and if in losing my human form, i had at the same time lost my power of reason. i should not then have been the prey to a thousand miserable reflections. whilst i was deploring my misery in the forests, the dervise was occupying the throne of moussul; and fearing that, as i possessed the secret as well as himself, i might find means to introduce myself into the palace, and take my revenge upon him, on the very day he usurped my place he ordered all the deer in the kingdom to be destroyed, wishing, as he said, to exterminate the whole species, which he mortally hated. nay, so eager was he for my destruction, that the moment he returned from the hunting expedition, he again set out at the head of a large body of followers, intent upon the indiscriminate slaughter of all the deer they might meet. the people of moussul, animated by the hope of gain, spread themselves all over the country with their bows and arrows; they scoured the forests, over-ran the mountains, and shot every stag and deer they met with. happily, by this time i had nothing to fear from them; for, having seen a dead nightingale lying at the foot of a tree, i reanimated it, and under my new shape flew towards the palace of my enemy, and concealed myself among the thick foliage of a tree in the garden. this tree was not far from the apartments of the queen. there, thinking upon my misfortune, i poured forth in tender strains the melancholy that consumed me. it was one morning, as the sun rose, and already several birds, delighted to see its returning beams, expressed their joy by their minstrelsy. for my part, taken up with my griefs, i paid no attention to the brightness of the newborn day; but with my eyes sadly turned towards zemroude's apartment, i poured forth so plaintive a song, that i attracted the attention of the princess, who came to the window. i continued my mournful notes in her presence, and i tried all the means in my power to render them more and more touching, as though i could make her comprehend the subject of my grief. but, alas! although she took pleasure in listening to me, i had the mortification to see, that instead of being moved by my piteous accents, she only laughed with one of her slaves, who had come to the window to listen to me. i did not leave the garden that day, nor for several following, and i took care to sing every morning at the same spot. zemroude did not fail to come to the window; and at length, by the blessing of providence, took a fancy to have me. one morning she said to her female attendants, "i wish that nightingale to be caught; let birdcatchers be sent for. i love that bird; i doat upon it; let them try every means to catch it, and bring it to me." the queen's orders were obeyed; expert birdcatchers were found, who laid traps for me, and, as i had no desire to escape, because i saw that their only object in depriving me of my liberty was to make me a slave to my princess, i allowed myself to be taken. the moment i was brought to her she took me in her hand, with every symptom of delight. "my darling," said she, caressing me, "my charming bul-bul, i will be thy rose; i already feel the greatest tenderness for thee." at these words she kissed me. i raised my beak softly to her lips. "ah! the little rogue," cried she laughing, "he appears to know what i say." at last, after fondling me, she placed me in a gold filigree cage, which an eunuch had been sent into the city to buy for me. every day as soon as she woke i began my song; and whenever she came to my cage to caress me or feed me, far from appearing wild, i spread out my wings, and stretched my beak towards her, to express my joy. she was surprised to see me so tame in so short a time. sometimes she would take me out of the cage, and allow me to fly about her chamber. i always went to her to receive her caresses, and to lavish mine upon her; and if any of her slaves wished to take hold of me, i pecked at them with all my might. by these little insinuating ways i endeared myself so much to zemroude, that she often said if by any mishap i were to die, she should be inconsolable, so strong was her attachment to me. zemroude also had a little dog in her chamber, of which she was very fond. one day, when the dog and i were alone, it died. its death suggested to me the idea of making a third experiment of the secret. "i will pass into the body of the dog," thought i, "for i wish to see what effect the death of her nightingale will produce upon the princess." i cannot tell what suggested the fancy, for i did not foresee what this new metamorphosis would lead to; but the thought appeared to me a suggestion of heaven, and i followed it at all risks. when zemroude returned to the room, her first care was to come to my cage. as soon as she perceived that the nightingale was dead, she uttered a shriek that brought all her slaves about her. "what ails you, madam?" said they in terrified accents. "has any misfortune happened to you?" "i am in despair," replied the princess, weeping bitterly; "my nightingale is dead. my dear bird, my little husband, why art thou taken from, me so soon? i shall no more hear your sweet notes! i shall never see you again! what have i done to deserve such punishment from heaven?" all the efforts of her women to console her were in vain. the dervise had just returned from his murderous expedition, and one of them ran to acquaint him with the state in which they had found the queen. he quickly came and told her that the death of a bird ought not to cause her so much grief; that the loss was not irreparable; that if she was so fond of nightingales, and wanted another, it was easy to get one. but all his reasoning was to no purpose, he could make no impression upon her. "cease your endeavours," she exclaimed, "to combat my grief, you will never overcome it. i know it is a great weakness to mourn so for a bird, i am as fully persuaded of it as you can be, still i cannot bear up against the force of the blow that has overwhelmed me. i loved the little creature; he appeared sensible of the caresses i bestowed on him, and he returned them in a way that delighted me. if my women approached him, he exhibited ferocity, or rather disdain; whereas he always came eagerly on to my hand when i held it out to him. it appeared as though he felt affection for me, he looked at me in so tender and languishing a manner, that it almost seemed as though he was mortified that he had not the power of speech to express his feelings towards me. i could read it in his eyes. ah! i shall never think of him without despair." as she finished speaking her tears gushed out afresh, and she seemed as if nothing could ever console her. i drew a favourable omen from the violence of her grief. i had laid myself down in a corner of the room, where i heard all that was said and observed all that passed without their noticing me. i had a presentiment that the dervise, in order to console the queen, would avail himself of the secret, and i was not disappointed. finding the queen inaccessible to reason, and being deeply enamoured of her, he was moved by her tears, and instead of persevering in fruitless arguments, he ordered the queen's slaves to quit the room and leave him alone with her. "madam," said he, thinking that no one overheard him, "since the death of your nightingale causes you so much sorrow, he must be brought to life. do not grieve, you shall see him alive again; i pledge myself to restore him to you; to-morrow morning, when you wake, you shall hear him sing again, and you shall have the satisfaction of caressing him." "i understand you, my lord," said zemroude; "you look upon me as crazed, and think that you must humour my sorrow; you would persuade me that i shall see my nightingale alive to-morrow; to-morrow you will postpone your miracle till the following day, and so on from one day to another; by this means you reckon on making me gradually forget my bird; or, perhaps," pursued she, "you intend to get another put in his place to deceive me." "no, my queen," replied the dervise, "no; it is that very bird which you see stretched out in his cage without life; this very nightingale, the enviable object of such poignant grief; it is that very bird himself that shall sing. i will give him new life, and you can again lavish your caresses upon him. he will better appreciate that delight, and you shall behold him still more anxious to please you, for it will be i myself who will be the object of your endearments; every morning i will myself be his fresh life in order to divert you. i can perform this miracle," continued he; "it is a secret i possess; if you have any doubts upon it, or if you are impatient to behold your favourite reanimated, i will cause him to revive now immediately." as the princess did not reply, he imagined from her silence that she was not fully persuaded he could accomplish what he professed; he seated himself on the sofa, and by virtue of the two cabalistic words left his body, or rather mine, and entered into that of the nightingale. the bird began to sing in its cage to the great amazement of zemroude. but his song was not destined to continue long; for no sooner did he begin to warble than i quitted the body of the dog and hastened to retake my own. at the same time running to the cage, i dragged the bird out and wrung his neck. "what have you done, my lord?" cried the princess. "why have you treated my nightingale thus? if you did not wish him to live, why did you restore him to life?" "i thank heaven!" cried i, without paying any regard to what she said, so much were my thoughts taken up with the feeling of vengeance which possessed me at the treacherous conduct of the dervise, "i am satisfied. i have at length avenged myself on the villain whose execrable treason deserved a still greater punishment." if zemroude was surprised to see her nightingale restored to life, she was not the less so to hear me utter these words with such fierce emotion. "my lord," said she, "whence this violent transport which agitates you, and what do those words mean which you have just spoken?" i related to her all that had happened to me, and she could not doubt that i was truly al abbas, because she had heard that the body of the dervise had been found in the forest, and she was also of course well acquainted with the order which he had given for destroying all the deer. but my poor princess could not recover the shock her sensitive love had sustained. a few days after she fell ill, and died in my arms, literally frightened to death by the imminence of the danger from which she had just been so happily rescued. after i had bewailed her, and erected a splendid tomb to her memory, i summoned the prince amadeddin. "my cousin," said i, "i have no children, i resign the crown of moussul in your favour. i give the kingdom up into your hands. i renounce the regal dignity, and wish to pass the rest of my days in repose and privacy." amadeddin, who really loved me, spared no arguments to deter me from taking the step i proposed, but i assured him that nothing could shake my resolution. "prince," said i, "my determination is fixed, i resign my rank to you. fill the throne of al abbas, and may you be more happy than he. reign over a people who know your merit, and have already experienced the blessings of your rule. disgusted with pomp, i shall retire to distant climes, and live in privacy; there freed from the cares of state, i shall mourn over the memory of zemroude, and recall the happy days we passed together." i left amadeddin upon the throne of moussul, and, accompanied only by a few slaves, and carrying an ample supply of riches and jewels, took the road to bagdad, where i arrived safely. i immediately repaired to mouaffac's house. his wife and he were not a little surprised to see me, and they were deeply affected when i informed them of the death of their daughter, whom they had tenderly loved. the recital unlocked the fountains of my own grief, and i mingled my tears with theirs. i did not stay long in bagdad, i joined a caravan of pilgrims going to mecca, and after paying my devotions, found, by chance, another company of pilgrims from tartary, whom i accompanied to their native country. we arrived in this city; i found the place agreeable, and took up my abode here, where i have resided for nearly forty years. i am thought to be a stranger who was formerly concerned in trade, and whose time is now passed in study and contemplation. i lead a retired life, and rarely see strangers. zemroude is ever present to my thoughts, and my only consolation consists in dwelling fondly upon her memory and her virtues. continuation of the story of prince khalaf and the princess of china. al abbas, having finished the recital of his adventures, thus addressed his guests: "such is my history. you perceive by my misfortunes and your own, that human life is but as a reed, ever liable to be bent to the earth by the bleak blasts of misfortune. i will, however, confess to you that i have led a happy and quiet life ever since i have been in jaic; and that i by no means repent having abdicated the throne of moussul; for in the obscurity in which i now live, i have discovered peaceful and tranquil joys which i never experienced before." timurtasch, elmaze, and khalaf bestowed a thousand flattering encomiums upon the son of ben-ortoc; the khan admired the resolution which had caused him to deprive himself of his kingdom, in order to live in privacy in a country of strangers, where the station which he had filled in the world was unknown. elmaze praised the fidelity he displayed towards zemroude, and the grief he experienced at her death. and khalaf remarked, "my lord, it were to be wished that all men could display the same constancy in adversity which you have done, under your misfortunes." they continued their conversation till it was time to retire. al abbas then summoned his slaves, who brought wax-lights in candlesticks made of aloe-wood, and conducted the khan, the princess, and her son to a suite of apartments, where the same simplicity reigned that characterized the rest of the house. elmaze and timurtasch retired to sleep in a chamber appropriated to themselves, and khalaf to another. the following morning their host entered the chamber of his guests as soon as they were up, and said, "you are not the only unfortunate persons in the world; i have just been informed that an ambassador from the sultan of carisma arrived in the city last evening; that his master has sent him to ileuge-khan, to beg of him not only to refuse an asylum to the khan of the nagäis, his enemy, but if the khan should endeavour to pass through his dominions, to arrest him. indeed, it is reported," pursued al abbas, "that the unfortunate khan, for fear of falling into the hands of the sultan of carisma, has left his capital and fled with his family." at this news, timurtasch and khalaf changed colour, and the princess fainted. the swoon of elmaze, as well as the evident trouble of the father and son, instantly caused al abbas to suspect that his guests were not merchants. "i see," said he, as soon as the princess had recovered her senses, "that you take a deep interest in the misfortunes of the khan of the nagäis; indeed, if i may be permitted to tell you what i think, i believe you are yourselves the objects of the sultan of carisma's hatred." "yes, my lord," replied timurtasch, "we are, indeed, the victims for whose immolation he is thirsty. i am the khan of the nagäis, you behold my wife and my son; we should, indeed, be ungrateful, if we did not discover our position to you, after your generous reception, and the confidence you have reposed in us. i am encouraged even to hope, that by your counsels you will aid us to escape from the danger which threatens us." "your situation is most critical," replied the aged king of moussul; "i know ileuge-khan well, and, as he fears the sultan of carisma, i cannot doubt that, to please him, he will search for you every where. you will not be safe, either in my house or in any other in this city; the only resource left you, is to leave the country of jaic as speedily as possible, cross the river irtisch, and gain, with the utmost diligence, the frontiers of the tribe of the berlas." this advice pleased timurtasch, his wife, and son. al abbas had three horses instantly got ready, together with provisions for the journey, and giving them a purse filled with gold; "start immediately," said he, "you have no time to lose, by to-morrow, no doubt, ileuge-khan will cause search to be made for you every where." they returned their heartfelt thanks to the aged monarch, and then quitted jaic, crossed the irtisch, and joining company with a camel-driver, who was travelling that way, arrived after several days' journey in the territories of the tribe of berlas. they took up their quarters with the first horde they met, sold their horses, and lived quietly enough as long as their money lasted; but, as soon as it came to an end, the misery of the khan recommenced. "why am i still in the world?" he began to exclaim. "would it not have been better to have awaited my blood-thirsty foe in my own kingdom, and have died defending my capital, than to drag on a life which is only one continued scene of misery? it is in vain that we endure our misfortunes with patience; for, in spite of our submission to its decrees, heaven will never restore us to happiness, but leaves us still the sport of misery." "my lord," replied khalaf, "do not despair of our miseries coming to an end. heaven, which decrees these events, is preparing for us, i doubt not, some relief which we cannot foresee. let us proceed at once," added he, "to the principal horde of this tribe. i have a presentiment, that our fortunes will now assume a more favourable aspect." they all three proceeded accordingly to the horde with whom the khan of berlas resided. they entered a large tent which served as a refuge for poor strangers. here they laid themselves down, worn out with their journey, and at a loss at last to know how to obtain even the necessaries of life. khalaf, however, quietly slipt out of the tent, leaving his father and mother there, and went through the horde, asking charity of the passers-by. by the evening he had collected a small sum of money, with which he bought some provisions, and carried them to his parents. when they learned that their son had actually solicited charity, they could not refrain from tears. khalaf himself was moved by their grief, but cheerfully remarked, nevertheless, "i confess that nothing we have yet endured has appeared to me more mortifying than to be reduced to solicit alms; still, as at present i cannot procure you subsistence by any other means, is it not my duty to do it, in spite of the mortification it costs me? but," he added, as though struck with a sudden thought, "there is still another resource--sell me for a slave, and the money you will receive will last you a long time." "what do you say, my son?" cried timurtasch, when he heard these words. "can you propose to us that we should live at the expense of your liberty? ah! rather let us endure for ever our present misery. but if it should come to this, that one of us must be sold, let it be myself; i do not refuse to bear the yoke of servitude for you both." "my lord," said khalaf, "another thought strikes me; to-morrow morning i will take my station among the porters; some one may chance to employ me, and we may thus earn a living by my labour." they agreed to this, and the following day the prince stationed himself among the porters of the horde, and waited till some one should employ him; but unfortunately no one wanted him, so that half the day passed and he had not had a single job. this grieved him deeply. "if i am not more successful than this," thought he, "how am i to support my father and mother?" he grew tired of waiting among the porters on the chance of some person wanting his services. he went out of the encampment and strolled into the country, in order to turn over in his mind undisturbedly the best means of earning a livelihood. he sat down under a tree, where, after praying heaven to have pity on his perplexity, he fell asleep. when he woke he saw near him a falcon of singular beauty: its head was adorned with a tuft of gaudy feathers, and from its neck hung a chain of gold filigree-work set with diamonds, topazes, and rubies. khalaf, who understood falconry, held out his fist, and the bird alighted on it. the prince of the nagäis was delighted at the circumstance. "let us see," said he, "what this will lead to. this bird, from all appearance, belongs to the sovereign of the tribe." nor was he wrong. it was the favourite falcon of almguer, khan of berlas, who had lost it the previous day. his principal huntsmen were engaged at that moment in searching every where for it with the greatest diligence and uneasiness, for their master had threatened them with the severest punishments if they returned without his bird, which he loved passionately. prince khalaf returned to the encampment with the falcon. as soon as the people of the horde saw it, they began to cry out, "ha! here is the khan's falcon recovered. blessings on the youth who will make our prince rejoice by restoring him his bird." and so it turned out, for when khalaf arrived at the royal tent, and appeared with the falcon, the khan, transported with joy, ran to his bird and kissed it a thousand times. then addressing the prince of the nagäis, he asked him where he found it. khalaf related how he had recovered the falcon. the khan then said to him, "thou appearest to be a stranger amongst us; where wast thou born, and what is thy profession?" "my lord," replied khalaf, prostrating himself at the khan's feet, "i am the son of a merchant of bulgaria, who was possessed of great wealth. i was travelling with my father and mother in the country of jaic, when we were attacked by robbers, who stripped us of every thing but our lives, and we have found our way to this encampment actually reduced to beg our bread." "young man," replied the khan, "i am glad that it is thou who hast found my falcon; for i swore to grant to whomsoever should bring me my bird, whatever two things he might ask; so thou hast but to speak. tell me what thou desirest me to grant thee, and doubt not that thou shalt obtain it." "since i have permission to ask two things," returned khalaf, "i request in the first place that my father and mother, who are in the strangers' tent, may have a tent to themselves in the quarter where your highness resides, and that they may be supported during the rest of their days at your highness's expense, and waited on by officers of your highness's household; secondly, i desire to have one of the best horses in your highness's stables and a purse full of gold, to enable me to make a journey which i have in contemplation." "thy wishes shall be gratified," said almguer; "thou shalt bring thy father and mother to me, and from this day forth i will begin to entertain them as thou desirest; and to-morrow, dressed in rich attire, and mounted on the best horse in my stables, thou shalt be at liberty to go wherever it shall please thee. thy modesty, the filial love which is imprinted upon thy features, thy youth, thy noble air, please me; be my guest, come and join my festivities, and thou shalt listen to an arabian story-teller, whose knowledge and imaginative powers instruct and amuse my tribes." the khan and the son of timurtasch presently seated themselves at a table loaded with viands, confectionary, fruit, and flowers; gazelle venison, red-legged partridges, pheasants, and black cock were displayed as trophies of the skill of the hunter king. the arab stationed near the khan awaited his orders. "moustapha," said the khan at length, turning to the arab, "i have been extolling thy knowledge and wit to my guest; surpass thyself, and let him see that i have not exaggerated. he shall give thee a subject; treat it in such a manner as to deserve his praise." "i am curious," said the prince, "to hear of china; i ask thee to instruct me concerning the government of that important kingdom, and to give me an insight into the manners and customs of its people." the arab reflected a moment, and then, prefacing his recital with a few general remarks, proceeded to depict in glowing colours this celestial empire, whose civilization dates back to the remotest ages of the world. he described its extent as equal to one-half of the habitable globe; its population as so numerous that it might be counted by hundreds of millions; he spoke of cities, each of which alone brought a revenue to their crown, which surpassed that of entire kingdoms; of those gigantic works, the canals, whose extent equalled the course of the largest rivers, which traversed the vast empire. and he foretold that a time would come when tartar warriors should scale that very wall which the terror of their arms had caused to be built, and should again reconquer the whole of that wealthy tract. he then began his story as follows. the story of lin-in. a chinese tale. at wou-si, a town dependent upon the city of tchang-tcheou, in the province of kiang-nan, there resided a family in the middle sphere of life. three brothers composed the family; the name of the eldest was lin-in (the jasper); the second lin-pao (the precious); the youngest lin-tchin (the pearl); this last was not yet old enough to marry; the other two had taken wives to themselves. the wife of the first was named wang; the wife of the second yang; and both possessed every grace which can constitute the charm of woman. lin-pao's engrossing passions were gambling and wine; he evinced no inclination to good. his wife was of a similar disposition, and depraved in her conduct; she was very different from her sister-in-law wang, who was a pattern of modesty and propriety. so although these two women lived together on neighbourly terms, there was but little real sympathy between them. wang had a son named hi-eul, that is to say, "the son of rejoicing." he was a child of six years old. one day having stopped in the street with some other children, to look at a great procession in the neighbourhood, he was lost in the crowd, and in the evening did not return to the house. this loss caused the deepest sorrow to his parents. they had handbills posted up, and there was not a street in which they did not make inquiries, but all to no purpose; they could gain no intelligence respecting their darling child. lin-in was inconsolable; and giving way to the grief that overwhelmed him, he sought to fly from his home, where every thing brought back the remembrance of his dear hi-eul. he borrowed a sum of money from one of his friends to enable him to carry on a small trade in the neighbourhood of the city and the adjacent villages, hoping that in one of these short excursions he might be able to recover the treasure he had lost. as his whole thoughts were taken up with his child, he took little pleasure in the circumstance that his trade flourished. he nevertheless continued to pursue it during five years, without making long journeys from home, whither he returned every year to spend the autumn. at length, being utterly unsuccessful in discovering the least trace of his son after so many years, and concluding that he was lost to him for ever, and finding moreover that his wife wang bore him no more children, as he had now amassed a good sum of money, he determined to divert his thoughts from painful recollections by trading in another province. he joined the company of a rich merchant travelling the road he had fixed upon; and the merchant, having observed his aptitude for business, made him a very advantageous offer. the desire of becoming wealthy now took possession of him, and diverted his thoughts from their accustomed channel. within a very short time after their arrival in the province of chan-si every thing had succeeded to their utmost wishes. they found a quick sale for their merchandise, and the profits arising from it was considerable. the payments, however, were delayed for two years in consequence of a drought and famine which afflicted the country, as well as by a tedious illness by which lin-in was attacked. they were detained altogether three years in the province; after which, having recovered his money and his health, he took his departure to return to his own country. he halted one day during his journey near a place named tchin-lieou to recruit his strength, and strolling round the neighbourhood accidentally came upon a girdle of blue cloth, in the form of a long, narrow bag, such as is worn round the body, under the dress, and in which money is usually kept; as he took it up, he found the weight considerable. he retired to a quiet spot, opened the girdle, and found it contained about two hundred täels. at sight of this treasure he fell into the following train of reflection: "my good fortune has placed this sum in my hands; i might keep it and employ it for my own use without fearing any unpleasant consequences. still the person who has dropt it, the moment he discovers his loss, will be in great distress, and will return in haste to look for it. do they not say that our forefathers dared scarcely touch money found in this way; and if they picked it up, only did so with a view of restoring it to its owner? this appears to me a very praiseworthy custom, and i will imitate it, the more so as i am growing old and have no heir. of what benefit would money got by such means be to me?" whilst thus reasoning, he had wandered to some distance from the spot where he had found the money; he now, however, retraced his steps to the place, and waited there the whole day, to be ready in case the owner should return. nobody came, however, and the next day he continued his journey. after five days' travelling, he arrived in the evening at nan-sou-tcheou, and took up his quarters at an inn where several other merchants were staying. the conversation having turned upon the advantages of commerce, one of the company said, "five days ago, on leaving tchin-lieou, i lost two hundred täels, which i had in an inside girdle. i had taken it off, and placed it near me whilst i lay down to sleep, when a mandarin and his cortége chanced to pass by. i hastened to get out of the way for fear of insult, and in my hurry forgot to take up my money. it was only at night, as i was undressing to go to bed, that i discovered my loss. i felt sure that as the place where i lost my money was by the side of a well-frequented road, it would be useless to delay my journey for several days in order to look for what i should never find." every one condoled with him on his loss. lin-in asked him his name and place of abode. "your servant," replied the merchant, "is named tchin, and lives at yang-tcheou, where he has a shop and a large warehouse. may i be so bold in return to inquire to whom i have the honour of speaking?" lin-in told him his name, and said that he was an inhabitant of the town of wou-si. "my shortest road there," added he, "lies through yang-tcheou; and, if agreeable to you, i shall have much pleasure in your company so far." tchin acknowledged this politeness in a becoming manner. "most willingly," said he; "we will continue our journey together, and i esteem myself very fortunate in meeting with such an agreeable companion." the journey was not long, and they soon arrived at yang-tcheou. after the usual civilities, tchin invited his fellow-traveller to his house, and on their arrival there immediately ordered refreshments to be brought. whilst they were discussing their meal, lin-in managed to turn the conversation on the subject of the lost money. "what," he asked, "was the colour of the girdle which contained your money, and of what material was it made?" "it was of blue cloth," replied tchin; "and what would enable me to identify it is, that at one end the letter tchin, which is my name, is embroidered upon it in white silk." this description left no doubt as to the owner. lin-in, therefore, rejoined in a cheerful tone, "if i have asked you all these questions, it was merely because passing through tchin-lieou, i found a belt such as you describe." at the same time producing it, he added, "look if this is yours." "the very same," said tchin. whereupon lin-in politely restored it to its owner. tchin, overwhelmed with gratitude, pressed him to accept the half of the sum which it contained; but his entreaties were in vain, lin-in would receive nothing. "what obligations am i not under to you?" resumed tchin; "where else should i find such honesty and generosity?" he then ordered a splendid repast to be brought, over which they pledged each other with great demonstrations of friendship. tchin thought to himself, "where should i find a man of such probity as lin-in? men of his character are very scarce in these days. what! shall i receive from him such an act of kindness, and not be able to repay him? i have a daughter twelve years old; i must form an alliance with such an honest man. but has he got a son? on this point i am entirely ignorant." "my dear friend," said he, "how old is your son?" this question brought tears into the eyes of lin-in. "alas!" replied he, "i had but one, who was most dear to me. it is now eight years ago since my child, having run out of the house to see a procession pass by, disappeared; and from that day to this i have never been able to learn any thing of him; and, to crown my misfortune, my wife has not borne me any more children." upon hearing this, tchin appeared to think for a moment, then, continuing the conversation, said, "my brother and benefactor, of what age was the child when you lost him?" "about six years old," replied lin-in. "what was his name?" "we called him hi-eul," returned lin-in. "he had escaped all the dangers of the small-pox which had left no traces upon his countenance; his complexion was clear and florid." this description gave the greatest pleasure to tchin, and he could not prevent his satisfaction from displaying itself in his looks and manner. he immediately called one of his servants, to whom he whispered a few words. the servant, having made a gesture of obedience, retired into the interior of the house. lin-in, struck by the questions, and the joy which lit up the countenance of his host, was forming all sorts of conjectures, when he saw a youth of about fourteen years of age enter the room. he was dressed in a long gown, with a plain though neat jacket. his graceful form, his air and carriage, his face with its regular features, and his quick and piercing eyes, and finely arched black eyebrows, at once engaged the admiration and riveted the attention of lin-in. as soon as the youth saw the stranger seated at table, he turned towards him, made a low bow, and uttered some respectful words; then approaching tchin, and standing modestly before him, he said in a sweet and pleasing tone, "my father, you have called hi-eul; what are you pleased to command?" "i will tell you presently," replied tchin, "in the mean time stand beside me." the name of hi-eul, by which the youth called himself, excited fresh suspicions in the breast of lin-in. a secret sympathy suddenly forced itself upon him; and by one of those wonderful instincts of nature which are so unerring, recalled to his recollection the image of his lost child, his form, his face, his air, and manners; he beheld them all in the youth before him. there was but one circumstance that made him doubt the truth of his conjectures, and that was his addressing tchin by the name of 'father.' he felt it would be rude to ask tchin if the youth really were his son; perhaps he might truly be so, for it was not impossible that there might be two children bearing the same name, and in many respects resembling each other. lin-in, absorbed in these reflections, paid little attention to the good cheer placed before him. tchin could read on the countenance of lin-in the perplexing thoughts that filled his mind. an indescribable charm seemed to attract him irresistibly towards the youth. he kept his eyes constantly fixed upon him, he could not turn them away. hi-eul, on his part, despite his bashfulness and the timidity natural to his age, could not help gazing intently upon lin-in; it seemed as though nature was revealing his father to him. at length lin-in, no longer master of his feelings, suddenly broke the silence, and asked tchin if the youth really was his son. "i am not," replied tchin, "really his father, although i look upon him as my own child. eight years ago, a man passing through this city, leading this child in his hand, addressed me by chance, and begged me to assist him in his great need. 'my wife,' said he, 'is dead, and has left me with this child. the impoverished state of my affairs has compelled me to leave my native place, and go to hoaingan to my relations, from whom i hope to receive a sum of money, to enable me to set up in business again. i have not wherewith to continue my journey to that town, will you be so charitable as to lend me three täels? i will faithfully restore them on my return, and i will leave as a pledge all that i hold most dear in the world, my only son; i shall no sooner reach hoaingan, than i will return and redeem my dear child.' "i felt gratified by this mark of confidence, and i gave him the sum he asked. as he left me he burst into tears, and gave every evidence of the grief he felt in leaving his child. i was, however, surprised that the child did not exhibit the least emotion at the separation; as, however, time wore on, and the pretended father did not return, suspicions began to rise, which i was anxious to set at rest. i called the child, and by various questions i put to him, learned that he was born in wou-si, that having one day run out to see a procession pass by, he had strayed too far from home, and lost his way, and that he had been trepanned and carried off by a stranger. he also told me the name of his father and mother; indeed, it is that of your own family. i thus discovered that the fellow, so far from being the father of the poor child, was the identical rascal who had carried him off. not only was my compassion excited, but the boy's pleasing manners had entirely won my heart; i treated him from that time as one of my own children, and i sent him to college with my own son, to study with him. i have often entertained the plan of going to wou-si, to inquire after his family. but business of some kind always prevented me from undertaking the journey, of which, however, i had never fully relinquished the idea; when, happily, a few moments ago, you chanced in the course of conversation to mention your son, my suspicions were aroused, and upon the extraordinary coincidence of your tale, and the circumstances of which i was acquainted, i sent for your child to see if you would recognize him." at these words hi-eul wept for joy, and his tears caused those of lin-in to flow copiously. "a peculiar mark," said he, "will prove his identity; a little above the left knee you will find a small black spot, which has been there from his birth." hi-eul pulled up the leg of his trouser, and showed the spot in question. lin-in, on seeing it, threw himself upon the neck of the child, covered him with kisses, and folded him in his arms. "my child," cried he, "my dear child, what happiness for your father to find you after so many years' absence." it is not difficult to conceive to what transports of joy the father and son delivered themselves up, during these first moments of pleasure. after a thousand tender embraces, lin-in at length tore himself from the arms of his son, and made a profound obeisance to tchin. "what gratitude do i not owe you," said he, "for having received my son into your house, and brought up this dear portion of myself with so much care. but for you we should never have been united." "my kind benefactor," replied tchin, rising, "it was the act of disinterested generosity you practised towards me, in restoring the two hundred täels, which moved the compassion of heaven. it is heaven that conducted you to my house, where you have found him whom you sought in vain for so many years. now that i know that good youth is your son, i regret that i have not treated him with greater consideration." "kneel, my son," said lin-in, "and thank your generous benefactor." tchin was about to return these salutations, when lin-in himself prevented him, overcome with this excess of respect. this interchange of civilities being over they resumed their seats, and tchin placed little hi-eul on a seat by his father's side. then tchin resuming the conversation, said, "my brother (for henceforth that is the title by which i shall address you), i have a daughter twelve years of age, and it is my intention to give her in marriage to your son, in order that the union may cement our friendship more closely." this proposition was made in so sincere and ardent a manner, that lin-in did not feel it right to make the usual excuses that good breeding prescribed. he therefore waived all ceremony, and gave his consent at once. as it was growing late, they separated for the night. hi-eul slept in the same chamber with his father. you may imagine all the tender and affectionate conversation that passed between them during the night. the next day lin-in prepared to take leave of his host, but he could not resist his pressing invitation to remain. tchin had prepared a second day's festivity, in which he spared no expense to regale the future father-in-law of his daughter, and his new son-in-law, and thereby to console himself for their departure. they drank and sang, and gave themselves up fully to the hilarity of the occasion. when the repast was ended, tchin drew out a packet of twenty täels, and looking towards lin-in, said, "during the time my dear son-in-law has been with me, it is possible he may have suffered many things against my wish, and unknown to me; here is a little present i wish to make him, until i can give him more substantial proofs of my affection. i will not hear of a refusal." "what!" replied lin-in, "at a time when i am contracting an alliance so honourable to me, and when i ought, according to custom, to make marriage presents for my son, presents which i am prevented from doing at this moment, only because i am travelling, do you load me with gifts? i cannot accept them; the thought covers me with confusion." "well!" replied tchin, "i am not dreaming of offering _you_ such a trifle. it is for my son-in-law, not the father-in-law of my daughter, that i intend this present. indeed, if you persist in the refusal, i shall consider it as a sign that the alliance is not agreeable to you." lin-in saw that he must yield, and that resistance would be useless. he humbly accepted the present, and making his son rise from table, ordered him to make a profound reverence to tchin. "what i have given you," said tchin, raising him up, "is but a trifle, and deserves no thanks." hi-eul then went into the house to pay his respects to his mother-in-law. the whole day passed in feasting and diversions; it was only at night that they separated. when lin-in retired to his chamber, he gave himself up entirely to the reflections to which these events gave rise. "it must be confessed," cried he, "that by restoring the two hundred täels, i have done an action pleasing to heaven, and now i am rewarded by the happiness of finding my child, and contracting so honourable an alliance. this is, indeed, joy upon joy; it is like putting gold flowers upon a beautiful piece of silk. how can i be sufficiently grateful for so many favours? here are the twenty täels that my friend tchin has given me; can i do better than employ them towards the maintenance of some virtuous bonzes? it will be sowing them in a soil of blessings." the next day, after breakfast, the father and son got ready their luggage, and took leave of their host; they proceeded to the quay, hired a boat, and commenced their journey. they had scarcely gone half a league, ere they came in sight of a scene of terrible excitement; the river was full of struggling people, whose cries rent the air. a bark, full of passengers, had just sunk, and the cries of the unfortunate creatures for help were heart-rending! the people on the shore called loudly to several small boats which were near to come to the rescue. but the hard-hearted and selfish boatmen demanded that a good sum should be guaranteed them, before they would bestir themselves. at this critical moment lin-in's boat came up. the moment he perceived what was going on, he said to himself: "it is a much more meritorious action to save the life of a man, than to adorn the temples and support bonzes. let us consecrate the twenty täels to this good work; let us succour these poor drowning souls." he instantly proclaimed that he would give the twenty täels amongst those who would take the drowning men into their boats. at this offer all the boatmen crowded towards the scene of the disaster, and the river was, in a moment, covered with their boats; at the same time, some of the spectators on shore, who knew how to swim, threw themselves into the water, and, in a few moments, all were saved, without exception. lin-in then distributed amongst the boatmen the promised reward. the poor creatures, snatched from a watery grave, came in a body to return thanks to their preserver. one amongst them, having looked attentively at lin-in, suddenly cried out, "what! is that you, my eldest brother? by what good luck do i find you here?" lin-in, turning towards him, recognized his youngest brother, lin-tchin. then, transported with joy, he exclaimed, clasping his hands, "o wonderful circumstance! heaven has led me hither to save my brother's life." he instantly reached out his hand to him, and made him come into his boat, helped him off with his wet clothes, and gave him others. as soon as lin-tchin had sufficiently recovered, he paid the respects due to an elder brother which good breeding demands from a younger, and lin-in, having acknowledged his politeness, called hi-eul, who was in the cabin, to come and salute his uncle; he then recounted all his adventures, which threw lin-tchin into a state of amazement, from which he was a long time in recovering. "but tell me," said lin-in, at length, "your motive in coming to this country." "it is not possible," replied lin-tchin, "to tell you in a few words the reason of my travels. in the course of the three years which have elapsed since your departure from home, the melancholy news of your death from illness reached us. my second brother made every inquiry, and assured himself that the report was true. it was a thunderbolt for my sister-in-law; she was inconsolable, and put on the deepest mourning. for my part, i could not give credit to the report. after a few days had elapsed, my second brother tried all in his power to induce my sister-in-law to contract a fresh marriage. she, however, steadily rejected the proposal; at length she prevailed upon me to make a journey to chan-si, to ascertain upon the spot what had become of you; and, when i least expected it, at the point of perishing in the water, the very person i was in search of, my well-beloved brother, has saved my life. is not this unexpected good fortune, a blessing from heaven? but believe me, my brother, there is no time to be lost; make all possible haste to return home, and to put an end to my sister-in-law's grief. the least delay may cause an irreparable misfortune." lin-in, overwhelmed at this news, sent for the captain of the boat, and, although it was late, ordered him to set sail, and continue the voyage during the night. whilst all these events were happening to lin-in, wang, his wife, was a prey to the most poignant grief. a thousand circumstances led her to suspect that her husband was not dead; but lin-pao, who by that reported death became the head of the family, so positively assured her that it was true, that, at last, she had allowed herself to be persuaded into that belief, and had assumed the widow's weeds. lin-pao possessed a bad heart, and was capable of the most unworthy acts. "i have no doubt," said he, "of my elder brother's death. my sister-in-law is young and handsome; she has, besides, no one to support her; i must force her to marry again, and i shall make money by this means." he thereupon communicated his plan to yang, his wife, and ordered her to employ some clever matchmaker. but wang resolutely rejected the proposal; she vowed that she would remain a widow, and honour the memory of her husband by her widowhood. her brother-in-law, lin-tchin, supported her in her resolution. thus all the artifices which lin-pao and his wife employed were useless; and, as every time they urged her on the subject it occurred to her that they had no positive proof of his death, "i am determined," said she, at length, "to know the truth; these reports are often false; it is only on the very spot that certain information can be obtained. true, the distance is nearly a hundred leagues. still, i know that lin-tchin is a good-hearted man; he will travel to the province of chan-si to relieve my anxiety, and learn positively if i am so unfortunate as to have lost my husband; and, if i have, he will, at least, bring me his precious remains." lin-tchin was asked to undertake the journey, and, without a moment's hesitation, departed. his absence, however, only rendered lin-pao more eager in the pursuit of his project. to crown the whole, he had gambled very deeply, and, having been a heavy loser, was at his wit's end to know where to obtain money. in this state of embarrassment, he met with a merchant of kiang-si, who had just lost his wife, and was looking for another. lin-pao seized upon the opportunity, and proposed his sister-in-law to him. the merchant accepted the offer, taking care, however, to make secret inquiries whether the lady who was proposed to him was young and good-looking. as soon as he was satisfied on these points, he lost no time, and paid down thirty täels to clinch the bargain. lin-pao, having taken the money, said to the merchant, "i ought to warn you, that my sister-in-law is proud and haughty. she will raise many objections to leaving the house, and you will have a great deal of trouble to force her to do it. now this will be your best plan for managing it. this evening, as soon as it gets dark, have a palanquin and good strong bearers in readiness; come with as little noise as possible, and present yourself at the door of the house. the young woman who will come to the door, attired in the head-dress of mourners, is my sister-in-law; don't say a word to her, and don't listen to what she may say, but seize her at once, thrust her into your palanquin, carry her to your boat, and set sail at once." this plan met with the approbation of the merchant, and its execution appeared easy enough of accomplishment. in the mean time, lin-pao returned home, and, in order to prevent his sister-in-law from suspecting any thing of the project he had planned, he assumed an air of the most perfect indifference, but as soon as she left the room, he communicated his plans to his wife, and, alluding to his sister-in-law, in a contemptuous manner, said, "that two-legged piece of goods must leave this house to-night. however, not to be a witness of her tears and sighs, i shall go out beforehand, and, as it gets dark, a merchant of kiang-si will come, and take her away in a palanquin to his boat." he would have continued the conversation, when he heard the footsteps of some person outside the window, and went hurriedly away. in his haste he forgot to mention the circumstance of the mourning dress. it was doubtless an interposition of providence that this circumstance was omitted. the lady wang easily perceived that the noise she made outside the window had caused lin-pao to break off the conversation suddenly. the tone of his voice plainly showed that he had something more to say; but she had heard enough; for having remarked by his manner that he had some secret to tell his wife when he entered the house, she had pretended to go away, but listening at the window had heard these words distinctly, "they will take her away and put her into a palanquin." these words strongly fortified her suspicions. her resolution was taken at once. she entered the room, and approaching yang, gave utterance to her anxiety. "my sister-in-law," said she, "you behold an unfortunate widow, who is bound to you by the strongest ties of a friendship which has been always sincere. by this long-standing friendship i conjure you to tell me candidly whether my brother-in-law still persists in his design of forcing me into a marriage that would cover me with disgrace." at these words yang at first appeared confused, and changed colour; then, assuming a more confident expression, "what are you thinking of?" she asked, "and what fancies have you got into your head? if there were any intention of making you marry again, do you think there would be any difficulty? what is the good of throwing oneself into the water before the ship is really going to pieces?" the moment the lady wang heard this allusion to the ship, she understood more clearly the meaning of the secret conference of her brother-in-law with his wife. she now suspected the worst, and gave vent to her lamentations and sighs; and yielding to the current of her grief, she shut herself up in her room, where she wept, groaned, and bewailed her hard lot. "unfortunate wretch that i am," cried she, "i do not know what has become of my husband. lin-tchin, my brother-in-law and friend, upon whom alone i can rely, is gone on a journey. my father, mother, and relations live far from hence. if this business is hurried on, how shall i be able to inform them of it? i can hope for no assistance from our neighbours. lin-pao has made himself the terror of the whole district, and every body knows him to be capable of the greatest villany. miserable creature that i am! how can i escape his snares? if i do not fall into them to-day, it may be to-morrow, or at any rate in a very short time." she fell to the ground half dead; her fall, and the violence of her grief, made a great noise. the lady yang, hearing the disturbance, hastened to her room, and finding the door firmly fastened, concluded that it was a plan of her distracted sister-in-law to evade the scheme of the night; she therefore seized a bar which stood by and broke the door open. as she entered the room, the night being very dark, she caught her feet in the clothes of the lady wang, and fell tumbling over her. in her fall she lost her head-dress, which flew to some distance, and the fright and fall brought on a faint, in which she remained for some time. when she recovered she got up, went for a light, and returned to the room, where she found the lady wang stretched on the floor, without motion and almost without breath. at the moment she was going to procure other assistance, she heard a gentle knock at the door. she knew it must be the merchant of kiang-si come to fetch the wife he had bought. she quickly ran to receive him and bring him into the room, that he might himself be witness of what had occurred; but remembering that she had no head-dress, and that she was unfit to present herself in that state, she hastily caught up the one she found at her feet, which was the lady wang's head-dress of mourning, and ran to the door. it was indeed the merchant of kiang-si, who had come to fetch away his promised bride. he had a bridal palanquin, ornamented with silk flags, festoons, flowers, and several gay lanterns; it was surrounded by servants bearing lighted torches, and by a troop of flute and hautboy-players. the whole cortége was stationed in the street in perfect silence. the merchant, having knocked gently and finding the door open, entered the house with some of those who bore torches to light him. upon the lady yang's appearance, the merchant, who spied at a glance the mourning head-dress, which was the mark by which he was to distinguish his bride, flew upon her like a hungry kite upon a sparrow. his followers rushed in, carried off the lady, and shut her into the palanquin, which was all ready to receive her. it was in vain she endeavoured to make herself heard, crying out, "you are mistaken; it is not me you want." the music struck up as she was forced into the palanquin, and drowned her voice, whilst the bearers flew rather than walked, and bore her to the boat. [illustration: the lady yang carried off in the palanquin, p. .] whilst all this was taking place, the lady wang had gradually revived and come to her senses. the great hubbub she heard at the door of the house renewed her fears, and occasioned her the most painful anxiety; but as she found that the noise of music, and the tumult of voices, which had arisen so suddenly died gradually away in the distance, she regained her courage, and after a few minutes summoned up strength to go and inquire what was the matter. after calling her sister-in-law two or three times without effect, the truth began to dawn on her; and after considering the matter carefully, she could only come to the conclusion that the merchant had made a mistake, and had carried off the wrong lady. but now a fresh cause of uneasiness arose; she dreaded the consequences when lin-pao should return and be informed of the mistake. she shut herself up in her room, and after picking up the head-pins, the earrings, and the head-dress, which were lying on the floor, threw herself, quite worn out with fatigue and anxiety, on her couch, and endeavoured to get a little sleep, but she was not able to close her eyes all night. at daybreak she rose and bathed her face, and proceeded to complete her toilet. as, however, she was searching about for her mourning head-dress, some one began making a great noise at the room-door, knocking loudly and crying out, "open the door instantly!" it was, in fact, lin-pao himself. she recognized the voice at once. she made up her mind at once what to do; she let him go on knocking without answering him. he swore, stormed and bawled, till he was hoarse. at length the lady wang went to the door, and standing behind it without opening it, asked, "who is knocking there, and making such a disturbance?" lin-pao, who recognized the voice of his sister-in-law, began to shout still louder: but seeing that his storming had no effect, he had recourse to an expedient which proved successful. "sister-in-law," said he, "i have brought you good news! lin-tchin, my youngest brother, has come back, and our eldest brother is in excellent health; open the door at once!" overjoyed at this intelligence, the lady wang ran to complete her toilet, and in her haste put on the black[ ] head-dress that her sister-in-law had left behind, and eagerly opened the door; but, alas! in vain did she look for her friend lin-tchin; no one was there but lin-pao. he entered her room hurriedly and looked round, but not seeing his wife, and perceiving a black head-dress on the head of his sister-in-law, his suspicions began to be excited in a strange manner. "well! where is your sister-in-law?" he asked roughly. "you ought to know better than i," replied the lady wang, "since you had the whole management of this admirable plot." "but tell me," returned lin-pao, "why don't you still wear a white head-dress? have you left off mourning?" the lady wang forthwith proceeded to relate to him all that had happened during his absence. just at this moment he caught sight through the window of four or five persons hurrying towards his house. to his utter astonishment he perceived that they were his eldest brother lin-in, his youngest brother lin-tchin, his nephew hi-eul, and two servants carrying their luggage. lin-pao, thunderstruck at this sight, and not having impudence enough to face them, ran off by the back-door, and disappeared like a flash of lightning. the lady wang was transported with joy at her husband's return. but who shall describe her ecstasies of joy when her son was presented to her? she could scarcely recognize him, so tall and handsome had he grown. "oh!" cried she, "by what good fortune did you recover our dear child, whom i thought we had lost for ever?" lin-in gave her in detail an account of his adventures; and the lady wang related at length all the indignities she had endured at the hands of lin-pao, and the extremities to which she had been reduced by his scandalous treatment. lin-in lavished on his wife encomiums which indeed her fidelity deserved; after which, reflecting on the whole chain of events by which the present meeting had been brought about, he seemed deeply moved, and remarked, "if a blind passion for wealth had caused me to keep the two hundred täels i found by accident, how should i have ever met with our dear child? if avarice had prevented me from employing the twenty täels in saving those drowning people, my dear brother would have perished in the waves, and i should never have seen him; if by an unlooked-for chance i had not met my kind-hearted brother, how should i have discovered the trouble and confusion that reigned in this house in time to prevent its disastrous consequences? but for all this, my beloved wife, we should never have seen each other again. i recognize the special interposition of providence in bringing about all these things. as to my other brother, that unnatural brother, who has unconsciously sold his own wife, he has drawn upon himself his own terrible punishment. heaven rewards men according to their deserts; let them not think to escape its judgments. "let us learn from this how profitable in the end, as well as good, it is to practise virtue; it is that alone which bestows lasting prosperity upon a house." in due course of time hi-eul brought home his bride, the daughter of tchin. the marriage was celebrated with great rejoicings, and proved a happy one. they had several children, and lived to see a crowd of grandchildren, several of whom became men of learning, and acquired important positions in the state. continuation of the story of prince khalaf and the princess of china. the prince applauded the narrative of the story-teller; and, dinner being over, he prostrated himself a second time before the khan, and, after thanking him for his goodness, returned to the tent, where elmaze and timurtasch were anxiously expecting him. "i bring you good news," said he to them; "our fortune has changed already." he then related to them all that had passed. this fortunate event caused them the greatest pleasure; they regarded it as an infallible sign that the hardness of their destiny was beginning to soften. they willingly followed khalaf, who conducted them to the royal tent and presented them to the khan. this prince received them with courtesy, and renewed to them the promise he had given to their son; and he did not fail to keep his word. he appointed them a private tent, caused them to be waited on by the slaves and officers of his household, and ordered them to be treated with the same respect as himself. the next day khalaf was arrayed in a rich dress; he received from the hand of almguer himself a sabre with a diamond hilt and a purse full of gold sequins; they then brought him a beautiful turcoman horse. he mounted before all the court; and to show that he understood the management of a horse, he made him go through all his paces and evolutions in a manner that charmed the prince and all his courtiers. after having thanked the khan for all his benefits, he took his leave. he then sought elmaze and timurtasch; and after some time spent in desultory conversation, proceeded to unfold to them a scheme which for some days past had been agitating his mind. "i have a great desire," said he, "to see the great kingdom of china; give me permission to gratify that wish. i have a presentiment that i shall signalize myself by some splendid action, and that i shall gain the friendship of the monarch who holds that vast empire under his sway. suffer me to leave you in this asylum, where you are in perfect safety, and where you can want for nothing. i am following an impulse which inspires me, or rather, i am yielding myself to the guidance of heaven." "go, my son," replied timurtasch; "yield to the noble impulse which animates you; hasten to the fortune that awaits you. accelerate by your valour the arrival of that tardy prosperity which must one day succeed our misfortunes, or by a glorious death deserve an illustrious place in the history of unfortunate princes." the young prince of the nagäis, after having embraced his father and mother, mounted upon his beautiful charger, took a respectful leave of the khan, received from the hand of the princess elmaze, who came out of her tent for the purpose, the parting cup, and set out on his journey. historians do not mention that he encountered any thing worthy notice on his route; they only say that, having arrived at the great city canbalac, otherwise pekin, he dismounted at a house near the gate, where a worthy woman, a widow, lived. khalaf reined up his horse here, and on the widow presenting herself at the door, he saluted her and said, "my good mother, would you kindly receive a stranger? if you could give me a lodging in your house, i can venture to say that you will have no cause to regret it." the widow scrutinized him; and judging from his good looks, as well as from his dress, that he was no mean guest, she made him a low bow, and replied, "young stranger of noble bearing, my house is at your service, and all that it contains." "have you also a place where i can put my horse?" "yes," said she, "i have," and called a young slave, who took the horse by the bridle, and led him into a small stable behind the house. khalaf, who felt very hungry, then asked her if she would kindly send and buy something for him in the market. the widow replied, that she had a maiden who lived with her, and who would execute his orders. the prince then drew from his purse a sequin of gold and placed it in the girl's hand, who went off to the market. in the mean time, the widow had enough to do to answer the inquiries of khalaf. he asked her a thousand questions; what were the customs of the inhabitants of the city? how many families pekin was said to contain? and, at length, the conversation fell upon the king of china. "tell me, i pray you," said khalaf, "what is the character this prince bears. is he generous, and do you think that he would pay any regard to a young stranger, who might offer to serve him against his enemies? in a word, is he a man to whose interests i could worthily attach myself?" "doubtless," replied the widow; "he is an excellent prince, who loves his subjects as much as he is beloved by them, and i am surprised that you have never heard of our good king, altoun-khan, for the fame of his justice and liberality is spread far and wide." "from the favourable picture you draw of him," replied the prince of the nagäis, "i should imagine that he ought to be the happiest and most prosperous monarch in the world." "he is not so, however," replied the widow; "indeed, he may be said to be the most wretched. in the first place, he has no prince to succeed him on his throne; a male heir is denied him, notwithstanding all the prayers of himself and his subjects, and all the good deeds he performs to that end. but i must tell you, the grief of having no son is not his greatest trouble; what principally disturbs the peace of his life is the princess tourandocte, his only daughter." "how is it," replied khalaf, "that she is such a source of grief to him?" "i will tell you," replied the widow; "and, indeed, i can speak upon the subject from the very best authority; for my daughter has often told me the story and she has the honour of being among the attendants on the princess." "the princess tourandocte," continued the hostess of the prince of the nagäis, "is in her nineteenth year; she is so beautiful, that the artists to whom she has sat for her portrait, although the most expert in the east, have all confessed that they were ashamed of their efforts; and that the most able painter in the world, and the best skilled in delineating the charms of a beautiful face, could not express those of the princess of china; nevertheless, the different portraits which have been taken of her, although infinitely inferior to the original, have produced the most disastrous consequences. "she combines, with her ravishing beauty, a mind so cultivated, that she not only understands all that is usual for persons in her station to know, but is mistress of sciences suited only for the other sex. she can trace the various characters of several languages, she is acquainted with arithmetic, geography, philosophy, mathematics, law, and, above all, theology, she knows the laws and moral philosophy of our great legislator, berginghuzin; in fact, is as learned as all the wise men put together. but her good qualities are effaced by a hardness of heart without parallel, and all her accomplishments are tarnished by detestable cruelty. "it is now two years ago since the king of thibet sent to ask her in marriage for his son, who had fallen in love with her from a portrait he had seen. altoun-khan, delighted with the prospect of this alliance, proposed it to tourandocte. the haughty princess, to whom all men appeared despicable, so vain had her beauty rendered her, rejected the proposal with disdain. the king flew into a violent rage with her, and declared that he would be obeyed; but instead of submitting dutifully to the wishes of her father, she burst into bitter lamentations, because he showed a disposition to force her to comply; she grieved immoderately, as though it were intended to inflict a great injury upon her; in fact, she took it so much to heart that she fell seriously ill. the physicians, who soon discovered the secret of her complaint, told the king that all their remedies were useless, and that the princess would certainly lose her life, if he persisted in his resolution to make her espouse the prince of thibet. "the king then, who loves his daughter to distraction, alarmed at the danger she was in, went to see her, and assured her that he would send back the ambassador with a refusal. 'that is not enough, my lord,' replied the princess; 'i am resolved to die, except you grant what i ask you. if you wish me to live, you must bind yourself by an inviolable oath never to try to influence my wishes in this matter, and to publish a decree declaring that of all the princes who may seek my hand, none shall be allowed to espouse me who shall not previously have replied, without hesitation, to the questions which i shall put to him before all the learned men in this city; that if his answers prove satisfactory, i will consent to his becoming my husband, but if the reverse, that he shall lose his head in the court-yard of your palace.' "'by this edict,' added she, 'of which all the foreign princes who may arrive at pekin shall be informed, you will extinguish all desire of asking me in marriage; and that is exactly what i wish, for i hate men, and do not wish to be married.' "'but, my child,' said the king, 'if by chance some one should present himself, and reply to your questions?'-- "'ha! i do not fear that,' she said quickly, interrupting him; 'i can put questions which would puzzle the most learned doctors; i am willing to run that risk.' "altoun-khan pondered over what the princess demanded of him. 'i see clearly,' thought he, 'that my daughter does not wish to marry, and the effect of this edict will be to frighten away all lovers. i run no risk, therefore, in yielding to her fancies, no evil can come of it. what prince would be mad enough to face such danger?' "at length the king, persuaded that this edict would not be followed by any bad results, and that the recovery of his daughter entirely depended upon it, caused it to be published, and swore upon the laws of berginghuzin to see that it was observed to the letter. tourandocte, reassured by this oath, which she knew her father dare not violate, regained her strength, and was soon restored to perfect health. "in spite of the decree, the fame of her beauty attracted several young princes to pekin. it was in vain that they were informed of the nature of the edict; and as every body, but particularly a young prince, entertains a good opinion of himself, they had the hardihood to present themselves to reply to the questions of the princess; and not being able to fathom her deep meaning, they perished miserably one after another. "the king, to do him justice, appears deeply afflicted with their sad fate. he repents of having made the oath which binds him; and however tenderly he may love his daughter, he would now almost rather he had let her die than have saved her life at such a price. he does all in his power to prevent these evils. when a lover whom the decree cannot restrain comes to demand the hand of the princess, he strives to deter him from his purpose; and he never consents, but with the deepest regret, to his exposing himself to the chance of losing his life. but it generally happens that he is unable to dissuade these rash young men. they are infatuated with tourandocte, and the hope of possessing her blinds them to the difficulty of obtaining her. "but if the king shows so much grief at the ruin of the unfortunate princes, it is not the case with his barbarous daughter. she takes a pride in these spectacles of blood with which her beauty periodically furnishes the chinese. so great is her vanity, that she considers the most accomplished prince not only unworthy of her, but most insolent in daring to raise his thoughts towards her, and she looks upon his death as a just chastisement for his temerity. "but what is still more deplorable, heaven is perpetually permitting princes to come and sacrifice themselves to this inhuman princess. only the other day, a prince, who flattered himself that he had knowledge enough to reply to her questions, lost his life; and this very night another is to die, who, unfortunately, came to the court of china with the same hopes." khalaf was deeply attentive to the widow's story. "i cannot understand," said he, after she had ceased speaking, "how any princes can be found sufficiently devoid of judgment to come and ask the hand of the princess of china. what man would not be terrified at the condition without which he cannot hope to obtain her? besides, despite what the artists may say who have painted her portrait; although they may affirm that their productions are but an imperfect image of her beauty, my firm belief is that they have added charms, and that their portraits exaggerate her beauty, since they have produced such powerful effects; indeed, i cannot think that tourandocte is so beautiful as you say." "sir," replied the widow, "she is more lovely by far than i have described her to you; and you may believe me, for i have seen her several times when i have gone to the harem to visit my daughter. draw upon your fancy as you please, collect in your imagination all that can possibly be brought together in order to constitute a perfect beauty, and be assured that even then you would not have pictured to yourself an object which could approach the perfections of the princess." the prince of the nagäis could not credit the story of the widow, so overdrawn did he consider it; he felt, nevertheless, a secret pleasure for which he could not account. "but, my mother," said he, "are the questions which the king's daughter proposes so difficult of solution that it is impossible to reply to them to the satisfaction of the lawyers who are judges? for my part, i cannot help thinking that the princes who were not able to penetrate the meaning of her questions, must have been persons of very little ingenuity, if not absolutely ignorant." "no, no!" replied the widow. "there is no enigma more obscure than the questions of the princess, and it is almost impossible to reply to them." whilst they were conversing thus of tourandocte and her lovers, the girl arrived from the market loaded with provisions. khalaf sat down to a table which the widow had prepared, and ate like a man famishing with hunger. whilst thus engaged the night drew on, and they heard shortly in the town the gong of justice. the prince asked what the noise meant. "it is to give notice to the people," replied the widow, "that some person is going to be executed; and the unfortunate victim about to be immolated is the prince of whom i told you, and who is to be executed to-night for not being able to answer the princess's questions. it is customary to punish the guilty during the day, but this is an exceptional case. the king, who in his heart abhors the punishment which he causes to be inflicted upon the lovers of his daughter, will not suffer the sun to be witness of such a cruel action." the son of timurtasch had a wish to see this execution, the cause of which appeared so singular to him. he went out of the house, and meeting a crowd of chinese in the street animated by the same curiosity, he mixed with them, and went to the court-yard of the palace, where the tragic scene was to be enacted. he beheld in the middle of the yard a _schebt-cheraghe_, in other words a very high wooden tower, the outside of which, from the top to the bottom, was covered with branches of cypress, amongst which a prodigious quantity of lamps, tastefully arranged, spread a brilliant light around, and illuminated the whole court-yard. fifteen cubits from the tower a scaffold was raised, covered with white satin, and around the scaffold were arranged several pavilions of taffetas of the same colour open towards the scaffold. behind these two thousand soldiers of the guard of altoun-khan were stationed, with drawn swords and axes in their hands, forming a double rank, which served as a barrier against the people. khalaf was looking with deep attention at all that presented itself to his view, when suddenly the mournful ceremony commenced. it was ushered in by a confused noise of drums and bells, which proceeded from the town, and could be heard at a great distance. at the same moment twenty mandarins and as many judges, all dressed in long robes of white woollen cloth, emerged from the palace, advanced towards the scaffold, and after walking three times around it, took their places under the pavilions. next came the victim, crowned with flowers interwoven with cypress leaves, and with a blue fillet round his head,--not a red one, such as criminals condemned by justice wear. he was a young prince, who had scarcely reached his eighteenth year; he was accompanied by a mandarin leading him by the hand, and followed by the executioner. the three ascended the scaffold; instantly the noise of the drums and bells ceased. the mandarin then addressed the prince in a tone so loud that he was heard by nearly the whole concourse of people. "prince," said he, "is it not true that you were apprised of the terms of the king's edict before you presented yourself to ask the princess in marriage? is it not also true that the king himself used all his endeavours to dissuade you from your rash resolution?" the prince, having replied in the affirmative, "acknowledge, then," continued the mandarin, "that it is by your own fault that you lose your life to-day, and that the king and princess are not guilty of your death." "i pardon them," returned the prince; "i impute my death to myself alone, and i pray heaven not to require of them my blood which is about to be shed." he had scarcely finished these words, when the executioner swept off his head with one stroke of the sword. the air instantly resounded with the noise of the drums and the bells. then twelve mandarins took up the body, laid it in a coffin of ivory and ebony, and placed it upon a litter, which six of them bore away upon their shoulders into the gardens of serail. here they deposited it under a dome of white marble, which the king had ordered to be erected purposely to be the resting-place of all those unfortunate princes who should share the same fate. he often retired there to weep upon the tombs of those who were buried within it, and tried, by honouring their ashes with his tears, in some measure to atone for the barbarity of his child. as soon as the mandarins had carried away the body of the prince who had just suffered, the people and all the councillors retired to their homes, blaming the king for having had the imprudence to sanction such barbarity by an oath that he could not break. khalaf remained in the court-yard of the palace in a state of bewilderment; he noticed a man near him weeping bitterly; he guessed that it was some person who was deeply interested in the execution that had just taken place, and wishing to know more about it, addressed him in these words: "i am deeply moved," said he, "by the lively grief you exhibit, and i sympathize in your troubles, for i cannot doubt that you were intimately acquainted with the prince who has just suffered." "ah! sir," replied the mourner, with a fresh outburst of grief, "i ought indeed to know him, for i was his tutor. o unhappy king of samarcand!" added he, "what will be thy grief when thou shalt be told of the extraordinary death of thy son? and who shall dare to carry thee the news?" khalaf asked by what means the prince of samarcand had become enamoured of the princess of china. "i will tell you," replied the tutor: "and you will doubtless be astonished at the recital i am about to make. the prince of samarcand," pursued he, "lived happily at his father's court. the court looked upon him as a prince who would one day be their sovereign, and they studied to please him as much as the king himself. he usually passed the day in hunting and playing at ball, and at night he assembled secretly in his apartments the distinguished youth of the court, with whom he drank all sorts of liquors. he sometimes amused himself by seeing the beautiful slaves dance, or by listening to music and singing. in a word, his life was passed in a constant round of pleasure. "one day a famous painter arrived at samarcand with several portraits of princesses which he had painted in the different courts through which he had passed. he showed them to my prince, who, looking at the first he presented, said, 'these are very beautiful pictures; i am certain that the originals are under a deep obligation to you.' "'my lord,' replied the artist, 'i confess that in these portraits i have somewhat flattered the sitters; but i crave permission to tell you that i have one far more beautiful than these, which does not approach the original.' saying this, he drew from the case which contained his portraits that of the princess of china. "scarcely had my master looked at it, when not conceiving that nature was capable of producing so perfect a beauty, he exclaimed that there was not in the world a woman of such exquisite loveliness, and that the portrait of the princess of china was more flattering than the others. the artist protested that it was not, and assured him that no pencil could convey an idea of the grace and beauty which shone in the countenance of the princess tourandocte. upon this assurance my master bought the portrait, which made so deep an impression on him, that, leaving the court of his father, he quitted samarcand, accompanied by me alone, and without informing any one of his intentions, took the road for china, and came to this city. he volunteered to serve altoun-khan against his enemies, and asked the hand of his daughter the princess. we were apprized of the severe edict connected with the proposal, but alas! my prince, instead of being dismayed by the severity of the conditions, conceived the liveliest joy. 'i will go,' said he, 'and present myself to answer the questions of tourandocte; i am not deficient in talent or ready wit, and i shall obtain the hand of the princess.' "it is needless to tell you the rest, sir," continued the tutor, sobbing; "you may judge by the mournful spectacle you have beheld that the unfortunate prince of samarcand was unable to answer, as he hoped, the fatal questions of this barbarous beauty, whose delight is to shed blood, and who has already been the means of sacrificing the lives of several kings' sons. a few moments before his death he gave me the portrait of this cruel princess. 'i entrust,' said he, 'this portrait to thee; guard carefully the precious deposit. thou hast but to show it to my father when thou informest him of my sad fate, and i doubt not that when he beholds so beautiful a face, he will pardon my temerity.' but," added the old man, "let any one else who pleases carry the sad news to the king his father; for my part, borne down by the weight of my affliction, i will go far from hence and samarcand, and mourn for my beloved charge. this is what you wished to know; and here is the dangerous portrait," pursued he, taking it from beneath his cloak and throwing it on the ground in a paroxysm of rage; "behold the cause of the sad fate of my prince. o execrable portrait! why had my master not my eyes when he took thee into his hands? o inhuman princess! may all the princes of the earth entertain for thee the same sentiments as those with which thou hast inspired me! instead of being the object of their love, thou wouldest then be their aversion." saying this, the tutor of the prince of samarcand retired full of rage, regarding the palace with a furious eye and without speaking another word to the son of timurtasch. the latter quickly picked up the portrait of tourandocte, and turned to retrace his steps to the house of the widow; but he missed his way in the darkness, and wandered heedlessly out of the city. he impatiently awaited the daylight to enable him to contemplate the beauty of the princess of china. as soon as the approach of dawn furnished him with sufficient light to satisfy his curiosity, he opened the case which contained the portrait. still he hesitated before he looked at it. "what am i about to do?" cried he; "ought i to disclose to my eyes so dangerous an object? think, khalaf, think of the direful effects it has caused; hast thou already forgotten what the tutor of the prince of samarcand has just narrated to thee? look not on this portrait; resist the impulse which urges thee, it is nothing more than a feeling of idle curiosity. whilst thou retainest thy reason thou canst prevent thy destruction. but what do i say? prevent," added he, checking himself; "with what false reasoning does my timid prudence inspire me. if i am to love the princess, is not my love already written in indelible characters in the book of fate. besides, i think that it is possible to look upon the most beautiful portrait with impunity; one must be weak, indeed, to be influenced by the sight of a vain array of colours. never fear; let us scan these surpassing and murderous features without emotion. i will even find defects, and taste the pleasure of criticizing the charms of this too beautiful princess; and i could wish, in order to mortify her vanity, that she might learn that i have looked upon her portrait without emotion." the son of timurtasch had fully made up his mind to look upon the portrait of tourandocte with an indifferent eye. he now casts his eyes on it, he regards it attentively, examines it, admires the contour of the countenance, the regularity of the features, the vivacity of the eyes,--the mouth, the nose, all appear perfect; he is surprised at so rare a combination of perfect features, and although still on his guard, he allows himself to be charmed. an inconceivable uneasiness takes possession of him in spite of himself; he can no longer understand his feelings. "what fire," said he, "has suddenly kindled itself in my bosom! what tumult has this portrait produced in my thoughts! merciful heaven, is it the lot of all those who look upon this portrait to become enamoured of this inhuman princess? alas! i feel but too surely that she has made the same impression upon me, as she did upon the unhappy prince of samarcand; i yield to the charms that wounded him, and far from being terrified by his melancholy fate, i could almost envy his very misfortune. what a change, gracious heaven! i could not conceive a short time ago, how one could be mad enough to despise the severity of the edict, and now i see nothing that frightens me, all the danger has vanished. "no! incomparable princess," pursued he, devouring the portrait with an enamoured gaze, "no obstacle can stop me, i love you spite of your barbarity; and since it is permitted to me to aspire to your possession, from this day i will strive to win you; if i perish in the bold attempt, i shall only feel in dying the grief of not being able to possess you." khalaf, having formed the resolve of demanding the hand of the princess, returned to the widow's house, a journey which cost him no little trouble, for he had rambled to some considerable distance during the night. "ah! my son," exclaimed his hostess, as soon as she beheld him, "i am so glad to see you, i was very uneasy about you, i feared some accident had befallen you; why did you not return earlier?" "my good mother," replied he, "i am sorry to have caused you any uneasiness, i missed my way in the darkness." he then related to her how he had met the tutor of the prince whom they had put to death, and did not fail to repeat to her all that he had told him. then showing her the portrait of tourandocte; "tell me," said he, "if this portrait is only an imperfect likeness of the princess of china; for my part, i cannot conceive that it is not equal to the original." "by the soul of the prophet jacmouny," cried the widow, after she had examined the portrait, "the princess is a thousand times more beautiful, and infinitely more charming than she is here represented. i wish you could see her, you would be of my opinion, that all the artists in the world who should undertake to paint her as she really is, could never succeed. i will not even make an exception in favour of the famous many." "you delight me above measure," replied the prince of the nagäis, "by assuring me that the beauty of tourandocte surpasses all the efforts of the artist's power. how flattering the assurance! it strengthens me in my determination, and incites me to attempt at once the brilliant adventure. oh that i were before the princess! i burn with impatience to try whether i shall be more fortunate than the prince of samarcand." "what do you say, my son?" eagerly asked the widow, "what enterprise are you so rashly planning? and do you seriously think of carrying it into effect?" "yes, my good mother," returned khalaf, "i intend this very day to present myself to answer the questions of the princess. i came to china only with the intention of offering my services to the great king, altoun-khan, but it is better to be his son-in-law than an officer in his army." at these words the widow burst into tears. "ah! sir, in the name of heaven do not persist in so rash a resolution; you will certainly perish if you are bold enough to aspire to the hand of the princess; instead of allowing her beauty to charm you, let it be the object of your detestation, since it has been the cause of so many frightful tragedies; picture to yourself what the grief of your parents will be when they hear of your death; let the thoughts of the mortal grief into which you will plunge them deter you." "for pity's sake, my mother," interrupted the son of timurtasch, "cease to present to my mind such affecting images. i cannot be ignorant, that if it be my destiny to die this day, my sad end will be a source of bitter and inexhaustible grief to my beloved parents; nay, i can conceive their misery being so excessive as to endanger their own lives, for well do i know their extreme affection for me; notwithstanding all this, however, notwithstanding the gratitude with which their love ought to inspire, and indeed does inspire me, i must yield to the passion that consumes me. but, what! is it not in hopes of making them more happy that i am about to expose my life? yes, doubtless, their interest is bound up with the desire that urges me on, and i feel sure that if my father were here, far from opposing my design, he would rather excite me to its speedy execution. my resolution is taken; waste no more time in trying to dissuade me; nothing shall shake my determination." when the widow found that her young guest would not heed her advice, her grief increased. "so it must be, then, sir," continued she; "you will not be restrained from rushing headlong on your destruction. why was it ordained that you should come to lodge in my house? why did i speak of tourandocte? you became enamoured of her from the description i gave of her; wretched woman that i am, it is i who have caused your ruin; why must i reproach myself with your death?" "no, my good mother," said the prince of the nagäis, interrupting her a second time, "you are not the cause of my misfortune; do not blame yourself because i love the princess; i am to love her, and do but fulfil my destiny. besides, how do you know that i shall not be able to reply to her questions? i am not without understanding, and i have studied much; and heaven may have reserved for me the honour of delivering the king of china from the grief with which his frightful oath overwhelms him. but," added he, drawing out the purse which the khan of berlas had given him, and which still contained a considerable quantity of gold pieces, "as my success is after all uncertain, and i may chance to die, i make you a present of this purse to console you for my death. you may sell my horse and keep the money, for it will be of no more use to me, whether the daughter of altoun-khan become the reward of my boldness, or my death be the mournful forfeit of my audacity." the widow took the purse from khalaf, saying, "o my son, you are much mistaken if you imagine that these pieces of gold will console me for your loss. i will employ them in good works, i will distribute a portion among the poor in the hospitals, who bear their afflictions with patience, and whose prayers are consequently acceptable to heaven; the remainder i will give to the ministers of our religion, that they all may pray together that heaven may inspire you, and not suffer you to perish. all the favour i ask you is, not to go to-day and present yourself to answer the questions of tourandocte; wait till to-morrow, the time is not long; grant me that interval to enlist the hearts of the pious in your behalf, and propitiate our prophet in your favour, after that you can do as you think best. i pray you to grant me that favour; i am bold to say that you owe it to one who has conceived so great a friendship for you, that she would be inconsolable if you were to die." indeed khalaf's appearance had made a favourable impression upon her, for, besides being one of the handsomest princes in the world, his manners were so easy and pleasing that it was impossible to see him without loving him. he was moved by the grief and affection the good lady exhibited. "well, my mother," said he, "i will do as you desire me; and i will not go to-day to ask the hand of the princess; but, to speak my sentiments frankly, i don't believe that even your prophet jacmouny will be able to make me forego my determination." the following morning, the prince appeared more determined than ever to demand tourandocte. "adieu, my good mother," said he, to the widow. "i am sorry that you have given yourself so much trouble on my account; you might have spared it, for i assured you yesterday that i should be of the same mind." with these words, he left the widow, who, giving herself up to the deepest sorrow, covered her face with her veil, and sat with her head on her knees, overwhelmed with indescribable grief. the young prince of the nagäis, perfumed with rare scents and more beautiful than the moon, repaired to the palace. he found at the gate five elephants, and, on each side, a line of two thousand soldiers, with helmets on their heads, armed with shields, and covered with plate armour. one of the principal officers in command of the troops, judging from khalaf's air that he was a stranger, stopped him, and demanded his business at the palace. "i am a foreign prince," replied the son of timurtasch. "i am come to present myself to the king, and pray him to grant me permission to reply to the questions of the princess his daughter." the officer, at these words, regarding him with astonishment, said to him, "prince, do you know that you come to seek death? you would have done more wisely to have remained in your own country, than form the design which brings you hither; retrace your steps, and do not flatter yourself with the deceitful hope that you will obtain the hand of the cruel tourandocte. although you may have studied until you have become more learned in science than all the mandarins, you will never be able to fathom the meaning of her ambiguous questions." "accept my heartfelt thanks," replied khalaf; "but, believe me, i am not come thus far to retreat." "go on to your certain death, then," returned the officer, in a tone of chagrin, "since it is impossible to restrain you." at the same moment, he allowed him to enter the palace, and then, turning towards some other officers who had been listening to their conversation, he said, "how handsome and well-grown this young prince is. it is a pity he should die so early." khalaf traversed several saloons, and, at length, found himself in the hall where the king was accustomed to give audience to his people. in it was placed the steel throne of cathay, made in the form of a dragon, three cubits high; four lofty columns, of the same material, supported above it a vast canopy of yellow satin, ornamented with precious stones. altoun-khan, dressed in a caftan of gold brocade upon a crimson ground, was seated on his throne, with an air of gravity which was in admirable keeping with his long moustache and ample beard. the monarch, after listening to some of his subjects, cast his eyes by chance to where the prince of the nagäis stood amongst the crowd; he saw, at once, by his noble bearing and splendid dress, that he was not a man of common birth; he pointed out khalaf to one of his mandarins, and gave an order, in an undertone, to learn his rank, and the reason of his visit to his court. the mandarin approached the son of timurtasch, and told him that the king desired to know who he was, and whether he wished to make any request of the king. "you may tell the king, your master," replied the prince, "that i am the only son of a king, and that i am come to endeavour to merit the honour of becoming his son-in-law." altoun-khan no sooner learned the reply of the prince of the nagäis, than he changed colour; his august countenance became pale as death, he broke up the audience, and dismissed all the people; he then descended from his throne, and, approaching khalaf, "rash young man," said he, "are you aware of the severity of my edict, and of the miserable fate of those who have hitherto persisted in their desire to obtain the hand of the princess my daughter?" "yes, my lord," replied the son of timurtasch, "i know all the danger i incur; my eyes have witnessed the just and severe punishment your majesty inflicted upon the prince of samarcand; but the deplorable end of the audacious youths who have flattered themselves with the sweet, though vain, hope of possessing the princess tourandocte, only stimulates the desire i have of deserving her." "what madness!" rejoined the king; "scarcely has one prince lost his life, than another presents himself to share the same fate; it appears as though they took a pleasure in sacrificing themselves. what blindness! reconsider the step you are taking, and be less prodigal of your blood; you inspire me with more pity than any who have hitherto come to seek their destruction; i feel a growing inclination towards you, and wish to do all in my power to hinder you from perishing. return to your father's kingdom, and do not inflict upon him the pain of learning from strangers' lips the sad intelligence that he will never more behold his only son." "my lord," replied khalaf, "i am overjoyed to hear, from your majesty's own lips, that i have the honour of pleasing you; i draw a happy presage from it. it may be that heaven, touched by the misfortunes caused by the beauty of the princess, will use me as a means of putting an end to them, and securing you, at the same time, tranquillity for the remainder of your life, which the necessity of authorizing these cruel deeds disturbs. can you be sure that i shall not be able to answer the questions that may be put to me? what certainty have you that i shall perish? if others have been unable to fathom the depths of the obscure propositions of tourandocte, is it to be concluded that i cannot penetrate their meaning? no, my lord, their example shall never make me renounce the brilliant honour of having you for a father-in-law." "ah! unhappy prince," replied the king, melting into tears, "you wish to die; all the princes who have presented themselves before you, to answer the fatal questions put by my daughter, used the same language; they all hoped that they could penetrate her meaning, and not one was able to do so. alas! you will be the dupe of your own confidence. once more, my son, let me dissuade you. i love you, and wish to save you; do not frustrate my good intentions by your obstinacy; whatever confidence you may feel, distrust it. you deceive yourself, if you imagine that you will be able to answer upon the spot what the princess may propose to you; you will, it is true, have seven minutes to answer in; that is the rule. but if in that time you do not give a satisfactory reply, and one that shall be approved of by all the doctors and wise men who are appointed the judges, that moment you will be declared worthy of death, and on the following night will be conducted to execution. so, prince, retire; pass the rest of the day in considering what is your duty in reference to the step you propose to take; consult wise persons, reflect well, and to-morrow let me know your determination." when the king had finished speaking, he dismissed khalaf, who immediately quitted the palace, much mortified that he was obliged to wait till the next day, for he was no way daunted by what the king had said. he returned to his hostess without exhibiting the least concern about the danger to which he had determined to expose himself. as soon as he presented himself to the widow, and had related all that had passed at the palace, she began to remonstrate with him afresh, and bring every argument she could think of into play to dissuade him from his enterprise; but her efforts were crowned with no better success, and she had the mortification of seeing that they only inflamed her young guest more, and strengthened him in his resolution. the next day the prince returned to the palace, and was announced to the king, who received him in his cabinet, not wishing any one to be present at their interview. "well, prince," began altoun-khan, "am i to rejoice or grieve at your presence here to-day? what is your determination?" "my lord," replied khalaf, "i am in the same mind as yesterday. before i had the honour of presenting myself then before your majesty, i had thoroughly reflected upon the matter; and i am still prepared to suffer the same punishment as my rivals, if heaven has not otherwise ordained." at these words the king smote his breast, rent his clothes, and plucked the hairs from his beard. "wretched man that i am!" cried he, "that i should have conceived such friendship for him. the death of the others has not caused me half the pain which his will occasion me. ah! my son," continued he, embracing the prince of the nagäis with a tenderness that caused him deep emotion, "yield to my grief, if my arguments are not able to shake thee. i feel that the blow which takes thy life will strike my heart with deadly force. renounce, i conjure thee, the hope of possessing my cruel daughter; thou wilt find in the world plenty of other princesses whom thou mayst gain with more ease and as much honour. why persevere in the pursuit of an inhuman creature whom thou wilt never be able to obtain? remain, if thou wilt, in my court; thou shalt hold the first rank after me; thou shalt have beautiful slaves; pleasures shall follow thee wherever thou goest; in a word, i will look on thee as my own son. desist from thy pursuit of tourandocte. oh! let me at least have the joy of rescuing one victim from the sanguinary princess." the son of timurtasch was deeply moved by the friendship which the king of china exhibited towards him; but he replied, "my lord, let me for pity's sake expose myself to the danger from which you seek to deter me; the greater it is, the more do i feel myself tempted to encounter it. i must avow that even the cruelty of the princess stimulates my love. i feel an inward pleasure in the thought that i am the happy mortal who is to triumph over this proud beauty. for heaven's sake, your majesty," pursued he, "cease to oppose a design which my glory, my repose, my life even render it necessary for me to prosecute; for, truly, i cannot live unless i obtain tourandocte." altoun-khan, perceiving that khalaf was not to be moved, was overwhelmed with affliction. "ah! rash youth," said he, "thy death-warrant is sealed, since thou art still determined to persist in demanding my daughter. heaven is witness that i have done all in my power to inspire thee with rational thoughts. thou rejectest my counsel, and lovest rather to perish than follow it; let us say no more; thou wilt receive the reward of thy mad constancy. i consent to thy undertaking to answer the questions of tourandocte, but i must first pay thee the honour which i am accustomed to bestow upon princes who seek my alliance." at these words he called the chief of his first band of eunuchs; he ordered him to conduct khalaf into the princes' palace, and to assign him two hundred eunuchs to wait upon him. the prince of the nagäis had scarcely entered the palace to which the eunuch conducted him, before the principal mandarins came to salute him, which they did in the following manner: they placed themselves on their knees before him, bowed their heads to the ground, saying one after the other, "prince, the perpetual servant of your illustrious race comes to make his obeisance to you." they then all made him presents and retired. the king, who felt the greatest friendship for the son of timurtasch, and pitied him, sent for the most learned professor of the royal college, and said to him, "there is a new prince, who has come to my court to demand the hand of my daughter. i have spared no pains to induce him to renounce his intention, but without success. i wish thee to exert thine eloquence in endeavouring to make him listen to reason. it is for this i have sent for thee." the professor obeyed. he went to khalaf and entered into a long conversation with him; after which he returned to altoun-khan, and said, "my lord, it is impossible to dissuade this young prince; he will absolutely deserve the princess or die. when i saw the futility of attempting to conquer his resolution, i had the curiosity to try and ascertain whether his obstinacy did not proceed from some other cause than his love. i interrogated him upon several different subjects, and i found him so well informed that i was surprised at his learning. he is a moslem, and appears to me perfectly instructed in all that concerns his religion; in fact, to confess the truth to your majesty, i believe if any prince is capable of replying to the questions of the princess it is he." "o wise man," cried the king, "i am overjoyed at thy report. heaven grant that he may become my son-in-law. from the moment he appeared before me i felt an affection for him; may he be more fortunate than the others who came to this city only to seek a grave." after prayers and sacrifices, the chinese monarch sent his calao to the prince of the nagäis with notice that he was to hold himself in readiness to reply to the princess's questions on the next day, and to tell him that the proper officers would come at the right time to conduct him to the divan; and that the persons who were to compose the assembly had already received orders to attend. notwithstanding his inflexible determination to persevere in this adventure, khalaf did not pass a quiet night; if at one time he dared to trust to his genius, and promise himself success, at another, losing confidence, he represented to himself the shame he should endure if his replies did not please the divan; at another time he thought of elmaze and timurtasch. "alas!" said he, "if i die, what will become of my father and mother?" day surprised him occupied with these conflicting thoughts. presently he heard the ringing of bells and beating of drums. he concluded that this was to call to the council all those who were ordered to attend. then raising his thoughts to mahomet, "o great prophet," said he, "you behold my difficulties and know my doubts. inspire me, and reveal to me whether i must go to the divan, or must confess to the king that the danger terrifies me!" he had scarcely pronounced these words, before he felt all his fears vanish and his confidence return. he rose and dressed himself in a caftan, and mantle of red silk worked with gold flowers, which altoun-khan had sent him, with stockings and slippers of blue silk. when he had finished dressing, six mandarins, booted and dressed in very wide robes of crimson, entered his apartment, and after having saluted him in the same manner as on the previous day, informed him that they came from the king to lead him to the divan. he immediately rose and accompanied them; they traversed a court between a double file of soldiers, and when they arrived in the first council-chamber found more than a thousand singers and players upon instruments, who performing in concert produced a wonderful noise. from thence they advanced into the hall, where the council was sitting, and which communicated with the interior palace. all the persons who were to assist at this assembly were already seated under canopies of different colours arranged round the hall. the mandarins of the highest rank were on one side, the calao with the professors of the college on the other, and several doctors, renowned for their erudition, occupied other seats. in the middle were placed two thrones of gold raised upon triangular pedestals. as soon as the prince of the nagäis appeared, the noble and learned assembly saluted him with gestures of great respect, but without speaking a word; for every body, being in expectation of the king's arrival, preserved the strictest silence. the sun was upon the point of rising. as soon as the first rays of that brilliant luminary were perceived, two eunuchs drew aside the curtains which hung before the door of the inner palace, and immediately the king appeared, accompanied by the princess tourandocte, who wore a long robe of silk and gold tissue, whilst her face was concealed by a veil of the same material. when the king and princess had taken their seats upon their thrones, which they ascended by five steps of silver, two young girls of perfect beauty approached and stationed themselves, one on the side of the king and the other near the princess. they were slaves of the harem of altoun-khan; their faces and necks were exposed; they wore large pearls in their ears; and they stood each with pen and paper, ready to transcribe what the king or the princess might desire. all this time the whole assembly, who had risen upon the entrance of altoun-khan, stood up with great gravity and their eyes half closed. khalaf alone looked about him, or rather looked only at the princess, whose majestic demeanour filled him with admiration. when the powerful monarch of china had ordered the mandarins and doctors to be seated, one of the six nobles who had conducted khalaf, and who stood with him at fifteen cubits' distance from the two thrones, kneeled down and read a petition, which contained the demand of the stranger prince for the hand of the princess tourandocte. he then rose and told khalaf to make three salutations to the king. the prince of the nagäis acquitted himself with so much grace, that altoun-khan could not refrain from smiling and expressing the pleasure he experienced in seeing him. the calao then rose from his place and read with a loud voice the fatal edict, which condemned to death all the rash lovers who should fail to reply satisfactorily to the questions of tourandocte. then addressing khalaf, "prince," said he, "you have just heard the conditions upon which alone the princess's hand is to be obtained. if the sense of danger makes any impression upon you, there is still time to retire." "no, no!" said the prince; "the prize to be carried off is too precious to be lost by cowardice." the king, seeing khalaf ready to reply to the questions of tourandocte, turned towards the princess and said, "my daughter, it is for you to speak; propose to this young prince the questions which you have prepared; and may all the spirits to whom sacrifices were offered yesterday grant that he may penetrate the meaning of your words." tourandocte thereupon said, "i take the prophet jacmouny to witness, that i behold with sorrow the death of so many princes; but why do they persist in desiring to wed me? why will they not leave me to live in peace without making attempts on my liberty? know then, rash young man," added she, addressing khalaf, "that you cannot reproach me if you suffer a cruel death; you have the examples of your rivals before your eyes; you alone are the cause of your own destruction; i do not oblige you to come and ask my hand." "lovely princess," replied the prince of the nagäis, "i am fully alive to all that has been said upon this subject; propound, if you please, your questions, and i will endeavour to unravel their meaning." "well then," said tourandocte, "tell me what creature is that which belongs to every land, is a friend to the whole world, and will not brook an equal?" "madam," replied khalaf, "it is the sun." "he is right," exclaimed all the doctors, "it is the sun." "what is that mother," resumed the princess, "who, after having brought her children into the world, devours them when they are grown up?" "it is the sea," replied the prince of the nagäis; "because the rivers, which draw their sources from the sea, discharge themselves into it again." tourandocte, seeing that the prince gave correct replies to her questions, was so vexed that she resolved to spare no effort to destroy him. exerting all her ingenuity, she next asked, "what tree is that whose leaves are white on one side and black on the other?" she was not satisfied with proposing the riddle alone; the malignant princess, in order to dazzle and confuse him, raised her veil at the same moment, and allowed the assembly to see all the beauty of her countenance, the haughty charms of which were only enhanced by the violence of her emotions. her head was adorned with natural flowers arranged with infinite art, and her eyes shone more brilliantly than the stars. she was as lovely as the sun in all his splendour, when he emerges from a thick cloud. the son of timurtasch, at the sight of this incomparable princess, remained mute and motionless; so much so, that all the divan, who were deeply interested in him, were seized with terror; the king himself grew pale, and thought that the prince was lost for ever. but khalaf, recovering from the surprise that the beauty of tourandocte had caused him, quickly reassured the assembly by resuming, "charming princess, i pray you pardon me if i remained for some moments speechless; i could not behold so much loveliness without being disturbed. have the goodness to repeat the question, for i no longer remember it; your charms have made me forget every thing." "i asked you," said tourandocte, "what tree is that whose leaves are white on one side and black on the other?" "that tree," replied khalaf, "is the year, which is composed of days and nights." this reply was again applauded in the divan. the mandarins and the doctors said that it was correct, and bestowed a thousand praises on the young prince. altoun-khan said to tourandocte, "come, my daughter, confess thyself vanquished, and consent to espouse thy conqueror; the others were not able to reply to even one of thy questions, and this one, thou seest, has answered them all." "he has _not_ gained the victory," angrily retorted the princess, replacing her veil to conceal her confusion and the tears she was not able to repress; "i have others to propose to him. but i will defer them till to-morrow." "no," replied the king, "i will certainly not permit you to propose questions without end: all that i can allow you is to ask him one more, and that immediately." the princess objected, saying that she had only prepared those which had just been answered, and entreated the king, her father, for permission to interrogate the prince on the following day. "i will certainly not grant it," cried the monarch of china, in a rage; "you are only endeavouring to perplex this young prince, while i am eagerly grasping at the prospect of escaping from the frightful oath i had the imprudence to make. ah! cruel one, you breathe nothing but blood, and the death of your lovers is a pleasant sight to you. the queen, your mother, touched by the first misfortunes your cruelty caused, died of grief at having brought into the world so barbarous a child; and i, you know well, am plunged into a state of profound melancholy, which nothing can dissipate, whilst i behold the fatal results of the love i entertained for you; but, thanks to the sun, and the moon, and the spirits who preside in the heavens, and by whom my sacrifices have been regarded with a propitious eye, no more of those horrible executions which have rendered my name execrable shall be committed in my palace. since this prince has answered your questions satisfactorily, i ask all this assembly if it is not right that you should become his wife?" the mandarins and the doctors expressed their assent in murmurs, and the calao took upon himself to speak. "my lord," said he, addressing the king, "your majesty is no longer bound by the oath you made, to execute your severe edict; it is for the princess to fulfil her engagement. she promised her hand to him who should answer her questions correctly; a prince has answered them, to the satisfaction of the whole divan; she must keep her promise, or we cannot doubt that the spirits who preside over the punishment of perjurers will quickly take vengeance upon her." tourandocte kept silence during the delivery of this speech; she sat with her head on her knees, and appeared buried in deep affliction. khalaf, perceiving this, prostrated himself before altoun-khan, and said, "great king, whose justice and goodness have raised the vast empire of china to such prosperity, i beg of your majesty to grant me a favour. i see that the princess is in despair at my having been so fortunate as to reply to her questions; doubtless she would rather it had so happened that i should have deserved death. since she exhibits so strong an aversion to me, that, in spite of her promise, she refuses to become my wife, i will renounce my right to her, on condition that she, on her part, replies correctly to a question which i shall propose." the whole assembly was surprised at this speech. "is this young prince mad," they whispered one to another, "to risk the loss of that for which he perilled his life? does he imagine he can propose a question that will be too difficult for tourandocte to solve? he must have lost his senses." altoun-khan was also amazed at the request which khalaf had the temerity to make. "prince," said he, "have you reflected upon the words which have just escaped your lips?" "yes, my lord," replied the prince of the nagäis, "and i implore you to grant me this favour." "i grant it," returned the king; "but, whatever be the result, i declare that i am no longer bound by the oath i made, and that, henceforth, i will not cause another prince to be put to death." "divine tourandocte," resumed the son of timurtasch, addressing the princess, "you have heard what i said. although the decision of this learned assembly has awarded to me the prize of your hand, although you are mine, i will give you back your liberty, i will yield up possession of you, i will despoil myself of a treasure precious to me above all things, provided you reply at once to a question i shall ask; but, on your part, swear that if you cannot, you will consent willingly to complete my happiness and crown my love." "yes, prince," replied tourandocte, "i accept the conditions, and i take this assembly as witnesses of my oath." all the divan awaited, in breathless suspense, the question that khalaf was to propose to the princess, and there was not one who did not blame the young prince for exposing himself to the risk of losing the daughter of altoun-khan; they were all amazed at his temerity. "lovely princess," said khalaf, "what is the name of that prince who, after suffering a thousand hardships, and being reduced even to beg his bread, finds himself, at this moment, overwhelmed with glory and joy?" "it is impossible," said tourandocte, "for me to reply to that question on the spot, but i promise that to-morrow i will tell you the name of that prince." "madam," cried khalaf, "i asked no time for consideration, and it is not right to grant you any; still, i will grant you your wish; i hope, after that, you will look more favourably on me, and not oppose any further difficulty to your becoming my bride." "she must make up her mind to that," said altoun-khan, "if she cannot reply to the question proposed. let her not think by falling ill, or pretending to do so, that she will thereby escape. even if my rash oath should not bind me to grant him her hand, and she were not his according to the tenor of the edict, i would rather let her die, than send this young prince away. where would it be possible for her to meet with one more perfectly worthy of her?" with these words, he rose and dismissed the assembly. he re-entered the inner palace with the princess, who retired to her own apartments. as soon as the king had left the divan, all the mandarins and doctors complimented khalaf upon his wit and understanding. "i admire," said one, "your ready and easy conception." "no!" said another, "there is not a bachelor licentiate, or doctor even, of greater penetration than you. not one of all the princes who has presented themselves hitherto, in the least degree approached your merit, and we feel the most heartfelt joy at your success." the prince of the nagäis had no light task to perform in thanking all those who pressed round him to congratulate him. at length, the six mandarins who had conducted him to the council-chamber, led him back to the same palace whence they had brought him, whilst the others, together with the learned doctors retired, not without anxiety about the answer which the daughter of altoun-khan would return to the question. the princess tourandocte regained her palace, followed by the two young slaves who enjoyed her confidence. no sooner had she entered into her apartment, than she tore off her veil, and throwing herself upon a couch, gave free vent to the grief and rage which agitated her; shame and sorrow were depicted on her countenance; her eyes already bedimmed with tears, overflowed afresh; she tore off the flowers that adorned her head, and allowed her hair to fall about her in confusion. her two favourite slaves attempted to console her, but she only said bitterly, "leave me, both of you, cease your useless attentions. i will listen to nothing but my despair; leave me alone to pour forth my tears and lamentations. ah! how great will be my confusion to-morrow, when i shall be forced to acknowledge before the whole council, and the wisest doctors of china, that i cannot solve the question. is that, they will say, the transcendent princess who prides herself upon knowing every thing, and to whom the solution of the most difficult enigma presented no difficulty?" "alas!" continued she, "they all take an interest in this young prince. i noticed them grow pale with anxiety when he appeared embarrassed. i saw their faces beaming with joy when he penetrated the meaning of my questions. i shall have the bitter mortification of seeing them again rejoice at my confusion, when i shall have to confess myself conquered. how great will be their delight when i make the degrading avowal, and what agony must i endure in making it." "my princess," said one of her slaves, "instead of afflicting yourself beforehand, instead of picturing to yourself the shame you fear to suffer to-morrow, would it not be better to think of some means of preventing it? is the question the prince has proposed so difficult, that you cannot answer it? with the genius and penetration you possess, can you not accomplish it?" "no," said tourandocte, "it is impossible. he asks me to name the prince who, after suffering a thousand hardships, and being reduced to beg his bread, is, at this moment, overwhelmed with joy and glory? i feel assured that he is himself that prince, but not knowing him, i cannot tell his name." "still, madam," rejoined the same slave, "you have promised to name that prince to-morrow; when you made that promise, you hoped, doubtless, to be able to fulfil it." "i had no hope," replied the princess, "and i only demanded time to die of grief, rather than be obliged to acknowledge my shame, and marry the prince." "the resolution is a violent one," said the other favourite slave. "i know well that no man is worthy of you, but you must allow that this prince possesses singular merits; his beauty, his noble bearing, and his ready wit ought to plead in his favour." "i grant it all," interrupted the princess. "if there is any prince in the world who is worthy of my regards, it is he. indeed, i will not deny it, that i grieved for him, before i put my questions to him; i sighed when i beheld him, and--what has never happened till to-day--i almost hoped he would reply to my questions correctly. it is true that, at the same moment, i blushed at my weakness, but my pride got the better of me, and the apt answers he made excited my abhorrence towards him; all the commendations which the doctors bestowed on him so deeply mortified me, that i then felt, and still feel, the most bitter hatred against him. o unhappy tourandocte, lay thee down and die of vexation and grief, at having found a man, and he a youth, who has been able to load thee with disgrace, and compel thee to become his wife." at these words she redoubled her tears, and in the transport of her rage spared neither her hair nor her clothes. she raised her hands more than once towards her cheeks to tear them, and punish them as the prime authors of the disgrace she had endured; but her slaves, who were watching her frenzy, prevented her. they tried, however, in vain to console her; they could not calm the fury of her agitation. whilst she was in this fearful state of excitement, the prince of the nagäis, charmed with the result, and overwhelmed with joy, delivered himself up to the hope of bearing off his bride the next day. the king, having returned from the council-chamber, sent for khalaf to talk over in private the events which had taken place at the divan. the prince of the nagäis hastened to obey the orders of the monarch, who, after embracing him with great tenderness, said, "ah! my son, release me from the anxiety i am suffering. i fear lest my daughter should be able to answer the question you have proposed. why have you risked the danger of losing the object of your love?" "let not your majesty be under the least apprehension," replied khalaf; "it is impossible that the princess can tell me who the prince is whose name i have asked, for i am that prince, and no one in your court knows me." "this gives me fresh hope," cried the king in a transport of joy; "i confess i was most anxious about you. tourandocte is very shrewd; the subtlety of her wit made me tremble for you; but, thank heaven, you dispel my doubts. however great her facility of penetrating the sense of enigmas, she cannot guess your name. i can no longer accuse you of temerity; and i see what appeared to me a lack of prudence, is an ingenious device you have formed to remove every pretext for my daughter's refusal." altoun-khan, after laughing with khalaf at the question proposed to the princess, prepared to enjoy the diversion of the chase. he dressed himself in a light and close-fitting caftan, and enclosed his beard in a bag of black satin. he ordered the mandarins to hold themselves in readiness to accompany him, and commanded a hunting-dress to be given to the prince of the nagäis. they partook of a slight repast, and then quitted the palace. the mandarins, in open palanquins of ivory inlaid with gold, headed the procession, each carried by six men; two men armed with whips of cord marched before each palanquin, and two others followed with tablets of silver, upon which were written in large characters all the mandarin's titles. the king and khalaf, in an open litter of red sandalwood, carried by twenty military officers, on whose dresses were embroidered in silver the monarch's monogram and badges,--the latter consisting of several figures of animals,--appeared next. after the mandarins, two generals of altoun-khan's army marched on either side of the litter, carrying large fans or umbrellas to ward off the heat, and three thousand eunuchs on foot completed the cortége. when they arrived at the place where the hunters awaited the king with the falcons, the sport began by flying hawks at quails; this diversion lasted till sunset, when the king and the prince, and the persons of their suites, returned to the palace in the same order in which they had left. they found in the court several pavilions of silk of different colours, a great number of small tables, beautifully polished and covered with all sorts of viands ready cut up. as soon as the king had taken his seat, khalaf and the mandarins sat down, each at a little separate table, near which stood another, which served as a buffet. they all began by drinking several bumpers of rice wine before touching the viands; they then proceeded to eat without drinking any more. the banquet ended, the king, altoun-khan, led the prince of the nagäis into a large hall, brilliantly illuminated, and fitted up with seats arranged for seeing some spectacle, and they were followed by all the mandarins. the king appointed each his place, and made khalaf sit near him, upon a large ebony throne, inlaid with gold tracery. as soon as the company had taken their places, singers and musicians entered, who commenced an agreeable concert. altoun-khan was delighted with it. infatuated with the chinese music, he asked the son of timurtasch, from time to time, what he thought of it, and the young prince, out of politeness, gave it the highest rank of all the music in the world. the concert finished, the singers and musicians retired, to make room for an artificial elephant, which having advanced by secret springs into the middle of the hall, vomited forth six vaulters, who began by making some perilous leaps. they were attired in very thin dresses; they had on only drawers of indian cloth, caps of brocade, and light shoes. after they had exhibited their agility and suppleness by a thousand extraordinary performances, they re-entered the elephant, which went away as it came. next, there appeared players, who performed, impromptu, a piece, the subject of which the king chose. when all these diversions were finished, and the night was far advanced, altoun-khan and khalaf rose, to retire to their apartments, and the mandarins followed their example. the young prince of the nagäis, conducted by eunuchs bearing wax candles in gold candelabra, was preparing to taste the sweets of repose as well as his impatience to return to the divan would permit him, when on entering his chamber, he found a young lady, dressed in a robe of red brocade with silver flowers, and adorned with rubies and emeralds; she wore a head-dress of rose-coloured silk, ornamented with pearls and bound by a very light silver border, which only covered the top of her head, and allowed her beautiful hair to escape, which hung down in ringlets, adorned with a few artificial flowers; as to her figure and face it was impossible to see any more beautiful and perfect except that of the princess of china. the son of timurtasch was much surprised at meeting a lady alone, and so beautiful, at midnight in his room. he could not have looked upon her with indifference, had he not seen tourandocte; but as the lover of that princess he had no eyes for any other. as soon as the lady perceived khalaf, she rose from the sofa where she was seated, and upon which she had laid her veil, and after making a low inclination of her head, "prince," said she, "i doubt not that you are surprised to find a woman here; for you cannot be ignorant that it is rigorously forbidden for men and women who inhabit the harem, to have any communication together; but the importance of the matter that i have to communicate to you, has made me disregard all danger. i have had dexterity and good fortune enough to overcome all the obstacles which opposed my design. i have gained the eunuchs who wait upon you. it now only remains for me to tell you what brought me here." khalaf felt interested; he could not doubt but that the lady who had taken so perilous a step, had something to communicate worthy his attention; he begged her to resume her seat on the sofa; they both sat down; and the lady then continued in these terms: "my lord, i believe i ought to begin by informing you that i am the daughter of a khan, one of the tributaries of altoun-khan. some years ago, my father was bold enough to refuse to pay the usual tribute, and, relying too much upon his experience in the art of war, as well as upon the valour of his troops, prepared to defend himself in case he were attacked. what he expected happened. the king of china irritated by his audacity, sent the most experienced of his generals with a powerful army against him. my father, though considerably weaker in numbers, went out to meet him. after a sanguinary battle, which was fought on the banks of a river, the chinese general remained victorious. my father, pierced with a thousand wounds, died during the battle, but before his death, he ordered all his wives and children to be thrown into the river, to preserve them from slavery. those who were charged with the generous, though inhuman order, executed it; they threw me, together with my mother, sisters, and two brothers, whose tender age had kept them with us, into the river. the chinese general arrived at the spot at the very moment when they had cast us in, and when we were about to finish our miserable existence. this mournful and horrible sight excited his compassion; he promised a reward to any of the soldiers who should save any of the vanquished khan's family. several chinese horsemen, in spite of the rapidity of the stream, dashed in, and urged their horses wherever they saw our dying bodies floating. they recovered a few, but their assistance was only of use to me. i still breathed when they brought me to shore. the general took great pains for my recovery, as though the glory acquired by my captivity would bestow a fresh lustre on his victory; he brought me to this city, and presented me to the king, after giving an account of his mission. altoun-khan placed me with his daughter the princess, who is two or three years younger than i am. "although still a child, i could not help reflecting that i had become a slave, and that i ought to have sentiments conformable to my situation. i therefore studied the disposition of tourandocte, and strove to please her, and i succeeded so well by my compliance with her wishes and my attentions, that i gained her friendship. from that time i have shared her confidence with a young person of illustrious birth, whom the misfortunes of her family have reduced to slavery. "pardon, my lord," she continued, "this narrative which does not bear any relation to the subject that has brought me here. i thought it but right to apprize you that i am of noble blood, that you might place more reliance in me; for the important communication i have to make is such, that an ordinary slave might induce you to give but little credence to what she had to say; and i know not, that even i, though the daughter of a khan, shall be able to influence you: would a prince enamoured of tourandocte give credit to what i am about to say of her?" "princess," replied the son of timurtasch, interrupting her, "keep me no longer in suspense, tell me, i pray you, at once what you have to say concerning the princess of china." "my lord," replied the lady, "tourandocte, the barbarous tourandocte has formed a plot to assassinate you!" at these words khalaf, falling back on the sofa, lay for a moment in a state of horror and amazement. the slave-princess, who had foreseen the astonishment of the young prince, said, "i am not surprised that you should thus receive this frightful announcement, and i was right when i doubted that you would believe it." "merciful heaven," cried khalaf, when he recovered from his stupefaction, "did i hear aright? is it possible that the princess of china could be guilty of such an atrocious attempt? how could she conceive so base a project?" "prince," replied the lady, "i will explain to you how she came to take this horrible resolution. when she left the divan this morning, where i had been stationed behind her throne, i saw that she was mortally enraged at what had taken place; she returned into her apartments writhing under the most bitter feelings of mortification and fury; she pondered over the question you asked her for a long time, and not being able to find a suitable answer, she abandoned herself to despair. while she was in the bath, i spared no means, in which i was seconded by the other favourite slave, to calm the violence of her transports; we tried all in our power to inspire her with sentiments favourable to you; we extolled your person and your talents; we represented to her, that she ought to determine to bestow her hand upon you; we pointed out the unseemliness of such immoderate grief; but she imposed silence upon us, with a torrent of injurious words. the most agreeable and handsome make no more impression upon her than the ugliest and most deformed. 'they are all,' said she, 'objects of my contempt, and for whom i shall always entertain the deepest aversion. as regards him who has presented himself last, i entertain a greater hatred towards him than towards the others, and if i cannot rid myself of him by any other means i will have him assassinated.' "i opposed this detestable design," continued the slave-princess, "and laid before her the terrible consequences of such a deed. i represented to her the injury she would inflict upon herself, the despair she would occasion the king, and the just horror that future ages would entertain for her memory. "the other favourite slave supported with all her eloquence the arguments i adduced, but all our persuasions were of no avail; we could not turn her from her purpose. she has entrusted her faithful eunuchs with orders to take your life to-morrow morning as you leave your palace to repair to the divan." "o inhuman princess, perfidious tourandocte," cried the prince of the nagäis, "is it thus you prepare to crown the affection of the unhappy son of timurtasch? has khalaf indeed appeared so hateful to you, that you would rather rid yourself of him by a crime that will dishonour you, than unite your destiny with his? great heaven! how chequered with strange events is my life! at one moment i seem to enjoy happiness that the greatest might envy, at another i am plunged into a whirlpool of misery." "my lord," said the slave-princess, "if heaven ordains that you should suffer misfortunes, it does not will that you should sink beneath their weight, since it warns you of the dangers that threaten you. yes, prince, it is heaven that has doubtless inspired me with the thought of saving you, for i come not only to point out the snare laid for your life, i come also to furnish you with means to escape. by the assistance of some eunuchs who are devoted to me, i have gained over the soldiers of the guard, who will facilitate your flight from the serail. as they will not fail to make a searching investigation, when they know of your departure, and discover that i am the author of it, i am resolved to fly with you, and escape from this court, where i have more than one cause for discontent; my state of bondage makes me hate it, and you make it still more odious to me. "let us waste no time; come, and let to-morrow's sun, when he begins his course, find us far, far from pekin. "in a certain spot in the town," continued she, "horses await us; let us fly, and reach if possible the territory of the tribe of berlas." khalaf replied, "beautiful princess, i render you a thousand thanks for your wish to save me from the danger with which i am encompassed. oh! that i could, to prove my gratitude, deliver you from your slavery, and conduct you in safety to the horde of the khan of berlas your relation. with what pleasure would i place you in his hands! i should thereby repay some of the obligations i lie under to him. but i ask you, princess, ought i thus to steal away from altoun-khan? what would he think of me? he would believe that i came to his court for the sole purpose of carrying you off, and at the very time when i should be flying, only that i might save his daughter from perpetrating a fearful crime, he would be accusing me of violating the laws of hospitality. ah! must i confess it, cruel though the princess of china be, i could never find in my foolish heart to hate her? whatever misfortune may be in store for me, i cannot consent to so ignominious a flight. i acknowledge that charms like yours would amply repay your liberator, and that my days with you might pass in the greatest bliss, but i am not born to be happy, my destiny is to love tourandocte; despite the aversion she feels towards me, i should wear out my days in endless sorrow, were they spent away from her." "well then, ingrate, remain," cried the lady passionately, interrupting him, "and let the spot in which thy happiness is concentrated be sprinkled with thy blood." saying these words, she replaced her veil, and quitted the apartment. the young prince, after the lady had retired, remained upon the sofa in a state of bewilderment. "must i believe," said he, "what i have just heard? can she carry her cruelty thus far? alas! i dare not doubt it, for the slave-princess's expressions of horror at tourandocte's plot were so natural--the risks she ran in coming herself to warn me of it so great, and the feelings she displayed so unquestionable,--that all are pledges of the truthfulness of her words. ah! cruel daughter of the best of kings, is it thus that you abuse the gifts with which heaven has endowed you? o heaven! how couldst thou confer on this barbarous princess so much beauty, or why adorn so inhuman a soul with so many charms?" instead of seeking a few hours' sleep, he passed the night, distracted with the most painful reflections. at length day appeared, the ringing of the bells and beating of drums was again heard, and shortly after six mandarins arrived to conduct him to the council-chamber, as on the preceding day. he traversed the court where the soldiers were arranged in two files: he expected to meet his death at this spot, and that it was here the persons who had been appointed to assassinate him were posted, in order to despatch him as he passed. far from thinking of defending himself or putting himself upon his guard, he walked on like a man prepared to die; he even appeared to chide the delay of his assassins. he passed through the court, however, without any attack being made upon him, and reached the first hall of the divan. "ah! doubtless it is here," thought he, "that the sanguinary order of the princess is to be put in execution." he looked around him on all sides, and thought he saw in every one he surveyed a murderer. he nevertheless advanced and entered the hall where the council was sitting, without receiving the deadly stroke which he thought awaited him. all the doctors and mandarins were already seated under their canopies, and altoun-khan was momentarily expected. "what can be the design of the princess?" thought he. "can she wish to be an eye-witness of my death, and does she desire to have me assassinated before the eyes of her father? can the king be an accomplice in the deed? what am i to think? can he have changed his mind, and issued the order for my death?" whilst his thoughts were occupied with these doubts, the door of the inner palace opened, and the king, accompanied by tourandocte, entered the hall. they took their seats upon their thrones, and the prince of the nagäis stood before them, at the same distance as on the day before. when the calao saw the king seated, he rose, and demanded of the young prince whether he remembered having promised to renounce the hand of the princess if she answered the question which he had proposed. khalaf replied that he did, and again declared that in that event, he would renounce all claim to the honour of being the king's son-in-law. the calao then addressed tourandocte, and said, "and you, great princess, you are aware of the oath that binds you, and of the penalty to which you are subjected if you do not this day declare the name of the prince, which you are required to give." the king, persuaded that she could not reply to the question of khalaf, said to her, "my daughter, you have had ample time to consider the question which was proposed to you; but if you had a whole year to think of it, i believe that in spite of your sagacity you would be obliged, at the end of it, to acknowledge that it is something which even you could not reveal. so, as you cannot guess, yield with good grace to the love of this young prince, and satisfy the wish i feel that he should be your husband. he is worthy of being so, and of reigning with you, after my death, over the people of this mighty empire." "my lord," replied tourandocte, "why do you think that i shall not be able to reply to the question of this prince? it is not so difficult as you imagine. i suffered the shame of a defeat yesterday, but to-day i look forward to the honour of a victory. i will confound this rash young man who has entertained so mean an opinion of my talents. let him put the question, and i will answer it." "madam," thereupon said the prince of the nagäis, "i ask, what is the name of that prince who, after suffering a thousand hardships, and being reduced to beg his bread, finds himself at this moment covered with glory, and overwhelmed with joy?" "this prince," replied tourandocte, "is named khalaf, and he is the son of timurtasch." when khalaf heard his name he changed colour, a dark mist seemed to cover his eyes, and he fell senseless to the ground. the king and all the mandarins, judging from this that tourandocte had answered correctly, and had given the prince's real name, grew pale, and sat in great consternation. after khalaf had recovered from his swoon, through the attentions of the mandarins and the king himself, who had quitted his throne to come to his assistance, he thus addressed tourandocte: "beautiful princess, you are mistaken if you think you have given a fitting answer to my question; the son of timurtasch is not covered with glory, and overwhelmed with joy; he is rather covered with shame, and overwhelmed with grief." "i agree with you," replied the princess, "that at this moment you are not overwhelmed with glory and joy, but you were so when you proposed this question; so, prince, instead of having recourse to vain quibbles, confess honestly that you have lost your right to tourandocte. i therefore can, if i choose, refuse you my hand, and abandon you to the regret of having lost your prize; nevertheless, i will acknowledge to you, and declare here publicly, that i entertain different feelings towards you to what i did. the friendship my father has conceived for you, and your own merit, have determined me to take you for my husband." at these words all etiquette was for a moment forgotten; the council-chamber resounded with shouts of joy. the mandarins and doctors applauded the words of tourandocte. the king approached her, and kissing her, said, "my child, you could not have formed a decision more agreeable to me; by this act you will efface the bad impression you have made upon the minds of my people, and you confer upon your father a joy to which he has long been a stranger, and which hitherto he had hoped for in vain. yes, that aversion you entertained for marriage, that aversion so contrary to nature, robbed me of the sweet hope of seeing princes of my own blood spring from you. happily, that aversion has ceased, and what crowns my wishes is, that you have extinguished it in favour of a young hero who is dear to me. but tell us," added he, "how you have been able to guess the name of a prince who was unknown to you." "my lord," replied tourandocte, "it was not by enchantment that i learned it; it was by perfectly natural means. one of my slaves sought the prince khalaf, and had subtlety enough to rob him of his secret, and i hope he will forgive me for taking advantage of this treachery, since i have made no worse use of it." "ah! charming tourandocte," hereupon cried the prince of the nagäis, "is it possible that you entertain such favourable sentiments towards me? from what a frightful abyss do you draw me, to raise me to the height of bliss! alas, how unjust was i! whilst you were preparing such a glorious fate for me i thought you guilty of the blackest of all treachery. deceived by a horrible fable which darkened my reason, i repaid your good intentions with injurious doubts. oh! what impatience do i feel to expiate my unjust suspicions at your feet." altoun-khan ordered the preparations for the marriage of khalaf and tourandocte to be set on foot, and whilst they were engaged about them he sent ambassadors to the tribe of berlas, to inform the khan of the nagäis of all that had taken place in china, and to beg him to come with the princess his wife. the preparations being concluded, the marriage was celebrated with all the pomp and magnificence which belonged to the high birth of the happy pair. khalaf was raised to the rank of the highest subject, and the king himself made a public declaration that, to mark his sense of the esteem and consideration he entertained for his son-in-law, he should allow him to dispense with the customary obeisances to his bride. during a whole month nothing was seen at the court but feasting and pageants, and in the city nothing but gaiety and rejoicings. the possession of tourandocte did not diminish the love khalaf entertained for her, and the princess, who had hitherto regarded men with so much contempt, could not but love so perfect a prince. some time after their marriage the ambassadors whom altoun-khan had sent to the country of berlas returned, bringing with them not only the father and mother of the king's son-in-law, but also prince almguer, who, to pay honour to elmaze and timurtasch, insisted on accompanying them, with the most distinguished of his nobles, and conducting them to pekin. the young prince of the nagäis, apprized of their arrival, immediately rode out to meet them. he found them nearly at the gate of the palace. the joy he felt on seeing his father and mother, and their transports on seeing him, can be scarcely conceived, much less described. they all three embraced each other over and over again, and the tears they shed drew forth corresponding signs of emotion from the chinese and tartars who were present. after these tender embraces, khalaf saluted the khan of berlas; he expressed to him how deeply he felt his kindness, and more especially his condescension in himself accompanying his parents to the court of china; the prince almguer replied that, being ignorant of the rank of timurtasch and elmaze, he had not shown towards them the respect that was due to them, and thus to atone for any neglect they might have experienced, he thought it his duty to pay them this mark of honour; the khan of the nagäis and his wife the princess, however, paid a high tribute to the attentive kindness of the khan of berlas; they then all entered the palace of the king, to be presented to altoun-khan. they found this monarch awaiting them in the first hall. he embraced them all, one after the other, and received them very graciously; he then conducted them into his cabinet, where, after expressing the pleasure he felt at seeing timurtasch, and his sympathy in his misfortunes, he assured him that he would employ all his power to avenge him on the sultan of carisma. this was no empty offer, for that very day he despatched orders to the governors of the provinces to march with all speed with the soldiers who were in the towns within their jurisdiction, and to take the route to lake baljouta, which was chosen for the rendezvous of the formidable army he proposed to assemble there. for his part, the khan of berlas, who had foreseen this war, and who wished to assist in the re-establishment of timurtasch in his dominions, had, previous to his departure from his tribe, ordered the general of his army to be in readiness to take the field at the first summons. he now commanded him also to repair to lake baljouta with all possible speed. during the time the officers and soldiers who were to compose the army of altoun-khan, and who were dispersed throughout the kingdom, were marching to assemble at the spot indicated, this king spared no pains to express his high consideration for his new guests; he appointed a separate palace to each, with a great number of eunuchs, and a guard of two thousand men. every day some new fête was contrived for their entertainment, and the king's whole attention seemed turned towards affording them pleasure. khalaf, although he had now every day a thousand matters to occupy his attention, did not forget his kind hostess; he remembered with gratitude the solicitude she expressed for him; he sent for her to the palace, and begged tourandocte to receive her amongst her attendants. the hope that timurtasch and elmaze entertained of reascending the throne of the nagäi-tartars, by the assistance of the king of china, insensibly made them forget their past troubles; and when tourandocte gave birth to a beautiful prince, they were quite overwhelmed with joy. the birth of this child, who was named the prince of china, was celebrated in all the cities of this vast empire by public rejoicings. whilst these festivities were taking place, news was brought by couriers, sent by the officers who had orders to collect the army, that all the troops of the kingdom, and those of the khan of berlas, had assembled at lake baljouta. immediately timurtasch, khalaf, and almguer set out for the camp, where they found every thing in readiness, and seven hundred thousand men ready to march; they immediately took the read to kotan, from whence they marched to raschar, and at length entered the dominions of the sultan of carisma. this prince, informed of their numbers, and of the invasion of his territories, by couriers whom the governors of the frontier towns had despatched, far from being alarmed at the number of his enemies, courageously prepared to meet them. instead even of intrenching himself, he had the boldness to take the field himself, at the head of four hundred thousand men, whom he had hastily collected. the armies met near cogendi, where they drew up in battle array. on the side of the chinese, timurtasch commanded the right wing, prince almguer the left, and khalaf the centre. on the other side, the sultan confided the command of his right wing to the ablest of his generals, opposed the prince of carisma to the prince of the nagäis, and reserved the left to himself, where the elite of his cavalry were stationed. the khan of berlas began the attack with the soldiers of his tribe, who, fighting like men who knew the eyes of their master were on them, soon turned the right wing of their enemies; the officer who commanded it, however, succeeded in reforming it almost immediately. meanwhile the right wing, commanded by timurtasch, was not so fortunate; the sultan broke them at the first onset, and the chinese in disorder were on the point of taking flight, in spite of every effort of the khan of the nagäis, when khalaf, informed of what had taken place, confided the care of the centre to an experienced chinese general, and rushed to the assistance of his father at the head of reinforcements. in a short time things assumed a different aspect. the left wing of the carismians was driven back, and in turn routed; the whole of the ranks fell into disorder and were easily broken--the entire wing was put to flight. the sultan determined to conquer or die, and made incredible efforts to rally his soldiers; but timurtasch and khalaf gave them no time, and surrounded them on all sides, whilst prince almguer having defeated the right wing, victory declared in favour of the chinese. there remained but one chance of safety for the sultan of carisma, and that was to cut his way through the ranks of his enemies, and to take refuge with some foreign prince; but he preferred not surviving his defeat to exhibiting amongst the nations his brow despoiled of the diadem; so rushing blindly into the thickest of the carnage, he fell bravely, fighting to the last, and pierced with a thousand mortal wounds, on a heap of slain. the prince of carisma, his son, shared the same fate; two hundred thousand of their troops were killed or made prisoners, the rest seeking safety in flight. the chinese also lost a great number of men; but if the battle had been a bloody one, it was decisive. timurtasch, after thanking heaven for this signal success, despatched an officer to pekin to give an account of the battle to the king of china; he then advanced into zagatay, and seized upon the city of carisma. he made a proclamation in this capital that he would not touch the property, or interfere with the liberty of the carismians; that heaven having made him master of the throne of his enemy, he intended to take possession of it, and that henceforth, zagatay, and the other countries which had been under the sway of the sultan, should acknowledge for their sovereign his son khalaf. the carismians, tired of the harsh rule of their late master, and persuaded that that of khalaf would be milder, submitted readily, and proclaimed as sultan this young prince, with whose merits they were acquainted. whilst the new sultan took all necessary measures to strengthen his position, timurtasch departed with a body of chinese troops with all possible speed to his own dominions. the nagäi-tartars received him like faithful subjects, and were overjoyed to see their legitimate sovereign; but he was not content with regaining his throne; he declared war against the circassians, in order to punish them for their treachery to prince khalaf at jund. instead of trying to appease him by submission, these warlike people speedily collected an army to oppose him. he attacked them, and cut them nearly all to pieces; after which he caused himself to be proclaimed king of circassia, and then returned to zagatay, where he found elmaze and tourandocte, whom altoun-khan had sent to carisma in great state. such was the end of the misfortunes of prince khalaf, who gained by his virtues the love and esteem of the carismians. he reigned long and peacefully over them, and never abated in his love for tourandocte; he had a second son by her, who became afterwards the sultan of carisma. as for the prince of china, altoun-khan brought him up, and chose him for his successor. timurtasch and the princess elmaze passed the rest of their days at astrachan, and the khan of berlas, after having received from them and their children all the tokens of gratitude which his generosity merited, retired to his tribe with the remainder of his troops. footnotes: [ ] the chinese mourning colour is white. iv. the wise dey. chaaban, dey of algiers, being dead, the turkish janissaries bethought themselves of electing a new dey; and their intention was to place in this high station an inert, weak, and indolent man, who would allow them to be their own masters, to act as they pleased either with or without justice, and who would never inflict any punishment upon them. passing through the streets of algiers, they beheld hadgi-achmet, a man of ripe age, seated peaceably at the door of his dwelling, and carefully mending his old slippers, without taking any part either in the outcries, the conversation, or the gossiping going on all around him. hadgi-achmet seemed to them to be just the sort of apathetic man they were in search of, a man who would never interfere with any one, would allow them to do exactly as they pleased, and who, in short, would be but the shadow of a dey. they therefore laid hold of hadgi-achmet, tore him from his work, led him to the divan, and elected him dey in spite of himself. hadgi-achmet, thus forced to assume the reins of government, wisely examined into the duties of his new position, and set himself to fulfil them with as much assiduity and zeal as he had employed in the humbler task of mending his old slippers. he watched over the interests of the country, and over those of justice, and punished severely all misdeeds which came under his observation; having a stern, strange habit of knitting his shaggy eyebrows and flashing his brilliant eyes whenever any thing mean or wicked came under his notice. all this was very displeasing to the turkish janissaries, and to several members of the divan. four of these latter formed a species of plot with the design of bringing hadgi-achmet into contempt in the eyes of the public. now as it was the pleasure of the dey to administer justice himself, and to enquire into the smallest matter that concerned the interests of the people, they thought to render him ridiculous, by begging him one day to judge four distinct matters, unworthy, in their opinion, to occupy the attention of a great ruler. "hadgi-achmet," said one of the members of the divan to the dey, "my lord, here is a culprit who can only be judged by thee, o sun of justice! he is a tunisian merchant, who has established himself a short time since at bab-a-zoun street, not far from the mosque. at first he carried on his trade with tolerable honesty; but by degrees it has been shown that he is nothing better than a rogue, and has cheated a great number of his customers in the weight, the quality, and the value of his goods. thou knowest well the law which condemns such offenders to lose an ear. this man was seized, carried before the cadi, and his rogueries being but too apparent, condemned by the cadi to lose his left ear, the right being reserved in the event of fresh misdemeanors. but when the man's turban was removed, it was discovered that his left ear was already gone. the cadi, being informed of the fact, ordered the right ear to be cut off. to execute this order, they had to pull the hand of the culprit away from his right ear, and when this had been done, it was discovered that the tunisian's right ear was missing as well as the left. the cadi therefore sent to inform me, and i, knowing the pleasure thou takest in resolving grave and important questions, have come to submit this one to thy consummate prudence, to thy glorious justice." hadgi-achmet, having heard these words, knit his brows, his eyes flashed fire upon him who had just spoken, and upon all those who were present at this audience; then, turning towards the man without ears, he said, "since thou hast always been a rogue, and that nothing could reform thee, i condemn thee all thy life long to wear neither turban nor any head-dress whatsoever to conceal the mutilation of thy ears. purchasers, on beholding this mutilation, will shun thee if they are wise, for no one is ignorant that a merchant without ears is nothing else than a rogue." the earless tunisian went sadly away. being compelled to exhibit to every one and at all times the mutilation he had undergone, was a far worse punishment than the loss of five hundred ears, if he had had them. this judgment pronounced, a second member of the divan addressed the dey, "hadgi-achmet, our lord and master, here are two men who are quarrelling upon a question which thou only canst decide by thy profound wisdom. one of these men is the father of a beautiful and promising boy. he had this son and two others. one day, about ten years ago, ibrahim, his neighbour, who was childless, said to him, 'chamyl, give me thy youngest son, i will adopt him; he shall live in my house, inherit my wealth, and be happy. if thou desirest it, i will give thee in exchange for thy son my country-house at boudjaréah; thou knowest that the north breeze is wafted there in the hottest days of summer.' "chamyl consented to give his son, and took the house at boudjaréah in exchange. ormed, the son of chamyl, went to live with ibrahim, who soon loved him very tenderly, whilst ormed, if only out of gratitude, soon became much attached to him. "chamyl has now lost both his other sons, and having become rich, desires to take back ormed, saying, 'this child is henceforth the sole hope of my race, the joy of my heart, and i wish him to become my heir.' "as for ibrahim, he has lost nearly the half of his fortune, but he has not lost the attachment which he bears to his adopted son. on the contrary, his affection continues daily to strengthen for this child, who is endowed with the finest qualities of mind, and with a grateful and affectionate heart. "with whom dost thou decree that ormed shall remain? with his adopted or with his real father?" hadgi-achmet, addressing himself to chamyl, said, "in what does thy fortune consist?" chamyl enumerated his possessions: a house, a ship, several country houses, and merchandise. "can these things be removed?" asked hadgi-achmet. "some of them can," replied chamyl. "and the others," replied hadgi-achmet; "couldst not thou, if necessary, dispose of them, and buy others with the price?" "i could," replied chamyl. "and the affection which thou hadst for thy sons who are dead, couldst thou transfer it, and bestow it upon other children." "ah! that would be impossible," replied chamyl, sorrowfully. "then affection cannot be transferred or exchanged," said hadgi-achmet; "and as it forms part of the heart of man, it is of far higher consequence than material things, is it not?" "yes, my lord," answered chamyl. "so that," continued the dey, "we may say to a man, sell, or give away, thy possessions; but we cannot, without absurdity, say to any one, cease to love him whom thou lovest. for which reason, chamyl, i condemn thee to leave with ibrahim the child whom he loves, and whom thou voluntarily gavest him when thou hadst affection for thy two sons who are no more. as to thy possessions, thou canst bear them whithersoever thou wilt, for riches are not the heart." "but i love my son," cried chamyl, "and i will have him, and him only, for my heir." "ah! thou lovest thy son," rejoined hadgi-achmet. "it may be so, but thou gavest no proofs of it so long as thy two other children were alive. moreover, thou hast taken a house in exchange for thy son; it is exactly the same as if thou hadst sold thy child." "i was poor," murmured chamyl. "a lame excuse," said the dey, "for there are many more poor men than rich men, yet we do not see poor men giving up their children for any gain whatsoever." "no, no! i have not sold my son," cried chamyl, "and my son is mine." "no, thy son is no longer thine," said the dey, "for thou art not a father after my heart, and for ten years thy son has been cared for by the man to whom thou gavest him in exchange for a house. ibrahim has not deserved that the child whom he so tenderly loves should be taken from him, and i order him to be left with him. but since thou wilt have none other than thy son for thine heir, i decree moreover that all thy property shall revert to him after thy death, which is nothing but justice." ibrahim then interposed. "my lord," said he to the dey, "ormed and i have no need of the fortune of chamyl. what allah has left to us is sufficient for our wants. permit chamyl then to preserve the right of choosing for himself an heir among orphans or poor children, of whom he will now probably adopt one." "no," replied the dey, "the man who has been able to calmly select one from among his own children and barter him for a house, can never attach himself to the orphan or the unfortunate. i see no reason to alter the judgment i have pronounced. ormed will have for his inheritance the love of his adopted father and the wealth of his real one." chamyl withdrew, greatly incensed at this judgment, which seemed to him unjust, but which appeared highly equitable to the inhabitants of aldgezaire. a third member of the divan then addressed hadgi-achmet: "all thy words bear the impress of the wisdom which illuminates thee. it suffices to hear thee, in order to know and venerate thee. if we do not abuse thy patience and thy goodness, it is because both are inexhaustible. behold," added he, "a woman veiled, according to the law. she accuses her husband of leaving her to perish with hunger, whilst her husband here maintains that the woman tells an infamous untruth, and that he supplies her with ample means for becoming fat and strong; he adds, that the famished locusts from the desert eat not more voraciously than doth this woman, all the while remaining lean and feeble, as thou seest. the woman persists in asserting that her husband scarcely gives her sufficient to languish on like a dying tree, and she claims thy pity and thy justice." hadgi-achmet, having heard these words, knit his brows, his eyes flashed fire upon him who had just spoken, and upon those present at this audience. then he said, "mahmoud, dost thou declare that thou affordest sufficient nourishment to thy wife?" "yes, my lord," replied mahmoud. "and thou, woman," said the dey, "dost thou still maintain that thy husband leaves thee in want of nourishment?" "yes, my lord," replied the poor starving woman in a faint voice, and extending her transparent hands and long thin arms, in a supplicating manner towards her master and her judge. "art thou poor?" demanded hadgi-achmet of mahmoud. "no, my lord," replied mahmoud, "i could support several wives if i wished, but it pleases me to have only this one in my house." "ah! thou couldst support several wives," replied the dey; "and why then dost thou not give to this one all she desires, even supposing she devoured as voraciously as the famished locusts of the desert?" "i never refuse her any thing," said mahmoud. the poor veiled woman sighed. "well," added hadgi-achmet, "since thou art both rich and generous, i will put thee in the position to repel an accusation so disgraceful to thee as that of leaving the woman whom thou hast espoused to perish of hunger. to which end i order that thy wife shall dwell in my palace in the apartments of my women and receive from thee a pension which will enable her to purchase whatever food she may desire. if at the end of a year of peace and plenty she should still possess that feeble voice and that excessive thinness which inspire my compassion, i shall regard her as inflicted with an incurable malady, and will leave her to go and die beneath thy roof; but if, on the contrary, she regains strength and voice, thou shalt be hung, not only for having violated the law which commands the husband to minister to the support of his wife, but still more for having lied before thy lord and thy judge, who knows and ever will know how to punish those who offend him." having spoken thus, hadgi-achmet cast terrible looks upon all the men present at this audience. mahmoud withdrew only too sure of being hung next year, and every one preserved a gloomy silence which lasted for several minutes. hadgi-achmet meanwhile resumed: "if there remains any other cause for me to judge, let it be declared." then with less self-possession and confidence than his colleagues had displayed, a fourth member of the divan presented himself. "here, my lord," said he, "is a strange affair which occupies us, and which thou alone canst judge. "these two men here present are twin-brothers. they have always loved each other, and have never been separated. their father is just dead. after having deplored his loss, they said to each other: 'the roof of our father's dwelling has sheltered us to this day, let it shelter us still; and let us amicably share all that is left us by our father, arms, vestments, or jewels.' "but all at once an object presented itself which could not be divided, and for the loss of which nothing else would compensate. the article in question is a holy amulet, which it is said bestows wisdom on him who wears it upon his breast beneath his tunic. now the two brothers equally desire wisdom, and both would fain possess the precious talisman left them by their father." hadgi-achmet having heard these words, knit his brows, again his eyes flashed fire, as he said to one of the twins: "mozza, canst thou not yield to thy brother, who so earnestly desires it, the amulet left you both by your father?" "no, my lord," replied mozza, "i could easily reconcile myself to my brother's being richer than myself, but not to his being wiser!" hadgi-achmet turned to the other brother: "farzan, canst thou not yield to thy brother the amulet he wishes to possess?" "no, my lord," replied farzan, "for wisdom not alone bestows upon its possessor the things of the earth, but those also which belong to heaven, and i desire those above all." hadgi-achmet then ordered mozza to place upon his breast beneath his tunic the cherished amulet, which being done, he said to the young man: "i am charmed to find that thou preferrest wisdom to fortune, for wisdom is above all. but dost thou not see that it is wise to be at peace with thy brother, and that to obtain this peace there is no sacrifice too great? to yield to thy brother is the beginning and the end of wisdom; he who yields is ever the best and the wisest. on this ground thou wilt now, i am persuaded, yield cheerfully this amulet to thy brother." "i repeat, my lord," answered mozza, "that i will yield every thing to my brother, slaves, diamonds, house--my entire fortune; but i will never willingly give up this sacred amulet: it is the only heritage i covet." "ah!" said hadgi-achmet, "thou hast not changed thy mind then! well, give me thy father's amulet." mozza reluctantly handed the precious talisman to the dey. "farzan," said the dey, "place this amulet upon thy breast, and beneath thy tunic." farzan obeyed. he had no sooner placed the amulet upon his breast than he felt so lively a joy that he would have embraced his brother had he dared, and his eyes glistened with pleasure. "ah!" said hadgi-achmet, addressing himself to farzan, "i perceive that this amulet has great power over thee. thy heart is opened to wisdom, and thou wilt renounce foolish quarrels, wilt thou not, and yield to thy brother the talisman which he so much desires, and of which he has perhaps greater need than thou?" "i!" cried farzan, "rather would i die than part with my father's amulet! i feel myself capable of plunging my dagger into the bosom of any one rash enough to attempt to tear it from me, whoever he might be." "in truth," rejoined hadgi-achmet, "i see that this amulet is far from bestowing all the wisdom of which you young men deem it capable. on the contrary it only seems to me fit to sow dissensions between you, since notwithstanding you have both worn it upon your breast, you have nevertheless preserved your animosity and unjust pretensions in the dispute in question. for which reason i ordain that this precious talisman, of whose real power we are doubtless ignorant, shall remain in my palace and be restored in ten years' time to whichever of you two shall have given by his conduct the most incontestable proofs of piety and virtue." having heard this sentence, the two brothers sorrowfully withdrew. but they had no sooner crossed the threshold of the palace, than they were reconciled to each other, avowing that the dey had acted with justice, and thenceforth they lived happy and united as before. in the mean time, hadgi-achmet, having delivered these four judgments, knit his brows once more, and turning to the members of the divan, addressed them as follows: "joyfully have i just occupied myself with the smallest things which concern the welfare and repose of my subjects, and i should not regret my time had it been employed in affairs still more trifling. every thing appears of importance to me which in any way relates to the wellbeing of one of those over whom allah has made me sovereign. i nothing doubt that you applaud my conduct, and that you would gladly imitate my zeal in the service of the people. your praises prove it; but i know well that men such as you prefer proving their zeal by actions, rather than by words. i am about therefore to entrust you with a task of great importance to me, since it is for the most interesting class of my subjects, namely, the most unfortunate. i am about to distribute before the ramadan, four sacks of rice among poor old men and widows. an unskilful hand has contrived in filling these sacks with the rice, to spill amongst it a quantity of _oats_. now as i do not wish these poor people to think themselves treated with contempt by receiving rice mixed with oats, i wish that pious hands should carefully sift the rice and extract from it these grains. it is on you i rely for the performance of this duty, which awaits you in one of the halls of my palace. i cannot at this moment be an eye-witness of your zeal in obeying me, and serving the people; but before your task is finished, i will be with you." having spoken these words, the dey caused the members of the divan to be respectfully conducted by his guards to a large hall, where they found four sacks of rice and several baskets. the members of the divan feeling persuaded that this was an affair which more nearly concerned their heads than the sacks of rice, set themselves silently to this unexpected work, whilst the guards remained stationary at the entrance of the hall in which the labour was being carried on. the flight of a musquito might have been heard in this hall where the members of the divan were busily engaged sifting the rice for the poor, all the while vowing to be revenged upon hadgi-achmet, if they ever had the power. towards the evening the members of the divan were joined by hadgi-achmet, who perceiving that one of them had made less progress in his task than his three colleagues, said, "i would not accuse thee of want of zeal: man knows not always what he wishes, nor knows what he can do; i will therefore aid thee in thy task," and he began gravely to assist the four members of the divan in sifting the rice of the poor. the tasks being accomplished, the four sacks of rice were carefully closed. hadgi-achmet thanked his enemies, and caused them to be conducted with the greatest respect to the gates of his palace. these men left to themselves, regarded each other with consternation and shame; they then said, "we would fain have laughed at hadgi-achmet, and it is he who has mocked us. let us henceforth abstain from criticizing his scrupulous exactitude in rendering justice, but let us think only of avenging ourselves." but they sought the opportunity in vain. hadgi-achmet, who had commenced his career by so carefully mending his old slippers, held the reins of power with a strong hand, and whilst other deys in those times almost always met a violent death by steel or poison, he died peacefully in his palace, after having lived many long years. v. the tunisian sage; or, the powder of longevity. selim-ben-foubi had been twenty years engaged in commerce when he inherited a fortune which greatly surpassed his wants and even his desires. as he had lost all his children, his great wealth caused him but little joy, and he felt it even embarrassing to possess so much gold and so many precious things, of which he should never be able to make any use. "i am now fifty," said he, "and were i to live to a hundred, i should not spend half of what i possess. i can only take one meal at a time, dress in a single suit, and sleep in but one bed. hence if i can but rest in peace in a substantial and commodious house, eat as much as i desire, and invite a friend to partake of my repast, that is all i need wish for. i have therefore resolved to give away the half of my fortune during my lifetime, that i may enjoy the pleasure of beholding happiness of my own creating." having formed this generous project, selim nevertheless wished before putting it into execution to take counsel with two of his friends. quitting therefore his country-house at boudjaréah, he repaired to aldgezaire, where in the garden of the grand mosque dwelt usually a sage mufti, a grave and reverend man. seating himself by his side beneath the shade of some flowering pomegranate trees, he thus accosted him: "mehemet, i have come to visit thee in order to open my whole heart to thee and take counsel of thy wisdom. i am suddenly become very rich, as thou knowest, and i have no son to inherit my wealth; is it not too great for a single solitary man? speak, answer me." "that which allah gives should never be despised," replied the sage. "i do not disdain my riches," replied selim, "but i am thinking of sharing them with others, and of keeping only what is necessary to my existence for the remainder of my days." "thou knowest not what the number of thy days will be." "i will suppose that i may enjoy the longest of lives, a hundred years for example, thinkest thou i shall live yet longer?" "allah alone knows." "let us say five hundred," continued selim, "surely that covers all chances; well then, during this long course of years, would it not be more agreeable to me to know that my riches are useful, than to feel that they were hidden in some coffer, where they might become an object of envy to the poor, or tempt the cupidity of the ill-doer?" "may be so," said the mufti. "my thought is a good one then?" "it may be; but will it be good in practice? i cannot say. nothing is more common than to think wisely; nothing more rare than to put wise thoughts into practice." "advise me," said selim, "and i shall then be sure of fulfilling the law, and of doing good. how ought i to distribute the half of my large fortune?" the mufti reflected profoundly, and then replied: "i advise thee first to take at least one year to reflect upon thy project. time is the sun that ripens the thoughts of men. we never repent of having reflected before acting; we often regret not having done so. reflect then, and afterwards come and consult with me." selim quitted the mosque, and repaired to bab-a-zoun street, to the house of his other friend, a moorish merchant, who laboured hard to support himself by his calling. he began thus: "we have been friends and have known each other these ten years, for which reason i come to put to thee this question: 'in what way, thinkest thou, a man who is both rich and beneficent should employ his fortune, in order to be useful?'" the moorish merchant replied: "thou makest a very singular demand of me. i cannot believe that a man can find any difficulty in giving, if he really possess the desire. he may found a mosque, succour the aged, support the widow and the orphan, enrich his friends, if he have any, and the rich are seldom without friends." "but thou," rejoined selim, "if thou hadst aught to give away, what wouldst thou do?" "i? i cannot fancy myself having any thing to give away, seeing that i can scarcely pay the rent of my poor shop, and fill that shop with a few sacks of rice and a little coffee. if i had money, it is very certain that i should begin by buying a house and goods. it is of no use to say to a poor man like me, 'to whom wouldst thou give thy money?' but i repeat to thee there is no lack of good actions to be done. happy he who has only to choose." "thou art right," said selim to his friend; and quitting him, he returned to his country-house at boudjaréah. one of his neighbours, achmet the arab, accosted him upon the road thither; and selim, having stopped to converse with his friend, said to him: "thou art of a ripe age, and art not wanting in experience of the things of this life. tell me then if thou considerest that it would be well for a man who is rich and childless to give away, while still living, the half of his fortune, reserving the other half, upon which to subsist honourably the remainder of his days." achmet replied, "i cannot say whether it is better in the sight of allah to give away or to retain the goods with which he has endowed thee. as for myself, i have nothing to give, for i have a very small fortune, and a great many children; but if i were rich and without heirs, i would bury my gold in some corner of my garden, sooner than bestow it to gratify men who are either wicked or ungrateful, and such they almost all are. this gold would sooner or later be discovered by some one whom allah desired to enrich, and thus i should not be responsible for the use that was made of it." "thy idea is not, perhaps, a bad one," said selim, "and i will certainly reflect upon it." while selim and his neighbour were talking together, a tunisian of miserable aspect approached the spot. this was no other than hussein muley, a physician of tunis. he was already advanced in years, and passed for a man rich in science, but poor in money. selim requested this man to rest himself in his house, and his invitation being accepted, he saluted his neighbour achmet, and conducted his guest into one of the fresh and salubrious halls of his smiling abode. hussein muley, fatigued by two hours' walk under a broiling sun, threw himself upon a divan, whilst fruits and coffee were abundantly served to him. when he had somewhat reposed and refreshed himself, selim said to him in a friendly manner, "i am happy to receive thee at my house, because thou art a wise man, and of good renown in thy profession. thou hast travelled, read, and seen life; thou must of necessity be able to judge wisely of the things which relate to this life. i should therefore be very glad to have thy opinion upon a project which i have formed. i have become very rich by inheritance; and having no children, i think of disposing, while yet living, of a great portion of my wealth. in what way dost thou consider it would be most desirable to employ this wealth?" hussein muley regarded selim with surprise. "thou wouldst give away a great portion of what thou hast," said he. "this is, indeed, a marvellous thing. i have, as thou sayest, travelled, read, and seen life, but never yet have i heard of any man giving away, during his lifetime, the greater part of his fortune." "does that prove that it would be wrong to do so?" demanded selim. "i know not," replied the tunisian, falling into a fit of profound meditation, and looking all the while at the tips of his old slippers, instead of contemplating from afar the ever-changing sea and azure sky. "on what dost thou muse?" at length demanded selim. "i was thinking--i was thinking that if the duration of man's life were longer, it would be better both for those who study science, and for those who are the fortunate possessors of great wealth; it would be equally good for the poor, since they might one day hope to enjoy the fruit of their toils, if they took pains to become rich." "what profits it to meditate so deeply upon a thing which all the reflections of man cannot change?" "i do not regard the prolongation of human existence as impossible. hitherto physicians have most frequently been instrumental in abridging it. my aim is to repair the wrongs they have involuntarily committed. i would have succeeding ages regard my memory with gratitude." "what sayest thou?" cried selim. "thou wouldst change the order of things, the whole course of nature?" "nothing can convince me that we follow the course of nature by dying at sixty or eighty years of age, when men formerly lived hundreds of years. on the contrary, i am certain that we were created to live longer, much longer, and i consecrate all my days, my nights, and my studies to the pursuit of a discovery which is destined to prolong the existence of mankind, and renew the state of things as they were when men married at a hundred years of age, and lived to see their sons' sons grow up and marry in their turn. why, have i often asked myself, should our lives be shorter than those of an oak of the forests, of a serpent, or even of a vulture?" "if we lived as long as an oak," replied selim, "the cedars and the palm trees would still live longer than we." "thou dost but jest, but thy jesting is ill-timed; nothing is more serious than the thought which occupies me. thou thyself, confess now, wouldst thou not be enchanted to see suns succeed suns, and to contemplate for ages to come the wonders of the heavens and the fecundity of the earth?" selim reflected a little, and replied, "man does not love death, it is true; nevertheless life is not so desirable as thou wouldst fain have us believe." "then thou desirest not to prolong thy days upon the earth? for myself, i confess that i desire it greatly; so that besides my days and my nights, i consecrate all that i glean from learned researches to the accomplishment of this great end. i am already upon the track. but unfortunately gold is wanting--this gold which thou despisest, or knowest not how to employ--this gold would in my hands contribute to the happiness of future generations. with gold--with gold you can purchase books of precious value, measure the stars, dig the bowels of the earth, rend metals from her bosom, decompose substances, in short, penetrate into every mystery. yes, gold which heretofore has been unable to bestow a day, nay an hour upon its possessor, gold in my hands would accomplish a wondrous discovery. i should certainly not keep the secret for myself alone, and i should share it first of all with the man whose wealth had helped me to the means of obtaining it." "but shouldst thou discover the means of prolonging my life for many centuries, i should not then be rich enough to give away half of my fortune." "what!" cried the physician of tunis, "is not life preferable to all the riches in the world? and if at this moment it were said to thee, 'thou shalt die, or give up the whole of thy possessions,' wouldst thou not readily yield them to avoid the thrust of a yataghan, or the discharge of a gun in thy breast?" "thou puzzlest me, but i think that in such a case i should give up my property to preserve my life." "thou seest then that life is dear, even to the poor. why not therefore endeavour to prolong thine own? even if my profound science did not succeed, thou wouldst still be rich enough to enjoy an existence of the shorter duration." listening thus to the learned physician, selim fell by degrees into a profound reverie, and the tunisian, instead of continuing his discourse, gave himself up to meditation also; so that both these two men became absorbed in their own dreams in presence of each other, but without communicating their ideas, and allah alone knows of what they were thinking. after long and silent reflection, selim said to hussein muley, "before seeing thee i had intended to bestow while yet alive one-half of my fortune in making others happy. it will, i think, be no change of purpose, if i aid thee in pursuing those learned researches which tend to prolong the life of man. for which reason, hussein muley, i propose at once to present thee with the gold of which thou hast need. come with me." the tunisian, appearing more astonished than rejoiced at these words, gravely arose, followed selim into another apartment in the house, and received from him a little casket filled with pieces of gold. "employ this wisely," said selim, "and communicate to me the result of thy labour." "i will not fail to do so," replied hussein muley. and clasping the precious casket to his breast, he exclaimed, "here then is the means of satisfying my thirst for knowledge, of surmounting all obstacles, of snatching from the past the secret which shall add hundreds of years to the existence of man, and prolong his days to the space of those of his fathers. selim," added he, "thou dost a meritorious action in giving me this. i need not thank thee, because i am going to work for thee as for myself; nevertheless i do thank thee, and with my whole heart." having said these words the learned physician withdrew gravely, and with an air of deep abstraction. selim was not less preoccupied. left to himself, he meditated long and profoundly on long and short lives, and on the prodigies accomplished by science, and he ended by asking himself whether he should confide to the sage mufti, whom he was soon about to see again, what he had done for hussein muley, and his hope of beholding the existence of the human species prolonged to an almost indefinite period. his final resolution was to admit no one to his confidence in the matter, but to await in silence the marvellous discovery of his new friend hussein muley, the physician of tunis. several months passed by without the reappearance of the latter, but when at length he returned to boudjaréah he was yellower, leaner, and more attenuated even than a man who had crossed on foot the mighty desert of sahara. his limbs, in fact, could scarcely support his trembling frame. "well," said selim, "what has befallen thee? art thou sick, or dost thou return to me perishing of hunger?" "no, but i have travelled night and day beneath the pale light of the stars, and the burning rays of the sun, and have often forgotten to take necessary sustenance, so deeply was i absorbed in my studies." "well, and the result?" "alas! i have not yet succeeded as i could desire. thus far have i attained only, that i have secured the power of prolonging our days fifty years." having uttered these words, hussein muley sorrowfully clasped his withered hands upon his breast, and then added: "i know that such a discovery would afford intense joy to any other but myself, but it is far from satisfying me. to live fifty years longer than usual, what is that?" "it is something, nevertheless," replied selim, "and wilt thou tell me what is necessary to be done, in order to add fifty years to one's existence?" "will i tell thee?" cried the tunisian; "i am come expressly for that purpose, and to give thee this powder. it must be taken every morning fasting, for one year, three months, a week, and a day, without fail." "i must write down these directions," said selim. he wrote them down at once, and then asked, "dost thou not think thou shouldst rest satisfied with thy discovery, and begin to live well, and sleep well, in order to enjoy the remaining years of thy life?" "i have no desire to repose yet from my labours. of what account are fifty years added to sixty or eighty, soon to be over for me? no, no, i would live two centuries at the least, to enjoy the fruits of my toil, and make the fortunes of my children, and my children's children. for thou dost not imagine we shall at first give to every one for nothing this magnificent secret, which has cost us so much. it is this secret which will procure us the means of living in splendour to the end of our days. thou canst, for heavy sums of money, dispose of the powder which i shall have composed to whomsoever thou pleasest, while i on my part equally will part with it for gold; and when at length we die, surfeited with life, we will leave our secret to the multitude that survives us." "this arrangement seems to me just, and well conceived. nevertheless, i desire not to sell the powder, but may i bestow it, and at once, upon one or two men whom i esteem highly?" "no, let us not yet draw attention to our happy fortune; let us wait until my discovery shall be completely perfected." "agreed; but i lament to see thee yellow, thin, and attenuated, as thou art." "oh! that is nothing," said the tunisian, striking his forehead with his hands; "do not let my haggard appearance disturb thee. i would rather have nothing but skin upon my bones, and keep my secret to myself. i shall soon regain my flesh and my complexion. no, my health causes me no uneasiness. i merely suffer from anxiety, which arises from not having money sufficient for the prosecution of my studies." "dost thou require much?" demanded selim. "ah! yes, much," replied hussein with a sigh; "and if i fail in procuring it, instead of living fifty years longer than the usual course of things, i will either starve myself to death, or drown myself in the well of my house." "beware of acting thus," said selim. "i can still give thee something; make use of that, and afterwards follow my advice, and sell to some rich man thy powder, in order to meet the expenses of thy lengthened researches." hussein muley appeared to meditate profoundly with his forehead buried in his hands, and seemed not to listen to selim, but it is not improbable that he heard him very well. "thou dost not listen to me," continued selim. "hussein! hussein! i will give thee another little casket of gold; but after this casket i have nothing more to give thee. there will only remain just sufficient for me, during the time that i hope to live, thanks to thy powder. if thou discoverest another still more marvellous, thou wilt give it me, at least for my own use, wilt thou not?" hussein muley seemed suddenly to come to himself, and exclaimed: "oh! i have at length found that of which i was in search! yes, one herb alone is now wanting; i will go in quest of it, were it at the other end of the earth, and i will resolve the great problem which has occupied me for more than thirty years. selim! selim! entrust to my keeping what thou canst still consecrate to the happiness of mankind, and rest assured that thou wilt merit the admiration and the gratitude of ages to come." "i desire neither the one nor the other," replied selim; "i only wish to do a little good, that is all. shall i succeed in my purpose? i will confess to thee, hussein muley, that i have more than once regretted devoting my fortune to a discovery which may prove more fatal than useful to the world; for the world is already peopled enough, and what would it be, if men lived for several centuries? would they not kill each other for want of room?" "do they not already kill each other by sea and by land?" said hussein muley with a strange smile. "come," continued he, "do not disquiet thyself about what will some day happen upon the earth; profit by what fate offers thee, and prolong thy days in peace." having thus spoken, he took the second casket proffered him by selim, put it under his arm, and said in a grave tone: "i am about to undertake a journey into asia. there, near the indies, is a high mountain, mount himalaya--dost thou not know it?" "no," answered selim. "well, nor i either; but i go to cull from its summit, covered with perpetual snows, a plant, which will complete the discoveries i have already made." "i thought that no plant was ever to be found on those mountain tops covered with perpetual snow and frost?" "there grows none, but that of which i have immediate need; i am going in quest of it, and will show it thee on my return." "it is well," said selim, and they separated. hussein muley retreated with rapid strides. selim carefully placed in a small box the powder which he was to take fasting, during one year, three months, a week, and a day, and he began from the very next day to administer to himself this drug, which happily he did not find to be very nauseous to the taste. meanwhile the tunisian set out from aldgezaire with his wife, his children, and several chests, containing no doubt his books, and the papers necessary for his studies; but selim never saw him more. he awaited his return, three, five, ten years, and, as he judged that ten years should suffice to go to asia, and scale the highest mountain there, he began to think that the yellow, thin, and learned tunisian was either dead, or else had taken advantage of his credulity and ignorance. whilst these thoughts occupied his mind, an epidemic broke out in aldgezaire; selim was attacked by it. he therefore begged the wise mufti, who was still alive, to come and visit him; and then with that burst of confidence which seizes men in the hour of danger, he opened his heart to him, and related how he had given two caskets full of gold to hussein muley, in the hope of prolonging the existence of mankind for many centuries. the wise mufti stroked his venerable beard and exclaimed: "selim, selim, thou hast been played upon by a swindler, to whom thou hast imprudently confided thy generous thoughts. this proves the truth of what i one day said to thee, 'with the best intentions we may commit the most foolish actions.'" "ah!" said selim sorrowfully, "my misfortune has been in not spontaneously following the first impulse of my heart, for i had really the wish to do good, but in taking counsel of one and another i have followed the worst i received." "yes," replied the mufti, "thou mightest perhaps have acted wisely in following thy first idea; at the same time, if thou hadst, in accordance with my advice, reflected longer upon thy projects of benevolence, it is certain that thou wouldst not have given thy gold to a cheat who has done nothing but laugh at thy credulity." selim willingly consented to acknowledge his fault. he confessed that it is useless to take the opinion of the wise and learned, if we do not mean to profit by it; then he prostrated himself devoutly before allah, recovered his health by degrees, and caused a large sum of money to be distributed among the poor of the mosques, for he relied no longer on the hundreds of years of existence which were to come to him from mount himalaya, any more than on the powder of longevity. vi. the nose for gold. mohammed and yousouf, young moors, born in aldgezaire, had loved each other from infancy, and increasing years only served to strengthen the bonds of their attachment. besides the happiness they enjoyed in their mutual affection, their friendship tended also to elevate their characters, and make them remarkable, for every body knows that constant friendships are never the lot of vulgar minds. these two young men, therefore, raised themselves above the level of the vulgar herd by the fidelity of their affection; they were cited as models in their native city; people smiled with pleasure on seeing them pass, always together, ever in good humour; and although they were far from being rich, yet their fate was envied by every one. mohammed and yousouf generally dressed alike, and they had recourse to the same trade to gain their living. their only trouble,--there must always be some in this world,--arose from the shops in which they were engaged during the day being separated from each other; evening, it is true, reunited them in the same dwelling, but that was not enough for them. when they married even, they contrived that it should be to each other's relatives. one family established itself on the first floor of the house, the other immediately above, and the two friends continued to love as heretofore, and to rejoice in their common felicity. over and over again, during their long conversations, they would repeat with the reiteration usual to those to whom a subject is dear, some such sentiments as these: "the restless periods of youth, marriage, and commercial affairs have tried our friendship without altering it; it is henceforth secure from all changes; old age will only serve to render us dearer to each other, and we shall leave to our families the record and example of an affection which a future day will doubtless see renewed in our sons." "it is probable," they would often say, "that allah, touched by our friendship upon earth, will reunite us eternally in the paradise of true believers, beneath fresh shades, and by the side of bubbling fountains, surrounded by flowers of sweet perfume." at this prospect of an eternal union, an eternal happiness, both would smile in anticipation, and such expressions as these they were never weary of repeating to each other. these two friends were about thirty years of age, when a lucky chance gave them the opportunity of accomplishing the dearest wish of their hearts, that of occupying together two small shops adjoining each other. an old israelite, without family and without children, had inhabited them for twenty years. in one he slept and ate, not having any other house; in the other he displayed his merchandise; essences, amber, pastilles, necklaces and bracelets for the rich moors, small looking-glasses, and beads of coral for the slaves; all of which he sold at the dearest possible price, as if he had a dozen children to support, and as many of his co-religionists. mohammed and yousouf established themselves with lively satisfaction in these shops, the possession of which they had so long coveted, without at the same time desiring the death of the old jew. they were incapable of a wicked action; but the jew being dead, as they could not restore him to life, they saw no harm in lawfully taking possession of his domicile. this event seemed to complete their happiness. but who can say or know what is really a good or an evil? who can foresee the consequences of things? mohammed one day, while knocking a nail into the partition wall between his shop and that of yousouf, discovered that this wall was hollow, and that it contained some pieces of metal. his first impulse was to call, "yousouf! yousouf! there is gold or silver in our wall;" but the next moment he thought, "i will first assure myself of what this part of the wall contains, and if i really make a fortunate discovery, i shall give yousouf such an agreeable surprise by calling him to partake of it." accordingly he waited until yousouf should be out of the way for an hour or two to give him the opportunity of exploring further into his wall, but it so happened that yousouf was never absent at all for several days following. mohammed then said to his friend: "i fancy that something has been stolen from my shop during the night. i shall sleep there to-night, in order to surprise the thief, if he should reappear." "i shall not leave thee alone here all night," replied yousouf, "but shall sleep also in my shop by the side of thee." mohammed in vain strove to oppose the resolution of his friend; he could not revisit his shop alone in the evening, and for several days following, yousouf seeing that he appeared pensive and uneasy, quitted him less than ever, and said to him with the solicitude of true friendship: "thou seemest sad! thy wife and thy sons, are they ill? regrettest thou what has been taken from thy shop? compensate thyself for thy loss by selecting whatever thou wilt from that which i possess." mohammed thanked yousouf, and replied with a smile: "rest satisfied, i have no grief." he dared not add, "i have no secret," for he had one. in order however to put an end to the feeling of intense anxiety that filled his mind, he came to his shop one night unknown to yousouf, and hastily detaching from the partition wall first one stone, then two or three more, he discovered a hundred spanish doubloons, and eight four-dollar pieces. this was a perfect treasure to mohammed, who had never in his life possessed more than the half of a small house, and the few goods exposed for sale in his shop. "we are rich," said he. "yousouf and i can now purchase a country house by the sea-side, as we have so often wished. our wives and our children will disport themselves in our sight. my son ali, that beautiful child whom i so tenderly love, will be delighted to run among the trees and climb up into their topmost branches. ah! how rejoiced i am, if only for his sake." thus thinking, mohammed took his gold and his silver, replaced, as well as he was able, the stones in his wall, and returned to his home, his mind occupied with delightful visions, and already beholding himself in imagination enjoying the pleasures of a delightful habitation by the sea-shore, with his beautiful ali, that dear child whom he so tenderly loved. during two days he put off from hour to hour the disclosure which he had to make to yousouf; and during those two days he revolved all sorts of ideas in his mind. "if i made the fortune of my son, instead of that of my friend," said he at length to himself, "should i be guilty? is not a son nearer and dearer than all the friends in the world? yes; but then the gold and silver which i have discovered belong by rights as much to yousouf as to myself, for the wall whence i have taken them belongs as much to his shop as to mine." unable to resolve either to share his treasure with his friend or to keep it for himself alone, he took the resolution of carefully concealing it in the chamber in which he slept, and of waiting until the agitation caused in his mind by so important an event should have somewhat subsided, to which end he hastened to secure his newly acquired possession. "reflection is no crime," said he. consequently he gave himself time to reflect, instead of following the first impulse of his heart and remaining faithful to that devotion of friendship which had hitherto constituted his pride and glory, and which still bore the promise of so rich a harvest in the future. he passed all his time then, extended during the heat of the day upon a mat by the side of his merchandise, and with closed eyes feigning to sleep, while in reality he was thinking of nothing but his treasure, and of what he ought to do with it. yousouf meanwhile, impressed with the idea that his friend was sleeping, took every care to guard his slumbers from interruption, thinking as he gently fanned his fevered brow of nothing but mohammed, and what he could possibly invent to divert him and render him happy. one day as yousouf and mohammed were reposing after their labours, an old hump-backed jew with a sallow complexion and an enormous nose accosted yousouf, saying: "was it not here that nathan cohen, the son of david, lived about two years since?" "speak low," replied yousouf to the jew. "my friend is asleep, and i would not that his slumbers should be disturbed." the jew seated himself on the edge of yousouf's little counter, and repeated his inquiry, at the same time lowering the harsh and hollow tones of his voice. "yes, it was here that nathan cohen, the son of david, dwelt," replied the young moor. "ah!" said the old jew, working his large and flexible nostrils, "i was sure of it--that is why i scent gold hidden here." "indeed!" said yousouf, regarding somewhat incredulously the extraordinary nose of his interlocutor. "thou dost well to talk of smelling gold or silver either. thy olfactory nerves are of the strongest no doubt, nevertheless i fear me they are at fault in this dwelling, where gold and silver but seldom make their appearance." "they are not often to be seen here," replied the jew; "i know that full well; they are not heard here either, for the earth conceals them both from sight and sound. but remove them from the envious ground that covers them, and they will dazzle thine eyes and charm thine ears." "indeed!" said yousouf, laughing. "thou art the bearer of good news. how much dost thou demand for thy reward?" "i would have thee share with me all that i shall cause to be discovered in thy house by means of the marvellous sense of smelling with which i am endowed, and at which thou now jestest." "share with thee!" exclaimed yousouf. "oh no, indeed! if i were fortunate enough to discover a treasure, it is with my friend mohammed that i should hasten to share it." "but thou wilt have nothing to share with him if i do not disclose to thee the spot where thy treasure lies concealed." "perhaps so. but if i put any confidence in thy nose, what prevents me from turning my whole shop topsy-turvy, digging up the floor, and pulling down the walls and the shelves?" the jew slowly regarded the ground, the walls, and the shelves, as they were severally named by yousouf; then he said in an ironical manner: "thou wouldst not do much harm if thou wert to demolish all around thee; but to save thyself so much trouble and labour, thou hadst far better give me at least one-third of what i shall discover in thy dwelling. the other two-thirds can be for thyself and thy friend, if thou art fool enough not to wish to keep all for thyself." "ah, it may suit such a man as thou to call him who prefers friendship to money a fool! but in spite of all thy arguments i shall never change, and i shall love mohammed better than all the money in the world." "as you please. it remains to be seen if mohammed would do the same for you." "i have not the slightest doubt of it," replied yousouf. the jew uttered a suppressed laugh. "and i have every doubt of it," said he. "i doubt even _thy_ future disinterestedness, notwithstanding the warmth of thy discourse. yousouf! yousouf! thou hast not yet beheld the dazzling brilliancy of gold! it is the lustre of this metal which charms the eyes and wins the heart of man. once let him see gold before him, and know that he has the power to possess himself of it, and adieu to every other thought. gold! why it is the thing to be most desired in the world. possessed of gold, what can we not enjoy? a fine house, smiling pasturage, blooming gardens, rich stuffs, divans, perfumes, all, in short, that renders life desirable!" "that is very true," replied yousouf. "we can procure many things with gold; but still gold cannot purchase youth, gaiety, friendship, or even a good appetite or sound sleep. leave me then in peace with thy discoveries, and if thou art so skilled in the art of scenting gold, learn also to scan the disposition of him to whom thou addressest thyself." "then thou wilt not consent to give me the third of what i know to be here, hidden though it may be?" "decidedly not," replied yousouf. "i have no faith in thy ridiculous pretensions; moreover, i do not know thee, and have never seen thee either in the public walks, the streets, or elsewhere." "i have just returned from a long journey," replied the old man; "my name is ephraim. when i quitted this city, thou wert but sixteen years of age; my friend nathan cohen, son of david, was then very old: he has been dead, they say, these two years." "and so thou comest to exercise thy sense of smelling in thy accustomed haunt," said yousouf gaily; "and seest thou not then that there is some power in friendship, since it is the memory of a friend that brings thee hither?" "ah! it is not the memory of the past, but hope for the future," replied the old jew. "so long as our friends are alive they may be useful, though that is a thing that very rarely happens; but when they are dead, what is the use of thinking any more of them?" yousouf, wearied out with so much discussion, said at length to ephraim: "come, come, enough of this! leave this place; thy voice will, i am sure, awaken my friend, and prevent him from sleeping, as he delights to do during the heat of the day." "do not let us awaken him," replied the jew, "but let us remove the ground there beneath thy feet. i will hope that a feeling of gratitude may induce thee to bestow upon me a portion of what i shall discover for thee." so saying, the jew drew a long iron pickaxe from beneath his dirty brown tunic, and began to break up the ground around the feet of yousouf. the latter regarded the old man--his prodigious nose inflated by the hope of gain--with a smile of derision. but in a short space of time their eyes were dazzled by a sight of the precious metal. the jew had, indeed, succeeded in disinterring a veritable treasure. "let us now count this gold and silver," said he. they took it, and counted it, and found that yousouf had suddenly become the possessor of five hundred spanish doubloons, and sixty four-dollar pieces. he could scarcely believe his eyes. "well," said the jew, "what sayest thou? have i lied to thee, or deceived myself? come, let us see now what thou art going to give me in reward for my pains." "i will awaken mohammed," said yousouf, "and he and i will certainly give thee something as a recompense." "yousouf!" said the jew, arresting the young moor by the arm, "reflect a moment before awakening thy friend. would it not be better to keep this treasure for thyself and for thy sons? hast thou not children, and are not children much dearer than a friend?" "if i have children," replied yousouf, "mohammed has them also. we loved each other before they were born, and we know how to be good fathers without being faithless friends." at this moment mohammed, who had not awaked, for the very sufficient reason that he had not been asleep, started as if he had been stung by a thousand mosquitoes at once, and rose with a sudden bound. the concluding words of yousouf had awakened a feeling of remorse within his breast. "yousouf! yousouf!" said he to his friend, "i have heard all. yes, every thing, and thy sincere friendship, tried by time and tried by gold, is now the sole treasure i desire." "i know for how long a time thou hast thought thus," replied yousouf. "but since allah has chosen to make us rich, let us not disdain the blessing which he sends. he it was who first inspired us with the wish for these two little shops, and who has bestowed them upon us. it is he who has conducted hither this jew who has been the instrument of our discovering this treasure. let us offer our thanks to allah, and let us give to ephraim that which is meet and right." "be that as thou only wilt," said mohammed with a preoccupied air. "thou art just and righteous, and thy thoughts are pure in the sight of allah." yousouf paid no great heed to this friendly eulogium, but continued gaily: "since thou permittest me to be the sole arbiter in the affair, this is my decision." then, turning towards ephraim: "thou shalt be more or less recompensed," said he, "according to the candour with which thou repliest to my question. come, then, answer me truly, hast thou really, thanks to the singular form of thy nose, so fine a sense of smell as to be able to trace any metal whatever, either under ground or elsewhere?" "yes," said the jew, "i possess this rare faculty, thanks to my nose; and to give thee a farther proof of it, i declare that i can again scent in this spot in the wall a sum of gold and silver, the exact amount of which i cannot enumerate." mohammed turned pale at these words. "in this wall?" said he. "yes. suffer me to make a little hole with this gimlet here, and you will see if i speak falsely." "dig where thou wilt," replied yousouf; "we have no right to prevent thee after the discovery thou hast just made here." the jew instantly set to work at the wall, but it was now his turn to be astonished, for the wall, hollow it is true, was guiltless of gold or silver either. yousouf burst out laughing at the disconcerted and stupified look of the old jew. "never mind," said he, "thy nose has deceived thee for once; but thou must not let that discourage thee. still, hadst thou frankly told me that as a friend of old nathan cohen thou knewest where he had hidden his treasure, in return for thy confidence i should have given thee a quarter of what thou hast found; but since thou hast persisted in assuring me that thy nose is gifted with supernatural powers, i shall give thee much less. besides, with such a nose as thine no one can doubt but thy fortune is made." "ah!" cried the jew, clasping his withered and wrinkled hands, "yousouf! yousouf! since thou art good and just, as mohammed says, take pity on my poverty; it impelled me to deal falsely with thee; i confess it now; and spite of its singular form, my nose has nothing but what is common to other noses. accord then to my tardy sincerity that which thou wouldst at first have given me." yousouf consulted mohammed again, who replied thus: "thou art just and pious; act according to thy own desire." yousouf then counted out to the old jew the fourth part of what he had just found, thus rendering him happy for the remainder of his days. then, finding himself alone with his friend, he began to divide into two equal parts the gold and silver which remained. "give me none! give me none, yousouf!" exclaimed mohammed, "i am no longer deserving of thy friendship." "thou!" said yousouf, "art thou mad? what sayst thou?" "i speak the melancholy truth," cried mohammed; "i have not a noble heart like thine. some time since i discovered in the wall the gold and silver which the jew thought to find there; but instead of saying as thou hast done, 'i will share it with my friend,' i put off from day to day the fulfilment of this sacred duty. ah, yousouf, i am unworthy of thy friendship, and am very unhappy!" yousouf remained silent for a few moments, but soon his brow grew clear, and a pleasing smile diffused itself over his features and illuminated his fine dark eyes. "what man," said he, "is entirely master over his own thoughts? thou didst hesitate, sayst thou, before confiding to me the discovery thou hadst made. that may be, but thou wouldst not have failed to do so at last. thou wouldst never have been able to behold thyself rich, knowing me to be poor, and to sit at a feast whilst i lived upon black bread. thou didst not thoroughly understand the wants and feelings of thy heart: that is all. thou didst not at once perceive wherein lies true happiness, for which reason thou hast caused thyself much uneasiness. it is over now; our friendship has been tried by gold; nothing remains for us but to enjoy the good fortune that has befallen us. let us seek to do so like wise men, and never let us forget to set apart for the poor a portion of that which allah has bestowed upon us." the two friends agreed therefore to give a hundred doubloons to the poor of the great mosque. then with the rest of their treasure they purchased a beautiful country house not far from the sea, on the coast of punta pescada. there they lived happily for many long years, always admired and esteemed for their mutual affection, and for the goodness of their hearts; for, strange to say, their sudden and unexpected change of fortune never served to render them callous to the poor, nor indifferent to the wants and troubles of their fellow-creatures. vii. the story of the treasures of basra. all historians agree that the caliph haroun-al-raschid would have been the most perfect prince of his time, as he was also the most powerful, if he had not so often given way both to anger and to an insupportable vanity. he was always saying that no prince in the world was so generous as himself. giafar, his chief vizir, being at last quite disgusted with his boasting, took the liberty to say to him one day, "oh, my sovereign lord, monarch of the world, pardon your slave if he dares to represent to you that you ought not thus to praise yourself. leave that to your subjects and the crowds of strangers who frequent your court. content yourself with the knowledge that the former thank heaven for being born in your dominions, and that the latter congratulate themselves on having quitted their country to come and live under your laws." haroun was very angry at these words; he looked sternly at his vizir, and asked him if he knew any one who could be compared to himself in generosity. "yes, my lord," answered giafar, "there is in the town of basra a young man named aboulcassem, who, though a private individual, lives in more magnificence than kings, and without excepting even your majesty, no prince is more generous than this man." the caliph reddened at these words, his eyes flashed with anger. "do you know," he said, "that a subject who has the audacity to lie to his master merits death?" "i have said nothing but the truth," replied the vizir. "during my last visit to basra i saw this aboulcassem; i stayed at his house; my eyes, though accustomed to your treasures, were surprised at his riches, and i was charmed with the generosity of his manners." at these words the impetuous haroun could no longer contain his anger. "you are most insolent," he cried, "to place a private individual on an equality with myself! your imprudence shall not remain unpunished." so saying, he made a sign for the captain of his guards to approach, and commanded him to arrest the vizir giafar. he then went to the apartment of the princess zobeide his wife, who grew pale with fear on seeing his irritated countenance. "what is the matter, my lord?" said she; "what causes you to be thus agitated?" haroun told her all that had passed, and complained of his vizir in terms that soon made zobeide comprehend how enraged he was with the minister. this wise princess advised him to suspend his resentment, and send some one to basra to ascertain the truth of giafar's assertion; if it was false, she argued, the vizir should be punished; on the contrary, if it proved true, which she could not believe, it was not just to treat him as a criminal. this discourse calmed the fury of the caliph. "i approve of this counsel, madam," said he, "and will acknowledge that i owe this justice to such a minister as giafar. i will do still more; as any other person i charged with this office might, from an aversion to my vizir, give me a false statement, i will myself go to basra and judge of the truth of this report. i will make acquaintance with this young man, whose generosity is thus extolled; if giafar has told me true, i will load him with benefits instead of punishing him for his frankness; but i swear he shall forfeit his life if i find he has told me a falsehood." as soon as haroun had formed this resolution he thought of nothing but how to execute it. one night he secretly left the palace, mounted his horse, and left the city, not wishing any one to follow him, though zobeide entreated him not to go alone. arriving at basra, he dismounted at the first caravansary he found on entering the city, the landlord of which seemed a good old man. "father," said haroun, "is it true that there is in this city a young man called aboulcassem, who surpasses even kings in magnificence and generosity?" "yes, my lord," answered the landlord; "and if i had a hundred mouths, and in each mouth a hundred tongues, i could not relate to you all his generous actions." as the caliph had now need of some repose, he retired to rest after partaking of a slight refreshment. he was up very early in the morning, and walked about until sunrise. then he approached a tailor's shop and asked for the dwelling of aboulcassem. "from what country do you come?" said the tailor; "most certainly you have never been at basra before, or you would have heard where the lord aboulcassem lives; why, his house is better known than the palace of the king." the caliph answered, "i am a stranger; i know no one in this city, and i shall be obliged if you will conduct me to this lord's house." upon that the tailor ordered one of his boys to show the caliph the way to the residence of aboulcassem. it was a large house built of stone, with a doorway of marble and jasper. the prince entered the court, where there was a crowd of servants and liberated slaves who were amusing themselves in different ways while they awaited the orders of their master. he approached one of them and said, "friend, i wish you would take the trouble to go to the lord aboulcassem and tell him a stranger wishes to see him." the domestic judged from the appearance of haroun that he was no common man. he ran to apprise his master, who coming into the court took the stranger by the hand and conducted him to a very beautiful saloon. the caliph then told the young man, that having heard him mentioned in terms of praise, he had become desirous of seeing him, and had travelled to basra for that purpose. aboulcassem modestly replied to this compliment, and seating his guest on a sofa, asked of what country and profession he was, and where he lodged at basra. "i am a merchant of bagdad," replied the caliph, "and i have taken a lodging at the first caravansary i found on my arrival." after they had conversed for a short time there entered twelve pages bearing vases of agate and rock crystal, enriched with precious stones, and full of the most exquisite beverages. they were followed by twelve very beautiful female slaves, some carrying china bowls filled with fruit and flowers, and others golden caskets containing conserves of an exquisite flavour. the pages presented their beverages to the caliph; the prince tasted them, and though accustomed to the most delicious that could be obtained in the east, he acknowledged that he had never tasted better. as it was now near the hour for dinner, aboulcassem conducted his guest to another room, where they found a table covered with the choicest delicacies served on dishes of massive gold. the repast finished, the young man took the caliph by the hand and led him to a third room more richly furnished than the two others. here the slaves brought a prodigious quantity of gold vases, enriched with rubies, filled with all sorts of rare wines, and china plates containing dried sweetmeats. while the host and his guest were partaking of these delicious wines there entered singers and musicians, who commenced a concert, with which haroun was enchanted. "i have," he said to himself, "the most admirable voices in _my_ palace, but i must confess they cannot bear comparison with these. i do not understand how a private individual can live in such magnificence." amongst the voices there was one in particular the extraordinary sweetness of which attracted the attention of the prince, and whilst he was absorbed in listening to it aboulcassem left the room and returned a moment after holding in one hand a wand, and in the other a little tree whose stem was of silver, the branches and leaves emeralds, and the fruit rubies. on the top of this tree was a golden peacock beautifully executed, the body of which was filled with amber, essence of aloes, and other perfumes. he placed this tree at the caliph's feet; then striking the head of the peacock with his wand, the bird extended its wings and tail, and moved itself quickly to the right and left, whilst at each movement of its body the most odoriferous perfumes filled the apartment. the caliph was so astonished and delighted that he could not take his eyes off the tree and the peacock, and he was just going to express his admiration when aboulcassem suddenly took them away. haroun was offended at this, and said to himself, "what does all this mean? it appears to me this young man does not merit so much praise. he takes away the tree and the peacock when he sees me occupied in looking at them more than he likes. is he afraid i want him to make me a present? i fear giafar is mistaken in calling him a generous man." he was thus thinking when aboulcassem returned accompanied by a little page as beautiful as the sun. this lovely child was dressed in gold brocade covered with pearls and diamonds. he held in his hand a cup made of one single ruby, and filled with wine of a purple colour. he approached the caliph, and prostrating himself to the ground, presented the cup. the prince extended his hand to receive it, but, wonderful to relate, he perceived on giving back the cup to the page, that though he had emptied the cup, it was still quite full. he put it again to his lips and emptied it to the very last drop. he then placed it again in the hands of the page, and at the same moment saw it filling without any one approaching it. the surprise of haroun was extreme at this wonderful circumstance, which made him forget the tree and the peacock. he asked how it was accomplished. "my lord," said aboulcassem, "it is the work of an ancient sage who was acquainted with most of the secrets of nature;" and then, taking the page by the hand, he precipitately left the apartment. the caliph was indignant at this behaviour. "i see how it is," said he, "this young man has lost his senses. he brings me all these curiosities of his own accord, he presents them to my view, and when he perceives my admiration, he instantly removes his treasures. i never experienced treatment so ridiculous or uncourteous. ah, giafar! i thought you a better judge of men." in this manner they continued amusing themselves till sunset. then haroun said to the young man, "oh, generous aboulcassem, i am confused with the reception you have given me; permit me now to retire and leave you to repose." the young lord of basra not wishing to inconvenience his guest, politely saluted him, and conducted him to the door of the house, apologizing for not having received him in a more magnificent style. "i quite acknowledge," said the caliph on returning to his caravansary, "that for magnificence aboulcassem surpasses kings, but for generosity, there my vizir was wrong in placing him in comparison with myself; for what present has he made me during my visit? i was lavish in my praises of the tree, the cup, and the page, and i should have thought my admiration would have induced him to offer me, at least, one of these things. no, this man is ostentatious; he feels a pleasure in displaying his riches to the eyes of strangers. and why? only to satisfy his pride and vanity. in reality he is a miser, and i ought not to pardon giafar for thus deceiving me." whilst making these disagreeable reflections on his minister, he arrived at the caravansary. but what was his astonishment on finding there silken carpets, magnificent tents, a great number of servants, slaves, horses, mules, camels, and besides all these, the tree and the peacock, and the page with his cup? the domestics prostrated themselves before him, and presented a roll of silk paper, on which were written these words, "dear and amiable guest, i have not, perhaps, shown you the respect which is your due; i pray you to forget any appearance of neglect in my manner of receiving you, and do not distress me by refusing the little presents i have sent you. as to the tree, the peacock, the page, and the cup, since they please you, they are yours already, for any thing that delights my guests ceases to be mine from that instant." when the caliph had finished reading this letter, he was astounded at the liberality of aboulcassem, and remembered how wrongly he had judged the young man. "a thousand blessings," cried he, "on my vizir giafar! he has caused me to be undeceived. ah, haroun, never again boast of being the most magnificent and generous of men! one of your subjects surpasses you. but how is a private individual able to make such presents? i ought to have asked where he amassed such riches; i was wrong not to have questioned him on this point: i must not return to bagdad without investigating this affair. besides, it concerns me to know why there is a man in my dominions who leads a more princely life than myself. i must see him again, and try to discover by what means he has acquired such an immense fortune." impatient to satisfy his curiosity, he left his new servants in the caravansary, and returned immediately to the young man's residence. when he found himself in his presence he said, "oh, too amiable aboulcassem, the presents you have made me are so valuable, that i fear i cannot accept them without abusing your generosity. permit me to send them back before i return to bagdad, and publish to the world your magnificence and generous hospitality." "my lord," answered the young man with a mortified air, "you certainly must have had reason to complain of the unhappy aboulcassem; i fear some of his actions have displeased you, since you reject his presents; you would not have done me this injury, if you were satisfied with me." "no," replied the prince, "heaven is my witness that i am enchanted with your politeness; but your presents are too costly; they surpass those of kings, and if i dared tell you what i think, you would be less prodigal with your riches, and remember that they may soon be exhausted." aboulcassem smiled at these words and said to the caliph, "my lord, i am very glad to learn that it is not to punish me for having committed any fault against yourself that you wished to refuse my presents; and now to oblige you to accept them, i will tell you that every day i can make the same and even more magnificent ones without inconveniencing myself. i see," added he, "that this astonishes you, but you will cease to be surprised when i have told you all the adventures which have happened to me. it is necessary that i should thus confide in you." upon this he conducted haroun to a room a thousand times richer and more ornamented than any of the others. the most exquisite essences perfumed this apartment, in which was a throne of gold placed on the richest carpets. haroun could not believe he was in the house of a subject; he imagined he must be in the abode of a prince infinitely more powerful than himself. the young man made him mount the throne, and placing himself by his side, commenced the history of his life. history of aboulcassem. i am the son of a jeweller of cairo, named abdelaziz. he possessed such immense riches, that fearing to draw upon himself the envy or avarice of the sultan of egypt, he quitted his native country and established himself at basra, where he married the only daughter of the richest merchant in that city. i am the only child of that marriage, so that inheriting the estates of both my parents i became possessed on their death of a very splendid fortune. but i was young, i liked extravagance, and having wherewith to exercise my liberal propensities, or rather my prodigality, i lived with so much profusion, that in less than three years my fortune was dissipated. then, like all who repent of their foolish conduct, i made the most promising resolutions for the future. after the life i had led at basra, i thought it better to leave that place, for it seemed to me my misery would be more supportable among strangers. accordingly i sold my house, and left the city before daybreak. when it was light i perceived a caravan of merchants who had encamped on a spot of ground near me. i joined them, and as they were on their road to bagdad, where i also wished to go, i departed with them; i arrived there without accident, but soon found myself in a very miserable situation. i was without money, and of all my large fortune there remained but one gold sequin. in order to do something for a living i changed my sequin into aspres, and purchased some preserved apples, sweetmeats, balms, and roses. with these i went every day to the house of a merchant where many persons of rank and others were accustomed to assemble and converse together. i presented to them in a basket what i had to sell. each took what he liked, and never failed to remunerate me, so that by this little commerce i contrived to live very comfortably. one day as i was as usual selling flowers at the merchant's house, there was seated in a corner of the room an old man, of whom i took no notice, and on perceiving that i did not address him, he called me and said, "my friend, how comes it that you do not offer your merchandise to me as well as the others? do you take me for a dishonest man, or imagine that my purse is empty?" "my lord," answered i, "i pray you pardon me. all that i have is at your service, i ask nothing for it." at the same time i offered him my basket; he took some perfume, and told me to sit down by him. i did so, and he asked me a number of questions, who i was, and what was my name. "excuse me satisfying your curiosity," said i, sighing; "i cannot do so without reopening wounds which time is beginning to heal." these words, or the tone in which i uttered them, prevented the old man from questioning me further. he changed the discourse, and after a long conversation, on rising to depart he took out his purse and gave me ten gold sequins. i was greatly surprised at this liberality. the wealthiest lords to whom i had been accustomed to present my basket had never given me even one sequin, and i could not tell what to make of this man. on the morrow, when i returned to the merchants, i again found my old friend; and for many days he continued to attract my attention. at length, one day, as i was addressing him after he had taken a little balm from my basket, he made me again sit by him, and pressed me so earnestly to relate my history, that i could not refuse him. i informed him of all that had happened to me; after this confidence he said: "young man, i knew your father. i am a merchant of basra; i have no child, and have conceived a friendship for you; i will adopt you as my son, therefore console yourself for your past misfortunes. you have found a father richer by far than abdelaziz, and who will have as much affection for you." i thanked the venerable old man for the honour he did me, and followed him as he left the house. he made me throw away my basket of flowers, and conducted me to a large mansion that he had hired. there i was lodged in a spacious apartment with slaves to wait on me, and by his order they brought me rich clothes. one would have thought my father abdelaziz again lived, and it seemed as if i had never known sorrow. when the merchant had finished the business that detained him at bagdad,--namely, when he had sold the merchandise he brought with him,--we both took the road to basra. my friends, who never thought to see me again, were not a little surprised to hear i had been adopted by a man who passed for the richest merchant in the city. i did my best to please the old man. he was charmed with my behaviour. "aboulcassem," he often said to me, "i am enchanted that i met you at bagdad. you appear worthy of all i have done for you." i was touched with the kindness he evinced for me, and far from abusing it, endeavoured to do all i could to please my kind benefactor. instead of seeking companions of my own age, i always kept in his company, scarcely ever leaving him. at last this good old man fell sick, and the physicians despaired of his life. when he was at the last extremity he made all but myself leave him, and then said, "now is the time, my son, to reveal to you a most important secret. if i had only this house with all its riches to bequeath, i should leave you but a moderate fortune; but all that i have amassed during the course of my life, though considerable for a merchant, is nothing in comparison to the treasure that is concealed here, and which i am now about to reveal to you. i shall not tell you how long ago, by whom, or in what manner it was found, for i am ignorant of that myself; all i know is, that my grandfather, when dying, told the secret to my father, who also made me acquainted with it a few days before his death. but," continued he, "i have one advice to give you, and take care you do not slight it. you are naturally generous. when you are at liberty to follow your own inclinations, you will no doubt be lavish of your riches. you will receive with magnificence any strangers who may come to your house. you will load them with presents, and will do good to all who implore your assistance. this conduct, which i much approve of if you can keep it within bounds, will at last be the cause of your ruin. the splendour of your establishment will excite the envy of the king of basra, and the avarice of his ministers. they will suspect you of having some hidden treasure. they will spare no means to discover it, and will imprison you. to prevent this misfortune, you have only to follow my example. i have always, as well as my grandfather and father, carried on my business and enjoyed this treasure without ostentation; we have never indulged in any extravagance calculated to surprise the world." i faithfully promised the merchant i would imitate his prudence. he told me where i should find the treasure, and assured me that whatever idea i might have formed of its splendour, i should find the reality far exceed my expectations. at last, when the generous old man died, i, as his sole heir, performed for him the last offices, and, taking possession of his property, of which this house is a part, proceeded at once to see this treasure. i confess to you, my lord, that i was thunderstruck. i found it to be, if not inexhaustible, at least so vast that i could never expend it, even if heaven were to permit me to live beyond the age of man. my resolution therefore was at once formed, and instead of keeping the promise i made to the old merchant, i spend my riches freely. it is my boast that there is no one in basra who has not benefited by my generosity. my house is open to all who desire my aid, and they leave it perfectly contented. do you call it _possessing_ a treasure if it must not be touched? and can i make a better use of it than by endeavouring to relieve the unhappy, to receive strangers with liberality, and to lead a life of generosity and charity? every one thought i should be ruined a second time. "if aboulcassem," said they, "had all the treasures of the commander of the faithful, he would spend them." but they were much astonished, when, instead of seeing my affairs in disorder, they, on the contrary, appeared every day to become more flourishing. no one could imagine how my fortune increased, while i was thus squandering it. as the old man predicted, a feeling of envy was excited against me. a rumour prevailed that i had found a treasure. this was sufficient to attract the attention of a number of persons greedy of gain. the lieutenant of police at basra came to see me. "i am," said he, "the daroga, and am come to demand where the treasure is which enables you to live in such magnificence." i trembled at these words, and remained silent. he guessed from my confused air that his suspicions were not without foundation; but instead of compelling me to discover my treasure, "my lord aboulcassem," continued he, "i exercise my office as a man of sense. make me some present worthy of my discretion in this affair, and i will retire." "how much do you ask?" said i. "i will content myself with ten gold sequins a day." "that is not enough--i will give you a hundred. you have only to come here every day or every month, and my treasurer will count them out to you." the lieutenant of police was transported with joy at hearing these words. "my lord," said he, "i wish that you could find a thousand treasures. enjoy your fortune in peace; i shall never dispute your possession of it." then taking a large sum of money in advance he went his way. a short time after the vizir aboulfatah-waschi sent for me, and, taking me into his cabinet, said: "young man, i hear you have discovered a treasure. you know the fifth part belongs to god; you must give it to the king. pay the fifth, and you shall remain the quiet possessor of the other four parts." i answered him thus: "my lord, i acknowledge that i _have_ found a treasure, but i swear to you at the same time that i will confess nothing, though i should be torn in pieces. but i promise to give you every day a thousand gold sequins, provided you leave me in peace." aboulfatah was as tractable as the lieutenant of police. he sent his confidential servant, and my treasurer gave him thirty thousand sequins for the first month. this vizir, fearing no doubt that the king of basra would hear of what had passed, thought it better to inform him himself of the circumstance. the prince listened very attentively, and thinking the affair required investigating, sent to summon me. he received me with a smiling countenance, saying: "approach, young man, and answer me what i shall ask you. why do you not show me your treasure? do you think me so unjust, that i shall take it from you?" "sire," replied i, "may the life of your majesty be prolonged for ages; but if you commanded my flesh to be torn with burning pincers i would not discover my treasure; i consent every day to pay to your majesty two thousand gold sequins. if you refuse to accept them, and think proper that i should die, you have only to order it; but i am ready to suffer all imaginable torments, sooner than satisfy your curiosity." the king looked at his vizir as i said this, and demanded his opinion. "sire," said the minister, "the sum he offers you is considerable--it is of itself a real treasure. send the young man back, only let him be careful to keep his word with your majesty." the king followed this advice; he loaded me with caresses, and from that time, according to my agreement, i pay every year to the prince, the vizir, and the lieutenant of police, more than one million sixty thousand gold sequins. this, my lord, is all i have to tell you. you will now no longer be surprised at the presents i have made you, nor at what you have seen in my house. conclusion of the story of the treasures of basra. when aboulcassem had finished the recital of his adventures, the caliph, animated with a violent desire to see the treasure, said to him, "is it possible that there is in the world a treasure that your generosity can never exhaust? no! i cannot believe it, and if it was not exacting too much from you, my lord, i would ask to see what you possess, and i swear never to reveal what you may confide to me." the son of abdelaziz appeared grieved at this speech of the caliph's. "i am sorry, my lord," he said, "that you have conceived this curiosity; i cannot satisfy it but upon very disagreeable conditions." "never mind," said the prince, "whatever the conditions, i submit without repugnance." "it is necessary," said aboulcassem, "that i blindfold your eyes, and conduct you unarmed and bareheaded, with my drawn scimitar in my hand, ready to cut you to pieces at any moment, if you violate the laws of hospitality. i know very well i am acting imprudently, and ought not to yield to your wishes; but i rely on your promised secrecy, and besides that, i cannot bear to send away a guest dissatisfied." "in pity then satisfy my curiosity," said the caliph. "that cannot be just yet," replied the young man, "but remain here this night, and when my domestics are gone to rest i will come and conduct you from your apartment." he then called his people, and by the light of a number of wax tapers, carried by slaves in gold flambeaux, he led the prince to a magnificent chamber, and then retired to his own. the slaves disrobed the caliph, and left him to repose, after placing at the head and foot of his bed their lighted tapers, whose perfumed wax emitted an agreeable odour. instead of taking any rest, haroun-al-raschid impatiently awaited the appearance of aboulcassem, who did not fail to come for him towards the middle of the night. "my lord," he said, "all my servants are asleep. a profound silence reigns in my house. i will now show you my treasure upon the conditions i named to you." "let us go then," said the caliph. "i am ready to follow you, and i again swear that you will not repent thus satisfying my curiosity." the son of abdelaziz aided the prince to dress; then putting a bandage over his eyes, he said, "i am sorry, my lord, to be obliged to treat you thus; your appearance and your manners seem worthy of confidence, but--" "i approve of these precautions," interrupted the caliph, "and i do not take them in ill part." aboulcassem then made him descend by a winding staircase into a garden of vast extent, and after many turnings they entered the place where the treasure was concealed. it was a deep and spacious cavern closed at the entrance by a stone. passing through this they entered a long alley, very dark and steep, at the end of which was a large saloon, brilliantly lighted by carbuncles. when they arrived at this room the young man unbound the caliph's eyes, and the latter gazed with astonishment on the scene before him. a basin of white marble, fifty feet in circumference and thirty feet deep, stood in the middle of the apartment. it was full of large pieces of gold, and ranged round it were twelve columns of the same metal, supporting as many statues composed of precious stones of admirable workmanship. aboulcassem conducted the prince to the edge of the basin and said to him, "this basin is thirty feet deep. look at that mass of gold pieces. they are scarcely diminished the depth of two fingers. do you think i shall soon spend all this?" haroun, after attentively looking at the basin, replied: "here are, i confess, immense riches, but you still may exhaust them." "well," said the young man, "when this basin is empty i shall have recourse to what i am now going to show you." he then proceeded to another room, more brilliant still, where on a number of red brocaded sofas were immense quantities of pearls and diamonds. here was also another marble basin, not so large or so deep as that filled with gold pieces, but to make up for this, full of rubies, topazes, emeralds, and all sorts of precious stones. never was surprise equal to that of the caliph's. he could scarcely believe he was awake, this new basin seemed like enchantment. his gaze was still fixed on it, when aboulcassem made him observe two persons seated on a throne of gold, who he said were the first masters of the treasure. they were a prince and princess, having on their heads crowns of diamonds. they appeared as if still alive, and were in a reclining posture, their heads leaning against each other. at their feet was a table of ebony, on which were written these words in letters of gold: "i have amassed all these riches during the course of a long life. i have taken and pillaged towns and castles, have conquered kingdoms and overthrown my enemies. i have been the most powerful monarch in the world, but all my power has yielded to that of death. whoever sees me in this state ought to reflect upon it. let him remember that once i was living, and that he also must die. he need not fear diminishing this treasure: it will never be exhausted. let him endeavour so to use it as to make friends both for this world and the next. let him lead a life of generosity and charity, for in the end he must also die. his riches cannot save him from the fate common to all men." "i will no longer disapprove of your conduct," said haroun to the young man on reading these words; "you are right in living as you now do, and i condemn the advice given you by the old merchant. but i should like to know the name of this prince. what king could have possessed such riches? i am sorry this inscription does not inform us." the young man next took the caliph to see another room in which also there were many rarities of even greater value than what he had seen, amongst others several trees like the one he had given the prince. haroun would willingly have passed the remainder of the night admiring all that was contained in this wonderful cavern, but the son of abdelaziz, fearing to be observed by his servants, wished to return before daybreak in the same manner as they came, namely, the caliph blindfolded and bareheaded, and aboulcassem with his scimitar in his hand, ready to cut off the prince's head if he made the least resistance. in this order they traversed the garden, and ascended by the winding stairs to the room where the caliph had slept. finding the tapers still burning, they conversed together till sunrise; the caliph then, with many thanks for the reception he had received, returned to the caravansary, from whence he took the road to bagdad, with all the domestics and presents he had accepted from aboulcassem. two days after the prince's departure, the vizir aboulfatah, hearing of the magnificent gifts that aboulcassem made to strangers when they came to see him, and above all astonished at the regularity of his payments to the king, the lieutenant, and himself, resolved to spare no means to discover the treasure from which he drew such inexhaustible supplies. this minister was one of those wicked men to whom the greatest crimes are nothing, when they wish to gain their own ends. he had a daughter eighteen years of age, and of surpassing beauty. she was named balkis, and possessed every good quality of heart and mind. prince aly, nephew of the king of basra, passionately loved her; he had already demanded her of her father, and they were soon to be married. aboulfatah summoned balkis one day to his presence and said: "my daughter, i have great need of your assistance. i wish you to array yourself in your richest robes, and go this evening to the house of the young aboulcassem. you must do every thing to charm him, and oblige him to discover the treasure he has found." balkis trembled at this speech; her countenance expressed the horror she felt at this command. "my lord," said she, "what is it you propose to your daughter? do you know the peril to which you may expose her? consider the stain on your honour, and the outrage against the prince aly." "i have considered all this," answered the vizir, "but nothing will turn me from my resolution, and i order you to prepare to obey me." the young balkis burst into tears at these words. "for heaven's sake, my father," said the weeping girl, "stifle this feeling of avarice, seek not to despoil this man of what is his own. leave him to enjoy his riches in peace." "be silent, insolent girl!" said the vizir angrily, "it does not become you to blame my actions. answer me not. i desire you to repair to the house of aboulcassem, and i swear that if you return without having seen his treasure, i will kill you." balkis, hearing this dreadful alternative, retired to her apartment overwhelmed with grief; she called her women, and made them attire her in the richest apparel and most costly ornaments, though in reality she needed nothing to enhance her natural beauty. no young girl was less desirous to please than balkis. all she feared was appearing too beautiful in the eyes of the son of abdelaziz, and not sufficiently so to prince aly. at length, when night arrived and aboulfatah judged it time for his daughter to go, he secretly conducted her to the door of the young man's house, where he left her, after again declaring he would kill her if she returned unsuccessful. she timidly knocked and desired to speak to the son of abdelaziz. a slave led her to a room where his master was reposing on a sofa, musing on the vicissitudes of his past life. as soon as balkis appeared aboulcassem rose to receive his visitor; he gravely saluted her, and, taking her hand with a respectful air, seated her on a sofa, at the same time inquiring why she honoured him by this visit. she answered, that hearing of his agreeable manners, she had resolved to spend an evening in his company. "beautiful lady," said he, "i must thank my lucky star for procuring me this delightful interview; i cannot express my happiness." after some conversation supper was announced. they seated themselves at a table covered with choice delicacies. a great number of officers and pages were in attendance, but aboulcassem dismissed them that the lady might not be exposed to their curious looks. he waited on her himself, presenting her with the best of every thing, and offering her wine in a gold cup enriched with diamonds and rubies. but all these polite attentions served but to increase the lady's uneasiness; and at length, frightened at the dangers which menaced her, she suddenly changed countenance and became pale as death, whilst her eyes filled with tears. "what is it, madam?" said the young man much surprised; "why this sudden grief? have i said or done any thing to cause your tears to flow? speak, i implore you; inform me of the cause of your sorrow." "oh, mahomet!" exclaimed balkis, "i can dissimulate no longer; the part i am acting is insupportable. i have deceived you, aboulcassem; i am a lady of rank. my father, who knows you have a hidden treasure, wishes me to discover where you have concealed it. he has ordered me to come here and spare no means to induce you to show it me. i refused to do so, but he has sworn to kill me if i return without being able to satisfy his curiosity. what an unhappy fate is mine! if i was not beloved by a prince who will soon marry me, this cruel vow of my father's would not appear so terrible." when the daughter of aboulfatah had thus spoken, aboulcassem said to her, "madam, i am very glad you have informed me of this. you will not repent your noble frankness; you shall see my treasure, and be treated with all the respect you may desire. do not weep, therefore, or any longer afflict yourself." "ah, my lord," exclaimed balkis at this speech, "it is not without reason that you pass for the most generous of men. i am charmed with your noble conduct, and shall not be satisfied until i have found means to testify my gratitude." after this conversation aboulcassem conducted the lady to the same chamber that the caliph had occupied, where they remained until all was quiet in the dwelling. then blindfolding the eyes of balkis he said, "pardon me, madam, for being obliged to act thus, but it is only on this condition that i can show you my treasure." "do what you please, my lord," answered balkis; "i have so much confidence in your generosity that i will follow wherever you desire; i have no fear but that of not sufficiently repaying your kindness." aboulcassem then took her by the hand, and causing her to descend to the garden by the winding stairs, he entered the cavern and removed the bandage from her eyes. if the caliph had been surprised to see such heaps of gold and precious stones, balkis was still more so. every thing she saw astonished her. but the objects that most attracted her attention were the ancient owners of the treasure. as the queen had on a necklace composed of pearls as large as pigeons' eggs, balkis could not avoid expressing her admiration. aboulcassem detached it from the neck of the princess, and placed it round that of the young lady, saying her father would judge from this that she had seen the treasure; he then, after much persuasion, made her take a large quantity of precious stones which he himself chose for her. the young man then, fearing the day would dawn whilst she was looking at the wonders of the cavern, again placed the bandage over her eyes, and conducted her to a saloon where they conversed together until sunrise. balkis then took leave, repeatedly assuring the son of abdelaziz that she would never forget his generous conduct. she hastened to her father's and informed him of all that had passed. the vizir had been impatiently awaiting his daughter's return. fearing she might not be sufficiently able to charm aboulcassem, he remained in a state of inconceivable agitation. but when he saw her enter with the necklace and precious stones that aboulcassem had given her, he was transported with joy. "well, my daughter," he said, "have you seen the treasure?" "yes, my lord," answered balkis, "and to give you a just idea of its magnitude, i tell you that if all the kings of the world were to unite their riches, they could not be compared to those of aboulcassem. but still, however vast this young man's treasures, i am less charmed with them than with his politeness and generosity." and she then related to her father the whole of her adventure. in the mean time haroun-al-raschid was advancing towards bagdad. as soon as he arrived at his palace he set his chief vizir at liberty, and restored him to his confidence. he then proceeded to relate to him the events of his journey, and ended by asking, "giafar, what shall i do? you know the gratitude of monarchs ought to surpass the pleasures they have received. if i should send the magnificent aboulcassem the choicest and most precious treasure i possess, it will be but a slight gift, far inferior to the presents he has made me. how then can i surpass him in generosity?" "my lord," replied the vizir, "since your majesty condescends to consult me, i should write this day to the king of basra and order him to commit the government of the state to the young aboulcassem. we can soon despatch the courier, and in a few days i will depart myself to basra and present the patents to the new king." the caliph approved of this advice. "you are right," he said to his minister, "it will be the only means of acquitting myself towards aboulcassem, and of taking vengeance on the king of basra and his unworthy vizir, who have concealed from me the considerable sums they have extorted from this young man. it is but just to punish them for their violence against him; they are unworthy of the situations they occupy." he immediately wrote to the king of basra and despatched the courier. he then went to the apartment of the princess zobeide to inform her of the success of his journey, and presented her with the little page, the tree, and the peacock. he also gave her a beautiful female slave. zobeide found this slave so charming that she smilingly told the caliph she accepted this gift with more pleasure than all his other presents. the prince kept only the cup for himself; the vizir giafar had all the rest; and this good minister, as he had before resolved, made preparations for his departure from bagdad. the courier of the caliph no sooner arrived in the town of basra than he hastened to present his despatch to the king, who was greatly concerned on reading it. the prince showed it to his vizir. "aboulfatah," said he, "see the fatal order that i have received from the commander of the faithful. can i refuse to obey it?" "yes, my lord," answered the minister; "do not afflict yourself. aboulcassem must be removed from hence. without taking his life i will make every one believe he is dead. i can keep him so well concealed that he shall never be seen again; and by this means you will always remain on the throne and possess the riches of this young man; for when we are masters of his person we can increase his sufferings until he is obliged to reveal where his treasure is concealed." "do what you like," replied the king; "but what answer shall we send the caliph?" "leave that to me. the commander of the faithful will be deceived as well as others. let me execute the design i meditate, and the rest need cause you no uneasiness." aboulfatah then, accompanied by some courtiers who were ignorant of his intention, went to pay a visit to aboulcassem. he received them according to their rank, regaled them magnificently, seated the vizir in the place of honour, and loaded him with presents without having the least suspicion of his perfidy. whilst they were at table and partaking of the most delicious wines, the treacherous aboulfatah skilfully threw unperceived into the cup of the son of abdelaziz a powder which would render him insensible, and cause his body to remain in a state of lethargy resembling that of a corpse long deprived of life. the young man had no sooner taken the cup from his lips than he fainted away. his servants hastened to support him, but soon perceiving he had all the appearance of a dead man, they placed him on a sofa and uttered the most lamentable cries. the guests, struck with sudden terror, were silent from astonishment. as for aboulfatah, it is impossible to say how well he dissimulated. he not only feigned the most immoderate grief, but tore his clothes and excited the rest of the company to follow his example. he ordered a coffin to be made of ivory and ebony, and while they were preparing it, he collected all the effects of aboulcassem and placed them in the king's palace. the account of the young man's death soon spread abroad. all persons, men and women, put on mourning, and came to the door of the house, their heads and feet bare; old and young men, women and girls, were bathed in tears, filling the air with their cries and lamentations. some said they had lost in him an only son, others a brother or a husband tenderly beloved. rich and poor were equally afflicted at his death; the rich mourned a friend who had always welcomed them, and the poor a benefactor whose charity had never been equalled. his death caused a general consternation. meanwhile the unhappy aboulcassem was enclosed in the coffin, and a procession having been formed, the people, by order of aboulfatah, carried him out of the town to a large cemetery containing a number of tombs, and amongst others a magnificent one where reposed the vizir's father and many others of his family. they placed the coffin in this tomb, and the perfidious aboulfatah, leaning his head on his knees, beat his breast, and gave way apparently to the most violent grief. those present pitied and prayed heaven to console him. as night approached the people returned to the town, but the vizir remained with two of his slaves in the tomb, the door of which he shut and double locked. they lit a fire, warmed some water in a silver basin, and taking aboulcassem from the coffin, bathed him with the warm water. the young man by degrees regained his senses. he cast his eyes on aboulfatah, whom he at once recognized. "ah, my lord," said he, "where are we, and to what state am i reduced?" "wretch!" answered the minister, "know that it is i who have caused your misfortune. i brought you here to have you in my power, and to make you suffer a thousand torments if you will not discover to me your treasure. i will rack your body with tortures--will invent each day new sufferings to render life insupportable: in a word, i will never cease to persecute you until you deliver me those hidden treasures which enable you to live with even more magnificence than kings." "you can do what you please," replied aboulcassem; "i will never reveal my treasure." he had scarcely uttered these words, when the cruel aboulfatah, making his slaves seize the unfortunate son of abdelaziz, drew from his robe a whip made of twisted lion's skin, with which he struck so long and with such violence that the young man fainted. when the vizir saw him in this state, he commanded the slaves to replace him in the coffin, and leaving him in the tomb, which he firmly secured, returned to his palace. on the morrow he went to inform the king of what he had done. "sire," said he, "i tried yesterday, but in vain, to overcome the firmness of aboulcassem; however, i have now prepared torments for him which i think he cannot resist." the prince, who was quite as barbarous as his minister, said, "vizir, i am perfectly satisfied with all you have done. ere long, i hope, we shall know where this treasure is concealed. but we must send back the courier without delay. what shall i write to the caliph?" "tell him, my lord, that aboulcassem, hearing he was to occupy your place, was so enchanted, and made such great rejoicings, that he died suddenly at a feast." the king approved of this advice, and writing immediately to haroun-al-raschid, despatched the courier. the vizir, flattering himself that he should at length be able to force aboulcassem to reveal his treasure, left the town, resolving to extract the secret or leave him to perish. but on arriving at the tomb, he was surprised to find the door open. he entered trembling, and not seeing the son of abdelaziz in the coffin, he nearly lost his senses. returning instantly to the palace, he related to the king what had occurred. the monarch, seized with a mortal terror, exclaimed, "oh, waschi! what will become of us? since this young man has escaped, we are lost. he will not fail to hasten to bagdad, and acquaint the caliph with all that has taken place." aboulfatah, on his part, in despair that the victim of his avarice was no longer in his power, said to the king his master, "what would i now give to have taken his life yesterday! he would not then have caused us such uneasiness. but we will not quite despair yet; if he has taken flight, as no doubt he has, he cannot be very far from here. let me take some soldiers of your guard, and search in all the environs of the town; i hope still to find him." the king instantly consented to so important a step. he assembled all his soldiers, and dividing them into two bodies, gave the command of one to his vizir, and placing himself at the head of the other, prepared with his troops to search in all parts of his kingdom. whilst they were seeking aboulcassem in the villages, woods, and mountains, the vizir giafar, who was already on the road to basra, met the courier returning, who said to him, "my lord, it is useless for you to proceed further, if aboulcassem is the sole cause of your journey, for this young man is dead; his funeral took place some days past; my eyes were witnesses of the mournful ceremony." giafar, who had looked forward with pleasure to see the new king, and present his patents, was much afflicted at his death. he shed tears on hearing the sad news, and, thinking it was useless to continue his journey, retraced his steps. as soon as he arrived at bagdad, he went with the courier to the palace. the sadness of his countenance informed the king he had some misfortune to announce. "ah, giafar!" exclaimed the prince, "you have soon returned. what are you come to tell me?' "commander of the faithful," answered the vizir, "you do not, i am sure, expect to hear the bad news i am going to tell. aboulcassem is no more; since your departure from basra the young man has lost his life." haroun-al-raschid had no sooner heard these words than he threw himself from his throne. he remained some moments extended on the ground without giving any signs of life. at length his eyes sought the courier, who had returned from basra, and he asked for the despatch. the prince read it with much attention. he shut himself in his cabinet with giafar, and showed him the letter from the king of basra. after re-reading it many times, the caliph said, "this does not appear to me natural; i begin to suspect that the king of basra and his vizir, instead of executing my orders, have put aboulcassem to death." "my lord," said giafar, "the same suspicion occurred to me, and i advise that they should both be secured." "that is what i determine from this moment," said haroun; "take ten thousand horsemen of my guard, march to basra, seize the two guilty wretches, and bring them here. i will revenge the death of this most generous of men." "we will now return to the son of abdelaziz, and relate why the vizir aboulfatah did not find him in the tomb. the young man, after long remaining insensible, was beginning to recover, when he felt himself laid hold of by powerful arms, taken from the coffin, and gently laid on the earth. he thought it was the vizir and his slaves come again on their cruel errand. "executioners!" he cried, "put me to death at once; if you have any pity spare me these useless torments, for again i declare that nothing you can do will ever tempt me to reveal my secret." "fear not, young man," answered one of the persons who had lifted him from the coffin; "instead of ill-treating you, we are come to your assistance." at these words aboulcassem opened his eyes, and, looking at his liberators, recognized the young lady to whom he had shown his treasure. "ah, madam!" he said, "is it to you i owe my life?" "yes, my lord," answered balkis; "to myself and prince aly, my betrothed, whom you see with me. informed of your noble behaviour, he wished to share with me the pleasure of delivering you from death." "it is quite true," said prince aly; "i would expose my life a thousand times, rather than leave so generous a man to perish." the son of abdelaziz, having entirely recovered his senses by the help of some cordials they had given him, expressed to the lady and the prince his grateful thanks for the service they had rendered him, and asked how they had been informed he still lived. "my lord," said balkis, "i am the daughter of the vizir aboulfatah. i was not deceived by the false report of your death. i suspected my father in this affair, and, bribing one of his slaves, was informed of all concerning you. this slave is one of the two who were with him in the tomb, and as he had charge of the key he confided it to me for a few hours. i no sooner made this affair known to prince aly than he hastened to join me with some of his confidential domestics. we lost not a moment in coming hither, and, thanks be to heaven, we did not arrive too late." "oh, mahomet!" said aboulcassem, "is it possible so unworthy and cruel a father possesses such a daughter?" "let us depart, my lord," said prince aly; "the time is precious. i doubt not but that to-morrow the vizir, finding you have escaped, will seek you in all directions. i am going to conduct you to my house, where you will be in perfect safety, for no one will suspect me of giving you an asylum." they then covered aboulcassem with a slave's robe, and all left the tomb. balkis proceeded to her father's, and returned the key to the slave, whilst prince aly took the son of abdelaziz to his own palace, and kept him so well concealed, that it was impossible his enemies could discover him. aboulcassem remained some time in prince aly's house, who treated him most kindly, until the king and his vizir, despairing of finding him, gave up their search. the prince then gave him a very beautiful horse, loaded him with sequins and precious stones, and said to him: "you can now safely depart; the roads are open, and your enemies know not what is become of you. hasten to seek a place where you will be secure from harm." the young man thanked this generous prince for his hospitality, and assured him he should ever gratefully remember it. prince aly embraced him, and prayed heaven to protect and watch over him on his journey. aboulcassem then took the road to bagdad, and arrived there in safety a few days afterwards. the first thing he did on entering the city was to hasten to the place where the merchants usually assembled. the hope of seeing there some one he had known at basra, and of relating his misfortunes, was his only consolation. he was vexed at being unable to find this place, and traversing the town, sought in vain for the face of a friend amongst the multitudes he met. feeling fatigued, he stopped before the caliph's palace to rest a little: the page whom he had given to his former guest was then at a window, and the child looking by chance that way, instantly recognized him. he ran to the caliph's apartment. "my lord," he exclaimed, "i have just seen my old master from basra!" haroun put no faith in this report. "you are mistaken," he said; "aboulcassem no longer lives. deceived by some fancied resemblance, you have taken another for him." "no, no, commander of the faithful; i assure you it is he: i am certain i am not mistaken." though the caliph did not believe this assertion, still he wished to fathom the mystery, and sent one of his officers with the page to see the man the boy declared was the son of abdelaziz. they found him in the same place, for, imagining he had recognized his little page, he waited till the child reappeared at the window. when the boy was convinced he was not deceived, he threw himself at the feet of aboulcassem, who raised him, and asked if he had the honour of belonging to the caliph. "yes, my lord," said the child; "it was to the commander of the faithful himself--he it was whom you entertained at basra--it was to him that you gave me. come with me, my lord; the caliph will be delighted to see you." the surprise of the young man at this speech was extreme. he allowed himself to be conducted into the palace by the page and the officer, and was soon ushered into the apartment of haroun. the prince was seated on a sofa. he was extremely affected at the sight of aboulcassem. he hastened towards the young man, and held him long embraced without uttering a word, so much was he transported with joy. when he recovered a little from his emotion he said to the son of abdelaziz: "young man, open your eyes, and recognize your happy guest. it was i whom you received so hospitably, and to whom you gave presents that kings could not equal." at these words aboulcassem, who was not less moved than the caliph, and who from respect had drawn his cloak over his head, and had not yet dared to look up, now uncovered his face, and said: "oh, my sovereign master! oh, king of the world, was it you who honoured your slave's house?" and he threw himself at the feet of haroun, and kissed the floor before him. "how is it," said the prince, raising him, and placing him on a sofa, "that you are still alive? tell me all that has happened to you." [illustration: aboulcassem and the page, p. .] aboulcassem then related the cruelties of aboulfatah, and how he had been preserved from the fury of that vizir. haroun listened attentively, and then said: "aboulcassem, i am the cause of your misfortunes. on my return to bagdad, wishing to repay my debt to you, i sent a courier to the king of basra, desiring him to resign his crown to you. instead of executing my orders, he resolved to take your life. aboulfatah, by putting you to the most frightful tortures, hoped to induce you to reveal your treasures; that was the sole reason he delayed your death. but you would have been revenged. giafar, with a large body of my troops, is gone to basra. i have given him orders to seize your two persecutors, and to bring them here. in the mean time you shall remain in my palace, and be attended by my officers with as much respect as myself." after this speech he took the young man by the hand, and made him descend to a garden, filled with the choicest flowers. there he saw basins of marble, porphyry, and jasper, which served for reservoirs to multitudes of beautiful fish. in the midst of the garden, supported upon twelve lofty pillars of black marble, was a dome, the roof of sandal wood and aloes. the spaces between the columns were closed by a double trellis-work of gold, which formed an aviary containing thousands of canaries of different colours, nightingales, linnets, and other harmonious birds, who mingling their notes formed the most charming concert. the baths of haroun-al-raschid were under this dome. the prince and his guest took a bath, after which the attendants rubbed them with the finest towels, which had never before been used. they then clothed aboulcassem in rich apparel. the caliph conducted him to a chamber where refreshments awaited them, such as roasted fowls and lamb, white soups, pomegranates from amlas and ziri, pears from exhali, grapes from melah and sevise, and apples from ispahan. after they had partaken of these delicacies, and drunk some delicious wine, the caliph conducted aboulcassem to zobeide's apartment. this princess was seated on a throne of gold, surrounded by her slaves, who were ranged standing on each side of her; some had tambourines, others flutes and harps. at that moment their instruments were mute, all being attentively engaged in listening to a young girl whose charming voice rang through the saloon like the warblings of a nightingale. as soon as zobeide perceived the caliph and the son of abdelaziz, she descended from her throne to receive them. "madam," said haroun, "allow me to present to you my host of basra." the young man prostrated himself before the princess. at this moment the vizir giafar was heard returning with the troops, and bringing with him aboulfatah securely bound. as for the king of basra, he was left behind dying of grief and fright at not finding aboulcassem. giafar had no sooner rendered an account of his mission, than the caliph ordered a scaffold to be erected before the palace, to which the wicked aboulfatah was conducted. the people knowing the cruelty of this vizir, instead of being touched with his misfortune, testified the utmost impatience to witness his execution. the executioner was already prepared, sabre in hand, to strike off the guilty man's head, when the son of abdelaziz prostrating himself before the caliph, exclaimed, "oh, commander of the faithful, yield to my prayers the life of aboulfatah! let him live to witness my happiness, to behold all the favours you are conferring upon me, and he will be sufficiently punished." "oh, too generous aboulcassem," replied the caliph, "you, indeed, deserve a crown! happy the people of basra to have you for their king." "my lord, i have one more favour to ask. give to the prince aly the throne you destined for myself. let him reign, together with the lady who had the generosity to avert from me the fury of her father; these two lovers are worthy this honour. as to myself, cherished and protected by the commander of the faithful, i have no need of a crown; i shall be superior to kings." the caliph assented to this proposal, and to recompense prince aly for the service he had rendered the son of abdelaziz, sent him the patents, and made him king of basra; but finding aboulfatah too guilty to accord him liberty as well as life, he ordered the vizir to be shut up in a dark tower for the remainder of his days. when the people of bagdad were informed that it was aboulcassem himself who had begged the life of his persecutor, they showered a thousand praises on the generous young man, who soon after departed for basra, escorted by a troop of the caliph's guards, and a great number of his officers. viii. the old camel. eggadi-ben-yousouf, a merchant at miliana, was a mere lover of gain; he never gave away any thing in alms; his heart was dry as the earth in the hottest days of summer, and never open to pity for the unfortunate. to amass, to amass for ever was the sole desire of eggadi. but in what did his riches consist? none could say, for he concealed them with the utmost care. one day one of his camels having died, he bought to replace it the only camel of ali-bénala, a poor dealer in mats. this camel was the sole heritage of which ali came into possession at the death of his father. he sold it for much less than its value;--eggadi, who was an adept at bargaining, depreciating it in every possible way, especially on account of its extreme age. on his next journey eggadi added this camel to his little caravan. as he was passing a solitary place, he was surprised to see the camel betake itself with hasty steps to a spot at some distance behind some rocks, and on its arrival there kneel down and groan, as camels usually do when they expect to be unloaded. a negro, having run after the animal, brought it back to its place in the caravan. eggadi soon took a second journey on the same road, and on this occasion too the camel sold him by ali-bénala again quitted the rank, and was again observed to kneel down and groan at the same place. this time eggadi followed it, and saw with surprise that the spot at which it stopped was one where no merchant of any country had been ever known to unload his merchandise. he reflected deeply on this circumstance, and in the end resolved to revisit the spot alone with the camel, who, faithful perhaps to some recollection, might, he thought, be the means of disclosing to him some mysterious act, or perhaps the place where a treasure lay concealed. eggadi returned, in short, soon after, to this solitary spot. he had brought with him a spade, and proceeded to dig with care around the camel, who had invariably knelt in the same place. he had scarcely laboured ten minutes ere he discovered traces of another spade; this redoubled his zeal, and soon after, to his intense satisfaction, he came upon some bags of money, then a coffer firmly shut, but which contained, he could not doubt, objects of costly value. he first took the bags, which were filled with good and true spanish doubloons; with these he loaded his camel, who thus had gained nothing but a double burden for his pains; then, having re-covered with stones and sand the precious coffer, which he resolved upon examining another time, he returned with his mind greatly preoccupied, asking himself whether it must not have been the old father of ali-bénala to whom all the wealth he had just discovered formerly belonged. this question, which he could not help addressing to his conscience over and over again, prevented him from fully enjoying the possession of his treasure. although he dearly loved money, yet eggadi to obtain possession of it had never yet plundered the widow and the orphan. the first step in the road to evil is not accomplished without difficulty and without remorse; eggadi painfully experienced the truth of this. "and yet," said he to himself, "i made a fair bargain with poor ali for this very camel which has been the means of my finding a treasure." before going to take possession of the coffer left underground behind the rocks, eggadi, impelled by his conscience, approached the miserable shop where ali carried on the sale of his mats, and said to him: "how comes it, ali, that your father, rich as it is said he was, left you no fortune, only an old camel and a house in ruins?" "ah!" replied ali, "my father was good to the poor. not only did he call every poor man his brother, but assisted him to the utmost of his power. at times, however, i have suspected that my father may have had riches concealed in some spot, and that he intended to bestow them upon me before he died. and i will tell you what led me to suppose so. "a few moments before his death he sent for me, and said: 'i have a great secret to confide to thee. come close to me that my voice may reach thy ear alone: but before our conversation, my son, let us pray to allah to grant us on this solemn day that which is best for us.' "we prayed, and in ten minutes my father was no more. allah, no doubt, judged that that which was best for me was poverty. allah be praised." ali bowed his head profoundly, laying his hand upon his breast. eggadi, much disturbed at the virtuous resignation of ali-bénala, rejoined: "but thinkest thou, that if good fortune befel thee, thou wouldst know how to make good use of it?" "allah alone knows," said ali. "should he ever see fit to make me rich, he will know how to fit me for the change. for myself, i cannot succeed in improving the poverty of my estate. i work incessantly, but nothing succeeds with me. my oxen, if i have any, drown themselves in crossing a torrent; my goods either do not sell or are damaged. i am destined to possess upon this earth nothing but this miserable hut, which has been my only home for ten years, but what matters it, provided i fulfil the law of the prophet? i shall see abraham, in heaven. if at times my poverty renders me uneasy, it is only for the sake of my poor children, who live miserably in a house as open to the wind and the rain as though it were without a roof." "well," said eggadi, "it is certainly not just that such an honest man as thou should be in such a wretched state of poverty." "how! not just!" replied ali. "are there not, then, many honest men who are no richer than myself?" "that may be," said eggadi. "nevertheless, since thy father was rich, it seems to be but just that thou shouldst be so too, and i come to propose to thee to enter into partnership with me. i have two good houses outside the town; one shall be for thy family, the other for mine. we will live as brothers, and unite our children as in the time of the patriarchs." ali remained greatly astonished at such a proposition, coming especially from eggadi-ben-yousouf, who had never had any friendship for him, and who so far from evincing any generosity towards him, had bargained with him for his poor camel like the veriest jew in the world. he therefore remained silent, neither accepting nor refusing the offer, but looking with an abstracted air upon the mats in his miserable dwelling. "well," said eggadi, ashamed at the bottom of his heart at making this show of generosity to one whom he was secretly despoiling, "well, thou dost not reply to me?" "grant me time to imitate the example of my father by invoking allah before taking a resolution," said ali. "allah alone can know whether it will be best for me to keep at once my poverty and the freedom of all my actions, or to accept opulence and with it the necessity of being always of thy opinion; for bringing into our partnership nothing but my two stout arms, i should be an ingrate if i did not yield in every thing to thy wishes." eggadi involuntarily cast down his eyes before this poor man who spoke with so much wisdom. "well," said he again, "reflect till to-morrow, and come to me in the morning under the palm trees in front of my house; i will there await thee." then these two men separated. ali, praying in the mosque, thought he heard his father pronounce these words. "never associate thyself save with him who has no more than thyself, and who already knows the right way. the good are spoilt by associating with the rogue and the miser, whilst neither rogue nor miser is reformed by association with one better than himself." the next morning ali repaired to the palm trees which grew before the house of eggadi, where the latter awaited him uneasy and fatigued after a sleepless night. after the usual mussulman salutation, ali-bénala said to the rich eggadi: "how comes it that thou appearest sad, thou who possessest fine houses, coffers of gold, and merchandise, whilst i, i who have nothing, rise with a joyous heart, and smoke my pipe all day with pleasure, seated on the threshold of my poor shop?" "the weight of business overwhelms me," replied eggadi; "i have great need of some one to share it." "then why not diminish thy transactions, and live in peace?" inquired ali. "no, no, it is impossible to set limits to one's purchases and sales. a fortunate speculation balances an unlucky one. you must accept all if you would grow rich. but come, hast thou decided? wilt thou enter into partnership with me?" "i have reflected and prayed," said ali. "i am very grateful for thy offers, and allah will doubtless recompense thee; but prudence forbids me to accept them. i will never enter into partnership but with one who is as poor as myself." "indeed!" exclaimed eggadi-ben-yousouf, "be no longer then surprised at thy poverty, since thou refusest the opportunity of enriching thyself. the traveller who does not stop beneath the first trees he meets runs the risk of not finding another upon his road, and of performing the whole journey without enjoying their refreshing shade. such a man would have no right to complain of the dust of the roads, or the heat of the sun." "i do not complain," replied ali, "i come, on the contrary, to tell thee that i live and sleep in peace." "it is well, it is well," said eggadi, who had not closed his eyes till the morning, "it is well, remain as thou art. instead of gold pieces, be content to receive rain-drops through thy roof, eat bread when thou hast any, and go fasting oftener; it concerns me no more." "i should be a fool," added he internally, "to trouble myself any longer about the poverty of this man." and he remembered his fine house, where gilded cakes, a delicious repast, and rich and rare fruits awaited him. he ate his meal in company with his sons; then he washed his beard and hands, rose from the table, and called his wife, his daughters, his mother, and his grandmother, and said to them, "women, eat in your turn; this is for you." the women respectfully kissed his hands, and proceeded to make their meal, whilst he went and sat down out of doors, and smoked with his sons, to whom he spoke as follows whilst a negro waited upon him with coffee: "i am about to take another journey. during my absence see to such and such things, and do not forget any of my orders, if you would not run the risk of becoming poor, poor--" he was going to say, "as ali, the seller of mats," but this name excited too keenly his remorse; he could not venture to pronounce it. so that in spite of the good repast of which he had just partaken, eggadi felt ill at ease, for the thought was ever recurring to him, "ali is poor, his father was rich, and it is i who have unjustly taken possession of his father's wealth." meanwhile eggadi had this very moderate relief, he might still enjoy the benefit of a doubt as to whether the father of ali was really the possessor of the discovered treasures. however, the coffer left behind the rocks would doubtless throw a light upon this matter. eggadi proceeded at once in search of this coffer; he opened it, and his eyes, dazzled though they were by the precious objects that met their gaze, were constrained to perceive at the same time a sheet of parchment, upon which the following words were very distinctly inscribed: "all the treasures buried in this spot have been lawfully acquired, or received in heritage by me, mustapha selim. i bequeath them to my only son, ali-bénala, who has ever been a faithful servant of allah, and respectful towards me. may he, and his children, and his children's children inherit and enjoy these possessions, to which i add my benediction." as soon as eggadi had read these words a profound sadness took possession of him, for he could no longer doubt that these hidden riches were the inheritance of ali-bénala. if therefore he appropriated them, he was a despoiler of the poor and the orphan. it would have been so delightful to have been able to keep up the illusion, and to say to himself: "this wealth was without an owner; allah has been pleased to bestow it on me!" but if eggadi had never as yet committed any very culpable actions, he had never done any good ones, and did not merit the protection of heaven. he dared not doubt that by keeping unlawful possession of the property of ali he should incur the wrath of heaven; at the same time he could not bring himself to renounce it. he took the coffer, carried it home, meditating by turns on the uses to which he might turn his great fortune, and on what might be done by way of compromising his conscience for poor ali, his children, and his children's children. arrived at his own house, he placed his treasures in a large chest, which he kept thenceforth in the chamber where he passed his nights. by day, too, this coffer often served him for a seat; whilst scarce a day passed without his opening it, to assure himself that nothing had disappeared. he kept it carefully fastened with the aid of several locks and a master key, of which he never gave up the possession. eggadi contemplated a thousand times these treasures acquired with so little trouble; if we can call that gained with little trouble which is purchased at the price of our peace of mind. and each time after having contemplated them, he would repeat to himself the words of ali, "allah will no doubt recompense thee." "ah! if he recompenses me as i deserve," he could not help reflecting, "he will send me great disasters indeed." pursued by the dread of a heavy chastisement, eggadi became so miserable in the midst of his fine family and his treasures, that he formed the project of quitting his country, where the sight of ali, his humble house and miserable shop, haunted him incessantly. so he adjusted his affairs, collected his merchandise, and then communicated his intention to his children and his servants. but whilst, spurred on by a secret terror, he was hastening the preparations for his departure, allah, on whose will depend all things on earth and in heaven, visited him with a severe fever, accompanied with delirium, during which he spoke incessantly of the old camel of ali, of concealed treasures, and the vengeance of heaven. salmanazar, an old jew doctor, had charge of eggadi; he heard the incoherent ravings of his patient, and immediately divined them to be the result of preceding mental anguish. thanks to the skill acquired by medical science, and still more to the intuition engendered by the desire of self-enrichment, the old jew was not slow in comprehending that there was a secret relating to a treasure unjustly acquired, and he saw no reason, moreover, why he should not be a partaker in the booty. he found means therefore to remove all the attendants, and constituting himself sole guardian of the sick man, seated himself by his bedside and patiently awaited the auspicious moment which should deliver into his merciless keeping a soul harassed by the stings of remorse. this moment at length arrived; eggadi ceased to be delirious, and as though awakening from a painful dream, drew a long breath, and cast looks of inquiry around him. salmanazar, who had been watching for this opportunity, then exclaimed: "eggadi! eggadi! you mussulmans cry, 'god is great,' but you do not believe it, for if you did, how could you dare enrich yourselves at the expense of the poor man and his children? thou art rich, eggadi, and ali is poor." "what sayst thou?" cried the sick man, distending his eyes with terror as dismal recollections thronged upon him. "i say that thou hast a treasure which should not belong to thee, and that this is why thou hast the fever, and why moreover thou wilt die, unless i save thy life by my profound science. restitution must be made; nay, if indeed thou wert to do good with this treasure to poor jews like me, god would perhaps pardon thee, but thou takest care to give us nothing. if i cure thee what will be my profit? a few miserable doubloons, which i shall have all the same if thou diest; for thy sons will give them me, and if they refused to pay me, i should summon them before the cadi. thus, whether thou livest or whether thou diest is much the same to me. nevertheless, if i had a mind i could easily cure thee, and cause thee still to live, that thy days might be long upon the earth. but what profit would this be to me?" "cure me, cure me," cried the sick man, "and i will give thee far more than my sons would give thee, far more than the cadi would grant thee did my children refuse thee payment. i will give thee twenty doubloons; nay, fifty. that would be a fine thing for thee." "it would be a much better thing for thyself," chuckled salmanazar. "of what use will thy doubloons be to thee when thou art dead? i demand five hundred doubloons for curing thee, and i will have them at once, for in an hour's time i shall demand a thousand, and if you then delay deciding there will be no longer any time to choose." "a thousand doubloons!" exclaimed the patient; "i will not even give thee five hundred. if i did,--allah would not pardon me the more, even supposing i really am guilty of what thou suggested." "well, then, thou wilt die," rejoined salmanazar, settling himself again in his chair. the chamber of the sick man was gloomy. a small lamp cast a fitful light upon one corner, while the rest seemed inhabited by nothing but dim shadows. an odour of fever and its remedies pervaded the atmosphere; out of doors,--for it was night,--the dismal cry of the jackals seeking food resounded, whilst the deep baying of the neighbouring dogs was heard without intermission. the weather was windy and tempestuous. all this but served to increase the deep depression which filled the soul of eggadi. he threw a wistful look around his shadow-haunted room; it fell upon the old jew who was watching him askance, his large dark eyes dimmed by ophthalmia, and he asked himself whether the old man with his prominent nose, yellow visage, long, lean and withered arms, habited in a scanty and dirty garment, were not some evil genius come thither to curse him for his crime, and drag him to the bottomless pit of perdition. nevertheless, eggadi contrived to raise himself up in a sitting posture on his bed. he collected all his strength, drew a long breath, sighed feebly, and said: "well, i have decided, salmanazar; give me the remedy which will make my days long upon the earth." "give me first the five hundred doubloons," said salmanazar. "i have them not here," replied the sick man. "tell me where they are, i will go and get them." "that is impossible," said eggadi; "but summon bankala, my black slave, he will bring me the key of my coffer, and the coffer itself which contains my treasures." "well and good," replied salmanazar; and he summoned bankala. eggadi gave some orders to the slave in a language unknown to salmanazar, and he disappeared. he returned shortly with two other slaves, whom he placed like two sentinels by the side of his master's bed. "send away those men," said salmanazar to the sick man. the latter replied, "they are needed to go and bring the coffer as soon as bankala shall have given us the key; he and i alone know where it is hidden." "it is well," said the jew; and he held his peace, looking alternately at the sick man and the two slaves. "what wilt thou do to effect my cure?" began eggadi to inquire of the jew in a doleful tone. "thou shalt see--thou shalt see," replied the latter. and they both awaited the return of the slave with an equal anxiety, which they in vain strove to conceal. bankala made them wait a long time, but when at length he did return, ali, the poor seller of mats, followed upon his footsteps. "arise quickly," had been the summons of the slave to him; "eggadi my master summons thee in the name of allah, and desires to see thee before he dies." ali had hastened to obey. at sight of him the jew trembled. eggadi, on the contrary, felt himself happy and reassured. "come hither, ali," said he; "come and behold a man guilty but repentant. the example of thy virtues did not suffice to bring me back to the path of duty: it was necessary that i should be struck by misfortune. thanks to heaven misfortune has befallen me. ali! ali! it was i who bought of thee the old camel which was left thee by thy father. that camel no doubt aided him in concealing the great wealth he would fain have bestowed upon thee ere he died. i discovered this wealth, and i conceived the iniquitous design of keeping it, instead of restoring it to thee in accordance with the demands of justice. i was on the point of quitting my country to avoid the further sight of thy poverty, the unceasing reproach to my crime, when allah visited me with a terrible malady, and a still more terrible physician. this physician, whom thou there beholdest, having discovered my secret, instead of urging me to the restitution of my ill-acquired fortune, dreamt only of sharing it with me, and threatened me with death if i refused the division of the plunder. "his horrible conduct, his avarice and cruelty combined, have inspired me with horror, and have shown me to what lengths an inordinate love of gold may lead. i have mourned for my fault, and have taken a sudden resolution to repair it. by deceiving this skilful man, i have been enabled to send for thee, and before him i declare that i render thee up joyfully all the treasures which are enclosed in the chest upon which salmanazar is seated." salmanazar started up on hearing these words. how! he had been actually sitting upon the treasure and had not divined it. eggadi continued: "consider, ali, what will be most suitable to bestow upon this jew. he demanded of me five hundred doubloons down, or a thousand in an hour's time, if i desired to live. i think that five hundred blows with a stick should be his recompense; at the same time i am unworthy to judge any man in this world. thou who art just, act towards him as thou thinkest best, but deign, above all things, to grant me thy forgiveness." ali was of course greatly surprised at all he had just heard. he took a moment to collect his thoughts and then said: "eggadi-ben-yousouf, i pardon thee willingly; and to prove it, i say to thee as thou once saidst to me: "let us enter into partnership, let us live as brothers, and unite our children as in the time of the patriarchs. as for salmanazar, let his only punishment be to behold the riches he would have forced thee to share with him, and after having seen them, let him return home without money and without blows." the wish of the wise ali was put into execution. the coffer, the key of which eggadi had about him, was opened; and the jew, though still trembling with the fear of receiving the blows, could not help eagerly regarding the gold and precious stones which were revealed to his cupidity. then he departed, filled with grief at having missed his aim, and at not having been himself the fortunate purchaser of the old camel of ali. this event was engraven on his memory, and caused him to regard with looks of eager anxiety all the old camels whom he chanced to meet. he often stopped before them, and seemed to endeavour to trace in their movements some mysterious sign which might lead to the discovery of hidden treasures. eggadi, having his conscience at ease, regained his health without the aid of any other physician. he became the adopted brother of ali, who insisted on sharing with him his newly-acquired fortune; and these two men, their children, and their children's children, continued to live together wealthy and united. ix. the story of medjeddin. many hundred years ago there lived in the famous city of bagdad a retired merchant named el kattab. the earlier part of his life had been assiduously devoted to commercial pursuits, in the prosecution of which he had made many a long journey, and crossed many a sea. in the course of his wanderings he had not only amassed the wealth he sought, but, what was better, had stored his mind and memory with the treasures of wisdom and general information. the property he had acquired was far from immense, yet it was amply sufficient to enable him to live in a style of substantial comfort and respectability, and to devote himself to the darling object of his declining years, the education and training of his only son. el kattab's beard was grey, yet he had not very long passed the prime of life, and still retained most of the vigour and elasticity of his earlier years. he was wise enough to be content with the quiet enjoyments of a moderate affluence, and had no desire to wear out the rest of his life in the feverish labour of constant acquirement, for the mere sake of amassing a splendid fortune; therein differing from too many of his friends, who seemed to forget in their headlong pursuit of enormous riches, that by the time these might be acquired, life would be nigh spent, and at any rate all its charms gone, unless some higher and nobler object had been substituted for that of mere wealth-getting. the city of mossul had been el kattab's home in his earlier days; but he quitted it, and took up his abode in bagdad, partly in order to be near his friend salek, with whom he had been on the most intimate terms from his youth; partly, too, for the sake of his son's education, as he expected that a residence in the latter city would produce good and lasting impressions on the mind of the young man; for the great city of bagdad was at this time under the rule of the far-famed caliph haroun al raschid, and was the resort of strangers from all parts of the globe; and here artists and sages of all countries mingled with each other. nor had el kattab conceived a vain expectation. his son, whose name was medjeddin, was a young man gifted with good natural abilities, and endowed with a pure and noble heart. he used every opportunity to extend his knowledge and improve his disposition; nor was he deficient in bodily exercises and warlike accomplishments: so that through good discipline he became powerful in body and strong in mind. he was not only, therefore, as was natural enough, the joy and pride of his father, but was loved and esteemed by all who knew him, and was often pointed out by the elders, to others of his own age, as an example worthy of imitation. as the father saw his greatest treasure in the person of his son, so the latter, with all the fervour of a well-directed mind, clung affectionately to his father. some years passed over them in this mutual love, rendered still more delightful by the companionship of their friend salek, and their happiness was full and uninterrupted. it chanced one day that el kattab and salek were taking their accustomed walk in the gardens adjoining the city in front of the gate. the heat of the summer's day had been diminished by a gentle rain, and the two strolled on, in happy conversation, and extended their walk beyond its usual length. they passed the last garden, and wandered on over some green meadow-land, behind a little wood, at the entrance of which stood high palms, whose shadows invited to repose, while a fresh spring gushed from a neighbouring rock, and meandered among the verdant herbage and variegated flowers. the two friends lay down in the shade, and conversed on the perils to which even the most virtuous men are subject, particularly enlarging on the danger of an over-confidence in the rectitude of our own intentions, and on the comparative ease with which a sudden impulse will sometimes hurry even the best of men, who possesses an overweening reliance on his own firmness of purpose, into a false or even fatal step in life. "i have known men," observed salek, "who, although among the best and noblest i have ever met in the course of my life, have been led unawares, by too great self-confidence, into an action which they might easily have avoided by moderate caution, but which has proved the beginning of a long chain of evils, ending at last in their complete ruin." el kattab, on the contrary, maintained that a heart accustomed from early youth to virtue, would not be easily led to commit a serious fault; and even if this should happen, that it would readily find its way back from a slight error to the right road. they continued to talk on these subjects, each endeavouring to confirm his assertions by examples, whilst medjeddin, stretched beside them, listened with attention to their conversation. suddenly he sprang to his feet, and ran quickly up the woody hill, at the foot of which they were reposing. his father and salek looked after him surprised, as they could not comprehend what had occasioned his sudden disappearance. they then saw that a little bird, as white as snow, was flying before him, which he was trying to catch. he was soon lost to their view among the bushes; they called to him to come back; but in vain. they waited for a quarter of an hour, and still medjeddin did not return. growing uneasy about him, they advanced in the direction in which he had disappeared, but could discover nothing. at last the sun set; then salek said, "let us return home: your son is a strong, active young man; he will easily find his way back to the city. perhaps he has gone home some other way, and will be there before us." after much opposition, the father was persuaded to return without his son; but he was still full of anxiety which no arguments could overcome. when they arrived at the city, his friend accompanied him to his house. they entered hastily, and inquired for medjeddin: but he had not returned. salek's cheering suggestions were of no more avail; el kattab would no longer listen to him, but threw himself weeping on his couch. salek rebuked him for this weakness, and represented to him that it might easily have happened that the young man had lost his way in the pursuit of the bird, and could not recover the track all at once. "he has no doubt found a shelter where he will remain till morning," continued he; "he will return here early to-morrow, and will laugh heartily at your fears." when salek was gone, el kattab gave free scope to his feelings. he wept aloud, tore his beard, and dashed himself upon the ground, like a madman. the slaves stood around in motionless astonishment, surprised to see their master exhibiting such passionate emotion; others sought to console him, but fruitlessly; at length they all began to cry and bewail with him for his dear son, who was beloved by them all. after a sleepless night, the afflicted father rose not at all quieted. he wished early in the morning to send messengers in all directions; but salek, who had come to inquire if the lost one had returned home, explained to him how foolish this step would be. "consider," said he, "that your medjeddin has most probably found a night's lodging, and slept better than you. supposing him, therefore, to be at any probable distance, even if he had set out on his way at daybreak, he could hardly be here now: if you send these messengers after him, he may perhaps come home by a shorter path, while they will be searching for him in vain; wait at least till mid-day." el kattab yielded; he appointed the messengers to be ready at noon, and in the meanwhile walked through the gardens and in the country around the city, where they had been on the preceding day. his friend accompanied him, although he pointed out that medjeddin might, in the interval, have reached home while they were walking, and that el kattab was thus perhaps giving himself more trouble than was necessary. "i have yielded to you in the rest," replied el kattab; "let me at least in this instance have my own will, and walk here." they went together to the fountain in the rock near the palms; they climbed the neighbouring heights; they called the name of the lost one in all directions; but no sound was heard in reply. at noon they went home, and asked all they met if they had seen a young man, whom they accurately described. nobody could give them any information about him. el kattab now sent out his messengers in all directions; promising a rich reward to the one who should lead his lost son back to his arms. the messengers returned on the tenth day, and reported that all their researches had been without success. at this the parent's grief knew no bounds. his friend salek remained almost constantly with him, comforting him; and all his friends held a consultation on the possible means of gaining tidings of medjeddin. they agreed that he could not have been killed, for then his corpse would have been found: that he had no cause to conceal himself: that he could not have been attacked by enemies, as he had none: might he, they suggested, in the pursuit of the bird, have been led to the brink of the river, and have thrown himself in, and been carried away by the stream? scarcely had this idea presented itself, ere two messengers were despatched to each side of the river to search, from its junction with the euphrates above balsora to the spot where it flows into the arabian sea, and ascertain if the corpse of medjeddin had been washed ashore. but these messengers also returned to the anxious parent, without having found what they sought. the parent and his friend now gave up medjeddin for lost; el kattab's spirit was broken; grief for his lost son shortened his life; he soon became old: all joy fled from his mind; and his sorrow was only a little alleviated when his faithful friend salek sat by him in the evening, talking with him of his son, relating the virtues by which he had been distinguished, and telling him how it had been his darling wish that this excellent young man should marry his daughter maryam. a few days afterwards the caliph haroun al raschid went, as he was accustomed, in disguise, with his grand vizier giafar, and mesrur his chamberlain, through the streets of bagdad, to see with his own eyes and to hear with his own ears how justice and order were maintained by his servants, and whether his people were happy and prosperous. he had, as usual, chosen the last hour of the evening for this walk, because he thought that at this time he could look deeper into the joys and pleasures of his subjects, as they had then ended their daily toils, and were seeking comfort and repose in the bosoms of their families. in the course of his progress he came to a street remarkable for its peculiar quiet. as he approached a house, before the door of which two men were standing whispering, haroun al raschid addressed them with these words: "why do you whisper, as if you were concerting a crime? is not this street lonely enough, that you cannot hold your discourse aloud? can you tell me why this street is so quiet, as though every inhabitant were dead?" "i can easily tell you, my lord," answered one of the whisperers; "here, in the next house, lives the unfortunate el kattab; and, as usual at this hour, his friend salek is sitting with him to console him. now all the inhabitants of this street respect this man, and wish not to remind him, by any outburst of joy, that happier men than himself live in his neighbourhood." before the caliph could answer him, the man turned away, and entered the house, and the other followed him. "have you ever heard of this unfortunate el kattab before?" asked haroun al raschid of his grand vizier; and as he answered in the negative, the caliph proceeded, "let us make an inspection of the house where this el kattab dwells; perhaps we may discover the cause of his sorrow." they drew near, and saw the light from the inner court shining through a crevice. the caliph applied his eye to the aperture, and after he had watched for some time, beckoned his followers to him, and said, "two grey-headed men are sitting in this court by the light of a lamp, and one seems to be comforting the other; but this latter continues to weep all the more bitterly, the more his companion endeavours to console him: both appear to be of the same rank. i am desirous of knowing what sorrow oppresses the unfortunate el kattab: order him to appear at my palace early to-morrow morning; perhaps it may be in my power to lighten his calamity." the next day the grand vizier executed his commission. el kattab was alarmed when he heard that his presence was required at the palace. he was led into the great hall where the divan usually assembled; but there the attendants left him quite alone. he reviewed the whole of his past life, to see if he had sinned in any way, so as to bring on him the displeasure of the caliph; for he knew that haroun al raschid often, in a mysterious manner, discovered the faults of his subjects, and punished them accordingly. but he could not call to mind any deed of which he felt ashamed, nor any that deserved punishment. whilst he was thus meditating, a curtain was drawn back, and the caliph entered, followed by his vizier and his chamberlain. el kattab rose from the ground, and bowed his head down to the carpet on which the caliph stood. "el kattab," said the caliph, "a heavy weight of grief seems to oppress you; and by the anxiety which your neighbours manifest to show respect for your sorrow, i must consider you as a man of worth: i wish then to know the cause of your despondency; have you any objection to inform me of it before these two witnesses, or would you rather confide to me alone the reason of your tears?" "ruler of the faithful," answered el kattab, "sorrow is great and deep in my soul; but still the cause of it is unworthy to distract for a moment the attention of the caliph from the cares of his kingdom." the caliph replied, "that which fills the heart of the meanest of my subjects with such grief that it consumes his life, is not unworthy of my care. if i am careful for my whole kingdom, this care none the less extends to each individual; and, if i am careful for one, this one is a member of the whole, and thus my care is not lost. but speak, what is the cause of your affliction?" el kattab then recounted the mysterious disappearance of his son; how he had sought for him every where, and how all his messengers had returned home without the least trace of him. "i must therefore weep for him as one that is dead,"--thus he ended his relation; "and in tears perhaps my sorrow might expend itself, if at the same time a spark of hope did not live in my heart, that possibly he is still alive: but ah! where? this spark of hope keeps the wound in the father's heart always open." "you have, indeed, real cause for grief," answered the caliph, "and i comprehend that the uncertainty of your son's fate must be as terrible to bear, as would be the mournful certainty of his death. you did wrong in not applying to me before; my power extends not only over believers, but also into foreign lands: other kings and rulers i have as my servants, whose eyes see for me, whose ears hear for me, and whose hands perform what is necessary in order to do my pleasure. that which was not possible to yourself, your friends, and your servants to accomplish, may perhaps prove easy for me. now go home, and believe that you shall obtain news of your son, if he live on the earth, in any land where my power can reach." with these words he dismissed him, after he had first inquired the marks by which his lost son might be recognised. when el kattab was sitting again with his friend salek in the evening, he related to him the gracious and comforting words of the caliph. salek perceived that hope was revived in his friend's heart, and that he confidently trusted to find his son. he thought it his duty, therefore, to damp somewhat this hope, and said, "beloved friend, i have once heard a speech, which sunk deeply in my memory: it is, 'trust not in princes; they are but men.' in truth, the mightiest on earth are subject to destiny. if the caliph have influence in distant lands, it must still be within a comparatively confined and narrow limit; whilst what is in the farthest regions of the earth, as well as what is but a span distant, are all equally under the control of all-governing fate, even from the meanest slave to the ruler of the faithful." haroun al raschid meanwhile resolved to do all he could to fulfil the hope he had raised in el kattab's heart. he gave a commission to all his servants in the kingdom, high and low, and to his ambassadors in the neighbouring kingdoms, and even sent into distant lands, with the princes of which he was on terms of friendship, at the same time despatching messengers with the charge to search for medjeddin with all diligence, giving them a description by which they might recognise him if they found him. but week after week, and month after month passed away; even a whole year elapsed, without any intelligence being received either of the life or death of the lost one. so that all hope of finding him deserted the father for ever. medjeddin, meantime, had not perished--none of the accidents suggested by his father's advisers had befallen him; he still lived, but in such complete concealment that it was impossible for any one to discover him. he had followed the snow-white bird till evening, without clearly knowing why: he was induced to think he could catch the curious creature, particularly as it flew at such a moderate height from the ground, and at the same time so slowly. the tardiness of its flight made him conjecture that it must have hurt one of its wings; several times he succeeded in getting quite close to it, but just as he stretched out his hand to seize it, the bird again raised its wings, and flew a little in advance. medjeddin now felt himself tired, and would have given up the pursuit, but the bird also seemed fatigued; he approached it, but again the bird flew a little farther off. in this chase he climbed a hill, and soon after found himself in a narrow meadow-valley, down which he ran; twilight came, but the snow-white colour of the bird still lighted him on. at last the pursued bird perched in a thicket; he hastened to it, but when he closed his hand to seize his prisoner, it flew away, leaving only one of its tail-feathers tightly grasped in his hand: still he saw it through the twilight flying before him, and still he hastened after it. the bird seemed now to quicken its pace; but as he had so nearly caught it once, he continued the pursuit with more eagerness; he ran through the high grass, with his strained sight fixed on this glimmering white object, he saw nothing else. thus he came unexpectedly on a small but deep pool of water, which lay across his path; he jumped in, swam across, and tried to climb the other side, but it was so steep that he fell in with some of the crumbling earth: the water closed over his head, and he lost all consciousness. when he came to himself, he found himself lying on the turf, and a tall, grey-headed man of strange appearance by him, clothed in a long black robe reaching to his ancles, and fastened by a glittering girdle of a fiery colour. instead of a turban, he wore a high pointed cap on his head, with a tassel of the same hue as the girdle. "has your life returned to you?" he asked: "you deserved to be suffocated in the mud. come, we must go farther before daylight quite leaves us." with these words the stranger raised him from the ground, passed his left arm round his body, and flew with him through the air with the speed of an arrow. medjeddin again soon lost recollection, and did not know how long he remained in this condition. he awoke at last as from a deep sleep; and looking around, the first thing he observed was a cage of gold wire, hanging from the ceiling by a long golden chain, and within was the snow-white bird he had so long followed. he found himself alone with this bird in a hall, the roof of which was supported on pillars of white marble, and the walls were built of smooth pale-green stones. the openings which served as windows were protected by lattices so skilfully contrived with winding tracery, that even the white bird could have found no space to pass through, even if it had escaped from the cage. beside one wall stood a crystal urn; and from this fell a stream of clear water, which passing over the curved brim of the urn, was received in a white basin beneath, from which it disappeared unseen. whilst he was observing this, and wondering what had happened to him, and how he came there, suddenly the old man in the black robe entered from behind a curtain. he carried a small golden box in his hand, and approached him with these words: "you have now caught the white bird, and have it safe in a cage; in this box is food for it, and there is water; take diligent care of it, and mind that it does not escape." as he said this he disappeared. medjeddin now arose and walked round the hall: he looked through the windows, and ascertained that he must be in a foreign land, as the forms of the mountains and trees were quite different from any he had before seen. the hall seemed to be high in the air, as if it were the upper story of a lofty tower. no other edifice was to be seen, and from the windows he could not distinguish what shrubs and plants bloomed beneath. he drew the curtain aside, and discovered a doorway; but there was a thick metal door which he could not open. he was now very much embarrassed, for he began to feel hungry, and could find nothing that would serve him for food. he examined the walls to see if he could discover any concealed outlet; he tried to open the lattices, that he might put his head out, and see if there were any body beneath, to whom he might cry out. there was no door; he could not open the lattices; and as far as he could strain his sight in every direction, he could see nobody: he threw himself in despair on the pillow, wrung his hands, and wept, and cried: "i am then imprisoned--imprisoned in a dungeon where splendour and riches are lavished around! of what avail is it that these walls are built of precious stones? that this lattice is of fine gold, that this cage is of gold, and hangs on a golden chain? i am as much a prisoner behind golden lattices as i should be behind a grating of iron." then he rose and shouted through the lattices, in hopes that his voice might be heard, and aid brought; but nobody appeared, and no one answered him. when he again threw himself weeping on his couch, after these useless efforts, he observed that the white bird fluttered restlessly in its prison, and pecked at the golden dish for its food, without finding any. "poor brother in misfortune," said medjeddin, "you shall not suffer want; i will take care of you; come, i will bring you what you want." he took the pans from the cage, filling one with water from the urn, and the other with grain from the gold box which the old man had given him. scarcely had he hung the last on the cage, when, on turning round, he saw a table behind him covered with costly viands. he was astonished, and could not understand how this had happened; still it was not long before he attacked the meats with the zest of a young man who had fasted nearly all day. although these viands were altogether different from those he had been accustomed to taste in his father's house, they all appeared excellent. he ate till he was fully satisfied, and then took from the table a golden cup, and quenched his thirst with pure water from the urn. after this he threw himself on a couch and fell asleep. when he awoke he felt strong and well. he arose and began to make another tour of the hall, and he then observed that the table with the meats had disappeared. this was a disappointment, as he had thought to make a good supper of the remainder. he did not allow this, however, to trouble him much, as he now felt pretty sure that he was not to die of hunger. he next proceeded to scrutinise his prison more closely: he examined all anew, pillars, walls, and floor; but could no where find a crevice or a fissure: all was fast and whole. his view from the windows did not allow him to make any further discovery; he only saw that he was very far above the earth, and in a spacious valley; mountains were to be seen in the distance, with curiously-pointed summits. as soon as he had completed this examination, and found there was nothing to occupy him, he turned his attention to the white bird in the cage. here was still life; and if the cage was narrow, yet the prisoner could hop about on the different perches. soon it remained still and gazed at him with its bright eyes, which seemed as if sense and speech lay in them, the interpretation only was wanting. night put an end to these reflections. next morning he observed that the bird again wanted food. he filled its seed-pan with grain from his golden box, and gave it fresh water from the urn. scarcely had he done this, when the table covered with meats again stood in the same place as the day before. this day passed like the former, and the following in the same manner; medjeddin wept and mourned, took care of the little bird, fed it, and was every time rewarded in the same manner with the table covered with dishes as soon as he had filled the bird's seed-pan. he could not perceive who brought the table, nor how it disappeared. it always came whilst he stood beside the cage with his back turned, and without any noise. on the ninth day the old man suddenly appeared to him, and said, "to-day is a day of rest for you; you have performed your duty during the preceding days in giving the bird its food, you may now amuse yourself in the garden till evening." he led him through a door into a narrow passage, at the end of which they descended twenty steps; he then opened a small metal trap-door, and then medjeddin descended twenty steps more: they next came to a similar door, and descended twenty more steps to a third, and so on, till, after passing the ninth door, they found themselves in the open air. "remain here till you are called," said the old man, who went back into the building through the same doors, which he shut after him. medjeddin was very curious to examine more closely the building in which he had been imprisoned: he therefore went round it, and narrowly observed it. it was a tower of nine stories, each about fifteen feet in height. the tower was nine-sided, with a window in the third side of each story, so arranged that no window was directly over another, and that consequently only three altogether appeared in each side of the tower from bottom to top. this distribution of regularity and order reigned throughout the whole building. the walls were made of large pieces of gold, quite as smooth as glass; and these were so skilfully put together that, even when closely looked at, the joints could not be discovered. the lattices of the windows were all of gold, like those in the upper hall, and the lower doors through which he had passed were of a yellow metal, inclining to green. all these considerations were not calculated to lessen his conviction that no man could possibly find him out in such a prison. suddenly a new hope awoke in him: "i am no longer shut up in the tower," said he to himself; "here i am in the open air, in a garden: i can clamber and jump like a monkey; i may possibly find some outlet from this garden, by which i can escape." he immediately turned from the tower, and hastened through the gardens, seeking freedom; but he soon discovered that this hope was vain. he found the gardens surrounded on all sides by a lofty wall, constructed of the same materials, and quite as glassy, as the tower. after making the whole circuit of the garden, he at length found a gate, consisting of a grating of strong iron bars, polished to the highest degree of smoothness, and so close together, that he could scarcely pass his arm through. he tried to climb it by holding by the upper bars with his hands; but his feet slipped on the smooth iron, and he hurt his knee so much, that he lost his hold and fell backwards on the earth. he next examined the grating closely to see if there were no means of escape; but all was in vain: every where the bars were high, thick, and like polished glass. sorrowfully he wandered round the garden; the sun's rays darting down scorched up the grass, and he sought some shade where he might screen himself from their influence. he lay down on a mossy bank, and meditated anew on his fate. besides his own grief at his imprisonment, the thought of his father's sorrow at his loss pained him. the exhaustion consequent on tears and loud lamentations, joined with the noontide heat, at last caused him to fall into a deep sleep. when he awoke, the table covered with meats was again before him; he ate, and wandered again mournfully through the garden, meditating whether he could not make a ladder from the trees around him, to aid him in his escape over the grating. but there was something wanting for this work; he had not even a dagger or a knife. as he thus thought, the old man appeared, and said, "evening is drawing on; follow me in." he led him again to the upper room of the tower, and locked the metal door upon him. there was no change observable in his prison, only the bird seemed harassed and mournful; it sat quiet and still on the lowest perch, its plumage was rough, and its eyes dull. "poor creature," said medjeddin, "what is the matter? are you ill?" it seemed as if the bird was affected by these sympathising questions, but it soon sank again into its former dejection. he mused long upon this. the next day and the following ones passed like the former; but on the ninth the old man again appeared, led him into the garden, and at night conducted him back into the hall. he took care of the bird; and as soon as he had given it food and water, he always found the table covered with meats behind him. in the intervals he stood at the lattice of one of the three windows looking on the plain below, earnestly hoping to catch sight of some person to free him from his captivity. in such monotonous employment many months passed away: every ninth day the old man appeared, and gave him leave to walk in the garden; but he did not derive much amusement from his strolls in this narrow enclosure. in the mean time he asked the old man many times the reason of his imprisonment, and how long it was to last. no answer was vouchsafed but these words: "every man has his own fate; this is thine." one day the old man appeared and led him into the garden as usual; but he had not been there more than a quarter of an hour, when he returned, called him in, and then quickly retired with marks of disquietude. medjeddin also remarked that the white bird, which he had learnt to love more every day, sat at the bottom of its cage, more mournful than it usually was after the old man's visit. he drew near, and observed a little door in the cage which he had never before seen. he examined it closely, and found a fine bolt which passed into a ring of gold wire. these were made so skilfully, and worked into the ornamental parts of the cage so cunningly, that nobody could have discovered them if his attention had not been drawn to them by design or accident. medjeddin pushed back the bolt and opened the door; the bird started up as if some sudden joy had seized it, hopped out, and as soon as it touched the floor was transformed, and in its stead a young maiden stood before medjeddin, clothed in a white silk robe; beautiful dark locks streamed over her neck and shoulders, and a thin fragrant veil fell over them, confined by a fillet set with precious stones; her finely-formed countenance was as white as ivory, relieved by the softest shade of the rose. surprised and astonished, medjeddin started back and said, "by the beard of the prophet, i conjure you to tell me whether you are of human race, or whether you belong to the genii?" "i am a helpless maiden," said she, "and implore you to deliver me from the hands of this cruel magician; i will reward you handsomely for it: know, i am the only daughter of omar, king of zanguebar; and this wicked enchanter has cunningly carried me off from my father's palace, and shut me up in this cage. he has one son, as ugly as night, whom he wishes me to take for my husband. every ninth day he comes, brings his son with him, and praises his excellent qualities. this he has done regularly for many months past, tormenting me at every visit for my consent to this odious union; and he now threatens me with cruel tortures if i give it not by the next new moon. on that day he will have kept me a year in imprisonment, and longer than a year he says he will not continue to entreat: then will the time of my punishment begin; i conjure you therefore to help me." at these words she burst into a flood of tears. "noble maiden," answered medjeddin, "how willingly would i free you! but, alas, i am as helpless as yourself, and cannot even free myself. but tell me how is it? you say the enchanter brings his hateful son with him--why, then, have i never seen him?" "he always sends you away when he comes," answered the princess. "but even then," pursued medjeddin, "the son could not conceal himself from me on the stairs, or in the narrow passage." "quite true," she answered, "but he carries him in his pocket." "what," exclaimed medjeddin in astonishment, "in his pocket!--how can that be?" the princess informed him that the young man became on the occasion of each visit a white bird, like herself: that the enchanter put him into the cage with her, and that she felt such a dislike to him that she always fluttered about the cage to avoid getting near him; but that he, with the pertinacious obstinacy of a brutal affection, would follow her and settle confidingly near her. "you must," she continued, "have remarked how tired and mournful i always was on the ninth day when you returned." medjeddin, astonished at this explanation, assured her of his willingness to free her, but bewailed his helplessness. the princess, however, would not give up hopes of their success. "it seems to me," said she, "a good omen that the enchanter has to-day received a message which caused him to leave so early, and in such haste that he did not securely close the cage, and that you returned so early to-day from the garden; this day is my birthday, the only day i can be delivered from the magician's power; on any other day i should still have remained a dumb bird, even if you had freed me from my cage; only on this day has my touching the floor had power to restore me to my natural form; the enchantment lies in the cage." medjeddin instantly seized the cage, exclaiming, "if it be so, we will break the enchantment." he threw the cage to the ground, stamped on it with his feet till it was quite flat, and its shape no longer distinguishable, then he rolled it together, and threw it into a corner of the hall. at this moment a frightful noise like thunder resounded through the air. the whole building shook as with a furious tempest, the doors flew open with a crash, the curtains were drawn aside, and the magician stood before them with a countenance full of anger. "ah," cried he, "weak worms, what have you presumed to do? how did you learn to break my charm in this manner? who bid you destroy the cage?" medjeddin was so terrified he could answer nothing. the enchanter then turned to the maiden and cried, "and you, you thought this miserable worm could defend you against my power: i will show you how useless it is to oppose me." he felt in the pocket of his black robe, and pulled out thence a small box; this he opened, and a white bird flew out and perched on the table. he then took a smaller box from his girdle and opened it,--it was filled with grains of millet; from these he took one, and laid it before the bird, who had scarcely eaten it before such a distorted man stood in its place, that both medjeddin and the princess screamed aloud. his head was large and thick, his eyes red and dark, his nose small and quite flat, his lips thick and blueish red, his chin broad and projecting, and on his head grew a few stiff white hairs; a hump grew out in front, and a similar one behind; his shoulders were quite drawn up, and his head so jammed between them that his ears could not be seen. the upper part of his body was so unwieldy, and his legs so weak and thin that it was wonderful how they supported him; he tottered about incessantly, balancing himself first on one leg, then on the other. "come forward, my son," said the enchanter to this deformed creature; "behold, there is your bride; she does not wish to wait till the new moon which i fixed upon for your betrothal: to-day she has effected her own change by the help of this friend. go, my son, give your bride a kiss, and then thank this young man." the deformed creature approached the princess with a horrible fiendish laugh; she averted her face with disgust, and stretched out her arms to motion him away. but by this time medjeddin's courage had returned: resolving to venture all, he stepped before the princess and gave the deformity such a blow that he reeled and fell backwards. his head struck in the fall on the corner of the pedestal of one of the marble pillars with such violence, that his skull was broken: a stream of blood flowed from the wound, and the monster gave a hollow groan. medjeddin thought of nothing but the father's rage and revenge, and gave up his life for lost. but the enchanter stood quite confounded as he observed his son's mortal wound, and appeared stupified with horror and amazement. presently he threw himself down beside him, examined the injury, and wrung his hands, forgetting his revenge in his sorrow. medjeddin quickly seized the hand of the princess, and led her through the door and down the stairs: all the doors were open, and they found their way without any obstacle into the garden. soon they stood before the grating of the iron gate, which was closed. "of what use is our flight?" said medjeddin despondingly; "we are still as much as ever in the power of the enchanter; and even if we were on the other side of the gate, and concealed in the deepest cavern, he would discover us by his knowledge, and wreak his vengeance on us." "i am of a different opinion," said the princess; "i know many of the things on which the superior power of this magician depends, and i believe that if we could only get out of this place, we should be safe." they went on a little further, and came to a spot where a number of trees had been uprooted by the hurricane; one of these lay overturned with its summit resting on the top of the wall, and its boughs and branches hanging far over the other side. at this sight the young man rejoiced; he climbed quickly on to the trunk, pulling the princess after him, and guiding her with great care and tenderness into the top of the tree. they then clambered over the wall in spite of a formidable row of spikes, and let themselves down on the other side by the overhanging branches of the tree. these did not quite reach to the ground, but near enough for them to leap down; they let go accordingly, and fell gently to the earth; then jumping up, they proceeded as rapidly as the strength of the princess and the difficulties of the way would allow them, through thickets, underwood, and plains studded with prickly plants, towards the distant mountains. after the two fugitives had continued their flight for several hours without looking back on the scene of their imprisonment, the princess felt her strength exhausted, and that she could go no further; she begged her companion, therefore, to stop and rest for a short time. medjeddin sought a place free from bushes, and clad with moss and long grass; they seated themselves there, and medjeddin entreated the princess to relate her history. she was too much exhausted at first, but after a short pause recovered her strength and commenced thus: "my early history is very simple. i am called jasmin, the only daughter of the sultan of zanguebar. my mother was brought over the wide-stretching sea, from beyond arabia and mount caucasus, and was sold to him as a slave. soon attracted by her beauty and manners, he raised her to the dignity of wife. my earliest youth was spent in happy sports under my mother's eyes, who died, however, before i had passed the age of childhood, as the change from the mild climate of her land to the heat of my father's shortened her days. my father loved me as his greatest treasure, and confided me to a careful nurse. every evening i passed several hours with him, as soon as he was released from the cares of government, and one whole day in each week he devoted to conversation with me. on that day we always went together in a light bark to a neighbouring promontory, where he had a beautiful palace and gardens. the air there was cooler and more refreshing, the trees and shrubs were clothed with fresher green than in the shut-up garden in the capital, and we passed the whole day in the open air. in the mean time i had outgrown childhood, and was beloved by a prince, the son of a neighbouring king, to whom i was betrothed, and who was to succeed my father in his kingdom. this prince, whose name was mundiana mesoud, often accompanied us in these visits to the castle on the promontory. "it happened one day, as we were sitting on a terrace by the sea, that a foreign ship anchored just below us. a stranger caused himself to be landed in a little boat, and asked us permission to appear before us, as he had many costly wares to offer for sale. i was desirous to see his wares, and begged my father to admit him. the man laid many costly trinkets of gold and precious stones before us; and my father bought some which pleased me the most. i remarked that the merchant watched me closely, but he did this with such evident pleasure that my vanity ascribed it to his admiration of my charms, and found no harm in it. whilst he showed his goods, he let fall some words which intimated that he had left his most precious articles behind in the ship; he had there, he said, many curious birds, particularly a snow-white bird which was the most beautiful of all creatures of this kind. he managed thus to excite my curiosity so much that i begged my father to allow me to go with the stranger to his ship to see these rarities. my father was weak enough to comply with this unreasonable wish. a suitable train ought to have accompanied me, but the stranger prevented this; he said his boat had only room in it for three people, and that he should not like to show his wares if many strangers came into his ship. 'they are only things fit for the royal princess,' he said; 'there is no fear that i should expose her to danger. i can never forget that a powerful king has entrusted his only daughter to my care. however, the prince may accompany you as a watchful protector.' we accompanied the merchant to the ship; there we found an immense number of extraordinary things and unknown animals. in the place where in other ships the rowers sat, were great apes; on high on the mast sat an eagle; in the cabins were many large and small cages of smooth ebony with thick gold bars, behind which moved a confused multitude of animals. "my desire was now directed to the snow-white bird, about which i made inquiry. he showed it me high up in a sort of box; and as i could not see it distinctly, he took it out and placed it in my hand. 'the most wonderful circumstance,' said he, 'connected with this bird is, that, being a native of a far distant country, when removed to this it can only remain a few days alive, but i have found the corn of life of which i give it some grains each week, and it is then refreshed for nine days.' we asked for the corn of life, of which we had never heard; and he opened a little box and took out three grains. he gave me one to give the bird, the other i was to try, and the third prince mesoud. when i offered the grain to the bird, it refused it; and when i pressed my hand closer, drew back, lost its balance and fell down with outspread wings. i hastened to it, picked it up perhaps somewhat roughly, and as it tried to escape, i held some of its tail-feathers fast, so that it lay fluttering in my hand. i was very much frightened, and the merchant seemed so also. he soon laughed, however, with a sort of malicious joy, and said that i should swallow the corn, because it would prevent the flight of the frightened prisoner; he said the same to the prince; and we swallowed the grains at the same moment. i felt a wonderful transformation pass over me, and found that i was changed into a snow-white bird; and when i looked towards the prince, in his stead i saw a black bird. upon this the stranger, who was no other than the enchanter, seized me, and shut me up in the golden cage which you have trodden to pieces. the apes began to ply the oars, and the ship moved with unusual swiftness over the sea. i still saw my father and the attendants on the terrace, and could distinguish their gestures of wonder as they saw the ship depart; i believed even that i heard their voices calling us back. but what could i do in my cage? the black bird flew to the promontory; and from that moment i have neither heard nor seen any thing of prince mesoud. "when my home was far in the distance, and even the summit of the mountains which overhung it could no longer be distinguished, the enchanter rose with my cage high in the air, leaving his ship behind, and bore me into the hall of the tower. how he brought the other white bird, i do not know; i only know that he took it out of his pocket and put it into the cage. 'now you have a companion,' said he. as i took him for a real bird, i considered myself, though unfortunate, superior to him, and drew myself back into a corner. but the bird came nearer and followed me round the cage. at last i lost patience, and pecked his eyes. when the enchanter saw this, he took out a little box and took from it a grain which he laid before the bird, who picked it up immediately. it was then changed into a man, the same ugly wretch you saw in the tower. he desired me, as i have already told you, to take that deformity for my husband; and promised me that, on my consent, i should be immediately restored to my proper form, and assured me that otherwise i should always remain as a bird, except on my birthday. it was also part of my enchantment to be obliged to allure you here. i have now no other wish than to return to my father in zanguebar, because i know he is living in great affliction." this relation vividly reminded medjeddin of his own father; he knew, from the great love he had always shown him, that he must have pined for his loss, and his mournful countenance and bowed-down form presented themselves before his mind. "princess," said he, "your desire cannot be greater than mine. still, i swear to you, that i will not return to my father till i have safely conducted you to your native land, or have seen you safe into the hands of those who will bring you to your father; if i do not, may heaven not grant my father life to receive this joy!" they journeyed on with renewed vigour. but evening was drawing near, and it was necessary to find a resting-place for the night; fortune was favourable; they soon found a nook overhung by a large and lofty bush. medjeddin broke away the boughs, so as to form a hedge which fenced round a small spot in which he concealed the princess, leaving only a narrow entrance, before which he lay down to watch. night passed without danger. however anxiously medjeddin strove against sleep in order to watch over his companion, it at last weighed down his eyelids; and they both awoke with the first rays of the sun. they wandered the whole day, resting occasionally; at every step the journey became more hazardous; the thickets became thicker and higher; they were often obliged to creep between the boughs, and their clothes hung in rags. on the fourth day they reached the foot of the mountains. there they found cultivated land and human habitations. medjeddin inquired where they were, and asked the way to the sea. the people told them the name of the country, which was unknown to medjeddin and to the princess jasmin, and added, that on the other side of the high mountains lay a large flat land, bordering on the sea. they received this information with great joy, and, tired and footsore as they were, addressed themselves, without loss of time, to the task of crossing the mountains, and at last, after a wearisome journey, during which they had seen the sun rise and set seven times, they arrived at the flat country and the sea-coast of which they had been told. a ship lay ready at anchor; and when they inquired its destination, the steersman answered, "we are going to zanguebar, to fetch a cargo of cinnamon." to medjeddin's question where they came from, and the name of the land where they were, he received for answer, "that the ship belonged to a merchant of balsora, and that it had been cast on these unknown shores by a violent storm." when the princess perceived that the ship was going towards her native land, she was very much rejoiced. she took one of the precious stones out of the fillet on her forehead, and gave it for the passage money of herself and her companion. the following morning they weighed anchor, and, after a prosperous voyage, reached the very same place where the enchanter's ship had formerly lain at anchor, when he carried off the princess. they were landed in a small boat, and jasmin led her deliverer through the beautiful leafy walks of the imperial gardens. in this way they came to a terrace, from which they could see the ship. instead of pressing hastily forwards, they concealed themselves behind a bush, for on the terrace sat a venerable and noble-looking man, with the profoundest melancholy stamped on his features; he was looking seawards, and the vessel had just caught his eye; a flood of tears ran down his face, "ah!" cried he, "it was just so on the day that my sorrows began! there lay the ship of the robber; there landed the boat which carried away my beloved daughter and her betrothed. it was even at the same hour of the day. i have sent messengers into all the neighbouring lands; i have caused the opposite sea-coasts to be searched; but all has been in vain. i must die, and never see my child again." he pronounced these words aloud, and covered his face, as he bowed himself forward on his hands. the princess jasmin was rushing towards him, but medjeddin held her back, and said, "let me first prepare him for your arrival, for otherwise joy may kill him." and he came forward, and bowed himself before the sorrowing old man. the king then said, "who are you? are you a beggar, and do you need any gift? it shall be given you; go to my palace." medjeddin stood up and answered, "from my appearance, you might well take me for a beggar, o great king omar. but know that under these ragged clothes is concealed a magician, who is able to change your tears into smiles, your sobs into transports of joy." "can any man on earth do this?" asked omar. "i have only to speak three words," answered the other, "and it will happen. are you strong enough to support the highest joy that your heart can feel or conceive?" at these questions, a ray of hope kindled in the soul of the mourning father. "what is it? who are you who can promise this?" asked he; and, on medjeddin repeating his question, he answered, "i think so," regarding him, at the same time, with eager looks. "approach, princess jasmin," cried the youth; and she sprang forward into her father's open arms. medjeddin's promise was indeed fulfilled; the aged monarch's tears were changed into smiles of joy. their embrace continued long. at last omar raised himself, beckoned medjeddin to approach, and said, "you are indeed a magician such as i have never seen before. by your words you have changed the mournful course of my life into the brightest sunshine. i will not now ask you who you are, and what i have to thank you for, nor inquire what chance brought you to my daughter; i shall only give myself up to joy at her return." they went back to the capital in the king's barge, and soon the joyful news of the unexpected reappearance of the princess spread every where. crowds assembled at the palace to ascertain if the news were true, and the princess at length went out of the principal gate of the palace, and showed herself at the head of the flight of steps which led up to it. then arose a shout of joy from ten thousand voices, and loud wishes for her health and happiness. the next day, after the king had heard from his daughter the history of her imprisonment, and of the devotion with which medjeddin had watched over her and when medjeddin had in turn narrated his history omar became very thoughtful, and caused his council to assemble, to deliberate how they should reward him. "if he were not so young," said some of them "he might be made grand vizier, the next in dignity to the king, or be appointed governor of a province. but his youth prevents his being placed over the people next to the king." after longer consultation, the eldest of the councillors rose, and said, "omar, my king and lord, the youth has certainly performed a great service to you and the princess jasmin; it seems to me, therefore, that his reward ought to come from you. it is fitting that the king, having received from him a great benefit in his family, should reward him from his family. were i in such a case, i would constitute him mundiana, and give him for a wife the daughter whom he has restored." the whole assembly were of the same opinion, and the king gave them to understand that this was also his wish. "i am old," said he, "and can easily perceive that the cares of this land will soon need other hands to support them. i shall be much pleased to see my daughter with so good a husband. the prince mundiana mesoud, whom i had before chosen, has disappeared; and this youth, although of lower birth, is of noble soul, and will soon, under my guidance, acquire the necessary experience to enable him to promote justice and order in my kingdom." he did not delay, but immediately caused medjeddin to be called. a costly band of gold and silver was fastened round his forehead, and the king then said, "i herewith appoint you mundiana;" and the assembled councillors immediately added their congratulations. medjeddin expressed his gratitude in becoming terms, but inquired, smiling, what was the precise nature of the dignity conferred on him. the eldest councillor stepped forward and said, "this name points out the highest post of honour which the king can bestow. you are found worthy of this honour, and no other lives who bears the title, because the mundiana prince mesoud has disappeared." an elephant covered with costly trappings was now brought in by its keeper, and upon it was a richly ornamented seat. on this the new officer was placed, and led through the streets. heralds went before him, and cried aloud, "listen to what omar makes known to all people. this youth has restored to him his dearest jewel, which he had lost. in gratitude, the king has nominated him mundiana, and has appointed his daughter jasmin for his wife. to-morrow the betrothal will be celebrated; and every body is invited to the court of the palace to partake of the general joy." medjeddin hardly knew how all this had come about. he had received clothes and rich arms as a present from the king, and the king so highly favoured him, that he was not only to be husband of the princess jasmin, but was to succeed omar on the throne, and to reign over that beautiful and rich land. in his happiness he forgot his early life, his father's sorrow, and even his playfellow maryam and his father's faithful friend salek, and thought no more of his home or his father-land. the next day his betrothal with the princess was celebrated with great pomp. the princess had willingly yielded to her father's wish, without manifesting any particular joy, although, she felt a very sincere friendship for her intended husband, and treated him with great respect and attention, as she did not forget in her prosperity how much she had owed to him in the time of misfortune. the first days and weeks after the ceremony of betrothal were devoted to recreation and amusement, after which he was formally introduced by the king to the council, and instructed in the business of the state. the king and councillors had soon reason to wonder at the acuteness of his judgment in difficult cases, and above all, at his quick perception of right and order. throughout the country, the justice and wisdom of the king's future son-in-law were praised, and it was hoped that fortune would permit him to rule over the land. a whole year had now elapsed, and the day was fast approaching when he was to marry the princess and ascend the throne. one day, as usual, he sought his betrothed, the princess jasmin, in her apartments. he happened to enter very rapidly after his announcement by the attendant, and saw the princess hastily wiping her eyes; and as he drew nearer, he perceived the traces of her tears. sympathising with her, he asked the cause of her grief; she tried to avoid answering him, but as he continued to urge her, she at last said, "i dare tell you why these tears flow, because you are good and compassionate, and will not consider it a crime that i have a feeling and constant heart. you know that i was formerly beloved by prince mesoud, the son of the neighbouring king; i related to you that this prince was changed into a black bird by the enchanter, and flew from the ship to the promontory of the island where our country seat was situated. now i must tell you that i grieve so much the more about this prince's fate, as from my own change i can compassionate his mournful condition. i could not repress the desire to ascertain his fate, and i have obtained certain news of his present condition, by the secret knowledge of a certain wise man. i have learned that he still lives in his new form, and that he has flown away, from fear of the machinations of the demon hunter, called among us dolda waldas, and is now in far distant regions; and that it is ordained by fate that he shall never regain his human form if i give my hand to another husband. sorrow at his mournful destiny has drawn these tears from my eyes, the traces of which you observed." this narrative made a deep impression on medjeddin; he discovered that jasmin had acceded to her father's wish only from gratitude and filial obedience, whilst her affections were still fixed on the absent prince. he saw that he could purchase the good fortune of being the husband of the noble princess, and son-in-law of the great king omar, and after him king of zanguebar, only by the misfortunes of prince mesoud. he asked himself if this were right, and was obliged to confess that justice and honour were opposed to it. he saw that the intoxication of good fortune had hitherto blinded him. then the remembrance of his father came before him, and his imagination pictured him pining away at the uncertainty of his son's fate. he bitterly reproached himself for his long forgetfulness, and for not having sent an embassy to announce his safe arrival in zanguebar. scarcely had these thoughts and feelings arisen in his breast, than he made up his mind: he went to the king, told him all, and begged him to let him go and fulfil a son's duty to a father whom he had too long neglected. omar sighed deeply at these disclosures of his expected son-in-law; he proposed to send a ship to bring his father, so that he might spend the rest of his life in sharing his son's good fortune and companionship. upon this medjeddin declared to him, with determination, that he could never be his son-in-law or successor to the throne. "i cannot purchase such good fortune at another's expense," said he; "it was otherwise before i knew the decision of fate; but now that i know that the prince mesoud must, through my happiness, always remain in his present condition, if i thus take away the possibility of his ever returning to his human form, i should be in the highest degree culpable, if i did not voluntarily give up my good fortune." all the persuasions and arguments of omar were useless. the councillors also, and the grand vizier and the governors of the provinces, begged him to continue in the land, and to take still more share in the government. he remained firm in his resolution; he promised the princess, who was astonished at his honourable spirit, that, as soon as he had seen and comforted his father, he would seek information about prince mesoud from all the sages and magicians of his native land, and that he would try all means to restore him to his former condition. as he was determined to set out, the king gave him costly presents, including many precious stones from his treasury, and provided him with a ship, and all necessaries for the voyage. the heavens seemed to favour the resolution of the returning son: the finest weather and most favourable winds seconded his journey, and the ship anchored in the harbour without accident. he took some servants, bought some camels, which he loaded with the king's presents, and so went through balsora along the river to bagdad. one beautiful evening he came near the city, and recognised the very place where he had lain at the feet of his father and salek, and listened to their conversation; their last discourse there returned to his memory. "well," said he to himself, "my own experience has indeed proved how true it is that it is easy for a man to be seduced from virtue into one false step, if he be not watchful, but relies on his own power: i thought that my heart was sure to be always right, and neglected the practice of weighing carefully each action beforehand. in this manner have i so much forgotten my love for my father, and had nearly committed a great wrong, having been about to sacrifice to my vanity, in the intoxication of good fortune, the happiness of the princess and her betrothed. and you, my father, were also right when you maintained that a heart accustomed to virtue from early years would only for a short time wander from the right road. i have myself experienced the truth of these words, and i therefore thank you with tears that you brought me up to what was good." as he spoke, he espied a small solitary hut where the palm-trees used to stand. a venerable man, much marked by sorrow, appeared at the door; he stood still before the threshold, and regarded the youth with astonishment; the young man gazed earnestly at him. then suddenly recognising the features of the old man, he threw himself on his knees before him, seized his hand, and covered it with kisses. "my father," cried he, "is it so indeed? have you become so much altered in the course of so few years? that is my fault. father, forgive your offending son, who forgot you in the height of prosperity." el kattab extended his other hand to him, blessed him, and said: "rise up, my son, rise; he who feels repentance is forgiven." he rose and threw himself into his father's arms. when he looked up again, he saw a man approaching, accompanied by a maiden, whose features he recognised. it was salek and his daughter maryam, medjeddin's playfellow. after welcoming him, they sat down, and medjeddin related to them all that had happened to him since the memorable evening. he related, truly and candidly, how he had forgotten his father, and nearly fallen into greater crimes, because he had been blinded by fortune, by greatness, and by honours. as they were sitting and conversing, they observed three birds coming up from a distance, and who seemed to be chasing one another. they soon perceived that one of them was a black bird flying in great fright from a large hawk. it was obvious that the hawk would soon have seized his prey, had he not been pursued in turn by a larger bird, to avoid which, he was often compelled to dart from side to side: at last they came to close conflict. the pursued black bird fell into medjeddin's lap; the hawk, struck by his pursuer, fell to the ground at their feet, and was, by the strong hooked bill and sharp claws of his adversary, soon killed and torn to pieces. scarcely had this taken place, when the conqueror changed into a venerable-looking sage. he turned to medjeddin, who was quite astonished, and said: "dip quickly your forefinger in the blood of this slain bird, and anoint with it the beak of the black one." medjeddin obeyed immediately; and scarcely had he touched the black bird's beak with the blood, ere it was transformed, and a handsome youth in kingly dress stood before them. "guess who this is," said the genius. "the prince mesoud?" asked medjeddin. the genius answered, "it is he!" and as he stood looking at the young prince with astonishment, added, "you do not perceive how and why all this has happened. i could explain to you all these mysteries; but to what purpose? it is not necessary for weak men to know the threads by which their fates are linked together: suffice it to know that it was necessary for you to perform all this, that you might be tried: you are found worthy, and heaven rewards you with maryam, the early companion of your youth, now to be your wife." then medjeddin turned towards maryam, and looked inquiringly at salek, her father. this latter said, "with joy i listen to the will of fate; the highest wish of my heart will now be fulfilled." "know," continued the genius, "that the slain bird was the enchanter who transformed the princess jasmin and the prince mesoud. they were also to pass through trials; thus it was decreed by fate. because the enchanter only fulfilled the will of fate from selfish motives, and carried his revenge beyond it, and contrary to it, the king of the genii commanded me to slay him." with these words he disappeared from their sight. they returned now in happy union to the city; and el kattab, who had built his hut at the edge of the wood to be always near the place of his sorrow, dwelt again in his house with his children. the prince proceeded to zanguebar in the same ship that had brought medjeddin. he was received there with great joy, and was soon married to his early love. but medjeddin's name lived long in their memory, and in that of all the inhabitants of that island. when the caliph haroun al raschid heard of medjeddin's return, he had him called before him, and made him relate his history. the caliph was so pleased with him that he took him into his palace, and gave him an important post in his court. his history he caused to be inscribed in the records of his kingdom. and when giafar, his aged vizier, expressed a wish to end his life in quietness, the caliph raised medjeddin to the grand viziership; and he continued long in this office, to the pleasure of his friends and the happiness of the people, by whom he was greatly beloved. viii. the story of king bedreddin-lolo and his vizir atalmulc. the city of damascus is one of the most populous and flourishing cities of the east, and to this capital of a rich kingdom travellers and caravans arrive from all the countries of the world. its sovereigns bear the title of "prince of the believers," and their person is sacred. bedreddin-lolo, king of damascus, had for his grand vizir a man celebrated in history for his goodness. this minister, whose real name was aswad, but whose great virtues had acquired for him the surname of atalmulc[ ], was in every way worthy of the high name he had so obtained; uniting to an indefatigable zeal for the king's service a vigilance that nothing could deceive, a penetrating and capacious mind, and a disinterestedness that was universally admired. but he was surnamed the "sorrowful" vizir, because he appeared to be always plunged in a profound melancholy. whatever he did at court was performed in a grave and serious manner, and he never smiled at the wittiest remark that was made in his presence. one day the king entertained this vizir and sedif-elmuloak, his favourite, and related to them, laughing immoderately all the while, the following misfortunes that happened to a rich old miser. the old pair of slippers. there was at bagdad a merchant very notorious for his avarice, and his name was abou-cassem-tambouri. although he was enormously rich, his clothes were constantly in rags and tatters, and his turban, made of coarse stuff, was so dirty that its colour could no longer be distinguished. of all his garments, however, his slippers were the most remarkable; the soles were kept together by large, clumsy nails, and the upper leathers were pieced in every direction. the famous ship argo was not made up of a greater number of separate fragments. during the ten years of their existence as slippers, the cleverest cobblers of bagdad had exerted their utmost skill to tag together their remains, and had only succeeded by adding piece on piece, by which means they had become so heavy, that they had passed into a proverb; and when any one wished to describe something weighty, the slippers of cassem were always the object of comparison. one day, when this merchant was taking a walk in the great bazaar of the city, a proposal was made to him to buy a considerable quantity of glass; he agreed to the offer, because it was an advantageous one; and having heard a few days afterwards, that a perfumer who had fallen into difficulties had nothing left but some rose-water, which he would of course be obliged to sell as speedily as possible, cassem took advantage of the poor man's misfortune, and purchased it at less than half its value. this successful stroke of business had put him into good humour, and instead of giving a great feast, according to the custom of eastern merchants, when they have made an excellent bargain, he thought it better to take a bath, a luxury which he had not enjoyed for a long time. whilst he was taking off his clothes, one of his friends, or at least one who pretended to be a friend--for it is a rare thing for a miser to have one--remarked to him that his slippers made him the laughing-stock of the whole city, and that he certainly ought to purchase a new pair. "i have long thought of doing so," replied cassem; "but my old ones are not so very bad, and will last me for some time even yet." while talking, he stripped off his clothes, and entered the bath. at this juncture the cadi of bagdad came also to take one. cassem, having finished his bath before the judge, went into the first apartment, where he found his clothes, but not his slippers, which had disappeared, and in their place was a new pair, which our miser was convinced were a present from the man who had made him such a friendly remonstrance about them. with that he made no more ado, but put the new pair on his own feet, thus sparing himself the pain of buying new ones, and left the bath overjoyed with his prize. when the cadi had finished his bath, his slaves looked about in vain, for their master's slippers, and finding only a wretched pair, which were immediately recognized as cassem's, the police ran after the supposed sharper, and brought him back with the stolen goods upon his feet. the cadi, after having exchanged the slippers, sent cassem to prison; and, as he was well known to be rich as well as avaricious, he was not allowed to come out of prison until he had paid a handsome fine. on returning home the afflicted cassem threw his slippers, in a rage, into the tigris, which flowed beneath his windows. a few days after, some fishermen, drawing up a net heavier than usual, found in it cassem's slippers. the nails, with which they had been patched, had broken the meshes of the net. the fishermen, out of spite to cassem and his slippers, threw them into his room by the open window, and in their passage they struck the bottles containing the rose-water, and knocking them down, the bottles were broken and the water totally lost. the grief and wrath of cassem on seeing this may easily be conceived. he cursed his slippers, and tearing out the hair from his beard, vowed that they should cause him no more mischief; and so saying, he took a spade, and digging a hole in his garden, buried them there. one of his neighbours, however, who had borne him a grudge for a long time, perceived him turning up the earth, and ran and told the governor that cassem had dug up a treasure in his garden. this was enough to excite the cupidity of the officer, and he sent forthwith for cassem. in vain our miser declared that he had not found money, that he was only employed in burying his slippers. the governor had calculated on his bribe, and the afflicted cassem could only regain his liberty by paying down a second large sum. our friend, in an extremity of despair, consigned his slippers to shitan[ ], and went and threw them into an aqueduct at some distance from the city, thinking that this time he should hear no more of them. but as though the evil spirit he had invoked was determined to play him a trick, the slippers somehow found their way just to the very pipe of the aqueduct, by this means preventing the flowing of the water. the persons who had the care of the aqueduct having gone to ascertain the cause of the stoppage, and to remove it, carried cassem's slippers to the governor of the city, declaring them to be the cause of all the injury. their unfortunate owner was thrown again into prison, and condemned to pay a larger fine than before. the governor who had punished the offence, and who pretended to be indebted to no one for any thing, returned cassem's precious slippers to him again most faithfully; and cassem, in order to free himself from all the evils which they had brought upon him, resolved to burn them. as they were saturated with water, he first of all put them out to dry in the sun on the terrace of his house. but cassem's evil genius had not yet quite done with his tricks, and the last which he played him was the worst of all. a neighbour's dog prowling along the terrace on the housetops spied out the slippers, and, darting at them, carried off one of them. as, however, the dog was playing with it, and tossing it about, he contrived to let it fall off the terrace on to the head of a woman who happened to be passing below. the fright and the violence of the blow together, made the poor woman quite ill; and her husband having carried his complaint before the cadi, cassem was condemned to pay a fine proportionate to the misfortune of which he had been the cause. going home, he took up his slippers, and returned to the cadi with them in his hands. "my lord," he exclaimed with a vehemence which excited the judge's laughter, "my lord, look at the fatal cause of all my troubles! these abominable slippers have at length reduced me to poverty; be pleased now to issue a decree, in order that the misfortunes which they will, no doubt, still continue to occasion, may not be imputed to me." the cadi could not refuse to comply with this request, and cassem learned, at great expense, the danger there is in not changing one's slippers often enough. * * * * * the vizir listened to this story with such a serious countenance that bedreddin was astonished. "atalmulc," he said, "you are of a strange disposition; you seem always sad and melancholy. during ten years that you have been in my service i have never seen the slightest sign of pleasure on your countenance." "may it please your majesty," replied the vizir, "you need not be surprised at it; all have their secret sorrows; there is no man on earth who is exempt from them." "your remark is surely untrue," replied the king. "do you mean to say that all men have some secret anxiety preying on their minds, because you appear in that state? do you really believe this to be the truth?" "yes, your majesty," replied atalmulc; "such is the condition of all the children of adam; our bosoms are incapable of enjoying perfect ease. judge of others by yourself. is your majesty quite contented?" "oh, as to me," exclaimed bedreddin, "that is impossible! i have enemies to deal with--the weight of an empire on my hands--a thousand cares to distract my thoughts, and disturb the repose of my life; but i am convinced that there are in the world a vast number of persons whose days run on in unruffled enjoyment." the vizir atalmulc, however, pertinaciously adhered to what he had stated, so that the king, seeing him so strongly attached to his opinion, said to him: "if no one is exempt from vexation, all the world, at any rate, is not like you, wholly overcome by affliction. you have made me, however, very curious to know what it is that has rendered you so pensive and sorrowful; tell me therefore the reason of your melancholy." "i shall comply with your majesty's wish," replied the vizir, "and reveal the cause of my secret cares to you, by relating the history of my life." the history of atalmulc, surnamed "the sorrowful vizir," and the princess zelica. i am the only son of a rich jeweller of bagdad. my father, whose name was cogia abdallah, spared no expense in my education; having from my earliest infancy hired masters, who taught me the various sciences, philosophy, law, theology, and more particularly the different languages of asia, in order that they might be useful to me in my travels, if i should ever make any in that part of the world. shortly after this my father died, and when the funeral ceremony, which was magnificent, was over, i took possession of all his immense property. instead of giving myself up to the pursuit of pleasure, i resolved to devote myself to my father's profession. being well versed in the knowledge of precious stones, i had reason to believe that i should succeed in business, and accordingly i went into partnership with two merchant jewellers of bagdad, friends of my father, who were about to undertake a trading expedition to ormus. at basra we hired a vessel, and embarked on our enterprise from the bay which bears the name of that city. our companions on board were agreeable; the ship wafted by favourable winds glided swiftly through the waves. we passed the time in festive mirth, and our voyage promised to end as pleasantly as we could desire, when my two associates gave me a startling proof that they were not the honourable characters i had supposed. we were just at the end of our voyage, and being in good spirits on that account, we held a sort of farewell feast, and did ample justice to some exquisite wines which we had laid in at basra. for my part, being in the highest spirits, i made copious libations, and, on retiring to rest, lay down on a sofa, without taking off my clothes. in the middle of the night, while i was buried in profound slumber, my partners took me up in their arms, and threw me over-board through the cabin window. death would seem inevitable under the circumstances, and in truth it is still impossible for me to imagine how i was fortunate enough to survive such a catastrophe. the sea was running high at the time, but the waves, as if heaven had commanded them to spare me, instead of overwhelming me, bore me to the foot of a mountain, and cast me violently on shore. as soon as i recovered the shock, i found myself safe and sound on the beach, where i passed the remainder of the night in thanking god for my deliverance, at which i could not sufficiently wonder. at break of day i clambered up with great difficulty to the top of the mountain, which was very steep, and met there with some peasants of the neighbourhood, who were occupied in collecting crystal, which they afterwards sold at ormus. i related to them the danger in which my life had been placed, and my escape seemed miraculous to them, as well as to myself. these worthy people took pity on me, gave me part of their provisions, which consisted of honey and rice, and as soon as they had finished gathering their crystal, acted as my guides to the great city of ormus. i put up at a caravansary, where the first object that met my eyes was one of my associates. his surprise was great at seeing a man whom he no doubt believed to be safely housed in some marine monster's stomach, and he ran off instantly to find his companion, in order to acquaint him with my arrival, and to plan how they should receive me. they soon settled as to their course of proceeding, and, returning to the place where i was, they took no notice of me, and studiously conducted themselves as though they had never seen me before. "o traitors!" i exclaimed, "heaven frustrated your murderous intentions, and in spite of your cruelty i am still alive; give me back instantly all my precious stones; i will no longer associate with such vile wretches." on hearing these words, which ought to have overwhelmed them with shame and remorse, they had the impudence to reply: "o thief and rogue! who are you, and where do you come from? what precious stones do you speak of that we have belonging to you?" so saying, they set on me, and gave me several blows with a stick. i threatened to complain to the cadi, but they anticipated me by going to that judge themselves. bowing down before him, after having previously taken care to present him with some valuable brilliants, which no doubt belonged to me, they said to him: "o lamp of justice! light which dispels the darkness of deceit! we have recourse to you. we are poor strangers, come from the ends of the earth to trade here; is it right that a thief should insult us, and will you permit that he should deprive us by an imposture of what we have acquired at the risk of our lives, and after running a thousand dangers?" "who is the man of whom you make this complaint?" asked the cadi. "my lord," they replied, "we do not know him, we never saw him before this morning." at this moment i presented myself before the judge, to make my own complaint, but as soon as they saw me they exclaimed: "here is the man--here is the wretch, the arrant thief! he is even impudent enough to venture into your palace, and show himself before you, the very sight of whom ought to frighten the guilty. great judge, condescend to protect us." i now approached the cadi, in order to address him, but having no presents to make to him, i found it impossible to get him to listen to my story. the calm and unmoved aspect with which i spoke to him, proceeding from the testimony of a good conscience, was thought by the cadi's prejudiced mind to arise from impudence, and he ordered his archers to convey me instantly to prison, an order which they lost no time in executing. so that while i, an innocent man, was loaded with chains, my partners departed, not only unpunished but in triumph, and well persuaded that a new miracle would require to be wrought to deliver me from the hands of the cadi. and, indeed, my escape from my present difficulty might not have been of so fortunate a nature as that from drowning, had not an incident occurred which showed the goodness of heaven still visibly displayed on my behalf. the peasants who had brought me to ormus, having heard by chance that i had been put in prison, moved with compassion, went to the cadi, and told him in what way they had fallen in with me, together with all the details which they had heard from myself on the mountain. this recital began to open the eyes of the judge, and caused him to regret that he had not listened to me. he forthwith resolved to investigate the matter; and first of all sent to the caravansary to inquire for the two merchants, but they had hastily decamped, and returned on board the ship, which had put to sea; for in spite of the bias of the cadi in their favour they had taken the alarm. their rapid flight effectually convinced the judge that i had been committed to prison unjustly, and he gave orders to set me at liberty. such was the termination of the partnership i had entered into with the two honest jewellers. as one saved from drowning, and the hands of justice, (or rather injustice,) i might well have considered myself eminently bound to return thanks to the almighty. my situation, however, was such as to render me rather indifferent as to what might happen to me; for i was without money, without friends, without credit, and reduced either to subsist on charity, or to perish of hunger. i quitted ormus, without knowing what would become of me, and walked in the direction of the prairie of lar, which is between the mountains and the persian gulf. on arriving there, i met a caravan of merchants from hindostan, who were setting out for schiras, and, joining myself to them, i gained a subsistence by rendering myself useful on trifling occasions. on our arrival at schiras, where the shah tahmaspe held his court, i stopped for some time in that city. one day, when returning from the great mosque to the caravansary where i lodged, i saw an officer of the king of persia, richly dressed and very handsome; looking at me attentively, he came up to me and said, "young man, from what country do you come; for i see you are a stranger, and evidently not in a very prosperous condition?" i replied, that i came from bagdad, and that his conjecture was but too well founded. i then related my history more at length, to which he listened attentively, and with much feeling for my misfortunes. he next asked me how old i was; and when i told him that i was nineteen years of age, he desired me to follow him, and walking before me proceeded to the king's palace, which i entered along with him. conducting me into a very elegant apartment, he asked me, "what is your name?" i replied, "aswad;" he then asked many other questions, and being satisfied with my replies, said at last: "aswad, your misfortunes have affected me greatly, and i wish to assist you as a father: i am the capi-aga[ ] of the king of persia; there is now a place vacant for a new page, and i have appointed you to it. you are young and handsome, and i cannot make a better choice, for there is not one among the present pages who surpasses you in good looks." i thanked the capi-aga for his kindness, and he forthwith took me under his command, and caused me to be equipped in the dress of a page. i was made acquainted with my duties, which i soon learned to discharge in such a manner as to gain the esteem of the zuluflis[ ], and to confer honour on my protector. there was a rule that no page of the twelve chambers should, under pain of death, remain in the gardens of the seraglio after a certain hour, when the women were accustomed occasionally to walk there. the same rule extended to all the officers of the palace and the soldiers of the guard. being in the gardens one evening quite alone, and musing on my misfortunes, i became so lost in thought that i did not perceive that the proper time for men to leave the gardens was already past: knowing that no time was to be lost, i quickened my pace in order to enter the palace, when just as i was turning the corner of one of the walks, a lady appeared before me. she was of a majestic stature, and in spite of the darkness i could see that she was both young and beautiful. "you are in a great hurry," she remarked; "what can it be that obliges you to walk so fast?" "i have very good reasons for doing so," i replied, "and if you belong to the palace, as doubtless you do, you cannot be ignorant of them. you know that men are forbidden to appear in the gardens after a certain hour, and that whoever breaks this rule suffers death." "you have been rather slow in remembering the rule," replied the lady, "for the hour is long past; however, on another account you may thank your stars you have loitered, for if you had not, you would not have met with me." "how unfortunate for me that i should have mistaken the time," i exclaimed, thinking only that i had placed my life in danger. "don't reproach yourself," said the lady; "if you do, i shall feel offended. you ought to look on your misfortune to be rather a source of congratulation. it is very true that the danger in which you are placed presents ideas disagreeable enough, but it is not quite so certain that you will be beheaded, for the king is a good prince, who may be induced to forgive you. who are you?" "i am one of the pages," i replied. "indeed!" she exclaimed, "you make very wise observations for a page; the grand vizir could not make better. well, don't distress yourself about what may happen to-morrow, the events of which are hidden from you, and are only known to heaven, which has perhaps even now prepared a means of escape for you. leave then the future to take care of itself, and think only of the present. if you knew who i am, and the great honour conferred upon you by this adventure, instead of poisoning the precious moments by bitter reflections, you would esteem yourself the most fortunate of mortals." by such animating language the lady at length dispelled my fears: the idea of the punishment which threatened me vanished from my mind as i abandoned myself to the flattering ideas which she held out to me, and i proceeded somewhat over ardently to ingratiate myself with my companion. the next moment, however, as if at a signal from her, i found myself surrounded by ten or a dozen women who had concealed themselves close by, in order to listen to our conversation. it was easy now to see that the woman who had played me this trick was laughing at me. i supposed she was one of the female slaves of the princess of persia who was desirous of having a little amusement at my expense. all the other women ran quickly to her assistance, and, bursting into laughter, began to surround me, and to joke with me. one remarked that i was of a lively character, and well fitted for an amusing companion. "if i should ever walk all alone at night," said another, "i hope i shall meet with somebody quite as clever as this page." their pleasantries put me quite out of countenance, while every now and then they laughed outrageously, and i felt as ashamed as if they had rallied me for being too bashful. they even made themselves merry at my having permitted the hour for leaving the gardens to escape me, and said that it would be a pity if i were to die on that account; and that i well deserved to live since i was so devoted to the service of the ladies. the first one then, whom i had heard addressed as cale-cairi, said to another, "it is for you, my princess, to determine respecting his lot: is it your wish that he should be abandoned to his fate, or shall we lend him our assistance?" "he must be saved from the danger he is in," replied the princess: "i give my consent for him to live; and, indeed, to the end that he may remember this adventure of his for a long time to come, we must make it still more agreeable to him; let him come to my apartments." when i entered the chamber of zelica begum--for such was her name, and she was the princess of persia--she inquired my name, and how long i had been a page. when i had satisfied her curiosity on these points she said: "well, aswad, make yourself at home, and forget that you are in an apartment which is forbidden to be entered by any man: forget that i am zelica: speak to us as if you were with a party of young ladies, the daughters of plain citizens of schiras: look attentively at all these young women, and tell me frankly which one among us all you like best." although zelica's slaves were perfectly beautiful, and the princess herself might be considered to have a just claim to the preference, my heart decided at once in favour of the charming cale-cairi; but concealing sentiments which would seem to cast zelica into the shade, i said to her that she ought not to place herself in the same rank with the others, or contend with her slaves for the possession of my heart, for that her beauty was such that wherever she was seen, all eyes must be directed to her, and her alone. while speaking thus, however, i could not resist looking at cale-cairi in a way which would make her think that my language had been dictated by courtesy alone, and not by the real feelings of my breast. zelica noticing this, said, "aswad, you flatter me too much: you must be more candid: i am certain that you have not spoken your real sentiments, and you must really answer me truly in reply to my question: open your inmost soul to us: we all beg you to do this, and you cannot confer a greater pleasure both on myself and all my slaves." yielding at last to their urgent requests, i threw off my timidity, and addressing myself to zelica, i said: "i will then endeavour to comply with your highness's wishes: it would be difficult to decide which of the exquisitely beautiful assemblage before me is the most beautiful, but i will avow to you that the amiable cale-cairi is the lady for whom the inclinations of my heart plead the most strongly." zelica, instead of being offended by my boldness, replied: "i am well pleased, aswad, that you have given the preference to cale-cairi; she is my favourite, and that is sufficient to prove that your taste is not bad. you do not know the full worth of the fair lady whom you have chosen: we unite in owning that she excels us all." the princess and her slaves now began to banter cale-cairi on the triumph which her charms had achieved--and she received all their witticisms in very good part. zelica then ordered a lute to be brought, and placing it in cale's hands, said to her, "show your lover what you can do with it," and she played upon it in a style which enchanted me, accompanying it at the same time with her voice in a song which indicated that when a lover has made choice of a suitable object, he ought to love that dear one for ever. an old slave at length came to inform us that daylight was approaching, and that there was no time to be lost, if it were intended that i should quit the apartments in safety. zelica then told me to follow the slave, who led me through many galleries, and by many windings and turnings, until we reached a little gate of which she had the key; and on the door being opened, i went out, and as it was now daylight, i saw that i was no longer in the palace. a few hours after i rejoined my companions. eight days after this, an eunuch came to the door of the king's apartments, and said that he wished to speak with me. i went to him and inquired what he wanted. "is not your name aswad?" he asked. i replied that it was. he then put a note into my hands, and went away. the letter stated that if i felt inclined to pay a visit to the gardens of the seraglio next night, and would be at the same place as before, i should there see a lady who was very sensibly touched with the preference i had given to her over all the princess's women. although i suspected that cale-cairi had taken a fancy to me, i had no idea of receiving such a letter as this from her. intoxicated with my good luck, i asked leave from the oda-baschi to pay a visit to a dervise--who was a countryman of my own, and who had just arrived from mecca. leave being granted me, i ran, or rather flew, to the gardens of the seraglio, as soon as night was come. if, on the first occasion time fled too swiftly and surprised me into stopping after the hour for leaving the gardens, it seemed now too slow in bringing me the promised pleasure, and i thought the hour of retreat would never come. it did come, however, and i could see, shortly afterwards, approaching the place where i was concealed, a lady whom i recognized by her stature and air to be cale-cairi. transported with delight, i drew near, and throwing myself at her feet, i remained for some time prostrate on the ground without speaking a word, so completely had i lost all self-possession. "rise, aswad," she said, "i am enraptured at having inspired you with such feelings towards me, for i will confess to you that for my part i have not been able to resist a friendly regard for you. your youth, good looks, and lively and brilliant wit, but more than all, perhaps, your preferring me to other ladies of great beauty, have endeared you to me. my conduct proves this sufficiently; but, alas! my dear aswad," she added, sighing, "i scarcely know whether i ought to be proud of the conquest i have made, or rather to regard it as an event which will embitter the whole course of my life." "but, madam," i replied, "why give way to such gloomy presentiments at the very time when your presence brings me such delight?" "it is not," she replied, "a foolish fear that now, at such a moment as this, causes me annoyance and disturbs the pleasure of our meeting; my fears are only too well founded, and you are ignorant of the cause of my grief. the princess zelica loves you, and when she has freed herself, as she will do soon, from the splendid bondage in which she is held, she will inform you of your happiness. when she confesses to you that you are dear to her, how will you receive such a glorious avowal? will your love for me hold out against the honour of having the affections of the first princess in the world?" "yes, charming cale-cairi," i said, interrupting her; "i would prefer you even to zelica. were it to please heaven that you should have even a still more formidable rival, you would see that nothing could shake the constancy of a heart that is devoted to you." "unhappy aswad!" exclaimed the lady, "whither does your love carry you? what a fatal assurance you are giving me of your fidelity! you forget that i am a slave of the princess of persia. if you were to repay her kindness by ingratitude you would draw down her anger upon us both, and we should perish. better it were that i should yield you up to so powerful a rival; it would be the only means of saving ourselves." "no, no," i replied hastily; "there is another means which i should rather choose in my despair, and that would be to banish myself from the court altogether. after my retreat you would be safe from the vengeance of zelica, and you would regain your peace of mind: by degrees you would forget the unfortunate aswad, who would retire into the deserts to seek for rest in his misfortunes." i spoke with such deep feeling and truth that the lady was herself overcome with my grief, and said: "cease, aswad, to yield to a needless affliction. you are mistaken; your merits are such that it would be wrong to keep you longer in the dark. i am zelica herself, and not her slave. that night when you came to my apartment i personated cale-cairi, and you supposed my attendant to be myself." zelica then called one of her women, who ran to her from amidst some cypress trees where she was concealed, and i perceived that she was the slave whom i supposed to be the princess of persia. "aswad," said the princess to me, "you now see the true cale-cairi; i give her back her name and take my own: i have no wish to disguise myself any longer. although your love is greater than your ambition, i am certain that it will be a source of new pleasure to you to know that the lady who loves you is a princess." we passed nearly the whole night in walking about and conversing, and daylight would no doubt have found us in the gardens, had not cale-cairi, who was with us, taken care to inform us that it was time to withdraw. it was needful then that we should separate, but before i parted from zelica the princess said to me: "adieu, aswad! do not forget me. we shall see each other again, and i will soon let you know how dear you are to me." i threw myself at her feet to thank her for so flattering a promise, after which cale-cairi took me out by the same winding passages as before, and i then left the seraglio. beloved by the august princess whom i idolized, and forming an enchanting image of what she had promised me, i abandoned myself to the most pleasing fancies that the mind could depict, when an unlooked-for event deprived me all on a sudden of my proud hopes. i had heard a report that the princess zelica was ill, and two days afterwards the rumour of her death was circulated in the palace. i was unwilling to give credit to this fatal intelligence, and refused to do so until i saw preparations going for the funeral ceremony. i did not see the whole of it, because excessive grief threw me into a succession of dangerous fainting fits which lasted for a long time. one of the officers of the palace gave directions for me to be carried into the pages' room, where great care was taken of me; my limbs were rubbed with a balm of exceeding virtue, and in spite of my overwhelming misery, such was the progress i made, that in two days my strength was restored. a stay in schiras, however, having become insupportable, i secretly left the court of persia three days after the interment of my beloved princess. overwhelmed with grief, i walked all night without knowing whither i was going or where i ought to go. next morning, having stopped to rest myself, a young man approached who was dressed in a very extraordinary manner. coming up to me he saluted me and presented me with a green branch which he held in his hand, and after having civilly made me accept it, he began to recite some persian verses to induce me to bestow my charity upon him. as i had no money i could not give him any. thinking that i was ignorant of the persian language he recited some arabic verses, but seeing that he had no better success this way than the other, and that i did not do what he wanted, he said to me, "brother, i cannot persuade myself that you are deficient in charity, but rather in the means wherewith to exercise it." "you are right," i said, "i have not a farthing in the world, and i know not even where to shelter my head." "unfortunate man," he exclaimed, "what a sad plight you are in; i really pity you, and wish, moreover, to assist you." i was not a little astonished to be thus addressed by a man who had been asking alms of me a moment before, and i supposed that the assistance he offered was merely that of his prayers, when he went on to say: "i am one of those merry fellows they call fakirs; and i can tell you, that though we subsist entirely on charity, we fare none the less sumptuously for that, as we have discovered the secret of exciting the compassion of well-meaning people by an appearance of mortification and penance which we well know how to impart to ourselves. it is true there are a few fakirs fools enough to be really what they seem, and who lead a life of such austerity as sometimes to go ten whole days without the least nourishment. but we are a little less rigorous than these ascetics; we make no pretensions to the reality of their virtues, only to the appearance of them. will you become one of our fraternity? i am now on my way to meet two of them at bost; if you have a fancy to make the fourth, you have but to follow me." "i am afraid," i replied, "that not being accustomed to your religious exercises i shall acquit myself but clumsily." "pray don't trouble yourself," he broke in, "on that head; i repeat to you that we are not fakirs of the austere order; in short, we have really nothing of the fakir about us but the dress." although i guessed from what the fakir had told me, that he and his companions were in reality three libertines in disguise, i nevertheless did not hesitate to join them; for besides being reckless from sheer misery, i had not learned among the pages of the court many lessons of scrupulousness on the score of morality. as soon as i had signified to the fakir my consent, he set out with me at once for bost, feeding me on the road with abundance of dates, rice, and other good things, which people presented to him in the towns and villages through which we passed; for the moment his little bell and his peculiar cry became heard, the good mussulmans came running to him with provisions from all quarters. in this way we arrived at the large town of bost; we made our way to a small house in the suburbs, where the two other fakirs resided. they received us with open arms, and appeared delighted with my resolution of joining them. they soon initiated me into their mysteries; that is to say, they showed me how to perform their antics. as soon as i was well instructed in the art of imposing on the populace, they sent me into the town to present respectable citizens with flowers or branches, and to recite verses to them. i always returned home with some pieces of silver, which enabled us to live merrily enough. i passed nearly two years with the fakirs, and should have lived there much longer had not the one who had induced me to join them, and whom i liked the best, proposed to me to travel. "aswad," said he one day, "i am sick of this town; i begin to long to roam a little. i have heard wonderful accounts of the city of candahar; if you will accompany me we will put the truth of these reports to the test." i consented at once, for i had a curiosity to see some new country, or rather, i was impelled by that superior power which guides our destinies. accordingly we both quitted bost, and passing through many cities of segestan without stopping, we reached the noble city of candahar, surrounded with its strong fortifications. we betook ourselves to a caravansary, where our dresses, the most commendable thing about us by the way, procured us a kind and hearty reception. we found the inhabitants of the city in a great bustle, as they were going to celebrate the feast of giulous on the following day. we learned that at court they were no less busy, as every one was anxious to show his attachment for the king firouzshah, who had earned by his justice the love of all good men, and still more by his rigour the fear of the wicked. the fakirs going where they please without hindrance, we proceeded next day to court to witness the festival, which however had few charms for the eyes of a man who had seen the giulous of the king of persia. whilst we were attentively watching what passed, i felt myself pulled by the sleeve, and turning round, perceived close to me the very eunuch who, in the shah's palace, had been the bearer of cale-cairi's, or rather zelica's letter. "my lord," he whispered, "i recognized you at once in spite of your strange dress; but indeed, though i flatter myself i am never mistaken, i am not quite sure whether on the present occasion i ought not to doubt the evidence of my own eyes. is it possible that it is you i have met here?" "and pray," i asked in reply, "what are you doing at candahar, and why have you left the court of persia? can the death of the princess zelica have driven you away as it did me?" "that," replied he, "is exactly what i cannot tell you at this moment, but i will amply satisfy your curiosity if you will meet me here to-morrow alone at the same hour. i have a few things to tell you which will astonish you, and which--let me add--concern you not a little." i promised to return alone to the same spot the following day, and took care to keep my word. the eunuch was there, and coming up to me, proposed that we should leave the palace and seek some place better adapted for conversation. we accordingly went out into the city, and after traversing several streets, stopped at last at the door of a good-sized house, of which he had the key. we entered, and i observed suites of apartments magnificently furnished, delicious carpets and luxurious sofas, whilst through the windows i perceived a garden beautifully laid out, with a delightful piece of water in the middle, bordered with variegated marble. "my lord aswad," said the eunuch, "i trust the house pleases you." "i am delighted with it," i replied. "i am glad to hear you say so," he returned, "for i yesterday took it, just as you see it, for _you_. you will next want slaves to wait on you. i will go and purchase some whilst you take a bath." so saying, he conducted me to a chamber, where i found baths all ready. "in heaven's name," i exclaimed, "tell me for what purpose you have brought me here, and what the news is you have promised to tell me." "at the proper time and place," he rejoined, "you shall learn all; for the present be content to know that your lot is materially changed since i met you, and that i have my orders for every thing i am doing." as he spoke, he assisted me to undress--a process which did not take long--i entered the bath and the eunuch left me, enjoining patience. all this mystery furnished ample food for conjecture, but i wearied myself fruitlessly in endeavouring to fathom it. schapour left me a long time in the bath, and my patience was beginning to be exhausted, when he returned, followed by four slaves, two of whom carried towels and garments, and the others all sorts of provisions. "i beg your pardon, my lord," said he, "i am extremely sorry i have kept you waiting so long." at the same time the slaves placed their bundles on the sofas and proceeded to wait on me: they rubbed me with towels of the finest texture, and then dressed me in rich garments, with a magnificent robe and turban. "what on earth is all this to end in?" said i to myself; "and by whose orders can it be that this eunuch treats me in such a manner?" my impatience to be enlightened became so lively that i could not conceal it. schapour soon perceived it, and said: "it is with the deepest regret that i see you so restless and uneasy, but i cannot yet relieve you. even supposing i had not been expressly forbidden to say a word, or even supposing that i betrayed my trust, and told you every thing i am now concealing from you, i should not succeed in tranquillizing you in the least; anxieties still more harassing would take the place of those which now worry you--you must wait till night, and you shall then learn all you desire to know." though i would not but augur well from what the eunuch said, yet it was impossible to help being for the rest of the day in a state of cruel suspense. i really believe that the expectation of evil causes less real suffering than that of some great pleasure. the night however came at last, and the slaves proceeded to light up the whole house, and particularly the principal apartment, with wax candles. in this apartment i took my seat with schapour, who, to assuage my impatience, kept saying to me, "they will be here in a moment--have but a little more patience." at last we heard knocking at the door, the eunuch went himself to open it, and returned with a lady whom, the moment she raised her veil, i recognized as cale-cairi. my surprise was extreme, for i believed her to be at schiras. "my lord aswad," said she, "however astonished you may be to see me, you will be much more so when you hear the story i have to tell you." at these words schapour and the slaves quitted the apartment, leaving me alone with cale-cairi; we both sat down on the same sofa, and she commenced her narration as follows: "you recollect well, my lord, that night on which zelica made herself known to you, nor can you yet have forgotten the promise she made you on leaving. the following day i asked her whether she had come to any resolution what course to pursue in the matter; i represented to her the absurdity of a princess of her rank dreaming of exposing herself to disgrace and death for the sake of a mere page; in short, i used every effort to overcome her passion; and you may well pardon me for doing so, as all my reasoning served but to strengthen her attachment. when i saw i was utterly unable to prevail with her, 'madam,' i said at length, 'i cannot contemplate without shuddering the danger into which you are rushing, but since no consideration seems powerful enough to detach you from your lover, we must endeavour to contrive some plan for you to meet without endangering either your life or his. i have thought of one which would doubtless be gratifying to your affection, but it seems to me so daring that i hardly like to propose it.' "'let me hear it at once, cale-cairi,' said the princess; 'whatever it may be, pray do not keep it from me.' "'if you put it in practice,' replied i, 'you must make up your mind to quit the court and live as though you had been born to the humblest lot in life. you must renounce all the honours of your rank. do you love aswad sufficiently to make so great a sacrifice?' "'_do_ i love him?' returned she, drawing a deep sigh. 'ah! the very humblest lot with him would please me far more than all the pomp and luxury with which i am now surrounded. only point out to me what i can do in order to enjoy his society without constraint and without impropriety, and i am ready to do it without a moment's hesitation.' "'well, madam,' i replied, 'since i perceive it is useless to endeavour to overcome your attachment, i will do all in my power to favour it. i am acquainted with the properties of a herb of singular power. one leaf of it placed in your ear will in an hour bring on so lethargic a sleep that you will appear quite dead; they will then perform the funeral rites, and carry you to your tomb, from which at nightfall i can easily release you--'" here i interrupted cale-cairi, "great heavens!" i exclaimed, "is it possible that the princess zelica did not die after all--what then has become of her?--" "my lord," said cale-cairi, "she is still alive. but pray listen patiently to my story, and you will learn all that you desire to know. my mistress," she continued, "threw herself into my arms with joy, so clever did my plan appear to her; presently, however, she began to perceive many difficulties connected with the rites and observances usual at funerals. i removed all her doubts, and thus we set about the execution of our plan. "zelica complained of a terrible pain in her head, and went to bed. the next morning i spread a report that she was dangerously ill; the royal physician was sent for; it was no difficult matter to deceive him. he sent some remedies which of course were never taken. from day to day the princess's illness increased; and as soon as, in my judgment, her last moments ought to approach, i placed in her ear a leaf of the herb i have mentioned. i immediately after ran to the shah, and told him the princess had but a few moments to live, and desired anxiously to speak to him. he came to her at once, and, observing that, as the herb began its work, her face changed rapidly, he was deeply moved, and began to weep. "'my lord,' said his daughter, in faint accents, 'i implore you, by the love you have always borne me, to order my last wishes to be carried out to the letter. my wish is, that when i am dead, no one but cale-cairi shall be permitted to wash my body, and that none of my other slaves shall share that honour with her. i also beg that none but she shall watch my tomb the first night, that no tears but hers shall fall on it, and that her prayers alone shall ascend to the prophet, to avert from me the assaults of evil spirits.' "shah tahmaspe promised his daughter that i alone should perform for her these last sad duties. "'but this is not all, my lord,' continued she; 'i also implore you to give cale-cairi her liberty the moment i am no more, and to give her, with her freedom, presents worthy of yourself and of the affection she has always evinced towards me.' "'my child,' replied the shah, 'make yourself perfectly easy on all the matters you have commended to my notice; should it be my misfortune to lose you, i swear that your favourite slave, loaded with presents, shall be at liberty to go whither she pleases.' "he had hardly done speaking when the herb completed its work. zelica lost all consciousness, and her father, supposing her to be dead, retired to his own apartments in deep grief. he gave orders that i alone should wash and embalm the body, which i pretended to do, and then wrapping it in a white cloth, laid it in the coffin. the princess was then carried in great pomp to the tomb, where by the shah's express orders i was left alone for the first night. i made a careful survey all round, to assure myself that no one was on the watch, and, not having discovered any one, i roused my mistress at once from her sleep in the coffin, made her put on a dress and veil i had concealed under my own, and we both repaired to a spot where schapour was in waiting. the faithful eunuch conducted the princess to a small house which he had taken, and i returned to the tomb to pass the remainder of the night. i made up a bundle to represent the corpse, covered it with the same cloth in which i had previously wrapped zelica, and placed it in the coffin. the next morning the princess's other slaves came to take my place, which i took care not to leave without previously indulging in all the expressions of inconsolable grief usual on such occasions. a faithful account of this exhibition of woe was duly carried to the king's ear, who was induced by it to make me presents far beyond what he had determined on. he ordered me ten thousand sequins out of his treasury, and granted me permission, the moment i asked it, to quit the court and carry with me the eunuch schapour. i immediately proceeded to join my mistress, and congratulate her on the complete success of our stratagem. next day we sent the eunuch to the royal apartments with a note asking you to come and see me. but one of your attendants told him you were ill, and could see no one. three days after we sent him again; he brought back word that you had left the palace, and that no one knew what had become of you. we caused search to be made for you all through the city; schapour left nothing undone in order to discover you; and when at last we gave up the search in despair and left schiras, we took the road to the indus, because we thought it just possible that you might have turned your steps in that direction;--and, stopping at every town on our route, we set on foot the most careful inquiries, which nevertheless proved entirely useless. "one day, on our road from one city to another, though we were travelling with a caravan, a vast horde of robbers surrounded us, and, in spite of a vigorous defence, swept down the merchants and plundered their goods. of us, of course, they soon made themselves masters, robbed us of our money and jewels, carried us to candahar, and sold us to a slave merchant of their acquaintance. this merchant had no sooner secured zelica, than he resolved to show her to the king of candahar. firouzshah was charmed the moment he saw her, and asked her whence she came. she told him ormus was her native place, and answered the prince's other inquiries in a similar manner. in the end he purchased us, and placed us in the palace of his wives, where the handsomest apartments were assigned to us. passionately though she is loved by the king of candahar, she cannot, nevertheless, forget you; and, though he sighs at her feet, he has never succeeded in obtaining the slightest proof of any return of attachment. no one ever saw any thing like the joy she exhibited yesterday when schapour informed her he had met with you. she was quite beside herself all the rest of the day. she ordered schapour instantly to engage a furnished house for you, to conduct you there to-day, and to suffer you to want for nothing. i am now here by her orders to inform you of the several things i have communicated, and to prepare you to see her in the course of to-morrow night. we shall leave the palace unobserved, and let ourselves in here by a small door in the garden wall, of which we have had a key made for us." as she uttered these last words the favourite slave of the princess of persia rose and quitted the apartment, in order to return to her mistress, and schapour accompanied her. i could do nothing all that night but think of zelica, my love for whom seemed to return with tenfold ardour. sleep never approached my eyelids, and the following day seemed a century. at last, as i almost began to think i should fall a victim to the agonies of suspense, i heard a knocking at the door; my slaves ran to open it, and the next moment i saw my princess entering the room. how shall i describe the feelings which her presence excited in me! and for her part what was her delight to see me once more! i threw myself at her feet and for some time could do nothing but embrace them without uttering a syllable. at length she forced me to rise, and seating me next her on the sofa, "aswad," said she, "i render thanks to heaven for reuniting us; let us now hope that the goodness of providence will not stop here, but will remove the new obstacle which hinders our union. in expectation of the arrival of that happy hour we will live here in contentment; and if circumstances prevent our meeting unconstrainedly, we can at least enjoy the consolation of hearing daily news of each other, as well as of occasional secret interviews." in such conversation we passed the greater part of the night. next day, in spite of the happy thoughts which now filled my mind, i did not forget the fakir in whose company i had come to candahar; and picturing to myself his uneasiness at not knowing where i was, i determined to go and find him out. i met him by accident in the street and we embraced each other. "my friend," said i, "i was on my way to your caravansary to inform you of what has happened to me, and to set your mind at ease. no doubt i have occasioned you some uneasiness." "that is true enough," replied he; "i was in no small trouble about you. but what a change! what clothes are these you appear in? you seem to have been in luck. whilst i was worrying myself about what had become of you, you were passing your time, as it seems to me, pleasantly enough." "i confess it, my dear friend," replied i; "and i can assure you, moreover, that i am a thousand times happier than it is possible for you to conceive. i want you not only to be witness of my good fortune, but to profit by it as well. quit your caravansary and come and live with me." so saying, i led him to my house and showed him all over it. he admired the rooms and the furniture amazingly, and every now and then would exclaim, "o heaven! what has aswad done more than other men to deserve such an accumulation of good fortune?" "what, now, fakir," asked i, "do you view my happy condition with chagrin? it seems to me that my good fortune is positively annoying to you." "on the contrary," returned he, "it affords me the liveliest satisfaction; so far from envying my friends' happiness, i am never so happy as when i see them flourishing." as he concluded this speech he embraced me ardently, the better to persuade me of the sincerity of his words. i believed him sincere, and acting towards him myself in the most perfect good faith, betrayed myself without the least mistrust into the hands of the most envious, the most cowardly, and the most treacherous of men. in this way we continued to live for some time. schapour or cale-cairi brought me daily intelligence of my beloved princess, and an occasional stolen interview elevated me to the seventh heaven of happiness. the fakir expressed the liveliest interest in the progress of my attachment, and i confided to him, as to my bosom friend, every particular of my life. one day, as i was reposing on a sofa and dreaming of zelica, i was aroused by a great noise in my house. i rose in order to ascertain the cause, and to my great dismay, found that it was occasioned by a body of firouzshah's own guards. "follow me," said the officer in command; "our orders are to conduct you to the palace." "what crime have i committed?" asked i; "of what am i accused?" "we have not been informed," replied the officer; "our orders are merely to carry you before the king; we know nothing about the cause: but i may tell you for your comfort, that if you are innocent you have nothing whatever to fear, for you have to do with a prince of the strictest justice, who never lightly condemns any one who is brought before him. he requires the most convincing proofs before he will pass an adverse sentence; but it is true at the same time that he punishes the guilty with the utmost rigour, so that, if you are guilty, i pity you." there was no help for it; i was obliged to follow the officer. on my way to the palace i said to myself, "firouzshah has no doubt discovered my correspondence with zelica; but how can he have learned it?" as we crossed the court-yard of the palace i observed that four gibbets had been erected there. i made a shrewd guess at their destination, and apprehended that this kind of death was the least part of the punishment i had to expect from the wrath of firouzshah. i raised my eyes to heaven and prayed that at least the princess of persia might be saved from this. we entered the palace; the officer who had charge of me conducted me into the king's apartment. that prince was there, attended only by his grand vizir and the fakir. the moment i perceived my treacherous friend i saw that i had been betrayed. "it is you, then," said firouzshah to me, "who has secret interviews with my favourite. wretch! you must be bold indeed to dare to trifle with me! speak, and reply exactly and truly to my questions:--when you came to candahar, were you not told that i was a severe punisher of criminals?" i replied that i was informed of it. "well," he continued, "since you knew that, why have you committed the greatest of all crimes?" "sire," i answered, "may your majesty's days last for ever. you know that love gives courage to the dove: a man possessed by a violent passion fears nothing: i am ready to be a victim to your just wrath; and as to any tortures that may be reserved for me i shall not complain of your severity, provided you grant a pardon to your favourite. alas! she was living peacefully in your palace before i came here, and would soon have been contented with rendering a great king happy, while gradually forgetting an unfortunate lover whom she never thought to see again. knowing that i was in this city, her former attachment returned. it was i that separated her from your affection, and your punishment should fall on me alone." while i was thus speaking, zelica, who had been sent for by the king's order, entered the apartment, followed by schapour and cale-cairi, and hearing the last words i uttered, ran forward and threw herself at the feet of firouzshah. "great prince!" she exclaimed, "forgive this young man: it is on your guilty slave, who has betrayed you, that your vengeance ought to fall." "traitors that you both are!" exclaimed the king "expect no favour either of you: die! both of you. this ungrateful woman only implores my kindness in behalf of the rash man who has offended me; while his sensibilities are only alive to the loss of her whom he loves; both of them thus parading in my very sight their amorous madness; what insolence! vizir!" he cried, turning to his minister, "let them be led away to execution. hang them up on gibbets, and after their death, let their carcasses be thrown to the dogs and the vultures." the officers were leading us away, when i resolved on one more desperate effort to save the princess. "stop, sire!" i shouted at the top of my voice, "take care what you do, and do not treat with ignominy the daughter of a king! let your jealousy even in its fury have respect to the august blood from which she has sprung!" at these words firouzshah appeared thunderstruck, and then addressing zelica, he inquired, "who then is the prince who is your father?" the princess looked at me with a proud countenance, and said: "alas! aswad, where was your discretion? how is it that you have told what i wished to conceal, if it were possible, even from myself? i should have had the consolation in death of knowing that my rank was a secret, but in disclosing it, you have overwhelmed me with shame. learn then who i am," she continued, addressing herself to firouzshah; "the slave whom you have condemned to an infamous death is the daughter of shah tahmaspe!" she then related her whole story, without omitting the slightest circumstance. when she had concluded her recital, which increased the king's astonishment, she said to him, "now i have revealed a secret which it was my intention to bury in my own breast, and which nothing but the indiscretion of my lover could have wrung from me. after this confession, which i make with extreme humiliation, i beg that you will instantly give orders for my immediate execution. this is the only favour i now ask of your majesty." "madam," replied the king, "i revoke the order for your death: i have too great a love for justice not to honour your faithfulness: what you have told me makes me look upon you in a different light; i have no complaint to make against you, and i set you at liberty. live for aswad, and may the happy aswad live for you! schapour also and your friend have life and liberty granted to them. go, most faithful lovers, and may you pass the rest of your days in the enjoyment of each other's society, and may nothing interrupt the course of your happiness. as for you, traitor," he continued, turning to the fakir, "you shall be punished for your treason, for your base and envious heart, which could not endure to see the happiness of your friend, and led you to deliver him up yourself to my vengeance. miserable wretch! you shall yourself be the victim of my jealousy!" while this villain was being led to the gallows, zelica and i threw ourselves at the feet of the king of candahar, and bathed them with tears of gratitude and joy. we assured him that we should ever retain a grateful sense of his generous goodness. and at length we left his palace, accompanied by schapour and cale-cairi, with the intention of taking up our lodging at a caravansary. we were just about to enter, when an officer sent by the king accosted us. "i come," he said, "from my master, firouzshah, to offer you a lodging: the grand vizir will lend you a house of his, situated at the gates of the city, where you will be very commodiously lodged. i will be your conductor thither, if you will allow me, and will take the trouble to follow me." we accompanied him, and soon arrived at a house of imposing appearance, and elegant architecture: the interior corresponded to the outside appearance. every thing was magnificent, and in good taste. there were more than twenty slaves, who told us that their master had desired them to supply us with every thing that we wanted, and to treat us as they would himself all the time that we remained in the house. here my marriage with the princess was duly celebrated, though with the strictest privacy. two days after we received a visit from the grand vizir, who brought an immense quantity of presents from the king. there were bales of silk and cloth of india, with twenty purses, each containing a thousand sequins of gold. as we did not feel ourselves quite at our ease in a house which was not our own, and as the king's bounty enabled us to go elsewhere, we joined ourselves to a great caravan of merchants, who were proceeding to bagdad, where we arrived without encountering any disaster. we took up our lodgings at my own house, where we remained for a few days after our arrival, for the purpose of recovering ourselves from the fatigue of our long journey. i then went into the city and visited my friends, who were astonished to see me, as they had been told by my associates on their return, that i was dead. as soon as i knew that they were at bagdad, i hastened to the grand vizir, threw myself at his feet, and related their perfidious conduct towards me. he gave orders for their immediate arrest, and commanded them to be interrogated in my presence. "is it not true," i asked them, "that i awoke when you took me up in your arms, that i asked what you intended doing with me, and that without replying you threw me out through the porthole of the ship into the sea?" they replied that i must have been dreaming, and that i must certainly have thrown myself into the sea when asleep. "why then," said the vizir, "did you pretend not to know him at ormus?" they replied that they had not seen me at ormus. "traitors!" he replied, eyeing them with a threatening aspect, "what will you say, when i show you a certificate from the cadi of ormus, proving the contrary?" at these words, which the vizir only made use of to put them to the proof, my associates turned pale and became confused. the vizir noticed their altered looks, and bade them confess their crime, that they might not be compelled to do so, by being put to the torture. they then confessed every thing and were conveyed to prison, until the caliph should be informed of the matter, and give his orders respecting the kind of death which they were to undergo. in the mean time, however, they contrived to make their escape, either by bribing their guards, or deceiving their vigilance, and concealed themselves so carefully in bagdad, that all search after them proved ineffectual. their property, however, was confiscated to the caliph, excepting a small part which was bestowed upon me, by way of some compensation for the robbery. after this all my ambition consisted in living a quiet life with the princess, with whom i was perfectly united in love and affection. my constant prayer to heaven was, that such a state of felicity might be continued to us; but alas! how vain are the wishes and hopes of man, who is never destined to enjoy unruffled repose for a long time, but whose existence is continually disturbed by contending cares and sorrows! returning home one evening from partaking of an entertainment with some friends, i knocked at the door of my house, but could get no one to admit me, although i knocked loudly and repeatedly. i was surprised at this, and began to form the gloomiest conjectures. i redoubled my knocks at the door, but no slave came to admit me. what can have happened? i thought; can this be some new misfortune that has befallen me? such were my surmises. at the noise i made several neighbours came out of their houses, and being as astonished as myself at none of the domestics appearing, we broke open the door, and on entering found my slaves lying on the floor, with their throats cut, and weltering in their blood. we passed from them to zelica's apartment, and here another frightful spectacle presented itself, for we found both schapour and cale-cairi stretched lifeless on the ground, bathed in their blood. i called on zelica, but received no reply. i searched every room and corner in the house, but without finding her. such a blow was too much for me, and i sank back in a swoon in the arms of my neighbours. happy would it have been for me had the angel of death at that moment borne me away; but no! it was the will of heaven that i should live to see the full horror of my fate. when my neighbours by their attentions had succeeded in recalling me to life, i asked how it was possible that so terrible a slaughter could have taken place in my house, and not the slightest sound of it have been heard by them. they replied that they were as astonished as i was at the circumstance. i then ran to the cadi, who despatched his nayb[ ] into all the surrounding country with all his asas[ ], but their inquiries were fruitless, and every one formed his own conjecture respecting this horrible tragedy. as for myself, i believed, as well as many others, that my former partners were the perpetrators of the crime. my grief was so intense that i fell ill, and continued in a languishing state at bagdad for a long time. when i recovered i sold my house, and went to reside at mossoul, carrying with me the wreck of my fortune. i adopted this course because i had a relation there of whom i was extremely fond, and who belonged to the household of the grand vizir of the king of mossoul. my relation received me very cordially, and in a short time i became known to the minister, who, thinking that he saw in me good business talents, gave me some employment. i endeavoured to discharge effectively the duties entrusted to me, and i had the good fortune to succeed. his satisfaction with me daily increased, and i became insensibly initiated into the most secret state affairs, the weight of which i even assisted him to bear. in a few years this minister died, and the king, who was perhaps too partial to me, appointed me to his place, which i filled for two years, to the satisfaction of the king, and the contentment of the people. to mark, also, how much he was pleased with my conduct as minister, he first gave me the name of atalmulc. and now envy soon began to be excited against me. some of the chief nobles became my secret enemies, and plotted my ruin. the better to secure their ends, they instilled suspicions respecting me into the mind of the prince of mossoul, who, being influenced by their unfavourable insinuations, asked the king, his father, to deprive me of power. the king at first refused, but yielded at last to the urgent requests of his son. i thereupon left mossoul, and came to damascus, where i had soon the honour of being presented to your majesty. i have now related to you, sire, the history of my life, and the cause of the deep grief in which i seem to be buried. the abduction of zelica is ever present to my mind, and renders me insensible to every kind of pleasure. if i could learn that she was no more in life, i might, perhaps, lose the recollection of her, as i did before; but the uncertainty of her fate brings her ever back to my memory, and constantly feeds my grief. continuation of the story of king bedreddin-lolo and his vizir. when the vizir atalmulc had concluded the recital of his adventures, the king said to him: "i am no longer surprised at your melancholy, for you have, indeed, good reason for it; but every one has not, like you, lost a princess, and you are wrong in thinking that there is not one man in the world who is perfectly satisfied with his condition." for the purpose of proving to his grand vizir that there are men in this state, the king of damascus said, one day, to his favourite seyf-elmulouk, "go into the city, walk before the shop of the artisans, and bring me here immediately the man who seems the gayest of the gay." the favourite obeyed, and returned to bedreddin in a few hours. "well," said the monarch, "have you done what i commanded you?" "yes, sire," replied the favourite, "i passed in front of several shops, and saw all descriptions of workmen who sung while at their various occupations, and seemed quite contented with their lot. i noticed one among them, a young weaver, named malek, who laughed with his neighbours till i thought he would have split his sides, and i stopped to have some chat with him. 'friend,' i said, 'you appear to be very merry.' 'yes,' he replied, 'it is my way: i don't encourage melancholy.' i asked his neighbours if it was true that he was of such a happy turn of mind, and they all assured me that he did nothing but laugh from morning till night. i then told him to follow me, and i have brought him to the palace. he is now at hand: does your majesty wish him to be introduced to your presence?" "by all means," replied the king, "bring him here, for i wish to speak with him." seyf-elmulouk immediately left the king's cabinet and returned in an instant, followed by a good-looking young man, whom the favourite presented to the king. the weaver threw himself down at the monarch's feet, who said to him, "rise, malek, and tell me truly if you are as happy as you seem to be: i am told you do nothing but laugh and sing the live-long day while at your work: you are thought to be the happiest man in my dominions, and there is reason to believe that such is really the case. tell me whether or not this is a correct judgment, and if you are contented with your condition. this is a matter that i am concerned to know; and i desire that you will speak without disguise." "great king," replied the weaver, standing up, "may your majesty's days last to the end of the world, and be interwoven with a thousand delights, unmixed with the slightest misfortune. excuse your slave from satisfying your curiosity. if it is forbidden to lie to kings, it must also be owned that there are truths that we dare not reveal. i can only say that a false idea is entertained respecting me: in spite of my laughter and songs, i am perhaps the most unfortunate of men. be contented with this avowal, sire, and do not compel me to relate my misfortunes to you." "i am resolved to have them," replied the king. "why should you be afraid to tell them? are they not creditable to you?" "of this your majesty must judge," replied the weaver. "i had resolved to keep them to myself, but since it is necessary i will proceed with my story." the weaver then began as follows:-- the story of malek and the princess schirine. i am the only son of a merchant of surat, who left me at his death considerable wealth, most of which i squandered away in a very short time. i was nearly at the end of my property, when one day a stranger, who was going to the island of serendib, happened to be dining with me. the conversation turned on voyages and travels: some who were present praised the advantages and the pleasure attending them, and others expatiated on their dangers. among the guests there were a few persons who had travelled extensively, and who gave us detailed accounts of their experience in this adventurous kind of life. between their accounts of the strange and curious scenes which they had witnessed and of the dangers which they had encountered, my mind was kept in suspense, as i conceived a strong desire to travel, and yet felt afraid of the accompanying risks. after listening to all that was related, i remarked: "it is impossible to hear your striking account of the pleasure experienced by you in travelling over the world without feeling a strong wish to travel also; but the dangers to which a traveller is exposed deprive me of all inclination for visiting foreign countries. if it were possible," i added, smiling, "to go from one end of the earth to the other, without meeting with any bad accident by the way, i would leave surat to-day." these words excited universal laughter, but the stranger before alluded to remarked: "o malek! if you have a desire to travel, and if nothing prevents you but the fear of encountering robbers and other dangers, i will teach you whenever you have a mind, a method of travelling at your pleasure, and without peril, from one kingdom to another." i thought he was joking, but after dinner he took me aside, and told me that he would pay me a visit the following morning and show me something extraordinary. he was true to his word, for the next day he came to see me, and said, "i mean to keep my promise, but some days must elapse before you can see the effect, for what i have to show you is a piece of workmanship which cannot be constructed in a day. send therefore for a carpenter; let one of your slaves go for him, and let them both return with planks and other materials according to this list." i immediately complied with his request. when the slave and the carpenter returned, the stranger directed the latter to construct a box in the form of a bird, six feet in length and four in breadth, the upper part open, so as to admit a man to sit in it. the artisan immediately set to work, and the stranger on his part was not idle, for he made or brought from his lodging several parts of the machine, such as wings, wheels, and springs. for several days the carpenter and he worked together, and afterwards the former was dismissed, while the stranger spent one day in putting together the machinery and finishing the work. at length on the sixth day the box was finished, and covered with a persian carpet. i observed that in this box there were several apertures, as well to admit air as to serve for look-outs. at the stranger's desire i then ordered some of my slaves to carry it into the country, whither i followed with the stranger. when we arrived at the spot he said to me, "send away your slaves and let no one be here but ourselves. i do not wish to have other persons present beside yourself to see what i am about to do." i ordered my slaves to return home, while i remained alone with the stranger. i was very anxious to know what he intended to do with this machine, and eagerly watched his movements. he removed the carpet, and stepped inside. in a moment the box began to ascend above the earth and soared into the sky with incredible swiftness, carrying him rapidly to a great distance in the clouds; before i had recovered from my astonishment he was down again on the ground. i cannot express to you my amazement at witnessing this miracle of art. "you behold," said the stranger to me, as he stepped out of the machine, "a very quiet carriage, and you must admit that in travelling in it there is no fear of being robbed on the journey. this is the method i spoke of, and i now make you a present of the machine to be employed by you if ever you should take a fancy to visit foreign countries. do not suppose that there is any magic or black art in what you have seen: it is neither by cabalistic words nor by virtue of a talisman that the box rises above the earth: its motion is produced merely by an ingenious adaptation of machinery. i am perfectly conversant with the mechanical arts, and know how to construct other machines quite as surprising as this one." i thanked the stranger for such a rare gift, and as a mark of my gratitude presented him with a purse of sequins. i then requested him to instruct me how to set the machine in motion. "it is very easily done," he said, and requested me to step into the box along with him: he then touched a spring and we immediately mounted up into the air; when there, he next showed me how to steer the machine. "by turning this screw," he said, "you will go to the right, and that other screw will take you to the left; by touching this spring you will ascend, and the same operation applied to another spring will cause you to descend." i wanted to make the experiment myself: i turned the screws and touched the springs, and the machine, obedient to my hand, went whither i pleased; i quickened its movements, or slackened them, just as i wished. after having taken several turns in the air, we directed our flight towards my house and alighted in the garden. we reached home before my slaves, who were astonished beyond measure when they found we had returned. i shut up the box in my room, where i watched it more carefully than any heap of gold; and the stranger departed as well satisfied with me as i was with him. i continued to amuse myself in the society of my friends until i had eaten and drunk all my fortune--was compelled to borrow money, and eventually got over head and ears in debt. as soon as it was known in surat that i was a ruined man, i lost all credit; no one would trust me, and my creditors being impatient to get their money, sent me summonses to pay them. finding myself almost penniless, and consequently exposed to all kinds of insults and mortifications, i had recourse to my machine, and dragging it out one night from my room into the open air, i stepped into it, taking with me some provisions and the little money i had left. i touched the spring which caused the machine to ascend; and then moving one of the screws, i turned my back upon surat and my creditors, without any fear of their sending the officers after me. i put on as much propelling power as possible all night, and it seemed to me that my flight was swifter than the winds. at daybreak i looked out of one of the apertures in the carpet to see whereabouts i was. i could see nothing but mountains, precipices, a barren country, and a frightful desert. wherever i looked i could discover no signs of human habitations. during all that day and the following night i continued my aërial tour, and next day i found myself above a very thick wood, near which was a fine city situated in an extensive plain. i stopped here in order to take a view of the city, as well as of a magnificent palace which i saw at some distance from it at the extremity of the plain. i was extremely anxious to know where i was, and began to ponder in what way i could satisfy my curiosity, when i observed a peasant at work in a field. i descended in the wood, left my box there, and going up to the labourer, asked the name of the city. "young man," he replied, "it is easy to see that you are a stranger, since you do not know that this is the renowned city of gazna, where the just and valiant king bahaman resides." "and who lives," i asked, "in the palace at the end of the plain?" "the king of gazna," he replied, "has built it in order to keep his daughter, the princess schirine, shut up there; for the princess's horoscope declares that she is threatened with being deceived by a man. bahaman, for the purpose of evading this predicted danger, has erected this palace, which is built of marble, and surrounded by a deep ditch. the gate is formed of indian steel, and while the king himself keeps the key, a numerous body of troops keep watch round it day and night to prevent any man from gaining entrance. the king goes once a week to see his daughter, and then returns to gazna. schirine's only companions in the palace are a governess and a few female slaves." i thanked the peasant for his information, and directed my steps towards the city. when i was near to it, i heard the noise of an approaching multitude, and soon espied a vast crowd of horsemen magnificently attired, and mounted on very fine horses richly caparisoned. i perceived in the midst of this splendid cavalcade a tall individual, with a crown of gold on his head, and whose dress was covered with diamonds. i concluded that this person was the king of gazna, going to visit the princess his daughter; and, in fact, i learned in the city that my conjecture was correct. after having made the circuit of the city, and somewhat satisfied my curiosity, i bethought me of my machine; and although i had left it in a spot which seemed to promise security, i became uneasy on its account. i left gazna and had no peace of mind until i reached the place where i had left the box, which i found quite safe. i then became tranquil, and partook with a good appetite of the food which i had brought with me, and as night was coming on, i resolved to pass it in the wood. i had reason to hope that a profound sleep would soon overpower me, for latterly my debts, as well as the general complication of my affairs, had naturally caused me much uneasiness and many sleepless nights: but my wishes were in vain, i could not sleep; for what the peasant had told me respecting the princess schirine was constantly present to my mind. the more i thought of her and her peculiar situation, the more did i become possessed with the desire of effecting an interview; at length my inclinations became ungovernable, and i resolved to convey myself to the roof of the princess's palace and endeavour to obtain an entrance into her chamber. "perhaps," thought i, "i may have the happiness to please her, perhaps to dispel the _ennui_ she must suffer under: perhaps even i may be the mortal whose fortunate audacity was foretold by the astrologers." i was young and consequently thoughtless, and i was not deficient in courage, or such a scheme would not have occurred to me. however, having formed the rash resolution, i instantly proceeded to execute it. i raised myself up in the air and steered my machine in the direction of the palace: the night was as dark as i could wish. i passed without being seen over the heads of the soldiers, who were dispersed around the palace fosse, keeping watch, and descended on the roof near a spot where i saw a light; quitting my box i then slipped in at a window which had been left open to admit the cool night breeze. the room was furnished with the utmost magnificence; and i saw, reposing in slumber on a sofa, a young lady who, from the splendour and luxury with which she was surrounded, i could not doubt was the princess schirine herself. i gazed for some time on her and found her to be of such dazzling beauty as exceeded the highest idea i had formed of her. i drew nearer in order to gaze upon her more intently: i could not, without an overwhelming emotion of rapture, contemplate such charms. i was quite overcome; and hardly knowing what i was about, knelt down beside her to kiss one of her beautiful hands. she awoke at that instant, and seeing a man near her, though in an attitude of respect which need have excited no alarm, uttered a cry which soon brought her governess, who slept in an adjoining room. "help, mahpeiker!" exclaimed the princess: "here is a man! how was it possible for him to get into my room? you must surely have admitted him, and are an accomplice in his crime." "i his accomplice!" exclaimed the governess: "the bare idea is an insult to me! i am as astonished as you can be, to see here this rash young man. besides, if i had even been inclined to favour him in his bold attempt, how was it possible for me to deceive the vigilance of the guards who keep watch around the palace? you know also that there are twenty gates of burnished steel to be opened before any person can get in here; the seal royal is on every lock, and the king, your father, keeps the keys. i cannot imagine how this young man has been able to overcome all these obstacles." all this time i remained kneeling, overwhelmed with confusion: the governess's long speech, however, gave me time to collect my thoughts, and it occurred to me that i would endeavour to persuade them that i was a being of a superior order. "beautiful princess," i said to schirine, rising from my knee and making her a profound obeisance, "do not be surprised at seeing me here. i am not a lover who lavishes gold, and resorts to nefarious tricks to accomplish his wishes; far be from me any unworthy intention: i have not a wish at which your virtuous mind need be ashamed. know then that i am the king of the genii: for a long time i have been aware of your singular position, and could not without pitying you see you condemned to pass your best days in a prison. i am come here to throw myself at your feet, and to ask you in marriage from bahaman: as my bride it will be in my power to shield you from the danger alluded to by the prediction which has terrified your father. deign, therefore, beautiful princess, to look kindly on my suit, and then let both your father and yourself be at rest respecting your future fate, which cannot fail to be both glorious and happy; for as soon as the news of your marriage is spread abroad in the world, all the kings of the earth will stand in awe of the father-in-law of so powerful a monarch, and every princess will envy your fate." schirine and her governess looked at each other during this speech as if desirous of consulting together whether they should give credit to it. i confess i had reason to believe that they would give no heed to such a fable, but women are fond of the wonderful, and both mahpeiker and her mistress believed me. after passing the greater part of the night in delightful conversation with the princess of gazna and her governess, i left her apartment before daybreak, promising to return next day. i lost no time in getting into my machine, and ascended to a great height that i might not be seen by the soldiers. i alighted in the wood, left the box there, and went into the city, where i purchased a stock of provisions for eight days, magnificent robes, a turban of indian woof surrounded with a golden circlet, darting forth rays of light, and a rich girdle. at the same time i did not forget the costliest perfumes and essences. i spent all my money in these purchases without troubling my head about the future; for i thought that after such a pleasant adventure as had befallen me, i should never more want for any thing. i remained all day in the wood employed in dressing and perfuming myself with the utmost care and attention. when night came on, i entered the machine and set off for the roof of schirine's palace, where i introduced myself into her apartment as before, and spent another delightful evening in conversation with the princess and her attendant. i left the palace when night was waning, for fear lest my imposture should be discovered. i returned next day, and always conducted myself so cleverly that the princess and mahpeiker had not the least idea that i was an impostor. true it is that the princess by degrees had acquired such a fondness for me that, on this account, she gave a more ready belief to what i said; for love is blind and, when such feelings exist in favour of a person, his sincerity is never doubted. i, too, had become deeply enamoured of the beautiful princess, and more than once regretted the imposture i was practising on her; but what was i to do? to discover it was certain destruction, and i could not summon up courage to undeceive her. after some days had elapsed, the king of gazna, attended by some of his officers, paid his weekly visit to his daughter's palace, and finding the gates securely fastened, and his seal on the locks, said to the vizirs who accompanied him: "every thing goes on as well as possible: so long as the palace gates continue in this state i have little fear of the evil with which my daughter is threatened." he went up to her apartment alone and unannounced, and at seeing him she could not help betraying some emotion, which he noticed and required to know the reason of. his curiosity added to her perplexity; and, finding herself at last compelled to satisfy him, she related all that had taken place. your majesty may conceive the astonishment of king bahaman when he learned that, without his knowledge, a proposal of marriage had been made by the king of the genii. but he was not so easily duped as his daughter. suspecting the truth, he exclaimed: "alas! my child, how credulous you are! o heaven! i see that it is hopeless to endeavour to avoid the misfortunes destined for us; the horoscope of schirine is fulfilled; some villain has deceived her!" so saying, he left the princess's room in a state of great agitation, and went over all the palace, from the top to the bottom, searching every where, and strictly examining all the attendants, but i need hardly say without success, for he found no trace of any stranger, nor the slightest circumstance to lead to the supposition that bribery had been resorted to, which increased his astonishment. "by what means," he said, "can any person, however ingenious and daring, enter this fortress? to me it is inconceivable." he resolved to get at the truth of the matter somehow, but being desirous of setting to work prudently, and of speaking himself alone, in the first instance, and without witnesses, to the pretended genius, he sent back his vizirs and courtiers to gazna. "withdraw," he said to them, "and i will remain alone at the palace this night with my daughter; and do you return here to-morrow." they all obeyed the king's orders: they returned to the city, and bahaman set about questioning the princess afresh until night drew on. he asked her if i had eaten with her. she replied that i had not, for that she had in vain offered me refreshments, and that she had not seen me either eat or drink any thing since i came to her. "tell me the whole occurrence again," he said, "and conceal nothing." schirine related to him her story all over again, and the king, who was attentive to her recital, weighed every circumstance of it carefully. night had now set in; bahaman seated himself on a sofa, and ordered tapers to be lit and to be placed before him on the marble table. he then drew his sabre, to be employed, if necessary, in wiping out with my blood the insult he conceived to have been offered to his honour. he sat thus, expecting me every moment; and the idea of seeing me appear instantaneously probably agitated him not a little. that night it happened that the atmosphere was highly charged with electric matter. a brilliant flash of lightning darted across the sky before him and made him start. approaching the window at which schirine had told him i should enter, and observing the heavens to be on fire with vivid flashes, his imagination was excited, although nothing was taking place but what was quite natural: he thought he saw in the clouds fanciful forms, among which was prominently conspicuous that of a venerable old man, such as the prophet is represented to us. as he gazed he forgot to reflect that these meteors arose merely from exhalations of an inflammable nature that exploded in the air, and came to regard them as brilliant lights announcing to the world the descent of the king of the genii. in such a state of mind the king was disposed to receive me as really bearing the character to which i pretended, and therefore when i appeared at the window, instead of exhibiting the fury he had contemplated, he was overcome with respect and fear; he dropped his sabre, and, falling at my feet, kissed them, and said, "o great king! what am i, and what have i done to deserve the honour of being your father-in-law?" from these words i could guess what had passed between the king and the princess, and discovered that the worthy monarch was almost as easily imposed upon as his daughter. we sat down together on the sofa and conversed. i now formally renewed to him my suit for the hand of the princess. he believed all i told him, and feeling delighted at the prospect of being allied to me, again prostrated himself at my feet in sign of gratitude for my kindness. i raised him up, embraced him, and assured him of my protection, for which he could not find language sufficiently strong to thank me. it was arranged that the marriage should take place the following day. i stopped with schirine and her father for a few hours, but however pleased i might be with our interview, i did not forget how time was flying; i was apprehensive of daylight surprising us, and of my box being seen on the roof of the palace. i therefore made haste to leave in good time and to reseat myself in the machine. the following day, on the return of the vizirs and great officers of state, a magnificent banquet was prepared at the palace, and immediately on my arrival in the evening the marriage was celebrated with great pomp and rejoicing. a month had nearly passed during which i continued to be looked on and treated as the king of the genii, and i was leading a most agreeable life, when there arrived in the city of gazna an ambassador from a neighbouring monarch to demand schirine in marriage. on being admitted to an audience, and detailing the object of his embassy, bahaman said to him: "i am sorry that i am unable to give my daughter in marriage to the king, your master, for i have already bestowed her hand on the king of the genii." from such a reply the ambassador supposed that king bahaman had lost his senses; he therefore took leave and returned to his master, who also at first thought bahaman was mad, but on reconsidering the answer began to look on the refusal as a studied insult; he therefore raised troops, and forming a large army, entered the kingdom of gazna in a hostile manner. this king, whose name was cacem, was more powerful than bahaman, who also was so slow in preparing to oppose his enemy that he could not prevent him from making great progress. cacem defeated some troops which opposed him, and advancing rapidly towards the city of gazna, found the army of bahaman intrenched in the plain before the castle of the princess schirine. the design of the irritated lover was to attack bahaman in his intrenchments; but as his troops had need of rest, and he had only arrived that evening in the plain after a long forced march, he delayed his attack until the following morning. the king of gazna, having been informed of the numbers and valour of cacem's soldiers, began to tremble for the result. he assembled his privy council and asked for their advice, when one of its members spoke in the following terms: "i am astonished that the king should appear to be at all uneasy on this occasion. what alarm can all the princes of the world, to say nothing of cacem, occasion to the father-in-law of the king of the genii? your majesty need only address yourself to him, and beg his assistance, and he will soon confound your enemies. it is his duty to do this, indeed, since it is on his account that cacem has come to disturb the quiet of your majesty's subjects." this speech did not fail to inspire king bahaman with confidence. "you are right," he said to the courtier; "i shall at once go and beg of him to repulse my proud enemy, and i venture to hope that he will not reject my supplication." so saying, he went to visit his daughter, and said to her: "schirine, to-morrow at daybreak it is cacem's intention to attack us, and i am afraid he will carry our intrenchments. i wish to entreat of the king of the genii that he would undertake our defence. let us unite our prayers that he would be favourable to us." "my lord and father," replied the princess, "there will be no great difficulty in engaging the king on our side; he will soon disperse the enemy's troops, and all the kings of the world will learn, at cacem's expense, to respect you." "but," resumed king bahaman, "night is coming on, and still the king of the genii does not appear; can he have forsaken us?" "no, no, my father," replied schirine; "do not fear that he will fail us in time of need. he sees the army which is now besieging us, and is perhaps at this moment preparing to carry disorder and terror into all its ranks." and this, in fact, was what i was desirous of doing. i had watched during the day cacem's troops; i had observed their arrangement, and taken particular notice of the head-quarters of the king. i collected a quantity of stones and pebbles, both large and small, with which i filled my box, and at midnight i mounted aloft. advancing towards the tents of cacem, i easily discovered that in which the king was reposing. it was very lofty, richly adorned with gilding, and in the form of a dome, supported on twelve columns of painted wood, fixed deep in the ground; the spaces between the columns were intertwined with branches of different kinds of trees, and towards the summit there were two windows, one at the east, and another at the south side. all the soldiers around the tent were asleep; and this circumstance permitted me to descend near one of the windows without being perceived. through it i saw the king lying on a sofa, with his head supported on a satin cushion. rising a little in my box, i hurled a large stone at cacem; i struck him on the forehead, and wounded him dangerously; he uttered a cry, which soon awoke his guards and officers, who, running up to him, found him covered with blood, and almost insensible. immediately loud cries were heard, and the alarm was communicated to the whole quarter, every one asking what had happened. a report was soon circulated that the king was wounded, and it was not known by whom the blow had been struck. whilst the culprit was being searched for, i ascended high up among the clouds, and discharged from an immense height a shower of stones on the royal tent and all near it. the stones cut through the silk of the tent, and severely wounded the attendants; many of the soldiers who surrounded it, too, were very badly hit, and began to cry out that stones were being rained down on them from heaven. the news soon spread, and to confirm it i scattered my stony artillery in all directions. terror took possession of the army; both officers and soldiers thinking that the prophet was enraged with cacem, and that his anger was too evidently declared by this miraculous interference. in short, bahaman's enemies took to flight in a panic, and with such precipitation, that they abandoned their tents and baggage to their foes, crying out, "we are lost; heaven is destroying us!" when day dawned the king of gazna was not a little surprised to find, that, instead of advancing to the attack, the enemy was in full retreat. seeing this, however, he pursued the fugitives with his best troops, who made prodigious carnage, and took prisoner cacem himself, whose wound prevented his making a sufficiently speedy flight. "why," asked bahaman, when his enemy was brought before him, "why have you advanced into my dominions against all right and reason? what provocation have i given you for making war against me?" "bahaman," replied the vanquished monarch, "i thought you had refused me your daughter out of contempt for me, and i thirsted to be revenged upon you. i believed the story of the king of the genii being your son-in-law to be a mere pretext. i have now, however, good reason to be sure of its truth, for it is he who has wounded me and dispersed my army." when the pursuit was ended bahaman returned to gazna with cacem, who, however, died of his wound the same day. the spoil was divided, and it was so considerable, that even the common soldiers returned home laden with booty; and prayers were offered up in all the mosques thanking heaven for having confounded the enemies of the state. when night arrived, the king repaired to the princess's palace. "my daughter," he said, "i have come to thank the king of the genii for a success i owe entirely to him. the courier whom i despatched to you has informed you of all that he has done for us, and i am so profoundly grateful for it, that i am dying with impatience to embrace his knees." this satisfaction was soon granted him. i entered schirine's room by the usual window, and there, as i indeed expected, i found him. "o great king!" he exclaimed, "language is wanting to express to you what i feel on this occasion. read yourself in my countenance the full measure of my gratitude." i raised up bahaman, and kissed his forehead. "prince," i said to him, "could you possibly think that i would refuse to help you in the embarrassing situation in which you were placed on my account? i have punished the proud cacem who intended to make himself master of your kingdom, and to carry off schirine, to place her among the slaves of his seraglio. no longer fear that any potentate on the earth will dare to make war against you; but if any one should be so bold, be assured that i will rain a fiery shower upon his troops, which will reduce them to ashes." after having again assured the king of gazna that i would take his kingdom under my protection, i related how the enemy's army had been terrified at seeing stones showered down upon their camp. bahaman, for his part, repeated to me what cacem had told him, and then took his departure, leaving schirine and myself to ourselves. the princess was as sensible as her father of the important service i had rendered to the country, and manifested the greatest gratitude, caressing me a thousand times over. two days after the interment of cacem, on whom, although a foe, a magnificent funeral was bestowed, the king of gazna commanded that rejoicings should take place in the city for the defeat of the enemy's troops. i thought that a festival prepared in my honour ought to be signalized by some wonderful prodigy; and for this purpose i purchased in gazna some combustible materials. with these i manufactured fireworks, which i let off at as great a height as possible, while the people in the streets were celebrating their victory with great rejoicings. my pyrotechnic display was very successful; and as soon as daylight appeared i left my machine, and went into the town to have the pleasure of hearing what people said about me. i was not deceived in my expectations. a thousand extravagant accounts were current among those who had been spectators of my display. some said that the king of the genii had illuminated the whole heavens expressly to show his satisfaction with the festival; and others asserted that they had even seen him in the sky, surrounded by a blaze of meteors. all these speeches amused me exceedingly. but alas! while i was indulging in these pleasurable sensations, my box--my dear machine--the instrument by which i had worked all my wonders--was burning to ashes in the wood. a spark, which i had not perceived, had set fire to it in my absence, and consumed it, and in this state i found it on my return. a father who enters his house, and finds his only son pierced with a thousand mortal wounds, and lying bathed in his blood, could not suffer more than i did on this occasion. i tore my hair and garments, while the wood resounded with my cries and lamentations; i even wonder that i did not lay violent hands upon myself in the paroxysm of my despair. however, by degrees i became calmed, and reflecting that there was no help for my disaster, i at the same time perceived that some resolution must be formed immediately. only one course seemed open to me, and that was to seek my fortunes elsewhere. leaving, therefore, bahaman and schirine, doubtless in the deepest distress about me, i left the city of gazna, and falling in with a caravan of egyptian merchants, returning to their own country, i joined myself to them, and travelled to grand cairo, where i became a weaver in order to gain a subsistence. i lived there for some years and afterwards came to damascus, where i have followed the same occupation. in appearance i am very well satisfied with my condition, but in reality i am not at all happy, i cannot forget my former fortunate condition, schirine is ever present to my thoughts, and although i would wish to banish her from my recollection, and in truth make every effort to do so, yet the attempt, as painful as useless, merely causes me constant uneasiness. i have now, may it please your majesty, performed what you required of me. i know very well that you do not approve the deceit i practised towards the king of gazna and the princess schirine, for i have perceived oftener than once, that my story was repugnant to your feelings and that your piety shuddered at my sacrilegious audacity. but be pleased to remember that you demanded a true account from me, and condescend to forgive the confession i have made of my adventures, in consideration of the necessity i was under of obeying you. conclusion. the king of damascus made a suitable reply, and dismissed the weaver, whose story afforded a new argument in favour of the grand vizir's opinion that there is no man who is perfectly happy: however, the king would not desist. "atalmulc," he said, "with the exception of yourself, there is no man approaches me but with a smiling countenance; it cannot be that not one of all these is perfectly happy; i shall ask my generals, courtiers, and all the officers of my household. go, vizir, and summon them all into my presence in succession." he had the patience to speak to them all individually, and they all made the same reply; namely, that they were not exempt from grief. one complained of his wife, another of his children; the poor accused their poverty as the cause of all their misfortunes, and the rich either did not enjoy good health, or laboured under some other source of affliction. bedreddin having questioned so many persons, not one of whom was contented with his lot, came at last to be of the same mind with atalmulc, and was obliged to admit to his favourite vizir that perfect felicity is not to be looked for in the present life; that every lot and every station has its cares, its anxieties, and its misfortunes; and that we approach the condition of complete happiness only as we conscientiously discharge those duties which our position daily and hourly requires of us. [illustration] the end. footnotes: [ ] a gift to the kingdom. [ ] the devil. [ ] captain of the door of the king's chamber. [ ] the officer in command of the pages. [ ] lieutenant. [ ] archers. gilbert and rivington, printers, st. john's square, london. * * * * * william lay's _catalogue_ of attractive and entertaining works by popular authors. london: william lay, king william street, strand. . * * * * * the amusing library for home and rail. the object is to provide a choice supply of books of light reading, entirely free from objectionable matter, and which may be indiscriminately used by young and old. great care has been bestowed in the selection; and it is hoped that the works contained in this series will be found adapted in every respect for the perusal of all who desire a sound and healthy imaginative literature, free from everything immoral on the one hand, or controversial on the other. the volumes, while issued at a price which brings them within the reach of all, yet possess sufficient attractions of typography and embellishment to fit them for the drawing-room table and for presents to friends. "we have not seen for many a day books which so deeply interested us, and which are so much in advance of the ordinary books provided for the rail or road. the 'amusing library' will be the most popular of the many which these stirring days have produced."--_churchman's companion._ "ministers of religion and philanthropists have long lamented the absence of some well-written serial works suitable for the million, to counteract the baneful influence of the impure literature of the day. the want is here supplied with judgment and good taste. the books are valuable both to old and young."--_manchester courier._ grantley manor: the well-known and favourite novel by lady georgiana fullerton. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. "the skill with which the plot of 'grantley manor' is constructed, the exquisite truth of delineation which the characters exhibit, and the intensity of passion which warms and dignifies the subject, are alike admirable.... the depth of passion which surrounds the story of genevra is the result of unquestionable genius. no heroine that we can remember excels this lovely creation in purity, deep affection, a solemn sense of the sanctity of duty, and a profound feeling of the beauty and holiness of religion."--_times._ tales of humour. fcap. vo, _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. "spirited and well-selected tales of most inviting dimensions. will be a favourite on the 'line.'"--_brighton herald._ abroad and at home. tales here and there. by miss pardoe. fcap. vo, _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. "ten pretty tales, full of interesting matter, gracefully related."--_glasgow herald._ * * * * * [illustration: the lay of the golden dice.] amusing poetry. a new and choice selection, edited by shirley brooks. fcap. vo, _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. ; king william street, strand. * * * * * amusing library, _continued_. hendrik conscience's tales. complete in six volumes. each fcap. vo, _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. i. the demon of gold. (_just ready._) ii. the lion of flanders. iii. the curse of the village, etc. iv. veva; or, the war of the peasants. v. the miser, and ricketicketack. vi. tales of flanders. "had our writers of fiction preserved the healthful tone which characterises these volumes, they would not have been a proscribed class. each of the tales may be read by the most modest without a blush, and by the most fastidious without scruple."--_eclectic review._ "writing in a language familiar to comparatively few, conscience owes to his own merits alone the european reputation which he now enjoys. there is a truthfulness in his pictures which is perfectly delightful, while the whole moral of his works is such as to make them a valuable addition to the light-reading division of a library."--_notes and queries._ "we do not know if, laying aside sir walter scott, it would be possible to name any english historical novel at all equal in deep interest to the 'lion of flanders,' or the 'war of the peasants.'"--_scotsman._ romantic tales of great men: artists, poets, scholars, statesmen, etc. s. boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. this volume will be found to convey information as well as amusement, all the tales being founded on historical facts. it is charmingly written, and forms an excellent prize or gift-book. tales of the city and the plain. _s._ _d._ boards; _s._ cloth. the betrothed; a romance of the seventeenth century. by manzoni. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. this unrivalled romance, which stands quite alone in the literature of fiction, is now brought within the reach of every reader in this very neat and portable edition. "_i am not sure_," says rogers, "_that i would not rather have written the betrothed than all scott's novels_." "it has every quality that a work of fiction ought to have."--_heir of redcliffe._ * * * * * [illustration] the adventures of jules gerard, the "lion-killer" of northern africa, during his ten years' campaigns among the lions of algeria; including the details of more than forty encounters, adventures, and episodes, and a variety of interesting sketches of arab life. new edition, enlarged, and profusely illustrated, containing a complete and concise history and description of algeria, with maps, sections, and numerous illustrations of arab and french colonial life and manners; and further enriched with numerous new engravings illustrative of m. gerard's startling adventures among the lions of north africa. fcap. vo, s. d., cloth. the amusing library edition may still be had, price s. boards; s. d. cloth. also a cheap edition, s., boards. * * * * * popular tales and sketches. by mrs. s. c. hall. containing eighteen beautiful tales by this most popular authoress. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. tales of france. romantic historical, and domestic. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. "original in style, full of interest, and unexceptionable in morals."--_hants advertiser._ tales of paris and its streets. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. [**three asterisks]these tales, of which the scenes are laid in the capital of france, introduce to the english reader some of the most interesting, and, at the same time, unexceptionable of the shorter fictions of our continental neighbours; many of which will be found useful as well as entertaining, from the illustrations which they supply of history and manners at different periods. tales and traditions of the netherlands. _s._ _d._ boards; _s._ cloth. "a most varied, interesting, and readable volume."--_caledonian mercury._ "wrought up with great skill, and extremely interesting."--_daily express._ romantic tales of spain. i. the rivals; a tale of castile. ii. the gipsy lovers. by cervantes. iii. the guide; an episode of the civil wars. fcap. vo, _s._ _d._ boards; _s._ cloth. sea stories: tales of discovery, adventure, and escape. a new and choice collection, containing several striking narratives, mostly unknown to english readers; also a complete and graphic sketch of the adventures of columbus. _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. "the best volume of the kind we have ever met with."--_churchman's companion._ * * * * * new works. * * * * * a life of john banim, the irish novelist. author of "damon and pythias," etc., and one of the writers of "tales by the o'hara family." with extracts from his correspondence--general and literary. by patrick joseph murray. fcap. vo. [_just ready._ _in the press, and will speedily appear at short intervals,_ tales by the o'hara family. reproductions of several of the most popular and powerful of these wonderfully graphic tales, with the addition of prefaces and notes by michael banim, the survivor of the o'hara family. _nearly ready,_ crohoore of the billhook. father connell. john doe. tales of brigands and smugglers. a collection of some of the most remarkable events in the lives of some celebrated bandits and smugglers, as well as of adventures met with by travellers in their company, not hitherto published in any other collection. fcap. vo, _s._ boards; _s._ _d._ cloth. [_just ready._ * * * * * the entertaining library. a new series of choice books of recreation for the young, fully illustrated. the history of jean paul choppart; or, the surprising adventures of a runaway. illustrated with engravings. fcap. vo, _s._ _d._ cloth. "'jean paul choppart' is a translation of a work which has become very popular on the continent, and is destined to receive a like share of favour in this country, should parents and instructors of children become aware of the excellent moral which its pages convey through the medium of a story which is most piquant and catching for the youthful mind."--_court journal._ the thousand and one days; or, arabian tales. a select and thoroughly unexceptionable collection of highly entertaining tales, illustrative of oriental manners and customs, carefully revised and adapted for the young. with a preface by miss pardoe. fcap. vo, with numerous engravings, _s._ _d._ cloth. * * * * * _books for students and travellers._ the vade mecum for tourists in france and belgium; containing a copious phrasebook and vocabulary adapted for every emergency of the traveller, with maps of the chief routes, and full information as to money, passports, hotels, etc. etc. of a size for the waistcoat-pocket, limp cloth, _s._; with pockets and strap for passport, etc., _s._ "everything wanted on the journey, and nothing more." the german vade mecum; or german and english phrase and guide book for students, travellers, etc. compiled on exactly the same principles, and containing precisely the same sort of matter, as the french vade mecum. _s._ a compendious french grammar, for the use of students and travellers; with full instructions in pronunciation, and containing the substance of all the best french grammars in a neat portable form, easily carried in the pocket. _s._ the pocket french dictionary. a compendious french and english and english and french dictionary, for the use of students and travellers. [_nearly ready._ the following is an enumeration of the principal points which distinguish this dictionary:-- i. all those words are excluded which, however much they are in place in a large dictionary, like that of johnson or webster, or the french dictionary of the academy, are yet totally useless to ordinary readers. ii. the space thus saved is occupied by matter really useful to the student or traveller, such as-- ( .) the various meanings and uses of words in different connections, so as at once to point out the particular term required. ( .) commercial and travelling expressions, especially those recently introduced; also technical words in general use. ( .) a selection of the most useful idioms and phrases. ( .) the prepositions required by the french verbs and adjectives. iii. a clear and full explanation of the rules of pronunciation is prefixed, while that of all difficult or exceptional words is indicated as they occur. * * * * * a list of new and popular works for young people. sold by w. h. dalton, bookseller to the queen, , cockspur street, charing cross. * * * * * the adventures of a cat; and a fine cat too! by alfred elwes, author of "the adventures of a bear," &c. with eight illustrations by harrison weir. fcap. to. cloth, s. d.; or s. with coloured plates. the adventures of a dog, and a good dog too! by alfred elwes, author of "the adventures of a bear," &c. with eight large illustrations by harrison weir. fcap. to. cloth, s. d.; or s. coloured pictures, gilt edges. the adventures of a bear, and a great bear too! by alfred elwes. with nine illustrations by harrison weir. fcap. to. s. d. cloth; or s. with coloured pictures, gilt edges. the old story teller. translated from the german of ludwig bechstein, by the translators of "grimm's household stories." with illustrations by ludwig richter. crown vo. cloth, s. coloured pictures, gilt edges. danish fairy tales and legends. by hans christian andersen. the genuine edition, translated direct from the danish. with twenty illustrations, and a memoir and portrait of the author. fcap. vo. s. cloth. a hero: philip's book; a tale for young people. by the author of "olive," "the head of the family," "cola monti," &c. illustrated by james godwin. fcap. vo. cloth, s. d. coloured pictures, gilt edges. * * * * * w. h. dalton, bookseller to the queen, , cockspur street, charing cross. * * * * * instructive and amusing works. the little drummer; or, the boy soldier. a story of the russian campaign. edited by h. w. dulcken. illustrated by john gilbert. fcap. vo. cloth, s. d. coloured pictures, gilt edges. all is not gold that glitters. by alice b. neal (cousin alice). illustrated by dalziel. fcap. vo. cloth, s. d. by mrs. harriet myrtle. the little sister. with sixteen illustrations on steel by h. j. schneider. fcap. to. cloth, gilt edges, s. d. a day of pleasure. a simple story for young children. with eight illustrations by hablot k. browne. fcap. to. cloth, s. with coloured pictures, gilt edges. home and its pleasures. simple stories for young children. with eight illustrations by halblot k. browne. fcap. to. cloth, s. with coloured pictures, gilt edges. the pleasures of the country. simple stories for young children. second edition. with eight illustrations by john gilbert. fcap. to. cloth, s. d.; or s. with coloured pictures, gilt edges. the ocean child; or, showers and sunshine. a tale of girlhood. small vo. cloth, s. by the brothers grimm. household stories. all the popular fairy tales and legends of germany, collected by the brothers grimm. newly translated, and illustrated with two hundred and forty engravings, by edward h. wehnert. in two volumes, post vo. s. cloth; or, s. coloured, gilt edges. the english struwwelpeter; or, pretty stories and funny pictures for little children. after the th edition of dr. heinrich hoffmann's celebrated work. with many large coloured pictures, post to. s. d. * * * * * _companion to the "english struwwelpeter."_ a laughter-book for little folk. new edition. translated from the german by madame de chatelain. with eighteen large coloured comic illustrations by thomas hoseman. post to. s. d. in coloured picture binding, by kenny meadows. naughty boys and girls. comic tales and coloured pictures. from the german of dr. julius bahr, by madame de chatelain. new edition. a companion to the "english struwwelpeter." post to, s. d. in coloured picture binding, by kenny meadows. * * * * * w. h. dalton, bookseller to the queen, , cockspur street, charing cross. the picture pleasure-book, comprising nearly illustrations by eminent artists. in a coloured pictorial binding, by luke limner, vols. imp. to. s. each. an edition is also published mounted on cloth, s. comical creatures from wurtemberg; from the stuffed animals in the great exhibition. with twenty pictures. square cloth, s. d.; or coloured, s. comical people, met with at the great exhibition. from drawings by j. e. grandville. with sixteen pictures. small to. s. d.; or coloured, s. funny dogs with funny tales. the dogs from the pencil of harrison weir. the tales from the pens of robert b. brough, alfred elwes, james hannay, and edmund f. blanchard. eight illustrations, post to. cloth, s. natural history in stories. by m. s. c. author of "little poems for little people," "twilight thoughts," &c. with illustrations by harrison weir. small to. cloth, s. d. coloured pictures, gilt edges. merry tales for little folk. edited by madame de chatelain. an entirely new edition, with new frontispiece and binding. mo. cloth, s. d. this volume, illustrated with pictures, by first-rate artists, contains about forty of the long-established favourite stories of the nursery in england and abroad, re-written or re-translated from original authors, by madame de chatelain. �sop's fables. a new version, chiefly from the original greek. by the rev. thomas james, m.a. illustrated with woodcuts, by john tenniel. twenty-first edition. post vo. cloth extra, s. d. arthur's (little) history of england. by lady callcott. eighteenth edition. woodcuts, mo. s. d. croker's (right hon. j. w.) stories for children, selected from the history of england. fifteenth edition. woodcuts, mo. s. d. puss in boots. with illustrations; for old and young. by otto speckter. a new edition. mo. s. d. the illustrated book of songs for children. with thirty illustrations by birket foster. small to. cloth, gilt edges, s. d.; or s. with coloured pictures. aunt effie's rhymes for little children. with twenty-four illustrations by hablot k. browne. small to. cloth, gilt edges, s. d.; or s. with coloured pictures. w. h. dalton, bookseller to the queen, , cockspur street, charing cross. original poems for infant minds. a new revised edition. two volumes. mo. cloth, s. d. the ice king. a tale for children, showing the influence of good and bad temper. with eight illustrations. second edition. square, cloth, plain, s. d.; coloured, s. indestructible pleasure-books. printed in colours, on prepared cloth. one shilling each. . little bo-peep pictures. . mother goose pictures. . house that jack built pictures. . wedding of cock-robin pictures. . death of cock-robin pictures. . old mother hubbard pictures. . the cat and the mouse pictures. . life and death of jenny wren pictures. . old woman and her pig pictures. . little man and little maid pictures. indestructible pleasure-books. first series comprising parts to , strongly bound in one volume. with forty-five coloured pictures, s. indestructible pleasure-books. second series comprising parts to , strongly bound in one volume. with forty-five coloured pictures, s. maja's lesson-books. with numerous coloured pictures in four parts, price s. each, coloured. . maja's alphabet. . maja's primer. . maja's spelling-book. . maja's reading-book. mavor's primer. illustrated with thirty-eight engravings by john gilbert. coloured pictures, s. schnorr's bible pictures. scripture history illustrated in a series of woodcuts from original designs by julius schnorr. imperial to. cloth, s. the pictorial sunday book. by dr. kitto. illustrated by illustrations and coloured maps, folio, cloth gilt. s. the pictorial museum of animated nature. by charles knight. with very many illustrations. two volumes, folio, cloth gilt, £ . s. the pictorial gallery of arts, both useful and fine arts. by charles knight. with about engravings, vols. folio, cloth gilt, £ . s. w. h. dalton, bookseller to the queen, , cockspur street, charing cross. the brethren by h. rider haggard dedication r.m.s. mongolia, th may, mayhap, ella, here too distance lends its enchantment, and these gallant brethren would have quarrelled over rosamund, or even had their long swords at each other's throat. mayhap that princess and heroine might have failed in the hour of her trial and never earned her saintly crown. mayhap the good horse "smoke" would have fallen on the narrow way, leaving false lozelle a victor, and masouda, the royal-hearted, would have offered up a strangely different sacrifice upon the altars of her passionate desire. still, let us hold otherwise, though we grow grey and know the world for what it is. let us for a little time think as we thought while we were young; when faith knew no fears for anything and death had not knocked upon our doors; when you opened also to my childish eyes that gate of ivory and pearl which leads to the blessed kingdom of romance. at the least i am sure, and i believe that you, my sister, will agree with me, that, above and beyond its terrors and its pitfalls, imagination has few finer qualities, and none, perhaps, more helpful to our hearts, than those which enable us for an hour to dream that men and women, their fortunes and their fate, are as we would fashion them. h. rider haggard. to mrs. maddison green. contents: author's note prologue chapter one: by the waters of death creek chapter two: sir andrew d'arcy chapter three: the knighting of the brethren chapter four: the letter of saladin chapter five: the wine merchant chapter six: the christmas feast at steeple chapter seven: the banner of saladin chapter eight: the widow masouda chapter nine: the horses flame and smoke chapter ten: on board the galley chapter eleven: the city of al-je-bal chapter twelve: the lord of death chapter thirteen: the embassy chapter fourteen: the combat on the bridge chapter fifteen: the flight to emesa chapter sixteen: the sultan saladin chapter seventeen: the brethren depart from damascus chapter eighteen: wulf pays for the drugged wine chapter nineteen: before the walls of ascalon chapter twenty: the luck of the star of hassan chapter twenty-one: what befell godwin chapter twenty-two: at jerusalem chapter twenty-three: saint rosamund chapter twenty-four: the dregs of the cup "two lovers by the maiden sate, without a glance of jealous hate; the maid her lovers sat between, with open brow and equal mien;--it is a sight but rarely spied, thanks to man's wrath and woman's pride." scott author's note: standing a while ago upon the flower-clad plain above tiberius, by the lake of galilee, the writer gazed at the double peaks of the hill of hattin. here, or so tradition says, christ preached the sermon on the mount--that perfect rule of gentleness and peace. here, too--and this is certain--after nearly twelve centuries had gone by, yusuf salah-ed-din, whom we know as the sultan saladin, crushed the christian power in palestine in perhaps the most terrible battle which that land of blood has known. thus the mount of the beatitudes became the mount of massacre. whilst musing on these strangely-contrasted scenes enacted in one place there arose in his mind a desire to weave, as best he might, a tale wherein any who are drawn to the romance of that pregnant and mysterious epoch, when men by thousands were glad to lay down their lives for visions and spiritual hopes, could find a picture, however faint and broken, of the long war between cross and crescent waged among the syrian plains and deserts. of christian knights and ladies also, and their loves and sufferings in england and the east; of the fearful lord of the assassins whom the franks called old man of the mountain, and his fortress city, masyaf. of the great-hearted, if at times cruel saladin and his fierce saracens; of the rout at hattin itself, on whose rocky height the holy rood was set up as a standard and captured, to be seen no more by christian eyes; and of the iast surrender, whereby the crusaders lost jerusalem forever. of that desire this story is the fruit. prologue salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful, the king strong to aid, sovereign of the east, sat at night in his palace at damascus and brooded on the wonderful ways of god, by whom he had been lifted to his high estate. he remembered how, when he was but small in the eyes of men, nour-ed-din, king of syria, forced him to accompany his uncle, shirkuh, to egypt, whither he went, "like one driven to his death," and how, against his own will, there he rose to greatness. he thought of his father, the wise ayoub, and the brethren with whom he was brought up, all of them dead now save one; and of his sisters, whom he had cherished. most of all did he think of her, zobeide, who had been stolen away by the knight whom she loved even to the loss of her own soul--yes, by the english friend of his youth, his father's prisoner, sir andrew d'arcy, who, led astray by passion, had done him and his house this grievous wrong. he had sworn, he remembered, that he would bring her back even from england, and already had planned to kill her husband and capture her when he learned her death. she had left a child, or so his spies told him, who, if she still lived, must be a woman now--his own niece, though half of noble english blood. then his mind wandered from this old, half-forgotten story to the woe and blood in which his days were set, and to the last great struggle between the followers of the prophets jesus and mahomet, that jihad [holy war] for which he made ready--and he sighed. for he was a merciful man, who loved not slaughter, although his fierce faith drove him from war to war. salah-ed-din slept and dreamed of peace. in his dream a maiden stood before him. presently, when she lifted her veil, he saw that she was beautiful, with features like his own, but fairer, and knew her surely for the daughter of his sister who had fled with the english knight. now he wondered why she visited him thus, and in his vision prayed allah to make the matter clear. then of a sudden he saw this same woman standing before him on a syrian plain, and on either side of her a countless host of saracens and franks, of whom thousands and tens of thousands were appointed to death. lo! he, salah-ed-din, charged at the head of his squadrons, scimitar aloft, but she held up her hand and stayed him. "what do you hear, my niece?" he asked. "i am come to save the lives of men through you," she answered; "therefore was i born of your blood, and therefore i am sent to you. put up your sword, king, and spare them." "say, maiden, what ransom do you bring to buy this multitude from doom? what ransom, and what gift?" "the ransom of my own blood freely offered, and heaven's gift of peace to your sinful soul, o king." and with that outstretched hand she drew down his keen-edged scimitar until it rested on her breast. salah-ed-din awoke, and marvelled on his dream, but said nothing of it to any man. the next night it returned to him, and the memory of it went with him all the day that followed, but still he said nothing. when on the third night he dreamed it yet again, even more vividly, then he was sure that this thing was from god, and summoned his holy imauns and his diviners, and took counsel with them. these, after they had listened, prayed and consulted, spoke thus: "o sultan, allah has warned you in shadows that the woman, your niece, who dwells far away in england, shall by her own nobleness and sacrifice, in some time to come, save you from shedding a sea of blood, and bring rest upon the land. we charge you, therefore, draw this lady to your court, and keep her ever by your side, since if she escape you, her peace goes with her." salah-ed-din said that this interpretation was wise and true, for thus also he had read his dream. then he summoned a certain false knight who bore the cross upon his breast, but in secret had accepted the koran, a frankish spy of his, who came from that country where dwelt the maiden, his niece, and from him learned about her, her father, and her home. with him and another spy who passed as a christian palmer, by the aid of prince hassan, one of the greatest and most trusted of his emirs, he made a cunning plan for the capture of the maiden if she would not come willingly, and for her bearing away to syria. moreover--that in the eyes of all men her dignity might be worthy of her high blood and fate--by his decree he created her, the niece whom he had never seen, princess of baalbec, with great possessions--a rule that her grandfather, ayoub, and her uncle, izzeddin, had held before her. also he purchased a stout galley of war, manning it with proved sailors and with chosen men-at-arms, under the command of the prince hassan, and wrote a letter to the english lord, sir andrew d'arcy, and to his daughter, and prepared a royal gift of jewels, and sent them to the lady, his niece, far away in england, and with it the patent of her rank. her he commanded this company to win by peace, or force, or fraud, as best they might, but that without her not one of them should dare to look upon his face again. and with these he sent the two frankish spies, who knew the place where the lady lived, one of whom, the false knight, was a skilled mariner and the captain of the ship. these things did yusuf salah-ed-din, and waited patiently till it should please god to accomplish the vision with which god had filled his soul in sleep. chapter one: by the waters of death creek from the sea-wall on the coast of essex, rosamund looked out across the ocean eastwards. to right and left, but a little behind her, like guards attending the person of their sovereign, stood her cousins, the twin brethren, godwin and wulf, tall and shapely men. godwin was still as a statue, his hands folded over the hilt of the long, scabbarded sword, of which the point was set on the ground before him, but wulf, his brother, moved restlessly, and at length yawned aloud. they were beautiful to look at, all three of them, as they appeared in the splendour of their youth and health. the imperial rosamund, dark-haired and eyed, ivory skinned and slender-waisted, a posy of marsh flowers in her hand; the pale, stately godwin, with his dreaming face; and the bold-fronted, blue-eyed warrior, wulf, saxon to his finger-tips, notwithstanding his father's norman blood. at the sound of that unstifled yawn, rosamund turned her head with the slow grace which marked her every movement. "would you sleep already, wulf, and the sun not yet down?" she asked in her rich, low voice, which, perhaps because of its foreign accent, seemed quite different to that of any other woman. "i think so, rosamund," he answered. "it would serve to pass the time, and now that you have finished gathering those yellow flowers which we rode so far to seek, the time--is somewhat long." "shame on you, wulf," she said, smiling. "look upon yonder sea and sky, at that sheet of bloom all gold and purple--" "i have looked for hard on half an hour, cousin rosamund; also at your back and at godwin's left arm and side-face, till in truth i thought myself kneeling in stangate priory staring at my father's effigy upon his tomb, while prior john pattered the mass. why, if you stood it on its feet, it is godwin, the same crossed hands resting on the sword, the same cold, silent face staring at the sky." "godwin as godwin will no doubt one day be, or so he hopes--that is, if the saints give him grace to do such deeds as did our sire," interrupted his brother. wulf looked at him, and a curious flash of inspiration shone in his blue eyes. "no, i think not," he answered; "the deeds you may do, and greater, but surely you will lie wrapped not in a shirt of mail, but with a monk's cowl at the last--unless a woman robs you of it and the quickest road to heaven. tell me now, what are you thinking of, you two--for i have been wondering in my dull way, and am curious to learn how far i stand from truth? rosamund, speak first. nay, not all the truth--a maid's thoughts are her own--but just the cream of it, that which rises to the top and should be skimmed." rosamund sighed. "i? i was thinking of the east, where the sun shines ever and the seas are blue as my girdle stones, and men are full of strange learning--" "and women are men's slaves!" interrupted wulf. "still, it is natural that you should think of the east who have that blood in your veins, and high blood, if all tales be true. say, princess"--and he bowed the knee to her with an affectation of mockery which could not hide his earnest reverence--"say, princess, my cousin, granddaughter of ayoub and niece of the mighty monarch, yusuf salah-ed-din, do you wish to leave this pale land and visit your dominions in egypt and in syria?" she listened, and at his words her eyes seemed to take fire, the stately form to erect itself, the breast to heave, and the thin nostrils to grow wider as though they scented some sweet, remembered perfume. indeed, at that moment, standing there on the promontory above the seas, rosamund looked a very queen. presently she answered him with another question. "and how would they greet me there, wulf, who am a norman d'arcy and a christian maid?" "the first they would forgive you, since that blood is none so ill either, and for the second--why, faiths can be changed." then it was that godwin spoke for the first time. "wulf, wulf," he said sternly, "keep watch upon your tongue, for there are things that should not be said even as a silly jest. see you, i love my cousin here better than aught else upon the earth--" "there, at least, we agree," broke in wulf. "better than aught else on the earth," repeated godwin; "but, by the holy blood and by st. peter, at whose shrine we are, i would kill her with my own hand before her lips kissed the book of the false prophet." "or any of his followers," muttered wulf to himself, but fortunately, perhaps, too low for either of his companions to hear. aloud he said, "you understand, rosamund, you must be careful, for godwin ever keeps his word, and that would be but a poor end for so much birth and beauty and wisdom." "oh, cease mocking, wulf," she answered, laying her hand lightly on the tunic that hid his shirt of mail. "cease mocking, and pray st. chad, the builder of this church, that no such dreadful choice may ever be forced upon you, or me, or your beloved brother--who, indeed, in such a case would do right to slay me." "well, if it were," answered wulf, and his fair face flushed as he spoke, "i trust that we should know how to meet it. after all, is it so very hard to choose between death and duty?" "i know not," she replied; "but oft-times sacrifice seems easy when seen from far away; also, things may be lost that are more prized than life." "what things? do you mean place, or wealth, or--love?" "tell me," said rosamund, changing her tone, "what is that boat rowing round the river's mouth? a while ago it hung upon its oars as though those within it watched us." "fisher-folk," answered wulf carelessly. "i saw their nets." "yes; but beneath them something gleamed bright, like swords." "fish," said wulf; "we are at peace in essex." although rosamund did not look convinced, he went on: "now for godwin's thoughts-- what were they?" "brother, if you would know, of the east also--the east and its wars." "which have brought us no great luck," answered wulf, "seeing that our sire was slain in them and naught of him came home again save his heart, which lies at stangate yonder." "how better could he die," asked godwin, "than fighting for the cross of christ? is not that death of his at harenc told of to this day? by our lady, i pray for one but half as glorious!" "aye, he died well--he died well," said wulf, his blue eyes flashing and his hand creeping to his sword hilt. "but, brother, there is peace at jerusalem, as in essex." "peace? yes; but soon there will be war again. the monk peter--he whom we saw at stangate last sunday, and who left syria but six months gone--told me that it was coming fast. even now the sultan saladin, sitting at damascus, summons his hosts from far and wide, while his priests preach battle amongst the tribes and barons of the east. and when it comes, brother, shall we not be there to share it, as were our grandfather, our father, our uncle, and so many of our kin? shall we rot here in this dull land, as by our uncle's wish we have done these many years, yes, ever since we were home from the scottish war, and count the kine and plough the fields like peasants, while our peers are charging on the pagan, and the banners wave, and the blood runs red upon the holy sands of palestine?" now it was wulf's turn to take fire. "by our lady in heaven, and our lady here!"--and he looked at rosamund, who was watching the pair of them with her quiet thoughtful eyes--"go when you will, godwin, and i go with you, and as our birth was one birth, so, if it is decreed, let our death be one death." and suddenly his hand that had been playing with the sword-hilt gripped it fast, and tore the long, lean blade from its scabbard and cast it high into the air, flashing in the sunlight, to catch it as it fell again, while in a voice that caused the wild fowl to rise in thunder from the saltings beneath, wulf shouted the old war-cry that had rung on so many a field--"a d'arcy! a d'arcy! meet d'arcy, meet death!" then he sheathed his sword again and added in a shamed voice, "are we children that we fight where no foe is? still, brother, may we find him soon!" godwin smiled grimly, but answered nothing; only rosamund said: "so, my cousins, you would be away, perhaps to return no more, and that will part us. but"--and her voice broke somewhat--"such is the woman's lot, since men like you ever love the bare sword best of all, nor should i think well of you were it otherwise. yet, cousins, i know not why"--and she shivered a little--"it comes into my heart that heaven often answers such prayers swiftly. oh, wulf! your sword looked very red in the sunlight but now: i say that it looked very red in the sunlight. i am afraid--of i know not what. well, we must be going, for we have nine miles to ride, and the dark is not so far away. but first, my cousins, come with me into this shrine, and let us pray st. peter and st. chad to guard us on our journey home." "our journey?" said wulf anxiously. "what is there for you to fear in a nine-mile ride along the shores of the blackwater?" "i said our journey home wulf; and home is not in the hall at steeple, but yonder," and she pointed to the quiet, brooding sky. "well answered," said godwin, "in this ancient place, whence so many have journeyed home; all the romans who are dead, when it was their fortress, and the saxons who came after them, and others without count." then they turned and entered the old church--one of the first that ever was in britain, rough-built of roman stone by the very hands of chad, the saxon saint, more than five hundred years before their day. here they knelt a while at the rude altar and prayed, each of them in his or her own fashion, then crossed themselves, and rose to seek their horses, which were tied in the shed hard by. now there were two roads, or rather tracks, back to the hall at steeple--one a mile or so inland, that ran through the village of bradwell, and the other, the shorter way, along the edge of the saltings to the narrow water known as death creek, at the head of which the traveller to steeple must strike inland, leaving the priory of stangate on his right. it was this latter path they chose, since at low tide the going there is good for horses--which, even in the summer, that of the inland track was not. also they wished to be at home by supper-time, lest the old knight, sir andrew d'arcy, the father of rosamund and the uncle of the orphan brethren, should grow anxious, and perhaps come out to seek them. for the half of an hour or more they rode along the edge of the saltings, for the most part in silence that was broken only by the cry of curlew and the lap of the turning tide. no human being did they see, indeed, for this place was very desolate and unvisited, save now and again by fishermen. at length, just as the sun began to sink, they approached the shore of death creek--a sheet of tidal water which ran a mile or more inland, growing ever narrower, but was here some three hundred yards in breadth. they were well mounted, all three of them. indeed, rosamund's horse, a great grey, her father's gift to her, was famous in that country-side for its swiftness and power, also because it was so docile that a child could ride it; while those of the brethren were heavy-built but well-trained war steeds, taught to stand where they were left, and to charge when they were urged, without fear of shouting men or flashing steel. now the ground lay thus. some seventy yards from the shore of death creek and parallel to it, a tongue of land, covered with scrub and a few oaks, ran down into the saltings, its point ending on their path, beyond which were a swamp and the broad river. between this tongue and the shore of the creek the track wended its way to the uplands. it was an ancient track; indeed the reason of its existence was that here the romans or some other long dead hands had built a narrow mole or quay of rough stone, forty or fifty yards in length, out into the water of the creek, doubtless to serve as a convenience for fisher boats, which could lie alongside of it even at low tide. this mole had been much destroyed by centuries of washing, so that the end of it lay below water, although the landward part was still almost sound and level. coming over the little rise at the top of the wooded tongue, the quick eyes of wulf, who rode first--for here the path along the border of the swamp was so narrow that they must go in single file--caught sight of a large, empty boat moored to an iron ring set in the wall of the mole. "your fishermen have landed, rosamund," he said, "and doubtless gone up to bradwell." "that is strange," she answered anxiously, "since here no fishermen ever come." and she checked her horse as though to turn. "whether they come or not, certainly they have gone," said godwin, craning forward to look about him; "so, as we have nothing to fear from an empty boat, let us push on." on they rode accordingly, until they came to the root of the stone quay or pier, when a sound behind them caused them to look back. then they saw a sight that sent the blood to their hearts, for there behind them, leaping down one by one on to that narrow footway, were men armed with naked swords, six or eight of them, all of whom, they noted, had strips of linen pierced with eyelet holes tied beneath their helms or leather caps, so as to conceal their faces. "a snare! a snare!" cried wulf, drawing his sword. "swift! follow me up the bradwell path!" and he struck the spurs into his horse. it bounded forward, to be dragged next second with all the weight of his powerful arm almost to its haunches. "god's mercy!" he cried, "there are more of them!" and more there were, for another band of men armed and linen-hooded like the first, had leapt down on to that bradwell path, amongst them a stout man, who seemed to be unarmed, except for a long, crooked knife at his girdle and a coat of ringed mail, which showed through the opening of his loose tunic. "to the boat!" shouted godwin, whereat the stout man laughed--a light, penetrating laugh, which even then all three of them heard and noted. along the quay they rode, since there was nowhere else that they could go, with both paths barred, and swamp and water on one side of them, and a steep, wooded bank upon the other. when they reached it, they found why the man had laughed, for the boat was made fast with a strong chain that could not be cut; more, her sail and oars were gone. "get into it," mocked a voice; "or, at least, let the lady get in; it will save us the trouble of carrying her there." now rosamund turned very pale, while the face of wulf went red and white, and he gripped his sword-hilt. but godwin, calm as ever, rode forward a few paces, and said quietly: "of your courtesy, say what you need of us. if it be money, we have none--nothing but our arms and horses, which i think may cost you dear." now the man with the crooked knife advanced a little, accompanied by another man, a tall, supple-looking knave, into whose ear he whispered. "my master says," answered the tall man, "that you have with you that which is of more value than all the king's gold--a very fair lady, of whom someone has urgent need. give her up now, and go your way with your arms and horses, for you are gallant young men, whose blood we do not wish to shed." at this it was the turn of the brethren to laugh, which both of them did together. "give her up," answered godwin, "and go our ways dishonoured? aye, with our breath, but not before. who then has such urgent need of the lady rosamund?" again there was whispering between the pair. "my master says," was the answer, "he thinks that all who see her will have need of her, since such loveliness is rare. but if you wish a name, well, one comes into his mind; the name of the knight lozelle." "the knight lozelle!" murmured rosamund, turning even paler than before, as well she might. for this lozelle was a powerful man and essex-born. he owned ships of whose doings upon the seas and in the east evil tales were told, and once had sought rosamund's hand in marriage, but being rejected, uttered threats for which godwin, as the elder of the twins, had fought and wounded him. then he vanished--none knew where. "is sir hugh lozelle here then?" asked godwin, "masked like you common cowards? if so, i desire to meet him, to finish the work i began in the snow last christmas twelvemonths." "find that out if you can," answered the tall man. but wulf said, speaking low between his clenched teeth: "brother, i see but one chance. we must place rosamund between us and charge them." the captain of the band seemed to read their thoughts, for again he whispered into the ear of his companion, who called out: "my master says that if you try to charge, you will be fools, since we shall stab and ham-string your horses, which are too good to waste, and take you quite easily as you fall. come then, yield, as you can do without shame, seeing there is no escape, and that two men, however brave, cannot stand against a crowd. he gives you one minute to surrender." now rosamund spoke for the first time. "my cousins," she said, "i pray you not to let me fall living into the hands of sir hugh lozelle, or of yonder men, to be taken to what fate i know not. let godwin kill me, then, to save my honour, as but now he said he would to save my soul, and strive to cut your way through, and live to avenge me." the brethren made no answer, only they looked at the water and then at one another, and nodded. it was godwin who spoke again, for now that it had come to this struggle for life and their lady, wulf, whose tongue was commonly so ready, had grown strangely silent, and fierce-faced also. "listen, rosamund, and do not turn your eyes," said godwin. "there is but one chance for you, and, poor as it is, you must choose between it and capture, since we cannot kill you. the grey horse you ride is strong and true. turn him now, and spur into the water of death creek and swim it. it is broad, but the incoming tide will help you, and perchance you will not drown." rosamund listened and moved her head backwards towards the boat. then wulf spoke--few words and sharp: "begone, girl! we guard the boat." she heard, and her dark eyes filled with tears, and her stately head sank for a moment almost to her horse's mane. "oh, my knights! my knights! and would you die for me? well, if god wills it, so it must be. but i swear that if you die, that no man shall be aught to me who have your memory, and if you live--" and she looked at them confusedly, then stopped. "bless us, and begone," said godwin. so she blessed them in words low and holy; then of a sudden wheeled round the great grey horse, and striking the spur into its flank, drove straight at the deep water. a moment the stallion hung, then from the low quay-end sprang out wide and clear. deep it sank, but not for long, for presently its rider's head rose above the water, and regaining the saddle, from which she had floated, rosamund sat firm and headed the horse straight for the distant bank. now a shout of wonderment went up from the woman thieves, for this was a deed that they had never thought a girl would dare. but the brethren laughed as they saw that the grey swam well, and, leaping from their saddles, ran forward a few paces--eight or ten--along the mole to where it was narrowest, as they went tearing the cloaks from their shoulders, and, since they had none, throwing them over their left arms to serve as bucklers. the band cursed sullenly, only their captain gave an order to his spokesman, who cried aloud: "cut them down, and to the boat! we shall take her before she reaches shore or drowns." for a moment they wavered, for the tall twin warriors who barred the way had eyes that told of wounds and death. then with a rush they came, scrambling over the rough stones. but here the causeway was so narrow that while their strength lasted, two men were as good as twenty, nor, because of the mud and water, could they be got at from either side. so after all it was but two to two, and the brethren were the better two. their long swords flashed and smote, and when wulf's was lifted again, once more it shone red as it had been when he tossed it high in the sunlight, and a man fell with a heavy splash into the waters of the creek, and wallowed there till he died. godwin's foe was down also, and, as it seemed, sped. then, at a muttered word, not waiting to be attacked by others, the brethren sprang forward. the huddled mob in front of them saw them come, and shrank back, but before they had gone a yard, the swords were at work behind. they swore strange oaths, they caught their feet among the rocks, and rolled upon their faces. in their confusion three of them were pushed into the water, where two sank in the mud and were drowned, the third only dragging himself ashore, while the rest made good their escape from the causeway. but two had been cut down, and three had fallen, for whom there was no escape. they strove to rise and fight, but the linen masks flapped about their eyes, so that their blows went wide, while the long swords of the brothers smote and smote again upon their helms and harness as the hammers of smiths smite upon an anvil, until they rolled over silent and stirless. "back!" said godwin; "for here the road is wide; and they will get behind us." so back they moved slowly, with their faces to the foe, stopping just in front of the first man whom godwin had seemed to kill, and who lay face upwards with arms outstretched. "so far we have done well," said wulf, with a short laugh. "are you hurt?" "nay," answered his brother, "but do not boast till the battle is over, for many are left and they will come on thus no more. pray god they have no spears or bows." then he turned and looked behind him, and there, far from the shore now, swam the grey horse steadily, and there upon its back sat rosamund. yes, and she had seen, since the horse must swim somewhat sideways with the tide, for look, she took the kerchief from her throat and waved it to them. then the brethren knew that she was proud of their great deeds, and thanked the saints that they had lived to do even so much as this for her dear sake. godwin was right. although their leader commanded them in a stern voice, the band sank from the reach of those awful swords, and, instead, sought for stones to hurl at them. but here lay more mud than pebbles, and the rocks of which the causeway was built were too heavy for them to lift, so that they found but few, which when thrown either missed the brethren or did them little hurt. now, after some while, the man called "master" spoke through his lieutenant, and certain of them ran into the thorn thicket, and thence appeared again bearing the long oars of the boat. "their counsel is to batter us down with the oars. what shall we do now, brother?" asked godwin. "what we can," answered wulf. "it matters little if rosamund is spared by the waters, for they will scarcely take her now, who must loose the boat and man it after we are dead." as he spoke wulf heard a sound behind him, and of a sudden godwin threw up his arms and sank to his knees. round he sprang, and there upon his feet stood that man whom they had thought dead, and in his hand a bloody sword. at him leapt wulf, and so fierce were the blows he smote that the first severed his sword arm and the second shore through cloak and mail deep into the thief's side; so that this time he fell, never to stir again. then he looked at his brother and saw that the blood was running down his face and blinding him. "save yourself, wulf, for i am sped," murmured godwin. "nay, or you could not speak." and he cast his arm round him and kissed him on the brow. then a thought came into his mind, and lifting godwin as though he were a child, he ran back to where the horses stood, and heaved him onto the saddle. "hold fast!" he cried, "by mane and pommel. keep your mind, and hold fast, and i will save you yet." passing the reins over his left arm, wulf leapt upon the back of his own horse, and turned it. ten seconds more, and the pirates, who were gathering with the oars where the paths joined at the root of the causeway, saw the two great horses thundering down upon them. on one a sore wounded man, his bright hair dabbled with blood, his hands gripping mane and saddle, and on the other the warrior wulf, with starting eyes and a face like the face of a flame, shaking his red sword, and for the second time that day shouting aloud: "a d'arcy! a d'arcy! contre d'arcy, contre mort!" they saw, they shouted, they massed themselves together and held up the oars to meet them. but wulf spurred fiercely, and, short as was the way, the heavy horses, trained to tourney, gathered their speed. now they were on them. the oars were swept aside like reeds; all round them flashed the swords, and wulf felt that he was hurt, he knew not where. but his sword flashed also, one blow--there was no time for more--yet the man beneath it sank like an empty sack. by st. peter! they were through, and godwin still swayed upon the saddle, and yonder, nearing the further shore, the grey horse with its burden still battled in the tide. they were through! they were through! while to wulf's eyes the air swam red, and the earth seemed as though it rose up to meet them, and everywhere was flaming fire. but the shouts had died away behind them, and the only sound was the sound of the galloping of their horses' hoofs. then that also grew faint and died away, and silence and darkness fell upon the mind of wulf. chapter two: sir andew d'arcy godwin dreamed that he was dead, and that beneath him floated the world, a glowing ball, while he was borne to and fro through the blackness, stretched upon a couch of ebony. there were bright watchers by his couch also, watchers twain, and he knew them for his guardian angels, given him at birth. moreover, now and again presences would come and question the watchers who sat at his head and foot. one asked: "has this soul sinned?" and the angel at his head answered: "it has sinned." again the voice asked: "did it die shriven of its sins?" the angel answered: "it died unshriven, red sword aloft, fighting a good fight." "fighting for the cross of christ?" "nay; fighting for a woman." "alas! poor soul, sinful and unshriven, who died fighting for a woman's love. how shall such a one find mercy?" wailed the questioning voice, growing ever fainter, till it was lost far, far away. now came another visitor. it was his father--the warrior sire whom he had never seen, who fell in syria. godwin knew him well, for the face was the face carven on the tomb in stangate church, and he wore the blood-red cross upon his mail, and the d'arcy death's-head was on his shield, and in his hand shone a naked sword. "is this the soul of my son?" he asked of the whiterobed watchers. "if so, how died he?" then the angel at his foot answered: "he died, red sword aloft, fighting a good fight." "fighting for the cross of christ?" "nay; fighting for a woman." "fighting for a woman's love who should have fallen in the holy war? alas! poor son; alas! poor son! alas! that we must part again forever!" and his voice, too, passed away. lo! a glory advanced through the blackness, and the angels at head and foot stood up and saluted with their flaming spears. "how died this child of god?" asked a voice, speaking out of the glory, a low and awful voice. "he died by the sword," answered the angel. "by the sword of the children of the enemy, fighting in the war of heaven?" then the angels were silent. "what has heaven to do with him, if he fought not for heaven?" asked the voice again. "let him be spared," pleaded the guardians, "who was young and brave, and knew not. send him back to earth, there to retrieve his sins and be our charge once more." "so be it," said the voice. "knight, live on, but live as a knight of heaven if thou wouldst win heaven." "must he then put the woman from him?" asked the angels. "it was not said," answered the voice speaking from the glory. and all that wild vision vanished. then a space of oblivion, and godwin awoke to hear other voices around him, voices human, well-beloved, remembered; and to see a face bending over him--a face most human, most well-beloved, most remembered--that of his cousin rosamund. he babbled some questions, but they brought him food, and told him to sleep, so he slept. thus it went on, waking and sleep, sleep and waking, till at length one morning he woke up truly in the little room that opened out of the solar or sitting place of the hall of steeple, where he and wulf had slept since their uncle took them to his home as infants. more, on the trestle bed opposite to him, his leg and arm bandaged, and a crutch by his side, sat wulf himself, somewhat paler and thinner than of yore, but the same jovial, careless, yet at times fierce-faced wulf. "do i still dream, my brother, or is it you indeed?" a happy smile spread upon the face of wulf, for now he knew that godwin was himself again. "me sure enough," he answered. "dream-folk don't have lame legs; they are the gifts of swords and men." "and rosamund? what of rosamund? did the grey horse swim the creek, and how came we here? tell me quick--i faint for news!" "she shall tell you herself." and hobbling to the curtained door, he called, "rosamund, my--nay, our--cousin rosamund, godwin is himself again. hear you, godwin is himself again, and would speak with you!" there was a swift rustle of robes and a sound of quick feet among the rushes that strewed the floor, and then--rosamund herself, lovely as ever, but all her stateliness forgot in joy. she saw him, the gaunt godwin sitting up upon the pallet, his grey eyes shining in the white and sunken face. for godwin's eyes were grey, while wulf's were blue, the only difference between them which a stranger would note, although in truth wulf's lips were fuller than godwin's, and his chin more marked; also he was a larger man. she saw him, and with a little cry of delight ran and cast her arms about him, and kissed him on the brow. "be careful," said wulf roughly, turning his head aside, "or, rosamund, you will loose the bandages, and bring his trouble back again; he has had enough of blood-letting." "then i will kiss him on the hand--the hand that saved me," she said, and did so. more, she pressed that poor, pale hand against her heart. "mine had something to do with that business also but i don't remember that you kissed it, rosamund. well, i will kiss him too, and oh! god be praised, and the holy virgin, and the holy peter, and the holy chad, and all the other holy dead folk whose names i can't recall, who between them, with the help of rosamund here, and the prayers of the prior john and brethren at stangate, and of matthew, the village priest, have given you back to us, my brother, my most beloved brother." and he hopped to the bedside, and throwing his long, sinewy arms about godwin embraced him again and again. "be careful," said rosamund drily, "or, wulf, you will disturb the bandages, and he has had enough of blood-letting." then before he could answer, which he seemed minded to do, there came the sound of a slow step, and swinging the curtain aside, a tall and noble-looking knight entered the little place. the man was old, but looked older than he was, for sorrow and sickness had wasted him. his snow-white hair hung upon his shoulders, his face was pale, and his features were pinched but finely-chiselled, and notwithstanding the difference of their years, wonderfully like to those of the daughter rosamund. for this was her father, the famous lord, sir andrew d'arcy. rosamund turned and bent the knee to him with a strange and eastern grace, while wulf bowed his head, and godwin, since his neck was too stiff to stir, held up his hand in greeting. the old man looked at him, and there was pride in his eye. "so you will live after all, my nephew," he said, "and for that i thank the giver of life and death, since by god, you are a gallant man--a worthy child of the bloods of the norman d'arcy and of uluin the saxon. yes, one of the best of them." "speak not so, my uncle," said godwin; "or at least, here is a worthier,"--and he patted the hand of wulf with his lean fingers. "it was wulf who bore me through. oh, i remember as much as that--how he lifted me onto the black horse and bade me to cling fast to mane and pommel. ay, and i remember the charge, and his cry of 'contre d'arcy, contre mort!' and the flashing of swords about us, and after that--nothing." "would that i had been there to help in that fight," said sir andrew d'arcy, tossing his white hair. "oh, my children, it is hard to be sick and old. a log am i--naught but a rotting log. still, had i only known--" "father, father," said rosamund, casting her white arm about his neck. "you should not speak thus. you have done your share." "yes, my share; but i should like to do more. oh, st. andrew, ask it for me that i may die with sword aloft and my grandsire's cry upon my lips. yes, yes; thus, not like a worn-out war-horse in his stall. there, pardon me; but in truth, my children, i am jealous of you. why, when i found you lying in each other's arms i could have wept for rage to think that such a fray had been within a league of my own doors and i not in it." "i know nothing of all that story," said godwin. "no, in truth, how can you, who have been senseless this month or more? but rosamund knows, and she shall tell it you. speak on, rosamund. lay you back, godwin, and listen." "the tale is yours, my cousins, and not mine," said rosamund. "you bade me take the water, and into it i spurred the grey horse, and we sank deep, so that the waves closed above my head. then up we came, i floating from the saddle, but i regained it, and the horse answered to my voice and bridle, and swam out for the further shore. on it swam, somewhat slantwise with the tide, so that by turning my head i could see all that passed upon the mole. i saw them come at you, and men fall before your swords; i saw you charge them, and run back again. lastly, after what seemed a very long while, when i was far away, i saw wulf lift godwin into the saddle--i knew it must be godwin, because he set him on the black horse--and the pair of you galloped down the quay and vanished. "by then i was near the home shore, and the grey grew very weary and sank deep in the water. but i cheered it on with my voice, and although twice its head went beneath the waves, in the end it found a footing, though a soft one. after resting awhile, it plunged forward with short rushes through the mud, and so at length came safe to land, where it stood shaking with fear and weariness. so soon as the horse got its breath again, i pressed on, for i saw them loosing the boat, and came home here as the dark closed in, to meet your uncle watching for me at the gate. now, father, do you take up the tale." "there is little more to tell," said sir andrew. "you will remember, nephews, that i was against this ride of rosamund's to seek flowers, or i know not what, at st. peter's shrine, nine miles away, but as the maid had set her heart on it, and there are but few pleasures here, why, i let her go with the pair of you for escort. you will mind also that you were starting without your mail, and how foolish you thought me when i called you back and made you gird it on. well, my patron saint--or yours--put it into my head to do so, for had it not been for those same shirts of mail, you were both of you dead men to-day. but that morning i had been thinking of sir hugh lozelle--if such a false, pirate rogue can be called a knight, not but that he is stout and brave enough--and his threats after he recovered from the wound you gave him, godwin; how that he would come back and take your cousin for all we could do to stay him. true, we heard that he had sailed for the east to war against saladin--or with him, for he was ever a traitor--but even if this were so, men return from the east. therefore i bade you arm, having some foresight of what was to come, for doubtless this onslaught must have been planned by him." "i think so," said wulf, "for, as rosamund here knows, the tall knave who interpreted for the foreigner whom he called his master, gave us the name of the knight lozelle as the man who sought to carry her off." "was this master a saracen?" asked sir andrew, anxiously. "nay, uncle, how can i tell, seeing that his face was masked like the rest and he spoke through an interpreter? but i pray you go on with the story, which godwin has not heard." "it is short. when rosamund told her tale of which i could make little, for the girl was crazed with grief and cold and fear, save that you had been attacked upon the old quay, and she had escaped by swimming death creek--which seemed a thing incredible--i got together what men i could. then bidding her stay behind, with some of them to guard her, and nurse herself, which she was loth to do, i set out to find you or your bodies. it was dark, but we rode hard, having lanterns with us, as we went rousing men at every stead, until we came to where the roads join at moats. there we found a black horse--your horse, godwin--so badly wounded that he could travel no further, and i groaned, thinking that you were dead. still we went on, till we heard another horse whinny, and presently found the roan also riderless, standing by the path-side with his head down. "'a man on the ground holds him!' cried one, and i sprang from the saddle to see who it might be, to find that it was you, the pair of you, locked in each other's arms and senseless, if not dead, as well you might be from your wounds. i bade the country-folk cover you up and carry you home, and others to run to stangate and pray the prior and the monk stephen, who is a doctor, come at once to tend you, while we pressed onwards to take vengeance if we could. we reached the quay upon the creek, but there we found nothing save some bloodstains and--this is strange--your sword, godwin, the hilt set between two stones, and on the point a writing." "what was the writing?" asked godwin. "here it is," answered his uncle, drawing a piece of parchment from his robe. "read it, one of you, since all of you are scholars and my eyes are bad." rosamund took it and read what was written, hurriedly but in a clerkly hand, and in the french tongue. it ran thus: "the sword of a brave man. bury it with him if he be dead, and give it back to him if he lives, as i hope. my master would wish me to do this honour to a gallant foe whom in that case he still may meet. (signed) hugh lozelle, or another." "another, then; not hugh lozelle," said godwin, "since he cannot write, and if he could, would never pen words so knightly." "the words may be knightly, but the writer's deeds were base enough," replied sir andrew; "nor, in truth do i understand this scroll." "the interpreter spoke of the short man as his master," suggested wulf. "ay, nephew; but him you met. this writing speaks of a master whom godwin may meet, and who would wish the writer to pay him a certain honour." "perhaps he wrote thus to blind us." "perchance, perchance. the matter puzzles me. moreover, of whom these men were i have been able to learn nothing. a boat was seen passing towards bradwell--indeed, it seems that you saw it, and that night a boat was seen sailing southwards down st. peter's sands towards a ship that had anchored off foulness point. but what that ship was, whence she came, and whither she went, none know, though the tidings of this fray have made some stir." "well," said wulf, "at the least we have seen the last of her crew of women-thieves. had they meant more mischief, they would have shown themselves again ere now." sir andrew looked grave as he answered. "so i trust, but all the tale is very strange. how came they to know that you and rosamund were riding that day to st. peter's-on-the-wall, and so were able to waylay you? surely some spy must have warned them, since that they were no common pirates is evident, for they spoke of lozelle, and bade you two begone unharmed, as it was rosamund whom they needed. also, there is the matter of the sword that fell from the hand of godwin when he was hurt, which was returned in so strange a fashion. i have known many such deeds of chivalry done in the east by paynim men--" "well, rosamund is half an eastern," broke in wulf carelessly; "and perhaps that had something to do with it all." sir andrew started, and the colour rose to his pale face. then in a tone in which he showed he wished to speak no more of this matter, he said: "enough, enough. godwin is very weak, and grows weary, and before i leave him i have a word to say that it may please you both to hear. young men, you are of my blood, the nearest to it except rosamund--the sons of that noble knight, my brother. i have ever loved you well, and been proud of you, but if this was so in the past, how much more is it thus to-day, when you have done such high service to my house? moreover, that deed was brave and great; nothing more knightly has been told of in essex this many a year, and those who wrought it should no longer be simple gentlemen, but very knights. this boon it is in my power to grant to you according to the ancient custom. still, that none may question it, while you lay sick, but after it was believed that godwin would live, which at first we scarcely dared to hope, i journeyed to london and sought audience of our lord the king. having told him this tale, i prayed him that he would be pleased to grant me his command in writing that i should name you knights. "my nephews, he was so pleased, and here i have the brief sealed with the royal signet, commanding that in his name and my own i should give you the accolade publicly in the church of the priory at stangate at such season as may be convenient. therefore, godwin, the squire, haste you to get well that you may become sir godwin the knight; for you, wulf, save for the hurt to your leg, are well enough already." now godwin's white face went red with pride, and wulf dropped his bold eyes and looked modest as a girl. "speak you," he said to his brother, "for my tongue is blunt and awkward." "sir," said godwin in a weak voice, "we do not know how to thank you for so great an honour, that we never thought to win till we had done more famous deeds than the beating off of a band of robbers. sir, we have no more to say, save that while we live we will strive to be worthy of our name and of you." "well spoken," said his uncle, adding as though to himself, "this man is courtly as he is brave." wulf looked up, a flash of merriment upon his open face. "i, my uncle, whose speech is, i fear me, not courtly, thank you also. i will add that i think our lady cousin here should be knighted too, if such a thing were possible for a woman, seeing that to swim a horse across death creek was a greater deed than to fight some rascals on its quay." "rosamund?" answered the old man in the same dreamy voice. "her rank is high enough--too high, far too high for safety." and turning, he left the little chamber. "well, cousin," said wulf, "if you cannot be a knight, at least you can lessen all this dangerous rank of yours by becoming a knight's wife." whereat rosamund looked at him with indignation which struggled with a smile in her dark eyes, and murmuring that she must see to the making of godwin's broth, followed her father from the place. "it would have been kinder had she told us that she was glad," said wulf when she was gone. "perhaps she would," answered his brother, "had it not been for your rough jests, wulf, which might have a meaning in them." "nay, i had no meaning. why should she not become a knight's wife?" "ay, but what knight's? would it please either of us, brother, if, as may well chance, he should be some stranger?" now wulf swore a great oath, then flushed to the roots of his fair hair, and was silent. "ah!" said godwin; "you do not think before you speak, which it is always well to do." "she swore upon the quay yonder"--broke in wulf. "forget what she swore. words uttered in such an hour should not be remembered against a maid." "god's truth, brother, you are right, as ever! my tongue runs away with me, but still i can't put those words out of my mind, though which of us--" "wulf!" "i mean to say that we are in fortune's path to-day, godwin. oh, that was a lucky ride! such fighting as i have never seen or dreamed of. we won it too! and now both of us are alive, and a knighthood for each!" "yes, both of us alive, thanks to you, wulf--nay, it is so, though you would never have done less. but as for fortune's path, it is one that has many rough turns, and perhaps before all is done she may lead us round some of them." "you talk like a priest, not like a squire who is to be knighted at the cost of a scar on his head. for my part i will kiss fortune while i may, and if she jilts me afterwards--" "wulf," called rosamund from without the curtain, "cease talking of kissing at the top of your voice, i pray you, and leave godwin to sleep, for he needs it." and she entered the little chamber, bearing a bowl of broth in her hand. thereon, saying that ladies should not listen to what did not concern them, wulf seized his crutch and hobbled from the place. chapter three: the knighting of the brethren another month had gone by, and though godwin was still somewhat weak and suffered from a headache at times, the brethren had recovered from their wounds. on the last day of november, about two o'clock in the afternoon, a great procession might have been seen wending its way from the old hall at steeple. in it rode many knights fully armed, before whom were borne their banners. these went first. then came old sir andrew d'arcy, also fully armed, attended by squires and retainers. he was accompanied by his lovely daughter, the lady rosamund, clad in beautiful apparel under her cloak of fur, who rode at his right hand on that same horse which had swum death creek. next appeared the brethren, modestly arrayed as simple gentlemen, followed each of them by his squire, scions of the noble houses of salcote and of dengie. after them rode yet more knights, squires, tenants of various degree, and servants, surrounded by a great number of peasantry and villeins, who walked and ran with their women folk and children. following the road through the village, the procession turned to the left at the great arch which marked the boundary of the monk's lands, and headed for stangate abbey, some two miles away, by the path that ran between the arable land and the salt marshes, which are flooded at high tide. at length they came to the stone gate of the abbey, that gave the place its name of stangate. here they were met by a company of the cluniac monks, who dwelt in this wild and lonely spot upon the water's edge, headed by their prior, john fitz brien. he was a venerable, white-haired man, clad in wide-sleeved, black robes, and preceded by a priest carrying a silver cross. now the procession separated, godwin and wulf, with certain of the knights and their esquires, being led to the priory, while the main body of it entered the church, or stood about outside its door. arrived in the house, the two knights elect were taken to a room where their hair was cut and their chins were shaved by a barber who awaited them. then, under the guidance of two old knights named sir anthony de mandeville and sir roger de merci, they were conducted to baths surrounded with rich cloths. into these, having been undressed by the squires, they entered and bathed themselves, while sir anthony and sir roger spoke to them through the cloths of the high duties of their vocation, ending by pouring water over them, and signing their bare bodies with the sign of the cross. next they were dressed again, and preceded by minstrels, led to the church, at the porch of which they and their esquires were given wine to drink. here, in the presence of all the company, they were clothed first in white tunics, to signify the whiteness of their hearts; next in red robes, symbolical of the blood they might be called upon to shed for christ; and lastly, in long black cloaks, emblems of the death that must be endured by all. this done, their armour was brought in and piled before them upon the steps of the altar, and the congregation departed homeward, leaving them with their esquires and the priest to spend the long winter night in orisons and prayers. long, indeed, it was, in that lonesome, holy place, lit only by a lamp which swung before the altar. wulf prayed and prayed until he could pray no more, then fell into a half dreamful state that was haunted by the face of rosamund, where even her face should have been forgotten. godwin, his elbow resting against the tomb that hid his father's heart, prayed also, until even his earnestness was outworn, and he began to wonder about many things. that dream of his, for instance, in his sickness, when he had seemed to be dead, and what might be the true duty of man. to be brave and upright? surely. to fight for the cross of christ against the saracen? surely, if the chance came his way. what more? to abandon the world and to spend his life muttering prayers like those priests in the darkness behind him? could that be needful or of service to god or man? to man, perhaps, because such folk tended the sick and fed the poor. but to god? was he not sent into the world to bear his part in the world--to live his full life? this would mean a half-life--one into which no woman might enter, to which no child might be added, since to monks and even to certain brotherhoods, all these things, which nature decreed and heaven had sanctified, were deadly sin. it would mean, for instance, that he must think no more of rosamund. could he do this for the sake of the welfare of his soul in some future state? why, at the thought of it even, in that solemn place and hour of dedication, his spirit reeled, for then and there for the first time it was borne in upon him that he loved this woman more than all the world beside--more than his life, more, perhaps, than his soul. he loved her with all his pure young heart--so much that it would be a joy to him to die for her, not only in the heat of battle, as lately had almost chanced on the death creek quay, but in cold blood, of set purpose, if there came need. he loved her with body and with spirit, and, after god, here to her he consecrated his body and his spirit. but what value would she put upon the gift? what if some other man--? by his side, his elbows resting on the altar rails, his eyes fixed upon the beaming armour that he would wear in battle, knelt wulf, his brother--a mighty man, a knight of knights, fearless, noble, open-hearted; such a one as any woman might well love. and he also loved rosamund. of this godwin was sure. and, oh! did not rosamund love wulf? bitter jealousy seized upon his vitals. yes; even then and there, black envy got hold of godwin, and rent him so sore that, cold as was the place, the sweat poured from his brow and body. should he abandon hope? should he fly the battle for fear that he might be defeated? nay; he would fight on in all honesty and honour, and if he were overcome, would meet his fate as a brave knight should--without bitterness, but without shame. let destiny direct the matter. it was in the hands of destiny, and stretching out his arm, he threw it around the neck of his brother, who knelt beside him, and let it rest there, until the head of the weary wulf sank sleepily upon his shoulder, like the head of an infant upon its mother's breast. "oh jesu," godwin moaned in his poor heart, "give me strength to fight against this sinful passion that would lead me to hate the brother whom i love. oh jesu, give me strength to bear it if he should be preferred before me. make me a perfect knight--strong to suffer and endure, and, if need be, to rejoice even in the joy of my supplanter." at length the grey dawn broke, and the sunlight, passing through the eastern window, like a golden spear, pierced the dusk of the long church, which was built to the shape of a cross, so that only its transepts remained in shadow. then came a sound of chanting, and at the western door entered the prior, wearing all his robes, attended by the monks and acolytes, who swung censers. in the centre of the nave he halted and passed to the confessional, calling on godwin to follow. so he went and knelt before the holy man, and there poured out all his heart. he confessed his sins. they were but few. he told him of the vision of his sickness, on which the prior pondered long; of his deep love, his hopes, his fears, and his desire to be a warrior who once, as a lad, had wished to be a monk, not that he might shed blood, but to fight for the cross of christ against the paynim, ending with a cry of-- "give me counsel, o my father. give me counsel." "your own heart is your best counsellor," was the priest's answer. "go as it guides you, knowing that, through it, it is god who guides. nor fear that you will fail. but if love and the joys of life should leave you, then come back, and we will talk again. go on, pure knight of christ, fearing nothing and sure of the reward, and take with you the blessing of christ and of his church." "what penance must i bear, father?" "such souls as yours inflict their own penance. the saints forbid that i should add to it," was the gentle answer. then with a lightened heart godwin returned to the altar rails, while his brother wulf was summoned to take his place in the confessional. of the sins that he had to tell we need not speak. they were such as are common to young men, and none of them very grievous. still, before he gave him absolution, the good prior admonished him to think less of his body and more of his spirit; less of the glory of feats of arms and more of the true ends to which he should enter on them. he bade him, moreover, to take his brother godwin as an earthly guide and example, since there lived no better or wiser man of his years, and finally dismissed him, prophesying that if he would heed these counsels, he would come to great glory on earth and in heaven. "father, i will do my best," answered wulf humbly; "but there cannot be two godwins; and, father, sometimes i fear me that our paths will cross, since two men cannot win one woman." "i know the trouble," answered the prior anxiously, "and with less noble-natured men it might be grave. but if it should come to this, then must the lady judge according to the wishes of her own heart, and he who loses her must be loyal in sorrow as in joy. be sure that you take no base advantage of your brother in the hour of temptation, and bear him no bitterness should he win the bride." "i think i can be sure of that," said wulf; "also that we, who have loved each other from birth, would die before we betrayed each other." "i think so also," answered the prior; "but satan is very strong." then wulf also returned to the altar rails, and the full mass was sung, and the sacrament received by the two neophytes, and the offerings made all in their appointed order. next they were led back to the priory to rest and eat a little after their long night's vigil in the cold church, and here they abode awhile, thinking their own thoughts, seated alone in the prior's chamber. at length wulf, who seemed to be ill at ease, rose and laid his hand upon his brother's shoulder, saying: "i can be silent no more; it was ever thus: that which is in my mind must out of it. i have words to say to you." "speak on, wulf," said godwin. wulf sat himself down again upon his stool, and for a while stared hard at nothing, for he did not seem to find it easy to begin this talk. now godwin could read his brother's mind like a book, but wulf could not always read godwin's, although, being twins who had been together from birth, their hearts were for the most part open to each other without the need of words. "it is of our cousin rosamund, is it not?" asked godwin presently. "ay. who else?" "and you would tell me that you love her, and that now you are a knight--almost--and hard on five-and twenty years of age, you would ask her to become your affianced wife?" "yes, godwin; it came into my heart when she rode the grey horse into the water, there upon the pier, and i thought that i should never see her any more. i tell you it came into my heart that life was not worth living nor death worth dying without her." "then, wulf," answered godwin slowly, "what more is there to say? ask on, and prosper. why not? we have some lands, if not many, and rosamund will not lack for them. nor do i think that our uncle would forbid you, if she wills it, seeing that you are the properest man and the bravest in all this country side." "except my brother godwin, who is all these things, and good and learned to boot, which i am not," replied wulf musingly. then there was silence for a while, which he broke. "godwin, our ill-luck is that you love her also, and that you thought the same thoughts which i did yonder on the quay-head." godwin flushed a little, and his long fingers tightened their grip upon his knee. "it is so," he said quietly. "to my grief it is so. but rosamund knows nothing of this, and should never know it if you will keep a watch upon your tongue. moreover, you need not be jealous of me, before marriage or after." "what, then, would you have me do?" asked wulf hotly. "seek her heart, and perchance--though this i doubt--let her yield it to me, she thinking that you care naught for her?" "why not?" asked godwin again, with a sigh; "it might save her some pain and you some doubt, and make my own path clearer. marriage is more to you than to me, wulf, who think sometimes that my sword should be my spouse and duty my only aim." "who think, having a heart of gold, that even in such a thing as this you will not bar the path of the brother whom you love. nay, godwin, as i am a sinful man, and as i desire her above all things on earth, i will play no such coward's game, nor conquer one who will not lift his sword lest he should hurt me. sooner would i bid you all farewell, and go to seek fortune or death in the wars without word spoken." "leaving rosamund to pine, perchance. oh, could we be sure that she had no mind toward either of us, that would be best--to begone together. but, wulf, we cannot be sure, since at times, to be honest, i have thought she loves you." "and at times, to be honest, godwin, i have been sure that she loves you, although i should like to try my luck and hear it from her lips, which on such terms i will not do." "what, then, is your plan, wulf?" "my plan is that if our uncle gives us leave, we should both speak to her--you first, as the elder, setting out your case as best you can, and asking her to think of it and give you your answer within a day. then, before that day is done i also should speak, so that she may know all the story, and play her part in it with opened eyes, not deeming, as otherwise she might, that we know each other's minds, and that you ask because i have no will that way." "it is very fair," replied godwin; "and worthy of you, who are the most honest of men. yet, wulf, i am troubled. see you, my brother, have ever brethren loved each other as we do? and now must the shadow of a woman fall upon and blight that love which is so fair and precious?" "why so?" asked wulf. "come, godwin, let us make a pact that it shall not be thus, and keep it by the help of heaven. let us show the world that two men can love one woman and still love each other, not knowing as yet which of them she will choose--if, indeed, she chooses either. for, godwin, we are not the only gentlemen whose eyes have turned, or yet may turn, towards the high-born, rich, and lovely lady rosamund. is it your will that we should make such a pact?" godwin thought a little, then answered: "yes; but if so, it must be one so strong that for her sake and for both our sakes we cannot break it and live with honour." "so be it," said wulf; "this is man's work, not child's make-believe." then godwin rose, and going to the door, bade his squire, who watched without, pray the prior john to come to them as they sought his counsel in a matter. so he came, and, standing before him with downcast head, godwin told him all the tale, which, indeed, he who knew so much already, was quick to understand, and of their purpose also; while at a question from the prior, wulf answered that it was well and truly said, nothing having been kept back. then they asked him if it was lawful that they should take such an oath, to which he replied that he thought it not only lawful, but very good. so in the end, kneeling together hand in hand before the rood that stood in the chamber, they repeated this oath after him, both of them together. "we brethren, godwin and wulf d'arcy, do swear by the holy cross of christ, and by the patron saint of this place, st. mary magdalene, and our own patron saints, st. peter and st. chad, standing in the presence of god, of our guardian angels, and of you, john, that being both of us enamoured of our cousin, rosamund d'arcy, we will ask her to wife in the manner we have agreed, and no other. that we will abide by her decision, should she choose either of us, nor seek to alter it by tempting her from her troth, or in any fashion overt or covert. that he of us whom she refuses will thenceforth be a brother to her and no more, however satan may tempt his heart otherwise. that so far as may be possible to us, who are but sinful men, we will suffer neither bitterness nor jealousy to come between our love because of this woman, and that in war or peace we will remain faithful comrades and brethren. thus we swear with a true heart and purpose, and in token thereof, knowing that he who breaks this oath will be a knight dishonoured and a vessel fit for the wrath of god, we kiss this rood and one another." this, then, these brethren said and did, and with light minds and joyful faces received the blessing of the prior, who had christened them in infancy, and went down to meet the great company that had ridden forth to lead them back to steeple, where their knighting should be done. so to steeple, preceded by the squires, who rode before them bareheaded, carrying their swords by the scabbarded points, with their gold spurs hanging from the hilts, they came at last. here the hall was set for a great feast, a space having been left between the tables and the dais, to which the brethren were conducted. then came forward sir anthony de mandeville and sir roger de merci in full armour, and presented to sir andrew d'arcy, their uncle, who stood upon the edge of the dais, also in his armour, their swords and spurs, of which he gave back to them two of the latter, bidding them affix these upon the candidates' right heels. this done, the prior john blessed the swords, after which sir andrew girded them about the waists of his nephews, saying: "take ye back the swords that you have used so well." next, he drew his own silver-hilted blade that had been his father's and his grandfather's, and whilst they knelt before him, smote each of them three blows upon the right shoulder, crying with a loud voice: "in the name of god, st. michael, and st. george, i knight ye. be ye good knights." thereafter came forward rosamund as their nearest kinswoman, and, helped by other ladies, clad upon them their hauberks, or coats of mail, their helms of steel, and their kite-shaped shields, emblazoned with a skull, the cognizance of their race. this done, with the musicians marching before them, they walked to steeple church--a distance of two hundred paces from the hall, where they laid their swords upon the altar and took them up again, swearing to be good servants of christ and defenders of the church. as they left its doors, who should meet them but the cook, carrying his chopper in his hand and claiming as his fee the value of the spurs they wore, crying aloud at the same time: "if either of you young knights should do aught in despite of your honour and of the oaths that you have sworn--from which may god and his saints prevent you!--then with my chopper will i hack these spurs from off your heels." thus at last the long ceremony was ended, and after it came a very great feast, for at the high table were entertained many noble knights and ladies, and below, in the hall their squires, and other gentlemen, and outside all the yeomanry and villagers, whilst the children and the aged had food and drink given to them in the nave of the church itself. when the eating at length was done, the centre of the hall was cleared, and while men drank, the minstrels made music. all were very merry with wine and strong ale, and talk arose among them as to which of these brethren--sir godwin or sir wulf--was the more brave, the more handsome, and the more learned and courteous. now a knight--it was sir surin de salcote--seeing that the argument grew hot and might lead to blows, rose and declared that this should be decided by beauty alone, and that none could be more fitted to judge than the fair lady whom the two of them had saved from woman-thieves at the death creek quay. they all called, "ay, let her settle it," and it was agreed that she would give the kerchief from her neck to the bravest, a beaker of wine to the handsomest, and a book of hours to the most learned. so, seeing no help for it, since except her father, the brethren, the most of the other ladies and herself, who drank but water, gentle and simple alike, had begun to grow heated with wine, and were very urgent, rosamund took the silk kerchief from her neck. then coming to the edge of the dais, where they were seated in the sight of all, she stood before her cousins, not knowing, poor maid, to which of them she should offer it. but godwin whispered a word to wulf, and both of them stretching out their right hands, snatched an end of the kerchief which she held towards them, and rending it, twisted the severed halves round their sword hilts. the company laughed at their wit, and cried: "the wine for the more handsome. they cannot serve that thus." rosamund thought a moment; then she lifted a great silver beaker, the largest on the board, and having filled it full of wine, once more came forward and held it before them as though pondering. thereon the brethren, as though by a single movement, bent forward and each of them touched the beaker with his lips. again a great laugh went up, and even rosamund smiled. "the book! the book!" cried the guests. "they dare not rend the holy book!" so for the third time rosamund advanced, bearing the missal. "knights," she said, "you have torn my kerchief and drunk my wine. now i offer this hallowed writing--to him who can read it best." "give it to godwin," said wulf. "i am a swordsman, not a clerk." "well said! well said!" roared the company. "the sword for us--not the pen!" but rosamund turned on them and answered: "he who wields sword is brave, and he who wields pen is wise, but better is he who can handle both sword and pen--like my cousin godwin, the brave and learned." "hear her! hear her!" cried the revellers, knocking their horns upon the board, while in the silence that followed a woman's voice said, "sir godwin's luck is great, but give me sir wulf's strong arms." then the drinking began again, and rosamund and the ladies slipped away, as well they might--for the times were rough and coarse. on the morrow, after most of the guests were gone, many of them with aching heads, godwin and wulf sought their uncle, sir andrew, in the solar where he sat alone, for they knew rosamund had walked to the church hard by with two of the serving women to make it ready for the friday's mass, after the feast of the peasants that had been held in the nave. coming to his oaken chair by the open hearth which had a chimney to it--no common thing in those days--they knelt before him. "what is it now, my nephews?" asked the old man, smiling. "do you wish that i should knight you afresh?" "no, sir," answered godwin; "we seek a greater boon." "then you seek in vain, for there is none." "another sort of boon," broke in wulf. sir andrew pulled his beard, and looked at them. perhaps the prior john had spoken a word to him, and he guessed what was coming. "speak," he said to godwin. "the gift is great that i would not give to either of you if it be within my power." "sir," said godwin, "we seek the leave to ask your daughter's hand in marriage." "what! the two of you?" "yes, sir; the two of us." then sir andrew, who seldom laughed, laughed outright. "truly," he said, "of all the strange things i have known, this is the strangest--that two knights should ask one wife between them." "it seems strange, sir; but when you have heard our tale you will understand." so he listened while they told him all that had passed between them and of the solemn oath which they had sworn. "noble in this as in other things," commented sir andrew when they had done; "but i fear that one of you may find that vow hard to keep. by all the saints, nephews, you were right when you said that you asked a great boon. do you know, although i have told you nothing of it, that, not to speak of the knave lozelle, already two of the greatest men in this land have sought my daughter rosamund in marriage?" "it may well be so," said wulf. "it is so, and now i will tell you why one or other of the pair is not her husband, which in some ways i would he were. a simple reason. i asked her, and she had no mind to either, and as her mother married where her heart was, so i have sworn that the daughter should do, or not at all--for better a nunnery than a loveless bridal. "now let us see what you have to give. you are of good blood--that of uluin by your mother, and mine, also on one side her own. as squires to your sponsors of yesterday, the knights sir anthony de mandeville and sir roger de merci, you bore yourselves bravely in the scottish war; indeed, your liege king henry remembered it, and that is why he granted my prayer so readily. since then, although you loved the life little, because i asked it of you, you have rested here at home with me, and done no feats of arms, save that great one of two months gone which made you knights, and, in truth, gives you some claim on rosamund. "for the rest, your father being the younger son, your lands are small, and you have no other gear. outside the borders of this shire you are unknown men, with all your deeds to do--for i will not count those scottish battles when you were but boys. and she whom you ask is one of the fairest and noblest and most learned ladies in this land, for i, who have some skill in such things, have taught her myself from childhood. moreover, as i have no other heir, she will be wealthy. well, what more have you to offer for all this?" "ourselves," answered wulf boldly. "we are true knights of whom you know the best and worst, and we love her. we learned it for once and for all on death creek quay, for till then she was our sister and no more." "ay," added godwin, "when she swore herself to us and blessed us, then light broke on both." "stand up," said sir andrew, "and let me look at you." so they stood side by side in the full light of the blazing fire, for little other came through those narrow windows. "proper men; proper men," said the old knight; "and as like to one another as two grains of wheat from the same sample. six feet high, each of you, and broad chested, though wulf is larger made and the stronger of the two. brown and waving-haired both, save for that line of white where the sword hit yours, godwin--godwin with grey eyes that dream and wulf with the blue eyes that shine like swords. ah! your grandsire had eyes like that, wulf; and i have been told that when he leapt from the tower to the wall at the taking of jerusalem, the saracens did not love the light which shone in them--nor, in faith, did i, his son, when he was angry. proper men, the pair of you; but sir wulf most warriorlike, and sir godwin most courtly." "now which do you think would please a woman most?" "that, sir, depends upon the woman," answered godwin, and straightway his eyes began to dream. "that, sir, we seek to learn before the day is out, if you give us leave," added wulf; "though, if you would know, i think my chance a poor one." "ah, well; it is a very pretty riddle. but i do not envy her who has its answering, for it might well trouble a maid's mind, neither is it certain when all is done that she will guess best for her own peace. would it not be wiser, then, that i should forbid them to ask this riddle?" he added as though to himself and fell to thinking while they trembled, seeing that he was minded to refuse their suit. at length he looked up again and said: "nay, let it go as god wills who holds the future in his hand. nephews, because you are good knights and true, either of whom would ward her well--and she may need warding--because you are my only brother's sons, whom i have promised him to care for; and most of all because i love you both with an equal love, have your wish, and go try your fortunes at the hands of my daughter rosamund in the fashion you have agreed. godwin, the elder, first, as is his right; then wulf. nay, no thanks; but go swiftly, for i whose hours are short wish to learn the answer to this riddle." so they bowed and went, walking side by side. at the door of the hall, wulf stopped and said: "rosamund is in the church. seek her there, and--oh! i would that i could wish you good fortune; but, godwin, i cannot. i fear me that this may be the edge of that shadow of woman's love whereof you spoke, falling cold upon my heart." "there is no shadow; there is light, now and always, as we have sworn that it should be," answered godwin. chapter four: the letter of saladin twas past three in the afternoon, and snow clouds were fast covering up the last grey gleam of the december day, as godwin, wishing that his road was longer, walked to steeple church across the meadow. at the door of it he met the two serving women coming out with brooms in their hands, and bearing between them a great basket filled with broken meats and foul rushes. of them he asked if the lady rosamund were still in the church, to which they answered, curtseying: "yes, sir godwin; and she bade us desire of you that you would come to lead her to the hall when she had finished making her prayers before the altar." "i wonder," mused godwin, "whether i shall ever lead her from the altar to the hall, or whether--i shall bide alone by the altar?" still he thought it a good omen that she had bidden him thus, though some might have read it otherwise. godwin entered the church, walking softly on the rushes with which its nave was strewn, and by the light of the lamp that burnt there always, saw rosamund kneeling before a little shrine, her gracious head bowed upon her hands, praying earnestly. of what, he wondered--of what? still, she did not hear him; so, coming into the chancel, he stood behind her and waited patiently. at length, with a deep sigh, rosamund rose from her knees and turned, and he noted by the light of the lamp that there were tear-stains upon her face. perhaps she, too, had spoken with the prior john, who was her confessor also. who knows? at the least, when her eyes fell upon godwin standing like a statue before her, she started, and there broke from her lips the words: "oh, how swift an answer!" then, recovering herself, added, "to my message, i mean, cousin." "i met the women at the door," he said. "it is kind of you to come," rosamund went on; "but, in truth, since that day on death creek i fear to walk a bow-shot's length alone or in the company of women only. with you i feel safe." "or with wulf?" "yes; or with wulf," she repeated; "that is, when he is not thinking of wars and adventures far away." by now they had reached the porch of the church, to find that the snow was falling fast. "let us bide here a minute," he said; "it is but a passing cloud." so they stayed there in the gloom, and for a while there was silence between them. then he spoke. "rosamund, my cousin and lady, i come to put a question to you, but first--why you will understand afterwards--it is my duty to ask that you will give me no answer to that question until a full day has passed." "surely, godwin, that is easy to promise. but what is this wonderful question which may not be answered?" "one short and simple. will you give yourself to me in marriage, rosamund?" she leaned back against the wall of the porch. "my father--" she began. "rosamund, i have his leave." "how can i answer since you yourself forbid me?" "till this time to-morrow only. meanwhile, i pray you hear me, rosamund. i am your cousin, and we were brought up together--indeed, except when i was away at the scottish war, we have never been apart. therefore, we know each other well, as well as any can who are not wedded. therefore, too, you will know that i have always loved you, first as a brother loves his sister, and now as a man loves a woman." "nay, godwin, i knew it not; indeed, i thought that, as it used to be, your heart was other--where." "other--where? what lady--?" "nay, no lady; but in your dreams." "dreams? dreams of what?" "i cannot say. perchance of things that are not here--things higher than the person of a poor maid." "cousin, in part you are right, for it is not only the maid whom i love, but her spirit also. oh, in truth, you are to me a dream--a symbol of all that is noble, high and pure. in you and through you, rosamund, i worship the heaven i hope to share with you." "a dream? a symbol? heaven? are not these glittering garments to hang about a woman's shape? why, when the truth came out you would find her but a skull in a jewelled mask, and learn to loath her for a deceit that was not her own, but yours. godwin, such trappings as your imagination pictures could only fit an angel's face." "they fit a face that will become an angel's." "an angel's? how know you? i am half an eastern; the blood runs warm in me at times. i, too, have my thoughts and visions. i think that i love power and imagery and the delights of life--a different life from this. are you sure, godwin, that this poor face will be an angel's?" "i wish i were as sure of other things. at least i'll risk it." "think of your soul, godwin. it might be tarnished. you would not risk that for me, would you?" he thought. then answered: "no; since your soul is a part of mine, and i would not risk yours, rosamund." "i like you for that answer," she said. "yes; more than for all you have said before, because i know that it is true. indeed, you are an honourable knight, and i am proud--very proud--that you should love me, though perhaps it would have been better otherwise." and ever so little she bent the knee to him. "whatever chances, in life or death those words will make me happy, rosamund." suddenly she caught his arm. "whatever chances? ah! what is about to chance? great things, i think, for you and wulf and me. remember, i am half an eastern, and we children of the east can feel the shadow of the future before it lays its hands upon us and becomes the present. i fear it, godwin--i tell you that i fear it." "fear it not, rosamund. why should you fear? on god's knees lies the scroll of our lives, and of his purposes. the words we see and the words we guess may be terrible, but he who wrote it knows the end of the scroll, and that it is good. do not fear, therefore, but read on with an untroubled heart, taking no thought for the morrow." she looked at him wonderingly, and asked, "are these the words of a wooer or of a saint in wooer's weeds? i know not, and do you know yourself? but you say you love me and that you would wed me, and i believe it; also that the woman whom godwin weds will be fortunate, since such men are rare. but i am forbid to answer till to-morrow. well, then i will answer as i am given grace. so till then be what you were of old, and--the snow has ceased; guide me home, my cousin godwin." so home they went through the darkness and the cold, moaning wind, speaking no word, and entered the wide hall, where a great fire built in its centre roared upwards towards an opening in the roof, whence the smoke escaped, looking very pleasant and cheerful after the winter night without. there, standing in front of the fire, also pleasant and cheerful to behold, although his brow seemed somewhat puckered, was wulf. at the sight of him godwin turned back through the great door, and having, as it were, stood for one moment in the light, vanished again into the darkness, closing the door behind him. but rosamund walked on towards the fire. "you seem cold, cousin," said wulf, studying her. "godwin has kept you too long to pray with him in church. well, it is his custom, from which i myself have suffered. be seated on this settle and warm yourself." she obeyed without a word, and opening her fur cloak, stretched out her hands towards the flame, which played upon her dark and lovely face. wulf looked round him. the hall was empty. then he looked at rosamund. "i am glad to find this chance of speaking with you alone, cousin, since i have a question to ask of you; but i must pray of you to give me no answer to it until four-and-twenty hours be passed." "agreed," she said. "i have given one such promise; let it serve for both; now for your question." "ah!" replied wulf cheerfully; "i am glad that godwin went first, since it saves me words, at which he is better than i am." "i do not know that, wulf; at least, you have more of them," answered rosamund, with a little smile. "more perhaps, but of a different quality--that is what you mean. well, happily here mere words are not in question." "what, then, are in question, wulf?" "hearts. your heart and my heart--and, i suppose, godwin's heart, if he has one--in that way." "why should not godwin have a heart?" "why? well, you see just now it is my business to belittle godwin. therefore i declare--which you, who know more about it, can believe or not as it pleases you--that godwin's heart is like that of the old saint in the reliquary at stangate--a thing which may have beaten once, and will perhaps beat again in heaven, but now is somewhat dead--to this world." rosamund smiled, and thought to herself that this dead heart had shown signs of life not long ago. but aloud she said: "if you have no more to say to me of godwin's heart, i will begone to read with my father, who waits for me." "nay, i have much more to say of my own." then suddenly wulf became very earnest--so earnest that his great frame shook, and when he strove to speak he could but stammer. at length it all came forth in a flood of burning words. "i love you, rosamund! i love you--all of you, as i have ever loved you--though i did not know it till the other day--that of the fight, and ever shall love you--and i seek you for my wife. i know that i am only a rough soldier-man, full of faults, not holy and learned like godwin. yet i swear that i would be a true knight to you all my life, and, if the saints give me grace and strength, do great deeds in your honour and watch you well. oh! what more is there to say?" "nothing, wulf," answered rosamund, lifting her downcast eyes. "you do not wish that i should answer you, so i will thank you--yes, from my heart, though, in truth, i am grieved that we can be no more brother and sister, as we have been this many a year--and be going." "nay, rosamund, not yet. although you may not speak, surely you might give me some little sign, who am in torment, and thus must stay until this time to-morrow. for instance, you might let me kiss your hand--the pact said nothing about kissing." "i know naught of this pact, wulf," answered rosamund sternly, although a smile crept about the corners of her mouth, "but i do know that i shall not suffer you to touch my hand." "then i will kiss your robe," and seizing a corner of her cloak, he pressed it to his lips. "you are strong--i am weak, wulf, and cannot wrench my garment from you, but i tell you that this play advantages you nothing." he let the cloak fall. "your pardon. i should have remembered that godwin would never have presumed so far." "godwin," she said, tapping her foot upon the ground, "if he gave a promise, would keep it in the spirit as well as in the letter." "i suppose so. see what it is for an erring man to have a saint for a brother and a rival! nay, be not angry with me, rosamund, who cannot tread the path of saints." "that i believe, but at least, wulf, there is no need to mock those who can." "i mock him not. i love him as well as--you do." and he watched her face. it never changed, for in rosamund's heart were hid the secret strength and silence of the east, which can throw a mask impenetrable over face and features. "i am glad that you love him, wulf. see to it that you never forget your love and duty." "i will; yes--even if you reject me for him." "those are honest words, such as i looked to hear you speak," she replied in a gentle voice. "and now, dear wulf, farewell, for i am weary--" "to-morrow--" he broke in. "ay," she answered in a heavy voice. "to-morrow i must speak, and--you must listen." the sun had run his course again, and once more it was near four o'clock in the afternoon. the brethren stood by the great fire in the hall looking at each other doubtfully--as, indeed, they had looked through all the long hours of the night, during which neither of them had closed an eye. "it is time," said wulf, and godwin nodded. as he spoke a woman was seen descending from the solar, and they knew her errand. "which?" asked wulf, but godwin shook his head. "sir andrew bids me say that he would speak with you both," said the woman, and went her way. "by the saints, i believe it's neither!" exclaimed wulf, with a little laugh. "it may be thus," said godwin, "and perhaps that would be best for all." "i don't think so," answered wulf, as he followed him up the steps of the solar. now they had passed the passage and closed the door, and before them was sir andrew seated in his chair by the fire, but not alone, for at his side, her hand resting upon his shoulder, stood rosamund. they noted that she was clad in her richest robes, and a bitter thought came into their minds that this might be to show them how beautiful was the woman whom both of them must lose. as they advanced they bowed first to her and then to their uncle, while, lifting her eyes from the ground, she smiled a little in greeting. "speak, rosamund," said her father. "these knights are in doubt and pain." "now for the coup de grace," muttered wulf. "my cousins," began rosamund in a low, quiet voice, as though she were saying a lesson, "as to the matter of which you spoke to me yesterday, i have taken counsel with my father and with my own heart. you did me great honour, both of you, in asking me to be the wife of such worthy knights, with whom i have been brought up and have loved since childhood as a sister loves her brothers. i will be brief as i may. alas! i can give to neither of you the answer which you wish." "coup de grace indeed," muttered wulf, "through hauberk, gambeson, and shirt, right home to the heart." but godwin only turned a trifle paler and said nothing. now there was silence for a little space, while from beneath his bushy eyebrows the old knight watched their faces, on which the light of the tapers fell. then godwin spoke: "we thank you, cousin. come, wulf, we have our answer; let us be going." "not all of it," broke in rosamund hastily, and they seemed to breathe again. "listen," she said; "for if it pleases you, i am willing to make a promise which my father has approved. come to me this time two years, and if we all three live, should both of you still wish for me to wife, that there may be no further space of pain or waiting, i will name the man whom i shall choose, and marry him at once." "and if one of us is dead?" asked godwin. "then," replied rosamund, "if his name be untarnished, and he has done no deed that is not knightly, will forthwith wed the other." "pardon me--" broke in wulf. she held up her hand and stopped him, saying: "you think this a strange saying, and so, perhaps, it is; but the matter is also strange, and for me the case is hard. remember, all my life is at stake, and i may desire more time wherein to make my choice, that between two such men no maiden would find easy. we are all of us still young for marriage, for which, if god guards our lives, there will be time and to spare. also in two years i may learn which of you is in truth the worthier knight, who to-day both seem so worthy." "then is neither of us more to you than the other?" asked wulf outright. rosamund turned red, and her bosom heaved as she replied: "i will not answer that question." "and wulf should not have asked it," said godwin. "brother, i read rosamund's saying thus: between us she finds not much to choose, or if she does in her secret heart, out of her kindness--since she is determined not to marry for a while--she will not suffer us to see it and thereby bring grief on one of us. so she says, 'go forth, you knights, and do deeds worthy of such a lady, and perchance he who does the highest deeds shall receive the great reward.' for my part, i find this judgment wise and just, and i am content to abide its issue. nay, i am even glad of it, since it gives us time and opportunity to show our sweet cousin here, and all our fellows, the mettle whereof we are made, and strive to outshine each other in the achievement of great feats which, as always, we shall attempt side by side." "well spoken," said sir andrew. "and you, wulf?" then wulf, feeling that rosamund was watching his face beneath the shadow of her long eyelashes, answered: "before heaven, i am content also, for whatever may be said against it, now at least there will be two years of war in which one or both of us well may fall, and for that while at least no woman can come between our brotherhood. uncle, i crave your leave to go serve my liege in normandy." "and i also," said godwin. "in the spring; in the spring," replied sir andrew hastily; "when king henry moves his power. meanwhile, bide you here in all good fellowship, for, who knows--much may happen between now and then, and perhaps your strong arms will be needed as they were not long ago. moreover, i look to all three of you to hear no more of this talk of love and marriage, which, in truth, disturbs my mind and house. for good or ill, the matter is now settled for two years to come, by which time it is likely i shall be in my grave and beyond all troubling. "i do not say that things have gone altogether as i could have wished, but they are as rosamund wishes, and that is enough for me. on which of you she looks with the more favour i do not know, and be you content to remain in ignorance of what a father does not think it wise to seek to learn. a maid's heart is her own, and her future lies in the hand of god and his saints, where let it bide, say i. now we have done with all this business. rosamund, dismiss your knights, and be you all three brothers and sister once more till this time two years, when those who live will find an answer to the riddle." so rosamund came forward, and without a word gave her right hand to godwin and her left to wulf, and suffered that they should press their lips upon them. so for a while this was the end of their asking of her in marriage. the brethren left the solar side by side as they had come into it, but changed men in a sense, for now their lives were afire with a great purpose, which bade them dare and do and win. yet they were lighter-hearted than when they entered there, since at least neither had been scorned, while both had hope, and all the future, which the young so seldom fear, lay before them. as they descended the steps their eyes fell upon the figure of a tall man clad in a pilgrim's cape, hood and low-crowned hat, of which the front was bent upwards and laced, who carried in his hand a palmer's staff, and about his waist the scrip and water-bottle. "what do you seek, holy palmer?" asked godwin, coming towards him. "a night's lodging in my uncle's house?" the man bowed; then, fixing on him a pair of beadlike brown eyes, which reminded godwin of some he had seen, he knew not when or where, answered in the humble voice affected by his class: "even so, most noble knight. shelter for man and beast, for my mule is held without. also--a word with the lord, sir andrew d'arcy, for whom i have a message." "a mule?" said wulf. "i thought that palmers always went afoot?" "true, sir knight; but, as it chances, i have baggage. nay, not my own, whose earthly gear is all upon my back--but a chest, that contains i know not what, which i am charged to deliver to sir andrew d'arcy, the owner of this hall, or should he be dead, then to the lady rosamund, his daughter." "charged? by whom?" asked wulf. "that, sir," said the palmer, bowing, "i will tell to sir andrew, who, i understand, still lives. have i your leave to bring in the chest, and if so, will one of your servants help me, for it is heavy?" "we will help you," said godwin. and they went with him into the courtyard, where by the scant light of the stars they saw a fine mule in charge of one of the serving men, and bound upon its back a long-shaped package sewn over with sacking. this the palmer unloosed, and taking one end, while wulf, after bidding the man stable the mule, took the other, they bore it into the hall, godwin going before them to summon his uncle. presently he came and the palmer bowed to him. "what is your name, palmer, and whence is this box?" asked the old knight, looking at him keenly. "my name, sir andrew, is nicholas of salisbury, and as to who sent me, with your leave i will whisper in your ear." and, leaning forward, he did so. sir andrew heard and staggered back as though a dart had pierced him. "what?" he said. "are you, a holy palmer, the messenger of--" and he stopped suddenly. "i was his prisoner," answered the man, "and he--who at least ever keeps his word--gave me my life--for i had been condemned to die--at the price that i brought this to you, and took back your answer, or hers, which i have sworn to do." "answer? to what?" "nay, i know nothing save that there is a writing in the chest. its purport i am not told, who am but a messenger bound by oath to do certain things. open the chest, lord, and meanwhile, if you have food, i have travelled far and fast." sir andrew went to a door, and called to his men-servants, whom he bade give meat to the palmer and stay with him while he ate. then he told godwin and wulf to lift the box and bring it to the solar, and with it hammer and chisel, in case they should be needed, which they did, setting it upon the oaken table. "open," said sir andrew. so they ripped off the canvas, two folds of it, revealing within a box of dark, foreign looking wood bound with iron bands, at which they laboured long before they could break them. at length it was done, and there within was another box beautifully made of polished ebony, and sealed at the front and ends with a strange device. this box had a lock of silver, to which was tied a silver key. "at least it has not been tampered with," said wulf, examining the unbroken seals, but sir andrew only repeated: "open, and be swift. here, godwin, take the key, for my hand shakes with cold." the lock turned easily, and the seals being broken, the lid rose upon its hinges, while, as it did so, a scent of precious odours filled the place. beneath, covering the contents of the chest, was an oblong piece of worked silk, and lying on it a parchment. sir andrew broke the thread and seal, and unrolled the parchment. within it was written over in strange characters. also, there was a second unsealed roll, written in a clerkly hand in norman french, and headed, "translation of this letter, in case the knight, sir andrew d'arcy, has forgotten the arabic tongue, or that his daughter, the lady rosamund, has not yet learned the same." sir andrew glanced at both headings, then said: "nay, i have not forgotten arabic, who, while my lady lived, spoke little else with her, and who taught it to our daughter. but the light is bad, and, godwin, you are scholarly; read me the french. we can compare them afterwards." at this moment rosamund entered the solar from her chamber, and seeing the three of them so strangely employed, said: "is it your will that i go, father?" "no, daughter. since you are here, stay here. i think that this matter concerns you as well as me. read on, godwin." so godwin read: "in the name of god, the merciful and compassionate! i, salah-ed-din, yusuf ibn ayoub, commander of the faithful, cause these words to be written, and seal them with my own hand, to the frankish lord, sir andrew d'arcy, husband of my sister by another mother, sitt zobeide, the beautiful and faithless, on whom allah has taken vengeance for her sin. or if he be dead also, then to his daughter and hers, my niece, and by blood a princess of syria and egypt, who among the english is named the lady rose of the world. "you, sir andrew, will remember how, many years ago, what we were friends, you, by an evil chance, became acquainted with my sister zobeide, while you were a prisoner and sick in my father's house. how, too, satan put it into her heart to listen to your words of love, so that she became a cross-worshipper, and was married to you after the frankish custom, and fled with you to england. you will remember also, although at the time we could not recapture her from your vessel, how i sent a messenger to you, saying that soon or late i would yet tear her from your arms and deal with her as we deal with faithless women. but within six years of that time sure news reached me that allah had taken her, therefore i mourned for my sister and her fate awhile, and forgot her and you. "know that a certain knight named lozelle, who dwelt in the part of england where you have your castle, has told me that zobeide left a daughter, who is very beautiful. now my heart, which loved her mother, goes out towards this niece whom i have never seen, for although she is your child and a cross-worshipper at least--save in the matter of her mother's theft--you were a brave and noble knight, of good blood, as, indeed, i remember your brother was also, he who fell in the fight at harenc. "learn now that, having by the will of allah come to great estate here at damascus and throughout the east, i desire to lift your daughter up to be a princess of my house. therefore i invite her to journey to damascus, and you with her, if you live. moreover, lest you should fear some trap, on behalf of myself, my successors and councillors, i promise in the name of god, and by the word of salah-ed-din, which never yet was broken, that although i trust the merciful god may change her heart so that she enters it of her own will, i will not force her to accept the faith or to bind herself in any marriage which she does not desire. nor will i take vengeance upon you, sir andrew, for what you have done in the past, or suffer others to do so, but will rather raise you to great honour and live with you in friendship as of yore. "but if my messenger returns and tells me that my niece refuses this, my loving offer, then i warn her that my arm is long, and i will surely take her as i can. "therefore, within a year of the day that i receive the answer of the lady, my niece, who is named rose of the world, my emissaries will appear wherever she may be, married or single, to lead her to me, with honour if she be willing, but still to lead her to me if she be unwilling. meanwhile, in token of my love, i send certain gifts of precious things, and with them my patent of her title as princess, and lady of the city of baalbec, which title, with its revenue and prerogatives, are registered in the archives of my empire in favour of her and her lawful heirs, and declared to be binding upon me and my successors forever. "the bearer of this letter and of my gifts is a certain cross-worshipper named nicholas, to whom let your answer be handed for delivery to me. this devoir he is under oath to perform and will perform it, for he knows that if he fails therein, then that he must die. "signed by salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful, at damascus, and sealed with his seal, in the spring season of the year of the hegira . "take note also that this writing having been read to me by my secretary before i set my name and seal thereunto, i perceive that you, sir andrew, or you, lady rose of the world, may think it strange that i should be at such pains and cost over a maid who is not of my religion and whom i never saw, and may therefore doubt my honesty in the matter. know then the true reason. since i heard that you, lady rose of the world, lived, i have thrice been visited by a dream sent from god concerning you, and in it i saw your face. "now this was the dream--that the oath i made as regards your mother is binding as regards you also; further, that in some way which is not revealed to me, your presence here will withhold me from the shedding of a sea of blood, and save the whole world much misery. therefore it is decreed that you must come and bide in my house. that these things are so, allah and his prophet be my witnesses." chapter five: the wine merchant godwin laid down the letter, and all of them stared at one another in amazement. "surely," said wulf, "this is some fool's trick played off upon our uncle as an evil jest." by way of answer sir andrew bade him lift the silk that hid the contents of the coffer and see what lay there. wulf did so, and next moment threw back his head like a man whom some sudden light had blinded, as well he might, for from it came such a flare of gems as essex had rarely seen before. red, green and blue they sparkled; and among them were the dull glow of gold and the white sheen of pearls. "oh, how beautiful! how beautiful!" said rosamund. "ay," muttered godwin; "beautiful enough to maze a woman's mind till she knows not right from wrong." wulf said nothing, but one by one drew its treasures from the chest--coronet, necklace of pearls, breast ornaments of rubies, girdle of sapphires, jewelled anklets, and with them veil, sandals, robes and other garments of gold-embroidered purple silk. moreover, among these, also sealed with the seals of salah-ed-din, his viziers, officers of state, and secretaries, was that patent of which the letter spoke, setting out the full titles of the princess of baalbec; the extent and boundaries of her great estates, and the amount of her annual revenue, which seemed more money than they had ever heard of. "i was wrong," said wulf. "even the sultan of the east could not afford a jest so costly." "jest?" broke in sir andrew; "it is no jest, as i was sure from the first line of that letter. it breathes the very spirit of saladin, though he be a saracen, the greatest man on all the earth, as i, who was a friend of his youth, know well. ay, and he is right. in a sense i sinned against him as his sister sinned, our love compelling us. jest? nay, no jest, but because a vision of the night, which he believes the voice of god, or perhaps some oracle of the magicians has deeply stirred that great soul of his and led him on to this wild adventure." he paused awhile, then looked up and said, "girl, do you know what saladin has made of you? why, there are queens in europe who would be glad to own that rank and those estates in the rich lands above damascus. i know the city and the castle of which he speaks. it is a mighty place upon the banks of litani and orontes, and after its military governor--for that rule he would not give a christian--you will be first in it, beneath the seal of saladin--the surest title in all the earth. say, will you go and queen it there?" rosamund gazed at the gleaming gems and the writings that made her royal, and her eyes flashed and her breast heaved, as they had done by the church of st. peter on the essex coast. thrice she looked while they watched her, then turned her head as from the bait of some great temptation and answered one word only--"nay." "well spoken," said her father, who knew her blood and its longings. "at least, had the 'nay' been 'yea,' you must have gone alone. give me ink and parchment, godwin." they were brought, and he wrote: "to the sultan saladin, from andrew d'arcy and his daughter rosamund. "we have received your letter, and we answer that where we are there we will bide in such state as god has given us. nevertheless, we thank you, sultan, since we believe you honest, and we wish you well, except in your wars against the cross. as for your threats, we will do our best to bring them to nothing. knowing the customs of the east, we do not send back your gifts to you, since to do so would be to offer insult to one of the greatest men in all the world; but if you choose to ask for them, they are yours--not ours. of your dream we say that it was but an empty vision of the night which a wise man should forget.--your servant and your niece." then he signed, and rosamund signed after him, and the writing was done up, wrapped in silk, and sealed. "now," said sir andrew, "hide away this wealth, since were it known that we had such treasures in the place, every thief in england would be our visitor, some of them bearing high names, i think." so they laid the gold-embroidered robes and the priceless sets of gems back in their coffer, and having locked it, hid it away in the great iron-bound chest that stood in sir andrew's sleeping chamber. when everything was finished, sir andrew said: "listen now, rosamund, and you also, my nephews. i have never told you the true tale of how the sister of saladin, who was known as zobeide, daughter of ayoub, and afterwards christened into our faith by the name of mary, came to be my wife. yet you should learn it, if only to show how evil returns upon a man. after the great nur-ed-din took damascus, ayoub was made its governor; then some three-and-twenty years ago came the capture of harenc, in which my brother fell. here i was wounded and taken prisoner. they bore me to damascus, where i was lodged in the palace of ayoub and kindly treated. here too it was, while i lay sick, that i made friends with the young saladin, and with his sister zobeide, whom i met secretly in the gardens of the palace. the rest may be guessed. although she numbered but half my years, she loved me as i loved her, and for my sake offered to change her faith and fly with me to england if opportunity could be found, which was hard. "now, as it chanced, i had a friend, a dark and secret man named jebal, the young sheik of a terrible people, whose cruel rites no christian understands. they are the subjects of one mahomet, in persia, and live in castles at masyaf, on lebanon. this man had been in alliance with the franks, and once in a battle i saved his life from the saracens at the risk of my own, whereon he swore that did i summon him from the ends of the earth he would come to me if i needed help. moreover, he gave me his signet-ring as a token, and, by virtue of it, so he said, power in his dominions equal to his own, though these i never visited. you know it," and holding up his hand, sir andrew showed them a heavy gold ring, in which was set a black stone, with red veins running across the stone in the exact shape of a dagger, and beneath the dagger words cut in unknown characters. "so in my plight i bethought me of jebal, and found means to send him a letter sealed with his ring. nor did he forget his promise, for within twelve days zobeide and i were galloping for beirut on two horses so swift that all the cavalry of ayoub could not overtake them. we reached the city, and there were married, rosamund. there too your mother was baptised a christian. thence, since it was not safe for us to stay in the east, we took ship and came safe home, bearing this ring of jebal with us, for i would not give it up, as his servants demanded that i should do, except to him alone. but before that vessel sailed, a man disguised as a fisherman brought me a message from ayoub and his son saladin, swearing that they would yet recapture zobeide, the daughter of one of them and sister of the other. "that is the story, and you see that their oath has not been forgotten, though when in after years they learned of my wife's death, they let the matter lie. but since then saladin, who in those days was but a noble youth, has become the greatest sultan that the east has ever known, and having been told of you, rosamund, by that traitor lozelle, he seeks to take you in your mother's place, and, daughter, i tell you that i fear him." "at least we have a year or longer in which to prepare ourselves, or to hide," said rosamund. "his palmer must travel back to the east before my uncle saladin can have our answer." "ay," said sir andrew; "perhaps we have a year." "what of the attack on the quay?" asked godwin, who had been thinking. "the knight lozelle was named there. yet if saladin had to do with it, it seems strange that the blow should have come before the word." sir andrew brooded a while, then said: "bring in this palmer. i will question him." so the man nicholas, who was found still eating as though his hunger would never be satisfied, was brought in by wulf. he bowed low before the old knight and rosamund, studying them the while with his sharp eyes, and the roof and the floor, and every other detail of the chamber. for those eyes of his seemed to miss nothing. "you have brought me a letter from far away, sir palmer, who are named nicholas," said sir andrew. "i have brought you a chest from damascus, sir knight, but of its contents i know nothing. at least you will bear me witness that it has not been tampered with," answered nicholas. "i find it strange," went on the old knight, "that one in your holy garb should be chosen as the messenger of saladin, with whom christian men have little to do." "but saladin has much to do with christian men, sir andrew. thus he takes them prisoner even in times of peace, as he did me." "did he, then, take the knight lozelle prisoner?" "the knight lozelle?" repeated the palmer. "was he a big, red-faced man, with a scar upon his forehead, who always wore a black cloak over his mail?" "that might be he." "then he was not taken prisoner, but he came to visit the sultan at damascus while i lay in bonds there, for i saw him twice or thrice, though what his business was i do not know. afterwards he left, and at jaffa i heard that he had sailed for europe three months before i did." now the brethren looked at each other. so lozelle was in england. but sir andrew made no comment, only he said: "tell me your story, and be careful that you speak the truth." "why should i not, who have nothing to hide?" answered nicholas. "i was captured by some arabs as i journeyed to the jordan upon a pilgrimage, who, when they found that i had no goods to be robbed of, would have killed me. this, indeed, they were about to do, had not some of saladin's soldiers come by and commanded them to hold their hands and give me over to them. they did so, and the soldiers took me to damascus. there i was imprisoned, but not close, and then it was that i saw lozelle, or, at least, a christian man who had some such name, and, as he seemed to be in favour with the saracens, i begged him to intercede for me. afterwards i was brought before the court of saladin, and having questioned me, the sultan himself told me that i must either worship the false prophet or die, to which you can guess my answer. so they led me away, as i thought, to death, but none offered to do me hurt. "three days later saladin sent for me again, and offered to spare my life if i would swear an oath, which oath was that i should take a certain package and deliver it to you, or to your daughter named the lady rosamund here at your hall of steeple, in essex, and bring back the answer to damascus. not wishing to die, i said that i would do this, if the sultan passed his word, which he never breaks, that i should be set free afterwards." "and now you are safe in england, do you purpose to return to damascus with the answer, and, if so, why?" "for two reasons, sir andrew. first, because i have sworn to do so, and i do not break my word any more than does saladin. secondly, because i continue to wish to live, and the sultan promised me that if i failed in my mission, he would bring about my death wherever i might be, which i am sure he has the power to do by magic or otherwise. well, the rest of the tale is short. the chest was handed over to me as you see it, and with it money sufficient for my faring to and fro and something to spare. then i was escorted to joppa, where i took passage on a ship bound to italy, where i found another ship named the holy mary sailing for calais, which we reached after being nearly cast away. thence i came to dover in a fishing boat, landing there eight days ago, and having bought a mule, joined some travellers to london, and so on here." "and how will you return?" the palmer shrugged his shoulders. "as best i may, and as quickly. is your answer ready, sir andrew?" "yes; it is here," and he handed him the roll, which nicholas hid away in the folds of his great cloak. then sir andrew added, "you say you know nothing of all the business in which you play this part?" "nothing; or, rather, only this--the officer who escorted me to jaffa told me that there was a stir among the learned doctors and diviners at the court because of a certain dream which the sultan had dreamed three times. it had to do with a lady who was half of the blood of ayoub and half english, and they said that my mission was mixed up with this matter. now i see that the noble lady before me has eyes strangely like those of the sultan saladin." and he spread out his hands and ceased. "you seem to see a good deal, friend nicholas." "sir andrew, a poor palmer who wishes to preserve his throat unslit must keep his eyes open. now i have eaten well, and i am weary. is there any place where i may sleep? i must be gone at daybreak, for those who do saladin's business dare not tarry, and i have your letter." "there is a place," answered sir andrew. "wulf, take him to it, and to-morrow, before he leaves, we will speak again. till then, farewell, holy nicholas." with one more searching glance the palmer bowed and went. when the door closed behind him sir andrew beckoned godwin to him, and whispered: "to-morrow, godwin, you must take some men and follow this nicholas to see where he goes and what he does, for i tell you i do not trust him--ay, i fear him much! these embassies to and from saracens are strange traffic for a christian man. also, though he says his life hangs on it, i think that were he honest, once safe in england here he would stop, since the first priest would absolve him of an oath forced from him by the infidel." "were he dishonest would he not have stolen those jewels?" asked godwin. "they are worth some risk. what do you think, rosamund?" "i?" she answered. "oh, i think there is more in this than any of us dream. "i think," she added in a voice of distress and with an involuntary wringing motion of the hands, "that for this house and those who dwell in it time is big with death, and that sharp-eyed palmer is its midwife. how strange is the destiny that wraps us all about! and now comes the sword of saladin to shape it, and the hand of saladin to drag me from my peaceful state to a dignity which i do not seek; and the dreams of saladin, of whose kin i am, to interweave my life with the bloody policies of syria and the unending war between cross and crescent, that are, both of them, my heritage." then, with a woeful gesture, rosamund turned and left them. her father watched her go, and said: "the maid is right. great business is afoot in which all of us must bear our parts. for no little thing would saladin stir thus--he who braces himself as i know well, for the last struggle in which christ or mahomet must go down. rosamund is right. on her brow shines the crescent diadem of the house of ayoub, and at her heart hangs the black cross of the christian and round her struggle creeds and nations. what, wulf, does the man sleep already?" "like a dog, for he seems outworn with travel." "like a dog with one eye open, perhaps. i do not wish that he should give us the slip during the night, as i want more talk with him and other things, of which i have spoken to godwin." "no fear of that, uncle. i have locked the stable door, and a sainted palmer will scarcely leave us the present of such a mule." "not he, if i know his tribe," answered sir andrew. "now let us sup and afterwards take counsel together, for we shall need it before all is done." an hour before the dawn next morning godwin and wulf were up, and with them certain trusted men who had been warned that their services would be needed. presently wulf, bearing a lantern in his hand, came to where his brother stood by the fire in the hall. "where have you been?" godwin asked. "to wake the palmer?" "no. to place a man to watch the road to steeple hill, and another at the creek path; also to feed his mule, which is a very fine beast--too good for a palmer. doubtless he will be stirring soon, as he said that he must be up early." godwin nodded, and they sat together on the bench beside the fire, for the weather was bitter, and dozed till the dawn began to break. then wulf rose and shook himself, saying: "he will not think it uncourteous if we rouse him now," and walking to the far end of the hall, he drew a curtain and called out, "awake, holy nicholas! awake! it is time for you to say your prayers, and breakfast will soon be cooking." but no nicholas answered. "of a truth," grumbled wulf, as he came back for his lantern, "that palmer sleeps as though saladin had already cut his throat." then having lit it, he returned to the guest place. "godwin," he called presently, "come here. the man has gone!" "gone?" said godwin as he ran to the curtain. "gone where?" "back to his friend saladin, i think," answered wulf. "look, that is how he went." and he pointed to the shutter of the sleeping-place, that stood wide open, and to an oaken stool beneath, by means of which the sainted nicholas had climbed up to and through the narrow window slit. "he must be without, grooming the mule which he would never have left," said godwin. "honest guests do not part from their hosts thus," answered wulf; "but let us go and see." so they ran to the stable and found it locked and the mule safe enough within. nor--though they looked--could they find any trace of the palmer--not even a footstep, since the ground was frostbound. only on examining the door of the stable they discovered that an attempt had been made to lift the lock with some sharp instrument. "it seems that he was determined to be gone, either with or without the beast," said wulf. "well, perhaps we can catch him yet," and he called to the men to saddle up and ride with him to search the country. for three hours they hunted far and wide, but nothing did they see of nicholas. "the knave has slipped away like a night hawk, and left as little trace," reported wulf. "now, my uncle, what does this mean?" "i do not know, save that it is of a piece with the rest, and that i like it little," answered the old knight anxiously. "here the value of the beast was of no account, that is plain. what the man held of account was that he should be gone in such a fashion that none could follow him or know whither he went. the net is about us, my nephews, and i think that saladin draws its string." still less pleased would sir andrew have been, could he have seen the palmer nicholas creeping round the hall while all men slept, ere he girded up his long gown and ran like a hare for london. yet he had done this by the light of the bright stars, taking note of every window slit in it, more especially of those of the solar; of the plan of the outbuildings also, and of the path that ran to steeple creek some five hundred yards away. from that day forward fear settled on the place--fear of some blow that none were able to foresee, and against which they could not guard. sir andrew even talked of leaving steeple and of taking up his abode in london, where he thought that they might be safer, but such foul weather set in that it was impossible to travel the roads, and still less to sail the sea. so it was arranged that if they moved at all--and there were many things against it, not the least of which were sir andrew's weak health and the lack of a house to go to--it should not be till after new year's day. thus the time went on, and nothing happened to disturb them. the friends of whom the old knight took counsel laughed at his forebodings. they said that so long as they did not wander about unguarded, there was little danger of any fresh attack upon them, and if one should by chance be made, with the aid of the men they had they could hold the hall against a company until help was summoned. moreover, at heart, none of them believed that saladin or his emissaries would stir in this business before the spring, or more probably until another year had passed. still, they always set guards at night, and, besides themselves, kept twenty men sleeping at the hall. also they arranged that on the lighting of a signal fire upon the tower of steeple church their neighbours should come to succour them. so the time went on towards christmas, before which the weather changed and became calm, with sharp frost. it was on the shortest day that prior john rode up to the hall and told them that he was going to southminster to buy some wine for the christmas feast. sir andrew asked what wine there was at southminster. the prior answered that he had heard that a ship, laden amongst other things with wine of cyprus of wonderful quality, had come into the river crouch with her rudder broken. he added that as no shipwrights could be found in london to repair it till after christmas, the chapman, a cypriote, who was in charge of the wine, was selling as much as he could in southminster and to the houses about at a cheap rate, and delivering it by means of a wain that he had hired. sir andrew replied that this seemed a fair chance to get fine liquor, which was hard to come by in essex in those times. the end of it was that he bade wulf, whose taste in strong drink was nice, to ride with the prior into southminster, and if he liked the stuff to buy a few casks of it for them to make merry with at christmas--although he himself, because of his ailments, now drank only water. so wulf went, nothing loth. in this dark season of the year when there was no fishing, it grew very dull loitering about the hall, and since he did not read much, like godwin, sitting for long hours by the fire at night watching rosamund going to and fro upon her tasks, but not speaking with her overmuch. for notwithstanding all their pretense of forgetfulness, some sort of veil had fallen between the brethren and rosamund, and their intercourse was not so open and familiar as of old. she could not but remember that they were no more her cousins only, but her lovers also, and that she must guard herself lest she seemed to show preference to one above the other. the brethren for their part must always bear in mind also that they were bound not to show their love, and that their cousin rosamund was no longer a simple english lady, but also by creation, as by blood, a princess of the east, whom destiny might yet lift beyond the reach of either of them. moreover, as has been said, dread sat upon that rooftree like a croaking raven, nor could they escape from the shadow of its wing. far away in the east a mighty monarch had turned his thoughts towards this english home and the maid of his royal blood who dwelt there, and who was mingled with his visions of conquest and of the triumph of his faith. driven on by no dead oath, by no mere fancy or imperial desire, but by some spiritual hope or need, he had determined to draw her to him, by fair means if he could; if not, by foul. already means both foul and fair had failed, for that the attack at death creek quay had to do with this matter they could no longer doubt. it was certain also that others would be tried again and again till his end was won or rosamund was dead--for here, if even she would go back upon her word, marriage itself could not shield her. so the house was sad, and saddest of all seemed the face of the old knight, sir andrew, oppressed as he was with sickness, with memories and fears. therefore, wulf could find pleasure even in an errand to southminster to buy wine, of which, in truth, he would have been glad to drink deeply, if only to drown his thoughts awhile. so away he rode up steeple hill with the prior, laughing as he used to do before rosamund led him to gather flowers at st. peter's-on-the-wall. asking where the foreign merchant dwelt who had wine to sell, they were directed to an inn near the minster. here in a back room they found a short, stout man, wearing a red cloth cap, who was seated on a pillow between two kegs. in front of him stood a number of folk, gentry and others, who bargained with him for his wine and the silks and embroideries that he had to sell, giving the latter to be handled and samples of the drink to all who asked for them. "clean cups," he said, speaking in bad french, to the drawer who stood beside him. "clean cups, for here come a holy man and a gallant knight who wish to taste my liquor. nay, fellow, fill them up, for the top of mount trooidos in winter is not so cold as this cursed place, to say nothing of its damp, which is that of a dungeon," and he shivered, drawing his costly shawl closer round him. "sir abbot, which will you taste first--the red wine or the yellow? the red is the stronger but the yellow is the more costly and a drink for saints in paradise and abbots upon earth. the yellow from kyrenia? well, you are wise. they say it was my patron st. helena's favourite vintage when she visited cyprus, bringing with her disma's cross." "are you a christian then?" asked the prior. "i took you for a paynim." "were i not a christian would i visit this foggy land of yours to trade in wine--a liquor forbidden to the moslems?" answered the man, drawing aside the folds of his shawl and revealing a silver crucifix upon his broad breast. "i am a merchant of famagusta in cyprus, georgios by name, and of the greek church which you westerners hold to be heretical. but what do you think of that wine, holy abbot?" the prior smacked his lips. "friend georgios, it is indeed a drink for the saints," he answered. "ay, and has been a drink for sinners ere now--for this is the very tipple that cleopatra, queen of egypt, drank with her roman lover antony, of whom you, being a learned man, may have heard. and you, sir knight, what say you of the black stuff--'mavro,' we call it--not the common, but that which has been twenty years in cask?" "i have tasted worse," said wulf, holding out his horn to be filled again. "ay, and will never taste better if you live as long as the wandering jew. well, sirs, may i take your orders? if you are wise you will make them large, since no such chance is likely to come your way again, and that wine, yellow or red, will keep a century." then the chaffering began, and it was long and keen. indeed, at one time they nearly left the place without purchasing, but the merchant georgios called them back and offered to come to their terms if they would take double the quantity, so as to make up a cartload between them, which he said he would deliver before christmas day. to this they consented at length, and departed homewards made happy by the gifts with which the chapman clinched his bargain, after the eastern fashion. to the prior he gave a roll of worked silk to be used as an edging to an altar cloth or banner, and to wulf a dagger handle, quaintly carved in olive wood to the fashion of a rampant lion. wulf thanked him, and then asked him with a somewhat shamed face if he had more embroidery for sale, whereat the prior smiled. the quick-eyed cypriote saw the smile, and inquired if it might be needed for a lady's wear, at which some neighbours present in the room laughed outright. "do not laugh at me, gentlemen," said the eastern; "for how can i, a stranger, know this young knight's affairs, and whether he has mother, or sisters, or wife, or lover? well here are broideries fit for any of them." then bidding his servant bring a bale, he opened it, and began to show his goods, which, indeed, were very beautiful. in the end wulf purchased a veil of gauze-like silk worked with golden stars as a christmas gift for rosamund. afterwards, remembering that even in such a matter he must take no advantage of his brother, he added to it a tunic broidered with gold and silver flowers such as he had never seen--for they were eastern tulips and anemones, which godwin would give her also if he wished. these silks were costly, and wulf turned to the prior to borrow money, but he had no more upon him. georgios said, however, that it mattered nothing, as he would take a guide from the town and bring the wine in person, when he could receive payment for the broideries, of which he hoped to sell more to the ladies of the house. he offered also to go with the prior and wulf to where his ship lay in the river, and show them many other goods aboard of her, which, he explained to them, were the property of a company of cyprian merchants who had embarked upon this venture jointly with himself. this they declined, however, as the darkness was not far off; but wulf added that he would come after christmas with his brother to see the vessel that had made so great a voyage. georgios replied that they would be very welcome, but if he could make shift to finish the repairs to his rudder, he was anxious to sail for london while the weather held calm, for there he looked to sell the bulk of his cargo. he added that he had expected to spend christmas at that city, but their helm having gone wrong in the rough weather, they were driven past the mouth of the thames, and had they not drifted into that of the crouch, would, he thought, have foundered. so he bade them farewell for that time, but not before he had asked and received the blessing of the prior. thus the pair of them departed, well pleased with their purchases and the cypriote georgios, whom they found a very pleasant merchant. prior john stopped to eat at the hall that night, when he and wulf told of all their dealings with this man. sir andrew laughed at the story, showing them how they had been persuaded by the eastern to buy a great deal more wine than they needed, so that it was he and not they who had the best of the bargain. then he went on to tell tales of the rich island of cyprus, where he had landed many years before and stayed awhile, and of the gorgeous court of its emperor, and of its inhabitants. these were, he said, the cunningest traders in the world--so cunning, indeed, that no jew could overmatch them; bold sailors, also, which they had from the phoenicians of holy writ, who, with the greeks, were their forefathers, adding that what they told him of this georgios accorded well with the character of that people. thus it came to pass that no suspicion of georgios or his ship entered the mind of any one of them, which, indeed, was scarcely strange, seeing how well his tale held together, and how plain were the reasons of his presence and the purpose of his dealings in wines and silks. chapter six: the christmas feast at steeple the fourth day after wulf's visit to southminster was christmas morning, and the weather being bad, sir andrew and his household did not ride to stangate, but attended mass in steeple church. here, after service, according to his custom on this day, he gave a largesse to his tenants and villeins, and with it his good wishes and a caution that they should not become drunk at their yuletide feast, as was the common habit of the time. "we shall not get the chance," said wulf, as they walked to the hall, "since that merchant georgios has not delivered the wine, of which i hoped to drink a cup to-night." "perhaps he has sold it at a better price to someone else; it would be like a cypriote," answered sir andrew, smiling. then they went into the hall, and as had been agreed between them, together the brethren gave their christmas gifts to rosamund. she thanked them prettily enough, and much admired the beauty of the work. when they told her that it had not yet been paid for, she laughed and said that, however they were come by, she would wear both tunic and veil at their feast, which was to be held at nightfall. about two o'clock in the afternoon a servant came into the hall to say that a wain drawn by three horses and accompanied by two men, one of whom led the horses, was coming down the road from steeple village. "our merchant--and in time after all," said wulf, and, followed by the others, he went out to meet them. georgios it was, sure enough, wrapped in a great sheepskin cloak such as cypriotes wear in winter, and seated on the head of one of his own barrels. "your pardon, knights," he said as he scrambled nimbly to the ground. "the roads in this country are such that, although i have left nearly half my load at stangate, it has taken me four long hours to come from the abbey here, most of which time we spent in mud-holes that have wearied the horses and, as i fear, strained the wheels of this crazy wagon. still, here we are at last, and, noble sir," he added, bowing to sir andrew, "here too is the wine that your son bought of me." "my nephew," interrupted sir andrew. "once more your pardon. i thought from their likeness to you that these knights were your sons." "has he bought all that stuff?" asked sir andrew--for there were five tubs on the wagon, besides one or two smaller kegs and some packages wrapped in sheepskin. "no, alas!" answered the cypriote ruefully, and shrugging his shoulders. "only two of the mavro. the rest i took to the abbey, for i understood the holy prior to say he would purchase six casks, but it seems that it was but three he needed." "he said three," put in wulf. "did he, sir? then doubtless the error was mine, who speak your tongue but ill. so i must drag the rest back again over those accursed roads," and he made another grimace. "yet i will ask you, sir," he added to sir andrew, "to lighten the load a little by accepting this small keg of the old sweet vintage that grows on the slopes of trooidos." "i remember it well," said sir andrew, with a smile; "but, friend, i do not wish to take your wine for nothing." at these words the face of georgios beamed. "what, noble sir," he exclaimed, "do you know my land of cyprus? oh, then indeed i kiss your hands, and surely you will not affront me by refusing this little present? indeed, to be frank, i can afford to lose its price, who have done a good trade, even here in essex." "as you will," said sir andrew. "i thank you, and perhaps you have other things to sell." "i have indeed; a few embroideries if this most gracious lady would be pleased to look at them. some carpets also, such as the moslems used to pray on in the name of their false prophet, mahomet," and, turning, he spat upon the ground. "i see that you are a christian," said sir andrew. "yet, although i fought against them, i have known many a good mussulman. nor do i think it necessary to spit at the name of mahomet, who to my mind was a great man deceived by the artifice of satan." "neither do i," said godwin reflectively. "its true servants should fight the enemies of the cross and pray for their souls, not spit at them." the merchant looked at them curiously, fingering the silver crucifix that hung upon his breast. "the captors of the holy city thought otherwise," he said, "when they rode into the mosque el aksa up to their horses' knees in blood, and i have been taught otherwise. but the times grow liberal, and, after all, what right has a poor trader whose mind, alas! is set more on gain than on the sufferings of the blessed son of mary," and he crossed himself, "to form a judgment upon such high matters? pardon me, i accept your reproof, who perhaps am bigoted." yet, had they but known it, this "reproof" was to save the life of many a man that night. "may i ask help with these packages?" he went on, "as i cannot open them here, and to move the casks? nay, the little keg i will carry myself, as i hope that you will taste of it at your christmas feast. it must be gently handled, though i fear me that those roads of yours will not improve its quality." then twisting the tub from the end of the wain onto his shoulder in such a fashion that it remained upright, he walked off lightly towards the open door of the hall. "for one not tall that man is strangely strong," thought wulf, who followed with a bale of carpets. then the other casks of wine were stowed away in the stone cellar beneath the hall. leaving his servant--a silent, stupid-looking, dark-eyed fellow named petros--to bait the horses, georgios entered the hall and began to unpack his carpets and embroideries with all the skill of one who had been trained in the bazaars of cairo, damascus, or nicosia. beautiful things they were which he had to show; broideries that dazzled the eye, and rugs of many hues, yet soft and bright as an otter's pelt. as sir andrew looked at them, remembering long dead days, his face softened. "i will buy that rug," he said, "for of a truth it might be one on which i lay sick many a year ago in the house of ayoub at damascus. nay, i haggle not at the price. i will buy it." then he fell to thinking how, whilst lying on such a rug (indeed, although he knew it not, it was the same), looking through the rounded beads of the wooden lattice-work of his window, he had first seen his eastern wife walking in the orange garden with her father ayoub. afterwards, still recalling his youth, he began to talk of cyprus, and so time went on until the dark was falling. now georgios said that he must be going, as he had sent back his guide to southminster, where the man desired to eat his christmas feast. so the reckoning was paid--it was a long one--and while the horses were harnessed to the wain the merchant bored holes in the little cask of wine and set spigots in them, bidding them all be sure to drink of it that night. then calling down good fortune on them for their kindness and liberality, he made his salaams in the eastern fashion, and departed, accompanied by wulf. within five minutes there was a sound of shouting, and wulf was back again saying that the wheel of the wain had broken at the first turn, so that now it was lying upon its side in the courtyard. sir andrew and godwin went out to see to the matter, and there they found georgios wringing his hands, as only an eastern merchant can, and cursing in some foreign tongue. "noble knights," he said, "what am i to do? already it is nearly dark, and how i shall find my way up yonder steep hill i know not. as for the priceless broideries, i suppose they must stay here for the night, since that wheel cannot be mended till to-morrow--" "as you had best do also," said sir andrew kindly. "come, man, do not grieve; we are used to broken axles here in essex, and you and your servant may as well eat your christmas dinners at steeple as in southminster." "i thank you, sir knight; i thank you. but why should i, who am but a merchant, thrust myself upon your noble company? let me stop outside with my man, petros, and dine with your people in that barn, where i see they are making ready their food." "by no means," answered sir andrew. "leave your servant with my people, who will look after him, and come you into the hall, and tell me some more of cyprus till our food is ready, which will be soon. do not fear for your goods; they shall be placed under cover." "all unworthy as i am, i obey," answered the obsequious georgios. "petros, do you understand? this noble lord gives us hospitality for the night. his people will show you where to eat and sleep, and help you with your horses." this man, who, he explained, was a cypriote--a fisherman in summer and a muleteer in winter--bowed, and fixing his dark eyes upon those of his master, spoke in some foreign tongue. "you hear what he says, the silly fellow?" said georgios. "what? you do not understand greek--only arabic? well, he asks me to give him money to pay for his dinner and his night's lodging. you must forgive him, for he is but a simple peasant, and cannot believe that anyone may be lodged and fed without payment. i will explain to him, the pig!" and explain he did in shrill, high notes, of which no one else could understand a word. "there, sir knight, i do not think he will offend you so again. ah! look. he is walking off--he is sulky. well, let him alone; he will be back for his dinner, the pig! oh, the wet and the wind! a cypriote does not mind them in his sheepskins, in which he will sleep even in the snow." so, georgios still declaiming upon the shortcomings of his servant, they went back into the hall. here the conversation soon turned upon other matters, such as the differences between the creeds of the greek and latin churches--a subject upon which he seemed to be an expert--and the fear of the christians in cyprus lest saladin should attempt to capture that island. at length five o'clock came, and georgios having first been taken to the lavatory--it was but a stone trough--to wash his hands, was led to the dinner, or rather to the supper-table, which stood upon a dais in front of the entrance to the solar. here places were laid for six--sir andrew, his nephews, rosamund, the chaplain, matthew, who celebrated masses in the church and ate at the hall on feast-days, and the cypriote merchant, georgios himself. below the dais, and between it and the fire, was another table, at which were already gathered twelve guests, being the chief tenants of sir andrew and the reeves of his outlying lands. on most days the servants of the house, with the huntsmen, swineherds, and others, sat at a third table beyond the fire. but as nothing would stop these from growing drunken on the good ale at a feast, and though many ladies thought little of it, there was no sin that rosamund hated so much as this, now their lord sent them to eat and drink at their ease in the barn which stood in the courtyard with its back to the moat. when all had taken their seats, the chaplain said grace, and the meal began. it was rude but very plentiful. first, borne in by the cook on a wooden platter, came a great codfish, whereof he helped portions to each in turn, laying them on their "trenchers"--that is, large slices of bread--whence they ate them with the spoons that were given to each. after the fish appeared the meats, of which there were many sorts, served on silver spits. these included fowls, partridges, duck, and, chief of all, a great swan, that the tenants greeted by knocking their horn mugs upon the table; after which came the pastries, and with them nuts and apples. for drink, ale was served at the lower table. on the dais however, they drank some of the black wine which wulf had bought--that is, except sir andrew and rosamund, the former because he dared not, and the latter because she had always hated any drink but water--a dislike that came to her, doubtless, with her eastern blood. thus they grew merry since their guest proved himself a cheerful fellow, who told them many stories of love and war, for he seemed to know much of loves, and to have been in sundry wars. at these even sir andrew, forgetting his ailments and forebodings, laughed well, while rosamund, looking more beautiful than ever in the gold-starred veil and the broidered tunic which the brethren had given her, listened to them, smiling somewhat absently. at last the feast drew towards its end, when suddenly, as though struck by a sudden recollection, georgios exclaimed: "the wine! the liquid amber from trooidos! i had forgotten it. noble knight, have i your leave to draw?" "ay, excellent merchant," answered sir andrew. "certainly you can draw your own wine." so georgios rose, and took a large jug and a silver tankard from the sideboard where such things were displayed. with these he went to the little keg which, it will be remembered, had been stood ready upon the trestles, and, bending over it while he drew the spigots, filled the vessels to the brim. then he beckoned to a reeve sitting at the lower table to bring him a leather jack that stood upon the board. having rinsed it out with wine, he filled that also, handing it with the jug to the reeve to drink their lord's health on this yule night. the silver vessel he bore back to the high table, and with his own hand filled the horn cups of all present, rosamund alone excepted, for she would touch none, although he pressed her hard and looked vexed at her refusal. indeed, it was because it seemed to pain the man that sir andrew, ever courteous, took a little himself, although, when his back was turned, he filled the goblet up with water. at length, when all was ready, georgios charged, or seemed to charge, his own horn, and, lifting it, said: "let us drink, everyone of us here, to the noble knight, sir andrew d'arcy, to whom i wish, in the phrase of my own people, that he may live for ever. drink, friends, drink deep, for never will wine such as this pass your lips again." then, lifting his beaker, he appeared to drain it in great gulps--an example which all followed, even sir andrew drinking a little from his cup, which was three parts filled with water. there followed a long murmur of satisfaction. "wine! it is nectar!" said wulf. "ay," put in the chaplain, matthew; "adam might have drunk this in the garden," while from the lower table came jovial shouts of praise of this smooth, creamlike vintage. certainly that wine was both rich and strong. thus, after his sup of it, a veil as it were seemed to fall on the mind of sir andrew and to cover it up. it lifted again, and lo! his brain was full of memories and foresights. circumstances which he had forgotten for many years came back to him altogether, like a crowd of children tumbling out to play. these passed, and he grew suddenly afraid. yet what had he to fear that night? the gates across the moat were locked and guarded. trusty men, a score or more of them, ate in his outbuildings within those gates; while others, still more trusted, sat in his hall; and on his right hand and on his left were those two strong and valiant knights, sir godwin and sir wulf. no, there was nothing to fear--and yet he felt afraid. suddenly he heard a voice speak. it was rosamund's; and she said: "why is there such silence, father? a while ago i heard the servants and bondsmen carousing in the barn; now they are still as death. oh, and look! are all here drunken? godwin--" but as she spoke godwin's head fell forward on the board, while wulf rose, half drew his sword, then threw his arm about the neck of the priest, and sank with him to the ground. as it was with these, so it seemed with all, for folk rocked to and fro, then sank to sleep, everyone of them, save the merchant georgios, who rose to call another toast. "stranger," said sir andrew, in a heavy voice, "your wine is very strong." "it would seem so, sir knight," he answered; "but i will wake them from their wassail." springing from the dais lightly as a cat, he ran down the hall crying, "air is what they need. air!" now coming to the door, he threw it wide open, and drawing a silver whistle from his robe, blew it long and loud. "what," he laughed, "do they still sleep? why, then, i must give a toast that will rouse them all," and seizing a horn mug, he waved it and shouted: "arouse you, ye drunkards, and drink to the lady rose of the world, princess of baalbec, and niece to my royal master, yusuf salah-ed-din, who sends me to lead her to him!" "oh, father," shrieked rosamund, "the wine was drugged and we are betrayed!" as the words passed her lips there rose a sound of running feet, and through the open door at the far end of the hall burst in a score or over of armed men. then at last sir andrew saw and understood. with a roar of rage like that of a wounded lion, he seized his daughter and dragged her back with him down the passage into the solar where a fire burned and lights had been lit ready for their retiring, flinging to and bolting the door behind them. "swift!" he said, as he tore his gown from him, "there is no escape, but at least i can die fighting for you. give me my mail." she snatched his hauberk from the wall, and while they thundered at the door, did it on to him--ay, and his steel helm also, and gave him his long sword and his shield. "now," he said, "help me." and they thrust the oak table forward, and overset it in front of the door, throwing the chairs and stools on either side, that men might stumble on them. "there is a bow," he said, "and you can use it as i have taught you. get to one side and out of reach of the sword sweeps, and shoot past me as they rush; it may stay one of them. oh, that godwin and wulf were here, and we would still teach these paynim dogs a lesson!" rosamund made no answer but there came into her mind a vision of the agony of godwin and of wulf should they ever wake again to learn what had chanced to her and them. she looked round. against the wall stood a little desk, at which godwin was wont to write, and on it lay pen and parchment. she seized them, and as the door gave slowly inwards, scrawled: "follow me to saladin. in that hope i live on.--rosamund." then as the stout door at length crashed in rosamund turned what she had written face downwards on the desk, and seizing the bow, set an arrow to its string. now it was down and on rushed the mob up the six feet of narrow passage. at the end of it, in front of the overturned table, they halted suddenly. for there before them, skull-emblazoned, shield on arm, his long sword lifted, and a terrible wrath burning in his eyes, stood the old knight, like a wolf at bay, and by his side, bow in hand, the beauteous lady rosamund, clad in all her festal broideries. "yield you!" cried a voice. by way of answer the bowstring twanged, and an arrow sped home to its feathers through the throat of the speaker, so that he went down, grabbing at it, and spoke no more for ever. as he fell clattering to the floor, sir andrew cried in a great voice: "we yield not to pagan dogs and poisoners. a d'arcy! a d'arcy! meet d'arcy, meet death!" thus for the last time did old sir andrew utter the warcry of his race, which he had feared would never pass his lips again. his prayer had been heard, and he was to die as he had desired. "down with him! seize the princess!" said a voice. it was that of georgios, no longer humble with a merchant's obsequious whine, but speaking in tones of cold command and in arabic. for a moment the swarthy mob hung back, as well they might in face of that glittering sword. then with a cry of "salah-ed-din! salah-ed-din!" on they surged, with flashing spears and scimitars. the overthrown table was in front of them, and one leapt upon its edge, but as he leapt, the old knight, all his years and sickness forgotten now, sprang forward and struck downwards, so heavy a blow that in the darkling mouth of the passage the sparks streamed out, and where the saracen's head had been, appeared his heels. back sir andrew stepped again to win space for his sword-play, while round the ends of the table broke two fierce-faced men. at one of them rosamund shot with her bow, and the arrow pierced his thigh, but as he fell he struck with his keen scimitar and shore the end off the bow, so that it was useless. the second man caught his foot in the bar of the oak chair which he did not see, and went down prone, while sir andrew, taking no heed of him, rushed with a shout at the crowd who followed, and catching their blows upon his shield, rained down others so desperate that, being hampered by their very number, they gave before him, and staggered back along the passage. "guard your right, father!" cried rosamund. he sprang round, to see the saracen, who had fallen, on his feet again. at him he went, nor did the man wait the onset, but turned to fly, only to find his death, for the great sword caught him between neck and shoulders. now a voice cried: "we make poor sport with this old lion, and lose men. keep clear of his claws, and whelm him with spear casts." but rosamund, who understood their tongue, sprang in front of him, and answered in arabic: "ay, through my breast; and go, tell that tale to saladin!" then, clear and calm was heard the command of georgios. "he who harms a hair of the princess dies. take them both living if you may, but lay no hand on her. stay, let us talk." so they ceased from their onslaught and began to consult together. rosamund touched her father and pointed to the man who lay upon the floor with an arrow through his thigh. he was struggling to his knee, raising the heavy scimitar in his hand. sir andrew lifted his sword as a husbandman lifts a stick to kill a rat, then let it fall again, saying: "i fight not with the wounded. drop that steel, and get you back to your own folk." the fellow obeyed him--yes, and even touched the floor with his forehead in salaam as he crawled away, for he knew that he had been given his life, and that the deed was noble towards him who had planned a coward's stroke. then georgios stepped forward, no longer the same georgios who had sold poisoned wine and eastern broideries, but a proud-looking, high-browed saracen clad in the mail which he wore beneath his merchant's robe, and in place of the crucifix wearing on his breast a great star-shaped jewel, the emblem of his house and rank. "sir andrew," he said, "hearken to me, i pray you. noble was that act," and he pointed to the wounded man being dragged away by his fellows, "and noble has been your defence--well worthy of your lineage and your knighthood. it is a tale that my master," and he bowed as he said the word, "will love to hear if it pleases allah that we return to him in safety. also you will think that i have played a knave's trick upon you, overcoming the might of those gallant knights, sir godwin and sir wulf, not with sword blows but with drugged wine, and treating all your servants in like fashion, since not one of them can shake off its fumes before to-morrow's light. so indeed it is--a very scurvy trick which i shall remember with shame to my life's end, and that perchance may yet fall back upon my head in blood and vengeance. yet bethink you how we stand, and forgive us. we are but a little company of men in your great country, hidden, as it were, in a den of lions, who, if they saw us, would slay us without mercy. that, indeed, is a small thing, for what are our lives, of which your sword has taken tithe, and not only yours, but those of the twin brethren on the quay by the water?" "i thought it," broke in sir andrew contemptuously. "indeed, that deed was worthy of you--twenty or more men against two." georgios held up his hand. "judge us not harshly," he said, speaking slowly, who, for his own ends wished to gain time, "you who have read the letter of our lord. see you, these were my commands: to secure the lady rose of the world as best i might, but if possible without bloodshed. now i was reconnoitring the country with a troop of the sailors from my ship who are but poor fighters, and a few of my own people, when my spies brought me word that she had ridden out attended by only two men, and surely i thought that already she was in my hands. but the knights foiled me by strategy and strength, and you know the end of it. so afterwards my messenger presented the letter, which, indeed, should have been done at first. the letter failed also, for neither you, nor the princess"--and he bowed to rosamund--"could be bought. more, the whole country was awakened; you were surrounded with armed men, the knightly brethren kept watch and ward over you, and you were about to fly to london, where it would have been hard to snare you. therefore, because i must, i--who am a prince and an emir, who also, although you remember it not, have crossed swords with you in my youth; yes, at harenc--became a dealer in drugged wine. "now hearken. yield you, sir andrew, who have done enough to make your name a song for generations, and accept the love of salah-ed-din, whose word you have, the word that, as you know well, cannot be broken, which i, the lord el-hassan--for no meaner man has been sent upon this errand--plight to you afresh. yield you, and save your life, and live on in honour, clinging to your own faith, till azrael takes you from the pleasant fields of baalbec to the waters of paradise--if such there be for infidels, however gallant. "for know, this deed must be done. did we return without the princess rose of the world, we should die, every one of us, and did we offer her harm or insult, then more horribly than i can tell you. this is no fancy of a great king that drives him on to the stealing of a woman, although she be of his own high blood. the voice of god has spoken to salah-ed-din by the mouth of his angel sleep. thrice has allah spoken in dreams, telling him who is merciful, that through your daughter and her nobleness alone can countless lives be saved; therefore, sooner than she should escape him, he would lose even the half of all his empire. outwit us, defeat us now, capture us, cause us to be tortured and destroyed, and other messengers would come to do his bidding-- indeed, they are already on the way. moreover, it is useless to shed more blood, seeing it is written in the books that this lady, rose of the world, must return to the east where she was begot, there to fulfil her destiny and save the lives of men." "then, emir el-hassan, i shall return as a spirit," said rosamund proudly. "not so, princess," he answered, bowing, "for allah alone has power over your life, and it is otherwise decreed. sir andrew, the time grows short, and i must fulfil my mission. will you take the peace of salah-ed-din, or force his servants to take your life?" the old knight listened, resting on his reddened sword; then he lifted his head, and spoke: "i am aged and near my death, wine-seller georgios, or prince el-hassan, whichever you may be. in my youth i swore to make no pact with paynims, and in my eld i will not break that vow. while i can lift sword i will defend my daughter, even against the might of saladin. get to your coward's work again, and let things go as god has willed them." "then, princess," answered el-hassan, "bear me witness throughout the east that i am innocent of your father's blood. on his own head be it, and on yours," and for the second time he blew upon the whistle that hung around his neck. chapter seven: the banner of saladin as the echoes of hassan's whistle died away there was a crash amongst the wooden shutters of the window behind them, and down into the room leaped a long, lithe figure, holding an axe aloft. before sir andrew could turn to see whence the sound came, that axe dealt him a fearful blow between the shoulders which, although the ringed mail remained unshorn, shattered his spine beneath. down he fell, rolled on to his back, and lay there, still able to speak and without pain, but helpless as a child. for he was paralysed, and never more would move hand or foot or head. in the silence that followed he spoke in a heavy voice, letting his eyes rest upon the man who had struck him down. "a knightly blow, truly; one worthy of a christian born who does murder for paynim pay! traitor to god and man, who have eaten my bread and now slaughter me like an ox on my hearth-stone, may your own end be even worse, and at the hands of those you serve." the palmer nicholas, for it was he, although he no longer wore the palmer's robe, slunk away muttering, and was lost among the crowd in the passage. then, with a sudden and a bitter cry, rosamund swooped forward, as a bird swoops, snatched up the sword her sire would never lift again, and setting its hilt upon the floor, cast herself forward. but its point never touched her breast, for the emir sprang swiftly and struck the steel aside; then, as she fell, caught her in his arms. "lady," he said, loosing her very gently. "allah does not need you yet. i have told you that it is not fated. now will you pass me your word--for being of the blood of salah-ed-din and d'arcy, you, too, cannot lie--that neither now nor afterwards you will attempt to harm yourself? if not, i must bind you, which i am loth to do--it is a sacrilege to which i pray you will not force me." "promise, rosamund," said the hollow voice of her father, "and go to fulfil your fate. self-murder is a crime, and the man is right; it is decreed. i bid you promise." "i obey and promise," said rosamund. "it is your hour, my lord hassan." he bowed deeply and answered: "i am satisfied, and henceforth we are your servants. princess, the night air is bitter; you cannot travel thus. in which chamber are your garments?" she pointed with her finger. a man took a taper, and, accompanied by two others, entered the place, to return presently with their arms full of all the apparel they could find. indeed, they even brought her missal and the silver crucifix which hung above her bed and with it her leathern case of trinkets. "keep out the warmest cloak," said hassan, "and tie the rest up in those carpets." so the rugs that sir andrew had bought that day from the merchant georgios were made to serve as travelling bags to hold his daughter's gear. thus even in this hour of haste and danger thought was taken for her comfort. "princess," said hassan, bowing, "my master, your uncle, sent you certain jewels of no mean value. is it your wish that they should accompany you?" without lifting her eyes from her dying father's face, rosamund answered heavily: "where they are, there let them bide. what have i to do with jewels?" "your will is my law," he said, "and others will be found for you. princess, all is ready; we wait your pleasure." "my pleasure? oh, god, my pleasure?" exclaimed rosamund in the same drear voice, still staring at her father, who lay before her on the ground. "i cannot help it," said hassan, answering the question in her eyes, and there was grief in his tone. "he would not come, he brought it on himself; though in truth i wish that accursed frank had not struck so shrewdly. if you ask it, we will bear him with you; but, lady, it is idle to hide the truth--he is sped. i have studied medicine, and i know." "nay," said sir andrew from the floor, "leave me here. daughter, we must part awhile. as i stole his child from ayoub, so ayoub's son steals my child from me. daughter, cling to the faith--that we may meet again." "to the death," she answered. "be comforted," said hassan. "has not salah-ed-din passed his word that except her own will or that of allah should change her heart, a cross-worshipper she may live and die? lady, for your own sake as well as ours, let this sad farewell be brief. begone, my servants, taking these dead and wounded with you. there are things it is not fitting that common eyes should see." they obeyed, and the three of them remained alone together. then rosamund knelt down beside her father, and they whispered into each other's ears. hassan turned his back upon them, and threw the corner of his cloak over his head and eyes that he might neither see nor hear their voices in this dread and holy hour of parting. it would seem that they found some kind of hope and consolation in it--at least when rosamund kissed him for the last time, sir andrew smiled and said: "yes, yes; it may all be for the best. god will guard you, and his will be done. but i forgot. tell me, daughter, which?" again she whispered into his ear, and when he had thought a moment, he answered: "maybe you are right. i think that is wisest for all. and now on the three of you--aye, and on your children's children's children--let my blessing rest, as rest it shall. come hither, emir." hassan heard him through his cloak, and, uncovering, came. "say to saladin, your master, that he has been too strong for me, and paid me back in my own coin. well, had it been otherwise, my daughter and i must soon have parted, for death drew near to me. at least it is the decree of god, to which i bow my head, trusting there may be truth in that dream of his, and that our sorrows, in some way unforeseen, will bring blessings to our brethren in the east. but to saladin say also that whatever his bigot faith may teach, for christian and for paynim there is a meeting-place beyond the grave. say that if aught of wrong or insult is done towards this maiden, i swear by the god who made us both that there i will hold him to account. now, since it must be so, take her and go your way, knowing that my spirit follows after you and her; yes, and that even in this world she will find avengers." "i hear your words, and i will deliver them," answered hassan. "more, i believe that they are true, and for the rest you have the oath of salah-ed-din--ay, and my oath while she is in my charge. therefore, sir andrew d'arcy, forgive us, who are but the instruments of allah, and die in peace." "i, who have so much to be forgiven, forgive you," answered the old knight slowly. then his eyes fixed themselves upon his daughter's face with one long, searching look, and closed. "i think that he is dead," said hassan. "may god, the merciful and compassionate, rest his soul!" and taking a white garment from the wall, he flung it over him, adding, "lady, come." thrice rosamund looked at the shrouded figure on the floor; once she wrung her hands and seemed about to fall. then, as though a thought struck her, she lifted her father's sword from where it lay, and gathering her strength, drew herself up and passed like a queen down the blood-stained passage and the steps of the solar. in the hall beneath waited the band of hassan, who bowed as she came--a vision of despairing loveliness, that held aloft a red and naked sword. there, too, lay the drugged men fallen this way and that, and among them wulf across the table, and godwin on the dais. rosamund spoke. "are these dead or sleeping?" "have no fear," answered hassan. "by my hope of paradise, they do but sleep, and will awake ere morning." rosamund pointed to the renegade nicholas--he that had struck down her father from behind--who, an evil look upon his face, stood apart from the saracens, holding in his hand a lighted torch. "what does this man with the torch?" she asked. "if you would know, lady," nicholas answered with a sneer, "i wait till you are out of it to fire the hall." "prince hassan," said rosamund, "is this a deed that great saladin would wish, to burn drugged men beneath their own roof? now, as you shall answer to him, in the name of saladin i, a daughter of his house, command you, strike the fire from that man's hand, and in my hearing give your order that none should even think of such an act of shame." "what?" broke in nicholas, "and leave knights like these, whose quality you know"--and he pointed to the brethren--"to follow in our path, and take our lives in vengeance? why, it is madness!" "are you master here, traitor, or am i?" asked hassan in cold contempt. "let them follow if they will, and i for one shall rejoice to meet foes so brave in open battle, and there give them their revenge. ali," he added, addressing the man who had been disguised as a merchant's underling, and who had drugged the men in the barn as his master had drugged those in the hall, and opened the moat gate to the band, "ali, stamp upon the torch and guard that frank till we reach the boat lest the fool should raise the country on us with his fires. now, princess, are you satisfied?" "ay, having your word," she answered. "one moment, i pray you. i would leave a token to my knights." then, while they watched her with wondering eyes, she unfastened the gold cross and chain that hung upon her bosom, and slipping the cross from the chain, went to where godwin lay, and placed it on his breast. next, with a swift movement, she wound the chain about the silver hilt of sir andrew's sword, and passing to wulf, with one strong thrust, drove the point between the oak boards of the table, so that it stood before him--at once a cross, a brand of battle, and a lady's token. "his grandsire bore it," she said in arabic, "when he leapt on to the walls of jerusalem. it is my last gift to him." but the saracens muttered and turned pale at these words of evil omen. then taking the hand of hassan, who stood searching her white, inscrutable face, with never a word or a backward look, she swept down the length of the long hall, and out into the night beyond. "it would have been well to take my counsel and fire the place, or at least to cut the throats of all within it," said the man nicholas to his guard ali as they followed with the rest. "if i know aught of these brethren, cross and sword will soon be hard upon our track, and men's lives must pay the price of such soft folly." and he shivered as though in fear. "it may be so, spy," answered the saracen, looking at him with sombre, contemptuous eyes. "it may be that your life will pay the price." wulf was dreaming, dreaming that he stood on his head upon a wooden plank, as once he had seen a juggler do, which turned round one way while he turned round the other, till at length some one shouted at him, and he tumbled off the board and hurt himself. then he awoke to hear a voice shouting surely enough--the voice of matthew, the chaplain of steeple church. "awake!" said the voice. "in god's name, i conjure you, awake!" "what is it?" he said, lifting his head sleepily, and becoming conscious of a dull pain across his forehead. "it is that death and the devil have been here, sir wulf." "well, they are often near together. but i thirst. give me water." a serving-woman, pallid, dishevelled, heavy-eyed, who was stumbling to and fro, lighting torches and tapers, for it was still dark, brought it to him in a leathern jack, from which he drank deeply. "that is better," he said. then his eye fell upon the bloody sword set point downwards in the wood of the table before him, and he exclaimed, "mother of god! what is that? my uncle's silver-hilted sword, red with blood, and rosamund's gold chain upon the hilt! priest, where is the lady rosamund?" "gone," answered the chaplain in a voice that sounded like a groan. "the women woke and found her gone, and sir andrew lies dead or dying in the solar--but now i have shriven him--and oh! we have all been drugged. look at them!" and he waved his hand towards the recumbent forms. "i say that the devil has been here." wulf sprang to his feet with an oath. "the devil? ah! i have it now. you mean the cyprian chapman georgios. he who sold wine." "he who sold drugged wine," echoed the chaplain, "and has stolen away the lady rosamund." then wulf seemed to go mad. "stolen rosamund over our sleeping carcases! stolen rosamund with never a blow struck by us to save her! o, christ, that such a thing should be! o, christ, that i should live to hear it!" and he, the mighty man, the knight of skill and strength, broke down and wept like a very child. but not for long, for presently he shouted in a voice of thunder: "awake, ye drunkards! awake, and learn what has chanced to us. your lady rosamund has been raped away while we were lost in sleep!" at the sound of that great voice a tall form arose from the floor, and staggered towards him, holding a gold cross in its hand. "what awful words are those my brother?" asked godwin, who, pale and dull-eyed, rocked to and fro before him. then he, too, saw the red sword and stared, first at it and next at the gold cross in his hand. "my uncle's sword, rosamund's chain, rosamund's cross! where, then, is rosamund?" "gone! gone! gone!" cried wulf. "tell him, priest." so the chaplain told him all he knew. "thus have we kept our oaths," went on wulf. "oh, what can we do now, save die for very shame?" "nay," answered godwin, dreamingly; "we can live on to save her. see, these are her tokens--the cross for me, the blood-stained sword for you, and about its hilt the chain, a symbol of her slavery. now both of us must bear the cross; both of us must wield the sword, and both of us must cut the chain, or if we fail, then die." "you rave," said wulf; "and little wonder. here, drink water. would that we had never touched aught else, as she did, and desired that we should do. what said you of my uncle, priest? dead, or only dying? nay, answer not, let us see. come, brother." now together they ran, or rather reeled, torch in hand, along the passage. wulf saw the bloodstains on the floor and laughed savagely. "the old man made a good fight," he said, "while, like drunken brutes, we slept." they were there, and before them, beneath the white, shroud-like cloak, lay sir andrew, the steel helm on his head, and his face beneath it even whiter than the cloak. at the sound of their footsteps he opened his eyes. "at length, at length," he muttered. "oh, how many years have i waited for you? nay, be silent, for i do not know how long my strength will last, but listen--kneel down and listen." so they knelt on either side of him, and in quick, fierce words he told them all--of the drugging, of the fight, of the long parley carried on to give the palmer knave time to climb to the window; of his cowardly blow, and of what chanced afterwards. then his strength seemed to fail him, but they poured drink down his throat, and it came back again. "take horse swiftly," he gasped, pausing now and again to rest, "and rouse the countryside. there is still a chance. nay, seven hours have gone by; there is no chance. their plans were too well laid; by now they will be at sea. so hear me. go to palestine. there is money for your faring in my chest, but go alone, with no company, for in time of peace these would betray you. godwin, draw off this ring from my finger, and with it as a token, find out jebal, the black sheik of the mountain tribe at masyaf on lebanon. bid him remember the vow he made to andrew d'arcy, the english knight. if any can aid you, it will be jebal, who hates the houses of nur-ed-din and of ayoub. so, i charge you, let nothing--i say nothing--turn you aside from seeking him. "afterwards act as god shall guide you. if they still live, kill that traitor nicholas and hugh lozelle, but, save in open war, spare the emir hassan, who did but do his duty as an eastern reads it, and shown some mercy, for he could have slain or burnt us all. this riddle has been hard for me; yet now, in my dying hour, i seem to see its answer. i think that saladin did not dream in vain. keep brave hearts, for i think also that at masyaf you will find friends, and that things will yet go well, and our sorrows bear good fruit. "what is that you said? she left you my father's sword, wulf? then wield it bravely, winning honour for our name. she left you the cross, godwin? wear it worthily, winning glory for the lord, and salvation to your soul. remember what you have sworn. whate'er befall, bear no bitterness to one another. be true to one another, and to her, your lady, so that when at the last you make your report to me before high heaven, i may have no cause to be ashamed of you, my nephews, godwin and wulf." for a moment the dying man was silent, until his face lit up as with a great gladness, and he cried in a loud, clear voice, "beloved wife, i hear you! o, god, i come!" then though his eyes stayed open, and the smile still rested on his face, his jaw fell. thus died sir andrew d'arcy. still kneeling on either side of him, the brethren watched the end, and, as his spirit passed, bowed their heads in prayer. "we have seen a great death," said godwin presently. "let us learn a lesson from it, that when our time comes we may die like him." "ay," answered wulf, springing to his feet, "but first let us take vengeance for it. why, what is this? rosamund's writing! read it, godwin." godwin took the parchment and read: "follow me to saladin. in that hope i live on." "surely we will follow you, rosamund," he cried aloud. "follow you through life to death or victory." then he threw down the paper, and calling for the chaplain to come to watch the body, they ran into the hall. by this time about half of the folk were awake from their drugged sleep, whilst others who had been doctored by the man ali in the barn staggered into the hall--wild-eyed, white-faced, and holding their hands to their heads and hearts. they were so sick and bewildered, indeed, that it was difficult to make them understand what had chanced, and when they learned the truth, the most of them could only groan. still, a few were found strong enough in wit and body to grope their way through the darkness and the falling snow to stangate abbey, to southminster, and to the houses of their neighbours, although of these there were none near, praying that every true man would arm and ride to help them in the hunt. also wulf, cursing the priest matthew and himself that he had not thought of it before, called him from his prayers by their dead uncle, and charged him to climb the church tower as swiftly as he could, and set light to the beacon that was laid ready there. away he went, taking flint, steel, and tinder with him, and ten minutes later the blaze was flaring furiously above the roof of steeple church, warning all men of the need for help. then they armed, saddled such horses as they had, amongst them the three that had been left there by the merchant georgios, and gathered all of them who were not too sick to ride or run, in the courtyard of the hall. but as yet their haste availed them little, for the moon was down. snow fell also, and the night was still black as death--so black that a man could scarcely see the hand he held before his face. so they must wait, and wait they did, eating their hearts out with grief and rage, and bathing their aching brows in icy water. at length the dawn began to break, and by its first grey light they saw men mounted and afoot feeling their way through the snow, shouting to each other as they came to know what dreadful thing had happened at steeple. quickly the tidings spread among them that sir andrew was slain, and the lady rosamund snatched away by paynims, while all who feasted in the place had been drugged with poisoned wine by a man whom they believed to be a merchant. so soon as a band was got together--perhaps thirty men in all--and there was light to stir by, they set out and began to search, though where to look they knew not, for the snow had covered up all traces of their foes. "one thing is certain," said godwin, "they must have come by water." "ay," answered wulf, "and landed near by, since, had they far to go, they would have taken the horses, and must run the risk also of losing their path in the darkness. to the staithe! let us try steeple staithe." so on they went across the meadow to the creek. it lay but three bow-shots distant. at first they could see nothing, for the snow covered the stones of the little pier, but presently a man cried out that the lock of the water house, in which the brethren kept their fishing-boat, was broken, and next minute, that the boat was gone. "she was small; she would hold but six men," cried a voice. "so great a company could never have crowded into her." "fool!" one answered, "there may have been other boats." so they looked again, and beneath the thin coating of rime, found a mark in the mud by the staithe, made by the prow of a large boat, and not far from it a hole in the earth into which a peg had been driven to make her fast. now the thing seemed clear enough, but it was to be made yet clearer, for presently, even through the driving snow, the quick eye of wulf caught sight of some glittering thing which hung to the edge of a clump of dead reeds. a man with a lance lifted it out at his command, and gave it to him. "i thought so," he said in a heavy voice; "it is a fragment of that star-wrought veil which was my christmas gift to rosamund, and she has torn it off and left it here to show us her road. to st. peter's-on-the-wall! to st. peter's, i say, for there the boats or ship must pass, and maybe that in the darkness they have not yet won out to sea." so they turned their horses' heads, and those of them that were mounted rode for st. peter's by the inland path that runs through steeple st. lawrence and bradwell town, while those who were not, started to search along the saltings and the river bank. on they galloped through the falling snow, godwin and wulf leading the way, whilst behind them thundered an ever-gathering train of knights, squires and yeomen, who had seen the beacon flare on steeple tower, or learned the tale from messengers--yes, and even of monks from stangate and traders from southminster. hard they rode, but the lanes were heavy with fallen snow and mud beneath, and the way was far, so that an hour had gone by before bradwell was left behind, and the shrine of st. chad lay but half a mile in front. now of a sudden the snow ceased, and a strong northerly wind springing up, drove the thick mist before it and left the sky hard and blue behind. still riding in this mist, they pressed on to where the old tower loomed in front of them, then drew rein and waited. "what is that?" said godwin presently, pointing to a great, dim thing upon the vapour-hidden sea. as he spoke a strong gust of wind tore away the last veils of mist, revealing the red face of the risen sun, and not a hundred yards away from them--for the tide was high--the tall masts of a galley creeping out to sea beneath her banks of oars. as they stared the wind caught her, and on the main-mast rose her bellying sail, while a shout of laughter told them that they themselves were seen. they shook their swords in the madness of their rage, knowing well who was aboard that galley; while to the fore peak ran up the yellow flag of saladin, streaming there like gold in the golden sunlight. nor was this all, for on the high poop appeared the tall shape of rosamund herself, and on one side of her, clad now in coat of mail and turban, the emir hassan, whom they had known as the merchant georgios, and on the other, a stout man, also clad in mail, who at that distance looked like a christian knight. rosamund stretched out her arms towards them. then suddenly she sprang forward as though she would throw herself into the sea, had not hassan caught her by the arm and held her back, whilst the other man who was watching slipped between her and the bulwark. in his fury and despair wulf drove his horse into the water till the waves broke about his middle, and there, since he could go no further, sat shaking his sword and shouting: "fear not! we follow! we follow!" in such a voice of thunder, that even through the wind and across the everwidening space of foam his words may have reached the ship. at least rosamund seemed to hear them, for she tossed up her arms as though in token. but hassan, one hand pressed upon his heart and the other on his forehead, only bowed thrice in courteous farewell. then the great sail filled, the oars were drawn in, and the vessel swept away swiftly across the dancing waves, till at length she vanished, and they could only see the sunlight playing on the golden banner of saladin which floated from her truck. chapter eight: the widow masouda many months had gone by since the brethren sat upon their horses that winter morning, and from the shrine of st. peter's-on-the-wall, at the mouth of the blackwater in essex, watched with anguished hearts the galley of saladin sailing southwards; their love and cousin, rosamund, standing a prisoner on the deck. having no ship in which to follow her--and this, indeed, it would have been too late to do--they thanked those who had come to aid them, and returned home to steeple, where they had matters to arrange. as they went they gathered from this man and that tidings which made the whole tale clear to them. they learned, for instance, then and afterwards, that the galley which had been thought to be a merchantman put into the river crouch by design, feigning an injury to her rudder, and that on christmas eve she had moved up with the tide, and anchored in the blackwater about three miles from its mouth. thence a great boat, which she towed behind her, and which was afterwards found abandoned, had rowed in the dusk, keeping along the further shore to avoid observation, to the mouth of steeple creek, which she descended at dark, making fast to the staithe, unseen of any. her crew of thirty men or more, guided by the false palmer nicholas, next hid themselves in the grove of trees about fifty yards from the house, where traces of them were found afterwards, waiting for the signal, and, if that were necessary, ready to attack and burn the hall while all men feasted there. but it was not necessary, since the cunning scheme of the drugged wine, which only an eastern could have devised, succeeded. so it happened that the one man they had to meet in arms was an old knight, of which doubtless they were glad, as their numbers being few, they wished to avoid a desperate battle, wherein many must fall, and, if help came, they might be all destroyed. when it was over they led rosamund to the boat, felt their way down the creek, towing behind them the little skiff which they had taken from the water-house--laden with their dead and wounded. this, indeed, proved the most perilous part of their adventures, since it was very dark, and came on to snow; also twice they grounded upon mud banks. still guided by nicholas, who had studied the river, they reached the galley before dawn, and with the first light weighed anchor, and very cautiously rowed out to sea. the rest is known. two days later, since there was no time to spare, sir andrew was buried with great pomp at stangate abbey, in the same tomb where lay the heart of his brother, the father of the brethren, who had fallen in the eastern wars. after he had been laid to rest amidst much lamentation and in the presence of a great concourse of people, for the fame of these strange happenings had travelled far and wide, his will was opened. then it was found that with the exception of certain sums of money left to his nephews, a legacy to stangate abbey, and another to be devoted to masses for the repose of his soul, with some gifts to his servants and the poor, all his estate was devised to his daughter rosamund. the brethren, or the survivor of them, however, held it in trust on her behalf, with the charge that they should keep watch and ward over her, and manage her lands till she took a husband. these lands, together with their own, the brethren placed in the hands of prior john of stangate, in the presence of witnesses, to administer for them subject to the provisions of the will, taking a tithe of the rents and profits for his pains. the priceless jewels also that had been sent by saladin were given into his keeping, and a receipt with a list of the same signed in duplicate, deposited with a clerk at southminster. this, indeed, was necessary, seeing that none save the brethren and the prior knew of these jewels, of which, being of so great a value, it was not safe to speak. their affairs arranged, having first made their wills in favour of each other with remainder to their heirs-at-law, since it was scarcely to be hoped that both of them would return alive from such a quest, they received the communion, and with it his blessing from the hands of the prior john. then early one morning, before any were astir, they rode quietly away to london. on the top of steeple hill, sending forward the servant who led the mule laden with their baggage--that same mule which had been left by the spy nicholas--the brethren turned their horses' heads to look in farewell on their home. there to the north of them lay the blackwater, and to the west the parish of mayland, towards which the laden barges crept along the stream of steeple creek. below was the wide, flat, plain outlined with trees, and in it, marked by the plantation where the saracens had hid, the hall and church of steeple, the home in which they had grown from childhood to youth, and from youth to man's estate in the company of the fair, lost rosamund, who was the love of both, and whom both went forth to seek. that past was all behind them, and in front a dark and troublous future, of which they could not read the mystery nor guess the end. would they ever look on steeple hall again? were they who stood there about to match their strength and courage against all the might of saladin, doomed to fail or gloriously to succeed? through the darkness that shrouded their forward path shone one bright star of love--but for which of them did that star shine, or was it perchance for neither? they knew not. how could they know aught save that the venture seemed very desperate. indeed, the few to whom they had spoken of it thought them mad. yet they remembered the last words of sir andrew, bidding them keep a high heart, since he believed that things would yet go well. it seemed to them, in truth, that they were not quite alone--as though his brave spirit companioned them on their search, guiding their feet, with ghostly counsel which they could not hear. they remembered also their oaths to him, to one another, and to rosamund; and in silent token that they would keep them to the death, pressed each other's hands. then, turning their horses southwards, they rode forward with light hearts, not caring what befell, if only at the last, living or dead, rosamund and her father should, in his own words, find no cause to be ashamed of them. through the hot haze of a july morning a dromon, as certain merchant vessels of that time were called, might have been seen drifting before a light breeze into st. george's bay at beirut, on the coast of syria. cyprus, whence she had sailed last, was not a hundred miles away, yet she had taken six days to do the journey, not on account of storms--of which there were none at this time of year, but through lack of wind to move her. still, her captain and the motley crowd of passengers--for the most part eastern merchants and their servants, together with a number of pilgrims of all nations--thanked god for so prosperous a voyage--for in those times he who crossed the seas without shipwreck was very fortunate. among these passengers were godwin and wulf, travelling, as their uncle had bidden them, unattended by squires or by servants. upon the ship they passed themselves off as brothers named peter and john of lincoln, a town of which they knew something, having stayed there on their way to the scottish wars; simple gentlemen of small estate, making a pilgrimage to the holy land in penitence for their sins and for the repose of the souls of their father and mother. at this tale their fellow-passengers, with whom they had sailed from genoa, to which place they travelled overland, shrugged their shoulders. for these brethren looked what they were, knights of high degree; and considering their great stature, long swords, and the coats of mail they always wore beneath their gambesons, none believed them but plain gentlefolk bent on a pious errand. indeed, they nicknamed them sir peter and sir john, and as such they were known throughout the voyage. the brethren were seated together in a little place apart in the bow of the ship, and engaged, godwin in reading from an arabic translation of the gospels made by some egyptian monk, and wulf in following it with little ease in the latin version. of the former tongue, indeed, they had acquired much in their youth, since they learned it from sir andrew with rosamund, although they could not talk it as she did, who had been taught to lisp it as an infant by her mother. knowing, too, that much might hang upon a knowledge of this tongue, they occupied their long journey in studying it from such books as they could get; also in speaking it with a priest, who had spent many years in the east, and instructed them for a fee, and with certain syrian merchants and sailors. "shut the book, brother," said wulf; "there is lebanon at last," and he pointed to the great line of mountains revealing themselves dimly through their wrappings of mist. "glad i am to see them, who have had enough of these crooked scrolls and learnings." "ay," said godwin, "the promised land." "and the land of promise for us," answered his brother. "well, thank god that the time has come to act, though how we are to set about it is more than i can say." "doubtless time will show. as our uncle bade, we will seek out this sheik jebal---" "hush!" said wulf, for just then some merchants, and with them a number of pilgrims, their travel-worn faces full of rapture at the thought that the terrors of the voyage were done, and that they were about to set foot upon the ground their lord had trodden, crowded forward to the bow to obtain their first view of it, and there burst into prayers and songs of thanksgiving. indeed, one of these men--a trader known as thomas of ipswich--was, they found, standing close to them, and seemed as though he listened to their talk. the brethren mingled with them while this same thomas of ipswich, who had visited the place before, or so it seemed, pointed out the beauties of the city, of the fertile country by which it was surrounded, and of the distant cedar-clad mountains where, as he said, hiram, king of tyre, had cut the timber for solomon's temple. "have you been on them?" asked wulf. "ay, following my business," he answered, "so far." and he showed them a great snow-capped peak to the north. "few ever go further." "why not?" asked godwin. "because there begins the territory of the sheik al-je-bal"--and he looked at them meaningly--"whom," he added, "neither christian nor saracen visit without an invitation, which is seldom given." again they inquired why not. "because," answered the trader, still watching them, "most men love their lives, and that man is the lord of death and magic. strange things are to be seen in his castle, and about it lie wonderful gardens inhabited by lovely women that are evil spirits, who bring the souls of men to ruin. also, this old man of the mountain is a great murderer, of whom even all the princes of the east are terrified, for he speaks a word to his fedais--or servants--who are initiated, and they go forth and bring to death any whom he hates. young men, i like you well, and i say to you, be warned. in this syria there are many wonders to be seen; leave those of masyaf and its fearful lord alone if you desire to look again upon--the towers of lincoln." "fear not; we will," answered godwin, "who come to seek holy places--not haunts of devils." "of course we will," added wulf. "still, that country must be worth travelling in." then boats came out to greet them from the shore--for at that time beirut was in the hands of the franks--and in the shouting and confusion which followed they saw no more of this merchant thomas. nor did they seek him out again, since they thought it unwise to show themselves too curious about the sheik al-je-bal. indeed, it would have been useless, since that trader was ashore two full hours before they were suffered to leave the ship, from which he departed alone in a private boat. at length they stood in the motley eastern crowd upon the quay, wondering where they could find an inn that was quiet and of cheap charges, since they did not wish to be considered persons of wealth or importance. as they lingered here, somewhat bewildered, a tall, veiled woman whom they had noted watching them, drew near, accompanied by a porter, who led a donkey. this man, without more ado, seized their baggage, and helped by other porters began to fasten it upon the back of the donkey with great rapidity, and when they would have forbidden him, pointed to the veiled woman. "your pardon," said godwin to her at length and speaking in french, "but this man--" "loads up your baggage to take it to my inn. it is cheap, quiet and comfortable--things which i heard you say you required just now, did i not?" she answered in a sweet voice, also speaking in good french. godwin looked at wulf, and wulf at godwin, and they began to discuss together what they should do. when they had agreed that it seemed not wise to trust themselves to the care of a strange woman in this fashion, they looked up to see the donkey laden with their trunks being led away by the porter. "too late to say no, i fear me," said the woman with a laugh, "so you must be my guests awhile if you would not lose your baggage. come, after so long a journey you need to wash and eat. follow me, sirs, i pray you." then she walked through the crowd, which, they noted, parted for her as she went, to a post where a fine mule was tied. loosing it, she leaped to the saddle without help, and began to ride away, looking back from time to time to see that they were following her, as, indeed, they must. "whither go we, i wonder," said godwin, as they trudged through the sands of beirut, with the hot sun striking on their heads. "who can tell when a strange woman leads?" replied wulf, with a laugh. at last the woman on the mule turned through a doorway in a wall of unburnt brick, and they found themselves before the porch of a white, rambling house which stood in a large garden planted with mulberries, oranges and other fruit trees that were strange to them, and was situated on the borders of the city. here the woman dismounted and gave the mule to a nubian who was waiting. then, with a quick movement she unveiled herself, and turned towards them as though to show her beauty. beautiful she was, of that there could be no doubt, with her graceful, swaying shape, her dark and liquid eyes, her rounded features and strangely impassive countenance. she was young also--perhaps twenty-five, no more--and very fair-skinned for an eastern. "my poor house is for pilgrims and merchants, not for famous knights; yet, sirs, i welcome you to it," she said presently, scanning them out of the corners of her eyes. "we are but squires in our own country, who make the pilgrimage," replied godwin. "for what sum each day will you give us board and a good room to sleep in?" "these strangers," she said in arabic to the porter, "do not speak the truth." "what is that to you?" he answered, as he busied himself in loosening the baggage. "they will pay their score, and all sorts of mad folk come to this country, pretending to be what they are not. also you sought them--why, i know not--not they you." "mad or sane, they are proper men," said the impassive woman, as though to herself, then added in french, "sirs, i repeat, this is but a humble place, scarce fit for knights like you, but if you will honour it, the charge is--so much." "we are satisfied," said godwin, "especially," he added, with a bow and removing the cap from his head, "as, having brought us here without leave asked, we are sure that you will treat us who are strangers kindly." "as kindly as you wish--i mean as you can pay for," said the woman. "nay, i will settle with the porter; he would cheat you." then followed a wrangle five minutes long between this curious, handsome, still-faced woman and the porter who, after the eastern fashion, lashed himself into a frenzy over the sum she offered, and at length began to call her by ill names. she stood looking at him quite unmoved, although godwin, who understood all, but pretended to understand nothing, wondered at her patience. presently, however, in a perfect foam of passion he said, or rather spat out: "no wonder, masouda the spy, that after hiring me to do your evil work, you take the part of these christian dogs against a true believer, you child of al-je-bal!" instantly the woman seemed to stiffen like a snake about to strike. "who is he?" she said coldly. "do you mean the lord--who kills?" and she looked at him--a terrible look. at that glance all the anger seemed to go out of the man. "your pardon, widow masouda," he said. "i forgot that you are a christian, and naturally side with christians. the money will not pay for the wear of my ass's hoofs, but give it me, and let me go to pilgrims who will reward me better." she gave him the sum, adding in her quiet voice: "go; and if you love life, keep better watch over your words." then the porter went, and now so humble was his mien that in his dirty turban and long, tattered robe he looked, wulf thought, more like a bundle of rags than a man mounted on the donkey's back. also it came into his mind that their strange hostess had powers not possessed by innkeepers in england. when she had watched him through the gate, masouda turned to them and said in french: "forgive me, but here in beirut these saracen porters are extortionate, especially towards us christians. he was deceived by your appearance. he thought that you were knights, not simple pilgrims as you avow yourselves, who happen to be dressed and armed like knights beneath your gambesons; and," she added, fixing her eyes upon the line of white hair on godwin's head where the sword had struck him in the fray on death creek quay, "show the wounds of knights, though it is true that a man might come by such in any brawl in a tavern. well, you are to pay me a good price, and you shall have my best room while it pleases you to honour me with your company. ah! your baggage. you do not wish to leave it. slave, come here." with startling suddenness the nubian who had led away the mule appeared, and took up some of the packages. then she led them down a passage into a large, sparsely-furnished room with high windows, in which were two beds laid on the cement floor, and asked them if it pleased them. they said: "yes; it will serve." reading what passed in their minds, she added: "have no fear for your baggage. were you as rich as you say you are poor, and as noble as you say you are humble, both it and you are safe in the inn of the widow masouda, o my guests--but how are you named?" "peter and john." "o, my guests, peter and john, who have come to visit the land of peter and john and other holy founders of our faith--" "and have been so fortunate as to be captured on its shore by the widow masouda," answered godwin, bowing again. "wait to speak of the fortune until you have done with her, sir--is it peter, or john?" she replied, with something like a smile upon her handsome face. "peter," answered godwin. "remember the pilgrim with the line of white hair is peter." "you need it to distinguish you apart, who, i suppose, are twins. let me see--peter has a line of white hair and grey eyes. john has blue eyes. john also is the greater warrior, if a pilgrim can be a warrior--look at his muscles; but peter thinks the more. it would be hard for a woman to choose between peter and john, who must both of them be hungry, so i go to prepare their food." "a strange hostess," said wulf, laughing, when she had left the room; "but i like her, though she netted us so finely. i wonder why? what is more, brother godwin, she likes you, which is as well, since she may be useful. but, friend peter, do not let it go too far, since, like that porter, i think also that she may be dangerous. remember, he called her a spy, and probably she is one." godwin turned to reprove him, when the voice of the widow masouda was heard without saying: "brothers peter and john, i forgot to caution you to speak low in this house, as there is lattice-work over the doors to let in the air. do not be afraid. i only heard the voice of john, not what he said." "i hope not," muttered wulf, and this time he spoke very low indeed. then they undid their baggage, and having taken from it clean garments, washed themselves after their long journey with the water that had been placed ready for them in great jars. this, indeed, they needed, for on that crowded dromon there was little chance of washing. by the time they had clothed themselves afresh, putting on their shirts of mail beneath their tunics, the nubian came and led them to another room, large and lighted with high-set lattices, where cushions were piled upon the floor round a rug that also was laid upon the floor. motioning them to be seated on the cushions, he went away, to return again presently, accompanied by masouda bearing dishes upon brass platters. these she placed before them, bidding them eat. what that food was they did not know, because of the sauces with which it had been covered, until she told them that it was fish. after the fish came flesh, and after the flesh fowls, and after the fowls cakes and sweetmeats and fruits, until, ravenous as they were, who for days had fed upon salted pork and biscuits full of worms washed down with bad water, they were forced to beg her to bring no more. "drink another cup of wine at least," she said, smiling and filling their mugs with the sweet vintage of lebanon--for it seemed to please her to see them eat so heartily of her fare. they obeyed, mixing the wine with water. while they drank she asked them suddenly what were their plans, and how long they wished to stay in beirut. they answered that for the next few days they had none, as they needed to rest, to see the town and its neighbourhood, and to buy good horses--a matter in which perhaps she could help them. masouda nodded again, and asked whither they wished to ride on horses. "out yonder," said wulf, waving his hand towards the mountains. "we desire to look upon the cedars of lebanon and its great hills before we go on towards jerusalem." "cedars of lebanon?" she replied. "that is scarcely safe for two men alone, for in those mountains are many wild beasts and wilder people who rob and kill. moreover, the lord of those mountains has just now a quarrel with the christians, and would take any whom he found prisoners." "how is that lord named?" asked godwin. "sinan," she answered, and they noted that she looked round quickly as she spoke the word. "oh," he said, "we thought the name was jebal." now she stared at him with wide, wondering eyes, and replied: "he is so called also; but, sir pilgrims, what know you of the dread lord al-je-bal?" "only that he lives at a place called masyaf, which we wish to visit." again she stared. "are you mad?" she queried, then checked herself, and clapped her hands for the slave to remove the dishes. while this was being done they said they would like to walk abroad. "good," answered masouda, "the man shall accompany you--nay, it is best that you do not go alone, as you might lose your way. also, the place is not always safe for strangers, however humble they may seem," she added with meaning. "would you wish to visit the governor at the castle, where there are a few english knights, also some priests who give advice to pilgrims?" "we think not," answered godwin; "we are not worthy of such high company. but, lady, why do you look at us so strangely?" "i am wondering, sir peter and sir john, why you think it worth while to tell lies to a poor widow? say, in your own country did you ever hear of certain twin brethren named--oh, how are they named?--sir godwin and sir wulf, of the house of d'arcy, which has been told of in this land?" now godwin's jaw dropped, but wulf laughed out loud, and seeing that they were alone in the room, for the slave had departed, asked in his turn: "surely those twins would be pleased to find themselves so famous. but how did you chance to hear of them, o widowed hostess of a syrian inn?" "i? oh, from a man on the dromon who called here while i made ready your food, and told me a strange story that he had learned in england of a band sent by salah-ed-din--may his name be accursed!--to capture a certain lady. of how the brethren named godwin and wulf fought all that band also--ay, and held them off--a very knightly deed he said it was--while the lady escaped; and of how afterwards they were taken in a snare, as those are apt to be who deal with the sultan, and this time the lady was snatched away." "a wild tale truly," said godwin. "but did this man tell you further whether that lady has chanced to come to palestine?" she shook her head. "of that he told me nothing, and i have heard nothing. now listen, my guests. you think it strange that i should know so much, but it is not strange, since here in syria, knowledge is the business of some of us. did you then believe, o foolish children, that two knights like you, who have played a part in a very great story, whereof already whispers run throughout the east, could travel by land and sea and not be known? did you then think that none were left behind to watch your movements and to make report of them to that mighty one who sent out the ship of war, charged with a certain mission? well, what he knows i know. have i not said it is my business to know? now, why do i tell you this? well, perhaps because i like such knights as you are, and i like that tale of two men who stood side by side upon a pier while a woman swam the stream behind them, and afterwards, sore wounded, charged their way through a host of foes. in the east we love such deeds of chivalry. perhaps also because i would warn you not to throw away lives so gallant by attempting to win through the guarded gates of damascus upon the maddest of all quests. "what, you still stare at me and doubt? good, i have been telling you lies. i was not awaiting you upon the quay, and that porter with whom i seemed to quarrel was not charged to seize your baggage and bring it to my house. no spies watched your movements from england to beirut. only since you have been at dinner i visited your room and read some writings which, foolishly, you and john have left among your baggage, and opened some books in which other names than peter and john were written, and drew a great sword from its scabbard on which was engraved a motto: 'meet d'arcy, meet death!' and heard peter call john wulf, and john call peter godwin, and so forth." "it seems," said wulf in english, "that we are flies in a web, and that the spider is called the widow masouda, though of what use we are to her i know not. now, brother, what is to be done? make friends with the spider?" "an ill ally," answered godwin. then looking her straight in the face he asked, "hostess, who know so much, tell me why, amongst other names, did that donkey driver call you 'daughter of al-je-bal'?" she started, and answered: "so you understand arabic? i thought it. why do you ask? what does it matter to you?" "not much, except that, as we are going to visit al-je-bal, of course we think ourselves fortunate to have met his daughter." "going to visit al-je-bal? yes, you hinted as much upon the ship, did you not? perhaps that is why i came to meet you. well, your throats will be cut before ever you reach the first of his castles." "i think not," said godwin, and, putting his hand into his breast, he drew thence a ring, with which he began to play carelessly. "whence that ring?" she said, with fear and wonder in her eyes. "it is--" and she ceased. "from one to whom it was given and who has charged us with a message. now, hostess, let us be plain with one another. you know a great deal about us, but although it has suited us to call ourselves the pilgrims peter and john, in all this there is nothing of which we need be ashamed, especially as you say that our secret is no secret, which i can well believe. now, this secret being out, i propose that we remove ourselves from your roof, and go to stay with our own people at the castle, where, i doubt not, we shall be welcome, telling them that we would bide no longer with one who is called a spy, whom we have discovered also to be a 'daughter of al-je-bal.' after which, perhaps, you will bide no longer in beirut, where, as we gather, spies and the 'daughters of al-je-bal' are not welcome." she listened with an impassive face, and answered: "doubtless you have heard that one of us who was so named was burned here recently as a witch?" "yes," broke in wulf, who now learned this fact for the first time, "we heard that." "and think to bring a like fate upon me. why, foolish men, i can lay you both dead before ever those words pass your lips." "you think you can," said godwin, "but for my part i am sure that this is not fated, and am sure also that you do not wish to harm us any more than we wish to harm you. to be plain, then, it is necessary for us to visit al-je-bal. as chance has brought us together--if it be chance--will you aid us in this, as i think you can, or must we seek other help?" "i do not know. i will tell you after four days. if you are not satisfied with that, go, denounce me, do your worst, and i will do mine, for which i should be sorry." "where is the security that you will not do it if we are satisfied?" asked wulf bluntly. "you must take the word of a 'daughter of al-je-bal.' i have none other to offer," she replied. "that may mean death," said wulf. "you said just now that was not fated, and although i have sought your company for my own reasons, i have no quarrel with you--as yet. choose your own path. still, i tell you that if you go, who, chancing to know arabic, have learned my secret, you die, and that if you stay you are safe--at least while you are in this house. i swear it on the token of al-je-bal," and bending forward she touched the ring in godwin's hand, "but remember that for the future i cannot answer." godwin and wulf looked at each other. then godwin replied: "i think that we will trust you, and stay," words at which she smiled a little as though she were pleased, then said: "now, if you wish to walk abroad, guests peter and john, i will summon the slave to guide you, and in four days we will talk more of this matter of your journey, which, until then, had best be forgotten." so the man came, armed with a sword, and led them out, clad in their pilgrims' robes, through the streets of this eastern town, where everything was so strange, that for awhile they forgot their troubles in studying the new life about them. they noted, moreover, that though they went into quarters where no franks were to be seen, and where fierce-looking servants of the prophet stared at them sourly, the presence of this slave of masouda seemed to be sufficient to protect them from affront, since on seeing him even the turbaned saracens nudged each other and turned aside. in due course they came to the inn again, having met no one whom they knew, except two pilgrims who had been their fellow-passengers on the dromon. these men were astonished when they said that they had been through the saracen quarter of the city, where, although this town was in the hands of the christians, it was scarcely thought safe for franks to venture without a strong guard. when the brethren were back in their chamber, seated at the far end of it, and speaking very low, lest they should be overheard, they consulted together long and earnestly as to what they should do. this was clear--they and something of their mission were known, and doubtless notice of their coming would soon be given to the sultan saladin. from the king and great christian lords in jerusalem they could expect little help, since to give it might be to bring about an open rupture with saladin, such as the franks dreaded, and for which they were ill prepared. indeed, if they went to them, it seemed likely that they would be prevented from stirring in this dangerous search for a woman who was the niece of saladin, and for aught they knew thrown into prison, or shipped back to europe. true, they might try to find their way to damascus alone, but if the sultan was warned of their coming, would he not cause them to be killed upon the road, or cast into some dungeon where they would languish out their lives? the more they spoke of these matters the more they were perplexed, till at length godwin said: "brother, our uncle bade us earnestly to seek out this al-je-bal, and though it seems that to do so is very dangerous, i think that we had best obey him who may have been given foresight at the last. when all paths are full of thorns what matter which you tread?" "a good saying," answered wulf. "i am weary of doubts and troublings. let us follow our uncle's will, and visit this old man of the mountains, to do which i think the widow masouda is the woman to help us. if we die on that journey, well, at least we shall have done our best." chapter nine: the horses flame and smoke on the following morning, when they came into the eating-room of the inn, godwin and wulf found they were no longer alone in the house, for sundry other guests sat there partaking of their morning meal. among them were a grave merchant of damascus, another from alexandria in egypt, a man who seemed to be an arab chief, a jew of jerusalem, and none other than the english trader thomas of ipswich, their fellow-passenger, who greeted them warmly. truly they seemed a strange and motley set of men. considering them as the young and stately widow masouda moved from one to the other, talking to each in turn while she attended to their wants, it came into godwin's mind that they might be spies meeting there to gain or exchange information, or even to make report to their hostess, in whose pay perhaps they were. still if so, of this they showed no sign. indeed, for the most part they spoke in french, which all of them understood, on general matters, such as the heat of the weather, the price of transport animals or merchandise, and the cities whither they purposed to travel. the trader thomas, it appeared, had intended to start for jerusalem that morning with his goods. but the riding mule he had bought proved to be lame from a prick in the hoof, nor were all his hired camels come down from the mountains, so that he must wait a few days, or so he said. under these circumstances, he offered the brethren his company in their ramblings about the town. this they thought it wise not to refuse, although they felt little confidence in the man, believing that it was he who had found out their story and true names and revealed them to masouda, either through talkativeness or with a purpose. however these things might be, this thomas proved of service to them, since, although he was but just landed, he seemed to know all that had passed in syria since he left it, and all that was passing then. thus he told them how guy of lusignan had just made himself king in jerusalem on the death of the child baldwin, and how raymond of tripoli refused to acknowledge him and was about to be besieged in tiberias. how saladin also was gathering a great host at damascus to make war upon the christians, and many other things, false and true. in his company, then, and sometimes in that of the other guests-- none of whom showed any curiosity concerning them, though whether this was from good manners or for other reasons they could not be sure--the brethren passed the hours profitably enough. it was on the third morning of their stay that their hostess masouda, with whom as yet they had no further private talk, asked them if they had not said that they wished to buy horses. on their answering "yes," she added that she had told a certain man to bring two for them to look at, which were now in the stable beyond the garden. thither they went, accompanied by masouda, to find a grave arab, wrapped in a garment of camel's hair and carrying a spear in his hand, standing at the door of the cave which served the purpose of a stable, as is common in the east where the heat is so great. as they advanced towards him, masouda said: "if you like the horses, leave me to bargain, and seem to understand nothing of my talk." the arab, who took no notice of them, saluted masouda, and said to her in arabic: "is it then for franks that i have been ordered to bring the two priceless ones?" "what is that to you, my uncle, son of the sand?" she asked. "let them be led forth that i may know whether they are those for which i sent." the man turned and called into the door of the cave. "flame, come hither!" as he spoke, there was a sound of hoofs, and through the low archway leapt the most beautiful horse that ever their eyes had seen. it was grey in colour, with flowing mane and tail, and on its forehead was a black star; not over tall, but with a barrel-like shape of great strength, small-headed, large-eyed; wide-nostriled, big-boned, but fine beneath the knee, and round-hoofed. out it sprang snorting; then seeing its master, the arab, checked itself and stood still by him as though it had been turned to stone. "come hither, smoke," called the arab again, and another horse appeared and ranged itself by the first. in size and shape it was the same, but the colour was coal-black and the star upon its forehead white. also the eye was more fiery. "these are the horses," said the arab, masouda translating. "they are twins, seven years old and never backed until they were rising six, cast at a birth by the swiftest mare in syria, and of a pedigree that can be counted for a hundred years." "horses indeed!" said wulf. "horses indeed! but what is the price of them?" masouda repeated the question in arabic, whereon the man replied in the same tongue with a slight shrug of the shoulders. "be not foolish. you know this is no question of price, for they are beyond price. say what you will." "he says," said masouda, "that it is a hundred gold pieces for the pair. can you pay as much?" the brethren looked at each other. the sum was large. "such horses have saved men's lives ere now," added masouda, "and i do not think that i can ask him to take less, seeing that, did he but know it, in jerusalem they could be sold for thrice as much. but if you wish, i could lend you money, since doubtless you have jewels or other articles of value you could give as security--that ring in your breast, for instance, peter." "we have the gold itself," answered wulf, who would have paid to his last piece for those horses. "they buy," said masouda. "they buy, but can they ride?" asked the arab. "these horses are not for children or pilgrims. unless they can ride well they shall not have them--no, not even if you ask it of me." godwin said that he thought so--at least, they would try. then the arab, leaving the horses standing there, went into the stable, and with the help of two of the inn servants, brought out bridles and saddles unlike any they had seen. they were but thickly-quilted pads stretching far back upon the horses' loins, with strong hide girths strapped with wool and chased stirrups fashioned like half hoofs. the bits also were only snaffles without curbs. when all was ready and the stirrups had been let down to the length they desired, the arab motioned to them to mount. as they prepared to do so, however, he spoke some word, and suddenly those meek, quiet horses were turned into two devils, which reared up on their hind legs and threatened them with their teeth and their front hoofs, that were shod with thin plates of iron. godwin stood wondering, but wulf, who was angry at the trick, got behind the horses, and watching his chance, put his hands upon the flanks of the stallion named smoke, and with one spring leapt into the saddle. masouda smiled, and even the arab muttered "good," while smoke, feeling himself backed, came to the ground again and became quiet as a sheep. then the arab spoke to the horse flame, and godwin was allowed to vault into the saddle also. "where shall we go?" he asked. masouda said they would show them, and, accompanied by her and the arab, they walked the horses until they were quite clear of the town, to find themselves on a road that had the sea to the left, and to the right a stretch of flat land, some of it cultivated, above which rose the steep and stony sides of hills. here on this road the brethren trotted and cantered the horses to and fro, till they began to be at home in their strange saddles who from childhood had ridden barebacked in the essex marshes, and to learn what pressure on the bit was needed to check or turn them. when they came back to where the pair stood, masouda said that if they were not afraid the seller wished to show them that the horses were both strong and swift. "we fear no ride that he dares to take himself," answered wulf angrily, whereon the arab smiled grimly and said something in a low voice to masouda. then, placing his hand upon smoke's flank, he leapt up behind wulf, the horse never stirring. "say, peter, are you minded to take a companion for this ride?" asked masouda; and as she spoke a strange look came into her eyes, a wild look that was new to the brethren. "surely," answered godwin, "but where is the companion?" her reply was to do as the arab had done, and seating herself straddle-legged behind godwin, to clasp him around the middle. "truly you look a pretty pilgrim now, brother," said wulf, laughing aloud, while even the grave arab smiled and godwin muttered between his teeth the old proverb "woman on croup, devil on bow." but aloud he said, "i am indeed honoured; yet, friend masouda, if harm should come of this, do not blame me." "no harm will come--to you, friend peter; and i have been so long cooped in an inn that i, who am desert-born, wish for a gallop on the mountains with a good horse beneath me and a brave knight in front. listen, you brethren; you say you do not fear; then leave your bridles loose, and where'er we go and whate'er we meet seek not to check or turn the horses flame and smoke. now, son of the sand, we will test these nags of which you sing so loud a song. away, and let the ride be fast and far!" "on your head be it then, daughter," answered the old arab. "pray allah that these franks can sit a horse!" then his sombre eyes seemed to take fire, and gripping the encircling saddle girth, he uttered some word of command, at which the stallions threw up their heads and began to move at a long, swinging gallop towards the mountains a mile away. at first they went over cultivated land off which the crops had been already cut, taking two or three ditches and a low wall in their stride so smoothly that the brethren felt as though they were seated upon swallows. then came a space of sandy sward, half a mile or more, where their pace quickened, after which they began to breast the long slope of a hill, picking their way amongst its stones like cats. ever steeper it grew, till in places it was so sheer that godwin must clutch the mane of flame, and masouda must cling close to godwin's middle to save themselves from slipping off behind. yet, notwithstanding the double weights they bore, those gallant steeds never seemed to falter or to tire. at one spot they plunged through a mountain stream. godwin noted that not fifty yards to their right this stream fell over a little precipice cutting its way between cliffs which were full eighteen feet from bank to bank, and thought to himself that had they struck it lower down, that ride must have ended. beyond the stream lay a hundred yards or so of level ground, and above it still steeper country, up which they pushed their way through bushes, till at length they came to the top of the mountain and saw the plain they had left lying two miles or more below them. "these horses climb hills like goats," wulf said; "but one thing is certain: we must lead them down." now on the top of the mountain was a stretch of land almost flat and stoneless, over which they cantered forward, gathering speed as the horses recovered their wind till the pace grew fast. suddenly the stallions threw themselves on to their haunches and stopped, as well they might, for they were on the verge of a chasm, at whose far foot a river brawled in foam. for a moment they stood; then, at some word from the arab, wheeled round, and, bearing to the left, began to gallop back across the tableland, until they approached the edge of the mountainside, where the brethren thought that they would stop. but masouda cried to the arab, and the arab cried to the horses, and wulf cried to godwin in the english tongue, "show no fear, brother. where they go, we can go." "pray god that the girths may hold," answered godwin, leaning back against the breast of masouda behind him. as he spoke they began to descend the hill, slowly at first, afterwards faster and yet more fast, till they rushed downwards like a whirlwind. how did those horses keep their footing? they never knew, and certainly none that were bred in england could have done so. yet never falling, never stumbling even, on they sped, taking great rocks in their stride, till at length they reached the level piece of land above the stream, or rather above the cleft full eighteen feet in width at the foot of which that stream ran. godwin saw and turned cold. were these folk mad that they would put double-laden horses at such a jump? if they hung back, if they missed their stride, if they caught hoof or sprang short, swift death was their portion. but the old arab seated behind wulf only shouted aloud, and masouda only tightened her round arms about godwin's middle and laughed in his ear. the horses heard the shout, and seeming to see what was before them, stretched out their long necks and rushed forward over the flat ground. now they were on the edge of the terrible place, and, like a man in a dream, godwin noted the sharp, sheer lips of the cliff, the gulf between them, and the white foam of the stream a score of yards beneath. then he felt the brave horse flame gather itself together and next instant fly into the air like a bird. also--and was this dream indeed, or even as they sped over that horrible pit did he feel a woman's lips pressed upon his cheek? he was not sure. who could have been at such a time, with death beneath them? perchance it was the wind that kissed him, or a lock of her loose hair which struck across his face. indeed, at the moment he thought of other things than women's lips--those of the black and yawning gulf, for instance. they swooped through the air, the white foam vanished, they were safe. no; the hind feet of flame had missed their footing, they fell, they were lost. a struggle. how tight those arms clung about him. how close that face was pressed against his own. lo! it was over. they were speeding down the hill, and alongside of the grey horse flame raced the black horse smoke. wulf on its back, with eyes that seemed to be starting from his head, was shouting, "a d'arcy! a d'arcy!" and behind him, turban gone, and white burnous floating like a pennon on the air, the grim-visaged arab, who also shouted. swifter and yet swifter. did ever horses gallop so fast? swifter and yet swifter, till the air sang past them and the ground seemed to fly away beneath. the slope was done. they were on the flat; the flat was past, they were in the fields; the fields were left behind; and, behold! side by side, with hanging heads and panting flanks, the horses smoke and flame stood still upon the road, their sweating hides dyed red in the light of the sinking sun. the grip loosened from about godwin's middle. it had been close; on masouda's round and naked arms were the prints of the steel shirt beneath his tunic, for she slipped to the ground and stood looking at them. then she smiled one of her slow, thrilling smiles, gasped and said: "you ride well, pilgrim peter, and pilgrim john rides well also, and these are good horses; and, oh! that ride was worth the riding, even though death had been its end. son of the sand, my uncle, what say you?" "that i grow old for such gallops--two on one horse, with nothing to win." "nothing to win?" said masouda. "i am not so sure!" and she looked at godwin. "well, you have sold your horses to pilgrims who can ride, and they have proved them, and i have had a change from my cooking in the inn, to which i must now get me back again." wulf wiped the sweat from his brow, shook his head, and muttered: "i always heard the east was full of madmen and devils; now i know that it is true." but godwin said nothing. they led the horses back to the inn, where the brethren groomed them down under the direction of the arab, that the gallant beasts might get used to them, which, after carrying them upon that fearful ride, they did readily enough. then they fed them with chopped barley, ear and straw together, and gave them water to drink that had stood in the sun all day to warm, in which the arab mixed flour and some white wine. next morning at the dawn they rose to see how flame and smoke fared after that journey. entering the stable, they heard the sound of a man weeping, and hidden in the shadow, saw by the low light of the morning that it was the old arab, who stood with his back to them, an arm around the neck of each horse, which he kissed from time to time. moreover, he talked aloud in his own tongue to them, calling them his children, and saying that rather would he sell his wife and his sister to the franks. "but," he added, "she has spoken--why, i know not--and i must obey. well, at least they are gallant men and worthy of such steeds. half i hoped that you and the three of us and my niece masouda, the woman with the secret face and eyes that have looked on fear, might perish in the cleft of the stream; but it was not willed of allah. so farewell, flame, and farewell, smoke, children of the desert, who are swifter than arrows, for never more shall i ride you in battle. well, at least i have others of your matchless blood." then godwin touched wulf on the shoulder, and they crept away from the stable without the arab knowing that they had been there, for it seemed shameful to pry upon his grief. when they reached their room again godwin asked wulf: "why does this man sell us those noble steeds?" "because his niece masouda has bid him so to do," he answered. "and why has she bidden him?" "ah!" replied wulf. "he called her 'the woman with the secret face and eyes that have looked on fear,' didn't he? well, for reasons that have to do with his family perhaps, or with her secrets, or us, with whom she plays some game of which we know neither the beginning nor the end. but, brother godwin, you are wiser than i. why do you ask me these riddles? for my part, i do not wish to trouble my head about them. all i know is that the game is a brave one, and i mean to go through with it, especially as i believe that this playing will lead us to rosamund." "may it lead us nowhere worse," answered godwin with something like a groan, for he remembered that dream of his which he dreamed in mid-air between the edges of black rock with the bubbling foam beneath. but to wulf he said nothing of this dream. when the sun was fully up they prepared to go out again, taking with them the gold to pay the arab; but on opening the door of their room they met masouda, apparently about to knock upon it. "whither go you, friends peter and john, and so early?" she asked, looking at them with a smile upon her beautiful face that was so thrilling and seemed to hide so much mystery. godwin thought to himself that it was like another smile, that on the face of the woman-headed, stone sphinx which they had seen set up in the market place of beirut. "to visit our horses and pay your uncle, the arab, his money," answered wulf. "indeed! i thought i saw you do the first an hour ago, and as for the second, it is useless; son of the sand has gone." "gone! with the horses?" "nay, he has left them behind." "did you pay him, then, lady?" asked godwin. it was easy to see that masouda was pleased at this courteous word, for her voice, which in general seemed a little hard, softened as she answered, for the first time giving him his own title. "why do you call me 'lady,' sir godwin d'arcy, who am but an inn-keeper, for whom sometimes men find hard names? well, perhaps i was a lady once before i became an inn-keeper; but now i am--the widow masouda, as you are the pilgrim peter. still, i thank you for this--bad guess of yours." then stepping back a foot or two towards the door, which she had closed behind her, she made him a curtsey so full of dignity and grace that any who saw it must be sure that, wherever she might dwell, masouda was not bred in inns. godwin returned the bow, doffing his cap. their eyes met and in hers he learned that he had no treachery to fear from this woman, whatever else he might have to fear. indeed, from that moment, however black and doubtful seemed the road, he would have trusted his life to her; for this was the message written there, a message which she meant that he should read. yet at his heart he felt terribly afraid. wulf, who saw something of all this and guessed more, also was afraid. he wondered what rosamund would have thought of it, if she had seen that strange and turbulent look in the eyes of this woman who had been a lady and was an inn-keeper; of one whom men called spy, and daughter of satan, and child of al-je-bal. to his fancy that look was like a flash of lightning upon a dark night, which for a second illumines some magical, unguessed landscape, after which comes the night again, blacker than before. now the widow masouda was saying in her usual somewhat hard voice: "no; i did not pay him. at the last he would take no money; but, having passed it, neither would he break his word to knights who ride so well and boldly. so i made a bargain with him on behalf of both of you, which i expect that you will keep, since my good faith is pledged, and this arab is a chief and my kinsman. it is this, that if you and these horses should live, and the time comes when you have no more need of them, you will cause it to be cried in the market-place of whatever town is nearest to you, by the voice of the public crier, that for six days they stand to be returned to him who lent them. then if he comes not they can be sold, which must not be sold or given away to any one without this proclamation. do you consent?" "ay," answered both of them, but wulf added: "only we should like to know why the arab, son-of-the-sand, who is your kinsman, trusts his glorious horses to us in this fashion." "your breakfast is served, my guests," answered masouda in tones that rang like the clash of metal, so steely were they. whereon wulf shook his head and followed her into the eating-room, which was now empty again as it had been on the afternoon of their arrival. most of that day they spent with their horses. in the evening, this time unaccompanied by masouda, they rode out for a little way, though rather doubtfully, since they were not sure that these beasts which seemed to be almost human would not take the bits between their teeth and rush with them back to the desert whence they came. but although from time to time they looked about them for their master, the arab, whinnying as they looked, this they did not do, or show vice of any kind; indeed, two iadies' palfreys could not have been more quiet. so the brethren brought them home again, groomed, fed and fondled them, while they pricked their ears, sniffing them all over, as though they knew that these were their new lords and wished to make friends of them. the morrow was a sunday, and, attended by masouda's slave, without whom she would not suffer them to walk in the town, the brethren went to mass in the big church which once had been a mosque, wearing pilgrim's robes over their mail. "do you not accompany us, who are of the faith?" asked wulf. "nay," answered masouda, "i am in no mood to make confession. this day i count my beads at home." so they went alone, and mingling with a crowd of humble persons at the back of the church, which was large and dim, watched the knights and priests of various nations struggling for precedence of place beneath the dome. also they heard the bishop of the town preach a sermon from which they learnt much. he spoke at length of the great coming war with saladin, whom he named anti-christ. moreover, he prayed them all to compose their differences and prepare for that awful struggle, lest in the end the cross of their master should be trampled under foot of the saracen, his soldiers slain, his fanes desecrated, and his people slaughtered or driven into the sea--words of warning that were received in heavy silence. "four full days have gone by. let us ask our hostess if she has any news for us," said wulf as they walked back to the inn. "ay, we will ask her," answered godwin. as it chanced, there was no need, for when they entered their chamber they found masouda standing in the centre of it, apparently lost in thought. "i have come to speak with you," she said, looking up. "do you still wish to visit the sheik al-je-bal?" they answered "yes." "good. i have leave for you to go; but i counsel you not to go, since it is dangerous. let us be open with one another. i know your object. i knew it an hour before ever you set foot upon this shore, and that is why you were brought to my house. you would seek the help of the lord sinan against salah-ed-din, from whom you hope to rescue a certain great lady of his blood who is your kinswoman and whom both of you--desire in marriage. you see, i have learned that also. well, this land is full of spies, who travel to and from europe and make report of all things to those who pay them enough. for instance--i can say it, as you will not see him again--the trader thomas, with whom you stayed in this house, is such a spy. to him your story has been passed on by other spies in england, and he passed it on to me." "are then you a spy also, as the porter called you?" asked wulf outright. "i am what i am," she answered coldly. "perhaps i also have sworn oaths and serve as you serve. who my master is or why i do so is naught to you. but i like you well, and we have ridden together-- a wild ride. therefore i warn you, though perhaps i should not say so much, that the lord al-je-bal is one who takes payment for what he gives, and that this business may cost you your lives." "you warned us against saladin also," said godwin, "so what is left to us if we may dare a visit to neither?" she shrugged her shoulders. "to take service under one of the great frankish lords and wait a chance that will never come. or, better still, to sew some cockle shells into your hats, go home as holy men who have made the pilgrimage, marry the richest wives that you can find, and forget masouda the widow, and al-je-bal and salah-ed-din and the lady about whom he has dreamed a dream. only then," she added in a changed voice, "remember, you must leave the horses flame and smoke behind you." "we wish to ride those horses," said wulf lightly, and godwin turned on her with anger in his eyes. "you seem to know our story," he said, "and the mission to which we are sworn. what sort of knights do you think us, then, that you offer us counsel which is fitter for those spies from whom you learn your tidings? you talk of our lives. well, we hold our lives in trust, and when they are asked of us we will yield them up, having done all that we may do." "well spoken," answered masouda. "ill should i have thought of you had you said otherwise. but why would you go to al-je-bal?" "because our uncle at his death bade us so to do without fail, and having no other counsel we will take that of his spirit, let come what may." "well spoken again! then to al-je-bal you shall go, and let come what come may--to all three of us!" "to all three of us?" said wulf. "what, then, is your part in this matter?" "i do not know, but perhaps more than you think. at least, i must be your guide." "do you mean to betray us?" asked wulf bluntly. she drew herself up and looked him in the eyes till he grew red, then said: "ask your brother if he thinks that i mean to betray you. no; i mean to save you, if i can, and it comes into my mind that before all is done you will need saving, who speak so roughly to those who would befriend you. nay, answer not; it is not strange that you should doubt. pilgrims to the fearful shrine of al-je-bal, if it pleases you, we will ride at nightfall. do not trouble about food and such matters. i will make preparation, but we go alone and secretly. take only your arms and what garments you may need; the rest i will store, and for it give you my receipt. now i go to make things ready. see, i pray of you, that the horses flame and smoke are saddled by sunset." at sundown, accordingly, the brethren stood waiting in their room. they were fully armed beneath their rough pilgrims' robes, even to the bucklers which had been hidden in their baggage. also the saddle-bags of carpet which masouda had given them were packed with such things as they must take, the rest having been handed over to her keeping. presently the door opened, and a young man stood before them clothed in the rough camel-hair garment, or burnous, which is common in the east. "what do you want?" asked godwin. "i want you, brothers peter and john," was the reply, and they saw that the slim young man was masouda. "what! you english innocents, do you not know a woman through a camel-hair cloak?" she added as she led the way to the stable. "well, so much the better, for it shows that my disguise is good. henceforth be pleased to forget the widow masouda and, until we reach the land of al-je-bal, to remember that i am your servant, a halfbreed from jaffa named david, of no religion--or of all." in the stable the horses stood saddled, and near to them another--a good arab--and two laden cyprian mules, but no attendant was to be seen. they brought them out and mounted, masouda riding like a man and leading the mules, of which the head of one was tied to the tail of the other. five minutes later they were clear of beirut, and through the solemn twilight hush, followed the road whereon they had tried the horses, towards the dog river, three leagues away, which masouda said they would reach by moonrise. soon it grew very dark, and she rode alongside of them to show them the path, but they did not talk much. wulf asked her who would take care of the inn while she was absent, to which she answered sharply that the inn would take care of itself, and no more. picking their way along the stony road at a slow amble, they crossed the bed of two streams then almost dry, till at length they heard running water sounding above that of the slow wash of the sea to their left, and masouda bade them halt. so they waited, until presently the moon rose in a clear sky, revealing a wide river in front, the pale ocean a hundred feet beneath them to the left, and to the right great mountains, along the face of which their path was cut. so bright was it that godwin could see strange shapes carven on the sheer face of the rock, and beneath them writing which he could not read. "what are these?" he asked masouda. "the tablets of kings," she answered, "whose names are written in your holy book, who ruled syria and egypt thousands of years ago. they were great in their day when they took this land, greater even than salah-ed-din, and now these seals which they set upon this rock are all that is left of them." godwin and wulf stared at the weather-worn sculptures, and in the silence of that moonlit place there arose in their minds a vision of the mighty armies of different tongues and peoples who had stood in their pride on this road and looked upon yonder river and the great stone wolf that guarded it, which wolf, so said the legend, howled at the approach of foes. but now he howled no more, for he lay headless beneath the waters, and there he lies to this day. well, they were dead, everyone of them, and even their deeds were forgotten; and oh! how small the thought of it made them feel, these two young men bent upon a desperate quest in a strange and dangerous land. masouda read what was passing in their hearts, and as they came to the brink of the river, pointed to the bubbles that chased each other towards the sea, bursting and forming again before their eyes. "such are we," she said briefly; "but the ocean is always yonder, and the river is always here, and of fresh bubbles there will always be a plenty. so dance on life's water while you may, in the sunlight, in the moonlight, beneath the storm, beneath the stars, for ocean calls and bubbles burst. now follow me, for i know the ford, and at this season the stream is not deep. pilgrim peter, ride you at my side in case i should be washed from the saddle; and pilgrim john, come you behind, and if they hang back, prick the mules with your sword point." thus, then, they entered the river, which many might have feared to do at night, and, although once or twice the water rose to their saddles and the mules were stubborn in the swift stream, in the end gained the further bank in safety. thence they pursued their path through mountains till at length the sun rose and they found themselves in a lonely land where no one was to be seen. here they halted in a grove of oaks, off-saddled their animals, tethered and fed them with barley which they had brought upon a mule, and ate of the food that masouda had provided. then, having secured the beasts, they lay down to sleep, all three of them, since masouda said that here there was nothing to fear; and being weary, slept on till the heat of noon was past, when once more they fed the horses and mules, and having dined themselves, set forward upon their way. now their road--if road it could be called, for they could see none--ran ever upwards through rough, mountainous country, where seemed to dwell neither man nor beast. at sunset they halted again, and at moonrise went forward till the night turned towards morning, when they came to a place where was a little cave. before they reached this spot of a sudden the silence of those lonely hills was broken by a sound of roaring, not very near to them, but so loud and so long that it echoed and reechoed from the cliff. at it the horses flame and smoke pricked their ears and trembled, while the mules strove to break away and run back. "what is that?" asked wulf, who had never heard its like. "lions," answered masouda. "we draw near the country where there are many of them, and therefore shall do well to halt presently, since it is best to pass through that land in daylight." so when they came to the cave, having heard no more of the lion, or lions, they unsaddled there, purposing to put the horses into it, where they would be safe from the attack of any such ravening beast. but when they tried to do this, smoke and flame spread out their nostrils, and setting their feet firm before them, refused to enter the place, about which there was an evil smell. "perhaps jackals have been here," said masouda. "let us tether them all in the open." this then they did, building a fire in front of them with dry wood that lay about in plenty, for here grew sombre cedar trees. the brethren sat by this fire; but, the night being hot, masouda laid herself down about fifteen paces away under a cedar tree, which grew almost in front of the mouth of the cave, and slept, being tired with long riding. wulf slept also, since godwin had agreed to keep watch for the first part of the night. for an hour or more he sat close by the horses, and noted that they fed uneasily and would not lie down. soon, however, he was lost in his own thoughts, and, as he heard no more of the lions, fell to wondering over the strangeness of their journey and of what the end of it might be. he wondered also about masouda, who she was, how she came to know so much, why she befriended them if she really was a friend, and other things--for instance, of that leap over the sunken stream; and whether--no, surely he had been mistaken, her eyes had never looked at him like that. why, he was sleeping at his post, and the eyes in the darkness yonder were not those of a woman. women's eyes were not green and gold; they did not grow large, then lessen and vanish away. godwin sprang to his feet. as he thought, they were no eyes. he had dreamed, that was all. so he took cedar boughs and threw them on to the fire, where soon they flared gloriously, which done he sat himself down again close to wulf, who was lost in heavy slumber. the night was very still and the silence so deep that it pressed upon him like a weight. he could bear it no longer, and rising, began to walk up and down in front of the cave, drawing his sword and holding it in his hand as sentries do. masouda lay upon the ground, with her head pillowed on a saddle-bag, and the moonlight fell through the cedar boughs upon her face. godwin stopped to look at it, and wondered that he had never noted before how beautiful she was. perhaps it was but the soft and silvery light which clothed those delicate features with so much mystery and charm. she might be dead, not sleeping; but even as he thought this, life came into her face, colour stole up beneath the pale, olive-hued skin, the red lips opened, seeming to mutter some words, and she stretched out her rounded arms as though to clasp a vision of her dream. godwin turned aside; it seemed not right to watch her thus, although in truth he had only come to know that she was safe. he went back to the fire, and lifting a cedar bough, which blazed like a torch in his left hand, was about to lay it down again on the centre of the flame, when suddenly he heard the sharp and terrible cry of a woman in an agony of pain or fear, and at the same moment the horses and mules began to plunge and snort. in an instant, the blazing bough still in his hand, he was back by the cave, and lo! there before him, the form of masouda, hanging from its jaws, stood a great yellow beast, which, although he had never seen its like, he knew must be a lioness. it was heading for the cave, then catching sight of him, turned and bounded away in the direction of the fire, purposing to reenter the wood beyond. but the woman in its mouth cumbered it, and running swiftly, godwin came face to face with the brute just opposite the fire. he hurled the burning bough at it, whereon it dropped masouda, and rearing itself straight upon its hind legs, stretched out its claws, and seemed about to fall on him. for this godwin did not wait. he was afraid, indeed, who had never before fought lions, but he knew that he must do or die. therefore he charged straight at it, and with all the strength of his strong arm drove his long sword into the yellow breast, till it seemed to him that the steel vanished and he could see nothing but the hilt. then a shock, a sound of furious snarling, and down he went to earth beneath a soft and heavy weight, and there his senses left him. when they came back again something soft was still upon his face; but this proved to be only the hand of masouda, who bathed his brow with a cloth dipped in water, while wulf chafed his hands. godwin sat up, and in the light of the new risen sun, saw a dead lioness lying before him, its breast still transfixed with his own sword. "so i saved you," he said faintly. "yes, you saved me," answered masouda, and kneeling down she kissed his feet; then rising again, with her long, soft hair wiped away the blood that was running from a wound in his arm. chapter ten: on board the galley rosamund was led from the hall of steeple across the meadow down to the quay at steeple creek, where a great boat waited--that of which the brethren had found the impress in the mud. in this the band embarked, placing their dead and wounded, with one or two to tend them, in the fishing skiff that had belonged to her father. this skiff having been made fast to the stern of the boat, they pushed off, and in utter silence rowed down the creek till they reached the tidal stream of the blackwater, where they turned their bow seawards. through the thick night and the falling snow slowly they felt their way along, sometimes rowing, sometimes drifting, while the false palmer nicholas steered them. the journey proved dangerous, for they could scarcely see the shore, although they kept as close to it as they dared. the end of it was that they grounded on a mud bank, and, do what they would, could not thrust themselves free. now hope rose in the heart of rosamund, who sat still as a statue in the middle of the boat, the prince hassan at her side and the armed men--twenty or thirty of them--all about her. perhaps, she thought, they would remain fast there till daybreak, and be seen and rescued when the brethren woke from their drugged sleep. but hassan read her mind, and said to her gently enough: "be not deceived, lady, for i must tell you that if the worst comes to the worst, we shall place you in the little skiff and go on, leaving the rest to take their chance." as it happened, at the full tide they floated off the bank and drifted with the ebb down towards the sea. at the first break of dawn she looked up, and there, looming large in the mist, lay a galley, anchored in the mouth of the river. giving thanks to allah for their safe arrival, the band brought her aboard and led her towards the cabin. on the poop stood a tall man, who was commanding the sailors that they should get up the anchor. as she came he advanced to her, bowing and saying: "lady rosamund, thus you find me once more, who doubtless you never thought to see again." she looked at him in the faint light and her blood went cold. it was the knight lozelle. "you here, sir hugh?" she gasped. "where you are, there i am," he answered, with a sneer upon his coarse, handsome face. "did i not swear that it should be so, beauteous rosamund, after your saintly cousin worsted me in the fray?" "you here?" she repeated, "you, a christian knight, and in the pay of saladin!" "in the pay of anyone who leads me to you, rosamund." then, seeing the emir hassan approach, he turned to give some orders to the sailors, and she passed on to the cabin and in her agony fell upon her knees. when rosamund rose from them she felt that the ship was moving, and, desiring to look her last on essex land, went out again upon the poop, where hassan and sir hugh placed themselves, one upon either side of her. then it was that she saw the tower of st. peter's-on-the-wall and her cousins seated on horseback in front of it, the light of the risen sun shining upon their mail. also she saw wulf spur his horse into the sea, and faintly heard his great cry of "fear not! we follow, we follow!" a thought came to her, and she sprang towards the bulwark; but they were watching and held her, so that all that she could do was to throw up her arms in token. now the wind caught the sail and the ship went forward swiftly, so that soon she lost sight of them. then in her grief and rage rosamund turned upon sir hugh lozelle and beat him with bitter words till he shrank before her. "coward and traitor!" she said. "so it was you who planned this, knowing every secret of our home, where often you were a guest! you who for paynim gold have murdered my father, not daring to show your face before his sword, but hanging like a thief upon the coast, ready to receive what braver men had stolen. oh! may god avenge his blood and me on you, false knight--false to him and me and faith and honour--as avenge he will! heard you not what my kinsman called to me? 'we follow. we follow!' yes, they follow, and their swords--those swords you feared to look on--shall yet pierce your heart and give up your soul to your master satan," and she paused, trembling with her righteous wrath, while hassan stared at her and muttered: "by allah, a princess indeed! so have i seen salah-ed-din look in his rage. yes, and she has his very eyes." but sir hugh answered in a thick voice. "let them follow--one or both. i fear them not and out there my foot will not slip in the snow." "then i say that it shall slip in the sand or on a rock," she answered, and turning, fled to the cabin and cast herself down and wept till she thought that her heart would break. well might rosamund weep whose beloved sire was slain, who was torn from her home to find herself in the power of a man she hated. yet there was hope for her. hassan, eastern trickster as he might be, was her friend; and her uncle, saladin, at least, would never wish that she should be shamed. most like he knew nothing of this man lozelle, except as one of those christian traitors who were ever ready to betray the cross for gold. but saladin was far away and her home lay behind her, and her cousins and lovers were eating out their hearts upon that fading shore. and she--one woman alone--was on this ship with the evil man lozelle, who thus had kept his promise, and there were none save easterns to protect her, none save them--and god, who had permitted that such things should be. the ship swayed, she grew sick and faint. hassan brought her food with his own hands, but she loathed it who only desired to die. the day turned to night, the night turned to day again, and always hassan brought her food and strove to comfort her, till at length she remembered no more. then came a long, long sleep, and in the sleep dreams of her father standing with his face to the foe and sweeping them down with his long sword as a sickle sweeps corn--of her father felled by the pilgrim knave, dying upon the floor of his own house, and saying "god will guard you. his will be done." dreams of godwin and wulf also fighting to save her, plighting their troths and swearing their oaths, and between the dreams blackness. rosamund awoke to feel the sun streaming warmly through the shutter of her cabin, and to see a woman who held a cup in her hand, watching her--a stout woman of middle age with a not unkindly face. she looked about her and remembered all. so she was still in the ship. "whence come you?" she asked the woman. "from france, lady. this ship put in at marseilles, and there i was hired to nurse one who lay sick, which suited me very well, as i wished to go to jerusalem to seek my husband, and good money was offered me. still, had i known that they were all saracens on this ship, i am not sure that i should have come--that is, except the captain, sir hugh, and the palmer nicholas; though what they, or you either, are doing in such company i cannot guess." "what is your name?" asked rosamund idly. "marie--marie bouchet. my husband is a fishmonger, or was, until one of those crusading priests got hold of him and took him off to kill paynims and save his soul, much against my will. well, i promised him that if he did not return in five years i would come to look for him. so here i am, but where he may be is another matter." "it is brave of you to go," said rosamund, then added by an afterthought, "how long is it since we left marseilles?" marie counted on her fat fingers, and answered: "five--nearly six weeks. you have been wandering in your mind all that time, talking of many strange things, and we have called at three ports. i forget their names, but the last one was an island with a beautiful harbour. now, in about twenty days, if all goes well, we should reach another island called cyprus. but you must not talk so much, you must sleep. the saracen called hassan, who is a clever doctor, told me so." so rosamund slept, and from that time forward, floating on the calm mediterranean sea, her strength began to come back again rapidly, who was young and strong in body and constitution. three days later she was helped to the deck, where the first man she saw was hassan, who came forward to greet her with many eastern salutations and joy written on his dark, wrinkled face. "i give thanks to allah for your sake and my own," he said. "for yours that you still live whom i thought would die, and for myself that had you died your life would have been required at my hands by salah-ed-din, my master." "if so, he should have blamed azrael, not you," answered rosamund, smiling; then suddenly turned cold, for before her was sir hugh lozelle, who also thanked heaven that she had recovered. she listened to him coldly, and presently he went away, but soon was at her side again. indeed, she could never be free of him, for whenever she appeared on deck he was there, nor could he be repelled, since neither silence nor rebuff would stir him. always he sat near, talking in his false, hateful voice, and devouring her with the greedy eyes which she could feel fixed upon her face. with him often was his jackal, the false palmer nicholas, who crawled about her like a snake and strove to flatter her, but to this man she would never speak a word. at last she could bear it no longer, and when her health had returned to her, summoned hassan to her cabin. "tell me, prince," she said, "who rules upon this vessel?" "three people," he answered, bowing. "the knight, sir hugh lozelle, who, as a skilled navigator, is the captain and rules the sailors; i, who rule the fighting men; and you, princess, who rule us all." "then i command that the rogue named nicholas shall not be allowed to approach me. is it to be borne that i must associate with my father's murderer?" "i fear that in that business we all had a hand, nevertheless your order shall be obeyed. to tell you the truth, lady, i hate the fellow, who is but a common spy." "i desire also," went on rosamund, "to speak no more with sir hugh lozelle." "that is more difficult," said hassan, "since he is the captain whom my master ordered me to obey in all things that have to do with the ship." "i have nothing to do with the ship," answered rosamund; "and surely the princess of baalbec, if so i am, may choose her own companions. i wish to see more of you and less of sir hugh lozelle." "i am honoured," replied hassan, "and will do my best." for some days after this, although he was always watching her, lozelle approached rosamund but seldom, and whenever he did so he found hassan at her side, or rather standing behind her like a guard. at length, as it chanced, the prince was taken with a sickness from drinking bad water which held him to his bed for some days, and then lozelle found his opportunity. rosamund strove to keep her cabin to avoid him, but the heat of the summer sun in the mediterranean drove her out of it to a place beneath an awning on the poop, where she sat with the woman marie. here lozelle approached her, pretending to bring her food or to inquire after her comfort, but she would answer him nothing. at length, since marie could understand what he said in french, he addressed her in arabic, which he spoke well, but she feigned not to understand him. then he used the english tongue as it was talked among the common people in essex, and said: "lady, how sorely you misjudge me. what is my crime against you? i am an essex man of good lineage, who met you in essex and learnt to love you there. is that a crime, in one who is not poor, who, moreover, was knighted for his deeds by no mean hand? your father said me nay, and you said me nay, and, stung by my disappointment and his words--for he called me sea-thief and raked up old tales that are not true against me--i talked as i should not have done, swearing that i would wed you yet in spite of all. for this i was called to account with justice, and your cousin, the young knight godwin, who was then a squire, struck me in the face. well, he worsted and wounded me, fortune favouring him, and i departed with my vessel to the east, for that is my business, to trade between syria and england. "now, as it chanced, there being peace at the time between the sultan and the christians, i visited damascus to buy merchandise. whilst i was there saladin sent for me and asked if it were true that i belonged to a part of england called essex. when i answered yes, he asked if i knew sir andrew d'arcy and his daughter. again i said yes, whereon he told me that strange tale of your kinship to him, of which i had heard already; also a still stranger tale of some dream that he had dreamed concerning you, which made it necessary that you should be brought to his court, where he was minded to raise you to great honour. in the end, he offered to hire my finest ship for a large sum, if i would sail it to england to fetch you; but he did not tell me that any force was to be used, and i, on my part, said that i would lift no hand against you or your father, nor indeed have i done so." "who remembered the swords of godwin and wulf," broke in rosamund scornfully, "and preferred that braver men should face them." "lady," answered lozelle, colouring, "hitherto none have accused me of a lack of courage. of your courtesy, listen, i pray you. i did wrong to enter on this business; but lady, it was love for you that drove me to it, for the thought of this long voyage in your company was a bait i could not withstand." "paynim gold was the bait you could not withstand--that is what you mean. be brief, i pray you. i weary. "lady, you are harsh and misjudge me, as i will show," and he looked about him cautiously. "within a week from now, if all goes well, we cast anchor at limazol in cyprus, to take in food and water before we run to a secret port near antioch, whence you are to be taken overland to damascus, avoiding all cities of the franks. now, the emperor isaac of cyprus is my friend, and over him saladin has no power. once in his court, you would be safe until such time as you found opportunity to return to england. this, then, is my plan--that you should escape from the ship at night as i can arrange." "and what is your payment," she asked, "who are a merchant knight?" "my payment, lady, is--yourself. in cyprus we will be wed--oh! think before you answer. at damascus many dangers await you; with me you will find safety and a christian husband who loves you well--so well that for your sake he is willing to lose his ship and, what is more, to break faith with saladin, whose arm is long." "have done," she said coldly. "sooner will i trust myself to an honest saracen than to you, sir hugh, whose spurs, if you met your desert, should be hacked from your heels by scullions. yes, sooner would i take death for my lord than you, who for your own base ends devised the plot that brought my father to his murder and me to slavery. have done, i say, and never dare again to speak of love to me," and rising, she walked past him to her cabin. but lozelle looking after her muttered to himself, "nay, fair lady, i have but begun; nor will i forget your bitter words, for which you shall pay the merchant knight in kisses." from her cabin rosamund sent a message to hassan, saying that she would speak with him. he came, still pale with illness, and asked her will, whereon she told him what had passed between lozelle and herself, demanding his protection against this man. hassan's eyes flashed. "yonder he stands," he said, "alone. will you come with me and speak to him?" she bowed her head, and giving her his hand, he led her to the poop. "sir captain," he began, addressing lozelle, "the princess here tells me a strange story--that you have dared to offer your love to her, by allah! to her, a niece of salah-ed-din." "what of it, sir saracen?" answered lozelle, insolently. "is not a christian knight fit mate for the blood of an eastern chief? had i offered her less than marriage, you might have spoken." "you!" answered hassan, with rage in his low voice, "you, huckstering thief and renegade, who swear by mahomet in damascus and by your prophet jesus in england--ay, deny it not, i have heard you, as i have heard that rogue, nicholas, your servant. you, her fit mate? why, were it not that you must guide this ship, and that my master bade me not to quarrel with you till your task was done, i would behead you now and cut from your throat the tongue that dared to speak such words," and as he spoke he gripped the handle of his scimitar. lozelle quailed before his fierce eyes, for well he knew hassan, and knew also that if it came to fighting his sailors were no match for the emir and his picked saracens. "when our duty is done you shall answer for those words," he said, trying to look brave. "by allah! i hold you to the promise," replied hassan. "before salah-ed-din i will answer for them when and where you will, as you shall answer to him for your treachery." "of what, then, am i accused?" asked lozelle. "of loving the lady rosamund, as do all men--perhaps yourself, old and withered as you are, among them?" "ay, and for that crime i will repay you, old and withered as i am, sir renegade. but with salah-ed-din you have another score to settle--that by promising her escape you tried to seduce her from this ship, where you were sworn to guard her, saying that you would find her refuge among the greeks of cyprus." "were this true," replied lozelle, "the sultan might have cause of complaint against me. but it is not true. hearken, since speak i must. the lady rosamund prayed me to do this deed, and i told her that for my honour's sake it is not possible, although it was true that i loved her now as always, and would dare much for her. then she said that if i did but save her from you saracens, i should not go without my reward, since she would wed me. again, although it cost me sore, i answered that it might not be, but when once i had brought my ship to land, i was her true knight, and being freed of my oath, would do my best to save her." "princess, you hear," said hassan, turning to rosamund. "what say you?" "i say," she answered coldly, "that this man lies to save himself. i say, moreover, that i answered to him, that sooner would i die than that he should lay a finger on me." "i hold also that he lies," said hassan. "nay; unclasp that dagger if you would live to see another sun. here, i will not fight with you, but salah-ed-din shall learn all this case when we reach his court, and judge between the word of the princess of baalbec and of his hired servant, the false frank and pirate, sir hugh lozelle." "let him learn it--when we reach his court," answered lozelle, with meaning; then added, "have you aught else to say to me, prince hassan? because if not, i must be attending to the business of my ship, which you suppose that i was about to abandon to win a lady's smile." "only this, that the ship is the sultan's and not yours, for he bought it from you, and that henceforth this lady will be guarded day and night, and doubly guarded when we come to the shores of cyprus, where it seems that you have friends. understand and remember." "i understand, and certainly i will remember," replied lozelle, and so they parted. "i think," said rosamund, when he had gone, "that we shall be fortunate if we land safe in syria." "that was in my mind, also, lady. i think, too, that i have forgot my wisdom, but my heart rose against this man, and being still weak from sickness, i lost my judgment and spoke what was in my heart, who would have done better to wait. now, perhaps, it will be best to kill him, if it were not that he alone has the skill to navigate the ship, which is a trade that he has followed from his youth. nay, let it go as allah wills. he is just, and will bring the matter to judgment in due time." "yes, but to what judgment?" asked rosamund. "i hope to that of the sword," answered hassan, as he bowed and left her. from that time forward armed men watched all the night through before rosamund's cabin, and when she walked the deck armed men walked after her. nor was she troubled by lozelle, who sought to speak with her no more, or to hassan either. only with the man nicholas he spoke much. at length upon one golden evening--for lozelle was a skilful pilot, one of the best, indeed, who sailed those seas--they came to the shores of cyprus, and cast anchor. before them, stretched along the beach, lay the white town of limazol, with palm trees standing up amidst its gardens, while beyond the fertile plain rose the mighty mountain range of trooidos. sick and weary of the endless ocean, rosamund gazed with rapture at this green and beauteous shore, the home of so much history, and sighed to think that on it she might set no foot. lozelle saw her look and heard her sigh, and as he climbed into the boat which had come out to row him into the harbour, mocked her, saying: "will you not change your mind, lady, and come with me to visit my friend, the emperor isaac? i swear that his court is gay, not packed full of sour saracens or pilgrims thinking of their souls. in cyprus they only make pilgrimages to paphos yonder, where venus was born from out the foam, and has reigned since the beginning of the world--ay, and will reign until its end." rosamund made no answer, and lozelle, descending into the boat, was rowed shorewards through the breakers by the dark-skinned, cyprian oarsmen, who wore flowers in their hair and sang as they laboured at the oars. for ten whole days they rolled off limazol, although the weather was fair and the wind blew straight for syria. when rosamund asked why they bided there so long, hassan stamped his foot and said it was because the emperor refused to supply them with more food or water than was sufficient for their daily need, unless he, hassan, would land and travel to an inland town called nicosia, where his court lay, and there do homage to him. this, scenting a trap, he feared to do, nor could they put out to sea without provisions. "cannot sir hugh lozelle see to it?" asked rosamund. "doubtless, if he will," answered hassan, grinding his teeth; "but he swears that he is powerless." so there they bode day after day, baked by the sweltering summer sun and rocked to and fro on the long ocean rollers till their hearts grew sick within them, and their bodies also, for some of them were seized with a fever common to the shores of cyprus, of which two died. now and again some officer would come off from the shore with lozelle and a little food and water, and bargain with them, saying that before their wants were supplied the prince hassan must visit the emperor and bring with him the fair lady who was his passenger, whom he desired to see. hassan would answer no, and double the guard about rosamund, for at nights boats appeared that cruised round them. in the daytime also bands of men, fantastically dressed in silks, and with them women, could be seen riding to and fro upon the shore and staring at them, as though they were striving to make up their minds to attack the ship. then hassan armed his grim saracens and bade them stand in line upon the bulwarks, drawn scimitar in hand, a sight that seemed to frighten the cypriotes--at least they always rode away towards the great square tower of colossi. at length hassan would bear it no more. one morning lozelle came off from limazol, where he slept at night, bringing with him three cyprian lords, who visited the ship--not to bargain as they pretended, but to obtain sight of the beauteous princess rosamund. thereon the common talk began of homage that must be paid before food was granted, failing which the emperor would bid his seamen capture the ship. hassan listened a while, then suddenly issued an order that the lords should be seized. "now," he said to lozelle, "bid your sailors haul up the anchor, and let us begone for syria." "but," answered the knight, "we have neither food nor water for more than one day." "i care not," answered hassan, "as well die of thirst and starvation on the sea as rot here with fever. what we can bear these cyprian gallants can bear also. bid the sailors lift the anchor and hoist the sail, or i loose my scimitars among them." now lozelle stamped and foamed, but without avail, so he turned to the three lords, who were pale with fear, and said: "which will you do: find food and water for this ship, or put to sea without them, which is but to die?" they answered that they would go ashore and supply all that was needful. "nay," said hassan, "you bide here until it comes." in the end, then, this happened, for one of the lords chanced to be a nephew of the emperor, who, when he learned that he was captive, sent supplies in plenty. thus it came about that the cyprian lords having been sent back with the last empty boat, within two days they were at sea again. now rosamund missed the hated face of the spy, nicholas, and told hassan, who made inquiry, to find--or so said lozelle--that he went ashore and vanished there on the first day of their landing in cyprus, though whether he had been killed in some brawl, or fallen sick, or hidden himself away, he did not know. hassan shrugged his shoulders, and rosamund was glad enough to be rid of him, but in her heart she wondered for what evil purpose nicholas had left the ship. when the galley was one day out from cyprus steering for the coast of syria, they fell into a calm such as is common in those seas in summer. this calm lasted eight whole days, during which they made but little progress. at length, when all were weary of staring at the oil-like sea, a wind sprang up that grew gradually to a gale blowing towards syria, and before it they fled along swiftly. worse and stronger grew that gale, till on the evening of the second day, when they seemed in no little danger of being pooped, they saw a great mountain far away, at the sight of which lozelle thanked god aloud. "are those the mountains near antioch?" asked hassan. "nay," he answered, "they are more than fifty miles south of them, between ladikiya and jebela. there, by the mercy of heaven, is a good haven, for i have visited it, where we can lie till this storm is past." "but we are steering for darbesak, not for a haven near jebela, which is a frankish port," answered hassan, angrily. "then put the ship about and steer there yourself," said lozelle, "and i promise you this, that within two hours every one of you will be dead at the bottom of the sea." hassan considered. it was true, for then the waves would strike them broadside on, and they must fill and sink. "on your head be it," he answered shortly. the dark fell, and by the light of the great lantern at their prow they saw the white seas hiss past as they drove shorewards beneath bare masts. for they dared hoist no sail. all that night they pitched and rolled, till the stoutest of them fell sick, praying god and allah that they might have light by which to enter the harbour. at length they saw the top of the loftiest mountain grow luminous with the coming dawn, although the land itself was still lost in shadow, and saw also that it seemed to be towering almost over them. "take courage," cried lozelle, "i think that we are saved," and he hoisted a second lantern at his masthead--why, they did not know. after this the sea began to fall, only to grow rough again for a while as they crossed some bar, to find themselves in calm water, and on either side of them what appeared in the dim, uncertain light to be the bush-clad banks of a river. for a while they ran on, till lozelle called in a loud voice to the sailors to let the anchor go, and sent a messenger to say that all might rest now, as they were safe. so they laid them down and tried to sleep. but rosamund could not sleep. presently she rose, and throwing on her cloak went to the door of the cabin and looked at the beauty of the mountains, rosy with the new-born light, and at the misty surface of the harbour. it was a lonely place--at least, she could see no town or house, although they were lying not fifty yards from the tree-hidden shore. as she stood thus, she heard the sound of boats being rowed through the mist, and perceived three or four of these approaching the ship in silence, perceived also that lozelle, who stood alone upon the deck, was watching their approach. now the first boat made fast and a man in the prow rose up and began to speak to lozelle in a low voice. as he did so the hood fell back from his head, and rosamund saw the face. it was that of the spy nicholas! for a moment she stood amazed, for they had left this man in cyprus; then understanding came to her and she cried aloud: "treachery! prince hassan, there is treachery." as the words left her lips fierce, wild-looking men began to scramble aboard at the low waist of the galley, to which boat after boat made fast. the saracens also tumbled from the benches where they slept and ran aft to the deck where rosamund was, all except one of them who was cut off in the prow of the ship. prince hassan appeared, too, scimitar in hand, clad in his jewelled turban and coat of mail, but without his cloak, shouting orders as he came, while the hired crew of the ship flung themselves upon their knees and begged for mercy. to him rosamund cried out that they were betrayed and by nicholas, whom she had seen. then a great man, wearing a white burnous and holding a naked sword in his hand, stepped forward and said in arabic: "yield you now, for you are outnumbered and your captain is captured," and he pointed to lozelle, who was being held by two men while his arms were bound behind him. "in whose name do you bid me yield?" asked the prince, glaring about him like a lion in a trap. "in the dread name of sinan, in the name of the lord al-je-bal, o servant of salah-ed-din." at these words a groan of fear went up even from the brave saracens, for now they learned that they had to do with the terrible chief of the assassins. "is there then war between the sultan and sinan?" asked hassan. "ay, there is always war. moreover, you have one with you," and he pointed to rosamund, "who is dear to salah-ed-din, whom, therefore, my master desires as a hostage." "how knew you that?" said hassan, to gain time while his men formed up. "how does the lord sinan know all things?" was the answer; "come, yield, and perhaps he will show you mercy." "through spies," hissed hassan, "such spies as nicholas, who has come from cyprus before us, and that frankish dog who is called a knight," and he pointed to lozelle. "nay, we yield not, and here, assassins, you have to do not with poisons and the knife, but with bare swords and brave men. ay, and i warn you--and your lord--that salah-ed-din will take vengeance for this deed." "let him try it if he wishes to die, who hitherto has been spared," answered the tall man quietly. then he said to his followers, "cut them down, all save the women"--for the frenchwoman, marie, was now clinging to the arm of rosamund--"and emir hassan, whom i am commanded to bring living to masyaf." "back to your cabin, lady," said hassan, "and remember that whate'er befalls, we have done our best to save you. ay, and tell it to my lord, that my honour may be clean in his eyes. now, soldiers of salah-ed-din, fight and die as he has taught you how. the gates of paradise stand open, and no coward will enter there." they answered with a fierce, guttural cry. then, as rosamund fled to the cabin, the fray began, a hideous fray. on came the assassins with sword and dagger, striving to storm the deck. again and again they were beaten back, till the waist seemed full of their corpses, as man by man they fell beneath the curved scimitars, and again and again they charged these men who, when their master ordered, knew neither fear nor pity. but more boatloads came from the shore, and the saracens were but few, worn also with storm and sickness, so at last rosamund, peeping beneath her hand, saw that the poop was gained. here and there a man fought on until he fell beneath the cruel knives in the midst of the circle of the dead, among them the warrior-prince hassan. watching him with fascinated eyes as he strove alone against a host, rosamund was put in mind of another scene, when her father, also alone, had striven thus against that emir and his soldiers, and even then she bethought her of the justice of god. see! his foot slipped on the blood-stained deck. he was down, and ere he could rise again they had thrown cloaks over him, these fierce, silent men, who even with their lives at stake, remembered the command of their captain, to take him living. so living they took him, with not a wound upon his skin, who when he struck them down, had never struck back at him lest the command of sinan should be broken. rosamund noted it, and remembering that his command was also that she should be brought to him unharmed, knew that she had no violence to fear at the hands of these cruel murderers. from this thought, and because hassan still lived, she took such comfort as she might. "it is finished," said the tall man, in his cold voice. "cast these dogs into the sea who have dared to disobey the command of al-je-bal." so they took them up, dead and living together, and threw them into the water, where they sank, nor did one of the wounded saracens pray them for mercy. then they served their own dead likewise, but those that were only wounded they took ashore. this done, the tall man advanced to the cabin and said: "lady, come, we are ready to start upon our journey." having no choice, rosamund obeyed him, remembering as she went how from a scene of battle and bloodshed she had been brought aboard that ship to be carried she knew not whither, which now she left in a scene of battle and bloodshed to be carried she knew not whither. "oh!" she cried aloud, pointing to the corpses they hurled into the deep, "ill has it gone with these who stole me, and ill may it go with you also, servant of al-je-bal." but the tall man answered nothing, as followed by the weeping marie and the prince hassan, he led her to the boat. soon they reached the shore, and here they tore marie from her, nor did rosamund ever learn what became of her, or whether or no this poor woman found her husband whom she had dared so much to seek. chapter eleven: the city of al-je-bal "i pray you have done," said godwin, "it is but a scratch from the beast's claws. i am ashamed that you should put your hair to such vile uses. give me a little water." he asked it of wulf, but masouda rose without a word and fetched the water, in which she mingled wine. godwin drank of it and his faintness left him, so that he was able to stand up and move his arms and legs. "why," he said, "it is nothing; i was only shaken. that lioness did not hurt me at all." "but you hurt the lioness," said wulf, with a laugh. "by st. chad a good thrust!" and he pointed to the long sword driven up to the hilt in the brute's breast. "why, i swear i could not have made a better myself." "i think it was the lion that thrust," answered godwin. "i only held the sword straight. drag it out, brother, i am still too weak." so wulf set his foot upon the breast of the lion and tugged and tugged until at length he loosened the sword, saying as he strained at it: "oh! what an essex hog am i, who slept through it all, never waking until masouda seized me by the hair, and i opened my eyes to see you upon the ground with this yellow beast crouched on the top of you like a hen on a nest egg. i thought that it was alive and smote it with my sword, which, had i been fully awake, i doubt if i should have found the courage to do. look," and he pushed the lioness's head with his foot, whereon it twisted round in such a fashion that they perceived for the first time that it only hung to the shoulders by a thread of skin. "i am glad you did not strike a little harder," said godwin, "or i should now be in two pieces and drowned in my own blood, instead of in that of this dead brute," and he looked ruefully at his burnous and hauberk, that were soaked with gore. "yes," said wulf, "i never thought of that. who would, in such a hurry?" "lady masouda," asked godwin, "when last i saw you you were hanging from those jaws. say, are you hurt?" "nay," she answered, "for i wear mail like you, and the teeth glanced on it so that she held me by the cloak only. come, let us skin the beast, and take its pelt as a present to the lord al-je-bal." "good," said godwin, "and i give you the claws for a necklace." "be sure that i will wear them," she answered, and helped wulf to flay the lioness while he sat by resting. when it was done wulf went to the little cave and walked into it, to come out again with a bound. "why!" he said, "there are more of them in there. i saw their eyes and heard them snarl. now, give me a burning branch and i will show you, brother, that you are not the only one who can fight a lion." "let be, you foolish man," broke in masouda. "doubtless those are her cubs, and if you kill them, her mate will follow us for miles; but if they are left safe he will stay to feed them. come, let us begone from this place as swiftly as we can." so having shown them the skin of the lion, that they might know it was but a dead thing, at the sight of which they snorted and trembled, they packed it upon one of the mules and rode off slowly into a valley some five miles away, where was water but no trees. here, since godwin needed rest, they stopped all that day and the night which followed, seeing no more of lions, though they watched for them sharply enough. the next morning, having slept well, he was himself again, and they started forward through a broken country towards a deep cleft, on either side of which stood a tall mountain. "this is al-je-bal's gateway," said masouda, "and tonight we should sleep in the gate, whence one day's ride brings us to his city." so on they rode till at length, perched upon the sides of the cleft, they saw a castle, a great building, with high walls, to which they came at sunset. it seemed that they were expected in this place, for men hastened to meet them, who greeted masouda and eyed the brethren curiously, especially after they had heard of the adventure with the lion. these took them, not into the castle, but to a kind of hostelry at its back, where they were furnished with food and slept the night. next morning they went on again to a hilly country with beautiful and fertile valleys. through this they rode for two hours, passing on their way several villages, where sombre-eyed people were labouring in the fields. from each village, as they drew near to it, horsemen would gallop out and challenge them, whereon masouda rode forward and spoke with the leader alone. then he would touch his forehead with his hand and bow his head and they rode on unmolested. "see," she said, when they had thus been stopped for the fourth time, "what chance you had of winning through to masyaf unguarded. why, i tell you, brethren, that you would have been dead before ever you passed the gates of the first castle." now they rode up a long slope, and at its crest paused to look upon a marvellous scene. below them stretched a vast plain, full of villages, cornfields, olive-groves, and vineyards. in the centre of this plain, some fifteen miles away, rose a great mountain, which seemed to be walled all about. within the wall was a city of which the white, flat-roofed houses climbed the slopes of the mountain, and on its crest a level space of land covered with trees and a great, many-towered castle surrounded by more houses. "behold the home of al-je-bal, lord of the mountain," said masouda, "where we must sleep to-night. now, brethren, listen to me. few strangers who enter that castle come thence living. there is still time; i can pass you back as i passed you hither. will you go on?" "we will go on," they answered with one breath. "why? what have you to gain? you seek a certain maiden. why seek her here whom you say has been taken to salah-ed-din? because the al-je-bal in bygone days swore to befriend one of your blood. but that al-je-bal is dead, and another of his line rules who took no such oath. how do you know that he will befriend you--how that he will not enslave or kill you? i have power in this land, why or how does not matter, and i can protect you against all that dwell in it--as i swear i will, for did not one of you save my life?" and she glanced at godwin, "except my lord sinan, against whom i have no power, for i am his slave." "he is the enemy of saladin, and may help us for his hate's sake." "yes, he is the enemy of salah-ed-din now more than ever. he may help you or he may not. also," she added with meaning, "you may not wish the help he offers. oh!" and there was a note of entreaty in her voice, "think, think! for the last time, i pray you think!" "we have thought," answered godwin solemnly; "and, whatever chances, we will obey the command of the dead." she heard and bowed her head in assent, then said, looking up again: "so be it. you are not easily turned from your purpose, and i like that spirit well. but hear my counsel. while you are in this city speak no arabic and pretend to understand none. also drink nothing but water, which is good here, for the lord sinan sets strange wines before his guests, that, if they pass the lips, produce visions and a kind of waking madness in which you might do deeds whereof you were afterwards ashamed. or you might swear oaths that would sit heavy on your souls, and yet could not be broken except at the cost of life." "fear not," answered wulf. "water shall be our drink, who have had enough of drugged wines," for he remembered the christmas feast in the hall at steeple. "you, sir godwin," went on masouda, "have about your neck a certain ring which you were mad enough to show to me, a stranger--a ring with writing on it which none can read save the great men that in this land are called the dais. well, as it chances, the secret is safe with me; but be wise; say nothing of that ring and let no eye see it." "why not?" asked godwin. "it is the token of our dead uncle to the al-je-bal." she looked round her cautiously and replied: "because it is, or was once, the great signet, and a day may come when it will save your lives. doubtless when the lord who is dead thought it gone forever he caused another to be fashioned, so like that i who have had both in my hand could not tell the two apart. to him who holds that ring all gates are open; but to let it be known that you have its double means death. do you understand?" they nodded, and masouda continued: "lastly--though you may think that this seems much to ask--trust me always, even if i seem to play you false, who for your sakes," and she sighed, "have broken oaths and spoken words for which the punishment is to die by torment. nay, thank me not, for i do only what i must who am a slave--a slave." "a slave to whom?" asked godwin, staring at her. "to the lord of all the mountains," she answered, with a smile that was sweet yet very sad; and without another word spurred on her horse. "what does she mean," asked godwin of wulf, when she was out of hearing, "seeing that if she speaks truth, for our sakes, in warning us against him, masouda is breaking her fealty to this lord?" "i do not know, brother, and i do not seek to know. all her talk may be a part of a plot to blind us, or it may not. let well alone and trust in fortune, say i." "a good counsel," answered godwin, and they rode forward in silence. they crossed the plain, and towards evening came to the wall of the outer city, halting in front of its great gateway. here, as at the first castle, a band of solemn-looking mounted men came out to meet them, and, having spoken a few words with masouda, led them over the drawbridge that spanned the first rock-cut moat, and through triple gates of iron into the city. then they passed up a street very steep and narrow, from the roofs and windows of the houses on either side of which hundreds of people--many of whom seemed to be engaged at their evening prayer--watched them go by. at the head of this street they reached another fortified gateway, on the turrets of which, so motionless that at first they took them to be statues cut in stone, stood guards wrapped in long white robes. after parley, this also was opened to them, and again they rode through triple doors. then they saw all the wonder of that place, for between the outer city where they stood and the castle, with its inner town which was built around and beneath it yawned a vast gulf over ninety feet in depth. across this gulf, built of blocks of stone, quite unrailed, and not more than three paces wide, ran a causeway some two hundred yards in length, which causeway was supported upon arches reared up at intervals from the bottom of the gulf. "ride on and have no fear," said masouda. "your horses are trained to heights, and the mules and mine will follow." so godwin, showing nothing in his face of the doubt that he felt in his heart, patted flame upon the neck, and, after hanging back a little, the horse started lifting its hoofs high and glancing from side to side at the terrible gulf beneath. where flame went smoke knew that it could go, and came on bravely, but snorting a little, while the mules, that did not fear heights so long as the ground was firm beneath their feet, followed. only masouda's horse was terrified, backed, and strove to wheel round, till she drove the spur into it, when of a sudden it started and came over at a gallop. at length they were across, and, passing under another gateway which had broad terraces on either side of it, rode up the long street beyond and entered a great courtyard, around which stood the castle, a vast and frowning fortress. here a white-robed officer came forward, greeting them with a low bow, and with him servants who assisted them to dismount. these men took the horses to a range of stables on one side of the courtyard, whither the brethren followed to see their beasts groomed and fed. then the officer, who had stood patiently by the while, conducted them through doorways and down passages to the guest chambers, large, stone-roofed rooms, where they found their baggage ready for them. here masouda said that she would see them again on the following morning, and departed in company with the officer. wulf looked round the great vaulted chamber, which, now that the dark had fallen, was lit by flickering lamps set in iron brackets upon the wall, and said: "well, for my part, i had rather pass the night in a desert among the lions than in this dismal place." scarcely were the words out of his lips when curtains swung aside and beautiful women entered, clad in gauzy veils and bearing dishes of food. these they placed upon the ground before them, inviting them to eat with nods and smiles, while others brought basins of scented water, which they poured over their hands. then they sat down and ate the food that was strange to them, but very pleasant to the taste; and while they ate, women whom they could not see sang sweet songs, and played upon harps and lutes. wine was offered to them also; but of this, remembering masouda's words, they would not drink, asking by signs for water, which was brought after a little pause. when their meal was done, the beautiful women bore away the dishes, and black slaves appeared. these men led them to baths such as they had never seen, where they washed first in hot water, then in cold. afterwards they were rubbed with spicy-smelling oils, and having been wrapped in white robes, conducted back to their chamber, where they found beds spread for them. on these, being very weary, they lay down, when the strange, sweet music broke out afresh, and to the sound of it they fell asleep. when they awoke it was to see the light streaming through the high, latticed windows. "did you sleep well, godwin?" asked wulf. "well enough," answered his brother, "only i dreamed that throughout the night people came and looked at me." "i dreamed that also," said wulf; "moreover, i think that it was not all a dream, since there is a coverlet on my bed which was not there when i went to sleep." godwin looked at his own, where also was another coverlet added, doubtless as the night grew colder in that high place. "i have heard of enchanted castles," he said; "now i think that we have found one." "ay," replied wulf, "and it is well enough while it lasts." they rose and dressed themselves, putting on clean garments and their best cloaks, that they had brought with them on the mules, after which the veiled women entered the room with breakfast, and they ate. when this was finished, having nothing else to do, they made signs to one of the women that they wished for cloths wherewith to clean their armour, for, as they had been bidden, they pretended to understand no word of arabic. she nodded, and presently returned with a companion carrying leathers and paste in a jar. nor did they leave them, but, sitting upon the ground, whether the brethren willed it or no, took the shirts of mail and rubbed them till they shone like silver, while godwin and wulf polished their helms, spurs, and bucklers, cleansing their swords and daggers also, and sharpening them with a stone which they carried for that purpose. now as these women worked, they began to talk to each other in a low voice, and some of their talk, though not all, the brethren understood. "a handsome pair truly," said the first. "we should be fortunate if we had such men for husbands, although they are franks and infidels." "ay," answered the other; "and from their likeness they must be twins. now which of them would you choose?" then for a long while they discussed them, comparing them feature by feature and limb by limb, until the brethren felt their faces grow red beneath the sunburn and scrubbed furiously at their armour to show a reason for it. at length one of the women said: "it was cruel of the lady masouda to bring these birds into the master's net. she might have warned them." "masouda was ever cruel," answered the other, "who hates all men, which is unnatural. yet i think if she loved a man she would love him well, and perhaps that might be worse for him than her hate." "are these knights spies?" asked the first. "i suppose so," was the answer, "silly fellows who think that they can spy upon a nation of spies. they would have done better to keep to fighting, at which, doubtless, they are good enough. what will happen to them?" "what always happens, i suppose--a pleasant time at first; then, if they can be put to no other use, a choice between the faith and the cup. or, perhaps, as they seem men of rank, they may be imprisoned in the dungeon tower and held to ransom. yes, yes; it was cruel of masouda to trick them so, who may be but travellers after all, desiring to see our city." just then the curtain was drawn, and through it entered masouda herself. she was dressed in a white robe that had a dagger worked in red over the left breast, and her long black hair fell upon her shoulders, although it was half hid by the veil, open in front, which hung from her head. never had they seen her look so beautiful as she seemed thus. "greetings, brothers peter and john. is this fit work for pilgrims?" she said in french, pointing to the long swords which they were sharpening. "ay," answered wulf, as they rose and bowed to her, "for pilgrims to this--holy city." the women who were cleaning the mail bowed also, for it seemed that here masouda was a person of importance. she took the hauberks from their hands. "ill cleansed," she said sharply. "i think that you girls talk better than you work. nay, they must serve. help these lords to don them. fools, that is the shirt of the grey-eyed knight. give it me; i will be his squire," and she snatched the hauberk from their hands, whereat, when her back was turned, they glanced at one another. "now," she said, when they were fully armed and had donned their mantles, "you brethren look as pilgrims should. listen, i have a message for you. the master"--and she bowed her head, as did the women, guessing of whom she spoke--"will receive you in an hour's time, till when, if it please you, we can walk in the gardens, which are worth your seeing." so they went out with her, and as they passed towards the curtain she whispered: "for your lives' sake, remember all that i have told you--above everything, about the wine and the ring, for if you dream the drink-dream you will be searched. speak no word to me save of common matters." in the passage beyond the curtain white-robed guards were standing, armed with spears, who turned and followed them without a word. first they went to the stables to visit flame and smoke, which whinnied as they drew near. these they found well-fed and tended--indeed, a company of grooms were gathered round them, discussing their points and beauty, who saluted as the owners of such steeds approached. leaving the stable, they passed through an archway into the famous gardens, which were said to be the most beautiful in all the east. beautiful they were indeed, planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers such as are seldom seen, while between fern-clad rocks flowed rills which fell over deep cliffs in waterfalls of foam. in places the shade of cedars lay so dense that the brightness of day was changed to twilight, but in others the ground was open and carpeted with flowers which filled the air with perfume. everywhere grew roses, myrtles, and trees laden with rich fruits, while from all sides came the sound of cooing doves and the voices of many bright-winged birds which flashed from palm to palm. on they walked, down the sand-strewn paths for a mile or more, accompanied by masouda and the guard. at length, passing through a brake of whispering, reed-like plants, of a sudden they came to a low wall, and saw, yawning black and wide at their very feet, that vast cleft which they had crossed before they entered the castle. "it encircles the inner city, the fortress, and its grounds," said masouda; "and who lives to-day that could throw a bridge across it? now come back." so, following the gulf round, they returned to the castle by another path, and were ushered into an ante-room, where stood a watch of twelve men. here masouda left them in the midst of the men, who stared at them with stony eyes. presently she returned, and beckoned to them to follow her. walking down a long passage they came to curtains, in front of which were two sentries, who drew these curtains as they approached. then, side by side, they entered a great hall, long as stangate abbey church, and passed through a number of people, all crouched upon the ground. beyond these the hall narrowed as a chancel does. here sat and stood more people, fierce-eyed, turbaned men, who wore great knives in their girdles. these, as they learned afterwards, were called the fedai, the sworn assassins, who lived but to do the command of their lord the great assassin. at the end of this chancel were more curtains, beyond which was a guarded door. it opened, and on its further side they found themselves in full sunlight on an unwalled terrace, surrounded by the mighty gulf into which it was built out. on the right and left edges of this terrace sat old and bearded men, twelve in number, their heads bowed humbly and their eyes fixed upon the ground. these were the dais or councillors. at the head of the terrace, under an open and beautifully carved pavilion of wood, stood two gigantic soldiers, having the red dagger blazoned on their white robes. between them was a black cushion, and on the cushion a black heap. at first, staring out of the bright sunlight at this heap in the shadow, the brethren wondered what it might be. then they caught sight of the glitter of eyes, and knew that the heap was a man who wore a black turban on his head and a black, bell-shaped robe clasped at the breast with a red jewel. the weight of the man had sunk him down deep into the soft cushion, so that there was nothing of him to be seen save the folds of the bell-shaped cloak, the red jewel, and the head. he looked like a coiled-up snake; the dark and glittering eyes also were those of a snake. of his features, in the deep shade of the canopy and of the wide black turban, they could see nothing. the aspect of this figure was so terrible and inhuman that the brethren trembled at the sight of him. they were men and he was a man, but between that huddled, beady-eyed heap and those two tall western warriors, clad in their gleaming mail and coloured cloaks, helm on brow, buckler on arm, and long sword at side, the contrast was that of death and life. chapter twelve: the lord of death masouda ran forward and prostrated herself at full length, but godwin and wulf stared at the heap, and the heap stared at them. then, at some motion of his chin, masouda arose and said: "strangers, you stand in the presence of the master, sinan, lord of death. kneel, and do homage to the master." but the brethren stiffened their backs and would not kneel. they lifted their hands to their brows in salute, but no more. then from between the black turban and the black cloak came a hollow voice, speaking in arabic, and saying: "are these the men who brought me the lion's skin? well, what seek ye, franks?" they stood silent. "dread lord," said masouda, "these knights are but now come from england over sea, and do not understand our tongue." "set out their story and their request," said al-je-bal, "that we may judge of them." "dread lord," answered masouda, "as i sent you word, they say that they are the kin of a certain knight who in battle saved the life of him who ruled before you, but is now an inhabitant of paradise." "i have heard that there was such a knight," said the voice. "he was named d'arcy, and he bore the same cognizance on his shield--the sign of a skull." "lord, these brethren are also named d'arcy, and now they come to ask your help against salah-ed-din." at that name the heap stirred as a snake stirs when it hears danger, and the head erected itself a little beneath the great turban. "what help, and why?" asked the voice. "lord, salah-ed-din has stolen a woman of their house who is his niece, and these knights, her brothers, ask you to aid them to recover her." the beady eyes instantly became interested. "report has been made to me of that story," said the voice; "but what sign do these franks show? he who went before me gave a ring, and with it certain rights in this land, to the knight d'arcy who befriended him in danger. where is that sacred ring, with which he parted in his foolishness?" masouda translated, and seeing the warning in her eyes and remembering her words, the brethren shook their heads, while wulf answered: "our uncle, the knight sir andrew, was cut down by the soldiers of salah-ed-din, and as he died bade us seek you out. what time had he to tell us of any ring?" the head sank upon the breast. "i hoped," said sinan to masouda, "that they had the ring, and it was for this reason, woman, that i allowed you to lead these knights hither, after you had reported of them and their quest to me from beirut. it is not well that there should be two holy signets in the world, and he who went before me, when he lay dying, charged me to recover his if that were possible. let them go back to their own land and return to me with the ancient ring, and i will help them." masouda translated the last sentence only, and again the brethren shook their heads. this time it was godwin who spoke. "our land is far away, o lord, and where shall we find this long-lost ring? let not our journey be in vain. o mighty one, give us justice against salah-ed-din." "all my years have i sought justice on salah-ed-din," answered sinan, "and yet he prevails against me. now i make you an offer. go, franks, and bring me his head, or at least put him to death as i shall show you how, and we will talk again." when they heard this saying wulf said to godwin, in english: "i think that we had best go; i do not like this company." but godwin made no answer. as they stood silent thus, not knowing what to say, a man entered through the door, and, throwing himself on his hands and knees, crawled towards the cushion through the double line of councillors or dais. "your report?" said sinan in arabic. "lord," answered the man, "i acquaint you that your will has been done in the matter of the vessel." then he went on speaking in a low voice, so rapidly that the brethren could scarcely hear and much less understand him. sinan listened, then said: "let the fedai enter and make his own report, bringing with him his prisoners." now one of the dais, he who sat nearest the canopy, rose and pointing towards the brethren, said. "touching these franks, what is your will?" the beady eyes, which seemed to search out their souls, fixed themselves upon them and for a long while sinan considered. they trembled, knowing that he was passing some judgment concerning them in his heart, and that on his next words much might hang--even their lives. "let them stay here," he said at length. "i may have questions to ask them." for a time there was silence. sinan, lord of death, seemed to be lost in thought under the black shade of his canopy; the double line of dais stared at nothingness across the passage way; the giant guards stood still as statues; masouda watched the brethren from beneath her long eye-lashes, while the brethren watched the sharp edge of the shadow of the canopy on the marble floor. they strove to seem unconcerned, but their hearts were beating fast within them who felt that great things were about to happen, though what these might be they knew not. so intense was the silence, so dreadful seemed that inhuman, snake-like man, so strange his aged, passionless councillors, and the place of council surrounded by a dizzy gulf, that fear took hold of them like the fear of an evil dream. godwin wondered if sinan could see the ring upon his breast, and what would happen to him if he did see it; while wulf longed to shout aloud, to do anything that would break this deathly, sunlit quiet. to them those minutes seemed like hours; indeed, for aught they knew, they might have been hours. at length there was a stir behind the brethren, and at a word from masouda they separated, falling apart a pace or two, and stood opposite each other and sideways to sinan. standing thus, they saw the curtains drawn. through them came four men, carrying a stretcher covered with a cloth, beneath which they could see the outline of a form, that lay there stirless. the four men brought the stretcher to the front of the canopy, set it on the ground, prostrated themselves, and retired, walking backwards down the length of the terrace. again there was silence, while the brethren wondered whose corpse it was that lay beneath the cloth, for a corpse it must surely be; though neither the lord of the mountain nor his dais and guards seemed to concern themselves in the matter. again the curtains parted, and a procession advanced up the terrace. first came a great man clad in a white robe blazoned with the bleeding dagger, after whom walked a tall woman shrouded in a long veil, who was followed by a thick-set knight clad in frankish armour and wearing a cape of which the cowl covered his head as though to keep the rays of the sun from beating on his helm. lastly walked four guards. up the long place they marched, through the double line of dais, while with a strange stirring in their breasts the brethren watched the shape and movements of the veiled woman who stepped forward rapidly, not seeing them, for she turned her head neither to the right nor left. the leader of the little band reached the space before the canopy, and, prostrating himself by the side of the stretcher, lay still. she who walked behind him stopped also, and, seeing the black heap upon the cushion, shuddered. "woman, unveil," commanded the voice of sinan. she hesitated, then swiftly undid some fastening, so that her drapery fell from her head. the brethren stared, rubbed their eyes, and stared again. before them stood rosamund! yes, it was rosamund, worn with sickness, terrors, and travel, rosamund herself beyond all doubt. at the sight of her pale, queenly beauty the heap on the cushion stirred beneath his black cloak, and the beady eyes were filled with an evil, eager light. even the dais seemed to wake from their contemplation, and masouda bit her red lip, turned pale beneath her olive skin, and watched with devouring eyes, waiting to read this woman's heart. "rosamund!" cried the brethren with one voice. she heard. as they sprang towards her she glanced wildly from face to face, then with a low cry flung an arm about the neck of each and would have fallen in the ecstacy of her joy had they not held her. indeed, her knees touched the ground. as they stooped to lift her it flashed into godwin's mind that masouda had told sinan that they were her brethren. the thought was followed by another. if this were so, they might be left with her, whereas otherwise that black-robed devil-- "listen," he whispered in english; "we are not your cousins--we are your brothers, your half-brothers, and we know no arabic." she heard and wulf heard, but the watchers thought that they were but welcoming each other, for wulf began to talk also, random words in french, such as "greeting, sister!" "well found, sister!" and kissed her on the forehead. rosamund opened her eyes, which had closed, and, gaining her feet, gave one hand to each of the brethren. then the voice of masouda was heard interpreting the words of sinan. "it seems, lady, that you know these knights." "i do--well. they are my brothers, from whom i was stolen when they were drugged and our father was killed." "how is that, lady, seeing that you are said to be the niece of salah-ed-din? are these knights, then, the nephews of salah-ed-din?" "nay," answered rosamund, "they are my father's sons, but of another wife." the answer appeared to satisfy sinan, who fixed his eyes upon the pale beauty of rosamund and asked no more questions. while he remained thus thinking, a noise arose at the end of the terrace, and the brethren, turning their heads, saw that the thick-set knight was striving to thrust his way through the guards who stood by the curtains and barred his path with the shafts of their spears. then it came into godwin's mind that just before rosamund unveiled he had seen this knight suddenly turn and walk down the terrace. the lord sinan looked up at the sound and made a sign. thereon two of the dais sprang to their feet and ran towards the curtain, where they spoke with the knight, who turned and came back with them, though slowly, as one who is unwilling. now his hood had fallen from his head, and godwin and wulf stared at him as he advanced, for surely they knew those great shoulders, those round black eyes, those thick lips, and that heavy jowl. "lozelle! it is lozelle!" said godwin. "ay," echoed rosamund, "it is lozelle, the double traitor, who betrayed me first to the soldiers of saladin, and, because i would have none of his love, next to this lord sinan." wulf heard, and, as lozelle drew near to them, sprang forward with an oath and struck him across the face with his mailed hand. instantly guards thrust themselves between them, and sinan asked through masouda: "why do you dare to strike this frank in my presence?" "because, lord," answered wulf, "he is a rogue who has brought all these troubles on our house. i challenge him to meet me in battle to the death." "and i also," said godwin. "i am ready," shouted lozelle, stung to fury by the blow. "then, dog, why did you try to run away when you saw our faces?" asked wulf. masouda held up her hand and began to interpret, addressing lozelle, and speaking in the first person as the "mouth" of sinan. "i thank you for your service who have served me before. your messenger came, a frank whom i knew in old days. as you had arranged it should be, i sent one of my fedais with soldiers to kill the men of salah-ed-din on the ship and capture this lady who is his niece, all of which it seems has been done. the bargain that your messenger made was that the lady should be given over to you--" here godwin and wulf ground their teeth and glared at him. "but these knights say that you stole her, their kinswoman, from them, and one of them has struck you and challenged you to single combat, which challenge you have accepted. i sanction the combat gladly, who have long desired to see two knights of the franks fight in tourney according to their custom. i will set the course, and you shall be given the best horse in my kingdom; this knight shall ride his own. these are the conditions--the course shall be on the bridge between the inner and outer gates of the castle city, and the fight, which must be to the death, shall take place on the night of the full moon--that is, three days from now. if you are victor, we will talk of the matter of the lady for whom you bargained as a wife." "my lord, my lord," answered lozelle, "who can lay a lance on that terrible place in moonlight? is it thus that you keep faith with me?" "i can and will!" cried wulf. "dog, i would fight you in the gates of hell, with my soul on the hazard." "keep faith with yourself," said sinan, "who said that you accepted the challenge of this knight and made no conditions, and when you have proved upon his body that his quarrel is not just, then speak of my faith with you. nay, no more words; when this fight is done we will speak again, and not before. let him be led to the outer castle and there given of our best. let my great black horse be brought to him that he may gallop it to and fro upon the bridge, or where he will within the circuit of the walls, by day or by night; but see that he has no speech with this lady whom he has betrayed into my power, or with these knights his foes, nor suffer him to come into my presence. i will not talk with a man who has been struck in the face until he has washed away the blow in blood." as masouda finished translating, and before lozelle could answer, the lord sinan moved his head, whereon guards sprang forward and conducted lozelle from the terrace. "farewell, sir thief," cried wulf after him, "till we meet again upon the narrow bridge and there settle our account. you have fought godwin, perhaps you will have better luck with wulf." lozelle glared back at him, and, finding no answer, went on his way. "your report," said sinan, addressing the tall fedai who all this while had lain upon his face before him, still as the form that was stretched upon the bier. "there should have been another prisoner, the great emir hassan. also, where is the frankish spy?" the fedai rose and spoke. "lord," he said, "i did your bidding. the knight who has gone steered the ship into the bay, as had been arranged. i attacked with the daylight. the soldiers of salah-ed-din fought bravely, for the lady here saw us, and gave them time to gather, and we lost many men. we overcame and killed them all, except the prince hassan, whom we took prisoner. i left some men to watch the ship. the crew we spared, as they were the servants of the frank lozelle, setting them loose upon the beach, together with a frankish woman, who was the servant of the lady here, to find their way to the nearest city. this woman i would have killed, but the lady your captive begged for her life, saying she had come from the land of the franks to seek her husband; so, having no orders, let her go. yesterday morning we started for masyaf, the prince hassan riding in a litter together with that frankish spy who was here a while ago, and told you of the coming of the ship. at night they slept in the same tent; i left the prince bound and set a guard, but in the morning when we looked we found him gone--how, i know not--and lying in the tent the frankish spy, dead, with a knife-wound through his heart. behold!" and withdrawing the cloth from the stretcher he revealed the stiff form of the spy nicholas, who lay there dead, a look of terror frozen on his face. "at least this one has come to an end he deserved," muttered wulf to godwin. "so, having searched without avail, i came on here with the lady your prisoner and the frank lozelle. i have spoken." now when he had heard this report, forgetting his calm, sinan arose from the cushion and stepped forward two paces. there he halted, with fury in his glittering eyes, looking like a man clothed in a black bell. for a moment he stroked his beard, and the brethren noted that on the first finger of his right hand was a ring so like to that which hung about the neck of godwin that none could have told them apart. "man," sinan said in a low voice, "what have you done? you have left the emir hassan go, who is the most trusted friend and general of the sultan of damascus. by now he is there, or near it, and within six days we shall see the army of salah-ed-din riding across the plain. also you have not killed the crew and the frankish woman, and they too will make report of the taking of the ship and the capture of this lady, who is of the house of salah-ed-din and whom he seeks more earnestly than all the kingdom of the franks. what have you to say?" "lord," answered the tall fedai, and his hand trembled as he spoke, "most mighty lord, i had no orders as to the killing of the crew from your lips, and the frank lozelle told me that he had agreed with you that they should be spared." "then, slave, he lied. he agreed with me through that dead spy that they should be slain, and do you not know that if i give no orders in such a case i mean death, not life? but what of the prince hassan?" "lord, i have nothing to say. i think he must have bribed the spy named nicholas"--and he pointed to the corpse--"to cut his bonds, and afterwards killed the man for vengeance sake, for by the body we found a heavy purse of gold. that he hated him as he hated yonder lozelle i know, for he called them dogs and traitors in the boat; and since he could not strike them, his hands being bound, he spat in their faces, cursing them in the name of allah. that is why, lozelle being afraid to be near him, i set the spy nicholas, who was a bold fellow, as a watch over him, and two soldiers outside the tent, while lozelle and i watched the lady." "let those soldiers be brought," said sinan, "and tell their story." they were brought and stood by their captain, but they had no story to tell. they swore that they had not slept on guard, nor heard a sound, yet when morning came the prince was gone. again the lord of death stroked his black beard. then he held up the signet before the eyes of the three men, saying: "you see the token. go." "lord," said the fedai, "i have served you well for many years." "your service is ended. go!" was the stern answer. the fedai bowed his head in salute, stood for a moment as though lost in thought, then, turning suddenly, walked with a steady step to the edge of the abyss and leapt. for an instant the sunlight shone on his white and fluttering robe, then from the depths of that darksome place floated up the sound of a heavy fall, and all was still. "follow your captain to paradise," said sinan to the two soldiers, whereon one of them drew a knife to stab himself, but a dai sprang up, saying: "beast, would you shed blood before your lord? do you not know the custom? begone!" so the poor men went, the first with a steady step, and the second, who was not so brave, reeling over the edge of the precipice as one might who is drunken. "it is finished," said the dais, clapping their hands gently. "dread lord, we thank thee for thy justice." but rosamund turned sick and faint, and even the brethren paled. this man was terrible indeed--if he were a man and not a devil--and they were in his power. how long would it be, they wondered, before they also were bidden to walk that gulf? only wulf swore in his heart that if he went by this road sinan should go with him. then the corpse of the false palmer was borne away to be thrown to the eagles which always hovered over that house of death, and sinan, having reseated himself upon the cushion, began to talk again through his "mouth" masouda, in a low, quiet voice, as though nothing had happened to anger him. "lady," he said to rosamund, "your story is known to me. salah-ed-din seeks you, nor is it wonderful"--here his eyes glittered with a new and horrible light--"that he should desire to see such loveliness at his court, although the frank lozelle swore through yonder dead spy that you are precious in his eyes because of some vision that has come to him. well, this heretic sultan is my enemy whom satan protects, for even my fedais have failed to kill him, and perhaps there will be war on account of you. but have no fear, for the price at which you shall be delivered to him is higher than salah-ed-din himself would care to pay, even for you. so, since this castle is impregnable, here you may dwell at peace, nor shall any desire be denied you. speak, and your wishes are fulfilled." "i desire," said rosamund in a low, steady voice, "protection against sir hugh lozelle and all men." "it is yours. the lord of the mountain covers you with his own mantle." "i desire," she went on, "that my brothers here may lodge with me, that i may not feel alone among strange people." he thought awhile, and answered: "your brethren shall lodge near you in the guest castle. why not, since from them you cannot need protection? they shall meet you at the feast and in the garden. but, lady, do you know it? they came here upon faith of some old tale of a promise made by him who went before me to ask my help to recover you from salah-ed-din, unwitting that i was your host, not salah-ed-din. that they should meet you thus is a chance which makes even my wisdom wonder, for in it i see omens. now she whom they wished to rescue from salah-ed-din, these tall brethren of yours might wish to rescue from al-je-bal. understand then, all of you, that from the lord of death there is but one escape. yonder runs its path," and he pointed to the dizzy place whence his three servants had leapt to their doom. "knights," he went on, addressing godwin and wulf, "lead your sister hence. this evening i bid her, and you to my banquet. till then, farewell. woman," he added to masouda, "accompany them. you know your duties; this lady is in your charge. suffer that no strange man comes near her--above all, the frank lozelle. dais take notice and let it be proclaimed--to these three is given the protection of the signet in all things, save that they must not leave my walls except under sanction of the signet--nay, in its very presence." the dais rose, bowed, and seated themselves again. then, guided by masouda and preceded and followed by guards, the brethren and rosamund walked down the terrace through the curtains into the chancel-like place where men crouched upon the ground; through the great hall were more men crouched upon the ground; through the ante-chamber where, at a word from masouda, the guards saluted; through passages to that place where they had slept. here masouda halted and said: "lady rose of the world, who are fitly so named, i go to prepare your chamber. doubtless you will wish to speak awhile with these your--brothers. speak on and fear not, for it shall be my care that you are left alone, if only for a little while. yet walls have ears, so i counsel you use that english tongue which none of us understand in the land of al-je-bal--not even i." then she bowed and went. chapter thirteen: the embassy the brethren and rosamund looked at each other, for having so much to say it seemed that they could not speak at all. then with a low cry rosamund said: "oh! let us thank god, who, after all these black months of travel and of danger, has thus brought us together again," and, kneeling down there together in the guest-hall of the lord of death, they gave thanks earnestly. then, moving to the centre of the chamber where they thought that none would hear them, they began to speak in low voices and in english. "tell you your tale first, rosamund," said godwin. she told it as shortly as she could, they listening without a word. then godwin spoke and told her theirs. rosamund heard it, and asked a question almost in a whisper. "why does that beautiful dark-eyed woman befriend you?" "i do not know," answered godwin, "unless it is because of the accident of my having saved her from the lion." rosamund looked at him and smiled a little, and wulf smiled also. then she said: "blessings be on that lion and all its tribe! i pray that she may not soon forget the deed, for it seems that our lives hang upon her favour. how strange is this story, and how desperate our case! how strange also that you should have come on hither against her counsel, which, seeing what we have, i think was honest?" "we were led," answered godwin. "your father had wisdom at his death, and saw what we could not see." "ay," added wulf, "but i would that it had been into some other place, for i fear this lord al-je-bal at whose nod men hurl themselves to death." "he is hateful," answered rosamund, with a shudder; "worse even than the knight lozelle; and when he fixes his eyes on me, my heart grows sick. oh! that we could escape this place!" "an eel in an osier trap has more chance of freedom," said wulf gloomily. "let us at least be thankful that we are caged together--for how long, i wonder?" as he spoke masouda appeared, attended by waiting women, and, bowing to rosamund, said: "it is the will of the master, lady, that i lead you to the chambers that have been made ready for you, there to rest until the hour of the feast. fear not; you shall meet your brethren then. you knights have leave, if it so pleases you, to exercise your horses in the gardens. they stand saddled in the courtyard, to which this woman will bring you," and she pointed to one of those two maids who had cleaned the armour, "and with them are guides and an escort." "she means that we must go," muttered godwin, adding aloud, "farewell, sister, until tonight." so they parted, unwillingly enough. in the courtyard they found the horses, flame and smoke, as they had been told, also a mounted escort of four fierce-looking fedais and an officer. when they were in the saddle, this man, motioning to them to follow him, passed by an archway out of the courtyard into the gardens. hence ran a broad road strewn with sand, along which he began to gallop. this road followed the gulf which encircled the citadel and inner town of masyaf, that was, as it were, an island on a mountain top with a circumference of over three miles. as they went, the gulf always on their right hand, holding in their horses to prevent their passing that of their guide, swift as it was, they saw another troop approaching them. this was also preceded by an officer of the assassins, as these servants of al-je-bal were called by the franks, and behind him, mounted on a splendid coalblack steed and followed by guards, rode a mail-clad frankish knight. "it is lozelle," said wulf, "upon the horse that sinan promised him." at the sight of the man a fury took hold of godwin. with a shout of warning he drew his sword. lozelle saw, and out leapt his blade in answer. then sweeping past the officers who were with them and reining up their steeds, in a second they were face to face. lozelle struck first and godwin caught the stroke upon his buckler, but before he could return it the fedais of either party rushed between them and thrust them asunder. "a pity," said godwin, as they dragged his horse away. "had they left us alone i think, brother, i might have saved you a moonlight duel." "that i do not want to miss, but the chance at his head was good if those fellows would have let you take it," answered wulf reflectively. then the horses began to gallop again, and they saw no more of lozelle. now, skirting the edge of the town, they came to the narrow, wall-less bridge that spanned the gulf between it and the outer gate and city. here the officer wheeled his horse, and, beckoning to them to follow, charged it at full gallop. after him went the brethren--godwin first, then wulf. in the deep gateway on the further side they reined up. the captain turned, and began to gallop back faster than he had come--as fast, indeed, as his good beast would travel. "pass him!" cried godwin, and shaking the reins loose upon the neck of flame he called to it aloud. forward it sprang, with smoke at its heels. now they had overtaken the captain, and now even on that narrow way they had swept past him. not an inch was there to spare between them and the abyss, and the man, brave as he was, expecting to be thrust to death, clung to his horse's mane with terror in his eyes. on the city side the brethren pulled up laughing among the astonished fedais who had waited for them there. "by the signet," cried the officer, thinking that the knights could not understand, "these are not men; they are devils, and their horses are goats of the mountains. i thought to frighten them, but it is i who was frightened, for they swept past me like eagles of the air." "gallant riders and swift, well-trained steeds," answered one of the fedais, with admiration in his voice. "the fight at the full moon will be worth our seeing." then once more they took the sand-strewn road and galloped on. thrice they passed round the city thus, the last time by themselves, for the captain and the fedais were far outstripped. indeed it was not until they had unsaddled flame and smoke in their stalls that these appeared, spurring their foaming horses. taking no heed of them, the brethren thrust aside the grooms, dressed their steeds down, fed and watered them. then having seen them eat, there being no more to do, they walked back to the guest-house, hoping to find rosamund. but they found no rosamund, so sat down together and talked of the wonderful things that had befallen them, and of what might befall them in the future; of the mercy of heaven also which had brought them all three together safe and sound, although it was in this house of hell. so the time passed on, till about the hour of sunset the women servants came and led them to the bath, where the black slaves washed and perfumed them, clothing them in fresh robes above their armour. when they came out the sun was down, and the women, bearing torches in their hands, conducted them to a great and gorgeous hall which they had not seen before, built of fretted stone and having a carved and painted roof. along one side of this hall, that was lit with cressets, were a number of round-headed open arches supported by elegant white columns, and beyond these a marble terrace with flights of steps which led to the gardens beneath. on the floor of this hall, each seated upon his cushion beside low tables inlaid with pearl sat the guests, a hundred or more, all dressed in white robes on which the red dagger was blazoned, and all as silent as though they were asleep. when the brethren reached the place the women left them, and servants with gold chains round their necks escorted them to a dais in the middle of the hall where were many cushions, as yet unoccupied, arranged in a semicircle, of which the centre was a divan higher and more gorgeous than the rest. here places were pointed out to them opposite the divan, and they took their stand by them. they had not long to wait, for presently there was a sound of music, and, heralded by troops of singing women, the lord sinan approached, walking slowly down the length of the great hall. it was a strange procession, for after the women came the aged, white robed dais, then the lord al-je-bal himself, clad now in his blood-red, festal robe, and wearing jewels on his turban. around him marched four slaves, black as ebony, each of whom held a flaming torch on high, while behind followed the two gigantic guards who had stood sentry over him when he sat under the canopy of justice. as he advanced down the hall every man in it rose and prostrated himself, and so remained until their lord was seated, save only the two brethren, who stood erect like the survivors among the slain of a battle. settling himself among the cushions at one end of the divan, he waved his hand, whereon the feasters, and with them godwin and wulf, sat themselves down. now there was a pause, while sinan glanced along the hall impatiently. soon the brethren saw why, since at the end opposite to that by which he had entered appeared more singing women, and after them, also escorted by four black torch-bearers, only these were women, walked rosamund and, behind her, masouda. rosamund it was without doubt, but rosamund transformed, for now she seemed an eastern queen. round her head was a coronet of gems from which hung a veil, but not so as to hide her face. jewelled, too, were her heavy plaits of hair, jewelled the rose-silk garments that she wore, the girdle at her waist, her naked, ivory arms and even the slippers on her feet. as she approached in her royal-looking beauty all the guests at that strange feast stared first at her and next at each other. then as though by a single impulse they rose and bowed. "what can this mean?" muttered wulf to godwin as they did likewise. but godwin made no answer. on came rosamund, and now, behold! the lord al-je-bal rose also and, giving her his hand, seated her by him on the divan. "show no surprise, wulf," muttered godwin, who had caught a warning look in the eyes of masouda as she took up her position behind rosamund. now the feast began. slaves running to and fro, set dish after dish filled with strange and savoury meats, upon the little inlaid tables, those that were served to sinan and his guests fashioned, all of them, of silver or of gold. godwin and wulf ate, though not for hunger's sake, but of what they ate they remembered nothing who were watching sinan and straining their ears to catch all he said without seeming to take note or listen. although she strove to hide it and to appear indifferent, it was plain to them that rosamund was much afraid. again and again sinan presented to her choice morsels of food, sometimes on the dishes and sometimes with his fingers, and these she was obliged to take. all the while also he devoured her with his fierce eyes so that she shrank away from him to the furthest limit of the divan. then wine, perfumed and spiced, was brought in golden cups, of which, having drunk, he offered to rosamund. but she shook her head and asked masouda for water, saying that she touched nothing stronger, and it was given her, cooled with snow. the brethren asked for water also, whereon sinan looked at them suspiciously and demanded the reason. godwin replied through masouda that they were under an oath to touch no wine till they returned to their own country, having fulfilled their mission. to this he answered meaningly that it was good and right to keep oaths, but he feared that theirs would make them water-drinkers for the rest of their lives, a saying at which their hearts sank. now the wine that he had drunk took hold of sinan, and he began to talk who without it was so silent. "you met the frank lozelle to-day," he said to godwin, through masouda, "when riding in my gardens, and drew your sword on him. why did you not kill him? is he the better man?" "it seems not, as once before i worsted him and i sit here unhurt, lord," answered godwin. "your servants thrust between and separated us." "ay," replied sinan, "i remember; they had orders. still, i would that you had killed him, the unbelieving dog, who has dared to lift his eyes to this rose of roses, your sister. fear not," he went on, addressing rosamund, "he shall offer you no more insult, who are henceforth under the protection of the signet," and stretching out his thin, cruel-looking hand, on which gleamed the ring of power, he patted her on the arm. all of these things masouda translated, while rosamund dropped her head to hide her face, though on it were not the blushes that he thought, but loathing and alarm. wulf glared at the al-je-bal, whose head by good fortune was turned away, and so fierce was the rage swelling in his heart that a mist seemed to gather before his eyes, and through it this devilish chief of a people of murderers, clothed in his robe of flaming red, looked like a man steeped in blood. the thought came to him suddenly that he would make him what he looked, and his hand passed to his sword-hilt. but godwin saw the terror in masouda's eyes, saw wulf's hand also, and guessed what was about to chance. with a swift movement of his arm he struck a golden dish from the table to the marble floor, then said, in a clear voice in french: "brother, be not so awkward; pick up that dish and answer the lord sinan as is your right--i mean, touching the matter of lozelle." wulf stooped to obey, and his mind cleared which had been so near to madness. "i wish it not, lord," he said, "who, if i can, have your good leave to slay this fellow on the third night from now. if i fail, then let my brother take my place, but not before." "yes, i forgot," said sinan. "so i decreed, and that will be a fight i wish to see. if he kills you then your brother shall meet him. and if he kills you both, then perhaps i, sinan, will meet him--in my own fashion. sweet lady, knowing where the course is laid, say, do you fear to see this fray?" rosamund's face paled, but she answered proudly: "why should i fear what my brethren do not fear? they are brave knights, bred to arms, and god, in whose hand are all our destinies--even yours, o lord of death--he will guard the right." when this speech was translated to him sinan quailed a little. then he answered: "lady, know that i am the voice and prophet of allah--ay, and his sword to punish evil-doers and those who do not believe. well, if what i hear is true, your brethren are skilled horsemen who even dared to pass my servant on the narrow bridge, so victory may rest with them. tell me which of them do you love the least, for he shall first face the sword of lozelle." now as rosamund prepared herself to answer masouda scanned her face through her half-closed eyes. but whatever she may have felt within, it remained calm and cold as though it were cut in stone. "to me they are as one man," she said. "when one speaks, both speak. i love them equally." "then, guest of my heart, it shall go as i have said. brother blue-eyes shall fight first, and if he falls then brother grey-eyes. the feast is ended, and it is my hour for prayer. slaves, bid the people fill their cups. lady, i pray of you, stand forward on the dais." she obeyed, and at a sign the black slave-women gathered behind her with their flaming torches. then sinan rose also, and cried with a loud voice: "servants of al-je-bal, pledge, i command you, this flower of flowers, the high-born princess of baalbec, the niece of the sultan, salah-ed-din, whom men call the great," and he sneered, "though he be not so great as i, this queen of maids who soon--" then, checking himself, he drank off his wine, and with a low bow presented the empty, jewelled cup to rosamund. all the company drank also, and shouted till the hall rang, for her loveliness as she stood thus in the fierce light of the torches, aflame as these men were with the vision-breeding wine of al-je-bal, moved them to madness. "queen! queen!" they shouted. "queen of our master and of us all!" sinan heard and smiled. then, motioning for silence, he took the hand of rosamund, kissed it, and turning, passed from the hall preceded by his singing women and surrounded by the dais and guards. godwin and wulf stepped forward to speak with rosamund, but masouda interposed herself between them, saying in a cold, clear voice: "it is not permitted. go, knights, and cool your brows in yonder garden, where sweet water runs. your sister is my charge. fear not, for she is guarded." "come," said godwin to wulf; "we had best obey." so together they walked through the crowd of those feasters that remained, for most of them had already left the hall, who made way, not without reverence, for the brethren of this new star of beauty, on to the terrace, and from the terrace into the gardens. here they stood awhile in the sweet freshness of the night, which was very grateful after the heated, perfume-laden air of the banquet; then began to wander up and down among the scented trees and flowers. the moon, floating in a cloudless sky, was almost at its full, and by her light they saw a wondrous scene. under many of the trees and in tents set about here and there, rugs were spread, and to them came men who had drunk of the wine of the feast, and cast themselves down to sleep. "are they drunk?" asked wulf. "it would seem so," answered godwin. yet these men appeared to be mad rather than drunk, for they walked steadily enough, but with wide-set, dreamy eyes; nor did they seem to sleep upon the rugs, but lay there staring at the sky and muttering with their lips, their faces steeped in a strange, unholy rapture. sometimes they would rise and walk a few paces with outstretched arms, till the arms closed as though they clasped something invisible, to which they bent their heads to babble awhile. then they walked back to their rugs again, where they remained silent. as they lay thus, white-veiled women appeared, who crouched by the heads of these sleepers, murmuring into their ears, and when from time to time they sat up, gave them to drink from cups they carried, after partaking of which they lay down again and became quite senseless. only the women would move on to others and serve them likewise. some of them approached the brethren with a slow, gliding motion, and offered them the cup; but they walked forward, taking no notice, whereupon the girls left them, laughing softly, and saying such things as "tomorrow we shall meet," or "soon you will be glad to drink and enter into paradise." "when the time comes doubtless we shall be glad, who have dwelt here," answered godwin gravely, but as he spoke in french they did not understand him. "step out, brother," said wulf, "for at the very sight of those rugs i grow sleepy, and the wine in the cups sparkles as bright as their bearers' eyes." so they walked on towards the sound of a waterfall, and, when they came to it, drank, and bathed their faces and heads. "this is better than their wine," said wulf. then, catching sight of more women flitting round them, looking like ghosts amid the moonlit glades, they pressed forward till they reached an open sward where there were no rugs, no sleepers, and no cupbearers. "now," said wulf, halting, "tell me what does all this mean?" "are you deaf and blind?" asked godwin. "cannot you see that yonder fiend is in love with rosamund, and means to take her, as he well may do?" wulf groaned aloud, then answered: "i swear that first i will send his soul to hell, even though our own must keep it company." "ay," answered godwin, "i saw; you went near to it tonight. but remember, that is the end for all of us. let us wait then to strike until we must--to save her from worse things." "who knows that we may find another chance? meanwhile, meanwhile--" and again he groaned. "among those ornaments that hung about the waist of rosamund i saw a jewelled knife," answered godwin, sadly. "she can be trusted to use it if need be, and after that we can be trusted to do our worst. at least, i think that we should die in a fashion that would be remembered in this mountain." as they spoke they had loitered towards the edge of the glade, and halting there stood silent, till presently from under the shadow of a cedar tree appeared a solitary, white robed woman. "let us be going," said wulf; "here is another of them with her accursed cup." but before they could turn the woman glided up to them and suddenly unveiled. it was masouda. "follow me, brothers peter and john," she said in a laughing whisper. "i have words to say to you. what! you will not drink? well, it is wisest." and emptying the cup upon the ground she flitted ahead of them. silently as a wraith she went, now appearing in the open spaces, now vanishing, beneath the dense gloom of cedar boughs, till she reached a naked, lonely rock which stood almost upon the edge of the gulf. opposite to this rock was a great mound such as ancient peoples reared over the bodies of their dead, and in the mound, cunningly hidden by growing shrubs, a massive door. masouda took a key from her girdle, and, having looked around to see that they were alone, unlocked it. "enter," she said, pushing them before her. they obeyed, and through the darkness within heard her close the door. "now we are safe awhile," she said with a sigh, "or, at least, so i think. but i will lead you to where there is more light." then, taking each of them by the hand, she went forward along a smooth incline, till presently they saw the moonlight, and by it discovered that they stood at the mouth of a cave which was fringed with bushes. running up from the depths of the gulf below to this opening was a ridge or shoulder of rock, very steep and narrow. "see the only road that leads from the citadel of masyaf save that across the bridge," said masouda. "a bad one," answered wulf, staring downward. "ay, yet horses trained to rocks can follow it. at its foot is the bottom of the gulf, and a mile or more away to the left a deep cleft which leads to the top of the mountain and to freedom. will you not take it now? by tomorrow's dawn you might be far away." "and where would the lady rosamund be?" asked wulf. "in the harem of the lord sinan--that is, very soon," she answered, coolly. "oh, say it not!" he exclaimed, clasping her arm, while godwin leaned back against the wall of the cave. "why should i hide the truth? have you no eyes to see that he is enamoured of her loveliness--like others? listen; a while ago my master sinan chanced to lose his queen--how, we need not ask, but it is said that she wearied him. now, as he must by law, he mourns for her a month, from full moon to full moon. but on the day after the full moon--that is, the third morning from now--he may wed again, and i think there will be a marriage. till then, however, your sister is as safe as though she yet sat at home in england before salah-ed-din dreamed his dream." "therefore," said godwin, "within that time she must either escape or die." "there is a third way," answered masouda, shrugging her shoulders. "she might stay and become the wife of sinan." wulf muttered something between his teeth, then stepped towards her threateningly, saying: "rescue her, or--" "stand back, pilgrim john," she said, with a laugh. "if i rescue her, which indeed would be hard, it will not be for fear of your great sword." "what, then, will avail, masouda?" asked godwin in a sad voice. "to promise you money would be useless, even if we could." "i am glad that you spared me that insult," she replied with flashing eyes, "for then there had been an end. yet," she added more humbly, "seeing my home and business, and what i appear to be," and she glanced at her dress and the empty cup in her hand, "it had not been strange. now hear me, and forget no word. at present you are in favour with sinan, who believes you to be the brothers of the lady rosamund, not her lovers; but from the moment he learns the truth your doom is sealed. now what the frank lozelle knows, that the al-je-bal may know at any time--and will know, if these should meet. "meanwhile, you are free; so to-morrow, while you ride about the garden, as you will do, take note of the tall rock that stands without, and how to reach it from any point, even in the dark. to-morrow, also, when the moon is up, they will lead you to the narrow bridge, to ride your horses to and fro there, that they may learn not to fear it in that light. when you have stabled them go into the gardens and come hither unobserved, as the place being so far away you can do. the guards will let you pass, thinking only that you desire to drink a cup of wine with some fair friend, as is the custom of our guests. enter this cave--here is the key," and she handed it to wulf, "and if i be not there, await me. then i will tell you my plan, if i have any, but until then i must scheme and think. now it grows late--go." "and you, masouda," said godwin, doubtfully; "how will you escape this place?" "by a road you do not know of, for i am mistress of the secrets of this city. still, i thank you for your thought of me. go, i say, and lock the door behind you." so they went in silence, doing as she bade them, and walked back through the gardens, that now seemed empty enough, to the stable-entrance of the guest-house, where the guards admitted them without question. that night the brethren slept together in one bed, fearing that if they lay separate they might be searched in their sleep and not awake. indeed, it seemed to them that, as before, they heard footsteps and voices in the darkness. next morning, when they had breakfasted, they loitered awhile, hoping to win speech with rosamund, or sight of her, or at the least that masouda would come to them; but they saw no rosamund, and no masouda came. at length an officer appeared, and beckoned to them to follow him. so they followed, and were led through the halls and passages to the terrace of justice, where sinan, clad in his black robe, sat as before beneath a canopy in the midst of the sun-lit marble floor. there, too, beside him, also beneath the canopy and gorgeously apparelled, sat rosamund. they strove to advance and speak with her, but guards came between them, pointing out a place where they must stand a few yards away. only wulf said in a loud voice, in english: "tell us, rosamund, is it well with you?" lifting her pale face, she smiled and nodded. then, at the bidding of sinan, masouda commanded them to be silent, saying that it was not lawful for them to speak to the lord of the mountain, or his companion, unless they were first bidden so to do. so, having learnt what they wished to know, they were silent. now some of the dais drew near the canopy, and consulted with their master on what seemed to be a great matter, for their faces were troubled. presently he gave an order, whereon they resumed their seats and messengers left the terrace. when they appeared again, in their company were three noble-looking saracens, who were accompanied by a retinue of servants and wore green turbans, showing that they were descendants of the prophet. these men, who seemed weary with long travel, marched up the terrace with a proud mien, not looking at the dais or any one until they saw the brethren standing side by side, at whom they stared a little. next they caught sight of rosamund sitting in the shadow of the canopy, and bowed to her, but of the al-je-bal they took no notice. "who are you, and what is your pleasure?" asked sinan, after he had eyed them awhile. "i am the ruler of this country. these are my ministers," and he pointed to the dais, "and here is my sceptre," and he touched the bloodred dagger broidered on his robe of black. now that sinan had declared himself the embassy bowed to him, courteously enough. then their spokesman answered him. "that sceptre we know; it has been seen afar. twice already we have cut down its bearers even in the tent of our master. lord of murder, we acknowledge the emblem of murder, and we bow to you whose title is the great murderer. as for our mission, it is this. we are the ambassadors of salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful, sultan of the east; in these papers signed with his signet are our credentials, if you would read them." "so," answered sinan, "i have heard of that chief. what is his will with me?" "this, al-je-bal. a frank in your pay, and a traitor, has betrayed to you a certain lady, niece of salah-ed-din, the princess of baalbec, whose father was a frankish noble named d'arcy, and who herself is named rose of the world. the sultan, salah-ed-din, having been informed of this matter by his servant, the prince hassan, who escaped from your soldiers, demands that this lady, his niece, be delivered to him forthwith, and with her the head of the frank lozelle." "the head of the frank lozelle he may have if he will after to-morrow night. the lady i keep," snarled sinan. "what then?" "then, al-je-bal, in the name of salah-ed-din, we declare war on you--war till this high place of yours is pulled stone from stone; war till your tribe be dead, till the last man, woman, and child be slain, until your carcass is tossed to the crows to feed on." now sinan rose in fury and rent at his beard. "go back," he said, "and tell that dog you name a sultan, that low as he is, the humble-born son of ayoub, i, al-je-bal, do him an honour that he does not observe. my queen is dead, and two days from now, when my month of mourning is expired, i shall take to wife his niece, the princess of baalbec, who sits here beside me, my bride-elect." at these words rosamund, who had been listening intently, started like one who has been stung by a snake, put her hands before her face and groaned. "princess," said the ambassador, who was watching her, "you seem to understand our language; is this your will, to mate your noble blood with that of the heretic chief of the assassins ?" "nay, nay!" she cried. "it is no will of mine, who am a helpless prisoner and by faith a christian. if my uncle salah-ed-din is indeed as great as i have heard, then let him show his power and deliver me, and with me these my brethren, the knights sir godwin and sir wulf." "so you speak arabic," said sinan. "good; our loving converse will be easier, and for the rest--well, the whims of women change. now, you messengers of salah-ed-din, begone, lest i send you on a longer journey, and tell your master that if he dares to lift his standards against my walls my fedais shall speak with him. by day and by night, not for one moment shall he be safe. poison shall lurk in his cup and a dagger in his bed. let him kill a hundred of them, and another hundred shall appear. his most trusted guards shall be his executioners. the women in his harem shall bring him to his doom--ay, death shall be in the very air he breathes. if he would escape it, therefore, let him hide himself within the walls of his city of damascus, or amuse himself with wars against the mad cross-worshippers, and leave me to live in peace with this lady whom i have chosen." "great words, worthy of the great assassin," said the ambassador. "great words in truth, which shall be followed by great deeds. what chance has this lord of yours against a nation sworn to obey to the death? you smile? then come hither you--and you." and he summoned two of his dais by name. they rose and bowed before him. "now, my worthy servants," he said, "show these heretic dogs how you obey, that their master may learn the power of your master. you are old and weary of life. begone, and await me in paradise." the old men bowed again, trembling a little. then, straightening themselves, without a word they ran side by side and leapt into the abyss. "has salah-ed-din servants such as these?" asked sinan in the silence that followed. "well, what they have done, all would do, if i bid them slay him. back, now; and, if you will, take these franks with you, who are my guests, that they may bear witness of what you have seen, and of the state in which you left their sister. translate to the knights, woman." so masouda translated. then godwin answered through her. "we understand little of this matter, who are ignorant of your tongue, but, o al-je-bal, ere we leave your sheltering roof we have a quarrel to settle with the man lozelle. after that, with your permission, we will go, but not before." now rosamund sighed as if in relief, and sinan answered: "as you will; so be it," adding, "give these envoys food and drink before they go." but their spokesman answered: "we partake not of the bread and salt of murderers, lest we should become of their fellowship. al-je-bal, we depart, but within a week we appear again in the company of ten thousand spears, and on one of them shall your head be set. your safe-conduct guards us till the sunset. after that, do your worst, as we do ours. high princess, our counsel to you is that you slay yourself and so gain immortal honour." then, bowing to her one by one, they turned and marched down the terrace followed by their servants. now sinan waved his hand and the court broke up, rosamund leaving it first, accompanied by masouda and escorted by guards, after which the brethren were commanded to depart also. so they went, talking earnestly of all these things, but save in god finding no hope at all. chapter fourteen: the combat on the bridge "saladin will come," said wulf the hopeful, and from the high place where they stood he pointed to the plain beneath, across which a band of horsemen moved at full gallop. "look; yonder goes his embassy." "ay," answered godwin, "he will come, but, i fear me, too late." "yes, brother, unless we go to meet him. masouda has promised." "masouda," sighed godwin. "ah! to think that so much should hang upon the faithfulness of one woman." "it does not hang on her," said wulf; "it hangs on fate, who writes with her finger. come, let us ride." so, followed by their escort, they rode in the gardens, taking note, without seeming to do so, of the position of the tall rock, and of how it could be approached from every side. then they went in again and waited for some sign or word of rosamund, but in vain. that night there was no feast, and their meal was brought to them in the guest-house. while they sat at it masouda appeared for a moment to tell them that they had leave to ride the bridge in the moonlight, and that their escort would await them at a certain hour. the brethren asked if their sister rosamund was not coming to dine with them. masouda answered that as the queen-elect of the al-je-bal it was not lawful that she should eat with any other men, even her brothers. then as she passed out, stumbling as though by accident, she brushed against godwin, and muttered: "remember, to-night," and was gone. when the moon had been up an hour the officer of their escort appeared, and led them to their horses, which were waiting, and they rode away to the castle bridge. as they approached it they saw lozelle departing on his great black stallion, which was in a lather of foam. it seemed that he also had made trial of that perilous path, for the people, of whom there were many gathered there, clapped their hands and shouted, "well ridden, frank! well ridden!" now, godwin leading on flame, they faced the bridge and walked their horses over it. nor did these hang back, although they snorted a little at the black gulf on either side. next they returned at a trot, then over again, and yet again at a canter and a gallop, sometimes together and sometimes singly. lastly, wulf made godwin halt in the middle of the bridge and galloped down upon him at speed, till within a lance's length. then suddenly he checked his horse, and while his audience shouted, wheeled it around on its hind legs, its forehoofs beating the air, and galloped back again, followed by godwin. "all went well," wulf said as they rode to the castle, "and nobler or more gentle horses were never crossed by men. i have good hopes for to-morrow night." "ay, brother, but i had no sword in my hand. be not over confident, for lozelle is desperate and a skilled fighter, as i know who have stood face to face with him. more over, his black stallion is well trained, and has more weight than ours. also, yonder is a fearsome place on which to ride a course, and one of which none but that devil sinan would have thought." "i shall do my best," answered wulf, "and if i fall, why, then, act upon your own counsel. at least, let him not kill both of us." having stabled their horses the brethren wandered into the garden, and, avoiding the cup-bearing women and the men they plied with their drugged drink, drew by a roundabout road to the tall rock. then, finding themselves alone, they unlocked the door, and slipping through it, locked it again on the further side and groped their way to the moonlit mouth of the cave. here they stood awhile studying the descent of the gulf as best they could in that light, till suddenly godwin, feeling a hand upon his shoulder, started round to find himself face to face with masouda. "how did you come?" he asked. "by a road in which is your only hope," she answered. "now, sir godwin, waste no words, for my time is short, but if you think that you can trust me--and this is for you to judge--give me the signet which hangs about your neck. if not, go back to the castle and do your best to save the lady rosamund and yourselves." thrusting down his hand between his mail shirt and his breast, godwin drew out the ancient ring, carved with the mysterious signs and veined with the emblem of the dagger, and handed it to masouda. "you trust indeed," she said with a little laugh, as, after scanning it closely by the light of the moon and touching her forehead with it, she hid it in her bosom. "yes, lady," he answered, "i trust you, though why you should risk so much for us i do not know." "why? well, perhaps for hate's sake, for sinan does not rule by love; perhaps because, being of a wild blood, i am willing to set my life at hazard, who care not if i win or die; perhaps because you saved me from the lioness. what is it to you, sir godwin, why a certain woman-spy of the assassins, whom in your own land you would spit on, chooses to do this or that?" she ceased and stood before him with heaving breast and flashing eyes, a mysterious white figure in the moonlight, most beautiful to see. godwin felt his heart stir and the blood flow to his brow, but before he could speak wulf broke in, saying: "you bade us spare words, lady masouda, so tell us what we must do." "this," she answered, becoming calm again. "tomorrow night about this hour you fight lozelle upon the narrow way. that is certain, for all the city talks of it, and, whatever chances, al-je-bal will not deprive them of the spectacle of this fray to the death. well, you may fall, though that man at heart is a coward, which you are not, for here courage alone will avail nothing, but rather skill and horsemanship and trick of war. if so, then sir godwin fights him, and of this business none can tell the end. should both of you go down, then i will do my best to save your lady and take her to salah-ed-din, with whom she will be safe, or if i cannot save her i will find her a means to save herself by death." "you swear that?" said wulf. "i have said it; it is enough," she answered impatiently. "then i face the bridge and the knave lozelle with a light heart," said wulf again, and masouda went on. "now if you conquer, sir wulf, or if your fall and your brother conquers, both of you--or one of you, as it may happen--must gallop back at full speed toward the stable gate that lies more than a mile from the castle bridge. mounted as you are, no horse can keep pace with you, nor must you stop at the gate, but ride on, ride like the wind till you reach this place. the gardens will be empty of feasters and of cup-bearers, who with every soul within the city will have gathered on the walls and on the house-tops to see the fray. there is but one fear--by then a guard may be set before this mound, seeing that salah-ed-din has declared war upon al-je-bal, and though yonder road is known to few, it is a road, and sentries may watch here. if so, you must cut them down or be cut down, and bring your story to an end. sir godwin, here is another key that you may use if you are alone. take it." he did so, and she continued: "now if both of you, or one of you, win through to this cave, enter with your horses, lock the door, bar it, and wait. it may be i will join you here with the princess. but if i do not come by the dawn and you are not discovered and overwhelmed--which should not be, seeing that one man can hold that door against many--then know that the worst has happened, and fly to salah-ed-din and tell him of this road, by which he may take vengeance upon his foe sinan. only then, i pray you, doubt not that i have done my best, who if i fail must die--most horribly. now, farewell, until we meet again or--do not meet again. go; you know the road." they turned to obey, but when they had gone a few paces godwin looked round and saw masouda watching them. the moonlight shone full upon her face, and by it he saw also that tears were running from her dark and tender eyes. back he came again, and with him wulf, for that sight drew them. down he bent before her till his knee touched the ground, and, taking her hand, he kissed it, and said in his gentle voice: "henceforth through life, through death, we serve two ladies," and what he did wulf did also. "mayhap," she answered sadly; "two ladies--but one love." then they went, and, creeping through the bushes to the path, wandered about awhile among the revellers and came to the guest-house safely. once more it was night, and high above the mountain fortress of masyaf shone the full summer moon, lighting crag and tower as with some vast silver lamp. forth from the guest-house gate rode the brethren, side by side upon their splendid steeds, and the moon-rays sparkled on their coats of mail, their polished bucklers, blazoned with the cognizance of a grinning skull, their close-fitting helms, and the points of the long, tough lances that had been given them. round them rode their escort, while in front and behind went a mob of people. the nation of the assassins had thrown off its gloom this night, for the while it was no longer oppressed even by the fear of attack from saladin, its mighty foe. to death it was accustomed; death was its watchword; death in many dreadful forms its daily bread. from the walls of masyaf, day by day, fedais went out to murder this great one, or that great one, at the bidding of their lord sinan. for the most part they came not back again; they waited week by week, month by month, year by year, till the moment was ripe, then gave the poisoned cup or drove home the dagger, and escaped or were slain. death waited them abroad, and if they failed, death waited them at home. their dreadful caliph was himself a sword of death. at his will they hurled themselves from towers or from precipices; to satisfy his policy they sacrificed their wives and children. and their reward--in life, the drugged cup and voluptuous dreams; after it, as they believed, a still more voluptuous paradise. all forms of human agony and doom were known to this people; but now they were promised an unfamiliar sight, that of frankish knights slaying each other in single combat beneath the silent moon, tilting at full gallop upon a narrow place where many might hesitate to walk, and--oh, joy!--falling perchance, horse and rider together, into the depths below. so they were happy, for to them this was a night of festival, to be followed by a morrow of still greater festival, when their sultan and their god took to himself this stranger beauty as a wife. doubtless, too, he would soon weary of her, and they would be called together to see her cast from some topmost tower and hear her frail bones break on the cruel rocks below, or--as had happened to the last queen--to watch her writhe out her life in the pangs of poison upon a charge of sorcery. it was indeed a night of festival, a night filled full of promise of rich joys to come. on rode the brethren, with stern, impassive faces, but wondering in their hearts whether they would live to see another dawn. the shouting crowd surged round them, breaking through the circle of their guards. a hand was thrust up to godwin; in it was a letter, which he took and read by the bright moonlight. it was written in english, and brief: "i cannot speak with you. god be with you both, my brothers, god and the spirit of my father. strike home, wulf, strike home, godwin, and fear not for me who will guard myself. conquer or die, and in life or death, await me. to-morrow, in the flesh, or in the spirit, we will talk--rosamund." godwin handed the paper to wulf, and, as he did so, saw that the guards had caught its bearer, a withered, grey-haired woman. they asked her some questions, but she shook her head. then they cast her down, trampled the life out of her beneath their horses' hoofs, and went on laughing. the mob laughed also. "tear that paper up," said godwin. wulf did so, saying: "our rosamund has a brave heart. well, we are of the same blood, and will not fail her." now they were come to the open space in front of the narrow bridge, where, tier on tier, the multitude were ranged, kept back from its centre by lines of guards. on the flat roofed houses also they were crowded thick as swarming bees, on the circling walls, and on the battlements that protected the far end of the bridge, and the houses of the outer city. before the bridge was a low gateway, and upon its roof sat the al-je-bal, clad in his scarlet robe of festival, and by his side, the moonlight gleaming on her jewels, rosamund. in front, draped in a rich garment, a dagger of gems in her dark hair, stood the interpreter or "mouth" masouda, and behind were dais and guards. the brethren rode to the space before the arch and halted, saluting with their pennoned spears. then from the further side advanced another procession, which, opening, revealed the knight lozelle riding on his great black horse, and a huge man and a fierce he seemed in his armour. "what!" he shouted, glowering at them. "am i to fight one against two? is this your chivalry?" "nay, nay, sir traitor," answered wulf. "nay, nay betrayer of christian maids to the power of the heathen dog; you have fought godwin, now it is the turn of wulf. kill wulf and godwin remains. kill godwin and god remains. knave, you look your last upon the moon." lozelle heard, and seemed to go mad with rage, or fear, or both. "lord sinan," he shouted in arabic, "this is murder. am i, who have done you so much service, to be butchered for your pleasure by the lovers of that woman, whom you would honour with the name of wife?" sinan heard, and stared at him with dull, angry eyes. "ay, you may stare," went on the maddened lozelle, "but it is true--they are her lovers, not her brothers. would men take so much pains for a sister's sake, think you? would they swim into this net of yours for a sister's sake?" sinan held up his hand for silence. "let the lots be cast," he said, "for whatever these men are, this fight must go on, and it shall be fair." so a dai, standing by himself, cast lots upon the ground, and having read them, announced that lozelle must run the first course from the further side of the bridge. then one took his bridle to lead him across. as he passed the brethren he grinned in their faces and said: "at least this is sure, you also look your last upon the moon. i am avenged already. the bait that hooked me is a meal for yonder pike, and he will kill you both before her eyes to whet his appetite." but the brethren answered nothing. the black horse of lozelle grew dim in the distance of the moonlit bridge, and vanished beneath the farther archway that led to the outer city. then a herald cried, masouda translating his words, which another herald echoed from beyond the gulf. "thrice will the trumpets blow. at the third blast of the trumpets the knights shall charge and meet in the centre of the bridge. thenceforward they may fight as it pleases them, ahorse, or afoot, with lance, with sword, or with dagger, but to the vanquished no mercy will be shown. if he be brought living from the bridge, living he shall be cast into the gulf. hear the decree of the al-je-bal!" then wulf's horse was led forward to the entrance of the bridge, and from the further side was led forward the horse of lozelle. "good luck, brother," said godwin, as he passed him. "would that i rode this course instead of you." "your turn may come, brother," answered the grim wulf, as he set his lance in rest. now from some neighbouring tower pealed out the first long blast of trumpets, and dead silence fell on all the multitude. grooms came forward to look to girth and bridle and stirrup strap, but wulf waved them back. "i mind my own harness," he said. the second blast blew, and he loosened the great sword in its scabbard, that sword which had flamed in his forbear's hand upon the turrets of jerusalem. "your gift," he cried back to rosamund, and her answer came clear and sweet: "bear it like your fathers, wulf. bear it as it was last borne in the hall at steeple." then there was another silence--a silence long and deep. wulf looked at the white and narrow ribbon of the bridge, looked at the black gulf on either side, looked at the blue sky above, in which floated the great globe of the golden moon. then he leant forward and patted smoke upon the neck. for the third time the trumpets blew, and from either end of that bridge, two hundred paces long, the knights flashed towards each other like living bolts of steel. the multitude rose to watch; even sinan rose. only rosamund sat still, gripping the cushions with her hands. hollow rang the hoofs of the horses upon the stonework, swifter and swifter they flew, lower and lower bent the knights upon their saddles. now they were near, and now they met. the spears seemed to shiver, the horses to hustle together on the narrow way and overhang its edge, then on came the black horse towards the inner city, and on sped smoke towards the further gulf. "they have passed! they have passed!" roared the multitude. look! lozelle approached, reeling in his saddle, as well he might, for the helm was torn from his head and blood ran from his skull where the lance had grazed it. "too high, wulf; too high," said godwin sadly. "but oh! if those laces had but held!" soldiers caught the horse and turned it. "another helm!" cried lozelle. "nay," answered sinan; "yonder knight has lost his shield. new lances--that is all." so they gave him a fresh lance, and, presently, at the blast of the trumpets again the horses were seen speeding together over the narrow way. they met, and lo! lozelle, torn from his saddle, but still clinging to the reins, was flung backwards, far backwards, to fall on the stonework of the bridge. down, too, beneath the mighty shock went his black horse, a huddled heap, and lay there struggling. "wulf will fall over him!" cried rosamund. but smoke did not fall; the stallion gathered itself together--the moonlight shone so clear that every watcher saw it--and since stop it could not, leapt straight over the fallen black horse--ay, and over the rider beyond--and sped on in its stride. then the black found its feet again and galloped forward to the further gate, and lozelle also found his feet and turned to run. "stand! stand, coward!" yelled ten thousand voices, and, hearing them, he drew his sword and stood. within three great strides wulf dragged his charger to its haunches, then wheeled it round. "charge him!" shouted the multitude; but wulf remained seated, as though unwilling to attack a horseless man. next he sprang from his saddle, and accompanied by the horse smoke, which followed him as a dog follows its master, walked slowly towards lozelle, as he walked casting away his lance and drawing the great, cross-hilted sword. again the silence fell, and through it rang the cry of godwin: "a d'arcy! a d'arcy!" "a d'arcy! a d'arcy!" came back wulf's answer from the bridge, and his voice echoed thin and hollow in the spaces of the gulf. yet they rejoiced to hear it, for it told them that he was sound and strong. wulf had no shield and lozelle had no helm--the fight was even. they crouched opposite each other, the swords flashed aloft in the moonlight; from far away came the distant clank of steel, a soft, continual clamour of iron on iron. a blow fell on wulf's mail, who had nought wherewith to guard himself, and he staggered back. another blow, another, and another, and back, still back he reeled--back to the edge of the bridge, back till he struck against the horse that stood behind him, and, resting there a moment, as it seemed, regained his balance. then there was a change. look, he rushed forward, wielding the great blade in both hands. the stroke lit upon lozelle's shield and seemed to shear it in two, for in that stillness all could hear the clang of its upper half as it fell upon the stones. beneath the weight of it he staggered, sank to his knee, gained his feet again, and in his turn gave back. yes, now it was lozelle who rocked and reeled. ay, by st. chad! lozelle who went down beneath that mighty blow which missed the head but fell upon his shoulder, and lay there like a log, till presently the moonlight shone upon his mailed hand stretched upward in a prayer for mercy. from house-top and terrace wall, from soaring gates and battlements, the multitude of the people of the assassins gathered on either side the gulf broke into a roar that beat up the mountain sides like a voice of thunder. and the roar shaped itself to these words: "kill him! kill him! kill him!" sinan held up his hand, and a sudden silence fell. then he, too, screamed in his thin voice: "kill him! he is conquered!" but the great wulf only leaned upon the cross-handle of his brand, and looked at the fallen foe. presently he seemed to speak with him; then lozelle lifted the blade that lay beside him and gave it to him in token of surrender. wulf handled it awhile, shook it on high in triumph, and whirled it about his head till it shone in the moonlight. next, with a shout he cast it from him far into the gulf, where it was seen for a moment, an arc of gleaming light, and the next was gone. now, taking no more heed of the conquered knight, wulf turned and began to walk towards his horse. scarcely was his back towards him when lozelle was on his feet again, a dagger in his hand. "look behind you!" yelled godwin; but the spectators, pleased that the fight was not yet done, broke into a roar of cheers. wulf heard and swung round. as he faced lozelle the dagger struck him on the breast, and well must it have been for him that his mail was good. to use his sword he had neither space nor time, but ere the next stroke could fall wulf's arms were about lozelle, and the fight for life begun. to and fro they reeled and staggered, whirling round and round, till none could tell which of them was wulf or which his foe. now they were on the edge of the abyss, and, in that last dread strain for mastery, seemed to stand there still as stone. then one man began to bend down. see! his head hung over. further and further he bent, but his arms could not be loosened. "they will both go!" cried the multitude in their joy. look! a dagger flashed. once, twice, thrice it gleamed, and those wrestlers fell apart, while from deep down in the gulf came the thud of a fallen body. "which--oh, which?" cried rosamund from her battlement. "sir hugh lozelle," answered godwin in a solemn voice. then the head of rosamund fell forward on her breast, and for a while she seemed to sleep. wulf went to his horse, turned it about on the bridge, and throwing his arm around its neck, rested for a space. then he mounted and walked slowly towards the inner gate. pushing through the guard and officers, godwin rode out to meet him. "bravely done, brother," he said, when they came face to face. "say, are you hurt?" "bruised and shaken--no more," answered wulf. "a good beginning, truly. now for the rest," said godwin. then he glanced over his shoulder, and added, "see, they are leading rosamund away, but sinan remains, to speak with you doubtless, for masouda beckons." "what shall we do?" asked wulf. "make a plan, brother, for my head swims." "hear what he has to say. then, as your horse is not wounded either, ride for it when i give the signal as masouda bade us. there is no other way. pretend that you are wounded." so, godwin leading, while the multitude roared a welcome to the conquering wulf who had borne himself so bravely for their pleasure, they rode to the mouth of the bridge and halted in the little space before the archway. there al-je-bal spoke by masouda. "a noble fray," he said. "i did not think that franks could fight so well; say, sir knight, will you feast with me in my palace?" "i thank you, lord," answered wulf, "but i must rest while my brother tends my hurts," and he pointed to blood upon his mail. "to-morrow, if it pleases you." sinan stared at them and stroked his beard, while they trembled, waiting for the word of fate. it came. "good. so be it. to-morrow i wed the lady rose of roses, and you two--her brothers--shall give her to me, as is fitting," and he sneered. "then also you shall receive the reward of valour--a great reward, i promise you." while he spoke godwin, staring upward, had noted a little wandering cloud floating across the moon. slowly it covered it, and the place grew dim. "now," he whispered, and bowing to the al-je-bal, they pushed their horses through the open gate where the mob closed in on them, thus for a little while holding back the escort from following on their heels. they spoke to flame and smoke, and the good horses plunged onward side by side, separating the crowd as the prows of boats separate the water. in ten paces it grew thin, in thirty it was behind them, for all folk were gathered about the archway where they could see, and none beyond. forward they cantered, till the broad road turned to the left, and in that faint light they were hidden. "away!" said godwin, shaking his reins. forward leapt the horses at speed. again godwin turned, taking that road which ran round the city wall and through the gardens, leaving the guest-castle to the left, whereas their escort followed that whereby they had come, which passed along the main street of the inner town, thinking that they were ahead of them. three minutes more and they were in the lonely gardens, in which that night no women wandered and no neophytes dreamed in the pavilions. "wulf," said godwin, as they swept forward, skimming the turf like swallows, "draw your sword and be ready. remember the secret cave may be guarded, and, if so, we must kill or be killed." wulf nodded, and next instant two long blades flashed in the moonlight, for the little cloud had passed away. within a hundred paces of them rose the tall rock, but between it and the mound were two mounted guards. these heard the beating of horses' hoofs, and wheeling about, stared to see two armed knights sweeping down upon them like a whirlwind. they called to them to stop, hesitating, then rode forward a few paces, as though wondering whether this were not a vision. in a moment the brethren were on them. the soldiers lifted their lances, but ere they could thrust the sword of godwin had caught one between neck and shoulder and sunk to his breast bone, while the sword of wulf, used as a spear, had pierced the other through and through, so that those men fell dead by the door of the mound, never knowing who had slain them. the brethren pulled upon their bridles and spoke to flame and smoke, halting them within a score of yards. then they wheeled round and sprang from their saddles. one of the dead guards still held his horses's reins, and the other beast stood by snorting. godwin caught it before it stirred, then, holding all four of them, threw the key to wulf and bade him unlock the door. soon it was done, although he staggered at the task; then he held the horses, while one by one godwin led them in, and that without trouble, for the beasts thought that this was but a cave-hewn stable of a kind to which they were accustomed. "what of the dead men?" said wulf. "they had best keep us company," answered godwin, and, running out, he carried in first one and then the other. "swift!" he said, as he threw down the second corpse. "shut the door. i caught sight of horsemen riding through the trees. nay, they saw nothing." so they locked the massive door and barred it, and with beating hearts waited in the dark, expecting every moment to hear soldiers battering at its timbers. but no sound came; the searchers, if such they were, had passed on to seek elsewhere. now while wulf made shift to fasten up the horses near the mouth of the cave, godwin gathered stones as large as he could lift, and piled them up against the door, till they knew that it would take many men an hour or more to break through. for this door was banded with iron and set fast in the living rock. chapter fifteen: the flight to emesa then came the weariest time of waiting the brethren had ever known, or were to know, although at first they did not feel it so long and heavy. water trickled from the walls of this cave, and wulf, who was parched with thirst, gathered it in his hands and drank till he was satisfied. then he let it run upon his head to cool its aching; and godwin bathed such of his brother's hurts and bruises as could be come at, for he did not dare to remove the hauberk, and so gave him comfort. when this was done, and he had looked to the saddles and trappings of the horses, wulf told of all that had passed between him and lozelle on the bridge. how at the first onset his spear had caught in the links of and torn away the head-piece of his foe, who, if the lacings had not burst, would have been hurled to death, while that of lozelle struck his buckler fair and shattered on it, rending it from his arm. how they pushed past each other, and for a moment the fore hoofs of smoke hung over the abyss, so that he thought he was surely sped: how at the next course lozelle's spear passed beneath his arm, while his, striking full upon sir hugh's breast, brought down the black horse and his rider as though a thunderbolt had smitten them, and how smoke, that could not check its furious pace, leapt over them, as a horse leaps a-hunting: how he would not ride down lozelle, but dismounted to finish the fray in knightly fashion, and, being shieldless, received the full weight of the great sword upon his mail, so that he staggered back and would have fallen had he not struck against the horse. then he told of the blows that followed, and of his last that wounded lozelle, shearing through his mail and felling him as an ox is felled by the butcher: how also, when he sprang forward to kill him, this mighty and brutal man had prayed for mercy, prayed it in the name of christ and of their own mother, whom as a child he knew in essex: how he could not slaughter him, being helpless, but turned away, saying that he left him to be dealt with by al-je-bal, whereupon this traitorous dog sprang up and strove to knife him. he told also of their last fearful struggle, and how, shaken as he was by the blow upon his back, although the point of the dagger had not pierced his mail, he strove with lozelle, man to man; till at length his youth, great natural strength, and the skill he had in wrestling, learnt in many a village bout at home, enabled him to prevail, and, while they hung together on the perilous edge of the gulf, to free his right hand, draw his poniard, and make an end. "yet," added wulf, "never shall i forget the look of that man's eyes as he fell backwards, or the whistling scream which came from his pierced throat." "at least there is a rogue the less in the world, although he was a brave one in his own knavish fashion," answered godwin. "moreover, my brother," he added, placing his arm about wulf's neck, "i am glad it fell to you to fight him, for at the last grip your might overcame, where i, who am not so strong, should have failed. further, i think you did well to show mercy, as a good knight should; that thereby you have gained great honour, and that if his spirit can see through the darkness, our dead uncle is proud of you now, as i am, my brother." "i thank you," replied wulf simply; "but, in this hour of torment, who can think of such things as honour gained?" then, lest he should grow stiff, who was sorely bruised beneath his mail, they began to walk up and down the cave from where the horses stood to where the two dead assassins lay by the door, the faint light gleaming upon their stern, dark features. ill company they seemed in that silent, lonely place. the time crept on; the moon sank towards the mountains. "what if they do not come?" asked wulf. "let us wait to think of it till dawn," answered godwin. again they walked the length of the cave and back. "how can they come, the door being barred?" asked wulf. "how did masouda come and go?" answered godwin. "oh, question me no more; it is in the hand of god." "look," said wulf, in a whisper. "who stand yonder at the end of the cave--there by the dead men?" "their spirits, perchance," answered godwin, drawing his sword and leaning forward. then he looked, and true enough there stood two figures faintly outlined in the gloom. they glided towards them, and now the level moonlight shone upon their white robes and gleamed in the gems they wore. "i cannot see them," said a voice. "oh, those dead soldiers--what do they portend?" "at least yonder stand their horses," answered another voice. now the brethren guessed the truth, and, like men in a dream, stepped forward from the shadow of the wall. "rosamund!" they said. "oh godwin! oh wulf!" she cried in answer. "oh, jesu, i thank thee, i thank thee--thee, and this brave woman!" and, casting her arms about masouda, she kissed her on the face. masouda pushed her back, and said, in a voice that was almost harsh: "it is not fitting, princess, that your pure lips should touch the cheek of a woman of the assassins." but rosamund would not be repulsed. "it is most fitting," she sobbed, "that i should give you thanks who but for you must also have become 'a woman of the assassins,' or an inhabitant of the house of death." then masouda kissed her back, and, thrusting her away into the arms of wulf, said roughly: "so, pilgrims peter and john, your patron saints have brought you through so far; and, john, you fight right well. nay, do not stop for our story, if you wish us to live to tell it. what! you have the soldiers' horses with your own? well done! i did not credit you with so much wit. now, sir wulf, can you walk? yes; so much the better; it will save you a rough ride, for this place is steep, though not so steep as one you know of. now set the princess upon flame, for no cat is surer-footed than that horse, as you may remember, peter. i who know the path will lead it. john, take you the other two; peter, do you follow last of all with smoke, and, if they hang back, prick them with your sword. come, flame, be not afraid, flame. where i go, you can come," and masouda thrust her way through the bushes and over the edge of the cliff, talking to the snorting horse and patting its neck. a minute more, and they were scrambling down a mountain ridge so steep that it seemed as though they must fall and be dashed to pieces at the bottom. yet they fell not, for, made as it had been to meet such hours of need, this road was safer than it appeared, with ridges cut in the rock at the worst places. down they went, and down, till at length, panting, but safe, they stood at the bottom of the darksome gulf where only the starlight shone, for here the rays of the low moon could not reach. "mount," said masouda. "princess, stay you on flame; he is the surest and the swiftest. sir wulf, keep your own horse smoke; your brother and i will ride those of the soldiers. though not very swift, doubtless they are good beasts, and accustomed to such roads." then she leapt to the saddle as a woman born in the desert can, and pushed her horse in front. for a mile or more masouda led them along the rocky bottom of the gulf, where because of the stones they could only travel at a foot pace, till they came to a deep cleft on the left hand, up which they began to ride. by now the moon was quite behind the mountains, and such faint light as came from the stars began to be obscured with drifting clouds. still, they stumbled on till they reached a little glade where water ran and grass grew. "halt," said masouda. "here we must wait till dawn for in this darkness the horses cannot keep their footing on the stones. moreover, all about us lie precipices, over one of which we might fall." "but they will pursue us," pleaded rosamund. "not until they have light to see by," answered masouda, "or at least we must take the risk, for to go forward would be madness. sit down and rest a while, and let the horses drink a little and eat a mouthful of grass, holding their reins in our hands, for we and they may need all our strength before to-morrow's sun is set. sir wulf, say, are you much hurt?" "but very little," he answered in a cheerful voice; "a few bruises beneath my mail--that is all, for lozelle's sword was heavy. tell us, i pray you, what happened after we rode away from the castle bridge." "this, knights. the princess here, being overcome, was escorted by the slaves back to her chambers, but sinan bade me stay with him awhile that he might speak to you through me. do you know what was in his mind? to have you killed at once, both of you, whom lozelle had told him were this lady's lovers, and not her brothers. only he feared that there might be trouble with the people, who were pleased with the fighting, so held his hand. then he bade you to the supper, whence you would not have returned; but when sir wulf said that he was hurt, i whispered to him that what he wished to do could best be done on the morrow at the wedding-feast when he was in his own halls, surrounded by his guards. "'ay,' he answered, 'these brethren shall fight with them until they are driven into the gulf. it will be a goodly sight for me and my queen to see.'" "oh! horrible, horrible!" said rosamund; while godwin muttered: "i swear that i would have fought, not with his guards, but with sinan only." "so he suffered you to go, and i left him also. before i went he spoke to me, bidding me bring the princess to him privately within two hours after we had supped, as he wished to speak to her alone about the ceremony of her marriage on the morrow, and to make her gifts. i answered aloud that his commands should be obeyed, and hurried to the guest-castle. there i found your lady recovered from her faintness, but mad with fear, and forced her to eat and drink. "the rest is short. before the two hours were gone a messenger came, saying that the al-je-bal bade me do what he had commanded. "'return,' i answered; 'the princess adorns herself. we follow presently alone, as it is commanded.' "then i threw this cloak about her and bade her be brave, and, if we failed, to choose whether she would take sinan or death for lord. next, i took the ring you had, the signet of the dead al-je-bal, who gave it to your kinsman, and held it before the slaves, who bowed and let me pass. we came to the guards, and to them again i showed the ring. they bowed also, but when they saw that we turned down the passage to the left and not to the right, as we should have done to come to the doors of the inner palace, they would have stopped us. "'acknowledge the signet,' i answered. 'dogs, what is it to you which road the signet takes?' then they also let us pass. "now, following the passage, we were out of the guest house and in the gardens, and i led her to what is called the prison tower, whence runs the secret way. here were more guards whom i bade open in the name of sinan. "they said: 'we obey not. this place is shut save to the signet itself.' "'behold it!' i answered. the officer looked and said: 'it is the very signet, sure enough, and there is no other.' "yet he paused, studying the black stone veined with the red dagger and the ancient writing on it. "'are you, then, weary of life?' i asked. 'fool, the al-je-bal himself would keep a tryst within this house, which he enters secretly from the palace. woe to you if he does not find his lady there!' "'it is the signet that he must have sent, sure enough,' the captain said again, 'to disobey which is death.' "'yes, open, open,' whispered his companions. "so they opened, though doubtfully, and we entered, and i barred the door behind us. then, to be short, through the darkness of the tower basement, guiding ourselves by the wall, we crept to the entrance of that way of which i know the secret. ay, and along all its length and through the rock door of escape at the end of which i set so that none can turn it, save skilled masons with their tools, and into the cave where we found you. it was no great matter, having the signet, although without the signet it had not been possible to-night, when every gate is guarded." "no great matter!" gasped rosamund. "oh, godwin and wulf! if you could know how she thought of and made ready everything; if you could have seen how all those cruel men glared at us, searching out our very souls! if you could have heard how high she answered them, waving that ring before their eyes and bidding them to obey its presence, or to die!" "which they surely have done by now," broke in masouda quietly, "though i do not pity them, who were wicked. nay; thank me not; i have done what i promised to do, neither less nor more, and--i love danger and a high stake. tell us your story, sir godwin." so, seated there on the grass in the darkness, he told them of their mad ride and of the slaying of the guards, while rosamund raised her hands and thanked heaven for its mercies, and that they were without those accursed walls. "you may be within them again before sunset," said masouda grimly. "yes," answered wulf, "but not alive. now what plan have you? to ride for the coast towns?" "no," replied masouda; "at least not straight, since to do so we must pass through the country of the assassins, who by this day's light will be warned to watch for us. we must ride through the desert mountain lands to emesa, many miles away, and cross the orontes there, then down into baalbec, and so back to beirut." "emesa?" said godwin. "why saladin holds that place, and of baalbec the lady rosamund is princess." "which is best?" asked masouda shortly. "that she should fall into the hands of salah-ed-din, or back into those of the master of the assassins? choose which you wish." "i choose salah-ed-din," broke in rosamund, "for at least he is my uncle, and will do me no wrong." nor, knowing the case, did the others gainsay her. now at length the summer day began to break, and while it was still too dark to travel, godwin and rosamund let the horses graze, holding them by their bridles. masouda, also, taking off the hauberk of wulf, doctored his bruises as best she could with the crushed leaves of a bush that grew by the stream, having first washed them with water, and though the time was short, eased him much. then, so soon as the dawn was grey, having drunk their fill and, as they had nothing else, eaten some watercress that grew in the stream, they tightened their saddle girths and started. scarcely had they gone a hundred yards when, from the gulf beneath, that was hidden in grey mists, they heard the sound of horse's hoofs and men's voices. "push on," said masouda, "al-je-bal is on our tracks." upwards they climbed through the gathering light, skirting the edge of dreadful precipices which in the gloom it would have been impossible to pass, till at length they reached a great table land, that ran to the foot of some mountains a dozen miles or more away. among those mountains soared two peaks, set close together. to these masouda pointed, saying that their road ran between them, and that beyond lay the valley of the orontes. while she spoke, far behind them they heard the sound of men shouting, although they could see nothing because of the dense mist. "push on," said masouda; "there is no time to spare," and they went forward, but only at a hand gallop, for the ground was still rough and the light uncertain. when they had covered some six miles of the distance between them and the mountain pass, the sun rose suddenly and sucked up the mist. this was what they saw. before them lay a flat, sandy plain; behind, the stony ground that they had traversed, and riding over it, two miles from them, some twenty men of the assassins. "they cannot catch us," said wulf; but masouda pointed to the right, where the mist still hung, and said: "yonder i see spears." presently it thinned, and there a league away they saw a great body of mounted soldiers--perhaps there were four hundred. "look," she said; "they have come round during the night, as i feared they would. now we must cross the path before them or be taken," and she struck her horse fiercely with a stick she had cut at the stream. half a mile further on a shout from the great body of men to their right, which was answered by another shout from those behind, told them that they were seen. "on!" said masouda. "the race will be close." so they began to gallop their best. two miles were done, but although that behind was far off, the great cloud of dust to their right grew ever nearer till it seemed as though it must reach the mouth of the mountain pass before them. then godwin spoke: "wulf and rosamund ride on. your horses are swift and can outpace them. at the crest of the mountain pass wait a while to breathe the beasts, and see if we come. if not, ride on again, and god be with you." "ay," said masouda, "ride and head for the emesa bridge--it can be seen from far--and there yield yourselves to the officers of salah-ed-din." they hung back, but in a stern voice godwin repeated: "ride, i command you both." "for rosamund's sake, so be it," answered wulf. then he called to smoke and flame, and they stretched themselves out upon the sand and passed thence swifter than swallows. soon godwin and masouda, toiling behind, saw them enter the mouth of the pass. "good," she said. "except those of their own breed, there are no horses in syria that can catch those two. they will come to emesa, have no fear." "who was the man who brought them to us?" asked godwin, as they galloped side by side, their eyes fixed upon the ever-nearing cloud of dust, in which the spear points sparkled. "my father's brother--my uncle, as i called him," she answered. "he is a sheik of the desert, who owns the ancient breed that cannot be bought for gold." "then you are not of the assassins, masouda?" "no; i may tell you, now that the end seems near. my father was an arab, my mother a noble frank, a french woman, whom he found starving in the desert after a fight, and took to his tent and made his wife. the assassins fell upon us and killed him and her, and captured me as a child of twelve. afterwards, when i grew older, being beautiful in those days, i was taken to the harem of sinan, and, although in secret i had been bred up a christian by my mother, they swore me of his accursed faith. now you will understand why i hate him so sorely who murdered my father and my mother, and made me what i am; why i hold myself so vile also. yes, i have been forced to serve as his spy or be killed, who, although he believed me his faithful slave, desired first to be avenged upon him." "i do not hold you vile," panted godwin, as he spurred his labouring steed. "i hold you most noble." "i rejoice to hear it before we die," she answered, looking him in the eyes in such a fashion that he dropped his head before her burning gaze, "who hold you dear, sir godwin, for whose sake i have dared these things, although i am nought to you. nay, speak not; the lady rosamund has told me all that story--except its answer." now they were off the sand over which they had been racing side by side, and beginning to breast the mountain slope, nor was godwin sorry that the clatter of their horses' hoofs upon the stones prevented further speech between them. so far they had outpaced the assassins, who had a longer and a rougher road to travel; but the great cloud of dust was not seven hundred yards away, and in front of it, shaking their spears, rode some of the best mounted of their soldiers. "these horses still have strength; they are better than i thought them," cried masouda. "they will not gain on us across the mountains, but afterwards--" for the next league they spoke no more, who must keep their horses from falling as they toiled up the steep path. at length they reached the crest, and there, on the very top of it, saw wulf and rosamund standing by flame and smoke. "they rest," godwin said, then he shouted, "mount! mount! the foe is close." so they climbed to their saddles again, and, all four of them together began to descend the long slope that stretched to the plain two leagues beneath. far off across this plain ran a broad silver streak, beyond which from that height they could see the walls of a city. "the orontes!" cried masouda. "cross that, and we are safe." but godwin looked first at his horse, then at masouda, and shook his head. well might he do so, for, stout-hearted as they were, the beasts were much distressed that had galloped so far without drawing rein. down the steep road they plunged, panting; indeed at times it was hard to keep them on their feet. "they will reach the plain--no more," said godwin, and masouda nodded. the descent was almost done, and not a mile behind them the white-robed assassins streamed endlessly. godwin plied his spurs and masouda her whip, although with little hope, for they knew that the end was near. down the last declivity they rushed, till suddenly, as they reached its foot, masouda's horse reeled, stopped, and sank to the ground, while godwin's pulled up beside it. "ride on!" he cried to rosamund and wulf in front; but they would not. he stormed at them, but they replied: "nay, we will die together." masouda looked at the horses flame and smoke, which seemed but little troubled. "so be it," she said; "they have carried double before, and must again. mount in front of the lady, sir godwin; and, sir wulf, give me your hand, and you will learn what this breed can do." so they mounted. forward started flame and smoke with a long, swinging gallop, while from the assassins above, who thought that they held them, went up a shout of rage and wonder. "their horses are also tired, and we may beat them yet," called the dauntless masouda. but godwin and wulf looked sadly at the ten miles of plain between them and the river bank. on they went, and on. a quarter of it was done. half of it was done, but now the first of the fedai hung upon their flanks not two hundred yards behind. little by little this distance lessened. at length they were scarcely fifty yards away, and one of them flung a spear. in her terror rosamund sobbed aloud. "spur the horses, knights," cried masouda, and for the first time they spurred them. at the sting of the steel flame and smoke sprang forward as though they had but just left their stable door, and the gap between pursuers and pursued widened. two more miles were done, and scarce seven furlongs from them they saw the broad mouth of the bridge, while the towers of emesa beyond seemed so close that in this clear air they could discern the watchmen outlined against the sky. then they descended a little valley, and lost sight of bridge and town. at the rise of the opposing slope the strength of flame and smoke at last began to fail beneath their double burdens. they panted and trembled; and, save in short rushes, no longer answered to the spur. the assassins saw, and came on with wild shouts. nearer and nearer they drew, and the sound of their horses hoofs beating on the sand was like the sound of thunder. now once more they were fifty yards away, and now but thirty, and again the spears began to flash, though none struck them. masouda screamed to the horses in arabic, and gallantly did they struggle, plunging up the hill with slow, convulsive bounds. godwin and wulf looked at each other, then, at a signal, checked their speed, leapt to earth, and, turning, drew their swords. "on!" they cried, and lightened of their weight, once more the reeling horses plunged forward. the assassins were upon them. wulf struck a mighty blow and emptied the saddle of the first, then was swept to earth. as he fell from behind him he heard a scream of joy, and struggling to his knees, looked round. lo! from over the crest of the rise rushed squadron upon squadron of turbaned cavalry, who, as they came, set their lances in rest, and shouted: "salah-ed-din! salah-ed-din!" the assassins saw also, and turned to fly--too late! "a horse! a horse!" screamed godwin in arabic; and presently-- how he never knew--found himself mounted and charging with the saracens. to wulf, too, a horse was brought, but he could not struggle to its saddle. thrice he strove, then fell backwards and lay upon the sand, waving his sword and shouting where he lay, while masouda stood by him, a dagger in her hand, and with her rosamund upon her knees. now the pursuers were the pursued, and dreadful was the reckoning that they must pay. their horses were outworn and could not fly at speed. some of the fedai were cut down upon them. some dismounted, and gathering themselves in little groups, fought bravely till they were slain, while a few were taken prisoners. of all that great troup of men not a score won back alive to masyaf to make report to their master of how the chase of his lost bride had ended. a while later and wulf from his seat upon the ground saw godwin riding back towards him, his red sword in his hand. with him rode a sturdy, bright-eyed man gorgeously apparelled, at the sight of whom rosamund sprang to her feet; then, as he dismounted, ran forward and with a little cry cast her arms about him. "hassan! prince hassan! is it indeed you? oh, god be praised!" she gasped, then, had not masouda caught her, would have fallen. the emir looked at her, her long hair loose, her face stained, her veil torn, but still clad in the silk and gleaming gems with which she had been decked as the bride-elect of al-je-bal. then low to the earth he bent his knee, while the grave saracens watched, and taking the hem of her garment, he kissed it. "allah be praised indeed!" he said. "i, his unworthy servant, thank him from my heart, who never thought to see you living more. soldiers, salute. before you stands the lady rose of the world, princess of baalbec and niece of your lord, salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful." then in stately salutation to this dishevelled, outworn, but still queenly woman, uprose hand, and spear, and scimitar, while wulf cried from where he lay: "why, it is our merchant of the drugged wine--none other! oh! sir saracen, does not the memory of that chapman's trick shame you now?" the emir hassan heard and grew red, muttering in his beard: "like you, sir wulf, i am the slave of fate, and must obey. be not bitter against me till you know all." "i am not bitter," answered wulf, "but i always pay for my drink, and we will settle that score yet, as i have sworn." "hush!" broke in rosamund. "although he stole me, he is also my deliverer and friend through many a peril, and, had it not been for him, by now--" and she shuddered. "i do not know all the story, but, princess, it seems that you should thank not me, but these goodly cousins of yours and those splendid horses," and hassan pointed to smoke and flame, which stood by quivering, with hollow flanks and drooping heads. "there is another whom i must thank also, this noble woman, as you will call her also when you hear the story," said rosamund, flinging her arm about the neck of masouda. "my master will reward her," said hassan. "but oh! lady, what must you think of me who seemed to desert you so basely? yet i reasoned well. in the castle of that son of satan, sinan," and he spat upon the ground, "i could not have aided you, for there he would only have butchered me. but by escaping i thought that i might help, so i bribed the frankish knave with the priceless star of my house," and he touched the great jewel that he wore in his turban, "and with what money i had, to loose my bonds, and while he pouched the gold i stabbed him with his own knife and fled. but this morning i reached yonder city in command of ten thousand men, charged to rescue you if i could; if not, to avenge you, for the ambassadors of salah-ed-din informed me of your plight. an hour ago the watchmen on the towers reported that they saw two horses galloping across the plain beneath a double burden, pursued by soldiers whom from their robes they took to be assassins. so, as i have a quarrel with the assassins, i crossed the bridge, formed up five hundred men in a hollow, and waited, never guessing that it was you who fled. you know the rest--and the assassins know it also, for," he added grimly, "you have been well avenged." "follow it up," said wulf, "and the vengeance shall be better, for i will show you the secret way into masyaf--or, if i cannot, godwin will--and there you may hurl sinan from his own towers." hassan shook his head and answered: "i should like it well, for with this magician my master also has an ancient quarrel. but he has other feuds upon his hands," and he looked meaningly at wulf and godwin, "and my orders were to rescue the princess and no more. well, she has been rescued, and some hundreds of heads have paid the price of all that she has suffered. also, that secret way of yours will be safe enough by now. so there i let the matter bide, glad enough that it has ended thus. only i warn you all--and myself also--to walk warily, since, if i know aught of him, sinan's fedais will henceforth dog the steps of every one of us, striving to bring us to our ends by murder. now here come litters; enter them, all of you, and be borne to the city, who have ridden far enough to-day. fear not for your horses; they shall be led in gently and saved alive, if skill and care can save them. i go to count the slain, and will join you presently in the citadel." so the bearers came and lifted up wulf, and helped godwin from his horse--for now that all was over he could scarcely stand--and with him rosamund and masouda. placing them in the litters, they carried them, escorted by cavalry, across the bridge of the orontes into the city of emesa, where they lodged them in the citadel. here also, after giving them a drink of barley gruel, and rubbing their backs and legs with ointment, they led the horses smoke and flame, slowly and with great trouble, for these could hardly stir, and laid them down on thick beds of straw, tempting them with food, which after awhile they ate. the four--rosamund, masouda, godwin, and wulf--ate also of some soup with wine in it, and after the hurts of wulf had been tended by a skilled doctor, went to their beds, whence they did not rise again for two days. chapter sixteen: the sultan saladin in the third morning godwin awoke to see the ray of sunrise streaming through the latticed window. they fell upon another bed near-by where wulf still lay sleeping, a bandage on his head that had been hurt in the last charge against the assassins, and other bandages about his arms and body, which were much bruised in the fight upon the dreadful bridge. wondrous was it to godwin to watch him lying there sleeping healthily, notwithstanding his injuries, and to think of what they had gone through together with so little harm; to think, also, of how they had rescued rosamund out of the very mouth of that earthly hell of which he could see the peaks through the open window-place--out of the very hands of that fiend, its ruler. reckoning the tale day by day, he reflected on their adventures since they landed at beirut, and saw how heaven had guided their every step. in face of the warnings that were given them, to visit the al-je-bal in his stronghold had seemed a madness. yet there, where none could have thought that she would be, they had found rosamund. there they had been avenged upon the false knight sir hugh lozelle, who had betrayed her, first to saladin, then to sinan, and sent him down to death and judgment; and thence they had rescued rosamund. oh, how wise they had been to obey the dying words of their uncle, sir andrew, who doubtless was given foresight at the end! god and his saints had helped them, who could not have helped themselves, and his minister had been masouda. but for masouda, rosamund would by now be lost or dead, and they, if their lives were still left to them, would be wanderers in the great land of syria, seeking for one who never could be found. why had masouda done these things, again and again putting her own life upon the hazard to save theirs and the honour of another woman? as he asked himself the question godwin felt the red blood rise to his face. because she hated sinan, who had murdered her parents and degraded her, she said; and doubtless that had to do with the matter. but it was no longer possible to hide the truth. she loved him, and had loved him from the first hour when they met. he had always suspected it--in that wild trial of the horses upon the mountain side, when she sat with her arms about him and her face pressed against his face; when she kissed his feet after he had saved her from the lion, and many another time. but as they followed wulf and rosamund up the mountain pass while the host of the assassins thundered at their heels, and in broken gasps she had told him of her sad history, then it was that he grew sure. then, too, he had said that he held her not vile, but noble, as indeed he did; and, thinking their death upon them, she had answered that she held him dear, and looked on him as a woman looks upon her only love--a message in her eyes that no man could fail to read. yet if this were so, why had masouda saved rosamund, the lady to whom she knew well that he was sworn? reared among those cruel folk who could wade to their desire through blood and think it honour, would she not have left her rival to her doom, seeing that oaths do not hold beyond the grave? an answer came into the heart of godwin, at the very thought of which he turned pale and trembled. his brother was also sworn to rosamund, and she in her soul must be sworn to one of them. was it not to wulf, wulf who was handsomer and more strong than he, to wulf, the conqueror of lozelle? had rosamund told masouda this? nay, surely not. yet women can read each other's hearts, piercing veils through which no man may see, and perchance masouda had read the heart of rosamund. she stood behind her during the dreadful duel at the gate, and watched her face when wulf's death seemed sure; she might have heard words that broke in agony from her lips in those moments of torment. oh, without doubt it was so, and masouda had protected rosamund because she knew that her love was for wulf and not for him. the thought was very bitter, and in its pain godwin groaned aloud, while a fierce jealousy of the brave and handsome knight who slept at his side, dreaming, doubtless, of the fame that he had won and the reward by which it would be crowned, gripped his vitals like the icy hand of death. then godwin remembered the oath that they two had sworn far away in the priory at stangate, and the love passing the love of woman which he bore towards this brother, and the duty of a christian warrior whereto he was vowed, and hiding his face in his pillow he prayed for strength. it would seem that it came to him--at least, when he lifted his head again the jealousy was gone, and only the great grief remained. fear remained also--for what of masouda? how should he deal with her? he was certain that this was no fancy which would pass--until her life passed with it, and, beautiful as she was, and noble as she was, he did not wish her love. he could find no answer to these questions, save this--that things must go on as they were decreed. for himself, he, godwin, would strive to do his duty, to keep his hands clean, and await the end, whatever that might be. wulf woke up, stretched his arms, exclaimed because that action hurt him, grumbled at the brightness of the light upon his eyes, and said that he was very hungry. then he arose, and with the help of godwin, dressed himself, but not in his armour. here, with the yellow-coated soldiers of saladin, grave-faced and watchful, pacing before their door--for night and day they were trebly guarded lest assassins should creep in--there was no need for mail. in the fortress of masyaf, indeed, where they were also guarded, it had been otherwise. wulf heard the step of the sentries on the cemented pavement without, and shook his great shoulders as though he shivered. "that sound makes my backbone cold," he said. "for a moment, as my eyes opened, i thought that we were back again in the guest chambers of al-je-bal, where folk crept round us as we slept and murderers marched to and fro outside the curtains, fingering their knife-points. well, whatever there is to come, thank the saints, that is done with. i tell you, brother, i have had enough of mountains, and narrow bridges, and assassins. henceforth, i desire to live upon a flat with never a hill in sight, amidst honest folk as stupid as their own sheep, who go to church on sundays and get drunk, not with hachich, but on brown ale, brought to them by no white-robed sorceress, but by a draggle-tailed wench in a tavern, with her musty bedstraw still sticking in her hair. give me the saltings of essex with the east winds blowing over them, and the primroses abloom upon the bank, and the lanes fetlock deep in mud, and for your share you may take all the scented gardens of sinan and the cups and jewels of his ladies, with the fightings and adventures of the golden east thrown in." "i never sought these things, and we are a long way from essex," answered godwin shortly. "no," said wulf, "but they seem to seek you. what news of masouda? have you seen her while i slept, which has been long?" "i have seen no one except the apothecary who tended you, the slaves who brought us food, and last evening the prince hassan, who came to see how we fared. he told me that, like yourself, rosamund and masouda slept." "i am glad to hear it," answered wulf, "for certainly their rest was earned. by st. chad! what a woman is this masouda! a heart of fire and nerves of steel! beautiful, too--most beautiful; and the best horsewoman that ever sat a steed. had it not been for her--by heaven! when i think of it i feel as though i loved her--don't you?" "no," said godwin, still more shortly. "ah, well, i daresay she can love enough for two who does nothing by halves, and, all things considered," he added, with one of his great laughs, "i am glad it is i of whom she thinks so little--yes, i who adore her as though she were my patron saint. hark! the guards challenge," and, forgetting where he was, he snatched at his sword. then the door opened, and through it appeared the emir hassan, who saluted them in the name of allah, searching them with his quiet eyes. "few would judge, to look at you, sir knights," he said with a smile, "that you have been the guests of the old man of the mountain, and left his house so hastily by the back door. three days more and you will be as lusty as when we met beyond the seas upon the wharf by a certain creek. oh, you are brave men, both of you, though you be infidels, from which error may the prophet guide you; brave men, the flower of knighthood. ay, i, hassan, who have known many frankish knights, say it from my heart," and, placing his hand to his turban, he bowed before them in admiration that was not feigned. "we thank you, prince, for your praise," said godwin gravely, but wulf stepped forward, took his hand, and shook it. "that was an ill trick, prince, which you played us yonder in england," he said, "and one that brought as good a warrior as ever drew a sword--our uncle sir andrew d'arcy--to an end sad as it was glorious. still, you obeyed your master, and because of all that has happened since, i forgive you, and call you friend, although should we ever meet in battle i still hope to pay you for that drugged wine." here hassan bowed, and said softly: "i admit that the debt is owing; also that none sorrow more for the death of the noble lord d'arcy than i, your servant, who, by the will of god, brought it upon him. when we meet, sir wulf, in war--and that, i think, will be an ill hour for me--strike, and strike home; i shall not complain. meanwhile, we are friends, and in very truth all that i have is yours. but now i come to tell you that the princess rose of the world--allah bless her footsteps!--is recovered from her fatigues, and desires that you should breakfast with her in an hour's time. also the doctor waits to tend your bruises, and slaves to lead you to the bath and clothe you. nay, leave your hauberk; here the faith of salah-ed-din and of his servants is your best armour." "still, i think that we will take them," said godwin, "for faith is a poor defence against the daggers of these assassins, who dwell not so far away." "true," answered hassan; "i had forgotten." so thus they departed. an hour later they were led to the hall, where presently came rosamund, and with her masouda and hassan. she was dressed in the rich robes of an eastern lady, but the gems with which she had been adorned as the bride elect of al-je-bal were gone; and when she lifted her veil the brethren saw that though her face was still somewhat pallid, her strength had come back to her, and the terror had left her eyes. she greeted them with sweet and gentle words, thanking first godwin and then wulf for all that they had done, and turning to masouda, who stood by, stately, and watchful, thanked her also. then they sat down, and ate with light hearts and a good appetite. before their meal was finished, the guard at the door announced that messengers had arrived from the sultan. they entered, grey-haired men clad in the robes of secretaries, whom hassan hastened to greet. when they were seated and had spoken with him awhile, one of them drew forth a letter, which hassan, touching his forehead with it in token of respect, gave to rosamund. she broke its seal, and, seeing that it was in arabic, handed it to her cousin, saying: "do you read it, godwin, who are more learned than i." so he read aloud, translating the letter sentence by sentence. this was its purport: "salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful, the strong-to-aid, to his niece beloved, rose of the world, princess of baalbec:-- "our servant, the emir hassan, has sent us tidings of your rescue from the power of the accursed lord of the mountain, sinan, and that you are now safe in our city of emesa, guarded by many thousands of our soldiers, and with you a woman named masouda, and your kinsmen, the two frankish knights, by whose skill in arms and courage you were saved. now this is to command you to come to our court at damascus so soon as you may be fit to travel, knowing that here you will be received with love and honour. also i invite your kinsmen to accompany you, since i knew their father, and would welcome knights who have done such great deeds, and the woman masouda with them. or, if they prefer it, all three of them may return to their own lands and peoples. "hasten, my niece, lady rose of the world, hasten, for my spirit seeks you, and my eyes desire to look upon you. in the name of allah, greeting." "you have heard," said rosamund, as godwin finished reading the scroll. "now, my cousins, what will you do?" "what else but go with you, whom we have come so far to seek?" answered wulf, and godwin nodded his head in assent. "and you, masouda?" "i, lady? oh, i go also, since were i to return yonder," and she nodded towards the mountains, "my greeting would be one that i do not wish." "do you note their words, prince hassan?" asked rosamund. "i expected no other," he answered with a bow. "only, knights, you must give me a promise, for even in the midst of my army such is needful from men who can fly like birds out of the fortress of masyaf and from the knives of the assassins--who are mounted, moreover, on the swiftest horses in syria that have been trained to carry a double burden," and he looked at them meaningly. "it is that upon this journey you will not attempt to escape with the princess, whom you have followed from over-sea to rescue her out of the hand of salah-ed-din." godwin drew from his tunic the cross which rosamund had left him in the hall at steeple, and saying: "i swear upon this holy symbol that during our journey to damascus i will attempt no escape with or without my cousin rosamund," he kissed it. "and i swear the same upon my sword," added wulf, laying his hand upon the silver hilt of the great blade which had been his forefather's. "a security that i like better," said hassan with a smile, "but in truth, knights, your word is enough for me." then he looked at masouda and went on, still smiling: "nay it is useless; for women who have dwelt yonder oaths have no meaning. lady, we must be content to watch you, since my lord has bidden you to his city, which, fair and brave as you are, to be plain, i would not have done." then he turned to speak to the secretaries, and godwin, who was noting all, saw masouda's dark eyes follow him and in them a very strange light. "good," they seemed to say; "as you have written, so shall you read." that same afternoon they started for damascus, a great army of horsemen. in its midst, guarded by a thousand spears, rosamund was borne in a litter. in front of her rode hassan, with his yellow-robed bodyguard; at her side, masouda; and behind--for, notwithstanding his hurts, wulf would not be carried--the brethren, mounted upon ambling palfreys. after them, led by slaves, came the chargers, flame and smoke, recovered now, but still walking somewhat stiffly, and then rank upon rank of turbaned saracens. through the open curtains of her litter rosamund beckoned to the brethren, who pushed alongside of her. "look," she said, pointing with her hand. they looked, and there, bathed in the glory of the sinking sun, saw the mountains crowned far, far away with the impregnable city and fortress of masyaf, and below it the slopes down which they had ridden for their lives. nearer to them flashed the river bordered by the town of emesa. set at intervals along its walls were spears, looking like filaments against the flaming, sunset sky, and on each of them a black dot, which was the head of an assassin, while from the turrets above, the golden banner of saladin fluttered in the evening wind. remembering all that she had undergone in that fearful home of devil-worshippers, and the fate from which she had been snatched, rosamund shuddered. "it burns like a city in hell," she said, staring at masyaf, environed by that lurid evening light and canopied with black, smoke-like clouds. "oh! such i think will be its doom." "i trust so," answered wulf fervently. "at least, in this world and the next we have done with it." "yes," added godwin in his thoughtful voice; "still, out of that evil place we won good, for there we found rosamund, and there, my brother, you conquered in such a fray as you can never hope to fight again, gaining great glory, and perhaps much more." then reining in his horse, godwin fell back behind the litter, while wulf wondered, and rosamund watched him with dreaming eyes. that evening they camped in the desert, and next morning, surrounded by wandering tribes of bedouins mounted on their camels, marched on again, sleeping that night in the ancient fortress of baalbec, whereof the garrison and people, having been warned by runners of the rank and titles of rosamund came out to do her homage as their lady. hearing of it, she left her litter, and mounting a splendid horse which they had sent her as a present, rode to meet them, the brethren, in full armour and once more bestriding flame and smoke, beside her, and a guard of saladin's own mameluks behind. solemn, turbaned men, who had been commanded so to do by messengers from the sultan, brought her the keys of the gates on a cushion, minstrels and soldiers marched before her, whilst crowding the walls and running alongside came the citizens in their thousands. thus she went on, through the open gates, past the towering columns of ruined temples once a home of the worship of heathen gods, through courts and vaults to the citadel surrounded by its gardens that in dead ages had been the acropolis of forgotten roman emperors. here in the portico rosamund turned her horse, and received the salutations of the multitude as though she also were one of the world's rulers. indeed, it seemed to the brethren watching her as she sat upon the great white horse and surveyed the shouting, bending crowd with flashing eyes, splendid in her bearing and beautiful to see, a prince at her stirrup and an army at her back, that none of those who had trod that path before her could have seemed greater or more glorious in the hour of their pride than did this english girl, who by the whim of fate had suddenly been set so high. truly by blood and nature she was fitted to be a queen. yet as rosamund sat thus the pride passed from her face, and her eyes fell. "of what are you thinking?" asked godwin at her side. "that i would we were back among the summer fields at steeple," she answered, "for those who are lifted high fall low. prince hassan, give the captains and people my thanks and bid them be gone. i would rest." thus for the first and last time did rosamund behold her ancient fief of baalbec, which her grandsire, the great ayoub, had ruled before her. that night there was feasting in the mighty, immemorial halls, and singing and minstrelsy and the dancing of fair women and the giving of gifts. for baalbec, where birth and beauty were ever welcome, did honour to its lady, the favoured niece of the mighty salah-ed-din. yet there were some who murmured that she would bring no good fortune to the sultan or this his city, who was not all of the blood of ayoub, but half a frank, and a cross worshipper, though even these praised her beauty and her royal bearing. the brethren they praised also, although these were unbelievers, and the tale of how wulf had fought the traitor knight upon the narrow way, and of how they had led their kinswoman from the haunted fortress of masyaf, was passed from mouth to mouth. at dawn the next day, on orders received from the sultan, they left baalbec, escorted by the army and many of the notables of the town. that afternoon they drew rein upon the heights which overlook the city of damascus, bride of the earth, set amidst its seven streams and ringed about with gardens, one of the most beautiful and perhaps the most ancient city in the world. then they rode down to the bounteous plain, and as night fell, having passed the encircling gardens, were escorted through the gates of damascus, outside of which most of the army halted and encamped. along the narrow streets, bordered by yellow, flat-roofed houses, they rode slowly, looking now at the motley, many-coloured crowds, who watched them with grave interest, and now at the stately buildings, domed mosques and towering minarets, which everywhere stood out against the deep blue of the evening sky. thus at length they came to an open space planted like a garden, beyond which was seen a huge and fantastic castle that hassan told them was the palace of salah-ed-din. in its courtyard they were parted, rosamund being led away by officers of state, whilst the brethren were taken to chambers that had been prepared, where, after they had bathed, they were served with food. scarcely had they eaten it when hassan appeared, and bade them follow him. passing down various passages and across a court they came to some guarded doors, where the soldiers demanded that they should give up their swords and daggers. "it is not needful," said hassan, and they let them go by. next came more passages and a curtain, beyond which they found themselves in a small, domed room, lit by hanging silver lamps and paved in tesselated marbles, strewn with rich rugs and furnished with cushioned couches. at a sign from hassan the brethren stood still in the centre of this room, and looked about them wondering. the place was empty and very silent; they felt afraid--of what they knew not. presently curtains upon its further side opened and through them came a man turbaned and wrapped in a dark robe, who stood awhile in the shadow, gazing at them beneath the lamps. the man was not very tall, and slight in build, yet about him was much majesty, although his garb was such as the humblest might have worn. he came forward, lifting his head, and they saw that his features were small and finely cut; that he was bearded, and beneath his broad brow shone thoughtful yet at times piercing eyes which were brown in hue. now the prince hassan sank to his knees and touched the marble with his forehead, and, guessing that they were in the presence of the mighty monarch saladin, the brethren saluted in their western fashion. presently the sultan spoke in a low, even voice to hassan, to whom he motioned that he should rise, saying: "i can see that you trust these knights, emir," and he pointed to their great swords. "sire," was the answer, "i trust them as i trust myself. they are brave and honourable men, although they be infidels." the sultan stroked his beard. "ay," he said, "infidels. it is a pity, yet doubtless they worship god after their own fashion. noble to look on also, like their father, whom i remember well, and, if all i hear is true, brave indeed. sir knights, do you understand my language?" "sufficiently to speak it, lord," answered godwin, "who have learned it since childhood, yet ill enough." "good. then tell me, as soldiers to a soldier, what do you seek from salah-ed-din?" "our cousin, the lady rosamund, who, by your command, lord, was stolen from our home in england." "knights, she is your cousin, that i know, as surely as i know that she is my niece. tell me now, is she aught more to you?" and he searched them with those piercing eyes. godwin looked at wulf, who said in english: "speak the whole truth, brother. from that man nothing can be hid." then godwin answered: "sire, we love her, and are affianced to her." the sultan stared at them in surprise. "what! both of you?" he asked. "yes, both." "and does she love you both?" "yes," replied godwin, "both, or so she says." saladin stroked his beard and considered them, while hassan smiled a little. "then, knights," he said presently, "tell me, which of you does she love best?" "that, sire, is known to her alone. when the time comes, she will say, and not before." "i perceive," said saladin, "that behind this riddle hides a story. if it is your good pleasure, be seated, and set it out to me." so they sat down on the divan and obeyed, keeping nothing back from the beginning to the end, nor, although the tale was long, did the sultan weary of listening. "a great story, truly," he said, when at length they had finished, "and one in which i seem to see the hand of allah. sir knights, you will think that i have wronged you--ay, and your uncle, sir andrew, who was once my friend, although an older man than i, and who, by stealing away my sister, laid the foundations of this house of love and war and woe, and perchance of happiness unforeseen. "now listen. the tale that those two frankish knaves, the priest and the false knight lozelle, told to you was true. as i wrote to your uncle in my letter, i dreamed a dream. thrice i dreamed it; that this niece of mine lived, and that if i could bring her here to dwell at my side she should save the shedding of much blood by some noble deed of hers--ay, of the blood of tens of thousands; and in that dream i saw her face. therefore i stretched out my arm and took her from far away. and now, through you--yes, through you--she has been snatched from the power of the great assassin, and is safe in my court, and therefore henceforth i am your friend." "sire, have you seen her?" asked godwin. "knights, i have seen her, and the face is the face of my dreams, and therefore i know full surely that in those dreams god spoke. listen, sir godwin and sir wulf," saladin went on in a changed voice, a stern, commanding voice. "ask of me what you will, and, franks though you are, it shall be given you for your service's sake--wealth, lands, titles, all that men desire and i can grant--but ask not of me my niece, rose of the world, princess of baalbec, whom allah has brought to me for his own purposes. know, moreover, that if you strive to steal her away you shall certainly die; and that if she escapes from me and i recapture her, then she shall die. these things i have told her already, and i swear them in the name of allah. here she is, and in my house she must abide until the vision be fulfilled." now in their dismay the brethren looked at each other, for they seemed further from their desire than they had been even in the castle of sinan. then a light broke upon the face of godwin, and he stood up and answered: "dread lord of all the east, we hear you and we know our risk. you have given us your friendship; we accept it, and are thankful, and seek no more. god, you say, has brought our lady rosamund to you for his own purposes, of which you have no doubt since her face is the very face of your dreams. then let his purposes be accomplished according to his will, which may be in some way that we little guess. we abide his judgment who has guided us in the past, and will guide us in the future." "well spoken," replied saladin. "i have warned you, my guests, therefore blame me not if i keep my word; but i ask no promise from you who would not tempt noble knights to lie. yes, allah has set this strange riddle; by allah let it be answered in his season." then he waved his hand to show that the audience was ended. chapter seventeen: the brethren depart from damascus at the court of saladin godwin and wulf were treated with much honour. a house was given them to dwell in, and a company of servants to minister to their comfort and to guard them. mounted on their swift horses, flame and smoke, they were taken out into the desert to hunt, and, had they so willed, it would have been easy for them to out-distance their retinue and companions and ride away to the nearest christian town. indeed, no hand would have been lifted to stay them who were free to come or go. but whither were they to go without rosamund? saladin they saw often, for it pleased him to tell them tales of those days when their father and uncle were in the east, or to talk with them of england and the franks, and even now and again to reason with godwin on matters of religion. moreover, to show his faith in them, he gave them the rank of officers of his own bodyguard, and when, wearying of idleness, they asked it of him, allowed them to take their share of duty in the guarding of his palace and person. this, at a time when peace still reigned between frank and saracen, the brethren were not ashamed to do, who received no payment for their services. peace reigned indeed, but godwin and wulf could guess that it would not reign for long. damascus and the plain around it were one great camp, and every day new thousands of wild tribesmen poured in and took up the quarters that had been prepared for them. they asked masouda, who knew everything, what it meant. she answered: "it means the jihad, the holy war, which is being preached in every mosque throughout the east. it means that the great struggle between cross and crescent is at hand, and then, pilgrims peter and john, you will have to choose your standard." "there can be little doubt about that," said wulf. "none," replied masouda, with one of her smiles, "only it may pain you to have to make war upon the princess of baalbec and her uncle, the commander of the faithful." then she went, still smiling. for this was the trouble of it: rosamund, their cousin and their love, had in truth become the princess of baalbec--for them. she lived in great state and freedom, as saladin had promised that she should live in his letter to sir andrew d'arcy. no insult or violence were offered to her faith; no suitor was thrust upon her. but she was in a land where women do not consort with men, especially if they be high-placed. as a princess of the empire of saladin, she must obey its rules, even to veiling herself when she went abroad, and exchanging no private words with men. godwin and wulf prayed saladin that they might be allowed to speak with her from time to time, but he only answered shortly: "sir knights, our customs are our customs. moreover, the less you see of the princess of baalbec the better i think it will be for her, for you, whose blood i do not wish to have upon my hands, and for myself, who await the fulfilment of that dream which the angel brought." then the brethren left his presence sore at heart, for although they saw her from time to time at feasts and festivals, rosamund was as far apart from them as though she sat in steeple hall--ay, and further. also they came to see that of rescuing her from damascus there was no hope at all. she dwelt in her own palace, whereof the walls were guarded night and day by a company of the sultan's mameluks, who knew that they were answerable for her with their lives. within its walls, again, lived trusted eunuchs, under the command of a cunning fellow named mesrour, and her retinue of women, all of them spies and watchful. how could two men hope to snatch her from the heart of such a host and to spirit her out of damascus and through its encircling armies? one comfort, however, was left to them. when she reached the court rosamund had prayed of the sultan that masouda should not be separated from her, and this because of the part she had played in his niece's rescue from the power of sinan, he had granted, though doubtfully. moreover, masouda, being a person of no account except for her beauty, and a heretic, was allowed to go where she would and to speak with whom she wished. so, as she wished to speak often with godwin, they did not lack for tidings of rosamund. from her they learned that in a fashion the princess was happy enough--who would not be that had just escaped from al-je-bal?--yet weary of the strange eastern life, of the restraints upon her, and of her aimless days; vexed also that she might not mix with the brethren. day by day she sent them her greetings, and with them warnings to attempt nothing--not even to see her--since there was no hope that they would succeed. so much afraid of them was the sultan, rosamund said, that both she and they were watched day and night, and of any folly their lives would pay the price. when they heard all this the brethren began to despair, and their spirits sank so low that they cared not what should happen to them. then it was that a chance came to them of which the issue was to make them still more admired by saladin and to lift masouda to honour. one hot morning they were seated in the courtyard of their house beside the fountain, staring at the passers-by through the bars of the bronze gates and at the sentries who marched to and fro before them. this house was in one of the principal thoroughfares of damascus, and in front of it flowed continually an unending, many-coloured stream of folk. there were white-robed arabs of the desert, mounted on their grumbling camels; caravans of merchandise from egypt or elsewhere; asses laden with firewood or the grey, prickly growth of the wild thyme for the bakers' ovens; water-sellers with their goatskin bags and chinking brazen cups; vendors of birds or sweetmeats; women going to the bath in closed and curtained litters, escorted by the eunuchs of their households; great lords riding on their arab horses and preceded by their runners, who thrust the crowd asunder and beat the poor with rods; beggars, halt, maimed, and blind, beseeching alms; lepers, from whom all shrank away, who wailed their woes aloud; stately companies of soldiers, some mounted and some afoot; holy men, who gave blessings and received alms; and so forth, without number and without end. godwin and wulf, seated in the shade of the painted house, watched them gloomily. they were weary of this ever-changing sameness, weary of the eternal glare and glitter of this unfamiliar life, weary of the insistent cries of the mullahs on the minarets, of the flash of the swords that would soon be red with the blood of their own people; weary, too, of the hopeless task to which they were sworn. rosamund was one of this multitude; she was the princess of baalbec, half an eastern by her blood, and growing more eastern day by day--or so they thought in their bitterness. as well might two saracens hope to snatch the queen of england from her palace at westminster, as they to drag the princess of baalbec out of the power of a monarch more absolute than any king of england. so they sat silent since they had nothing to say, and stared now at the passing crowd, and now at the thin stream of water falling continually into the marble basin. presently they heard voices at the gate, and, looking up, saw a woman wrapped in a long cloak, talking with the guard, who with a laugh thrust out his arm, as though to place it round her. then a knife flashed, and the soldier stepped back, still laughing, and opened the wicket. the woman came in. it was masouda. they rose and bowed to her, but she passed before them into the house. thither they followed, while the soldier at the gate laughed again, and at the sound of his mockery godwin's cheek grew red. even in the cool, darkened room she noticed it, and said, bitterly enough: "what does it matter? such insults are my daily bread whom they believe--" and she stopped. "they had best say nothing of what they believe to me," muttered godwin. "i thank you," masouda answered, with a sweet, swift smile, and, throwing off her cloak, stood before them unveiled, clad in the white robes that befitted her tall and graceful form so well, and were blazoned on the breast with the cognizance of baalbec. "well for you," she went on, "that they hold me to be what i am not, since otherwise i should win no entry to this house." "what of our lady rosamund?" broke in wulf awkwardly, for, like godwin, he was pained. masouda laid her hand upon her breast as though to still its heaving, then answered: "the princess of baalbec, my mistress, is well and as ever, beautiful, though somewhat weary of the pomp in which she finds no joy. she sent her greetings, but did not say to which of you they should be delivered, so, pilgrims, you must share them." godwin winced, but wulf asked if there were any hope of seeing her, to which masouda answered: "none," adding, in a low voice, "i come upon another business. do you brethren wish to do salah-ed-din a service?" "i don't know. what is it?" asked godwin gloomily. "only to save his life--for which he may be grateful, or may not, according to his mood." "speak on," said godwin, "and tell us how we two franks can save the life of the sultan of the east." "do you still remember sinan and his fedais? yes--they are not easily forgotten, are they? well, to-night he has plotted to murder salah-ed-din, and afterwards to murder you if he can, and to carry away your lady rosamund if he can, or, failing that, to murder her also. oh! the tale is true enough. i have it from one of them under the signet--surely that signet has served us well--who believes, poor fool, that i am in the plot. now, you are the officers of the bodyguard who watch in the ante-chamber to-night, are you not? well, when the guard is changed at midnight, the eight men who should replace them at the doors of the room of salah-ed-din will not arrive; they will be decoyed away by a false order. in their stead will come eight murderers, disguised in the robes and arms of mameluks. they look to deceive and cut you down, kill salah-ed-din, and escape by the further door. can you hold your own awhile against eight men, think you?" "we have done so before and will try," answered wulf. "but how shall we know that they are not mameluks?" "thus--they will wish to pass the door, and you will say, 'nay, sons of sinan,' whereon they will spring on you to kill you. then be ready and shout aloud." "and if they overcome us," asked godwin, "then the sultan would be slain?" "nay, for you must lock the door of the chamber of salah-ed-din and hide away the key. the sound of the fighting will arouse the outer guard ere hurt can come to him. or," she added, after thinking awhile, "perhaps it will be best to reveal the plot to the sultan at once." "no, no," answered wulf; "let us take the chance. i weary of doing nothing here. hassan guards the outer gate. he will come swiftly at the sound of blows." "good," said masouda; "i will see that he is there and awake. now farewell, and pray that we may meet again. i say nothing of this story to the princess rosamund until it is done with." then throwing her cloak about her shoulders, she turned and went. "is that true, think you?" asked wulf of godwin. "we have never found masouda to be a liar," was his answer. "come; let us see to our armour, for the knives of those fedai are sharp." it was near midnight, and the brethren stood in the small, domed ante-chamber, from which a door opened into the sleeping rooms of saladin. the guard of eight mameluks had left them, to be met by their relief in the courtyard, according to custom, but no relief had as yet appeared in the ante-chamber. "it would seem that masouda's tale is true," said godwin, and going to the door he locked it, and hid the key beneath a cushion. then they took their stand in front of the locked door, before which hung curtains, standing in the shadow with the light from the hanging silver lamps pouring down in front of them. here they waited awhile in silence, till at length they heard the tramp of men, and eight mameluks, clad in yellow above their mail, marched in and saluted. "stand!" said godwin, and they stood a minute, then began to edge forward. "stand!" said both the brethren again, but still they edged forward. "stand, sons of sinan!" they said a third time, drawing their swords. then with a hiss of disappointed rage the fedai came at them. "a d'arcy! a d'arcy! help for the sultan!" shouted the brethren, and the fray began. six of the men attacked them, and while they were engaged with these the other two slipped round and tried the door, only to find it fast. then they also turned upon the brethren, thinking to take the key from off their bodies. at the first rush two of the fedai went down beneath the sweep of the long swords, but after that the murderers would not come close, and while some engaged them in front, others strove to pass and stab them from behind. indeed, a blow from one of their long knives fell upon godwin's shoulder, but the good mail turned it. "give way," he cried to wulf, "or they will best us." so suddenly they gave way before them till their backs were against the door, and there they stood, shouting for help and sweeping round them with their swords into reach of which the fedai dare not come. now from without the chamber rose a cry and tumult, and the sound of heavy blows falling upon the gates that the murderers had barred behind them, while upon the further side of the door, which he could not open, was heard the voice of the sultan demanding to know what passed. the fedai heard these sounds also, and read in them their doom. forgetting caution in their despair and rage, they hurled themselves upon the brethren, for they thought that if they could get them down they might still break through the door and slay salah-ed-din before they themselves were slain. but for awhile the brethren stopped their rush with point and buckler, wounding two of them sorely; and when at length they closed in upon them, the gates were burst, and hassan and the outer guard were at hand. a minute later and, but little hurt, godwin and wulf were leaning on their swords, and the fedai, some of them dead or wounded and some of them captive, lay before them on the marble floor. moreover, the door had been opened, and through it came the sultan in his nightgear. "what has chanced?" he asked, looking at them doubtfully. "only this, lord," answered godwin; "these men came to kill you and we held them off till help arrived." "kill me! my own guard kill me?" "they are not your guard; they are fedai, disguised as your guard, and sent by al-je-bal, as he promised." now salah-ed-din turned pale, for he who feared nothing else was all his life afraid of the assassins and their lord, who thrice had striven to murder him. "strip the armour from those men," went on godwin, "and i think that you will find truth in my words, or, if not, question such of them as still live." they obeyed, and there upon the breast of one of them, burnt into his skin, was the symbol of the blood-red dagger. now saladin saw, and beckoned the brethren aside. "how knew you of this?" he asked, searching them with his piercing eyes. "masouda, the lady rosamund's waiting woman, warned us that you, lord, and we, were to be murdered tonight by eight men, so we made ready." "why, then, did you not tell me?" "because," answered wulf, "we were not sure that the news was true, and did not wish to bring false tidings and be made foolish. because, also, my brother and i thought that we could hold our own awhile against eight of sinan's rats disguised as soldiers of saladin." "you have done it well, though yours was a mad counsel," answered the sultan. then he gave his hand first to one and next to the other, and said, simply: "sir knights, salah-ed-din owes his life to you. should it ever come about that you owe your lives to salah-ed-din, he will remember this." thus this business ended. on the morrow those of the fedai who remained alive were questioned, and confessing freely that they had been sent to murder salah-ed-din who had robbed their master of his bride, the two franks who had carried her off, and the woman masouda who had guided them, they were put to death cruelly enough. also many others in the city were seized and killed on suspicion, so that for awhile there was no more fear from the assassins. now from that day forward saladin held the brethren in great friendship, and pressed gifts upon them and offered them honours. but they refused them all, saying that they needed but one thing of him, and he knew what it was--an answer at which his face sank. one morning he sent for them, and, except for the presence of prince hassan, the most favourite of his emirs, and a famous imaum, or priest of his religion, received them alone. "listen," he said briefly, addressing godwin. "i understand that my niece, the princess of baalbec, is beloved by you. good. subscribe the koran, and i give her to you in marriage, for thus also she may be led to the true faith, whom i have sworn not to force thereto, and i gain a great warrior and paradise a brave soul. the imaum here will instruct you in the truth." thus he spoke, but godwin only stared at him with eyes set wide in wonderment, and answered: "sire, i thank you, but i cannot change my faith to win a woman, however dearly i may love her." "so i thought," said saladin with a sigh, "though indeed it is sad that superstition should thus blind so brave and good a man. now, sir wulf, it is your turn. what say you to my offer? will you take the princess and her dominions with my love thrown in as a marriage portion?" wulf thought a moment, and as he thought there arose in his mind a vision of an autumn afternoon that seemed years and years ago, when they two and rosamund had stood by the shrine of st. chad on the shores of essex, and jested of this very matter of a change of faith. then he answered, with one of his great laughs: "ay, sire, but on my own terms, not on yours, for if i took these i think that my marriage would lack blessings. nor, indeed, would rosamund wish to wed a servant of your prophet, who if it pleased him might take other wives." saladin leant his head upon his hand, and looked at them with disappointed eyes, yet not unkindly. "the knight lozelle was a cross-worshipper," he said, "but you two are very different from the knight lozelle, who accepted the faith when it was offered to him--" "to win your trade," said godwin, bitterly. "i know not," answered saladin, "though it is true the man seems to have been a christian among the franks, who here was a follower of the prophet. at least, he is dead at your hands, and though he sinned against me and betrayed my niece to sinan, peace be with his soul. now i have one more thing to say to you. that frank, prince arnat of karak, whom you call reginald de chatillon--accursed be his name!--" and he spat upon the ground, "has once more broken the peace between me and the king of jerusalem, slaughtering my merchants, and stealing my goods. i will suffer this shame no more, and very shortly i unfurl my standards, which shall not be folded up again until they float upon the mosque of omar and from every tower top in palestine. your people are doomed. i, yusuf salah-ed-din," and he rose as he said the words, his very beard bristling with wrath, "declare the holy war, and will sweep them to the sea. choose now, you brethren. do you fight for me or against me? or will you give up your swords and bide here as my prisoners?" "we are the servants of the cross," answered godwin, "and cannot lift steel against it and thereby lose our souls." then he spoke with wulf, and added, "as to your second question, whether we should bide here in chains. it is one that our lady rosamund must answer, for we are sworn to her service. we demand to see the princess of baalbec." "send for her, emir," said saladin to the prince hassan, who bowed and departed. a while later rosamund came, looking beautiful but, as they saw when she threw back her veil, very white and weary. she bowed to saladin, and the brethren, who were not allowed to touch her hand, bowed to her, devouring her face with eager eyes. "greeting, my uncle," she said to the sultan, "and to you, my cousins, greeting also. what is your pleasure with me?" saladin motioned to her to be seated and bade godwin set out the case, which he did very clearly, ending: "is it your wish, rosamund, that we stay in this court as prisoners, or go forth to fight with the franks in the great war that is to be?" rosamund looked at them awhile, then answered: "to whom were you sworn the first? was it to the service of our lord, or to the service of a woman? i have said." "such words as we expected from you, being what you are," exclaimed godwin, while wulf nodded his head in assent, and added: "sultan, we ask your safe conduct to jerusalem, and leave this lady in your charge, relying on your plighted word to do no violence to her faith and to protect her person." "my safe conduct you have," replied saladin, "and my friendship also. nor, indeed, should i have thought well of you had you decided otherwise. now, henceforth we are enemies in the eyes of all men, and i shall strive to slay you as you will strive to slay me. but as regards this lady, have no fear. what i have promised shall be fulfilled. bid her farewell, whom you will see no more." "who taught your lips to say such words, o sultan?" asked godwin. "is it given to you to read the future and the decrees of god?" "i should have said," answered saladin, "'whom you will see no more if i am able to keep you apart.' can you complain who, both of you, have refused to take her as a wife?" here rosamund looked up wondering, and wulf broke in: "tell her the price. tell her that she was asked to wed either of us who would bow the knee to mahomet, and to be the head of his harem, and i think that she will not blame us." "never would i have spoken again to him who answered otherwise," exclaimed rosamund, and saladin frowned at the words. "oh! my uncle," she went on, "you have been kind to me and raised me high, but i do not seek this greatness, nor are your ways my ways, who am of a faith that you call accursed. let me go, i beseech you, in care of these my kinsmen." "and your lovers," said saladin bitterly. "niece, it cannot be. i love you well, but did i know even that your life must pay the price of your sojourn here, here you still should stay, since, as my dream told me, on you hang the lives of thousands, and i believe that dream. what, then, is your life, or the lives of these knights, or even my life, that any or all of them should turn the scale against those of thousands. oh! everything that my empire can give is at your feet, but here you stay until the dream be accomplished, and," he added, looking at the brethren, "death shall be the portion of any who would steal you from my hand." "until the dream be accomplished?" said rosamund catching at the words. "then, when it is accomplished, shall i be free?" "ay," answered the sultan; "free to come or to go, unless you attempt escape, for then you know your certain doom." "it is a decree. take note, my cousins, it is a decree. and you, prince hassan, remember it also. oh! i pray with all my soul i pray, that it was no lying spirit who brought you that dream, my uncle, though how i shall bring peace, who hitherto have brought nothing except war and bloodshed, i know not. now go, my cousins but, if you will, leave me masouda, who has no other friends. go, and take my love and blessing with you, ay, and the blessing of jesu and his saints which shall protect you in the hour of battle, and bring us together again." so spoke rosamund and threw her veil before her face that she might hide her tears. then godwin and wulf stepped to where she stood by the throne of saladin, bent the knee before her, and, taking her hand, kissed it in farewell, nor did the sultan say them nay. but when she was gone and the brethren were gone, he turned to the emir hassan and to the great imaum who had sat silent all this while, and said: "now tell me, you who are old and wise, which of those men does the lady love? speak, hassan, you who know her well." but hassan shook his head. "one or the other. both or neither--i know not," he answered. "her counsel is too close for me." then saladin turned to the imaum--a cunning, silent man. "when both the infidels are about to die before her face, as i still hope to see them do, we may learn the answer. but unless she wills it, never before," he replied, and the sultan noted his saying. next morning, having been warned that they would pass there by masouda, rosamund, watching through the lattice of one of her palace windows, saw the brethren go by. they were fully armed and, mounted on their splendid chargers flame and smoke, looked glorious men as, followed by their escort of swarthy, turbaned mameluks, they rode proudly side by side, the sunlight glinting on their mail. opposite to her house they halted awhile, and, knowing that rosamund watched, although they could not see her, drew their swords and lifted them in salute. then sheathing them again, they rode forward in silence, and soon were lost to sight. little did rosamund guess how different they would appear when they three met again. indeed, she scarcely dared to hope that they would ever meet, for she knew well that even if the war went in favour of the christians she would be hurried away to some place where they would never find her. she knew well also that from damascus her rescue was impossible, and that although saladin loved them, as he loved all who were honest and brave, he would receive them no more as friends, for fear lest they should rob him of her, whom he hoped in some way unforeseen would enable him to end his days in peace. moreover, the struggle between cross and crescent would be fierce and to the death, and she was sure that where was the closest fighting there in the midst of it would be found godwin and wulf. well might it chance, therefore, that her eyes had looked their last upon them. oh! she was great. gold was hers, with gems more than she could count, and few were the weeks that did not bring her added wealth or gifts. she had palaces to dwell in--alone; gardens to wander in--alone; eunuchs and slaves to rule over--alone. but never a friend had she, save the woman of the assassins, to whom she clung because she, masouda, had saved her from sinan, and who clung to her, why, rosamund could not be sure, for there was a veil between their spirits. they were gone--they were gone! even the sound of their horses' hoofs had died away, and she was desolate as a child lost in a city full of folk. oh! and her heart was filled with fears for them, and most of all for one of them. if he should not come back into it, what would her life be? rosamund bowed her head and wept; then, hearing a sound behind her, turned to see that masouda was weeping also. "why do you weep?" she asked. "the maid should copy her mistress," answered masouda with a hard laugh; "but, lady, why do you weep? at least you are beloved, and, come what may, nothing can take that from you. you are not of less value than the good horse between the rider's knees, or the faithful hound that runs at his side." a thought rose in rosamund's mind--a new and terrible thought. the eyes of the two women met, and those of rosamund asked, "which?" anxiously as once in the moonlight she had asked it with her voice from the gate above the narrow way. between them stood a table inlaid with ivory and pearl, whereon the dust from the street had gathered through the open lattice. masouda leaned over, and with her forefinger wrote a single arabic letter in the dust upon the table, then passed her hand across it. rosamund's breast heaved twice or thrice and was still. then she asked: "why did not you who are free go with him?" "because he prayed me to bide here and watch over the lady whom he loved. so to the death--i watch." slowly masouda spoke, and the heavy words seemed like blood dropping from a death wound. then she sank forward into the arms of rosamund. chapter eighteen: wulf pays for the drugged wine many a day had gone by since the brethren bade farewell to rosamund at damascus. now, one burning july night, they sat upon their horses, the moonlight gleaming on their mail. still as statues they sat, looking out from a rocky mountain top across that grey and arid plain which stretches from near nazareth to the lip of the hills at whose foot lies tiberias on the sea of galilee. beneath them, camped around the fountain of seffurieh, were spread the hosts of the franks to which they did sentinel; thirteen hundred knights, twenty thousand foot, and hordes of turcopoles--that is, natives of the country, armed after the fashion of the saracens. two miles away to the southeast glimmered the white houses of nazareth, set in the lap of the mountains. nazareth, the holy city, where for thirty years lived and toiled the saviour of the world. doubtless, thought godwin, his feet had often trod that mountain whereon they stood, and in the watered vales below his hands had sped the plow or reaped the corn. long, long had his voice been silent, yet to godwin's ears it still seemed to speak in the murmur of the vast camp, and to echo from the slopes of the galilean hills, and the words it said were: "i bring not peace, but a sword." to-morrow they were to advance, so rumour said, across yonder desert plain and give battle to saladin, who lay with all his power by hattin, above tiberias. godwin and his brother thought that it was a madness; for they had seen the might of the saracens and ridden across that thirsty plain beneath the summer sun. but who were they, two wandering, unattended knights, that they should dare to lift up their voices against those of the lords of the land, skilled from their birth in desert warfare? yet godwin's heart was troubled and fear took hold of him, not for himself, but for all the countless army that lay asleep yonder, and for the cause of christendom, which staked its last throw upon this battle. "i go to watch yonder; bide you here," he said to wulf, and, turning the head of flame, rode some sixty yards over a shoulder of the rock to the further edge of the mountain which looked towards the north. here he could see neither the camp, nor wulf, nor any living thing, but indeed was utterly alone. dismounting, and bidding the horse stand, which it would do like a dog, he walked forward a few steps to where there was a rock, and, kneeling down, began to pray with all the strength of his pure, warrior heart. "o lord," he prayed, "who once wast man and a dweller in these mountains, and knowest what is in man, hear me. i am afraid for all the thousands who sleep round nazareth; not for myself, who care nothing for my life, but for all those, thy servants and my brethren. yes, and for the cross upon which thou didst hang, and for the faith itself throughout the east. oh! give me light! oh! let me hear and see, that i may warn them, unless my fears are vain!" so he murmured to heaven above and beat his hands against his brow, praying, ever praying, as he had never prayed before, that wisdom and vision might be given to his soul. it seemed to godwin that a sleep fell on him--at least, his mind grew clouded and confused. then it cleared again, slowly, as stirred water clears, till it was bright and still; yet another mind to that which was his servant day by day which never could see or hear those things he saw and heard in that strange hour. lo! he heard the spirits pass, whispering as they went; whispering, and, as it seemed to him, weeping also for some great woe which was to be; weeping yonder over nazareth. then like curtains the veils were lifted from his eyes, and as they swung aside he saw further, and yet further. he saw the king of the franks in his tent beneath, and about him the council of his captains, among them the fierce-eyed master of the templars, and a man whom he had seen in jerusalem where they had been dwelling, and knew for count raymond of tripoli, the lord of tiberias. they were reasoning together, till, presently, in a rage, the master of the templars drew his sword and dashed it down upon the table. another veil was lifted, and lo! he saw the camp of saladin, the mighty, endless camp, with its ten thousand tents, amongst which the saracens cried to allah through all the watches of the night. he saw the royal pavilion, and in it the sultan walked to and fro alone--none of his emirs, not even his son, were with him. he was lost in thought, and godwin read his thought. it was: "behind me the jordan and the sea of galilee, into which, if my flanks were turned, i should be driven, i and all my host. in front the territories of the franks, where i have no friend; and by nazareth their great army. allah alone can help me. if they sit still and force me to advance across the desert and attack them before my army melts away, then i am lost. if they advance upon me round the mountain tabor and by the watered land, i may be lost. but if--oh! if allah should make them mad, and they should strike straight across the desert--then, then they are lost, and the reign of the cross in syria is forever at an end. i will wait here. i will wait here. . ." look! near to the pavilion of saladin stood another tent, closely guarded, and in it on a cushioned bed lay two women. one was rosamund, but she slept sound; and the other was masouda, and she was waking, for her eyes met his in the darkness. the last veil was withdrawn, and now godwin saw a sight at which his soul shivered. a fire-blackened plain, and above it a frowning mountain, and that mountain thick, thick with dead, thousands and thousands and thousands of dead, among which the hyenas wandered and the night-birds screamed. he could see their faces, many of them he knew again as those of living men whom he had met in jerusalem and elsewhere, or had noted with the army. he could hear also the moanings of the few who were yet alive. about that field--yes, and in the camp of saladin, where lay more dead--his body seemed to wander searching for something, he knew not what, till it came to him that it was the corpse of wulf for which he sought and found it not--nay, nor his own either. then once more he heard the spirits pass--a very great company, for to them were gathered all those dead--heard them pass away, wailing, ever more faintly wailing for the lost cause of christ, wailing over nazareth. godwin awoke from his dream trembling, mounted his horse, and rode back to wulf. beneath, as before, lay the sleeping camp, yonder stretched the brown desert, and there sat wulf watching both. "tell me," asked godwin, "how long is it since i left you?" "some few minutes--ten perhaps," answered his brother. "a short while to have seen so much," replied godwin. then wulf looked at him curiously and asked: "what have you seen?" "if i told you, wulf, you would not believe." "tell me, and i will say." so godwin told him all, and at the end asked him, "what think you?" wulf considered awhile, and answered: "well, brother, you have touched no wine to-day, so you are not drunk, and you have done nothing foolish, so you are not mad. therefore it would seem that the saints have been talking to you, or, at least, so i should think of any other man whom i knew to be as good as you are. yet it is folk like you that see visions, and those visions are not always true, for sometimes, i believe, the devil is their showman. our watch is ended, for i hear the horses of the knights who come to relieve us. listen; this is my counsel. in the camp yonder is our friend with whom we travelled from jerusalem, egbert, the bishop of nazareth, who marches with the host. let us go to him and lay this matter before him, for he is a holy man and learned; no false, self-seeking priest." godwin nodded in assent, and presently, when the other knights were come and they had made their report to them, they rode off together to the tent of egbert, and, leaving their horses in charge of a servant, entered. egbert was an englishman who had spent more than thirty years of his life in the east, whereof the suns had tanned his wrinkled face to the hue of bronze, that seemed the darker in contrast with his blue eyes and snow-white hair and beard. entering the tent, they found him at his prayers before a little image of the virgin, and stood with bowed heads until he had finished. presently he rose, and greeting them with a blessing, asked them what they needed. "your counsel, holy father," answered wulf. "godwin, set out your tale." so, having seen that the tent flap was closed and that none lingered near, godwin told him his dream. the old man listened patiently, nor did he seem surprised at this strange story, since in those days men saw--or thought they saw--many such visions, which were accepted by the church as true. when he had finished godwin asked of him as he had asked of wulf: "what think you, holy father? is this a dream, or is it a message? and if so, from whom comes the message?" "godwin d'arcy," he answered, "in my youth i knew your father. it was i who shrove him when he lay dying of his wounds, and a nobler soul never passed from earth to heaven. after you had left damascus, when you were the guest of saladin, we dwelt together in the same lodging in jerusalem, and together we travelled here, during all which time i learned to know you also as the worthy son of a worthy sire--no dissolute knight, but a true servant of the church. it well may be that to such a one as you foresight has been given, that through you those who rule us may be warned, and all christendom saved from great sorrow and disgrace. come; let us go to the king, and tell this story, for he still sits in council yonder." so they went out together and rode to the royal tent. here the bishop was admitted, leaving them without. presently he returned and beckoned to them, and as they passed, the guards whispered to them: "a strange council, sirs, and a fateful!" already it was near midnight, but still the great pavilion was crowded with barons and chief captains who sat in groups, or sat round a narrow table made of boards placed upon trestles. at the head of that table sat the king, guy of lusignan, a weak-faced man, clad in splendid armour. on his right was the white-haired count raymond of tripoli, and on his left the black-bearded, frowning master of the templars, clad in his white mantle on the left breast of which the red cross was blazoned. words had been running high, their faces showed it, but just then a silence reigned as though the disputants were weary, and the king leaned back in his chair, passing his hand to and fro across his forehead. he looked up, and seeing the bishop, asked peevishly: "what is it now? oh! i remember, some tale from those tall twin knights. well, bring them forward and speak it out, for we have no time to lose." so the three of them came forward and at godwin's prayer the bishop egbert told of the vision that had come to him not more than an hour ago while he kept watch upon the mountain top. at first one or two of the barons seemed disposed to laugh, but when they looked at godwin's high and spiritual face, their laughter died away, for it did not seem wonderful to them that such a man should see visions. indeed, as the tale of the rocky hill and the dead who were stretched upon it went on, they grew white with fear, and whitest of them all was the king, guy of lusignan. "is all this true, sir godwin?" he asked, when the bishop had finished. "it is true, my lord king," answered godwin. "his word is not enough," broke in the master of the templars. "let him swear to it on the holy rood, knowing that if he lies it will blast his soul to all eternity." and the council muttered, "ay, let him swear." now there was an annexe to the tent, rudely furnished as a chapel, and at the end of this annexe a tall, veiled object. rufinus, the bishop of acre, who was clad in the armour of a knight, went to the object, and drawing the veil, revealed a broken, blackened cross, set around with jewels, that stood about the height of a man above the ground, for all the lower part was gone. at the sight of it godwin and every man present there fell upon his knees, for since st. helena found it, over seven centuries before, this had been accounted the most precious relic in all christendom; the very wood upon which the saviour suffered, as, indeed, it may have been. millions had worshipped it, tens of thousands had died for it, and now, in the hour of this great struggle between christ and the false prophet it was brought from its shrine that the host which escorted it might prove invincible in battle. soldiers who fought around the very cross could not be defeated, they said, for, if need were, legions of angels would come to aid them. godwin and wulf stared at the relic with wonder, fear, and adoration. there were the nail marks, there was the place where the scroll of pilate had been affixed above the holy head--almost could they seem to see that form divine and dying. "now," broke in the voice of the master of the templars, "let sir godwin d'arcy swear to the truth of his tale upon this rood." rising from his knees godwin advanced to the cross, and laying his hand upon the wood, said: "upon the very rood i swear that not much more than an hour ago i saw the vision which has been told to the king's highness and to all; that i believe this vision was sent to me in answer to my prayer to preserve our host and the holy city from the power of the saracen, and that it is a true foreshadowing of what will come about should we advance upon the sultan. i can say no more. i swear, knowing that if i lie eternal damnation is my doom." the bishop drew back the covering over the cross, and in silence the council took their seats again about the table. now the king was very pale, and fearful; indeed a gloom lay upon all of them. "it would seem," he said, "that here a messenger has been sent to us from heaven. dare we disobey his message?" the grand templar lifted his rugged, frowning face. "a messenger from heaven, said you, king? to me he seems more like a messenger from saladin. tell us, sir godwin, were not you and your brother once the sultan's guests at damascus?" "that is so, my lord templar. we left before the war was declared." "and," went on the master, "were you not officers of the sultan's bodyguard?" now all looked intently at godwin, who hesitated a little, foreseeing how his answer would be read, whereon wulf spoke in his loud voice: "ay, we acted as such for awhile, and--doubtless you have heard the story--saved saladin's life when he was attacked by the assassins." "oh!" said the templar with bitter sarcasm, "you saved saladin's life, did you? i can well believe it. you, being christians, who above everything should desire the death of saladin, saved his life! now, sir knights, answer me one more question--" "sir templar, with my tongue or with my sword?" broke in wulf, but the king held up his hand and bade him be silent. "a truce to your tavern ruffling, young sir, and answer," went on the templar. "or, rather, do you answer, sir godwin. is your cousin, rosamund, the daughter of sir andrew d'arcy, a niece of saladin, and has she been created by him princess of baalbec, and is she at this moment in his city of damascus?" "she is his niece," answered godwin quietly; "she is the princess of baalbec, but at this moment she is not in damascus." "how do you know that, sir godwin?" "i know it because in the vision of which you have been told i saw her sleeping in a tent in the camp of saladin." now the council began to laugh, but godwin, with a set, white face, went on: "ay, my lord templar, and near that very blazoned tent i saw scores of the templars and of the hospitallers lying dead. remember it when the dreadful hour comes and you see them also." now the laughter died away, and a murmur of fear ran round the board, mixed with such words as "wizardry." "he has learnt it from the paynims." "a black sorcerer, without doubt." only the templar, who feared neither man nor spirit, laughed, and gave him the lie with his eyes. "you do not believe me," said godwin, "nor will you believe me when i say that while i was on guard on yonder hill-top i saw you wrangling with the count of tripoli--ay, and draw your sword and dash it down in front of him upon this very table." now again the council stared and muttered, for they too had seen this thing; but the master answered: "he may have learnt it otherwise than from an angel. folk have been in and out of this tent. my lord king, have we more time to waste upon these visions of a knight of whom all we know for certain is, that like his brother, he has been in the service of saladin, which they left, he says, in order to fight against him in this war. it may be so; it is not for us to judge; though were the times different i would inform against sir godwin d'arcy as a sorcerer, and one who has been in traitorous communication with our common foe." "and i would thrust the lie down your throat with my sword's point!" shouted wulf. but godwin only shrugged: his shoulders and said nothing, and the master went on, taking no heed. "king, we await your word, and it must be spoken soon, for in four hours it will be dawn. do we march against saladin like bold, christian men, or do we bide here like cowards?" then count raymond of tripoli rose, and said: "before you answer, king, hear me, if it be for the last time, who am old in war and know the saracens. my town of tiberias is sacked; my vassals have been put to the sword by thousands; my wife is imprisoned in her citadel, and soon must yield, if she be not rescued. yet i say to you, and to the barons here assembled, better so than that you should advance across the desert to attack saladin. leave tiberias to its fate and my wife with it, and save your army, which is the last hope of the christians of the east. christ has no more soldiers in these lands, jerusalem has no other shield. the army of the sultan is larger than yours; his cavalry are more skilled. turn his flank--or, better still, bide here and await his attack, and victory will be to the soldiers of the cross. advance and the vision of that knight at whom you scoff will come true, and the cause of christendom be lost in syria. i have spoken, and for the last time." "like his friend the knight of visions," sneered the grand master, "the count raymond is an old ally of saladin. will you take such coward council? on--on! and smite these heathen dogs, or be forever shamed. on, in the name of the cross! the cross is with us!" "ay," answered raymond, "for the last time." then there arose a tumult through which every man shouted to his fellow, some saying one thing and some another, while the king sat at the head of the board, his face hidden in his hands. presently he lifted it, and said: "i command that we march at dawn. if the count raymond and these brethren think the words unwise, let them leave us and remain here under guard until the issue be known." now followed a great silence, for all there knew that the words were fateful, in the midst of which count raymond said: "nay, i go with you," while godwin echoed, "and we go also to show whether or not we are the spies of saladin." of these speeches none of them seemed to take heed, for all were lost in their own thoughts. one by one they rose, bowed to the king, and left the tent to give their commands and rest awhile, before it was time to ride. godwin and wulf went also, and with them the bishop of nazareth, who wrung his hands and seemed ill at ease. but wulf comforted him, saying: "grieve no more, father; let us think of the joy of battle, not of the sorrow by which it may be followed." "i find no joy in battles," answered the holy egbert. when they had slept awhile, godwin and wulf rose and fed their horses. after they had washed and groomed them, they tested and did on their armour, then took them down to the spring to drink their fill, as their masters did. also wulf, who was cunning in war, brought with him four large wineskins which he had provided against this hour, and filling them with pure water, fastened two of them with thongs behind the saddle of godwin and two behind his own. further, he filled the water-bottles at their saddle-bows, saying: "at least we will be among the last to die of thirst." then they went back and watched the host break its camp, which it did with no light heart, for many of them knew of the danger in which they stood; moreover, the tale of godwin's vision had been spread abroad. not knowing where to go, they and egbert, the bishop of nazareth--who was unarmed and rode upon a mule, for stay behind he would not--joined themselves to the great body of knights who followed the king. as they did so, the templars, five hundred strong, came up, a fierce and gallant band, and the master, who was at their head, saw the brethren and called out, pointing to the wineskins which were hung behind their saddles: "what do these water-carriers here among brave knights who trust in god alone?" wulf would have answered, but godwin bade him be silent, saying: "fall back; we will find less ill-omened company." so they stood on one side and bowed themselves as the cross went by, guarded by the mailed bishop of acre. then came reginald of chatillon, saladin's enemy, the cause of all this woe, who saw them and cried: "sir knights, whatever they may say, i know you for brave men, for i have heard the tale of your doings among the assassins. there is room for you among my suite--follow me." "as well him as another," said godwin. "let us go where we are led." so they followed him. by the time that the army reached kenna, where once the water was made wine, the july sun was already hot, and the spring was so soon drunk dry that many men could get no water. on they pushed into the desert lands below, which lay between them and tiberias, and were bordered on the right and left by hills. now clouds of dust were seen moving across the plains, and in the heart of them bodies of saracen horsemen, which continually attacked the vanguard under count raymond, and as continually retreated before they could be crushed, slaying many with their spears and arrows. also these came round behind them, and charged the rearguard, where marched the templars and the light-armed troops named turcopoles, and the band of reginald de chatillon, with which rode the brethren. from noon till near sundown the long harassed line, broken now into fragments, struggled forward across the rough, stony plain, the burning heat beating upon their armour till the air danced about it as it does before a fire. towards evening men and horses became exhausted, and the soldiers cried to their captains to lead them to water. but in that place there was no water. the rearguard fell behind, worn out with constant attacks that must be repelled in the burning heat, so that there was a great gap between it and the king who marched in the centre. messages reached them to push on, but they could not, and at length camp was pitched in the desert near a place called marescalcia, and upon this camp raymond and his vanguard were forced back. as godwin and wulf rode up, they saw him come in bringing his wounded with him, and heard him pray the king to push on and at all hazards to cut his way through to the lake, where they might drink--ay, and heard the king say that he could not, since the soldiers would march no more that day. then raymond wrung his hands in despair and rode back to his men, crying aloud: "alas! alas! oh! lord god, alas! we are dead, and thy kingdom is lost." that night none slept, for all were athirst, and who can sleep with a burning throat? now also godwin and wulf were no longer laughed at because of the water-skins they carried on their horses. rather did great nobles come to them, and almost on their knees crave for the boon of a single cup. having watered their horses sparingly from a bowl, they gave what they could, till at length only two skins remained, and one of these was spilt by a thief, who crept up and slashed it with his knife that he might drink while the water ran to waste. after this the brethren drew their swords and watched, swearing that they would kill any man who so much as touched the skin which was left. all that long night through there arose a confused clamour from the camp, of which the burden seemed to be, "water! give us water!" while from without came the shouts of the saracens calling upon allah. here, too, the hot ground was covered with scrub dried to tinder by the summer drought, and to this the saracens set fire so that the smoke rolled down on the christian host and choked them, and the place became a hell. day dawned at last; and the army was formed up in order of battle, its two wings being thrown forward. thus they struggled on, those of them that were not too weak to stir, who were slaughtered as they lay. nor as yet did the saracens attack them, since they knew that the sun was stronger than all their spears. on they laboured towards the northern wells, till about mid-day the battle began with a flight of arrows so thick that for awhile it hid the heavens. after this came charge and counter-charge, attack and repulse, and always above the noise of war that dreadful cry for water. what chanced godwin and wulf never knew, for the smoke and dust blinded them so that they could see but a little way. at length there was a last furious charge, and the knights with whom they were clove the dense mass of saracens like a serpent of steel, leaving a broad trail of dead behind them. when they pulled rein and wiped the sweat from their eyes it was to find themselves with thousands of others upon the top of a steep hill, of which the sides were thick with dry grass and bush that already was being fired. "the rood! the rood! rally round the rood!" said a voice, and looking behind them they saw the black and jewelled fragment of the true cross set upon a rock, and by it the bishop of acre. then the smoke of the burning grass rose up and hid it from their sight. now began one of the most hideous fights that is told of in the history of the world. again and again the saracens attacked in thousands, and again and again they were driven back by the desperate valour of the franks, who fought on, their jaws agape with thirst. a blackbearded man stumbled up to the brethren, his tongue protruding from his lips, and they knew him for the master of the templars. "for the love of christ, give me to drink," he said, recognizing them as the knights at whom he had mocked as water-carriers. they gave him of the little they had left, and while they and their horses drank the rest themselves, saw him rush down the hill refreshed, shaking his red sword. then came a pause, and they heard the voice of the bishop of nazareth, who had clung to them all this while, saying, as though to himself: "and here it was that the saviour preached the sermon on the mount. yes, he preached the words of peace upon this very spot. oh! it cannot be that he will desert us--it cannot be." while the saracens held off, the soldiers began to put up the king's pavilion, and with it other tents, around the rock on which stood the cross. "do they mean to camp here?" asked wulf bitterly. "peace," answered godwin; "they hope to make a wall about the rood. but it is of no avail, for this is the place of my dream." wulf shrugged his shoulders. "at least, let us die well," he said. then the last attack began. up the hillside rose dense volumes of smoke, and with the smoke came the saracens. thrice they were driven back; thrice they came on. at the fourth onset few of the franks could fight more, for thirst had conquered them on this waterless hill of hattin. they lay down upon the dry grass with gaping jaws and protruding tongues, and let themselves be slain or taken prisoners. a great company of saracen horsemen broke through the ring and rushed at the scarlet tent. it rocked to and fro, then down it fell in a red heap, entangling the king in its folds. at the foot of the cross, rufinus, the bishop of acre, still fought on bravely. suddenly an arrow struck him in the throat, and throwing his arms wide, he fell to earth. then the saracens hurled themselves upon the rood, tore it from its place, and with mockery and spittings bore it down the hill towards their camp, as ants may be seen carrying a little stick into their nest, while all who were left alive of the christian army stared upwards, as though they awaited some miracle from heaven. but no angels appeared in the brazen sky, and knowing that god had deserted them, they groaned aloud in their shame and wretchedness. "come," said godwin to wulf in a strange, quiet voice. "we have seen enough. it is time to die. look! yonder below us are the mameluks, our old regiment, and amongst them saladin, for i see his banner. having had water, we and our horses are still fresh and strong. now, let us make an end of which they will tell in essex yonder. charge for the flag of saladin!" wulf nodded, and side by side they sped down the hill. scimitars flashed at them, arrows struck upon their mail and the shields blazoned with the death's-head d'arcy crest. through it all they went unscathed, and while the army of the saracens stared, at the foot of the horn of hattin turned their horses' heads straight for the royal standard of saladin. on they struggled, felling or riding down a foe at every stride. on, still on, although flame and smoke bled from a score of wounds. they were among the mameluks, where their line was thin; by heaven! they were through them, and riding straight at the well-known figure of the sultan, mounted on his white horse with his young son and his emir, the prince hassan, at his side. "saladin for you, hassan for me," shouted wulf. then they met, and all the host of islam cried out in dismay as they saw the commander of the faithful and his horse borne to the earth before the last despairing charge of these mad christian knights. another instant, and the sultan was on his feet again, and a score of scimitars were striking at godwin. his horse flame sank down dying, but he sprang from the saddle, swinging the long sword. now saladin recognized the crest upon his buckler, and cried out: "yield you, sir godwin! you have done well--yield you!" but godwin, who would not yield, answered: "when i am dead--not before." thereupon saladin spoke a word, and while certain of his mameluks engaged godwin in front, keeping out of reach of that red and terrible sword, others crept up behind, and springing on him, seized his arms and dragged him to the ground, where they bound him fast. meanwhile wulf had fared otherwise, for it was his horse smoke, already stabbed to the vitals, that fell as he plunged on prince hassan. yet he also arose but little hurt, and cried out: "thus, hassan, old foe and friend, we meet at last in war. come, i would pay the debt i owe you for that drugged wine, man to man and sword to sword." "indeed, it is due, sir wulf," answered the prince, laughing. "guards, touch not this brave knight who has dared so much to reach me. sultan, i ask a boon. between sir wulf and me there is an ancient quarrel that can only be washed away in blood. let it be decided here and now, and let this be your decree--that if i fall in fair fight, none shall set upon my conqueror, and no vengeance shall be taken for my blood." "good," said saladin. "then sir wulf shall be my prisoner and no more, as his brother is already. i owe it to the men who saved my life when we were friends. give the frank to drink that the fight may be fair." so they gave wulf a cup of which he drank, and when he had done it was handed to godwin. for even the mameluks knew and loved these brethren who had been their officers, and praised the fierce charge that they had dared to make alone. hassan sprang to the ground, saying: "your horse is dead, sir wulf, so we must fight afoot." "generous as ever," laughed wulf. "even the poisoned wine was a gift!" "if so, for the last time, i fear me," answered hassan with a smile. then they faced each other, and oh! the scene was strange. up on the slopes of hattin the fight still raged. there amidst the smoke and fires of the burning grass little companies of soldiers stood back to back while the saracens wheeled round them, thrusting and cutting at them till they fell. here and there knights charged singly or in groups, and so came to death or capture. about the plain hundreds of foot soldiers were being slaughtered, while their officers were taken prisoners. towards the camp of saladin a company advanced with sounds of triumph, carrying aloft a black stump which was the holy rood, while others drove or led mobs of prisoners, among them the king and his chosen knights. the wilderness was red with blood, the air was rent with shouts of victory and cries of agony or despair. and there, in the midst of it all, ringed round with grave, courteous saracens, stood the emir, clad above his mail in his white robe and jewelled turban, facing the great christian knight, with harness hacked and reddened, the light of battle shining in his fierce eyes, and a smile upon his stained features. for those who watched the battle was forgotten--or, rather, its interest was centred on this point. "it will be a good fight," said one of them to godwin, whom they had suffered to rise, "for though your brother is the younger and the heavier man, he is hurt and weary, whereas the emir is fresh and unwounded. ah! they are at it!" hassan had struck first and the blow went home. falling upon the point of wulf's steel helm, the heavy, razoredged scimitar glanced from it and shore away the links from the flap which hung upon his shoulder, causing the frank to stagger. again he struck, this time upon the shield, and so heavily that wulf came to his knees. "your brother is sped," said the saracen captain to godwin, but godwin only answered: "wait." as he spoke wulf twisted his body out of reach of a third blow, and while hassan staggered forward with the weight of the missed stroke, placed his hand upon the ground, and springing to his feet, ran backwards six or eight paces. "he flies!" cried the saracens; but again godwin said, "wait." nor was there long to wait. for now, throwing aside his buckler and grasping the great sword in both his hands, with a shout of "a d'arcy! a d'arcy!" wulf leapt at hassan as a wounded lion leaps. the sword wheeled and fell, and lo! the shield of the saracen was severed in two. again it fell, and his turbaned helm was cloven. a third time, and the right arm and shoulder with the scimitar that grasped it seemed to spring from his body, and hassan sank dying to the ground. wulf stood and looked at him, while a murmur of grief went up from those who watched, for they loved this emir. hassan beckoned to the victor with his left hand, and throwing down his sword to show that he feared no treachery, wulf came to him and knelt beside him. "a good stroke," hassan said faintly, "that could shear the double links of damascus steel as though it were silk. well, as i told you long ago, i knew that the hour of our meeting in war would be an ill hour for me, and my debt is paid. farewell, brave knight. would i could hope that we should meet in paradise! take that star jewel, the badge of my house, from my turban and wear it in memory of me. long, long and happy be your days." then, while wulf held him in his arms, saladin came up and spoke to him, till he fell back and was dead. thus died hassan, and thus ended the battle of hattin, which broke the power of the christians in the east. chapter nineteen: before the walls of ascalon when hassan was dead, at a sign from saladin a captain of the mameluks named abdullah unfastened the jewel from the emir's turban and handed it to wulf. it was a glorious star-shaped thing, made of great emeralds set round with diamonds, and the captain abdullah, who like all easterns loved such ornaments, looked at it greedily, and muttered: "alas! that an unbeliever should wear the enchanted star, the ancient luck of the house of hassan!" a saying that wulf remembered. he took the jewel, then turned to saladin and said, pointing to the dead body of hassan: "have i your peace, sultan, after such a deed?" "did i not give you and your brother to drink?" asked saladin with meaning. "whoever dies, you are safe. there is but one sin which i will not pardon you--you know what it is," and he looked at them. "as for hassan, he was my beloved friend and servant, but you slew him in fair fight, and his soul is now in paradise. none in my army will raise a blood feud against you on that score." then dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand, he turned to receive a great body of christian prisoners that, panting and stumbling like over-driven sheep, were being thrust on towards the camp with curses, blows and mockery by the victorious saracens. among them the brethren rejoiced to see egbert, the gentle and holy bishop of nazareth, whom they had thought dead. also, wounded in many places, his hacked harness hanging about him like a beggar's rags, there was the black-browed master of the templars, who even now could be fierce and insolent. "so i was right," he mocked in a husky voice, "and here you are, safe with your friends the saracens, sir knights of the visions and the water-skins--" "from which you were glad enough to drink just now," said godwin. "also," he added sadly, "all the vision is not done." and turning, he looked towards a blazoned tent which with the sultan's great pavilion, and not far behind it, was being pitched by the arab camp-setters. the master saw and remembered godwin's vision of the dead templars. "is it there that you mean to murder me, traitor and wizard?" he asked. then rage took hold of godwin and he answered him: "were it not for your plight, here and now i would thrust those words down your throat, as, should we both live, i yet shall hope to do. you call us traitors. is it the work of traitors to have charged alone through all this host until our horses died beneath us?"--he pointed to where smoke and flame lay with glazing eyes--"to have unhorsed saladin and to have slain this prince in single combat?" and he turned to the body of the emir hassan, which his servants were carrying away. "you speak of me as wizard and murderer," he went on, "because some angel brought me a vision which, had you believed it, templar, would have saved tens of thousands from a bloody death, the christian kingdom from destruction, and yonder holy thing from mockery," and with a shudder he glanced at the rood which its captors had set up upon a rock not far away with a dead knight tied to its black arms. "you, sir templar, are the murderer who by your madness and ambition have brought ruin on the cause of christ, as was foretold by the count raymond." "that other traitor who also has escaped," snarled the master. then saracen guards dragged him away, and they were parted. by now the pavilion was up and saladin entered it, saying: "bring before me the king of the franks and prince arnat, he who is called reginald of chatillon." then a thought struck him, and he called to godwin and wulf, saying: "sir knights, you know our tongue; give up your swords to the officer--they shall be returned to you--and come, be my interpreters." so the brethren followed him into the tent, where presently were brought the wretched king and the grey-haired reginald de chatillon, and with them a few other great knights who, even in the midst of their misery, stared at godwin and wulf in wonderment. saladin read the look, and explained lest their presence should be misunderstood: "king and nobles, be not mistaken. these knights are my prisoners, as you are, and none have shown themselves braver to-day, or done me and mine more damage. indeed, had it not been for my guards, within the hour i should have fallen beneath the sword of sir godwin. but as they know arabic, i have asked them to render my words into your tongue. do you accept them as interpreters? if not, others must be found." when they had translated this, the king said that he accepted them, adding to godwin: "would that i had also accepted you two nights gone as an interpreter of the will of heaven!" the sultan bade his captains be seated, and seeing their terrible thirst, commanded slaves to bring a great bowl of sherbet made of rose-water cooled with snow, and with his own hand gave it to king guy. he drank in great gulps, then passed the bowl to reginald de chatillon, whereon saladin cried out to godwin: "say to the king it is he and not i who gives this man to drink. there is no bond of salt between me and the prince arnat." godwin translated, sorrowfully enough, and reginald, who knew the habits of the saracens, answered: "no need to explain, sir knight, those words are my death-warrant. well, i never expected less." then saladin spoke again. "prince arnat, you strove to take the holy city of mecca and to desecrate the tomb of the prophet, and then i swore to kill you. again, when in a time of peace a caravan came from egypt and passed by esh-shobek, where you were, forgetting your oath, you fell upon them and slew them. they asked for mercy in the name of allah, saying that there was truce between saracen and frank. but you mocked them, telling them to seek aid from mahomet, in whom they trusted. then for the second time i swore to kill you. yet i give you one more chance. will you subscribe the koran and embrace the faith of islam? or will you die?" now the lips of reginald turned pale, and for a moment he swayed upon his seat. then his courage came back to him, and he answered in a strong voice: "sultan, i will have none of your mercy at such a price, nor do i bow the knee to your dog of a false prophet, who perish in the faith of christ, and, being weary of the world, am content to go to him." saladin sprang to his feet, his very beard bristling with wrath, and drawing his sabre, shouted aloud: "you scorn mahomet! behold! i avenge mahomet upon you! take him away!" and he struck him with the flat of his scimitar. then mameluks leapt upon the prince. dragging him to the entrance of the tent, they forced him to his knees and there beheaded him in sight of the soldiers and of the other prisoners. thus, bravely enough, died reginald de chatillon, whom the saracens called prince arnat. in the hush that followed this terrible deed king guy said to godwin: "ask the sultan if it is my turn next." "nay," answered saladin; "kings do not kill kings, but that truce-breaker has met with no more than his deserts." then came a scene still more dreadful. saladin went to the door of his tent, and standing over the body of reginald, bade them parade the captive templars and hospitallers before him. they were brought to the number of over two hundred, for it was easy to distinguish them by the red and white crosses on their breasts. "these also are faith-breakers," he shouted, "and of their unclean tribes will i rid the world. ho! my emirs and doctors of the law," and he turned to the great crowd of his captains about him, "take each of you one of them and kill him." now the emirs hung back, for though fanatics they were brave, and loved not this slaughter of defenceless men, and even the mameluks murmured aloud. but saladin cried again: "they are worthy of death, and he who disobeys my command shall himself be slain." "sultan," said godwin, "we cannot witness such a crime; we ask that we may die with them." "nay," he answered; "you have eaten of my salt, and to kill you would be murder. get you to the tent of the princess of baalbec yonder, for there you will see nothing of the death of these franks, your fellow-worshippers." so the brethren turned, and led by a mameluk, fled aghast for the first time in their lives, past the long lines of templars and hospitallers, who in the last red light of the dying day knelt upon the sand and prayed, while the emirs came up to kill them. they entered the tent, none forbidding them, and at the end of it saw two women crouched together on some cushions, who rose, clinging to each other. then the women saw also and sprang forward with a cry of joy, saying: "so you live--you live!" "ay, rosamund," answered godwin, "to see this shame--would god that we did not--whilst others die. they murder the knights of the holy orders. to your knees and pray for their passing souls." so they knelt down and prayed till the tumult died away, and they knew that all was done. "oh, my cousins," said rosamund, as she staggered to her feet at length, "what a hell of wickedness and bloodshed is this in which we dwell! save me from it if you love me--i beseech you save me!" "we will do our best," they answered; "but let us talk no more of these things which are the decree of god--lest we should go mad. tell us your story." but rosamund had little to tell, except that she had been well treated, and always kept by the person of the sultan, marching to and fro with his army, for he awaited the fulfilment of his dream concerning her. then they told her all that had chanced to them; also of the vision of godwin and its dreadful accomplishment, and of the death of hassan beneath the sword of wulf. at that story rosamund wept and shrank from him a little, for though it was this prince who had stolen her from her home, she loved hassan. yet when wulf said humbly: "the fault is not mine; it was so fated. would that i had died instead of this saracen!" rosamund answered: "no, no; i am proud that you should have conquered." but wulf shook his head, and said: "i am not proud. although weary with that awful battle, i was still the younger and stronger man, though at first he well-nigh mastered me by his skill and quickness. at least we parted friends. look, he gave me this," and he showed her the great emerald badge which the dying prince had given him. masouda, who all this while had sat very quiet, came forward and looked at it. "do you know," she asked, "that this jewel is very famous, not only for its value, but because it is said to have belonged to one of the children of the prophet, and to bring good fortune to its owner?" wulf smiled. "it brought little to poor hassan but now, when my grandsire's sword shore the damascus steel as though it were wet clay." "and sent him swift to paradise, where he would be, at the hands of a gallant foe," answered masouda. "nay, all his life this emir was happy and beloved, by his sovereign, his wives, his fellows and his servants, nor do i think that he would have desired another end whose wish was to die in battle with the franks. at least there is scarce a soldier in the sultan's army who would not give all he has for yonder trinket, which is known throughout the land as the star of hassan. so beware, sir wulf, lest you be robbed or murdered, although you have eaten the salt of salah-ed-din." "i remember the captain abdullah looking at it greedily and lamenting that the luck of the house of hassan should pass to an unbeliever," said wulf. "well, enough of this jewel and its dangers; i think godwin has words to say." "yes," said godwin. "we are here in your tent through the kindness of saladin, who did not wish us to witness the death of our comrades, but to-morrow we shall be separated again. now if you are to escape--" "i will escape! i must escape, even if i am recaptured and die for it," broke in rosamund passionately. "speak low," said masouda. "i saw the eunuch mesrour pass the door of the tent, and he is a spy--they all are spies." "if you are to escape," repeated godwin in a whisper, "it must be within the next few weeks while the army is on the march. the risk is great to all of us--even to you, and we have no plan. but, masouda, you are clever; make one, and tell it to us." she lifted her head to speak, when suddenly a shadow fell upon them. it was that of the head eunuch, mesrour, a fat, cunning-faced man, with a cringing air. low he bowed before them, saying: "your pardon, o princess. a messenger has come from salah-ed-din demanding the presence of these knights at the banquet that he has made ready for his noble prisoners." "we obey," said godwin, and rising they bowed to rosamund and to masouda, then turned to go, leaving the star jewel where they had been seated. very skilfully mesrour covered it with a fold of his robe, and under shelter of the fold slipped down his hand and grasped it, not knowing that although she seemed to be turned away, masouda was watching him out of the corner of her eye. waiting till the brethren reached the tent door, she called out: "sir wulf, are you already weary of the enchanted star of fortune, or would you bequeath it to us?" now wulf came back, saying heavily: "i forgot the thing--who would not at such a time? where is it? i left it on the cushion." "try the hand of mesrour," said masouda, whereat with a very crooked smile the eunuch produced it, and said: "i wished to show you, sir knight, that you must be careful with such gems as these, especially in a camp where there are many dishonest persons." "i thank you," answered wulf as he took it; "you have shown me." then, followed by the sound of masouda's mocking laughter, they left the tent. the sultan's messenger led them forward, across ground strewn with the bodies of the murdered templars and hospitallers, lying as godwin had seen them in his dream on the mountain top near nazareth. over one of these corpses godwin stumbled in the gloom, so heavily, that he fell to his knees. he searched the face in the starlight, to find it was that of a knight of the hospitallers of whom he had made a friend at jerusalem--a very good and gentle frenchman, who had abandoned high station and large lands to join the order for the love of christ and charity. such was his reward on earth--to be struck down in cold blood, like an ox by its butcher. then, muttering a prayer for the repose of this knight's soul, godwin rose and, filled with horror, followed on to the royal pavilion, wondering why such things were. of all the strange feasts that they ever ate the brethren found this the strangest and the most sad. saladin was seated at the head of the table with guards and officers standing behind him, and as each dish was brought he tasted it and no more, to show that it was not poisoned. not far from him sat the king of jerusalem and his brother, and all down the board great captive nobles, to the number of fifty or more. sorry spectacles were these gallant knights in their hewn and blood-stained armour, pale-faced, too, with eyes set wide in horror at the dread deeds they had just seen done. yet they ate, and ate ravenously, for now that their thirst was satisfied, they were mad with hunger. thirty thousand christians lay dead on the horn and plain of hattin; the kingdom of jerusalem was destroyed, and its king a prisoner. the holy rood was taken as a trophy. two hundred knights of the sacred orders lay within a few score of yards of them, butchered cruelly by those very emirs and doctors of the law who stood grave and silent behind their master's seat, at the express command of that merciless master. defeated, shamed, bereaved--yet they ate, and, being human, could take comfort from the thought that having eaten, by the law of the arabs, at least their lives were safe. saladin called godwin and wulf to him that they might interpret for him, and gave them food, and they also ate who were compelled to it by hunger. "have you seen your cousin, the princess?" he asked; "and how found you her?" he asked presently. then, remembering over what he had fallen outside her tent, and looking at those miserable feasters, anger took hold of godwin, and he answered boldly: "sire, we found her sick with the sights and sounds of war and murder; shamed to know also that her uncle, the conquering sovereign of the east, had slaughtered two hundred unarmed men." wulf trembled at his words, but saladin listened and showed no anger. "doubtless," he answered, "she thinks me cruel, and you also think me cruel--a despot who delights in the death of his enemies. yet it is not so, for i desire peace and to save life, not to destroy it. it is you christians who for hard upon a hundred years have drenched these sands with blood, because you say that you wish to possess the land where your prophet lived and died more than eleven centuries ago. how many saracens have you slain? hundreds of thousands of them. moreover, with you peace is no peace. those orders that i destroyed tonight have broken it a score of times. well, i will bear no more. allah has given me and my army the victory, and i will take your cities and drive the franks back into the sea. let them seek their own lands and worship god there after their own fashion, and leave the east in quiet. "now, sir godwin, tell these captives for me that tomorrow i send those of them who are unwounded to damascus, there to await ransom while i besiege jerusalem and the other christian cities. let them have no fear; i have emptied the cup of my anger; no more of them shall die, and a priest of their faith, the bishop of nazareth, shall stay with their sick in my army to minister to them after their own rites." so godwin rose and told them, and they answered not a word, who had lost all hope and courage. afterwards he asked whether he and his brother were also to be sent to damascus. saladin replied, "no; he would keep them for awhile to interpret, then they might go their ways without ransom." on the morrow, accordingly, the captives were sent to damascus, and that day saladin took the castle of tiberias, setting at liberty eschiva, the wife of raymond, and her children. then he moved on to acre, which he took, relieving four thousand moslem captives, and so on to other towns, all of which fell before him, till at length he came to ascalon, which he besieged in form, setting up his mangonels against its walls. the night was dark outside of ascalon, save when the flashes of lightning in the storm that rolled down from the mountains to the sea lit it up, showing the thousands of white tents set round the city, the walls and the sentries who watched upon them, the feathery palms that stood against the sky, the mighty, snow-crowned range of lebanon, and encircling all the black breast of the troubled ocean. in a little open space of the garden of an empty house that stood without the walls, a man and a woman were talking, both of them wrapped in dark cloaks. they were godwin and masouda. "well," said godwin eagerly, "is all ready?" she nodded and answered: "at length, all. to-morrow afternoon an assault will be made upon ascalon, but even if it is taken the camp will not be moved that night. there will be great confusion, and abdullah, who is somewhat sick, will be the captain of the guard over the princess's tent. he will allow the soldiers to slip away to assist in the sack of the city, nor will they betray him. at sunset but one eunuch will be on watch--mesrour; and i will find means to put him to sleep. abdullah will bring the princess to this garden disguised as his young son, and there you two and i shall meet them." "what then?" asked godwin. "do you remember the old arab who brought you the horses flame and smoke, and took no payment for them, he who was named son of the sand? well, as you know, he is my uncle, and he has more horses of that breed. i have seen him, and he is well pleased at the tale of flame and smoke and the knights who rode them, and more particularly at the way in which they came to their end, which he says has brought credit to their ancient blood. at the foot of this garden is a cave, which was once a sepulchre. there we shall find the horses--four of them--and with them my uncle, son of the sand, and by the morning light we will be a hundred miles away and lie hid with his tribe until we can slip to the coast and board a christian ship. does it please you?" "very well; but what is abdullah's price?" "one only--the enchanted star, the luck of the house of hassan; for nothing else will he take such risks. will sir wulf give it?" "surely," answered godwin with a laugh. "good. then it must be done to-night. when i return i will send abdullah to your tent. fear not; if he takes the jewel he will give the price, since otherwise he thinks it will bring him ill fortune." "does the lady rosamund know?" asked godwin again. she shook her head. "nay, she is mad to escape; she thinks of little else all day long. but what is the use of telling her till the time comes? the fewer in such a plot the better, and if anything goes wrong, it is well that she should be innocent, for then--" "then death, and farewell to all things," said godwin; "nor indeed should i grieve to say them good-bye. but, masouda, you run great peril. tell me now, honestly, why do you do this?" as he spoke the lightning flashed and showed her face as she stood there against a background of green leaves and red lily flowers. there was a strange look upon it--a look that made godwin feel afraid, he knew not of what. "why did i take you into my inn yonder in beirut when you were the pilgrims peter and john? why did i find you the best horses in syria and guide you to the al-je-bal? why did i often dare death by torment for you there? why did i save the three of you? and why, for all this weary while, have i--who, after all, am nobly born--become the mock of soldiers and the tire-woman of the princess of baalbec? "shall i answer?" she went on, laughing. "doubtless in the beginning because i was the agent of sinan, charged to betray such knights as you are into his hands, and afterwards because my heart was filled with pity and love for--the lady rosamund." again the lightning flashed, and this time that strange look had spread from masouda's face to the face of godwin. "masouda," he said in a whisper, "oh! think me no vain fool, but since it is best perhaps that both should know full surely, tell me, is it as i have sometimes--" "feared?" broke in masouda with her little mocking laugh. "sir godwin, it is so. what does your faith teach--the faith in which i was bred, and lost, but that now is mine again--because it is yours? that men and women are free, or so some read it. well, it or they are wrong. we are not free. was i free when first i saw your eyes in beirut, the eyes for which i had been watching all my life, and something came from you to me, and i--the cast-off plaything of sinan--loved you, loved you, loved you--to my own doom? yes, and rejoiced that it was so, and still rejoice that it is so, and would choose no other fate, because in that love i learned that there is a meaning in this life, and that there is an answer to it in lives to be, otherwhere if not here. nay, speak not. i know your oath, nor would i tempt you to its breaking. but, sir godwin, a woman such as the lady rosamund cannot love two men," and as she spoke masouda strove to search his face while the shaft went home. but godwin showed neither surprise nor pain. "so you know what i have known for long," he said, "so long that my sorrow is lost in the hope of my brother's joy. moreover, it is well that she should have chosen the better knight." "sometimes," said masouda reflectively, "sometimes i have watched the lady rosamund, and said to myself, 'what do you lack? you are beautiful, you are highborn, you are learned, you are brave, and you are good.' then i have answered, 'you lack wisdom and true sight, else you would not have chosen wulf when you might have taken godwin. or perchance your eyes are blinded also.'" "speak not thus of one who is my better in all things, i pray you," said godwin in a vexed voice. "by which you mean, whose arm is perhaps a little stronger, and who at a pinch could cut down a few more saracens. well, it takes more than strength to make a man--you must add spirit." "masouda," went on godwin, taking no note of her words, "although we may guess her mind, our lady has said nothing yet. also wulf may fall, and then i fill his place as best i can. i am no free man, masouda." "the love-sick are never free," she answered. "i have no right to love the woman who loves my brother; to her are due my friendship and my reverence--no more." "she has not declared that she loves your brother; we may guess wrongly in this matter. they are your words--not mine." "and we may guess rightly. what then?" "then," answered masouda, "there are many knightly orders, or monasteries, for those who desire such places--as you do in your heart. nay, talk no more of all these things that may or may not be. back to your tent, sir godwin, where i will send abdullah to you to receive the jewel. so, farewell, farewell." he took her outstretched hand, hesitated a moment, then lifted it to his lips, and went. it was cold as that of a corpse, and fell against her side again like the hand of a corpse. masouda shrank back among the flowers of the garden as though to hide herself from him and all the world. when he had gone a few paces, eight or ten perhaps, godwin turned and glanced behind him, and at that moment there came a great blaze of lightning. in its fierce and fiery glare he saw masouda standing with outstretched arms, pale, upturned face, closed eyes, and parted lips. illumined by the ghastly sheen of the levin her face looked like that of one new dead, and the tall red lilies which climbed up her dark, pall-like robe to her throat--yes, they looked like streams of fresh-shed blood. godwin shuddered a little and went his way, but as she slid thence into the black, embracing night, masouda said to herself: "had i played a little more upon his gentleness and pity, i think that he would have offered me his heart--after rosamund had done with it and in payment for my services. nay, not his heart, for he has none on earth, but his hand and loyalty. and, being honourable, he would have kept his promise, and i, who have passed through the harem of al-je-bal, might yet have become the lady d'arcy, and so lived out my life and nursed his babes. nay, sir godwin; when you love me--not before; and you will never love me--until i am dead." snatching a bloom of the lilies into her hand, the hand that he had kissed, masouda pressed it convulsively against her breast, till the red juice ran from the crushed flower and stained her like a wound. then she glided away, and was lost in the storm and the darkness. chapter twenty: the luck of the star of hassan an hour later the captain abdullah might have been seen walking carelessly towards the tent where the brethren slept. also, had there been any who cared to watch, something else might have been seen in that low moonlight, for now the storm and the heavy rain which followed it had passed. namely, the fat shape of the eunuch mesrour, slipping after him wrapped in a dark camel-hair cloak, such as was commonly worn by camp followers, and taking shelter cunningly behind every rock and shrub and rise of the ground. hidden among some picketed dromedaries, he saw abdullah enter the tent of the brethren, then, waiting till a cloud crossed the moon, mesrour ran to it unseen, and throwing himself down on its shadowed side, lay there like a drunken man, and listened with all his ears. but the thick canvas was heavy with wet, nor would the ropes and the trench that was dug around permit him, who did not love to lie in the water, to place his head against it. also, those within spoke low, and he could only hear single words, such as "garden," "the star," "princess." so important did these seem to him, however, that at length mesrour crept under the cords, and although he shuddered at its cold, drew his body into the trench of water, and with the sharp point of his knife cut a little slit in the taut canvas. to this he set his eye, only to find that it served him nothing, for there was no light in the tent. still, men were there who talked in the darkness. "good," said a voice--it was that of one of the brethren, but which he could not tell, for even to those who knew them best they seemed to be the same. "good; then it is settled. to-morrow, at the hour arranged, you bring the princess to the place agreed upon, disguised as you have said. in payment for this service i hand you the luck of hassan which you covet. take it; here it is, and swear to do your part, since otherwise it will bring no luck to you, for i will kill you the first time we meet--yes, and the other also." "i swear it by allah and his prophet," answered abdullah in a hoarse, trembling voice. "it is enough; see that you keep the oath. and now away; it is not safe that you should tarry here." then came the sound of a man leaving the tent. passing round it cautiously, he halted, and opening his hand, looked at its contents to make sure that no trick had been played upon him in the darkness. mesrour screwed his head round to look also, and saw the light gleam faintly on the surface of the splendid jewel, which he, too, desired so eagerly. in so doing his foot struck a stone, and instantly abdullah glanced down to see a dead or drunken man lying almost at his feet. with a swift movement he hid the jewel and started to walk away. then bethinking him that it would be well to make sure that this fellow was dead or sleeping, he turned and kicked the prostrate mesrour upon the back and with all his strength. indeed, he did this thrice, putting the eunuch to the greatest agony. "i thought i saw him move," abdullah muttered after the third kick; "it is best to make sure," and he drew his knife. now, had not terror paralysed him, mesrour would have cried out, but fortunately for himself, before he found his voice abdullah had buried the knife three inches deep in his fat thigh. with an effort mesrour bore this also, knowing that if he showed signs of life the next stroke would be in his heart. then, satisfied that this fellow, whoever he might be, was either a corpse or insensible, abdullah drew out the knife, wiped it on his victim's robe, and departed. not long afterwards mesrour departed also, towards the sultan's house, bellowing with rage and pain and vowing vengeance. it was not long delayed. that very night abdullah was seized and put to the question. in his suffering he confessed that he had been to the tent of the brethren and received from one of them the jewel which was found upon him, as a bribe to bring the princess to a certain garden outside the camp. but he named the wrong garden. further, when they asked which of the brethren it was who bribed him, he said he did not know, as their voices were alike, and their tent was in darkness; moreover, that he believed there was only one man in it--at least he heard or saw no other. he added that he was summoned to the tent by an arab man whom he had never seen before, but who told him that if he wished for what he most desired and good fortune, he was to be there at a certain hour after sunset. then he fainted, and was put back in prison till the morning by the command of saladin. when the morning came abdullah was dead, who desired no more torments with doom at the end of them, having made shift to strangle himself with his robe. but first he had scrawled upon the wall with a piece of charcoal: "may that accursed star of hassan which tempted me bring better luck to others, and may hell receive the soul of mesrour." thus died abdullah, as faithful as he could be in such sore straits, since he had betrayed neither masouda nor his son, both of whom were in the plot, and said that only one of the brethren was present in the tent, whereas he knew well that the two of them were there and which of these spoke and gave him the jewel. very early that morning the brethren, who were lying wakeful, heard sounds without their tent, and looking out saw that it was surrounded by mameluks. "the plot is discovered," said godwin to wulf quietly, but with despair in his face. "now, my brother, admit nothing, even under torture, lest others perish with us." "shall we fight?" asked wulf as they threw on their mail. but godwin answered: "nay, it would serve us nothing to kill a few brave men." then an officer entered the tent, and commanded them to give up their swords and to follow him to saladin to answer a charge that had been laid against them both, nor would he say any more. so they went as prisoners, and after waiting awhile, were ushered into a large room of the house where saladin lodged, which was arranged as a court with a dais at one end. before this they were stood, till presently the sultan entered through the further door, and with him certain of his emirs and secretaries. also rosamund, who looked very pale, was brought there, and in attendance on her masouda, calm-faced as ever. the brethren bowed to them, but saladin, whose eyes were full of rage, took no notice of their salutation. for a moment there was silence, then saladin bade a secretary read the charge, which was brief. it was that they had conspired to steal away the princess of baalbec. "where is the evidence against us?" asked godwin boldly. "the sultan is just, and convicts no man save on testimony." again saladin motioned to the secretary, who read the words that had been taken down from the lips of the captain abdullah. they demanded to be allowed to examine the captain abdullah, and learned that he was already dead. then the eunuch mesrour was carried forward, for walk he could not, owing to the wound that abdullah had given him, and told all his tale, how he had suspected abdullah, and, following him, had heard him and one of the brethren speaking in the tent, and the words that passed, and afterwards seen abdullah with the jewel in his hand. when he had finished godwin asked which of them he had heard speaking with abdullah, and he answered that he could not say, as their voices were so alike, but one voice only had spoken. then rosamund was ordered to give her testimony, and said, truly enough, that she knew nothing of the plot and had not thought of this flight. masouda also swore that she now heard of it for the first time. after this the secretary announced that there was no more evidence, and prayed of the sultan to give judgment in the matter. "against which of us," asked godwin, "seeing that both the dead and the living witness declared they heard but one voice, and whose that voice was they did not know? according to your own law, you cannot condemn a man against whom there is no good testimony." "there is testimony against one of you," answered saladin sternly, "that of two witnesses, as is required, and, as i have warned you long ago, that man shall die. indeed, both of you should die, for i am sure that both are guilty. still, you have been put upon your trial according to the law, and as a just judge i will not strain the law against you. let the guilty one die by beheading at sundown, the hour at which he planned to commit his crime. the other may go free with the citizens of jerusalem who depart to-night, bearing my message to the frankish leaders in that holy town." "which of us, then, is to die, and which to go free?" asked godwin. "tell us, that he who is doomed may prepare his soul." "say you, who know the truth," answered saladin. "we admit nothing," said godwin; "yet, if one of us must die, i as the elder claim that right." "and i claim it as the younger. the jewel was hassan's gift to me; who else could give it to abdullah?" added wulf, speaking for the first time, whereat all the saracens there assembled, brave men who loved a knightly deed, murmured in admiration, and even saladin said: "well spoken, both of you. so it seems that both must die." then rosamund stepped forward and threw herself upon her knees before him, exclaiming: "sire, my uncle, such is not your justice, that two should be slain for the offence of one, if offence there be. if you know not which is guilty, spare them both, i beseech you." he stretched out his hand and raised her from her knees: then thought awhile, and said: "nay, plead not with me, for however much you love him the guilty man must suffer, as he deserves. but of this matter allah alone knows the truth, therefore let it be decided by allah," and he rested his head upon his hand, looking at wulf and godwin as though to read their souls. now behind saladin stood that old and famous imaum who had been with him and hassan when he commanded the brethren to depart from damascus, who all this while had listened to everything that passed with a sour smile. leaning forward, he whispered in his master's ear, who considered a moment, then answered him: "it is good. do so." so the imaum left the court, and returned presently carrying two small boxes of sandalwood tied with silk and sealed, so like each other that none could tell them apart, which boxes he passed continually from his right hand to his left and from his left hand to his right, then gave them to saladin. "in one of these," said the sultan, "is that jewel known as the enchanted star and the luck of the house of hassan, which the prince presented to his conqueror on the day of hattin, and for the desire of which my captain abdullah became a traitor and was brought to death. in the other is a pebble of the same weight. come, my niece, take you these boxes and give them to your kinsmen, to each the box you will. the jewel that is called the star of hassan is magical, and has virtue, so they say. let it choose, therefore, which of these knights is ripe for death, and let him perish in whose box the star is found." "now," muttered the imaum into the ear of his master, "now at length we shall learn which it is of these two men that the lady loves." "that is what i seek to know," answered saladin in the same low voice. as she heard this decree rosamund looked round wildly and pleaded: "oh! be not so cruel. i beseech you spare me this task. let it be another hand that is chosen to deal death to one of those of my own blood with whom i have dwelt since childhood. let me not be the blind sword of fate that frees his spirit, lest it should haunt my dreams and turn all my world to woe. spare me, i beseech you." but saladin looked at her very sternly and answered: "princess, you know why i have brought you to the east and raised you to great honour here, why also i have made you my companion in these wars. it is for my dream's sake, the dream which told me that by some noble act of yours you should save the lives of thousands. yet i am sure that you desire to escape, and plots are made to take you from me, though of these plots you say that you and your woman"--and he looked darkly at masouda--"know nothing. but these men know, and it is right that you, for whose sake if not by whose command the thing was done, should mete out its reward, and that the blood of him whom you appoint, which is spilt for you, should be on your and no other head. now do my bidding." for a moment rosamund stared at the boxes, then suddenly she closed her eyes, and taking them up at hazard, stretched out her arms, leaning forward over the edge of the dais. thereon, calmly enough the brethren took, each of them, the box that was nearest to him, that in rosamund's left hand falling to godwin and that in her right to wulf. then she opened her eyes again, stood still, and watched. "cousin," said godwin, "before we break this cord that is our chain of doom, know well that, whatever chances, we blame you not at all. it is god who acts through you, and you are as innocent of the death of either of us as of that plot whereof we stand accused." then he began to unknot the silk which was bound about his box. wulf, knowing that it would tell all the tale, did not trouble himself as yet, but looked around the room, thinking that, whether he lived or died, never would he see a stranger sight. every eye in it was fixed upon the box in godwin's hand; even saladin stared as though it held his own destiny. no; not every one, for those of the old imaum were fixed upon the face of rosamund, which was piteous to see, for all its beauty had left it, and even her parted lips were ashy. masouda alone still stood upright and unmoved, as though she watched some play, but he noted that her rich-hued cheek grew pale and that beneath her robe her hand was pressed upon her heart. the silence also was intense, and broken only by the little grating noise of godwin's nails as, having no knife to cut it, he patiently untied the silk. "trouble enough about one man's life in a land where lives are cheap!" exclaimed wulf, thinking aloud, and at the sound of his voice all men started, as though it had thundered suddenly in a summer sky. then with a laugh he tore the silk about his box asunder with his strong fingers, and breaking the seal, shook out its contents. lo! there on the floor before him, gleaming green and white with emerald and diamond, lay the enchanted star of hassan. masouda saw, and the colour crept back to her cheek. rosamund saw also, and nature was too strong for her, for in one bitter cry the truth broke from her lips at last: "not wulf! not wulf!" she wailed, and sank back senseless into masouda's arms. "now, sire," said the old imaum with a chuckle, "you know which of those two the lady loves. being a woman, as usual she chooses badly, for the other has the finer spirit." "yes, i know now," said saladin, "and i am glad to know, for the matter has vexed me much." but wulf, who had paled for a moment, flushed with joy as the truth came home to him, and he understood the end of all their doubts. "this star is well named 'the luck,'" he said, as bending down he took it from the floor and fastened it to his cloak above his heart, "nor do i hold it dearly earned." then he turned to his brother, who stood by him white and still, saying: "forgive me, godwin, but such is the fortune of love and war. grudge it not to me, for when i am sped tonight this luck--and all that hangs to it--will be yours." so that strange scene ended. the afternoon drew towards evening, and godwin stood before saladin in his private chamber. "what seek you now?" said the sultan sternly. "a boon," answered godwin. "my brother is doomed to die before nightfall. i ask to die instead of him." "why, sir godwin?" "for two reasons, sire. as you learned to-day, at length the riddle is answered. it is wulf who is beloved of the lady rosamund, and therefore to kill him would be a crime. further, it is i and not he whom the eunuch heard bargaining with the captain abdullah in the tent--i swear it. take your vengeance upon me, and let him go to fulfil his fate." saladin pulled at his beard, then answered: "if this is to be so, time is short, sir godwin. what farewells have you to make? you say that you would speak with my niece rosamund? nay, the princess you shall not see, and indeed cannot, for she lies swooning in her chamber. do you desire to meet your brother for the last time?" "no, sire, for then he might learn the truth and--" "refuse this sacrifice, sir godwin, which perchance will be scarcely to his liking." "i wish to say good-bye to masouda, she who is waiting woman to the princess." "that you cannot do, for, know, i mistrust this masouda, and believe that she was at the bottom of your plot. i have dismissed her from the person of the princess and from my camp, which she is to leave--if she has not already left--with some arabs who are her kin. had it not been for her services in the land of the assassins and afterwards, i should have put her to death." "then," said godwin with a sigh, "i desire only to see egbert the bishop, that he may shrive me according to our faith and make note of my last wishes." "good; he shall be sent to you. i accept your statement that you are the guilty man and not sir wulf, and take your life for his. leave me now, who have greater matters on my mind. the guard will seek you at the appointed time." godwin bowed and walked away with a steady step while saladin, looking after him, muttered: "the world could ill spare so brave and good a man." two hours later guards summoned godwin from the place where he was prisoned, and, accompanied by the old bishop who had shriven him, he passed its door with a happy countenance, such as a bridegroom might have worn. in a fashion, indeed, he was happy, whose troubles were done with, who had few sins to mourn, whose faith was the faith of a child, and who laid down his life for his friend and brother. they took him to a vault of the great house where saladin was lodged--a large, rough place, lit with torches, in which waited the headsman and his assistants. presently saladin entered, and, looking at him curiously, said: "are you still of the same mind, sir godwin?" "i am." "good. yet i have changed mine. you shall say farewell to your cousin, as you desired. let the princess of baalbec be brought hither, sick or well, that she may see her work. let her come alone." "sire," pleaded godwin, "spare her such a sight." but he pleaded in vain, for saladin answered only, "i have said." a while passed, and godwin, hearing the sweep of robes, looked up, and saw the tall shape of a veiled woman standing in the corner of the vault where the shadow was so deep that the torchlight only glimmered faintly upon her royal ornaments. "they told me that you were sick, princess, sick with sorrow, as well you may be, because the man you love was about to die for you," said saladin in a slow voice. "now i have had pity on your grief, and his life has been bought with another life, that of the knight who stands yonder." the veiled form started wildly, then sank back against the wall. "rosamund," broke in godwin, speaking in french, "i beseech you, be silent and do not unman me with words or tears. it is best thus, and you know that it is best. wulf you love as he loves you, and i believe that in time you will be brought together. me you do not love, save as a friend, and never have. moreover, i tell you this that it may ease your pain and my conscience; i no longer seek you as my wife, whose bride is death. i pray you, give to wulf my love and blessing, and to masouda, that truest and most sweet woman, say, or write, that i offer her the homage of my heart; that i thought of her in my last moments, and that my prayer is we may meet again where all crooked paths are straightened. rosamund, farewell; peace and joy go with you through many years, ay, and with your children's children. of godwin i only ask you to remember this, that he lived serving you, and so died." she heard and stretched out her arms, and, none forbidding him, godwin walked to where she stood. without lifting her veil she bent forward and kissed him, first upon the brow and next upon the lips; then with a low, moaning cry, she turned and fled from that gloomy place, nor did saladin seek to stay her. only to himself the sultan wondered how it came about that if it was wulf whom rosamund loved, she still kissed godwin thus upon the lips. as he walked back to the death-place godwin wondered also, first that rosamund should have spoken no single word, and secondly because she had kissed him thus, even in that hour. why or wherefore he did not know, but there rose in his mind a memory of that wild ride down the mountain steeps at beirut, and of lips which then had touched his cheek, and of the odour of hair that then was blown about his breast. with a sigh he thrust the thought aside, blushing to think that such memories should come to him who had done with earth and its delights, knelt down before the headsman, and, turning to the bishop, said: "bless me, father, and bid them strike." then it was that he heard a well-known footstep, and looked up to see wulf staring at him. "what do you here, godwin?" asked wulf. "has yonder fox snared both of us?" and he nodded at saladin. "let the fox speak," said the sultan with a smile. "know, sir wulf, that your brother was about to die in your place, and of his own wish. but i refuse such sacrifice who yet have made use of it to teach my niece, the princess, that should she continue in her plottings to escape, or allow you to continue in them, certainly it will bring you to your deaths, and, if need be, her also. knights, you are brave men whom i prefer to kill in war. good horses stand without; take them as my gift, and ride with these foolish citizens of jerusalem. we may meet again within its streets. nay, thank me not. i thank you who have taught salah-ed-din how perfect a thing can be the love of brothers." the brethren stood awhile bewildered, for it is a strange thing thus to come back from death to life. each of them had made sure that he must die within some few minutes, and pass through the blackness which walls man in, to find he knew not what. and now, behold! the road that led to that blackness turned again at its very edge, and ran forward through the familiar things of earth to some end unknown. they were brave, both of them, and accustomed to face death daily, as in such a place and time all men must be; moreover, they had been shriven, and looked to see the gates of paradise open on their newborn sight. yet, since no man loves that journey, it was very sweet to know it done with for a while, and that they still might hope to dwell in this world for many years. little wonder, then, that their brains swam, and their eyes grew dim, as they passed from the shadow to the light again. it was wulf who spoke the first. "a noble deed, godwin, yet one for which i should not have thanked you had it been accomplished, who then must have lived on by grace of your sacrifice. sultan, we are grateful for your boon of life, though had you shed this innocent blood surely it would have stained your soul. may we bid farewell to our cousin rosamund before we ride?" "nay," answered saladin; "sir godwin has done that already--let it serve for both. to-morrow she shall learn the truth of the story. now go, and return no more." "that must be as fate wills," answered godwin, and they bowed and went. outside that gloomy place of death their swords were given them, and two good horses, which they mounted. hence guides led them to the embassy from jerusalem that was already in the saddle, who were very glad to welcome two such knights to their company. then, having bid farewell to the bishop egbert, who wept for joy at their escape, escorted for a while by saladin's soldiers, they rode away from ascalon at the fall of night. soon they had told each other all there was to tell. when he heard of the woe of rosamund wulf well-nigh shed tears. "we have our lives," he said, "but how shall we save her? while masouda stayed with her there was some hope, but now i can see none." "there is none, except in god," answered godwin, "who can do all things--even free rosamund and make her your wife. also, if masouda is at liberty, we shall hear from her ere long; so let us keep a good heart." but though he spoke thus, the soul of godwin was oppressed with a fear which he could not understand. it seemed as though some great terror came very close to him, or to one who was near and dear. deeper and deeper he sank into that pit of dread of he knew not what, until at length he could have cried aloud, and his brow was bathed with a sweat of anguish. wulf saw his face in the moonlight, and asked: "what ails you, godwin? have you some secret wound?" "yes, brother," he answered, "a wound in my spirit. ill fortune threatens us--great ill fortune." "that is no new thing," said wulf, "in this land of blood and sorrows. let us meet it as we have met the rest." "alas! brother," exclaimed godwin, "i fear that rosamund is in sore danger--rosamund or another." "then," answered wulf, turning pale, "since we cannot, let us pray that some angel may deliver her." "ay," said godwin, and as they rode through the desert sands beneath the silent stars, they prayed to the blessed mother, and to their saints, st. peter and st. chad--prayed with all their strength. yet the prayer availed not. sharper and sharper grew godwin's agony, till, as the slow hours went by, his very soul reeled beneath this spiritual pain, and the death which he had escaped seemed a thing desirable. the dawn was breaking, and at its first sign the escort of saladin's soldiers had turned and left them, saying that now they were safe in their own country. all night they had ridden fast and far. the plain was behind them, and their road ran among hills. suddenly it turned, and in the flaming lights of the new-born day showed them a sight so beautiful that for a moment all that little company drew rein to gaze. for yonder before them, though far away as yet, throned upon her hills, stood the holy city of jerusalem. there were her walls and towers, and there, stained red as though with the blood of its worshippers, soared the great cross upon the mosque of omar--that cross which was so soon to fall. yes, yonder was the city for which throughout the ages men had died by tens and hundreds of thousands, and still must die until the doom was done. saladin had offered to spare her citizens if they consented to surrender, but they would not. this embassy had told him that they had sworn to perish with the holy places, and now, looking at it in its splendour, they knew that the hour was near, and groaned aloud. godwin groaned also, but not for jerusalem. oh! now the last terror was upon him. blackness surged round him, and in the blackness swords, and a sound as of a woman's voice murmuring his name. clutching the pommel of his saddle, he swayed to and fro, till suddenly the anguish passed. a strange wind seemed to blow about him and lift his hair; a deep, unearthly peace sank into his spirit; the world seemed far away and heaven very near. "it is over," he said to wulf. "i fear that rosamund is dead." "if so, we must make haste to follow her," answered wulf with a sob. chapter twenty-one: what befell godwin at the village of bittir, some seven miles from jerusalem, the embassy dismounted to rest, then again they pressed forward down the valley in the hope of reaching the zion gate before the mid-day heat was upon them. at the end of this valley swelled the shoulder of a hill whence the eye could command its length, and on the crest of that shoulder appeared suddenly a man and a woman, seated on beautiful horses. the company halted, fearing lest these might herald some attack and that the woman was a man disguised to deceive them. while they waited thus irresolute, the pair upon the hill turned their horses' heads, and notwithstanding its steepness, began to gallop towards them very swiftly. wulf looked at them curiously and said to godwin: "now i am put in mind of a certain ride which once we took outside the walls of beirut. almost could i think that yonder arab was he who sat behind my saddle, and yonder woman she who rode with you, and that those two horses were flame and smoke reborn. note their whirlwind pace, and strength, and stride." almost as he finished speaking the strangers pulled up their steeds in front of the company, to whom the man bowed his salutations. then godwin saw his face, and knew him at once as the old arab called son of the sand, who had given them the horses flame and smoke. "sir," said the arab to the leader of the embassy, "i have come to ask a favour of yonder knights who travel with you, which i think that they, who have ridden my horses, will not refuse me. this woman," and he pointed to the closely-veiled shape of his companion, "is a relative of mine whom i desire to deliver to friends in jerusalem, but dare not do so myself because the hilldwellers between here and there are hostile to my tribe. she is of the christian faith and no spy, but cannot speak your language. within the south gate she will be met by her relatives. i have spoken." "let the knights settle it," said the commander, shrugging his shoulders impatiently and spurring his horse. "surely we will take her," said godwin, "though what we shall do with her if her friends are wanting i do not know. come, lady, ride between us." she turned her head to the arab as though in question, and he repeated the words, whereon she fell into the place that was shown to her between and a little behind the brethren. "perhaps," went on the arab to godwin, "by now you have learned more of our tongue than you knew when we met in past days at beirut, and rode the mountain side on the good horses flame and smoke. still, if so, i pray you of your knightly courtesy disturb not this woman with your words, nor ask her to unveil her face, since such is not the custom of her people. it is but an hour's journey to the city gate during which you will be troubled with her. this is the payment that i ask of you for the two good horses which, as i am told, bore you none so ill upon the narrow way and across plain and mountain when you fled from sinan, also on the evil day of hattin when you unhorsed salah-ed-din and slew hassan." "it shall be as you wish," said godwin; "and, son of the sand, we thank you for those horses." "good. when you want more, let it be known in the market places that you seek me," and he began to turn his horse's head. "stay," said godwin. "what do you know of masouda, your niece? is she with you?" "nay," answered the arab in a low voice, "but she bade me be in a certain garden of which you have heard, near ascalon, at an appointed hour, to take her away, as she is leaving the camp of salah-ed-din. so thither i go. farewell." then with a reverence to the veiled lady, he shook his reins and departed like an arrow by the road along which they had come. godwin gave a sigh of relief. if masouda had appointed to meet her uncle the arab, at least she must be safe. so it was no voice of hers which seemed to whisper his name in the darkness of the night when terror had ahold of him--terror, born perhaps of all that he had endured and the shadow of death through which he had so lately passed. then he looked up, to find wulf staring back at the woman behind him, and reproved him, saying that he must keep to the spirit of the bargain as well as to the letter, and that if he might not speak he must not look either. "that is a pity," answered wulf, "for though she is so tied up, she must be a tall and noble lady by the way she sits her horse. the horse, too, is noble, own cousin or brother to smoke, i think. perhaps she will sell it when we get to jerusalem." then they rode on, and because they thought their honour in it, neither spoke nor looked more at the companion of this adventure, though, had they known it, she looked hard enough at them. at length they reached the gate of jerusalem, which was crowded with folk awaiting the return of their ambassadors. they all passed through, and the embassy was escorted thence by the chief people, most of the multitude following them to know if they brought peace or war. now godwin and wulf stared at each other, wondering whither they were to go and where to find the relatives of their veiled companion, of whom they saw nothing. out of the street opened an archway, and beyond this archway was a garden, which seemed to be deserted. they rode into it to take counsel, and their companion followed, but, as always, a little behind them. "jerusalem is reached, and we must speak to her now," said wulf, "if only to ask her whither she wishes to be taken." godwin nodded, and they wheeled their horses round. "lady," he said in arabic, "we have fulfilled our charge. be pleased to tell us where are those kindred to whom we must lead you." "here," answered a soft voice. they stared about the deserted garden in which stones and sacks of earth had been stored ready for a siege, and finding no one, said: "we do not see them." then the lady let slip her cloak, though not her veil revealing the robe beneath. "by st. peter!" said godwin. "i know the broidery on that dress. masouda! say, is it you, masouda?" as he spoke the veil fell also, and lo! before them was a woman like to masouda and yet not masouda. the hair was dressed like hers; the ornaments and the necklace made of the claws of the lion which godwin killed were hers; the skin was of the same rich hue; there even was the tiny mole upon her cheek, but as the head was bent they could not see her eyes. suddenly, with a little moan she lifted it, and looked at them. "rosamund! it is rosamund herself!" gasped wulf. "rosamund disguised as masouda!" and he fell rather than leapt from his saddle and ran to her, murmuring, "god! i thank thee!" now she seemed to faint and slid from her horse into his arms, and lay there a moment, while godwin turned aside his head. "yes," said rosamund, freeing herself, "it is i and no other, yet i rode with you all this way and neither of you knew me." "have we eyes that can pierce veils and woollen garments?" asked wulf indignantly; but godwin said in a strange, strained voice: "you are rosamund disguised as masouda. who, then, was that woman to whom i bade farewell before saladin while the headsman awaited me; a veiled woman who wore the robes and gems of rosamund?" "i know not, godwin," she answered, "unless it were masouda clad in my garments as i left her. nor do i know anything of this story of the headsman who awaited you. i thought--i thought it was for wulf that he waited--oh! heaven, i thought that." "tell us your tale," said godwin hoarsely. "it is short," she answered. "after the casting of the lot, of which i shall dream till my death-day, i fainted. when i found my senses again i thought that i must be mad, for there before me stood a woman dressed in my garments, whose face seemed like my face, yet not the same. "'have no fear,' she said; 'i am masouda, who, amongst many other things, have learned how to play a part. listen; there is no time to lose. i have been ordered to leave the camp; even now my uncle the arab waits without, with two swift horses. you, princess, will leave in my place. look, you wear my robes and my face--almost; and are of my height, and the man who guides you will know no difference. i have seen to that, for although a soldier of salah-ed-din, he is of my tribe. i will go with you to the door, and there bid you farewell before the eunuchs and the guards with weeping, and who will guess that masouda is the princess of baalbec and that the princess of baalbec is masouda?' "'and whither shall i go?' i asked. "'my uncle, son of the sand, will give you over to the embassy which rides to jerusalem, or failing that, will take you to the city, or failing that, will hide you in the mountains among his own people. see, here is a letter that he must read; i place it in your breast.' "'and what of you, masouda?' i asked again. "'of me? oh! it is all planned, a plan that cannot fail,' she answered. 'fear not; i escape to-night--i have no time to tell you how--and will join you in a day or two. also, i think that you will find sir godwin, who will bring you home to england.' "'but wulf? what of wulf?' i asked again. 'he is doomed to die, and i will not leave him.' "'the living and the dead can keep no company,' she answered. 'moreover, i have seen him, and all this is done by his most urgent order. if you love him, he bids that you will obey.'" "i never saw masouda! i never spoke such words! i knew nothing of this plot!" exclaimed wulf, and the brethren looked at each other with white faces. "speak on," said godwin; "afterwards we can debate." "moreover," continued rosamund, bowing her head, "masouda added these words, 'i think that sir wulf will escape his doom. if you would see him again, obey his word, for unless you obey you can never hope to look upon him living. go, now, before we are both discovered, which would mean your death and mine, who, if you go, am safe.'" "how knew she that i should escape?" asked wulf. "she did not know it. she only said she knew to force rosamund away," answered godwin in the same strained voice. "and then?" "and then--oh! having wulf's express commands, then i went, like one in a dream. i remember little of it. at the door we kissed and parted weeping, and while the guard bowed before her, she blessed me beneath her breath. a soldier stepped forward and said, 'follow me, daughter of sinan,' and i followed him, none taking any note, for at that hour, although perhaps you did not see it in your prisons, a strange shadow passed across the sun, of which all folk were afraid, thinking that it portended evil, either to saladin or ascalon.* [* the eclipse, which overshadowed palestine and caused much terror at jerusalem on th september, , the day of the surrender of ascalon. -author] "in the gloom we came to a place, where was an old arab among some trees, and with him two led horses. the soldier spoke to the arab, and i gave him masouda's letter, which he read. then he put me on one of the led horses and the soldier mounted the other, and we departed at a gallop. all that evening and last night we rode hard, but in the darkness the soldier left us, and i do not know whither he went. at length we came to that mountain shoulder and waited there, resting the horses and eating food which the arab had with him, till we saw the embassy, and among them two tall knights. "'see,' said the old arab, 'yonder come the brethren whom you seek. see and give thanks to allah and to masouda, who has not lied to you, and to whom i must now return.' "oh! my heart wept as though it would burst, and i wept in my joy--wept and blessed god and masouda. but the arab, son of the sand, told me that for my life's sake i must be silent and keep myself close veiled and disguised even from you until we reached jerusalem, lest perhaps if they knew me the embassy might refuse escort to the princess of baalbec and niece of saladin, or even give me up to him. "then i promised and asked, 'what of masouda?' he said that he rode back at speed to save her also, as had been arranged, and that was why he did not take me to jerusalem himself. but how that was to be done he was not sure as yet; only he was sure that she was hidden away safely, and would find a way of escape when she wished it. and--and--you know the rest, and here, by the grace of god, we three are together again." "ay," said godwin, "but where is masouda, and what will happen to her who has dared to venture such a plot as this? oh! know you what this woman did? i was condemned to die in place of wulf--how, does not matter; you will learn it afterwards--and the princess of baalbec was brought to say me farewell. there, under the very eyes of saladin, masouda played her part and mimicked you so well that the sultan was deceived, and i, even i, was deceived. yes, when for the first and last time i embraced her, i was deceived, although, it is true, i wondered. also since then a great fear has been with me, although here again i was deceived, for i thought i feared--for you. "now, hark you, wulf; take rosamund and lodge her with some lady in this city, or, better still, place her in sanctuary with the nuns of the holy cross, whence none will dare to drag her, and let her don their habit. the abbess may remember you, for we have met her, and at least she will not refuse rosamund a refuge." "yes, yes; i mind me she asked us news of folk in england. but you? where do you go, godwin?" said his brother. "i? i ride back to ascalon to find masouda." "why?" asked wulf. "cannot masouda save herself, as she told her uncle, the arab, she would do? and has he not returned thither to take her away?" "i do not know," answered godwin; "but this i do know, that for the sake of rosamund, and perhaps for my sake also, masouda has run a fearful risk. bethink you, what will be the mood of saladin when at length he finds that she upon whom he had built such hopes has gone, leaving a waiting woman decked out in her attire." "oh!" broke in rosamund. "i feared it, but i awoke to find myself disguised, and she persuaded me that all was well; also that this was done by the will of wulf, whom she thought would escape." "that is the worst of if," said godwin. "to carry out her plan she held it necessary to lie, as i think she lied when she said that she believed we should both escape, though it is true that so it came about. i will tell you why she lied. it was that she might give her life to set you free to join me in jerusalem." now rosamund, who knew the secret of masouda's heart, looked at him strangely, wondering within herself how it came about that, thinking wulf dead or about to die, she should sacrifice herself that she, rosamund, might be sent to the care of godwin. surely it could not be for love of her, although they loved each other well. from love of godwin then? how strange a way to show it! yet now she began to understand. so true and high was this great love of masouda's that for godwin's sake she was ready to hide herself in death, leaving him--now that, as she thought, his rival was removed--to live on with the lady whom he loved; ay, and at the price of her own life giving that lady to his arms. oh! how noble must she be who could thus plan and act, and, whatever her past had been, how pure and high of soul! surely, if she lived, earth had no grander woman; and if she were dead, heaven had won a saint indeed. rosamund looked at godwin, and godwin looked at rosamund, and there was understanding in their eyes, for now both of them saw the truth in all its glory and all its horror. "i think that i should go back also," said rosamund. "that shall not be," answered wulf. "saladin would kill you for this flight, as he has sworn." "that cannot be," added godwin. "shall the sacrifice of blood be offered in vain? moreover it is our duty to prevent you." rosamund looked at him again and stammered: "if--if--that dreadful thing has happened, godwin--if the sacrifice--oh! what will it serve?" "rosamund, i know not what has chanced; i go to see. i care not what may chance; i go to meet it. through life, through death, and if there be need, through all the fires of hell, i ride on till i find masouda, and kneel to her in homage--" "and in love," exclaimed rosamund, as though the words broke from her lips against her will. "mayhap," godwin answered, speaking more to himself than to her. then seeing the look upon his face, the set mouth and the flashing eyes, neither of them sought to stay him further. "farewell, my liege-lady and cousin rosamund," godwin said; "my part is played. now i leave you in the keeping of god in heaven and of wulf on earth. should we meet no more, my counsel is that you two wed here in jerusalem and travel back to steeple, there to live in peace, if it may be so. brother wulf, fare you well also. we part to-day for the first time, who from our birth have lived together and loved together and done many a deed together, some of which we can look back upon without shame. go on your course rejoicing, taking the love and gladness that heaven has given you and living a good and christian knight, mindful of the end which draws on apace, and of eternity beyond." "oh! godwin, speak not thus," said wulf, "for in truth it breaks my heart to hear such fateful words. moreover, we do not part thus easily. our lady here will be safe enough among the nuns--more safe than i can keep her. give me an hour, and i will set her there and join you. both of us owe a debt to masouda, and it is not right that it should be paid by you alone." "nay," answered godwin; "look upon rosamund, and think what is about to befall this city. can you leave her at such a time?" then wulf dropped his head, and trusting himself to speak no more words, godwin mounted his horse, and, without so much as looking back, rode into the narrow street and out through the gateway, till presently he was lost in the distance and the desert. wulf and rosamund watched him go in silence, for they were choked with tears. "little did i look to part with my brother thus," said wulf at length in a thick and angry voice. "by god's wounds! i had more gladly died at his side in battle than leave him to meet his doom alone." "and leave me to meet my doom alone," murmured rosamund; then added, "oh! i would that i were dead who have lived to bring all this woe upon you both, and upon that great heart, masouda. i say, wulf, i would that i were dead." "like enough the wish will be fulfilled before all is done," answered wulf wearily, "only then i pray that i may be dead with you, for now, rosamund, godwin has gone, forever as i fear, and you alone are left to me. come; let us cease complaining, since to dwell upon these griefs cannot help us, and be thankful that for a while, at least, we are free. follow me, rosamund, and we will ride to this nunnery to find you shelter, if we may." so they rode on through the narrow streets that were crowded with scared people, for now the news was spread that the embassy had rejected the terms of saladin. he had offered to give the city food and to suffer its inhabitants to fortify the walls, and to hold them till the following whitsuntide if, should no help reach them, they would swear to surrender then. but they had answered that while they had life they would never abandon the place where their god had died. so now war was before them--war to the end; and who were they that must bear its brunt? their leaders were slain or captive, their king a prisoner, their soldiers skeletons on the field of hattin. only the women and children, the sick, the old, and the wounded remained--perhaps eighty thousand souls in all--but few of whom could bear arms. yet these few must defend jerusalem against the might of the victorious saracen. little wonder that they wailed in the streets till the cry of their despair went up to heaven, for in their hearts all of them knew that the holy place was doomed and their lives were forfeited. pushing their path through this sad multitude, who took little note of them, at length they came to the nunnery on the sacred via dolorosa, which wulf had seen when godwin and he were in jerusalem after they had been dismissed by saladin from damascus. its door stood in the shadow of that arch where the roman pilate had uttered to all generations the words "behold the man!" here the porter told him that the nuns were at prayer in their chapel. wulf replied that he must see the lady abbess upon a matter which would not delay, and they were shown into a cool and lofty room. presently the door opened, and through it came the abbess in her white robes--a tall and stately englishwoman, of middle age, who looked at them curiously. "lady abbess," said wulf, bowing low, "my name is wulf d'arcy. do you remember me?" "yes. we met in jerusalem--before the battle of hattin," she answered. "also i know something of your story in this land--a very strange one." "this lady," went on wulf, "is the daughter and heiress of sir andrew d'arcy, my dead uncle, and in syria the princess of baalbec and the niece of saladin." the abbess started, and asked: "is she, then, of their accursed faith, as her garb would seem to show?" "nay, mother," said rosamund, "i am a christian, if a sinful one, and i come here to seek sanctuary, lest when they know who i am and he clamours at their gates, my fellow christians may surrender me to my uncle, the sultan." "tell me the story," said the abbess; and they told her briefly, while she listened, amazed. when they had finished, she said: "alas! my daughter, how can we save you, whose own lives are at stake? that belongs to god alone. still, what we can we will do gladly, and here, at least, you may rest for some short while. at the most holy altar of our chapel you shall be given sanctuary, after which no christian man dare lay a hand upon you, since to do so is a sacrilege that would cost him his soul. moreover, i counsel that you be enrolled upon our books as a novice, and don our garb. nay," she added with a smile, noting the look of alarm on the face of wulf, "the lady rosamund need not wear it always, unless such should be her wish. not every novice proceeds to the final vows." "long have i been decked in gold-embroidered silks and priceless gems," answered rosamund, "and now i seem to desire that white robe of yours more than anything on earth." so they led rosamund to the chapel, and in sight of all their order and of priests who had been summoned, at the altar there, upon that holy spot where they said that once christ had answered pilate, they placed her hand and gave her sanctuary, and threw over her tired head the white veil of a novice. there, too, wulf left her, and riding away, reported himself to balian of ibelin, the elected commander of the city, who was glad enough to welcome so stout a knight where knights were few. oh! weary, weary was that ride of godwin's beneath the sun, beneath the stars. behind him, the brother who had been his companion and closest friend, and the woman whom he had loved in vain; and in front, he knew not what. what went he forth to seek? another woman, who had risked her life for them all because she loved him. and if he found her, what then? must he wed her, and did he wish this? nay, he desired no woman on the earth; yet what was right that he would do. and if he found her not, what then? well, at least he would give himself up to saladin, who must think ill of them by whom he had dealt well, and tell him that of this plot they had no knowledge. indeed, to him he would go first, if it were but to beg forgiveness for masouda should she still be in his hands. then--for he could not hope to be believed or pardoned a second time--then let death come, and he would welcome it, who greatly longed for peace. it was evening, and godwin's tired horse stumbled slowly through the great camp of the saracens without the walls of fallen ascalon. none hindered him, for having been so long a prisoner he was known by many, while others thought that he was but one of the surrendered christian knights. so he came to the great house where saladin lodged, and bade the guard take his name to the sultan, saying that he craved audience of him. presently he was admitted, and found saladin seated in council among his ministers. "sir godwin," he said sternly, "seeing how you have dealt by me, what brings you back into my camp? i gave you brethren your lives, and you have robbed me of one whom i would not lose." "we did not rob you, sire," answered godwin, "who knew nothing of this plot. nevertheless, as i was sure that you would think thus, i am come from jerusalem, leaving the princess and my brother there, to tell the truth and to surrender myself to you, that i may bear in her place any punishment which you think fit to inflict upon the woman masouda." "why should you bear it?" asked saladin. "because, sultan," answered godwin sadly, and with bent head, "whatever she did, she did for love of me, though without my knowledge. tell me, is she still here, or has she fled?" "she is still here," answered saladin shortly. "would you wish to see her?" godwin breathed a sigh of relief. at least, masouda still lived, and the terror that had struck him in the night was but an evil dream born of his own fears and sufferings. "i do," he answered, "once, if no more. i have words to say to her." "doubtless she will be glad to learn how her plot prospered," said saladin, with a grim smile. "in truth it was well laid and boldly executed." calling to one of his council, that same old imaum who had planned the casting of the lots, the sultan spoke with him aside. then he said: "let this knight be led to the woman masouda. tomorrow we will judge him." taking a silver lamp from the wall, the imaum beckoned to godwin, who bowed to the sultan and followed. as he passed wearily through the throng in the audience room, it seemed to godwin that the emirs and captains gathered there looked at him with pity in their eyes. so strong was this feeling in him that he halted in his walk, and asked: "tell me, lord, do i go to my death?" "all of us go thither," answered saladin in the silence, "but allah has not written that death is yours to-night." they passed down long passages; they came to a door which the imaum, who hobbled in front, unlocked. "she is under ward then?" said godwin. "ay," was the answer, "under ward. enter," and he handed him the lamp. "i remain without." "perchance she sleeps, and i shall disturb her," said godwin, as he hesitated upon the threshold. "did you not say she loved you? then doubtless, even if she sleeps, she, who has dwelt at masyaf will not take your visit ill, who have ridden so far to find her," said the imaum with a sneering laugh. "enter, i say." so godwin took the lamp and went in, and the door was shut behind him. surely the place was familiar to him? he knew that arched roof and these rough, stone walls. why, it was here that he had been brought to die, and through that very door the false rosamund had come to bid him farewell, who now returned to greet her in this same darksome den. well, it was empty--doubtless she would soon come, and he waited, looking at the door. it did not stir; he heard no footsteps; nothing broke that utter silence. he turned again and stared about him. something glinted on the ground yonder, towards the end of the vault, just where he had knelt before the executioner. a shape lay there; doubtless it was masouda, imprisoned and asleep. "masouda," he said, and the sounding echoes from the arched walls answered back, "masouda!" he must awaken her; there was no choice. yes, it was she, asleep, and she still wore the royal robes of rosamund, and a clasp of rosamund's still glittered on her breast. how sound masouda slept! would she never wake? he knelt down beside her and put out his hand to lift the long hair that hid her face. now it touched her, and lo! the head fell over. then, with horror in his heart, godwin held down the lamp and looked. oh! those robes were red, and those lips were ashen. it was masouda, whose spirit had passed him in the desert; masouda, slain by the headsman's sword! this was the evil jest that had been played upon him, and thus--thus they met again. godwin rose to his feet and stood over her still shape as a man stands in a dream, while words broke from his lips and a fountain in his heart was unsealed. "masouda," he whispered, "i know now that i love you and you only, henceforth and forever, o woman with a royal heart. wait for me, masouda, wherever you may dwell." while the whispered words left his lips, it seemed to godwin that once more, as when he rode with wulf from ascalon, the strange wind blew about his brow, bringing with it the presence of masouda, and that once more the unearthly peace sank into his soul. then all was past and over, and he turned to see the old imaum standing at his side. "did i not tell you that you would find her sleeping?" he said, with his bitter, chuckling laugh. "call on her, sir knight; call on her! love, they say, can bridge great gulfs--even that between severed neck and bosom." with the silver lamp in his hand godwin smote, and the man went down like a felled ox, leaving him once more in silence and in darkness. for a moment godwin stood thus, till his brain was filled with fire, and he too fell--fell across the corpse of masouda, and there lay still. chapter twenty-two: at jerusalem godwin knew that he lay sick, but save that masouda seemed to tend him in his sickness he knew no more, for all the past had gone from him. there she was always, clad in a white robe, and looking at him with eyes full of ineffable calm and love, and he noted that round her neck ran a thin, red line, and wondered how it came there. he knew also that he travelled while he was ill, for at dawn he would hear the camp break up with a mighty noise, and feel his litter lifted by slaves who bore him along for hours across the burning sand, till at length the evening came, and with a humming sound, like the sound of hiving bees, the great army set its bivouac. then came the night and the pale moon floating like a boat upon the azure sea above, and everywhere the bright, eternal stars, to which went up the constant cry of "allahu akbar! allahu akbar! god is the greatest, there is none but he." "it is a false god," he would say. "tell them to cry upon the saviour of the world." then the voice of masouda would seem to answer: "judge not. no god whom men worship with a pure and single heart is wholly false. many be the ladders that lead to heaven. judge not, you christian knight." at length that journey was done, and there arose new noises as of the roar of battle. orders were given and men marched out in thousands; then rose that roar, and they marched back again, mourning their dead. at last came a day when, opening his eyes, godwin turned to rest them on masouda, and lo! she was gone, and in her accustomed place there sat a man whom he knew well--egbert, once bishop of nazareth, who gave him to drink of sherbet cooled with snow. yes, the woman had departed and the priest was there. "where am i?" he asked. "outside the walls of jerusalem, my son, a prisoner in the camp of saladin," was the answer. "and where is masouda, who has sat by me all these days?" "in heaven, as i trust," came the gentle answer, "for she was a brave lady. it is i who have sat by you." "nay," said godwin obstinately, "it was masouda." "if so," answered the bishop again, "it was her spirit, for i shrove her and have prayed over her open grave--her spirit, which came to visit you from heaven, and has gone back to heaven now that you are of the earth again." then godwin remembered the truth, and groaning, fell asleep. afterwards, as he grew stronger, egbert told him all the story. he learned that when he was found lying senseless on the body of masouda the emirs wished saladin to kill him, if for no other reason because he had dashed out the eye of the holy imaum with a lamp. but the sultan, who had discovered the truth, would not, for he said that it was unworthy of the imaum to have mocked his grief, and that sir godwin had dealt with him as he deserved. also, that this frank was one of the bravest of knights, who had returned to bear the punishment of a sin which he did not commit, and that, although he was a christian, he loved him as a friend. so the imaum lost both his eye and his vengeance. thus it had come about that the bishop egbert was ordered to nurse him, and, if possible to save his life; and when at last they marched upon jerusalem, soldiers were told off to bear his litter, and a good tent was set apart to cover him. now the siege of the holy city had begun, and there was much slaughter on both sides. "will it fall?" asked godwin. "i fear so, unless the saints help them," answered egbert. "alas! i fear so." "will not saladin be merciful?" he asked again. "why should he be merciful, my son, since they have refused his terms and defied him? nay, he has sworn that as godfrey took the place nigh upon a hundred years ago and slaughtered the mussulmen who dwelt there by thousands, men, women, and children together, so will he do to the christians. oh! why should he spare them? they must die! they must die!" and wringing his hands egbert left the tent. godwin lay still, wondering what the answer to this riddle might be. he could think of one, and one only. in jerusalem was rosamund, the sultan's niece, whom he must desire to recapture, above all things, not only because she was of his blood, but since he feared that if he did not do so his vision concerning her would come to nothing. now what was this vision? that through rosamund much slaughter should be spared. well, if jerusalem were saved, would not tens of thousands of moslem and christian lives be saved also? oh! surely here was the answer, and some angel had put it into his heart, and now he prayed for strength to plant it in the heart of saladin, for strength and opportunity. this very day godwin found the opportunity. as he lay dozing in his tent that evening, being still too weak to rise, a shadow fell upon him, and opening his eyes he saw the sultan himself standing alone by his bedside. now he strove to rise to salute him, but in a kind voice saladin bade him lie still, and seating himself, began to talk. "sir godwin," he said, "i am come to ask your pardon. when i sent you to visit that dead woman, who had suffered justly for her crime, i did an act unworthy of a king. but my heart was bitter against her and you, and the imaum, he whom you smote, put into my mind the trick that cost him his eye and almost cost a worn-out and sorrowful man his life. i have spoken." "i thank you, sire, who were always noble," answered godwin. "you say so. yet i have done things to you and yours that you can scarcely hold as noble," said saladin. "i stole your cousin from her home, as her mother had been stolen from mine, paying back ill with ill, which is against the law, and in his own hall my servants slew her father and your uncle, who was once my friend. well, these things i did because a fate drove me on--the fate of a dream, the fate of a dream. say, sir godwin, is that story which they tell in the camps true, that a vision came to you before the battle of hattin, and that you warned the leaders of the franks not to advance against me?" "yes, it is true," answered godwin, and he told the vision, and of how he had sworn to it on the rood. "and what did they say to you?" "they laughed at me, and hinted that i was a sorcerer, or a traitor in your pay, or both." "blind fools, who would not hear the truth when it was sent to them by the pure mouth of a prophet," muttered saladin. "well, they paid the price, and i and my faith are the gainers. do you wonder, then, sir godwin, that i also believe my vision which came to me thrice in the night season, bringing with it the picture of the very face of my niece, the princess of baalbec?" "i do not wonder," answered godwin. "do you wonder also that i was mad with rage when i learned that at last yonder brave dead woman had outwitted me and all my spies and guards, and this after i had spared your lives? do you wonder that i am still so wroth, believing as i do that a great occasion has been taken from me?" "i do not wonder. but, sultan, i who have seen a vision speak to you who also have seen a vision--a prophet to a prophet. and i tell you that the occasion has not been taken--it has been brought, yes, to your very door, and that all these things have happened that it might thus be brought." "say on," said saladin, gazing at him earnestly. "see now, salah-ed-din, the princess rosamund is in jerusalem. she has been led to jerusalem that you may spare it for her sake, and thus make an end of bloodshed and save the lives of folk uncounted." "never!" said the sultan, springing up. "they have rejected my mercy, and i have sworn to sweep them away, man, woman, and child, and be avenged upon all their unclean and faithless race." "is rosamund unclean that you would be avenged upon her? will her dead body bring you peace? if jerusalem is put to the sword, she must perish also." "i will give orders that she is to be saved--that she may be judged for her crime by me," he added grimly. "how can she be saved when the stormers are drunk with slaughter, and she but one disguised woman among ten thousand others?" "then," he answered, stamping his foot, "she shall be brought or dragged out of jerusalem before the slaughter begins." "that, i think, will not happen while wulf is there to protect her," said godwin quietly. "yet i say that it must be so--it shall be so." then, without more words, saladin left the tent with a troubled brow. within jerusalem all was misery, all was despair. there were crowded thousands and tens of thousands of fugitives, women and children, many of them, whose husbands and fathers had been slain at hattin or elsewhere. the fighting men who were left had few commanders, and thus it came about that soon wulf found himself the captain of very many of them. first saladin attacked from the west between the gates of sts. stephen and of david, but here stood strong fortresses called the castle of the pisans and the tower of tancred, whence the defenders made sallies upon him, driving back his stormers. so he determined to change his ground, and moved his army to the east, camping it near the valley of the kedron. when they saw the tents being struck the christians thought that he was abandoning the siege, and gave thanks to god in all their churches; but lo! next morning the white array of these appeared again on the east, and they knew that their doom was sealed. there were in the city many who desired to surrender to the sultan, and fierce grew the debates between them and those who swore that they would rather die. at length it was agreed that an embassy should be sent. so it came under safe conduct, and was received by saladin in presence of his emirs and counsellors. he asked them what was their wish, and they replied that they had come to discuss terms. then he answered thus: "in jerusalem is a certain lady, my niece, known among us as the princess of baalbec, and among the christians as rosamund d'arcy, who escaped thither a while ago in the company of the knight, sir wulf d'arcy, whom i have seen fighting bravely among your warriors. let her be surrendered to me that i may deal with her as she deserves, and we will talk again. till then i have no more to say." now most of the embassy knew nothing of this lady, but one or two said they thought that they had heard of her, but had no knowledge of where she was hidden. "then return and search her out," said saladin, and so dismissed them. back came the envoys to the council and told what saladin had said. "at least," exclaimed heraclius the patriarch, "in this matter it is easy to satisfy the sultan. let his niece be found and delivered to him. where is she?" now one declared that was known by the knight, sir wulf d'arcy, with whom she had entered the city. so he was sent for, and came with armour rent and red sword in hand, for he had just beaten back an attack upon the barbican, and asked what was their pleasure. "we desire to know, sir wulf," said the patriarch, "where you have hidden away the lady known as the princess of baalbec, whom you stole from the sultan?" "what is that to your holiness?" asked wulf shortly. "a great deal, to me and to all, seeing that saladin will not even treat with us until she is delivered to him." "does this council, then, propose to hand over a christian lady to the saracens against her will?" asked wulf sternly. "we must," answered heraclius. "moreover, she belongs to them." "she does not belong," answered wulf. "she was kidnapped by saladin in england, and ever since has striven to escape from him." "waste not our time," exclaimed the patriarch impatiently. "we understand that you are this woman's lover, but however that may be, saladin demands her, and to saladin she must go. so tell us where she is without more ado, sir wulf." "discover that for yourself, sir patriarch," replied wulf in fury. "or, if you cannot, send one of your own women in her place." now there was a murmur in the council, but of wonder at his boldness rather than of indignation, for this patriarch was a very evil liver. "i care not if i speak the truth," went on wulf, "for it is known to all. moreover, i tell this man that it is well for him that he is a priest, however shameful, for otherwise i would cleave his head in two who has dared to call the lady rosamund my lover." then, still shaking with wrath, the great knight turned and stalked from the council chamber. "a dangerous man," said heraclius, who was white to the lips; "a very dangerous man. i propose that he should be imprisoned." "ay," answered the lord balian of ibelin, who was in supreme command of the city, "a very dangerous man--to his foes, as i can testify. i saw him and his brother charge through the hosts of the saracens at the battle of hattin, and i have seen him in the breach upon the wall. would that we had more such dangerous men just now!" "but he has insulted me," shouted the patriarch, "me and my holy office." "the truth should be no insult," answered balian with meaning. "at least, it is a private matter between you and him on account of which we cannot spare one of our few captains. now as regards this lady, i like not the business--" as he spoke a messenger entered the room and said that the hiding-place of rosamund had been discovered. she had been admitted a novice into the community of the virgins of the holy cross, who had their house by the arch on the via dolorosa. "now i like it still less," balian went on, "for to touch her would be sacrilege." "his holiness, heraclius, will give us absolution," said a mocking voice. then another leader rose--he was one of the party who desired peace--and pointed out that this was no time to stand on scruples, for the sultan would not listen to them in their sore plight unless the lady were delivered to him to be judged for her offence. perhaps, being his own niece, she would, in fact, suffer no harm at his hands, and whether this were so or not, it was better that one should endure wrong, or even death, than many. with such words he over-persuaded the most of them, so that in the end they rose and went to the convent of the holy cross, where the patriarch demanded admission for them, which, indeed, could not be refused. the stately abbess received them in the refectory, and asked their pleasure. "daughter," said the patriarch, "you have in your keeping a lady named rosamund d'arcy, with whom we desire to speak. where is she?" "the novice rosamund," answered the abbess, "prays by the holy altar in the chapel." now one murmured, "she has taken sanctuary," but the patriarch said: "tell us, daughter, does she pray alone?" "a knight guards her prayers," was the answer. "ah! as i thought, he has been beforehand with us. also, daughter, surely your discipline is somewhat lax if you suffer knights thus to invade your chapel. but lead us thither." "the dangers of the times and of the lady must answer for it," the abbess replied boldly, as she obeyed. presently they were in the great, dim place, where the lamps burned day and night. there by the altar, built, it was said, upon the spot where the lord stood to receive judgment, they saw a kneeling woman, who, clad in the robe of a novice, grasped the stonework with her hands. without the rails, also kneeling, was the knight wulf, still as a statue on a sepulchre. hearing them, he rose, turned him about, and drew his great sword. "sheathe that sword," commanded heraclius. "when i became a knight," answered wulf, "i swore to defend the innocent from harm and the altars of god from sacrilege at the hands of wicked men. therefore i sheathe not my sword." "take no heed of him," said one; and heraclius, standing back in the aisle, addressed rosamund: "daughter," he cried, "with bitter grief we are come to ask of you a sacrifice, that you should give yourself for the people, as our master gave himself for the people. saladin demands you as a fugitive of his blood, and until you are delivered to him he will not treat with us for the saving of the city. come forth, then, we pray you." now rosamund rose and faced them, with her hand resting upon the altar. "i risked my life and i believe another gave her life," she said, "that i might escape from the power of the moslems. i will not come forth to return to them." "then, our need being sore, we must take you," answered heraclius sullenly. "what!" she cried. "you, the patriarch of this sacred city, would tear me from the sanctuary of its holiest altar? oh! then, indeed shall the curse fall upon it and you. hence, they say, our sweet lord was haled to sacrifice by the command of an unjust judge, and thereafter jerusalem was taken by the sword. must i too be dragged from the spot that his feet have hallowed, and even in these weeds"--and she pointed to her white robe--"thrown as an offering to your foes, who mayhap will bid me choose between death and the koran? if so, i say assuredly that offering will be made in vain, and assuredly your streets shall run red with the blood of those who tore me from my sanctuary." now they consulted together, some taking one side and some the other, but the most of them declared that she must be given up to saladin. "come of your own will, i pray you," said the patriarch, "since we would not take you by force." "by force only will you take me," answered rosamund. then the abbess spoke. "sirs, will you commit so great a crime? then i tell you that it cannot go without its punishment. with this lady i say"--and she drew up her tall shape--"that it shall be paid for in your blood, and mayhap in the blood of all of us. remember my words when the saracens have won the city, and are putting its children to the sword." "i absolve you from the sin," shouted the patriarch, "if sin it is." "absolve yourself," broke in wulf sternly, "and know this. i am but one man, but i have some strength and skill. if you seek but to lay a hand upon the novice rosamund to hale her away to be slain by saladin, as he has sworn that he would do should she dare to fly from him, before i die there are those among you who have looked the last upon the light." then, standing there before the altar rails, he lifted his great blade and settled the skull-blazoned shield upon his arm. now the patriarch raved and stormed, and one among them cried that they would fetch bows and shoot wulf down from a distance. "and thus," broke in rosamund, "add murder to sacrilege! oh! sirs, bethink what you do--ay, and remember this, that you do it all in vain. saladin has promised you nothing, except that if you deliver me to him, he will talk with you, and then you may find that you have sinned for nothing. have pity on me and go your ways, leaving the issue in the hand of god." "that is true," cried some. "saladin made no promises." now balian, the guardian of the city, who had followed them to the chapel and standing in the background heard what passed there, stepped forward and said: "my lord patriarch, i pray you let this thing be, since from such a crime no good could come to us or any. that altar is the holiest and most noted place of sanctuary in all jerusalem. will you dare to tear a maiden from it whose only sin is that she, a christian, has escaped the saracens by whom she was stolen? do you dare to give her back to them and death, for such will be her doom at the hands of saladin? surely that would be the act of cowards, and bring upon us the fate of cowards. sir wulf, put up your sword and fear nothing. if there is any safety in jerusalem, your lady is safe. abbess, lead her to her cell." "nay," answered the abbess with fine sarcasm, "it is not fitting that we should leave this place before his holiness." "then you have not long to wait," shouted the patriarch in fury. "is this a time for scruples about altars? is this a time to listen to the prayers of a girl or to threats of a single knight, or the doubts of a superstitious captain? well, take your way and let your lives pay its cost. yet i say that if saladin asked for half the noble maidens in the city, it would be cheap to let him have them in payment for the blood of eighty thousand folk," and he stalked towards the door. so they went away, all except wulf, who stayed to make sure that they were gone, and the abbess, who came to rosamund and embraced her, saying that for the while the danger was past, and she might rest quiet. "yes, mother," answered rosamund with a sob, "but oh! have i done right? should i not have surrendered myself to the wrath of saladin if the lives of so many hang upon it? perhaps, after all, he would forget his oath and spare my life, though at best i should never be suffered to escape again while there is a castle in baalbec or a guarded harem in damascus. moreover, it is hard to bid farewell to all one loves forever," and she glanced towards wulf, who stood out of hearing. "yes," answered the abbess, "it is hard, as we nuns know well. but, daughter, that sore choice has not yet been thrust upon you. when saladin says that he sets you against the lives of all this cityful, then you must judge." "ay," repeated rosamund, "then i--must judge." the siege went on; from terror to terror it went on. the mangonels hurled their stones unceasingly, the arrows flew in clouds so that none could stand upon the walls. thousands of the cavalry of saladin hovered round st. stephen's gate, while the engines poured fire and bolts upon the doomed town, and the saracen miners worked their way beneath the barbican and the wall. the soldiers within could not sally because of the multitude of the watching horsemen; they could not show themselves, since he who did so was at once destroyed by a thousand darts, and they could not build up the breaches of the crumbling wall. as day was added to day, the despair grew ever deeper. in every street might be met long processions of monks bearing crosses and chanting penitential psalms and prayers, while in the house-doors women wailed to christ for mercy, and held to their breasts the children which must so soon be given to death, or torn from them to deck some mussulman harem. the commander balian called the knights together in council, and showed them that jerusalem was doomed. "then," said one of the leaders, "let us sally out and die fighting in the midst of foes." "ay," added heraclius, "and leave our children and our women to death and dishonour. then that surrender is better, since there is no hope of succour." "nay," answered balian, "we will not surrender. while god lives, there is hope." "he lived on the day of hattin, and suffered it," said heraclius; and the council broke up, having decided nothing. that afternoon balian stood once more before saladin and implored him to spare the city. saladin led him to the door of the tent and pointed to his yellow banners floating here and there upon the wall, and to one that at this moment rose upon the breach itself. "why should i spare what i have already conquered, and what i have sworn to destroy?" he asked. "when i offered you mercy you would have none of it. why do you ask it now?" then balian answered him in those words that will ring through history forever. "for this reason, sultan. before god, if die we must, we will first slaughter our women and our little children, leaving you neither male nor female to enslave. we will burn the city and its wealth; we will grind the holy rock to powder and make of the mosque el-aksa, and the other sacred places, a heap of ruins. we will cut the throats of the five thousand followers of the prophet who are in our power, and then, every man of us who can bear arms, we will sally out into the midst of you and fight on till we fall. so i think jerusalem shall cost you dear." the sultan stared at him and stroked his beard. "eighty thousand lives," he muttered; "eighty thousand lives, besides those of my soldiers whom you will slay. a great slaughter--and the holy city destroyed forever. oh! it was of such a massacre as this that once i dreamed." then saladin sat still and thought a while, his head bowed upon his breast. chapter twenty-three: saint rosamund from the day when he saw saladin godwin began to grow strong again, and as his health came back, so he fell to thinking. rosamund was lost to him and masouda was dead, and at times he wished that he were dead also. what more had he to do with his life, which had been so full of sorrow, struggle and bloodshed? go back to england to live there upon his lands, and wait until old age and death overtook him? the prospect would have pleased many, but it did not please godwin, who felt that his days were not given to him for this purpose, and that while he lived he must also labour. as he sat thinking thus, and was very unhappy, the aged bishop egbert, who had nursed him so well, entered his tent, and, noting his face, asked: "what ails you, my son?" "would you wish to hear?" said godwin. "am i not your confessor, with a right to hear?" answered the gentle old man. "show me your trouble." so godwin began at the beginning and told it all--how as a lad he had secretly desired to enter the church; how the old prior of the abbey at stangate counselled him that he was too young to judge; how then the love of rosamund had entered into his life with his manhood, and he had thought no more of religion. he told him also of the dream that he had dreamed when he lay wounded after the fight on death creek; of the vows which he and wulf had vowed at the time of their knighting, and of how by degrees he had learned that rosamund's love was not for him. lastly, he told him of masouda, but of her egbert, who had shriven her, knew already. the bishop listened in silence till he had finished. then he looked up, saying: "and now?" "now," answered godwin, "i know not. yet it seems to me that i hear the sound of my own feet walking upon cloister stones, and of my own voice lifted up in prayer before the altar." "you are still young to talk thus, and though rosamund be lost to you and masouda dead, there are other women in the world," said egbert. godwin shook his head. "not for me, my father." "then there are the knightly orders, in which you might rise high." again he shook his head. "the templars and the hospitallers are crushed. moreover, i watched them in jerusalem and the field, and love them not. should they change their ways, or should i be needed to fight against the infidel, i can join them by dispensation in days to come. but counsel me--what shall i do now?" "oh! my son," the old bishop said, his face lighting up, "if god calls you, come to god. i will show you the road." "yes, i will come," godwin answered quietly. "i will come, and, unless the cross should once more call me to follow it in war, i will strive to spend the time that is left to me in his service and that of men. for i think, my father, that to this end i was born." three days later godwin was ordained a priest, there in the camp of saladin, by the hand of the bishop egbert, while around his tent the servants of mahomet, triumphant at the approaching downfall of the cross, shouted that god is great and mahomet his only prophet. * * * saladin lifted his head and looked at balian. "tell me," he said, "what of the princess of baalbec, whom you know as the lady rosamund d'arcy? i told you that i would speak no more with you of the safety of jerusalem until she was delivered to me for judgment. yet i see her not." "sultan," answered balian, "we found this lady in the convent of the holy cross, wearing the robe of a novice of that order. she had taken the sanctuary there by the altar which we deem so sacred and inviolable, and refused to come." saladin laughed. "cannot all your men-at-arms drag one maiden from an altar stone?--unless, indeed, the great knight wulf stood before it with sword aloft," he added. "so he stood," answered balian, "but it was not of him that we thought, though assuredly he would have slain some of us. to do this thing would have been an awful crime, which we were sure must bring down the vengeance of our god upon us and upon the city." "what of the vengeance of salah-ed-din?" "sore as is our case, sultan, we still fear god more than saladin." "ay, sir balian, but salah-ed-din may be a sword in the hand of god." "which sword, sultan, would have fallen swiftly had we done this deed." "i think that it is about to fall," said saladin, and again was silent and stroked his beard. "listen, now," he said at length. "let the princess, my niece, come to me and ask it of my grace, and i think that i will grant you terms for which, in your plight, you may be thankful." "then we must dare the great sin and take her," answered balian sadly, "having first slain the knight wulf, who will not let her go while he is alive." "nay, sir balian, for that i should be sorry, nor will i suffer it, for though a christian he is a man after my own heart. this time i said 'let her come to me,' not 'let her be brought.' ay, come of her own free will, to answer to me for her sin against me, understanding that i promise her nothing, who in the old days promised her much, and kept my word. then she was the princess of baalbec, with all the rights belonging to that great rank, to whom i had sworn that no husband should be forced upon her, nor any change of faith. now i take back these oaths, and if she comes, she comes as an escaped cross-worshipping slave, to whom i offer only the choice of islam or of a shameful death." "what high-born lady would take such terms?" asked balian in dismay. "rather, i think, would she choose to die by her own hand than by that of your hangman, since she can never abjure her faith." "and thereby doom eighty thousand of her fellow christians, who must accompany her to that death," answered saladin sternly. "know, sir balian, i swear it before allah and for the last time, that if my niece rosamund does not come, of her own free will, unforced by any, jerusalem shall be put to sack." "then the fate of the holy city and all its inhabitants hangs upon the nobleness of a single woman?" stammered balian. "ay, upon the nobleness of a single woman, as my vision told me it should be. if her spirit is high enough, jerusalem may yet be saved. if it be baser than i thought, as well may chance, then assuredly with her it is doomed. i have no more to say, but my envoys shall ride with you bearing a letter, which with their own hands they must present to my niece, the princess of baalbec. then she can return with them to me, or she can bide where she is, when i shall know that i saw but a lying vision of peace and mercy flowing from her hands, and will press on this war to its bloody end." within an hour balian rode to the city under safe conduct, taking with him the envoys of saladin and the letter, which they were charged to deliver to rosamund. it was night, and in their lamp-lit chapel the virgins of the holy cross upon bended knees chanted the slow and solemn miserere. from their hearts they sang, to whom death and dishonour were so near, praying their lord and the merciful mother of god to have pity, and to spare them and the inhabitants of the hallowed town where he had dwelt and suffered, and to lead them safe through the shadow of a fate as awful as his own. they knew that the end was near, that the walls were tottering to their fall, that the defenders were exhausted, and that soon the wild soldiers of saladin would be surging through the narrow streets. then would come the sack and the slaughter, either by the sword of the saracens, or, perchance, if these found time and they were not forgotten, more mercifully at the hands of christian men, who thus would save them from the worst. their dirge ended, the abbess rose and addressed them. her bearing was still proud, but her voice quavered. "my daughters in the lord," she said, "the doom is almost at our door, and we must brace our hearts to meet it. if the commanders of the city do what they have promised, they will send some here to behead us at the last, and so we shall pass happily to glory and be ever with the lord. but perchance they will forget us, who are but a few among eighty thousand souls, of whom some fifty thousand must thus be killed. or their arms may grow weary, or themselves they may fall before ever they reach this house--and what, my daughters, shall we do then?" now some of the nuns clung together and sobbed in their affright, and some were silent. only rosamund drew herself to her full height, and spoke proudly. "my mother," she said, "i am a newcomer among you, but i have seen the slaughter of hattin, and i know what befalls christian women and children among the unbelievers. therefore i ask your leave to say my say." "speak," said the abbess. "this is my counsel," went on rosamund, "and it is short and plain. when we know that the saracens are in the city, let us set fire to this convent and get us to our knees and so perish." "well spoken; it is best," muttered several. but the abbess answered with a sad smile: "high counsel indeed, such as might be looked for from high blood. yet it may not be taken, since self-slaughter is a deadly sin." "i see little difference between it," said rosamund, "and the stretching out of our necks to the swords of friends. yet, although for others i cannot judge, for myself i do judge who am bound by no final vows. i tell you that rather than fall into the hands of the paynims, i will dare that sin and leave them nothing but the vile mould which once held the spirit of a woman." and she laid her hand upon the dagger hilt that was hidden in her robe. then again the abbess spoke. "to you, daughter, i cannot forbid the deed, but to those who have fully sworn to obey me i do forbid it, and to them i show another if a more piteous way of escape from the last shame of womanhood. some of us are old and withered, and have naught to fear but death, but others are still young and fair. to these i say, when the end is nigh, let them take steel and score face and bosom and seat themselves here in this chapel, red with their own blood and made loathsome to the sight of man. then will the end come upon them quickly, and they will pass hence unstained to be the brides of heaven." now a great groan of horror went up from those miserable women, who already saw themselves seated in stained robes, and hideous to behold, there in the carved chairs of their choir, awaiting death by the swords of furious and savage men, as in a day to come their sisters of the faith were to await it in the doomed convent of the virgins of st. clare at acre.* [* those who are curious to know the story of the end of those holy heroines, the virgins of st. clare, i think in the year , may read it in my book, "a winter pilgrimage," pp. and --author.] yet one by one, except the aged among them, they came up to the abbess and swore that they would obey her in this as in everything, while the abbess said that herself she would lead them down that dreadful road of pain and mutilation. yes, save rosamund, who declared that she would die undisfigured as god had made her, and two other novices, they swore it one by one, laying their hands upon the altar. then again they got them to their knees and sang the miserere. presently, above their mournful chant, the sound of loud, insistent knockings echoed down the vaulted roofs. they sprang up screaming: "the saracens are here! give us knives! give us knives!" rosamund drew the dagger from its sheath. "wait awhile," cried the abbess. "these may be friends, not foes. sister ursula, go to the door and seek tidings." the sister, an aged woman, obeyed with tottering steps, and, reaching the massive portal, undid the guichet, or lattice, and asked with a quavering voice: "who are you that knock?" while the nuns within held their breath and strained their ears to catch the answer. presently it came, in a woman's silvery tones, that sounded strangely still and small in the spaces of that tomb-like church. "i am the queen sybilla, with her ladies." "and what would you with us, o queen? the right of sanctuary?" "nay; i bring with me some envoys from saladin, who would have speech with the lady named rosamund d'arcy, who is among you." now at these words rosamund fled to the altar, and stood there, still holding the naked dagger in her hand. "let her not fear," went on the silvery voice, "for no harm shall come to her against her will. admit us, holy abbess, we beseech you in the name of christ." then the abbess said, "let us receive the queen with such dignity as we may." motioning to the nuns to take their appointed seats. in the choir she placed herself in the great chair at the head of them, whilst behind her at the raised altar stood rosamund, the bare knife in her hand. the door was opened, and through it swept a strange procession. first came the beauteous queen wearing her insignia of royalty, but with a black veil upon her head. next followed ladies of her court--twelve of them--trembling with fright but splendidly apparelled, and after these three stern and turbaned saracens clad in mail, their jewelled scimitars at their sides. then appeared a procession of women, most of them draped in mourning, and leading scared children by the hand; the wives, sisters, and widows of nobles, knights and burgesses of jerusalem. last of all marched a hundred or more of captains and warriors, among them wulf, headed by sir balian and ended by the patriarch heraclius in his gorgeous robes, with his attendant priests and acolytes. on swept the queen, up the length of the long church, and as she came the abbess and her nuns rose and bowed to her, while one offered her the chair of state that was set apart to be used by the bishop in his visitations. but she would have none of it. "nay," said the queen, "mock me with no honourable seat who come here as a humble suppliant, and will make my prayer upon my knees." so down she went upon the marble floor, with all her ladies and the following women, while the solemn saracens looked at her wondering and the knights and nobles massed themselves behind. "what can we give you, o queen," asked the abbess, "who have nothing left save our treasure, to which you are most welcome, our honour, and our lives?" "alas!" answered the royal lady. "alas, that i must say it! i come to ask the life of one of you." "of whom, o queen?" sybilla lifted her head, and with her outstretched arm pointed to rosamund, who stood above them all by the high altar. for a moment rosamund turned pale, then spoke in a steady voice: "say, what service can my poor life be to you, o queen, and by whom is it sought?" thrice sybilla strove to answer, and at last murmured: "i cannot. let the envoys give her the letter, if she is able to read their tongue." "i am able," answered rosamund, and a saracen emir drew forth a roll and laid it against his forehead, then gave it to the abbess, who brought it to rosamund. with her dagger blade she cut its silk, opened it, and read aloud, always in the same quiet voice, translating as she read:-- "in the name of allah the one, the all-merciful, to my niece, aforetime the princess of baalbec, rosamund d'arcy by name, now a fugitive hidden in a convent of the franks in the city el-kuds esh-sherif, the holy city of jerusalem: "niece,--all my promises to you i have performed, and more, since for your sake i spared the lives of your cousins, the twin knights. but you have repaid me with ingratitude and trickery, after the manner of those of your false and accursed faith, and have fled from me. i promised you also, again and yet again, that if you attempted this thing, death should be your portion. no longer, therefore, are you the princess of baalbec, but only an escaped christian slave, and as such doomed to die whenever my sword reaches you. "of my vision concerning you, which caused me to bring you to the east from england, you know well. repeat it in your heart before you answer. that vision told me that by your nobleness and sacrifice you should save the lives of many. i demanded that you should be brought back to me, and the request was refused--why, it matters not. now i understand the reason--that this was so ordained. i demand no more that force should be used to you. i demand that you shall come of your own free will, to suffer the bitter and shameful reward of your sin. or, if you so desire, bide where you are of your own free will, and be dealt with as god shall decree. this hangs upon your judgment. if you come and ask it of me, i will consider the question of the sparing of jerusalem and its inhabitants. if you refuse to come, i will certainly put every one of them to the sword, save such of the women and children as may be kept for slaves. decide, then, niece, and quickly, whether you will return with my envoys, or bide where they find you.-- "yusuf salah-ed-din." rosamund finished reading, and the letter fluttered from her hand down to the marble floor. then the queen said: "lady, we ask this sacrifice of you in the name of these and all their fellows," and she pointed to the women and the children behind her. "and my life?" mused rosamund aloud. "it is all i have. when i have paid it away i shall be beggared," and her eyes wandered to where the tall shape of wulf stood by a pillar of the church. "perchance saladin will be merciful," hazarded the queen. "why should he be merciful," answered rosamund, "who has always warned me that if i escaped from him and was recaptured, certainly i must die? nay, he will offer me islam, or death, which means--death by the rope--or in some worse fashion." "but if you stay here you must die," pleaded the queen, "or at best fall into the hands of the soldiers. oh! lady, your life is but one life, and with it you can buy those of eighty thousand souls." "is that so sure?" asked rosamund. "the sultan has made no promise; he says only that, if i pray it of him, he will consider the question of the sparing of jerusalem." "but--but," went on the queen, "he says also that if you do not come he will surely put jerusalem to the sword, and to sir balian he said that if you gave yourself up he thought he might grant terms which we should be glad to take. therefore we dare to ask of you to give your life in payment for such a hope. think, think what otherwise must be the lot of these"--and again she pointed to the women and children--"ay, and your own sisterhood and of all of us. whereas, if you die, it will be with much honour, and your name shall be worshipped as a saint and martyr in every church in christendom. "oh! refuse not our prayer, but show that you indeed are great enough to step forward to meet the death which comes to every one of us, and thereby earn the blessings of half the world and make sure your place in heaven, nigh to him who also died for men. plead with her, my sisters--plead with her!" then the women and the children threw themselves down before her, and with tears and sobbing prayed her that she would give up her life for theirs. rosamund looked at them and smiled, then said in a clear voice: "what say you, my cousin and betrothed, sir wulf d'arcy? come hither, and, as is fitting in this strait, give me your counsel." so the grey-eyed, war-worn wulf strode up the aisle, and, standing by the altar rails, saluted her. "you have heard," said rosamund. "your counsel. would you have me die?" "alas!" he answered in a hoarse voice. "it is hard to speak. yet, they are many--you are but one." now there was a murmur of applause. for it was known that this knight loved his lady dearly, and that but the other day he had stood there to defend her to the death against those who would give her up to saladin. now rosamund laughed out, and the sweet sound of her laughter was strange in that solemn place and hour. "ah, wulf!" she said. "wulf, who must ever speak the truth, even when it costs him dear. well, i would not have it otherwise. queen, and all you foolish people, i did but try your tempers. could you, then, think me so base that i would spare to spend this poor life of mine, and to forego such few joys as god might have in store for me on earth, when those of tens of thousands may hang upon the issue? nay, nay; it is far otherwise." then rosamund sheathed the dagger that all this while she had held in her hand, and, lifting the letter from the floor, touched her brow with it in signal of obedience, saying in arabic to the envoys: "i am the slave of salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful. i am the small dust beneath his feet. take notice, emirs, that in presence of all here gathered, of my own free will i, rosamund d'arcy, aforetime princess and sovereign lady of baalbec, determine to accompany you to the sultan's camp, there to make prayer for the sparing of the lives of the citizens of jerusalem, and afterwards to suffer the punishment of death in payment of my flight, according to my royal uncle's high decree. one request i make only, if he be pleased to grant it--that my body be brought back to jerusalem for burial before this altar, where of my own act i lay down my life. emirs, i am ready." now the envoys bowed before her in grave admiration, and the air grew thick with blessings. as rosamund stepped down from the altar the queen threw her arms about her neck and kissed her, while lords and knights, women and children, pressed their lips upon her hands, upon the hem of her white robe, and even on her feet, calling her "saint" and "deliverer." "alas!" she answered, waving them back. "as yet i am neither of these things, though the latter of them i hope to be. come; let us be going." "ay," echoed wulf, stepping to her side, "let us be going." rosamund started at the words, and all there stared. "listen, queen, emirs, and people," he went on. "i am this lady's kinsman and her betrothed knight, sworn to serve her to the end. if she be guilty of a crime against the sultan, i am more guilty, and on me also shall fall his vengeance. let us be going." "wulf, wulf," she said, "it shall not be. one life is asked--not both." "yet, lady, both shall be given that the measure of atonement may run over, and saladin moved to mercy. nay, forbid me not. i have lived for you, and for you i die. yes, if they hold me by force, still i die, if need be, on my own sword. when i counselled you just now, i counselled myself also. surely you never dreamed that i would suffer you to go alone, when by sharing it i could make your doom easier." "oh, wulf!" she cried. "you will but make it harder." "no, no; faced hand in hand, death loses half its terrors. moreover, saladin is my friend, and i also would plead with him for the people of jerusalem." then he whispered in her ear, "sweet rosamund, deny me not, lest you should drive me to madness and self-murder, who will have no more of earth without you." now, her eyes full of tears and shining with love, rosamund murmured back: "you are too strong for me. let it befall as god wills." nor did the others attempt to stay him any more. going to the abbess, rosamund would have knelt before her, but it was the abbess who knelt and called her blessed, and kissed her. the sisters also kissed her one by one in farewell. then a priest was brought--not the patriarch, of whom she would have none, but another, a holy man. to him apart at the altar, first rosamund and then wulf made confession of their sins, receiving absolution and the sacrament in that form in which it was given to the dying; while, save the emirs, all in the church knelt and prayed as for souls that pass. the solemn ritual was ended. they rose, and, followed by two of the envoys--for already the third had departed under escort to the court of saladin to give him warning--the queen, her ladies and all the company, walked from the church and through the convent halls out into the narrow street of woe. here wulf, as her kinsman, took rosamund by the hand, leading her as a man leads his sister to her bridal. without it was bright moonlight, moonlight clear as day, and by now tidings of this strange story had spread through all jerusalem, so that its narrow streets were crowded with spectators, who stood also upon every roof and at every window. "the lady rosamund!" they shouted. "the blessed rosamund, who goes to a martyr's death to save us. the pure saint rosamund and her brave knight wulf!" and they tore flowers and green leaves from the gardens and threw them in their path. down the long, winding streets, with bent heads and humble mien, companioned ever by the multitude, through which soldiers cleared the way, they walked thus, while women held up their children to touch the robe of rosamund or to look upon her face. at length the gate was reached, and while it was unbarred they halted. then came forward sir balian of ibelin, bareheaded, and said: "lady, on behalf of the people of jerusalem and of the whole of christendom, i give you honour and thanks, and to you also, sir wulf d'arcy, the bravest and most faithful of all knights." a company of priests also, headed by a bishop, advanced chanting and swinging censers, and blessed them solemnly in the name of the church and of christ its master. "give us not praise and thanks, but prayers," answered rosamund; "prayers that we may succeed in our mission, to which we gladly offer up our lives, and afterwards, when we are dead, prayers for the welfare of our sinful souls. but should we fail, as it may chance, then remember of us only that we did our best. oh! good people, great sorrows have come upon this land, and the cross of christ is veiled with shame. yet it shall shine forth once more, and to it through the ages shall all men bow the knee. oh! may you live! may no more death come among you! it is our last petition, and with it, this--that when at length you die we may meet again in heaven! now fare you well." then they passed through the gate, and as the envoys declared that none might accompany them further, walked forward followed by the sound of the weeping of the multitude towards the camp of saladin, two strange and lonesome figures in the moonlight. at last these lamentations could be heard no more, and there, on the outskirts of the moslem lines, an escort met them, and bearers with a litter. but into this rosamund would not enter, so they walked onwards up the hill, till they came to the great square in the centre of the camp upon the mount of olives, beyond the grey trees of the garden of gethsemane. there, awaiting them at the head of the square, sat saladin in state, while all about, rank upon rank, in thousands and tens of thousands, was gathered his vast army, who watched them pass in silence. thus they came into the presence of the sultan and knelt before him, rosamund in her novice's white robe, and wulf in his battered mail. chapter twenty four: the dregs of the cup saladin looked at them, but gave them no greeting. then he spoke: "woman, you have had my message. you know that your rank is taken from you, and that with it my promises are at an end; you know also that you come hither to suffer the death of faithless women. is it so?" "i know all these things, great salah-ed-din," answered rosamund. "tell me, then, do you come of your own free will, unforced by any, and why does the knight sir wulf, whose life i spared and do not seek, kneel at your side?" "i come of my own free will, salah-ed-din, as your emirs can tell you; ask them. for the rest, my kinsman must answer for himself." "sultan," said wulf, "i counselled the lady rosamund that she should come--not that she needed such counsel--and, having given it, i accompanied her by right of blood and of justice, since her offence against you is mine also. her fate is my fate." "i have no quarrel against you whom i forgave, therefore you must take your own way to follow the path she goes." "doubtless," answered wulf, "being a christian among many sons of the prophet, it will not be hard to find a friendly scimitar to help me on that road. i ask of your goodness that her fate may be my fate." "what!" said saladin. "you are ready to die with her, although you are young and strong, and there are so many other women in the world?" wulf smiled and nodded his head. "good. who am i that i should stand between a fool and his folly? i grant the boon. your fate shall be her fate; wulf d'arcy, you shall drink of the cup of my slave rosamund to its last bitterest dregs." "i desire no less," said wulf coolly. now saladin looked at rosamund and asked, "woman, why have you come here to brave my vengeance? speak on if you have aught to ask." then rosamund rose from her knees, and, standing before him, said: "i am come, o my mighty lord, to plead for the people of jerusalem, because it was told me that you would listen to no other voice than that of this your slave. see, many moons ago, you had a vision concerning me. thrice you dreamed in the night that i, the niece whom you had never seen, by some act of mine should be the means of saving much life and a way of peace. therefore you tore me from my home and brought my father to a bloody death, as you are about to bring his daughter; and after much suffering and danger i fell into your power, and was treated with great honour. still i, who am a christian, and who grew sick with the sight of the daily slaughter and outrage of my kin, strove to escape from you, although you had warned me that the price of this crime was death; and in the end, through the wit and sacrifice of another woman, i did escape. "now i return to pay that price, and behold! your vision is fulfilled--or, at the least, you can fulfil it if god should touch your heart with grace, seeing that of my own will i am come to pray you, salah-ed-din, to spare the city, and for its blood to accept mine as a token and an offering. "oh, my lord! as you are great, be merciful. what will it avail you in the day of your own judgment that you have added another eighty thousand to the tally of your slain, and with them many more thousands of your own folk, since the warriors of jerusalem will not die unavenged? give them their lives and let them go free, and win thereby the gratitude of mankind and the forgiveness of god above." so rosamund spoke, and stretching out her arms towards him, was silent. "these things i offered to them, and they were refused," answered saladin. "why should i grant them now that they are conquered?" "my lord, strong-to-aid," said rosamund, "do you, who are so brave, blame yonder knights and soldiers because they fought on against desperate odds? would you not have called them cowards if they had yielded up the city where their saviour died and struck no blow to save it? oh! i am outworn! i can say no more; but once again, most humbly and on my knees, i beseech you speak the word of mercy, and let not your triumph be dyed red with the blood of women and of little children." then casting herself upon her face, rosamund clasped the hem of his royal robe with her hands, and pressed it to her forehead. so for a while she lay there in the shimmering moonlight, while utter silence fell upon all that vast multitude of armed men as they waited for the decree of fate to be uttered by the conqueror's lips. but saladin sat still as a statue, gazing at the domes and towers of jerusalem outlined against the deep blue sky. "rise," he said at length, "and know, niece, that you have played your part in a fashion worthy of my race, and that i, salah-ed-din, am proud of you. know also that i will weigh your prayer as i have weighed that of none other who breathes upon the earth. now i must take counsel with my own heart, and to-morrow it shall be granted--or refused. to you, who are doomed to die, and to the knight who chooses to die with you, according to the ancient law and custom, i offer the choice of islam, and with it life and honour." "we refuse," answered rosamund and wulf with one voice. the sultan bowed his head as though he expected no other answer, and glanced round, as all thought to order the executioners to do their office. but he said only to a captain of his mameluks: "take them; keep them under guard and separate them, till my word of death comes to you. your life shall answer for their safety. give them food and drink, and let no harm touch them until i bid you." the mameluk bowed and advanced with his company of soldiers. as they prepared to go with them, rosamund asked: "tell me of your grace, what of masouda, my friend?" "she died for you; seek her beyond the grave," answered saladin, whereat rosamund hid her face with her hands and sighed. "and what of godwin, my brother?" cried wulf; but no answer was given him. now rosamund turned; stretching out her arms towards wulf, she fell upon his breast. there, then, in the presence of that countless army, they kissed their kiss of betrothal and farewell. they spoke no word, only ere she went rosamund lifted her hand and pointed upwards to the sky. then a murmur rose from the multitude, and the sound of it seemed to shape itself into one word: "mercy!" still saladin made no sign, and they were led away to their prisons. among the thousands who watched this strange and most thrilling scene were two men wrapped in long cloaks, godwin and the bishop egbert. thrice did godwin strive to approach the throne. but it seemed that the soldiers about him had their commands, for they would not suffer him to stir or speak; and when, as rosamund passed, he strove to break a way to her, they seized and held him. yet as she went by he cried: "the blessing of heaven be upon you, pure saint of god--on you and your true knight." catching the tones of that voice above the tumult, rosamund stopped and looked around her, but saw no one, for the guard hemmed her in. so she went on, wondering if perchance it was godwin's voice which she had heard, or whether an angel, or only some frankish prisoner had spoken. godwin stood wringing his hands while the bishop strove to comfort him, saying that he should not grieve, since such deaths as those of rosamund and wulf were most glorious, and more to be desired than a hundred lives. "ay, ay," answered godwin, "would that i could go with them!" "their work is done, but not yours," said the bishop gently. "come to our tent and let us to our knees. god is more powerful than the sultan, and mayhap he will yet find a way to save them. if they are still alive tomorrow at the dawn we will seek audience of saladin to plead with him." so they entered the tent and prayed there, as the inhabitants of jerusalem prayed behind their shattered walls, that the heart of saladin might be moved to spare them all. while they knelt thus the curtain of the tent was drawn aside, and an emir stood before them. "rise," he said, "both of you, and follow me. the sultan commands your presence." egbert and godwin went, wondering, and were led through the pavilion to the royal sleeping place, which guards closed behind them. on a silken couch reclined saladin, the light from the lamp falling on his bronzed and thoughtful face. "i have sent for you two franks," he said, "that you may bear a message from me to sir balian of ibelin and the inhabitants of jerusalem. this is the message:--let the holy city surrender to-morrow and all its population acknowledge themselves my prisoners. then for forty days i will hold them to ransom, during which time none shall be harmed. every man who pays ten pieces of gold shall go free, and two women or ten children shall be counted as one man at a like price. of the poor, seven thousand shall be set free also, on payment of thirty thousand bezants. such who remain or have no money for their ransom--and there is still much gold in jerusalem--shall become my slaves. these are my terms, which i grant at the dying prayer of my niece, the lady rosamund, and to her prayer alone. deliver them to sir balian, and bid him wait on me at the dawn with his chief notables, and answer whether he is willing to accept them on behalf of the people. if not, the assault goes on until the city is a heap of ruins covering the bones of its children." "we bless you for this mercy," said the bishop egbert, "and we hasten to obey. but tell us, sultan, what shall we do? return to the camp with sir balian?" "if he accepts my terms, nay, for in jerusalem you will be safe, and i give you your freedom without ransom." "sire," said godwin, "ere i go, grant me leave to bid farewell to my brother and my cousin rosamund." "that for the third time you may plot their escape from my vengeance?" said saladin. "nay, bide in jerusalem and await my word; you shall meet them at the last, no more." "sire," pleaded godwin, "of your mercy spare them, for they have played a noble part. it is hard that they should die who love each other and are so young and fair and brave." "ay," answered saladin, "a noble part; never have i seen one more noble. well, it fits them the better for heaven, if cross-worshippers enter there. have done; their doom is written and my purpose cannot be turned, nor shall you see them till the last, as i have said. but if it pleases you to write them a letter of farewell and to send it back by the embassy, it shall be delivered to them. now go, for greater matters are afoot than this punishment of a pair of lovers. a guard awaits you." so they went, and within an hour stood before sir balian and gave him the message of saladin, whereat he rose and blessed the name of rosamund. while he called his counsellors from their sleep and bade his servants saddle horses, godwin found pen and parchment, and wrote hurriedly: "to wulf, my brother, and rosamund, my cousin and his betrothed,--i live, though well-nigh i died by dead masouda--jesus rest her gallant and most beloved soul! saladin will not suffer me to see you, though he has promised that i shall be with you at the last, so watch for me then. i still dare to hope that it may please god to change the sultan's heart and spare you. if so, this is my prayer and desire--that you two should wed as soon as may be, and get home to england, where, if i live, i hope to visit you in years to come. till then seek me not, who would be lonely a while. but if it should be fated otherwise, then when my sins are purged i will seek you among the saints, you who by your noble deed have earned the sure grace of god. "the embassy rides. i have no time for more, though there is much to say. farewell.--godwin." the terms of saladin had been accepted. with rejoicing because their lives were spared, but with woe and lamentation because the holy city had fallen again into the hands of the moslem, the people of jerusalem made ready to leave the streets and seek new homes elsewhere. the great golden cross was torn from the mosque el-aksa, and on every tower and wall floated the yellow banners of saladin. all who had money paid their ransoms, and those who had none begged and borrowed it as they could, and if they could not, gave themselves over to despair and slavery. only the patriarch heraclius, forgetting the misery of these wretched ones, carried off his own great wealth and the gold plate of the churches. then saladin showed his mercy, for he freed all the aged without charge, and from his own treasure paid the ransom of hundreds of ladies whose husbands and fathers had fallen in battle, or lay in prison in other cities. so for forty days, headed by queen sybilla and her ladies, that sad procession of the vanquished marched through the gates, and there were many of them who, as they passed the conqueror seated in state, halted to make a prayer to him for those who were left behind. a few also who remembered rosamund, and that it was because of her sacrifice that they continued to look upon the sun, implored him that if they were not already dead, he would spare her and her brave knight. at length it was over, and saladin took possession of the city. having purged the great mosque, washing it with rose-water, he worshipped in it after his own fashion, and distributed the remnant of the people who could pay no ransom as slaves among his emirs and followers. thus did the crescent triumph aver the cross in jerusalem, not in a sea of blood, as ninety years before the cross had triumphed over the crescent within its walls, but with what in those days passed for gentleness, peace, and mercy. for it was left to the saracens to teach something of their own doctrines to the followers of christ. during all those forty days rosamund and wulf lay in their separate prisons, awaiting their doom of death. the letter of godwin was brought to wulf, who read it and rejoiced to learn that his brother lived. then it was taken from him to rosamund, who, although she rejoiced also, wept over it, and wondered a little what it might mean. of one thing she was sure from its wording--that they had no hope of life. they knew that jerusalem had fallen, for they heard the shouts of triumph of the moslems, and from far away, through their prison bars could see the endless multitude of fugitives passing the ancient gates laden with baggage, and leading their children by the hand, to seek refuge in the cities of the coast. at this sight, although it was so sad, rosamund was happy, knowing also that now she would not suffer in vain. at length the camp broke up, saladin and many of the soldiers entering jerusalem; but still the pair were left languishing in their dismal cells, which were fashioned from old tombs. one evening, while rosamund was kneeling; at prayer before she sought her bed, the door of the place was opened, and there appeared a glittering captain and a guard of soldiers, who saluted her and bade her follow him. "is it the end?" she asked. "lady," he answered, "it is the end." so she bowed her head meekly and followed. without a litter was ready, in which they placed her and bore her through the bright moonlight into the city of jerusalem and along the way of sorrow, till they halted at a great door, which she knew again, for by it stood the ancient arch. "they have brought me back to the convent of the holy cross to kill me where i asked that i might be buried," she murmured to herself as she descended from the litter. then the doors were thrown open, and she entered the great courtyard of the convent, and saw that it was decorated as though for a festival, for about it and in the cloisters round hung many lamps. more; these cloisters and the space in front of them were crowded with saracen lords, wearing their robes of state, while yonder sat saladin and his court. "they would make a brave show of my death," thought rosamund again. then a little cry broke from her lips, for there, in front of the throne of saladin, the moonlight and the lamp-blaze shining on his armour, stood a tall christian knight. at that cry he turned his head, and she grew sure that it was wulf, wasted somewhat and grown pale, but still wulf. "so we are to die together," she whispered to herself, then walked forward with a proud step amidst the deep silence, and, having bowed to saladin, took the hand of wulf and held it. the sultan looked at them and said: "however long it may be delayed, the day of fate must break at last. say, franks, are you prepared to drink the dregs of that cup i promised you?" "we are prepared," they answered with one voice. "do you grieve now that you laid down your lives to save those of all jerusalem?" he asked again. "nay," rosamund answered, glancing at wulf's face; "we rejoice exceedingly that god has been so good to us." "i too rejoice," said saladin; "and i too thank allah who in bygone days sent me that vision which has given me back the holy city of jerusalem without bloodshed. now all is accomplished as it was fated. lead them away." for a moment they clung together, then emirs took wulf to the right and rosamund to the left, and she went with a pale face and high head to meet her executioner, wondering if she would see godwin ere she died. they led her to a chamber where women waited but no swordsman that she could see, and shut the door upon her. "perchance i am to be strangled by these women," thought rosamund, as they came towards her, "so that the blood royal may not be shed." yet it was not so, for with gentle hands, but in silence, they unrobed her, and washed her with scented waters and braided her hair, twisting it up with pearls and gems. then they clad her in fine linen, and put over it gorgeous, broidered garments, and a royal mantle of purple, and her own jewels which she had worn in bygone days, and with them others still more splendid, and threw about her head a gauzy veil worked with golden stars. it was just such a veil as wulf's gift which she had worn on the night when hassan dragged her from her home at steeple. she noted it and smiled at the sad omen, then said: "ladies, why should i mock my doom with these bright garments?" "it is the sultan's will," they answered; "nor shall you rest to-night less happily because of them." now all was ready, and the door opened and she stepped through it, a radiant thing, glittering in the lamplight. then trumpets blew and a herald cried: "way! way there! way for the high sovereign lady and princess of baalbec!" thus followed by the train of honourable women who attended her, rosamund glided forward to the courtyard, and once more bent the knee to saladin, then stood still, lost in wonder. again the trumpets blew, and on the right a herald cried, "way! way there! way for the brave and noble frankish knight, sir wulf d'arcy!" lo! attended by emirs and notables, wulf came forth, clad in splendid armour inlaid with gold, wearing on his shoulder a mantel set with gems and on his breast the gleaming star of the luck of hassan. to rosamund he strode and stood by her, his hands resting on the hilt of his long sword. "princess," said saladin, "i give you back your rank and titles, because you have shown a noble heart; and you, sir wulf, i honour also as best i may, but to my decree i hold. let them go together to the drinking of the cup of their destiny as to a bridal bed." again the trumpets blew and the heralds called, and they led them to the doors of the chapel, which at their knocking were thrown wide. from within came the sound of women's voices singing, but it was no sad song they sang. "the sisters of the order are still there," said rosamund to wulf, "and would cheer us on our road to heaven." "perchance," he answered. "i know not. i am amazed." at the door the company of moslems left them, but they crowded round the entrance as though to watch what passed. now down the long aisle walked a single whiterobed figure. it was the abbess. "what shall we do, mother?" said rosamund to her. "follow me, both of you," she said, and they followed her through the nave to the altar rails, and at a sign from her knelt down. now they saw that on either side of the altar stood a christian priest. the priest to the right--it was the bishop egbert--came forward and began to read over them the marriage service of their faith. "they'd wed us ere we die," whispered rosamund to wulf. "so be it," he answered; "i am glad." "and i also, beloved," she whispered back. the service went on--as in a dream, the service went on, while the white-robed sisters sat in their carven chairs and watched. the rings that were handed to them had been interchanged; wulf had taken rosamund to wife, rosamund had taken wulf to husband, till death did them part. then the old bishop withdrew to the altar, and another hooded monk came forward and uttered over them the benediction in a deep and sonorous voice, which stirred their hearts most strangely, as though some echo reached them from beyond the grave. he held his hands above them in blessing and looked upwards, so that his hood fell back, and the light of the altar lamp fell upon his face. it was the face of godwin, and on his head was the tonsure of a monk. once more they stood before saladin, and now their train was swelled by the abbess and sisters of the holy cross. "sir wulf d'arcy," said the sultan, "and you, rosamund, my niece, princess of baalbec, the dregs of your cup, sweet or bitter, or bitter-sweet, are drunk; the doom which i decreed for you is accomplished, and, according to your own rites, you are man and wife till allah sends upon you that death which i withhold. because you showed mercy upon those doomed to die and were the means of mercy, i also give you mercy, and with it my love and honour. now bide here if you will in my freedom, and enjoy your rank and wealth, or go hence if you will, and live out your lives across the sea. the blessing of allah be upon you, and turn your souls light. this is the decree of yusuf salah-ed-din, commander of the faithful, conqueror and caliph of the east." trembling, full of joy and wonder, they knelt before him and kissed his hand. then, after a few swift words between them, rosamund spoke. "sire, that god whom you have invoked, the god of christian and of moslem, the god of all the world, though the world worship him in many ways and shapes, bless and reward you for this royal deed. yet listen to our petition. it may be that many of our faith still lie unransomed in jerusalem. take my lands and gems, and let them be valued, and their price given to pay for the liberty of some poor slaves. it is our marriage offering. as for us, we will get us to our own country." "so be it," answered saladin. "the lands i will take and devote the sum of them as you desire--yes, to the last bezant. the jewels also shall be valued, but i give them back to you as my wedding dower. to these nuns further i grant permission to bide here in jerusalem to nurse the christian sick, unharmed and unmolested, if so they will, and this because they sheltered you. ho! minstrels and heralds lead this new-wed pair to the place that has been prepared for them." still trembling and bewildered, they turned to go, when lo! godwin stood before them smiling, and kissed them both upon the cheek, calling them "beloved brother and sister." "and you, godwin?" stammered rosamund. "i, rosamund, have also found my bride, and she is named the church of christ." "do you, then, return to england, brother?" asked wulf. "nay," godwin answered, in a fierce whisper and with flashing eyes, "the cross is down, but not forever. that cross has richard of england and many another servant beyond the seas, and they will come at the church's call. here, brother, before all is done, we may meet again in war. till then, farewell." so spoke godwin and then was gone. [illustration: book cover] j. wrigley, publisher of all kinds of colored toy books ali baba, or the forty thieves. new york: j. wrigley, grand street. history of the forty thieves. [illustration] in a town of persia lived two brothers, sons of a poor man; one named cassim, the other ali baba. cassim, the elder, married a wife with a considerable fortune, and lived at his ease; but the wife of ali baba was as poor as himself: they dwelt in a mean cottage in the suburbs, and he maintained his family by cutting wood. ali baba was in the forest preparing to load his asses with the faggots he had cut, when he saw a troop of horsemen approaching. he hastily climbed a large thick tree, and hid himself among the branches. ali baba counted forty of them; each took a loaded portmanteau from his horse, and turning to the rock, said, "open, sesame;" immediately a door opened, the robbers passed in, when the door shut of itself. in a short time the door opened again, and the robbers came out, who said, "shut, sesame." the door instantly closed. ali baba ventured down, and approaching the rock, said, "open, sesame." immediately the door flew open. he brought his asses, and took as many bags of gold coin as they could carry. [illustration] ali baba told his brother the secret of the cave. cassim rose early next morning, and set out with ten mules loaded with great chests. he found the rock, and having said, "open sesame," gained admission, where he found more treasures than he expected, which made him forget the word that caused the door to open. presently he heard the sound of horses' feet, which he concluded to be the robbers, who instantly put him to death. ali baba drove to the forest, and on entering the cave, he found the body of his brother cut into quarters. he took the quarters, and put them upon one of his asses, and delivered the body to cassim's wife. morgiana, a female slave in his brother's house, was sent early next morning to a poor cobbler, and gave him two pieces of gold to go with her blindfolded; taking him into the room where the body was lying, bade him sew the mangled limbs together. mustapha obeyed, having received two pieces of gold, and was led blindfolded the same way back. [illustration] [illustration] cassim was buried with all due solemnity, and ali baba removed to the house of his deceased brother, of which he took possession. the captain of the troop resolved to find out who possessed the secret of entrance into his cave, and disguising himself, went to the city early one morning, when, accosting the cobbler, he was told of the job he had, who for six pieces of gold, allowed himself to be blindfolded, and traced out the house of cassim, which the robber marked with chalk. buying nineteen mules and thirty-nine large jars, one full of oil, and the rest empty, the captain put a man into each jar, properly armed, and then proceeded to the street where ali baba dwelt. "sir," said he, "i have brought this oil a great way to sell; as i am quite a stranger, will you let me put my mules into your courtyard, and direct me where i may lodge to-night?" ali baba welcomed the pretended oil merchant, offered him a bed in his own house, and invited his guest in to supper. [illustration] morgiana, sitting up later that night than usual, her lamp went out; she took her oil pot in her hand, and approaching the first jar, the robber within said: "is it time, captain?" she replied, "no, not yet;" so she ran back to the kitchen, and brought out a large kettle, which she filled with oil, set it on a great wood fire, and as soon as it boiled, she went and poured into the jars sufficient of the boiling oil to kill every man within. [illustration] the captain of the robbers arose to assemble his men. coming to the first jar, he felt the steam of the boiled oil! he ran hastily to the rest, and found every one of his troop put to death. full of rage, he forced the lock of the door, and made his escape over the walls. without letting any one into the secret, ali baba and morgiana the next night buried the thirty-nine thieves at the bottom of the garden. the captain at length, however, determined to adopt a new scheme for the destruction of ali baba. he removed all the valuable merchandise from the cave to the city, and took a shop exactly opposite to ali baba's house. ali baba's son went every day to his shop. the pretended cogia hassan soon appeared to be very fond of ali baba's son, offered him many presents, and often detained him to dinner. [illustration] ali baba thought it was necessary to make some return to these civilities, and he invited cogia hassan to supper; morgiana carried in the first dish herself. the moment she looked at cogia hassan, she knew it was the pretended oil merchant. she sent the other slaves into the kitchen, and waited at table herself; and while cogia hassan was drinking, she perceived he had a dagger hid under his coat. she went away, and dressed herself in the habit of a dancing-girl. as soon as she appeared at the parlor door, her master ordered her to come in to entertain his guest with some of her best dancing. morgiana danced several times before the assembled company, until, coming opposite cogia hassan, she drew a dagger from her girdle and plunged it into the robber's heart. as a reward for her faithfulness, ali baba gave her in marriage to his son, and at his death put them in possession of his immense wealth. [illustration] juvenile books and stationery, published by j. wrigley, publisher and stationer, grand street, new york. colored toy books, kinds, mo, viz.: cinderella; or, the little glass slipper. the house that jack built. life and adventures of robin hood. old mother hubbard and her dog. ali baba and the forty thieves. adventures of punch and judy. illustrated toy books, with colored covers, mo, kinds, viz.: history of whittington and his cat. the house that jack built. little red riding-hood. children in the wood. jack the giant killer. adventures of robinson crusoe. blue beard. john gilpin. cinderella. tom thumb. a new series of fairy toy books, with colored covers, mo, kinds, viz.: mother goose and the golden egg. the fairy grove. the two sisters. blanche and rosalinda. old mother hubbard. nursery tale book. the old pig and the two children. mr. pug and madam puss. little bantam blue. wrigley's new nursery ditties. jack and the bean stalk. alladin; or, the wonderful lamp. the above toys have each a colored title-page, and printed on good paper. juvenile song books, kinds, viz.: sentimental songster. american songster. mary blane. the blue-tailed fly. the naval songster. dinah clare. irish molly o. yaller busha belle. joe sweeney's songster. hokey pokey. fake away. tom walker's songster. primers. the child's school primer, vo. wrigley's pictorial primer. illustrated primer. girls' and boys' primer. boys' own primer. wrigley's american primer. wrigley's new abc book. the above primers have colored covers. nursery melodies, colored cover. the universal dream book. wrigley's new riddle book. the american " stationery. the new comic conversation cards. punch's conversation cards. beau and belle. the following conversation cards are quite new, and are the most beautiful of the kind published in the united states: the fortune maker. the new lovers. cupid's own conversation cards. the above conversation cards are each put up in dozens, in illuminated wrappers. small toy playing cards. fortune-telling cards. comic age cards. sentimental age cards. [do. small alphabet cards, col'd. large sheehan, marryann short, and anne soulard editorial note: project gutenberg also has the translation of this work by richard f. burton in volumes. the book of the thousand nights and one night: now first completely done into english prose and verse, from the original arabic, by john payne (author of "the masque of shadows," "intaglios: sonnets," "songs of life and death," "lautrec," "the poems of master francis villon of paris," "new poems," etc, etc.). in nine volumes: volume the fourth. delhi edition contents of the fourth volume. . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshid and his vizier jaafer . the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honour . jaafer the barmecide and the bean-seller . abou mohammed the lazy . yehya ben khalid and mensour . yehya ben khalid and the man who forged a letter in his name . the khalif el mamoun and the strange doctor . ali shar and zumurrud . the loves of jubeir ben umeir and the lady budour . the man of yemen and his six slave girls . haroun er reshid with the damsel and abou nuwas . the man who stole the dog's dish of gold . the sharper of alexandria and the master of police . el melik en nasir and the three masters of police a. story of the chief of the new cairo police b. story of the chief of the boulac police c. story of the chief of the old cairo police . the thief and the money-changer . the chief of the cous police and the sharper . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister . the woman whose hands were cut off for almsgiving . the devout israelite . abou hassan ez ziyadi and the man from khorassan . the poor man and his generous friend . the ruined man who became rich again through a dream . el mutawekkil and his favourite mehboubeh . werdan the butcher's adventure with the lady and the bear . the king's daughter and the ape . the enchanted horse . uns el eoujoud and the vizier's daughter rose-in-bud . abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshid . abdallah ben maamer with the man of bassora and his slave girl . the lovers of the benou udhreh . the vizier of yemen and his young brother . loves of the boy and girl at school . el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh . haroun er reshid and zubeideh in the bath . haroun er reshid and the three poets . musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh his wife . aboulasweh and his squinting slave girl . haroun er reshid ad the two girls . hroun er reshid and the three girls . the miller and his wife . the simpleton and the sharper . the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshid and zubeideh . the khalif el hakim and the merchant . king kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel . the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife . khusrau and shirin and the fisherman . yehya ben khalid and the poor man . mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi . said ben salim and the barmecides . the woman's trick against her husband . the devout woman and the two wicked elders . jaafer the barmecide and the old bedouin . omar ben khettab and the young bedouin . el mamoun and the pyramids of egypt . the thief turned merchant and the other thief . mesrour and ibn el caribi . the devout prince . the schoolmaster who fell in love by report . the foolish schoolmaster . the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster . the king and the virtuous wife . abdurrehman the moor's story of the roc . adi ben zeid and the princess hind . dibil el khuzai with the lady and muslim ben el welid . isaac of mosul and the merchant . the three unfortunate lovers . the lovers of the benou tai . the mad lover . the apples of paradise . the loves of abou isa and current el ain . el amin and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi . el feth ben khacan and el mutawekkil . the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the male and the female . abou suweid and the handsome old woman . ali ben tahir and the birl mounis . the woman who has a boy and the other who had a man to lover . the haunted house in baghdad . the pilgrim and the old woman who dwelt in the desert . aboulhusn and his slave girl taweddud the book of the thousand nights and one night how the imam abou yousuf extricated the khalif haroun er reshid and his vizier jaafer from a dilemma. it is said that jaafer the barmecide was one night carousing with er reshid, when the latter said to him, 'o jaafer, i hear that thou hast bought such and such a slave-girl. now i have long sought her and my heart is taken up with love of her, for she is passing fair; so do thou sell her to me.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'i will not sell her.' 'then give her to me,' rejoined the khalif. 'nor will i give her,' answered jaafer. 'be zubeideh triply divorced,' exclaimed haroun, 'if thou shalt not either sell or give her to me!' quoth jaafer, 'be my wife triply divorced, if i either sell or give her to thee!' after awhile they recovered from their intoxication and were ware that they had fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not how to extricate themselves. then said er reshid, 'none can help us in this strait but abou yousuf.'[fn# ] so they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the night. when the messenger reached the imam, he arose in alarm, saying in himself, 'i should not be sent for at this hour, save by reason of some crisis in islam.' so he went out in haste and mounted his mule, saying to his servant, 'take the mule's nose-bag with thee; it may be she has not finished her feed; and when we come to the khalif's palace, put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left of her fodder, whilst i am with the khalif.' 'i hear and obey,' replied the man. so the imam rode to the palace and was admitted to the presence of er reshid, who made him sit down on the couch beside himself, whereas he was used to seat none but him, and said to him, 'we have sent for thee at this hour to advise us upon a grave matter, with which we know not how to deal' and he expounded to him the case. 'o commander of the faithful,' replied abou yousuf, 'this is the easiest of things.' then he turned to jaafer and said to him, 'o jaafer, sell half of her to the commander of the faithful and give him the other half; so shall ye both be quit of your oaths.' the khalif was delighted with this and they did as he prescribed. then said er reshid, 'bring me the girl at once, for i long for her exceedingly.' so they brought her and the khalif said to abou yousuf, 'i have a mind to lie with her forthright; for i cannot endure to abstain from her during the prescribed period of purification; how is this to be done?' 'bring me one of thine unenfranchised male slaves,' answered the imam, 'and give me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before consummation. so shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her before purification.' this expedient pleased the khalif yet more than the first and he sent for the slave. when he came, er reshid said to the imam, 'i authorize thee to marry her to him.' so the imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who accepted it, and performed the due ceremony; after which he said to the slave, 'divorce her, and thou shalt have a hundred diners.' but he refused to do this and the imam went on to increase his offer, till he bid him a thousand diners. then said the slave to him, 'doth it rest with me to divorce her, or with thee or the commander of the faithful?' 'with thee,' answered the imam. 'then, by allah,' quoth the slave, 'i will never do it!' at this the khalif was exceeding wroth and said to the imam, 'what is to be done, o abou yousuf?' 'be not concerned, o commander of the faithful,' replied the imam; 'the thing is easy. make this slave the damsel's property.' quoth er reshid, 'i give him to her;' and the imam said to the girl, 'say, "i accept."' so she said, 'i accept:' whereupon quoth abou yousuf, 'i pronounce divorce between them, for that he hath become her property, and so the marriage is annulled.' with this, er reshid sprang to his feet and exclaimed, 'it is the like of thee that shall be cadi in my time.' then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before abou yousuf, to whom he said, 'hast thou wherein to put this ?' the imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag; so he sent for it and filling it with gold, took it and went home; and on the morrow, he said to his friends, 'there is no easier or shorter road to the goods of this world and the next, than that of learning; for, see, i have received all this money for answering two or three questions.' consider, then, o polite [reader], the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it comprises divers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of jaafer to er reshid and the wisdom[fn# ] of the khalif and the exceeding wisdom of abou yousuf, may god the most high have mercy on all their souls! the lover who feigned himself a thief to save his mistress's honour. there came one day to khalid ibn abdallah el kesri,[fn# ] governor of bassora, a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty bearing, whose aspect expressed good breeding and dignity and abundant wit they brought him before the governor, who asked what was to do with him, and they replied, 'this fellow is a thief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling.' khalid looked at him and was struck with wonder at his well-favouredness and elegance; so he said to the others, 'loose him,' and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. 'the folk have spoken truly,' answered he; 'and the case is as they have said.' 'and what moved thee to this,' asked khalid, 'and thou so noble and comely of aspect?' 'the lust after worldly good,' replied the other, 'and the ordinance of god, glorified and exalted be he!' 'may thy mother be bereaved of thee!' rejoined khalid. 'hadst thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?' 'o amir,' answered the young man, 'leave this talk and proceed to what god the most high hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and god is no oppressor of his creatures.'[fn# ] khalid was silent awhile, considering the matter; then he said to the young man, 'verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexes me, for i cannot believe thee to be a thief. surely thou hast some story that is other than one of theft. tell it me'. 'o amir,' replied the youth, 'deem thou nought save what i have confessed; for i have no story other than that i entered these folk's house and stole what i could lay hands on, and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me before thee.' then khalid bade clap him in prison and commanded a crier to make proclamation throughout bassora, saying, 'ho, whoso is minded to look upon the punishment of such an one, the thief, and the cutting off of his hand, let him be present tomorrow morning at such a place!' when the youth found himself in prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and repeated the following verses, whilst the tears streamed from his eyes: khalid doth threaten me with cutting off my hand, except i do reveal to him my mistress' case. but, "god forbid," quoth i, "that i should e'er reveal that which of love for her my bosom doth embrace!" the cutting-off my hand, for that i have confessed unto, less grievous were to me than her disgrace. the warders heard him and went and told khalid, who sent for the youth after nightfall and conversed with him. he found him well-bred and intelligent and of a pleasant and vivacious wit; so he ordered him food and he ate. then said khalid, 'i know thou hast a story to tell that is no thief's; so, when the cadi comes to-morrow morning and questions thee before the folk, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the cutting-off of thy hand; for the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) saith, "in cases of doubt, eschew [or defer] punishment."' then he sent him back to the prison, where he passed the night. on the morrow, the folk assembled to see his hand cut off, nor was there man or woman in bassora but came forth to look upon his punishment. then khalid mounted in company of the notables of the city and others and summoning the cadi, sent for the young man, who came, hobbling in his shackles. there none saw him but wept for him, and the women lifted up their voices in lamentation. the cadi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, 'these folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar?'[fn# ] 'nay,' replied he, 'i stole more than that.' 'peradventure,' rejoined the cadi, 'thou art partner with them in some of the goods?' 'not so,' replied the young man; 'it was all theirs. i had no right in it.' at this khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the face with his whip, applying this verse to his own case: man wisheth and seeketh his wish to fulfil, but allah denieth save that which he will. then he called for the executioner, who came and taking the prisoner's hand, set the knife to it and was about to cut it off, when, behold, a damsel, clad in tattered clothes, pressed through the crowd of women and cried out and threw herself on the young man. then she unveiled and showed a face like the moon; whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them. but she cried out her loudest, saying, 'i conjure thee, by allah, o amir, hasten not to cut off this man's hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!' so saying, she gave him a scroll, and he took it and read therein the following verses: o khalid, this man is love-maddened, a cave of desire, transfixed by the glances that sped from the bows of my eye. the shafts of my looks 'twas that pierced him and slew him; indeed, he a bondsman of love, sick for passion and like for to die. yea, rather a crime, that he wrought not, he choose to confess than suffer on her whom he cherished dishonour to lie. have ruth on a sorrowful lover; indeed he's no thief, but the noblest and truest of mortals for passion that sigh. when he had read this, he called the girl apart and questioned her; and she told him that the young man was her lover and she his mistress. he came to the dwelling of her people, thinking to visit her, and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his coming. her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household stuff and made as if he would have stolen it, to cover his mistress's honour. 'so they seized him,' continued she, 'saying, "a thief!" and brought him before thee, whereupon he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he might spare me dishonour; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.' 'he is indeed worthy to have his desire,' replied khalid and calling the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. then he sent for the girl's father and bespoke him, saying, 'o elder, we thought to punish this young man by cutting off his hand; but god (to whom belong might and majesty) hath preserved us from this! and i now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhems, for that he would have sacrificed his hand for the preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and the sparing you both reproach. moreover, i adjudge other ten thousand dirhems to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case; and i ask thy leave to marry him to her.' 'o amir,' rejoined the old man, 'thou hast my consent.' so khalid praised god and thanked him and offered up a goodly exhortation and prayer; after which he said to the young man, 'i give thee this damsel to wife, with her own and her father's consent; and her dowry shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhems. 'i accept this marriage at thy hands,' replied the youth and khalid let carry the money on trays in procession to the young man's house, whilst the people dispersed, full of gladness. and surely [quoth he who tells the tale[fn# ]] never saw i a rarer day than this, for that its beginning was weeping and affliction and its end joy and gladness. jaafer the barmecide and the beanseller. when haroun er reshid put jaafer the barmecide to death, he commanded that all who wept or made moan for him should be crucified; so the folk abstained from this. now there was a bedouin from a distant desert, who used every year to make and bring to jaafer an ode in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand diners; and the bedouin took them and returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year. accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and finding jaafer done to death, betook himself to the place where his body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept sore and mourned grievously. then he recited his ode and fell asleep. in his sleep jaafer the barmecide appeared to him and said, 'thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest; but go to bassora and ask for such a man there of the merchants of the town and say to him, "jaafer the barmecide salutes thee and bids thee give me a thousand diners, by the token of the bean."' when the bedouin awoke, he repaired to bassora, where he sought out the merchant and repeated to him what jaafer had said in the dream; whereupon he wept sore, till he was like to depart the world. then he welcomed the bedouin and entertained him three days as an honoured guest; and when he was minded to depart, he gave him a thousand and five hundred diners, saying, 'the thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand diners.' when the bedouin was about to take leave, he said to the merchant, 'i conjure thee, by allah, tell me the story of the bean, that i may know the origin of all this.' 'in the early part of my life,' replied the merchant, 'i was miserably poor and hawked hot boiled beans about the streets of baghdad for a living. i went out one cold, rainy day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather, now shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder to look upon. now it chanced that jaafer was seated that day, with his officers and favourites, in an upper chamber overlooking the street, and his eye fell on me; so he took pity on my case and sending one of his servants to fetch me to him, said to me, "sell thy beans to my people." so i began to mete out the beans with a measure i had with me, and each who took a measure of beans filled the vessel with gold pieces, till the basket was empty. then i gathered together the money i had gotten, and jaafer said to me, "hast thou any beans left?" "i know not," answered i and sought in the basket, but found only one bean. this jaafer took and splitting it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the other to one of his favourites, saying, "for how much wilt thou buy this half-bean?" "for the tale of all this money twice-told," replied she; whereat i was confounded and said in myself, "this is impossible." but, as i stood wondering, she gave an order to one of her handmaids and the girl brought me the amount twice-told. then said jaafer, "and i will buy my half for twice the sum of the whole. take the price of thy bean." and he gave an order to one of his servants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and i took it and departed. then i betook myself to bassora, where i traded with the money and god prospered me, to him be the praise and the thanks! so, if i give thee a thousand diners a year of the bounty of jaafer, it will in no wise irk me.' consider then the munificence of jaafer's nature and how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of god the most high be upon him! abou mohammed the lazy. it is told that haroun er reshid was sitting one day on the throne of the khalifate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchs, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner other jewels, such as money might not buy, and kissing the ground before him, said, 'o commander of the faithful, the lady zubeideh kisses the earth before thee and saith to thee, thou knowest she hath let make this crown, which lacks a great jewel for its top; and she hath made search among her treasures, but cannot find a jewel to her mind.' quoth the khalif to his chamberlains and officers, 'make search for a great jewel, such as zubeideh desires.' so they sought, but found nothing befitting her and told the khalif, who was vexed thereat and exclaimed, 'am i khalif and king of the kings of the earth and lack of a jewel? out on ye! enquire of the merchants.' so they enquired of the merchants, who replied, 'our lord the khalif will not find a jewel such as he requires save with a man of bassora, by name abou mohammed the lazy.' they acquainted the khalif with this and he bade his vizier jaafer send a letter to the amir mohammed ez zubeidi, governor of bassora, commanding him to equip abou mohammed the lazy and bring him to baghdad. jaafer accordingly wrote a letter to that effect and despatched it by mesrour, who set out forthright for bassora and went in to the governor, who rejoiced in him and entreated him with the utmost honour. then mesrour read him the khalif's mandate, to which he replied, 'i hear and obey,' and forthwith despatched him, with a company of his followers, to abou mohammed's house. when they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a servant came out and mesrour said to him, 'tell thy master that the commander of the faithful calls for him.' the servant went in and told his master, who came out and found mesrour, the khalif's chamberlain, and a company of the governor's men at the door. so he kissed the earth before mesrour and said, 'i hear and obey the summons of the commander of the faithful; but enter ye my house.' 'we cannot do that,' replied mesrour, 'save in haste; for the commander of the faithful awaits thy coming.' but he said, 'have patience with me a little, till i set my affairs in order.' so, after much pressure and persuasion, they entered and found the corridor hung with curtains of blue brocade, figured with gold, and abou mohammed bade one of his servants carry mesrour to the bath. now this bath was in the house and mesrour found its walls and floor of rare and precious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. the servants served mesrour and his company on the most perfect wise and clad them, on their going forth of the bath, in robes of honour of brocade, interwoven with gold. then they went in to abou mohammed and found him seated in his upper chamber upon a couch inlaid with jewels. over his head hung curtains of gold brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the place was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. when he saw mesrour, he rose to receive him and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. then he called for food: so they brought the table of food, which when mesrour saw, he exclaimed, 'by allah, never saw i the like of this in the palace of the commander of the faithful!' for indeed it comprised all manner of meats, served in dishes of gilded porcelain. so they ate and drank and made merry till the end of the day, when abou mohammed gave mesrour and each of his company five thousand diners; and on the morrow he clad them in dresses of honour of green and gold and entreated them with the utmost honour. then said mesrour to him, 'we can abide no longer, for fear of the khalif's displeasure.' 'o my lord,' answered abou mohammed, 'have patience with us till to-morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with you.' so they tarried that day and night with him; and next morning, abou mohammed's servants saddled him a mule with housings and trappings of gold, set with all manner pearls and jewels; whereupon quoth mesrour in himself, 'i wonder if, when he presents himself in this equipage before the commander of the faithful, he will ask him how he came by all this wealth.' then they took leave of ez zubeidi and setting out from bassora, fared on, without stopping, till they reached baghdad and presented themselves before the khalif who bade abou mohammed be seated. so he sat down and addressing the khalif in courtly wise, said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, i have brought with me a present by way of homage: have i thy leave to produce it?' 'there is no harm in that,' replied the khalif; whereupon abou mohammed caused bring in a chest, from which he took a number of rarities and amongst the rest, trees of gold, with leaves of emerald and fruits of rubies and topazes and pearls. then he fetched another chest and brought out of it a pavilion of brocade, adorned with pearls and rubies and emeralds and chrysolites and other precious stones; its poles were of the finest indian aloes-wood, and its skirts were set with emeralds. thereon were depicted all manner beasts and birds and other created things, spangled with rubies and emeralds and chrysolites and balass rubies and other precious stones. when er reshid saw these things, he rejoiced exceedingly, and abou mohammed said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, deem not that i have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting aught; but i knew myself to be but a man of the people and that these things befitted none save the commander of the faithful. and now, with thy leave, i will show thee, for thy diversion, something of what i can do.' 'do what thou wilt,' answered er reshid, 'that we may see.' 'i hear and obey,' said abou mohammed and moving his lips, beckoned to the battlements of the palace, whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their place. then he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him cabinets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo, the voices of birds answered him [from within]. the khalif marvelled exceedingly at this and said to him, 'how camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art only known as abou mohammed the lazy, and they tell me that thy father was a barber-surgeon, serving in a public bath, and left thee nothing?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'listen to my story, for it is an extraordinary one and its particulars are wonderful; were it graven with needles upon the corners of the eye, it would serve as a lesson to him who can profit by admonition.' 'let us hear it,' said the khalif. 'know then, o commander of the faithful,' replied abou mohammed, '(may god prolong to thee glory and dominion,) that the report of the folk, that i am known as the lazy and that my father left me nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, but a barber- surgeon in a bath. in my youth i was the laziest wight on the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness that, if i lay asleep in the sultry season and the sun came round upon me, i was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the shade; and thus i abode till i reached my fifteenth year, when my father was admitted to the mercy of god the most high and left me nothing. however, my mother used to go out to service and feed me and give me to drink, whilst i lay on my side. one day, she came in to me, with five silver dirhems, and said to me, "o my son, i hear that the sheikh aboul muzeffer is about to go a voyage to china." (now this sheikh was a good and charitable man and loved the poor.) "so come, let us carry him these five dirhems and beg him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of china, so haply thou mayst make a profit of it, by the bounty of god the most high!" i was too lazy to move; but she swore by allah that, except i rose and went with her, she would neither bring me meat nor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst. when i heard this, o commander of the faithful, i knew she would do as she said; so i said to her, "help me to sit up." she did so, and i wept the while and said to her, "bring me my shoes." accordingly, she brought them and i said, "put them on my feet." she put them on my feet and i said, "lift me up." so she lifted me up and i said, "support me, that i may walk." so she supported me and i went along thus, still stumbling in my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we saluted the sheikh and i said to him, "o uncle, art thou aboul muzeffer?" "at thy service," answered he, and i said, "take these dirhems and buy me somewhat from the land of china: haply, god may vouchsafe me a profit of it." quoth the sheikh to his companions, "do ye know this youth?" "yes," replied they; "he is known as abou mohammed the lazy, and we never saw him stir from his house till now." then said he to me, "o my son, give me the dirhems and the blessing of god the most high go with them!" so he took the money, saying, "in the name of god!" and i returned home with my mother. meanwhile the sheikh set sail, with a company of merchants, and stayed not till they reached the land of china, where they bought and sold, and having done their intent, set out on their homeward voyage. when they had been three days at sea, the sheikh said to his company, "stay the ship!" and they asked him what was to do with him. "know," replied he, "that i have forgotten the commission with which abou mohammed the lazy charged me; so let us turn back, that we may buy him somewhat whereby he may profit." "we conjure thee, by god the most high," exclaimed they, "turn not back with us; for we have traversed an exceeding great distance and endured sore hardship and many perils." quoth he, "there is no help for it;" and they said "take from us double the profit of the five dirhems and turn not back with us." so he agreed to this and they collected for him a great sum of money. then they sailed on, till they came to an island, wherein was much people; so they moored thereto and the merchants went ashore, to buy thence precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth. presently, aboul muzeffer saw a man seated, with many apes before him, and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off. as often as the man's attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon the plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon the latter rose and beat them and bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape therefor and beat him the more. when aboul muzeffer saw this, he took compassion upon the plucked ape and said to his master, "wilt thou sell me yonder ape?" "buy," replied the man, and aboul muzeffer rejoined, "i have with me five dirhems, belonging to an orphan lad. wilt thou sell me the ape for that sum?" "he is thine," answered the ape-merchant. "may god give thee a blessing of him!" so the sheikh paid the money and his slaves took the ape and tied him up in the ship. then they loosed sail and made for another island, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who dived for pearls and corals and other jewels. so the merchants hired them for money and they dived. when the ape saw this, he did himself loose from his bonds and leaping off the ship's side, dived with them; whereupon quoth aboul muzeffer, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! the ape is lost to us, by the [ill] fortune of the poor fellow for whom we bought him." and they despaired of him; but, after awhile, the company of divers rose to the surface, and with them the ape, with his hands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before aboul muzeffer, who marvelled at this and said, "there hangs some great mystery by this ape!" then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island, called the island of the zunonj,[fn# ] who are a people of the blacks, that eat human flesh. when the blacks saw them, they boarded them in canoes and taking all in the ship, pinioned them and carried them to their king who bade slaughter certain of the merchants. so they slaughtered them and ate their flesh; and the rest passed the night in prison and sore concern. but, when it was [mid]night, the ape arose and going up to aboul muzeffer, did off his bonds. when the others saw him free, they said, "god grant that our deliverance may be at thy hands, o aboul muzeffer!" but he replied, "know that he who at delivered me, by god's leave, was none other than this ape; and i buy my release of him at a thousand dinars." "and we likewise," rejoined the merchants, "will pay him a thousand diners each, if he release us." with this, the ape went up to them and loosed their bonds, one by one, till he had freed them all, when they made for the ship and boarding her, found all safe and nothing missing. so they cast off and set sail; and presently aboul muzeffer said to them, "o merchants, fulfil your promise to the ape." "we hear and obey," answered they and paid him a thousand diners each, whilst aboul muzeffer brought out to him the like sum of his own monies, so that there was a great sum of money collected for the ape. then they fared on till they reached the city of bassora, where their friends came out to meet them; and when they had landed, the sheikh said, "where is abou mohammed the lazy?" the news reached my mother, who came to me, as i lay asleep, and said to me, "o my son, the sheikh aboul muzeffer has come back and is now in the city; so go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he hath brought thee; it may be god hath blessed thee with somewhat." "lift me from the ground," quoth i, "and prop me up, whilst i walk to the river-bank." so she lifted me up and i went out and walked on, stumbling in my skirts, till i met the sheikh, who exclaimed, at sight of me, "welcome to him whose money has been the means of my delivery and that of these merchants, by the will of god the most high! take this ape that i bought for thee and carry him home and wait till i come to thee." so i took the ape, saying in myself, "by allah, this is indeed rare merchandise!" and drove it home, where i said to my mother, "whenever i lie down to sleep, thou biddest me rise and trade; see now this merchandise with thine own eyes." then i sat down, and presently up came aboul muzeffer's slaves and said to me, "art thou abou mohammed the lazy?" "yes," answered i; and behold, aboul muzeffer appeared behind them. so i went up to him and kissed his hands; and he said to me, "come with me to my house." "i hear and obey," answered i and followed him to his house, where he bade his servants bring me the money [and what not else the ape had earned me]. so they brought it and he said to me, "o my son, god hath blessed thee with this wealth, by way of profit on thy five dirhems." then the slaves laid the treasure in chests, which they set on their heads, and aboul muzeffer gave me the keys of the chests, saying, "go before the slaves to thy house; for all this wealth is thine." so i returned to my mother, who rejoiced in this and said to me, "o my son, god hath blessed thee with this much wealth; so put off thy laziness and go down to the bazaar and sell and buy." so i shook off my sloth, and opened a shop in the bazaar, where the ape used to sit on the same divan with me, eating with me when i ate and drinking when i drank. but, every day, he was absent from daybreak till noon-day, when he came back, bringing with him a purse of a thousand diners, which he laid by my side, and sat down. thus did he a great while, till i amassed much wealth, wherewith i bought houses and lands and planted gardens and got me slaves, black and white and male and female. one day, as i sat in my shop, with the ape at my side, he began to turn right and left, and i said in myself, "what ails the beast?" then god made the ape speak with a glib tongue, and he said to me, "o abou mohammed!" when i heard him speak, i was sore afraid; but he said to me, "fear not; i will tell thee my case. know that i am a marid of the jinn and came to thee, because of thy poor estate; but to-day thou knowest not the tale of thy wealth; and now i have a need of thee, wherein it thou do my will, it shall be well for thee." "what is it?" asked i, and he said, "i have a mind to marry thee to a girl like the full moon." "how so?" quoth i. "to. morrow," replied he, "don thou thy richest clothes and mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold, and ride to the forage-market. there enquire for the shop of the sherif[fn# ] and sit down beside him and say to him, 'i come to thee a suitor for thy daughter's hand.' if he say to thee, 'thou hast neither money nor condition nor family,' pull out a thousand diners and give them to him; and if he ask more, give him more and tempt him with money." "i hear and obey," answered i; "to-morrow, if it please god, i will do thy bidding." so on the morrow i donned my richest clothes and mounting my mule with trappings of gold, rode, attended by half a score slaves, black and white, to the forage-market, where i found the sherif sitting in his shop. i alighted and saluting him, seated myself beside him. quoth he, "haply, thou hast some business with us, which we may have the pleasure of transacting?" "yes," answered i; "i have business with thee." "and what is it?" asked he. quoth i, "i come to thee as a suitor for thy daughter's hand." and he said, "thou hast neither money nor condition nor family;" whereupon i pulled out a thousand diners of red gold and said to him, "this is my rank and family; and he whom god bless and keep hath said, 'the best of ranks is wealth.' and how well saith the poet: whoso hath money, though it be but dirhems twain, his lips have learnt all manner speech and he can speak and fear no slight. his brethren and his mates draw near and hearken to his word and 'mongst the folk thou seest him walk, a glad and prideful wight. but for the money, in the which he glorieth on this wise, thou'dst find him, midst his fellow-men, in passing sorry plight. yea, whensoe'er the rich man speaks, though in his speech he err, 'thou hast not spoken a vain thing,' they say; 'indeed, thou'rt right.' but, for the poor man, an he speak, albeit he say sooth, they say, 'thou liest,' and make void his speech and hold it light for money, verily, in all the lands beneath the sun, with goodliness and dignity cloth its possessors dight. a very tongue it is for him who would be eloquent and eke a weapon to his hand who hath a mind to fight." when he heard this, he bowed his head awhile, then, raising it, said, "if it must be so, i will have of thee other three thousand diners." "i hear and obey," answered i and sent one of my servants to my house for the money. when he came back with it, i handed it to the sherif, who rose and bidding his servants shut his shop, invited his brother-merchants to the wedding; after which he carried me to his house and drew up the contract of marriage between his daughter and myself, saying to me, "after ten days, i will bring thee in to her." so i went home rejoicing and shutting myself up with the ape, told him what had passed; and he said, "thou hast done well." when the time appointed by the sherif drew near, the ape said to me, "there is a thing i would fain have thee do for me; and after, thou shalt have of me what thou wilt." "what is that?" asked i. quoth he, "at the upper end of the bridechamber stands a cabinet, on whose door is a padlock of brass and the keys under it. take the keys and open the cabinet, in which thou wilt find a coffer of iron, with four talismanic flags at its angles. in its midst is a brass basin full of money, wherein is tied a white cock with a cleft comb; and on one side of the coffer are eleven serpents and on the other a knife. take the knife and kill the cock; cut away the flags and overturn the chest; then go back to the bride and do away her maidenhead. this is what i have to ask of thee." "i hear and obey," answered i and betook myself to the sherif's house. as soon as i entered the bridechamber, i looked for the cabinet and found it even as the ape had described it. then i went in to the bride and marvelled at her beauty and grace and symmetry, for indeed they were such as no tongue can set forth. so i rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy; and in the middle of the night, when she slept, i rose and taking the keys, opened the cabinet. then i took the knife and killed the cock and threw down the flags and overturned the coffer, whereupon the girl awoke and seeing the closet open and the cock slain, exclaimed, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! the marid hath gotten me!" hardly had she made an end of speaking, when the marid came down upon the house and seizing the bride, flew away with her; whereupon there arose a great clamour and in came the sherif, buffeting his face. "o abou mohammed," said he, "what is this thou hast done? is it thus thou requitest us? i made the talisman in the cabinet in my fear for my daughter from this accursed one; for these six years hath he sought to steal away the girl, but could not. but now there is no more abiding for thee with us; so go thy ways." so i went out and returned to my own house, where i made search for the ape, but could find no trace of him; whereby i knew that he was the marid, who had taken my wife and had tricked me into destroying the talisman that hindered him from taking her, and repented, rending my clothes and buffeting my face; and there was no land but was straitened upon me. so i made for the desert, knowing not whither i should go, and wandered on, absorbed in melancholy thought, till night overtook me. presently, i saw two serpents fighting, a white one and a tawny. so i took up a stone and throwing it at the tawny serpent, which was the aggressor, killed it; whereupon the white serpent made off, but returned after awhile accompanied by ten others of the same colour, which went up to the dead serpent and tore it in pieces, till but the head was left. then they went their ways and i fell prostrate for weariness on the ground where i stood; but, as i lay, pondering my case, i heard a voice repeat the following verses, though i saw no one: let destiny with slackened rein its course appointed fare and lie thou down by night to sleep with heart devoid of care. for, twixt the closing of the eyes and th' opening thereof, god hath it in his power to change a case from foul to fair. when i heard this, great concern got hold of me and i was beyond measure troubled; and i heard a voice from behind me repeat these verses also: muslim, whose guide's the koran and his due, rejoice, for succour cometh thee unto. let not the wiles of satan make thee rue, for we're a folk whose creed's the one, the true. then said i, "i conjure thee by him whom thou worshippest, let me know who thou art!" thereupon the unseen speaker appeared to me, in the likeness of a man, and said, "fear not; for the report of thy good deed hath reached us, and we are a people of the true-believing jinn. so, if thou lack aught, let us know it, that we may have the pleasure of fulfilling thy need." "indeed," answered i, "i am in sore need, for there hath befallen me a grievous calamity, whose like never yet befell man." quoth he, "surely, thou art abou mohammed the lazy?" and i answered, "yes." "o abou mohammed," rejoined the genie, "i am the brother of the white serpent, whose enemy thou slewest. we are four brothers, by one father and mother, and we are all indebted to thee for thy kindness. know that he who played this trick on thee, in the likeness of an ape, is a marid of the marids of the jinn; and had he not used this artifice, he had never been able to take the girl; for he hath loved her and had a mind to take her this long while, but could not win at her, being hindered of the talisman; and had it remained as it was, he could never have done so. however, fret not thyself for that; we will bring thee to her and kill the marid; for thy kindness is not lost upon us." then he cried out with a terrible voice, and behold, there appeared a company of jinn, of whom he enquired concerning the ape; and one of them said, "i know his abiding-place; it is in the city of brass, upon which the sun riseth not." then said the first genie to me, "o abou mohammed, take one of these our slaves, and he will carry thee on his back and teach thee how thou shalt get back the girl: but know that he is a marid and beware lest thou utter the name of god, whilst he is carrying thee; or he will flee from thee, and thou wilt fall and be destroyed." "i hear and obey," answered i and chose out one of the slaves, who bent down and said to me, "mount." so i mounted on his back, and he flew up with me into the air, till i lost sight of the earth and saw the stars as they were fixed mountains and heard the angels glorifying god in heaven, what while the marid held me in converse, diverting me and hindering me from pronouncing the name of god. but, as we flew, behold, one clad in green raiment, with streaming tresses and radiant face, holding in his hand a javelin whence issued sparks of fire, accosted me, saying, "o abou mohammed, say, 'there is no god but god and mohammed is his apostle;' or i will smite thee with this javelin." now i was already sick at heart of my [forced] abstention from calling on the name of god; so i said, "there is no god but god and mohammed is his apostle." whereupon the shining one smote the marid with his javelin and he melted away and became ashes; whilst i was precipitated from his back and fell headlong toward the earth, till i dropped into the midst of a surging sea, swollen with clashing billows. hard by where i fell was a ship and five sailors therein, who, seeing me, made for me and took me up into the boat. they began to speak to me in some tongue i knew not; but i signed to them that i understood not their speech. so they fared on till ended day, when they cast out a net and caught a great fish and roasting it, gave me to eat; after which they sailed on, till they reached their city and carried me in to their king, who understand arabic. so i kissed the ground before him, and he bestowed on me a dress of honour and made me one of his officers. i asked him the name of the city, and he replied, "it is called henad and is in the land of china." then he committed me to his vizier, bidding him show me the city, which was formerly peopled by infidels, till god the most high turned them into stones; and there i abode a month's space, diverting myself with viewing the place, nor saw i ever greater plenty of trees and fruits than there. one day, as i sat on the bank of a river, there accosted me a horseman, who said to me, "art thou not abou mohammed the lazy?" "yes," answered i; whereupon, "fear not," said he; "for the report of thy good deed hath reached us." quoth i, "who art thou?" and he answered, "i am a brother of the white serpent, and thou art hard by the place where is the damsel whom thou seekest." so saying, he took off his [outer] clothes and clad me therein, saying, "fear not; for he, that perished under thee, was one of our slaves." then he took me up behind him and rode on with me, till we came to a desert place, when he said to me, "alight now and walk on between yonder mountains till thou seest the city of brass; then halt afar off and enter it not, till i return to thee and teach thee how thou shalt do." "i hear and obey," replied i and alighting, walked on till i came to the city, the walls whereof i found of brass. i went round about it, looking for a gate, but found none; and presently, the serpent's brother rejoined me and gave me a charmed sword that should hinder any from seeing me, then went his way. he had been gone but a little while, when i heard a noise of cries and found myself in the midst of a multitude of folk whose eyes were in their breasts. quoth they, "who art thou and what brings thee hither?" so i told them my story, and they said, "the girl thou seekest is in the city with the marid; but we know not what he hath done with her. as for us, we are brethren of the white serpent. but go to yonder spring and note where the water enters, and enter thou with it; for it will bring thee into the city." i did as they bade me and followed the water-course, till it brought me to a grotto under the earth, from which i ascended and found myself in the midst of the city. here i saw the damsel seated upon a throne of gold, under a canopy of brocade, midmost a garden full of trees of gold, whose fruits were jewels of price, such as rubies and chrysolites and pearls and coral. when she saw me, she knew me and accosted me with the [obligatory] salutation, saying, "o my lord, who brought thee hither?" so i told her all that had passed and she said, "know that the accursed marid, of the greatness of his love for me, hath told me what doth him hurt and what profit and that there is here a talisman by means whereof he could, an he would, destroy this city and all that are therein. it is in the likeness of an eagle, with i know not what written on it, and whoso possesses it, the afrits will do his commandment in everything. it stands upon a column in such a place; so go thou thither and take it. then set it before thee and taking a chafing-dish, throw into it a little musk, whereupon there will arise a smoke, that will draw all the afrits to thee, and they will all present themselves before thee, nor shall one be absent; and whatsoever thou biddest them, that will they do. arise therefore and do this thing, with the blessing of god the most high." "i hear and obey," answered i and going to the column, did what she bade me, whereupon the afrits presented themselves, saying, "here are we, o our lord! whatsoever thou biddest us, that will we do." quoth i, "bind the marid that brought the damsel hither." "we hear and obey," answered they and disappearing, returned after awhile and informed me that they had done my bidding. then i dismissed them and returning to my wife, told her what had happened and said to her, "wilt thou go with me?" "yes," answered she. so i carried her forth of the city, by the underground channel, and we fared on, till we fell in with the folk who had shown me the way into the city. i besought them to teach me how i should return to my native land; so they brought us to the seashore and set us aboard a ship, which sailed on with us with a fair wind, till we reached the city of bassora. here we landed, and i carried my wife to her father's house; and when her people saw her, they rejoiced with an exceeding joy. then i fumigated the eagle with musk and the afrits flocked to me from all sides, saying, "at thy service; what wilt thou have us do?" i bade them transport all that was in the city of brass of gold and silver and jewels and precious things to my house in bassora, which they did; and i then ordered them to fetch the ape. so they brought him before me, abject and humiliated, and i said to him, "o accursed one, why hast thou dealt thus perfidiously with me?" then i commanded the afrits to shut him in a brazen vessel: so they put him in a strait vessel of brass and sealed it with lead. but i abode with my wife in joy and delight; and now, o commander of the faithful, i have under my hand such stores of precious things and rare jewels and other treasure as neither reckoning may comprise nor measure suffice unto. all this is of the bounty of god the most high, and if thou desire aught of money or what not, i will bid the jinn bring it to thee forthright.' the khalif wondered greatly at his story and bestowed on him royal gifts, in exchange for his presents, and entreated him with the favour he deserved. the generous dealing of yehya ben khalid the barmecide with mensour. it is told that haroun er reshid, in the days before he became jealous of the barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, salih by name, and said to him, 'o salih, go to mensour[fn# ] and say to him, "thou owest us a thousand thousand dirhems and we require of thee immediate payment of the amount." and i charge thee, o salih, an he pay it not before sundown, sever his head from his body and bring it to me.' 'i hear and obey,' answered salih and going to mensour, acquainted him with what the khalif had said, whereupon quoth he, 'by allah, i am a lost man; for all my estate and all my hand owns, if sold for their utmost value, would not fetch more than a hundred thousand dirhems. whence then, o salih, shall i get the other nine hundred thousand?' 'contrive how thou mayst speedily acquit thyself,' answered salih; 'else art thou a dead man; for i cannot grant thee a moment's delay after the time appointed me by the khalif, nor can i fail of aught that he hath enjoined on me. hasten, therefore, to devise some means of saving thyself ere the time expire.' 'o salih,' quoth mensour, 'i beg thee of thy favour to bring me to my house, that i may take leave of my children and family and give my kinsfolk my last injunctions.' so he carried him to his house, where he fell to bidding his family farewell, and the house was filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentation and calling on god for help. then salih said to him, 'i have bethought me that god may peradventure vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of the barmecides. come, let us go to the house of yehya ben khalid.' so they went to yehya's house, and mensour told him his case, whereat he was sore concerned and bowed his head awhile; then raising it, he called his treasurer and said to him, 'how much money have we in our treasury?' 'five thousand dirhems,' answered the treasurer, and yehya bade him bring them and sent a message to his son fezl, saying, 'i am offered for sale estates of great price, that may never be laid waste; so send me somewhat of money.' fezl sent him a thousand thousand dirhems, and he despatched a like message to his son jaafer, who also sent him a thousand thousand dirhems; nor did he leave sending to his kinsmen of the barmecides, till he had collected from them a great sum of mosey for mensour. but the latter and salih knew not of this; and mensour said to yehya, 'o my lord, i have laid hold upon thy skirt for i know not whither to look for the money but to thee; so discharge thou the rest of my debt for me, in accordance with thy wonted generosity, and make me thy freed slave.' thereupon yehya bowed his head and wept; then he said to a page, 'harkye, boy, the commander of the faithful gave our slave-girl denanir a jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her send it us.' the page went out and presently returned with the jewel, whereupon quoth yehya, 'o mensour, i bought this jewel of the merchants for the commander of the faithful, for two hundred thousand diners, and he gave it to our slave-girl denanir the lutanist. when he sees it with thee, he will know it and spare thy life and do thee honour for our sake; and now thy money is complete.' so salih took the money and the jewel and carried them to the khalif, together with mensour; but on the way? he heard the latter repeat this verse, applying it to his own case: it was not love, indeed, my feet to them that led; nay, but because the stroke of th' arrows i did dread. when salih heard this, he marvelled at the baseness and ingratitude of mensour's nature, and turning upon him, said, 'there is none on the face of the earth better than the barmecides, nor any baser nor more depraved than thou; for they bought thee off from death and saved thee from destruction, giving thee what should deliver thee; yet thou thankest them not nor praisest them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of the noble; nay, thou requitest their benevolence with this speech.' then he went to er reshid and acquainted him with all that had passed; and he marvelled at the generosity and benevolence of yehya ben khalid and the baseness and ingratitude of mensour and bade restore the jewel to yehya, saying, 'that which we have given, it befits not that we take again.' so salih returned to yehya, and acquainted him with mensour's ill conduct; whereupon, 'o salih,' replied he, 'when a man is in distress, sick at heart and distracted with melancholy thought. he is not to be blamed for aught that falls from him; for it comes not from the heart.' and he fell to seeking excuse for mensour. but salih wept [in telling the tale] and exclaimed, 'never shall the revolving sphere bring forth into being the like of thee, o yehya! alas, that one of such noble nature and generosity should be buried beneath the earth! 'and he repeated the following verses: hasten to do the kindnesses thou hast a mind unto; for bounty is not possible at every tide and hour. how many a man denies his soul to do the generous deed, to which it's fain, till lack of means deprive him of the power! the generous dealing of yehya ben khalid with a man who forged a letter in his name. there was between yehya ben khalid and abdallah ben malik el khuzai[fn# ] a secret enmity, the reason whereof was that haroun er reshid loved the latter with an exceeding love, so that yehya and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the khalif; and thus they abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the khalif invested abdallah with the government of armenia and sent him thither. soon after he had established himself in his seat of government, there came to him one of the people of irak, a man of excellent parts and good breeding, who had lost his wealth and wasted his substance, and his estate was come to nought; so he forged a letter to abdallah in yehya's name and set out therewith for armenia. when he came to the governor's gate, he gave the letter to one of the chamberlains, who carried it to his master. abdallah read it and considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for the man, who presented himself before him and called down blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. quoth abdallah to him, 'what moved thee to weary thyself thus and bring me a forged letter? but be of good heart; for we will not disappoint thy travail.' 'god prolong the life of our lord the vizier!' replied the other. 'if my coming irk thee, cast not about for a pretext to repel me, for god's earth is wide and the divine provider liveth. indeed, the letter i bring thee from yehya ben khalid is true and no forgery.' quoth abdallah, 'i will write a letter to my agent at baghdad and bid him enquire concerning the letter. if it be true, as thou sayest, i will bestow on thee the government of one of my cities; or, if thou prefer a present, i will give thee two hundred thousand dirhems, besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. but, if the letter prove a forgery, i will have thee beaten with two hundred blows of a stick and thy beard shaven.' accordingly, he bade confine him in a privy chamber and furnish him therein with all he needed, till his case should be made manifest. then he despatched a letter to his agent at baghdad, to the following purport: 'there is come to me a man with a letter purporting to be from yehya ben khalid. now i have my doubts of this letter: so delay thou not, but go thyself and learn the truth of the case and let me have an answer in all speed.' when the letter reached the agent, he mounted at once and betook himself to the house of yehya ben khalid, whom he found sitting with his officers and boon-companions. so he gave him the letter and he read it and said to the agent, 'come back to me to-morrow, against i write thee an answer.' when the agent had gone away, yehya turned to his companions and said, 'what doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my enemy?' they all answered, saying this and that, each proposing some kind of punishment; but yehya said, 'ye err in that ye say and this your counsel is of the meanness and baseness of your spirits. ye all know the close favour of abdallah with the khalif and what is between him and us of despite and enmity; and now god the most high hath made this man an intermediary, to effect a reconciliation between us, and hath appointed him to quench the fire of hate in our hearts, which hath been growing this score years; and by his means our differences shall be accorded. wherefore it behoves me to requite him by confirming his expectation and amending his estate; so i will write him a letter to abdallah, to the intent that he may use him with increase of honour and liberality.' when his companions heard what he said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. then he called for paper and ink and wrote abdallah a letter in his own hand, to the following effect: 'in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful! thy letter hath reached me (may god give thee long life!) and i have read it and rejoice in thy health and well-being. it was thy thought that yonder worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from me; but the case is not so, for the letter i myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and i hope, of thy courtesy and benevolence and the nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt fulfil this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish and use him with the honour he deserves and bring him to his desire and make him the special object of thy favour and munificence. whatever thou dost with him, it is to me that thou dost it, and i am beholden to thee accordingly.' then he superscribed the letter and sealing it, delivered it to the agent, who despatched it to abdallah. when the latter read it, he was charmed with its contents and sending for the man, said to him, 'now will i give thee which thou wilt of the two things i promised thee.' 'the gift were more acceptable to me than aught else,' replied the man; whereupon abdallah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhems and ten arab horses, five with housings of silk and other five with richly ornamented saddles of state, besides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of jewels of price. moreover, he bestowed on him a dress of honour and sent him to baghdad in great state. when he came thither, he repaired to yehya's house, before he went to his own folk, and sought an audience of him. so the chamberlain went in to yehya and said to him, 'o my lord, there is one at our door who craves speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth and consideration, comely of aspect and attended by many servants.' yehya bade admit him; so he entered and kissed the ground before him. 'who art thou?' asked yehya; and he answered, 'o my lord, i am one who was dead from the tyranny of fortune; but thou didst raise me again from the grave of calamities and preferredst me to the paradise of [my] desires. i am he who forged a letter in thy name and carried it to abdallah ben malek el khuzai.' 'how hath he dealt with thee,' asked yehya, 'and what did he give thee?' quoth the man, 'he hath made me rich and overwhelmed me with presents and favours, thanks to thee and thy great generosity and magnanimity and to thine exceeding goodness and abounding munificence and thine all-embracing liberality. and now, behold, i have brought all that he gave me, and it is at thy door; for it is thine to command, and the decision is in thy hand.' 'thou hast done me better service than i thee,' rejoined yehya; 'and i owe thee thanks without stint and abundant largesse, for that thou hast changed the enmity that was between me and yonder man of worship into love and friendship. wherefore i will give thee the like of what abdallah gave thee.' then he ordered him money and horses and apparel, such as abdallah had given him; and thus that man's fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two generous men. the khalif el mamoun and the strange doctor it is said that there was none, among the khalifs of the house of abbas, more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than el mamoun. on two days in each week, he was wont to preside at conferences of the learned, when the doctors and theologians met and sitting, each in his several rank and room, disputed in his presence. one day, as he sat thus, there came into the assembly a stranger, clad in worn white clothes, and sat down in an obscure place, behind the doctors of the law. then the assembled scholars began to speak and expound difficult questions, it being the custom that the various propositions should be submitted to each in turn and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or rare trait, should make mention of it. so the question went round till it came to the stranger, who spoke in his turn and made a goodlier answer than that of any of the doctors; and the khalif approved his speech and bade advance him to a higher room. when the second question came round to him, he made a still more admirable answer, and the khalif ordered him to be preferred to a yet higher place. when the third question reached him, he made answer more justly and appropriately than on the two previous occasions, and el mamoun bade him come up and sit near himself. when the conference broke up, water was brought and they washed their hands; after which food was set on and they ate. then the doctors arose and withdrew; but el mamoun forbade the stranger to depart with them and calling him to himself, entreated him with especial favour and promised him honour and benefits. presently, they made ready the banquet of wine; the fair-faced boon-companions came and the cup went round amongst them till it came to the stranger, who rose to his feet and said, 'if the commander of the faithful permit me, i will say one word.' 'say what thou wilt,' answered the khalif. quoth the stranger, 'verily, the exalted intelligence[fn# ] (whose eminence god increase!) knoweth that his slave was this day, in the august assembly, one of the unknown folk and of the meanest of the company, and the commander of the faithful distinguished him and brought him near to himself, little as was the wit he showed, preferring him above the rest and advancing him to a rank whereto his thought aspired not: and now he is minded to deprive him of that small portion of wit that raised him from obscurity and augmented him, after his littleness. god forfend that the commander of the faithful should envy his slave what little he hath of understanding and worth and renown! but, if his slave should drink wine, his reason would depart from him and ignorance draw near to him and steal away his good breeding; so would he revert to that low degree, whence he sprang, and become contemptible and ridiculous in the eyes of the folk. i hope, therefore, that the august intelligence, of his power and bounty and royal generosity and magnanimity, will not despoil his slave of this jewel.' when the khalif heard his speech, he praised him and thanked him and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high honour and ordered him a present of a hundred thousand diners. moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel; and in every assembly he exalted him and showed him favour over all the other doctors, till he became the highest of them all in rank. ali shar and zumurrud. there lived once, of old days, in the land of khorassan, a merchant called mejdeddin, who had great wealth and many slaves and servants, black and white; but he was childless until he reached the age of threescore, when god the most high vouchsafed him a son, whom he named ali shar. the boy grew up like the moon on the night of its full, and when he came to man's estate and was endowed with all kinds of perfection, his father fell sick of a mortal malady and calling his son to him, said to him, 'o my son, the hour of my death is at hand, and i desire to give thee my last injunctions.' 'and what are they, o my father?' asked ali. 'o my son,' answered mejdeddin, 'i charge thee, be not [too] familiar with any and eschew what leads to evil and mischief. beware lest thou company with the wicked; for he is like the blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his smoke irks thee: and how excellent is the saying of the poet: there is no man in all the world whose love thou shouldst desire, no friend who, if fate play thee false, will true and constant be. wherefore i'd have thee live apart and lean for help on none. in this i give thee good advice; so let it profit thee. and what another saith: men are a latent malady; count not on them, i counsel thee. an if thou look into their case, they're full of guile and perfidy. and yet a third: the company of men will profit thee in nought, except to pass away the time in idle prate; so spare thou to converse with them, except it be for gain of lore and wit or mending of estate. and a fourth if a quickwitted man have made proof of mankind, i have eaten of them, where but tasted hath he, and have seen their affection but practice and nought but hypocrisy found their religion to be.' 'o my father,' said ali, 'i hear and obey: what more shall i do?' 'do good when thou art able thereto,' answered his father; 'be ever courteous and succourable to men and profit by all occasions of doing a kindness; for a design is not always easy of accomplishment; and how well saith the poet: 'tis not at every time and season that to do kind offices, indeed, is easy unto you; so, when the occasion serves, make haste to profit by't, lest by and by the power should fail thee thereunto.' 'i hear and obey,' answered ali; 'what more?' 'be mindful of god,' continued mejdeddin, 'and he will be mindful of thee. husband thy wealth and squander it not; for, if thou do, thou wilt come to have need of the least of mankind. know that the measure of a man's worth is according to what his right hand possesses: and how well saith the poet: if wealth should fail, there is no friend will bear me company, but whilst my substance yet abounds, all men are friends to me. how many a foe for money's sake hath companied with me! how many a friend for loss thereof hath turned mine enemy!' 'what more?' asked ali. 'o my son,' said mejdeddin, 'take counsel of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy heart's desire. have compassion on those that are below thee, so shall those that are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress none, lest god set over thee one who shall oppress thee. how well saith the poet: add others' wit to thine and counsel still ensue; for that the course of right is not concealed from two. one mirror shows a man his face, but, if thereto another one he add, his nape thus can he view. and as saith another: be slow to move and hasten not to match thy heart's desire: be merciful to all, as thou on mercy reckonest; for no hand is there but the hand of god is over it, and no oppressor but shall be with worse than he opprest. and yet another: do no oppression, whilst the power thereto is in thine hand; for still in peril of revenge the sad oppressor goes. thine eyes will sleep anon, what while the opprest, on wake, call down curses upon thee, and god's eye shuts never in repose. beware of drinking wine, for it is the root of all evil: it does away the reason and brings him who uses it into contempt; and how well saith the poet: by allah, wine shall never invade me, whilst my soul endureth in my body and my thoughts my words control! not a day long will i turn me to the zephyr-freshened bowl, and for friend i'll choose him only who of wine-bibbing is whole. this, then,' added mejdeddin, 'is my charge to thee; keep it before thine eyes, and may god stand to thee in my stead.' then he swooned away and kept silence awhile. when he came to himself, he besought pardon of god and making the profession of the faith, was admitted to the mercy of the most high. his son wept and lamented for him and made due preparation for his burial. great and small attended him to the grave and the readers recited the koran about his bier; nor did ali shar omit aught of what was due to the dead. then they prayed over him and committed him to the earth, graving these words upon his tomb: created of the dust thou wast and cam'st to life and eloquence didst learn and spokest many a word; then to the dust again returnedst and wast dead, as 'twere from out the dust, indeed, thou'dst never stirred. his son ali shar grieved for him and mourned him after the wont of men of condition; nor did he cease therefrom till his mother died also, not long afterward, when he did with her as he had done with his father. then he sat in the shop, selling and buying and consorting with none of god's creatures, in accordance with his father's injunction. on this wise he abode for a year, at the end of which time there came in to him certain whoreson fellows by craft and companied with him, till he turned with them to lewdness and swerved from the right way, drinking wine in goblets and frequenting the fair night and day; for he said in himself, 'my father amassed this wealth for me, and if i spend it not, to whom shall i leave it? by allah, i will not do save as saith the poet: if all the days of thy life thou get and heap up treasure, to swell thy hoard, when wilt thou use it and so enjoy that thou hast gathered and gained and stored?' then he ceased not to squander his wealth all tides of the day and watches of the night, till he had made away with it all and abode in evil case and troubled at heart. so he sold his shop and lands and so forth, and after this he sold the clothes off his body, leaving himself but one suit. then drunkenness left him and thought came to him, and he fell into melancholy. one day, when he had sat from day-break to mid-afternoon without breaking his fast, he said in himself, 'i will go round to those on whom i spent my wealth: it may be one of them will feed me this day.' so he went the round of them all; but, as often as he knocked at any one's door, the man denied himself and hid from him, till he was consumed with hunger. then he betook himself to the bazaar, where he found a crowd of people, assembled in a ring round somewhat, and said in himself, 'i wonder what ails the folk to crowd together thus? by allah, i will not remove hence, till i see what is within yonder ring!' so he made his way into the ring and found that the crowd was caused by a damsel exposed for sale. she was five feet high, slender of shape, rosy-cheeked and high- bosomed and surpassed all the people of her time in beauty and grace and elegance and perfection; even as saith one, describing her: as she wished, she was created, after such a wise that lo! she in beauty's mould was fashioned, perfect, neither less no mo'. loveliness itself enamoured of her lovely aspect is; coyness decks her and upon her, pride and pudour sweetly show. in her face the full moon glitters and the branch is as her shape; musk her breath is, nor midst mortals is her equal, high or low. 'tis as if she had been moulded out of water of pure pearls; in each member of her beauty is a very moon, i trow. and her name was zumurrud. when ali shar saw her, he marvelled at her beauty and grace and said, 'by allah, i will not stir hence till i see what price this girl fetches and know who buys her!' so he stood with the rest of the merchants, and they thought he had a mind to buy her, knowing the wealth he had inherited from his parents. then the broker stood at the damsel's head and said, 'ho, merchants! ho, men of wealth! who will open the biddings for this damsel, the mistress of moons, the splendid pearl, zumurrud the curtain-maker, the aim of the seeker and the delight of the desirous? open the biddings, and on the opener be nor blame nor reproach.' so one merchant said, 'i bid five hundred dinars for her.' 'and ten,' said another. 'six hundred,' cried an old man named reshideddin, blue-eyed and foul of face. 'and ten,' quoth another. 'i bid a thousand,' rejoined reshideddin; whereupon the other merchants were silent and the broker took counsel with the girl's owner, who said, 'i have sworn not to sell her save to whom she shall choose; consult her.' so the broker went up to zumurrud and said to her, 'o mistress of moons, yonder merchant hath a mind to buy thee.' she looked as reshideddin and finding him as we have said, replied, 'i will not be sold to a grey- beard, whom decrepitude hath brought to evil plight.' 'bravo,' quoth i, 'for one who saith: i asked her for a kiss one day, but she my hoary head saw, though of wealth and worldly good i had great plentihead; so, with a proud and flouting air, her back she turned on me and, "no, by him who fashioned men from nothingness!" she said. "now, by god's truth, i never had a mind to hoary hairs, and shall my mouth be stuffed, forsooth, with cotton, ere i'm dead?" 'by allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou art excusable, and thy value is ten thousand dinars!' so he told her owner that she would not accept of reshideddin, and he said, 'ask her of another.' thereupon another man came forward and said, 'i will take her at the same price.' she looked at him and seeing that his beard was dyed, said, 'what is this lewd and shameful fashion and blackening of the face of hoariness?' and she made a great show of amazement and repeated the following verses: a sight, and what a sight, did such a one present to me! a neck, to beat with shoes, by allah, meant! and eke a beard for lie a coursing-ground that was and brows for binding on of ropes all crook'd and bent.[fn# ] thou that my cheeks and shape have ravished, with a lie thou dost disguise thyself and reck'st not, impudent; dyeing thy hoary hairs disgracefully with black[fn# ] and hiding what appears, with fraudulent intent; as of the puppet-men thou wert, with one beard go'st and with another com'st again, incontinent. and how well saith another: quoth she to me, "i see thou dy'st thy hoariness;" and i, "i do but hide it from thy sight, o thou my ear and eye!"[fn# ] she laughed out mockingly and said, "a wonder 'tis indeed! thou so aboundest in deceit that even thy hair's a lie." 'by allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou hast spoken truly!' the merchant asked what she said: so the broker repeated the verses to him, and he knew that she was in the right and desisted from buying her. then another came forward and would have bought her at the same price; but she looked at him and seeing that he had but one eye, said, 'this man is one-eyed; and it is of such as he that the poet saith: consort not with him that is one-eyed a day, and be on thy guard 'gainst his mischief and lies: for god, if in him aught of good had been found, had not curst him with blindness in one of his eyes.' then the broker brought her another bidder and said to her, 'wilt thou be sold to this man?' she looked at him and seeing that he was short of stature and had a beard that reached to his navel, said, 'this is he of whom the poet speaks, when he says: i have a friend, who has a beard, that god caused flourish without profit, till, behold. 'tis, as it were, to look upon, a night of middle winter, long and dark and cold.' 'o my lady,' said the broker, 'look who pleases thee of these that are present, and point him out, that i may sell thee to him.' so she looked round the ring of merchants, examining them one by one, till her eyes rested on ali shar. his sight cost her a thousand sighs and her heart was taken with him: for that he was passing fair of favour and more pleasant than the northern zephyr; and she said, 'o broker, i will be sold to none but my lord there, he of the handsome face and slender shape, whom the poet describes in the following verses: they showed thy lovely face and railed at her whom ravishment assailed. had they desired to keep me chaste, thy face so fair they should have veiled. none shall possess me but he,' added she; 'for his cheek is smooth and the water of his mouth sweet as selsebil;[fn# ] his sight is a cure for the sick and his charms confound poet and proser, even as saith one of him: the water of his mouth is wine, and very musk the fragrance of his breath; his teeth are camphor white. rizwan hath put him our from paradise, for fear the black-eyed girls of heaven be tempted with the wight. men blame him for his pride; but the full moon's excuse, how proud so'er it be, finds favour in our sight. him of the curling locks and rose-red cheeks and enchanting glances, of whom saith the poet: a slender loveling promised me his favours fair and free; so my heart's restless and my eye looks still his sight to see. his eyelids warranted me the keeping of his troth; but how shall they, that bankrupt[fn# ] are, fulfil their warranty? and as saith another: "the script of whiskers on his cheek," quoth they, "is plain to see: how canst thou then enamoured be of him, and whiskered he?" quoth i, "have done with blame and leave your censuring, i pray. as if it be a very script, it is a forgery. lo, in the gathering of his cheeks the meads of eden be, and more by token that his lips are kauther,[fn# ], verily." when the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of ali shar, he marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the brightness of her beauty; but her owner said to him, 'marvel not at her beauty, that shames the sun of day, nor that her mind is stored with the choicest verses of the poets; for, besides this, she can repeat the glorious koran, according to the seven readings, and the august traditions, after the authentic text; and she writes the seven hands and is versed in more branches of knowledge than the most learned doctor. moreover, her hands are better than gold and silver; for she makes curtains of silk and sells them for fifty dinars each; and it takes her eight days to make a curtain.' 'happy the man,' exclaimed the broker, 'who hath her in his house and maketh her of his privy treasures!' and her owner said, 'sell her to whom she will.' so the broker went up to ali shar and kissing his hands, said to him, 'o my lord, buy thou this damsel, for she hath made choice of thee.' then he set forth to him all her charms and accomplishments, and added: 'i give thee joy, if thou buy her, for she is a gift from him who is no niggard of his giving.' ali bowed his head awhile, laughing to himself and saying inwardly, 'up to now i have not broken my fast; yet i am ashamed to own before the merchants that i have no money wherewith to buy her.' the damsel, seeing him hang down his head, said to the broker, 'take my hand and lead me to him, that i may show myself to him and tempt him to buy me; for i will not be sold to any but him.' so the broker took her hand and stationed her before ali shar, saying, 'what is thy pleasure, o my lord?' but he made him no answer, and the girl said to him, 'o my lord and darling of my heart, what ails thee that thou wilt not bid for me? buy me for what thou wilt, and i will bring thee good fortune.' ali raised his eyes to her and said, 'must i buy thee perforce? thou art dear at one thousand dinars.' 'then buy me for nine hundred,' answered she. 'nay,' rejoined he; and she said, 'then for eight hundred;' and ceased not to abate the price, till she came to a hundred dinars. quoth he, 'i have not quite a hundred dinars.' 'how much dost thou lack of a hundred?' asked she, laughing. 'by allah,' replied he, 'i have neither a hundred dinars, nor any other sum; for i own neither white money nor red, neither dinar nor dirhem. so look out for another customer.' when she knew that he had nothing, she said to him, 'take me by the hand and carry me aside into a passage, as if thou wouldst examine me privily.' he did so and she took from her bosom a purse containing a thousand dinars, which she gave him saying, 'pay down nine hundred to my price and keep the rest to provide us withal.' he did as she bade him and buying her for nine hundred dinars, paid down the price from the purse and carried her to his house, which when she entered, she found nothing but bare floors, without carpets or vessels. so she gave him other thousand dinars, saying, 'go to the bazaar and buy three hundred dinars' worth of furniture and vessels for the house and three dinars' worth of meat and drink, also a piece of silk, the size of a curtain, and gold and silver thread and [sewing] silk of seven colours.' he did her bidding, and she furnished the house and they sat down to eat and drink; after which they went to bed and took their pleasure, one of the other. and they lay the night embraced and were even as saith the poet: cleave fast to her thou lov'st and let the envious rail amain; for calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain. lo, whilst i slept, in dreams i saw thee lying by my side and from thy lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did drain. yea, true and certain all i saw is, as i will avouch, and 'spite the envier, thereto i surely will attain. there is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon, than when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain, each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight, whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks enchain. lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, but on cold iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain. thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, canst thou assain a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain? if in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, i rede thee cast the world away and with that one remain. they lay together till the morning and love for the other was stablished in the heart of each of them. on the morrow, zumurrud took the curtain and embroidered it with coloured silks and gold and silver thread, depicting thereon all manner birds and beasts; nor is there in the world a beast but she wrought on the curtain the semblant thereof. moreover, she made thereto a band, with figures of birds, and wrought at it eight days, till she had made an end of it, when she trimmed it and ironed it and gave it to ali, saying, 'carry it to the bazaar and sell it to one of the merchants for fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a passer-by, for this would bring about a separation between us, because we have enemies who are not unmindful of us.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he and repairing to the bazaar, sold the curtain to a merchant, as she bade him; after which he bought stuff for another curtain and silk and gold and silver thread as before and what they needed of food, and brought all this to her, together with the rest of the money. they abode thus a whole year, and every eight days she made a curtain, which he sold for fifty dinars. at the end of the year, he went to the bazaar, as usual, with a curtain, which he gave to the broker; and there came up to him a christian, who bid him threescore dinars for the curtain; but he refused, and the christian went on to bid higher and higher, till he came to a hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten gold pieces. so the latter returned to ali and told him of this and urged him to accept the offer, saying, 'o my lord, be not afraid of this christian, for he can do thee no hurt.' the merchants also were instant with him to accept the offer; so he sold the curtain to the christian, though his heart misgave him, and taking the price, set off to return home. presently, he found the christian walking behind him; so he said to him, 'o nazarene, why dost thou follow me?' 'o my lord,' answered the other, 'i have a need at the end of the street, may god never bring thee to need!' ali went on, but, as he came to the door of his house, the christian overtook him; so he said to him, 'o accursed one, what ails thee to follow me wherever i go?' 'o my lord,' replied the other, 'give me a draught of water, for i am athirst; and with god the most high be thy reward!' quoth ali in himself, 'verily, this man is a tributary [of the khalifate] and seeks a draught of water of me; by allah, i will not disappoint him!' so he entered the house and took a mug of water; but zumurrud saw him and said to him, 'o my love, hast thou sold the curtain?' 'yes,' answered he. 'to a merchant or a passer-by?' asked she. 'for my heart forethinketh me of separation.' 'to a merchant, of course,' replied he. but she rejoined, 'tell me the truth of the case, that i may order my affair; and what wantest thou with the mug of water?' 'to give the broker a drink,' answered he; whereupon she exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' and repeated the following verses: o thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet: let clips and kisses not delude thy spright. softly, for fortune's nature is deceit and parting is the end of love-delight. then he took the mug and going out, found the christian within the vestibule and said to him, 'o dog, how darest thou enter my house without my leave?' 'o my lord,' answered he, 'there is no difference between the door and the vestibule and i will not budge hence, save to go out; and i am beholden to thee for thy kindness.' then he took the mug and emptying it, returned it to ali, who took it and waited for him to go; but he did not move. so ali said to him, 'why dost thou not rise and go thy way?' 'o my lord,' answered the christian, 'be not of those that do a kindness and after make a reproach of it, nor one of whom saith the poet: gone, gone are they who, if thou stoodst before their door of old, had, at thy seeking, handselled thee with benefits untold! and if thou stoodest at their door who follow after them, these latter would begrudge to thee a draught of water cold. o my lord,' continued he, 'i have drunk, and now i would have thee give me to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but a crust of bread or a biscuit and an onion.' 'begone, without more talk,' replied ali; 'there is nothing in the house.' 'o my lord,' insisted the christian, 'if there be nothing in the house, take these hundred dinars and fetch us somewhat from the market, if but a cake of bread, that bread and salt may pass between us.' with this, quoth ali to himself, 'this christian is surely mad; i will take the hundred dinars and bring somewhat worth a couple of dirhems and laugh at him.' 'o my lord,' added the christian, 'i want but somewhat to stay my hunger, were it but a cake of dry bread and an onion; for the best food is that which does away hunger, not rich meats; and how well saith the poet: a cake of dry stale bread will hunger out to flight: why then are grief and care so heavy on my spright? death is, indeed, most just, since, with an equal hand, khalif and beggar-wretch, impartial, it doth smite.' then said ali, 'wait here, whilst i lock the saloon and fetch thee somewhat from the market.' 'i hear and obey,' said the christian. so ali shut up the saloon and locking the door with a padlock, put the key in his pocket: after which he repaired to the market and bought fried cheese and virgin honey and bananas and bread, with which he returned to the christian. when the latter saw this, he said, 'o my lord, this is [too] much; thou hast brought enough for half a score men and i am alone; but belike thou wilt eat with me.' 'eat by thyself,' replied ali; 'i am full.' 'o my lord,' rejoined the christian, 'the wise say, "he who eats not with his guest is a base-born churl."' when ali heard this, he sat down and ate a little with him, after which he would have held his hand: but [whilst he was not looking] the christian took a banana and peeled it, then, splitting it in twain, put into one half concentrated henbane, mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would overthrow an elephant. this half he dipped in the honey and gave to ali shar, saying, 'o my lord, i swear by thy religion that thou shalt take this.' ali was ashamed to make him forsworn; so he took the half banana and swallowed it; but hardly had it reached his stomach, when his head fell down in front of his feet and he was as though he had been a year asleep. when the nazarene saw this, he rose, as he had been a bald wolf or a baited cat, and taking the saloon key, made off at a run, leaving ali shar prostrate. now this christian was the brother of the decrepit old man who thought to buy zumurrud for a thousand dinars, but she would have none of him and flouted him in verse. he was an infidel at heart, though a muslim in outward show, and called himself reshideddin;[fn# ] and when zumurrud mocked him and would not accept of him to her lord, he complained to his brother, the aforesaid christian, bersoum by name, who said to him, 'fret not thyself about this affair; for i will make shift to get her for thee, without paying a penny.' now he was a skilful sorcerer crafty and wicked; so he watched his time and played ali shar the trick aforesaid; then, taking the key, he went to his brother and told him what had passed, whereupon reshideddin mounted his mule and repaired with his servants to ali shar's house, taking with him a purse of a thousand dinars, wherewith to bribe the master of police, should he meet him. he unlocked the saloon door, and the men who were with him rushed in upon zumurrud and seized her, threatening her with death if she spoke; but they left the house as it was and took nothing therefrom. moreover, they laid the key by ali's side and leaving him lying in the vestibule, shut the door on him and went away. the christian carried the girl to his own house and setting her amongst his women and concubines, said to her, 'o strumpet, i am the old man, whom thou did reject and lampoon; but now i have thee, without paying a penny.' 'god requite thee, o wicked old man,' replied she, with her eyes full of tears, 'for sundering my lord and me!' 'wanton doxy that thou art,' rejoined he,' thou shalt see how i will punish thee! by the virtue of the messiah and the virgin, except thou obey me and embrace my faith, i will torture thee with all manner of torture!' 'by allah,' answered she, 'though thou cut me in pieces, i will not forswear the faith of islam! it may be god the most high will bring me speedy relief, for he is all-powerful, and the wise say, "better hurt in body than in religion."' thereupon the old man called out to his eunuchs and women, saying, 'throw her down!' so they threw her down and he beat her grievously, whilst she cried in vain for help, but presently stinted and fell to saying, 'god is my sufficiency, and he is indeed sufficient!' till her breath failed her and she swooned away. when he had taken his fill of beating her, he said to the eunuchs, 'drag her forth by the feet and cast her down in the kitchen, and give her nothing to eat.' they did his bidding, and on the morrow the accursed old man sent for her and beat her again, after which he bade return her to her place. when the pain of the blows had subsided, she said, 'there is no god but god and mohammed is his apostle! god is my sufficiency and excellent is he in whom i put my trust!' and she called upon our lord mohammed (whom god bless and preserve) for succour. meanwhile, ali shar slept on till next day, when the fumes of the henbane quitted his brain and he awoke and cried out, 'o zumurrud!' but none answered him. so he entered the saloon and found 'the air empty and the place of visitation distant;'[fn# ] whereby he knew that it was the nazarene, who had played him this trick. and he wept and groaned and lamented and repeated the following verses: o fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me: lo, for my soul is racked with dolour and despite! have pity, o my lords, upon a slave laid low, upon the rich made poor by love and its unright. what boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draw near, his bowstring snap and leave him helpless in the fight? and when afflictions press and multiply on man, ah, whither then shall he from destiny take flight? how straitly did i guard 'gainst severance of our loves! but, when as fate descends, it blinds the keenest sight. then he sobbed and repeated these verses also: her traces on the encampment's sands a robe of grace bestow: the mourner yearneth to the place where she dwelt whiles ago. towards her native land she turns; a camp in her doth raise longing, whose very ruins now are scattered to and fro. she stops and questions of the place; but with the case's tongue it answers her, "there is no way to union, i trow. 'tis as the lost a levin were, that glittered on the camp awhile, then vanished and to thee appeareth nevermo'." and he repented, whenas repentance availed him not, and wept and tore his clothes. then he took two stones and went round the city, beating his breast with the stones and crying out, 'o zumurrud!' whilst the children flocked round him, calling out, 'a madman! a madman!' and all who knew him wept for him, saying, 'yonder is such an one: what hath befallen him?' this he did all that day, and when night darkened on him, he lay down in one of the by-streets and slept till morning. on the morrow, he went round about the city with the stones till eventide, when he returned to his house, to pass the night. one of his neighbours, a worthy old woman, saw him and said to him, 'god keep thee, o my son! how long hast thou been mad?' and he answered her with the following verse: quoth they, "thou'rt surely mad for her thou lov'st;" and i replied, "indeed the sweets of life belong unto the raving race. my madness leave and bring me her for whom ye say i'm mad; and if she heal my madness, spare to blame me for my case." therewith she knew him for a lover who had lost his mistress and said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! o my son, i would have thee acquaint me with the particulars of thine affliction. peradventure god may enable me to help thee against it, if it so please him.' so he told her all that had happened and she said, 'o my son, indeed thou hast excuse.' and her eyes ran over with tears and she repeated the following verses: torment, indeed, in this our world, true lovers do aby; hell shall not torture them, by god, whenas they come to die! of love they died and to the past their passions chastely hid; so are they martyrs, as, indeed, traditions[fn# ] testify. then she said, 'o my son, go now and buy me a basket, such as the jewel-hawkers carry, and stock it with rings and bracelets and ear-rings and other women's gear, and spare not money. bring all this to me and i will set it on my head and go round about, in the guise of a huckstress, and make search for her in all the houses, till i light on news of her, if it be the will of god the most high.' ali rejoiced in her words and kissed her hands, then, going out, speedily returned with all she required; whereupon she rose and donning a patched gown and a yellow veil, took a staff in her hand and set out, with the basket on her head. she ceased not to go from quarter to quarter and street to street and house to house, till god the most high led her to the house of the accursed reshideddin the nazarene. she heard groans within and knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came down and opening the door to her, saluted her. quoth the old woman, 'i have these trifles for sale: is there any one with you who will buy aught of them?' 'yes,' answered the girl and carrying her indoors, made her sit down; whereupon all the women came round her and each bought something of her. she spoke to them fair and was easy with them as to price, so that they rejoiced in her, because of her pleasant speech and easiness. meanwhile, she looked about to see who it was she had heard groaning, till her eyes fell on zumurrud, when she knew her and saw that she was laid prostrate. so she wept and said to the girls, 'o my children, how comes yonder damsel in this plight?' and they told her what had passed, adding, 'indeed, the thing is not of our choice; but our master commanded us to do this, and he is now absent on a journey.' 'o my children,' said the old woman, 'i have a request to make of you, and it is that you loose this unhappy woman of her bonds, till you know of your lord's return, when do ye bind her again as she was; and you shall earn a reward from the lord of all creatures.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they and loosing zumurrud, gave her to eat and drink. then said the old woman, 'would my leg had been broken, ere i entered your house!' and she went up to zumurrud and said to her, 'o my daughter, take heart; god will surely bring thee relief.' then she told her [privily] that she came from her lord ali shar and appointed her to be on the watch that night, saying, 'thy lord will come to the bench under the gallery and whistle to thee; and when thou hearest him, do thou whistle back to him and let thyself down to him by a rope from the window, and he will take thee and go away.' zumurrud thanked the old woman, and the latter returned to ali shar and told him what she had done, saying, 'go to-night, at midnight, to such a quarter,--for the accursed fellow's house is there and its fashion is thus and thus. stand under the window of the upper chamber and whistle; whereupon she will let herself down to thee; then do thou take her and carry her whither thou wilt.' he thanked her for her good offices and repeated the following verses, with the tears running down his cheeks: let censors cease to rail and chide and leave their idle prate: my body's wasted and my heart weary and desolate; and from desertion and distress my tears, by many a chain of true traditions handed down, do trace their lineage straight. thou that art whole of heart and free from that which i endure of grief and care, cut short thy strife nor question of my state. a sweet-lipped maiden, soft of sides and moulded well of shape, with her soft speech my heart hath ta'en, ay, and her graceful gait. my heart, since thou art gone, no rest knows nor my eyes do sleep, nor can the hunger of my hopes itself with patience sate. yea, thou hast left me sorrowful, the hostage of desire, 'twixt enviers and haters dazed and all disconsolate. as for forgetting, 'tis a thing i know not nor will know; for none but thou into my thought shalt enter, soon or late. then he sighed and shed tears and repeated these also: may god be good to him who brought me news that ye were come! for never more delightful news unto my ears was borne. if he would take a worn-out wede for boon, i'd proffer him a heart that at the parting hour was all in pieces torn. he waited until the appointed time, then went to the street, where was the christian's house, and recognizing it from the old woman's description, sat down on the bench under the gallery. presently, drowsiness overcame him, for it was long since he had slept, for the violence of his passion, and he became as one drunken with sleep. glory be to him who sleepeth not! meanwhile, chance led thither a certain thief, who had come out that night to steal somewhat and prowled about the skirts of the city, till he happened on reshideddin's house. he went round about it, but found no way of climbing up into it and presently came to the bench, where he found ali shar asleep and took his turban. at that moment, zumurrud looked out and seeing the thief standing in the darkness, took him for her lord; so she whistled to him and he whistled back to her; whereupon she let herself down to him, with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold. when the robber saw this, he said to himself, 'this is a strange thing, and there must needs be some extraordinary cause to it.' then, snatching up the saddle-bags, he took zumurrud on his shoulders and made off with both like the blinding lightning. quoth she, 'the old woman told me that thou wast weak with illness on my account; and behold, thou art stronger than a horse.' he made her no reply; so she put her hand to his face and felt a beard like a bath-broom,[fn# ] as he were a hog that had swallowed feathers and they had come out at his gullet; whereat she took fright and said to him, 'what art thou?' 'o strumpet,' answered he, 'i am the sharper jewan the kurd, of the band of ahmed ed denef; we are forty sharpers, who will all tilt at thy tail this night, from dusk to dawn.' when she heard his words, she wept and buffeted her face, knowing that fate had gotten the better of her and that there was nothing for it but to put her trust in god the most high. so she took patience and submitted herself to the ordinance of god, saying, 'there is no god but god! as often as we escape from one trouble, we fall into a worse.' now the manner of jewan's coming thither was thus: he had said to ahmed ed denef, 'o captain, i have been here before and know a cavern without the town, that will hold forty souls; so i will go before you thither and set my mother therein. then will i enter the city and steal somewhat on your account and keep it till you come; so shall you be my guests this day.' 'do what thou wilt,' replied ahmed. so jewan forewent them to the cavern and left his mother there; but, as he came out, he found a trooper lying asleep, with his horse tethered beside him; so he slew him and taking his clothes and arms, hid them with his mother in the cave, where also he tied up the horse. then he betook himself to the city and prowled about, till he happened on the christian's house and did with ali shar and zumurrud as we have said. he ceased not to run, with zumurrud on his back, till he came to the cavern, where he gave her in charge of his mother, saying, 'keep watch over her till i come back to thee at point of day,' and went away. meanwhile zumurrud said to herself, 'now is the time to cast about for a means of escape. if i wait till these forty men come, they will take their turns at me, till they make me like a water- logged ship.' then she turned to the old woman and said to her, 'o my aunt, wilt thou not come without the cave, that i may louse thee in the sun?' 'ay, by allah, o my daughter!' replied the old woman. 'this long time have i been out of reach of the bath; for these hogs cease not to hale me from place to place.' so they went without the cavern, and zumurrud combed out the old woman's hair and killed the vermin in her head, till this soothed her and she fell asleep; whereupon zumurrud arose and donning the clothes of the murdered trooper, girt herself with his sword and covered her head with his turban, so that she became as she were a man. then she took the saddle-bags full of gold and mounted the horse, saying in herself, 'o kind protector, i adjure thee by the glory of mohammed, (whom god bless and preserve,) protect me! if i enter the city, belike one of the trooper's folk will see me, and no good will befall me.' so she turned her back on the city and rode forth into the desert. she fared on ten days, eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking of its waters, she and her horse; and on the eleventh day, she came in sight of a pleasant and safe city, stablished in good; the season of winter had departed from it with its cold and the spring-tide came to it with its roses and orange-blossoms; its flowers blew bright, its streams welled forth and its birds warbled. as she drew near, she saw the troops and amirs and notables of the place drawn up before the gate, at which she marvelled and said to herself, 'the people of the city are all collected at the gate: there must needs be a reason for this.' then she made towards them; but, as she drew near, the troops hastened forward to meet her and dismounting, kissed the ground before her and said, 'god aid thee, o our lord the sultan!' then the grandees ranked themselves before her, whilst the troops ranged the people in order, saying, 'god aid thee and make thy coming a blessing to the muslims, o sultan of all men! god stablish thee, o king of the age and pearl of the day and the time!' 'what ails you, o people of the city?' asked zumurrud; and the chamberlain answered, 'verily, he who is no niggard in giving hath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee sultan of this city and ruler over the necks of all that are therein; for know that it is the custom of the citizens, when their king dies, leaving no son, that the troops should sally forth of the pace and abide there three days; and whoever cometh from the quarter whence thou hast come, they make him king over them. so praised be god who hath sent us a well-favoured man of the sons of the turks; for had a lesser than thou presented himself, he had been sultan.' now zumurrud was well-advised in all she did; so she said, 'think not that i am of the common folk of the turks; nay, i am a man of condition; but i was wroth with my family, so i went forth and left them. see these saddle-bags full of gold i brought with me, that i might give alms thereof to the poor and needy by the way.' so they called down blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy and she also rejoiced in them and said in herself, 'now that i have attained to this estate, it may be god will reunite me with my lord in this place, for he can do what he will.' then the troops escorted her to the city and dismounting, walked before her to the palace. here she alighted and the amirs and grandees, taking her under the armpits, carried her into the palace and seated her on the throne; after which they all kissed the ground before her. then she bade open the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops, who offered up prayers for the continuance of her reign, and all the townsfolk and the people of the kingdom accepted her rule. she abode thus awhile, ordering and forbidding, and remitted taxes and released prisoners and redressed grievances, so that all the people came to hold her in exceeding reverence and to love her, by reason of her generosity and continence; but, as often as she bethought her of her lord, she wept and besought god to reunite them; and one night, as she was thinking of him and calling to mind the days she had passed with him, her eyes ran over with tears and she repeated the following verses: my longing, 'spite of time, for thee is ever new; my weeping wounds my lids and tears on tears ensue. whenas i weep, i weep for anguish of desire; for grievous severance is a lover's heart unto. then she wiped away her tears and rising, betook herself to the harem, where she appointed to the slave-girls and concubines separate lodgings and assigned them pensions and allowances, giving out that she was minded to live apart and devote herself to works of piety. so she betook herself to fasting and praying, till the amirs said, 'verily, this sultan is exceeding devout.' nor would she suffer any attendants about her, save two little eunuchs, to serve her. she held the throne thus a whole year, during which time she heard no news of ali shar, and this was exceeding grievous to her; so, when her distress became excessive, she summoned her viziers and chamberlains and bid them fetch architects and builders and make her a tilting ground, a parasang long and the like broad, in front of the palace. they hastened to do her bidding, and when the place was competed to her liking, she went down into it and they pitched her there a great pavilion, wherein the chairs of the amirs were set in their order. then she bade spread in the tilting-ground tables with all manner rich meats and ordered the grandees to eat. so they ate and she said to them, 'it is my will that, on the first day of each month, ye do on this wise and proclaim in the city that none shall open his shop, but that all the people shall come and eat of the king's banquet, and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged over his own door.' they did as she bade them, and when came the first day of the next month, zumurrud went down into the tilting-ground and the crier proclaimed aloud, saying, 'ho, all ye people, great and small, whoso openeth shop or house or magazine shall straightway be hanged over his own door; for it behoves you all to come and eat of the king's banquet.' then they laid the tables and the people came in troops; so she bade them sit down at the tables and eat their fill of all the dishes. so they sat down and she sat on her chair of estate, watching them, whilst each thought she was looking at none but him. then they fell to eating and the amirs said to them, 'eat and be not ashamed; for this is pleasing to the king.' so they ate their fill and went away, blessing the king and saying, one to the other, 'never saw we a sultan that loved the poor as doth this sultan.' and they wished her length of life, whilst zumurrud returned to the palace, rejoicing in her device and saying in herself, 'if it please god the most high, i shall surely by this means happen on news of my lord ali shar.' when the first day of the second month came round, she made the banquet as before and the folk came and sat down at the tables, company by company and one by one. as she sat on her throne, at the head of the tables, watching the people eat, her eye fell on bersoum, the nazarene who had bought the curtain of ali shar; and she knew him and said in herself, 'this is the first of my solace and of the accomplishment of my desire.' bersoum came up to the table and sitting down with the rest to eat, espied a dish of sweet rice, sprinkled with sugar; but it was far from him. so he pushed up to it and putting out his hand to it, took it and set it before himself. his next neighbour said to him, 'why dost thou not eat of what is before thee? art thou not ashamed to reach over for a dish that is distant from thee?' quoth bersoum, 'i will eat of none but this dish.' 'eat then,' rejoined the other, 'and small good may it do thee!' but another man, a hashish- eater, said, 'let him eat of it, that i may eat with him.' 'o unluckiest of hashish-eaters,' replied the first speaker, 'this is no meat for thee; it is eating for amirs. let it be, that it may return to those for whom it is meant and they eat it.' but bersoum heeded him not and putting his hand to the rice, took a mouthful and put it in his mouth. he was about to take a second mouthful, when zumurrud, who was watching him, cried out to certain of her guards, saying, 'bring me yonder man with the dish of sweet rice before him and let him not eat the mouthful he hath ready, but throw it from his hand.' so four of the guards went up to bersoum and throwing the mouthful of rice from his hand, haled him forthright before zumurrud, whilst all the people left eating and said to one another, 'by allah, he did wrong in not eating of the food meant for the like of him.' 'for me,' quoth one, 'i was content with this frumenty that is before me.' and the hashish- eater said, 'praised be god who hindered me from eating of the dish of sweet rice, for i looked for it to stand before him and was only waiting for him to have stayed his hunger of it, to eat with him, when there befell him what we see.' and they said, one to another, 'wait till we see what befalls him.' then said zumurrud to bersoum, 'out on thee, o blue eyes! what is thy name and why comest thou hither?' but the accursed fellow miscalled himself, having a white turban,[fn# ] and answered, 'o king, my name is ali; i am a weaver and came hither to trade.' 'bring me a table of sand and a pen of brass,' quoth zumurrud, and they brought her what she sought. she levelled the sand and taking the pen, drew a geomantic figure, in the likeness of an ape; then, raising her head, she considered bersoum straitly and said to him, 'o dog, how darest thou lie to kings? art thou not a nazarene, bersoum by name, and comest thou not hither in quest of somewhat? speak the truth, or, by the splendour of the deity, i will strike off thy head?' at this, bersoum was confounded and the amirs and bystanders said, 'verily, the king understands geomancy: blessed be he who hath gifted him!' then zumurrud cried out upon bersoum and said, 'tell me the truth, or i will make an end of thee!' 'pardon, o king of the age,' replied bersoum; 'the table hath told thee aright; thy slave is indeed a nazarene.' whereupon all present wondered at the king's skill in geomancy, saying, 'verily, the king is a diviner, whose like there is not in the world.' then zumurrud bade flay the christian and stuff his skin with straw and hang it over the gate of the tilting-ground. moreover, she commanded to dig a pit without the city and burn his flesh and bones therein and throw over his ashes offal and rubbish. 'we hear and obey,' answered they and did with him as she bade. when the people saw what had befallen the christian, they said, 'he hath his deserts; but what an unlucky mouthful was that for him!' and another said, 'be my wife triply divorced if ever i eat of sweet rice as long as i live!' 'praised be god,' quoth the hashish-eater, 'who saved me from this fellow's fate by hindering me from eating of the rice!' then they all went out, minded thenceforth to leave sitting in the christian's place, over against the dish of sweet rice. when the first day of the third month came, they laid the tables as of wont, and queen zumurrud came down and sat on her throne, with her guards in attendance on her, fearing her danger. then the townsfolk entered, as usual, and went round about the tables, looking for the place of the dish of sweet rice, and quoth one to another, 'hark ye, hajji khelef!' 'at thy service, o hajji khalid,' answered the other. 'avoid the dish of sweet rice,' said khalid, 'and look thou eat not thereof; for if thou do, thou wilt be hanged.' then they sat down to meat; and as they were eating, zumurrud chanced to look at the gate of the tilting-ground and saw a man come running in. so she considered him and knew him for jewan the kurd. now the manner of his coming was on this wise. when he left his mother, he went to his comrades and said to them, 'i had fine purchase yesterday; for i slew a trooper and took his horse. moreover there fell to me last night a pair of saddle-bags, full of gold, and a girl worth more than the money; and i have left them all with my mother in the cave.' at this they rejoiced and repaired to the cavern at nightfall, whilst they forewent them, that he might fetch them the booty. but he found the place empty and questioned his mother, who told him what had befallen; whereupon he bit his hands for despite and exclaimed, 'by allah, i will make search for yonder harlot and take her, wherever she is, though it be in the shell of a pistachio-nut, and quench my malice on her!' so he went forth in quest of her and journeyed from place to place, till he came to queen zumurrud's city. he found the town deserted and enquiring of some women whom he saw looking from the windows, learnt that it was the sultan's custom to make a banquet for all the people on the first of each month and was directed to the tilting-ground, where the feast was spread. so he came running in and finding no place empty, save that before the dish of sweet rice, took his seat there and put out his hand to the dish; whereupon the folk cried out to him, saying, 'o brother, what wilt thou do?' quoth he, 'i mean to eat my fill of this dish.' 'if thou eat of it,' rejoined one of the people, 'thou wilt assuredly be hanged.' but jewan said, 'hold thy peace and talk not thus.' then he stretched out his hand to the dish aforesaid and drew it to him. now the hashish-eater, of whom we have before spoken, was sitting by him; but when he saw him do this, the fumes of the hashish left his head and he fled from his place and sat down afar off, saying, 'i will have nothing to do with yonder dish.' then jewan put out his hand, as it were a crow's foot, and dipping it in the dish, scooped up therewith half the dishful and drew it out, as it were a camel's hoof, and the bottom of the dish appeared. he rolled the rice in his hand, till it was like a great orange, and threw it ravenously into his mouth; and it rolled down his gullet, with a noise like thunder. 'praised by god,' quoth his neighbour, 'who hath not made me meat before thee; for thou hast emptied the dish at one mouthful.' 'let him eat,' said the hashish-eater; 'methinks he hath a gallows-face.' then, turning to jewan, 'eat,' added he, 'and small good may it do thee!' jewan put out his hand again and taking another mouthful, was rolling it in his hands like the first, when zumurrud cried out to the guards, saying, 'bring me yonder man in haste and let him not eat the mouthful in his hand.' so they ran and seizing him, as he bent over the dish, brought him to her, whilst the people exulted over him and said, one to the other, 'he hath his deserts, for we warned him, but he would not take warning. verily, this place is fated to be the death of whoso sits therein, and yonder rice is fatal to all who eat of it.' then said zumurrud to jewan, 'what is thy name and condition and why comest thou hither?' 'o our lord the sultan,' answered he, 'my name is othman; i am a gardener and am come hither in quest of somewhat i have lost.' 'bring me a table of sand,' said zumurrud. so they brought it, and she took the pen and drawing a geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head, exclaimed, 'out on thee, thou sorry knave! how darest thou lie to kings? this sand tells me that thy name is jewan the kurd and that thou art by trade a robber, taking men's goods in the way of unright and slaying those whom god hath forbidden to slay, save for just cause.' and she cried out upon him, saying, 'o hog, tell me the truth of thy case or i will cut off thy head!' when he heard this, he turned pale and his teeth chattered; then, deeming that he might save himself by telling the truth, he replied, 'o king, thou sayest sooth; but i repent at thy hands henceforth and turn to god the most high!' quoth she, 'i may not leave a pest in the way of the true-believers.' and she said to her guards, 'take him and flay him and do with him as ye did by his like last month.' and they did her commandment. when the hashish-eater saw this, he turned his back upon the dish of rice, saying, 'it is unlawful to present my face to thee.' then, when they had made an end of eating, they dispersed and zumurrud returned to her palace and dismissed her attendants. when the fourth month came round, they made the banquet, as of wont, and the folk sat awaiting leave to begin. presently zumurrud entered and sitting down on her throne, looked at the tables and saw that room for four people was left void before the dish of rice, at which she wondered. as she sat, looking around, she saw a man come running in at the gate, who stayed not till he reached the tables and finding no room, save before the dish of rice, took his seat there. she looked at him and knowing him for the accursed christian, who called himself reshideddin, said in herself, 'how blessed is this device of the food, into whose toils this infidel hath fallen!' now the manner of his coming was extraordinary, and it was on this wise. when he returned from his journey, the people of the house told him that zumurrud was missing and with her a pair of saddle-bags full of gold; whereupon he rent his clothes and buffeted his face and plucked out his beard. then he despatched his brother bersoum in quest of her, and when he was weary of awaiting news of him, he went forth himself, to seek for him and for zumurrud, and fate led him to the latter's city. he entered it on the first day of the month and finding the streets deserted and the shops shut, enquired of the women at the windows, who told him that the king made a banquet on the first of each month for the people, all of whom were bound to attend it, nor might any abide in his house or shop that day; and they directed him to the tilting-ground. so he betook himself thither and sitting down before the rice, put out his hand to eat thereof, whereupon zumurrud cried out to her guards, saying, 'bring me him who sits before the dish of rice.' so they laid hands on him and brought him before queen zumurrud, who said to him, 'out on thee! what is thy name and occupation, and what brings thee hither?' 'o king of the age,' answered he, 'my name is rustem and i have no occupation, for i am a poor dervish.' then said she to her attendants, 'bring me a table of sand and pen of brass.' so they brought her what she sought, as usual; and she took the pen and drawing a geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head to reshideddin, said, 'o dog, how darest thou lie to kings? thy name is reshideddin the nazarene; thou art outwardly a muslim, but a christian at heart, and thine occupation is to lay snares for the slave-girls of the muslims and take them. speak the truth, or i will smite off thy head.' he hesitated and stammered, then replied, 'thou sayest sooth, o king of the age!' whereupon she commanded to throw him down and give him a hundred blows on each sole and a thousand on his body; after which she bade flay him and stuff his skin with hards of flax and dig a pit without the city, wherein they should burn his body and cast dirt and rubbish on his ashes. they did as she bade them and she gave the people leave to eat. so they ate their fill and went their ways, whilst zumurrud returned to her palace, thanking god for that he had solaced her heart of those who had wronged her. then she praised the creator of heaven and earth and repeated the following verses: lo, these erst had power and used it with oppression and unright! in a little, their dominion was as it ne'er had been. had they used their power with justice, they had been repaid the like; but they wrought unright and fortune guerdoned them with dole and teen. so they perished and the moral of the case bespeaks them thus, "this is what your crimes have earnt you: fate is not to blame, i ween." then she called to mind her lord ali shar and wept, but presently recovered herself and said, 'surely god, who hath given mine enemies into my hand, will vouchsafe me speedy reunion with my beloved; for he can do what he will and is generous to his servants and mindful of their case!' then she praised god (to whom belong might and majesty) and besought forgiveness of him, submitting herself to the course of destiny, assured that to each beginning there is an end, and repeating the saying of the poet: be at thine ease, for all things' destiny is in his hands who fashioned earth and sea. nothing of him forbidden shall befall nor aught of him appointed fail to thee. and what another saith: let the days pass, as they list, and fare, and enter thou not the house of despair. full oft, when the quest of a thing is hard, the next hour brings us the end of our care. and a third: be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite and patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head. indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by time and of all wondrous things are hourly brought to bed. and a fourth: take patience, for therein is good; an thou be learn'd in it, thou shalt be calm of soul nor drink of anguish any whit. and know that if, with a good grace, thou do not thee submit, yet must thou suffer, will or nill, that which the pen hath writ. she abode thus another whole month's space, judging the folk and commanding and forbidding by day, and by night weeping and bewailing her separation from her lord ali shar. on the first day of the fifth month, she bade spread the banquet as usual and sat down at the head of the tables, whilst the people awaited the signal to fall to, leaving the space before the dish of rice vacant. she sat with eyes fixed upon the gate of the tilting- ground, noting all who entered and saying, 'o thou that restoredst joseph to jacob and didst away the affliction of job, vouchsafe of thy power and greatness to restore me my lord ali shar; for thou canst all things! o lord of all creatures, o guide of the erring, o hearer of those that cry, o answerer of prayer, answer thou my prayer, o lord of all creatures!' hardly had she made an end of her prayer, when she saw entering the gate a young man, in shape like the willow wand, the comeliest and most accomplished of youths, save that his face was sallow and his form wasted. he came up to the tables and finding no seat vacant save before the dish of rice, sat down there; whereupon zumurrud's heart fluttered and observing him narrowly, she knew him for her lord ali shar and was like to have cried out for joy, but restrained herself, fearing disgrace before the folk. her bowels were troubled and her heart throbbed; but she concealed that which she suffered. now the manner of his coming thither was on this wise. when he awoke and found himself lying on the bench outside the christian's house, with his head bare, he knew that some one had come upon him and robbed him of his turban, whilst he slept. so he spoke the word, which whoso saith shall never be confounded, that is to say, 'verily, we are god's and to him we return!' and going back to the old woman's house, knocked at the door. she came out and he wept before her, till he swooned away. when he came to himself, he told her all that had passed, and she blamed him and chid him for his heedlessness, saying, 'thou hast but thyself to thank for thine affliction and calamity.' and she gave not over reproaching him, till the blood streamed from his nostrils and he again fainted away. when he revived, he saw her weeping over him; so he bewailed himself and repeated the following verses: how bitter is parting to friends, and how sweet reunion to lovers, for sev'rance that sigh! may god all unite them and watch over me, for i'm of their number and like for to die. the old woman mourned over him and said to him, 'sit here, whilst i go in quest of news and return to thee in haste.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he. so she left him and was absent till midday, when she returned and said to him, 'o ali, i fear me thou must die in thy grief; thou wilt never see thy beloved again save on es sirat;[fn# ] for the people of the christian's house, when they arose in the morning, found the window giving on the garden broken in and zumurrud missing, and with her a pair of saddle- bags, full of the christian's money. when i came thither, i found the master of police and his officers standing at the door, and there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!' when he heard this, the light in his eyes was changed to darkness and he despaired of life and made sure of death; nor did he leave weeping, till he lost his senses. when he recovered, love and longing were sore upon him; there befell him a grievous sickness and he kept his house a whole year; during which time the old woman ceased not to bring him doctors and ply him with diet- drinks and make him broths, till his life returned to him. then he recalled what had passed and repeated the following verses: union is parted; in its stead, of grief i am possessed: my tears flow still, my heart's on fire for yearning and unrest. longing redoubles on a wight who hath no peace, so sore of love and wakefulness and pain he's wasted and oppressed. lord, i beseech thee, if there be relief for me in aught, vouchsafe it, whilst a spark of life abideth in my breast. when the second year began, the old woman said to him, 'o my son, all this thy sadness and sorrowing will not bring thee back thy mistress. rise, therefore, take heart and seek for her in the lands: haply thou shalt light on some news of her.' and she ceased not to exhort and encourage him, till he took heart and she carried him to the bath. then she made him drink wine and eat fowls, and thus she did with him for a whole month, till he regained strength and setting out, journeyed without ceasing till he arrived at zumurrud's city, when he went to the tilting-ground and sitting down before the dish of sweet rice, put out his hand to eat of it. when the folk saw this, they were concerned for him and said to him, 'o young man, eat not of that dish, for whoso eats thereof, misfortune befalls him.' 'leave me to eat of it,' answered he, 'and let them do with me as they list, so haply i may be at rest from this weary life.' then he ate a first mouthful, and zumurrud was minded to have him brought to her; but bethought her that belike he was anhungred and said in herself, 'it were well to let him eat his fill.' so he went on eating, whilst the people looked on in astonishment, waiting to see what would befall him; and when he had done, zumurrud said to certain of her eunuchs, 'go to yonder youth that eateth of the rice and bring him to me on courteous wise, saying, 'the king would have speech of thee on some slight matter.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they and going up to ali shar, said to him, 'o my lord, the king desires the favour of a word with thee, and let thy heart be easy.' 'i hear and obey,' replied he and followed the eunuchs, who carried him before zumurrud, whilst the people said to one another, 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! i wonder what the king will do with him!' and others said, 'he will do him nought but good; for, were he minded to harm him, he had not suffered him to eat his fill.' when he came before zumurrud, he saluted and kissed the earth before her, whilst she returned his greeting and received him with honour. then said she to him, 'what is thy name and condition and what brought thee hither?' 'o king,' answered he, 'my name is ali shar; i am of the sons of the merchants of khorassan and the object of my coming hither is to seek for a slave-girl whom i have lost; for she was dearer to me than my sight and my hearing, and indeed my soul cleaves to her, since i lost her.' and he wept, till he swooned away. she caused sprinkle rose-water on his face, till he came to himself, when she said, 'bring me the table of sand and the pen.' so they brought them and she took the pen and drew a geomantic figure, which she considered awhile; then, 'thou hast spoken sooth,' quoth she. 'god will grant thee speedy reunion with her; so be not troubled.' then she bade her chamberlain carry him to the bath and after clothe him in a handsome suit of royal apparel, and mount him an one of the best of the king's horses and bring him to the palace at end of day. so the chamberlain took him away, whilst the folk said to one another, 'what makes the king deal thus courteously with yonder youth?' and one said, 'did i not tell you that he would do him no hurt? for he is fair of aspect; and this i knew, when the king suffered him to eat his fill.' and each said his say; after which they all dispersed and went their ways. as for zumurrud, she thought the night would never come, that she might be alone with the beloved of her heart. as soon as it was dusk, she withdrew to her sleeping-chamber and made as she were overcome with sleep; and it was her wont to suffer none to pass the night with her, save the two little eunuchs that waited upon her. after a little, she sent for ali shar and sat down upon the bed, with candles burning at her head and feet and the place lighted with hanging lamps of gold that shone like the sun. when the people heard of her sending for ali shar, they marvelled and said, 'algates, the king is enamoured of this young man, and to- morrow he will make him commander of the troops.' and each thought his thought and said his say. when they brought him in to her, he kissed the earth before her and called down blessings on her, and she said in herself, 'needs must i jest with him awhile, ere i make myself known to him.' then said she to him, 'o ali, hast thou been to the bath?' 'yes, o my lord,' answered he. 'come, eat of this fowl and meat and drink of this wine and sherbet of sugar,' said she; 'for thou art weary; and after come hither.' 'i hear and obey,' replied he and did as she bade him. when he had made an end of eating and drinking, she said to him, 'come up with me on the couch and rub my feet.' so he fell to rubbing her feet and legs and found them softer than silk. then said she, 'go higher with the rubbing;' and he, 'pardon me, o my lord, i will go no higher than the knee.' whereupon, 'wilt thou gainsay me?' quoth she. 'it shall be an ill-omened night for thee! nay, but it behoves thee to do my bidding and i will make thee my minion and appoint thee one of my amirs.' 'and in what must i do thy bidding, o king of the age?' asked ali. 'put off thy trousers,' answered she, 'and lie down on thy face.' quoth he, 'that is a thing i never in my life did; and if thou force me thereto, i will accuse thee thereof before god on the day of resurrection. take all thou hast given me and let me go to my own city.' and he wept and lamented. but she said, 'put off thy trousers and lie down on thy face, or i will strike off thy head.' so he did as she bade him and she mounted upon his back. and he felt what was softer than silk and fresher than cream and said in himself, 'of a truth, this king is better than all the women!' she abode a while on his back, then turned over on to the ground, and he said [in himself], 'praised be god! it seems his yard is not in point.' then said she, 'o ali, it is of the wont of my yard that it standeth not on end, except it be rubbed with the hand; so, some, rub it with thy hand, till it be in point, else will i kill thee.' so saying, she lay down on her back and taking his hand, set it to her kaze, and he found it a kaze softer than silk, white, plump and great, resembling for heat the hot room of the bath or the heart of a lover, whom passion hath wasted. quoth ali in himself, 'verily, this king hath a kaze. this is a wonder of wonders!' and desire got hold on him and his yard stood on end to the utmost; which when zumurrud saw, she burst out laughing and said to him, 'o my lord, all this betideth and yet thou knowest me not!' 'and who art thou, o king?' asked he; and she said, 'i am thy slave-girl zumurrud.' when he knew this and was certified that she was indeed his very slave-girl zumurrud, he threw himself upon her, as the lion upon the sheep, and kissed her and embraced her. then he thrust his yard into her poke and stinted not to play the porter at her door and the imam[fn# ] at her prayer-niche, whilst she with him ceased not from inclination and prostration and rising up and sitting down,[fn# ] accompanying her canticles of praise[fn# ] with motitations and other amorous gestures, till the [two little] eunuchs [aforesaid] heard [the noise]. so they came and peeping out from behind the curtains, saw the king lying [on his back] and ali shar upon him, thrusting and thronging amain, whilst she puffed and blew and wriggled. quoth they, 'this is no man's wriggle; belike this king is a woman.' but they concealed their affair and discovered it to none. on the morrow, zumurrud summoned all the troops and the grandees of the realm and said to them, 'i am minded to journey to this man's country; so choose a deputy, who shall rule over you, till i return to you.' and they answered, 'we hear and obey.' then she applied herself to making ready for the journey and furnished herself with victual and treasure and camels and mules and so forth; after which she set out with ali shar, and they fared on, till they arrived at his native place, where he entered his house and gave alms and largesse. god vouchsafed him children by her, and they both lived the happiest of lives, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies. glory be to god, the eternal without cease, and praised be he in every case! the loves of jubeir ben umeir and the lady budour it is related the khalif haroun er reshid was restless one night and could not sleep; so that he ceased not to toss from side to side for very restlessness, till, growing weary of this, he called mesrour and said to him, 'o mesrour, look what may solace me of this my restlessness.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered mesrour, 'wilt thou walk in the garden of the palace and divert thyself with the sight of its flowers and gaze upon the stars and note the beauty of their ordinance and the moon among them, shining on the water?' 'o mesrour,' replied the khalif, 'my heart inclines not to aught of this.' 'o my lord,' continued mesrour, 'there are in thy palace three hundred concubines, each of whom hath her separate lodging. do thou bid retire each into her own apartment and then go thou about and divert thyself with gazing on them, without their knowledge.' 'o mesrour,' answered haroun, 'the palace is mine and the girls are my property: moreover, my soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'o my lord,' said mesrour, 'summon the doctors and sages and poets and bid them contend before thee in argument and recite verses and tell thee tales and anecdotes.' 'my soul inclines not to aught of this,' answered the khalif; and mesrour said, 'o my lord, bid the minions and wits and boon-companions attend thee and divert thee with witty sallies.' 'o mesrour,' replied the khalif, 'indeed my soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'then, o my lord,' rejoined mesrour, 'strike off my head; maybe, that will dispel thine unease and do away the restlessness that is upon thee.' at this the khalif laughed and said, 'see which of the boon- companions is at the door.' so mesrour went out and returning, said, 'o my lord, he who sits without is ali ben mensour of damascus, the wag.' 'bring him to me,' quoth haroun; and mesrour went out and returned with ibn mensour, who said, on entering, 'peace be on thee, o commander of the faithful!' the khalif returned his salutation and said to him, 'o ibn mensour, tell us one of thy stories.' 'o commander of the faithful,' said the other, 'shall i tell thee what i have seen with my eyes or what i have only heard tell?' 'if thou have seen aught worth telling,' replied the khalif, 'let us hear it; for report is not like eye- witness.' 'o commander of the faithful,' said ibn mensour, 'lend me thine ear and thy heart.' 'o ibn mensour,' answered the khalif, 'behold, i am listening to thee with mine ears and looking at thee with mine eyes and attending to thee with my heart.' 'know then, o commander of the faithful,' began ibn mensour, 'that i receive a yearly allowance from mohammed ben suleiman el hashimi, sultan[fn# ] of bassora; so i went to him, once upon a time, as usual, and found him about to ride out a-hunting. i saluted him, and he returned my salute and would have me mount and go a-hunting with him; but i said, "o my lord, i cannot ride; so do thou stablish me in the guest-house and give thy chamberlains and officers charge over me." and he did so and departed for the chase. his officers entreated me with the utmost honour and hospitality; but i said in myself, "by allah, it is a strange thing that i should have used so long to come from baghdad to bassora, yet know no more of the town than from the palace to the garden and back again! when shall i find an occasion like this to view the different parts of bassora? i will rise at once and walk forth alone and divert myself and digest what i have eaten." so i donned my richest clothes and went out a-walking in bassora. now it is known to thee, o commander of the faithful, that it hath seventy streets, each seventy parasangs long of irak measure; and i lost myself in its by-streets and thirst overcame me. presently, as i went along, i came to a great door, on which were two rings of brass, with curtains of red brocade drawn before it. over the door was a trellis, covered with a creeping vine, that hung down and shaded the doorway; and on either side the porch was a stone bench. i stood still, to gaze upon the place, and presently heard a sorrowful voice, proceeding from a mourning heart, warbling melodiously and chanting the following verses: my body is become th' abode of sickness and dismay, by reason of a fawn, whose land and stead are far away. o zephyr of the waste, that roused my pain in me, i pray, by god your lord, to him, with whom my heart dwells, take your way and prithee chide him, so reproach may soften him, maybe. and if to you he do incline and hearken, then make fair your speech and tidings unto him of lovers, 'twixt you, bear. yea, and vouchsafe to favour me with service debonair and unto him i love make known my case and my despair, saying, "what ails thy bounden slave that, for estrangement, she should die without offence of her committed or despite or disobedience or breach of plighted faith or slight or fraud or turning of her heart to other or unright?" and if he smile, with dulcet speech bespeak ye thus the wight: "an thou thy company wouldst grant to her, 'twere well of thee; for she for love of thee's distraught, as needs must be the case; her eyes are ever void of sleep; she weeps and wails apace." if he show favour and incline to grant the wished-for grace, 'tis well and good; but, if ye still read anger in his face, dissemble then with him and say, "we know her not, not we." quoth i to myself, "verily, if the owner of this voice be fair, she unites beauty of person and eloquence and sweetness of voice." then i drew near the door, and raising the curtain little by little, beheld a damsel, white as the moon, when it rises on its fourteenth night, with joined eyebrows and languorous eyelids, breasts like twin pomegranates and dainty lips like twin corn-marigolds,[fn# ] mouth as it were solomon's seal and teeth that sported with the reason of rhymester and proser, even as saith the poet: o mouth of the beloved, who set thy pearls arow and eke with wine fulfilled thee and camomiles like show, and lent the morning-glory unto thy smile, and who hath with a padlock sealed thee of rubies sweet of show? whoso but looks upon thee is mad for joy and pride. how should it fare with him, who kisseth thee, heigho! and as saith another: o pearls of the teeth of my love, have ruth on cornelian and spare to vie with it! shall it not find you peerless and passing compare? in fine, she comprised all manner of loveliness and was a ravishment to men and women, nor could the beholder satisfy himself with the sight of her beauty; for she was as the poet hath said of her: if, face to face, she do appear, unveiled, she slays; and if she turn her back, she makes all men her lovers far and near. like the full moon and eke the sun she is, but cruelty and inhumanity belong not to her nature dear. the garden-gates of paradise are opened with her shift and the full moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings' sphere. as i looked at her through the opening of the curtains, she turned and seeing me standing at the door, said to her maid, "see who stands at the door." so the maid came up to me and said, "o old man, hast thou no shame, or do gray hairs and impudence go together?" "o my mistress," answered i, "i confess to the gray hairs, but as for unmannerliness, i think not to be guilty of it." "and what can be more unmannerly," rejoined her mistress, "than to intrude thyself upon a house other than thy house and gaze on a harem other than thy harem?" "o my lady," said i, "i have an excuse." "and what is thine excuse?" asked she. quoth i, "i am a stranger and well-nigh dead of thirst." "we accept thine excuse," answered she and calling one of her maids, said to her, "o lutf, give him to drink in the golden tankard." so she brought me a tankard of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, full of water mingled with odoriferous musk and covered with a napkin of green silk; and i addressed myself to drink and was long about it, casting stolen glances at her the while, till i could prolong it no longer. then i returned the tankard to the maid, but did not offer to go; and she said to me, "o old man, go thy way." "o my lady," replied i, "i am troubled in mind." "for what?" asked she; and i answered, "for the uncertainty of fortune and the vicissitudes of events." "well mayst thou be troubled thereanent," replied she, "for time[fn# ] is the mother of wonders. but what hast thou seen of them that thou shouldst muse upon?" quoth i, "i was thinking of the former owner of this house, for he was my good friend in his lifetime." "what was his name?" asked she. "mohammed ben ali the jeweller," answered i; "and he was a man of great wealth. did he leave any children?" "yes," said she; "he left a daughter, budour by name, who inherited all his wealth." quoth i, "meseems thou art his daughter?" "yes," answered she, laughing; then added, "o old man, thou hast talked long enough; go thy ways." "needs must i go," replied i; "but i see thou art out of health. tell me thy case; it may be god will give thee solace at my hands." "o old man," rejoined she, "if thou be a man of discretion, i will discover to thee my secret; but first tell me who thou art, that i may know whether thou art worthy of confidence or not; for the poet saith: none keepeth secrets but the man who's trusty and discreet: a secret's ever safely placed with honest fold and leal; for me, my secrets i preserve within a locked-up house, whose key is lost and on whose door is set the cadi's seal." "o my lady," answered i, "an thou wouldst know who i am, i am ali ben mensour of damascus, the wag, boon-companion to the khalif haroun er reshid." when she heard my name she came down from her seat and saluting me, said, "welcome, o ibn mensour! now will i tell thee my case and entrust thee with my secret. know that i am a lover separated from her beloved." "o my lady," rejoined i, "thou art fair and shouldst love none but the fair. whom then dost thou love?" quoth she, "i love jubeir ben umeir es sheibani, prince of the benou sheiban;"[fn# ] and she described to me a young man than whom there was none handsomer in bassora. "o my lady," asked i, "have letters or interviews passed between you?" "yes," answered she; "but his love for me was of the tongue, not of the heart; for he kept not his covenant nor was faithful to his troth." "and what was the cause of your separation?" asked i. "i was sitting one day," replied she, "whilst my maid here combed my hair. when she had made an end of combing it, she plaited my tresses, and my beauty and grace pleased her; so she bent down to me and kissed my cheek. at that moment, he came in, unawares, and seeing her kiss my cheek, turned away in anger, vowing eternal separation and repeating the following verses: if any share with me in her i love, incontinent, i'll cast her off from me and be to live alone content. a mistress, sure, is nothing worth, if, in the way of love, she wish for aught but that to which the lover doth consent. and from that time to this, o ibn mensour," continued she, "he hath neither written to me nor answered my letters." "and what thinkest thou to do?" asked i. quoth she, "i have a mind to send him a letter by thee. if thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred dinars; and if not, then a hundred for thy pains." "do what seemeth good to thee," answered i. so she called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: whence this estrangement and despite, beloved of my soul? whither have kindliness and love between us taken flight? what makes thee with aversion turn from me? indeed, thy face is not the face i used to know, when we our troth did plight. belike, the slanderers have made a false report of me, and thou inclin'dst to them, and they redoubled in despite. if thou believedst their report, far, far it should have been from thee, that art too whole of wit at such a bait to bite! yea, i conjure thee by thy life, tell me what thou hast heard: for lo! thou knowest what was said and wilt not do unright. if aught i've said that angered thee, a speech of change admits; ay, and interpreting, i trow, may change its meaning quite, were it a word sent down from god; for even the pentateuch hath falsified and garbled been of this and th' other wight.[fn# ] whilst, as for lies, how many were of folk before us told! joseph to jacob was traduced and blackened in his sight. yea, for the slanderer and myself and thee, an awful day of standing up shall come, when god to judgment all shall cite. then she sealed the letter and gave it to me. i took it and carried it to the house of jubeir ben umeir, whom i found absent hunting. so i sat down, to wait for him, and presently he returned; and when i saw him come riding up, my wit was confounded by his beauty ands grace. as soon as he saw me sitting at the door, he dismounted and coming up to me, saluted and embraced me; and meseemed i embraced the world and all that therein is. then he carried me into his house and seating me on his own couch, called for food. so they brought a table of khelenj[fn# ] wood of khorassan, with feet of gold, whereon were all manner of meats, fried and roasted and the like. so i seated myself at the table and examining it, found the following verses engraved upon it: weep for the cranes that erst within the porringers did lie and for the stews and partridges evanished heave a sigh! mourn for the younglings of the grouse; lament unceasingly, as, for the omelettes and the fowls browned in the pan, do i. how my heart yearneth for the fish that, in its different kinds, upon a paste of wheaten flour, lay hidden in the pie! praised be god for the roast meat, as in the dish it lay, with pot-herbs, soaked in vinegar, in porringers hard by, and eke the rice with buffaloes' milk dressed and made savoury, wherein the hands were plunged and arms were buried bracelet high! o soul, i rede thee patient be, for god is bountiful: what though thy fortunes straitened be, his succour's ever nigh. then said jubeir, "put thy hand to our food and ease our heart by eating of our victual." "by allah," answered i, "i will not eat a mouthful, till thou grant me my desire." "what is thy desire?" asked he. so i brought out the letter and gave it to him; but, when he had read it, he tore it into pieces and throwing it on the floor, said to me, "o ibn mensour, i will grant thee whatever thou askest, save this that concerns the writer of this letter, for i have no answer to make to her." at this, i rose in anger; but he caught hold of my skirts, saying, "o ibn mensour, i will tell thee what she said to thee, for all i was not present with you." "and what did she say to me?" asked i. "did she not say to thee," rejoined he, "'if thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred dinars; and if not, a hundred for thy pains?'" "yes," answered i; and he said, "abide with me this day and eat and drink and make merry, and thou shalt have five hundred dinars." so i sat with him and ate and drank and made merry and entertained him with converse; after which i said to him, "o my master, is there no music in thy house?" "indeed," answered he, "we have drunk this long while without music." then he called out, saying, "ho, shejeret ed durr!" whereupon a slave-girl answered him from her chamber and came in to us, with a lute of indian make, wrapped in a silken bag. she sat down and laying the lute in her lap, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then, returning to the first, sang the following verses to a lively measure: who hath not tasted the sweet and the bitter of passion, i trow, the presence of her whom he loves from her absence he hardly shall know. so he, from the pathway of love who hath wandered and fallen astray, the smooth knoweth not from the rough of the roadway, wherein he doth go. i ceased not the votaries of love and of passion to cross and gainsay, till i too must taste of its sweet and its bitter, its gladness and woe. then i drank a full draught of the cup of its bitters, and humbled was i, and thus to the bondman of love and its freedman therein was brought low. how many a night have i passed with the loved one, carousing with him, whilst i drank from his lips what was sweeter than nectar and colder than snow! how short was the life of the nights of our pleasance! it seemed to us still, no sooner was night fallen down than the daybreak to eastward did glow. but fortune had vowed she would sever our union and sunder our loves; and now, in good sooth, she her vow hath accomplished. fate ordered it so; fate ordered it thus, and against its ordaining, appeal there is none; for who shall gainsay a supreme one's commandments or causes him forego? hardly had she made an end of these verses, when jubeir gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon; whereupon, "may god not punish thee, o old man!" exclaimed the damsel. "this long time have we drunk without music, for fear the like of this should befall our master. but go now to yon chamber and sleep there." so i went to the chamber in question and slept till the morning, when a page brought me a purse of five hundred dinars and said to me, "this is what my master promised thee; but return thou not to her who sent thee and let it be as if neither thou nor we had heard of this affair." "i hear and obey," answered i and taking the purse, went my way. however, i said in myself, "the lady will have expected me since yesterday; and by allah, i must needs return to her and tell her what passed between me and him; or she will curse me and all who come from my country." so i went to her and found her standing behind the door; and when she saw me, she said, "o ibn mensour, thou hast gotten me nought." "who told thee of this?" asked i; and she answered, "o ibn mensour, yet another thing hath been revealed to me; and it is that, when thou gavest hum the letter, he tore it in pieces and throwing it on the floor, said to thee, 'o ibn mensour, ask me anything but what relates to the writer of this letter; for i have no reply to make to her.' then didst thou rise from beside him in anger; but he laid hold of thy skirts, saying, 'abide with me to-day, for thou art my guest, and eat and drink and make merry; and thou shalt have five hundred dinars.' so thou didst sit with him, eating and drinking and making merry, and entertainedst him with converse; and a slave-girl sand such an air and such verses, whereupon he fell down in a swoon." quoth i, "wast thou then with us?" "o ibn mensour," replied she, "hast thou not heard the saying of the poet: the heart of the lover hath eyes, well i wot, that see what the eyes of beholders see not. but," added she, "day and night alternate not upon aught, but they change it." then she raised her eyes to heaven and said, "o my god and my master and my lord, like as thou hast afflicted me with love of jubeir ben umeir, even so do thou afflict him with love of me and transfer the passion from my heart to his!" then she gave me a hundred dinars for my pains and i took it and returned to the palace, when i found the sultan come back from hunting; so i took my pension of him and made my way back to baghdad. next year, i repaired to bassora, as usual, to seek my pension, and the sultan paid it to me; but as i was about to return to baghdad, i bethought me of the lady budour and said to myself, "by allah, i must needs go and see what hath befallen between her and her lover!" so i went to her house and finding the porch swept and sprinkled and slaves and servants and pages standing before the door, said to myself, "most like grief hath broken the lady's heart and she is dead, and some amir or other hath taken up his abode in her house." so i went on to jubeir's house, where i found the benches of the porch broken down and no pages at the door, as of wont, and said to myself, "belike he too is dead." then i took up my station before the door of his house and with my eyes running over with tears, bemoaned it in the following verses: lords, that are gone, but whom my heart doth evermore ensue, return; so shall my festal says return to me with you. i stand before your sometime stead, bewailing your abodes, with quivering lids, from which the tears rain down, like summer dew. weeping, i question of the house and ruins, "where is he who was the source of benefits and bounties ever new?" [they answer] "go thy ways, for those thou lov'st from the abode departed are and neath the dust are buried; so adieu!" may god not stint us of the sight [in dreams] of all their charms nor be their noble memories aye absent from men's view! as i was thus bewailing the folk of the house, there came a black slave thereout and said to me, "hold thy peace, o old man! may thy mother be bereft of thee! what ails thee to bemoan the house thus?" quoth i, "i knew it of yore, when it belonged to a good friend of mine." "what was his name?" asked the slave. and i answered, "jubeir ben umeir the sheibani." "and what hath befallen him?" rejoined he. "praised be god, he is yet in the enjoyment of wealth and rank and prosperity, except that god hath stricken him with love of a damsel called the lady budour; and he is overcome with love of her, that, for the violence of his passion and torment, he is like a great rock overthrown. if he hunger, he saith not, 'feed me;' nor, if he thirst, doth he say, 'give me to drink.'" quoth i, "ask leave me to go in to him." "o my lord," said the slave, "wilt thou go in to him who understands or to him who understands not?" "i must needs see him, whatever be his case," answered i. se he went in and presently returned with permission for me to enter, whereupon i went in to jubeir and found him like a rock overthrown, understanding neither sign nor speech. i spoke to him, but he answered me not; and one of his servants said to me, "o my lord, if thou know aught of verse, repeat it, and raise thy voice; and he will be aroused by this and speak with thee." so i recited the following verses: budour's love hast thou forgotten or art deaf still to her sighs? wak'st anights, or do thine eyelids close upon thy sleeping eyes? if thy tears flow fast and freely, night and day long, torrent- wise, know thou, then, that thou shalt sojourn evermore in paradise.[fn# ] when he heard this, he opened his eyes and said, "welcome, o ibn mensour! verily, the jest is become earnest." "o my lord," said i, "is there aught thou wouldst have me do for thee?" "yes," answered he; "i would fain write her a letter and send it to her by thee. if thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me a thousand dinars; and if not, two hundred for thy pains." "do what seemeth good to thee," said i. so he called to one of his slave-girls for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: by allah, o my lady, have ruth on me, i pray! for all my wit by passion is ravished quite away. yea, love for thee and longing have mastered me and clad with sickness and bequeathed me abjection and dismay. aforetime, o my lady, by love i set small store and deemed it light and easy to bear, until to-day; but now that love hath shown me the billows of its sea, those i excuse, repenting, who languish neath its sway. vouchsafe thy grace to grant me; or, if thou wilt me slay, at least, then, for thy victim forget thou not to pray. then he sealed the letter and gave it to me. i took it and repairing to budour's house, raised the curtain of the door, little by little, as of wont, and looking in, saw ten damsels, high-bosomed maids, like moons, and the lady budour sitting in their midst, as she were the full moon among stars or the sun, when it is clear of clouds; nor was there on her any trace of pain or care. as i looked and marvelled at her case, she turned and seeing me standing at the gate, said to me, "welcome and fair welcome to thee, o ibn mensour! come in." so i entered and saluting her, gave her the letter. she read it and laughing, said to me, "o ibn mensour, the poet lied not when he said: the love of thee i will endure with patient constancy, till such time as a messenger shall come to me from thee. o ibn mensour," added she, "i will write thee an answer that he may give thee what he promised thee." "may god requite thee with good!" answered i. so she called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses: how comes it my vows i fulfilled and thou, thou wast false to thy plight? thou sawst me do justice and truth, and yet thou thyself didst unright. 'twas thou that begannest on me with rupture and rigour, i trow; 'twas thou that play'dst foul, and with thee began the untruth and the slight. yea, still i was true to my troth and cherished but thee among men and ceased not thine honour to guard and keep it unsullied and bright, till tidings of fashions full foul i heard, as reported of thee, and saw with mine eyes what thou didst, to harm me and work me despite. shall i then abase my estate, that thine may exalted become? by god, hadst thou generous been, the like should thy conduct requite! so now unto solace i'll turn my heart, with forgetting, from thee and washing my hands of thy thought, blot despair for thee out of my spright. "by allah, o my lady," said i, "there needs but the reading of this letter, to kill him!" so i tore it in pieces and said to her, "write him other than this." "i hear and obey," answered she and wrote the following: indeed, i am consoled and sleep is pleasant to mine eyes; for i have heard what came of prate of slanderers and spies. my heart my summons hath obeyed, thee to forget; and eke my lids to stint from wake for thee have seen it good and wise. he lies who says that severance is bitterness; for me i find its taste none otherwise than sweet; indeed he lies. i've grown to turn away from those who bring me news of thee and look upon it as a thing at which my gorge doth rise. behold, i have forgotten thee with every part of me. let then the spy and who will else this know and recognise. "by allah, o my lady," said i, "when he reads these verses, his soul will depart his body!" "o ibn mensour," quoth she, "is passion indeed come to such a pass with him as thou sayst?" "had i said more than this," replied i, "it were but the truth: but clemency is of the nature of the noble." when she heard this, her eyes filled with tears and she wrote him a letter, o commander of the faithful, there is none in thy court could avail to write the like of it; and therein were these verses: how long shall this despite continue and this pride? my enviers' spite on me thou sure hast satisfied. mayhap, i did amiss and knew it not; so tell me what thou heardst of me, that did our loves divide. even as i welcome sleep unto mine eyes and lids, so would i welcome thee, beloved, to my side. i've quaffed the cup of love for thee, unmixed and pure; so, if thou see me drunk, reproach me not nor chide. then she sealed it and gave it to me; and i said, "o my lady, this thy letter will heal the sick and ease the thirsting soul." then i took it and was going away, when she called me back and said to me, "tell me that i will be his guest this night." at this i rejoiced greatly and carried the letter to jubeir, whom i found with his eyes fixed on the door, expecting the reply. i gave him the letter and he opened and read it, then gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon. when he came to himself, he said to me, "o ibn mensour, did she indeed write this letter with her hand and touch it with her fingers?" "o my lord," answered i, "do folk write with their feet?" and by allah, o commander of the faithful, i had not done speaking, when we heard the chink of her anklets in the vestibule and she entered. when he saw her, he sprang to his feet, as thou there ailed him nought, and embraced her as the letter lam embraces alif,[fn# ] and the malady, that would not depart, ceased from him. then he sat down, but she abode standing and i said to her, "o my lady, why dost thou not sit?" quoth she, "i will not sit, o ibn mensour, save on a condition that is between us." "and what is that?" asked i. "none may know lovers' secrets," answered she and putting her mouth to jubeir's ear, whispered to him; whereupon, "i hear and obey," replied he and rising, said somewhat privily to one of his slaves, who went out and returned, in a little, with a cadi and two witnesses. then jubeir rose and taking a bag containing a hundred thousand dinars, said, "o cadi, marry me to this young lady and write this sum to her dowry." quoth the cadi to her, "say, 'i consent to this.'" "i consent to this," said she, whereupon he drew up the contract of marriage, and she opened the bag and taking out a handful of gold, gave it to the cadi and the witnesses and handed the rest to jubeir. then the cadi and the witnesses withdrew, and i sat with them, in mirth and delight, till the most part of the night was past, when i said in myself, "these are lovers and have been this long while separated. i will go now and sleep in some place afar from them and leave them to be private, one with the other." so i rose, but she laid hold of my skirts, saying, "what thinkest thou to do?" "so and so," answered i. but she rejoined, "sit still, when we would be rid of thee, we will send thee away." so i sat with them till near daybreak, when she said to me, "o ibn mensour, go to yonder chamber; for we have furnished it for thee, and it is thy sleeping-place." so i went thither and slept till morning, when a page brought me basin and ewer, and i made the ablution and prayed the morning-prayer. then i sat down and presently, jubeir and his mistress came out of the bath in the house, wringing their locks. i wished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and reunion, saying to jubeir, "that which began with constraint hath ended in contentment." "thou sayst well," replied he; "and indeed thou deservest largesse." and he called his treasurer and bade him fetch three thousand dinars. so he brought a purse containing that sum, and jubeir gave it to me, saying, "favour us by accepting this." "i will not take it," answered i, "till thou tell me the manner of the transfer of love from her to thee, after so great an aversion." "i hear and obey," said he. "know that we have a festival, called the festival of the new year, when all the people use to take boat and go a-pleasuring on the river. so i went out, with my comrades, and saw a boat, wherein were half a score damsels like moons, and amongst them, the lady budour, with her lute in her hand. she preluded in eleven modes, then returning to the first, sang the following verses: fire is not so fierce and so hot as the fires in my heart that glow, and granite itself is less hard than the heart of my lord, i trow. indeed, when i think on his make and his fashion, i marvel to see a heart that is harder than rock in a body that's softer than snow. quoth i to her, 'repeat the verses and the air.' but she would not; so i bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted her till we feared her boat would sink. then she went her way, and this is how the love was transferred from her breast to mine." so i gave them joy of their reunion and taking the purse, with its contents, returned to baghdad. when the khalif heard ibn mensour's story, his heart was lightened and the restlessness and oppression from which he suffered forsook him. the man of yemen and his six slave-girls the khalif el-mamoun was sitting one day in his palace, surrounded by his grandees and officers of state, and there were present also before him all his poets and minions, amongst the rest one named mohammed of bassora. presently, the khalif turned to the latter and said to him, 'o mohammed, i wish thee to tell me something that i have never before heard.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered mohammed, 'shall i tell thee a thing that i have heard with my ears of a thing that i have seen with my eyes?' 'tell me whichever is the rarer,' said el mamoun. 'know then, o commander of the faithful,' began mohammed, 'that there lived once a wealthy man, who was a native of yemen; but he left his native land and came to this city of baghdad, whose sojourn so pleased him that he transported hither his family and possessions. now he had six slave-girls, the first fair, the second dark, the third fat, the fourth thin, the fifth yellow and the sixth black, all fair of face and perfectly accomplished and skilled in the arts of singing and playing upon instruments of music. one day he sent for them all and called for meat and drink; and they ate and drank and made merry. then he filled the cup and taking it in his hand, said to the blonde, "o new-moon- face, let us hear somewhat pleasing." so she took the lute and tuning it, made music thereon with such melodious trills and modulations that the place danced to the rhythm; after which she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: i have a friend, whose form is mirrored in mine eye, and deep within my breast, his name doth buried lie. whenas i call him back to mind, i am all heart, and when on him i gaze, all eyes indeed am i. "forswear the love of him," my censor says; and i, "that which is not to be, how shall it be?" reply. "go forth from me," quoth i, "and leave me, censor mine: feign not that eath and light, that's grievous to aby." at this their master was moved to mirth and drinking off his cup, gave the damsels to drink, after which he said to the brunette, "o light of the brasier[fn# ] and delight of souls, let us hear thy lovely voice, wherewith all that hearken are ravished." so she took the lute and trilled upon it, till the place was moved to mirth; then, taking all hearts with her graceful bendings, she sang the following verses: as thy face liveth, none but thee i'll love nor cherish e'er, till death, nor ever to thy love will i be false, i swear. o full moon, shrouded, as it were a veil, with loveliness, all lovely ones on earth that be beneath thy banners fare. thou, that in pleasantness and grace excellest all the fair, may god, the lord of heaven and earth, be with thee everywhere! the man was pleased and drank off his cup; after which he filled again and taking the goblet in his hand, beckoned to the plump girl and bade her sing and play. so she took the lute and striking a grief-dispelling measure, sang as follows: if but thy consent be assured, o thou who art all my desire, be all the folk angered 'gainst me; i set not a whit by their ire. and if thou but show me thy face, thy brilliant and beautiful face, i reck not if all the kings of the earth from my vision retire. thy favour, o thou unto whom all beauty must needs be referred, of the goods and the sweets of the world is all that i seek and require. the man was charmed and emptying his cup, gave the girls to drink. then he beckoned to the slender girl and said to her, "o houri of paradise, feed thou our ears with sweet sounds." so she took the lute and tuning it, preluded and sang the following verses: is it not martyrdom that i for thine estrangement dree, seeing, indeed, i cannot live, if thou depart from me? is there no judge, in love its law, to judge betwixt us twain, to do me justice on thy head and take my wreak of thee? their lord rejoiced and emptying the cup, gave the girls to drink. then he signed to the yellow girl and said to her, "o sun of the day, let us hear some pleasant verses." so she took the lute and preluding after the goodliest fashion, sang as follows: i have a lover, whenas i draw him nigh, he bares upon me a sword from either eye. may god avenge me some whit of him! for lo, he doth oppress me, whose heart in 's hand doth lie. oft though, "renounce him, my heart," i say, yet it will to none other than him itself apply. he's all i ask for, of all created things; yet jealous fortune doth him to me deny. the man rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then he filled the cup and taking it in his hand, signed to the black girl, saying, "o apple of the eye, let us have a taste of thy fashion, though it be but two words." so she took the lute and preluded in various modes, then returned to the first and sang the following verses to a lively air: o eyes, be large with tears and pour them forth amain, for, lo, for very love my senses fail and wane. all manner of desire i suffer for his sake i cherish, and my foes make merry at my pain. my enviers me forbid the roses of a cheek; and yet i have a heart that is to roses fain. ay, once the cups went round with joyance and delight and to the smitten lutes, the goblets did we drain, what time my love kept troth and i was mad for him and in faith's heaven, the star of happiness did reign. but lo, he turned away from me, sans fault of mine! is there a bitterer thing than distance and disdain? upon his cheeks there bloom a pair of roses red, blown ready to be plucked; ah god, those roses twain! were't lawful to prostrate oneself to any else than god, i'd sure prostrate myself upon the swain. then rose the six girls and kissing the ground before their lord, said to him, "judge thou between us, o our lord!" he looked at their beauty and grace and the difference of their colours and praised god the most high and glorified him: then said he, "there is none of you but has read the koran and learnt to sing and is versed in the chronicles of the ancients and the doings of past peoples; so it is my desire that each of you rise and pointing to her opposite, praise herself and dispraise her rival; that is to say, let the blonde point to the black, the plump to the slender and the yellow to the brunette; and after, the latter shall, each in turn, do the like with the former; and be this illustrated with citations from the holy koran and somewhat of anecdotes and verse, so as to show forth your culture and elegance of discourse." quoth they, "we hear and obey." so the blonde rose first and pointing at the black, said to her, "out on thee, blackamoor! it is told that whiteness saith, 'i am the shining light, i am the rising full moon.' my colour is patent and my forehead is resplendent, and of my beauty quoth the poet: a blonde with smooth and polished cheeks, right delicate and fair, as if a pearl in beauty hid, as in a shell, she were. her shape a splendid alif[fn# ] is, her smile a medial mim[fn# ] and over it her eyebrows make inverted nouns,[fn# ] a pair. yes, and the glances of her eyes are arrows, and her brows a bow that therewithal is horned with death and with despair. if to her cheeks and shape thou pass, her cheeks are roses red, sweet basil, ay, and eglantine and myrtles rich and rare. 'tis of the saplings' wont, to be implanted in the meads but, in the saplings of thy shape, how many meads are there! my colour is like the wholesome day and the newly-gathered orange-blossom and the sparkling star; and indeed quoth god the most high, in his precious book, to his prophet moses (on whom be peace), 'put thy hand into thy bosom and it shall come forth white without hurt.'[fn# ] and again he saith, 'as for those whose faces are made white, they are in the mercy of god and dwell for ever therein.'[fn# ] my colour is a miracle and my grace an extreme and my beauty a term. it is in the like of me that clothes show fair and to the like of me that hearts incline. moreover, in whiteness are many excellences; for instance, the snow falls white from heaven, and it is traditional that white is the most beautiful of colours. the muslims also glory in white turbans; but i should be tedious, were i to repeat all that may be said in praise of white; little and enough is better than too much. so now i will begin with thy dispraise, o black, o colour of ink and blacksmith's dust, thou whose face is like the crow that brings about lovers' parting! verily, the poet saith in praise of white and dispraise of black: seest not that for their milky hue white pearls in price excel and charcoal for a groat a load the folk do buy and sell? and eke white faces, 'tis well known, do enter paradise, whilst faces black appointed are to fill the halls of hell. and indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the authority of devout men, that noah (on whom be peace) was sleeping one day, with his sons ham and shem seated at his head, when a wind sprang up and lifting his clothes, uncovered his nakedness; whereat ham laughed and did not cover him; but shem rose and covered him. presently, noah awoke and learning what had passed, blessed shem and cursed ham. so shem's face was whitened and from him sprang the prophets and the orthodox khalifs and kings; whilst ham's face was blackened and he fled forth to the land of ethiopia, and of his lineage came the blacks. all people are of a mind in affirming the lack of understanding of the blacks, even as saith the adage, 'how shall one find a black having understanding?'" quoth her master, "it sufficeth; sit down, thou hast been prodigal." and he signed to the negress, who rose, and pointing at the blonde, said, "doth thou not know that, in the koran sent down to his prophet and apostle, is transmitted the saying of god the most high, 'by the night, when it veileth [the world with darkness], and by the day, when it appeareth in all its glory!'[fn# ] if the night were not more illustrious than the day, why should god swear by it and give it precedence of the day? and indeed those of sense and understanding accept this. knowst now that black [hair] is the ornament of youth and that, when whiteness descends upon the head, delights pass away and the hour of death draws nigh? were not black the most illustrious of things, god had not set it in the kernel of the heart and the apple of the eye; and how excellent is the saying of the poet: an if i cherish the dusky maids, this is the reason why; they have the hue of the core of the heart and the apple of the eye and youth; nor in error i eschew the whiteness of the blondes; for 'tis the colour of hoary hair and shrouds in them shun i. and that of another: the brown, not the white, are first in my love and worthiest eke to be loved of me, for the colour of damask lips have they, whilst the white have the hue of leprosy. and of a third: black women, white of deeds, are like indeed to eyne that, though jet-black they be, with peerless splendours shine. if i go mad for her, be not amazed; for black the source of madness is, when in the feminine.[fn# ] 'tis as my colour were the middle dark of night; for all no moon it be, yet brings it light, in fine. moreover, is the companying together of lovers good but in the night? let this quality and excellence suffice thee. what protects lovers from spies and censors like the blackness of the shadows? and nought gives them cause to fear discovery like the whiteness of the dawn. so, how many claims to honour are there not in blackness and how excellent is the saying of the poet: i visit them, and the mirk of night doth help me to my will and seconds me, but the white of dawn is hostile to me still. and that of another: how many a night in joy i've passed with the beloved one, what while the darkness curtained us about with tresses dun! whenas the light of morn appeared, it struck me with affright, and i to him, 'the magians lie, who worship fire and sun.' and saith a third: he came forth to visit me, shrouding himself in the cloak of the night, and hastened his steps, as he wended, for caution and fear and affright. then rose i and laid in his pathway my cheek, as a carpet it were, for abjection, and trailed o'er my traces my skirts, to efface them from sight. but lo, the new moon rose and shone, like a nail-paring cleft from the nail, and all but discovered our loves with the gleam of her meddlesome light. and then there betided between us what i'll not discover, i' faith: so question no more of the matter and deem not of ill or unright. and a fourth: foregather with thy lover, whilst night your loves may screen; for that the sun's a telltale, the moon a go-between. and a fifth: i love not white women, with fat blown out and overlaid; the girl of all girls for me is the slender dusky maid. let others the elephant mount, if it like them; as for me, i'll ride but the fine-trained colt on the day of the cavalcade. and a sixth: my loved one came to me by night and we did clip and interlace and lay together through the dark; but, lo, the morning broke apace. to god, my lord, i pray that he will reunite us of his grace and make night last to me, what while i hold my love in my embrace. were i to set forth all the praise of blackness, i should be tedious; but little and enough is better than great plenty and too much. as for thee, o blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy and thine embrace is suffocation; and it is of report that frost and intense cold[fn# ] are in hell for the torment of the wicked. again, of black things is ink, wherewith is written the word of god; and were is not for black ambergris and black musk, there would be no perfumes to carry to kings. how many glories are there not in blackness and how well saith the poet: dost thou not see that musk, indeed, is worth its weight in gold, whilst for a dirhem and no more a load of lime is sold? black eyes cast arrows at men's hearts; but whiteness of the eyes, in man, is judged of all to be unsightly to behold." "it sufficeth," said her master. "sit down." so she sat down and he signed to the fat girl, who rose and pointing at the slim girl, uncovered her arms and legs and bared her stomach, showing its creases and the roundness of her navel. then she donned a shift of fine stuff, that showed her whole body, and said, "praised be god who created me, for that he beautified my face and made me fat and fair and likened me to branches laden with fruit and bestowed upon me abounding beauty and brightness; and praised be he no less, for that he hath given me the precedence and honoured me, when he speaks of me in his holy book! quoth the most high, 'and he brought a fat calf.'[fn# ] and indeed he hath made me like unto an orchard, full of peaches and pomegranates. verily, the townsfolk long for fat birds and eat of them and love not lean birds; so do the sons of adam desire fat meat and eat of it. how many precious attributes are there not in fatness, and how well saith the poet: take leave of thy love, for the caravan, indeed, is on the start. o man, canst thou bear to say farewell and thus from her to part? 'tis as her going were, i trow, but to her neighbour's house, the faultless gait of a fat fair maid, that never tires the heart. sawst thou ever one stop at a butcher's stall, but sought fat meat of him? the wise say, 'pleasure is in three things, eating flesh and riding on flesh and the thrusting of flesh into flesh.' as for thee, o thin one, thy legs are like sparrow's legs or pokers, and thou art like a cruciform plank or a piece of poor meat; there is nought in thee to gladden the heart; even as saith of thee the poet: now god forfend that aught enforce me take for bedfellow a woman like a foot-rasp, wrapt in palm-fibres and tow! in every limb she has a horn, that butts me in my sleep, so that at day-break, bruised and sore, i rise from her and go." "it is enough," quoth her master. "sit down." so she sat down and he signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were a willow-wand or a bamboo-shoot or a plant of sweet basil, and said, "praised be god who created me and beautified me and made my embraces the end of all desire and likened me to the branch, to which all hearts incline. if i rise, i rise lightly; if i sit, i sit with grace; i am nimble-witted at a jest and sweeter-souled than cheerfulness [itself]. never heard i one describe his mistress, saying, 'my beloved is the bigness of an elephant or like a long wide mountain;' but rather, 'my lady hath a slender waist and a slim shape.' a little food contents me and a little water stays my thirst; my sport is nimble and my habit elegant; for i am sprightlier than the sparrow and lighter-footed than the starling. my favours are the desire of the longing and the delight of the seeker; for i am goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful as the willow-wand or the bamboo-cane of the basil-plant; nor is there any can compare with me in grace, even as saith one of me: thy shape unto the sapling liken i and set my hope to win thee or to die. distraught, i follow thee, and sore afraid, lest any look on thee with evil eye. it is for the like of me that lovers run mad and that the longing are distracted. if my lover be minded to draw me to him, i am drawn to him, and if he would have me incline to him, i incline to him and not against him. but as for thee, o fat of body, thine eating is as that of an elephant, and neither much not little contents thee. when thou liest with a man, he hath no ease of thee, nor can he find a way to take his pleasure of thee; for the bigness of thy belly holds him off from clipping thee and the grossness of thy thighs hinders him from coming at thy kaze. what comeliness is there in thy grossness and what pleasantness or courtesy in thy coarse nature? fat meat is fit for nought but slaughter, nor is there aught therein that calls for praise. if one joke with thee, thou art angry; if one sport with thee, thou art sulky; if thou sleep, thou snorest; if thou walk, thou pantest; if thou eat, thou art never satisfied. thou art heavier than mountains and fouler than corruption and sin. thou hast in thee nor movement nor blessing nor thinkest of aught but to eat and sleep. if thou make water, thou scatterest; if thou void, thou gruntest like a bursten wine-skin or a surly elephant. if thou go to the draught-house, thou needest one to wash out thy privy parts and pluck out the hairs; and this is the extreme of laziness and the sign of stupidity. in fine, there is no good thing in thee, and indeed the poet saith of thee: heavy and swollen with fat, like a blown-out water-skin, with thighs like the pillars of stone that buttress a mountain's head, lo, if she walk in the west, so cumbrous her corpulence is the eastern hemisphere hears the sound of her heavy tread." quoth her master, "it is enough: sit down." so she sat down and he signed to the yellow girl, who rose to her feet and praised god and magnified his name, calling down peace and blessing on the best of his creatures;[fn# ] after which she pointed at the brunette and said to her, "i am praised in the koran, and the compassionate one hath described my colour and its excellence over all others in his manifest book, where he saith, 'a yellow [heifer], pure yellow, whose colour rejoices the beholders.' [fn# ] wherefore my colour is a portent and my grace an extreme and my beauty a term; for that my colour is the colour of a dinar and of the planets and moons and of apples. my fashion is the fashion of the fair, and the colour of saffron outvies all other colours; so my fashion is rare and my colour wonderful. i am soft of body, and of great price, comprising all attributes of beauty. my colour, in that which exists, is precious as virgin gold, and how many glorious qualities are there not in me! of the like of me quoth the poet: yellow she is, as is the sun that shineth in the sky, and like to golden dinars, eke, to see, her beauties are. nor with her brightness, anywise, can saffron hold compare, and even the very moon herself her charms outvie by far. and now i will begin in thy dispraise, o brown of favour! thy colour is that of the buffalo, and all souls shudder at thy sight. if thy colour be in aught, it is blamed; if it be in food, it is poisoned; for thy colour is that of flies and is a mark of ugliness in dogs. it is, among colours, one which strikes with amazement and is of the signs of mourning. never heard i of brown gold or brown pearls or brown jewels. if thou enter the wardrobe, thy colour changes, and when thou comest out, thou addest a new ugliness to thine ugliness. thou art neither black, that thou mayst be known, nor white, that thou mayst be described; and there is no good quality in thee, even as saith of thee the poet: as a complexion unto her, the hue of soot doth serve; her mirky colour is as dust on couriers' feet upcast. no sooner fall mine eyes on her, thou but a moment's space, than troubles and misgivings straight beset me thick and fast." "enough," said her master. "sit down." so she sat down and he signed to the brunette. now she was endowed with grace and beauty and symmetry and perfection, delicate of body, with coal-back hair, slender shape, rosy, oval cheeks, liquid black eyes, fair face, eloquent tongue, slim waist and heavy buttocks. so she rose and said, "praised be god who hath created me neither blameably fat nor lankily slender, neither white like leprosy nor yellow like colic nor black like coal, but hath made my colour to be beloved of men of wit; for all the poets praise brunettes in every tongue and exalt their colour over all others. brown of hue, praiseworthy of qualities; and god bless him who saith: in the brunettes a meaning is, couldst read its writ aright, thine eyes would never again look on others, red or white. free-flowing speech and amorous looks would teach harout[fn# ] himself the arts of sorcery and spells of magic and of might. and saith another: give me brunettes; the syrian spears, so limber and so straight, tell of the slender dusky maids, so lithe and proud of gait. languid of eyelids, with a down like silk upon her cheek, within her wasting lover's heart she queens it still in state. and yet another: yea, by my life, such virtues in goodly brownness lie, one spot thereof makes whiteness the shining moons outvie; but if the like of whiteness is borrowed, then, for sure, its beauty were transmuted unto reproach thereby. not with her wine[fn# ] i'm drunken, but with her tresses[fn# ] bright that make all creatures drunken that dwell beneath the sky. each of her charms doth envy the others; yea, and each to be the down so silky upon her cheek doth sigh. and again: why should i not incline me unto the silken down on the cheeks of a dusky maiden, like the cane straight and brown, seeing the spot of beauty in waterlilies' cups is of the poets fabled to be all beauty's crown? yea, and i see all lovers the swarthy-coloured mole, under the ebon pupil, do honour and renown. why, then, do censors blame me for loving one who's all a mole? may allah rid me of every railing clown! my form is beautiful and my shape slender; kings desire my colour and all love it, rich and poor. i am pleasant, nimble, handsome, elegant, soft of body and great of price. i am perfect in beauty and breeding and eloquence; my aspect is comely and my tongue fluent, my habit light and my sport graceful. as for thee, [o yellow girl,] thou art like unto a mallow of bab el louc, yellow and made all of sulphur. perdition to thee, o pennyworth of sorrel, o rust of copper, o owl's face and food of the damned! thy bedfellow, for oppression of spirit, is buried in the tombs, and there is no good thing in thee, even as saith the poet of the like of thee: paleness[fn# ] is sore on her, for all no illness doth her fret; my breast is straitened by its sight; ay, and my head aches yet. if thou repent thee not, my soul, to punish thee, i vow, i'll humble thee with a kiss of her face, my teeth on edge shall set." "enough," said her master; "sit down." then he made peace between them and clad them all in sumptuous dresses of honour and handselled them with precious jewels of land and sea. and never, o commander of the faithful, in any place or time have i seen fairer than these six fair damsels.' when the khalif el mamoun heard this story from mohammed of bassora, he said to him, 'o mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of these damsels and their master, and canst thou make shift to buy them of him for us?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'i have heard that their master is wrapped up in them and cannot endure to be parted from them.' 'take threescore thousand dinars, --that is, ten thousand for each girl,--' rejoined the khalif, 'and go to his house and buy them of him.' so mohammed took the money and betaking himself to the man of yemen, acquainted him with the khalif's wish. he consented to sell them at that price, to pleasure him, and despatched them to el mamoun, who assigned them an elegant lodging and used to sit with them therein, marvelling at their beauty and grace, no less than at their varied colours and the excellence of their speech. after awhile, when their former owner could no longer endure separation from them, he sent a letter to the khalif, complaining of his ardent love for them and containing, amongst the rest, the following verses: six damsels fair and bright have captivated me; my blessing and my peace the six fair maidens greet! my life, indeed, are they, my hearing and my sight, yea, and my very drink, my pleasance and my meat. no other love can bring me solace for their charms, and slumber, after them, no more to me is sweet. alas, my long regret, my weeping for their loss! would i have ne'er been born, to know this sore defeat! for eyes, bedecked and fair with brows like bended bows, have smitten me to death with arrows keen and fleet. when the letter came to el mamoun's hands, he clad the six damsels in rich apparel and giving them threescore thousand dinars, sent them back to their master, who rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy,--more by token of the money they brought him,--and abode with them in all delight and pleasance of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. haroun er rashid and the damsel and abou nuwas. the khalif haroun er reshid, being one night exceeding restless and oppressed with melancholy thought, went out and walked about his palace, till he came to a chamber, over whose doorway hung a curtain. he raised the curtain and saw, at the upper end of the room, a bed, on which lay something black, as it were a man asleep, with a candle on his right hand and another on his left and by his side a flagon of old wine, over against which stood the cup. the khalif wondered at this, saying, 'how came yonder black by this wine-service?' then, drawing near the bed, he found that it was a girl asleep there, veiled with her hair, and uncovering her face, saw that it was like the moon on the night of her full. so he filled a cup of wine and drank it to the roses of her cheeks; then bent over her and kissed a mole on her face, whereupon she awoke and cried out, saying, 'o trusty one of god,[fn# ], what is to do?' 'a guest who knocks at thy dwelling by night,' replied the khalif, '[hoping] that thou wilt give him hospitality till the dawn.' 'it is well,' answered she; 'i will grace the guest with my hearing and my sight.' so she brought the wine and they drank it together; after which she took the lute and tuning it, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then returning to the first, struck a lively measure and sang the following verses: the tongue of passion in my heart bespeaks thee for my soul, telling i love thee with a love that nothing can control. i have an eye, that testifies unto my sore disease, and eke a heart with parting wrung, a-throb for love and dole. indeed, i cannot hide the love that frets my life away; longing increases still on me, my tears for ever roll. ah me, before the love of thee, i knew not what love was; but god's decree must have its course on every living soul. then said she, 'o commander of the faithful, i am a wronged woman.' 'how so?' quoth he, 'and who hath wronged thee?' she answered, 'thy son bought me awhile ago, for ten thousand dirhems, meaning to give me to thee; but the daughter of thine uncle[fn# ] sent him the price aforesaid and bade him shut me up from thee in this chamber.' whereupon, 'ask a boon of me,' said the khalif; and she, 'i ask thee to lie to-morrow night with me.' 'if it be the will of god,' replied the khalif, and leaving her, went away. next morning, he repaired to his sitting-room and called for abou nuwas, but found him not and sent his chamberlain to seek for him. the chamberlain found him in pawn, in a tavern, for a score of a thousand dirhems, that he had spent on a certain boy, and questioned him. so he told him what had befallen him with the boy and how he had spent a thousand dirhems upon him; whereupon quoth the chamberlain, 'show him to me; and if he be worth this, thou art excused.' 'wait awhile,' replied the poet, 'and thou shalt see him presently.' as they were talking, up came the boy, clad in a white tunic, under which was another of red and yet another of black. when abou nuwas saw him, he sighed and repeated the following verses: to me he appeared in a garment of white, his eyes and his eyelids with languor bedight. quoth i, "dost thou pass and salutest me not? though god knows thy greeting were sweet to my spright. be he blessed who mantled with roses thy cheeks, who creates, without let, what he will, of his might!" "leave prating," he answered; "for surely my lord is wondrous of working, sans flaw or dissight. yea, truly, my garment is even as my face and my fortune, each white upon white upon white." when the boy heard this, he put off the white tunic and appeared in the red one; whereupon abou nuwas redoubled in expressions of admiration and repeated the following verses: appeared in a garment, the colour of flame, a foeman of mine, "the beloved," by name. "thou'rt a full moon," i said in my wonder, "and com'st in a garment that putteth the roses to shame. hath the red of thy cheek clad that vest upon thee or in heart's blood of lovers hast tinctured the same?" quoth he, "'twas the sun lately gave me the wede; from the rubicund hue of his setting it came. so my garment and wine and the colour so clear of my cheek are as flame upon flame upon flame." then the boy doffed the red tunic and abode in the black; whereupon abou nuwas redoubled in attention to him and repeated the following verses: he came in a tunic all sable of hue and shone out, thus veiled in the dark, to men's view. "thou passest," quoth i, "without greeting, and thus givest cause to exult to the rancorous crew. thy garment resembles thy locks and my lot, yea, blackness and blackness and blackness thereto." then the chamberlain returned to haroun er reshid and acquainted him with the poet's predicament, whereupon he bade him take a thousand dirhems and go and take him out of pawn. so he returned to abou nuwas and paying his score, carried him to the khalif, who said, 'make me some verses containing the words, "o trusty one of god, what is to do?"' 'i hear and obey, o commander of the faithful,' answered he and improvised the following verses: my night was long for sleeplessness and care. weary i was and many my thoughts were. i rose and walked awhile in my own place, then midst the harem's cloistered courts did fare, until i chanced on somewhat black and found it was a damsel shrouded in her hair. god bless her for a shining moon! her shape a willow-wand, and pudour veiled the fair. i quaffed a cup to her; then, drawing near, i kissed the mole upon her cheek so rare. she woke and swayed about in her amaze, even as the branch sways in the rain-fraught air; then rose and said, "o trusty one of god, what is to do, and thou, what dost thou there?" "a guest", quoth i, "that sues to thee, by night, for shelter till the hour of morning-prayer." "gladly," she said; "with hearing and with sight to grace the guest, my lord, i will not spare." 'confound thee!' cried the khalif. 'it is as if thou hadst been present with us.' then he took him by the hand and carried him to the damsel, who was clad in a dress and veil of blue. when abou nuwas saw her, he was profuse in expressions of admiration and recited the following verses: say to the lovely maid, i' the veil of azure dight, "by allah, o my life, have pity on my plight! for when the fair entreats her lover cruelly, sighs of all longing rend his bosom day and night. so, by thy charms and by the whiteness of thy cheek, have ruth upon a heart for love consumed outright. incline to him and be his stay 'gainst stress of love, nor let what fools may say find favour in thy sight." then the damsel set wine before the khalif and taking the lute, played a lively measure and sang the following verses: wilt thou be just in thy love to others and deal with me unjustly and put me away, while others have joy in thee? were there for lovers a judge, to whom i might complain of thee, he would do me justice and judge with equity. if thou forbid me to pass thy door, yet from afar to greet thee and to bless, at least, i shall be free. the khalif bade her ply abou nuwas with wine, till he lost his wits; when he gave him a full cup, and he drank a draught of it and held the cup in his hand. er reshid bade the girl take the cup from him and conceal it; so she took it and hid it between her thighs. then he drew his sword and standing at the poet's head, pricked him with the point; whereupon he awoke and saw the khalif standing over him, with a drawn sword. at this sight the fumes of the wine fled from his head and the khalif said to him, 'make me some verses and tell me therein what is come of thy cup; or i will cut off thy head.' so he improvised the following verses: my tale, indeed is hard to tell: the thief was none but yon gazelle. she stole my cup of wine, whereof my lips had drunken but one spell, and hid it in a place, for which my heart's desire's unspeakable. i name it not, for awe of him, in whom the right thereof doth dwell. 'confound thee!' quoth the khalif. 'how knewst thou that? but we accept what thou sayst.' then he ordered him a dress of honour and a thousand dinars, and he went away, rejoicing. the man who stole the dish of gold in which the dog ate. there was once a man, who was overborne with debt, and his case was straitened upon him, so that he left his people and family and went forth in distraction. he wandered on at random till he came to a high-walled and splendidly built city and entered it in a state of wretchedness and despair, gnawed with hunger and worn with the toil of his journey. as he passed through one of the streets, he saw a company of notables going along; so he followed them, till they entered a house like to a royal palace. he entered with them, and they stayed not till they came in presence of a man of the most dignified and majestic aspect, seated at the upper end of a saloon and surrounded by pages and servants, as he were of the sons of the viziers. when he saw the visitors, he rose and received them with honour; but the poor man was confounded at the goodliness of the place and the crowd of servants and attendants and drawing back, in fear and perplexity, sat down apart in a place afar off, where none should see him. after awhile, in came a man with four hunting-dogs, clad in various kinds of silk and brocade and having on their necks collars of gold with chains of silver, and tied up each dog in a place set apart for him; after which he went out and presently returned with four dishes of gold, full of rich meats, one of which he set before each dog. then he went away and left them, whilst the poor man began to eye the food, for stress of hunger, and would fain have gone up to one of the dogs and eaten with him; but fear of them withheld him. presently, one of the dogs looked at him and god the most high inspired him with a knowledge of his case; so he drew back from the platter and beckoned to the man, who came and ate, till he was satisfied. then he would have withdrawn, but the dog pushed the dish towards him with his paw, signing to him to take it and what was left in it for himself. so the man took the dish and leaving the house, went his way, and none followed him. then he journeyed to another city, where he sold the dish and buying goods with the price, returned to his own town. there he sold his stock and paid his debts; and he prospered and became rich and at his ease. after some years had passed, he said to himself, 'needs must i repair to the city of the owner of the dish, which the dog bestowed on me, and carry him its price, together with a fit and handsome present.' so he took the price of the dish and a suitable present and setting out, journeyed night and day, till he came to the city and entering, went straight to the place where the man's house had been; but lo, he found there nothing but mouldering ruins and dwelling-places laid waste, over which the raven croaked; for the place was desert and the environs changed out of knowledge. at this, his heart and soul were troubled and he repeated the words of him who saith: the privy chambers are void of all their hidden store, as hearts of the fear of god and the virtues all of yore. changed is the vale and strange to me are its gazelles, and those i knew of old its sandhills are no more. and those of another: the phantom of saada came to me by night, near the break of day, and roused me, whenas my comrades all in the desert sleeping lay. but, when i awoke to the dream of the night, that came to visit me, i found the air void and the wonted place of our rendezvous far away. when he saw what the hand of time had manifestly done with the place, leaving but traces of the things that had been aforetime, the testimony of his eyes made it needless for him to enquire of the case; so he turned away and seeing a wretched man, in a plight that made the skin quake and would have moved the very rock to pity, said to him, 'harkye, sirrah! what have time and fortune done with the master of this place? where are his shining full moons[fn# ] and splendid stars;[fn# ] and what is the cause of the ruin that is come upon his abode, so that but the walls thereof remain?' quoth the other, 'he is the miserable wretch thou seest bewailing that which hath befallen him. knowest thou not the words of the prophet (whom god bless and preserve), wherein is a lesson to him who will profit by it and an admonition to whoso will be guided thereby in the right way? "verily it is the way of god the most high to raise up nothing of this world, except he cast it down again." if thou enquire of the cause of this thing, indeed, it is no wonder, considering the vicissitudes of fortune. i was the master of this place and its builder and founder and owner and lord of its shining full moons and radiant damsels and of all its splendid circumstance an magnificent garniture; but fortune turned and did away from me wealth and servants, overwhelming me unawares with disasters unforeseen and bringing me to this sorry plight. but there must needs be some reason for this thy question: tell it me and leave wondering.' so the other told him the whole story, sore concerned at what he heard and saw, and added, 'i have brought thee a present such as souls desire, and the price of thy dish of gold, that i took; for it was the cause of my becoming rich, after poverty, and of the reinstating of my dwelling-place, after desolation, and of the doing away of my trouble and straitness from me.' but the poor man shook his head, groaning and weeping and lamenting, and answered, 'o man, methinks thou art mad; for this is not the fashion of a man of understanding. how should a dog of mine make gift to thee of a dish of gold and i receive back its price? this were indeed a strange thing! by allah, were i in the straitest misery and unease, i would not accept of thee aught, no, not the worth of a nail-paring! so return whence thou camest, in health and safety.' the merchant kissed his feet and taking leave of him, returned whence he came, praising him and reciting the following verse: the men and eke the dogs are gone and vanished all. peace be upon the men and dogs, whate'er befall! the sharper of alexandria and the master of police. there was once, in the coast-fortress of alexandria, a master of police, husameddin by name, who was one night sitting in his seat of office, when there came in to him a trooper, who said to him, 'know, o my lord, that i entered the city this night and alighted at such a khan and slept there, till a third part of the night was past, when i awoke and found my saddle-bags cut open and a purse of a thousand dinars stolen from them.' no sooner had he done speaking than the magistrate called his officers and bade them lay hands on all in the khan and clap them in prison till the morning; and on the morrow, he caused bring the instruments of torment and sending for the prisoners, was about to torture them, [to make them confess], in the presence of the owner of the stolen money, when, behold, a man pressed through the crowd and coming up to the chief of the police, said, 'o amir, let these folk go, for they are wrongly accused. it was i who robbed the trooper, and here is the purse i stole from his saddle-bags.' so saying, he pulled out the purse from his sleeve and laid it before husameddin, who said to the soldier, 'take thy money; thou hast no ground of complaint now against the people of the khan.' thereupon the latter and all who were present fell to blessing the thief and praising him; but he said, 'o amir, the skill is not in that i came to thee and brought thee the purse, but in taking it a second time from the trooper.' 'and how didst thou take it, o sharper?' asked husameddin. 'o amir,' replied the thief, 'i was standing in the money-changers' bazaar at cairo, when i saw yonder man receive the gold and put it in his purse; so i followed him from street to street, but found no occasion of stealing it from him. then he left cairo and i followed him from place to place, casting about by the way to rob him, but without avail, till he entered this city and i followed him to the khan. i took up my lodging beside him and watched him till he fell asleep and i heard him snoring, when i went softly up to him and cutting open his saddlebags with this knife, took the purse thus--' so saying, he put out his hand and took the purse from before the chief of the police, whilst the latter and the trooper and the folk drew back, watching him and thinking he would show them how he took the purse from the saddle-bags; but, of a sudden, he broke into a run and threw himself into a reservoir hard by. the chief of the police called to his officers to pursue him, but before they could put off their clothes and descend the steps, he had made off; and they sought for him, but found him not; for the streets of alexandria all communicate one with another. so they came back, empty-handed, and the chief of the police said to the trooper, 'thou hast no recourse against the folk; for thou foundest him who robbed thee and receivedst back thy money, but didst not keep it.' so the trooper went away, having lost his money, whilst the folk were delivered from his hands and those of the chief of the police; and all this was of the favour of god the most high. el melik en nasir and the three masters of police. el melik en nasir[fn# ] once sent for the chiefs of the police of new cairo, boulac and old cairo and said to them, 'i wish each of you to tell me the most remarkable thing that hath befallen him during his term of office.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they. then said the chief of the police of new cairo, 'o our lord the sultan, the most remarkable thing that befell me, during my term of office, was on this wise: story of the chief of the police of new cairo. there were once, in this city, two men apt to bear witness in matters of blood and wounds; but they were both given to wine and women and debauchery; nor, do what i would, could i succeed in bringing them to account. so i charged the vintners and confectioners and fruiterers and chandlers and bagnio-keepers to acquaint me of these two, when ever they should anywhere be engaged in drinking or debauchery, whether together or apart, and that, if they or either of them bought of them aught for the purpose of carousal, they should not conceal it from me. and they replied, "we hear and obey." one night, a man came to me and said, "o my lord, know that the two witnesses are in such a house in such a street, engaged in sore wickedness." so i disguised myself and went out, accompanied by none but my page, to the street in question. when i came to the house, i knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came out and opened to me, saying, "who art thou?" i made her no answer, but entered and saw the two witnesses and the master of the house sitting, and lewd women with them, and great plenty of wine before them. when they saw me, they rose to receive me, without showing the least alarm, and made much of me, seating me in the place of honour and saying to me, "welcome for an illustrious guest and a pleasant cup-companion!" presently, the master of the house went out and returning after awhile with three hundred dinars, said to me, without the least fear, "o my lord, it is, we know, in thy power both to disgrace and punish us; but this will bring thee nothing but weariness. so thou wouldst do better to take this money and protect us; for god the most high is named the protector and loveth those of his servants who protect each other; and thou shalt have thy reward in the world to come." the money tempted me and i said in myself, "i will take the money and protect them this once; but, if ever again i have them in my power, i will take my wreak of them." so i took the money and went away; but, next day, one of the cadi's serjeants came to me and cited me before the court. i accompanied him thither, knowing not the meaning of the summons; and when i came into the cadi's presence, i saw the two witnesses and the master of the house sitting by him. the latter rose and sued me for three hundred dinars, nor was it in my power to deny the debt; for he produced a written obligation and the two others testified against me that i owed the amount. their evidence satisfied the cadi and he ordered me to pay the money; nor did i leave the court till they had of me the three hundred dinars. so i went away, in the utmost wrath and confusion, vowing vengeance against them and repenting that i had not punished them.' then rose the chief of the boulac police and said, 'as for me, o our lord the sultan, the most remarkable thing that befell me, during my term of office, was as follows: story of the chief of the boulac police. i was once in debt to the amount of three hundred thousand dinars, and being distressed thereby, i sold what was behind me and what was before me and all i could lay my hands on, but could raise no more than a hundred thousand dinars and abode in great perplexity. one night, as i sat at home, in this state of mind, there came a knocking at the gate; so i said to one of my servants, "see who is at the door." he went out and returned, pale and trembling in every nerve; so i said to him, "what ails thee?" "there is a man at the door, seeking thee," answered he. "he is half naked, clad in skins, with a sword and a knife in his girdle, and with him are a company of the same fashion." so i took my sword and going out to see who these were, found them as the boy had reported and said to them, "what is your business?" "we are thieves," answered they, "and have made great purchase to-night and appointed it to thy use, that thou mayst pay therewith the debts that oppress thee and free thyself from thy distress." "where is it?" asked i; and they brought me a great chest, full of vessels of gold and silver; which when i saw, i rejoiced and said in myself, "it were ungenerous to let them go away empty-handed." so i took the hundred thousand dinars i had by me and gave it to them, thanking them; and they took it and went their way, under cover of the night. but, on the morrow, when i examined the contents of the chest, i found them gilded brass and pewter, worth five hundred dirhems at the most; and this was grievous to me, for i had lost what money i had, and trouble was added to my trouble.' then rose the chief of the police of old cairo and said, 'o our lord the sultan, the most remarkable thing that befell me, during my term of office, was on this wise: story of the chief of the old cairo police i once had ten thieves hanged, each on his own gibbet, and set guards to watch them and hinder the folk from taking them down. next morning, when i came to look at them, i found two bodies hanging from one gibbet and said to the guards, "who did this, and where is the tenth gibbet?" but they denied all knowledge of it, and i was about to beat them, when they said, "know, o amir, that we fell asleep last night, and when we awoke, we found one of the bodies gone, gibbet and all, whereat we were alarmed, fearing thy wrath. but, presently, up came a peasant, jogging along on his ass; so we laid hands on him and killing him, hung his body upon this gibbet, in the stead of the missing thief." when i heard this, i marvelled and said to them, "had he aught with him?" "he had a pair of saddle-bags on the ass," answered they. "what was in them?" asked i and they said, "we know not." quoth i, "bring them hither." so they brought them to me and i bade open them, when, behold, therein was the body of a murdered man, cut in pieces. when i saw this, i marvelled and said in myself, "glory be to god! the cause of the hanging of this peasant was no other but his crime against this murdered man; and the lord is no unjust dealer with [his] servants."' [fn# ] the thief and the money-changer a money-changer, bearing a bag of money, once passed by a company of thieves, and one of the latter said to the others, 'i know how to steal yonder bag of money.' 'how wilt thou do it?' asked they. 'look,' answered he and followed the money- changer, till he entered his house, when he threw the bag on a shelf and went into the draught-house, to do an occasion, calling to the slave-girl to bring him an ewer of water. so she took the jug and followed him to the draught-house, leaving the door open, whereupon the thief entered and taking the bag of money, made off with it to his companions, to whom he related what had passed. 'by allah,' said they, 'this was a clever trick! it is not every one could do it: but, presently, the money-changer will come out of the draught-house and missing the bag of money, will beat the slave-girl and torture her grievously. meseems thou hast at present done nothing worthy of praise; but, if thou be indeed a sharper, thou wilt return and save the girl from being beaten.' 'if it be the will of god,' answered the thief, 'i will save both the girl and the purse.' then he went back to the money-changer's house and found him beating the girl, because of the bag of money; so he knocked at the door and the man said, 'who is there? quoth the thief, 'i am the servant of thy neighbour in the bazaar.' so he came out to him and said, 'what is thy business?' 'my master salutes thee,' replied the thief, 'and says to thee, "surely, thou art mad to cast the like of this bag of money down at the door of thy shop and go away and leave it! had a stranger chanced on it, he had made off with it." and except my master had seen it and taken care of it, it had been lost to thee.' so saying, he pulled out the purse and showed it to the money-changer, who said, 'that is indeed my purse,' and put out his hand to take it; but the thief said, 'by allah, i will not give it thee, till thou write me a receipt; for i fear my master will not believe that thou hast duly received the purse, except i bring him a writing to that effect, under thy hand and seal.' so the money-changer went in to write the receipt; but, in the meantime, the thief made off with the bag of money, having [thus] saved the slave-girl her beating. the chief of the cous police and the sharper it is related that alaeddin, chief of the police of cous[fn# ], was sitting one night in his house, when a man of comely aspect and dignified port, followed by a servant bearing a chest upon his head, came to the door and said to one of the young men, 'go in and tell the amir that i would speak with him privily.' so the servant went in and told his master, who bade admit the visitor. when he entered the amir saw him to be a man of good appearance and carriage; so he received him with honour, seating him beside himself, and said to him, 'what is thy business?' 'i am a highwayman,' replied the stranger, 'and am minded to repent at thy hands and turn to god the most high but i would have thee help me to this, for that i am in thy district and under thine eye. i have here a chest, wherein is that which is worth nigh forty thousand dinars; and none hath so good a right to it as thou; so do thou take it and give me in exchange a thousand dinars of thy money, lawfully gotten, that i may have a little capital, to aid me in my repentance, and not be forced to resort to sin for subsistence; and with god the most high be thy reward!' so saying he opened the chest and showed the amir that it was full of trinkets and jewels and bullion and pearls, whereat he was amazed and rejoiced greatly. then he cried out to his treasurer, to bring him a purse of a thousand dinars, and gave it to the highwayman, who thanked him and went his way, under cover of the night. on the morrow, the amir sent for the chief of the goldsmiths and showed him the chest and what was therein; but the goldsmith found it nothing but pewter and brass and the jewels and pearls all of glass; at which alaeddin was sore chagrined and sent in quest of the highwayman; but none could come at him. ibrahim ben el mehdi and the merchant's sister. the khalif el mamoun once said to [his uncle] ibrahim ben el mehdi, 'tell us the most remarkable thing that thou hast ever seen.' 'i hear and obey, o commander of the faithful,' answered he. 'know that i went out one day, a-pleasuring, and my course brought me to a place where i smelt the odour of food. my soul longed for it and i halted, perplexed and unable either to go on or enter. presently, i raised my eyes and saw a lattice window and behind it a hand and wrist, the like of which for beauty i never saw. the sight turned my brain and i forgot the smell of the food and began to cast about how i should get access to the house. after awhile, i espied a tailor hard by and going up to him, saluted him. he returned my greeting and i said to him, "whose house is that?" "it belongs to a merchant called such an one," answered he, "who consorteth with none but merchants." as we were talking, up came two men of comely and intelligent aspect, riding on horseback; and the tailor told me their names and that they were the merchant's most intimate friends. so i spurred my horse towards them and said to them, "may i be your ransom! abou such an one[fn# ] waits for you!" and i rode with them to the gate, where i entered and they also. when the master of the house saw me, he doubted not but i was their friend; so he welcomed me and made me sit down in the highest room. then they brought the table of food and i said, "god hath granted me my desire of the food; and now there remain the hand and wrist." after awhile, we removed, for carousal, to another room, which i found full of all manner of rarities; and the host paid me particular attention, addressing his conversation to me, for that he deemed me a guest of his guests; whilst the latter, in like manner, made much of me, taking me for a friend of the master of the house. when we had drunk several cups of wine, there came in to us a damsel of the utmost beauty and elegance, as she were a willow-wand, who took a lute and playing a lively measure, sang the following verses: is it not passing strange, indeed, one house should hold us tway and still thou drawst not near to me nor yet a word dost say, except the secrets of the souls and hearts that broken be and entrails blazing in the fires of love, the eye bewray with meaning looks and knitted brows and eyelids languishing and hands that salutation sign and greeting thus convey? when i heard this, my entrails were stirred and i was moved to delight, for the excess of her grace and the beauty of the verses she sang; and i envied her her skill and said, "there lacketh somewhat to thee, o damsel!" whereupon she threw the lute from her hand, in anger, and cried, "since when do you use to bring ill-mannered fools into your assemblies?" then i repented of what i had done, seeing that the others were vexed with me, and said in myself, "my hopes are at an end;" and i saw no way of quitting myself of reproach but to call for a lute, saying, "i will show you what escaped her in the air she sang." so they brought me a lute and i tuned it and sang the following verses: this is thy lover distraught, absorbed in his passion and pain; thy lover, the tears of whose eyes run down on his body like rain. one hand to his heart ever pressed, whilst the other the merciful one imploreth, so he of his grace may grant him his hope to attain. o thou, that beholdest a youth for passion that's perished, thine eye and thy hand are the cause of his death and yet might restore him again. when the damsel heard this, she sprang up and throwing herself at my feet, kissed them and said, "it is thine to excuse, o my lord! by allah, i knew not thy quality nor heard i ever the like of this fashion!" and they all extolled me and made much of me, being beyond measure delighted, and besought me to sing again. so i sang a lively air, whereupon they all became as drunken men, and their wits left them. then the guests departed to their homes and i abode alone with the host and the girl. the former drank some cups with me, then said to me, "o my lord, my life hath been wasted, in that i have not known the like of thee till now. by allah, then, tell me who thou art, that i may know who is the boon-companion whom god hath bestowed on me this night." i would not at first tell him my name and returned him evasive answers; but he conjured me, till i told him who i was; whereupon he sprang to his feet and said, "indeed, i wondered that such excellence should belong to any but the like of thee; and fortune hath done me a service for which i cannot avail to thank her. but, belike, this is a dream; for how could i hope that the family of the khalifate should visit me in my own house and carouse with me this night?" i conjured him to be seated; so he sat down and began to question me, in the most courteous terms, as to the cause of my visit. so i told him the whole matter, concealing nothing, and said to him, "verily, i have had my desire of the food, but not of the hand and wrist." quoth he, "thou shalt have thy desire of them also, so god will." then said he to the slave-girl, "bid such an one come down." and he called his slave-girls down, one by one and showed them to me; but i saw not my mistress among them, and he said, "o my lord, there is none left save my mother and sister; but, by allah, i must needs have them also down and show them to thee." i marvelled at his courtesy and large-heartedness and said, "may i be thy ransom! begin with thy sister." "willingly," replied he. so she came down and behold, it was she whose hand and wrist i had seen. "may god make me thy ransom!" said i. "this is the damsel whose hand and wrist i saw at the lattice." then he sent at once for witnesses and bringing out two myriads of dinars, said to the witnesses, "this our lord ibrahim ben el mehdi, uncle of the commander of the faithful, seeks the hand of my sister such an one, and i call you to witness that i marry her to him and that he has endowed her with a dowry of ten thousand dinars." and he said to me, "i give thee my sister in marriage, at the dowry aforesaid." "i consent," answered i. whereupon he gave one of the bags to her and the other to the witnesses, and said to me, "o my lord, i desire to array a chamber for thee; where thou mayst lie with thy wife." but i was abashed at his generosity and was ashamed to foregather with her in his house; so i said, "equip her and send her to my house." and by thy life, o commander of the faithful, he sent me such an equipage with her, that my house was too strait to hold it, for all its greatness! and i begot on her this boy that stands before thee.' the khalif marvelled at the merchant's generosity and said, 'gifted of god is he! never heard i of his like.' and he bade ibrahim bring him to court, that he might see him. so he brought him and the khalif conversed with him; and his wit and good breeding so pleased him, that he made him one of his chief officers. the woman whose hands were cut off for that she gave alms to the poor. a certain king once made proclamation to the people of his realm, saying, 'if any of you give alms of aught, i will assuredly cut off his hand;' wherefore all the people abstained from alms-giving, and none could give to any. one day a beggar accosted a certain woman (and indeed hunger was sore upon him) and said to her, 'give me an alms.' 'how can i give thee aught,' answered she, 'when the king cutteth off the hands of all who give alms?' but he said, 'i conjure thee by god the most high, give me an alms.' so, when he adjured her by god, she had compassion on him and gave him two cakes of bread. the king heard of this; so he called her before him and cut off her hands, after which she returned to her house. a while after, the king said to his mother, 'i have a mind to take a wife; so do thou marry me to a fair woman.' quoth she, 'there is among our female slaves one who is unsurpassed in beauty; but she hath a grievous blemish.' 'what is that?' asked the king; and his mother answered, 'she hath had both her hands cut off.' said he, 'let me see her.' so she brought her to him, and he was ravished by her and married her and went in to her; and she brought him a son. now this was the woman, who had her hands cut off for alms-giving; and when she became queen, her fellow-wives envied her and wrote to the king [who was then absent] that she was unchaste; so he wrote to his mother, bidding her carry the woman into the desert and leave her there. the old queen obeyed his commandment and abandoned the woman and her son in the desert; whereupon she fell to weeping and wailing exceeding sore for that which had befallen her. as she went along, with the child at her neck, she came to a river and knelt down to drink, being overcome with excess of thirst, for fatigue and grief; but, as she bent her head, the child fell into the water. then she sat weeping sore for her child, and as she wept, there came up two men, who said to her, 'what makes thee weep?' quoth she, 'i had a child at my neck, and he hath fallen into the water.' 'wilt thou that we bring him out to thee?' asked they, and she answered, 'yes.' so they prayed to god the most high, and the child came forth of the water to her, safe and sound. quoth they, 'wilt thou that god restore thee thy hands as they were?' 'yes,' replied she: whereupon they prayed to god, blessed and exalted be he! and her hands were restored to her, goodlier than before. then said they, 'knowst thou who we are?' 'god [only] is all-knowing,' answered she; and they said, 'we are thy two cakes of bread, that thou gavest in alms to the beggar and which were the cause of the cutting off of thy hands. so praise thou god the most high, for that he hath restored thee thy hands and thy child.' so she praised god the most high and glorified him. the devout israelite. there was once a devout man of the children of israel[fn# ], whose family span cotton; and he used every day to sell the yarn they span and buy fresh cotton, and with the profit he bought the day's victual for his household. one day, he went out and sold the day's yarn as usual, when there met him one of his brethren, who complained to him of want; so he gave him the price of the yarn and returned, empty-handed, to his family, who said to him, 'where is the cotton and the food?' quoth he, 'such an one met me and complained to me of want; so i gave him the price of the yarn.' and they said, 'how shall we do? we have nothing to sell.' now they had a broken platter and a jar; so he took them to the market; but none would buy them of him. presently, as he stood in the market, there came up a man with a stinking, swollen fish, which no one would buy of him, and he said to the jew, 'wilt thou sell me thine unsaleable ware for mine?' 'yes,' answered the jew and giving him the jar and platter, took the fish and carried it home to his family, who said, 'what shall we do with this fish?' quoth he, 'we will broil it and eat of it, till it please god to provide for us.' so they took it and ripping open its belly, found therein a great pearl and told the jew, who said, 'see if it be pierced. if so, it belongs to some one of the folk; if not, it is a provision of god for us.' so they examined it and found it unpierced. on the morrow, the jew carried it to one of his brethren, who was skilled in jewels, and he said, 'whence hadst thou this pearl?' 'it was a gift of god the most high to us,' replied the jew, and the other said, 'it is worth a thousand dirhems, and i will give thee that sum; but take it to such an one, for he hath more money and skill than i.' so the jew took it to the jeweller, who said, 'it is worth threescore and ten thousand dirhems and no more. then he paid him that sum and the jew hired two porters to carry the money to his house. as he came to his door, a beggar accosted him, saying, 'give me of that which god the most high hath given thee.' quoth the jew, 'but yesterday, we were even as thou; take half the money.' so he made two parts of it, and each took his half. then said the beggar, 'take back thy money and god prosper thee in it; i am a messenger, whom thy lord hath sent to try thee.' quoth the jew, 'to god be the praise and the thanks!' and abode with his family in all delight of life, till death. abou hassan ez ziyadi and the man from khorassan. quoth abou hassan ez ziyadi[fn# ], 'i was once in very needy case, and the baker and grocer and other purveyors importuned me, so that i was in sore straits and knew of no resource nor what to do. things being thus, there came in to me one day one of my servants and said to me, "there is a man, a pilgrim, at the door, who seeks admission to thee." quoth i, "admit him." so he came in and behold, he was a native of khorassan. we exchanged salutations and he said to me, "art thou abou hassan ez ziyadi?" "yes," answered i. "what is thy business?" quoth he, "i am a stranger and am minded to make the pilgrimage; but i have with me a great sum of money, which is burdensome to me. so i wish to deposit with thee these ten thousand dirhems, whilst i make the pilgrimage and return. if the caravan return and thou see me not, know that i am dead, in which case the money is a gift from me to thee; but if i come back, it shall be mine." "be it as thou wilt," answered i, "so it please god the most high." so he brought out a leather bag and i said to the servant, "fetch the scales." he brought them and the man weighed out the money and handed it to me, after which he went his way. then i called the tradesmen and paid them what i owed and spent freely, saying in myself, "by the time he returns, god will have succoured me with one or another of his bounties." however, next day, the servant came in to me and said, "thy friend the man from khorassan is at the door." "admit him," answered i. so he came in and said to me, "i had thought to make the pilgrimage; but news hath reached me of the death of my father, and i have resolved to return; so give me the money i deposited with thee yesterday." when i heard this, i was troubled and perplexed beyond measure and knew not what reply to make him; for, if i denied it, he would put me to my oath, and i should be shamed in the world to come; whilst, if i told him that i had spent the money, he would make an outcry and disgrace me. so i said to him, "god give thee health! this my house is no stronghold nor place of safe custody for this money. when i received thy leather bag, i sent it to one with whom it now is; so do thou return to us to-morrow and take thy money, if it be the will of god." so he went away, and i passed the night in sore concern, because of his return to me. sleep visited me not nor could i close my eyes: so i rose and bade the boy saddle me the mule. "o my lord," answered he, "it is yet but the first watch of the night." so i returned to bed, but sleep was forbidden to me and i ceased not to awaken the boy and he to put me off, till break of day, when he saddled me the mule, and i mounted and rode out, not knowing whither to go. i threw the reins on the mule's shoulders and gave myself up to anxiety and melancholy thought, whilst she fared on with me to the eastward of baghdad. presently, as i went along, i saw a number of people in front and turned aside into another path to avoid them; but they, seeing that i wore a professor's hood, followed me and hastening up to me, said, "knowest thou the lodging of abou hassan ez ziyadi?" "i am he," answered i; and they rejoined, "the commander of the faithful calls for thee." then they carried me before el mamoun, who said to me, "who art thou?" quoth i, "i am a professor of the law and traditions, and one of the associates of the cadi abou yousuf." "how art thou called?" asked the khalif. "abou hassan ez ziyadi," answered i, and he said, "expound to me thy case." so i told him how it was with me and he wept sore and said to me, "out on thee! the apostle of god (whom may he bless and preserve) would not let me sleep this night, because of thee; for he appeared to me in my first sleep and said to me, 'succour abou hassan ez ziyadi.' whereupon i awoke and knowing thee not, went to sleep again; but he came to me a second time and said to me, 'woe to thee! succour abou hassan ez ziyadi.' i awoke a second time, but knew thee not, so went to sleep again; and he came to me a third time and still i knew thee not and went to sleep again. then he came to me once more and said, 'out on thee! succour abou hassan ez ziyadi!' after that i dared not go to sleep again, but watched the rest of the night and aroused my people and sent them in all directions in quest of thee." then he gave me ten thousand dirhems, saying, "this is for the khorassani," and other ten thousand, saying, "spend freely of this and amend thy case therewith, and set thine affairs in order." moreover, he gave me yet thirty thousand dirhems, saying, "furnish thyself with this, and when the day of estate comes round, come thou to me, that i may invest thee with an office." so i took the money and returned home, where i prayed the morning-prayer. presently came the khorassani, so i carried him into the house and brought out to him ten thousand dirhems, saying, "here is thy money." "it is not my very money," answered he. "how cometh this?" so i told him the whole story, and he wept and said, "by allah, hadst thou told me the truth at first, i had not pressed thee! and now, by allah, i will not accept aught of the money; and thou art quit of it." so saying, he went away and i set my affairs in order and repaired on the appointed day to the divan, where i found the khalif seated. when he saw me, he called me to him and bringing forth to me a paper from under his prayer-carpet, said to me, "this is a patent, conferring on thee the office of cadi of the western division of the holy city[fn# ] from the bab es selam[fn# ] to the end of the town; and i appoint thee such and such monthly allowances. so fear god (to whom belong might and majesty) and be mindful of the solicitude of his apostle (whom may he bless and preserve) on thine account." the folk marvelled at the khalif's words and questioned me of their meaning; so i told them the whole story and it spread abroad amongst the people.' and [quoth he who tells the tale] abou hassan ez ziyadi ceased not to be cadi of the holy city, till he died in the days of el mamoun, the mercy of god be on him! the poor man and his generous friend. there was once a rich man, who lost all he had and became poor, whereupon his wife counselled him to seek aid of one of his friends. so he betook himself to a certain friend of his and acquainted him with his strait; and he lent him five hundred dinars to trade withal. now he had aforetime been a jeweller; so he took the money and went to the jewel-bazaar, where he opened a shop to buy and sell. presently, three men accosted him, as he sat in his shop, and asked for his father. he told them that he was dead, and they said, 'did he leave any offspring?' quoth the jeweller, 'he left a son, your servant.' 'and who knoweth thee for his son?' asked they. 'the people of the bazaar,' replied he; and they said, 'call them together, that they may testify to us that thou art his son.' so he called them and they bore witness of this; whereupon the three men delivered to him a pair of saddle-bags, containing thirty thousand dinars, besides jewels and bullion, saying, 'this was deposited with us in trust by thy father.' then they went away; and presently there came to him a woman, who sought of him certain of the jewels, worth five hundred dinars, and paid him three thousand for them. so he took five hundred dinars and carrying them to his friend, who had lent him the money, said to him, 'take the five hundred dinars i borrowed of thee; for god hath aided and prospered me.' 'not so,' quoth the other. 'i gave them to thee outright, for the love of god; so do thou keep them. and take this paper, but read it not, till thou be at home, and do according to that which is therein.' so he took the paper and returned home, where he opened it and read therein the following verses: the men who came to thee at first my kinsmen were, my sire, his brother and my dam's, salih ben ali is his name. moreover, she to whom thou soldst the goods my mother was, and eke the jewels and the gold, from me, to boot, they came; nor, in thus ordering myself to thee, aught did i seek save of the taking it from me to spare thee from the shame. the ruined man who became rich again through a dream. there lived once in baghdad a very wealthy man, who lost all his substance and became so poor, that he could only earn his living by excessive labour. one night, he lay down to sleep, dejected and sick at heart, and saw in a dream one who said to him, 'thy fortune is at cairo; go thither and seek it.' so he set out for cairo; but, when he arrived there, night overtook him and he lay down to sleep in a mosque. presently, as fate would have it, a company of thieves entered the mosque and made their way thence into an adjoining house; but the people of the house, being aroused by the noise, awoke and cried out; whereupon the chief of the police came to their aid with his officers. the robbers made off; but the police entered the mosque and finding the man from baghdad asleep there, laid hold of him and beat him with palm rods, till he was well-nigh dead. then they cast him into prison, where he abode three days, after which the chief of the police sent for him and said to him, 'whence art thou?' 'from baghdad,' answered he. 'and what brought thee to cairo?' asked the magistrate. quoth the baghdadi, 'i saw in a dream one who said to me, "thy fortune is at cairo; go thither to it." but when i came hither, the fortune that he promised me proved to be the beating i had of thee.' the chief of the police laughed, till he showed his jaw-teeth, and said, 'o man of little wit, thrice have i seen in a dream one who said to me, "there is in baghdad a house of such a fashion and situate so-and-so, in the garden whereof is a fountain and thereunder a great sum of money buried. go thither and take it." yet i went not; but thou, of thy little wit, hast journeyed from place to place, on the faith of a dream, which was but an illusion of sleep.' then he gave him money, saying, 'this is to help thee back to thy native land.' now the house he had described was the man's own house in baghdad; so the latter returned thither, and digging underneath the fountain in his garden, discovered a great treasure; and [thus] god gave him abundant fortune. the khalif el mutawekkil and his favourite mehboubeh. there were in the palace of the khalif el mutawekkil ala allah [fn# ] four thousand concubines, whereof two thousand were greeks [and other foreigners] and other two thousand native arabians[fn# ] and abyssinians; and obeid ibn tahir[fn# ] had given him two hundred white girls and a like number of abyssinian and native girls[fn# ]. among these latter was a girl of bassora, mehboubeh by name, who was of surpassing beauty and elegance and voluptuous grace. moreover, she played upon the lute and was skilled in singing and making verses and wrote excellent well; so that el mutawekkil fell passionately in love with her and could not endure from her a single hour. when she saw this, she presumed upon his favour to use him haughtily and capriciously, so that he waxed exceeding wroth with her and forsook her, forbidding the people of the palace to speak with her. on this wise she abode some days, but the khalif still inclined to her; and he arose one morning and said to his courtiers, 'i dreamt, last night, that i was reconciled to mehboubeh.' 'would god this might be on wake!' answered they. as they were talking, in came one of the khalif's maidservants and whispered him that they had heard a noise of singing and luting in mehboubeh's chamber and knew not what this meant. so he rose and entering the harem, went straight to mehboubeh's apartment, where he heard her playing wonder-sweetly upon the lute and singing the following verses: i wander through the halls, but not a soul i see, to whom i may complain or who will speak with me. it is as though i'd wrought so grievous an offence, no penitence avails myself therefrom to free. will no one plead my cause with a king, who came to me in sleep and took me back to favour and to gree; but with the break of day to rigour did revert and cast me off from him and far away did flee? when the khalif heard these verses, he marvelled at the strange coincidence of their dreams and entered the chamber. as soon as she was ware of him, she hastened to throw herself at his feet, and kissing them, said, 'by allah, o my lord, this is what i dreamt last night; and when i awoke, i made the verses thou hast heard.' ''by allah,' replied el mutawekkil, 'i also dreamt the like!' then they embraced and made friends and he abode with her seven days and nights. now she had written upon her cheek, in musk, the khalif's name, which was jaafer: and when he saw this, he made the following verses: one wrote on her cheek, with musk, a name, yea, jaafer to wit: my soul be her ransom who wrote on her cheek what i see on it! if her fingers, indeed, have traced a single line on her cheek, i trow, in my heart of hearts full many a line she hath writ o thou, whom jaafer alone of men possesses, may god grant jaafer to drink his fill of the wine of thy beauty and wit! when el mutawekkil died, all his women forgot him save mehboubeh, who ceased not to mourn for him, till she died and was buried by his side, the mercy of god be on them both! werdan the butcher his adventure with the lady and the bear. there lived once in cairo, in the days of the khalif el hakim bi amrillah, a butcher named werdan, who dealt in sheep's flesh; and there came to him every forenoon a lady and gave him a diner, whose weight was nigh two and a half egyptian diners, saying, 'give me a lamb.' so he took the money and gave her the lamb, which she delivered to a porter she had with her; and he put it in his basket and she went away with him to her own place. this went on for some time, the butcher profiting a dinar by her every day, till at last he began to be curious about her and said to himself, 'this woman buys a diner's worth of meat of me every day, paying ready money, and never misses a day. verily, this is a strange thing!' so he took an occasion of questioning the porter, in her absence, and said to him, 'whither goest thou every day with yonder woman?' 'i know not what to make of her,' answered the porter; 'for, every day, after she hath taken the lamb of thee, she buys fresh and dried fruits and wax candles and other necessaries of the table, a dinar's worth, and takes of a certain nazarene two flagons of wine, for which she pays him another diner. then she loads me with the whole and i go with her to the vizier's gardens, where she blindfolds me, so that i cannot see where i set my feet, and taking me by the hand, leads me i know not whither. presently, she says, "set down here;" and when i have done so, she gives me an empty basket she has ready and taking my hand, leads me back to the place, where she bound my eyes, and there does off the bandage and gives me ten dirhems.' 'god be her helper!' quoth werdan; but he redoubled in curiosity about her case; disquietude increased upon him and he passed the night in exceeding restlessness. next morning, [quoth werdan,] she came to me as of wont and taking the lamb, delivered it to the porter and went away. so i gave my shop in charge to a boy and followed her, unseen of her; nor did i cease to keep her in sight, hiding behind her, till she left cairo and came to the vizier's gardens. then i hid, whilst she bound the porter's eyes, and followed her again from place to place, till she came to the mountain and stopped at a place where there was a great stone. here she made the porter set down his crate, and i waited, whilst she carried him back to the vizier's gardens, after which she returned and taking out the contents of the basket, disappeared behind the stone. then i went up to the stone and pulling it away, discovered behind it an open trap-door of brass and a flight of steps leading downward. so i descended, little by little, into a long corridor, brilliantly lighted, and followed it, till i came to a [closed] door, as it were the door of a room. i looked about till i discovered a recess, with steps therein; then climbed up and found a little niche with an opening therein giving upon a saloon. so i looked in and saw the lady cut off the choicest parts of the lamb and laying them in a saucepan, throw the rest to a huge great bear, who ate it all to the last bit. when she had made an end of cooking, she ate her fill, after which she set on wine and fruits and confections and fell to drinking, using a cup herself and giving the bear to drink in a basin of gold, till she was heated with wine, when she put off her trousers and lay down. thereupon the bear came up to her and served her, whilst she gave him the best of what belongeth to mankind, till he had made an end, when he sat down and rested. presently, he sprang to her and served her again; and thus he did, till he had furnished half a score courses, and they both fell down in a swoon and abode without motion. then said i to myself, "now is my opportunity," and taking a knife i had with me, that would cut bones before flesh, went down to them and found them motionless, not a muscle of them moving for their much swink. so i put my knife to the bear's gullet and bore upon it, till i severed his head from his body, and he gave a great snort like thunder, whereat she started up in alarm and seeing the bear slain and me standing with the knife in my hand, gave such a shriek that i thought the soul had left her body. then said she, "o werdan, is this how thou requitest me my favours?" "o enemy of thine own soul," replied i, "dost thou lack of men that thou must do this shameful thing?" she made me no answer, but bent down to the bear, and finding his head divided from his body, said to me, "o werdan, which were the liefer to thee, to hearken to what i shall say to thee and be the means of thine own safety and enrichment to the end of thy days, or gainsay me and so bring about thine own destruction?" "i choose rather to hearken unto thee," answered i. "say what thou wilt." "then," said she, "kill me, as thou hast killed this bear, and take thy need of this treasure and go thy way." quoth i, "i am better than this bear. return to god the most high and repent, and i will marry thee, and we will live on this treasure the rest of our lives." "o werdan," rejoined she, "far be it from me! how shall i live after him? an thou kill me not, by allah, i will assuredly do away thy life! so leave bandying words with me, or thou art a lost man. this is all i have to say to thee and peace be on thee." then said i, "i will slay thee, and thou shalt go to the malediction of god." so saying, i caught her by the hair and cut her throat; and she went to the malediction of god and of the angels and of all mankind. then i examined the place and found there gold and pearls and jewels, such as no king could bring together. so i filled the porter's crate with as much as i could carry and covered it with the clothes i had on me. then i shouldered it and going up out of the underground place, set out homeward and fared on, till i came to the gate of cairo, where i fell in with ten of the khalif's body-guard, followed by el hakim[fn# ] himself, who said to me. "ho, werdan!" "at thy service, o king," replied i. "hast thou killed the woman and the bear?" asked he and i answered, "yes." quoth he, "set down the basket and fear naught, for all the treasure thou hast with thee is thine, and none shall dispute it with thee." so i set down the basket, and he uncovered it and looked at it; then said to me, "tell me their case, though i know it, as if i had been present with you." so i told him all that had passed and he said, "thou hast spoken the truth, o werdan. come now with me to the treasure." so i returned with him to the cavern, where he found the trap-door closed and said to me, "o werdan, lift it; none but thou can open the treasure, for it is enchanted in thy name and favour." "by allah," answered i, "i cannot open it;" but he said, "go up to it, trusting in the blessing of god." so i called upon the name of god the most high and going up to the trap-door, put my hand to it; whereupon it came up, as it had been the lightest of things. then said the khalif, "go down and bring up what is there; for none but one of thy name and favour and quality hath gone down there since the place was made, and the slaying of the bear and the woman was appointed to be at thy hand. this was recorded with me and i was awaiting its fulfilment." accordingly, i went down and brought up all the treasure, whereupon the khalif sent for beasts of burden and carried it away, after giving me the porter's crate, with what was therein. so i carried it home and opened me a shop in the market. and [quoth he who tells the tale] this market is still extant and is known as werdan's market. the king's daughter and the ape. there was once a king's daughter, whose heart was taken with love of a black slave: he did away her maidenhead, and she became passionately addicted to amorous dalliance, so that she could not endure from it a single hour and made moan of her case to one of her body women, who told her that no thing doth the deed of kind more abundantly than the ape. now it chanced, one day, that an ape-leader passed under her lattice, with a great ape; so she unveiled her face and looking upon the ape, signed to him with her eyes, whereupon he broke his bonds and shackles and climbed up to the princess, who hid him in a place with her, and he abode, eating and drinking and cricketing, night and day. her father heard of this and would have killed her; but she took the alarm and disguising herself in a [male] slave's habit, loaded a mule with gold and jewels and precious stuffs past count; then, taking horse with the ape, fled to cairo, where she took up her abode in one of the houses without the city. now, every day, she used to buy meat of a young man, a butcher, but came not to him till after noonday, pale and disordered in face; so that he said in himself, 'there hangs some mystery by this slave.' for she used to visit him in her slave's habit. [quoth the butcher,] so, one day, when she came to me as usual, i went out after her, unseen, and ceased not to follow her from place to place, so as she saw me not, till she came to her lodging, without the city, and i looked in upon her, through a cranny, and saw her light a fire and cook the meat, of which she ate her fill and gave the rest to an ape she had with her. then she put off her slave's habit and donned the richest of women's apparel; and so i knew that she was a woman. after this she set on wine and drank and gave the ape to drink; and he served her nigh half a score times, till she swooned away, when he threw a silken coverlet over her and returned to his place. thereupon i went down into the midst of the place and the ape, becoming aware of me, would have torn me in pieces; but i made haste to pull out my knife and slit his paunch. the noise aroused the young lady, who awoke, terrified and trembling; and when she saw the ape in this plight, she gave such a shriek, that her soul well-nigh departed her body. then she fell down in a swoon, and when she came to herself, she said to me, "what moved thee to do thus? by allah, i conjure thee to send me after him!" but i spoke her fair and engaged to her that i would stand in the ape's stead, in the matter of much clicketing, till her trouble subsided and i took her to wife. however, i fell short in this and could not endure to it; so i complained of her case to a certain old woman, who engaged to manage the affair and said to me, "thou must bring me a cooking- pot full of virgin vinegar and a pound of pyrethrum."[fn# ] so i brought her what she sought, and she laid the pyrethrum in the pot with the vinegar and set it on the fire, till it boiled briskly. then she bade me serve the girl, and i served her, till she fainted away, when the old woman took her up, and she unknowing, and set her kaze to the mouth of the cooking-pot. the steam of the pot entered her poke and there fell from it somewhat, which i examined and behold, it was two worms, one black and the other yellow. quoth the old woman, "the black was bred of the embraces of the negro and the yellow of those of the ape." when my wife recovered from her swoon, she abode with me, in all delight and solace of life, and sought not copulation, as before, for god the most high had done away from her this appetite; whereat i marvelled and acquainted her with the case. moreover, [quoth he who tells the tale,] she took the old woman to be to her in the stead of her mother, and she and werdan and his wife abode in joy and cheer, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and glory be to the living one, who dieth not and in whose hand is the empire of the seen and the unseen! the enchanted horse. there was once, of old time, a great and puissant king, of the kings of the persians, sabour by name, who was the richest of all the kings in store of wealth and dominion and surpassed them all in wit and wisdom. generous, open-handed and beneficent, he gave to those who sought and repelled not those who resorted to him, comforted the broken-hearted and honourably entreated those who fled to him for refuge. moreover, he loved the poor and was hospitable to strangers and did the oppressed justice upon those who oppressed them. he had three daughters, like shining full moons or flowered gardens, and a son as he were the moon; and it was his wont to keep two festivals in the year, those of the new year and the autumnal equinox, on which occasions he threw open his palaces and gave gifts and made proclamation of safety and security and advanced his chamberlains and officers; and the people of his realm came in to him and saluted him and gave him joy of the festival, bringing him gifts and servants. now he loved science and geometry, and one day, as he sat on his throne of kingship, during one of these festivals, there came in to him three sages, cunning artificers and past masters in all manner of crafts and inventions, skilled in making rarities, such as confound the wit, and versed in the knowledge of [occult] truths and subtleties; and they were of three different tongues and countries, the first an indian, the second a greek and the third a persian. the indian came forward and prostrating himself before the king, gave him joy of the festival and laid before him a present befitting [his dignity]; that is to say, a figure of gold, set with precious stones and jewels of price and holding in its hand a golden trumpet. when sabour saw this, he said, 'o sage, what is the virtue of this figure?' and the indian answered, 'o my lord; if this figure be set at the gate of thy city, it will be a guardian over it; for, if an enemy enter the place, it will blow this trumpet against him, and so he will be known and laid hands on.' the king marvelled at this and said, 'by allah, o sage, an this thy word be true, i will grant thee thy wish and thy desire.' then came forward the greek and prostrating himself before the king, presented him with a basin of silver, in whose midst was a peacock of gold, surrounded by four-and-twenty young ones of the same metal. sabour looked at them and turning to the greek, said to him, 'o sage, what is the virtue of this peacock?' 'o my lord,' answered he, 'as often as an hour of the day or night passes, it pecks one of its young [and cries out and flaps its wings,] till the four-and-twenty hours are accomplished; and when the month comes to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see the new moon therein.' and the king said, 'an thou speak sooth, i will bring thee to thy wish and thy desire.' then came forward the persian sage and prostrating himself before the king, presented him with a horse of ebony wood, inlaid with gold and jewels, ready harnessed with saddle and bridle and stirrups such as befit kings; which when sabour saw, he marvelled exceedingly and was confounded at the perfection of its form and the ingenuity of its fashion. so he said, 'what is the use of this horse of wood, and what is its virtue and the secret of its movement?' 'o my lord,' answered the persian, 'the virtue of this horse is that, if one mount him, it will carry him whither he will and fare with its rider through the air for the space of a year and a day.' the king marvelled and was amazed at these three wonders, following thus hard upon each other in one day, and turning to the sage, said to him, 'by the great god and the bountiful lord, who created all creatures and feedeth them with water and victual, an thy speech be true and the virtue of thy handiwork appear, i will give thee whatsoever thou seekest and will bring thee to thy wish and thy desire!' then he entertained the three sages three days, that he might make trial of their gifts, after which they brought them before him and each took the creature he had wrought and showed him the secret of its movement. the trumpeter blew the trumpet, the peacock pecked its young and the persian sage mounted the horse of ebony, whereupon it soared with him into the air and descended again. when the king saw all this, he was amazed and perplexed and was like to fly for joy and said to the three sages, 'now am i certified of the truth of your words and it behoves me to quit me of my promise. seek ye, therefore, what ye will, and i will give it you.' now the report of the [beauty of the] king's daughters had reached the sages, so they answered, 'if the king be content with us and accept of our gifts and give us leave to ask a boon of him, we ask of him that he give us his three daughters in marriage, that we may be his sons-in-law; for that the stability of kings may not be gainsaid.' quoth the king, 'i grant you that which you desire,' and bade summon the cadi forthright, that he might marry each of the sages to one of his daughters. now these latter were behind a curtain, looking on; and when they heard this, the youngest considered [him that was to be] her husband and saw him to be an old man, a hundred years of age, with frosted hair, drooping forehead, mangy eyebrows, slitten ears, clipped[fn# ] beard and moustaches, red, protruding eyes, bleached, hollow, flabby cheeks, nose like an egg-plant and face like a cobbler's apron, teeth overlapping one another,[fn# ] lips like camel's kidneys, loose and pendulous; brief, a monstrous favour; for he was the frightfullest of the folk of his time; his grinders had been knocked[fn# ] out and his teeth were like the tusks of the jinn that fright the fowls in the hen-house. now the princess was the fairest and most graceful woman of her time, more elegant than the tender gazelle, blander than the gentle zephyr and brighter than the moon at her full, confounding the branch and outdoing the gazelle in the flexile grace of her shape and movements; and she was fairer and sweeter than her sisters. so, when she saw her suitor, she went to her chamber and strewed dust on her head and tore her clothes and fell to buffeting her face and lamenting and weeping. now the prince her brother, who loved her with an exceeding love, more than her sisters, was then newly returned from a journey and hearing her weeping and crying, came in to her and said, 'what ails thee? tell me and conceal nought from me.' 'o my brother and my dear one,' answered she, 'if the palace be straitened upon thy father, i will go out; and if he be resolved upon a foul thing, i will separate myself from him, though he consent not to provide for me.' quoth he, 'tell me what means this talk and what has straitened thy breast and troubled thy humour.' 'o my brother and my dear one,' answered the princess, 'know that my father hath given me in marriage to a sorcerer, who brought him, as a gift, a horse of black wood, and hath stricken him with his craft and his sorcery; but, as for me, i will none of him, and would, because of him, i had never come into this world!' her brother soothed her and comforted her, then betook himself to his father and said to him, 'what is this sorcerer to whom thou hast given my youngest sister in marriage, and what is this present that he hath brought thee, so that thou hast caused my sister to [almost] die of chagrin? it is not right that this should be.' now the persian was standing by and when he heard the prince's words, he was mortified thereby and filled with rage, and the king said, 'o my son, an thou sawest this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou wouldst be filled with amazement.' then he bade the slaves bring the horse before him and they did so; and when the prince, who was an accomplished cavalier, saw it, it pleased him. so he mounted it forthright and struck its belly with the stirrup-irons; but it stirred not and the king said to the sage, 'go and show him its movement, that he also may help thee to thy wish.' now the persian bore the prince malice for that he willed not he should have his sister; so he showed him the peg of ascent on the right side [of the horse's neck] and saying to him, 'turn this pin,' left him. so the prince turned the pin and forthwith the horse soared with him into the air, as it were a bird, and gave not over flying with him, till it disappeared from sight, whereat the king was troubled and perplexed about his affair and said to the persian, 'o sage, look how thou mayst make him descend.' but he answered, 'o my lord, i can do nothing, and thou wilt never see him again till the day of resurrection, for that he, of his ignorance and conceit, asked me not of the peg of descent and i forgot to acquaint him therewith.' when the king heard this, he was sore enraged and bade beat the sorcerer and clap him in prison, whilst he himself cast the crown from his head and buffeted his face and beat upon his breast. moreover, he shut the doors of his palaces and gave himself up to weeping and lamentation, he and his wife and daughters and all the folk of the city; and [thus] their joy was turned to mourning and their gladness changed into chagrin and sore affliction. meanwhile, the horse gave not over soaring with the prince, till he drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up for lost and was confounded at his case, repenting him of having mounted the horse and saying in himself, 'verily, this was a plot of the sage to destroy me; but there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! i am lost without recourse; but, i wonder, did not he who made the peg of ascent make a peg of descent also?' now he was a man of wit and intelligence; so he fell to examining all the parts of the horse, but saw nothing save a peg, like a cock's head, on its right shoulder and the like on the left, and turned the right-hand peg, whereupon the horse flew upward with increased speed. so he left it and turned the left-hand peg, and immediately the steed's upward motion ceased and he began to descend, little by little, towards the earth. when the prince saw this and knew the uses of the horse, he was filled with joy and gladness and thanked god the most high for that he had vouchsafed to deliver him from destruction. then he began to turn the horse's head whither he would, making him rise and fall at pleasure, till he had gotten complete command of his movement. he ceased not to descend the whole of that day, for that the steed's upward flight had borne him afar from the earth; and as he descended, he diverted himself with viewing the various towns and countries over which he passed and which he knew not, having never seen them in his life. amongst the rest, he saw a city of the goodliest ordinance, in the midst of a green and smiling country, abounding in trees and streams; whereat he fell a-musing and said in himself, 'would i knew the name of yonder city and in what country it is!' and he began to circle about it and observe it right and left. by this time, the day began to wane and the sun drew near to its setting; and he said, 'i see no goodlier place to pass the night in than this city; so i will lodge here this night and on the morrow i will return to my people and my kingdom and tell my father and family what has passed and what i have seen with my eyes.' then he addressed himself to look for a place, where he might safely bestow himself and his horse and where none should see him, and presently espied a palace, surrounded by a great wall with lofty battlements, rising high into the air from the midst of the city and guarded by forty black slaves, clad in complete mail and armed with spears and swords and bows and arrows. quoth he, 'this is a goodly place,' and turned the peg of descent, whereupon the horse sank down with him and alighted gently on the roof of the palace. so the prince dismounted and began to go round about the horse and examine it, saying, 'by allah, he who fashioned thee was a cunning craftsman, and if god extend the term of my life and restore me to my country and family in safety and reunite me with my father, i will assuredly bestow upon him all manner of bounties and entreat him with the utmost favour.' by this time the night had overtaken him and he sat on the roof, till he was assured that all in the palace slept; and indeed hunger and thirst were sore upon him, for that he had not tasted food since he parted from his father. so he said in himself, 'surely, the like of this palace will not lack of victual,' and leaving the horse there, went in quest of somewhat to eat. presently, he came to a stair and descending it, found himself in a court paved with white marble and alabaster, that shone in the light of the moon. he marvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion, but heard no sound and saw no living soul and stood in perplexity, looking right and left and knowing not whither he should go. then said he to himself, 'i cannot do better than return to where i left my horse and pass the night by it; and as soon as it is day, i will mount and depart.' however, as he stood talking to himself, he espied a light within the palace, and making towards it, found that it came from a candle that stood before a door of the palace, at the head of an eunuch, as he were one of the afrits of solomon or a tribesman of the jinn, longer than a plank and wider than a bench. he lay asleep before the door, with the pommel of his sword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head was a budget of leather[fn# ] hanging from a column of granite. when the prince saw this, he was affrighted and said, 'i crave help from god the supreme! o my god, even as thou hast [already] delivered me from destruction, vouchsafe me strength to quit myself of the adventure of this palace!' so saying, he put out his hand to the budget and taking it, carried it to a place apart and opened it and found in it food of the best. so he ate his fill and refreshed himself and drank water, after which he hung the budget up in its place and drawing the eunuch's sword from its sheath, took it, whilst the latter slept on, knowing not whence destiny should come to him. then the prince fared on into the palace, till he came to another door, with a curtain drawn before it; so he raised the curtain and entering, saw a couch of ivory, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels, and four slave-girls sleeping about it. he went up to the couch, to see what was therein, and found a young lady lying asleep, veiled with her hair, as she were the full moon at its rising, with flower-white forehead and shining parting and cheeks like blood-red anemones and dainty moles thereon. when he saw this, he was amazed at her beauty and grace and symmetry and recked no more of death. so he went up to her, trembling in every nerve, and kissed her on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke forthright and seeing the prince standing at her head, said to him, 'who art thou and whence comest thou?' quoth he, 'i am thy slave and thy lover.' 'and who brought thee hither?' asked she. 'my lord and my fortune,' answered he; and she said, 'belike thou art he who demanded me yesterday of my father in marriage and he rejected thee, pretending that thou wast foul of favour. by allah he lied, when he spoke this thing, for thou art not other than handsome.' now the son of the king of hind[fn# ] had sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him, for that he was ill- favoured, and she thought the prince was he. so, when she saw his beauty and grace, for indeed he was like the radiant moon, her heart was taken in the snare of his love, as it were a flaming fire, and they fell to talk and converse. presently, her waiting-women awoke from their sleep and seeing the prince sitting with their mistress, said to her, 'o my lady, who is this with thee?' quoth she, 'i know not; i found him sitting by me, when i awoke. belike it is he who seeks me in marriage of my father.' 'o my lady,' answered they, 'by the most great god, this is not he who seeks thee in marriage, for he is foul and this man is fair and of high condition. indeed, the other is not fit to be his servant.' then they went out to the eunuch and finding him asleep, awoke him, and he started up in alarm. quoth they, 'how comes it that thou art guardian of the palace and yet men come in to us, whilst we are asleep?' when the eunuch heard this, he sprang in haste to his sword, but found it not, and fear took him and trembling. then he went in, confounded, to his mistress and seeing the prince sitting talking with her, said to the former, 'o my lord, art thou a man or a genie?' 'o it on thee, o unluckiest of slaves!' replied the prince. 'how darest thou even a prince of the sons of the chosroës with one of the unbelieving satans?' then he took the sword in his hand and said, 'i am the king's son-in-law, and he hath married me to his daughter and bidden me go in to her.' 'o my lord,' replied the eunuch, 'if thou be indeed a man, as thou avouchest, she is fit for none but thee, and thou art worthier of her than any other.' then he ran to the king, shrieking out and rending his clothes and casting dust upon his head; and when the king heard his outcry, he said to him, 'what has befallen thee? speak quickly and be brief; for thou troublest my heart.' 'o king,' answered the eunuch, 'come to thy daughter's succour; for a devil of the jinn, in the likeness of a king's son, hath gotten possession of her; so up and at him!' when the king heard this, he thought to kill him and said, 'how camest thou to be careless of my daughter and let this demon come at her?' then he betook himself to the princess's palace, where he found her women standing, [awaiting him] and said to them, 'what is come to my daughter?' 'o king,' answered they, 'sleep overcame us and when we awoke, we found a young man sitting talking with her, as he were the full moon, never saw we a fairer of favour than he. so we questioned him of his case and he avouched that thou hadst given him thy daughter in marriage. more than this we know not, nor do we know if he be a man or a genie; but he is modest and well bred, and doth nothing unseemly.' when the king heard this, his wrath cooled and he raised the curtain stealthily and looking in, saw a prince of the goodliest fashion, with a face like the shining full moon, sitting talking with his daughter. at this sight he could not contain himself, of his jealousy for his daughter, and putting the curtain aside, rushed in upon them, like a ghoul, with his drawn sword in his hand. when the prince saw him, he said to the princess, 'is this thy father?' 'yes,' answered she; whereupon he sprang to his feet and taking his sword in his hand, cried out at the king with such a terrible cry, that he was confounded. then he would have fallen on him with the sword; but the king, seeing that the prince was doughtier than he, sheathed his blade and stood till the latter came up to him, when he accosted him courteously and said to him, 'o youth, art thou a man or a genie?' quoth the prince, 'did i not respect thy right[fn# ] and thy daughter's honour, i would spill thy blood! how darest thou even me with devils, me that am a prince of the sons of the chosroës, who, had they a mind to take thy kingdom, could shake thee from thy power and thy dominion and despoil thee of all thy possessions?' when the king heard his words, he was smitten with awe and fear of him and rejoined, 'if thou indeed be of the sons of the kings, as thou pretendest, how comes it that thou enterest my palace, without my leave, and soilest my honour, making thy way to my daughter and feigning that thou art her husband and that i have given her to thee to wife, i that have slain kings and kings' sons, who sought her of me in marriage? and now who shall save thee from my mischief, when, if i cried out to my slaves and servants and bade them put thee to death, they would slay thee forthright? who then shall deliver thee out of my hand?' when the prince heard this speech of the king, he answered, 'verily, i wonder at thee and at the poverty of thy wit! canst thou covet for thy daughter a goodlier mate than myself and hast ever seen a stouter of heart or a more sufficient or a more glorious in rank and dominion than i?' 'nay, by allah,' rejoined the king. 'but, o youth, i would have had thee make suit to me for her hand before witnesses, that i might marry her to thee publicly; and now, were i to marry her to thee privily, yet hast thou dishonoured me in her person.' 'thou sayst well, o king,' replied the prince; 'but, if thy servants and soldiers should fall upon me and slay me, as thou pretendest, thou wouldst but publish thine own dishonour, and the folk would be divided between belief and disbelief with regard to thee. wherefore, meseems thou wilt do well to turn from this thought to that which i shall counsel thee.' quoth the king, 'let me hear what thou hast to propose.' and the prince said, 'what i have to propose to thee is this: either do thou meet me in single combat and he who slays the other shall be held the worthier and having a better title to the kingdom; or else, let me be this night and on the morrow draw out against me thy horsemen and footmen and servants; but [first] tell me their number.' quoth the king, 'they are forty thousand horse, besides my own slaves and their followers, who are the like of them in number.' 'when the day breaks, then,' continued the prince, 'do thou array them against me and say to them, "this fellow is a suitor to me for my daughter's hand, on condition that he shall do battle single-handed against you all; for he pretends that he will overcome you and put you to the rout and that ye cannot prevail against him." then leave me to do battle with them. if they kill me, then is thy secret the safelier hidden and thine honour the better guarded; and if i overcome them, then is the like of me one whose alliance a king should covet.' the king approved of his counsel and accepted his proposition, despite his awe and amaze at the exorbitant pretension of the prince to do battle against his whole army, such as he had described it to him, being at heart assured that he would perish in the mellay and so he be quit of him and freed from the fear of dishonour. so he called the eunuch and bade him go forthright to his vizier and bid him assemble the whole of the troops and cause them don their arms and mount their horses. the eunuch carried the king's order to the vizier, who straightway summoned the captains of the army and the grandees of the realm and bade them don their harness of war and mount their horses and sally forth in battle array. meanwhile, the king sat conversing with the prince, being pleased with his wit and good breeding, till daybreak, when he returned to his palace and seating himself on his throne, commanded the troops to mount and bade saddle one of the best of the royal horses with handsome housings and trappings and bring it to the prince. but the latter said, 'o king, i will not mount, till i come in sight of the troops and see them.' 'be it as thou wilt,' answered the king. then they repaired to the tilting ground, where the troops were drawn up, and the prince looked upon them and noted their great number; after which the king cried out to them, saying, 'ho, all ye men, there is come to me a youth who seeks my daughter in marriage, --never have i seen a goodlier than he, no, nor a stouter of heart nor a doughtier, for he pretends that he can overcome you, single-handed, and put you to the rout and that, were ye a hundred thousand in number, yet would ye be for him but little. but, when he charges upon you, do ye receive him upon the points of your lances and the edges of your sabres; for, indeed, he hath undertaken a grave matter.' then said he to the prince, 'up, o my son, and do thy will on them.' 'o king,' answered he, 'thou dealest not fairly with me. how shall i go forth against them, seeing that i am afoot and they are mounted?' 'i bade thee mount, and thou refusedst,' rejoined the king; 'but take which of my horses thou wilt.' but he said, 'none of thy horses pleases me, and i will ride none but that on which i came.' 'and where is thy horse?' asked the king. 'atop of thy palace,' answered the prince, and the king said, 'in what part of my palace?' 'on the roof,' replied the prince. 'out on thee!' quoth the king. 'this is the first sign thou hast given of madness. how can the horse be on the roof? but we shall soon see if thou speak truth or falsehood.' then he turned to one of his chief officers and said to him, 'go to my palace and bring me what thou findest on the roof.' and all the people marvelled at the prince's words, saying, 'how can a horse come down the steps from the roof? verily this is a thing whose like we never heard.' meanwhile, the king's messenger repaired to the palace, accompanied by other of the royal officers, and mounting to the roof, found the horse standing there,--never had they looked on a handsomer; but when they drew near and examined it, they saw that it was made of ebony and ivory; whereat they laughed to each other, saying, 'was it of the like of this horse that the youth spoke? surely, he must be mad; but we shall soon see the truth of his case. belike, there hangs some great mystery by him.' then they lifted up the horse and carrying it to the king, set it down before him, and all the people flocked round it, staring at it and marvelling at the beauty of its fashion and the richness of its saddle and bridle. the king also admired it and wondered at it extremely; and he said to the prince, 'o youth, is this thy horse?' 'yes, o king,' answered the prince; 'this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see wonders of it.' 'then take and mount it,' rejoined the king, and the prince said, 'i will not mount till the troops withdraw afar from it.' so the king bade them withdraw a bowshot from the horse; whereupon quoth the prince, 'o king, i am about to mount my horse and charge upon thy troops and scatter them right and left and cleave their hearts in sunder.' 'do as thou wilt,' answered the king; 'and spare them not, for they will not spare thee.' then the prince mounted, whilst the troops ranged themselves in ranks before him, and one said to another, 'when the youth comes between the ranks, we will take him on the points of our pikes and the edges of our swords.' 'by allah,' quoth another, 'it were pity to kill so handsome and well-shaped a youth!' 'by allah,' rejoined a third, 'ye will have hard work to get the better of him; for he had not done this, but for what he knew of his own prowess and valiantise.' meanwhile, the prince, having settled himself in his saddle, whilst all eyes were strained to see what he would do, turned the peg of ascent; whereupon the horse began to sway to and fro and make the strangest of movements, after the manner of horses, till its belly was filled with air and it took flight with him and soared into the sky. when the king saw this, he cried out to his men, saying, 'out on you! take him, ere he escape you!' but his viziers and officers said to him, 'o king, how shall we overtake the flying bird? this is surely none but some mighty enchanter, and god hath saved thee from him. so praise thou the most high for thy deliverance from his hand.' then the king returned to his palace and going in to his daughter, acquainted her with what had befallen. he found her sore afflicted for the prince and bewailing her separation from him; wherefore she fell grievously sick and took to her pillow. when her father saw her thus, he pressed her to his bosom and kissing her between the eyes, said to her, 'o my daughter, praise god and thank him for that he hath delivered thee from this crafty enchanter!' and he repeated to her the story of the prince's disappearance; but she paid no heed to his word and did but redouble in her tears and lamentations, saying to herself, 'by allah, i will neither eat nor drink, till god reunite me with him!' her father was greatly concerned for her plight and mourned sore over her; but, for all he could do to comfort her, passion and love-longing still grew on her for the prince. meanwhile, the king's son, whenas he had risen into the air, turned his horse's head towards his native land, musing upon the beauty and grace of the princess. now he had enquired of the king's people the name of the princess and of the king her father and of the city, which was the city of senaa of yemen. so he journeyed homeward with all speed, till he drew near his father's capital and making a circuit about the city, alighted on the roof of the king's palace, where he left his horse, whilst he descended into the palace and finding its threshold strewn with ashes, bethought him that one of his family was dead. then he entered, as of wont, and found his father and mother and sisters clad in mourning raiment of black, pale-faced and lean of body. when his father saw him and was assured that it was indeed his son, he gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon, but presently coming to himself, threw himself upon him and embraced him, straining him to his bosom and rejoicing in him exceedingly. his mother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the prince, fell upon him, kissing him and weeping and rejoicing with an exceeding joy. then they questioned him of his case; so he told them all that had befallen him from first to last and his father said to him, 'praised be god for thy safety, o solace of my eyes and life-blood of my heart!' then the king bade hold high festival, and the glad news flew through the city. so they beat the drums and the cymbals and putting off the raiment of mourning, donned that of joy and decorated the streets and markets; whilst the folk vied with one another who should be the first to give the king joy, and the latter proclaimed a general pardon and opening the prisons, released those who were therein. moreover, he made banquets to the people seven days and nights and all creatures were glad; and he took horse with his son and rode out with him, that the folk might see him and rejoice. after awhile the prince enquired for the maker of the horse, saying, 'o my father, what hath fortune done with him?' 'may god not bless him,' answered the king, 'nor the hour in which i set eyes on him! for he was the cause of thy separation from us, o my son, and he hath lain in prison since the day of thy disappearance.' then he bade release him from prison and sending for him, invested him in a dress of honour and entreated him with the utmost favour and munificence, save that he would not give him his daughter to wife; whereat he was sore enraged and repented of that which he had done, knowing that the prince had learnt the secret of the horse and the manner of its motion. moreover, the king said to his son, 'methinks thou wilt do well not to mount the horse neither go near it henceforth; for thou knowest not its properties, and it is perilous for thee to meddle with it.' now the prince had told his father of his adventure with the king's daughter of senaa, and he said, 'if the king had been minded to kill thee, he had done so; but thine hour was not yet come.' when the rejoicings were at an end, the people returned to their houses and the king and his son to the palace, where they sat down and fell to eating and drinking and making merry. now the king had a handsome slave-girl, who was skilled in playing upon the lute; so she took it and began to play upon it and sing thereto of separation of lovers before the king and his son, and she chanted the following verses: think not that absence ever shall win me to forget: for what should i remember, if i'd forgotten you? time passes, but my passion for you shall never end: in love of you, i swear it, i'll die and rise anew. when the prince heard this, the fires of longing flamed up in his heart and passion redoubled upon him. grief and regret were sore upon him and his entrails yearned in him for love of the king's daughter of senaa; so he rose forthright and eluding his father's notice, went forth the palace to the horse and mounting it, turned the peg of ascent, whereupon it flew up into the air with him and soared towards the confines of the sky. presently, his father missed him and going up to the summit of the palace, in great concern, saw the prince rising into the air; whereat he was sore afflicted and repented exceedingly that he had not taken the horse and hidden it: and he said in himself, 'by allah, if but my son return to me, i will destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest concerning my son.' and he fell again to weeping and bewailing himself for his son. meanwhile, the prince flew on through the air till he came to the city of senaa and alighted on the roof as before. then he went down stealthily and finding the eunuch asleep, as of wont, raised the curtain and went on, little by little, till he came to the door of the princess's chamber and stopped to listen; when, behold, he heard her weeping plenteous tears and reciting verses, whilst her women slept round her. presently, they heard her weeping and wailing and said, 'o our mistress, why wilt thou mourn for one who mourns not for thee?' 'o little of wit,' answered she, 'is he for whom i mourn of those who are forgotten?' and she fell again to weeping and wailing, till sleep overcame her. now the prince's heart ached for her, so he entered and seeing her lying asleep, without covering, touched her with his hand; whereupon she opened her eyes and saw him standing by her. quoth he, 'why this weeping and mourning?' and when she knew him, she threw herself upon him and embraced him and kissed him and answered, 'for thy sake and because of my separation from thee.' 'o my lady,' said he, 'i have wearied for thee all this time!' but she answered, 'it is i who have wearied for thee, and hadst thou tarried longer, i had surely died!' 'o my lady,' rejoined he, 'what thinkest thou of my case with thy father and how he dealt with me? were it not for my love of thee, o ravishment of all creatures, i had surely slain him and made him a warning to all beholders; but, even as i love thee, so i love him for thy sake.' quoth she, 'how couldst thou leave me? can life be sweet to me after thee?' quoth he, 'let what has happened suffice now: i am hungry and thirsty.' so she bade her maidens make ready meat and drink, [and they sat eating and drinking and conversing] till nigh upon daybreak, when he rose to take leave of her and depart, ere the eunuch should awake, and she said, 'whither goest thou?' 'to my father's house,' answered he; 'and i plight thee my troth that i will come to thee once in every week.' but she wept and said, 'i conjure thee, by god the supreme, take me with thee whither thou goest and make me not taste anew the bitterness of separation from thee.' quoth he, 'wilt thou indeed go with me?' and she answered, 'yes.' 'then,' said he, 'arise, that we may depart.' so she rose forthright and going to a chest, arrayed herself in what was richest and dearest to her of her trinkets of gold and jewels of price. then he carried her up to the roof of the palace and mounting the horse, took her up behind him and bound her fast to himself; after which he turned the peg of ascent, and the horse rose with him into the air. when her women saw this, they shrieked aloud and told her father and mother, who rushed up to the roof of the palace and looking up, saw the ebony horse flying away with the prince and princess. at this the king was sore troubled and cried out, saying, 'o king's son, i conjure thee, by allah, have compassion on me and my wife and bereave us not of our daughter!' the prince made him no reply, but, thinking that the princess repented of leaving her father and mother, said to her, 'o ravishment of the age, wilt thou that i restore thee to thy father and mother?' 'by allah, o my lord, that is not my desire,' answered she; 'my only wish is to be with thee wherever thou art; for i am distracted by the love of thee from all else, even to my father and mother.' at this the prince rejoiced greatly and made the horse fare softly with them, so as not to disquiet the princess; nor did they stay their flight till they came in sight of a green meadow, in which was a spring of running water. here they alighted and ate and drank; after which they took horse again and fared on, till they came in sight of his father's capital. at this, the prince was filled with joy and bethought himself to show her the seat of his dominion and his father's power and dignity and give her to know that it was greater than that of her father. so he set her down in one of his father's pleasance-gardens [without the city] and carrying her into a pavilion there, prepared for the king, left the horse at the door and charged her keep watch over it, saying, 'sit here, till my messenger come to thee; for i go now to my father, to make ready a palace for thee and show thee my royal estate.' 'do as thou wilt,' answered she, for she was glad that she should not enter but with due honour and observance, as became her rank. then he left her and betook himself to the palace of the king his father, who rejoiced in his return and welcomed him; and the prince said to him, 'know that i have brought with me the princess of whom i told thee and have left her without the city in such a garden and come to tell thee, that thou mayest make ready and go forth to meet her in state and show her thy royal dignity and troops and guards.' 'with all my heart,' answered the king and straightway bade decorate the city after the goodliest fashion. then he took horse and rode out in all state and splendour, he and his troops and household and grandees; whilst the prince made ready for her a litter of green and red and yellow brocade, in which he set indian and greek and abyssinian slave-girls. moreover, he took forth of his treasuries jewellery and apparel and what else of the things that kings treasure up and made a rare display of wealth and magnificence. then he left the litter and those who were therein and rode forward to the pavilion, where he had left the princess; but found both her and the horse gone. when he saw this, he buffeted his face and rent his clothes and went round about the garden, as he had lost his wits; after which he came to his senses and said to himself, 'how could she have come at the secret of the horse, seeing i told her nothing of it? maybe the persian sage who made the horse has chanced upon her and stolen her away, in revenge for my father's treatment of him.' then he sought the keepers of the garden and asked them if they had seen any enter the garden. quoth they, 'we have seen none enter but the persian sage, who came to gather simples.' so the prince was certified that it was indeed he that had taken away the princess and abode confounded and perplexed concerning his case. and he was abashed before the folk and returning to his father, [told him what had happened and] said to him, 'take the troops and return to the city. as for me, i will never return till i have cleared up this affair.' when the king heard this, he wept and beat his breast and said to him, 'o my son, calm thyself and master thy chagrin and return with us and look what king's daughter thou wouldst fain have, that i may marry thee to her.' but the prince paid no heed to his words and bidding him farewell, departed, whilst the king returned to the city and their joy was changed into mourning. now, as fate would have it, when the prince left the princess in the pavilion and betook himself to his father's palace, for the ordering of his affair, the persian entered the garden to pluck simples and scenting the fragrance of musk and essences, that exhaled from the princess's person and perfumed the whole place, followed it till he came to the pavilion and saw the horse, that he had made with his own hands, standing at the door. at this sight, his heart was filled with joy and gladness, for he had mourned sore for it, since it had gone out of his hand. so he went up to it and examining its every part, found it safe and sound; whereupon he was about to mount and ride away, when he bethought himself and said, 'needs must i first look what the prince hath brought and left here with the horse.' so he entered the pavilion and seeing the princess sitting there, as she were the sun shining in the cloudless sky, knew her to be some high-born lady and doubted not but the prince had brought her thither on the horse and left her in the pavilion, whilst he went to the city, to make ready for her entry in state. then he went up to her and kissed the earth before her, whereupon she raised her eyes to him and finding him exceeding foul of face and favour, said, 'who art thou?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'i am sent by the prince, who hath bidden me bring thee to another garden, nearer the city; for that my lady the queen cannot go so far a journey and is unwilling, of her joy in thee, that another should forestall her with thee.' 'where is the prince?' asked she; and the persian replied, 'he is in the city, with his father, and will presently come for thee in great state.' 'o fellow,' said she, 'could he find none to send to me but thee?' at this he laughed and answered, 'o my lady, let not the ugliness of my face and the foulness of my favour deceive thee. hadst thou profited of me as hath the prince, thou wouldst praise my affair. indeed, he chose me as his messenger to thee, because of my uncomeliness and forbidding aspect, in his jealousy and love of thee: else hath he slaves and pages and servants, white and black, out of number, each goodlier than the other.' when she heard this, it commended itself to her reason and she believed him; so she rose and putting her hand in his, said, 'o my father, what hast thou brought me to ride?' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'thou shalt ride the horse thou camest on.' quoth she, 'i cannot ride it by myself.' whereupon he smiled and knew that she was in his power and said, 'i myself will ride with thee.' so he mounted and taking her up behind him, bound her fast to himself, for she knew not what he would with her. then he turned the peg of ascent, whereupon the belly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed to and fro and rose with them into the air nor slackened in its flight, till it was out of sight of the city. when the princess saw this, she said to him, 'o fellow, what didst thou tell me of the prince, that he sent thee to me?' 'foul befall the prince!' answered the persian. 'he is a scurril knave.' and she said, 'out on thee! how darest thou disobey thy lord's commandment!' 'he is no lord of mine,' rejoined the persian. 'knowst thou who i am?' 'i know nothing of thee,' replied the princess, 'save what thou toldest me.' quoth he, 'what i told thee was a trick of mine against thee and the prince. i am he who made this horse under us, and i have long regretted its loss; for the prince made himself master of it. but now i have gotten possession of it and of thee too, and i will rack his heart, even as he hath racked mine; nor shall he ever have the horse again. so take comfort and be of good cheer, for i can be of more service to thee than he.' when she heard this, she buffeted her face and cried out, saying, 'ah, woe is me! i have neither gotten my beloved nor kept my father and mother!' and she wept sore over what had befallen her, whilst the persian fared on with her, without ceasing, till he came to the land of the greeks and alighted in a verdant meadow, abounding in trees and streams. now this meadow was near a city, in which was a king of great puissance, and it befell that he went forth that day to hunt and divert himself. as he passed by the meadow, he saw the persian standing there, with the princess and the horse by his side, and before he was aware, the king's followers fell upon him and carried him, the lady and the horse to their master, who noting the foulness of his favour and the beauty and grace of the princess, said to the latter, 'o my lady, what kin is this old fellow to thee?' the persian made haste to reply, 'she is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother.' but she gave him the lie and said, 'o king, by allah, i know him not, nor is he my husband, but hath stolen me away by force and fraud.' thereupon the king bade beat the persian, and they beat him, till he was well-nigh dead; after which the king commanded to carry him to the city and cast him into prison, and taking the princess and the horse from him, set the former in his harem and laid up the latter in his treasury, though he knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion. meanwhile, the prince donned a travelling-habit and taking what he needed of money, set out, in very sorry plight, in quest of the princess, and journeyed from country to country and city to city, enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst all who heard him marvelled at him and deemed his talk extravagant. thus did he a long while; but, for all his enquiry and research, he could win at no news of her. at last, he came to the city of senaa and there enquired for her, but could get no tidings of her and found her father mourning her loss. so he turned back and made for the land of the greeks, pursuing his enquiries as he went, till, as chance would have it, he alighted at a certain khan and saw a company of merchants sitting talking. he sat down near them and heard one say to the others, 'o my friends, i happened lately upon a wonder of wonders.' 'what was that?' asked they, and he answered, 'i was late in such a city,' naming the city wherein was the princess, 'and heard its people speak of a strange thing that had lately befallen. it was that their king went out one day a-hunting, with a company of his courtiers and the grandees of his realm, and coming to a green meadow, espied there a man standing, with a horse of ebony, and a lady sitting hard by. the man was ugly and foul of favour, but the lady was a marvel of beauty and grace and symmetry; and as for the ebony horse, it was a wonder, never saw eyes aught goodlier than it nor more perfect than its fashion.' 'and what did the king with them?' asked the others. 'as for the man,' said the merchant, 'he questioned him of the lady and he pretended that she was his wife and the daughter of his father's brother; but she gave him the lie. so the king took her from him and bade beat him and cast him into prison. as for the horse, i know not what became of it.' when the prince heard this, he drew near unto the speaker and questioned him discreetly and courteously, till he told him the name of the city and of its king; which when he knew, he passed the night, full of joy. on the morrow, he set out and travelled till he reached the city; but, when he would have entered, the gatekeepers laid hands on him, that they might bring him before the king; for that it was his wont to question all strangers respecting their conditions and the crafts in which they were skilled and the reason of their coming thither. now it was eventide, when he entered the city, and it was then too late to go in to the king or take counsel with him respecting him. so they carried him to the prison, thinking to lay him therein for the night; but, when the warders saw his beauty and grace, they could not find it in their hearts to imprison him, but made him sit with them, without the prison; and when food came to them, he ate his fill with them. when they had made an end of eating, they turned to him and said, 'what countryman art thou?' 'i come from persia,' answered he, 'the land of the chosroës.' when they heard this, they laughed and one of them said, 'o chosroän, i have heard the talk of men and their histories and looked upon their conditions; but never saw or heard i a greater liar than the chosroän that is with us in the prison.' 'nor,' quoth another, 'did i ever see fouler than his favour or more repulsive than his aspect.' 'what have ye seen of his lying?' asked the prince, and they answered, 'he pretends that he is a sage. now the king came upon him, as he went a-hunting, and found with him a most beautiful lady and a horse of ebony, never saw i a handsomer. as for the lady, she is with the king, who is enamoured of her and would fain marry her; but she is mad, and were this man a physician, as he pretends, he would have cured her, for the king doth his utmost endeavour to find a remedy for her disease, and this whole year past hath he spent treasures upon physicians and astrologers, on her account; but none can avail to cure her. as for the horse, it is in the royal treasury, and the man is here with us in the prison; and all night long he weeps and bemoans himself and will not let us sleep.' when the prince heard this, he bethought himself of a device by which he might compass his desire; and presently the warders, being minded to sleep, clapped him into the prison and locked the door. he heard the persian weeping and bemoaning himself, in his own tongue, and saying, 'woe is me for my sin, that i sinned against myself and against the king's son, in that which i did with the damsel; for i neither left her nor got my desire of her! all this comes of my want of sense, in that i sought for myself that which i deserved not and which befitted not the like of me; for he, who seeks what befits him not, falleth into the like of my predicament.' when the prince heard this, he accosted him in persian, saying, 'how long wilt thou keep up this weeping and wailing? thinkst thou that there hath befallen thee what never befell other than thou?' when the persian heard this, he made friends with him and began to complain to him of his case and misfortunes. as soon as it was day, the warders took the prince and carried him before the king, informing him that he had entered the city on the previous night, at a time when no audience could be had of him. quoth the king to the prince, 'whence comest thou and what is thy name and craft and why comest thou hither?' and he answered, 'i am called, in persian, herjeh. i come from the land of fars and i am of the men of art and especially of the art of medicine and cure the sick and the mad. for this, i go round about all countries and cities, adding knowledge to my knowledge, and whenever i see a sick person, i heal him; and this is my craft.' when the king heard this, he rejoiced exceedingly and said, 'o excellent sage, thou hast come to us at a time when we have need of thee.' then he acquainted him with the case of the princess, adding, 'if thou win to cure her and recover her of her madness, thou shalt have of me whatever thou seekest.' 'may god advance the king!' rejoined the prince. 'describe to me all thou hast seen of her madness and tell me how long it is since it attacked her; also how thou camest by her.' so the king told him the whole story, from first to last, adding, 'the sage is in prison.' 'o august king,' said the prince, 'and what hast thou done with the horse?' 'it is with me yet, laid up in one of my treasure-chambers,' replied the king; whereupon quoth the prince in himself, 'the first thing to do is to see the horse and assure myself of its condition. if it be whole and unhurt, all will be well; but, if its works be destroyed, i must find some other way of delivering my beloved.' so he turned to the king and said to him, 'o king, i must see the horse in question: haply i may find in it somewhat that will serve me for the recovery of the damsel.' 'with all my heart,' replied the king and taking him by the hand, led him to the place where the horse was. the prince went round about it, examining its condition, and found it whole and unhurt, whereat he rejoiced greatly and said to the king, 'may god exalt the king! i would fain go in to the damsel, that i may see how it is with her; for i hope, by god's grace, to cure her by means of the horse.' then he bade take care of the horse and the king carried him to the princess's apartment, where he found her writhing and beating herself against the ground, as was her wont; but there was no madness in her, and she did this but that none might approach her. when the prince saw her thus, he said to her, 'no harm shall betide thee, o ravishment of all creatures;' and went on to soothe her and speak her fair, till he won to make himself known to her; whereupon she gave a loud cry and fell down in a swoon for excess of joy; but the king thought this came of her fear of him. then the prince put his mouth to her ear and said to her, 'o seduction of the universe, have a care for thy life and mine and be patient and constant; for we have need of patience and skilful ordinance to make shift for our delivery from this tyrannical king. to begin with, i will now go out to him and tell him that thou art possessed of a genie, and hence thy madness; but, that if he will loose thee from thy bonds, i will engage to heal thee and drive away the evil spirit. so, when he comes in to thee, do thou give him fair words, that he may think i have cured thee, and all will be accomplished as we desire.' quoth she, 'i hear and obey;' and he went out to the king, full of joy and happiness, and said to him, 'o august king, by thy good fortune i have discovered her disease and its remedy and have cured her for thee. so now do thou go in to her and speak softly to her and entreat her kindly, and promise her what may please her; so shall all thou desirest of her be accomplished to thee.' so he went in to her and when she saw him, she rose and kissing the ground, bade him welcome; whereat he was greatly rejoiced and bade the eunuchs and waiting-women attend her and carry her to the bath and make ready for her dresses and ornaments. so they went in to her and saluted her, and she returned their greeting, after the goodliest and pleasantest fashion; after which they clad her in royal apparel and clasping a collar of jewels about her neck, carried her to the bath and served her there. then they brought her forth, as she were the full moon; and when she came into the king's presence, she saluted him and kissed the ground before him, whereupon he rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy and said to the prince, 'all this is of thy blessing, may god increase us of thy good offices!' quoth the prince, 'o king, it behoves, for the completion of her cure, that thou carry her forth, together with the ebony horse, and attend her with all thy troops to the place where thou foundest her, that there i may expel from her the evil spirit, by whom she is possessed, and bind him and kill him, so he may never more return to her.' 'with all my heart,' answered the king. then he caused carry out the horse to the meadow in question and mounting, rode thither with all his troops and the princess, knowing not the prince's purpose. when they came to the appointed place, the prince bade set the horse and the princess as far as the eye could reach from the king and his troops and said to the former, 'with thy leave, i will now proceed to the needful fumigations and conjurations and imprison the genie here, that he may nevermore return to her. after this, i shall mount the horse and take the damsel up behind me; whereupon it will sway to and fro and fare forward, till it come to thee, when the affair will be at an end; and after this thou mayst do with her as thou wilt.' and when the king heard his words, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy. so the prince mounted the horse and taking the princess up behind him, bound her fast to him, whilst the king and his troops watched him. then he turned the peg of ascent and the horse took flight and soared with them into the air, till he disappeared from sight. the king abode half the day, expecting their return; but they returned not. so, when he despaired of them, he returned to the city with his troops, repenting him greatly of that which he had done and grieving sore for the loss of the damsel. he shut himself up in his palace, mourning and afflicted; but his viziers came in to him and applied themselves to comfort him, saying, 'verily, he who took the damsel is an enchanter, and praised be god who hath delivered thee from his craft and sorcery!' and they ceased not from him, till he was comforted for her loss. meanwhile, the prince bent his course, in joy and cheer, towards his father's capital and stayed not, till he alighted on his own palace, where he set the princess in safety; after which he went in to his father and mother and acquainted them with her coming, whereat they rejoiced exceedingly. then he made great banquets to the townsfolk and they held high festival a whole month, at the end of which time he went in to the princess and they rejoiced in one another with an exceeding joy. but his father broke the horse in pieces and destroyed its works. moreover, the prince wrote a letter to the princess's father, advising him of all that had befallen her and how she was now married to him and in all health and happiness, and sent it by a messenger, together with costly presents and rarities. the messenger, in due course, arrived at the city of senaa and delivered the letter and the presents to the king, who, when he read the former, rejoiced greatly and accepted the presents, rewarding the bearer handsomely. moreover, he sent rich presents to his son-in-law by the same messenger, who returned to his master and acquainted him with what had passed, whereat he was much cheered. and after this the prince wrote a letter every year to his father-in-law and sent him a present, till, in course of time, his father king sabour died and he reigned in his stead, ruling justly over his subjects and ordering himself well and righteously towards them, so that they submitted themselves to him and did him loyal service; and he and his wife abode in the enjoyment of all delight and solace of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and sunderer of companies, he that layeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs; and glory be to the living one who dieth not and in whose hand is the dominion of the seen and the unseen! uns el wujoud and the vizier's daughter rose-in-bud. there was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king of great power and glory and dominion, who had a vizier named ibrahim, and this vizier had a daughter of extraordinary beauty and grace, gifted with surpassing brilliancy and all perfection, possessed of abundant wit and perfectly accomplished. she loved wine and good cheer and fair faces and choice verses and rare stories; and the delicacy of her charms invited all hearts to love, even as saith the poet, describing her: she shines out like the moon at full, that midst the stars doth fare, and for a wrapping-veil she hath the ringlets of her hair. the eastern zephyr gives her boughs to drink of all its sweets and like a jointed cane, she sways to every breath of air. she smiles in passing by. o thou that dost alike accord with red and yellow and arrayed in each, alike art fair, thou sportest with my wit in love, so that indeed meseems as if a sparrow in the clutch of playful urchin 'twere. her name was rose-in-bud and she was so named for the exceeding delicacy and perfection of her beauty; and the king loved to carouse with her, because of her wit and good breeding. now it was the king's custom yearly to gather together all the nobles of his realm and play with the ball. so, when the day came round, on which the folk assembled for ball-play, the vizier's daughter seated herself at her lattice, to divert herself by looking on at the game; and as they were at play, her eyes fell upon a youth among them, never was seen a handsomer than he or a goodlier of favour, for he was bright of face, laughing-teethed, tall and broad-shouldered. she looked at him again and again and could not take her fill of gazing on him. then she said to her nurse, 'what is the name of yonder handsome young man among the troops?' 'o my daughter,' replied the nurse, 'they are all handsome. which of them dost thou mean?' 'wait till he passes,' said rose-in-bud, 'and i will point him out to thee.' so she took an apple and waited till he came under her window, when she dropped it on him, whereupon he raised his head, to see who did this, and saw the vizier's daughter at the window, as she were the full moon in the darkness of the night; nor did he withdraw his eyes, till he had fallen passionately in love with her; and he recited the following verses: was it an archer shot me or did thine eyes undo the lover's heart that saw thee, what time thou metst his view? did the notched arrow reach me from midst a host, indeed, or was it from a lattice that launched at me it flew? when the game was at an end, he went away with the king, [whose servant and favourite he was,] with heart occupied with love of her; and she said to her nurse, 'what is the name of that youth i showed thee?' 'his name is uns el wujoud,' answered she; whereat rose-in-bud shook her head and lay down on her couch, with a heart on fire for love. then, sighing deeply, she improvised the following verses: he erred not who dubbed thee, "all creatures' delight,"[fn# ] that pleasance and bounty[fn# ] at once dust unite. full-moonlike of aspect, o thou whose fair face o'er all the creation sheds glory and light, thou'rt peerless midst mortals, the sovran of grace, and many a witness to this i can cite. thy brows are a noun[fn# ] and shine eyes are a sad,[fn# ] that the hand of the loving creator did write; thy shape is the soft, tender sapling, that gives of its bounties to all that its favours invite. yea, indeed, thou excellest the world's cavaliers in pleasance and beauty and bounty and might. when she had finished, she wrote the verses on a sheet of paper, which she folded in a piece of gold-embroidered silk and laid under her pillow. now one of her nurses saw her; so she came up to her and held her in talk, till she slept, when she stole the scroll from under her pillow and reading it, knew that she had fallen in love with uns el wujoud. then she returned the scroll to its place and when her mistress awoke, she said to her, 'o my lady, indeed, i am to thee a faithful counsellor and am tenderly solicitous for thee. know that passion is grievous and the hiding it melteth iron and causeth sickness and unease; nor is there reproach for whoso confesses it.' 'o my nurse,' rejoined rose-in-bud,'and what is the remedy of passion?' 'the remedy of passion is enjoyment,' answered the nurse. 'and how may one come by enjoyment?' asked rose-in-bud. 'by letters and messages,' replied the nurse, 'and many a tender word and greeting; this brings lovers together and makes hard matters easy. so, if thou have aught at heart, mistress mine, i will engage to keep thy secret and do thy need and carry thy letters.' when the girl heard this, her reason fled for joy; but she restrained herself from speech, till she should see the issue of the matter, saying in herself, 'none knoweth this thing of me, nor will i trust this woman with my secret, till i have proved her.' then said the nurse, 'o my lady, i saw in my sleep as though one came to me and said, "thy mistress and uns el wujoud love one another; so do thou serve their loves by carrying their messages and doing their need and keeping their secrets; and much good shall befall thee." so now i have told thee my dream, and it is thine to decide.' 'o my nurse,' quoth rose-in-bud, 'canst thou keep secrets?' 'and how should i not keep secrets,' answered the nurse, 'i that am of the flower of the free-born?' then rose-in-bud pulled out the scroll, on which she had written the verses afore said, and said to her,' carry this my letter to uns el wujoud and bring me his answer.' so the nurse took the letter and repairing to uns el wujoud, kissed his hands and saluted him right courteously, then gave him the letter; and he read it and wrote on the back the following verses: i temper my heart in passion and hide my case as i may; but my case interprets for me and doth my love bewray. and whenas my lids brim over with tears,--lest the spy should see and come to fathom my secret,--"my eye is sore," i say. of old i was empty-hearted and knew not what love was; but now i am passion's bondman, my heart to love's a prey. to thee i prefer my petition, complaining of passion and pain, so haply thou mayst be softened and pity my dismay. with the tears of my eye i have traced it, that so unto thee it may the tidings of what i suffer for thee to thee convey. god watch o'er a visage, that veileth itself with beauty, a face that the full moon serves as a bondman and the stars as slaves obey! yea' allah protect her beauty, whose like i ne'er beheld! the boughs from her graceful carriage, indeed, might learn to sway. i beg thee to grant me a visit; algates, if it irk thee nought. an thou knewst how dearly i'd prize it, thou wouldst not say me nay. i give thee my life, so haply thou mayst accept it: to me thy presence is life eternal and hell thy turning away. then he folded the letter and kissing it, gave it to the nurse and said to her, 'o nurse, incline thy lady's heart to me.' 'i hear and obey,' answered she and carried the letter to her mistress, who kissed it and laid it on her head, then wrote at the foot of it these verses: harkye, thou whose heart is taken with my grace and loveliness, have but patience, and right surely thou my favours shalt possess. when we were assured the passion thou avouchedst was sincere and that that which us betided had betided thee no less, gladly had we then vouchsafed thee what thou sighedst for, and more; but our guardians estopped us to each other from access. when night darkens on the dwellings, fires are lighted in our heart and our entrails burn within us, for desire and love's excess. yea, for love and longing, slumber is a stranger to our couch and the burning pangs of fever do our body sore distress. 'twas a law of passion ever, love and longing to conceal; lift not thou the curtain from us nor our secret aye transgress. ah, my heart is overflowing with the love of yon gazelle; would it had not left our dwellings for the distant wilderness. then she folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and went out to go to the young man; but as she went forth the door, her master met her and said to her, 'whither away?' 'to the bath,' answered she; but, in her trouble, she dropped the letter, without knowing it, and one of the servants, seeing it lying in the way, picked it up. when she came without the door, she sought for it, but found it not, so turned back to her mistress and told her of this and what had befallen her with the vizier. meanwhile, the latter came out of the harem and seated himself on his couch. presently, the servant, who had picked up the letter, came in to him, with it in his hand, and said, 'o my lord, i found this paper lying on the floor and picked it up.' so the vizier took it from his hand, folded as it was, and opening it, read the verses above set down. then he examined the writing and knew it for his daughter's hand; whereupon he went in to her mother, weeping so sore that his beard was drenched. 'what makes thee weep, o my lord?' asked she; and he answered, 'take this letter and see what is therein.' so she took it and saw it to be a love-letter from her daughter rose-in-bud to uns el wujoud; whereupon the tears sprang to her eyes; but she mastered herself and swallowing her tears, said to her husband, 'o my lord, there is no profit in weeping: the right course is to cast about for a means of preserving thine honour and concealing thy daughter's affair.' and she went on to comfort him and lighten his trouble. quoth he, 'i am fearful of what may ensue this passion of my daughter, and that for two reasons. the first concerns myself; it is, that she is my daughter; the second, that uns el wujoud is a favourite with the sultan, who loves him with an exceeding love, and maybe great troubles shall come of this affair. what deemest thou of the matter?' 'wait,' answered she, 'whilst i pray to god for direction.' so she prayed a two-bow prayer, according to the prophetic ordinance of the prayer for divine guidance; after which she said to her husband, 'amiddleward the sea of treasures stands a mountain called the mount of the bereaved mother,' (the cause of which being so named shall follow in its place, if it be the will of god,) 'and thither can none come, save with difficulty; do thou make her an abiding-place there.' so the vizier and his wife agreed to build, on the mountain in question, a strong castle and lodge his daughter therein with a year's victual, to be annually renewed, and attendants to serve and keep her company. accordingly, he collected builders and carpenters and architects and despatched them to the mountain, where they builded her an impregnable castle, never saw eyes its like. then he made ready victual and carriage for the journey and going in to his daughter by night, bade her make ready to set out on a pleasure-excursion. she refused to set out by night, but he was instant with her, till she went forth; and when she saw the preparations for the journey, her heart misgave her of separation from her beloved and she wept sore and wrote upon the door the following verses, to acquaint him with what had passed and with the transports of passion and grief that were upon her, transports such as would make the flesh quake, that would cause the hearts of stones to melt and eyes to overflow with tears: by allah, o house, if the loved one pass in the morning-glow and greet with the greeting of lovers, as they pass to and fro, give him our salutation, a pure and fragrant one, for that we have departed, and whither he may not know. why on this wise they hurry me off by stealth, anights and lightly equipped, i know not, nor whither with me they go. neath cover of night and darkness, they carry me forth, alack i whilst the birds in the brake bewail us and make their moan for our woe; and the tongue of the case interprets their language and cries, "alas, alas for the pain of parting from those that we love, heigho!" when i saw that the cups of sev'rance were filled and that fate, indeed, would give us to drink of its bitter, unmingled, would we or no, i blended the draught with patience becoming, as best i might; but patience avails not to solace my heart for your loss, i trow. then she mounted, and they set forward with her and fared on over desert and plain and hill, till they came to the shore of the sea of treasures, where they pitched their tents and built a great ship, in which they embarked her and her suite and carried them over to the mountain. here they left them in the castle and making their way back to the shore, broke up the vessel, in obedience to the vizier's commandment, and returned home, weeping over what had befallen. meanwhile, uns el wujoud arose from sleep and prayed the morning prayer, after which he mounted and rode forth to wait upon the sultan. on his way, he passed by the vizier's house, thinking to see some of his followers, as of wont, but saw no one and drawing near the door, read the verses aforesaid written thereon. at this sight, his senses failed him; fire was kindled in his vitals and he returned to his lodging, where he passed the rest of the day in ceaseless trouble and anxiety, without finding ease or patience, till night darkened upon him, when his transport redoubled. so he put off his clothes and disguising himself in a fakir's habit, set out, at a venture, under cover of the night, distraught and knowing not whither he went. he wandered on all that night and next day, till the heat of the sun grew fierce and the mountains flamed like fire and thirst was grievous upon him. presently, he espied a tree, by whose side was a spring of running water; so he made towards it and sitting down in the shade, on the bank of the rivulet, essayed to drink, but found that the water had no taste in his mouth. then, [looking in the stream,] he saw that his body was wasted, his colour changed and his face grown pale and his, feet, to boot, swollen with walking and weariness. so he shed copious tears and repeated the following verses: the lover is drunken with love of his fair; in longing and heat he redoubles fore'er. love-maddened, confounded, distracted, perplexed, no dwelling is pleasant to him and no fare. for how, to a lover cut off from his love, can life be delightsome? 'twere strange an it were. i melt with the fire of my passion for her and the tears down my cheek roll and never forbear. shall i ever behold her or one from her stead, with whom i may solace my heart in despair? and he wept till he wet the ground; after which he rose and fared on again over deserts and wilds, till there came out upon him a lion, with a neck buried in hair, a head the bigness of a dome, a mouth wider than the door [thereof] and teeth like elephants' tusks. when uns el wujoud saw him, he gave himself up for lost and turning towards mecca, pronounced the professions of the faith and prepared for death. now he had read in books that whoso will flatter the lion, beguileth him, for that he is lightly duped by fair words and glorieth in praise; so he began and said, 'o lion of the forest and the waste! o unconquerable warrior! o father of heroes and sultan of wild beasts! behold, i am a desireful lover, whom passion and severance have undone. since i parted from my beloved, i have lost my reason; wherefore, do thou hearken to my speech and have ruth on my passion and love-longing.' when the lion heard this, he drew back from him and sitting down on his hind-quarters, raised his head to him and began to frisk his tail and paws to him; which when uns el wujoud saw, he recited these verses: wilt slay me, o lord of the desert, before my enslaver i meet with, e'en her i adore? no fat on me is; i'm no booty for thee; for the loss of my loved one hath wasted me sore. yea, my love's separation hath worn out my soul, and i'm grown like a shape, with a shroud covered o'er. give the railers not cause to exult in my woe, o prince of the spoilers, o lion of war! a lover, all sleepless for loss of my dear, i'm drowned in the tears from mine eyelids that pour; and my pining for her in the darkness of night hath robbed me, for passion, of reason and lore. when he had finished, the lion rose and coming softly up to him, with his eyes full of tears, licked him with his tongue, then walked on before him, signing to him, as who should say, 'follow me.' so he followed him, and he led him on till he brought him, over a mountain, to the farther side, where he came upon the track of a caravan and knew it to be that of rose-in-bud and her company. when the lion saw that he knew the track and set himself to follow it, he turned back and went his way; whilst uns el wujoud followed the foot-marks, till they brought him to a surging sea, swollen with clashing billows. the trail led down to the water's edge and there broke off; whereby he knew that they had taken ship there and had continued their journey by sea. so he lost hope of finding his beloved and repeated the following verses, weeping sore: far's the place of visitation and my patience faileth me for my love; but how to reach her o'er the abysses of the sea? when, for love of her, my vitals are consumed and i've forsworn slumber, sleep for wake exchanging, ah, how can i patient be? since the day she left the homesteads and departed, hath my heart burnt with never-ceasing anguish, all a-fire with agony. oxus and jaxartes, running like euphrates, are my tears; more than rain and flood abounding, run like rivers to the sea. ulcerated are my eyelids with the running of the tears, and my heart on fires of passion's burnt and wasted utterly. yea, the armies of my longing and my transport on me pressed, and the hosts of my endurance did before them break and flee. lavishly my life i've ventured for the love of her; for life is the lightest to a lover of all ventures, verily. be an eye of god unpunished that beheld the beauteous one, than the moon how much more splendid, in the harem's sanctuary! struck was i and smitten prostrate by wide-opened eyes, whose shafts, from a bow all stringless loosened, pierced the hapless heart of me. by the soft and flexile motions of her shape she captived me, swaying as the limber branches sway upon the cassia-tree. union with her i covet, that therewith i may apply solace to the pains of passion, love and care and misery. for the love of her, afflicted, as i am, i have become; all that's fallen on me betided from the evil eye, perdie. then he wept, till he swooned away, and abode in his swoon a long while. when he came to himself, he looked right and left and seeing none in the desert, was fearful of the wild beasts; so he climbed to the top of a high mountain, where he heard a man's voice speaking within a cavern. he listened and found it to be that of a devotee, who had forsworn the world and given himself up to pious exercises. so he knocked thrice at the cavern door; but the hermit made him no answer, neither came forth to him; wherefore he sighed heavily and recited the following verses: what way is open unto me, to my desire to get and put off weariness and toil and trouble and regret? all pains and terrors have combined on me, to make me hoar and old of head and heart, whilst i a very child am yet. i find no friend to solace me of longing and unease' nor one 'gainst passion and its stress to aid me and abet. alas, the torments i endure for waste and wistful love! fortune, meseems, 'gainst me is turned and altogether set. ah, woe's me for the lover's pain, unresting, passion-burnt, him who in parting's bitter cup his lips perforce hath wet! his wit is ravished clean away by separation's woe, fire in his heart and all consumed his entrails by its fret. ah, what a dreadful day it was, when to her stead i came and that, which on the door was writ, my eyes confounded met! i wept, until i gave the earth to drink of my despair; but still from friend and foe i hid the woes that me beset. then strayed i forth till, in the waste, a lion sprang on me and would have slain me straight; but him with flattering words i met and soothed him. so he spared my life and succoured me, as 'twere he too had known love's taste and been entangled in its net. yet, for all this, could i but win to come to my desire, all, that i've suffered and endured, straightway i should forget. o thou, that harbour'st in thy cave, distracted from the world, meseems thou'st tasted love and been its slave, o anchoret! hardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold, the door of the cavern opened and he heard one say' 'alas, the pity of it i' so he entered and saluted the hermit, who returned his greeting and said to him, 'what is thy name?' 'uns el wujoud,' answered the young man. 'and what brings thee hither?' asked the hermit. so he told him his whole story, whereat he wept and said' 'o uns el wujoud, these twenty years have i dwelt in this place, but never beheld i any here, till the other day, when i heard a noise of cries and weeping, and looking forth in the direction of the sound, saw much people and tents pitched on the sea-shore. they built a ship, in which they embarked and sailed away. then some of them returned with the ship and breaking it up, went their way; and methinks those, who embarked in the ship and returned not, are they whom thou seekest. in that case, thy trouble must needs be grievous and thou art excusable; though never yet was lover but suffered sorrows.' then he recited the following verses: uns el wujoud, thou deem'st me free of heart, but, wel-a-way! longing and transport and desire fold and unfold me aye. yea, love and passion have i known even from my earliest years, since at my mother's nursing breast a suckling babe i lay. i struggled sore and long with love, till i his power confessed. if thou enquire at him of me, he will me not unsay. i quaffed the cup of passion out, with languor and disease, and as a phantom i became for pining and decay. strong was i, but my strength is gone and neath the swords of eyes, the armies of my patience broke and vanished clean away. hope not to win delight of love, without chagrin and woe; for contrary with contrary conjoined is alway. but fear not change from lover true; do thou but constant be unto thy wish, and thou shalt sure be happy yet some day: for unto lovers passion hath ordained that to forget is heresy, forbidden all its mandates that obey. then he rose and coming to the youth, embraced him, and they wept together, till the hills rang with their crying and they fell down in a swoon. when they revived, they swore brotherhood in god the most high, and the hermit said to uns el wujoud, 'this night will i pray to god and seek of him direction what thou shouldst do to attain thy desire.' to return to rose-in-bud. when they brought her into the castle and she beheld its ordinance, she wept and exclaimed, 'by allah, thou art a goodly place, save that thou lackest the presence of the beloved in thee!' then, seeing [many] birds in the island, she bade her people set snares for them and hang up all they caught in cages within the castle; and they did so. but she sat at a window of the castle and bethought her of what had passed, and passion and transport and love-longing redoubled upon her, till she burst into tears and repeated the following verses: to whom, of my desire complaining, shall i cry, to whom, for loss of loves and parting's sorrow, sigh? flames rage within my breast, but i reveal them not, for fear lest they my case discover to the spy. i'm grown as thin as e'er a bodkin's wood, so worn with absence and lament and agony am i. where is the loved one's eye, to see how i'm become even as a blasted tree, stripped bare and like to die? they wronged me, when they shut me prisoner in a place, wherein my love, alas i may never come me nigh. greetings a thousandfold i beg the sun to bear, what time he riseth up and setteth from the sky, to a beloved one, who puts the moon to shame, for loveliness, and doth the indian cane outvie. if the rose ape his cheek, "now god forfend," i say, "that of my portion aught to pilfer thou shouldst try." lo, in his mouth are springs of limpid water sweet, refreshment that would bring to those in flames who lie. how shall i one forget who is my heart and soul, my malady and he that healing can apply? then, as the shadows darkened upon her, her longing increased and she called to mind the past and recited these verses also: the shadows darken and passion stirs up my sickness amain and longing rouses within me the old desireful pain. the anguish of parting hath taken its sojourn in my breast and love and longing and sorrow have maddened heart and brain. passion hath made me restless and yearning consumes my soul and tears discover my secret, that else concealed had lain. i know of no way to ease me of sickness and care and woe; nor can my weak endeavour reknit love's severed skein. my heart is a raging furnace, because of the heat whereof my entrails are racked with anguish, that nothing can assain. o thou, that thinkest to blame me for what is fallen on me, enough, i suffer with patience whatever the fates ordain. i swear i shall ne'er find comfort nor be consoled for them, the oath of the children of passion, whose oaths are never in vain! bear tidings, o night, to my dear ones and greet them and witness bear that thou knowest in thee i sleep not, but ever to wake am fain. meanwhile, the hermit said to uns el wujoud, 'go down into the valley and fetch me palm-fibre.' so he went and returned with the palm-fibre, which the hermit took and twisting into ropes, made therewith a net, such as is used for carrying straw; after which he said to the youth, 'o uns el wujoud, in the heart of the valley grows a gourd, which springs up and dries upon its roots. go thither and fill this net therewith; then tie it together and casting it into the water, embark thereon and make for the midst of the sea, so haply thou shalt come to thy desire; for he, who adventureth not himself, shall not attain that he seeketh.' 'i hear and obey,' answered uns el wujoud and bidding the hermit farewell after he had prayed for him, betook himself to the hollow of the valley, where he did as he had counselled him and launched out upon the water, supported by the net. then there arose a wind, which drove him out to sea, till he was lost to the hermit's view; and he ceased not to fare on over the abysses of the ocean, one billow tossing him up on the crest of the wave and another bearing him down into the trough of the sea, and he beholding the while the terrors and wonders of the deep, for the space of three days, at the end of which time fate cast him upon the mount of the bereft mother, where he landed, weak and giddy as a fledgling bird, for hunger and thirst; but, finding there streams running and birds warbling on the branches and fruit-laden trees, growing in clusters and singly, he ate of the fruits and drank of the streams. then he walked on till he saw some white thing alar off, and making for it, found that it was a strongly-fortified castle. so he went up to the gate and finding it locked, sat down by it. he sat thus three days and on the fourth, the gate opened and an eunuch came out, who seeing uns el wujoud seated there, said to him, 'whence comest thou and who brought thee hither?' quoth he, 'i come from ispahan and was travelling by sea with merchandise, when my ship was wrecked and the waves cast me upon this island.' when the eunuch heard this, he wept and embraced him, saying, 'god preserve thee, o [thou that bringest me the] fragrance of the beloved! ispahan is my own country and i have there a cousin, the daughter of my father's brother, whom i loved and cherished from a child; but a people stronger than we fell upon us and taking me among other booty, docked me and sold me for an eunuch, whilst i was yet a lad; and this is how i come to be what i am.' then he carried him into the courtyard of the castle, where he saw a great basin of water, surrounded by trees, on whose branches hung cages of silver, with doors of gold, and therein birds warbling and singing the praises of the requiting king. in the first cage he came to was a turtle dove which, seeing him, raised her voice and cried out, saying, 'o bountiful one!'[fn# ] whereat he fell down in a swoon, but, presently coming to himself, sighed heavily and recited the following verses: o turtle, art thou mad for love, as is my case? then sing, 'o bountiful!' and seek the lord his grace! tell me, doth thy descant in joyance tale its rise or in desireful pain, that in thy heart hath place? if for desire thou moan'st of bygone loves or pin'st for dear ones that have gone and left thee but their trace, or if thou'st lost thy love, like me, ah, then, indeed, severance long-felt desire discovereth apace. god guard a lover true! though my bones rot, nor time nor absence from my heart her image shall efface. then he fainted again and presently coming to his senses, went on to the second cage, wherein he found a ring-dove. when it saw him, it sang out, 'o eternal, i praise thee!' and he sighed and recited these verses: i heard a ring-dove say in her plaintive note, "despite of my woes, o eternal, i praise thee still!" and god, of his grace, reunion of our loves, in this my travel, may yet to us fulfil. she visits me oft,[fn# ] with her dusk-red honeyed lips, and lends to the passion within me an added thrill. and i cry, whilst the fires in my tortured heart flame high and my soul for ardour consumes and my eyes distil tears that resemble blood and withouten cease pour down on my wasted cheeks in many a rill, there's none created without affliction, and i must bear with patience my tribulations, until the hour of solace with her i love one day unite me. ah, then, by god his power and will, in succouring lovers, i vow, i'll spend my good, for they're of my tribe and category still; and eke from prison i'll loose the birds, to boot, and leave, for joyance, the thought of every ill! then he went on to the third cage, in which was a mocking-bird. when it saw him, it set up a song, and he recited the following verses: the mocking-bird delighteth me with his harmonious strain, as 'twere a lover's voice that pines and wastes for love in vain. woe's me for those that lovers be! how many a weary night, for love and anguish and desire, to waken they are fain! 'twould seem as if they had no part in morning or in sleep, for all the stress of love and woe that holds their heart and brain. when i became distraught for her i love and wistfulness bound me in fetters strait, the tears from out mine eyes did rain so thick and fast, they were as chains, and i to her did say, "my tears have fallen so thick, that now they've bound me with a chain." the treasures of my patience fail, absence is long on me and yearning sore; and passion's stress consumeth me amain. if god's protection cover me and fortune be but just and fate with her whom i adore unite me once again, i'll doff my clothes, that she may see how worn my body is, for languishment and severance and solitary pain. then he went on to the fourth cage, where he found a nightingale, which, at sight of him, began to tune its plaintive note. when he heard its descant, he burst into tears and repeated the following verses: the nightingale's note, when the dawning is near, distracts from the lute-strings the true lover's ear. complaineth, for love-longing, uns el wujoud, of a passion that blotteth his being out sheer. how many sweet notes, that would soften, for mirth, the hardness of iron and stone, do i hear! the zephyr of morning brings tidings to me of meadows, full-flower'd for the blossoming year. the scents on the breeze and the music of birds, in the dawning, transport me with joyance and cheer. but i think of a loved one, that's absent from me, and mine eyes rain in torrents, with tear upon tear; and the ardour of longing flames high in my breast, as a fire in the heart of a brasier burns clear. may allah vouchsafe to a lover distraught to see and foregather once more with his dear! yea, for lovers, heart-sickness and longing and woe and wake are excuses that plainly appear. then he went on a little and came to a handsome cage, than which there was no goodlier there, and in it a culver, that is to say, a wood-pigeon, the bird renowned among the birds as the singer of love-longing, with a collar of jewels about its neck, wonder-goodly of ordinance. he considered it awhile and seeing it mazed and brooding in its cage, shed tears and repeated these verses: o culver of the copse, may peace upon thee light, o friend of all who love and every wistful wight! i love a young gazelle, a slender one, whose glance than sharpest sabre's point is keener and more bright. for love of her, my heart and entrails are a-fire and sicknesses consume my body and my spright. the sweet of pleasant food's forbidden unto me, and eke i am denied the taste of sleep's delight. solace and fortitude have taken flight from me, and love and longing lodge with me, both day and night. how shall my life be sweet to me, while she's afar, that is my life, my wish, the apple of my sight? when the pigeon heard these verses, it awoke from its brooding and cooed and warbled and trilled, till it all but spoke; and the tongue of the case interpreted for it and recited the following verses: o lover, thy wailings recall to my mind the time when my youth from me wasted and dwined, and a mistress, whose charms and whose grace i adored, seductive and fair over all of her kind; whose voice, from the twigs of the sandhill upraised, left the strains of the flute, to my thought, far behind. a snare set the fowler and caught me, who cried, "would he d leave me to range at my will on the wind!" i had hoped he was clement or seeing that i was a lover, would pity my lot and be kind; but no, (may god smite him!) he tore me away from my dear and apart from her harshly confined. since then, my desire for her grows without cease, and my heart with the fires of disjunction is mined. god guard a true lover, who striveth with love and hath suffered the torments in which i have pined! when he seeth me languish for love in my cage, he will loose me, in mercy, my loved one to find then uns el wujoud turned to his friend, the ispahani and said to him, 'what palace is this? who built it and who abideth in it?' quoth the eunuch, 'the vizier of king shamikh built it for his daughter, fearing for her the assaults of fate and the vicissitudes of fortune, and lodged her therein, with her attendants; nor do we open it save once in every year, when our victual comes to us.' and uns el wujoud said in himself, 'i have gained my end' though after long travail.' meanwhile, rose-in-bud took no delight in eating nor drinking, sitting nor sleeping; but her transport and passion and love-longing redoubled on her, and she went wandering about the castle, but could find no issue; wherefore she shed plenteous tears and recited the following verses: they have prisoned me straitly from him i adore and given me to eat of mine anguish galore. my heart with the flames of love-longing they fired, when me from the sight of my loved one they bore. they have cloistered me close in a palace built high on a mount in the midst of a sea without shore. if they'd have me forget, their endeavour is vain, for my love but redoubles upon me the more. how can i forget him, when all i endure arose from the sight of his face heretofore? my days are consumed in lament, and my nights pass in thinking of him, as i knew him of yore. his memory my solace in solitude is, since the lack of his presence i needs must deplore. i wonder, will fate grant my heart its desire and my love, after all, to my wishes restore! then she donned her richest clothes and trinkets and threw a necklace of jewels around her neck; after which she ascended to the roof of the castle and tying some strips of baalbek stuff together, [to serve for a rope], made them fast to the battlements and let herself down thereby to the ground. then she fared on over wastes and wilds, till she came to the sea-shore, where she saw a fishing-boat, and therein a fisherman, whom the wind had driven on to the island, as he went, fishing here and there, on the sea. when he saw her, he was affrighted, [ taking her for a jinniyeh] and put out again to sea; but she cried out and made pressing signs to him to return, reciting the following verses: harkye, o fisherman, fear thou no injury; i'm but an earthly maid, a mortal like to thee. i do implore thee, stay, give ear unto my prayer and hearken to my true and woeful history. pity, (so god thee spare,) the ardour [of my love,] and say if thou hast seen a loved one, fled from me. i love a fair-faced youth and goodly; brighter far of aspect than the face of sun or moon is he. the antelope, that sees his glances, cries, "his slave am i," and doth confess inferiority. yea, beauty on his brow these pregnant words hath writ in very dust of musk, significant to see, "who sees the light of love is in the way of right, and he who strays commits foul sin and heresy." an thou have ruth on me and bring me to his sight, o rare! whate'er thou wilt thy recompense shall be; rubies and precious stones and freshly gathered pearls and every kind of gem that is in earth and sea. surely, o friend, thou wilt with my desire comply; for all my heart's on fire with love and agony. when the fisherman heard this, he wept and sighed and lamented; then, recalling what had betided himself in the days of his youth, when love had the mastery over him and transport and love-longing and distraction were sore upon him and the fires of passion consumed him, replied with these verses: indeed, the lover's excuse is manifest, wasting of body and streaming tears, unrest, eyes, in the darkness that waken still, and heart, as 'twere a fire-box, bespeak him love-oppress. passion, indeed, afflicted me in youth, and i good money from bad learnt then to test. my soul i bartered, a distant love to win; to gain her favours, i wandered east and west; and eke i ventured my life against her grace and deemed the venture would bring me interest. for law of lovers it is that whoso buys his love's possession with life, he profits best. then he moored his boat to the shore and bade her embark, saying, 'i will carry thee whither thou wilt.' so she embarked and he put off with her; but they had not gone far, before there came out a stern-wind upon the boat and drove it swiftly out of sight of land. the fisherman knew not whither he went, and the wind blew without ceasing three days, at the end of which time it fell, by leave of god the most high, and they sailed on, till they came in sight of a city builded upon the seashore, and the fisherman set about making fast to the land. now the king of the city, a very powerful prince called dirbas, was at that moment sitting, with his son, at a window in the palace giving upon the sea, and chancing to look out to sea-ward, they saw the fishing-boat enter the harbour. they observed it narrowly and espied therein a young lady, as she were the full moon in the mid-heaven, with pendants in her ears of fine balass rubies and a collar of precious stones about her neck. so the king knew that this must be the daughter of some king or great noble, and going forth of the sea-gate of the palace, went down to the boat, where he found the lady asleep and the fisherman busied in making fast to the shore. he went up to her and aroused her, whereupon she awoke, weeping; and he said to her, 'whence comest thou and whose daughter art thou and what brings thee hither?' 'i am the daughter of ibrahim, vizier to king shamikh,' answered she; 'and the manner of my coming hither is strange and the cause thereof extraordinary.' and she told him her whole story, hiding nought from him; then she sighed deeply and recited the following verses: tears have mine eyelids wounded sore, and wonder-fast they flow adown my cheek for parting's pain and memory and woe, for a beloved's sake, who dwells for ever in my heart, though to foregather with himself i cannot win, heigho! fair, bright and brilliant is his face, in loveliness and grace, turk, arab and barbarian he cloth indeed o'ercrow. the full moon and the sun contend in deference to him, and when he rises into sight, they, lover-like, bend low. his eyes with wondrous witchery are decked, as 'twere with kohl; even as a bow, that's bent to shoot its shafts, to thee they show. o thou, to whom i have perforce revealed my case, have ruth on one with whom the shifts of love have sported long eno'. lo, broken-hearted, love hath cast me up upon thy coast, wherefore i trust that thou on me fair favour wilt bestow. the noble who, when folk of worth alight within their bounds, do honour and protect them, win increase of glory so. cover thou then, my lord, my hope, two lovers' follies up and let them to thy succouring hand their loves' reunion owe. then she shed plenteous tears and recited these verses also: i lived, a marvel till i saw in love, then lived no mo'; each month to thee as rejeb[fn# ] be, as free from fear of foe! is it not strange that, on the morn they went away, i lit fire in my vitals with the tears that from mine eyes did flow? indeed, mine eyelids ran with blood, and on the wasted plain of my sad cheek, that therewithal was watered, gold did grow. yea, for the safflower hue, that thence o'erspread my cheeks, they seem the shirt of joseph, steeped in blood, to make a lying show. when the king heard this, he was certified of her passion and love-longing and was moved to compassion for her; so he said to her, 'fear nothing and be not troubled; thou hast attained the term of thy wishes; for needs must i bring thee to thy desire.' and he recited the following verses: daughter if nobles, thou hast reached thy wishes' goal, i trow: in happy presage then rejoice and fear not any woe. treasures this very day, will i collect and neath escort of horsemen and of champions, to shamikh they shall go. brocade and bladders full of musk i will to him despatch and eke white silver and red gold i'll send to him also. yea, and a letter neath my hand my wish for ties of kin and for alliance with himself shall give him eke to know; and all endeavour will i use, forthwith, that he thou lov'st once more with thee may be conjoined, to part from thee no mo. i, too, have battened upon love and know the taste thereof and can excuse the folk who've quaffed the self-same cup of woe. then, returning to his palace, he summoned his vizier and causing pack him up countless treasure, bade him carry it to king shamikh and say to him, 'the king is minded to ally himself with thee by marrying uns el wujoud, shine officer, to his daughter. so needs must thou send him with me, that the marriage may be solemnized in her father's kingdom.' and he wrote a letter to king shamikh, to this effect, and gave it to the vizier, charging him without fail bring back uns el wujoud, on pain of deposition from his office. 'i hear and obey,' answered the vizier and setting out forthright, in due course arrived at the court of king shamikh, to whom he delivered the letter and presents, saluting him in the name of king dirbas. when shamikh read the letter and saw the name of uns el wujoud, he burst into tears and said to the vizier, 'and where is uns el wujoud? he went away, and we know not his place of abiding. bring him to me, and i will give thee the sum of the presents thou hast brought me, twice told.' and he wept and sighed and groaned, reciting the following verses: him whom i loved to me restore; by gold and gifts i set no store. nor do i crave largesse, indeed, of pearls and gems and precious ore. as 'twere a moon at full, for us, in beauty's heaven he did soar. passing in wit and grace, gazelles with him comparison gave o'er. his shape was as a willow-wand, for fruits that sweet seductions bore; but in the willow, to enslave the hearts of men, there is no lore. i reared him from a child upon the bed of fondness evermore; and now i am at heart distraught for him and sorrow passing sore. then said he to the vizier, 'go back to thy master and tell him that uns el wujoud has been missing this year past, and his lord knoweth not whither he is gone nor hath any news of him.' 'o my lord,' answered king dirbas's vizier, 'my master said to me, "an thou come back without him, thou shalt be ousted from the vizierate and shall not enter my city." how then can i return without him?' so king shamikh said to his vizier ibrahim, 'take a company and go with him and make search for uns el wujoud everywhere.' 'i hear and obey,' answered ibrahim, and taking a company of his own retainers, set out in quest of uns el wujoud, accompanied by king dirbas's vizier; and as often as they fell in with bedouins or others, they enquired at them of uns el wujoud, saying, 'have ye seen a man, whose name is so and so and his favour thus and thus?' but they answered, 'we know him not.' so they fared on, enquiring in city and hamlet and seeking in hill and plain and desert and wold, till they came to the sea-shore, where they took ship and sailed, till they came to the mountain of the bereaved mother; and king dirbas's vizier said to ibrahim, 'why is this mountain thus called?' 'there was once of old time,' answered the other vizier, 'a jinniych, of the jinn of china, who fell passionately in love with a man and being in fear of her own people, searched all the earth for a place, where she might hide him from them, till she happened on this mountain and finding it inaccessible both to men and jinn, carried off her beloved and lodged him therein. there she used to visit him privily, till she had borne him a number of children, and the merchants, sailing by the mountain, in their voyages over the sea, heard the weeping of the children, as it were the wailing of a woman who had lost her young, and said, "is there here a mother bereaved of her children?" for which reason the place was named the mountain of the bereaved mother.' and king dirbas's vizier marvelled at this. then they landed and making for the castle, knocked at the gate, which was opened to them by an eunuch, who knew the vizier ibrahim and kissed his hands. ibrahim entered and finding in the courtyard, among the serving men, a man in the habit of a fakir,[fn# ] said. 'whence comes yonder fellow?' quoth they, 'he is a merchant, who hath lost his goods by shipwreck, but saved himself on a plank; and he is an ecstatic.'[fn# ] now this was none other than uns el wujoud, [but the vizier knew him not]; so he left him and went on into the castle. he found there no trace of his daughter and questioned her women, who answered, 'she abode with us but a little while and went away, how and whither we know not.' whereupon he wept sore and repeated the following verses: o house, whose birds warbled for joyance whilere and whose sills were resplendent with glory and pride, till the lover came to thee, bemooning himself for his passion, and found thy doors open and wide, would i knew where my soul is, my soul that was late in a house, where its masters no longer abide! therein were all things that are costly and rich and with suits of brocade it was decked, like a bride. yea, happy and honoured its doorkeeper were. would god i knew whither its mistress hath tried! then he wept and sighed and bemoaned himself, exclaiming, 'there is no resource against the ordinance of god neither is there any escape from that which he hath decreed!' then he went up to the roof and finding the strips of baalbek stuff tied to the battlements and hanging down to the ground, knew that she had descended thence and had fled forth, as one distracted and mad with passion. presently, he turned and seeing there two birds, an owl and a raven, deemed this an ill omen; so he groaned and recited these verses: unto the loved ones' stead i came, as hoping, by their sight, to quench the fire that burnt in me of love-longing and woe; but no beloved found i there, nor aught, indeed, i found, save two ill-omened ones, an owl and eke a corby-crow. and quoth the tongue o' the case to me, "thou hast been tyrannous and hast two longing lovers torn, the one the other fro! taste of the anguish, then, of love what thou hast made them taste and live, 'twixt agony and tears, in sorrow evermo." then he descended, weeping, and bade the servants go forth and search the island for their mistress; so they sought for her, but found her not. as for uns el wujoud, when he was certified that rose-in-bud was indeed gone, he gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon, nor came to himself for a long time, whilst the folk deemed that a ravishment from the merciful one had taken him and that he was absorbed in contemplation of the splendour of the majesty of the requiter of good and evil. then, despairing of finding uns el wujoud and seeing that ibrahim was distracted for the loss of his daughter, king dirbas's vizier addressed himself to return to his own country, for all he had not attained the object of his journey, and said to ibrahim? 'i have a mind to take yonder fakir with me; it may be god, for his sake, will incline the king's heart to me, for that he is a holy man; and after, i will send him to ispahan, which is near our country.' 'do &as thou wilt,' answered ibrahim. so they took leave of one another and departed, each for his own country, king dirbas's vizier carrying with him uns el wujoud, who was still insensible. they bore him with them on muleback, unknowing if he were carried or not, for three days, at the end of which time he came to himself and said, 'where am i?' 'thou art in company with king dirbas's vizier,' answered they and went and told the latter, who sent him rose-water and sherbet of sugar, of which they gave him to drink and restored him. then they fared on till they drew near king dirbas's capital and the king, being advised of his vizier's coming, wrote to him, saying, 'an uns el wujoud be not with thee, come not to me ever.' when the vizier read the royal mandate, it was grievous to him, for he knew not that rose-in-bud was with the king nor why he had sent him in quest of uns el wujoud, neither knew he that the fakir he had with him was uns el wujoud himself; and the latter in like manner knew not whither they were bound nor that the vizier had been despatched in quest of himself. so, when he saw him thus chagrined, he said to him, 'what ails thee?' and he answered, 'i was sent by the king on an errand, which i have not been able to accomplish. so, when he heard of my return, he wrote to me? saying, "enter not my city, except thou have fulfilled my need."' 'and what is the king's need?' asked uns el wujoud. so the vizier told him the case, and he said, 'fear nothing, but go boldly to the king and take me with thee; and i will be surety to thee for the coming of uns el wujoud.' at this the vizier rejoiced and said, 'is this true that thou sayest?' 'yes,' answered he; whereupon the vizier mounted and carried him to king dirbas, who said to him, 'where is uns el wujoud?' 'o king,' answered the young man, 'i know where he is.' so the king called him to him and said, 'where?' 'near at hand, replied uns d wujoud. 'tell me what thou wouldst with him, and i will fetch him to thee.' 'with all my heart,' answered the king; 'but the case calls for privacy.' so he bade the folk withdraw and, carrying uns el wujoud into his closet, told him the whole story; whereupon quoth the youth, 'clothe me in rice apparel, and i will eftsoons bring uns el wujoud to thee.' so they brought him a sumptuous dress, and he donned it and said, 'i am the delight of the world[fn# ] and the mortification of the envious.' so saying, he transfixed ail hearts with his glances and recited the following verses: my loved one's memory cheers me still in this my solitude and doth wanhope from me away, as i in absence brood. i have no helper but my tears; yet, when from out mine eyes they flow, they lighten my despair and ease my drearihood. sore is my longing; yea, it hath no like and my affair in love and passion's marvellous, beyond all likelihood. i lie the night long, wakeiul-eyed,--no sleep is there for me,--and pass, for love, from heaven to hell, according to my mood. yea, patience fair some time i had, but have it now no more; and longing and chagrin increase upon me, like a flood. indeed, my body's worn to nought, for severance from her; yearnings my aspect and my form to change have all subdued. mine eyelids ulcerated are with weeping, nor can i avail to stay the constant tears, wherewith they're still bedewed. indeed, i can no more; my strength, my very vitals fail. how many sorrows have i borne, on sorrows still renewed! my heart and head are grizzled grown, for loss of a princess in beauty, sure, the fairest maid that ever lover wooed. in her despite, our parting was, for no desire hath she save to be joined with me and feed once more on lovers' food. i wonder, will my fate to me union vouchsafe with her i cherish, after absence long and stress of lonelihood, and shut the book of severance up, that now is open wide, and blot out troubles from my thought with love's supremest good? shall my beloved, in my land, my cup-companion be and sorrow and affliction be by pure delight ensued? 'by allah,' exclaimed the king, 'ye are, indeed, a pair of true lovers and in the heaven of beauty two shining stars! your story is marvellous and your case extraordinary.' then he told him all that had befallen rose-in-bud; and uns el wujoud said, 'where is she, o king of the age?' 'she is with me now,' answered dirbas and sending for the cadi and the witnesses, drew up the contract of marriage between her and him. then he loaded uns el wujoud with favours and bounties and sent to king shamikh, advising him of what had befallen, whereat the latter rejoiced with an exceeding joy and wrote back to him, saying, 'since the marriage contract hath been drawn up at thy court! it behoves that the wedding and consummation be at mine.' and he made ready camels and horses and men and sent them in quest of the lovers. when the embassy reached king dirbas, he gave the pair great store of treasure and despatched them to king shamikh's court with an escort of his own troops. the day of their arrival was a notable day, never was seen a greater; for the king assembled all the singers and players on instruments of music and made banquets and held high festival seven days; and on each day he gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them sumptuous dresses of honour. then uns el wujoud went in to rose-in-bud, and they embraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst she recited the following verses: gladness is come, dispelling grief and putting care aside; we are united now and have our enviers mortified. the fragrant breeze of union blows fresh and sweet for us, whereby our bodies, vitals, hearts are all revivified. the splendour of fulfilled delight in all its glory shines, and for glad tidings beat the drums about us far and wide. think not we weep for stress of grief or for affliction; nay, it is for joy our tears flow down and will not be denied. how many terrors have we seen, that now are past away! yet we each agonizing strait did patiently abide. in one hour of delight have we forgotten all the woes, whose stresses made us twain, whilom, grey-haired and hollow-eyed. then they clipped each other and ceased not from their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon, for the ecstasy of reunion; and when they came to themselves, uns d wujoud recited these verses: ah, how peerlessly sweet are the nights of delight, when the loved one to me keeps the troth she did plight, when enjoyment enjoyment ensues and the bonds of estrangement between us are sundered outright, and fortune is come to us, favouring and fair, after turning away with aversion and spite! fair fortune hath set up her standards for us and we drink from her hand a cup pure of affright. united, our woes each to each we recount and the nights when in torments we watched for the light. but now, o my lady, forgotten have we our griefs, and god pardon the past its upright! how pleasant, how lovesome, how joyous is life! enjoyment my passion doth only excite. then they gave themselves up anew to the pleasures of the nuptial bed and passed seven whole days thus, carousing and conversing and reciting verses and telling pleasant tales and anecdotes, in the intervals of amorous dalliance; for so drowned were they in the sea of passion, that they knew not night from day and it was to them, for very stress of joy and gladness and pleasure and delight, as if the seven days were but one day, and that without a morrow. nor did they know the seventh day, but by the coming of the singers and players on instruments of music;[fn# ] whereat rose-in-bud was beyond measure wondered and improvised the following verses: despite the enviers' rage and malice of the spy, i've won of him i love my wish to satisfy; yea, we have crowned our loves with many a close embrace, on cushions of brocade and silken stuffs piled high upon a couch full soft, of perfumed leather made and stuffed with down of birds of rarest kind that fly. thanks to the honeyed dews of my beloved's lips, illustrious past compare, no need of wine have i. yea, for the sweet excess of our fulfilled delight, the present from the past we know, nor far from nigh. a miracle indeed! seven nights o'er us have passed, without our taking note of how they flitted by; till, on the seventh day, they wished us joy and said, "your union god prolong to all eternity!" when she had finished, uns el wujoud kissed her, more than a hundred times, and recited the following verses: o day of pure delight and mutual happiness! the loved one came and set me free from loneliness. she blest me with the sweets of all her glorious charms, what while her converse filled my spirit with liesse. she plied me with the wine of amorous delight, till all my senses failed, for very drunkenness. yea, merry each with each we made, together lay, then fell to wine and did, in song, our cheer express; nor knew we, of the days that fleeted over us, the present from the past, for very joy's excess. fair fall all those that love of ease and twinned delight, and joy to them fulfil its promise none the less! ne'er may they know the taste of parting's bitter cup! god succour them as me he succoured in my stress! then they went forth and distributed to the folk alms and largesse of money and raiment and so forth; after which rose-in-bud bade empty the bath for her and turning to uns el wujoud, said to him' 'o solace of my eyes, i have a mind to see thee in the bath; and we will be alone together therein.' he gladly consented to this, and she bade perfume the bath for them with all manner of scented woods and essences and light the candles. then, of the excess of her contentment, she recited the following verses: o thou aforetime of my heart that mad'st prize (and the present for us on the past still relies), thou, the only companion i crave, for to me none other the want of thy presence supplies, to the bath,--that in midst of hell-fire we may see even paradise shining,--come, light of mine eyes! we will scent it with ambergris, aloes and musk, till the fragrance in clouds from all quarters arise. yea, fortune we'll pardon her sins and give thanks, for his grace, to the merciful one, the all-wise; and i'll say, when i see thee therein, "o my love, all delights be thy lot in the earth and the skies!" so they went to the bath and took their pleasure there in; after which they returned to their palace and there abode in the fulness of delight, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies; and glory be to him who changeth not neither ceaseth and in whom all things have their term! abou nuwas with the three boys and the khalif haroun er reshid. abou nuwas one day shut himself up and making ready a richly- furnished saloon, set out therein a banquet of meats of all kinds and colours that lips and tongue can desire. then he went forth, to seek a minion who should befit the entertainment, saying, 'o my god and my master and my lord, i beseech thee to send me one worthy of this banquet and apt to carouse with me this day!' hardly had he made an end of speaking, when he espied three handsome beardless youths, as they were of the children of paradise, differing in complexion but equal in perfection of beauty; and all hearts yearned with desire to the graceful bending of their shapes, even to what saith the poet: two beardless youths i happened on one day and said "i love you." "hast thou pelf?" asked they. "yes," answered i, "and liberality." "then is the matter easy," did they say. now abou nuwas was on this wise given and loved to sport and make merry with the fair and cull the rose from every fresh- flowered cheek, even as saith the poet: full many a graybeard is amorous and loves fair faces and music and dalliance and glee: from mosul, the country of pureness,[fn# ] he comes, yet nought but aleppo[fn# ] remembereth he. so he accosted them with the salutation, and they returned his greeting with all honour and civility and would have gone their way; but he stayed them, repeating these verses: to none but me your footsteps steer; for i have store of all good cheer; wine that the heart of convent monk would glad, so bright it is and clear; and flesh of sheep, to boot, have i and birds of land and sea and mere. eat ye of these and drink old wine, that doth away chagrin and fear. the boys were beguiled by his verses and consented to his wishes, saying, 'we hear and obey.' so he carried them to his lodging, where they found all ready that he had set forth in his verses. they sat down and ate and drank and made merry awhile, after which they appealed to abou nuwas to decide which was the handsomest and most shapely of them. so he pointed to one of them, after having kissed him twice, and recited the following verses: with my life i will ransom the mole, on the cheek of the loveling that is; for how should i ransom it else with treasure or aught but my soul? and blessed for ever be he who fashioned his cheek without hair and made, of his power and his might, all beauty to dwell in yon mole! then he pointed to another and kissing his lips, repeated these verses: there's a loveling hath a mole upon his cheek, as 'twere musk on virgin camphor, so to speak. my eyes marvel when they see it. quoth the mole, "heaven's blessing on the prophet look ye seek!"[fn# ] then he pointed to the third and repeated the following verses, after kissing him half a score times: all in a silver cup he melted gold full fine, a youth whose hands were dyed in ruby-coloured wine, and with the skinkers went and handed round one cup of wine, whilst other two were proffered by his eyne. fairer than all the turks, an antelope, whose waist together would attract the mountains of hunain.[fn# ] an if i were content with crooked[fn# ] womankind, betwixt attractions twain would be this heart of mine. one love towards diyarbeker[fn# ] drawing it, and one that draws it, otherguise, to the land of jamiain.[fn# ] now each of the youths had drunk two cups, and when it came to abou nuwas's turn, he took the goblet and repeated these verses: drink not of wine except it be at the hands of a loveling slim, who in brightness of soul resembles it and it resembles him. the drinker of wine, in very truth, hath no delight thereof, except the cheek of the fair be pure, who doth the goblet brim. then he drank off his cup, and when it came round to him again, joyance got the mastery of him and he repeated the following verses: make thou thy boon-fellow of cups, brimmed up as full as this, and eke to follow cup with cup, i rede thee, do not miss, poured by a damask-lipped one's hand, a wonder-lovely fair, whose mouth's sweet water, after sleep, as musk on apple is. drink not of wine, except it be from the hand of a gazelle, whose cheek is goodlier than itself and sweeter still his kiss. presently, the wine crept to his head, drunkenness mastered him and he knew not hand from head, so that he swayed about for mirth, inclining anon to this one, to kiss him, and anon to another. then he fell to glorying in himself and his case and the goodliness of his entertainment and his companions, and recited these verses: none knoweth perfection of pleasure but he who drinketh, with fair ones to hearten him still. this sings to him, t'other, when cheer him would be, revives him forthright with the cups he doth fill; and whenever from one he hath need of a kiss, long draughts from his lips, at his case, he doth swill. god bless them! right sweet has my day with them been, and wonder delightsome and void of all ill! we drank of the wine cup, both mingled and pure, and agreed whoso slept, we should touzle at will. at this moment, there came a knocking at the door; so they bade him who knocked enter, and behold, it was the khalif haroun er reshid. when they saw him, they all rose to him and kissed the ground before him; and the fumes of the wine forsook abou nuwas's head for awe of the khalif, who said to him, 'hallo, abou nuwas!' 'at thy service, o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'may god preserve thee!' 'what state is this i find thee in?' asked the khalif; and the poet replied, 'o commander of the faithful, methinks my state dispenses with question.' quoth the khalif, 'o abou nuwas, i have sought direction of god the most high and appoint thee cadi of whoremasters.' 'dost thou indeed invest me with that office, o commander of the faithful?' asked abou nuwas. 'i do,' replied the khalif. 'then, o commander of the faithful,' rejoined abou nuwas, 'hast thou any suit to prefer to me?' at this the khalif was wroth and turned away and left them, full of rage, and passed the night, sore angered against abou nuwas, whilst the latter spent the merriest and most easeful of nights, till the day dawned and the morning-star appeared and shone, when he broke up the sitting and dismissing the boys, donned his court- dress and set out for the khalif's palace. now it was the latter's custom, when the divan broke up, to withdraw to his sitting-chamber and summon thither his poets and minions and musicians, each having his own place, which he might not overpass. so, that day, he retired to his saloon, and the minions came and seated themselves, each in his place. presently, in came abou nuwas and was about to take his usual seat, when the khalif cried out to mesrour the headsman and bade him strip the poet of his clothes and clap an ass's pannel on his back. moreover, he charged him bind a halter about his head and a crupper under his rear and carry him round to all the lodgings of the slave-girls and the chambers of the harem, that the women might make mock of him; then cut off his head and bring it to him. 'i hear and obey,' replied mesrour and accoutring abou nuwas, as the khalif had bidden him, carried him round to all the lodgings of the harem, in number as the days of the year; but he made all the girls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him something, so that he returned with a pocketful of money. just then, jaafer the barmecide, who had been absent on an important business for the khalif, entered and seeing the poet in this plight, said to him, 'hallo, abou nuwas!' 'at thy service, o our lord,' answered he. 'what offence hast thou committed,' asked jaafer, 'to bring this punishment on thee?' 'none whatever,' answered the other, 'except that i made our lord the khalif a present of the best of my verses, and he presented me, in return, with the best of his clothes.' when the khalif heard this, he laughed, from a heart full of wrath, and [not only] pardoned abou nuwas, but gave him a myriad of money. abdallah ben maamer with the man of bassora and his slave-girl. a certain man of bassora once bought a slave-girl and reared and educated her excellent well. moreover, he loved her very dearly and spent all his substance in pleasuring and making merry with her, till he had nothing left and want was very sore upon him. so she said to him, 'o my master, sell me; for thou needest my price and it makes my heart ache to see the sorry plight to which want hath brought thee. it thou sell me and make use of my price, it will be better for thee than keeping me, and haply god the most high will prosper thee and mend thy fortune.' he agreed to this, of the straitness of his case, and carried her to the bazaar, where the broker offered her for sale to the governor of bassora, by name abballah ben maamer et teimi, and she pleased him. so he bought her, for five hundred dinars, of her master, who took the money and was about to go away, when the girl burst into tears and repeated the following verses: may allah prosper unto thee the money thou hast got! for me, nought's left me but lament and memory and woe. i say to my afflicted soul, "mourn little or mourn much; it skills not, for the loved one's gone and will return no mo." when he heard this, he sighed heavily and replied thus: though there be no recourse for thee in this thy case and thou find nought but death to solace thee, excuse me yet and know, evening and morn the thought of thee will company with me, wherewith a heart i will console, that's all fulfilled of woe. peace be on thee! henceforth for us no meeting shall there be nor any union more, except ben maamer will it so. when abdallah heard these verses and saw their affliction, he exclaimed, 'by allah, i will have no hand in separating you; for it is manifest to me that ye indeed love one another. so take the money and the damsel, o man, and may god bless thee in them! for parting is grievous to true lovers.' so they kissed his hand and going away, ceased not to dwell together, till death parted them; and glory be to him whom death overtaketh not! the lovers of the benou udhreh. there was once, among the benou udhreh, a handsome and accomplished man, who was never a day out of love, and it chanced that he became enamoured of a beautiful woman of his own tribe and sent her many messages; but she ceased not to use him with cruelty and disdain, till, for stress of passion and longing and distraction, he fell exceeding sick and took to his bed and forswore sleep. his sickness grew on him and his anguish redoubled upon him, till he was all but dead; and his case became known and his passion noised abroad among the folk. his family and hers were instant with her to visit him, but she refused, till he was at the point of death, when, being told of this, she relented towards him and vouchsafed him a visit. when he saw her, his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated the following verses, from a broken heart: if, by thy life, there pass thee by my funeral train, to wit, a bier borne on the necks of four, wilt grudge to follow it? wilt thou not follow in its track, that so thou mayst salute the sepulchre of one who's dead, committed to the pit? when she heard this, she wept sore and said to him, 'by allah, i thought not that passion had come to such a pass with thee, as to cast thee into the arms of death! had i known this, i had been favourable to thee, and thou shouldst have enjoyed thy desire.' at this, his tears streamed down, like the cloud- showers, and he repeated the following verse: she draweth near to me, when death hath come betwixt us two and proffereth union, when it no profit can me do. then he gave one sigh and died, and she fell on him, kissing him and weeping, till she swooned away. when she came to herself she charged her people bury her in his grave and recited the following verses, with streaming eyes: we lived upon the earth a life of comfort and delight: country and tribe and dwelling-place alike of us were proud; but fortune and the shifts of time did rend our loves apart, and now the grave uniteth us within a single shroud. then she fell again to weeping and ceased not from tears and lament, till she swooned away. she lay three days, senseless; then died and was buried in his grave. this is one of the strange chances of love. the vizier of yemen and his young brother bedreddin, vizier of yemen, had a young brother of singular beauty and kept strait watch over him. so he applied himself to seek a governor for him and coming upon an elder of dignified and reverend aspect, chaste and pious, lodged him in a house next his own, whence he used to come daily to the vizier's dwelling, to teach the latter's brother. after awhile, the old man's heart was taken with love for his pupil and longing grew upon him and his entrails were troubled, till, one day, he made moan of his case to the boy, who said, 'what can i do, seeing that i may not leave my brother day or night? thou seest how careful he is over me.' quoth the governor, 'my lodging adjoins thine; so, when thy brother sleeps, do thou rise and entering the wardrobe, feign thyself asleep. then come to the parapet of the roof and i will receive thee on the other side of the wall; so shalt thou sit with me awhile and return without thy brother's knowledge.' 'i hear and obey,' answered the boy. so, when awhile of the night was past, he entered the closet and waited till his brother lay down on his bed and was drowned in sleep, when he rose and going to the parapet of the roof, found the governor awaiting him, who gave him his hand and carried him to the sitting-chamber, where he had made ready various dainties for his entertainment, and they sat down to carouse. now it was the night of the full moon, and as they sat, passing the wine-cup to one another, her rays shone upon them, and the governor fell to singing. but, whilst they were thus in mirth and joyance and good cheer, such as confounds the wit and the sight and defies description, the vizier awoke and missing his brother, arose in affright and found the door open. so he went up to the roof and hearing a noise of talk, peeped over the parapet and saw a light shining in the governor's lodging. he looked in and espied his brother and his governor sitting carousing: but the latter became aware of him and sang the following verses, cup in hand, to a lively measure: he gave me wine to drink, of his mouth's nectar rare, toasting with down of cheeks and what adjoineth there; then passed with me the night, embracing, cheek to cheek, a loveling midst mankind unpeered and past compare. the full moon gazed on us all night; pray then to her, so to his brother she to tell of us forbear. now the vizier was a merry man; so, when he heard this, he said, 'by allah, i will not betray you!' and he went away and left them to their diversion. the loves of the boy and girl at school. a boy and a girl once learnt together in a school, and the boy fell passionately in love with the girl. so, one day, when the other boys were heedless, he took her tablet[fn# ] and wrote on it the following verses: tell me, what sayst thou unto him, whom sickness for thy love hath worn and wasted, till he's grown distraught and stupefied? him who of passion maketh moan; for love and longing pain, that which is in his heart, indeed, no longer can he hide. when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses and wept for pity of him; then wrote thereunder these others: an if we see one languishing for very love of us, our favours, surely, unto him shall nowise be denied. yea, and of us he shall obtain that which he doth desire of love-delight, whate'er to us in consequence betide. now it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the tablet, unnoticed, read what was written thereon. so he was moved to pity of their case and wrote on the tablet the following verses, in reply to those of the girl: favour thy lover, for he's grown distracted for desire, and reck thou not of punishment nor fear lest any chide. as for the master, have no dread of his authority, for he with passion an its pains aforetime hath been tried. presently, the girl's master entered the school and finding the tablet, read the above verses and wrote under them the following: may allah never separate your loves, whilst time abide, and may your slanderer be put to shame and mortified! but, for the master of the school, by allah, all my life, a busier go-between than he i never yet espied. then he sent for the cadi and the witnesses and married them on the spot. moreover, he made them a marriage-feast and entreated them with exceeding munificence; and they abode together in joy and contentment, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. el mutelemmis and his wife umeimeh. it is related that el mutelemmis[fn# ] once fled from en numan ben mundhir[fn# ] and was absent so long that the folk deemed him dead. now he had a handsome wife, umeimeh by name, and her family pressed her to marry again; but she refused, for that she loved her husband el mutelemmis very dearly. however, they were instant with her, because of the multitude of her suitors, and importuned her till she at last reluctantly consented and they married her to a man of her own tribe. on the night of the wedding, el mutelemmis came back and hearing in the camp a noise of pipes and tabrets and seeing signs of festival, asked some of the children what was toward, to which they replied, 'they have married umeimeh, widow of el mutelemmis, to such an one, and he goes in to her this night.' when he heard this, he made shift to enter the house with the women and saw there the bride seated on her throne. by and by, the bridegroom came up to her, whereupon she sighed heavily and weeping, recited the following verses: ah would, (but many are the shifts of good and evil fate), i knew in what far land thou art, o mutelemmis mine! now el mutelemmis was a renowned poet: so he answered her with the following verse: right near at hand, umeimeh! know, whene'er the caravan halted, i never ceased for thee with longing heart to pine. when the bridegroom heard this, he guessed how the case stood and went forth from among them in haste, repeating the following verse: i was in luck, but now i'm fall'n into the contrary. a hospitable house and room your reknit loves enshrine! so el mutelemmis took his wife again and abode with her in all delight and solace of life, till death parted them. and glory be to him at whose command the earth and the heavens shall arise! the khalif haroun er reshid and the princess zubeideh in the bath. the khalif haroun er reshid loved the princess zubeideh with an exceeding love and laid out for her a pleasaunce, in which he made a great pool and led thither water from all sides. moreover, he set thereabout a screen of trees, which so grew and interlaced over the pool, that one could go in and wash, without being seen of any, for the thickness of the leafage. it chanced, one day, that zubeideh entered the garden and coming to the basin, gazed upon its goodliness, and the limpidity of the water and the interlacing of the trees over it pleased her. now it was a day of exceeding heat; so she put off her clothes and entering the pool, which was not deep enough to cover her, fell to pouring the water over herself from an ewer of silver. the khalif heard she was in the pool; so he left his palace and came down to spy upon her, through the screen of the leaves. he stood behind the trees and saw her naked, with all her secret charms displayed. presently, she became aware of him and turning, saw him behind the trees and was ashamed that he should see her naked. so she laid her hands on her kaze, but it escaped from between them, by reason of its much greatness and plumpness; and the khalif turned and went away, wondering and reciting the following verse: i looked on her whom i adore and longing rose in me full sore. but he knew not what to say next; so he sent for abou nuwas and bade him make a piece of verse commencing with the above line. 'i hear and obey,' replied the poet and in a twinkling extemporized the following lines: i looked on her whom i adore, and longing rose in me full sore for a gazelle that ravished me, by double lote-trees shaded o'er. the water on her dainty part with silver ewer did she pour and would have hidden it, seeing me, but all too small her hands therefor. would i were on it, wel-a-way, an hour or liefer two or more! the khalif smiled and made him a handsome present, and he went away rejoicing. haroun er reshid and the three poets. the khalif haroun er reshid was exceeding restless one night; so he rose and walked about his palace, till he happened on a damsel overcome with wine. now he was greatly enamoured of this damsel; so he toyed with her and pulled her to him, whereupon her girdle fell down and her trousers were unloosed and he besought her of amorous dalliance. but she said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, wait till to-morrow night, for i am unprepared for thee, knowing not of thy coming.' so he left her and went away. on the morrow, he sent a page to her to announce his visit to her apartment; but she sent back to him, saying, 'the day obliterates the promise of the night.' so he said to his minions, 'make me somewhat of verse, introducing these words, "the day obliterates the promise of the night."' 'we hear and obey,' answered they; and er recashi[fn# ] came forward and recited the following: by allah, an thou feltst my longing and my pain, repose had turned away from thee and taken flight. a maid hath made me love-distraught, nor visiting nor being visited, a sad and love-lorn wight. she promised me her grace, then turned away and said, "the day obliterates the promise of the night." then abou musab came forward and recited these verses: when wilt thou put away this dotage from thy spright? thy heart is dazed and rest to thee forbidden quite. is't not enough for thee to have a weeping eye and vitals still on fire for memory and despite? for self-conceit, indeed, he laugheth, when he saith, "the day obliterates the promise of the night." last came abou nuwas and recited the following: love was prolonged and far was union out of sight, nor skilled it aught to feign aversion and despite. one day, she came into the palace, drunk with wine, but even her drunkenness with pudour was bedight. her upper garments dropped and left her shoulders bare and loosened trousers showed the dwelling of delight; yea, and the breeze shook hips, full heavy, and a shape, as 'twere a branch, whereon pomegranates twain unite. "give me a tryst," quoth i; and she replied, "the place of visiting will be to-morrow clean and right." next day, i came and said, "thy promise;" but quoth she, "the day obliterates the promise of the night." the khalif bestowed a myriad each on er recashi and abou musab, but bade strike off abou nuwas's head, saying, 'thou west with us yesternight in the palace.' 'by allah,' answered the poet, 'i slept not but in my own house! i was directed to what i said by thine own words as to the subject of the poem; and indeed quoth god the most high (and he is the truest of all speakers), "as for poets (devils ensue them!) dost thou not see how they run wild in each valley and say that they do not?"'[fn# ] so the khalif forgave him and bestowed on him two myriads of gold. musab ben ez zubeir and aaisheh daughter of telheh. it is told of musab ben ez zubeir[fn# ] that he met izzeh, who was one of the shrewdest of women, in medina and said to her, 'i have a mind to marry aaisheh,[fn# ] daughter of telheh, and i would have thee go to her and spy out for me how she is made.' so she went and returning to musab, said, 'i have seen her, and her face is more beautiful than health; she hath large and well-opened eyes, an aquiline nose and smooth, oval cheeks and a mouth like a cleft pomegranate, a neck like an ewer of silver and a bosom with two breasts like twin pomegranates, a slim waist and a slender belly, with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory, and backside like a hummock of sand. moreover, she hath plump thighs and legs like columns of alabaster; but i saw her feet to be large, and thou wilt fall short with her in time of amorous dalliance.' upon this report, he married her and izzeh invited aaisheh and the women of the tribe of kureish to her house, when aaisheh sang the following, with musab standing by: the mouths of girls, with their odoriferous, sweet breath and their witching smiles, are sweet to buss; yet ne'er have i tasted them, but in thought of him; and by thought, indeed, the ruler rules over us. the night of his going in to her, he departed not from her, till after seven courses; and on the morrow, a freed-woman of his met him and said to him, 'may i be thy ransom! thou art perfect, even in this.' quoth a certain woman, 'i was with aaisheh, when her husband came in to her, and she lusted to him; so he fell upon her and she puffed and snorted and made use of all manner of rare motions and strange inventions, and i the while within hearing. so when he came out from her, i said to her, "how canst thou, with thy rank and nobility and condition, do thus, and i in thy house?" quoth she, "a woman should bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of excitations and rare motions. what mislikest thou of this?" and i answered, "i would have this anights." "thus is it by day," rejoined she, "and by night i do more than this; for, when he sees me, desire stirs in him and he falls on heat; so he puts out his hand to me and i obey him, and it is as thou seest."' aboul aswed and his squinting slave-girl. aboul aswed bought a native-born slave-girl, who was squint- eyed, and she pleased him; but his people decried her to him; whereat he wondered and spreading out his hands, recited the following verses: they run her down to me, and yet no fault in her find i, except perhaps it be a speck she hath in either eye. to compensate this fault, if fault it be, o' the upper parts she's slim and heavy of the parts beneath the waist that lie. haroun er reshid and the two slave-girls. the khalif haroun er reshid lay one night between two slave-girls, one from medina and the other from cufa, and the latter rubbed his hands, whilst the former rubbed his feet and made his yard to stand up. quoth the cufan girl, 'i see thou wouldst keep the whole of the stock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share of it.' and the other answered, 'i have been told by malik, on the authority of hisham ibn orweh,[fn# ] who had it of his [grand]father,[fn# ] that the prophet said, "whoso bringeth the dead to life, it is his."' but the cufan took her unawares and pushing her away, took it all in her own hand and said, 'el aamesh[fn# ] tells us, on the authority of kheithemeh,[fn# ] who had it of abdallah ben mesoud,[fn# ] that the prophet said, "game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth it."' the khalif haroun er reshid and the three slave-girls. the khalif haroun er reshid lay once with three slave-girls, a meccan, a medinan and an irakite. the medina girl put her hand to his yard and handled it, whereupon it rose and the meccan sprang up and drew it to herself. quoth the other, 'what is this unjust aggression? i have heard of malik,[fn# ] on the authority of ez zuhri,[fn# ] who had it of abdallah ibn salim,[fn# ] on the report of said ben zeid,[fn# ] that the apostle (whom god bless and preserve) said, "whoso revivifies a dead land, it is his."' and the meccan answered, 'sufyan[fn# ] tells us, on the authority of abou zenad,[fn# ] who had it of el aarej,[fn# ] on the report of abou hureireh,[fn# ] that the apostle of god said, "the game is his who catches it, not his who starts it."' but the irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said, 'this is mine, till your contention be decided.' the miller and his wife. there was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married to a wicked wife, whom he loved; but she hated him and loved a neighbour of hers, who liked her not and held aloof from her. one night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, 'dig in such a spot of the ass's circuit in the mill, and thou shalt find a treasure.' when he awoke, he told his wife the dream and charged her keep it secret; but she told her neighbour, thinking to win his favour, and he appointed with her to come to her by night. so he came and they dug in the mill and found the treasure and took it forth. then said he to her, 'how shall we do with this?' 'we will share it equally between us,' answered she; 'and do thou leave thy wife and i will cast about to rid me of my husband. then shalt thou marry me, and when we are united, we will add the two halves of the treasure, one to the other, and it will be [all] in our hands.' quoth he, 'i fear lest satan seduce thee and thou take some man other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world. meseems, therefore, it were better that the money be all in my hands, so thou mayst study to win free of thy husband and come to me.' 'i fear the like of thee,' rejoined she, 'and i will not yield up my part to thee; for it was i directed thee to it.' when he heard this, covetise prompted him to kill her; so he killed her and threw her body into the empty hole; but the day overtook him and hindered him from covering it up; so he took the treasure and went away. presently, the miller awoke and missing his wife, went into the mill, where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. it went on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but the more he beat it, the more it drew back; for it was affrighted at the dead woman and could not go on. so he took out a knife and goaded it again and again, but still it would not budge. then he was wroth with it, knowing not the cause of its obstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks, and it fell down dead. when the sun rose, he saw his wife lying dead, in the place of the treasure, and great was his rage and sore his chagrin for the loss of the treasure and the death of his wife and his ass. all this came of his letting his wife into his secret and not keeping it to himself. the simpleton and the sharper. a certain simple fellow was once going along, haling his ass after him by the halter, when a couple of sharpers saw him and one said to his fellow, 'i will take that ass from yonder man.' 'how wilt thou do that?' asked the other. 'follow me and i will show thee,' replied the first. so he went up to the ass and loosing it from the halter, gave the beast to his fellow; then clapped the halter on his own head and followed the simpleton, till he knew that the other had got clean off with the ass, when he stood still. the man pulled at the halter, but the thief stirred not; so he turned and seeing the halter on a man's neck, said to him, 'who art thou?' quoth the sharper, 'i am thine ass and my story is a strange one. know that i have a pious old mother and came in to her one day, drunk; and she said to me, "o my son, repent to god the most high of these thy transgressions." but i took the cudgel and beat her, whereupon she cursed me and god the most high changed me into an ass and caused me fall into thy hands, where i have remained till now. however, to-day, my mother called me to mind and her heart relented towards me; so she prayed for me, and god restored me to my former shape of a man.' 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' cried the simpleton. 'o my brother, i conjure thee by allah, acquit me of what i have done with thee, in the way of riding and so forth.' then he let the sharper go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern. his wife asked him, 'what ails thee and where is the ass?' and he answered, 'thou knowest not what was this ass; but i will tell thee.' so he told her the story, and she exclaimed, 'woe worth us for god the most high! how could we have used a man as a beast of burden, all this while?' and she gave alms and asked pardon of god. then the man abode awhile at home, idle, till she said to him, 'how long wilt thou sit at home, idle? go to the market and buy us an ass and do thy business with it.' accordingly, he went to the market and stopping by the ass-stand, saw his own ass for sale. so he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear, said to it, 'out on thee, thou good-for-nought! doubtless thou hast been getting drunk again and beating thy mother! but, by allah, i will never buy thee more!' and he left it and went away. the imam abou yousuf with haroun er reshid and zubeideh. the khalif haroun er reshid went up one noon-tide to his couch, to lie down, and mounting, found thereon fresh semen; whereat he was startled and sore perturbed and troubled. so he called the princess zubeideh and said to her, 'what is that spilt on the bed?' she looked at it and replied, 'o commander of the faithful, it is semen.' 'tell me truly what this means,' said he; 'or i will lay violent hands on thee forthright.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered she, 'indeed, i know not how it came there and i am guiltless of that whereof thou suspectest me.' so he sent for the imam abou yousuf and told him the case. the imam raised his eyes to the roof and seeing a crack therein, said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, the bat hath semen like that of a man, and this is bats' semen.' then he called for a lance and thrust it into the crack, whereupon down fell the bat. in this manner the khalif's suspicions were dispelled and zubeideh's innocence was made manifest; whereat she gave vent to her joy and promised abou yousuf a liberal reward. now there were with her magnificent fruits, out of their season, and she knew of others in the garden; so she said to abou yousuf, 'o imam of the faith, which wouldst thou rather of the two kinds of fruits, those that are here or those that are not here?' 'our code forbids us to pronounce judgment on the absent,' answered he. 'when they are present, we will give judgment.' so she caused bring the two kinds of fruits before him, and he ate of both. quoth she, 'what is the difference between them?' and he answered, 'as often as i think to praise one kind, the other puts in its claim.' the khalif laughed at his answer and made him a present. zubeideh also gave him what she had promised him, and he went away, rejoicing. see, then, the blessed qualities of this imam and how at his hands were made manifest the truth and the innocence of the lady zubeideh. the khalif el hakim and the merchant. the khalif el hakim bi amrillah was riding out in state one day, when he came to a garden, in which he saw a man, surrounded by slaves and servants. he asked him for a draught of water, and the man gave him to drink, saying, 'peradventure, the commander of the faithful will honour me by alighting in this my garden.' so the khalif dismounted and entered the garden with his suite; whereupon the man brought out to them a hundred carpets and a hundred leather mats and a hundred cushions and set before them a hundred dishes of fruits, a hundred saucers of sweetmeats and a hundred bowls full of sherbets of sugar; whereat the khalif marvelled and said to his host, 'o man, this thy case is a strange one. didst thou know of our coming and make this preparation for us?' 'no, by allah, o commander of the faithful,' answered the other, 'i knew not of thy coming and am but a merchant of the rest of thy subjects. but i have a hundred concubines; so, when the commander of the faithful honoured me by alighting with me, i sent to each of them, bidding her send me the morning-meal here. so they sent me each of her furniture and of the excess of her meat and drink: and every day each sends me a dish of meat and another of marinades, also a plate of fruits and a saucer of sweetmeats and a bowl of sherbet. this is my every- day noon-meal, nor have i added aught thereto for thee.' the khalif prostrated himself in thanksgiving to god the most high and said, 'praised be god, who hath been so bountiful to one of our subjects, that he entertaineth the khalif and his suite, without making ready for them, but of the surplus of his day's victual!' then he sent for all the dirhems in the treasury, that had been struck that year,--and they were in number three thousand and seven hundred thousand;--nor did he mount, till the money came, when he gave it to the merchant, saying, 'use this for the maintenance of thy state; and thy desert is more than this.' then he mounted and rode away. king kisra anoushirwan and the village damsel. the just king, kisra anoushirwan,[fn# ] was hunting one day and became separated from his suite, in pursuit of an antelope. presently, he caught sight of a hamlet, near at hand, and being sore athirst, made for the door of a house, that stood by the wayside, and asked for a draught of water. a damsel came out and looked at him; then, going back into the house, pressed the juice from a sugar-cane into a tankard and mixed it with water; after which she strewed on the top somewhat of perfume, as it were dust, and carried it to the king. he took it and seeing in it what resembled dust, drank it, little by little, till he came to the end. then said he to her, 'o damsel, the drink is good and sweet, but for this dust in it, that troubles it.' 'o guest,' answered she, 'i put that in, of intent.' 'and why didst thou thus?' asked he; and she replied, 'i saw that thou wast exceeding thirsty and feared that thou wouldst swallow the whole at one draught and that this would do thee a mischief; and so hadst thou done, but for this dust that troubled the drink.' the king wondered at her wit and good sense and said to her, 'how many sugar-canes didst thou press for this draught?' 'one,' answered she; whereat the king marvelled and calling for the roll of the taxes of the village, saw that its assessment was but little and bethought him to increase it, on his return to his palace, saying in himself, 'why is a village so lightly taxed, where they get this much juice out of one sugar-cane?' then he left the village and pursued his chase. as he came back at the end of the day, he passed alone by the same door and called again for drink; whereupon the same damsel came out and knowing him, went in to fetch him drink. it was some time before she returned and the king wondered at this and said to her, 'why hast thou tarried?' quoth she, 'because one sugar- cane yielded not enough for thy need. so i pressed three; but they yielded not so much as did one aforetime.' 'what is the cause of that?' asked the king; and she answered, 'the cause of it is that the king's mind is changed.' quoth he, 'how knewst thou that?' 'we hear from the wise,' replied she, 'that, when the king's mind is changed against a folk, their prosperity ceaseth and their good waxeth less.' anoushirwan laughed and put away from his mind that which he had purposed against the people of the village. moreover, he took the damsel to wife then and there, being pleased with her much wit and acuteness and the excellence of her speech. the water-carrier and the goldsmith's wife. there was once, in the city of bokhara, a water-carrier, who used to carry water to the house of a goldsmith and had done thus thirty years. now the goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty and elegance and withal renowned for modesty, chastity and piety. one day, the water-carrier came, as of wont, and poured the water into the cisterns. now the woman was standing in the midst of the court; so he went up to her and taking her hand, stroked it and pressed it, then went away and left her. when her husband came home from the bazaar, she said to him, 'i would have thee tell me what thou hast done in the bazaar, today, to anger god the most high.' quoth he, 'i have done nothing.' 'nay,' rejoined she, 'but, by allah, thou hast indeed done something to anger god; and except thou tell me the truth, i will not abide in thy house, and thou shalt not see me, nor will i see thee.' 'i will tell thee the truth,' answered he. 'as i was sitting in my shop this day, a woman came up to me and bade me make her a bracelet. then she went away and i wrought her a bracelet of gold and laid it aside. presently, she returned and i brought her out the bracelet. she put out her hand and i clasped the bracelet on her wrist; and i wondered at the whiteness of her hand and the beauty of her wrist and recalled what the poet says: bracelets, upon her wrists, of glittering virgin gold she hath, like fire ablaze on running water cold. it is as if the wrists and bracelets thereabout were water girt with fire, right wondrous to behold. so i took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it.' 'god is most great!' exclaimed the woman. 'why didst thou this ill thing? know that the water-carrier, who has come to our house these thirty years, nor sawst thou ever any treason in him, took my hand to day and pressed and squeezed it.' quoth her husband, 'o woman, let us crave pardon of god! verily, i repent of what i did, and do thou ask forgiveness of god for me.' 'god pardon me and thee,' said she, 'and vouchsafe to make good the issue of our affair!' next day, the water-carrier came in to the jeweller's wife and throwing himself at her feet, grovelled in the dust and besought pardon of her, saying, 'o my lady, acquit me of that which satan deluded me to do; for it was he that seduced me and led me astray.' 'go thy ways,' answered she; 'the fault was not in thee, but in my husband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and god hath retaliated upon him in this world.' and it is related that the goldsmith, when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used her, said, 'tit for tat! if i had done more, the water-carrier had done more.' and this became a current byword among the folk. so it behoveth a wife to be both outward and inward with her husband, contenting herself with little from him, if he cannot give her much, and taking pattern by aaisheh[fn# ] the truthful and fatimeh[fn# ] the clean maid, (may god the most high accept of them), that she may be of the company of the righteous.[fn# ] khusrau and shirin with the fisherman. king khusrau[fn# ] of persia loved fish; and one day, as he sat in his saloon, he and shirin[fn# ] his wife, there came a fisherman, with a great fish, and presented it to the king, who was pleased and ordered the man four thousand dirhems. when he was gone, shirin said to the king, 'thou hast done ill.' 'wherefore?' asked he; and she answered, 'because if, after this, thou give one of thy courtiers a like sum, he will disdain it and say, "he hath but given me the like of what he gave the fisherman." and if thou give him less, he will say, "he makes light of me and gives me less than he gave the fisherman."' 'thou art right,' rejoined khusrau; 'but the thing is done and it ill becomes a king to go back on his gift.' quoth shirin, 'an thou wilt, i will contrive thee a means to get it back from him.' 'how so?' asked he; and she said, 'call back the fisherman and ask him if the fish be male or female. if he say, "male," say thou, "we want a female," and if he say, "female," say, "we want a male."' so he sent for the fisherman, who was a man of wit and discernment, and said to him, 'is this fish male or female?' the fisherman kissed the ground and answered, 'it is of the neuter gender, neither male nor female.' the king laughed and ordered him other four thousand dirhems. so the fisherman went to the treasurer and taking his eight thousand dirhems, put them in a bag he had with him. then, throwing the bag over his shoulder, he was going away, when he dropped a dirhem; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped down to pick it up. now the king and shirin were looking on, and the latter said, 'o king, didst thou note the meanness and greediness of yon man, in that he must needs stoop down, to pick up the one dirhem, and could not bring himself to leave it for one of the king's servants?' when the king heard this, he was wroth with the fisherman and said, 'thou art right, o shirin!' so he called the man back and said to him, 'thou low-minded fellow! thou art no man! how couldst thou put the bag off thy shoulder and stoop to pick up the one dirhem and grudge to leave it where it fell?' the fisherman kissed the earth before him and answered, 'may god prolong the king's life! indeed, i did not pick up the dirhem, because of its value in my eyes; but because on one of its faces is the likeness of the king and on the other his name; and i feared lest any should unwittingly set his foot upon it, thus dishonouring the name and presentment of the king, and i be blamed for the offence.' the king wondered at his wit and shrewdness and ordered him yet other four thousand dirhems. moreover, he let cry abroad in his kingdom, saying, 'it behoveth none to order himself by women's counsel; for whoso followeth their advice, loseth, with his one dirhem, other two.' yehya ben khalid the barmecide and the poor man. yehya ben khalid the barmecide was returning home, one day, from the khalif's palace, when he saw a man at the gate of his house, who rose at his approach and saluted him, saying, 'o yehya, i am in need of that which is in thy hand, and i make god my intermediary with thee.' so yehya caused set apart a place for him in his house and bade his treasurer carry him a thousand dirhems every day and that his food should be of the choicest of his own meat. the man abode thus a whole month, at the end of which time, having received in all thirty thousand dirhems, he departed by stealth, fearing lest yehya should take the money from him, because of the greatness of the sum; and when they told yehya of this, he said, 'by allah, though he had tarried with me to the end of his days, yet had i not scanted him of my largesse nor cut off from him the bounties of my hospitality!' for, indeed, the excellences of the barmecides were past count nor can their virtues be told; especially those of yehya teen khalid, for he abounded in noble qualities, even as saith the poet of him: i asked munificence, "art free?" it answered, "no, perdie! yehya ben khalid's slave am i; my lord and master he." "a boughten slave?" asked i; but, "nay, so heaven forfend!" quoth it. "from ancestor to ancestor he did inherit me." mohammed el amin and jaafer ben el hadi. jaafer ben mousa el hadi[fn# ] once had a slave-girl, a lute player, called el bedr el kebir, than whom there was not in her time a fairer of face nor a better-shaped nor a more elegant of manners nor a more accomplished in singing and smiting the strings; she was indeed perfect in beauty and charm. mohammed el amin,[fn# ] son of zubeideh, heard of her and was instant with jaafer to sell her to him; but he replied, 'thou knowest it beseems not one of my rank to sell slave-girls nor traffic in concubines; but, were it not that she was reared in my house, i would send her to thee, as a gift, nor grudge her to thee.' some days after this, el amin went to jaafer's house, to make merry; and the latter set before him that which it behoves to set before friends and bade el bedr sing to him and gladden him. so she tuned the lute and sang right ravishingly, whilst el amin fell to drinking and making merry and bade the cupbearers ply jaafer with wine, till he became drunken, when he took the damsel and carried her to his own house, but laid not a finger on her. on the morrow, he sent to invite jaafer; and when he came, he set wine before him and bade the girl sing to him, from behind the curtain. jaafer knew her voice and was angered at this, but, of the nobleness of his nature and the greatness of his mind, he dissembled his vexation and let no change appear in his demeanour. when the carousel was at an end, el amin commanded one of his servants to fill the boat, in which jaafer had come, with dirhems and dinars and all manner jewels and jacinths and rich clothes and other treasures of price. so he laid therein a thousand myriads of money and a thousand fine pearls, each worth twenty thousand dirhems; nor did he give over loading the barge with all manner of precious things, till the boatmen cried out for quarter, saying, 'the boat cannot hold any more;' whereupon he bade them carry all this to jaafer's palace. such are the fashions of the magnanimous, may god have mercy on them! the sons of yehya ben khalid and said ben salim el bahili. (quoth said ben salim el bahili[fn# ]), i was once, in the days of haroun er reshid, in very narrow case and greatly oppressed with debts, that had accumulated upon me and that i had no means of discharging. my doors were blocked up with creditors and i was without cease importuned for payment by claimants, who dunned me in crowds, till i was at my wits' end what to do. at last, being sore perplexed and troubled, i betook myself to abdallah ben malik el khuzai[fn# ] and besought him to aid me with his judgment and of his good counsel direct me to the door of relief; and he said, "none can quit thee of this thy strait but the barmecides." quoth i, "who can brook their pride and put up with their arrogance?" and he answered, "thou must put up with it, for the sake of amending thy case." so i left him and went straight to el fezl and jaafer, sons of yehya ben khalid, to whom i related my case. "god give thee his aid," answered they, "and enable thee by his bounties to dispense with the aid of his creatures and vouchsafe thee abundant good and bestow on thee what shall suffice thee, without the need of any but himself; for he can what he will and is gracious and provident with his servants." i went out from them and returned to abdallah, disappointed and perplexed and heavy at heart, and told him what they had said. quoth he, "thou wouldst do well to abide with us this day, that we may see what god the most high will decree." so i sat with him awhile, and lo, up came my servant, who said to me, "o my lord, there are at our door many laden mules, and with them a man, who says he is the agent of fezl and jaafer ben yehya." quoth abdallah, "i trust that relief is come to thee: go and see what is to do." so i left him and running to my house, found at the door a man, who gave me a letter, wherein was written the following: "know that, after thou hadst been with us and acquainted us with thy case, we betook ourselves to the khalif and informed him that the case had reduced thee to the humiliation of begging; whereupon he ordered thee a million dirhems from the treasury. we represented to him that thou wouldst spend this money in paying thy creditors and said, 'whence shall he provide for his subsistence?' so he ordered thee other three hundred thousand, and we have sent thee, of our own money, a million dirhems each, so that thou hast now three millions and three hundred thousand dirhems, wherewithal to order thine affair and amend thine estate." see, then, the munificence of these generous men; may god the most high have mercy on them! the woman's trick against her husband. a man brought his wife a fish one friday and bidding her cook it against the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his business. meanwhile, there came in her friend,[fn# ] who bade her to a wedding at his house; so she agreed and laying the fish in a jar of water, went off with him and was absent a whole week, whilst her husband sought her from house to house and enquired after her; but none could give him any news of her. on the following friday, she came home, [and he fell to chiding and reproaching her;] but she brought out to him the fish alive from the jar and assembled the folk against him. he told them his case; but they credited him not and said, 'it cannot be that the fish should have remained alive all this while.' so they caused adjudge him mad and imprisoned him and laughed at him, whereupon he wept sore and recited the following verses: a hag, that holds high rank, indeed, in lewdness! in her face are witnesses that testify to filth and wantonness. when she's unclean, she bawds; and when she's clean, she plays the whore: so, all her time, she's either bawd or else adulteress. the devout woman and the two wicked elders.[fn# ] there was once, of old time, a virtuous woman among the children of israel, who was pious and devout and used every day to go out to the place of prayer, first entering a garden, which adjoined thereto, and there making the ablution. now there were in this garden two old men, its keepers, who fell in love with her and sought her favours; but she refused, whereupon said they, 'except thou yield thyself to us, we will bear witness against thee of fornication.' quoth she, 'god will preserve me from your wickedness!' then they opened the garden-gate and cried out, and the folk came to them from all sides, saying, 'what ails you?' quoth they, 'we found this damsel in company with a youth, who was doing lewdness with her; but he escaped from our hands.' now it was the use of the people of those days to expose an adulteress to public ignominy for three days and after stone her. so they pilloried her three days, whilst the two old men came up to her daily and laying their hands on her head, said, 'praised be god who hath sent down his vengeance on thee!' on the fourth day, they carried her away, to stone her; but a lad of twelve years old, by name daniel, followed them to the place of execution and said to them, 'hasten not to stone her, till i judge between them.' so they set him a chair and he sat down and caused bring the old men before him separately. (now he was the first that separated witnesses.) then said he to the first, 'what sawest thou?' so he repeated to him his story, and daniel said, 'in what part of the garden did this befall?' 'on the eastern side,' replied the elder, 'under a pear-tree.' then he called the other old man and asked him the same question; and he replied, 'on the western side of the garden, under an apple-tree.' meanwhile the damsel stood by, with her hands and eyes uplift to heaven, imploring god for deliverance. then god the most high sent down his vengeful thunder upon the two old men and consumed them and made manifest the innocence of the damsel. this was the first of the miracles of the prophet daniel, on whom and on the prophet be blessing and peace! jaafer the barmecide and the old bedouin. the khalif haroun er reshid went out one day, with abou yousuf the minion and jaafer the barmecide and abou nuwas, into the desert, where they fell in with an old man, leant upon his ass. the khalif bade jaafer ask him whence he came; so he said to him, 'whence comest thou?' 'from bassora,' answered the bedouin. 'and whither goest thou?' asked jaafer. 'to baghdad,' said the other. 'and what wilt thou do there?' asked jaafer. 'i go to seek medicine for my eye,' replied the old man. quoth the khalif, 'o jaafer, make us sport with him.' 'if i jest with him,' answered jaafer, 'i shall hear what i shall not like.' but er reshid rejoined, 'i charge thee, on my authority, jest with him.' so jaafer said to the bedouin, 'if i prescribe thee a remedy that shall profit thee, what wilt thou give me in return?' quoth the other, 'god the most high will requite thee for me with better than i can give thee.' 'harkye, then,' said jaafer, 'and i will give thee a prescription, which i have given to none but thee.' 'what is that?' asked the bedouin; and jaafer answered, 'take three ounces of wind-wafts and the like of sunbeams and moonshine and lamp-light; mix them together and let them lie in the wind three months. then bray them three months in a mortar without a bottom and laying them in a cleft platter, set it in the wind other three months; after which use three drachms every night in thy sleep, and (god willing) thou shalt be cured.' when the bedouin heard this, he stretched himself out on the ass's back and letting fly a terrible great crack of wind, said to jaafer, 'take this, in payment of thy prescription. when i have followed it, if god grant me recovery, i will give thee a slave-girl, who shall serve thee in thy lifetime a service, wherewith god shall cut short thy term; and when thou diest and god hurries thy soul to the fire, she shall blacken thy face with her ordure, of her mourning for thee, and lament and buffet her face, saying, "o frosty-beard, what a ninny thou wast!"'[fn# ] the khalif laughed till he fell backward, and ordered the bedouin three thousand dirhems. the khalif omar ben khettab and the young bedouin. the sheriff[fn# ] hussein ben reyyan relates that the khalif omar ben khettab was sitting one day, attended by his chief counsellors, judging the folk and doing justice between his subjects, when there came up to him two handsome young men, haling by the collar a third youth, perfectly handsome and well dressed, whom they set before him. omar looked at him and bade them loose him; then, calling him near to himself, said to them, 'what is your case with him?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered they, 'we are two brothers by one mother and known as followers of the truth. we had a father, a very old man of good counsel, held in honour of the tribes, pure of basenesses and renowned for virtues, who reared us tenderly, whilst we were little, and loaded us with favours, when we grew up; in fine, a man abounding in noble and illustrious qualities, worthy of the poet's words: "is abou es sekr of sheiban[fn# ]?" they questioned of me; and "no," i answered, "my life upon it! but sheiban's of him, i trow. how many a father hath ris'n in repute by a noble son, as adnan,[fn# ] by god's apostle, to fame and glory did grow!" he went forth this day to his garden, to take his pleasure amongst its trees and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man slew him and swerved from the road of righteousness; wherefore we demand of thee the retribution of his crime and call upon thee to pass judgment upon him, according to the commandment of god.' the khalif cast a terrible look at the accused youth and said to him, 'thou hearest the complaint of these young men; what hast thou to say in reply?' now he was stout of heart and ready of speech, having doffed the wede of faint-heartedness and put off the apparel of affright; so he smiled and after paying the usual ceremonial compliment to the khalif, in the most eloquent and elegant words, said, 'o commander of the faithful, i have given ear to their complaint, and they have said sooth in that which they avouch, so far as they have set out what befell; and the commandment of god is a decreed decree.[fn# ] but i will state my case before thee, and thine be it to decide thereon. know then, o commander of the faithful, that i am a very arab of the arabs, the noblest of those that are beneath the skies. i grew up in the dwellings of the desert, till evil and hostile times fell upon my tribe, when i came to the utterward of this town, with my children and good and household. as i went along one of the paths between the gardens, with my she-camels, high in esteem with me and precious to me, and midst them a stallion of noble race and goodly shape, a plenteous getter, by whom the females bore abundantly and who walked among them, as he were a crowned king,--behold, one of the she-camels broke away and running to the garden of these young men's father, began to crop the branches that showed above the wall. i ran to her, to drive her away, when there appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man, whose eyes sparkled with anger, holding a stone in his right hand and swaying to and fro, like a lion preparing for a spring. he cast the stone at my stallion, and it struck him in a vital part and killed him. when i saw the stallion drop dead beside me, live coals of anger were kindled in my heart; so i took up the stone and throwing it at the old man, it was the cause of his end: thus his own wrongful act returned against him and the man was slain of that wherewith he slew. when the stone struck him, he cried out with a terrible great cry, and i hastened from the spot; but these young men hurried after me and laying hands on me, carried me before thee.' quoth omar, (may god the most high accept of him), 'thou hast confessed thy crime and acquittal is impossible; for [the law of] retaliation is imperative and there is no time of escape.' [fn# ] 'i hear and obey the judgment of the imam,' answered the bedouin, 'and am content to submit me to the requirement of the law of islam; but i have a young brother, whose old father, before his death, appointed to him great store of wealth and much gold and committed his affair to me, saying, "i give this into thy hand for thy brother; keep it for him with thy might." so i took the money and buried it; nor doth any know of it but i. now, if thou adjudge me to die forthright, the money will be lost and thou wilt be the cause of its loss; wherefore the little one will sue thee for his due on the day when god shall judge his creatures. but, if thou wilt grant me three days' delay, i will appoint one to undertake the boy's affair, in my stead, and return to answer my debt; and i have one who will be my surety for this my word.' the khalif bowed his head awhile, then raised it and looking round upon those present, said, 'who will be surety to me for his return?' the bedouin looked at the faces of those who were in company and pointing to abou dherr,[fn# ] said, 'this man will answer for me and be my surety.' 'o abou dherr,' said omar, 'dost thou hear what this youth says and wilt thou be surety to me for his return?' 'yes, o commander of the faithful,' answered abou dherr, 'i will be surety for him three days.' so the khalif accepted his guarantee and let the young man go. now, at the appointed time, when the days of grace were nearly or quite at end and still the bedouin came not, the khalif sat in his council, with the companions[fn# ] surrounding him, like the stars about the moon, abou dherr and the plaintiffs being also present; and the latter said, 'o abou dherr, where is the defendant and how shall he return, having once escaped? but we will not stir hence, till thou bring him to us, that we may take our wreak of him.' 'as the all-wise king liveth,' replied abou dherr, 'if the days of grace expire and the young man return not, i will fulfil my warranty and surrender myself to the imam.' 'by allah,' rejoined omar, 'if the young man tarry, i will assuredly execute on abou dherr that which is prescribed by the law of islam!' thereupon the eyes of the bystanders ran over with tears; those who looked on raised groans, and great was the clamour. then the chiefs of the companions were instant with the plaintiffs to accept the bloodwit and win the thanks of the folk, but they refused and would nothing but the talion. however, as the folk were swaying to and fro and clamorously bemoaning abou dherr, up came the young bedouin, with face beaded with sweat and shining like the new moon, and standing before the imam, saluted him right fairly and said to him, 'i have given the boy in charge to his mother's brothers and have made them acquainted with all that pertains to his affairs and let them into the secret of his good; after which i braved the heats of midday and am come to redeem the promise of a free-born man.' the folk marvelled at his good faith and loyalty and his intrepid offering himself to death; and one said to him, 'how noble a youth art thou and how loyal to thy promise and thy duty!' 'are ye not certified,' rejoined he, 'that when death presenteth itself none can escape from it? and indeed i have kept faith, that it be not said, "loyalty is gone from among men."' 'by allah, o commander of the faithful,' said abou dherr, 'i became warrant for this young man, without knowing to what tribe he belonged, nor had i seen him before that day; but when he turned away from all else who were present and singled me out, saying, "this man will answer for me and be my surety," i thought ill to refuse him, and humanity forbade to baulk his expectation, there being no harm in compliance with his desire, that it be not said, "benevolence is gone from among men."' then said the two young men, 'o commander of the faithful, we forgive this youth our father's blood,--seeing that [by his noble behaviour] he hath changed desolation into cheer,--that it be not said, "humanity is gone from among men."' the khalif rejoiced in the acquittance of the young bedouin and his truth and good faith; moreover, he extolled the humanity of abou dherr, over all his companions, and approved the benevolent resolve of the two young men, giving them grateful praise and applying to their case the saying of the poet: he who doth good among the folk shall be repaid again; for works of good are never lost betwixten god and men. then he offered to pay them, from the treasury, the bloodwit for their father; but they refused, saying, 'we forgave him but of our desire unto god the bountiful, the exalted; and he who is thus minded followeth not his benefits with reproach neither mischief.' the khalif el mamoun and the pyramids of egypt. it is told that the khalif el mamoun, son of haroun er reshid, when he entered the [god-]guarded city of cairo, was minded to pull down the pyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when he went about to do this, he could not avail thereto, for all his endeavour. he expended great sums of money in the attempt, but only succeeded in opening up a small gallery in one of them, wherein he found treasure, to the exact amount of the money he had spent in the works, neither more nor less; at which he marvelled and taking what he found there, desisted from his intent. now the pyramids are three in number, and they are one of the wonders of the world; nor is there on the face of the earth their like for height and fashion and skilful ordinance; for they are builded of immense rocks, and they who built them proceeded by piercing one block of stone and setting therein upright rods of iron; after which they pierced a second block of stone and lowered it upon the first. then they poured melted lead upon the joints and set the blocks in geometrical order, till the building was complete. the height of each pyramid was a hundred cubits, of the measure of the time, and it was four- square, each side three hundred cubits long, at the bottom, and sloping upward thence to a point. the ancients say that, in the western pyramid, are thirty chambers of vari-coloured granite, full of precious stones and treasures galore and rare images and utensils and costly arms, which latter are anointed with magical unguents, so that they may not rust till the day of resurrection. therein, also, are vessels of glass, that will bend and not break, containing various kinds of compound drugs and medicinal waters. in the second pyramid are the records of the priests, written on tablets of granite,--to each priest his tablet, on which are set out the wonders of his craft and his achievements; and on the walls are figures like idols, working with their hands at all manner crafts and seated on thrones. to each pyramid there is a guardian, that keeps watch over it and guards it, to all eternity, against the ravages of time and the vicissitudes of events; and indeed the marvels of these pyramids astound all who have eyes and wit. many are the poems that describe them, thou shalt profit no great matter thereby, and among the rest, quoth one of them: the high resolves of kings, if they would have them to abide in memory, after them, are in the tongues of monuments. dost thou not see the pyramids? they, of a truth, endure and change not for the shifts of time or chances of events. and again: consider but the pyramids and lend an ear to all they tell of bygone times and that which did of yore befall. could they but speak, assuredly they would to us relate what time and fate have done with first and last and great and small. and again: i prithee, tell me, friend of mine, stands there beneath the sky a building with the pyramids of egypt that can vie in skilful ordinance? behold, time's self's afraid of them, though of all else upon the earth 'tis dreaded, low and high. my sight no longer rests upon their wondrous ordinance, yet are they present evermore unto my spirit's eye. and again: where's he the pyramids who built? what was his tribe, his time and what the place where he was stricken dead? the monuments survive their lords awhile; then death o'ertaketh them and they fall prostrate in their stead. the thief turned merchant and the other thief. there was once a thief who repented to god the most high and making good his repentance, opened himself a shop for the sale of stuffs, where he continued to trade awhile. one day, he locked his shop and went home; and in the night there came to the bazaar a cunning thief, disguised in the habit of the merchant, and pulling out keys from his sleeve, said to the watchman of the market, 'light me this candle.' so the watchman took the candle and went to get a light, whilst the thief opened the shop and lit another candle he had with him. when the watchman came back, he found him seated in the shop, looking over the account-books and reckoning with his fingers; nor did he leave to do thus till point of day, when he said to the man, 'fetch me a camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods for me.' so the man fetched him a camel, and the thief took four bales of stuffs and gave them to the camel-driver, who loaded them on his beast. then he gave the watchman two dirhems and went away after the camel-driver, the watchman the while believing him to be the owner of the shop. next morning, the merchant came and the watchman greeted him with blessings, because of the two dirhems, much to the surprise of the former, who knew not what he meant. when he opened his shop, he saw the droppings of the wax and the account-book lying on the floor, and looking round, found four bales of stuffs missing. so he asked the watchman what had happened and he told him what had passed in the night, whereupon the merchant bade him fetch the camel-driver and said to the latter, 'whither didst thou carry the stuffs?' 'to such a wharf,' answered the driver; 'and i stowed them on board such a vessel.' 'come with me thither,' said the merchant. so the camel-driver carried him to the wharf and showed him the barque and her owner. quoth the merchant to the latter, 'whither didst thou carry the merchant and the stuff?' 'to such a place,' answered the master, 'where he fetched a camel-driver and setting the bales on the camel, went i know not whither.' 'fetch me the camel-driver,' said the merchant; so he fetched him and the merchant said to him, 'whither didst thou carry the bales of stuffs from the ship?' 'to such a khan,' answered he. 'come thither with me and show it to me,' said the merchant. so the camel-driver went with him to a khan at a distance from the shore, where he had set down the stuffs, and showed him the mock merchant's magazine, which he opened and found therein his four bales untouched and unopened. the thief had laid his mantle over them; so the merchant took the bales and the cloak and delivered them to the camel-driver, who laid them on his camel; after which the merchant locked the magazine and went away with the camel-driver. on the way, he met the thief, who followed him, till he had shipped the bales, when he said to him, 'o my brother (god have thee in his keeping!), thou hast recovered thy goods, and nought of them is lost; so give me back my cloak.' the merchant laughed and giving him back his cloak, let him go unhindered. mesrour the eunuch and ibn el caribi the khalif haroun er reshid was very restless one night; so he said to his vizier jaafer, 'i am sleepless tonight and my heart is oppressed and i know not what to do.' now his henchman mesrour was standing before him, and he laughed. quoth the khalif, 'dost thou laugh in derision of me or art thou mad?' 'neither, by allah, o commander of the faithful,' answered mesrour, 'by thy kinship to the prince of apostles, i did it not of my free-will; but i went out yesterday to walk and coming to the bank of the tigris, saw there the folk collected about a man named ibn el caribi, who was making them laugh; and but now i recalled what he said, and laughter got the better of me; and i crave pardon of thee, o commander of the faithful!' 'bring him to me forthright,' said the khalif. so mesrour repaired in all haste to ibn el caribi and said to him, 'the commander of the faithful calls for thee.' 'i hear and obey,' answered the droll. 'but on condition,' added mesrour, 'that, if he give thee aught, thou shalt have a fourth and the rest shall be mine.' 'nay,' replied the other, 'thou shalt have half and i half.' 'not so,' insisted mesrour; 'i will have three- quarters.' 'thou shalt have two-thirds, then,' rejoined ibn el caribi; 'and i the other third.' to this mesrour agreed, after much haggling, and they returned to the palace together. when ibn el caribi came into the khalif's presence, he saluted him, as became his rank, and stood before him; whereupon said er reshid to him, 'if thou do not make me laugh, i will give thee three blows with this bag.' quoth ibn el caribi in himself, 'three strokes with that bag were a small matter, seeing that beating with whips irketh me not;' for he thought the bag was empty. then he clapped into a discourse, such as would make a stone laugh, and gave vent to all manner of drolleries; but the khalif laughed not neither smiled, whereat ibn el caribi marvelled and was chagrined and affrighted. then said the khalif, 'now hast thou earned the beating,' and gave him a blow with the bag, in which were four pebbles, each two pounds in weight. the blow fell on his neck and he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact with mesrour, said, 'pardon, o commander of the faithful! hear two words from me.' 'say on,' replied the khalif. quoth ibn el caribi, 'mesrour made it a condition with me that, whatsoever might come to me of the bounties of the commander of the faithful, one-third thereof should be mine and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as one-third save after much haggling. now thou hast bestowed on me nothing but beating; i have had my share and here stands he, ready to receive his; so give him the two other blows.' when the khalif heard this, he laughed till he fell backward; then calling mesrour, he gave him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, 'o commander of the faithful, one-third sufficeth me: give him the two-thirds.' the khalif laughed at them and ordered them a thousand diners each, and they went away, rejoicing. the devout prince. the khalif haroun er reshid had a son, who, from the time he attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world and walked in the way of ascetics and devotees. he was wont to go out to the tombs and say, 'behold, ye that lie here once possessed the world, but that was no deliverer for you [from death], and now are ye come to your graves! would god i knew what ye say and what is said to you!' and he wept, as one weeps that is troubled and fearful, and repeated the words of the poet: whene'er the funerals pass, my heart with fear is torn, and the wailing of the mourners maketh me to mourn. one day, as he sat among the tombs, according to his wont, his father passed by, in all his state, surrounded by his viziers and grandees and the officers of his household, who saw the khalif's son, with a gown of woollen stuff on his body and a cowl of the same on his head, and said to one another, 'this youth dishonours the commander of the faithful among kings: but, if he reproved him, he would leave his present way of life.' the khalif heard what they said; so he bespoke his son of this, saying, 'o my son, thou puttest me to shame by thy present way of life.' the young man looked at him and made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird, that was perched on the battlements of the palace, and said to it, 'o bird, i conjure thee, by him who created thee, alight upon my hand.' and straightway it flew down and perched on his hand. quoth he, 'return to thy place;' and it did so. then he said, 'alight on the hand of the commander of the faithful;' but it refused, and he said to his father, 'it is thou that puttest me to shame, amongst the friends of god, by thy love of the world; and now i am resolved to depart from thee, never to return to thee, save in the world to come.' then he went down to bassora, where he fell to working with those that wrought in mud,[fn# ] taking, as his day's hire, but a dirhem and a danic.[fn# ] with the danic he fed himself and gave alms of the dirhem. (quoth abou aamir of bassora), there fell down a wall in my house: so i went out to the station of the artisans, to find one who should set it up for me, and my eyes fell on a handsome youth of a radiant countenance. so i accosted him and said to him, "o my friend, dost thou seek work?" "yes," answered he; and i said, "come with me and build a wall." "on two conditions," replied he. quoth i, "what are they, o my friend?" "first," said he, "that my hire be a dirhem and a danic, and secondly, that, when the muezzin calls to prayer, thou shalt let me go pray with the congregation." "it is well," answered i and carried him to my house, where he fell to work, such work as i never saw the like of. presently, i named to him the morning meal; but he said, "no;" and i knew that he was fasting. when he heard the call to prayer, he said to me, "thou knowest the condition?" "yes," answered i. so he loosed his girdle and applying himself to the ablution, made it after a fashion than which i never saw a goodlier; then went to the mosque and prayed with the congregation and returned to his work. he did the like upon the call to afternoon-prayer, and when i saw him fall to work again thereafterward, i said to him, "o my friend, the hours of labour are over for to-day; a workman's day is but till the time of afternoon-prayer." "glory be to god," answered he, "my service is till the night." and he ceased not to work till nightfall, when i gave him two dirhems. quoth he, "what is this?" "by allah," answered i, "this is [but] part of thy wage, because of thy diligence in my service." but he threw me back the two pieces, saying, "i will have no more than was agreed upon between us." i pressed him to take them, but could not prevail upon him; so i gave him the dirhem and the danic, and he went away. next morning early, i went to the station, but found him not; so i enquired for him and was told that he came thither only on saturdays. so, when saturday came, i betook me to the market and finding him there, said to him, "in the name of god, do me the favour to come and work for me." ["willingly,"] said he, "upon the conditions thou wottest of." "it is well," answered i and carrying him to my house, stood watching him, unseen of him, and saw him take a handful of mud and lay it on the wall, when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon another; and i said, "on this wise are the friends of god." he worked out his day and did even more than before; and when it was night, i gave him his hire, and he took it and went away. when the third saturday came round, i went to the standing, but found him not; so i enquired for him and was told that he lay sick in the hut of such a woman. now this was an old woman, renowned for piety, who had a hut of reeds in the burial- ground. so i went thither and found him lying on the naked earth, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming with light. i saluted him and he returned my salute; and i sat down at his head, weeping over his tenderness of years and strangerhood and submission to the will of his lord. then said i to him, "hast thou any need?" "yes," answered he; and i said, "what is it?" he replied, "come hither tomorrow in the forenoon and thou wilt find me dead. wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof: but shroud me in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what thou shalt find in the bosom, which keep with thee. then, when thou hast prayed over me and laid me in the dust, go to baghdad and watch for the khalif haroun er reshid, till he come forth, when do thou bear him my salutation and give him what thou shalt find in the breast of my gown." then he made the profession of the faith and glorified his lord in the most eloquent of words, reciting the following verses: carry the trust of him on whom the wished-for death hath come to er reshid, and thy reward with thy creator stand! "an exile greets thee," say, "who longed full sorely for thy sight; with long desire he yearned for thee, far in a foreign strand. nor hate nor weariness from thee estranged him, for, indeed, to god most high he was brought near by kissing thy right hand. but, o my father, 'twas his heart, shunning the vain delights of this thy world, that drove him forth to seek a distant land!" then he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of god and blessing the lord of the just[fn# ] and repeating verses of the koran; after which he recited the following: let not prosperity delude thee, father mine; for fortune wastes and life itself must pass away. whenas thou com'st to know of folk in evil plight, think thou must answer it upon the judgment day; and when thou bearest forth the dead unto the tombs, think that thou, too, must pass upon the self-same way! then i left him and went home. on the morrow, i returned, at the appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of god be on him! so i washed him and unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of diners and said to myself, "by allah, this youth was indeed abstracted from the things of this world!" after i had buried him, i made my way to baghdad and going to the khalif's palace, waited till he came forth, when i accosted him in one of the streets and gave him the ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a swoon. his attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and bade them unhand me and bring me courteously to the palace. they did his bidding, and when he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his closet, said to me, "how doth the owner of this ruby?" quoth i, "he is dead;" and told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, "the son hath profited, but the father is disappointed." then he called out, saying, "ho, such an one!" and behold, a woman came out to him. when she saw me, she would have withdrawn; but he said to her, "come; and heed him not." so she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which when she knew, she gave a great shriek and fell down in a swoon. as soon as she came to herself, she said, "o commander of the faithful, what hath god done with my son?" and he said to me, "do thou tell her;" for he could not speak for weeping. so i repeated the story to her, and she began to weep and say in a failing voice, "how i have longed for thy sight, o consolation of my eyes! would i might have given thee to drink, when thou hadst none to tend thee! would i might have companied with thee, whenas thou foundest none to cheer thee!" and she poured forth tears and recited the following verses: i weep for one to whom death came, an exile and in pain: alone he died, without a friend to whom he might complain. puissant and honoured and conjoined with those that loved him dear, to live alone and seeing none, unfriended, he was fain. that which the days conceal shall yet be manifest to us: not one of us by death, indeed, unsmitten may remain. o absent one, the lord of all decreed thy strangerhood, and thou left'st far behind the love that was betwixt us twain! though death, my son, forbid me hope to see thee in this life, tomorrow, on the reckoning-day, we two shall meet again. quoth i, "o commander of the faithful, was he indeed thy son?" "yes," answered he; "and indeed, before i succeeded to this office, he was wont to visit the learned and company with the devout; but, when i became khalif, he grew estranged from me and withdrew himself apart. then said i to his mother, 'this thy son is absorbed in god the most high, and it may be that tribulations shall befall him and he be smitten with stress of evil chance; wherefore, do thou give him this ruby, that it may be to him a resource in the hour of need.' so she gave it him, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her. then he left the things of our world to us and removed himself from us; nor did he cease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of god (to whom belong might and majesty) with a holy and pure mind." then said he, "come, show me his grave." so we repaired to bassora and i showed him his son's grave. when he saw it, he wept and lamented, till he fell down in a swoon; after which he came to himself and asked pardon of god, saying, "we are god's, and to him we return!" and invoked blessings on the dead. then he besought me of companionship; but i said to him, "o commander of the faithful, verily, in thy son's case is for me the gravest of admonitions!" and i recited the following verses: 'tis i am the stranger! none harbours the wight, though he lie in his native city by night. 'tis i am the exile! nor children nor wife nor comrades have i, to take ruth on my plight. the mosques are my refuge; i haunt them indeed: my heart from their shelter shall never take flight. to the lord of all creatures, to god be the praise, whilst yet in the body abideth the spright! the schoolmaster who fell in love by report. (quoth one of the erudite), i passed once by a [school, in which a] schoolmaster, comely of aspect and well dressed, was teaching children; so i entered, and he rose and made me sit with him. then i examined him in the koran and in syntax and poetry and lexicography, and found him perfect in all that was required of him and said to him, "god strengthen thy purpose! thou art indeed versed in all that is sought of thee." so i frequented him awhile, discovering daily some new excellence in him, and said to myself, "this is indeed a wonder in a schoolmaster; for the understanding are agreed upon the lack of wit of those that teach children." then i separated myself from him and sought him out and visited him [only] every few days, till, one day, coming to see him as of wont, i found the school shut and made enquiry of the neighbours, who said, "some one is dead in his house." so i said to myself, "it behoves me to pay him a visit of condolence," and going to his house, knocked at the door. a slave-girl came out to me and said, "what dost thou want?" "i want thy master," answered i. quoth she, "he is sitting alone, mourning." "tell him," rejoined i, "that his friend so and so seeks to condole with him." she went in and told him; and he said, "admit him." so she brought me in to him, and i found him seated alone and his head bound [with the fillets of mourning]. "may god amply requite thee!" said i. "this is a road all must perforce travel, and it behoves thee to take patience. but who is dead unto thee?" "one who was dearest and best beloved of the folk to me," answered he. quoth i, "perhaps thy father?" he replied, "no;" and i said, "thy mother?" "no," answered he. "thy brother?" "no." "one of thy kindred?" "no." "then," asked i, "what relation was the dead to thee?" "my mistress," answered he. quoth i to myself, "this is the first sign of his lack of wit." then i said to him, "there are others than she and fairer;" and he answered, "i never saw her, that i might judge whether or no there be others fairer than she." quoth i to myself, "this is another sign" then i said to him, "and how couldst thou fall in love with one thou hast never seen?" quoth he, "i was sitting one day at the window, when there passed by a man, singing the following verse: umm amri,[fn# ] god requite thee thy generosity! give back my heart, prithee, wherever it may be! when i heard this, i said to myself, 'except this umm amri were without equal in the world, the poets had not celebrated her in amorous verse.' so i fell in love with her; but, two days after, the same man passed, singing the following verse: the jackass with umm amri departed; but, alas, umm amri! she returned not again, nor did the ass. thereupon i knew that she was dead and mourned for her. this was three days ago, and i have been mourning ever since." so i left him and went away, having assured myself of the feebleness of his wit. the foolish schoolmaster a man of elegant culture once entered a school and sitting down by the master, entered into discourse with him and found him an accomplished theologian, poet, grammarian and lexicographer, intelligent, well bred and pleasant; whereat he wondered, saying in himself, 'it cannot be that a man, who teaches children in a school, should have a perfect wit.' when he was about to go away, the schoolmaster said to him, 'thou art my guest to-night;' and he consented and accompanied him to his house, where he made much of him and set food before him. they ate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of the night was past, when the host spread his guest a bed and went up to his harem. the other lay down and addressed himself to sleep, when, behold, there arose a great clamour in the harem. he asked what was to do, and they said, 'a terrible thing hath befallen the sheikh, and he is at the last gasp.' 'take me up to him,' said he. so they carried him to the schoolmaster, whom he found lying insensible, with his blood streaming down. he sprinkled water on his face and when he revived, he said to him, 'what has betided thee? when thou leftest me, thou west in all good cheer and sound of body.' 'o my brother,' answered the schoolmaster, 'after i left thee, i sat meditating on the works of god the most high and said to myself, "in every thing god hath created for man there is an use; for he (to whom be glory) created the hands to seize, the feet to walk, the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the yard to do the deed of kind; and so on with all the members of the body, except these two cullions; there is no use in them." so i took a razor i had by me and cut them off; and there befell me what thou seest.' so the guest left him and went away, saving, 'he was in the right who said, "no schoolmaster who teaches children can have a perfect wit, though he know all sciences." the ignorant man who set up for a schoolmaster. there was once, among the hangers-on of the collegiate mosque, a man who knew not how to read and write and got his bread by gulling the folk. one day, he bethought him to open a school and teach children; so he got him tablets and written scrolls and hung them up in a [conspicuous] place. then he enlarged his turban and sat down at the door of the school. the people, who passed by and saw his turban and the tablets and scrolls, thought he must be a very learned doctor; so they brought him their children; and he would say to this, 'write,' and to that, 'read;' and thus they taught one another. one day, as he sat, as of wont, at the door of the school, he saw a woman coming up, with a letter in her hand, and said to himself, 'this woman doubtless seeks me, that i may read her the letter she has in her hand. how shall i do with her seeing i cannot read writing?' and he would fain have gone down and fled from her; but, before he could do this, she overtook him and said to him, 'whither away?' quoth he, 'i purpose to pray the noontide-prayer and return.' 'noon is yet distant,' said she; 'so read me this letter.' he took the letter and turning it upside down, fell to looking at it, now shaking his head and anon knitting his eyebrows and showing concern. now the letter came from the woman's husband, who was absent; and when she saw the schoolmaster do thus, she said, 'doubtless my husband is dead, and this learned man is ashamed to tell me so.' so she said to him, 'o my lord, if he be dead, tell me.' but he shook his head and held his peace. then said she, 'shall i tear my clothes?' 'tear,' answered he. 'shall i buffet my face?' asked she; and he said, 'buffet.' so she took the letter from his hand and returning home, fell a-weeping, she and her children. one of her neighbours heard her weeping and asking what ailed her, was answered, 'she hath gotten a letter, telling her that her husband is dead.' quoth the man, 'this is a lying saying; for i had a letter from him but yesterday, advising me that he is in good health and case and will be with her after ten days.' so he rose forthright and going in to her, said, 'where is the letter thou hast received?' she brought it to him, and he took it and read it; and it ran as follows, after the usual salutations, 'i am well and in good health and case and will be with thee after ten days. meanwhile, i send thee a quilt and an extinguisher.'[fn# ] so she took the letter and returning with it to the schoolmaster, said to him, 'what moved thee to deal thus with me?' and she repeated to him what her neighbour had told her of her husband's well-being and of his having sent her a quilt and an extinguisher. 'thou art in the right,' answered he. 'but excuse me, good woman; for i was, at the time, troubled and absent-minded and seeing the extinguisher wrapped in the quilt, thought that he was dead and they had shrouded him.' the woman, not smoking the cheat, said, 'thou art excused.' and taking the letter, went away. the king and the virtuous wife a certain king once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of his subjects. presently, he came to a great village and being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked for water. there came out to him a fair woman, with a pitcher of water, which she gave him, and he drank. when he looked at her, he was ravished with her and required her of love. now she knew him; so she brought him into the house and making him sit down, brought out a book and said to him, 'look in this book, whilst i order my affair and return to thee.' so he looked into the book, and behold, it treated of the divine prohibition against adultery and of the punishments that god hath prepared for those that do it. when he read this, his flesh quaked and he repented to god the most high: then he called the woman and giving her the book, went away. now her husband was absent and when he returned, she told him what had passed, whereat he was confounded and said in himself, 'i fear lest the king's desire have fallen upon her.' and he dared not have to do with her after this. after awhile, the wife told her kinsfolk of her husband's conduct, and they complained of him to the king, saying, 'may god advance the king! this man hired of us a piece of land, for tillage, and tilled it awhile; then left it fallow and tilled it not, neither forsook it, that we might let it to one who would till it. indeed, harm is come to the field, and we fear its corruption, for that land, if it be not tilled' spoileth.' quoth the king to the man, 'what hinders thee from tilling thy land?' 'may god advance the king!' answered he. 'it came to my knowledge that a lion entered the field, wherefore i stood in awe of him and dared not approach it, seeing that i know i cannot cope with the lion, and i stand in fear of him.' the king understood the parable and rejoined, saying, 'o fellow, the lion trampled not thy land, and it is good for tillage; so do thou till it and god prosper thee in it, for the lion hath done it no hurt.' then he bade give the man and his wife a handsome present and sent them away. abdurrehman the moor's story of the roc. there was once a man of the people of morocco, called abdurrehman the moor, and he was known, to boot, as the chinaman, for his long sojourn in cathay. he had journeyed far and wide and traversed many seas and deserts and was wont to relate wondrous tales of his travels. he was once cast upon an island, where he abode a long while and returning thence to his native country, brought with him the quill of the wing-feather of a young roe, whilst yet unhatched and in the egg; and this quill was big enough to hold a skinful of water, for it is said that the length of the young roe's wing, when it comes forth of the egg, is a thousand fathoms. the folk marvelled at this quill, when they saw it, and abdurrehman related to them the following adventure. he was on a voyage in the china seas, with a company of merchants, when they sighted a great island so they steered for it and casting anchor before it, saw that it was large and spacious. the ship's people went ashore to get wood and water, taking with them skins and ropes and axes, and presently espied a great white gleaming dome, a hundred cubits high. so they made towards it and drawing near, found that it was a roe's egg and fell on it with axes and stones and sticks, till they uncovered the young bird and found it as it were a firm-set mountain. they went about to pluck out one of its wing-feathers, but could not win to do so, save by helping one another, for all the feathers were not full grown; after which they took what they could carry of the young bird's flesh and cutting the quill away from the feather-part, returned to the ship. then they spread the canvas and putting out to sea, sailed with a fair wind all that night, till the sun rose, when they saw the old roc come flying after them, as he were a vast cloud, with a rock in his talons, like a great mountain, bigger than the ship. as soon as he came over the vessel, he let fall the rock upon it; but the ship, having great way on her, forewent the rock, which fell into the sea with a terrible crash. so god decreed them safety and delivered them from destruction; and they cooked the young bird's flesh and ate it. now there were amongst them old grey bearded men; and when they awoke on the morrow, they found that their beards had turned black, nor did any who had eaten of the young roc ever grow grey. some held the cause of the return of youth to them and the ceasing of hoariness from them to be that they had heated the pot with arrow-wood, whilst others would have it that it came of eating the young roe's flesh; and this is indeed a wonder of wonders. adi ben zeid and the princess hind. en numan ben el mundhir, king of the arabs [of irak], had a daughter named hind, who was eleven years old and was the loveliest woman of her age and time. she went out one easter, which is a feast-day of the nazarenes,[fn# ] to the white church, to take the sacrament. now that day came to el hireh a young man called adi ben zeid,[fn# ] with presents from chosroës,[fn# ] to en numan, and he also went into the white church, to communicate. he was tall and well-favoured, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and had with him a company of his people. now there was with hind a slave-girl named mariyeh, who was enamoured of adi, but had not been able to win to him. so, when she saw him in the church, she said to hind, 'look at yonder youth. by allah, he is handsomer than all thou seest!' 'and who is he?' asked hind. 'adi ben zeid,' answered mariyeh quoth the princess, 'i fear lest he know me, if i draw near, to look on him closelier.' 'how should he know thee,' said mariyeh, 'when he has never seen thee?' so she drew near him and found him jesting with his companions; and indeed he surpassed them all, not only in his beauty, but in the excellence of his speech and the eloquence of his tongue and the richness of his apparel. when the princess saw him, she was ravished with him, her reason was confounded and her colour changed; and mariyeh, seeing her inclination to him, said to her, 'speak to him.' so she spoke to him and went away. when he saw her and heard her speech, he was captivated by her and his wit was dazed; his colour changed and his heart fluttered, so that his companions misdoubted of him, and he whispered one of them to follow her and find out who she was. the man followed her and returning to his master, informed him that she was the princess hind, daughter of en numan. so adi left the church, knowing not whither he went, for stress of love, and reciting the following verses: companions mine, yet one more favour i entreat: address ye to the ways once more your travelling feet. turn me towards the lands, the lands where hinda dwells; then go and her i love with tidings of me greet. then he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless nor tasting sleep. on the morrow, mariyeh accosted him, and he received her kindly, though before he would not hearken to her, and said to her, 'what is thy will?' quoth she, 'i have a suit to thee.' 'name it,' answered he; 'for, by allah, thou shalt not ask me aught, but i will give it thee!' so she told him that she was in love with him, and her suit to him was that he would grant her a lover's privacy; and he agreed to do her will, on condition that she would serve him with hind and make shift to bring them together. then he took her into a vintner's shop, in one of the by-streets of hireh, and lay with her; after which she returned to hind and said to her, 'dost thou not long to see adi?' 'how can this be?' replied the princess. 'indeed my longing for him makes me restless, and no repose is left me since yesterday, on his account.' quoth mariyeh, 'i will appoint him to be in such a place, where thou canst look on him from the palace.' 'do what thou wilt,' replied hind and agreed with her upon the place. so adi came, and the princess looked out upon him; and when she saw him, she was like to fall down from the top of the palace and said to mariyeh, 'except thou bring him in to me this night, i shall die.' so saying, she fell down in a swoon, and her serving-women lifted her up and bore her into the palace; whilst mariyeh hastened to en numan and discovered the whole matter to him, saying, 'verily, she is mad for love of adi; and except thou marry her to him, she will be put to shame and die of love for him.' the king bowed his head awhile in thought and exclaimed again and again, 'verily, we are god's and to him we return!' then said he, 'out on thee! how shall the marriage be brought about, seeing it misliketh me to open the matter to him?' 'he is yet more ardently in love and yet more desireful of her than she of him,' answered mariyeh; 'and i will so order the matter that he shall be unaware that his case is known to thee; but do not betray thyself, o king.' them she went to adi and said to him, 'make a feast and bid the king thereto; and when wine hath gotten the better of him, ask of him the hand of his daughter, for he will not refuse thee.' quoth adi, 'i fear lest this enrage him against me and be the cause of enmity between us.' but she answered, 'i came not to thee, till i had settled the whole matter with him.' then she returned to en numan and said to him, 'seek of adi that he entertain thee in his house.' 'there is no harm in that,' replied the king and after three days, besought adi to give him and his lords the morning-meal in his house. the young man consented, and the king went to him; and when the wine had taken effect on en numan, adi rose and sought of him his daughter in marriage. he consented and married them and brought her to him after three days; and they abode at en numan's court, in all delight and solace of life, three years, at the end of which time the king was wroth with adi and slew him. hind mourned for him with an exceeding grief and built her a convent without the city, whither she retired and devoted herself to religious exercises, weeping and bemoaning her husband, till she died. and her convent is extant to this day without el hireh. dibil el khuza� with the lady and muslim ben el welid. (quoth dibil el khuzaï[fn# ]), i was sitting one day at the gate of el kerkh,[fn# ] when a lady came up to me, never saw i a handsomer or better shaped than she, walking with a swaying gait and ravishing, with her flexile grace, all who beheld her. when my eyes fell on her, i was captivated by her and my entrails trembled and meseemed my heart fled forth of my breast; so i accosted her with the following verse: unsealed are the springs of tears for mine eyes, heigho! and sealed are the springs of sleep to my lids, for woe. she turned her head and looking at me, made answer forthright with the following: and surely, an ailing eye to have, for him whom her looks invite, is a little thing, i trow. i was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the sweetness of her speech and rejoined with this verse: and doth then the heart of my fair indeed incline to favour him whose tears as a river flow? she answered me, without hesitation, thus: if thou desire us of love, betwixt us love is a loan to be returned, i'd have thee know. never entered my ears sweeter than her speech nor ever saw i brighter than her face: so i changed the rhyme and measure, to try her, in my wonder at her speech, and repeated the following verse: will destiny e'er gladden us with union and delight and one desireful one at last with other one unite? she smiled at this, (never saw i fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than her lips,) and answered me, without hesitation, as follows: i prithee, what hath destiny to do betwixt us twain? thou'rt destiny: rejoice us, then, with union and delight. at this, i sprang up and kissing her hands, said, "i had not thought that fortune would vouchsafe me such an opportunity. do thou follow me, not of command or against thy will, but of thy grace and favour to me." then i went on and she after me. now i had not, at that time, a lodging i deemed fit for the like of her; muslim ben el welid[fn# ] was my fast friend, and he had a handsome house. so i made for his abode and knocked at the door, whereupon he came out, and i saluted him, saying, "it is for a time like this that friends are treasured up." "with all my heart," answered he; "enter." so we entered, i and the lady, but found money scarce with him. however, he gave me a handkerchief, saying, "carry it to the market and sell it and buy meat and what else thou needest." so i took the handkerchief and hastening to the market, sold it and bought meat and what else we required; but, when i returned, i found that muslim had retired, with the lady, to an underground chamber.[fn# ] when he heard me, he came out and said to me, "god requite thee the kindness thou hast done me, o abou ali,[fn# ] and reckon it of thy good deeds on the day of resurrection!" so saying, he took from me the meat and wine and shut the door in my face his words enraged me and i knew not what to do; but he stood behind the door, shaking for mirth; and when he saw me thus, he said to me, "i conjure thee on my life, o abou ali, tell me who it was composed this verse? i lay in the arms of the fair one all night, whilst my friend slept, clean-limbed, but polluted of spright." at this, my rage redoubled, and i replied, "he who wrote this other verse: one, i wish him in's girdle a thousand of horns, exceeding the idol menaf[fn# ] in their height!" then i began to revile him and reproach him with the foulness of his conduct and his lack of honour; and he was silent. but, when i had finished, he smiled and said, "out on thee, o fool! thou hast entered my house and sold my handkerchief and spent my money: so, with whom art thou wroth, o pimp?" then he left me and went away to her, whilst i said, "by allah, thou art right to call me a fool and a pimp!" then i left his door and went away in sore concern, whereof i feel the trace in my heart to this day; and i never had my desire of her nor ever heard of her more. isaac of mosul and the merchant. (quoth ishac ben ibrahim el mausili), one day, being weary of assiduous attendance upon the khalif, i mounted my horse and went forth, at break of day, having a mind to ride out and take my pleasure in the open country, and i said to my servant, "if there come a messenger from the khalif or another, say that i set out at daybreak, upon a pressing business, and that thou knowest not whither i am gone." so i rode forth alone and went round about the city, till the sun grew hot, when i halted in a street, known as el herem, and stood my horse under the spacious jutting porch of one of the houses there, to shelter me from the glare of the sun. i had not stood long, before there came up a black slave, leading an ass with jewelled housings, on which sat a damsel, clad in the richest of clothes, richness can go no farther; and i saw that she was elegantly made, with languorous looks and graceful carriage. i asked one of the passers-by who she was, and he said, "she is a singer." and i fell in love with her at sight, so that i could scarce keep my seat on my horse's back. she entered the house at whose gate i stood; and as i cast about for a device to gain access to her, there came up two comely young men, who sought admission, and the master of the house gave them leave to enter. so they alighted and entered, and i with them, they supposing that the master of the house had invited me; and we sat awhile, till food was brought and we ate. then they set wine before us, and the damsel came out, with a lute in her hand. she sang and we drank, till i rose to do an occasion. during my absence, the host questioned the two others of me, and they replied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth he, "this fellow is a spunger, but he is well-bred and pleasant; so entreat him fairly." then i came back and sat down in my place, whilst the damsel sang the following verses to a pleasing air: say thou unto the she-gazelle, who yet is no gazelle, and the wild heifer, languorous-eyed, who yet no heifer is, "one, who in dalliance affects the male, no female is, and he who is effeminate of step's no male, ywis." she sang it excellent well, and the company drank and her song pleased them. then she sang various songs to rare tunes, and amongst the rest one of mine, to the following words: the pleasant girls have gone and left the homesteads empty and bereft of their sweet converse, after cheer, all void and ruined by time's theft. she sang this even better than the first; then she sang other rare songs, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine, with the following words: to the loved one, who turneth in anger away and vrithdraweth himself far apart from thee, say, "the mischief thou wroughtest, thou wroughtest indeed, for all, per-adventure, thou west but in play." i asked her to repeat the song, that i might correct it for her; whereupon one of the men turned to me and said, "never saw i a more brazen-faced parasite than thou. art thou not content with spunging, but thou must meddle, to boot? verily, in thee is the saying made true, 'a parasite and a meddler.'" i hung down my head for shame and made him no answer, whilst his companion would have restrained him from me; but he would not be restrained. presently, they rose to pray, but i hung behind a little and taking the lute, tuned it after a particular fashion and stood up to pray with the rest. when we had made an end of prayer, the same man fell again to flouting and reviling me and persisted in his churlishness, whilst i held my peace. then the damsel took the lute and touching it, knew that it was other than as she had left it and said, "who hath touched my lute?" quoth they, "none of us hath touched it." "nay, by allah," rejoined she, "some one hath touched it, and he a past master in the craft; for he hath ordered the strings and tuned them after the fashion of one who is right skilled in the art." quoth i, "it was i tuned it." "then, god on thee," answered she, "take it and play on it!" so i took it and playing a rare and difficult measure, that came nigh to deaden the live and raise the dead, sang thereto the following verses: i had a heart, wherewith of yore i lived: 'twas seared with fire and all consumed indeed. her love, alack i was not vouchsafed to me; unto the slave 'twas not of heaven decreed. if what i taste be passion's very food, then all who love upon its like must feed. when i had finished, there was not one of the company but sprang from his place and sat down before me,[fn# ] saying "god on thee, o our lord, sing us another song." "with all my heart," said i and playing another measure in masterly fashion, sang thereto the following: o thou whose heart, for fortune's blows, is all consumed and sped, sorrows with whom from every side have taken up their stead, unlawful unto her, my heart who pierces with her shafts, is that my blood which, breast-bones 'twixt and vitals,[fn# ] she hath shed. 'twas plain, upon the parting day, that her resolve, our loves to sunder, unto false suspect must be attributed. she pours forth blood she had not shed, if passion had not been. will none my murderess ensue and wreak me on her head? when i had made an end of this song, there was not one of them but rose to his feet and threw himself to the ground, for excess of delight. then i cast the lute from my hand; but they said, "allah on thee, let us hear another song, so god increase thee of his bounty!" "o folk," replied i, "i will sing you another song and another and another and will tell you who i am. know that i am ishac ben ibrahim el mausili, and by allah, i bear myself haughtily to the khalif, when he seeks me. ye have today made me hear [abuse from] an unmannerly fellow such as i loathe; and by allah, i will not speak a word nor sit with you, till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from among you!" quoth the latter's companion to him, "this is what i feared and warned thee against." so they took him by the hand and put him out; and i took the lute and sang over again the songs of my fashion that the damsel had sung. then i whispered the host that she had taken my heart and that i had no patience to endure from her. quoth he, "thou shalt have her and all that pertains to her of clothes and jewels, on one condition." "what is that?" asked i. "it is," answered he, "that thou abide with me a month." "it is well," rejoined i; "i will do this." so i abode with him a whole month, whilst none knew where i was and the khalif sought me everywhere, but could come by no news of me; and at the end of this time, the merchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that pertained to her of things of price and an eunuch to attend her. i brought her to my lodging, feeling as i were lord of the whole world, for stress of delight in her; then rode forthright to el mamoun. when he saw me, he said, "out on thee, o isaac, where hast thou been all this while?" i acquainted him with the story and he said, "bring me the man at once." so i told him where he dwelt, and he sent and fetched him and questioned him of the case; whereupon he repeated the story and the khalif said to him, "thou art a man of a generous mind, and it is just that thou be upheld in thy generosity." then he ordered him a hundred thousand dirhems and said to me, "o isaac, bring me the damsel." so i brought her to him, and she sang and delighted him. he was greatly gladdened by her and ordered her fifty thousand dirhems, saying to me, "i appoint her of service every thursday, when she must come and sing to me from behind the curtain." so, by allah, this ride of mine was a source of profit both to me and to others. the three unfortunate lovers. (quoth el utbi[fn# ]), i was sitting one day with a company of men of culture, telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned upon anecdotes of lovers and each of us said his say thereon. now there was in our company an old man, who remained silent, till we had all spoken and had no more to say, when he said, "shall i tell you a thing, the like of which you never heard?" "yes," answered we; and he said, "know, then, that i had a daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it not. the youth in question loved a singing-girl, who, in her turn, was enamoured of my daughter. one day, i was present at an assembly, where were also the young man and the girl; when the latter sang the following verses: tears are the token by which, for love, abjection in lovers still is shown, and more by token in one who finds no friend, to whom he may make his moan. 'by allah, thou hast said well, o my lady!' exclaimed the youth. 'doss thou bid me die?' 'yes,' answered the girl from behind the curtain, 'if thou be in love.' so he laid his head on a cushion and closed his eyes; and when the cup came round to him, we shook him and found that he was dead. therewith we all flocked to him, and our joy was troubled and we grieved and broke up forthright. when i came home, my people taxed me with returning before the appointed time, and i told them what had befallen the youth, thinking to surprise them. my daughter heard my words and rising, went into another chamber, whither i followed her and found her lying, with her head on a cushion, as i had told of the young man. i shook her and behold, she was dead. so we laid her out and set forth next morning with her funeral, whilst the friends of the young man carried him out, likewise, to bury him. as we were on the way to the burial-place, we met a third funeral and enquiring whose it was, were told that it was that of the singing-girl, who, hearing of my daughter's death, had done even as she and was dead. so we buried them all three on one day, and this is the rarest story that ever was heard of lovers." the lovers of the benou tai. quoth a man of the benou temim (cited by casim ben adi), i went out one day in search of a stray beast and coming to the waters of the benou tai, saw two companies of people, near one another, and those of each company were disputing among themselves. so i watched them and observed, in one of the companies, a young man, wasted with sickness, as he were a worn-out water-skin. as i looked on him, he repeated the following verses: what ails the fair that she returneth not to me? is't grudgingness in her or inhumanity? i sickened, and my folk to visit me came all. why 'mongst the visitors wast thou then not to see? hadst thou been sick, i would have hastened to thy side; nor menaces nor threats had hindered me from thee. i miss thee midst the rest, and desolate am i: thy loss, my heart's abode, is grievous unto me. a damsel in the other company heard his words and hastened towards him. her people followed her, but she repelled them with blows. then the youth caught sight of her and ran towards her, whilst his people ran after him and laid hold of him. however, he struggled, till he freed himself from them, and she in like manner loosed herself; and they ran to each other and meeting between the two parties, embraced and fell down dead. thereupon there came out an old man from one of the tents and stood over them, weeping sore and exclaiming, "verily, we are god's and to him we return!" then, "may god the most high have mercy on you both!" said he. "by allah, though you were not united in your lives, i will at least unite you after death." and he bade lay them out. so they washed them and shrouded them in one shroud and buried them in one grave, after they had prayed over them; nor were there men nor women in the two parties but i saw weeping over them and buffeting their faces. then i questioned the old man of them, and he said, "she was my daughter and he my brother's son; and love brought them to this pass." "may god amend thee!" exclaimed i. "but why didst thou not marry them to one another?" quoth he, "i feared reproach and dishonour; and now i am fallen upon both." the mad lover. (quoth aboulabbas el muberred[fn# ]), i set out one day with a company to el berid on an occasion, and coming to the monastery of heraclius,[fn# ] we alighted in its shade. presently a man came out to us and said, "there are madmen in the monastery, and amongst them one who speaketh wisdom; if ye saw him, ye would marvel at his speech." so we arose all and went into the monastery, where we saw a man seated on a leather mat in one of the cells, with bare head and eyes fixed upon the wall. we saluted him, and he returned our greeting, without looking at us; and one said to us, "repeat some verses to him; for, when he hears verses, he speaks." so i repeated the following verses: o best of all the race whom eve gave birth unto, except for thee the world were neither sweet nor bright: thou'rt he, whose face if god unveil to any man, eternity is his; his head shall ne'er grow white.[fn# ] when he heard this, he turned towards us and repeated these lines: god indeed knows that i am sore afflicted: i suffer so, i cannot tell the whole. i have two souls; one in this place is dwelling; another country holds my second soul. meseems the absent one is like the present and wearies under the same weight of dole. quoth he, "have i said well or ill?" "thou hast said well and excellent well," replied we. then he put out his hand and took a stone, that was by him; whereupon we fled from him, thinking he would throw it at us; but he fell to beating his breast therewith violently and said to us, "fear not, but draw near and hear somewhat from me and receive it from me." so we came back, and he repeated the following verses: when they made their beasts of burden kneel as day drew nigh and nigher, then they mounted and the camels bore away my heart's desire,-- when my eyes perceived my loved one through the crannied prison-wall, then i cried, with streaming eyelids and a heart for love a-fire, "turn thou leader of the camels, let me bid my love farewell!" for her absence and estrangement, life and hope in me expire. still i kept my troth and failed not from her love; ah, would i knew what she did with that our troth-plight, if she kept her faith entire! then he looked at me and said, "dost thou know what she did?" "yes," answered i, "she is dead; may god the most high have mercy on her!" at this his face changed and he sprang to his feet and cried out, "how knowest thou she is dead?" "were she alive," answered i, "she had not left thee thus." "by allah, thou art right," said he, "and i care not to live after her." then his nerves quivered and he fell on his face; and we ran up to him and shook him and found him dead, the mercy of god be on him! at this we marvelled and mourned sore for him and laid him out and buried him. when i returned to baghdad and went in to the khalif el mutawekkil, he saw the trace of tears on my face and said to me, "what is this?" so i told him what had passed, and it was grievous to him and he said, "what moved thee to deal thus with him? by allah, if i thought thou didst this with intent, i would punish thee therefor!" and he mourned for him the rest of the day. the apples of paradise. (quoth abou bekr mohammed ibn el ambari[fn# ]), i once left ambar, on a journey to ammouriyeh, in the land of the greeks, [fn# ], and alighted midway at the monastery of el anwar, [fn# ], in a village near ammouriyeh, where there came out to me the prior of the monastery and superior of the monks, abdulmesih[fn# ] by name, and brought me into the monastery. there i found forty monks, who entertained me that night with the most liberal hospitality, and i saw among them such abounding piety and diligence in devotion as i never beheld the like of in any others. on the morrow, i took leave of them and went on to ammouriyeh, where i did my business and returned to ambar [without again visiting the monastery]. next year it befell that i made the pilgrimage to mecca, and as i was compassing the holy house, behold, i saw abdulmesih the monk also making the circuit of the kaabeh, and with him five of his fellows, the monks. when i was certified that it was indeed he, i accosted him, saying, "art thou not abdulmesih er rahib?"[fn# ] "nay," answered he; "i am abdallah er raghib." [fn# ] therewith i fell to kissing his hoary hairs and weeping; then, taking him by the hand, i led him aside into a corner of the sanctuary and said to him, "tell me the manner of thy conversion to islam." "it was a wonder of wonders," answered he; "and befell thus. know that, not long after thy visit to us, a company of muslim devotees came to the village, in which is our monastery, and sent a youth to buy them food. he saw, in the market, a christian damsel selling bread, who was of the fairest of women, and became then and there so passionately enamoured of her, that his senses failed him and he fell on his face in a swoon. when he revived, he returned to his companions and told them what had happened, saying, 'go ye about your business; i may not go with you.' they blamed him and exhorted him, but he paid no heed to them; so they left him and went on, whilst he entered the village and seated himself at the door of the woman's shop. she asked him what he wanted, and he told her that he was in love with her, whereupon she turned from him; but he abode in his place three days, without tasting food, with his eyes fixed on her face. when she saw that he departed not from her, she went to her people and acquainted them with her case, and they set the boys of the village on him, who pelted him with stones and bruised his ribs and broke his head; but, for all this, he would not budge. then the people of the village took counsel together to kill him; but one of them came to me and told me of his condition, and i went out to him and found him lying prostrate on the ground. so i wiped the blood from his face and carried him to the convent, where i dressed his wounds, and he abode with me fourteen days. but, as soon as he could walk, he left the convent and returned to the door of the woman's shop, where he sat gazing on her as before. when she saw him, she came out to him and said, 'by allah, thou movest me to pity! if thou wilt enter my faith, i will marry thee.' 'god forbid,' answered he, 'that i should put off the faith of the unity and enter that of plurality!'[fn# ] quoth she, 'come in with me to my house and take thy will of me and go thy ways in peace.' 'not so,' answered he, 'i will not barter the pious service of twelve years for the lust of a moment.' 'then depart from me forthright,' said she; and he rejoined, 'my heart will not suffer me to do that;' whereupon she turned her face from him. presently the boys found him out and began to throw stones at him; and he fell on his face, saying, 'verily, god is my keeper, who sent down the book and who protecteth the righteous!' [fn# ] at this juncture, i sallied forth and driving away the boys, lifted his head from the ground and heard him say, 'o my god, unite me with her in paradise!' then i took him in my arms, to carry him to the monastery; but he died, before i could reach it, and i dug him a grave without the village and buried him there. in the middle of that night, the people of the village heard the damsel give a great cry, and she in her bed; so they flocked to her and questioned her of her case. quoth she, 'as i slept, the muslim [who ye wot of] came in to me and taking me by the hand, carried me to the gate of paradise; but the keeper denied me entrance, saying, "it is forbidden to unbelievers." so i embraced islam at his hands and entering with him, beheld therein palaces and trees, such as i cannot describe to you. moreover, he brought me to a pavilion of jewels and said to me, "this is my pavilion and thine, nor will i enter it except with thee; but, after five nights, thou shalt be with me therein, if it be the will of god the most high." then, putting his hand to a tree that grew at the door of the pavilion, he plucked therefrom two apples and gave them to me, saying, "eat this and keep the other, that the monks may see it." so i ate one of them and never tasted i aught sweeter than it. then he took my hand and carried me back to my house; and when i awoke, i found the taste of the apple in my mouth and the other in my hand.' so saying, she brought out the apple, and it shone in the darkness of the night, as it were a sparkling star. so they carried her to the monastery, where she repeated to us her vision and showed us the apple; never saw we its like among all the fruits of the world. then i took a knife and cut the apple into as many pieces as we were folk in the company; and never knew we aught more delicious than its taste nor sweeter than its scent; but we said, 'haply this was a devil that appeared to her, to seduce her from her faith.' then her people took her and went away; but she abstained from eating and drinking till the fifth night, when she rose from her bed and going forth the village to the grave of the young muslim, threw herself upon it and died. her people knew not what was come of her; but, on the morrow, there came to the village two muslim elders, clad in hair- cloth, and with them two women in like garb, and said, 'o people of the village, with you is a woman of the friends of god,[fn# ] who died a muslim, and we will take charge of her, instead of you.' so the damsel's family sought her and found her dead on the young muslim's grave; and they said, 'this our sister died in our faith, and we will take charge of her.' 'not so,' rejoined the two old men; 'she died a muslim and we claim her.' and the dispute waxed hot between them, till one of the muslims said, 'be this the test of her faith. let the forty monks of the monastery come all and [essay to] lift her from the grave. if they succeed, then she died a nazarene; if not, one of us shall come and lift her up, and if she yield to him, she died a muslim.' the villagers agreed to this and fetched the forty monks, who heartened each other and came to her, to lift her, but could not. then we tied a great rope about her middle and tugged at it with our might; but the rope broke in sunder, and she stirred nor; and the villagers came and joined their endeavour to ours, but could not move her from her place. at last, when all our devices failed, we said to one of the two old muslims, 'come thou and lift her.' so he went up to the grave and covering her with his mantle, said, 'in the name of god the compassionate, the merciful, and of the faith of the apostle of god, on whom be peace and salvation!' then he lifted her and taking her in his bosom, betook himself with her to a cave hard by, where they laid her, and the two women came and washed her and shrouded her. then the two elders bore her to the young muslim's grave and prayed over her and buried her by his side and went their way. now we were witness of all this; and when we were alone with one another, we said, 'of a verity, the truth is most worthy to be followed;[fn# ] and indeed it hath been publicly manifested to us, nor is it possible to have a clearer proof of the truth of islam than that we have seen this day with our eyes.' so i and all the monks embraced islam and on like wise did the people of the village; and we sent to the people of mesopotamia for a doctor of the law, to instruct us in the ordinances of islam and the canons of the faith. they sent us a pious man, who taught us the rites of devotion and the tenets of the faith and the service of god; and we are now in great good case. to god be the praise and the thanks!" the loves of abou isa and curret el ain. (quoth amr ben mesaadeh[fn# ]), abou isa, son or er reshid and brother to el mamoun, was enamoured of a girl called curret el ain, belonging to ali ben hisham,[fn# ] and she also loved him; but he concealed his passion, complaining of it to none neither discovering his secret to any, of his pride and magnanimity; and he had used his utmost endeavour to buy her of her lord, but in vain. at last, when his patience failed him and his passion was sore on him and he was at his wits' end concerning her affair, he went in, one day of state, to el mamoun, after the folk had retired, and said to him, "o commander of the faithful, if thou wilt this day make trial of thy governors,[fn# ] by visiting them unawares, thou wilt the men of worth from those that lack of it and note each one's [due] place, after the measure of his faculties." (but he purposed, in saying this, to win to sit with curret el ain in her lord's house.) el mamoun approved his proposal and bade make ready a barge, called the flyer, in which he embarked, with his brother and a party of his chief officers. the first house he visited was that of hemid et tawil of tous, whom he found seated on a mat and before him singers and players, with lutes and hautboys and other instruments of music in their hands. el mamoun sat with him awhile, and presently he set before him dishes of nothing but flesh-meat, with no birds among them. the khalif would not taste thereof and abou isa said to him, "o commander of the faithful, we have taken the owner of this place unawares, and he knew not of thy coming; but now let us go to another place, that is prepared and fitted for thee." so the khalif arose and betook himself, with his brother and his suite, to the abode of ali ben hisham, who, on hearing of their approach, came out and received them after the goodliest fashion, and kissed the earth before el mamoun. then he brought them into his palace and opened to them a saloon, than which never saw eyes a goodlier. its floors and walls and columns were of vari-coloured marble, adorned with greek paintings: it was spread with indian matting, on which were carpets and divans of bassora make, fitted to the length and breadth of the room. the khalif sat awhile, examining the house and its roof and walls, then said, "give us to eat." so they brought him forthwith nigh upon a hundred dishes of fowls, besides other birds and brewises and fricassees and marinades. when he had eaten, he said, "give us to drink, o ali;" and the latter set before him raisin-wine, boiled with fruits and spices, in vessels of gold and silver and crystal, served by boys like moons, clad in garments of alexandrian cloth of gold and bearing on their breasts flagons of crystal, full of rose-water mingled with musk. el mamoun marvelled exceedingly at all this and said, "harkye, aboulhusn!"[fn# ] whereupon ali sprang to the carpet [on which the khalif was seated] and kissing it, said, "at thy service, o commander of the faithful!" and stood before him. quoth el mamoun, "let us hear some pleasant songs." "i hear and obey, o commander of the faithful," replied ali and said to one of his servants, "fetch the singing-women." so he went out and returned in a moment, followed by ten eunuchs, bearing ten golden stools, which they set down; and these in their turn were followed by ten damsels, as they were shining full moons or flowerful gardens, clad in black brocade, with crowns of gold on their heads. they sat down on the stools and sang various songs. then el mamoun looked at one of them and captivated by her elegance and the beauty of her aspect, said to her, "what is thy name, o damsel?" "my name is sejahi, o commander of the faithful," answered she; and he said, "sing to us, o sejahi!" so she took the lute and playing a lively measure, sang the following verses: right stealthily, for fearfulness, i fare, the weakling's gait, who sees unto the watering-place two lion-whelps draw near, with cloak, instead of sword, begirt and bosom love-distraught and heart for eyes of enemies and spies fulfilled of fear, till in to one at last i come, a loveling delicate, like to a desert antelope, that's lost its younglings dear. "well done, o damsel!" said the khalif. "whose is this song?" "the words are by amr ben madi kerib er zubeidi,"[fn# ] answered she, "and the air is mabid's."[fn# ] then the khalif and ali and abou isa drank and the damsels went away and were succeeded by other ten, clad in flowered silk of yemen, brocaded with gold, who sat down on the chairs and sang various songs. the khalif looked at one of them, who was like a wild cow of the desert, and said to her, "what is thy name, o damsel?" "my name is zebiyeh, o commander of the faithful," answered she. "sing to us, o zebiyeh," said he; so she warbled some roulades and sang the following verses: houris, noble ladies, that reck not of disquiet, like antelopes of mecca, forbidden to be slain; of their soft speech, they're taken for courtezans; but islam still makes them from unseemliness and lewdness to refrain. when she had finished, "bravo!" cried the khalif. "whose is this song?" "the words are by jerir,"[fn# ] answered she, "and the air by suraij." then the khalif and his company drank, whilst the girls went away and there came yet another ten, as they were rubies, bareheaded and clad in red brocade, gold inwoven and broidered with pearls and jewels, who sat down on the stools and sang various airs. the khalif looked at one of them, who was like the sun of the day, and said to her, "what is thy name?" "o commander of the faithful," answered she, "my name is fatin." "sing to us, o fatin," quoth he. so she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: vouchsafe me of thy grace; 'tis time to yield consent: enough have i endured of absence and lament. thou'rt he whose face unites all charms, on whose account my patience have i lost, for very languishment. i've spent my life for love of thee; ah, would to god i might receive return for that which i have spent! "bravo, o fatin!" exclaimed the khalif, when she had finished. "whose song is that?" "the words are by adi ben zeid," answered she, "and the tune is an old one." then they drank, whilst the damsels retired and were succeeded by other ten, as they were sparkling stars, clad in flowered silk, embroidered with gold, and girt with jewelled zones. they sat down and sang various airs; and the khalif said to one of them, who was like a willow-wand, "what is thy name, o damsel!" "my name is reshaa, o commander of the faithful," answered she. "sing to us, o reshaa," said he. so she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: there's a houri healing passion [with her kiss], like a sapling or a wild gazelle at gaze. wine i quaff unto the vision of her cheeks[fn# ] and dispute the goblet with her, till she sways. then she lies and sleeps the night long in my arms, and i say, "this is the wish of all my days." "well done, o damsel!" said the khalif. "more." so she rose and kissing the ground before him, sang the following verse: she came out to gaze on the bridal at leisure, in a tunic with ambergris smeared, worth a treasure. the khalif was much pleased with this verse, which when reshaa saw, she repeated it several times. then said el mamoun, "bring up the barge," being minded to embark and depart: but ali said to him, "o commander of the faithful, i have a slave-girl, whom i bought for ten thousand dinars; she hath taken my whole heart, and i would fain show her to the commander of the faithful. if she please him and he will accept of her, she is his: and if not, let him hear something from her." "bring her to me," said the khalif; and there came forth a damsel, as she were a willow-wand, with heart-seducing eyes and eyebrows like a double bow. on her head she wore a crown of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, under which was a fillet, wrought in letters of chrysolite with the following words: behold, a jinniyeh this is; and jinn hath she also, i trow, who teach her men's hearts to transfix, by means of a stringless bow. she walked, with a gait like that of a fleeing gazelle, till she came to a chair, on which she seated herself. the khalif marvelled at her beauty and grace; but when abou isa saw her, his colour changed and he was in ill case. "o abou isa," said the khalif, "what ails thee, to change colour thus?" "o commander of the faithful," answered he, "it is because of pain that seizes me bytimes." "hast thou known yonder damsel before to-day?" asked el mamoun. "yes, o commander of the faithful," answered he. "can the moon be hidden?" then said el mamoun to her, "what is thy name, o damsel?" "my name is curret el ain, o commander of the faithful," replied she; and he said, "sing to us, o curret el ain." so she sang the following verses: the loved ones passed from thee in middle midnight's shade and fared forth in the dawn, with the pilgrims' cavalcade. the tents of pride they pitched round their pavilions and veiled themselves about with hangings of brocade. quoth the khalif, "bravo, o curret el ain! whose song is that?" "the words are by dibil el khuzai," answered she, "and the air by zourzour es seghir." abou isa looked at her and his tears choked him; so that the company marvelled at him. then she turned to el mamoun and said to him, "o commander of the faithful, wilt thou give me leave to change the words?" "sing what thou wilt," answered the khalif. so she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: if thou please me and he please thee in public, look thou hide and keep in secret straiter watch o'er love, lest ill betide. and disregard and put away the tales of slanderers; for seldom seeks the sland'rer aught but lovers to divide. they say that when a lover's near, he wearies of his love and that by absence passion's cured. 'tis false; for i have tried both remedies, but am not cured of that which is with me, withal that nearness easier is than distance to abide. yet nearness of abode, forsooth, may nowise profit thee, an if the grace of him thou lov'st be unto thee denied. when she finished, abou isa said, "o commander of the faithful, we will be at peace, though we be dishonoured. dost thou give me leave to reply to her?" "yes," answered the khalif. "say what thou wilt to her." so he swallowed his tears and sang these verses: i held my peace nor said, "i am in love;" and eke the passion that i felt even from my heart hid i: and natheless, if my eyes do manifest my love, it is because they are the shining moon anigh. then curret el ain took the lute and rejoined with the following: if what thou dost pretend were very truth, thou woulst not with mere wishing rest content, nor couldst endure to live without a girl, in charms and beauty wonder excellent. but there is nought in that thou dost avouch, save only idle talk and compliment. when abou isa heard this, he fell a-weeping and lamenting and discovered the trouble and anguish of his soul. then he raised his eyes to her and sighing, repeated the following: under my wede there is a wasted body and in my soul an all- absorbing thought. i have a heart, whose suffering is eternal, and eyes with tears like torrents ever fraught. when a wise man meets me, he rebukes me, chiding the love that thou in me hath wrought. lord, i've no strength all this my dole to suffer; prithee, come death or quick relief be brought! when he had ended, ali ben hisham sprang up and kissing his feet, said, "o my lord, god hath heard thy prayer and answered thy supplication, and consenteth to thy taking her with all her gear, so the commander of the faithful have no mind to her." "had we a mind to her," answered the khalif, "we would prefer abou isa before ourselves and help him to his desire." so saying, he rose and embarking, went away, whilst abou isa tarried for curret al ain, whom he took and carried to his own house, with a breast dilated for gladness. see then the generosity of ali ben hisham. el amin ben er reshid and his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi. el amin,[fn# ] son of er reshid, once entered the house of his uncle ibrahim ben el mehdi and saw there a slave-girl playing upon the lute. she was one of the fairest of women, and his heart inclined to her. ibrahim, seeing how it was with him, sent the girl to him, with rich apparel and precious jewels. when he saw her, he thought that his uncle had lain with her; so he was loath to have to do with her, because of this, and sent her back to ibrahim, accepting the present that came with her. ibrahim learnt the reason of this from one of el amin's servants; so he took a shift of flowered silk and let work upon his skirt, in letters of gold, the following lines: by him to whom all fronts do bow, of that which is beneath her skirt, i swear, i'm ignorant outright; nor have i had in aught to meddle with her mouth, except it were by way of hearing and of sight. then he clad her in the shift and giving her a lute sent her once more to his nephew. when she came into the latter's presence, she kissed the earth before him and tuning the lute, sang thereto the following verses: by returning the gift, thou showest what's hid in thy breast, and thine aversion to me is made manifest. as thou bear malice for aught that hath been,--forgive the past, for the khalifate's sake, and let it rest. when she had made an end of her song, el amin looked at her and reading that which was wrought upon her skirt, could not control himself, but drew near unto her and kissed her and appointed her a separate lodging in his palace. moreover, he thanked his uncle for this and bestowed on him the government of er reï.[fn# ] el feth ben khacan and the khalif el mutawekkil. the khalid el mutawekkil[fn# ] was once again taking medicine, and folk sent him all manner of presents and rarities. amongst others, el feth ben khacan[fn# ] sent him a virgin slave, high-bosomed, of the fairest of women of her time, and with her a vase of crystal, containing red wine, and a goblet of red gold, whereon were graven in black the following verses: when th' imam's made an end of taking medicine and health and strength ensue to him thereon, in fine, there's no medicament befits him but to drink, from out this cup, a draught of this decocted wine. and break the seal[fn# ] reserved to him, for this, indeed, right salutary is, hard after medicine. now the physician youhenna[fn# ] was with the khalif, when the damsel entered; and when he read the above verses, he smiled and said, 'by allah, o commander of the faithful, feth is better versed than i in the art of medicine: so let not the commander of the faithful gainsay his prescription.' accordingly, the khalif followed el feth's prescription and was made whole by the blessing of god. the man's dispute with the learned woman of the relative excellence of the male and the female. (quoth a certain man of learning) i never saw a woman sharper- witted, more intelligent, better furnished in learning, more excellent of faculties or more pleasant of ingredients than a female preacher of the people of baghdad, by name sitt el meshayikh.[fn# ] it chanced that she came to the city of hemah in the year [of the hegira] [fn# ] and there delivered salutary exhortations to the folk from the pulpits. now there used to visit her house a number of students of divinity and [other] persons of learning and culture, who would argue with her upon questions of theology and discuss controversial points with her. i went to her one day, with a friend of mine, a man of education; and when we had taken our seats, she set before us a dish of fruit and seated herself behind a curtain. now she had a [young] brother, a handsome youth, who stood by us, to serve us. when we had eaten, we fell to disputing upon points of divinity, and i propounded to her a theological question, bearing upon a difference between the imams.[fn# ] she proceeded to speak in answer, whilst i listened; but my friend fell the while to looking upon her brother's face and considering his charms, without paying any heed to what she said. now she was watching him from behind the curtain; so, when she had made an end of her exposition, she turned to him and said, "meseems thou art of those that give men the preference over women!" "assuredly," answered he. "and why so?" asked she. "because," replied he, "god hath preferred the male over the female; and i love that which excels and mislike that which is excelled." she laughed and said, "wilt thou deal fairly with me in argument, if i argue the matter with thee?" "i will," answered he. then said she, "what is the evidence of the superiority of the male to the female?" "it is of two kinds," answered he, "that which is founded on authority and that which is founded on reason. the authoritative part derives from the koran and the sunneh [traditions of the prophet]. as for the former, quoth god the most high, 'men stand above women, in that god hath given these the preference over those;'[fn# ] and again, 'if there be not two men, then [call] one man and two women;' [fn# ] and again, when treating of the law of inheritance, '[if there be brothers and sisters,] let each male have the like of the portion of two females.'[fn# ] thus god, blessed and exalted be he, hath in these places preferred the male over the female and teaches that a woman is as the half of a man, for that he is worthier than she. as for the sunneh, is it not reported of the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) that he appointed the blood-wit for a woman to be half that of a man? as for the evidence of reason, the male is the agent and the female the patient." "thou hast said well, o my lord," rejoined she; "but, by allah, thou hast proved my contention with thine own lips and hast advanced arguments that tell against thee, and not for thee. thus: god (blessed and exalted be he) preferred the male above the female, solely because of the quality of masculinity; and in this, there is no difference between us. now this quality [of masculinity] is common to the child, the boy, the youth, the adult and the graybeard; nor is there any distinction between them in this. since, then, the superior excellence of man enures to him solely by virtue of the quality of masculinity, it behoves that thy heart incline to the graybeard and thy soul delight in him, equally with the boy, seeing that there is no distinction between them, in point of masculinity. but the difference between thee and me turns upon the qualities that are sought as constituting excellence of intercourse and delight of usance; and thou hast adduced no proof of the superiority of the male over the female in this." "o my lady," answered he, "knowest thou not that which is proper to the boy of symmetry of shape and rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and sweetness of speech? boys are, in these respects, superior to women; and the proof of this is what is reported of the prophet, that he said, 'stay not thy gaze upon the beardless boys, for in them is the similitude[fn# ] of the black-eyed girls of paradise.' nor indeed is the superiority of the boy over the girl hidden to any, and how well saith abou nuwas: the least of his virtues it is that thou'rt free from uncleanness with him nor with child can he be. and what another poet says: quoth th' iman abou nuwas, past-master sure was he in every canon of debauch and jolly knavery, "o ye that love the downy cheeks of younglings, take your fill of a delight, in paradise that will not founden be." so if one enlarge in praise of a girl and wish to enhance her value by the mention of her charms, he likens her to a boy, because of the illustrious qualities that belong to the latter, even as saith the poet: boylike of buttocks, to and fro, in amorous dalliance, she sways as sway the nodding canes that in the north wind dance. if boys, then, were not superior to girls, why should the latter be likened to them? and know also, may god the most high preserve thee, that a boy is easy to be led, adapting himself to the wish, pleasant of commerce and manners, inclining to assent rather than difference, especially when the down on his face creeps lightly and the hair darkens on his lips and the vermilion of early youth runs in his cheeks, so that he is like the full moon; and how goodly is the saying of abou temmam: [fn# ] "the whiskers on his cheek appear;" the slanderers said to me; quoth i, "that's none of his defect; so give me no more prate." what time he came of age to bear buttocks that here and there pulled him and over beads of pearl his lips' hair darkened late and eke the rose a solemn oath, full fast and binding, swore its ruddy marvels from his cheek should never separate, i with my eyelids spoke to him, without the need of speech, and for reply thereto was what his eyebrows answered straight. his goodliness still goodlier is than that thou knewst of yore, and the hair guardeth him from those his charms would violate. brighter and sweeter are his charms, now on his cheek the down shows and the hair upon his lips grows dark and delicate; and those who chide me for the love of him, when they take up their parable of him and me, say evermore, "his mate." and quoth el heriri[fn# ] and saith well: my censors say, "what is this love and doting upon him? seest not the hair upon his cheeks that sprouts? where is thy wit?" quoth i, "by allah, an ye chide at me, i rede you note the exposition of the truth that in his eyes is writ. but for the blackness of the down, that veils his chin and cheeks, upon the brightness of his face no mortal gaze might sit. a man who sojourns in a land, wherein no herbage is, whenas the very spring arrives, shall he depart from it?" and quoth another: "he is consoled," say the censors of me; but, by heaven, they lie! for solace and comfort come hardly to those for longing that sigh. when the rose of his cheek stood blooming alone, i was not consoled; so how should i now find solace, that basil has sprung thereby? and again: a slender one, whose glances and the down upon his cheeks each other, in the slaying of folk, abet and aid. a sabre of narcissus[fn# ] withal, he sheddeth blood, the hangers[fn# ] of its scabbard of very myrtle made. and again: not with his wine i'm drunken, but with his tresses bright, that make all creatures drunken, yea, all beneath the sky. each of his charms doth envy the others; ay, and each to be the down so silky upon his cheek doth sigh. these are the excellences of the boy, that women do not possess, and these suffice and more to give boys the preference in grace and glory over women." "god give thee health!" cried she. "verily, thou hast imposed the discussion upon thyself; and thou hast spoken and hast not stinted and hast adduced these arguments, in support of thy contention. but now is the truth made manifest;[fn# ] so swerve thou not from the path thereof; and if thou be not content with a summary of proof, i will set it out to thee in detail. god on thee, where is the boy beside the girl and who shall liken the kid to the wild cow? the girl is soft of speech, fair of shape, like a stalk of sweet basil, with teeth like chamomile-petals and hair like halters. her cheeks are like blood-red anemones and her face like an apple; she hath lips like wine and breasts like double pomegranates and a shape flexile as a willow-wand. her body is rounded and well-formed: she hath a nose like the point of a shining sword and a forehead brilliant with whiteness and joined eyebrows and black and melting eyes. if she speak, fresh pearls are scattered from her mouth and all hearts are ravished by the daintiness of her charms; when she smiles, thou wouldst think the moon shone out from between her lips and when she gazes, swords flash from her eyes. in her all beauties have their term, and she is the centre of attraction of traveller and stay-at-home. she hath two red lips softer than cream and sweeter of taste than honey, and a bosom, as it were a way between two hills, wherein are a pair of breasts like globes of ivory; likewise, a smooth belly, soft of flanks as palm-flowers[fn# ] and creased with folds and dimples that overlap one another, and luxuriant thighs, like columns of pearl, and buttocks, that beat together like seas of crystal or mountains of light, and two slender feet and hands like ingot of virgin gold. so, o wretched fellow, where are mortal men besides the jinn? knowest thou not that mighty kings and captains and noble princes still submit themselves humbly to women and depend on them for delight? verily, they [women] say, 'we rule over [all] necks and captivate [all] hearts.' how many a rich man have they not made poor, how many a powerful one have they not humbled and how many a noble have they not reduced to servitude! indeed, they seduce the learned and bring the pious to shame and make poor the rich and plunge the favoured of fortune into misery. yet, for all this, the wise but redouble in love and honour of them, nor do they count this oppression or dishonour. how many a man for them hath transgressed against his lord and called down on himself the wrath of his father and mother! and all this because of the preponderance of the love of them over hearts. knowest thou not, o wretched fellow, that for them are palaces built and slave-girls bought, and over them curtains are let down, that for them do tears flow and for them armies levied and pleasure- houses raised up and riches gathered and heads smitten off? and indeed he spoke sooth who said, 'the world is a commentary [fn# ] upon women.' as for thy citation from the holy traditions, it is an argument against thee and not for thee; for the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) compares boys to the houris of paradise. now, without doubt, the subject of comparison is more worthy than the object compared with it; so, except women be the worthier and the goodlier, wherefore should other than they be likened to them? as for thy saying that girls are likened to boys, it is not so, but the contrary: boys are likened to girls; for folk say, 'yonder boy is like a girl.' as for that thou quotest from the poets, the verses in question were the product of an unnatural complexion in this respect; and as for the confirmed sodomists and debauchees, that sin against religion, whom god hath condemned in his holy book, wherein he denounceth their filthy practices, saying, 'do ye betake you to males from the four corners of the world and forsake that which your lord hath created for you of your wives? nay, but ye are a froward folk.'[fn# ] these it is that liken girls to boys, of their exceeding profligacy and frowardness and inclination to follow the devil and their own lusts, so that they say, 'she is apt for two men;' and these are all wanderers from the path of right. quoth their chief abou nuwas: a slender one, boyish of waist and of wit, for wencher as well as for sodomite fit. as for what thou sayest of a boy's whiskers and moustaches and how they add to his beauty and grace, by allah, thou wanderest from the right path and sayest that which is other than the truth; for whiskers change the charms of the comely into ugliness; even as saith the poet: the whiskers, that sprout on the cheek of the wight, his lovers avenge, if he 've done them unright. i see not on 's face what is like unto smoke, except that his curls are as coals to the sight. if the most of his paper[fn# ] thus blackened be, where is there room, deemest thou, for the pen to indite? if any prefer him another above, 'tis ignorance makes them thus turn from the light. glory be to god", continued she, "how is it hidden from thee that the perfection of delight is in women and that abiding pleasure is not to be found but with them? seeing that god (blessed and exalted be he) hath promised his prophets and saints black-eyed damsels in paradise and hath appointed them for a recompense of their pious works: and had god the most high known that the supreme delight was in the possession of other than women, he had rewarded them therewith and promised it to them. and quoth he whom god bless and preserve, 'the things in which i most delight of [the things of] your world are three: women and perfume and the solace of my eyes in prayer.' verily, god hath appointed boys to serve his prophets and saints in paradise, because paradise is the abode of delight and pleasance, which could not be complete without the service of boys; but, as to the use of them for aught but service, it is sin and corruption. how well saith the poet: men's turning unto boys is very frowardness; who noble[fn# ] women loves is noble[fn# ] none the less. what difference 'twixt the lewd and him whose bedfellow a houri is, for looks a very sorceress. he rises from her couch and she hath given him scent; he perfumes all the house therewith and each recess. no boy, indeed, is worth to be compared with her: shall aloes evened be with what not filthiness?" then said she, "o folk, ye have made me overpass the bounds of modesty and the province of free-born women and indulge in idle talk and freedoms of speech, that beseem not people of learning. but the breasts of the noble are the tombs of secrets, and conversations of this kind are in confidence. moreover, actions are according to intents, and i ask pardon of god for myself and you and all muslims, seeing that he is forgiving and merciful." with this she held her peace and thereafter would answer us of nought; so we went our way, rejoicing in that we had profited by her discourses and sorrowing to part from her. abou suweid and the handsome old woman. (quoth abou suweid), i entered a garden one day, i and a company of my friends, to buy somewhat of fruit; and we saw, in a corner of the place, an old woman, who was bright of face, but her hair was white, and she was combing it with a comb of ivory. we stopped before her, but she paid no heed to us neither veiled her face so i said to her' "o old woman, wert thou to dye thy hair black, thou wouldst be handsomer than a girl. what hinders thee from this?" she raised her head and looking at me with great eyes, recited the following verses: that which the years had dyed, i dyed erewhen but, sooth to tell, my dye endureth not, whilst that of time's perdurable clad in the raiment of my youth and beauty, of old days, proudly i walked, and back and front, men had with me to mell "by allah," cried i, "bravo to thee for an old woman! how sincere art thou in thy yearning remembrance of sin and how false in thy presence of repentance from for bidden things!" the amir ali ben tahir and the girl mounis. there was once shown to the amir ali ben mohammed ben abdallah ben tahir[fn# ] a slave-girl, who was excellently handsome and well-bred and an accomplished poetess; and he asked her of her name. 'may god advance the amir,' replied she, 'my name is mounis.' now he knew this before; so he bowed his head awhile, then raising his eyes to her, recited the following verse: what dost thou say of one, on whom sickness and pain have wrought, for love and longing after thee, till he is grown distraught? 'god exalt the amir!' answered she and recited this verse in reply: an if we saw a lover true, on whom the pangs of love were sore, we would to him vouchsafe the favours that he sought. her reply pleased him; so he bought her for threescore and ten thousand dirhems and begat on her obeidallah teen mohammed, after police-magistrate [at baghdad]. the woman who had a boy and the other who had a man to lover. (quoth abou el ainaä[fn# ]), there were in our street two women, one of whom had to lover a man and the other a beardless boy, and they foregathered one night on the roof of a house, not knowing that i was within hearing. quoth one to the other, "o my sister, how canst thou brook the harshness of thy lover's beard, as it falls on thy breast, when he kisses thee, and his moustaches rub thy cheek and lips?" "silly wench that thou art," replied the other, "what adorns the tree but its leaves and the cucumber but its bloom? didst ever see aught uglier than a scald-head, with his beard plucked out? knowest thou not that the beard is to men as the side-locks to women; and what is the difference between the chin and the cheek? knowest thou not that god (blessed and exalted be he) hath created an angel in heaven, who saith, 'glory be to him who adorneth men with beards and women with tresses?' so, were not the beard even as the tresses in comeliness, it had not been coupled with them, o silly woman! how shall i underlie a boy, who will be hasty with me in emission and forestall me in flaccescence, and leave a man, who, when he takes breath, clips close and when he enters, goes leisurely, and when he has done, repeats, and when he pushes, pushes hard, and as often as he withdraws, returns?" the other was edified by her speech and said, "i forswear my lover by the lord of the kaabeh!" the haunted house in baghdad. there lived once, in the city of cairo, a merchant by name hassan the jeweller of baghdad, who had great store of wealth in money and jewels and lands and houses beyond count. god had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and elegance, rosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-shaped, whom he named ali of cairo and taught the koran and science and elocution and the other branches of polite letters, till he became proficient in all manner of knowledge and was under his father's hand in trade. after awhile, hassan fell sick and his sickness increased upon him, till he made sure of death and calling his son to him, said, 'o my son, verily this world passeth away; but the next endureth for ever. every soul must taste of death; and now, o my son, my last hour is at hand and i desire to lay on thee an injunction, which if thou observe, thou shalt abide in peace and prosperity, till thou meet god the most high; but if thou follow it not, there shall befall thee weariness galore and thou wilt repent of having transgressed my admonitions.' 'o my father,' replied ali, 'how shall i do other than hearken to thee and do after thine enjoinder, seeing that i am bounden by the law of god to obey thee and give ear to thy word?' 'o my son,' rejoined his father, 'i leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past count; wert thou each day to spend thereof five hundred dinars, thou wouldst miss nought of it. but, o my son, look that thou live in the fear of god and follow his chosen one (whom may he bless and preserve) in what he is reported to have enjoined and forbidden in his traditions. be thou assiduous in good works and the practice of beneficence and in consorting with men of worth and piety and learning; and look that thou have a care for the poor and needy and shun avarice and meanness and the converse of the wicked or those of doubtful character. look kindly upon thy servants and family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the daughters of the notables and is with child by thee; belike god will vouchsafe thee virtuous offspring by her.' and he went on to exhort him thus, weeping and saying, 'o my son, i beseech god the bountiful, the lord of the empyrean, to deliver thee from all straits that may betide thee and grant thee his speedy relief!' his son wept sore and said, 'o my father, i am consumed by thy words, for they are as the words of one that saith farewell.' 'yes, o my son,' replied the merchant, 'i am ware of my condition: forget thou not my enjoinder.' then he fell to repeating the professions of the faith and reciting [verses of the koran], until the appointed hour arrived, when he said, 'draw near unto me, o my son.' so ali drew near and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed his body and he went to the mercy of god the most high. therewith great grief fell upon ali; the noise of lamentation arose in his house and his father's friends flocked to him. then he betook himself to preparing him for burial and made him a splendid funeral. they bore him to the place of prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they buried him and recited over him what was fitting of the koran; after which they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man's son and went each his own way. moreover, ali prayed the friday prayers for his father and let make recitations of the whole koran for the [accustomed] space of forty days, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every friday he visited his father's tomb. he ceased not from his prayers and devotions, till, at last, his fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and saluting him, said, 'how long wilt thou keep up this thy mourning and neglect thy business and the company of thy friends? verily, this is a fashion that will bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer greatly for it.' now, when they came in to him, iblis the accursed was with them, prompting them, and they went on to press him to accompany them to the bazaar, whilst iblis incited him to consent to them, till he yielded and went forth the house with them, that the will of god (blessed and exalted be he) might be fulfilled. 'mount thy mule,' quoth they, 'and ride with us to such a garden, that we may divert us there and that thy grief and melancholy may depart from thee.' so he mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden in question, where they entered, and one of them went and making ready the morning- meal, brought it to them there. so they ate and made merry and sat, talking, till the end of the day, when they mounted and returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. on the morrow, they said to ali, 'come with us.' 'whither?' asked he, and they answered, 'to such a garden; for it is finer than the first and more pleasant.' so he went with them to the garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and brought it to them, together with strong wine; and ali said, 'what is this?' quoth they, 'this is what dispels grief and unveils gladness.' and they went on to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and he drank with them. then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end of the day, when each returned home. as for ali, he was giddy with wine and went in, in this plight, to his wife, who said to him, 'what ails thee?' quoth he, 'we were making merry to-day, when one of my companions brought us liquor; so my friends drank and i with them, and this giddiness came upon me.' 'o my lord,' said she, 'hast thou forgotten thy fathers injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with lewd folk?' 'these are of the sons of the merchants,' answered he; 'they are no lewd folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer.' and he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day, going from place to place and feasting and drinking with them, till they said to him, 'our turns are ended, and now it is thy turn.' 'welcome and fair welcome!' answered he; so, on the morrow, he made ready all that the case called for of meat and drink, double what they had provided, and taking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee- makers, repaired with the others to er rauzeh[fn# ] and the nilometer, where they abode a whole month, eating and drinking and hearing music and making merry. at the end of the month, ali found that he had spent a great sum of money; but satan the accursed deluded him and said to him, 'though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum, yet would not thy wealth fail.' so he took no account of expense and continued this way of life three years, whilst his wife remonstrated with him and reminded him of his father's injunctions; but he hearkened not to her, till he had spent all his ready money, when he fell to selling his jewels and spending their price, till they were all gone. then he sold his houses and lands and farms and gardens, one after another, till they were all gone and he had nothing left but the house in which he lived. so he tore out the marble and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had made an end of this also, when he bethought himself and finding that he had nothing left to spend, sold the house itself and spent the purchase-money. presently, the man who had bought the house came to him and said, 'look thyself out a lodging, for i have need of my house.' so he bethought himself and considering that he had nothing requiring a house, except his wife, who had borne him a son and daughter,--for he had not a servant left,--hired a room in one of the mean lodging houses and there took up his abode, after having lived in honour and luxury, with many servants and much wealth, and came to lack of one day's bread. quoth his wife, 'i warned thee of this and exhorted thee to obey thy father's injunction, and thou wouldst not hearken to me; but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! whence shall the little ones eat? arise, go round to thy friends, the sons of the merchants: it may be they will give thee somewhat on which we may live this day.' so he went the round of his friends, one by one; but they all hid their faces from him and gave him nothing but injurious and revolting words; and he returned to his wife and said to her, 'they have given me nothing.' thereupon she went out to beg of her neighbours wherewithal to sustain themselves and came to a woman, whom she had known in former days. when she came in to her and she saw her plight, she rose and receiving her kindly, wept and said, 'what hath befallen thee?' so she told her of her husband's conduct, and the other said, 'welcome and fair welcome! whatever thou needest, seek it of me, without price.' 'may god abundantly requite thee!' answered she. then her friend gave her as much victual as would suffice herself and her family a whole month, and she took it and returned to her lodging. when her husband saw her, he wept and said, 'whence hadst thou that?' 'i got it of such a woman,' answered she; 'for, when i told her what had befallen us, she failed me not in aught, but said, "seek of me all thou needest."' 'since thou hast this,' rejoined her husband, 'i will betake myself to a place i have in my mind; peradventure god the most high will bring us relief.' so saying, he took leave of her and kissing the children, went out, not knowing whither he should go, and walked on till he came to boulac,[fn# ] where he saw a ship about to sail for damietta. here he met a man, between whom and his father there had been friendship; and he saluted him and said to him, 'whither away?' 'to damietta,' replied ali; 'i have friends there, whom i would fain enquire after and visit and return.' the man took him home and entreated him hospitably, then, furnishing him with victual [for the voyage] and giving him somewhat of money, embarked him on board the vessel bound for damietta. when they reached that place, ali landed, not knowing where to go, but, as he was walking along, a merchant saw him and had pity on him. so he carried him to his house, where he abode awhile, till he said in himself, 'how long shall this sojourning in other folks' houses last?' then he left the merchant's house and went down to the quay, where he saw a ship ready to sail for syria. his host provided him with victual and embarked him in the ship; and it set sail and arrived, in due course, at the coast of syria, where he landed and journeyed till he entered damascus. as he walked about the town, a benevolent man saw him and took him to his house, where he abode awhile, till, one day, going abroad, he saw a caravan about to start for baghdad and bethought himself to journey thither with it. so he returned to his host and taking leave of him, set out with the caravan. now god (blessed and exalted be he) inclined to him the heart of one of the merchants, so that he took him with him, and ali ate and drank with him, till they came within one day's journey of baghdad, where a company of highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they had. but few of the merchants escaped and these made each for a [separate] place of refuge. as for ali, he made for baghdad, where he arrived at sundown, as the gatekeepers were about to shut the gates, and said to them 'let me in with you.' so they admitted him and asked him whence he came and whither he was bound. 'i am a man from the city of cairo,' replied he, 'and have with me mules laden with merchandise and slaves and servants. i forewent them, to look me out a place wherein to deposit my goods; but as i rode along on my mule, there fell upon me a company of highway robbers, who took my mule and gear; nor did i escape from them but at the last gasp.' the warders entreated him hospitably and bade him welcome, saying, 'abide with us this night, and in the morning we will look thee out a place befitting thee.' then he sought in his pocket and finding a dinar remaining of those he had gotten of the merchant at boulac, gave it to one of the gatekeepers, saying, 'take this and change it and bring us something to eat.' the man took it and went to the market, where he changed it and brought ali bread and cooked meat. so he ate, he and the gatekeepers, and he lay the night with them. on the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a merchant of the town, to whom he told the same story, and he believed him, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him loads of merchandise. so he took him up into his shop and entreated him with honour. moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit of his own apparel for him and carried him to the bath. so, [quoth ali], i went with him to the bath, and when we came out, he brought me to his house, where he caused set the morning-meal before us, and we ate and made merry. then said he to one of his slaves, "harkye, mesoud, take this thy lord and show him the two houses in such a place. whichever pleases him of them, give him the key of it and come back." so i went with the slave, till we came to a place where stood three houses, side by side, new and shut up. he opened the first and the second, and i looked at them; after which he said to me, "of which of them shall i give thee the key?" "to whom does yon large house belong?" asked i. "to us," answered he; and i said, "open it, that i may view it." quoth he, "thou hast no call to it." "wherefore?" asked i; and he, "because it is haunted, and none lodges there but in the morning he is a dead man; nor do we use to open the door, to take out the corpse, but mount the roof of one of the other two houses and take it up thence. for this reason, my master has abandoned the house and says, 'i will never again give it to any one.'" quoth i, "open it, that i may view it;" and i said in myself, "this is what i seek. i will pass the night there and in the morning be a dead man and be at peace from this miserable plight of mine." so he opened it and i entered and found it a splendid house, without its like; and i said to the slave, "i will have none other than this house; give me the key." but he answered, "i will not give thee this key till i consult my master," and going to the latter, said to him, "the egyptian merchant saith, 'i will lodge in none but the great house.'" when the merchant heard this, he rose and coming to ali, said to him, 'o my lord, thou hast no need of this house.' but he replied, 'i will lodge in none other than this; for i care nothing for this saying.'[fn# ] 'then,' said the other, 'write me an acknowledgment that, if aught happen to thee, i am not responsible.' 'so be it,' answered ali; whereupon the merchant fetched an assessor from the cadi's court and taking of him the prescribed acknowledgment, delivered him the key, which he took and entered the house. the merchant sent him bedding by a slave, who spread it for him on the bench behind the door and went away. presently ali went into the inner court and seeing there a well with a bucket, let down the latter and drew water, with which he made the ablution and prayed the obligatory prayers. then he sat awhile, till the merchant's slave brought him the evening meal from his master's house, together with a lamp, a candle and candlestick, a basin and ewer and a gugglet; after which he left him and returned home. ali lighted the candle and supped at his ease and prayed the evening prayer; after which he said to himself, 'let us take the bed and go upstairs and sleep there, rather than here.' so he took the bed and carried it upstairs, where he found a splendid saloon, with gilded ceiling and walls and floor of variegated marble. he spread his bed there and sitting down, began to recite somewhat of the sublime koran, when suddenly he heard one calling to him and saying, 'o ali, o son of hassan, shall i send thee down the gold?' and he answered, 'send away.' hardly had he spoken, when pieces of gold began to rain down on him, like [pebbles from] a mangonel, nor stinted till the saloon was full. then said the voice, 'set me free, that i may go my way; for i have made an end of my service and have delivered unto thee that which was committed to me for thee.' quoth ali, 'i adjure thee by the most high god to tell me the history of this gold.' 'this is a treasure that was enchanted to thee of old time,' replied the voice; 'and to every one, who entered the house, we used to come and say to him, "o ali, o son of hassan, shall we send down the gold?" whereat he would be affrighted and cry out, and we would come down to him and break his neck and go away. but, when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy name and that of thy father, saying, "shall we send thee down the gold?" and thou madest answer, saying, "send away," we knew thee for the owner of it and sent it down. moreover, there is yet another treasure for thee in the land of yemen, whither thou wouldst do well to journey and fetch it. and now i would have thee set me free, that i may go my way.' 'by allah,' said ali, 'i will not set thee free, till thou bring me hither the treasure from yemen!' quoth the voice, 'if i bring it thee, wilt thou release me and the servant of the other treasure also?' 'yes,' replied ali; and the genie said, 'swear to me.' so he swore to him, and he was about to go away, when ali said to him, 'i have one other service to ask of thee.' 'what is that?' asked the genie. quoth ali, 'i have a wife and children at cairo, in such a place; thou must fetch them to me, at their ease and without hurt.' 'i will bring them to thee in state,' answered the genie, 'in a litter, with a train of slaves and servants, together with the treasure from yemen, if it be the will of god the most high.' then he took of him leave of absence for three days, at the end of which time all this should be with him, and departed. when it was morning, ali went round about the saloon, seeking a place wherein to lay the gold, and saw in the wall of the dais a marble panel, with a knob in it. so he pressed the knob and the panel slid back and discovered a door, which he opened and entering, found a great closet, full of linen bags. so he took out the bags and fell to filling them with gold and replacing them in the closet, till he had transported thither the whole treasure, whereupon he shut the door and pressing the knob, the panel returned to its place. then he went down and seated himself on the bench behind the door. presently, there came a knock at the door; so he opened it and found the merchant's slave, who, seeing him, returned in haste to his master with the good tidings, saying, 'o my lord, the merchant, who is lodged in the haunted house, is alive and well and sits on the bench behind the door.' when the merchant heard this, he rose joyfully and went to the house, taking breakfast with him; and when he saw ali, he embraced him and kissed him between the eyes, saying, 'how hath god dealt with thee?' 'right well,' answered ali. 'i slept upstairs in the marble saloon.' quoth the merchant, 'did aught come to thee or didst thou see aught?' 'no,' replied ali; 'i recited some little of the koran and slept till morning, when i arose and after making the ablution and praying, came down and seated myself on the bench behind the door.' 'praised be god for safety!' exclaimed the merchant, then left him and presently sent him slaves and servants, black and white and male and female, with furniture. they swept the house from top to bottom and furnished it magnificently, after which three black slaves and the like number of white and four slave-girls abode with him, to serve him, and the rest returned to their master's house. when the merchants heard of him, they sent him presents of all manner of things of price, even to meat and drink and clothes, and took him with them in the market, saying, 'when will thy baggage arrive?' and he answered, 'after three days it will come.' accordingly, when the three days had elapsed, the servant of the first treasure came to him and said, 'go forth and meet thy harem, together with the treasure i have brought thee from yemen, part of which is by way of costly merchandise; but the slaves, black and white, and the horses and camels and mules are all of the jinn. (now the genie, when he betook himself to cairo, found ali's wife and children in sore straits for nakedness and hunger; so he carried them forth of the town in a travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous raiment of that which was in the treasure of yemen.) when ali heard this, he rose and repairing to the merchants, said to them, 'come, go forth the city with me, to meet the caravan, with my merchandise, and honour me with the presence of your harems, to meet my harem.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they and sending for their harems, went forth all together and alighted in one of the gardens without the city. as they sat talking, behold, a cloud of dust arose out of the heart of the desert, and they came out to see what it was. presently, it lifted and discovered mules and muleteers and tent-pitchers and linkmen, who came on, singing and dancing, till they reached the garden, when the chief of the muleteers came up to ali and kissing his hand, said to him, 'o my lord, we have been long on the way, for we thought to enter some days ago; but we were in fear of the highway-robbers, so abode in our station four days, till god the most high rid us of them.' then the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with the caravan, wondering at the [number of] mules laden with chests, whilst their harems followed them, with ali's harem, marvelling at the richness of the apparel of his wife and children and saying to each other, 'verily, the king of baghdad hath no such raiment, no, nor any other of the kings or merchants or notables.' so they entered baghdad in great state and rode on till they came to ali's house, where they alighted and brought the mules and their burdens into the midst of the courtyard. then they unloaded them and laid up the goods in the storehouses, whilst the merchants' wives went up with ali's family to the saloon, which they found as it were a luxuriant garden, spread with magnificent furniture. they sat in mirth and good cheer till noon, when they brought them up the noon meal, of all manner meats and sweetmeats of the best; and they ate and drank costly sherbets and perfumed themselves thereafter with rose-water and scented woods. then they took leave and departed, men and women. when the merchants returned home, they all sent presents to ali, according to their conditions; and their wives likewise sent presents to his wife, so that there came to them great plenty of slaves, black and white and male and female, and store of all manner goods, such as grain and sugar and so forth, beyond count. as for the landlord of the house, he abode with ali and quitted him not, but said to him, 'let the slaves and servants take the mules and the other cattle into one of my other houses, to rest.' quoth ali, 'they set out again to-night for such a place.' then he gave them leave to go forth the city, that they might set out on their journey at nightfall; whereupon they took leave of him forthright and departing the city, flew off through the air to their several abodes. ali and the merchant sat together till a third of the night was past, when the latter returned to his own house and ali went up to his wife and children and greeted them, saying, 'what hath befallen you all this time?' so she told him what they had suffered of hunger and nakedness and toil, and he said, 'praised be god for safety! how did ye come?' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'i was asleep, with my children, yesternight, when suddenly one raised us from the ground and carried us through the air, without doing us any hurt, nor did he give over flying with us, till he set us down in a place as it were a bedouin camping-place, where we saw laden mules and a litter borne upon two great mules, and round them servants, boys and men. so i said to them, "who are ye and what are these loads and where are we?" and they answered, "we are the servants of the merchant ali ibn hassan of cairo, who has sent us to fetch you to him at baghdad." quoth i, "is it far or near, hence to baghdad?" "near," answered they; "there lies but the darkness of the night between us and the city." then they mounted us in the litter, and on the morrow, we found ourselves with thee, without having suffered any hurt. 'who gave you these clothes?' asked he, and she said, 'the chief of the caravan opened one of the chests on the mules and taking out the clothes, clad me and the children each in a suit; after which he locked the chest and gave me the key, saying, "take care of it, till thou give it to thy husband." and here it is, safe.' so saying, she gave him the key, and he said, 'dost thou know the chest?' 'yes,' answered she. so he took her down to the magazine and she pointed it out, whereupon he put the key in the lock and opened the chest, in which he found much raiment and the keys of all the other chests. so he took them out and fell to opening the other chests, one after another, and feasting his eyes upon the jewels and precious metals they contained, whose like was not found with any of the kings; after which he locked them again and took the keys, saying to his wife, 'this is of the bounty of god the most high.' then he returned with her to the saloon and bringing her to the secret panel, pressed the knob and opened the door of the closet into which he entered with her and showed her the gold he had laid up there. quoth she, 'whence hadst thou all this?' 'it came to me by the grace of my lord,' answered he and told her all that had befallen him, from first to last. 'o my lord,' said she, 'all this comes of the blessing of thy father's prayers, whenas he prayed for thee, before his death, saying, "i beseech god to cast thee into no strait, except he bring thee speedy deliverance [therefrom]!" so praised be god the most high for that he hath brought thee relief and hath requited thee with more than thou didst lose! but god on thee, o my lord, return not to thy sometime fashion and companying with folk of lewd life; but look thou fear god the most high, both in public and private!' and she went on to admonish him. quoth he, 'i accept thine admonition and beg god the most high to remove the wicked from us and stablish us in his obedience and in the observance of the law of his prophet, on whom be peace and salvation!' ali and his wife and children were now in all delight of life and gladness; and he opened him a shop in the merchants' bazaar and stocking it with jewels and precious metals, sat therein with his children and servants. he soon became the most considerable of the merchants of baghdad, and his report reached the king of that city, who sent a messenger to command his attendance. so he took four trays of red gold and filling them with jewels and precious metals, such as no king possessed, went up to the palace and presenting himself before the prince, kissed the earth before him and wished him continuance of glory and prosperity, in the best words he could command. 'o merchant,' said the king, 'thou honourest our city with thy presence;' and ali rejoined, saying, 'o king of the age, thy slave hath brought thee a present and hopes for acceptance thereof from thy favour.' so saying, he laid the four trays before the king, who uncovered them and seeing that they contained jewels, whose like he possessed not and whose worth equalled treasuries of money, said, 'o merchant, thy present is accepted, and so god please, we will requite thee with its like.' and ali kissed his hands and went away. then the king called his grandees and said to them, 'how many kings have sought my daughter in marriage?' 'many,' answered they. 'hath any of them given me the like of this gift?' asked he. 'not one,' replied they; 'for that none of them hath its like;' and he said, 'i have consulted god the most high,[fn# ] as to marrying my daughter to this merchant. what say ye?' 'be it as thou deemest,' answered they. then he bade the eunuch carry the four trays into his harem and going in to his wife, laid them before her. she uncovered them and seeing therein that whose like she possessed not,--no, nor a fraction thereof,--said to him, 'of which of the kings hadst thou these? peradventure of one of those that seek our daughter in marriage?' 'not so,' answered he, 'i had them of an egyptian merchant, who is lately come to our city. i heard tell of him and sent to command him to us, thinking to make his acquaintance, so haply we might find with him somewhat of jewels and buy them of him for our daughter's equipment. he obeyed the summons and brought us these four trays, as a present, and i saw him to be a handsome and elegant young man[fn# ] of dignified aspect and accomplished wit, well-nigh as he were of the sons of the kings. wherefore my heart inclined to him and i rejoiced in him and thought to marry my daughter to him.' then he told her what had passed between himself and his grandees on the subject and added, 'but what sayst thou?' 'o king of the age,' answered she, 'the affair is in god's hand, and thine, and what god willeth shall come to pass.' 'if it be his will,' rejoined the king, 'i will marry her to none other than this young man.' so, on the morrow, he went out to his divan and sending for ali and the rest of the merchants of baghdad, bade them be seated. then he summoned the cadi of the divan and said to him, 'o cadi, draw up the contract of marriage between my daughter and the merchant ali of cairo.' but the latter said, 'thy pardon, o our lord the sultan! it befits not that a merchant, such as i, be the king's son-in-law.' quoth the king, 'it is my will to bestow this favour upon thee, as well as the vizierate.' and he invested him forthwith in the vizier's habit. then ali sat down in the seat of the vizierate and said, 'o king of the age, thou hast bestowed on me this; and indeed i am honoured by thy bounties; but hear one word from me.' 'say on,' answered the king, 'and fear not.' quoth ali, 'since it is thine august will to marry thy daughter, thou wouldst do better to marry her to my son.' 'hast thou then a son?' asked the king; and ali replied, 'yes.' 'send for him forthright,' said the king; whereupon, 'i hear and obey,' answered ali and sent a servant to fetch his son, who came and kissing the ground before the king, stood in an attitude of respect. the king looked at him and seeing him to be yet comelier than his daughter and goodlier than she in symmetry and brightness and perfection, said to him, 'o my son, what is thy name?' 'o our lord the sultan,' replied the young man, who was then fourteen years old, 'my name is hassan.' then the sultan said to the cadi, 'write the contract of marriage between my daughter husn el wujoud and hassan, son of the merchant ali of cairo.' so he wrote the contract of marriage between them, and the affair was ended on the goodliest wise; after which all in the divan went their ways and the merchants escorted the vizier ali to his house, where they gave him joy of his advancement and departed. then he went in to his wife, who, seeing him clad in the vizier's habit, exclaimed, 'what is this?' so he told her all that had passed, and she rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy. on the morrow, he went up to the divan, where the king received him with especial favour and seating him beside himself, said to him, 'o vizier, we purpose to celebrate the wedding festivities and bring thy son in to our daughter.' 'o our lord the sultan,' replied ali, 'that thou deemest good is good.' so the sultan gave orders for the festivities, and they decorated the city and held high festival thirty days, in all cheer and gladness; at the end of which time, the vizier ali's son hassan went in to the princess and enjoyed her beauty and grace. when the queen saw her daughter's husband, she conceived a warm affection for him, and in like manner she rejoiced greatly in his mother. then the king bade build his son-in-law a palace beside his own; so they built him with all speed a splendid palace, in which he took up his abode; and his mother used to abide with her son some days and then return to her own house. after awhile, the queen said to her husband, 'o king of the age, hassan's mother cannot take up her abode with her son and leave the vizier; neither can she abide with her husband and leave her son.' 'thou sayst sooth,' replied the king and bade build a third palace beside the two others, which being done in a few days, he caused remove thither the vizier's goods, and the latter and his wife took up their abode there. now the three palaces communicated with one another, so that, when the king had a mind to speak with the vizier by night, he would go to him or send to fetch him; and so with hassan and his father and mother. they dwelt thus in the greatest happiness and contentment awhile, till the king fell ill and his sickness increased on him. so he summoned the grandees of his realm and said to them, 'there is come upon me a sore sickness, peradventure a mortal one, and i have therefore summoned you to consult you respecting a certain matter, on which i would have you counsel me as you deem well.' 'what is the matter of which thou wouldst take counsel with us, o king?' asked they; and he answered, 'i am old and sickly and i fear for the realm, after me, from the enemies; so i would have you all agree upon some one, that i may proclaim him king in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease.' whereupon quoth they all, 'we all approve of thy son-in-law hassan, son of the vizier ali; for we have seen the perfectness of his wit and understanding, and he knows the rank of all, great and small. 'are ye indeed agreed upon this?' asked the king, and they answered, 'yes.' 'peradventure,' quoth he, 'ye say this to my face, of respect for me; but, behind my back, ye will say otherwise.' but they all answered, saying, 'by allah, our word, in public and in private, is one, varying not; and we accept him frankly and with all our hearts.' 'since the case is thus,' said the king, 'bring the cadi of the holy law and all the chamberlains and captains and officers of state before me to-morrow, and we will settle the affair on the goodliest wise.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they and withdrawing, notified all the doctors of the law and the chief amirs. so, on the morrow, they came up to the divan and saluted the king, who said to them, 'o amirs of baghdad, whom will ye have to be king over you after me, that i may invest him in my lifetime, in the presence of you all?' quoth they all, 'we are agreed upon thy daughter's husband, hassan, son of the vizier ali.' 'if it be so,' said the king, 'go all of you and bring him before me.' so they all arose and repairing to hassan's palace, said to him, 'come with us to the king.' 'wherefore?' asked he, and they answered, 'for a thing that will advantage both us and thee.' so he went in with them to the king and kissed the ground before the latter, who bade him be seated and said to him, 'o hassan, all the amirs have approved of thee and agreed to make thee king over them after me; and it is my purpose to proclaim thee, whilst i yet live, and so make an end of the business.' but hassan arose and kissing the earth once more before the king, said to him, 'o our lord the king, among the amirs there be [many] who are older than i and greater of worth; hold me quit therefore of this thing.' quoth all the amirs, 'we consent not but that thou be king over us.' then said hassan, 'my father is older than i, and he and i are one thing; and it befits not to advance me over him.' but ali said, 'i will consent to nothing but what is pleasing to my brethren; and they have all chosen and agreed upon thee. wherefore gainsay thou not the king's commandment and that of thy brethren.' and hassan hung his head in abashment before the king and his father. then said the king to the amirs, 'do ye all accept of him?' 'we do,' answered they and recited thereupon seven fatihehs.'[fn# ] so the king said to the cadi, 'draw up a legal act testifying of these amirs that they are agreed to make my daughter's husband hassan king over them.' so the cadi wrote the act and made it executory,[fn# ] after they had all taken the oath of fealty to hassan. then the king invested him with the insignia of royalty and bade him take his seat on the throne; whereupon they all arose and kissed king hassan's hands and did homage to him. the new king dispensed justice among the people that day, in right royal fashion, and invested the grandees of the realm in splendid robes of honour. when the divan broke up, he went in to his father-and-law and kissed his hands; and the old king said to him, 'o my son, look thou govern the people in the fear of god.' 'o my father,' replied hassan, 'through thy prayers for me, the grace of god will come to me.' then he entered his own palace and was met by his wife and her mother and their attendants, who kissed his hands and gave him joy of his advancement, saying, 'this is a blessed day.' then he went in to his father and mother, who rejoiced with an exceeding joy in that which god had vouchsafed him of his advancement to the kingship, and his father exhorted him to the fear of god and to affectionate solicitude in his dealings with his subjects. he passed the night in joy and gladness, and on the morrow, having prayed the appointed prayers, concluding with the customary recitation of part of the koran, he repaired to the divan, whither came all his officers and dignitaries. he passed the day in dispensing justice among his subjects, enjoining to beneficence and forbidding from iniquity and appointing and displacing, till nightfall, when the divan broke up, after the goodliest fashion, and all present withdrew and went each his own way. then he arose and went in to the palace, where he found his father-in-law's sickness grown heavy upon him and said to him, 'may no hurt befall thee!' at this the old king opened his eyes and said, 'o hassan!' 'at thy service, o my lord,' replied the young man. quoth the old king, 'my last hour is at hand: be careful of thy wife and her mother and look thou fear god and honour thy parents, being still in awe of the majesty of the requiting king and remembering that he commandeth to justice and beneficence.' and hassan replied, 'i hear and obey.' the old king lingered three days after this and was then received into the mercy of god the most high. they paid him the last offices and buried him and held over him readings and recitations of the koran, to the end of the [customary] forty days. and king hassan, son of the vizier, reigned in his stead, and his subjects rejoiced in him and all his days were gladness. moreover, his father ceased not to be his chief vizier on his right hand, and he took to himself another vizier, to be at his left hand. his reign was a prosperous one and he abode long king in baghdad. god blessed him, by the old king's daughter, with three sons, who inherited the kingdom after him; and they abode in the enjoyment of all delight and solace of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. and glory be to him who is eternal and in whose hand are annulment and confirmation! the pilgrim and the old woman who dwelt in the desert. a man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found no trace of the caravan. so he arose and walked on, but lost his way and presently came to a tent, at whose door he saw an old woman and a dog by her, asleep. he went up to the tent and saluting the old woman, sought of her food. 'go to yonder valley,' said she, 'and catch thy sufficiency of serpents, that i may broil of them for thee and give thee to eat.' 'i dare not catch serpents,' answered the pilgrim; 'nor did i ever eat them.' quoth the old woman, 'i will go with thee and catch them; fear not.' so she went with him, followed by the dog, to the valley, and catching a sufficient number of serpents, proceeded to broil them. he saw nothing for it but to eat, for fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate of the serpents. then he was athirst and asked for water to drink. 'go to the spring and drink,' answered she. so he went to the spring and found the water thereof bitter; yet needs must he drink of it, for all its bitterness, because of the violence of his thirst. then he returned to the old woman and said to her, 'o old woman, i marvel at thy choosing to abide in this place and putting up with such meat and drink!' 'and how is it then in thy country?' asked she. 'in my country,' answered he, 'are wide and spacious houses and ripe and delicious fruits and sweet and abundant waters and goodly viands and fat meats and plentiful flocks and all things pleasant and all the goods of life, the like whereof are not, save in the paradise that god the most high hath promised to his pious servants.' 'all this,' replied she, 'have i heard: but tell me, have you a sultan who ruleth over you and is tyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you are, who, if one of you commit a fault, taketh his goods and undoth him and who, when he will, turneth you out of your houses and uprooteth you, stock and branch?' 'indeed, that may be,' answered the man. 'then, by allah,' rejoined she, 'these your delicious viands and dainty life and pleasant estate, with tyranny and oppression, are but a corroding poison, in comparison wherewith, our food and fashion, with freedom and safety, are a healthful medicine. hast thou not heard that the best of all boons, after the true faith, are health and security?' now these[fn# ] [quoth he who tells the tale] may be by the just rule of the sultan, the vicar of god in his earth, and the goodness of his policy. the sultan of times past needed but little awfulness, for that, when the people saw him, they feared him; but the sultan of these days hath need of the most accomplished policy and the utmost majesty, for that men are not as men of time past and this our age is one of folk depraved and greatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of heart and inclined to hatred and enmity. if, therefore, the sultan that is set over them be (which god the most high forfend) weak or lack of policy and majesty, without doubt, this will be the cause of the ruin of the land. quoth the proverb, 'a hundred years of the sultan's tyranny, rather than one of the tyranny of the people, one over another.' when the people oppress one another, god setteth over them a tyrannical sultan and a despotic king. thus it is told in history that there was, one day, presented to el hejjaj ben yousuf[fn# ] a docket, in which was written, 'fear god and oppress not his servants with all manner of oppression.' when he read this, he mounted the pulpit, (for he was ready of speech,) and said, 'o folk' god the most high hath set me over you, by reason of your [evil] deeds; and though i die, yet will ye not be delivered from oppression, with your evil deeds; for god the most high hath created many like unto me. if it be not i, it will be a more fertile than i in mischief and a mightier in oppression and a more strenuous in violence, even as saith the poet: for no hand is there but the hand of god is over it and no oppressor but shall be with worse than he oppress. tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. we beg god to better our case.' aboulhusn and his slave-girl taweddud. there was once in baghdad a man of rank and rich in money and houses and lands, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants, and god had largely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not vouchsafed him what he longed for of offspring; and there passed over him a long space of time, without his being blessed with children, male or female. his years waxed great, his bones became wasted and his back bent, and weakness and trouble increased on him, and he feared the loss of his wealth and possessions, seeing he had no child, whom he might make his heir and by whom he should be remembered. so he betook himself with supplication to god the most high, fasting by day and rising by night [to pray]. moreover, he made vows to god the living, the eternal, and visited the pious and was instant in supplication to the most migh, till he gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took pity on his striving and complaining; so that, before many days were past, he lay with one of his women and she became with child by him the same night. she accomplished the months of her pregnancy and casting her burden, bore a male child as he were a piece of the moon; whereupon the merchant, in his gratitude to god, (to whom belong might and majesty,) fulfilled his vows and gave alms and clothed the widow and the orphan. on the seventh night after the boy's birth, he named him aboulhusn, and the wet-nurses suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the slaves and servants carried him, till he grew up and throve and learnt the sublime koran and the ordinances of islam and the things of the true faith. moreover, he learned writing and poetry and mathematics and archery and became the pearl of his age and the goodliest of the folk of his time and his day, fair of face and fluent of tongue, bearing himself with a proud and graceful port and glorying in his symmetry and amorous grace. his cheeks were red and his forehead white and brilliant and the tender down of the whiskers darkened upon his face, even as saith one, describing him: the spring of the down on his cheeks to the eye shows clear; and how shall the rose endure, after spring is here? dost thou not see that the growth on his cheek, forsooth, a violet is, that forth of its leaves doth peer? he abode awhile with his father, in the best of case, and the latter rejoiced and delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when the merchant one day made him sit down before him and said to him, 'o my son, the appointed term draws near; my last hour is at hand and it remains but to meet god (to whom belong might and majesty). i leave thee what shall suffice thee, even to thy son's son, of money and farms and houses and gardens; wherefore, o my son, fear thou god the most high in [dealing with] that which i leave thee and follow none but those who will help thee [in this].' not long after, he sickened and died; so his son ordered his funeral, after the goodliest fashion, and burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him [many] days and nights, till certain of his friends came in to him and said to him, 'whoso leaveth the like of thee after him is not dead; indeed, what is past is past and mourning beseemeth none but girls and cloistered women.' and they ceased not from him, till they wrought on him to enter the bath and break off his mourning. then he forgot his father's injunctions, and his head was turned by his riches; he thought fortune would still abide with him, as it was, and that wealth would never come to an end. so he ate and drank and made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of money and raiment and was profuse with gold and gave himself up to eating fowls and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to songs and to the laugh of the wine, as it gurgled from the flagon; nor did he give over this way of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case became straitened [upon him] and he bit his hands [for repentance] and gone was all he had. in good sooth, he had nothing left, after that which he had squandered, but a slave-girl that his father had bequeathed to him with the rest of his estate: her name was taweddud and she had no equal in beauty and grace and brightness and symmetry and all perfection. she was past mistress in all manner of arts and accomplishments and endowed with [many] excellences, surpassing all the folk of her age and time. she was grown more notorious than a way-mark,[fn# ] for the versatility of her genius, and outdid the fair both in theory and practice and elegant and flexile grace, more by token that she was five feet high and in conjunction with fair fortune, with strait arched brows, as they were the crescent moon of shaaban,[fn# ] and eyes like those of gazelles, nose like the point of the sabre and cheeks like blood-red anemones, mouth like solomon's seal and teeth like necklaces of pearls, navel holding an ounce of benzoin ointment and waist more slender than his body whom love hath wasted and whom concealment [of his passion] hath made sick, and buttocks heavier than two hills of sand; brief, in all she answered to the saying of him who says: her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, and if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer. sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character estrangement nowise appertains nor cruelty austere. under the bosom of her shift the garths of eden are, and the full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings' sphere. she seemed [at once] a rising full moon and a browsing gazelle, a girl of nine and five,[fn# ] putting to shame the moon and the sun, even as saith of her the eloquent and ingenious poet: the likeness of the full-moon, faring o'er the heavens, five and five and after four; 'tis not my fault, if she have made of me its likeness, when it first in heaven doth soar. white of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were [at once] fashioned of fire and moulded of crystal; rose-red was the cheek of her and perfect her shape and figure; even as saith of her one, describing her: scented with sandal and musk, right proudly doth she go, with gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow. a flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold or an image in chapel set for worship of high and low. slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, but the weight of her hips says, "sit, or softly and slowly go." whenas her favours i seek and sue for my heart's desire, "be gracious," her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, "no." glory to him who made beauty her portion, and that of her lover to be the prate of the censurers, heigho! indeed, she captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty and the sweetness of her smile, and transpierced them with the arrows she launched from her eyes; and withal she was eloquent of speech and excellently skilled in poetry. when aboulhusn had squandered all his wealth and there remained to him nought but this slave-girl, when [i say] the wretchedness of his plight became manifest to him, he abode three days without tasting food or taking rest in sleep, and taweddud said to him, 'o my lord, carry me to the khalif haroun er reshid, fifth of the sons of abbas, and seek of him ten thousand dinars to my price. if he deem me dear at this price, say to him, "o commander of the faithful, my slave is worth more than this: do but prove her, and her value will be magnified in thine eyes, for she hath not her equal, and it were unfit that any but thou should possess her." and beware, o my lord, of selling me for less than the sum i have named, for it is but little for the like of me.' (now aboulhusn knew not her worth nor that she had no equal in her day.) so he carried her to the khalif, to whom he repeated what she had bidden him say, and the khalif said to her, 'what is thy name?' 'taweddud,' answered she. 'o taweddud,' asked he, 'in what branches of knowledge dost thou excel?' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'i am versed in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence and exegesis and lexicography and music and the knowledge of the divine ordinances and in arithmetic and geodesy and the fables of the ancients. i know the sublime koran [by heart] and have read it according to the seven and the ten and the fourteen [modes]. i know the number of its chapters and verses and sections and words and letters and its halves and fourths and eighths and tenths, the number of acts of adoration, that occur in it, and what there is in it of cancelling and cancelled;[fn# ] also what parts of it were revealed at medina and what at mecca and the manner of the different revelations. i know the holy traditions, their history and variants and the manner of their recitation and interpretation, together with those of them whose chain of descent is unbroken and those for which it is broken; and i have studied the exact sciences, geometry and philosophy and medicine and logic and rhetoric and composition; and i know many things and am passionately fond of poetry. i can play the lute and know its gamut and notation and so forth. if i sing and dance, i ravish, and if i adorn and perfume myself, i slay. in fine, i have reached a pitch of perfection such as can only be estimated by those who are stablished in knowledge.'[fn# ] when the khalif heard her words, he wondered at them and at the eloquence of her speech, seeing the tenderness of her age, and turning to aboulhusn, said to him, 'i will summon those who shall examine her in all she lays claim to; if she answer [correctly,] i will give thee the price thou askest for her and more; and if not, thou art fitter to [possess] her [than i].' 'with all my heart, o commander of the faithful,' replied aboulhusn. so the khalif wrote to the viceroy of bassora, to send him ibrahim ben siyyar the poet, who was the first man of his day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and bade him bring with him readers of the koran and doctors of the law and physicians and astrologers and sages and geometricians and philosophers; and ibrahim was more learned than all. in a little while they all arrived at the khalif's palace, knowing not what was to do, and the latter sent for them to his sitting-chamber and bade them be seated. so they sat down and he bade fetch the damsel taweddud, who came and unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star. the khalif caused set her a stool of gold; and she saluted and speaking with an eloquent tongue, said, 'o commander of the faithful, bid the learned men present contend with me in argument.' so he said to them, 'i desire of you that ye dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith and make void her argument, in all she avoucheth;' and they answered, saying, 'we hear and obey god and thee, o commander of the faithful.' thereupon taweddud bowed her head and said, 'which of you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the interpretation of the koran and in the traditions?' quoth one of them, 'i am the man thou seekest.' 'then,' said she, 'ask me of what thou wilt.' quoth the doctor, 'hast thou read the precious book of god and dost thou know its abrogating and abrogated parts and hast thou meditated its verses and expressions?' 'yes,' answered she. 'then,' said he, 'i will proceed to question thee of the obligatory ordinances and the immutable institutions: so tell me of these, o damsel, and who is thy lord, who thy prophet, and who thy brethren. also, what is thy [point of] fronting [in prayer], what thine exemplar, what thy path and what thy highway?' 'allah is my lord,' replied she, 'and mohammed (whom god bless and preserve) my prophet and the true-believers are my brethren. the koran is my exemplar and the kaabeh my [point of] fronting; the practice of good is my path and the sunneh[fn# ] my highway.' (q.) 'with what do we know god the most high?' (a.) 'with the understanding.' (q.) 'and what is the understanding?' (a.) 'it is of two kinds, natural and acquired. the first is that which god (to whom belong might and majesty) bestoweth on whom he will of his servants; and the other is that which men acquire by dint of study and fair knowledge.' (q.) 'thou hast answered well. where is the seat of the understanding?' (a.) 'god casteth it in the heart, whence its lustre ascendeth to the brain and there becometh fixed.' (q.) 'how knowest thou the prophet of god?' (a.) 'by the reading of god's holy book and by signs and proofs and portents and miracles.' (q.) 'what are the obligatory ordinances and the immutable institutions?' (a.) 'the obligatory ordinances are five in number. ( ) testification that there is no god but god alone, that he hath no partner in divinity and that mohammed is his servant and his apostle. ( ) the scrupulous performance of the enjoined prayers. ( ) the payment of the poor-rate. ( ) fasting ramazan. ( ) the performance of the pilgrimage to god's holy house [at mecca] for all to whom it is possible. the immutable institutions are four in number; to wit, night and day and sun and moon, the which build up life and hope, neither knoweth any son of adam if they will be destroyed on the day of judgment.' (q.) 'what are the obligatory rites of the faith?' (a.) 'prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, fighting for the faith and abstinence from what is forbidden.' (q.) 'why dost thou stand up to pray?' (a.) 'to express the devout intent of the slave submitting himself to [or acknowledging] the divinity.' (q.) 'what are the conditions precedent of standing up to pray?' (a.) 'purification, covering the privy parts, the avoidance of soiled clothes, standing on a clean place, fronting [the kaabeh,] a standing posture, the intent[fn# ] and the magnification of prohibition.'[fn# ] (q.) 'with what shouldest thou go forth thy house to pray? (a.) 'with an intent of worship.'[fn# ] (q.) 'with what intent shouldest thou enter the mosque?' (a.) 'with an intent of service.'[fn# ] (q.) 'why do we front the kaabeh?' (a.) 'in obedience to three divine and one traditional ordinance.' (q.) 'what is the commencement, the consecration and the dissolution [end] of prayer?' (a.) 'purification, the magnification of prohibition and the salutation of the angels [concluding prayer].' (q.) 'what of him who neglecteth prayer?' (a.) 'it is reported, among the authentic (traditions of the prophet, that he said), "he, who neglecteth prayer wilfully and without excuse, hath no part in islam."' (q.) 'what is prayer?' (a.) 'prayer is communion between the slave and his lord, and in it are ten virtues, to wit, ( ) it illumines the heart ( ) makes the face shine ( ) pleases the merciful one ( ) angers satan ( ) conjures calamity ( ) wards off the mischief of enemies ( ) multiplies mercy ( ) forfends vengeance [or punishment] ( ) brings the slave nigh unto [or in favour with] his lord and ( ) restrains from lewdness and iniquity. it is one of the written obligatory ordinances and the pillar of the faith.' (q.) 'what is the key of prayer?' (a.) 'ablution.' (q.) 'what is the key of ablution?' (a.) 'nomination.'[fn# ] (q.) 'that of naming god?' (a.) 'faith.' (q.) 'that of faith?' (a.) 'trust in god.' (q.) 'that of trust in god?' (a.) 'hope.' (q.) 'that of hope?' (a.) 'obedience.' (q.) 'that of obedience?' (a.) 'the confession of the unity and the acknowledgment of the divinity of god.' (q.) 'what are the divine ordinances of ablution?' (a.) 'they are six in number, according to the canon of the imam es shafi mohammed ben idris (of whom god accept) to wit, ( ) intent[fn# ] to wash the face ( ) washing the face ( ) washing the hands and elbows ( ) wiping part of the head ( ) washing the feet and heels and ( ) observing the prescribed order of ablution, whose statutes are ten in number, to wit, ( ) nomination ( ) washing the hands before putting them into the vase ( ) rinsing the mouth ( ) drawing up water through the nostrils ( ) wiping the whole head ( ) washing the ears within and without with fresh water ( ) separating a thick beard ( ) separating the fingers and toes ( ) washing the right foot before the left and ( ) doing each of these thrice and all in unbroken succession. when the ablution is ended, the devotee should (quoth es shafi[fn# ]) say, "i testify that there is no god but god alone, who hath no partner, and that mohammed is his servant and apostle. o my god, make me of those who repent and are made clean! glory to thee, o my god, and in thy praise i testify that there is no god but thou! i crave pardon of thee and repent to thee!" for it is reported, in the holy traditions, that the prophet (whom god bless and keep) said of this prayer, "whoso ensueth every ablution with this prayer, the eight gates of paradise are open to him; he shall enter at which he pleases."' (q.) 'when a man purposes to make the ablution, what betides him from the angels and the devils?' (a.) 'when a man prepares for ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils on his left hand. if he name god, at the beginning of the ablution, the devils flee from him and the angels hover over him with a pavilion of light, having four ropes, to each an angel glorifying god and craving pardon for him, so long as he remains silent or calls upon the name of god. but if he omit to begin with naming god (to whom belong might and majesty) neither remain silent, the angels depart from him and the devils settle upon him and whisper evil thoughts unto him, till he falls into doubt and comes short in his ablution. for (quoth he on whom be blessing and salvation) "a perfect ablution driveth away the devils and assureth against the tyranny of the sultan; and he who neglecteth the ablution, if calamity befall him, let him blame none but himself."' (q.) 'what should a man do, when he awakes from sleep?' (a.) 'he should wash his hands thrice, before putting them into the vessel.' (q.) 'what are the ordinances, koranic and traditional, of complete ablution?'[fn# ] (a.) 'the koranic ordinances are intent and covering the whole body with water, so that it shall come at every part of the hair and skin. the traditional, previous partial ablution [as before prayer,] rubbing the body, separating the hair and deferring in words[fn# ] the washing of the feet till the end of the ablution.' (q.) 'what are the reasons [or occasions] for making the ablution with other than water, and what are the ordinances thereof, koranic and traditional?'[fn# ] (a.) 'the reasons are seven in number, to wit, lack of water, fear, need thereto, going astray on a journey, sickness, having the bones [broken and] in splints and wounds. as for its ordinances, the koranic are four in number, to wit, intent, dust, applying it to the face and to the hands, and the traditional two, to wit, nomination and preferring the right before the left hand.' (q.) 'what are the conditions, the essentials [or fundamentals] and the traditional statutes of prayer?' (a.) 'the conditions are five in number, to wit, ( ) purification of the members ( ) covering the privy parts ( ) observing the proper hours, either of certainty or to the best of one's belief, ( ) fronting the kaabeh and ( ) standing on a clean place. the essentials are twelve in number, to wit, ( ) intent ( ) the magnification of prohibition ( ) standing at the proper distance one from another ( ) repeating the first chapter of the koran and also (according to the shafiyites) saying, "in the name of god the merciful, the compassionate!" a verse thereof ( ) bowing the body and tranquillity [or gravity] therein ( ) keeping the feet and legs still and in the same position, [whilst the rest of the body moves], and tranquillity therein ( ) prostration and tranquillity therein ( ) sitting between two prostrations and tranquillity therein ( ) repeating the latter profession of the faith and sitting up therefor ( ) invoking benediction on the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) ( ) the first salutation[fn# ] and ( ) the intent of making an end of prayer, [expressed] in words. the traditional statutes are the call to prayer, the repetition of the words of the latter, raising the hands to either side of the face, whilst pronouncing the magnification of prohibition, pronouncing the magnification before reciting the fatiheh [first chapter of the koran], seeking refuge with god,[fn# ] saying "amen," repeating the (obligatory) chapter [of the koran] after the fatiheh, repeating the magnifications during change of posture, saying, "may god hear him who praiseth him!" and "o our lord, to thee be the praise!" uttering aloud the prayers in their places and in like manner, under the breath, those so prescribed, the first testification and sitting up thereto, blessing the prophet therein, blessing his family in the latter profession [or testification] and the second salutation.' (q.) 'on what is the poor-rate taxable?' (a.) 'on gold and silver and camels and oxen and sheep and wheat and barley and millet and beans and pulse and rice and raisins and dates.' (q.) 'what is the poor-rate on gold ?' (a.) 'below twenty dinars, nothing; but, on that amount and over, half a dinar for every score.' (q.) 'on silver?' (a.) 'under two hundred dirhems, nothing; then, five dirhems on every two hundred.' (q.) 'on camels?' (a.) 'for every five, an ewe, or for every twenty-five a pregnant camel.' (q.) 'on sheep?' (a.) 'on forty and over, an ewe for every forty head.' (q.) 'what are the ordinances of the fast [of ramazan]?' (a.) 'the koranic are intent,[fn# ] abstinence from eating, drinking and copulation and stoppage of vomiting. it is incumbent on all who submit to the law, save women in their courses and forty days after child-birth; and it becomes obligatory on sight of the new moon or on news of its appearance, brought by a trustworthy person and commending itself as truth to the hearer's heart; and among its requisites is that it be commenced by night.[fn# ] the traditional ordinances of fasting are, hastening to break the fast,[fn# ] deferring the fore-dawn meal[fn# ] and abstaining from speech, save for good works and for calling on the name of god and reciting the koran.' (q.) 'what things vitiate not the fast?' (a.) 'the use of unguents and eye-powders and the dust of the road and the swallowing of one's spittle and the emission of seed in dreams of dalliance or at the sight of a strange woman and cupping and letting blood; none of these things vitiates the fast.' (q.) 'what are the prayers of the two great [annual] festivals?' (a.) 'two one-bow prayers, after the traditional ordinance, without call to prayer or the repetition thereof by the devotee, who shall say, "prayer is a collector of all folk!"[fn# ] and pronounce the magnification seven times in the first prayer, besides the magnification of prohibition, and in the second, five times, besides that of rising up, (according to the canon of the imam es shafi, on whom god have mercy) and make the profession of the faith.' (q.) 'what are the prayers prescribed on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon?' (a.) 'two one-bow prayers, without call to prayer or repetition thereof by the devotee, who shall make in each two standings up and two inclinations and two prostrations, then sit up and testify and salute.' (q.) 'what is the ritual of prayer for rain?' (a.) 'two one-bow prayers, without call to prayer or repetition; then shall the devotee make the profession and salute. moreover [the imam] shall deliver an exhortation and (in place of the magnification, as in the two exhortations of the two great festivals) ask pardon of god and reverse his mantle and pray and supplicate.' (q.) 'what are the additional or occasional prayers?' (a.) 'the least is a one-bow prayer and the most eleven.' (q.) 'what is the forenoon prayer?' (a.) 'at least, two one-bow prayers and at most, twelve.' (q.) 'what is the service of seclusion?' [fn# ] (a.) 'it is a matter of traditional ordinance.' (q.) 'what are its conditions?' (a.) '( ) expression of intent ( ) not leaving the mosque save of necessity ( ) not having to do with a woman ( ) fasting and ( ) abstaining from speech.' (q.) 'under what conditions is pilgrimage obligatory?' (a.) 'so a man be of full age and understanding and a true-believer and it be possible to him; and it is obligatory [on all], once before death.' (q.) 'what are the koranic statutes of the pilgrimage?'' (a.) '( ) assumption of the pilgrim's habit ( ) station at arafat ( ) compassing [the kaabeh] ( ) running [between sefa and merweh[fn# ]] and ( ) [previous] shaving or clipping the hair.' (q.) 'what are the koranic statutes of the lesser pilgrimage?' (a.) 'reassuming the pilgrim's habit and compassing and running [as before].' (q.) 'what are the koranic ordinances of the assumption of the pilgrim's habit?' (a.) 'putting off sewn garments, forswearing perfume and ceasing to shave the head or cut the nails and avoiding the killing of game and copulation.' (q.) 'what are the traditional statutes of the pilgrimage?' (a.) '( ) the crying out, "here i am, o our lord!"[fn# ] ( ) the circuitings [about the kaabeh] of arrival [at] and departure [from mecca] ( ) the passing the night at muzdelifeh and mina[fn# ] and ( ) the stone-throwing.' [fn# ] (q.) 'what is the war in defence of the faith and its essentials?' (a.) 'its essentials are ( ) the descent of the infidels upon us ( ) the existence of the imam[fn# ] ( ) a state of [armed] preparation and ( ) firmness in meeting the foe. its ordinance is incital to battle, in that the most high hath said, "o my prophet, incite the faithful to battle!"' [fn# ] (q.) 'what are the ordinances of buying and selling?' (a.) 'the koranic are ( ) offer and acceptance and ( ) if the thing sold be a (white) slave, by whom one profiteth, to do one's endeavour to convert him to islam and ( ) to abstain from usury; the traditional, resiliation and option before separating, after the saying of the prophet, "the parties to a sale shall have the option [of cancelling or altering the terms of a bargain,] whilst they are yet unseparated."' (q.) 'what is it forbidden to sell [or exchange] for what?' (a.) 'on this point i mind me of an authentic tradition, reported by nafi[fn# ] of the apostle of god, that he forbade the sale of dried dates for fresh and fresh figs for dry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for butter; in fine, of all eatables of one and the same kind, it is unlawful to sell some for other some.'[fn# ] when the professor heard her words and knew that she was keen of wit, ingenious and learned in jurisprudence and the traditions and the interpretation of the koran and what not else, he said in himself, 'needs must i go about with her, that i may overcome her in the assembly of the commander of the faithful.' so he said to her, 'o damsel, what is the lexicographical meaning of the word wuzou?'[fn# ] and she answered, 'cleanliness and freedom from impurities.' (q.) 'and of prayer?' (a.) 'an invocation of good.' (q.) 'and of ghusl?'[fn# ] (a.) 'purification.' (q.) 'and of fasting?' (a.) 'abstention.' (q.) 'and of zekat?'[fn# ] (a.) 'increase.' (q.) 'and of pilgrimage?' (a.) 'visitation [or quest].' (q.) 'and of jehad?'[fn# ] (a.) '[endeavour in] repelling.' with this the doctor's arguments were exhausted, so he rose to his feet and said, 'bear witness against me, o commander of the faithful, that this damsel is more learned than i am in the law. quoth she, 'i will ask thee somewhat, which do thou answer me speedily, an thou be indeed a learned man.' 'say on,' quoth he; and she said, 'what are the arrows of the faith?' 'they are ten in number,' answered he; 'to wit, ( ) testification,[fn# ] that is, religion ( ) prayer, that is, the covenant ( ) alms, that is, purification ( ) fasting, that is, defensive armour ( ) pilgrimage, that is, the law ( ) fighting for the faith, that is, a general duty ( ) enjoining to beneficence and ( ) forbidding from iniquity, both of which are jealousy [for good] ( ) the communion of the faithful, that is, sociableness, and ( ) seeking knowledge, that is, the praiseworthy way.' (q.) 'what are the roots[fn# ] of islam?' (a.) 'they are four in number, to wit, sincerity of belief, truth of purpose, observance of the limit [prescribed by the law] and keeping the covenant.' then said she, 'i have one more question to ask thee, which if thou answer, [it is well]; else, i will take thy clothes.' quoth he, 'speak, o damsel;' and she said, 'what are the branches[fn# ] of islam?' but he was silent and made no reply; and she said, 'put off thy clothes, and i will expound them to thee.' quoth the khalif, 'expound them, and i will make him put off his clothes for thee.' 'they are two-and-twenty in number,' answered she, 'to wit, ( ) holding fast to the book of god the most high ( ) taking example by his apostle (whom god bless and preserve) ( ) abstaining from doing evil ( ) eating what is lawful and ( ) avoiding what is unlawful ( ) restoring things wrongfully taken to their owners ( ) repentance ( ) knowledge of the law ( ) love of [abraham] the friend [of god] ( ) and of the followers of the revelation[fn# ] ( ) belief in the apostles ( ) fear of apostacy ( ) preparation for departure[fn# ] ( ) strength of conviction ( ) clemency in time of power ( ) strength in time of weakness ( ) patience under affliction ( ) knowledge of god the most high and ( ) of what his prophet hath made known to us ( ) gainsaying iblis the accursed ( ) striving earnestly against the lusts of the soul and gainsaying them and ( ) guiltlessness of believing in any other god but god.' when the commander of the faithful heard her words, he bade the doctor put off his clothes and hood; and he did so and went forth, beaten and confounded, from the khalif's presence. thereupon arose another man and said to her, 'o damsel, hear a few questions from me.' 'say on,' quoth she; and he said, 'what are the conditions of valid [purchase by] payment in advance?' 'that the amount [of the thing bought], the kind and the period [of delivery to the purchaser], be [fixed or] known,' replied she. (q.) 'what are the koranic canons of eating?' (a.) 'the confession [by the eater] that god the most high provideth him and giveth him to eat and drink and thanksgiving to him therefor.' (q.) 'what is thanksgiving?' (a.) 'the use by the creature of that which god vouchsafeth to him in the manner and to the ends for which he hath created it.' (q.) 'what are the traditional canons of eating?' (a.) 'the [preliminary] naming [of god] and washing the hands, sitting on the left buttock, eating with three fingers and eating of that which is chewed.' [fn# ] (q.) 'what are the civilities of eating?' (a.) 'taking small mouthfuls and looking little at one's table-companion.' (q.) 'what are the heart's stays [or articles of faith] and their correlatives?' (a.) 'they are three in number, to wit, ( ) holding fast to the faith, the correlative whereof is the shunning of infidelity, ( ) holding fast to the traditional law and its correlative, the shunning of innovation [or heresy] and ( ) holding fast to obedience and its correlative, the shunning of disobedience.' (q.) 'what are the conditions of ablution?' (a.) '( ) submission to the will of god[fn# ] ( ) possession of discernment of good and evil [or having attained the age of discretion] ( ) purity of the water and ( ) absence of legal or material impediments.' (q.) 'what is belief?' (a.) 'it is divided into nine parts, to wit, ( ) belief in the one worshipped ( ) belief in the condition of slavery [of the worshipper] ( ) belief in one god, to the exclusion of all others ( ) belief in the two handfuls[fn# ] ( ) belief in providence ( ) belief in the abrogating and ( ) in the abrogated ( ) belief in god, his angels and apostles and ( ) in fore-ordained fate, general and particular, its good and ill, sweet and bitter.' (q.) 'what three things do away other three?' (a.) 'it is told of sufyan eth thauri[fn# ] that he said, "three things do away other three. making light of the pious doth away the future life, making light of kings doth away [this] life and making light of expenditure doth away wealth."' (q.) 'what are the keys of the heavens, and how many gates have they?' (a.) 'quoth god the most high, "and heaven shall be opened, and it shall be [all] doors," [fn# ] and quoth he whom god bless and keep, "none knoweth the number of the gates of heaven, save he who created it, and there is no son of adam but hath two gates allotted to him in the skies, one whereby his subsistence cometh down and another where-through his works [good and evil] ascend. the former is not closed, save when his term of life comes to an end, nor the latter, till his soul ascends [for judgment]."' (q.) 'tell me of a thing and a half thing and a no-thing.' (a.) 'the thing is the believer, the half thing the hypocrite and the no-thing the infidel.' (q.) 'tell me of various kinds of hearts.' (a.) 'there is the whole [or perfect] heart, which is that of [abraham] the friend [of god], the sick heart, that of the infidel, the contrite heart, that of the pious, fearful ones, the heart consecrated to god, that of our lord mohammed (whom god bless and preserve) and the enlightened [or enlightening] heart, that of those who follow him. the hearts of the learned are of three kinds, to wit, those that are in love with this world, with the next and with their lord; and it is said that hearts are three, the suspended, that of the infidel, the non-existent [or lost], that of the hypocrite, and the constant [or firm], that of the true-believer. moreover, it is said that the latter is of three kinds, namely, the heart dilated with light and faith, that wounded with fear of estrangement and that which feareth to be forsaken of god.' quoth the second doctor, 'thou hast said well;' whereupon said she to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, he has questioned me, till he is weary, and now i will ask him two questions. if he answer them, it is well, and if not, i will take his clothes and he shall depart in peace.' quoth the doctor, 'ask me what thou wilt,' and she said, 'what is religion?' 'religion,' answered he, 'is confession[fn# ] with the tongue and belief with the heart and doing with the members. quoth the prophet, "the believer is not perfect in belief, except five qualities be accomplished in him, namely, trust in god, committal of his affair to him, submission to his commandment, acquiescence in his decrees and that he do all for his sake; so is he of those who are acceptable to god and who give and withhold for his sake, and he is perfect in belief."' then said she, 'what is the koranic ordinance of ordinances and the ordinance which is the preliminary of all ordinances and that of which all others stand in need and that which comprehendeth all others, and what is the traditional ordinance that entereth into the koranic, and that whereby the latter is completed?' but he was silent and made no reply; whereupon the khalif bade her expound and ordered him to doff his clothes and give them to her. 'o doctor,' said she, 'the koranic ordinance of ordinances is the knowledge of god the most high; that, which is the preliminary of all others, is the testifying that there is no god but god and that mohammed is his apostle; that, of which all others have need, is ablution; that, which compriseth all others, is that of [total] ablution from [ceremonial] defilement; the traditional ordinance, that enters into the koranic, is the separation of the fingers and the thick beard; and that, wherewith all koranic ordinances are completed, is circumcision.' therewith was manifest the insufficiency of the doctor, who rose to his feet and said, 'i call god to witness, o commander of the faithful, that this damsel is more learned than i in the law and what pertains thereto.' so saying, he put off his clothes and went away, defeated. then turned she to the rest of the learned men present and said, 'o masters, which of you is the reader,[fn# ] versed in the seven readings and in syntax and lexicography?' thereupon the professor arose and seating himself before her, said, 'hast thou read the book of god the most high and made thyself throughly acquainted with its verses and its various parts, abrogating and abrogated, equivocal and unequivocal, meccan and medinan? dost thou understand its interpretation and hast thou studied it, according to the various versions and readings?' 'yes,' answered she; and he said, 'what, then, is the number of its chapters, how many are meccan and how many medinan? how many verses and decades[fn# ] does it contain, how many words and how many letters and how many acts of prostration and how many prophets and birds are mentioned in it?' 'it contains a hundred and fourteen chapters,' replied she, 'whereof threescore and ten were revealed at mecca and forty and four at medina, six thousand three hundred and thirty-six verses, six hundred and twenty-one decades, seventy-nine thousand four hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and twenty- three thousand and six hundred and seventy letters; and to the reader thereof, for every letter, accrue ten benefits. the acts of prostration it contains are fourteen in number, and five-and-twenty prophets are named therein, to wit, adam, noah, abraham, ishmael, isaac, jacob, joseph, elisha, jonah, lot, salih, houd,[fn# ] shuaib,[fn# ] david, solomon, dhoulkifl, [fn# ] idris,[fn# ] elias, yehya,[fn# ] zacharias, job, moses, aaron, jesus and mohammed, the peace of god and his blessing be on them all! moreover, nine birds [or flying things] are mentioned in the koran, namely, the gnat, the bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the crow, the locust, the bustard and the bird of jesus[fn# ] (on whom be peace), to wit, the bat.' (q.) 'which is the most excellent chapter of the koran?' (a.) 'that of the cow.'[fn# ] (q.) 'which is the most magnificent verse?' (a.) 'that of the throne;[fn# ] it has fifty words, in each fifty blessings.' (q.) 'what verse hath in it nine signs [or wonders]?' (a.) 'that in which quoth god the most high, "verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day and the ship that runneth in the sea with what profiteth mankind and in what god sendeth down from heaven of water and quickeneth therewith the earth, after its dearth, and spreadeth abroad therein all manner cattle, and the shifting of the winds and the clouds, pressed into service betwixt heaven and earth, are signs for folk who understand."'[fn# ] (q.) 'which is the most just?' (a.) 'that in which god saith, "verily, god commandeth to justice and beneficence and giving to those that are near unto us and forbiddeth from profligacy and iniquity and oppression."'[fn# ] (q.) 'which is the most yearnful?' (a.) 'that in which quoth god, "shall every man of them yearn to enter a garden of delight?"'[fn# ] (q.) 'which is the most hopeful?' (a.) 'that in which quoth god the most high, "say, 'o ye my servants, that have transgressed against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of god! indeed, god forgiveth sins, all of them, for he is the forgiving, the compassionate.'"' [fn# ] (q.) 'by what version dost thou read?' (a.) 'by that of the people of paradise, to wit, the version of nafi.'[fn# ] (q.) 'in which verse doth god make prophets lie?' (a.) 'in that wherein he saith, "they [the brothers of joseph] brought lying blood upon his shirt."'[fn# ] (q.) 'in which doth he make infidels speak the truth?' (a.) 'in that wherein he saith, "the jews say, 'the nazarenes are [grounded] on nought,' and the nazarenes say, 'the jews are [grounded] on nought;' and [yet] they [both] read the scripture."[fn# ] and [in this] both speak the truth.' (q.) 'in which doth god speak in his own person [in the singular]?' (a.) 'in that in which he saith, "neither have i created jinn and men, but that they should worship."'[fn# ] (q.) 'in which do the angels speak?' (a.) 'in that which saith, "we celebrate thy praises and hallow thee."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what sayst thou of the formula, "i seek refuge with god from satan the stoned"?' (a.) 'it is obligatory, by commandment of god, on all who read the koran, as appears by his saying, "when thou readest the koran, seek refuge with god from satan the stoned."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what are the words and variants of the formula?' (a.) 'some say, "i take refuge with god the all-hearing and knowing, etc.," and others, "with god the strong;" but the best is that of which the noble koran and the traditions speak. the prophet was used, whenas he was about to open the koran, to say, "i take refuge with god from satan the stoned." and quoth a tradition, reported by nafi on the authority of his [adopted] father, "the apostle of god used, when he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud, 'god is most great, with [all] greatness! praise be to god abundantly! glory to god morning and evening!' then would he say, 'i seek refuge with god from satan the stoned and from the instigations of the devils and their evil suggestions."' and it is told of ibn abbas[fn# ] (of whom god accept) that he said, "the first time gabriel came down to the prophet [with a portion of the koran,] he taught him [the formula of] seeking refuge, saying, 'o mohammed, say, "i seek refuge with god the all-hearing and knowing;" then say, "in the name of god the compassionate, the merciful!" and read, in the name of thy lord who created men from clotted blood.'"'[fn# ] (q.) 'what sayst thou of the verse, "in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful"? is it one of the verses of the koran?' (a.) 'yes; it is a verse of "the ant"[fn# ] and occurs also [at the head of the first and] between every two [following] chapters; and there is much difference of opinion, respecting this, among the learned.' (q.) 'why is not the formula written at the head of the chapter of immunity?'[fn# ] (a.) 'when this chapter was revealed for the dissolution of the alliance between the prophet and the idolaters, the former sent ali ibn abi talib (whose face god honour) therewith [from medina to mecca] at the season of the greater pilgrimage;[fn# ] and he read the chapter to them, but did not read "in the name, etc."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what of the excellence of the formula and the blessing that attaches to it?' (a.) 'it is told of the prophet that he said, "never is 'in the name, etc.' pronounced over aught, but there is a blessing in it;" and it is reported, on his authority, that the lord of glory swore by his glory that never should the formula be pronounced over a sick person, but he should be healed of his sickness. moreover, it is said that, when god created the empyreal heaven, it was agitated with an exceeding agitation; but he wrote on it, "in the name, etc.," and its agitation subsided. when the formula was first revealed to the prophet, he said, "i am safe from three things, earthquake and metamorphosis and drowning;" and indeed its virtues are great and its blessings too many to enumerate. it is told of the prophet that he said, "there will be brought before god, on the judgment day, a man with whom he shall reckon and finding no good deed to his account, shall order him to the fire; but the man will say, 'o my god, thou hast not dealt justly by me!' then shall god (to whom belong might and majesty) say, 'how so?' and the man will answer, saying, 'o lord, for that thou callest thyself the compassionate, the merciful, yet wilt thou punish me with the fire!' and god (extolled be his majesty) shall say, 'i did indeed name myself the compassionate, the merciful. carry my servant to paradise, of my mercy, for i am the most merciful of those that have mercy.'"' (q.) 'what was the origin of the use of the formula?' (a.) 'when god revealed the koran, they wrote, "in thy name, o my god!"; when he revealed the words, "say, pray ye to god or pray ye to the compassionate, what days ye pray, for to him [belong] the most fair names,"[fn# ] they wrote, "in the name of god, the compassionate;" and when he revealed the words, "your god is one god, there is no god but he, the compassionate, the merciful,"[fn# ] they wrote, "in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful!"' (q.) 'did god reveal the koran all at once or at intervals?' (a.) 'gabriel the faithful [spirit] (on whom be peace) descended with it from the lord of the worlds upon his prophet mohammed, prince of the apostles and seal[fn# ] of the prophets, by detached verses, containing commandment and prohibition, promise and menace, anecdotes and similitudes, as the occasion called for it, in the course of twenty years.' (q.) 'which chapter was first revealed?' (a.) 'according to ibn abbas, that of the clot of blood,[fn# ] and according to jabir ben abdallah,[fn# ] that of the covered [with a cloak].'[fn# ] (q.) 'which verse was the last revealed?' (a.) 'that of usury,[fn# ] and it is said [also], the verse, "when there cometh god's succour and victory."'[fn# ] (q.) 'tell me the names of the companions who collected the koran, in the lifetime of the apostle of god.' (a.) 'they were four in number, to wit, ubaï ibn kaab, zeid ibn thabit, abou ubeideh aamir ben jerrah and othman ben affan,[fn# ] may god accept of them all!' (q.) 'who are the readers, from whom the [accepted] reading of the koran is taken?' (a.) 'they are four in number, namely, abdallah ben mesoud, ubaï ben kaab, maadh ben jebel[fn# ] and salim ben abdallah.'[fn# ] (q.) 'what sayst thou of the words of the most high, "that which is sacrificed to stones"?'[fn# ] (a.) 'the stones are idols, which are set up and worshipped, instead of god the most high, and [from this] we seek refuge with him.' (q.) 'what sayst thou of the words of the most high, "[quoth jesus] thou knowest what is in my soul, and i know not what is in thy soul"?'[fn# ] (a.) 'they mean "thou [god] knowest the truth of me and what is in me and i [jesus] know not what is in thee;" and the proof of this are his words,[fn# ] "thou [god] art he that knoweth the hidden things;" and it is said, also, "thou [god] knowest my essence, but i [man] know not thine essence."' (q.) 'what sayst thou of the words of the most high, "o ye that believe, deny not yourselves the good things that god hath made lawful to you!"?'[fn# ] (a.) 'my master (on whom god have mercy) told me that ez zuhak[fn# ] said, "there was a people of the true-believers who said, 'we will dock our yards and don sackcloth;' whereupon this verse was revealed." but el cutadeh[fn# ] says that it was revealed on account of sundry companions of the apostle of god, ali ibn abi talib and othman ben musaab and others, who said, "we will dock ourselves and don hair [cloth] and make us monks."' (q.) 'what sayst thou of the words of the most high, "and god took abraham to friend"?'[fn# ] (a.) 'the friend [of god] is the needy, the poor, and (according to another saying) he is the lover, he who is absorbed in the love of god the most high and in whose exclusive devotion there is no falling away.' when the professor saw her pass on in speech with the passing of the clouds[fn# ] and that she stayed not in answering, he rose to his feet and said, 'i take god to witness, o commander of the faithful, that this damsel is more learned than i in koranic exegesis and what pertains thereto.' then said she, 'i will ask thee one question, which if thou answer, it is well: but if thou answer not, i will strip off thy clothes.' 'ask on,' quoth the khalif; and she said, 'which verse of the koran has in it three-and-twenty kafs,[fn# ] which sixteen mims,[fn# ] which a hundred and forty ains,[fn# ] and which section[fn# ] lacks the formula, "to whom [god] belong might and majesty"?' he could not answer, and she said to him, 'put off thy clothes.' so he doffed them, and she said, 'o commander of the faithful, the verse of the sixteen mims is in the chapter houd and is the saying of the most high, "it was said, 'o noah, go down in peace from us, and blessing upon thee!'"[fn# ]; that of the three-and-twenty kafs is the verse called of the faith, in the chapter of the cow; that of the hundred and forty ains is in the chapter of el aaraf,[fn# ] "and moses chose seventy men of his tribe to [attend] our appointed time;[fn# ] to each man a pair of eyes."[fn# ] and the set portion which lacks the formula, "to whom [god] belong might and majesty," is that which comprises the chapters "the hour draweth nigh and the moon is cloven in twain," "the compassionate" and "the event."'[fn# ] and the professor departed in confusion. then came forward the skilled physician and said to her, 'we have done with theology and come now to physiology. tell me, therefore, how is man made, how many veins, bones and vertebræ are there in his body, which is the chief vein and why adam was named adam?' 'adam was called adam,' answered she, 'because of the udmeh, to wit, the tawny colour of his complexion and also (it is said) because he was created of the adim of the earth, that is to say, of the soil of its surface. his breast was made of the earth of the kaabeh, his head of earth from the east and his legs of earth from the west. there were created for him seven doors [or openings] in his head, to wit, the eyes, the ears, the nostrils and the mouth, and two passages, the urethra and the anus. the eyes were made the seat of the sense of sight, the ears of that of hearing, the nostrils of that of smell, the mouth of that of taste and the tongue to speak forth what is in the innermost heart of man. adam was originally created of four elements combined, water, earth, fire and air. the yellow bile is the humour of fire, being hot and dry, the black bile that of earth, being cold and dry, the phlegm that of water, being cold and moist, and the blood that of air, being hot and moist. there are in man three hundred and threescore veins, two hundred and forty bones and three souls [or natures], the animal, the rational and the essential or [natural], to each of which is allotted a separate function. moreover, god made him a heart and spleen and lungs and six guts and a liver and two kidneys and marrow [or brain] and buttocks and bones and skin and five senses, hearing, seeing, smell, taste and touch. the heart he set on the left side of the breast and made the stomach the exemplar [or governor] thereof. he appointed the lungs for a ventilator to the heart and set the liver on the right side, opposite thereto. moreover, he made, besides this, the midriff and the intestines and set up the bones of the breast and ribbed them with the ribs.' (q.) 'how many ventricles are there in a man's head?' (a.) 'three, which contain five faculties, styled the intrinsic senses, i.e. common sense, fancy, thought, apperception and memory.' (q.) 'describe to me the scheme of the bones.' (a.) 'it consists of two hundred and forty bones, which are divided into three parts, the head, the trunk and the extremities. the head is divided into skull and face. the skull is constructed of eight bones, and to it are attached the teeth, two-and- thirty in number, and the hyoïd bone, one. the trunk is divided into spinal column, breast and basin. the spinal column is made up of four-and-twenty bones, called vertebræ, the breast of the breastbone and the ribs, which are four-and-twenty in number, twelve on each side, and the basin of the hips, the sacrum and the coccyx. the extremities are divided into arms and legs. the arms are again divided into shoulder, comprising shoulder-blades and collar-bone, the upper- arm, one bone, the fore-arm, composed of two bones, the radius and the ulna, and the hand, consisting of the wrist, the metacarpus and the fingers. the wrist is composed of eight bones, ranked in two rows, each comprising four bones; the metacarpus of five and the fingers, which are five in number, of three bones each, called the phalanges, except the thumb, which has but two. the lower extremities are divided into thigh, one bone, leg, composed of three bones, the tibia, the fibula and the kneepan, and the foot, divided like the hand, with the exception of the wrist,[fn# ] which is composed of seven bones, ranged in two rows, two in one and five in the other.' (q.) 'which is the root of the veins?' (a.) 'the aorta from which they ramify, and they are many, none knoweth the tale of them save he who created them; but, as i have before observed, it is said that they are three hundred and threescore in number. moreover, god hath appointed the tongue to interpret [for the thought], the eyes to serve as lanterns, the nostrils to smell with, and the hands for prehensors. the liver is the seat of pity, the spleen of laughter and the kidneys of craft; the lungs are the ventilators, the stomach the storehouse and the heart the pillar [or mainstay] of the body. when the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and when the heart is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt.' (q.) 'what are the outward signs and symptoms of disease in the members of the body, both internal and external?' (a.) 'a physician, who is a man of understanding, looks into the state of the body and is guided by the feel of the hands, according as they are firm [or flabby], hot or cool, moist or dry. internal disorders are also indicated by external symptoms, such as yellowness of the [whites of the] eyes, which denotes jaundice, and bending of the back, which denotes disease of the lungs.' (q.) 'what are the internal symptoms of disease?' (a.) 'the science of the diagnosis of disease by internal symptoms is founded upon six canons, to wit, ( ) the actions [of the patient] ( ) what is evacuated from his body ( ) the nature and ( ) site of the pain he feels ( ) swelling and ( ) the effluvia given off by his body.' (q.) 'how cometh hurt to the head?' (a.) 'by the introduction of food upon food, before the first be digested, and by satiety upon satiety; this it is that wasteth peoples. he who will live long, let him be early with the morning-meal and not late with the evening-meal; let him be sparing of commerce with women and chary of cupping and blood-letting and make of his belly three parts, one for food, one for drink and the third for air; for that a man's intestines are eighteen spans in length and it befits that he appoint six for food, six for drink, and six for air. if he walk, let him go gently; it will be wholesomer for him and better for his body and more in accordance with the saying of god the most high, "walk not boisterously [or proudly] upon the earth."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what are the symptoms of yellow bile and what is to be feared there-from?' (a.) 'the symptoms are, sallow complexion and dryness and bitter taste in the mouth, failure of the appetite, and rapid pulse; and the patient has to fear high fever and delirium and prickly heat and jaundice and tumour and ulceration of the bowels and excessive thirst.' (q.) 'what are the symptoms of black bile and what has the patient to fear from it, if it get the mastery of the body?' (a.) 'the symptoms are deceptive appetite and great mental disquiet and care and anxiety; and it behoves that it be evacuated, else it will generate melancholy and leprosy and cancer and disease of the spleen and ulceration of the bowels.' (q.) 'into how many branches is the art of medicine divided?' (a.) 'into two: the art of diagnosing diseases and that of restoring the diseased body to health.' (q.) 'when is the drinking of medicine more efficacious than otherwhen?' (a.) 'when the sap runs in the wood and the grape thickens in the cluster and the auspicious planets[fn# ] are in the ascendant, then comes in the season of the efficacy of drinking medicine and the doing away of disease.' (q.) 'what time is it, when, if a man drink from a new vessel, the drink is wholesomer and more digestible to him than at another time, and there ascends to him a pleasant and penetrating fragrance?' (a.) 'when he waits awhile after eating, as quoth the poet: i rede thee drink not after food in haste, but tarry still; else with a halter wilt thou lead thy body into ill. yea, wait a little after thou hast eaten, brother mine; then drink, and peradventure thus shalt thou attain unto thy will.' (q.) 'what food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?' (a.) 'that which is not eaten but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are not filled with it, even as saith galen the physician, "whoso will take in food, let him go slowly and he shall not go wrong." to end with the saying of the prophet, (whom god bless and preserve,) "the stomach is the home of disease, and abstinence is the beginning[fn# ] of cure, [fn# ] for the origin of every disease is indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat in the stomach."' (q.) 'what sayst thou of the bath?' (a.) 'let not the full man enter it. quoth the prophet, "the bath is the delight of the house, for that it cleanseth the body and calleth to mind the fire [of hell]."' (q.) 'what waters[fn# ] are best for bathing?' (a.) 'those whose waters are sweet and plains wide and whose air is pleasant and wholesome, its climate [or seasons] being fair, autumn and summer and winter and spring.' (q.) 'what kind of food is the most excellent?' (a.) 'that which women make and which has not cost overmuch trouble and which is readily digested. the most excellent of food is brewis,[fn# ] according to the saying of the prophet, "brewis excels other food, even as aaïsheh excels other women."' (q.) 'what kind of seasoning[fn# ] is most excellent?' (a.) 'flesh meat (quoth the prophet) is the most excellent of seasonings; for that it is the delight of this world and the next.' (q.) 'what kind of meat is the most excellent?' (a.) 'mutton; but jerked meat is to be avoided, for there is no profit in it.' (q.) 'what of fruits?' (a.) 'eat them in their prime and leave them when their season is past.' (q.) 'what sayst thou of drinking water?' (a.) 'drink it not in large quantities nor by gulps, or it will give thee the headache and cause divers kinds of harm; neither drink it immediately after the bath nor after copulation or eating (except it be after the lapse of fifteen minutes for a young and forty for an old man) or waking from sleep.' (q.) 'what of drinking wine?' (a.) 'doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the book of god the most high, where he saith, "verily, wine and casting lots and idols and divining arrows are an abomination of the fashion of the devil: shun them, so surely shall ye thrive."[fn# ] and again, "if they ask thee of wine and casting lots, say, 'in them are great sin and advantages to mankind, but the sin of them is greater than the advantage.'"[fn# ] quoth the poet: o wine-bibber, art not ashamed and afraid to drink of a thing that thy maker forbade? come, put the cup from thee and mell with it not, for wine and its drinker god still doth upbraid. and quoth another: i drank the sweet sin till my wit went astray: 'tis ill drinking of that which doth reason away. as for the useful qualities that are therein, it disperses gravel from the kidneys and strengthens the bowels, banishes care, moves to generosity and preserves health and digestion. it assains the body, expels disease from the joints, purifies the frame of corrupt humours, engenders cheerfulness and gladdens and keeps up the natural heat. it contracts the bladder, strengthens the liver and removes obstructions, reddens the face, clears away cobwebs from the brain and defers gray hairs. in short, had not god (to whom belong might and majesty) forbidden it, there were not on the face of the earth aught fit to stand in its place. as for drawing lots, it is a game of hazard.'[fn# ] (q.) 'what wine is the best?' (a.) 'that which is pressed from white grapes and ferments fourscore days or more: it resembleth not water and indeed there is nothing on the surface of the earth like unto it.' (q.) 'what of cupping?' (a.) 'it is for him who is [over] full of blood and has no defect therein. whoso will be cupped, let it be at the wane of the moon, on a day without cloud or wind or rain and the seventeenth of the month. if it fall on a tuesday, it will be the more efficacious, and nothing is more salutary for the brain and eyes and for clearing the memory than cupping.' (q.) 'what is the best time for cupping?' (a.) 'one should be cupped fasting, for this fortifies the wit and the memory. it is reported of the prophet that, when any one complained to him of a pain in the head or legs, he would bid him be cupped and not eat salt [meat] fasting, for it engendered scurvy, neither eat sour milk immediately after [cupping].' (q.) 'when is cupping to be avoided?' (a.) 'on wednesdays and saturdays, and let him who is cupped on these days blame none but himself. moreover, one should not be cupped in very hot nor in very cold weather; and the best season for cupping is spring.' (q.) 'tell me of copulation.' at this taweddud hung her head, for shame and confusion before the khalif; then said, 'by allah, o commander of the faithful, it is not that i am at fault, but that i am ashamed, though, indeed, the answer is on the tip of my tongue.' 'speak, o damsel,' said the khalif; whereupon quoth she, 'copulation hath in it many and exceeding virtues and praiseworthy qualities, amongst which are, that it lightens a body full of black bile and calms the heat of love and engenders affection and dilates the heart and dispels sadness; and the excess of it is more harmful in summer and autumn than in spring and winter.' (q.) 'what are its good effects?' (a.) 'it doth away trouble and disquiet, calms love and chagrin and is good for ulcers in a cold and dry humour; but excess of it weakens the sight and engenders pains in the legs and head and back: and beware, beware of having to do with old women, for they are deadly. quoth the imam ali,[fn# ] (whose face god honour), "four things kill and ruin the body: bathing on a full stomach, eating salt meat, copulation on a plethora [of blood] and lying with an ailing woman; for she will weaken thy strength and infect thy body with sickness; and an old woman is deadly poison." and quoth one of them, "beware of taking an old woman to wife, though she be richer in goods than caroun."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what is the best copulation?' (a.) 'if the woman be young, well-shaped, fair of face, swelling-breasted and of honourable extraction, she will add to thee strength and health of body; and let her be even as saith the poet, describing her: even by thy looks, i trow, she knows what thou desir'st, by instinct, without sign or setting forth of sense; and when thou dost behold her all-surpassing grace, her charms enable thee with gardens to dispense.' (q.) 'at what time is copulation good?' (a.) 'if by day, after the morning-meal, and if by night, after food digested.' (q.) 'what are the most excellent fruits?' (a.) 'the pomegranate and the citron.' (q.) 'which is the most excellent of vegetables?' (a.) 'the endive.' (q.) 'which of sweet-scented flowers?' (a.) 'the rose and the violet.' (q.) 'how is sperma hominis secreted?' (a.) 'there is in man a vein that feeds all the other veins. water [or blood] is collected from the three hundred and threescore veins and enters, in the form of red blood, the left testicle, where it is decocted, by the heat of man's temperament, into a thick, white liquid, whose odour is as that of the palm-spathe.' (q.) 'what bird [or flying thing] is it that emits seed and menstruates?' (a.) 'the bat, that is, the rere-mouse.' (q.) 'what is that which, when it is shut out [from the air], lives, and when it smells the air, dies?' (a.) 'the fish.' (q.) 'what serpent lays eggs?' (a.) 'the dragon.' with this the physician was silent, being weary with much questioning, and taweddud said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, he hath questioned me till he is weary, and now i will ask him one question, which if he answer not, i will take his clothes as lawful prize.' 'ask on,' quoth the khalif. so she said to the physician, 'what is that which resembles the earth in [plane] roundness, whose resting-place and spine are hidden, little of value and estimation, narrow-chested, its throat shackled, though it be no thief nor runaway slave, thrust through and through, though not in fight, and wounded, though not in battle; time eats its vigour and water wastes it away; now it is beaten without a fault and now made to serve without stint; united after separation, submissive, but not to him who caresses it, pregnant[fn# ] without a child in its belly, drooping, yet not leaning on its side, becoming dirty yet purifying itself, cleaving to [its mate], yet changing, copulating without a yard, wrestling without arms, resting and taking its ease, bitten, yet not crying out, [now] more complaisant than a boon-companion and [anon] more troublesome than summer-heat, leaving its wife by night and clipping her by day and having its abode in the corners of the mansions of the noble?' the physician was silent and his colour changed and he bowed his head awhile in perplexity and made no reply; whereupon she said to him, 'o physician, speak or put off thy clothes.' at this, he rose and said, 'o commander of the faithful, bear witness against me that this damsel is more learned than i in medicine and what else and that i cannot cope with her.' and he put off his clothes and fled forth. quoth the khalif to taweddud, 'expound to us thy riddle,' and she replied, 'o commander of the faithful, it is the button and the button loop.' then said she, 'let him of you who is an astronomer come forward.' so the astronomer came forward and sat down before her. when she saw him, she laughed and said, 'art thou the astronomer, the mathematician, the scribe?' 'yes,' answered he. 'ask of what thou wilt,' quoth she; 'success rests with god.' so he said, 'tell me of the sun and its rising and setting?' and she replied, 'the sun rises in the eastern hemisphere and sets in the western, and each hemisphere comprises ninescore degrees. quoth god the most high, "verily, i swear by the lord of the places of the sunrise and of the sunsetting."[fn# ] and again, "he it is who appointed the sun for a splendour and the moon for a light and ordained to her mansions, that ye might know the number of the years and the reckoning."[fn# ] the moon is sultan of the night and the sun sultan of the day, and they vie with one another in their courses and follow each other in uninterrupted succession. quoth god the most high, "it befits not that the sun overtake the moon nor that the night prevent the day, but each glides in [its own] sphere."'[fn# ] (q.) 'when the day cometh, what becomes of the night, and what of the day, when the night cometh?' (a.) 'he maketh the night to enter into the day and the day into the night.'[fn# ] (q.) 'enumerate to me the mansions of the moon.' (a.) 'they are eight-and-twenty in number, to wit, sheretan, butain, thureya, deberan, hecaäh, henaäh, dhiraa, nethreh, terf, jebheh, zubreh, serfeh, awwaa, simak and ghefr, zubaniya, iklil, kelb, shauleh, naaïm, beldeh, saad edh dhabih, saad el bulaa, saad el akhbiyeh, saad es suwoud, fergh the former and fergh the latter and rishaa. they are disposed in the order of the letters of the alphabet, according to their numerical power, and there are in them secret virtues which none knoweth save god (glorified and exalted be he) and those who are firmly stablished in science. they are divided among the twelve signs of the zodiac, in the ratio of two mansions and a third of a mansion to each sign. thus sheretan, butain and one-third of thureya belong to aries, the other two- thirds of thureya, deberan and two thirds of hecaäh to taurus, the other third of hecaäh, henaäh and dhiraa to gemini, nethreh, terf, and a third of jebheh to cancer, the other two-thirds of jebheh, zubreh and two-thirds of serfeh to leo, the other third of serfeh, awwaa and simak to virgo, ghefr, zubaniya and one-third of iklil to libra, the other two-thirds of iklil, kelb and two- thirds of shauleh to scorpio, the other third of shauleh, naaïm and beldeh to sagittarius, saad edh dhabih, saad el bulaa and one-third of saad es suwoud to capricorn, the other two-thirds of saad es suwoud, saad el akbiyeh and two-thirds of fergh the former to aquarius, the other third of fergh the former, fergh the latter and rishaa to pisces.' (q.) 'tell me of the planets and their natures, also of their sojourn in the signs of the zodiac, their aspects, favourable and sinister, their houses, ascendants and descendants.' (a.) 'the sitting is narrow [for so comprehensive a matter], but they are seven in number, to wit, the sun, the moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter and saturn. the sun is hot and dry, sinister in conjunction, favourable in opposition, and abides thirty days in each sign. the moon is cold and moist, favourable of aspect, and abides two days in each sign and a third of another day. mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable [in conjunction] with the favourable and sinister [in conjunction] with the sinister [asterisms], and abides in each sign seventeen and a half days. venus is temperate, favourable and abides in each sign five-and-twenty days. mars is sinister and abides in each sign ten months. jupiter is favourable and abides in each sign a year. saturn is cold and dry and sinister and abides in each sign thirty months. the house of the sun is leo, its ascendant is aries and its descendant aquarius. the moon's house is cancer, its ascendant taurus, its descendant scorpio and its sinister aspect capricorn. saturn's house is capricorn and aquarius, its ascendant libra, its descendant aries and its sinister aspects cancer and leo. jupiter's house is pisces and sagittarius, its ascendant cancer, its descendant capricorn and its sinister aspects gemini and leo. venus's house is taurus, its ascendant pisces, its descendant libra and its sinister aspects aries and scorpio. mercury's house is gemini and virgo, its ascendant virgo, its descendant pisces and its sinister aspect taurus. mars's house is aries and scorpio, its ascendant capricorn, its descendant cancer and its sinister aspect libra.' when the astronomer saw her acuteness and skill and heard her fair answers, he bethought him for a device to confound her before the commander of the faithful and said to her, 'o damsel, will rain fall this month?' at this she bowed her head and pondered so long, that the khalif thought her at a loss for an answer and the astronomer said to her, 'why dost thou not speak?' quoth she, 'i will not speak except the commander of the faithful give me leave.' the khalif laughed and said, 'how so?' said she, 'i would have thee give me a sword, that i may strike off his head, for he is an infidel.' at this the khalif and those about him laughed, and she said, 'o astronomer, there are five things that none knoweth save god the most high;' and she repeated the following verse: 'verily, with god is the knowledge of the hour; he sendeth down the rain and knoweth what is in the wombs. none knoweth what the morrow shall bring forth for him nor in what land he shall die. verily, god is the all-wise, the all-knowing.'[fn# ] quoth the astronomer, 'thou hast said well, and by allah, i thought but to try thee.' 'know,' rejoined she, 'that the almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring to the planets, relative to the coming in of the year, and in which are tribulations for the folk.' (q.) 'what are they?' (a.) 'each day hath a planet that rules it. so, if the first day of the year fall on a sunday, that day is the sun's and this portends (though god alone is all-knowing) oppression of kings and sultans and governors and much miasma and lack of rain and that the folk will be in great disorder and the grain-crop will be good, except lentils, which will perish, and the vines will rot and flax will be dear and wheat cheap from the beginning of toubeh[fn# ] to the end of beremhat.[fn# ] moreover, in this year there will be much fighting among kings, and there shall be great plenty of good in this year.' (q.) 'what if the first day fall on monday?' (a.) 'that day belongs to the moon and portends righteousness in administrators and deputies and that it will be a year of much rain and grain-crops will be good, but linseed will decay and wheat will be cheap in the month keyehk;[fn# ] also that plagues will be rife and that half the sheep and goats will die, that grapes will be plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap.' (q.) 'what if it fall on tuesday?' (a.) 'that is mars's day and portends death of great men and much destruction and outpouring of blood and dearness of grain, lack of rain and scarcity of fish, which will anon be in excess and anon fail [altogether]. in this year, lentils and honey will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley will thrive, to the exception of all other grain: great will be the fighting among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be much mortality among asses.' (q.) 'what if it fall on wednesday?' (a.) 'that is mercury's day and portends great anarchy among the folk and much enmity and rotting of some of the green crops and moderate rains; also that there will be great mortality among cattle and infants and much fighting by sea, that wheat will be dear from burmoudeh to misra[fn# ] and other grains cheap: thunder and lightning will abound and honey will be dear, palm-trees will thrive and bear apace and flax and cotton will be plentiful, but radishes and onions will be dear.' (q.) 'what if it fall on thursday?' (a.) 'that is jupiter's day and portends equity in viziers and righteousness in cadis and fakirs and the ministers of religion and that good will be plentiful: rain and fruits and trees and grain and fish will abound and flax, cotton, honey and grapes be cheap.' (q.) 'what if it fall on friday?' (a.) 'that day belongs to venus and portends oppression in the chiefs of the jinn and talk of forgery and calumny; there will be much dew, the autumn crops will be good in the land and there will be cheapness in one town and not in another: lewdness will be rife by land and sea, linseed will be dear, also wheat, in hatour,[fn# ] but cheap in amshir:[fn# ] honey will be dear and grapes and melons will rot.' (q.) 'what if it fall on saturday?' (a.) 'that is saturn's day and portends the preferment of slaves and greeks and those in whom there is no good, neither in their neighbourhood; there will be great drought and scarcity; clouds will abound and death will be rife among mankind and woe to the people of egypt and syria from the oppression of the sultan and failure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting of grain.' with this, the astronomer hung his head, [being at an end of his questions], and she said to him, 'o astronomer, i will ask thee one question, which if thou answer not, i will take thy clothes.' 'ask on,' replied he. quoth she, 'where is saturn's dwelling place?' and he answered, 'in the seventh heaven.' (q.) 'and that of jupiter?' (a.) 'in the sixth heaven.' (q.) 'and that of mars?' (a.) 'in the fifth heaven.' (q.) 'and that of the sun?' (a.) 'in the fourth heaven.' (q.) 'and that of venus?' (a.) 'in the third heaven.' (q.) 'and that of mercury?' (a.) 'in the second heaven.' (q.) 'and that of the moon?' (a.) 'in the first heaven.' quoth she, 'well answered; but i have one more question to ask thee. into how many parts are the stars divided?' but he was silent and answered nothing; and she said to him, 'put off thy clothes.' so he put them off and she took them; after which the khalif said to her, 'tell us the answer to thy question.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered she, 'the stars are divided into three parts, one whereof is hung in the sky of the earth,[fn# ] as it were lamps, to give light to the earth, another suspended in the air, to give light to the seas and that which is therein, and the third is used to transfix the demons withal, when they draw near by stealth to [listen to the talk of the angels in] heaven. quoth god the most high, "verily, we have decked the sky of the earth with lamps and have appointed them for projectiles against the demons."'[fn# ] quoth the astronomer, 'i have one more question to ask, which if she answer, i will avow myself beaten.' 'say on,' answered she. then said he, 'what four incompatible things are based upon other four incompatibles?' 'the four elements,' replied she; 'for of heat god created fire, which is by nature hot and dry; of dryness, earth, which is cold and dry; of cold, water, which is cold and moist; of moisture, air, which is hot and moist. moreover, he created twelve signs of the zodiac, aries, taurus, gemini, cancer, leo, virgo, libra, scorpio, sagittarius, capricorn, aquarius and pisces and appointed them of four [several] humours, three, aries, leo and sagittarius, fiery, taurus, virgo and capricorn, earthy, gemini, libra and aquarius, airy, and cancer, scorpio and pisces, watery.' with this, the astronomer rose, and saying, 'bear witness against me that she is more learned than i,' went away beaten. then said the khalif, 'where is the philosopher?' whereupon one came forward and said to taweddud, 'what is time?' 'time,' answered she, 'is a name applied to the [lapse of the] hours of the day and night, which are but the measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their several orbits, even as god the most high telleth us, when he saith, "and a sign to them [is] the night, from which we strip off the day, and behold, they are in darkness, and the sun runneth to a fixed abode, [appointed] to it; this is the ordinance of the sublime, the all-knowing."' [fn# ] (q.) 'how comes unbelief to the son of adam?' (a.) 'it is reported of the prophet that he said, "unbelief runs in a man, as the blood runs in the veins, when he reviles the world and time and night and the hour." and again, "let none of you revile time, for time is god; neither the world, for it saith, 'may god not help him that reviles me!' neither the hour, for 'verily, the hour cometh, without doubt;'[fn# ] neither the earth, for it is a portent, according to the saying of the most high, 'from it we created you, to it we will return you and from it we will bring you forth yet again.'"'[fn# ] (q.) 'what are the five that ate and drank, yet came not out of loins nor belly?' (a.) 'adam and simeon and salih's she-camel[fn# ] and ishmael's ram and the bird that abou bekr the truth-teller saw in the cave.'[fn# ] (q.) 'tell me of five that are in paradise and are neither mortals, jinn nor angels?' (a.) 'jacob's wolf and the seven sleepers' dog and esdras's ass and salih's camel and the prophet's mule.' (q.) 'what man prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?' (a.) 'solomon [son of david], when he prayed on his carpet, borne by the wind.' (q.) 'a man once looked at a handmaid in the morning, and she was unlawful to him; but, at noonday, she became lawful to him. by mid-afternoon, she was again unlawful, but at sundown, she was lawful to him. at evensong, she was a third time unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once more lawful to him.' (a.) 'this was a man who looked at another's handmaid in the morning, and she was then unlawful to him, but at midday he bought her, and she became lawful to him. at mid-afternoon he enfranchised her, and she became unlawful to him, but at sundown he married her and she was again lawful to him. at evensong, he divorced her and she was then a third time unlawful to him, but, next morning, at daybreak, he took her back, and she became once more lawful to him.' (q.) 'tell me what tomb fared on with him that lay buried therein?' (a.) 'the whale, when it had swallowed jonah.' (q.) 'what spot of ground is it, upon which the sun shone once, but will never again shine till the day of judgment?' (a.) 'the bottom of the red sea, when moses smote it with his staff, and the sea clove asunder in twelve places, according to the number of the tribes; then the sun shone on the bottom and will do so never again till the day of judgment.' (q.) 'what was the first skirt that trailed upon the surface of the earth?' (a.) 'that of hagar, out of shame before sarah, and it became a custom among the arabs.' (q.) 'what is that which breathes without life?' (a.) 'quoth god the most high, "by the morning, when it breathes!"'[fn# ] (q.) 'a number of pigeons came to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others under it. said those on the tree to those on the ground, "if one of you come up to us, ye will be a third part of us [all] in number; and if one of us descend to you, we shall be like unto you in number." how many pigeons were there in all?' (a.) 'twelve: seven alighted on the tree and five beneath.' with this the philosopher put off his clothes and fled forth: whereupon she turned to those present and said, 'which of you is the rhetorician that can discourse of all kinds of knowledge?' there came forward ibrahim ben siyyar and said to her, 'think me not like the rest.' quoth she, 'it is the more sure to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that thou art a boaster, and god will help me against thee, that i may strip thee of thy clothes. so, if thou sentest one to fetch thee wherewithal to clothe thyself, it would be well for thee.' 'by allah,' cried he, 'i will assuredly conquer thee and make thee a byword among the folk, generation after generation!' 'do penance [in advance] for thy [void] oath,' rejoined she. then said he, 'what five things did god create, before he made man?' and she replied, 'water and earth and light and darkness and the fruits [of the earth].' (q.) 'what did god create with the hand of omnipotence?' (a.) 'the empyreal heaven and the tree touba[fn# ] and adam and the garden of eden; these god created with the hand of his omnipotence; but to all other created things he said, "be,"--and they were.' (q.) 'who is thy father in islam?' (a.) 'mohammed, whom god bless and preserve!' (q.) 'who was the father [in islam] of mohammed?' (a.) 'abraham the friend of god.' (q.) 'what is the faith of islam?' (a.) 'the professing that there is no god but god and that mohammed is the apostle of god.' (q.) 'what is thy first and thy last?' (a.) 'my first is troubled water[fn# ] and my last filthy carrion. the first of me is dust and the last dust. quoth the poet: created wast thou of the dust and didst a man become, ready in question and reply and fluent in debate. then to the dust return'dst anon and didst become of it, for that, in very deed, of dust at first thou wast create.' (q.) 'what thing was it, whose first [state] was wood and its last life?' (a.) 'moses' rod, when he cast it on the ground and it became, by permission of god, a writhing serpent.'[fn# ] (q.) 'what is the meaning of the verse in the koran, "and i have other need [or occasion] for it"?'[fn# ] (a.) 'he [moses] was wont to plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and shade him from the heat and the cold. moreover, it would carry him, when he was weary, and guard his sheep from the wild beasts, whilst he slept.' (q.) 'what woman was born of a man alone and what man of a woman alone?' (a.) 'eve of adam and jesus of mary.' (q.) 'what fire eats and drinks, what fire eats but drinks not, what fire drinks but eats not and what other neither eats nor drinks?' (a.) 'hellfire eats and drinks, the fire of the world eats but drinks not, the fire of the sun drinks but eats not, and that of the moon neither eats nor drinks.' (q.) 'which is the open [door] and which the shut [door]?' (a.) 'the traditional ordinances are the open, the koranic the shut [door].' (q.) 'of what does the poet speak, when he says: a dweller in the sepulchre, at 's head his victual lies; whenas he tastes thereof, he speaks and questions and replies. he rises up and walks and talks, yet silent is the while, and turns anon unto the tomb wherefrom he did arise. no living one is he, that hath a title to respect, nor dead, that folk should say of him, "god's mercy him comprise!"?' (a.) 'the pen.' (q.) 'what does the poet refer to in these verses: two breasts in one it hath; its blood is eath and quick of flow, wide-mouthed, though all the rest be black, its ears are white as snow. it hath an idol like a cock, that doth its belly peck, and half a dirhem is its worth, if thou its price wouldst know?' (a.) 'the inkhorn.' (q.) 'and in these: say to men of wit and learning and to doctors everywhere, skilled to find the hidden meanings riddles and enigmas bear, come expound to me what is it that ye see a bird produce, 'mongst the arabs and barbarians and wherever else ye fare; neither flesh nor blood, i warrant, hath the thing whereof i speak; neither down nor feathers, birdwise, for a garment doth it wear. boiled it is and likewise roasted, eaten hot and eaten cold; yea, to boot, and when 'tis buried in the glowing embers' flare, colours twain in it are noted, one as silver clear and white, and the other lucent yellow, gold therewith may not compare. living can it not be reckoned, neither may we count it dead: tell me, then, what is this wonder, rarity of all things rare?' (a.) 'thou makest long the questioning of an egg worth a doit.' (q.) 'how many words [or times] did god speak to moses?' (a.) 'it is related of the prophet that he said, "god spoke to moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words [or times]."' (q.) 'tell me of fourteen things that speak to the lord of the worlds?' (a.) 'the seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say, "we come, obedient."'[fn# ] (q.) 'how was adam created?' (a.) 'god created adam of clay: the clay he made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water he created by the exertion of his omnipotent will, according to his saying (exalted be his name!), "his commandment is only when he willeth aught, that he say, 'be,' --and it is."'[fn# ] (q.) 'what is meant by the poet in the following verses: a things sans mouth or maw that eats in wondrous wise; on trees and beasts it feeds and all beneath the skies. give it to eat, it thrives and flourishes amain; but give it not to drink of water, or it dies?' (a.) 'fire.' (q.) 'and in these: two lovers, that are still estopped from all delight: embracing, each with each, they pass the livelong night. they guarantee the folk from all calamity, and with the risen sun they're torn apart forthright?' (a.) 'the leaves of a gate.' (q.) 'tell me of the gates of hell?' (a.) 'they are seven in number and their names are comprised in the following verses: jehennem first, then leza comes and eke hetim as well; then must thou count saïr, and fifth comes seker, sooth to tell: sixth comes jehim and last of all, hawiyeh; thus thou hast, in compass brief of doggrel rhyme, the seven rooms of hell.' (q.) 'to what does the poet refer in these verses: a pair of ringlets long she hath, that trail for aye behind her, as she comes and goes upon her way, and eye that never knows the taste of sleep nor sheds a tear, for none it hath for shedding, sooth to say; nor wears it aught of clothes, from year to ended year; yet in all manner wede it doth the folk array?' (a.) 'a needle.' (q.) 'what is the length and breadth of the bridge es sirat?' (a.) 'its length is three thousand years' journey, a thousand in descent, a thousand level and a thousand in ascent: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair.' (q.) 'how many intercessions [with god] hath the prophet [for each soul]?' (a.) 'three.' (q.) 'was abou bekr the first that embraced islam?' (a.) 'yes.' (q.) 'yet ali[fn# ] became a muslim before him?' (a.) 'all came to the prophet, when he was a boy of seven years old, for god vouchsafed him the knowledge of the truth in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to idols.' (q.) 'which is the more excellent, ali or abbas?'[fn# ] now she knew that, in propounding this question, ibrahim was laying a trap for her; for, if she said, 'ali is the more excellent,' she would fall in disgrace with the khalif; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, now paling, then said, 'thou askest me of two excellent men, each having [his own especial] excellence. let us return to what we were about.' when the khalif heard her reply, he rose to his feet and said, 'by the lord of the kaabeh, thou hast said well, o taweddud!' then said ibrahim, 'what means the poet, when he says: slender of skirts and slim of shape and sweet of taste it is, most like unto the spear, except it lacks of the spontoon. in all the countries of the world the folk make use of it, and eaten 'tis in ramazan, after mid-afternoon?' she answered, 'the sugar-cane;' and he said, 'tell me of many things.' 'what are they?' asked she; and he said, 'what is sweeter than honey, what is sharper than the sword, what is swifter than poison, what is the delight of a moment and what the contentment of three days, what is the pleasantest of days, what is the joy of a week, what is the debt that the worst payer denieth not, what is the prison of the tomb, what is the joy of the heart, what is the snare of the soul, what is death in life, what is the malady that may not be healed, what is the reproach that may not be done away, what is the beast that harbours not in cultivated fields, but lodges in waste places and hates mankind and hath in it somewhat of the make of seven strong beasts?' quoth she, 'hear what i shall say in answer; then put off thy clothes, that i may expound to thee.' then the khalif said, 'expound, and he shall put off his clothes.' so she said, 'that, which is sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to their parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is the tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the evil eye; the delight of a moment is coition and the contentment of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the bride; the debt, which the worst payer denieth not, is death; the prison of the tomb is an ill son; the joy of the heart is a woman obedient to her husband, (and it is said also that, when fleshmeat descends upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the snare [or vexation] of the soul is a disobedient slave; death in life is poverty; the malady, that may not be healed, is an ill nature and the reproach, that may not be done away, is an ill daughter; lastly, the beast that harbours not in cultivated fields, but lodges in waste places and hates mankind and hath in it somewhat of the make of seven strong beasts, is the locust, whose head is as the head of the horse, its neck as the neck of the bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet of the camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its body as the body of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the gazelle.' the khalif was astounded at her quickness and understanding and said to ibrahim, 'put off thy clothes.' so he rose and said, 'i call all who are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned than i and all the learned men.' and he put off his clothes and gave them to her, saying, 'take them and may god not bless them to thee!' the khalif ordered him fresh clothes and said to taweddud, 'there is one thing left of that for which thou didst engage, namely, chess.' and he sent for professors of chess and draughts and backgammon. the chess-player sat down before her, and they set the pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she speedily countered, till she beat him and he found himself check-mated. quoth he, 'i did but lead thee on, that thou mightest think thyself skilful; but set up again, and i will show thee.' so they placed the pieces a second time, and he said to himself, 'open thine eyes, or she will beat thee.' and he fell to moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play, till she said, 'check-mate.' when he saw this, he was confounded at her quickness and skill; but she laughed and said, 'o master, i will make a wager with thee on this third game. i will give thee the queen and the right-hand rook and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my clothes, and if i beat thee, i will take thine.' 'i agree to this,' replied he, and they replaced the pieces, she giving him the queen, rook and knight. then said she, 'move, o master.' so he moved, saying in himself, 'i cannot but win, with such an advantage,' and made a combination; but she moved on, little by little, till she made one of her pawns a queen and pushing up to him pawns and other pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted him with it.[fn# ] accordingly, he took it and she said to him, 'the measure is meted out and the equilibrium established. eat, o man, till thou pass repletion; nought shall be thy ruin but greediness. knowest thou not that i did but tempt thee, that i might beguile thee? see: this is check-mate: put off thy clothes.' 'leave me my trousers,' quoth he, 'so god requite thee;' and he swore by allah that he would contend with none, so long as taweddud abode at the court of baghdad. then he took off his clothes and gave them to her and went away. then came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, 'if i beat thee, what wilt thou give me?' quoth he, 'i will give thee ten suits of brocade of constantinople, figured with gold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand dinars, and if i beat thee, i ask nothing but that thou write me an acknowledgment thereof.' 'to it, then,' replied she, 'and do thy best.' so they played, and he lost and went away, jabbering in the frank jargon and saying, 'by the bounty of the commander of the faithful, there is not her like in all the world!' then the khalif summoned players on instruments of music and said to her, 'dost thou know aught of music?' 'yes,' answered she. so he bade bring a peeled and polished lute, whose owner [or maker] was ground down by exile [or estrangement from the beloved] and of which quoth one, describing it: god watered a land and straight a tree sprang up on its root: it cast forth branches and throve and flourished with many a shoot. the birds, when the wood was green, sang o'er it, and when it was dry, fair women sang to it in turn, for lo, 'twas a minstrel's lute! so they brought a bag of red satin, with tassels of saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took out a lute, on which were graven the following verses: full many a tender branch a lute for singing-girl has grown, wherewith at banquets to her mates she makes melodious moan. she sings; it follows on her song, as 'twere to teach her how heart's troubles in clear perfect speech of music to make known. she laid her lute in her lap and letting her breasts hang over it, bent to it as bends a mother, suckling her child; then preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole assembly was agitated with delight, and sang the following verses: leave your estrangement, i pray, and bid your cruelty hold, for, by your life, my heart will never for you be consoled. have pity on one who weeps, afflicted and ever sad, a slave of passion, who burns for thee with longings untold. the khalif was ravished and exclaimed, 'may god bless thee and receive him who taught thee[fn# ] into his mercy!' whereupon she rose and kissed the earth before him. then he sent for money and paid her master aboulhusn a hundred thousand dinars to her price; after which he said to her, 'o taweddud, ask a boon of me.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied she, 'i ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me to thee.' 'it is well,' answered the khalif and restored her to her master and gave her five thousand dinars for herself. moreover, he appointed aboulhusn one of his boon-companions and assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he should live, and he abode with the damsel taweddud in all delight of life. marvel then, o king, at the eloquence of this damsel and the greatness of her learning and understanding and her perfect excellence in all branches of knowledge, and consider the generosity of the khalif haroun er reshid, in that he gave her master this money and said to her, 'ask a boon of me;' and she besought him to restore her to her lord. so he restored her to him and gave her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his boon-companions. where is such generosity to be found after the abbaside khalifs, may god the most high have mercy upon them all! end of vol. iv arabian nights, volume footnotes [fn# ] a very famous legist and wit of the eighth century and a prime favourite with er reshid. he was one of the chief pupils of the imam abou henifeh (see note, vol. ii. p. {see vol. fn# }) and was cadi of baghdad under the third, fourth and fifth khalifs of the abbaside dynasty. [fn# ] shown in choosing so learned a cadi. [fn# ] governor of the two iraks (i.e. bassora and cufa) in the reign of hisham, tenth khalif of the ommiade dynasty (a.d. - ). he was celebrated for his beneficence and liberality. [fn# ] koran iii. , etc. [fn# ] "the hand of a thief shall not be cut off for stealing less than a quarter of a dinar."--mischat ul masabih. [fn# ] el asmai the poet, author or compiler of the well-known romance of antar. [fn# ] zanzibar (ant. zengibar). [fn# ] the word sherif (lit. noble) signifies strictly a descendant of the martyr hussein, son of the khalif ali; but it is here used in the sense of "chief" [of the bazaar]. [fn# ] quære mensour en nemri, a well-known poet of the time and (originally) a protege of yehya's son, el fezl. [fn# ] intendant of the palace to haroun er reshid and captain of his guards. [fn# ] i.e. the khalif [fn# ] i.e. as if he were an old bedouin, with forehead disfigured by the friction of the rope of camel's hair, which is part of the bedouin headdress. [fn# ] mohammed said, "change the whiteness of your hair, but not with anything black." henna is the approved hairdye for a true-believer; it changes the hair to a reddish-brown. [fn# ] i.e. thou that art as dear to me as my sight and hearing. [fn# ] a fountain of paradise. [fn# ] syn. languishing (munkesir). [fn# ] a river of paradise. [fn# ] i.e. orthodox. [fn# ] these words are a quotation from a well-known piece of verse. [fn# ] of the prophet. [fn# ] usually made of palm-fibres. [fn# ] the distinctive headdress of the muslims. [fn# ] the bridge that spans hell, finer than a hair and sharper than a sword, and over which all must pass on the day of judgment. [fn# ] or leader of the people at prayer, who stands opposite the niche sunk into or painted on the wall of the mosque, to indicate the direction of mecca. [fn# ] all this is an audacious parody of the muslim ritual of prayer. [fn# ] lit. "exclamations of 'glory be to god!'" which are of frequent recurrence in the mohammedan formulas of prayer. see last note. [fn# ] i.e. governor. [fn# ] the word ucwaneh, here used in the dual number, usually designates the teeth, in its common meaning of "camomile- flower": but the lips are here expressly mentioned, and this fact, together with that of the substitution, in the breslau edition, of the word akikan (two cornelians or rubies) for ucwanetan (two camomiles), as in the calcutta and boulac editions, shows that the word is intended to be taken in its rarer meaning of "corn-marigold." [fn# ] syn. fortune (ez zeman). [fn# ] one of the tribes of the arabs and that to which the renowned maan ben zaideh (see vol. iii. p. , {vol. , fn# }) belonged. [fn# ] the muslims accuse the jews of having corrupted the pentateuch and others of their sacred books, even as the christians the gospels (see vol. ii. page , note {vol. , fn# }), by expunging or altering the passages foretelling the coming of mohammed. [fn# ] see vol. i. p. , note . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] i.e. as a martyr. [fn# ] the force of this comparison will best appear from the actual figuration of the arabic double-letter lam-alif (anglice l.a.) which is made up of the two letters *<arabic character>, (initial form of lam) and *<arabic character> (final of alif,) and is written thus, *<arabic character>. [fn# ] i.e. o thou, whose glance is as the light of the glowing embers. [fn# ] thus figured in arabic *<arabic character>. [fn# ] thus *<arabic character>. [fn# ] thus *<arabic character>. [fn# ] koran xxvil. . [fn# ] koran iii. . [fn# ] koran xcii. , . [fn# ] sauda, feminine of aswed (black), syn. black bile (melancholia). [fn# ] the distinctive colour of which is white. [fn# ] koran li. . [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] koran ii. , referring to an expiatory heifer which the jews were commanded, through moses, to sacrifice. [fn# ] see note, vol iii. p. {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] sulafeh. [fn# ] sewalif, plural of salifeh (equivalent of sulafeh). a play upon the double meaning of the word is, of course, intended. [fn# ] syn. yellowness (isfirar). [fn# ] a title of the prophet. [fn# ] his wife zubeideh. [fn# ] i.e. his beautiful slave-girls. [fn# ] i.e. his beautiful slave-girls. [fn# ] title of saladin (selaheddin) and several other eyoubite sultans of egypt and syria. it is equivalent to our "defender of the faith." [fn# ] koran xli. . [fn# ] a town of upper egypt. [fn# ] meaning the merchant, whose name, abou jaafer or the like, he had learnt from the tailor. [fn# ] muslim jews. [fn# ] a well-known jurist at baghdad in the reign of the khalif mamoun. [fn# ] medina. [fn# ] one of the gates of the great mosque there, wherein is the tomb of the prophet. [fn# ] tenth khalif of the abbaside dynasty, a.d. - . [fn# ] muwelledat, women born in muslim countries of slave-parents; syn. mulatto-women. [fn# ] lieutenant of the prefect of baghdad. [fn# ] muwelledat, women born in muslim countries of slave-parents; syn. mulatto-women. [fn# ] el hakim bi amrillah, sixth fatimite khalif of egypt (a.d. - ), cruel and fantastic tyrant, who claimed to be an incarnation of the deity. he was the founder of the religion of the druses, who look to him to reappear and be their messiah [fn# ] bastard or spanish pellitory. [fn# ] or dyed. [fn# ] or interlocking. [fn# ] or torn. [fn# ] sufreh, a round piece of leather used (mostly by travellers) as a table-cloth and having a running string inserted round its edge, by means of which it can be converted into a bag or budget for holding provisions, as in this instance. [fn# ] lower india. [fn# ] i.e. as master of the house in which i have sought shelter. [fn# ] uns el wujoud. [fn# ] a pun upon his name, uns wa joud, pleasance and bounty. [fn# ] see supra, p. , note . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] the fourteenth letter of the arabic alphabet, in its medial form (<arabic>) closely resembling an eye underlined with kohl. [fn# ] see note, vol. iii. p. . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] i.e. in dreams.. [fn# ] one of the months in which war was forbidden to the pagan arabs and a sort of trève de dieu prevailed. [fn# ] the arabic word fakir means literally, "a poor man;" but it would appear, from what follows, that uns el wujoud had disguised himself as a religious mendicant and was taken for such by the people of the castle. [fn# ] i.e. one absorbed in the contemplation of supra- terrestrial things. [fn# ] uns el wujoud. [fn# ] to salute them and wish them joy, according to oriental custom. [fn# ] mosul is called the land of purity, in a religious sense, it having never been polluted with idolatrous worship. [fn# ] the people of aleppo seem to have been noted for debauchery. [fn# ] i.e. do not express admiration openly, lest it attract the evil eye, but vent your wonder by saying, "god bless and preserve the prophet!" according to general muslim wont. [fn# ] a gorge near mecca, the scene of one of mohammed's battles. [fn# ] i.e. as made out of a crooked rib, according to the tradition. [fn# ] i.e. the land of the virgin. [fn# ] the word jamiaïn means "two congregational mosques," which would only be found in a large town like baghdad. it is possible, therefore, that the expression, "land of jamiaïn," may mean baghdad or some other great city, noted for its debauched manners. [fn# ] oriental substitute for slate. [fn# ] a pre-mohammedan poet. [fn# ] king of hireh in chaldæa, a fantastic and bloodthirsty tyrant, whom he had lampooned. [fn# ] aboulabbas er recashi, a well-known poet of the time. [fn# ] koran xxvi. , , . [fn# ] half-brother of abdallah ben ez zubeir, the celebrated pretender to the khalifate, see vol. iii. p. , note . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] grand-daughter of the khalif aboubekr and the most beautiful woman of her day. [fn# ] a famous medinan traditionist of the eighth century. [fn# ] er zubeir ibn el awwam, cousin-german to mohammed and one of his companions. [fn# ] abou mohammed el aamesh, a cufan traditionist of the eighth century. [fn# ] a traditionist of the seventh century. [fn# ] one of the companions. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] companions of the prophet. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries. [fn# ] companions of the prophet. [fn# ] a.d. - . the founder of the great persian dynasty of the kisras (chosroës). mohammed was born in the reign of this monarch, whose name is a synonym with eastern writers for all that is just and noble in a king. [fn# ] wife of mohammed. [fn# ] daughter of mohammed. [fn# ] lit. "of the ancestors," i.e. those pious and blessed persons who have gone before. the word es selef (the ancestors) is specially applied to mohammed, his wife aaisheh, the first three khalifs and certain other early muslims. [fn# ] khusrau perviz, grandson of kisra anoushirwan (see supra, p. ). {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] the famous beauty, daughter of maurice, emperor of the east, and heroine of nizami's well-known poem. [fn# ] first cousin of haroun er reshid. [fn# ] son and successor of er reshid. [fn# ] a well-known grammarian and traditionist of the time, afterwards governor of part of khorassan, under the khalif el mamoun. [fn# ] intendant of the palace under er reshid. [fn# ] i.e. lover. [fn# ] muslim version of susannah and the elders. [fn# ] lit. o frosty-beard (fool), how frosty was thy beard! [fn# ] descendant of the prophet. [fn# ] name of a tribe. [fn# ] a descendant of ishmael, from whom the arab genealogists trace mohammed's lineage. [fn# ] koran xxxiii. . [fn# ] koran xxxviii. . [fn# ] one of the companions of the prophet. [fn# ] of the prophet i.e. those who had personally known mohammed. [fn# ] i.e. the builders, who, in the east, use mud or clay for mortar. [fn# ] about a penny. [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] a woman's name. [fn# ] for putting out the fire in a brasier or cooking-stove. [fn# ] the last kings of hireh were christians. [fn# ] a prae-islamitic poet. [fn# ] king of persia and en numan's suzerain. [fn# ] a celebrated poet of the eighth and ninth centuries at the court d the abbaside khalifs. [fn# ] a quarter of baghdad. [fn# ] another well-known poet of the time, dibil's teacher and friend. [fn# ] underground rooms are much used in baghdad and central asia, for coolness' sake, in the season of the great heats. [fn# ] dibil's surname. [fn# ] an idol of the pagan arabs, before the coming of mohammed. [fn# ] in the attitude or a pupil before his master. [fn# ] i.e. heart's blood. [fn# ] a well-known poet, who flourished at baghdad in the ninth century [fn# ] aboulabbas mohammed ben yezid eth thumali, surnamed el muberred, a famous baghdad grammarian of the ninth century. [fn# ] a monastery in the town of hemah in syria, so called from the emperor heraclius, who retired thither, to end his. days. [fn# ] these verses are addressed to the prophet mohammed. [fn# ] the most learned grammarian of his day. he flourished at baghdad in the first half of the tenth century. [fn# ] anatolia. [fn# ] the lights. [fn# ] servant of the messiah. [fn# ] the monk. [fn# ] the desireful servant of god. abdallah is the name commonly given to a christian convert to islam. this question and answer are a good example of the jingle of rhymes so much affected by the arabs. [fn# ] i.e. of gods (shirk). [fn# ] koran vii. . [fn# ] i.e. saints. [fn# ] koran x. . [fn# ] a well-known man of letters and one of el mamoun's viziers. [fn# ] prefect of baghdad under el mamoun. [fn# ] i.e. the persons in authority under them. [fn# ] surname of ali ben hisham. [fn# ] a renowned chieftain and poet of the time of mohammed. [fn# ] a famous singer and composer of the first century of the hegira. [fn# ] one of the greatest of arab poets; he flourished in the first century of the hegira. [fn# ] i.e. as to the sound of music. [fn# ] sixth of the abbaside khalifs, a.d. - . [fn# ] see note, vol. iii. p. . {see vol. , fn# }. [fn# ] tenth abbaside khalif, a.d. - . [fn# ] vizier and favourite of el mutawekkil, killed a.d. whilst endeavouring to defend the khalif against the parricide el muntestr. [fn# ] virginitatem tollere. [fn# ] johannes, a greek physician in high favour with el mutawekkil and others of the abbaside khalifs. [fn# ] i.e. princess of the doctors or men of learning. [fn# ] a.d. . [fn# ] or heads of the various sects or schools of religion. [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] as witness to a debt, koran ii. . [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] or "eye-glance." [fn# ] abou temmam et tai (of the tribe of tai), a famous poet of the first half of the ninth century and postmaster at mosul under the khalif wathic billah (commonly known as vathek), a.d. - . he was the compiler of the famous anthology of ancient arabian poetry, known as the hemaseh (hamasa). [fn# ] aboulcasim el heriri, the famous poet and grammarian, author of the mecamat, the most celebrated single work in arabic literature. he holds much the same rank in arabic letters as pope and boileau in the literature of england and france and may, with much better reason, be styled "le legislateur du parnasse (arabe)." he was a native of bassora and died early in the twelfth century. [fn# ] i.e. the languishing glance of his eye. [fn# ] i.e. his whiskers. [fn# ] koran xii. . [fn# ] or quare palm-spathes. [fn# ] or quare "an exposition of women." [fn# ] koran xxvi. , . [fn# ] i.e. the whiteness of his face. [fn# ] or "freeborn," the arabic word used here having this double meaning. the arabs hold that the child of freeborn parents (lat. ingenuus) must of necessity be noble and those born of slave parents or a slave mother the contrary. [fn# ] or "freeborn," the arabic word used here having this double meaning. the arabs hold that the child of freeborn parents (lat. ingenuus) must of necessity be noble and those born of slave parents or a slave mother the contrary. [fn# ] a famous statesman, soldier, poet and musician, governor of khorassan, egypt and other provinces under the khalif el mamoun. [fn# ] abou abdallah ibn el casim el hashimi, surnamed abou el ainaa, a blind traditionist and man of letters of bassora, in the ninth century, and one of the most celebrated wits of his day. [fn# ] an island near cairo, on which is situate the nilometer. it is a favourite pleasure-resort of the cairenes. [fn# ] the port of cairo. [fn# ] i.e. the report of its being haunted. [fn# ] i.e. by the sortes coranicæ or other similar process. [fn# ] the word shabb (young man) is applied by the arabs to men of all ages from early adolescence to forty or even (according to some authorities) fifty. [fn# ] i.e. recited the first chapter of the koran seven times. [fn# ] i.e. affixed the tughraa, the royal seal or rather countermark. [fn# ] i.e. health and security. [fn# ] see vol. iii. p. , note . {vol. fn# } [fn# ] a pile of stones or other land-mark, set up to show the way to travellers in the desert. [fn# ] the eyebrows of a beautiful woman are usually compared to the new moon of ramazan (see note, vol. i. p. {see vol. fn# }). the meaning here is the same, the allusion being apparently to the eagerness with which the pagan arabs may be supposed to have watched for the appearance of the new moon of shaaban, as giving the signal for the renewal of predatory excursions, after the enforced close-time or trêve de dieu of the holy month rejeb. [fn# ] quære fourteen [years old]. [fn# ] i.e. the abrogated passages and those by which they are abrogated. [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] traditions of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose to pray such and such prayers." [fn# ] i.e. saying, "god is most great!" so called, because its pronunciation after that of the niyeh or intent, prohibits the speaking of any words previous to prayer. [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose, etc." [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose, etc." [fn# ] i.e. saying, "in the name of god, etc." [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose, etc." [fn# ] it may be noted that these answers of taweddud form an excellent compendium of devotional practice, according to the tenets of the shafy school. [fn# ] obligatory as a preparation for the friday prayer and on other occasions when legal purification is necessary. [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose to defer, etc." [fn# ] i.e. with sand, earth or dust. [fn# ] i.e. saying, "peace be on us and [all] the righteous worshippers of god!" [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i seek refuge with god from satan the accursed." [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i purpose, etc." [fn# ] lit. that the intent shall be by night. [fn# ] at sundown. [fn# ] eaten a little before the break of day, the fast commencing as soon as there is light enough to distinguish a black thread from a white and lasting till sunset. [fn# ] a saying of mohammed. [fn# ] i.e. retirement to a mosque for pious exercises, equivalent to the roman catholic retraite. [fn# ] two hills near mecca. [fn# ] on first catching sight of mecca. [fn# ] places near mecca. [fn# ] at a pillar supposed to represent the devil. [fn# ] or chief of the faith. [fn# ] koran vii. . [fn# ] one of the followers of mohammed, i.e. those who had known some of the companions [of the prophet] though they had never seen himself. the freedman [and adopted son] of abdallah, son of omar ben el khettab, the most authoritative of all the companions and reporters of the sayings and doings of the prophet. [fn# ] i.e. at a profit. the exchange must be equal and profitless. [fn# ] ablution. [fn# ] complete ablution. [fn# ] poor-rate. [fn# ] warring for the faith. [fn# ] i.e. saying, "i testify that there is no god, etc." [fn# ] i.e. fundamentals. [fn# ] i.e. derivatives. [fn# ] i.e. the true believers. [fn# ] i.e. death. [fn# ] i.e. that which does not require to be cut with a knife. "cut not meat with a knife, because it is of the manners and customs of the barbarians; but eat it with your teeth."-- mishcat ul masabih. [fn# ] or "being a muslim." [fn# ] apparently referring to the verse, "the earth all [shall be] his handful [on the] day of resurrection and the heavens rolled up in his right [hand]."--koran xxxix. . [fn# ] see vol. ii. p. , note. {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] koran lxxviii. . [fn# ] of the unity of god. [fn# ] i.e. professor of koranic exegesis. [fn# ] i.e. portions so called. [fn# ] heber. [fn# ] jethro. [fn# ] joshua. [fn# ] enoch. [fn# ] john the baptist. [fn# ] i.e. the bird of clay fabled by the koran (following the apocryphal gospel of the childhood of christ) to have been animated by him. [fn# ] koran ii. [fn# ] koran ii. , "god, there is no god but he, the living, the eternal. slumber taketh him not, neither sleep, and his is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. who is he that intercedeth with him but by his leave? he knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, nor do they comprehend aught of the knowledge of him but of what he willeth. his throne embraceth the heavens and the earth and the guarding of them oppresseth him not, for he is the most high, the supreme." [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] koran xvi. . [fn# ] paradise, koran lxx. . [fn# ] koran xxxix. . [fn# ] see note, p. supra. {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] koran xii. . [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] koran li. . [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] koran xvi. . the muslims fable the devil to have tempted abraham to disobey god's commandment to sacrifice ishmael (isaac) and to have been driven off by the patriarch with stones. hence he is called "the stoned." [fn# ] abdallah ibn abbas, first cousin of mohammed and the most learned theologian among the companions. [fn# ] koran xcvi. and . [fn# ] koran xxvii. . [fn# ] koran ix. [fn# ] i.e. the day of the sacrifice at mina, which completes the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. [fn# ] the better opinion seems to be that this omission (unique in the koran) arose from the ninth chapter having originally formed part of the eighth, from which it was separated after mohammed's death. [fn# ] koran xvii. . [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] i.e. him who seals or closes the list of the prophets. [fn# ] c. xcvi. [fn# ] a native of medina and one of the first of mohammed's disciples. [fn# ] koran lxxiv. [fn# ] there are several verses on this subject. [fn# ] koran cx. . [fn# ] the third khalif. [fn# ] companions of the prophet. [fn# ] one of the followers. [fn# ] koran v. . [fn# ] koran v. . [fn# ] in the same verse. [fn# ] koran v. . [fn# ] ez zuhak ben sufyan, one of the companions. [fn# ] one of the followers. [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] i.e. without hesitation or interruption. [fn# ] kaf, the st letter of the arabic alphabet. [fn# ] mim, the th letter of the arabic alphabet. [fn# ] ain, the th letter of the arabic alphabet. [fn# ] the koran is divided into sixty set portions, answering or equivalent to our lessons, for convenience of use in public worship. [fn# ] koran xi. . [fn# ] name of the partition-wall between heaven and hell. [fn# ] koran vii. . [fn# ] a play on the word ain, which means "eye." [fn# ] chapters liv. lv. and lvi. [fn# ] i e. ankle. [fn# ] koran xvii. . [fn# ] two stars in aquarius and capricorn. [fn# ] or chief part, lit. head. [fn# ] or remedial treatment. [fn# ] quare hot springs. [fn# ] a dish of crumpled bread and broth. [fn# ] or savoury supplement to bread, rice and so forth. [fn# ] koran v. . [fn# ] koran ii. . [fn# ] played with headless arrows. [fn# ] the fourth khalif. [fn# ] the korah of numbers xvi. fabled by the muslims (following a talmudic tradition) to have been a man of immense wealth. "now caroun was of the tribe of moses [and aaron], but he transgressed against them and we gave him treasures, the keys whereof would bear down a company of men of strength."-- koran xxviii. . [fn# ] syn. bearing a load (hamil). [fn# ] koran lxx. . [fn# ] koran x. . [fn# ] koran xxxvi. . [fn# ] koran xxii. . [fn# ] koran xxxi. . [fn# ] fifth and seventh months of the coptic year, answering (roughly) to our january and march. [fn# ] fifth and seventh months of the coptic year, answering (roughly) to our january and march. [fn# ] fourth month of the coptic year. [fn# ] eighth and twelfth months of the coptic year (april and august). [fn# ] third month (november) of the coptic year. [fn# ] sixth month (february) of the coptic year. [fn# ] the lowest of the seven stages into which mohammedan tradition divides the heavens. [fn# ] koran lxxvii. . [fn# ] koran xxxvi. , , . [fn# ] koran xxii. . [fn# ] koran xx. . [fn# ] a she-camel, big with young, miraculously produced, according to muslim legend, from a rock by the prophet salih, for the purpose of converting the themoudites. [fn# ] where he was hiding with mohammed from the pursuit of the benou curaish. [fn# ] koran lxxxi. . [fn# ] in paradise. [fn# ] sperma hominis. [fn# ] the muslims attribute this miracle to moses, instead of aaron. see koran vii. et seq. [fn# ] [quoth god] "what is that in thy right hand, o moses?" quoth he, "it is my staff, on which i lean and wherewith i beat down leaves for my flock, and i have other uses for it."--koran xx. , . [fn# ] then he turned to the heaven (now it was smoke) and said to it and to the earth, "come ye twain, obedient or loathing." and they said both, "we come, obedient."--koran xli. . [fn# ] koran xxxvi. . [fn# ] ali ibn abi taleb, first cousin of mohammed and fourth khalif. [fn# ] uncle of mohammed and ancestor of the abbaside khalifs. [fn# ] lit. gave him to eat of it. [fn# ] assuming him to be dead. produce by wendy crockett and jc byers fairy tales from the arabian nights. first series. edited by e. dixon note. the text of the present selection from the arabian nights is that of galland, , slightly abridged and edited. the edition is designed virginibus puerisque. e. dixon. cambridge, xmas, . contents. the king of persia and the princess of the sea prince beder and the princess giauhara (a sequel to the foregoing) the three princes and princess nouronnihar prince ahmed and the fairy (a sequel to the foregoing) prince camaralzaman and the princess of china the loss of the talisman (a sequel to the foregoing) the story of zobeide the story of the king's son the first voyage of sinbad the sailor the second voyage of sinbad the sailor the third voyage of sinbad the sailor the fourth voyage of sinbad the sailor the fifth voyage of sinbad the sailor the sixth voyage of sinbad the sailor the seventh voyage of sinbad the sailor the king of persia and the princess of the sea. there once was a king of persia, who at the beginning of his reign had distinguished himself by many glorious and successful conquests, and had afterwards enjoyed such profound peace and tranquillity as rendered him the happiest of monarchs. his only occasion for regret was that he had no heir to succeed him in the kingdom after his death. one day, according to the custom of his royal predecessors during their residence in the capital, he held an assembly of his courtiers, at which all the ambassadors and strangers of renown at his court were present. among these there appeared a merchant from a far-distant country, who sent a message to the king craving an audience, as he wished to speak to him about a very important matter. the king gave orders for the merchant to be instantly admitted; and when the assembly was over, and all the rest of the company had retired, the king inquired what was the business which had brought him to the palace. 'sire,' replied the merchant, 'i have with me, and beg your majesty to behold, the most beautiful and charming slave it would be possible to find if you searched every corner of the earth; if you will but see her, you will surely wish to make her your wife.' the fair slave was, by the king's commands, immediately brought in, and no sooner had the king beheld a lady whose beauty and grace surpassed anything he had ever imagined, than he fell passionately in love with her, and determined to marry her at once. this was done. so the king caused the fair slave to be lodged in the next finest apartment to his own, and gave particular orders to the matrons and the women-slaves appointed to attend her, that they should dress her in the richest robe they could find, and carry her the finest pearl necklaces, the brightest diamonds, and other the richest precious stones, that she might choose those she liked best. the king of persia's capital was situated in an island; and his palace, which was very magnificent, was built upon the sea-shore; his window looked towards the sea; and the fair slave's, which was pretty near it, had also the same prospect, and it was the more pleasant on account of the sea's beating almost against the foot of the wall. at the end of three days the fair slave, magnificently dressed, was alone in her chamber, sitting upon a sofa, and leaning against one of the windows that faced the sea, when the king, being informed that he might visit her, came in. the slave hearing somebody walk in the room, immediately turned her head to see who it was. she knew him to be the king; but without showing the least surprise, or so much as rising from her seat to salute or receive him, she turned back to the window again as if he had been the most insignificant person in the world. the king of persia was extremely surprised to see a slave of so beauteous a form so very ignorant of the world. he attributed this to the narrowness of her education, and the little care that had been taken to instruct her in the first rules of civility. he went to her at the window, where, notwithstanding the coldness and indifference with which she had just now received him, she suffered herself to be admired, kissed and embraced as much as he pleased, but answered him not a word. 'my dearest life,' said the king, 'you neither answer, nor by any visible token give me the least reason to believe that you are listening to me. why will you still keep to this obstinate silence, which chills me? do you mourn for your country, your friends, or your relations? alas! is not the king of persia, who loves and adores you, capable of comforting, and making you amends for the loss of everything in the world?' but the fair slave continued her astonishing reserve; and keeping her eyes still fixed upon the ground, would neither look at him nor utter a word; but after they had dined together in absolute silence, the king went to the women whom he had assigned to the fair slave as her attendants, and asked them if they had ever heard her speak. one of them presently made answer, 'sire, we have neither seen her open her lips, nor heard her speak any more than your majesty has just now; we have rendered her our services; we have combed and dressed her hair, put on her clothes, and waited upon her in her chamber; but she has never opened her lips, so much as to say, that is well, or, i like this. we have often asked, madam, do you want anything? is there anything you wish for? do but ask and command us: but we have never been able to draw a word from her. we cannot tell whether her silence proceeds from pride, sorrow, stupidity, or dumbness; and this is all we can inform your majesty.' the king of persia was more astonished at hearing this than he was before: however, believing the slave might have some reason for sorrow, he endeavoured to divert and amuse her, but all in vain. for a whole year she never afforded him the pleasure of a single word. at length, one day there were great rejoicings in the capital, because to the king and his silent slave-queen there was born a son and heir to the kingdom. once more the king endeavoured to get a word from his wife. 'my queen,' he said, 'i cannot divine what your thoughts are; but, for my own part, nothing would be wanting to complete my happiness and crown my joy but that you should speak to me one single word, for something within me tells me you are not dumb: and i beseech, i conjure you, to break through this long silence, and speak but one word to me; and after that i care not how soon i die.' at this discourse the fair slave, who, according to her usual custom, had hearkened to the king with downcast eyes, and had given him cause to believe not only that she was dumb, but that she had never laughed in her life, began to smile a little. the king of persia perceived it with a surprise that made him break forth into an exclamation of joy; and no longer doubting but that she was going to speak, he waited for that happy moment with an eagerness and attention that cannot easily be expressed. at last the fair slave, breaking her long-kept silence, thus addressed herself to the king: 'sire,' said she, 'i have so many things to say to your majesty, that, having once broken silence, i know not where to begin. however, in the first place, i think myself in duty bound to thank you for all the favours and honours you have been pleased to confer upon me, and to implore heaven to bless and prosper you, to prevent the wicked designs of your enemies, and not to suffer you to die after hearing me speak, but to grant you a long life. had it never been my fortune to have borne a child, i was resolved (i beg your majesty to pardon the sincerity of my intention) never to have loved you, as well as to have kept an eternal silence; but now i love you as i ought to do.' the king of persia, ravished to hear the fair slave speak, embraced her tenderly. 'shining light of my eyes,' said he, 'it is impossible for me to receive a greater joy than what you have now given me.' the king of persia, in the transport of his joy, said no more to the fair slave. he left her, but in such a manner as made her perceive that his intention was speedily to return: and being willing that his joy should be made public, he sent in all haste for the grand vizier. as soon as he came, he ordered him to distribute a thousand pieces of gold among the holy men of his religion, who had made vows of poverty; as also among the hospitals and the poor, by way of returning thanks to heaven: and his will was obeyed by the direction of that minister. after the king of persia had given this order, he returned to the fair slave again. 'madam,' said he, 'pardon me for leaving you so abruptly, but i hope you will indulge me with some conversation, since i am desirous to know several things of great consequence. tell me, my dearest soul, what were the powerful reasons that induced you to persist in that obstinate silence for a whole year together, though you saw me, heard me talk to you, and ate and drank with me every day.' to satisfy the king of persia's curiosity, 'think,' replied the queen, 'whether or no to be a slave, far from my own country, without any hopes of ever seeing it again,--to have a heart torn with grief at being separated for ever from my mother, my brother, my friends, and my acquaintance,--are not these sufficient reasons for my keeping a silence your majesty has thought so strange and unaccountable? the love of our native country is as natural to us as that of our parents; and the loss of liberty is insupportable to every one who is not wholly destitute of common sense, and knows how to set a value on it.' 'madam,' replied the king, 'i am convinced of the truth of what you say; but till this moment i was of opinion that a person beautiful like yourself, whom her evil destiny had condemned to be a slave, ought to think herself very happy in meeting with a king for her master.' 'sire,' replied the fair slave, 'whatever the slave is, there is no king on earth who can tyrannise over her will. but when this very slave is in nothing inferior to the king that bought her, your majesty shall then judge yourself of her misery, and her sorrow, and to what desperate attempts the anguish of despair may drive her.' the king of persia, in great astonishment, said 'madam, can it be possible that you are of royal blood? explain the whole secret to me, i beseech you, and no longer increase my impatience. let me instantly know who are your parents, your brothers, your sisters, and your relations; but, above all, what your name is.' 'sire,' said the fair slave, 'my name is gulnare, rose of the sea; and my father, who is now dead, was one of the most potent monarchs of the ocean. when he died, he left his kingdom to a brother of mine, named saleh, and to the queen, my mother, who is also a princess, the daughter of another powerful monarch of the sea. we enjoyed a profound peace and tranquillity through the whole kingdom, till a neighbouring prince, envious of our happiness, invaded our dominions with a mighty army; and penetrating as far as our capital, made himself master of it; and we had but just time enough to save ourselves in an impenetrable and inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers who did not forsake us in our distress. 'in this retreat my brother contrived all manner of ways to drive the unjust invader from our dominions. one day "sister," said he, "i may fail in the attempt i intend to make to recover my kingdom; and i shall be less concerned for my own disgrace than for what may possibly happen to you. to prevent it, and to secure you from all accident, i would fain see you married first: but in the miserable condition of our affairs at present, i see no probability of matching you to any of the princes of the sea; and therefore i should be very glad if you would think of marrying some of the princes of the earth i am ready to contribute all that lies in my power towards it; and i am certain there is not one of them, however powerful, but would be proud of sharing his crown with you." 'at this discourse of my brother's, i fell into a violent passion. "brother," said i, "you know that i am descended, as well as you, by both father's and mother's side, from the kings and queens of the sea, without any mixture of alliance with those of the earth; therefore i do not intend to marry below myself, any more than they did. the condition to which we are reduced shall never oblige me to alter my resolution; and if you perish in the execution of your design, i am prepared to fall with you, rather than to follow the advice i so little expected from you." 'my brother, who was still earnest for the marriage, however improper for me, endeavoured to make me believe that there were kings of the earth who were nowise inferior to those of the sea. this put me into a more violent passion, which occasioned him to say several bitter words that stung me to the quick. he left me as much dissatisfied with myself as he could possibly be with me; and in this peevish mood i gave a spring from the bottom of the sea up to the island of the moon. 'notwithstanding the violent displeasure that made me cast myself upon that island, i lived content in retirement. but in spite of all my precautions, a person of distinction, attended by his servants, surprised me sleeping, and carried me to his own house, and wished me to marry him. when he saw that fair means would not prevail upon me, he attempted to make use of force; but i soon made him repent of his insolence. so at last he resolved to sell me; which he did to that very merchant who brought me hither and sold me to your majesty. this man was a very prudent, courteous, humane person, and during the whole of the long journey, never gave me the least reason to complain. 'as for your majesty,' continued queen gulnare, 'if you had not shown me all the respect you have hitherto paid, and given me such undeniable marks of your affection that i could no longer doubt of it, i hesitate not to tell you plainly that i should not have remained with you. i would have thrown myself into the sea out of this very window, and i would have gone in search of my mother, my brother, and the rest of my relations; and, therefore, i hope you will no longer look upon me as a slave, but as a princess worthy of your alliance.' after this manner queen gulnare discovered herself to the king of persia, and finished her story. 'my charming, my adorable queen,' cried he, 'what wonders have i heard! i must ask a thousand questions concerning those strange and unheard-of things which you have related to me. i beseech you to tell me more about the kingdom and people of the sea, who are altogether unknown to me. i have heard much talk, indeed, of the inhabitants of the sea, but i always looked upon it as nothing but a tale or fable; but, by what you have told me, i am convinced there is nothing more true; and i have a very good proof of it in your own person, who are one of them, and are pleased to condescend to be my wife; which is an honour no other inhabitant on the earth can boast of besides myself. there is one thing yet which puzzles me; therefore i must beg the favour of you to explain it; that is, i cannot comprehend how it is possible for you to live or move in the water without being drowned. there are very few amongst us who have the art of staying under water; and they would surely perish, if, after a certain time, they did not come up again.' 'sire,' replied queen gulnare, 'i shall with pleasure satisfy the king of persia. we can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon land; and we can breathe in the water as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it absolutely contributes to the preservation of our lives. what is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our clothes; so that when we have a mind to visit the earth, we have no occasion to dry them. our common language is the same as that of the writing engraved upon the seal of the great prophet solomon, the son of david. 'i must not forget to tell you, further, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing in the sea; for we can open our eyes without any inconvenience; and as we have quick, piercing sight, we can discern any object as clearly in the deepest part of the sea as upon land. we have also there a succession of day and night; the moon affords us her light, and even the planets and the stars appear visible to us. i have already spoken of our kingdoms; but as the sea is much more spacious than the earth, so there are a greater number of them, and of greater extent. they are divided into provinces; and in each province there are several great cities, well peopled. in short, there are an infinite number of nations, differing in manners and customs, just as upon the earth. 'the palaces of the kings and princes are very sumptuous and magnificent. some of them are of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, with which the sea abounds, mother of pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones are more plentiful there than on earth. i say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever were seen upon earth would not be valued amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them. 'as we can transport ourselves whither we please in the twinkling of an eye, we have no occasion for any carriages or riding-horses; not but what the king has his stables, and his stud of sea-horses; but they are seldom made use of, except upon public feasts or rejoicing days. some, after they have trained them, take delight in riding them, and show their skill and dexterity in races; others put them to chariots of mother-of-pearl, adorned with an infinite number of shells of all sorts, of the brightest colours. these chariots are open; and in the middle there is a throne upon which the king sits, and shows himself to his subjects. the horses are trained up to draw by themselves; so that there is no occasion for a charioteer to guide them. i pass over a thousand other curious particulars relating to these marine countries, which would be very entertaining to your majesty; but you must permit me to defer it to a future leisure, to speak of something of much greater consequence. i should like to send for my mother and my cousins, and at the same time to desire the king my brother's company, to whom i have a great desire to be reconciled. they will be very glad to see me again, after i have related my story to them, and when they understand i am wife to the mighty king of persia. i beseech your majesty to give me leave to send for them: i am sure they will be happy to pay their respects to you; and i venture to say you will be extremely pleased to see them.' 'madam,' replied the king of persia, 'you are mistress; do whatever you please; i will endeavour to receive them with all the honours they deserve. but i would fain know how you would acquaint them with what you desire, and when they will arrive, that i may give orders to make preparation for their reception, and go myself in person to meet them.' 'sire,' replied the queen gulnare, 'there is no need of these ceremonies; they will be here in a moment; and if your majesty will but look through the lattice, you shall see the manner of their arrival.' queen gulnare then ordered one of her women to bring her a brazier with a little fire. after that she bade her retire, and shut the door. when she was alone, she took a piece of aloes out of a box, and put it into the brazier. as soon as she saw the smoke rise, she repeated some words unknown to the king of persia, who from a recess observe with great attention all that she did. she had no sooner ended, than the sea began to be disturbed. at length the sea opened at some distance; and presently there rose out of it a tall, handsome young man, with moustaches of a sea-green colour; a little behind him, a lady, advanced in years, but of a majestic air, attended by five young ladies, nowise inferior in beauty to the queen gulnare. queen gulnare immediately went to one of the windows, and saw the king her brother, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, who at the same time perceived her also. the company came forward, borne, as it were, upon the surface of the waves. when they came to the edge, they nimbly, one after another, sprang up to the window, from whence queen gulnare had retired to make room for them. king saleh, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, embraced her tenderly, with tears in their eyes, on their first entrance. after queen gulnare had received them with all imaginable honour, and made them sit down upon a sofa, the queen her mother addressed herself to her: 'daughter,' said she, 'i am overjoyed to see you again after so long an absence; and i am confident that your brother and your relations are no less so. your leaving us without acquainting anybody with it involved us in inexpressible concern; and it is impossible to tell you how many tears we have shed upon that account. we know of no other reason that could induce you to take such a surprising step, but what your brother told us of the conversation that passed between him and you. the advice he gave you seemed to him at that time very advantageous for settling you handsomely in the world, and very suitable to the then posture of our affairs. if you had not approved of his proposal, you ought not to have been so much alarmed; and, give me leave to tell you, you took the thing in a quite different light from what you ought to have done. but no more of this; we and you ought now to bury it for ever in oblivion: give us an account of all that has happened to you since we saw you last, and of your present situation; but especially let us know if you are satisfied.' queen gulnare immediately threw herself at her mother's feet; and after rising and kissing her hand, 'i own,' said she, 'i have been guilty of a very great fault, and i am indebted to your goodness for the pardon which you are pleased to grant me.' she then related the whole of what had befallen her since she quitted the sea. as soon as she had acquainted them with her having been sold to the king of persia, in whose palace she was at present; 'sister,' said the king her brother, 'you now have it in your power to free yourself. rise, and return with us into my kingdom, that i have reconquered from the proud usurper who had made himself master of it.' the king of persia, who heard these words from the recess where he was concealed, was in the utmost alarm. 'ah!' said he to himself, 'i am ruined; and if my queen, my gulnare, hearkens to this advice, and leaves me, i shall surely die.' but queen gulnare soon put him out of his fears. 'brother,' said she, smiling, 'i can scarce forbear being angry with you for advising me to break the engagement i have made with the most puissant and most renowned monarch in the world. i do not speak here of an engagement between a slave and her master; it would be easy to return the ten thousand pieces of gold that i cost him; but i speak now of a contract between a wife and a husband, and a wife who has not the least reason to complain. he is a religious, wise, and temperate king. i am his wife, and he has declared me queen of persia, to share with him in his councils. besides, i have a child, the little prince beder. i hope then neither my mother, nor you, nor any of my cousins, will disapprove of the resolution or the alliance i have made, which will be an equal honour to the kings of the sea and the earth. excuse me for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep, to communicate it to you, and for the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation.' 'sister,' replied king saleh, 'the proposal i made you of going back with us into my kingdom was only to let you see how much we all love you, and how much i in particular honour you, and that nothing in the world is so dear to me as your happiness.' the queen confirmed what her son had just spoken, and addressing herself to queen gulnare, said, 'i am very glad to hear you are pleased; and i have nothing else to add to what your brother has just said to you. i should have been the first to have condemned you, if you had not expressed all the gratitude you owe to a monarch that loves you so passionately, and has done such great things for you.' when the king of persia, who was still in the recess, heard this he began to love her more than ever, and resolved to express his gratitude in every possible way. presently queen gulnare clapped her hands, and in came some of her slaves, whom she had ordered to bring in a meal: as soon as it was served up, she invited the queen her mother, the king her brother, and her cousins, to sit down and take part of it. they began to reflect, that without asking leave, they had got into the palace of a mighty king, who had never seen nor heard of them, and that it would be a great piece of rudeness to eat at his table without him. this reflection raised a blush in their faces; in their emotion their eyes glowed like fire, and they breathed flames at their mouths and nostrils. this unexpected sight put the king of persia, who was totally ignorant of the cause of it, into a dreadful consternation. queen gulnare suspecting this, and understanding the intention of her relations, rose from her seat, and told them she would be back in a moment. she went directly to the recess, and recovered the king of persia from his surprise. 'sir,' said she, 'give me leave to assure you of the sincere friendship that the queen my mother and the king my brother are pleased to honour you with: they earnestly desire to see you, and tell you so themselves: i intended to have some conversation with them by ordering a banquet for them, before i introduced them to your majesty, but they are very impatient to pay their respects to you: and therefore i desire your majesty would be pleased to walk in, and honour them with your presence.' 'madam,' said the king of persia, 'i should be very glad to salute persons that have the honour to be so nearly related to you, but i am afraid of the flames that they breathe at their mouths and nostrils.' 'sir,' replied the queen, laughing, 'you need not in the least be afraid of those flames, which are nothing but a sign of their unwillingness to eat in your palace, without your honouring them with your presence, and eating with them.' the king of persia, encouraged by these words, rose up, and came out into the room with his queen gulnare. she presented him to the queen her mother, to the king her brother, and to her other relations, who instantly threw themselves at his feet, with their faces to the ground. the king of persia ran to them, and lifting them up, embraced them one after another. after they were all seated, king saleh began: 'sir,' said he to the king of persia, 'we are at a loss for words to express our joy to think that the queen my sister should have the happiness of falling under the protection of so powerful a monarch. we can assure you she is not unworthy of the high rank you have been pleased to raise her to; and we have always had so much love and tenderness for her, that we could never think of parting with her to any of the puissant princes of the sea, who often demanded her in marriage before she came of age. heaven has reserved her for you, sir, and we have no better way of returning thanks to it for the favour it has done her, than by beseeching it to grant your majesty a long and happy life with her, and to crown you with prosperity and satisfaction.' 'certainly,' replied the king of persia, 'i cannot sufficiently thank either the queen her mother, or you, prince, or your whole family, for the generosity with which you have consented to receive me into an alliance so glorious to me as yours.' so saying, he invited them to take part of the luncheon, and he and his queen sat down at the table with them. after it was over, the king of persia conversed with them till it was very late; and when they thought it time to retire, he waited upon them himself to the several rooms he had ordered to be prepared for them. next day, as the king of persia, queen gulnare, the queen her mother, king saleh her brother, and the princesses their relations, were discoursing together in her majesty's room, the nurse came in with the young prince beder in her arms. king saleh no sooner saw him, than he ran to embrace him; and taking him in his arms, fell to kissing and caressing him with the greatest demonstration of tenderness. he took several turns with him about the room, dancing and tossing him about, when all of a sudden, through a transport of joy, the window being open, he sprang out, and plunged with him into the sea. the king of persia, who expected no such sight, set up a hideous cry, verily believing that he should either see the dear prince his son no more, or else that he should see him drowned; and he nearly died of grief and affliction. 'sir,' said queen gulnare (with a quiet and undisturbed countenance, the better to comfort him), 'let your majesty fear nothing; the young prince is my son as well as yours, and i do not love him less than you do. you see i am not alarmed; neither in truth ought i to be so. he runs no risk, and you will soon see the king his uncle appear with him again, and bring him back safe and sound. for he will have the same advantage his uncle and i have, of living equally in the sea and upon the land.' the queen his mother and the princesses his relations confirmed the same thing; yet all they said had no effect on the king's fright, from which he could not recover till he saw prince beder appear again before him. the sea at length became troubled, when immediately king saleh arose with the young prince in his arms, and holding him up in the air, he re-entered at the same window he went out at. the king of persia being overjoyed to see prince beder again, and astonished that he was as calm as before he lost sight of him, king saleh said, 'sir, was not your majesty in a great fright, when you first saw me plunge into the sea with the prince my nephew?' 'alas! prince,' answered the king of persia, 'i cannot express my concern. i thought him lost from that very moment, and you now restore life to me by bringing him again.' 'i thought as much,' replied king saleh, 'though you had not the least reason to apprehend any danger; for, before i plunged into the sea with him i pronounced over him certain mysterious words, which were engraven on the seal of the great solomon, the son of david. we do the same to all those children that are born in the regions at the bottom of the sea, by virtue of which they receive the same privileges that we have over those people who inhabit the earth. from what your majesty has observed, you may easily see what advantage your son prince beder has acquired by his birth, for as long as he lives, and as often as he pleases, he will be at liberty to plunge into the sea, and traverse the vast empires it contains in its bosom.' having so spoken, king saleh, who had restored prince beder to his nurse's arms, opened a box he had fetched from his palace in the little time he had disappeared. it was filled with three hundred diamonds, as large as pigeons' eggs, a like number of rubies of extraordinary size, as many emerald wands, each half a foot long, and thirty strings or necklaces of pearl, consisting each of ten feet. 'sir,' said he to the king of persia, presenting him with this box, 'when i was first summoned by the queen my sister, i knew not what part of the earth she was in, or that she had the honour to be married to so great a monarch. this made us come empty handed. as we cannot express how much we have been obliged to your majesty, i beg you to accept this small token of gratitude, in acknowledgment of the many particular favours you have been pleased to show her.' it is impossible to express how greatly the king of persia was surprised at the sight of so much riches, enclosed in so little compass. 'what! prince,' cried he, 'do you call so inestimable a present a small token of your gratitude? i declare once more, you have never been in the least obliged to me, neither the queen your mother nor you. madam,' continued he, turning to gulnare, 'the king your brother has put me into the greatest confusion; and i would beg of him to permit me to refuse his present, were i not afraid of disobliging him; do you therefore endeavour to obtain his leave that i may be excused accepting it.' 'sir,' replied king saleh, 'i am not at all surprised that your majesty thinks this present so extraordinary. i know you are not accustomed upon earth to see precious stones of this quality and quantity: but if you knew, as i do, the mines whence these jewels were taken, and that it is in my power to form a treasure greater than those of all the kings of the earth, you would wonder we should have the boldness to make you a present of so small a value. i beseech you, therefore, not to regard it in that light, but on account of the sincere friendship which obliges us to offer it to you not to give us the mortification of refusing it.' this obliged the king of persia to accept the present, for which he returned many thanks both to king saleh and the queen his mother. a few days after, king saleh gave the king of persia to understand that the queen his mother, the princesses his relations and himself, could have no greater pleasure than to spend their whole lives at his court; but that having been so long absent from their own kingdom, where their presence was absolutely necessary, they begged of him not to take it ill if they took leave of him and queen gulnare. the king of persia assured them he was very sorry that it was not in his power to return their visit in their own dominions; but he added, 'as i am verily persuaded you will not forget queen gulnare, but come and see her now and then, i hope i shall have the honour to see you again more than once.' many tears were shed on both sides upon their separation. king saleh departed first; but the queen his mother, and the princesses his relations, were fain to force themselves in a manner from the embraces of queen gulnare, who could not prevail upon herself to let them go. this royal company were no sooner out of sight than the king of persia said to queen gulnare, 'madam, i should have looked with suspicion upon the person that had pretended to pass those off upon me for true wonders, of which i myself have been an eye-witness from the time i have been honoured with your illustrious family at my court. but i cannot refuse to believe my own eyes; and shall remember it as long as i live, and never cease to bless heaven for sending you to me, instead of to any other prince.' prince beder and the princess giauhara. young prince beder was brought up and educated in the palace under the care of the king and queen of persia. he gave them great pleasure as he advanced in years by his agreeable manners, and by the justness of whatever he said; king saleh his uncle, the queen his grandmother, and the princesses his relations, came from time to time to see him. he was easily taught to read and write, and was instructed in all the sciences that became a prince of his rank. when he arrived at the age of fifteen he was very wise and prudent. the king, who had almost from his cradle discovered in him these virtues so necessary for a monarch, and who moreover began to perceive the infirmities of old age coming upon himself every day, would not wait till death gave him possession of the throne, but purposed to resign it to him. he had no great difficulty to make his council consent to it; and the people heard this with so much the more joy, because they considered prince beder worthy to govern them. they saw that he treated all mankind with that goodness which invited them to approach him; that he heard favourably all who had anything to say to him; that he answered everybody with a goodness that was peculiar to him; and that he refused nobody anything that had the least appearance of justice. the day for the ceremony was appointed. in the midst of the whole assembly, which was larger than usual, the king of persia, then sitting on his throne, came down from it, took the crown from off his head, put it on that of prince beder, and having seated him in his place, kissed his hand, as a token that he resigned his authority to him. after which he took his place among the crowd of viziers and emirs below the throne. hereupon the viziers, emirs, and other principal officers, came immediately and threw themselves at the new king's feet, taking each the oath of fidelity according to their rank. then the grand vizier made a report of various important matters, on which the young king gave judgment with admirable prudence and sagacity that surprised all the council. he next turned out several governors convicted of mal-administration, and put others in their place, with wonderful and just discernment. he at length left the council, accompanied by the late king his father, and went to see his mother, queen gulnare. the queen no sooner saw him coming with his crown upon his head, than she ran to him, and embraced him with tenderness, wishing him a long and prosperous reign. the first year of his reign king beder acquitted himself of all his royal functions with great care. above all, he took care to inform himself of the state of his affairs, and all that might in any way contribute towards the happiness of his people. next year, having left the administration to his council, under the direction of the old king his father, he went out of his capital, under pretext of diverting himself with hunting; but his real intention was to visit all the provinces of his kingdom, that he might reform all abuses there, establish good order and discipline everywhere, and take from all ill-minded princes, his neighbours, any opportunities of attempting any thing against the security and tranquillity of his subjects, by showing himself on his frontiers. it required no less than a whole year for this young king to carry out his plans. soon after his return, the old king his father fell so dangerously ill that he knew at once he should never recover. he waited for his last moment with great tranquillity, and his only care was to recommend the ministers and other lords of his son's court to remain faithful to him: and there was not one but willingly renewed his oath as freely as at first. he died, at length, to the great grief of king beder and queen gulnare, who caused his corpse to be borne to a stately mausoleum, worthy of his rank and dignity. the funeral ended, king beder found no difficulty in complying with that ancient custom in persia to mourn for the dead a whole month, and not to be seen by anybody during all that time. he would have mourned the death of his father his whole life, had it been right for a great prince thus to abandon himself to grief. during this interval the queen, mother to queen gulnare, and king saleh, together with the princesses their relations, arrived at the persian court, and shared their affliction, before they offered any consolation. when the month was expired, the king could not refuse admittance to the grand vizier and the other lords of his court, who besought him to lay aside his mourning, to show himself to his subjects, and take upon him the administration of affairs as before. he showed such great reluctance at their request, that the grand vizier was forced to take upon himself to say to him; 'sir, neither our tears nor yours are capable of restoring life to the good king your father, though we should lament him all our days. he has undergone the common law of all men, which subjects them to pay the indispensable tribute of death. yet we cannot say absolutely that he is dead, since we see him in your sacred person. he did not himself doubt, when he was dying, but that he should revive in you, and to your majesty it belongs to show that he was not deceived.' king beder could no longer oppose such pressing entreaties: he laid aside his mourning; and after he had resumed the royal habit and ornaments, he began to provide for the necessities of his kingdom and subjects with the same care as before his father's death. he acquitted himself with universal approbation: and as he was exact in maintaining the ordinances of his predecessor, the people did not feel they had changed their sovereign. king saleh, who had returned to his dominions in the sea with the queen his mother and the princesses, no sooner saw that king beder had resumed the government, at the end of the month than he came alone to visit him; and king beder and queen gulnare were overjoyed to see him. one evening when they rose from table, they talked of various matters. king saleh began with the praises of the king his nephew, and expressed to the queen his sister how glad he was to see him govern so prudently, all of which had acquired him great reputation, not among his neighbours only, but more remote princes. king beder, who could not bear to hear himself so well spoken of, and not being willing, through good manners, to interrupt the king his uncle, turned on one side to sleep, leaning his head against a cushion that was behind him. 'sister,' said king saleh, 'i wonder you have not thought of marrying him ere this: if i mistake not, he is in his twentieth year; and, at that age, no prince like him ought to be suffered to be without a wife. i will think of a wife for him myself, since you will not, and marry him to some princess of our lower world that may be worthy of him.' 'brother,' replied queen gulnare, 'i have never thought of it to this very moment, and i am glad you have spoken of it to me. i like your proposing one of our princesses; and i desire you to name one so beautiful and accomplished that the king my son may be obliged to love her.' 'i know one that will suit,' replied king saleh, softly; 'but i see many difficulties to be surmounted, not on the lady's part, as i hope, but on that of her father. i need only mention to you the princess giauhara, daughter of the king of samandal.' 'what?' replied queen gulnare, 'is not the princess giauhara yet married? i remember to have seen her before i left your palace; she was then about eighteen months old, and surprisingly beautiful, and must needs be the wonder of the world. the few years she is older than the king my son ought not to prevent us from doing our utmost to bring it about. let me but know the difficulties that are to be surmounted, and we will surmount them.' 'sister,' replied king saleh, 'the greatest difficulty is, that the king of samandal is insupportably vain, looking upon all others as his inferiors: it is not likely we shall easily get him to enter into this alliance. for my part, i will go to him in person, and demand of him the princess his daughter; and, in case he refuses her, we will address ourselves elsewhere, where we shall be more favourably heard. for this reason, as you may perceive,' added he, 'it is as well for the king my nephew not to know anything of our design, lest he should fall in love with the princess giauhara, till we have got the consent of the king of samandal, in case, after all, we should not be able to obtain her for him.' they discoursed a little longer upon this point, and, before they parted, agreed that king saleh should forthwith return to his own dominions, and demand the princess giauhara of the king of samandal her father, for the king of persia his nephew. now king beder had heard what they said, and he immediately fell in love with the princess giauhara without having even seen her, and he lay awake thinking all night. next day king saleh took leave of queen gulnare and the king his nephew. the young king, who knew the king his uncle would not have departed so soon but to go and promote his happiness without loss of time, changed colour when he heard him mention his departure. he resolved to desire his uncle to bring the princess away with him: but only asked him to stay with him one day more, that they might hunt together. the day for hunting was fixed, and king beder had many opportunities of being alone with his uncle, but he had not the courage to open his mouth. in the heat of the chase, when king saleh was separated from him, and not one of his officers and attendants was near, he alighted near a rivulet; and having tied his horse to a tree, which, with several others growing along the banks, afforded a very pleasing shade, he laid himself down on the grass. he remained a good while absorbed in thought, without speaking a word. king saleh, in the meantime, missing the king his nephew, began to be much concerned to know what had become of him. he therefore left his company to go in search of him, and at length perceived him at a distance. he had observed the day before, and more plainly that day, that he was not so lively as he used to be; and that if he was asked a question, he either answered not at all, or nothing to the purpose. as soon as king saleh saw him lying in that disconsolate posture, he immediately guessed he had heard what passed between him and queen gulnare. he hereupon alighted at some distance from him, and having tied his horse to a tree, came upon him so softly, that he heard him say to himself: 'amiable princess of the kingdom of samandal, i would this moment go and offer you my heart, if i knew where to find you.' king saleh would hear no more; he advanced immediately, and showed himself to king beder. 'from what i see, nephew,' said he, 'you heard what the queen your mother and i said the other day of the princess giauhara. it was not our intention you should have known anything, and we thought you were asleep.' 'my dear uncle,' replied king beder, 'i heard every word, but was ashamed to disclose to you my weakness. i beseech you to pity me, and not wait to procure me the consent of the divine giauhara till you have gained the consent of the king of samandal that i may marry his daughter.' these words of the king of persia greatly embarrassed king saleh. he represented to him how difficult it was, and that he could not well do it without carrying him along with him; which might be of dangerous consequence, since his presence was so absolutely necessary in his kingdom. he begged him to wait. but these reasons were not sufficient to satisfy the king of persia. 'cruel uncle,' said he, 'i find you do not love me so much as you pretended, and that you had rather see me die than grant the first request i ever made you.' 'i am ready to convince your majesty,' replied king saleh, 'that i would do anything to serve you; but as for carrying you along with me, i cannot do that till i have spoken to the queen your mother. what would she say of you and me? if she consents, i am ready to do all you would have me, and i will join my entreaties to yours.' 'if you do really love me,' replied the king of persia impatiently, 'as you would have me believe you do, you must return to your kingdom immediately, and carry me along with you.' king saleh, finding himself obliged to yield to his nephew, drew from his finger a ring, on which were engraven the same mysterious names that were upon solomon's seal, that had wrought so many wonders by their virtue. 'here, take this ring,' said he, 'put it upon your finger, and fear neither the waters of the sea, nor their depth.' the king of persia took the ring, and when he had put it on his finger, king saleh said to him, 'do as i do.' at the same time they both mounted lightly up into the air, and made towards the sea which was not far distant, whereinto they both plunged. the sea-king was not long in getting to his palace with the king of persia, whom he immediately carried to the queen's apartment, and presented him to her. the king of persia kissed the queen his grandmother's hands, and she embraced him with great joy. 'i do not ask you how you are,' said she to him; 'i see you are very well, and i am rejoiced at it; but i desire to know how is my daughter, your mother, queen gulnare?' the king of persia told her the queen his mother was in perfect health. then the queen presented him to the princesses; and while he was in conversation with them, she left him, and went with king saleh, who told her how the king of persia was fallen in love with the princess giauhara, and that he had brought him along with him, without being able to hinder it. although king saleh was, to do him justice, perfectly innocent, yet the queen could hardly forgive his indiscretion in mentioning the princess giauhara before him. 'your imprudence is not to be forgiven,' said she to him: 'can you think that the king of samandal, whose character is so well known, will have greater consideration for you than the many other kings he has refused his daughter to with such evident contempt? would you have him send you away with the same confusion?' 'madam,' replied king saleh, 'i have already told you it was contrary to my intention that the king, my nephew, should hear what i related of the princess giauhara to the queen my sister. the fault is committed; i will therefore do all that i can to remedy it. i hope, madam, you will approve of my resolution to go myself and wait upon the king of samandal, with a rich present of precious stones, and demand of him the princess, his daughter, for the king of persia, your grandson. i have some reason to believe he will not refuse me, but will be pleased at an alliance with one of the greatest potentates of the earth.' 'it were to have been wished,' replied the queen, 'that we had not been under a necessity of making this demand, since the success of our attempt is not so certain as we could desire; but since my grandson's peace and content depend upon it, i freely give my consent. but, above all, i charge you, since you well know the temper of the king of samandal, that you take care to speak to him with due respect, and in a manner that cannot possibly offend him.' the queen prepared the present herself, composed of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and strings of pearl; all of which she put into a very neat and very rich box. next morning, king saleh took leave of her majesty and the king of persia, and departed with a chosen and small troop of officers and other attendants. he soon arrived at the kingdom and the palace of the king of samandal, who rose from his throne as soon as he perceived him; and king saleh, forgetting his character for some moments, though knowing whom he had to deal with, prostrated himself at his feet, wishing him the accomplishment of all his desires. the king of samandal immediately stooped to raise him up, and after he had placed him on his left hand, he told him he was welcome, and asked him if there was anything he could do to serve him. 'sir,' answered king saleh, 'though i should have no other motive than that of paying my respects to the most potent, most prudent, and most valiant prince in the world, feeble would be my expressions how much i honour your majesty.' having, spoken these words, he took the box of jewels from one of his servants and having opened it, presented it to the king, imploring him to accept it for his sake. 'prince,' replied the king of samandal, 'you would not make me such a present unless you had a request to propose. if there be anything in my power, you may freely command it, and i shall feel the greatest pleasure in granting it. speak, and tell me frankly wherein i can serve you.' 'i must own,' replied king saleh, 'i have a boon to ask of your majesty; and i shall take care to ask nothing but what is in your power to grant. the thing depends so absolutely on yourself, that it would be to no purpose to ask it of any other. i ask it then with all possible earnestness, and i beg of you not to refuse it me.' 'if it be so,' replied the king of samandal, 'you have nothing to do but acquaint me what it is, and you shall see after what manner i can oblige when it is in my power.' 'sir,' said king saleh, 'after the confidence your majesty has been pleased to encourage me to put in your goodwill, i will not dissemble any longer. i came to beg of you to honour our house with your alliance by the marriage of your honourable daughter the princess giauhara, and to strengthen the good understanding that has so long subsisted between our two crowns.' at these words the king of samandal burst out laughing falling back in his throne against a cushion that supported him, and with an imperious and scornful air, said to king saleh: 'king saleh, i have always hitherto thought you a prince of great sense; but what you say convinces me how much i was mistaken. tell me, i beseech you, where was your discretion, when you imagined to yourself so great an absurdity as you have just now proposed to me? could you conceive a thought only of aspiring in marriage to a princess, the daughter of so great and powerful a king as i am? you ought to have considered better beforehand the great distance between us, and not run the risk of losing in a moment the esteem i always had for your person.' king saleh was extremely nettled at this affronting, answer, and had much ado to restrain his resentment; however, he replied, with all possible moderation, 'god reward your majesty as you deserve! i have the honour to inform you, i do not demand the princess your daughter in marriage for myself; had i done so your majesty and the princess ought to have been so far from being offended, that you should have thought it an honour done to both. your majesty well knows i am one of the kings of the sea as well as yourself; that the kings, my ancestors, yield not in antiquity to any other royal families; and that the kingdom i inherit from them is no less potent and flourishing than it has ever been. if your majesty had not interrupted me, you had soon understood that the favour i ask of you was not for myself, but for the young king of persia, my nephew, whose power and grandeur, no less than his personal good qualities, cannot be unknown to you. everybody acknowledges the princess giauhara to be the most beautiful person in the world: but it is no less true that the young king of persia, my nephew, is the best and most accomplished prince on the land. thus the favour that is asked being likely to redound both to the honour of your majesty and the princess your daughter, you ought not to doubt that your consent to an alliance so equal will be unanimously approved in all the kingdoms of the sea. the princess is worthy of the king of persia, and the king of persia is no less worthy of her. no king or prince in the world can dispute her with him.' the king of samandal would not have let king saleh go on so long after this rate, had not the rage he put him in deprived him of all power of speech. it was some time before he could find his tongue, so much was he transported with passion. at length, however, he broke into outrageous language, unworthy of a great king. 'dog!' cried he, 'dare you talk to me after this manner, and so much as mention my daughter's name in my presence? can you think the son of your sister gulnare worthy to come in competition with my daughter? who are you? who was your father? who is your sister? and who your nephew? was not his father a dog, and a son of a dog, like you? guards, seize the insolent wretch, and cut off his head.' the few officers that were about the king of samandal were immediately going to obey his orders, when king saleh, who was nimble and vigorous, got from them before they could draw their sabres; and having reached the palace gate, he there found a thousand men of his relations and friends, well armed and equipped, who had just arrived. the queen his mother having considered the small number of attendants he took with him, and, moreover, foreseeing the bad reception he would probably have from the king of samandal, had sent these troops to protect and defend him in case of danger, ordering them to make haste. those of his relations who were at the head of this troop had reason to rejoice at their seasonable arrival, when they beheld him and his attendants come running in great disorder and pursued. 'sir,' cried his friends, the moment he joined them, 'what is the matter? we are ready to revenge you: you need only command us.' king saleh related his case to them in as few words as he could, and putting himself at the head of a large troop, he, while some seized on the gates, re-entered the palace as before. the few officers and guards who had pursued him being soon dispersed, he re-entered the king of samandal's apartment, who, being abandoned by his attendants, was soon seized. king saleh left sufficient guards to secure his person, and then went from apartment to apartment, in search of the princess giauhara. but that princess, on the first alarm, had, together with her women, sprung up to the surface of the sea, and escaped to a desert island. while this was passing in the palace of the king of samandal, those of king saleh's attendants who had fled at the first menaces of that king put the queen mother into terrible consternation upon relating the danger her son was in. king beder, who was by at that time, was the more concerned, in that he looked upon himself as the principal author of all the mischief: therefore, not caring to abide in the queen's presence any longer, he darted up from the bottom of the sea; and, not knowing how to find his way to the kingdom of persia, he happened to light on the island where the princess giauhara had taken refuge. the prince, not a little disturbed in mind, went and seated himself under the shade of a large tree. whilst he was endeavouring to recover himself, he heard somebody talking, but was too far off to understand what was said. he arose and advanced softly towards the place whence the sound came, where, among the branches, he perceived a most beautiful lady. 'doubtless,' said he, within himself, stopping and considering her with great attention, 'this must be the princess giauhara, whom fear has obliged to abandon her father's palace.' this said, he came forward, and approached the princess with profound reverence. 'madam,' said he, 'a greater happiness could not have befallen me than this opportunity to offer you my most humble services. i beseech you, therefore, madam, to accept them, it being impossible that a lady in this solitude should not want assistance.' 'true, my lord,' replied giauhara very sorrowfully, 'it is not a little extraordinary for a lady of my rank to be in this situation. i am a princess, daughter of the king of samandal, and my name is giauhara. i was in my father's palace, when all of a sudden i heard a dreadful noise: news was immediately brought me that king saleh, i know not for what reason, had forced his way into the palace, seized the king my father, and murdered all the guards that made any resistance. i had only time to save myself, and escaped hither from his violence.' at these words of the princess, king beder began to be concerned that he had quitted his grandmother so hastily, without staying to hear from her an explanation of the news that had been brought her. but he was, on the other hand, overjoyed to find that the king, his uncle, had rendered himself master of the king of samandal's person, not doubting but that he would consent to give up the princess for his liberty. 'adorable princess,' continued he, 'your concern is most just, but it is easy to put an end both to that and to your father's captivity. you will agree with me when i tell you that i am beder, king of persia, and king saleh is my uncle; i assure you, madam, he has no design to seize upon the king your father's dominions; his only intent is to obtain his consent that i may have the honour and happiness of being his son-in-law. i had already given my heart to you, and now, far from repenting of what i have done, i beg of you to be assured that i will love you as long as i live. permit me, then, beauteous princess! to have the honour to go and present you to the king my uncle; and the king your father shall no sooner have consented to our marriage, than king saleh will leave him sovereign of his dominions as before.' this declaration of king beder did not produce the effect he expected. when the princess heard from his own mouth that he had been the occasion of the ill-treatment her father had suffered, of the grief and fright she had endured, and especially the necessity she was reduced to of flying her country, she looked upon him as an enemy with whom she ought to have nothing whatever to do. king beder, believing himself arrived at the very pinnacle of happiness, stretched forth his hand, and taking that of the princess' stooped down to kiss it, when she, pushing him back, said, 'wretch, quit that form of a man, and take that of a white bird, with a red bill and feet.' upon her pronouncing these words, king beder was immediately changed into a bird of that sort, to his great surprise and mortification. 'take him,' said she to one of her women, 'and carry him to the dry island.' this island was only one frightful rock, where there was not a drop of water to be had. the waiting-woman took the bird, and in executing her princess's orders had compassion on king beder's destiny. 'it would be a great pity,' said she to herself, 'to let a prince, so worthy to live, die of hunger and thirst. the princess, so good and gentle, will, it may be, repent of this cruel order when she comes to herself: it were better that i carried him to a place where he may die a natural death.' she accordingly carried him to a well-frequented island, and left him in a charming plain, planted with all sorts of fruit trees, and watered by several rivulets. let us return to king saleh. after he had sought a good while for the princess giauhara, and ordered others to seek for her, to no purpose, he caused the king of samandal to be shut up in his own palace, under a strong guard; and having given the necessary orders for governing the kingdom in his absence, he returned to give the queen his mother an account of what he had done. the first thing he asked upon his arrival was of the whereabouts of the king his nephew, and he learned with great surprise and vexation that he had disappeared. 'news being brought me,' said the queen, 'of the danger you were in at the palace of the king of samandal, whilst i was giving orders to send other troops to avenge you, he disappeared. he must have been frightened at hearing of your being in so great danger, and did not think himself in sufficient safety with us.' this news exceedingly afflicted king saleh, who now repented of his being so easily wrought upon by king beder as to carry him away with him without his mother's consent. whilst he was in this suspense about his nephew, he left his kingdom under the administration of his mother, and went to govern that of the king of samandal, whom he continued to keep under great vigilance, though with all due respect to his rank. the same day that king saleh returned to the kingdom of samandal, queen gulnare, mother to king beder, arrived at the court of the queen her mother. the princess was not at all surprised to find her son did not return the same day he set out, it being not uncommon for him to go further than he proposed in the heat of the chase; but when she saw that he returned neither the next day, nor the day after, she began to be alarmed. this alarm was increased when the officers, who had accompanied the king, and were obliged to return after they had for a long time sought in vain for both him and his uncle, came and told her majesty they must of necessity have come to some harm, or be together in some place which they could not guess, since they could hear no tidings of them. their horses, indeed, they had found, but as for their persons, they knew not where to look for them. the queen, hearing this, had resolved to dissemble and conceal her affliction, bidding the officers to search once more with their utmost diligence; but in the mean time, saying nothing to anybody, she plunged into the sea, to satisfy herself as to the suspicion she had that king saleh must have carried away his nephew along with him. this great queen would have been more affectionately received by the queen her mother, had she not, upon first sight of her, guessed the occasion of her coming. 'daughter,' said she, 'i plainly perceive you are not come hither to visit me; you come to inquire after the king your son; and the only news i can tell you will augment both your grief and mine. i no sooner saw him arrive in our territories, than i rejoiced; yet, when i came to understand he had come away without your knowledge, i began to share with you the concern you must needs feel.' then she related to her with what zeal king saleh went to demand the princess giauhara in marriage for king beder, and what had happened, till her son disappeared. 'i have sent diligently after him,' added she, 'and the king my son, who is but just gone to govern the kingdom of samandal, has done all that lay in his power. all our endeavours have hitherto proved unsuccessful, but we must hope nevertheless to see him again, perhaps when we least expect it.' queen gulnare was not satisfied with this hope; she looked upon the king her dear son as lost, and lamented him bitterly, laying all the blame upon the king his uncle. the queen her mother made her consider the necessity of not yielding too much to her grief. 'the king your brother,' said she, 'ought not, it is true, to have talked to you so imprudently about that marriage, nor ever have consented to carry away the king my grandson, without acquainting you first; yet, since it is not certain that the king of persia is absolutely lost, you ought to neglect nothing to preserve his kingdom for him: lose, then, no more time, but return to your capital; your presence there will be necessary, and it will not be hard for you to preserve the public peace, by causing it to be published that the king of persia was gone to visit his grandmother.' queen gulnare yielded. she took leave of the queen her mother, and was back in the palace of the capital of persia before she had been missed. she immediately despatched persons to recall the officers she had sent after the king, and to tell them she knew where his majesty was, and that they should soon see him again. she also governed with the prime minister and council as quietly as if the king had been present. to return to king beder, whom the princess giauhara's waiting-woman had carried and left in the island before mentioned; that monarch was not a little surprised when he found himself alone, and under the form of a bird. he felt yet more unhappy that he knew not where he was, nor in what part of the world the kingdom of persia lay. he was forced to remain where he was, and live upon such food as birds of his kind were wont to eat, and to pass the night on a tree. a few days after, a peasant that was skilled in taking birds with nets chanced to come to the place where he was; when perceiving so fine a bird, the like of which he had never seen before, he began greatly to rejoice. he employed all his art to catch him, and at length succeeded. overjoyed at so great a prize, which he looked upon as of more worth than all the other birds, because so rare, he shut it up in a cage, and carried it to the city. as soon as he was come into the market, a citizen stops him, and asked him how much he wanted for that bird. instead of answering, the peasant asked the citizen what he would do with him in case he should buy him? 'what wouldst thou have me to do with him,' answered the citizen, 'but roast and eat him?' 'if that be the case,' replied the peasant, 'i suppose you would think me very well paid if you gave me the smallest piece of silver for him. i set a much higher value upon him, and you should not have him for a piece of gold. although i am advanced in years, i never saw such a bird in my life. i intend to make a present of him to the king; he will know the value of him better than you.' without staying any longer in the market, the peasant went directly to the palace, and placed himself exactly before the king's apartment. his majesty, being at a window where he could see all that passed in the court, no sooner cast his eyes on this beautiful bird, than he sent an officer to buy it for him. the officer, going to the peasant, asked him how much he wanted for that bird. 'if it be for his majesty,' answered the peasant, 'i humbly beg of him to accept it of me as a present, and i desire you to carry it to him.' the officer took the bird to the king, who found it so great a rarity that he ordered the same officer to take ten pieces of gold, and carry them to the peasant, who departed very well satisfied. the king ordered the bird to be put into a magnificent cage, and gave it seed and water in rich vessels. his majesty being then ready to go hunting, had not time to consider the bird, therefore had it brought to him as soon as he came back. the officer brought the cage, and the king, that he might better see the bird, took it out himself, and perched it upon his hand. looking earnestly at it, he asked the officer if he had seen it eat. 'sir,' replied the officer, 'your majesty may observe the vessel with his food is still full, and he has not touched any of it.' then the king ordered him meat of various sorts, that he might take what he liked best. the table being spread, and dinner served up just as the king had given these orders, the bird, flapping his wings, hopped off the king's hand, and flew on to the table, where he began to peck the bread and victuals, sometimes on one plate, and sometimes on another. the king was so surprised, that he immediately sent the officer to desire the queen to come and see this wonder. the officer related it to her majesty, and she came forthwith: but she no sooner saw the bird, than she covered her face with her veil, and would have retired. the king, surprised at her proceeding, asked the reason of it. 'sir,' answered the queen, 'your majesty will no longer be surprised when you understand that this bird is not, as you take it, a bird, but a man.' 'madam,' said the king, more astonished than before, 'you are making fun of me; you shall never persuade me that a bird can be a man.' 'sir,' replied the queen, 'far be it from me to make fun of your majesty; nothing is more certain than what i have had the honour to tell you. i can assure your majesty it is the king of persia, named beder, son of the celebrated gulnare, princess of one of the largest kingdoms of the sea, nephew of saleh, king of that kingdom, and grandson of queen farasche, mother of gulnare and saleh; and it was the princess giauhara, daughter of the king of samandal, who thus metamorphosed him into a bird.' that the king might no longer doubt of what she affirmed, she told him the whole story, how and for what reason the princess giauhara, had thus revenged herself for the ill-treatment of king saleh towards the king of samandal, her father. the king had less difficulty in believing this assertion of the queen in that he knew her to be a skilful magician, one of the greatest in the world. and as she knew everything which took place, he was always by her means timely informed of the designs of the kings his neighbours against him, and prevented them. his majesty had compassion on the king of persia, and earnestly besought his queen to break the enchantment, that he might return to his own form. the queen consented to it with great willingness. 'sir,' said she to the king, 'be pleased to take the bird into your room, and i will show you a king worthy of the consideration you have for him.' the bird, which had ceased eating, and attended to what the king and queen said, would not give his majesty the trouble to take him, but hopped into the room before him; and the queen came in soon after, with a vessel full of water in her hand. she pronounced over the vessel some words unknown to the king, till the water began to boil, when she took some of it in her hand, and, sprinkling a little upon the bird, said, 'by virtue of these holy and mysterious words i have just pronounced, quit that form of a bird, and reassume that which thou hast received from thy creator.' the words were scarcely out of the queen's mouth, when, instead of a bird, the king saw a young prince. king beder immediately fell on his knees, and thanked god for the favour that had been bestowed upon him. then he took the king's hand, who helped him up, and kissed it in token of gratitude; but the king embraced him with great joy. he would then have made his acknowledgments to the queen, but she had already retired to her apartment. the king made him sit at the table with him, and, after dinner was over, prayed him to relate how the princess giauhara could have had the inhumanity to transform into a bird so amiable a prince as he was; and the king of persia immediately told him. when he had done, the king, provoked at the proceeding of the princess, could not help blaming her. 'it was commendable,' said he, 'in the princess of samandal to feel hurt at the king her father's ill-treatment; but to carry her vengeance so far, and especially against a prince who was not guilty, was what she will never be able to justify herself for. but let us have done with this discourse, and tell me, i beseech you, in what i can further serve you.' 'sir,' answered king beder, 'my obligation to your majesty is so great, that i ought to remain with you all my life to testify my gratitude; but since your majesty sets no limits to your generosity, i entreat you to grant me one of your ships to transport me to persia, where i fear my absence, which has been but too long, may have occasioned some disorder, and that the queen my mother, from whom i concealed my departure, may be dead of grief, under the uncertainty whether i am alive or dead.' the king granted what he desired with the best grace imaginable, and immediately gave orders for equipping one of his largest ships, and the best sailor in his numerous fleet. the ship was soon furnished with all its crew, provisions, and ammunition; and as soon as the wind became fair, king beder embarked, after having taken leave of the king, and thanked him for all his favours. the ship sailed before the wind for ten days; on the eleventh day the wind changed, and becoming very violent, there followed a furious tempest. the ship was not only driven out of its course, but so violently tossed, that all its masts went by the board; and driving along at the pleasure of the wind, it at length struck against a rock and split open. the greater part of the people were instantly drowned. some few were saved by swimming, and others by getting on pieces of the wreck. king beder was among the latter, and, after having been tossed about for some time by the waves and currents, he at length perceived himself near the shore, and not far from a city that seemed large. he exerted his remaining strength to reach the land, and was at length fortunate to come so near as to be able to touch the ground with his feet. he immediately abandoned his piece of wood, which had been of so great service to him; but when he came near the shore he was greatly surprised to see horses, camels, mules, asses, oxen, cows, bulls, and other animals crowding to the shore to oppose his landing. he had the utmost difficulty to conquer their obstinacy and force his way; but at length he succeeded, and sheltered himself among the rocks till he had recovered his breath, and dried his clothes in the sun. when the prince advanced to enter the city, he met with the same opposition from these animals, who seemed to want to make him understand that it was dangerous to proceed. king beder, however, got into the city soon after, and saw many fair and spacious streets, but was surprised to find no man there. this made him think it was not without cause that so many animals had opposed his passage. going forward, nevertheless, he observed several shops open, which gave him reason to believe the place was not so destitute of inhabitants as he imagined. he approached one of these shops, where several sorts of fruits were exposed to sale, and saluted very courteously an old man that was sitting there. the old man, who was busy about something, lifted up his head, and seeing a youth who had an appearance of grandeur, started, and asked him whence he came, and what business had brought him there. king beder satisfied him in a few words; and the old man further asked him if he had met anybody on the road. 'you are the first person i have seen,' answered the king; 'and i cannot comprehend how so fine and large a city comes to be without inhabitants.' 'come in, sir; stay no longer upon the threshold,' replied the old man, 'or peradventure some misfortune may happen to you. i will satisfy your curiosity at leisure, and give you the reason why it is necessary you should take this precaution.' king beder would not be bidden twice: he entered the shop, and sat down by the old man. the latter knew he must want food, therefore immediately presented him with what was necessary to recover his strength; and although king beder was very anxious to know why he had taken the precaution to make him enter the shop, the old man nevertheless would not tell him anything till he had done eating, for fear the sad things he had to relate might take away his appetite. at last he said to him, 'you have great reason to thank god you got hither without any misfortune.' 'alas! why?' replied king beder, very much surprised and alarmed. 'because,' answered he, 'this city is called the city of enchantments, and is governed not by a king, but by a queen, who is a notorious and dangerous sorceress. you will be convinced of this,' added he, 'when you know that these horses, mules, and other animals that you have seen are so many men, like you and me, whom she has transformed by her diabolical art. and when young men like you enter the city, she has persons stationed to stop and bring them, either by fair means or force, before her. she receives them in the most obliging manner; she caresses them, regales them, and lodges them magnificently. but she does not suffer them long to enjoy this happiness. there is not one of them whom she has not transformed into some animal or bird at the end of forty days. you told me all these animals opposed your landing and entering, the city. this was the only way they could make you comprehend the danger you were going to expose yourself to, and they did all in their power to save you.' this account exceedingly afflicted the young king of persia. 'alas!' cried he, 'to what extremities has my ill-fortune reduced me! i am hardly freed from one enchantment, which i look back upon with horror, but i find myself exposed to another much more terrible.' this gave him occasion to relate his story to the old man more at length, and to acquaint him with his birth, quality, his falling in love with the princess of samandal, and her cruelty in changing him into a bird the very moment he had seen her and declared his love to her. when the prince came to speak of his good fortune in finding a queen who broke the enchantment, the old man, to encourage him, said, 'notwithstanding all i told you of the magic queen, that ought not to give you the least disquiet, since i am generally beloved throughout the city, and am not unknown to the queen herself, who has much respect for me; therefore it was singularly fortunate that you addressed yourself to me rather than elsewhere. you are secure in my house, where i advise you to continue, if you think fit; and provided you do not stray from hence, i dare assure you you will have no just cause to complain; so that you are under no sort of constraint whatsoever.' king beder thanked the old man for his kind reception, and the protection he was pleased so readily to afford him. he sat down at the entrance of the shop, where he no sooner appeared than his youth and handsome looks drew the eyes of all that passed that way. many stopped and complimented the old man on his having acquired so fine a slave, as they imagined the king to be; and they were the more surprised, because they could not comprehend how so beautiful a youth could escape the queen's knowledge. 'believe not,' said the old man, 'that this is a slave; you all know that i am not rich enough. he is my nephew, son of a brother of mine that is dead; and as i had no children of my own, i sent for him to keep me company.' they congratulated his good fortune in having so fine a young man for his relation; but could not help telling him they feared the queen would take him from him. 'you know her well,' said they, 'and you cannot be ignorant of the danger to which you are exposed, after all the examples you have seen. how grieved would you be if she should serve him as she has done so many others that we know of!' 'i am obliged to you,' replied the old man, 'for your good will towards me, and i heartily thank you for your care; but i shall never entertain the least thought that the queen will do me any injury, after all the kindness she has professed for me. in case she happens to hear of this young man, and speaks to me about him, i doubt not she will cease to think of him, so soon as she comes to know he is my nephew.' the old man was exceedingly glad to hear the commendations they bestowed on the young king of persia. he became as fond of him as if he had been his own son. they had lived about a month together, when, king beder sitting at the shop-door, after his ordinary manner, queen labe (so was this magic queen named) happened to come by with great pomp. the young king no sooner perceived the guards coming before her, than he arose, and, going into the shop, asked the old man what all that show meant. 'the queen is coming by,' answered he, 'but stand still and fear nothing.' the queen's guards, clothed in purple uniform, and well armed and mounted, marched in four files, with their sabres drawn, to the number of a thousand, and every one of their officers, as they passed by the shop, saluted the old man: then followed a like number habited in brocaded silk, and better mounted, whose officers did the old man the like honour. next came as many young ladies on foot, equally beautiful, richly dressed, and set off with precious stones. they marched gravely, with half pikes in their hands; and in the midst of them appeared queen labe, on a horse glittering with diamonds, with a golden saddle, and a harness of inestimable value. all the young ladies saluted the old man as they passed by him; and the queen, struck with the good mien of king beder, stopped as soon as she came before the shop. 'abdallah' (so was the old man named), said she to him, 'tell me, i beseech thee, does that beautiful and charming slave belong to thee? and is it long that thou hast been in possession of him?' abdallah, before he answered the queen, threw himself on the ground, and rising again, said, 'madam, it is my nephew, son of a brother i had, who has not long been dead. having no children, i look upon him as my son, and sent for him to come and comfort me, intending to leave him what i have when i die.' queen labe, who had never yet seen any one to compare with king beder, thought immediately of getting the old man to abandon him to her. 'father,' quoth she, 'will you not oblige me so far as to make me a present of this young man? do not refuse me, i conjure you; and i swear by the fire and the light, i will make him so great and powerful that no individual in the world ever arrived at such good fortune. although my purpose were to do evil to all mankind, yet he shall be the sole exception. i trust you will grant me what i desire, more on the account of the friendship i know you have for me, than for the esteem you know i always had, and shall ever have for you.' 'madam,' replied the good abdallah, 'i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for all your kindness, and the honours you propose to do my nephew. he is not worthy to approach so great a queen, and i humbly beseech your majesty to excuse him.' 'abdallah,' replied the queen, 'i all along flattered myself you loved me; and i could never have thought you would have given me so evident a token of your slighting my request. but i here swear once more by the fire and light, and even by whatsoever is most sacred in my religion, that i will pass on no farther till i have conquered your obstinacy. i understand very well what raises your apprehensions; but i promise you shall never have any occasion to repent having obliged me in so sensible a manner.' old abdallah was exceedingly grieved, both on his own account and king beder's, for being in a manner forced to obey the queen. 'madam,' replied he, 'i would not willingly have your majesty entertain an ill opinion of the respect i have for you, and my zeal always to do whatever i can to oblige you. i put entire confidence in your royal word, and i do not in the least doubt but you will keep it. i only beg of your majesty to delay doing this great honour to my nephew till you shall again pass this way.' 'that shall be to-morrow,' said the queen, who inclined her head, as a token of being pleased, and so went forward towards her palace. when queen labe and all her attendants were out of sight, the good abdallah said to king beder, 'son, (for so he was wont to call him, for fear of some time or other betraying him when he spoke of him in public), 'it has not been in my power, as you may have observed, to refuse the queen what she demanded of me with so great earnestness, for fear i might force her to employ her magic both against you and myself openly or secretly, and treat you, as much from resentment to you as to me, with more signal cruelty than all those she has had in her power before. but i have some reason to believe she will treat you well, as she promised, on account of that particular esteem she professes for me. this you may have seen by the respect shown, and the honours paid me by all her court. she would be a fiendish creature indeed, if she should deceive me; but she shall not deceive me unrevenged, for i know how to be even with her.' these assurances, which appeared very doubtful, were not sufficient to raise king beder's spirits. 'after all you have told me of this queen's wickedness,' replied he, 'you cannot wonder if i am somewhat fearful to approach her: i might, it may be, make little of all you could tell me of her, did i not know by experience what it is to be at the mercy of a sorceress. the condition i was in, through the enchantment of the princess giauhara, and from whence i was delivered only to enter almost immediately into another, has made me look upon such a fate with horror. 'son,' replied old abdallah, 'do not afflict yourself; for though i must own there is no great faith to be put in the promises and oaths of so perfidious a queen, yet i must withal tell you that her power extends not to me. she knows it well herself; and that is the reason, and no other, that she pays me such great respect. i can quickly hinder her from doing you the least harm, if she should be perfidious enough to attempt it. you may depend upon me; and, provided you follow exactly the advice i shall give you before i hand you over to her, she shall have no more power over you than she has over me.' the magic queen did not fail to pass by the old man's shop the next day, with the same pomp as the day before, and abdallah waited for her with great respect. 'father,' cried she, stopping just before him, 'you may judge of my impatience to have your nephew with me, by my punctual coming to put you in mind of your promise. i know you are a man of your word, and i cannot think you will break it with me.' abdallah, who fell on his face as soon as he saw the queen approaching, rose up when she had done speaking; and as he wanted nobody to hear what he had a mind to say to her, he advanced with great respect as far as her horse's head, and then said softly, 'powerful queen! i am persuaded your majesty will not be offended at my seeming unwillingness to trust my nephew with you yesterday, since you cannot be ignorant of the reasons i had for it; but i implore you to lay aside the secrets of that art which you possess in so wonderful a degree. i regard my nephew as my own son; and your majesty would reduce me to despair if you should deal with him as you have done with others.' 'i promise you i will not,' replied the queen; 'and i once more repeat the oath i made yesterday, that neither you nor your nephew shall have any cause to be offended with me. i see plainly,' added she, 'you are not yet well enough acquainted with me; you never saw me yet but through a veil; but as i find your nephew worthy of my friendship, i will show you i am not in any way unworthy of his.' with that she threw off her veil and showed king beder, who came near her with abdallah, incomparable beauty. but king beder was little charmed. 'it is not enough,' said he within himself, 'to be beautiful; one's actions ought to correspond.' whilst king beder was making these reflections, with his eyes fixed on queen labe, the old man turned towards him, and taking him by the arm, presented him to her majesty. 'here he is, madam,' said he, 'and i beg of your majesty once more to remember he is my nephew, and to let him come and see me sometimes.' the queen promised he should; and to give a further mark of her gratitude, she caused a bag of a thousand pieces of gold to be given him. he excused himself at first from receiving them, but she insisted absolutely upon it, and he could not refuse her. she had caused a horse to be brought (as richly harnessed as her own) for the king of persia. when king beder was mounted, he would have taken his place behind the queen, but she would not suffer him, and made him ride on her left hand. she looked at abdallah, and after having made him an inclination with her head, she set forward on her march. instead of observing a satisfaction in the people's faces at the sight of their sovereign, king beder took notice that they looked at her with contempt, and even cursed her. 'the sorceress,' said some, 'has got a new subject to exercise her wickedness upon: will heaven never deliver the world from her tyranny?' 'poor stranger!' cried out others, 'thou art much deceived if thou thinkest thine happiness will last long. it is only to render thy fall most terrible that thou art raised so high.' this talk gave king beder to understand that abdallah had told him nothing but the truth of queen labe: but as it now depended no longer on himself to escape the mischief, he committed himself to divine providence and the will of heaven respecting his fate. the magic queen arrived at her palace; she alighted, and giving her hand to king beder, entered with him, accompanied by her women and the officers. she herself showed him all her apartments, where there was nothing to be seen but massy gold, precious stones, and furniture of wonderful magnificence. then she led him out into a balcony, from whence he observed a garden of surprising beauty. king beder commended all he saw, but so that he might not be discovered to be any other than old abdallah's nephew. they discoursed of indifferent matters, till the queen was informed that dinner was upon the table. the queen and king beder arose, and sat down at the table, which was of massy gold, and the dishes of the same metal. they began to eat, but drank hardly at all till the dessert came, when the queen caused a cup to be filled for her with excellent wine. she took it and drank to king beder's health; and then, without putting it out of her hand, caused it to be filled again, and presented it to him. king beder received it with profound respect, and by a very low bow signified to her majesty that he in return drank to her health. at the same time ten of queen labe's women entered with musical instruments, with which they made an agreeable concert. at length both began so to be heated with wine, that king beder forgot he had to do with a magic queen, and looked upon her only as the most beautiful queen he ever saw. next morning the women who had served the king presented him with fine linen and a magnificent robe. the queen likewise, who was more splendidly dressed than the day before, came to receive him, and they went together to her apartments, where they had a good repast brought them, and spent the remainder of the day in walking in the garden, and in various other amusements. queen labe treated king beder after this manner for forty days, as she had been accustomed to do to all the others. the fortieth night she arose without making any noise and came into his room; but he was awake, and perceiving she had some design upon him, watched all her motions. she opened a chest, from whence she took a little box full of a certain yellow powder; taking some of the powder, she laid a train of it across the chamber, and it immediately flowed in a rivulet of water, to the great astonishment of king beder. he trembled with fear, but still pretended to sleep, that the sorceress might not discover he was awake. queen labe next took up some of the water in a vessel, and poured it into a basin, where there was flour, with which she made a paste, and kneaded it for a long time: then she mixed with it certain drugs, which she took from different boxes, and made a cake, which she put into a covered baking-pan. as she had taken care first of all to make a good fire, she took some of the coals, and set the pan upon them; and while the cake was baking, she put up the vessels and boxes in their places again; and on her pronouncing certain words, the rivulet, which ran along the end of the room, appeared no more. when the cake was baked, she took it off the coals, and carried it into her room, without the least suspicion that he had seen anything of what she had done. king beder, whom the pleasures and amusements of a court had made forget his good host abdallah, began now to think of him again, and believed he had more than ordinary occasion for his advice, after all he had seen the queen do that night. as soon as he was up, therefore, he expressed a great desire to go and see his uncle, and begged her majesty to permit him. 'what! my dear beder,' cried the queen, 'are you then already tired, i will not say with living in so superb a palace as mine is, where you must find so many pleasures, but with the company of a queen who is so fond of you as i am?' 'great queen!' answered king beder, 'how can i be tired of so many favours and graces as your majesty perpetually heaps upon me? i must own, however, it is partly for this reason, that, my uncle loving me so tenderly, as i well know he does, and i having been absent from him now forty days, without once seeing him, i would not give him reason to think that i consent to remain longer without seeing him.' 'go,' said the queen, 'you have my consent; but do not be long before you return.' this said, she ordered him a horse richly caparisoned, and he departed. old abdallah was overjoyed to see king beder; he embraced him tenderly, and king beder did the same. as soon as they had sat down, 'well,' said abdallah to the king, 'how have you been, and how have you passed your time with that infidel sorceress?' 'hitherto,' answered king beder, 'i must needs own she has been extraordinarily kind to me, but i observed something last night which gives me just reason to suspect that all her kindness hitherto is but dissimulation.' he related to abdallah how and after what manner he had seen her make the cake; and then added, 'hitherto, i must needs confess i had almost forgotten, not only you, but all the advice you gave me concerning the wickedness of this queen; but this last action of hers gives me reason to fear she does not intend to observe any of her promises or solemn oaths to you. i thought of you immediately, and i esteem myself happy in that i have obtained permission to come to you.' 'you are not mistaken,' replied old abdallah with a smile, which showed he did not himself believe she would have acted otherwise, 'nothing is capable of obliging a treacherous person to amend. but fear nothing. i know the way to make the mischief she intends for you fall upon herself. you are alarmed in time; and you could not have done better than to have recourse to me. it is her ordinary practice to keep her lovers only forty days, and after that time, instead of sending them home, to turn them into animals, to stock her forests and parks; but i thought of measures yesterday to prevent her doing you the same harm. the earth has borne this monster long enough, and it is now high time she should be treated as she deserves.' so saying, abdallah put two cakes into king beder's hands, bidding him keep them to make use of as he should direct. 'you told me,' continued he, 'the sorceress made a cake last night; it was for you to eat, depend upon it; but take great care you do not touch it. nevertheless, do not refuse to receive it when she offers it you; but instead of tasting it, break off part of one of the two i shall give you, unobserved, and eat that. as soon as she thinks you have swallowed it, she will not fail to attempt transforming you into some animal, but she will not succeed; when she sees that she will immediately turn the thing into a joke, as if what she had done was only to frighten you. but she will conceal a mortal grief in her heart, and think she omitted something in the composition of her cake. as for the other cake, you shall make a present of it to her and press her to eat it; which she will not refuse to do, were it only to convince you she does not mistrust you, though she has given you so much reason to mistrust her. when she has eaten of it, take a little water in the hollow of your hand, and throwing it in her face, say, "quit that form you now wear, and take that of such and such an animal" as you think fit; which done, come to me with the animal, and i will tell you what you shall do afterwards.' king beder thanked abdallah in the most expressive terms, and took his leave of him and returned to the palace. upon his arrival, he understood that the queen waited for him with great impatience in the garden. he went to her, and she no sooner perceived him, than she came in great haste to meet him. 'my dear beder!' said she, 'it seems ages since i have been separated from you. if you had stayed ever so little longer, i was preparing to come and fetch you.' 'madam,' replied king beder, 'i can assure your majesty i was no less impatient to rejoin you; but i could not refuse to stay a little longer with an uncle that loves me, and had not seen me for so long a time. he would have kept me still longer, but i tore myself away from him, to come where love calls me. of all he prepared for me, i have only brought away this cake, which i desire your majesty to accept.' king beder had wrapped up one of the two cakes in a handkerchief very neatly, took it out, and presented it to the queen, saying, 'i beg your majesty to accept it.' 'i do accept it with all my heart,' replied the queen, 'and will eat it with pleasure for your and your good uncle's sake; but before i taste it, i desire you for my sake to eat a piece of this, which i have made for you during your absence.' 'fair queen,' answered king beder, receiving it with great respect, i cannot sufficiently acknowledge the favour you do me.' king beder then artfully substituted in the place of the queen's cake the other which old abdallah had given him, and having broken off a piece, he put it in his mouth, and cried, while he was eating, 'ah! queen, i never tasted anything so charming in my life.' being near a cascade, as the sorceress saw him swallow one bit of the cake, and ready to eat another, she took a little water in the palm of her hand, throwing it in the king's face, said, 'wretch! quit that form of a man, and take that of a vile horse, blind and lame.' these words not having the desired effect, the sorceress was strangely surprised to find king beder still in the same form, and that he only started for fear. her cheeks reddened; and as she saw that she had missed her aim, 'dear beder,' cried she, 'this is nothing; recover yourself. i did not intend you any harm; i only did it to see what you would say.' 'powerful queen,' replied king beder, 'persuaded as i am that what your majesty did was only to divert yourself, yet i could not help being surprised. but, madam,' continued he, 'let us drop this, and since i have eaten your cake, would you do me the favour to taste mine?' queen labe, who could not better justify herself than by showing this mark of confidence in the king of persia, broke off a piece of his cake, and ate it. she had no sooner swallowed it than she appeared much troubled, and remained as it were motionless. king beder lost no time, but took water out of the same basin, and throwing it in her face, cried, 'abominable sorceress! quit that form of a woman, and be turned instantly into a mare.' the same instant queen labe was transformed into a very beautiful mare; and her confusion was so great to find herself in that condition, that she shed tears in great abundance, which perhaps no mare before had ever been known to do. she bowed her head to the feet of king beder, thinking to move him to compassion; but though he could have been so moved, it was absolutely out of his power to repair the mischief he had done. he led her into the stable belonging to the palace, and put her into the hands of a groom, to bridle and saddle; but of all the bridles which the groom tried upon her, not one would fit her. this made him cause two horses to be saddled, one for the groom, and the other for himself; and the groom led the mare after him to old abdallah's. abdallah, seeing at a distance king beder coming with the mare, doubted not but he had done what he advised him. 'hateful sorceress!' said he immediately to himself in a transport of joy, 'heaven has at length punished thee as thou deservest.' king beder alighted at abdallah's door, and entered the shop, embracing and thanking him for all the signal services he had done him. he related to him the whole matter, and told him that he could find no bridle fit for the mare. abdallah, who had one for every horse, bridled the mare himself, and as soon as king beder had sent back the groom with the two horses, he said to him, 'my lord, you have no reason to stay any longer in this city: mount the mare, and return to your kingdom. i have but one thing more to recommend to you; and that is, if you should ever happen to part with the mare, be sure not to give up the bridle.' king beder promised to remember it; and having taken leave of the good old man, he departed. the young king of persia no sooner got out of the city, than he began to reflect with joy on the deliverance he had had, and that he had the sorceress in his power, who had given him so much cause to tremble. three days after he arrived at a great city, where, entering the suburbs, he met a venerable old man. 'sir,' said the old man, stopping him, 'may i presume to ask from what part of the world you come?' the king stopped to tell him, and as they were discoursing together, an old woman came up; who, stopping likewise, wept and sighed bitterly at the sight of the mare. king beder and the old man left off discoursing, to look at the old woman, whom the king asked what cause she had to lament so much, 'alas! sir,' replied she, 'it is because your mare resembles so perfectly one my son had, which i still mourn the loss of on his account. i should think yours were the same, did i not know she was dead. sell her to me, i beseech you: i will give you more than she is worth, and thank you too.' 'good woman,' replied king beder, 'i am heartily sorry i cannot comply with your request: my mare is not to be sold.' 'alas! sir,' continued the old woman, 'do not refuse me this favour. my son and i will certainly die with grief if you do not grant it.' 'good mother,' replied the king, 'i would grant it with all my heart, if i was disposed to part with so good a beast; but if i were so disposed, i believe you would hardly give a thousand pieces of gold for her, and i could not sell her for less.' 'why should i not give so much?' replied the old woman: 'if that be the lowest price, you need only say you will take it, and i will fetch you the money.' king beder, seeing the old woman so poorly dressed, could not imagine she could find the money; therefore to try her, he said, 'go, fetch me the money, and the mare is yours.' the old woman immediately unloosed a purse she had fastened to her girdle, and desiring him to alight, bade him tell over the money, and in case he found it came short of the sum demanded, she said her house was not far off, and she could quickly fetch the rest. the surprise of king beder, at the sight of this purse, was not small. 'good woman,' said he, 'do you not perceive i have been bantering you all this while? i assure you my mare is not to be sold.' the old man, who had been witness to all that was said, now began to speak. 'son,' quoth he to king beder, 'it is necessary you should know one thing, which i find you are ignorant of; and that is, that in this city it is not permitted to any one to tell a lie, on any account whatsoever, on pain of death. you cannot refuse taking this good woman's money, and delivering your mare, when she gives you the sum according to the agreement; and this you had better do without any noise, than expose yourself to what may happen.' king beder, sorely afflicted to find himself thus trapped by his rash offer, alighted with great regret. the old woman stood ready to seize the bridle, and immediately unbridled the mare, and taking some water in her hand, from a stream that ran in the middle of the street, she threw it in the mare's face, uttering these words, 'daughter, quit that strange shape, and re-assume thine own.' the transformation was effected in a moment, and king beder, who swooned as soon as he saw queen labe appear, would have fallen to the ground, if the old man had not caught him. the old woman, who was mother to queen labe, and had instructed her in all her magic secrets, had no sooner embraced her daughter, than to show her fury, she whistled. immediately rose a genie of gigantic form and stature. this genie took king beder on one shoulder, and the old woman with the magic queen on the other, and transported them in a few minutes to the palace of queen labe in the city of enchantments. the magic queen immediately fell upon king beder, 'is it thus, ungrateful wretch,' said she, 'that thou and thy unworthy uncle repay me for all the kindnesses i have done for you? i shall soon make you both feel what you deserve.' she said no more, but taking water in her hand, threw it in his face with these words, 'come out of that shape, and take that of a vile owl.' these words were followed by the effect, and immediately she commanded one of her women to shut up the owl in a cage, and give him neither meat nor drink. the woman took the cage, and without regarding what the queen ordered, gave him both meat and drink; and being old abdallah's friend, she sent him word privately how the queen had treated his nephew, and of her design to destroy both him and king beder, that he might give orders to prevent it and save himself. abdallah knew no common measures would do with queen labe: he therefore did but whistle after a certain manner, and there immediately arose a vast giant, with four wings, who, presenting himself before him, asked what he wanted. 'lightning,' said abdallah to him (for so was the genie called), 'i command you to preserve the life of king beder, son of queen gulnare. go to the palace of the magic queen, and transport immediately to the capital of persia the compassionate woman who has the cage in custody, so that she may inform queen gulnare of the danger the king her son is in, and the occasion he has for her assistance. take care not to frighten her when you come before her and tell her from me what she ought to do.' lightning immediately disappeared, and got in an instant to the palace of the magic queen. he instructed the woman, lifted her up into the air, and transported her to the capital of persia, where he placed her on the terrace near the apartment where queen gulnare was. she went downstairs to the apartment, and she there found queen gulnare and queen farasche her mother lamenting their misfortunes. she made them a profound obeisance and they soon understood the great need that king beder was in of their assistance. queen gulnare was so overjoyed at the news, that rising from her seat, she went and embraced the good woman, telling her how much she was obliged to her for the service she had done. then immediately going out, she commanded the trumpets to sound, and the drums to beat, to acquaint the city that the king of persia would suddenly return safe to his kingdom. she then went again, and found king saleh her brother, whom queen farasche had caused to come speedily thither by a certain fumigation. 'brother,' said she to him, 'the king your nephew, my dear son, is in the city of enchantments, under the power of queen labe. both you and i must go to deliver him, for there is no time to be lost.' king saleh forthwith assembled a powerful body of his marine troops, who soon rose out of the sea. he also called to his assistance the genies, his allies, who appeared with a much more numerous army than his own. as soon as the two armies were joined, he put himself at the head of them, with queen farasche, queen gulnare, and the princesses. they then lifted themselves up into the air, and soon poured down on the palace and city of enchantments, where the magic queen, her mother, and all the adorers of fire, were destroyed in an instant. queen gulnare had ordered the woman who brought her the news of queen labe's transforming and imprisoning her son to follow her closely, and bade her go, and in the confusion, seize the cage, and bring it to her. this order was executed as she wished, and queen gulnare was no sooner in possession of the cage than she opened it and took out the owl, saying, as she sprinkled a little water upon him, 'my dear son, quit that strange form, and resume thy natural one of a man.' in a moment queen gulnare no more saw the hideous owl, but king beder her son. she immediately embraced him with an excess of joy. she could not find in her heart to let him go; and queen farasche was obliged to force him from her in her turn. after her, he was likewise embraced by the king his uncle and his relations. queen gulnare's first care was to look out for old abdallah, to whom she had been indebted for the recovery of the king of persia. when he was brought to her, she said, 'my obligations to you, sir, have been so great, that there is nothing in my power that i would not freely do for you, as a token of my acknowledgment. do but tell me in what i can serve you.' 'great queen,' replied abdallah, 'if the lady whom i sent to your majesty will but consent to the marriage i offer her, and the king of persia will give me leave to reside at his court, i will spend the remainder of my days in his service.' then the queen turned to the lady, who was present, and finding that she was not averse to the match proposed, she caused them to join hands, and the king of persia and she took care of their welfare. this marriage occasioned the king of persia to speak thus to the queen: 'madam,' said he, 'i am heartily glad of this match which your majesty has just made. there remains one more, which i desire you to think of.' queen gulnare did not at first comprehend what marriage he meant; but after a little considering, she said, 'of yours, you mean, son? i consent to it with all my heart.' then turning, and looking on her brother's sea attendants, and the genies who were still present, 'go,' said she, 'and traverse both sea and land, to find out the most lovely and amiable princess, worthy of the king my son, and come and tell us.' 'madam,' replied king beder, 'it is to no purpose for them to take all that pains. you have no doubt heard that i have already given my heart to the princess of samandal. i have seen her, and do not repent of the present i then made her. in a word, neither earth nor sea, in my opinion, can furnish a princess like her. it is true that she treated me in a way that would have extinguished any affection less strong than mine. but i hold her excused; she could not treat me with less rigour, after i had had the king her father imprisoned. but it may be the king of samandal has changed his mind; and his daughter the princess may consent to love me when she sees her father has agreed to it.' 'son,' replied queen gulnare, 'if only the princess giauhara can make you happy, it is not my design to oppose you. the king your uncle need only have the king of samandal brought, and we shall soon see whether he be still of the same untractable temper.' strictly as the king of samandal had been kept during his captivity by king saleh's orders, yet he always had great respect shown him, and was become very familiar with the officers who guarded him. king saleh caused a chafing-dish of coals to be brought, into which he threw a certain composition, uttering at the same time some mysterious words. as soon as the smoke began to arise, the palace shook, and immediately the king of samandal, with king saleh's officers, appeared. the king of persia cast himself at the king of samandal's feet, and kneeling said, 'it is no longer king saleh that demands of your majesty the honour of your alliance for the king of persia; it is the king of persia himself that humbly begs that boon; and i am sure your majesty will not persist in being the cause of the death of a king who can no longer live if he does not share life with the amiable princess giauhara.' the king of samandal did not long suffer the king of persia to remain at his feet. he embraced him and obliging him to rise, said, 'i should be very sorry to have contributed in the least to the death of a monarch who is so worthy to live. if it be true that so precious a life cannot be preserved without my daughter, live, sir,' said he, 'she is yours. she has always been obedient to my will, and i cannot think she will now oppose it.' speaking these words, he ordered one of his officers, whom king saleh had permitted to be about him, to go and look for the princess giauhara, and bring her to him immediately. the princess had remained where the king of persia had left her. the officer soon perceived her, and brought her with her women. the king of samandal embraced her, and said, 'daughter, i have provided a husband for you; it is the king of persia you see there, the most accomplished monarch at present in the universe. the preference he has given you over all other princesses obliges us both to express our gratitude.' 'sir,' replied the princess giauhara, 'your majesty well knows i never have presumed to disobey your will in anything; i shall always be ready to obey you; and i hope the king of persia will forget my ill-treatment of him, and consider it was duty, not inclination, that forced me to it.' the wedding was celebrated in the palace of the city of enchantments, with the greater solemnity in that all the lovers of the magic queen, who resumed their original forms as soon as ever that queen ceased to live, came to return their thanks to the king of persia, queen gulnare, and king saleh. they were all sons of kings or princes, or persons of high rank. king saleh at length conducted the king of samandal to his dominions, and put him in possession of them. the king of persia returned to his capital with queen gulnare, queen farasche, and the princesses; and queen farasche and the princesses continued there till king saleh came to reconduct them to his kingdom under the waves of the sea. the three princes and the princess nouronnihar. there was once a sultan of india who had three sons. these, with the princess his niece, were the ornaments of his court. the eldest of the princes was called houssain, the second ali, the youngest ahmed, and the princess his niece, nouronnihar. the princess nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of the sultan, to whom the sultan in his lifetime allowed a considerable revenue. but that prince had not been married long before he died, and left the princess very young. the sultan, out of brotherly love and friendship, took upon himself the care of his niece's education, and brought her up in his palace with the three princes, where her singular beauty and personal accomplishments, joined to a sprightly disposition and irreproachable conduct, distinguished her among all the princesses of her time. the sultan, her uncle, proposed to get her married, when she arrived at a proper age, to some neighbouring prince, and was thinking seriously about it, when he perceived that the three princes his sons had all fallen in love with her. he was very much concerned, owing to the difficulty he foresaw whether the two younger would consent to yield to their elder brother. he spoke to each of them apart; and after having remonstrated on the impossibility of one princess being the wife of three persons, and the troubles they would create if they persisted, he did all he could to persuade them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favour of one of them; or to suffer her to be married to a foreign prince. but as he found them obstinate, he sent for them all together, and said to them, 'children, since i have not been able to persuade you no longer to aspire to marry the princess your cousin; and as i have no inclination to force her to marry any of you, i have thought of a plan which will please you all, and preserve union among you, if you will but follow my advice. i think it would be best, if every one travelled separately into a different country, so that you might not meet each other: and as you know i delight in every thing that is rare and singular, i promise my niece in marriage to him that shall bring me the most extraordinary curiosity; and for travelling expenses, i will give each of you a sum befitting your rank and the purchase of the curiosity you search.' as the three princes were always submissive and obedient to the sultan's will, and each flattered himself that fortune would favour him, they all consented. the sultan gave them the money he promised; and that very day they issued orders in preparation for their travels, and took leave of the sultan, that they might be ready to set out early the next morning. they all went out at the same gate of the city, each dressed like a merchant, attended by a trusty officer dressed like a slave, all well mounted and equipped. they went the first day's journey together; and slept at the first inn, where the road divided into three different tracks. at night when they were at supper together, they agreed to travel for a year, and to make that inn their rendezvous; that the first that came should wait for the rest; that as they had all three taken leave together of the sultan, they should all return together. the next morning by break of day, after they had embraced and wished each other good success, they mounted their horses, and each took a different road. prince houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders of the extent, strength, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of bisnagar, bent his course towards the indian coast; and, after three months travelling with different caravans, sometimes over deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes through populous and fertile countries, he arrived at bisnagar, the capital of the kingdom of that name and the residence of its king. he lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants; and having learnt that there were four principal quarters where merchants of all sorts kept their shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather the king's palace, as the centre of the city, surrounded by three courts, and each gate two leagues distant from the other, he went to one of these quarters the next day. prince houssain could not see this quarter without admiration. it was large, and divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded from the sun, and yet very light. the shops were all of the same size and proportion; and all that dealt in the same sort of merchandise, as well as the craftsmen, lived in one street. the multitude of shops stocked with the finest linens from several parts of india, some painted in the brightest colours, with men, landscapes, trees, and flowers; silks and brocades from persia, china, and other places; porcelain from japan and china, foot carpets of all sizes,--all this surprised him so much that he knew not how to believe his own eyes; but when he came to the shops of the goldsmiths and jewellers (for those two trades were exercised by the same merchants), he was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones exposed for sale. but if he was amazed at seeing so many riches in one place, he was much more surprised when he came to judge of the wealth of the whole kingdom by considering that except the brahmins and ministers of the idols, who profess a life retired from worldly vanity, there was not an indian, man or woman, through the extent of that kingdom, who did not wear necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments about their legs and feet, made of pearls and other precious stones. another thing prince houssain particularly admired was the great number of rose-sellers, who crowded the streets; for the indians are such lovers of that flower, that not one will stir without a nosegay in his hand, or a garland on his head; and the merchants keep them in pots in their shops, so that the air of the whole quarter, however large, is perfectly perfumed. after prince houssain had run through the quarter, street by street, his thoughts fully occupied by the riches he had seen, he was very much tired, and a merchant civilly invited him to sit down in his shop. he accepted the offer; but had not been seated long before he saw a crier pass by with a piece of carpet on his arm, about six feet square, and cry it at thirty purses. the prince called to the crier, and asked to see the carpet, which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not only for its size, but the meanness of the stuff. when he had examined it well, he told the crier that he could not comprehend how so small and poor a piece could be priced so high. the crier, who took him for a merchant, replied, 'sir, if this price seems so extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when i tell you i have orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part with it for less.' 'certainly,' answered prince houssain, 'it must have something very extraordinary about it, which i know nothing of.' 'you have guessed right, sir,' replied the crier, 'and will own as much when you come to know that whoever sits on this piece of carpet may be transported in an instant wherever he desires to go without being stopped by any obstacle.' at this the prince of the indies, considering that the principal motive of his journey was to carry some singular curiosity home to the sultan his father, thought that be could not meet with anything which could give him more satisfaction. 'if the carpet,' said he to the crier, 'has the virtue you assign it, i shall not think forty purses too much but shall make you a present besides.' 'sir,' replied the crier, 'i have told you the truth; and it will be an easy matter to convince you of it, as soon as you have made the bargain for forty purses, by experiment. but as i suppose you have not so much with you, and that i must go with you to the khan where you lodge, with the leave of the master of the shop we will go into his back shop, and i will spread the carpet; and when we have both sat down, and you have formed the wish to be transported into your room at the khan, if we are not transported thither it shall be no bargain. as to your present, as i am paid for my trouble by the seller, i shall receive it as a favour, and be very much obliged to you for it.' the prince accepted the conditions, and concluded the bargain; and having obtained the master's leave, they went into his back shop; they both sat down on the carpet, and as soon as the prince wished to be transported into his room at the khan, he found himself and the crier there, and as he wanted no more convincing proof of the virtue of the carpet, he counted to the crier forty purses of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself. in this manner prince houssain became the possessor of the carpet, and was overjoyed that on his arrival at bisnagar he had found so rare a treasure, which he never doubted would gain him the princess nouronnihar. in short he looked upon it as an impossible thing for the princes, his younger brothers, to meet with anything to compare with it. it was in his power, by sitting on this carpet, to be at the place of rendezvous that very day; but as he was obliged to wait for his brothers, as they had agreed, and as he was curious to see the king of bisnagar and his court, and to learn about the laws, customs, and religion of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode there. it was a custom of the king of bisnagar to give audience to all strange merchants once a week; and prince houssain, who remained incognito, saw him often; and as he was handsome, clever, and extremely polite, he easily distinguished himself among the merchants, and was preferred before them all by the sultan, who asked him about the sultan of the indies, and the government, strength, and riches of his dominions. the rest of his time the prince spent in seeing what was most remarkable in and about the city; and among other things he visited a temple, all built of brass. it was ten cubits square, and fifteen high; and the greatest ornament to it was an idol of the height of a man, of massy gold: its eyes were two rubies, set so artificially, that it seemed to look at those who looked at it, on whichever side they turned. besides this, there was another not less curious, in a village in the midst of a plain of about ten acres, which was a delicious garden full of roses and the choicest flowers, surrounded with a small wall breast high, to keep the cattle out. in the midst of this plain was raised a terrace, a man's height, so nicely paved that the whole pavement seemed to be but one single stone. a temple was erected in the middle of this terrace, with a dome about fifty cubits high, which might be seen for several leagues round. it was thirty cubits long, and twenty broad, built of red marble, highly polished. the inside of the dome was adorned with three rows of fine paintings, in good taste: and there was not a place in the whole temple but was embellished with paintings, bas-reliefs, and figures of idols from top to bottom. every night and morning there were ceremonies performed in this temple, which were always succeeded by sports, concerts, dancing, singing, and feasts. the ministers of the temple and the inhabitants of the place had nothing to live on but the offerings of pilgrims, who came in crowds from the most distant parts of the kingdom to perform their vows. prince houssain was also spectator of a solemn feast, which was celebrated every year at the court of bisnagar, at which all the governors of provinces, commanders of fortified places, all the governors and judges of towns, and the brahmins most celebrated for their learning, were obliged to be present; and some lived so far off that they were four months in coming. this assembly, composed of innumerable multitudes of indians, met in a plain of vast extent, as far as the eye could reach. in the centre of this plain was a square of great length and breadth, closed on one side by a large scaffolding of nine stories, supported by forty pillars, raised for the king and his court, and those strangers whom he admitted to audience once a week. inside, it was adorned and furnished magnificently; and on the outside were painted fine landscapes, wherein all sorts of beasts, birds, and insects, even flies and gnats, were drawn as naturally as possible. other scaffolds of at least four or five stories, and painted almost all alike, formed the other three sides. on each side of the square, at some little distance from each other, were ranged a thousand elephants, sumptuously harnessed, each having upon his back a square wooden castle, finely gilt, in which were musicians and actors. the trunks, ears, and bodies of these elephants were painted with cinnabar and other colours, representing grotesque figures. but what prince houssain most of all admired was to see the largest of these elephants stand with his four feet on a post fixed into the earth, two feet high, playing and beating time with his trunk to the music. besides this, he admired another elephant as big, standing on a board, which was laid across a strong beam about ten feet high, with a great weight at the other end which balanced him, while he kept time with the music by the motions of his body and trunk. prince houssain might have made a longer stay in the kingdom and court of bisnagar, where he would have seen other wonders, till the last day of the year, whereon he and his brothers had appointed to meet. but he was so well satisfied with what he had seen, and his thoughts ran so much upon the princess nouronnihar, that he fancied he should be the more easy and happy the nearer he was to her. after he had paid the master of the khan for his apartment, and told him the hour when he might come for the key, without telling him how he should go, he shut the door, put the key on the outside, and spreading the carpet, he and the officer he had brought with him sat down on it, and, as soon as he had wished, were transported to the inn at which he and his brothers were to meet, where he passed for a merchant till they came. prince ali, the second brother, travelled into persia with a caravan, and after four months' travelling arrived at schiraz, which was then the capital of the kingdom of persia, and having on the way made friends with some merchants, passed for a jeweller, and lodged in the same khan with them. the next morning, while the merchants were opening their bales of merchandise, prince ali took a walk into that quarter of the town where they sold precious stones, gold and silver work, brocades, silks, fine linens, and other choice and valuable merchandise, which was at schiraz called the bezestein. it was a spacious and well-built place, arched over, and supported by large pillars; along the walls, within and without, were shops. prince ali soon rambled through the bezestein, and with admiration judged of the riches of the place by the prodigious quantities of most precious merchandise there exposed to view. but among all the criers who passed backwards and forwards with several sorts of things to sell, he was not a little surprised to see one who held in his hand an ivory tube about a foot in length and about an inch thick, and cried it at thirty purses. at first he thought the crier mad, and to make sure, went to a shop, and said to the merchant, who stood at the door, 'pray, sir, is not that man mad? if he is not, i am very much deceived.' 'indeed, sir,' answered the merchant, 'he was in his right senses yesterday, and i can assure you he is one of the ablest criers we have, and the most employed of any when anything valuable is to be sold; and if he cries the ivory tube at thirty purses, it must be worth as much, or more, for some reason or other which does not appear. he will come by presently, and we will call him; in the meantime sit down on my sofa and rest yourself.' prince ali accepted the merchant's obliging offer, and presently the crier passed by. the merchant called him by his name; and pointing to the prince, said to him, 'tell that gentleman, who asked me if you were in your right senses, what you mean by crying that ivory tube, which seems not to be worth much, at thirty purses: i should be very much amazed myself, if i did not know you were a sensible man.' the crier, addressing himself to prince ali, said, 'sir, you are not the only person that takes me for a madman on account of this tube; you shall judge yourself whether i am or no, when i have told you its peculiarity. first, sir,' pursued the crier, presenting the ivory tube to the prince, 'observe that this tube is furnished with a glass at both ends; by looking through one of them you see whatever object you wish to behold.' 'i am,' said the prince, 'ready to make you all proper reparation for the scandal i have thrown on you, if you will make the truth of what you say appear'; and as he had the ivory tube in his hand, he said, 'show me at which of these ends i must look.' the crier showed him, and he looked through, wishing at the same time to see the sultan, his father. he immediately beheld him in perfect health, sitting on his throne, in the midst of his council. afterwards, as there was nothing in the world so dear to him, after the sultan, as the princess nouronnihar, he wished to see her, and saw her laughing, and in a pleasant humour, with her women about her. prince ali needed no other proof to persuade him that this tube was the most valuable thing, not only in the city of schiraz, but in all the world; and he believed that, if he should neglect it, he would never meet again with such another rarity. he said to the crier, 'i am very sorry that i should have entertained so bad an opinion of you, but hope to make you amends by buying the tube, so tell me the lowest price the seller has fixed upon it. come with me, and i will pay you the money.' the crier assured him that his last orders were to take no less than forty purses; and, if he disputed the truth of what he said, he would take him to his employer. the prince believed him, took him to the khan where he lodged, counted out the money, and received the tube. prince ali was overjoyed at his bargain; and persuaded himself that, as his brothers would not be able to meet with anything so rare and marvellous, the princess nouronnihar would be his wife. he thought now of visiting the court of persia incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in and about schiraz, till the caravan with which he came returned back to the indies. when the caravan was ready to set out, the prince joined them, and arrived without any accident or trouble at the place of rendezvous, where he found prince houssain, and both waited for prince ahmed. prince ahmed took the road to samarcand; and the day after his arrival there went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein. he had not walked long before he heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his hand, cry it at five-and-thirty purses. he stopped the crier, and said to him, 'let me see that apple, and tell me what virtue or extraordinary property it has, to be valued at so high a rate.' 'sir,' said the crier, putting it into his hand, 'if you look at the outside of this apple, it is very ordinary; but if you consider the great use and benefit it is to mankind, you will say it is invaluable. he who possesses it is master of a great treasure. it cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases, fever, pleurisy, plague, or other malignant distempers; and, if the patient is dying, it will immediately restore him to perfect health; and this is done after the easiest manner in the world, merely by the patient smelling the apple.' 'if one may believe you,' replied prince ahmed, 'the virtues of this apple are wonderful, and it is indeed valuable: but what ground has a plain man like myself, who may wish to become the purchaser, to be persuaded that there is no deception or exaggeration in the high praise you bestow on it?' 'sir,' replied the crier, 'the thing is known and averred by the whole city of samarcand; but, without going any further, ask all these merchants you see here, and hear what they say; several of them would not have been alive this day if they had not made use of this excellent remedy. it is the result of the study and experience of a celebrated philosopher of this city, who applied himself all his life to the knowledge of plants and minerals, and at last performed such surprising cures in this city as will never be forgotten; but he died suddenly himself, before he could apply his own sovereign remedy, and left his wife and a great many young children behind him in very indifferent circumstances; to support her family, and provide for her children, she has resolved to sell it.' while the crier was telling prince ahmed the virtues of the artificial apple, a great many persons came about them, and confirmed what he said; and one among the rest said he had a friend dangerously ill, whose life was despaired of, which was a favourable opportunity to show prince ahmed the experiment. upon which prince ahmed told the crier he would give him forty purses if he cured the sick person by letting him smell at it. the crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to prince ahmed, 'come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple shall be yours; it is an undoubted fact that it will always have the same effect as it already has had in recovering from death many sick persons whose life was despaired of.' the experiment succeeded, and the prince, after he had counted out to the crier forty purses, and the other had delivered the apple to him, waited with the greatest impatience for the first caravan that should return to the indies. in the meantime he saw all that was curious in and about samarcand, especially the valley of sogda, so called from the river which waters it, and is reckoned by the arabians to be one of the four paradises of this world, for the beauty of its fields and gardens and fine palaces, and for its fertility in fruit of all sorts, and all the other pleasures enjoyed there in the fine season. at last prince ahmed joined the first caravan that returned to the indies, and arrived in perfect health at the inn where the princes houssain and ali were waiting for him. prince ali, who was there some time before prince ahmed, asked prince houssain, who got there first, how long he had been there; he told him three months: to which he replied, 'then certainly you have not been very far.' 'i will tell you nothing now,' said prince houssain, 'but only assure you i was more than three months travelling to the place i went to.' 'but then,' replied prince ali, 'you made a short stay there.' 'indeed, brother,' said prince houssain, 'you are mistaken: i resided at one place over four or five months, and might have stayed longer.' 'unless you flew back,' replied prince ali again, 'i cannot comprehend how you can have been three months here, as you would make me believe.' 'i tell you the truth,' added prince houssain, 'and it is a riddle which i shall not explain till our brother ahmed comes; then i will let you know what curiosity i have brought home from my travels. i know not what you have got, but believe it to be some trifle, because i do not see that your baggage is increased.' 'and pray what have you brought?' replied prince ali, 'for i can see nothing but an ordinary piece of carpet, with which you cover your sofa, and as you seem to make what you have brought a secret, you cannot take it amiss that i do the same.' 'i consider the rarity which i have purchased,' replied prince houssain, 'to excel all others whatever, and should not have any objection to show it you, and make you agree that it is so, and at the same time tell you how i came by it, without being in the least apprehensive that what you have got is better. but we ought to wait till our brother ahmed arrives, that we may all communicate our good fortune to each other.' prince ali would not enter into a dispute with prince houssain, but was persuaded that, if his perspective glass were not preferable, it was impossible it should be inferior, and therefore agreed to wait till prince ahmed arrived, to produce his purchase. when prince ahmed came, they embraced and complimented each other on the happiness of meeting together at the place they set out from. then prince houssain, as the elder brother, said, 'brothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to entertain ourselves with the particulars of our travels: let us come to that which is of the greatest importance for us to know; let us not conceal from each other the curiosities we have brought home, but show them, that we may do ourselves justice beforehand and see to which of us the sultan our father may give the preference. 'to set the example,' continued prince houssain, 'i will tell you that the rarity which i have brought from my travels to the kingdom of bisnagar, is the carpet on which i sit, which looks but ordinary and makes no show; but, when i have declared its virtues to you, you will be struck with admiration, and will confess you never heard of anything like it. whoever sits on it as we do, and desires to be transported to any place, be it ever so far off, is immediately carried thither. i made the experiment myself before i paid down the forty purses, and when i had fully satisfied my curiosity at the court of bisnagar, and had a mind to return, i made use of no other means than this wonderful carpet for myself and servant, who can tell you how long we were coming hither. i will show you both the experiment whenever you please. i expect you to tell me whether what you have brought is to be compared to this carpet.' here prince houssain ended, and prince ali said, 'i must own, brother, that your carpet is one of the most surprising things imaginable, if it has, as i do not doubt in the least, that property you speak of. but you must allow that there may be other things, i will not say more, but at least as wonderful, in another way; and to convince you there are, here is an ivory tube, which appears to the eye no more a rarity than your carpet. it cost me as much, and i am as well satisfied with my purchase as you can be with yours; and you will be so just as to own that i have not been cheated, when you know by experience that by looking at one end you see whatever you wish to behold. take it,' added prince ali, presenting the tube to him, 'make trial of it yourself.' prince houssain took the ivory tube from prince ali, and clapped that end to his eye which prince ali showed him, to see the princess nouronnihar, and to know how she was, when prince ali and prince ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed upon him, were extremely surprised to see his countenance change suddenly with extraordinary pain and grief. prince houssain would not give them time to ask what was the matter, but cried out, 'alas! princes, to what purpose have we undertaken long and fatiguing journeys? in a few moments our lovely princess will breathe her last. i saw her in her bed, surrounded by her women and attendants, who were all in tears. take the tube, behold for yourselves the miserable state she is in.' prince ali took the tube out of prince houssain's hand and after he had looked, presented it to prince ahmed. when prince ahmed saw that the princess nouronnihar's end was so near, he addressed himself to his two brothers, and said, 'princes, the princess nouronnihar, the object of all our vows, is indeed at death's door; but provided we make haste and lose no time, we may preserve her life.' then he took out the artificial apple, and showing it to the princes his brothers, said to them, 'this apple which you see here cost as much as either the carpet or tube. the opportunity now presents itself to show you its wonderful virtue. not to keep you longer in suspense, if a sick person smells it, though in the last agonies, it restores him to perfect health immediately. i have made the experiment, and can show you its wonderful effect on the princess nouronnihar, if we make all haste to assist her.' 'if that is all,' replied prince houssain, 'we cannot make more haste than by transporting ourselves instantly into her room by the means of my carpet. come, lose no time; sit down on it by me; it is large enough to hold us all three: but first let us give orders to our servants to set out immediately, and join us at the palace.' as soon as the order was given, prince ali and prince ahmed went and sat down by prince houssain, and all three framed the same wish, and were transported into the princess nouronnihar's chamber. the presence of the three princes, who were so little expected, frightened the princess's women and attendants, who could not comprehend by what enchantment three men should be among them; for they did not know them at first, and the attendants were ready to fall upon them, as people who had got into a part of the palace where they were not allowed to come; but they presently recollected and found their mistake. prince ahmed no sooner saw himself in nouronnihar's room, and perceived the princess dying, than he rose off the tapestry, as did also the other two princes, and went to the bed-side, and put the apple under her nose. some moments after, the princess opened her eyes, and turned her head from one side to another, looking at the persons who stood about her; she then rose up in the bed, and asked to be dressed, just as if she had awaked out of a sound sleep. her women informed her, in a manner that showed their joy, that she was obliged to the three princes her cousins, and particularly to prince ahmed, for the sudden recovery of her health. she immediately expressed her joy to see them, and thanked them all together, and afterwards prince ahmed in particular, and they then retired. while the princess was dressing, the princes went to throw themselves at the sultan their father's feet, and pay their respects to him. the sultan received and embraced them with the greatest joy, both for their return and for the wonderful recovery of the princess his niece, whom he loved as if she had been his own daughter, and who had been given over by the physicians. after the usual compliments, the princes presented each the curiosity which he had brought: prince houssain his carpet, which he had taken care not to leave behind him in the princess's chamber; prince ali his ivory tube, and prince ahmed the artificial apple; and after each had commended his present, when they put it into the sultan's hands, they begged him to pronounce their fate, and declare to which of them he would give the princess nouronnihar for a wife, according to his promise. the sultan of the indies having kindly heard all that the princes had to say, without interrupting them, and being well informed of what had happened in relation to the princess nouronnihar's cure, remained some time silent, as if he were thinking what answer he should make. at last he broke silence, and said to them in terms full of wisdom, 'i would declare for one of you, my children, with a great deal of pleasure, if i could do so with justice; but consider whether i can. it is true, prince ahmed, the princess my niece is obliged to your artificial apple for her cure, but let me ask you, whether you could have been so serviceable to her if you had not known by prince ali's tube the danger she was in, and if prince houssain's carpet had not brought you to her so soon? 'your tube, prince ali, informed you and your brothers that you were likely to lose the princess your cousin, and so far she is greatly obliged to you. you must also grant that that knowledge would have been of no service without the artificial apple and the carpet. 'and for you, prince houssain, consider that it would have been of little use if you had not been acquainted with the princess's illness by prince ali's tube, and prince ahmed had not applied his artificial apple. therefore, as neither the carpet, the ivory tube, nor the artificial apple has the least preference one over the other, but, on the contrary, there is a perfect equality, i cannot grant the princess to any one of you, and the only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the glory of having equally contributed to restore her to health. 'if this be true,' added the sultan, 'you see that i must have recourse to other means to determine with certainty in the choice i ought to make among you, and as there is time enough between this and night, i will do it to-day. go, and get each of you a bow and arrow, and repair to the great plain outside the city, where the horses are exercised. i will soon come to you, and i declare i will give the princess nouronnihar to him that shoots the farthest. 'i do not, however, forget to thank you all in general, and each in particular, for the presents you brought me. i have a great many rarities in my museum already, but nothing that comes up to the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple, which shall have the first place among them, and shall be preserved carefully, not only for show, but to make an advantageous use of them upon all occasions.' the three princes had nothing to say against the decision of the sultan. when they were out of his presence, they each provided themselves with a bow and arrow, which they delivered to one of their officers, and went to the plain appointed, followed by a great concourse of people. the sultan did not make them wait long; and as soon as he arrived, prince houssain, as the eldest, took his bow and arrow, and shot first. prince ali shot next, and much beyond him; and prince ahmed last of all; but it so happened, that nobody could see where his arrow fell; and, notwithstanding all the search of himself and everybody else, it was not to be found far or near. and though it was believed that he shot the farthest, and that he therefore deserved the princess nouronnihar, it was necessary that his arrow should be found, to make the matter evident and certain; so, notwithstanding his remonstrances, the sultan determined in favour of prince ali, and gave orders for preparations to be made for the wedding, which was celebrated a few days afterwards with great magnificence. prince ahmed and the fairy. prince houssain would not honour the feast with his presence; he could scarcely endure to see the princess in the arms of prince ali, who, he said, did not deserve her better or love her more than himself. he left the court, and, renouncing all right of succession to the crown, turned dervish, and put himself under the discipline of a famous sheik, who had gained a reputation for his exemplary life, and had taken up his abode, together with his disciples, whose number was great, in an agreeable solitude. prince ahmed did not assist at prince ali's and the princess nouronnihar's wedding, any more than his brother houssain, but did not renounce the world as he had done. he could not imagine what had become of his arrow, so he stole away from his attendants, and resolved to search for it, that he might not have anything to reproach himself with. with this intention, he went to the place where the princes houssain's and ali's were gathered up, and going straight forward from thence, looked carefully on both sides of him. he went so far, that at last he began to think his labour was in vain; yet he could not help going forwards, till he came to some steep, craggy rocks, which would have obliged him to return, had he been ever so anxious to proceed. they were situated in a barren country, about four leagues distant from whence he set out. when prince ahmed came near these rocks, he perceived an arrow, which he picked up, looked earnestly at it, and was in the greatest astonishment to find it was the same he shot. 'certainly,' said he to himself, 'neither i nor any man living could shoot an arrow so far'; and finding it laid flat, not sticking into the ground, he judged that it had rebounded from the rock. 'there must be some mystery in this,' said he to himself again, 'and it may be to my advantage. perhaps fortune, to make me amends for depriving me of what i thought the greatest happiness of my life, may have reserved a greater blessing for my comfort.' as these rocks were full of sharp points and crevices between them, the prince, full of these thoughts, entered a cavity, and looking about, cast his eyes on an iron door, which seemed to have no lock. he feared it was fastened; but pushing against it, it opened, and discovered an easy descent, but no steps. he walked down with his arrow in his hand. at first he thought he was going into a dark place, but presently a quite different light succeeded that which he had come out of. coming upon a spacious square, fifty or sixty paces distant, he perceived a magnificent palace; but he had not time to look at it, for at the same moment a lady of majestic air, and of a beauty to which the richness of her clothes and the jewels which adorned her person added nothing, advanced as far as the porch, attended by a troop of ladies, of whom it was difficult to distinguish which was the mistress. as soon as prince ahmed perceived the lady, he hastened to pay his respects; and the lady, on her part, seeing him coming, was beforehand with him. raising her voice, she said, 'come near, prince ahmed; you are welcome.' it was no small surprise to the prince to hear himself named in a palace he had never heard of, though so near his father's capital, and he could not comprehend how he should be known to a lady who was a stranger to him. at last he returned the lady's salutation, by throwing himself at her feet, and rising up again, said to her, 'madam, i return you a thousand thanks for welcoming me to a place where i had reason to believe my imprudent curiosity had made me penetrate too far. but, madam, may i, without being guilty of rudeness, presume to ask you how you know me? and why you, who live in the same neighbourhood should be so little known by me?' 'prince,' said the lady, 'let us go into the hall; there i will gratify your request.' after these words, the lady led prince ahmed into the hall, the noble structure of which, and the gold and azure which embellished the dome, and the inestimable richness of the furniture, appeared to him so wonderful that he had never in his life beheld anything like it, and believed that nothing was to be compared to it. 'i can assure you,' replied the lady, 'that this is but a small part of my palace, and you will say so when you have seen all the apartments.' then she sat down on a sofa; and when the prince at her entreaty had seated himself, she said, 'you are surprised, you say, that i should know you, and not be known by you; but you will no longer be surprised when i inform you who i am. you cannot be ignorant that the world is inhabited by genies as well as men: i am the daughter of one of the most powerful and distinguished of these genies, and my name is pari banou: therefore i know you, the sultan your father, the princes your brothers, and the princess nouronnihar. i am no stranger to your love or your travels, of which i could tell you all the circumstances, since it was i myself who exposed for sale the artificial apple which you bought at samarcand, the carpet which prince houssain met with at bisnagar, and the tube which prince ali brought from schiraz. this is sufficient to let you know that i am not unacquainted with anything that relates to you. the only thing i have to add is, that you seemed to me worthy of a still better fortune than that of marrying the princess nouronnihar. i was present when you drew your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond prince houssain's. i took it in the air, and made it strike against the rocks near which you found it. it is in your power to avail yourself of this favourable opportunity.' as the fairy pari banou pronounced these words prince ahmed began to consider that the princess nouronnihar could never be his, and that the fairy pari banou excelled her infinitely in beauty and agreeableness, and, so far as he could judge from the magnificence of the palace where she resided, in immense riches. 'madam,' replied he, 'should i, all my life, have had the happiness of being your slave, i should think myself the happiest of men. pardon me my boldness, and do not refuse to admit into your court a prince who is entirely devoted to you.' 'prince,' answered the fairy, 'as i have been a long time my own mistress, and am not dependent on my parents' consent, it is not as a slave that i would admit you into my court, but as my husband, pledging your faith to me. i am, as i said, mistress here; and must add, that the same customs are not observed among fairies as among other ladies.' prince ahmed made no answer, but was so full of gratitude that he thought he could not express it better than by coming to kiss the hem of her garment. 'then,' answered the fairy, 'you are my husband, and i am your wife. but as i suppose,' continued she, 'that you have eaten nothing to-day, a slight repast shall be served up for you while preparations are making for our wedding feast this evening, and then i will show you the apartments of my palace, and you shall judge if this hall is the smallest part of it.' some of the fairy's women who came into the hall with them, and guessed her intentions, immediately went out, and returned presently with some excellent meat and wine. when prince ahmed had eaten and drunk as much as he wanted, the fairy pari banou took him through all the rooms, where he saw diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels, intermixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry, and all kinds of the most precious marbles; not to mention the richness of the furniture, everything was in such profusion, that the prince acknowledged that there could not be anything in the world that could come up to it. 'prince,' said the fairy, 'if you admire so much my palace, which is indeed very beautiful, what would you say to the palaces of the chiefs of our genies, which are much more beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? i could also charm you with my garden; but we will leave that till another time. night draws near, and it will be time for supper.' the next hall into which the fairy led the prince, where the cloth was laid for the feast, was the only room the prince had not seen, and it was not in the least inferior to the others. he admired the infinite number of wax candles perfumed with amber which formed an agreeable and pleasant sight. a large sideboard was set out with all sorts of gold plate, so finely wrought that the workmanship was much more valuable than the weight of the gold. several beautiful women richly dressed, whose voices were ravishing, began a concert, accompanied with all kinds of the most harmonious instruments he had ever heard. when they had sat down to table, the fairy pari banou took care to help prince ahmed to most delicious meats, which the prince had never heard of, but found so nice that he commended them in the highest terms, saying that they far surpassed those among men. he found also the same excellence in the wines, which neither he nor the fairy tasted till the dessert was served up, which consisted of the choicest sweetmeats and fruits. after the dessert, the fairy pari banou and prince ahmed rose from the table, which was immediately carried away, and sat on a sofa with cushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered with all sorts of large flowers, at their backs, and a great number of genie and fairies danced before them. the days following the wedding were a continual feast, which the fairy pari banou, who could do it with the utmost ease, knew how to diversify by new dishes, new concerts, new dances, new shows, and new diversions; which were all so extraordinary, that prince ahmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men, could not have imagined. at the end of six months, prince ahmed, who always loved and honoured the sultan his father, felt a great desire to know how he was; and as that desire could not be satisfied without his absenting himself to go and hear it in person, he mentioned it to the fairy, and desired she would give him leave. this discourse alarmed the fairy, and made her fear it was only an excuse to leave her. 'my queen,' replied the prince, 'if you are offended at the leave i asked, i entreat you to forgive me, and i will make all the reparation i can. i did not do it with any intention of displeasing you, but from a motive of respect towards my father, whom i wish to free from the affliction in which my long absence must have overwhelmed him; indeed i have reason to think he believes me dead.' 'prince,' said she, 'i am so fully convinced that i can depend upon your sincerity, that i grant you leave to go, on condition that your absence shall not be long.' prince ahmed would have thrown himself at the fairy's feet, to show his gratitude; but she prevented him. 'prince,' said she, 'go when you please; but first do not take it amiss if i give you some advice how you shall conduct yourself where you are going. first, i do not think it proper for you to tell the sultan your father of our marriage, nor what i am, nor the place where you are settled. beg him to be satisfied with knowing that you are happy, and that you desire no more; and let him know that the sole end of your visit is to make him easy about your fate.' she appointed twenty horsemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend him. when all was ready, prince ahmed took leave of the fairy, embraced her, and renewed his promise to return soon. then his horse, which was as beautiful a creature as any in the sultan of the indies' stables, was brought, and he mounted him with an extraordinary grace, which gave great pleasure to the fairy, and after he had bid her a last adieu, set out on his journey. as it was not a great way to his father's capital, prince ahmed soon arrived there. the people, glad to see him again, received him with acclamations, and followed him in crowds to the sultan's palace. the sultan received and embraced him with great joy; complaining at the same time with a fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his long absence had been to him; which he said was the more grievous, since as fortune had decided in favour of prince ali his brother, he was afraid he might have committed some act of despair. 'sir,' replied prince ahmed, 'your majesty knows that when i shot my arrow the most extraordinary thing that ever befell anybody happened to me, that in so large and level a plain it should not be possible to find my arrow. though thus vanquished, i lost no time in vain complaints; but to satisfy my perplexed mind, i gave my attendants the slip, and returned back again alone to look for my arrow. i sought all about the place where prince houssain's and prince ali's arrows were found, and where i imagined mine must have fallen; but all my labour was in vain, until after having gone four leagues, to that part of the plain where it is bounded by rocks, i perceived an arrow. i ran and took it up, and knew it to be the same which i had shot. far from thinking your majesty had done me any injustice in declaring for my brother prince ali, i interpreted what had happened to me quite otherwise, and never doubted but there was a mystery in it to my advantage; the discovery of which i ought not to neglect, and which i found out without going further from the spot. but as to this mystery, i beg your majesty to let me remain silent, and that you will be satisfied to know from my own mouth that i am happy and contented. this was the only motive which brought me hither; the only favour i ask of your majesty is to give me leave to come often and pay you my respects, and inquire after your health.' 'son,' answered the sultan of the indies, 'i cannot refuse you the leave you ask me; but i would much rather you would resolve to stay with me. at least tell me where i may hear of you, if you should fail to come, or when i may think your presence necessary.' 'sir,' replied prince ahmed, 'what your majesty asks of me is part of the mystery i spoke of. i beg of you to give me leave to remain silent on this head; for i shall come so frequently where my duty calls, that i am afraid i shall sooner be thought troublesome than be accused of negligence in my duty.' the sultan of the indies pressed prince ahmed no more; but said to him, 'son, i penetrate no further into your secrets, but leave you at your liberty. i can only tell you, that you could not do me a greater pleasure than to come and by your presence restore to me the joy i have not felt for a long time, and that you will always be welcome when you come.' prince ahmed stayed but three days at the sultan his father's court, and on the fourth returned to the fairy pari banou, who received him with great joy, as she did not expect him so soon. a month after prince ahmed's return from paying a visit to his father, as the fairy pari banou had observed that since the time that the prince gave her an account of his journey and his conversation with his father, in which he asked his leave to come and see him from time to time, he had never spoken of the sultan, as if there had been no such person in the world, whereas before he was always speaking of him, she said to him one day, 'tell me, prince, have you forgotten the sultan your father? do you not remember the promise you made to go and see him from time to time? for my part, i have not forgotten what you told me at your return, and put you in mind of it. pay him another visit to-morrow, and after that go and see him once a month, without speaking to me, or waiting for my leave. i readily consent.' prince ahmed went the next morning with the same attendants as before, but much finer, and himself more magnificently mounted, equipped, and dressed, and was received by the sultan with the same joy and satisfaction. for several months he constantly paid him visits, and always in a richer and more brilliant equipage. at last some viziers, the sultan's favourites, who judged of prince ahmed's grandeur and power by the figure he made, abused the liberty the sultan gave them of speaking to him, to make him jealous of his son. they represented to him that it was but common prudence to know where the prince had retired, and how he could afford to live at such a rate, since he had no revenue or income assigned him; that he seemed to come to court only to brave him; and that it was to be feared he might stir up the people's favour and dethrone him. the sultan of the indies was so far from thinking that prince ahmed could be capable of so wicked a design as his favourites would make him believe, that he said to them, 'you are mistaken; my son loves me, and i am assured of his tenderness and fidelity. be it as it will, i do not believe my son ahmed is so wicked as you would persuade me he is; however, i am obliged to you for your good advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds from a good intention.' the sultan of the indies said this that his favourites might not know the impression their hints had made on his mind. he was, however, so much alarmed that he resolved to have prince ahmed watched, unknown to his grand vizier. for this end he sent for a sorceress, who was introduced by a private door into his room. 'my son ahmed comes to my court every month; but i cannot learn from him where he resides, and i do not wish to force his secret out of him; but i believe you are capable of satisfying my curiosity, without letting him, or any of my court, know anything of the matter. you know that at present he is here with me, and is used to go away without taking leave of me, or any of my court. go immediately out on the road, find out where he retires, and bring me word.' the magician left the sultan, and knowing the place where prince ahmed found his arrow, went thither and hid herself near the rocks, so that nobody could see her. the next morning prince ahmed set out by daybreak, without taking leave either of the sultan or of any of his court, according to custom. the magician, seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till all of a sudden she lost sight of him and his attendants. the steepness of the rocks formed an insurmountable barrier to men, whether on horseback or on foot, so that the magician judged that there were but two ways; the prince had retired either into some cavern, or into some place underground, the abode of genies or fairies. when she thought the prince and his attendants were out of sight, she came out of the place where she had hidden herself, and went direct to the hollow where she had seen them go in. she entered it, and proceeded to the spot where it terminated in many windings, looking carefully about on all sides. but notwithstanding all her diligence she could perceive no opening, nor the iron gate which prince ahmed discovered. for this door was to be seen by and opened to none but men, and only to men whose presence was agreeable to the fairy pari banou, and not at all to women. the magician, who saw it was in vain for her to search any further, was obliged to be satisfied with the discovery she had made, and returned to give the sultan an account. when she had told him what she had done, she added, 'your majesty may easily understand, after what i have had the honour to tell you, that it will be no difficult matter to give you the satisfaction you desire concerning prince ahmed's conduct. to do this, i only ask time, and that you will have patience, and give me leave to do it without inquiring what measures i intend to take.' the sultan was very well pleased with the magician's conduct, and said to her, 'do as you think fit: i will wait patiently,' and to encourage her, he made her a present of a diamond of great value, telling her it was only an earnest of the ample reward she should receive when she had done him that important service, which he left to her management. as prince ahmed, after he had obtained the fairy pari banou's leave to go to the sultan of the indies' court, never failed once a month, and the magician knew the time, she went a day or two before to the foot of the rock where she had lost sight of the prince and his attendants, and waited there with a plan she had formed. the next morning prince ahmed went out as usual at the iron gate with the same attendants as before, and passed by the magician, whom he knew not to be such. seeing her lie with her head on the rock, complaining as if she were in great pain, he pitied her, turned his horse about and went and asked her what was the matter, and what he could do to relieve her. the artful sorceress, without lifting up her head, looked at the prince, and answered in broken words and sighs, as if she could hardly fetch her breath, that she was going to the city, but on the way thither was taken with so violent a fever that her strength failed her, and she was forced to stop and lie down, far from any habitation, and without any hope of assistance. 'good woman,' replied prince ahmed, 'you are not so far from help as you imagine. i am ready to assist you, and to convey you where you shall not only have all possible care taken of you, but where you will find a speedy cure; only get up, and let one of my people take you.' at these words, the magician, who pretended illness only to know where the prince lived, did not refuse the kind offer he made her so freely, and to show her acceptance rather by action than by word, she made many affected efforts to get up, pretending that her illness prevented her. at the same time two of the prince's attendants alighted off their horses, helped her up, and set her behind another. they mounted their horses again, and followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which was opened by one of his retinue who rode before. when he came into the outer court of the fairy's palace, without dismounting, he sent to tell her he wanted to speak to her. the fairy pari banou came with all haste, not knowing what made prince ahmed return so soon. not giving her time to ask him, he said, 'my princess, i desire you would have compassion on this good woman,' pointing to the magician, who was taken off the horse by two of his retinue: 'i found her in the condition you see, and promised her the assistance she stands in need of. i commend her to your care, and am persuaded that you will not abandon her.' the fairy pari banou, who had her eyes fixed upon the pretended sick woman all the time that the prince was talking, ordered two of the women who followed her to take her from the two men that held her up, and carry her into the palace, and take as much care of her as they could. whilst the two women executed the fairy's commands, she went up to prince ahmed, and whispering in his ear said, 'prince, i commend your compassion, which is worthy of you, but give me leave to tell you that i am afraid it will be but ill rewarded. this woman is not so ill as she pretends to be; and i am very much mistaken if she is not sent hither on purpose to cause you great trouble. but do not be concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded that i will deliver you out of all the snares that may be laid for you. go and pursue your journey.' this discourse of the fairy's did not in the least alarm prince ahmed. 'my princess,' said he, 'as i do not remember i ever did, or designed to do, anybody an injury, i cannot believe anybody can have a thought of doing me one; but if they have, i shall not forbear doing good whenever i have an opportunity.' so saying, he took leave of the fairy, and set out again for his father's capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by the sultan, who restrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the trouble arising from the suspicions suggested by his favourites. in the meantime, the two women to whom the fairy pari banou had given her orders carried the magician into a very fine apartment, richly furnished. first they set her down upon a sofa, with her back supported with a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed, the quilt of which was finely embroidered with silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the coverlid cloth of gold. when they had put her into bed (for the old sorceress pretended that her fever was so violent that she could not help herself in the least), one of the women went out and soon returned again with a china cup in her hand full of a certain liquor, which she presented to the magician, while the other helped her to sit up. 'drink this,' said she, 'it is the water of the fountain of lions, and a sovereign remedy against all fevers whatsoever. you will find the effect of it in less than an hour's time.' the magician, to dissemble the better, took it after a great deal of entreaty, as if she was very much averse to having it, but at last taking the china cup, and shaking her head, as if she did great violence to herself, swallowed the liquor. when she had lain down again, the two women covered her up. 'lie quiet,' said she who brought her the china cup, 'and get a little sleep if you can; we will leave you, and hope to find you perfectly cured when we come an hour hence.' the magician, who came not to act a sick part long, but only to discover prince ahmed's retreat, and what made him leave his father's court, being fully satisfied in what she wanted to know, would willingly have declared that the potion had had its effects then, so great was her desire to return to the sultan, and inform him of the success of her commission; but as she had been told that the potion did not operate immediately, she was forced to await the women's return. the two women came again at the time they said they should, and found the magician up and dressed, and seated on the sofa; when she saw them open the door she cried out, 'oh, the admirable potion! it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told me it would, and i have waited a long time with impatience, to desire you to take me to your charitable mistress to thank her for her kindness, for which i shall always be obliged to her. being thus cured as by a miracle, i had rather not lose time, but continue my journey.' the two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after they had told the magician how glad they were that she was cured so soon, walked before her, and conducted her through several apartments into a large hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the palace. pari banou was seated in this hall, on a throne of massy gold, attended on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly dressed. at the sight of so much majesty, the magician was so dazzled, that after she had prostrated herself before the throne, she could not open her lips to thank the fairy, as she proposed. however, pari banou saved her the trouble, and said to her, 'good woman, i am glad i had the opportunity of obliging you, and to see you are able to pursue your journey. i will not detain you, but perhaps you may not be displeased to see my palace; follow my women, and they will show it to you.' the old sorceress, who had not power nor courage to say a word, prostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that covered the foot of the throne, and so took her leave, and was conducted by the two fairies through all the apartments which were shown to prince ahmed on his first arrival there. but what surprised her most of all was, that the two fairies told her that all she saw and admired so much was a mere sketch of their mistress's grandeur and riches, and that in the extent of her dominions she had so many palaces that they could not tell the number of them, all of different architecture, equally magnificent and superb. they led her at last to the iron gate at which prince ahmed brought her in, and after she had taken her leave of them, and thanked them for their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a pleasant journey. after the magician had gone a little way, she turned back again to observe the door and know it again, but all in vain, for, as was before observed, it was invisible to her and all other women. except in this, she was very well satisfied with her work, and posted away to the sultan. when she came to the capital, she went by a great many by-ways to the private door of the palace. the sultan being informed of her arrival, sent for her into his apartment and perceiving a melancholy look on her countenance, he thought she had not succeeded, and said to her, 'by your looks i guess that you have not made the discovery i expected from you.' 'sir,' replied the magician, 'your majesty must give me leave to represent that you ought not to judge by my looks whether or no i have acquitted myself well as regards the commands you were pleased to honour me with. the melancholy you observe proceeds from another cause than the want of success.' then the magician related to the sultan of the indies the whole story of all that happened from beginning to end. when the magician had ended, she said, 'what does your majesty think of these unheard-of riches of the fairy? perhaps you will say you rejoice at the good fortune of prince ahmed your son. for my part, sir, i beg of your majesty to forgive me if i take the liberty to say that i think otherwise, and that i shudder when i consider the misfortunes which may happen to you. and this is the cause of the melancholy which you perceived. i would believe that prince ahmed, by his own good disposition, is incapable of undertaking anything against your majesty; but who can say that the fairy, by the influence she already has over him, may not inspire him with a dangerous design of dethroning your majesty, and seizing the crown of the indies? this is what your majesty ought to consider serious and of the utmost importance.' though the sultan of the indies was very sure that prince ahmed's natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being uneasy at the remarks of the old sorceress, and said, 'i thank you for the pains you have taken, and your wholesome caution. i am so aware of the great importance it is to me, that i shall take advice upon it.' he had been consulting with his favourites, when he was told of the magician's arrival. he ordered her to follow him to them. he acquainted them with what he had learnt, and communicated to them also the reason he had to fear the fairy's influence over the prince, and asked them what measures they thought most proper to prevent so great a misfortune. one of the favourites, taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said, 'your majesty knows who must be the author of this mischief. in order to prevent it, now that he is in your court, and in your power, you ought not to hesitate to put him under arrest: i will not say take away his life, for that would make too much noise; but make him a close prisoner while he lives.' this advice all the other favourites unanimously applauded. the magician, who thought it too violent, asked the sultan leave to speak, which being granted, she said, 'sir, i am persuaded that the zeal of your councillors for your majesty's interest makes them propose arresting prince ahmed: but they will not take it amiss if i suggest to your and their consideration, that if you arrest the prince, you must also detain his retinue. but they are all genies. do they think it will be so easy to surprise, seize, and secure their persons? will they not disappear, by the property they possess of rendering themselves invisible, and transport themselves instantly to the fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered to her husband? and can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? but it would be better, if, by any other means which might not make so great a noise, the sultan could secure himself against any ill designs prince ahmed may have against him, and not involve his majesty's honour. if his majesty has any confidence in my advice, as genies and fairies can do things impracticable to men, he will touch prince ahmed's honour, and engage him, by means of the fairy, to procure certain advantages. for example, every time your majesty takes the field you are obliged to go to a great expense, not only in pavilions and tents for yourself and army, but likewise in mules and camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry their baggage. might you not request him to use his interest with the fairy to procure you a tent which might be carried in a man's hand, and which should be large enough to shelter your whole army? 'i need say no more to your majesty. if the prince brings such a tent, you may make a great many other demands of the same nature, so that at last he may sink under the difficulties and the impossibility of executing them, however fertile in invention the fairy who has enticed him from you by her enchantments may be; so that in time he will be ashamed to appear, and will be forced to pass the rest of his life with his fairy, excluded from any connection with this world; and then your majesty will have nothing to fear, and cannot be reproached with so detestable an action as the shedding of a son's blood, or confining him in a prison for life.' when the magician had finished her speech, the sultan asked his favourites if they had anything better to propose; and finding them all silent, determined to follow the magician's advice, as the most reasonable and the most suited to his mild manner of government. the next day, when the prince came into his father's presence and had sat down by him, after a conversation on different subjects, the sultan said, 'son, when you came and dispelled those clouds of melancholy which your long absence had brought upon me, you made the place you had chosen for your retreat a mystery to me. i was satisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that you were content with your condition, without wishing to penetrate into your secret, which i found you did not care i should. i know not what reason you had thus to treat a father. i know your good fortune; i rejoice with you, and very much approve of your conduct in marrying a fairy so worthy of your love, and so rich and powerful, as i am informed. powerful as i am, it was not possible for me to have procured so great a match for you. now that you are raised to so high a rank as to be envied by everybody but a father like me, i not only desire you to preserve the good understanding we have lived in hitherto, but to use all your credit with your fairy to obtain for me her assistance when i want it. i therefore will make a trial this day. 'i am persuaded you could easily procure from her a pavilion that might be carried in a man's hand, yet which would extend over my whole army; especially when you let her know it is for me. though it may be a difficult thing, she will not refuse you. all the world knows that fairies are capable of doing the most extraordinary things.' prince ahmed never expected that the sultan his father would have asked a thing which, at first sight, appeared to him so difficult, not to say impossible. though he knew not absolutely how great the power of genies and fairies was, he doubted whether it extended so far as to furnish a tent such as his father desired. moreover, he had never asked anything like it of the fairy pari banou, but was satisfied with her continual kindness; therefore he was in the greatest embarrassment what answer to make. at last he replied, 'if, sir, i have concealed from your majesty what happened to me and what course i took after finding my arrow, the reason was that i thought it was of no great importance to you to be informed of them; and though i know not how this mystery has been revealed to you, i cannot deny that your information is correct. i have married the fairy you speak of. i love her, and am persuaded she loves me. but i can say nothing as to the influence your majesty believes i have over her. it is what i have not yet made any experiment of or thought of, and should be very glad if you would dispense with my undertaking it, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving and being beloved with all the disinterestedness i proposed to myself. but the demand of a father is a command upon every child who, like me, thinks it his duty to obey him in everything. and though it is with the greatest reluctance imaginable, i will not fail to ask my wife the favour your majesty desires, but will not promise to obtain it; and if i should not have the honour to come again to pay you my respects, that shall be the sign that i have not had success: but i desire you to forgive me beforehand, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this extremity.' 'son,' replied the sultan of the indies, 'i should be very sorry that what i ask of you should prevent my ever seeing you again. go, only ask her. think with yourself, that as you love her, you could refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves you, she will not deny your request.' all this discourse of the sultan of the indies could not persuade prince ahmed, who would rather he had asked anything than the risk of displeasing his dear pari banou; and so great was his vexation, that he left the court two days sooner than usual. when he returned, the fairy, to whom he had always before appeared with a cheerful countenance, asked him the reason of the alteration; and finding that instead of answering her, he inquired after her health to avoid satisfying her, she said to him, 'i will answer your question when you have answered mine.' the prince declined it a long time, protesting that nothing was the matter with him; but the more he denied it, the more she pressed him, and said, 'i cannot bear to see you in this condition: tell me what makes you so uneasy, that i may remove the cause of it, whatever it may be; for it must be very extraordinary if it is out of my power.' prince ahmed could not long withstand the fairy. 'madam,' said he, 'god prolong the sultan my father's life, and bless him to the end of his days. i left him alive, and in perfect health: therefore that is not the cause of the melancholy you perceive in me. the sultan has imposed upon me the disagreeable task of worrying you. you know the care i have taken, with your approbation, to conceal from him my happiness at home with you. how he has been informed of it i cannot tell.' here the fairy pari banou interrupted prince ahmed, and said, 'but i know. remember what i told you of the woman who made you believe she was ill, on whom you took so much compassion. it is she who has acquainted the sultan your father with what you took so much care to hide from him. i told you that she was no more sick than you or i, for, after the two women whom i charged to take care of her had given her the water sovereign against all fevers, which, however, she had no occasion for, she pretended that the water had cured her, and was brought to take leave of me, that she might go sooner to give an account of the success of her undertaking. she was in so much haste that she would have gone away without seeing my palace, if i had not, by bidding my two women show it her, given her to understand that it was worth her seeing. but go on and tell me what is the necessity your father has imposed on you which has made you feel troublesome to me, which i desire you will be persuaded you can never be.' 'madam,' pursued prince ahmed, 'you may have observed that hitherto i have never asked you any favour, for what, after the possession of so kind a wife, can i desire more? i know how great your power is, but i have taken care not to make trial of it. consider then, i beg you, that it is not me, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly, as i think, asks of you a pavilion large enough to shelter him, his court, and his army, from the violence of the weather, when he takes the field, and yet small enough for a man to carry in his hand. once more remember it is not i, but the sultan my father who asks this favour.' 'prince,' replied the fairy, smiling, 'i am sorry that so small a matter should disturb you, and make you so uneasy. i see plainly two things have contributed towards it: one is, the law you have imposed upon yourself, to be content with loving me and being beloved by me, and to deny yourself the liberty of asking me the least favour that might try my power. the other, i do not doubt, whatever you may say, was that you thought what your father asked of me was out of my power. as to the first, i commend you for it, and shall love you the better, if possible; and for the second, i must tell you that what the sultan your father asks of me is a trifle; and upon occasion, i can do much more difficult things. therefore be easy, and persuaded that, far from feeling worried, i shall always take great pleasure in whatever you can desire me to do for your sake.' then the fairy sent for her treasurer, to whom she said 'nourgihan' (which was her name), 'bring me the largest pavilion in my treasury.' nourgihan returned presently with a pavilion, which could not only be held but concealed in the palm of the hand when it was closed, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it to prince ahmed to look at. when prince ahmed saw the pavilion, which the fairy called the largest in her treasury, he fancied she was joking, and his surprise appeared in his face. pari banou burst out laughing. 'what! prince,' cried she, 'do you think i jest with you? you will see presently that i am in earnest. nourgihan' said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of prince ahmed's hands, 'go and set it up, that the prince may judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough.' the treasurer immediately went out from the palace, and carried it to such a distance that when she had set it up one end reached to the palace. the prince, so far from thinking it small, found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his father; and then said to pari banou, 'i ask my princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what i have seen, i believe there is nothing impossible to you.' 'you see,' said the fairy, 'that the pavilion is larger than your father may have occasion for; but you are to observe that it becomes larger or smaller, according to the army it is to cover, without being touched.' the treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first size, and brought it and put it into the prince's hands. he took it, and next day mounted his horse and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his father. the sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he asked for was beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince's diligence. he took the tent and admired its smallness. but when he had set it up in the great plain, and found it large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field, his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself. as he thought this might be troublesome in use, prince ahmed told him that its size would always be proportionate to his army. to outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligation to the prince his son for so noble a present, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy pari banou; and to show what a value he set on it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. but within himself he became more jealous than ever; considering that by the fairy's assistance the prince his son might perform things that were infinitely above his own power, notwithstanding his greatness and riches; and, therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went to consult the magician again, who advised him to request the prince to bring him some of the water of the fountain of lions. in the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all his court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he said to him: 'son, i have already expressed how much i am obliged to you for the present of the tent you have procured me, which i look upon as the most valuable thing in my treasury; but you must do one thing more for me. i am informed that the fairy your wife makes use of a certain water, called the water of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous; and as i am perfectly sure that my health is dear to you, i do not doubt that you will ask her for a bottle of that water for me, and bring it me as a sovereign remedy, which i may make use of when i have occasion. do me this service, and complete the duty of a good son towards a tender father.' prince ahmed, who had believed that the sultan his father would have been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon him which might hazard the fairy's displeasure; was thunderstruck at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him of granting him whatever lay in her power. after a long silence, he said, 'i beg of your majesty to be assured that there is nothing i would not undertake to prolong your life, but i wish it might not be by means of my wife. for this reason i dare not promise to bring the water. all i can do is to assure you i will ask her; but it will be with as great reluctance as when i asked for the tent.' the next morning prince ahmed returned to the fairy pari banou, and related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at the sultan his father's court, from the giving of the tent, which he told her he received with the utmost gratitude, to the new request he had charged him to make, and when he had done, he added: 'but, my princess, i only tell you this as a plain account of what passed between me and my father. i leave you to your own discretion to gratify or reject this new desire. it shall be as you please.' 'no, no,' replied the fairy pari banou, 'whatever advice the magician can give him (for i see that he hearkens to her), he shall find no fault with you or me. there is a great deal of wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by what i am going to tell you. the fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep while the other two are awake alternately. but let not that frighten you. i will give you means to pass by them without any danger.' the fairy pari banou was at that time hard at work with her needle; and as she had by her several balls of thread, she took up one, and presenting it to prince ahmed, said, 'first take this ball of thread; i will tell you presently the use of it. in the second place, you must have two horses; one you will ride yourself, and the other you will lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, and killed to-day. in the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which i will give you, to bring the water in. set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the iron gate, throw before you the ball of thread, which will roll till it comes to the gates of the castle. when it stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. the two that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. be not frightened, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. fill your bottle without alighting, and then return with the same speed. the lions will be so busy eating that they will let you pass.' prince ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed by the fairy, and followed her directions carefully. when he arrived at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with haste, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned as safe and sound as he went. when he was a little distance from the castle gates, he turned round; and perceiving two of the lions coming after him, he drew his sabre, and prepared for defence. but as he went forward, he saw one of them turned off the road, and showed by his head and tail that he did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other stayed behind to follow. he therefore put his sword again into its scabbard. guarded in this manner he arrived at the capital of the indies; but the lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan's palace; after which they returned the way they came, though not without frightening all that saw them, who fled or hid themselves, though they walked gently, and showed no signs of fierceness. a great many officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and conducted him to the apartments of the sultan, who was at that time conversing with his favourites. he approached the throne, laid the bottle at the sultan's feet, kissed the rich carpet which covered the footstool, and rising, said, 'i have brought you, sir, the health-giving water which your majesty so much desired to keep in your treasury; but at the same time wish you such health that you may never have occasion to make use of it.' after the prince had finished speaking, the sultan placed him on his right hand, and then said, 'son, i am very much obliged to you for this valuable present; also for the great danger you have exposed yourself to upon my account, which i have been informed of by the magician who knows the fountain of lions; but do me the pleasure,' continued he, 'to tell me by what incredible power you have been preserved.' 'sir,' replied prince ahmed, 'i have no share in the compliment your majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my wife; i merely followed her good advice.' the sultan showed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous, retired into an inner apartment, and sent for the magician. after conferring with her, the sultan next day said to the prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, 'son, i have one thing more to ask of you; after which, i shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your influence with your wife. this request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feet long, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundredweight which he uses as a quarterstaff, and who can speak.' prince ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world as his father described, would gladly have excused himself; but the sultan persisted in his demand, and told him that the fairy could do more incredible things. next day the prince returned to the subterranean kingdom of pari banou, to whom he told his father's new demand, which, he said, he looked upon as more impossible than the first two; 'for,' added he, 'i cannot imagine that there is or can be such a man in the world: either he has a mind to try whether i am silly enough to go and seek him; or if there is such a man, he seeks my ruin. how can he suppose that i should get hold of a man so small, armed as he describes? what arms could i make use of to reduce him to submission?' 'do not affright yourself, prince,' replied the fairy; 'you ran a risk in fetching the water of the fountain of lions for your father; but there is no danger in finding this man. it is my brother, schaibar, who is so far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of so violent a nature that nothing can prevent his giving gory marks of his resentment for a slight offence; yet, on the other hand, he is so good as to oblige any one in whatever they desire. he is made exactly as the sultan your father has described him; and he has no other arms than a bar of iron five hundred pounds in weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes him respected. i will send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what i tell you; and prepare not to be frightened when you see him.' 'what! my queen,' replied prince ahmed, 'do you say schaibar is your brother? let him be ever so ugly or deformed, i shall love and honour him, and consider him as my nearest relation.' the fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal. taking some incense out of this, and throwing it into the fire, there arose a thick cloud of smoke. some moments after, the fairy said to prince ahmed, 'prince, here comes my brother; do you see him?' the prince immediately perceived schaibar, who was but a foot and a half high, coming gravely with his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard, thirty feet long, supported itself before him, and a pair of thick moustaches were tucked up to his ears, almost covering his face: his eyes were very small, like a pig's, and sunk deep in his head, which was of an enormous size, and on which he wore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had a hump behind and before. if prince ahmed had not known that schaibar was pari banou's brother, he would not have been able to look at him without fear; but knowing beforehand who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least concern. schaibar, as he came forward, looked at the prince with an eye that might have chilled his soul in his body, and asked pari banou who that man was. to which she replied: 'he is my husband, brother; his name is ahmed; he is son to the sultan of the indies. the reason why i did not invite you to my wedding was that i was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which i heard with pleasure that you returned victorious; on his account i have taken the liberty now to send for you.' at these words, schaibar, looking at prince ahmed with a favourable eye, which however diminished neither his fierceness nor his savage look, said, 'is there anything, sister, in which i can serve him? he has only to speak. it is enough for me that he is your husband.' 'the sultan his father,' replied pari banou, 'has a curiosity to see you, and i desire he may be your guide to the sultan's court.' 'he need but lead the way; i will follow him,' replied schaibar. 'brother,' replied pari banou, 'it is too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the meantime, as it is desirable that you should know all that has passed between the sultan of the indies and prince ahmed since our marriage, i will tell you this evening.' next morning, after schaibar had been informed of all that was proper for him to know, he set out with prince ahmed, who was to present him to the sultan. when they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people no sooner saw schaibar than they ran and hid themselves in their shops and houses, and shut their doors; while others took to their heels, and communicated their fear to all they met, who did not wait to look behind them, but ran too; insomuch that schaibar and prince ahmed, as they went along, found all the streets and squares deserted, till they came to the palace, where the porters, instead of preventing schaibar from entering, also ran away; so that the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne giving audience. here likewise the officers, at the approach of schaibar, abandoned their posts. schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be introduced by prince ahmed, and accosted the sultan of the indies in these words: 'you have asked for me, see, here i am: what do you want with me?' the sultan, instead of answering, clapt his hands before his eyes, and turned away his head, to avoid the sight of so terrible an object. schaibar was so much provoked at this uncivil and rude reception, after the sultan had given him the trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar, and saying, 'speak then,' let it fall on his head, and killed him before prince ahmed could intercede in his behalf. all that he could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from him on his right hand, representing to him that he had always given the sultan his father good advice. 'these are they then,' said schaibar, 'who gave him bad advice;' and as he pronounced these words, he killed all the other viziers on the right and left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan, who were prince ahmed's enemies. every time he struck, he killed some one or other, and none escaped but they who, not rendered motionless by fear, saved themselves by flight. when this terrible execution was over, schaibar came out of the council-hall into the midst of the court-yard with the iron bar on his shoulder, and looking at the grand vizier, who owed his life to prince ahmed, he said, 'i know there is a certain sorceress, who is a greater enemy of the prince my brother-in-law than all those base favourites i have chastised; let her be brought to me at once.' the grand vizier immediately sent for her, and as soon as she was brought, schaibar said, knocking her down with his iron bar, 'take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign illness again:' and left her dead on the spot. after this he said, 'this is not enough; i will treat the whole city in the same manner, if they do not immediately acknowledge prince ahmed my brother-in-law for their sultan, and sultan of the indies.' then all that were present made the air ring with the repeated acclamations of 'long life to sultan ahmed'; and immediately afterwards he was proclaimed throughout the whole town schaibar made him be clothed in the royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had made all do homage and fidelity to him, went and fetched his sister pari banou, whom he brought with great pomp, and made her acknowledged sultaness of the indies. as for prince ali and princess nouronnihar, as they had no hand in the conspiracy against prince ahmed, nor knew of any such conspiracy, prince ahmed assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent the rest of their lives. afterwards he sent an officer to prince houssain to acquaint him with the change, and to make him an offer of whichever province he liked best; but that prince thought himself so happy in his solitude that he bade the officer return the sultan his brother thanks for his kindness, assuring him of his submission; and saying that the only favour he desired was leave to live retired in the place he had made choice of for his retreat. prince camaralzaman and the princess of china. about twenty days' sail from the coast of persia, in the islands of the children of khaledan, there lived a king who had an only son, prince camaralzaman. he was brought up with all imaginable care; and when he came to a proper age, his father appointed him an experienced governor and able tutors. as he grew up he learned all the knowledge which a prince ought to possess, and acquitted himself so well that he charmed all that saw him, and particularly the sultan his father. when the prince had attained the age of fifteen years, the sultan, who loved him tenderly, and gave him every day new marks of his affection, had thoughts of giving him a still greater one, by resigning to him his throne, and he acquainted his grand vizier with his intentions. 'i fear,' said he, 'lest my son should lose in the inactivity of youth those advantages which nature and education have given him; therefore, since i am advanced in age, and ought to think of retirement, i have thoughts of resigning the government to him, and passing the remainder of my days in the satisfaction of seeing him reign. i have undergone the fatigue of a crown a long while, and think it is now proper for me to retire.' the grand vizier did not wholly dissuade the sultan from such a proceeding, but sought to modify his intentions. 'sir,' replied he, 'the prince is yet but young, and it would not be, in my humble opinion, advisable to burden him with the weight of a crown so soon. your majesty fears, with great reason, his youth may be corrupted in indolence, but to remedy that do not you think it would be proper to marry him? your majesty might then admit him to your council, where he would learn by degrees the art of reigning, and so be prepared to receive your authority whenever in your discernment you shall think him qualified.' the sultan found this advice of his prime minister highly reasonable, therefore he summoned the prince to appear before him at the same time that he dismissed the grand vizier. the prince, who had been accustomed to see his father only at certain times, without being sent for, was a little startled at this summons; when, therefore, he came before him, he saluted him with great respect, and stood with his eyes fixed on the ground. the sultan perceiving his constraint, said to him in a mild way, 'do you know, son, for what reason i have sent for you?' the prince modestly replied, 'god alone knows the heart; i shall hear it from your majesty with pleasure.' 'i sent for you,' said the sultan, 'to inform you that i have an intention of providing a proper marriage for you; what do you think of it?' prince camaralzaman heard this with great uneasiness: it so surprised him, that he paused and knew not what answer to make. after a few moments' silence, he replied, 'sir, i beseech you to pardon me if i seem surprised at the declaration you have made to me. i did not expect such proposals to one so young as i am. it requires time to determine on what your majesty requires of me.' prince camaralzaman's answer extremely afflicted his father. he was not a little grieved to see what an aversion he had to marriage, yet would not charge him with disobedience, nor exert his paternal authority. he contented himself with telling him he would not force his inclinations, but give him time to consider the proposal. the sultan said no more to the prince: he admitted him into his council, and gave him every reason to be satisfied. at the end of the year he took him aside, and said to him, 'my son, have you thoroughly considered what i proposed to you last year about marrying? will you still refuse me that pleasure i expect from your obedience, and suffer me to die without it?' the prince seemed less disconcerted than before, and was not long answering his father to this effect: 'sir, i have not neglected to consider your proposal, but after the maturest reflection find myself more confirmed in my resolution to continue as i am, so that i hope your majesty will pardon me if i presume to tell you it will be in vain to speak to me any further about marriage.' he stopped here, and went out without staying to hear what the sultan would answer. any other monarch would have been very angry at such freedom in a son, and would have made him repent it, but the sultan loved him, and preferred gentle methods before he proceeded to compulsion. he communicated this new cause of discontent to his prime minister. 'i have followed your advice,' said he, 'but camaralzaman is further than ever from complying with my desires. he delivered his resolution in such free terms that it required all my reason and moderation to keep my temper. tell me, i beseech you, how i shall reclaim a disposition so rebellious to my will?' 'sir,' answered the grand vizier, 'patience brings many things about that before seemed impracticable, but it may be this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed in that way. your majesty would have no cause to reproach yourself if you gave the prince another year to consider the matter. if, in this interval he returns to his duty, you will have the greater satisfaction, and if he still continues averse to your proposal when this is expired, your majesty may propose to him in full council that it is highly necessary for the good of the state that he should marry, and it is not likely he will refuse to comply before so grave an assembly, which you honour with your presence.' the year expired, and, to the great regret of the sultan, prince camaralzaman gave not the least proof of having changed his mind. one day, therefore, when there was a great council held, the prime vizier, the other viziers, the principal officers of the crown, and the generals of the army being present, the sultan began to speak thus to the prince: 'my son, it is now a long while since i have expressed to you my earnest desire to see you married; and i imagined you would have had more consideration for a father, who required nothing unreasonable of you, than to oppose him so long. but after so long a resistance on your part, which has almost worn out my patience, i have thought fit to propose the same thing once more to you in the presence of my council. i would have you consider that you ought not to have refused this, not merely to oblige a parent; the well-being of my dominions requires it; and the assembly here present joins with me to require it of you. declare yourself, then; that, according to your answer, i may take the proper measures.' the prince answered with so little reserve, or rather with so much warmth, that the sultan, enraged to see himself thwarted in full council, cried out, 'unnatural son! have you the insolence to talk thus to your father and sultan?' he ordered the guards to take him away, and carry him to an old tower that had been unoccupied for a long while, where he was shut up, with only a bed, a little furniture, some books, and one slave to attend him. camaralzaman, thus deprived of liberty, was nevertheless pleased that he had the freedom to converse with his books, and that made him look on his imprisonment with indifference. in the evening he bathed and said his prayers; and after having read some chapters in the koran, with the same tranquility of mind as if he had been in the sultan's palace, he undressed himself and went to bed, leaving his lamp burning by him all the while he slept. in this tower was a well, which served in the daytime for a retreat to a certain fairy, named maimoune, daughter of damriat, king or head of a legion of genies. it was about midnight when maimoune sprang lightly to the mouth of the well, to wander about the world after her wonted custom, where her curiosity led her. she was surprised to see a light in prince camaralzaman's chamber, and entered, without stopping, over the slave who lay at the door. prince camaralzaman had but half-covered his face with the bedclothes, and maimoune perceived the finest young man she had seen in all her rambles through the world. 'what crime can he have committed,' said she to herself, 'that a man of his high rank can deserve to be treated thus severely?' for she had already heard his story, and could hardly believe it. she could not forbear admiring the prince, till at length, having kissed him gently on both cheeks and in the middle of the forehead without waking him, she took her flight into the air. as she mounted high to the middle region, she heard a great flapping of wings, which made her fly that way; and when she approached, she knew it was a genie who made the noise, but it was one of those that are rebellious. as for maimoune, she belonged to that class whom the great solomon compelled to acknowledge him. this genie, whose name was danhasch, knew maimoune, and was seized with fear, being sensible how much power she had over him by her submission to the almighty. he would fain have avoided her, but she was so near him that he must either fight or yield. he therefore broke silence first. 'brave maimoune,' said he, in the tone of a suppliant, 'swear to me that you will not hurt me; and i swear also on my part not to do you any harm.' 'cursed genie,' replied maimoune, 'what hurt canst thou do me? i fear thee not; but i will grant thee this favour; i will swear not to do thee any harm. tell me then, wandering spirit, whence thou comest, what thou hast seen, and what thou hast done this night.' 'fair lady,' answered danhasch, 'you meet me at a good time to hear something very wonderful. i come from the utmost limits of china, which look on the last islands of this hemisphere. but, charming maimoune,' said danhasch, who so trembled with fear at the sight of this fairy that he could hardly speak, 'promise me at least that you will forgive me, and let me go on after i have satisfied your demands.' 'go on, go on, cursed spirit,' replied maimoune; 'go on and fear nothing. dost thou think i am as perfidious an elf as thyself, and capable of breaking the solemn oath i have made? be sure you tell nothing but what is true, or i shall clip thy wings, and treat thee as thou deservest.' danhasch, a little heartened at the words of maimoune, said, 'my dear lady, i will tell you nothing but what is strictly true, if you will but have the goodness to hear me. the country of china, from whence i come, is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the earth. the king of this country is at present gaiour, who has an only daughter, the finest maiden that ever was seen in the world since it was a world. neither you nor i, nor your class nor mine, nor all our respective genies, have expressions strong enough, nor eloquence sufficient to describe this brilliant lady. any one that did not know the king, father of this incomparable princess would scarcely be able to imagine the great respect and kindness he shows her. no one has ever dreamed of such care as his to keep her from every one but the man who is to marry her: and, that the retreat which he has resolved to place her in may not seem irksome to her, he has built for her seven palaces, the most extraordinary and magnificent that ever were known. 'the first palace is of rock crystal, the second of copper, the third of fine steel, the fourth of brass, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of massy gold. he has furnished these palaces most sumptuously, each in a manner suited to the materials that they are built of. he has filled the gardens with grass and flowers, intermixed with pieces of water, water- works, fountains, canals, cascades, and several great groves of trees, where the eye is lost in the prospect, and where the sun never enters, and all differently arranged. king gaiour, in a word, has shown that he has spared no expense. 'upon the fame of this incomparable princess's beauty, the most powerful neighbouring kings sent ambassadors to request her in marriage. the king of china received them all in the same obliging manner; but as he resolved not to compel his daughter to marry without her consent, and as she did not like any of the suitors, the ambassadors were forced to return as they came: they were perfectly satisfied with the great honours and civilities they had received.' '"sir," said the princess to the king her father, "you have an inclination to see me married, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall i find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as i have with your majesty? through your good pleasure i am under no constraint, and have the same honours shown to me as are paid to yourself. these are advantages i cannot expect to find anywhere else, to whatsoever husband i should give my hand; men love ever to be masters, and i do not care to be commanded." 'at last there came an embassy from the most rich and potent king of all. this prince the king of china recommended to his daughter as her husband, urging many powerful arguments to show how much it would be to her advantage to accept him, but she intreated her father to dispense with her accepting him for the same reasons as before, and at last lost all the respect due to the king her father: "sir," said she, in anger, "talk to me no more of this or any other match, unless you would have me plunge this poniard in my bosom, to deliver myself from your importunities." 'the king, greatly enraged, said "daughter, you are mad, and i must treat you as such." in a word, he had her shut up in a single apartment of one of his palaces, and allowed her only ten old women to wait upon her and keep her company, the chief of whom had been her nurse. and in order that the kings his neighbours, who had sent embassies to him on this account, might not think any more of her, he despatched envoys to them severally, to let them know how averse his daughter was to marriage; and as he did not doubt that she was really mad, he charged them to make known in every court that if there were any physician that would undertake to come and cure her, he should, if he succeeded, marry her for his pains. 'fair maimoune,' continued danhasch, 'all that i have told you is true; and i have not failed to go every day regularly to contemplate this incomparable beauty, to whom i would be very sorry to do the least harm, notwithstanding my natural inclination to mischief. come and see her, i conjure you; it would be well worth your while; i am ready to wait on you as a guide, and you have only to command me. i doubt not that you would think yourself obliged to me for the sight of a princess unequalled for beauty.' instead of answering danhasch, maimoune burst out into violent laughter, which lasted for some time; and danhasch, not knowing what might be the occasion of it, was astonished beyond measure. when she had laughed till she could laugh no more, she cried, 'good, good, very good! you would have me believe all you have told me: i thought you intended to tell me something surprising and extraordinary, and you have been talking all this while of a mad woman. what would you say, cursed genie, if you had seen the beautiful prince that i have just come from seeing? i am confident you would soon give up the contest, and not pretend to compare your choice with mine.' 'agreeable maimoune,' replied danhasch, 'may i presume to ask you who is this prince you speak of?' 'know,' answered maimoune, 'the same thing has happened to him as to your princess. the king his father would have married him against his will; but, after much importunity, he frankly told him he would have nothing to do with a wife. for this reason he is at this moment imprisoned in an old tower which i make my residence, and whence i came but just now from admiring him.' 'i will not absolutely contradict you,' replied danhasch; 'but, my pretty lady, you must give me leave to be of opinion, till i have seen your prince, that no mortal upon earth can come up to the beauty of my princess.' 'hold thy tongue, cursed sprite,' replied maimoune. 'i tell thee once more that that can never be.' 'i will not contend with you,' said danhasch; 'but the way to be convinced whether what i say is true or false is to accept the proposal i made you to go and see my princess, and after that i will go with you to your prince.' 'there is no need i should take so much pains' replied maimoune; 'there is another way to satisfy us both; and that is for you to bring your princess, and place her in my prince's room; by this means it will be easy for us to compare them together and determine the dispute.' danhasch consented to what maimoune had proposed, and determined to set out immediately for china upon that errand. but maimoune told him she must first show him the tower whither he was to bring the princess. they flew together to the tower, and when maimoune had shown it to danhasch, she cried, 'go, fetch your princess, and do it quickly, for you shall find me here: but listen, you shall pay the wager if my prince is more beautiful than your princess, and i will pay it if your princess is more beautiful than my prince.' danhasch left maimoune, and flew towards china, whence he soon returned with incredible speed, bringing the fair princess along with him, asleep. maimoune received him, and introduced him into the tower of prince camaralzaman, where they placed the princess still asleep. at once there arose a great contest between the genie and the fairy about their respective beauty. they were some time admiring and comparing them without speaking: at length danhasch broke silence, and said to maimoune, 'you see, as i have already told you, my princess is handsomer than your prince; now, i hope, you are convinced of it.' 'convinced of it!' replied maimoune; 'i am not convinced of it, and you must be blind if you cannot see that my prince is far handsomer. the princess is fair, i do not deny; but if you compare them together without prejudice, you will quickly see the difference.' 'though i should compare them ever so often,' said danhasch, 'i could never change my opinion. i saw at first sight what i see now, and time will not make me see differently: however, this shall not hinder my yielding to you, charming maimoune, if you desire it.' 'yield to me as a favour? i scorn it,' said maimoune: 'i would not receive a favour at the hand of such a wicked genie; i refer the matter to an umpire, and if you will not consent i shall win by your refusal.' danhasch no sooner gave his consent than maimoune stamped with her foot; the earth opened, and out came a hideous, humpbacked, squinting, and lame genie, with six horns on his head, and claws on his hands and feet. as soon as he had come forth, and the earth had closed up, he, perceiving maimoune, cast himself at her feet, and then rising up on one knee asked her what she would please to do with him. 'rise, caschcasch,' said maimoune, 'i brought you hither to determine a difference between me and danhasch. look there, and tell me, without partiality, which is the handsomest of those two that lie asleep, the young man or the young lady.' caschcasch looked at the prince and princess with great attention, admiration and surprise; and after he had considered them a good while, without being able to determine which was the handsomer, he turned to maimoune, and said, 'madam, i must confess i should deceive you and betray myself, if i pretended to say that one was a whit handsomer than the other: the more i examine them, the more it seems to me that each possesses, in a sovereign degree, the beauty which is betwixt them. but if there be any difference, the best way to determine it is to awaken them one after the other, and by their conduct to decide which ought to be deemed the most beautiful.' this proposal of caschcasch's pleased equally both maimoune and danhasch. maimoune then changed herself into a gnat, and leaping on the prince's neck stung him so smartly that he awoke, and put up his hand to the place; but maimoune skipped away, and resumed her own form, which, like those of the two genies, was invisible, the better to observe what he would do. in drawing back his hand, the prince chanced to let it fall on that of the princess of china, and on opening his eyes, was exceedingly surprised to perceive a lady of the greatest beauty. he raised his head and leaned on his elbow, the better to consider her. she was so beautiful that he could not help crying out, 'what beauty! my heart! my soul!' in saying which he kissed her with so little caution that she would certainly have been awaked by it, had she not slept sounder than ordinary, through the enchantment of danhasch. he was going to awaken her at that instant, but suddenly refrained himself. 'is not this she,' said he, 'that the sultan my father would have had me marry? he was in the wrong not to let me see her sooner. i should not have offended him by my disobedience and passionate language to him in public, and he would have spared himself the confusion which i have occasioned him.' the prince began to repent sincerely of the fault he had committed, and was once more upon the point of waking the princess of china. 'it may be,' said he, recollecting himself, 'that the sultan my father has a mind to surprise me with this young lady. who knows but he has brought her himself, and is hidden behind the curtains to make me ashamed of myself. i will content myself with this ring, as a remembrance of her.' he then gently drew off a fine ring which the princess had on her finger, and immediately put on one of his own in its place. after this he fell into a more profound sleep than before through the enchantment of the genies. as soon as prince camaralzaman was in a sound sleep, danhasch transformed himself, and went and bit the princess so rudely on the lip that she forthwith awoke, started up, and opening her eyes, was not a little surprised to see a beautiful young prince. from surprise she proceeded to admiration, and from admiration to a transport of joy. 'what,' cried she, 'is it you the king my father has designed me for a husband? i am indeed most unfortunate for not knowing it before, for then i should not have made him so angry with me. wake then, wake!' so saying, she took prince camaralzaman by the arm and shook him so that he would have awaked, had not maimoune increased his sleep by enchantment. she shook him several times, and finding he did not wake, she seized his hand, and kissing it eagerly, perceived he had a ring upon his finger which greatly resembled hers, and which she was convinced was her own, by seeing she had another on her finger instead of it. she could not comprehend how this exchange could have been made. tired with her fruitless endeavours to awaken the prince, she soon fell asleep. when maimoune saw that she could now speak without fear of awaking the princess, she cried to danhasch, 'ah, cursed genie dost thou not now see what thy contest has come to? art thou not now convinced how much thy princess is inferior to my prince? but i pardon thee thy wager. another time believe me when i assert anything.' then turning to caschcasch, 'as for you,' said she, 'i thank you for your trouble; take the princess, you and danhasch, and convey her back whence he has taken her.' danhasch and caschcasch did as they were commanded, and maimoune retired to her well. prince camaralzaman on waking next morning looked to see if the lady whom he had seen the night before were there. when he found she was gone, he cried out, 'i thought indeed this was a trick the king my father designed to play me. i am glad i was aware of it.' then he waked the slave, who was still asleep, and bade him come and dress him, without saying anything. the slave brought a basin and water, and after he had washed and said his prayers, he took a book and read for some time. after this, he called the slave, and said to him, 'come hither, and look you, do not tell me a lie. how came that lady hither, and who brought her?' 'my lord,' answered the slave with great astonishment, 'i know not what lady your highness speaks of.' 'i speak,' said the prince, 'of her that came, or rather, that was brought hither.' 'my lord,' replied the slave, 'i swear i know of no such lady; and how should she come in without my knowledge, since i lay at the door?' 'you are a lying rascal,' replied the prince, 'and in the plot to vex and provoke me the more.' so saying, he gave him a box on the ear which knocked him down; and after having stamped upon him for some time, he at length tied the well-rope under his arms, and plunged him several times into the water, neck and heels. i will drown thee,' cried he, 'if thou dost not tell me speedily who this lady was, and who brought her.' the slave, perplexed and half-dead, said within himself, 'the prince must have lost his senses through grief.' 'my lord, then,' cried he, in a suppliant tone, 'i beseech your highness to spare my life, and i will tell you the truth.' the prince drew the slave up, and pressed him to tell him. as soon as he was out of the well, 'my lord,' said he trembling, 'your highness must perceive that it is impossible for me to satisfy you in my present condition; i beg you to give me leave to go and change my clothes first.' 'i permit you, but do it quickly,' said the prince, 'and be sure you conceal nothing.' the slave went out, and having locked the door upon the prince, ran to the palace just as he was. the king was at that time in discourse with his prime vizier, to whom he had just related the grief in which he had passed the night on account of his son's disobedience and opposition to his will. the minister endeavoured to comfort his master by telling him that the prince himself had given him good cause to be angry. 'sir,' said he, 'your majesty need not repent of having treated your son after this sort. have but patience to let him continue a while in prison, and assure yourself his temper will abate, and he will submit to all you require.' the grand vizier had just made an end of speaking when the slave came in and cast himself at the king's feet. 'my lord,' said he, 'i am very sorry to be the messenger of ill news to your majesty, which i know must create you fresh affliction. the prince is distracted, my lord; and his treatment to me, as you may see, too plainly proves it.' then he proceeded to tell all the particulars of what prince camaralzaman had said to him, and the violence with which he had been treated. the king, who did not expect to hear anything of this afflictive kind, said to the prime minister, 'this is very melancholy, very different from the hopes you gave me just now: go immediately, without loss of time, see what is the matter, and come and give me an account.' the grand vizier obeyed instantly; and coming into the prince's chamber, he found him sitting on his bed in good temper, and with a book in his hand, which he was reading. after mutual salutations, the vizier sat down by him, and said, 'my lord, i wish that a slave of yours were punished for coming to frighten the king your father.' 'what,' replied the prince, 'could give my father alarm? i have much greater cause to complain of that slave.' 'prince,' answered the vizier, 'god forbid that the news which he has told your father concerning you should be true; indeed, i myself find it to be false, by the good temper i observe you in.' 'it may be,' replied the prince, 'that he did not make himself well understood; but since you are come, who ought to know something of the matter, give me leave to ask you who was that lady who was here last night?' the grand vizier was thunderstruck at this question; however, he recovered himself and said, 'my lord, be not surprised at my astonishment at your question. is it possible that a lady, or any other person in the world, should penetrate by night into this place, without entering at the door and walking over the body of your slave? i beseech you, recollect yourself, and you will find it is only a dream which has made this impression on you.' 'i give no ear to what you say,' said the prince, raising his voice; 'i must know of you absolutely what is become of the lady; and if you hesitate to obey me, i shall soon be able to force you to obey me.' at these stern words the grand vizier began to be in greater confusion than before, and was thinking how to extricate himself. he endeavoured to pacify the prince by good words, and begged of him, in the most humble and guarded manner, to tell him if he had seen this lady. 'yes, yes,' answered the prince, 'i have seen her, and am very well satisfied you sent her. she played the part you had given her admirably well, for i could not get a word out of her. she pretended to be asleep, but i was no sooner fallen into a slumber than she arose and left me. you know all this; for i doubt not she has been to make her report to you.' 'my lord,' replied the vizier, 'nothing of this has been done which you seem to reproach me with; neither your father nor i have sent this lady you speak of; permit me therefore to remind your highness once more that you have only seen this lady in a dream.' 'do you come to affront and contradict me,' said the prince in a great rage, 'and to tell me to my face that what i have told you is a dream?' at the same time he took him by the beard, and loaded him with blows as long as he could stand. the poor grand vizier endured with respectful patience all the violence of his lord's indignation, and could not help saying within himself, 'now am i in as bad a condition as the slave, and shall think myself happy if i can, like him, escape from any further danger.' in the midst of repeated blows he cried out for but a moment's audience, which the prince, after he had nearly tired himself with beating him, consented to give. 'i own, my prince,' said the grand vizier, dissembling, 'there is something in what your highness suspects; but you cannot be ignorant of the necessity a minister is under to obey his royal master's orders; yet, if you will but be pleased to set me at liberty, i will go and tell him anything on your part that you shall think fit to command me.' 'go then,' said the prince, 'and tell him from me that if he pleases i will marry the lady he sent me. do this quickly, and bring me a speedy answer.' the grand vizier made a profound reverence, and went away, not thinking himself altogether safe till he had got out of the tower, and shut the door upon the prince. he came and presented himself before the king, with a countenance that sufficiently showed he had been ill-used, which the king could not behold without concern. 'well,' said the king, 'in what condition did you find my son?' 'sir,' answered the vizier, 'what the slave reported to your majesty is but too true.' he then began to relate his interview with camaralzaman, how he flew into a passion upon his endeavouring to persuade him it was impossible that the lady he spoke of should have got in; the ill-treatment he had received from him; how he had been used, and by what means he made his escape. the king, the more concerned as he loved the prince with excessive tenderness, resolved to find out the truth of this matter, and therefore proposed himself to go and see his son in the tower, accompanied by the grand vizier. prince camaralzaman received the king his father in the tower with great respect. the king sat down, and, after he had made his son the prince sit down by him, put several questions to him, which he answered with great good sense. the king every now and then looked at the grand vizier, as intimating that he did not find his son had lost his wits, but rather thought he had lost his. the king at length spoke of the lady to the prince. 'my son,' said he, 'i desire you to tell me what lady it was that came here, as i have been told.' 'sir,' answered camaralzaman, 'i beg of your majesty not to give me more vexation on that head, but rather to oblige me by letting me have her in marriage: this young lady has charmed me. i am ready to receive her at your hands with the deepest gratitude.' the king was surprised at this answer of the prince, so remote, as he thought, from the good sense he had shown before. 'my son,' said he to him, 'you fill me with the greatest astonishment imaginable by what you now say to me; i declare to you by my crown, that is to devolve upon you after me, i know not one word of the lady you mention; and if any such has come to you, it was altogether without my knowledge. but how could she get into this tower without my consent? for whatever my grand vizier told you, it was only to appease you: it must therefore be a mere dream; and i beg of you not to believe otherwise, but to recover your senses.' 'sir,' replied the prince, 'i should be for ever unworthy of your majesty's favour, if i did not give entire credit to what you are pleased to say; but i humbly beseech you at the same time to give a patient hearing to what i shall say to you, and then to judge whether what i have the honour to tell you be a dream or not.' then prince camaralzaman related to the king his father after what manner he had been awakened, and the pains he took to awaken the lady without effect, and how he had made the exchange of his ring with that of the lady: showing the king the ring, he added, 'sir, your majesty must needs know my ring very well, you have seen it so often. after this, i hope you will be convinced that i have not lost my senses, as you have been almost made to believe.' the king was so perfectly convinced of the truth of what his son had been telling him, that he had not a word to say, remaining astonished for some time, and not being able to utter a syllable. 'son,' at length replied the king, 'after what i have just heard, and what i see by the ring on your finger, i cannot doubt but that you have seen this lady. would i knew who she was, and i would make you happy from this moment, and i should be the happiest father in the world! but where shall i find her, and how seek for her? how could she get in here without my consent? why did she come? these things, i must confess, are past my finding out.' so saying, and taking the prince by the hand, 'come then, my son,' he said, 'let us go and be miserable together.' the king then led his son out of the tower, and conveyed him to the palace, where he no sooner arrived than in despair he fell ill, and took to his bed; the king shut himself up with him, and spent many a day in weeping, without attending to the affairs of his kingdom. the prime minister, who was the only person that had admittance to him, came one day and told him that the whole court, and even the people, began to murmur at not seeing him, and that he did not administer justice every day as he was wont to do. 'i humbly beg your majesty, therefore,' proceeded he, 'to pay them some attention; i am aware your majesty's company is a great comfort to the prince, but then you must not run the risk of letting all be lost. permit me to propose to your majesty to remove with the prince to the castle in a little island near the port, where you may give audience to your subjects twice a week only; during these absences the prince will be so agreeably diverted with the beauty, prospect, and good air of the place, that he will bear them with the less uneasiness.' the king approved this proposal; and after the castle, where he had not resided for some time, had been furnished, he removed thither with the prince; and, excepting the times that he gave audience, as aforesaid, he never left him, but passed all his time by his son's pillow, endeavouring to comfort him in sharing his grief. whilst matters passed thus, the two genies, danhasch and caschcasch, had carried the princess of china back to the palace where the king her father had shut her up. when she awoke the next morning, and found by looking to the right and left that prince camaralzaman was not by, she cried out with a loud voice to her women. her nurse, who presented herself first, desired to be informed what she would please to have, and if anything disagreeable had happened to her. 'tell me,' said the princess, 'what is become of the young man whom i love with all my soul?' 'madam,' replied the nurse, 'we cannot understand your highness, unless you will be pleased to explain yourself.' 'a young man, the best and most amiable,' said the princess 'whom i could not awake; i ask you where he is?' 'madam,' answered the nurse, 'your highness asks these questions to jest with us. i beseech you to rise.' 'i am in earnest,' said the princess, 'and i must know where this young man is.' 'madam,' insisted the nurse, 'how any man could come without our knowledge we cannot imagine, for we all slept about the door of your chamber, which was locked, and i had the key in my pocket.' at this the princess lost all patience, and catching her nurse by the hair of her head, and giving her two or three sound cuffs, she cried, 'you shall tell me where this young man is, old sorceress, or i will beat your brains out.' the nurse struggled to get from her, and at last succeeded; when she went immediately, with tears in her eyes, to complain to the queen her mother, who was not a little surprised to see her in this condition, and asked who had done this. 'madam,' began the nurse, 'you see how the princess has treated me; she would certainly have murdered me, if i had not had the good fortune to escape out of her hands.' she then began to tell what had been the cause of all that violent passion in the princess. the queen was surprised to hear it, and could not guess how she came to be so senseless as to take that for a reality which could be no other than a dream. 'your majesty must conclude from all this, madam,' continued the nurse, 'that the princess is out of her senses. you will think so yourself if you go and see her.' the queen ordered the nurse to follow her; and they went together to the princess's palace that very moment. the queen of china sat down by her daughter's bed-side, immediately upon her arrival in her apartment; and after she had informed herself about her health, she began to ask what had made her so angry with her nurse, that she should have treated her in the manner she had done. 'daughter,' said she, 'this is not right; and a great princess like you should not suffer herself to be so transported by passion.' 'madam,' replied the princess, 'i plainly perceive your majesty is come to mock me; but i declare i will never let you rest till you consent i shall marry the young man. you must know where he is, and therefore i beg of your majesty to let him come to me again.' 'daughter,' answered the queen, 'you surprise me; i know nothing of what you talk of.' then the princess lost all respect for the queen: 'madam,' replied she, 'the king my father and you persecuted me about marrying, when i had no inclination; i now have an inclination, and i will marry this young man i told you of, or i will kill myself.' here the queen endeavoured to calm the princess by soft words. 'daughter,' said she, 'how could any man come to you?' but instead of hearing her, the princess interrupted her, and flew out into such violence as obliged the queen to leave her, and retire in great affliction to inform the king of all that had passed. the king hearing it had a mind likewise to be satisfied in person; and coming to his daughter's apartment, asked her if what he had just heard was true. 'sir,' replied the princess, 'let us talk no more of that; i only beseech your majesty to grant me the favour that i may marry the young man. he was the finest and best made youth the sun ever saw. i entreat you, do not refuse me. but that your majesty may not longer doubt whether i have seen this young man, whether i did not do my utmost to awake him, without succeeding, see, if you please, this ring.' she then reached forth her hand, and showed the king a man's ring on her finger. the king did not know what to make of all this; but as he had shut her up as mad, he began to think her more mad than ever: therefore, without saying anything more to her, for fear she might do violence to herself or somebody about her, he had her chained, and shut up more closely than before, allowing her only the nurse to wait on her, with a good guard at the door. the king, exceedingly concerned at this indisposition of his daughter, sought all possible means to get her cured. he assembled his council, and after having acquainted them with the condition she was in, 'if any of you,' said he, 'is capable of undertaking her cure, and succeeds, i will give her to him in marriage, and make him heir to my dominions and crown after my decease.' the desire of marrying a handsome young princess, and the hopes of one day governing so powerful a kingdom as that of china, had a strange effect on an emir, already advanced in age, who was present at this council. as he was well skilled in magic, he offered to cure the king's daughter, and flattered himself he should succeed. 'i consent,' said the king, 'but i forgot to tell you one thing, and that is, that if you do not succeed you shall lose your head. it would not be reasonable that you should have so great a reward, and yet run no risk on your part; and what i say to you,' continued the king, 'i say to all others that shall come after you, that they may consider beforehand what they undertake.' the emir, however, accepted the condition, and the king conducted him to where the princess was. she covered her face as soon as she saw them come in, and cried out, 'your majesty surprises me by bringing with you a man whom i do not know, and by whom my religion forbids me to let myself be seen.' 'daughter,' replied the king, 'you need not be scandalized, it is only one of my emirs who is come to demand you in marriage.' 'it is not, i perceive, the person that you have already given me, and whose faith is plighted by the ring i wear,' replied the princess; 'be not offended that i will never marry any other.' the emir expected the princess would have said or done some extravagant thing, and was not a little disappointed when he heard her talk so calmly and rationally; for then he understood what was really the matter. he dared not explain himself to the king, who would not have suffered the princess to give her hand to any other than the person to whom he wished to give her with his own hand. he therefore threw himself at his majesty's feet, and said, 'after what i have heard and observed, sir, it will be to no purpose for me to think of curing the princess, since i have no remedies suited to her malady, for which reason i humbly submit my life to your majesty's pleasure.' the king, enraged at his incapacity and the trouble he had given him, caused him immediately to be beheaded. some days afterwards, his majesty, unwilling to have it said that he had neglected his daughter's cure, put forth a proclamation in his capital, to the effect that if there were any physician, astrologer, or magician, who would undertake to restore the princess to her senses, he need only come, and he should be employed, on condition of losing his head if he miscarried. he had the same published in the other principal cities and towns of his dominions, and in the courts of the princes his neighbours. the first that presented himself was an astrologer and magician, whom the king caused to be conducted to the princess's prison. the astrologer drew forth out of a bag he carried under his arm an astrolabe, a small sphere, a chafing dish, several sorts of drugs for fumigations, a brass pot, with many other things, and desired he might have a fire lighted. the princess demanded what all these preparations were for. 'madam,' answered the astrologer, 'they are to exorcise the evil spirit that possesses you, to shut him up in this pot, and throw him into the sea.' 'foolish astrologer,' replied the princess, 'i have no occasion for any of your preparations, but am in my perfect senses, and you alone are mad. if your art can bring him i love to me, i shall be obliged to you; otherwise you may go about your business, for i have nothing to do with you.' 'madam,' said the astrologer, 'if your case be so, i shall desist from all endeavours, believing that only the king your father can remedy your disaster.' so putting up his apparatus again, he marched away, very much concerned that he had so easily undertaken to cure an imaginary malady. coming to give an account to the king of what he had done, he began thus boldly: 'according to what your majesty published in your proclamation, and what you were pleased to confirm to me yourself, i thought the princess was distracted, and depended on being able to recover her by the secrets i have long been acquainted with, but i soon found that your majesty alone is the physician who can cure her, by giving her in marriage the person whom she desires.' the king was very much enraged at the astrologer, and had his head cut off upon the spot. not to make too long a story of it, a hundred and fifty astrologers, physicians, and magicians all underwent the same fate, and their heads were set up on poles on every gate of the city. the princess of china's nurse had a son whose name was marzavan, and who had been foster-brother to the princess, and brought up with her. their friendship was so great during their childhood, and all the time they had been together, that they treated each other as brother and sister as they grew up, even some time after their separation. this marzavan, among other studies, had from his youth been much addicted to judicial astrology, geomancy, and the like secret arts, wherein he became exceedingly skilful. not content with what he had learned from masters, he travelled as soon as he was able to bear the fatigue, and there was hardly any person of note in any science or art but he sought him in the most remote cities, and kept company with him long enough to obtain all the information he desired, so great was his thirst after knowledge. after several years' absence in foreign parts on this account, he returned to the capital city of his native country, china, where seeing so many heads on the gate by which he entered, he was exceedingly surprised; and coming home he demanded for what reason they had been placed there, but more especially he inquired after the princess his foster-sister, whom he had not forgotten. as he could not receive an answer to one inquiry without the other, he heard at length a general account with much sorrow, waiting till he could learn more from his mother, the princess's nurse. although the nurse, mother to marzavan, was very much taken up with the princess, she no sooner heard that her dear son had returned than she found time to come out, embrace him, and converse with him a little. having told him, with tears in her eyes, what a sad condition the princess was in, and for what reason the king her father had shut her up, he desired to know of his mother if she could not procure him a private sight of her royal mistress, without the king's knowing it. after some pause, she told him she could say nothing for the present, but if he would meet her the next day at the same hour, she would give him an answer. the nurse knowing that none could approach the princess but herself without leave of the officer who commanded the guard at the gate, addressed herself to him, who she knew had been so lately appointed that he could know nothing of what had passed at the court of china. 'you know,' said she to him, 'i have brought up the princess, and you may likewise have heard that i had a daughter whom i brought up along with her. this daughter has since been married; yet the princess still does her the honour to love her, and would fain see her, but without anybody's perceiving her coming in or out.' the nurse would have gone on, but the officer cried, 'say no more; i will with pleasure do anything to oblige the princess; go and fetch your daughter, or send for her about midnight, and the gate shall be open to you.' as soon as night came, the nurse went to look for her son marzavan, and having found him, she dressed him so artificially in women's clothes that nobody could know he was a man. she carried him along with her, and the officer verily believing it was her daughter, admitted them together. the nurse, before she presented marzavan, went to the princess, and said, 'madam, this is not a woman i have brought to you; it is my son marzavan in disguise, newly arrived from his travels, and he having a great desire to kiss your hand, i hope your highness will admit him to that honour.' 'what! my brother marzavan,' said the princess, with great joy: 'come hither,' cried she, 'and take off that veil; for it is not unreasonable, surely, that a brother and a sister should see each other without covering their faces.' marzavan saluted her with profound respect, when she, without giving him time to speak, cried out, 'i am rejoiced to see you returned in good health, after so many years' absence without sending the least account all the while of your welfare, even to your good mother.' 'madam,' replied marzavan, 'i am infinitely obliged to your highness for your goodness in rejoicing at my health: i hoped to have heard a better account of yours than what to my great affliction i am now witness of. nevertheless, i cannot but rejoice that i am come seasonably enough to bring your highness that remedy of which you stand so much in need; and though i should reap no other fruit of my studies and long voyage, i should think myself fully recompensed.' speaking these words, marzavan drew forth out of his pocket a book and other things, which he judged necessary to be used, according to the account he had had from his mother of the princess's illness. the princess, seeing him make all these preparations, cried out, 'what! brother, are you then one of those that believe me mad? undeceive yourself and hear me.' the princess then began to relate to marzavan all the particulars of her story, without omitting the least circumstance, even to the ring which was exchanged for hers, and which she showed him. after the princess had done speaking, marzavan, filled with wonder and astonishment, continued for some time with his eyes fixed on the ground, without speaking a word; but at length he lifted up his head and said, 'if it be as your highness says, which i do not in the least doubt, i do not despair of procuring you the satisfaction you desire; but i must first entreat your highness to arm yourself with patience for some time longer, till i shall return after i have travelled over kingdoms which i have not yet visited; and when you hear of my return, be assured that the object of your wishes is not far off.' so saying, marzavan took leave of the princess, and set out next morning on his intended journey. he travelled from city to city, from province to province, and from island to island, and in every place he passed through he could hear of nothing but the princess badoura (which was the princess of china's name), and her history. about four months afterwards, marzavan arrived at torf, a seaport town, great and populous, where he no more heard of the princess badoura, but where all the talk was of prince camaralzaman, who was ill, and whose history very much resembled hers. marzavan was extremely delighted to hear this, and informed himself of the place where the prince was to be found. there were two ways to it; one by land and sea, the other by sea only, which was the shortest way. marzavan chose the latter, and embarking on board a merchant ship, he arrived safe in sight of the capital; but, just before it entered the port, the ship struck against a rock through the unskilfulness of the pilot, and foundered. it went down in sight of prince camaralzaman's castle, where were at that time the king and his grand vizier. marzavan could swim very well, and immediately on the ship's sinking cast himself into the sea, and got safe to the shore under the castle, where he was soon relieved by the grand vizier's order. after he had changed his clothes and been well treated, and had recovered, he was introduced to the grand vizier, who had sent for him. marzavan being a young man of good air and address, this minister received him very civilly; and when he heard him give such just and fitting answers to what was asked of him, conceived a great esteem for him. he also gradually perceived that he possessed a great deal of knowledge, and therefore said to him, 'from what i can understand, i perceive you are no common man; you have travelled a great way: would to god you had learned any secret for curing a certain sick person, who has greatly afflicted this court for a long while!' marzavan replied that if he knew what malady it was, he might perhaps find a remedy for it. then the grand vizier related to him the whole story of prince camaralzaman from its origin, and concealed nothing; his birth, his education, the inclination the king his father had to see him married early, his resistance and extraordinary aversion to marriage, his disobeying his father in full council, his imprisonment, his pretended extravagancies in prison, which were afterwards changed into a violent madness for a certain unknown lady, who, he pretended, had exchanged a ring with him; though, for his part, he verily believed there was no such person in the world. marzavan gave great attention to all the grand vizier said; and was infinitely rejoiced to find that, by means of his shipwreck, he had so fortunately lighted on the person he was looking after. he saw no reason to doubt that prince camaralzaman was the man, and the princess of china the lady; therefore, without explaining himself further to the vizier, he desired to see him, that he might be better able to judge of his illness and its cure. 'follow me,' said the grand vizier, 'and you will find the king with him, who has already desired that i should introduce you.' the first thing that struck marzavan on entering the prince's chamber was to find him upon his bed languishing, and with his eyes shut. although he saw him in that condition, and although the king his father was sitting by him, he could not help crying out, 'was there ever a greater resemblance!' he meant to the princess of china; for it seems the princess and prince were much alike. the words of marzavan excited the prince's curiosity so far that he opened his eyes and looked at him. marzavan, who had a ready wit, laid hold of that opportunity, and made his compliment in verse extempore: but in such a disguised manner, that neither the king nor grand vizier understood anything of the matter. however, he represented so nicely what had happened to him with the princess of china, that the prince had no reason to doubt that he knew her, and could give him tidings of her. this made him so joyful, that the effects of it showed themselves in his eyes and looks. after marzavan had finished his compliment in verse which surprised prince camaralzaman so agreeably, his highness took the liberty to make a sign to the king his father, to go from the place where he was, and let marzavan sit by him. the king, overjoyed at this alteration, which gave him hopes of his son's speedy recovery, quitted his place, and taking marzavan by the hand, led him to it. then his majesty demanded of him who he was, and whence he came. and upon marzavan's answering that he was a subject of china and came from that kingdom, the king cried out, 'heaven grant that you may be able to cure my son of this profound melancholy, and i shall be eternally obliged to you; all the world shall see how handsomely i will reward you.' having said thus, he left the prince to converse at full liberty with the stranger, whilst he went and rejoiced with the grand vizier. marzavan leaning down to the prince, spoke low in his ear, thus: 'prince,' said he, 'it is time you should cease to grieve. the lady for whom you suffer is the princess badoura, daughter of gaiour, king of china. this i can assure your highness from what she has told me of her adventure, and what i have learned of yours. she has suffered no less on your account than you have on hers.' here he began to relate all that he knew of the princess's story, from the night of their extraordinary interview. he omitted not to acquaint him how the king had treated those who had failed in their pretensions to cure the princess of her indisposition. 'but your highness is the only person,' added he, 'that can cure her effectually, and may present yourself without fear. however, before you undertake so great a voyage, i would have you perfectly recovered, and then we will take such measures as are necessary. think then immediately of the recovery of your health.' this discourse had a marvellous effect on the prince. he found such great relief that he felt he had strength to rise, and begged leave of his father to dress himself, with such an air as gave the old king incredible pleasure. the king could not refrain from embracing marzavan, without inquiring into the means he had used to produce this wonderful effect, and soon after went out of the prince's chamber with the grand vizier to publish this agreeable news. he ordered public rejoicings for several days together, and gave great largesses to his officers and the people, alms to the poor, and caused the prisoners to be set at liberty throughout his kingdom. the joy was soon general in the capital and every corner of his dominions. prince camaralzaman, though extremely weakened by almost continual want of sleep and long abstinence from almost all food, soon recovered his health. when he found himself in a condition to undertake the voyage, he took marzavan aside, and said, 'dear marzavan, it is now time to perform the promise you have made me. i burn with impatience to see the charming princess, and if we do not set out on our journey immediately i shall soon relapse into my former condition. one thing still troubles me,' continued he, 'and that is the difficulty i shall meet with in getting leave of my father to go. this would be a cruel disappointment to me, if you do not contrive a way to prevent it. you see he scarcely ever leaves me.' at these words the prince fell to weeping: and marzavan said, 'i foresaw this difficulty; let not your highness be grieved at that, for i will undertake to prevent it. my principal design in this voyage was to deliver the princess of china from her malady, and this from all the reasons of mutual affection which we have borne to each other from our birth, besides the zeal and affection i otherwise owe her; and i should be wanting in my duty to her, if i did not do my best endeavour to effect her cure and yours, and exert my utmost skill. this then is the means i have contrived to obtain your liberty. you have not stirred abroad for some time, therefore let the king your father understand you have a mind to take the air, and ask his leave to go out on a hunting party for two or three days with me. no doubt he will grant your request; when he has done so, order two good horses to be got ready, one to mount, the other to change, and leave the rest to me.' next day prince camaralzarnan took his opportunity. he told the king he was desirous to take the air, and, if he pleased, would go and hunt for two or three days with marzavan. the king gave his consent, but bade him be sure not to stay out above one night, since too much exercise at first might impair his health, and a too long absence create his majesty uneasiness. he then ordered him to choose the best horses in his stable, and himself took particular care that nothing should be wanting. when all was ready, his majesty embraced the prince, and having recommended the care of him to marzavan, he let him go. prince camaralzaman and marzavan were soon mounted, when, to amuse the two grooms that led the fresh horses, they made as if they would hunt, and so got as far off the city and out of the road as was possible. when night began to approach, they alighted at a caravansera or inn, where they supped, and slept till about midnight; then marzavan awakened the prince without awakening the grooms, and desired his highness to let him have his suit, and to take another for himself, which was brought in his baggage. thus equipped, they mounted the fresh horses, and after marzavan had taken one of the groom's horses by the bridle, they set out as hard as their horses could go. at daybreak they were in a forest, where, coming to the meeting of four roads, marzavan desired the prince to wait for him a little, and went into the forest. he then killed the groom's horse, and after having torn the prince's suit, which he had put off, he besmeared it with blood and threw it into the highway. the prince demanded his reason for what he had done. he told his highness he was sure the king his father would no sooner find that he did not return, and come to know that he had departed without the grooms, than he would suspect something, and immediately send people in quest of them. 'they that come to this place,' said he, 'and find these blood-stained clothes, will conclude you are devoured by wild beasts, and that i have escaped to avoid the king's anger. the king, persuading himself that you are dead will stop further pursuit, and we may have leisure to continue our journey without fear of being followed. i must confess,' continued marzavan, 'that this is a violent way of proceeding, to alarm an old father with the death of his son, whom he loves so passionately; but his joy will be the greater when he hears you are alive and happy.' 'brave marzavan,' replied the prince,' i cannot but approve such an ingenious stratagem, or sufficiently admire your conduct: i am under fresh obligations to you for it.' the prince and marzavan, well provided with cash for their expenses, continued their journey both by land and sea, and found no other obstacle but the length of time which it necessarily took up. they, however, arrived at length at the capital of china, where marzavan, instead of going to his lodgings, carried the prince to a public inn. they tarried there incognito for three days to rest themselves after the fatigue of the voyage; during which time marzavan caused an astrologer's dress to be made for the prince. the three days being expired, the prince put on his astrologer's habit; and marzavan left him to go and acquaint his mother, the princess badoura's nurse, of his arrival, to the end that she might inform the princess. prince camaralzaman, instructed by marzavan as to what he was to do, and provided with all he wanted as an astrologer, came next morning to the gate of the king's palace, before the guards and porters, and cried aloud, 'i am an astrologer, and am come to effect a cure on the estimable princess badoura, daughter of the most high and mighty monarch gaiour, king of china, on the conditions proposed by his majesty, to marry her if i succeed, or else to lose my life for my fruitless and presumptuous attempt.' besides the guards and porters at the gate, this drew together a great number of people about prince camaralzaman. no physician, astrologer, nor magician had appeared for a long time, deterred by the many tragic examples of ill success that appeared before their eyes; it was therefore thought that there were no more men of these professions in the world, or that there were no more so mad as those that had gone before them. the prince's good mien, noble air, and blooming youth made everybody that saw him pity him. 'what mean you, sir,' said some that were nearest to him, 'thus to expose a life of such promising expectation to certain death? cannot the heads you see on all the gates of this city deter you from such an undertaking? consider what you do: abandon this rash attempt, and be gone.' the prince continued firm, notwithstanding all these remonstrances; and as he saw nobody come to introduce him, he repeated the same cry with a boldness that made everybody tremble. then they all cried, 'let him alone, he is resolved to die; god have mercy upon his youth and his soul!' he then proceeded to cry out a third time in the same manner, when the grand vizier came in person, and introduced him to the king of china. as soon as the prince came into the king's presence, he bowed and kissed the ground. the king, who, of all that had hitherto presumptuously exposed their lives on this occasion, had not seen one worthy to cast his eyes upon, felt real compassion for prince camaralzaman on account of the danger he was about to undergo. but as he thought him more deserving than ordinary, he showed him more honour, and made him come and sit by him. 'young man,' said he, 'i can hardly believe that you, at this age, can have acquired experience enough to dare attempt the cure of my daughter. i wish you may succeed; and would give her to you in marriage with all my heart, with the greatest joy, more willingly than i should have done to others that have offered themselves before you; but i must declare to you at the same time, with great concern, that if you do not succeed in your attempt, notwithstanding your noble appearance and your youth you must lose your head.' 'sir,' replied the prince, 'i am under infinite obligations to your majesty for the honour you design me, and the great goodness you show to a stranger; but i desire your majesty to believe that i would not have come from so remote a country as i have done, the name of which perhaps may be unknown in your dominions, if i had not been certain of the cure i propose. what would not the world say of my fickleness, if, after such great fatigues and dangers as i have undergone on this account, i should abandon the enterprise? even your majesty would soon lose that esteem you have conceived for me. if i must die, sir, i shall die with the satisfaction of not having lost your esteem after i have merited it. i beseech your majesty therefore to keep me no longer impatient to display the certainty of my art.' then the king commanded the officer who had the custody of the princess to introduce prince camaralzaman into her apartment: but before he would let him go, he reminded him once more that he was at liberty to renounce his design; yet the prince paid no heed, but, with astonishing resolution and eagerness, followed the officer. when they came to a long gallery, at the end of which was the princess's apartment, the prince, who saw himself so near the object of the wishes which had occasioned him so many tears, pushed on, and got before the officer. the officer, redoubling his pace, with much ado got up with him. 'whither away so fast?' cried he, taking him by the arm; 'you cannot get in without me: and it would seem that you have a great desire for death thus to run to it headlong. not one of all those many astrologers and magicians i have introduced before made such haste as yourself to a place whither i fear you will come but too soon.' 'friend,' replied the prince, looking earnestly at the officer, and continuing his pace, 'this was because none of the astrologers you speak of were so sure of their art as i am of mine: they were certain, indeed, that they would die if they did not succeed, but they had no certainty of their success. on this account they had reason to tremble on approaching the place whither i go, and where i am sure to find my happiness.' he had just spoken these words as he was at the door. the officer opened it, and introduced him into a great hall, whence was an entrance into the princess's chamber, divided from it only by a piece of tapestry. prince camaralzaman stopt before he entered, speaking softly to the officer for fear of being heard in the princess's chamber. 'to convince you,' said he, 'that there is neither presumption, nor whim, nor youthful conceit in my undertaking, i leave it to your own desire whether i should cure the princess in your presence, or where we are, without going any further?' the officer was amazed to hear the prince talk to him with such confidence: he left off insulting him, and said seriously, 'it is no matter whether you do it here or there, provided the business is done: cure her how you will, you will get immortal honour by it, not only in this court, but over all the world.' the prince replied, 'it will be best then to cure her without seeing her, that you may be witness of my skill: notwithstanding my impatience to see a princess of her rank, who is to be my wife, yet, out of respect to you, i will deprive myself of that pleasure for a little while.' he was furnished with everything suitable for an astrologer to carry about him; and taking pen, ink, and paper out of his pocket, he wrote a letter to the princess. when the prince had finished his letter, he folded it up, and enclosed in it the princess's ring, without letting the officer see what he did. when he had sealed it, he gave it to him: 'there, friend,' said he, 'carry it to your mistress; if it does not cure her as soon as she reads it, and sees what is inclosed in it, i give you leave to tell everybody that i am the most ignorant and impudent astrologer that ever was, is, or shall be.' the officer, entering the princess of china's chamber, gave her the packet he received from prince camaralzaman. 'madam,' said he, 'the boldest astrologer that ever lived, if i am not mistaken, has arrived here, and pretends that on reading this letter and seeing what is in it you will be cured; i wish he may prove neither a liar nor an impostor.' the princess badoura took the letter, and opened it with a great deal of indifference, but when she saw the ring, she had not patience to read it through; she rose hastily, broke the chain that held her, ran to the door and opened it. she knew the prince as soon as she saw him, and he knew her; they at once embraced each other tenderly, without being able to speak for excess of joy: they looked on one another a long time, wondering how they met again after their first interview. the princess's nurse, who ran to the door with her, made them come into her chamber, where the princess badoura gave the prince her ring, saying, 'take it; i cannot keep it without restoring yours, which i will never part with; neither can it be in better hands.' the officer immediately went to tell the king of china what had happened. 'sir,' said he, 'all the astrologers and doctors who have hitherto pretended to cure the princess were fools in comparison with the last. he made use neither of schemes nor spells or perfumes, or anything else, but cured her without seeing her.' then he told the king how he did it. the monarch was agreeably surprised at the news, and going forthwith to the princess's chamber embraced her: he afterwards embraced the prince, and, taking his hand, joined it to the princess's. 'happy stranger,' said the king, 'whoever you are, i will keep my word, and give you my daughter to marry; though, from what i see in you, it is impossible for me to believe that you are really what you appear to be, and would have me believe you.' prince camaralzaman thanked the king in the most humble tones, that he might the better show his gratitude. 'as for my person,' said he, 'i must own i am not an astrologer, as your majesty very judiciously guessed; i only put on the habit of one, that i might succeed more easily in my ambition to be allied to the most potent monarch in the world. i was born a prince, and the son of a king and queen; my name is camaralzaman; my father is schahzaman, who now reigns over the islands that are well known by the name of the islands of the children of khaledan.' he then told him his history. when the prince had done speaking, the king said to him, 'this history is so extraordinary that it deserves to be known to posterity; i will take care it shall be; and the original being deposited in my royal archives, i will spread copies of it abroad, that my own kingdoms and the kingdoms around me may know it.' the marriage was solemnized the same day, and the rejoicings for it were universal all over the empire of china. nor was marzavan forgotten: the king immediately gave him an honourable post in his court, and a promise of further advancement; and held continual feastings for several months, to show his joy. the loss of the talisman. soon after his marriage prince camaralzaman dreamt one night that he saw his father schahzaman on his death-bed, and heard him speak thus to his attendants: 'my son, my son, whom i so tenderly loved, has abandoned me.' he awoke with a great sigh, which aroused the princess, who asked him the cause of it. next morning the princess went to her own father, and finding him alone kissed his hand and thus addressed herself to him: 'sir, i have a favour to beg of your majesty; it is that you will give me leave to go with the prince my husband to see king schahzaman, my father-in-law.' 'daughter,' replied the king, 'though i shall be very sorry to part with you for so long a time, your resolution is worthy of you: go, child, i give you leave, but on condition that you stay no longer than a year in king schahzaman's court.' the princess communicated the king of china's consent to prince camaralzaman, who was transported with joy to hear it. the king of china gave orders for preparations to be made for the journey; and when all things were ready, he accompanied the prince and princess several days' journey on their way. they parted at length with great weeping on all sides: the king embraced them, and having desired the prince to be kind to his daughter, and to love her always, he left them to proceed on their journey, and, to divert his thoughts, hunted all the way home. prince camaralzaman and the princess badoura travelled for about a month, and at last came to a meadow of great extent, planted with tall trees, forming an agreeable shade. the day being unusually hot, camaralzaman thought it best to encamp there. they alighted in one of the finest spots, and the prince ordered his servants to pitch their tents, and went himself to give directions. the princess, weary with the fatigue of the journey, bade her women untie her girdle, which they laid down by her, and when she fell asleep, her attendants left her by herself. prince camaralzaman having seen all things in order came to the tent where the princess was sleeping; he entered, and sat down without making any noise, intending to take a nap himself; but observing the princess's girdle lying by her, he took it up, and looked at the diamonds and rubies one by one. in doing this, he saw a little purse hanging to it, sewed neatly on to the stuff, and tied fast with a ribbon; he felt it, and found there was something solid inside it. desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse, and took out a cornelian, engraven with unknown figures and characters. 'this cornelian,' said the prince to himself, 'must be something very valuable, or my princess would not carry it with so much care.' it was badoura's talisman, which the queen of china had given her daughter as a charm, to keep her, as she said, from any harm as long as she had it about her. the prince, the better to look at the talisman, took it out to the light, the tent being dark; and while he was holding it up in his hand, a bird darted down from the air and snatched it away from him. imagine the concern and grief of prince camaralzaman when he saw the bird fly away with the talisman. he was more troubled at it than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by which his dear princess had lost a treasure that was so precious and so much valued by her. the bird having got her prize settled on the ground not far off, with the talisman in her mouth. the prince drew near, in hopes she would drop it; but, as he approached, the bird took wing, and settled again on the ground further off. camaralzaman followed, and the bird, having swallowed the talisman, took a further flight: the prince still followed; the further she flew, the more eager he grew in pursuing her. thus the bird drew him along from hill to valley, and valley to hill all day, every step leading him further away from the field where he had left his camp and the princess badoura; and instead of perching at night on a bush where he might probably have taken her, she roosted on a high tree, safe from pursuit. the prince, vexed to the heart for taking so much pains to no purpose, thought of returning to the camp; 'but,' said he to himself, 'which way shall i return? shall i go down the hills and valleys which i passed over? shall i wander in darkness? and will my strength bear me out? how dare i appear before my princess without her talisman?' overwhelmed with such thoughts, and tired with the pursuit, he lay down under a tree, where he passed the night. he awoke the next morning before the bird had left the tree, and, as soon as he saw her on the wing, followed her again that whole day, with no better success, eating nothing but herbs and fruits all the way. he did the same for ten days together, pursuing the bird, and keeping his eye upon her from morning to night, always lying under the tree where she roosted. on the eleventh day the bird continued flying, and came near a great city. when the bird came to the walls, she flew over them and the prince saw no more of her; so he despaired of ever recovering the princess badoura's talisman. camaralzaman, whose grief was beyond expression, went into the city, which was built by the seaside, and had a fine port; he walked up and down the streets without knowing where he was, or where to stop. at last he came to the port, in as great uncertainty as ever what he should do. walking along the river-side, he perceived the gate of a garden open, and an old gardener at work. the good man looked up and saw that he was a stranger and a mussulman, so he asked him to come in, and to shut the door after him. camaralzaman entered, and, as the gardener bade him shut the door, demanded of the gardener why he was so cautious. 'because,' replied the old man, 'i see you are a stranger newly arrived, and a mussulman, and this city is inhabited for the most part by idolaters, who have a mortal aversion to us mussulmans, and treat those few of us that are here with great barbarity. i suppose you did not know this, and it is a miracle that you have escaped as you have thus far, these idolaters being very apt to fall upon the mussulmans that are strangers, or to draw them into a snare, unless those strangers know how to beware of them.' camaralzaman thanked the honest gardener for his advice, and the safety he offered him in his house: he would have said more, but the good man interrupted him, saying, 'you are weary, and must want to refresh yourself. come in and rest.' he conducted him into his little hut, and after the prince had eaten heartily of what he set before him, he requested him to relate how he came there. camaralzaman complied with his request, and when he had ended his story, he asked him which was the nearest way to the king his father's territories; 'for it is in vain,' said he, 'for me to think of finding my princess where i left her, after wandering eleven days from the spot. ah!' continued he, 'how do i know she is alive?' and so saying, he burst into tears. the gardener replied that there was no possibility of his going thither by land, the roads were so difficult and the journey so long; besides, he must necessarily pass through the countries of so many barbarous nations that he would never reach his father's. it was a year's journey from the city where he was to any country inhabited only by mussulmans; the quickest passage for him would be to go to the isle of ebony, whence he might easily transport himself to the isles of the children of khaledan: a ship sailed from the port every year to ebony, and he might take that opportunity of returning to those islands. 'the ship departed,' said the gardener, 'but a few days ago: if you had come a little sooner you might have taken your passage in it. if you will wait the year round until it makes the voyage again, and will stay with me in my house, such as it is, you will be as welcome to it as to your own.' prince camaralzaman was glad he had met with such a place of refuge, in a place where he had no acquaintances. he accepted the offer, and lived with the gardener till the time came that the ship was to sail to the isle of ebony. he spent his time in working all day in the garden, and all night in sighs, tears and complaints, thinking of his dear princess badoura. we must leave him in this place, to return to the princess, whom we left asleep in her tent. the princess slept a long time, and, when she awoke, wondered that prince camaralzaman was not with her; she called her women, and asked them if they knew where he was. they told her they saw him enter the tent, but did not see him go out again. while they were talking to her, she took up her girdle, found the little purse open, and the talisman gone. she did not doubt but that camaralzaman had taken it to see what it was, and that he would bring it back with him. she waited for him impatiently till night, and could not imagine what made him stay away from her so long. when it was quite dark, and she could hear no news of him, she fell into violent grief; she cursed the talisman, and the man that made it. she could not imagine how her talisman should have caused the prince's separation from her: she did not however lose her judgment, and came to a courageous decision as to what she should do. she only and her women knew of the prince's being gone; for his men were asleep in their tents. the princess, fearing they would betray her if they had any knowledge of it, moderated her grief, and forbade her women to say or do anything that might create the least suspicion. she then laid aside her robe, and put on one of prince camaralzaman's, being so like him that next day, when she came out, his men took her for him. she commanded them to pack up their baggage and begin their march; and when all things were ready, she ordered one of her women to go into her litter, she herself mounting on horseback, and riding by her side. they travelled for several months by land and sea; the princess continuing, the journey under the name of camaralzaman. they took the isle of ebony on their way to the isles of the children of khaledan. they went to the capital of the isle of ebony, where a king reigned whose name was armanos. the persons who first landed gave out that the ship carried prince camaralzaman, who was returning from a long voyage and was driven in there by a storm, and the news of his arrival was presently carried to the court. king armanos, accompanied by most of his courtiers, went immediately to meet the prince, and met the princess just as she was landing, and going to the lodging that had been taken for her. he received her as the son of a king who was his friend, and conducted her to the palace, where an apartment was prepared for her and all her attendants, though she would fain have excused herself, and have lodged in a private house. he showed her all possible honour, and entertained her for three days with extraordinary magnificence. at the end of this time, king armanos, understanding that the princess, whom he still took for prince camaralzaman, talked of going on board again to proceed on her voyage, charmed with the air and qualities of such an accomplished prince as he took her to be, seized an opportunity when she was alone, and spoke to her in this manner: 'you see, prince, that i am old, and cannot hope to live long; and, to my great mortification, i have not a son to whom i may leave my crown. heaven has only blest me with one daughter, the princess haiatalnefous whose beauty cannot be better matched than with a prince of your rank and accomplishments. instead of going home, stay and marry her from my hand, with my crown, which i resign in your favour. it is time for me to rest, and nothing could be a greater pleasure to me in my retirement than to see my people ruled by so worthy a successor to my throne.' the king of the isle of ebony's generous offer to bestow his only daughter in marriage, and with her his kingdom, on the princess badoura, put her into unexpected perplexity. she thought it would not become a princess of her rank to undeceive the king, and to own that she was not prince camaralzaman, but his wife, when she had assured him that she was he himself, whose part she had hitherto acted so well. she was also afraid refuse the honour he offered her, lest, as he was much bent upon the marriage, his kindness might turn to aversion and hatred, and he might attempt something even against her life. besides, she was not sure whether she might not find prince camaralzaman in the court of king schahzaman his father. these considerations, added to the prospect of obtaining a kingdom for the prince her husband, in case she found him again, determined her to accept the proposal of king armanos, and marry his daughter; so after having stood silent for some minutes, she with blushes, which the king took for a sign of modesty, answered, 'sir, i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for your good opinion of me, for the honour you do me, and the great favour you offer me, which i cannot pretend to merit, and dare not refuse. 'but, sir,' continued she, 'i cannot accept this great alliance on any other condition than that your majesty will assist me with your counsel, and that i do nothing without first having your approbation.' the marriage treaty being thus concluded and agreed on, the ceremony was put off till next day. in the mean time princess badoura gave notice to her officers, who still took her for prince camaralzaman, of what she was going to do so that they might not be surprised at it, assuring them that the princess badoura consented. she talked also to her women, and charged them to continue to keep the secret. the king of the isle of ebony, rejoicing that he had got a son-in- law so much to his satisfaction, next morning summoned his council, and acquainted them with his design of marrying his daughter to prince camaralzaman, whom he introduced to them; and having made him sit down by his side, told them he resigned the crown to the prince, and required them to acknowledge him for king, and swear fealty to him. having said this, he descended from his throne, and the princess badoura, by his order, ascended it. as soon as the council broke up, the new king was proclaimed through the city, rejoicings were appointed for several days, and couriers despatched all over the kingdom to see the same ceremonies observed with the same demonstrations of joy. as soon as they were alone, the princess badoura told the princess haiatalnefous the secret, and begged her to keep it, which she promised faithfully to do. 'princess,' said haiatalnefous, 'your fortune is indeed strange, that a marriage, so happy as yours was, should be shortened by so unaccountable an accident. pray heaven you may meet with your husband again soon, and be sure that i will religiously keep the secret committed to me. it will be to me the greatest pleasure in the world to be the only person in the great kingdom of the isle of ebony who knows what and who you are, while you go on governing the people as happily as you have begun. i only ask of you at present to be your friend.' then the two princesses tenderly embraced each other, and after a thousand expressions of mutual friendship lay down to rest. while these things were taking place in the court of the isle of ebony, prince camaralzaman stayed in the city of idolaters with the gardener, who had offered him his house till the ship sailed. one morning when the prince was up early, and, as he used to do, was preparing to work in the garden, the gardener prevented him, saying, 'this day is a great festival among the idolaters, and because they abstain from all work themselves, so as to spend the time in their assemblies and public rejoicings, they will not let the mussulmans work. their shows are worth seeing. you will have nothing to do to-day: i leave you here. as the time approaches in which the ship is accustomed to sail for the isle of ebony, i will go and see some of my friends, and secure you a passage in it.' the gardener put on his best clothes, and went out. when prince camaralzaman was alone, instead of going out to take part in the public joy of the city, the solitude he was in brought to his mind, with more than usual violence, the loss of his dear princess. he walked up and down the garden sighing and groaning, till the noise which two birds made on a neighbouring tree tempted him to lift up his head, and stop to see what was the matter. camaralzaman was surprised to behold a furious battle between these two birds, fighting one another with their beaks. in a very little while one of them fell down dead at the foot of a tree; the bird that was victorious took wing again, and flew away. in an instant, two other large birds, that had seen the fight at a distance, came from the other side of the garden, and pitched on the ground one at the feet and the other at the head of the dead bird: they looked at it some time, shaking their heads in token of grief; after which they dug a grave with their talons, and buried it. when they had filled up the grave with the earth they flew away, and returned in a few minutes, bringing with them the bird that had committed the murder, the one holding one of its wings in its beak, and the other one of its legs; the criminal all the while crying out in a doleful manner, and struggling to escape. they carried it to the grave of the bird which it had lately sacrificed to its rage, and there sacrificed it in just revenge for the murder it had committed. they killed the murderer with their beaks. they then opened it, tore out the entrails, left the body on the spot unburied, and flew away. camaralzaman remained in great astonishment all the time that he stood beholding this sight. he drew near the tree, and casting his eyes on the scattered entrails of the bird that was last killed, he spied something red hanging out of its body. he took it up, and found it was his beloved princess badoura's talisman, which had cost him so much pain and sorrow and so many sighs since the bird snatched it out of his hand. 'ah, cruel monster!' said he to himself, still looking at the bird, 'thou tookest delight in doing mischief, so i have the less reason to complain of that which thou didst to me: but the greater it was, the more do i wish well to those that revenged my quarrel on thee, in punishing thee for the murder of one of their own kind.' it is impossible to express prince camaralzaman's joy: 'dear princess,' continued he to himself, 'this happy minute, which restores to me a treasure so precious to thee, is without doubt a presage of our meeting again, perhaps even sooner than i think.' so saying, he kissed the talisman, wrapped it up in a ribbon, and tied it carefully about his arm. till now he had been almost every night a stranger to rest, his trouble always keeping him awake, but the next night he slept soundly: he rose somewhat later the next morning than he was accustomed to do, put on his working clothes, and went to the gardener for orders. the good man bade him root up an old tree which bore no fruit. camaralzaman took an axe, and began his work. in cutting off a branch of the root, he found that his axe struck against something that resisted the blow and made a great noise. he removed the earth, and discovered a broad plate of brass, under which was a staircase of ten steps. he went down, and at the bottom saw a cavity about six yards square, with fifty brass urns placed in order around it, each with a cover over it. he opened them all, one after another, and there was not one of them which was not full of gold-dust. he came out of the cave, rejoicing that he had found such a vast treasure: he put the brass plate over the staircase, and rooted up the tree against the gardener's return. the gardener had learned the day before that the ship which was bound for the isle of ebony would sail in a few days, but the exact time was not yet fixed. his friend promised to let him know the day, if he called upon him on the morrow; and while camaralzaman was rooting up the tree, he went to get his answer. he returned with a joyful countenance, by which the prince guessed that he brought him good news. 'son,' said the old man (so he always called him, on account of the difference of age between him and the prince), 'be joyful, and prepare to embark in three days, for the ship will then certainly set sail: i have arranged with the captain for your passage.' 'in my present situation,' replied camaralzaman, 'you could not bring me more agreeable news; and in return, i have also tidings that will be as welcome to you; come along with me, and you shall see what good fortune heaven has in store for you.' the prince led the gardener to the place where he had rooted up the tree, made him go down into the cave, and when he was there showed him what a treasure he had discovered, and thanked providence for rewarding his virtue, and the labour he had done for so many years. 'what do you mean?' replied the gardener: 'do you imagine i will take these riches as mine? they are yours: i have no right to them. for fourscore years, since my father's death, i have done nothing but dig in this garden, and could not discover this treasure, which is a sign that it was destined for you, since you have been permitted to find it. it suits a prince like you, rather than me: i have one foot in the grave, and am in no want of anything. providence has bestowed it upon you, just when you are returning to that country which will one day be your own, where you will make a good use of it.' prince camaralzaman would not be outdone in generosity by the gardener. they had a long dispute about it. at last the prince solemnly protested that he would have none of it, unless the gardener would divide it with him and take half. the good man, to please the prince, consented; so they parted it between them, and each had twenty-five urns. having thus divided it, 'son,' said the gardener to the prince, 'it is not enough that you have got this treasure; we must now contrive how to carry it so privately on board the ship that nobody may know anything of the matter, otherwise you will run the risk of losing it. there are no olives in the isle of ebony, and those that are exported hence are wanted there; you know i have plenty of them; take what you will; fill fifty pots, half with the gold dust, and half with olives, and i will get them carried to the ship when you embark.' camaralzaman followed this good advice, and spent the rest of the day in packing up the gold and the olives in the fifty pots, and fearing lest the talisman, which he wore on his arm, might be lost again, he carefully put it into one of the pots, marking it with a particular mark, to distinguish it from the rest. when they were all ready to be shipped, the prince retired with the gardener, and talking together, he related to him the battle of the birds, and how he had found the princess badoura's talisman again. the gardener was equally surprised and joyful to hear it for his sake. whether the old man was quite worn out with age, or had exhausted himself too much that day, he had a very bad night; he grew worse the next day, and on the third day, when the prince was to embark, was so ill that it was plain he was near his end. as soon as day broke, the captain of the ship came in person with several seamen to the gardener's; they knocked at the garden-door, and camaralzaman opened it to them. they asked him where the passenger was that was to go with him. the prince answered, 'i am he; the gardener who arranged with you for my passage is ill, and cannot be spoken with: come in, and let your men carry those pots of olives and my baggage aboard. i will only take leave of the gardener, and follow you.' the seamen took up the pots and the baggage, and the captain bade the prince make haste, for the wind being fair they were waiting for nothing but him. when the captain and his men were gone, camaralzaman went to the gardener, to take leave of him, and thank him for all his good offices: but he found him in the agonies of death, and had scarcely time to bid him rehearse the articles of his faith, which all good mussulmans do before they die, when the gardener expired in his presence. the prince being under the necessity of embarking immediately hastened to pay the last duty to the deceased. he washed his body, buried him in his own garden (for the mahometans had no cemetery in the city of the idolaters, where they were only tolerated), and as he had nobody to assist him it was almost evening before he had put him in the ground. as soon as he had done it he ran to the water- side, carrying with him the key of the garden, intending, if he had time, to give it to the landlord; otherwise to deposit it in some trusty person's hand before a witness, that he might leave it when he was gone. when he came to the port, he was told the ship had sailed several hours before he came and was already out of sight. it had waited three hours for him, and the wind standing fair, the captain dared not stay any longer. it is easy to imagine that prince camaralzaman was exceedingly grieved to be forced to stay longer in a country where he neither had nor wished to have any acquaintance: to think that he must wait another twelvemonth for the opportunity he had lost. but the greatest affliction of all was his having let go the princess badoura's talisman, which he now gave over for lost. the only course that was left for him to take was to return to the garden to rent it of the landlord, and to continue to cultivate it by himself, deploring his misery and misfortunes. he hired a boy to help him to do some part of the drudgery; and that he might not lose the other half of the treasure, which came to him by the death of the gardener, who died without heirs, he put the gold-dust into fifty other pots, which he filled up with olives, to be ready against the time of the ship's return. while prince camaralzaman began another year of labour, sorrow and impatience, the ship, having a fair wind, continued her voyage to the isle of ebony, and happily arrived at the capital. the palace being by the sea-side, the new king, or rather the princess badoura, espying the ship as she was entering the port, with all her flags flying, asked what vessel it was; she was told that it came annually from the city of the idolaters, and was generally richly laden. the princess, who always had prince camaralzaman in her mind amidst the glories which surrounded her, imagined that the prince might be on board, and resolved to go down to the ship and meet him. under presence of inquiring what merchandise was on board, and having the first sight of the goods, and choosing the most valuable, she commanded a horse to be brought, which she mounted, and rode to the port, accompanied by several officers in waiting, and arrived at the port just as the captain came ashore. she ordered him to be brought before her, and asked whence he came, how long he had been on his voyage, and what good or bad fortune he had met with: if he had any stranger of quality on board, and particularly with what his ship was laden. the captain gave a satisfactory answer to all her demands; and as to passengers, assured her that there were none but merchants in his ship, who were used to come every year and bring rich stuffs from several parts of the world to trade with, the finest linens painted and plain, diamonds, musk, ambergris, camphor, civet, spices, drugs, olives, and many other articles. the princess badoura loved olives extremely: when she heard the captain speak of them, she said, 'land them, i will take them off your hands: as to the other goods, tell the merchants to bring them to me, and let me see them before they dispose of them, or show them to any one else.' the captain, taking her for the king of the isle of ebony, replied, 'sire, there are fifty great pots of olives, but they belong to a merchant whom i was forced to leave behind. i gave him notice myself that i was waiting for him, and waited a long time; but as he did not come, and the wind was good, i was afraid of losing it, and so set sail.' the princess answered, 'no matter; bring them ashore; we will make a bargain for them.' the captain sent his boat aboard, and in a little time it returned with the pots of olives. the princess demanded how much the fifty pots might be worth in the isle of ebony. 'sir,' said the captain, 'the merchant is very poor, and your majesty will do him a singular favour if you give him a thousand pieces of silver.' 'to satisfy him,' replied the princess, 'and because you tell me he is poor, i will order you a thousand pieces of gold for him, which do you take care to give him.' the money was accordingly, paid, and the pots carried to the palace in her presence. night was drawing on when the princess withdrew into the inner palace, and went to the princess haiatalnefous' apartment, ordering the fifty pots of olives to be brought thither. she opened one, to let the princess haiatalnefous taste them, and poured them into a dish. great was her astonishment when she found the olives mingled with gold-dust. 'what can this mean?' said she, 'it is wonderful beyond comprehension.' her curiosity increasing, she ordered haiatalnefous' women to open and empty all the pots in her presence; and her wonder was still greater, when she saw that the olives in all of them were mixed with gold-dust; but when she saw her talisman drop out of that into which the prince had put it, she was so surprised that she fainted away. the princess haiatalnefous and her women restored the princess badoura by throwing cold water on her face. when she recovered her senses, she took the talisman and kissed it again and again; but not being willing that the princess haiatalnefous's women, who were ignorant of her disguise, should hear what she said, she dismissed them. 'princess,' said she to haiatalnefous, as soon as they were gone, 'you, who have heard my story, surely guessed that it was at the sight of the talisman that i fainted. this is the talisman, the fatal cause of my losing my dear husband prince camaralzaman; but as it was that which caused our separation, so i foresee it will be the means of our meeting again soon.' the next day, as soon as it was light, she sent for the captain of the ship; and when he came she spoke to him thus: 'i want to know something more of the merchant to whom the olives belong, that i bought of you yesterday. i think you told me you had left him behind you in the city of the idolaters: can you tell me what he is doing there?' 'yes, sire,' replied the captain, 'i can speak on my own knowledge. i arranged for his passage with a very old gardener, who told me i should find him in his garden, where he worked under him. he showed me the place, and for that reason i told your majesty he was poor. i went there to call him. i told him what haste i was in, spoke to him myself in the garden, and cannot be mistaken in the man.' 'if what you say is true,' replied the princess badoura, 'you must set sail this very day for the city of idolaters, and fetch me that gardener's man, who is my debtor; else i will not only confiscate all your goods and those of your merchants, but your and their lives shall answer for his. i have ordered my seal to be put on the warehouses where they are, which shall not be taken off till you bring me that man. this is all i have to say to you; go, and do as i command you.' the captain could make no reply to this order, the disobeying of which would be a very great loss to him and his merchants. he told them about it, and they hastened him away as fast as they could after he had laid in a stock of provisions and fresh water for his voyage. they were so diligent, that he set sail the same day. he had a prosperous voyage to the city of the idolaters, where he arrived in the night. when he was as near to the city as he thought convenient, he would not cast anchor, but let the ship ride off the shore; and going into his boat, with six of his stoutest seamen, he landed a little way off the port, whence he went directly to camaralzaman's garden. though it was about midnight when he arrived there, the prince was not asleep. his separation from the fair princess of china his wife afflicted him as usual. he cursed the minute in which his curiosity tempted him to touch the fatal girdle. thus did he pass those hours which are devoted to rest, when he heard somebody knock at the garden door. he ran hastily to it, half-dressed as he was; but he had no sooner opened it, than the captain and his seamen took hold of him, and carried him by force on board the boat, and so to the ship, and as soon as he was safely lodged, they set sail immediately, and made the best of their way to the isle of ebony. hitherto camaralzaman, the captain, and his men had not said a word to one another; at last the prince broke silence, and asked the captain, whom he recognized, why they had taken him away by force? the captain in his turn demanded of the prince whether he was not a debtor of the king of ebony? 'i the king of ebony's debtor!' replied camaralzaman in amazement; 'i do not know him, i never had anything to do with him in my life, and never set foot in his kingdom.' the captain answered, 'you should know that better than i; you will talk to him yourself in a little while: till then, stay here and have patience.' though it was night when he cast anchor in the port, the captain landed immediately, and taking prince camaralzaman with him hastened to the palace, where he demanded to be introduced to the king. the princess badoura had withdrawn into the inner palace; however, as soon as she had heard of the captain's return and camaralzaman's arrival, she came out to speak to him. as soon as she set her eyes on the prince, for whom she had shed so many tears, she knew him in his gardener's clothes. as for the prince, who trembled in the presence of a king, as he thought her, to whom he was to answer for an imaginary debt, it did not enter into his head that the person whom he so earnestly desired to see stood before him. if the princess had followed the dictates of her inclination, she would have run to him and embraced him, but she put a constraint on herself, believing that it was for the interest of both that she should act the part of a king a little longer before she made herself known. she contented herself for the present with putting him into the hands of an officer, who was then in waiting, with a charge to take care of him till the next day. when the princess badoura had provided for prince camaralzaman, she turned to the captain, whom she was now to reward for the important service he had done her. she commanded another officer to go immediately and take the seal off the warehouse where his and his merchants' goods were, and gave him a rich diamond, worth much more than the expense of both his voyages. she bade him besides keep the thousand pieces of gold she had given him for the pots of olives, telling him she would make up the account with the merchant herself. this done, she retired to the princess of the isle of ebony's apartment, to whom she communicated her joy, praying her to keep the secret still. she told her how she intended to manage to reveal herself to prince camaralzaman, and to give him the kingdom. the princess of the isle of ebony was so far from betraying her, that she rejoiced and entered fully into the plan. the next morning the princess of china ordered prince camaralzaman to be apparelled in the robes of an emir or governor of a province. she commanded him to be introduced into the council, where his fine person and majestic air drew all the eyes of the lords there present upon him. the princess badoura herself was charmed to see him again, as handsome as she had often seen him, and her pleasure inspired her to speak the more warmly in his praise. when she addressed herself to the council, having ordered the prince to take his seat among the emirs, she spoke to them thus: 'my lords, this emir whom i have advanced to the same dignity with you is not unworthy the place assigned him. i have known enough of him in my travels to answer for him, and i can assure you he will make his merit known to all of you.' camaralzaman was extremely amazed to hear the king of the isle of ebony, whom he was far from taking for a woman, much less for his dear princess, name him, and declare that he knew him, while he thought himself certain that he had never seen him before in his life. he was much more surprised when he heard him praise him so excessively. those praises, however, did not disconcert him, though he received them with such modesty as showed that he did not grow vain. he prostrated himself before the throne of the king, and rising again, 'sire,' said he, 'i want words to express my gratitude to your majesty for the honour you have done me: i shall do all in my power to render myself worthy of your royal favour.' from the council-board the prince was conducted to a palace, which the princess badoura had ordered to be fitted up for him; where he found officers and domestics ready to obey his commands, a stable full of fine horses, and everything suitable to the rank of an emir. then the steward of his household brought him a strong box full of gold for his expenses. the less he understood whence came his great good fortune, the more he admired it, but never once imagined that he owed it to the princess of china. two or three days after, the princess badoura, that he might be nearer to her, and in a more distinguished post, made him high treasurer, which office had lately become vacant. he behaved himself in his new charge with so much integrity, yet obliging everybody, that he not only gained the friendship of the great but also the affections of the people, by his uprightness and bounty. camaralzaman would have been the happiest man in the world, if he had had his princess with him. in the midst of his good fortune he never ceased lamenting her, and grieved that he could hear no tidings of her, especially in a country where she must necessarily have come on her way to his father's court after their separation. he would have suspected something had the princess badoura still gone by the name of camaralzaman, but on her accession to the throne she changed it, and took that of armanos, in honour of the old king her father-in-law. she was now known only by the name of the young king armanos. there were very few courtiers who knew that she had ever been called camaralzaman, which name she assumed when she arrived at the court of the isle of ebony, nor had camaralzaman so much acquaintance with any of them yet as to learn more of her history. the princess fearing he might do so in time, and desiring that he should owe the discovery to herself only, resolved to put an end to her own torment and his; for she had observed that as often as she discoursed with him about the affairs of his office, he fetched such deep sighs as could be addressed to nobody but her. she herself also lived under such constraint that she could endure it no longer. the princess badoura had no sooner made this decision with the princess haiatalnefous, than she took prince camaralzaman aside, saying, 'i must talk with you about an affair, camaralzaman, which requires much consideration, and on which i want your advice. come hither in the evening, and leave word at home that you will not return; i will take care to provide you a bed.' camaralzaman came punctually to the palace at the hour appointed by the princess; she took him with her into the inner apartment, and having told the chief chamberlain, who was preparing to follow her, that she had no occasion for his service, and that he should only keep the door shut, she took him into a different apartment. when the prince and princess entered the chamber she shut the door, and, taking the talisman out of a little box, gave it to camaralzaman, saying, 'it is not long since an astrologer presented me with this talisman; you being skilful in all things, may perhaps tell me its use.' camaralzaman took the talisman, and drew near a lamp to look at it. as soon as he recollected it, with an astonishment which gave the princess great pleasure, 'sire,' said he to the princess, 'your majesty asked me what this talisman is good for. alas! it is only good to kill me with grief and despair, if i do not quickly find the most charming and lovely princess in the world to whom it belonged, whose loss it occasioned by a strange adventure, the very recital of which will move your majesty to pity such an unfortunate husband and lover, if you would have patience to hear it.' 'you shall tell me that another time,' replied the princess; 'i am very glad to tell you i know something of it already; stay here a little, and i will return to you in a moment.' at these words she went into her dressing-room, put off her royal turban, and in a few minutes dressed herself like a woman; and having the girdle round her which she wore on the day of their separation, she entered the chamber. prince camaralzaman immediately knew his dear princess, ran to her, and tenderly embraced her, crying out, 'how much i am obliged to the king, who has so agreeably surprised me!' 'do not expect to see the king any more,' replied the princess, embracing him in her turn, with tears in her eyes; 'you see him in me: sit down, and i will explain this enigma to you.' they sat down, and the princess told the prince the resolution she came to, in the field where they encamped the last time they were together, as soon as she perceived that she waited for him to no purpose; how she went through with it till she arrived at the isle of ebony, where she had been obliged to marry the princess haiatalnefous, and accept the crown which king armanos offered her as a condition of the marriage: how the princess, whose merit she highly extolled, had kept the secret, and how she found the talisman in the pots of olives mingled with the gold dust, and how the finding it was the cause of her sending for him to the city of the idolaters. the princess badoura and prince camaralzaman rose next morning as soon as it was light, but the princess would no more put on her royal robes as king; she dressed herself in the dress of a woman, and then sent the chief chamberlain to king armanos, her father-in- law to desire he would be so good as to come to her apartment. when the king entered the chamber, he was amazed to see there a lady who was unknown to him, and the high treasurer with her, who was not permitted to come within the inner palace. he sat down and asked where the king was. the princess answered, 'yesterday i was king, sir, and to-day i am the princess of china, wife of the true prince camaralzaman, the true son of king schahzaman. if your majesty will have the patience to hear both our stories, i hope you will not condemn me for putting an innocent deceit upon you.' the king bade her go on, and heard her discourse from the beginning to the end with astonishment. the princess on finishing it said to him, 'sir, in our religion men may have several wives; if your majesty will consent to give your daughter the princess haiatalnefous in marriage to prince camaralzaman, i will with all my heart yield up to her the rank and quality of queen, which of right belongs to her, and content myself with the second place. if this precedence was not her due, i would, however, give it her, after she has kept my secret so generously.' king armanos listened to the princess with astonishment, and when she had done, turned to prince camaralzaman, saying, 'son, since the princess badoura your wife, whom i have all along thought to be my son-in-law, through a deceit of which i cannot complain, assures me that she is willing, i have nothing more to do but to ask you if you are willing to marry my daughter and accept the crown, which the princess badoura would deservedly wear as long as she lived, if she did not quit it out of love to you.' 'sir,' replied prince camaralzaman, 'though i desire nothing so earnestly as to see the king my father, yet the obligation i am under to your majesty and the princess haiatalnefous are so weighty, i can refuse her nothing.' camaralzaman was proclaimed king, and married the same day with all possible demonstrations of joy. not long afterwards they all resumed the long interrupted journey to the isles of the children of khaledan, where they were fortunate enough to find the old king schahzaman still alive and overjoyed to see his son once more; and after several months' rejoicing, king camaralzaman and the two queens returned to the island of ebony, where they lived in great happiness for the remainder of their lives. the story of zobeide told by herself the following story is one of the strangest that ever was heard. two black dogs long dwelt with me in my house, and were very affectionately disposed towards me. these two black dogs and myself were sisters, and i shall acquaint you by what strange accident they came to be metamorphosed. after our father's death, the estate that he left was equally divided among us. my two sisters and myself stayed with our mother, who was still alive, and when she died she left each of us a thousand sequins. as soon as we received our portions, the two elder (for i am the youngest), being married, followed their husbands and left me alone. some time after, my eldest sister's husband sold all that he had, and with that money and my sister's portion they both went into africa, where her husband, by riotous living, spent all; and finding himself reduced to poverty, he found a pretext for divorcing my sister, and sent her away. she returned to this city, and, having suffered incredible hardships by the way, came to me in so lamentable a condition that it would have moved the hardest heart to compassion. i received her with all the tenderness she could expect, and on my inquiring into the cause of her sad condition, she told me with tears how inhumanly her husband had dealt with her. i was so much concerned at her misfortune that it drew tears from my eyes: i clothed her with my own apparel, and spoke to her thus: 'sister, you are the elder, and i esteem you as my mother: during your absence, god has blessed the portion that fell to my share, and the employment i follow of feeding and bringing up silk-worms. assure yourself that there is nothing i have but is at your service, and as much at your disposal as my own.' we lived very comfortably together for some months; and one day as we were discoursing together about our third sister, and wondering we heard no news of her, she came home in as bad a condition as the elder; her husband had treated her after the same manner: and i received her likewise with the same affection as i had done the other. some time after, my two sisters, on the ground that they would not be an expense to me, told me they intended to marry again. i answered them, that if their putting me to expense was all the reason they might lay those thoughts aside, and be very welcome to stay with me; for what i had would be sufficient to maintain us all three in a manner suitable to our condition. 'but,' said i, 'i rather believe you have a mind to marry again. if you do, i am sure it will very much surprise me: after the experience you have had of the small satisfaction there is in marriage, is it possible you dare venture a second time? you know how rare it is to meet with a husband that is a really honest man. believe what i say, and let us live together as comfortably as we can.' all my persuasion was in vain; they were resolved to marry, and so they did. but after some months were past they came back again, and begged my pardon a thousand times for not following my advice. 'you are our youngest sister,' said they, 'and much wiser than we; but if you will vouchsafe to receive us once more into your house and account us your slaves, we shall never commit such a fault again.' my answer was, 'dear sisters, i have not altered my mind with respect to you since we last parted from one another; come again and take part of what i have.' upon this i embraced them again, and we lived together as we did formerly. we continued thus a whole year in perfect love and tranquillity; and seeing that god had increased my small stock, i projected a voyage by sea, to hazard somewhat by trade. to this end i went with my two sisters to balsora, where i bought a ship ready fitted for sea, and laded her with such merchandise as i brought from bagdad. we set sail with a fair wind, and soon cleared the persian gulf; and when we got into the ocean we steered our course to the indies, and on the twentieth day saw land. it was a very high mountain, at the foot of which we saw a great town, and having a fresh wind we soon reached the harbour, where we cast anchor. i had not patience to stay till my sisters were ready to go with me, but went ashore in the boat by myself; and, making directly for the gate of the town, i saw there a great number of men on guard, some sitting and others standing, with sticks in their hands; and they had all such dreadful countenances that it frightened me; but perceiving they had no motion, not so much as with their eyes, i took courage, and went nearer, and then found they were all turned into stone. i entered the town and passed through the several streets, wherein men stood everywhere in various attitudes, but all motionless and petrified. on that side where the merchants lived i found most of the shops shut, and in such as were open i likewise found the people petrified. i looked up to the chimneys, but saw no smoke; which made me conjecture that the inhabitants both within and without were all turned into stone. being come into a vast square in the heart of the city, i perceived a great gate covered with plates of gold, the two doors of which stood open, and a curtain of silk stuff seemed to be drawn before it; i also saw a lamp hanging over the gate. after i had well considered, i made no doubt but that it was the palace of the prince who reigned over that country; and being very much astonished that i had not met with one living creature, i went thither in hopes to find some one. i entered the gate, and was still more surprised when i saw none but the guards in the porches, all petrified, some standing, some sitting, and some lying. i crossed over a large court where i saw a stately building just before me, the windows of which were enclosed with gates of massive gold: i supposed it to be the queen's apartment, and went into a large hall, where there stood several black chamberlains turned into stone. i went from thence into a room richly hung and furnished, where i perceived a lady. i knew it to be the queen by the crown of gold that hung over her head, and a necklace of pearls about her neck, each of them as big as a nut; i went up close to her to view it, and never beheld a finer sight. i stood some time and admired the riches and magnificence of the room; but above all, the footcloth, the cushions and the sofas, which were all lined with indian stuff or gold, with pictures of men and beasts in silver admirably executed. i went out of the chamber where the petrified queen was, and passed through several other apartments richly furnished, and at last came into a vast room, where was a throne of massive gold, raised several steps above the floor and enriched with large emeralds, and a bed upon the throne of rich stuff embroidered with pearls. what surprised me more than all the rest was a sparkling light which came from above the bed. being curious to know from whence it came, i mounted the steps, and lifting up my head, i saw a diamond, as big as the egg of an ostrich, lying upon a low stool; it was so pure that i could not find the least blemish in it, and it sparkled so brightly that i could not endure the lustre of it when i saw it by daylight. on each side of the bed's head there stood a lighted torch, but for what use i could not comprehend; however, it made me imagine that there was some living creature in this place, for i could not believe that these torches continued thus burning of themselves. the doors being all open, or but half shut, i surveyed some other apartments that were as fine as those i had already seen. i looked into the offices and store-rooms, which were full of infinite riches, and i was so much taken with the sight of all the wonderful things that i forgot myself; and did not think of my ship or my sisters; my whole design was to satisfy my curiosity. meantime night came on, which put me in mind that it was time to retire. i was for returning by the way i came in, but i could not find it; i lost myself among the apartments; and finding i was come back again to that large room where the throne, the couch, the large diamond, and the torches stood, i resolved to take my night's lodging there, and to depart the next morning betimes, to get aboard my ship. i laid myself down upon the couch, not without some dread of being alone in a desolate place; and this fear hindered my sleep. about midnight i heard a voice like that of a man reading the koran, after the same manner and in the same tone as we read in our mosques. being extremely glad to hear it, i got up immediately, and, taking a torch in my hand to light me, i passed from one chamber to another on that side where the voice came from: i came to a door, where i stood still, nowise doubting that it came from thence. i set down my torch upon the ground, and looking through a window i found it to be an oratory. in short, it had, as we have in our mosques, a niche that shows where we must turn to say our prayers; there were also lamps hung up, and two candlesticks with large tapers of white wax burning. i saw a little carpet laid down, like those we have to kneel upon when we say our prayers, and a comely young man sat upon this carpet, reading with great devotion the koran, which lay before him upon a desk. at the sight of this i was transported with wonder. i wondered how it came to pass that he should be the only living creature in a town where all the people were turned into stones, and i did not doubt but that there was something in it very extraordinary. the door being only half shut, i opened it and went in, and standing upright before the niche, i said this prayer aloud: 'praise be to god, who has favoured us with a happy voyage, and may he be graciously pleased to protect us in the same manner until we arrive again in our own country. hear me, o lord, and grant my request.' the young man cast his eyes upon me, and said, 'my good lady, pray let me know who you are, and what has brought you to this desolate city; and, in return, i will tell you who i am, what happened to me, why the inhabitants of this city are reduced to that state you see them in, and why i alone am safe and sound in the midst of such a terrible disaster.' i told him in few words from whence i came, what made me undertake the voyage, and how i had safely arrived at the port after twenty days' sailing; and when i had done i prayed him to fulfil his promise, and told him how much i was struck by the frightful desolation which i had seen in all places as i came along. 'my dear lady,' said the young man, 'have patience for a moment.' at these words he shut the koran, put it into a rich case, and laid it in the niche. i took that opportunity of observing him, and perceived so much good-nature and beauty in him that i felt strange emotion. he made me sit down by him; and before he began his discourse i could not forbear saying to him, 'sir, i can scarcely have patience to wait for an account of all those wonderful things that i have seen since the first time i came into your city; and my curiosity cannot be satisfied too soon: therefore pray, sir, let me know by what miracle you alone are left alive among so many persons that have died in so strange a manner.' 'madam,' said the young man, 'you have given me to understand that you have a knowledge of the true god by the prayer you have just now addressed to him. i will acquaint you with the most remarkable effect of his greatness and power. you must know that this city was the metropolis of a mighty kingdom, over which the king, my father, did reign. he, his whole court, the inhabitants of the city, and all his other subjects were magi, worshippers of fire, and of nardoun, the ancient king of the giants, who rebelled against god. 'and though i had an idolatrous father and mother, i had the good fortune in my youth to have a governess who was a good mussulman; i learned the koran by heart, and understood the explanation of it perfectly. "dear prince," would she oftentimes say, "there is but one true god; take heed that you do not acknowledge and adore any other." she taught me to read arabic, and the book she gave me to practice upon was the koran. as soon as i was capable of understanding it, she explained to me all the heads of this excellent book, and infused piety into my mind, unknown to my father or anybody else. she happened to die, but not before she had instructed me in all that was necessary to convince me of the truth of the mussulman religion. after her death i persisted with constancy in this belief; and i abhor the false god nardoun, and the adoration of fire. 'it is about three years and some months ago that a thundering voice was heard, all of a sudden, so distinctly, through the whole city that nobody could miss hearing it. the words were these: "inhabitants, abandon the worship of nardoun, and of fire, and worship the only god that shows mercy." 'this voice was heard for three years successively, but nobody was converted: so on the last day of the year, at four o'clock in the morning, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, every one in the same condition and posture they happened to be then in. the king, my father, had the same fate, for he was metamorphosed into a black stone, as he is to be seen in this palace; and the queen, my mother, had the like destiny. 'i am the only person that did not suffer under that heavy judgment, and ever since i have continued to serve god with more fervency than before. i am persuaded, dear lady, that he has sent you hither for my comfort, for which i render him infinite thanks; for i must own that this solitary life is very unpleasant.' 'prince,' said i, 'there is no doubt that providence hath brought me into your port to present you with an opportunity of withdrawing from this dismal place. the ship that i came in may in some measure persuade you that i am in some esteem at bagdad, where i have also left a considerable estate; and i dare engage to promise you sanctuary there, until the mighty commander of the faithful, who is vice-regent to our prophet, whom you acknowledge, shows you the honour that is due to your merit. this renowned prince lives at bagdad, and as soon as he is informed of your arrival in his capital, you will find that it is not vain to implore his assistance. it is impossible you can stay any longer in a city where all the objects you see must renew your grief: my vessel is at your service, where you may absolutely command as you think fit.' he accepted the offer, and we discoursed the remaining part of the night about our sailing. as soon as it was day we left the palace, and came aboard my ship, where we found my sisters, the captain, and the slaves, all very much troubled at my absence. after i had presented my sisters to the prince, i told them what had hindered my return to the vessel the day before, how i had met with the young prince, his story, and the cause of the desolation of so fine a city. the seamen were taken up several days in unlading the merchandise i had brought with me, and embarking instead all the precious things in the palace, jewels, gold and money. we left the furniture and goods, which consisted of an infinite quantity of plate, etc., because our vessel could not carry it, for it would have required several vessels more to carry all the riches to bagdad that we might have chosen to take with us. after we had laden the vessel with what we thought fit, we took such provisions and water aboard as were necessary for our voyage (for we had still a great deal of those provisions left that we had taken in at balsora): at last we set sail with a wind as favourable as we could wish. the young prince, my sisters and myself enjoyed ourselves for some time very agreeably; but alas! this good understanding did not last long, for my sisters grew jealous of the friendship between the prince and me, and maliciously asked me one day what we should do with him when we came to bagdad. i perceived immediately why they put this question to me; therefore, resolving to put it off with a jest, i answered them, 'i will take him for my husband'; and upon that, turning myself to the prince, 'sir,' said i, 'i humbly beg of you to give your consent; for as soon as we come to bagdad i design to do you all the service that is in my power and to resign myself wholly to your commands.' the prince answered, 'i know not, madam, whether you be in jest or no; but for my own part i seriously declare, before these ladies your sisters, that from this moment i heartily accept your offer, as my lady and mistress. nor will i pretend to have any power over your actions.' at these words my sisters changed colour, and i could perceive afterwards that they did not love me as formerly. we had come into the persian gulf, not far from balsora, where i hoped, considering the fair wind, we might arrive the day following; but in the night, when i was asleep, my sisters watched their time and threw me overboard. they did the same to the prince, who was drowned. i swam for some minutes in the water; but by good fortune, or rather miracle, i soon felt ground. i went towards a black place, that, so far as i could discern in the dark, seemed to be land, and actually was a flat on the coast. when day came, i found it to be a desert island, lying about twenty miles from balsora. i soon dried my clothes in the sun; and as i walked along i found several sorts of fruit, and likewise fresh water, which gave me some hope of preserving my life. i laid myself down in the shade and soon after i saw a winged serpent, very large and long, coming towards me, wriggling to the right and to the left, and hanging out his tongue, which made me think he was ill. i arose, and saw a larger serpent following him, holding him by the tail, and endeavouring to devour him. i had compassion on him, and instead of flying away, i had the boldness and courage to take up a stone that by chance lay by me, and threw it with all my strength at the great serpent, whom i hit on the head, and killed him. the other, finding himself at liberty, took to his wings and flew away. i looked a long while after him in the air, as an extraordinary thing; but he flew out of sight, and i lay down again in another place in the shade, and fell asleep. when i awoke, judge how surprised i was to see by me a black woman, of lively and agreeable looks, who held, tied together in her hand, two dogs of the same colour. i sat up and asked her who she was. 'i am,' said she, 'the serpent whom you delivered not long since from my mortal enemy. i knew not how to acknowledge the great kindness you did me, but by doing what i have done. i knew the treachery of your sisters, and, to revenge you on them, as soon as i was set at liberty by your generous assistance i called several of my companions together, fairies like myself. we have carried into your storehouses at bagdad all your lading that was in your vessel, and afterwards sunk it. 'these two black dogs are your sisters, whom i have transformed into this shape. but this punishment is not sufficient; for i will have you treat them after such a manner as i shall direct.' at those words the fairy took me fast under one of her arms, and the two dogs in the other, and carried me to my house in bagdad, where i found in my storehouses all the riches which were laden on board my vessel. before she left me she delivered the two dogs, and told me, 'if you will not be changed into a dog as they are, i order you to give each of your sisters every night a hundred lashes with a rod, for the punishment of the crime they have committed against your person and the young prince whom they drowned.' i was forced to promise that i would obey her order. for many months i whipped them every night, though with regret. i gave evidence by my tears with how much sorrow and reluctance i must perform this cruel duty. now the fairy had left with me a bundle of hair, saying withal that her presence would one day be of use to me; and then, if i only burnt two tufts of this hair, she would be with me in a moment, though she were beyond mount caucasus. desirous at length to see the fairy and beg her to restore the two black dogs, my sisters, to their proper shape, i caused fire one day to be brought in, and threw the whole bundle of hair into it. the house began to shake at that very instant, and the fairy appeared in the form of a lady very richly dressed. i besought her, with every form of entreaty i could employ, to restore my sisters to their natural shape, and to release me from the cruel duty that i had always unwillingly performed. the fairy at length consented, and desired a bowl of water to be brought; she pronounced over it some words which i did not understand, and then sprinkled the water upon the dogs. they immediately became two ladies of surprising beauty, and i recognised in them the sisters to whose human form i had so long been a stranger. they soon after married the sons of kings, and lived happily for the rest of their lives. the story of the king's son. i was scarcely past my infancy when the king my father perceived that i was endowed with a great deal of sense, and spared nothing in improving it; he employed all the men in his dominions that excelled in science and art to be constantly about me. no sooner was i able to read and write than i learned the koran from the beginning to the end by heart; that admirable book which contains the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and that i might be thoroughly instructed in it, i read the works of the most approved authors, by whose commentaries it had been explained. i added to this study that of all the traditions collected from the mouth of our prophet by the great men that were contemporary with him. i was not satisfied with the knowledge of all that had any relation to our religion, but made also a particular search into our histories. i made myself perfect in polite learning, in the works of poets, and in versification. i applied myself to geography, chronology, and to speak our arabic tongue in its purity. but one thing which i was fond of and succeeded in to a special degree was to form the characters of our written language, wherein i surpassed all the writing masters of our kingdom that had acquired the greatest reputation. fame did me more honour than i deserved, for she not only spread the renown of my talents through all the dominions of the king my father, but carried it as far as the indian court, whose potent monarch, desirous to see me, sent an ambassador with rich presents to demand me of my father, who was extremely glad of this embassy for several reasons; he was persuaded that nothing could be more commendable in a prince of my age than to travel and visit foreign courts, and he was very glad to gain the friendship of the indian sultan. i departed with the ambassador, but with no great retinue, because of the length and difficulty of the journey. when we had travelled about a month, we discovered at a distance a great cloud of dust, and under that we very soon saw fifty horsemen, well armed, that were robbers, coming towards us at full gallop. as we had ten horses laden with baggage and presents that i was to carry to the indian sultan from the king my father, and my retinue was but small, these robbers came boldly up to us. not being in a position to make any resistance, we told them that we were ambassadors belonging to the sultan of the indies, and hoped they would attempt nothing contrary to that respect which is due to him, thinking by this means to save our equipage and our lives. but the robbers most insolently replied, 'for what reason would you have us show any respect to the sultan your master? we are none of his subjects, nor are we upon his territories.' having spoken thus, they surrounded and fell upon us. i defended myself as long as i could, but finding myself wounded, and seeing the ambassador with his servants and mine lying on the ground, i made use of what strength was yet remaining in my horse, who was also very much wounded, separated myself from the crowd, and rode away as fast as he could carry me; but he happened all of a sudden to give way under me, through weariness and loss of blood, and fell down dead. i got rid of him in a trice, and finding that i was not pursued, it made me judge that the robbers were not willing to quit the booty they had got. here you see me alone, wounded, destitute of help, and in a strange country: i durst not betake myself to the high road, lest i might fall again into the hands of these robbers. when i had bound up my wound, which was not dangerous, i walked on for the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where i perceived a passage into a cave: i went in, and stayed there that night with little satisfaction, after i had eaten some fruits that i gathered by the way. i continued my journey for several days without finding any place of abode; but after a month's time, i came to a large town, well inhabited, and situated so advantageously, as it was surrounded with several rivers, that it enjoyed perpetual spring. the pleasant objects which then presented themselves to my eyes afforded me joy, and suspended for a time the sorrow with which i was overwhelmed to find myself in such a condition. my face, hands and feet were black and sunburnt; and, owing to my long journey, my shoes and stockings were quite worn out, so that i was forced to walk bare-footed, and, besides, my clothes were all in rags. i entered into the town to learn where i was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop; who, perceiving by my air that i was a person of more note than my outward appearance bespoke me to be, made me sit down by him, and asked me who i was, from whence i came, and what had brought me thither? i did not conceal anything that had befallen me. the tailor listened with attention to my words; but after i had done speaking, instead of giving me any consolation, he augmented my sorrow. 'take heed,' said he, 'how you discover to any person what you have now declared to me; for the prince of this country is the greatest enemy that the king your father has, and he will certainly do you some mischief when he comes to hear of your being in this city.' i made no doubt of the tailor's sincerity, when he named the prince, and returned him thanks for his good advice: and as he believed i could not but be hungry, he ordered something to be brought for me to eat, and offered me at the same time a lodging in his house, which i accepted. some days after, finding me pretty well recovered from the fatigue i had endured by a long and tedious journey, and reflecting that most princes of our religion applied themselves to some art or calling that might be serviceable to them upon occasion, he asked me if i had learnt anything whereby i might get a livelihood, and not be burdensome to any one? i told him that i understood the laws, both divine and human; that i was a grammarian and poet; and, above all, that i understood writing perfectly. 'by all this,' said he, 'you will not be able, in this country, to purchase yourself one morsel of bread; nothing is of less use here than those sciences: but if you will be advised by me,' said he, 'dress yourself in a labourer's frock; and since you appear to be strong and of a good constitution, you shall go into the next forest and cut fire-wood, which you may bring to the market to be sold; and i can assure you it will turn to such good account that you may live by it, without dependence upon any man: and by this means you will be in a condition to wait for the favourable moment when heaven shall think fit to dispel those clouds of misfortune that thwart your happiness, and oblige you to conceal your birth. i will take care to supply you with a rope and a hatchet.' the fear of being known, and the necessity i was under of getting a livelihood, made me agree to this proposal, notwithstanding all the hardships that attended it. the day following the tailor bought me a rope, a hatchet, and a short coat, and recommended me to some poor people who gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. they conducted me to the wood, and the first day i brought in as much upon my head as earned me half a piece of gold, which is the money of that country; for though the wood is not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce there, for few or none would be at the trouble to go and cut it. i gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had advanced for me. i continued this way of living for a whole year; and one day, when by chance i had gone farther into the wood than usual, i happened to light on a very pleasant place, where i began to cut down wood; and in pulling up the root of a tree, i espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap-door of the same metal. i took away the earth that covered it, and having lifted it up, saw stairs, down which i went, with my axe in my hand. when i came to the bottom of the stairs, i found myself in a large palace, which put me into great consternation, because of a great light which appeared as clear in it as if it had been above ground in the open air. i went forward along a gallery supported by pillars of jasper, the base and capitals of massy gold; but seeing a lady of a noble and free air and extremely beautiful coming towards me, my eyes were taken off from beholding any other object but her alone. being desirous to spare the lady the trouble of coming to me, i made haste to meet her; and as i was saluting her with a low bow, she asked me, 'what are you, a man or a genie?' 'a man, madam,' said i: 'i have no correspondence with genies.' 'by what adventure,' said she, fetching a deep sigh, 'are you come hither? i have lived here these twenty-five years, and never saw any man but yourself during that time.' her great beauty, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, emboldened me to say to her, 'madam, before i have the honour to satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to tell you that i am infinitely pleased with this unexpected meeting, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity to make you also more happy than you are.' i gave her a true account by what strange accident she saw me, the son of a king, in such a condition as i then presented to her eyes; and how fortune directed that i should discover the entrance into that magnificent prison where i had found her according to appearances in an unpleasant situation. 'alas! prince,' said she, sighing once more, 'you have just cause to believe this rich and pompous prison cannot be otherwise than a most wearisome abode; the most charming place in the world being no way delightful when we are detained there contrary to our will. you have heard of the great epitimarus, king of the isle of ebony, so called from that precious wood, which it produces in abundance: i am the princess his daughter. 'the king, my father, had chosen for me a husband, a prince that was my cousin; but in the midst of the rejoicing at the court, before i was given to my husband, a genie took me away. i fainted at the same moment, and lost my senses; and when i came to myself again, i found myself in this place. i was for a long time inconsolable, but time and necessity have accustomed me to the genie. twenty-five years, as i told you before, i have continued in this place; where, i must confess, i have everything that i can wish for necessary to life, and also everything that can satisfy a princess fond of dress and fashions. 'every ten days,' continued the princess, 'the genie comes hither to see me. meanwhile, if i have occasion for him by day or night, as soon as i touch a talisman which is at the entrance into my chamber, the genie appears. it is now the fourth day since he was here, and i do not expect him before the end of six more; so, if you please, you may stay five days and keep me company, and i will endeavour to entertain you according to your rank and merit.' i thought myself too fortunate in having obtained so great a favour without asking it to refuse so obliging an offer. the princess made me go into a bath, which was the most sumptuous that could be imagined; and when i came forth, instead of my own clothes, i found another very costly suit, which i did not esteem so much for its richness as because it made me look worthy to be in her company. we sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions to lean upon of the rarest indian brocade; and soon after she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. we ate together, and passed the remaining part of the day with much satisfaction. the next day, as she contrived every means to please me, she brought in, at dinner, a bottle of old wine, the most excellent that ever was tasted; and out of complaisance she drank some part of it with me. when my head grew hot with the agreeable liquor, 'fair princess,' said i, 'you have been too long thus buried alive: follow me, and enjoy the real day, from which you have been deprived so many years, and abandon this false light that you have here.' 'prince,' replied she, with a smile, 'stop this discourse; if out of ten days you will grant me nine, and resign the last to the genie, the fairest day that ever was would be nothing in my esteem.' 'princess,' said i, 'it is the fear of the genie that makes you speak thus; for my part, i value him so little that i will break his talisman in pieces. let him come, i will expect him; and how brave or redoubtable soever he be, i will make him feel the weight of my arm: i swear, solemnly that i will extirpate all the genies in the world, and him first.' the princess, who knew the consequences, conjured me not to touch the talisman; 'for that would be a means,' said she, 'to ruin both you and me: i know what belongs to genies better than you.' the fumes of the wine did not suffer me to hearken to her reasons; but i gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in several pieces. the talisman was no sooner broken, than the palace began to shake, and was ready to fall with a hideous noise like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning and a great darkness. this terrible noise in a moment dispelled the fumes of my wine, and made me sensible, but too late, of the folly i had committed. 'princess,' cried i, 'what means all this?' she answered in a fright, and without any concern for her own misfortune, 'alas! you are undone, if you do not escape immediately.' i followed her advice, and my fears were so great that i forgot my hatchet and cords. i had scarcely got to the stairs by which i came down, when the enchanted palace opened, and made a passage for the genie: he asked the princess, in great anger, 'what has happened to you, and why did you call me?' 'a qualm,' said the princess, 'made me fetch this bottle which you see here, out of which i drank twice or thrice, and by mischance made a false step, and fell upon the talisman, which is broken, and that is all.' at this answer the furious genie told her, 'you are a false woman, and a liar: how came that axe and those cords there?' 'i never saw them till this moment,' said the princess. 'your coming in such an impetuous manner has, it may be, forced them up in some place as you came along, and so brought them hither without your knowing it.' the genie made no other answer but reproaches and blows of which i heard the noise. i could not endure to hear the pitiful cries and shouts of the princess, so cruelly abused; i had already laid off the suit she made me put on, and taken my own, which i had laid on the stairs the day before, when i came out of the bath; i made haste upstairs, distracted with sorrow and compassion, as i had been the cause of so great a misfortune. for by sacrificing the fairest princess on earth to the barbarity of a merciless genie, i was become the most criminal and ungrateful of mankind. 'it is true,' said i, 'she has been a prisoner these twenty-five years; but, liberty excepted, she wanted nothing that could make her happy. my folly has put an end to her happiness, and brought upon her the cruelty of an unmerciful monster.' i let down the trap- door, covered it again with earth, and returned to the city with a burden of wood, which i bound up without knowing what i did, so great was my trouble and sorrow. my landlord, the tailor, was very much rejoiced to see me. 'your absence,' said he, 'has disquieted me very much, because you had entrusted me with the secret of your birth, and i knew not what to think; i was afraid somebody had discovered you: god be thanked for your return.' i thanked him for his zeal and affection, but not a word durst i say of what had passed, nor the reason why i came back without my hatchet and cords. i retired to my chamber, where i reproached myself a thousand times for my excessive imprudence. 'nothing,' said i, 'could have paralleled the princess's good fortune and mine had i forborne to break the talisman.' while i was thus giving myself over to melancholy thoughts, the tailor came in. 'an old man,' said he, 'whom i do not know, brings me here your hatchet and cords, which he found in his way, as he tells me, and understood from your comrades that you lodge here; come out and speak to him, for he will deliver them to none but yourself.' at this discourse i changed colour, and began to tremble. while the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber door opened, and the old man appeared to us with my hatchet and cords. this was the genie, the ravisher of the fair princess of the isle of ebony, who had thus disguised himself, after he had treated her with the utmost barbarity. 'i am a genie,' said he, 'son of the daughter of eblis, prince of genies. is not this your hatchet, and are not these your cords?' after the genie had put the question to me, he gave me no time to answer, nor was it in my power, so much had his terrible aspect disordered me. he grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and mounting into the air, carried me up to the skies with such swiftness that i was unable to take notice of the way he carried me. he descended again in like manner to the earth, which on a sudden he caused to open with a stroke of his foot, and so sank down at once, where i found myself in the enchanted palace, before the fair princess of the isle of ebony. but alas, what a spectacle was there! i saw what pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was weltering in her blood upon the ground, more dead than alive, with her cheeks bathed in tears. 'perfidious wretch,' said the genie to her; pointing at me, 'who is this?' she cast her languishing eyes upon me, and answered mournfully, 'i do not know him; i never saw him till this moment.' 'what!' said the genie, 'he is the cause of thy being in the condition thou art justly in, and yet darest thou say thou dost not know him?' 'if i do not know him,' said the princess, 'would you have me tell a lie on purpose to ruin him?' 'oh then,' continued the genie, pulling out a scimitar, and presenting it to the princess, 'if you never saw him before, take the scimitar and cut off his head.' 'alas!' replied the princess, 'my strength is so far spent that i cannot lift up my arm, and if i could, how should i have the heart to take away the life of an innocent man?' 'this refusal,' said the genie to the princess, 'sufficiently informs me of your crime.' upon which, turning to me, 'and thou,' said he, 'dost thou not know her?' i should have been the most ungrateful wretch, and the most perfidious of all mankind, if i had not shown myself as faithful to the princess as she was to me who had been the cause of her misfortunes; therefore i answered the genie, 'how should i know her?' 'if it be so,' said he, 'take the scimitar and cut off her head: on this condition i will set thee at liberty, for then i shall be convinced that thou didst never see her till this very moment, as thou sayest.' 'with all my heart,' replied i, and took the scimitar in my hand. but i did it only to demonstrate by my behaviour, as much as possible, that as she had shown her resolution to sacrifice her life for my sake, i would not refuse to sacrifice mine for hers. the princess, notwithstanding her pain and suffering, understood my meaning, which she signified by an obliging look. upon this i stepped back, and threw the scimitar on the ground. 'i should for ever,' said i to the genie, 'be hateful to all mankind were i to be so base as to murder a lady like this, who is ready to give up the ghost: do with me what you please, since i am in your power; i cannot obey your barbarous commands.' 'i see,' said the genie, 'that you both outbrave me, but both of you shall know, by the treatment i give you, what i am capable of doing.' at these words the monster took up the scimitar and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other that she bid me adieu for ever, the sight of which threw me into a fit. when i was come to myself again, i expostulated with the genie as to why he made me languish in expectation of death. 'strike,' cried i, 'for i am ready to receive the mortal blow, and expect it as the greatest favour you can show me.' but instead of agreeing to that, 'look you,' said he, 'how genies treat their wives whom they suspect: she has received you here, and were i certain that she had put any further affront upon me, i would put you to death this minute: but i will be content to transform you into a dog, ape, lion, or bird. take your choice of any of these; i will leave it to yourself.' these words gave me some hope to mollify him. 'oh genie,' said i, 'moderate your passion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously; i shall always remember you, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world.' 'all that i can do for you,' said he, 'is, not to take your life: do not flatter yourself that i will send you back safe and sound; i must let you feel what i am able to do by my enchantments.' so saying, he laid violent hands on me, and carried me across the vault of the subterranean palace, which opened to give him passage. then he flew up with me so high that the earth seemed to be only a little white cloud; from thence he came down like lightning, and alighted upon the ridge of a mountain. there he took up a handful of earth, and pronounced, or rather muttered, some words which i did not understand, and threw it upon me. 'quit the shape of a man,' said he to me, 'and take on you that of an ape.' he vanished immediately, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, and not knowing whether i was near or far from my father's dominions. i went down from the top of the mountain and came into a plain, which took me a month's time to travel through, and then i came to the seaside. it happened to be then a great calm, and i espied a vessel about half a league from the shore. unwilling to lose this good opportunity, i broke off a large branch from a tree, which i carried with me to the seaside, and set myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars. i launched out in this posture, and advanced near the ship. when i was near enough to be known, the seamen and passengers that were upon the deck thought it an extraordinary sight, and all of them looked upon me with great astonishment. in the meantime i got aboard, and laying hold of a rope, i jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech, i found myself in great perplexity; and indeed the risk i ran then was nothing less than when i was at the mercy of the genie. the merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, believed i should occasion some mischief to their voyage if they received me; 'therefore,' said one, 'i will knock him down with a handspike'; said another, 'i will shoot an arrow through him'; said a third, 'let us throw him into the sea.' some of them would not have failed to do so, if i had not got to that side where the captain was. i threw myself at his feet, and took him by the coat in a begging posture. this action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion; so that he took me under his protection, threatening to be revenged on him that would do me the least hurt; and he himself made very much of me, while i on my part, though i had no power to speak, showed all possible signs of gratitude by my gestures. the wind that succeeded the calm was gentle and favourable, and did not change for fifty days, but brought us safe to the port of a fine city, well peopled, and of great trade, the capital of a powerful state, where we came to anchor. our vessel was speedily surrounded with an infinite number of boats full of people, who came to congratulate their friends upon their safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in the country from whence they came, or out of curiosity to see a ship that came from a far country. amongst the rest, some officers came on board, desiring to speak with the merchants in the name of the sultan. the merchants appearing, one of the officers told them, 'the sultan, our master, hath commanded us to acquaint you that he is glad of your safe arrival, and prays you to take the trouble, every one of you, to write some lines upon this roll of paper. you must know that we had a prime vizier who, besides having a great capacity to manage affairs, understood writing to the highest perfection. this minister is lately dead, at which the sultan is very much troubled; and since he can never behold his writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow not to give the place to any man but to him who can write as well as he did. many people have presented their writings, but, so far, nobody in all this empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place.' those merchants that believed they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity wrote one after another what they thought fit. after they had done, i advanced, and took the roll out of the gentleman's hand; but all the people, especially the merchants, cried out, 'he will tear it, or throw it into the sea,' till they saw how properly i held the roll, and made a sign that i would write in my turn; then they were of another opinion, and their fear turned into admiration. however, since they had never seen an ape that could write, nor could be persuaded that i was more ingenious than other apes, they tried to snatch the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. 'let him alone,' said he; 'suffer him to write. if he only scribbles the paper, i promise you that i will punish him on the spot. if, on the contrary, he writes well, as i hope he will, because i never saw an ape so clever and ingenious and so quick of apprehension, i do declare that i will own him as my son; i had one that had not half the wit that he has.' perceiving that nobody opposed my design, i took the pen and wrote six sorts of hands used among the arabians, and each specimen contained an extemporary verse or poem in praise of the sultan. my writing did not only excel that of the merchants, but, i venture to say, they had not before seen any such fair writing in that country. when i had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan. the sultan took little notice of any of the other writings, but he carefully considered mine, which was so much to his liking that he said to the officers, 'take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest harness, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade to put upon that person who wrote the six hands, and bring him hither to me.' at this command the officers could not forbear laughing. the sultan grew angry at their boldness, and was ready to punish them, till they told him, 'sir, we humbly beg your majesty's pardon; these hands were not written by a man, but by an ape.' 'what do you say?' said the sultan. 'those admirable characters, are they not written by the hands of a man?' 'no, sir,' replied the officers; 'we do assure your majesty that it was an ape, who wrote them in our presence.' the sultan was too much surprised at this not to desire a sight of me, and therefore said, 'bring me speedily that wonderful ape.' the officers returned to the vessel and showed the captain their order, who answered that the sultan's commands must be obeyed. whereupon they clothed me with that rich brocade robe and carried me ashore, where they set me on horseback, whilst the sultan waited for me at his palace with a great number of courtiers, whom he gathered together to do me the more honour. the cavalcade having begun, the harbour, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses were filled with an infinite number of people of all sorts, who flocked from all parts of the city to see me; for the rumour was spread in a moment that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier; and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, i arrived at the palace of the sultan. i found the prince on his throne in the midst of the grandees; i made my bow three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterwards sat down in the posture of an ape. the whole assembly admired me, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should understand so well how to pay the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any one. in short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete could i have added speech to my behaviour: but apes never speak, and the advantage i had of having been a man did not allow me that privilege. the sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but the chief of the chamberlains, a young slave, and myself. he went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. as he sat at table he gave me a sign to come near and eat with them: to show my obedience i kissed the ground, stood up, sat down at table, and ate with discretion and moderation. before the table was uncovered, i espied a writing-desk, which i made a sign should be brought me: having got it, i wrote upon a large peach some verses after my way, which testified my acknowledgment to the sultan, which increased his astonishment. when the table was uncovered, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a glass. i drank, and wrote upon it some new verses, which explained the state i was reduced to after many sufferings. the sultan read them likewise, and said, 'a man that was capable of doing so much would be above the greatest of men.' the sultan caused them to bring in a chess-board, and asked me, by a sign, if i understood the game, and would play with him. i kissed the ground, and laying my hand upon my head, signified that i was ready to receive that honour. he won the first game, but i won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at it, i made a poem to pacify him; in which i told him that two potent armies had been fighting furiously all day, but that they made up a peace towards the evening, and passed the remaining part of the night very peaceably together upon the field of battle. so many circumstances appearing to the sultan far beyond whatever any one had either seen or known of the cleverness or sense of apes, he determined not to be the only witness of those prodigies himself; but having a daughter, called the lady of beauty, on whom the chief of the chamberlains, then present, waited, 'go,' said the sultan to him, 'and bid your lady come hither: i am desirous she should share my pleasure.' the chamberlain went, and immediately brought the princess, who had her face uncovered; but she had no sooner come into the room than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, 'sir, your majesty must needs have forgotten yourself: i am very much surprised that your majesty has sent for me to appear among men.' 'nay, daughter,' said the sultan, 'you do not know what you say: here is nobody but the little slave, the chamberlain your attendant and myself, who have the liberty to see your face; and yet you lower your veil, and blame me for having sent for you hither.' 'sir,' said the princess, 'your majesty shall soon understand that i am not in the wrong. that ape you see before you, though he has the shape of an ape, is a young prince, son of a great king; he has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. a genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, has maliciously done him this wrong, after having cruelly taken away the life of the princess of the isle of ebony, daughter to the king epitimarus.' the sultan, astonished at this discourse, turned towards me and asked no more by signs, but in plain words if it was true what his daughter said? seeing i could not speak, i put my hand to my head to signify that what the princess spoke was true. upon this the sultan said again to his daughter, 'how do you know that this prince has been transformed by enchantments into an ape?' 'sir,' replied the lady of beauty, 'your majesty may remember that when i was past my infancy, i had an old lady to wait upon me; she was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic, by virtue of which i can transport your capital city into the midst of the sea in the twinkling of an eye, or beyond mount caucasus. by this science i know all enchanted persons at first sight. i know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted. therefore do not be surprised if i should forthwith relieve this prince, in spite of the enchantments, from that which hinders him from appearing in your sight what he naturally is.' 'daughter,' said the sultan, 'i did not believe you to have understood so much.' 'sir,' replied the princess, 'these things are curious and worth knowing, but i think i ought not to boast of them.' 'since it is so,' said the sultan, 'you can dispel the prince's enchantment.' 'yes, sir,' said the princess, 'i can restore him to his first shape again.' 'do it then,' said the sultan; 'you cannot do me a greater pleasure, for i will have him to be my vizier, and he shall marry you.' 'sir,' said the princess, 'i am ready to obey you in all that you may be pleased to command me.' the princess, the lady of beauty, went into her apartment, from whence she brought in a knife, which had some hebrew words engraven on the blade; she made the sultan, the master of the chamberlains, the little slave, and myself, go down into a private court of the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. she placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in arabic characters, some of them ancient, and others of those which they call the characters of cleopatra. when she had finished and prepared the circle as she thought fit, she placed herself in the centre of it, where she began spells, and repeated verses out of the koran. the air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night and the whole world about to be dissolved; we found ourselves struck with a panic, and this fear increased the more when we saw the genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, appear on a sudden in the shape of a lion of a frightful size. as soon as the princess perceived this monster, 'you dog,' said she, 'instead of creeping before me, dare you present yourself in this shape, thinking to frighten me?' 'and thou,' replied the lion, 'art thou not afraid to break the treaty which was solemnly made and confirmed between us by oath, not to wrong or to do one another any hurt?' 'oh! thou cursed creature!' replied the princess, 'i can justly reproach thee with doing so.' the lion answered fiercely, 'thou shalt quickly have thy reward for the trouble thou hast given me to return.' with that he opened his terrible throat, and ran at her to devour her, but she, being on her guard, leaped backward, got time to pull out one of her hairs and, by pronouncing three or four words, changed it into a sharp sword, wherewith she cut the lion through the middle in two pieces. the two parts of the lion vanished, and the head only was left, which changed itself into a large scorpion. immediately the princess turned herself into a serpent, and fought the scorpion, who finding himself worsted, took the shape of an eagle, and flew away; but the serpent at the same time took also the shape of an eagle that was black and much stronger, and pursued him, so that we lost sight of them both. some time after they had disappeared, the ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a cat, black and white, with her hair standing upright, and mewing in a frightful manner; a black wolf followed her close, and gave her no time to rest. the cat, being thus hard beset, changed herself into a worm, and being nigh to a pomegranate that had accidentally fallen from a tree that grew on the side of a canal which was deep but not broad, the worm pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself. the pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, mounting up to the roof of the gallery, rolled there for some space backwards and forwards, fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces. the wolf, which had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a cock, fell to picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another, but finding no more, he came towards us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there were any more seeds. there was one lying on the brink of the canal, which the cock perceived as he went back, and ran speedily thither, but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the river, and turned into a little fish. the cock jumped into the river and was turned into a pike that pursued the small fish; they continued both under water for over two hours, and we knew not what had become of them. all of a sudden we heard terrible cries, which made us tremble, and a little while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. they threw flashes of fire out of their mouths at each other, till they came to close quarters; then the two fires increased, with a thick burning smoke, which mounted so high that we had reason to fear it would set the palace on fire. but we very soon had a more urgent reason for fear, for the genie, having got loose from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew flames of fire upon us. we should all have perished if the princess, running to our assistance, had not by her cries forced him to retire, and defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all her exertions, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being burnt, and his face spoiled, nor the chief of the chamberlains from being stifled and burnt on the spot. the sultan and i expected nothing but death, when we heard a cry of 'victory, victory!' and on a sudden the princess appeared in her natural shape, but the genie was reduced to a heap of ashes. the princess came near to us that she might not lose time, called for a cupful of water, which the young slave, who had received no damage, brought her. she took it, and after pronouncing some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, 'if thou art become an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man, which thou hadst before.' these words were hardly uttered when i became a man as i was before. i was preparing to give thanks to the princess, but she prevented me by addressing herself to her father, thus: 'sir, i have gained the victory over the genie, as your majesty may see; but it is a victory that costs me dear. i have but a few minutes to live, and you will not have the satisfaction of making the match you intended; the fire has pierced me during the terrible combat, and i find it is consuming me by degrees. this would not have happened had i perceived the last of the pomegranate seeds, and swallowed it as i did the others, when i was changed into a cock; the genie had fled thither as to his last entrenchment, and upon that the success of the combat depended, without danger to me. this slip obliged me to have recourse to fire, and to fight with those mighty arms as i did between heaven and earth, in your presence; for, in spite of all his redoubtable art and experience, i made the genie know that i understood more than he. i have conquered and reduced him to ashes, but i cannot escape death, which is approaching.' the sultan suffered the princess, the lady or beauty, to go on with the recital of her combat, and when she had done he spoke to her in a tone that sufficiently testified his grief: 'my daughter,' said he, 'you see in what condition your father is; alas! i wonder that i am yet alive!' he could speak no more, for his tears, sighs and sobs made him speechless; his daughter and i wept with him. in the meantime, while we were vieing with each other in grief the princess cried, 'i burn! i burn!' she found that the fire which consumed her had at last seized upon her whole body, which made her still cry 'i burn,' until death had made an end of her intolerable pains. the effect of that fire was so extraordinary that in a few moments she was wholly reduced to ashes, like the genie. how grieved i was at so dismal a spectacle! i had rather all my life have continued an ape or a dog than to have seen my benefactress thus miserably perish. the sultan, being afflicted beyond all that can be imagined, cried out piteously, and beat himself on his head, until being quite overcome with grief, he fainted away, which made me fear for his life. in the meantime the officers came running at the sultan's cries, and with very much ado brought him to himself again. there was no need for him and me to give them a long narrative of this adventure, in order to convince them of their great loss. the two heaps of ashes, into which the princess and the genie had been reduced, were sufficient demonstration. the sultan was hardly able to stand, but had to be supported till he could get to his apartment. when the news of the tragical event had spread through the palace and the city, all the people bewailed the misfortune of the princess, the lady of beauty, and were much affected by the sultan's affliction. every one was in deep mourning for seven days, and many ceremonies were performed. the ashes of the genie were thrown into the air, but those of the princess were gathered into a precious urn to be kept, and the urn was set in a stately tomb which was built for that purpose on the same place where the ashes had lain. the grief which the sultan felt for the loss of his daughter threw him into a fit of illness, which confined him to his chamber for a whole month. he had not fully recovered strength when he sent for me: 'prince,' said he, 'hearken to the orders that i now give you; it will cost you your life if you do not put them into execution.' i assured him of exact obedience, upon which he went on thus: 'i have constantly lived in perfect felicity, and was never crossed by any accident: but by your arrival all the happiness i possessed is vanished; my daughter is dead, her attendant is no more, and it is through a miracle that i am yet alive. you are the cause of all those misfortunes, for which it is impossible that i should be comforted; therefore depart from hence in peace, without farther delay, for i myself must perish if you stay any longer: i am persuaded that your presence brings mischief along, with it. this is all i have to say to you. depart, and beware of ever appearing again in my dominions; no consideration whatsoever shall hinder me from making you repent of it.' i was going to speak, but he stopped my mouth with words full of anger; and so i was obliged to leave his palace, rejected, banished, an outcast from the world, and not knowing what would become of me. and so i became a hermit. the first voyage of sinbad the sailor. my father left me a considerable estate, the best part of which i spent in riotous living during my youth; but i perceived my error, and reflected that riches were perishable, and quickly consumed by such ill managers as myself. i further considered that by my irregular way of living i had wretchedly misspent my time which is the most valuable thing in the world. struck with those reflections, i collected the remains of my furniture, and sold all my patrimony by public auction to the highest bidder. then i entered into a contract with some merchants, who traded by sea: i took the advice of such as i thought most capable to give it me; and resolving to improve what money i had, i went to balsora and embarked with several merchants on board a ship which we jointly fitted out. we set sail, and steered our course towards the east indies, through the persian gulf, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, and by those of persia on the left, and, according to common opinion, is seventy leagues across at the broadest part. the eastern sea, as well as that of the indies, is very spacious: it is bounded on one side by the coasts of abyssinia, and is , leagues in length to the isles of vakvak. at first i was troubled with sea-sickness, but speedily recovered my health, and was not afterwards troubled with that disease. in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, whilst under sail, we were becalmed near a little island, almost even with the surface of the water, which resembled a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and permitted such persons as had a mind to do so to land upon the island, amongst whom i was one. but while we were diverting ourselves with eating and drinking, and recovering ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island on a sudden trembled, and shook us terribly. they perceived the trembling of the island on board the ship, and called us to re-embark speedily, or we should all be lost, for what we took for an island was only the back of a whale. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but for my part i was still upon the back of the whale when he dived into the sea, and had time only to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship to make a fire. meanwhile, the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to use the favourable gale that had just risen, and hoisting his sails, pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible for me to regain the ship. thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves, and struggled for my life all the rest of the day and the following night. next morning i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when happily a wave threw me against an island. the bank was high and rugged, so that i could scarcely have got up had it not been for some roots of trees, which fortune seemed to have preserved in this place for my safety. being got up, i lay down upon the ground half dead until the sun appeared; then, though i was very feeble, both by reason of my hard labour and want of food, i crept along to look for some herbs fit to eat, and had the good luck not only to find some, but likewise a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to restore me. after this i advanced farther into the island, and came at last into a fine plain, where i perceived a horse feeding at a great distance. i went towards him, between hope and fear, not knowing whether i was going to lose my life or save it. presently i heard the voice of a man from under ground, who immediately appeared to me, and asked who i was. i gave him an account of my adventure; after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. i ate some victuals which they offered me, and then asked them what they did in such a desert place. they answered that they were grooms belonging to king mihrage, sovereign of the island, and that every year they brought thither the king's horses. they added that they were to get home to-morrow, and had i been one day later i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was at a great distance, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. next morning they returned with their horses to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to king mihrage. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i came into his dominions? and, after i had satisfied him he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want for nothing, which his officers were so generous and careful as to see exactly fulfilled. being a merchant, i frequented the society of men of my own profession, and particularly inquired for those who were strangers, if perhaps i might hear any news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return thither, for king mihrage's capital was situated on the edge of the sea, and had a fine harbour, where ships arrived daily from the different quarters of the world. i frequented also the society of the learned indians, and took delight in hearing them discourse; but withal i took care to make my court regularly to the king, and conversed with the governors and petty kings, his tributaries, that were about him. they asked me a thousand questions about my country, and i, being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, asked them everything which i thought worth knowing. there belonged to this king an island named cassel. they assured me that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of degial. i had a great mind to see this wonderful place, and on my way thither saw fishes of one hundred and two hundred cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt, for they are so timid that they will fly at the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fishes, about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. as i was one day at the port after my return, a ship arrived, and as soon as she cast anchor, they began to unload her, and the merchants on board ordered their goods to be carried into the warehouse. as i cast my eye upon some bales, and looked at the name, i found my own, and perceived the bales to be the same that i had embarked at balsora. i also knew the captain; but being persuaded that he believed me to be drowned, i went and asked him whose bales they were. he replied: 'they belonged to a merchant of bagdad, called sinbad, who came to sea with us; but one day, being near an island, as we thought, he went ashore with several other passengers upon this supposed island, which was only a monstrous whale that lay asleep upon the surface of the water; but as soon as he felt the heat of the fire they had kindled on his back to dress some victuals he began to move, and dived under water: most of the persons who were upon him perished, and among them unfortunate sinbad. those bales belonged to him, and i am resolved to trade with them until i meet with some of his family, to whom i may return the profit.' 'captain,' said i, 'i am that sinbad whom you thought to be dead, and those bales are mine.' when the captain heard me speak thus, 'o heaven,' said he, 'whom can we ever trust now-a-days? there is no faith left among men. i saw sinbad perish with my own eyes, and the passengers on board saw it as well as i, and yet you tell me you are that sinbad. what impudence is this! to look at you, one would take you to be a man of honesty, and yet you tell a horrible falsehood, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you.' 'have patience, captain,' replied i; 'do me the favour to hear what i have to say.' 'very well,' said he, 'speak; i am ready to hear you.' then i told him how i escaped, and by what adventure i met with the grooms of king mihrage, who brought me to his court. he was soon persuaded that i was no cheat, for there came people from his ship who knew me, paid me great compliments, and expressed much joy to see me alive. at last he knew me himself, and embracing me, 'heaven be praised,' said he, 'for your happy escape; i cannot enough express my joy for it: there are your goods; take and do with them what you will.' i thanked him, acknowledged his honesty, and in return offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented it to king mihrage, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities. i acquainted him with the whole story. he was mightily pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and gave me one much more considerable in return. upon this i took leave of him, and went aboard the same ship, after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of that country. i carried with me wood of aloes, sandal, camphor, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at balsora, from whence i came to this city, with the value of one hundred thousand sequins. my family and i received one another with transports of sincere friendship. i bought slaves and fine lands, and built me a great house. and thus i settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries i had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life. the second voyage of sinbad the sailor i designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad; but it was not long ere i grew weary of a quiet life. my inclination to trade revived. i bought goods suited to the commerce i intended, and put to sea a second time, with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and after recommending ourselves to god, set sail. we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed on an island covered with several sorts of fruit trees, but so unpeopled, that we could see neither man nor beast upon it. we went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, and along the streams that watered them. whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and others with gathering fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down by a stream betwixt two great trees, which formed a curious shape. i made a very good meal, and afterwards fell asleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but when i awoke the ship was gone. i was very much surprised to find the ship gone. i got up and looked about everywhere, and could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. at last i perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance that i lost sight of her in a very little time. i leave you to guess at my melancholy reflections in this sad condition. i was ready to die with grief: i cried out sadly, beat my head and breast, and threw myself down upon the ground, where i lay some time in a terrible agony. i upbraided myself a hundred times for not being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might well have served me all my life. but all this was in vain, and my repentance out of season. at last i resigned myself to the will of god; and not knowing what to do, i climbed up to the top of a great tree, from whence i looked about on all sides to see if there was anything that could give me hope. when i looked towards the sea, i could see nothing but sky and water, but looking towards the land i saw something white; and, coming down from the tree, i took up what provision i had left and went towards it, the distance being so great that i could not distinguish what it was. when i came nearer, i thought it to be a white bowl of a prodigious height and bigness; and when i came up to it i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top of it, it was so smooth. it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was ready to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it was occasioned by a bird, of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. i remembered a fowl, called roc, that i had often heard mariners speak of, and conceived that the great bowl, which i so much admired, must needs be its egg. in short, the bird lighted, and sat over the egg to hatch it. as i perceived her coming, i crept close to the egg, so that i had before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. i tied myself strongly to it with the cloth that went round my turban, in hopes that when the roc flew away next morning she would carry me with her out of this desert island. and after having passed the night in this condition, the bird really flew away next morning, as soon as it was day, and carried me so high that i could not see the earth. then she descended all of a sudden, with so much rapidity that i lost my senses; but when the roc was settled, and i found myself upon the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so when the bird, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. the place where she left me was a very deep valley, encompassed on all sides with mountains, so high that they seemed to reach above the clouds, and so full of steep rocks that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. this was a new perplexity, so that when i compared this place with the desert island from which the roc brought me, i found that i had gained nothing by the change. as i walked through this valley i perceived it was strewn with diamonds, some of which were of surprising bigness. i took a great deal of pleasure in looking at them; but speedily i saw at a distance such objects as very much diminished my satisfaction, and which i could not look upon without terror; they were a great number of serpents, so big and so long that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the day-time to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and did not come out but in the night-time. i spent the day in walking about the valley, resting myself at times in such places as i thought most suitable. when night came on i went into a cave, where i thought i might be in safety. i stopped the mouth of it, which was low and straight, with a great stone, to preserve me from the serpents, but not so exactly fitted as to hinder light from coming in. i supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began to appear, hissing about in the meantime, put me into such extreme fear that you may easily imagine i did not sleep. when day appeared the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave trembling. i can justly say that i walked a long time upon diamonds without feeling an inclination to touch any of them. at last i sat down, and notwithstanding my uneasiness, not having shut my eyes during the night, i fell asleep, after having eaten a little more of my provisions; but i had scarcely shut my eyes when something that fell by me with great noise awakened me. this was a great piece of fresh meat, and at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. i had always looked upon it as a fable when i heard mariners and others discourse of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems made use of by some merchants to get jewels from thence; but now i found it to be true. for, in reality, those merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests upon the top of the rocks to feed their young with, at which time the merchants, running to their nests, frighten the eagles by their noise, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. and this stratagem they make use of to get the diamonds out of the valley, which is surrounded with such precipices that nobody can enter it. i believed till then that it was not possible for me to get out of this abyss, which i looked upon as my grave; but now i changed my mind, for the falling in of those pieces of meat put me in hopes of a way of saving my life. i began to gather together the largest diamonds that i could see, and put them into the leathern bag in which i used to carry my provisions. i afterwards took the largest piece of meat i could find, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground, with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being tied fast to my girdle, so that it could not possibly drop off. i had scarcely laid me down before the eagles came. each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up, with a piece of meat on my back, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants fell straightway to shouting, to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where i was. he was very much afraid when he saw me, but recovering himself, instead of inquiring how i came thither, he began to quarrel with me, and asked why i stole his goods. 'you will treat me,' replied i, 'with more civility when you know me better. do not trouble yourself; i have diamonds enough for you and myself too, more than all the other merchants together. if they have any, it is by chance; but i chose myself in the bottom of the valley all those which you see in this bag'; and having spoken those words, i showed them to him. i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came trooping about us, much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story. yet they did not so much admire my stratagem to save myself as my courage to attempt it. they took me to the place where they were staying all together, and there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that in all the courts where they had been they had never seen any that came near them. i prayed the merchant to whom the nest belonged (for every merchant had his own), to take as many for his share as he pleased. he contented himself with one, and that too the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury, 'no,' said he, 'i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages to raise as great a fortune as i desire.' i spent the night with those merchants, to whom i told my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned. i thought i was in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself to be out of danger. the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days, and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place next morning all together, and travelled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took ship at the nearest port and came to the isle of roha, where the trees grow that yield camphor. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that a hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice of which the camphor is made runs out from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a vessel, where it grows thick, and becomes what we call camphor; and the juice thus drawn out the tree withers and dies. there is in this island the rhinoceros, a creature less than the elephant, but greater than the buffalo; it has a horn upon its nose about a cubit long; this horn is solid, and cleft in the middle from one end to the other, and there are upon it white lines, representing the figure of a man. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into him, and carries him off upon his head; but the blood of the elephant running into his eyes and making him blind, he falls to the ground, and then, strange to relate, the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws to be food for her young ones. here i exchanged some of my diamonds for good merchandise. from thence we went to other isles, and at last, having touched at several trading towns of the main land, we landed at balsora, from whence i went to bagdad. there i immediately gave great alms to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches i had gained with so much fatigue. the third voyage of sinbad the sailor. the pleasures of the life which i then led soon made me forget the risks i had run in my two former voyages; but, being then in the flower of my age i grew weary of living without business; and hardening myself against the thought of any danger i might incur, i went from bagdad, with the richest commodities of the country, to balsora: there i embarked again with the merchants. we made a long voyage, and touched at several ports, where we drove a considerable trade. one day, being out in the main ocean, we were attacked by a horrible tempest, which made us lose our course. the tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, where the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor there. when we had furled our sails the captain told us that this and some other neighbouring islands were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was that we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them they would all fall upon us and destroy us. this discourse of the captain put the whole company into a great consternation; and we found very soon, to our cost, that what he had told us was but too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, covered all over with red hair, and about two feet high, came swimming towards us, and in a little time encompassed our ship. they spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with an agility that surprised us. we beheld all this with mortal fear, without daring to offer to defend ourselves, or to speak one word to divert them from their mischievous design. in short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and, hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another island, from whence they had come. all travellers carefully avoided that island where they left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall hear anon; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience. we went forward into the island, where we found some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. as we went on we perceived at a distance a great pile of building, and made towards it. we found it to be a palace, well built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony with double doors, which we thrust open. we entered the court, where we saw before us a vast apartment with a porch, having on one side a heap of men's bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and, being weary with travelling, our legs failed under us: we fell to the ground, seized with deadly fear, and lay a long time motionless. the sun had set, and whilst we were in the lamentable condition just mentioned, the gate of the apartment opened with a great noise, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as high as a tall palm tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as a burning coal. his fore-teeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of his mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse; his upper lip hung down upon his breast; his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at the sight of so frightful a giant we lost all our senses, and lay like men dead. at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch, looking at us. when he had considered us well, he advanced towards us, and laying his hand upon me, he took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned me round as a butcher would do a sheep's head. after having viewed me well, and perceiving me to be so lean that i had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest, one by one, and viewed them in the same manner; and the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i might a sparrow, and thrusting a spit through him, kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his supper. this being done, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder. he slept thus till morning. for our parts, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest; so that we passed the night in the most cruel fear that can be imagined. day being come, the giant awoke, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. when we thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had kept all night, and every one grieving more than another, we made the palace resound with our complaints and groans. though there were a great many of us, and we had but one enemy, we had not at first the presence of mind to think of delivering ourselves from him by his death. we thought of several other things, but determined nothing; so that, submitting to what it should please god to order concerning us, we spent the day in running about the island for fruit and herbs to sustain our lives. when evening came, we sought for a place to lie down in, but found none; so that we were forced, whether we would or not, to return to the palace. the giant failed not to come back, and supped once more upon one of our companions; after which he slept, and snored till day, and then went out and left us as formerly. our condition was so very terrible that several of my comrades designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so strange a death. those who were of this mind argued with the rest to follow their example; upon which one of the company answered that we were forbidden to destroy ourselves; but even if it were lawful, it was more reasonable to think of a way to rid ourselves of the barbarous tyrant who designed so cruel a death for us. having thought of a project for that end, i communicated the same to my comrades, who approved it. 'brethren,' said i, 'you know there is a great deal of timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us make several rafts that may carry us, and when they are done, leave them there till we think fit to make use of them. in the meantime we will execute the design to deliver ourselves from the giant, and if it succeed, we may stay here with patience till some ship pass by to carry us out of this fatal island; but if it happen to miscarry, we will speedily get to our rafts, and put to sea. i confess, that by exposing ourselves to the fury of the waves, we run a risk of losing our lives; but if we do, is it not better to be buried in the sea than in the entrails of this monster, who has already devoured two of us?' my advice was relished, and we made rafts capable of carrying three persons each. we returned to the palace towards evening, and the giant arrived a little while after. we were forced to see another of our comrades roasted. but at last we revenged ourselves on the brutish giant thus. after he had made an end of his cursed supper, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore, according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded him. the pain occasioned him to make a frightful cry, and to get up and stretch out his hands in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage, but we ran to places where he could not find us; and after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate, and went out, howling dreadfully. we went out of the palace after the giant, and came to the shore, where we had left our rafts, and put them immediately into the sea. we waited till day in order to get upon them, in case the giant came towards us with any guide of his own species; but we hoped that if he did not appear by sunrise, and gave over his howling, which we still heard, he would die; and if that happened to be the case, we resolved to stay in the island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts. but day had scarcely appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied by two others almost of the same size leading him, and a great number more coming before him with a very quick pace. when we saw this, we made no delay, but got immediately upon our rafts, and rowed off from the shore. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore entered the water up to their waists, and threw so exactly that they sank all the rafts but that i was upon, and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants; but when we got out to sea, we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and tossed about, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, and spent that night and the following day under a cruel uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good luck to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit there, that gave us great relief, so that we pretty well recovered our strength. in the evening we fell asleep on the bank of the sea, but were awaked by the noise of a serpent as long as a palm tree, whose scales made a rustling as he crept along. he swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries and the efforts he made to rid himself from the serpent, which shook him several times against the ground, and crushed him; and we could hear him gnaw and tear the poor wretch's bones, when we had fled a great distance from him. next day we saw the serpent again, to our great terror, and i cried out, 'o heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! we rejoiced yesterday at having escaped from the cruelty of a giant and the rage of the waves, and now are we fallen into another danger altogether as terrible.' as we walked about we saw a large tall tree, upon which we designed to pass the following night, for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it accordingly. a little while after, the serpent came hissing to the root of the tree, raised itself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off. i staid upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate as my two companions. this filled me with horror, so that i was going to throw myself into the sea; but nature prompting us to a desire to live as long as we can, i withstood this temptation to despair, and submitted myself to the will of god, who disposes of our lives at his pleasure. in the meantime i gathered together a great quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, and making them up into faggots made a great circle with them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done thus, when the evening came i shut myself up within this circle, with this melancholy piece of satisfaction, that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made, so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has retreated to a place of safety. when day appeared he retired, but i dared not to leave my fort until the sun arose. i was fatigued with the toil he had put me to, and suffered so much from his poisonous breath that, death seeming preferable to me than the horror of such a condition. i came down from the tree, and not thinking on the resignation i had made to the will of god the preceding day, i ran towards the sea, with a design to throw myself into it headlong. god took compassion on my desperate state, for just as i was going to throw myself into the sea, i perceived a ship at a considerable distance. i called as loud as i could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it that they might observe me. this had the desired effect; all the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. as soon as i came aboard, the merchants and seamen flocked about me to know how i came to that desert island; and after i had told them of all that befell me, the oldest among them said they had several times heard of the giants that dwelt in that island, that they were cannibals and ate men raw as well as roasted; and as to the serpents, he added, there were abundance in the isle that hid themselves by day and came abroad by night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of what they had to eat; and the captain, seeing that i was all in rags, was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. we were at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat, where there grows sanders, a wood of great use in physic. we entered the port, and came to anchor. the merchants began to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. in the meantime the captain came to me, and said, 'brother, i have here a parcel of goods that belonged to a merchant who sailed some time on board this ship; and he being dead, i intend to dispose of them for the benefit of his heirs, when i know them.' the bales he spoke of lay on the deck, and showing them to me, he said, 'there are the goods; i hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have a commission.' i thanked him that he gave me an opportunity to employ myself, because i hated to be idle. the clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of the merchants to whom they belonged; and when he asked the captain in whose name he should enter those he gave me the charge of, 'enter them,' said the captain, 'in the name of sinbad the sailor.' i could not hear myself named without some emotion, and looking steadfastly on the captain, i knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island where i fell asleep by a brook, and set sail without me, and without sending to look for me. but i could not remember him at first, he was so much altered since i saw him. and as for him, who believed me to be dead, i could not wonder at his not knowing me. 'but, captain,' said i, 'was the merchant's name to whom those goods belonged sinbad?' 'yes,' replied he, 'that was his name; he came from bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at balsora. one day, when we landed at an island to take in water and other refreshments, i know not by what mistake i set sail without observing that he did not re-embark with us; neither i nor the merchants perceived it till four hours after. we had the wind in our stern and so fresh a gale that it was not then possible for us to tack about for him.' 'you believe him then to be dead?' said i. 'certainly,' answered he. 'no, captain,' said i; 'look upon me, and you may know that i am sinbad, whom you left in that desert island. i fell asleep by a brook, and when i awoke i found all the company gone.' the captain, having considered me attentively, knew me at last embraced me, and said, 'god be praised that fortune has supplied my defect. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve and to make the best of at every port where i touched. i restore them to you, with the profit i have made on them.' i took them from him, and at the same time acknowledged how much i owed to him. from the isle of salabat we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from that island we saw a tortoise that was twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also a fish which looked like a cow, and gave milk, and its skin is so hard that they usually make bucklers of it. i saw another which had the shape and colour of a camel. in short, after a long voyage, i arrived at balsora, and from thence returned to this city of bagdad, with so much riches that i knew not what i had. i gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another great estate in addition to what i had already. the fourth voyage of sinbad the sailor. the pleasures i took after my third voyage had not charms enough to divert me from another. i was again prevailed upon by my passion for traffic and curiosity to see new things. i therefore settled my affairs, and having provided a stock of goods fit for the places where i designed to trade, i set out on my journey. i took the way of persia, of which i travelled over several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. we set sail, and having touched at several ports of the mainland and some of the eastern islands, we put out to sea, and were overtaken by a sudden gust of wind that obliged the captain to furl his sails, and to take all other necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. but all was in vain; our endeavours had no effect, the sails were torn into a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; so that a great many of the merchants and seamen were drowned, and the cargo lost. i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get a plank, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us: there we found fruit and spring water, which preserved our lives. we stayed all night near the place where the sea cast us ashore, without consulting what we should do, our misfortune had dispirited us so much. next morning, as soon as the sun was up, we walked from the shore, and advancing into the island, saw some houses, to which we went; and as soon as we came thither we were encompassed by a great number of black men, who seized us, shared us among them, and carried us to their respective habitations. i and five of my comrades were carried to one place; they made us sit down immediately, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to eat. my comrades, not taking notice that the black men ate none of it themselves, consulted only the satisfying of their own hunger, and fell to eating with greediness: but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in a little time i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me they knew not what they said. the black men fed us afterwards with rice, prepared with oil of cocoanuts, and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i ate of it also, but very sparingly. the black men gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they gave us rice on purpose to fatten us, for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. they did accordingly eat my comrades, who were not aware of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat, as the rest did, i grew leaner every day. the fear of death under which i laboured turned all my food into poison. i fell into a languishing illness which proved my safety, for the black men having killed and eaten up my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death till another time. meanwhile, i had a great deal of liberty, so that there was scarcely any notice taken of what i did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. an old man who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return, but instead of obeying him, i redoubled my pace, and quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being away, and not to come home till night, which was pretty usual with them; therefore, being sure that they could not come in time to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had taken care to bring; but i speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and living for the most part upon cocoanuts, which served me for both meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and all of a sudden saw white people like myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place. this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. the people who gathered pepper came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in arabic who i was, and whence i came. i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the black men. 'those black men,' replied they, 'are cannibals, and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty?' i told them the same story i now tell you, at which they were wonderfully surprised. i stayed with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they came. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince. he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him, and he afterwards gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. the island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the capital was a place of great trade. this agreeable retreat was very comfortable to me after my misfortune, and the kindness of this generous prince towards me completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favour with him than myself; and, in consequence, every man in court and city sought to oblige me, so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. i observed one thing which to me appeared very extraordinary. all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without bridle or stirrups. this made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how that came to pass. his majesty answered, that i talked to him of things which nobody knew the use of in his dominions. i went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterwards went to a locksmith, who made me a bridle according to the pattern i showed him, and then he made me also some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by large presents to me. i could not avoid making several others for his ministers and the principal officers of his household, who all of them made me presents that enriched me in a little time. i also made some for the people of best quality in the city, which gained me great reputation and regard. as i paid court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day, 'sinbad, i love thee; and all my subjects who know thee treat thee according to my example. i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant.' 'sir,' answered i, 'there is nothing but i will do, as a mark of my obedience to your majesty, whose power over me is absolute.' 'i have a mind thou shouldst marry,' replied he, 'that so thou mayst stay in my dominion, and think no more of thy own country.' i dared not resist the prince's will, and so he gave me one of the ladies of his court, a noble, beautiful, and rich lady. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with the lady, and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. i was not, however, very well satisfied with my condition, and therefore designed to make my escape on the first occasion, and to return to bagdad, which my present settlement, how advantageous soever, could not make me forget. while i was thinking on this, the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom i had contracted a very close friendship, fell sick and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him swallowed up with sorrow, i said to him as soon as i saw him, 'god preserve you and grant you a long life.' 'alas!' replied he, 'how do you think i should obtain that favour you wish me? i have not above an hour to live.' 'pray,' said i, 'do not entertain such a melancholy thought; i hope it will not be so, but that i shall enjoy your company for many years.' 'i wish you,' said he, 'a long life; but for me my days are at an end, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law which our ancestors established in this island, and always observed inviolably. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law.' while he was entertaining me with an account of this barbarous custom, the very hearing of which frightened me cruelly, his kindred, friends and neighbours came in a body to assist at the funerals. they put on the corpse the woman's richest apparel, as if it had been her wedding-day, and dressed her with all her jewels; then they put her into an open coffin, and lifting it up, began their march to the place of burial. the husband walked at the head of the company, and followed the corpse. they went up to a high mountain, and when they came thither, took up a great stone, which covered the mouth of a very deep pit, and let down the corpse, with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband, embracing his kindred and friends, suffered himself to be put into another open coffin without resistance, with a pot of water, and seven little loaves, and was let down in the same manner as they let down his wife. the mountain was pretty long, and reached to the sea. the ceremony being over, they covered the hole again with the stone, and returned. it is needless to say that i was the only melancholy spectator of this funeral, whereas the rest were scarcely moved at it, the practice was so customary to them. i could not forbear speaking my thoughts on this matter to the king. 'sir,' said i, 'i cannot but wonder at the strange custom in this country of burying the living with the dead. i have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so cruel a law.' 'what do you mean, sinbad?' said the king; 'it is a common law. i shall be interred with the queen, my wife, if she die first.' 'but, sir,' said i, 'may i presume to ask your majesty if strangers be obliged to observe this law?' 'without doubt,' replied the king, smiling at my question; 'they are not exempted, if they are married in this island.' i went home very melancholy at this answer, for the fear of my wife dying first, and my being interred alive with her, occasioned me very mortifying reflections. but there was no remedy: i must have patience, and submit to the will of god. i trembled, however, at every little indisposition of my wife; but alas! in a little time my fears came upon me all at once, for she fell ill, and died in a few days. you may judge of my sorrow; to be interred alive seemed to me as deplorable an end as to be devoured by cannibals. but i must submit; the king and all his court would honour the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city would do the like. when all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a coffin, with all her jewels and magnificent apparel. the cavalcade began, and, as second actor in this doleful tragedy, i went next to the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable fate. before i came to the mountain, i addressed myself to the king, in the first place, and then to all those who were round me, and bowing before them to the earth to kiss the border of their garments, i prayed them to have compassion upon me. 'consider,' said i, 'that i am a stranger, and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that i have another wife and child in my own country.' it was to no purpose for me to speak thus, no soul was moved at it; on the contrary, they made haste to let down my wife's corpse into the pit, and put me down the next moment in an open coffin, with a vessel full of water and seven loaves. in short, the fatal ceremony being performed, they covered up the mouth of the pit, notwithstanding the excess of my grief and my lamentable cries. as i came near the bottom, i discovered, by help of the little light that came from above, the nature of this subterranean place; it was a vast long cave, and might be about fifty fathoms deep. i immediately smelt an insufferable stench proceeding from the multitude of corpses which i saw on the right and left; nay, i fancied that i heard some of them sigh out their last. however, when i got down, i immediately left my coffin, and, getting at a distance from the corpses, lay down upon the ground, where i stayed a long time, bathed in tears. then reflecting on my sad lot, 'it is true,' said i, 'that god disposes all things according to the decrees of his providence; but, poor sinbad, art not thou thyself the cause of thy being brought to die so strange a death? would to god thou hadst perished in some of those tempests which thou hast escaped! then thy death had not been so lingering and terrible in all its circumstances. but thou hast drawn all this upon thyself by thy cursed avarice. ah! unfortunate wretch, shouldst thou not rather have stayed at home, and quietly enjoyed the fruits of thy labour?' such were the vain complaints with which i made the cave echo, beating my head and breast out of rage and despair, and abandoning myself to the most afflicting thoughts. nevertheless, i must tell you that, instead of calling death to my assistance in that miserable condition, i felt still an inclination to live, and to do all i could to prolong my days. i went groping about, with my nose stopped, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. though the darkness of the cave was so great that i could not distinguish day and night, yet i always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious and fuller of corpses than it appeared to me at first. i lived for some days upon my bread and water, which being all used up at last i prepared for death. as i was thinking of death, i heard something walking, and blowing or panting as it walked. i advanced towards that side from whence i heard the noise, and upon my approach the thing puffed and blew harder, as if it had been running away from me. i followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as i approached. i followed it so long and so far that at last i perceived a light resembling a star; i went on towards that light, and sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock large enough for a man to get out at. upon this i stopped some time to rest myself, being much fatigued with pursuing this discovery so fast. afterwards coming up to the hole i went out at it, and found myself upon the shore of the sea. i leave you to guess the excess of my joy; it was such that i could scarce persuade myself of its being real. but when i had recovered from my surprise, and was convinced of the truth of the matter, i found that the thing which i had followed and heard puff and blow was a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter at that hole to feed upon the dead carcasses. i examined the mountain, and perceived it to be situated betwixt the sea and the town, but without any passage or way to communicate with the latter, the rocks on the side of the sea were so rugged and steep. i fell down upon the shore to thank god for this mercy, and afterwards entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which i did by daylight, with a better appetite than i had done since my interment in the dark hole. i returned thither again, and groped about among the biers for all the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold bracelets, and rich stuffs i could find. these i brought to the shore, and, tying them up neatly into bales with the cords that let down the coffins, i laid them together upon the bank to wait till some ship passed by, without fear of rain, for it was not then the season. after two or three days i perceived a ship that had but just come out of the harbour and passed near the place where i was. i made a sign with the linen of my turban, and called to them as loud as i could. they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board, when the mariners asked by what misfortune i came thither. i told them that i had suffered shipwreck two days ago, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. it was happy for me that those people did not consider the place where i was, nor inquire into the probability of what i told them; but without any more ado took me on board with my goods. when i came to the ship, the captain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which i offered him. we passed with a regular wind by several islands, among others the one called the isle of bells, about ten days' sail from serendib, and six from that of kela, where we landed. this island produces lead from its mines, indian canes, and excellent camphor. the king of the isle of kela is very rich and potent, and the isle of bells, which is about two days' journey in extent, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our commerce in that island we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports. at last i arrived happily at bagdad with infinite riches, of which it is needless to trouble you with the detail. out of thankfulness to god for his mercies, i gave great alms for the support of several mosques, and for the subsistence of the poor, and employed myself wholly in enjoying the society of my kindred and friends, and in making merry with them. the fifth voyage of sinbad the sailor. the pleasures i enjoyed again had charm enough to make me forget all the troubles and calamities i had undergone, without curing me of my inclination to make new voyages. therefore i bought goods, ordered them to be packed up and loaded, and set out with them for the best seaport; and there, that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i waited till one was built on purpose at my own expense. when the ship was ready, i went on board with my goods; but not having enough to load her, i took on board with me several merchants of different nations, with their merchandise. we sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long voyage, the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of a roc, equal in size to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc in it just ready to be hatched, and the bill of it began to appear. the merchants whom i had taken on board my ship, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets, and made a hole in it, from whence they pulled out the young roc piece by piece, and roasted it. i had earnestly persuaded them not to meddle with the egg, but they would not listen to me. scarcely had they made an end of their feast, when there appeared in the air, at a considerable distance from us, two great clouds. the captain whom i hired to manage my ship, knowing by experience what it meant, cried that it was the cock and hen roc that belonged to the young one, and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. we made haste to do so, and set sail with all possible diligence. in the meantime the two rocs approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. but having a mind to avenge themselves, they flew back towards the place from whence they came, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could to prevent that which unhappily befell us. they returned, and we observed that each of them carried between their talons stones, or rather rocks, of a monstrous size. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let fall a stone; but by the dexterity of the steersman, who turned the ship with the rudder, it missed us, and falling by the side of the ship into the sea, divided the water so that we could see almost to the bottom. the other roc, to our misfortune, threw the stone so exactly upon the middle of the ship that it split into a thousand pieces. the mariners and passengers were all killed by the stone, or sunk. i myself had the last fate; but as i came up again i fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming sometimes with one hand and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast to my board, the wind and the tide favouring me, i came to an island, where the beach was very steep. i overcame that difficulty however, and got ashore. i sat down upon the grass, to recover myself a little from my fatigue, after which i got up, and went into the island to view it. it seemed to be a delicious garden. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water, with pleasant windings and turnings. i ate of the fruits, which i found excellent, and drank of the water, which was very pleasant. night being come, i lay down upon the grass in a convenient place enough, but i could not sleep for an hour at a time, my mind was so disturbed with the fear of being alone in so desert a place. thus i spent the best part of the night in fretting, and reproached myself for my imprudence in not staying at home, rather than undertaking this last voyage. these reflections carried me so far, that i began to form a design against my own life, but daylight dispersed these melancholy thoughts, and i got up, and walked among the trees, but not without apprehensions of danger. when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man who appeared very weak and feeble. he sat upon the bank of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went towards him and saluted him, but he only bowed his head a little. i asked him what he did there, but instead of answering he made a sign for me to take him upon my back and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit. i believed him really to stand in need of my help, so took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him get down, and for that end stooped that he might get off with ease: but instead of that (which i laugh at every time i think of it), the old man, who to me had appeared very decrepit, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck, and then i perceived his skin to resemble that of a cow. he sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight that i thought he would have strangled me, the fright of which made me faint away and fall down. notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me time to recover my breath. when i had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other, that he forced me to rise up against my will. having got up, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit such as we found. he never left me all day, and when i lay down to rest by night, he laid himself down with me, always holding fast about my neck. every morning he pushed me to make me wake, and afterwards obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. you may judge then what trouble i was in, to be loaded with such a burden as i could by no means rid myself of. one day i found in my way several dry calabashes that had fallen from a tree; i took a large one, and, after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island. having filled the calabash, i set it in a convenient place; and coming hither again some days after, i took up my calabash, and setting it to my mouth found the wine to be so good that it presently made me not only forget my sorrow, but grow vigorous, and so light-hearted that i began to sing and dance as i walked along. the old man, perceiving the effect which this drink had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than i did before, made a sign for me to give him some of it. i gave him the calabash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. he became drunk immediately, and the fumes getting up into his head he began to sing after his manner, and to dance upon my shoulders. his jolting about made him sick, and he loosened his legs from about me by degrees; so finding that he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion, and then i took up a great stone, with which i crushed his head to pieces. i was extremely rejoiced to be freed thus for ever from this cursed old fellow, and walked along the shore of the sea, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor to take in water to refresh themselves. they were extremely surprised to see me, and to hear the particulars of my adventures. 'you fell,' said they, 'into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first that has ever escaped strangling by him. he never left those he had once made himself master of till he destroyed them, and he has made this island famous for the number of men he has slain; so that the merchants and mariners who landed upon it dared not advance into the island but in numbers together.' after having informed me of these things they carried me with them to the ship; the captain received me with great satisfaction when they told him what had befallen me. he put out again to sea, and after some days' sail we arrived at the harbour of a great city, where the houses were built of good stone. one of the merchants of the ship, who had taken me into his friendship, asked me to go along with him, and took me to a place appointed as a retreat for foreign merchants. he gave me a great bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who were used to gather cocoa-nuts, he desired them to take me with them to do the like: 'go,' said he, 'follow them, and do as you see them do, and do not separate from them, otherwise you endanger your life.' having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. we came to a great forest of trees, extremely straight and tall, their trunks so smooth that it was not possible for any man to climb up to the branches that bore the fruit. all the trees were cocoa-nut trees, and when we entered the forest we saw a great number of apes of all sizes, that fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness. the merchants with whom i was gathered stones, and threw them at the apes on the top of the trees. i did the same, and the apes, out of revenge, threw cocoa-nuts at us as fast and with such gestures as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment: we gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa- nuts, which it had been impossible for us to do otherwise. when we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant who sent me to the forest gave me the value of the cocoa- nuts i had brought; 'go on,' said he, 'and do the like every day, until you have money enough to carry you home.' i thanked him for his good advice, and gathered together as many cocoa-nuts as amounted to a considerable sum. the vessel in which i came sailed with merchants who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. i expected the arrival of another, whose merchants landed speedily for the like loading. i embarked on board the same all the cocoa-nuts that belonged to me, and when she was ready to sail i went and took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me; but he could not embark with me because he had not finished his business. we set sail towards the islands where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari, where the best sort of wood of aloes grows, and whose inhabitants have made it an inviolable law to drink no wine themselves, nor to suffer any kind of improper conduct. i exchanged my cocoa-nuts in those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants pearl- fishing. i hired divers, who fetched me up those that were very large and pure. then i embarked joyfully in a vessel that happily arrived at balsora; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i made vast sums by my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from other voyages, and endeavoured to ease myself from my fatigue by diversions of all sorts. the sixth voyage of sinbad the sailor. after being shipwrecked five times, and escaping so many dangers, could i resolve again to try my fortune, and expose myself to new hardships? i am astonished at it myself when i think of it, and must certainly have been induced to it by my stars. but be that as it will, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the entreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all that was possible to prevent me. instead of taking my way by the persian gulf, i travelled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where i embarked on board a ship, the captain of which was resolved on a long voyage. it was very long indeed, but at the same time so unfortunate that the captain and pilot lost their course, and knew not where they were. they found it at last, but we had no reason to rejoice at it. we were all seized with extraordinary fear when we saw the captain quit his post, and cry out. he threw off his turban, pulled his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason, and he answered that he was in the most dangerous place in all the sea. 'a rapid current carries the ship along with it,' he said, 'and we shall all of us perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this danger; we cannot escape it if he does not take pity on us.' at these words he ordered the sails to be changed; but all the ropes broke and the ship, without its being possible to help it, was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she ran ashore, and was broken to pieces, yet so that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. this being over, the captain said to us, 'god has done what pleased him; we may every man dig our grave here, and bid the world adieu, for we are all in so fatal a place that none shipwrecked here have ever returned to their homes again.' his discourse afflicted us sorely, and we embraced each other with tears in our eyes, bewailing our deplorable lot. the mountain at the foot of which we were cast was the coast of a very long and large island. this coast was covered all over with wrecks, and from the vast number of men's bones we saw everywhere, and which filled us with horror, we concluded that abundance of people had died there. it is also impossible to tell what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore there. all these objects served only to augment our grief. whereas in all other places rivers run from their channels into the sea, here a great river of fresh water runs out of the sea into a dark cave, whose entrance is very high and large. what is most remarkable in this place is that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen, that runs into the sea, which the fishes swallow, and then vomit up again, turned into ambergris; and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. here also grow trees, most of which are wood of aloes, equal in goodness to those of comari. to finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it--it is not possible for ships to get away again when once they come near it. if they are driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current ruin them; and if they come into it when a land-wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current runs them ashore, where they are broken to pieces, as ours was; and that which completes the misfortune is that there is no possibility to get to the top of the mountain, or to get out any manner of way. we continued upon the shore, like men out of their senses, and expected death every day. at first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus everyone lived a longer or shorter time, according to their temperance, and the use they made of their provisions. those who died first were interred by the rest; and, for my part, i paid the last duty to all my companions. nor are you to wonder at this; for besides that i husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, i had provision of my own, which i did not share with my comrades; yet when i buried the last, i had so little remaining that i thought i could not hold out long: so i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was none left to inter me. i must confess to you at the same time that while i was thus employed i could not but reflect upon myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that i had ever undertaken this last voyage; nor did i stop at reflections only, but had well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth. but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cave; where, considering the river with great attention, i said to myself, 'this river, which runs thus under ground, must come out somewhere or other. if i make a raft, and leave myself to the current, it will bring me to some inhabited country, or drown me. if i be drowned i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another; and if i get out of this fatal place, i shall not only avoid the sad fate of my comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. who knows but fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous shelf, to compensate my shipwreck with interest?' i immediately went to work on a raft. i made it of large pieces of timber and cables, for i had choice of them, and tied them together so strongly that i had made a very solid little raft. when i had finished it i loaded it with some bales of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and rich stuffs. having balanced all my cargo exactly and fastened it well to the raft, i went on board it with two little oars that i had made, and, leaving it to the course of the river, i resigned myself to the will of god. as soon as i came into the cave i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i floated for some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low that it well nigh broke my head, which made me very cautious afterwards to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding this frugality, all my provisions were spent. then a pleasing sleep fell upon me. i cannot tell how long it continued; but when i awoke, i was surprised to find myself in the middle of a vast country, at the bank of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited the following words in arabic aloud: 'call upon the almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about anything else; shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good.' one of the blacks, who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me and said, 'brother, be not surprised to see us; we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. we saw something floating upon the water, went speedily to find out what it was, and perceiving your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture into this river, and whence did you come?' i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food; and when i had satisfied my hunger, i gave them a true account of all that had befallen me, which they listened to with wonder. as soon as i had finished my discourse, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic and interpreted to them what i said, that it was one of the most surprising stories they ever heard, and that i must go along with them, and tell it to their king myself; the story was too extraordinary to be told by any other than the person to whom it happened. i told them i was ready to do whatever they pleased. they immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having made me get upon him, some of them walked before me to show me the way, and the rest took my raft and cargo, and followed me. we marched thus altogether, till we came to the city of serendib, for it was in that island i landed. the blacks presented me to their king; i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet, and kissed the earth. the prince ordered me to rise up, received me with an obliging air, and made me come up, and sit down near him. he first asked me my name, and i answered, 'they call me sinbad the sailor, because of the many voyages i have undertaken, and i am a citizen of baghdad.' 'but,' replied he, 'how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last?' i concealed nothing from the king; i told him all that i have now told you, and his majesty was so surprised and charmed with it, that he commanded my adventure to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. at last my raft was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that came near them. observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them one after another, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, 'sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the raft, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own.' he answered me with a smile, 'sinbad, i will take care not to covet anything of yours, nor to take anything from you that god has given you; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you go out of my dominions without marks of my liberality.' all the answer i returned was prayers for the prosperity of this prince, and commendations of his generosity and bounty. he charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own charge. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his orders, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. i went every day at a set hour to pay court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in seeing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. the isle of serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line, so that the days and nights there are always of twelve hours each, and the island is eighty parasangs in length, and as many in breadth. the capital city stands at the end of a fine valley formed by a mountain in the middle of the island, which is the highest in the world. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of it. when i came back to the city, i prayed the king to allow me to return to my country, which he granted me in the most obliging and honourable manner. he would needs force a rich present upon me, and when i went to take my leave of him, he gave me one much more valuable, and at the same time charged me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, 'i pray you give this present from me and this letter to caliph haroun alraschid, and assure him of my friendship.' i took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was pleased to honour me. before i embarked, this prince sent for the captain and the merchants who were to go with me, and ordered them to treat me with all possible respect. the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. the writing was azure, and the contents as follows:-- 'the king of the indies, before whom march a hundred elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with a hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroun alraschid: 'though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear to you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with yourself. we conjure you this in the rank of a brother. farewell.' the present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls. secondly, the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. thirdly, fifty thousand drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphor as big as pistachios. and fourthly, a she-slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was covered all over with jewels. the ship set sail, and after a very long and successful voyage, we landed at balsora; from thence i went to bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. i took the king of serendib's letter, and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the beautiful slave and such of my own family as carried the presents. i gave an account of the reason of my coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my reverence, and after a short speech gave him the letter and present. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me if that prince were really so rich and potent as he had said in this letter. i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, 'commander of the faithful,' said i, 'i can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth on that head: i am witness of it. there is nothing more capable of raising a man's admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public, he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand, and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright with a column of gold, on the top of which there is an emerald half a foot long and an inch thick; before him march a guard of a thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. 'while the king is on his march, the officer who is before him on the same elephant cries from time to time, with a loud voice, "behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds." after he has pronounced these words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn, "this monarch so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die." and the officer in front replies, "praise be to him who lives for ever." 'further, the king of serendib is so just that there are no judges in his dominions. his people have no need of them. they understand and observe justice of themselves.' the caliph was much pleased with my discourse. 'the wisdom of this king,' said he, 'appears in his letter, and after what you tell me i must confess that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince.' having spoken thus he dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present. the seventh and last voyage of sinbad the sailor. being returned from my sixth voyage, i absolutely laid aside all thoughts of travelling any farther; for, besides that my years now required rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risk as i had run; so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in quiet. one day, as i was treating some of my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an officer of the caliph asked for me. i rose from the table, and went to him. 'the caliph,' said he, 'has sent me to tell you that he must speak with you.' i followed the officer to the palace, where, being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. 'sinbad,' said he to me, 'i stand in need of you; you must do me the service to carry my answer and present to the king of serendib. it is but just i should return his civility.' this command of the caliph to me was like a clap of thunder. 'commander of the faithful,' replied i, 'i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command me; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone. i have also made a vow never to go out of bagdad.' here i took occasion to give him a large and particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience to hear out. as soon as i had finished, 'i confess,' said he, 'that the things you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must for my sake undertake this voyage which i propose to you. you have nothing to do but to go to the isle of serendib, and deliver the commission which i give you. after that you are at liberty to return. but you must go; for you know it would be indecent, and not suitable to my dignity, to be indebted to the king of that island.' perceiving that the caliph insisted upon it, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased at it, and ordered me a thousand sequins for the expense of my journey. i prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to balsora, where i embarked, and had a very happy voyage. i arrived at the isle of serendib, where i acquainted the king's ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy audience. they did so, and i was conducted to the palace in an honourable manner, where i saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. that prince knew me immediately, and testified very great joy to see me. 'o sinbad,' said he, 'you are welcome; i swear to you i have many times thought of you since you went hence; i bless the day upon which we see one another once more.' i made my compliment to him, and after having thanked him for his kindness to me, i delivered the caliph's letter and present, which he received with all imaginable satisfaction. the caliph's present was a complete set of cloth of gold, valued at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred others of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez, cusa, and alexandria; a royal crimson bed, and a second of another fashion; a vessel of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bas-relief a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and an arrow, ready to let fly at a lion. he sent him also a rich table, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the caliph's letter was as follows: 'greeting in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, to the potent and happy sultan, from abdallah haroun alraschid, whom god hath set in the place of honour, after his ancestors of happy memory: 'we received your letter with joy, and send you this from the council of our port, the garden of superior wits. we hope, when you look upon it, you will find our good intention, and be pleased with it. farewell.' the king of serendib was highly pleased that the caliph returned his friendship. a little time after this audience, i solicited leave to depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it. i obtained it, however, at last, and the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there as i hoped. god ordered it otherwise. three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by pirates, who easily seized upon our ship. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but as for me and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the pirates saved us on purpose to make slaves of us. we were all stripped, and instead of our own clothes they gave us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely for a slave. some days after, not knowing who i was, he asked me if i understood any trade. i answered that i was no mechanic, but a merchant, and that the pirates who sold me had robbed me of all i had. 'but tell me,' replied he, 'can you shoot with a bow?' i answered that the bow was one of my exercises in my youth, and i had not yet forgotten it. then he gave me a bow and arrows, and, taking me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a vast forest some leagues from the town. we went a great way into the forest, and where he thought fit to stop he bade me alight; then showing me a great tree, 'climb up that tree,' said he, 'and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and, if any of them fall, come and give me notice of it.' having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and returned to the town, and i continued upon the tree all night. i saw no elephant during that time, but next morning, as soon as the sun was up, i saw a great number: i shot several arrows among them, and at last one of the elephants fell; the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my booty. when i had told him the news, he gave me a good meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. we afterwards went together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant; my patron intending to return when it was rotten, and to take the teeth, etc., to trade with. i continued this game for two months, and killed an elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and sometimes upon another. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived with an extreme amazement that, instead of passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, in such a number that the earth was covered with them, and shook under them. they encompassed the tree where i was with their trunks extended and their eyes all fixed upon me. at this frightful spectacle i remained immoveable, and was so much frightened that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand. my fears were not in vain; for after the elephants had stared upon me for some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the root of the tree, and pulled so strong that he plucked it up and threw it on the ground; i fell with the tree, and the elephant taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder: then he put himself at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops, and carried me to a place where he laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. conceive, if you can, the condition i was in: i thought myself to be in a dream; at last, after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, covered all over with the bones and teeth of elephants. i confess to you that this furnished me with abundance of reflections. i admired the instinct of those animals; i doubted not but that this was their burying place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to persecute them, since i did it only for their teeth. i did not stay on the hill, but turned towards the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night, i came to my patron; i met no elephant on my way, which made me think they had retired farther into the forest, to leave me at liberty to come back to the hill without any hindrance. as soon as my patron saw me: 'ah, poor sinbad,' said he, i was in great trouble to know what had become of you. i have been at the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow and arrows on the ground, and after having sought for you in vain i despaired of ever seeing you more. pray tell me what befell you, and by what good hap you are still alive.' i satisfied his curiosity, and going both of us next morning to the hill, he found to his great joy that what i had told him was true. we loaded the elephant upon which we came with as many teeth as he could carry; and when we had returned, 'brother,' said my patron-- 'for i will treat you no more as my slave--after having made such a discovery as will enrich me, god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i declare before him that i give you your liberty. i concealed from you what i am now going to tell you. 'the elephants of our forest have every year killed a great many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. notwithstanding all the cautions we could give them, those crafty animals killed them one time or other. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favour upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has use for your service in the world. you have procured me incredible gain. we could not have ivory formerly but by exposing the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city is enriched by your means. do not think i pretend to have rewarded you by giving you your liberty; i will also give you considerable riches. i could engage all our city to contribute towards making your fortune, but i will have the glory of doing it myself.' to this obliging discourse i replied, 'patron, god preserve you. your giving me my liberty is enough to discharge what you owe me, and i desire no other reward for the service i had the good fortune to do to you and your city, than leave to return to my own country.' 'very well,' said he, 'the monsoon will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will send you home then, and give you wherewith to pay your expenses.' i thanked him again for my liberty, and his good intentions towards me. i stayed with him until the monsoon; and during that time we made so many journeys to the hill that we filled all our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants who traded in it did the same thing, for it could not be long concealed from them. the ships arrived at last, and my patron himself having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, he loaded half of it with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my passage, and obliged me besides to accept as a present, curiosities of the country of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favours, i went on board. we set sail, and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was very extraordinary, i had it continually in my thoughts. we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions. our vessel being come to a port on the main land in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to balsora, i landed my proportion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i made vast sums by my ivory, i bought several rarities, which i intended for presents, and when my equipage was ready, i set out in the company of a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the way, and suffered very much, but endured all with patience, when i considered that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, nor from the other perils i had undergone. all these fatigues ended at last, and i came safe to bagdad. i went immediately to wait upon the caliph, and gave him an account of my embassy. that prince told me he had been uneasy, by reason that i was so long in returning, but that he always hoped god would preserve me. when i told him the adventure of the elephants, he seemed to be much surprised at it, and would never have given any credit to it had he not known my sincerity. he reckoned this story, and the other narratives i had given him, to be so curious that he ordered one of his secretaries to write them in characters of gold, and lay them up in his treasury. i retired very well satisfied with the honours i received and the presents which he gave me; and after that i gave myself up wholly to my, family, kindred and friends. end of fairy tales from the arabian nights none soulard, and coralee sheehan editorial note: project gutenberg also has the translation of this work by richard f. burton in volumes. the book of the thousand nights and one night: now first completely done into english prose and verse, from the original arabic, by john payne (author of "the masque of shadows," "intaglios: sonnets," "songs of life and death," "lautrec," "the poems of master francis villon of paris," "new poems," etc, etc.). in nine volumes: volume the third. london printed for subscribers only delhi edition contents of the third volume. . the birds and beasts and the son of adam . the hermits . the water-foul and the tortoise . the wolf and the fox a. the hawk and the partridge . the mouse and the weasel . the cat and the crow . the fox and the crow a. the mouse and the flea b. the falcon and the birds c. the sparrow and the eagle . the hedgehog and the pigeons a. the merchant and the two sharpers . the thief and his monkey a. the foolish weaver . the sparrow and the peacock . ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar . kemeezzeman and boudour a. nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave girl . alaeddin abou esh shamat . hatim et yai: his generosity after death . maan ben zaideh and the three girls . maan ben zaideh and the bedouin . the city of lebtait . the khalif hisham and the arab youth . ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon . the city of irem . isaac of mosul's story of khedijeh and the khalif mamoun . the scavenger and the noble lady of baghdad . the mock khalif . ali the persian and the kurd sharper the book of the thousand nights and one night when shehrzad had made an end of the history of king omar teen ennuman and his sons, shehriyar said to her, "i desire that thou tell me some story about birds;" and dunyazad, hearing this, said to her sister, "all this while i have never seen the sultan light at heart till this night; and this gives me hope that the issue may be a happy one for thee with him." then drowsiness overcame the sultan; so he slept and shehrzad, perceiving the approach of day, was silent. when it was the hundred and forty-sixth night, shehrzad began as follows: "i have heard tell, o august king, that story of the birds and beasts and the son of adam. a peacock once abode with his mate on the sea-shore, in a place that abounded in trees and streams, but was infested with lions and all manner other wild beasts, and for fear of these latter, the two birds were wont to roost by night upon a tree, going forth by day in quest of food. they abode thus awhile, till, their fear increasing on them, they cast about for some other place wherein to dwell, and in the course of their search, they happened on an island abounding in trees and streams. so they alighted there and ate of its fruits and drank of its waters. whilst they were thus engaged, up came a duck, in a state of great affright, and stayed not till she reached the tree on which the two peacocks were perched, when she seemed reassured. the peacock doubted not but that she had some rare story; so he asked her of her case and the cause of her alarm, to which she replied, 'i am sick for sorrow and my fear of the son of adam: beware, o beware of the sons of adam!' 'fear not,' rejoined the peacock, 'now that thou hast won to us.' 'praised be god,' cried the duck, 'who hath done away my trouble and my concern with your neigbourhood! for indeed i come, desiring your friendship.' thereupon the peahen came down to her and said, 'welcome and fair welcome! no harm shall befall thee: how can the son of adam come at us and we in this island midmost the sea? from the land he cannot win to us, neither can he come up to us out of the sea. so be of good cheer and tell us what hath betided thee from him. 'know then, o peahen,' answered the duck, 'that i have dwelt all my life in this island in peace and safety and have seen no disquieting thing, till one night, as i was asleep, i saw in a dream the semblance of a son of adam, who talked with me and i with him. then i heard one say to me, "o duck, beware of the son of adam and be not beguiled by his words nor by that he may suggest to thee; for he aboundeth in wiles and deceit; so beware with all wariness of his perfidy, for he is crafty and guileful, even as saith of him the poet: he giveth thee honeyed words with the tip of his tongue, galore. but sure he will cozen thee, as the fox cloth, evermore. for know that the son of adam beguileth the fish and draweth them forth of the waters and shooteth the birds with a pellet of clay and entrappeth the elephant with his craft. none is safe from his mischief, and neither beast nor bird escapeth him. thus have i told thee what i have heard concerning the son of adam." i awoke, fearful and trembling (continued the duck), and from that time to this my heart hath not known gladness, for fear of the son of adam, lest he take me unawares by his craft or trap me in his snares. by the time the end of the day overtook me, i was grown weak and my strength and courage failed me; so, desiring to eat and drink, i went forth, troubled in spirit and with a heart ill at ease. i walked on, till i reached yonder mountain, where i saw a tawny lion-whelp at the door of a cave. when he saw me, he rejoiced greatly in me, for my colour pleased him and my elegant shape: so he cried out to me, saying "draw nigh unto me." so i went up to him and he said to me, "what is thy name and thy kind?" quoth i, "my name is 'duck,' and i am of the bird-kind; but thou, why tarriest thou in this place till now?" "my father the lion," answered he, "has bidden me many a day beware of the son of adam, and it befell this night that i saw in my sleep the semblance of a son of adam." and he went on to tell me the like of that i have told you. when i heard this, i said to him, "o lion, i resort to thee, that thou mayst kill the son of adam and steadfastly address thy thought to his slaughter; for i am greatly in fear for myself of him, and fear is added to my fear, for that thou also fearest the son of adam, and thou the sultan of the beasts. then, o my sister, i ceased not to bid him beware of the son of adam and urge him to slay him, till he rose of a sudden from his stead and went out, lashing his flanks with his tail. he fared on, and i after him, till we came to a place, where several roads met, and saw cloud of dust arise, which, presently clearing away, discovered a naked runaway ass, and now running and galloping and now rolling in the dust. when the lion saw the ass, he cried out to him, and he came up to him submissively. then said the lion, "harkye, crack-brain! what is thy kind and what brings thee hither?" "o, son of the sultan," answered the ass, "i am by kind an ass, and the cause of my coming hither is that i am fleeing from the son of adam." "dost thou fear then that he will kill thee?" asked the lion-whelp. "not so, o son of the sultan," replied the ass; "but i fear lest he put a cheat on me; for he hath a thing called the pad, that he sets on my back, and a thing called the girth, that he binds about my belly, and a thing called the crupper, that he puts under my tail, and a thing called the bit, that he places in my mouth; and he fashions me a goad and goads me with it and makes me run more than my strength. if i stumble, he curses me, and if i bray, he reviles me; and when i grow old and can no longer run, he puts a wooden pannel on me and delivers me to the water-carriers, who load my back with water from the river, in skins and other vessels, such as jars, and i wear out my life in misery and abasement and fatigue till i die, when they cast me on the rubbish-heaps to the dogs. so what misery can surpass this, and what calamities can be greater than these?" when, o peahen, i heard the ass's words, my skin shuddered at the son of adam and i said to the lion-whelp, "of a verity, o my lord, the ass hath excuse, and his words add terror to my terror." then said the lion to the ass, "whither goest thou?" "before the rising of the sun" answered he, "i espied the son of adam afar off and fled from him, and now i am minded to flee forth and run without ceasing, for the greatness of my fear of him, so haply i may find a place to shelter me from the perfidious son of adam." whilst he was thus discoursing, seeking the while to take leave of us and go away, behold, another cloud of dust arose, at sight of which the ass brayed and cried out and let fly a great crack of wind. presently, the dust lifted and discovered a handsome black horse of elegant shape, with white feet and fine legs and a brow-star like a dirhem, which made towards us, neighing, and stayed not till he stood before the whelp, the son of the lion, who, when he saw him, marvelled at his beauty and said to him, "what is thy kind, o noble wild beast, and wherefore fleest thou into this vast and wide desert?" "o lord of the beasts," answered he, "i am of the horse-kind, and i am fleeing from the son of adam." the whelp wondered at the horse's words and said to him, "say not thus; for it is shame for thee, seeing that thou art tall and stout. how comes it that thou fearest the son of adam, thou, with thy bulk of body and thy swiftness of running, when i, for all my littleness of body, am resolved to find out the son of adam, and rushing on him, eat his flesh, that i may allay the affright of this poor duck and make her to dwell in peace in her own place. but now thou hast wrung my heart with thy talk and turned me back from what i had resolved to do, in that, for all thy bulk, the son of adam hath mastered thee and feared neither thy height nor thy breadth, though, wert thou to kick him with thy foot, thou wouldst kill him, nor could he prevail against thee, but thou wouldst make him drink the cup of death." the horse laughed, when he heard the whelp's words, and replied, "far, far is it from my power to overcome him, o king's son! let not my length and my breadth nor yet my bulk delude thee, with respect to the son of adam; for he, of the excess of his guile and his cunning, fashions for me a thing called a hobble and hobbles my four legs with ropes of palm-fibres, bound with felt, and makes me fast by the head to a high picket, so that i remain standing and can neither sit nor lie down, being tied up. when he hath a mind to ride me, he binds on his feet a thing of iron called a stirrup and lays on my back another thing called a saddle, which he fastens by two girths, passed under my armpits. then he sets in my mouth a thing of iron he calls a bit, to which he ties a thing of leather called a rein; and when he mounts on the saddle on my back, he takes the rein in his hand and guides me with it, goading my flanks the while with the stirrups[fn# ], till he makes them bleed: so do not ask, o king's son, what i endure from the son of adam. when i grow old and lean and can no longer run swiftly, he sells me to the miller, who makes me turn in the mill, and i cease not from turning night and day, till i grow decrepit. then he in turn sells me to the knacker, who slaughters me and flays off my hide, after which he plucks out my tail, which he sells to the sieve-makers, and melts down my fat for tallow." at this, the young lion's anger and vexation redoubled, and he said to the horse, "when didst thou leave the son of adam?" "at mid-day," replied the horse; "and he is now on my track." whilst the whelp was thus conversing with the horse, there arose a cloud of dust and presently subsiding, discovered a furious camel, which made toward us, braying and pawing the earth with his feet. when the whelp saw how great and lusty he was, he took him to be the son of adam and was about to spring at him, when i said to him, "o king's son, this is not the son of adam, but a camel, and me seems he is fleeing from the son of adam." as i spoke, o my sister, the camel came up and saluted the lion-whelp, who returned his greeting and said to him, "what brings thee hither?" quoth he, "i am fleeing from the son of adam." "and thou," said the whelp, "with thy huge frame and length and breadth, how comes it that thou fearest the son of adam, seeing that one kick of thy foot would kill him?" "o son of the sultan," answered the camel, "know that the son of adam has wiles, which none can withstand, nor can any but death prevail against him; for he puts in my nostrils a twine of goat's-hair he calls a nose-ring and over my head a thing he calls a halter; then he delivers me to the least of his children, and the youngling draws me along by the nose-ring, for all my size and strength. then they load me with the heaviest of burdens and go long journeys with me and put me to hard labours all hours of the day and night. when i grow old and feeble, my master keeps me not with him, but sells me to the knacker, who slaughters me and sells my hide to the tanners and my flesh to the cooks: so do not ask what i suffer from the son of adam." "when didst thou leave the son of adam?" asked the young lion. "at sundown," replied the camel; "and i doubt not but that, having missed me, he is now in search of me: wherefore, o son of the sultan, let me go, that i may flee into the deserts and the wilds." "wait awhile, o camel," said the whelp, "till thou see how i will rend him in pieces and give thee to eat of his flesh, whilst i crunch his bones and drink his blood." "o king's son," rejoined the camel, "i fear for thee from the son of adam, for he is wily and perfidious." and he repeated the following verse: whenas on any land the oppressor cloth alight, there's nothing left for those, that dwell therein, but flight. whilst the camel was speaking, there arose a cloud of dust, which opened and showed a short thin old man, with a basket of carpenters' tools on his shoulder and a branch of a tree and eight planks on his head. he had little children in his hand, and came on at a brisk pace, till he drew near us. when i saw him, o my sister, i fell down for excess of affright; but the young lion rose and went to meet the carpenter, who smiled in his face and said to him, with a glib tongue, "o illustrious king and lord of the long arm, may god prosper shine evening and shine endeavour and increase thy velour and strengthen thee! protect me from that which hath betided me and smitten me with its mischief, for i have found no helper save only thee." and he stood before him, weeping and groaning and lamenting. when the whelp heard his weeping and wailing, he said, "i will succour thee from that thou fearest. who hath done thee wrong and what art thou, o wild beast, whose like i never saw in my life nor saw i ever one goodlier of form or more eloquent of tongue than thou? what is thy case?" "o lord of the beasts," answered the man, "i am a carpenter; he who hath wronged me is a son of adam, and by break of dawn he will be with thee in this place." when the lion heard this, the light in his face was changed to darkness and he roared and snorted and his eyes cast forth sparks. then he said, "by allah, i will watch this night till the dawn, nor will i return to my father till i have compassed my intent. but thou," continued he, addressing the carpenter, "i see thou art short of step, and i would not wound thy feelings, for that i am generous of heart; yet do i deem thee unable to keep pace with the wild beasts: tell me then whither thou goest." "know," answered the carpenter, "that i am on my way to thy father's vizier, the lynx; for when he heard that the son of adam had set foot in this country, he feared greatly for himself and sent one of the beasts for me, to make him a house, wherein he should dwell, that it might shelter him and hold his enemy from him, so not one of the sons of adam should come at him." when the young lion heard this, he envied the lynx and said to the carpenter, "by my life, thou must make me a house with these planks, ere thou make one for the lynx! when thou hast done my work, go to the lynx and make him what he wishes." "o lord of the beasts," answered the carpenter, "i cannot make thee aught, till i have made the lynx what he desires: then will i return to thy service and make thee a house, to ward thee from shine enemy." "by allah," exclaimed the whelp, "i will not let thee go hence, till thou make me a house of these planks!" so saying, he sprang upon the carpenter, thinking to jest with him, and gave him a cuff with his paw. the blow knocked the basket off the man's shoulder and he fell down in a swoon, whereupon the young lion laughed at him and said, "out on thee, o carpenter! of a truth thou art weak and hast no strength; so it is excusable in thee to fear the son of adam." now the carpenter was exceeding wroth; but he dissembled his anger, for fear of the whelp, and sat up and smiled in his face, saying, "well, i will make thee the house." with this, he took the planks, and nailing them together, made a house in the form of a chest, after the measure of the young lion. in this he cut a large opening, to which he made a stout cover and bored many holes therein, leaving the door open. then he took out some nails of wrought iron and a hammer and said to the young lion, "enter this opening, that i may fit it to thy measure." the whelp was glad and went up to the opening, but saw that it was strait; and the carpenter said to him, "crouch down and so enter." so the whelp crouched down and entered the chest, but his tail remained outside. then he would have drawn back and come out; but the carpenter said to him, "wait till i see if there be room for thy tail with thee." so saying, he twisted up the young lion's tail, and stuffing it into the chest, whipped the lid on to the opening and nailed it down; whereat the whelp cried out and said, "o carpenter, what is this narrow house thou hast made me? let me out." but the carpenter laughed and answered, "god forbid! repentance avails nothing for what is passed, and indeed thou shalt not come out of this place. verily thou art fallen into the trap and there is no escape for thee from duresse, o vilest of wild beasts!" "o my brother," rejoined the whelp, "what manner of words are these?" "know, o dog of the desert," answered the man, "that thou hast fallen into that which thou fearedst; fate hath overthrown thee, nor did thought-taking profit thee." when the whelp heard these words, he knew that this was indeed the very son of adam, against whom he had been warned by his father on wake and by the mysterious voice in sleep; and i also, o my sister, was certified that this was indeed he without doubt; wherefore there took me great fear of him for myself and i withdrew a little apart and waited to see what he would do with the young lion. then i saw the son of adam dig a pit hard by the chest and throwing the latter therein, heap brushwood upon it and burn the young lion with fire. at this sight, my fear of the son of adam redoubled, and in my affright i have been these two days fleeing from him.'" when the peahen heard the duck's story, she wondered exceedingly and said to her, 'o my sister, thou art safe here from the son of adam, for we are in one of the islands of the sea, whither there is no way for him; so do thou take up shine abode with us, till god make easy shine and our affair.' quoth the duck, 'i fear lest some calamity come upon me by night, for no runaway can rid him of fate.' 'abide with us,' rejoined the peahen, 'and be even as we;' and ceased not to persuade her, till she yielded, saying, 'o my sister, thou knowest how little is my fortitude: had i not seen thee here, i had not remained.' 'that which is written on our foreheads,' said the peahen, 'we must indeed fulfil, and when our appointed day draws near, who shall deliver us? but not a soul passes away except it have accomplished its predestined term and fortune.' as they talked, a cloud of dust appeared, at sight of which the duck shrieked aloud and ran down into the sea, crying out, 'beware, beware, albeit there is no fleeing from fate and fortune!' after awhile, the dust subsided and discovered an antelope; whereat the duck and the peahen were reassured and the latter said to her companion, 'o my sister, this thou seest and wouldst have me beware of is an antelope, and he is making for us. he will do us no hurt, for the antelope feeds upon the herbs of the earth, and even as thou art of the bird-kind, so is he of the beast-kind. so be of good cheer and leave care-taking; for care-taking wasteth the body.' hardly had the peahen done speaking, when the antelope came up to them, thinking to shelter under the shade of the tree, and seeing the two birds, saluted them and said, 'i came to this island to-day, and i have seen none richer in herbage nor more pleasant of habitance.' then he besought them of company and amity, and they, seeing his friendly behaviour to them, welcomed him and gladly accepted his offer. so they swore friendship one to another and abode in the island in peace and safety, eating and drinking and sleeping in common, till one day there came thither a ship, that had strayed from its course in the sea. it cast anchor near them, and the crew landing, dispersed about the island. they soon caught sight of the three animals and made for them, whereupon the peahen flew up into the tree and the antelope fled into the desert, but the duck abode paralysed (by fear). so they chased her, till they caught her and carried her with them to the ship, whilst she cried out and said, 'caution availed me nothing against fate and destiny!' when the peahen saw what had betided the duck, she came down from the tree, saying, 'i see that misfortunes lie in wait for all. but for yonder ship, parting had not befallen between me and this duck, for she was one of the best of friends. then she flew off and rejoined the antelope, who saluted her and gave her joy of her safety and enquired for the duck, to which she replied, 'the enemy hath taken her, and i loathe the sojourn of this island after her.' then she wept for the loss of the duck and repeated the following verses: the day of severance broke my heart in tway. god do the like unto the severance-day! and also these: i pray that we may yet foregather once again. that i may tell her all that parting wrought of pain. the antelope was greatly moved at hearing of their comrade's fate, but dissuaded the peahen from her resolve to leave the island. so they abode there together, eating and drinking in peace and safety, save that they ceased not to mourn for the loss of the duck, and the antelope said to the peahen, 'thou seest, o my sister, how the folk who came forth of the ship were the means of our severance from the duck and of her destruction; so do thou beware of them and guard thyself from them and from the craft of the son of adam and his perfidy.' but the peahen replied, 'i am assured that nought caused her death but her neglect to celebrate the praises of god, and indeed i said to her, "verily i fear for thee, because thou art not careful to praise god; for all things that he hath made do glorify him, and if any neglect to do so, it leadeth to their destruction."' when the antelope heard the peahen's words, he exclaimed, 'may god make fair thy face!' and betook himself to the celebration of the praises of the almighty, never after slackening therefrom. and it is said that his form of adoration was as follows: 'glory be to the requiter of good and evil, the lord of glory and dominion!' the hermits. there was once a hermit, who served god on a certain mountain, whither resorted a pair of pigeons; and he was wont to make two parts of his daily bread, eating one half himself and giving the other to the pigeons. he prayed also for them, that they might be blest with increase; so they increased and multiplied greatly. now they resorted only to that mountain, and the reason of their foregathering with the holy man was their assiduity in celebrating the praises of god; for it is said that the pigeons' formula of praise is, 'glory be to the creator of all things, who appointeth to every one his daily bread, who builded the heavens and spread out the earth like a carpet!' they dwelt thus together, in the happiest of life, they and their brood, till the holy man died, when the company of the pigeons was broken up, and they all dispersed among the towns and villages and mountains. now in a certain other mountain there dwelt a shepherd, a man of piety and chastity and understanding; and he had flocks of sheep, which he tended, and made his living by their milk and wool. the mountain aforesaid abounded in trees and pasturage and wild beasts, but the latter had no power over the peasant nor over his flocks; so he continued to dwell therein, in security, taking no thought to the things of the world, by reason of his happiness and assiduity in prayer and devotion, till god ordained that he should fall exceeding sick. so he betook himself to a cavern in the mountain, and his sheep used to go out in the morning to the pasturage and take refuge at night in the cave. now god was minded to try him and prove his obedience and constancy; so he sent him one of his angels, who came in to him in the semblance of a fair woman and sat down before him. when the shepherd saw the woman seated before him, his flesh shuddered with horror of her and he said to her, 'o woman, what brings thee hither? i have no need of thee, nor is there aught betwixt thee and me that calls for thy coming in to me.' 'o man,' answered she, 'dost thou not note my beauty and grace and the fragrance of my breath and knowest thou not the need women have of men and men of women? behold, i have chosen to be near thee and desire to enjoy thy company; so who shall forbid thee from me? indeed, i come to thee willingly and do not withhold myself from thee: there is none with us whom we need fear; and i wish to abide with thee as long as thou sojournest in this mountain and be thy companion. i offer myself to thee, for thou needest the service of women; and if thou know me, thy sickness will leave thee and health return to thee and thou wilt repent thee of having forsworn the company of women during thy past life. indeed, i give thee good advice: so give ear to my counsel and draw near unto me.' quoth he, 'go out from me, o deceitful and perfidious woman! i will not incline to thee nor approach thee. i want not thy company; he who coveteth thee renounceth the future life, and he who coveteth the future life renounceth thee, for thou seduces the first and the last. god the most high lieth in wait for his servants and woe unto him who is afflicted with thy company!' 'o thou that errest from the truth and wanderest from the path of reason,' answered she, 'turn thy face to me and look upon my charms and profit by my nearness, as did the wise who have gone before thee. indeed, they were richer than thou in experience and greater of wit; yet they rejected not the society of women, as thou dost, but took their pleasure of them and their company, and it did them no hurt, in body or in soul. wherefore do thou turn from thy resolve and thou shalt praise the issue of shine affair.' 'all thou sayest i deny and abhor,' rejoined the shepherd, 'and reject all thou offerest; for thou art cunning and perfidious and there is no faith in thee, neither honour. how much foulness cost thou hide under thy beauty and how many a pious man hast thou seduced, whose end was repentance and perdition! avaunt from me, o thou who devotes thyself to corrupt others!' so saying, he threw his goat's-hair cloak over his eyes, that he might not see her face, and betook himself to calling upon the name of his lord. when the angel saw the excellence of his obedience (to god), he went out from him and ascended to heaven. now hard by the mountain was a village wherein dwelt a pious man, who knew not the other's stead, till one night he saw in a dream one who said to him, 'in such a place near to thee is a pious man: go to him and be at his command.' so when it was day, he set out afoot to go thither, and at the time when the heat was grievous upon him, he came to a tree, which grew beside a spring of running water. he sat down to rest in the shadow of the tree, and birds and beasts came to the spring to drink; but when they saw him, they took fright and fled. then said he, 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high! i am resting here, to the hurt of the beasts and fowls.' so he rose and went on, blaming himself and saying, 'my tarrying here hath wronged these beasts and birds, and what excuse have i towards my creator and the creator of these creatures, for that i was the cause of their flight from their watering-place and their pasture? alas, my confusion before my lord on the day when he shall avenge the sheep of the goats!' and he wept and repeated the following verses: by allah, if men knew for what they are create, they would not go and sleep, unheeding of their fate! soon cometh death, then wake and resurrection come; then judgment and reproof and terrors passing great. obey me or command, the most of us are like. the dwellers in the cave, [fn# ] asleep early and late. then he fared on, weeping for that he had driven the birds and beasts from the spring by sitting down under the tree, till he came to the shepherd's dwelling and going in, saluted him. the shepherd returned his greeting and embraced him, weeping and saying, 'what brings thee hither, where no man hath ever come in to me?' quoth the other, 'i saw in my sleep one who described to me this thy stead and bade me repair to thee and salute thee: so i came, in obedience to the commandment.' the shepherd welcomed him, rejoicing in his company, and they both abode in the cavern, doing fair service to their lord and living upon the flesh and milk of their sheep, having put away from them wealth and children and other the goods of this world, till there came to them death, the certain, the inevitable. and this is the end of their story." "o shehrzad," said king shehriyar, "thou puttest me out of conceit with my kingdom and makest me repent of having slain so many women and maidens. hast thou any stories of birds?" "yes," answered she, and began as follows: the water-fowl and the tortoise "a water-fowl flew high up into the air and alighted on rock in the midst of a running water. as it sat, behold, the water floated up a carcase, that was swollen and rose high out of the water, and lodged it against the rock. the bird drew near and examining it, found that it was the dead body of a man and saw in it spear and sword wounds. so he said in himself, 'belike, this was some evil-doer, and a company of men joined themselves together against him and slew him and were at peace from him and his mischief.' whilst he was marvelling at this, vultures and eagles came down upon the carcase from all sides; which when the water-fowl saw, he was sore affrighted and said, 'i cannot endure to abide here longer.' so he flew away in quest of a place where he might harbour, till the carcase should come to an end and the birds of prey leave it, and stayed not in his flight, till he came to a river with a tree in its midst. he alighted on the tree, troubled and distraught and grieved for his separation from his native place, and said to himself, 'verily grief and vexation cease not to follow me: i was at my ease, when i saw the carcase, and rejoiced therein exceedingly, saying, "this is a gift of god to me;" but my joy became sorrow and my gladness mourning, for the lions of the birds[fn# ] took it and made prize of it and came between it and me. how can i trust in this world or hope to be secure from misfortune therein? indeed, the proverb says, "the world is the dwelling of him who hath no dwelling: he who hath no understanding is deceived by it and trusteth in it with his wealth and his child and his family and his folk; nor doth he who is deluded by it leave to rely upon it, walking proudly upon the earth, till he is laid under it and the dust is cast over him by him who was dearest and nearest to him of all men; but nought is better for the noble than patience under its cares and miseries." i have left my native place, and it is abhorrent to me to quit my brethren and friends and loved ones.' whilst he was thus devising with himself, behold, a tortoise descended into the water and approaching the bird, saluted him, saying, 'o my lord, what hath exiled thee and driven thee afar from thy place?' 'the descent of enemies thereon,' replied the water-fowl; 'for the understanding cannot brook the neighbourhood of his enemy; even as well says the poet: whenas on any land the oppressor doth alight, there's nothing left for those, that dwell therein, but flight.' quoth the tortoise, 'if the case be as thou sayest, i will not leave thee nor cease to be before thee, that i may do thy need and fulfil thy service; for it is said that there is no sorer desolation than that of him who is an exile, cut off from friends and country; and also that no calamity equals that of severance from virtuous folk; but the best solace for the understanding is to seek companionship in his strangerhood and be patient under adversity. wherefore i hope that thou wilt find thine account in my company, for i will be to thee a servant and a helper.' 'verily, thou art right in what thou sayest,' answered the water-fowl; 'for, by my life, i have found grief and pain in separation, what while i have been absent from my stead and sundered from my friends and brethren, seeing that in severance is an admonition to him who will be admonished and matter of thought for him who will take thought. if one find not a companion to console him, good is cut off from him for ever and evil stablished with him eternally; and there is nothing for the wise but to solace himself in every event with brethren and be instant in patience and constancy; for indeed these two are praiseworthy qualities, that uphold one under calamities and shifts of fortune and ward off affliction and consternation, come what will.' 'beware of sorrow,' rejoined the tortoise, 'for it will corrupt thy life to thee and do away thy fortitude.' and they gave not over converse, till the bird said, 'never shall i leave to fear the strokes of fortune and the vicissitudes of events.' when the tortoise heard this, he came up to him and kissing him between the eyes, said to him, 'never may the company of the birds cease to be blest in thee and find good in thy counsel! how shalt thou be burdened with inquietude and harm?' and he went on to comfort the water-fowl and soothe his disquiet, till he became reassured. then he flew to the place, where the carcase was, and found the birds of prey gone and nothing left of the body but bones; whereupon he returned to the tortoise and acquainted him with this, saying, 'i wish to return to my stead and enjoy the society of my friends; for the wise cannot endure separation from his native place.' so they both went thither and found nought to affright them; whereupon the water-fowl repeated the following verses: full many a sorry chance doth light upon a man and fill his life with trouble, yet with god the issue bideth still. his case is sore on him, but when its meshes straitened are to att'rest, they relax, although he deem they never will. so they abode there in peace and gladness, till one day fate led thither a hungry hawk, which drove its talons into the bird's belly and killed him, nor did caution stand him in stead seeing that his hour was come. now the cause of his death was that he neglected to praise god, and it is said that his form of adoration was as follows, 'glory be to our lord in that he ordereth and ordaineth, and glory be to our lord in that he maketh rich and maketh poor!'" "o shehrzad," said the sultan, "verily, thou overwhelmest me with admonitions and salutary instances! hast thou any stories of beasts?" "yes," answered she. "know, o king, that the wolf and the fox. a fox and a wolf once dwelt in the same den, harbouring therein together day and night; but the wolf was cruel and oppressive to the fox. they abode thus awhile, till one day the fox exhorted the wolf to use gentle dealing and leave evil-doing, saying, 'if thou persist in thine arrogance, belike god will give the son of adam power over thee, for he is past master in guile and craft and knavery. by his devices he brings down the birds from the air and draws the fish forth of the waters and sunders mountains in twain and transports them from place to place. all this is of his craft and wiliness; wherefore do thou betake thyself to equity and fair dealing and leave evil and tyranny; and thou shalt fare the better for it.' but the wolf rejected his counsel and answered him roughly, saying, 'thou hast no call to speak of matters of weight and stress.' and he dealt the fox a buffet that laid him senseless; but, when he revived, he smiled in the wolf's face and excused himself for his unseemly speech, repeating the following verses: if i have sinned in aught that's worthy of reproach or if i've made default against the love of you, lo, i repent my fault; so let thy clemency the sinner comprehend, that doth for pardon sue. the wolf accepted his excuse and held his hand from him, saying, 'speak not of that which concerns thee not, or thou shalt hear what will not please thee.' 'i hear and obey,' answered the fox; 'henceforth i will abstain from what pleaseth thee not; for the sage says, "speak thou not of that whereof thou art not asked; answer not, when thou art not called upon; leave that which concerns thee not for that which does concern thee and lavish not good counsel on the wicked, for they will repay thee therefor with evil."' and he smiled in the wolf's face, but in his heart he meditated treachery against him and said in himself, 'needs must i compass the destruction of this wolf.' so he bore with his ill usage, saying in himself, 'verily arrogance and falsehood lead to perdition and cast into confusion, and it is said, "he who is arrogant suffers and he who is ignorant repents and he who fears is safe: fair dealing is a characteristic of the noble, and gentle manners are the noblest of gains." it behoves me to dissemble with this tyrant, and needs must he be cast down.' then said he to the wolf, 'verily, the lord pardons his erring servant and relents towards him, if he confess his sins; and i am a weak slave and have sinned in presuming to counsel thee. if thou knewest the pain that befell me by thy buffet, thou wouldst see that an elephant could not stand against it nor endure it: but i complain not of the pain of the blow, because of the contentment that hath betided me through it; for though it was exceeding grievous to me, yet its issue was gladness. as saith the sage, "the blow of the teacher is at first exceeding grievous, but the end of it is sweeter than clarified honey."' quoth the wolf, 'i pardon thine offence and pass over thy fault; but be thou ware of my strength and avow thyself my slave; for thou knowest how rigorously i deal with those that transgress against me.' thereupon the fox prostrated himself to the wolf, saying, 'may god prolong thy life and mayst thou cease never to subdue thine enemies!' and he abode in fear of the wolf and ceased not to wheedle him and dissemble with him. one day, the fox came to a vineyard and saw a breach in its wall; but he mistrusted it and said in himself, 'verily, there must be some reason for this breach and the adage says, "he who sees a cleft in the earth and doth not shun it or be wary in going up to it, is self-deluded and exposes himself to destruction." indeed, it is well known that some folk make a semblant of a fox in their vineyards, even to setting before it grapes in dishes, that foxes may see it and come to it and fall into destruction. meseems, this breach is a snare and the proverb says, "prudence is the half of cleverness." now prudence requires that i examine this breach and see if there be ought therein that may lead to perdition; and covetise shall not make me cast myself into destruction.' so he went up to the breach and examining it warily, discovered a deep pit, lightly covered (with boughs and earth), which the owner of the vineyard had dug, thinking to trap therein the wild beasts that laid waste his vines. then he drew back from it, saying in himself, 'i have found it as i expected. praised be god that i was wary of it! i hope that my enemy the wolf, who makes my life miserable, will fall into it; so will the vineyard be left to me and i shall enjoy it alone and dwell therein in peace.' so saying, he shook his head and laughed aloud, repeating the following verses: would god i might see, even now, a wolf fallen into yon pit, that this long time hath tortured my heart and made me quaff bitters, god wit! god grant i may live and be spared and eke of the wolf be made quit! so the vineyard of him shall be rid and i find my purchase in it. then he returned in haste to the wolf and said to him, 'god hath made plain the way for thee into the vineyard, without toil. this is of thy good luck; so mayst thou enjoy the easy booty and the plentiful provant that god hath opened up to thee without trouble!' 'what proof hast thou of what thou sayest?' asked the wolf; and the fox answered, 'i went up to the vineyard and found that the owner was dead, having been devoured by wolves: so i entered and saw the fruit shining on the trees.' the wolf misdoubted not of the fox's report and gluttony got hold on him; so he rose and repaired to the breach, blinded by greed; whilst the fox stopped short and lay as one dead, applying to the case the following verse: lustest after leila's favours? look thou rather bear in mind that 'tis covetise plays havoc with the necks of human kind. then said he to the wolf, 'enter the vineyard: thou art spared the trouble of climbing, for the wall is broken down, and with god be the rest of the benefit.' so the wolf went on, thinking to enter the vineyard; but when he came to the middle of the covering (of the pit), he fell in; whereupon the fox shook for delight and gladness; his care and concern left him and he sang out for joy and recited the following verses: fortune hath taken ruth on my case; yea, she hath pitied the length of my pain, doing away from me that which i feared and granting me that whereto i was fain. so i will pardon her all the sins she sinned against me once and again; since for the wolf there is no escape from certain ruin and bitter bane, and now the vineyard is all my own and no fool sharer in my domain. then he looked into the pit, and seeing the wolf weeping for sorrow and repentance over himself, wept with him; whereupon the wolf raised his head to him and said, 'is it of pity for me thou weepest, o aboulhussein?' [fn# ] 'not so,' answered the fox, 'by him who cast thee into the pit! i weep for the length of thy past life and for regret that thou didst not sooner fall into the pit; for hadst thou done so before i met with thee, i had been at peace: but thou wast spared till the fulfilment of thine allotted term.' the wolf thought he was jesting and said, 'o sinner, go to my mother and tell her what has befallen me, so haply she may make shift for my release.' 'verily,' answered the fox, 'the excess of thy gluttony and thy much greed have brought thee to destruction, since thou art fallen into a pit whence thou wilt never escape. o witless wolf, knowest thou not the proverb, "he who taketh no thought to results, fate is no friend to him, nor shall he be safe from perils?"' 'o aboulhussein,' said the wolf, 'thou wast wont to show me affection and covet my friendship and fear the greatness of my strength. bear me not malice for that i did with thee, for he who hath power and forgiveth, his reward is with god; even as saith the poet: sow benefits aye, though in other than fitting soil. a benefit's never lost, wherever it may be sown; and though time tarry full long to bring it to harvest-tide, yet no man reapeth its fruit, save he who sowed it alone.' 'o most witless of beasts of prey and stupidest of the wildings of the earth,' rejoined the fox, 'hast thou forgotten thine arrogance and pride and tyranny and how thou disregardedst the due of comradeship and wouldst not take counsel by what the poet says: do no oppression, whilst the power thereto is in thine hand, for still in danger of revenge the sad oppressor goes. thine eyes will sleep anon, what while the opprest, on wake, call down curses upon thee, and god's eye shuts never in repose.' 'o aboulhussein,' replied the wolf, 'reproach me not for past offences; for forgiveness is expected of the noble, and the practice of kindness is the best of treasures. how well says the poet: hasten to do good works, whenever thou hast the power, for thou art not able thereto at every season and hour.' and he went on to humble himself to the fox and say to him, 'haply, thou canst do somewhat to deliver me from destruction.' 'o witless, deluded, perfidious, crafty wolf,' answered the fox, 'hope not for deliverance, for this is but the just reward of thy foul dealing.' then he laughed from ear to ear and repeated the following verses: a truce to thy strife to beguile me! for nothing of me shalt thou gain. thy prayers are but idle; thou sowedst vexation; so reap it amain. 'o gentlest of beasts of prey,' said the wolf, 'i deem thee too faithful to leave me in this pit.' then he wept and sighed and recited the following verses, whilst the tears streamed from his eyes: o thou, whose kindnesses to me are more than one, i trow, whose bounties unto me vouchsafed are countless as the sand, no shift of fortune in my time has ever fall'n on me, but i have found thee ready still to take me by the hand. 'o stupid enemy,' said the fox, 'how art thou reduced to humility and obsequiousness and abjection and submission, after disdain and pride and tyranny and arrogance! verily, i companied with thee and cajoled thee but for fear of thy violence and not in hope of fair treatment from thee: but now trembling is come upon thee and vengeance hath overtaken thee.' and he repeated the following verses: o thou that for aye on beguiling art bent, thou'rt fall'n in the snare of thine evil intent. so taste of the anguish that knows no relent and be with the rest of the wolven forspent! 'o clement one,' replied the wolf, 'speak not with the tongue of despite nor look with its eyes; but fulfil the covenant of fellowship with me, ere the time for action pass away. rise, make shift to get me a rope and tie one end of it to a tree; then let the other end down to me, that i may lay hold of it, so haply i may escape from this my strait, and i will give thee all my hand possesseth of treasures.' quoth the fox, 'thou persistest in talk of that wherein thy deliverance is not. hope not for this, for thou shalt not get of me wherewithal to save thyself; but call to mind thy past ill deeds and the craft and perfidy thou didst imagine against me and bethink thee how near thou art to being stoned to death. for know that thy soul is about to leave the world and cease and depart from it; so shalt thou come to destruction and evil is the abiding-place to which thou goest!' 'o aboulhussein,' rejoined the wolf, 'hasten to return to friendliness and persist not in this rancour. know that he, who saves a soul from perdition, is as if he had restored it to life, and he, who saves a soul alive, is as if he had saved all mankind. do not ensue wickedness, for the wise forbid it: and it were indeed the most manifest wickedness to leave me in this pit to drink the agony of death and look upon destruction, whenas it lies in thy power to deliver me from my strait. wherefore go thou about to release me and deal benevolently with me.' 'o thou barbarous wretch,' answered the fox, 'i liken thee, because of the fairness of thy professions and the foulness of thine intent and thy practice, to the hawk with the partridge.' 'how so ?' asked the wolf; and the fox said, the hawk and the partridge. 'i entered a vineyard one day and saw a hawk stoop upon a partridge and seize it: but the partridge escaped from him and entering its nest, hid itself there. the hawk followed and called out to it, saying, "o wittol, i saw thee in the desert, hungry, and took pity on thee; so i gathered grain for thee and took hold of thee that thou mightest eat; but thou fledst, wherefore i know not, except it were to slight me. so come out and take the grain i have brought thee to eat, and much good may it do thee!" the partridge believed what he said and came out, whereupon the hawk stuck his talons into him and seized him. "is this that which thou saidst thou hadst brought me from the desert," cried the partridge, "and of which thou badest me eat, saying, 'much good may it do thee?' thou hast lied to me and may god make what thou eatest of my flesh to be a deadly poison in thy maw!" so when the hawk had eaten the partridge, his feathers fell off and his strength failed and he died on the spot. know, then, o wolf, that he, who digs a pit for his brother, soon falls into it himself, and thou first dealtest perfidiously with me.' 'spare me this talk and these moral instances,' said the wolf, 'and remind me not of my former ill deeds, for the sorry plight i am in suffices me, seeing that i am fallen into a place, in which even my enemy would pity me, to say nothing of my friend. so make thou some shift to deliver me and be thou thereby my saviour. if this cause thee aught of hardship, think that a true friend will endure the sorest travail for his friend's sake and risk his life to deliver him from perdition; and indeed it hath been said, "a tender friend is better than an own brother." so if thou bestir thyself and help me and deliver me, i will gather thee such store of gear, as shall be a provision for thee against the time of want, and teach thee rare tricks to gain access to fruitful vineyards and strip the fruit-laden trees.' 'how excellent,' rejoined the fox, laughing, 'is what the learned say of those who are past measure ignorant, like unto thee!' 'what do they say?' asked the wolf; and the fox answered, 'they say that the gross of body are gross of nature, far from understanding and nigh unto ignorance. as for thy saying, o perfidious, stupid self-deceiver, that a friend should suffer hardship to succour his friend, it is true, as thou sayest: but tell me, of thine ignorance and poverty of wit, how can i be a true friend to thee, considering thy treachery? dost thou count me thy friend? behold, i am thine enemy, that exulteth in thy misfortune; and couldst thou understand it, this word were sorer to thee than slaughter and arrow-shot. as for thy promise to provide me a store against the time of want and teach me tricks to enter vineyards and spoil fruit-trees, how comes it, o crafty traitor, that thou knowest not a trick to save thyself from destruction? how far art thou from profiting thyself and how far am i from lending ear to thy speech! if thou have any tricks, make shift for thyself to save thee from this peril, wherefrom i pray god to make thine escape distant! so look, o idiot, if there be any trick with thee and save thyself from death therewith, before thou lavish instruction on others. but thou art like a certain sick man, who went to another, suffering from the same disease, and said to him, "shall i heal thee of thy disease?" "why dost thou not begin by healing thyself?" answered the other; so he left him and went his way. and thou, o ignorant wolf, art like this; so stay where thou art and be patient under what hath befallen thee.' when the wolf heard what the fox said, he knew he had no hope from him; so he wept for himself, saying, 'verily, i have been heedless of mine affair; but if god deliver me from this scrape, i will assuredly repent of my arrogance towards those who are weaker than i and will put on wool and go upon the mountains, celebrating the praises of god the most high and fearing his wrath. yea, i will sunder myself from all the other wild beasts and feed the poor and those who fight for the faith.' then he wept and lamented, till the heart of the fox was softened and he took pity on him, whenas he heard his humble words and his professions of repentance for his past arrogance and tyranny. so he sprang up joyfully and going to the brink of the pit, sat down on his hind quarters and let his tail fall therein; whereupon the wolf arose and putting out his paw, pulled the fox's tail, so that he fell down into the pit with him. then said the wolf, 'o fox of little ruth, why didst thou exult over me, thou that wast my companion and under my dominion? now thou art fallen into the pit with me and retribution hath soon overtaken thee. verily, the wise have said, "if one of you reproach his brother with sucking the teats of a bitch, he also shall suck her," and how well saith the poet: when fortune's blows on some fall hard and heavily, with others of our kind as friend encampeth she. so say to those who joy in our distress, "awake; for those who mock our woes shall suffer even as we." and death in company is the best of things; wherefore i will make haste to kill thee, ere thou see me killed.' 'alas! alas!' said the fox in himself. 'i am fallen in with this tyrant, and my case calls for the use of craft and cunning; for indeed it is said that a woman fashions her ornaments for the festival day, and quoth the proverb, "i have kept thee, o my tear, against the time of my distress!" except i make shift to circumvent this overbearing beast, i am lost without recourse; and how well says the poet: provide thee by craft, for thou liv'st in a time whose folk are as lions that lurk in a wood, and set thou the mill-stream of knavery abroach, that the mill of subsistence may grind for thy food, and pluck the fruits boldly; but if they escape from thy grasp, then content thee with hay to thy food.' then said he to the wolf, 'hasten not to slay me, for that is not my desert and thou wouldst repent it, o valiant beast, lord of might and exceeding prowess! if thou hold thy hand and consider what i shall tell thee, thou wilt know that which i purpose; but if thou hasten to kill me, it will profit thee nothing and we shall both die here.' 'o wily deceiver,' answered the wolf, 'how hopest thou to work my deliverance and thine own, that thou wouldst have me grant thee time? speak and let me know thy purpose.' 'as for my purpose,' replied the fox, 'it was such as deserves that thou reward me handsomely for it; for when i heard thy promises and thy confession of thy past ill conduct and regrets for not having earlier repented and done good and thy vows, shouldst thou escape from this thy stress, to leave harming thy fellows and others and forswear eating grapes and other fruits and devote thyself to humility and cut thy claws and break thy teeth and don wool and offer thyself as a sacrifice to god the most high,--when (i say), i heard thy repentance and vows of amendment, compassion took me for thee, though before i was anxious for thy destruction, and i felt bound to save thee from this thy present plight. so i let down my tail, that thou mightest grasp it and make thine escape. yet wouldst thou not put off thy wonted violence and brutality nor soughtest to save thyself by fair means, but gavest me such a tug that i thought my soul would depart my body, so that thou and i are become involved in the same stead of ruin and death. there is but one thing can deliver us, to which if thou agree, we shall both escape; and after it behoves thee to keep the vows thou hast made, and i will be thy friend.' 'what is it thou hast to propose?' asked the wolf. 'it is,' answered the fox, 'that thou stand up, and i will climb up on to thy head and so bring myself nigh on a level with the surface of the earth. then will i give a spring and as soon as i reach the ground, i will fetch thee what thou mayst lay hold of and make thine escape.' 'i have no faith in thy word,' rejoined the wolf, 'for the wise have said, "he who practices trust in the place of hate, errs," and "he who trusts in the faithless is a dupe; he who tries those that have been [already] tried (and found wanting) shall reap repentance and his days shall pass away without profit; and he who cannot distinguish between cases, giving each its due part, his good fortune will be small and his afflictions many." how well saith the poet: be thy thought ever ill and of all men beware; suspicion of good parts the helpfullest was e'er. for nothing brings a man to peril and distress as doth the doing good (to men) and thinking fair. and another: be constant ever in suspect; 'twill save thee aye anew; for he who lives a wakeful life, his troubles are but few. meet thou the foeman in thy way with open, smiling face; but in thy heart set up a host shall battle with him do. and yet another: thy worst of foes is thy nearest friend, in whom thou puttest trust; so look thou be on thy guard with men and use them warily aye. 'tis weakness to augur well of fate; think rather ill of it. and be in fear of its shifts and tricks, lest it should thee bewray.' 'verily,' said the fox, 'distrust is not to be commended in every case; on the contrary, a confiding disposition is the characteristic of a noble nature and its issue is freedom from terrors. now it behoves thee, o wolf, to put in practice some device for thy deliverance from this thou art in and the escape of us both will be better than our death: so leave thy distrust and rancour; for if thou trust in me, one of two things will happen; either i shall bring thee whereof to lay hold and escape, or i shall play thee false and save myself and leave thee; and this latter may not be, for i am not safe from falling into some such strait as this thou art in, which would be fitting punishment of perfidy. indeed the adage saith, "faith is fair and perfidy foul." it behoves thee, therefore, to trust in me, for i am not ignorant of the vicissitudes of fortune: so delay not to contrive some device for our deliverance, for the case is too urgent for further talk.' 'to tell thee the truth,' replied the wolf, 'for all my want of confidence in thy fidelity, i knew what was in thy mind and that thou wast minded to deliver me, whenas thou heardest my repentance, and i said in myself, "if what he asserts be true, he will have repaired the ill he did: and if false, it rests with god to requite him." so, behold, i accept thy proposal, and if thou betray me, may thy perfidy be the cause of thy destruction!' then he stood upright in the pit and taking the fox upon his shoulders, raised him to the level of the ground, whereupon the latter gave a spring and lighted on the surface of the earth. when he found himself in safety, he fell down senseless, and the wolf said to him, 'o my friend, neglect not my case and delay not to deliver me.' the fox laughed derisively and replied, 'o dupe, it was but my laughing at thee and making mock of thee that threw me into thy hands: for when i heard thee profess repentance, mirth and gladness seized me and i frisked about and danced and made merry, so that my tail fell down into the pit and thou caughtest hold of it and draggedst me down with thee. why should i be other than a helper in thy destruction, seeing that thou art of the host of the devil! i dreamt yesterday that i danced at thy wedding and related my dream to an interpreter, who told me that i should fall into a great danger and escape from it. so now i know that my falling into thy hand and my escape are the fulfilment of my dream, and thou, o ignorant dupe, knowest me for thine enemy; so how canst thou, of thine ignorance and lack of wit, hope for deliverance at my hands, after all thou hast heard of harsh words from me, and wherefore should i endeavour for thy deliverance, whenas the wise have said, "in the death of the wicked is peace for mankind and purgation for the earth?" yet, but that i fear to reap more affliction by keeping faith with thee than could follow perfidy, i would do my endeavour to save thee.' when the wolf heard this, he bit his paws for despite and was at his wit's end what to do. then he gave the fox fair words, but this availed nought; so he said to him softly, 'verily, you foxes are the most pleasant spoken of folk and the subtlest in jest, and this is but a jest of thine; but all times are not good for sport and jesting.' 'o dolt,' answered the fox, 'jesting hath a limit, that the jester overpasses not, and deem not that god will again give thee power over me, after having once delivered me from thee.' quoth the wolf, 'it behoves thee to endeavour for my release, by reason of our brotherhood and fellowship, and if thou deliver me, i will assuredly make fair thy reward.' 'the wise say,' rejoined the fox,' "fraternize not with the ignorant and wicked, for he will shame thee and not adorn thee,--nor with the liar, for if thou do good, he will hide it, and if evil, he will publish it;" and again, "there is help for everything but death: all may be mended, save natural depravity, and everything may be warded off, except fate." as for the reward thou promisest me, i liken thee therein to the serpent that fled from the charmer. a man saw her affrighted and said to her, "what ails thee, o serpent?" quoth she, "i am fleeing from the serpent-charmer, who is in chase of me, and if thou wilt save me and hide me with thee, i will make fair thy recompense and do thee all manner of kindness." so he took her, moved both by desire of the promised recompense and a wish to find favour with god, and hid her in his bosom. when the charmer had passed and gone his way and the serpent had no longer any reason to fear, he said to her, "where is the recompense thou didst promise me? behold, i have saved thee from that thou dreadest." "tell me where i shall bite thee," replied she, "for thou knowest we overpass not that recompense." so saying, she gave him a bite, of which he died. and i liken thee, o dullard, to the serpent in her dealings with the man. hast thou not heard what the poet says? trust not in one in whose heart thou hast made wrath to abide and thinkest his anger at last is over and pacified. verily vipers, though smooth and soft to the feel and the eye and graceful of movements they be, yet death-dealing venom they hide.' 'o glib-tongue, lord of the fair face,' said the wolf, 'thou art not ignorant of my case and of men's fear of me and knowest how i assault the strong places and root up the vines. wherefore, do as i bid thee and bear thyself to me as a servant to his lord.' 'o stupid dullard,' answered the fox, 'that seekest a vain thing, i marvel at thy stupidity and effrontery, in that thou biddest me serve thee and order myself towards thee as i were a slave bought with thy money; but thou shalt see what is in store for thee, in the way of breaking thy head with stones and knocking out thy traitor's teeth.' so saying, he went up to a hill that gave upon the vineyard and standing there, called out to the people of the place, nor did he give over crying, till he woke them and they, seeing him, came up to him in haste. he held his ground till they drew near him and near the pit, when he turned and fled. so they looked into the pit and spying the wolf, fell to pelting him with heavy stones, nor did they leave smiting him with sticks and stones and piercing him with lances, till they killed him and went away; whereupon the fox returned to the pit and looking down, saw the wolf dead: so he wagged his head for excess of joy and chanted the following verses: fate took the soul o' the wolf and snatched it far away; foul fall it for a soul that's lost and perished aye! how oft, o gaffer grim, my ruin hast thou sought! but unrelenting bale is fallen on thee this day. thou fellst into a pit, wherein there's none may fall except the blasts of death blow on him for a prey. then he abode alone in the vineyard, secure and fearing no hurt. the mouse and the weasel. a mouse and a weasel once dwelt in the house of a poor peasant, one of whose friends fell sick and the doctor prescribed him husked sesame. so he sought of one of his comrades sesame and gave the peasant a measure thereof to husk for him; and he carried it home to his wife and bade her dress it. so she steeped it and husked it and spread it out to dry. when the weasel saw the grain, he came up to it and fell to carrying it away to his hole, nor stinted all day, till he had borne off the most of it. presently, in came the peasant's wife, and seeing great part of the sesame gone, stood awhile wondering; after which she sat down to watch and find out the cause. after awhile, out came the weasel to carry off more of the grain, but spying the woman seated there, knew that she was on the watch for him and said to himself, 'verily, this affair is like to end ill. i fear me this woman is on the watch for me and fortune is no friend to those who look not to the issues: so i must do a fair deed, whereby i may manifest my innocence and wash out all the ill i have done.' so saying, he began to take of the sesame in his hole and carry it out and lay it back upon the rest. the woman stood by and seeing the weasel do thus, said in herself, 'verily, this is not the thief, for he brings it back from the hole of him that stole it and returns it to its place. indeed, he hath done us a kindness in restoring us the sesame and the reward of those that do us good is that we do them the like. it is clear that this is not he who stole the grain. but i will not leave watching till i find out who is the thief.' the weasel guessed what was in her mind, so he went to the mouse and said to her, 'o my sister, there is no good in him who does not observe the claims of neighbourship and shows no constancy in friendship.' 'true, o my friend,' answered the mouse, 'and i delight in thee and in thy neighbourhood; but what is the motive of thy speech?' quoth the weasel, 'the master of the house has brought home sesame and has eaten his fill of it, he and his family, and left much; every living soul has eaten of it, and if thou take of it in thy turn, thou art worthier thereof than any other.' this pleased the mouse and she chirped and danced and frisked her ears and tail, and greed for the grain deluded her; so she rose at once and issuing forth of her hole, saw the sesame peeled and dry, shining with whiteness, and the woman sitting watching, armed with a stick. the mouse could not contain herself, but taking no thought to the issue of the affair, ran up to the sesame and fell to messing it and eating of it; whereupon the woman smote her with the stick and cleft her head in twain: so her greed and heedlessness of the issue of her actions led to her destruction." "by allah," said the sultan to shehrzad, "this is a goodly story! hast thou any story bearing upon the beauty of true friendship and the observance of its obligations in time of distress and rescuing from destruction?" "yes, answered she; "it hath teached me that the cat and the crow. a crow and a cat once lived in brotherhood. one day, as they were together under a tree, they spied a leopard making towards them, of which they had not been ware, till he was close upon them. the crow at once flew up to the top of the tree; but the cat abode confounded and said to the crow, 'o my friend, hast thou no device to save me? all my hope is in thee.' 'indeed,' answered the crow, 'it behoveth brethren, in case of need, to cast about for a device, whenas any peril overtakes them, and right well saith the poet: he is a right true friend who is with thee indeed and will himself undo, to help thee in thy need, who, when love's severance is by evil fate decreed, to join your sundered lives will risk his own and bleed.' now hard by the tree were shepherds with their dogs; so the crow flew towards them and smote the face of the earth with his wings, cawing and crying out, to draw their attention. then he went up to one of the dogs and flapped his wings in his eyes and flew up a little way, whilst the dog ran after him, thinking to catch him. presently, one of the shepherds raised his head and saw the bird flying near the ground and lighting now and then; so he followed him, and the crow gave not over flying just out of the dogs' reach and tempting them to pursue and snap at him: but as soon as they came near him, he would fly up a little; and so he brought them to the tree. when they saw the leopard, they rushed upon it, and it turned and fled. now the leopard thought to eat the cat, but the latter was saved by the craft of its friend the crow. this story, o king, shows that the friendship of the virtuous saves and delivers from difficulties and dangers. the fox and the crow. a fox once dwelt in a cave of a certain mountain, and as often as a cub was born to him and grew stout, he would eat it, for, except he did so, he had died of hunger; and this was grievous to him. now on the top of the same mountain a crow had made his nest, and the fox said to himself, 'i have a mind to strike up a friendship with this crow and make a comrade of him, that he may help me to my day's meat, for he can do what i cannot.' so he made for the crow's stead, and when he came within earshot, he saluted him, saying, 'o my neighbour, verily a true-believer hath two claims upon his true-believing neighbour, that of neighbourliness and that of community of faith; and know, o my friend, that thou art my neighbour and hast a claim upon me, which it behoves me to observe, the more that i have been long thy neighbour. moreover, god hath set in my breast a store of love to thee, that bids me speak thee fair and solicit thy friendship. what sayst thou?' 'verily,' answered the crow, 'the best speech is that which is soothest, and most like thou speakest with thy tongue that which is not in thy heart. i fear lest thy friendship be but of the tongue, outward, and shine enmity of the heart, inward; for that thou art the eater and i the eaten, and to hold aloof one from the other were more apt to us than friendship and fellowship. what, then, maketh thee seek that thou mayst not come at and desire what may not be, seeing that thou art of the beast and i of the bird kind? verily, this brotherhood [thou profferest] may not be, neither were it seemly.' he who knoweth the abiding-place of excellent things,' rejoined the fox, 'betters choice in what he chooses therefrom, so haply he may win to advantage his brethren; and indeed i should love to be near thee and i have chosen thy companionship, to the end that we may help one another to our several desires; and success shall surely wait upon our loves. i have store of tales of the goodliness of friendship, which, an it like thee, i will relate to thee.' 'thou hast my leave,' answered the crow; 'let me hear thy story and weigh it and judge of thine intent thereby.' 'hear then, o my friend,' rejoined the fox, 'that which is told of a mouse and a flea and which bears out what i have said to thee.' 'how so?' asked the crow. 'it is said,' answered the fox, 'that the mouse and the flea. a mouse once dwelt in the house of a rich and busy merchant. one night, a flea took shelter in the merchant's bed and finding his body soft and being athirst, drank of his blood. the smart of the bite awoke the merchant, who sat up and called to his serving men and maids. so they hastened to him and tucking up their sleeves, fell to searching for the flea. as soon as the latter was ware of the search, he turned to flee and happening on the mouse's hole, entered it. when the mouse saw him, she said to him, "what brings thee in to me, seeing that thou art not of my kind and canst not therefore be assured of safety from violence or ill-usage?" "verily," answered the flea, "i took refuge in thy dwelling from slaughter and come to thee, seeking thy protection and not anywise coveting thy house, nor shall aught of mischief betide thee from me nor aught to make thee leave it. nay, i hope to repay thy favours to me with all good, and thou shalt assuredly see and praise the issue of my words." "if the case be as thou sayest," answered the mouse, "be at thine ease here; for nought shall betide thee, save what may pleasure thee; there shall fall on thee rain of peace alone nor shall aught befall thee, but what befalls me. i will give thee my love without stint and do not thou regret thy loss of the merchant's blood nor lament for thy subsistence from him, but be content with what little of sufficient sustenance thou canst lightly come by; for indeed this is the safer for thee, and i have heard that one of the moral poets saith as follows: i have trodden the road of content and retirement and lived out my life with whatever betided; with a morsel of bread and a draught of cold water, coarse salt and patched garments content i abided. if god willed it, he made my life easy of living; else, i was contented with what he provided." "o my sister," rejoined the flea, "i hearken to thine injunction and submit myself to yield thee obedience, nor have i power to gainsay thee, till life be fulfilled, in this fair intent." "purity of intent suffices to sincere affection," replied the mouse. so love befell and was contracted between them and after this, the flea used (by night) to go to the merchant's bed and not exceed moderation (in sucking his blood) and harbour with the mouse by day in the latter's hole. one night, the merchant brought home great store of dinars and began to turn them over. when the mouse heard the chink of the coin, she put her head out of her hole and gazed at it, till the merchant laid it under his pillow and went to sleep, when she said to the flea, "seest thou not the favourable opportunity and the great good fortune! hast thou any device to bring us to our desire of yonder dinars?" "verily," answered the flea, "it is not good for one to strive for aught, but if he be able to compass his desire; for if he lack of ableness thereto, he falls into that of which he should be ware and attains not his wish for weakness, though he use all possible cunning, like the sparrow that picks up grain and falls into the net and is caught by the fowler. thou hast no strength to take the dinars and carry them into thy hole, nor can i do this; on the contrary, i could not lift a single dinar; so what hast thou to do with them?" quoth the mouse, "i have made me these seventy openings, whence i may go out, and set apart a place for things of price, strong and safe; and if thou canst contrive to get the merchant out of the house, i doubt not of success, so fate aid me." "i will engage to get him out of the house for thee," answered the flea and going to the merchant's bed, gave him a terrible bite, such as he had never before felt, then fled to a place of safety. the merchant awoke and sought for the flea, but finding it not, lay down again on his other side. then came the flea and bit him again, more sharply than before. so he lost patience and leaving his bed, went out and lay down on the bench before the door and slept there and awoke not till the morning. meanwhile the mouse came out and fell to carrying the dinars into her hole, till not one was left; and when it was day, the merchant began to accuse the folk and imagine all manner of things. and know, o wise, clear-sighted and experienced crow (continued the fox), that i only tell thee this to the intent that thou mayst reap the recompense of thy goodness to me, even as the mouse reaped the reward of her kindness to the flea; for see how he repaid her and requited her with the goodliest of requitals.' quoth the crow, 'it lies with the benefactor to show benevolence or not; nor is it incumbent on us to behave kindly to whoso seeks an impossible connection. if i show thee favour, who art by nature my enemy, i am the cause of my own destruction, and thou, o fox, art full of craft and cunning. now those, whose characteristics these are, are not to be trusted upon oath, and he who is not to be trusted upon oath, there is no good faith in him. i heard but late of thy perfidious dealing with thy comrade the wolf and how thou leddest him into destruction by thy perfidy and guile, and this though he was of thine own kind and thou hadst long companied with him; yet didst thou not spare him; and if thou didst thus with thy fellow, that was of thine own kind, how can i have confidence in thy fidelity and what would be thy dealing with thine enemy of other than thy kind? nor can i liken thee and me but to the falcon and the birds.' 'how so?' asked the fox. 'they say,' answered the crow, 'that the falcon and the birds. there was once a falcon who was a cruel tyrant in the days of his youth, so that the beasts of prey of the air and of the earth feared him and none was safe from his mischief; and many were the instances of his tyranny, for he did nothing but oppress and injure all the other birds. as the years passed over him, he grew weak and his strength failed, so that he was oppressed with hunger; but his cunning increased with the waning of his strength and he redoubled in his endeavour and determined to go to the general rendezvous of the birds, that he might eat their leavings, and in this manner he gained his living by cunning, whenas he could do so no longer by strength and violence. and thou, o fox, art like this: if thy strength fail thee, thy cunning fails not; and i doubt not that thy seeking my friendship is a device to get thy subsistence; but i am none of those who put themselves at thy mercy, for god hath given me strength in my wings and caution in my heart and sight in my eyes, and i know that he who apeth a stronger than he, wearieth himself and is often destroyed, wherefore i fear for thee lest, if thou ape a stronger than thou, there befall thee what befell the sparrow.' 'what befell the sparrow?' asked the fox. 'i conjure thee, by allah, to tell me his story.' 'i have heard,' replied the crow, 'that the sparrow and the eagle. a sparrow was once hovering over a sheep-fold, when he saw a great eagle swoop down upon a lamb and carry it off in his claws. thereupon the sparrow clapped his wings and said, "i will do even as the eagle hath done;" and he conceited himself and aped a greater than he. so he flew down forthright and lighted on the back of a fat ram, with a thick fleece that was become matted, by his lying in his dung and stale, till it was like felt. as soon as the sparrow lighted on the sheep's back, he clapped his wings and would have flown away, but his feet became tangled in the wool and he could not win free. all this while the shepherd was looking on, having seen as well what happened with the eagle as with the sparrow; so he came up to the latter in a rage and seized him. then he plucked out his wing-feathers and tying his feet with a twine, carried him to his children and threw him to them. "what is this?" asked they and he answered, "this is one that aped a greater than himself and came to grief." now thou, o fox,' continued the crow, 'art like this and i would have thee beware of aping a greater than thou, lest thou perish. this is all i have to say to thee; so go from me in peace.' when the fox despaired of the crow's friendship, he turned away, groaning and gnashing his teeth for sorrow and disappointment, which when the crow heard, he said to him, 'o fox, why dost thou gnash thy teeth?' 'because i find thee wilier than myself,' answered the fox and made off to his den." "o shehrzad," said the sultan, "how excellent and delightful are these thy stories! hast thou more of the like edifying tales?" "it is said," answered she, "that the hedgehog and the pigeons. a hedgehog once took up his abode under a palm-tree, on which roosted a pair of wood-pigeons, that had made their nest there and lived an easy life, and he said to himself, 'these pigeons eat of the fruit of the palm-tree, and i have no means of getting at it; but needs must i go about with them.' so he dug a hole at the foot of the palm-tree and took up his lodging there, he and his wife. moreover, he made a place of prayer beside the hole, in which he shut himself and made a show of piety and abstinence and renunciation of the world. the male pigeon saw him praying and worshipping and inclined to him for his much devoutness and said to him, 'how long hast thou been thus?' 'thirty years,' replied the hedgehog. 'what is thy food?' asked the bird and the other answered, 'what falls from the palm-tree.' 'and what is thy clothing?' asked the pigeon. 'prickles,' replied the hedgehog; 'i profit by their roughness.' 'and why,' continued the bird, 'hast thou chosen this place rather than another?' 'i chose it,' answered the hedgehog, 'that i might guide the erring into the right way and teach the ignorant.' 'i had thought thee other-guise than this,' rejoined the pigeon; but now i feel a yearning for that which is with thee.' quoth the hedgehog, 'i fear lest thy deed belie thy speech and thou be even as the husbandman, who neglected to sow in season, saying, "i fear lest the days bring me not to my desire, and i shall only waste my substance by making haste to sow." when the time of harvest came and he saw the folk gathering in their crops, he repented him of what he had lost by his tardiness and died of chagrin and vexation.' 'what then shall i do,' asked the pigeon, 'that i may be freed from the bonds of the world and give myself up altogether to the service of my lord?' 'betake thee to preparing for the next world,' answered the hedgehog, 'and content thyself with a pittance of food.' 'how can i do this,' said the pigeon, 'i that am a bird and may not go beyond the palm-tree whereon is my food? nor, could i do so, do i know another place, wherein i may abide.' quoth the hedgehog, 'thou canst shake down of the fruit of the palm what shall suffice thee and thy wife for a year's victual; then do ye take up your abode in a nest under the tree, that ye may seek to be guided in the right way, and do ye turn to what ye have shaken down and store it up against the time of need; and when the fruits are spent and the time is long upon you, address yourselves to abstinence from food.' 'may god requite thee with good,' exclaimed the pigeon, 'for the fair intent with which thou hast reminded me of the world to come and hast directed me into the right way!' then he and his wife busied themselves in knocking down the dates, till nothing was left on the palm-tree, whilst the hedgehog, finding whereof to eat, rejoiced and filled his den with the dates, storing them up for his subsistence and saying in himself, 'when the pigeon and his wife have need of their provant, they will seek it of me, trusting in my devoutness and abstinence; and from what they have heard of my pious counsels and admonitions, they will draw near unto me. then will i seize them and eat them, after which i shall have the place and all that drops from the palm-tree, to suffice me.' presently the pigeon and his wife came down and finding that the hedgehog had carried off all the dates, said to him, 'o pious and devout-spoken hedgehog of good counsel, we can find no sign of the dates and know not on what else we shall feed.' 'belike,' replied the hedgehog, 'the winds have carried them away; but the turning from the provision to the provider is of the essence of prosperity, and he who cut the corners of the mouth will not leave it without victual.' and he gave not over preaching to them thus and making a show of piety and cozening them with fine words, till they put faith in him and entered his den, without suspicion, where-upon he sprang to the door and gnashed his tusks, and the pigeon, seeing his perfidy manifested, said to him, 'what has to-night to do with yester-night? knowest thou not that there is a helper for the oppressed? beware of treachery and craft, lest there befall thee what befell the sharpers who plotted against the merchant.' 'what was that?' asked the hedgehog. 'i have heard tell,' answered the pigeon, 'that the merchant and the two sharpers. there was once in a city called sendeh a very wealthy merchant, who made ready merchandise and set out with it for such a city, thinking to sell it there. there followed him two sharpers, who had made up into bales what goods they could get and giving out to him that they also were merchants, companied with him by the way. at the first halting-place, they agreed to play him false and take his goods; but, at the same time, each purposed inwardly foul play to the other, saying in himself, "if i can cheat my comrade, it will be well for me and i shall have all to myself." so each took food and putting therein poison, brought it to his fellow; and they both ate of the poisoned mess and died. now they had been sitting talking with the merchant; so when they left him and were long absent from him, he sought for them and found them both dead; whereby he knew that they were sharpers, who had plotted to play him foul, but their treachery had recoiled upon themselves; so the merchant was preserved and took what they had.'" "o shehrzad," said the sultan, "verily thou hast aroused me to all whereof i was negligent! continue to edify me with these fables." quoth she, "it has come to my knowledge, o king, that the thief and his monkey. a certain man had a monkey and was a thief, who never entered one of the markets of the city in which he dwelt, but he made off with great purchase. one day, he saw a man offering for sale worn clothes, and he went calling them in the market, but none bid for them, and all to whom he showed them refused to buy of him. presently, the thief saw him put the clothes in a wrapper and sit down to rest for weariness; so he made the ape sport before him, and whilst he was busy gazing at it, stole the parcel from him. then he took the ape and made off to a lonely place, where he opened the wrapper and taking out the old clothes, wrapped them in a piece of costly stuff. this he carried to another market and exposed it for sale with what was therein, making it a condition that it should not be opened and tempting the folk with the lowness of the price he set on it. a certain man saw the wrapper and it pleased him; so he bought the parcel on these terms and carried it home, doubting not but he had gotten a prize. when his wife saw it, she said, 'what is this?' and he answered, 'it is precious stuff, that i have bought below its worth, meaning to sell it again and take the profit.' 'o dupe,' rejoined she, 'would this stuff be sold under its value, except it were stolen? dost thou not know that he who buys a ware, without examining it, erreth? and indeed he is like unto the weaver.' 'what is the story of the weaver?' asked he; and she said, 'i have heard tell that the foolish weaver. there was once in a certain village a weaver who could not earn his living save by excessive toil. one day, it chanced that a rich man of the neighbourhood made a feast and bade the folk thereto. the weaver was present and saw such as were richly clad served with delicate meats and made much of by the master of the house, for what he saw of their gallant array. so he said in himself, "if i change this my craft for another, easier and better considered and paid, i shall amass store of wealth and buy rich clothes, that so i may rise in rank and be exalted in men's eyes and become like unto these." presently, one of the mountebanks there climbed up to the top of a steep and lofty wall and threw himself down, alighting on his feet; which when the weaver saw, he said to himself, "needs must i do as this fellow hath done, for surely i shall not fail of it." so he climbed up on to the wall and casting himself down to the ground, broke his neck and died forthright. i tell thee this (continued the woman) that thou mayst get thy living by that fashion thou knowest and throughly understandest, lest greed enter into thee and thou lust after what is not of thy competence.' quoth he, 'not every wise man is saved by his wisdom nor is every fool lost by his folly. i have seen a skilful charmer versed in the ways of serpents, bitten by a snake and killed, and i have known others prevail over serpents, who had no skill in them and no knowledge of their ways.' and he hearkened not to his wife, but went on buying stolen goods below their value, till he fell under suspicion and perished. the sparrow and the peacock. there was once a sparrow, that used every day to visit a certain king of the birds and was the first to go in to him and the last to leave him. one day, a company of birds assembled on a high mountain, and one of them said to another, 'verily, we are waxed many and many are the differences between us, and needs must we have a king to order our affairs, so shall we be at one and our differences will cease.' thereupon up came the sparrow and counselled them to make the peacock,--that is, the prince he used to visit,--king over them. so they chose the peacock to their king and he bestowed largesse on them and made the sparrow his secretary and vizier. now the sparrow was wont bytimes to leave his assiduity [in the personal service of the king] and look into affairs [in general]. one day, he came not at the usual time, whereat the peacock was sore troubled; but presently, he returned and the peacock said to him, 'what hath delayed thee, that art the nearest to me of all my servants and the dearest?' quoth the sparrow, 'i have seen a thing that is doubtful to me and at which i am affrighted.' 'what was it thou sawest?' asked the king; and the sparrow answered, 'i saw a man set up a net, hard by my nest, and drive its pegs fast into the ground. then he strewed grain in its midst and withdrew afar off. as i sat watching what he would do, behold, fate and destiny drove thither a crane and his wife, which fell into the midst of the net and began to cry out; whereupon the fowler came up and took them. this troubled me, and this is the reason of my absence from thee, o king of the age; but never again will i abide in that nest, for fear of the net.' 'depart not thy dwelling,' rejoined the peacock; 'for precaution will avail thee nothing against destiny.' and the sparrow obeyed his commandment, saying, 'i will take patience and not depart, in obedience to the king.' so he continued to visit the king and carry him food and water, taking care for himself, till one day he saw two sparrows fighting on the ground and said in himself, 'how can i, who am the king's vizier, look on and see sparrows fighting in my neighbourhood? by allah, i must make peace between them!' so he flew down to them, to reconcile them; but the fowler cast the net over them and taking the sparrow in question, gave him to his fellow, saying, 'take care of him, for he is the fattest and finest i ever saw.' but the sparrow said in himself, 'i have fallen into that which i feared and it was none but the peacock that inspired me with a false security. it availed me nothing to beware of the stroke of fate, since for him who taketh precaution there is no fleeing from destiny; and how well says the poet: that which is not to be shall by no means be brought to pass, and that which is to be shall come, unsought, even at the time ordained; but he that knoweth not the truth is still deceived and finds his hopes grown nought.' story of ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar. there lived once [at baghdad] in the days of the khalif haroun er reshid a merchant named aboulhusn ali ben tahir, who was great of goods and grace, handsome and pleasant-mannered, beloved of all. he used to enter the royal palace without asking leave, for all the khalif's concubines and slave-girls loved him, and he was wont to company with er reshid and recite verses to him and tell him witty stories. withal he sold and bought in the merchants' bazaar, and there used to sit in his shop a youth named ali ben bekkar, a descendant of the ancient kings of persia, who was fair of face and elegant of shape, with rosy cheeks and joined eyebrows, sweet of speech and laughing-lipped, a lover of mirth and gaiety. it chanced one day, as they sat laughing and talking, there came up ten damsels like moons, every one of them accomplished in beauty and symmetry, and amongst them a young lady riding on a mule with housings of brocade and golden stirrups. she was swathed in a veil of fine stuff, with a girdle of gold-embroidered silk, and was even as says the poet: she hath a skin like very silk and a soft speech and sweet; gracious to all, her words are nor too many nor too few. two eyes she hath, quoth god most high, "be," and forthright they were; they work as wine upon the hearts of those whom they ensue. add to my passion, love of her, each night; and, solacement of loves, the resurrection be thy day of rendezvous! the lady alighted at aboulhusn's shop and sitting down there, saluted him, and he returned her salute. when ali ben bekkar saw her, she ravished his understanding and he rose to go away; but she said to him, 'sit in thy place. we came to thee and thou goest away: this is not fair.' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'by allah, i flee from what i see; for the tongue of the case saith: she's the sun and her dwelling's in heaven on high; look, then, to thine heart thou fair patience commend. thou mayst not climb up to her place in the sky, nor may she to thee from her heaven descend.' when she heard this, she smiled and said to aboulhusn, 'what is the name of this young man?' 'he is a stranger,' answered he. 'what countryman is he?' asked she, and the merchant replied, 'he is a descendant of the (ancient) kings of persia; his name is ali ben bekkar, and indeed it behoves us to use strangers with honour.' 'when my damsel comes to thee,' rejoined she, 'come thou at once to us and bring him with thee, that we may entertain him in our abode, lest he blame us and say, "there is no hospitality in the people of baghdad:" for niggardliness is the worst fault that a man can have. thou hearest what i say to thee and if thou disobey me, thou wilt incur my displeasure and i will never again visit thee or salute thee.' 'on my head and eyes,' answered aboulhusn; 'god preserve me from thy displeasure, fair lady!' then she rose and went away, leaving ali ben bekkar in a state of bewilderment. presently, the damsel came and said to the merchant, 'o my lord aboulhusn, my lady shemsennehar, the favourite of the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid, bids thee to her, thee and thy friend, my lord ali ben bekkar.' so he rose and taking ali with him, followed the girl to the khalif's palace, where she carried them into a chamber and made them sit down. they talked together awhile, till she set trays of food before them, and they ate and washed their hands. then she brought them wine, and they drank and made merry; after which she bade them rise and carried them into another chamber, vaulted upon four columns and adorned and furnished after the goodliest fashion with various kinds of furniture and decorations, as it were one of the pavilions of paradise. they were amazed at the rarities they saw and as they were gazing at these marvels, up came ten damsels, like moons, with a proud and graceful gait, dazzling the sight and confounding the wit, and ranged themselves in two ranks, as they were of the houris of paradise. after awhile, in came ten other damsels, with lutes and other instruments of mirth and music in their hands, who saluted the two guests and sitting down, fell to tuning their instruments. then they rose and standing before them, played and sang and recited verses: and indeed each one of them was a seduction to the faithful. whilst they were thus occupied, there entered other ten damsels like unto them, high-bosomed and of an equal age, with black eyes and rosy cheeks, joined eyebrows and languorous looks, a seduction to the faithful and a delight to all who looked upon them, clad in various kinds of coloured silks, with ornaments that amazed the wit. they took up their station at the door, and there succeeded them yet other ten damsels, fairer than they, clad in gorgeous apparel, such as defies description; and they also stationed themselves by the door. then in came a band of twenty damsels and amongst them the lady shemsennehar, as she were the moon among the stars, scarved with the luxuriance of her hair and dressed in a blue robe and a veil of silk, embroidered with gold and jewels. about her middle she wore a girdle set with various kinds of precious stones, and she advanced with a graceful and coquettish gait, till she came to the couch that stood at the upper end of the chamber and seated herself thereon. when ali ben bekkar saw her, he repeated the following couplets: yes, this is she indeed, the source of all my ill, for whom with long desire i languish at love's will. near her, i feel my soul on fire and bones worn waste for yearning after her that doth my heart fulfih then said he to aboulhusn, 'thou hadst dealt more kindly with me to have forewarned me of these things; that i might have prepared my mind and taken patience to support what hath befallen me ;' and he wept and groaned and complained. 'o my brother,' replied aboulhusn, 'i meant thee nought but good; but i feared to tell thee of this, lest such transport should overcome thee as might hinder thee from foregathering with her and intervene between thee and her: but take courage and be of good heart, for she is well disposed to thee and inclineth to favour thee.' 'what is the lady's name?' asked ali ben bekkar. 'she is called shemsennehar,' answered aboulhusn 'she is one of the favourites of the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid and this is the palace of the khalifate.' then shemsennehar sat gazing upon ali ben bekkar's charms and he upon hers, till each was engrossed with love of the other. presently, she commanded the damsels to sit; so they sat down, each in her place, on a couch before one of the windows, and she bade them sing; whereupon one of them took a lute and sang the following verses: twice be the message to my love made known, and take the answer from his lips alone. to thee, o monarch of the fair, i come and stand, of this my case to make my moan. o thou my sovereign, dear my heart and life, that in my inmost bosom hast thy throne, prithee, bestow a kiss upon thy slave; if not as gift, then even as a loan. i will repay it, (mayst thou never fail!) even as i took it, not a little gone. or, if thou wish for more than thou didst lend, take and content thee; it is all thine own. may health's fair garment ever gladden thee, thee that o'er me the wede of woe hast thrown! her singing charmed ali ben bekkar, and he said to her, 'sing me more of the like of these verses.' so she struck the strings and sang as follows: by excess of estrangement, beloved mine, thou hast taught long weeping unto my eyne. o joy of my sight and its desire, o goal of my hopes, my worship's shrine, have pity on one, whose eyes are drowned in the sorrowful lover's tears of brine! when she had finished, shemsennehar said to another damsel, 'sing us somewhat, thou.' so she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: his looks 'twas made me drunken, in sooth, and not his wine; and the grace of his gait has banished sleep from these eyes of mine. 'twas not the wine-cup dazed me, but e'en his glossy curls; his charms it was that raised me and not the juice o' the vine. his winding browlocks have routed my patience, and my wit is done away by the beauties his garments do enshrine.[fn# ] when shemsennehar heard this, she sighed heavily, and the song pleased her. then she bade another damsel sing; so she took the lute and chanted the following: a face that vies, indeed, with heaven's lamp, the sun; the welling of youth's springs upon him scarce begun. his curling whiskers write letters wherein the sense of love in the extreme is writ for every one. beauty proclaimed of him, whenas with him it met, "a stuff in god's best loom was fashioned forth and done!" when she had finished, ali ben bekkar. said to the damsel nearest him, 'sing us somewhat, thou.' so she took the lute and sang these verses: the time of union's all too slight for coquetry and prudish flight. not thus the noble are. how long this deadly distance and despite? ah, profit by the auspicious time, to sip the sweets of love-delight. ali ben bekkar followed up her song with plentiful tears; and when shemsennehar saw him weeping and groaning and lamenting, she burned with love-longing and desire and passion and transport consumed her. so she rose from the couch and came to the door of the alcove, where ali met her and they embraced and fell down a-swoon in the doorway; whereupon the damsels came to them and carrying them into the alcove, sprinkled rose-water upon them. when they revived, they missed aboulhusn, who had hidden himself behind a couch, and the young lady said, 'where is aboulhusn?' so he showed himself to her from beside the couch, and she saluted him, saying, 'i pray god to give me the means of requiting thee thy kindness!' then she turned to ali ben bekkar and said to him, 'o my lord, passion has not reached this pass with thee, without doing the like with me; but there is nothing for it but to bear patiently what hath befallen us.' 'by allah, o my lady,' rejoined he, 'converse with thee may not content me nor gazing upon thee assuage the fire of my heart, nor will the love of thee, that hath mastered my soul, leave me, but with the passing away of my life.' so saying, he wept and the tears ran down upon his cheeks, like unstrung pearls. when shemsennehar saw him weep, she wept for his weeping; and aboulhusn exclaimed, 'by allah, i wonder at your plight and am confounded at your behaviour; of a truth, your affair is amazing and your case marvellous. if ye weep thus, what while ye are yet together, how will it be when ye are parted? indeed, this is no time for weeping and wailing, but for foregathering and gladness; rejoice, therefore, and make merry and weep no more.' then shemsennehar signed to a damsel, who went out and returned with handmaids bearing a table, whereon were silver dishes, full of all manner rich meats. they set the table before them, and shemsennehar began to eat and to feed ali ben bekkar, till they were satisfied, when the table was removed and they washed their hands. presently the waiting-women brought censors and casting bottles and sprinkled them with rose-water and incensed them with aloes and ambergris and other perfumes; after which they set on dishes of graven gold, containing all manner of sherbets, besides fruits and confections, all that the heart can desire or the eye delight in, and one brought a flagon of carnelian, full of wine. then shemsennehar chose out ten handmaids and ten singing-women to attend on them and dismissing the rest to their apartments, bade some of those who remained smite the lute. they did as she bade them and one of them sang the following verses: my soul be a ransom for him who returned my salute with a smile and revived in my breast the longing for union after despair! the hands of passion have brought my secret thoughts to the light and that which is in my bosom unto my censors laid bare. the very tears of my eyes press betwixt me and him, as though they, even as i, enamoured of him were. when she had finished, shemsennehar rose and filling a. cup, drank it off, then filled it again and gave it to ali ben bekkar; after which she bade another damsel sing; and she sang the following verses: my tears, as they flow, are alike to my wine, as i brim it up! for my eyes pour forth of their lids the like of what froths in my cup.[fn# ] by allah, i know not, for sure, whether my eyelids it is run over with wine or else of my tears it is that i sup! then ali ben bekkar drank off his cup and returned it to shemsennehar. she filled it again and gave it to aboulhusn, who drank it off. then she took the lute, saying, 'none shall sing over my cup but myself.' so she tuned the strings and sang these verses: the hurrying tears upon his cheeks course down from either eye' for very passion, and love's fires within his heart flame high. he weeps whilst near to those he loves, for fear lest they depart: so, whether near or far they be, his tears are never dry. and again: our lives for thee, o cupbearer, o thou whom beauty's self from the bright parting of thy hair doth to the feet army! the full moon[fn# ] from thy collar-folds rises, the pleiades[fn# ] shine from thy mouth and in thine hands there beams the sun of day.[fn# ] i trow, the goblets wherewithal thou mak'st us drunk are those thou pourest to us from thine eyes, that lead the wit astray. is it no wonder that thou art a moon for ever full and that thy lovers 'tis, not thou, that wane and waste away? art thou a god, that thou, indeed, by favouring whom thou wilt and slighting others, canst at once bring back to life and slay? gcod moulded beauty from thy form and eke perfumed the breeze with the sheer sweetness of the scent that cleaves to thee alway. none of the people of this world, an angel sure thou art, whom thy creator hath sent down, to hearten our dismay. when ali and aboulhusn and the bystanders heard shemsennehar's song, they were transported and laughed and sported; but while they were thus engaged, up came a damsel, trembling for fear, and said, 'o my lady, afif and mesrour and merjan and others of the commander of the faithful's eunuchs, whom i know not, are at the door.' when they heard this they were like to die of fright, but shemsennehar laughed and said, 'have no fear.' then said she to the damsel, 'hold them in parley, whilst we remove hence.' and she caused shut the doors of the alcove upon ali and aboulhusn and drew the curtains over them; after which she shut the door of the saloon and went out by the privy gate into the garden, where she seated herself on a couch she had there and bade one of the damsels rub her feet. then she dismissed the rest of her women and bade the portress admit those who were at the door; whereupon mesrour entered, he and his company, twenty men with drawn swords, and saluted her. quoth she, 'wherefore come-ye?' and they answered, 'the commander of the faithful salutes thee. he wearies for thy sight and would have thee to know that this with him is a day of great joy and gladness and he is minded to seal his gladness with thy present company: wilt thou then go to him or shall he come to thee?' at this she rose, and kissing the earth, said, 'i hear and obey the commandment of the commander of the faithful.' then she summoned the chief (female) officers of her household and other damsels and made a show of complying with the khalif's orders and commanding them to make preparations for his reception, albeit all was in readiness; and she said to the eunuchs, 'go to the commander of the faithful and tell him that i await him after a little space, that i may make ready for him a place with carpets and so forth.' so they returned in haste to the khalif, whilst shemsennehar, doffing her (outer) clothing, repaired to her beloved ali ben bekkar and strained him to her bosom and bade him farewell, whereat he wept sore and said, 'o my lady, this leave-taking will lead to the ruin of my soul and the loss of my life; but i pray god to grant me patience to bear this my love, wherewith he hath smitten me!' 'by allah, answered she, 'none will suffer perdition but i; for thou wilt go out to the market and company with those that will divert thee, and thine honour will be in safety and thy passion concealed; whilst i shall fall into trouble and weariness nor find any to console me, more by token that i have given the khalif a rendezvous, wherein haply great peril shall betide me, by reason of my love and longing passion for thee and my grief at being parted from thee. for with what voice shall i sing and with what heart shall i present me before the khalif and with what speech shall i entertain the commander of the faithful and with what eyes shall i look upon a place where thou art not and take part in a banquet at which thou art not present and with what taste shall i drink wine of which thou partakest not?' 'be not troubled,' said aboulhusn 'but take patience and be not remiss in entertaining the commander of the faithful this night, neither show him any neglect, but be of good courage.' at this juncture, up came a damsel, who said to shemsennehar, 'o my lady, the khalif's pages are come.' so she rose to her feet and said to the maid, 'take aboulhusn and his friend and carry them to the upper gallery giving upon the garden and there leave them, till it be dark; when do thou make shift to carry them forth.' accordingly, the girl carried them up to the gallery and locking the door upon them, went away. as they sat looking on the garden, the khalif appeared, preceded by near a hundred eunuchs with drawn swords and compassed about with a score of damsels, as they were moons, holding each a lighted flambeau. they were clad in the richest of raiment and on each one's head was a crown set with diamonds and rubies. the khalif walked in their midst with a majestic gait, whilst mesrour and afif and wesif went before him and shemsennehar and all her damsels rose to receive him and meeting him at the garden door, kissed the earth before him; nor did they cease to go before him, till they brought him to the couch, whereon he sat down, whilst all the waiting-women and eunuchs stood before him and there came fair maids and slave-girls with lighted flambeaux and perfumes and essences and instruments of music. then he bade the singers sit down, each in her room, and shemsennehar came up and seating herself on a stool by the khalif's side, began to converse with him, whilst ali and the jeweller looked on and listened, unseen of the prince. the khalif fell to jesting and toying with shemsennehar and bade throw open the (garden) pavilion. so they opened the doors and windows and lighted the flambeaux till the place shone in the season of darkness even as the day. the eunuchs removed thither the wine-service and (quoth aboulhusn), 'i saw drinking-vessels and rarities, whose like mine eyes never beheld, vases of gold and silver and all manner precious stones and jewels, such as beggar description, till indeed meseemed i was dreaming, for excess of amazement at what i saw!' but as for ali ben bekkar, from the moment shemsennehar left him, he lay prostrate on the ground for excess of passion and desire and when he revived, he fell to gazing upon these things that had not their like, and saying to aboulhusn, 'o my brother, i fear lest the khalif see us or come to know of us; but the most of my fear is for thee. for myself, i know that i am surely lost past recourse, and the cause of my destruction is nought but excess of passion and love-longing and desire and separation from my beloved, after union with her; but i beseech god to deliver us from this predicament.' then they continued to look on, till the banquet was spread before the khalif, when he turned to one of the damsels and said to her, 'o gheram, let us hear some of thine enchanting songs.' so she tool: the lute and tuning it, sang as follows: the longing of a bedouin maid, whose folk are far away, who yearns after the willow of the hejaz and the bay,-- whose tears, when she on travellers lights, might for their water serve and eke her passion, with its heat, their bivouac-fire purvey,-- is not more fierce nor ardent than my longing for my love, who deem: that i commit a crime in loving him alway. when shemsennehar heard this, she slipped off the stool on which she sat and fell to the earth insensible; where upon the damsels came and lifted her up. when ali ben bekkar saw this from the gallery, he also fell down senseless, and aboulhusn said, 'verily fate hath apportioned passion equally between you!' as he spoke, in came the damsel who had brought them thither and said to him, 'o aboulhusn, arise and come down, thou and thy friend, for of a truth the world is grown strait upon us and i fear lest our case be discovered or the khalif become aware of you: so, except you descend at once, we are dead folk. 'how shall this youth descend,' replied he, 'seeing that he hath not strength to rise?' with this she fell to sprinkling rose-water on ali ben bekkar, till he came to himself, when aboulhusn lifted him up and the damsel stayed him. so they went down from the gallery and walked on awhile, till they came to a little iron door, which the damsel opened, and they found themselves on the tigris' bank. here they sat down on a stone bench, whilst the girl clapped her hands and there came up a man with a little boat, to whom said she, 'carry these two young men to the other bank.' so they all three entered the boat and the man put off with them; and as they launched out into the stream, ali ben bekkar looked back towards the khalif's palace and the pavilion and the garden and bade them farewell with these verses: i stretch forth a feeble hand to bid farewell to thee, with the other upon my burning breast, beneath the heart of me. but be not this the last of the love betwixt us twain and let not this the last of my soul's refreshment be. the damsel said to the boatman, 'make haste with them.' so he plied his oars swiftly till they reached the opposite bank, where they landed, and she took lease of them, saying, 'it were my wish not to leave you, but i can go no farther than this.' then she turned back, whilst ali ben bekkar lay on the ground before aboulhusn and could not rise, till the latter said to him, 'this place is not sure and i am in fear of our lives, by reason of the thieves and highwaymen and men of lawlessness.' with this ali arose and essayed to walk a little, but could not. now aboulhusn had friends in that quarter, so he made for the house of one of them, in whom he trusted and who was of his intimates, and knocked at the door. the man came out quickly and seeing them, bade them welcome and brought them into his house, where he made them sit down and talked with them and asked them whence they came. quoth aboulhusn 'we came out but now, being moved thereto by a man with whom i had dealings and who hath in his hands monies of mine. it was told me that he was minded to flee into foreign countries with my money; so i came out to-night in quest of him, taking with me this my friend ali ben bekkar for company but he hid from us and we could get no speech of him so we turned back, empty-handed, and knew not whither to go, for it were irksome to us to return home at this hour of the night; wherefore we came to thee, knowing thy wonted courtesy and kindness.' 'ye are right welcome,' answered the host, and studied to do them honour. they abode with him the rest of the night, and as soon as it was day, they left him and made their way back to the city. when they came to aboulhusn's house, the latter conjured his friend to enter; so they went in and lying down on the bed, slept awhile. when they awoke, aboulhusn bade his servants spread the house with rich carpets saying in himself, 'needs must i divert this youth and distract him from thoughts of his affliction, for i know his case better than another.' then he called for water for ali ben bekkar, and the latter rose and making his ablutions, prayed the obligatory prayers that he had omitted for the past day and night; after which he sat down and began to solace himself with talk with his friend. when aboulhusn saw this, he turned to him and said, 'o my lord, it were better for thy case that thou abide with me this night, so thy heart may be lightened and the anguish of love-longing that is upon thee be dispelled and thou make merry with us and haply the fire of thy heart be allayed.' 'o my brother,' answered ali, 'do what seemeth good to thee; for i may not anywise escape from what hath befallen me.' accordingly, aboulhusn arose and bade his servants summon some of the choicest of his friends and sent for singers and musicians. meanwhile he made ready meat and drink for them, and they came and sat eating and drinking and making merry till nightfall then they lit the candles, and the cups of friendship and good fellowship went round amongst them, and the time passed pleasantly with them. presently, a singing-woman took the lute and sang the following verses: fate launched at me a dart, the arrow of an eye; it pierced me and cut off from those i love am i. fortune hath mauled me sore and patience fails me now; but long have i forebode misfortune drawing nigh. when ali ben bekkar heard this, he fell to the earth in a swoon and abode thus till daybreak, and aboulhusn despaired of him. but, with the dawning, he came to himself and sought to go home; nor could aboulhusn deny him, for fear of the issue of his affair. so he made his servants bring a mule and mounting ali thereon, carried him to his lodging, he and one of his men. when he was safe at home, the merchant thanked god for his deliverance from that peril and sat awhile with him, comforting him; but ali could not contain himself, for the violence of his passion and love-longing. presently aboulhusn rose to take leave of him and ali said, 'o my brother, leave me not without news.' 'i hear and obey, answered aboulhusn, and repairing to his shop, opened it and sat there all day, expecting news of shemsennehar; but none came. he passed the night in his own house and when it was day, he went to ali ben bekkar's lodging and found him laid on his bed, with his friends about him and physicians feeling his pulse and prescribing this or that. when he saw aboulhusn, he smiled, and the latter saluting him, enquired how he did and sat with him till the folk withdrew, when he said to him, 'what plight is this?' quoth ali, 'it was noised abroad that i was ill and i have no strength to rise and walk, so as to give the lie to the report of my sickness, but continue lying here as thou seest. so my friends heard of me and came to visit me. but, o my brother, hast thou seen the damsel or heard any news of her?' 'i have not seen her,' answered aboulhusn, 'since we parted from her on the tigris' bank; but, o my brother, beware of scandal and leave this weeping.' 'o my brother,' rejoined ali, 'indeed, i have no control over myself ;' and he sighed and recited the following verses: she giveth unto her hand that whereof mine doth fail, a dye on the wrist, wherewith she doth my patience assail she standeth in fear for her hand of the arrows she shoots from her eyes; so, for protection, she's fain to clothe it in armour of mail.[fn# ] the doctor in ignorance felt my pulse, and i said to him, "leave thou my hand alone; my heart it is that doth ail." quoth she to the dream of the night, that visited me and fled, "by allah, describe him to me and bate me no jot of the tale!" it answered, "i put him away, though he perish of thirst, and said, 'stand off from the watering-place!' so he could not to drink avail." she poured forth the pearls of her tears from her eyes' narcissus and gave the rose of her cheeks to drink and bit upon jujubes[fn# ] with hail.[fn# ] then he said, 'o aboulhusn, i am smitten with an affliction, from which i deemed myself in surety, and there is no greater ease for me than death.' 'be patient,' answered his friend: 'peradventure god will heal thee.' then he went out from him and repairing to his shop, opened it, nor had he sat long, when up came shemsennehar's hand-maid, who saluted him. he returned her salute and looking at her, saw that her heart was palpitating and that she was troubled and bore the traces of affliction: so he said to her, 'thou art welcome. how is it with shemsennehar?' 'i will tell thee,' answered she; 'but first tell me how doth ali ben bekkar.' so he told her all that had passed, whereat she was grieved and sighed and lamented and marvelled at his case. then said she, 'my lady's case is still stranger than this; for when you went away, i turned back, troubled at heart for you and hardly crediting your escape, and found her lying prostrate in the pavilion, speaking not nor answering any, whilst the commander of the faithful sat by her head, unknowing what aided her and finding none who could give him news of her. she ceased not from her swoon till midnight, when she revived and the khalif said to her, "what ails thee, o shemsennehar, and what has behllen thee this night?" "may god make me thy ransom, o commander of the faithful!" answered she. "verily, bile rose in me and lighted a fire in my body, so that i lost my senses for excess of pain, and i know no more." "what hast thou eaten to-day?" asked the khalif. quoth she, "i broke my fast on something i had never before eaten." then she feigned to be recovered and calling for wine, drank it and begged the khalif to resume his diversion. so he sat down again on his couch in the pavilion and made her sit as before. when she saw me, she asked me how you fared; so i told her what i had done with you and repeated to her the verses that ali ben belkar had recited at parting, whereat she wept secretly, but presently stinted. after awhile, the khalif ordered a damsel to sing, and she chanted the following verses: life, as i live, has not been sweet since i did part from thee; would god i knew but how it fared with thee too after me! if thou be weeping tears of brine for sev'rance of our loves, ah, then, indeed, 'twere meet my tears of very blood should be. when my lady heard this, she fell back on the sofa in a swoon, and i seized her hand and sprinkled rose-water on her face, till she revived, when i said to her, "o my lady, do not bring ruin on thyself and on all thy house-hold, but be patient, by the life of thy beloved!" "can aught befall me worse than death?" answered she. "that, indeed, i long for, for, by allah, my ease is therein." whilst we were talking, another damsel sang the following words of the poet: "patience shall peradventure lead to solacement," quoth they; and i, "where's patience to be had, now he is gone away?" he made a binding covenant with me to cut the cords of patience, when we two embraced upon the parting day. when shemsennehar heard this, she swooned away once more, which when the khalif saw, he came to her in haste and commanded the wine-service to be removed and each damsel to return to her chamber. he abode with her the rest of the night, and when it was day, he sent for physicians and men of art and bade them medicine her, knowing not that her sickness arose from passion and love-longing. he tarried with her till he deemed her in a way of recovery, when he returned to his palace, sore concerned for her illness, and she bade me go to thee and bring her news of ali ben bekkar. so i came, leaving with her a number of her bodywomen; and this is what has delayed me from thee.' when aboulhusn heard her story, he marvelled and said, 'by allah, i have acquainted thee with his whole case; so now return to thy mistress; salute her for me and exhort her to patience and secrecy and tell her that i know it to be a hard matter and one that calls for prudent ordering.' she thanked him and taking leave of him, returned to her mistress, whilst he abode in his place till the end of the day, when he shut the shop and betaking himself to ali ben bekkar's house, knocked at the door. one of the servants came out and admitted him; and when ali saw him, he smiled and re-joiced in his coming, saying, 'o aboulhusn, thou hast made a weary man of me by thine absence from me this day; for indeed my soul is pledged to thee for the rest of my days.' 'leave this talk,' answered the other. 'were thy healing at the price of my hand, i would cut it off, ere thou couldst ask me; and could i ransom thee with my life, i had already laid it down for thee. this very day, shemsennehar's handmaid has been with me and told me that what hindered her from coming before this was the khalif's sojourn with her mistress;' and he went on to repeat to him all that the girl had told him of shemsennehar; at which ali lamented sore and wept and said to him, 'o my brother, i conjure thee by god to help me in this mine affliction and teach me how i shall do! moreover, i beg thee of thy grace to abide with me this night, that i may have the solace of thy company.' aboulhusn agreed to this; so they talked together till the night darkened, when ali groaned aloud and lamented and wept copious tears, reciting the following verses: my eye holds thine image ever; thy name in my mouth is aye and still in my heart is thy sojourn; so how canst thou absent be? how sore is my lamentation for life that passes away nor is there, alas! in union a part for thee and me! and also these: she cleft with the sword of her glance the helm of my courage in two and the mail of my patience she pierced with the spear of her shape through and through. she unveiled to us, under the musk of the mole that is set on her cheek, carnphor-whlte dawning a-break through a night of the ambergris' hue.[fn# ] her spirit was stirred to chagrin and she bit on cornelian[fn# ] with pearls,[fn# ] whose unions unvalued abide in a lakelet of sugary dew. she sighed for impatience and smote with her palm on the snows of her breast. her hand left a scar; so i saw what never before met my view; pens fashioned of coral (her nails), that, dinting the book of her breast five lines, scored in ambergris ink, on a table of crystal drew, o ye that go girded with steel, o swordsmen, i rede you beware of the stroke of her death-dealing eyes, that never looked yet but they slew! and guard yourselves, ye of the spears, and fence off her thrust from your hearts, if she tilt with the quivering lance of her shape straight and slender at you. then he gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon. aboulhusn thought that his soul had departed his body and he ceased not from his swoon till daybreak, when he came to himself and talked with his friend, who sat with him till the forenoon. then he left him and repaired to his shop. hardly had he opened it, when the damsel came and stood before him. as soon as he saw her, she made a sign of salutation to him, which he returned; and she greeted him for her mistress, saying, 'how doth ali ben belkar?' 'o good damsel,' replied he, 'ask me not how he doth nor what he suffers for excess of passion; for he sleeps not by night neither rests by day; wakefulness wasteth him and affliction hath gotten the mastery of him and his case is distressful to his friend.' quoth she, 'my lady salutes thee and him, and indeed she is in worse case than he. she hath written him a letter and here it is. when she gave it me, she said to me, "do not return save with the answer." so wilt thou go with me to him and get his reply?' 'i hear and obey,' answered aboulhusn, and shutting his shop, carried her, by a different way to that by which he came, to ali ben bekkar's house, where he left her standing at the door and entered. when ali saw him, he rejoiced, and aboulhusn said to him, 'the reason of my coming is that such an one hath sent his handmaid to thee with a letter, containing his greeting to thee and excusing himself for that he hath tarried by reason of a certain matter that hath betided him. the girl stands even now at the door: shall she have leave to enter?' and he signed to him that it was shemsennehar's slave-girl. ali understood his sign and answered, 'bring her in.' so she entered and when he saw her, he shook for joy and signed to her, as who should say, 'how doth thy lord, may god grant him health and recovery!' 'he is well,' answered she and pulling out the letter, gave it to him. he took it and kissing it, opened and read it; after which he handed it to aboulhusn, who found written therein what follows: the messenger of me will give thee news aright; so let his true report suffice thee for my sight. a lover hast thou left, for love of thee distraught; her eyes cease never-more from watching, day or night. i brace myself to bear affliction, for to foil the buffets of ill-fate is given to no wight. but be thou of good cheer; for never shall my heart forget thee nor thy thought be absent from my spright. look on thy wasted frame and what is fallen thereon and thence infer of me and argue of my plight. to proceed: i have written thee a letter without fingers and speak to thee without tongue; to tell thee my whole state, i have an eye from which sleeplessness is never absent and a heart whence sorrowful thought stirs not. it is with me as i had never known health nor let sadness, neither beheld a fair face nor spent an hour of pleasant life; but it is as i were made up of love-longing and of the pain of passion and chagrin. sickness is unceasing upon me and my yearning redoubles ever; desire increases still and longing rages in my heart. i pray god to hasten our union and dispel the trouble of my mind: and i would fain have thee write me some words, that i may solace myself withal. moreover, i would have thee put on a becoming patience, till god give relief; and peace be on thee.' when ali ben bekkar had read this letter, he said, 'with what hand shall i write and with what tongue shall i make moan and lament? indeed she addeth sickness to my sickness and draweth death upon my death!' then he sat up and taking inkhorn and paper, wrote the following reply: 'in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful. o my lady, thy letter hath reached me and hath given ease to a mind worn out with passion and desire and brought healing to a wounded heart, cankered with languishment and sickness; for indeed i am become even as saith the poet: bosom contracted and grievous thought dilated, eyes ever wakeful and body wearied aye; patience cut off and separation ever present, reason disordered and heart all stolen away. know that complaining quenches not the fire of calamity; but it eases him whom love-longing consumes and separation destroys; and so i comfort myself with the mention of the word "union;" for how well saith the poet: if love had not pain and pleasure, satisfaction and despite, where of messengers and letters were for lovers the delight?' when he had made an end of this letter, he gave it to aboulhusn, saying, 'read it and give it to the damsel.' so he took it and read it and its words stirred his soul and its meaning wounded his vitals. then he gave it to the girl, and ali said to her, 'salute thy lady for me and tell her of my passion and longing and how love is blent with my flesh and my bones; and say to her that i need one who shall deliver me from the sea of destruction and save me from this dilemma; for of a truth fortune oppresseth me with its vicissitudes; and is there any helper to free me from its defilements?' so saying, he wept and the damsel wept for his weeping. then she took leave of him and aboulhusn went out with her and bade her farewell. so she went her way and he returned to his shop, which he opened, and sat down there, according to his wont; but as he sat, he found his bosom straitened and his heart oppressed and was troubled about his case. he ceased not from melancholy thought the rest of that day and night, and on the morrow he betook himself to ali ben bekkar, with whom he sat till the folk withdrew, when he asked him how he did. ali began to complain of passion and descant upon the longing and distraction that possessed him, ending by repeating the following words of the poet: folk have made moan of passion before me of past years, and live and dead for absence have suffered pains and fears; but what within my bosom i harbour, with mine eyes i've never seen the like of nor heard it with mine ears. and also these: i've suffered for thy love what caïs, that madman[fn# ] hight, did never undergo for love of leila bright. yet chase i not the beasts o' the desert, as did he; for madness hath its kinds for this and th' other wight. quoth aboulhusn, 'never did i see or hear of one like unto thee in thy love! if thou sufferest all this transport and sickness and trouble, being enamoured of one who returns thy passion, how would it be with thee, if she whom thou lovest were contrary and perfidious? meseems, thy case will be discovered, if thou abide thus.' his words pleased ali ben bekkar and he trusted in him and thanked him. now aboulhusn had a friend, to whom he had discovered his affair and that of ali ben bekkar and who knew that they were close friends; but none other than he was acquainted with what was betwixt them. he was wont to come to him and enquire how ali did and after a little, he began to ask about the damsel; but aboulhusn put him off, saying, 'she invited him to her and there was between him and her what passeth words, and this is the end of their affair; but i have devised me a plan which i would fain submit to thy judgment.' 'and what is that?' asked his friend. 'o my brother,' answered aboulhusn, 'i am a man well known, having much dealing among the notables, both men and women, and i fear lest the affair of these twain get wind and this lead to my death and the seizure of my goods and the ruin of my repute and that of my family. wherefore i purpose to get together my property and make ready forthright and repair to the city of bassora and abide there, till i see what comes of their affair, that none may know of me, for passion hath mastered them and letters pass between them. their go-between and confidant at this present is a slave-girl, who hath till now kept their counsel, but i fear lest haply she be vexed with them or anxiety get the better of her and she discover their case to some one and the matter be noised abroad and prove the cause of my ruin; for i have no excuse before god or man.' 'thou acquaintest me with a perilous matter,' rejoined his friend, 'and one from the like of which the wise and understanding will shrink in affright. may god preserve thee and avert from thee the evil thou dreadest! assuredly, thy resolve is a wise one.' so aboulhusn returned home and betook himself to setting his affairs in order and preparing for his journey; nor had three days elapsed ere he made an end of his business and departed for bassora. three days after, his friend came to visit him, but finding him not, asked the neighbours of him; and they answered, 'he set out three days ago for bassora, for he had dealings with merchants there and is gone thither to collect his debts; but he will soon return.' the man was confounded at the news and knew not whither to go; and he said in himself, 'would i had not parted with aboulhusn!' then he bethought him how he should gain access to ali ben bekkar and repairing to the latter's lodging, said to one of his servants, 'ask leave for me of thy master that i may go in and salute him.' so the servant went in and told his master and presently returning, invited the man to enter. so he went in and found ali ben bekkar lying back on the pillow and saluted him. ali returned his greeting and bade him welcome; whereupon the other began to excuse himself for having held aloof from him all this while and added, 'o my lord, there was a close friendship between aboulhusn and myself, so that i used to trust him with my secrets and could not brook to be severed from him an hour. it chanced but now that i was absent three days' space on certain business with a company of my friends, and when i came back, i found his shop shut; so i asked the neighbours of him and they replied, "he is gone to bassora." now i know he had no surer friend than thou; so i conjure thee, by allah, to tell me what thou knowest of him.' when ali heard this, his colour changed and he was troubled and answered, 'i never heard of his departure till this day, and if it be as thou sayest, weariness is come upon me.' and he repeated the following verses: whilom i wept for what was past of joy and pleasant cheer, whilst yet the objects of my love were unremoved and near; but now my sad and sorry fate hath sundered me and them and i to-day must weep for those that were to me most dear. then he bent his head awhile in thought and presently raising it, said to one of his servants, 'go to aboulhusn'' house and enquire whether he be at home or gone on a journey. if they say, "he is abroad;" ask whither.' the servant went out and presently returning, said to his master, 'when i asked after aboulhusn, his people told me that he was gone on a journey to bassora; but i saw a damsel standing at the door, who knew me, though i knew her not, and said to me, "art thou not servant to ali ben bekkar?" "yes," answered i. and she said, "i have a message for him from one who is the dearest of all folk to him." so she came with me and is now at the door.' quoth ali, 'bring her in.' so the servant went out and brought her in, and the man who was with ali ben bekkar looked at her and found her comely. she came up to ali and saluting him, talked with him privily; and he from time to time exclaimed with an oath and swore that he had not done as she avouched. then she took leave of him and went away. when she was gone, aboulhusn's friend, who was a jeweller, took occasion to speak and said to ali ben bekkar, 'doubtless, the women of the palace have some claim upon thee or thou hast dealings with the khalif's household?' 'who told thee of this?' asked ali. 'i know it by yonder damsel,' replied the jeweller, 'who is shemsennehar's slave-girl; for she came to me awhile since with a written order for a necklace of jewels; and i sent her a costly one.' when ali heard this, he was greatly troubled, so that the jeweller feared for his life, but after awhile he recovered himself and said, 'o my brother, i conjure thee by allah to tell me truly how thou knowest her.' 'do not press me as to this,' replied the other; and ali said, 'indeed, i will not desist from thee till thou tell me the truth.' 'then,' said the jeweller, 'i will tell thee all, that thou mayst not distrust me nor be alarmed at what i said, nor will i conceal aught from thee, but will discover to thee the truth of the matter, on condition that thou possess me with the true state of thy case and the cause of thy sickness.' then he told him all that had passed between aboulhusn and himself, adding that he had acted thus only out of friendship for him and of his desire to serve him and assuring him that he would keep his secret and venture life and goods in his service. so ali in turn told him his story and added, 'by allah, o my brother, nought moved me to keep my case secret from thee and others but my fear lest the folk should lift the veils of protection from certain persons.' 'and i,' rejoined the jeweller, 'desired not to foregather with thee but of the great affection i bear thee and my zeal for thee in every case and my compassion for the anguish thy heart endureth for severance. haply, i may be a comforter to thee in the room of my friend aboulhusn, during his absence. so take heart and be of good cheer.' ali thanked him and repeated the following verses: if, 'i am patient,' i say, since forth from me he went, my tears give me the lie and the stress of my lament. and how shall i hide the tears, that flow in streams adown the table of my cheek for his evanishment? then he was silent awhile, and presently said to the jeweller, 'knowest thou what the girl whispered to me?' 'not i, by allah, o my lord,' answered he. quoth ali, 'she would have it that i had counselled aboulhusn to go to bassora and that i had used this device to put a stop to our correspondence and intercourse. i swore to her that this was not so: but she would not credit me and went away to her mistress, persisting in her injurious suspicions; and indeed i know not what i shall do without aboulhusn, for she inclined to him and gave ear to his word.' 'o my brother,' answered the jeweller, 'i guessed as much from her manner; but, if it please god the most high, i will help thee to thy desire.' 'who can help me,' rejoined ali, 'and how wilt thou do with her, when she takes umbrage like a wilding of the desert?' 'by allah,' exclaimed the jeweller, 'needs must i do my utmost endeavour to help thee and contrive to make her acquaintance, without exposure or mischief!' then he asked leave to depart, and ali said, 'o my brother, see thou keep my counsel' and he looked at him and wept. the jeweller bade him farewell and went away, knowing not what he should do to further his wishes; but as he went along pondering the matter, he spied a letter lying in the road, and taking it up, found that it bore the following superscription, 'from the least worthy of lovers to the most excellent of beloved ones.' he opened it and found these words written therein: 'the messenger brought me a promise of union and delight; but yet that he had mistaken 'twas constant in my spright. wherefore i joyed not: but sorrow was added unto me, for that i knew my envoy had read thee not aright. to proceed: know, o my lord, that i am ignorant of the cause of the breaking off of the correspondence between thee and me: but if it arise from cruelty on thy part, i will meet it with fidelity, and if love have departed from thee, i will remain constant to my love in absence for i am with thee even as says the poet: be haughty and i will be patient; capricious, i'll bear; turn away, i'll draw near thee; be harsh, i'll be abject; command, i'll give ear and obey. as he was reading, up came the slave-girl, looking right and left, and seeing the letter in the jeweller's hand, said to him, 'o my lord, this letter is one i let fall.' he made her no answer, but walked on, and she followed him, till he came to his house, when he entered and she after him, saying, 'o my lord, give me back the letter, for it fell from me.' he turned to her and said, 'o good slave-girl, fear not, neither grieve, for verily god the protector loves to protect [his creatures]; but tell me the truth of thy case, for i am one who keepeth counsel. i conjure thee by an oath to hide from me nothing of thy lady's affair; for haply god shall help me to further her wishes and make easy what is hard by my hand' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'indeed a secret is not lost whereof thou art the keeper; nor shall any affair come to nought for which thou strivest. know that my heart inclines to thee, and do thou give me the letter.' then she told him the whole story, adding, 'god is witness to what i say.' 'thou hast spoken truly,' said the jeweller, 'for i am acquainted with the root of the matter.' then he told her how he had come by ali ben bekkar's secret and related to her all that had passed, whereat she rejoiced; and they agreed that she should carry the letter to ali and return and tell the jeweller all that passed. accordingly he gave her the letter and she took it and sealed it up as it was before, saying, 'my mistress shemsennehar gave it to me sealed; and when he hath read it and given me the reply, i will bring it to thee.' then she repaired to ali ben bekkar, whom she found waiting, and gave him the letter. he read it and writing an answer, gave it to the damsel. she carried it to the jeweller, who broke the seal and read what was written therein, as follows: 'neglected are our messages, for lo, our go-between, that wont to keep our counsel erst, is wroth with us, i ween. so choose us out a messenger, a true and trusty wight, yea, one of whom fidelity, not falsehood, is well seen. to proceed: verily, i have not entered upon perfidy nor left fidelity; i have not used cruelty, neither have i put off loyalty nor broken faith. i have not ceased from affection nor severed myself from grief; neither have i found aught after separation but misery and ruin. i know nothing of that thou avouchest nor do i love aught but that which thou lovest. by him who knoweth the secret of the hidden things, i have no desire but to be united with her whom i love and my one business is the concealment of my passion, though sickness consume me. this is the exposition of my case and peace be on thee.' when the jeweller read this letter, he wept sore and the girl said to him, 'leave not this place, till i return to thee; for he suspects me of such and such things, in which he is excusable; so it is my desire to bring thee in company with my mistress shemsennehar, howsoever i may contrive it. i left her prostrate, awaiting my return with the answer.' then she went away and the jeweller passed the night in a state of agitation. on the morrow he prayed the morning prayer and sat awaiting the girl's coming. presently she came in to him, rejoicing, and he said to her, 'what news, o damsel?' quoth she, 'i gave my mistress ali ben bekkar's reply, and when she read it, she was troubled in her mind; but i said to her, "o my lady, have no fear of the hindrance of your affair by reason of aboulhusn's absence, for i have found one to take his place, better than he and more of worth and apt to keep secrets." then i told her what was between aboulhusn and thyself and how thou camest by his confidence and that of ali ben bekkar and how i met with thee and showed her how matters stood betwixt thee and me. now she is minded to have speech of thee, that she may be assured by thy words of the covenants between thee and him; so do thou make ready to go with me to her forthwith. when the jeweller heard the girl's words, he saw that what she proposed was a grave matter and a great peril, not lightly to be undertaken or entered upon, and said to her, 'o my stster, verily, i am of the common people and not like unto aboulhusn; for he was of high rank and repute and was wont to frequent the khalif's household, because of their need of his wares. as for me, he used to talk with me, and i trembled before him the while. so, if thy mistress would have speech of me, it must be in some place other than the khalif's palace and far from the abode of the commander of the faithful; for my reason will not let me do what thou proposest.' accordingly, he refused to go with her, and she went on to assure him of impunity, saying, 'fear not,' and pressed him, till he consented to accompany her; but, when he would have risen, his legs bent under him and his hands trembled and he exclaimed, 'god forbid that i should go with thee! indeed, i cannot do this.' 'reassure thyself,' answered she; 'if it irk thee to go to the khalif's palace and thou canst not muster up courage to accompany me, i will make her come to thee; so stir not from thy place till i return to thee with her.' then she went away and returning after a little, said to the jeweller, 'look that there be with thee neither slave-girl nor man-slave nor any other.' quoth he, 'i have but an old negress-slave, who waits on me.' so she locked the door between the jeweller and his negress and sent his man-servants out of the house, after which she went out and presently returned, followed by a lady, who filled the house with the sweet scent of her perfumes. when the jeweller saw her, he sprang to his feet and set her a couch and a cushion, and she sat down. he seated himself before her and she abode awhile without speaking, till she was rested, when she unveiled her face and it seemed to the jeweller as if the sun had risen in his house. then said she to her slave-girl, 'is this the man of whom thou spakest to me?' 'yes,' answered she; whereupon the lady turned to the jeweller and said to him, 'how is it with thee?' 'well,' replied he. 'may god preserve thy life and that of the commander of the faithful!' quoth she, 'thou hast moved us to come to thee and possess thee with our secret.' then she questioned him of his household and family; and he discovered to her all his circumstance and said to her, 'i have another house, which i have set apart for entertaining my friends and brethren, and there is none there save the old negress, of whom i spoke to thy handmaid.' she asked him how he came first to know of the matter and what had made aboulhusn absent himself, so he told her all and she bewailed the loss of aboulhusn and said to the jeweller, 'know that the minds of men are at one in desires, and however they may differ in estate, men are still men and have need one of the other: an affair is not accomplished without speech nor is a wish fulfilled save by endeavour: ease comes not but after weariness nor is succour compassed save by the help of the generous. now i have trusted my secret to thee and it is in thy power to expose or shield us; i say no more, because of thy generosity of nature. thou knowest that this my hand-maid keeps my counsel and is therefore in high favour with me and i have chosen her to transact my affairs of importance. so let none be worthier in thy sight than she and acquaint her with thine affair. be of good cheer, for thou art safe from what thou fearest on our account, and there is no shut place but she shall open it to thee. she shall bring thee messages from me to ali ben bekkar, and thou shalt be our go-between.' so saying, she rose, scarcely able to stand, and the jeweller forewent her to the door of the house, after which he returned and sat down again in his place, having seen of her beauty what dazzled him and heard of her speech what confounded his wit and witnessed of her grace and courtesy what bewitched him. he sat musing on her perfections till his trouble subsided, when he called for food and ate enough to stay his stomach. then he changed his clothes and repairing to ali ben bekkar's house, knocked at the door. the servants hastened to admit him and brought him to their master, whom he found laid upon his bed. when he saw the jeweller, he said to him, 'thou hast tarried long from me and hast added concern to my concern.' then he dismissed his servants and bade shut the doors, after which he said to the jeweller, 'by allah, o my brother, i have not closed my eyes since i saw thee last; for the slave-girl came to me yesterday with a sealed letter from her mistress shemsennehar;' and went on to tell him all that had passed, adding, 'indeed, i am perplexed concerning mine affair and my patience fails me: for aboulhusn was of comfort to me, because he knew the girl.' when the jeweller heard this, he laughed and ali said, 'why dost thou laugh at my words, thou in whom i rejoiced and to whom i looked for succour against the shifts of fortune?' then he sighed and wept and repeated the following verses: many an one laughs at my weeping, whenas he looks on my pain. had he but suffered as i have, he, also, to weep would be fain. no one hath ruth on the smitten, for that he is doomed to endure but he who alike is afflicted and long in affliction hath lain my passion, my yearning, my sighing, my care and distraction end woe are all for a loved one, whose dwelling is in my heart's innermost fane. he made his abode in my bosom and never will leave it again; and yet with my love to foregather i weary and travail in vain. i know of no friend i can choose me to stand in his stead unto me, nor ever, save him, a companion, to cherish and love have i ta'en.[fn# ] when the jeweller heard this, he wept also and told him all that had passed betwixt himself and the slave-girl and her mistress, since he left him, whilst ali gave ear to his speech, and at every fresh word his colour shifted 'twixt white and red and his body grew now stronger and now weaker, till he came to the end of his tale, when ali wept and said to him, 'o my brother, i am a lost man in any event. would my end were near, that i might be at rest from ail this! but i beg thee, of thy favour, to be my helper and comforter in all my affairs, till god accomplish his will; and i will not gainsay thee in aught.' quoth the jeweller, 'nothing will quench the fire of thy passion save union with her whom thou lovest: and this must not be in this perilous place, but in a house of mine other than in which the girl and her mistress came to me. this place she chose for herself, to the intent that ye may there foregather and complain one to the other of what you have suffered from the pangs of love.' 'o my lord,' answered ali ben bekkar, 'do as thou wilt and may god requite thee for me! what thou deemest fit will be right: but be not long about it, lest i die of this anguish.' so i abode with him (quoth the jeweller) that night, entertaining him with converse, till daybreak, when i prayed the morning prayers and going out from him, returned to my house. hardly had i done so, when the damsel came up and saluted me. i returned her greeting and told her what had passed between ali ben bekkar and myself; and she said, 'know that the khalif has left us and there is none in our lodging, and it is safer for us and better.' 'true,' replied i; 'yet it is not like my house yonder, which is both surer and fitter for us.' 'be it as thou wilt,' rejoined she. 'i will go to my lady and tell her what thou sayest.' so she went away and presently returned and said to me, 'it is to be as thou sayest: so make us ready the place and expect us.' then she took out a purse of diners and said to me, 'my lady salutes thee and bids thee take this and provide therewith what the case calls for.' but i swore that i would have nought of it; so she took the purse and returning to her mistress, said to her, 'he would not take the money, but gave it back to me.' 'no matter,' answered shemsennehar. as soon as she was gone, i betook myself to my other house and transported thither all that was needful, by way of furniture and utensils and rich carpets and vessels of china and glass and gold and silver, and made ready meat and drink for the occasion. when the damsel came and saw what i had done, it pleased her and she bade me fetch ali ben bekkar; but i said, 'none shall fetch him but thou.' accordingly she went to him and brought him back, dressed to perfection and looking his best. i met him and welcomed him and making him sit down on a couch befitting his condition, set before him sweet-scented flowers in vases of china and crystal of various colours. then i set on a tray of vari-coloured meats, of such as rejoice the heart with their sight, and sat talking with him and diverting him, whi'st the girl went away and was absent till after sundown, when she returned with shemsennehar, attended by two maids and no more. when ali saw her, he rose and embraced her and they both fell down in a swoon. they lay awhile insensible, then, coming to themselves, began to complain to each other of the pains of separation. they sat awhile, conversing with eloquence and tenderness, after which they perfumed themselves and fell to thanking me for what i had done. said i, 'have ye a mind for food?' 'yes,' answered they. so i set food before them, and they ate till they were satisfied and washed their hands, after which i carried them to another room and brought them wine. so they drank and grew merry with wine and inclined to one another, and shemsennehar said to me, 'o my lord, complete thy kindness by bringing us a lute or other instrument of music that the measure of our joy may be filled.' 'on my head and eyes,' answered i and rising, brought her a lute. she took it and tuned it, then laying it in her lap, made masterly music, at once exciting to sorrowful thoughts and cheering the afflicted; after which she sang the following verses: i wake and i watch till it seemeth as i were in love with unrest and i waste and i languish, as sickness, meseemeth, were born in my breast. the tides of my tears, ever flowing, have burnt up my cheeks with their heat: would i knew if our loves, after sev'rance, with union again will be blest! she went on to sing song after song, choice words set to various airs, till our minds were bewitched and it seemed as if the very room would dance with excess of pleasure for the marvel of her sweet singing and there was nor thought nor reason left in us. when we had sat awhile and the cup had gone round amongst us, the damsel took the lute and sang the following verses to a lively measure: my love a visit promised me and did fulfil his plight one night that i shall reckon aye for many and many a night. o night of raptures that the fates vouchsafed unto us twain; unheeded of the railing tribe and in the spies' despite! my loved one lay the night with me and i of my content clipped him with my left hand, while he embraced me with his right. i strained him to my breast and drank his lips' sweet wine, what while i of the honey and of him who sells it had delight. whilst we were thus drowned in the sea of gladness, in came a little maid, trembling, and said, 'o my lady, look how you may go away, for the folk are upon us and have surrounded the house, and we know not the cause of this.' when i heard this, i arose in affright, and behold, in came a slave-girl, who said, 'calamity hath overtaken you!' at the same moment, the door was burst open and there rushed in upon us half a score masked men, with poniards in their hands and swords by their sides, and as many more behind them. when i saw this, the world, for all its wideness, was straitened on me and i looked to the door, but saw no way out; so i sprang (from the roof) into the house of one of my neighbours and hid myself there. thence i heard a great uproar in my house and concluded that the khalif had gotten wind of us and sent the chief of the police to seize us and bring us before him. so i abode confounded and remained in my place, without daring to move, till midnight, when the master of the house became aware of me and being greatly affrighted, made at me with a drawn sword in his hand, saying, 'who is this in my house?' quoth i, 'i am thy neighbour, the jeweller;' and he knew me and held his hand. then he fetched a light and coming up to me, said, 'o my brother, indeed that which hath befallen thee this night is grievous to me.' 'o my brother,' answered i, 'tell me who it was entered my house and broke in the door, for i fled to thee, not knowing what was the matter.' quoth he, 'the robbers, who visited our neighbours yesterday and slew such an one and took his goods, saw thee yesterday bringing hither furniture and what not; so they broke in upon thee and stole thy goods and slew thy guests.' then we arose, he and i, and repaired to my house, which i found empty and stripped of everything, whereat i was confounded and said to myself, 'i care not for the loss of the gear, though indeed i borrowed part thereof of my friends; yet is there no harm in that, for they know my excuse in the loss of my goods and the pillage of my house; but as for ali ben bekkar and the khalif's favourite, i fear lest their case get wind and this cause the loss of my life.' so i turned to my neighbour and said to him, 'thou art my brother and my neighbour and wilt cover my nakedness; what dost thou counsel me to do?' 'i counsel thee to wait,' answered he; 'for they who entered thy house and stole thy goods have murdered the better part of a company from the khalif's palace, besides some of the police, and the khalif's officers are now in quest of them on every side. haply they will chance on them and so thy wish will come about without effort of thine.' then i returned to my other house, that in which i dwelt, saying to myself, 'this that hath befallen me is what aboulhusn feared and from which he fled to bassora.' presently the pillage of my pleasure-house was noised abroad among the folk, and they came to me from all sides, some rejoicing in my misfortune and others excusing me and condoling with me, whilst i bewailed myself to them and ate not neither drank for grief. as i sat, repenting me of what i had done, one of my servants came in to me and said, 'there is a man at the door, who asks for thee; and i know him not.' so i went out and found at the door a man whom i knew not. i saluted him, and he said to me, 'i have somewhat to say to thee privily.' so i brought him in and said to him, 'what hast thou to say to me?' quoth he, 'come with me to thine other house.' 'doss thou then know my other house,' asked i. 'i know all about thee,' replied he, 'and i know that also wherewith god will dispel thy concern.' so i said to myself, 'i will go with him whither he will;' and we went out and walked on till we came to my other house, which when he saw, he said to me, 'it is without door or doorkeeper, and we cannot sit in it; so come thou with me to another house.' accordingly, he went on from place to place and i with him, till the night overtook us. yet i put no question to him and we ceased not to walk on, till we reached the open country. he kept saying, 'follow me,' and quickened his pace, whilst i hurried after him, heartening myself to go on. presently; we came to the river-bank, where he took boat with me, and the boatman rowed us over to the other side. here my guide landed and i after him and he took my hand and led me to a street i had never before entered, nor do i know in what quarter it is. presently he stopped at the door of a house, and opening, entered and made me enter with him; after which he bolted the door with a bolt of iron and carried me along the vestibule, till he brought me in presence of ten men, brothers, as they were one and the same man. we saluted them and they returned our greeting and bade us be seated; so we sat down. now i was like to die for very weariness; so they brought rose-water and sprinkled it on my face, after which they gave me to drink and set food before me, of which some of them ate with me. quoth i to myself, 'were there aught of harm in the food, they would not eat with me.' so i ate, and when we had washed our hands, each of us returned to his place. then said they to me, 'dost thou know us?' 'i never in my life saw you nor this your abode,' answered i; 'nay, i know not even him who brought me hither.' said they, 'tell us thy case and lie not in aught.' 'know then,' rejoined i, 'that my case is strange and my affair marvellous: but do you know aught of me?' 'yes,' answered they; 'it was we took thy goods yesternight and carried off thy friend and her who was singing to him.' 'may god let down the veil of his protection over you!' said i. 'but where is my friend and she who was singing to him?' they pointed to two doors and replied, 'they are yonder, each in a room apart; but, by allah, o our brother, the secret of their case is known to none but thee, for from the time we brought them hither, we have not seen them nor questioned them of their condition, seeing them to be persons of rank and dignity. this it was that hindered us from putting them to death: so tell us the truth of their case and be assured of their safety and thine own.' when i heard this, i was like to die of fright and said to them, 'o my brethren, if generosity were lost, it would not be found save with you and had i a secret, which i feared to divulge, your breasts alone should have the keeping of it.' and i went on to expatiate to them in this sense, till i saw that frankness would profit me more than concealment; so i told them the whole story. when they heard it, they said, 'and is this young man ali ben bekkar and this damsel shemsennehar?' 'yes,' answered i. this was grievous to them and they rose and made their excuses to the two lovers. then they said to me, 'part of what we took from thy house is spent, but here is what is left of it.' so saying, they gave me back the most part of my goods and engaged to return them to my house and restore me the rest. so my heart was set at ease, and some of them abode with me, whilst the rest fetched ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar, who were well-nigh dead for excess of fear. then they all sallied forth with us and i went up to the two lovers and saluting them, said to them, 'what became of the damsel and the two maids?' 'we know nothing of them,' answered they. then we walked on till we came to the river-bank, where we all embarked in the boat that had brought me over before, and the boatman rowed us to the other side; but hardly had we landed and sat down on the bank to rest, when a troop of horse swooped down on us like eagles and surrounded us on all sides, whereupon the robbers with us sprang up in haste and the boatman, putting back for them, took them in and pushed off into mid-stream, leaving us on the bank, unable to move or abide still. the horseman said to us, 'whence come ye?' and we were perplexed for an answer; but i said, 'those ye saw with us are rogues: we know them not. as for us, we are singers, whom they would have taken to sing to them, nor could we win free of them, save by subtlety and fair words, and they have but now left us.' they looked at ali and shemsennehar and said to me, 'thou hast not spoken sooth; but if thy tale be true, tell us who you are and whence you come and in what quarter you dwell.' i knew not what to answer, but shemsennehar sprang up and approaching the captain of the troop, spoke with him privily, whereupon he dismounted and setting her on his steed, began to lead it along by the bridle. two of his men did the like with ali ben bekkar and myself, and they fared on with us, till they reached a certain part of the river-bank, when the captain sang out in jargon and there came to us a number of men with two boats. the captain embarked with shemsennehar in one boat and went his way, whilst the rest of his men put off in the other, with ali ben bekkar and myself, and rowed on with us, we the while enduring the agonies of death for excess of fear, till they came to a place whence there was a way to our quarter. here we landed and walked on, escorted by some of the horsemen, till we came to ali ben bekkar's house, where they took leave of us and went their way. we entered the house and abode there, unable to stir and knowing not night from day, till nightfall of the next day, when i came to myself and saw ali ben bekkar stretched out without sense or motion, and the men and women of his household weeping over him. when they saw that i had recovered my senses, some of them came to me and helping me sit up, said to me, 'tell us what hath befallen our son and how he came in this plight.' 'o folk,' answered i, 'hearken to me and importune me not; but be patient and he will come to himself and tell you his story for himself.' and i was round with them and made them afraid of a scandal between us; but as we were thus, behold, ali ben bekkar moved in his bed, whereat his friends rejoiced and the [most part of the] folk withdrew from him; but his people forbade me to go away. then they sprinkled rose-water on his face, and he presently revived and breathed the air, whereupon they questioned him of his case. he essayed to answer them, but could not speak forthright and signed to them to let me go home. so they let me go, and i returned to my own house, supported by two men and hardly crediting my escape. when my people saw me thus, they fell a-shrieking and buffeting their faces; but i signed to them to hold their peace, and they were silent. then the two men went their way and i threw myself down on my bed, where i lay the rest of the night and awoke not till the forenoon, when i found my people collected round me and they said, 'what hath befallen thee and what (evil) hath smitten thee with its mischief?' quoth i, 'bring me to drink.' so they brought me wine, and i drank what i would and said to them, 'wine got the better of me and it was this caused the state in which ye saw me' then they went away, and i made my excuses to my friends and asked if any of the goods that had been stolen from my other house had been returned.' 'yes,' answered they. 'some of them have come back: and the manner of their coming was that a man came and threw them down in the doorway and we saw him not.' so i comforted myself and abode two days, unable to rise, at the end of which time i began to regain strength and went to the bath, for i was worn out with fatigue and troubled at heart for ali ben bekkar and shemsennehar, because i had no news of them all this time and could neither get to ali's house nor rest in my own, out of fear for myself. and i repented to god the most high of what i had done and praised him for my safety. then i bethought me to go to such and such a place and see the folk and divert myself; so i went to the stuff-market and sat awhile with a friend of mine there. when i rose to go, i saw a woman standing in my road; so i looked at her, and behold it was shemsennehar's slave-girl. when i saw her, the world grew dark in my eyes and i hurried on. she followed me, but i was afraid and fled from her, trembling whenever i looked at her, whilst she pursued me, saying, 'stop, that i may tell thee somewhat.' but i heeded her not and went on, till i reached a mosque in an unfrequented spot, and she said to me, 'enter the mosque, that i may say a word to thee, and fear nothing.' and she conjured me: so i entered the mosque, and she after me. i prayed a two-bow prayer, after which i turned to her, sighing, and said, 'what dost thou want?' she asked me how i did, and i told her all that had befallen myself and ali ben bekkar and asked her for news of herself. 'know,' answered she, 'that when i and the two maids saw the robbers break open thy door, we doubted not but they were the khalif's officers and would seize us and our mistress and we perish forthright: so we fled over the roofs and casting ourselves down from a high place, took refuge with some people, who harboured us and brought us to the palace, where we arrived in the sorriest of plights. we concealed our case and abode on coals of fire till nightfall, when i opened the river-gate and calling the boatman who had carried us the night before, said to him, "i know not what is come of my mistress; so take me in thy boat, that we may seek her on the river: it may be i shall chance on some news of her." so he took me into the boat and rowed about with me till midnight, when i spied a boat making towards the water-gate, with one man rowing and another standing up and a woman lying prostrate between them. when they reached the shore and the woman landed, i looked at her, and behold, it was shemsennehar. so i landed and joined her, dazed for joy, after having lost hope of her. when i came up to her, she bade me give the man who had brought her thither a thousand diners, and i and the two maids carried her in and laid her on her bed, and she at death's door. she abode thus all that day and the next day and i forbade the eunuchs and women to go in to her; but on the third day, she revived and i found her as she had come out of the grave. so i sprinkled rose-water upon her face and changed her clothes and washed her hands and feet, nor did i cease to persuade her, till i brought her to eat a little and drink some wine, though she had no mind to it. as soon as she had breathed the air and strength began to return to her, i fell to upbraiding her, saying, "consider, o my lady, and have pity on thyself; thou seest what has betided us surely, enough of evil hath befallen thee and thou hast been nigh upon death." "by allah, o good damsel," replied she, "death were easier to me than what hath befallen me; for i had renounced all hope of deliverance and gave myself up for lost. when the robbers took us from the jeweller's house, they asked me who i was; i replied, 'i am a singing-girl,' and they believed me. then they said to ali ben bekkar, 'and who art thou and what is thy condition?' and he answered, 'i am of the common people.' so they carried us to their abode, and we hurried on with them for fear; but when they had us with them in the house, they looked at me and seeing the clothes i wore and my necklaces and jewellery, believed me not and said to me, 'no singing-girl ever had such jewels as these; tell us the truth of thy case.' i returned them no answer, saying in myself, 'now will they kill me for my clothes and ornaments;' and i spoke not a word. then they turned to ali ben bekkar and said to him, 'and thou, who and whence art thou? for thy favour is not as that of the common folk.' but he was silent and we ceased not to keep our counsel and weep, till god inclined the rogues' hearts towards us and they said to us, 'who is the owner of the house in which you were?' 'such an one, the jeweller,' answered we; whereupon quoth one of them, 'i know him well and where he lives, and i will engage to bring him to you forthright.' then they agreed to set me in a place by myself and ali ben bekkar in a place by himself, and said to us, 'be at rest and fear not lest your secret be divulged; ye are safe from us.' meanwhile their comrade went away and returned with the jeweller, who made known to them our case, and we joined company with him; after which one of the band fetched a boat, in which they embarked us all three and rowing us over the river, landed us on the opposite bank and went away; whereupon up came a horse-patrol and asked us who we were. so i spoke with the captain and said to him, 'i am shemsennehar, the khalif's favourite; i had drunken wine and went out to visit certain of my acquaintance of the wives of the viziers, when yonder rogues laid hold of me and brought me hither; but when they saw you, they fled. i met these men with them; so do thou escort me and them to a place of safety and i will requite thee.' when the captain heard my speech, he knew me and alighting, mounted me on his horse; and in like manner did two of his men with ali and the jeweller. and now my heart is on fire on their account, especially for ali's friend the jeweller: so do thou go to him and salute him and ask him for news of ali ben bekkar." i spoke to her and blamed her and bade her beware, saying' "o my lady, have a care for thyself and give up this intrigue." but she was angered at my words and cried out at me. so i came forth in quest of thee, but found thee not and dared not go to ali's house; so stood watching for thee, that i might ask thee of him and know how it is with him. and i beg thee, of thy favour, to take some money of me, for belike thou borrowedst of thy friends some of the goods, and as they are lost, it behoves thee to make them compensation.' 'i hear and obey,' answered i. 'go on.' and i walked with her till we drew near my house, when she said to me, 'wait till i return to thee.' so she went away and presently returned with a bag of money, which she handed to me, saying, 'o my lord, where shall we meet?' quoth i, 'i will go to my house at once and suffer hardship for thy sake and contrive how thou mayst win to him, for access to him is difficult at this present.' 'let me know where i shall come to thee,' said she, and i answered, 'in my other house; i will go thither forthright and have the doors repaired and the place made secure again, and henceforth we will meet there.' then she took leave of me and went her way, whilst i carried the money home, and counting it, found it five thousand diners. i gave my people some of it and made good their loss to all who had lent me aught, after which i took my servants and repaired to my other house, with builders and carpenters, who restored it to its former state. moreover, i placed my negress-slave there and forgot what had befallen me. then i repaired to ali ben bekkar's house, where his servants accosted me, saying, 'our lord calls for thee day and night and hath promised his freedom to whichever of us brings thee to him; so we have been in quest of thee everywhere, but knew not where to find thee. our master is by way of recovery, but he has frequent relapses, and when he revives, he names thee and says, "needs must ye bring him to me, though but for an instant," and sinks back into his torpor.' so i went in to ali ben bekkar and finding him unable to speak, sat down at his head, whereupon he opened his eyes and seeing me, wept and said, 'welcome and fair welcome!' i raised him and making him sit up, strained him to my bosom, and he said, 'know, o my brother, that, since i took to my bed, i have not sat up till now: praised be god that i see thee again!' presently, little by little, i made him stand up and walk a few steps, after which i changed his clothes and he drank some wine. all this he did to please me. then, seeing him to be somewhat restored, i told him what had befallen me with the slave-girl, none else hearing me, and said to him, 'i know what thou sufferest; but take heart and be of good courage; for henceforth nought shall betide thee, but what shall rejoice thee and ease thine heart.' he smiled and called for food, which being brought, he signed to his servants, and they withdrew. then said he to me, 'o my brother, thou seest what hath befallen me;' and he made his excuses to me and enquired how i had fared all that while. i told him all that had befallen me, from first to last, at which he wondered and calling his servants, said, 'bring me such and such things.' accordingly, they brought in rich carpets and hangings and utensils of gold and silver, more than i had lost, and he gave them all to me; so i sent them to my house and abode with him that night. when the day began to break, he said to me, 'to everything there is an end, and the end of love is death or enjoyment. i am nearer unto death, would i had died ere this befell! for, had not god favoured us, we had been discovered and put to shame. and now i know not what shall deliver me from this my strait, and were it not that i fear god, i would hasten my own death; for know, o my brother, that i am like the bird in the cage and that my life is of a surety perished, by reason of the distresses that have befallen me; yet hath it a fixed period and an appointed term.' and he wept and groaned and repeated the following verses: indeed, it sufficeth the lover the time that his tears have run; as for affliction, of patience it hath him all fordone. he who concealeth the secrets conjoined us heretofore and now his hand hath severed that which himself made one. when he had finished, i said to him, 'o my lord, i would fain return to my house; it may be the damsel will come back to me with news.' 'it is well,' answered he; 'go and return to me speedily with news, for thou seest my condition.' so i took leave of him and went home. hardly had i sat down, when up came the damsel, choked with her tears. 'what is the matter?' asked i, and she said, 'o my lord, what we feared has fallen on us; for, when i returned yesterday to my lady, i found her enraged with one of the two maids who were with us the other night, and she ordered her to be beaten. the girl took fright and ran away; but one of the gate-keepers stopped her and would have sent her back to her mistress. however, she let fall some hints, which excited his curiosity; so he coaxed her and led her on to talk, and she acquainted him with our case. this came to the ears of the khalif, who bade remove my mistress and all her gear to his own palace and set over her a guard of twenty eunuchs. since then he has not visited her nor given her to know the cause of his action, but i suspect this to be the cause; wherefore i am in fear for myself and am perplexed, o my lord, knowing not what i shall do nor how i shall order my affair and hers, for she had none more trusted nor trustier than myself. so do thou go quickly to ali ben bekkar and acquaint him with this, that he may be on his guard; and if the affair be discovered, we will cast about for a means of saving ourselves.' at this, i was sore troubled and the world grew dark in my sight for the girl's words. then she turned to go, and i said to her, 'what is to be done?' quoth she, 'my counsel is that thou hasten to ali ben bekkar, if thou be indeed his friend and desire his escape; thine be it to carry him the news forthright, and be it mine to watch for further news.' then she took her leave of me and went away. i followed her out and betaking myself to ali ben bekkar, found him flattering himself with hopes of speedy enjoyment and staying himself with vain expectations. when he saw me, he said, 'i see thou hast come back to me forthwith' 'summon up all thy patience,' answered i, 'and put away thy vain doting and shake off thy preoccupation, for there hath befallen that which may bring about the loss of thy life and goods.' when he heard this, he was troubled and his colour changed and he said to me, 'o my brother, tell me what hath happened.' 'o my lord,' replied i, 'such and such things have happened and thou art lost without recourse, if thou abide in this thy house till the end of the day.' at this he was confounded and his soul well-nigh departed his body, but he recovered himself and said to me, 'what shall i do, o my brother, and what is thine advice?' 'my advice,' answered i, 'is that thou take what thou canst of thy property and whom of thy servants thou trustest and flee with me to a land other than this, ere the day come to an end.' and he said, 'i hear and obey.' so he rose, giddy and dazed, now walking and now falling down and took what came under his hand. then he made an excuse to his household and gave them his last injunctions, after which he loaded three camels and mounted his hackney. i did the like and we went forth privily in disguise and fared on all day and night, till nigh upon morning, when we unloaded and hobbling our camels, lay down to sleep; but, being worn with fatigue, we neglected to keep watch, so that there fell on us robbers, who stripped us of all we had and slew our servants, when they would have defended us, after which they made off with their booty, leaving us naked and in the sorriest of plights. as soon as they were gone, we arose and walked on till morning, when we came to a village and took refuge in its mosque. we sat in a corner of the mosque all that day and the next night, without meat or drink; and at daybreak, we prayed the morning prayer and sat down again. presently, a man entered and saluting us, prayed a two-bow prayer, after which he turned to us and said, 'o folk, are ye strangers?' 'yes,' answered we, 'robbers waylaid us and stripped us, and we came to this town, but know none here with whom we may shelter.' quoth he, 'what say you? will you come home with me?' and i said to ali ben bekkar, 'let us go with him, and we shall escape two evils; first, our fear lest some one who knows us enter the mosque and so we be discovered; and secondly, that we are strangers and have no place to lodge in.' 'as thou wilt,' answered he. then the man said to us again, 'o poor folk, give ear unto me and come with me to my house.' 'we hear and obey,' answered i; whereupon he pulled off a part of his own clothes and covered us therewith and made his excuses to us and spoke kindly to us. then we accompanied him to his house and he knocked at the door, whereupon a little servant came out and opened to us. we entered after our host, who called for a parcel of clothes and muslin for turbans, and gave us each a suit of clothes and a piece of muslin; so we made us turbans and sat down. presently, in came a damsel with a tray of food and set it before us, saying, 'eat.' we ate a little and she took away the tray; after which we abode with our host till nightfall, when ali ben bekkar sighed and said to me, 'know, o my brother, that i am a dead man and i have a charge to give thee: it is that, when thou seest me dead, thou go to my mother and tell her and bid her come hither, that she may be present at the washing of my body and take order for my funeral; and do thou exhort her to bear my loss with patience.' then he fell down in a swoon and when he revived, he heard a damsel singing afar off and addressed himself to give ear to her and hearken to her voice; and now he was absent from the world and now came to himself, and anon he wept for grief and mourning at what had befallen him. presently, he heard the damsel sing the following verses: parting hath wrought in haste our union to undo after the straitest loves and concord 'twixt us two. the shifts of night and day have torn our lives apart. when shall we meet again? ah, would to god i knew! after conjoined delight, how bitter sev'rance is! would god it had no power to baffle lovers true! death's anguish hath its hour, then endeth; but the pain of sev'rance from the loved at heart is ever new. could we but find a way to come at parting's self, we'd surely make it taste of parting's cup of rue. when he heard this, he gave one sob and his soul quitted his body. as soon as i saw that he was dead, i committed his body to the care of the master of the house and said to him, 'i go to baghdad, to tell his mother and kinsfolk, that they may come hither and take order for his burial' so i betook myself to baghdad and going to my house, changed my clothes, after which i repaired to ali ben bekkar's lodging. when his servants saw me, they came to me and questioned me of him, and i bade them ask leave for me to go in to his mother. she bade admit me; so i entered and saluting her, said, 'verily god orders the lives of all creatures by his commandment and when he decreeth aught, there is no escaping its fulfilment, nor can any soul depart but by his leave, according to the writ which prescribeth the appointed terms.' she guessed by these words that her son was dead and wept sore, then she said to me, 'i conjure thee by allah, tell me, is my son dead?' i could not answer her for tears and much grief, and when she saw me thus, she was choked with weeping and fell down in a swoon. as soon as she came to herself, she said to me, 'tell me how my son died.' 'may god abundantly requite thee for him!' answered i and told her all that had befallen him, from first to last. 'did he give thee any charge?' asked she. 'yes,' answered i and told her what he had said, adding, 'hasten to take order for his funeral.' when she heard this, she swooned away again; and when she recovered, she addressed herself to do as i bade her. then i returned to my house; and as i went along, musing sadly upon his fair youth, a woman caught hold of my hand. i looked at her and behold, it was shemsennehar's slave-girl, broken for grief. when we knew each other, we both wept and gave not over weeping till we reached my house, and i said to her, 'knowest thou the news of ali ben bekkar?' 'no, by allah,' replied she; so i told her the manner of his death and all that had passed, whilst we both wept; after which i said to her, 'and how is it with thy mistress?' quoth she, 'the khalif would not hear a word against her, but saw all her actions in a favourable light, of the great love he bore her, and said to her, "o shemsennehar, thou art dear to me and i will bear with thee and cherish thee, despite thine enemies." then he bade furnish her a saloon decorated with gold and a handsome sleeping-chamber, and she abode with him in all ease of life and high favour. one day, as he sat at wine, according to his wont, with his favourites before him, he bade them be seated in their places and made shemsennehar sit by his side. (now her patience was exhausted and her disorder redoubled upon her.) then he bade one of the damsels sing: so she took a lute and tuning it, preluded and sang the following verses: one sought me of lore and i yielded and gave him that which he sought. and my tears write the tale of my transport in furrows upon my cheek. meseemeth as if the teardrops were ware, indeed, of our case and hide what i'd fain discover and tell what to hide i seek. how can i hope to be secret and hide the love that i feel, whenas the stress of my longing my passion for thee doth speak? death, since the loss of my loved ones, is sweet to me: would i knew what unto them is pleasant, now that they've lost me eke! when shemsennehar heard these verses, she could not keep her seat, but fell down in a swoon, whereupon the khalif threw the cup from his hand and drew her to him, crying out. the damsels clamoured and he turned her over and shook her, and behold, she was dead. the khalif grieved sore for her death and bade break all the vessels and lutes and other instruments of mirth and music in the place; then carrying her body to his closet, he abode with her the rest of the night. when the day broke, he laid her out and commanded to wash her and shroud her and bury her. and he mourned very sore for her and questioned not of her case nor what ailed her. and i beg thee in god's name,' continued the damsel, 'to let me know the day of the coming of ali ben bekkar's funeral train, that i may be present at his burial.' quoth i, 'for myself, thou canst find me where thou wilt; but thou, who can come at thee where thou art?' 'on the day of shemsennehar's death,' answered she, 'the commander of the faithful freed all her women, myself among the rest; and we are now abiding at the tomb in such a place.' so i accompanied her to the burial-ground and visited shemennehar's tomb;[fn# ] after which i went my way and awaited the coming of ali ben bekkar's funeral. when it arrived, the people of baghdad went forth to meet it and i with them; and i saw the damsel among the women and she the loudest of them in lamentation, crying out and wailing with a voice that rent the vitals and made the heart ache. never was seen in baghdad a greater funeral than his and we ceased not to follow in crowds, till we reached the cemetery and buried him to the mercy of god the most high; nor from that time to this have i ceased to visit his tomb and that of shemsennehar." this, then, is their story, and may god the most high have mercy upon them! kemerezzeman and budour. there was once, of old time, a king called shehriman, who was lord of many troops and guards and officers and reigned over certain islands, known as the khalidan islands, on the borders of the land of the persians; but he was grown old and decrepit, without having been blessed with a son, albeit he had four wives, daughters of kings, and threescore concubines, with each of whom he was wont to lie one night in turn. this preyed upon his mind and disquieted him, so that he complained thereof to one of his viziers, saying, 'i fear lest my kingdom be lost, when i die, for that i have no son to take it after me.' 'o king,' answered the vizier, 'peradventure god shall yet provide for this; do thou put thy trust in him and be constant in supplication to him.' so the king rose and making his ablutions, prayed a two-bow prayer with a believing heart; after which he called one of his wives to bed and lay with her forthright. by god's grace, she conceived by him and when her months were accomplished, she bore a male child, like the moon on the night of its full. the king named him kemerezzeman and rejoiced in him with exceeding joy and bade decorate the city in his honour. so they decorated the city seven days, whilst the drums beat and the messengers bore the glad tidings abroad. meanwhile nurses and attendants were provided for the boy and he was reared in splendour and delight, until he reached the age of fifteen. he grew up of surpassing beauty and symmetry, and his father loved him very dear, so that he could not brook to be parted from him day or night. one day, he complained to one of his viziers of the excess of his love for his son, saying, 'o vizier, of a truth i fear the shifts and accidents of fortune for my son kemerezzeman and fain would i marry him in my lifetime.' 'o king,' answered the vizier, 'marriage is one of the most honourable of actions, and thou wouldst indeed do well to marry thy son in thy lifetime, ere thou make him king.' quoth the king, 'fetch me my son;' so kemerezzeman came and bowed his head before his father, out of modesty. 'o kemerezzeman,' said the king, 'i desire to marry thee and rejoice in thee in my lifetime.' 'o my father,' answered the prince, 'know that i have no wish to marry, nor doth my soul incline to women; for that i have read many books and heard much talk concerning their craft and perfidy, even as saith the poet: if ye would know of women and question of their case, lo, i am versed in their fashions and skilled all else above. when a man's head grows grizzled or for the nonce his wealth falls from his hand, then, trust me, he hath no part in their love. and again: gainsay women; he obeyeth allah best who saith them nay, and he prospers not who giveth them his bridle-rein to sway; for they'll hinder him from winning to perfection in his gifts, though a thousand years he study, seeking after wisdom's way. wherefore (continued kemerezzeman) marriage is a thing to which i will never consent; no, not though i drink the cup of death.' when the king heard this, the light in his sight became darkness and he was excessively chagrined at his son's lack of obedience to his wishes; yet, for the great love he bore him, he forbore to press him and was not wroth with him, but caressed him and spoke him fair and showed him all manner of kindness such as tends to cultivate affection. he took patience with him a whole year, during which time kemerezzeman increased daily in beauty and elegance and amorous grace, till he became perfect in eloquence and loveliness. all men were ravished with his beauty and every breeze that blew carried the tidings of his charms; he was a seduction to lovers and a garden of delight to longing hearts, for he was sweet of speech and his face put the full moon to shame. accomplished in symmetry as in elegance and engaging manners, his shape was slender and graceful as the willow-wand or the flowering cane and his cheeks might pass for roses or blood-red anemones. he was, in fine, charming in all respects, even as the poet hath said of him: he comes and "blest be god!" say all men, high and base. "glory to him who shaped and fashioned forth his face!" he's monarch of the fair, wherever they may be; for, lo, they're all become the liegemen of his grace. the water of his mouth is liquid honey-dew and 'twixt his lips for teeth fine pearls do interlace. perfect in every trait of beauty and unique, his witching loveliness distracts the human race. beauty itself hath writ these words upon his cheek, "except this youth there's none that's fair in any place." when the year came to an end, the king called his son to him and said, 'o my son, wilt thou not hearken to me?' whereupon kemerezzeman fell down for respect and shame before his father and replied, 'o my father, how should i not hearken to thee, seeing that god commandeth me to obey thee and not gainsay thee?' 'o my son,' said king shehriman, 'know that i desire to marry thee and rejoice in thee, whilst yet i live, and make thee king over my realm, before my death.' when the prince heard this, he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and said, 'o my father, this is a thing that i will never do, though i drink the cup of death. i know of a surety that god the most high enjoins on me obedience to thee; but in his name i conjure thee, press me not in this matter of marriage, neither think that i will ever marry my life long; for that i have read the books both of the ancients and the moderns and have come to know all the troubles and calamities that have befallen them through women and the disasters that have sprung from their craft without end. how well says the poet: he, whom the baggages entrap, deliverance shall never know, although a thousand forts he build, plated with lead;--'gainst such a foe it shall not profit him to build nor citadels avail, i trow. women are traitresses to all, both near and far and high and low. with fingers dyed and flowing hair plaited with tresses, sweet of show, and eyelids beautified with kohl, they make one drink of bale and woe. and no less excellently saith another: women, for all to chastity they're bidden, everywhere are carrion tossed about of all the vultures of the air. to-night their converse, ay, and all their secret charms are thine, but on the morn their leg and wrist fall to another's share; like to an inn in which thou lodg'st, departing with the dawn, and one thou know'st not, after thee, lights down and lodges there. when king shehriman heard these his son's words, he made him no answer, of his great love for him, but redoubled in favour and kindness to him. as soon as the audience was over, he called his vizier and taking him apart, said to him, 'o vizier, tell me how i shall do with my son in this matter of his marriage. i took counsel with thee thereon and thou didst counsel me to marry him, before making him king. i have spoken with him once and again of marriage, and he still gainsaid me; so do thou now counsel me what to do.' 'o king,' answered the vizier, 'wait another year, and if after that thou be minded to speak to him on the matter of marriage, do it not privily, but on a day of state, when all the viziers and amirs are present and all the troops standing before thee. then send for thy son and broach to him the matter of marriage before the viziers and grandees and officers of state and captains; for he will surely be daunted by their presence and will not dare to oppose thy will.' the king rejoiced exceedingly in his vizier's advice, deeming it excellent, and bestowed on him a splendid robe of honour. then he took patience with his son another year, whilst, with every day that passed over him, kemerezzeman increased in grace and beauty and elegance and perfection, till he was nigh twenty years old. indeed, god had clad him in the habit of beauty and crowned him with the crown of perfection: his eyes were more ensorcelling than harout and marout[fn# ] and the play of his glances more misleading than taghout.[fn# ] his cheeks shone with redness and his eyelashes outvied the keen-edged sword: the whiteness of his forehead resembled the shining moon and the blackness of his hair was as the murky night. his waist was more slender than the gossamer and his buttocks heavier than two hills of sand, troubling the heart with their softness; but his waist complained of their weight. in fine, his charms ravished all mankind, even as saith the poet: by his cheeks' unfading damask and his smiling teeth i swear, by the arrows that he feathers with the witchery of his air, by his sides so soft and tender and his glances bright and keen, by the whiteness of his forehead and the blackness of his hair, by his arched imperious eyebrows, chasing slumber from mine eyes, with their yeas and noes that hold me 'twixt rejoicing and despair, by the scorpious[fn# ] that he launches from his ringlet-clustered brows, seeking ever in their meshes hapless lovers to ensnare, by the myrtle of his whiskers and the roses of his cheeks, by his lips' incarnate rubies and his teeth's fine pearls and rare, by his breath's delicious fragrance and the waters of his mouth, that defy old wine and choicest with their sweetness to compare, by his heavy hips that tremble, both in motion and repose, and the slender waist above them, all too slight their weight to bear, by his hand's perennial bounty and his true and trusty speech, by the stars that smile upon him, favouring and debonair, lo, the scent of musk none other than his very perfume is, and the ambergris's fragrance breathes about him everywhere. yea, the sun in all his splendour cannot with his brightness vie, and the crescent moon's a fragment that he from his nail doth pare. the king, accordingly, waited till a day of state, when the audience hall was filled with his amirs and viziers and grandees and officers of state and captains. as soon as they were all assembled, he sent for his son kemerezzeman, who came and kissing the earth three times, stood before him, with his hands clasped behind his back. then said the king to him, 'know, o my son, that i have sent for thee and summoned thee to appear before this assembly and all these officers of state that i may lay a commandment on thee, wherein do thou not gainsay me. it is that thou marry, for i am minded to wed thee to a king's daughter and rejoice in thee ere i die.' when the prince heard these his father's words, he bowed his head awhile, then raising it, replied, being moved thereto by youthful folly and boyish ignorance, 'never will i marry, no, not though i drink the cup of death! as for thee, thou art great in years and little of wit: hast thou not, twice before this, questioned me of the matter of marriage, and i refused thee? indeed, thou dotest and art not fit to govern a flock of sheep!' so saying, he unclasped his hands from behind his back and rolled up his sleeves, in his rage; moreover, he added many words to his father, knowing not what he said, in the trouble of his spirit. the king was confounded and ashamed, for that this befell in the presence of his grandees and officers assembled on an occasion of state; but presently the energy of kingship took him and he cried out upon his son and made him tremble. then he called to his guards and bade them seize him and bind his hands behind his back. so they laid hands on kemerezzeman and binding him, brought him before his father, full of shame and confusion, with his head bowed down for fear and inquietude and his brow and face beaded with sweat. the king loaded him with reproaches, saying, 'out on thee, thou whoreson and nursling of abomination! dost thou dare to answer me thus before my captains and officers? but hitherto none hath corrected thee. knowest thou not that this thou hast done were disgraceful in the meanest of my subjects?' and he commanded his guards to loose his bonds and imprison him in one of the turrets of the citadel. so they carried the prince into an old tower, wherein there was a dilapidated saloon, after having first swept it and cleansed its floor and set him a couch in its midst, on which they laid a mattress, a leathern rug and a cushion. then they brought him a great lantern and a candle, for the place was dark, even by day, and posting an eunuch at the door, left him to himself. kemerezzeman threw himself on the couch, broken-spirited and mournful-hearted, blaming himself and repenting of his unseemly behaviour to his father, when repentance availed him nothing, and saying, 'may god curse marriage and girls and women, the traitresses! would i had hearkened to my father and married! it were better for me than this prison.' meanwhile, king shehriman abode on his throne till sundown, when he took the vizier apart and said to him, 'o vizier, thine advice is the cause of all this that hath befallen between me and my son. what doth thou counsel me to do now?' 'o king,' answered he, 'leave thy son in prison for the space of fifteen days; then send for him and command him to marry, and he will not again gainsay thee.' the king accepted the vizier's counsel and lay down to sleep, troubled at heart concerning kemerezzeman, for he loved him very dearly, having no other child, and it was his wont not to sleep, save with his arm about his son's neck. so he passed the night in trouble and unease, tossing from side to side, as he were laid on coals of tamarisk-wood; for he was overcome with inquietude and sleep visited him not all that night; but his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated the following verses: the night, whilst the slanderers sleep, is tedious unto me; suffice thee a heart that aches for parting's agony! i cry, whilst my night for care grows long and longer aye, "o light of the morning, say, is there no returning for thee?" and these also: when the pleïads i saw leave to shine in their stead and over the pole-star a lethargy shed and the maids of the bier[fn# ] in black raiment unveiled, i knew that the lamp of the morning was dead. to return to kemerezzeman. when the night came on, the eunuch set the lantern before him and lighting a candle, placed it in the candlestick; then brought him food. the prince ate a little and reproached himself for his ill-behaviour to his father, saying to himself, 'o my soul, knowst thou not that a son of adam is the hostage of his tongue and that a man's tongue is what casts him into perils?' then his eyes ran over with tears and he bewailed that which he had done, from an anguished heart and an aching bosom, repenting him with an exceeding repentance of the wrong he had done his father repeating the following verses: for the sheer stumble of his tongue the youth must death aby, though for the stumble of his foot the grown man shall not die. thus doth the slipping of his mouth smite off his head, i ween, what while the slipping of his foot is healed, as time goes by. when he had made an end of eating, he called the eunuch, who washed his hands. then he made his ablutions and prayed the prayers of sundown and nightfall, after which he sat down on the couch, to read[fn# ] the koran. he read the chapters called 'the cow,' 'the family of imran,' 'ya-sin,' 'the compassionate,' 'blessed be the king,' 'unity' and 'the two amulets,' and concluded with blessing and supplication, seeking refuge with god from satan the accursed. then he put off his trousers and the rest of his clothes and lay down, in a shirt of fine waxed cloth and a coif of blue stuff of merv, upon a mattress of satin, embroidered on both sides with gold and quilted with irak silk, having under his head a pillow stuffed with ostrich-down. in this guise, he was like the full moon, when it rises on its fourteenth night. then, drawing over himself a coverlet of silk, he fell asleep with the lantern burning at his feet and the candle at his head, and woke not for a third part of the night, being ignorant of that which lurked for him in the secret purpose of god and what he who knoweth the hidden things had appointed unto him. now, as chance and destiny would have it, the tower in question was old and had been many years deserted; and there was therein a roman well, inhabited by an afriteh of the lineage of iblis the accursed, by name maimouneh, daughter of ed dimiryat, a renowned king of the jinn. in the middle of the night, maimouneh came up out of the well and made for heaven, thinking to listen by stealth to the discourse of the angels; but, when she reached the mouth of the well, she saw a light shining in the tower, contrary to wont; whereat she was mightily amazed, having dwelt there many years and never seen the like, and said to herself, 'needs must there be some cause for this.' so she made for the light and found that it came from the saloon, at whose door she found the eunuch sleeping. she entered and saw a man iying asleep upon the couch, with the lantern burning at his feet and the candle at his head; at which she wondered and going softly up to him, folded her wings and drawing back the coverlid, discovered his face. the lustre of his visage outshone that of the candle, and the afriteh abode awhile, astounded at his beauty and grace; for his face beamed with light, his cheeks were rose-red and his eyelids languorous; his brows were arched like bows and his whole person exhaled a scent of musk, even as saith of him the poet: i kissed him and his cheeks forthwith grew red, and black and bright the pupils grew that are my soul's seduction and delight. o heart, if slanderers avouch that there exists his like for goodliness, say thou to them, "produce him to my sight." when maimouneh saw him, she glorified god and said, 'blessed be allah, the best of creators!' for she was of the true-believing jinn. she stood awhile, gazing on his face, proclaiming the unity of god and envying the youth his beauty and grace. and she said in herself, 'by allah, i will do him no hurt nor let any harm him, but will ransom him from all ill, for this fair face deserves not but that folk should look upon it and glorify god. but how could his family find it in their hearts to leave him in this desert place, where if one of our marids came upon him at this hour, he would kill him?' then she bent over him and kissing him between the eyes, folded back the coverlet over his face; after which she spread her wings and soaring into the air, flew upward till she drew near the lowest heaven, when she heard the noise of wings beating the air and making for the sound, found that it came from an afrit called dehnesh. so she swooped down on him like a sparrow-hawk; and when he was ware of her and knew her to be maimouneh, daughter of the king of the jinn, he feared her and his nerves trembled; and he implored her forbearance, saying, 'i conjure thee by the most great and august name and by the most noble talisman graven upon the seal of solomon, entreat me kindly and harm me not!' when she heard this, her heart inclined to him and she said, 'verily, thou conjurest me with a mighty conjuration, o accursed one! nevertheless, i will not let thee go, till thou tell me whence thou comest at this hour.' 'o princess,' answered he, 'know that i come from the uttermost end of the land of cathay and from among the islands, and i will tell thee of a wonderful thing i have seen this night. if thou find my words true, let me go my way and write me a patent under thy hand that i am thy freedman, so none of the jinn, whether of the air or the earth, divers or flyers,[fn# ] may do me let or hindrance.' 'and what is it thou hast seen this night, o liar, o accursed one?' rejoined maimouneh. 'tell me without leasing and think not to escape from my hand with lies, for i swear to thee by the inscription on the beazel of the ring of solomon son of david (on whom be peace,) except thy speech be true, i will pluck out thy feathers with mine own hand and strip off thy skin and break thy bones.' 'i accept this condition, o my lady,' answered dehnesh, son of shemhourish the flyer. 'know that i come to-night from the islands of the inland sea in the parts of cathay, which are the dominions of king ghaïour, lord of the islands and the seas and the seven palaces. there i saw a daughter of his, than whom god hath made none fairer in her time,--i cannot picture her to thee, for my tongue would fail to describe her aright; but i will name to thee somewhat of her charms, by way of approximation. her hair is like the nights of estrangement and separation and her face like the days of union; and the poet hath well described her when he says: she took up three locks of her hair and spread them out one night and straight four nights discovered at once unto my sight. then did she turn her visage up to the moon of the sky and showed me two moons at one season, both burning clear and bright. she hath a nose like the point of the burnished sword and cheeks like purple wine or blood-red anemones: her lips are like coral and cornelian and the water of her mouth is sweeter than old wine, its taste would allay the torments of hell. her tongue is moved by abounding wit and ready repartee: her breast is a temptation to all that see it, glory be to him who created it and finished it: and joined thereto are two smooth round arms. as says of her the poet el welhan: she hath two wrists, which, were they not by bracelets held, i trow, would flow out of their sleeves as brooks of liquid silver flow. she has breasts like two globes of ivory, the moons borrow from their brightness, and a belly dimpled as it were a brocaded cloth of the finest egyptian linen, with creases like folded scrolls, leading to a waist slender past conception, over buttocks like a hill of sand, that force her to sit, when she would fain stand, and awaken her, when she would sleep, even as saith of her the poet: her slender waist a pair of buttocks overlies, the which both over her and me do tyrannize. for they confound my wit, whenas i think on them, and eke enforce her sit, whenas she fain would rise. they are upborne by smooth round thighs and legs like columns of pearl, and all this rests upon two slender feet, pointed like spear-blades, the handiwork of god, the protector and requiter, i wonder how, of their littleness, they can sustain what is above them. but i cut short my description of her charms, lest i be tedious. the father of this young lady is a powerful king, a fierce cavalier, immersed night and day in wars and battles, fearless of death and dreading not ruin, for that he is a masterful tyrant and an irresistible conqueror, lord of troops and armies, continents and islands, cities and villages, and his name is king ghaïour, lord of the islands and the seas and of the seven palaces. he loves his daughter, the young lady whom i have described to thee, very dearly, and for love of her, he gathered together the treasures of all the kings and built her therewith seven palaces, each of a different fashion; the first of crystal, the second of marble, the third of china steel, the fourth of precious stones, the fifth of porcelain and vari-coloured onyx, the sixth of silver and the seventh of gold. he filled the seven palaces with rich silken carpets and hangings and vessels of gold and silver and all manner of gear befitting kings and commanded his daughter, whose name is the princess budour, to abide in each by turns for a certain season of the year. when her beauty became known and her fame was noised abroad in the neighbouring countries, all the kings sent to her father, to demand her in marriage, and he consulted her on the matter, but she misliked it and said, "o my father, i have no mind to marry; for i am a sovereign lady and a princess ruling over men, and i have no desire for a man who shall rule over me." the more she refused, the more the eagerness of her suitors increased and all the kings of the islands of the inland sea sent gifts and offerings to her father, with letters asking her in marriage. so he pressed her again and again to make choice of a husband, despite her refusals, till at last she turned upon him angrily and said to him, "o my father, if thou name marriage to me again, i will go into my chamber and take a sword and fixing its hilt in the ground, set its point to my breast; then will i lean upon it, till it come forth from my back, and so kill myself." when the king heard this, the light became darkness in his sight and his heart was torn with anxiety and perplexity concerning her affair; for he feared lest she should kill herself and knew not how to deal with the kings who sought her hand. so he said to her, "if thou be irrevocably determined not to marry, abstain from going in and out." then he shut her up in her chamber, appointing ten old body-women to guard her, and made as though he were wroth with her, forbidding her to go forth to the seven palaces; moreover, he sent letters to all the kings, giving them to know that she had been stricken with madness. it is now a year (continued dehnesh) since she has been thus cloistered, and every night i go to her, whilst she is asleep, and take my fill of gazing on her face and kiss her between the eyes: yet, of my love to her, i do her no hurt neither swive her, for that her youth is fair and her loveliness surpassing; every one who sees is jealous for her of himself. i conjure thee, therefore, o my lady, to go back with me and look on her beauty and symmetry; and after, if thou wilt, chastise me or enslave me: for it is thine to command and to forbid.' so saying, he bowed his head towards the earth and drooped his wings; but maimouneh laughed at his words and spitting in his face, answered, 'what is this girl of whom thou pratest but a potsherd to cleanse the privities withal? faugh! faugh! by allah, o accursed one, i thought thou hadst some rare story to tell me or some marvel to make known to me! how would it be if thou sawest my beloved? verily this night i have seen a young man whom if thou sawest though but in sleep, thou wouldst be palsied with admiration and thy mouth would water.' 'and who and what is this youth?' asked the afrit. 'know, o dehnesh,' answered she, 'that there hath befallen him the like of what befell thy mistress; for his father pressed him again and again to marry, but he refused, till at length his father waxed wroth and imprisoned him in the tower where i dwell: and i came up to-night and saw him.' 'o my lady,' said dehnesh, 'show me the youth, that i may see if he be indeed handsomer than my mistress, the princess budour, or not; for i cannot believe that there lives her equal.' 'thou liest, o accursed one!' rejoined maimouneh. 'o most ill-omened of marids and vilest of satans! sure am i that there is not in this world the like of my beloved. art thou mad to even thy beloved with mine?' 'i conjure thee by allah, o my lady,' said dehnesh, 'to go back with me and see my mistress, and after i will return with thee and look upon thy beloved.' 'it must needs be so, o accursed one!' answered she. 'yet, for that thou art a knavish devil, i will not go with thee nor shalt thou come with me, save upon surety and condition of pledge. if thy beloved prove handsomer than mine, the pledge shall be thine against me; but if my beloved prove the fairer, the pledge shall be mine against thee.' 'o my lady,' said dehnesh, 'i accept this thy condition; so come with me to the islands.' 'not so,' replied maimouneh; 'for the abode of my beloved is nearer than that of thine: here it is under us; so come down with me and see my beloved, and after we will go look upon thy mistress.' 'i hear and obey,' said dehnesh. so they descended and alighting on the tower, entered the saloon, where maimouneh stationed dehnesh beside the bed and putting out her hand, drew back the silken coverlet, whereupon kemerezzeman's face shone out like the sun. she looked at him a moment, then turning to dehnesh, said, ''look, o accursed one, and be not the vilest of madmen; i am a maiden and am ravished with him.' so dehnesh looked at the prince and gazed steadfastly on him awhile, then, shaking his head, said to maimouneh, 'by allah, o my lady, thou art excusable; but there is another thing to be considered, and that is that the female estate differs from the male. by the virtue of god, this thy beloved is the likest of all created things to my mistress in beauty and loveliness and grace and it is as though they were both cast alike in the mould of perfection!' when maimouneh heard these words, the light in her sight became darkness and she dealt him so fierce a buffet on the head with her wing as well-nigh made an end of him. then, 'i conjure thee,' said she, 'by the light of his glorious countenance, go at once, o accursed one, and bring hither thy mistress in haste that we may lay them together and look on them both, as they lie asleep side by side; so will it appear to us whether is the goodlier and more beautiful of the two. except thou obey me forthright, i will dart my sparks at thee and consume thee with my fire; yea, i will rend thee in pieces and cast thee into the deserts, as an example to stay-at-home and wayfarer.' 'o my lady,' answered the afrit, 'i will do thy bidding, for i know that my mistress is the fairer and sweeter.' so saying, he flew away and maimouneh flew with him, to guard him. they were absent awhile and presently returned, bearing the young lady, who was clad in a shift of fine venetian silk, laced with gold and wrought with the most exquisite broidery and having the following verses worked upon the ends of the sleeves: three things for ever hinder her to visit us, for fear of the intriguing spy and eke the rancorous envier; her forehead's lustre and the sound of all her ornaments and the sweet scent her creases hold of ambergris and myrrh. grant with the border of her sleeve she hide her brows and doff her ornaments, how shall she do her scent away from her? they carried her into the saloon and laying her beside kemerezzeman, uncovered both their faces, and behold, they were the likest of all folk, one to the other, as they were twins or an only brother and sister; and indeed they were a temptation to the pious, even as says of them the poet el mubin: be not thy love, o heart, to one alone confined, lest, for that one, amaze and doting thee enwind; but love thou rather all the fair, and thou shalt find, if one contrarious prove, another will be kind. and quoth another: two fair ones lying on the earth i did of late espy; two that i needs must love, although they lay upon mine eye. dehnesh and maimouneh gazed on them awhile, and the former said, 'by allah, o my lady, it is good! my mistress is assuredly the fairer.' 'not so,' answered she, 'my beloved is the fairer. out on thee, o dehnesh! thou art blind of eye and heart and distinguishest not between good and bad.[fn# ] wilt thou hide the truth? dost thou not see his beauty and grace and symmetry? out on thee, hear what i purpose to say in praise of my beloved, and do thou the like for her thou lovest, an thou be a true lover.' then she kissed kemerezzeman again and again between the eyes and repeated the following ode: ah me, what ails the censurer that he at thee should flite? how shall i be consoled for thee, and thou a sapling slight? thou of the black and languorous eye, that casteth far and wide charms, whose sheer witchery compels to passion's utmost height, whose looks, with turkish languor fraught, work havoc in the breast, leaving such wounds as ne'er were made of falchion in the fight, thou layst on me a heavy load of passion and desire, on me that am too weak to bear a shift upon me dight. my love for thee, as well thou know'st, my very nature is, and that for others which i feign dissembling but and sleight. an if my heart were like to thine, i'd not refuse; alack! 'tis but my body's like thy waist, worn thin and wasted quite. out on him for a moon that's famed for beauty far and near, that for th' exemplar of all grace men everywhere do cite! the railers say, "who's this for love of whom thou art distressed?" and i reply, "an if ye can, describe the lovely wight." o learn to yield, hard heart of his, take pattern by his shape! so haply yet he may relent and put away despite. thou, that my prince in beauty art, a steward[fn# ] hast, whose rule aggrieves me and a chamberlain[fn# ] that doth me foul upright. he lies who says, "all loveliness in joseph was comprised." how many a joseph is there not within thy beauty bright! the jinn do fear me, whenas i confront them face to face; but when i meet with thee, my heart doth tremble for affright. i feign aversion unto thee, for fear of slanderous tongues; the more i feign, the more my love to madness i excite. black hair and smooth and glistening brows, eyes languorous and soft, as of the maids of paradise, and slender shape and slight! when dehnesh heard this, he shook for delight and was filled with admiration and said, 'thou hast indeed done well in praise of him whom thou lovest! needs must i do my endeavour, in my turn, to celebrate my mistress, to the best of my power, and recite somewhat in her honour.' then he went up to the lady budour and kissing her between the eyes, looked at her and at maimouneh and recited the following verses, for all he had no skill in poetry: they chide my passion for my fair in harsh and cruel guise; but, of their ignorance, forsooth, they're neither just nor wise. vouchsafe thy favours to the slave of love, for, an he taste of thine estrangement and disdain, assuredly he dies. indeed, for very stress of love, i'm drenched with streaming tears, that, like a rivulet of blood, run ever from mine eyes. no wonder 'tis what i for love endure; the wonder is that any, since the loss of thee, my body recognize. forbidden be thy sight to me, if i've a thought of doubt or if my heart of passion tire or feign or use disguise! and also the following: i feed mine eyes on the places where we met long ago; far distant now is the valley and i'm forslain for woe. i'm drunk with the wine of passion and the teardrops in mine eyes dance to the song of the leader of the camels, as we go. i cease not from mine endeavour to win to fortune fair; yet in budour, suada,[fn# ] all fortune is, i know. three things i reckon, i know not of which to most complain; give ear whilst i recount them and be you judge, i trow. firstly, her eyes, the sworders; second, the spearman, her shape, and thirdly, her ringlets that clothe her in armour,[fn# ] row upon row. quoth she (and indeed i question, for tidings of her i love, all whom i meet, or townsman or bedouin, high or low) quoth she unto me, "my dwelling is in thy heart; look there and thou shalt see me." i answer, "and where is my heart? heigho!" when maimouneh heard this, she said, 'thou hast done well, o dehnesh! but tell me, which of the two is the handsomer?' and he answered, 'my mistress budour is certainly handsomer than thy beloved.' 'thou liest, o accursed one!' cried maimouneh. 'nay, my beloved is more beautiful than thine!' and they ceased not to gainsay each other, till maimouneh cried out at dehnesh and would have laid violent hands on him; but he humbled himself to her and softening his speech, said to her, 'let us leave talking, for we do but contradict each other, and rather seek one who shall judge fairly between us, whether of the two is fairer, and let us abide by his sentence.' 'i agree to this,' answered she and smote the earth with her foot, whereupon there came up a one-eyed afrit, hump-backed and scurvy, with eyes slit endlong in his face. on his head were seven horns and four locks of hair falling to his heels; his hands were like pitchforks, his legs like masts and he had claws like a lion and hoofs like those of the wild ass. when he saw maimouneh, he kissed the earth before her and standing with his hands clasped behind him, said, 'what is thy will, o king's daughter?' 'o keshkesh,' answered she, 'i would have thee judge between me and this accursed dehnesh.' and she made known to him the whole matter, whereupon he looked at the prince and princess and saw them lying asleep, embraced, each with an arm about the other's neck, alike in beauty and grace and equal in goodliness. the marid gazed long and fixedly upon them, marvelling at their beauty, and repeated the following verses: cleave fast to her thou lov'st and let the envious rail amain, for calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain. lo, the compassionate hath made no fairer thing to see than when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain, each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their own delight, whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks enchain. if in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, i rede thee cast the world away and with that one remain. lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, but on cold iron smite the folk that chide at them in vain. thou that for loving censures the votaries of love, canst thou assain a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain? o lord, o thou compassionate, i prithee, ere we die, though only for a single day, unite us two again! then he turned to maimouneh and dehnesh and said to them, 'by allah, if you will have the truth, they are equal in beauty and grace and perfection, nor is there any difference between them but that of sex. but i have another idea, and it is that we wake each of them in turn, without the other's knowledge, and whichever is more enamoured of the other shall be held the lesser in beauty and grace.' 'this is a good counsel,' answered maimouneh, and dehnesh said, 'i consent to this.' then dehnesh changed himself to a flea and bit kemerezzeman on the neck, whereupon the prince awoke with a start and rubbed the place of the bite, because of the smart. then turning sideways, he found lying by him something, whose breath was more fragrant than musk, and whose body was softer than cream. at this he marvelled greatly and sitting up, looked at this that lay beside him and saw it to be a young lady like the moon, as she were a splendid pearl, or a shining sun, five feet high, with a shape like the letter i, high-bosomed and rosy-checked; even as saith of her the poet: four things there are, which ne'er unite, except it be to shed my heart's best blood and take my soul by storm. and these are night-black locks and brow as bright as day, cheeks ruddy as the rose and straight and slender form. and also quoth another: she shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow-wand, and breathes, pure ambergris, and gazes, a gazelle. it seems as if grief loved my heart and when from her estrangement i endure, possession to it fell. she was clad in a shift of venetian silk, without drawers, and wore on her head a kerchief embroidered with gold and jewels; her ears were hung with earrings, that shone like stars, and round her neck was a collar of great pearls, past the competence of any king. when he saw this, his reason was confounded and natural heat began to stir in him; god awoke in him the desire of coition and he said, 'what god wills, shall be, and what he will not, shall not be!' so saying, he put out his hand and turning her over, loosed the collar of her shift, laying bare her bosom, with its breasts like globes of ivory; whereat his inclination for her redoubled and he desired her with an exceeding desire. then he shook her and moved her, essaying to waken her and saying, 'o my beloved, awake and look on me; i am kemerezzeman.' but she awoke not, neither moved her head, for dehnesh made her sleep heavy. with this, he considered awhile and said to himself, 'if i guess aright, this is she to whom my father would have married me and i have refused these three years past; but, god willing, as soon as it is day, i will say to him, "marry me to her that i may enjoy her," nor will i let half the day pass ere i possess her and take my fill of her beauty and grace.' then he bent over budour, to kiss her, whereat maimouneh trembled and was confounded and dehnesh was like to fly for joy. but, as kemerezzeman was about to kiss her, he was ashamed before god and turned away his head, saying to his heart, 'have patience.' then he considered awhile and said, 'i will be patient, lest my father have brought this young lady and made her lie by my side, to try me with her, charging her not to be lightly awakened, whenas i would fain arouse her, and bidding her tell him all that i do to her. belike, he is hidden somewhere whence he can see all i do with this young lady, himself unseen; and to-morrow he will flout me and say, "how comes it that thou feignest to have no mind to marry and yet didst kiss and clip yonder damsel?" so i will forbear her, lest i be shamed before my father; and it were well that i look not on her nor touch her at this present, except to take from her somewhat to serve as a sign of remembrance and a token between us.' then he lifted her hand and took from her little finger a ring worth much money, for that its beazel was of precious jewels and around it were graven the following verses: think not that i have forgotten thy sometime promises, though long thou hast protracted thy cruelty, ywis. be generous, o my master, vouchsafe me of thy grace, so it to me be given thy lips and cheeks to kiss. never, by allah, never will i abandon thee, though thou transgress thy limits in love and go amiss! then he put the ring on his own little finger, and turning his back to her, went to sleep. when maimouneh saw this, she was glad and said, 'saw ye how my beloved kemerezzeman forbore this young lady? verily, this was of the perfection of his excellences; for see how he looked on her and noted her beauty and grace, yet clipped her not neither kissed her nor put his hand to her, but turned his back to her and slept.' 'it is well,' answered they; 'we saw how perfectly he bore himself.' then maimouneh changed herself into a flea and entering budour's clothes, crept up her leg and bit her four finger-breadths below the navel; whereupon she opened her eyes and sitting up in bed, saw a youth lying beside her and breathing heavily in his sleep, the loveliest of god's creatures, with eyes that put to shame the fair maids of paradise, mouth like solomon's seal, whose water was sweeter to the taste and more efficacious than triacle,[fn# ] lips the colour of coral and cheeks like blood-red anemones, even as saith one, describing him: from zeyneb[fn# ] and newar[fn# ] my mind is drawn away by the rose of a cheek, whereo'er a whisker's myrtles stray. i'm fallen in love with a fawn, a youngling tunic-clad, and joy no more in love of bracelet-wearing may. my mate in banquet-hall and closet's all unlike to her with whom within my harem's close i play: o thou that blames me, because i flee from hind[fn# ] and zeyneb, my excuse is clear as break of day. would'st have me be a slave, the bondsman of a slave, one cloistered and confined behind a wall alway?[fn# ] when the princess saw him, a transport of passion and longing seized her and she said to herself, 'alas my shame! this is a strange youth and i know him not. how comes he lying in one bed with me?' then she looked at him again and noting his beauty and grace, said, 'by allah, he is a comely youth and my heart is well-nigh torn in sunder with longing for him. but alas, how am i shamed by him! by allah, had i known it was he who sought my hand of my father, i had not rejected him, but had married him and enjoyed his loveliness!' then she gazed in his face and said, 'o my lord and light of mine eyes, awake from sleep and enjoy my beauty and grace.' and she moved him with her hand; but maimouneh let down sleep upon him (as it were a curtain) and pressed on his head with her wings, so that he awoke not. the princess went on to shake him and say, 'my life on thee, give ear unto me! awake and look on the narcissus and the tender green and enjoy my body and my secret charms and dally with me and touzle me from now till break of day! i conjure thee by allah, o my lord, sit up and lean against the pillow and sleep not!' still he made her no answer, but breathed heavily in his sleep. 'alas! alas!' continued she. 'thou art proud in thy beauty and grace and lovely looks! but if thou art handsome, so am i; what then is this thou dost? have they lessoned thee to flout me or has the wretched old man, my father, made thee swear not to speak to me to-night?' but he opened not his mouth neither awoke, whereat her passion redoubled and god inflamed her heart with love of him. she stole one glance at him that cost her a thousand sighs: her heart fluttered and her entrails yearned and she exclaimed, 'speak to me, o my lord! o my friend, my beloved, answer me and tell me thy name, for indeed thou hast ravished my wit!' still he abode drowned in sleep and answered her not a word, and she sighed and said, 'alas! alas! why art thou so self-satisfied?' then she shook him and turning his hand over, saw her ring on his little finger, whereat she cried out and said, with a sigh of passion, 'alack! alack! by allah, thou art my beloved and lovest me! yet meseems thou turnest away from me out of coquetry, for all thou camest to me whilst i was asleep and knew not what thou didst, and tookest my ring. but i will not pull it off thy finger.' so saying, she opened the bosom of his shirt and kissed him and put her hand to him, seeking somewhat that she might take as a token, but found nothing. then she put her hand into his breast, and for the smoothness of his body, it slipped down to his navel and thence to his yard, whereupon her heart ached and her entrails quivered and desire was sore upon her, for that women's lust is fiercer than that of men, and she was confounded. then she took his ring from his finger and put it on her own and kissed his mouth and hands, nor did she leave any part of him unkissed; after which she took him to her breast and laying one of her hands under his neck and the other under his armpit, fell asleep by his side. then said maimouneh to dehnesh, 'o accursed one, sawst thou how prudishly and coquettishly my beloved bore himself and what ardour of passion thy mistress showed to him? there can be no doubt that my beloved is handsomer than thine; nevertheless i pardon thee.' then she wrote him a patent of manumission and said to keshkesh, 'help dehnesh to take up his mistress and carry her back to her own place, for the night wanes apace and there is but little left of it.' 'i hear and obey,' answered keshkesh. so the two afrits lifted up the princess budour and flying away with her, carried her back to her own place and laid her on her bed, whilst maimouneh abode alone with kemerezzeman, gazing upon him as he slept, till the night was all but spent, when she went her way. at break of day, the prince awoke from sleep and turned right and left, but found not the young lady by him and said in himself, 'what is this? it would seem as if my father would fain incline me to marriage with the young lady, that was with me, and have now taken her away by stealth, to the intent that my desire for marriage may redouble.' then he called out to the eunuch who slept at the door, saying, 'out on thee, o accursed one, arise forthright!' so the eunuch arose, dazed with sleep, and brought him basin and ewer, whereupon kemerezzeman entered the draught-house and did his need; then, coming out, made his ablutions and prayed the morning-prayer, after which he sat telling his beads. then he looked up, and seeing the eunuch standing waiting upon him, said to him, 'out on thee, o sewab! who was it came hither and took away the young lady from beside me, whilst i slept?' 'o my lord, what young lady?' asked the eunuch. 'she that lay with me last night,' replied kemerezzeman. the eunuch was troubled at his words and said to him, 'by allah, there has been with thee neither young lady nor other! how should she have come in to thee, when the door was locked and i asleep before it? by allah, o my lord, neither man nor woman has come in to thee!' 'thou liest, o pestilent slave!' exclaimed the prince. 'dost thou also presume to hoodwink me and wilt thou not tell me what is come of the young lady who lay with me last night and who took her away?' the eunuch was affrighted at him and answered, 'by allah, o my lord, i have seen neither girl nor boy!' his words only angered kemerezzeman and he said to him, 'o accursed one, my father hath taught thee deceit! come hither.' so the eunuch came up to him, and the prince seized him by the collar and threw him to the ground. he let fly a crack of wind, and kemerezzeman, kneeling upon him, kicked him and throttled him, till he fainted away. then he tied him to the well-rope, and lowering him into the well, plunged him into the water, then drew him up and plunged him in again. now it was hard winter weather, and kemerezzeman ceased not to lower the eunuch into the water and pull him up again, whilst he screamed and called for help. quoth the prince, 'by allah, o accursed one, i will not draw thee up out of the well, till thou tell me the story of the young lady and who it was took her away, whilst i slept.' 'o my lord,' answered the eunuch, seeing death staring him in the face, 'let me go and i will tell thee the truth.' so kemerezzeman pulled him up out of the well, all but dead for cold and wet and torture and beating and fear of drowning. his teeth chattered and he shook like the reed in the hurricane and his clothes were drenched and his body befouled and torn by the rough slimy sides of the well. when kemerezzeman saw him in this sorry plight, he relented towards him; and as soon as the eunuch found himself on dry land, he said to him, 'o my lord, let me go and put off my clothes and wring them out and spread them in the sun to dry and don others; after which i will return to thee forthwith and tell thee the truth of the matter.' 'o wretched slave,' answered the prince, 'hadst thou not seen death face to face, thou hadst never confessed; but go now and do thy will, and after return speedily and tell me the truth.' so the eunuch went out, hardly crediting his escape, and gave not over running and stumbling, in his haste, till he came in to king shehriman, whom he found sitting talking with his vizier of kemerezzeman's case and saying, 'i slept not last night, for anxiety concerning my son kemerezzeman, and indeed i fear lest some harm befall him in that old tower. what good was there in imprisoning him?' 'have no care for him,' answered the vizier. 'by allah, no hurt will befall him! leave him in prison for a month, till his humour yield and his spirit be broken and he return to his senses.' as he spoke, in came the eunuch, in the aforesaid plight, and said to the king, who was troubled at sight of him, 'o our lord the sultan, thy son's wits are fled and he has gone mad; he has dealt with me thus and thus, so that i am become as thou seest, and says, "a young lady lay with me this night and stole away whilst i slept. where is she?" and insists on my telling him where she is and who took her away. but i have seen neither girl nor boy; the door was locked all night, for i slept before it, with the key under my head, and opened to him in the morning with my own hand.' when the king heard this, he cried out, saying, 'alas, my son!' and he was sore enraged against the vizier, who had been the cause of all this, and said to him, 'go, bring me news of my son and see what hath befallen his wit.' so the vizier rose and hastened with the slave to the tower, tumbling over his skirts, in his fear of the king's anger. the sun had now risen and when he came in to kemerezzeman, he found him sitting on the couch, reading the koran; so he saluted him and sitting down by his side, said to him, 'o my lord, this wretched slave brought us news that disquieted and alarmed us and incensed the king.' 'and what,' asked kemerezzeman, 'hath he told you of me, to trouble my father? in good sooth, he hath troubled none but me.' 'he came to us in a sorry plight,' answered the vizier, 'and told us of thee a thing which god forfend and a lie which it befits not to repeat, may god preserve thy youth and sound wit and eloquent tongue and forbid aught of foul to come from thee!' 'o vizier,' said the prince, 'what did this pestilent slave say of me?' 'he told us,' replied the vizier, 'thou hadst taken leave of thy wits and would have it that a young lady lay with thee last night and wast instant with him to tell thee whither she had gone and didst torture him to that end.' when kemerezzeman heard this, he was sore enraged and said to the vizier, 'it is manifest to me that you taught the eunuch to do as he did and forbade him to tell me what became of the young lady. but thou, o vizier, art more reasonable than the eunuch; so do thou tell me forthright whither went the young lady that lay in my bosom last night; for it was you who sent her and bade her sleep in my arms, and we lay together till day; but when i awoke, i found her not. so where is she now?' 'o my lord kemerezzeman,' said the vizier, 'the name of god encompass thee! by allah, we sent none to thee last night, but thou layest alone, with the door locked on thee and the eunuch sleeping before it, nor did there come to thee a young lady or any other. stablish thy reason, o my lord, and return to thy senses and occupy thy mind no longer [with vain imaginations].' 'o vizier,' rejoined kemerezzeman, incensed at his words, 'the young lady in question is my beloved, the fair one with the black eyes and red cheeks, whom i held in my arms all last night.' the vizier wondered at his words and said to him, 'didst thou see this damsel with thine eyes and on wake, or in sleep?' 'o wretched old man,' answered kemerezzeman, 'thinkest thou i saw her with my ears? indeed, i saw her with my very eyes and on wake and touched her with my hand and watched by her half the night, gazing my fill on her beauty and grace and elegance and lovely looks. but thou hadst schooled her and charged her to speak no word to me; so she feigned sleep and i lay by her side till morning, when i awoke and found her gone.' 'o my lord kemerezzeman,' rejoined the vizier, 'surely thou sawest this in thy sleep; it must have been a delusion of dreams or a hallucination caused by eating various kinds of food or a suggestion of the accursed devils.' 'o pestilent old man,' cried the prince, 'wilt thou too make a mock of me and tell me this was an illusion of dreams, when this eunuch confessed to the young lady, saying, "i will return to thee forthwith and tell thee all about her?"' so saying, he sprang up and laying hold of the vizier's long beard, twisted his hand in it and tugging him off the couch, threw him on the floor. it seemed to the vizier as though his soul departed his body for the violent plucking at his beard, and kemerezzeman fell to kicking him and pummelling his breast and sides and cuffing him on the nape, till he had well-nigh made an end of him. then said the vizier in himself, 'i must save myself from this madman by telling him a lie, even as did the eunuch; else he will kill me, for he is mad beyond a doubt.' so he said to kemerezzeman, 'o my lord, bear me not malice, for indeed thy father charged me to conceal from thee this affair of the young lady; but now i am weak and weary and sore with beating; for i am an old man and lack strength to endure blows. so have a little patience with me and i will tell thee all.' when the prince heard this, he left beating him and said, 'why couldst thou not tell me without blows and humiliation? rise now, unlucky old man that thou art, and tell me her story.' quoth the vizier, 'dost thou ask of the young lady with the fair face and perfect shape?' 'yes,' answered kemerezzeman. 'tell me who it was laid her by my side and took her away by night, and let me know whither she is gone, that i may go to her. if my father did this to try me, with a view to our marriage, i consent to marry her and be quit of this trouble; for he only dealt thus with me, because i refused to marry. i say again, i consent to marry: so tell this to my father, o vizier, and advise him to marry me to her, for i will have none other and my heart loveth her alone. go now to my father and counsel him to hasten our marriage and bring me his answer forthright.' 'it is well,' rejoined the vizier, and went out from him, hardly crediting his escape. then he set off running and stumbling as he went, for excess of affright and agitation, till he came in to the king, who said to him, 'o vizier, what has befallen thee and who has maltreated thee and how comes it that i see thee thus confounded and terrified?' 'o king,' answered the vizier, 'i bring thee news.' 'what is it?' asked shehriman, and the vizier said, 'know that thy son kemerezzeman's wits are gone and that madness hath betided him.' when the king heard this, the light in his face became darkness and he said, 'expound to me the nature of my son's madness.' 'o my lord,' answered the vizier, 'i hear and obey.' then he told him all that had passed and the king said to him, 'o most ill-omened of viziers and filthiest of amirs, know that the reward i will give thee in return for this thy news of my son's madness shall be the cutting off of thy bead and the forfeiture of thy goods; for thou hast caused my son's disorder by the wicked and sinister counsel thou hast given me first and last. by allah, if aught of mischief or madness have befallen him, i will nail thee upon the dome [of the palace] and make thee taste the bitterness of death!' then rising, he betook himself with the vizier to the tower, and when kemerezzeman saw him, he came down to him in haste from the couch on which he sat and kissing his hands, drew back and stood before him awhile, with his eyes cast down and his hands clasped behind him. then he raised his head and repeated the following verses, whilst the tears streamed down his cheeks: if i have borne myself blameworthily to you or if i've made default in that which is your due, i do repent my fault; so let your clemency th' offender comprehend, who doth for pardon sue. when the king heard this, he embraced his son and kissing him between the eyes, made him sit by his side on the couch; then turned to the vizier and looking on him with angry eyes, said to him, 'o dog of a vizier, why didst thou tell me that my son was mad and make my heart quake for him?' then he turned to the prince and said to him, 'o my son, what is to-day called?' 'o my father,' answered he, 'to-day is saturday and to-morrow sunday: then come monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday.' 'o my son, o kemerezzeman,' exclaimed the king, 'praised be god for the preservation of thy reason! what is this present month called in arabic?' 'dhoulcaadeh,' answered kemerezzeman, 'and it is followed by dhoulhejjeh; then comes muherrem, then sefer, then rebia the first and rebia the second, the two jumadas, rejeb, shaaban, ramazan and shewwal.' at this the king rejoiced exceedingly and spat in the vizier's face, saying, 'o wicked old man, how canst thou pretend that my son is mad? none is mad but thou.' the vizier shook his head and would have spoken, but bethought himself to wait awhile and see what befell. then the king said to kemerezzeman, 'o my son, what is this thou sayest to the eunuch and the vizier of a fair damsel that lay with thee last night? what damsel is this of whom thou speakest?' kemerezzeman laughed at his father's words and replied, 'o my father, i can bear no more jesting; so mock me not with another word, for my humour is soured by that you have done with me. let it suffice thee to know that i consent to marry, but on condition that thou give me to wife her with whom i lay yesternight; for i am assured that it was thou sentest her to me and madest me in love with her, then tookest her away from beside me before the dawn.' 'o my son,' rejoined the king, 'the name of god encompass thee and preserve thy wit from madness! what young lady is this of whom thou talkest? by allah, o my son, i know nothing of the affair, and i conjure thee, tell me if it be a delusion of sleep or a hallucination caused by food? doubtless, thou layest down to sleep last night, with thy mind occupied with marriage and troubled with the thought of it (may god curse marriage and the hour in which it occurred to me and him who counselled it!) and dreamtest that a handsome young lady embraced thee and didst fancy thou sawst her on wake; but all this, o my son, is but an illusion of dreams.' 'leave this talk,' replied kemerezzeman, 'and swear to me by god, the all-wise creator, the humbler of the mighty and the destroyer of the chosroës, that thou knowest nothing of the young lady nor of her abiding-place.' 'by the virtue of the most high god,' said the king, 'the god of moses and abraham, i know nothing of all this and it is assuredly but an illusion of dreams that thou hast seen in sleep.' quoth the prince, 'i will give thee a proof that it was not a dream. come, let me put a case to thee: did it ever happen to any to dream that he was fighting a sore battle and after to awake and find in his hand a sword besmeared with blood?' 'no, by allah, o my son,' answered the king, 'this hath never been.' 'i will tell thee what happened to me,' rejoined kemerezzeman. 'meseemed i awoke from sleep in the middle of the past night and found a young lady lying by my side, whose shape and favour were as mine. i embraced her and turned her about with my hand and took her ring, which i put on my finger, and she pulled off my ring and put it on her finger. then i went to sleep by her side, but refrained from her and was ashamed to kiss her on the mouth, deeming that thou hadst sent her to me, with intent to tempt me with her and incline me to marriage, and misdoubting thee to be hidden somewhere whence thou couldst see what i did with her. at point of day, i awoke and found no trace of her, nor could i come at any news of her, and there befell me what thou knowest of with the eunuch and the vizier. how then can this have been a dream and a delusion, seeing that the ring is a reality? i should indeed have deemed it a dream but for her ring on my finger. here it is: look at it, o king, and see what is its worth.' so saying, he handed the ring to his father, who examined it and turned it over, then said to his son, 'verily, there hangs some mighty mystery by this ring and some strange secret. what befell thee last night is indeed a mysterious affair and i know not how this intruder came in upon us. none is the cause of all this trouble save the vizier; but i conjure thee, o my son, to take patience, so haply god may do away this affliction from thee and bring thee complete relief: as quoth one of the poets: it may be fate at last shall draw its bridle-rein and bring us happy chance; for fortune changes still; and things shall happen yet, despite the things fordone, to further forth my hopes and bring me to my will. and now, o my son,' added he, 'i am certified that thou art not mad; but thy case is a strange one, none can unravel it for thee but god the most high.' 'by allah, o my father,' cried the prince, 'deal kindly with me and seek out this damsel and hasten her coming to me; else i shall die of grief.' and he repeated the following verses, in a voice that betrayed the ardour of his passion: an if thy very promise of union prove untrue, let but in sleep thy favours the longing lover cheer. "how can the phantom visit a lover's eyes," quoth they, "from which the grace of slumber is banned and banished sheer?" and he sighed and wept and groaned aloud from a wounded heart, whilst the tears streamed from his eyes. then turning to his father, with submission and despondency, he said to him, 'by allah, o my father, i cannot endure to be parted from her even for an hour.' the king smote hand upon hand and exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god, the most high, the sublime! there is no device can profit us in this affair!' then he took his son by the hand and carried him to the palace, where kemerezzeman lay down on the bed of languor and the king sat at his head, weeping and mourning over him and leaving him not night or day, till at last the vizier came in to him and said, 'o king of the age and the time, how long wilt thou remain shut up with thy son and deny thyself to thy troops? verily, the order of thy realm is like to be deranged, by reason of thine absence from thy grandees and officers of state. it behoves the man of understanding, if he have various wounds in his body, to apply him (first) to heal the most dangerous; so it is my counsel to thee that thou transport the prince to the pavilion overlooking the sea and shut thyself up with him there, setting apart monday and thursday in every week for state receptions and the transaction of public business. on these days let thine amirs and viziers and chamberlains and deputies and captains and grandees and the rest of the troops and subjects have access to thee and submit their affairs to thee, and do thou their needs and judge between them and give and take with them and command and forbid. the rest of the week thou shalt pass with thy son kemerezzeman, and thus do till god vouchsafe you both relief. think not, o king, that thou art exempt from the shifts of fortune and the strokes of calamity; for the wise man is still on his guard, as well saith the poet: thou madest fair thy thought of fate, whenas the days were fair, and fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might bring. the nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wast deceived by them, for in the peace of night is born full many a troublous thing. o all ye children of mankind, to whom the fates are kind, let caution ever have a part in all your reckoning.' the king was struck with the vizier's words and deemed his counsel wise and timely, fearing lest the order of the state be deranged; so he rose at once and bade carry his son to the pavilion in question, which was built (upon a rock) midmost the water and was approached by a causeway, twenty cubits wide. it had windows on all sides, overlooking the sea; its floor was of variegated marble and its roof was painted in the richest colours and decorated with gold and lapis-lazuli. they furnished it for kemerezzeman with embroidered rugs and carpets of the richest silk and hung the walls with choice brocades and curtains bespangled with jewels. in the midst they set him a couch of juniper-wood, inlaid with pearls and jewels, and he sat down thereon, like a man that had been sick twenty years; for the excess of his concern and passion for the young lady had wasted his charms and emaciated his body, and he could neither eat nor drink nor sleep. his father seated himself at his head, mourning sore for him, and every monday and thursday he gave his viziers and amirs and grandees and officers and the rest of his subjects leave to come in to him in the pavilion. so they entered and did their several service and abode with him till the end of the day, when they went their ways and he returned to his son, whom he left not night nor day; and on this wise did he many days and nights. to return to the princess budour. when the two afrits carried her back to her palace and laid her on her bed, she slept on till daybreak, when she awoke and sitting up, looked right and left, but saw not the youth who had lain in her bosom. at this, her heart was troubled, her reason fled and she gave a great cry, whereupon all her damsels and nurses and serving-women awoke and came in to her; and the chief of them said to her, 'what ails thee, o my lady?' 'o wretched old woman,' answered the princess, 'where is my beloved, the handsome youth that lay last night in my bosom? tell me where he is gone.' when the old woman heard this, the light in her eyes became darkness and she was sore in fear of her mischief and said to her, 'o my lady budour, what unseemly words are these?' 'out on thee, pestilent crone that thou art!' cried the princess. 'where is my beloved, the goodly youth with the shining face and the slender shape, the black eyes and the joined eyebrows, who lay with me last night from dusk until near daybreak?' 'by allah, o my lady,' replied the old woman, 'i have seen no young man nor any other; but i conjure thee, leave this unseemly jesting, lest we be all undone. belike, it may come to thy father's ears and who shall deliver us from his hand?' 'i tell thee,' rejoined budour, 'there lay a youth with me last night, one of the fairest-faced of men.' 'god preserve thy reason!' exclaimed the nurse. 'indeed, no one lay with thee last night.' the princess looked at her hand and seeing her own ring gone and kemerezzeman's ring on her finger in its stead, said to the nurse, 'out on thee, thou accursed traitress, wilt thou lie to me and tell me that none lay with me last night and forswear thyself to me?' 'by allah,' replied the nurse, 'i do not lie to thee nor have i sworn falsely!' her words incensed the princess and drawing a sword she had by her, she smote the old woman with it and slew her; whereupon the eunuch and the waiting-women cried out at her and running to her father, acquainted him with her case. so he went to her forthright and said to her, 'o my daughter, what ails thee?' 'o my father,' answered she, 'where is the young man that lay with me last night?' then her reason left her and she cast her eyes right and left and rent her dress even to the skirt. when the king saw this, he bade the women lay hands on her; so they seized and bound her, then putting a chain of iron about her neck, made her fast to the window and there left her. as for her father, the world was straitened upon him, when he saw what had befallen her, for that he loved her and her case was not a little thing to him. so he summoned the doctors and astrologers and magicians and said to them, 'whoso cureth my daughter of her disorder, i will marry him to her and give him half my kingdom; but whoso cometh to her and cureth her not, i will strike off his head and hang it over her palace-gate.' accordingly, all who went in to her, but failed to cure her, he beheaded and hung their heads over her palace-gate, till he had beheaded forty physicians and crucified as many astrologers on her account; wherefore all the folk held aloof from her, for all the physicians failed to cure her malady and her case was a puzzle to the men of science and the magicians. and as her longing and passion redoubled and love and distraction were sore upon her, she poured forth tears and repeated the following verses: my longing after thee, my moon, my foeman is; the thought of thee by night doth comrade with me dwell. i pass the darksome hours, and in my bosom flames a fire, for heat that's like the very fire of hell. i'm smitten with excess of ardour and desire; by which my pain is grown an anguish fierce and fell. then she sighed and repeated these also: my peace on the belovéd ones, where'er they light them down! i weary for the neighbourhood of those i love, full sore. my salutation unto you,--not that of taking leave, but greetings of abundant peace, increasing evermore! for, of a truth, i love you dear and love your land no less; but woe is me! i'm far away from that i weary for. then she wept till her eyes grew weak and her cheeks pale and withered: and thus she abode three years. now she had a foster-brother, by name merzewan, who was absent from her all this time, travelling in far countries. he loved her with an exceeding love, passing that of brothers; so when he came back, he went in to his mother and asked for his foster-sister the princess budour. 'alas, my son,' answered she, 'thy sister has been smitten with madness and has passed these three years, with an iron chain about her neck; and all the physicians and men of science have failed of curing her.' when he heard this, he said, 'i must needs go in to her; peradventure i may discover what ails her, and be able to cure her.' 'so be it,' replied his mother; 'but wait till to-morrow, that i may make shift for thee.' then she went to the princess's palace and accosting the eunuch in charge of the door, made him a present and said to him, 'i have a married daughter, who was brought up with thy mistress and is sore concerned for what has befallen her, and i desire of thy favour that my daughter may go in to her and look on her awhile, then return whence she came, and none shall know it.' 'this may not be, except by night,' replied the eunuch, 'after the king has visited the princess and gone away; then come thou and thy daughter.' she kissed the eunuch's hand and returning home, waited till the morrow at nightfall, when she dressed her son in woman's apparel and taking him by the hand, carried him to the palace. when the eunuch saw her, he said, 'enter, but do not tarry long.' so they went in and when merzewan saw the princess in the aforesaid plight, he saluted her, after his mother had taken off his woman's attire: then pulling out the books he had brought with him and lighting a candle, he began to recite certain conjurations. the princess looked at him and knowing him, said to him, 'o my brother, thou hast been absent on thy travels and we have been cut off from news of thee.' 'true,' answered he; 'but god has brought me back in safety and i am now minded to set out again; nor has aught delayed me but the sad news i hear of thee; wherefore my heart ached for thee and i came to thee, so haply i may rid thee of thy malady.' 'o my brother,' rejoined she, 'thinkest thou it is madness ails me?' 'yes,' answered he, and she said, 'not so, by allah! it is even as says the poet: quoth they, "thou'rt surely mad for him thou lov'st;" and i replied, "indeed the sweets of life belong unto the raving race. lo, those who love have not, for that, the upper hand of fate; only the madman 'tis, i trow, o'ercometh time and space. yes, i am mad; so bring me him for whom ye say i'm mad; and if he heal my madness, spare to blame me for my case."' then she told him that she was in love, and he said, 'tell me thy story and what befell thee: peradventure god may discover to me a means of deliverance for thee.' 'know then,' said she, 'that one night i awoke from sleep, in the last watch of the night, and sitting up, saw by my side the handsomest of youths, as he were a willow-wand or an indian cane, the tongue fails to describe him. me-thought this was my father's doing to try me, for that he had consulted me, when the kings sought me of him in marriage, and i had refused. it was this idea that withheld me from arousing him, for i thought that if i did aught or embraced him, he would most like tell my father. when i awoke in the morning, i found his ring on my finger in place of my own, which he had taken; and, o my brother, my heart was taken with him at first sight; and for the violence of my passion and longing, i have never since known the taste of sleep and have no occupation save weeping and repeating verses night and day. this, then, o my brother, is the story of the cause of my (pretended) madness.' then she poured forth tears and repeated the following verses: love has banished afar my delight; they are fled with a fawn that hath hearts for a pasturing-stead. to him lovers' blood is a trifle, for whom my soul is a-wasting for passion and dread. i'm jealous for him of my sight and my thought; my heart is a spy on my eyes and my head. his eyelashes dart at us death-dealing shafts; the hearts that they light on are ruined and dead. whilst yet there is left me a share in the world, shall i see him, i wonder, or ever i'm sped? i fain would conceal what i suffer for him; 'tis shown to the spy by the tears that i shed. when near, his enjoyment is distant from me: but his image is near, when afar he doth tread. 'see then, o my brother,' added she, 'how thou mayest aid me in this my affliction.' merzewan bowed his head awhile, marvelling and knowing not what to do, then raised it and said to her, 'i believe all thou hast said to be true, though the case of the young man passes my imagination: but i will go round about all countries and seek for what may heal thee; peradventure god shall appoint thy deliverance to be at my hand. meanwhile, take patience and be not disquieted.' so saying, he took leave of her, after he had prayed that she might be vouchsafed constancy, and left her repeating the following verses: thine image in my thoughts fares as a pilgrim aye, for all thy stead and mine are distant many a day. the wishes of my heart do bring thee near to me for 'gainst the speed of thought what is the levin's ray? depart thou not, that art the lustre of mine eyes; yea, when thou'rt far removed, all void of light are they. he returned to his mother's house, where he passed the night, and on the morrow, after furnishing himself for his journey, he set out and travelled from city to city and from island to island for a whole month. everywhere he heard talk of the princess budour's madness, till he came to a city named teyreb and seeking news of the townsfolk, so haply he might light on a cure for his foster-sister's malady, heard that kemerezzeman, son of king shehriman, was fallen sick and afflicted with melancholy madness. he enquired the name of this prince's capital and was told that it stood on the islands of khalidan and was distant thence a whole month's journey by sea and six by land. so he took passage in a ship that was bound thither, and they sailed with a favouring breeze for a whole month, till they came in sight of the city and there remained for them but to enter the harbour; when there came out on them a tempestuous wind which carried away the masts and rent the canvas, so that the sails fell into the sea and the ship foundered, with all on board. each looked to himself, and as for merzewan, the current carried him under the king's palace, wherein was kemerezzeman. as fate would have it, it was the day on which the king gave audience to his grandees and officers, and he was sitting, with his son's head in his lap, whilst an eunuch whisked away the flies. the prince had not spoken, neither had he eaten nor drunk for two days, and he was grown thinner than a spindle. now the vizier was standing near the window giving on the sea and raising his eyes, saw merzewan at the last gasp for struggling with the waves; whereupon his heart was moved to pity for him and he drew near to the king and said to him, 'o king, i crave thy leave to go down to the court of the pavilion and open the water-gate, that i may rescue a man who is at the point of drowning in the sea and bring him forth of peril into deliverance; peradventure, on this account, god may ease thy son of his affliction.' 'o vizier,' replied shehriman, enough is that which has befallen my son through thee and on thine account. belike, if thou rescue this drowning man, he will look on my son and come to know our affairs and exult over me; but i swear by allah, that, if he come hither and see my son and after go out and speak of our secrets to any, i will assuredly strike off thy head before his; for thou art the cause of all that hath befallen us, first and last. now do as thou wilt.' the vizier rose and opening the postern, descended to the causeway; then walked on twenty steps and came to the sea, where he saw merzewan nigh unto death. so he put out his hand to him and catching him by the hair of his head, drew him ashore, in a state of unconsciousness, with belly full of water and eyes starting from his head. the vizier waited till he came to himself, when he pulled off his wet clothes and clad him in a fresh suit, covering his head with one of his servants' turbans; after which he said to him, 'i have been the means of saving thee from drowning: do not thou requite me by causing my death and thine own.' 'how so?' asked merzewan; and the vizier answered, 'thou art now about to go up and pass among amirs and viziers, all silent and speaking not, because of kemerezzeman, the king's son.' when merzewan heard the name of kemerezzeman, he knew that this was he of whom he came in search, but he feigned ignorance and said to the vizier, 'and who is kemerezzeman?' quoth the vizier, 'he is the king's son and lies sick on his couch, restless, eating not nor drinking neither sleeping night nor day; indeed he is nigh upon death and we have lost hope of his recovery. beware lest thou look too long on him or on any place other than that where thou settest thy feet: else thou art a lost man and i also.' 'o vizier,' said merzewan, 'i conjure thee by allah, tell me of thy favour, the cause of this youth's malady.' 'i know none,' answered the vizier, 'save that, three years ago, his father pressed him to marry, but he refused; whereat the king was wroth and imprisoned him. on the morrow, he would have it that he had had, for a bedfellow, the night before, a young lady of surpassing beauty, beggaring description, with whom he had exchanged rings; but we know not the meaning of all this. so by allah, o my son, when thou comest up into the palace, look not on the prince, but go thy way; for the king's heart is full of anger against me.' 'by allah,' said merzewan in himself, 'this is he whom i sought!' then he followed the vizier up to the palace, where the latter seated himself at the prince's feet; but merzewan must needs go up to kemerezzeman and stand before him, gazing on him. at this, the vizier was like to die of affright and signed to merzewan to go his way; but he feigned not to see him and gave not over gazing upon kemerezzeman, till he was assured that it was indeed he of whom he was in search. then, 'glory be to god,' cried he, 'who hath made his shape even as her shape and his complexion as her complexion and his cheek as her cheek!' at this kemerezzeman opened his eyes and gave ear to his speech; and when merzewan saw him listening, he repeated the following verses: i see thee full of song and plaint and ecstasy amain, and to the setting forth in words of charms i find thee fain. can it be love hath wounded thee or art thou shot with shafts? for sure these fashions but belong unto a smitten swain. ho, pour me out full cups of wine and sing me eke, in praise of tenam, suleyma, rebäb,[fn# ] a glad and lovesome strain! yea, let the grape-vine's sun[fn# ] go round, whose mansion is its jar, whose east the cupbearer and west my thirsty mouth i feign. i'm jealous of the very clothes she dights upon her side, for that upon her body soft and delicate they've lain; and eke i'm envious of the cups that touch her dainty lips, when to the kissing-place she sets them ever and again. think not that i in anywise with sword am done to death; 'tis by the arrows of a glance, alack! that i am slain. whenas we met again, i found her fingers dyed with red, as 'twere the juice of tragacanth had steeped them in its stain. said i to her, "thou'st dyed thy palms,[fn# ] whilst i was far away. this then is how the slave of love is 'quited for his pain." quoth she (and cast into my heart the flaming fires of love, speaking as one who hath no care love's secret to contain), "no, by thy life, this is no dye i've used! so haste thou not to heap accusings on my head and slander me in vain. for, when i saw thee get thee gone upon our parting day, my eyes, for very dreariment, with tears of blood did rain. i wiped them with my hand, and so my fingers with my blood were all to-reddened and do yet their ruddy tint retain." had i for very passion wept, or e'er my mistress did, i should, before repentance came, have solaced heart and brain; but she before my weeping wept; her tears drew mine and so quoth i, "unto the precedent the merit doth pertain." chide not at me for loving her, for by love's self i swear, my heart with anguish for her sake is well-nigh cleft in twain. i weep for one whose face is decked by beauty's self; there's none, arab or foreigner, to match with her, in hill or plain. the lore of locman[fn# ] hath my love and mary's chastity, with joseph's loveliness to boot and david's songful vein; whilst jacob's grief to me belongs and jonah's dreariment, ay, and job's torment and despite and adam's plight of bane. slay ye her not, although i die for love of her, but ask, how came it lawful unto her to shed my blood in vain. when kemerezzeman heard these verses, they brought refreshment and healing to his heart, and he sighed and turning his tongue in his mouth, said to the king, 'o my father, let this young man come and sit by my side.' the king, hearing these words from his son, rejoiced exceedingly, though at the first he had been wroth with merzewan and thought in himself to have stricken off his head: but when he heard kemerezzeman speak, his anger left him and he arose and drawing merzewan to him, made him sit down by his son and said to him, 'praised be god for thy safety!' 'may god bless thee,' answered merzewan, 'and preserve thy son to thee!' then said the king, 'from what country comest thou?' 'from the islands of the inland sea,' replied he, 'the kingdom of king ghaïour, lord of the islands and the seas and the seven palaces.' quoth the king, 'maybe thy coming shall be blessed to my son and god vouchsafe to heal him of his malady.' 'god willing,' rejoined merzewan, 'all shall yet be well.' then turning to kemerezzeman, he said to him in his ear, unheard of the king and his court, 'be of good cheer, o my lord, and take heart and courage. as for her for whose sake thou art thus, ask not of her condition on thine account. thou keptest thy secret and fellest sick, but she discovered hers and they said she was mad; and she is now in prison, with an iron chain about her neck, in most piteous case; but, god willing, the healing of both of you shall be at my hand.' when kemerezzeman heard this, his life returned to him and he took heart and courage and signed to his father to help him sit up; at which the king was like to lose his reason for joy and lifting him up, set two pillows for him to lean upon. then, of his fear for his son, he shook the handkerchief of dismissal and all the amirs and viziers withdrew; after which he bade perfume the palace with saffron and decorate the city, saying to merzewan, 'by allah, o my son, thou hast a lucky and a blessed aspect!' and he made much of him and called for food, which when they brought, merzewan said to the prince, 'come, eat with me.' so he obeyed him and ate with him, while the king called down blessings on merzewan and said, 'how auspicious is thy coming, o my son!' when he saw kemerezzeman eat, his joy redoubled and he went out and told the prince's mother and the people of the palace. then he let call abroad the good news of the prince's recovery and proclaimed the decoration of the city: so the people rejoiced and decorated the city and it was a day of high festival. merzewan passed the night with kemerezzeman, and the king also slept with them, in the excess of his joy for his son's recovery. next morning, when the king had gone away and the two young men were left alone, kemerezzeman told merzewan his story from first to last and the latter said to him, 'i know her with whom thou didst foregather; her name is the princess budour and she is daughter to king ghaïour.' then he told him all that had befallen the princess and acquainted him with the excessive love she bore him, saying, 'all that befell thee with thy father hath befallen her with hers, and thou art without doubt her beloved, even as she is thine; so brace up thy resolution and take heart, for i will bring thee to her and unite you both anon and deal with you even as saith the poet: though to the lover adverse be the fair and drive him with her rigours to despair, yet will i soon unite them, even as i the pivot of a pair of scissors were. and he went on to comfort and hearten kemerezzeman and urged him to eat and drink, cheering him and diverting him with talk and song and stories, till he ate food and drank wine and life and strength returned to him. in good time he became free of his disorder and stood up and sought to go to the bath. so merzewan took him by the hand and carried him to the bath, where they washed their bodies and made them clean. when his father heard of this, in his joy he freed the prisoners and gave alms to the poor; moreover he bestowed splendid dresses of honour upon his grandees and let decorate the city seven days. then said merzewan to kemerezzeman, 'know, o my lord, that the sole object of my journey hither was to deliver the princess budour from her present strait; and it remains but for us to devise how we may get to her, since thy father cannot brook the thought of parting with thee. so it is my counsel that tomorrow thou ask his leave to go a-hunting, saying, "i have a mind to divert myself with hunting in the desert and to see the open country and pass the night there." then do thou take with thee a pair of saddle-bags full of gold and mount a swift hackney and i will do the like; and we will take each a spare horse. suffer not any servant to follow us, for as soon as we reach the open country, we will go our ways.' kemerezzeman rejoiced mightily in this plan and said, 'it is good.' then he took heart and going in to his father, sought his leave to go out to hunt, saying as merzewan had taught him. the king consented and said, 'o my son, a thousandfold blessed be the day that restores thee to health! i will not gainsay thee in this; but pass not more than one night in the desert and return to me on the morrow; for thou knowest that life is not good to me without thee, and indeed i can hardly as yet credit thy recovery, because thou art to me as he of whom quoth the poet: though solomon his carpet were mine both day and night, though the choeroës' empire, yea, and the world were mine, all were to me in value less than a midge's wing, except mine eyes still rested upon that face of thine.' then he equipped the prince and merzewan for the excursion, bidding make them ready four horses, together with a dromedary to carry the money and a camel for the water and victuals; and kemerezzeman forbade any of his attendants to follow him. his father bade him farewell and pressed him to his breast and kissed him, saying, 'i conjure thee by allah, be not absent from me more than one night, wherein sleep will be denied me, for i am even as saith the poet: thy presence with me is my heaven of delight and my hell of affliction the loss of thy sight. my soul be thy ransom! if love be my crime for thee, my offence, of a truth, is not light. doth passion blaze up in thy heart like to mine? i suffer the torments of hell day and night.' 'o my father,' answered kemerezzeman, 'god willing, i will lie but one night abroad.' then he took leave of him, and he and merzewan mounted and taking with them the dromedary and camel, rode out into the open country. they drew not bridle from the first of the day till nightfall, when they halted and ate and drank and fed their beasts and rested awhile; after which they again took horse and fared on three days, till they came to a spacious wooded tract. here they alighted and merzewan, taking the camel and one of the horses, slaughtered them and cut the flesh off their bones. then he took from kemerezzeman his shirt and trousers and cassock and tearing them in shreds, smeared them with the horse's blood and cast them down in the fork of the road. then they ate and drank and taking horse set forward again. 'o my brother,' said kemerezzeman, 'what is this thou hast done and how will it profit us?' 'know,' answered merzewan, 'that thy father, when he finds that we have outstayed the night for which we had his leave, will mount and follow in our track till he comes hither; and when he sees the blood and thy clothes torn and bloodied, he will deem thee to have been slain of highway robbers or wild beasts; so he will give up hope of thee and return to his city, and by this devise we shall gain our end.' 'by allah,' said kemerezzeman, 'this is indeed a rare device! thou hast done well.' then they fared on days and nights and kemerezzeman did nought but weep and complain, till they drew near their journey's end, when he rejoiced and repeated the following verses: wilt thou be harsh to a lover, who's never unmindful of thee, and wilt thou now cast him away to whom thou wast fain heretofore? may i forfeit the favour of god, if i ever was false to thy love! abandonment punish my crime, if i've broken the vows that i swore! but no, i've committed no crime, that calleth for rigour from thee; or, if in good sooth i'm at fault, i bring thee repentance therefor. of the marvels of fortune it is that thou shouldst abandon me thus; but fortune to bring to the light fresh marvels will never give o'er. when he had made an end of these verses, merzewan said to him, 'see, yonder are king ghaïour's islands.' whereat kemerezzeman rejoiced with an exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done and strained him to his bosom and kissed him between the eyes. they entered the city and took up their lodging at a khan, where they rested three days from the fatigues of the journey; after which merzewan carried kemerezzeman to the bath and clothing him in a merchant's habit, provided him with a geomantic tablet of gold, a set of astrological instruments and an astrolabe of silver, plated with gold. then he said to him, 'go, o my lord, stand before the king's palace and cry out, "i am the mathematician, i am the scribe, i am he that knows the sought and the seeker, i am the skilled physician, i am the accomplished astrologer. where then is he that seeketh?" when the king hears this, he will send after thee and carry thee in to his daughter the princess budour, thy mistress: but do thou say to him, "grant me three days' delay, and if she recover, give her to me to wife, and if not, deal with me as with those who came before me." if he agree to this, as soon as thou art alone with her, discover thyself to her; and when she knows thee, her madness will cease from her and she will be made whole in one night. then do thou give her to eat and drink, and her father, rejoicing in her recovery, will marry thee to her and share his kingdom with thee, according to the condition he hath imposed on himself: and so peace be on thee.' 'may i never lack thine excellence!' replied kemerezzeman, and taking the instruments aforesaid, sallied forth of the khan and took up his station before king ghaïour's palace, where he began to cry out, saying, 'i am the scribe, i am the mathematician, he that knows the sought and the seeker, i am he who makes calculations for marriage contracts, who draws horoscopes, interprets dreams and traces the magical characters by which hidden treasures are discovered! where then is the seeker?' when the people of the city heard this, they flocked to him, for it was long since they had seen a scribe or an astrologer, and stood round him, wondering at his beauty and grace and perfect symmetry. presently one of them accosted him and said, 'god on thee, o fair youth with the eloquent tongue, cast not thyself into perdition, in thy desire to marry the princess budour! do but look on yonder heads hung up; they are all those of men who have lost their lives in this same venture.' he paid no heed to them, but cried out at the top of his voice, saying, 'i am the doctor, the scribe! i am the astrologer, the mathematician!' and all the townsfolk forbade him from this, but he heeded them not, saying in himself, 'none knoweth desire save he who suffereth it.' then he began again to cry his loudest, saying, 'i am the scribe, i am the mathematician, i am the astrologer!' till all the townsfolk were wroth with him and said to him, 'thou art but a silly self-willed boy! have pity on thine own youth and tender years and beauty and grace.' but he cried all the more, 'i am the astrologer, i am the mathematician! is there any one that seeketh?' as he was thus crying and the people remonstrating with him, king ghaïour heard his voice and the clamour of the folk and said to his vizier, 'go down and bring me yon astrologer.' so the vizier went down and taking kemerezzeman from the midst of the crowd, carried him up to the king, before whom he kissed the earth, repeating the following verses: eight elements of high renown are all comprised in thee; by them may fortune never cease thy bounder slave to be! munificence and knowledge sure, glory and piety, fair fluent speech and eloquence and might and victory. when the king saw him, he made him sit down by his side and said to him, 'by allah, o my son, an thou be not an astrologer, venture not thy life nor submit thyself to my condition; for i have bound myself to strike off the head of whoso goeth in to my daughter and healeth her not of her disorder; but him who healeth her i will marry to her. so let not thy beauty and grace delude thee; for, by allah, if thou cure her not, i will assuredly cut off thy head!' 'i knew of this condition before i came hither,' answered kemerezzeman, 'and am ready to abide by it.' then king ghaïour took the cadis to witness against him and delivered him to an eunuch, saying, 'carry this fellow to the lady budour.' so the eunuch took him by the hand and led him along the gallery; but kemerezzeman out-went him and pushed on before, whilst the eunuch ran after him, saying, 'out on thee! hasten not to destroy thyself. by allah, never yet saw i astrologer so eager for his own destruction: thou knowest not the calamities that await thee.' but kemerezzeman turned away his face and repeated the following verses: a learnéd man, i'm ignorant before thy beauties bright; indeed, i know not what i say, confounded at thy sight. if i compare thee to the sun, thou passest not away, whilst the sun setteth from the sky and fails anon of light. perfect, indeed, thy beauties are; they stupefy the wise nor ev'n the eloquent avail to praise thy charms aright. the eunuch stationed kemerezzeman behind the curtain of the princess's door and the prince said to him, 'whether of the two wilt thou liefer have me do, cure thy lady from here or go in and cure her within the curtain?' the eunuch marvelled at his words and answered, 'it were more to thine honour to cure her from here.' so kemerezzeman sat down behind the curtain and taking out pen and inkhorn and paper, wrote the following: 'this is the letter of one whom passion torments and whom desire consumes and sorrow and misery destroy; one who despairs of life and looks for nothing but death, whose mourning heart has neither comforter nor helper, whose sleepless eyes have none to succour them against affliction, whose day is passed in fire and his night in torment, whose body is wasted for much emaciation and there comes to him no messenger from his beloved: i write with a heart devoted to thee and the thought of thee and an eyelid, wounded for weeping tears of the blood of me. and a body that love and affliction and passion and long desire have clad with the garment of leanness and wasted utterly. i plain me to thee of passion, for sore hath it baffled me nor is there a corner left me where patience yet may be. wherefore, have mercy, i prithee, show favour unto me, for my heart, my heart is breaking for love and agony. the cure of hearts is union with the beloved and whom his love maltreateth, god is his physician. if either of us have broken faith, may the false one fail of his desire! there is nought goodlier than a lover who is faithful to a cruel beloved one.' then, for a subscription, he wrote, 'from the distracted and despairing lover, him whom love and longing disquiet, from the captive of passion and transport, kemerezzeman, son of shehriman, to the peerless beauty, the pearl of the fair houris, the lady budour, daughter of king ghaïour. know that by night i am wakeful and by day distraught, consumed with ever-increasing wasting and sickness and longing and love, abounding in sighs, rich in floods of tears, the prisoner of passion, the slain of desire, the debtor of longing, the boon-companion of sickness, he whose heart absence hath seared. i am the sleepless one, whose eyes close not, the slave of love, whose tears run never dry, for the fire of my heart is still unquenched and the flaming of my longing is never hidden.' then in the margin he wrote this admired verse: peace from the stores of the grace of my lord be rife on her in whose hand are my heart and soul and life! and also these: vouchsafe thy converse unto me some little, so, perchance, thou mayst have ruth on me or else my heart be set at ease. yea, for the transport of my love and longing after thee, of all i've suffered i make light and all my miseries. god guard a folk whose dwelling-place is far removed from mine, the secret of whose love i've kept in many lands and seas! but fate, at last, hath turned on me a favourable face and on my loved one's threshold-earth hath cast me on my knees. budour beside me in the bed i saw and straight my moon, lit by her sun, shone bright and blithe upon my destinies.[fn# ] then by way of subscription, he wrote the following verses: ask of my letter what my pen hath written, and the scroll will tell the passion and the pain that harbour in my soul. my hand, what while my tears rain down, writes and desire makes moan unto the paper by the pen of all my weary dole. my tears roll ever down my cheeks and overflow the page; nay, i'd ensue them with my blood, if they should cease to roll. and at the end he added this other verse: i send thee back herewith the ring i took whilere of thee, whenas we companied; so send me that thou hadst of me. then he folded up budour's ring inside the letter and sealing it, gave it to the eunuch, who went in with it to the princess. she took it from him and opening it, found in it her own ring. then she read the letter and when she understood its purport and knew that her beloved stood behind the curtain, her reason fled and her breast dilated for joy; and she repeated the following verses: long, long have i bewailed the sev'rance of our loves, with tears that from my lids streamed down like burning rain, and vowed that, if the days should reunite us two, my lips should never speak of severance again. joy hath o'erwhelmed me so that, for the very stress of that which gladdens me, to weeping i am fain. tears are become to you a habit, o my eyes, so that ye weep as well for gladness as for pain. then she rose and setting her feet to the wall, strained with all her might upon the iron collar, till she broke it from her neck and snapped the chains; then going forth, she threw herself on kemerezzeman and kissed him on the mouth, like a pigeon billing. and she embraced him with all the stress of her love and longing and said to him, 'o my lord, do i wake or sleep and has god indeed vouchsafed us reunion after separation? praised be he who hath reknit our loves, after despair!' when the eunuch saw this, he ran to king ghaïour and kissing the earth before him, said, 'o my lord, know that this is indeed the prince and paragon of astrologers; for he hath cured thy daughter from behind the curtain, without going in to her.' 'look to it well,' said the king; 'is this news true?' 'o my lord,' answered the eunuch, 'come and see for thyself how she hath found strength to break the iron chains and is come forth to the astrologer, kissing and embracing him.' so the king arose and went in to his daughter, who, when she saw him, rose and covered her face, reciting the following verses: i love not the toothstick; 'tis hateful to me, for i, when i name it, say, "other than thee."[fn# ] but i love, notwithstanding, the capparis-tree, for, whenas i name it i say, "thee i see."[fn# ] the king was transported for joy at her recovery and kissed her between the eyes, for he loved her very dearly; then turning to kemerezzeman, he asked him who he was and whence he came. the prince told him his name and rank and that he was the son of king shehriman, and related to him the whole story from beginning to end; whereat ghaïour marvelled and said, 'verily, your story deserves to be recorded in books and read after you, generation after generation.' then he summoned cadis and witnesses forthright and married the two lovers; after which he bade decorate the city seven days long. so they decorated the city and held high festival, and all the troops donned their richest clothes, whilst the drums beat and the criers announced the glad tidings. then they spread the tables with all manner meats and unveiled the princess before kemerezzeman, and behold, each was like unto the other in beauty and elegance and amorous grace. so the king rejoiced in the issue of her affair and in her marriage and praised god for that he had made her to fall in love with a goodly youth of the sons of the kings. then kemerezzeman went in to her and lay with her that night and took his will of her, whilst she in like manner fufilled her desire of him and enjoyed his beauty and grace; and they clipped each other till the morning. on the morrow, the king made a banquet and spreading the tables with the richest meats, kept open house a whole month to all comers from the islands of the inner and the outer seas. now, when kemerezzeman had thus attained his desire and had tarried awhile with the princess budour, he bethought him of his father and saw him in a dream, saying, 'o my son, is it thus thou dealest with me?' and reciting the following verses: the moon o' the dark by his neglect my spirit doth appal and to the watching of his stars hath made my eyelids thrall. but soft, my heart! it may be yet he will return to thee; and patience, soul, beneath the pain he's smitten thee withal! kemerezzeman awoke in the morning, afflicted and troubled at what he had seen, whereupon the princess questioned him and he told her his dream. then they both went in to king ghaïour and telling him what had passed, besought his leave to depart. he gave the prince the leave he sought; but the princess said, 'o my father, i cannot endure to be parted from him.' quoth ghaïour, 'then go thou with him,' and gave her leave to be absent a whole year, charging her to visit him once in every year thereafterward. so she kissed his hand and kemerezzeman did the like; after which he proceeded to equip them for the journey, furnishing them with horses and dromedaries of choice and a litter for his daughter, besides mules and camels laden with victual and all manner of travelling gear. moreover, he gave them slaves and eunuchs to serve them and bestowed on kemerezzeman ten splendid suits of cloth of gold, embroidered with jewels, together with a treasury[fn# ] of money and ten riding horses and as many she-camels. when the day of departure arrived, the king accompanied them to the farthest limits of his islands, where, going in to his daughter budour in the litter, he kissed her and strained her to his bosom, weeping and repeating the following verses: o thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet, for sure embraces are a lover's right. softly, for fortune's nature is deceit and parting is the end of love-delight. then, leaving her, he kissed her husband and commended his daughter to his care; after which he bade him farewell and giving the signal for departure, returned to his capital with his troops. the prince and princess and their suite fared on without stopping a whole month, at the end of which time they came to a spacious champaign, abounding in pasturage, where they alighted and pitched their tents. they ate and drank and rested, and the princess budour lay down to sleep. presently, kemerezzeman went in to her and found her lying asleep, in a shift of apricot-coloured silk, that showed all it should have covered, and a coif of cloth of gold embroidered with pearls and jewels. the breeze raised her shift and showed her breasts and navel and a belly whiter than snow, each one of whose dimples contained an ounce of benzoin ointment.[fn# ] at this sight, his love and passion for her redoubled, and he recited the following verses: if, whilst within my entrails the fires of hell did stir and flames raged high about me, 'twere spoken in my ear, "which wilt thou have the rather, a draught of water cold or sight of her thou lovest?" i'd say, "the sight of her." then he put his hand to the ribbon of her trousers and drew it and loosed it, for that his soul lusted after her, when he saw a jewel, red as dragon's blood,[fn# ] made fast to the band. he untied and examined it and seeing two lines of writing graven thereon, in a character not to be read, marvelled and said in himself, 'except she set great store by this, she had not tied it to the ribbon of her trousers nor hidden it in the most private place about her person, that she might not be parted from it. i wonder what she doth with it and what is the secret that is in it.' so saying, he took it and went without the tent to look at it in the light; but as he was examining it, a bird swooped down on him and snatching it from his hand, flew off with it and lighted on the ground at a little distance. fearing to lose the talisman, he ran after the bird; but it flew on before him, keeping just out of his reach, and drew him on from place to place and from hill to hill, till the night came on and the air grew dark, when it roosted on a high tree. kemerezzeman stopped under the tree, confounded and faint for hunger and weariness, and giving himself up for lost, would have turned back, but knew not the way, for the darkness had overtaken him. so he exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' and lying down under the tree, slept till the morning, when he awoke and saw the bird also awake and fly away. he arose and walked after it, and it flew on little by little before him, after the measure of his going; at which he smiled and said, 'by allah, this is a strange thing! yesterday, the bird flew before me as fast as i could run; and to-day, knowing that i am tired and cannot run, it flieth after the measure of my walking. by allah, this is wonderful! but, whether it lead me to my death or to my life, i must needs follow it, wherever it goeth, for it will surely not abide save in some inhabited land. so he followed the bird, eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking of its waters, for ten days' space, and every night the bird roosted on a tree. at the end of this time, he came in sight of an inhabited city, whereupon the bird darted off like the glance of the eye and entering the town, was lost to view: and kemerezzeman marvelled at this and exclaimed, 'praised be god, who hath brought me hither in safety!' then he sat down by a stream and washed his hands and feet and face and rested awhile: and recalling his late easy and pleasant life of union with his beloved and contrasting it with his present plight of trouble and weariness and hunger and strangerhood and severance, the tears streamed from his eyes and he repeated the following cinquains: i strove to hide the load that love on me did lay; in vain, and sleep for me is changed to wake alway. whenas wanhope doth press my heart both night and day, i cry aloud, "o fate, hold back thy hand, i pray. for all my soul is sick with dolour and dismay!" if but the lord of love were just indeed to me, sleep had not fled mine eyes by his unkind decree. have pity, sweet, on one that is for love of thee worn out and wasted sore; once rich and great was he, now beggared and cast down by love from his array. the railers chide at thee full sore; i heed not, i, but stop my ears to them and give them back the lie. "thou lov'st a slender one," say they; and i reply, "i've chosen her and left all else beneath the sky." enough; when fate descends, the eyes are blinded aye. as soon as he was rested, he rose and walked on, little by little, till he came to the city-gate and entered, knowing not whither he should go. he traversed the city from end to end, without meeting any of the townsfolk, entering by the land-gate and faring on till he came out at the sea-gate, for the city stood on the sea-shore. presently, he found himself among the orchards and gardens of the place and passed among the trees, till he came to a garden-gate and stopped before it, whereupon the keeper came out to him and saluted him. the prince returned his greeting and the other bade him welcome, saying, 'praised be god that thou hast come off safe from the people of the city! quick, come into the garden, ere any of the townsfolk see thee.' so kemerezzeman entered the garden, amazed, and said to the keeper, 'who and what then are the people of this city?' 'know,' answered the other,' that the people of this city are all magians: but, god on thee, tell me how and why thou camest hither.' accordingly, kemerezzeman told him all that had befallen him, at which the gardener marvelled greatly and said, 'know, o my son, that from this place to the cities of islam is four months' journey by sea and a whole year by land. we have a ship that sails yearly hence with merchandise to the ebony islands, which are the nearest muslim country, and thence to the khalidan islands, the dominions of king shehriman.' kemerezzeman considered awhile and concluding that he could not do better than abide with the gardener and become his assistant, said to him, 'wilt thou take me into thy service, to help thee in this garden?' 'willingly,' answered the gardener and clothing him in a short blue gown, that reached to his knees, taught him to lead the water to the roots of the trees. so kemerezzeman abode with him, watering the trees and hoeing up the weeds and weeping floods of tears; for he had no rest day or night, by reason of his strangerhood and separation from his beloved, and he ceased not to repeat verses upon her, amongst others the following: ye made us a promise of yore; will ye not to your promise be true? ye spoke us a word aforetime; as ye spoke to us, will ye not do? we waken, whilst ye are asleep, according to passion's decree; so have ye the vantage of us, for watchers and sleepers are two. we vowed to each other, whilere, that we would keep secret our loves; but the breedbate possessed you to speak, and you spoke and revealed what none knew. belovéd in pleasure and pain, chagrin and contentment alike, whate'er may betide, ye alone are the goal that my wishes ensue. there's one that still holdeth a heart, a heart sore tormented of mine; ah, would she'd have ruth on my plight and pity the soul that she slew! not every one's eye is as mine, worn wounded and cankered with tears, and hearts that are, even as mine, the bondslaves of passion, are few. ye acted the tyrant with me, saying, "love is a tyrant, i trow." indeed, ye were right, and the case has proved what ye said to be true. alack! they've forgotten outright a passion-distraught one, whose faith time 'minisheth not, though the fires in his entrails rage ever anew. if my foeman in love be my judge, to whom shall i make my complaint? to whom of injustice complain, to whom for redress shall i sue? were it not for my needing of love and the ardour that burns in my breast, i had not a heart love-enslaved and a soul that for passion must rue. to return to the princess budour. when she awoke, she sought her husband and found him not: then she saw the ribbon of her trousers undone and the talisman missing and said to herself, 'by allah, this is strange! where is my husband? it would seem as if he had taken the talisman and gone away, knowing not the secret that is in it. whither can he have gone? it must have been some extraordinary matter that drew him away, for he cannot brook to leave me an hour. may god curse the talisman and its hour!' then she considered awhile and said in herself, 'if i go out and tell the servants that my husband is lost, they will covet me: i must use stratagem.' so she rose and donned some of her husband's clothes and boots and spurs and a turban like his, drawing the loose end across her face for a chin-band. then setting a slave-girl in her litter, she went forth the tent and called to the servants, who brought her kemerezzeman's horse; and she mounted and bade load the beasts and set forward. so they bound on the burdens and departed, none doubting but she was kemerezzeman, for she resembled him in face and form; nor did they leave journeying, days and nights, till they came in sight of a city overlooking the sea, when they halted to rest and pitched their tents without the walls. the princess asked the name of the place and was told, 'it is called the city of ebony: its king is named armanous, and he hath a daughter called heyat en nufous.' presently, the king sent to learn who it was that had encamped without his city; so the messenger, coming to the tents, enquired of budour's servants and was told that she was a king's son, bound for the khalidan islands, who had strayed from his road; whereupon he returned and told the king, who straightway took horse and rode out, with his nobles, to meet the strange prince. as he drew near the tents, the princess came to meet him on foot, whereupon the king alighted and they saluted each other. then he carried her into the city and bringing her to the palace, let spread a banquet and bade transport her company and baggage to the guest-house, where they abode three days; at the end of which time the king came in to budour (now she had that day gone to the bath and her face shone as the moon at its full, enchanting all beholders, and she was clad in robes of silk, embroidered with gold and jewels) and said to her, 'know, o my son, that i am a very old man and am grown unable for the conduct of the state. now god has blessed me with no child save one daughter, who resembles thee in beauty and grace; so, o my son, if this my country please thee and thou be willing to make thine abode here, i will marry thee to my daughter and give thee my kingdom and so be at rest.' when budour heard this, she bowed her head and her forehead sweated for shame, and she said to herself, 'how shall i do, and i a woman? if i refuse and depart, i cannot be safe but that he may send after me troops to kill me; and if i consent, belike i shall be put to shame. i have lost my beloved kemerezzeman and know not what is come of him; wherefore i see nothing for it but to hold my peace and consent and abide here, till god accomplish what is to be.' so she raised her head and made submission to king armanous, saying, 'i hear and obey,' whereat he rejoiced and bade make proclamation, throughout the ebony islands, to hold high festival and decorate the houses. then he assembled his chamberlains and amirs and viziers and other officers of state and the cadis of the city, and putting off the kingship, invested budour therewith and clad her in the royal robes. moreover, the amirs and grandees went in to her and did her homage, nothing doubting but that she was a young man, and all who looked on her berayed their hose for the excess of her beauty and grace; then, after the lady budour had been made sultan and the drums had been beaten, in announcement of the joyful event, armanous proceeded to equip his daughter for marriage, and in a few days, they brought budour in to her, when they seemed as it were two moons risen at one time or two suns foregathering. so they entered the bridal-chamber and the doors were shut and the curtains let down upon them, after the attendants had lighted the candles and spread the bed for them. when budour found herself alone with the princess heyat en nufous, she called to mind her beloved kemerezzeman and grief was sore upon her. so she wept for his loss and absence and repeated the following verses: o ye who went and left my heart to pine alone fore'er, no spark of life remains in me, since ye away did fare! i have an eye that doth complain of sleeplessness alway; tears have consumed it; would to god that sleeplessness would spare! when ye departed, after you the lover did abide; but question of him what of pain in absence he doth bear. but for the ceaseless flood of tears my eyes pour forth, the world would at my burning all catch fire, yea, seas and lands and air. to god most high i make my moan of dear ones loved and lost, that on my passion have no ruth nor pity my despair. i never did them wrong, except my love for them were such; but into blest and curst in love men aye divided were. when she had finished, she sat down beside the princess heyat en nufous and kissed her on the mouth. then, rising abruptly, she made the ablution and betook herself to her devotions, nor did she leave praying till heyat en nufous was asleep, when she slipt into bed and lay with her back to her till morning; then rose and went out. presently, the old king and queen came in to their daughter and asked her how she did, whereupon she told them what had passed and repeated to them the verses she had heard. meanwhile, budour seated herself upon the throne and all the amirs and captains and officers of state came in to her and wished her joy of the kingship, kissing the earth before her and calling down blessings upon her. she smiled on them and clad them in robes of honour, augmenting the fiefs of the amirs and giving largesse to the troops; wherefore all the people loved her and offered up prayers for the continuance of her reign, doubting not but that she was a man. she sat all day in the hall of audience, ordering and forbidding and dispensing justice, releasing those who were in prison and remitting the customs dues, till nightfall, when she withdrew to the apartment prepared for her. here she found heyat en nufous seated; so she sat down by her and clapping her on the back, caressed her and kissed her between the eyes, repeating the following verses: the secret that i cherished my tears have public made; the wasting of my body my passion hath bewrayed. i hid my love and longing; but on the parting-day my plight, alas! revealed it to spies; 'twas open laid. o ye who have departed the camp, ye've left behind my body worn with languor and spirit all decayed. within my heart's recesses ye have your dwelling-place; my tears are ever running and lids with blood berayed. for ever will i ransom the absent with my soul; indeed, for them my yearnings are patent and displayed. i have an eye, whose pupil, for love of them, rejects sleep and whose tears flow ever, unceasing and unstayed. my foes would have me patient for him; but god forbid that ever of my hearing should heed to them be paid! i baulked their expectation. of kemerezzeman sometime i did accomplish the joys for which i prayed. he doth, as none before him, perfections all unite; no king of bygone ages was in the like arrayed. his clemency and bounty ben zaïdeh's[fn# ] largesse and muawiyeh's[fn# ] mildness have cast into the shade. but that it would be tedious and verse sufficeth not to picture forth his beauties, i'd leave no rhyme unmade. then she wiped away her tears and making the ablution, stood up to pray; nor did she give over praying, till drowsiness overcame heyat en nufous and she slept, whereupon budour came and lay beside her till the morning. at daybreak, she arose and prayed the morning-prayer; then, going forth, seated herself on the throne and passed the day in ordering and forbidding and administering justice. meanwhile, king armanous went in to his daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had passed and repeated to him the verses that budour had recited, adding, 'o my father, never saw i one more abounding in sense and modesty than my husband, save that he doth nothing but weep and sigh.' 'o my daughter,' answered her father, 'have patience with him yet this third night, and if he go not in to thee and do away thy maidenhead, we will take order with him and oust him from the throne and banish him the country.' when the night came, the princess budour rose from the throne and betaking herself to the bride-chamber, found the candles lighted and the princess heyat en nufous sitting awaiting her; whereupon she bethought her of her husband and recalling the early severance of their loves, wept and sighed and groaned groan upon groan, repeating the following verses: i swear the tidings of my woes fills all the country-side, like the sun shining on the hills of nejed far and wide. his gesture speaks, but hard to tell the meaning of it is, and thus my yearning without end is ever magnified. i hate fair patience since the hour i fell in love with thee. hast seen a lover hating love at any time or tide? one, in whose glances sickness lies, hath smitten me to death, for looks are deadliest of the things, wherein doth sickness bide. he shook his clustered ringlets down and laid his chin-band by, and beauty thus in him, at once both black and white, i spied. sickness and cure are in his hands; for, to the sick of love, by him alone who caused their dole can healing be applied. the softness of his waist hath made his girdle mad for love and of his hips, for jealousy, to rise he is denied. his forehead, covered with his curls, is as a mirky night; unveiled, 'tis as a shining moon that thrusts the dark aside. when she had finished, she would have risen to pray, but heyat en nufous caught her by the skirt, saying, 'o my lord, art thou not ashamed to neglect me thus, after all the favour my father hath done thee?' when budour heard this, she sat down again and said, 'o my beloved, what is this thou sayest?' 'what i say,' answered heyat en nufous, 'is that i never saw any so self-satisfied as thou. is every fair one so disdainful? i say not this to incline thee to me, but only of my fear for thee from king armanous; for he purposes, an thou go not in to me to-night and do away my maidenhead, to strip thee of the kingship on the morrow and banish thee the realm; and belike his much anger may lead him to kill thee. but i, o my lord, have compassion on thee and give thee fair warning; and it is thine to decide.' at this, budour bowed her head in perplexity and said in herself, 'if i refuse, i am lost, and if i obey, i am shamed. i am now queen of all the ebony islands and they are under my rule and i shall never again foregather with kemerezzeman except it be in this place; for there is no way for him to his native land but through the ebony islands. verily, i know not what to do, for i am no man that i should arise and open this virgin girl; but i commit my case to god, who orders all for the best.' then she said to heyat en nufous, 'o my beloved, it is in my own despite that i have neglected thee and abstained from thee.' and she discovered herself to her and told her her whole story, saying, 'i conjure thee by allah to keep my counsel, till god reunite me with my beloved kemerezzeman, and then let what will happen.' her story moved heyat en nufous to wonder and pity, and she prayed god to reunite her with her beloved, saying, 'fear nothing, o my sister, but have patience till god accomplish that which is to be.' and she repeated the following verses: none keepeth counsel saving those who're trusty and discreet. a secret's ever safely placed with honest folk and leal; and secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house, whose keys are lost and on whose door is set the cadi's seal. 'o my sister,' continued she, 'the breasts of the noble are the graves of secrets, and i will not discover thine.' then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the call to morning-prayer, when heyat en nufous arose and slaughtering a young pigeon, besmeared herself and besprinkled her shift with its blood. then she put off her trousers and cried out, whereupon her waiting-women hastened to her and raised cries of joy. presently, her mother came in to her aad asked her how she did and tended her and abode with her till evening; whilst the lady budour repaired to the bath and after washing herself, proceeded to the hall of audience, where she sat down on her throne and dispensed justice among the folk. when king armanous heard the cries, he asked what was the matter and was informed of the consummation of his daughter's marriage; whereat he rejoiced and his breast dilated and he made a great banquet. to return to king shehriman. when kemerezzeman and merzewan returned not at the appointed time, he passed the night without sleep, restless and consumed with anxiety. the night was long upon him and he thought the day would never dawn. he passed the forenoon of the ensuing day in expectation of his son's coming, but he came not; whereat his heart forebode separation and he was distraught with fears for kemerezzeman. he wept till his clothes were drenched, crying out, 'alas, my son!' and repeating the following verses from an aching heart: unto the votaries of love i still was contrary, till of its bitter and its sweet myself perforce must taste. i quaffed its cup of rigours out, yea, even to the dregs, and to its freemen and its slaves myself therein abased. fortune aforetime made a vow to separate our loves; now hath she kept her vow, alack! and made my life a waste. then he wiped away his tears and bade his troops make ready for a long journey. so they all mounted and set forth, headed by the sultan, whose heart burnt with grief and anxiety for his son. he divided the troops into six bodies, whom he despatched in as many directions, giving them rendezvous for the morrow at the cross-roads. accordingly they scoured the country diligently all that day and night, till at noon of the ensuing day they joined company at the cross-roads. here four roads met and they knew not which the prince had followed, till they came to the torn clothes and found shreds of flesh and blood scattered by the way on all sides. when the king saw this, he cried out from his inmost heart, saying, 'alas, my son!' and buffeted his face and tore his beard and rent his clothes, doubting not but his son was dead. then he gave himself up to weeping and wailing, and the troops also wept for his weeping, being assured that the prince had perished. they wept and lamented and threw dust on their heads till they were nigh upon death, and the night surprised them whilst they were thus engaged. then the king repeated the following verses, with a heart on fire for the torment of his despair: blame not the mourner for the grief to which he is a prey, for yearning sure sufficeth him, with all its drear dismay. he weeps for dreariment and grief and stress of longing pain, and eke his transport doth the fires, that rage in him, bewray. alas, his fortune who's love's slave, whom languishment hath bound never to let his eyelids stint from weeping night and day! he mourns the loss of one was like a bright and brilliant moon, that shone out over all his peers in glorious array. but death did proffer to his lips a brimming cup to drink, what time he left his native land, and now he's far away. he left his home and went from us unto calamity; nor to his brethren was it given to him farewell to say. indeed, his loss hath stricken me with anguish and with woe; yea, for estrangement from his sight my wits are gone astray. whenas the lord of all vouchsafed to him his paradise, upon his journey forth he fared and passed from us for aye. then he returned with the troops to his capital, giving up his son for lost and deeming that wild beasts or highwaymen had set on him and torn him in pieces, and made proclamation that all in the khalidan islands should don black in mourning for him. moreover, he built a pavilion in his memory, naming it house of lamentations, and here he was wont to spend his days, (with the exception of mondays and thursdays, which he devoted to the business of the state), mourning for his son and bewailing him with verses, of which the following are some: my day of bliss is that whereon thou drawest near to me, and that, whereon thou turn'st away, my day of death and fear. what though i tremble all the night and go in dread of death, yet thine embraces are to me than safety far more dear. and again: my soul redeem the absent, whose going cast a blight on hearts and did afflict them with anguish and affright! let gladness then accomplish its purification-time,[fn# ] for, by a triple divorcement,[fn# ] i've put away delight. meanwhile, the princess budour abode in the ebony islands, whilst the folk would point to her and say, 'yonder is king armanous's son-in-law;' and every night she lay with heyat en nufous, to whom she made moan of her longing for her husband kemerezzeman, weeping and describing to her his beauty and grace and yearning to enjoy him, though but in a dream. and bytimes she would repeat these verses: god knows that, since my severance from thee, full sore i've wept, so sore that needs my eyes must run for very tears in debt. "have patience," quoth my censurer, "and thou shalt win them yet," and i, "o thou that blamest me, whence should i patience get?" all this time, kemerezzeman abode with the gardener, weeping and repeating verses night and day, bewailing the seasons of enjoyment and the nights of delight, whilst the gardener comforted him with the assurance that the ship would set sail for the land of the muslims at the end of the year. one day, he saw the folk crowding together and wondered at this; but the gardener came in to him and said, 'o my son, give over work for to-day neither water the trees; for it is a festival day, on which the folk visit one another. so rest and only keep thine eye on the garden, whilst i go look after the ship for thee; for yet but a little while and i send thee to the land of the muslims.' so saying, he went out, leaving kemerezzeman alone in the garden, who fell to musing upon his condition, till his courage gave way and the tears streamed from his eyes. he wept till he swooned away, and when he recovered, he rose and walked about the garden pondering what fate had done with him and bewailing his long estrangement from those he loved. as he went thus, absorbed in melancholy thought, his foot stumbled and he fell on his face, striking his forehead against the stump of a tree. the blow cut it open and his blood ran down and blent with his tears. he rose and wiping away the blood, dried his tears and bound his forehead with a piece of rag; then continued his melancholy walk about the garden. presently, he saw two birds quarrelling on a tree, and one of them smote the other on the neck with its beak and cut off its head, with which it flew away, whilst the slain bird's body fell to the ground before kemerezzeman. as it lay, two great birds flew down and alighting, one at the head and the other at the tail of the dead bird, drooped their wings over it and bowing their heads towards it, wept; and when kemerezzeman saw them thus bewail their mate, he called to mind his wife and father and wept also. then he saw them dig a grave and bury the dead bird; after which they flew away, but presently returned with the murderer and alighting on the grave, stamped on him till they killed him. then they rent his belly and tearing out his entrails, poured the blood on the grave. moreover, they stripped off his skin and tearing his flesh in pieces, scattered it hither and thither. all this while kemerezzeman was watching them and wondering; but presently, chancing to look at the dead bird's crop, he saw therein something gleaming. so he opened it and found the talisman that had been the cause of his separation from his wife. at this sight, he fell down in a swoon for joy; and when he revived, he said, 'praised be god! this is a good omen and a presage of reunion with my beloved.' then he examined the jewel and passed it over his eyes; after which he bound it to his arm, rejoicing in coming good, and walked about, awaiting the gardener's return, till nightfall; when, as he came not, he lay down and slept in his wonted place. at daybreak he rose and girding himself with a cord of palm-fibre, took hoe and basket and went out to his work in the garden. presently, he came to a carob-tree and struck the hoe into its roots. the blow resounded [as if it had fallen on metal]; so he cleared away the earth and discovered a trap-door of brass. he raised the trap and found a winding stair, which he descended and came to an ancient vault of the time of aad and themoud,[fn# ] hewn out of the rock. round the vault stood many brazen vessels of the bigness of a great oil-jar, into one of which he put his hand and found it full of red and shining gold; whereupon he said to himself, 'verily, the days of weariness are past and joy and solace are come!' then he returned to the garden and replacing the trap-door, busied himself in tending the trees till nightfall, when the gardener came back and said to him, 'o my son, rejoice in a speedy return to thy native land, for the merchants are ready for the voyage and in three days' time the ship will set sail for the city of ebony, which is the first of the cities of the muslims; and thence thou must travel by land six months' journey till thou come to the islands of khalidan, the dominions of king shehriman.' at this kemerezzeman rejoiced and repeated the following verses: forsake not a lover unused aversion from thee, nor punish the guiltless with rigour and cruelty. another, when absence was long, had forgotten thee and changed from his faith and his case; not so with me. then he kissed the gardener's hand, saying, 'o my father, even as thou hast brought me glad tidings, so i also have great good news for thee,' and told him of his discovery in the garden; whereat the gardener rejoiced and said, 'o my son, fourscore years have i dwelt in this garden and have never chanced on aught; whilst thou, who hast not sojourned with me a year, hast discovered this thing; wherefore it is god's gift to thee, for the cesser of thine ill fortune, and will aid thee to rejoin thy folk and foregather with her thou lovest.' 'not so,' answered kemerezzeman, 'it must be shared between us.' then he carried him to the underground chamber and showed him the gold, which was in twenty jars. so he took ten and the gardener ten, and the latter said to him, 'o my son, fill thyself jars with the olives that grow in the garden, for they are not found but in our land and are sought after; the merchants carry them to all parts and they are called asafiri[fn# ] olives. lay the gold in the jars and cover it with olives: then stop them and cover them and take them with thee in the ship.' so kemerezzeman took fifty jars and laying in each somewhat of the gold, filled it up with olives. at the bottom of one of the jars he laid the talisman, then stopped and covered the jars and sat down to talk with the gardener, making sure of speedy reunion with his own people and saying in himself, 'when i come to the ebony islands, i will journey thence to my father's country and enquire for my beloved budour. i wonder whether she turned back to her own land or journeyed on to my father's country or whether there befell her any accident by the way.' and he repeated the following verses: love in my breast they lit and passed away forthright: far distant is the land that holds my soul's delight. far, far from me the camp and those that dwell therein; no visitation-place again shall us unite. patience and reason fled from me, when they fared forth; sleep failed me and despair o'ercame me, like a blight. they left me, and with them departed all my joy; tranquillity and peace with them have taken flight. they made mine eyes run down with tears of love laid waste; my lids for lack of them brim over day and night. whenas my sad soul longs to see them once again and waiting and desire are heavy on my spright, midmost my heart of hearts their images i trace, love and desireful pain and yearning for their sight. then he told the gardener what he had seen pass between the birds, whereat he wondered; and they both lay down and slept till the morning. the gardener awoke sick and abode thus two days; but on the third day, his sickness increased on him, till they despaired of his life and kemerezzeman grieved sore for him. meanwhile, the captain and sailors came and enquired for the gardener. kemerezzeman told them that he was sick, and they said, 'where is the young man that is minded to go with us to the ebony islands?' 'he is your servant,' answered the prince and bade them carry the jars of olives to the ship. so they transported them to the ship, saying, 'make haste, for the wind is fair;' and he answered, 'i hear and obey.' then he carried his victual on board and returning, to bid the gardener farewell, found him in the agonies of death. so he sat down at his head and closed his eyes, and his soul departed his body; whereupon he laid him out and committed him to the earth to the mercy of god the most high. then he went down to the port, to embark, but found that the ship had already weighed anchor and set sail; nor did she cease to cleave the waters, till she disappeared from his sight. so he returned to the garden, sorrowful and heavy-hearted, and sitting down, threw dust on his head and buffeted his face. then he rented the garden of its owner and hired a man to help him tend the trees. moreover, he went down to the underground chamber and bringing up the rest of the gold, stowed it in other fifty jars, which he filled up with olives. then he enquired of the ship and was told that it sailed but once a year; at which his affliction redoubled and he mourned sore for that which had befallen him, above all for the loss of the princess budour's talisman, and spent his nights and days weeping and repeating verses. meanwhile, the ship sailed with a favouring wind, till it reached the ebony islands. as fate would have it, the princess budour was sitting at a window overlooking the sea and saw the ship cast anchor in the port. at this sight, her heart throbbed and she mounted and riding down to the port, with her officers, halted by the ship, whilst the sailors broke out the cargo and transported the goods to the storehouses; after which she called the captain and asked what he had with him. 'o king,' answered he, 'i have with me drugs and cosmetics and powders and ointments and plasters and rich stuffs and yemen rugs and other costly merchandise, not to be borne of mule or camel, and all manner essences and spices and perfumes, civet and ambergris and camphor and sumatra aloes-wood, and tamarinds and asafiri olives to boot, such as are rare to find in this country.' when she heard talk of asafiri olives, her heart yearned for them and she said to the captain, 'how much olives hast thou?' 'fifty jars full,' answered he. 'their owner is not with us, but the king shall take what he will of them.' quoth she, 'bring them ashore, that i may see them.' so he called to the sailors, who brought her the fifty jars; and she opened one and looking at the olives, said to the captain, 'i will take the whole fifty and pay you their value, whatever it may be.' 'by allah, o my lord,' answered he, 'they have no value in our country and the fifty jars may be worth some hundred dirhems; but their owner tarried behind us, and he is a poor man.' 'and what are they worth here?' asked she. 'a thousand dirhems,' replied he. 'i will take them at that price,' quoth she and bade carry the fifty jars to the palace. when it was night, she called for a jar of olives and opened it, there being none present but herself and the princess heyat en nufous. then, taking a dish, she turned into it the contents of the jar, when behold there fell out into the dish with the olives a heap of red gold and she said to heyat en nufous, 'this is nought but gold!' so she sent for the rest of the jars and found each one full of gold and scarce enough olives in the whole fifty to fill one jar. moreover, she sought among the gold and found the talisman, which she took and examined and knew for that which kemerezzeman had taken from off the riband of her trousers; whereupon she cried out for joy and fell down in a swoon. when she revived, she said in herself, 'verily, this talisman was the cause of my separation from my beloved kemerezzeman; but now it is an omen of good.' then she showed it to heyat en nufous and said to her, 'this was the cause of separation and now, please god, it shall be the cause of reunion.' as soon as it was day, she seated herself on her throne and sent for the captain, who came and kissed the ground before her. quoth she, 'where didst thou leave the owner of these olives?' 'o king of the age,' answered he, 'we left him in the land of the magians and he is a gardener there.' 'except thou bring him to me,' said she, 'thou knowest not the harm that awaits thee and thy ship.' then she bade seal up the merchants' storehouses and said to them, 'the owner of these olives is my debtor; and an ye bring him not to me, i will without fail put you all to death and confiscate your goods.' so they all went to the captain and promised him the hire of the ship, if he would go and return a second time, saying, 'deliver us from this masterful tyrant.' accordingly, the captain set sail and god decreed him a prosperous voyage, till he came to the city of the magians, and landing by night, went up to the garden. now the night was long upon kemerezzeman, and he sat, bethinking him of his beloved and weeping over what had befallen him and repeating the following verses: full many a night i've passed, whose stars their course did stay, a night that seemed of those that will not pass away, that was, as 'twere, for length the resurrection-morn, to him that watched therein and waited for the day! at this moment, the captain knocked at the garden-gate, and kemerezzeman opened and went out to him, whereupon the sailors seized him and carrying him on board the ship, weighed anchor forthright. they sailed on without ceasing days and nights, whilst kemerezzeman knew not why they dealt thus with him; but when he questioned them, they replied, 'thou hast offended against the lord of the ebony islands, the son-in-law of king armanous, and hast stolen his good, unhappy wretch that thou art!' 'by allah,' said he, 'i know not the country nor was i ever there in all my life!' however, they fared on with him, till they made the ebony islands and landing, carried him up to the princess budour, who knew him at sight and said, 'leave him with the eunuchs, that they may take him to the bath.' then she relieved the merchant of the embargo and gave the captain a dress of honour and ten thousand dinars; after which, she went in that night to the princess heyat en nufous and told her what had passed, saying, 'keep thou my counsel, till i accomplish my purpose and do a thing that shall be recorded and told to kings and commoners after us.' meanwhile, they carried kemerezzeman to the bath and clad him in a royal habit, so that, when he came forth, he resembled a willow-wand or a star whose aspect put to shame both sun and moon, and his life returned to him. then he went in to the princess budour, who, when she saw him, schooled her heart to patience, till she should have accomplished her purpose, and bestowed on him slaves and servants, black and white, and camels and mules. moreover, she gave him a treasury of money and advanced him from dignity to dignity, till she made him treasurer and committed to his charge all the treasures of the state; nor did she leave day by day to increase his allowances and afford him fresh marks of her favour. as for kemerezzeman, he was at a loss for the reason of all the honour and favour she showed him and gave gifts and largesse out of the abundance of the wealth he owed to her munificence, devoting himself in particular to the service of king armanous, so that he and all the amirs and people, great and small, loved him and were wont to swear by his life. nevertheless, he ceased not to marvel at the favour shown him by budour and said in himself, 'by allah, there must be a reason for this affection! peradventure, this king favours me thus excessively with some ill purpose and needs must i therefore crave leave of him to depart his realm.' so he went in to budour and said to her, 'o king, thou hast overwhelmed me with favours, but it will fulfil the measure of thy bounties if thou wilt take from me all thou hast given and let me depart.' she smiled and said, 'what makes thee seek to depart and plunge into new perils, whenas thou art in the enjoyment of the greatest favour and prosperity?' 'o king,' answered kemerezzeman, 'this favour, if there be no reason for it, is indeed a wonder of wonders, more by token that thou hast advanced me to dignities such as befit graybeards, albeit i am but a child.' 'the reason is,' answered she, 'that i love thee for thine exceeding grace and thy surpassing beauty; and so thou wilt but grant me my desire of thee, i will advance thee yet further in honour and favour and largesse and make thee vizier, for all thy tender age, even as the folk made me sultan and i no older than thou; so that nowadays there is nothing strange in the headship of children, and gifted of god was he who said: our time is, meseems, of the lineage of lot; it craves the advancement of younglings, god wot.' when kemerezzeman heard this, he was confounded and his cheeks flushed till they seemed on fire; and he said, 'i reck not of favours that involve the commission of sin; i will live poor in wealth but rich in virtue and honour.' quoth she, 'i am not the dupe of thy scruples, arising from prudery and coquetry: and god bless him who says: i mentioned to him the pact of fruition, and he, "how long with vexatious discourse wilt thou set upon me?" i showed him a dinar and straightway he sang out and said, "o whither shall one from fate irresistible flee!" 'o king,' replied kemerezzeman, 'i have not the wont of these doings, nor have i strength, who am but of tender years, to bear these heavy burdens, for which elder than i have proved unable.' she smiled and rejoined, 'indeed, it is wonderful how error springs from the disorder of the wit. since thou art but a boy, why standest thou in fear of sin or the doing of forbidden things, seeing that thou art not yet come to years of discretion and the offences of a child incur neither punishment nor reproof? verily, thou committest thyself to an argument advanced but for the sake of contention, and it behoves thee to bow to the ordinance of fruition, which has been given against thee. wherefore, henceforward, give over denial and coyness, for the commandment of god is a foreordained decree:[fn# ] indeed, i have more reason than thou to fear falling into error; and well-inspired was he who said: my pintle is big and the little one said unto me, "tilt boldly therewith at my inwards and quit thee thy need." quoth i, "'tis unlawful;" but he, "it is lawful with me;" so to it i fell, supporting myself by his rede.' when kemerezzeman heard these words, the light in his eyes became darkness and he said, 'o king, thou hast in thy palace women and female slaves, that have not their like in this age: may not these suffice thee without me? do thy will with them and leave me.' 'thou speakest truth,' answered she; 'but it is not with them that one who loves thee can heal himself of torment and fever; for when tastes and inclinations are corrupted, they hearken to other than good counsel. so leave arguing and hear what the poet says: seest not the fruits of the market, how of two kinds they be? some are for figs,[fn# ] but more for the fruit of the sycamore-tree.[fn# ] and what another says: full many an one, whose ankle-rings are dumb, her girdle sounds; so this one is content and that a tale of need must tell. thou'dst have me, foolwise, in her charms forget thee. god forfend i, that a true believer am, should turn an infidel! no, by a whisker that makes mock of all her curls, i swear, nor maid nor strumpet from thy side shall me by guile compel! and a third: o pearl of loveliness, to love thee is my faith; yea, and my choice of all the faiths that have been aye. women i have forsworn, indeed, for thy sweet sake, so that the folk avouch i'm grown a monk to-day and a fourth: compare not a wench with a boy and to the spy, who says to thee, "this is wrong," pay thou no heed. 'twixt a woman whose feet one's lips kiss and a smooth-faced fawn, who kisses the earth, the diff'rence is great indeed. and a fifth: my soul be thy ransom! indeed, i've chosen thee out with intent, because thou layest no eggs and dost not menstruate. for, an i inclined to foregather with harlots, upon my faith, the wide, wide world for the brats i should get would prove too strait. and a sixth: quoth she to me,--and sore enraged for wounded pride was she, for she in sooth had bidden me to that which might not be,-- "an if thou swive me not forthright, as one should swive his wife, if thou be made a cuckold straight, reproach it not to me. meseems thy yard is made of wax, for very flaccidness; for, when i rub it with my hand, it softens instantly." and a seventh: quoth she (for i to lie with her would not consent), "o fool, that followest on thy folly to the extent, if thou reject my kaze for kibleh[fn# ] to thy yard, we'll show thee one wherewith thou shalt be sure content." and an eighth: she proffered me a tender kaze; but i, "i will not swive," replied. she drew back, saying, "from the truth needs must he turn who's turned aside;[fn# ] and swiving frontwise in our day is all abandoned and decried;" then turned and showed me, as it were a lump of silver, her backside. "well done, o mistress mine! no more am i in pain for thee," i cried, "whose poke of all god's openings[fn# ] is sure the amplest and most wide!" and a ninth: men crave forgiveness with uplifted hands; but women pray with lifted legs, i trow.[fn# ] out on it for a pious piece of work! god shall exalt it to the deeps below.[fn# ] when kemerezzeman heard these verses and was certified that there was no escaping compliance with her will, he said, 'o king, if thou must needs have it so, swear to me that thou wilt use me thus but once, though it avail not to stay thy debauched appetite; and that thou wilt never again require me of this to the end of time; so it may be god will purge me of the sin.' 'i promise thee that,' replied she, 'hoping that god of his favour will relent towards us and blot out our mortal sins; for the compass of the divine forgiveness is not indeed so strait, but it may altogether embrace us and absolve us of the excess of our transgressions and bring us to the light of righteousness out of the darkness of error. as most excellent well saith the poet: the folk imagine of us twain an evil thing, i ween, and with their hearts and souls, indeed, they do persist therein. come, let us justify their thought and free them thus from guilt, this once, 'gainst us; and then will we repent us of our sin.' then she swore to him a solemn oath, by him whose existence is unconditioned, that this thing should befall betwixt them but once and never again for all time, and vowed to him that the desire of him was driving her to death and perdition. so he went with her, on this condition, to her privy closet, that she might quench the fire of her passion, saying, 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! this is the ordinance of the all-powerful, the all-wise!' and did off his trousers, in the utmost confusion, with the tears running from his eyes for stress of affright; whereat she smiled and carrying him on to a couch, said to him, 'after this night, thou shalt see nought that will displease thee.' then she turned to him, kissing and clipping him and twining leg with leg, and said to him, 'put thy hand, between my thighs, to that thou wottest of, so haply it may be won to stand up after prostration.' he wept and said, 'i am not good at aught of this.' but she said, 'as i live, an thou do as i bid thee, it shall profit thee!' so he put out his hand, with a heart on fire for confusion, and found her thighs fresher than cream and softer than silk. the touching of them pleasured him and he moved his hand hither and thither, till he came to a dome abounding in benedictions and movements and said in himself, 'belike this king is a hermaphrodite, nor male nor female.' so he said to her, 'o king, i cannot find that thou hast any manly gear, even as other men; what then moved thee to do thus?' when the princess heard this, she laughed till she fell backward, and said, 'o my beloved, how quickly thou hast forgotten the nights we have lain together!' then she made herself known to him and he knew her for his wife, the lady budour, daughter of king ghaïour. so he embraced her and she embraced him and they kissed each other; then they lay down on the bed of delight, repeating the words of the poet: whenas the softness of a shape did bid him to my arms, that, as it were a trailing vine with twinings did him ply and on the hardness of his heart its very softness shed, he yielded, though at first he feigned reluctance to comply, and came, provided with a stock of caution safe and sure, fearing lest, when he did appear, the railers should him spy. his waist of buttocks maketh moan, that lay upon his feet a very camel's load, what time he would a-walking hie. girt with his glances' trenchant swords and cuirassed with the mail of his bright locks, as 'twere the dusk new fallen from the sky, his fragrance brought me from afar the news of his approach, and forth, as bird let out from cage, to meet my love fled i. i laid my cheek within his way, beneath his sandal-soles, and lo, their dust's collyrium healed the ailment of mine eye! with an embrace i hoisted up the flag of loves new linked and loosed the knot of my delight, that made as 'twould deny. then let i call high festival, and gladness, all unmixed with any thought of troublousness, came flocking in reply. the full moon handselled with the stars the teeth, like grains of pearl, that on the laughing face of wine now dance, now stirless lie. so in the niche of their delight i gave me up to joys, the veriest sinner would repent if he their like might try. the morning-glories of his face be pledge i'll ne'er, in him, forget the writ that biddeth us one only glorify![fn# ] then they told one another all that had befallen them since their separation, after which he began to upbraid her, saying, 'what moved thee to deal with me as thou hast done this night?' 'do not reproach me,' replied she; 'for i did this but by way of jest and for increase of pleasure and gladness.' when it was morning and the day arose with its light and shone, she sent to king armanous and acquainted him with the truth of the case and that she was wife to kemerezzeman. moreover, she told him their story and the manner of their separation and how his daughter heyat en nufous was yet a maid. he marvelled greatly at their story and bade record it in letters of gold. then he turned to kemerezzeman and said, 'o king's son, art thou minded to marry my daughter and become my son-in-law?' 'i must consult the princess budour,' answered he; 'for i owe her favour without stint.' so he took counsel with her and she said, 'this is well seen; marry her and i will be her handmaid, for i am her debtor for kindness and favour and good offices, more by token that we are here in her place and that the king her father has loaded us with benefits.' when he saw that she inclined to this and was not jealous of heyat en nufous, he agreed with her thereupon and told king armanous what she had said, whereat he rejoiced greatly. then he went out and seating himself in his chair of estate, assembled all the viziers and amirs and chamberlains and grandees, to whom he related the whole story and acquainted them with his desire to marry his daughter to kemerezzeman and make him king in the stead of the princess budour. whereupon said they all, 'since he is the husband of the princess budour, who hath been our sultan till now, whilst we deemed her king armanous's son-in-law, we are all content to have him to sultan over us and will be his servants, nor will we swerve from his allegiance.' at this armanous rejoiced and summoning cadis and witnesses and the chief officers of state, let draw up the contract of marriage between kemerezzeman and his daughter, the princess heyat en nufous. then he held high festival, giving sumptuous banquets and bestowing costly dresses of honour upon the amirs and captains; moreover, he gave alms to the poor and needy and freed the prisoners. all the folk rejoiced in the coming of kemerezzeman to the throne, wishing him abiding glory and prosperity and happiness and renown, and as soon as he became king, he remitted the customs-dues and released all that remained in prison. thus he abode a long while, ordering himself worthily towards his subjects, and lived with his wives in peace and happiness and content, lying the night with each of them in turn. and indeed all his troubles and afflictions were blotted out from him and he forgot his father king shehriman and his former estate of honour and worship with him. after awhile, god the most high blessed him with two sons, as they were two shining moons, the elder, whose name was prince amjed, by queen budour, and the younger, whose name was prince asaad and who was comelier than his brother, by queen heyat en nufous. they were reared in splendour and delight and were instructed in penmanship and science and the arts of government and horsemanship and other polite arts and accomplishments, till they attained the extreme of perfection and the utmost limit of beauty and grace, and both men and women were ravished by their charms. they grew up together, till they reached the age of seventeen, and loved one another so dear that they were never apart, eating and drinking together and sleeping in one bed; and all the people envied them their beauty and concord. when they came to man's estate and were endowed with every perfection, their father was wont, as often as he went on a journey, to make them sit in his stead by turns in the place of judgment, and each did justice among the folk one day at a time. now, as unalterable fate and foreordained destiny would have it, queen budour fell in love with asaad, son of queen heyat en nufous, and the latter became enamoured of amjed; and each of them used to sport and play with the other's son, kissing him and straining him to her bosom, whilst each thought that the other's behaviour arose but from motherly affection. on this wise, passion got the mastery of the two women's hearts and they became madly enamoured of the two youths, so that when the other's son came in to either of them, she would press him to her bosom and long for him never to be parted from her; till, at last, when waiting grew tedious to them and they found no way to enjoyment, they refused meat and drink and forewent the solace of sleep. presently, the king went out to hunt, bidding his sons sit to do justice in his stead, each one day in turn, according to their wont. so prince amjed sat on the throne the first day, ordering and forbidding, appointing and deposing, giving and denying; and queen heyat en nufous took a scroll and wrote to him the following letter, suing for his favour and discovering to him her passion, in fine, altogether putting off the mask and giving him to know that she desired to enjoy him. 'from the wretched lover, the sorrowful severed one, whose youth is wasted in the love of thee and whose torment for thee is prolonged. were i to recount to thee the extent of my affliction and what i suffer for sadness, the passion that is in my breast and all that i endure for weeping and groaning and the rending of my sorrowful heart, my unremitting cares and my ceaseless griefs and all my suffering for severance and sadness and the ardour of desire, no letter could contain it nor calculation compass it. indeed, earth and heaven are straitened upon me, and i have no hope and no trust but in thee. i am come nigh upon death and suffer the horrors of dissolution; burning is sore upon me, and the pangs of separation and estrangement. were i to set out the yearnings that possess me, no scrolls would suffice thereto: and of the excess of my affliction and wasting away, i have made the following verses: were i to set down all i feel of heart-consuming dole and all the transport and unease that harbour in my soul, nor ink nor pen in all the world thereafter would remain, nor aught from east to west were left of paper or of scroll.' then she folded up the silken tresses of her hair, whose cost swallowed up treasures, in the letter, and wrapping it in a piece of rich silk, scented with musk and ambergris, laid it in a handkerchief; after which she gave it to an eunuch and bade him carry it to prince amjed. the eunuch took it, knowing not what the future hid for him, (for he who knoweth the hidden things ordereth events according to his will,) and going in to the prince, kissed the earth before him and gave him the letter. he opened it and reading it, was ware that his father's wife was in intent an adulteress and a traitress to her husband; whereat he was exceeding wroth and railed at women and their works, saying, 'may god curse women, the traitresses, that lack reason and religion!' then he drew his sword and said to the eunuch, 'out on thee, thou wicked slave! dost thou carry adulterous messages for thy lord's wife? by allah, there is no good in thee, o black of hue and heart, o foul of face and nature!' so saying, he smote him on the neck and severed his head from his body; then, folding the letter in the handkerchief, he thrust it into his pocket and went in to his own mother and told her what had passed, reviling and reproaching her and saying, 'each one of you is worse than the other; and by god the great, did i not fear to transgress against the rights of my father and my brother asaad, i would assuredly go in to her and cut off her head, even as i cut off that of her eunuch!' then he went out in a great rage; and when the news reached queen heyat en nufous of what he had done with her messenger, she reviled him and cursed him and plotted perfidy against him. he passed the night, sick with anger and disgust and concern, nor was meat nor drink nor sleep sweet to him. next morning, prince asaad went out in his turn to rule the folk in his father's stead and sat in the audience-chamber, judging and administering justice, appointing and deposing, ordering and forbidding, giving and bestowing, till near the time of afternoon-prayer, when queen budour sent for a crafty old woman and discovering to her what was in her heart, wrote a letter to prince asaad, complaining of the excess of her love and longing for him, as follows: 'from her who perisheth for passion and love-longing to the goodliest of mankind in form and nature, him who is conceited of his own loveliness and glories in his amorous grace, who turneth away from those that seek to enjoy him and refuseth to show favour unto the lowly and the self-abasing, him who is cruel and disdainful; from the despairing lover to prince asaad, lord of surpassing beauty and excelling grace, of the moon-bright face and the flower-white brow and dazzling splendour. this is my letter to him whose love consumes my body and rends my skin and my bones. know that my patience fails me and i am at a loss what to do: longing and wakefulness weary me and sleep and patience deny themselves to me; but mourning and watching stick fast to me and desire and passion torment me, and the extremes of languor and sickness. yet may my life be thy ransom, though it be thy pleasure to slay her who loveth thee, and may god prolong thy life and preserve thee from every ill!' after this, she wrote the following verses: fate hath so ordered it that i must needs thy lover be, o thou whose charms shine as the moon, when at the full is she! all beauty and all eloquence thou dost in thee contain and over all the world of men thou'rt bright and brave to see. that thou my torturer shouldst be, i am indeed content, so but thou wilt one glance bestow, as almous-deed, on me. happy, thrice happy is her lot who dieth for thy love! no good is there in any one that doth not cherish thee. and these also: to thee, o asaad, of the pangs of passion i complain; have pity on a slave of love, that burns for longing pain. how long, i wonder, shall the hands of passion sport with me and love and dole and sleeplessness consume me, heart and brain? whiles do i plain me of a sea within my heart and whiles of flaming; surely, this is strange, o thou my wish and bane! give o'er thy railing, censor mine, and set thyself to flee from love that maketh eyes for aye with burning tears to rain. how oft, for absence and desire, i cry, "alas, my grief!" but all my crying and lament in this my case are vain. thou hast with rigours made me sick, that passed my power to bear: thou'rt the physician; do thou me with what befits assain. o thou my censurer, forbear to chide me for my case, lest, of love's cruel malady, perdition thee attain. then she scented the letter with odoriferous musk and winding it in the tresses of her hair, which were of irak silk, with tassels of oblong emeralds, set with pearls and jewels, delivered it to the old woman, bidding her carry it to prince asaad. she undertook the errand, to pleasure her, and going in straightway to the prince, found him in his closet and delivered him the letter; after which she stood waiting for the answer. when asaad had read the letter and knew its purport, he wrapped it up again in the tresses and put it in his pocket, cursing false women; then, for he was beyond measure wroth, he sprang up and drawing his sword, smote the old woman on the neck and cut off her head. then he went in to his mother, queen heyat en nufous, whom he found lying on her bed, sick for that which had betided her with prince amjed, and railed at her and cursed her; after which he left her and betook himself to his brother, to whom he related what had befallen him with queen budour, adding, 'by allah, o my brother, but that i feared to grieve thee, i had gone in to her forthright and smitten her head off her shoulders!' 'by allah, o my brother,' replied amjed, 'the like of what hath befallen thee befell me also yesterday with thy mother queen heyat en nufous.' and he told him what had passed, adding, 'by allah, o my brother, nought but respect for thee withheld me from going in to her and dealing with her even as i dealt with the eunuch!' they passed the rest of the night in trouble and affliction, conversing and cursing false women, and agreed to keep the matter secret, lest their father should hear of it and kill the two women. on the morrow, the king returned with his suite from hunting and sat awhile in his chair of estate; after which he dismissed the amirs and went up to his harem, where he found his two wives lying on the bed, exceeding sick. now they had made a plot against the two princes and concerted to do away their lives, for that they had exposed themselves before them and feared to be at their mercy. when kemerezzeman saw them on this wise, he said to them, 'what ails you?' whereupon they rose and kissing his hands, answered, perverting the case and saying, 'know, o king, that thy sons, who have been reared in thy bounty, have played thee false and outraged thee in the persons of thy wives.' when he heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and his reason fled for the excess of his rage; then said he to them, 'expound this thing to me.' 'o king of the age,' answered budour, 'know that these many days past thy son asaad has been wont to send me letters and messages to solicit me to lewdness, and i still forbade him from this, but he would not be forbidden. when thou wentest forth to hunt, he rushed in on me, drunk and with a drawn sword in his hand, and smiting my eunuch, slew him. then he mounted on my breast, still holding the sword, and i feared lest he should slay me even as he had slain my eunuch, if i gainsaid him; so he took his will of me by force; and now an thou do me not justice on him, o king, i will slay myself with my own hand, for i reck not of life in the world after this foul deed.' queen heyat en nufous, choking with tears, told him a like story respecting prince amjed, after which she fell a- weeping and wailing and said, 'except thou avenge me on him, i will tell my father, king armanous.' then they both wept sore before king kemerezzeman, who, when he saw their tears and heard their words, concluded that their story was true and waxing beyond measure wroth, went out, thinking to fall upon his two sons and put them to death. on his way he met his father-in-law king armanous, who hearing of his return from the chase, had come to salute him and seeing him with the naked sword in his hand and the blood dripping from his nostrils, for excess of rage, enquired what ailed him. kemerezzeman told him what his sons amjed and asaad had done and added, 'i am now going in to them, to slay them on the foulest wise and make of them the most shameful of examples.' 'o my son,' said king armanous, (and indeed he too was wroth with them,) 'thou dost well, and may god not bless them nor any sons that offend thus against their father's honour! but, o my son, the proverb says, "whoso looks not to the issues, fortune is no friend to him." in any case, they are thy sons, and it befits not that thou put them to death with thine own hand, lest thou drink of their agony and after repent of having slain them, whenas repentance will avail thee nothing. rather do thou send one of thine officers with them into the desert and let him kill them there, out of thy sight, for, as says the adage, "when the eye sees not, the heart grieves not."' kemerezzeman saw his father-in-law's words to be just, so he sheathed his sword and turning back, sat down upon his throne and called his treasurer, a very old man, versed in affairs and in the shifts of fortune, to whom he said, 'go in to my sons amjed and asaad; bind fast their hands behind them and lay them in two chests and set them on a mule. then take horse and carry them into the mid-desert, where do thou put them to death and fill two vials with their blood and bring them to me in haste.' 'i hear and obey,' answered the treasurer and went out forthright to do his bidding. on his way, he met the princes coming out of the palace-vestibule, for they had donned their richest clothes and were on their way to salute their father and give him joy of his safe return from the chase. when he saw them, he laid hands on them, saying, 'o my sons, know that i am but a slave commanded and that your father hath laid a commandment on me: will ye obey his commandment?' 'yes,' answered they; whereupon he bound their hands and laying them in the chests, set the latter on the back of a mule, with which he left the city and rode into the open country, till near midday, when he halted in a waste and desert spot and dismounting, set down the two chests. he opened them and took out amjed and asaad; whom when he saw, he wept sore for their beauty and grace; then drawing his sword, he said to them, 'o my lords, indeed it irks me to deal so foully by you; but i am to be excused in this, being but a slave commanded, for that your father king kemerezzeman hath bidden me strike off your heads.' 'o amir,' answered they, 'do the king's bidding, for we submit with patience to that which god (to whom be ascribed might and majesty) hath decreed to us; and thou art quit of our blood.' then they embraced and bade each other farewell, and asaad said to the treasurer, 'god on thee, o uncle, spare me the sight of my brother's agony and make me not drink of his anguish, but kill me first, that it may be the easier for me.' amjed said the like and entreated the treasurer to kill him before asaad, saying, 'my brother is younger than i; so make me not taste of his anguish.' and they both wept sore, whilst the treasurer wept for their weeping, and they said to each other, 'all this comes of the malice of those traitresses, our mothers; and this is the reward of our forbearance towards them. but there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! verily, we are his and unto him we return.' and asaad embraced his brother, sobbing and repeating the following verses: o thou to whom the sad complain, to whom the fearful flee, thou that art evermore prepared for all that is to be, lord, there is left me no resource but at thy door to knock; yea, at whose portal shall i knock, if thou be deaf to me? o thou, the treasures of whose grace are in the one word "be," be favourable, i beseech, for all good is with thee! when amjed heard his brother's weeping, he wept also and pressed him to his bosom, repeating the following verses: o thou, whose bounties unto me are more than one, i trow, whose favours lavished on my head are countless as the sand, no blow of all the blows of fate has ever fall'n on me, but i have found thee ready still to take me by the hand. then said he to the treasurer, 'i conjure thee by the one god the omnipotent king and protector, kill me before my brother asaad and allay the fire of my heart!' but asaad wept and exclaimed, 'not so: i will die first;' whereupon said amjed, 'it were best that we embrace each other, so the sword may fall upon us and kill us both at one stroke.' so they embraced, face to face, and clipped each other straitly, whilst the treasurer bound them fast with cords, weeping the while. then he drew his sword and said to them, 'by allah, o my lords, it is indeed hard to me to kill you! but have ye no last wishes or injunctions that i may fulfil or message that i may carry?' 'we have no wish,' replied amjed, 'and my only injunction to thee is that thou set my brother undermost, that the blow may fall on me first; and when thou hast slain us and returnest to the king and he asks thee, "what said they before their death?" do thou answer, "thy sons salute thee and say to thee, 'thou knewest not if we were innocent or guilty, yet hast thou put us to death and hast not certified thyself of our guilt nor looked into our case.'" then do thou repeat to him these verses: women are very devils, made to work us dole and death; refuge i seek with god most high from all their craft and scaith. prime source are they of all the ills that fall upon mankind, both in the fortunes of this world and matters of the faith. 'we desire of thee nought but this,' continued amjed, 'except that thou have patience with us, whilst i repeat other two lines to my brother.' then he wept sore and recited the following verses: examples many, thou and i, we have in kings of days gone by, how many, alack, have trod this road, of great and small and low and high! at this the treasurer wept, till his beard was wet, whilst asaad's eyes filled with tears and he in turn repeated these verses: fate, when the thing itself is past, afflicteth with the trace, and weeping is not, of a truth, for body or form or face.[fn# ] what ails the nights?[fn# ] may god blot out our error from the nights and may the hand of change bewray and bring them to disgrace! they wreaked their malice to the full on ibn ez zubeir[fn# ] erst, and on the house and sacred stone[fn# ] his safeguard did embrace. would god, since kharijeh[fn# ] they took for amrou's sacrifice, they'd ransomed ali with whome'er they would of all our race! then, with cheeks stained with thick-coming tears, he recited these also: the days and nights are fashioned for treachery and despite; yea, they are full of perfidy and knavish craft and sleight. the mirage is their lustre of teeth, and to their eyes the horror of all darkness the kohl that keeps them bright. my crime against them (hateful their nature is!) is but the sword's crime, when the sworder sets on into the fight. then he sobbed and said: o thou that seeketh the worthless world, give ear to me and know the very net of ruin it is and quarry of dole and woe; a stead, whom it maketh laugh to-day, to-morrow it maketh weep: out on it then for a dwelling-place, since it is even so! its raids and its onsets are never done, nor can its bondsman win to free himself from its iron clutch by dint of stress and throe. how many an one in its vanities hath gloried and taken pride, till froward and arrogant thus he grew and did all bounds o'ergo! then did she[fn# ] turn him the buckler's back and give him to drink therein full measure and set her to take her wreak of the favours she did show. for know that her blows fall sudden and swift and unawares, though long the time of forbearance be and halt the coming of fate and slow. so look to thyself, lest life in the world pass idle and profitless by, and see that thou fail not of taking thought to the end of all below. cast loose from the chains of the love and the wish of the world and thou shalt find guidance and help unto righteousness and peace of heart, i trow. when he had made an end of these verses, he clipped his brother in his arms, till they seemed as it were one body, and the treasurer, raising his sword, was about to strike them, when, behold, his horse took fright at the wind of his upraised hand and breaking its tether, fled into the desert. now the horse was worth a thousand dinars and on his back was a splendid saddle, worth much money: so the treasurer threw down his sword, in great concern, and ran after him, to catch him. the horse galloped on, snorting and neighing and pawing the earth in his fright, till he raised a cloud of dust, and presently coming to a wood, fled into the midst of it, whither the treasurer followed him. now there was in this wood a terrible lion, foul of face, with eyes that cast forth sparks; his look was grim and his aspect struck terror into men's souls. he heard the noise made by the horse and came out to see what was to do. presently the treasurer turned and saw the lion making towards him; but found no way of escape, nor had he his sword with him. so he said in himself, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! this stress is come upon me because of amjed and asaad; and indeed this journey was unblest from the first!' meanwhile amjed and asaad were grievously oppressed by the heat and grew sore athirst, so that their tongues hung out and they cried for succour; but none came to their relief and they said, 'would god we were dead and at peace from this torment! but we know not whither the treasurer's horse hath fled, that he has gone and left us bound. if he would but come back and kill us, it were easier to us than to suffer this torture.' 'o my brother,' said asaad, 'be patient and the relief of god (blessed and exalted be he) will surely come to us; for the horse ran not away save of his favour towards us, and nought irks us but this thirst.' so saying, he stretched himself and strained right and left, till he burst his bonds; then he unbound his brother and taking up the amir's sword, said, 'by allah, we will not go hence, till we know what is come of him!' so they followed the track, till it led them to the wood and they said to one another, 'of a surety, the horse and the treasurer have not overgone this wood.' quoth asaad, 'stay thou here, whilst i enter the wood and search it.' 'i will not let thee go in alone,' answered amjed. 'we will both go in; so if we escape, we shall escape together, and if we perish, we shall perish together.' so they entered both and found the lion standing over the treasurer, who lay like a sparrow in his grip, calling upon god for help and lifting his hands to heaven. when amjed saw this, he took the sword and running to the lion, smote him between the eyes and laid him dead on the ground. the amir arose, marvelling at this, and seeing amjed and asaad his lord's sons, standing there, cast himself at their feet and exclaimed, 'by allah, o my lords, it were foul wrong in me to put you to death! may the man never be who would kill you! indeed, i will ransom you with my life.' then he rose and embracing them, enquired how they had loosed their bonds and come thither, whereupon they told him how the bonds of one of them had fallen loose and he had unbound the other, that they might quit their intent, and how they had followed his track till they came upon him. he thanked them for their deed and went with them forth of the wood, where they said to him, 'o uncle, do our father's bidding.' 'god forbid,' answered he, 'that i should draw near to you with hurt! i mean to take your clothes and clothe you with mine; then will i fill two vials with the lion's blood and go back to the king and tell him i have put you to death. but as for you, fare ye forth into the lands, for god's earth is wide; and know, o my lords, that it irks me to part from you.' at this, they all fell a-weeping; then the two youths put off their clothes and the treasurer covered them with his own. moreover, he filled two vials with the lion's blood and making two parcels of the princes' clothes, set them before him on his horse's back. then he took leave of them and making his way back to the city, went in to king kemerezzeman and kissed the earth before him. the king saw him pale and troubled and deeming this came of the slaughter of the two princes (though in truth it came of his adventure with the lion) rejoiced and said to him, 'hast thou done the business?' 'yes, o our lord,' answered the treasurer and gave him the two parcels of clothes and the two vials of blood. 'how bore they themselves,' asked the king, 'and did they give thee any charge?' 'i found them patient and resigned to their fate,' answered the treasurer; 'and they said to me, "verily, our father is excusable; bear him our salutation and say to him, 'thou art quit of our blood;' and repeat to him the following verses: women are very devils, made to work us dole and death; refuge i seek with god most high from all their craft and scaith. prime source are they of all the ills that fall upon mankind, both in the fortunes of this world and matters of the faith."' when the king heard this, he bowed his head a long while and knew this to mean that they had wrongfully been put to death. then he bethought himself of the perfidy of women and the calamities brought about by them, and opening the two parcels fell to turning over his sons' clothes and weeping. presently, he found in the pocket of his son asaad's clothes a letter in queen budour's hand, enclosing the tresses of her hair, and reading it, knew that the prince had been falsely accused. then he searched amjed's clothes and found in his pocket a letter in the handwriting of queen heyat en nufous, enclosing the tresses of her hair; so he opened and read it and knew that amjed also had been wronged; whereupon he beat hand upon hand and exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god! i have slain my sons unjustly.' and he buffeted his face, crying out, 'alas, my sons! alas, my long grief!' then he bade build two tombs in one house, which he styled 'house of lamentations,' and let grave thereon his sons' names; and he threw himself on amjed's tomb, weeping and groaning and lamenting, and repeated these verses: o moon, that hast set beneath the earth for aye, for whose loss weep the shining stars of the sky, o wand, after whom no more shall the flexile grace of the willow-like bending shape enchant the eye, my sight i've bereft of thee, of my jealousy, and ne'er shall i see thee again, till i come to die. i'm drowned in the sea of my tears, for sheer unrest; indeed, for sleepless sorrow in hell am i. then he threw himself on asaad's tomb and recited the following verses, whilst the tears poured from his eyes: fain had i shared with thee, dear heart, in death and ill; but god, that ordereth all, willed other than my will. all that i see, my dole makes black, whilst from my eyes all black i've blotted out with weeping all my fill.[fn# ] i weep and never stint; mine eyes run never dry; my entrails ulcered are and blood and tears distil. sore, sore it irketh me to see thee in a place[fn# ] where slaves and kings alike foregather, will or nill. then he forsook his friends and intimates, and denying himself to his women and his family, shut himself up in the house of lamentations, where he passed his time in weeping for his sons. meanwhile, amjed and asaad fared on into the desert a whole month's journey, eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking of the rain-pools, till their travel brought them to a mountain of black stone, where the road divided in two, one skirting the foot of the mountain and the other leading to its summit. they took the former way, for fear of thirst, and followed it five days, but saw no end to it and were overcome with weariness, being unused to walking in mountains or elsewhere. at last, despairing of coming to the end of the road, they retraced their steps and taking the other, that led over the mountain, followed it all that day, till nightfall, when asaad, weary with much travel, said to amjed, 'o my brother, i can go no farther, for i am exceeding weak.' 'courage,' replied amjed; 'may be god will send us relief.' so they walked on part of the night, till the darkness closed in upon them, when asaad became beyond measure weary and saying, 'o my brother, i am worn out and spent with walking,' threw himself on the ground and wept. amjed took him in his arms and fared on with him, halting bytimes to rest, till break of day, when they came to the mountain-top and found there a stream of running water and by it a pomegranate-tree and a prayer-niche. they could hardly believe their eyes, but, sitting down by the spring, drank of its water and ate of the fruit of the tree; after which they lay down and slept till sunrise, when they washed in the spring and eating of the pomegranates, slept again till the time of afternoon-prayer. then they thought to continue their journey, but asaad could not walk, for his feet were swollen. so they abode there three days, till they were rested, after which they set out again and fared on over the mountain days and nights, well-nigh perished for thirst, till they came in sight of a city afar off, at which they rejoiced and made towards it. when they drew near it, they thanked god the most high and amjed said to asaad, 'o my brother, sit here, whilst i go to yonder city and see what and whose it is and where we are in god's wide world, that we may know through what lands we have passed in crossing this mountain, whose skirts if we had followed, we had not reached this city in a whole year: so praised be god for safety!' 'by allah,' replied asaad, 'none shall go but myself, and may i be thy ransom! if thou leave me, i shall imagine a thousand things and suffer tortures of anxiety on thine account, for i cannot brook thine absence from me.' 'go then,' rejoined amjed, 'and do not tarry.' so asaad took money and leaving his brother awaiting him, descended the mountain and fared on, till he entered the city. as he passed through the streets, he met an old man, with a beard that flowed down upon his breast and was parted in twain; he bore a walking-staff in his hand and was richly clad, with a great red turban on his head. when asaad saw him, he wondered at his mien and habit; nevertheless, he went up to him and saluting him, enquired the way to the market. the old man smiled in his face and said, 'o my son, meseems thou art a stranger?' 'yes,' answered asaad; 'i am a stranger.' 'o my son,' rejoined the other, 'verily, thou gladdenest our country with thy presence and makest thine own land desolate by reason of thine absence. what wantest thou of the market?' 'o uncle,' replied asaad, 'i have an elder brother, with whom i have journeyed these three months, for we come from a far country. when we sighted this city, i left my brother in the mountain and came hither, purposing to buy food and what else and return therewith to him, that we might feed thereon.' 'rejoice in all good, o my son!' said the old man. 'know that to-day i give a marriage-feast, to which i have bidden many guests, and i have made ready great plenty of the best and most delicious meats that the heart can desire. so, if thou wilt come home with me, i will give thee freely all thou lackest, without price. moreover, i will teach thee the ways of the city; and praised be god, o my son, that thou hast fallen in with me and none other!' 'as thou wilt,' answered asaad; 'but make haste, for my brother awaits me and his whole heart is with me.' so the old man took asaad by the hand, smiling in his face and saying, 'glory be to him who hath delivered thee from the people of this city!' then he carried him to a narrow lane and entering a spacious house, brought him into a saloon, wherein were forty old men, seated in a circle about a lighted fire, to which they were doing worship and prostrating themselves. when asaad saw this he was confounded and his flesh quaked, though he knew not what they were; and the old man said to them, 'o elders of the fire, how blessed is this day!' then he cried out, saying, 'ho, ghezban!' whereupon there came out to him a tall black slave of forbidding aspect, grim-visaged and flat-nosed. the old man made a sign to him, and he bound asaad straitly; after which the old man said to him, 'bear him to the dungeon under the earth and bid my slave-girl kewam torture him day and night and give him a cake of bread to eat morning and evening, against the time come of the voyage to the blue sea and the mountain of fire, when we will slaughter him on the mountain as a sacrifice.' so the black carried him out at another door and raising a flag in the floor, discovered a flight of twenty steps leading to a chamber under the earth, into which he descended with him and laying his feet in irons, committed him to the slave-girl and went away. meanwhile, the old men said to one another, 'when the day of the festival of the fire comes, we will sacrifice him on the mountain, as a propitiatory offering to the fire.' presently the damsel went down to him and beat him grievously, till the blood streamed from his sides and he fainted away; after which she set at his head a cake of bread and a cruse of brackish water and went away and left him. in the middle of the night, he revived and found himself bound and sore with beating: so he wept bitterly and recalling his former estate of ease and honour and lordship and dominion, groaned and lamented and repeated the following verses: halt by the ruins of the house and question of our fate nor think we sojourn in the land, as in our first estate. fortune, the sunderer, hath wrought the severance of our loves; yet doth our enemies' despite against us nought abate. a filthy cockatrice is set to torture me with whips, whose breast against me is fulfilled with rancour and with hate. but haply god shall yet reknit our severed loves again and turn our enemies from us with vengeance stern and strait. then he put out his hand and finding the bread and water at his head, ate enough to keep life in him and drank a little water, but could get no sleep for the swarms of bugs and lice. as soon as it was day, the slave-girl came down to him and changed his clothes, which were drenched with blood and stuck to him, so that his skin came off with the shirt; wherefore he shrieked aloud and cried, 'alas!' and said, 'o my god, if this be thy pleasure, increase it upon me! o lord, verily thou art not unmindful of him that oppresses me: do thou then avenge me upon him!' and he groaned and repeated the following verses: lord, i submit myself to that thou dost decree, contented to endure, if but it pleasure thee; to suffer at thy will with patience nor complain, though i be cast to burn on coals of tamarisk-tree.[fn# ] mine enemies oppress and torture me; but thou with benefits belike shall 'quite and comfort me. far be 't from thee to let th' oppressor go unscathed; thou art my hope and stay, o lord of destiny! and what another says: avert thy face from thought-taking and care and trust to fate to order thine affair; for many a weary and a troublous thing is, in its issue, solaceful and fair. that which was strait is oftentimes made wide and straitened that, which easy was whilere. god orders all, according to his will; gainsay him not in what he doth prepare, but trust in happy fortune near at hand, wherein thou shalt forget the woes that were. then the slave-girl beat him till he fainted away and throwing him a cake of bread and a cruse of brackish water, went away and left him sad and lonely, bound in chains of iron, with the blood streaming from his sides and far from those he loved. so he called to mind his brother and his former high estate and repeated the following verses, shedding floods of tears the while: how long wilt thou wage war on me, o fate, and bear away my brethren from me? hold thy hand and spare awhile, i pray! is it not time, o thou whose heart is as the rock, that thou my long estrangement and my dole shouldst pity and allay? ill hast thou wrought to those i love and made my foes exult with all that thou hast wreaked on me of ruin and dismay. yea, for the pains he sees me brook of exile and desire and loneliness, my foeman's heart is solaceful and gay. thou'rt not content with what is fallen on me of bitter dole, of loss of friends and swollen eyes, affliction and affray. but i must lie and rot, to boot, in prison strait and dour, where nought but gnawing of my hands i have for help and stay, and tears that shower in torrents down, as from the rain-charged clouds, and fire of yearning, never quenched, that rages night and day, and memory and longing pain and melancholy thought and sobs and sighs and groans and cries of "woe!" and "wellaway!" passion and soul-destroying grief i suffer, and unto desire, that knoweth not relent nor end, am fallen a prey. no kindly soul is found to have compassion on my case and with his visits and his grace my misery allay. lives there a true and tender friend, who doth compassionate my sickness and my long unrest, that unto him i may make moan of all that i endure for dole and drearihead and of my sleepless eyes, oppressed of wakefulness alway? my night in torments is prolonged; i burn, without reprieve, in flames of heart-consuming care that rage in me for aye. the bug and flea do drink my blood, even as one drinks of wine, poured by the hand of damask-lipped and slender-waisted may. the body of me, amongst the lice, is as an orphan's good, that in an unjust cadi's hands doth dwindle and decay. my dwelling-place is in a tomb, three scanty cubits wide, wherein in shackles and in bonds i languish night and day. my tears my wine are and my chains my music: my dessert woeworthy thought and cares the bed whereon myself i lay. meanwhile his brother abode, awaiting him, till mid-day, but he returned not: whereupon amjed's heart fluttered and the tears welled from his eyes. the pangs of severance were sore upon him and he wept sore, exclaiming, 'alas, my brother! alas, my companion! alas, my grief! i fear me we are separated!' then he descended the mountain, with the tears running down his cheeks, and entering the city, made for the market. he asked the folk the name of the city and of its people, and they said, 'this is called the city of the magians, and its people serve the fire, not the omnipotent king.' then he enquired of the city of ebony and they answered, 'it is a year's journey thither by land and six months' by sea: it was governed erst by a king called armanous, but he took to son-in-law a prince called kemerezzeman, distinguished for justice and loyalty, munificence and benevolence, and made him king in his stead.' when amjed heard tell of his father, he groaned and wept and lamented and knew not whither to go. however, he bought food and carried it with him, till he came to a retired spot, where he sat down, thinking to eat: but, recalling his brother, he fell a-weeping and ate but a morsel to stay his stomach, and that against his will. then he rose and walked about the city, seeking news of his brother, till he saw a muslim, a tailor, sitting in his shop; so he sat down by him and told him his story; whereupon quoth the tailor, 'if he have fallen into the hands of any of the magians, thou shalt hardly see him again: yet it may be god will reunite you. but thou, o my brother,' added he, 'wilt thou lodge with me?' 'yes,' answered amjed, and the tailor rejoiced at this. so amjed abode with him many days, what while the tailor comforted him and exhorted him to patience and taught him his craft, till he became expert. one day, he went forth to the sea-shore and washed his clothes; after which he entered the bath and put on clean raiment. then he walked about the streets, to divert himself, and presently fell in with a woman of surpassing beauty and symmetry, unequalled for grace and loveliness. when she saw him, she raised her face-veil and winked to him and ogled him, reciting the following verses: afar, i saw thee coming and cast mine eyes down straight, as if, loveling slender, thou wert the very sun. indeed, thou art the fairest of all beholden; yea, even than thyself thou'rt fairer, since yesterday was done. were beauty but allotted, to every one his due, one-fifth of it were joseph's or but a part of one, and all the rest were surely thine own and only thine; may all men be thy ransom, yea, every mother's son! when he heard this, his heart inclined to her and the hands of love sported with him: so he winked to her in answer and repeated the following verses: over the rose of the cheek, the thorns of the eyelashes rise; so who shall adventure himself to gather the flowery prize? lift not your hands to the rose, for long have the lashes waged war and poured on us battle, because we lifted to it-ward our eyes. tell her the tyrant who plays and yet is temptation itself, (though still more seductive she'd be, if she dealt but in loyaller wise), i see that, for beauty like thine, exposure's the surest of guards, for the veiling thy face but augments its seductions and adds to our sighs; like the sun, on whose visage undimmed the eye still refuses to look, and yet we may gaze at our ease, when the thinnest of clouds o'er it lies. the honey's protected, forsooth, by the sting of the bees of the hive: so question the guards of the camp why they stay us in this our emprise. if my slaughter be what they desire, let them put off their rancours and stand from between us and leave her to deal with me and my life at her guise; for, i wot, not so deadly are they, when they set on a foe with their swords, as the eyes of the fair with the mole, when her glances upon us she plies. at this she sighed deeply and signing to him again, repeated the following verses: 'tis thou that hast trodden the road of aversion and coyness; not i vouchsafe me the promised delight, for the time of fulfilment draws nigh. o thou that mak'st morning to dawn with the lustre and light of thy brows and eke, with thy brow-locks unloosed, the night to sink down from the sky, thou hast, with an idol's aspéct, seduced me and made me thy slave and hast stirred me up troubles galore in many a season past by. and yet it is just that my heart with the ardour of passion should burn, for the fire is their due who adore aught other than god the most high. thou sellest the like of myself for nothing, yea, free, without price; if needs thou must sell, and no help, take a price, then, of those that would buy. when he heard this, he said to her, 'wilt thou come to my lodging or shall i go with thee to thine?' at this, she hung her head bashfully and repeated the words of the most high, 'men shall have precedence over women, for that god hath preferred these over those.'[fn# ] by this, amjed understood that she wished to go with him and felt himself bounden to find a place wherein to receive her, but was ashamed to carry her to the house of his host, the tailor. so he walked on and she followed him from street to street, till she was tired and said to him, 'o my lord, where is thy house?' 'but a little way before us,' answered he. then he turned aside into a handsome street, followed by the young lady, and walked on, till he came to the end, when he found it had no issue and exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' then, raising his eyes, he saw, at the upper end of the street, a great door, with two stone benches; but it was locked. so he sat down on one of the benches and the lady on the other; and she said to him, 'o my lord, wherefore waitest thou?' he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and answered, 'i am waiting for my servant, who has the key: for i bade him make me ready meat and drink and flowers for the wine-service against my return from the bath.' but he said in himself, 'belike she will grow tired of waiting and go about her business, leaving me here, when i will go my own way.' however, when she was weary of waiting, she said, 'o my lord, thy servant tarries long; and here are we waiting in the street.' and she took a stone and went up to the lock. 'be not in haste,' said amjed; 'but have patience till the servant comes.' however, she hearkened not to him, but smote the lock with the stone and broke it in half, whereupon the door opened. quoth he, 'what possessed thee to do this?' 'pooh, pooh, my lord!' answered she. 'what matters it? is not the house thine?' 'yes,' said he; 'but there was no need to break the lock.' then she entered, leaving amjed confounded and knowing not what to do for fear of the people of the house; but she said to him, 'why dost thou not enter, o light of mine eyes and darling of my heart?' 'i hear and obey,' answered he; 'but my servant tarries long upon me and i know not if he have done aught of what i bade him or not.' so saying, he entered, sore in fear of the people of the house, and found himself in a handsome saloon, full of buffets and niches and settles, furnished with stuffs of silk and brocade. it had four raised recesses, each facing other, and in the midst was a fountain of costly fashion, on whose margin stood a covered tray (of meats), with a leather table-cloth hanging up and dishes set with jewels, full of fruits and sweet-scented flowers. hard by stood drinking vessels and a candlestick with a candle therein. the place was full of precious stuffs, and therein were chests and stools set, on each of which latter lay a parcel of clothes and a purse full of gold and silver. the floor was paved with marble and the house bore witness in every part to its owner's fortune. when amjed saw all this, he was confounded and said in himself, 'i am a lost man! verily, we are god's and to god we return!' as for the lady, she was transported at what she saw and said to him, 'by allah, o my lord, thy servant has not failed of his duty; for see, he has swept the place and cooked the meat and set on the fruit; and indeed i come at the best of times.' but he paid no heed to her, his heart being taken up with fear of the people of the house; and she said, 'fie, o my lord, o my heart! what ails thee to stand thus?' then she sighed and giving him a kiss, that sounded like the cracking of a walnut, said, 'o my lord, and thou have bidden other than me, i will gird my middle and serve her and thee.' amjed laughed from an angerful heart and sat down, panting and saying in himself, 'alack, how i shall smart for it, when the owner of the house returns!' she seated herself by him and fell to jesting and laughing, whilst he sat careful and frowning, thinking a thousand thoughts and saying in himself, 'the master of the house will surely come and what shall i say to him? he will assuredly kill me without mercy.' presently, she rose and tucking up her sleeves, took a table, on which she laid the cloth and the tray of food; then set it before amjed and began to eat, saying, 'eat, o my lord.' so he came forward and ate; but the food was not pleasant to him and he ceased not to look towards the door, till the lady had eaten her fill, when she took away the meats and setting on the dessert, fell to eating of the dried fruits. then she brought the wine-service and opening the jar, filled a cup and gave it to amjed, who took it, saying in himself, 'alas! what will become of me, when the master of the house comes and sees me!' presently, as he sat, with the cup in his hand and his eyes fixed on the vestibule, in came the master of the house, who was one of the chief men of the city, being master of the horse to the king. he had fitted up this house for his privy pleasures, that he might make merry therein and be private with whom he would, and had that day bidden one whom he loved and had made this entertainment for him. when, therefore, this man (whose name was behadir and who was a kindly, liberal and open- handed man) came thither and found the door open and the lock broken, he entered softly and putting in his head at the door of the saloon, saw amjed and the lady sitting, with the dish of fruit and the wine-jar before them. amjed at that moment had the cup in his hand and his face turned to the door; and when his eyes met behadir's, he turned pale and trembled in every nerve. behadir, seeing his trouble, signed to him, with his finger on his lips, as who should say, 'be silent and come hither to me.' so he set down the cup and rose, whereupon quoth the lady, 'whither away?' he shook his head and signing to her that he wished to make water, went out into the corridor, barefoot. when he saw behadir, he knew him for the master of the house; so he hastened to him and kissing his hands, said to him, 'god on thee, o my lord, before thou do me any hurt, hear what i have to say.' then he told him who he was and what caused him leave his native land and royal state, and how he had not entered his house of his free will, but that it was the lady who had broken the lock and done all this. when behadir heard his story and knew that he was a king's son, he inclined to him and taking compassion on him, said to him, 'o amjed, hearken to me and do what i bid thee, and i will ensure thee safety from that thou fearest; but, if thou cross me, i will kill thee.' 'command me as thou wilt,' answered amjed. 'i will not gainsay thee in aught, for i am the freedman of thy bounty.' 'then go back forthright into the saloon,' rejoined behadir, 'and sit down in thy place and take thine ease. i will presently come in to thee, and when thou seest me (now my name is behadir) do thou revile me and rail at me, saying, "why hast thou tarried till now?" and accept no excuse from me, but rise and beat me; and if thou spare me, i will do away thy life. enter now and make merry and whatsoever thou seekest of me, i will bring thee forthwith. so pass the night as thou wilt and on the morrow go thy way. this in honour of thy strangerhood, for i love strangers and hold myself bounden to do them honour.' so amjed kissed his hand and returning to the saloon, with his face clad in its native white and red, said to the lady, 'o my mistress, the place is gladdened by thy presence, and this is indeed a blessed night.' 'verily,' said she, 'this is a wonderful change in thee, that thou now welcomest me so cordially!' 'by allah, o my lady,' answered he, 'methought my servant behadir had robbed me of some necklaces of jewels, worth ten thousand dinars each; however, when i went out but now, in concern for this, i sought for them and found them in their place. i know not why the knave tarries thus, and needs must i punish him for it.' she was satisfied with his answer, and they drank and sported and made merry, till near upon sundown, when behadir came in to them, having changed his clothes and girt his middle and put on shoes, such as are worn of servants. he saluted and kissed the earth, then clasped his hands behind him and stood, with his head hanging down, as one who confesses to a fault. amjed looked at him with angry eyes and said, 'why hast thou tarried till now, o most pestilent of slaves?' 'o my lord,' answered behadir, 'i was busy washing my clothes and knew not of thy being here; for thou hadst appointed me for nightfall and not for the daytime.' but amjed cried out at him, saying, 'thou liest, o vilest of slaves! by allah, i must beat thee!' so he rose and laying behadir on the ground, took a stick and beat him gingerly: but the lady sprang up and snatching the stick from his hand, laid on to behadir so lustily, that the tears ran from his eyes and he ground his teeth together and called out for succour; whilst amjed cried out to the lady to hold her hand and she answered, 'let me stay my anger on him;' till at last he snatched the stick from her hand and pushed her away. behadir arose and wiping away his tears, waited upon them awhile; after which he swept the hall and lighted the lamps; but, as often as he went in and out, the lady railed at him and cursed him, till amjed was wroth with her and said, 'for god's sake, leave my servant; he is not used to this.' then they sat eating and drinking, whilst behadir waited upon them, till midnight, when the latter, weary with service and beating, fell asleep in the midst of the hall and snored and snorted; whereupon the lady, who was heated with wine, said to amjed, 'arise, take the sword that hangs yonder and cut off this slave's head, or i will be the death of thee.' 'what possesses thee to kill my slave?' asked amjed; and she answered, 'our delight will not be fulfilled but by his death. if thou wilt not kill him, i will do it myself.' 'for god's sake,' cried amjed, 'do not this thing!' 'it must be,' replied she and taking down the sword, drew it and made at behadir to kill him; but amjed said in himself, 'this man hath entreated us courteously and sheltered us and done us kindness and made himself my servant: and shall we requite him by killing him? this shall never be. then he said to the lady, 'if my slave must be killed, better i should do it than thou.' so saying, he took the sword from her and raising his hand, smote her on the neck and made her head fly from her body. it fell upon behadir, who awoke and sitting up, saw amjed standing by him, with the bloodstained sword in his hand, and the damsel lying dead. he enquired what had passed, and amjed told him what she had said, adding, 'nothing would serve her but she must kill thee; and this is her reward.' behadir rose and kissing the prince's hand, said to him, 'would god thou hadst spared her! but now there is nothing for it but to rid us of her forthright, before the day break.' so saying, he wrapped the body in a mantle and laying it in a basket, said to amjed, 'thou art a stranger here and knowest no one: so sit thou here and await my return. if i come back, i will assuredly do thee great good service and use my endeavour to have news of thy brother; but if i return not by sunrise, know that all is over with me; in which case the house and all it contains are thine, and peace be on thee.' then he shouldered the basket and going forth, made for the sea, thinking to throw it therein: but as he drew near the shore, he turned and found himself surrounded by the chief of the police and his officers. they knew him and wondered and opened the basket, in which they found the slain woman. so they seized him and laid him in irons till the morning, when they carried him and the basket to the king and acquainted the latter with the case. the king was sore enraged and said to behadir, 'out on thee! this is not the first time thou hast slain folk and cast them into the sea and taken their goods. how many murders hast thou done ere this?' behadir hung his head, and the king cried out at him, saying, 'woe to thee! who killed this young lady?' 'o my lord,' answered behadir, 'i killed her, and there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' at this the king's anger redoubled and he commanded to hang him. so the hangman and the chief of the police went down with him, by the king's commandment, and paraded him through the streets and markets of the town, whilst a crier forewent them, bidding all the folk to the execution of behadir, the king's master of the horse. meanwhile, amjed awaited his host's return till the day broke and the sun rose, and when he saw that he came not, he exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! i wonder what is come of him?' as he sat musing, he heard the crier proclaiming aloud behadir's sentence and bidding the people to his hanging at midday; whereat he wept and exclaimed, 'verily, we are god's and to him we return! he means to sacrifice himself unjustly for my sake, when it was i killed her. by allah, this shall never be!' then he went out and shutting the door after him, hurried through the streets, till he overtook behadir, when he accosted the chief of the police and said to him, 'o my lord, put not behadir to death, for he is innocent. by allah, none killed her but i.' when the master of the police heard this, he took them both and carrying them before the king, told him what amjed had said; whereupon he looked at the prince and said to him, 'didst thou kill the young lady?' 'yes,' answered he, and the king said, 'tell me why thou killedst her, and speak the truth.' 'o king,' replied amjed, 'indeed, it is a rare event and a strange matter that hath befallen me: were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, it would serve as a lesson to whoso can profit by admonition.' then he told him his whole story and all that had befallen him and his brother, first and last; whereat the king wondered greatly and said to him, 'o youth, i know thee now to be excusable. wilt thou be my vizier?' 'i hear and obey,' answered amjed; whereupon the king bestowed magnificent dresses of honour on him and behadir and gave him a handsome house, with servants and officers and all things needful, appointing him stipends and allowances and bidding him make search for his brother asaad. so amjed sat down in the seat of office and governed and did justice and invested and deposed and gave and took. moreover, he sent out a crier to cry his brother throughout the city, and he made proclamation in the streets and markets many days, but heard no news of asaad nor happened on any trace of him. meanwhile, the magians ceased not to torture asaad, night and day, for a whole year's space, till the day of their festival drew near, when the old man (whose name was behram) made ready for the voyage and fitted out a ship for himself. when all was ready, he laid asaad in a chest and locking it, transported it to the ship. as fate would have it, amjed was at that very time standing looking upon the sea; and when he saw the men carrying the chest and other gear on board the ship, his heart throbbed and he called to his servants to bring him his horse. then, mounting with a company of his officers, he rode down to the port and halted before the magian's ship, which he commanded his men to search. so they boarded the vessel and searched it in every part, but found nothing and returned and told amjed, who mounted again and rode back to his palace, with a troubled mind. as he entered, he cast his eyes on the wall and saw written thereon the following verses, which when he read, he called to mind his brother and wept: belovéd ones, for all you're absent from my sight, yet in my heart and thought you have your sojourn still. you leave me here to pine and languish for desire; you rob mine eyes of sleep and sleep yourselves your fill. meanwhile, behram embarked and shouted to his crew to make sail in all haste. so they loosed the sails and departing, fared on without ceasing many days and nights; and every other day, behram took out asaad and gave him a little bread and water, till they drew near the mountain of fire, when there came out on them a contrary wind and the sea rose against them, so that they were driven out of their course into strange waters and came in sight of a city builded upon the shore, with a citadel whose windows overlooked the sea. now the ruler of this city was a queen called merjaneh, and the captain said to behram, 'o my lord, we have strayed from our course and come to the island of queen merjaneh, who is a devout muslim; and if she know that we are magians, she will take our ship and slay us to the last man. yet needs must we put in here to rest [and refit].' quoth behram, 'let us clothe this muslim we have with us in a slave's habit and carry him ashore with us, so that, when the queen sees him, she will think and say, "this is a slave." as for me, i will tell her that i am a dealer in white slaves and that i had with me many, but have sold all but this one, whom i have retained to keep my accounts, for he can read and write.' and the captain said, 'this device should serve well.' presently they reached the city and slackening sail, cast anchor; when, behold, queen merjaneh came down to them, attended by her guards, and halting before the ship, called out to the captain, who landed and kissed the earth before her. quoth she, 'what is the lading of thy ship and whom hast thou with thee?' 'o queen of the age,' answered he, 'i have with me a merchant who deals in slaves.' and she said, 'bring him to me;' whereupon behram came ashore to her, followed by asaad in a slave's habit, and kissed the earth before her. 'what is thy condition?' asked the queen; and behram answered, 'i am a slave-dealer.' then she looked at asaad and taking him for a slave, said to him, 'what is thy name?' quoth he, 'dost thou ask my present or my former name?' 'hast thou then two names?' asked she, and he answered (and indeed his voice was choked with tears), 'yes; my name aforetime was asaad,[fn# ] but now it is muterr.'[fn# ] her heart inclined to him and she said, 'canst thou write?' 'yes,' answered he; and she gave him inkhorn and pen and paper and said to him, 'write somewhat, that i may see it.' so he wrote the following verses: harkye, o thou that judgest, what can a mortal do, when fate, in all conditions, doth him to death ensue? it casts him in the ocean, bound hand and foot, and says, "beware lest with the water you wet yourself, look you!" when she read this, she had compassion upon him and said to behram, 'sell me this slave.' 'o my lady,' answered he, 'i cannot sell him, for he is the only slave i have left.' quoth she, 'i must have him of thee, either by purchase or as a gift.' but behram said, 'i will neither sell him nor give him.' whereat she was wroth and taking asaad by the hand, carried him up to the palace and sent to behram, saying, 'except thou set sail and depart our city this very night, i will seize all thy goods and break up thy ship.' when the message reached the magian, he was sore troubled and said, 'verily, this voyage is every way unfortunate.' then he made ready and took all he needed and awaited the coming of the night, to resume his voyage, saying to the sailors, 'provide yourselves and fill the waterskins, that we may set sail at the last of the night.' so the sailors did their occasions and awaited the coming of the night. to return to queen merjaneh. when she had brought asaad into the palace, she opened the windows overlooking the sea and bade her handmaids bring food. accordingly, they set food before asaad and herself, and they ate, after which the queen called for wine and fell to drinking with him. now god (may he be exalted and glorified!) filled her heart with love for asaad and she plied him with wine, till his reason fled and presently he rose and left the hall, to do an occasion. seeing a door open, he went out and walked on, till he came to a vast garden full of all manner fruits and flowers and sitting down under a tree, did his occasion. then he went up to a fountain in the garden and made the ablution and washed his hands and face, after which he would have risen to go away; but the air smote him and he fell back, with his clothes undone, and slept, and night overcame him thus. meanwhile, behram, the night being come, cried out to the sailors to spread sail and depart. 'we hear and obey,' answered they; 'but give us time to fill our water-skins.' then they landed with their water-skins and coasting the palace, found nothing but walls: so they climbed over into the garden and followed the track of feet, that led them to the fountain, where they found asaad lying on his back, asleep. they knew him and taking him up, climbed the wall again with him, after they had filled their skins, and carried him back in haste to behram, to whom said they, 'beat thy drums and sound thy pipes; for we have found thy prisoner, whom queen merjaneh took from thee by force, and have brought him back to thee.' and they threw asaad down before him. when behram saw him, his heart leapt for joy and his breast dilated with gladness. then he bestowed largesse on the sailors and bade them weigh anchor in haste. so they set sail forthright, intending for the mountain of fire, and stayed not their course till the morning. as for queen merjaneh, she abode awhile, awaiting asaad's return; and when she saw that he came not, she rose and sought him, but found no trace of him. then she bade her women light flambeaux and search for him, whilst she herself went forth and seeing the garden-door open, knew that he had gone thither. so she went out and finding his slippers lying by the fountain, searched the garden in every part, but found no sign of him. nevertheless, she gave not over the search till morning, when she enquired for the magian's ship and was told that it had set sail in the first watch of the night; wherefore she knew that they had taken asaad with them and this was grievous to her and she was angry. so she bade equip ten great ships forthwith and arming herself, embarked in one of them, with her guards and women and troops, richly accoutred and armed for war. they spread the sails and she said to the captain, 'if you overtake the magian's ship, ye shall have of me dresses of honour and largesse; but if ye let it escape, i will kill you all.' whereat fear and great hope fell upon the seamen, and they sailed three days and nights, till, on the fourth day, they sighted behram's ship. ere ended day, they came up with it and surrounded it on all sides, even as behram had taken asaad forth of the chest and was beating and torturing him, whilst the prince cried out for succour and relief, but found neither helper nor deliverer; and indeed he was sorely tormented with much beating. presently behram chanced to look up and seeing himself encompassed by the queen's ships, as the white of the eye encompasses the black, gave himself up for lost and groaned and said to asaad, 'out on thee, o asaad! this is all thy doing; but, by allah, i will kill thee ere i die myself.' then he bade the sailors throw him overboard; so they took him by the hands and feet and cast him into the sea and he sank. but god (may he be exalted and glorified!) willed that his life should be saved and that his last day should be deferred; so he caused him to rise again and he struck out with his hands and feet, till the almighty gave him ease and relief and the waves bore him far from the magian's ship and threw him ashore. he landed, scarce crediting his escape, and putting off his clothes, wrung them and spread them out to dry, whilst he sat, naked and weeping over his misfortunes and desolate and forlorn condition and repeating the following verses: my fortitude fails me for travail and pain; my patience is spent, my endeavour in vain; my sinews are sundered; o lord of all lords, to whom but his lord shall the wretched complain? then, rising, he donned his clothes and set out at a venture, knowing not whither he went. he fared on day and night, eating of the herbs of the earth and the fruits of the trees and drinking of the streams, till he came in sight of a city; whereupon he rejoiced and hurried on; but before he reached it, the night overtook him and the gates were shut. now, as chance would have it, this was the very city in which he had been a prisoner and to whose king his brother amjed was vizier. when he saw the gate was shut, he turned back and made for the burial-ground, where finding a tomb without a door, he entered and lay down and fell asleep, with his face in his sleeve. meanwhile, queen merjaneh, coming up with behram's ship, questioned him of asaad; but he swore to her that he was not with him and that he knew nothing of him. she searched the ship, but found no trace of asaad, so took behram and carrying him back to her castle, would have put him to death; but he ransomed himself from her with all his good and his ship and she released him and his men. they went forth from her, hardly believing in their escape, and fared on ten days' journey, till they came to their own city and found the gate shut, it being eventide. so they made for the burial-ground, thinking to lie the night there, and going round about the tombs, as fate would have it, saw that, in which asaad lay, open; whereat behram marvelled and said,' i must look into this tomb.' then he entered and found asaad lying asleep, with his head on his sleeve; so he raised his head and looking in his face, knew him for him on whose account he had lost his goods and his ship, and said, 'art thou yet alive?' then he bound him and gagged him, without further parley, and carried him to his house, where he clapped heavy shackles on his feet and lowered him into the underground dungeon aforesaid, affected to the tormenting of muslims, bidding a daughter of his, by name bustan, torture him night and day, till the next year, when they would again visit the mountain of fire and offer him up as a sacrifice there. then he beat him grievously and locking the dungeon door upon him, gave the keys to his daughter. by and by, she opened the door and went down to beat him, but finding him a comely sweet-faced youth, with arched brows and melting black eyes, fell in love with him and said to him, 'what is thy name?' 'my name is assad,'[fn# ] answered he. 'mayst thou indeed be happy,' exclaimed she, 'and happy be thy days! thou deservest not torture and blows, and i see thou hast been unjustly entreated.' and she comforted him with kind words and loosed his bonds. then she questioned him of the faith of islam, and he told her that it was the true and orthodox faith and that our lord mohammed had approved himself by surpassing miracles and manifest signs and that the [worship of] fire was not profitable, but harmful; and he went on to expound to her the tenets of islam, till she was persuaded and the love of the true faith entered her heart. then (for god the most high had filled her with love of asaad), she made profession of the faith and became of the people of felicity. after this, she brought him meat and drink and talked with him and they prayed together: moreover, she made him chicken-broths and fed him therewith, till he regained strength and his sickness left him and he was restored to health. one day, as she stood at the door of the house, she heard the crier proclaiming aloud and saying, 'whoso hath with him a handsome young man, whose favour is thus and thus, and bringeth him forth, shall have all he seeketh of wealth; but if any have him and discover it not, he shall be hanged over his own door and his goods shall be confiscated and his blood go for nought.' now asaad had acquainted her with his whole history: so, when she heard the crier, she knew that it was he who was sought for and going down to him, told him the news. then she went forth with him to the palace of the vizier, whom when asaad saw, he exclaimed, 'by allah, this is my brother amjed!' and threw himself upon him; whereupon amjed also knew him and they embraced each other and lay awhile insensible, whilst the vizier's officers stood round them. when they came to themselves, amjed took his brother and carried him to the sultan, to whom he related the whole story, and the sultan charged him to plunder behram's house and take himself. so amjed despatched thither a company of men, who sacked the house and took behram and brought his daughter to the vizier, who received her with all honour, for asaad had told his brother all the torments he had suffered and the kindness that she had done him. moreover, amjed, in his turn, related to asaad all that had passed between the lady and himself and how he had escaped hanging and become vizier; and they made moan, each to the other, of the anguish they had suffered for separation. then the sultan sent for behram and bade strike off his head; but he said, 'o most mighty king, art thou indeed resolved to put me to death?' 'yes,' replied the king, 'except thou save thyself by becoming a muslim.' and behram said, 'o king, have patience with me a little.' then he bowed his head awhile and presently raising it again, made profession of the faith and avowed himself a muslim at the hands of the sultan. they all rejoiced at his conversion and amjed and asaad told him all that had befallen them, whereat he wondered and said, 'o my lords, make ready for the journey and i will depart with you and carry you back to your father's court in a ship.' at this they rejoiced and wept sore; but he said, 'o my lords, weep not for your departure, for ye shall be re-united [with those you love], even as were nimeh and num.' 'and what befell nimeh and num?' asked they. 'it is told,' replied behram, '(but god alone is all-knowing), that story of nimeh ben er rebya and num his slave-girl there lived once in the city of cufa a man called er rebya ben hatim, who was one of the chief men of the town, rich in goods and prosperous, and god had vouchsafed him a son, whom he named nimet allah.[fn# ] one day, being in the slave-dealers' mart, he saw a female slave exposed for sale, with a little girl of wonderful beauty and grace in her hand. so he beckoned to the broker and said to him, "what is the price of this woman and her child?" "fifty dinars," answered he. "write the contract of sale," said er rebya, "and take the money and give it to her owner." then he gave the broker the price and his brokerage and taking the woman and her child, carried them to his house. when his wife saw the slave, she said to her husband (who was the son of her father's brother), "o my cousin, what is this damsel?" quoth he, "i bought her for the sake of the little one on her arm, for know that, when she grows up, there will not be her like for beauty, either in the land of the arabs or elsewhere." "it was well seen of thee," answered his wife. then said she to the woman, "what is thy name?" "o my lady," replied she, "my name is taufic." "and what is thy daughter's name?" asked she. "saad,"[fn# ] answered the slave. "thou sayst sooth," rejoined her mistress. "thou art indeed happy, and happy is he who hath bought thee." then said she to her husband, "o my cousin, what wilt thou call her?" "what thou choosest," answered he. "then let us call her num,"[fn# ] quoth she, and he said, "good." the little num was reared with er rebya's son nimeh in one cradle and each grew up handsomer than the other. they were wont to call each other brother and sister, till they came to the age of ten, when er rebya said to nimeh, "o my son, num is not thy sister, but thy slave. i bought her in thy name, whilst thou wast yet in the cradle; so call her no more 'sister' from this day forth." "if that be so," quoth nimeh, "i will take her to wife." then he went to his mother and told her of this, and she said to him, "o my son, she is thy handmaid." so he went in to num and loved her and two years passed over them, whilst num grew up, nor was there in all cufa a fairer or sweeter or more graceful girl than she. she learnt the koran and all manner of knowledge and excelled in music and singing and playing upon all kinds of instruments, so that she surpassed all the folk of her time. one day, as she sat with her husband in the wine-chamber, she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following verses: since thou'rt my lord, by whose good grace i live in fair estate, a sword wherewith i smite in twain the neck of adverse fate, no need is mine to have recourse to amr[fn# ] or to zeid,[fn# ] nor any but thyself, an if the ways on me grow strait. nimeh was charmed with these verses and said to her, "i conjure thee, by my life, o num, sing to us with the tambourine and other instruments!" so she sang the following verses to a lively air: by him whose hand possesses the reins of my affair, on passion's score, i swear it, my enviers i'll dare. yea, i will vex my censors and thee alone obey and sleep and ease and solace, for thy sweet sake, forswear and dig midmost my entrails, to hold the love of thee, a grave, of which not even my heart shall be aware. and nimeh exclaimed, "gifted of god art thou, o num!" but whilst they led thus the most delightsome life, el hejjaj, [fn# ] [the governor of cufa, heard of num and] said in himself, "needs must i make shift to take this girl num and send her to the commander of the faithful abdulmelik ben merwan, for he hath not in his palace her like for beauty and sweet singing." then, calling an old woman, one of his body-servants, he said to her, "go to er rebya's house and foregather with the girl num and cast about to steal her away, for her like is not to be found on the face of the earth." she promised to do his bidding; so next morning she donned clothes of wool[fn# ] and threw round her neck a rosary of thousands of beads; then, taking in her hand a staff and water-bottle of yemen make, went forth, exclaiming, "glory be to god! praised be god! there is no god but god! god is most great! there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!" nor did she leave making devout ejaculations, whilst her heart was full of craft and fraud, till she came to nimeh's house, at the hour of noonday-prayer, and knocked at the door. the doorkeeper opened and said to her, "what dost thou want?" quoth she, "i am a poor pious woman, whom the time of noonday-prayer hath overtaken, and i would fain pray in this blessed place." "o old woman," answered the porter, "this is no mosque nor oratory, but the house of nimeh ben er rebya." "i know there is neither mosque nor oratory like the house of nimeh ben er rebya," rejoined she. "i am a chamberwoman of the palace of the commander of the faithful and am come out upon a pilgrimage of devotion." but the porter replied, "thou canst not enter;" and many words passed between them, till at last she caught hold of him, saying, "shall the like of me, who have free access to the houses of amirs and grandees, be denied admission to the house of nimeh ben er rebya?" presently, out came nimeh and hearing their dispute, laughed and bade the old woman enter. so she followed him into the presence of num, whom she saluted after the goodliest fashion; and when she looked on her, she was confounded at her exceeding beauty and said to her, "o my lady, i commend thee to the safeguard of god, who made thee and thy lord to accord in beauty and grace!" then she stood up in the prayer-niche and betook herself to inclination and prostration and prayer, till the day departed and the night came with the darkness, when num said to her, "o my mother, rest thy feet awhile." "o my lady," answered the old woman, "whoso seeketh the world to come must weary himself in this world, and whoso wearieth not himself in this world shall not attain the dwellings of the just in the world to come." then num brought her food and said to her, "o my mother, eat of my victual and pray that god may relent towards me and have mercy on me." but she replied, "o my lady, i am fasting. as for thee, thou art but a girl and it befits thee to eat and drink and make merry. may god be indulgent to thee! quoth the most high, '(none shall be saved) except those that repent and believe and work the works of righteousness.'"[fn# ] num sat awhile, conversing with the old woman, and presently said to nimeh, "o my lord, conjure this old woman to sojourn with us awhile, for piety is imprinted on her face." quoth he, "set apart for her a chamber, where she may do her devotions, and let none go in to her: peradventure god (glorified and exalted be he!) shall prosper us by the blessing of her presence and part us not." the old woman passed the night in prayer and recitation,[fn# ] till daybreak, when she went in to nimeh and num and giving them good morning, said to them, "i pray god to have you in his holy keeping!" "whither away, o my mother?" said num. "my lord hath bidden me set apart for thee a chamber, where thou mayst retire for thy devotions." "god give him long life," replied the old woman, "and continue his favour to you both! i would have you charge the doorkeeper not to stay my coming in to you, and (god willing) i will go the round of the holy places and pray for you at the end of my devotions every day and night." then she went out (whilst num wept for parting with her, knowing not the purpose of her coming) and returned to el hejjaj, who said to her, "what news?" she answered, "i have seen the girl, and indeed never bore woman of her day a lovelier than she." and el hejjaj said to her, "so thou do my bidding, thou shalt have of me abundant good." quoth she, "i ask of thee a month's time." and he replied, "it is well." then she fell to paying frequent visits to nimeh and num, who redoubled in honour and kindness to her, and she used to go in to them morning and evening, and all in the house welcomed her, till, one day, being alone with num, she said to her, "by allah, o my lady, when i go to the holy places, i will pray for thee; but i should love thee to go thither with me, that thou mightest look on the elders of the faith that resort thither, and they should pray for thee, according to thy desire." "o my mother," said num, "i conjure thee by allah, take me with thee!" "ask leave of thy mother-in-law," replied the old woman, "and i will take thee." so num said to her mother-in-law, "o my lady, ask my master to let us go, thee and me, one day, with this my old mother, to pray and worship with the fakirs in the holy places." presently, nimeh came in and sat down, whereupon the old woman went up to him and would have kissed his hand, but he forbade her; so she called down blessings on him and left the house. next day, she came again, in the absence of nimeh, and said to num, "we prayed for thee yesterday; but arise now and divert thyself and return ere thy lord come home." so num said to her mother-in-law, "i beseech thee, for god's sake, let me go with this pious woman, that i may look upon the friends of god in the holy places and return speedily, ere my lord come." quoth nimeh's mother, "i fear lest thy lord know." "by allah," said the old woman, "i will not let her sit down; but she shall look, standing on her feet, and not tarry." so on this wise she took the damsel by guile and carrying her to el hejjaj's palace, bestowed her in a privy chamber and told him of her coming; whereupon he went in to her and looking upon her, saw her to be the loveliest of the people of the day, never had he beheld her like. when num saw him, she veiled her face from him; but he left her not till he had called his chamberlain, whom he commanded to take fifty horsemen and mounting the damsel on a swift dromedary, carry her to damascus and there deliver her to the commander of the faithful, abdulmelik ben merwan. moreover, he gave him a letter for the khalif, saying, "bear him this letter and bring me his answer in all haste." so the chamberlain took the damsel, all tearful for separation from her lord, and setting out with her for syria, gave not over journeying till he reached damascus and sought an audience of the commander of the faithful, to whom he delivered the damsel and the letter. the khalif appointed her a separate apartment and going into his harem, said to his wife, "el hejjaj has bought me a female slave of the daughters (descendants) of the (ancient) kings of cufa, for ten thousand dinars, and has sent her to me with this letter." "may god increase thee of his favour!" answered she. then the khalif's sister went into num and when she saw her, she said, "by allah, happy the man who hath thee in his house, were thy cost a hundred thousand dinars!" "o fair-faced one," said num, "what king's palace is this?" "this is the city of damascus," answered the princess, "and the palace of my brother, the commander of the faithful, abdulmelik ben merwan. didst thou not know this?" "by allah, o my lady," said num, "i had no knowledge of this!" "and he who sold thee and took thy price," asked the princess, "did he not tell thee that the khalif had bought thee?" when num heard this, she wept and said in herself, "i have been cozened; but, if i speak, none will credit me; so i will hold my peace and take patience, knowing that the relief of god is near." then she bent her head for shame, and indeed her cheeks were tanned with the journey and the sun. so the khalif's sister left her that day and returned to her on the morrow with clothes and necklaces of jewels and dressed her; after which the khalif came in to her and sat down by her side, and his sister said to him, "look on this damsel, in whom god hath united every perfection of beauty and grace." so he said to num, "draw back the veil from thy face;" but she would not unveil, and he beheld not her face. however, he saw her wrists and love of her entered his heart; and he said to his sister, "i will not go in to her for three days, till she be cheered by thy converse." then he left her, but num ceased not to brood over her case and sigh for her separation from nimeh, till, at eventide, she fell sick of a fever and ate not nor drank; and her face grew pale and her charms faded. they told the khalif of this, and it grieved him; so he visited her with physicians and men of skill, but none could come at a cure for her. as for nimeh, when he returned home, he sat down on his bed and cried, "ho, num!" but she answered not; so he rose in haste and called out, but none came to him, for all the women in the house had hidden themselves, for fear of him. then he went in to his mother, whom he found sitting with her cheek on her hand, and said to her, "o my mother, where is num?" "o my son," answered she, "she is with one who is worthier than i to be trusted with her, namely, the devout old woman; she went forth with her to visit the fakirs and return." "since when has this been her wont," asked nimeh, "and at what hour went she forth?" quoth his mother, "she went out early in the morning." "and how camest thou to give her leave for this?" said he, and she replied, "o my son, it was she persuaded me." "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!" exclaimed nimeh and going forth, in a state of distraction, repaired to the chief of the police, to whom said he, "dost thou practice on me and steal my slave-girl away from me? i will assuredly complain of thee to the commander of the faithful." "who has taken her?" asked the chief of the police, and nimeh answered, "an old woman of such and such a favour, clad in woollen raiment and carrying a rosary of thousands of beads." "find me the old woman," rejoined the other, "and i will get thee back thy slave-girl." "who knows the old woman?" said nimeh. "and who knows the hidden things save god, may he be glorified and exalted?" replied the official, who knew her for el hejjaj's agent. quoth nimeh, "i look to thee for my slave-girl, and el hejjaj shall judge between thee and me." and the master of police answered, "go to whom thou wilt." now nimeh's father was one of the chief men of cufa; so he went to the palace of the governor, whose chamberlain went in to him and told him what was to do. el hejjaj bade admit him and enquired his business. quoth nimeh, "such and such things have befallen me." and the governor said, "bring me the chief of the police, and we will bid him seek for the old woman." now he knew that the chief of the police knew her; so, when he came, he said to him, "i wish thee to make search for the slave-girl of nimeh ben er rebya." and he answered, "none knoweth the hidden things save god the most high." "thou must send out horsemen," rejoined el hejjaj, "and look for the damsel in all the roads and towns." then he turned to nimeh and said to him, "an thy slave-girl return not, i will give thee ten slave-girls from my house and ten from that of the chief of the police." and he said to the latter, "go and seek for the girl." so he went out and nimeh returned home, full of trouble and despairing of life. he had now reached the age of fourteen and there was yet no hair on his cheeks. he shut himself up from his household and ceased not to weep and lament, he and his mother, till the morning, when his father came in to him and said, "o my son, el hejjaj hath put a cheat on the damsel and stolen her away; but from hour to hour god giveth relief." but grief redoubled on nimeh, so that he knew not what he said nor who came in to him, and indeed his charms were changed and he was in sorry case. in this plight he abode three months, till his father despaired of him, and the physicians visited him and said, "there is no cure for him but the damsel." one day, er rebya heard tell of a skilful persian physician, whom the folk gave out for accomplished in medicine and astrology and geomancy. so he sent for him and seating him by his side, entreated him with honour and said to him, "look into my son's case." so he said to nimeh, "give me thy hand." accordingly, the young man gave him his hand and he felt his pulse and his joints and looked in his face; then he laughed and turning to er rebya, said, "thy son's only ailment is in his heart." "thou sayst sooth, o sage," answered er rebya; "but apply thy skill to the consideration of his state and case and acquaint me with the whole thereof and hide nought from me." quoth the persian, "he is enamoured of a girl, who is either in bassora or damascus; and there is no cure for him but reunion with her." "an thou bring them together," said er rebya, "thou shalt have of me what will rejoice thee and shalt live all thy life in wealth and delight." "this is an easy matter," answered the persian, "and soon brought about;" and he turned to nimeh and said to him, "fear not; no hurt shall befall thee; so take heart and be of good cheer." then said he to er rebya, "give me four thousand dinars of your money." so he gave them to him, and he said, "i wish to carry thy son with me to damascus, and god willing, we will not return thence but with the damsel." then said he to the youth, "what is thy name?" and he answered, "nimeh." "o nimeh," said the persian, "sit up and be of good heart, for god will reunite thee with the damsel. so put thy trust in him and eat and drink and be cheerful and fortify thyself for travel, for we set out for damascus this very day." so he sat up whilst the persian made his preparations and took of er rebya, in all, the sum of ten thousand dinars, together with horses and camels and beasts of burden such as he needed for the journey. then nimeh took leave of his father and mother and journeyed with the physician to aleppo. they could get no news of num there, so fared on to damascus, where they abode three days, after which the persian took a shop and adorned its shelves with gilding and stuffs of price and stocked them with vessels of costly porcelain, with covers of silver. moreover, he set before himself vases and flagons of glass full of all manner ointments and syrups, surrounded by cups of crystal, and donning a physician's habit, took his seat in the shop, with his astrolabe and geomantic tablet before him. then he clad nimeh in a shirt and gown of silk and girding his middle with a silken kerchief embroidered with gold, made him sit before himself, saying to him, "o nimeh, henceforth thou art my son; so call me nought but father and i will call thee son." and he replied, "i hear and obey." the people of damascus flocked to gaze on the youth's goodliness and the beauty of the shop and its contents, whilst the physician spoke to nimeh in persian and he answered him in the same tongue, for he knew the language, after the wont of the sons of the notables. the persian soon became known among the townsfolk and they began to resort to him and acquaint him with their ailments, for which he prescribed. moreover, they brought him the water of the sick in phials, and he would examine it and say, "he, whose water this is, is suffering from such and such a disease." and the patient would say, "verily, this physician says sooth." so he continued to do the occasions of the folk and they to flock to him, till his fame spread throughout the city and into the houses of the great. one day, as he sat in his shop, there came up an old woman riding on an ass with housings of brocade, embroidered with jewels, and drawing bridle before his shop, beckoned to him, saying, "take my hand." so he took her hand, and she alighted and said to him, "art thou the persian physician from irak?" "yes," answered he, and she said, "know that i have a sick daughter." then she brought out to him a phial and he looked at it and said to her, "tell me thy daughter's name, that i may calculate her horoscope and learn the hour in which it will befit her to take medicine." "o brother of the persians," answered she, "her name is num." when he heard this, he fell to calculating and writing on his hand and presently said to her, "o my lady, i cannot prescribe for the girl, till i know what countrywoman she is, because of the difference of climate: so tell me where she was brought up and what is her age." "she is fourteen years old," replied the old woman, "and was brought up in cufa of irak." "and how long," asked he, "has she sojourned in this country?" "but a few months," answered she. when nimeh heard the old woman's words and the name of his slave-girl, his heart fluttered and he was like to swoon. then said the persian to the old woman, "such and such medicines will suit her case;" and she rejoined, "then make them up and give them to me, with the blessing of god the most high!" so saying, she threw him ten dinars, and he bade nimeh prepare the necessary drugs; whereupon she looked at the youth and exclaimed, "god have thee in his holy keeping, o my son! verily, she is like thee in age and favour." then said she to the physician, "o brother of the persians, is this thy slave or thy son?" "he is my son," answered he. so nimeh made up the medicine and laying it in a little box, took a piece of paper and wrote thereon the following verses: so num but vouchsafe me a glance, to gladden my heart and my mind, let suada unfavouring prove and juml, an't please her, unkind.[fn# ] "forget her," quoth they unto me, "and thou shalt have twenty like her." i will not forget her, i swear, for never her like should i find. he put the paper in the box and sealing it up, wrote on the cover the following words in the cufic character, "i am nimeh ben er rebya of cufa." then he gave it to the old woman, who bade them farewell and returning to the khalif's palace, went in to num, to whom she delivered the box, saying, "o my lady, know that there is lately come to our town a persian physician, than whom i never saw a more skilful nor a better versed in matters of sickness. i showed him the phial and told him thy name, and he knew thine ailment and prescribed a remedy. then, by his order, his son made thee up this medicine; and there is not in damascus a comelier or more elegant youth than this son of his nor hath any the like of his shop." num took the box and seeing the names of her lord and his father written thereon, changed colour and said to herself, "doubtless, the owner of this shop is come in search of me." so she said to the old woman, "describe this youth to me." "his name is nimeh," answered the old woman; "he is richly clad and perfectly handsome and has a mole on his right eyebrow." "give me the medicine," cried num, "and may the blessing and help of god the most high attend it!" so she drank off the potion and said, laughing, "indeed, it is a blessed medicine." then she sought in the box and finding the paper, read it and knew that this was indeed her lord, whereat her heart was solaced and she rejoiced. when the old woman saw her laughing, she exclaimed, "this is indeed a blessed day!" and num said, "o nurse, i have a mind to eat and drink." so the old woman said to the serving-women, "bring a tray of dainty viands for your mistress;" whereupon they set food before her and she sat down to eat. presently, in came the khalif and seeing her sitting eating, rejoiced; and the old woman said to him, "o commander of the faithful, i give thee joy of thy slave's recovery! know that there is lately come to our city a physician, than whom i never saw a better versed in diseases and their cure. i fetched her medicine from him and she has taken of it but once and is restored to health." quoth he, "take a thousand dinars and provide for her treatment, till she be completely recovered." and he went away, rejoicing in the damsel's recovery, whilst the old woman betook herself to the physician, to whom she delivered the thousand dinars and a letter that num had written, giving him to know that she was become the khalif's slave. he gave the letter to nimeh, who knew her hand and fell down in a swoon. when he came to himself, he opened the letter and found these words written therein: "from the slave despoiled of her delight,[fn# ] her whose reason hath been beguiled and who is separated from the beloved of her heart. thy letter hath reached me and hath dilated my bosom and rejoiced my heart, even as saith the poet: the letter reached me, never may the fingers fail thee aught, that traced its characters, until with sweetest scent they're fraught! 'twas as unto his mother's arms when moses was restored or as to blind old jacob's hands when joseph's coat was brought."[fn# ] when he read these verses, his eyes ran over with tears and the old woman said to him, "what ails thee to weep, o my son? may god never make thine eye to shed tears!" "o my lady," answered the persian, "how should my son not weep, seeing that this is his slave-girl and he her lord nimeh ben er rebya of cufa? indeed, her recovery depends on her seeing him, for nought ails her but the love of him. so, o my lady, take these thousand dinars to thyself (and thou shalt have of me yet more than this) and look on us with eyes of compassion; for we know not how to bring this affair to a happy issue but through thee." then she said to nimeh, "art thou indeed her lord?" "yes," answered he, and she, "thou sayst truly; for she ceases not to name thee." then he told her all that had passed from first to last, and she said, "o youth, thou shalt owe thy reunion with her to none but me." so she mounted at once and returning to num, looked in her face and smiled, saying, "o my daughter, it is just that thou weep and fall sick for thy separation from thy master nimeh ben er rebya of cufa." quoth num, "verily, the veil has been withdrawn for thee and the truth revealed to thee." "be of good cheer," rejoined the old woman, "and take heart, for i will surely bring you together, though it cost me my life." then she returned to nimeh and said to him, "i have seen thy slave-girl and find that she longs for thee yet more than thou for her; for the commander of the faithful is minded to foregather with her, but she refuses herself to him. but if thou be stout of heart and firm of courage, i will bring you together and venture myself for you and make shift to bring thee to her in the khalif's palace; for she cannot come forth." and nimeh answered, "god requite thee with good!" then she went back to num and said to her, "thy lord is indeed dying of love for thee and would fain see thee and foregather with thee. what sayst thou?" "and i also," answered num, "am dying for his sight." so the old woman took a parcel of women's clothes and ornaments and repairing to nimeh, said to him, "come apart with me into a privy place." so he brought her into the room behind the shop, where she painted him and decked his wrists and plaited his hair, after which she clad him in a slave-girl's habit and adorned him after the fairest fashion of woman's adornment, till he was as one of the houris of paradise; and when she saw him thus, she exclaimed, "blessed be god, the most excellent creator! by allah, thou art handsomer than the damsel! now, walk with thy left shoulder forward and swing thy buttocks." so he walked before her, as she bade him; and when she saw he had caught the trick of women's gait, she said to him, "expect me to-morrow night, when, god willing, i will come and carry thee to the palace. when thou seest the chamberlains and the eunuchs, fear not, but bow thy head and speak not with any, for i will ward thee from their speech; and with god is success." accordingly, on the morrow she returned at the appointed hour and carrying him to the palace, entered and he after her. the chamberlain would have stayed him, but the old woman said to him, "o most ill-omened of slaves, this is the handmaid of num, the khalif's favourite. how darest thou stay her?" then said she, "enter, o damsel!" and they went on, till they drew near the door leading to the inner court of the palace, when the old woman said to him, "o nimeh, take courage and enter and turn to the left. count five doors and enter the sixth, for it is that of the place prepared for thee. fear nothing, and if any speak to thee, answer not neither stop." then she went up with him to the door, and the chamberlain on guard hailed her, saying, "what damsel is that?" quoth the old woman, "our lady hath a mind to buy her." and he said, "none may enter save by leave of the commander of the faithful; so go thou back with her. i cannot let her pass, for thus am i commanded." "o chief chamberlain," replied the old woman, "use thy reason. thou knowest that num, the khalif's slave-girl, of whom he is enamoured, is but now restored to health and the commander of the faithful hardly yet credits her recovery. now she is minded to buy this girl; so oppose thou not her entrance, lest it come to num's knowledge and she be wroth with thee and suffer a relapse and this bring thy head to be cut off." then said she to nimeh, "enter, o damsel; pay no heed to what he says and tell not the princess that he opposed thine entrance." so nimeh bowed his head and entered, but mistook and turned to his right, instead of his left, and meaning to count five doors and enter the sixth, counted six and entering the seventh, found himself in a place carpeted with brocade and hung with curtains of gold-embroidered silk. here and there stood censers of aloes-wood and ambergris and sweet-scented musk, and at the upper end was a couch covered with brocade, on which he seated himself, marvelling at the exceeding magnificence of the place and knowing not what was appointed to him in the secret purpose of god. as he sat musing on his case, the khalif's sister entered, followed by her handmaid, and seeing him seated there took him for a slave-girl and said to him, "what art thou, o damsel, and who brought thee hither?" he made no reply and she continued, "if thou be one of my brother's favourites and he be wroth with thee, i will intercede with him for thee." but he answered her not a word; so she said to her maid, "stand at the door and let none enter." then she went up to nimeh and looking at him, was amazed at his beauty and said to him, "o lady, tell me who thou art and how thou camest here; for i have never seen thee in the palace." still he answered not, whereat she was angered and putting her hand to his bosom, found no breasts and would have unveiled him, that she might know who he was; but he said to her, "o my lady, i am thy slave and cast myself on thy protection; do thou protect me." "no harm shall come to thee," said she; "but tell me who thou art and who brought thee into this my lodging." "o princess," answered he, "i am known as nimeh ben er rebya of cufa, and i have ventured my life for my slave-girl num, whom el hejjaj took by sleight and sent hither." "fear not," rejoined the princess; "no harm shall befall thee." then, calling her maid, she said to her, "go to num's chamber and bid her to me." meanwhile, the old woman went to num's bed-chamber and said to her, "has thy lord come to thee?" "no, by allah!" answered num, and the other said, "belike he hath gone astray and entered some chamber other than thine." "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!" exclaimed num. "our last hour is come and we are all lost." as they sat, pondering, in came the princess's maid and saluting num, said to her, "my lady bids thee to her entertainment." "i hear and obey," answered the damsel, and the old woman said, "belike thy lord is with the khalif's sister and the veil has been done away." so num rose and betook herself to the princess, who said to her, "here is thy lord sitting with me; it seems he has gone astray; but, please god, neither thou nor he has any cause for fear." when num heard this, she took heart and went up to nimeh, who rose to meet her, and they embraced and fell down in a swoon. as soon as they came to themselves, the princess said to them, "sit down and let us take counsel for your deliverance from this your strait." and they answered, "o our lady, we hear and obey: it is thine to command." "by allah," quoth she, "no harm shall befall you from us!" then she called for meat and drink, and they sat down and ate till they had enough, after which they sat drinking. the cup went round amongst them and their cares ceased from them; but nimeh said, "would i knew how this will end!" "o nimeh," quoth the princess, "dost thou love thy slave num?" "o my lady," answered he, "it is my passion for her that has brought me thus in peril of my life." then she said to the damsel, "o num, dost thou love thy lord nimeh?" and she replied, "o my lady, it is the love of him that has wasted my body and brought me to evil case." "by allah," rejoined the princess, "since ye love each other thus, may he not live who would sunder you! take heart and be of good cheer." at this they both rejoiced, and num, calling for a lute, tuned it and preluded enchantingly, then sang the following verses: whenas, content with nothing less, the spies our sev'rance sought, allbe no debt of blood they had 'gainst me or thee in aught, whenas they poured upon our ears the hurtling din of war, whilst helpers and protectors failed and succour came there nought, i fought the railers with my tears, my spirit and thine eyes; yea, with the torrent, fire and sword, to fend them off i wrought. then she gave the lute to nimeh, saying, "sing thou to us." so he took it and playing a lively measure, sang these verses: the moon were like thee at its full, were it of freckles free, and did it never brook eclipse, the sun would favour thee. indeed, i marvel, (but in love how many a marvel is! therein are passion and desire and cares and ecstasy,) short seems the distance, when i fare towards my love's abode; but when i journey from her sight, the way is long to me. when he had made an end of his song, num filled the cup and gave it to him, and he drank it off; then she filled again and gave the cup to the princess, who took it and emptied it; after which she in her turn took the lute and sang as follows: mourning and grief possess my heart and in my breast the ardour of desire abideth as a guest. the wasting of my frame, alas! is manifest and all my soul is sick with passion and unrest. then she filled the cup and gave it to num, who drank it off and taking the lute, sang the following verses: o thou, upon whom i bestowed my soul and thou rack'dst it to death and i would have ta'en it again, but could not release it i' faith, relent to a lover forlorn; vouchsafe him, i pray, ere he die, what may from perdition redeem, for this is the last of his breath. they ceased not to sing and make merry and drink to the sweet sound of the strings, full of mirth and joyance and good cheer, till, behold, in came the commander of the faithful. when they saw him, they rose and kissed the ground before him; and he, seeing num with the lute in her hand, said to her, "o num, praised be god who hath done away from thee pain and affliction!" then he looked at nimeh (who was still disguised as a woman) and said to the princess, "o my sister, what damsel is this by num's side?" "o commander of the faithful," answered she, "she is one of thy slave-girls and the bosom friend of num, who will neither eat nor drink without her." and she repeated the words of the poet: two opposites, dissevered still in charms and straitly knit, and each one's beauty brightlier shows against its opposite. "by the great god," said the khalif, "she is as handsome as num, and to-morrow, i will appoint her a separate chamber beside that of num and send her furniture and linen and all that befits her, in honour of num." then, the princess called for food and set it before her brother, who ate and filling a cup, signed to num to sing. so she took the lute, after drinking two cups, and sang the following verses: whenas my cup-companion hath poured me out of wine three foaming cups, brimmed over with nectar from the vine, i trail my skirts in glory all night, as if o'er thee, commander of the faithful, the empery were mine. the khalif was delighted and filling another cup, gave it to num and bade her sing again. so she drank off the cup, and sweeping the strings of the lute, sang as follows: o thou, the noblest man of men that live in this our day, whose equal none may boast himself in power and mightiness, o all unpeered in pride of place, to whom munificence is as a birthright, lord and king, whom all in all confess, thou, that dost lord it, sovran-wise, o'er all the kings of earth and without grudging or reproach, giv'st bountiful largesse, god have thee ever in his guard, despite thine every foe, and be thy fortune ever bright with victory and success! when the khalif heard this, he exclaimed, "by allah, it is good! by allah, it is excellent! verily, god hath been good to thee, o num! how sweet is thy voice and how clear thy speech!" they passed the time thus in mirth and good cheer, till midnight, when the khalif's sister said to him, "o commander of the faithful, give ear to a tale i have read in books of a certain man of rank." "and what is this tale?" asked he. "know," said she, "that there lived once in the city of cufa, a youth called nimeh ben er rebya, and he had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him. they had been reared in one bed; but when they grew up and mutual love took possession of them, fate smote them with its calamities and decreed separation unto them. for designing folk enticed her by sleight forth of his house and stealing her away from him, sold her to one of the kings for ten thousand dinars. now the girl loved her lord even as he loved her; so he left house and home and fortune and setting out in quest of her, made shift, at the peril of his life, to gain access to her; but they had not been long in company, when in came the king, who had bought her of her ravisher, and hastily bade put them to death, without waiting to enquire into the matter, as was just. what sayest thou, o commander of the faithful, of this king's conduct?" "this was indeed a strange thing," answered the khalif; "it behoved the king to use his power with clemency, and he should have considered three things in their favour; first, that they loved one another; secondly, that they were in his house and under his hand; and thirdly, that it behoves a king to be deliberate in judging between the folk, and how much more so when he himself is concerned! wherefore the king in this did unkingly." then said his sister, "o my brother by the lord of heaven and earth, i conjure thee, bid num sing and give ear to that she shall sing!" and he said, "o num, sing to me." so she played a lively measure and sang the following verses: fortune hath played the traitor; indeed, 'twas ever so, transpiercing hearts and bosoms and kindling care and woe and parting friends in sunder, that were in union knit, so down their cheeks thou seest the tears in torrents flow. they were, and i was with them, in all delight of life, and fortune did unite us full straitly whiles ago. so gouts of blood, commingled with tears, both night and day i'll weep, my sore affliction for loss of thee to show. when he heard this, he was moved to great delight, and his sister said to him, "o my brother, he who decideth in aught against himself, it behoveth him to abide by it and do according to his word; and thou hast by this judgment decided against thyself." then said she, "o nimeh, stand up, and do thou likewise, o num!" so they stood up and she continued, "o commander of the faithful, she who stands before thee is num, whom el hejjaj ben yousuf eth thekefi stole and sent to thee, falsely pretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten thousand dinars. this other is her lord, nimeh ben er rebya; and i beseech thee, by the honour of thy pious forefathers and by hemzeh and akil and abbes,[fn# ] to pardon them and bestow them one on the other, that thou mayst earn the recompense in the next world of thy just dealing with them; for they are under thy hand and have eaten of thy meat and drunken of thy drink; and behold, i make intercession for them and beg of thee the boon of their lives." "thou sayst sooth," replied the khalif, "i did indeed give judgment as thou sayst, and i use not to go back on my word." then said he, "o num, is this thy lord?" and she answered, "yes, o commander of the faithful." "no harm shall befall you," said he; "i give you to one another." then he said to the young man, "o nimeh, who told thee where she was and taught thee how to get at her?" "o commander of the faithful," replied he, "give ear to my story; for by the virtue of thy pious forefathers, i will hide nothing from thee!" and he told him all that had passed between himself and the persian physician and the old woman and how she had brought him into the palace and he had mistaken one door for another; whereat the khalif wondered exceedingly and said, "fetch me the persian." so they fetched him and he made him one of his chief officers. moreover, he bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered him a handsome present, saying, "him, who has shown such good sense and skill in his ordinance, it behoves us to make one of our chief officers." he also loaded nimeh and num with gifts and honours and rewarded the old woman; and they abode with him in joy and content and all delight of life seven days; at the end of which time nimeh craved leave to return to cufa with his slave-girl. the khalif gave leave and they departed accordingly and arrived in due course at cufa, where nimeh foregathered with his father and mother, and they abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies.' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * the princes wondered mightily at behram's story and said, 'by allah, this is indeed a rare story!' they passed the night thus, and next morning, amjed and asaad mounted and riding to the palace, sought an audience of the king, who received them with honour. as they sat talking, of a sudden they heard the townsfolk crying aloud and shouting to one another and calling for help, and the chamberlain came in to the king and said to him, 'some king hath encamped before the city, he and his army, with arms displayed, and we know not who they are nor what they seek.' the king took counsel with his vizier and asaad, and amjed said, 'i will go out to him and learn the cause of his coming.' so he took horse and riding forth the city, repaired to the stranger's camp, where he found the king and with him many soldiers and mounted officers. when the guards saw him, they knew him for an ambassador from the king of the city; so they took him and brought him to their king. amjed kissed the ground before him; but lo, the king was a queen, who wore a chin-band over her face, and she said to amjed, 'know that i have no design on your city and am only come hither in quest of a beardless slave of mine, whom if i find with you, i will do you no hurt; but if i find him not, then shall there befall sore battle between you and me.' 'o queen,' asked amjed, 'what is thy slave's name and what like is he?' said she, 'his name is asaad and he is of such and such a favour. my name is merjaneh, and this slave came to my town in company of behram, a magian, who refused to sell him to me; so i took him by force, but the magian fell upon him by night and took him away by stealth.' when amjed heard this he knew that it was his brother asaad whom she sought and said to her, 'o queen of the age, praised be god who hath brought us relief! know that he whom thou seekest is my brother.' then he told her their story and all that had befallen them in the land of exile, and acquainted her with the cause of their departure from the islands of ebony, whereat she marvelled and rejoiced to have found asaad. so she bestowed a dress of honour upon amjed, and he returned to the king and told him what had passed, at which they all rejoiced and the king and the two princes went forth to meet queen merjaneh. they were admitted to her presence and sat down to converse with her, but as they were thus engaged, behold, a cloud of dust arose and grew, till it covered the landscape. presently, it lifted and discovered an army, in numbers like the swollen sea, armed cap-a-pie, who, making for the city with naked swords, encompassed it as the ring encompasses the little finger. when amjed and asaad saw this, they exclaimed, 'we are god's and to him we return. what is this great army? doubtless, these are enemies; and except we agree with this queen merjaneh to resist them, they will take the town from us and slay us. there is nothing for us but to go out to them and see who they are.' so amjed mounted and passing through queen merjaneh's camp, came to the approaching army and was admitted to the presence of their king, to whom he delivered his message, after kissing the earth before him. quoth the king, 'i am called king ghaïour, lord of the islands and the seas and the seven castles, and am come out in quest of my daughter budour, of whom fortune hath bereft me; for she left me and returned not to me, nor have i heard any news of her or her husband kemerezzeman. have ye any tidings of them?' when amjed heard this, he knew that this king was none other than his grandfather, his mother's father, and kissing the earth before him, told him that he was the son of his daughter budour; whereupon ghaïour threw himself upon him and they both fell a-weeping. then said ghaïour, 'praised be god, o my son, for safety, since i have foregathered with thee!' and amjed told him that his daughter budour and her husband kemerezzeman were well and abode in a city called the city of ebony. moreover, he related to him how his father, being wroth with him and his brother, had commanded his treasurer to put them to death, but that the latter had taken pity on them and let them go with their lives. quoth king ghaïour, 'i will go back with thee and thy brother to your father and make your peace with him.' amjed kissed the ground before him and the king bestowed a dress of honour upon him, after which he returned, smiling, to the king of the city of the magians and told him what he had learnt, at which he wondered exceedingly. then he despatched guest-gifts of sheep and horses and camels and provender and so forth to king ghaïour and the like to queen merjaneh and told her what had chanced, whereupon quoth she, 'i too will accompany you with my troops and will do my endeavour to make peace [between the princes and their father.]' at this moment, there arose another cloud of dust and spread, till it covered the prospect and darkened the day; and under it, they heard shouts and cries and neighing of horses and saw the sheen of swords and the glint of lance-points. when this new host drew near the city and saw the two other armies, they beat their drums and the king of the magians exclaimed, 'this is indeed a blessed day! praised be god who hath made us of accord with these two armies! if it be his will, he will give us peace with yon other also.' then said he to amjed and asaad, 'go forth and bring us news of them, for they are a mighty host, never saw i a mightier.' so they opened the city gates, which the king had shut for fear of the surrounding troops, and amjed and asaad went forth and coming to the new host, found that it was the army of the king of the ebony islands, led by their father, king kemerezzeman in person. when they came before him, they kissed the earth and wept; but, when he saw them, he threw himself upon them, weeping sore, and strained them long to his breast. then he excused himself to them and told them how sore desolation he had suffered for their loss; and they acquainted him with king ghaïour's arrival, whereupon he mounted with his chief officers and proceeded to the king of china's camp, he and his sons. as they drew near, one of the princes rode forward and informed king ghaïour of kemerezzeman's coming, whereupon he came out to meet him and they joined company, marvelling at these things and how fortune had ordered their encounter in that place. then the townsfolk made them banquets of all manner of meats and confections and brought them sheep and horses and camels and fodder and other guest-gifts and all that the troops needed. presently, behold, yet another cloud of dust arose and spread till it covered the landscape, whilst the earth shook with the tramp of horse and the drums sounded like the storm-winds. after awhile, the dust lifted and discovered an army clad in black and armed cap-a-pie, and in their midst rode a very old man clad also in black, whose beard flowed down over his breast. when the king of the city saw this great host, he said to the other kings, 'praised be god the most high, by whose leave ye are met here, all in one day, and proved all known one to the other! but what vast army is this that covers the country?' 'have no fear of them,' answered they; 'we are here three kings, each with a great army, and if they be enemies, we will join thee in doing battle with them, were three times their number added to them.' as they were talking, up came an envoy from the approaching host, making for the city. they brought him before the four kings and he kissed the earth and said, 'the king my master comes from the land of the persians; many years ago he lost his son and is seeking him in all countries. if he find him with you, well and good; but if he find him not, there will be war between him and you, and he will lay waste your city.' 'that shall he not,' rejoined kemerezzeman; 'but how is thy master called in the land of the persians?' 'he is called king shehriman, lord of the khalidan islands,' answered the envoy; 'and he hath levied these troops in the lands traversed by him, whilst seeking his son.' when kemerezzeman heard his father's name, he gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon; then, presently coming to himself, he wept sore and said to amjed and asaad, 'go, o my sons, with the messenger: salute your grandfather, king shehriman, and give him glad tidings of me, for he mourns my loss and even now wears black for my sake.' then he told the other kings all that had befallen him in his youth, at which they all wondered and mounting with him, repaired to his father, whom he saluted, and they embraced and fell down in a swoon, for excess of joy. when they revived, kemerezzeman acquainted his father with all his adventures, and the other kings saluted shehriman. then they married merjaneh to asaad and sent her back to her kingdom, charging her not to leave them without news of her. moreover, amjed took bustan, behram's daughter, to wife, and they all set out for the city of ebony. when they arrived there, kemerezzeman went in to his father-in-law, king armanous, and told him all that had befallen him and how he had found his sons; whereat armanous rejoiced and gave him joy of his safe return. then king ghaïour went in to his daughter, queen budour, and satisfied his longing for her company, and they all abode a month's space in the city of ebony; after which the king of china and his daughter returned to their own country with their company, taking prince amjed with them, whom, as soon as ghaïour was settled again in his kingdom, he made king in his stead. moreover, kemerezzeman made asaad king in his room over the ebony islands, with the consent of his grandfather, king armanous, and set out himself, with his father, king shehriman, for the islands of khalidan. the people of the capital decorated the city in their honour and they ceased not to beat the drums for glad tidings a whole month; nor did kemerezzeman leave to govern in his father's room, till there overtook them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies." "o shehrzad," said king shehriyar, "this is indeed a right wonderful story!" "o king," answered she, "it is not more wonderful than that of alaeddin abou esh shamat." "what is that?" asked he, and she said, "i have heard tell, o august king, that alaeddin abou esh shamat. there lived once in cairo, of old time, a merchant named shemseddin, who was of the best and truest-spoken of the traders of the city and had great store of money and goods and slaves and servants, white and black and male and female. moreover, he was provost of the merchants of cairo and had a wife, whom he loved and who loved him; but he had lived with her forty years, yet had not been blessed with son or daughter by her. one friday, as he sat in his shop, he noted that each of the merchants had a son or two or more, sitting in shops like their fathers. presently, he entered the bath and made the friday ablution; after which he came out and took the barber's glass, saying, 'i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is his apostle!' then he looked at his beard and seeing that the white hairs in it outnumbered the black, bethought himself that hoariness is the harbinger of death. now his wife knew the time of his coming and had washed and made ready for him; so when he came in to her, she said, 'good even;' but he replied, 'i see no good.' then she called for the evening meal and said to her husband, 'eat, o my lord.' quoth he, 'i will eat nothing,' and pushing the table away with his foot, turned his back to her. 'why dost thou thus?' said she. 'what has vexed thee?' and he answered, 'thou art the cause of my vexation.' 'how so?' asked she. 'this morning,' replied he, 'when i opened my shop, i saw that each of the other merchants had a son or two or more, and i said to myself, "he who took thy father will not spare thee." now the night i wedded thee, thou madest me swear that i would never take a second wife nor a concubine, abyssinian or greek or other, nor would lie a night from thee: and behold, thou art barren, and swiving thee is like boring into the rock.' 'god is my witness,' rejoined she, 'that the fault lies with thee, for that thy seed is thin.' 'and how is it with him whose seed is thin?' asked he, and she, 'he cannot get women with child nor beget children.' 'what thickens seed?' asked he. 'tell me and i will try it: haply, it will thicken mine.' quoth she, 'enquire for it of the druggists.' they slept that night and arose on the morrow, repenting each of having spoken angrily to the other. then he went to the market and accosting a druggist, said to him, 'hast thou wherewithal to thicken the seed?' 'i had it, but am spent of it,' answered the druggist; 'ask my neighbour.' so shemseddin made the round of the bazaar, till he had asked every one; but they all laughed at him and he returned to his shop and sat down, troubled. now there was in the market a man called sheikh mohammed semsem, who was syndic of the brokers and was given to the use of opium and bang and hashish. he was poor and used to wish shemseddin good morrow every day; so he came to him according to his wont and saluted him. the merchant returned his salute, and the other, seeing him vexed, said to him, 'o my lord, what hath crossed thee?' quoth shemseddin, 'these forty years have i been married to my wife, yet hath she borne me neither son nor daughter; and i am told that the cause of my failure to get her with child is the thinness of my seed; so i have been seeking wherewithal to thicken it, but found it not.' 'i have a thickener,' said sheikh mohammed; 'but what wilt thou say to him who makes thy wife conceive by thee, after forty years' barrenness? 'an thou do this,' answered the merchant, 'i will largely reward thee.' 'then give me a dinar,' rejoined the broker, and shemseddin said, 'take these two dinars.' he took them and said, 'give me also yonder bowl of porcelain.' so he gave it him, and the broker betook himself to a hashish-seller, of whom he bought two ounces of concentrated turkish opium and equal parts of chinese cubebs, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, white pepper, ginger and mountain lizard[fn# ] and pounding them all together, boiled them in sweet oil; after which he added three ounces of frankincense and a cupful or coriander-seed and macerating the whole, made it into a paste with greek honey. then he put the electuary in the bowl and carried it to the merchant, to whom he delivered it, saying, 'this is the seed-thickener, and the manner of using it is this. make the evening-meal of mutton and house-pigeon, plentifully seasoned and spiced; then take of this electuary with a spoon and wash it down with a draught of boiled date-wine.' so the merchant bought mutton and pigeons and sent them to his wife, bidding her dress them well and lay up the electuary till he should call for it. she did as he bade her and he ate the evening-meal, after which he called for the bowl and ate of the electuary. it liked him well, so he ate the rest and lay with his wife. that very night she conceived by him and after three months, her courses ceased and she knew that she was with child. when the days of her pregnancy were accomplished, the pangs of labour took her and they raised cries of joy. the midwife delivered her with difficulty [of a son], then, taking the new- born child, she pronounced over him the names of mohammed and ali and said, 'god is most great!' moreover, she called in his ear the call to prayer; then swathed him and gave him to his mother, who took him and put him to her breast; and he sucked his full and slept. the midwife abode with them three days, till they had made the mothering-cakes and sweetmeats; and they distributed them on the seventh day. then they sprinkled salt[fn# ] and the merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of her safe delivery and said, 'where is the gift of god?' so they brought him a babe of surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the ever-present orderer of all things, whoever saw him would have deemed him a yearling child, though he was but seven days old. shemseddin looked on his face and seeing it like a shining full moon, with moles on both cheeks, said to his wife, 'what hast thou named him?' 'if it were a girl,' answered she, 'i had named her; but it is a boy, so none shall name him but thou.' now the people of that time used to name their children by omens; and whilst the merchant and his wife were taking counsel of the name, they heard one say to his friend, 'harkye, my lord alaeddin!' so the merchant said, 'we will call him alaeddin abou esh shamat.'[fn# ] then he committed the child to the nurses, and he drank milk two years, after which they weaned him and he grew up and throve and walked upon the earth. when he came to seven years old, they put him in a chamber under the earth, for fear of the evil eye, and his father said, 'he shall not come out, till his beard grows.' and he gave him in charge to a slave-girl and a black slave; the former dressed him his meals and the latter carried them to him. then his father circumcised him and made him a great feast; after which he brought him a doctor of the law, who taught him to write and repeat the koran and other parts of knowledge, till he became an accomplished scholar. one day, the slave, after bringing him the tray of food, went away and forgot to shut the trap-door after him: so alaeddin came forth and went in to his mother, with whom was a company of women of rank. as they sat talking, in came he upon them, as he were a drunken white slave,[fn# ] for the excess of his beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their faces and said to his mother, 'god requite thee, o such an one! how canst thou let this strange slave in upon us? knowest thou not that modesty is a point of the faith?' 'pronounce the name of god,'[fn# ] answered she. 'this is my son, the darling of my heart and the son of the provost shemseddin.' quoth they, 'we never knew that thou hadst a son:' and she, 'his father feared the evil eye for him and shut him up in a chamber under the earth, nor did we mean that he should come out, before his beard was grown; but it would seem as if the slave had unawares left the door open, and he hath come out.' the women gave her joy of him, and he went out from them into the courtyard, where he seated himself in the verandah.[fn# ] presently, in came the slaves with his father's mule, and he said to them, 'whence comes this mule?' quoth they, 'thy father rode her to the shop, and we have brought her back.' 'and what is my father's trade?' asked he. and they replied, 'he is provost of the merchants of cairo and sultan of the sons of the arabs.' then he went in to his mother and said to her, 'o my mother, what is my father's trade?' said she, 'he is a merchant and provost of the merchants of cairo and sultan of the sons of the arabs. his slaves consult him not in selling aught whose price is less than a thousand dinars, but sell it at their own discretion; nor doth any merchandise, little or much, enter or leave cairo, without passing through his hands; for, o my son, god the most great hath given thy father wealth past count.' 'praised be god,' exclaimed he, 'that i am son of the sultan of the sons of the arabs and that my father is provost of the merchants! but why, o my mother, did you put me in the underground chamber and leave me prisoner there?' 'o my son,' answered she, 'we did this for fear of (men's) eyes, for it is true that the evil eye hath power to harm and the most part of the sojourners in the tombs are of its victims.' 'o my mother,' rejoined he, 'where is a place of refuge against destiny? verily, taking care estoppeth not fate nor is there any escape from that which is written. he who took my grandfather will not spare myself nor my father; for, though he live to-day, he shall not live to-morrow. and when my father dies and i come forth and say, "i am alaeddin, son of shemseddin the merchant," none of the people will believe me, but the aged will say, "never in our lives saw we a son or a daughter of shemseddin." then the treasury will come down and take my father's estate; and may allah have mercy on him who saith, "the noble dies and his wealth passes away and the meanest of men take his women." so do thou, o my mother, speak to my father, that he take me with him to the market and set me up in a shop with merchandise and teach me to buy and sell and give and take.' 'o my son,' answered his mother, 'when thy father returns, i will tell him this.' so when the merchant came home, he found his son sitting with his mother and said to her, 'why hast thou brought him forth of the underground chamber?' 'o my cousin,' answered she, 'it was not i that brought him out; but the servants forgot to shut the door and left it open; so he came forth and came in to me, as i sat with a company of women of rank.' and she went on to repeat to him what the boy had said; and shemseddin said to the latter, 'o my son, to- morrow, god willing, i will take thee with me to the market; but i would have thee know that the commerce of the markets and the shops demands good manners and an accomplished carriage in all conditions.' so alaeddin passed the night, rejoicing in his father's promise; and on the morrow the merchant carried him to the bath and clad him in a suit worth much money. as soon as they had broken their fast and drunken sherbets, shemseddin mounted his mule and rode to the market, followed by his son; but when the market-folk saw their provost making towards them, followed by a youth as he were a piece of the moon on its fourteenth night, they said, one to another, 'see yonder boy behind the provost of the merchants. verily, we thought well of him; but he is like the leek, grayheaded and green at the heart.' and sheikh mohammed semsem before mentioned, the deputy of the market, said, 'o merchants, never will we accept the like of him for our chief.' now it was the custom, when the provost came from his house and sat down in his shop of a morning, for the deputy of the market and the rest of the merchants to go in a body to his ship and recite to him the opening chapter of the koran, after which they wished him good morrow and went away, each to his shop. shemseddin seated himself in his shop as usual, but the merchants come not to him as of wont; so he called the deputy and said to him, 'why come not the merchants together as usual?' 'i know not how to tell thee,' answered mohammed semsem; 'for they have agreed to depose thee from the headship of the market and to recite the first chapter to thee no more.' 'and why so?' asked shemseddin. 'what boy is this that sits beside thee,' asked the deputy, 'and thou a man of years and chief of the merchants? is he a slave or akin to thy wife? verily, i think thou lovest him and inclinest [unlawfully] to the boy.' with this, the provost cried out at him, saying, 'god confound thee, hold thy peace! this is my son.' 'never knew we that thou hadst a son,' rejoined the deputy; and shemseddin answered, 'when thou gavest me the seed-thickener, my wife conceived and bore this youth, whom i reared in a chamber under the earth, for fear of the evil eye, nor was it my purpose that he should come forth, till he could take his beard in his hand. however, his mother would not agree to this, and he would have me bring him to the market and stock him a shop and teach him to sell and buy.' so the deputy returned to the other merchants and acquainted them with the truth of the case, whereupon they all arose and going in a body to shemseddin's shop, stood before him and recited the first chapter of the koran to him; after which they gave him joy of his son and said to him, 'god prosper root and branch! but even the poorest of us, when son or daughter is born to him, needs must he make a pot of custard and bid his friends and acquaintances; yet thou hast not done this.' quoth he, 'this is your due from me; be our rendezvous in the garden.' so next morning, he sent the carpet- layer to the pavilion in the garden and bade him furnish it. moreover, he sent thither all that was needful for cooking, such as sheep and butter and so forth, and spread two tables, one in the saloon and another in the upper chamber. then he and his son girded themselves, and he said to the latter, 'o my son, when a graybeard enters, i will meet him and carry him into the upper chamber and seat him at the table; and do thou, in like manner, receive the beardless youths and seat them at the table in the saloon.' 'o my father,' asked alaeddin, 'why dost thou spread two tables, one for men and another for youths?' 'o my son,' answered shemseddin, 'the beardless boy is ashamed to eat with men.' and his son was content with this answer. so when the merchants arrived, shemseddin received the men and seated them in the upper chamber, whilst alaeddin received the youths and seated them in the saloon. then the servants set on food and the guests ate and drank and made merry, whilst the attendants served them with sherbets and perfumed them with the fragrant smoke of scented woods; and the elders fell to conversing of matters of science and tradition. now there was amongst them a merchant called mehmoud of balkh, a muslim by profession but at heart a magian, a man of lewd life, who had a passion for boys. he used to buy stuffs and merchandise of alaeddin's father; and when he saw the boy, one look at his face cost him a thousand sighs and satan dangled the jewel before his eyes, so that he was taken with desire and mad passion for him and his heart was filled with love of him. so he arose and made for the youths, who rose to receive him. at this moment, alaeddin, being taken with an urgent occasion, withdrew to make water; whereupon mehmoud turned to the other youths and said to them, 'if ye will incline alaeddin's mind to journeying with me, i will give each of you a dress worth much money.' then he returned to the men's party; and when alaeddin came back, the youths rose to receive him and seated him in the place of honour. presently, one of them said to his neighbour, 'o my lord hassan, tell me how thou camest by the capital on which thou tradest.' 'when i came to man's estate,' answered hassan, 'i said to my father, "o my father, give me merchandise." "o my son," answered he, "i have none by me: but go thou to some merchant and take of him money and traffic with it and learn to buy and sell and give and take." so i went to one of the merchants and borrowed of him a thousand dinars, with which i bought stuffs and carrying them to damascus, sold them there at a profit of two for one. then i bought syrian stuffs and carrying them to aleppo, disposed of them there at a like profit; after which i bought stuffs of aleppo and repaired with them to baghdad, where i sold them with the same result; nor did i cease to buy and sell, till i was worth nigh ten thousand dinars.' each of the others told a like tale, till it came to alaeddin's turn, when they said to him, 'and thou, o my lord alaeddin?' quoth he, 'i was brought up in a chamber underground and came forth from it but this week and i do but go to the shop and return home.' 'thou art used to abide at home,' rejoined they, 'and knowest not the delight of travel, for travel is for men only.' 'i reck not of travel,' answered he, 'and value ease above all things.' whereupon quoth one to the other, 'this youth is like the fish: when he leaves the water he dies.' then they said to him, 'o alaeddin, the glory of the sons of the merchants is not but in travel for the sake of gain.' their talk angered him and he left them, weeping-eyed and mourning-hearted, and mounting his mule, returned home. when his mother saw him thus, she said to him, 'what ails thee to weep, o my son?' and he answered, 'all the sons of the merchants made mock of me and said to me, "there is no glory for a merchant's son save in travel for gain."' 'o my son,' rejoined she, 'hast thou a mind for travel?' 'yes,' said he. 'and whither wilt thou go?' asked she. 'to the city of baghdad,' answered he; 'for there folk make a profit of two to one on their goods.' 'o my son,' said she, 'thy father is a very rich man, and if he provide thee not with merchandise, i will do so of my own monies.' quoth he, 'the best of favours is that which is quickly bestowed; if it is to be, now is the time for it.' so she called the servants and sent them for packers; then opening a store-house, brought out ten loads of stuffs, which the packers made up into bales for him. meanwhile shemseddin missed his son and enquiring after him, was told that he had mounted and gone home; so he too mounted and followed him. when he entered the house, he saw the bales packed ready and asked what they were; whereupon his wife told him what had passed between alaeddin and the young merchants and he said, 'o my son, may god curse foreign travel! verily, the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) hath said, "it is of a man's good fortune that he have his livelihood in his own land;" and it was said of the ancients, "leave travel, though but for a mile."' then he said to his son, 'art thou indeed resolved to travel and wilt thou not turn back from it?' 'needs must i journey to baghdad with merchandise,' answered alaeddin, 'else will i put off my clothes and don a dervish's habit and go a-wandering over the world.' quoth shemseddin, 'i am no lackgood, but have great plenty of wealth and with me are stuffs and merchandise befitting every country in the world.' then he showed him his goods and amongst the rest, forth bales ready packed, with the price, a thousand dinars, written on each, and said to him, 'take these forty loads, together with those thy mother gave thee, and set out under the safeguard of god the most high. but, o my son, i fear for thee a certain wood in thy way, called the lion's copse, and a valley called the valley of dogs, for there lives are lost without mercy.' 'how so?' asked alaeddin. 'because of a bedouin highwayman, hight ajlan,' answered his father, 'who harbours there.' quoth alaeddin, 'fortune is with god; if any part in it be mine, no harm will befall me.' then they rode to the cattle market, where a muleteer alighted from his mule and kissing the provost's hand, said to him, 'o my lord, by allah, it is long since thou hast employed me to carry merchandise for thee!' 'every time hath its fortune and its men,' answered shemseddin; 'and may god have mercy on him who said: an old man went walking the ways of the world, so bowed and so bent that his beard swept his knee. "what makes thee go doubled this fashion?" quoth i. he answered (and spread out his hands unto me), "my youth hath escaped me; 'tis lost in the dust, and i bend me to seek it, where'er it may be." o captain,'[fn# ] added he, 'it is not i, but this my son that is minded to travel.' 'god preserve his to thee!' said the muleteer. then shemseddin made a contract between alaeddin and the muleteer, appointing that the former should be to the latter as a son, and gave him into his charge, saying, 'take these hundred dinars for thy men.' moreover, he bought his son threescore mules and a lamp and covering of honour for the tomb of sheikh abdulcadir el jilani[fn# ] and said to him, 'o my son, i am leaving thee, and this is thy father in my stead: whatsoever he biddeth thee, do thou obey him.' so saying, he returned home with the mules and servants and they made recitations of the koran and held a festival that night in honour of the sheikh abdulcadir. on the morrow, shemseddin gave his son ten thousand dinars, saying, 'o my son, when thou comest to baghdad, if thou find stuffs brisk of sale, sell them; but if they be dull, spend of these dinars.' then they loaded the mules and taking leave of their friends, set out on their journey. now mehmoud of balkh had made ready his own venture for baghdad and set up his tents without the city, saying in himself, 'i shall not enjoy this youth but in the desert, where there is neither spy not spoil-sport to trouble me.' it chanced that he had in hand a thousand dinars of shemseddin's monies, the balance of a dealing between them; so he went to the provost and bade him farewell; and he said to him, 'give the thousand dinars to my son alaeddin,' and commended the latter to his care, saying, 'he is as it were thy son.' accordingly, alaeddin joined company with mehmoud, who charged the youth's cook to dress nothing for him, but himself provided him and his company with meat and drink. now he had four houses, one at cairo, another at damascus, a third at aleppo and a fourth at baghdad. so they set out and journeyed over deserts and plains, till they drew near damascus, when mehmoud sent his servant to alaeddin, whom he found reading. he went up to him and kissed his hands, and alaeddin asked him what he sought. 'my master salutes thee,' answered the slave, 'and craves thy company to a banquet in his house.' quoth the youth, 'i must consult my father kemaleddin, the captain of the caravan.' so he consulted the muleteer, who said, 'do not go.' then they left damascus and journeyed on till they came to aleppo, where mehmoud made a second entertainment and sent to bid alaeddin; but the muleteer again forbade him. then they departed aleppo and fared on, till they came within a day's journey of baghdad. here mehmoud repeated his invitation a third time and kemaleddin once more forbade alaeddin to accept it; but the latter said, 'i must needs go.' so he rose and girding on a sword under his clothes, repaired to the tent of mehmoud of balkh, who came to meet him and saluted him. then he set a sumptuous repast before him, and they ate and drank and washed their hands. presently, mehmoud bent towards alaeddin, to kiss him, but the youth received the kiss on his hand and said to him, 'what wilt thou do?' quoth mehmoud, 'i brought thee hither that i might do delight with thee in this jousting-ground, and we will comment the words of him who saith: can't be thou wilt with us a momentling alight, like to an ewekin's milk or what not else of white, and cat what liketh thee of dainty wastel-bread and take what thou mayst get of silver small and bright and bear off what thou wilt, sans grudging or constraint, spanling or full-told span or fistling filled outright?' then he would have laid hands on alaeddin; but he rose and drawing his sword, said to him, 'shame on thy gray hairs! hast thou no fear of god, and he of exceeding great might?[fn# ] may he have mercy on him who saith: look thou thy hoariness preserve from aught that may it stain, for whiteness still to take attaint is passing quick and fain. this merchandise,' added he, 'is a trust from god and may not be sold. if i sold it to other than thee for gold, i would sell it thee for silver: but, by allah, o filthy one, i will never again company with thee!' then he returned to kemaleddin and said to him, 'yonder man is a lewd fellow and i will no longer consort with him nor suffer his company by the way.' 'o my son,' replied the muleteer, 'did i not forbid thee to go with him? but if we part company with him, i fear destruction for ourselves; so let us still make one caravan.' but alaeddin said, 'it may not be: i will never again travel with him.' so he loaded his beasts and journeyed onward, he and his company, till they came to a valley, where alaeddin would have halted, but the muleteer said to him, 'do not halt here; rather let us fare forward and quicken our pace, so haply we may reach baghdad before the gates are closed, for they open and shut them with the sun, for fear the schismatics should take the city and throw the books of learning into the tigris.' 'o my father,' replied alaeddin, 'i came not to baghdad with this merchandise, for the sake of traffic, but to divert myself with the sight of foreign lands.' and kemaleddin rejoined, 'o my son, we fear for thee and for thy goods from the wild arabs.' but he answered, 'harkye, sirrah, art thou master or servant? i will not enter baghdad till the morning, that the townsfolk may see my merchandise and know me.' 'do as thou wilt,' said the muleteer; 'i have given thee good counsel, and thou must judge for thyself.' then alaeddin bade them unload the mules and pitch the tent; so they did his bidding and abode there till the middle of the night, when the youth went out to do an occasion and seeing something gleaming afar off, said to kemaleddin, 'o captain, what is yonder glittering?' the muleteer sat up and considering it straitly, knew it for the glint of spear-heads and bedouin swords and harness. now this was a troop of bedouins under a chief called ajlan abou naib, sheikh of the arabs, and when the neared the camp and saw the baggage, they said, one to another, 'o night of booty!' quoth kemaleddin, 'avaunt, o meanest of arabs!' but abou naib smote him with his javelin in the breast, that the point came out gleaming from his back, and he fell down dead at the tent-door. then cried the water-carrier, 'avaunt, o foulest of arabs!' and one of them smote him with a sword upon the shoulder, that it issued shining from the tendons of the throat and he also fell slain. then the bedouins fell upon the caravan from all sides and slew the whole company except alaeddin, after which they loaded the mules with the spoil and made off. quoth alaeddin to himself, 'thy dress and mule will be the death of thee.' so he put off his cassock and threw it over the back of a mule, remaining in his shirt and drawers alone; after which he went to the door of the tent and finding there a pool of blood from the slain, rolled himself in it, till he was as a slain man, drowned in his blood. meanwhile ajlan said to his men, 'o arabs, was this caravan bound from egypt for baghdad or from baghdad for egypt?' 'it was bound from egypt for baghdad,' answered they. 'then,' said he, 'return to the slain, for methinks the owner of the caravan is not dead.' so they turned back and fell to larding the slain with lance and sword-thrusts, [lest any life were left in them,] till they came to alaeddin, who had laid himself among the dead bodies. quoth they, 'thou dost but feign thyself dead, but we will make an end of thee.' so one of the bedouins drew his javelin and should have plunged it into his breast. but he cried out, 'save me, o my lord abdulcadir!' and behold, he saw a hand turn the lance away from his breast to that of the muleteer, so that it pierced the latter and spared himself. then the bedouins made off; and when alaeddin saw that the birds were flown with their purchase, he rose and set off running; but abou naib looked back and said, 'o arabs, i see somewhat moving.' so one of the bedouins turned back and spying alaeddin running, called out to him, saying, 'flight shall not avail thee, and we after thee;' and he smote his mare with his fist and pricked after him. then alaeddin, seeing before him a watering tank and a cistern beside it, climbed up into a niche in the cistern and stretching himself along, feigned sleep and said, 'o gracious protector, cover me with the veil of thy protection, that may not be torn away!' presently, the bedouin came up to the cistern and standing in his stirrups put out one hand to lay hold of alaeddin; but he said 'save me, o my lady nefiseh![fn# ] now is thy time!' and behold, a scorpion stung the bedouin in the palm and he cried out, saying, 'help, o arabs! i am stung;' and fell off his mare. his comrades came up to him and set him on horseback again, saying, 'what hath befallen thee?' quoth he, 'a scorpion stung me.' and they departed, leaving alaeddin in the niche. meanwhile, mehmoud of balkh loaded his beasts and fared on till he came to the valley of dogs, where he found alaeddin's men lying slain. at this he rejoiced and went on till he reached the reservoir. now his mule was athirst and turned aside to drink, but took fright at alaeddin's shadow in the water and started; whereupon mehmoud raised his eyes and seeing alaeddin lying in the niche, stripped to his shirt and trousers, said to him, 'who hath dealt thus with thee and left thee in this ill plight?' 'the bedouins,' answered alaeddin, and mehmoud said, 'o my son, the mules and the baggage were thy ransom; so do thou comfort thyself with the saying of the poet: so but a man may win to save his soul alive from death, but as the paring of his nail his wealth he reckoneth. but now, o my son,' continued he, 'come down and fear no hurt.' so he came down from the niche and mehmoud mounted him on a mule and fared on with him, till they reached baghdad, where he brought him to his own house and bade his servants carry him to the bath, saying to him, 'o my son, the goods and money were the ransom of thy life; but, if thou wilt harken to me, i will give thee the worth of that thou hast lost, twice told.' when he came out of the bath, mehmoud carried him into a saloon with four estrades, decorated with gold, and let bring a tray of all manner meats. so they ate and drank and mehmoud turned to alaeddin and would have taken a kiss of him; but he received it upon his hand and said, 'dost thou persist in thy evil designs upon me? did i not tell thee that, were i wont to sell this merchandise to other than thee for gold, i would sell it thee for silver?' quoth mehmoud, 'i will give thee neither mule nor clothes nor merchandise save at this price; for i am mad for love of thee, and god bless him who said: abou bilal his saw of an object of love, which from one of his elders himself did derive "the lover's not healed of the pangs of desire by clips nor by kisses, excepting he swive." 'this may never be,' replied alaeddin. 'take back thy dress and thy mule and open the door, that i may go out.' so he opened the door, and alaeddin went forth and walked on, with the dogs yelping at his heels, till he saw the door of a mosque open and going in, took shelter in the vestibule. presently, he espied a light approaching and examining it, saw that it came from a pair of lanterns borne by two slaves before two merchants, an old man of comely aspect and a youth. he heard the latter say to the other, 'o my uncle, i conjure thee by allah, give me back my wife!' the old man replied, 'did i not warn thee, many a time, when the oath of divorce was always in thy mouth, as it were thy koran?' then he turned and seeing alaeddin, as he were a piece of the moon, said to him, 'who art thou, o my son?' quoth he, 'i am alaeddin, son of shemseddin, provost of the merchants at cairo. i besought my father for merchandise; so he packed me fifty loads of goods and gave me ten thousand dinars, wherewith i set out for baghdad; but when i came to the lion's copse, the bedouins fell upon me and took all i had. so i entered this city, knowing not where to pass the night, and seeing this place, i took shelter here.' 'o my son,' said the old man, 'what sayst thou to a thousand dinars and a suit of clothes and a mule worth other two thousand?' 'to what end wilt thou give me this?' asked alaeddin, and the other answered, 'this young man, whom thou seest, is the only son of my brother and i have an only daughter called zubeideh the lutanist, who is endowed with beauty and grace. i married her to him and he loves her, but she hates him. now he took an oath of triple divorcement and broke it.[fn# ] as soon as she heard of this, she left him, and he egged on all the folk to intercede with me to restore her to him; but i told him that this could not lawfully be done but by an intermediate marriage, and we have agreed to make some stranger the intermediary, so none may taunt him with this affair. so, as thou art a stranger, come with us and we will marry thee to her; thou shalt lie with her to-night and on the morrow divorce her, and we will give thee what i said.' 'by allah,' quoth alaeddin to himself, 'it were better to pass the night with a bride on a bed in a house, than in the streets and vestibules!' so he went with them to the cadi, who, as soon as he saw alaeddin, was moved to love of him and said to the old man, 'what is your will?' quoth he, 'we wish to marry this young man to my daughter, as an intermediary, and the contract is to be for ten thousand dinars, dowry precedent, for which he shall give us a bond. if he divorce her in the morning, we will give him a thousand dinars and a mule and dress worth other two thousand; but if he divorce her not, he shall pay down the ten thousand dinars, according to the bond.' the cadi drew up the marriage contract to this effect and the lady's father took a bond for the dowry. then he took alaeddin and clothing him anew, carried him to his daughter's house, where he left him at the door, whilst he himself went in to the young lady and gave her the bond, saying, 'take the bond of thy dowry, for i have married thee to a handsome youth by name alaeddin abou esh shamat; so do thou use him with all consideration.' then he left her and went to his own lodging. now the lady's cousin had an old waiting- woman, to whom he had done many a kindness and who used to visit zubeideh; so he said to her, 'o my mother, if my cousin zubeideh see this handsome young man, she will never after accept of me; so i would fain have thee contrive to keep them apart.' 'by thy youth,' answered she, 'i will not suffer him to approach her!' then she went to alaeddin and said to him, 'o my son, i have a warning to give thee, for the love of god the most high, and do thou follow my advice, for i fear for thee from this damsel: let her lie alone and handle her not nor draw near to her.' 'why so?' asked he, and she answered, 'because her body is full of elephantiasis and i fear lest she infect thy fair youth.' quoth he, 'i have no need of her.' moreover, she went to the lady and said the like to her of alaeddin; and she replied, 'i have no need of him, but will let him lie alone, and on the morrow he shall go his way.' then she called a slave-girl and said to her, 'take him the tray of food, that he may sup.' so the maid carried him the tray of food and set it before him, and he ate his fill; after which he sat down and fell to reciting the chapter called ya-sin[fn# ] in a sweet voice. the lady listened to him and found his voice as melodious as the psalms of david, which when she heard, she exclaimed, 'beshrew the old hag that told me that he was affected with leprosy! surely, that is a lie against him, for this is not the voice of one who hath such a disease.' then she took a lute of indian workmanship and tuning it, sang the following verses, in a voice, whose music would stay the birds in mid-heaven: i am enamoured of a fawn with black and languorous eyes; the willow-branches, as he goes, are jealous of him still. me he rejects and others 'joy his favours in my stead. this is indeed the grace of god he gives to whom he will. as soon as he had finished his recitation, he sang the following verse in reply: my salutation to the shape that through the wede doth show and to the roses in the cheeks' full-flowering meads that blow! when she heard this, her inclination for him redoubled and she rose and lifted the curtain; and alaeddin, seeing her, repeated these verses: she shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow-wand, and breathes out ambergris and gazes, a gazelle. meseems as if grief loved my heart and when from her estrangement i abide, possession to it fell. thereupon she came forward, swinging her hips and swaying gracefully from side to side with a shape the handiwork of him whose bounties are hidden, and each of them stole a glance at the other, that cost them a thousand regrets. then, for that the arrows of her glances overcame his heart, he repeated the following verses: the moon of the heavens she spied and called to my thought the nights of our loves in the meadows under her shine. yea, each of us saw a moon, but, sooth to say, it was her eyes[fn# ] that i saw and she saw mine.[fn# ] then she drew near him, and when there remained but two paces between them, he repeated these verses: she took up three locks of her hair and spread them out one night and straight three nights discovered at once unto my sight. then did she turn her visage up to the moon of the sky and showed me two moons at one season, both burning clear and bright. then said he to her, 'keep off from me, lest thou infect me.' whereupon she uncovered her wrist to him, and he saw that it was cleft [like a peach] and its whiteness was as the whiteness of silver. then said she, 'hold off from me, thou, for thou art stricken with leprosy, and belike thou wilt infect me.' 'who told thee i was a leper?' asked he, and she said, 'the old woman.' quoth he, 'it was she told me that thou wast afflicted with elephantiasis.' so saying, he bared his arms and showed her that his skin was like virgin silver, whereupon she pressed him to her bosom and they clipped one another. then she took him and lying down on her back, did off her trousers, whereupon that which his father had left him rose up [in rebellion] against him and he said, 'to it, o elder of yards, o father of nerves!' and putting his hands to her flanks, set the nerve of sweetness to the mouth of the cleft and thrust on to the wicket-gate. his passage was by the gate of victories [or openings] and after this he entered the monday market and those of tuesday and wednesday and thursday and finding the carpet after the measure of the estrade, he plied [or turned] the box within its sheath [or cover] till he came to [the end of] it.[fn# ] when it was morning, he exclaimed, 'alas for delight that is not fulfilled! the raven[fn# ] takes it and flies away!' 'what means this saying?' asked she, and he answered, 'o my lady, i have but this hour to abide with thee.' quoth she, 'who saith so?' and he, 'thy father made me give him a bond to pay ten thousand dinars to thy dowry; and except i pay it this very day, they will lay me in prison therefor in the cadi's house; and now my hand lacketh one para of the sum.' 'o my lord,' said she, 'is the marriage bond in thy hand or in theirs?' 'in mine,' answered he, 'but i have nothing.' quoth she, 'the matter is easy; fear nothing. take these hundred dinars; if i had more, i would give thee what thou lackest; but my father, for his love of my cousin, hath transported all his good, even to my trinkets, from my lodging to his. but when they send thee a serjeant of the court and the cadi and my father bid thee divorce, answer thou, "by what code is it right that i should marry at nightfall and divorce in the morning?" then kiss the cadi's hand and give him a present, and in like manner kiss the assessors' hands and give each of them half a score dinars. so they will all speak with thee and if they say to thee, "why dost thou not divorce her and take the thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes, according to contract?" do thou answer, "every hair of her head is worth a thousand dinars to me and i will never put her away, neither will i take a suit of clothes nor aught else." if the cadi say to thee, "then pay down the dowry," do thou reply, "i am straitened at this present;" whereupon he and the assessors will deal friendly with thee and allow thee time to pay.' whilst they were talking, the cadi's officer knocked at the door; so alaeddin went down and the man said to him, 'the cadi cites thee to answer thy father-in-law's summons.' alaeddin gave him five dinars and said to him, 'o serjeant, by what code am i bound to marry at night and divorce next morning?' 'by none of ours,' answered the serjeant; 'and if thou be ignorant of the law, i will act as thine advocate.' then they went to the court and the cadi said to alaeddin, 'why dost thou not divorce the woman and take what falls to thee by the contract?' with this he went up to the cadi and kissing his hand, put in it fifty dinars and said, 'o our lord the cadi, by what code is it right that i should marry at night and divorce in the morning in my own despite?' 'divorce on compulsion,' replied the cadi, 'is sanctioned by no school of the muslims.' then said the lady's father, 'if thou wilt not divorce, pay me the ten thousand dinars, her dowry.' quoth alaeddin, 'give me three days' time.' but the cadi said, 'three days is not enough; he shall give thee ten.' so they agreed to this and bound him to pay the dowry or divorce after ten days. then he left them and taking meat and rice and butter and what else of food he needed, returned to his wife and told her what had passed; whereupon she said, 'between night and day, wonders may happen: and god bless him who saith: be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite and patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head. indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by time and of all wond'rous things are hourly brought to bed. then she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they ate and drank and made merry awhile. presently, alaeddin besought her to let him hear some music; so she took the lute and played a measure, that would have made the very rock dance for delight, and the strings cried out, in ecstasy, 'o loving one!'[fn# ] after which she passed into a livelier measure. as they were thus passing the time in mirth and delight, there came a knocking at the door and zubeideh said to alaeddin, 'go and see who is at the door.' so he went down and finding four dervishes standing without, said to them, 'what do you want?' 'o my lord,' answered they, 'we are foreign dervishes, the food of whose souls is music and dainty verse, and we would fain take our pleasure with thee this night. on the morrow we will go our way, and with god the most high be thy reward; for we adore music and there is not one of us but hath store of odes and songs and ballads.' 'i must consult [my wife],' answered he and returned and told zubeideh, who said, 'open the door to them.' so he went down again and bringing them up, made them sit down and welcomed them. then he brought them food, but they would not eat and said, 'o my lord, our victual is to magnify god with out hearts and hear music with our ears: and god bless him who saith: we come for your company only, and not for your feasts; for eating for eating's sake is nought but a fashion of beasts. just now,' added they, 'we heard pleasant music here; but when we knocked, it ceased; and we would fain know whether the player was a slave-girl, white of black, or a lady.' 'it was this my wife,' answered he and told them all that had befallen him, adding, 'my father-in-law hath bound me to pay a dowry of ten thousand dinars for her and they have given me ten days' time.' 'have no care and think nought but good,' said one of the dervishes; 'for i am head of the convent and have forty dervishes under my hand. i will gather thee from them the ten thousand dinars and thou shalt pay thy father-in-law the dowry. but now bid thy wife make us music, that we may be heartened and solaced, for to some music is food, to others medicine and to others refreshment.'[fn# ] now these four dervishes were none other than the khalif haroun er reshid and his vizier jaafer the barmecide and abou nuwas ben hani[fn# ] and mesrour the headsman; and the reason of their coming thither was that the khalif, being heavy at heart, had called his vizier and signified to him his wish to go forth and walk about the city, to divert himself. so they all four donned dervish habits and went out and walked about, till they came to zubeideh's house and hearing music, were minded to know the cause. they spent the night in mirth and harmony and discourse, till the morning, when the khalif laid a hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet and taking leave of alaeddin, went his way, he and his companions. presently, zubeideh lifted the carpet and finding the hundred dinars, gave them to her husband, saying, 'take these hundred dinars that i have found under the prayer-carpet; the dervishes must have laid them there, without our knowledge.' so he took the money and repairing to the market, bought meat and rice and butter and so forth. when it was night, he lighted the candled and said to zubeideh, 'the dervishes have not brought the ten thousand dinars that they promised me: but indeed they are poor men.' as they were talking, the dervishes knocked at the door and she said, 'go down and open to them.' so he went down and bringing them up, said to them, 'have you brought me the ten thousand dinars?' 'we have not been able to get aught thereof as yet,' answered they, 'but fear nothing: to-morrow, god willing, we will make an alchymic operation for thee. but now bid thy wife play her best to us and gladden our hearts, for we love music.' so she made them music, that would have caused the very rocks to dance; and they passed the night in mirth and converse and good cheer, till the morning appeared with its light and shone, when they took leave of alaeddin and went their way, after laying other hundred dinars under the carpet. they continued to visit him thus every night for nine nights, and each morning the khalif put a hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet, till the tenth night, when they came not. now the reason for their failure to come was that the khalif had sent to a great merchant, saying to him, 'bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from cairo, each worth a thousand dinars, and write on each bale its price; and bring me also a male abyssinian slave.' the merchant did the bidding of the khalif, who write a letter to alaeddin, as from his father shemseddin, and committed it to the slave, together with the fifty loads and a basin and ewer of gold and other presents, saying to him, 'take these bales and what else and go to such and such a quarter and enquire for alaeddin abou esh shamat, at the house of the provost of the merchants.' so the slave took the letter and the goods and went out on his errand. meanwhile the lady's first husband went to her father and said to him, 'come, let us go to alaeddin and make him divorce my cousin.' so they set out, and when they came to the street in which zubeideh's house stood, they found fifty mules, laden with stuffs, and a black slave riding on a she-mule. so they said to him, 'whose goods are these?' 'they belong to my lord alaeddin abou esh shamat,' answered he. 'his father equipped him with merchandise and sent him on a journey to baghdad; but the bedouins fell on him and took all he had. so when the news of his despoilment reached his father, he despatched me to him with these fifty loads, in place of those he had lost, besides a mule laden with fifth thousand dinars and a parcel of clothes worth much money and a cloak of sables and a basin and ewer of gold.' when the old merchant heard this, he said, 'he whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and i will show thee his house.' now alaeddin was sitting in great concern, when one knocked at the door, and he said, 'o zubeideh, god is all-knowing! thy father hath surely sent me an officer from the cadi or the chief of the police.' 'go down,' said she, 'and see what it is.' so he went down and opening the door, found his father-in-law, with an abyssinian slave, dusky-hued and pleasant of favour, riding on a mule. when the slave saw him, he alighted and kissed his hands: and alaeddin said, 'what dost thou want?' quoth he, 'i am the slave of my load alaeddin abou esh shamat, son of shemseddin, provost of the merchants of cairo, who has sent me to him with this charge.' then he gave him the letter and alaeddin, opening it, read what follows: harkye, my letter, when my beloved sees thee, kiss thou the earth before him and his shoes. look thou go softly and hasten not nor hurry, for in his hands are my life and my repose. then after the usual salutations from shemseddin to his son, the letter proceeded thus: 'know, o my son, that news hath reached me of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy baggage; so i send thee herewith fifty loads of egyptian stuffs, together with a suit of clothes and a cloak of sables and an ewer and basin of gold. fear no evil and be not anywise troubled, for, o my son, the goods thou hast lost were the ransom of thy life. thy mother and the people of the house are well and in good case and send thee many greetings. moreover, o my son, i hear that they have married thee, by way of intermediation, to the lady zubeideh the lutanist and have imposed on thee a dowry of ten thousand dinars; wherefore i send thee also fifty thousand dinars by thy slave selim, the bearer of these presents, whereout thou mayest pay the dowry and provide thyself with the rest.' when alaeddin had made an end of reading the letter, he took possession of the goods and turning to the old merchant, said to him, 'o my father-in-law, take the ten thousand dinars, thy daughter's dowry, and take also the loads of goods and dispose of them, and thine be the profit; only return me the cost-price.' 'nay, by allah,' answered he, 'i will take nothing; and as for thy wife's dowry, do thou settle it with her.' then they went in to zubeideh, after the goods had been brought in, and she said to her father, 'o my father, whose goods are these?' 'they belong to thy husband alaeddin,' answered he; 'his father hath sent them to him in place of those of which the bedouins spoiled him. moreover, he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars and a parcel of clothes and a cloak of sables and a riding mule and an ewer and basin of gold. as for the dower, that is thine affair.' thereupon alaeddin rose and opening the chest [of money] gave her her dowry. then said the lady's cousin, 'o my uncle, let him divorce to me my wife;' but the old man replied, 'this may never be now, for the marriage-tie is in his hand.' with this the young man went out, sore afflicted, and returning home, fell sick, for he had received his death-blow; so he took to his bed and presently died. but as for alaeddin, he went to the market and buying what victual he needed, made a banquet as usual against the night, saying to zubeideh, 'see these lying dervishes; they promised us and broke their promise.' quoth she, 'thou art the son of a provost of the merchants yet did thy hand lack of a para; how then should it be with poor dervishes?' 'god the most high hath enabled us to do without them,' answered alaeddin; 'but never again will i open the door to them.' 'why so,' asked she, 'seeing that their coming brought us good luck, and moreover, they put a hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet for us every night? so needs must thou open to them, if they come.' so when the day departed with its light and the night came, they lighted the candles and he said to her, 'come, zubeideh, make us music.' at this moment some one knocked at the door, and she said, 'go and see who is at the door.' so he went down and opened it and seeing the dervishes, said, 'welcome to the liars! come up.' accordingly, they went up with him, and he made them sit down and brought them the tray of food. so they ate and drank and made merry and presently said to him, 'o my lord, our hearts have been troubled for thee: what hath passed between thee and thy father-in-law?' 'god hath compensated us beyond our desire,' answered he. 'by allah,' rejoined they, 'we were in fear for thee and nought kept us from thee but our lack of money.' quoth he, 'my lord hath vouchsafed me speedy relief; for my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty loads of stuffs, each worth a thousand dinars, besides an abyssinian slave and a riding mule and a suit of clothes and a basin and an ewer of gold. moreover, i have made my peace with my father-in- law and my wife is confirmed to me; so praised be god for this!' presently the khalif rose to do an occasion; whereupon jaafer turned to alaeddin and said to him, 'look to thy manners, for thou art in the presence of the commander of the faithful.' 'how have i failed in good breeding before the commander of the faithful,' asked he, 'and which of you is he?' quoth jaafer, 'he who went out but now is the commander of the faithful and i am the vizier jaafer: this is mesrour the headsman, and this other is abou nuwas ben hani. and now, o alaeddin, use thy reason and bethink thee how many days' journey it is from cairo hither.' 'five-and-forty days' journey,' answered he, and jaafer rejoined, 'thy baggage was stolen but ten days ago; so how could the news have reached thy father, and how could he pack thee up other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days' journey in ten days' time?' 'o my lord,' said alaeddin, 'and whence then came they?' 'from the commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'of his much affection for thee.' as he spoke, the khalif entered and alaeddin, rising, kissed the ground before him and said, 'god keep thee, o commander of the faithful, and give thee long life, so the folk may not lack thy bounty and beneficence!' 'o alaeddin,' replied the khalif, 'let zubeideh play us an air, by way of thank-offering for thy deliverance.' so she played him the rarest of measures on the lute, till the very stones shook for delight and the strings cried out for ecstasy, 'o loving one!'[fn# ] they spent the night after the merriest fashion, and in the morning, the khalif said to alaeddin, 'come to the divan to-morrow.' 'i hear and obey, o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'so it please god and thou be well and in good case.' so on the morrow he took ten trays and putting a costly present on each, went up with them to the palace. as the khalif was sitting on the throne, alaeddin appeared at the door of the divan, repeating the following verses: good fortune and glory still wait on thy days and rubbed in the dust be thine envier's nose! may the days never stint to be white unto thee and black with despite be the days of thy foes! 'welcome, o alaeddin!' sad the khalif, and he replied, 'o commander of the faithful, the prophet (whom god bless and preserve) accepted presents; and these ten trays, with what is on them, are my present to thee.' the khalif accepted his gift and ordering him a robe of honour, made him provost of the merchants and gave him a seat in the divan. presently, his father-in-law came in, and seeing alaeddin seated in his place and clad in a robe of honour, said to the khalif, 'o king of the age, why is this man sitting in my place and wearing this robe of honour?' quoth the khalif, 'i have made him provost of the merchants, and thou art deposed; for offices are by investiture and not in perpetuity.' 'thou hast done well, o commander of the faithful,' answered the merchant; 'for he is art and part of us. may god make the best of us the orderers of our affairs! how many a little one hath become great!' then the khalif wrote alaeddin a patent [of investiture] and gave it to the master of police, who gave it to the crier and the latter made proclamation in the divan, saying, 'none is provost of the merchants but alaeddin abou esh shamat, and it behoves all to give heed to his words and pay him respect and honour and consideration!' moreover, when the divan broke up, the master of the police took alaeddin and carried him through the thoroughfares of baghdad, whilst the crier went before him, making proclamation of his dignity. next day, alaeddin opened a shop for his slave selim and set him therein, to buy and sell, whilst he himself rode to the palace and took his place in the khalif's divan. one day, as he sat in his place, one said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, may thy head survive such an one the boon-companion! he is gone to the mercy of god the most high, but may thy life be prolonged!' quoth the khalif, 'where is alaeddin abou esh shamat?' so he went up to the commander of the faithful, who clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him his boon- companion in the dead man's room, appointing him a monthly wage of a thousand dinars. he continued to fill his new office till, one day, as he sat in the divan, according to his wont, an amir came up with a sword and shield in his hand and said, 'o commander of the faithful, mayst thou outlive the chief of the sixty, for he is this day dead;' whereupon the khalif ordered alaeddin a dress of honour and made him chief of the sixty, in place of the dead man, who had neither wife nor child. so alaeddin laid hands on his estate, and the khalif said to him, 'bury him in the earth and take all he hath left of wealth and slaves, male and female.' then he shook the handkerchief and dismissed the divan, whereupon alaeddin went forth, attended by ahmed ed denef, captain of the right hand, and hassan shouman, captain of the left hand troop of the khalif's guard, riding at his either stirrup, each with his forty men. presently, he turned to hassan shouman and his men and said to them, 'plead ye for me with captain ahmed ed denef, that he accept me as his son before god.' and ahmed ed denef assented, saying, 'i and my forty men will go before thee to the divan every day.' after this, alaeddin abode in the khalif's service many days; till one day it chanced that he left the divan and returning home, dismissed ahmed ed denef and his men and sat down with his wife, who lighted the candles and went out of the room upon an occasion. presently, he heard a great cry and running in haste to see what was the matter, found that it was his wife who had cried out. she was lying prone on the groudn and when he put his hand to her breast, he found her dead. now her father's house faced that of alaeddin, and he, hearing her cry out, came in and said, 'what is the matter, o my lord alaeddin?' 'o my father,' answered he, 'may thy head outlive thy daughter zubeideh! but the honour we owe the dead is to bury them.' so, on the morrow, they buried her in the earth and her husband and father condoled with each other. moreover, alaeddin put on mourning apparel and absented himself from the divan, abiding tearful-eyed and sorrowful- hearted. after awhile, the khalif said to jaafer, 'o vizier, what is the cause of alaeddin's absence from the divan?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'he is in mourning for his wife zubeideh;' and the khalif said, 'it behoves us to pay him a visit of condolence.' 'i hear and obey,' replied jaafer. so they took horse and riding to alaeddin's house, came in upon him with their attendants, as he sat at home; whereupon he rose to receive them and kissed the earth before the khalif, who said to him, 'may god abundantly make good thy loss to thee!' 'may he preserve thee to us, o commander of the faithful!' answered alaeddin. then said the khalif, 'o alaeddin, why hast thou absented thyself from the divan?' and he replied, 'because of my mourning for my wife zubeideh, o commander of the faithful.' 'put away grief from thee,' rejoined the prince. 'she is dead and gone to the mercy of god the most high, and mourning will avail thee nothing.' but alaeddin said, 'o commander of the faithful, i shall never leave mourning for her till i die and they bury me by her side.' quoth haroun, 'with god is compensation for every loss, and neither wealth nor device can deliver from death. god bless him who said: every son of woman, how long soe'er his life be, must one day be carried upon the bulging bier. how shall he have pleasure in life or hold it goodly, he unto whose cheeks the dust must soon adhere?' then, when he had made an end of condoling with him, he charged him not to absent himself from the divan and returned to his palace. on the morrow, alaeddin mounted and riding to the court, kissed the ground before the khalif, who rose from the throne, to greet and welcome him, and bade him take his appointed place in the divan saying, 'o alaeddin, thou art my guest to-night.' so presently he carried him into his seraglio and calling a slave- girl named cout el culoub, said to her, 'alaeddin had a wife called zubeideh, who used to sing to him and solace him of care and trouble; but she is gone to the mercy of god the most high, and now i desire that thou play him an air of thy rarest fashion on the lute, that he may be diverted from his grief and mourning.' so she rose and made rare music; and the khalif said to alaeddin, 'what sayst thou of this damsel's voice?' 'o commander of the faithful', answered he, 'zubeideh's voice was the finer; but she is rarely skilled in touching the lute, and her playing would make a rock dance.' 'doth she please thee?' asked the khalif. 'yes, o commander of the faithful,' answered alaeddin, and haroun said, 'by the life of my head and the tombs of my forefathers, she is a gift from me to thee, she and her waiting-women!' alaeddin thought that the khalif was jesting with him; but, on the morrow, he went in to cout el culoub and said to her, 'i have given thee to alaeddin;' whereat she rejoiced, for she had seen and loved him. then the khalif returned to the divan and calling porters, said to them, 'set cout el culoub and her waiting-women in a litter and carry them, together with her goods, to alaeddin's house.' so they did as he bade them and left her in the upper chamber of alaeddin's house, whilst the khalif sat in the hall of audience till the close of the day, when the divan broke up and he retired to his harem. meanwhile, cout el culoub, having taken up her lodging in alaeddin's house, with her women, forty in all, besides eunuchs, called two of the latter and said to them, 'sit ye on stools, one on the right and another on the left hand of the door; and when alaeddin comes home, kiss his hands and say to him, "our mistress cout el culoub bids thee to her in the upper chamber, for the khalif hath given her to thee, her and her women."' 'we hear and obey,' answered they and did as she bade them. so, when alaeddin returned, he found two of the khalif's eunuchs sitting at the door and was amazed and said to himself, 'surely, this is not my own house; or else what can have happened?' when the eunuchs saw him, they rose and kissing his hands, said to him, 'we are of the khalif's household and servants to cout el culoub, who salutes thee, giving thee to know that the khalif hath bestowed her on thee, her and her women, and craves thy company.' quoth alaeddin, 'say ye to her, "thou art welcome; but so long as thou abidest with me, i will not enter thy lodging, for it befits not that what was the master's should become the servant's;" and ask her also what was the sum of her day's expense in the khalif's palace.' so they went in to her and did his errand to her, and she replied, 'a hundred dinars a day;' whereupon quoth he in himself, 'there was no need for the khalif to give me cout el culoub, that i should be put to such an expense for her; but there is no help for it.' so she abode with him awhile and he assigned her daily a hundred dinars for her maintenance, till, one day, he absented himself from the divan and the khalif said to jaafer, 'o vizier, i gave cout el culoub unto alaeddin, that she might console him for his wife; but why doth he still hold aloof from us?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'he spoke sooth who said, "whoso findeth his beloved, forgetteth his friends."' 'belike he hath excuse for his absence,' rejoined the khalif; 'but we will pay him a visit.' (now some days before this, alaeddin had said to jaafer, 'i complained to the khalif of my grief for the loss of my wife zubeideh, and he gave me cout el culoub.' and jaafer replied, 'except he loved thee, he had not given her to thee.' hast thou gone in to her?' 'no, by allah! answered alaeddin. 'i know not her length from her breadth.' 'and why?' asked jaafer. 'o vizier,' replied alaeddin, 'what befits the master befits not the servant.') then the khalif and jaafer disguised themselves and went privily to visit alaeddin; but he knew them and rising to them, kissed the hands of the khalif, who looked at him and read trouble in his face. so he said to him, 'o alaeddin, whence cometh this trouble in which i see thee? hast thou gone in to cout el culoub?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'what befits the master befits not the servant. no, i have not gone in to her nor do i know her length from her breadth; so do thou quit me of her.' quoth the khalif, 'i would fain see her and question her of her case.' and alaeddin replied, 'i hear and obey, o commander of the faithful.' so the khalif went in to cout el culoub, who rose and kissed the ground before him, and said to her, 'hath alaeddin gone in to thee?' 'no, o commander of the faithful,' answered she; 'i sent to bid him to me, but he would not come.' so he bade carry her back to the harem and saying to alaeddin, 'do not absent thyself from us,' returned to his palace. accordingly, next morning, alaeddin mounted and rode to the divan, where he took his seat as chief of the sixty. presently the khalif bade his treasurer give the vizier jaafer ten thousand dinars and said to the latter, 'i charge thee to go down to the slave-market and buy alaeddin a slave-girl with this sum.' so jaafer took alaeddin and went down with him to the bazaar. as change would have it, that very day, the amir khalid, chief of the baghdad police, had gone down to the market to buy a slave-girl for his son hebezlem bezazeh. now this son he had by his wife khatoun, and he was foul of favour and had reached the age of twenty, without learning to ride, albeit his father was a valiant cavalier and a doughty champion and delighted in battle and adventure. one night, he had a dream of dalliance in sleep and told his mother, who rejoiced and told his father, saying, 'fain would i find him a wife, for he is now apt for marriage.' quoth khalid, 'he is so foul of favour and withal so evil of odour, so sordid and churlish, that no woman would accept of him.' and she answered, 'we will buy him a slave- girl.' so it befell, for the accomplishment of that which god the most high had decreed, that the amir and his son went down, on the same day as jaafer and alaeddin, to the market, where they saw a beautiful girl, full of grace and symmetry, in the hands of a broker, and the vizier said to the latter, 'o broker, ask her owner if he will take a thousand dinars for her.' the broker passed by the amir and his son with the slave and hebezlem took one look of her, that cost him a thousand sighs; and he fell passionately in love with her and said, 'o my father, buy me yonder slave-girl.' so the amir called the broker, who brought the girl to him, and asked her her name. 'my name is jessamine,' replied she; and he said to hebezlem, 'o my son, an she please thee, bid for her.' then he asked the broker what had been bidden for her and he replied, 'a thousand dinars.' 'she is mine for a thousand and one,' said hebezlem, and the broker passed on to alaeddin, who bid two thousand dinars for her; and as often as hebezlem bid another dinar, alaeddin bid a thousand. the amir's son was vexed at this and said to the broker, 'who is it that bids against me for the slave-girl?' 'it is the vizier jaafer,' answered the broker, 'who is minded to buy her for alaeddin abou esh shamat.' alaeddin continued to bid for her till he brought her price up to ten thousand dinars, and her owner sold her to him for that sum. so he took the girl and said to her, 'i give thee thy freedom for the love of god the most high.' then he married her and carried her to his house. when the broker returned, after having delivered the girl and received his brokerage, hebezlem called him and said to him, 'where is the girl?' quoth he, 'she was bought for ten thousand dinars by alaeddin, who hath set her free and married her.' at this the young man was greatly cast down and heaving many a sigh, returned home, sick for love of the damsel. he threw himself on his bed and refused food, and passion and love-longing were sore upon him. when his mother saw him in this plight, she said to him, 'god keep thee, o my son! what ails thee?' and he answered, 'buy me jessamine, o my mother.' 'when the flower-seller passes,' said she, 'i will buy thee a basketful of jessamine.' quoth he, 'it is not the jessamine one smells i want, but a slave girl named jessamine, whom my father would not buy for me.' so she said to her husband, 'why didst thou not buy him the girl?' and he replied, 'what is fit for the master is not fit for the servant, and i have no power to take her; for no less a man bought her than alaeddin, chief of the sixty.' then the youth's weakness redoubled upon him, till he could neither sleep nor eat, and his mother bound her head with the fillets of mourning. presently, as she sat at home, lamenting over her son, there came in to her an old woman, known as the mother of ahmed kemakim the arch-thief, a knave who would bore through the stoutest wall and scale the highest and steal the very kohl from the eye. from his earliest years he had been given to these foul practices, till they made him captain of the watch, when he committed a robbery and the chief of the police, taking him in the act, carried him to the khalif, who bade put him to death. but he sought protection of the vizier, whose intercession the khalif never rejected; so he pleaded for him with the commander of the faithful, who said, 'how canst thou intercede for a wretch who is the pest of the human race?' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'do thou imprison him; he who built the [first] prison was a sage, seeing that a prison is the sepulchre of the live and a cause for their enemies to exult.' so the khalif bade lay him in chains and write thereon, 'appointed to remain until death and not to be loosed but on the bench of the washer of the dead.' and they fettered him and cast him into prison. now his mother was a frequent visitor to the house of the master of the police and used to go in to her son in prison and say to him, 'did i not warn thee to turn from thy wicked ways?' 'god decreed this to me,' would he answer; 'but, o my mother, when thou visitest the amir's wife, make her intercede for me with her husband.' so when the old woman came in to the lady khatoun, she found her bound with the fillets of mourning and said to her, 'wherefore dost thou mourn?' 'for my son hebezlem bezazeh,' answered she, and the old woman exclaimed, 'god keep thy son! what hath befallen him?' so khatoun told her the whole story, and she said, 'what wouldst thou say of him who should find means to save thy son?' 'and what wilt thou do?' asked the lady. quoth the old woman, 'i have a son called ahmed kemakim the arch-thief, who lies chained in prison, and on his fetters is written, "appointed to remain till death." so do thou don thy richest clothes and trinkets and present thyself to thy husband with an open and smiling favour; and when he seeks of thee what men use to seek of women, put him off and say, "by allah, it is a strange thing! when a man desires aught of his wife, he importunes her till she satisfies him; but if a wife desire aught of her husband, he will not grant it to her." then he will say, "what dost thou want?" and do thou answer, "first swear to grant my request." if he swear to thee by his head or by allah, say to him, "swear to me the oath of divorce," and so not yield to him, except he do this. then, if he swear to thee the oath of divorce, say to him, "thou hast in prison a man called ahmed kemakim, and he has a poor mother, who is instant with me to urge thee to intercede for him with the khalif, that he may relent towards him and thou earn a reward from god."' 'i hear and obey,' answered khatoun. so when her husband came in to her, she did as the old woman had taught her and extorted the required oath from him, before she would yield to his wishes. he lay with her that night and on the morrow, after he had made his ablutions and prayed the morning prayers, he repaired to the prison and said to ahmed kemakim, 'harkye, o arch-thief, dost thou repent of thy ill deeds?' 'i do indeed repent and turn to god,' answered he, 'and say with heart and tongue, "i ask pardon of allah."' so he carried him, still chained, to the divan and kissed the earth before the khalif, who said to him, 'o amir khalid, what seekest thou?' then he brought forward ahmed kemakim, shuffling in his fetters, and the khalif said to him, 'o kemakim, art thou yet alive?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered he, 'the wretched are long-lived.' then said the khalif to the amir, 'why have thou brought him hither?' and he replied, 'o commander of the faithful, he hath a poor, desolate mother, who hath none but him, and she hath had recourse to thy slave, imploring him to intercede with thee to set him free and make him captain of the watch as before; for he repenteth of his evil courses.' quoth the khalif to ahmed, 'dost thou repent of thy sins?' 'i do indeed repent to god, o commander of the faithful,' answered he; whereupon the khalif called for the blacksmith and made him strike off his irons on the bench of the washer of the dead. moreover, he restored him to his former office and charged him to walk in the way of good and righteousness. so he kissed the khalif's hands and donning the captain's habit, went forth, whilst they made proclamation of his appointment. he abode awhile in the exercise of his office, till, one day, his mother went in to the wife of the chief of the police, who said to her, 'praised be god who hath delivered thy son from prison and restored him to health and safety! but why dost thou not bid him cast about to get the girl jessamine for my son hebezlem bezazeh?' 'that will i,' answered she and going out from her, repaired to her son. she found him drunken and said to him, 'o my son, none was the cause of thy release from prison but the wife of the master of police, and she would have thee go about to kill alaeddin abou esh shamat and get his slave-girl jessamine for her son hebezlem bezazeh.' 'that will be the easiest of things,' answered he, 'and i will set about it this very night.' now this was the first night of the new month, and it was the khalif's wont to pass that night with the princess zubeideh, for the setting free of a male or female slave or what not else of the like. on this occasion, he used to doff his royal habit and lay it upon a chair in the sitting-chamber, together with his rosary and dagger and royal signet and a golden lantern, adorned with three jewels strung on a wire of gold, by which he set great store, committing all these things to the charge of the eunuchs, whilst he sent into the lady zubeideh's apartment. so ahmed kemakim waited till midnight, when canopus shone and all creatures slept, whilst the creator covered them with the curtain [of the dark]. then he took his naked sword in one hand and his grappling iron in the other, and repairing to the khalif's pavilion, cast his grapnel on to the roof. it caught there and he fixed his rope-ladder and climbed up to the roof; then, raising the trap-door, let himself down into the saloon, where he found the eunuchs asleep. so he drugged them with henbane and taking the khalif's dress and dagger and rosary and handkerchief and signet-ring and lantern, returned whence he came and betook himself to the house of alaeddin, who had that night celebrated his wedding festivities with jessamine and had gone in to her and gotten her with child. ahmed climbed over into his saloon and raising one of the marble slabs of the floor, dug a hole under it and laid the stolen things therein, all save the lantern, which he kept, saying in himself, 'i will set it before me, when i sit at wine, and drink by its light.' then he plastered down the marble slab, as it was, and returning whence he came, went back to his own house. as soon as it was day, the khalif went out into the sitting-chamber, and finding the eunuchs drugged with henbane, aroused them. then he put his hand to the chair and found neither dress nor signet nor rosary nor dagger nor lantern; whereat he was exceeding wroth and donning the habit of anger, which was red, sat down in the divan. so the vizier jaafer came forward and kissing the earth before him, said, 'may god avert the wrath of the commander of the faithful!' 'o vizier,' answered the khalif, 'i am exceeding wroth!'[fn# ] 'what has happened?' asked jaafer; so he told him what had happened and when the chief of the police appeared, with ahmed kemakim at his stirrup, he said to him, 'o amir khalid, how goes baghdad?' and he answered, 'it is safe and quiet.' 'thou liest!' rejoined the khalif. 'how so, o commander of the faithful?' asked the amir. so he told him the case and added, 'i charge thee to bring me back all the stolen things.' 'o commander of the faithful', replied the amir, 'the vinegar-worm is of and in the vinegar, and no stranger can get at this place.'[fn# ] but the khalif said, 'except thou bring me these things, i will put thee to death.' quoth khalid, 'ere thou slay me, slay ahmed kemakim, for none should know the robber and the traitor but the captain of the watch.' then came forward ahmed kemakim and said to the khalif, 'accept my intercession for the master of police, and i will be responsible to thee for the thief and will follow his track till i find him; but give me two cadis and two assessors, for he who did this thing feareth thee not, nor doth he fear the chief of the police nor any other.' 'thou shalt have what thou seekest,' answered the khalif; 'but let search be made first in my palace and then in those of the vizier and the chief of the sixty.' 'thou sayst well, o commander of the faithful,' rejoined ahmed; 'most like the thief is one who had been reared in thy household or that of one of thy chief officers.' 'as my head liveth,' said haroun, 'whosoever shall appear to have done the deed, i will put him to death, be it my very own son!' then ahmed kemakim received a written warrant to enter and search the houses and taking in his hand a [divining] rod made of equal parts of bronze, copper, iron and steel, went forth, attended by the cadis and assessors and the chief of the police. he first searched the palace of the khalif, then that of the vizier jaafer; after which he went the round of the houses of the chamberlains and officers, till he came to that of alaeddin. when the latter heard the clamour before his house, he left his wife and opening the door, found the master of police without, with a crowd of people. so he said, 'what is the matter, o amir khalid?' the chief of the police told him the case and alaeddin said, 'enter my house and search it.' 'pardon, o my lord,' replied the amir; 'thou art a man in authority,[fn# ] and god forbid that such should be guilty of treason!' quoth alaeddin, 'needs must my house be searched. so they entered, and ahmed kemakim went straight to the saloon and let the rod fall upon the slab, under which he had buried the stolen goods, with such force that the marble broke in sunder and discovered something that glistened underneath. then said he, 'in the name of god! what he willeth! thanks to our coming, we have lit upon a treasure. let us go down into this hiding-place and see what is therein.' so the cadis and assessors looked down into the hole and finding there the stolen goods, drew up a statement of how they had discovered them in alaeddin's house, to which they set their seals. then they bade seize upon alaeddin and took his turban from his head, and making an inventory of all his property and effects, [sealed them up]. meanwhile, ahmed kemakim laid hands on jessamine, who was with child by alaeddin, and committed her to his mother, saying, 'deliver her to the lady khatoun.' so the old woman took her and carried her to the wife of the master of police. as soon as hebezlem saw her, health and strength returned to him and he arose forthright, rejoicing greatly, and would have drawn near her: but she pulled a dagger from her girdle and said, 'keep off from me, or i will kill thee and myself after.' 'o strumpet,' exclaimed his mother, 'let my son have his will of thee!' but jessamine answered, 'o bitch, by what code is it lawful for a woman to marry two husbands, and how shall the dog take the lion's place?' with this hebezlem's passion redoubled and he sickened for unfulfilled desire and refusing food, took to his bed again. then said his mother to her, 'o harlot, how canst thou make me thus to sorrow for my son? needs must i punish thee, and as for alaeddin, he will assuredly be hanged.' 'and i will die for love of him,' answered jessamine. then khatoun stripped her of her jewels and silken raiment and clothing her in sackcloth drawers and a shift of hair-cloth, sent her down into the kitchen and made her a scullery-wench, saying, 'thy punishment shall be to split wood and peel onions and set fire under the cooking pots.' quoth she, 'i am willing to brook all manner of hardship and servitude, but not thy son's sight.' but god inclined the hearts of the slave-girls to her and they used to do her service in the kitchen. meanwhile, they carried alaeddin to the divan and brought him, together with the stolen goods, before the khalif, who said, 'where did ye find them?' 'amiddleward alaeddin's house,' answered they; whereat the khalif was filled with wrath and took the things, but found not the lantern among them, and said to alaeddin, 'where is the lantern?' 'i know nought of it,' answered he; 'it was not i that stole it.' 'o traitor,' said the khalif, 'how comes it that i brought thee near unto me and thou hast cast me out, and i trusted in thee and thou hast betrayed me?' and he commanded to hang him. so the chief of the police took him and went down with him into the city, whilst the crier forewent them, proclaiming aloud and saying, 'this is the reward and the least of the reward of him who doth treason against the orthodox khalifs!' and the folk flocked to the gallows. meanwhile, ahmed ed denef, alaeddin's adopted father, was sitting, making merry with his followers in a garden, when in came one of the water-carriers of the divan and kissing ahmed's hand, said to him, 'o captain, thou sittest at thine ease, with water running at thy feet, and knowest not what has happened.' 'what is to do?' asked ahmed, and the other answered, 'they have gone down with thine adopted son, alaeddin, to the gallows.' 'o hassan shouman,' said ahmed, 'what sayst thou of this?' 'assuredly, alaeddin is innocent' replied his lieutenant; 'and this is some enemy's practice against him.' quoth ahmed, 'what counsellest thou?' and hassan said, 'god willing, we must rescue him.' then he went to the prison and said to the gaoler, 'give us some one deserving of death.' so he gave him one that was likest to alaeddin and they covered his head and carried him to the place of execution between ahmed ed denef and ali ez zibec of cairo. now they had brought alaeddin to the gibbet, to hang him, but ahmed ed denef came forward and set his foot on that of the hangman, who said, 'give me room to do my office.' 'o accursed one,' replied ahmed, 'take this man and hang him in alaeddin's stead; for he is innocent and we will ransom him with this fellow, even as abraham ransomed ishmael[fn# ] with the ram.' so the hangman took the man and hanged him in alaeddin's room. then ahmed and ali took alaeddin and carried him to the house of the former, to whom said he, 'o my father, may god abundantly requite thee!' 'o alaeddin,' said ahmed, 'what is this thou hast done? god's mercy on him who said, "whoso trusteth in thee, betray him not, though thou be a traitor." now the khalif set thee in high place about him and styled thee "trusty" and "faithful;" how then couldst thou deal thus with him and steal his goods?' 'by the most great name, o my father,' replied alaeddin, 'i had no hand in this, nor do i know who did it.' quoth ahmed, 'of a surety none did this but a manifest enemy and whoso doth aught shall be requited for his deed; but, o alaeddin, thou canst tarry no longer in baghdad, for kings, o my son, may not be bought off and longsome is his travail whom they pursue.' 'whither shall i go, o my father?' asked alaeddin. 'o my son,' answered ahmed, 'i will bring thee to alexandria, for it is a blessed place; its environs are green and its sojourn pleasant.' and alaeddin said, 'i hear and obey, o my father.' so ahmed said to hassan shouman, 'be mindful and when the khalif asks for me, say i am gone on a circuit of the provinces.' then, taking alaeddin, he went forth of baghdad and stayed not till they came to the vineyards and gardens, where they met two jews of the khalif's tax-gatherers, riding on mules, and ahmed said to them, 'give me the guard-money.'[fn# ] 'why should we give thee guard-money?' asked they. 'because,' answered he, 'i am the patrol of this valley.' so they gave him each a hundred dinars, after which he slew them and took their mules, one of which he mounted, whilst alaeddin bestrode the other. then they rode on, till they came to the city of ayas[fn# ] and put up for the night at an inn. next morning, alaeddin sold his own mule and committed that of ahmed to the charge of the doorkeeper of the inn, after which they took ship from the port of ayas and sailed to alexandria. here they landed and proceeded to the bazaar, where they found a broker crying a shop and a chamber behind it for sale. the last bidding for the premises (which belonged to the treasury) was nine hundred and fifty dirhems;[fn# ] so alaeddin bid a thousand and his offer being accepted, took the keys and opened the shop and room, which latter he found furnished with carpets and cushions. moreover, he found there a storehouse full of sails and masts and ropes and chests and bags of beads and shells and stirrups and axes and maces and knives and scissors and what not else, for the last owner of the shop had been a dealer in second-hand goods. so he took his seat in the shop and ahmed ed denef said to him, 'o my son, the shop and room and that which is therein are become thine; so abide thou here and buy and sell and grudge not, neither repine; for god the most high blesseth trade.' after this he abode with him three days and on the fourth he took leave of him, saying, 'o my son, abide here till i bring thee the khalif's pardon and learn who hath played thee this trick.' then he took ship for ayas, where he took the mule from the inn and returning to baghdad, foregathered with hassan shouman, to whom said he, 'has the khalif asked for me?' 'no,' answered hassan, 'nor hath thou come to his thought.' so he resumed his service about the khalif's person and set himself to seek news of alaeddin's case, till one day he heard the khalif say to the vizier, 'see, o jaafer, how alaeddin dealt with me!' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'thou hast requited him with hanging, and it was what he deserved.' quoth haroun, 'i have a mind to go down and see him hanging.' and the vizier answered, 'as thou wilt, o commander of the faithful.' so the khalif and jaafer went down to the place of execution, and the former, raising his eyes, saw the hanged man to be other than alaeddin and said to the vizier, 'this is not alaeddin.' 'how knowest thou that it is not he?' asked the vizier, and the khalif answered, 'alaeddin was short and this fellow is tall.' quoth jaafer, 'hanging stretches a man.' 'but,' rejoined the khalif, 'alaeddin was fair and this man's face is black.' 'knowest thou not, o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'that death (by hanging) causes blackness?' then the khalif bade take down the body and they found the names of he first two khalifs, abou bekr and omar, written on his heels; whereupon quoth the khalif, 'o vizier, alaeddin was a sunnite, and this fellow is a shiyaite.'[fn# ] 'glory be to god who knowest the hidden things!' answered jaafer. 'we know not whether this was he or another.' then the khalif bade bury the body and alaeddin became altogether forgotten. as for hebezlem bezazeh, the amir khalid's son, he ceased not to languish for passion and desire, till he died and they buried him; whilst jessamine accomplished the months of her pregnancy and being taken with the pains of labour, gave birth to a male child like the moon. the serving-women said to her, 'what wilt thou name him?' and she answered, 'were his father alive, he had named him; but now i will name him aslan.' she gave him suck two years, then weaned him, and he crawled and walked. one day, whilst his mother was busied with the service of the kitchen, the child went out and seeing the stairs, mounted to the guest- chamber,[fn# ] where the amir khalid was sitting. when the latter saw him, he took him in his lap and glorified his lord for that which he had created and fashioned forth; then eyeing him straitly, he saw that he was the likest of all creatures to alaeddin abou esh shamat; and god informed his heart with love of the boy. presently, his mother jessamine sought for him and finding him not, mounted to the guest-chamber, where she saw the amir seated, with the child playing in his lap. the latter, spying his mother, would have thrown himself upon her: but the amir held him back and said to jessamine, 'come hither, o damsel.' so she came to him, and he said to her, 'whose son is this?' quoth she, 'he is my son and the darling of my heart.' 'who is his father?' asked the amir; and she answered, 'his father was alaeddin abou esh shamat, but now he is become thy son.' quoth khalid, 'alaeddin was a traitor.' 'god deliver him from treason!' replied she. 'god forbid that the faithful should be a traitor!' then said he, 'when the boy grows up and says to thee, "who is my father?" say thou to him, "thou art the son of the amir khalid, chief of the police."' and she answered, 'i hear and obey.' then he circumcised the boy and reared him after the goodliest fashion, bringing him a tutor, who taught him to read and write; so he read (and commented) the koran twice and learnt it by heart and grew up, calling the amir father. moreover, the latter used to go down with him to the tilting-ground and assemble horsemen and teach the lad warlike exercises and the use of arms, so that, by the time he was fourteen years old, he became a valiant and accomplished cavalier and gained the rank of amir.[fn# ] it chanced one day that he fell in with ahmed kemakim and clapping up an acquaintance with him, accompanied him to the tavern, where ahmed took out the lantern he had stolen from the khalif and fell to plying the wine-cup by its light, till he became drunken. presently aslan said to him, 'o captain, give me yonder lantern;' but he replied, 'i cannot give it thee.' 'why not?' asked aslan. 'because,' answered ahmed, 'lives have been lost for it.' 'whose life?' asked aslan; and ahmed said, 'there came hither a man named alaeddin abou est shamat, who was made captain of the sixty and lost his life through this lantern.' quoth aslan, 'and how was that?' 'know,' replied ahmed kemakim, 'that thou hadst an elder brother by name hebezlem bezazeh, for whom, when he became apt for marriage, thy father would have bought a slave-girl named jessamine.' and he went on to tell him the whole story of hebezlem's illness and what befell alaeddin, undeserved. when aslan heard this, he said in himself, 'most like this slave-girl was my mother jessamine and my father was no other than alaeddin abou esh shamat.' so he went out from him, sorrowful, and met ahmed ed denef, who exclaimed at sight of him, 'glory be to him to whom none is like!' 'at what dost thou marvel, o my chief?' asked hassan shouman. 'at the make of yonder boy aslan,' replied ed denef; 'for he is the likest of all creatures to alaeddin abou esh shamat.' then he called aslan and said to him, 'what is thy mother's name?' 'she is called the damsel jessamine,' answered aslan; and ed denef said, 'harkye, aslan, take heart and be of good cheer, for thy father was none other than alaeddin abou esh shamat: but, o my son, go thou in to thy mother and question her of thy father.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he, and going in to his mother, said to her, 'who is my father?' quoth she, 'the amir khalid is thy father.' 'not so,' rejoined he, 'my father was none other than alaeddin abou esh shamat.' at this, she wept and said, 'who told thee this?' 'ahmed ed denef, the captain of the guard,' answered he; so she told him the whole story, saying, 'o my son, the truth can no longer be hidden: know that alaeddin was indeed thy father, but it was the amir khalid who reared thee and adopted thee as his son. and now, o my son, when thou seest ahmed ed denef, so thou say to him, "i conjure thee, by allah, o my chief, avenge me on the murderer of my father alaeddin abou esh shamat!"' so he went out from her and betaking himself to ahmed ed denef, kissed his hand. quoth ed denef, 'what ails thee, o aslan?' and he answered, 'i know now for certain that i am the son of alaeddin abou esh shamat and i would have thee avenge me of my father's murderer.' 'and who was thy father's murderer?' asked ed denef. 'ahmed kemakim the arch- thief,' replied aslan. 'who told thee this?' said ed denef, and aslan answered, 'i saw in his hand the lantern hung with jewels, that was lost with the rest of the khalif's gear, and asked him to give it me; but he refused, saying, "lives have been lost on account of this," and told me how it was he who had broken into the palace and stolen the goods and hidden them in my father's house.' then said ed denef, 'when thou seest the amir khalid don his harness of war, beg him to equip thee like himself and take thee with him. then do thou some feat of prowess before the khalif and he will say to thee, "ask a boon of me, o aslan." and do thou answer, "i ask of thee that thou avenge me of my father's murderer." if he say, "thy father is alive and is the amir khalid, the chief of the police," answer thou, "my father was alaeddin abou esh shamat, and the amir khalid is only my father by right of fosterage and adoption." then tell him all that passed between thee and ahmed kemakim and say, "o commander of the faithful, order him to be searched and i will bring the lantern forth of his bosom."' 'i hear and obey,' answered aslan and returning to the amir khalid, found him making ready to repair to the divan and said to him, 'i would fain have thee arm and harness me like thyself and carry me to the divan.' so he equipped him and carried him to the divan, with ahmed kemakim at his stirrup. then the khalif sallied forth of baghdad with his retinue and let pitch tents and pavilions without the city; whereupon the troops divided into two parties and fell to playing at ball and striking it with the mall from one to the other. now there was among the troops a spy, who had been hired to kill the khalif; so he took the ball and smiting it with the mall, drove it straight at the khalif's face; but aslan interposed and catching it in mid-volley, drove it back at him who smote it, so that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to the ground. the khalif exclaimed, 'god bless thee, o aslan!' and they all dismounted and sat on chairs. then the khalif bade bring the smiter of the ball before him and said to him, 'who moved thee to do this thing and art thou friend or foe?' quoth he, 'i am a foe and it was my purpose to kill thee.' 'and wherefore?' asked the khalif. 'art thou not an (orthodox) muslim?' 'no,' replied the spy; 'i am a shiyaite.' so the khalif bade put him to death and said to aslan, 'ask a boon of me.' quoth he, 'i ask of thee that thou avenge me of my father's murderer.' 'thy father is alive,' answered the khalif; 'and there he stands.' 'and who is he?' asked aslan. the khalif replied, 'he is the amir khalid, chief of the police.' 'o commander of the faithful,' rejoined aslan, 'he is no father of mine, save by right of fosterage; my father was none other than alaeddin abou esh shamat.' 'then thy father was a traitor,' said the khalif. 'god forbid, o commander of the faithful,' replied aslan, 'that the faithful should be a traitor! but how did he wrong thee?' quoth the khalif, 'he stole my royal habit and what was therewith.' 'o commander of the faithful,' rejoined aslan, 'god forfend that my father should be a traitor! but, o my lord, didst thou ever recover the lantern that was stolen from thee?' 'no,' answered the khalif, 'we never got it back.' and aslan said, 'i saw it in the hands of ahmed kemakim and begged it of him; but he refused to give it me, saying, "lives have been lost on account of this." then he told me of the sickness of hebezlem bezazeh, son of the amir khalid, by reason of his passion for the damsel jessamine, and how he himself was released from prison and that it was he who stole the lamp and robe and so forth. do thou then, o commander of the faithful, avenge me of my father on him who murdered him.' so the khalif caused ahmed kemakim to be brought before him and sending for ahmed ed denef, bade him search him; whereupon he put his hand into the thief's bosom and pulled out the lamp. 'harkye, traitor,' said the khalif, 'whence hadst thou this lantern?' and kemakim replied, 'i bought it, o commander of the faithful!' 'where didst thou buy it?' said the khalif, 'and who could come by its like to sell it to thee?' then they beat him, till he confessed that he had stolen the lantern and the rest, and the khalif said, 'o traitor, what moved thee to do this thing and ruin alaeddin abou esh shamat, the trusty and well-beloved?' then he bade lay hands on him and on the chief of the police, but the latter said, 'o commander of the faithful, indeed i am unjustly entreated; thou badest me hang him, and i had no knowledge of this plot, for the thing was contrived between ahmed kemakim and his mother and my wife. i crave thine intercession, o aslan.' so aslan interceded for him with the khalif, who said, 'what hath god done with this lad's mother?' 'she is with me,' answered khalid, and the khalif said, 'i command thee to bid thy wife dress her in her own clothes and ornaments and restore her to her former rank; and do thou remove the seals from alaeddin's house and give his son possession of his estate.' 'i hear and obey,' answered khalid, and going forth, carried the khalif's order to his wife, who clad jessamine in her own apparel; whilst he himself removed the seals from alaeddin's house and gave aslan the keys. then said the khalif to aslan, 'ask a boon of me;' and he replied, 'i beseech thee to unite me with my father.' whereat the khalif wept and said, 'most like it was thy father that was hanged and is dead; but by the life of my forefathers, whoso bringeth me the glad news that he is yet in the bonds of life, i will give him all he seeketh!' then came forward ahmed ed denef and kissing the earth before the khalif, said, 'grant me indemnity, o commander of the faithful!' 'thou hast it,' answered the khalif; and ed denef said, 'i give thee the good news that alaeddin is alive and well.' quo the khalif, 'what is this thou sayest?' 'as thy head liveth,' answered ed denef, 'i speak sooth; for i ransomed him with another, of those who deserved death, and carried him to alexandria, where i set him up as a dealer in second-hand goods.' then said er reshid, 'i charge thee fetch him to me;' and ed denef replied, 'i hear and obey;' whereupon the khalif bade give him ten thousand dinars and he set out for alexandria. meanwhile alaeddin sold all that was in his shop, till he had but a few things let and amongst the rest a bag. so he shook the bag and there fell out a jewel, big enough to fill the palm of the hand, hanging to a chain of gold and having five faces, whereon were names and talismanic characters, as they were ant-tracks. 'god is all-knowing!' quoth he. 'belike this is a talisman.' so he rubbed each face; but nothing came of it and he said to himself, 'doubtless it is a piece of [naturally] variegated onyx,' and hung it up in the shop. presently, a frank passed along the street and seeing the jewel hanging up, seated himself before the shop and said to alaeddin, 'o my lord, is yonder jewel for sale?' 'all i have is for sale,' answered alaeddin; and the frank said, 'wilt thou sell it me for fourscore thousand dinars?' 'may god open!'[fn# ] replied alaeddin. 'wilt thou sell it for a hundred thousand dinars?' asked the frank, and he answered, 'i sell it to thee for a hundred thousand dinars; pay me down the money.' quoth the frank, 'i cannot carry such a sum about me, for there are thieves and sharpers in alexandria; but come with me to my ship and i will pay thee the money and give thee to boot a bale of angora wool, a bale of satin, a bale of velvet and a bale of broadcloth.' so alaeddin rose and giving the jewel to the frank, locked up his shop and committed the keys to his neighbour, saying, 'keep these keys for me, whilst i go with this frank to his ship and take the price of my jewel. if i be long absent and there come to thee captain ahmed ed denef,--he who set me up in this shop,--give him the keys and tell him where i am.' then he went with the frank to his ship, where the latter set him a stool and making him sit down, said [to his men], 'bring the money.' so [they brought it and] he paid him the price of the jewel and gave him the four bales he had promised him; after which he said to him, 'o my lord, honour me by taking a morsel or a draught of water.' and alaeddin answered, 'if thou have any water, give me to drink.' so the frank called for drink, and they brought sherbets, drugged with henbane, of which no sooner had alaeddin drunk, than he fell over on his back; whereupon they weighed anchor and shoving off, shipped the poles and made sail. the wind blew fair and they sailed till they lost sight of land, when the frank bade bring alaeddin up out of the hold and made him smell to the counter-drug, whereupon he opened his eyes and said, 'where am i?' 'thou art bound and in my power,' answered the frank; 'and if thou hadst refused to take a hundred thousand dinars for the jewel, i would have bidden thee more.' 'what art thou?' asked alaeddin, and the other replied, 'i am a sea- captain and mean to carry thee to my mistress.' as they were talking, a ship hove in sight, with forty muslim merchants on board; so the frank captain gave chase and coming up with the vessel, made fast to it with grappling-irons. then he boarded it with his men and took it and plundered it; after which he sailed on with his prize, till he reached the city of genoa, where he repaired to the gate of a palace, that gave upon the sea, and there came forth to him a veiled damsel, who said, 'hast thou brought the jewel and its owner?' 'i have brought them both,' answered he; and she said, 'then give me the jewel.' so he gave it to her and returning to the port, fired guns to announce his safe return; whereupon the king of the city, being notified of his arrival, came down to receive him and said to him, 'what manner of voyage hast thou had?' 'a right prosperous one,' answered the captain, 'and i have made prize of a ship with one- and-forty muslim merchants.' being them ashore,' said the king. so he landed the merchants in irons, and alaeddin among the rest; and the king and the captain mounted and made the captives walk before them, till they reached the palace, where the king sat down in the audience-chamber and making the prisoners pass before him, one by one, said to the first, 'o muslim, whence comest thou?' 'from alexandria,' answered he; whereupon the king said, 'o headsman, put him to death.' so the headsman smote him with the sword and cut off his head: and thus it fared with the second and the third, till forty were dead and there remained but alaeddin, who drank the cup of his comrades' anguish and said to himself, 'god have mercy on thee, o alaeddin! thou art a dead man.' then said the king to him, 'and thou, what countryman art thou?' 'i am of alexandria,' answered alaeddin, and the king said, 'o headsman, strike off his head.' so the headsman raised his arm and was about to strike, when an old woman of venerable aspect presented herself before the king, who rose to do her honour, and said to him, 'o king, did i not bid thee remember, when the captain came back with captives, to keep one or two for the convent, to serve in the church?' 'o my mother, answered the king, 'would thou hadst come a while earlier! but take this one that is left.' so she turned to alaeddin and said to him, 'wilt thou serve in the church, or shall i let the king kill thee?' quoth he, 'i will serve in the church.' so she took him and carried him forth of the palace to the church, where he said to her, 'what service must i do?' and she answered, 'thou must arise in the morning and take five mules and go with them into the forest and there cut dry firewood and split it and bring it to the convent-kitchen. then must thou take up the carpets and sweep and wipe the stone and marble pavements and lay the carpets down again, as they were; after which thou must take two bushels and a half of wheat and sift it and grind it and knead it and make it into cracknels for the convent; and thou must take also a bushel of lentils and sift and crush and cook them. then must thou fetch water in barrels and fill the four fountains; after which thou must take three hundred and threescore and six wooden platters and crumble the cracknels therein and pour of the lentil pottage over each and carry every monk and patriarch his platter.' 'take me back to the king and let him kill me,' said alaeddin; 'it were easier to me than this service.' 'if thou do the service that is due from thee,' replied the old woman, 'thou shalt escape death; but, if thou do it not, i will let the king kill thee.' then she went away, leaving alaeddin heavy at heart. now there were in the church ten blind cripples, and one of them said to him, 'bring me a pot.' so he brought it him and he did his occasion therein and said, 'throw away the ordure.' he did do, and the blind man said, 'the messiah's blessing be upon thee, o servant of the church!' presently, the old woman came in and said to him, 'why hast thou not done thy service?' 'how many hands have i,' answered he, 'that i should suffice for all this work?' 'thou fool!' rejoined she.' 'i brought thee not hither but to work. but,' added she, giving him a wand of brass with a cross at the top, 'take this rod and go forth into the highway, and whomsoever thou meetest, were he governor of the ciy, say to him, "i summon thee to the service of the church, in the name of the messiah." and he will not refuse thee. then make him sift the wheat and grind it and bolt it and knead it and bake it into cracknels; and if any gainsay thee, beat him and fear none.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he and did as she said, pressing great and small into his service; nor did he leave to do thus for the space of seventeen years, till, one day, the old woman came to him, as he sat in the church, and said to him, 'go forth of the convent.' 'whither shall i go?' asked he, and she said, 'thou canst pass the night in a tavern or with one of thy friends.' quoth he, 'why dost thou send me forth of the church?' and she replied, 'the princess husn meryem, daughter of youhenna, king of the city, purposes this night to pay a visit to the church, and it befits not that any abide in her way.' so he rose and made a show of obeying her and of leaving the church; but he said in himself, 'i wonder whether the princess is like our women or fairer than they! algates, i will not go till i have had a sight of her.' so he hid himself in a closet[fn# ] with a window looking into the church, and as he watched, in came the king's daughter. he cast one glance at her, that cost him a thousand sighs, for she was like the full moon, when it emerges from the clouds; and with her was a damsel, to whom he heard her say, 'o zubeideh, thy company is grateful to me.' so he looked straitly at the damsel and found her to be none other than his wife, zubeideh the lutanist, whom he thought dead. then the princess said to zubeideh, 'play us an air on the lute.' but she answered, 'i will make no music for thee, till thou grant my wish and fulfil thy promise to me.' 'and what did i promise thee?' asked the princess. 'that thou wouldst reunite me with my husband alaeddin abou esh shamat,' said zubeideh. 'o zubeideh,' rejoined the princess, 'be of good cheer and play us an air, as a thank-offering for reunion with thy husband.' 'where is he?' asked zubeideh, and meryem replied, 'he is in yonder closet, listening to us.' so zubeideh played a measure on the lute, that would have made a rock dance; which when alaeddin heard, his entrails were troubled and he came forth and throwing himself upon his wife, strained her to his bosom. she also knew him and they embraced and fell down in a swoon. then came the princess and sprinkled rose-water on them, till they revived, when she said to them, 'god hath reunited you.' 'by thy kind offices, o my lady,' replied alaeddin and turning to his wife, said to her, 'o zubeideh, thou didst surely die and we buried thee: how then camest thou to life and to this place?' 'o my lord,' answered she, 'i did not die; but a marid of the jinn snatched me up and flew with me hither. she whom thou buriedst was a jinniyeh, who took my shape and feigned herself dead, but presently broke open the tomb and returned to the service of this her mistress, the princess husn meryem. as for me, i was in a trance, and when i opened my eyes, i found myself with the princess; so i said to her, "why hast thou bought me hither?" "o zubeideh," answered she, "know that i am predestined to marry thy husband alaeddin abou esh shamat: wilt thou then accept of me to fellow-wife, a night for me and a night for thee?" "i hear and obey, o my lady," rejoined i; "but where is my husband?" quoth she, "upon his forehead is written what god hath decreed to him; as soon as what is there written is fulfilled to him he must needs come hither, and we will beguile the time of our separation from him with songs and smiting upon instruments of music, till it please god to unite us with him." so i abode with her till god brought us together in this church.' then the princess turned to him and said, 'o my lord alaeddin, wilt thou accept of me to wife?' 'o my lady,' replied he, 'i am a muslim and thou art a nazarene; so how can i marry thee?' 'god forbid,' rejoined she, 'that i should be an infidel! nay, i am a muslim; these eighteen years have i held fast the faith of submission and i am pure of any faith other than that of islam.' then said he, 'o my lady, i would fain return to my native land.' and she answered, 'know that i see written on thy forehead things that thou must needs fulfil and thou shalt come to thy desire. moreover, i give thee the glad tidings, o alaeddin, that there hath been born to thee a son named aslan, who is now eighteen years old and sitteth in thy place with the khalif. know also that god hath shown forth the truth and done away the false by withdrawing the curtain of secrecy from him who stole the khalif's goods, that is, ahmed kemakim the arch-thief and traitor; and he now lies bound and in prison. it was i who caused the jewel to be put in the bag where thou foundest it and who sent the captain to thee; for thou must know that he is enamoured of me and seeketh my favours, but i refused to yield to his wishes, till he should being me the jewel and its owner. so i gave him a hundred purses[fn# ] and despatched him to thee, in the habit of a merchant; and it was i also who sent the old woman to save thee from being put to death with the other captives.' 'may god requite thee for us with all good!' said he. 'indeed, thou hast done well.' then she renewed her profession of the mohammedan faith at his hands, and when he was assured of the truth of her speech, he said to her, 'o my lady, tell me what are the virtues of the jewel and whence cometh it?' 'it came from an enchanted treasure,' answered she, 'and has five virtues, that will profit us in time of need. the princess my grandmother, my father's mother, was an enchantress and skilled in solving mysteries and winning at hidden treasures, and from one of the latter came the jewel into her hands. when i grew up and reached the age of fourteen, i read the evangel and other books and found the name of mohammed (whom god bless and preserve) in four books, the evangel, the pentateuch, the psalms[fn# ] and the koran; so i believed in mohammed and became a muslim, being assured that none is worship-worth save god the most high and that to the lord of all creatures no faith is acceptable save that of submission. when my grandmother fell sick, she gave me the jewel and taught me its virtues. moreover, before she died, my father said to her, 'draw me a geomantic figure and see the issue of my affair and what will befall me.' and she foretold him that he should die by the hand of a captive from alexandria. so he swore to kill every captive from that place and told the captain of this, saying, "do thou fall on the ships of the muslims and seize them and whomsoever thou findest of alexandria, kill him or bring him to me." the captain did his bidding and he slew as many in number as the hairs of his head. then my grandmother died and i took a geomantic tablet, being minded to now who i should marry, and drawing a figure, found that none should be my husband save one called alaeddin abou esh shamat, the trusty and well-beloved. at this i marvelled and waited till the times were accomplished and i foregathered with thee.' so alaeddin took her to wife and said to her, 'i desire to return to my own country.' 'if it be so,' replied she, 'come with me.' then she carried him into the palace and hiding him in a closet there, went in to her father, who said to her, 'o my daughter, my heart is exceeding heavy to-day; let us sit down and make merry with wine, thou and i.' so he called for a table of wine, and she sat down with him and plied him with wine, till he lost his wits, when she drugged a cup with henbane, and he drank it off and fell backward. then she brought alaeddin out of the closet and said to him, 'come; thine enemy is laid prostrate, for i made him drunk and drugged him; so do thou with him as thou wilt.' accordingly alaeddin went to the king and finding him lying drugged and helpless, bound him fast, hand and foot. then he gave him the counter-drug and he came to himself and finding his daughter and alaeddin sitting on his breast, said to her, 'o my daughter, dost thou deal thus with me?' 'if i be indeed thy daughter,' answered she, 'become a muslim, even as i have done; for the truth was shown to me, and i embraced it, and the false, and i renounced it. i have submitted myself unto god, the lord of all creatures, and am pure of all faiths contrary to that of islam in this world and the next. wherefore, if thou wilt become a muslim, well and good; if not, thy death were better than thy life.' alaeddin also exhorted him to embrace the true faith; but he refused and was obstinate: so alaeddin took a dagger and cut his throat from ear to ear. then he wrote a scroll, setting forth what had happened and laid it on the dead man's forehead, after which they took what was light of weight and heavy of worth and returned to the church. here the princess took out the jewel and rubbed the face whereon was figured a couch, whereupon a couch appeared before her and she mounted upon it with alaeddin and zubeideh, saying, 'o couch, i conjure thee by the virtue of the names and talismans and characters of art engraven on this jewel, rise up with us!' and it rose with them into the air and flew, till i came to a desert valley, when the princess turned the face on which the couch was figured towards the earth, and it sank with them to the ground. then she turned up the face whereon was figured a pavilion and tapping it, said, 'let a pavilion be pitched in this valley.' and immediately there appeared a pavilion, in which they seated themselves. now this valley was a desert waste, without grass or water; so she turned a third face of the jewel towards the sky and said, 'by the virtue of the names of god, let trees spring up here and a river run beside them!' and immediately trees sprang up and a river ran rippling and splashing beside them. they made their ablutions and prayed and drank of the stream; after which the princess turned up a fourth face of the jewel, on which was figured a table of food, and said, 'by the virtue of the names of god, let the table be spread!' and immediately there appeared before them a table, spread with all manner rich meats, and they ate and drank and made merry. meanwhile, the king's son went in to waken his father, but found him slain and seeing the scroll, took it and read. then he sought his sister and finding her not, betook himself to the old woman in the church, of whom he enquired of her, but she said, 'i have not seen her since yesterday.' so he returned to the troops and cried out, saying, 'to horse, cavaliers!' then he told them what had happened, and they mounted and rode after the fugitives, till they drew near the pavilion. presently, husn meryem looked up and saw a cloud of dust, which spread till it covered the prospect, then lifted and discovered her brother and his troops, crying aloud and saying, 'whither will ye fly, and we on your track!' then said she to alaeddin, 'art thou steadfast in battle?' 'even as the stake in bran,' answered he; 'i know not war nor battle, neither swords nor spears.' so she pulled out the jewel and rubbed the fifth face, that on which were depictured a horse and his rider, and straightway a horseman appear out of the desert and driving at the pursuing host, ceased not to do battle with them and smite them with the sword, till he routed them and put them to flight. then said the princess to alaeddin, 'wilt thou go to cairo or to alexandria?' and he answered, 'to alexandria.' so they mounted the couch and she pronounced over it the conjuration, whereupon it set off with them and brought them to alexandria in the twinkling of an eye. they alighted without the city and alaeddin hid the women in a cavern, whilst he went into alexandria and fetched them veils and outer clothing, wherewith he covered them. then he carried them to his ship and leaving them in the room behind it, went forth to fetch them the morning meal, when he met ahmed ed denef coming from baghdad. he saw him in the street and received him with open arms, embracing him and welcoming him. ed denef gave him the good news of his son aslan and how he was now come to the age of twenty; and alaeddin, in his turn, told the captain of the guard all that had befallen him, whereat he marvelled exceedingly. then he brought him to his lodging, where they passed the night; and next day he sold his shop and laid its price with his other monies. now ed denef had told him that the khalif sought him; but he said, 'i am bound first for cairo, to salute my father and mother and the people of my house.' so they all mounted the couch and it carried them to cairo the happy, where they alighted in the street called yellow, where stood shemseddin's house. alaeddin knocked at the door, and his mother said, 'who is at the door, now that we have lost our beloved?' 'it is i, alaeddin,' replied he; whereupon they came down and embraced him. then he sent his wives and baggage into the house and entering himself with ahmed ed denef, rested there three days, after which he was minded to set out for baghdad and his father said, 'o my son, abide with me.' but he answered, 'i cannot brook to be parted from my son aslan.' so he took his father and mother and set out for baghdad. when they came thither, ahmed ed denef went in to the khalif and gave him the glad tidings of alaeddin's arrival and told him his story; whereupon the prince went forth to meet him, accompanied by his son aslan, and they met and embraced each other. then the khalif sent for ahmed kemakim and said to alaeddin, 'up and avenge thee of thine enemy!' so he drew his sword and smote off ahmed's head. then the khalif held festival for alaeddin and summoning the cadis and the witnesses, married him to the princess husn meryem; and he went in to her and found her an unpierced pearl. moreover, the khalif made aslan chief of the sixty and bestowed upon him and his father sumptuous dresses of honour; and they abode in the enjoyment of all the comforts and pleasures of life, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. hatim et taÃ�: his generosity after death. it is told of hatim et taï[fn# ], that when he died, they buried him on the top of a mountain and set over his grave two boughs hewn out of two rocks and stone figures of women with dishevelled hair. at the foot of the hill was a stream of running water, and when wayfarers camped there, they heard loud crying in the night, from dark till daybreak; but when they arose in the morning, they found nothing but the girls carved in stone. now when dhoulkeraa, king of himyer, going forth of his tribe, came to the valley, he halted to pass the night there and drawing near the mountain, heard the crying and said, 'what lamenting is that on yonder hill?' they answered him, saying, 'this is the tomb of hatim et taï, over which are two troughs of stone and stone figures of girls with dishevelled hair; and all who camp in this place by night hear this crying and lamenting.' so he said jestingly, 'o hatim et taï, we are thy guests this night, and we are lank with hunger.' then sleep overcame him, but presently he awoke in affright and cried out, saying, 'help, o arabs! look at my beast!' so they came to him and finding his she-camel struggling in the death-agony, slaughtered it and roasted its flesh and ate. then they asked him what had happened and he said, 'when i closed my eyes, i saw in my sleep hatim et taï, who came to me with a sword in his hand and said to me, "thou comest to us and we have nothing by us." then he smote my she-camel with his sword, and she would have died, though ye had not come to her and cut her throat.' next morning the prince mounted the beast of one of his companions and taking the latter up behind him, set out and fared on till midday, when they saw a man coming towards them, mounted on a camel and leading another, and said to him, 'who art thou?' 'i am adi, son of hatim et taï,' answered he. 'where is dhoulkeraa, prince of himyer?' 'this is he,' replied they, and he said to the prince, 'take this camel in place of thine own, which my father slaughtered for thee.' 'who told thee of this?' asked dhoulkeraa, and adi answered, 'my father appeared to me in a dream last night and said to me, "harkye, adi; dhoulkeraa, king of himyer, sought hospitality of me and i, having nought to give him, slaughtered him his she-camel, that he might eat: so do thou carry him a she-camel to ride, for i have nothing."' and dhoulkeraa took her, marvelling at the generosity of hatim et taï, alive and dead. maan ben zaÃ�deh and the three girls. it is told of maan ben zaïdeh[fn# ] that, being out one day a-hunting, he became athirst and would have drunk, but his men had no water with them. presently, he met three damsels, bearing three skins of water; so he begged drink of them, and they gave him to drink. then he sought of his men somewhat to give the damsels; but they had no money; so he gave each girl ten golden-headed arrows from his quiver. whereupon quoth one of them to her mates, 'harkye! these fashions pertain to none but maan ben zaïdeh; so let each of us recite somewhat of verse in his praise.' then said the first: he heads his shafts with gold and shooting at his foes, dispenses thus largesse and bounties far and wide, giving the wounded man wherewith to get him cure and grave-clothes unto him must in the tombs abide. and the second: a warrior, for the great excess of his magnificence, both friends and foes enjoy the goods his liberal hands dispense. his arrowheads are forged of gold, that so his very wars may not estop his generous soul from its munificence. and the third: with arrows he shoots at his foes, of his generosity, whose heads are fashioned and forged of virgin gold, in steel's room; that those whom he wounds may spend the price of the gold for their cure and those that are slain of his shafts may buy them the wede of the tomb. maan ben zaÃ�deh and the bedouin. it is told also of maan ben zaïdeh that he went forth one day to the chase with his company, and they came upon a herd of gazelles. so they separated in pursuit of them and maan was left alone in chase of one of the gazelles. when he had made prize of it, he alighted and slaughtered it; and as he was thus engaged, he espied a man coming towards him on an ass. so he remounted and riding up to the new-comer, saluted him and asked him whence he came. quoth he, 'i come from the land of cuzaäh, where we have had a two years' dearth; but this year it was a season of plenty and i sowed cucumbers. they came up before their time, so i gathered the best of them and set out to carry them to the amir maan ben zaïdeh, because of his well-known generosity and notorious munificence.' 'how much cost thou hope to get of him?' asked maan, and the bedouin answered, 'a thousand diners.' 'what if he say, "this is too much"?' quoth maan. 'then i will ask five hundred diners,' said the bedouin. 'and if he say, "too much"?' said maan. 'then three hundred,' replied the other. 'and if he say yet, "too much"?' 'then two hundred.' 'and yet, "too much"?' 'then one hundred.' 'and yet, "too much"?' 'then fifty.' 'and yet, "too much"?' 'then thirty.' 'and if he still say, "too much"?' said maan ben zaïdeh. 'then,' answered the bedouin, 'i will make my ass set his feet in his sanctuary[fn# ] and return to my people, disappointed and empty-handed.' maan laughed at him and spurring his horse, rode on till he came up with his suite and returned home, when he said to his chamberlain, 'if there come a man with cucumbers, riding on an ass, admit him.' presently up came the bedouin and was admitted to maan's presence, but knew him not for the man he had met in the desert, by reason of the gravity and majesty of his aspect and the multitude of his servants and attendants, for he was seated on his chair of estate, with his officers about him. so he saluted him and maan said to him, 'o brother of the arabs, what brings thee?' 'i hoped in the amir,' answered the bedouin, 'and have brought him cucumbers out of season.' 'and how much cost thou expect of us?' asked maan. 'a thousand diners,' answered the bedouin. 'too much,' said maan. quoth the bedouin, 'five hundred;' but maan repeated, 'too much.' 'then three hundred,' said the bedouin. 'too much,' said maan. 'two hundred.' 'too much' 'one hundred.' 'too much' 'fifty.' 'too much.' at last the bedouin came down to thirty diners; but maan still replied, 'too much.' 'by allah,' cried the bedouin, 'the man i met in the desert brought me ill luck! but i will not go lower than thirty diners.' the amir laughed and said nothing; whereupon the bedouin knew that it was he whom he had met and said, 'o my lord, except thou bring the thirty diners, there is the ass tied ready at the door and here sits maan.' at this, maan laughed, till he fell backward, and calling his steward, said to him, 'give him a thousand diners and five hundred and three hundred and two hundred and one hundred and fifty and thirty and leave the ass where he is.' so the bedouin, to his amazement, received two thousand and nine score diners, and may god have mercy on them both! the city of lebtait. there was once a city in the land of the franks, called the city of lebtait.[fn# ] it was a royal city and in it stood a tower which was always shut. whenever a king died and another king of the franks took the kingship after him, he set a new and strong lock on the tower, till there were four-and-twenty locks upon the gate. after this time, there came to the throne a man who was not of the old royal house, and he had a mind to open the locks, that he might see what was within the tower. the grandees of his kingdom forbade him from this and were instant with him to desist, offering him all that their hands possessed of riches and things of price, if he would but forego his desire; but he would not be baulked and said, 'needs must i open this tower.' so he did off the locks and entering, found within figures of arabs on their horses and camels, covered with turbans with hanging ends, girt with swords and bearing long lances in their hands. he found there also a scroll, with these words written therein: 'whenas this door is opened, a people of the arabs, after the likeness of the figures here depictured, will conquer this country; wherefore beware, beware of opening it.' now this city was in spain, and that very year tarik ibn ziyad conquered it, in the khalifate of welid ben abdulmelik[fn# ] of the sons of umeyyeh, slaying this king after the sorriest fashion and sacking the city and making prisoners of the women and boys therein. moreover, he found there immense treasures; amongst the rest more than a hundred and seventy crowns of pearls and rubies and other gems, and a saloon, in which horsemen might tilt with spears, full of vessels of gold and silver, such as no description can comprise. moreover, he found there also the table of food of the prophet of god, solomon son of david (on whom be peace), which is extant even now in a city of the greeks; it is told that it was of green emerald, with vessels of gold and platters of chrysolite; likewise, the psalms written in the [ancient] greek character, on leaves of gold set with jewels, together with a book setting forth the properties of stones and herbs and minerals, as well as the use of charms and talismans and the canons of the art of alchemy, and another that treated of the art of cutting and setting rubies and other [precious] stones and of the preparation of poisons and antidotes. there found he also a representation of the configuration of the earth and the seas and the different towns and countries and villages of the world and a great hall full of hermetic powder, one drachm of which would turn a thousand drachms of silver into fine gold; likewise a marvellous great round mirror of mixed metals, made for solomon son of david (on whom be peace), wherein whoso looked might see the very image and presentment of the seven divisions of the world, and a chamber full of carbuncles, such as no words can suffice to set forth, many camel-loads. so he despatched all these things to welid ben abdulmelik, and the arabs spread all over the cities of spain, which is one of the finest of lands. this is the end of the story of the city of lebtait. the khalif hisham and the arab youth. the khalif hisham ben abdulmelik ben merwan was hunting one day, when he sighted an antelope and pursued it with his dogs. as he was following the chase, he saw an arab youth pasturing sheep and said to him, 'ho, boy, up and stop yonder antelope, for it escapeth me!' the youth raised his head and replied, 'o ignorant of the worth of the worthy,[fn# ] thou lookest on me with disdain and speakest to me with contempt; thy speech is that of a tyrant and thy conduct that of an ass.' 'out on thee,' cried hisham. 'dost thou not know me?' 'verily,' rejoined the youth, 'thine unmannerliness hath made thee known to me, in that thou spokest to me, without beginning by the salutation."[fn# ] 'out on thee!' repeated the khalif. 'i am hisham ben abdulmelik.' 'may god not favour thy dwellings,' replied the arab, 'nor guard thine abiding-place! how many are thy words and how few thy generosities!' hardly had he spoken, when up came the troops from all sides and surrounded him, saying, 'peace be on thee, o commander of the faithful!' quoth hisham, 'leave this talk and seize me yonder boy.' so they laid hands on him; and when he saw the multitude of chamberlains and viziers and officers of state, he was in nowise concerned and questioned not of them, but let his chin fall on his breast and looked where his feet fell, till they brought him to the khalif,[fn# ] when he stood before him, with head bowed down, and saluted him not neither spoke. so one of the attendants said to him, 'o dog of the arabs, what ails thee that thou salutest not the commander of the faithful?' the youth turned to him angrily and replied, 'o packsaddle of an ass, the length of the way it was that hindered me from this and the steepness of the steps and sweat.' then said hisham (and indeed he was exceeding wroth), 'o boy, thou art come to thy last hour; thy hope is gone from thee and thy life is past.' 'by allah, o hisham,' answered the arab, 'if the time[fn# ] be prolonged and its cutting short be not ordained of destiny, thy words irk me not, be they much or little.' then said the (chief) chamberlain to him, 'o vilest of the arabs, what art thou to bandy words with the commander of the faithful?' he answered promptly, 'mayest thou meet with adversity and may woe and mourning never depart from thee! hast thou not heard the saying of god the most high? "one day, every soul shall come to give an account of itself."'[fn# ] "at this, hisham rose, in great wrath, and said, 'o headsman, bring me his head; for indeed he multiplies talk, such as passes conception, and fears not reproach.' so the headsman took him and making him kneel on the carpet of blood, drew his sword and said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, shall i smite off the head of this thy misguided slave, who is on the way to his grave, and be quit of his blood?' 'yes,' replied hisham. he repeated his question and the khalif again replied in the affirmative. then he asked leave a third time, and the youth, knowing that, if the khalif assented yet once more, it would be the signal of his death, laughed till his wang-teeth appeared; at which hisham's wrath redoubled and he said to him, 'o boy, meseems thou art mad; seest thou not that thou art about to depart the world? why then dost thou laugh in mockery of thyself?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered the young arab, 'if my life is to be prolonged, none can hurt me, great or small; but i have bethought me of some verses, which do thou hear, for my death cannot escape thee.' 'say on and be brief,' replied hisham; so the arab repeated the following verses: a hawk once seized a sparrow, so have i heard men say, a sparrow of the desert, that fate to him did throw; and as the hawk was flying to nestward with his prize, the sparrow in his clutches did thus bespeak his foe: "there's nought in me the stomach of such as thou to stay; indeed, i'm all too paltry to fill thy maw, i trow." the hawk was pleased and flattered with pride and self conceit; he smiled for self-contentment and let the sparrow go. at this hisham smiled and said, 'by my kinship to the prophet (whom god bless and preserve), had he spoken thus at first, i had given him all he asked, except the khalifate!' then he bade his servants stuff his mouth with jewels and entreat him courteously; so they did as he bade them and the arab went his way. ibrahim ben el mehdi and the barber-surgeon. when the khalifate fell to el mamoun the son of haroun er reshid, the latter's brother ibrahim, son of el mehdi, refused to acknowledge his nephew and betook himself to er rei,[fn# ] where he proclaimed himself khalif and abode thus a year and eleven months and twelve days. meanwhile mamoun remained awaiting his return to allegiance, till, at last, despairing of this, he mounted with his horsemen and footmen and repaired to er rei in quest of him. when the news came to ibrahim, he found nothing for it but to flee to baghdad and hide there, fearing for his life; and mamoun set a price of a hundred thousand dinars upon his head. (quoth ibrahim) 'now when i heard of this price being set upon my head, i feared for myself and knew not what to do: so i disguised myself and went forth of my house at midday, knowing not whither i should go. presently, i entered a street that had no issue and said in myself, "verily, we are god's and to him we return! i have exposed myself to destruction. if i retrace my steps, i shall arouse suspicion." then i espied, at the upper end of the street, a negro standing at his door; so i went up to him and said to him, "hast thou a place where i may abide awhile of the day?" "yes," answered he, and opening the door, admitted me into a decent house, furnished with carpets and mats and cushions of leather. then he shut the door on me and went away; and i misdoubted me he had heard of the reward offered for me and said in myself, "he has gone to inform against me." but, as i sat pondering my case and boiling like the pot over the fire, my host came back, followed by a porter loaded with meat and bread and new cooking-pots and goblets and a new jar and other needful gear. he took them from the porter and dismissing him, said to me, "i make myself thy ransom! i am a barber-surgeon, and i know it would mislike thee to eat with me, because of the way in which i get my living; so do thou shift for thyself with these things whereon no hand hath fallen." now i was anhungred; so i cooked me a pot of meat, whose like i mind me not ever to have eaten; and when i had done my desire, he said to me, "o my lord, god make me thy ransom! art thou for wine? indeed, it gladdens the soul and does away care." "i have no objection," replied i, being desirous of his company; so he brought me new flagons of glass, that no hand had touched, and a jar of excellent wine, and said to me, "mix for thyself, to thy liking." so i cleared the wine and mixed myself a most pleasant draught. then he brought me a new cup and fruits and flowers in new vessels of earthenware; after which he said to me, "wilt thou give me leave to sit apart and drink of wine of my own by myself, of my joy in thee and for thee?" "do so." answered i. so we drank, he and i, till the wine began to take effect upon us, when he rose and going to a closet, took out a lute of polished wood and said to me, "o my lord, it is not for the like of me to ask thee to sing, but it behoves thine exceeding generosity to render my respect its due; so, an thou see fit to honour thy slave, thine is the august decision." quoth i (and indeed i thought not that he knew me), "how knowest thou that i excel in song?" "glory be to god!" answered he. "our lord is too well renowned for that![fn# ] thou art my lord ibrahim, son of el mehdi, our khalif of yesterday, he on whose head mamoun hath set a price of a hundred thousand dinars: but thou art in safety with me." when i heard him say this, he was magnified in my eyes and his loyalty was certified to me; so i complied with his wish and took the lute and tuned it. then i bethought me of my severance from my children and my family and sang the following verses: it may be that he, who restored his folk to joseph of old and raised him to high estate from the prison where in bonds he lay, will hear our prayer and unite us; for allah, the lord of the worlds, all-powerful is, and his puissance knows neither let nor stay. when the barber heard this, exceeding delight took possession of him and he was of great good cheer; (for it is said that when ibrahim's neighbours heard him [but] say, "ho, boy, saddle the mule!" they were filled with delight). then, being overborne by mirth, he said to me (continues ibrahim), "o my lord, wilt thou give me leave to say what is come to my mind, for all i am not of the folk of the craft?" "do so," answered i; "this is of thy great courtesy and kindness." so he took the lute and sang the following verses: unto our loved ones we made our moan of our nights so long and drear; and lo, "how short is the night with us!" quoth they we hold so dear. this is because quick-coming sleep closes their happy eyes, but slumber comes not to close our lids, that burn with many a tear. when the night approaches, the night so dread and drear to those that love, we are oppressed with grief; but they rejoice, when the night draws near. had they but drunken our bitter cup and suffered of our dole, then were their nights as ours, as long and full of heavy cheer. "thou hast acquitted thee rarely, o my friend," said i, "and hast done away from me the pangs of sorrow. let me hear more trifles of thy fashion." so he sang these verses: so a man's honour be unstained and free of all impair, lo, every garment that he dights on him is fit and fair. she taunted me, because, forsooth, our numbers were but few; but i "the noble," answer made, "are ever few and rare." it irks us nought that we are few and eke our neighbour great, for all the neighbours of most folk are scant and mean elsewhere; for we're a folk, that deem not death an evil nor reproach, albeit aamir and seloul so deem, of their despair. the love of death that is in us brings near our ends to us, but theirs, who loathe and rail at it, are long and far to fare. we, an it like us, give the lie to others of their speech; but, when we speak, no man on earth to gainsay us doth dare. when i heard this, i was filled with delight and marvelled exceedingly. then i slept and awoke not till past nightfall, when i washed my face, with a mind full of the high worth of this barber-surgeon; after which i aroused him and taking out a purse i had with me, containing a considerable sum of money, threw it to him, saying, "i commend thee to god, for i am about to go forth from thee, and beg thee to spend what is in this purse on thine occasions; and thou shalt have an abounding reward of me, when i am quit of my fear." but he returned it to me, saying, "o my lord, poor wretches like myself are of no value in thine eyes; but how, for mine own dignity's sake, can i take a price for the boon which fortune hath vouchsafed me of thy favour and company? by allah, if thou repeat thy words and throw the purse to me again, i will kill myself." so i put the purse in my sleeve (and indeed its weight was irksome to me) and would have gone away; but when i came to the door of the house, he said to me, "o my lord, this is a safer hiding-place for thee than another, and thy keep is no burden to me; so do thou abide with me, till god grant thee relief." so i turned back, saying, "on condition that thou spend of the money in this purse." he let me believe that he consented to this, and i abode with him some days in the utmost comfort; but, perceiving that he spent none of the contents of the purse, i revolted at the idea of abiding at his charge and thought shame to be a burden on him; so i disguised myself in women's apparel, donning walking-boots and veil, and left his house. when i found myself in the street, i was seized with excessive fear, and going to pass the bridge, came to a place sprinkled with water, where a trooper, who had been in my service, saw me and knowing me, cried out, saying, "this is he whom mamoun seeks!" then he laid hold of me, but the love of life lent me strength and i gave him a push, which threw him and his horse down in that slippery place, so that he became an example to those who will take warning and the folk hastened to him. meanwhile, i hurried on over the bridge and entered a street, where i saw the door of a house open and a woman standing in the vestibule. so i said to her, "o my lady, have pity on me and save my life; for i am a man in fear." quoth she, "enter and welcome;" and carried me into an upper chamber, where she spread me a bed and brought me food, saying, "calm thy fear, for not a soul shall know of thee." as she spoke, there came a loud knocking at the door; so she went and opened, and lo, it was my friend whom i had thrown down on the bridge, with his head bound up, the blood running down upon his clothes and without his horse. "o so and so," said she, "what hath befallen thee?" quoth he, "i made prize of the man [whom the khalif seeks] and he escaped from me." and told her the whole story. so she brought out tinder and applying it to his head, bound it up with a piece of rag; after which she spread him a bed and he lay sick. then she came up to me and said, "methinks thou art the man in question?" "i am," answered i, and she said, "fear not: no harm shall befall thee," and redoubled in kindness to me. i abode with her three days, at the end of which time she said to me, "i am in fear for thee, lest yonder man happen upon thee and betray thee to what thou dreadest; so save thyself by flight." i besought her to let me tarry till nightfall, and she said, "there is no harm in that." so, when the night came, i put on my woman's attire and taking leave of her, betook me to the house of a freed woman, who had once been mine. when she saw me, she wept and made a show of affliction and praised god the most high for my safety. then she went forth, as if she would go to the market, in the interests of hospitality, and i thought no harm; but, ere long, i espied ibrahim el mausili[fn# ] making for the house, with his servants and troopers, led by a woman whom i knew for the mistress of the house. she brought them to my hiding-place and delivered me into their hands, and i saw death face to face. they carried me, in my woman's attire, to mamoun, who called a general council and let bring me before him. when i entered i saluted him by the title of khalif, saying, "peace be on thee, o commander of the faithful!" and he replied, "may god neither give thee peace nor bless thee!" "at thy leisure, o commander of the faithful!" rejoined i. "it is for him in whose hand is revenge[fn# ] to decree retaliation or forgiveness; but forgiveness is nigher to the fear of god, and god hath set thy forgiveness above all other, even as he hath made my sin to excel all other sin. so, if thou punish, it is of thy right, and if thou pardon, it is of thy bounty." and i repeated the following verses: great is my sin, in sooth, 'gainst thee, but thou art greater still, perdie. so take thy due of me, or else remit it of thy clemency. if of the noble i've not been indeed, yet do thou of them be. at this he raised his head to me and i hastened to add these verses: indeed, i've offended full sore, but thou art disposed to forgive. 'twere justice to punish my crime and grace to allow me to live. then he bowed his head and repeated the following verses: whenas a friend against me doth grievously offend and maketh me with anger to choke, yet in the end, i pardon his offending and take him back again into my favour, fearing to live without a friend. when i heard this, i scented the odour of mercy, knowing his disposition to clemency. then he turned to his son el abbas and his brother abou ishac and other his chief officers there present and said to them, "what deem ye of his case!" they all counselled him to slay me, but differed as to the manner of my death. then said he to ahmed ibn ali khalid,[fn# ] "and what sayst thou, o ahmed?" "o commander of the faithful," answered he, "if thou put him to death, we find thy like who hath slain the like of him; but, if thou pardon him, we find not the like of thee that hath pardoned the like of him." at this mamoun bowed his head and repeated the following verse: the people of my tribe, they have my brother slain; but, an i shoot, my shaft reverts to me again. and also these: use not thy brother with despite, although he mingle wrong with right, and still be kind to him, all be with thanklessness he thee requite; and if he go astray and err one day, revile thou not the wight. seest not that loved and loathed at once in every way of life unite? that by the annoy of hoary hairs embittered is long life's delight, and that the bristling thorns beset the branch with pleasant fruits bedight? who is it doth good deeds alone and who hath never wrought unright? prove but the age's sons, thou'lt find the most have fallen from the light. when i heard this, i uncovered my head and cried out, saying, "god is most great! by allah, the commander of the faithful pardons me!" quoth he, "no harm shall come to thee, o uncle." and i, "o commander of the faithful, my offence is too great for me to attempt to extenuate it and thy pardon is too great for me to speak a word of thanks for it." and i chanted the following verses: sure, he, who made the virtues all, stored them in adam's loins for his high-priest, the seventh prince of abbas' royal seed! the hearts of all the folk are filled with reverence for thee, and thou, with meek and humble heart, dost keep them all and lead. error-deluded as i was, against thee i rebelled, intent on covetise alone and base ambitious greed; yet hast thou pardon giv'n to one, the like of whom before was never pardoned, though for him no one with thee did plead, and on a mother's bleeding heart hadst ruth and little ones, like to the desert-grouse's young, didst pity in their need. quoth mamoun, "i say, like our lord joseph (on whom and on our prophet be peace and blessing), 'there shall be no reproach on thee this day. god will forgive thee, for he is the most merciful of the merciful ones.'[fn# ] indeed, i pardon thee, o uncle, and restore thee thy goods and lands, and no harm shall befall thee." so i offered up devout prayers for him and repeated the following verses: my wealth thou hast given me again and hast not begrudged it to me; yea, and to boot, before this, my life and my blood thou didst spare. so if, thine approval to win, i lavish my blood and my wealth and e'en to the shoe off my foot, in thy service, i strip myself bare, 'twere but the restoring to thee of the loans that i owe to thy grace which none might reproach thee nor blame, i trow, hadst thou chos'n to forbear. ungrateful henceforth if i prove for the favours vouchsafed me by thee, still worthier of blame than thyself of honour and reverence i were. then mamoun showed me honour and favour and said to me, "o uncle, abou ishac and abbas counselled me to put thee to death." "and they counselled thee right loyally, o commander of the faithful," answered i; "but thou hast done after thine own nature and hast put away what i feared with what i hoped." "o uncle," rejoined he, "thou didst extinguish my rancour with the humbleness of thine excuse, and i pardon thee without making thee drink the bitterness of obligation to intercessors." then he prostrated himself in prayer a long while, after which he raised his head and said to me, "o uncle, knowest thou why i prostrated myself?" "haply," answered i, "thou didst this in thanksgiving to god, for that he hath given thee the mastery over thine enemy." "not so," rejoined he, "but to thank him for having inspired me to pardon thee and purified my mind towards thee. now tell me thy story." so i told him all that had befallen me and he sent for the freed-woman, who was in her house, expecting the reward. when she came, he said to her, "what moved thee to deal thus with thy lord?" and she answered, "lust of money." "hast thou a child or a husband?" asked the khalif; and she said, "no." so he bade give her a hundred blows with a whip and imprisoned her for life. then he sent for the soldier and his wife and the barber-surgeon and asked the former what had moved him to do thus. "lust of money," answered he; whereupon quoth the khalif, "it befits that thou be a barber-surgeon,"[fn# ] and committed him to one whom he charged to place him in a barber's shop, where he might learn the craft. but his wife he entreated with honour and lodged in his palace, saying, "this is a woman of sense and apt for matters of moment." then said he to the barber-surgeon, "verily, what has come to light of thy worth and generosity calls for extraordinary honour." so he commanded the trooper's house and all that was therein to be given him and bestowed on him a dress of honour and fifteen thousand dinars.' the city of irem. it is related that abdallah ben abou kilabeh went forth in quest of a camel that had strayed from him; and as he was wandering in the deserts of yemen and sebaa, he came upon a great city in whose midst was a vast citadel compassed about with pavilions, that rose high into the air. he made for the place, thinking to find there inhabitants, of whom he might enquire concerning his camel; but, when he reached it, he found it deserted, without a living soul in it. so (quoth abdallah), 'i alighted and hobbling my she-camel, took courage and entered the city. when i came to the citadel, i found it had two vast gates, never in the world was seen their like for size and loftiness, inlaid with all manner jewels and jacinths, white and red and yellow and green. at this i marvelled greatly and entering the citadel, trembling and dazed with wonder and affright, found it long and wide, as it were a city[fn# ] for bigness; and therein were lofty storied pavilions, builded of gold and silver and inlaid with many- coloured jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and pearls. the leaves of their doors were even as those of the citadel for beauty and their floors strewn with great pearls and balls, as they were hazel-nuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron. when i came within the city and saw no human being therein, i had nigh- well swooned and died for fear. moreover, i looked down from the summit of the towers and balconies and saw rivers running under them; in the streets were fruit-laden trees and tall palms, and the manner of the building of the city was one brick of gold and one of silver. so i said to myself, "doubtless this is the paradise promised for the world to come." then i took of the jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as i could bear and returned to my own country, where i told the folk what i had seen. after awhile, the news reached muawiyeh ben abou sufyan, who was then khalif in the hejaz; so he wrote to his lieutenant in senaa of yemen to send for the teller of the story and question him of the truth of the case. accordingly the lieutenant sent for me and questioned me, and i told him what i had seen; whereupon he despatched me to muawiyeh, to whom i repeated my story; but he would not credit it. so i brought out to him some of the pearls and balls of musk and ambergris and saffron, in which latter there was still some sweet smell; but the pearls were grown yellow and discoloured. the khalif wondered at this and sending for kaab el ahbar,[fn# ], said to him, "o kaab el ahbar, i have sent for thee to learn the truth of a certain matter and hope that thou wilt be able to certify me thereanent." "what is it, o commander of the faithful?" asked kaab, and muawiyeh said, "wottest thou of a city builded of gold and silver, the pillars whereof are of rubies and chrysolites and its gravel pearls and balls of musk and ambergris and saffron?" "yes, o commander of the faithful," answered kaab. "it is irem of the columns, the like of which was never made in the lands,'[fn# ] and it was sheddad son of aad the great that built it." quoth the khalif, "tell us of its history," and kaab said, "aad the great had two sons, shedid and sheddad. when their father died, they ruled in his stead, and there was no king of the kings of the earth but was subject to them. after awhile shedid died and his brother sheddad reigned over the earth alone. now he was fond of reading in old books, and happening upon the description of the world to come and of paradise, with its pavilions and galleries and trees and fruits and so forth, his soul moved him to build the like thereof in this world, after the fashion aforesaid.[fn# ] now under his hand were a hundred thousand kings, each ruling over a hundred thousand captains, commanding each a hundred thousand warriors; so he called these all before him and said to them, 'i find in old books and histories a description of paradise, as it is to be in the next world, and i desire to build its like in this world. go ye forth therefore to the goodliest and most spacious tract in the world and build me there a city of gold and silver, whose gravel shall be rubies and chrysolites and pearls and the columns of its vaults beryl. fill it with palaces, whereon ye shall set galleries and balconies, and plant its lanes and thoroughfares with all manner of trees bearing ripe fruits and make rivers to run through it in channels of gold and silver.' 'how can we avail to do this thing,' answered they, 'and whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls whereof thou speakest?' quoth he, 'know ye not that all the kings of the word are under my hand and that none that is therein dare gainsay my commandment?' 'yes,' answered they; 'we know that.' 'get ye then,' rejoined he, 'to the mines of chrysolites and rubies and gold and silver and to the pearl-fisheries and gather together all that is in the world of jewels and metals of price and leave nought; and take also for me such of these things as be in men's hands and let nothing escape you: be diligent and beware of disobedience.' then he wrote letters to all the [chief] kings of the world (now the number of kings then reigning [in chief] over the earth was three hundred and threescore kings) and bade them gather together all of these things that were in their subjects' hands and get them to the mines of precious stones and metals and bring forth all that was therein, even from the abysses of the seas. this they accomplished in the space of twenty years, and sheddad then assembled from all lands and countries builders and men of art and labourers and handicraftsmen, who dispersed over the world and explored all the wastes and deserts thereof, till they came to a vast and fair open plain, clear of hills and mountains, with springs welling and rivers running, and said, 'this is even such a place as the king commanded us to find.' so they busied themselves in building the city even as sheddad, king of the whole earth in its length and breadth, had commanded them, laying the foundations and leading the rivers therethrough in channels after the prescribed fashion. moreover, all the kings of the earth sent thither jewels and precious stones and pearls large and small and cornelian and gold and silver upon camels by land and in great ships over the waters, and there came to the builders' hands of all these things so great a quantity as may neither be told or imagined. they laboured at the work three hundred years; and when they had wrought it to end, they went to king sheddad and acquainted him therewith. then said he, 'depart and make thereto an impregnable citadel, rising high into the air, and round it a thousand pavilions, each builded on a thousand columns of chrysolite and ruby and vaulted with gold, that in each pavilion may dwell a vizier.' so they returned and did this in other twenty years; after which they again presented themselves before the king and informed him of the accomplishment of his will. then he commanded his viziers, who were a thousand in number, and his chief officers and such of his troops and others as he put trust in, to prepare for departure and removal to many-columned irem, at the stirrup of sheddad son of aad, king of the world; and he bade also such as he would of his women and of his female slaves and eunuchs make them ready for the journey. they spent twenty years preparing for departure, at the end of which time sheddad set out with his host, rejoicing in the attainment of his wish, and fared forward till there remained but one day's journey between him and item. then god sent down on him and on the stubborn unbelievers with him a thunderblast from the heavens of his power, which destroyed them all with a mighty clamour, and neither he nor any of his company set eyes on the city. moreover, god blotted out the road that led to the city, and it stands unchanged, in its stead, until the resurrection day." muawiyeh wondered greatly ad kaab's story and said to him, "hath any mortal ever made his way to the city?" "yes," answered kaab; "one of the companions of mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation) reached it, doubtless after the same fashion as this man who sits here." and (quoth es shaabi) it is related, on the authority of learned men of himyer of yemen, that sheddad was succeeded in his kingship by his son sheddad the less, whom he left his viceregent in hezremout and sebaa, when he set out for irem. when he heard of his father's death on the road, he caused his body to be brought back to hezremout and let hew him out a sepulchre in a cavern, where he laid the body on a throne of gold and threw over it threescore and ten robes of cloth of gold, embroidered with precious stones; and at his head he set up a tablet of gold, on which were graven the following verses: take warning, thou that by long life art duped and thinkst to live alway. i'm sheddad son of aad, a high and mighty monarch in my day; lord of the columned citadel, great was my prowess in the fray. all the world's peoples feared my might and did my ordinance obey; yes, and i held the east and west and ruled them with an iron sway. one[fn# ] came to us with god's command and summoned us to the right way "is there no 'scaping from this thing?" quoth we and did his word gainsay. then on us fell a thunderblast from out the heaven far away, and like the sheaves in reaping-time midmost a field, o'erthrown we lay. and now beneath the storied plains of earth we wait the appointed day. (quoth eth thaalibi also) it chanced that two men once entered this cavern and found at its upper end a stair; so they descended and came to an underground chamber, a hundred cubits long by forth wide and a hundred high. in the midst stood a throne of gold, whereon lay a man of gigantic stature, filling the whole length and breadth of the throne. he was covered with jewelry and raiment gold and silver wrought, and at his head was a tablet of gold, bearing an inscription. so they took the tablet and bore it off, together with as many bars of gold and silver and so forth as they could away with. isaac of mosul's story of the lady khedijeh and the khalif mamoun (quoth isaac of mosul[fn# ]) 'i went out one night from mamoun's presence, on my way to my house, and being taken with a need to make water, i turned aside into a by-street and stood up against a wall, fearing lest something might hurt me, if i squatted down. presently, i espied something hanging down from one of the houses and feeling it, found that it was a great four- handled basket, covered with brocade. "there must be some reason for this," said i to myself and knew not what to think, then drunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, whereupon the people of the house pulled me up, supposing me to be he whom they expected. when i came to the top of the wall, i found four damsels, who said to me, "descend and welcome!" then one of them went before me with a flambeau and brought me down into a mansion, wherein were furnished sitting-chambers, whose like i had never seen, save in the khalif's palace. so i sat down and after awhile, the curtains were drawn from one side of the room and in came damsels bearing lighted flambeaux and censers full of sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young lady as she were the rising full moon. i rose and she said, "welcome to thee for a visitor!" then she made me sit down again and asked how i came thither. quoth i, "i was returning home from a friend's house and went astray in the dark; then, being taken with an urgent occasion, i turned aside into this street, where i found a basket let down. the wine which i had drunk led me to seat myself in it and it was drawn up with me into this house." "no harm shall befall thee," rejoined she, "and i hope thou wilt have cause to praise the issue of thine adventure. but what is thy condition?" "i am a merchant in the baghdad bazaar," replied i, and she, "canst thou repeat any verses?" "some small matter," answered i. "then," said she, "let us hear some of them." but i said, "a visitor is [naturally] bashful; do thou begin." "true," answered she and recited some of the choicest verses of the poets, past and present, so that i knew not whether more to marvel at her beauty and grace or at the charm of her diction. then said she, "is thy bashfulness gone?" "yes, by allah!" answered i. "then, if thou wilt," rejoined she, "recite us somewhat." so i repeated to her a number of poems by old writers, and she applauded, saying, "by allah i did not look to find such culture among the trader folk!" then she called for food and fell to taking of it and setting it before me; and the place was full of all manner sweet-scented flowers and rare fruits, such as are found only in kings' houses. presently, she called for wine and drank a cup, after which she filled another and gave it to me, saying, "now is the time for converse and story-telling." so i bethought myself and related to her a number of pleasing stories and anecdotes, with which she was delighted and said, "it is wonderful that a merchant should have such store of tales like unto these, for they are fit for kings." quoth i, "i have a neighbour who uses to consort with kings and bear them company at table; so, when he is at leisure, i visit his house and he often tells me what he has heard." "by my life," exclaimed she, "thou hast a good memory!" we continued to converse thus, and as often as i was silent, she would begin, till the most part of the night was spent, whilst the burning aloes-wood diffused its fragrance and i was in such case as, if the khalif had suspected it, would have made him wild with longing for it. then said she to me, "verily, thou art one of the most pleasant and accomplished of men and passing well- bred; but there lacks one thing." "what is that?" asked i, and she said, "if but thou knewest how to sing verses to the lute!" i answered, "i was once passionately fond of this art, but finding i had no gift for it, i abandoned it, thou reluctantly. indeed, i should love to sing somewhat well at this present and fulfil my night's enjoyment." "meseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute to be brought?" said she, and i, "it is thine to decide, if thou wilt so far favour me, and to thee be the thanks." so she called for a lute and sang a song, in a manner whose like i never heard, both for sweetness of voice and perfection of style and skill in playing, in short, for general excellence. then said she, "knowest thou who made the air and words of this song?" "no," answered i; and she said, "the words are so and so's and the air is isaac's." "and hath isaac then (may i be thy ransom!) such a talent?" asked i. "glory be to isaac!" replied she. "indeed he excels in this art." "glory be to allah," exclaimed i, "who hath given this man what he hath vouchsafed unto none other!" and she said, "how would it be, if thou heardest this song from himself?" thus did we till break of day, when there came to her an old woman, as she were her nurse, and said to her, "the time is come." so she rose and said to me, "keep what hath passed between us to thyself; for meetings of this kind are in confidence." "may i be thy ransom!" answered i. "i needed no enjoinder of this." then i took leave of her and she sent a damsel to open the door to me; so i went forth and retuned to my own house, where i prayed the morning prayer and slept. presently, there came to me a messenger from the khalif; so i went to him and passed the day in his company. when the night came, i called to mind my yesternight's pleasure, a thing from which none but a fool could be content to abstain, and betook myself to the street, where i found the basket, and seating myself therein, was drawn up to the place in which i had passed the previous night. when the lady saw me, she said, "indeed, thou art assiduous," and i answered, "meseems rather that i am neglectful." then we fell to conversing and passed the night as before in talking and reciting verses and telling rare stories, each in turn, till daybreak, when i returned home. i prayed the morning prayer and slept, and there came to me a messenger from mamoun. so i went to him and spent the day with him till nightfall, when he said to me, "i conjure thee to sit here, whilst i go on an occasion and come back." as soon as he was gone, my thoughts turned to the lady and calling to mind my late delight, i recked little what might befall me from the commander of the faithful. so i sprang up and going out, ran to the street aforesaid, where i sat down in the basket and was drawn up as before. when the lady saw me, she said, "verily, thou art a sincere friend to us." "yea, by allah!" answered i; and she said, "hath thou made our house thine abiding-place?" "may i be thy ransom!" replied i. "a guest hath a right to three days' entertainment, and if i return after this, ye are free to shed my blood." then we passed the night as before; and when the time of departure drew near, i bethought me that mamoun would certainly question me nor be content save with a full explanation: so i said to her, "i see thee to be of those who delight in singing. now i have a cousin who is handsomer than i and higher of station and more accomplished; and he is the most intimate of all god's creatures with isaac." "art thou a spunger?" asked she. "verily, thou art importunate." quoth i, "it is for thee to decide;" and she, "if thy cousin be as thou sayst, it would not displease me to make his acquaintance." then i left her and returned to my house, but hardly had i reached it, when the khalif's messengers came down on me and carried me before him by main force. i found him seated on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me, "o isaac, art thou a traitor to thine allegiance?" "no, by allah, o commander of the faithful!" answered i. "what hast thou then to say?" asked he. "tell me the truth." and i replied, "i will well; but in private." so he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a distance, and i told him the case, adding, "i promised to bring thee to visit her." and he said, "thou didst well." then we spent the day in our usual pleasures, but mamoun's heart was taken with the lady, and hardly was the appointed time come, when we set out. as we went along, i cautioned him, "look that thou call me not by my name before her; but do thou sing and i will accompany thee." he assented to this, and we fared on till we came to the house, where we found two baskets hanging ready. so we sat down in them and were drawn up to the usual place, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. when mamoun saw her, he was amazed at her beauty and grace; and she began to entertain him with stories and verses. presently, she called for wine and we fell to drinking, she paying him especial attention and delighting in him and he repaying her in kind. then he took the lute and sang an air, after which she said to me, "and is thy cousin also a merchant?" "yes," answered i, and she said, "indeed, ye resemble one another nearly." but when mamoun had drunk three pints, he grew merry with wine and called out saying, "ho, isaac!" "at thy service, o commander of the faithful," answered i. quoth he, "sing me such an air." as soon as the lady knew that he was the khalif, she withdrew to another place, and when i had made an end of my song, mamoun said to me, "see who is the master of this house;" whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, "it belongs to hassan ben sehl."[fn# ] "fetch him to me," said the khalif. so she went away and after awhile in came hassan, to whom said mamoun, "hath thou a daughter?" "yes," answered he; "her name is khedijeh." "is she married?" asked the khalif. "no, by allah!" replied hassan. "then," said mamoun, "i ask her of thee in marriage." "o commander of the faithful," replied hassan, "she is thy handmaiden and at thy commandment." quoth mamoun, "i take her to wife at a present dower of thirty thousand dinars, which thou shalt receive this very morning; and do thou being her to us this next night." and hassan answered, "i hear and obey." 'then he went out, and the khalif said to me, "o isaac, tell this story to no one." so i kept it secret till mamoun's death. surely never was man's life to fulfilled with delights as was mine these four days' time, whenan i companied with mamoun by day and with khedijeh by night; and by allah, never saw i among men the like of mamoun, neither among women have i ever set eyes on the like of khedijeh, no, nor on any that came near her in wit and understanding and pleasant speech!' the scavenger and the noble lady of baghdad. at mecca, one day, in the season of pilgrimage, whilst the people were making the enjoined circuits about the holy house and the place of compassing was crowded, a man laid hold of the covering of the kaabeh and cried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, 'i beseech thee, o god, that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that i may lie with her!' a company of the pilgrims heard him and falling on him, loaded him with blows and carried him to the governor of the pilgrims, to whom said they, 'o amir, we found this man in the holy places, saying thus and thus.' the governor commanded to hang him; but he said, 'o amir, i conjure thee, by the virtue of the prophet (whom god bless and preserve), hear my story and after do with me as thou wilt.' 'say on,' quoth the amir. 'know then, o amir,' said the man, 'that i am a scavenger, who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps.[fn# ] one day, as i went along with my ass loaded, i saw the people running away and one of them said to me, "enter this alley, lest they kill thee." quoth i, "what ails the folk to run away?" and he answered, "it is the eunuchs in attendance on the wife of one of the notables, who drive the people out of her way and beat them all, without distinction." so i turned aside with the ass and stood, awaiting the dispersal of the crowd. presently up came a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands, followed by nigh thirty women, and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and elegance and amorous grace. when she came to the mouth of the passage where i stood, she turned right and left and calling one of the eunuchs, whispered in his ear; whereupon he came up to me and laying hold of me, bound me with a rope and haled me along after him, whilst another eunuch took my ass and made off with it. i knew not what was to do and the people followed us, crying out, "this is not allowed of god! what has this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes?" and saying to the eunuchs, "have pity on him and let him go, so god have pity on you!" and i the while said in myself, "doubtless the eunuch seized me, because his mistress smelt the offal and it sickened her. belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme!" so i walked on behind them, till they stopped at the door of a great house and entering, brought me into a great hall, i know not how i shall describe its goodliness, furnished with magnificent furniture. the women withdrew to the harem, leaving me bound with the eunuch and saying in myself, "doubtless they will torture me here till i die, and none know of my death." however, after a while, they carried me into an elegant bathroom, adjoining the hall; and as i sat there, in came three damsels, who seated themselves round me and said to me, "strip off thy rags." so i pulled off my threadbare clothes, and one of them fell a-rubbing my feet, whilst another washed my head and the third scrubbed my body. when they had made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel of clothes and said to me, "put these on." "by allah," answered i, "i know not how!" so they came up to me and dressed me, laughing at me the while; after which they brought casting- bottles, full of rose-water, and sprinkled me therewith. then i went out with them into another saloon, by allah, i know not how to set out its goodliness, for the much paintings and furniture therein; and here i found the lady seated on a couch of indian cane with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels. when she saw me, she rose and called to me; so i went up to her and she made me sit by her side. then she called for food, and the damsels brought all manner rich meats, such as i never saw in all my life; i do not even know the names of the dishes. so i ate my fill and when the dishes had been taken away and we had washed our hands, she called for fruits and bade me eat of them; after which she bade one of the waiting-women bring the wine-service. so they set on flagons of divers kinds of wine and burned perfumes in all the censers, what while a damsel like the moon rose and served us with wine, to the sound of the smitten strings. we sat and drank, the lady and i, till we were warm with wine, whilst i doubted not but that all this was an illusion of sleep. presently, she signed to one of the damsels to spread us a bed in such a place, which being done, she took me by the hand and led me thither. so i lay with her till the morning, and as often as i pressed her in my arms, i smelt the delicious fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and could think no otherwise but that i was in paradise or in the mazes of a dream. when it was day, she asked me where i lodged and i told her, "in such a place;" whereupon she gave me a handkerchief gold and silver wrought, with somewhat tied in it, and bade me depart, saying, "go to the bath with this." so i rejoiced and said to myself, "if there be but five farthings here, it will buy me the morning meal." then i left her, as i were leaving paradise, and returned to my lodging, where i opened the handkerchief and found in it fifty dinars of gold. i buried them in the ground and buying two farthings' worth of bread and meat, sat down at the door and breakfasted; after which i sat pondering my case till the time of afternoon-prayer, when a slave-girl accosted me, saying, "my mistress calls for thee." so i followed her to the house aforesaid and she carried me in to the lady, before whom i kissed the earth, and she bade me sit and called for meat and wine as on the previous day; after which i again lay with her all night. on the morrow, she gave me a second handkerchief, with other fifty dinars therein, and i took it and going home, buried this also. thus did i eight days running, going in to her at the hour of afternoon-prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth night, as i lay with her, one of her maids came running in and said to me, "arise, go up into yonder closet." so i rose and went into the closet, which was over the gate and had a window giving upon the street in front of the house. presently, i heard a great clamour and tramp of horse, and looking out of the window, saw a young man, as he were the rising moon on the night of her full, come riding up, attended by a number of servants and soldiers. he alighted at the door and entering, found the lady seated on the couch in the saloon. so he kissed the earth before her, then came up to her and kissed her hands; but she would not speak to him. however, he ceased not to soothe her and speak her fair, till he made his peace with her, and they lay together that night. next morning, the soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode away; whereupon she came in to me and said, "sawst thou yonder man?" "yes," answered i; and she said, "he is my husband, and i will tell thee what befell me with him. "it chanced one day that we were sitting, he and i, in the garden within the house, when he rose from my side and was absent a long while, till i grew tired of waiting and said to myself, 'most like, he is in the wardrobe.' so i went thither, but not finding him there, went down to the kitchen, where i saw a slave-girl, of whom i enquired for him, and she showed him to me lying with one of the cook-maids. when i saw this, i swore a great oath that i would do adultery with the foulest and filthiest man in baghdad; and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee, i had been four days going round about the town in quest of one who should answer this description, but found none fouler nor more filthy than thee. so i took thee and there passed between us that which god fore- ordained to us; and now i am quit of my oath. but," added she, "if my husband return yet again to the cook-maid and lie with her, i will restore thee to thy late place in my favours." when (continued the scavenger) i heard these words from her lips, what while she transfixed my heart with the arrows of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were sore with weeping, and i repeated the saying of the poet: vouchsafe me the kiss of thy left hand, i prithee, and know that it's worthier far than thy right; for 'tis but a little while since it was washing sir reverence away from the stead of delight. then she gave me other fifty dinars (making in all four hundred dinars i had of her) and bade me depart. so i went out from her and came hither, that i might pray god (blessed and exalted be he!) to make her husband return to the cook-maid, so haply i might be again admitted to her favours.' when the governor of the pilgrims heard the man's story, he set him free and said to the bystanders, 'god on you, pray for him, for indeed he is excusable.' the mock khalif. it is related that the khalif haroun er reshid, being one night troubled with a persistent restlessness, summoned his vizier jaafer the barmecide and said to him, 'my heart is straitened and i have a mind to divert myself tonight by walking about the streets of baghdad and looking into the affairs of the folk; but we will disguise ourselves as merchants, that none may know us.' 'i hear and obey,' answered jaafer. so they rose at once and putting off the rich clothes they wore, donned merchants' habits and sallied forth, the khalif and jaafer and mesrour the headsman. they walked from place to place, till they came to the tigris and saw an old man sitting in a boat; so they went up to him and saluting him, said, 'o old man, we desire thee of thy favour to carry us a-pleasuring down the river, in this thy boat, and take this dinar to thy hire.' 'who may go a-pleasuring on the tigris?' replied the boatman. 'seeing that the khalif every night comes down the stream in his barge, and with him one crying aloud, "ho, all ye people, great and small, gentle and simple, men and boys, whoso is found in a boat on the tigris [by night], i will strike off his head or hang him to the mast of his boat!" and ye had well-nigh met him; for here comes his barge.' but the khalif and jaafer said, 'o old man, take these two dinars, and when thou seest the khalif's barge approaching, run us under one of the arches, that we may hide there till he have passed. 'hand over the money,' replied the boatman; 'and on god the most high be our dependence!' so they gave him the two dinars and embarked in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them awhile, till they saw the barge coming down the river in mid-stream, with lighted flambeaux and cressets therein. quoth the boatman, 'did i not tell you that the khalif passed every night? o protector, remove not the veils of thy protection!' so saying, he ran the boat under an arch and threw a piece of black cloth over the khalif and his companions, who looked out from under the covering and saw, in the bows of the barge, a man holding a cresset of red gold and clad in a tunic of red satin, with a muslin turban on his head. over one of his shoulders hung a cloak of yellow brocade, and on the other was a green silk bag full of sumatran aloes-wood, with which he fed the cresset by way of firewood. in the stern stood another man, clad like the first and bearing a like cresset, and in the barge were two hundred white slaves, standing right and left about a throne of red gold, on which sat a handsome young man, like the moon, clad in a dress of black, embroidered with yellow gold. before him they saw a man, as he were the vizier jaafer, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were mesrour, with a drawn sword in his hand, besides a score of boon-companions. when the khalif saw this, he turned to jaafer and said to him, 'belike this is one of my sons, el amin or el mamoun.' then he examined the young man that sat on the throne, and finding him accomplished in beauty and grace and symmetry, said to jaafer, 'verily, this young man abates no jot of the state of the khalifate! see, there stands before him one as he were thyself, o jaafer; yonder eunuch is as he were mesrour and those boon-companions as they were my own. by allah, o jaafer, my reason is confounded and i am filled with amazement at this thing!' 'and i also, by allah, o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer. then the barge passed on and disappeared from sight; whereupon the boatman pushed out again into the stream, saying, 'praised be god for safety, since none hath fallen in with us!' 'o old man,' said er reshid, 'doth the khalif come down the river every night?' 'yes, o my lord,' answered the boatman; 'he hath done so every night this year past.' 'o old man,' rejoined er reshid, 'we wish thee of thy favour to await us here to-morrow night, and we will give thee five dinars, for we are strangers, lodging at el khendek, and we have a mind to divert ourselves.' 'with all my heart,' replied the boatman. then the khalif and jaafer and mesrour returned to the palace, where they put off their merchants' habits and donning their apparel of state, sat down each in his several room. then came the amirs and viziers and chamberlains and officers, and the divan assembled as of wont. when the night came and all the folk had dispersed and gone each his own way, the khalif said to his vizier, 'come, o jaafer, let us go and amuse ourselves by looking on the other khalif.' at this, jaafer and mesrour laughed, and the three, donning merchants' habits, went out at the privy gate and made their way through the city, in great glee, till they came to the tigris, where they found the boatman sitting, waiting for them. they embarked with him in the boat and had not sat long, before up came the mock khalif's barge, with the cresset-bearers crying aloud as of wont, and in it two hundred white slaves other than those of the previous night. 'o vizier,' exclaimed the khalif, 'had i heard tell of this, i had not believed it; but i have seen it with my own eyes.' then said he to the boatman, 'take these ten dinars and row us along abreast of them, for they are in the light and we in the shade, and we can see them and divert ourselves by looking on them, but they cannot see us.' so he took the money and pushing off, followed in the shadow of the barge, till they came among the gardens and the barge cast anchor before a postern door, where they saw servants standing with a mule saddled and bridled. here the mock khalif landed and mounting the mule, rode away with his boon-companions, attended by his suite and preceded by the cresset-bearers crying aloud. then haroun and jaafer and mesrour landed also and making their way through the press of servants, walked on before them. presently, the cresset- bearers espied them and seeing three strangers in merchants' habits, misdoubted of them; so they pointed them out and caused bring them before the mock khalif, who looked at them and said, 'how come ye here at this hour?' 'o our lord,' answered they, 'we are foreign merchants, who arrived here this day and were out a- walking to-night, when ye came up and these men laid hands on us and brought us before thee.' quoth the mock khalif, 'since you are strangers, no harm shall befall you; but had ye been of baghdad, i had struck off your heads.' then he turned to his vizier and said to him, 'take these men with thee; for they are our guests this night.' 'i hear and obey, o our lord,' answered he; and they followed him, till they came to a lofty and splendid palace of curious ordinance, such as no king possesses, rising from the dust and laying hold upon the marges of the clouds. its door was of teak, inlaid with glittering gold, and by it one passed into a saloon, amiddleward which was a basin of water, with an artificial fountain rising from its midst. it was furnished with carpets and cushions and divans of brocade and tables and other gear such as amazed the wit and defied description. there, also, was a curtain drawn, and upon the door were written these two verses: a palace, upon it be blessing and greeting and grace! fair fortune hath put off her beauty to brighten the place. therein are all manner of marvels and rarities found; the penmen are puzzled in story its charms to retrace. the mock khalif entered with his company and sat down on a throne of gold, set with jewels and covered with a prayer-carpet of yellow silk; whilst the boon-companions took their seats and the sword-bearer stood before him. then the servants laid the tables and they ate and washed their hands, after which the dishes were removed and the wine-service set on, with cups and flagons in due order. the cup went round till it came to er reshid, who refused it, and the mock khalif said to jaafer, 'what ails thy friend that he drinks not?' 'o our lord,' replied the vizier, 'this long while he hath drunk no wine.' quoth the mock khalif, 'i have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine, that will suit him.' so he let bring apple-sherbet and said to haroun, 'drink thou of this, as often as it comes to thy turn.' then they continued to drink and make merry, till the wine rose to their heads and mastered their wits; and haroun said to jaafer, 'o jaafer, by allah, we have no such vessels as these. would god i knew what manner of man this is!' presently, the young man glanced at them and seeing them talking privily, said, 'it is unmannerly to whisper.' 'no rudeness was meant,' answered jaafer. 'my friend did but say to me, "verily, i have travelled in most countries and have caroused and companied with the greatest of kings and captains; yet never saw i a goodlier ordinance than this nor passed a more delightful night; save that the people of baghdad say, 'drink without music often leaves headache.'"' when the mock khalif heard this, he smiled merrily and struck a gong[fn# ] with a rod he had in his hand; whereupon a door opened and out came an eunuch, bearing a stool of ivory, inlaid with glittering gold, and followed by a damsel of surpassing beauty and symmetry. he set down the stool and the damsel seated herself on it, as she were the sun shining in the cloudless sky. in her hand she had a lute of indian make, which she laid in her lap and bending over it as a mother bends over her child, preluded in four-and-twenty modes, amazing all wits. then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses to a lively measure: the tongue of passion in my heart bespeaketh thee of me and giveth thee to know that i enamoured am of thee. the burning of an anguished heart is witness to my pain and ulcerated eyes and tears that flow incessantly. i had no knowledge what love was, before the love of thee; but god's forewritten ordinance o'ertaketh all that be. when the mock khalif heard this, he gave a great cry and rent his robe to the skirt, whereupon they let down a curtain over him and brought him a fresh robe, handsomer than the first. he put it on and sat as before, till the cup came round to him, when he struck the gong a second time and behold, a door opened and out came an eunuch with a chair of gold, followed by a damsel handsomer than the first, bearing a lute, such as mortified the heart of the envious. she sat down on the chair and sang to the lute these verses: ah, how can i be patient, when longing in my soul flames high and from mine eyelids the tears in torrents roll? life hath no sweet, by allah, wherein i may rejoice. how shall a heart be joyous, that's all fulfilled of dole? no sooner did the youth hear this than he gave a great cry and rent his clothes to the skirt; whereupon they let down the curtain over him and brought him another dress. he put it on and sitting up as before, fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup came round to him, when he smote once more upon the gong and out came an eunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel fairer than she who had foregone her. so she sat down on the chair, with a lute in her hand, and sang thereto the following verses: have done with your disdain and leave to make me rue; for, by your life, my heart to you was ever true! have ruth on one distraught, the bondslave of your love, sorry and sick and full of longings ever new. sickness, for passion's stress, hath wasted him to nought, and still for your consent to allah he doth sue. o ye full moons, whose place of sojourn is my heart, amongst the human race whom can i choose but you? at this the young man gave a great cry and rent his clothes, whereupon they let fall the curtain over him and brought him other clothes. then he returned to his former case with his boon- companions and the cup went round as before, till it came to him, when he struck the gong a fourth time and the door opening, out came a boy, bearing a chair and followed by a damsel. he set the chair for her and she sat down upon it and taking the lute, tuned it and sang to it these verses: when, when will separation and hatred pass away and what is past of joyance come back to make me gay? but yesterday, in gladness, one dwelling held us both; we saw the enviers napping, all heedless of their prey. but fortune played the traitor with us and sundered us, and left our dwelling-places even as the desert grey. wilt have me, o my censor, be solaced for my loves? alas, my heart the censor, i see, will not obey! so make an end of chiding and leave me to my love; for of my loved one's converse my heart is full alway. fair lords, though you've been fickle and broken faith and troth, deem not my heart for absence forgets you night or day. when the mock khalif heard the girl's song, he gave a great cry and tearing his clothes as before, fell down in a swoon; whereupon they would have let down the curtain over him, as of wont; but the cords stuck fast and er reshid, chancing to look at him, saw on his body the marks of beating with palm-rods and said to jaafer, 'by allah, he is a handsome youth, but a foul thief!' 'whence knowest thou that, o commander of the faithful?' asked jaafer, and the khalif answered, 'sawst thou not the marks of whips on his sides?' then they let fall the curtain over him and brought him a fresh dress, which he put on and sat up as before with his courtiers. presently, he saw the khalif and jaafer whispering together and said to them, 'what is the matter, gentlemen?' 'nothing, my lord,' replied jaafer, 'save that my friend here, who (as is not unknown to thee) is of the merchants and hath visited all the great cities and countries of the world and foregathered with kings and men of worth, saith to me, "verily, that which our lord the khalif hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant, never saw i any do the like of his fashion in any country; for he hath rent four dresses, each worth a thousand dinars, and this is surely excessive extravagance."' 'o man,' replied the youth, 'the money is my money and the stuff my stuff and this is by way of largesse to my servants and followers; for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my boon-companions here present and i appoint him, in exchange therefor, [if it so like him,] the sum of five hundred dinars.' 'well is that thou dost, o our lord!' answered jaafer and recited the following verses: the virtues sure have built themselves a dwelling in thy palm; thou hast thy wealth to all mankind made common property. an if the virtues' doors were shut on us one luckless day, thy hand unto their locks, indeed, were even as a key. when the young man heard these verses, he ordered jaafer a thousand dinars and a dress of honour. then the cup went round among them and the wine was pleasant to them; but, after awhile, the khalif said to jaafer, 'ask him of the marks on his ribs, that we may see what he will say.' 'softly, o my lord,' replied jaafer; 'be not hasty, for patience is more becoming.' 'by the life of my head and by the tomb of el abbas,'[fn# ] rejoined the khalif, 'except thou ask him, i will assuredly make an end of thee!' with this the young man turned towards jaafer and said to him, 'what ails thee and thy friend to be whispering together? tell me what is to do with you.' 'it is nothing,' replied jaafer; but the mock khalif rejoined, 'i conjure thee, by allah, tell me what ails you and hide from me nothing of your case.' 'o my lord,' answered the vizier, 'my companion here saw on thy sides the marks of beating with whips and rods and marvelled thereat exceedingly, saying, "how came the khalif to be beaten?" and he would fain know the cause of this.' when the youth heard this, he smiled and said, 'know that my story is wonderful and my case extraordinary; were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, it would serve as an admonition to him who can profit by admonition.' and he sighed and repeated the following verses: strange is my story and outdoes all marvels that can be. by love itself i swear, my ways are straitened upon me! an ye would know my case, give ear and hearken to my tale and all be dumb, on every side, in this our company. take heed unto my speech, for lo! therein a warning is; ay, and my words no leasing are, but naked verity. i am a man of passion slain, the victim of desire, and she who slew me fairer is than all the stars to see. a bright black eye she hath, whose glance is as an indian sword, and from her eyebrows' bended bows full many a shaft shoots she. my heart forebodes me that 'mongst you the khalif of the age, our imam[fn# ] is, of high descent and noble pedigree, and that the second of you he, that's known as jaafer, is, his vizier and a vizier's son, a lord of high degree. yea, and the third of you mesrour the eunuch is, i ween, the swordsman of his vengeance. so, if true my saying be, i have of this my case attained to all for which i hoped and hearts' content from every side is come, indeed, to me. when they heard this, jaafer swore to him a dissembling oath that they were not those he named; whereupon he laughed and said, 'know, o my lords, that i am not the commander of the faithful and that i do but style myself thus, to get my will of the people of the city. my real name is mohammed ali son of ali the jeweller and my father was one of the chief men [of the city]. when he died, he left me great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites and other jewels, besides houses and lands and baths and gardens and orchards and shops and brickfields and slaves, male and female. one day, as i sat in my shop, surrounded by my slaves and servants, there came up a young lady, riding on a mule and attended by three damsels like moons. she alighted at my shop and seating herself by me, said to me, "art thou mohammed the jeweller?" "yes," answered i, "i am he, at thy service." "hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?" asked she, and i replied, "o my lady, i will show thee what i have; and if any please thee, it will be of thy slave's good luck; if not, of his ill-fortune." i had by me a hundred necklaces and showed them all to her; but none of them pleased her and she said, "i want a better than those i have seen." now i had a small necklace, that my father had bought for a hundred thousand dinars and the like whereof was not to be found with any of the great kings; so i said to her, "o my lady, i have yet one necklace of fine stones, whose like none possesseth, great or small." "show it me," said she. so i showed it her and she said, "this is what i sought and what i have wished for all my life. what is its price?" quoth i, "it cost my father a hundred thousand dinars;" and she said, "i will give thee five thousand dinars to thy profit." "o my lady," answered i, "the necklace and its owner are at thy service and i cannot gainsay thee [in aught]." "not so," rejoined she; "needs must thou have the profit, and i am still much beholden to thee." then she rose and mounting the mule in haste, said to me, "o my lord, in god's name, favour us with thy company, to receive the money; for this thy day is a milk-white day[fn# ] with us." so i shut the shop and accompanied her, in all security, till we came to a house, on which were manifest the signs of fortune. its door was wrought with gold and silver and lapis lazuli, and thereon were written these verses: nay mourning never enter thee, i pray, o house, nor fortune e'er thy lord bewray! a goodly sojourn art thou to the guest, when strait on him is every place and way. she dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit down on the stone bench at the door, till the money-changer should come. so i sat awhile, till presently a damsel came out to me and said, "q my lord, enter the vestibule; for it is not seemly that thou shouldst sit at the door." accordingly, i entered the vestibule and sat down on the settle there. as i sat, another damsel came out and said to me, "o my lord, my mistress bids thee enter and sit down at the door of the saloon, to receive thy money." so i entered and sat down, nor had i sat a moment, before a curtain of silk was drawn aside and i saw the lady seated on a throne of gold, with the necklace about her neck, unveiled and showing a face as it were the round of the moon. at this sight, my wit was troubled and my mind confounded, by reason of her exceeding beauty and grace; but, when she saw me, she rose and coming up to me, said, "o light of mine eyes, is every handsome one like thee pitiless to his mistress?" "o my lady," answered i, "beauty, all of it, is in thee and is one of thine attributes." "o jeweller," rejoined she, "know that i love thee and can hardly credit that i have brought thee hither." then she bent to me and i kissed her, and she kissed me, and drawing me towards her, pressed me to her bosom. she knew by my case that i had a mind to enjoy her; so she said to me, "o my lord, dost thou think to foregather with me unlawfully? by allah, may he not live who would do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure in foul talk! i am a clean virgin, whom no man hath approached, nor am i unknown in the city. knowest thou who i am?" "no, by allah, o my lady!" replied i. quoth she, "i am the lady dunya, daughter of yehya ben khalid the barmecide and sister of jaafer, the khalif's vizier." when i heard this, i drew back from her, saying, "o my lady, it is no fault of mine if i have been over-bold with thee; it was thou didst encourage me to aspire to thy love, by giving me access to thee." "no harm shall befall thee," answered she; "and needs must thou attain thy desire in the way that is pleasing to god. i am my own mistress and the cadi shall act as my guardian, in consenting to the marriage-contract; for it is my will that i be thy wife and thou my husband." then she sent for the cadi and the witnesses and busied herself with the necessary preparations. when they came, she said to them, "mohammed ali ben ali the jeweller seeks me in marriage and hath given me the necklace to my dowry; and i accept and consent." so they drew up the contract of marriage between us; after which the servants brought the wine-service and the cups passed round, after the goodliest ordinance: and when the wine mounted to our heads, she ordered a damsel, a lute-player, to sing. so she took the lute and sang thereto the following verses: he comes and shows me, all in one, fawn, moon and sapling slight: foul fall the heart for thought of him that watches not the night! a fair one, allah had a mind t' extinguish from his cheek one ravishment, and straight, instead, another sprang to light. whenas my censors speak of him, i cavil at their word, feigning as if i did mislike the mention of the wight; yea, and i hearken, when they speak of other than of him, though for the thought of him, nathelesse, i am consumed outright. prophet of beauty, all in him 's a very miracle of grace, and greatest of them all his face's splendid sight. the sable mole upon his cheek hath taken up its stead, against the troubles of this life to ward his forehead bright. the censors, of their ignorance, bid me forget; but i from true- believer cannot turn an infidel forthright. we were ravished by the sweet music she made and the beauty of the verses she sang and the other damsels went on to sing, one after another, till ten had done so; when the lady dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, sang these verses: by the softness of thy graceful-gaited shape i swear, for estrangement from thy presence the pangs of hell i bear. have pity on a heart that burns i' the hell-fire of thy love, o full moon in the darkness of the night that shinest fair! vouchsafe to me thy favours, and by the wine-cup's light to blazon forth thy beauties, henceforth, i'll never spare. a rose hath ta'en me captive, whose colours varied are, whose charms outvie the myrtle and make its thorns despair. when she had finished, i took the lute and playing a quaint prelude, sang the following verses: glory to him who gave thee all beauty in earth and skies so i'm become of thy bondsmen for ever and thy prize. thou that art gifted with glances that make mankind thy slaves, pray we may come off scathless from the sorcery of thine eyes. two opposites, fire, incarnate in shining splendour of flame, and water, thy cheek uniteth, conjoined in wondrous wise. how dulcet and yet how bitter thou art to my heart, alack! to which thou at once and ever art hell and paradise! when she heard this, she rejoiced with an exceeding joy; then, dismissing her women, she brought me to a most goodly place, where they had spread us a bed of various colours. she did off her clothes and i had a lover's privacy of her and found her an unpierced pearl and a filly no man had ridden. so i rejoiced in her and repeated the following verses: stay with us, night, i prithee! i want no morning white; the face of my beloved sufficeth me for light. i gave my love, for chin-band, my palm spread open wide and eke for ringdove's collar, my arms about him dight. this is indeed th' attainment of fortune's topmost height! we clip and clip and care not to stir from our delight. never in my life knew i a more delightful night than this, and i abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and home and family, till one day she said to me, "o light of my eyes, o my lord mohammed, i have a mind to go to the bath to-day; so sit thou on this couch and budge not from thy place, till i return to thee." "i hear and obey," answered i, and she made me swear to this; after which she took her women and went off to the bath. but, by allah, o my brothers, she had not reached the end of the street, when the door opened and in came an old woman, who said to me, "o my lord mohammed, the lady zubeideh bids thee to her, for she hath heard of thine elegance and accomplishments and skill in singing." "by allah," answered i, "i will not rise from my place, till the lady dunya come back." "o my lord," rejoined the old woman, "do not anger the lady zubeideh with thee and make an enemy of her. come, speak with her and return to thy place." so i rose and followed her into the presence of the princess, who said to me, "o light of the eye, art thou the lady dunya's beloved?" "at thy service," answered i. quoth she, "he spoke sooth who reported thee possessed of grace and beauty and good breeding and all good qualities; indeed, thou surpassest report; but now sing to me, that i may hear thee." "i hear and obey," answered i. so she brought me a lute, and i sang the following verses: the heart of the lover is weary with loving and striving in vain, and even as a spoil is his body in the hands of sickness and pain. who should there be, 'mongst the riders on camels with haltered head, save a lover whose dear-beloved the camel-litters contain! a moon, in your tents that rises, to allah i commend, one my heart loves and tenders, shut in from the sight of her swain. anon she is kind, anon angry: how goodly her coquetry is! for all that is done of a loved one must needs to her lover be fain. when i had finished, she said to me, "god assain thy body and sweeten thy voice! verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and singing. but now rise and return to thy place, ere the lady dunya come back, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee." so i kissed the earth before her and the old woman forewent me to the door whence i came. i entered and going up to the couch, found that my wife had come back and was lying asleep there. so i sat down at her feet and rubbed them; whereupon she opened her eyes and seeing me, drew up her feet and gave me a kick that threw me off the couch, saying, "o traitor, thou hast been false to thine oath and hast perjured thyself. thou sworest to me that thou wouldst not stir from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the lady zubeideh. by allah, but that i fear scandal, i would pull down the palace over her head!" then said she to her black slave, "harkye, sewab, arise and strike off this lying traitor's head, for we have no further need of him." so the slave came up to me and tearing a strip from his skirt, bound my eyes with it and would have cut off my head; but all her women, great and small, came up to her and said to her, "o our lady, this is not the first who hath erred: indeed, he knew not thy humour and hath done nothing deserving of death." "by allah," replied she, "i must needs set my mark on him." and she bade beat me; so they beat me on my sides, and the marks ye saw are the scars of that beating. then she bade them put me out, and they carried me to a distance from the house and cast me down. i rose and dragged myself little by little to my own house, where i sent for a surgeon, who dressed my wounds and comforted me. as soon as i was recovered and my pains and sickness had left me, i went to the bath and thence betaking myself to my shop, sold all that was therein. with the proceeds, i bought four hundred white slaves, such as no king ever got together, and caused two hundred of them ride out with me every day. then i made me yonder barge, on which i spent five thousand dinars, and styled myself khalif and appointed each of my servants to the charge and clad him in the habit of some one of the khalif's officers. moreover, i let cry abroad, "whoso goeth a-pleasuring on the tigris [by night], i will strike off his head without mercy;" and on this wise have i done this whole year past, during which time i have heard no news of the lady neither happened upon any trace of her.' and he wept copiously and repeated the following verses: by allah, i will never all my life long forget her, my dear; and those only will i tender, who shall bring her to me to draw near. now glory to her maker and creator be given evermore! as the full moon in the heavens, in her aspect and her gait she doth appear. she, indeed, hath made me weariful and wakeful, full of sorrow, sick for love; yea, my heart is all confounded at her beauty, dazed for trouble and for fear. when er reshid heard the young man's story and knew the passion and transport and love-longing that afflicted him, he was moved to compassion and wonder and said, 'glory be to god who hath appointed to every thing a cause!' than they craved the young man's leave to depart; which being granted, they took leave of him, the khalif purposing to do him justice and entreat him with the utmost munificence, and returned to the palace of the khalifate, where they changed their clothes for others befitting their station and sat down, whilst mesrour stood before them. after awhile, the khalif said to jaafer, 'o vizier, bring me the young man with whom we were last night.' 'i hear and obey,' answered jaafer, and going to the youth, saluted him, saying, 'the commander of the faithful calls for thee.' so he returned with him to the palace, in great concern by reason of the summons, and going in to the khalif, kissed the earth before him. then said he, 'peace be on thee, o commander of the faithful and protector of the people of the faith!' and offered up a prayer for the endurance of his glory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his desires and the continuance of his bounty and the cessation of evil and punishment, ordering his speech as best he might and ending by repeating the following verses: still may thy threshold as a place of adoration[fn# ] be sought and on men's brows its dust bespeak prostration, that so in every land be made this proclamation, "thou, thou art abraham and this his very station."[fn# ] the khalif smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on him with the eye of favour. then he bade him draw near and sit down before him and said to him, 'o mohammed ali, i wish thee to tell me what befell thee last night, for it was rare and passing strange.' 'pardon, o commander of the faithful!' replied the youth. 'give me the handkerchief of immunity, that my trouble may be appeased and my heart set at rest.' quoth the khalif, 'thou art safe from fear and trouble.' so the young man told him his story from first to last, whereby the khalif knew him to be a lover and severed from his beloved and said to him, 'wilt thou that i restore her to thee?' 'this were of the bounty of the commander of the faithful,' answered the youth and repeated the following verses: kiss thou his finger-tips, for no mere fingers they, but keys to all the goods by god to men assigned; and praise his deeds no less, for no mere deeds are they, but jewels to adorn the necks of humankind. thereupon the khalif turned to jaafer and said to him, 'bring me thy sister the lady dunya.' 'i hear and obey,' answered he and fetched her forthright. when she stood before the khalif, he said to her, 'dost thou know who this is?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered she, 'how should women have knowledge of men?' the khalif smiled and said, 'o dunya, this is thy beloved, mohammed ben ali the jeweller. we are acquainted with his case, for we have heard the whole story, from beginning to end, and apprehended its inward and its outward; and it is no more hidden, for all it was kept secret.' 'o commander of the faithful,' rejoined she, 'this was written in the book of destiny. i crave the forgiveness of the most high god for that which i have done and beseech thee to pardon me of thy favour.' at this the khalif laughed and summoning the cadi and the witnesses, renewed the marriage-contract between dunya and her husband, whereby there betided them the utmost of felicity and those who envied them were mortified. moreover, he made mohammed ali one of his boon- companions, and they abode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came to them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. ali the persian's story of the kurd sharper the khalif haroun er reshid, being more than commonly restless one night, sent for his vizier and said to him, 'o jaafer, i am sore wakeful and heavy at heart to-night, and i desire of thee what may cheer my spirit and ease me of my oppression.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'i have a friend, by name ali the persian, who hath store of tales and pleasant stories, such as lighten the heart and do away care.' 'fetch him to me,' said the khalif. 'i hear and obey,' replied jaafer and going out from before him, sent for ali the persian and said to him, 'the commander of the faithful calls for thee.' 'i hear and obey,' answered ali and followed the vizier into the presence of the khalif, who bade him be seated and said to him, 'o ali, my heart is heavy within me this night and i hear that thou hast great store of tales and anecdotes; so i desire of thee that thou let me hear what will relieve my oppression and gladden my melancholy.' 'o commander of the faithful,' said he, 'shall i tell thee what i have seen with my eyes or what i have heard with my ears?' 'an thou have seen aught [worth telling],' replied the khalif, 'let me hear that.' 'know then, o commander of the faithful,' said ali, 'that some years ago i left this my native city of baghdad on a journey, having with me a boy who carried a light wallet. presently, we came to a certain city, where, as i was buying and selling, a rascally thief of a kurd fell on me and seized my wallet, saying, "this is my bag, and all that is in it is my property." thereupon, "ho, muslims all," cried i, "deliver me from the hand of the vilest of oppressors!" but they all said, "come, both of you, to the cadi and submit yourselves to his judgement." i agreed to this and we both presented ourselves before the cadi, who said, "what brings you hither and what is your case?" quoth i, "we are men at difference, who appeal to thee and submit ourselves to thy judgement." "which of you is the complainant?" asked the cadi. so the kurd came forward and said, "god preserve our lord the cadi! verily, this bag is my bag and all that is in it is my property. it was lost from me and i found it with this man." "when didst thou lose it?" asked the cadi. "but yesterday," replied the kurd; "and i passed a sleepless night by reason of its loss." "if it be thy bag," said the cadi, "tell me what is in it." quoth the kurd, "there were in my bag two silver styles and eye-powders and a handkerchief, and i had laid therein two gilt cups and two candlesticks. moreover it contained two tents and two platters and two hooks and a cushion and two leather rugs and two ewers and a brass tray and two basins and a cooking-pot and two water-jars and a ladle and a sacking-needle and a she-cat and two bitches[fn# ] and a wooden trencher and two sacks and two saddles and a gown and two fur pelisses and a cow and two calves and a she-goat and two sheep and an ewe and two lambs and two green pavilions and a camel and two she-camels and a she-buffalo and two bulls and a lioness and two lions and a she-bear and two foxes and a mattress and two couches and an upper chamber and two saloons and a portico and two ante-rooms and a kitchen with two doors and a company of kurds who will testify that the bag is mine." then said the cadi to me, "and thou, what sayst thou?" so i came forward, o commander of the faithful (and indeed the kurd's speech had bewildered me) and said, "god advance our lord the cadi! there was nothing in this my wallet, save a little ruined house and another without a door and a dog-kennel and a boys' school and youths playing dice and tents and tent-poles and the cities of bassora and baghdad and the palace of sheddad ben aad[fn# ] and a smith's forge and a fishing net and cudgels and pickets and girls and boys and a thousand pimps, who will testify that the bag is my bag." when the kurd heard my words, he wept and wailed and said, "o my lord the cadi, my bag is known and what is in it is renowned; therein are castles and citadels and cranes and beasts of prey and men playing chess and draughts. moreover, in this my bag is a brood-mare and two colts and a stallion and two blood-horses and two long lances and a lion and two hares and a city and two villages and a courtezan and two sharking pimps and a catamite and two gallows-birds and a blind man and two dogs and a cripple and two lameters and a priest and two deacons and a patriarch and two monks and a cadi and two assessors, who will testify that the bag is my bag." quoth the cadi to me, "and what sayst thou, o ali?" so, o commander of the faithful, being filled with rage, i came forward and said, "god keep our lord the cadi! i had in this my wallet a coat of mail and a broadsword and armouries and a thousand fighting rams and a sheep-fold and a thousand barking dogs and gardens and vines and flowers and sweet herbs and figs and apples and pictures and statues and flagons and goblets and fair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts and tumult and clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success[fn# ] and a company of daybreak-riders, with swords and spears and bows and arrows, and true friends and dear ones and intimates and comrades and men imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a drum and flutes and flags and banners and boys and girls and brides, in all their wedding bravery, and singing-girls and five abyssinian women and three hindi and four women of medina and a score of greek girls and half a hundred turkish and threescore and ten persian girls and fourscore kurd and fourscore and ten georgian women and tigris and euphrates and a fowling net and a flint and steel and many- columned irem[fn# ] and a thousand rogues and pimps and horse- courses and stables and mosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter and a plank and a nail and a black slave, with a pair of recorders, and a captain and a caravan-leader and towns and cities and a hundred thousand dinars and cufa and ambar[fn# ] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty store-houses for victual and gaza and askalon and from damietta to essouan and the palace of kisra anoushirwan[fn# ] and the kingdom of solomon and from wadi numan[fn# ] to the land of khorassan and balkh and ispahan and from india to the soudan. therein also (may god prolong the life of our lord the cadi!) are doublets and cloths and a thousand sharp razors to shave the cadi's chin, except he fear my resentment and adjudge the bag to be mine." when the cadi heard what i and the kurd avouched, he was confounded and said, "i see ye are none other than two pestilent atheistical fellows, who make sport of cadis and magistrates and stand not in fear of reproach. never did any tell or hear tell of aught more extraordinary than that which ye pretend. by allah, from china to shejreh umm ghailan[fn# ] nor from fars to the soudan, nor from wadi numan to khorassan, ever was heard or credited the like of what ye avouch! is this bag a bottomless sea or the day of resurrection, that shall gather together the just and unjust?" then he bade open the bag; so i opened it and behold, there was in it bread and a lemon and cheese and olives. so i threw it down before the kurd and went away.' when the khalif heard ali's story, he laughed till he fell backward and made him a handsome present. end of vol. iii. notes to volume [fn# ] it need hardly be remarked that eastern stirrups are made so to do duty as spurs. [fn# ] i.e. the seven sleepers. [fn# ] i.e. the birds of prey. [fn# ] "o thou of the little stronghold." a sobriquet popularly bestowed on the fox, even as we call him "reynard." [fn# ] these verses are full of plays upon words, which it is impossible to render in a translation. [fn# ] i.e. blood, like wine in colour. [fn# ] the face. [fn# ] the teeth. [fn# ] the wine-cup. [fn# ] alluding to the eastern practice of dying the hands with henna in concentric bands. [fn# ] the lips, likened to the plum of the jujube-tree. [fn# ] the teeth. [fn# ] a well-known metaphor for the brilliant whiteness of the face shining through the black hair. [fn# ] the lips. [fn# ] the teeth. [fn# ] mejnoun, the well-known lover of eastern romance. [fn# ] these verses apparently relate to aboulhusn, but it is possible that they may be meant to refer to shemsennehar, as the masculine is constantly used for the feminine in oriental love- poetry. [fn# ] as that of a martyr. see vol. ii. p. , note . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] two fallen angels appointed to tempt men by teaching them the art of magic. [fn# ] an idol or idols of the arabs before mohammed. [fn# ] the browlocks, from their shape, are commonly likened by eastern poets to scorpions. [fn# ] three stars so called in the great bear. [fn# ] or recite. [fn# ] there are three orders of jinn: the upper or inhabitants of the air, the lower or inhabitants of the earth and the divers or inhabitants of the waters. [fn# ] lit. lean and fat. [fn# ] syn. eye (nazir). [fn# ] syn. eyebrow (hajib). [fn# ] a play upon words turning upon the literal meaning ("auspicious full moons") of the two names of women budour and suad. [fn# ] ring-mail. [fn# ] i.e. orvietan or venice treacle, the well-known universal remedy of the middle ages, alluded to by chaucer in the words, "and christ that is unto all ills triacle." [fn# ] names of women. [fn# ] women's name. [fn# ] women's name. [fn# ] i.e. a woman. [fn# ] women's names. [fn# ] wine. [fn# ] i.e. by way of ornament. [fn# ] the well-known semi-legendary sage and fabulist. [fn# ] playing upon his own name, kemerezzeman, which means, "moon of the time or of fortune." budour means "full moons." [fn# ] siwaka, a toothstick, (acc.) means also "other than thee." [fn# ] araka, a capparis-tree, (acc.) means also, "i see thee." toothsticks are made of the wood of this tree. [fn# ] a treasury of money is a thousand purses or about £ , . [fn# ] this expression is of course metaphorical. cf. solomon's song passim. [fn# ] i.e. gum tragacanth. [fn# ] see post p. . {see vol. . maan ben zaideh and the three girls, fn# .} [fn# ] the mansuetude of the khalif muawiyeh, the founder of the ommiade dynasty, is a proverb among the arabs, though hardly to be reconciled with the accredited records of his life and actions. [fn# ] alluding, for the sake of metaphor, to the months of purification which, according to the muslim ceremonial law, must be accomplished by a divorced woman, before she can marry again. [fn# ] a divorce three times pronounced cannot be revoked. [fn# ] fabulous peoples mentioned in the koran. [fn# ] said to be so called, because they attract sparrows (asafir), but it seems to me more probable that the name denotes the colour of the fruit and is derived from usfur, safflower. [fn# ] koran, xxxiii. . [fn# ] met. anus. [fn# ] met. cunnus. [fn# ] kibleh, the point of the compass to which one turns in prayer. mecca is the kibleh of the muslims, even as jerusalem that of the jews and christians. the meaning of the text is obvious. [fn# ] i.e. of god.--koran, li. . [fn# ] the word (futouh) translated "openings" may also be rendered "victories" or "benefits." [fn# ] cf. aristophanes, lysistrata and ecclesiazusæ passim. [fn# ] an audacious parody of the koran, applied ironically, "and the pious work god shall raise up."--koran, xxxv. . [fn# ] lit. the chapter of clearing (oneself from belief in any but god), or unity, koran, cxii. it ends with the words, "there is none like unto him." [fn# ] i.e. but for the soul that animated them. [fn# ] the word "nights" (more commonly "days," sometimes also "days and nights," as in the verses immediately following) is constantly used in the sense of "fortune" or "fate" by the poets of the east. [fn# ] abdallah ibn ez zubeir revolted (a.d. ) against yezid (second khalif of the ommiade dynasty) and was proclaimed khalif at mecca, where he maintained himself till a.d. , when he was killed in the siege of that town by the famous hejjaj, general of abdulmelik, the fifth ommiade khalif. [fn# ] the allusion here appears to be to the burning of part of mecca, including the temple and kaabeh, during the (unsuccessful) siege by hussein, a.d. . [fn# ] three muslim sectaries (kharejites), considering the khalif ali (mohammed's son-in-law), muawiyeh (founder of the ommiade dynasty) and amr (or amrou), the conqueror of egypt, as the chief authors of the intestine discords which then (a.d. ) ravaged islam, conspired to assassinate them; but only succeeded in killing ali, muawiyeh escaping with a wound and the fanatic charged with the murder of amr slaying kharijeh, the chief of the police at cairo, by mistake, in his stead. the above verses are part of a famous but very obscure elegy on the downfall of one of the muslim dynasties in spain, composed in the twelfth century by ibn abdoun el andalousi, one of the most celebrated of the spanish arabic poets. [fn# ] i.e. fortune. the word dunya (world) is constantly used in poetry to signify "fortune" or "the fortune of this world." [fn# ] this line is a characteristic example of the antithetical conceits so common in oriental poetry. the meaning is, "my grief makes all i behold seem black to me, whilst my tears have washed out all the colour from my eyes." [fn# ] i.e. the tomb. [fn# ] the wood of which makes a peculiarly fierce and lasting fire. [fn# ] koran iv. . [fn# ] most happy. [fn# ] wretched. [fn# ] most happy. [fn# ] the gift of god. the h in nimeh becomes t before a vowel. [fn# ] i.e. happiness. [fn# ] num is synonymous with saad. the purpose of the change of name was to make the little one's name correspond with that of nimeh, which is derived from the same root. [fn# ] i.e. to any one, as we should say, "to tom, dick or harry." [fn# ] i.e. to any one, as we should say, "to tom, dick or harry." [fn# ] el hejjaj ben yousuf eth thekefi, a famous statesman and soldier of the seventh and eighth centuries. he was governor of chaldæa under the fifth and sixth ommiade khalifs and was renowned for his cruelty; but appears nevertheless to have been a prudent and capable administrator, who probably used no more rigour than was necessary to restrain the proverbially turbulent populations of bassora and cufa. most of the anecdotes of his brutality and tyranny, some of which will be found in this collection, are, in all probability, apocryphal. [fn# ] wool is the distinctive wear of oriental devotees. [fn# ] koran xxv. . [fn# ] of the koran. [fn# ] this verse contains a series of jeux-de-mots, founded upon the collocation of the three proper names, num, suada and juml, with the third person feminine singular, preterite-present, fourth conjugation, of their respective verb-roots, i.e. idka anamet num, if num vouchsafe, etc., etc. [fn# ] nimeh. [fn# ] "and he (jacob) turned from them, saying, 'woe is me for joseph!' and his eyes grew white for grief ... (quoth joseph to his brethren) 'take this my shirt and throw it over my father's face and he will recover his sight' ... so, when the messenger of glad tidings came (to jacob), he threw it (the shirt) over his face and he was restored to sight."--koran xii. , , . [fn# ] hemzeh and abbas were uncles of mohammed. the akil here alluded to is apparently a son of the khalif ali, who deserted his father and joined the usurper muawiyeh, the founder of the ommiade dynasty. [fn# ] one of the numerous quack aphrodisiacs current in the middle ages, as with us cock's cullions and other grotesque prescriptions. [fn# ] to conjure the evil eye. [fn# ] i.e. him of the moles. [fn# ] alluding to the redness of his cheeks, as if they had been flushed with wine. the passage may be construed, "as he were a white slave, with cheeks reddened by wine." the turkish and other white slaves were celebrated for their beauty. [fn# ] as a protection against the evil eye. we may perhaps, however, read, "ask pardon of god!", i.e. for your unjust reproach. [fn# ] see note, post, p. . {see vol. , fn# } [fn# ] i.e. of the caravan. [fn# ] a famous muslim saint of the twelfth century and founder of the four great orders of dervishes. he is buried at baghdad. [fn# ] koran xiii. . [fn# ] another well-known saint. [fn# ] i.e. he engaged to do somewhat, undertaking upon oath in case of default to divorce his wife by pronouncing the triple formula of divorcement, and she therefore became divorced, by operation of law, on his failure to keep his engagement. [fn# ] the th chapter of the koran. [fn# ] or "herself." [fn# ] or "myself." [fn# ] this passage is full of double-entendres, the meaning of most of which is obvious, but others are so obscure and farfetched as to defy explanation. [fn# ] the raven is the symbol of separation. [fn# ] one of the names of god (breslau. the two other editions have it, "o david!"). it is the custom of the arabs, as will appear in others of these tales, to represent inarticulate music (such as that of birds and instruments) as celebrating the praises of god. [fn# ] lit. a fan. [fn# ] one of the most celebrated, as well as the most witty and licentious, of arab poets. he was one of haroun er reshid's boon-companions and died early in the ninth century. [fn# ] see note, p. .{see vol. , fn# } [fn# ] the above appears to be the meaning of this somewhat obscure passage; but we may perhaps translate it as follows: "may god preserve (us) from the mischief of he commander of the faithful!" "o vizier," answered the khalif, "the mischief is passing great." [fn# ] meaning that the robbery must have been committed by some inmate of the palace. [fn# ] amir. thus the breslau edition; the two others give amin, i.e. one who is trusted or in a position of trust. [fn# ] according to mohammedan tradition, it was ishmael, not isaac, whom abraham was commanded to sacrifice. [fn# ] apparently a sort of blackmail levied upon merchants and others by the soldiers who protected them against the bedouins. [fn# ] a village on the gulf of scanderoon. [fn# ] or perhaps dinars, the coin not being specified. [fn# ] or sectary of ali. the shiyaites did not acknowledge the first three khalifs abou bekr, omar, and othman, and were wont to write their names upon their heels, in token of contempt. the sunnites are the orthodox muslims, who accept the actual order of things. [fn# ] an open-fronted reception-room, generally on the first floor and giving on the interior court of the house. [fn# ] instead of "rank of amir," we should perhaps read "knighthood." [fn# ] i.e. it is not enough. see vol. ii, p. , note. {see vol. , fn# } [fn# ] confessional? [fn# ] £ . [fn# ] the mohammedans accuse the jews, as well as the christians, of falsifying their sacred books, so as to suppress the mention of mohammed. [fn# ] a very famous arab chieftain of the latter part of the sixth century, especially renowned for the extravagance with which he practiced the patriarchal virtues of generosity and hospitality. he died a few years after mohammed's birth. [fn# ] another famous oriental type of generosity. he was a celebrated soldier and statesman of the eighth century and stood in high favour with the ommiade khalifs, as also (after the change of dynasty) with those of the house of abbas. [fn# ] apparently meaning the upper part of the carpet whereon the amir's chair was set. it is the place of honour and has a peculiar sanctity among the arabs, it being a breach of good manners to tread upon it (or indeed upon any part of the carpet) with shodden feet. [fn# ] apparently toledo. [fn# ] sixth khalif of the ommiade dynasty, a.d. - . [fn# ] or perhaps "of that which is due to men of worth." [fn# ] it is the invariable custom (and indeed the duty) of every muslim to salute his co-religionist with the words "peace be on thee!" upon first accosting him. [fn# ] he having then returned to his palace. [fn# ] i.e. of life. [fn# ] lit. to dispute about or defend itself, koran xvi . [fn# ] the rages of the apocrypha; a great city of persia, formerly its capital, but now a mere heap of ruins in the neighbourhood of teheran. [fn# ] ibrahim ben el mehdi was one of the most celebrated musicians and wits of his day. "he was a man of great merit and a perfect scholar, possessed of an open heart and a generous hand; his like had never before been seen among the sons of the khalifs, none of whom spoke with more propriety and elegance or composed verses with greater ability." (ibn khellikan.) [fn# ] ibrahim of mosul, the greatest musician of the time, a boon-companion and special favourite of haroun er reshid and his son. [fn# ] lit. the lord of the blood-revenge, i.e. the person entitled to exact the blood-wit. [fn# ] his vizier. [fn# ] joseph to his brethren, koran xii. . [fn# ] playing upon the literal meaning, "blood-sucker," of the word kejjam, cupper or barber-surgeon. [fn# ] the arabic word is el medineh, lit. the city. perhaps the narrator meant to compare the citadel to the actual city of medina. [fn# ] a well-known theologian. [fn# ] koran lxxxix. , . [fn# ] according to the breslau edition, it was the prophet hond who, being sent of god to exhort sheddad and his people to embrace the true faith, promised them paradise in the next world, as a reward, describing it as above. quoth sheddad, on hearing this description, "i will build me in this world the like of this paradise and i have no need of that thou promisest me." [fn# ] i.e. the prophet houd (heber). [fn# ] son of ibrahim el mausili and still more famous as a musician. he was also an excellent poet and a great favourite with the khalif mamoun. [fn# ] mamoun's own vizier, a man of great wealth and munificence. [fn# ] witout the town. [fn# ] medewwerek, lit. "something round." this word generally means a small round cushion; but, in the present instance, a gong is evidently referred to. [fn# ] the prophet's uncle, from whom the abbaside khalifs were descended. [fn# ] lit. "fugleman," i.e. "leader of the people at prayer," a title bestowed upon the khalifs, in recognition of their spiritual headship. [fn# ] dies albo lapide notanda. [fn# ] lit. kaabeh. [fn# ] referring to the station in the temple of mecca, known as the mecam or standing-place of abraham. the wish inferred is that the khalif's court may be as favourite a place of reverent resort as the station in question. [fn# ] or (quaere) a pair of forceps. [fn# ] see ante, p. . {see vol. , fn# } [fn# ] i.e. thieves. [fn# ] see ante, p. . {...to many-columned irem, at the ...} [fn# ] a city on the euphrates, about miles west of baghdad. [fn# ] the famous king of persia. [fn# ] in arabia. [fn# ] lit. "a thorn-acacia tree." quaere, the name of a town in egypt? the lance of kanana a story of arabia by harry w. french ("abd el ardavan") _with illustrations by garrett_ boston lothrop, lee & shepard co. copyright, , by d. lothrop company copyright, , by lothrop, lee & shepard co. the lance of kanana norwood press berwick & smith co. norwood, mass. u. s. a. encircled by the fiery, trackless sand, a fainting arab halted at a well held in the hollow of the desert's hand. empty! hope vanished, and he gasped and fell. at night the west wind wafted o'er the land the welcome dew, a promise to foretell: hers this result, for which she bade him stand. [illustration: "oh, kanana! oh, kanana!" cried the old man, angrily.] contents. chapter page i. the coward of the beni sads ii. the old sheik's promise iii. at the foot of mount hor iv. the promise v. led by a white camel vi. kanana and the caliph vii. a prize worth winning viii. to seek the beni sads ix. for allah and arabia x. kanana's third mission xi. the sacred girdle xii. kanana's messengers xiii. the lance of kanana list of illustrations. "oh, kanana! oh, kanana!" cried the old man, angrily (page ) _frontispiece_ kanana stood upon the very edge of the white porch "dost thou believe kanana spoke in fear?" the silent figure demanded and received respect kneeling, he received the blessing "i gave it to him," said kahled, solemnly the lance of kanana i the coward of the beni sads kanana was an arab--a bedouin boy of many years ago, born upon the desert, of the seed of ishmael, of the tribe of beni sad. it seems well-nigh impossible that the bedouin boy could have lived who was not accustomed to the use of the sword and lance, long before he reached the dignity of manhood. the peculiar thing about kanana was that he never held a lance in his hand but once; yet many a celebrated sheik and powerful chieftain of his day lies dead, buried, and forgotten long ago, while the name of kanana is still a magic battle-cry among the sons of ishmael, and his lance is one of the most precious relics of arabia. the old mothers and the white-haired veterans love to tell the story of the lance of kanana; their black eyes flash like coals of fire when they say of it that it rescued arabia. the beni sads were a powerful tribe of roving bedouins. kanana was the youngest son of the venerable chief; the sheik who in the days of his strength was known from the euphrates to the sea as the "terror of the desert." by a custom older than the boyhood of king david it fell to the lot of the youngest son to tend his father's sheep. the occupation was not considered dignified. it was not to kanana's liking and it need not have lasted long; for the terror of the desert thought more of making warriors than shepherds of his sons, but greatly to his father's disgust kanana refused to exchange his shepherd's staff for a warrior's lance. it was not that he loved the staff, but that he objected to the lance. the tribe called kanana effeminate because he was thoughtful and quiet, where other boys were turbulent, and as he grew older and the boyish fancy became a decided conviction against the combats constantly going on between the different tribes, they even called him a coward and said that he did not dare to fight. there is but one name more bitter than "coward" to the arab. that name is "traitor," and after being called a coward almost all his life, the very last words which kanana heard from the lips of his countrymen came in frantic yells, calling him a traitor. to-day, however, it is always with throbbing hearts and flashing eyes that they repeat the story of the lance of kanana that rescued arabia. until he was five years old, kanana rolled about in the sand and sunshine, like the other children, with nothing on him but a twisted leather cord, tied round his waist. then, for five years, according to the custom of his people, he helped the women of his father's tent; shaking the goat-skin filled with cream till it turned into butter; watching the kedder upon the fire, drying the buttermilk to be ground into flour, and digging kemma, which grow like truffles, under the sand. after he was ten, for three years he watched the sheep and goats and the she-camels. that was the regular course of education through which all bedouin boys must pass. when he reached the age at which ishmael was sent away with hagar by abraham, he was supposed to drop all menial labor and take his place among men; making a position for himself according to the fighting qualities which he possessed. kanana's fighting qualities, however, were only exhibited in the warfare which now began between him and his father. there were at that time very few occupations open to the bedouin boy. the tribe was celebrated for its men of learning and boasted the most skillful physicians in all arabia; but they had all won their first laurels with the lance, and none of them wanted kanana. three times his father came to him with the question: "are you ready to be a man?" and three times kanana replied, "my father, i can not lift a lance to take a life, unless it be for allah and arabia." how he came by a notion so curious no arab could tell. the lad well knew the old decree that the hand of the ishmaelite should be against every man, and every man's hand against him. he knew that every arab of the desert lived by a warfare that was simply murder and robbery. was he not an arab, and an ishmaelite? alone, among the sheep and camels, he had thought out his own theory. kanana said to himself, "i am taught that allah created these animals and cares for them, and that i cannot please him if i allow them to suffer; it must be surely that men are more precious to allah than animals. why should we kill one another, even if we are arabs and ishmaelites?" the menial tasks still allotted to kanana grew more and more irksome. his punishment was far more keen than the tribe supposed; no one dreamed of the sharp cringe of pain with which he heard even the children call him a coward. there were some faculties which kanana possessed that made the warriors all envy him. he had a remarkable power over animals. no other beni sad could ride a camel or a horse so fast as kanana. the most refractory creature would obey kanana. then, too, kanana was foremost in the games and races. no other shepherd's eye was nearly so quick as kanana's to detect an enemy approaching the flocks at night. no other young bedouin, watching the ripening grain, could throw a stone from his sling so far and so accurately at the robber birds. these accomplishments, however, only made his father the more angry that kanana would not turn his gifts to some more profitable end. every year for three months--from planting to harvest-time--the beni sads encamped upon a river bank, on the outskirts of the great desert. the encampment numbered nearly five hundred tents set in four rows as straight as an arrow flies. these tents, of black goats'-hair cloth, were seven feet high in the center and five feet high on the sides. some of them were twenty feet broad, and each was divided by a beautiful hanging white damascus carpet. the men occupied one side, and the women and children the other. the favorite mare and the most valuable of the camels always slept by the tent, and the master's lance stood thrust into the ground at the entrance. far as the eye could reach, up and down the sluggish river, a field of ripening grain filled the narrow space between the yellow water and the silver-gray of the desert sand. here and there, through the grain-field, rose curious perches--platforms, constructed upon poles driven into the ground. upon these platforms watchers were stationed when the grain began to head, and there they remained, night and day, till it was harvested, frightening the birds away. once a day the women brought them food, consisting of buttermilk, dried and ground and mixed with melted butter and dates; these same women renewed the supply of stones to throw at the birds. the watchers were old men, women who were not needed in the tents, and little children; but all alone, this year, upon the most distant perch, sat kanana. there was not one of the tribe but felt that he richly deserved this disgrace; and kanana could see no way to earn their respect, no way to prove himself a brave fellow. he was glad that they had given him the most distant perch, for there he could bear his hard lot, away from jests and jeers. the women who brought the food stopped for a long time at some of the perches, reporting all the news, but they never troubled themselves to relieve kanana's solitude. the perches were too far apart for conversation. kanana had always time enough to think, and as the grain grew yellow this year, he came to two positive conclusions. he firmly resolved that before the reapers entered that field he would do something to convince his people that he was not a coward; failing that, he would hang his head in shame, acknowledge that they were right, and fly forever from their taunts. ii the old sheik's promise the sun was beating fiercely down upon kanana's perch, but he had not noticed it. the stones piled beside him for his sling were almost hot enough to burn his hand, but he did not realize it, for he had not touched them for a long time. the wooden dish of paste and dates stood in the shadow of the perch. he had not tasted them. the pile of stones grew hotter and hotter. the hungry birds ate and quarreled and ate with no one to disturb them. the bedouin boy sat cross-legged on his perch, heedless of everything, twisting and untwisting the leather cords of his sling, struggling to look into the mists that covered up his destiny. "hi, there! you slothful son of a brave father! look at the birds about you! are you dead, or only sleeping?" sounded the distant but shrill and painfully distinct voice of an old woman who, with two children much younger than kanana, occupied the next perch. kanana roused himself and sent the stones flying from his sling till there was not a bird in sight. then he sank into deep thought once more; with his head resting upon his hands he became oblivious to everything. suddenly he was roused by the sound of horses' hoofs upon the sandy soil, a sharp rustling in the drying grain. he looked up, as thoroughly startled as though he had been sleeping, to see approaching him the one person than whom he would rather that any or all of the tribe of beni sad should find him negligent at his post of duty. it was his father. "oh, kanana! oh, kanana!" cried the old man, angrily. "thou son of my old age, why didst thou come into the world to curse me? when thou shakest the cream, the butter is spoiled. when thou tendest the sheep, they are stolen! when thou watchest the grain, it is eaten before thy face! what shall a father do with a son who will neither lift his hand among men nor bear a part with women? and now, when all the miseries of life have taken hold upon me and the floods cover me, thou sittest at thine ease to mock me!" kanana sprang down from his perch. kneeling, he touched his forehead to the ground. "my father, slay me and i will take it as a mercy from thy hand. or, as i am fit for nothing here, bid me go, and among strangers i will beg. but thou shalt not, my father, speak of me as ungrateful, unfilial. i know of no flood of sorrow that has come down upon thee." "thou knowest not what they all know?" exclaimed the old man fiercely. "i know of nothing, my father. since i came into the field, three weeks ago, no one has spoken to me but to chide me." "then know now," replied the sheik reproachfully, "that of thy two brave brothers who went with the last caravan, one has returned, wounded and helpless, and the other, for an old cause of blood between our tribes, has been made a prisoner by raschid airikat. the whole caravan, with the white camel at its head, raschid has taken, and he has turned with it toward damascus." "thy part of the caravan was very small, my father," said kanana. "only four of the camels were thine, and but for the white camel they were all very old. their burdens, too, saving my brothers, were only honey and clay-dust, of little value." this was the simple truth, and evinced at least a very practical side to kanana's mind; but it was not the kind of sympathy which the sheik desired, and his anger burst out afresh against kanana. "ay, thou tender of flocks, and sleeper!" he cried. "wouldst thou teach me the value of camels and merchandise to comfort me? and hast thou fixed the price of ransom which airikat will demand, or slay thy brother? and hast thou reckoned up the value of the white camel which could not be bought for gold, as it brought to thy father and thy father's father all their abundance of good? answer me, if thou art so wise. oh, that i had a son remaining who could lift a lance against this airikat as bravely as he hurls his empty words at an old father!" "my father," said kanana earnestly, "give me a horse, a sack of grain, a skin of water, and i will follow after raschid airikat. i will not slay him, but, by the help of allah, i will bring back to thee thy white camel with my brother seated upon his back." the old sheik made a gesture of derision: "thou wisp of flax before a fire! thou reed before a whirlwind! get thee back to thy perch and thy birds, and see if thou canst keep awake till sundown. harvesting will begin with the daylight to-morrow. see that thou workest then." kanana rose to his feet. looking calmly into the old sheik's angry face, he replied: "my father, i will watch the birds till sundown. then let others do the reaping. kanana, whom thou scornest, will be far away upon the desert, to seek and find his brother." "did i not say i would not trust a horse to thee?" exclaimed the old man, looking at him in astonishment. "these feet of mine can do my bidding well enough," replied kanana. "and by the beard of the prophet they shall do it till they have returned to thee thy son and thy white camel. i would do something, oh, my father, that i, too, might have thy blessing and not thy curse. it is the voice of allah bids me go. now say to me that if i bring them back then thou wilt bless me, too, ay, even though still i will not lift a lance, unless it be for allah and arabia." the aged warrior looked down in a sort of scornful pity upon his boy, standing among the stalks of grain; half in jest, half in charity, he muttered, "yes, _then_ i will bless thee," and rode away. the harvesting began, as the old sheik had said, with the next daylight, but kanana was not among the reapers. few so much as missed him, even, and those who did, supposed that he had hidden himself to avoid their jests. only the sullen sheik, bowed under his affliction, thought often of kanana as he rode up and down the line. he remembered his looks, his words. he wondered if he could have been mistaken in the boy. he wished he had given him the horse and that he had blessed him before he went away. iii at the foot of mount hor the moment the sun sank into the billows of sand kanana had left his perch. from the loaded stalks about him he gathered a goat's-hair sack of grain and fastened it upon his back. there was no one to whom he need say farewell, and, armed only with his shepherd's staff, he started away upon the desert, setting his course to the north and west. before he had gone far he passed a lad of about his own age who had come from the encampment to hunt for desert-rats. had kanana seen him he would have made a wide détour, but the boy lay so still upon the sand that the first kanana knew of his presence was when a low sarcastic voice uttered his name. "kanana!" it exclaimed. "thou here! dost thou not fear that some rat may bite thee? whither darest thou to go, thus, all alone, and after dark, upon the sand?" fire flashed from kanana's eyes. his hand clutched his shepherd's staff and involuntarily he lifted it; but the better counsel of his curious notions checked the blow. it was so dark that the boy upon the sand did not notice the effect of his taunts and knew nothing of his narrow escape. he only heard the quiet voice of kanana as presently it meekly replied to his question: "i go to mount hor." it was an answer so absurd that the boy gave it no second thought and by the time that the footsteps of kanana had died away the rat-hunter had as utterly forgotten him as though he had never existed. to mount hor? kanana had only the most imperfect information to guide him. he knew that the beni sad caravan had been for some days upon the road southward, to mecca, when it was captured by raschid airikat and turned at an angle, northward, toward damascus. seen from a great distance, over the sea of sand, the solitary peak of old mount hor, where aaron, the great high priest of israel, was buried, forms a startling beacon. by day or night, it rises clear and sharp against the sky, guiding the caravans northward, from arabia to jerusalem and damascus, and southward from syria to medina and mecca; while the fertile oasis about it is the universal resting-place. kanana was not at all sure that the caravan would not have passed mount hor long before he could reach it; but if so, it must in time return that way, and, in any case, of all arabia mount hor was the one spot where he could be sure to gather further information from passing caravans. he knew his path upon that shifting sand as well as an indian knew his way through the trackless forests of new england. with the sun and stars above him, any arab would have scorned the idea of being lost in arabia, and through the long night with strong and steady strides kanana pressed onward toward mount hor. as the harvest moon rose above the desert, behind him, the bedouin boy was softly chanting from the second _sura_ of al koran: "god, there is no god but him; the living! the eternal. slumber doth not overtake him, neither sleep. and upholding all things, to him is no burden. he is the lofty and the great." his long, black shadow fell over the silver sand, and, watching it, he chanted the koran again: "god is god. whatever of good betideth thee cometh from him. "whatever of evil is thine own doing." suddenly a speck appeared upon the distant horizon. none but the keen eye of a shepherd would have seen it, in the night, but kanana watched it as it quivered and wavered, disappearing as it sank into a valley in the rolling sand, appearing again, like a dory on the ocean, each time a little nearer than before. kanana noted the direction the speck was taking, and he made a wide path for it; he crouched among the sand-shrubs when it came too near. first a small party of horsemen passed him, the advance guard of a moving tribe. then came the main body of men upon camels and horses; but the only sounds were made by the feet of the animals and the clanking of the weapons. the she-camels with their young followed; then the sheep and goats driven by a few men on foot; next, the camels laden with the tents and furniture; last of all the women and children of the tribe accompanied by another armed escort. from all that company there was not a sound but of the sand and the trappings. there was nothing but shadows, swinging, swaying shadows, moving like phantoms over the white sand, as the trailing train went gliding on, in that mysterious land of shadows and silhouettes. there was nothing in it that was weird to kanana, however. he hid himself simply as a precaution. he had often been a part of such a caravan, and he knew from experience, that if a solitary arab were found upon the desert, he would very quickly be forced to help drive the sheep and goats, and kept at it until he could make his escape. any arab boy would have hidden himself. long before kanana's next halt the sun was pouring down his furious heat. to his great good fortune he came upon a bowlder rising out of the sand; there he quickly made a place for himself where the sun could not reach him and lying down slept until night. only one who has walked upon a desert, hour after hour, parched with thirst and utterly exhausted in the fierce glare and heat can properly appreciate the bible picture of "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." had he not found this rock kanana would simply have dug a hole in the sand and forced himself into it. here and there as he pressed on, kanana saw grim skeletons of men and animals as they lay whitening among the sand-shrubs, but he paid them little attention. before the sun had set, upon the second day, he beheld the distant summit of mount hor cutting sharply into the blue sky. the sight renewed his strength. hour after hour he pressed onward, with his eyes fixed upon the tomb of aaron, a white monument upon the summit of the mountain, flashing like snow as the moon rose in the clear, blue-black sky. kanana did not pause again until he fell upon his knees beside the stream which rises in a spring upon mount hor, to die in the sand, not far from its base. he plunged into the water; then, dressing himself again, he lay down upon the bank to sleep. he awoke with the first gray lighting in the east, when the air of a desert is almost cold enough to freeze. he had now nothing more to do till he could obtain some information from passing caravans. it would soon be sunrise, the hour for morning prayer, and, to warm himself while he waited, he walked along the banks of the stream. they were blue as the very sky, with masses of forget-me-nots. suddenly kanana paused. he started back. his eyes dilated, and his hand trembled till the shepherd's staff fell, unheeded, to the ground. the next moment he dropped to the ground to examine the place more carefully. what was it? only some marks upon the grass where a caravan had camped. the herbage was matted here and there where the camels lay, and cropped short in little circles about each spot where they had eaten it as far as they could reach. caravans were continually resting for the day under the shadow of mount hor. there was nothing remarkable in the fact that a caravan had camped there, and had gone. they always move at night; not so much because it is cooler as because a camel will not eat at night, no matter how hungry he may be, and must be given the daylight or he will deliberately starve. a moment later kanana was upon his feet again with a triumph in his eyes which clearly indicated his satisfaction. the grass about the spot was unevenly cropped; there were straggling spears of green left standing in the center of each mouthful which the camel had taken. upon one side the bees were clustering on the matted grass. a multitude of ants appeared upon the other side. the imprint left by the forefoot of the camel showed that it had been extended in front of him, instead of being bent at the knee and folded beneath him. all this meant to the young arab that the camel was old, that it was lame in the left knee, that it had lost a front tooth, that its burden on one side was honey, on the other the dust of river clay, to be used in the manufacture of stucco. had one of his father's camels stood before him kanana could not have been more sure. nothing more was needed to assure him that raschid airikat, with the stolen camels, had left mount hor the night before, upon the trail leading southward into arabia. his eyes flashed with excitement. "my brother and the white camel are not ten hours from here, and they are on the road to mecca or medina," he exclaimed as his fingers tightened about the staff. his white teeth glistened in a smile, as he added, "they are mine, or i am a coward!" he stood there, motionless, for a moment, his dark eyes instinctively turning southward. the magnitude of his task lay vividly before him. he recalled his father's words: "thou wisp of flax before a fire! thou reed before a whirlwind!" they served to strengthen him. the first step which lay before him was enough to test the courage of a brave man, and yet it was only a step toward a grand destiny. suddenly starting from his revery, kanana exclaimed: "i will do it! or i will consent to be known forever as the coward of the beni sads!" and turning he ran up the rocky sides of old mount hor, toward the white tomb of aaron, whence he knew he could see far away over the great ocean of sand. it might be there would yet appear a speck upon the distant horizon, to guide him toward the retreating caravan. iv the promise up the steep sides of mount hor, kanana climbed, without waiting to look for a path. he saw nothing, heard nothing. he was all eagerness to reach the summit, in the faint hope that it might not be too late to see the departing caravan of raschid airikat. unless a camel is fresh, unusually large and strong, or constantly urged, it rarely makes more than two miles an hour. it was not over ten hours since the robber sheik had left the oasis, and some of the camels were very old and exhausted. it was a foolish hope, no doubt, and yet kanana hoped that anything so large as a great caravan might still be distinguishable. up, up, up he climbed--as fast as hands and feet could carry him. he no longer felt the cool air of early morning. he no longer looked about him to see the new sights of a strange oasis. he did not even pause to look away over the desert as he climbed. the highest point was none too high. he did not care how far he could see until he had gained the white tomb of aaron, upon the very crest. had he not been too thoroughly occupied with what was above him to notice what transpired about him and down below, he would have seen five arab horsemen reach the stream by which he slept, almost as he began to climb. they were mohammedan soldiers, thoroughly armed for war, and had evidently come from the northern borders of arabia, where the victorious mussulmans were triumphantly planting the banner of islam. they had been riding hard, and both men and horses were exhausted. they hurried to the water. the men hastily ate some food which they carried, and tethered their horses in arab fashion, by a chain, one end of which is fastened about the forefoot of the animal and the other end about the master, to prevent their being stolen while the master sleeps. the moment this was accomplished, the five men rolled themselves in their mantles, covering their faces, as well as their bodies, and lay down upon the grass to sleep. they were skilled in the art of making long journeys in the shortest possible time, and were evidently upon important business; for an arab is never in haste unless his mission is very important. before kanana reached the temple the men were soundly sleeping, and the horses, lying down to rest themselves, were still eating the grass about them, as a camel eats. panting for breath, and trembling in his eager haste, kanana reached the tomb of aaron: an open porch, with white pillars supporting a roof of white, like a crown of eternal snow upon the summit of mount hor. between the snowy pillars kanana paused. one quick glance at the sky gave him the points of the compass, and shading his eyes from the glowing east, he looked anxiously to the south and west. sand, sand, sand, in billows like great waves of an ocean, lay about him in every direction. far away there were low hills, and a semblance of green which, to his practiced eye, meant a grove of date palms upon the banks of a stream. but nowhere, search as he would, was there the faintest speck to indicate the caravan. he was still anxiously scanning those distant hills when the first rays of the rising sun shot from the eastern horizon, flashing a halo of glory upon the snow-white crown of old mount hor, before they touched the green oasis lying about its base. never, in all the ages, had the sun come up out of the arabian desert to see such a tableau as his first bright beams illumined aaron's tomb. all absorbed in his eager search, kanana stood upon the very edge of the white porch. one hand was extended, grasping his shepherd's staff, the other was lifted to shade his eyes. [illustration: kanana stood upon the very edge of the white porch.] in his eagerness to reach forward, one foot was far before the other, and the knee was bent, as though he were ready to leap down the steep declivity before him. his turban, a large square piece of cloth, was bound about his head with a camel's-hair cord; one corner was thrown back over his forehead, and a corner fell over each shoulder, like a cloak. his coat was sheepskins stitched together. summer and winter, rain and sunshine, the bedouin shepherd wears that sheepskin coat, as the best protection against both sun and frost. his bare feet rested firmly upon the white platform, and the arm that held the shepherd's staff was knotted with muscles which a strong man might have envied him. his beardless face was dark, but not so dark as to hide the eager flush which heightened the color in his cheeks, and his chest rose and fell in deep, quick motions from his rapid climb. his lips were parted. his dark eyes flashed, while the hand which shaded them stood out from his forehead as though trying to carry the sight a little farther, that it might pierce the defiles of those distant hills and the shadows of the date palm groves. the sun rose higher, and its full light fell across the young ishmaelite. it was the signal for the morning call to prayer, and from the minaret of every mosque in the realm of islam was sounding _la illaha il allah mahamoud rousol il allah_. kanana did not need to hear the call, however. he instantly forgot his mission, and, a humble and devout mohammedan, laid aside his staff and reverently faced toward mecca to repeat his morning prayer. standing erect, with his open hands beside his head, the palms turned forward, he solemnly began the _nummee allah voul-hamda_. with his hands crossed upon his breast he continued. then he placed his hands upon his knees, then sat upon the floor. then with his open hands upon the floor he touched his forehead to the platform as he repeated the closing words of the prayer. in this position he remained for some time, whispering a petition of his own for strength and courage to carry out the task which he had undertaken. there was something so solemn and impressive in the death-like stillness of the early morning, upon that solitary peak, that it almost seemed to kanana that, if he listened, he should hear the voice of allah, answering his prayer. suddenly the silence was broken by a sharp cry, and another and another in quick succession mingled with savage yells. it was not the voice of allah, for which he had been waiting, and kanana sprang to his feet and looked anxiously about him. the mountains of arabia are not high. among real mountains, mount hor would be but a rocky hill. looking down, for the first time, kanana saw the stream below him, in its border of blue forget-me-nots, and could clearly distinguish the five soldiers who had so quickly fallen asleep upon its banks. it was a fearful sight which met his eyes. the five men were still lying there, but they were no longer sleeping. they were dead or dying; slain by three bedouin robbers, who had crept upon them for the valuable prize of their horses, and who did not dare attempt to steal the animals while the masters were alive. it was almost the first time that kanana's eyes had rested upon a scene of blood, common as such scenes are among his countrymen, and he stood in the porch benumbed with horror, while the robbers tore from the bodies about them such garments as pleased them; then took their weapons, mounted three of the horses, and leading two rode quickly away to the north. there was no assistance which kanana could render the unfortunate men. the caravan was already a night's march ahead of him and every moment that he lost must be redeemed by hurrying so much the faster under the burning sun, over the scorching sand, when, at the best, it was doubtful if flesh and blood could stand what must be required of it. with a shudder he turned from the terrible scene and began to descend the mountain. soon he was upon the banks of the stream and passing close to the spot where the five bodies were lying. he would not run, but he hurried on, with his eyes fixed upon the ground before him. a faint sound caught his ear. he started, clutched his staff, and turned sharply about, thinking that the robbers had seen him and returned. it was only one of the unfortunate soldiers who had been left for dead. he had raised himself upon his elbow, and was trying to attract kanana's attention. "water! water! in the name of allah, give me water!" he gasped, and fell back unconscious. for a moment kanana was tempted to hurry on. he did not want to go there, any more than he wanted to delay his journey; but something whispered to him of the promises of the koran to those who show mercy to the suffering; that allah would reward even a cup of water given to the thirsty. it required no little courage of the bedouin boy, all alone under mount hor, but he resolutely turned back, filled with water the wooden cup which a shepherd always carries at his girdle, and poured it down the parched throat of the almost insensible man. "bless god for water!" he gasped. "more! give me more!" kanana ran to the brook and filled the cup again, but the poor man shook his head. it was too late. he was dying. suddenly he roused himself. he made a desperate struggle to call back his failing senses, and, for a moment, threw off the hand of death. he had almost given up, forgetting something of great importance. steadying himself upon his elbow, he looked into kanana's face and said: "you are a beardless youth, but you are an arab. listen to me. the mighty prince constantine, son of the emperor heraclius, is soon to leave constantinople, at the head of a vast army of turks and greeks and romans, like the leaves of the forest and the sand of the desert. he is coming to sweep the arab from the face of the earth and the light of the sun. we were bearing a letter to the caliph omar, who is now at mecca, telling him of the danger and asking help. if the letter does not reach him arabia is lost and the faithful are destroyed. would you see that happen?" too frightened to speak and hardly comprehending the situation, kanana simply shook his head. the man made another effort to overcome the stupor that had almost mastered him. he succeeded in taking from his clothing a letter, sealed with the great seal, and gasped: "in the name of allah, will you fly with this to the great caliph?" hardly realizing what he said, kanana solemnly repeated: "in the name of allah, i will." he took the letter and was hiding it in his bosom when the soldier grasped the cup of water, drank ravenously, and, with the last swallow, let the cup fall from lifeless fingers. minute after minute passed, but kanana did not move a muscle. his hand still touched the letter which he had placed in his bosom. his eyes still rested upon the lips that would never speak again. his sacred promise had been pledged to fly with that letter to the great caliph at mecca. it had been made in the name of allah. it had been given to the man now lying dead before him. there was no power that could retract it. it must be performed, and until it was performed no other consideration could retard his steps or occupy his thoughts. his lips parted and he muttered, angrily: "is this my reward for having given a cup of water to the thirsty?" then it suddenly occurred to him that the caravan which he longed most of all to follow was also upon its way southward, and that, for the present at least, for either mission the direction was the same, and the demand for haste was great. he caught his staff from the ground and set his face toward mecca, pondering upon the dying statement of the soldier till word for word it was fastened in his memory, and the thought that his mission was for allah and arabia urged him on. it was an easy task to follow the trail of the caravan. the bedouin would be a disgrace to the desert who could not recognize in the sand the recent footprint of one of his own tribe or of a camel with which he was familiar, and who could not tell by a footprint whether the man or camel who made it carried a burden, often what that burden was, always whether he was fresh or exhausted, walking leisurely or hurrying. so kanana hurried on, daily reading the news of the caravan before him as he went, testing his strength to the utmost before he rested, and starting again as soon as he was able; over the sand and over the hills, through groves and villages and over sand again; always toward mecca. v led by a white camel in the world-famous city of mecca, two men stood by the arch that leads to the immortal caaba. they were engaged in an earnest conversation, heedless of everything about them, when the distant cry of a camel driver sounded on the still air. both of the men started and looked at each other in surprise. one of them said: "a caravan at the gate at this time of day!" for it was several hours past midday and a caravan, in the ordinary course of things, reaches a city gate during the night or very early in the morning. arabia was seeing troubled times, and every one was on the alert for anything out of the accepted rule. the camel-driver's cry was repeated. the first speaker remarked: "they have left the burdened camels at the moabede gate and are entering the city." with an anxious look upon his face the elder of the two replied, "either they have been hard pressed by an enemy or it is important news which brings them over the desert in such haste, in this insufferable heat." the two men were evidently of great importance in the holy city. they were surrounded by powerful black slaves, who had all that they could do to keep the passers-by from pressing too close upon the elder man, in a desire to touch the hem of his garment. many, in passing, knelt and touched their foreheads to the ground. thus they waited the coming caravan. the first camel of an important caravan is led by a man who walks before it, through the narrow streets of a city, and his cry is to warn the crowd to clear the way; there being no sidewalks, and, indeed, but very little street. "there it comes," said the younger of the two, as the long line of drowsy camels appeared, swinging, swinging, swinging along the narrow street. "led by a white camel," added the elder, and they both looked down the street. the lead-camel was larger than the rest--much larger, and very much lighter colored; a sort of dingy white, like a sheep before shearing. the chief of the caravan sat upon his back, as unmindful of everything as though he were still upon the trackless sand. it is not impossible that the sheik was really sleeping, and unconsciously grasping his ugly lance, while his damascus blade hung ready by his side. he roused in a moment, however, for with many a grunt and groan the great, ungainly, and yet very stately, ships of the desert came slowly and drowsily to anchor in the court before the caaba. "_haji_," a naked little urchin muttered, looking up from his play; but he should have known better. _haji_ means pilgrims, and these were no pilgrims. there are seasons when this city is one mass of humanity. haji by hundreds and thousands throng the narrow streets, but these are bedouins of the desert, bound upon some other mission than worshiping before the caaba, kissing the black stone, or drinking the holy water of zemzem. the leader of the white camel gave a peculiar pull to the rope hanging over his shoulder, attached to the animal's bridle, and uttered a short, sharp word of command. slowly, very slowly, the dignified, dingy creature, towering high above him, acknowledged the receipt of the order, but he gave no evidence that he was making any arrangements to obey. his response was simply a deliberate grunt and a weird and melancholy wail that came gurgling out of his long, twisting throat. he would not have hurried himself one atom, even for the sheik upon his back. a white camel is to the arab what a white buffalo is to the indian and a white elephant to the ceylonese, and he fully appreciates his importance. he deliberately turned his woolly head quite about till his great brown eyes, with the drooping lids almost closed over them, could most conveniently look back along the line of lank, inferior camels, and gaunt and weather-beaten dromedaries, which had patiently followed him, day after day, to the temple court of immortal mecca. he was so long about it that the leader repeated the command and very slowly the camel brought his head back again, till his languid eyes looked drowsily down, in a sort of scornful charity, upon the insignificant mortal at the other end of his halter. he had stood in the court of mecca long before that man was born and would doubtless guide caravans to the same spot long after he was buried and forgotten. "you may be in haste, but i am not," he seemed to say, and dreamily turned his eyes toward the black-curtained caaba, as if to see how it had fared since his last visit. that caaba, the holy of holies of the mussulman, is the most revered and possibly the most venerable of all the sacred buildings on the earth; but the gentle, wistful eyes of the white camel were more practically drawn toward two or three date-palm-trees then growing beside it. when he had satisfied himself that the only green thing in sight was quite beyond his reach, he deliberately lowered his head, changed his position a little, and with another grunt and another melancholy wail sank upon his knees, then upon his haunches. with a deep sigh he lifted his head again still high above the head of his driver, and his drowsy eyes seemed saying to him: "poor man! i kept you waiting, didn't i?" then he quickly turned his head to the opposite side, deliberately poking his nose into the passing throng, till, with a grunt of recognition, it touched the garment of one who was hurrying on among the crowd. it was evidently a bedouin, but the wings of his turban were drawn together in front, so that no one could see his face. he responded to the greeting of the white camel, however, by laying his hand upon the creature's nose as he passed. it was a motion which no one noticed, and a moment later he was out of sight. he was following a boy who had led him directly to the arch, where the boy paused, pointed to the elder of the two men standing there, briefly observing: "it is he." the bedouin paused for a moment, as if struggling to collect his thoughts, then hurrying forward was the next to prostrate himself before the venerable man. as he rose he handed him a package, simply observing: "a message to the caliph omar." the great caliph quickly broke the seal and read; then, turning to the bearer, asked sharply, "and who art thou?" "i am kanana, son of the sheik of the beni sads," replied the bedouin boy, letting the wings of his turban fall apart that omar might see his face. "a beardless youth!" exclaimed the caliph. "and dost thou know aught of the import of this letter?" kanana repeated the dying words of the arab soldier, which had so often escaped his lips as he urged his weary feet toward mecca. "'tis even so," replied the caliph. "and how came living man to trust a boy like you to come alone, through the streets of mecca, with such an errand?" "i came alone with the letter from the oasis at mount hor," replied kanana, straightening himself up, with very pardonable pride, before the astonished eyes of the great caliph. then he related, briefly, how the letter came into his keeping, and the dangers and escapes of the three long weeks during which he carried it in his bosom; each rising and setting sun finding it a little nearer to its destination. "thou art a brave youth," said the caliph, "a worthy son of the terror of the desert. would to allah that every arab had thy heart, and heraclius himself, with all the world behind him, could not move the faithful from their desert sands. and they shall not be moved! no! by the beard of the prophet, they shall not be moved. hear me, my son; i will see more of thee. this is no place for conversation, where the wind bloweth into what ears it listeth. one of my slaves shall conduct you to my house. there i will meet you presently. go, and allah go with you." indicating the slave who should take kanana in charge, the caliph omar turned abruptly away and showed the letter to the man with whom he had been conversing. vi kanana and the caliph guided by the black slave, kanana passed out again under the arch, and walked the streets of mecca, caring less and thinking less concerning what transpired about him than any one, before or since, who for the first time stood in the holy city. he found the narrow streets densely crowded. soldiers and merchants, bedouins and city arabs mingled with an array of every tribe arabia could furnish. there were venders of all things pertaining to the necessities or luxuries of life; water-carriers with goatskins on their shoulders; fruit-criers with wooden trays upon their heads; donkeys laden with cumbersome baskets, beneath which they were almost lost to sight; camels carrying packs of a thousand pounds weight upon their backs, as though they were bundles of feathers; everything hustling and jostling, men and boys shouting and pushing for the right of way. they all turned out as best they could, however, for the savage black slave of the great caliph, and by keeping close behind him kanana always found an open space where he could walk without fighting for room. it was almost the first experience of the bedouin boy in real city life, and the very first time that his bare feet had ever touched the beaten sand of the unpaved streets of his most sacred mecca. he turned from the arch, however, without once glancing at the black-curtained caaba, the beitullah, or house of god, toward which three times a day he had turned his face in reverent devotion, ever since he had learned to pray. he followed the black slave onward through the streets, without so much as looking at the walls of the houses that crowded close on either hand. he had fulfilled his vow. the packet he had sacredly guarded through many a hardship and danger and narrow escape was safely delivered. now he was free to carry on the work for which he left the perch and the birds in the grain-field of the beni sad. sometimes he thought of the black slave before him, and wondered if, after all, he was quite free. and the thought troubled him. it seemed as though long years had passed since the day when his father met him with the news of raschid airikat's capture of his brother. he had suffered privations enough for a lifetime since then. more than once his life had hung by a slender thread. he could hardly imagine himself again sitting up on the perch, frightening the birds away, his life had so entirely changed; his determination to keep the vow he made his father had grown stronger every day; only he realized more the magnitude of the task he had undertaken; and he appreciated his father's words: "thou wisp of straw before a fire! thou reed before a whirlwind!" still he gathered hope, because he was beginning to understand himself. the dangers and hardships of one enterprise he had met and overcome, and under the very shadow of the caaba, the great caliph of mecca had called him brave. now he was eager for the next. there was no vital need of another interview with the caliph, and kanana thought that if he could only escape from the black slave, by darting into a crowded alley, he could go at once about his own important business. for the first time kanana looked about him. at the moment there was no opportunity, and while he watched for one, the slave turned suddenly into a great gate, crossed a court paved with limestone, lifted a reed curtain, entered one of the most substantial stone structures of mecca, and indicated to kanana the apartment in which he was to wait for the caliph. it was too late to escape. with all the patience and dogged submission to destiny so strongly developed in the bedouin, kanana sat down upon a rug. there were luxurious ottomans about the room, and divans taken from the palaces of persian princes, but the bedouin boy preferred the desert seat. much as though he were still upon the perch, he laid his staff beside him and buried his face in his hands. the magnificence in this chamber of omar's official residence only disturbed his thoughts. he became so deeply buried in his plans that he had entirely forgotten where he was, when the rattle of the reed curtain roused him and, starting from his dream, he found the great caliph entering. reverently touching his forehead to the floor, kanana remained prostrate until the caliph was seated. then he rose and stood leaning upon his staff while the old ruler silently surveyed him. it seemed to kanana that his very heart was being searched by those grave and piercing eyes. upon the shoulders of the caliph omar rested the fate of islam for future ages; his word was law wherever mohammed was revered. he could have little time to waste upon a shepherd boy; yet he sat for a long while, silently looking at kanana. when he spoke, it was only to bid him repeat, at greater length, the story of how he came by the letter and how he brought it to mecca. "my son," he said, when kanana had finished, "thou hast done what many a brave man would not have ventured to attempt. ask what reward thou wilt of me." "i would have the blessing of the caliph omar," kanana replied. "that thou shall have, my son; and camels, or sheep, or gold. ask what thou wilt." "i have no use for anything. i ask thy blessing, my father, and thy word to bid me go." "thou art a strange lad," replied the caliph. "thou art like, and yet unlike the terror of the desert. i command thee, my son, say what i can best do for thee." "give me thy blessing, then let me go, my father," repeated kanana, kneeling. "more than that, if i took it, i should leave at thy gate." omar smiled gravely at the boy's obstinacy. "if i can do nothing for thee, there is yet something which thou canst do for me. kahled is the greatest general who fights for the prophet. he will soon reach bashra, with thirty thousand warriors. he will turn to enter persia, but these letters must reach him, with my orders that he go again to syria. bashra is three weeks from here, and a company of soldiers will start to-night to carry the messages, while i send far and wide for the faithful to join him. it would be well, my son, for thee to go with the soldiers, to give the story to kahled by word of mouth." "the way is hard. the sand is deep and dry between mecca and bashra," said kanana. the caliph looked in some surprise upon the hardy bedouin boy. "hardship should not be hard to thee; but thou shall be carried as one whom the caliph would honor." "the way is dangerous. robbers and hostile tribes are like the sand about bashra," added kanana, who had often heard of the countries along the eastern borders of arabia. surprise became astonishment. the caliph exclaimed: "thou! son of the terror of the desert, speaking of danger?" "my father, i spoke for thy soldiers," replied kanana, quickly. "before they reach the sands of bashra they will be with the five who started with this letter. dost thou believe that kanana spoke in fear or cowardice? if so, give him the letters, and with thy blessing and the help of allah, he will deliver them to thy kahled, though every river run with fire, and the half of arabia stand to prevent him!" [illustration: "dost thou believe that kanana spoke in fear?"] "beardless youth!" cried the caliph. "i am too old for mockery." "my father, without a beard i brought that letter here, and he who guarded me will guard me still." "wouldst thou dare to go without an escort?" "i would rather have a sword i could not lift than have an escort," replied kanana. "by the beard of the prophet, my son, there is both foolishness and wisdom in thy words. thou shall take the messages by one route, and by another i will send the soldiers with copies. it may be that allah guides thy tongue. when wilt thou start?" "now," replied kanana. "that was well spoken," said the caliph. "what camels and servants shall be provided?" "my father," said kanana, "as i came a little way with the caravan which arrived to-day, i noted the white camel that took the lead. i never saw so great power of speed and endurance in a camel of the plain. the man who led him knew him well and was easily obeyed. i would have the two, none other, and the swiftest dromedary in mecca, with grain for fourteen days." the caliph shook his head: "it will be twenty days and more." "my father, the burden must be light that the sand lie loose beneath their feet, and small, that it tempt no envious eye." then, in the direct simplicity resulting from his lonely life, kanana added, "if it is a three weeks' journey for others, in fourteen days thy messages shall be delivered." the caliph summoned an officer, saying, "go to the caravan at the moabede gate. say that omar requires the white camel and the man who leads it; none other. bid ebno'l hassan prepare my black dromedary and food for the two for fourteen days. have everything at the gate, ready to start, in half an hour." then to a slave, he added, "give to the son of the terror of the desert the best that the house affords to eat and drink." without another word the caliph left the room to prepare the messages. the slave hurried to produce a sumptuous feast. the officer left the house to execute the orders of the man whose word was law. alone, kanana sat down again upon the mat and buried his face in his hands, as though he were quietly preparing himself to sleep. only a whisper escaped his lips. the words were the same which he had angrily spoken under the shadow of mount hor, but the voice was very different: "this is my great reward for giving a cup of water to the thirsty. _la illaha il allah!_" the slave placed the food beside him, but he did not notice it. not until the caliph entered again did he suddenly look up, exclaiming, "this shepherd's coat would not be fitting the dignity of the white camel. i must have an _abbe_ to cover it, and a mantle to cover my face, that mecca may not see a beardless youth going upon a mission for the great caliph." they were quickly provided. the camel and its driver were at the gate, with the black dromedary. all was ready, and with the mantle drawn over his beardless face, and the _abbe_ covering his sheepskin coat, kanana knelt and received the blessing of the caliph omar. as he rose from his knees, the caliph handed him, first the letters, which kanana placed in his bosom, and next a bag of gold which kanana held in his hand for an instant; then, scornfully, he threw it upon the mat, remarking, "my father, i have already received a richer reward than all the gold of mecca." the caliph only smiled: "let each one dance according to the music which he hears. my son, i see the future opening before thee. this is not thy last mission. i read it in thy destiny that thou wilt succeed, and succeed again, until the name of kanana be written among the greatest of those who have lifted the lance for allah and arabia. go now, and god go with thee." vii a prize worth winning there was a group of several people standing about the caliph's gate as kanana emerged. they were apparently waiting, in careless curiosity, to see the white camel start, and learn what they could of what was going on in official departments. the information they received was very meager, yet it proved sufficient for more than one. they saw the white camel rise, with the veiled messenger of omar upon its back. as the driver looked up to receive his first command their necks were bent in a way that betrayed their eagerness to hear. only one word was spoken, however. it was "tayf," the name of a city a short distance to the east of mecca. the camel-driver's cry sounded again through the streets, but the twilight shadows were gathering. there were few abroad, and the cries were not so loud or so often repeated as in the afternoon. when they ceased altogether, kanana had turned his back upon mecca forever. the night wind blew cool and refreshing from the surrounding hills as the little caravan moved out upon the plain, but kanana was ill at ease. it was still as death in the valley. far as the eye could penetrate the darkness they were all alone, except for five horsemen who left the gate of mecca not long after the white camel, and were now riding slowly toward tayf, a short distance behind it. ever and again kanana looked back at them. the faint shadows, silently moving onward through the gloom, were always there; never nearer; never out of sight. leaning forward, he spoke in a low voice to the driver, "you walk as though you were weary. the dromedary was brought for you. mount it, and follow me." "master," replied the driver, "the white camel is obstinate. he will only move for one whom he knows well." "you speak to the wind," muttered kanana. "do as i bid thee. hear my words. yonder black dromedary has the fleetest foot in mecca. he is the pride of the caliph omar. mount him, and if you can overtake me while i drive the white camel, you shall throw the dust of the desert in the face of raschid airikat, and have the white camel for your own." the driver started back, and stood staring at the veiled messenger of omar. the word, "mount!" was sternly repeated. then he quickly obeyed, evidently bewildered, but well satisfied that he would have an easy task before him, from the moment the white camel realized that a stranger was in command. kanana spoke, and the camel started. the dromedary moved forward close behind it without a word from the driver. the horsemen had approached no nearer while they waited, though kanana had purposely given them time enough to pass, had they not halted when he halted. they were still five silent shadows upon the distant sand. "faster," said kanana, and the long legs of the white camel swung out a little farther over the sand and moved more rapidly, in response. the dromedary immediately quickened its pace without urging, and, a moment later, from far in the distance, the night wind brought the sound of horses' hoofs through the silent valley. it was very faint, but distinct enough to indicate that the shadows behind them had broken into a canter. the camel-driver gave little heed to his surroundings. he was too thoroughly engrossed in the prospect of owning the white camel to care who might be coming or going in a way as safe as that from tayf to mecca. kanana, however, who could walk through the streets of the holy city without so much as knowing what the houses were made of, would have heard the wings of a night-moth passing him, or seen a sand-bush move, a quarter of a mile away. his life as a shepherd had, after all, not been wasted. "faster," said kanana, touching the camel's neck with his shepherd's staff, and without even the usual grunt of objection, the animal obeyed. the sand began to fly from his great feet as they rested upon it for an instant, then left it far behind; the bedouin boy sat with eyes fixed on the path before him, and his head bent so that he could catch the faintest sounds coming from behind. the mantle that had covered his face fell loosely over his shoulder. the dromedary lost a little ground for a moment, but gathering himself together, easily made it up. the driver was too sure of the final result to urge him unduly at the start. soon enough the white camel would rebel of his own accord, and till then it was quite sufficient to keep pace with him. the sound of horses' hoofs became sharper and more distinct, and omar's messenger knew that the five shadows were being pressed to greater speed, and were drawing nearer. "faster!" said kanana, and the white camel broke into a run, swinging in rapid motions from side to side, as two feet upon one side, then two on the other were thrown far in front of him and, in an instant, left as far behind. still the dromedary made light work of keeping close upon his track, evidently realizing what was expected of him; but the driver saw with dismay how quickly the camel responded to the word of his rider, how easily the man sat upon the swaying back--how carefully he selected the best path for the animal, and how skillfully he guided him so that he could make the best speed with the least exertion. many a night kanana had run unsaddled camels about the pastures of the beni sads, guarding the sleeping sheep and goats, little dreaming for what he was being educated. the sound of horses' hoofs grew fainter. they were losing ground, but now and then the listening ear caught the sharp cry of an arab horseman urging his animal to greater speed. "they are in earnest," muttered the bedouin boy, "but they will not win the race." "faster!" said kanana; the camel's head dropped till his neck lost its graceful curve, and the great white ship of the desert seemed almost flying over the billowy sand. for a moment the dromedary dropped behind. the driver had to use the prod and force him to the very best that was in him, before he was able to regain the lost ground. the sound of hoofs could no longer be heard, and kanana was obliged to listen with the utmost care to catch the faintest echo of a distant voice. "they are doing their best and are beaten, but we can do still better," he said to himself with a deep sigh of relief, as he watched the desert shrubs fly past them in fleeting shadows, scudding over the silver-gray sand. the music of the sand, as it flew from the camel's feet and fell like hail upon the dry leaves of the desert shrubs, was a delightful melody, and hour after hour they held the rapid pace; over low hills and sandy plains; past the mud village and the well that marks the resting-place for caravans, a night's journey from mecca, without a sign of halting; and on and on, the dromedary always just so far behind, always doing his best to come nearer. if by urging he was brought a little closer to the camel, the driver heard that low word, "faster!" and in spite of him the camel gained again. would he never stop? the sounds from behind had long been lost when, far in advance, appeared the regular caravan from tayf. they approached it like the wind. only the mystic salaam of the desert was solemnly exchanged, then, in a moment, the trailing train as it crept westward was left, disappearing in the darkness behind them. when it was out of sight the white camel suddenly changed its course, turning sharply to the north of east and striking directly over the desert, away from the hills and the beaten track to tayf which he had been following. the driver could not imagine that such a man as sat upon the white camel had lost his way. he silently followed till they passed a well that marked the second night's journey from mecca toward persia. the driver and dromedary would very willingly have stopped here; but the camel glided onward before them through the changing shadows of the night, as though it were some phantom, and not a thing of flesh and blood. by dint of urging, the driver brought the dromedary near enough to call: "master, we are not upon the road to tayf." "no," said kanana, but the camel still held his course. driven to desperation, as the eastern sky was brightening, the driver called again: "master, you will kill the camel!" "not in one night," said kanana; "but if you value your own life, come on!" faster still and faster the white camel swept toward the glowing east, but the dromedary had done his best. he could not do better. more and more he fell behind, and in spite of every effort of the driver, the pride of the caliph was beaten. fainter and fainter grew the outline of the white camel against the morning sky, ever swinging, swinging, swinging, over the silver-gray sea, with a motion as regular and firm as though it had started but an hour before. as the red disc of the fiery sun rose out of the desert, however, the driver saw the camel pause, turn half about, till his huge outline stood out in bold relief against the sky, and then lie down. quickly kanana dismounted. he caressed the camel for a moment, whispering, "we are two days and a half from mecca! thou hast done better than i hoped. thou didst remember me yesterday in the temple court. to-night thou hast cheerfully given every atom of thy strength to help me. to-morrow we shall be far apart. allah alone knows for what or for how long; but if we ever meet again thou wilt remember me. yes, thou wilt greet thy kanana." the boy's dark eyes were bright with tears as he gave the camel the best of the food provided for him; then, with sand in stead of water performing the morning ablution, he faced toward mecca. when the dromedary and his rider reached the spot, the veiled messenger of omar was solemnly repeating his morning prayer. viii to seek the beni sads all in vain the camel driver sought to obtain one glimpse beneath the mantle, to see the face of the caliph's messenger or to learn anything of their destination. he prepared their very frugal breakfast without a fire, and, when it was eaten, in the humble, reproachful tone of one who felt himself unjustly suspected, he said: "my master, why didst thou deceive me, saying we should go to tayf? didst thou think that i would not willingly and freely lead the white camel anywhere, to serve the great caliph?" "there were other ears than yours to hear," replied kanana. "there were only beggars at the gate, my master. dost thou believe i would be treacherous to a servant of omar and the prophet?" "i believe that every child of ishmael will serve himself," replied kanana; "but that had nothing to do with what i said. before we start to-night, i will lay out your path before you, to the very end. as for the beggars, where were your senses? for three days, in disguise, i journeyed with the caravan of raschid airikat, as it came to mecca. i saw in him a treacherous man, and when he yielded to a command he must obey and gave me the white camel and his driver, i knew that he would take them back again by stealth and treachery, if he were able to. have i no eyes, that i should spend three days with the caravan and then not recognize the servants of airikat, though they were dressed as beggars and slunk away, with covered faces, into the shadows of the caliph's gate? they did not cover their feet, and by their feet i knew them, even when they deceived you, one of their own. to them i said, 'go, tell your master that his white camel is on the way to tayf.'" "my master," said the driver, respectfully, "the sheik airikat is as devout as he is treacherous and brave. he gave the sacred camel and thy servant willingly, at the command of omar, for the service of allah and arabia. i do not think he would deal treacherously." kanana did not reply, for far away over the desert, to the east, there was a little speck of dark, like a faint shadow, upon the sand. he sat in silence watching it through the folds of his mantle, as it grew larger and larger, and a long caravan approached. the camels were worn out from a long journey. their heads hung down, and their feet dragged languidly over the sand. their slow progress had belated them, and the sun would be several hours above the desert when they reached the oasis by the well, which the two had passed before daylight. as they drew nearer it could easily be seen that the camels bore no burdens but necessary food, in sacks that were nearly empty, and that their riders were savage men from the eastern borders of arabia. "master, do they see us?" muttered the driver. "they have eyes," replied kanana. and they had. a fresh dromedary and a white camel alone upon the desert, were a tempting prize. they evidently determined to appropriate them; for, leaving the main body of the caravan standing in the path, twenty or more turned suddenly, and came directly toward them. "master, we must fly from them," whispered the driver. "if they were behind us i would fly," replied kanana, "for every step would be well taken; but my path lies yonder." he pointed directly toward the caravan. "and i would not turn from it though devils instead of men were in the way." "it is the will of allah. we are lost," muttered the camel-driver, and his arms dropped sullenly upon his knees, in the dogged resignation to fate so characteristic of the bedouin. kanana made no reply, but, repeating from the koran, "'whatever of good betideth thee cometh from him,'" he rose and walked slowly to where the white camel was lying. upon the high saddle, which had not yet been removed, hung the inevitable lance and sword, placed there by the officer of the caliph. leaning back against the saddle to await the approach of the caravan, the bedouin boy threw his right hand carelessly across the hilt of the damascus blade, exposing, almost to the shoulder, the rounded muscles of the powerful arm of--a shepherd lad. the caravan drew nearer and finally halted when the leader was less than ten paces from the white camel. his envious eyes had been gloating over the tempting prize as he approached; but gradually they became fastened upon that hand and arm, while the fingers that were playing gently upon the polished hilt seemed to beckon him on to test the gleaming blade beneath. he could not see the beardless face, protected by the mantle. how could he know that that hand had never drawn a sword? the whole appearance indicated a man without one thought of fear, and the savage chief realized that, before the white camel became his prize, some one beside its present owner would doubtless pay a dear price for it. he was still determined to possess it, but the silent figure demanded and received respect from him. [illustration: the silent figure demanded and received respect.] instead of the defiant words which were upon his tongue, he pronounced the desert greeting. kanana returned the salutation, and immediately asked, "did the dust from kahled's host blow over you when your foot was on the sand of bashra?" the sheik drew back a little. it was a slight but very suggestive motion, speaking volumes to the keen eye of the bedouin boy. he had been leaning forward before, more than is natural even to one tired out with sitting upon a camel's back. it was as if in his eagerness he was reaching forward to grasp the prize. now he seemed suddenly to have lost that eagerness. quickly, kanana took advantage of the hint. he drew from his bosom the letter of the caliph, sealed with the great seal of mohammed, which every mussulman could recognize, and calmly holding it plainly in view, he continued: "the beak of the vulture has whitened, instead of the bones he would have plucked. the tooth of the jackal is broken, and not the flesh he would have torn. raschid airikat is neither at damascus nor mecca. to-morrow morning he will be at tayf. he would have you meet him there. say to him, 'the fool hath eaten his own folly. the veiled messenger of the prophet, sitting upon the sacred camel, glides with the night wind into the rising sun; for the fire is lighted in hejaz that at bashra shall cause the camels' necks to shine.'" a decided change came over the savage face of the arab sheik. he sat in silence for a moment, then, without a word, drove the prod into his camel. there was a grunt and a gurgling wail, and the tired animal was moving on, followed by all the rest. kanana and his camel-driver were left alone. when they were well out of hearing the driver prostrated himself before kanana, touching his forehead to the ground, and asked: "master, who was that sheik, with all his warriors, and who art thou that they should cower before thy word?" "i am no one to receive your homage. stand upon your feet!" almost shouted kanana. "i never saw nor heard of them until to-day." he breathed a deep, quivering sigh, and leaned heavily upon the saddle; for every muscle in his body shook and trembled as the result of what had seemed so calm and defiant. he tried to replace the letter in his bosom, but his hand trembled so that he was obliged to wait. "thou knewest that he was of the tribe of raschid airikat, and that he came from bashra," said the driver. "i knew nothing," replied kanana, petulantly, in the intense reaction. "how long have you been a man, well taught in killing other men, not to see what any cowardly shepherd boy could read? were not their lances made of the same peculiar wood; and their camel saddles, were they not the same, stained with the deep dye of bashra? who should come out of the rising sun, with his camel licking the desert sand, if he came not from bashra? who should be going toward mecca at this season, without a burdened camel in his caravan, if he went not to meet his chief for war? why did airikat crowd his caravan, day and night, if he expected no one?" "but, master, airikat is at mecca, not at tayf," said the camel-driver. "bedouin, where are your eyes and ears?" exclaimed kanana, scornfully. "your paltry beggars at the caliph's gate carried my message swiftly. we had not left the gate of mecca out of sight when on the road behind us came airikat and four followers. while you were struggling to reach the white camel, they did their best to overtake us both, but we outstripped them. we kept upon the way till we had passed the nightly caravan. they would have to rest their horses at the well, and the caravan would halt there, too. they would inquire for us, and the caravan would answer, 'we passed the white camel running like the wind toward tayf.' enough. airikat with his horsemen cannot reach there before the next sunrise, and when he learns the truth he will be five days behind us. from him and yonder caravan by the help of allah we are safe. if you would learn a lesson, by the way, let it be this: that man can conquer man without a sword or lance. sleep on it." setting the example, kanana removed the camel's saddle, fastened his hind foot to his haunch with the twisted rope so that he could not rise, and sank upon the sand beside him, laying his head upon the creature's neck. the last words which he heard from his driver were: "master, thou art mightier than airikat and all his warriors." the sun beat fiercely down all day upon his resting-place; but kanana's sleep was sweeter than if the cool starlight had been over him, or a black tent of the beni sads; because, for that one day at least, his head was pillowed upon the white camel's neck. it was late in the afternoon before he woke, and the sun was setting when the little caravan was again prepared to start. they were ready to mount when the driver came to the white camel. he laid his hand upon the dingy haunch, and said, in a voice that was strangely pleading for a fierce bedouin: "master, do not crowd him over-hard to-night. he obeys too willingly. he is tired from a long journey. it is four weeks since he has rested. i would rather you would kill me than the white camel." kanana thought for a moment, then taking his shepherd's staff from the saddle, he replied: "you can tell better than i how he should be driven. mount him, and i will ride the dromedary." to the driver this was only arab sarcasm, and he hesitated till kanana silently pointed his staff toward the saddle, and the driver was more afraid to refuse than to obey. kanana turned and mounted the dromedary. as the camel rose to his feet, a strange temptation sent the blood tingling to the driver's finger-tips. the dromedary was unarmed. the messenger of omar held only a shepherd's staff. almost unconsciously his hand clutched the hilt of the damascus blade, betraying the fact that it was better used to holding such a thing than the rope that led the white camel through mecca. quickly the driver looked back, to see kanana quietly watching him. instantly his hand dropped the hilt, but it was too late. scornfully kanana said: "lo! every child of ishmael, from the devout raschid to the faithful camel-driver, will serve himself. nay, keep the hand upon the sword. perchance there will be better cause to use it than in defying me. from here our paths must separate. i promised that to-night i would lay out your course for you. it is northward, without swerving, for ten nights, at least." "and whither goest thou, my master?" "that only allah can direct, from day to day. _la illaha il allah!_" "and what is my mission to be?" asked the driver, anxiously. "it is to seek the beni sads; to find the aged chief, the terror of the desert; to say to him, 'kanana hath fulfilled his vow.' he hath not lifted the lance against airikat; but thy white camel is returned to thee, bearing thy first-born upon his back. go, and god go with thee!" "who art thou?" cried the man upon the white camel, starting from his seat as the dromedary gave the usual grunt, in answer to the prod, and moved away. the bedouin boy turned in the saddle, tore off the _abbe_ and the mantle that covered him, and clad in the sheepskin coat and desert turban answered: "i am thy brother kanana, the coward of the beni sads!" ix for allah and arabia "kanana! our kanana!" cried the brother, striking the camel's neck. the dingy dignity of the great white camel was ruffled by the blow received, and he expressed his disapproval in a series of grunts before he made any attempt to start. "kanana! kanana!" the brother called again, seeing the dromedary already merging into the shadows; but the only response he received was from the shepherd's staff, extended at arm's length pointing northward. "my young brother shall not leave me in this way. he has no weapon of defense and only a little of the grain." again he struck the camel a sharp blow as the animal began very slowly to move forward. the black dromedary was hardly distinguishable from the night, and was rapidly sinking into the deepening shadows before the camel was fairly on the way. "go!" cried the rider savagely, striking him again, and the camel moved a little faster; but he made slow and lumbering work, for he was not at all pleased with his treatment. the rider's eyes were fixed intently upon the dim outline sinking away from him. the last he saw of it was the hand and arm, still holding the extended shepherd's staff, pointing to the north. then all was lost. he kept on in that direction for an hour, but it was evident that he had begun in the wrong way with the camel, and that he was not forcing him to anything like his speed of the night before. it was beyond his power to overtake the dromedary, and doubly chagrined he gave up the race and turned northward. the path before kanana was the highway between persia and mecca. at some seasons it was almost hourly traversed, but at midsummer only absolute necessity drove the arabs across the very heart of the desert. in the height of the rainy season there were even occasional pools of water in the hollows, here and there. later there was coarse, tough grass growing, sometimes for miles along the way. little by little, however, they disappeared. then the green of each oasis shrank toward the center, about the spring or well, and often before midsummer was over, they too had dried away. the prospect of loneliness, however, was not at all disheartening to kanana. he had no desire to meet with any one, least of all with such parties as would be apt to cross the desert at this season. if a moving shadow appeared in the distance, he turned well to one side and had the dromedary lie down upon the sand till it passed. the black dromedary was fresh, and the bedouin boy knew well how to make the most of his strength while it lasted; but it was for allah and arabia that they crossed the desert, and kanana felt that neither his own life nor that of the dromedary could be accounted of value compared with the demand for haste. he paid no heed to the usual camping-grounds for caravans, except to be sure that he passed two of them every night till the dromedary's strength began to fail. each morning the sun was well upon its way before he halted for the day, and long before it set again he was following his shadow upon the sand. more and more the dromedary felt the strain. when twelve nights had passed, the pride of the caliph was anything but a tempting prize, and kanana would hardly have troubled himself to turn out for a caravan even if he had thought it a band of robbers. the bedouin boy, too, was thoroughly worn and exhausted. for days they had been without water, checking their thirst by chewing the prickly leaves of the little desert vine that is the last sign of life upon the drying sand. no dew fell at this season, and kanana realized that it was only a matter of hours as to how much longer they could hold out. morning came without a sign of water or of life, as far as the eye could reach. the sun rose higher, and kanana longed for the sight of a human being as intensely as at first he had dreaded it. nothing but the ghastly bones of men and animals bleaching among the sand-shrubs showed him that he was still upon the highway to bashra. out of the glaring silver-gray, the fiery sun sailed into the lusterless blue of the dry, hot sky, leaving the two separated by the eternal belt of leaden clouds that never rise above a desert-horizon and never disperse in rain. kanana halted only for his morning prayer, and, when it was finished, the petition that he added for himself was simply "water! water! o allah! give us water." each day the heat had become more intense, and to-day it seemed almost to burn the very sand. as kanana mounted again and started on, his tired eyes sought anxiously the glaring billows for some sign of life; but not a living thing, no shadow even, broke the fearful monotony. there were gorgeous promises, but they did not deceive the eyes that had looked so often along the sand. there were great cities rising upon the distant horizon, with stately domes and graceful minarets such as were never known throughout the length and breadth of arabia. and when the bells ceased tolling in kanana's ears, he could hear the muezzin's call to prayer. then the bells would toll again and he would mutter, "water! water! o allah! give us water." he had no longer any heart to urge the tired dromedary to a faster pace. he knew that it would only be to see him fall, the sooner, upon the sand. the tired creature's head hung down till his nose touched the earth as he plodded slowly onward. the sun rose higher. it was past the hour when they always stopped, but neither thought of stopping. waiting would not bring the water to them, and the bedouin boy knew well that to lie on the desert sand that day meant to lie there forever. the dromedary knew it as well as his master, and without a word to urge him, he kept his feet slowly moving onward, like an automaton, with his nose thrust forward just above the sand, as though he too were pleading: "water! water! o allah! give us water." his eyes were closed. his feet dragged along the sand. kanana did not attempt to guide him, though he swayed from side to side, sometimes reeling and almost falling over low hillocks which he made no effort to avoid. kanana could scarcely keep his own eyes open. the glare of the desert was blinding; but their last hope lay in his watchfulness. he struggled hard to keep back the treacherous drowsiness, but his head would drop upon one shoulder, then upon the other. he could have fallen from the saddle and stretched himself upon the sand to die without a struggle, had it not been for the caliph's letter in his bosom. again and again he pressed his hand upon it to rouse himself, and muttered, "by the help of allah, i will deliver it." each time that this roused him he shaded his eyes and sought again the sand before him; but glaring and gray it stretched away to the horizon, without one shadow save that of the forest of low and brittle sand-shrubs. the burning sky grew black above him, and the desert became a fiery red. the dromedary did not seem like a living thing. he thought he was sitting upon his perch in the harvest field. the sun seemed cold, as its rays beat upon his head. he shivered and unconsciously drew the wings of his turban over his face. no wonder it was cold. it was the early morning under mount hor. yes, there were all the blue forget-me-nots. how the stream rippled and gurgled among them! he started. what was that shock that roused him? was it the robbers coming down upon him? he shook himself fiercely. was he sleeping? he struggled to spring to his feet, but they were tangled in something. at last his blood-shot eyes slowly opened and consciousness returned. the dromedary had fallen to the ground, beside--an empty well. kanana struggled to his feet and looked down among the rocks. the bottom was as dry as the sand upon which he was standing. he looked back at the dromedary. its eyes were shut. its neck was stretched straight out before it on the sand, its head rested upon the rocks of the well. "thou hast given thy life for allah and arabia," kanana said, "and when the prophet returns in his glory, he will remember thee." he took the sack of camel's food from the saddle and emptied the whole of it where the dromedary could reach it. then he cut the saddle-straps and dragged the saddle to one side. it was all that he could do for the dumb beast that had served him. suddenly he noticed that the sun was setting. all the long day he must have slept, while the poor dromedary had crept onward toward the well. it had not been a healthful sleep, but it refreshed him, and combined with the excitement of waking and working for the dromedary, he found his tongue less parched than before. quickly he took a handful of wheat and began to chew it vigorously; a secret which has saved the life of many a bedouin upon the great sea of sand. for a moment he leaned upon the empty saddle chewing the wheat, watching the sun sink into the sand and thinking. "thirteen days," he muttered. "i said fourteen when i started, but we have done better than three days in two. if we did not turn from the way to-day, this well is but one night from bashra. _o allah! mahamoud rousol il allah!_ give thy servant life for this one night." the dromedary had not moved to touch the food beside him, and there was no hope of further help from the faithful animal. kanana stood beside it for a moment, laid his hand gratefully upon the motionless head, then took up his shepherd's staff and started on. sometimes waking, sometimes sleeping as he walked, sometimes thinking himself far away from the sands of bashra, sometimes urging himself on with a realization that he must be near his journey's end, he pressed steadily on and on, hour after hour. sometimes he felt fresh enough to start and run. sometimes he wondered if he had the strength to lift his foot and put it forward another time. sometimes he felt sure that he was moving faster than a caravan, and that he should reach bashra before morning. sometimes it seemed as though the willing spirit must leave the lagging flesh behind as he had left the dromedary, and go on alone to bashra. then he would press the sacred letter hard against his bosom and repeat, "by the help of allah i will deliver it!" and all the time, though he did not realize it, he was moving forward with swift and steady strides, almost as though he were inspired with superhuman strength. far away to the east a little spark of light appeared. it grew and rose, till above the clouds there hung a thin white crescent; the narrowest line of moonlight. kanana gave a cry of joy, for it was an omen which no arab could fail to understand. then the air grew cold. the darkest hour before the dawn approached, and the narrow moon served only to make the earth invisible. the dread of meeting any one had long ago left kanana's mind. first he had feared it. then he had longed for it. now he was totally indifferent. he looked at the sky above him to keep his course. he looked at the sand beneath his feet; but he did not once search the desert before him. suddenly he was roused from his lethargy. there were shadows just ahead. he paused, shaded his eyes from the sky and looked forward, long and earnestly. "it is not sand-shrubs," he muttered. "it is too high. it is not bashra. it is too low. it is not a caravan. it does not move. it has no beginning and no end," he added, as he looked to right and left. "it is tents," he said a moment later, and a frown of anxiety gathered over his forehead. "have i missed the way? no tribe so large as that would be tented near bashra. if i turn back i shall die. if i go on--_la illaha il allah!_" he murmured, and resolutely advanced. as he drew nearer, the indistinguishable noises of the night in a vast encampment became plainly audible, but he did not hesitate. following the arab custom for every stranger in approaching a bedouin camp, he paused at the first tent he reached, and standing before the open front repeated the mussulman salutation. some one within roused quickly, and out of the darkness a deep voice sounded in reply. then kanana repeated: "i am a wanderer upon the desert. i am far from my people." and the voice replied: "if you can lift the lance for allah and arabia, you are welcome in the camp of kahled the invincible." "_la illaha il allah!_" cried kanana. "guide me quickly to the tent of kahled. i am a messenger to him from the great caliph omar." the earth reeled beneath the feet of kanana as the soldier led the way. the general was roused without the formality of modern military tactics or even mohammedan courtesies. a torch was quickly lighted. kanana prostrated himself; then rising, he handed the precious packet to the greatest general who ever led the hosts of mohammed. kahled the invincible broke the seal, but before he had read a single word, the bedouin boy fell unconscious upon the carpet of the tent. as the soldiers lifted him, kanana roused for an instant and murmured: "by the dry well, one night to the southwest, my black dromedary is dying of thirst. in allah's name, send him water! he brought the message from mecca in thirteen days!" then the torch-light faded before his eyes, and kanana's lips were sealed in unconsciousness. x kanana's third mission a vast mohammedan army, with its almost innumerable followers, was marching towards syria, to meet the hosts of the emperor heraclius. like a pillar of cloud the dust rose above the mighty throng. armed horsemen, ten thousand strong, rode in advance. a veteran guard of scarred and savage men came next, mounted upon huge camels, surrounding kahled the invincible and his chief officers, who rode upon the strongest and most beautiful of persian horses. a little distance behind were thousands of fierce warriors mounted on camels and dromedaries. then came another vast detachment of camels bearing the tents, furniture, and provisions of the army; these were followed by a motley throng, comprising the families of many of the tribes represented in the front, while still another powerful guard brought up the rear. behind the body-guard of kahled and before the war-camels rode a smaller guard, in the center of which were two camels, bearing a litter between them. upon this litter lay kanana, shielded from the sun by a goat's-hair awning; for almost of necessity the army moved by daylight. it started an hour after sunrise, resting two hours at noon, and halting an hour before sunset. it moved more rapidly than a caravan, however, and averaged twenty-five miles a day. close behind kanana's litter walked a riderless dromedary. at the start it was haggard and worn. its dark hair was burned to a dingy brown by the fierce heat of the desert; but even kahled received less careful attention, and every day it gathered strength and held its head a little higher. the black dromedary was not allowed to carry any burden, but was literally covered with gay-colored cloths; decorating the pride of omar the great, that had brought the good news from mecca to bashra in less than thirteen days. nothing pleasanter could have been announced to that terrible army of veterans surrounding the valiant kahled, than that it was to face the mightiest host which the emperor heraclius could gather in all the north. there was not one in all that throng who doubted, for an instant, that kahled could conquer the whole world if he chose, in the name of allah and the prophet. many of the soldiers had followed him since the day, years before, when he made his first grand plunge into persia. they had seen him made the supreme dictator of babylonia. they had seen him send that remarkable message to the great monarch of persia: "profess the faith of allah and his prophet, or pay tribute to their servants. if you refuse i will come upon you with a host that loves death as much as you love life." once before had they seen him summoned from his triumphs in persia, because all of the mohammedan generals and soldiers in syria were not able to cope with the power of heraclius. they had seen him invested with the supreme power by the caliph abu-bekr, omar's predecessor, and watched while, single-handed, he fought and conquered the great warrior, romanus. most of them had been with him before the walls of damascus, when he besieged that magnificently fortified city upon one side, and fought and conquered an army of a hundred thousand men upon the other side, sent from antioch, by heraclius, for the relief of the great city. then they witnessed the fall of damascus, and followed kahled as he attacked and put to flight an army outnumbering his by two to one, and equipped and drilled in the most modern methods of roman warfare. they had fought with him in the fiercest battles ever recorded of those desert lands, and they only knew him as kahled the invincible. after abu-bekr had died and omar the great had taken his place, the proud soldiers saw their general unjustly deposed and given such minor work as tenting about the besieged cities, while others did the fighting, until he left syria in disgust. no wonder they were glad to see him recalled to take his proper place. they jested without end about the cowards who were frightened because heraclius had threatened to annihilate the mussulmans. and the march was one grand holiday, in spite of heat and hardships. as kanana lay in his litter and listened to these bursts of eloquence in praise of the general, he was often stirred with ardent patriotism and almost persuaded to cast his lot among the soldiers; but the same odd theories which before had prevented his taking up a lance, restrained him still. on the fourth day he left the litter and took his seat upon the black dromedary. kahled directed that costly garments and a sword and lance be furnished him, but kanana prostrated himself before the general and pleaded: "my father, i never held a lance, and allah knows me best in this sheepskin coat." kahled frowned, but kanana sat upon the decorated dromedary precisely as he left the perch in the harvest-field. he expected to take his place with the camp-followers in the rear, but found that he was still to ride in state surrounded by the veteran guard. indeed, he became a figure so celebrated and conspicuous that many a warrior in passing, after prostrating himself before the general, touched his forehead to the ground before kanana and the black dromedary. it might have made a pleasant dream, while sitting upon the perch in the harvest-field, but the reality disturbed him, and again he began to plan some means of escape. he carefully computed the position of the beni sad encampment, and determined the day when the army would pass but a few miles to the east of it. one who has not lived upon the desert, and seen it illustrated again and again, can scarcely credit the accuracy with which a wandering bedouin can locate the direction and distance to any point with which he is familiar; but even then kanana was at a loss as to how to accomplish his purpose when the whole matter was arranged for him, and he was supplied with a work which he could perform for allah and arabia, still holding his shepherd's staff and wearing his sheepskin coat. the army halted for the night upon the eve of the day when it would pass near the encampment of the beni sads. the tent which kanana occupied was pitched next that of kahled. he sat upon the ground eating his supper. all about him was the clatter and commotion of the mighty host preparing for the night, when he heard an officer reporting to the general that in three days the supply of grain would be exhausted. "my father," he exclaimed, prostrating himself before the general, "thy servant's people, the beni sads, must be less than a night's journey to the north and west. they were harvesting six weeks ago, and must have five hundred camel-loads of grain to sell. bid me go to them to-night, and, with the help of allah, by the sunrise after to-morrow it shall be delivered to thy hand." kahled had formed a very good opinion of the bedouin boy. he had noticed his uneasiness, and, suspecting that he would make an endeavor to escape, he had been searching for some occupation that should prevent it by rendering him more content to remain. he felt that a time might come when kanana, with his sheepskin coat and shepherd's staff, might be of greater value to him than many a veteran with costly _abbe_ and gleaming sword. the result was an order that, one hour after sunset, kanana should start, at the head of a hundred horsemen, with ten camels laden with treasure for the purchase of grain, with twenty camels bearing grain-sacks, and one with gifts from kahled to the terror of the desert, in acknowledgment of the service rendered by his son. when he had purchased what grain the beni sads would sell, he was to continue in advance of the army, securing supplies to the very border of syria. kanana was no prodigy of meekness that he should not appreciate this distinction. a prouder boy has never lived, in occident or orient, than the bedouin shepherd who sat upon the black dromedary and publicly received the general's blessing and command of the caravan. in any other land there might have been rebellion among a hundred veteran horsemen, when placed under command of a boy in a sheepskin coat, armed only with a shepherd's staff, but there was no man of them who had not heard wonderful tales of kanana's courage; and the shepherd who had left the harvest field six weeks before, known only as the coward of the beni sads, set his face toward home that night, followed by a hundred savage warriors who obeyed him as one of the bravest of all the bedouins. as the caravan moved rapidly over the plain, bearing its costly burden, it is hardly surprising that the beardless chief recalled his last interview with his angry father, when that veteran sheik refused to trust him with a single horse to start upon his mission; but he was none the less anxious to reach his father's tent and receive his father's blessing. xi the sacred girdle shortly after midnight five horsemen who rode in advance returned to report a large encampment, far away upon the left. then kanana took the lead as a brave bedouin chieftain should, and, followed by the caravan, approached the smoldering fires which betrayed the location of the camp. he rode directly toward the tent of the sheik, which always stands in the outer line, farthest from a river or upon the side from which the guests of the tribe will be most likely to approach. as he approached, a shadow rose silently out of the shadows. it sniffed the air. then there was a faint grunt of satisfaction and the shadow sank down into the shadows again. kanana slipped from the back of the dromedary without waiting for him to lie down, and, running forward to the white camel, whispered, "i knew that thou wouldst know me." the terror of the desert appeared at the tent door with a hand raised in blessing. kanana ran to his father with a cry of joy, and the white-haired sheik threw his arms about the neck of his son and kissed him, saying: "forgive me, kanana, my brave kanana! i said that thou hadst come to curse me with thy cowardice, and lo! thou hast done grander, braver deeds than i in all my years! verily, thou hast put me to shame, but it is with courage, not with cowardice." kanana tried to speak, but tears choked him. all alone he could calmly face a score of savage robbers, armed to the teeth, but suddenly he discovered that he was only a boy, after all. he had almost forgotten it. and in helpless silence he clung to his father's neck. the old sheik roused himself. "kanana," he exclaimed, "why am i silent? the whole tribe waits to welcome thee. ho! every one who sleepeth!" he called aloud, "awake! awake! kanana is returned to us!" far and near the cry was repeated, and a moment later the people came hurrying to greet the hero of the beni sads. not only had the brother returned with the white camel and a glowing account of his rescue by the veiled messenger of the caliph, but a special officer had come, by a passing caravan, bearing to the terror of the desert a bag of gold and the congratulations of omar the great, that he was the father of such a son. now the gifts from kahled the invincible arrived, and the hundred horsemen obeying the voice of kanana. the beni sads could scarcely believe their eyes and ears. torches were lighted. fires were rekindled and, before sunrise, the grandest of all grand bedouin feasts was in full glory. vainly, however, did the old sheik bring out the best robe to put it on him; with a ring for his hand and shoes for his feet; in a custom for celebrating a son's return which was old when the story of the prodigal was told. kanana only shook his head and answered, "my father, allah knows me best barefooted and in this sheepskin coat." the bedouin seldom tastes of meat except upon the occasion of some feast. when a common guest arrives, unleavened bread is baked and served with _ayesh_, a paste of sour camel's milk and flour. but kanana was not a common guest. for one of higher rank coffee and melted butter is prepared, but these were not enough for a welcome to kanana. for one still higher a kid or lamb is boiled in camel's milk and placed in a great wooden dish covered with melted fat and surrounded by a paste of wheat that has been boiled and dried and ground and boiled again with butter. twenty lambs and kids were thus prepared, but the people were not satisfied. nothing was left but the greatest and grandest dish which a bedouin tribe can add to a feast in an endeavor to do honor to its noblest guest. two she-camels were killed and the meat quickly distributed to be boiled and roasted. all for the boy who had left them, six weeks before, with no word of farewell but the parting taunt of a rat-catcher. while the men were eating the meat and drinking camel's milk and coffee, the women sang patriotic songs, often substituting kanana's name for that of some great hero; and when the men had finished and the women gathered in the maharems to feast upon what was left, the terror of the desert, roused to the highest pitch of patriotism, declared his intention to join the army of kahled, and nearly two hundred of the beni sads resolved to follow him. it was nearly noon when kanana and those who were with him went to sleep in the goat's-hair tents, leaving the whole tribe at work, packing the grain-sacks, loading the camels, and cleaning their weapons for war. kanana performed his mission faithfully, little dreaming that kahled's one design in placing it in his hands was to keep him with the army for services of much greater importance. the time which the general anticipated came when the hosts of kahled, joined by the mohammedan armies of syria and arabia, were finally encamped at yermonk upon the borders of palestine. kanana was summoned to the general's tent and, trembling like the veriest coward in all the world, he fell upon his face before the man to whom was entrusted the almost hopeless task of rescuing arabia. to kahled alone all eyes were turned and kanana trembled, not because he was frightened, but because he was alone in the tent with one who seemed to him but little less than god himself. kahled's words were always few and quickly spoken. "son of the terror of the desert," said he, "many conflicting rumors reach me concerning the approaching enemy. i want the truth. i want it quickly. what dost thou require to aid thee in performing this duty?" kanana's forehead still touched the ground. overwhelmed by this sudden order, an attempt to obey which meant death, without mercy, without one chance in a hundred of escape, he altogether forgot to rise. kahled sat in silence, understanding human nature too well to disturb the boy, and for five minutes neither moved. then kanana rose slowly and his voice trembled a little as he replied, "my father, i would have thy fleetest horse, thy blessing, and thy girdle." kahled the invincible wore a girdle that was known to every soldier and camp-follower of the army. it was of camel's-skin, soft-tanned and colored with a brilliant persian dye, which as far away as it could be seen at all, no one could mistake. it was part of a magnificent curtain which once hung in the royal palace of babylon. it pleased the fancy of the fierce warrior, and he wore it as a girdle till it became his only insignia. there was not a color like it within hundreds of miles at least, and when the people saw it they knew that it was kahled. "take what horse thou wilt," replied the general. "i give thee, now, my blessing." then he hesitated for a moment. had kanana asked a hundred camels or a thousand horsemen he would have added, "take them." as it was, he said, a little doubtfully, "what wouldst thou with my girdle?" in all the direct simplicity which clung to him in spite of everything, kanana replied: "i would hide it under my coat; i would that it be proclaimed throughout the army that some one has fled to the enemy with the sacred girdle, and that a great reward be offered to him who shall return to kahled any fragment of it he may find." without another word, the general unwound the sacred girdle, and kanana, reverently touching it to his forehead, bound it about him under his sheepskin coat. kneeling, he received the blessing, and leaving the tent, he selected the best of kahled's horses and disappeared in the darkness, alone. [illustration: kneeling, he received the blessing.] the next morning an oppressive sense of inaction hung about the headquarters. the only order issued accompanied an announcement of the loss of the sacred girdle. every soldier was commanded to be on the watch for it, to seize and to return at once to kahled, even the smallest fragment which might be found. for this the fortunate man was promised as many gold coins as, lying flat, could be made to touch the piece which he returned. xii kanana's messengers far and wide the impatient soldiers asked, "why is the army inactive?" "is not the motto of kahled 'waiting does not win'?" "has he not taught us that action is the soul and secret of success?" "does he not realize that the hosts of heraclius are bearing down upon us, that he leaves us sitting idly in our tents?" "is kahled the invincible afraid?" such were the questions which they put to their officers, but no one dared carry them to the general, who sat in his tent without speaking, from sunrise to sunset, the first day after the girdle disappeared. "is it the loss of his girdle?" "did he not conquer babylonia without it?" "does he not fight in the name of allah and the prophet? could a bright-colored girdle give him strength?" thus the second day went by. kahled the invincible was silent and sullen, and the impression grew and grew that in some way the safety and success of the whole army depended upon the recovery of that girdle. so intense was this sentiment, that when at midnight, after the third day, it was reported that a fragment of the girdle had been captured by some scouts, and was then being taken to the general's tent, the whole army roused itself and prepared for action. not an order had been issued, yet every soldier felt instinctively that the coming morning would find him on the march. it was midnight. for a day kahled had not even tasted food. he sat alone in his tent upon a persian ottoman. a bronze vessel from babylonia, filled with oil, stood near the center of the tent. fragments of burning wick, floating in the oil, filled the tent with a mellow, amber light. there was excitement without, but kahled did not heed it till a soldier unceremoniously entered, bearing in his hand a part of the curtain from the palace of babylon. with a sudden ejaculation kahled caught it from the soldier's hand, but ashamed of having betrayed an emotion, he threw it carelessly upon the rug at his feet, handing the soldier a bag of gold, and bidding him see how many pieces, lying flat, could touch it. the soldier worked slowly, carefully planning the position as he laid the pieces down, and kahled watched him as indifferently as though he were only moving men upon the arab's favorite checker-board. when every piece that could was touching the camel skin, the soldier returned the bag, half-emptied, and began to gather up his share. kahled deliberately emptied the bag, bidding him take the whole and go. he was leaving the tent when the general called him back. he had picked up the skin, and was carelessly turning it over in his hand. it was neatly cut from the girdle, in the shape of a shield, a little over a foot in width. "how did you come by it?" kahled asked indifferently. "we were searching the plain, a day's journey to the north," the soldier answered. "we were looking for travelers who might bring tidings of the enemy. we saw four strangers, syrians, riding slowly, and a shepherd who seemed to be their guide. upon his horse's front, hung like a breastplate, where every eye could see, was yonder piece of the sacred girdle. we dashed upon them, and the cowards ran. the shepherd was the last to turn. i was ahead, but not near enough to reach him, so i threw my lance. he fell from his horse and--" "you killed him?" shrieked the general, springing to his feet and dropping the camel skin. "no! no!" gasped the frightened soldier. "i only tried to. he wore a coat of sheepskin. it was too thick for my lance. he sprang to his feet, tore the lance from his coat, and ran after the rest, faster even than they could ride, leaving his horse behind." "'tis well," muttered the general, and he devoutly added, "allah be praised for that sheepskin coat!" the soldier left the tent, and going nearer to the light, kahled examined the fragment of the sacred girdle. it was double. two pieces had been cut and the edges joined together. he carefully separated them, and upon the inner side found what he evidently expected. these words had been scratched upon the leather, and traced with blood: "sixty thousand, from antioch and aleppo, under jababal the traitor, encamp two days from yermonk, north, waiting for manuel with eighty thousand greeks and syrians, now six days away. still another army is yet behind. thy servant goes in search of manuel when this is sent." "allah be praised for that sheepskin coat!" kahled repeated, placing the fragment in his belt, and walking slowly up and down the tent. "jababal is two days to the north," he added presently. "a day ago manuel was six days behind him. he will be still three days behind when i reach jababal, and while he is yet two days away, the sixty thousand in advance will be destroyed." an order was given for ten thousand horsemen and fifteen thousand camel riders to start for the north at once. the soldiers expected it, and were ready even before the general. four days and a night went by, and they were again encamped at yermonk; but jababal's army of sixty thousand men, was a thing of the past. again a strip of the girdle was discovered. this time it hung upon the neck of a camel leading into the camp a long caravan laden with grain and fruit. the camel-driver reported that one had met them while they were upon the way to supply the army of manuel. he had warned them that manuel would simply confiscate the whole and make them prisoners, and had promised that if they turned southward instead, to the camp of kahled, with the talisman which he hung about the camel's neck, they should be well received and fairly treated. from this talisman kahled learned that the army of manuel was almost destitute of provisions, and that a detachment with supplies was another five or six days behind. the general smiled as he thought how the bedouin boy had shrewdly deprived the hungry enemy of a hundred and fifty camel-loads of food, while he secured for himself an excellent messenger to his friends. during the night manuel's magnificent army arrived, and encamped just north of the mohammedans. manuel chose for his citadel a high cliff that rose abruptly out of the plain between the two armies, and ended in a precipitous ledge toward arabia. standing upon the brow of this cliff, a little distance from the tent of manuel, one could look far down the valley, over the entire mohammedan encampment. when morning dawned, the prince sent for the leading mohammedan generals to confer with him concerning terms of peace. he offered to allow the entire army to retire unmolested, if hostages were given that the arabs should never again enter syria. the mohammedan generals, who had been thoroughly dismayed at the sight of the grecian phalanx, thanked allah for such a merciful deliverance, and instantly voted to accept. the real authority, however, rested with kahled, who replied, "remember jababal!" with so many in favor of peace, manuel hoped for an acceptance of his terms, and proposed that they consider the matter for a day. kahled, with his hand upon the camel-skin in his belt, replied again: "remember jababal!" he realized that his only hope of victory lay in striking a tired and hungry enemy, and that each hour's delay was dangerous. less than half an hour later he was riding along the line of battle shouting the battle cry: "paradise is before you! fight for it!" the soldiers were ready, and there began the most desperate struggle that was ever waged upon the plains of syria. all day long the furious conflict raged. three times the bedouins were driven back. three times the cries and entreaties of their women and children in the rear urged them to renew the fight, and again they plunged furiously upon the solid grecian phalanx. night came, and neither army had gained or lost, but among the bedouin captives taken by the greeks were several who recognized kanana. they saw him moving freely about the enemy's camp. they learned that he was supposed to be a servant who had fled, with other camp-followers, at the time of the slaughter of jababal's army. they could see in it nothing but cowardly desertion. they said: "he was afraid that we should be conquered, and instead of standing by us to fight for arabia, he ran to the enemy to hide himself;" and in their anger they betrayed him. they reported to the greeks that he was a bedouin, of the army of kahled, not a syrian servant of jababal. kanana was quickly seized, bound and dragged into the presence of the prince. manuel had suspected that some one had betrayed both jababal and himself to kahled, and chagrined at the result of the first day's battle, he fiercely accused kanana. calmly the bedouin boy admitted that it was he who had given the information, and he waited without flinching as manuel drew his sword. "boy, dost thou not fear to die?" he exclaimed, as he brandished his sword before kanana. "i fear nothing!" replied kanana proudly. "take him away and guard him carefully," muttered the prince. "dying is too easy for such as he. he must be tortured first." the second day and the third were like the first. the army of the prophet fought with a desperation that never has been equaled. the ishmaelite counted his life as nothing so that he saw a greek fall with him. it was the fate of allah and arabia for which they fought, and they stood as though rooted to the ground, knowing of no retreat but death. again and again their general's voice rang loud above the clashing arms: "paradise is before you if you fight! hell waits for him who runs!" and they fought and fought and fought, and not a man dared turn his back. again and again the grecian phalanx advanced, but they found a wall before them as solid as the cliff behind them. when a bedouin lay dead he ceased to fight, but not before; and the moment he fell, another sprang forward from behind to take his place. xiii the lance of kanana the army of the prophet had not retreated one foot from its original position, when night brought the third day's battle to a close. kahled sank upon the ground among his soldiers, while the women from the rear brought what refreshment they could to the tired warriors. all night he lay awake beside his gray battle-horse, looking at the stars and thinking. flight or death would surely be the result of the coming day. even kahled the invincible, had given up all hope of victory. he was too brave a man to fly, but he was also too brave to force others to stand and be slaughtered for his pride. it was a bitter night for him, but as the eastern sky was tinged with gray, he at last resolved to make the sacrifice himself, and save such of his people as he could. the women and children, with the wounded who could be moved, must leave at once, taking all that they could carry with them, and scatter themselves in every direction. when they were well away, he, with such as preferred to stand and die with him, would hold the foe in check while the rest of the army retreated, with orders to march at once to mecca and medina, and hold those two sacred cities as long as a man remained alive. he breathed a deep sigh when the plan was completed, and rising, mounted his tired charger, to see that it was properly executed. it was the first time in his career that kahled the invincible had ordered a retreat, and his only consolation was that he was neither to lead nor join in it. in the camp of manuel the same dread of the coming day clouded every brow. food was entirely exhausted. horses and camels had been devoured. they had neither the means with which to move away, nor the strength to stand their ground. their solid phalanx was only what the enemy saw along the front. rank after rank had been supplied from the rear till there was nothing left to call upon. all that remained of the eighty thousand iron-hearted fighters--the pride of the emperor heraclius--as they gathered about the low camp fires, confessed that they were overmatched by the sharper steel of mohammedan zeal and bedouin patriotism. manuel and his officers knew that for at least three days no relief could reach them; they knew, too, that they could not endure another day of fighting. "if we could make them think that their men are deserting and joining us, we might frighten them," suggested an officer. "send for the spy," said manuel quickly, "and let it be proclaimed to the other prisoners that all who will join us shall be set free, and that those who refuse shall be slaughtered without mercy." haggard and worn kanana stood before him. for fifty hours he had lain bound, in a cave at the foot of the cliff, without a drop of water or a morsel of food. "i am about to torture thee," said the prince. "thou hast wronged me more than thy sufferings can atone, but i shall make them as bitter as i can. hast thou anything to say before the work begins?" kanana thought for a moment, then, hesitating as though still doubtful, he replied: "when the tempest rages on the desert, doth not the camel lay him down, and the young camel say to the drifting sand, 'cover me; kill me, i am helpless'? but among the captives taken by the prince, i saw an old man pass my cave. he is full of years, and for him i would part my lips. i hear that the prince will have the prisoners slain, but it is not the custom of my people to make the women, the old men, and the children suffer with the rest. may it please the prince to double every torture he has prepared for me, and in exchange to set that old man free?" "who is he?" asked the prince. "the one with a long white beard. there are not two," replied kanana. "and what is he to you?" kanana hesitated. "he shall die unless you tell me," said the prince, and kanana's cold lips trembled as he whispered: "he is my father." "'tis well," said manuel. "let him be brought." the old man entered, but paused at the opposite side of the tent, looking reproachfully at his son. he had heard from the other captives how they had discovered kanana, a deserter in the hour of danger, living in the tents of the enemy. even he had believed the tale, and he was enough of a patriot to be glad that they betrayed his son. "is this thy father?" asked the prince. "he does not look it in his eyes." kanana simply bowed his head. that look was piercing his heart far deeper than the threats of torture; but manuel continued: "you have offered to suffer every torture i can devise if i will set him free. but you have not compassed your debt to me. you gave to kahled the information by which he conquered jababal. you gave him information which prevented his making terms of peace with me. but for you i should be on my way to mecca and medina, to sweep them from the earth. but i like courage, and you have shown more of it than kahled himself. it is a pity to throw a heart like yours under a clod of earth, and i will give you an opportunity to save both yourself and your father. stand upon the brow of the cliff yonder, as the sun comes up. there, according to the custom of your people, wave this lance above your head. shout your own name and your father's, so that all of your people can hear, and tell them that in one hour thirty thousand arabs will draw the sword for the cause of heraclius. then throw the lance, and if your aim be good, and you do kill an arab, that moment i will set thy father free, and thou shalt be made a prince among my people. do not refuse me, or, after i have tortured thee, with red-hot irons i will burn out thy father's eyes, lest he should still look savagely upon thy corpse!" he had scarcely ceased speaking when the old sheik exclaimed: "my son! my kanana, i have wronged thee! forgive me if thou canst, but let him burn out my eyes! oh! not for all the eyes that watch the stars would i have a son of mine a traitor. thou wouldst not lift a lance before. i charge thee now, by allah, lift it not for any price that can be offered thee by this dog of an infidel!" kanana did not look at his father. his eyes were fixed on manuel, and when all was still, he asked: "will the prince allow his captive to sit alone till sunrise and consider his offer?" "take him out upon the cliff and let him sit alone," said manuel; "but have the irons heated for his father's eyes." kanana chose a spot whence he could overlook the valley, and whatever his first intentions may have been, he changed them instantly, with his first glance. he started, strained his eyes, and looked as far as his keen sight could pierce the gray light of early morning. then his head sank lower and lower over his hands, lying in his lap, till the wings of his turban completely covered them. he did not move or look again. in that one glance he had recognized the result of kahled's last resolve. in the gray distance he saw that laden camels were moving to the south. he saw the dark spots, most distant in the valley, suddenly disappear. they were folding their tents! they were moving away! kahled the invincible had ordered a retreat. kanana knew that to retreat at that moment meant death to arabia, but he did not move again till an officer touched him on the shoulder, and warned him that in a moment more the sun would rise. with a startled shudder he rose and entered manuel's tent. "is the word of the prince unchanged?" he asked. "if i speak the words and throw the lance and kill an arab, that moment will he set my father free?" "i swear it by all the powers of earth and heaven!" replied the prince. "give me the lance," said kanana. his father crouched against the tent, muttering: "for such an act, kanana, when i am set free i will find first a fire with which to heat an iron, and burn my own eyes out." kanana did not heed him. he took the lance, tested it, and threw it scornfully upon the ground. "give me a heavier one!" he exclaimed. "do you think me like your greek boys, made of wax? give me a lance that, when it strikes, will kill." they gave him a heavier lance. "the hand-rest is too small for a bedouin," he muttered, grasping it; "but wait! i can remedy that myself. come. let us have it over with." as he spoke he tore a strip from beneath his coat, and, turning sharply about, walked before them to the brink of the cliff, winding the strip firmly about the hand-rest of the lance. upon the very edge he stood erect and waited. the sun rose out of the plain, and flashed with blinding force upon the bedouin boy, clad in his sheepskin coat and desert turban, precisely as it had found him in the porch of aaron's tomb, upon the summit of mount hor. his hand no longer held a shepherd's staff, but firmly grasped a grecian lance, that gleamed and flashed as fiercely as the sun. upon mount hor he was bending forward, eagerly shading his eyes, anxiously looking away into the dim distance, searching the path of his destiny. now there was no eagerness. calmly he stood there. vainly the sun flashed in his clear, wide-open eyes. he did not even know that it was shining. not a muscle moved. why was he waiting? "are you afraid?" muttered the prince, who had come as near as possible without being too plainly seen from below. "remember your old father's eyes." kanana did not turn his head, but calmly answered: "do you see yonder a man upon a gray horse, moving slowly among the soldiers? he is coming nearer, nearer. that man is kahled the invincible. if he should come within range of the lance of kanana, i suppose that manuel would be well pleased to wait?" "good boy! brave boy!" replied the prince. "when thou hast made thy mind to do a thing, thou doest it admirably. kill him, and thou shalt be loaded down with gold till the day when thou diest of old age." kanana made no reply, but standing in bold relief upon the cliff, watched calmly and waited, till at last kahled the invincible left the line of soldiers, and alone rode nearer to the cliff. "now is your chance! now! now!" exclaimed the prince. slowly kanana raised the lance. three times he waved it above his head. three times he shouted: "i am kanana, son of the terror of the desert!" in the manner of the bedouin who challenges an enemy to fight, or meets a foe upon the plain. for a moment, then, he hesitated. the next sentence was hard to speak. he knew too well what the result would be. it needed now no straining of the eyes to see his destiny. all the vast army down below was looking up at him. thousands would hear his words. tens of thousands would see what followed them. "go on! go on!" the prince ejaculated fiercely. kanana drew a deep breath and shouted: "in one hour thirty thousand arabs will draw the sword in the army of heraclius!" then gathering all his strength, he hurled the lance directly at the great mohammedan general, who had not moved since he began to speak. throughout those two great armies one might have heard a sparrow chirp, as the gleaming, flashing blade fell like a meteor from the cliff. the aim was accurate. the bedouin boy cringed, and one might have imagined that it was even more accurate than he meant. it pierced the gray charger. the war-horse of kahled plunged forward and fell dead upon the plain. a fierce howl rose from the ranks of the ishmaelites. men and women shrieked and yelled. "kanana the traitor! a curse upon the traitor kanana!" rent the very air. such was the confusion which followed that, had the greeks been ready to advance, a thousand might have put a hundred thousand bedouins to flight. but they were not ready. kanana stood motionless upon the cliff. he heard the yells of "traitor!" hut he knew that they would come, and did not heed them. calmly he watched till kahled gained his feet, dragged the lance from his dying horse, and with it in his hand, hurried toward the soldiers. only once he turned, and for an instant looked up at the solitary figure upon the cliff. he lifted his empty hand, as though it were a blessing and not a malediction, he bestowed upon the bedouin boy; then he disappeared. with a deep, shivering sigh, kanana pressed one hand beneath his sheepskin coat. a sharp contortion passed over him, but he turned about and stood calmly, face to face with manuel. "you did well," said the prince, "but you did not kill an arab. it was for that i made my promise." "'and if you kill an arab,'" gasped kanana, "'that moment i will set your father free'! those were the prince's words! that was his promise, bound by all the powers of earth and heaven! he will keep it! he will not dare defy those powers, for i have killed an arab!" clutching the sheepskin coat, kanana tore it open, and, above a brilliant girdle, they saw a dagger buried in his bleeding breast. he tottered, reeled, stepped backward, and fell over the brink of the cliff. "you may as well go free," said manuel, turning to the sheik. "a monstrous sacrifice has just been made to purchase your liberty." turning abruptly he entered his tent to consider, with his officers, the next result. "i think they are flying," an officer reported, coming from the cliff. "the horsemen and camels are hurrying into the hills. only foot soldiers seem remaining in the front." "let every soldier face them who has strength to stand!" commanded the prince. "put everything to the front, and if they fly give them every possible encouragement." the order was obeyed, and the fourth day of battle began; but it was spiritless and slow. the bedouins, with their constantly thinning ranks, stood with grim determination where their feet rested, but they made no effort to advance. the wearied out and starving grecian phalanx simply held its ground. the prince was not there to urge his soldiers on. the voice of kahled did not sound among the mussulmans. an hour went by. suddenly there was an uproar in the rear of the army of heraclius. there was a wild shout, a clash of arms, and the watch-word of islam rang above the tumult, in every direction. ten thousand horse and twenty thousand war-camels poured in upon that defenceless rear, and, even as kanana had declared, in just one hour there were thirty thousand arabs wielding their savage swords in the army of heraclius. another hour went by. the battle cry of kahled ceased. the shout of victory rang from the throats of the mussulmans. manuel and all his officers were slain. the magnificent army of heraclius was literally obliterated. treasure without limit glutted the conquered camp. arabia was saved. quickly the soldiers erected a gorgeous throne and summoned kahled to sit upon it, while they feasted about him and did him honor as their victorious and invincible leader. the veteran warrior responded to their call, but he came from his tent with his head bowed down, bearing in his arms a heavy burden. slowly he mounted the platform, and upon the sumptuous throne he laid his burden down. it was the bruised and lifeless body of kanana. with trembling hand the grim chief drew back the sheepskin coat, and all men then beheld, bound about the bedouin boy, the sacred girdle! "i gave it to him," said kahled solemnly; "and upon the fragments you have returned to me, he wrote the information by which we conquered jababal and manuel. you saw him throw this lance at me; you called him 'traitor!' but about the hand-rest there was wound this strip. see! in blood--in his blood--these words are written here: 'do not retreat. the infidels are starving and dying. strike them in the rear.' it was his only means of reaching me. it was not the act of a traitor. no! it was the lance of kanana that rescued _arabia_." [illustration: "i gave it to him," said kahled, solemnly.] the end * * * * * american heroes and heroines by pauline carrington bouvÉ illustrated this book, which will tend directly toward the making of patriotism in young americans, contains some twenty brief, clever and attractive sketches of famous men and women in american history, among them father marquette, anne hutchinson, israel putnam, molly pitcher, paul jones, dolly madison, daniel boone, etc. mrs. bouvé is well known as a writer both of fiction and history, and her work in this case is admirable. "the style of the book for simplicity and clearness of expression could hardly be excelled."--_boston budget._ * * * * * the scarlet patch the story of a patriot boy in the mohawk valley by mary e. q. brush illustrated by george w. picknell "the scarlet patch" was the badge of a tory organization, and a loyal patriot boy, donald bastien, is dismayed at learning that his uncle, with whom he is a "bound boy," is secretly connected with this treacherous band. thrilling scenes follow in which a faithful indian figures prominently, and there is a vivid presentation of the school and home life as well as the public affairs of those times. "a book that will be most valuable to the library of the young boy."--_providence news._ * * * * * stories of brave old times some pen pictures of scenes which took place previous to, or connected with, the american revolution by helen m. cleveland profusely illustrated it is a book for every library, a book for adults, and a book for the young. perhaps no other book yet written sets the great cost of freedom so clearly before the young, consequently is such a spur to patriotism. "it can unqualifiedly be commended as a book for youthful readers; its great wealth of illustrations adding to its value."--_chicago news._ none the book of the thousand nights and one night: now first completely done into english prose and verse, from the original arabic, by john payne (author of "the masque of shadows," "intaglios: sonnets," "songs of life and death," "lautrec," "the poems of master francis villon of paris," "new poems," etc, etc.). in nine volumes: volume the first. london printed for subscribers only delhi edition contents of the first volume. introduction. story of king shehriyar and his brother a. story of the ox and the ass . the merchant and the genie a. the first old man's story b. the second old man's story c. the third old man's story . the fisherman and the genie a. story of the physician douban ab. story of king sindbad and his falcon ac. story of the king's son and the ogress b. story of the enchanted youth . the porter and the three ladies of baghdad a. the first calender's story b. the second calender's story ba. story of the envier and the envied c. the third calender's story d. the eldest lady's story e. the story of the portress . the three apples . noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan . story of the hunchback a. the christian broker's story b. the controller's story c. the jewish physician's story d. the tailor's story e. the barber's story ea. story of the barber's first brother eb. story of the barber's second brother ec. story of the barber's third brother ed. story of the barber's fourth brother ee. story of the barber's fifth brother ef. story of the barber's sixth brother . noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelis . ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love a. story of the eunuch bekhit b. story of the eunich kafour prefatory note. the present is, i believe, the first complete translation of the great arabic compendium of romantic fiction that has been attempted in any european language comprising about four times as much matter as that of galland and three times as much as that of any other translator known to myself; and a short statement of the sources from which it is derived may therefore be acceptable to my readers. three printed editions, more or less complete, exist of the arabic text of the thousand and one nights; namely, those of breslau, boulac (cairo) and calcutta ( ), besides an incomplete one, comprising the first two hundred nights only, published at calcutta in . of these, the first is horribly corrupt and greatly inferior, both in style and completeness, to the others, and the second (that of boulac) is also, though in a far less degree, incomplete, whole stories (as, for instance, that of the envier and the envied in the present volume) being omitted and hiatuses, varying in extent from a few lines to several pages, being of frequent occurrence, whilst in addition to these defects, the editor, a learned egyptian, has played havoc with the style of his original, in an ill-judged attempt to improve it, producing a medley, more curious than edifying, of classical and semi-modern diction and now and then, in his unlucky zeal, completely disguising the pristine meaning of certain passages. the third edition, that which we owe to sir william macnaghten and which appears to have been printed from a superior copy of the manuscript followed by the egyptian editor, is by far the most carefully printed and edited of the three and offers, on the whole, the least corrupt and most comprehensive text of the work. i have therefore adopted it as my standard or basis of translation and have, to the best of my power, remedied the defects (such as hiatuses, misprints, doubtful or corrupt passages, etc.) which are of no infrequent occurrence even in this, the best of the existing texts, by carefully collating it with the editions of boulac and breslau (to say nothing of occasional references to the earlier calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights), adopting from one and the other such variants, additions and corrections as seemed to me best calculated to improve the general effect and most homogeneous with the general spirit of the work, and this so freely that the present version may be said, in great part, to represent a variorum text of the original, formed by a collation of the different printed texts; and no proper estimate can, therefore, be made of the fidelity of the translation, except by those who are intimately acquainted with the whole of these latter. even with the help of the new lights gained by the laborious process of collation and comparison above mentioned, the exact sense of many passages must still remain doubtful, so corrupt are the extant texts and so incomplete our knowledge, as incorporated in dictionaries, etc, of the peculiar dialect, half classical and half modern, in which the original work is written. one special feature of the present version is the appearance, for the first time, in english metrical shape, preserving the external form and rhyme movement of the originals, of the whole of the poetry with which the arabic text is so freely interspersed. this great body of verse, equivalent to at least ten thousand twelve-syllable english lines, is of the most unequal quality, varying from poetry worthy of the name to the merest doggrel, and as i have, in pursuance of my original scheme, elected to translate everything, good and bad (with a very few exceptions in cases of manifest mistake or misapplication), i can only hope that my readers will, in judging of my success, take into consideration the enormous difficulties with which i have had to contend and look with indulgence upon my efforts to render, under unusually irksome conditions, the energy and beauty of the original, where these qualities exist, and in their absence, to keep my version from degenerating into absolute doggrel. the present translation being intended as a purely literary work produced with the sole object of supplying the general body of cultivated readers with a fairly representative and characteristic version of the most famous work of narrative fiction in existence, i have deemed it advisable to depart, in several particulars, from the various systems of transliteration of oriental proper names followed by modern scholars, as, although doubtless admirably adapted to works having a scientific or non-literary object, they rest mainly upon devices (such as the use of apostrophes, accents, diacritical points and the employment of both vowels and consonants in unusual groups and senses) foreign to the genius of the english language and calculated only to annoy the reader of a work of imagination. of these points of departure from established usage i need only particularize some of the more important; the others will, in general, be found to speak for themselves. one of the most salient is the case of the short vowel fet-heh, which is usually written [a breve], but which i have thought it better to render, as a rule, by [e breve], as in "bed" (a sound practically equivalent to that of a, as in "beggar," adopted by the late mr. lane to represent this vowel), reserving the english a, as in "father," to represent the alif of prolongation or long arabic a, since i should else have no means of differentiating the latter from the former, save by the use of accents or other clumsy expedients, at once, to my mind, foreign to the purpose and vexatious to the reader of a work of pure literature. in like manner, i have eschewed the use of the letter q, as an equivalent for the dotted or guttural kaf (choosing to run the risk of occasionally misleading the reader as to the original arabic form of a word by leaving him in ignorance whether the k used is the dotted or undotted one,--a point of no importance whatever to the non-scientific public,--rather than employ an english letter in a manner completely unwarranted by the construction of our language, in which q has no power as a terminal or as moved by any vowel other than u, followed by one of the four others) and have supplied its place, where the dotted kaf occurs as a terminal or as preceding a hard vowel, by the hard c, leaving k to represent it (in common with the undotted kaf generally) in those instances where it is followed by a soft vowel. for similar reasons, i have not attempted to render the arabic quasi-consonant aïn, save by the english vowel corresponding to that by which it is moved, preferring to leave the guttural element of its sound (for which we have no approach to an equivalent in english) unrepresented, rather than resort to the barbarous and meaningless device of the apostrophe. again, the principle, in accordance with which i have rendered the proper names of the original, is briefly (and subject to certain variations on the ground of convenience and literary fitness) to preserve unaltered such names as tigris, bassora, cairo, aleppo, damascus, etc., which are familiar to us otherwise than by the arabian nights and to alter which, for the sake of mere literality, were as gratuitous a piece of pedantry as to insist upon writing copenhagen kjobenhavn, or canton kouang-tong, and to transliterate the rest as nearly as may consist with a due regard to artistic considerations. the use of untranslated arabic words, other than proper names, i have, as far as possible, avoided, rendering them, with very few exceptions, by the best english equivalents in my power, careful rather to give the general sense, where capable of being conveyed by reasonable substitution of idiom or otherwise, than to retain the strict letter at the expense of the spirit; nor, on the other hand, have i thought it necessary to alter the traditional manner of spelling certain words which have become incorporated with our language, where (as in the case of the words genie, houri, roe, khalif, vizier, cadi, bedouin, etc. etc.) the english equivalent is fairly representative of the original arabic. i have to return my cordial thanks to captain richard f. burton, the well-known traveller and author, who has most kindly undertaken to give me the benefit of his great practical knowledge of the language and customs of the arabs in revising the manuscript of my translation for the press. the book of the thousand nights and one night in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful! praise be to god, the lord of the two worlds,[fn# ] and blessing and peace upon the prince of the prophets, our lord and master mohammed, whom god bless and preserve with abiding and continuing peace and blessing until the day of the faith! of a verity, the doings of the ancients become a lesson to those that follow after, so that men look upon the admonitory events that have happened to others and take warning, and come to the knowledge of what befell bygone peoples and are restrained thereby. so glory be to him who hath appointed the things that have been done aforetime for an example to those that come after! and of these admonitory instances are the histories called the thousand nights and one night, with all their store of illustrious fables and relations. it is recorded in the chronicles of the things that have been done of time past that there lived once, in the olden days and in bygone ages and times, a king of the kings of the sons of sasan, who reigned over the islands[fn# ] of india and china and was lord of armies and guards and servants and retainers. he had two sons, an elder and a younger, who were both valiant cavaliers, but the elder was a stouter horseman than the younger. when their father died, he left his empire to his elder son, whose name was shehriyar, and he took the government and ruled his subjects justly, so that the people of the country and of the empire loved him well, whilst his brother shahzeman became king of samarcand of tartary. the two kings abode each in his own dominions, ruling justly over their subjects and enjoying the utmost prosperity and happiness, for the space of twenty years, at the end of which time the elder king yearned after his brother and commanded his vizier to repair to the latter's court and bring him to his own capital. the vizier replied, "i hear and obey," and set out at once and journeyed till he reached king shahzeman's court in safety, when he saluted him for his brother and informed him that the latter yearned after him and desired that he would pay him a visit, to which king shahzeman consented gladly and made ready for the journey and appointed his vizier to rule the country in his stead during his absence. then he caused his tents and camels and mules to be brought forth and encamped, with his guards and attendants, without the city, in readiness to set out next morning for his brother's kingdom. in the middle of the night, it chanced that he bethought him of somewhat he had forgotten in his palace; so he returned thither privily and entered his apartments, where he found his wife asleep in his own bed, in the arms of one of his black slaves. when he saw this, the world grew black in his sight, and he said to himself, "if this is what happens whilst i am yet under the city walls, what will be the condition of this accursed woman during my absence at my brother's court?" then he drew his sword and smote the twain and slew them and left them in the bed and returned presently to his camp, without telling any one what had happened. then he gave orders for immediate departure and set out a'once and travelled till he drew near his brother's capital when he despatched vaunt-couriers to announce his approach. his brother came forth to meet him and saluted him and rejoiced exceedingly and caused the city to be decorated in his honour. then he sat down with him to converse and make merry; but king shahzeman could not forget the perfidy of his wife and grief grew on him more and more and his colour changed and his body became weak. shehriyar saw his condition, but attributed it to his separation from his country and his kingdom, so let him alone and asked no questions of him, till one day he said to him, "o my brother, i see that thou art grown weak of body and hast lost thy colour." and shahzeman answered, "o my brother, i have an internal wound," but did not tell him about his wife. said shehriyar, "i wish thou wouldst ride forth with me a-hunting; maybe it would lighten thy heart." but shahzeman refused; so his brother went out to hunt without him. now there were in king shahzeman's apartments lattice-windows overlooking his brother's garden, and as the former was sitting looking on the garden, behold a gate of the palace opened, and out came twenty damsels and twenty black slaves, and among them his brother's wife, who was wonderfully fair and beautiful. they all came up to a fountain, where the girls and slaves took off their clothes and sat down together. then the queen called out, "o mesoud!" and there came to her a black slave, who embraced her and she him. then he lay with her, and on likewise did the other slaves with the girls. and they ceased not from kissing and clipping and cricketing and carousing until the day began to wane. when the king of tartary saw this, he said to himself, "by allah, my mischance was lighter than this!" and his grief and chagrin relaxed from him and he said, "this is more grievous than what happened to me!" so he put away his melancholy and ate and drank. presently, his brother came back from hunting and they saluted each other: and shehriyar looked at shahzeman and saw that his colour had returned and his face was rosy and he ate heartily, whereas before he ate but little. so he said to him, "o my brother, when i last saw thee, thou wast pale and wan, and now i see that the colour has returned to thy face. tell me how it is with thee." quoth shahzeman, "i will tell thee what caused my loss of colour, but excuse me from acquainting thee with the cause of its return to me." said shehriyar, "let me hear first what was the cause of thy pallor and weakness." "know then, o my brother," rejoined shahzeman, "that when thou sentest thy vizier to bid me to thee, i made ready for the journey and had actually quitted my capital city, when i remembered that i had left behind me a certain jewel, that which i gave thee. so i returned to my palace, where i found my wife asleep in my bed, in the arms of a black slave. i slew them both and came to thee; and it was for brooding over this affair, that i lost my colour and became weak. but forgive me if i tell thee not the cause of my restoration to health." when his brother heard this, he said to him, "i conjure thee by allah, tell me the reason of thy recovery!" so he told him all that he had seen, and shehriyar said, "i must see this with my own eyes." "then," replied shahzeman, "feign to go forth to hunt and hide thyself in my lodging and thou shalt see all this and have ocular proof of the truth." so shehriyar ordered his attendants to prepare to set out at once; whereupon the troops encamped without the city and he himself went forth with them and sat in his pavilion, bidding his servants admit no one. then he disguised himself and returned secretly to king shahzeman's palace and sat with him at the lattice overlooking the garden, until the damsels and their mistress came out with the slaves and did as his brother had reported, till the call to afternoon prayer. when king shehriyar saw this, he was as one distraught and said to his brother, "arise, let us depart hence, for we have no concern with kingship, and wander till we find one to whom the like has happened as to us, else our death were better than our life." then they went out by a postern of the palace and journeyed days and nights till they came to a tree standing in the midst of a meadow, by a spring of water, on the shore of the salt sea, and they drank of the stream and sat down by it to rest. when the day was somewhat spent, behold, the sea became troubled and there rose from it a black column that ascended to the sky and made towards the meadow. when the princes saw this, they were afraid and climbed up to the top of the tree, which was a high one, that they might see what was the matter; and behold, it was a genie of lofty stature, broad-browed and wide-cheated, bearing on his head a coffer of glass with seven locks of steel. he landed and sat down under the tree, where he set down the coffer, and opening it, took out a smaller one. this also he opened, and there came forth a damsel slender of form and dazzlingly beautiful, as she were a shining sun, as says the poet uteyeh: she shines out in the dusk, and lo! the day is here, and all the trees flower forth with blossoms bright and clear, the sun from out her brows arises, and the moon, when she unveils her face, cloth hide for shame and fear. all living things prostrate themselves before her feet, when she unshrouds and all her hidden charms appear; and when she flashes forth the lightnings of her glance, she maketh eyes to rain, like showers, with many a tear. when the genie saw her, he said to her, "o queen of noble ladies, thou whom indeed i stole away on thy wedding night, i have a mind to sleep awhile." and he laid his head on her knees and fell asleep. presently the lady raised her eyes to the tree and saw the two kings among the branches; so she lifted the genie's head from her lap and laid it on the ground, then rose and stood beneath the tree and signed to them to descend, without heeding the afrit.[fn# ] they answered her, in the same manner, "god on thee [fn# ] excuse us from this." but she rejoined by signs, as who should say, "if you do not come down, i will wake the afrit on you, and he will kill you without mercy." so they were afraid and came down to her, whereupon she came up to them and offered them her favours, saying, "to it, both of you, and lustily; or i will set the afrit on you." so for fear of him, king shehriyar said to his brother shahzeman, "o brother, do as she bids thee." but he replied, "not i; do thou have at her first." and they made signs to each other to pass first, till she said, "why do i see you make signs to each other? an you come not forward and fall to, i will rouse the afrit on you." so for fear of the genie, they lay with her one after the other, and when they had done, she bade them arise, and took out of her bosom a purse containing a necklace made of five hundred and seventy rings, and said to them, "know ye what these are?" they answered, "no." and she said, "every one of the owners of these rings has had to do with me in despite of this afrit. and now give me your rings, both of you." so each of them took off a ring and gave it to her. and she said to them, "know that this genie carried me off on my wedding night and laid me in a box and shut the box up in a glass chest, on which he clapped seven strong locks and sank it to the bottom of the roaring stormy sea, knowing not that nothing can hinder a woman, when she desires aught, even as says one of the poets: i rede thee put no faith in womankind, nor trust the oaths they lavish all in vain: for on the satisfaction of their lusts depend alike their love and their disdain. they proffer lying love, but perfidy is all indeed their garments do contain. take warning, then, by joseph's history, and how a woman sought to do him bane; and eke thy father adam, by their fault to leave the groves of paradise was fain. or as another says: out on yon! blame confirms the blamed one in his way. my fault is not so great indeed as you would say. if i'm in love, forsooth, my case is but the same as that of other men before me, many a day. for great the wonder were if any man alive from women and their wiles escape unharmed away!" when the two kings heard this, they marvelled and said, "allah! allah! there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! we seek aid of god against the malice of women, for indeed their craft is great!" then she said to them, "go your ways." so they returned to the road, and shehriyar said to shahzeman, "by allah, o my brother, this afrit's case is more grievous than ours. for this is a genie and stole away his mistress on her wedding night and clapped her in a chest, which he locked with seven locks and sank in the midst of the sea, thinking to guard her from that which was decreed by fate, yet have we seen that she has lain with five hundred and seventy men in his despite, and now with thee and me to boot. verily, this is a thing that never yet happened to any, and it should surely console us. let us therefore return to our kingdoms and resolve never again to take a woman to wife; and as for me, i will show thee what i will do." so they set out at once and presently came to the camp outside shehriyar's capital and, entering the royal pavilion, sat down on their bed of estate. then the chamberlains and amirs and grandees came in to them and shehriyar commanded them to return to the city. so they returned to the city and shehriyar went up to his palace, where he summoned his vizier and bade him forthwith put his wife to death. the vizier accordingly took the queen and killed her, whilst shehriyar, going into the slave girls and concubines, drew his sword and slew them all. then he let bring others in their stead and took an oath that every night he would go in to a maid and in the morning put her to death, for that there was not one chaste woman on the face of the earth. as for shahzeman, he sought to return to his kingdom at once; so his brother equipped him for the journey and he set out and fared on till he came to his own dominions. meanwhile, king shehriyar commanded his vizier to bring him the bride of the night, that he might go in to her; so he brought him one of the daughters of the amirs and he went in to her, and on the morrow he bade the vizier cut off her head. the vizier dared not disobey the king's commandment, so he put her to death and brought him another girl, of the daughters of the notables of the land. the king went in to her also, and on the morrow he bade the vizier kill her; and he ceased not to do thus for three years, till the land was stripped of marriageable girls, and all the women and mothers and fathers wept and cried out against the king, cursing him and complaining to the creator of heaven and earth and calling for succour upon him who heareth prayer and answereth those that cry to him; and those that had daughters left fled with them, till at last there remained not a single girl in the city apt for marriage. one day the king ordered the vizier to bring him a maid as of wont; so the vizier went out and made search for a girl, but found not one and returned home troubled and careful for fear of the king's anger. now this vizier had two daughters, the elder called shehrzad and the younger dunyazad, and the former had read many books and histories and chronicles of ancient kings and stories of people of old time; it is said indeed that she had collected a thousand books of chronicles of past peoples and bygone kings and poets. moreover, she had read books of science and medicine; her memory was stored with verses and stories and folk-lore and the sayings of kings and sages, and she was wise, witty, prudent and well-bred. she said to her father, "how comes it that i see thee troubled and oppressed with care and anxiety? quoth one of the poets: 'tell him that is of care oppressed, that grief shall not endure alway, but even as gladness fleeteth by, so sorrow too shall pass away.'" when the vizier heard his daughter's words, he told her his case, and she said, "by allah, o my father, marry me to this king, for either i will be the means of the deliverance of the daughters of the muslims from slaughter or i will die and perish as others have perished." "for god's sake," answered the vizier, "do not thus adventure thy life!" but she said, "it must be so." whereupon her father was wroth with her and said to her, "fool that thou art, dost thou not know that the ignorant man who meddles in affairs falls into grievous peril, and that he who looks not to the issue of his actions finds no friend in time of evil fortune? as says the byword, 'i was sitting at my ease, but my officiousness would not let me rest.' and i fear lest there happen to thee what happened to the ox and the ass with the husbandman." "and what happened to them?" asked she. quoth the vizier, "know, o my daughter, that story of the ox[fn# ] and the ass there was once a merchant who was rich in goods and cattle, and he had a wife and children and dwelt in the country and was skilled in husbandry. now god had gifted him to understand the speech of beasts and birds of every kind, but under pain of death if he divulged his gift to any one; so he kept it secret for fear of death. he had in his byre an ox and an ass, each tied up in his stall, hard by the other. one day, as the merchant was sitting near at hand, he heard the ox say to the ass, 'i give thee joy, o father wakeful![fn# ] thou enjoyest rest and attention and they keep thy stall always swept and sprinkled, and thine eating is sifted barley and thy drink fresh water, whilst i am always weary, for they take me in the middle of the night and gird the yoke on my neck and set me to plough and i toil without ceasing from break of morn till sunset. i am forced to work more than my strength and suffer all kinds of indignities, such as blows and abuse, from the cruel ploughman; and i return home at the end of the day, and indeed my sides are torn and my neck is flayed. then they shut me up in the cow-house and throw me beans and straw mixed with earth and husks, and i lie all night in dung and stale. but thy place is always swept and sprinkled and thy manger clean and full of sweet hay and thou art always resting, except that, now and then, our master hath occasion to ride thee and returns speedily with thee; and but for this thou art always resting and i toiling, and thou sleeping and i waking; thou art full and i hungry and thou honoured and i despised.' 'o broadhead,' answered the ass,' he was in the right who dubbed thee ox [fn# ], for thou art stupid in the extreme, nor is there in thee thought or craft but thou showest zeal and cost thine utmost endeavour before thy master and fearest and killest thyself for the benefit of another. thou goest forth at the time of morning prayer and returnest not till sundown and endurest all day all manner of afflictions, now blows now fatigue and now abuse. when thou returnest, the ploughman ties thee to a stinking manger, and thou friskest and pawest the ground and buttest with thy horns and bellowest greatly, and they think thou art content. no sooner have they thrown thee thy fodder than thou fallest on it greedily and hastenest to fill thy belly with it. but if thou wilt follow my counsel, it will be the better for thee and thou wilt get twice as much rest as i. when thou goest forth to the furrow and they lay the yoke on thy neck, lie down, and do not rise, even if they beat thee, or only rise and lie down again; and when they bring thee home, fall prostrate on thy back and refuse thy fodder, when they throw it thee and feign to be sick. do this for a day or two and thou wilt have rest from toil and weariness.' the ox thanked the ass greatly for his advice and called down blessings on him; and the merchant heard all that passed between them. next day the ploughman took the ox and yoked him to the plough and set him to work as usual. the ox began to fall short in his work, and the ploughman beat him till he broke the yoke and fled, following out the ass's precepts; but the man overtook him and beat him till he despaired of life. yet for all that, he did nothing but stand still and fall down till the evening. then the ploughman took him home and tied him in his stall; but he withdrew from the manger and neither frisked nor stamped nor bellowed as usual, and the man wondered at this. then he brought him the beans and straw, but he smelt at them and left them and lay down at a distance and passed the night without eating. next morning, the ploughman came and found the straw and beans untouched and the ox lying on his back, with his stomach swollen and his legs in the air; so he was concerned for him and said to himself, 'he has certainly fallen ill, and this is why he would not work yesterday.' then he went to his master and told him that the ox was ill and would not touch his fodder. now the farmer knew what this meant, for that he had overheard the talk between the ox and the ass as before mentioned. so he said, 'take that knave of an ass and bind the yoke on his neck and harness him to the plough and try and make him do the ox's work.' so the ploughman took the ass and made him work all day beyond his strength to accomplish the ox's task; and he beat him till his skin and ribs were sore and his neck flayed with the yoke. when the evening came and the ass resumed home, he could hardly drag himself along. but as for the ox, he had lain all day, resting, and had eaten his fodder cheerfully and with a good appetite; and all day long he had called down blessings on the ass for his good counsel, not knowing what had befallen him on his account. so when the night came and the ass returned to the stable, the ox arose and said to him, 'mayst thou be gladdened with good news, o father wakeful! through thee, i have rested today and have eaten my food in peace and comfort.' the ass made him no answer, for rage and vexation and fatigue and the beating he had undergone; but he said to himself, 'all this comes of my folly in giving another good advice; as the saying goes, "i was lying at full length, but my officiousness would not let me be." but i will go about with him and return him to his place, else i shall perish.' then he went to his manger weary, whilst the ox thanked him and blessed him. "and thou, o my daughter," said the vizier, "like the ass, wilt perish through thy lack of sense, so do thou oft quiet and cast not thyself into perdition; indeed i give thee good counsel and am affectionately solicitous for thee." "o my father," answered she, "nothing will serve me but i must go up to this king and become his wife." quoth he, "an thou hold not thy peace and bide still, i will do with thee even as the merchant did with his wife." "and what was that?" asked she. "know," answered he, "that the merchant and his wife and children came out on the terrace, it being a moonlit night and the moon at its full. now the terrace overlooked the byre; and presently, as he sat, with his children playing before him, the merchant heard the ass say to the ox, 'tell me, o father stupid, what dost thou mean to do tomorrow?' 'what but that thou advisest me?' answered the ox. 'thine advice was as good as could be and has gotten me complete rest, and i will not depart from it in the least; so when they bring me my fodder, i will refuse it and feign sickness and swell out my belly.' the ass shook his head and said, 'beware of doing that i' 'why?' asked the ox, and the ass answered, 'know that i heard our master say to the labourer, "if the ox do not rise and eat his fodder today, send for the butcher to slaughter him, and give his flesh to the poor and make a rug of his skin." and i fear for thee on account of this. so take my advice, ere ill-hap betide thee, and when they bring thee the fodder, eat it and arise and bellow and paw the ground with thy feet, or our master will assuredly slaughter thee.' whereupon the ox arose and bellowed and thanked the ass, and said, 'tomorrow, i will go with them readily.' then he ate up all his fodder, even to licking the manger with his tongue. when the merchant heard this, he was amused at the ass's trick, and laughed, till he fell backward. 'why dost thou laugh?' asked his wife; and he said, 'i laughed at something that i saw and heard, but it is a secret and i cannot disclose it, or i shall die.' quoth she, 'there is no help for it but thou must tell me the reason of thy laughter, though thou die for it.' 'i cannot reveal it,' answered he, 'for fear of death.' 'it was at me thou didst laugh,' said she, and ceased not to importune him till he was worn out and distracted. so he assembled all his family and kinsfolk and summoned the cadi and the witnesses, being minded to make his last dispositions and impart to her the secret and die, for indeed he loved her with a great love, and she was the daughter of his father's brother and the mother of his children. moreover, he sent for all her family and the neighbours, and when they were all assembled, he told them the state of the case and announced to them the approach of his last hour. then he gave his wife her portion and appointed guardians of his children and freed his slave girls and took leave of his people. they all wept, and the cadi and the witnesses wept also and went up to the wife and said to her, 'we conjure thee, by allah, give up this matter, lest thy husband and the father of thy children die. did he not know that if he revealed the secret, he would surely die, he would have told thee.' but she replied, 'by allah, i will not desist from him, till he tell me, though he die for it.' so they forbore to press her. and all who were present wept sore, and there was a general mourning in the house. then the merchant rose and went to the cow-house, to make his ablutions and pray, intending after to return and disclose his secret and die. now he had a cock and fifty hens and a dog, and he heard the latter say in his lingo to the cock, 'how mean is thy wit, o cock! may he be disappointed who reared thee! our master is in extremity and thou clappest thy wings and crowest and fliest from one hen's back to another's! god confound thee! is this a time for sport and diversion? art thou not ashamed of thyself?' 'and what ails our master, o dog?' asked the cock. the dog told him what had happened and how the merchant's wife had importuned him, till he was about to tell her his secret and die, and the cock said, 'then is our master little of wit and lacking in sense; if he cannot manage his affairs with a single wife, his life is not worth prolonging. see, i have fifty wives. i content this one and anger that, stint one and feed another, and through my good governance they are all under my control. now, our master pretends to sense and accomplishments, and he has but one wife and yet knows not how to manage her.' quoth the dog, 'what, then, should our master do?' 'he should take a stick,' replied the cock, 'and beat her soundly, till she says, "i repent, o my lord! i will never again ask a question as long as i live." and when once he has done this, he will be free from care and enjoy life. but he has neither sense nor judgment.' when the merchant heard what the cock said, he went to his wife (after he had hidden a rattan in an empty store-room) and said to her, 'come with me into this room, that i may tell thee my secret and die and none see me.' so she entered gladly, thinking that he was about to tell her his secret, and he locked the door; then he took the rattan and brought it down on her back and ribs and shoulders, saying, 'wilt thou ask questions about what is none of thy business?' he beat her till she was well-nigh senseless, and she cried out, 'by allah, i will ask thee no more questions, and indeed i repent sincerely!' and she kissed his hands and feet. then he unlocked the door and went out and told the company what had happened, whereat they rejoiced, and mourning was changed into joy and gladness. so the merchant learnt good management from a cock, and he and his wife lived happily until death. and thou, o my daughter," added the vizier, "except thou desist from this thing, i will do with thee even as the merchant did with his wife." "i will never desist," answered she, "nor is it this story that can turn me from my purpose; and an thou yield not to me, i will go up myself to the king and complain to him of thee, in that thou grudges the like of me to the like of him." quoth her father, "must it be so?" and she answered "yes." so being weary of striving with her and despairing of turning her from her purpose, he went up to king shehriyar and kissing the earth before him, told him about his daughter and how she would have him give her to him that next night; whereat the king marvelled and said to him, "how is this? by him who raised up the heavens, if thou bring her to me, i shall say to thee on the morrow, 'take her and put her to death.' and if thou kill her not, i will kill thee without fail." "o king of the age," answered the vizier, "it is she who will have it so; and i told her all this, but she will not hear me and insists upon passing this night with thy highness." "it is well," answered shehriyar; "go and make her ready, and tonight bring her to me." so the vizier returned to his daughter and told her what had passed, saying, "may god not bereave us of thee!" but shehrzad rejoiced with an exceeding joy and made ready all that she needed, and said to her sister dunyazad, "o my sister, note well what i shall enjoin thee. when i go up to the sultan, i will send after thee, and when thou comest to me and seest that the king has done his will of me, do thou say to me, 'o my sister, an thou be not asleep, tell us some of thy delightful stories, to pass away the watches of this our night.' do this and (god willing) it shall be the means of my deliverance and of the ridding of the folk of this calamity, and by it i will turn the king from his custom." dunyazad answered, "it is well." and the vizier carried shehrzad to the king, who took her to his bed and fell to toying with her. but she wept, and he said to her, "why dost thou weep?" "o king of the age," answered she, "i have a young sister and i desire to take leave of her this night and that she may take leave of me before the morning." so he sent for dunyazad, and she waited till the sultan had done his desire of her sister and they were all three awake, when she coughed and said, "o my sister, an thou be not asleep, tell us one of thy pleasant stories, to beguile the watches of our night, and i will take leave of thee before the morning." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad, "if the good king give me leave." the king being wakeful, was pleased to hear a story and said, "tell on." whereat she rejoiced greatly and said, "it is related, o august king, that the merchant and the genie. there was once a merchant, who had much substance and traded largely in foreign countries. one day, as he was riding through a certain country, whither he had gone to collect what was due to him, there overtook him the heat of the day and presently he espied a garden[fn# ] before him; so he made towards it for shelter and alighting, sat down under a walnut tree, by a spring of water. then he put his hand to his saddle bags and took out a cake of bread and a date and ate them and threw away the date stone, when behold, there started up before him a gigantic afrit, with a naked sword in his hand, who came up to him and said, 'arise, that i may slay thee, even as thou hast slain my son.' 'how did i slay thy son?' asked the merchant, and the genie replied, 'when thou threwest away the date stone, it smote my son, who was passing at the time, on the breast, and he died forthright.' when the merchant heard this, he said, 'verily we are god's and to him we return! there is no power and no virtue but in god, the most high, the supreme! if i killed him, it was by misadventure, and i prithee pardon me.' but the genie said, 'there is no help for it but i must kill thee.' then he seized him and throwing him down, raised his sword to strike him: whereupon the merchant wept and said, 'i commit my affair to god!' and recited the following verses: fate has two days, untroubled one, the other lowering, and life two parts, the one content, the other sorrowing. say unto him that taunteth us with fortune's perfidy, 'at whom but those whose heads are high doth fate its arrows fling?' if that the hands of time have made their plaything of our life, till for its long protracted kiss ill-hap upon us spring, dost thou not see the hurricane, what time the wild winds blow, smite down the stately trees alone and spare each lesser thing? lo! in the skies are many stars, no one can tell their tale, but to the sun and moon alone eclipse brings darkening. the earth bears many a pleasant herb and many a plant and tree: but none is stoned save only those to which the fair fruit cling. look on the sea and how the waifs float up upon the foam, but in its deepest depths of blue the pearls have sojourning. 'cut short thy speech,' said the genie, 'for, by allah, there is no help for it but i must kill thee.' 'know, o afrit,' replied the merchant, 'that i have a wife and children and much substance, and i owe debts and hold pledges: so let me return home and give every one his due, and i vow by all that is most sacred that i will return to thee at the end of the year, that thou mayest do with me as thou wilt, and god is witness of what i say.' the genie accepted his promise and released him, whereupon he returned to his dwelling-place and paid his debts and settled all his affairs. moreover, he told his wife and children what had happened and made his last dispositions, and tarried with his family till the end of the year. then he rose and made his ablutions[fn# ] and took his winding sheet under his arm and bidding his household and kinsfolk and neighbours farewell, set out, much against his will, to perform his promise to the genie; whilst his family set up a great noise of crying and lamentation. he journeyed on till he reached the garden, where he had met with the genie, on the first day of the new year, and there sat down to await his doom. presently, as he sat weeping over what had befallen him, there came up an old man, leading a gazelle by a chain, and saluted the merchant, saying, 'what ails thee to sit alone in this place, seeing that it is the resort of the jinn?'[fn# ] the merchant told him all that had befallen him with the afrit, and he wondered and said, 'by allah, o my brother, thy good faith is exemplary and thy story is a marvellous one! if it were graven with needles on the corners of the eye, it would serve as a warning to those that can profit by example.' then he sat down by his side, saying, 'by allah, o my brother, i will not leave thee till i see what befalls thee with this afrit.' so they sat conversing, and fear and terror got hold upon the merchant and trouble increased upon him, notwithstanding the old man's company. presently another old man came up, leading two black dogs, and saluting them, inquired why they sat in a place known to be haunted by jinn, whereupon the merchant repeated his story to him. he had not sat long with them when there came up a third old man leading a dappled she-mule, and after putting to them the same question and receiving a like answer, sat down with them to await the issue of the affair. they had sat but a little while longer, when behold, there arose a cloud of dust and a great whirling column approached from the heart of the desert. then the dust lifted and discovered the genie, with a drawn sword in his hand and sparks of fire issuing from his eyes. he came up to them and dragged the merchant from amongst them, saying, 'rise, that i may slay thee as thou slewest my son, the darling of my heart!' whereupon the merchant wept and bewailed himself and the three old men joined their cries and lamentations to his. then came forward the first old man, he of the gazelle, and kissed the afrit's hand and said to him, 'o genie and crown of the kings of the jinn, if i relate to thee my history with this gazelle and it seem to thee wonderful, wilt thou grant me a third of this merchant's blood?' 'yes, o old man,' answered the genie, 'if thou tell me thy story and i find it wonderful, i will remit to thee a third of his blood.' then said the old man, 'know, o afrit, that the first old man's story. this gazelle is the daughter of my father's brother and my own flesh and blood. i married her whilst she was yet of tender age and lived with her near thirty years, without being blessed with a child by her. so i took me a concubine and had by her a son like the rising full moon, with eyes and eyebrows of perfect beauty; and he grew up and flourished till he reached the age of fifteen, when i had occasion to journey to a certain city, and set out thither with great store of merchandise. now my wife had studied sorcery and magic from her youth: so, i being gone, she turned my son into a calf and his mother into a cow and delivered them both to the cowherd: and when, after a long absence, i returned from my journey and inquired after my son and his mother, my wife said to me, "thy slave died and her son ran away, whither i know not." i abode for the space of a year, mournful-hearted and weeping-eyed, till the coming of the greater festival, when i sent to the herdsman and bade him bring me a fat cow for the purpose of sacrifice. so he brought me the very cow into which my wife had changed my concubine by her art; and i tucked up my skirts and taking the knife in my hand, went up to the cow to slaughter her; but she lowed and moaned so piteously, that i was seized with wonder and compassion and held my hand from her and said to the herd, "bring me another cow." "not so!" cried my wife. "slaughter this one, for we have no finer nor fatter." so i went up to her again, but she cried out, and i left her and ordered the herdsman to kill her and skin her. so he killed her and flayed her, but found on her neither fat nor flesh, only skin and bone. then i was sorry for having slain her, when repentance availed me not; and i gave her to the herd and said to him, "bring me a fat calf." so he brought me my son in the guise of a calf; and when he saw me, he broke his halter and came up to me and fawned on me and moaned and wept, till i took pity on him and said to the man, "bring me a cow and let this calf go." but my wife cried out at me and said, "not so: thou must sacrifice this calf and none other to-day: for it is a holy and a blessed day, on which it behoves us to offer up none but a good thing, and we have no calf fatter or finer than this one." quoth i, "look at the condition of the cow i slaughtered by thine order; we were deceived in her, and now i will not be persuaded by thee to slay this calf this time." "by the great god, the compassionate, the merciful," answered she, "thou must without fail sacrifice this calf on this holy day! else thou art no longer my husband nor am i thy wife." when i heard this harsh speech from her, i went up to the calf, knowing not what she aimed at, and took the knife in my hand.'" here shehrzad perceived the day and was silent; and her sister said to her, "what a charming and delightful story!" quoth shehrzad, "this is nothing to what i will tell thee to-morrow night, if the king let me live." and the king said to himself, "by allah, i will not kill her, till i hear the rest of the story!" so they lay together till morning, when the king went out to his hall of audience and the vizier came in to him, with the winding-sheet under his arm. then the king ordered and appointed and deposed, without telling the vizier aught of what had happened, much to the former's surprise, until the end of the day, when the divan broke up and he retired to his apartments. and when it was the second night dunyazad said to her sister shehrzad, "o my sister, finish us thy story of the merchant and the genie." "with all my heart," answered she, "if the king give me leave." the king bade her "say on." so she began as follows: "it has reached me, o august king and wise governor, that the first old man continued his story as follows: 'o lord of the kings of the jinn, as i was about to kill the calf, my heart failed me and i said to the herdsman, "keep this calf with the rest of the cattle." so he took it and went away. next day the herd came to me, as i was sitting by myself, and said to me, "o my lord, i have that to tell thee will rejoice thee, and i claim a reward for good news." quoth i, "it is well." and he said, "o merchant, i have a daughter, who learnt the art of magic in her youth from an old woman who lived with us, and yesterday, when i took home the calf that thou gavest me, she looked at it and veiled her face and fell a-weeping. then she laughed and said to me, 'o my father, am i become of so little account in thine eyes that thou bringest in to me strange men?' 'where are the strange men?' asked i. 'and why dost thou weep and laugh?' quoth she, 'the calf thou hast there is our master's son, who has been enchanted, as well as his mother, by his father's wife. this is why i laughed: and i wept for his mother, because his father slaughtered her.' i wondered exceedingly at this and the day had no sooner broken than i came to tell thee." when (continued the old man) i heard the herdsman's story, o genie, i went out with him, drunken without wine for stress of joy and gladness, and accompanied him to his house, where his daughter welcomed me and kissed my hand; and the calf came up to me and fawned on me. said i to the girl, "is it true what i hear about this calf?" "yes, o my lord," answered she, "this is indeed thy son and the darling of thy heart." so i said to her, "o damsel, if thou wilt release him, all that is under thy father's hand of beasts and goods shall be thine!" but she smiled and said, "o my lord, i care not for wealth, but i will do what thou desirest upon two conditions, the first that thou marry me to this thy son, and the second that thou permit me to bewitch the sorceress and imprison her (in the shape of a beast); else i shall not be safe from her craft." i answered, "besides what thou seekest, thou shalt have all that is under thy father's hand, and as to my wife, it shall be lawful to thee to shed her blood, if thou wilt." when she heard this, she took a cup full of water, and conjured over it; then sprinkled the calf with the water, saying, "if thou be a calf by the creation of the almighty, abide in that form and change not: but if thou be enchanted, return to thine original form, with the permission of god the most high!" with that he shook and became a man: and i fell upon him and said to him, "for god's sake, tell me what my wife did with thee and thy mother." so he told me what had befallen them and i said to him, "o my son, god hath sent thee one to deliver and avenge thee." then i married him to the herdsman's daughter, and she transformed my wife into this gazelle, saying to me, "i have given her this graceful form for thy sake, that thou mayest look on her without aversion." she dwelt with us days and nights and nights and days, till god took her to himself; and after her death, my son set out on a journey to the land of ind, which is this merchant's native country; and after awhile, i took the gazelle and travelled with her from place to place, seeking news of my son, till chance led me to this garden, where i found this merchant sitting weeping; and this is my story.' quoth the genie, 'this is indeed a rare story, and i remit to thee a third part of his blood.' then came forward the second old man, he of the two greyhounds, and said to the genie, 'i will tell thee my story with these two dogs, and if thou find it still rarer and more marvellous, do thou remit to me another third part of his blood. quoth the genie, 'i agree to this.' then said the second old man, 'know, o lord of the kings of the jinn, that the second old man's story. these two dogs are my elder brothers. our father died and left us three thousand dinars,[fn# ] and i opened a shop that i might buy and sell therein, and my brothers did each the like. but before long, my eldest brother sold his stock for a thousand dinars and bought goods and merchandise and setting out on his travels, was absent a whole year. one day, as i was sitting in my shop, a beggar stopped before me and i said to him, "god assist thee!"[fn# ] but he said to me, weeping, "dost thou not recognize me?" i took note of him, and behold, it was my brother. so i rose and welcomed him and made him sit down by me and inquired how he came in such a case: but he answered, "do not ask me: my wealth is wasted and fortune has turned her back on me." then i carried him to the bath and clad him in one of my own suits and took him to live with me. moreover, i cast up my accounts and found that i had made a thousand dinars profit, so that my capital was now two thousand dinars. i divided this between my brother and myself, saying to him, "put it that thou hast never travelled nor been abroad." he took it gladly and opened a shop with it. presently, my second brother arose like the first and sold his goods and all that belonged to him and determined to travel. we would have dissuaded him, but he would not be dissuaded and bought merchandise with which he set out on his travels, and we saw no more of him for a whole year; at the end of which time he came to us as had done his elder brother, and i said to him, "o my brother, did i not counsel thee not to travel?" and he wept and said, "o my brother, it was decreed: and behold, i am poor, without a dirhem [fn# ] or a shirt to my back." then i carried him to the bath and clad him in a new suit of my own and brought him back to my shop, where we ate and drank together; after which, i said to him, "o my brother, i will make up the accounts of my shop, as is my wont once a year, and the increase shall be between thee and me." so i arose and took stock and found i was worth two thousand dinars increase, in excess of capital, wherefore i praised the divine creator and gave my brother a thousand dinars, with which he opened a shop. in this situation we remained for some time, till one day, my brothers came to me and would have me go on a voyage with them; but i refused and said to them, "what did your travels profit you, that i should look to profit by the same venture?" and i would not listen to them; so we abode in our shops, buying and selling, and every year they pressed me to travel, and i declined, until six years had elapsed. at last i yielded to their wishes and said to them, "o my brothers, i will make a voyage with you, but first let me see what you are worth." so i looked into their affairs and found they had nothing left, having wasted all their substance in eating and drinking and merrymaking. however, i said not a word of reproach to them, but sold my stock and got in all i had and found i was worth six thousand dinars. so i rejoiced and divided the sum into two equal parts and said to my brothers, "these three thousand dinars are for you and me to trade with." the other three thousand i buried, in case what befell them should befall me also, so that we might still have, on our return, wherewithal to open our shops again. they were content and i gave them each a thousand dinars and kept the like myself. then we provided ourselves with the necessary merchandise and equipped ourselves for travel and chartered a ship, which we freighted with our goods. after a month's voyage, we came to a city, in which we sold our goods at a profit of ten dinars on every one (of prime cost). and as we were about to take ship again, we found on the beach a damsel in tattered clothes, who kissed my hand and said to me, "o my lord, is there in thee kindness and charity? i will requite thee for them." quoth i, "indeed i love to do courtesy and charity, though i be not requited." and she said, "o my lord, i beg thee to marry me and clothe me and take me back to thy country, for i give myself to thee. entreat me courteously, for indeed i am of those whom it behoves to use with kindness and consideration; and i will requite thee therefor: do not let my condition prejudice thee." when i heard what she said, my heart inclined to her, that what god (to whom belong might and majesty) willed might come to pass. so i carried her with me and clothed her and spread her a goodly bed in the ship and went in to her and made much of her. then we set sail again and indeed my heart clove to her with a great love and i left her not night nor day and occupied myself with her to the exclusion of my brothers. wherefore they were jealous of me and envied me my much substance; and they looked upon it with covetous eyes and took counsel together to kill me and to take my goods, saying, "let us kill our brother, and all will be ours." and satan made this to seem good in their eyes. so they took me sleeping beside my wife and lifted us both up and threw us into the sea. when my wife awoke, she shook herself and becoming an afriteh,[fn# ] took me up and carried me to an island, where she left me for awhile. in the morning, she returned and said to me, "i have paid thee my debt, for it is i who bore thee up out of the sea and saved thee from death, by permission of god the most high. know that i am of the jinn who believe in god and his apostle (whom god bless and preserve!) and i saw thee and loved thee for god's sake. so i came to thee in the plight thou knowest of and thou didst marry me, and now i have saved thee from drowning. but i am wroth with thy brothers, and needs must i kill them." when i heard her words, i wondered and thanked her for what she had done and begged her not to kill my brothers. then i told her all that had passed between us, and she said, "this very night will i fly to them and sink their ship and make an end of them." "god on thee," answered i, "do not do this, for the proverb says, 'o thou who dost good to those who do evil, let his deeds suffice the evil doer!' after all, they are my brothers." quoth she, "by allah, i must kill them." and i besought her till she lifted me up and flying away with me, set me down on the roof of my own house, where she left me. i went down and unlocked the doors and brought out what i had hidden under the earth and opened my shop, after i had saluted the folk and bought goods. at nightfall, i returned home and found these two dogs tied up in the courtyard: and when they saw me, they came up to me and wept and fawned on me. at the same moment, my wife presented herself and said to me, "these are thy brothers." "who has done this thing unto them?" asked i; and she answered, "i sent to my sister, who turned them into this form, and they shall not be delivered from the enchantment till after ten years." then she left me, after telling me where to find her; and now, the ten years having expired, i was carrying the dogs to her, that she might release them, when i fell in with this merchant, who acquainted me with what had befallen him. so i determined not to leave him, till i saw what passed between thee and him: and this is my story.' 'this is indeed a rare story,' said the genie, 'and i remit to thee a third part of his blood and his crime.' then came forward the third old man, he of the mule, and said, 'o genie, i will tell thee a story still more astonishing than the two thou hast heard, and do thou remit to me the remainder of his blood and crime.' the genie replied, 'it is well.' so the third old man said, 'know, o sultan and chief of the jinn, that the third old man's story. this mule was my wife. some time ago, i had occasion to travel and was absent from her a whole year; at the end of which time i returned home by night and found my wife in bed with a black slave, talking and laughing and toying and kissing and dallying. when she saw me, she made haste and took a mug of water and muttered over it; then came up to me and sprinkled me with the water, saying, "leave this form for that of a dog!" and immediately i became a dog. she drove me from the house, and i went out of the door and ceased not running till i came to a butcher's shop, where i stopped and began to eat the bones. the butcher took me and carried me into his house; but when his daughter saw me, she veiled her face and said to her father, "how is it that thou bringest a man in to me?" "where is the man?" asked he; and she replied, "this dog is a man, whose wife has enchanted him, and i can release him." when her father heard this, he said, "i conjure thee by allah, o my daughter, release him!" so she took a mug of water and muttered over it, then sprinkled a little of it on me, saying, "leave this shape and return to thy former one." and immediately i became a man again and kissed her hand and begged her to enchant my wife as she had enchanted me. so she gave me a little of the water and said to me, "when thou seest her asleep, sprinkle her with this water and repeat the words thou hast heard me use, naming the shape thou wouldst have her take, and she will become whatever thou wishest." so i took the water and returned home and went in to my wife. i found her asleep and sprinkled the water upon her, saying, "quit this form for that of a mule." and she at once became a mule; and this is she whom thou seest before thee, o sultan and chief of the kings of the jinn!' then he said to the mule, 'is it true?' and she nodded her head and made signs as who should say, 'yes, indeed: this is my history and what befell me.'" here shehrzad perceived the day and was silent. and dunyazad said to her, "o my sister, what a delightful story is this of thine!" "this is nothing," answered shehrzad, "to what i will tell thee to-morrow night, if the king let me live." quoth the king to himself, "by allah, i will not put her to death till i hear the rest of her story, for it is wonderful." and they lay together till the morning. then the king rose and betook himself to his audience-chamber, and the vizier and the troops presented themselves and the court was full. the king judged and appointed and deposed and ordered and forbade till the end of the day, when the divan broke up and he returned to his apartments. and when it was the third night and the king had taken his will of the vizier's daughter, dunyazad said to her sister, "o my sister, finish us thy story." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad. "know, o august king, that when the genie heard the third old man's story, he marvelled exceedingly and shook with delight and said, 'i remit to thee the remainder of his crime.' then he released the merchant, who went up to the three old men and thanked them; and they gave him joy of his escape and returned, each to his own country. nor is this more wonderful than the story of the fisherman and the genie." "what is that?" asked the king: and she said, "i have heard tell, o august king, that the fisherman and the genie. there was once a poor fisherman, who was getting on in years and had a wife and three children; and it was his custom every day to cast his net four times and no more. one day he went out at the hour of noon and repaired to the sea-shore, where he set down his basket and tucked up his skirts and plunging into the sea, cast his net and waited till it had settled down in the water. then he gathered the cords in his hand and found it heavy and pulled at it, but could not bring it up. so he carried the end of the cords ashore and drove in a stake, to which he made them fast. then he stripped and diving round the net, tugged at it till he brought it ashore. whereat he rejoiced and landing, put on his clothes; but when he came to examine the net, he found in it a dead ass; and the net was torn. when he saw this, he was vexed and said: 'there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! this is indeed strange luck!' and he repeated the following verses: o thou that strivest in the gloom of darkness and distress, cut short thine efforts, for in strife alone lies not success! seest not the fisherman that seeks his living in the sea, midmost the network of the stars that round about him press! up to his midst he plunges in: the billows buffet him; but from the bellying net his eyes cease not in watchfulness; till when, contented with his night, he carries home a fish, whose throat the hand of death hath slit with trident pitiless, comes one who buys his prey of him, one who has passed the night, safe from the cold, in all delight of peace and blessedness. praise be to god who gives to this and cloth to that deny! some fish, and others eat the fish caught with such toil and stress. then he said, 'courage! i shall have better luck next time, please god!' and repeated the following verses: if misfortune assail thee, clothe thyself thereagainst with patience, the part of the noble: 'twere wiselier done. complain not to men: that were indeed to complain, to those that have no mercy, of the merciful one. so saying, he threw out the dead ass and wrung the net and spread it out. then he went down into the sea and cast again, saying, 'in the name of god!' and waited till the net had settled down in the water, when he pulled the cords and finding it was heavy and resisted more than before, thought it was full of fish. so he made it fast to the shore and stripped and dived into the water round the net, till he got it free. then he hauled at it till he brought it ashore, but found in it nothing but a great jar full of sand and mud. when he saw this, he groaned aloud and repeated the following verses: anger of fate, have pity and forbear, or at the least hold back thy hand and spare! i sally forth to seek my daily bread and find my living vanished into air. how many a fool's exalted to the stars, whilst sages hidden in the mire must fare! then he threw out the jar and wrung out and cleansed his net: after which he asked pardon of god the most high[fn# ] and returning to the sea a third time, cast the net. he waited till it had settled down, then pulled it up and found in it potsherds and bones and broken bottles: whereat he was exceeding wroth and wept and recited the following verses: fortune's with god: thou mayst not win to bind or set it free: nor letter-lore nor any skill can bring good hap to thee. fortune, indeed, and benefits by fate are lotted out: one country's blest with fertile fields, whilst others sterile be. the shifts of evil chance cast down full many a man of worth and those, that merit not, uplift to be of high degree. so come to me, o death! for life is worthless verily; when falcons humbled to the dust and geese on high we see. 'tis little wonder if thou find the noble-minded poor, what while the loser by main force usurps his sovranty. one bird will traverse all the earth and fly from east to west: another hath his every wish although no step stir he. then he lifted his eyes to heaven and said, 'o my god, thou knowest that i cast my net but four times a day; and now i have cast it three times and have taken nothing. grant me then, o my god, my daily bread this time!' so he said, 'in the name of god!' and cast his net and waited till it had settled down in the water, then pulled it, but could not bring it up, for it was caught in the bottom whereupon, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god!' said he and repeated the following verses: away with the world, if it be like this, away! my part in it's nought but misery and dismay! though the life of a man in the morning be serene, he must drink of the cup of woe ere ended day. and yet if one asked, 'who's the happiest man alive?' the people would point to me and 'he' would say. then he stripped and dived down to the net and strove with it till he brought it to shore, where he opened it and found in it a brazen vessel, full and stoppered with lead, on which was impressed the seal of our lord solomon, son of david (on whom be peace!). when he saw this, he was glad and said, 'i will sell this in the copper market, for it is worth half a score diners.' then he shook it and found it heavy and said to himself, 'i wonder what is inside! i will open it and see what is in it, before i sell it.' so he took out a knife and worked at the leaden seal, till he extracted it from the vessel and laid it aside. then he turned the vase mouth downward and shook it, to turn out its contents; but nothing came out, and he wondered greatly and laid it on the ground. presently, there issued from it a smoke, which rose up towards the sky and passed over the face of the earth; then gathered itself together and condensed and quivered and became an afrit, whose head was in the clouds and his feet in the dust. his head was like a dome, his hands like pitchforks, his legs like masts, his mouth like a cavern, his teeth like rocks, his nostrils like trumpets, his eyes like lamps, and he was stern and lowering of aspect. when the fisherman saw the afrit, he trembled in every limb; his teeth chattered and his spittle dried up and he knew not what to do. when the afrit saw him, he said, 'there is no god but god, and solomon is his prophet! o prophet of god, do not kill me, for i will never again disobey thee or cross thee, either in word or deed !' quoth the fisherman, 'o marid,[fn# ] thou sayest, "solomon is the prophet of god." solomon is dead these eighteen hundred years, and we are now at the end of time. but what is thy history and how comest thou in this vessel?' when the marid heard this, he said, 'there is no god but god! i have news for thee, o fisherman!' 'what news?' asked he, and the afrit answered, 'even that i am about to slay thee without mercy.' 'o chief of the afrits,' said the fisherman, 'thou meritest the withdrawal of god's protection from thee for saying this! why wilt thou kill me and what calls for my death? did i not deliver thee from the abysses of the sea and bring thee to land and release thee from the vase?' quoth the afrit, 'choose what manner of death thou wilt die and how thou wilt be killed.' 'what is my crime?' asked the fisherman. 'is this my reward for setting thee free?' the afrit answered, 'hear my story, o fisherman!' 'say on and be brief,' quoth he, 'for my heart is in my mouth.' then said the afrit, 'know, o fisherman, that i was of the schismatic jinn and rebelled against solomon son of david (on whom be peace!), i and sekhr the genie; and he sent his vizier asef teen berkhiya, who took me by force and bound me and carried me, in despite of myself, before solomon, who invoked god's aid against me and exhorted me to embrace the faith[fn# ] and submit to his authority: but i refused. then he sent for this vessel and shut me up in it and stoppered it with lead and sealed it with the most high name and commanded the jinn to take me and throw me into the midst of the sea. there i remained a hundred years, and i said in my heart, "whoso releaseth me, i will make him rich for ever." but the hundred years passed and no one came to release me, and i entered on another century and said, "whoso releaseth me, i will open to him the treasures of the earth" but none released me, and other four hundred years passed over me, and i said, "whoso releaseth me, i will grant him three wishes." but no one set me free. then i was exceeding wroth and said to myself, "henceforth, whoso releaseth me, i will kill him and let him choose what death he will die." and now, thou hast released me, and i give thee thy choice of deaths.' when the fisherman heard this, he exclaimed, 'o god, the pity of it that i should not have come to release thee till now!' then he said to the afrit, 'spare me, that god may spare thee, and do not destroy me, lest god set over thee one who will destroy thee.' but he answered, 'there is no help for it, i must kill thee: so choose what death thou wilt die.' the fisherman again returned to the charge, saying, 'spare me for that i set thee free.' 'did i not tell thee,' replied the marid, 'that is why i kill thee?' 'o head of the afrits,' said the fisherman, 'i did thee a kindness, and thou repayest me with evil: indeed the proverb lieth not that saith: "we did them good, and they the contrary returned: and this, upon my life, is what the wicked do! who helps those, that deserve it not, shall be repaid as the hyæna paid the man that helped her through."' 'make no more words about it,' said the afrit; 'thou must die.' quoth the fisherman to himself, 'this is a genie, and i am a man; and god hath given me a good wit. so i will contrive for his destruction by my wit and cunning, even as he plotted mine of his craft and perfidy.' then he said to the afrit, 'is there no help for it, but thou must kill me?' he answered, 'no,' and the fisherman said, 'i conjure thee, by the most high name graven upon the ring of solomon son of david (on whom be peace!), answer me one question truly.' when the afrit heard him mention the most high name, he was agitated and trembled and replied, 'it is well: ask and be brief.' quoth the fisherman, 'this vessel would not suffice for thy hand or thy foot: so how could it hold the whole of thee?' said the afrit, 'dost thou doubt that i was in it?' 'yes,' answered the fisherman; 'nor will i believe it till i see it with my own eyes.'" here shehrzad perceived the day and was silent. and when it was the fourth night[fn# ] dunyazad said to her sister, "o sister, an thou be not asleep, finish us thy story." so shehrzad began, "i have heard tell, o august king, that, when he heard what the fisherman said, the afrit shook and became a smoke over the sea, which drew together and entered the vessel little by little, till it was all inside. whereupon the fisherman made haste to take the leaden stopper and clapping it on the mouth of the vessel, called out to the afrit, saying, 'choose what death thou wilt die! by allah, i will throw thee back into the sea and build myself a house hard by, and all who come hither i will warn against fishing here, and say to them, "there is an afrit in these waters, that gives those who pull him out their choice of deaths and how he shall kill them."' when the afrit heard this and found himself shut up in the vessel, he knew that the fisherman had outwitted him and strove to get out, but could not, for solomon's seal prevented him; so he said to the fisherman, 'i did but jest with thee.' 'thou liest, o vilest and meanest and foulest of afrits!' answered he, and rolled the vessel to the brink of the sea; which when the afrit felt, he cried out, 'no! no!' and the fisherman said, 'yes! yes!' then the afrit made his voice small and humbled himself and said, 'what wilt thou do with me, o fisherman?' 'i mean to throw thee back into the sea,' replied he; 'since thou hast lain there already eighteen hundred years, thou shalt lie there now till the hour of judgment. did i not say to thee, "spare me, so god may spare thee; and do not kill me, lest god kill thee?" but thou spurnedst my prayers and wouldst deal with me no otherwise than perfidiously. so i used cunning with thee and now god has delivered thee into my hand.' said the afrit, 'let me out, that i may confer benefits on thee.' the fisherman answered, 'thou liest, o accursed one! thou and i are like king younan's vizier and the physician douban.' 'who are they,' asked the afrit, 'and what is their story?' then said the fisherman, 'know, o afrit, that story of the physician douban. there was once in a city of persia a powerful and wealthy king, named younan, who had guards and troops and auxiliaries of every kind: but he was afflicted with a leprosy, which defied the efforts of his physicians and wise men. he took potions and powders and used ointments, but all to no avail, and not one of the doctors could cure him. at last, there came to the king's capital city a great physician, stricken in years, whose name was douban: and he had studied many books, greek, ancient and modern, and persian and turkish and arabic and syriac and hebrew, and was skilled in medicine and astrology, both theoretical and practical. moreover he was familiar with all plants and herbs and grasses, whether harmful or beneficial, and was versed in the learning of the philosophers; in brief, he had made himself master of all sciences, medical and other. he had not been long in the town before he heard of the leprosy with which god had afflicted the king, and of the failure of the physicians and men of science to cure him; whereupon he passed the night in study; and when the day broke and the morning appeared and shone, he donned his richest apparel and went in to the king and kissing the ground before him, wished him enduring honour and fair fortune, in the choicest words at his command. then he told him who he was and said to him, "o king, i have learnt what has befallen thee in thy person and how a multitude of physicians have failed to find a means of ridding thee of it: but i will cure thee, o king, and that without giving thee to drink of medicine or anointing thee with ointment." when the king heard this, he wondered and said to him, "how wilt thou do this? by allah, if thou cure me, i will enrich thee, even to thy children's children, and i will heap favours on thee, and whatever thou desirest shalt be shine, and thou shalt be my companion and my friend." then he gave him a dress of honour and made much of him, saying, "wilt thou indeed cure me without drugs or ointment?" "yes," answered douban, "i will cure thee from without." whereat the king marvelled exceedingly and said, "o physician, when wilt thou do as thou hast said? make haste, o my son!" quoth douban, "i hear and obey: it shall be done tomorrow." and he went down into the city and hired a house, in which he deposited his books and medicines. then he took certain drugs and simples and fashioned them into a mall, which he hollowed out and made thereto a handle and a ball, adapted to it by his art. next morning he presented himself before the king and kissing the ground before him, ordered him to repair to the tilting ground and play at mall there. so the king mounted and repaired thither with his amirs and chamberlains and viziers, and hardly had he reached the appointed place when the physician douban came up and presented him with the mall and ball he had prepared, saying, "take this mall and grip the handle thus and drive into the plain and stretch thyself well and strike this ball till thy hand and thy body sweat, when the drugs will penetrate thy hand and permeate thy body. when thou hast done and the medicine has entered into thee, return to thy palace and enter the bath and wash. then sleep awhile and thou wilt awake cured, and peace be on thee!" the king took the mall and mounting a swift horse, threw the ball before him and drove after it with all his might and smote it: and his hand gripped the mall firmly. and he ceased not to drive after the bail and strike it, till his hand and all his body sweated, and douban knew that the drugs had taken effect upon him and ordered him to return and enter the bath at once. so the king returned immediately and ordered the bath to be emptied for him. they turned the people out of the bath, and his servants and attendants hastened thither and made him ready change of linen and all that was necessary: and he went in and washed himself well and put on his clothes. then he came out of the bath and went up to his palace and slept there. when he awoke, he looked at his body and found it clean as virgin silver, having no trace left of the leprosy: whereat he rejoiced exceedingly and his breast expanded with gladness. next morning, he repaired to the divan and sat down on his chair of estate, and the chamberlains and grandees attended on him. presently, the physician douban presented himself and kissed the earth before the king and repeated the following verses: the virtues all exalted are, when thou art styled their sire: none else the title dares accept, of all that men admire. lord of the radiant brow, whose light dispels the mists of doubt from every goal of high emprize whereunto folk aspire, ne'er may thy visage cease to shine with glory and with joy, although the face of fate should gloom with unremitting ire! even as the clouds pour down their dews upon the thirsting hills, thy grace pours favour on my head, outrunning my desire. with liberal hand thou casteth forth thy bounties far and nigh, and so hast won those heights of fame thou soughtest to acquire. the king rose to him in haste and embraced him and made him sit down and clad him in a splendid dress of honour. then tables of rich food were brought in, and douban ate with the king and ceased not to bear him company all that day. when it was night, the king gave him two thousand diners, besides other presents, and mounted him on his own horse; and the physician returned to his lodging, leaving the king astonished at his skill and saying, "this man cured me from without, without using ointments. by allah, this is none other than consummate skill! and it behoves me to honour and reward him and make him my companion and bosom friend to the end of time." the king passed the night in great content, rejoicing in the soundness of his body and his deliverance from his malady. on the morrow, he went out and sat down on his throne; and the grandees stood before him, whilst the amirs and viziers sat on his right hand and on his left. then he sent for the physician, who came and kissed the ground before him, whereupon the king rose to him and made him sit by his side and eat with him, and ceased not to converse with him and make much of him till night; when he commanded five dresses of honour and a thousand diners to be given to him, and he returned to his house, well contented with the king. next morning, the king repaired as usual to his council-chamber, and the amirs and viziers and chamberlains took their places round him. now he had among his viziers one who was forbidding of aspect, sordid, avaricious and envious: a man of ill omen, naturally inclined to malevolence: and when he saw the esteem in which the king held douban and the favours he bestowed on him, he envied him and plotted evil against him; for, as says the byword, "nobody is free from envy"--and again--"tyranny is latent in the soul: weakness hides it and strength reveals it." so he came to the king and kissed the earth before him and said to him "o king of the age, thou in whose bounties i have grown up, i have a grave warning to give thee, which did i conceal from thee, i were a son of shame: wherefore, if thou command me to impart it to thee, i will do so." quoth the king (and indeed the vizier's words troubled him), "what is thy warning?" "o illustrious king," answered the vizier, "the ancients have a saying, 'whoso looks not to the issue of events, fortune is no friend of his :' and indeed i see the king in other than the right way, in that he favours his enemy, who seeks the downfall of his kingdom, and makes much of him and honours him exceedingly and is beyond measure familiar with him: and of a truth i am fearful for the king." quoth king younan (and indeed he was troubled and his colour changed), "of whom dost thou speak?" the vizier answered, "if thou sleepest, awake. i mean the physician douban." "out on thee!" said the king. "he is my true friend and the dearest of all men to me; seeing that he medicined me by means of a thing i held in my hand and cured me of my leprosy, which the doctors were unable to cure; and there is not his like to be found in this time, no, not in the whole world, east nor west; and it is of him that thou speakest thus! but from to-day i will assign him stipends and allowances and appoint him a thousand diners a month: and if i should share my kingdom with him, it were but a little thing. methinks thou sayest this out of pure envy and wouldst have me kill him and after repent, as king sindbad repented the killing of his falcon." "pardon me, o king of the age," said the vizier, "but how was that! quoth the king, "it is said that king sindbad and his falcon. there was once a king of persia, who delighted in hunting; and he had reared a falcon, that left him not day or night, but slept all night long, perched upon his hand. whenever he went out to hunt, he took the falcon with him; and he let make for it a cup of gold to hang round its neck, that he might give it to drink therein. one day, his chief falconer came in to him and said, 'o king, now is the time to go a-hunting.' so the king gave orders accordingly and took the falcon on his wrist and set out, accompanied by his officers and attendants. they rode on till they reached a valley, where they formed the circle of the chase, and behold, a gazelle entered the ring; whereupon quoth the king, 'whoso lets the gazelle spring over his head, i will kill him.' then they drew the ring closelier round her, and behold, she came to the king's station and standing still, put her forelegs to her breast, as if to kill the earth before him. he bowed to her, but she sprang over his head and was off into the desert. the king saw his attendants nodding and winking to one another about him and said to his vizier, 'o vizier, what say my men?' 'they say,' answered the vizier, that thou didst threaten to kill him over whose head the gazelle should spring.' 'as my head liveth,' rejoined the king, 'i will follow her up, till i bring her back!' so he pricked on after her and followed her till he came to a mountain and she made for her lair; but the king cast off the falcon, which swooped down on her and pecked at her eyes, till he blinded her and dazed her; whereupon the king threw his mace at her and brought her down. then he alighted and cut her throat and skinned her and made her fast to his saddle-bow. now it was the hour of midday rest and the place, where he was, was desert, and the king was athirst and so was his horse. so he searched till he saw a tree, with water dripping slowly, like oil, from its branches. now the king's hands were gloved with leather;[fn# ] so he took the cup from the falcon's neck and filled it with the liquid and set it before himself, when behold, the falcon smote the cup and overturned it. the king took it and refilled it with the falling drops and set it before the bird, thinking that it was athirst: but it smote it again and overturned it. at this, the king was vexed with the falcon and rose and filled the cup a third time and set it before the horse: but the falcon again overturned it with its wing. then said the king, 'god confound thee, thou most mischievous of fowls, thou wilt neither drink thyself nor let me nor the horse drink!' and he smote it with his sword and cut off its wings: whereupon it erected its head and made signs as who should say, 'look what is at the top of the tree.' the king raised his eyes and saw at the top of the tree a brood of snakes, and this was their venom dripping, which he had taken for water. so he repented him of having cut off the falcon's wings and mounting, rode on till he reached his tents and gave the gazelle to the cook to roast. then he sat down on his chair, with the falcon on his wrist: and presently the bird gasped and died: whereupon the king cried out in sorrow and lament for having slain the bird that had saved him from death, and repented him when repentance availed him not. this, then, is the story of king sindbad; and as for thee, o vizier, envy hath entered into thee, and thou wouldst have me kill the physician and after repent, even as king sindbad repented." "o mighty king," answered the vizier, "what harm has this physician done me that i should wish his death? indeed i only do this thing in compassion for thee and that thou mayst know the truth of the matter: else may i perish as perished the vizier who plotted to destroy the king his master's son." "how was that? asked the king, and the vizier replied, "know, o king, that the king's son and the ogress. there was once a king's son who was passionately fond of the chase; and his father had charged one of his viziers to attend him wherever he went. one day, the prince went out to hunt, accompanied by the vizier, and as they were going along, they saw a great wild beast, whereupon the vizier said to the prince, 'up and after yonder beast!' so the prince rode after the beast and followed it, till he was lost to sight. after awhile, the beast disappeared in the desert, and the prince found himself alone, not knowing which way to turn. presently he came upon a damsel, weeping, and said to her, 'who art thou?' quoth she, 'i am the daughter of one of the kings of india, and i was journeying through this country, with a company of people, when sleep overcame me and i fell from my horse, not knowing what i did. my people did not note my fall and went on and left me; and now i am alone and bewildered.' when the prince heard this, he had pity on her case and took her up behind himself and they rode on, till they came to some ruins; when she said to him, 'o my lord, i wish to do an occasion here.' so he put her down, and she entered the ruins and tarried there till he became impatient and went in search of her; when he was ware that she was an ogress, and heard her say to her children, 'o my children, i have brought you to day a fat youth.' 'o mother,' answered they, 'bring him to us, that we may browse on him our bellyful.' when the prince heard this their talk, he trembled in every nerve and made sure of destruction and turned back. the ogress came out after him and finding him terrified and trembling, said to him, 'why dost thou fear?' quoth he, 'i have an enemy, of whom i am in fear.' 'didst thou not say that thou wast a king's son?' asked she, and he answered 'yes.' 'then,'said she, 'why dost thou not give thine enemy money and so appease him?' he replied, 'indeed he will not be satisfied with money nor with aught but life; and i fear him and am an oppressed man.' 'if thou be oppressed as thou sayst,' rejoined she, 'ask help of god; surely he will protect thee from thine enemy and from the mischief thou fearest from him.' so the prince raised his eyes to heaven and said, 'o thou that answerest the prayer of the distressed, when they call on thee, and dispellest evil from them, o my god, succour me against mine enemy and turn him back from me, for thou indeed canst do whatsoever thou wilt.' when the ogress heard his prayer, she departed from him and he resumed to the king his father and informed him of the vizier's conduct: whereupon the king sent for the latter and put him to death. and thou, o king" (continued the envious vizier), "if thou put thy trust in this physician, he will kill thee in the foulest fashion. he, verily, whom thou hast favoured and admitted to thy friendship, plots thy destruction: for know that he is a spy come from a far land with intent to destroy thee. seest thou not that he cured thee of thy distemper from without, by means of a thing held in thy hand, and how canst thou be sure that he will not kill thee by some like means?" "thou speakest sooth, o vizier of good counsel!" said the king. "it must indeed be as thou sayst; this physician doubtless comes as a spy, seeking to destroy me; and indeed, if he could cure me by means of a handle held in my hand, he can kill me by means of something i shall smell. but what is to be done with him?" "send after him at once," answered the vizier, "and when he comes, strike off his head and play him false, ere he play thee false; and so shalt thou ward off his mischief and be at peace from him." "thou art right, o vizier," rejoined the king and sent for the physician, who came, rejoicing, for he knew not what the compassionate had decreed unto him. as the saying runs: thou that fearest ill fortune, be of good heart and hope! trust thine affairs to him who fashioned the earth and sea! what is decreed of god surely shall come to pass; that which is not decreed never shall trouble thee. when douban entered, he recited the following verses: if all the thanks i speak come short of that which is your due, say for whom else my verse and prose i make except for you? you have indeed prevented me with many an unasked boon, blest me, unhindered of excuse, with favours not a few. how then should i omit to give your praise its full desert and celebrate with heart and voice your goodness ever new? i will indeed proclaim aloud the boons i owe to you, favours, that, heavy to the hack, are light the thought unto. and also the following: avert thy face from trouble and from care and trust in god to order thine affair. rejoice in happy fortune near at hand, in which thou shalt forget the woes that were. full many a weary and a troublous thing is, in its issue, solaceful and fair. god orders all according to his will: oppose him not in what he doth prepare. and these also: trust thine affairs to the subtle, to god that knoweth all, and rest at peace from the world, for nothing shall thee appal. know that the things of the world not, as thou wilt, befall, but as the great god orders, to whom all kings are thrall! and lastly these: take heart and rejoice and forget thine every woe, for even the wit of the wise is eaten away by care. what shall thought-taking profit a helpless, powerless slave? leave it and be at peace in joy enduring fore'er! when he had finished, the king said to him, "dost thou know why i have sent for thee?" and the physician answered, "none knoweth the hidden things save god the most high." quoth the king, "i have sent for thee to kill thee and put an end to thy life." douban wondered greatly at these words and said, "o king, wherefore wilt thou kill me and what offence have i committed?" "i am told," replied younan, "that thou art a spy and comest to kill me, but i will kill thee first." then he cried out to his swordbearer, saying, "strike off the head of this traitor and rid us of his mischief!" "spare me," said douban; "so may god spare thee; and kill me not, lest god kill thee!" and he repeated these words to him, even as i did to thee, o afrit, and thou wouldst not spare me, but persistedst in thine intent to put me to death. then the king said to douban, "verily i shall not be secure except i kill thee: for thou curedst me by means of a handle i held in my hand, and i have no assurance but thou wilt kill me by means of perfumes or otherwise." "o king," said douban, "is this my reward from thee? thou returnest evil for good?" the king replied, "it boots not: thou must die and that without delay." when the physician saw that the king was irrevocably resolved to kill him, he wept and lamented the good he had done to the undeserving, blaming himself for having sown in an ungrateful soil and repeating the following verses: maimouneh has no wit to guide her by, although her sire among the wise ranks high. the man, who has no sense to rule his steps, slips, he the ground he treads on wet or dry. then the swordbearer came forward and bandaged his eyes and baring his sword, said to the king, "have i thy leave to strike?" whereupon the physician wept and said, "spare me, so god may spare thee: and kill me not, lest god kill thee!" and he recited the following verses: i acted in good faith and they betrayed: i came to nought: they prospered, whilst my loyalty brought me to evil case. if that i live, i will to none good counsel give again: and if i die, good counsellors be curst of every race! and he said to the king, "is this my reward from thee? thou givest me the crocodile's recompense." quoth the king, "what is the story of the crocodile?" "i cannot tell it," answered douban, "and i in this case; but, god on thee, spare me, so may he spare thee!" and he wept sore. then one of the king's chief officers rose and said, "o king, grant me this man's life, for we see not that he has committed any offence against thee nor that he has done aught but cure thee of thy disorder, which baffled the doctors and sages." "ye know not why i put him to death," answered the king: "it is because i believe him to be a spy, who hath been suborned to kill me and came hither with that intent: and verily he who cured me by means of a handle held in my hand can easily poison me in like manner. if i spare him, he will infallibly destroy me: so needs must i kill him, and then i shall feel myself safe." when the physician was convinced that there was no hope for him, but that the king would indeed put him to death, he said to the latter, "o king, if thou must indeed kill me, grant me a respite, that i may go to my house and discharge my last duties and dispose of my medical books and give my people and friends directions for my burial. among my books is one that is a rarity of rarities, and i will make thee a present of it, that thou mayst lay it up in thy treasury." "and what is in this book?" asked the king. quoth douban, "it contains things without number: the least of its secret virtues is that if, when thou hast cut off my head, thou open the book, turn over six leaves and read three lines of the left-hand page, my head will speak and answer whatever questions thou shalt ask it." at this the king marvelled greatly and shook with delight and said, "o physician, will thy head indeed speak to me, after it is cut off?" and he answered, "yes, o king." quoth the king, "this is indeed wonderful!" and sent him under guard to his house, where douban spent the remainder of the day in setting his affairs in order. next day, the amirs and viziers and chamberlains and all the great officers and notables of the kingdom came to the court, and the presence chamber was like a flower garden. presently the physician entered, bearing an old book and a small pot full of powder; and sitting down, called for a dish. so they brought him a dish, and he poured the powder therein and levelled it. then he said, "o king, take this book, but do not open it till my head has been cut off, placed on this dish and pressed down on the powder, when the blood will cease to flow: then open the book and do as i have enjoined thee." the king took the book and gave the signal to the headsman, who rose and struck off the physician's head and set it on the dish, pressing it down upon the powder, when the blood immediately ceased to flow, and the head unclosed its eyes and said, "open the book, o king!" younan opened the book and found the leaves stuck together; so he put his finger to his mouth and took of his spittle and loosened them therewith and turned over the pages in this manner, one after another, for the leaves would not come apart but with difficulty, till he came to the seventh page, but found nothing written thereon and said to the head, "o physician, there is nothing here." quoth the head, "open more leaves." so the king turned over more leaves in the same manner. now the book was as poisoned, and before long the poison began to work upon the king, and he fell back in convulsions and cried out, "i am poisoned!" whereupon the head repeated the following verses: lo, these once were kings who governed with a harsh and haughty sway! in a little, their dominion was as if it ne'er had been. had they swayed the sceptre justly, they had been repaid the like, but they were unjust, and fortune guerdoned them with dole and teen. now they're passed away, the moral of their case bespeaks them thus, "this is what your sins have earnt you: fate is not to blame, i ween." no sooner had it done speaking, than the king fell down dead and the head also ceased to live. and know, o afrit (continued the fisherman), that if king younan had spared the physician douban, god would have spared him; but he refused and sought his death; so god killed him. and thou, o afrit, if thou hadst spared me, i would spare thee; but nothing would serve thee but thou must put me to death; so now i will kill thee by shutting thee up in this vessel and throwing thee into the sea.' at this the marid roared out and said, 'god on thee, o fisherman, do not do that! spare me and bear me not malice for what i did, for men's wit is still better than that of jinn. if i did evil, do thou good, in accordance with the adage, "o thou that dost good to him that does evil, the deed of the evil-doer suffices him." do not thou deal with me as did umameh with aatikeh.' 'and what did umameh with aatikeh?' asked the fisherman. but the afrit answered, 'this is no time to tell stories, and i in this duresse: let me out, and i will tell thee.' quoth the fisherman, 'leave this talk: i must and will throw thee into the sea, and thou shalt never win out again; for i besought thee and humbled myself to thee, but nothing would serve thee but thou must kill me, who had committed no offence against thee deserving this nor done thee any ill, but only kindness, in that i delivered thee from duresse. when thou didst thus by me, i knew thee for an incorrigible evil-doer; and know that, when i have thrown thee back into the sea, i will tell every one what happened between me and thee and warn him, to the end that whoever fishes thee up may throw thee in again; and thou shalt remain in the sea till the end of time and suffer all manner of torments.' quoth the afrit, 'let me out, for this is the season of generosity; and i will make a compact with thee never to do thee hurt and to help thee to what shall enrich thee.' the fisherman accepted his proposal and unsealed the vessel, after he had taken the afrit's pledge and made him swear by the most high name never to hurt him, but on the contrary to do him service. then the smoke ascended as before and gathered itself together and became an afrit, who gave the vessel a kick and sent it into the sea. when the fisherman saw this, he let fly in his clothes and gave himself up for lost, saying, 'this bodes no good.' but he took courage and said to the afrit, 'o afrit, quoth god the most high, "be ye faithful to your covenants, for they shall be enquired of:" and verily thou madest a pact with me and sworest to me that thou wouldst do me no hurt. so play me not false, lest god do the like with thee: for indeed he is a jealous god, who delayeth to punish, yet letteth not the evil-doer escape. and i say to thee, as said the physician douban to king younan, "spare me, so god may spare thee!"' the afrit laughed and started off inland, saying to the fisherman, 'follow me.' so he followed him, trembling and not believing that he should escape, and the afrit led him to the backward of the town: then crossing a hill, descended into a spacious plain, in the midst of which was a lake of water surrounded by four little hills. he led the fisherman into the midst of the lake, where he stood still and bade him throw his net and fish. the fisherman looked into the water and was astonished to see therein fish of four colours, white and red and blue and yellow. then he took out his net and cast and drawing it in, found in it four fish, one of each colour. at this he rejoiced, and the afrit said to him, 'carry them to the sultan and present them to him, and he will give thee what shall enrich thee. and accept my excuse, for i know not any other way to fulfil my pro mise to thee, having lain in yonder sea eighteen hundred years and never seen the surface of the earth till this time. but do not fish here more than once a day; and i commend thee to god's care!' so saying, he struck the earth with his foot, and it opened and swallowed him up, whilst the fisherman returned, wondering at all that had befallen him, to his house, where he took a bowl of water and laid therein the fish, which began to frisk about. then he set the bowl on his head and going up to the palace, as the afrit had bidden him, presented the fish to the king, who wondered at them greatly, for that he had never seen their like, in shape or kind, and said to his vizier, 'give these fish to the cookmaid that the king of the greeks sent us, and tell her to fry them.' now this was a damsel that he had received as a present from the king of the greeks three days before and of whom he had not yet made trial in cookery. so the vizier carried the fish to the cookmaid and said to her, 'these fish have been brought as a present to the sultan and he says to thee, "o my tear, i have reserved thee against my stress!" so do thou show us to-day thy skill and the excellence of thy cookery.' then he returned to the sultan, who bade him give the fisherman four hundred diners. so he gave them to him and he took the money in his lap and set off home, running and stumbling and falling and rising again and thinking that he was dreaming. and he bought what was needful for his family and returned to his wife, glad and happy. meanwhile the cookmaid took the fish and cleaned them and set the frying-pan on the fire. then she poured in oil of sesame and waited till it was hot, when she put in the fish. as soon as one side was done, she fumed them, when lo, the wall of the kitchen opened and out came a handsome and well-shaped young lady, with smooth cheeks and liquid black eyes.[fn# ] she was clad in a tunic of satin, yarded with spangles of egyptian gold, and on her head she had a silken kerchief, fringed with blue. she wore rings in her ears and bracelets on her wrists and rings on her fingers, with beazels of precious stones, and held in her hand a rod of indian cane. she came up to the brazier and thrust the rod into the frying-pan saying 'o fish, are you constant to your covenant?' and when the cookmaid heard this she swooned away. then the damsel repeated her question a second and a third time; and the fish lifted up their heads and cried out with one voice, 'yes, yes: return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: or, if thou wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!' with this the damsel overturned the frying-pan and went out by the way she had come, and the wall closed up again as before. presently the cookmaid came to herself and seeing the four fish burnt black as coal, said, 'my arms are broken in my first skirmish!' and fell down again in a swoon. whilst she was in this state, in came the vizier, to seek the fish, and found her insensible, not knowing saturday from thursday. so he stirred her with his foot and she came to herself and wept and told him what had passed. he marvelled and said, 'this is indeed a strange thing !' then he sent for the fisherman and said to him, 'o fisherman, bring us four more fish of the same kind.' so the fisherman repaired to the lake and cast his net and hauling it in, found in it four fish like the first and carried them to the vizier, who took them to the cookmaid and said to her, 'come, fry them before me, that i may see what happens.' so she cleaned the fish and setting the frying-pan on the fire, threw them into it: and they had not lain long before the wall opened and the damsel appeared, after the same fashion, and thrust the rod into the pan, saying, 'o fish, o fish, are you constant to the old covenant?' and behold the fish all lifted up their heads and cried out as before, 'yes, yes: return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: or, if thou wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!' then she overturned the pan and went out as she had come and the wall closed up again. when the vizier saw this, he said, 'this is a thing that must not be kept from the king. so he went to him and told him what he had witnessed; and the king said, 'i must see this with my own eyes.' then he sent for the fisherman and commanded him to bring him other four fish like the first; and the fisherman went down at once to the lake and casting his net, caught other four fish and returned with them to the king, who ordered him other four hundred diners and set a guard upon him till he should see what happened. then he turned to the vizier and said to him, 'come thou and fry the fish before me.' quoth the vizier, 'i hear and obey.' so he fetched the frying-pan and setting it on the fire, cleaned the fish and threw them in: but hardly had he turned them, when the wall opened, and out came a black slave, as he were a mountain or one of the survivors of the tribe of aad,[fn# ] with a branch of a green tree in his hand: and he said, in a terrible voice, 'o fish, o fish, are you constant to the old covenant?' whereupon they lifted up their heads and cried out' 'yes, yes; we are constant: return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: or, if thou wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!' then the slave went up to the pan and overturning it with the branch, went out as he had come, and the wall closed up as before. the king looked at the fish and found them black as coal; whereat he was bewildered and said to the vizier, 'this is a thing about which it is impossible to keep silence; and indeed there must be some strange circumstance connected with these fish.' then he sent for the fisherman and said to him, 'hark ye, sirrah, whence hadst thou those fish?' 'from a lake between four hills,' answered he, 'on the thither side of the mountain behind the city.' 'how many days' journey hence?' asked the king; and the fisherman said, 'o my lord sultan, half an hour's journey.' at this the king was astonished and ordering the troops to mount, set out at once, followed by his suite and preceded by the fisherman, who began to curse the afrit. they rode on over the mountain and descended into a wide plain, that they had never before set eyes on, whereat they were all amazed. then they fared on till they came to the lake lying between the four hills and saw the fish therein of four colours, red and white and yellow and blue. the king stood and wondered and said to his attendants, 'has any one of you ever seen this lake before?' but they answered, 'never did we set eyes on it in all our lives, o king of the age.' then he questioned those stricken in years, and they made him the same answer. quoth he, 'by allah, i will not return to my capital nor sit down on my chair of estate till i know the secret of this pond and its fish!' then he ordered his people to encamp at the foot of the hills and called his vizier, who was a man of learning and experience, sagacious and skilful in business, and said to him, 'i mean to go forth alone to-night and enquire into the matter of the lake and these fish: wherefore do thou sit down at the door of my pavilion and tell the amirs and viziers and chamberlains and officers and all who ask after me that the sultan is ailing and hath ordered thee to admit no one, and do thou acquaint none with my purpose.' the vizier dared not oppose his design; so the king disguised himself and girt on his sword and going forth privily, took a path that led over one of the hills and fared on all that night and the next day, till the heat overcame him and he paused to rest. then he set out again and fared on the rest of that day and all the next night, till on the morning of the second day, he caught sight of some black thing in the distance, whereat he rejoiced and said, 'belike i shall find some one who can tell me the secret of the lake and the fish.' so he walked on, till he came to the black object, when he found it a palace built of black stone, plated with iron; and one leaf of its gate was open and the other shut. at this the king rejoiced and went up to the gate and knocked lightly, but heard no answer. so he knocked a second time and a third time, with the same result. then he knocked loudly, but still no one answered; and he said to himself, 'it must be deserted.' so he took courage and entering the vestibule, cried out, 'ho, people of the palace! i am a stranger and a wayfarer and hungry. have ye any victual?' he repeated these words a second and a third time, but none answered. so he took heart and went on boldly into the interior of the palace, which he found hung and furnished with silken stuffs, embroidered with stars of gold, and curtains let down before the doors. in the midst was a spacious courtyard, with four estrades, one on each side, and a bench of stone. midmost the courtyard was a great basin of water, from which sprang a fountain, and at the corners stood four lions of red gold, spouting forth water as it were pearls and jewels; and the place was full of birds, which were hindered from flying away by a network of gold stretched overhead. the king looked right and left, but there was no one to be seen; whereat he marvelled and was vexed to find none of whom he might enquire concerning the lake and the fish and the palace itself. so he returned to the vestibule and sitting down between the doors, fell to musing upon what he had seen, when lo, he heard a moaning that came from a sorrowful heart, and a voice chanted the following verses: i hid what i endured from thee: it came to light, and sleep was changed to wake thenceforward to my sight. o fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me; lo, for my heart is racked with dolour and affright! have pity, lady mine, upon the great laid low, upon the rich made poor by love and its despite! once, jealous of the breeze that blew on thee, i was, alas! on whom fate falls, his eyes are veiled with night. what boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draws near, his bow-string snap and leave him helpless in the fight? so when afflictions press upon the noble mind, where shall a man from fate and destiny take flight? when the king heard this, he rose and followed the sound and found that it came from behind a curtain let down before the doorway of a sitting-chamber. so he raised the curtain and saw a young man seated upon a couch raised a cubit from the ground. he was a handsome well-shaped youth, with flower-white forehead and rosy cheeks and a black mole, like a grain of ambergris, on the table of his cheek, as says the poet: the slender one! from his brow and the night of his jetty hair, the world in alternate gloom and splendour of day doth fare. blame not the mole on his cheek. is an anemone's cup perfect, except in its midst an eyelet of black it wear? he was clad in a robe of silk, laced with egyptian gold, and had on his head a crown set with jewels, but his face bore traces of affliction. the king rejoiced when he saw him and saluted him; and the youth returned his salute in the most courteous wise, though without rising, and said to him, 'o my lord, excuse me if i do not rise to thee, as is thy due; indeed, i am unable to do so.' 'i hold thee excused, o youth!' answered the king. 'i am thy guest and come to thee on a pressing errand, beseeching thee to expound to me the mystery of the lake and the fish and of this palace, and why thou sittest here alone and weeping.' when the young man heard this, the tears ran down his cheeks and he wept sore, till his breast was drenched, and repeated the following verses: say unto those that grieve, at whom doth fate her arrows cast, "how many an one hath she raised up but to lay low at last! lo, if ye sleep, the eye of god is never closed in sleep. for whom indeed is life serene, for whom is fortune fast?" then he gave a heavy sigh and repeated the following: trust thine affair to the ruler of all that be and put thought-taking and trouble away from thee: say not of aught that is past, "how came it so?" all things depend upon the divine decree. the king marvelled and said to him, 'what makes thee weep, o youth?' 'how should i not weep,' answered he 'being in such a plight?' then he put out his hand and lifted the skirt of his robe, and behold, he was stone from the waist downward. when the king saw this his condition, he grieved sore and lamented and cried out, 'alas! alas!' and said, 'verily, o youth, thou addest trouble to my trouble. i came to enquire concerning the fish; and now i am concerned to know thy history also. but there is no power and no virtue save in god the most high, the supreme! hasten therefore, o youth, and expound to me thy story.' quoth the youth, 'give me thine ears and understanding:' and the king replied, 'i am all attention.' then said the youth, 'there hangs a strange story by these fish and by myself, a story which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye,[fn# ] would serve as a warning to those who can profit by example. 'how so ?' asked the king and the youth replied, 'know, o my lord, that story of the enchanted youth. my father was king of the city that stood in this place, and his name was mohammed, lord of the black islands, which are no other than the four hills of which thou wottest. he reigned seventy years, at the end of which time god took him to himself, and i succeeded to his throne and took to wife the daughter of my father's brother, who loved me with an exceeding love, so that, whenever i was absent from her, she would neither eat nor drink till she saw me again. with her i lived for five years, till one day she went out to go to the bath, and i bade the cook hasten supper for us against her return. then i entered the palace and lay down on the bed where we were wont to lie and ordered two slave-girls to sit, one at my head and the other at my feet, and fan me. now i was disturbed at my wife's absence and could not sleep, but remained awake, although my eyes were closed. presently i heard the damsel at my head say to the other one, "o mesoudeh, how unhappy is our lord and how wretched is his youth, and oh, the pity of him with our accursed harlot of a mistress!" "yes, indeed," replied mesoudeh; "may god curse all unfaithful women and adulteresses! indeed, it befits not that the like of our lord should waste his youth with this harlot, who lies abroad every night." quoth the other, "is our lord then a fool, that, when he wakes in the night and finds her not by his side, he makes no enquiry after her?" "out on thee," rejoined mesoudeh; "has our lord any knowledge of this or does she leave him any choice? does she not drug him every night in the cup of drink she gives him before he sleeps, in which she puts henbane? so he sleeps like a dead man and knows nothing of what happens. then she dresses and scents herself and goes forth and is absent till daybreak, when she returns and burns a perfume under his nose and he awakes." when i heard the girls' talk, the light in my eyes became darkness, and i thought the night would never come. presently, my wife returned from the bath, and they served up supper and we ate and sat awhile drinking and talking as usual. then she called for my sleeping-draught and gave me the cup: and i feigned to drink it, but made shift to pour it into my bosom and lay down at once and began to snore as if i slept. then said she, "sleep out thy night and never rise again! by allah, i hate thee and i hate thy person; i am sick of thy company and i know not when god will take away thy life!" then she rose and donned her richest clothes and perfumed herself and girt on my sword and opened the palace gate and went out. i rose and followed her, and she passed through the streets of the city, till she came to the gate, when she muttered words i understood not: and straight-way the locks fell off and the gate opened. she went forth and fared on among the rubbish heaps, i still following her without her knowledge, till she came to a reed fence, within which was a hut of brick. she entered the hut and i climbed up on the roof and looking down, saw my wife standing by a scurvy black slave, with blubber lips, one of which overlapped the other, like a coverlet, and swept up the sand from the gravel floor, lying upon a bed of sugar-cane refuse and wrapped in an old cloak and a few rags. she kissed the earth before him, and he raised his head to her and said, "out on thee! why hast thou tarried till now? there have been some of my kinsmen the blacks here, drinking; and they have gone away, each with his wench; but i refused to drink on account of thine absence." "o my lord and my love and solace of my eyes," answered she, "dost thou not know that i am married to my cousin, and that i hate to look upon him and abhor myself in his company. did i not fear for thy sake, i would not let the sun rise again till his city was a heap of ruins wherein the owl and the raven should hoot and wolves and foxes harbour; and i would transport its stones behind the mountain caf."[fn# ] "thou liest, o accursed one!" said the black, "and i swear by the valour of the blacks (else may our manhood be as that of the whites!) that if thou tarry again till this hour, i will no longer keep thee company nor join my body to thine! o accursed one, wilt thou play fast and loose with us at thy pleasure, o stinkard, o bitch, o vilest of whites?" when i heard and saw what passed between them, the world grew dark in my eyes and i knew not where i was; whilst my wife stood weeping and humbling herself to him and saying, "o my love and fruit of my heart, if thou be angry with me, who is left me, and if thou reject me, who shall shelter me, o my beloved and light of mine eyes?" and she ceased not to weep and implore him till he forgave her. then she was glad and rose and putting off her clothes, said to the slave, "o my lord, hast thou aught here for thy handmaid to eat?" "take the cover off yonder basin," answered he; "thou wilt find under it cooked rats' bones, and there is a little millet beer left in this pot. eat and drink." so she ate and drank and washed her hands and mouth; then lay down, naked, upon the rushes, beside the slave, and covered herself with the rags. when i saw this, i became as one distraught and coming down from the roof, went in by the door. then i took the sword she had brought and drew it, thinking to kill them both. i struck first at the slave's neck and thought i had made an end of him; but the blow only severed the flesh and the gullet, without dividing the jugulars. he gave a loud gurgling groan and roused my wife, whereupon i drew back, after i had restored the sword to its place, and resuming to the palace, lay down on my bed till morning, when my wife came and awoke me, and i saw that she had cut off her hair and put on mourning garments. "o my cousin," said she, "do not blame me for this i have done; for i have news that my mother is dead, that my father has fallen in battle and that both my brothers are dead also, one of a snake-bite and the other of a fall from a precipice, so that i have good reason to weep and lament." when i heard this, i did not reproach her, but said to her, "do what thou wilt: i will not baulk thee." she ceased not to mourn and lament for a whole year, at the end of which time she said to me, "i wish to build me in thy palace a tomb with a cupola and set it apart for mourning and call it house of lamentations." quoth i, "do what seemeth good to thee." so she built herself a house of mourning, roofed with a dome, and a monument in the midst like the tomb of a saint. thither she transported the slave and lodged him in the tomb. he was exceeding weak and from the day i wounded him he had remained unable to do her any service or to speak or do aught but drink; but he was still alive, because his hour was not yet come. she used to visit him morning and evening in the mausoleum and carry him wine and broths to drink and weep and make moan over him; and thus she did for another year, whilst i ceased not to have patience with her and pay no heed to her doings, till one day i came upon her unawares and found her weeping and saying, "why art thou absent from my sight, o delight of my heart? speak to me, o my life! speak to me, o my love!" and she recited the following verses: my patience fails me for desire: if thou forgettest me, my heart and all my soul can love none other after thee. carry me with thee, body and soul, wherever thou dost fare, and where thou lightest down to rest, there let me buried be. speak but my name above my tomb; the groaning of my bones, turning towards thy voice's sound, shall answer drearily. and she wept and recited the following: my day of bliss is that whereon thou drawest near to me; and that whereon thou turn'st away, my day of death and fear. what though i tremble all the night and be in dread of death, yet thine embraces are to me than safety far more dear. and again the following: though unto me were given all that can make life sweet, though the chosroes empire, yea, and the world were mine, all were to me in value less than a midge's wing, if that mine eyes must never look on that face of thine! when she had finished, i said to her, "o my cousin, let thy mourning suffice thee: for weeping profiteth nothing." she replied, "thwart me not, or i will kill myself." so i held my peace and let her go her way: and she ceased not to mourn and weep for the space of another year. at the end of the third year, i came into the mausoleum one day, vexed at something that had crossed me and weary of this excessive affliction, and found her by the tomb under the dome, saying, "o my lord, i never hear thee speak to me, no, not one word. why dost thou not answer me, o my lord?" and she recited the following verses: o tomb, o tomb, have his beauties ceased, or does thy light indeed, the sheen of the radiant countenance, no more in thee abound? o tomb, o tomb, thou art neither earth nor heaven unto me: how comes it then that sun and moon at once in thee are found? when i heard this, it added wrath to my wrath, and i said, "alas! how much more of this mourning?" and i repeated the following [parody of her] verses: o tomb, o tomb, has his blackness ceased, or does thy light indeed, the sheen of the filthy countenance, no more in thee abound? o tomb, thou art neither kitchen-stove nor sewer-pool for me! how comes it then that mire and coal at once in thee are found? when she heard this, she sprang to her feet and said, "out on thee, thou dog! it was thou that didst thus with me and woundedst the beloved of my heart and hast afflicted me and wasted his youth, so that these three years he hath lain, neither dead nor alive!" "o foulest of harlots and filthiest of whorish doxies of hired slaves," answered i, "it was indeed i who did this!" and i drew my sword and made at her to kill her; but she laughed and said, "avaunt, thou dog! thinkst thou that what is past can recur or the dead come back to life? verily, god has given into my hand him who did this to me and against whom there was in my heart fire that might not be quenched and insatiable rage." then she stood up and pronouncing some words i did not understand, said to me, "let one half of thee by my enchantments become stone and the other half remain man." and immediately i became as thou seest me and have remained ever since neither sitting nor standing and neither dead nor alive. then she enchanted the city with all its streets and gardens and turned it into the lake thou wottest of, and the inhabitants, who were of four religions, muslims, christians, magians and jews, she changed to fish of various colours, the muslims white, the christians blue, the magians red and the jews yellow; and the four islands she turned into four mountains encompassing the lake. moreover, the condition to which she has reduced me does not suffice her: but every day she strips me and gives me a hundred lashes with a whip, so that the blood runs down me and my shoulders are torn. then she clothes my upper half in a shirt of hair-cloth and over that she throws these rich robes.' and he wept and repeated the following verses: lord, i submit myself to thee and eke to fate, content, if so thou please, to suffer and to wait. my enemies oppress and torture me full sore: but paradise at last, belike, shall compensate. though fate press hard on me, i trust in the elect,[fn# ] the accepted one of god, to be my advocate. with this the king turned to him and said, 'o youth, after having rid me of one trouble, thou addest another to me: but tell me, where is thy wife and where is the wounded slave?' 'the slave lies in the tomb under the dome,' answered the youth, 'and she is in the chamber over against the gate. every day at sunrise, she comes out and repairs first to me and strips off my clothes and gives me a hundred strokes with the whip; and i weep and cry out, but cannot stir to keep her off. when she has done torturing me, she goes down to the slave with the wine and broth on which she feeds him; and to-morrow at sunrise she will come.' 'o youth,' rejoined the king, 'by allah, i will assuredly do thee a service by which i shall be remembered and which men shall chronicle to the end of time!' then he sat down by the youth and talked with him till nightfall, when they went to sleep. at peep of day, the king rose and put off his clothes and drawing his sword, repaired to the mausoleum, where, after noting the paintings of the place and the candles and lamps and perfumes burning there, he sought for the slave till he came upon him and slew him with one blow of the sword; after which he took the body on his back and threw it into a well that was in the palace. then he returned to the dome and wrapping himself in the black's clothes, lay down in his place, with his drawn sword by his side. after awhile, the accursed enchantress came out and, going first to her husband, stripped him and beat him with the whip, whilst he cried out, 'alas! the state i am in suffices me. have mercy on me, o my cousin!' but she replied, 'didst thou show me any mercy or spare my beloved?' and beat him till she was tired and the blood ran from his sides. then she put the hair shirt on him and the royal robes over it, and went down to the dome with a goblet of wine and a bowl of broth in her hands. when she came to the tomb, she fell a-weeping and wailing and said, 'o my lord, speak to me!' and repeated the following verse: how long ere this rigour pass sway and thou relent? is it not yet enough of the tears that i have spent?' and she wept and said again, 'o my lord, speak to me!' the king lowered his voice and knotting his tongue, spoke after the fashion of the blacks and said, 'alack! alack! there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high the supreme!' when she heard this, she screamed out for joy and swooned away; and when she revived, she said, 'o my lord, can it be true and didst thou indeed speak to me?' the king made his voice small and said, 'o accursed woman, thou deservest not that i should speak to thee!' 'why so?' asked she; and he replied, 'because all day thou tormentest thy husband and his cries disturb me, and all night long he calls upon god for help and invokes curses on thee and me and keeps me awake from nightfall to daybreak and disquiets me; and but for this, i had been well long ago. this is what has hindered me from answering thee.' quoth she, 'with thy leave, i will release him from his present condition.' 'do so,' said the king, 'and rid us of his noise.' 'i hear and obey,' answered she, and going out into the palace, took a cup full of water and spoke over it certain words, whereupon the water began to boil and bubble as the cauldron bubbles over the fire. then she went up to the young king and sprinkled him with it, saying, 'by the virtue of the words i have spoken, if thou art thus by my spells, quit this shape for thy former one.' and immediately he shook and rose to his feet, rejoicing in his deliverance, and said, 'i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is his apostle, may god bless and preserve him!' then she said to him, 'depart hence and do not return, or i will kill thee.' and she screamed out in his face. so he went out from before her, and she returned to the dome and going down into the tomb, said, 'o my lord, come forth to me, that i may see thy goodly form!' the king replied in a weak voice, 'what hast thou done? thou hast rid me of the branch, but not of the root.' 'o my beloved, o my little black,' said she, 'what is the root?' 'out on thee, o accursed one!' answered he. 'every night, at the middle hour, the people of the city, whom thou by thine enchantments didst change into fish, lift up their heads from the water and cry to god for help and curse thee and me; and this is what hinders my recovery: so do thou go quickly and set them free, and after return and take me by the hand and raise me up; for indeed health returns to me.' when she heard this speech of the king, whom she supposed to be the slave, she rejoiced and said, 'o my lord, on my head and eyes be it, in the name of god!' then she went out, full of joy, and ran to the lake and taking a little of the water in her hand, spoke over it words that might not be understood, whereupon there was a great stir among the fish; and they raised their heads to the surface and stood upright and became men as before. thus was the spell dissolved from the people of the city and the lake became again a populous city, with its streets and bazaars, in which the merchants bought and sold, and every one returned to his employment; whilst the four hills were restored to their original form of islands. then the enchantress returned to the king and said to him, 'o my lord, give me thy noble hand and arise.' 'come nearer to me,' answered he, in a faint voice. so she came close to him, and he took his sword and smote her in the breast, that the steel came forth, gleaming, from her back. he smote her again and cut her in twain, and she fell to the ground in two halves. then he went out and found the young king standing awaiting him and gave him joy of his deliverance, whereupon the youth rejoiced and thanked him and kissed his hand. quoth the sultan, 'wilt thou abide in this thy city or come with me to mine?' 'o king of the age,' rejoined he, 'dost thou know how far it is from here to thy capital?' and the sultan replied, 'two and a half days' journey.' 'o king,' said the other, 'if thou sleepest, awake! between thee and thy capital is a full year's journey to a diligent traveller; and thou hadst not come hither in two days and a half, save that the city was enchanted. but, o king, i will never leave thee, no, not for the twinkling of an eye!' the sultan rejoiced at his words and said, 'praised be god, who hath bestowed thee upon me! thou shalt be my son, for in all my life i have never been blessed with a son.' and they embraced each other and rejoiced with exceeding great joy. then they returned to the palace, and the young king bade his officers make ready for a journey and prepare his baggage and all that he required. the preparations occupied ten days, at the end of which time the young king set out in company of the sultan, whose heart burned within him at the thought of his long absence from his capital, attended by fifty white slaves and provided with magnificent presents. they journeyed day and night for a whole year, and god ordained them safety, till they drew near the sultan's capital and sent messengers in advance to acquaint the vizier with his safe arrival. then came out the vizier and the troops, who had given up all hope of the sultan's return, and kissed the ground before him and gave him joy of his safety. so he entered his palace and sat down on his throne and the vizier came in to him, to whom he related all that had befallen him with the young king: and the vizier gave the latter joy of his deliverance. then all things being set in order, the sultan gave largesse to many of his people and sending for the fisherman who had brought him the enchanted fish and had thus been the first cause of the delivery of the people of the black islands, bestowed on him a dress of honour and enquired of his condition and whether he had any children, to which he replied that he had three children, two daughters and one son. so the king sent for them and taking one daughter to wife, married the other to the young king and made the son his treasurer. moreover, he invested his vizier with the sovereignty of the black islands and despatched him thither with the fifty officers, who had accompanied the young king thence, giving him robes of honour for all the amirs. so the vizier kissed hands and set out for the black islands. the fisherman became the richest man of his time, and he and his daughters and the two kings their husbands abode in peace till death came to them. the porter and the three ladies of baghdad. there was once a porter of baghdad who was a bachelor. one day, as he stood in the market, leant upon his basket, there came to him a lady, swathed in a wrapper of gold embroidered muslin, fringed with gold lace, and wearing embroidered boots and floating tresses plaited with silk and gold. she stopped before him and raising her kerchief, showed a pair of languishing black eyes of perfect beauty, bordered with long drooping lashes. then she turned to the porter and said, in a clear sweet voice, 'take thy basket and follow me.' no sooner had she spoken than he took up his basket in haste, saying, 'o day of good luck! o day of god's grace!' and followed her till she stopped and knocked at the door of a house, when there came out a nazarene, to whom she gave a dinar, and he gave her in return an olive-green bottle, full of wine, which she put into the basket, saying to the porter, 'hoist up and follow me.' said he, 'by allah, this is indeed a happy and fortunate day!' and shouldering the basket, followed her till she came to a fruiterer's, where she bought syrian apples and turkish quinces and arabian peaches and autumn cucumbers and sultani oranges and citrons, beside jessamine of aleppo and damascus water-lilies and myrtle and basil and henna-blossoms and blood-red anemones and violets and sweet-briar and narcissus and camomile and pomegranate flowers, all of which she put into the porter's basket, saying, 'hoist up!' so he shouldered the basket and followed her, till she stopped at a butcher's shop and said to him, 'cut me off ten pounds of meat.' he gave her the meat, wrapped in a banana leaf, and she put it in the basket, saying, 'hoist up, o porter!' and went on to a grocer's, of whom she took pistachio kernels and shelled almonds and hazel-nuts and walnuts and sugar cane and parched peas and mecca raisins and all else that pertains to dessert. thence to a pastry-cook's, where she bought a covered dish and put therein open-work tarts and honey-fritters and tri-coloured jelly and march-pane, flavoured with lemon and melon, and zeyneb's combs and ladies' fingers and cadi's mouthfuls and widow's bread and meat-and-drink[fn# ] and some of every kind of sweetmeat in the shop and laid the dish in the basket of the porter, who said to her, 'thou shouldst have told me, that i might have brought a mule or a camel to carry all these good things.' she smiled and gave him a tap on the nape, saying, 'make haste and leave chattering and god willing, thou shalt have a good wage.' she stopped next at the shop of a druggist, where she bought rose-water and water-lily water and orange-flower water and willow-flower water and six other kinds of sweet waters and a casting bottle of rose-water mingled with musk, besides two loaves of sugar and frankincense and aloes-wood and ambergris and musk and saffron and candles of alexandrian wax, all of which she put into the basket. then she went on to a greengrocer's, of whom she bought pickled safflower and olives, in brine and fresh, and tarragon and juncates and syrian cheese and put them all into the basket and said to the porter, 'take up thy basket and follow me.' so he shouldered his load and followed her till she came to a tall handsome house, with a spacious court before it and a two-leaved door of ebony, inlaid with plates of glittering gold. the lady went up to the door and throwing back her kerchief, knocked softly, whilst the porter stood behind her, musing upon her beauty and grace. after awhile the door opened and both the leaves swung back; whereupon he looked to see who opened it, and behold, it was a damsel of dazzling beauty and symmetry, high-bosomed, with flower-white forehead and rosy cheeks, eyes like those of gazelles or wild oxen and eyebrows like the crescent of the new moon of ramazan[fn# ], cheeks like blood-red anemones, mouth like solomon's seal, lips red as coral and teeth like clustered pearls or camomile-petals, neck like an antelope's and bosom like a fountain, breasts like double pomegranates, belly like brocade and navel holding an ounce of benzoin ointment, even as says of her the poet: look at her, with her slender shape and radiant beauty! this is she who is at once the sun and moon of palaces! thine eyes shall ne'er see grace combine so featly black and white as in her visage and the locks that o'er her forehead kiss. she in whose cheeks the red flag waves, her beauty testifies unto her name, if that to paint her sweet seductions miss. with swimming gait she walks: i laugh for wonder at her hips, but weep to see her waist, that all too slight to bear them is. when the porter saw her, his mind and heart were taken by storm, so that he well-nigh let fall the basket and exclaimed, 'never in all my life saw i a more blessed day than this!' then said the portress to the cateress, 'o my sister, why tarriest thou? come in from the gate and ease this poor man of his burden.' so the cateress entered, followed by the portress and the porter, and went on before them to a spacious saloon, elegantly built and handsomely decorated with all manner of colours and carvings and geometrical figures, with balconies and galleries and cupboards and benches and closets with curtains drawn before them. in the midst was a great basin of water, from which rose a fountain, and at the upper end stood a couch of juniper wood, inlaid with precious stones and surmounted by a canopy of red satin, looped up with pearls as big as hazel-nuts or bigger. thereon sat a lady of radiant countenance and gentle and demure aspect, moonlike in face, with eyes of babylonian witchcraft and arched eyebrows, sugared lips like cornelian and a shape like the letter i. the radiance of her countenance would have shamed the rising sun, and she resembled one of the chief stars of heaven or a pavilion of gold or a high-born arabian bride on the night of her unveiling, even as says of her the poet: her teeth, when she smiles, like pearls in a cluster show, or shredded camomile-petals or flakes of snow: her ringlets seem, as it were, the fallen night, and her beauty shames the dawn and its ruddy glow. then she rose and coming with a stately gait to meet her sisters in the middle of the saloon, said to them, 'why stand ye still? relieve this poor porter of his burden.' so the cateress came and stood before and the portress behind him and with the help of the third damsel, lifted the basket from his head and emptying it, laid everything in its place. then they gave him two dinars, saying, 'go, o porter!' but he stood, looking at the ladies and admiring, their beauty and pleasant manners, never had he seen goodlier, and wondering greatly at the profusion of wine and meat and fruits and flowers and so forth that they had provided and to see no man with them, and made no movement to go. so the eldest lady said to him, 'what ails thee that thou dost not go away? belike, thou grudgest at thy pay?' and she turned to the cateress and said to her, 'give him another dinar.' 'no, by allah, o lady!' answered the porter. 'i do not indeed grudge at my pay, for my right hire is scarce two dirhems; but of a truth my heart and soul are taken up with you and how it is that ye are alone and have no man with you and no one to divert you, although ye know that women's sport is little worth without men, nor is an entertainment complete without four at the table, and ye have no fourth. what says the poet? dost thou not see that for pleasure four several things combine, instruments four, harp, hautboy and gittern and psaltery? and unto these, four perfumes answer and correspond, violets, roses and myrtle and blood-red anemone. nor is our pleasure perfect, unless four things have we, money and wine and gardens and mistress fair and free. and ye are three and need a fourth, who should be a man, witty, sensible and discreet, one who can keep counsel.' when they heard what he said, it amused them and they laughed at him and replied, 'what have we to do with that, we who are girls and fear to entrust our secrets to those who will not keep them? for we have read, in such and such a history, what says ibn eth thumam: tell not thy secrets: keep them with all thy might. a secret revealed is a secret lost outright. if thine own bosom cannot thy secrets hold, why expect more reserve from another wight? or, as well says abou nuwas on the same subject: the fool, that to men doth his secrets avow, deserves to be marked with a brand on the brow.' 'by your lives,' rejoined the porter, 'i am a man of sense and discretion, well read in books and chronicles. i make known what is fair and conceal what is foul, and as says the poet: none keeps a secret but the man who's trusty and discreet. a secret's ever safely placed with honest folk and leal; and secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house whose keys are lost and on whose door is set the cadi's seal. when the girls heard this, the eldest one said to him, 'thou knowest that we have laid out much money in preparing this entertainment: hast thou aught to offer us in return? for we will not let thee sit with us and be our boon companion and gaze on our bright fair faces, except thou pay down thy share of the cost. dost thou not know the saying: love without money is not worth a penny?' 'if thou have aught, my friend,' added the portress, 'then art thou something: but if thou have nothing, be off without anything.' here the cateress interposed, saying, 'o sisters, let him be: for by allah, he has not failed us to-day: another had not been so patient with us. i will pay his share for him.' whereupon the porter, overjoyed, kissed the earth and thanked her, saying, 'by allah, it was thou didst handsel me this day! here are the two dinars i had of you: take them and admit me to your company, not as a guest, but as a servant.' 'sit down,' answered they; 'thou art welcome.' but the eldest lady said, 'by allah, we will not admit thee to our society but on one condition; and it is that thou enquire not of what does not concern thee; and if thou meddle, thou shalt be beaten.' said the porter, 'i agree to this, o my lady, on my head and eyes! henceforth i am dumb.' then arose the cateress and girding her middle, laid the table by the fountain and set out the cups and flagons, with flowers and sweet herbs and all the requisites for drinking. moreover, she strained the wine and set it on; and they sat down, she and her sisters, with the porter, who fancied himself in a dream. the cateress took the flagon of wine and filled a cup and drank it off. then she filled again and gave it to one of her sisters, who drank and filled another cup and gave it to her other sister: then she filled a fourth time and gave it to the porter, saying: drink and fare well and health attend thee still. this drink indeed's a cure for every ill. he took the cup in his hand and bowed and returned thanks, reciting the following verses: quaff not the cup except with one who is of trusty stuff, one who is true of thought and deed and eke of good descent. wine's like the wind, that, if it breathe on perfume, smells as sweet, but, if o'er carrion it pass, imbibes its evil scent. and again: drink not of wine except at the hands of a maiden fair, who, like unto thee and it, is joyous and debonair. then he kissed their hands and drank and was merry with wine and swayed from side to side and recited the following verses: hither, by allah, i conjure thee! goblets that full of the grape juice be! and brim up, i prithee, a cup for me, for this is the water of life, perdie! then the cateress filled the cup and gave it to the portress, who took it from her hand and thanked her and drank. then she filled again and gave it to the eldest, who filled another cup and handed it to the porter. he gave thanks and drank and recited the following verses: it is forbidden us to drink of any blood except it be of that which gushes from the vine. so pour it out to me, an offering to thine eyes, to ransom from thy hands my soul and all that's mine. then he turned to the eldest lady, who was the mistress of the house, and said to her, 'o my lady, i am thy slave and thy servant and thy bondman!' and repeated the following verses: there is a slave of all thy caves now standing at thy gate who ceases not thy bounties all to sing and celebrate. may he come in, o lady fair, to gaze upon thy charms? desire and i from thee indeed may never separate. and she said to him, 'drink, and health and prosperity attend thee!' so he took the cup and kissed her hand and sang the following verses: i brought my love old wine and pure, the likeness of her cheeks, whose glowing brightness called to mind a brazier's heart of red. she touched the wine-cup with her lips, and laughing roguishly, "how canst thou proffer me to drink of my own cheeks?" she said. "drink!" answered i, "it is my tears; its hue is of my blood; and it was heated at a fire that by my sighs was fed." and she answered him with the following verse: if, o my friend, thou hast indeed wept tears of blood for me, i prithee, give them me to drink, upon thine eyes and head! then she took the cup and drank it off to her sisters' health; and they continued to drink and make merry, dancing and laughing and singing and reciting verses and ballads. the porter fell to toying and kissing and biting and handling and groping and dallying and taking liberties with them: whilst one put a morsel into his mouth and another thumped him, and this one gave him a cuff and that pelted him with flowers; and he led the most delightful life with them, as if he sat in paradise among the houris. they ceased not to drink and carouse thus, till the wine sported in their heads and got the better of their senses, when the portress, arose, and putting off her clothes, let down her hair over her naked body, for a veil. then she threw herself into the basin and sported in the water and swam about and dived like a duck and took water in her mouth and spurted it at the porter and washed her limbs and the inside of her thighs. then she came up out of the water and throwing herself into the porter's lap, pointed to her commodity and said to him, 'o my lord o my friend, what is the name of this?' 'thy kaze,' answered he; but she said, 'fie! art thou not ashamed!' and cuffed him on the nape of the neck. quoth he, 'thy catso.' and she dealt him a second cuff, saying, 'fie! what an ugly word! art thou not ashamed?' 'thy commodity,' said he; and she, 'fie! is there no shame in thee?' and thumped him and beat him. then said he, 'thy coney.' whereupon the eldest fell on him and beat him, saying, 'thou shalt not say that.' and whatever he said, they beat him more and more, till his neck ached again; and they made a laughing-stock of him amongst them, till he said at last, 'well, what is its name amongst you women?' 'the sweet basil of the dykes,' answered they. 'praised be god for safety!' cried he. 'good, o sweet basil of the dikes!' then they passed round the cup and presently the cateress rose and throwing herself into the porter's lap, pointed to her kaze and said to him, 'o light of mine eyes, what is the name of this?' 'thy commodity,' answered he. 'art thou not ashamed?' said she, and dealt him a buffet that made the place ring again, repeating, 'fie! fie! art thou not ashamed?' quoth he, 'the sweet basil of the dykes.' 'no! no!' answered she, and beat him and cuffed him on the nape. then said he, 'thy kaze, thy tout, thy catso, thy coney.' but they replied, 'no! no!' and he said again, 'the sweet basil of the dykes.' whereupon they laughed till they fell backward and cuffed him on the neck, saying, 'no; that is not its name.' at last he said, 'o my sisters, what is its name?' and they answered, 'what sayest thou to the peeled barleycorn?' then the cateress put on her clothes and they sat down again to carouse, whilst the porter lamented over his neck and shoulders. the cup passed round among them awhile, and presently the eldest and handsomest of the ladies rose and put off her clothes; whereupon the porter took his neck in his hand and said, 'my neck and shoulders are in the way of god!' then she threw herself into the basin and plunged and sported and washed; whilst the porter looked at her, naked, as she were a piece of the moon or the full moon when she waxes or the dawn at its brightest, and noted her shape and breasts and her heavy quivering buttocks, for she was naked as god created her. and he said, 'alack!' alack!' and repeated the following verses: if to the newly-budded branch thy figure i compare, i lay upon my heart a load of wrong too great to bear; for that the branch most lovely is, when clad upon with green, but thou, when free of every veil, art then by far most fair. when she heard this, she came up out of the water and sitting down on his knees, pointed to her kaze and said, 'o my little lord, what is the name of this?' 'the sweet basil of the dykes,' answered he; but she said, 'no! no!' quoth he, 'the peeled barleycorn.' and she said, 'pshaw!' then said he, 'thy kaze.' fie! fie!' cried she. 'art thou not ashamed?' and cuffed him on the nape of the neck. and whatever name he said, they beat him, saying, 'no! no!' till at last he said, 'o my sisters, what is its name?' 'the khan[fn# ] of abou mensour,' answered they. and he said, 'praised be god for safety! bravo! bravo! o khan of abou mensour!' then the damsel rose and put on her clothes and they returned to their carousing and the cup passed round awhile. presently, the porter rose and putting off his clothes, plunged into the pool and swam about and washed under his chin and armpits, even as they had done. then he came out and threw himself into the eldest lady's lap and putting his arms into the portress's lap and his feet into that of the cateress pointed to his codpiece and said, 'o my mistresses, what is the name of this?' they laughed till they fell backward and one of them answered, 'thy yard.' 'art thou not ashamed?' said he. 'a forfeit!' and took of each a kiss. quoth another, 'thy pintle.' but he replied, 'no,' and gave each of them a bite in play. then said they, 'thy pizzle.' 'no,' answered he, and gave each of them a hug; and they kept saying, 'thy yard, thy pintle, thy pizzle, thy codpiece!' whilst he kissed and hugged and fondled them to his heart's content, and they laughed till they were well nigh dead. at last they said, 'o our brother, and what is its name?' 'don't you know?' asked he; and they said, 'no.' quoth he, 'this is the mule break-all, that browses on the basil of the dykes and gobbles up the peeled barleycorn and lies by night in the khan of abou mensour.' and they laughed till they fell backward. then they fell again to drinking and continued after this fashion till the night came upon them, when they said to the porter, 'in the name of god, put on thy sandals and be off and let us see the breadth of thy shoulders!' quoth he, 'by allah, the leaving life were easier to me than the leaving you! let us join the night to the day, and to-morrow we will each go our own way.' 'my life on you!' said the cateress, 'let him pass the night with us, that we may laugh at him, for he is a pleasant rogue; and we may never again chance upon the like of him.' so the mistress of the house said to the porter, 'thou shalt pass the night with us on condition that thou submit to our authority and that, whatever thou seest, thou ask no questions about it nor enquire the reason of it.' 'it is well,' answered he; and they said, 'go and read what is written over the door.' so he went to the door and found the following words written thereon in letters of gold, 'he who speaks of what concerns him not, shall hear what will not please him.' and he said, 'be ye witness against me that i will not speak of what concerns me not.' then rose the cateress and prepared food, and they ate: after which they lighted the lamps and candles and strewed on the latter ambergris and aloes-wood; then changed the service and set on fresh fruits and flowers and wine and so forth and sat down again to drink. they ceased not to eat and drink and make merry, hobnobbing and laughing and talking and frolicking, till there came a knocking at the door: whereupon one of them rose and went to the door, without disturbing the party, and presently returned, saying, 'verily, our pleasure is to be complete to-night.' 'how so?' asked the others, and she replied, 'there are three foreign calenders[fn# ] at the door, with shaven heads and chins and eyebrows and every one blind of the right eye, which is a most extraordinary coincidence. apparently they are fresh from a journey and indeed the traces of travel are evident on them; and the reason of their knocking at the door is this. they are strangers to baghdad and this is their first coming to our city: the night surprised them and they could not find a lodging in the city and know no one with whom to take shelter: so they said to each other, "perhaps the owner of this house will give us the key of a stable or outhouse and let us sleep there." and, o my sisters, each of them is a laughing-stock after his own fashion; and if we let them in, they will make us sport this night, and on the morrow each shall go his own way.' and she ceased not to persuade them, till they said, 'let them come in, on condition that they ask no questions of what does not concern them, on pain of hearing what will not please them.' so she rejoiced and going to the door, returned with the three calenders, who saluted and bowed low and held back; but the ladies rose to them and welcomed them and gave them joy of their safety and made them sit down. the calenders looked about them and seeing a pleasant place and a table elegantly spread with flowers and fruits and green herbs and dessert and wine, with candles burning and perfumes smoking, and the three maidens, with their faces unveiled, said with one voice ''fore allah, it is good!' then they turned to the porter and saw that he was tipsy and jaded with drinking and dalliance. so they took him for one of themselves and said, 'he is a calender like ourselves, either an arab or a foreigner.' when the porter heard this, he rose and fixing his eyes on them, said, 'sit still and do not meddle. have you not read what is written on the door? it befits not folk, like yourselves, who come to us as mendicants, to loose your tongues on us.' 'we ask pardon of god, o fakir!' answered they. 'our heads are before thee.' the ladies laughed and making peace between them, set food before the calenders. when they had eaten, they all sat down again to carouse, the portress serving the new comers, and the cup passed round awhile, till the porter said to the calenders, 'o brothers, have ye no story or rare trait to divert us withal?' the calenders, being warm with wine, called for musical instruments; so the portress brought them a tambourine and a lute and a persian harp; and each calender took one and tuned it and played and sang; and the girls joined in lustily and made a great noise. whilst they were thus engaged, some one knocked at the gate and the portress rose and went to see who it was. now the cause of this knocking was that, that very night, the khalif haroun er reshid had gone down into the city, as was his wont, every now and then, to walk about for his diversion and hear what news was stirring, attended by his vizier jaafer and mesrour his headsman, all three, as usual, disguised as merchants. their way brought them to the house of the three ladies, where they heard the noise of musical instruments and of singing and merriment, and the khalif said to jaafer, 'i have a mind to enter this house and listen to this music and see the singers.' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'these people are certainly drunk, and i fear lest some mischief betide us at their hands.' 'it matters not,' rejoined the khalif; 'i must and will go in and i desire that thou contrive some pretext to that end.' 'i hear and obey,' replied the vizier and going up to the gate, knocked, whereupon the portress came down and opened. jaafer came forward and kissing the earth before her, said, 'o lady, we are merchants from tiberias: we reached baghdad ten days ago and sold our merchandise and took up our lodging at the khan of the merchants. now we were bidden to-night to an entertainment at the house of a certain merchant, who set food before us and we ate and caroused with him awhile, till he gave us leave to depart and we went out, intending for our lodging; but being strangers in baghdad, we lost ourselves and could not find our way back to our khan: so we hope, of your courtesy, that you will admit us to pass the night with you, and god will requite you.' the portress looked at them and saw that they were dressed like merchants and appeared respectable; so she returned to her sisters and repeated to them jaafer's story, and they took compassion on the supposed strangers and bade her admit them. so she resumed and opened the gate to them, and they said, 'have we thy leave to enter?' 'enter,' answered she; whereupon the khalif and jaafer and mesrour entered; and when the girls saw them, they rose and welcomed them and made them sit down and served them, saying, 'ye are welcome as our guests, but on one condition.' 'what is that?' asked they; and the mistress of the house answered, 'it is that you be eyes without tongues and that, whatever you see, you enquire not thereof nor speak of that which concerns you not, lest you hear what will not please you.' 'good,' answered they: 'we are no meddlers.' then they sat down to carouse; whilst the khalif looked at the three calenders and marvelled for that they were all blind of the right eye, and gazed upon the ladies and was amazed at their beauty and goodliness. they fell to drinking and talking and said to the khalif, 'drink.' but he answered, 'excuse me, for i am vowed to the pilgrimage.'[fn# ] whereupon the portress rose and spreading a gold-embroidered cloth before him, set thereon a china bowl, into which she poured willow-flower water, with a spoonful of snow and some pounded sugar-candy. the khalif thanked her and said to himself, 'by allah, i will reward her to-morrow for her kind office!' then they addressed themselves to carousel, till the wine began to work upon them, when the eldest lady rose and making an obeisance to her guests, took the cateress by the hand and said, 'come, sisters, let us do our duty.' and they answered, 'it is well.' so the portress rose and cleared the middle of the saloon, after she had removed the table service and thrown away the remains of the banquet. then she renewed the perfumes in the censers and made the calenders sit down on a sofa by the dais and the khalif and his companions on a sofa at the other end; after which she called to the porter, saying, 'how dull and slothful thou art! come and help us: thou art no stranger, but one of the household!' so he rose and girt his middle and said, 'what would you have me do?' and she answered, 'stay where thou art.' then the cateress rose and setting a chair in the middle of the room, went to a closet, which she opened, saying to the porter, 'come and help me.' so he went to her and she brought out two black bitches, with chains round their necks, and gave them to him, saying, 'take them.' so he took them and carried them to the middle of the saloon; whereupon the mistress of the house tucked up her sleeves and taking a whip, said to the porter, 'bring me one of the bitches.' so he brought it to her by the chain; and the bitch wept and shook its head at the damsel, who brought the whip down on it, whilst the porter held it by the chain. the bitch howled and whined, but the lady ceased not to beat it till her arm was tired; when she threw away the whip and pressing the bitch to her bosom, kissed it on the head and wiped away its tears. then she said to the porter, 'take it back and bring the other.' he did as she bade him, and she did with the second bitch as she had done with the first. the khalif's mind was troubled at her doings and his breast contracted and he could not restrain his impatience to know the meaning of all this. so he winked to jaafer to ask, but the latter turned and signed to him as who should say, 'be silent: this is no time for impertinent curiosity.' then said the portress to the mistress of the house, 'o my lady, rise and go up to thy place, that i in turn may do my part.' 'it is well,' answered she and went up and sat down on the couch of juniper-wood, at the upper end of the dais; whilst the portress sat down on a chair and said to the cateress, 'do what thou hast to do.' so the latter rose and going to a closet, brought out a bag of yellow satin, with cords of green silk and tassels of gold, and came and sat down before the portress. then she opened the bag and took out a lute, which she tuned, and sang the following verses, accompanying herself on the lute: thou art my wish, thou art my end; and in thy presence, o my friend, there is for me abiding joy: thine absence sets my heart a-flame for thee distraught, with thee possest, thou reignest ever in my breast, nor in the love i bear to thee is there for me reproach or shame. life's veil for me was torn apart, when love gat hold upon my heart for love still rends the veils in twain and brings dishonour on fair fame. the cloak of sickness i did on; and straight my fault appeared and shone. since that my heart made choice of thee and love and longing on me came, my eyes are ever wet with tears, and all my secret thought appears, when with my tears' tumultuous flow exhales the secret of thy name. heal thou my pains, for thou to me art both disease and remedy. yet him, whose cure is in thy hand, affliction shall for ever claim, thy glances set my heart on fire, slay me with swords of my desire: how many, truly, of the best have fallen beneath love's sword of flame? yet may i not from passion cease nor in forgetting seek release; for love's my comfort, pride and law, public and private, aye the same. blest eyes that have of thee their fill and look upon thee at their will! ay, of my own unforced intent, the slave of passion i became. when the portress heard this foursome song, she cried out, 'alas! alas! alas!' and tore her clothes and fell down in a swoon; and the khalif saw on her body the marks of beating with rods and whips, and wondered greatly. then the cateress rose and sprinkled water upon her and brought her a fresh dress and put it on her. when the company saw this, their minds were troubled, for they understood not the reason of these things. and the khalif said to jaafer, 'didst thou not see the marks of beating with rods upon the girl's body! i cannot keep silence nor be at rest, except i come at the truth of all this and know the story of this damsel and the two bitches.' 'o my lord,' answered jaafer, 'they made it a condition with us that we should not speak of what concerns us not, under pain of hearing what should not please us.' then said the portress 'by allah! o my sister, come and complete thy service to me.' 'with all my heart!' answered the cateress and took the lute and leant it against her breasts. then she swept the strings with her finger-tips and sang the following verses: if we complain of absence, what alas! shall we say? or if longing assail us, where shall we take our way? if, to interpret for us, we trust to a messenger, how can a message rightly a lover's plaint convey? or if we put on patience, short is a lover's life, after his heart's beloved is torn from him away. nothing, alas! is left me but sorrow and despair and tears that adown my cheeks without cessation stray. thou that art ever absent from my desireful sight, thou that art yet a dweller within my heart alway, hast thou kept troth, i wonder, with one who loves thee dear, whose faith, whilst time endureth, never shall know decay? or hast thou e'en forgotten her who for love of thee, in tears and sickness and passion, hath wasted many a day? alas! though love unite us again in one embrace, reproach for thy past rigour with me full long shall stay. when the portress heard this second song, she gave a loud scream and exclaimed, 'by allah! it is good!' and putting her hand to her clothes, tore them as before and fell down in a swoon. whereupon the cateress rose and brought her another dress, after she had sprinkled water on her. then she sat up again and said to the cateress 'to it again and help me to do the rest of my duty; for there remains but one more song.' so the cateress took the lute and sang the following verses: how long, ah me! shall this rigour last and this inhumanity? are not the tears that i have shed enough to soften thee? if thou, of thy relentless will, estrangement do prolong, intending my despite, at last, i pray, contented be! if treacherous fortune were but just to lovers and their woe, they would not watch the weary night in sleepless agony. have ruth on me, for thy disdain is heavy on my heart; is it not time that thou relent at last, my king, to me? to whom but thee that slayest me should i reveal my pain? what grief is theirs who love and prove the loved one's perfidy! love and affliction hour by hour redouble in my breast: the days of exile are prolonged; no end to them i see. muslims, avenge a slave of love, the host of wakefulness, whose patience hath been trampled out by passion's tyranny! can it be lawful, o my wish, that thou another bless with thine embraces, whilst i die, in spite of love's decree? yet in thy presence, by my side, what peace should i enjoy, since he i love doth ever strive to heap despite on me? when the portress heard this third song, she screamed out and putting forth her hand, tore her clothes even to the skirt and fell down in a swoon for the third time, and there appeared once more on her body the marks of beat ing with rods. then said the three calenders, 'would god we had never entered this house, but had slept on the rubbish-heaps! for verily our entertainment hath been troubled by things that rend the heart.' the khalif turned to them and said, 'how so?' and they answered, 'indeed, our minds are troubled about this matter.' quoth he, 'are you not then of the household?' 'no,' replied they; 'nor did we ever see the place till now.' said the khalif, 'there is the man by you: he will surely know the meaning of all this.' and he winked at the porter. so they questioned the latter and he replied, 'by the almighty, we are all in one boat! i was brought up at baghdad, but never in my life did i enter this house till to-day, and the manner of my coming in company with them was curious.' 'by allah,' said they, 'we thought thee one of them, and now we see thou art but as one of ourselves.' then said the khalif, 'we are here seven men, and they are but three women: so let us question them of their case, and if they do not answer willingly, they shall do so by force.' they all agreed to this, except jaafer, who said, 'this is not well-advised: let them be, for we are their guests, and as ye know, they imposed on us a condition, to which we all agreed. wherefore it is better that we keep silence concerning this affair, for but a little remains of the night, and each go about his business.' and he winked to the khalif and whispered to him, 'there is but a little longer to wait, and to-morrow i will bring them before thee and thou canst then question them of their story.' but the khalif lifted his head and cried out angrily, 'i have not patience to wait till then: let the calenders ask them.' and jaafer said, 'this is not well-advised.' then they consulted together, and there was much talk and dispute between them, who should put the question, before they fixed upon the porter. the noise drew the notice of the lady of the house, who said to them, 'o guests, what is the matter and what are you talking about?' then the porter came forward and said to her, 'o lady, the company desire that thou acquaint them with the history of the two bitches and why thou didst beat them and after fellest to kissing and weeping over them and also concerning thy sister and why she has been beaten with rods, like a man. this is what they charge me to ask thee, and peace be on thee.' when she heard this, she turned to the others and said to them 'is this true that he says of you?' and they all replied 'yes;' except jaafer, who held his peace. then said she, 'by allah! o guests, ye have done us a grievous wrong, for we made it a previous condition with you that whoso spoke of what concerned him not, should hear what should not please him. is it not enough that we have taken you into our house and fed you with our victual! but the fault is not so much yours as that of her who brought you in to us.' then she tucked up her sleeves and smote three times on the floor, saying, 'come quickly!' whereupon the door of a closet opened and out came seven black slaves, with drawn swords in their hands, to whom said the lady, 'bind these babblers' hands behind them and tie them one with another.' the slaves did as she bade, and said, 'o noble lady, is it thy will that we strike off their heads?' 'hold your hands awhile,' answered she, 'till i question them of their condition, before ye strike off their heads.' 'by allah, o my lady,' exclaimed the porter 'do not slay me for another's fault, for all have erred and offended save myself. and by allah, our night would have been a pleasant one, had we not been afflicted with these calenders, whose presence is enough to lay a flourishing city in ruins.' and he repeated the following verses: how fair a thing is mercy to the great! and how much more to those of low estate! by all the love that has between us been, doom not the guiltless to the guilty's fate! when the lady heard this, she laughed, in spite of her anger, and coming up to the guests, said to them, 'tell me who you are, for ye have but a little while to live, and were you not men of rank and consideration, you had never dared to act thus.' then the khalif said to jaafer, 'out on thee! tell her who we are, or we shall be slain in a mistake, and speak her fair, ere an abomination befall us.' 'it were only a part of thy deserts,' replied jaafer. whereupon the khalif cried out at him in anger and said, 'there is a time to jest and a time to be serious.' then the lady said to the calenders, 'are ye brothers?' 'not so,' answered they; 'we are only poor men and strangers.' and she said to one of them, 'wast thou born blind of one eye?' 'no, by allah!' replied he; 'but there hangs a rare story by the loss of my eye, a story which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, would serve as a lesson to those that can profit by example.' she questioned the two other calenders, and they made a like reply, saying, 'by allah! o our mistress, each one of us comes from a different country and is the son of a king and a sovereign prince ruling over lands and subjects.' then she turned to the others and said to them, 'let each of you come forward in turn and tell us his history and the manner of his coming hither and after go about his business; but whoso refuses, i will cut off his head.' the first to come forward was the porter, who said, 'o my lady, i am a porter. this lady, the cateress, hired me and took me first to the vintner's, then to the butcher's, from the butcher's to the fruiterer's, from the fruiterer's to the grocer's, from the grocer's to the greengrocer's, from the greengrocer's to the confectioner's and the druggist's, and thence to this place, where there happened to me with you what happened. this is my story; and peace be on thee!' at this the lady laughed and said to him, 'begone about thy business.' but he said, 'by allah, i will not budge 'till i hear the others' stories.' then came forward the first calender and said, 'know, o lady, that the first calender's story. my father was a king, and he had a brother, who was also a king over another city. the latter had a son and a daughter, and it chanced that i and the son of my uncle were both born on the same day. in due time we grew up to man's estate and there was a great affection between us. now it was my wont every now and then to visit my uncle and abide with him several months at a time. one day, i went to visit him as usual and found him absent a-hunting; but my cousin received me with the utmost courtesy and slaughtered sheep and strained wine for me and we sat down to drink. when the wine had got the mastery of us, my cousin said to me, "o son of my uncle i have a great service to ask of thee, and i beg of thee not to baulk me in what i mean to do." "with all my heart," answered i; and he made me swear by the most solemn oaths to do his will. then he went away and returning in a little, with a lady veiled and perfumed and very richly clad, said to me, "take this lady and go before me to the burial-ground and enter such and such a sepulchre," and he described it to me and i knew it, "and wait till i come." i could not gainsay him, by reason of the oath i had sworn to him; so i took the lady and carried her to the cemetery, and entering the tomb sat down to await my cousin, who soon rejoined us, carrying a vessel of water, a bag containing plaster and an adze. he went up to the tomb in the midst of the sepulchre and loosening its stones with the adze, laid them on one side after which he fell to digging with the adze in the earth till he uncovered a trap of iron, as big as a small door, and raised it, when there appeared beneath it a winding stair. then he turned to the lady and said to her, "up and make thy choice." so she descended the stair and was lost to sight; and he said to me, "o my cousin, when i have descended, complete thy kindness to me by replacing the trap-door and throwing back the earth on it: then mix the plaster in the bag with the water in this vessel and build up the tomb again with the stones and plaster it over as before, lest any see it and say, 'this tomb has been newly opened, albeit it is an old one;' for i have been at work here a whole year, unknown to any save god. this then is the service i had to ask of thee, and may god never bereave thy friends of thee, o my cousin!" then he descended the stair; and when he was out of sight, i replaced the trap-door and did as he had bidden me, till the tomb was restored to its original condition, and i the while in a state of intoxication; after which i returned to the palace, and found my uncle still absent. next morning i called to mind what had happened and repented of having obeyed my cousin, when repentance was of no avail, but thought that it must have been a dream. so i fell to enquiring after my cousin; but none could give me any news of him; and i went out to the burial-ground and sought for the tomb where i had left him, but could not find it, and ceased not to go from sepulchre to sepulchre and from tomb to tomb, without success, till nightfall. then i returned to the palace and could neither eat nor drink, for my heart was troubled about my cousin, seeing i knew not what was come of him; and i was extremely chagrined and slept not that night, but lay awake for anxiety till morning. as soon as it was day, i repaired again to the cemetery, pondering what my cousin had done and repenting me of having hearkened to him, and vent round among all the tombs, but could not find the one i sought. thus i did for the space of seven days, but with no better success, and my trouble and anxiety increased till i was well-nigh mad and could find nothing for it but to return to my father. so i set out and journeyed till i reached his capital; but as i entered the gate of the city, a number of men sprang out on me and tied my hands behind me. at this i was beyond measure amazed, seeing that i was the son of the sultan and that they were his servants and my own; and great fear fell on me, and i said to myself, "i wonder what has befallen my father!" then i questioned my captors; but they returned me no answer. however, after awhile, one of them, who had been my servant, said to me, "fortune has played thy father false; and the troops deserted him. so the vizier slew him and seized on his throne; and we laid wait for thee by his command." then they took me and carried me before the vizier, well-nigh distraught for this news of my father. now between me and this vizier was an old feud, the cause of which was as follows. i was fond of shooting with a pellet-bow, and one day, as i was standing on the terrace of my palace, a bird lighted on the terrace of the vizier's house, where the latter chanced to be standing at the time. i let fly at the bird, but, as fate and destiny would have it, the pellet swerved and striking the vizier on the eye, put it out. as says the poet: our footsteps follow on in their predestined way, nor from the ordered track can any mortal stray: and he whom fate appoints in any land to die, no other place on earth shall see his dying day. the vizier dared say nothing, at the time, because i was the sultan's son of the city, but thenceforward he nourished a deadly hatred against me. so when they brought me bound before him, he commanded my head to be smitten off; and i said, "for what crime wilt thou put me to death?" "what crime could be greater than this?" answered he, and pointed to his ruined eye. quoth i, "that i did by misadventure." and he replied, "if thou didst it by misadventure, i will do the like with intent." then said he, "bring him to me." so they brought me up to him, and he put his finger into my right eye and pulled it out; and thenceforward i became one-eyed as ye see me. then he caused me to be bound hand and foot and put in a chest and said to the headsman, "take this fellow and carry him forth of the city and slay him and leave him for the beasts and birds to eat." so the headsman carried me without the city to the midst of the desert, where he took me out of the chest, bound hand and foot as i was, and would have bandaged my eyes, that he might slay me. but i wept sore till i made him weep, and looking at him, repeated the following verses: i counted on you as a coat of dart-proof mail toward the foeman's arrows from my breast. alas! ye are his sword! i hoped in you to succour me in every evil chance, although my right hand to my left no more should help afford. yet stand aloof nor cast your lot with those who do me hate, and let my foemen shoot their shafts against your whilom lord! if you refuse to succour me against my enemies, at least be neutral, nor to me nor them your aid accord. and these also: how many of my friends, methought, were coats of mail! and so they were, indeed, but on my foeman's part. unerring shafts and true i deemed them; and they were unerring shafts, indeed, alas, but in my heart! when the headsman heard this (now he had been my father's headsman and i had done him kindness) he said, "o my lord what can i do, being but a slave commanded?" then he said, "fly for thy life and never return to this country, or thou art lost and i with thee." as says one of the poets: escape with thy life, if oppression betide thee, and let the house tell of its builder's fate! country for country thou'lt find, if thou seek it; life for life never, early or late. it is strange men should dwell in the house of abjection, when the plain of god's world is so wide and so great! i kissed his hands, hardly crediting my escape; and recked little of the loss of my eye, in consideration of my deliverance from death. then i repaired to my uncle's capital and going in to him, told him what had befallen my father and myself; whereat he wept sore and said, "verily, thou addest affliction to my affliction and sorrow to my sorrow; for thy cousin has been missing these many days; i know not what is become of him, and none can give me any news of him." then he wept till he swooned away, and my heart was sore for him. when he revived, he would have medicined my eye, but found there was but the socket left and said, "o my son, it is well that it was thine eye and not thy life!" i could not keep silence about my cousin; so i told him all that had passed, and he rejoiced greatly at hearing news of his son and said, "come, show me the tomb." "by allah, o my uncle," answered i, "i know it not, for i went after many times to seek for it, but could not find it." however, we went out to the burial-ground and looked right and left, till at last i discovered the tomb. at this we both rejoiced greatly and entering, removed the earth, raised the trapdoor and descended fifty steps, till we came to the foot of the stair, where we were met by a great smoke that blinded our eyes: and my uncle pronounced the words, which whoso says shall never be confounded, that is to say, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!" then we went on and found ourselves in a saloon, raised upon columns, drawing air and light from openings communicating with the surface of the ground and having a cistern in its midst. the place was full of crates and sacks of flour and grain and other victual; and at the upper end stood a couch with a canopy over it. my uncle went up to the bed and drawing the curtains, found his son and the lady in each other's arms; but they were become black coal, as they had been cast into a well of fire. when he saw this, he spat in his son's face and taking off his shoe, smote him with it, exclaiming, "swine that thou art, thou hast thy deserts! this is thy punishment in this world, but there awaits thee a far sorer and more terrible punishment in the world to come!" his behaviour amazed me, and i mourned for my cousin, for that he was become a black coal, and said to the king, "o my uncle, is not that which hath befallen him enough, but thou must beat him with thy shoe?" "o son of my brother," answered my uncle, "this my son was from his earliest youth madly enamoured of his sister, and i forbade him from her, saying in myself, 'they are but children.' but, when they grew up, sin befell between them, notwithstanding that his attendants warned him to abstain from so foul a thing, which none had done before nor would do after him, lest the news of it should be carried abroad by the caravans and he become dishonoured and unvalued among kings to the end of time. i heard of this and believed it not, but took him and upbraided him severely, saying, 'have a care lest this thing happen to thee; for i will surely curse thee and put thee to death.' then i shut her up and kept them apart, but this accursed girl loved him passionately, and satan got the upper hand of them and made their deeds to seem good in their eyes. so when my son saw that i had separated them, he made this place under ground and transported victual hither, as thou seest, and taking advantage of my absence a-hunting, came here with his sister, thinking to enjoy her a long while. but the wrath of god descended on them and consumed them; and there awaits them in the world to come a still sorer and more terrible punishment." then he wept and i with him, and he looked at me and said, "henceforth thou art my son in his stead." then i bethought me awhile of the world and its chances and how the vizier had slain my father and usurped his throne and put out my eye and of the strange events that had befallen my cousin and wept again, and my uncle wept with me. presently we ascended, and replacing the trap-door, restored the tomb to its former condition. then we resumed to the palace, but hardly had we sat down when we heard a noise of drums and trumpets and cymbals and galloping of cavalry and clamour of men and clash of arms and clank of bridles and neighing of horses, and the world was filled with clouds of dust raised by the horses' hoofs. at this we were amazed and knew not what could be the matter so we enquired and were told that the vizier, who had usurped my father's throne, had levied troops and hired the wild arabs and was come with an army like the sands of the sea, none could tell their number nor could any avail against them. they assaulted the city unawares, and the people, being unable to withstand them, surrendered the place to them. my uncle was slain and i took refuge in the suburbs, knowing that, if i fell into the vizier's hands, he would put me to death. wherefore trouble was sore upon me and i bethought me of all that had befallen me and my father and uncle and knew not what to do, for if i showed myself, the people of the city and my father's troops would know me and hasten to win the usurpers favour by putting me to death; and i could find no means of escape but by shaving my face. so i shaved off my beard and eyebrows and donning a calender's habit, left the town, without being known of any, and made for this city, in the hope that perhaps some one would bring me to the presence of the commander of the faithful and vicar of the lord of the two worlds, that i might relate to him my story and lay my case before him. i arrived here today and was standing, perplexed where i should go, when i saw this second calender; so i saluted him, saying "i am a stranger," and he replied, "and i also am a stranger." presently up came our comrade, this other calender, and saluted us, saying, "i am a stranger." "we also are strangers," answered we; and we walked on together, till darkness overtook us, and destiny led us to your house. this, then, is my history and the manner of the loss of my right eye and the shaving of my beard and eyebrows.' they all marvelled at his story, and the khalif said to jaafer, 'by allah, i never heard or saw the like of what happened to this calender.' then the mistress of the house said to the calender, 'begone about thy business.' but he answered, 'i will not budge till i hear the others' stories.' then came forth the second calender and kissing the earth, said, 'o my lady, i was not born blind of one eye, and my story is a marvellous one; were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, it would serve as a warning to those that can profit by example. the second calender's story. i am a king, son of a king. my father taught me to read and write, and i got the koran by heart, according to the seven readings, and read all manner of books under the guidance of learned professors; i studied the science of the stars and the sayings of poets and applied myself to all branches of knowledge, till i surpassed all the folk of my time. in particular, my skill in handwriting excelled that of all the scribes, and my fame was noised abroad in all countries and at the courts of all the kings. amongst others, the king of ind heard of me and sent to my father to seek me, with gifts and presents such as befit kings. so my father fitted out six ships for me, and we put to sea and sailed for a whole month, till we reached the land. then we brought out the horses that were with us in the ships, together with ten camels laden with presents for the king of ind. and set out inland, but had not gone far, before there arose a great dust, that grew till it covered the whole country. after awhile it lifted and discovered fifty steel-clad horsemen, as they were fierce lions, whom we soon found to be arab highwaymen. when they saw that we were but a small company and had with us ten laden camels, they drove at us with levelled spears. we signed to them with our fingers to do us no hindrance, for that we were ambassadors to the mighty king of ind; but they replied (in the same manner) that they were not in his dominions nor under his rule. then they set on us and slew some of my attendants and put the rest to flight; and i also fled, after i had gotten a sore wound whilst the arabs were taken up with the baggage. i knew not whither to turn, being reduced from high to low estate; so i fled forth at a venture till i came to the top of a mountain, where i took shelter for the night in a cavern. on the morrow, i continued my journey and fared on thus for a whole month, till i reached a safe and pleasant city. the winter had passed away from it with its cold and the spring was come with its roses; its flowers were blowing and its streams welling and its birds warbling. as says the poet, describing the city in question: a town, wherein who dwells is free from all affray; security and peace are masters there alway. like paradise itself, it seemeth, for its folk, with all its beauties rare decked out in bright array. i was both glad and sorry to reach the city, glad for that i was weary with my journey and pale for weakness and anxiety, and grieved to enter it in such sorry case. however, i went in, knowing not whither to betake me, and fared on till i came to a tailor sitting in his shop. i saluted him, and he returned my salute and bade me a kindly welcome, and seeing me to be a stranger and noting marks of gentle breeding on me, enquired how i came thither. i told him all that had befallen me; and he was concerned for me and said, "o my son, do not discover thyself to any, for the king of this city is the chief of thy father's foes and hath a mortal feud against him." then he set meat and drink before me, and i ate and he with me, and we talked together till nightfall, when he lodged me in a chamber beside his own, and brought me a bed and coverlet. i abode with him three days, at the end of which time he said to me, "dost thou know any craft by which thou mayst earn thy living?" i replied, "i am a doctor of the law and a man of learning, a scribe, a grammarian, a poet, a mathematician and a skilled penman." quoth he, "thy trade is not in demand in this country nor are there in this city any who understand science or writing or aught but money-getting." "by allah," said i, "i know nought but what i have told thee!" and he said, "gird thy middle and take axe and cord and go and cut firewood in the desert for thy living, till god send thee relief, and tell none who thou art, or they will kill thee." then he bought me an axe and a cord and gave me in charge to certain woodcutters; with whom i went out into the desert and cut wood all day and carried home a load on my head. i sold it for half a dinar, with part of which i bought victual and laid up the rest. on this wise i lived a whole year, at the end of which time i went out one day into the desert, according to my wont, and straying from my companions, happened on a tract full of trees and running streams, in which there was abundance of firewood; so i entered and coming on the gnarled stump of a great tree, dug round it with my axe and cleared the earth away from it. presently, the axe struck upon a ring of brass; so i cleared away the earth, till i uncovered a wooden trap-door, which i raised and there appeared beneath it a stair i descended the stair, till i came to a door, which i opened and found myself in a vaulted hall of goodly structure, wherein was a damsel like a pearl of great price, whose aspect banished pain and care and anxiety from the heart and whose speech healed the troubled soul and captivated the wise and the intelligent. she was slender of shape and swelling-breasted, delicate-cheeked and bright of colour and fair of form; and indeed her face shone like the sun through the night of her tresses, and her teeth glittered above the snows of her bosom. as says the poet of her: slender of waist, with streaming hair the hue of night, is she, with hips like hills of sand and shape straight as the balsam-tree. and as says another: there are four things that ne'er unite, except it be to shed my heart's best blood and take my soul by storm. and these are night-black locks and brow as bright as day, cheeks ruddy as the rose and straight and slender form. when i looked on her, i prostrated myself before her maker, for the grace and beauty he had created in her and she looked at me and said, "art thou a man or a genie?" "i am a man," answered i; and she said, "and who brought thee to this place, where i have dwelt five-and-twenty years without seeing man?" quoth i (and indeed her speech was sweet to me), "o my lady, my good star brought me hither for the dispelling of my grief and anxiety." and i told her all that had befallen me from first to last. my case was grievous to her and she wept: then she said, "i will tell thee my story in turn. i am the daughter of a king of farther india, by name efitamous, lord of the ebony islands, who married me to my cousin, but on my wedding-night an afrit called jerjis ben rejmous, the mother's sister's son of iblis, carried me off and flying away with me, set me down in this place whither he transported all that i needed of clothes and ornaments and furniture and meat and drink and so forth. once in every ten days he comes to me and lies the night here, then goes his way; for he took me without the consent of his family: and he has agreed with me that, in case i should ever have occasion for him in the interval between his visits, whether by night or by day, i have only to touch these two lines engraved upon the alcove, and he will be with me before i take away my hand. it is now four days since he was here, and there remain six before he comes again. wilt thou therefore spend five days with me and depart the day before his coming?" "i will well," answered i. "o rare! if it be not all a dream." at this she rejoiced and taking me by the hand, led me through a vaulted doorway into a small but elegant bath-room, where we put off our clothes and she washed me. then she clad me in a new suit and seated me by her side on a high divan and gave me to drink of sherbet of sugar flavoured with musk. then she brought food, and we ate and conversed. after awhile, she said to me, "lie down and rest, for thou art weary." so i lay down and slept and forgot all that had befallen me. when i awoke, i found her rubbing my feet:[fn# ] so i thanked her and blessed her, and we sat talking awhile. quoth she, "by allah, i was sad at heart, for that i have dwelt alone under ground these five-and-twenty years, without any to talk withal. so praised be god who hath sent thee to me!" then she said, "o youth, art thou for wine?" and i answered, "as thou wilt." whereupon she went to the cupboard and took out a sealed flask of old wine and decked the table with flowers and green herbs. then she recited the following verses: had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice have poured thee forth heart's blood and blackness of the eyes: ay, and we would have laid our cheeks within thy way, that so thy feet might tread on eyelids, carpet-wise! i thanked her, for indeed love of her had taken hold of me, and my grief and anxiety left me. we sat carousing till nightfall, and i passed the night with her, never knew i such a night. on the morrow, delight succeeded delight till the middle of the day, when i drank wine, till i lost my senses and rose, staggering from side to side, and said to her, "come, o fair one! i will carry thee up from under the earth and rid thee of this genie." she laughed and replied, "be content and hold thy peace. one day in every ten is the genie's, and the other nine shall be thine." quoth i (and indeed drunkenness had got the better of me), "this very moment will i break the alcove, on which is graven the talisman, and summon the afrit hither, that i may kill him, for i am used to kill afrits ten at a time." when she heard this, she conjured me by allah to refrain and repeated the following verses: this is a thing wherein thine own destruction lies: i rede thee keep thyself therefrom, if thou be wise. and also these: o thou that seek'st to hasten on the feet of parting's steeds, the matchless swift of flight, forbear, for fortune's nature is deceit, and parting is the end of love delight. i paid no heed to her words, but kicked the alcove with all my might, and immediately the place grew dark, it thundered and lightened, the earth trembled and the world was wrapped in gloom. when i saw this, the fumes of the wine left my head and i said to the lady, "what is the matter?" "the afrit is upon us," answered she "did i not warn thee of this! by allah, thou hast ruined me! but fly for thy life and return whence thou camest." so i ascended the stair, but, in the excess of my fear i forgot my sandals and hatchet. when i had mounted two steps, i turned to look, and behold, the ground clove in sunder and out came an afrit of hideous aspect, who said to the lady, "what is this commotion with which thou disturbest me? what misfortune has befallen thee?" "nothing has befallen me," answered she, "except that i was heavy at heart and drank a little wine to hearten myself. then i rose to do an occasion, but my head became heavy and i fell against the alcove." "thou liest, o harlot!" said he, and looked right and left, till he caught sight of the axe and the sandals and said, "these are some man's gear. who has been with thee?" quoth she, "i never set eyes on them till this moment; they must have clung to thee as thou camest hither." but he said, "this talk is absurd and will not impose on me, o strumpet!" then he stripped her naked and stretching her on the ground, tied her hands and feet to four stakes and proceeded to torture her to make her confess. i could not bear to hear her weeping; so i ascended the stair, quaking for fear. when i reached the top, i replaced the trap-door and covered it over with earth; and i thought of the lady and her beauty and what had befallen her through my folly and repented me sore of what i had done. then i bethought me of my father and his kingdom and how i had become a woodcutter, and how, after my life had been awhile serene, it had again become troubled, and i wept and repeated the following verse: what time the cruelties of fate o'erwhelm thee with distress, think that one day must bring thee ease, another day duresse. then i went on till i reached the house of my friend, whom i found awaiting me, as he were on coals of fire on my account. when he saw me, he rejoiced and said, "o my brother, where didst thou pass the night? my heart has been full of anxiety on thine account, fearing for thee from the wild beasts or other peril: but praised be god for thy safety!" i thanked him for his solicitude, and retiring to my chamber, fell a-musing on what had passed and reproached myself grievously for my meddlesomeness in kicking the alcove. presently the tailor came in to me and said, "o my son, there is without an old man, a foreigner, who seeks thee. he has thine axe and sandals and came to the woodcutters and said to them, 'i went out at the hour of the call to morning prayer and happened on these and know not whose they are: direct me to their owner.' they knew thine axe and sent him to thee; and he is now sitting in my shop. so do thou go out to him and thank him and take thy gear." when i heard this, my colour changed and i was sick for terror but before i could think, the floor clove asunder and up came the stranger, and lo, it was the afrit! now he had tortured the lady in the most barbarous manner, without being able to make her confess: so he took the axe and sandals, saying, "as sure as i am jerjis of the lineage of iblis, i will bring back the owner of this axe and these sandals!" so he went to the woodcutters with the tale aforesaid, and they directed him to me. he snatched me up without parley and flew high into the air, but presently descended and plunged into the ground with me, and i the while unconscious. then he came up with me in the underground palace, where i saw the lady stretched out naked, with the blood running from her sides. at this sight, my eyes ran over with tears; but the afrit unbound her and veiling her, said to her, "o wanton, is not this thy lover?" she looked at me and said, "i know not this man, nor have i ever seen him till now." quoth he, "wilt thou not confess after all this torture?" and she answered, "i never saw him in my life, and god forbid that i should lie against him and thou kill him." "then," said he, "if thou know him not, take this sword and cut off his head." she took the sword and came and stood at my head; and i made signs to her with my eyebrows whilst the tears ran down my cheeks. she understood me and signed to me with her eyes as who should say, "thou hast brought all this upon us." and i answered her, in the same fashion, that it was a time for forgiveness; and the tongue of the case spoke[fn# ] the words of the poet: my looks interpret for my tongue and tell of what i feel: and all the love appears that i within my heart conceal. when as we meet and down our cheeks our tears are running fast, i'm dumb, and yet my speaking eyes my thought of thee reveal. she signs to me; and i, i know the things her glances say: i with my fingers sign, and she conceives the mute appeal. our eyebrows of themselves suffice unto our intercourse: we're mute; but passion none the less speaks in the looks we steal. then she threw down the sword and said, "how shall i strike off the head of one whom i know not and who has done me no hurt? my religion will not allow of this." quoth the afrit, "it is grievous to thee to kill thy lover. because he hath lain a night with thee, thou endurest this torture and wilt not confess upon him. it is only like that pities like." then he turned to me and said, "o mortal, dost thou not know this woman?" "who is she?" answered i. "i never saw her till now." "then," said he "take this sword and strike off her head and i will believe that thou knowest her not and will let thee go and do thee no hurt." quoth i, "it is well;" and taking the sword, went up to her briskly and raised my hand. but she signed to me with her eyebrows, as who should say, "what hurt have i done thee? is it thus thou requitest me?" i understood what she would say and replied in the same manner, "i will ransom thee with my life." and the tongue of the case repeated the following verses: how many a lover with his eyelids speaks and doth his thought unto his mistress tell he flashes signals to her with his eyes, and she at once is ware of what befell. how swift the looks that pass betwixt the twain! how fair, indeed, and how delectable! one with his eyelids writes what he would say: the other with her eyes the writ doth spell. then my eyes ran over with tears and i said, "o mighty afrit and doughty hero! if a woman, lacking sense and religion, deem it unlawful to strike off my head, how can i, who am a man, bring myself to slay her whom i never saw in my life? never will i do it, though i drink the cup of death and ruin!" and i threw the sword from my hand. quoth the afrit, "ye show the good understanding between you, but i will let you see the issue of your doings." then he took the sword and cut off the lady's hands and feet at four strokes; whilst i looked on and made sure of death; and she signed me a farewell with her eyes. quoth he, "thou cuckoldest me with thine eyes!" and struck off her head with a blow of his sword. then he turned to me and said, "o mortal, by our law; when our wives commit adultery, it is lawful to us to put them to death. as for this woman, i stole her away on her wedding-night, when she was a girl of twelve, and she has known no one but myself. i used to come to her once in every ten days in the habit of a man, a foreigner, and pass one night with her; and when i was assured that she had played me false, i slew her. but as for thee, i am not sure that thou west her accomplice: nevertheless, i must not let thee go unharmed; but i will grant thee a favour." at this i rejoiced greatly and said, "what favour wilt thou grant me?" "i will give thee thy choice," replied he, "whether i shall change thee into a dog, an ass or an ape." quoth i (and indeed i had hoped that he would pardon me), "by allah, spare me, and god will reward thee for sparing a true believer, who hath done thee no harm." and i humbled myself before him to the utmost and wept, saying, "indeed, thou dost me injustice." "do not multiply words on me," answered he; "it is in my power to kill thee: but i give thee thy choice." "o afrit," rejoined i, "it would best become thee to pardon me, even as the envied pardoned the envier." quoth he, "and how was that?" "they say, o afrit," answered i, "that story of the envier and the envied. there dwelt once in a certain city two men, who occupied adjoining houses, having a common party-wall; and one of them envied the other and looked on him with an evil eye and did his utmost endeavour to work him ill; and his envy grew on him till he could hardly eat or enjoy the delight of sleep for it. but the envied man did nought but prosper, and the more the other strove to do him hurt, the more he increased and throve and flourished. at last the hatred his neighbour bore him and his constant endeavour to do him hurt came to his knowledge and he said, 'by allah, i will renounce the world on his account!' so he left his native place and settled in a distant city, where he bought a piece of land, in which was a dried-up well, that had once been used for watering the fields. here he built him an oratory, which he fitted up with all that he required, and took up his abode therein, devoting himself with a sincere heart to the service of god the most high. fakirs[fn# ] and poor folk soon flocked to him from all sides, and his fame spread abroad in the city, so that the notables resorted to him. after awhile, the news reached the envious man of the good fortune that had befallen his old neighbour and the high consideration in which he was held: so he set out for the town in which the latter dwelt and repaired to the hermitage, where the envied man welcomed him and received him with the utmost honour. quoth the envier, 'i have journeyed hither on purpose to tell thee a piece of good news. so order thy fakirs to retire to their cells and go with me apart, for i will not say what i have to tell thee, except privately where none may overhear us.' accordingly the envied man ordered the fakirs to retire to their cells; and they did so. then he took the other by the hand and walked on with him a little way, till they came to the deserted well, when the envious man gave the other a push and cast him into the well, unseen of any; after which, he went out and went his way thinking that he had killed him. now this well was haunted by jinn, who bore up the envied man and let him down little by little, so that he reached the bottom unhurt, and they seated him on a stone. then said one of the jinn to the others, 'know ye who this is?' and they answered, 'no.' quoth he, 'this is the envied man who fled from him who envied him and settled in our city, where he built him this oratory and entertains us with his litanies and recitations of the koran. but the envious man set out and journeyed till he rejoined him and contrived to throw him into this well. now the news of him hath this very night come to the sultan of the city and he purposes to visit him to-morrow, on account of his daughter. 'and what ails his daughter?' asked another. 'she is possessed of an evil spirit,' replied the first, 'for the genie meimoun ben demdem has fallen in love with her; but if the pious man knew the remedy, he could cure her; and it is the easiest of things.' 'and what is the remedy?' asked the other. quoth the first speaker 'the black cat that is with him in the oratory has a white spot, the size of a dirhem, at the end of her tail: he should take seven white hairs from this spot and fumigate the princess therewith; whereupon the marid will leave her and never return, and she will be cured immediately.' and the envied man heard all this. when the day broke and the morning appeared and shone, the fakirs came to seek their chief and found him rising from the well, wherefore he was magnified in their eyes; and he took the black cat and plucking seven white hairs from the spot at the end of her tail, laid them aside. the sun had hardly risen when the king arrived and entered the hermitage, attended by his chief officers, leaving the rest of his suite without. the envied man bade him welcome and drawing near to him, said, 'shall i tell thee the object of thy visit?' 'yes,' answered the king. and he said, 'thou comest to consult me concerning thy daughter.' quoth the king, 'thou sayst truly, o virtuous elder!' then said the envied man, 'send and fetch her, and (god willing) i trust to cure her at once.' the king rejoiced and sent for his daughter; and they brought her bound hand and foot. the envied man made her sit down behind a curtain and taking out the hairs, fumigated her with them; whereupon the afrit that was in her roared out and departed from her. and she was restored to her right mind and veiled her face, saying, 'what has happened and who brought me hither?' at this, the sultan rejoiced beyond measure and kissed her on the eyes and kissed the envied man's hand. then he turned to his officers and said, 'how say you? what reward doth he deserve who cured my daughter?' they answered, 'he deserves to have her to wife;' and the king, 'ye say well.' so he married him to her, and the envied man became the king's son-in-law. after awhile, the vizier died, and the king said, 'whom shall we make vizier in his stead?' 'thy son-in-law,' answered the courtiers. so the envied man was made vizier. presently the sultan also died, and the grandees determined to appoint the vizier king in his place. so they made him sultan, and he became king regnant. one day, as he was riding forth in his royal state, surrounded by his viziers and amirs and grandees, his eyes fell on his old neighbour, the envious man; so he turned to one of his viziers and said to him, 'bring me yonder man and frighten him not.' so the vizier went and returned with the envious man: and the king said, 'give him a thousand dinars from my treasury and twenty loads of merchandise and send him under an escort to his own city.' then he bade him farewell and sent him away and forbore to punish him for what he had done with him see, o afrit, how the envied man forgave his envier, who had always hated him and borne him malice and had journeyed to him and made shift to throw him into the well: yet did he not requite him his ill-doing, but on the contrary was bountiful to him and forgave him." then i wept before him exceeding sore, and repeated the following verses: i prithee, pardon mine offence: for men of prudent mind to pardon unto those that sin their sins are still inclined. if i, alas! contain in me all fashions of offence, let there in thee forgiveness fair be found in every kind. for men are bound to pardon those that are beneath their hand, if they themselves with those that be above them grace would find. quoth the afrit, "i will neither kill thee nor let thee go free, but i will assuredly enchant thee." then he tore me from the ground and flew up with me into the air, till i saw the earth as it were a platter midmost the water. presently he set me down on a mountain and took a little earth, over which he muttered some magical words, then sprinkled me with it, saying, "quit this shape for that of an ape." and immediately i became an ape, a hundred years old. then he went away and left me; and when i saw myself in this ugly shape, i wept, but resigned myself to the tyranny of fate, knowing that fortune is constant to no one, and descended to the foot of the mountain, where found a wide plain. i fared on for the space of a month till my course brought me to the shore of the salt sea: where i stood awhile and presently caught sight of a ship in the midst of the sea, making for the land with a fair wind. i hid myself behind a rock on the beach and waited till the ship drew near, when i sprang on board. quoth one of the passengers, "turn this unlucky brute out from amongst us!" and the captain said, "let us kill him." and a third, "i will kill him with this sword." but i laid hold of the captain's skirts and wept, and the tears ran down my face. the captain took pity on me and said, "o merchants, this ape appeals to me for protection, and i will protect him: henceforth he is under my safeguard, and none shall molest or annoy him." then he entreated me kindly and whatever he said i understood and ministered to all his wants and waited on him, so that he loved me. the ship sailed on with a fair wind for the space of fifty days, at the end of which time we cast anchor over against a great city, wherein were much people, none could tell their number save god. no sooner had we come to an anchor, than we were boarded by officers from the king of the city; who said to the merchants, "our king gives you joy of your safety and sends you this scroll of paper, on which each one of you is to write a line. for know that the king's vizier, who was an excellent penman, is dead and the king has sworn a solemn oath that he will make none vizier in his stead who cannot write like him." then they gave them a scroll, ten cubits long by one wide, and each of the merchants, who could write, wrote a line therein: after which i rose and snatched the scroll from their hands, and they cried out at me and rated me, fearing that i would tear it or throw it into the sea. but i made signs that i would write; whereat they marvelled, saying, "we never saw an ape write!" and the captain said to them, "let him alone; if he scrabble, we will drive him away and kill him; but if he write well, i will adopt him as my son, for i never saw so intelligent and well-mannered an ape; and would god my son had his sense and good breeding!" so i took the pen and dipping it in the inkhorn, wrote in an epistolary hand the following verses: time hath recorded the virtues of the great: but thine have remained unchronicled till now. may god not orphan the human race of thee, for sire and mother of all good deeds art thou. then i wrote the following in a running hand: thou hast a pen whose use confers good gifts on every clime; upon all creatures of the world its happy favours fall. what are the bounties of the nile to thy munificence, whose fingers five extend to shower thy benefits on all? and in an engrossing hand the following: there is no writer but he shall pass away: yet what he writes shall last for ever and aye. write, therefore, nought but that which shall gladden thee, when as it meets thine eye on the judgment day. and in a transcribing hand the following: when separation is to us by destiny decreed and 'gainst the cruel chance of fate our efforts are in vain, unto the inkhorn's mouth we fly that, by the tongues of pens, of parting and its bitterness it may for us complain. and in a large formal hand the following: the regal state endureth not to any mortal man. if thou deny this, where is he who first on earth held sway? plant therefore saplings of good deeds, whilst that thou yet art great though thou be ousted from thy stead, they shall not pass away. and in a court hand the following: when thou the inkhorn op'st of power and lordship over men, make thou thine ink of noble thoughts and generous purpose; then write gracious deeds and good therewith, whilst that thy power endures. so shall thy virtues blazoned be at point of sword and pen. then i gave the scroll to the officers, who took it and returned with it to the king. when he saw it, no writing pleased him but mine; so he said to his officers, "go to the writer of these lines and dress him in a splendid robe; then mount him on a mule and bring him to me with a band of music before him." at this they smiled, and the king was wroth with them and said, "o accursed ones, i give you an order, and ye laugh at me!" "o king," answered they, "we have good cause to laugh." quoth he, "what is it?" and they replied, "o king, thou orderest us to bring thee the man who wrote these lines: now he who wrote them is no man, but an ape belonging to the captain of the ship." "can this be true?" asked he; and they said, "yea, by thy munificence!" the king was astonished at their report and shook with mirth and said, "i have a mind to buy this ape of the captain." then he sent messengers to the ship and said to them, "dress him none the less in the robe and mount him on the mule and bring him hither in state, with the band of music before him." so they came to the ship and took me and clad me in the robe and mounted me on the mule and carried me in procession through the city; whilst the people were astounded and crowded to gaze upon me, and the place was all astir on my account. when i reached the king's presence, i kissed the earth before him three times, and he bade me be seated; so i sat down on my heels; and all the bystanders marvelled at my good manners, and the king most of all. after awhile the king dismissed his courtiers, and there remained but myself, his highness the king, an eunuch and a little white slave. then the king gave orders and they brought the table of food, containing all kinds of birds that hop and fly and couple in the nests, such as grouse and quails and so forth. he signed to me to eat with him; so i rose and kissed the earth before him then sat down and ate with him. when we had done eating, the table was removed, and i washed my hands seven times. then i took pen and ink and wrote the following verses: weep for the cranes that erst within the porringers did lie, and for the stews and partridges evanished heave a sigh! mourn for the younglings of the grouse; lament unceasingly, as, for the omelettes and the fowls browned in the pan, do i. how my heart yearneth for the fish, that in its different kinds, upon a paste of wheaten flour lay hidden in the pie! praised be god for the roast meat! as in the dish it lay, with pot-herbs, soaked in vinegar, in porringers hard by! my hunger was appeased: i lay, intent upon the gleam of arms that in the frumenty were buried bracelet high. i woke my sleeping appetite to eat, as 'twere in jest, of all the tarts that, piled on trays, shone fair unto the eye. o soul, have patience! for indeed, fate full of marvel is: if fortune straiten thee one day, the next relief is nigh. then i rose and seated myself at a distance, whilst the king read what i had written and marvelled and said "strange that an ape should be gifted with such fluency and skill in penmanship! by allah, this is a wonder of wonders!" then they set choice wine before the king in flagons of glass; and he drank, then passed the cup to me; and i kissed the earth and drank and wrote the following verses: they burnt me[fn# ] with fire, to make me speak, and found me patient and debonair. for this i am borne on men's hands on high and kiss the rosy lips of the fair! and these also: morn struggles through the dusk; so pour me out, i pray, of wine, such wine as makes the saddest-hearted gay! so pure and bright it is, that whether wine in glass or glass in wine be held, i' faith, 'tis hard to say. the king read them and said, with a sigh, "if a man had this quickness of wit, he would excel all the folk of his age and time." then he called for a chess-board and said to me, "wilt thou play with me?" i signed with my head as who should say, "yes," and came forward and placed the men and played two games with him, each of which i won, much to his amazement. then i took the pen and wrote the following verses: two hosts throughout the live-long day contend in deadly fight, that waxes ever till the shades of night upon them creep; then, when the darkness puts an end at last unto their strife, upon one couch and side by side, they lay them down to sleep. these verses filled the king with wonder and delight, and he said to the eunuch, "go to thy mistress, the lady of beauty, and bid her come and amuse herself with the sight of this wonderful ape." so the eunuch went out and presently returned with the lady, who, when she saw me, veiled her face, and said, "o my father, how comes it that thou art pleased to send for me and show me to strange men?" "o my daughter," said he, "there is none here save the little slave and the eunuch who reared thee and myself, thy father. from whom then dost thou veil thy face?" quoth she, "this that thou deemest an ape is a wise and learned man, the son of a king; the afrit jerjis of the lineage of iblis enchanted him thus, after putting to death his own wife, the daughter of king efitamous, lord of the ebony islands." at this the king wondered and turning to me, said, "is this true that she says of thee?" and i signed with my head, as who should say, "yes;" and wept. then said he to his daughter, "whence knewest thou that he was enchanted?" "o my father," answered she, "there was with me, in my childhood, an old woman who was skilled in magic and taught me its rules and practice; and i became skilled therein and committed to memory a hundred and seventy magical formulas, by the least of which i could transport the stones of thy?? behind the mountain caf and make its site an abyss of the sea and its people fishes swimming in its midst." "o my daughter," said her father, "i conjure thee, by my life, to disenchant this young man, that i may make him my vizier, for he is a right pleasant and ingenious youth." "with all my heart," replied she, and taking a knife, on which were engraved hebrew characters, drew therewith a circle in the midst of the hall and wrote there in names and talismans and muttered words and charms, some of which we understood and others not. presently the world darkened upon us, and the afrit presented himself before us in his own shape and aspect, with hands like pitchforks legs like masts and eyes like flames of fire. we were affrighted at him, but the princess said to him, "an ill welcome to thee, o dog!" whereupon he took the form of a lion and said to her, "o traitress, thou hast broken thy compact with me! did we not swear that neither of us should molest the other?" "o accursed one," answered she, "how could there be a compact between me and the like of thee?" "then," said he, "take what thou hast brought on thyself." and opening his mouth, rushed upon her: but she made haste and plucked a hair from her head and waved it in the air, muttering the while; and it at once became a sharp sword, with which she smote the lion and cut him in two. his head became a scorpion, whereupon the princess transformed herself into a great serpent and fell upon the scorpion and there befell a sore battle between them. presently the scorpion changed to an eagle, and the serpent at once became a griffin, which pursued the eagle a long while, till the latter became a black cat. thereupon the griffin became a piebald wolf and they fought long and sore, till the cat finding itself beaten, changed into a worm and crept into a pomegranate which lay beside the fountain in the midst of the hall whereupon the pomegranate swelled till it was as big as a watermelon. the wolf ran to seize it, but it rose into the air and falling on the pavement, broke in pieces, and all the seeds fell out and rolled hither and thither, till the floor was covered with them. then the wolf shook itself and became a cock, which fell to picking up the seeds, till they were all gone, except one that, by the decree of fate, had rolled to the side of the basin and lay hidden there. the cock began to crow and clap its wings and signed to us with his beak, as who should say, "are there any grains left?" but we understood him not; and he gave such a cry that we thought the palace would fall on us. then he ran about all over the hall, till he saw the remaining pomegranate-seed, and rushed to pick it up, but it sprang into the midst of the water and became a fish, which sank to the bottom of the basin. thereupon the cock became big fish and plunged in after the other; and we saw nothing of them for a time, but heard a loud crying and screaming and trembled. presently the afrit rose out of the water, as he were one great flame, with fire and smoke issuing from his mouth and eyes and nostrils. immediately after, the princess rose also, like a great coal of fire, and they fought till they were wrapped in flames and the hall was filled with smoke. as for us, we were well-nigh suffocated and hid ourselves and would have plunged into the water, fearing lest we be burnt up and destroyed: and the king said, "there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! we are god's and to him we return! would god i had not urged my daughter to attempt the delivery of this ape, whereby i have imposed on her this fearful labour with yonder accursed afrit, against whom all the other afrits in the world could not prevail! and would we had never seen this ape, may god's blessing not be on him nor on the hour of his coming! we thought to do him a kindness for the love of god, by freeing him from this enchantment, and lo, we have brought this terrible travail upon ourselves!" but my tongue was tied and i could not say a word to him. suddenly, the afrit roared out from under the flames and coming up to us, as we stood on the dais, blew fire in our faces. the princess pursued him and blew flames at him, and the sparks from them both fell upon us; her sparks did us no hurt, but of his one lighted on my right eye and destroyed it; another fell on the king's face and scorched the lower part, burning away half his beard and making his under teeth drop out, and a third lighted on the eunuch's breast and set him on fire, so that he was consumed and died forthright. so we despaired of life and looked for nothing but death; but presently we heard a voice exclaiming, "god is most great! he giveth aid and victory to the true believer and abandoneth him who denieth the religion of mohammed, the moon of the faith!" and lo, the king's daughter had burnt up the afrit and he was become a heap of ashes! then she came up to us and said, "bring me a cup of water." they did so: and she spoke over the water words we understood not and sprinkled me with it, saying, "by the virtue of the truth and of the most great name of god, return to thine original shape!" and immediately i shook and became a man as before, save that i had lost my right eye. then she cried out, "the fire! the fire! o my father, i have but an instant to live, for i am not used to fight with jinn: had he been a man, i had slain him long ago. i had no travail till the time when the pomegranate burst asunder and i overlooked the seed in which was the genie's life. had i picked it up, he would have died at once; but as fate and destiny would have it, i knew not of this, so that he came upon me unawares and there befell between us a sore strife under the earth and in the air and in the water: and as often as i opened on him a gate[fn# ] (of magic), he opened on me another, till at last he opened on me the gate of fire, and seldom does he on whom the gate of fire is opened escape alive. but providence aided me against him, so that i consumed him first, after i had summoned him to embrace the faith of islam. as for me, i am a dead woman and may god supply my place to you!" then she called upon god for help and ceased not to implore relief from the fire, till presently a tongue of fierce flame broke out from her clothes and shot up to her breast and thence to her face. when it reached her face, she wept and said, "i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is the apostle of god!" and we looked at her and behold, she was a heap of ashes beside those of the genie. we mourned for her and i wished i had been in her place, so had i not seen the fair-faced one who had done me this good office reduced to ashes; but there is no averting the decree of god. when the king saw what had befallen his daughter, he plucked out the rest of his beard and buffeted his face and rent his clothes; and i did the like, and we both wept for her. then came in the chamberlains and grandees and were amazed to find two heaps of ashes and the sultan in a swoon. so they stood round him till he revived and told them what had happened, whereat they were sore afflicted and the women and slave-girls shrieked aloud and kept up their lamentation for the space of seven days. moreover, the king bade build a great dome over his daughter's ashes and burn therein candles and lamps: but the afrit's ashes they scattered to the winds, committing them to the malediction of god. the king was sick, well-nigh unto death, for a month's space, after which health returned to him and his beard grew again. then he sent for me and said to me, "o youth, verily we led the happiest of lives, safe from the vicissitudes of fortune, till thou camest to us, when troubles flocked upon us. o that we had never seen thee nor the ugly face of thee! for through our taking pity on thee, we are come to this state of bereavement. i have lost, on thine account, first, my daughter, who was worth a hundred men; secondly, i have suffered what befell me by the fire and the loss of my teeth, and my eunuch also is dead. i do not indeed blame thee for aught of this; for all was decreed of god to us and to thee; and praised be he that my daughter delivered thee, though at the cost of her own life! but now, o my son, depart from my city and let what has befallen us on thine account suffice. depart in peace, and if i see thee again i will kill thee." and he cried out at me. so i went forth from his presence, knowing not whither i should go, and hardly believing in my escape. and i recalled all that had befallen me from first to last and thanked god that it was my eye that i had lost and not my life. before i left the town, i entered the bath and shaved my head and put on a hair-cloth garment. then i fared forth at a venture, and every day i recalled all the misfortunes that had befallen me and wept and repeated the following verses: by the compassionate, i'm dazed and know not where i go. griefs flock on me from every side, i know not whence they grow. i will endure till patience' self less patient is than i: i will have patience till it please the lord to end my woe. a vanquished man, without complaint, my doom i will endure, as the parched traveller in the waste endures the torrid glow. i will endure till aloes'[fn# ] self confess that i, indeed, can 'gainst a bitt'rer thing abide than even it can show. there is no bitt'rer thing; and yet if patience play me false, it were to me a bitt'rer thing than all the rest, i trow. the wrinkles graven on my heart would speak my hidden pain if through my breast the thought could pierce and read what lies below. were but my load on mountains laid, they'd crumble into dust; on fire it would be quenched outright; on wind, 'twould cease to blow. let who will say that life is sweet; to all there comes a day when they must needs a bitt'rer thing than aloes[fn# ] undergo. then i journeyed through many lands and cities, intending for the abode of peace[fn# ], baghdad, in the hope that i might get speech of the commander of the faithful and tell him all that had befallen me. i arrived here this night and found my brother, this first calender, standing perplexed; so i saluted him and entered into converse with him. presently up came our brother, this third calender, and said to us, "peace be on you! i am a stranger." "we also are strangers," answered we, "and have come hither this blessed night." so we all three walked on together, none of us knowing the others' story, till chance brought us to this door and we came in to you. this, then, is my story and the manner of the shaving of my face and the loss of my eye.' quoth the mistress of the house, 'thy story is indeed a rare one: and now begone about thy business.' but he replied, 'i will not stir till i hear the others' stories.' then came forward the third calender and said, 'o illustrious lady, my history is not like that of these my comrades, but still stranger and more marvellous, in that, whilst destiny and fore-ordained fate overcame them unawares, i with mine own hand drew fate and affliction upon myself, as thou shalt presently hear. know that story of the third calender. i also am a king, the son of a king, and my name is agib, son of khesib. my father died, and i took the kingdom after him and ruled my subjects with justice and beneficence. my capital city stood on the shore of a wide spreading sea, on which i had fifty merchant ships and fifty smaller vessels for pleasure and a hundred and fifty cruisers equipped for war; and near at hand were many great islands in the midst of the ocean. now i loved to sail the sea and had a mind to visit the islands aforesaid so i took ship with a month's victual and set out and took my pleasure in the islands and returned to my capital then, being minded to make a longer voyage upon the ocean, i fitted out half a score ships with provision for two months and sailed twenty days, till one night the wind blew contrary and the sea rose against us with great billows; the waves clashed together and there fell on us a great darkness. so we gave ourselves up for lost and i said, "he who perils himself is not to be commended, though he come off safe." then we prayed to god and besought him, but the wind ceased not to rage and the waves to clash together, till daybreak, when the wind fell, the sea became calm and the sun shone out. presently we sighted an island, where we landed and cooked food and ate and rested two days. then we set out again and sailed other twenty days, without seeing land; but the currents carried us out of our true course, so that the captain lost his reckoning and finding himself in strange waters, bade the watch go up to the mast-head and look out. so he climbed the mast and looked out and said "o captain, i see nothing to right and left save sky and water, but ahead i see something looming afar off in the midst of the sea, now black and now white." when the captain heard the look-out's words, he cast his turban on the deck and plucked out his beard and buffeted his face and said, "o king, we are all dead men, not one of us can be saved." we all wept for his weeping and i said to him, "o captain, tell us what it is the look-out saw." "o my lord," answered he, "know that we lost our way on the night of the storm and since then we have gone astray one-and-twenty days and there is no wind to bring us back to our true course. to-morrow, by the end of the day, we shall come to a mountain of black stone, called loadstone, for thither the currents bear us perforce. as soon as we come within a certain distance, all the nails in the ships will fly out and fasten to the mountain, and the ships will open and fall to pieces, for that god the most high has gifted the loadstone with a secret virtue, by reason whereof all iron is attracted to it; and on this mountain is much iron, how much god only knows, from the many ships that have been wrecked there from old time. on its summit there stands a dome of brass, raised on ten columns and on the top of the dome are a horse and horseman of the same metal. the latter holds in his hand a brazen lance and on his breast is a tablet of lead, graven with names and talismans: and, o king, it is nought but this horseman that causeth the folk to perish, nor will the charm be broken till he fall from his horse." then he wept sore and we all made sure of death and each took leave of his comrade and charged him with his last wishes, in case he should be saved. that night we slept not, and in the morning, we sighted the loadstone mountain, towards which the currents carried us with irresistible force. when the ships came within a certain distance, they opened and the nails started out and all the iron in them sought the loadstone and clove to it; so that by the end of the day, we were all struggling in the sea round the mountain. some of us were saved, but the most part drowned, and even those who escaped knew not one of the other, being stupefied by the raging wind and the buffeting of the waves. as for me, god preserved me that i might suffer that which he willed to me of trouble and torment and affliction, for i got on a plank from one of the ships and, the wind driving it ashore, i happened on a pathway leading to the top, as it were a stair hewn out of the rock. so i called upon the name of god the most high and besought his succour and clinging to the steps, addressed myself to climb up little by little. and god stilled the wind and aided me in my ascent, so that i reached the summit in safety. there i found nothing but the dome; so i entered, mightily rejoiced at my escape, and made my ablutions and prayed a two-bow prayer[fn# ] in gratitude to god for my preservation. then i fell asleep under the dome and saw in a dream one who said to me, "o son of khesib, when thou awakest, dig under thy feet and thou wilt find a bow of brass and three leaden arrows, inscribed with talismanic characters. take the bow and shoot the arrows at the horseman on the top of the dome and rid mankind of this great calamity. when thou shootest at him, he will fall into the sea and the horse will drop at thy feet: take it and bury it in the place of the bow. this done, the sea will swell and rise till it is level with the top of the mountain, and there will appear on it a boat containing a man of brass (other than he whom thou shalt have thrown down), with an oar in his hands. he will come to thee, and do thou embark with him, but beware of naming god. he will row with thee for the space of ten days, till he brings thee to a port of safety, where thou shalt find those who will carry thee to thine own country: and all this shall be fulfilled to thee, so thou pronounce not the name of god." i started up from my sleep and hastening to do the bidding of the mysterious voice, found the bow and arrows and shot at the horseman and overthrew him; whereupon he fell into the sea, whilst the horse dropped at my feet and i took it and buried it. then the sea grew troubled and rose till it reached the top of the mountain; nor had i long to wait before i saw a boat in the midst of the sea coming towards me. so i gave thanks to god: and when the boat came up to me, i saw in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead on his breast, inscribed with names and talismans; and i embarked without saying a word. the boatman rowed on with me for ten whole days, till i caught sight of islands and mountains and signs of safety; whereat i was beyond measure rejoiced and in the excess of my gladness, i called upon the name of the almighty and exclaimed, "there is no god but god! god is most great!" when behold, the boat turned over and cast me out into the sea, then righted and sank beneath the water. now, i knew how to swim, so i swam the whole day till nightfall, when my arms and shoulders failed me for fatigue, and i abode in mortal peril and made the profession of the faith[fn# ], looking for nothing but death. presently, the sea rose, for the greatness of the wind, and a wave like a great rampart took me and bearing me forward, cast me up on the land, that the will of god might be done. i clambered up the beach and, putting off my clothes, wrung them and spread them out to dry, then lay down and slept all night. as soon as it was day, i put on my clothes and rose to look about me. presently i came to a grove of trees and making a circuit round it, found that i was on a little island, surrounded on all sides by the sea; whereupon i said to myself, "no sooner do i escape from one peril than i fall into a worse." but as i was pondering my case and wishing for death, i spied a ship afar off making towards me; so i climbed up into a tree and hid myself among the branches. presently the ship came to an anchor, and ten slaves landed, bearing spades, and made for the middle of the island, where they dug till they uncovered a trapdoor and raised it. then they returned to the ship and brought thence bread and flour and oil and honey and meat and carpets and all else that was needed to furnish one dwelling there; nor did they leave going back and forth till they had transferred to the underground dwelling all that was in the ship: after which they again repaired to the vessel and returned, laden with wearing apparel of the finest kind and in their midst a very old man, whom time had mauled till he was wasted and worn, as he were a bone wrapped in a rag of blue cloth, through which the winds blew east and west. as says the poet of him: time makes us tremble ah, how piteously! for full of violence and might is he. once on a time i walked and was not tired: now am i tired, yet have not walked, ah me! he held by the hand a youth cast in the mould of symmetry and perfection, so fair that his beauty might well be the subject of proverbs; for he was like a tender sapling, ravishing every heart with his beauty and seducing every wit with his amorous grace. it was of him the poet spoke, when he said: beauty they brought to liken it with him: but beauty hung its head for shame and fear. "o beauty," said they, "dost thou know his like?" it answered, "never have i seen his peer." they proceeded to the underground, where they descended all and did not reappear for an hour or more, at the end of which time the old man and the slaves came up, without the youth, and replacing the trap-door, covered it again with earth; then returned to the ship and set sail. as soon as they were out of sight, i came down from the tree and going to the place i had seen them fill up, made shift to clear away the earth, till i came to the trap-door, which was of wood, the shape and bigness of a mill-stone, and raised it, when there appeared underneath a winding stair of stone. at this i wondered and descending, came to a fair chamber, spread with various kinds of carpets and hung with silken stuffs, where i saw the youth sitting alone upon a raised couch and leant upon a cushion, with a fan in his hand and sweet-scented flowers and herbs and fruits before him. when he saw me, he turned pale; but i saluted him, saying, "calm thyself and put away fear; no harm shall come to thee: i am a man like unto thee and a king's son, whom providence hath sent to bear thee company in thy solitude. but now tell me thy history and why thou dwellest underground by thyself." when he was assured that i was of his kind, he was glad and his colour returned; then he made me draw near to him and said, "o my brother, my story is a strange one, and it is as follows. my father is a merchant jeweller, possessed of great wealth and having black and white slaves, who make trading voyages, on his account, in ships and on camels, to the most distant countries; and he has dealings with kings. until my birth, he had never been blessed with a child, but one night he dreamt that a son had been born to him, who lived but a short time, and awoke weeping and crying out. the following night my mother conceived and he took note of the date of her conception. the days of her pregnancy were accomplished and she gave birth to myself, whereupon my father rejoiced and made banquets and fed the poor and the needy for that i had been vouchsafed to him in his old age. then he assembled the astrologers and mathematicians of the day and those learned in nativities and horoscopes; and they drew my horoscope and said to my father, 'thy son will live till the age of fifteen, at which date there is a break[fn# ] in his line of life, which if he tide over in safety, he shall live long. the danger with which he is threatened is as follows. in the sea of peril stands a mountain called the loadstone mountain, on whose summit is a horseman of brass, seated on a horse of the same metal, with a tablet of lead on his breast. fifty days after this horseman falls from his horse, thy son will die, and his slayer will be he who overthrows the statue, a king called agib, son of khesib.' my father was sore concerned at this prediction; but he brought me up and gave me a good education, till i attained my fifteenth year. ten days ago, news came to him that the horseman had fallen into the sea and that he who overthrew him was agib, son of king khesib; whereat he was as one distraught and feared for my life. so he built me this place under the earth and stocking it with all that i need during the forty days that yet remain of the period of danger, transported me hither, that i might be safe from king agib's hands. when the forty days are past, he will come back and fetch me; and this is my story and why thou findest me here alone." when i heard his story, i marvelled and said to myself, "i am that king agib of whom he speaks; but, by allah, i will assuredly not kill him!" and i said to him, "o my lord, god willing, thou shalt be spared suffering and death, nor shalt thou see trouble or sorrow or disquiet, for i will abide with thee and serve thee; and when i have borne thee company during the appointed days, i will go with thee to thy dwelling-place and thou shalt bring me to some of thy father's servants, with whom i may journey to my own country; and god shall requite thee for me." he rejoiced in my words and we sat conversing till nightfall when i rose and lighted a great wax candle and fed the lamps and set on meat and drink and sweetmeats. we ate and drank and sat talking till late into the night, when he lay down to sleep and i covered him up and went to sleep myself. next morning, i rose and heated a little water, then woke him gently and brought him the warm water, with which he washed his face and thanked me, saying, "god requite thee with good, o youth! by allah, if i escape from this my danger and from him they call agib ben khesib, i will make my father reward thee!" "may the day never come on which evil shall befall thee," answered i, "and may god appoint my last day before thine!" then i set on food and we ate, and i made ready perfumes with which he scented himself. moreover, i made him a backgammon board[fn# ], and we played and ate sweetmeats and played again till nightfall when i rose and lighting the lamps, set on food; and we ate and sat talking till the night was far spent. then he lay down to sleep and i covered him up and went to sleep myself. thus i did with him, day and night, and the love of him got hold upon my heart and i forgot my troubles and said to myself, "the astrologers lied; by allah, i will not kill him!" i ceased not to serve him and bear him company and entertain him thus, till nine-and-thirty days were passed and we came to the morning of the fortieth day, when he rejoiced and said to me, "o my brother, the forty days are up to-day, praised be god who hath preserved me from death, and this by thy blessing and the blessing of thy coming to me, and i pray him to restore thee to thy country! but now, o my brother, i prithee heat me some water, that i may wash my body and change my clothes." "with all my heart," answered i; and heated water in plenty and carrying it in to him, washed his body well with lupin-meal[fn# ] and rubbed him down and changed his clothes and spread him a high bed, on which he lay down to rest after the bath. then said he, "o my brother, cut me a melon and sweeten it with sugar-candy." so i went to the closet and bringing a fine melon i found there on a platter, said to him, "o my lord, hast thou no knife?" "here it is," answered he, "on the high shelf at my head." so i got up hurriedly and taking the knife, drew it from its sheath; but in stepping down backward, my foot slipped and i fell heavily on the youth, holding in my hand the knife, which hastened to fulfil that which was ordained and entered his heart, and he died forthright. when i saw that he was no more and that i had indeed killed him, i cried out grievously and buffeted my face and tore my clothes, saying, "we are god's and to him we return! there remained for this youth but one day of the period of danger that the astrologers had foretold for him, and the death of this fair one was to be at my hand! verily, my life is nought but disasters and afflictions! would he had not asked me to cut the melon or would i had died before him! but what god decrees cometh to pass." when i was certain that there was no life left in him, i rose and ascending the stair, replaced the trap-door and covered it with earth. then i looked out to sea and saw the ship cleaving the waters in the direction of the island. whereat i was afeared and said, "they will be here anon and will find their son dead and know 'twas i killed him and will slay me without fail." so i climbed up into a high tree and hid myself among the leaves. hardly had i done so, when the vessel came to an anchor and the slaves landed with the old man and made direct for the place, where they cleared away the earth and were surprised to find it soft.[fn# ] then they raised the trap-door and going down, found the boy lying dead, clad in clean clothes, with his face shining from the bath and the knife sticking in his breast. at this sight, they shrieked aloud and wept and buffeted their faces and cried out, "alas! woe worth the day!" whilst the old man swooned away and remained so long insensible, that the slaves thought he would not survive his son. so they wrapped the dead youth in his clothes and carried him up and laid him on the ground, covering him with a shroud of silk. then they addressed themselves to transport all that was in the place to the ship, and presently the old man revived and coming up after them, saw his son laid out, whereupon he fell on the ground and strewed dust on his head and buffeted his face and tore his beard; and his weeping redoubled, as he hung over his dead son, till he swooned away again. after awhile the slaves came back, with a silken carpet, and laying the old man thereon, sat down at his head. all this time i was in the tree above them, watching them; and indeed my heart became hoary before my head, for all the grief and affliction i had undergone. the old man ceased not from his swoon till nigh upon sundown, when he came to himself and looking upon his dead son, recalled what had happened and how what he had feared had come to pass: and he buffeted his face and head and recited the following verses: my heart is cleft in twain for severance of loves; the burning tears pour down in torrents from my eye. my every wish with him i loved is fled away: what can i do or say? what help, what hope have i? would i had never looked upon his lovely face! alas, the ways on me are straitened far and nigh! what charm can bring me peace, what drink forgetfulness, whilst in my heart the fire of love burns fierce and high? would that my feet had trod with him the road of death! then should i not, as now, in lonely sorrow sigh. o god, that art my hope, have pity upon me! unite us twain, i crave, in paradise for aye! how blessed were we once, whilst one house held us both and twinned in pure content our happy lives passed by! till fortune aimed at us the shafts of severance and parted us; for who her arrows can defy? for lo! the age's pearl, the darling of his folk, the mould of every grace, was singled out to die! i call him back: "would god thine hour had never come!" what while the case takes speech and doth forestall my cry. which is the speediest way to win to thee, my son! my soul had paid the price, if that thy life might buy. the sun could not compare with him, for lo! it sets. nor yet the moon that wanes and wasteth from the sky. alas, my grief for thee and my complaint of fate! none can console for thee nor aught thy place supply. thy sire is all distraught with languishment for thee; since death upon thee came, his hopes are gone awry. surely, some foe hath cast an envious eye on us: may he who wrought this thing his just deserts aby! then he sobbed once and gave up the ghost; whereupon the slaves cried out, "alas, our master!" and strewed dust on their heads and wept sore. then they carried the two bodies to the ship and set sail. as soon as they were out of sight, i came down from the tree and raising the trap-door, went down into the underground dwelling, where the sight of some of the youth's gear recalled him to my mind, and i repeated the following verses: i see their traces and pine for longing pain; my tears rain down on the empty dwelling-place! and i pray to god, who willed that we should part, one day to grant us reunion, of his grace! then i went up again and spent the day in walking about the island, returning to the underground dwelling for the night. thus i lived for a month, during which time i became aware that the sea was gradually receding day by day from the western side of the island, till by the end of the month, i found that the water was become low enough to afford a passage to the mainland. at this i rejoiced, making sure of delivery, and fording the little water that remained, made shift to reach the mainland, where i found great heaps of sand, in which even a camel would sink up to the knees. however, i took heart and making my way through the sand, espied something shining afar off, as it were a bright-blazing fire. so i made towards it, thinking to find succour and repeating the following verses: it may be fate at last shall draw its bridle-rein and bring me happy chance; for fortune changes still; and things shall happen yet, despite the things fordone, to further forth my hopes and bring me to my will. when i drew near the supposed fire, behold, it was a palace, with a gate of brass, whereon, when the sun shone, it gleamed and glistened and showed from afar, as it were a fire. i rejoiced at the sight and sat down before the palace gate; but hardly had i done so, when there came up ten young men, sumptuously clad and all blind of the right eye. they were accompanied by an old man; and i marvelled at their appearance and at their being all blind of the same eye. they saluted me and questioned me of my condition, whereupon i told them all that had befallen me. they wondered at my story and carried me into the palace, where i saw ten couches, with beds and coverlets of blue stuff, ranged in a circle, with a like couch of smaller size in the midst. as we entered, each of the young men went up to his own couch, and the old man seated himself on the smaller one in the middle. then said they unto me, "o youth, sit down on the ground and enquire not of our doings nor of the loss of our right eyes." presently the old man rose and brought each one of the young men and myself his portion of meat and drink in separate vessels; and we sat talking, they questioning me of my adventures and i replying, till the night was far spent. then said they to the old man, "o elder, wilt thou not bring us our ordinary? the time is come." "willingly," answered he, and rose and entering a closet, disappeared and presently returned, bearing on his head ten dishes, each covered with a piece of blue stuff. he set a dish before each youth and lighting ten wax-candles, set one upon each dish; after which he uncovered the dishes, and lo, they were full of ashes and powdered charcoal and soot. then all the young men tucked up their sleeves and fell to weeping and lamenting; and they blackened their faces and rent their clothes and buffeted their cheeks and beat their breasts, exclaiming "we were seated at our ease, but our impertinent curiosity would not let us be!" they ceased not to do thus till near daybreak, when the old man rose and heated water for them, and they washed their faces and put on fresh clothes. when i saw this, my senses left me for wonderment and my heart was troubled and my mind perplexed, for their strange behaviour, till i forgot what had befallen me and could not refrain from questioning them; so i said to them, "what makes you do thus, after our sport and merry-making together? praised be god, ye are whole of wit, yet these are the doings of madmen! i conjure you, by all that is most precious to you, tell me why you behave thus and how ye came to lose each an eye!" at this, they turned to me and said, "o young man, let not thy youth beguile thee, but leave thy questioning." then they slept and i with them, and when we awoke, the old man served up food; and after we had eaten and the vessels had been removed, we sat conversing till nightfall, when the old man rose and lit the candles and lamps and set meat and drink before us. we ate and sat talking and carousing till midnight, when they said to the old man, "bring us our ordinary, for the hour of sleep is at hand." so he rose and brought them the dishes of soot and ashes, and they did as they had done on the preceding night. i abode with them on this wise for a month, during which time they blackened their faces every night, then washed them and changed their clothes and my trouble and amazement increased upon me till i could neither eat nor drink. at last, i lost patience and said to them, "o young men, if ye will not relieve my concern and acquaint me with the reason of your blackening your faces and the meaning of your words, 'we were seated at our ease, but our impertinent curiosity would not let us be,' let me leave you and return to my own people and be at rest from seeing these things, for as says the proverb, 'twere wiser and better your presence to leave, for when the eye sees not, the heart does not grieve." "o youth," answered they, "we have not concealed this thing from thee but in our concern for thee, lest what befell us before thee and thou become like unto us." "it avails not," said i; "you must tell me." "we give thee good advice," rejoined they; "do thou take it and leave questioning us of our case, or thou wilt become one-eyed like unto us." but i still persisted in my demand and they said, "o youth, if this thing befall thee, we warn thee that we will never again receive thee into our company nor let thee abide with us." then they took a ram and slaughtering it, skinned it and gave me a knife, saying, "lie down on the skin and we will sew thee up in it and leave thee and go away. presently there will come to thee a bird called the roc[fn# ], that will catch thee up in its claws and fly away with thee and set thee down on a mountain. as soon as thou feelest it alight with thee, slit the skin with the knife and come forth; whereupon the bird will take fright at thee and fly away and leave thee. then rise and fare on half a day's journey, till thou comest to a palace rising high into the air, builded of khelenj[fn# ] and aloes and sandal-wood and plated with red gold, inlaid with all manner emeralds and other jewels. there enter and thou wilt attain thy desire. we all have been in that place, and this is the cause of the loss of our right eyes and the reason why we blacken our faces. were we to tell thee our stories, it would take too much time, for each lost his eye by a separate adventure." they then sewed me up in the skin and left me on the ground outside the palace; and the roc carried me off and set me down on the mountain. i cut open the skin and came out, whereupon the bird flew away and i walked on till i reached the palace. the door stood open; so i entered and found myself in a very wide and goodly hall, as big as a tilting-ground, round which were a hundred doors of sandal and aloes-wood, plated with red gold and furnished with rings of silver. at the upper end of the hall, i saw forty young ladies, sumptuously clad and adorned, as they were moons, one could never tire of gazing on them: and they all came up to me, saying, "welcome and fair welcome, o my lord! this month past have we been expecting the like of thee; and praised be god who hath sent us one who is worthy of us and we of him!" then they made me sit down on a high divan and said to me, "from to-day thou art our lord and master, and we are thy handmaids; so order us as thou wilt." and i marvelled at their case. presently one of them arose and set food before me, and i ate, whilst others heated water and washed my hands and feet and changed my clothes, and yet others made ready sherbets and gave me to drink; and they were all full of joy and delight at my coming. then they sat down and conversed with me till nightfall, when five of them arose and spreading a mat, covered it with flowers and fruits and confections in profusion and set on wine; and we sat down to drink, while some of them sang and others played the lute and psaltery and recorders and other instruments. so the cup went round amongst us and such gladness possessed me that i forgot all the cares of the world and said, "this is indeed life, but that it is fleeting." we ceased not to drink and make merry till the night was far spent and we were warm with wine, when they said to me, "o our lord, choose from amongst us one who shall be thy bedfellow this night and not lie with thee again till forty days be past." so i chose a girl fair of face, with liquid black eyes and jetty hair, slightly parted teeth[fn# ] and joining eyebrows, perfect in shape and form, as she were a palm-sapling or a stalk of sweet basil; such an one as troubles the heart and bewilders the wit, even as saith of her the poet: 'twere vain to liken her unto the tender branch, and out on who compares her form to the gazelle! whence should gazelles indeed her shape's perfection get or yet her honeyed lips so sweet to taste and smell, or those great eyes of hers, so dire to those who love, that bind their victims fast in passion's fatal spell? i dote on her with all the folly of a child. what wonder if he turn a child who loves too well! and i repeated to her the following verses: my eyes to gaze on aught but thy grace disdain and none but thou in my thought shall ever reign. the love of thee is my sole concern, my fair; in love of thee, i will die and rise again. so i lay with her that night, never knew i a fairer, and when it was morning, the ladies carried me to the bath and washed me and clad me in rich clothes. then they served up food and we ate and drank, and the cup went round amongst us till the night, when i chose from among them one who was fair to look upon and soft of sides, such an one as the poet describes, when he says: i saw upon her breast two caskets snowy-white, musk-sealed; she doth forbid to lovers their delight. she guards them with the darts that glitter from her eyes; and those who would them press, her arrowy glances smite. i passed a most delightful night with her; and to make a long story short, i led the goodliest life with them, eating and drinking and carousing and every night taking one or other of them to my bed, for a whole year, at the end of which time they came in to me in tears and fell to bidding me farewell and clinging to me, weeping and crying out; whereat i marvelled and said to them, "what ails you? indeed you break my heart." "would we had never known thee!" answered they. "we have companied with many men, but never saw we a pleasanter or more courteous than thou: and now we must part from thee. yet it rests with thee to see us again, and if thou hearken to us, we need never be parted: but our hearts forebode us that thou will not hearken to us; and this is the cause of our weeping" "tell me how the case stands," said i; and they answered, "know that we are the daughters of kings, who have lived here together for years past, and once in every year we are absent for forty days; then we return and abide here for the rest of the year, eating and drinking and making merry. we are now about to depart according to our custom, and we fear lest thou disobey our injunctions in our absence, in which case we shall never see thee again; but if thou do as we bid thee, all will yet be well. take these keys: they are those of the hundred apartments of the palace, each of which contains what will suffice thee for a day's entertainment. ninety-and-nine of these thou mayst open and take thy pleasure therein, but beware lest thou open the hundredth, that which has a door of red gold; for therein is that which will bring about a separation between us and thee." quoth i, "i will assuredly not open the hundredth door, if therein be separation from you." then one of them came up to me and embraced me and repeated the following verses: if but the days once more our severed loves unite, if but my eyes once more be gladdened by thy sight, then shall the face of time smile after many a frown, and i will pardon fate for all its past despite. and i repeated the following: when she drew near to bid farewell, upon our parting day, whilst on her heart the double stroke of love and longing smote, she wept pure pearls, and eke mine eyes did rain cornelians forth; and lo, they all combined and made a necklace for her throat! when i saw her weeping, i said, "by allah, i will never open the hundredth door!" then they bade me farewell and departed, leaving me alone in the palace. when the evening drew near, i opened the first door and found myself in an orchard, full of blooming trees, laden with ripe fruit, and the air resounded with the loud singing of birds and the ripple of running waters. the sight brought solace to my soul, and i entered and walked among the trees, inhaling the odours of the flowers and listening to the warble of the birds, that sang the praises of god the one, the almighty. i looked upon the apple, whose colour is parcel red and parcel yellow, as says the poet: the apple in itself two colours doth unite, the loved one's cheek of red, and yellow of despite. then i looked upon the quince and inhaled its fragrance that puts musk and ambergris to shame, even as says the poet: the quince contains all pleasant things that can delight mankind, wherefore above all fruits that be its virtues are renowned. its taste is as the taste of wine, its breath the scent of musk; its hue is that of virgin gold, its shape the full moon's round. thence i passed to the pear, whose taste surpasses rose-water and sugar, and the plum, whose beauty delights the eye, as it were a polished ruby. when i had taken my fill of looking on the place, i went and locked the door again. next day, i opened the second door and found myself in a great pleasaunce, set with many palm-trees and watered by a running stream, whose borders were decked with bushes of rose and jessamine and henna[fn# ] and camomile and marjoram and sweetbriar and carpeted with narcissus and ox-eye and violets and lilies and gillyflowers. the breeze fluttered over all these sweet-smelling plants and scattered their scents right and left, possessing me with complete delight. i took my pleasure in the place awhile, and my chagrin was somewhat lightened. then i went out and locked the door and opening the third door, found therein a great hall paved with vari-coloured marbles and other precious stones and hung with cages of sandal and aloes wood, full of singing-birds, such as the thousand-voiced nightingale[fn# ] and the cushat and the blackbird and the turtle-dove and the nubian warbler. my heart was ravished by the song of the birds and i forgot my cares and slept in the aviary till the morning. then i opened the fourth door and saw a great hall, with forty cabinets ranged on either side. the doors of the latter stood open; so i entered and found them full of pearls and rubies and chrysolites and beryls and emeralds and corals and carbuncles and all manner of precious stones and jewels of gold and silver, such as the tongue fails to describe. i was amazed at what i saw and said in myself "methinks, if all the kings of the earth joined together they could not produce the like of these treasures!" and my heart dilated and i exclaimed, "now am i king of my time, for all these riches are mine by the favour of god, and i have forty young ladies under my hand, nor is there any with them but myself!" in short, i passed nine-and-thirty days after this fashion, exploring the riches of the place, till i had opened all the doors, except that which the princesses had charged me not to open, but my thoughts ran ever on this latter and satan urged me, for my ruin, to open it, nor had i patience to forbear; though there remained but one day of the appointed time. so i opened the hundredth door, that which was plated with red gold, and was met by a perfume, whose like i had never before smelt and which was of so subtle and penetrating a quality, that it invaded my head and i fell down, as if intoxicated, and lay awhile unconscious. then i revived and took heart and entering, found myself in a place strewn with saffron and blazing with light shed by lamps of gold and candles, that diffused a scent of musk and aloes. in the midst stood two great censers, full of burning aloes wood and ambergris and other perfumes, and the place was full of their fragrance. presently i espied a horse, black as night at its darkest, girt and bridled and saddled with red gold, standing before two mangers of white crystal, one full of winnowed sesame and the other of rose-water flavoured with musk. when i saw this, i was amazed and said to myself, "surely this horse must be of extraordinary value!" and the devil tempted me, so that i took him out and mounted him, but he would not stir. so i spurred him with my heel, but he did not move; and i took a. switch and struck him with it. when he felt the blow, he gave a neigh like the roaring thunder, and spreading a pair of wings flew up with me high into the air. after awhile, he descended and set me down on the terrace of a palace; then, shaking me off his back, he smote me on the face with his tail and struck out my right eye and flew away, leaving me there. i went down into the palace and found myself again among the ten one-eyed youths, who exclaimed, when they saw me, "an ill welcome to thee!" quoth i, "behold, i am become like unto you, and now i would have you give me a dish of soot, that i may blacken my face and admit me to your company." "by allah," answered they, "thou shalt not abide with us! depart hence!" and they drove me away. i was grieved at their rejection of me and went out from them, mourning-hearted and tearful-eyed, saying to myself, "of a truth, i was sitting at my ease, but my impertinent curiosity would not let me be." then i shaved my beard and eyebrows and renouncing the world, became a calender and wandered about god's earth, till by his blessing, i arrived at baghdad in safety this evening and met with these two other calenders standing bewildered. so i saluted them, saying, "i am a stranger;" to which they replied, "we also are strangers." and, as it chanced, we were all calenders and each blind of the right eye. this, then, o my lady, is my story and the manner of the shaving of my face and the loss of my eye.' quoth the mistress of the house, 'begone about thy business.' but he said, 'by allah, i will not go, till i hear the others' stories!' then she turned to the khalif and his companions and said, 'give me an account of yourselves.' so jaafer came forward and repeated the story he had told the portress; whereupon the lady said, 'i pardon you all: go your ways.' so they all went out; and when they reached the street the khalif said to the calenders, 'o folk, whither are you bound now, seeing that it is not yet day?' 'by allah, o my lord,' answered they, 'we know not where to go!' 'then come and pass the rest of the night with us,' said the khalif, and turning to jaafer, said to him, 'take them home with thee and to-morrow bring them before me, that we may cause their adventures to be recorded.' jaafer did as the khalif bade him, and the latter returned to his palace. sleep did not visit him that night, but he lay awake, pondering the adventures of the three calenders and full of impatience to know the history of the two ladies and the black bitches; and no sooner had the day dawned than he went out and sat down on his chair of estate. then his courtiers presented themselves and withdrew, whereupon he turned to jaafer and said to him, 'bring me the three ladies and the bitches and the calenders, and make haste.' so jaafer went out and brought them all before him and seated the ladies behind a curtain; then turned to them and said, speaking for the khalif, 'o women, we pardon you your rough usage of us, in consideration of your previous kindness and for that ye knew us not: and now i would have you to know that you are in the presence of the fifth of the sons of abbas, the commander of the faithful haroun er reshid, son of el mehdi mohammed, son of abou jaafer el mensour. so do ye acquaint him with your stories and tell him nothing but the truth.' when the ladies heard jaafer's speech, the eldest came forward and said, 'o commander of the faithful, my story is one which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, would serve for an example to those who can profit by example and a warning to those who can take warning. and it is that the eldest lady's story. these two bitches are my elder sisters by the same mother and father, and these two others, she on whom are the marks of blows and the cateress, are my sisters by another mother. when my father died, each took her portion of the heritage, and after awhile my mother died also and left me and my sisters-german a thousand dinars each. after awhile my two sisters married and lived with their husbands for a time; then the latter bought merchandise with their wives' money and set out on their travels, and i heard no more of them for five years: for their husbands spent their wives' fortunes and became bankrupt and deserted them in a foreign land. presently, my eldest sister came back to me in the guise of a beggar, with tattered clothes and a dirty old veil, and altogether in so sorry a plight, that at first i knew her not; but when i recognised her, i asked her how she came in such a state. "o my sister," answered she, "talking profits not now: the pen[fn# ] hath written what was decreed." then i sent her to the bath and clothed her in a suit of my own and entreated her kindly and said to her, "o my sister, thou standest to me in the stead of my father and mother; and god has blessed me in the share of the inheritance that fell to me and prospered it to me, so that i am now in flourishing case; and thou shalt share with me in my increase." so she abode with me a whole year, during which time we were much concerned to know what was become of our other sister. at last, she too came back to me, in a worse plight than the other, and i dealt still more kindly by her than by the first, and each of them had a share of my substance. after awhile, they said to me, "o sister, we desire to marry again, for we can no longer endure to live without husbands." "o my dear ones[fn# ]," answered i, "there is no good in marriage, for now-a-days good men are rare to find; nor do i see the advantage of marrying again, since ye have already made trial of matrimony and it has profited you nothing." they would not listen to me, but married without my consent; nevertheless i equipped them and portioned them with my own money and they went away with their husbands. after a little, the latter cheated them of all they had and went away and left them. then they came to me, in abject case, and made their excuses to me, saying, "do not reproach us; thou art younger than we, but riper of wit, so take us as thy handmaids, that we may eat our mouthful; and we will never again speak of marriage." quoth i, "ye are welcome, o my sisters: there is nothing dearer to me than you." and i took them in and redoubled in kindness to them. we lived thus for a whole year, at the end of which time i was minded to travel. so i fitted out a great ship at bassora and loaded her with merchandise and victual and other necessaries for a voyage, and said to my sisters, "will you come with me or abide at home till i return?" "we will go with thee," answered they, "for we cannot endure to be parted from thee." so i took them and set sail, after dividing my money into two parts, one of which i deposited with a trusty person, saying, "maybe ill-hap shall betide the ship and yet we remain alive; but now, if we return, we shall find what will be of service to us." we sailed days and nights, till the captain missed the true course and the ship went astray with us and entered a sea other than that we aimed at. we knew not of this awhile and the wind blew fair for us ten days, at the end of which time, the watch went up to the mast-head, to look out, and cried, "good news!" then he came down, rejoicing, and said to us, "i see a city in the distance as it were a dove." at this we rejoiced and before an hour of the day was past, the city appeared to us afar off: and we said to the captain, "what is the name of yonder city?" "by allah!" replied he, "i know not, for i never saw it before nor have i ever sailed this sea in my life; but since the affair has issued in safety, ye have nought to do but to land your goods, and if ye find a market, sell and buy and barter, as the occasion serves; if not, we will rest here two days, re-victual and depart." so we entered the harbour and the captain landed and was absent awhile, after which he returned and said to us, "arise, go up into the city and marvel at god's dealings with his creatures and seek to be preserved from his wrath." so we landed and going up to the city, saw at the gate men with staves in their hands; but when we drew near them, behold, they had been stricken by the wrath of god and were become stones. then we entered the city and found all its in habitants changed into black stones: there was not a living soul therein, no, not a blower of the fire. at this we were amazed and passed on through the bazaars, where we found all the goods and gold and silver left lying in their places, and rejoiced and said, "doubtless, there is some mystery in all this." then we dispersed about the streets of the city and each busied himself with making prize of the wealth and stuffs lying about and took no heed of his comrades, whilst i went up to the citadel and found it goodly of fashion. i entered the king's palace and saw all the vessels of gold and silver and the king himself seated in the midst of his officers and grandees, clad in raiment such as confounded the wit. the throne on which he sat was encrusted with pearls and jewels and his robes were of cloth of gold, adorned with all manner jewels, that shone like stars. around him stood fifty white slaves, with drawn swords in their hands and clad in divers sorts of silken stuffs; but when i drew near to them, behold, they were all black stones. my understanding was confounded at the sight, but i went on and came to the saloon of the harem, which i found hung with tapestries of gold-striped silk and spread with carpets of the same, embroidered with flowers of gold. here i saw the queen lying, arrayed in a robe covered with fresh pearls as big as hazel-nuts and crowned with a diadem set with all manner jewels. her neck was covered with collars and necklaces and all her clothes and ornaments were unchanged, but she herself had been smitten of god and was become black stone. presently i spied an open door, with seven steps leading to it, and going up, found myself in a place paved with marble and hung and carpeted with gold-embroidered stuffs. at the upper end stood an alcove with drawn curtains and i saw a light issuing thence. so i went up to the alcove and found therein a couch of juniper wood, inlaid with pearls and diamonds and set with bosses of emeralds, with silken coverings of bewildering richness and curtains of the same, looped up with pearls. at the head of the bed stood two lighted candles and in the midst of the alcove was a little stool, on which lay a jewel, the size of a goose's egg, that shone like a lamp and lighted the whole place; but there was no one to be seen. when i saw these things, i wondered and said, "some one must have lighted these candles." then i went out and came to the kitchen and thence to the buttery and the king's treasuries and continued to explore the palace and to go from place to place; and for wonderment at what i saw, i forgot myself and wandered on, lost in thought, till the night overtook me. then i would have gone out, but lost my way and could not find the gate; so i returned to the alcove, where i lay down on the bed and covering myself with a quilt, repeated somewhat of the koran and would have slept, but could not, for restlessness possessed me. in the middle of the night, i heard a low sweet voice reciting the koran, whereat i rejoiced and rising, followed the sound, till it led me to a chamber with the door ajar. i looked through the chink of the door and saw an oratory, wherein was a prayer-niche[fn# ], with candles burning and lamps hanging from the ceiling. in the midst was spread a prayer-carpet, on which sat a handsome youth, with a copy of the koran open before him, from which he was reading. i wondered to see him alone alive of all the people of the city and entered and saluted him; whereupon he raised his eyes and returned my salutation. then said i, "i implore thee, by the truth of that thou readest from the book of god, to answer me my questions." he looked at me with a smile and said, "o handmaid of god, tell me first how thou camest hither, and i will tell thee what has befallen me and the people of this city and the manner of my preservation." so i told him my story, at which he marvelled, and questioned him of the people of the city. quoth he, "have patience with me a little, o my sister!" and shutting the koran, laid it in a bag of satin. then he made me sit down by his side, and i looked at him and behold, he was like the moon at its full, bright-faced, soft-sided, well-shaped and fair to look upon, as he were a figure of sugar,[fn# ] even as says the poet of the like of him: a seer of the stars one night was reading the book of the skies, when lo, in his scroll he saw a lovely youth arise. saturn had dyed his hair the hue of the raven's wing and sprinkled upon his face the musk of paradise[fn# ]: the rose of his cheeks from mars its ruddy colour drew, and the archer winged the shafts that darted from his eyes. hermes dowered the youth with his own mercurial wit, and the great bear warded off the baleful glance of spies. wonder seized on the sage at the sight of the lovely boy, for the full moon kissed the earth before him, servant-wise. and indeed god the most high had clad him in the garment of perfection and broidered it with the shining fringes of his cheeks, even as says the poet of him: by the perfume of his eyelids and his slender waist i swear, by the arrows that he feathers with the witchery of his air, by his sides so soft and tender and his glances bright and keen, by the whiteness of his forehead and the blackness of his hair, by his arched imperious eyebrows, chasing slumber from my eyes, with their yeas and noes that hold me 'twixt rejoicing and despair, by the myrtle of his whiskers and the roses of his cheeks, by his lips' incarnate rubies and his teeth's fine pearls and rare, by his neck and by its beauty, by the softness of his breast and the pair of twin pomegranates that my eyes discover there, by his heavy hips that tremble, both in motion and repose, and the slender waist above them, all too slim their weight to bear, by his skin's unsullied satin and the quickness of his spright, by the matchless combination in his form of all things fair, by his hand's perennial bounty and his true and trusty speech, by the stars that smile upon him, favouring and debonair, lo, the smell of musk none other than his very fragrance is, and the ambergris's perfume breathes around him everywhere. yea, the sun in all its splendour cannot with his grace compare, seeming but a shining fragment that he from his nail doth pare. i stole a look at him, which cost me a thousand sighs, for my heart was taken with his love, and i said to him, "o my lord, tell me what i asked thee." "i hear and obey," answered he. "know, o handmaid of god, that this city was the capital of my father, who is the king thou sawest on the throne, changed to a black stone, and as for the queen on the bed, she was my mother; and they and all the people of the city were magians, worshipping the fire, instead of the all-powerful king, and swearing by the fire and the light and the shade and the heat and the revolving sphere. my father had no child, till i was vouchsafed to him in his old age, and he reared me and i grew up and flourished. now, as my good star would have it, there was with us an old woman stricken in years, who was at heart a muslim, believing in god and his prophet, but conforming outwardly to the religion of my people. my father had confidence in her, supposing her to be of his own belief, and showed her exceeding favour, for that he knew her to be trusty and virtuous; so when i grew to a fitting age, he committed me to her charge, saying, 'take him and do thy best to give him a good education and teach him the things of our faith.' so she took me and taught me the tenets of islam and the ordinances of ablution and prayer and made me learn the koran by heart, bidding me worship none but god the most high and charging me to keep my faith secret from my father, lest he should kill me. so i hid it from him, and i abode thus till, in a little while, the old woman died and the people of the city redoubled in their impiety and frowardness and in the error of their ways. one day, they heard a voice from on high, proclaiming aloud, with a noise like the resounding thunder, so that all heard it far and near, and saying, 'o people of the city, turn from your worship of the fire and serve god the compassionate king!' at this, fear fell on the people of the city and they crowded to my father and said to him; 'what is this awful voice that we have heard and that has confounded us with the excess of its terror?' but he said, 'let not a voice fright you nor turn you from your faith.' their hearts inclined to his word and they ceased not to worship the fire, but redoubled in their frowardness, till the anniversary of the day on which they had heard the supernatural voice. when they heard it anew, and so again a third time at the end of the second year. still they persisted in their evil ways, till one day, at break of dawn, judgment descended on them and wrath from heaven, and they were all turned into black stones, they and their beasts and cattle; and none was spared, save myself. from that day to this, i have remained as thou seest me, occupying myself with prayer and fasting and reading the koran aloud; and indeed i am grown weary of solitude, having none to bear me company." then said i to him (and indeed he had won my heart), "o youth, wilt thou go with me to the city of baghdad and foregather with men of learning and theologians and grow in wisdom and understanding and knowledge of the law? if so, i will be thy handmaid, albeit i am head of my family and mistress over men and slaves and servants. i have here a ship laden with merchandise; and indeed it was providence drove us to this city, that i might come to the knowledge of these things, for it was fated that we should meet." and i ceased not to speak him fair and persuade him, till he consented to go with me, and i passed the night at his feet, beside myself for joy. when it was day, we repaired to the treasuries and took thence what was little of weight and great of value; then went down into the town, where we met the slaves and the captain seeking for me. when they saw me, they rejoiced and i told them all i had seen and related to them the story of the young man and of the curse that had fallen on the people of the city. at this they wondered: but when my sisters saw me with the prince, they envied me on his account and were enraged and plotted mischief against me in their hearts. then we took ship again, beside ourselves for joy in the booty we had gotten, though the most of my joy was in the prince, and waited till the wind blew fair for us, when we set sail and departed. as we sat talking, my sisters said to me, "o sister, what wilt thou do with this handsome young man?" "i purpose to make him my husband," answered i; and i turned to the prince and said, "o my lord, i have that to propose to thee, in which i will not have thee cross me: and it is that, when we reach baghdad, i will give myself to thee as a handmaid in the way of marriage, and thou shalt be my husband and i thy wife." quoth he, "i hear and obey; thou art my lady and my mistress, and whatever thou dost, i will not cross thee." then i turned to my sisters and said to them, "this young man suffices me; and those who have gotten aught, it is theirs." "thou sayest well," replied they; but in their hearts they purposed me evil. we sailed on with a fair wind, till we left the sea of peril and came into safe waters, and in a few days, we came in sight of the walls of bassora, even as night overtook us. my sisters waited till the prince and i were asleep, when they took us up, bed and all, and threw us into the sea. the prince, who could not swim, was drowned and god wrote him of the company of the martyrs. as for me, would i had been drowned with him! but god decreed that i should be of the saved; so he threw in my way a piece of wood and i got astride of it, and the waters tossed me about till they cast me up on an island. i landed and walked about the island the rest of the night, and when the day broke, i saw a footway, leading to the mainland. by this time, the sun had risen; so i dried my clothes in its rays and ate of the fruits of the island and drank of its waters. then i set out and fared on till i reached the mainland and found myself but two hours' distant from the city. so i sat down to rest and presently i saw a great serpent, the bigness of a palm-tree, come fleeing towards me, with all her might, whilst her tongue for weariness hung from her mouth a span's length and swept the dust as she went. she was pursued by a dragon, as long and thin as a spear, which presently overtook her and seized her by the tail whereat the tears streamed from her eyes and she wriggled from side to side. i took pity on her and catching up a stone, threw it at the dragon's head and killed him on the spot. then the serpent spread a pair of wings and flew away out of sight, leaving me wondering. now i was tired and drowsiness overcoming me, i slept where i was for awhile. when i awoke, i found a damsel sitting at my feet, rubbing them, and with her, two black bitches, and i was ashamed before her; so i sat up and said to her, "o my sister, who art thou?" "how quickly thou hast forgotten me!" answered she. "i am the serpent, whom thou didst deliver from my enemy by killing him, for i am a jinniyeh[fn# ] and the dragon was a genie; and i was only saved from him by thy kindness. as soon as thou hadst done me this service, i flew on the wind to your ship and transported all that was therein to thy house. then i sank the vessel and changed thy sisters into two black bitches, for i know all that has passed between thee and them: but as for the young man, he is drowned." so saying, she flew up with me and the two bitches and presently set us down on the roof of my house, where i found all the goods that were in my ship, nor was aught missing. then she said to me, "by that which is written on the seal of our lord solomon (on whom be peace!) except thou give each of these bitches three hundred lashes every day, i will come and make thee like unto them." "i hear and obey," answered i; and since then i have never failed to beat them thus, o commander of the faithful, pitying them the while; and they know it is no fault of mine that they are beaten and accept my excuse. and this is my story.' the khalif marvelled at her story and said to the portress, 'and thou, how camest thou by the weals on thy body?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered she: story of the portress. 'my father died and left me great wealth, and soon after his death i married one of the richest men of baghdad. at the end of a year he too died and i inherited from him fourscore thousand dinars, being my lawful share of his property; so that i became passing rich and the report of my wealth spread abroad, for i got me half a score suits of clothes, each worth a thousand dinars. one day, as i was sitting alone, there came in to me an old woman with sunken cheeks and worn eyebrows, bleared eyes and broken teeth, blotched face and bald head, grizzled hair and bent and mangy body, running nose and sallow complexion, even as says the poet of the like of her: a right pernicious hag! unshriven be her sins, nor let her mercy find what time she comes to die! so full of wile she is, that with a single thread of spider's silk she'd curb a thousand mules that shy. she saluted me and kissing the ground before me, said, "i have an orphan daughter whose wedding and unveiling[fn# ] i celebrate to-night. we are strangers in the city and know none of its inhabitants, and verily our hearts are broken so do thou earn through us a recompense and reward in the world to come by being present at her unveiling. when the ladies of the city hear that thou art to be present, they also will attend, and so wilt thou bring healing to her spirit, for now she is broken-hearted and has none to look to but god the most high." then she wept and kissed my feet, repeating the following verses: thy presence honoureth us, and we confess thy magnanimity: if thou forsake us, there is none can stand to us in stead of thee. i was moved to pity for her and said, "i hear and obey; and god willing, i will do more than this for her, for she shall not be unveiled but in my clothes and ornaments and jewellery." at this the old woman rejoiced and fell at my feet and kissed them, saying, "god requite thee with good and gladden thy heart as thou hast gladdened mine! but, o my lady, do not trouble thyself now, but be ready against the evening, when i will come and fetch thee." so saying, she kissed my hand and went away, whilst i attired myself and made my preparations. at the appointed time, the old woman returned, smiling, and kissed my hand, saying, "o my mistress, the most part of the ladies of the city are assembled; and i told them that thou hadst promised to be present, whereat they rejoiced and they are now awaiting thee and are looking eagerly for thy coming." so i veiled myself and taking my serving-maids with me, followed the old woman, till we came to a street swept and watered, through which blew a pleasant breeze. here she stopped at a handsome portico vaulted with marble and leading to a palace that rose from the ground and took hold upon the clouds. the gateway was hung with a black curtain and lighted by a lamp of gold curiously wrought; and on the door were written the following verses: i am a dwelling, builded for delight; my time is still for joyance day and night. right in my midst a springing fountain wells, whose waters banish anguish and despite, whose marge with rose, narcissus, camomile, anemone and myrtle, is bedight. the old woman knocked at the gate, which opened; and we entered a carpeted vestibule hung with lighted lamps and candles and adorned with pendants of precious stones and minerals. through this we passed into a saloon, whose like is not to be found in the world, hung and carpeted with silken stuffs and lighted by hanging lamps and wax candles in rows. at the upper end stood a couch of juniper-wood, set with pearls and jewels and canopied with curtains of satin, looped up with pearls. hardly had i taken note of all this, when there came out from the alcove a young lady more perfect than the moon at its full, with a forehead brilliant as the morning, when it shines forth, even as says the poet: upon the imperial necks she walks, a loveling bright, for bride-chambers of kings and emperors bedight. the blossom of her cheek is red as dragon's blood, and all her face is flowered with roses red and white. slender and sleepy-eyed and languorous of gait, all manner loveliness is in her sweetest sight. the locks upon her brow are like a troubled night, from out of which there shines a morning of delight. she came down from the dais and said to me, "welcome, a thousand times welcome to the dear and illustrious sister!" and she recited the following verses: if the house knew who visits it, it would indeed rejoice and stoop to kiss the happy place whereon her feet have stood; and in the voice with which the case, though mute, yet speaks, exclaim, "welcome and many a welcome to the generous and good!" then she sat down and said to me, "o my sister, i have a brother, who is handsomer than i; and he saw thee at certain festivals and assemblies and fell passionately in love with thee, for that thou art possessed of beauty and grace beyond thy share. he heard that thou wast thine own mistress, even as he also is the head of his family, and wished to make thine acquaintance; wherefore he used this device to bring thee in company with me; for he desires to marry thee according to the law of god and his prophet, and there is no shame in what is lawful." when i heard what she said, i bethought me that i was fairly entrapped and answered, "i hear and obey." at this she was glad and clapped her hands, whereupon a door opened and out came the handsomest of young men, elegantly dressed and perfect in beauty and symmetry and winning grace, with eyebrows like a bended bow and eyes that ravished hearts with lawful enchantments, even as says a poet, describing the like of him: his face is like unto the new moon's face with signs[fn# ], like pearls, of fortune and of grace. and god bless him who said: he hath indeed been blest with beauty and with grace, and blest be he who shaped and fashioned forth his face! all rarest charms that be unite to make him fair, his witching loveliness distracts the human race. beauty itself hath set these words upon his brow, "except this youth there's none that's fair in any place." when i looked at him, my heart inclined to him and i loved him; and he sat down by me and talked with me awhile. presently the young lady clapped her hands a second time, and behold, a side door opened and there came out a cadi and four witnesses, who saluted and sitting down, drew up the contract of marriage between me and the young man and retired. then he turned to me and said, "may our night be blessed! o my mistress, i have a condition to lay on thee." quoth i, "o my lord, what is it?" whereupon he rose and fetching a copy of the koran, said to me, "swear to me that thou wilt never look upon another man than myself, nor incline to him." i did as he wished and he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and embraced me and my whole heart was taken with love of him. presently they set food before us and we ate and drank, till we were satisfied and night closed in upon us. then he took me and went to bed with me and ceased not to kiss and embrace me till the morning. i lived with him in all delight and happiness for a month, at the end of which time i asked his leave to go to the bazaar to buy certain stuffs that i wanted, and he gave me leave. so i veiled myself and taking with me the old woman and a serving-maid, went to the bazaar, where i sat down in the shop of a young merchant, whom the old woman knew and had recommended to me, saying, "the father of this young man died, when he was a boy, and left him great wealth: he has great store of goods, and thou wilt find what thou seekest with him, for none in the bazaar has finer stuffs than he." so she said to him, "show this lady thy finest stuffs." and he answered, "i hear and obey." then she began to sound his praises; but i said, "i have no concern with thy praises of him; all i want is to buy what i need of him and return home." so he brought me what i sought, and i offered him the price, but he refused to take it, saying, "it is a guest-gift to thee on the occasion of thy visit to me this day." then i said to the old woman, "if he will not take the money, give him back the stuff." "by allah!" said he, "i will take nothing from thee! i make thee a present of it all, in return for one kiss; for that is more precious to me than all that is in my shop." quoth the old woman, "what will a kiss profit thee?" then she said to me, "o my daughter, thou hearest what this young man says. what harm will it do thee, if he take from thee a kiss and thou get the stuffs for nothing?" "dost thou not know," answered i, "that i am bound by an oath?" but she said, "hold thy tongue and let him kiss thee, and thou shalt keep thy money and no harm shall betide thee." and she ceased not to persuade me till i put my head into the noose and consented. so i veiled my eyes and held up the edge of my veil between me and the street, that the passers-by might not see me; and he put his mouth to my cheek under the veil. but, instead of kissing me, he bit me so hard that he tore the flesh of my cheek, and i swooned away. the old woman took me in her arms and when i came to myself, i found the shop shut up and her lamenting over me and saying, "thank god it was no worse!" then she said to me, "come, take courage and let us go home, lest the thing get wind and thou be disgraced. when thou returnest, do thou feign sickness and lie down and cover thyself up, and i will bring thee a remedy that will soon heal the wound." so, after awhile, i arose, full of fear and anxiety, and went little by little, till i came to the house, where i lay down and gave out that i was ill. when it was night, my husband came in to me and said, "o my lady, what has befallen thee in this excursion?" quoth i, "i am not well: i have a pain in my head." then he lighted a candle and drew near and looked at me and said, "what is that wound on thy cheek, in the soft part?" said i, "when i went out to-day to buy stuffs, with thy leave, a camel laden with firewood jostled me and the end of one of the pieces of wood tore my veil and wounded my cheek, as thou seest; for indeed the ways are strait in this city." "to-morrow," rejoined he, "i will go to the governor and speak to him, that he may hang every firewood-seller in the city." "god on thee," cried i, "do not burden thy conscience with such a sin against any one! the truth is that i was riding on an ass, and it stumbled and threw me down, and my cheek fell on a piece of glass, which wounded it." "then," said he, "to morrow i will go to jaafer the barmecide and tell him the case, and he will kill every ass in the city." "wilt thou ruin all the folk on my account," said i, "when this that befell me was decreed of god?" "there is no help for it," answered he, and springing to his feet, plied me with questions and pressed me, till i was frightened and stammered in my speech, so that he guessed how the case stood and exclaimed, "thou hast been false to thine oath!" then he gave a great cry, whereupon a door opened and in came seven black slaves, whom he commanded to drag me from my bed and throw me down in the middle of the room. moreover, he made one take me by the shoulders and sit upon my head and another sit on my knees and hold my feet and giving a third a naked sword, said to him, "strike her, o saad, and cut her in twain and let each take half and throw it into the tigris that the fish may eat her, for this is the reward of her who breaks her oath and is unfaithful to her love." and he redoubled in wrath and repeated the following verses: if any other share with me in her whom i adore, i'll root out passion from my heart, though longing me destroy; and i will say unto my soul, "death is the better part;" for love is naught that men with me in common do enjoy. then he said to the slave, "smite her, o saad!" whereupon the latter bent down to me and said, "o my lady, repeat the profession of the faith and tell us if there be aught thou wouldst have done, for thy last hour is come." "o good slave," said i, "grant me a little respite, that i may give thee my last injunctions." then i raised my head and considered my case and how i had fallen from high estate into abjection; wherefore the tears streamed from my eyes and i wept passing sore. he looked at me with angry eyes and repeated the following say unto her who wronged us, on whom our kisses tire, her that hath chosen another for darling of desire, lo, we will spurn thee from us, before thou cast us off! that which is past between us suffices to our ire. when i heard this, i wept and looked at him and repeated the following verses: you doom my banishment from love and all unmoved remain; you rob my wounded lids of rest and sleep whilst i complain. you make mine eyes familiar with watching and unrest; yet can my heart forget you not, nor eyes from tears refrain. you swore to me that you would keep, for aye, your plighted faith; but when my heart was yours, you broke the oath that you had ta'en. are you secure against the shifts of time and evil chance, that you've no mercy on my love nor aught of pity deign? if i must die, i prithee, write, 'fore god, upon my tomb, "a slave of passion lieth here, who died of love in vain." it may be one shall pass that way, who knows the pangs of love, and looking on a lover's grave, take pity on her pain. then i wept; and when he heard what i said and saw my tears, his anger redoubled, and he repeated the following verses: i left the darling of my heart, not from satiety; but she had sinned a sin that called aloud for punishment. she would have ta'en another in to share with me her love, but the religion of my heart to share will not consent[fn# ]. then i wept again and implored him, saying to myself, "i will work on him with words; so haply he may spare my life, though he take all i have." so i complained to him of my sufferings and repeated the following verses: if thou indeed wert just to me, thou wouldst not take my life. alas! against the law of death no arbiter is there! thou layst upon my back the load of passion and desire, when i for weakness scarce can lift the very gown i wear! that so my soul should waste away, small wonder is to me; but oh! i wonder how my flesh can thine estrangement bear. then i wept again, and he looked at me and reviled and reproached me, repeating the following verses: thou hast forgotten my love in the arms of another than me; thou shew'st me estrangement, though i was never unfaithful to thee. so i will cast thee away, since thou wast the first to forsake, and by thy pattern content to live without thee will i be. and (like thyself) in the arms of another thy charms i'll forget; 'tis thou that hast sundered our loves: thou canst not reproach it to me. then he called to the slave with the sword, saying "cut her in half and rid us of her, for we have no profit of her." so the slave drew near to me and i gave myself up for lost and committed my affair to god the most high; but, at this moment, in came the old woman and threw herself at my husband's feet and kissed them, saying, "o my son, for the sake of my fosterage of thee and my service to thee, spare this young lady, for indeed she has done nothing deserving of death. thou art a very young man, and i fear lest her death be laid to thy count, for it is said, 'he who kills shall be killed.' as for this wretched woman, put her away from thee and from thy thought and heart." and she ceased not to weep and implore him, till he relented and said, "i pardon her, but i will set a mark on her that shall stay with her all her life." then he made the slaves strip off my clothes and hold me down, and taking a rod of quince-wood beat me with it on the back and sides till i lost my senses for excess of pain and despaired of life. then he commanded slaves, as soon as it was dark, to carry me back to the house in which i had lived before my marriage with him, taking the old woman with them to guide them. they did as he bade them and cast me down in my house and went away. i did not recover from my swoon till the morning, when i applied myself to the dressing of my wounds, and medicined myself and kept my bed for four months, at the end of which time my body healed and i was restored to health; but my sides still bore the marks of the blows, as thou hast seen. as soon as i could walk, i went to the house where all this had happened, but found the whole street pulled down and nothing but heaps of rubbish where the house had stood, nor could i learn how this had come about. then i betook myself to this my half-sister and found with her these two black bitches. i saluted her and told her what had befallen me; and she said, "o my sister, who is safe from the vicissitudes of fortune? praised be god, who hath brought thee off with thy life!" and she repeated the following verse: fortune indeed was ever thus: endure it patiently, whether thou suffer loss of wealth or friends depart from thee. then she told me her own story, and we abode together, she and i, never mentioning the name of marriage. after awhile there came to live with us this our other sister the cateress, who goes out every day and buys what we require for the day and night. we led this life till yesterday, when our sister went out as usual and fell in with the porter. presently we were joined by these three calenders and later on by three respectable merchants from tiberias, all of whom we admitted to our company on certain conditions, which they infringed. but we forgave them their breach of faith, on condition that they should give us an account of themselves; so they told us their stories and went away; and we heard nothing more till this morning, when we were summoned to appear before thee; and this is our story.' the khalif wondered at her story, and ordered it and those of her sister and the calenders to be recorded in the archives of his reign and laid up in the royal treasury. then he said to the eldest lady, 'knowst thou where to find the afriteh who enchanted thy sisters?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered she, 'she gave me some of her hair, saying, "when thou wouldst see me, burn one or two of these hairs, and i will be with thee presently, though i be behind the mountain caf."' quoth the khalif, 'bring me the hair.' so she fetched it and he threw the whole lock into the fire, whereupon the palace shook and they heard a rumbling sound of thunder, and presently the jinniyeh appeared and saluted the khalif, saying, 'peace be upon thee, o vicar of god!' 'and on thee be peace,' answered he, 'and the mercy of god and his blessing!' quoth she, 'know that this lady did me a service for which i cannot enough requite her, in that she saved me from death and slew my enemy. now i had seen how her sisters dealt with her and felt bound to avenge her on them. at first, i was minded to kill them, but i feared it would be grievous to her, so i turned them into bitches; and now, o commander of the faithful, if thou wouldst have me release them, i will do so, out of respect to thee and to her, for i am of the true believers.' 'release them,' said the khalif; 'and after we will proceed to look into the affair of the beaten lady, and if her account prove true, we will avenge her on him who wronged her.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied she, 'i will release them forthwith and bring thee to the knowledge of him who maltreated this lady and took her property; and he is the nearest of all men to thee.' so saying, she took a cup of water and muttered over it and spoke words that might not be understood. then she threw some of the water in the faces of the bitches, saying, 'return to your former human shape;' whereupon they were restored to their original form, and the afriteh said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, he who beat this lady is thy son el amin, brother of el mamoun[fn# ], who heard of her beauty and grace and laid a trap for her and married her; and indeed he is not to blame for beating her, for he laid a condition on her and took of her a solemn oath that she would not do a certain thing; but she was false to her vow; and he was minded to kill her, but was restrained by the fear of god the most high and contented himself with beating her, as thou hast seen, and sending her back to her own place.' when the khalif heard this, he wondered greatly and said, 'glory be to god the most high, the supreme, who hath vouchsafed me the delivery of these two damsels from enchantment and torment and hath granted me to know the secret of this lady's history! by allah, i will do a thing that shall be chronicled after me!' then he summoned his son el amin and questioned him of the story of the portress, and he told him the truth; whereupon the khalif sent for cadis and witnesses and married the eldest lady and her two sisters-german to the three calenders, whom he made his chamberlains, appointing them stipends and all that they needed and lodging them in his palace at baghdad. moreover, he returned the beaten girl to her husband, his son el amin, renewing the marriage contract between them, and gave her great wealth and bade rebuild the house more handsomely than before. as for himself, he took to wife the cateress and lay with her that night; and on the morrow he assigned her a separate lodging in his seraglio, with a fixed allowance and serving-maids to wait on her; and the people marvelled at his equity and magnificence and generosity. when shehrzad had made an end of her story, dunyazad said to her, "by allah, this is indeed a pleasant and delightful story, never was heard its like! but now, o my sister, tell us another story, to beguile the rest of the waking hours of our night." "with all my heart," answered shehrzad, "if the king give me leave." and he said, "tell thy story, and that quickly." then said she, "they say, o king of the age and lord of the time and the day, that the three apples. the khalif haroun er reshid summoned his vizier jaafer one night and said to him, 'i have a mind to go down into the city and question the common people of the conduct of the officers charged with its government; and those of whom they complain, we will depose, and those whom they commend, we will advance.' quoth jaafer, 'i hear and obey.' so the khalif and jaafer and mesrour went down into the town and walked about the streets and markets till, as they were passing through a certain alley, they came upon an old man walking along at a leisurely pace, with a fishing-net and a basket on his head and a staff in his hand, and heard him repeat the following verses: they tell me i shine, by my wisdom and wit, midst the rest of my kind, as the moon in the night. "a truce to your idle discourses!" i cry, "what's knowledge, indeed, unattended by might?" if you offered me, knowledge and wisdom and all, with my inkhorn and papers, in pawn for a mite, to buy one day's victual, the pledge they'd reject and cast, like an unread petition, from sight. sorry, indeed, is the case of the poor, and his life, what a load of chagrin and despite! in summer, he's pinched for a living and cowers o'er the fire-pot in winter, for warmth and for light. the curs of the street dog his heels, as he goes, and the scurviest rascal may rail at the wight. if he lift up his voice to complain of his case, he finds not a soul who will pity his plight. since such is the life and the lot of the poor, it were better he lay in the graveyard forthright! when the khalif heard this, he said to jaafer, 'see yonder poor man and note his verses, for they show his necessity.' then he went up to him and said, 'o old man, what is thy trade?' 'o my lord,' replied he, 'i am a fisherman, with a family to maintain; and i have been out since mid-day, but god has not vouchsafed me aught wherewith to feed them, and indeed i abhor myself and wish for death.' quoth the khalif, 'wilt thou go back with me to the tigris and cast thy net yet once more on my account, and i will buy of thee whatever comes up for a hundred dinars?' 'on my head be it!' answered the fisherman joyfully. 'i will go back with you.' so he returned with them to the river-bank and cast his net and waited awhile, then drew it up and found in it a chest, locked and heavy. the khalif lifted it and found it weighty; so he gave the fisherman a hundred dinars, and he went his way; whilst mesrour carried the chest to the palace, where he set it down before the khalif and lighted the candles. then jaafer and mesrour broke open the chest and found in it a basket of palm-leaves, sewn together with red worsted. this they cut open and found within a bundle wrapped in a piece of carpet. under the carpet was a woman's veil and in this a young lady, as she were an ingot of silver, slain and cut in pieces. when the khalif saw this, he was sore enraged and afflicted; the tears ran down his cheeks and he turned to jaafer and said, "o dog of a vizier, shall folk be murdered in my capital city and thrown into the river and their death laid to my account on the day of judgment? i must avenge this woman on her murderer and put him to death without mercy! and as surely as i am descended from the sons of abbas, an thou bring me not him who slew her, that i may do her justice on him, i will hang thee and forty of thy kinsmen at the gate of my palace!' quoth jaafer, 'grant me three days' respite.' and the khalif said, 'i grant thee this.' so jaafer went out from before him and returned to his house, full of sorrow and saying to himself, 'how shall i find him who killed the damsel, that i may bring him before the khalif? if i bring other than the right man, it will be laid to my charge by god. indeed, i know not what to do.' then he kept his house three days, and on the fourth day, the khalif sent one of his chamberlains for him and said to him, 'where is the murderer of the damsel?' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied the vizier, 'am i inspector of murdered folk, that i should know who killed her?' the khalif was enraged at his answer and commanded to hang him before his palace-gate and that proclamation should be made in the streets of baghdad, 'whoso hath a mind to witness the hanging of jaafer the barmecide, vizier of the khalif, and of forty of his kin, before the gate of the khalif's palace, let him come out to see!' so the people came out from all quarters to witness the execution of jaafer and his kinsmen, not knowing the reason. then they set up the gallows and made jaafer and the others stand underneath in readiness; but whilst they awaited the khalif's signal for the execution and the people wept for jaafer and his kinsmen, behold, a handsome and well-dressed young man, with shining face and bright black eyes, flower-white forehead, downy whiskers and rosy cheeks and a mole like a grain of ambergris, pressed through the crowd, till he stood before jaafer and said to him, 'i come to deliver thee from this strait, o chief of the amirs and refuge of the poor! i am he who killed the woman ye found in the chest; so hang me for her and do her justice on me!' when jaafer heard this, he rejoiced at his own deliverance, but grieved for the young man; and whilst they were yet talking, behold, a man far advanced in years made his way when he saluted them and said, 'o vizier and noble lord, credit not what this young man says. none killed the damsel but i; so do thou avenge her on me, or i do accuse thee before god the most high.' then said the youth, 'o vizier, this is a doting old man, who knows not what he says: it was i killed her, so do thou avenge her on me.' 'o my son,' said the old man, 'thou art young and desirest the things of the world, and i am old and weary of the world. i will ransom thee and the vizier and his kinsmen with my life. none killed the damsel but i; so god on thee, make haste to hang me, or there is no living for me after her!' the vizier marvelled at all this and taking the youth and the old man, carried them before the khalif and said to him, 'o commander of the faithful, i bring thee the murderer of the damsel.' 'where is he?' asked the khalif, and jaafer answered, 'this youth says he killed her, but this old man gives him the lie and affirms that he himself killed her: and behold, they are both in thy hands.' the khalif looked at them and said, 'which of you killed the damsel?' the youth replied, 'it was i.' and the old man, 'indeed, none killed her but myself.' then the khalif said to jaafer, 'take them and hang them both.' but the vizier replied, 'if one of them be the murderer, to hang the other were unjust.' 'by him who vaulted the heavens and spread out the earth like a carpet,' cried the youth, 'it was i killed her!' and he set forth the circumstance of her death and how they had found her body, so that the khalif was certified that he was the murderer, whereat he wondered and said to him, 'why didst thou slay the damsel wrongfully and what made thee come and accuse thyself thus and confess thy crime without being beaten?' 'know, o commander of the faithful,' answered the young man, 'that this damsel was my wife and the daughter of this old man, who is my father's brother, and she was a virgin when i married her. god blessed me with three male children by her, and she loved me and served me, and i also loved her with an exceeding love and saw no evil in her. we lived happily together till the beginning of this month, when she fell grievously ill. i fetched the doctors to her and she recovered slowly; and i would have had her take a bath; but she said, "there is something i long for, before i go to the bath." "what is it?" asked i, and she replied, "i have a longing for an apple, that i may smell it and bite a piece of it." so i went out into the city at once and sought for apples, but could find none, though, had they been a dinar apiece, i would have bought them. i was vexed at this and went home and said to my wife, "by allah, my cousin, i can find none." she was distressed, being yet weak, and her weakness increased greatly on her that night, and i passed the night full of anxiety. as soon as it was day, i went out again and made the round of the gardens, but could find no apples anywhere. at last i met an old gardener, of whom i enquired for them, and he said to me, "o my son, this fruit is rare with us and is not now to be found but in the garden of the commander of the faithful at bassora, where the gardener keeps them for the khalif's table.' i returned home, troubled at my ill-success, and my love and concern for her moved me to undertake the journey to bassora. so i set out and travelled thither and bought three apples of the gardener there for three dinars, with which i returned to baghdad, after having been absent fifteen days and nights, going and coming. i went in to my wife and gave her the apples; but she took no pleasure in them and let them lie by her side; for weakness and fever had increased on her and did not leave her for ten days, at the end of which time she began to mend. so i left the house and went to my shop, where i sat buying and selling. about mid-day a great ugly black slave came into the bazaar, having in his hand one of the three apples, with which he was playing; so i called to him and said, "prithee, good slave, tell me whence thou hadst that apple, that i may get the fellow to it." he laughed and answered, "i had it of my mistress; for i had been absent and on my return i found her lying ill, with three apples by her side: and she told me that the cuckold her husband had made a journey for them to bassora, where he had bought them for three dinars. so i ate and drank with her and took this one from her." when i heard this, the world grew black in my eyes, and i rose and shut my shop and went home, beside myself for excess of rage. i looked for the apples and finding but two of them, said to my wife, "where is the third apple?" quoth she, "i know not what is come of it." this convinced me of the truth of the slave's story, so i took a knife and coming behind her, without word said, got up on her breast and cut her throat; after which i hewed her in pieces and wrapping her in her veil and a piece of carpet, sewed the whole up hurriedly in the basket. then i put the basket in the chest and locking it up, set it on my mule and threw it into the tigris with my own hands. so, god on thee, o commander of the faithful, make haste to hang me, for i fear lest she sue for vengeance on me at the day of resurrection! for when i had thrown her into the river, unknown of any, i returned home and found my eldest boy weeping, though he knew not what i had done with his mother; and i said to him "why dost thou weep, my son?" he replied, "i took one of my mother's apples and went down with it into the street to play with my brothers, when lo, a tall black slave snatched it from my hand, saying, 'whence hadst thou this?' quoth i, 'my father journeyed to bassora for it and brought it to my mother, who is ill, with two other apples for which he paid three dinars. give it back to me and do not get me into trouble for it.' he paid no heed to my words and i demanded the apple a second and a third time; but he beat me and went away with it. i was afraid that my mother would beat me on account of the apple; so for fear of her, i went without the city with my brothers and abode there until night closed in upon us, and indeed i am in fear of her: so by allah, o my father, say nothing to her of this, or it will add to her illness." when i heard what the child said, i knew that the slave was he who had forged a lie against my wife and was certified that i had killed her wrongfully. so i wept sore, and presently, this old man, her father, came in and i told him what had passed; and he sat down by my side and wept and we ceased not weeping half the night. this was five days ago and from that time to this, we have never ceased to bewail her and mourn for her, sorrowing sore for that she was unjustly put to death. all this came of the lying story of the slave, and this was the manner of my killing her; so i conjure thee, by the honour of thy forefathers, make haste to kill me and do her justice on me, for there is no living for me after her.' the khalif wondered at his story and said, 'by allah, the young man is excusable, and i will hang none but the accursed slave!' then he fumed to jaafer and said to him, 'bring me the accursed slave, who was the cause of this calamity, and if thou bring him not in three days, thou shalt suffer in his stead.' and jaafer went out, weeping and saying, 'verily, i am beset by deaths; the pitcher does not come off for aye unbroken. i can do nothing in this matter; but he who saved me the first time may save me again. by allah, i will not leave my house during the three days that remain to me, and god who is the truth shall do what he will.' so he kept his house three days, and on the fourth day, he summoned cadis and witnesses and made his last dispositions and bade farewell to his children, weeping. presently in came a messenger from the khalif and said to him, 'the commander of the faithful is beyond measure wroth and sends to seek thee and swears that the day shall not pass without thy being hanged.' when jaafer heard this, he wept and his children and slaves and all that were in the house wept with him. then they brought him his little daughter, that he might bid her farewell. now he loved her more than all his other children; so he pressed her to his breast and kissed her and wept over his separation from her; when lo, he felt something round in her bosom and said to her, 'what's this in thy bosom?' 'o my father,' answered she, 'it is an apple with the name of our lord the khalif written on it. our slave rihan brought it to me four days ago and would not let me have it, till i gave him two dinars for it.' when jaafer heard this, he put his hand into her bosom and took out the apple and knew it and rejoiced, saying, 'o swift dispeller of trouble[fn# ]!' then he sent for the slave and said to him, 'harkye rihan, whence hadst thou this apple?' 'by allah, o my lord,' replied he, 'though lying might get me off, yet is it safer to tell the truth[fn# ]! i did not steal it from thy palace nor from the palace of his highness nor the garden of the commander of the faithful. the fact is that some days ago, i was passing along a certain alley of this city, when i saw some children playing and this apple in the hand of one of them. so i snatched it from him, and he wept and said, "o youth, this apple is my mother's and she is ill. she longed for apples, and my father journeyed to bassora and bought her three for three dinars, and i took one of them to play with." but i paid no heed to what he said and beat him and went off with the apple and sold it to my little mistress for two dinars.' when jaafer heard this, he wondered that the death of the damsel and all this misery should have been caused by his slave and grieved for the relation of the slave to himself, whilst rejoicing over his own delivery: and he repeated the following verses: if through a servant misfortune befall thee, spare not to save thine own life at his cost. servants in plenty thou'lt find to replace him, life for life never, once it is lost. then he carried the slave to the khalif, to whom he related the whole story; and the khalif wondered greatly and laughed till he fell backward and ordered the story to be recorded and published among the folk. then said jaafer, 'o commander of the faithful, wonder not at this story, for it is not more marvellous than that of noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan.' 'what is that?' asked the khalif; 'and how can it be more marvellous than this story?' 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'i will not tell it thee except thou pardon my slave.' quoth the khalif, 'if it be indeed more marvellous than that of the three apples, i grant thee thy slave's life; but if not, i will kill him.' 'know, then, o commander of the faithful,' said jaafer, 'that noureddin ali of cairo and his son bedreddin hassan. there was once in the land of egypt a just and pious king who loved the poor and companied with the learned, and he had a vizier, a wise and experienced man, well versed in affairs and in the art of government. this vizier, who was a very old man, had two sons, as they were two moons, never was seen their like for beauty and grace, the elder called shemseddin mohammed and the younger noureddin ali; but the younger excelled his brother in comeliness and fair favour, so that folk heard of him in distant lands and journeyed to egypt to get sight of him. after awhile the vizier died, to the great grief of the sultan, who sent for his two sons and invested them with robes of honour, saying, "let not your hearts be troubled, for you shall stand in your father's stead and be joint viziers of egypt." at this they were glad and kissed the earth before him and mourned for their father a whole month, at the end of which time they entered upon the vizierate, and the government passed into their hands, as it had been in those of their father, each ruling for a week at a time. whenever the sultan went on a journey, they took it in turns to accompany him; and the two brothers lived in one house, and there was perfect accord between them. it chanced, one night, that the sultan purposed setting out on a journey on the morrow and the elder, whose turn it was to attend him, was sitting talking with his brother and said to him, "o my brother, it is my wish that we both marry and go in to our wives on the same night." "o my brother," replied noureddin, "do as thou wilt; i will conform to thee." so they agreed upon this and shemseddin said, "if it be the will of god that we both marry on the same night, and our wives be brought to bed on the same day, and thy wife bear a boy and mine a girl, we will marry the children to one another, for they will be cousins." "o my brother," asked noureddin, "what dowry wilt thou require of my son for thy daughter!" quoth the other, "i will have of him three thousand dinars and three gardens and three farms, for it would not be fitting that he bring her a smaller dowry than this." when noureddin heard this, he said, "what dowry is this thou wouldst impose on my son? knowest thou not that we are brothers and both by god's grace viziers and equal in rank? it behoves thee to offer thy daughter to my son, without dowry: or if thou must have a dower, it should be something of nominal value, for mere show; for thou knowest the male to be more worthy than the female, and my son is a male, and our memory will be preserved by him, not by thy daughter; but i see thou wouldst do with me according to the saying, 'if thou wouldst drive away a purchaser, ask him a high price,' or as did one, who, being asked by a friend to do him a favour, replied, 'in the name of god; i will comply with thy request, but not till tomorrow.' whereupon the other answered him with this verse: 'when one, of whom a favour's asked, postpones it till next day, 'tis, to a man who knows the world, as if he said him nay.'" quoth shemseddin, "verily, thou errest in that thou wouldst make thy son more worthy than my daughter, and it is plain that thou lackest both judgment and manners. thou talkest of thy share in the vizierate, when i only admitted thee to share with me, in pity for thee, not wishing to mortify thee, and that thou mightest help me. but since thou talkest thus, by allah, i will not marry my daughter to thy son, though thou pay down her weight in gold!" when noureddin heard this, he was angry and said, "and i, i will never marry my son to thy daughter." "i would not accept him as a husband for her," answered the other, "and were i not bound to attend the sultan on his journey, i would make an example of thee; but when i return, i will let thee see what my dignity demands." when noureddin heard this speech from his brother, he was beside himself for rage, but held his peace and stifled his vexation; and each passed the night in his own place, full of wrath against the other. as soon as it was day, the sultan went out to ghizeh and made for the pyramids, accompanied by the vizier shemseddin, whilst noureddin arose, sore enraged, and prayed the morning-prayer. then he went to his treasury, and taking a small pair of saddle-bags, filled them with gold. and he called to mind his brother's words and the contempt with which he had treated him and repeated the following verses: travel, for yon shall find new friends in place of those you leave, and labour, for in toil indeed the sweets of life reside. nor gain nor honour comes to him who idly stays at home; so leave thy native land behind and journey far and wide. oft have i seen a stagnant pool corrupt with standing still; if water run, 'tis sweet, but else grows quickly putrefied. if the full moon were always high and never waned nor set, men would not strain their watchful eyes for it at every tide. except the arrow leave the bow, 'twill never hit the mark, nor will the lion chance on prey, if in the copse he bide. the aloes in its native land a kind of firewood is, and precious metals are but dust whilst in the mine they hide. the one is sent abroad and grows more precious straight than gold; the other's brought to light and finds its value magnified. then he bade one of his people saddle him his mule with a padded saddle. now she was a dapple mule, high-backed, like a dome builded upon columns; her saddle was of cloth of gold and her stirrups of indian steel, her housings of ispahan velvet, and she was like a bride on her wedding night. moreover, he bade lay on her back a carpet of silk and strap the saddle-bags on that and spread a prayer-rug over the whole. the man did as he bade him and noureddin said to his servants, "i have a mind to ride out a-pleasuring towards kelyoubiyeh, and i shall lie three nights abroad; but let none of you follow me, for my heart is heavy." then he mounted the mule in haste and set out from cairo, taking with him a little victual, and made for the open country. about mid-day, he reached the town of belbeys, where he alighted and rested himself and the mule. then he took out food and ate and fared on again in the direction of the desert, after having bought victual and fodder for the mule in the town. towards nightfall, he came to a town called saadiyeh, where he alighted and took out food and ate, then spread the carpet on the ground and laying the saddle bags under his head, slept in the open air, for he was still overcome with anger. as soon as it was day, he mounted and rode onward, till he reached the city of jerusalem and thence to aleppo, where he alighted at one of the khans and abode three days, to rest himself and the mule. then, being still intent upon travel, he mounted and setting out again, he knew not whither, journeyed on without ceasing, till he reached the city of bassora, where he alighted at a certain khan and spread out his prayer-carpet, after having taken the saddle-bags off the mule's back and given her to the porter that he might walk her about. as chance would have it, the vizier of bassora, who was a very old man, was sitting at a window of his palace opposite the khan and saw the porter walking the mule up and down. he remarked her costly trappings and took her to be a mule of parade, of such as are ridden by kings and viziers. this set him thinking and he became perplexed and said to one of his servants, "bring me yonder porter." so the servant went and returned with the porter, who kissed the ground before the vizier; and the latter said to him, "who is the owner of that mule, and what manner of man is he?" "o my lord," replied the porter, "he is a comely young man of the sons of the merchants, grave and dignified of aspect." when the vizier heard this, he rose at once and mounting his horse, rode to the khan and went in to noureddin, who, seeing him making towards himself, rose and went to meet him and saluted him. the vizier bade him welcome to bassora and dismounting, embraced him and made him sit down by his side and said to him, "o my son, whence comest thou and what dost thou seek?" "o my lord." answered noureddin, "i come from the city of cairo;" and told him his story from beginning to end, saying, "i am resolved not to return home, till i have seen all the towns and countries of the world." when the vizier heard this, he said to him, "o my son, follow not the promptings of thy soul, lest they bring thee into peril; for indeed the lands are waste and i fear the issues of fortune for thee." then he let load the saddle-bags and the carpets on the mule and carried noureddin to his own house, where he lodged him in a pleasant place and made much of him, for he had conceived a great affection for him. after awhile, he said to him, "o my son, i am an old man and have no male child, but god has given me a daughter who is thy match for beauty, and i have refused many suitors for her hand. but love of thee has got hold upon my heart; so wilt thou accept of my daughter to thine handmaid and be her husband? if thou consent to this, i will carry thee to the sultan of bassora and tell him that thou art my brother's son and bring thee to be appointed vizier in my stead, that i may keep the house, for, by allah, o my son, i am a very old man and i am weary." when noureddin heard the vizier's proposal, he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and answered, "i hear and obey." at this the vizier rejoiced and bade his servants decorate the great hall, in which they were wont to celebrate the marriages of nobles. then he assembled his friends and the notables of the kingdom and the merchants of bassora and said to them, "i had a brother who was vizier in cairo, and god vouchsafed him two sons, whilst to me, as you know, he has given a daughter. my brother proposed to me to marry my daughter to one of his sons, to which i consented; and when my daughter came at a marriageable age, he sent me one of his sons, this young man now present, to whom i purpose now to marry her, for he is better than a stranger, and that he shall go in to her in my house this night. after, if he please, he shall abide with me, or if he please, he shall return with his wife to his father." the guests replied, "it is well seen of thee." and they looked at noureddin and were pleased with him. so the vizier sent for cadis and witnesses, and they drew up the marriage contract, after which the servants perfumed the guests with incense and sprinkled rose-water on them, and they drank sherbet of sugar and went away. then the vizier bade his servants take noureddin to the bath and sent him a suit of the best of his own clothes, besides cups and napkins and perfume-burners and all else that he required. so he went to the bath, and when he came out and put on the suit, he was like the moon on the night of her full. then he mounted his mule and returning to the vizier's palace, went in to the latter and kissed his hands. the vizier welcomed him and said to him, "arise, go in to thy wife this night, and tomorrow i will carry thee to the sultan; and i pray god to bless thee with all manner of good!" so noureddin left him and went in to his wife, the vizier's daughter. to return to his brother shemseddin. when he came back to cairo, after having been absent awhile with the sultan, he missed his brother and enquired of his servants, who said, "on the day of thy departure with the sultan, thy brother mounted his mule, caparisoned as for state, saying, 'i am going towards el kelyoubiyeh and shall be absent a day or two, for i am heavy of heart; and let none follow me.' then he rode away, and from that time to this we have heard nothing of him." shemseddin was concerned at his brother's absence and became exceedingly uneasy, when he found that he did not return, and said to himself, "this is because i spoke harshly to him that night, and he has taken it to heart and gone away; but i must send after him." then he went in to the king and acquainted him with what had happened, and he wrote letters and despatched couriers to his deputies in every province; but after awhile they returned without having been able to come at any news of noureddin, who had by this time reached bassora. so shemseddin despaired of finding his brother and said, "indeed, i went beyond all bounds in what i said to him, with reference to the marriage of our children. would it had not been so! this all comes of my lack of sense and judgment." soon after this he sought in marriage the daughter of a merchant of cairo and took her to wife and went in to her (as it happened by the will of god the most high, that so he might carry out what he had decreed to his creatures) on the very night on which noureddin went in to the vizier's daughter of bassora. moreover, it was as the two brothers had said; for their wives conceived by them and were brought to bed on the same day, the wife of shemseddin of a daughter, never was seen in cairo a fairer than she, and the wife of noureddin of a son, than whom a handsomer was never seen in his time. they named the boy bedreddin hassan, and his grandfather, the vizier of bassora rejoiced in him and gave feasts and public entertainments, as for the birth of a king's son. then he took noureddin and went up with him to the sultan. when noureddin came in presence of the king, he kissed the ground before him and repeated the following verses, for he was facile of speech, firm of soul and abounding in good parts and natural gifts: may all delights of life attend thee, o my lord, and mayst thou live as long as night and morning be! lo! when meets tongues recall thy magnanimity, the age doth leap for joy and time claps hands for glee. the sultan rose to receive them and after thanking noureddin for his compliment, asked the vizier who he was. the vizier replied, "this is my brother's son." and the sultan said, "how comes it that we have never heard of him?" "o my lord the sultan," answered the vizier, know that my brother was vizier in egypt and died, leaving two sons, whereof the elder became vizier in his father's stead and the younger, whom thou seest, came to me. i had sworn that i would give my daughter in marriage to none but him; so when he came, i married him to her. now he is young and i am old; my hearing grows dull and my judgment fails; wherefore i pray our lord the sultan to make him vizier in my room, for he is my brother's son and the husband of my daughter, and he is apt for the vizierate, being a man of sense and judgment." the sultan looked at noureddin and was pleased with him, so granted the vizier's request and appointed him to the vizierate, presenting him with a splendid dress of honour and one of his choicest mules and allotting him stipends and allowances. noureddin kissed the sultan's hands and went home, he and his father-in-law, rejoicing greatly and saying, "this is of the good fortune of the new-born hassan.'' next day he presented himself before the king and repeated the following verses: new favours attend thee each day of thy life, and fortune to counter the craft of thy foes! may thy days with god's favour be white to the end, and black be their days with misfortune and woes! the sultan commanded him to sit in the vizier's place; so he sat down and applied himself to the business of his office, examining into the folks' affairs and giving judgment on their suits, after the usage of viziers, whilst the sultan watched him and wondered at his wit and good sense and judgment, wherefore he loved him and took him into favour. when the divan broke up, noureddin returned to his house and related what had passed to his father-in-law, who rejoiced. thence-forward noureddin ceased not so to apply himself to the duties of the vizierate, that he left not the sultan day or night and the latter increased his stipends and allowances till he amassed great wealth and became the owner of ships, that made trading voyages for his hand, as well as of slaves and servants, black and white, and laid out many estates and made irrigation-works and planted gardens. when his son hassan was four years old, his father-in-law, the old vizier, died, and he buried him with great pomp. then he occupied himself with the education of his son and when he came to the age of seven, he brought him a doctor of the law, to teach him in his own house, and charged him to give him a good education and teach him good manners. so the tutor taught the boy to read and all manner of useful knowledge, after he had spent some years in committing the koran to memory; and he grew in stature and beauty and symmetry, even as says the poet: the moon in the heaven of his grace shines full and fair to see, and the sun of the morning glows in his cheeks' anemones. he's such a compend of beauties, meseems, indeed, from him the world all beauty borrows that lives in lands and seas. the professor brought him up in his father's palace, and all his years of youth he never left the house, till one day his father clad him in his richest clothes, and mounting him on one of the best of his mules, carried him to the sultan, who was struck with his beauty and loved him. as for the people of the city, when he passed through the streets on his way to the palace, they were dazzled with his loveliness and sat down in the road, awaiting his return, that they might gaze their fill on his beauty and grace and symmetry. the sultan made much of the boy and bade his father bring him with him, whenever his affairs called him to the palace. noureddin replied, "i hear and obey," and ceased not to carry him to the sultan's court, till he reached the age of fifteen, when his father sickened and calling his son, said to him, "know, o my son, that this world is but a temporary abode, whilst the next is an eternal one. before i die, i wish to give thee certain last injunctions, so pay heed to my words and set thy mind to understand them." then he gave him certain advice as to the proper way of dealing with folk and the conduct of his affairs; after which he called to mind his brother and his native land and wept for his separation from those he loved. then he wiped away his tears and turning to his son, said to him, "before i proceed to my parting exhortations, thou must know that thou hast an uncle who is vizier in cairo, and i left him and went away without his consent." then he took a sheet of paper and wrote therein all that had happened to him from the day of the dispute, together with the dates of his marriage and going in to the vizier's daughter and the birth of his son; after which he folded and sealed the paper and gave it to his son, saying, "keep this paper carefully, for in it is written thy rank and lineage and origin, and if any mishap befall thee, go to cairo and ask for thine uncle and give him this and tell him that i died in a foreign land, full of longing for him." so bedreddin took the paper and wrapping it in a piece of waxed cloth, sewed it into the lining of his skull-cap and wound the muslin of his turban over it, weeping the while at the thought of losing his father, whilst himself but a boy. then said noureddin, "i have five behests to lay on thee: and the first is that thou be not too familiar with any one, neither frequent him nor foregather with him over-much; so shalt thou be safe from his mischief, for in retirement is safety, and i have heard it said by a poet: there is no man in all the world, whose love is worth thy trust, no friend who, if fate play thee false, will true and constant be. wherefore i'd have thee live apart and lean for help on none. in this i give thee good advice; so let it profit thee. secondly, o my son, oppress no one, lest fortune oppress thee; for the fortune of this world is one day for thee and another against thee, and its goods are but a loan to be repaid. as i have heard a poet say: be slow to move and hasten not to snatch thy heart's desire; be merciful to all, as thou on mercy reckonest; for no hand is there but the hand of god is over it, and no oppressor but shall be with worse than he oppress. thirdly, preserve silence and let thy faults distract thee from those of other men; for it is said that in silence is safety; and thereon i have heard the following verses: silence is fair and safety lies in taciturnity. so, when thou speak'st, i counsel thee, give not thy tongue the rein. since, for one time that thou repent the having held thy tongue, thou shalt of having spoke repent again and yet again. fourthly, o my son, beware of drinking wine, for wine is the root of all evils and the thief of wit. guard thyself from it, for the poet says: wine and the drinkers of wine i have put away, and am become of those that of it mis-say. for wine indeed diverts from the road of right, and to all kinds of evil opens the way. lastly, o my son, keep thy wealth, that it may keep thee, and watch over it, that it may watch over thee. squander not thy substance, or thou wilt come to need the meanest of folk. guard well thy money, for it is a sovereign salve for the wounds of life, even as says the poet: if wealth should fail, there is no friend will bear thee company, but whilst thy substance still abounds, all men are friends to thee. how many a foe for money's sake hath companied with me! but when wealth failed beneath my hand, my dearest friend did flee." and noureddin ceased not to exhort his son till his spirit departed and his house became the abode of mourning. the king and all the amirs grieved for him and buried him; but bedreddin ceased not to bewail his father for two whole months, during which time he never left the house, nor did he attend the divan or present himself before the sultan. at last the latter became wroth with him and made one of his chamberlains vizier in his stead and bade him seize on all noureddin's houses and goods and possessions and seal them up. so the new vizier went forth to do this and take bedreddin hassan and bring him before the sultan, that he might deal with him as he thought fit. now there was among the troops one who had been a servant of the deceased vizier, and when he heard this order he spurred his steed and rode at full speed to bedreddin's house, where he found him sitting at the gate, with downcast head, broken-hearted. so he dismounted and kissing his hand, said to him, "o my lord and son of my lord, hasten, ere destruction light on thee!" when bedreddin heard this, he trembled and said, "what is the matter?" "the sultan is wroth with thee," answered the other, "and has given orders for thine arrest, and calamity follows hard upon me, so flee for thy life." quoth bedreddin, "is there time for me to go in and take somewhat to stand me in stead in my strangerhood?" but the other answered, "o my lord, rise at once and save thyself whilst it is yet time, and leave thy house." so bedreddin covered his face with his skirt and went out and walked on till he came without the city. on his way, he heard the people saying that the sultan had sent the new vizier to the late vizier's house, to seize on his possessions and take his son bedreddin hassan and bring him before him, that he might put him to death, and they grieved for him by reason of his beauty and grace. when he heard this, he fled forth at hazard, not knowing whither, and chance led him to the cemetery where his father was buried. so he passed among the tombs, till he came to his father's sepulchre and entering, sat down and let fall from over his head the skirt of his cassock, which was made of brocade, with the following lines embroidered in gold on the hem: thou whose face with the rainbow might vie, that art bright as the stars of the sky, may thy fortune ne'er fail to be fair and thy glory for ever be high! as he sat by his father's tomb, there came up a jew, as he were a money-changer, with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold, and accosted him, saying, "whither away, o my lord? it is near the end of the day and thou art lightly clad and bearest the marks of chagrin on thy countenance." "i was asleep but now," answered bedreddin, "when my father appeared to me and reproached me for not having visited his tomb, and i awoke, trembling, and came hither at once, fearing lest the day should pass, without my paying him a visit, which would have been grievous to me." "o my lord," said the jew, "thy father had many ships at sea, whereof some are now due; and it is my wish to buy of thee the cargo of the first that comes into port for a thousand dinars." "i will well," answered bedreddin; whereupon the jew took out a purse of gold and counted out a thousand dinars, which he gave to bedreddin, saying, "write me an acknowledgment and seal it." so bedreddin took pen and paper and wrote the following in double: "the writer, bedreddin hassan, son of the vizier noureddin of bassora, has sold to isaac the jew all the cargo of the first of his father's ships that comes into port, at the price of a thousand dinars, which he has received in advance." then he gave one copy to the jew, who took it and went away, and put the other in the purse, which he thrust into his waistcloth. and he bethought him of his former estate of honour and consideration and wept and repeated the following verses: home is no longer home to me, now ye are gone away, nor are the neighbours neighbours now, after our parting-day, the comrade, whom i loved whilere, no more a comrade is, and even the very sun and moon' no longer bright are they. ye went away and all the world was saddened for your loss, and all the hills and plains grew dark with sorrow and dismay. o that the raven of ill-luck, that croaked our parting hour, may lose his plumes nor find a nest in which his bead to lay! my patience fails me for desire, my body wasteth sore; how many a veil the hands of death and parting rend in tway! i wonder, will our happy nights come ever back again, or one house hold us two once more, after the olden way! then he wept sore and laying his head on his father's tomb, remained plunged in melancholy thought till drowsiness overcame him and he fell asleep. he slept on till the moon rose, when his head rolled off the tomb and he lay on his back, with his face gleaming in the moon. now the cemetery was haunted by true-believing jinn, and presently a jinniyeh came out and seeing bedreddin lying asleep, marvelled at his beauty and grace and said, "glory be to god! this can be no other than one of the children of paradise." then she rose into the air to fly about, as was her wont, and met an afrit flying, who saluted her, and she said to him, "whence comest thou?" "from cairo," replied he. quoth she, "wilt thou come with me and look on the beauty of a youth who sleeps in the burial-ground yonder?" and he said, "i will well." so they both flew down to the tomb and she showed him bedreddin, saying, "sawest thou ever the like of this young man?" the afrit looked at him and exclaimed, "blessed be god to whom there is none like! but, o my sister, shall i tell thee what i have seen this day?" "what is that?" asked she; and he answered, "i have seen a young lady in the land of egypt, who is the counterpart of this youth. she is the daughter of the vizier shemseddin of cairo and is possessed of beauty and grace and symmetry and perfection. when she reached the age of fifteen, the sultan of egypt heard of her and sending for the vizier her father, said to him, 'o vizier, it has come to my knowledge that thou hast a daughter and i wish to demand her of thee in marriage.' 'o my lord the sultan,' replied the vizier, 'i prithee accept my excuse and take compassion on my grief, for thou knowest that my brother noureddin, who was my partner in the vizierate, left us many years ago and went i know not whither. now the reason of his departure was that one night we were sitting talking of marriage and children, when we came to words on the subject and he was angry with me and went away in his anger. but on the day her mother bore her, fifteen years ago, i swore that i would marry my daughter to none but my brother's son. now, awhile ago, i heard that he is lately dead at bassora, where he was vizier, after having married the former vizier's daughter and had by her a son; and i will not marry my daughter but to him, in honour of my brother's memory. moreover, i recorded the date of my marriage and of the conception and birth of my daughter and drew her horoscope, and she is destined for her cousin and there are girls in plenty for our lord the sultan.' when the sultan heard the vizier's answer, he was exceeding wroth and said, 'when the like of me demands in marriage the daughter of the like of thee, he confers a favour on her, and thou puttest me off with idle excuses! as my head liveth, i will marry her to the meanest of my serving men, to spite thee!' now the sultan had a hunchbacked groom, with a hump behind and before, and he sent for him and married him to the vizier's daughter, whether she would or no, and bade carry him in procession and bring him in to his bride this very night. now i have just come from cairo, where i left the hunchback at the door of the bath, surrounded by the king's servants holding lighted flambeaux and making mock of him. as for the vizier's daughter, she sits among her nurses and tire-women, weeping, for they have forbidden her father access to her. never, o my sister, saw i one more hideous than the hunchback, whilst the young lady is the likest of all folk to this youth, though she is even handsomer than he." "thou liest," replied the jinniyeh; "this youth is handsomer than any one of his day." "by allah, o my sister," replied the afrit, "the girl i speak of is handsomer than he, but none but he is worthy of her, for they resemble each other as they were brother and sister or brothers' children. alas, the pity of her with that hunchback!" then said she, "o my brother, let us take him up and carry him to cairo, that we may compare him with the damsel and see whether of them is the handsomer." "i hear and obey," answered the afrit; "this is right well advised, and i will carry him." so he took bedreddin up and flew with him through the air, accompanied by the afriteh, till he alighted in the city of cairo and set him down on a stone bench. then he aroused him, and when he found himself no longer on his father's tomb in bassora, but in a strange city, he would have cried out, but the afrit gave him a cuff and imposed silence on him. then he brought him a splendid dress and made him put it on, and giving him a lighted flambeau, said to him, "know that i have brought thee hither, meaning to do thee a good turn for the love of god; so take this torch and mingle with the people at the door of the bath and accompany them to the house of the wedding festival. then advance and enter the hall and fear none, but sit down on the right hand of the humpbacked bridegroom; and as often as the tire-women and singers stop before thee, put thy hand into thy pocket and thou wilt find it full of gold. take it out by handsful and give to all who come to thee and spare not, for as often as thou puttest thy hand into thy pocket, thou wilt find it without fail full of gold. so fear nothing, but put thy trust in him who created thee, for all this is not by shine own strength but by that of god, that his decrees may take effect upon his creatures." quoth bedreddin to himself, "i wonder what is the meaning of all this!" and taking the torch, went to the bath, where he found the hunchback already on horseback. so he mixed with the people and moved on with the bridal-procession; and as often as the singing-women stopped to collect largesse from the people, he put his hand into his pocket and finding it full of gold, took out a handful and threw it into the singers' tambourine, till it was full of dinars. the singing women were amazed at his munificence and they and the people wondered at his beauty and grace and the richness of his dress. he ceased not to do thus, till he reached the vizier's palace, where the chamberlains drove back the people and forbade them to enter; but the singing women said, "by allah, we will not enter, unless this young man enter with us, for he has overwhelmed us with his bounties; nor shall the bride be displayed, except he be present." so the chamberlains let him pass, and he entered the bridal saloon with the singers, who made him sit down, in defiance of the humpbacked bridegroom. the wives of the viziers and amirs and chamberlains were ranged, each veiled to the eyes and holding a great lighted flambeau, in two ranks, extending right and left from the bride's throne[fn# ] to the upper end of the dais, in front of the door from which she was to issue. when the ladies saw bedreddin and noted his beauty and grace and his face that shone like the new moon, they all inclined to him, and the singers said to all the women present, "you must know that this handsome youth has handselled us with nought but red gold, so fail ye not to wait on him and comply with all that he says." so all the women crowded round bedreddin, with their torches, and gazed on his beauty arid envied him his grace; and each would gladly have lain in his bosom an hour or a year. in their intoxication, they let fall their veils from their faces and said, "happy she who belongs to him or to whom he belongs!" and they cursed the humpbacked groom and him who was the cause of his marriage to that lovely lady; and as often as they invoked blessings on bedreddin, they followed them up with imprecations on the hunchback, saying, "indeed, this youth and he alone deserves our bride. alas, the pity of her with this wretched hunchback, god's curse be on him and on the sultan who will have her marry him!" then the singers beat their tambourines and raised cries of joy, announcing the coming of the bride; and the vizier's daughter entered, surrounded by her tire-women, who had perfumed her with essences and incensed her and decked her hair and dressed her in costly robes and ornaments such as were worn by the ancient kings of persia. over all she wore a robe embroidered in red gold with figures of birds and beasts with eyes and beaks of precious stones and feet and claws of red rubies and green beryl, and about her neck was clasped a necklace of yemen work, worth many thousands of dinars, whose beazels were all manner jewels, never had caesar or king of yemen its like. she seemed as it were the full moon, when it shines out on the fourteenth night, or one of the houris of paradise, glory be to him who made her so splendidly fair! the women encompassed her as they were stars, and she in their midst as the moon breaking through the clouds. as she came forward, swaying gracefully to and fro, the hunchback rose to kiss her, but she turned from him and seeing bedreddin hassan seated, with all the company gazing on him, went and stood before him. when the folk saw her thus attracted towards bedreddin, they laughed and shouted and the singers raised their voices, whereupon he put his hand to his pocket and cast gold by handsful into the tambourines of the singing-women, who rejoiced and said, "would this bride were thine!" at this he smiled, and the people came round him, with the flambeaux in their hands, whilst the hunchback was left sitting alone, looking like an ape; for as often as they lighted a candle for him, it went out and he abode in darkness, speechless and confounded and grumbling to himself. when bedreddin saw the bridegroom sitting moping alone and all the lights and people collected round himself, he was confounded and marvelled; but when he looked at his cousin, the vizier's daughter, he rejoiced and was glad, for indeed her face was radiant with light and brilliancy. then the tire-women took off the veil and displayed the bride in her first dress of red satin, and she moved to and fro with a languorous grace, till the heads of all the men and women were turned by her loveliness, for she was even as says the excellent poet: like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, she shines in a dress of the hue of pomegranate-flower. she gives me to drink of her cheeks and her honeyed lips, and quenches the flaming fires that my heart devour. then they changed her dress and displayed her in a robe of blue; and she reappeared like the moon when it bursts through the clouds, with her coal-black hair and her smiling teeth, her delicate cheeks and her swelling bosom, even as says the sublime poet: she comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, blue as the stainless sky unflecked with white. i view her with yearning eyes, and she seems to me a moon of the summer set in a winter's night. then they clad her in a third dress and letting down her long black ringlets, veiled her face to her eyes with the super-abundance of her hair, which vied with the murkiest night in length and blackness; and she smote all hearts with the enchanted arrows of her glances. as says the poet: with hair that hides her rosy cheeks ev'n to her speaking eyes, she comes; and i her locks compare unto a sable cloud and say to her, "thou curtainest the morning with the night." but she, "not so; it is the moon that with the dark i shroud." then they displayed her in the fourth dress, and she shone forth like the rising sun, swaying to and fro with amorous languor and turning from side to side with gazelle-like grace. and she pierced hearts with the arrows of her eyelashes; even as says the poet: a sun of beauty she appears to all that look on her, glorious in arch and amorous grace, with coyness beautified; and when the sun of morning sees her visage and her smile, conquered, he hasteneth his face behind the clouds to hide. then they displayed her in the fifth dress, with her ringlets let down. the downy hair crept along her cheeks, and she swayed to and fro, like a willow-wand or a gazelle bending down to drink, with graceful motions of the neck and hips. as says the poet, describing her: like the full moon she doth appear, on a calm night and fair; slender of shape and charming all with her seductive air. she hath an eye, whose glances pierce the hearts of all mankind, nor can cornelian with her cheeks for ruddiness compare. the sable torrent of her locks falls down unto her hips; beware the serpents of her curls, i counsel thee, beware! indeed, her glance, her sides are soft, but none the less, alas! her heart is harder than the rock; there is no mercy there. the starry arrows of her looks she darts above her veil; they hit and never miss the mark, though from afar they fare. when i clasp hands about her waist, to press her to my heart, the swelling apples of her breast compel me to forbear. alas, her beauty! it outdoes all other loveliness; her shape transcends the willow-wand and makes the branch despair. then they unveiled her in the sixth dress, which was green. in this she reached the utmost bounds of loveliness, outvying in slender straightness the tawny spear-shaft, and in suppleness and flexile grace the bending branch, whilst the splendours of her face outshone the radiance of the full moon. indeed, she transcended the fair of all quarters of the world and all hearts were broken by her loveliness; for she was even as says the poet: a damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace; you'd say the very sun had borrowed from her face. she came in robes of green, the likeness of the leaf that the pomegranate flower cloth in the bud encase. "how call'st thou this thy dress?" we said to her, and she made answer with a word full of malicious grace. "breaker of hearts," quoth she, "i call it, for therewith i've broken many a heart among the human race." then they dressed her in the seventh dress, which was of a colour between saffron and orange, even as says the poet: scented with sandal and musk and ambergris, lo! she comes. the blended hues of her dress 'twixt orange and saffron show. slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, but the weight of her hips says, "sit, or softly and slowly go." when i solicit her kiss and sue for my heart's desire, "be gracious," her beauty says, but her coquetry answers, "no." they unveiled the bride, in all her seven dresses, before bedreddin hassan, leaving the hunchback sitting by himself; and when she opened her eyes, she said, "o my god, grant that this youth may be my husband and deliver me from this humpbacked groom." then they dismissed the company and all who were present retired, except bedreddin hassan and the hunchback, whilst the tire-women carried off the bride to undress her and prepare her for the bridegroom. thereupon the hunchback came up to bedreddin hassan and said to him, "o my lord, thou hast cheered us with thy company tonight and overwhelmed us with thy favours. wilt thou not now rise and depart?" "in the name of god," replied bedreddin, and rising, went out of the door, where the afrit met him and said to him, "stay where thou art, and when the hunchback goes out to the draught-house, enter thou the bride chamber and do not hesitate, but sit down in the alcove, and when the bride comes, say to her, ''tis i who am thy husband, for the king only played this trick on thee, to conjure the evil eye from us; and he whom thou sawest is one of our grooms.' then go up to her and uncover her face and fear nothing, for jealousy hath taken us of this affair and none is worthy to enjoy her youth but thyself.' as he was yet speaking, the groom came out and entering the closet, sat down on the stool. hardly had he done so, when the afrit appeared to him in the shape of a mouse, issuing from the water-trough,[fn# ] and cried "queek!" quoth the hunchback, "what ails thee?" and the mouse increased till it became a cat and said, "miaou! miaou!" then it grew still more and became a dog and cried, "bow! wow!" when the hunchback saw this, he was terrified and exclaimed, "begone, o unlucky one!" the dog increased and became an ass-colt, that brayed and cried out in his face, "heehaw! heehaw!" whereupon the hunchback quaked and cried out, "come to my aid, o people of the house!" but the ass increased and swelled, till it became a buffalo and barred the way against him and said with a human voice, "out on thee, hunchback, thou stinkard!" the groom was seized with a colic and sat down on the jakes with his clothes on and his teeth chattering. quoth the afrit, "is the world so small that thou canst find none to marry but my mistress?'' but he was silent, and the afrit said, "answer me, or i will make thee a dweller in the dust." "by allah," replied the hunchback, "i am not to blame, for they forced me to marry her, and i knew not that she had a buffalo for a gallant; but i repent to god and to thee. what wilt thou have me do?" quoth the afrit, "i swear to thee that, if thou leave this place or speak before sunrise, i will wring thy neck! when the sun rises, go thy way and never return to this house." so saying, he seized the hunchback and set him upside down against the wall, with his head in the slit and his feet in the air, and said to him, "i will leave thee here and watch thee till sunrise; and if thou stir before then, i will seize thee by the feet and dash out thy brains against the wall." meanwhile bedreddin hassan entered the bride chamber and sat down in the alcove. presently, in came the bride, attended by an old woman, who stopped at the door of the chamber and said, "o father of symmetry,[fn# ] arise and take what god sends thee." then the old woman went away, and the bride, whose name was the lady of beauty, entered, heart-broken and saying to herself, "by allah, i will never yield myself to him, though he kill me!" when she came to the alcove, she saw bedreddin sitting there and said, "o my friend, thou here at this hour! by allah, i was wishing that thou wast my husband or that thou and the groom were partners in me!" "how should the groom have access to thee," asked bedreddin, "and how should he share with me in thee?" quoth she "who is my husband, thou or he?" "o lady of beauty," replied bedreddin, "all this was only a device to conjure the evil eye from us. thy father hired the hunchback for ten diners to that end, and now he has taken his wage and gone away. didst thou not see the singers and tire-women laughing at him and how thy people displayed thee before me?" when the lady of beauty heard this, she smiled and rejoiced and laughed softly. then she said to him, "thou hast quenched the fire of my heart, so, by allah, take me and press me to thy bosom." now she was without clothes; so she threw open the veil in which she was wrapped and showed her hidden charms. at this sight, desire stirred in bedreddin, and he rose and put off his clothes. the purse of a thousand dinars he had received of the jew he wrapped in his trousers and laid them under the mattress; then took off his turban and hung it on the settle, remaining in a skull-cap and shirt of fine silk, laced with gold. with this arose the lady of beauty and drew him to her, and he did the like with her. then he took her to his embrace and pointing the engine that batters down the fortalice of virginity, stormed the citadel and found her an unpierced pearl and a filly that none but he had ridden. so he took her maidenhead and enjoyed her dower of youth; nor did he stint to return to the assault till he had furnished fifteen courses, and she conceived by him. then he laid his hand under her head and she did the like, and they embraced and fell asleep in each other's arms, whilst the tongue of the case spoke the words of the poet: cleave fast to her thou lov'st and let the envious rail amain, for calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain. lo! the compassionate hath made no fairer thing to see than when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain, each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their own delight, whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks enchain. lo! when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, but on cold iron smite the folk that chide at them in vain. if in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, i rede thee cast the world away and with that one remain. as soon as bedreddin was asleep, the afrit said to the afriteh, "come, let us take up the young man and carry him back to his place, ere the dawn overtake us, for the day is near." so she took up bedreddin, as he lay asleep, clad only in his shirt and skull-cap, and flew away with him, accompanied by the afrit. but the dawn overtook them midway and the muezzins began to chant the call to morning-prayer. then god let his angels cast at the afrit with shooting-stars, and he was consumed; but the afriteh escaped and lighted down with bedreddin, fearing to carry him further, lest he should come to harm. now as fate would have it, she had reached the city of damascus, so she laid bedreddin down before one of its gates and flew away. as soon as it was day, the gate was thrown open and the folk came out, and seeing a handsome young man, clad in nothing but a shirt and skull-cap, lying on the ground, drowned in sleep by reason of his much swink of the night before, said, "happy she with whom this youth lay the night! would he had waited to put on his clothes!" quoth another, "a sorry race are young men of family! belike, this fellow but now came forth of the tavern on some occasion or other, but being overcome with drunkenness, missed the place he was making for and strayed till he came to the city gate, and finding it shut, lay down and fell asleep." as they were bandying words about him, the breeze blew on him and raising his shirt, showed a stomach and navel and legs and thighs, firm and clear as crystal and softer than cream; whereupon the bystanders exclaimed, "by allah, it is good!" and made such a noise, that bedreddin awoke and finding himself lying at the gate of a city, in the midst of a crowd of people, was astonished and said to them, "o good people, where am i, and why do you crowd round me thus?" "we found thee lying here asleep, at the time of the call to morning-prayer," replied they, "and this is all we know of the matter. where didst thou lie last night?" "by allah, good people," answered he, "i lay last night in cairo!" quoth one, "thou hast eaten hashish." and another, "thou art mad; how couldst thou lie yesternight in cairo and awake this morning in damascus?" "by allah, good people," rejoined he, "i do not lie to you; indeed i lay last night in the city of cairo and yesterday i was in bassora." "good," said one; and another, "this youth is mad." and they clapped their hands at him and said to each other, "alack, the pity of his youth! by allah, there is no doubt of his madness." then said they to him, "collect thyself and return to thy senses. how couldst thou be in bassora yesterday and in cairo last night and yet awake in damascus this morning?" but he said, "indeed, i was a bridegroom in cairo last night." "doubtless thou hast been dreaming," rejoined they, "and hast seen all this in sleep." so he bethought himself awhile, then said to them, "by allah, it was no dream! i certainly went to cairo and they displayed the bride before me, in the presence of the hunchback. by allah, o my brethren, this was no dream; or if it was a dream, where is the purse of gold i had with me and my turban and trousers and the rest of my clothes?" then he rose and entered the town and passed through its streets and markets; but the people followed him and pressed on him, crying out, "madman! madman!" till he took refuge in a cook's shop. now this cook had been a robber and a sharper, but god had made him repent and turn from his evil ways and open a cookshop; and all the people of damascus stood in awe of him and feared his mischief. so when they saw bedreddin enter his shop, they dispersed for fear of him and went their ways. the cook looked at bedreddin and noting his beauty and grace, fell in love with him and said to him, "whence comest thou, o youth? tell me thy case, for thou art become to me dearer than my soul." so bedreddin told him all that had befallen him from first to last; and the cook said, "o my lord bedreddin, this is indeed a strange thing and a rare story; but, o my son, keep thy case secret, till god grant thee relief, and abide here with me meanwhile, for i am childless and will adopt thee as my son." and bedreddin answered, "i will well, o uncle." with this the cook went to the bazaar, where he bought him a handsome suit of clothes and made him put it on, then carried him to the cadi and formally acknowledged him as his son. so bedreddin passed in damascus for the cook's son and abode with him, sitting in the shop to take the money. to return to the lady of beauty. when the day broke and she awoke from sleep, she missed bedreddin from her side and thought he had gone to the lavatory, so lay expecting him awhile, when behold, her father entered. now he was sore at heart by reason of what had passed between him and the sultan and for that he had married his daughter by force to one of his servants, and he a lump of a hunchbacked groom; and he said to himself, "if she have suffered this damnable fellow to possess her, i will kill her." so he came to the door of the alcove and cried out, "ho, lady of beauty!" she replied, "here am i, o my lord"; and came out tottering for joy, with a face whose brightness and beauty had redoubled for that she had lain in the arms of that gazelle,[fn# ] and kissed the ground before her father. when the vizier saw her thus, he said to her, "o accursed woman, dost thou rejoice in this groom?" at these words, the lady of beauty smiled and said, "o my lord, let what happened yesterday suffice, when all the folk were laughing at me and flouting me with that groom, who is not worth the paring of one of my husband's nails. by allah, i never in all my life passed a pleasanter night! so do not mock me by reminding me of that hunchback." when her father heard this, he was filled with rage and glared at her, saving, "out on thee! what words are these? it was the hunchbacked groom that lay with thee." "for god's sake," replied the lady of beauty, "do not mention him to me, may god curse his father! and mock me not, for the groom was only hired for ten dinars to conjure the evil eye from us, and he took his hire and departed. as for me, i entered the bridal chamber, where i found my true husband sitting in the alcove, him before whom the singers had unveiled me and who flung them the red gold by handsful, till he made all the poor there rich; and i passed the night in the arms of my sprightly husband, with the black eyes and joined eyebrows." when her father heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness, and he cried out at her, saying, "o wanton, what is this thou sayest? where are thy senses?" "o my father," rejoined she, "thou breakest my heart with thy persistence in making mock of me! indeed, my husband, who took my maidenhead, is in the wardrobe and i am with child by him." the vizier rose, wondering, and entered the draught-house, where he found the hunchbacked groom with his head in the slit and his heels in the air. at this sight he was confounded and said, "this is none other than the hunchback." so he called to him, "hallo, hunchback!" the groom made no answer but a grunt, thinking it was the afrit who spoke to him. but the vizier cried out at him, saying, "speak, or i will cut off thy head with this sword." then said the hunchback, "by allah, o chief of the afrits, i have not lifted my head since thou didst set me here; so, god on thee, have mercy on me!" "what is this thou sayest?" quoth the vizier. "i am no afrit; i am the father of the bride." "it is enough that though hast already gone nigh to make me lose my life," replied the hunchback, "go thy ways ere he come upon thee who served me thus. could ye find none to whom to marry me but the mistress of an afrit and the beloved of a buffalo? may god curse him who married me to her and him who was the cause of it?" then said the vizier to him, "come, get up out of this place." "am i mad," answered the groom, "that i should go with thee without the afrit's leave? he said to me, 'when the sun rises, get up and go thy way.' so has the sun risen or no? for i dare not budge till then." "who brought thee hither?" asked the vizier; and the hunchback replied, "i came here last night to do an occasion, when behold, a mouse came out of the water and squeaked and grew to a buffalo and spoke to me words that entered my ears. then he left me here and went away, accursed be the bride and he who married me to her!" the vizier went up to him and set him on his feet; and he went out, running, not crediting that the sun had risen, and repaired to the sultan, to whom he related what had befallen him with the afrit. meanwhile, the vizier returned to the bride's chamber, troubled in mind about his daughter, and said to her, "o my daughter, expound thy case to me." "o my father," answered she, "what more can i tell thee? indeed, the bridegroom, he before whom they displayed me yesterday, lay with me all night and took my virginity, and i am with child by him. if thou believe me not, there is his turban, just as he left it, on the settle, and his trousers under the bed, with i know not what wrapped up in them." when her father heard this, he entered the alcove and found bedreddin's turban; so he took it up and turning it about, said, "this is a vizier's turban, except that it is of the mosul cut."[fn# ] then he perceived an amulet sewn in the cap of the turban so he unsewed the lining and took it out; then took the trousers, in which was the purse of a thousand dinars. in the latter he found the duplicate of bedreddin's docket of sale to the jew, naming him as bedreddin hassan, son of noureddin ali of cairo. no sooner had he read this, than he cried out and fell down in a swoon; and when he revived, he wondered and said, "there is no god but god the omnipotent! o my daughter, dost thou know who took thy maidenhead?" "no," answered she; and he said, "it was thy cousin, my brother's son, and these thousand dinars are thy dowry' glory be to god! would i knew how this had come about!" then he opened the amulet and found therein a paper in the handwriting of his brother noureddin; and when he saw his writing, he knew it and kissed it again and again, weeping and making moan for his brother. then he read the scroll and found in it a record of the dates of noureddin's marriage with the vizier's daughter of bassora, his going in to her, her conception and the birth of bedreddin hassan, and the history of his brother's life till his death. at this he wondered and was moved to joy and comparing the dates with those of his own marriage and the birth of his daughter the lady of beauty, found that they agreed in all respects. so he took the scroll and carrying it to the sultan, told him the whole story from first to last, at which the king wondered and commanded the case to be at once set down in writing. the vizier abode all that day awaiting his nephew, but he came not; and when seven days were past and he could learn nothing of him, he said, "by allah, i will do a thing that none has done before me!" so he took pen and ink and paper and drew a plan of the bride-chamber, showing the disposition of all the furniture therein, as that the alcove was in such a place, this or that curtain in another, and so on with all that was in the room. then he folded the paper and laid it aside, and causing all the furniture to be taken up and stored away, took bedreddin's purse and turban and clothes and locked them up with an iron padlock, on which he set a seal, against his nephew's coming. as for the lady of beauty, she accomplished the months of her pregnancy and bore a son like the full moon, resembling his father in beauty and grace. they cut his navel and blackened his eyelids with kohl[fn# ] and committed him to the nurses, naming him agib. his day was as a month and his month as a year, and when seven years had passed over him, his grandfather sent him to school, bidding the master teach him to read the koran and give him a good education; and he remained at the school four years, till he began to bully the little ones and beat them and abuse them, saying, "which of you is like me? i am the son of the vizier of egypt." at last the children came, in a body, to complain to the monitor of agib's behavior to them, and he said, "i will tell you how to do with him, so that he shall leave coming to the school and you shall never see him again. it is this: when he comes to-morrow, sit down round him and let one of you say to the others, 'by allah, none shall play at this game except he tell us the names of his father and mother; for he who knows not his parents' names is a bastard and shall not play with us.'" so next day, when agib came to the school, they all assembled round him, and one of them said, "we will play a game, in which no one shall join except he tell us the names of his father and mother." and they all said, "by allah, it is good." then said one of them, "my name is majid, my mother's name is alawiyeh and my father's izeddin." and the others said the like, till it came to agib's turn and he said, "my name is agib, my mother is the lady of beauty and my father shemseddin, vizier of egypt." "by allah," cried they, "the vizier is not thy father." said he, "he is indeed my father." then they all laughed and clapped their hands at him, saying, "he does not know his father! arise and go out from us, for none shall play with us, except he know his father's name." thereupon they dispersed from around him and laughed him to scorn, leaving him choked with tears and mortification. then said the monitor to him, "o agib, knowst thou not that the vizier is thy mother's father, thy grandfather and not thy father? as for thy father, thou knowest him not nor do we, for the sultan married thy mother to a humpbacked groom; but the jinn came and lay with her, and thou hast no known father. wherefore, do thou leave evening thyself with the boys in the school, till thou know who is thy father; for till then thou wilt pass for a misbegotten brat amongst them. dost thou not see that the huckster's son knows his own father? thy grandfather is the vizier of egypt, but as for thy father, we know him not, and we say, thou hast no father. so return to thy senses." when agib heard the insulting words of the children and the monitor, he went out at once and ran to his mother, to complain to her; but his tears would not let him speak awhile. when she heard his sobs and saw his tears, her heart was on fire for him and she said to him, "o my son, why dost thou weep? tell me what is the matter." so he told her what the children and the monitor had said and said to her, "who is my father, o my mother?" "thy father is the vizier of egypt," answered she; but he said, "do not lie to me. the vizier is thy father, not mine. who then is my father? except thou tell me the truth, i will kill myself with this dagger." when the lady of beauty heard him speak of his father, she wept, as she thought of her cousin and her bridal-night, and repeated the following verses: love in my breast, alas! they lit and went away; far distant is the camp that holds my soul's delight! patience and reason fled from me, when they withdrew; sleep failed me, and despair o'ercame me like a blight. they left me, and with them departed all my joy; tranquility and peace with them have taken flight. they made my lids run down with tears of love laid waste; my eyes for lack of them brim over day and night. when as my sad soul longs to see them once again and waiting and desire are heavy on my spright; midmost my heart of hearts their images i trace, love and desireful pain and longing for their sight. o ye, one thought of whom clings round me like a cloak, whose love it as a shirt about my body dight, o my beloved ones, how long will ye delay? how long must i endure estrangement and despite? then she wept and cried out and her son did the like, when in came the vizier, whose heart burned within him at the sight of their weeping, and he said, "why do ye weep?" the lady of beauty told him what had happened to agib, and the vizier also wept and called to mind his brother and all that had passed between them and what had befallen his daughter, and knew not the secret of the matter. then he rose at once and going to the divan, related the matter to the sultan and begged his leave to travel eastward to the city of bassora and enquire for his nephew. moreover, he besought him for letters-patent, authorizing him to take bedreddin, wherever he should find him. and he wept before the king, who took pity on him and wrote him royal letters-patent to his deputies in all his provinces; whereat the vizier rejoiced and called down blessings on him. then taking leave of him, he returned to his house, where he equipped himself and his daughter and grandson for the journey, and set out and travelled till he came to the city of damascus and found it rich in trees and waters, even as says the poet: i mind me a night and a day spent in damascus town, (time swore 'twould ne'er again their like to man outmete). we lay in its languorous glades, where the careless calm of the night and the morn, with its smiling eyes and its twy-coloured tresses, meet. the dew to its branches clings like a glittering chain of pearl, whose jewels the zephyr smites and scatters beneath his feet. the birds on the branches chant from the open book of the lake; the breezes write on the scroll and the clouds mark the points, as they fleet. the vizier alighted without the city and pitched his tents in an open space called the plain of pebbles, saying to his servants, "we will rest here two days." so they went down into the city upon their several occasions, this to sell, that to buy, another to go to the bath and a fourth to visit the mosque of the ommiades, whose like is not in the world. agib also went into the city to look about him, followed by an eunuch, carrying a knotted cudgel of almond-tree wood, wherewith if one smote a camel, it would not rise again. when the people of the city saw agib's beauty and symmetry (for he was a marvel of loveliness and winning grace, blander than the northern zephyr,[fn# ] sweeter than limpid water to the thirsty and more delightful than recovery to the sick), a great concourse of folk followed him, whilst others ran on before and sat down in the road, against he should come up, that they might gaze on him, till, as fate would have it, the eunuch stopped before the shop of bedreddin hassan. now the cook was dead and bedreddin, having been formally adopted by him, had succeeded to his shop and property; and in the course of the twelve years that had passed over him, his beard had grown and his understanding ripened. when his son and the eunuch stopped before him, he had just finished preparing a mess of pomegranate-seed, dressed with sugar; and when he looked at agib and saw how beautiful he was, his heart throbbed, blood drew to blood and his bowels yearned to him. so he called to him and said, "o my lord, o thou that hast gotten the mastery of my heart and my soul, thou to whom my bowels yearn, wilt thou not enter my shop and solace my heart by eating of my food?" and the tears welled up, uncalled, from his eyes, and he bethought him of his former estate and compared it with his present condition. when agib heard his words his heart yearned to him, and he said to the eunuch, "indeed, my heart inclines to this cook, and meseems he hath lost a child, so let us enter and gladden his soul by partaking of his hospitality. perhaps god may requite us our kindness to him by reuniting us with my father." "by allah!" replied the eunuch, "it were a fine thing for a vizier's son to eat in a cookshop! indeed, i keep off the folk with this stick, lest they look too closely on thee, and i dare not let thee enter a shop." when bedreddin heard these words, he wondered and turned to the eunuch, with the tears running down his cheeks, and agib said to the latter, "indeed, my heart yearns for him." but he answered, "leave this talk; indeed, thou shalt not go in." then bedreddin turned to the eunuch and said, "o noble sir, why wilt thou not gladden my soul by entering my shop? o thou who art as a chestnut, black without, but with a white heart,[fn# ] thou of whom the poet says ..........." the eunuch laughed and said, "what? say on, by allah, and be quick about it." so bedreddin repeated the following verses: were he not polished and discreet and worthy of all trust, he in kings' houses would not be advanced to high estate. o what a guardian he is for a seraglio! the very angels of the skies delight on him to wait. this pleased the eunuch, who laughed and taking agib by the hand, entered the shop with him. bedreddin ladled out a dishful of pomegranate-seed, conserved with almonds and sugar, and set it before them, saying, "ye do me honour. eat and may health and enjoyment attend you!" and agib said to him, "sit down and eat with us, so haply god may unite us with him for whom we long." "o my son," said bedreddin, "hast thou then suffered the loss of friends, at thy tender age?" "yes, o uncle!" answered agib, "my heart irks me for the loss of a beloved one, who is none other than my father; and indeed my grandfather and myself have come forth to seek for him throughout the world. alas i how i sigh to be united with him!" then he wept sore, whilst bedreddin wept at the sight of his tears and for his bereavement, which recalled to him his own separation from those he loved and from his father and mother, and the eunuch was moved to pity for him. then they ate together till they were satisfied, and agib and the eunuch rose and left the shop. at this, bedreddin felt as if his soul had departed his body and gone with them, for he could not live a moment without their sight, albeit he knew not that agib was his son. so he rose and shutting his shop, hastened after them and overtook them before they went out at the great gate. the eunuch turned and said to him, "what dost thou want?" "when you left me," replied bedreddin, "meseemed my soul had quitted my body, and as i had an occasion without the city, i thought to bear you company till i had done my business and so return." the eunuch was vexed and said to agib, "this is what i feared. because we entered this fellow's shop and ate that unlucky mouthful, he thinks he has a right to presume upon us, for see, he follows us from place to place." agib turned and seeing the cook following him, reddened for anger and said to the eunuch, "let him walk in the high road of the muslims; but if he follow us when we turn aside to our tents, we will drive him away." then he bowed his head and walked on, with the eunuch behind him. when they came to the plain of pebbles and drew near their tents, agib turned and saw bedreddin still following him; whereat he was enraged, fearing least the eunuch should tell his grandfather and vexed that it should be said he had entered a cookshop and the cook had followed him. so he looked at bedreddin and found his eyes fixed on him, for he was as it were a body without a soul; and it seemed to agib that his eye was that of a knave or a lewd fellow. so his rage redoubled and he took up a stone and threw it at bedreddin. it struck him on the forehead and cut it open; and he fell down in a swoon, with the blood streaming down his face, whilst agib and the eunuch made for the tents. when he came to himself, he wiped away the blood and tore off a piece of the muslin of his turban, with which he bound his head, blaming himself and saying, "i wronged the lad in closing my shop and following him, so that he thought i was some lewd fellow." then he returned to his shop, where he busied himself with the sale of his meats; and he yearned after his mother at bassora and wept over her and recited the following verses: if thou demand fair play of fate, therein thou dost it wrong; and blame it not, for twas not made, indeed, for equity. take what lies ready to thy hand and lay concern aside, for troubled days and days of peace in life must surely be. meanwhile, the vizier, his uncle, tarried in damascus three days, then departed for hems, and passing through that city, fared on by way of hemah and aleppo and thence through diarbekir, maridin and mosul, making enquiries at every place he came to, till he arrived at bassora, where he halted and presented himself before the sultan, who received him with honour and consideration and asked the reason of his coming. the vizier related to him his history and told him that noureddin ali was his brother, whereupon the sultan commended the latter's soul to the mercy of god and said, "sir, he was my vizier for fifteen years, and i loved him greatly. then he died, leaving a son, who abode here but two months after his father's death; since which time he hath disappeared and we have never come upon any news of him. but his mother, who was the daughter of my former vizier, is still with us." shemseddin rejoiced to hear that his nephew's mother was still alive and said, "o king, i wish to see her." the king at once gave him leave to visit her; so he betook himself to his brother noureddin's house and went round about it and kissed its threshold. and he bethought him of his brother and how he had died in a strange land and wept and repeated the following verses: i wander through the halls, the halls where leila lived, and kiss the lifeless walls that of her passage tell. it is not for the house that i with passion burn, but for the cherished ones that erst therein did dwell. then he entered the gate and found himself in a spacious courtyard, at the end whereof was a door vaulted over with hard stone, inlaid with vari-coloured marbles. he walked round about the house, and casting his eyes on the walls, saw the name of his brother noureddin written on them in letters of gold. so he went up to the inscription and kissed it and wept for his brother's loss and repeated the following verses: i sue unto the rising sun, each morn, for news of thee, and of the lightning's lurid gleam i do for thee enquire. the hands of passion and of pain sport with me all the night; yet i complain not of the ills i suffer from desire. o my beloved, if the times be yet for me prolonged, be all consumed with separation's fire. lo! if thy sight one happy day should bless my longing eyes, there is no other thing on earth that i of fate require. think not that other loves avail to solace me for thee; my heart can hold no love but thine, my faith can never tire. then he walked on till he came to the lodging of his brother's widow. now from the day of her son's disappearance, she had given herself up to weeping and lamentation day and night; and when the years grew long upon her, she made him a tomb of marble midmost the saloon and there wept for him day and night, sleeping not but thereby. when the vizier drew near her apartment, he heard her weeping and repeating verses, so he went in to her and saluting her, informed her that he was her husband's brother and told her all that had passed between them, and how her son bedreddin hassan had spent a whole night with his daughter, twelve years ago, but had disappeared in the morning, and how she had conceived by him and borne a son, whom he had brought with him. when bedreddin's mother heard this news of her son and grandson and that the former was haply still alive and saw her husband's brother, she threw herself at his feet and kissed them, repeating the following verses: may god be good to him who brought me news that they were come; for never more delightful news unto my ears were borne. if he would take a worn-out weds for boon, i'd proffer him a heart that at the parting hour was all to pieces torn. then the vizier sent for agib; and his grandmother embraced him and wept, but shemseddin said to her, "this is no time for weeping; it behoves thee to make ready to go with us to egypt; perhaps god will reunite us with thy son, my nephew." "i hear and obey," answered she, and rising at once, collected her goods and treasures and equipped herself and her handmaids for the journey, whilst the vizier went to take his leave of the sultan of bassora, who sent by him gifts and rarities to the sultan of egypt. then he set out at once on his homeward journey and travelled till he came to damascus, where he halted and pitched his tents as before, saying to his suite, "we will halt here a week, to buy presents and curiosities for the sultan." now the tie of blood drew agib to his father, so he said to the eunuch, "o laic, i have a mind to go a-walking; so come, let us go down into the streets of damascus and see what is become of the cook whose victuals we ate and whose head we broke, for indeed he was kind to us and we used him scurvily." the eunuch replied, "i hear and obey." so they left the tents and going down into the city, stayed not till they came to the cookshop, where they found bedreddin hassan standing at the door. it was near the time of afternoon-prayer, and as chance would have it, he had just prepared a mess of pomegranate-seed. agib looked at him and saw the scar of the blow on his forehead; wherefore his heart yearned to him and he said, "peace be on thee! know that my heart is with thee." when bedreddin saw him, his bowels were troubled and his heart throbbed, and he bowed his head and would have spoken, but could not. then he raised his head and looked at his son humbly and imploringly and repeated the following verses: i longed to look on him i love; but when i saw his face, i was as one amazed and lost the use of tongue and eyes. i bowed my head down to his feet for reverence and awe, and would have hidden what i felt, but could it not disguise. volumes of plaining and reproach i had within my heart; yet, when we met, no word i spoke nor uttered aught but sighs. then he said to them, "heal my heart and eat of my food, for, by allah, i cannot look at you but my heart throbs! i should not have followed you the other day, but that i was beside myself." "by allah," replied agib, "thou art too fond of us! we ate with thee before and thou madest us repent of it, in that thou followedst us and wouldst have put us to shame; so we will not eat with thee, except thou swear not to go out after us nor follow us. else we will not visit thee again during our present stay, for we abide here a week, that my grandfather may take presents for the king." and bedreddin said, "i grant you this." so agib and the eunuch entered, and bedreddin set before them a dish of pomegranate-seed. quoth agib, "sit down and eat with us, so haply god may grant us relief." at this bedreddin was glad and sat down and ate with them, with his eyes fixed on agib's face, for indeed his heart and entrails were taken with his love, till the boy said to him, "what a tiresome dotard thou art! leave thy staring in my face." when bedreddin heard this, he repeated the following verses: thy face excites in all men's hearts a love they do not own; folded in silence and concealed, it may not be made known. o thou whose beauty puts to shame the splendour of the moon, whose grace recalls the shining sight of morning newly blown, in thy bright visage is a sign that may not be fulfilled, and there all beauties that incite to tenderness are shown. must i then die of thirst, what while thy lips with nectar flow? thy face is paradise to me; must i in hell-fire groan? so they ate till they were satisfied, when bedreddin rose and poured water on their hands, wiping them with a napkin of silk, which he loosed from his waist; after which he sprinkled rose-water on them from a casting-bottle he had by him. then he went out and returned with a pitcher of sherbet, flavoured with rose-water and musk, which he set before them, saying, "complete your favours to me, by drinking of this sherbet." so agib took the pitcher and drank and passed it to the eunuch, and it went round amongst them till their stomachs were full, for they had eaten and drunken beyond their wont. then they went away and made haste in walking till they reached the tents, and agib went in to his grandmother, who kissed him, and thinking of her son bedreddin hassan, wept and repeated the following verses: but for my hope that god would yet our severed loves unite, i had not lived for life to me is void of all delight. i swear there's nothing in my heart but love of thee alone, by god, who reads the heart and brings the hidden things to light! and she said to agib, "o my son, where hast thou been?" quoth he, "we have been in the city of damascus. then she rose and set before him confection of pomegranate-seed and said to the eunuch, "sit down and eat with thy young master." the eunuch said to himself, "by allah, we have no mind to eat!" but he sat down, and so did agib, though his belly was full of what he had already eaten and drunk. now the conserve lacked sugar, so he took a piece of bread and dipped it therein and ate, but found it insipid, for that he was already surfeited, and exclaimed, "faugh! what is this nasty mess?" "o my son," said his grandmother, "dost thou find fault with my cookery? i cooked this myself, and there is not a cook in the land can compare with me, except it be thy father bedreddin hassan." "o my lady," replied agib, "this thy dish is naught; for we saw but now in the city a cook who dresses pomegranate-seed, so that the very smell of it opens the heart and the taste would give a full man an appetite; and as for thy mess, compared with his, it is worth neither much nor little." when his grandmother heard this, she was exceeding wroth and said to the eunuch, "out on thee, dost thou corrupt my grandson and take him into cookshops?" the eunuch was frightened and denied, saying, "we did not enter the shop, but only saw it in passing." "by allah!" said agib, "we went in and ate, and it was better than thine." then his grandmother rose and went and told her brother-in-law, who was incensed against the eunuch and sending for him, said to him, "why didst thou take my son into a cookshop?" "we did not go in," replied the eunuch. but agib said, "we did go in and ate of pomegranate-seed, till we were full; and the cook gave us to drink of iced sherbet of sugar." at this, the vizier's anger redoubled and he questioned the eunuch, but he still denied. then said the vizier, "if what thou sayest be true, sit down and eat before us." so he sat down and tried to eat, but could not and threw away the morsel, saying, "o my lord, indeed i am full since yesterday." by this, the vizier knew that he had eaten at the cook's and bade his slaves throw him down and beat him. so they drubbed him, till he roared for mercy and said, "o my lord, do not beat me, and i will tell thee the truth." whereupon the vizier stopped the beating and said, "speak the truth." quoth the eunuch, "know then that we did enter the shop of a cook, who was dressing pomegranate seed, and he set some of it before us; by allah, i never ate the like of it in my life, nor did i ever taste aught nastier than that which is before us!" bedreddin's mother was enraged at this and said to the eunuch, "thou must go back to the cook and fetch us a dish of his pomegranate-seed and show it to thy master, that he may say which is the better, his or mine." "good," answered he. so she gave him a dish and half a dinar, and he returned to the shop and said to bedreddin, "we have made a wager about thy cookery in our lord's household, for they have pomegranate-seed there also; so give me half a dinar's worth of thy confection and let it be of thy best, for i have eaten my bellyful of stick on account of thy cookery." bedreddin laughed and answered, "by allah, none can dress this dish aright but myself and my mother, and she is far away." then he filled the dish with pomegranate-seed and finishing it off with musk and rose-water, gave it to the eunuch, who hastened back with it and delivered it to bedreddin's mother. no sooner had she tasted it and remarked the excellence of its flavour and cookery, than she knew who had dressed it and shrieked and fell down in a swoon, to the amazement of the vizier, who sprinkled rose-water on her, till she came to herself and said, "if my son be yet of this world, none made this conserve but he! without doubt, this cook is my son bedreddin hassan, for none knew how to dress this dish but he and i, and i taught him." the vizier rejoiced greatly at her words, and said, "o how i long to see my brother's son! i wonder if the days will indeed reunite us with him! but it is to god alone that we look for reunion with him." then he went out forthright and said to his men, "let twenty of you go to the cook's shop and demolish it; then tie his hands behind him with the linen of his turban, saying, 'it was thou madest that vile mess of pomegranate-seed,' and bring him hither by force, but without doing him any hurt." and they replied, "it is well." then he mounted and riding to the palace, foregathered with the viceroy of damascus and showed him the sultan's letters-patent. he kissed them and laying them on his head, said to the vizier, "who is it hath offended against thee?" quoth the vizier, "he is a cook of this city." so the viceroy at once despatched his chamberlains to the shop and they went thither and found it in ruins and everything in it broken; for whilst the vizier was at the palace, his men had done his bidding and carried bedreddin to the tents, where they were then awaiting their master's return, whilst bedreddin said, "i wonder what they can have found in the pomegranate-seed to bring matters to this pass!" when the vizier returned to the tents, after having gotten the viceroy's permission to take his debtor and depart with him, he called for the cook, and they brought bedreddin before him, with his hands bound behind his back. when he saw his uncle, he wept sore and said, "o my lord, what is my offence against thee?" "art thou he who made the mess of pomegranate-seed?" asked shemseddin. "yes," replied bedreddin; "didst thou find aught in it to call for the cutting off of my head?" quoth the vizier, "that were the least of thy desert." "o my lord," said bedreddin, "wilt thou not tell me my crime and what ails the pomegranate-seed?" "presently," answered the vizier and called to his men, saying, "bring the camels." so they struck camp and the vizier caused bedreddin to be put into a chest, which they locked and set on a camel. then they departed and journeyed till nightfall, when they halted to eat and took bedreddin out of his chest and fed him and locked him up again. then they set out again and travelled till they reached kumreh, where they took him out of the chest and brought him before the vizier, who said to him, "art thou he who made the mess of pomegranate-seed?" "yes, o my lord," answered he; and shemseddin said, "shackle him." so they shackled him and returned him to the chest and fared on again, till they arrived at cairo and halted in the suburb of er reidaniyeh. then the vizier commanded to take bedreddin out of his chest and sent for a carpenter, to whom he said, "make a cross[fn# ] of wood for this fellow." quoth bedreddin, "what wilt thou do with it?" "i mean to nail thee upon it," replied the vizier, "and parade thee throughout the city." "and why wilt thou use me thus? asked bedreddin; and the vizier answered, "because of thy villainous mess of pomegranate-seed and for that it lacked pepper." "and because it lacked pepper," said bedreddin, "wilt thou do all this to me? is it not enough that thou hast laid my shop in ruins and smashed my gear and imprisoned me and fed me but once a day?" "it lacked pepper," answered the vizier; "and nothing less than death is thy desert." at this bedreddin wondered and mourned for himself, till the vizier said to him, "of what art thou thinking?" "i was thinking of crack-brains like unto thee," answered bedreddin, "for hadst thou any sense, thou wouldst not treat me thus." quoth the vizier, "it behoves me to punish thee, lest thou do the like again." and bedreddin said, "verily, my offence were over-punished by the least of what thou hast already done to me." "it avails not," answered shemseddin; "i must crucify thee." all this time the carpenter was shaping the cross, whilst bedreddin looked on; and thus they did till nightfall, when the vizier took him and clapped him in the chest, saying, "the thing shall be done tomorrow." then he waited till he knew bedreddin to be asleep, when he mounted and taking the chest up before him, rode into the town to his own house, where he alighted and said to his daughter, the lady of beauty, "praised be god who hath reunited thee with thy cousin! arise and order the house as it was on thy wedding-night." so the servants arose and lit the candles, whilst the vizier took out his plan of the bride chamber and directed them what to do, till they had set everything in its place, so that whoever saw it would not doubt but it was the very night of the wedding. then he made them lay bedreddin's turban on the stool, where he had left it, and his trousers and purse under the mattress, and bade his daughter undress herself and go to bed, as on the wedding-night, adding, "when he comes in to thee, say to him, 'thou has tarried long in the wardrobe,' and call him to lie with thee and hold him in converse till the morning, when we will explain the whole matter to him." then he took bedreddin out of the chest and laid him in the vestibule, after he had unbound him and taken off his clothes, leaving him in a shirt of fine silk, and he still asleep and knowing nothing. presently he turned over and awoke, and finding himself in a lighted vestibule, said to himself, "surely, i am dreaming." then he rose and opening the inner door, found himself in the chamber, where he had passed his wedding-night, and knew the alcove and the stool by the bed-side, with his turban and clothes. when he saw this, he was confounded and advanced one foot and drew the other back, saying, "am i asleep or awake?" and he began to rub his forehead and say, wondering, "by allah, this is the chamber of the bride that was unveiled before me! but where can i be? i was surely but now in a chest." whilst he was debating with himself, the lady of beauty lifted the curtain of the alcove and said to him, "o my lord, wilt thou not come in? thou hast tarried long in the wardrobe." when he heard what she said and saw her face, he laughed and said, "this is certainly an imbroglio of dreams!" then he entered, sighing, and recalled what had happened and was perplexed, and his affair became confused to him and he knew not what to think. presently, he caught sight of his turban and trousers, so he handled the latter and feeling the purse of a thousand dinars, said, "god alone is all knowing! i am certainly in the mazes of a dream." then said the lady of beauty to him, "what ails thee to stand agape and seem perplexed? thou wast not thus the first part of the night." he laughed and said to her, "how long have i been absent from thee?" "god preserve thee!" exclaimed she. "the name of god encompass thee! thou didst but go out an hour ago to do an occasion and return. hast thou lost thy wits?" when bedreddin heard this, he laughed and said, "thou art right; but when i went out from thee, i forgot myself in the closet and dozed and dreamt that i was a cook in damascus and abode there twelve years and that there came to me a boy, the son of some great man, and with him an eunuch." here he put his hand to his forehead and feeling the scar made by the stone, said, "by allah, o lady, it must have been true, for here is the scar made by the stone, with which he smote me and cut my forehead open. so it would seem as if it had really happened. but perhaps i dreamt it, when we embraced and fell asleep together: for meseemed i journeyed to damascus without turban or drawers and set up as a cook there." then he was perplexed and considered awhile and said, "by allah, i fancied also that i made a mess of pomegranate-seed and put too little pepper in it. by allah, i must have slept in the closet and dreamt all this!" "god on thee," said the lady of beauty, "tell me what else thou didst dream." "by allah," replied he, "had i not woke up, they would have nailed me to a cross of wood!" "wherefore?" asked she; and he said, "because of the lack of pepper in the pomegranate-seed. meseemed they demolished my shop and broke my utensils in pieces and put me in a chest; then they sent for a carpenter to make a cross and would have crucified me thereon. but praised be god who caused all this to happen to me in sleep and not on wake!" the lady of beauty laughed and pressed him to her bosom, and he returned her caresses; then he thought again and said, "by allah, i cannot help thinking it must have been a reality after all! indeed i know not what to think of it all." then he lay down and passed the night in a state of perplexity, saying now, "i was dreaming," and now, "i was awake," till the morning, when his uncle shemseddin entered and saluted him. when bedreddin saw him, he said to him, "by allah, art thou not he who gave orders to bind me and demolish my shop and would have nailed me on a cross, and all because a mess of pomegranate-seed lacked pepper?" "o my son," replied the vizier, "know that the truth has appeared and that which was hidden is divulged. thou art my brother's son, and i did all this with thee but that i might certify myself that thou wast indeed he who lay with my daughter on her wedding-night. i could not be sure of this, till i saw that thou knewest the chamber and thy turban and clothes and purse and the scrolls in thy handwriting and that of my brother, for i had never seen thee and did not know thee; and i have brought thy mother with me from bassora." so saying, he threw himself on him and they embraced and wept for excess of joy. then said the vizier to bedreddin, "o my son, all this came of what passed between thy father and myself." and he told him what had taken place between them and the manner of his father's flight to bassora; after which he sent for agib, and when his father saw him, he exclaimed, "this is he who threw the stone at me!" quoth the vizier, "this is thy son." and bedreddin threw himself on agib and repeated the following verses: long time have i bewailed the sev'rance of our loves, with tears that from my lids streamed down like burning rain, and vowed that, if the days should reunite us two, my lips should never speak of severance again. joy hath o'erwhelmed me so, that for the very stress of that which gladdens me, to weeping i am fain. tears are become to you a habit, o my eyes! so that ye weep as well for gladness as for pain. presently, bedreddin's mother came in and fell on him, repeating the following verses: when we met, to each other we both did complain of the manifold things that we each had to say; for the lover's complaint of the anguish he feels the tongue of a messenger cannot convey. then she wept and related to him what had befallen her since his departure, and he told her what he had suffered and they thanked god the most high for their reunion with one another. two days after his arrival, the vizier went in to the sultan and kissing the earth before him, saluted him after the fashion of salutation to kings. the sultan rejoiced at his return and received him with distinguished favour. then he desired to hear what had befallen him in his travels; so the vizier told him all that had passed, and the sultan said, "praised be god for that thou hast attained thy desire and returned in safety to thy kinsfolk and family! i must see thy brother's son, so do thou bring him to the divan tomorrow." shemseddin replied, "god willing, thy slave shall be present tomorrow." then he saluted him and returning to his own house, informed his nephew of the king's wish to see him, to which bedreddin replied, "the slave is obedient to his lord's commands." so next day he accompanied his uncle to the divan and after saluting the sultan in the most punctilious and elegant manner, repeated the following verses: all ranks and classes kiss the earth, in homage to thy state, for lo i through thee their every wish is crowned with happy fate. for thou the fount of honour art for those that hope in thee, and from thy hand the bounties flow that make there rich and great. the sultan smiled and signed to him to sit down. so he sat down beside the vizier, and the king enquired his name. quoth bedreddin, "the meanest of thy slaves is known as bedreddin hassan of bassora, who prays for thee day and night." the sultan was pleased at his words and being minded to try him and prove his knowledge and good-breeding, said to him, "dost thou remember any verses in praise of a mole on the cheek?" "yes," replied bedreddin, and repeated the following: when i think of my loved one, the sighs from my breast burst up and the tears to my eyes quickly start. she's a mole, that resembles, in beauty and hue, the black of the eye and the core of the heart. the sultan liked these verses and said, "let us have some more. heaven bless thy sire! may thy tongue never tire!" so he repeated the following: the mole's black spot upon her cheek they liken to a grain of musk; yet wonder not at that, for wonder were in vain. but rather wonder at her face, wherein all beauty is: there is no particle of grace that it doth not contain. the sultan shook with delight and said to him, "more! god bless thy life!" so he repeated the following: o thou, the moles upon whose cheek recall globules of musk upon cornelian strewed, grant me thy favours, be not hard of heart, o thou, my heart's desire, my spirit's food! then said the king, "thou hast done well, o hassan, and hast acquitted thyself most excellently. but tell me how many meanings hath the word khal[fn# ] in the arabic language." "fifty," replied hassan, "and some say eight and-fifty." quoth the king, "thou art right. canst thou tell me the points of excellence in beauty?" "yes," answered bedreddin, "brightness of face, purity of skin, shapeliness in the nose, softness in the eyes, sweetness in the mouth, elegance in speech, slenderness of shape and quickness of wit; and the perfection of beauty is in the hair. and indeed es shihab el hijazi has brought them all together in the following doggrel: say to the face, 'be bright,' and to the skin, say, 'see, i show thee what befits thee best: 'tis purity.' for elegance of shape the nose we chiefly prize, and languor soft it is, that best becomes the eyes. then say unto the mouth, 'sweetness, but mark thou me; let fragrancy of breath fail never unto thee.' chaste be the speech, the shape be slender and well knit, and quickness mark the thought, the manners and the wit. then say that in the hair is ever beauty's prime. give ear to me and eke forgive my doggrel rhyme." the sultan rejoiced in his converse and said to him "what is the meaning of the popular saying, 'shureih is more cunning than the fox'?" "know, o king," answered bedreddin, "may god aid thee! that shureih[fn# ] was wont during the days of the plague, to go out to nejef, and whenever he stood up to pray, there came a fox, which would plant itself over against him and distract him from his devotions by mimicking his movements. this went on for some time, till the man became weary of it; so one day he took off his shirt and put it on a cane and shook out the sleeves. then he set his turban on top of the cane and tied a girdle round the middle of the effigy and planted it in the place where he used to say his prayers. presently up came the fox, according to his wont, and stood over against the figure; whereupon shureih came behind him and took him: hence the saying." when the sultan heard bedreddin's explanation, he said to his uncle shemseddin, "verily, this thy nephew is perfect in all kinds of culture. i do not believe that his like is to be found in egypt." at this, bedreddin arose and kissed the earth and sat down again in the posture of a servant before his master. when the sultan had thus assured himself of his proficiency in the liberal arts, he rejoiced greatly and bestowing on him a splendid dress of honour, invested him with an office, whereby he might better his condition. then bedreddin arose and kissing the earth before the king, wished him enduring glory and craved leave to retire. the sultan gave him leave; so he returned home with his uncle and they set food before them and they ate, after which bedreddin repaired to his wife's apartment and told her what had passed between the sultan and himself. quoth she, "he cannot fail to make thee his boon-companion and load thee with favours and presents; and by the grace of god, the splendours of thy perfections shall shine like the greater light,[fn# ] wherever thou goest, by land or sea." then said he, "i purpose to make an ode in the king's praise, that he may redouble in affection for me." "that is well thought," replied she. "consider it well and word thy thought elegantly, and i doubt not but it will procure thee his favour." so bedreddin shut himself up and composed the following verses, which he copied in an ornamental hand: my king hath reached the height of lordlihead; the shining path of virtue he cloth tread. his justice blocks the ways against his foes and peace and plenty showers on every stead. bold as a lion, pious, quick of wit, angel or king,[fn# ] he's whichsoe'er is said. he sends the suppliant content away. words fail, indeed, to paint his goodlihead. in time of gifts, he's like the brilliant moon; like night, in battle, lowering and dread. our necks are girt with his munificence; he rules by favours on the noble shed. may god prolong his life for our behoof and ward the blows of fortune from his head. when he had finished transcribing the poem, he despatched it by one of his uncle's slaves to the king, who perused it, and it gladdened his heart; so he read it out to those present before him and they praised it exceedingly. then he sent for bedreddin to his sitting-chamber and said to him, "henceforth thou art my boon-companion and i appoint thee a stipend of a thousand dirhems a month, over and above what i have already given thee." so he arose and kissing the earth three times before the sultan, wished him abiding glory and length of life. then bedreddin increased in honour and estate, so that his report spread into all countries, and he abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, he and his uncle and family, till death overtook him.' when the khalif haroun er reshid heard this story from the mouth of his vizier jaafer, he wondered and said, 'it behoves that these stories be written in letters of gold.' then he set the slave at liberty and assigned the young man who had killed his wife such a monthly allowance as sufficed to make his life easy. moreover he gave him one of his female slaves to wife, and he became one of his boon-companions. story of the hunchback there lived once in the city of bassora a tailor, who was openhanded and loved pleasure and merrymaking: and he was wont, he and his wife, to go out by times, a-pleasuring, to the public places of recreation. one day they went out as usual and were returning home in the evening, when they fell in with a hunchback, the sight of whom would make the disappointed laugh and dispel chagrin from the sorrowful. so they went up to look at him and invited him to go home and make merry with them that night. he consented and accompanied them to their house; whereupon, the night being now come, the tailor went out to the market and buying fried fish and bread and lemon and conserve of roses by way of dessert, set them before the hunchback, and they ate. presently, the tailor's wife took a great piece of fish and cramming it into the hunchback's mouth, clapped her hand over it, saying, 'by allah, thou must swallow it at one gulp; and i will give thee no time to chew it.' so he bolted it; but there was a great bone in it, which stuck in his gullet, and his hour being come, it choked him, and he died at once. when the tailor saw this, he exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god! alas, poor wretch, that he should have come by his death at our hands!' 'why dost thou waste time in idle lamentation?' rejoined his wife. 'hast thou not heard it said......?' and she repeated the following verses: what ails me that i waste the time in idle grief, until i find no friend mishap for me to bear? who but a fool would sit upon an unquenched fire? to wait upon mischance as great a folly were. 'what is to be done?' asked he; and she replied, 'rise and take the hunchback in thine arms and cover him with a silk handkerchief: then go out with him, and i will go before thee: and if thou meet any one, say, "this is my son: his mother and i are taking him to the doctor, that he may look at him." so he rose and taking the hunchback in his arms, carried him along the streets, preceded by his wife, who kept saying, 'o my son, god keep thee! where has this smallpox attacked thee and in what part dost thou feel pain?' so that all who saw them said, 'it is a child ill of smallpox.' they went along, enquiring for a doctor, till the people directed them to the house of one, who was a jew. they knocked at the gate, and a black servant-maid came down and opened the door and seeing a man carrying a child and a woman with him, said to them, 'what is your business?' 'we have a sick child here,' answered the tailor's wife, 'whom we want the doctor to look at: so take this quarter-dinar and give it to thy master, and let him come down and see my son.' the girl went up to tell her master, leaving the tailor and his wife in the vestibule, whereupon the latter said to her husband, 'let us leave the hunchback here and be off.' so the tailor carried the dead man to the top of the stairs and propping him up against the wall, went away, he and his wife. meanwhile the serving-maid went in to the jew and said to him, 'there are a man and a woman at the gate, with a sick child; and they have given me a quarter-dinar for thee, that thou mayst go down and see the child and prescribe for him.' when the jew saw the quarter-dinar, he was glad and rose hastily and went down in the dark. hardly had he made a step, when he stumbled on the dead body and threw it down, and it rolled to the bottom of the stairs. so he cried out to the girl to make haste with the light, and she brought it, whereupon he went down and examining the hunchback, found that he was dead. 'o esdras and moses and the ten commandments!' exclaimed he; 'o aaron and joshua, son of nun! i have stumbled against the sick person and he has fallen downstairs and is dead! how shall i get the body out of my house?' then he took it up and carrying it into the house, told his wife what had happened. quoth she, 'why dost thou sit still? if he be found here when the day rises, we shall both of us lose our lives. let us carry him up to the roof and throw him over into the house of our neighbour the muslim; for if he abide there a night, the dogs will come down on him from the terraces and eat him all up.' now the neighbour in question was controller of the sultan's kitchen and was wont to bring home great store of fat and broken meats; but the cats and mice used to eat it, or, if the dogs scented a fat sheep's tail, they would come down from the roofs and tear at it; and in this way he lost much of what he brought home. so the jew and his wife carried the hunchback up to the roof, and letting him down, through the windshaft, into the controller's house, stood him up against the wall and went away. hardly had they done so, when the controller, who had been spending the evening with some of his friends, hearing a recitation of the koran, came home and going up with a lighted candle, found a man standing in the corner, under the ventilator. when he saw this, he said, 'by allah, this is a fine thing! he who steals my goods is none other than a man.' then he turned to the hunchback and said to him, 'so it is thou that stealest the meat and fat. i thought it was the cats and dogs, and i kill the cats and dogs of the quarter and sin against them. and all the while it is thou comest down through the windshaft! but i will take my wreak of thee with my own hand.' so he took-a great cudgel and smote him on the breast, and he fell down. then he examined him and finding that he was dead, cried out in horror, thinking that he had killed him, and said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the supreme, the omnipotent!' and he feared for himself and said, 'may god curse the fat and the sheep's tails, that have caused this man's death to be at my hand!' then he looked at the dead man and seeing him to be humpbacked, said, 'did it not suffice thee to be a hunchback, but thou must turn thief and steal meat and fat? o protector, extend to me thy gracious protection!' then he took him up on his shoulders and going forth with him, carried him to the beginning of the market, where he set him on his feet against the wall of a shop, at the corner of a dark lane, and went away. after awhile, there came up a christian, the sultan's broker, who had sallied forth, in a state of intoxication, intending for the bath, for in his drunkenness he thought that matins were near. he came staggering along, till he drew near the hunchback and squatted down over against him to make water, when, happening to look round, he saw a man standing against the wall. now some one had snatched off the broker's turban early in the night, and seeing the hunchback standing there he concluded that he meant to play him the same trick. so he clenched his fist and smote him on the neck. down fell the hunchback, whilst the broker called to the watchman of the market and fell on the dead man, pummelling and throttling him in the excess of his drunken rage. presently, the watchman came up and finding a christian kneeling on a muslim and beating him, said to the former, 'what is the matter?' 'this fellow tried to snatch off my turban,' answered the broker; and the watchman said, 'get up from him.' so he rose, and the watchman went up to the hunchback and finding him dead, exclaimed, 'by allah, it is a fine thing that a christian should kill a muslim!' then he seized the broker and tying his hands behind him, carried him to the house of the prefect of police, where they passed the night; and all the while the broker kept saying, 'o messiah! o virgin! how came i to kill this man? indeed, he must have been in a great hurry to die of one blow with the fist!' and his drunkenness left him and reflection came in its stead. as soon as it was day, the prefect came out and commanded to hang the supposed murderer and bade the executioner make proclamation of the sentence. so they set up a gallows, under which they made the broker stand, and the hangman put the rope round his neck and was about to hoist him up, when behold, the controller of the sultan's kitchen, passing by, saw the broker about to be hanged, and pressing through the crowd, cried out to the executioner, saying, 'stop! stop! i am he who killed the hunchback.' quoth the prefect, 'what made thee kill him?' and he replied, 'i came home last night and found this man who had come down the windshaft to steal my goods; so i struck him with a cudgel on the breast and he died. then i took him up and carried him to the market and set him up against the wall in such a place. is it not enough for me to have killed a muslim, without burdening my conscience with the death of a christian also? hang therefore none but me.' when the prefect heard this, he released the broker and said to the executioner, 'hang up this man on his own confession.' so he loosed the rope from the broker's neck and threw it round that of the controller, and placing him under the gallows, was about to hang him, when behold, the jewish physician pushed through the press and cried out, 'stop! it was i and none else who killed him! i was sitting at home last night, when a man and a woman knocked at the door, carrying this hunchback, who was sick, and gave my servant a quarter-dinar, bidding her give it to me and tell me to come down to see him. whilst she was gone, they brought the hunchback into the house and setting him on the stairs, went away. presently, i came down and not seeing him, stumbled on him in the dark, and he fell to the foot of the stair and died forthright. then we took him up, i and my wife, and carried him on to the roof, whence we let him down, through the windshaft, into the house of this controller, which adjoins my own. when he came home and found the hunchback, he took him for a robber and beat him, so that he fell to the ground, and he concluded that he had killed him. so is it not enough for me to have killed one muslim unwittingly, without burdening myself with the death of another wittingly?' when the prefect heard the jew's story, he said to the hangman, 'let the controller go, and hang the jew.' so the hangman took the jew and put the rope round his neck, when behold, the tailor pressed through the folk and cried out to him, 'hold thy hand! none killed him save i, and it fell out thus. i had been out a-pleasuring yesterday and coming back in the evening, met this hunchback, who was drunk and singing lustily to a tambourine. so i carried him to my house and bought fish, and we sat down to eat. presently, my wife took a piece of fish and crammed it down the hunchback's throat; but it went the wrong way and stuck in his gullet and choked him, so that he died at once. so we lifted him up, i and my wife, and carried him to the jew's house, where the girl came down and opened the door to us, and i said to her, "give thy master this quarter-dinar and tell him that there are a man and a woman at the door, who have brought a sick person for him to see." so she went in to tell her master, and whilst she was gone, i carried the hunchback to the top of the stair, where i propped him up, and went away with my wife. when the jew came out, he stumbled over him and thought that he had killed him.' then he said to the jew, 'is not this the truth?' 'it is,' replied the jew. and the tailor turned to the prefect and said, 'let the jew go, and hang me.' when the prefect heard the tailor's story, he wondered at the adventure of the hunchback and exclaimed, 'verily, this is a matter that should be recorded in books!' then he said to the hangman, 'let the jew go, and hang the tailor on his own confession.' so the hangman took the tailor and put the rope round his neck, saying, 'i am tired of taking this man and loosing that, and no one hanged after all.' now the hunchback in question was the favourite buffoon of the sultan, who could not bear him out of his sight: so when he got drunk and did not make his appearance that night or next day, the sultan asked the courtiers about him and they replied, 'o our lord, the chief of the police has come upon him dead and ordered his murderer to be hanged: but, as the hangman was about to hoist him up, there came a second and a third and a fourth, each declaring himself to be the sole murderer and giving the prefect an account of the manner in which the crime had been committed.' when the king heard this, he cried out to one of his chamberlains, saying, 'go down to the chief of the police and bring me all four of them.' so the chamberlain went down at once to the place of execution, where he found the hangman on the point of hanging the tailor and cried out to him to stop. then he gave the king's order to the prefect, who took the tailor, the physician, the controller and the broker, and brought them all, together with the dead hunchback, before the king. when he came into the presence, he kissed the earth and told the king all that had passed; whereat he was moved to wonder and mirth and commended the story to be written in letters of gold, saying to the courtiers, 'did you ever hear a more wonderful story than that of this hunchback?' with this came forward the christian broker and said, 'o king of the age, with thy leave, i will tell thee a thing that happened to myself and which is still stranger and more wonderful and pleasant than the story of the hunchback.' quoth the king, 'let us hear it.' then said the broker, 'o king of the age, i came to this city with merchandise, and fate made me settle here with you, but the christian broker's story. i am by birth a copt, and a native of cairo, where i was brought up. my father was a broker, and when i came to man's estate, he died and i became a broker in his stead. one day, as i was sitting in my shop, there came up to me a young man as handsome as could be, richly clad and riding on an ass. when he saw me, he saluted me, and i rose to do him honour. then he pulled out a handkerchief, containing a sample of sesame, and said to me, "what is the worth of an ardebb[fn# ] of this?" "a hundred dirhems," replied i; and he said, "take porters and measures and come to-morrow to the khan of el jaweli, by the gate of victory, where thou wilt find me." then he went away, leaving with me the handkerchief containing the sample of sesame; and i went round to the buyers and agreed for a hundred and twenty dirhems an ardebb. next day, i took four gaugers and carried them to the khan, where i found him awaiting me. as soon as he saw me, he rose and opened his magazines, and we measured the contents and found them fifty ardebbs of sesame, making five thousand dirhems. then said he to me, "thou shalt have ten dirhems an ardebb to thy brokerage; so take the price and lay by four thousand five hundred dirhems for me; and when i have made an end of selling my other goods, i will come to thee and take the amount." "it is well," replied i, and kissed his hand and went away, having made that day a profit of a thousand dirhems, besides the brokerage. i saw no more of him for a month, at the end of which time he came to me and said, "where is the money?" i rose and saluted him and said to him, "wilt thou not eat somewhat with me?" but he refused, saying, "get the money ready, and i will come back for it." so i brought out the money and sat down to await his return, but saw no more of him for another month, at the end of which time he came to me and said, "where is the money?" i rose and saluted him and said, "wilt thou not eat a morsel with me?" but he refused, saying, "have the money ready against my return," and rode away. so i fetched the dirhems and sat awaiting him; but he did not come near me for another month, and i said, "verily, this young man is the incarnation of liberality." at the end of the month, he came up, riding on a mule and clad in sumptuous raiment. his face shone like the moon at its full and he seemed as if he had just come from the bath, with his rosy cheeks and flower-white forehead and mole like a grain of ambergris, even as says the poet: within one mansion of the sky the sun and moon combine; with all fair fortune and delight of goodliness they shine. their beauty stirs all those that see to passion and to love: good luck to them, for that they move to ravishment divine! in grace and beauty they increase and aye more perfect grow: all souls yearn out to them for love, all hearts to them incline. blessed be god, whose creatures are so full of wonderment! whate'er he wills he fashions forth, even as he doth design. when i saw him, i rose and saluted him and kissed his hand, saying, "o my lord, wilt thou not take thy money?" "what hurry is there?" replied he; "wait till i have made an end of my business, when i will come and take it." then he went away, and i said to myself, "by allah, when he comes next time, i must press him to eat with me," for i had traded with his money and profited largely by it. at the end of the year he came again, dressed even more richly than before, and i conjured him to dismount and eat of my victual; and he said to me, "i consent, on condition that what thou expendest on me shall be of my money in thy hands." "so be it," replied i, and made him sit down, whilst i made ready what was needful of meat and drink and so forth and set the tray before him, saying, "in the name of god." so he came to the table and put out his left hand and ate with me; and i wondered at his using his left hand.[fn# ] when we had done eating, i poured water on his hand and gave him wherewith to wipe it. then we sat talking, after i had set sweetmeats before him, and i said to him, "o my lord, i prithee relieve my mind by telling me why thou eatest with thy left hand. belike something ails thy right hand?" when he heard my words, he recited the following verses: ask not, i prithee, my friend, of the anguish that burns in my heart 'twould but the infirmities show that now in my bosom lie hid. if with selma i company now and harbour with leila no more, believe me, 'tis none of my will; needs must, if necessity bid. then he drew his right arm out from his sleeve, and behold, it was a stump without a hand, the latter having been cut off at the wrist. i was astonished at this, and he said to me, "thou seest that my eating with the left hand arose, not from conceit, but from necessity; and there hangs a strange story by the cutting off of my right hand." "and how came it to be cut off?" asked i. "know," answered he, "that i am a native of baghdad and the son of one of the principal men of that city. when i came to man's estate, i heard the pilgrims and travellers and merchants talk of the land of egypt, and this abode in my thought till my father died, when i laid out a large sum of money in the purchase of stuffs of baghdad and mosul, with which i set out on my travels and god decreed me safety, till i reached this your city." and he wept and recited the following verses: it chances oft that the blind man escapes a pit, whilst he that is clear of sight falls into it: the ignorant man can speak with impunity a word that is death to the wise and the ripe of wit: the true believer is pinched for his daily bread, whilst infidel rogues enjoy all benefit. what is a man's resource and what shall he do? it is the almighty's will: we must submit. "so i entered cairo," continued he, "and put up at the khan of mesrour, where i unpacked my goods and stored them in the magazines. then i gave the servant money to buy me something to eat and lay down to sleep awhile. when i awoke, i went to the street called bein el kesrein[fn# ] and presently returned and passed the night at the khan. next morning, i said to myself, 'i will walk through the bazaars and see the state of the market.' so i opened a bale and took out certain stuffs, which i gave to one of my servants to carry, then repaired to the bazaar of jergis, where i was accosted by the brokers, who had heard of my arrival. they took my stuffs and cried them for sale, but could not get the prime cost of them. i was vexed at this; but the chief of the brokers said to me, 'o my lord, i will tell thee how thou mayst make a profit of thy goods. thou shouldst do as the other merchants do and sell thy goods on credit, for a fixed period, on a contract drawn up by a scrivener, and duly witnessed, and employ a money-changer and take thy money every monday and thursday. so shalt thou profit two dirhems for every one; and besides this, thou canst amuse thyself meanwhile at leisure in viewing cairo and the nile.' quoth i, 'this advice is good,' and carried the brokers to the khan. they took my stuffs and transported them to the bazaar, where i sold them to various merchants, taking their bonds for the value. these bonds i deposited with a money-changer, who gave me an acknowledgment in writing, with which i returned to my khan. here i abode a month, breaking my fast with a cup of wine every morning and sending out for mutton and sweetmeats, till the time came when my receipts began to fall due. so, every monday and thursday, i used to repair to the bazaar and sit in the shop of one or other of the merchants, whilst the scrivener and money-changer went round to collect the money from the different merchants, till after the time of afternoon-prayer, when they brought me the amount, and i counted it and gave receipts for it, then took it and returned to my khan. one day i went to the bath and retured to the khan, where i broke my fast on a cup of wine, after which i slept a little. when i awoke, i ate a fowl, and scenting myself, repaired to the shop of a merchant called bedreddin el bustani, who welcomed me; and i sat talking with him till the market should open. presently, there came up a lady of stately figure, wearing a magnificent head-dress and exhaling perfumes, as she walked along with a swimming gait. she stopped before bedreddin and saluted him, raising her kerchief and showing a pair of large black eyes. he returned her salute and stood talking with her; and when i heard her speech, the love of her got hold upon my heart. then she said to bedreddin, 'hast thou any stuffs of figured cloth of gold?' so he brought out to her a piece that he had had of me and she bought it of him for twelve hundred dirhems, saying, 'i will take it with me and send thee the price.' 'it may not be, o my lady,' answered he. 'this is the owner of the stuff and i owe him the price of it.' 'out on thee!' said she. 'do i not use to take great store of costly stuffs of thee, at a greater profit than thou askest, and send thee the money?' 'yes,' rejoined he; 'but i am in pressing need of the price to-day.' with this she took the piece of stuff and threw it back into his lap, saying, 'you merchants have no respect for any one!' then she turned to go, and i felt as if my soul went with her; so i rose and stopped her, saying, 'o my lady, favour me by retracing thy gracious steps!' she smiled and saying, 'for thy sake, i will return,' came back and sat down in the shop opposite me. then i said to bedreddin, 'what is the price set upon this piece?' and he replied, 'eleven hundred dirhems.' 'the other hundred shall be thy profit,' rejoined i. 'give me a piece of paper and i will write thee a discharge for it! so i wrote him a docket to that effect and gave the piece of stuff to the lady, saying, 'take it and, if thou wilt, bring me the price next market-day; or, better still, accept it as a gift from me to thee.' 'may god requite thee with good,' answered she, 'and make thee my husband and master of my property!'[fn# ] (and god heard her prayer.) 'o my lady,' replied i, 'this piece of stuff is thine and another like it, if thou wilt but let me see thy face.' so she lifted her veil, and i took one look at her face, that caused me a thousand regrets, and fell so violently in love with her, that i was no longer master of my reason. then she let down her veil and taking the piece of stuff, said, 'o my lord, leave me not desolate!'[fn# ] and went away, whilst i remained sitting in the shop till the time of afternoon-prayer was past, lost to the world and fairly distraught for love; and the violence of my passion prompted me to make enquiries about her of the merchant, who replied, 'she is a lady of wealth, the daughter of an amir, who died and left her a large fortune.' then i took leave of him and returned to the khan, where they set the evening meal before me; but i could not eat, for thinking of her, and laid down to rest. but sleep came not to me and i lay awake till daylight, when i rose and changed my dress. i broke my fast on a cup of wine and a morsel of bread and going to the market, saluted bedreddin and sat down by him in his shop. presently up came the lady, followed by a slave-girl, and more richly dressed than before, and saluting me, instead of bedreddin, said to me, in a voice than which i never heard a sweeter or softer, 'send with me some one to take the twelve hundred dirhems, the price of the stuff.' 'what hurry is there?' asked i. and she said, 'may we never lose thee!' and gave me the money. then i sat talking with her, and presently i made signs to her, by which she understood that i desired to enjoy her and rose hastily, as if vexed with me, and went away. my heart clung to her and i rose and followed in her track; but as i went along, a slave-girl accosted me, saying. 'o my lord, my mistress would speak with thee.' at this i was astonished, and said, 'there is no one who knows me here.' 'o my lord,' answered the slave, 'how quickly thou hast forgotten her! my mistress is she who was to-day at the shop of the merchant bedreddin.' so i followed her to the money-changer's, where i found the lady, who drew me to her side and said to me, 'o my beloved, thou hast made prize of my heart, and love of thee has conquered my soul. since the day i saw thee first, i have taken no delight in sleep nor in meat nor drink.' 'my sufferings have been still greater than thine,' answered i; 'and my state dispenses me from complaint.' then said she, 'o my lord, shall i come to thee or wilt thou come to me?' quoth i, 'i am a stranger here and have no lodging but the khan; so by thy favour, it shall be at thy house.' 'it is well,' replied she; 'to-night is friday eve, and nothing can be done; but to-morrow, after the morning-prayer, mount thine ass and enquire for the house of berekat the syndic, known as abou shameh, in the hebbaniyeh quarter; for i live there; and do not delay, for i shall be expecting thee.' at this, i rejoiced greatly and took leave of her and returned to the khan, where i passed a sleepless night. as soon as it was day, i rose and changed my clothes and perfumed myself with essences and sweet-scented smoke. then i took fifty dinars in a handkerchief and went out to the zuweyleh gate, where i hired an ass, bidding the driver carry me to the hebbaniyeh. so he set off with me and brought me in the twinkling of an eye to a by-street called el munkeri, where i bade him go in and enquire for the syndic's house. after a little he returned and said, 'alight.' but i made him guide me to the house, where i dismounted and giving him a quarter-dinar, said, 'come back to-morrow at daybreak and fetch me away.' 'in the name of god,' answered he, and went away. then i knocked at the gate and there came out two young girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons, and said to me, 'enter, for our mistress awaits thee, and she slept not last night for joyance in thee.' so i entered and they brought me, through a vestibule, into an upper chamber with seven doors, paved with vari-coloured marbles and furnished with hangings and carpets of coloured silk. the walls were plastered with stucco-royal, in which one might see his own face, and the roof was ribbed with gold and bordered with inscriptions emblazoned in ultramarine. all around were latticed windows overlooking a garden, full of fruits of all colours, with streams running and birds singing on the branches, and midmost the hall was a fountain, at whose angles stood birds fashioned in red gold, spouting forth water as it were pearls and jewels; and indeed the place comprised all kinds of beauty and dazzled the beholder with its radiance. i entered and sat down; but hardly had i done so, when the lady came up to me, crowned with a diadem of pearls and jewels and having her eyebrows pencilled and her hands stained with henna. when she saw me, she smiled on me and embraced me and pressed me to her bosom; and she set her mouth to mine and sucked my tongue, and i did the like with her. then she said, 'can it be true that thou art indeed come to me?' 'i am thy slave,' answered i; and she said, 'welcome, a thousand times! by allah, since i first saw thee, sleep has not been sweet to me nor food pleasant!' quoth i, 'so has it been with me also.' then we sat down to converse, and i bowed my head for bashfulness. presently, she set before me a tray of the most exquisite meats, such as ragouts and fritters soaked in honey and fricassees and fowls stuffed with sugar and pistachio-nuts, and we ate till we were satisfied. then they brought ewer and basin and i washed my hands, after which we scented ourselves with rose-water mingled with musk and sat down again to converse. we complained to each other of the sufferings we had undergone, and my love for her took such hold on me, that all my wealth was of little account to me, in comparison with her. we passed the time in toying and kissing and dalliance, till nightfall, when the damsels set before us a banquet of food and wine and we sat carousing half the night. then we went to bed and i lay with her till the morning, never in my life saw i the like of that night. as soon as it was day, i arose and took leave of her, after having slipped under the mattress the handkerchief containing the dinars; and she wept and said 'o my lord, when shall i see that fair face again?' 'i will be with thee at eventide,' answered i, and going out, found the ass-man waiting for me at the door. so i mounted and rode to the khan of mesrour, where i alighted and gave the driver half a dinar, saying, 'come back at sun down.' and he said, 'good.' then i broke my fast and went out to seek the price of my stuffs, after which i returned and taking a roast lamb and some sweetmeats, called a porter and despatched them by him to the lady, paying him his hire in advance. i occupied myself with my affairs till sunset, when the ass-driver came for me and i took fifty dinars in a handkerchief and rode to the house, where i found the marble floor swept, the brass burnished, the lamps filled and the candles lighted, the meats ready dished and the wines strained. when my mistress saw me, she threw her arms round my neck and exclaimed, 'thou hast desolated me by thine absence!' then they set the tables and we ate till we were satisfied, when the serving-maids took away the tray of food and set on wine. we gave not over drinking till midnight, when we went to the sleeping-chamber and lay together till morning. then i rose and went away, leaving the fifty dinars with her as before. i found the ass-driver at the door and mounting, rode to the khan, where i slept awhile, then went out to prepare the evening-meal. i took a brace of geese with broth on two platters of dressed rice, together with colocasia-roots[fn# ], fried and soaked in honey, and wax candles and fruits and conserves and flowers and nuts and almonds, and sent them all to her. as soon as it was night, i mounted the ass as usual, taking with me fifty dinars in a handkerchief, and rode to the house, where we ate and drank and lay together till morning, when i left the handkerchief and dinars with her and rode back to the khan. i ceased not to lead this life, till one fine morning i found myself without a single dirhem and said, 'this is satan's doing!' and i repeated the following verses: when a rich man grows poor, his lustre dies away, like to the setting sun that pales with ended day. absent, his name is not remembered among men: present, he hath no part in life and its array. he passes through the streets and fain would hide his head and pours out floods of tears in every desert way. by allah, when distress and want descend on men, but strangers midst their kin and countrymen are they. then i left the khan and walked along bein el kesrein till i came to the zuweyleh gate, where i found the folk crowded together and the gate blocked up for the much people. as fate would have it, i saw there a trooper, against whom i pressed, without meaning it, so that my hand came on his pocket and i felt a purse inside. i looked and seeing a string of green silk hanging from the pocket, knew that it belonged to the purse. the crowd increased every moment and just then, a camel bearing a load of wood jostled the trooper on the other side and he turned to ward it off from him, lest it should tear his clothes. when i saw this, satan tempted me; so i pulled the string and drew out a little purse of blue silk, full of something that chinked like money. hardly had i done so, when the soldier turned and feeling his pocket lightened, put his hand to it and found it empty; whereupon he turned to me and raising his mace, smote me on the head i fell to the ground, whilst the people came round us and seizing the soldier's horse by the bridle, said to him, 'is it because he pushed against thee in the throng, that thou smitest this young man such a blow?' but he cried out at them and said, 'this fellow is an accursed thief!' with this i came to myself and stood up, and the folk looked at me and said, 'this is a comely youth and would not steal aught.' some took part for me and others against me and there was a great clamour, and the people pulled at me and would have rescued me from the trooper; but as fate would have it, the chief of the police and the captain and officers of the watch entered by the gate at this moment; and the prefect, seeing the crowd about the soldier and myself, enquired what was the matter. 'o my lord,' replied the soldier, 'this fellow is a thief. i had a blue purse in my pocket, containing twenty dinars, and he took it, whilst i was in the crush.' 'was any one else by thee?' asked the magistrate, and the trooper answered, 'no.' then the prefect cried out to the officers of the watch, who seized me and stripping me by his order, found the purse in my clothes. he took it and found in it twenty dinars, as the soldier had said, whereat he was wroth and calling to the officers to bring me before him, said to me, 'o young man tell me the truth. didst thou steal this purse?' at this i hung down my head and said to myself, 'it is useless for me to say i did not steal the purse, for they found it in my clothes: and if i confess to the theft, i fall into trouble.' so i raised my head and said, 'yes: i took it.' when the prefect heard what i said, he wondered and called for witnesses, who came forward and attested by confession. then he bade the hangman cut off my right hand, and he did so; after which he would have cut off my left foot also; but the trooper took pity on me and interceded for me with the prefect, who left me and went away; whilst the folk remained round me and gave me a cup of wine to drink. as for the trooper, he gave me the purse, saying, 'thou art a comely youth, and it befits not that thou be a thief.' and i repeated the following verses: by allah, trusty brother mine, i am indeed no thief, nor, o most bountiful of men, a highwayman am i. but the vicissitudes of fate overthrew me suddenly, and care and stress and penury full sorely did me try. it was not thou, but god who cast the fatal shaft at me, the shaft that made from off my head the crown of honour fly. then he left me, and i went away, after having wrapt my hand in a piece of rag and thrust it into my bosom. i betook me to my mistress's house, faint and ill at ease and pale by reason of what had befallen me, and threw myself on the couch. she saw that my colour was changed and said to me, 'what ails thee and why do i see thee thus changed?' 'my head irks me,' answered i; 'i am not well.' when she heard this, she was vexed and concerned for me and said to me, 'fret not my heart, o my lord! sit up and raise thy head and let me know what has happened to thee to-day, for thy face tells me a tale.' 'spare me this talk,' replied i. but she wept and said, 'meseems thou art tired of me, for i see that thou art contrary to thy wont.' but i was silent, and she continued to talk to me, though i made her no answer, till nightfall, when she brought me food: but i refused it, fearing to let her see me eat with my left hand, and said to her, 'i do not care to eat at present.' quoth she 'tell me what has befallen thee to-day and what ails thee, that thou art troubled and broken in heart and spirit.' 'presently,' replied i; 'i will tell thee at my leisure.' then she brought me wine, saying, 'take it for it will dispel thy care: thou must indeed drink and tell me what is thy matter with thee.' 'must i tell thee?' said i; and she answered, 'yes.' then said i, 'if it must be so, give me to drink with thine own hand.' so she filled and drank then filled again and gave me the cup. i took it from her with my left hand and repeated the following verses with tears running from my eyes: when god would execute his will in anything on one endowed with sight, hearing and reasoning, he stops his ears and blinds his eyes and draws his wit from him, as one draws out the hairs to paste that cling; till, his decrees fulfilled, he gives him back his wit, that therewithal he may receive admonishing. at this she gave a loud cry and said to me, 'what makes thee weep? thou settest my heart on fire. and what ails thee to take the cup with thy left hand?' 'i have a boil on my right hand,' answered i; and she said, 'put it out and i will lance it for thee.' 'it is not ripe for lancing,' answered i; 'so do not torment me, for i will not show it thee at present.' then i drank off the cup, and she plied me with wine till i became drowsy and fell asleep in my place; whereupon she looked at my right arm and saw that it was but a stump without a hand. so she searched me and found the purse of gold and my severed hand wrapt in a piece of rag. with this, there overcame her such grief as none ever knew, and she ceased not to lament for my sake till the morning. when i awoke, i found she had made me a dish of broth of four boiled fowls, which she brought to me, together with a cup of wine. i ate and drank and laying down the purse, would have gone out; but she said to me, 'whither goest thou?' 'where my business calls me,' replied i; and she said, 'thou shalt not go: sit down.' so i sat down, and she said, 'has thy love for me brought thee to such a pass, that thou hast wasted thy substance and lost thy hand on my account? since this is so, i call god to witness against me that i will never part with thee: and thou shalt see the truth of my words.' then she sent for the cadi and the witnesses and said to them, 'draw up a contract of marriage between me and this young man and bear witness that i have received the dowry.' so they drew up our marriage contract, and she said to them, 'be witness that all my money that is in this chest and all that belongs to me and all my slaves, male and female, are the property of this young man.' so they took act of this and withdrew, after having received their fees. then she took me by the hand and leading me to a closet, opened a large chest and said to me, 'see what is herein.' i looked and behold, it was full of handkerchiefs. quoth she, 'this is the money i had of thee; for every time thou gavest me a handkerchief, with fifty dinars in it, i wrapped it together and threw it into this chest; so now take thy money, for indeed it returns to thee, and thou to-day art become of high estate. fate afflicted thee, so that thou didst lose thy right hand for my sake, and i can never requite thee: nay, though i gave my life, it were little and i should still remain thy debtor.' then she said to me, 'take possession of thy property!' and transferred the contents of the other chest to that which contained the money i had given her. at this, my heart was gladdened and my grief forsook me, and i rose and kissed and thanked her. quoth she, 'thou hast lost thy hand for love of me, and how can i requite thee? by allah, if i gave my life for thy love, it were far short of thy due!' then she made over to me by deed all her clothes and jewels and other property and lay not down to sleep that night, being in sore concern on my account, till i told her all that had befallen me. i passed the night with her; but before we had lived together a month's time, she fell grievously ill and sickness was upon her, by reason of her grief for the loss of my hand; and she endured but fifty days before she was numbered of the folk of the other world. so i laid her in the ground and had recitations of the koran made over her tomb and gave much money in alms for her; after which i returned to the house and found that she had left much substance in money and houses and lands. among her storehouses was one full of sesame, whereof i sold part to thee; and it was the fact of my being busied in selling the rest of my goods and all that was in the storehouses, that diverted my attention from thee; nor have i till now made an end of receiving the price. this, then, is the reason of the cutting off of my right hand and of my eating with the left. now thou shalt not baulk me in what i am about to say, for that i have eaten of thy victual; and it is that i make thee a gift of the money that is in thy hands." "indeed," replied i, "thou hast shown me the utmost kindness and liberality." then said he, "wilt thou journey with me to my native country, whither i am about to return with a lading of cairo and alexandria stuffs?" "i will well," answered i, and appointed with him for the end of the month. so i sold all i had and bought merchandise; then we set out, he and i, and journeyed till we came to this town, where he sold his goods, and buying others in their stead, set out again for egypt. but it was my lot to abide here, so that there befell me in my strangerhood what befell last night. this, then, is my story, o king of the age. is it not more marvellous than that of the hunchback?' 'not so,' answered the king; 'and needs must you all be hanged.' then came forward the controller of the sultan's kitchen and said, 'with thy leave, i will tell thee what happened to me but lately and if it be more marvellous than the story of the hunchback, do thou grant us our lives.' 'so be it,' answered the king. then said the controller, 'know, o king, that the controller's story. i was the night before last in company with a number of persons who were assembled for the purpose of hearing a recitation of the koran. the doctors of the law attended, and when the readers had made an end of reading, the table was spread, and amongst other things they set before us a ragout flavoured with cumin-seed. so we sat down to eat it; but one of our number held back and abstained from eating. we conjured him to eat of the ragout; but he swore that he would not, and we pressed him till he said, "press me not; what has already befallen me through eating of this dish suffices me." and he repeated the following verses: shoulder thy tray, 'fore god, and get thee gone with it, and to thine eyes apply such salve as thou deem'st fit.[fn# ] "for god's sake," said we, "tell us the reason of thy refusal to eat of the ragout!" "if i must eat of it," replied he, "i will not do so, except i may wash my hands forty times with soap, forty times with potash and forty times with galingale, in all a hundred and twenty times." so the master of the house ordered his servants to bring water and all that he required; and the young man washed his hands as he had said. then he sat down, as if afraid, and dipping his hand into the ragout, began to eat, though with evident repugnance and as if doing himself violence, whilst we regarded him with the utmost wonder; for his hand trembled and we saw that his thumb had been cut off and he ate with his four fingers only. so we said to him, "god on thee, what has become of thy thumb? is thy hand thus by the creation of god or has it been mutilated by accident?" "o my brothers, answered he, "it is not this thumb alone that has been cut off, but also that of the other hand and the great toe of each of my feet, as ye shall see." then he bared his left hand and his feet, and we saw that the left hand was even as the right and that each of his feet lacked the great toe. at this sight, our amazement increased and we said to him, "we are impatient to know thy history and the manner of the cutting off of thy thumbs and great toes and the reason of thy washing thy hands a hundred and twenty times." "know then," answered he, "that my father was chief of the merchants of baghdad in the time of the khalif haroun er reshid; but he was given to drinking wine and listening to the lute and other instruments, so that when he died, he left nothing. i buried him and had recitations of the koran made over him and mourned for him days and nights. then i opened his shop and found he had left little but debts. however, i compounded with his creditors for time to pay and betook myself to buying and selling, paying them something week by week on account, till at last i succeeded in clearing off the debts and began to add to my capital. one day, as i sat in my shop, there came up to the entrance of the bazaar a lady, than whom my eyes never saw a fairer, richly clad and decked and riding on a mule, with one slave walking before and another behind her. she halted the mule at the entrance of the bazaar and entered, followed by an eunuch, who said to her, 'o my lady, come out, without telling any one, or thou wilt bring us into trouble.' and he stood before her,[fn# ] whilst she looked at the shops. she found no shop open but mine, so came up, with the eunuch behind her, and sitting down in my shop, saluted me; never did i hear aught sweeter than her voice or more pleasant than her speech. then she unveiled her face and i saw she was like the moon and stole at her a glance that cost me a thousand sighs. my heart was captivated with her love and i could not take my eyes off her face; and i repeated the following verses: say to the fairest fair, her in the dove-coloured veil, "death would be welcome to me, to save me from thy bale: grant me thy favours, i pray! so i may live perchance. lo! i stretch forth my palm: let not thy bounties fail." when she heard this, she answered me by repeating the following verses: power to forget thee, for desire, fails even unto me: my heart and all my soul will love none other after thee. if my eyes ever look on aught except thy loveliness, may union after severance ne'er brighten them with glee! i've sworn an oath by my right hand ne'er to forget thy grace. my sad heart pineth for thy love and never may win free. passion hath given me to drink a brimming cup of love; would it had given the self-same draught to drink, dear heart, to thee! if thou shouldst ask me what i'd crave most earnestly of god, "the almighty's favour first, then thine," i'd say, "my prayer shall be." then she said to me, 'o youth, hast thou any handsome stuffs?' 'o my lady,' answered i, 'thy slave is poor: but wait till the merchants open their shops, and i will get thee what thou wilt.' then we sat talking, she and i, whilst i was drowned in the sea of her love and dazed with passion for her, till the merchants opened their shops, when i rose and fetched her all she sought, to the value of five thousand dirhems. she gave the stuffs to the slave and leaving the bazaar, mounted the mule and rode away, without telling me whence she came, and i was ashamed to ask her. so i became answerable to the merchants for the price of the goods and thus took on myself a debt of five thousand dirhems. then i went home, drunken with love of her, and they set the evening-meal before me. i ate a mouthful and lay down to rest, musing upon her beauty and grace: but sleep came not to me. a week passed thus, and the merchants sought their money of me, but i persuaded them to wait another week, at the end of which time she came up, riding on the mule and attended by an eunuch and two slaves. she saluted me and said, 'o my lord, we have been long in bringing thee the price of the stuffs; but now fetch a money-changer and take the amount.' so i sent for the money-changer, and the eunuch counted me out the money, and we sat talking, the lady and i, till the market opened, when she said to me, 'get me this and this.' so i got her from the merchants what she wanted, and she took it and went away, without saying a word to me about the price. as soon as she was out of sight, i repented me of what i had done, for the price of what i had bought for her was a thousand dinars, and i said to myself, 'what doting is this? she has brought me five thousand dirhems[fn# ], and taken a thousand dinars'[fn# ] worth of goods.' and i feared lest i should be beggared, through having to pay the merchants their money, and said, 'they know none but me and this woman is none other than a cheat, who hath cozened me with her beauty and grace, for she saw that i was young and laughed at me; and i did not ask her address.' she did not come again for more than a month, and i abode in constant distress and perplexity, till at last the merchants dunned me for their money and pressed me so that i put up my property for sale and looked for nothing but ruin. however, as i was sitting in my shop, one day, absorbed in melancholy thought, she rode up and dismounting at the gate of the bazaar, came in and made towards me. when i saw her, my anxiety ceased and i forgot my troubles. she came up to me and greeting me with her pleasant speech, said to me, 'fetch the money-changer and take thy money.' so she gave me the price of the goods i had gotten for her and more, and fell to conversing freely with me, till i was like to die of joy and delight. presently, she said to me, 'hast thou a wife?' 'no,' answered i; 'i have never known woman.' and fell a-weeping. quoth she, 'why dost thou weep?' 'it is nothing,' replied i; and giving the eunuch some of the dinars, begged him to use his influence with her for me; but he laughed and said, 'she is more in love with thee than thou with her. she had no occasion for the stuffs she bought of thee and did all this but out of love for thee. so ask of her what thou wilt; she will not deny thee.' when she saw me give the eunuch money, she returned and sat down again; and i said to her, 'be charitable to thy slave and pardon him what he is about to say.' then i told her what was in my mind, and she assented and said to the eunuch, 'thou shalt carry my message to him.' then to me, 'do as the eunuch bids thee.' then she rose and went away, and i paid the merchants what i owed them, and they all profited; but as for me, i gained nought but regret for the breaking off of our intercourse. i slept not all that night; but before many days were past, the eunuch came to me, and i made much of him and asked after his mistress. 'she is sick for love of thee,' replied he; and i said, 'tell me who she is.' quoth he, 'she is one of the waiting-women of the lady zubeideh, the wife of the khalif haroun er reshid, who brought her up and advanced her to be stewardess of the harem and granted her the right of going in and out at will. she told her mistress of thee and begged her to marry her to thee; but she said, "i will not do this, till i see the young man; and if he be worthy of thee, i will marry thee to him." so now we wish to bring thee into the palace at once and if thou succeed in entering without being seen, thou wilt win to marry her; but if the affair get wind, thou wilt lose thy head. what sayst thou?' and i answered, 'i will go with thee and abide the risk of which thou speakest.' then said he, 'as soon as it is night, go to the mosque built by the lady zubeideh on the tigris and pray and pass the night there.' 'with all my heart,' answered i. so at nightfall i repaired to the mosque, where i prayed and passed the night. just before daybreak, there came up some eunuchs in a boat, with a number of empty chests, which they deposited in the mosque and went away all, except one who remained behind and whom, on examination, i found to be he who served as our go-between. presently, in came my mistress herself and i rose to her and embraced her. she kissed me, weeping, and we talked awhile; after which she made me get into one of the chests and locked it upon me. then the eunuchs came back with a number of packages; and she fell to stowing them in the chests and locking the latter one by one, till she had filled them all. then they embarked the chests in the boat and made for the lady zubeideh's palace. with this, reflection came to me and i said to myself, 'my lust will surely bring me to destruction, nor do i know whether i shall gain my end or no!' and i began to weep, shut up as i was in the chest, and to pray to god to deliver me from the peril i was in, whilst the boat ceased not going till it reached the palace gate, where they lifted out the chests and amongst them that in which i was. then they carried them into the palace, passing through a troop of eunuchs, guardians of the harem and door-keepers, till they came to the post of the chief of the eunuchs, who started up from sleep and called out to the lady, saying, 'what is in those chests?' quoth she, 'they are full of wares for the lady zubeideh.' 'open them,' said he, 'one by one, that i may see what is in them.'--'why wilt thou open them?' asked she: but he cried out at her, saying, 'give me no words! they must and shall be opened.' now the first that they brought to him to open was that in which i was: and when i felt this, my senses failed me and i bepissed myself for terror, and the water ran out of the chest. then said she to the eunuch, 'o chief, thou hast undone me and thyself also, for thou hast spoiled that which is worth ten thousand dinars. this box contains coloured dresses and four flasks of zemzem water; and now one of the bottles has broken loose and the water is running out over the clothes and their colours will be ruined.' then said the eunuch, 'take up thy chests and begone with god's malison!' so the slaves took up the chests and hurried on with them, till suddenly i heard a voice saying, 'alas! alas! the khalif! the khalif!' when i heard this, my heart died within me and i spoke the words which whoso says shall not be confounded, that is to say, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! i have brought this affliction on myself.' presently i heard the khalif say to my mistress, 'harkye, what is in those chests of thine ?' 'clothes for the lady zubeideh,' answered she; and he said, 'open them to me.' when i heard this, i gave myself up for lost and said, 'by allah, this is the last of my worldly days!' and began to repeat the profession of the faith. then i heard the lady say to the khalif, 'these chests have been committed to my charge by the lady zubeideh, and she does not wish their contents to be seen of any one.'--'no matter,' said he; 'i must open them and see what is in them.' and he cried out to the eunuchs saying, 'bring them to me.' at this, i made sure of death and swooned away. then the slaves brought the chests up to him and opened them, one after another, and he saw in them perfumes and stuffs and rich clothes, till none remained unopened but that in which i was. they put their hands to it to open it, but the lady made haste and said to the khalif, 'this one thou shalt see in the lady zubeideh's presence, for that which is in it is her secret.' when he heard this, he ordered them to carry in the chests; so they took up that in which i was and carried it, with the rest, into the harem and set it down in the middle of the saloon; and indeed my spittle was dried up for fear. then my mistress opened the chest and took me out, saying, 'fear not: no harm shall befall thee, but be of good courage and sit down, till the lady zubeideh comes, and thou shalt surely win thy wish of me.' so i sat down, and after awhile, in came ten maidens like moons and ranged themselves in two rows, one facing the other, and after them other twenty, high-bosomed maids with the lady zubeideh, who could hardly walk for the weight of her dresses and ornaments. as she drew near, the damsels dispersed from around her, and i advanced and kissed the earth before her. she signed to me to be seated and questioned me of my condition and family, to which i made such answers as pleased her, and she said to my mistress, 'o damsel, our nurturing of thee has not been in vain.' then she said to me, 'know that this damsel is to us even as our own child, and she is a trust committed to thee by god.' i kissed the earth again before her, well pleased that i should marry my mistress, and she bade me sojourn ten days in the palace. so i abode there ten days, during which time i saw not my mistress nor any one save a serving-maid, who brought me the morning and evening meals. after this the lady zubeideh took counsel with the khalif on the marriage of her favourite, and he gave leave and assigned her a wedding portion of ten thousand dinars. so the lady zubeideh sent for the cadi and the witnesses, and they drew up our marriage contract, after which the women made sweetmeats and rich viands and distributed them among the inmates of the harem. thus they did other ten days, at the end of which time my mistress entered the bath. meanwhile, they set before me a tray of food, on which was a basin containing a ragout of fricasseed fowls' breasts dressed with cumin-seed and flavoured with sugar and rose-water, mixed with musk, and many another dish, such as amazed the wit; and by allah, i did not hesitate, but fell upon the ragout and ate my fill of it. then i wiped my hands, but forgot to wash them and sat till it grew dark, when they lit the candles and the singing-women came with tambourines and proceeded to display the bride and carry her in procession from room to room, receiving largesse of gold and pieces of silk, till they had made the round of the palace. then they brought her to me and disrobed her. when i found myself alone in bed with her, i embraced her, hardly believing in my good fortune; but she smelt the odour of the ragout on my hands and gave a loud cry, at which the maids came running to her from all sides. i was alarmed and trembled, not knowing what was the matter, and the girls said to her, 'what ails thee, o sister?' quoth she, 'take this madman away from me: methought he was a man of sense.' 'what makes thee think me mad?' asked i. 'o madman,' answered she, 'what made thee eat of ragout of cumin-seed, without washing thy hands? by allah, i will punish thee for thy misconduct! shall the like of thee come to bed to the like of me, with unwashed hands?' then she took from her side a whip of plaited thongs and laid on to my back and buttocks till i swooned away for the much beating; when she said to the maids, 'take him and carry him to the chief of the police, that he may cut off the hand wherewith he ate of the ragout and washed it not.' when i heard this, i said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god! wilt thou cut off my hand, because i ate of a ragout and did not wash?' and the girls interceded with her, saying, 'o our sister, forgive him this once!' but she said, 'by allah, i must and will dock him of somewhat!' then she went away and i saw no more of her for ten days, at the end of which time, she came in to me and said, 'o black-a-vice, i will not make peace with thee, till i have punished thee for eating ragout of cumin-seed, without washing thy hands!' then she cried out to the maids, who bound me; and she took a sharp razor and cut off my thumbs and toes, as ye have seen. thereupon i swooned away and she sprinkled the severed parts with a powder which staunched the blood; and i said, 'never again will i eat of ragout of cumin-seed without washing my hands forty times with potash, forty times with galingale and forty times with soap!' and she took of me an oath to that effect. so when the ragout was set before me, my colour changed and i said to myself, 'it was this that was the cause of the cutting off of my thumbs and toes.' and when ye forced me, i said, 'i must needs fulfil the oath i have taken.'" "and what befell thee after this?" asked the others. "after this," replied he, "her heart was appeased and i lay with her that night. we abode thus awhile, till she said to me, one day, 'it befits not that we continue in the khalif's palace: for none ever came hither but thou, and thou wonst not in but by the grace of the lady zubeideh. now she has given me fifty thousand dinars; so take this money and go out and buy us a commodious house.' so i went forth and bought a handsome and spacious house, whither she transported all her goods and valuables." then (continued the controller) we ate and went away: and after, there happened to me with the hunchback that thou wottest of. this then is my story and peace be on thee.' quoth the king, 'this story is not more agreeable than that of the hunchback: on the contrary, it is less so, and you must all be hanged.' then came forward the jewish physician and kissing the earth, said, 'o king of the age, i will tell thee a story more wonderful than that of the hunchback.' 'tell on,' answered the king; and the jew said, 'the strangest adventure that ever befell me was as follows: the jewish physician's story. in my younger days i lived at damascus, where i studied my art; and one day, as i sat in my house, there came to me a servant with a summons from the governor of the city. so i followed him to the house and entering the saloon, saw, lying on a couch of juniper-wood, set with plates of gold, that stood at the upper end, a sick youth, never was seen a handsomer. i sat down at his head and offered up a prayer for his recovery. he made a sign to me with his eyes and i said to him, "o my lord, give me thy hand." so he put forth his left hand, at which i wondered and said to myself, "by allah, it is strange that so handsome a young man of high family should lack good breeding! this can be nothing but conceit." however, i felt his pulse and wrote him a prescription and continued to visit him for ten days, at the end of which time he recovered and went to the bath, whereupon the governor gave me a handsome dress of honour and appointed me superintendent of the hospital at damascus. i accompanied him to the bath, the whole of which they had cleared for his accommodation, and the servants came in with him and took off his clothes within the bath, when i saw that his right hand had been newly cut off, and this was the cause of his illness. at this i was amazed and grieved for him: then looking at his body i saw on it the marks of beating with rods, for which he had used ointments. i was perplexed at this and my perplexity appeared in my face. the young man looked at me and reading my thought, said to me, "o physician of the age, marvel not at my case. i will tell thee my story, when we leave the bath." then we washed and returning to his house, partook of food and rested awhile; after which he said to me, "what sayest thou to taking the air in the garden?" "i will well," answered i; so he bade the slaves carry out carpets and cushions and roast a lamb and bring us some fruit. they did as he bade them, and we ate of the fruits, he using his left hand for the purpose. after awhile, i said to him, "tell me thy story." "o physician of the age," answered he, "hear what befell me. know that i am a native of mosul and my father was the eldest of ten brothers, who were all married, but none of them was blessed with children except my father, to whom god had vouchsafed me. so i grew up among my uncles, who rejoiced in me with exceeding joy, till i came to man's estate. one friday, i went to the chief mosque of mosul with my father and my uncles, and we prayed the congregational prayers, after which all the people went out, except my father and uncles, who sat conversing of the wonders of foreign lands and the strange things to be seen in various cities. at last they mentioned egypt and one of my uncles said, 'travellers say that there is not on the face of the earth aught fairer than cairo and its nile.' quoth my father, 'who has not seen cairo has not seen the world. its dust is gold and its nile a wonder; its women are houris and its houses palaces: its air is temperate and the fragrance of its breezes outvies the scent of aloes-wood: and how should it be otherwise, being the mother of the world? bravo for him who says,' and he repeated the following verses: shall i from cairo wend and leave the sweets of its delight? what sojourn after it indeed were worth a longing thought? how shall i leave its fertile plains, whose earth unto the scent is very perfume, for the land contains no thing that's naught? it is indeed for loveliness a very paradise, with all its goodly carpet[fn# ] spread and cushions richly wrought. a town that maketh heart and eye yearn with its goodliness, uniting all that of devout and profligate is sought, or comrades true, by god his grace conjoined in brotherhood, their meeting-place the groves of palms that cluster round about. o men of cairo, if it be god's will that i depart, let bonds of friendship and of love unite us still in thought! name not the city to the breeze, lest for its rival lands it steal the perfumes, wherewithal its garden-ways are fraught. 'and if,' added my father, 'you saw its gardens in the evenings, with the tree-shadows sloping over them, you would behold a marvel and incline to them with delight.' and they fell to describing cairo and the nile. when i heard their accounts of cairo, my mind dwelt on it and i longed to visit it; and when they had done talking, each went to his own dwelling. as for me, i slept not that night, for stress of yearning after egypt, nor was meat nor drink pleasant to me. after awhile, my uncles prepared to set out for cairo, and i wept before my father, till he made ready for me merchandise and consented to my going wish them, saying to them, 'let him not enter egypt, but leave him to sell his goods at damascus.' then i took leave of my father and we left mosul and journeyed till we reached aleppo, where we abode some days. then we fared on, till we came to damascus and found it a city as it were a paradise, abounding in trees and rivers and birds and fruits of all kinds. we alighted at one of the khans, where my uncles tarried awhile, selling and buying: and they sold my goods also at a profit of five dirhems on every one, to my great satisfaction; after which they left me and went on to egypt, whilst i abode at damascus in a handsome house, such as the tongue fails to describe, which i had hired for two dinars a month. here i remained, eating and drinking and spending the money in my hands, till, one day, as i sat at the door of my lodging, there came up a young lady, clad in costly apparel, never saw my eyes richer. i winked at her; and she entered without hesitation. i entered with her and shut the door, and she raised her kerchief and did off her veil, when i found her of surpassing beauty, and love of her took hold upon my heart. so i rose and fetched a tray of the most delicate viands and fruits and all that was needed for a carouse, and we ate and sported and drank till we were warm with wine. then i lay with her the most delightful of nights, till the morning, when i offered to give her ten dinars; but she frowned and knit her brows and said, 'for shame! thinkest thou i covet thy money?' and she took out from the bosom of her shift ten dinars and laid them before me, saying, 'by allah, except thou take them, i will never come back!' so i accepted them, and she said to me, 'o my beloved, expect me again in three days' time, when i will be with thee between sundown and nightfall; and do thou provide us with these dinars the like of yesterday's entertainment.' so saying, she bade me adieu and went away, taking my reason with her. at the end of the three days, she came again, dressed in gold brocade and wearing richer ornaments than before. i had made ready a repast; so we ate and drank and lay together, as before, till the morning, when she gave me other ten dinars and appointed me again for three days thence. accordingly, i made ready as before, and at the appointed time she came again, more richly dressed than ever, and said to me, 'o my lord, am i not fair?' 'yea, by allah!' answered i. then she said, 'wilt thou give me leave to bring with me a young lady handsomer than i and younger, that she may frolic with us and that thou and she may laugh and make merry and rejoice her heart, for she has been sad at heart this long time past and has asked me to let her go out and spend the night abroad with me?' 'ay, by allah!' answered i; and we drank till we were warm with wine and slept together till the morning, when she gave me twenty dinars and said to me, 'add to thy usual provision, on account of the young lady who will come with me.' then she went away, and on the fourth day, i made ready as usual, and soon after sundown she came, accompanied by another damsel, wrapped in a veil. they entered and sat down; and when i saw them, i repeated the following verses: how lovely and how pleasant is our day! the railer's absent, reckless of our play, love and delight and wine with us abide, each one enough to charm the wit away; the full moon[fn# ] glitters through the falling veil; bough-like, the shapes within the vestments sway: the rose blooms in the cheeks, and in the eyes narcissus languishes, in soft decay[fn# ]. delight with those i love fulfilled for me and life, as i would have it, fair and gay! then i lighted the candles and received them with joy and gladness. they put off their outer clothing, and the new damsel unveiled her face, when i saw that she was like the moon at its full, never beheld i one more beautiful. then i rose and set meat and drink before them, and we ate and drank: and i began to feed the new damsel and to fill her cup and drink with her. at this the first lady was secretly jealous and said to me, 'is not this girl more charming than i?' 'ay, by allah!' replied i. quoth she, 'it is my intent that thou lie with her this night.' and i answered, 'on my head and eyes!' then she rose and spread the bed for us, and i took the young lady and lay with her that night till the morning, when i awoke and found myself wet, as i thought, with sweat. i sat up and tried to rouse the damsel, but when i shook her by the shoulders, her head rolled off the pillow. thereupon my reason fled and i cried out, saying, 'o gracious protector, extend to me thy protection!' then i saw that she had been murdered, and the world became black in my sight and i sought the lady my first mistress, but could not find her. so i knew that it was she who had murdered the girl, out of jealousy, and said, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! what is to be done?' i considered awhile, then rose and taking off my clothes, dug a hole midmost the courtyard, in which i laid the dead girl, with her jewellery and ornaments, and throwing back the earth over her, replaced the marble of the pavement. after this i washed and put on clean clothes and taking what money i had left, locked up the house and took courage and went to the owner of the house, to whom i paid a year's rent, telling him that i was about to join my uncles at cairo. then i set out and journeying to egypt, foregathered with my uncles, who rejoiced in me and i found that they had made an end of selling their goods. they enquired the reason of my coming, and i said, 'i yearned after you;' but did not let them know that i had any money with me. i abode with them a year, enjoying the pleasures of the city and the nile and squandering the rest of my money in feasting and drinking, till the time drew near for my uncles' departure when i hid myself from them and they sought for me, but could hear no news of me and said, 'he must have gone back to damascus.' so they departed, and i came out from my hiding and sojourned in cairo three years, sending year by year the rent of the house at damascus to its owner, until at last i had nothing left but one year's rent. at this my breast was straitened and i set out and journeyed till i reached damascus, where my landlord received me with joy. i alighted at the house and found everything locked up as i had left it: so i opened the closets and took out what was in them and found under the bed, where i had lain with the murdered girl, a necklet of gold set with jewels. i took it up and cleansing it of her blood, examined it and wept awhile. then i abode in the house two days and on the third day, i went to the bath and changed my clothes. i had now no money left and the devil prompted me to sell the necklet, that destiny might be accomplished; so i took it to the market and handed it to a broker, who made me sit down in the shop of my landlord and waited till the market was full, when he took the necklet and offered it for sale privily without my knowledge. the price bidden for it was two thousand dinars; but the broker returned and said to me, 'this necklet is a brass counterfeit of frank manufacture, and a thousand dirhems have been bidden for it.' 'yes,' answered i; 'i knew it to be brass, for we had it made for such an one, that we might mock her: and now my wife has inherited it and we wish to sell it; so go and take the thousand dirhems.' when the broker heard this, his suspicions were roused; so he carried the necklet to the chief of the market, who took it to the prefect of police and said to him, 'this necklet was stolen from me, and we have found the thief in the habit of a merchant.' so the officers fell on me unawares and brought me to the prefect, who questioned me and i told him what i had told the broker: but he laughed and said, 'this is not the truth.' then, before i knew what was toward, his people stripped me and beat me with rods on my sides, till for the smart of the blows i said, 'i did steal it,' bethinking me that it was better to confess that i stole it than let them know that she who owned it had been murdered in my house, lest they should put me to death for her. so they wrote down that i had stolen it and cut off my hand. the stump they seared with boiling oil and i swooned away: but they gave me wine to drink, and i revived and taking up my hand, was returning to my lodging, when the landlord said to me, 'after what has passed, thou must leave my house and look for another lodging, since thou art convicted of theft.' 'o my lord,' said i, 'have patience with me two or three days, till i look me out a new lodging.' 'so be it,' he answered and i returned to the house, where i sat weeping and saying, 'how shall i return to my people with my hand cut off and they know not that i am innocent?' then i abode in sore trouble and perplexity for two days, and on the third day the landlord came in to me, and with him some officers of police and the chief of the market, who had accused me of stealing the necklace. i went out to them and enquired what was the matter, but they seized on me, without further parley, and tied my hands behind me and put a chain about my neck, saying, 'the necklet that was with thee has been shown to the governor of damascus, and he recognizes it as one that belonged to his daughter, who has been missing these three years.' when i heard this, my heart sank within me, and i said to myself, 'i am lost without resource; but i must needs tell the governor my story; and if he will, let him kill me, and if he will, let him pardon me.' so they carried me to the governor's house and made me stand before him. when he saw me, he looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said to those present, 'why did ye cut off his hand? this man is unfortunate and hath committed no offense; and indeed ye wronged him in cutting off his hand.' when i heard this, i took heart and said to him, 'by allah, o my lord, i am no thief! but they accused me of this grave offence and beat me with rods in the midst of the market, bidding me confess, till for the pain of the beating, i lied against myself and confessed to the theft, although i am innocent.' 'fear not,' said the governor; 'no harm shall come to thee.' then he laid the chief of the market under arrest, saying to him, 'give this man the price of his hand, or i will hang thee and seize on all thy goods.' and he cried out to the officers, who took him and dragged him away, leaving me with the governor, who made his people unbind me and take the chain off my neck. then he looked at me and said, 'o my son, speak the truth and tell me how thou camest by the necklet.' and he repeated the following verse: to tell the whole truth is thy duty, although it bring thee to burn on the brasier of woe! 'by allah, o my lord,' answered i, 'such is my intent!' and i told him all that had passed between me and the first lady and how she had brought the second one to me and had slain her out of jealousy. when he heard my story, he shook his head and beat hand upon hand; then putting his handkerchief to his eyes, wept awhile and repeated the following verses: i see that fortune's maladies are many upon me, for, every dweller in the world, sick unto death is he. to every gathering of friends there comes a parting day: and few indeed on earth are those that are from parting free? then he turned to me and said, 'know, o my son, that she who first came to thee was my eldest daughter. i brought her up in strict seclusion and when she came to womanhood, i sent her to cairo and married her to my brother's son. after awhile, he died and she came back to me: but she had learnt profligate habits from the natives of cairo: so she visited thee four times and at last brought her younger sister. now they were sisters by the same mother and much attached to each other; and when this happened to the elder, she let her sister into her secret, and she desired to go out with her. so she asked thy leave and carried her to thee; after which she returned alone, and i questioned her of her sister, finding her weeping for her; but she said, "i know nothing of her." however, after this, she told her mother privily what had happened and how she had killed her sister; and her mother told me. then she ceased not to weep and say, "by allah, i will never leave weeping for her till i die!" and so it fell out. this, o my son, is what happened, and now i desire that thou baulk me not in what i am about to say to thee; it is that i purpose to marry thee to my youngest daughter, for she is a virgin and born of another mother, and i will take no dower from thee, but on the contrary will appoint thee an allowance, and thou shalt be to me as my very son.' 'i will well,' replied i; 'how could i hope for such good fortune?' then he sent at once for the cadi and the witnesses and married me to his daughter, and i went in to her. moreover, he got me a large sum of money from the chief of the market and i became in high favour with him. soon after, news came to me that my father was dead so the governor despatched a courier to fetch me the property he had left behind him, and now i am living in all prosperity. this is how i came to lose my right hand." his story amazed me (continued the jew) and i abode with him three days, after which he gave me much money and i set out and travelled, till i reached this thy city. the sojourn liked me well, so i took up my abode here and there befell me what thou knowest with the hunchback.' quoth the king, 'this thy story is not more wonderful than that of the hunchback, and i will certainly hang you all. however, there still remains the tailor, who was the head of the offending.' then he said to the tailor, 'o tailor, if thou canst tell me aught more wonderful than the story of the hunchback, i will pardon you all your offenses.' so the tailor came forward and said, 'know, o king of the age, that a most rare thing happened to me yesterday before i fell in with the hunchback. the tailor's story. yesterday morning early i was at an entertainment given by a friend of mine, at which there were assembled near twenty men of the people of the city, amongst them tailors and silk-weavers and carpenters and other craftsmen. as soon as the sun had risen, they set food before us that we might eat, when behold, the master of the house entered, and with him a comely young man, a stranger from baghdad, dressed in the finest of clothes and perfectly handsome, except that he was lame. he saluted us, while we rose to receive him; and he was about to sit down, when he espied amongst us a certain barber; whereupon he refused to sit and would have gone away. but we stopped him and the host seized him and adjured him, saying, "what is the reason of thy coming in and going out again at once?" "by allah, o my lord," answered he, "do not hinder me, for the cause of my turning back is yonder barber of ill-omen sitting there." when the host heard this, he wondered and said, "how comes this young man, who is from baghdad. to be troubled in his mind about this barber?" then we looked at the young man and said to him, "tell us the reason of thine anger against the barber." "o company," replied he, "there befell me a strange adventure with this barber in my native city of baghdad; he was the cause of the breaking of my leg and of my lameness, and i have sworn that i will never sit in the same place with him nor tarry in any city of which he is an inhabitant. i left baghdad, to be rid of him, and took up my abode in this city and lo, i find him with you! but now not another night shall pass, before i depart hence." so we begged him to sit down and tell us what had passed between him and the barber in baghdad, whereat the latter changed colour and hung down his head. then said the young man, "know, o company, that my father was one of the chief merchants of baghdad, and god had vouchsafed him no child but myself. when i grew up to man's estate, my father was translated to the mercy of god, leaving me great wealth in money and slaves and servants, and i began to dress handsomely and feed daintily. now god had made me a hater of women, and one day, as i was going along one of the streets of baghdad, a company of women stopped the way before me; so i fled from them, and entering a by-street without an outlet, sat down upon a stone bench at the other end. i had not sat long, before the lattice of one of the houses in the street opened and a young lady, as she were the moon at its full, never in my life saw i her like, put forth her head and began to water some flowers she had on the balcony. then she turned right and left and seeing me watching her, smiled and shut the window and went away. therewithal, fire flamed up in my heart and my mind was taken up with her, and my hatred (of women) was changed to love. i continued sitting there, lost to the world, till sundown, when the cadi of the city came riding up the street, with slaves before him and servants behind him, and alighting, entered the very house at which the young lady had appeared. by this i guessed that he was her father; so i went home, sorrowful, and fell on my bed, oppressed with melancholy thoughts. my women came in to me and sat round me, puzzled to know what ailed me; but i would not speak to them nor answer their questions, and they wept and lamented over me. presently, in came an old woman, who looked at me and saw at once what was the matter with me. so she sat down at my head and spoke me fair and said, 'o my son, tell me what ails thee, and i will bring thee to thy desire.' so i told her what had happened to me, and she said, 'o my son, this girl is the cadi's daughter of baghdad; she is kept in strict seclusion, and the window at which thou sawest her is that of her apartment, where she dwells alone, her father occupying a great suite of rooms underneath. i often visit her, and thou shalt not come at her but through me; so gird thy middle and be of good cheer.' so saying, she went away, whilst i took comfort at what she said and arose in the morning well, to the great satisfaction of my people. by-and-by the old woman came in, chopfallen, and said to me, 'o my son, do not ask how i have fared with her! when i opened the subject to her, she said to me, "an thou leave not this talk, pestilent hag that thou art, i will assuredly use thee as thou deserves!" but needs must i have at her again.' when i heard this, it added sickness to my sickness: but after some days, the old woman came again and said to me, 'o my son, i must have of thee a present for good news.' with this, life returned to me, and i said, 'whatever thou wilt is thine.' then said she, 'o my son, i went yesterday to the young lady, who seeing me broken-spirited and tearful-eyed, said to me, "o my aunt, what ails thee that i see thy heart thus straitened?" whereupon i wept and replied, "o my lady, i am just come from a youth who loves thee and is like to die for thy sake." quoth she (and indeed her heart was moved to pity), "and who is this youth of whom thou speakest?" "he is my son," answered i, "and the darling of my heart. he saw thee, some days since, at the window, tending thy flowers, and fell madly in love with thee. i told him what passed between thee and me the other day, whereupon his disorder increased and he took to his bed and will surely die." at this her colour changed and she said, "is all this on my account?" "yea, by allah!" answered i. "what wouldst thou have me do?" then said she, "go back to him and salute him for me and tell him that my sufferings are twice as great as his. and on friday, before the time of prayer, let him come hither and i will come down and open the door to him. then i will carry him to my chamber, where we can converse awhile and he can go away, before my father comes back from the mosque."' when i heard this, my anguish ceased and my heart was comforted. so i took off the clothes i was wearing and gave them to the old woman; and she said, 'be of good cheer.' 'there is no pain left in me,' answered i; and she went away. my household and friends rejoiced in my restoration to health, and i abode thus till friday, when the old woman entered and asked me how i did, to which i replied that i was well and in good case. then i dressed and perfumed myself and sat down to await the going in of the folk to the mosque, that i might betake myself to the young lady. but the old woman said to me, 'thou hast time and to spare; so thou wouldst do well to go to the bath and have thy head shaved, to do away the traces of thy disorder.' 'it is well thought,' answered i; 'i will first have my head shaved and then go to the bath.' then i said to my servant, 'go to the market and bring me a barber, and look that he be no meddler, but a man of sense, who will not split my head with his much talk.' so he went out and returned with this wretched old man. when he came in, he saluted me, and i returned his salutation. then said he, 'surely, i see thee thin of body.' and i replied, 'i have been ill.' quoth he, 'god cause affliction and trouble and anxiety to depart from thee!' 'may god hear thy prayer!' answered i: and he said, 'be of good cheer, o my lord, for indeed recovery is come to thee. dost thou wish to be polled or let blood? indeed, it is reported, on the authority of ibn abbas[fn# ] (whom god accept!), that the prophet said, "whoso is polled on a friday, god shall avert from him threescore and ten diseases;" and again, "he who is cupped on a friday is safe from loss of sight and a host of other ailments."' 'leave this talk,' said i; 'come, shave my head at once, for i am yet weak.' with this he pulled out a handkerchief, from which he took an astrolabe with seven plates, mounted in silver, and going into the courtyard, held the instrument up to the sun's rays and looked for some time. then he came back and said to me, 'know that eight degrees and six minutes have elapsed of this our day, which is friday, the tenth of sefer, in the six hundred and fifty-third year of the flight of the prophet (upon whom be the most excellent of blessing and peace!) and the seven thousand three hundred and twentieth year of the alexandrian era, and the planet now in the ascendant, according to the rules of mathematics, is mars, which being in conjunction with mercury, denotes a favourable time for cutting hair; and this also indicates to me that thou purposest to foregather with some one and that your interview will be propitious; but after this there occurs a sign, respecting a thing which i will not name to thee.' 'by allah,' exclaimed i, 'thou weariest me and pesterest me with thy foolish auguries, when i only sent for thee to shave my head! so come, shave me at once and give me no more talk.' 'by allah,' rejoined he, 'if thou knewest what is about to befall thee, thou wouldst do nothing this day; and i counsel thee to do as i shall tell thee, by observation of the stars.' 'by allah,' said i, 'i never saw a barber skilled in astrology except thee: but i think and know that thou art prodigal of idle talk. i sent for thee to shave my head, and thou plaguest me with this sorry prate!' 'what more wouldst thou have!' replied he. 'god hath vouchsafed thee a barber, who is an astrologer, versed in the arts of alchemy and white magic, syntax, grammar and lexicology, rhetoric and logic, arithmetic, astronomy and geometry, as well as in the knowledge of the law and the traditions of the prophet and in exegesis. moreover, i have read many books and digested them and have had experience of affairs and understand them thoroughly. in short, i have examined into all things and studied all arts and crafts and sciences and mastered them; and thy father loved me because of my lack of officiousness, for which reason my service is obligatory on thee. i am no meddler, as thou pretendest, and on this account i am known as the silent, the grave one. wherefore it behoves thee to give thanks to god and not cross me for i am a true counsellor to thee and take an affectionate interest in thee. i would i were in thy service a whole year, that thou mightst do me justice: and i would ask no hire of thee for this.' when i heard this, i said, 'thou wilt certainly be the death of me this day!' 'o my lord,' replied he, 'i am he whom the folk call the silent, by reason of my few words, to distinguish me from my six brothers, the eldest of whom was called becbac,[fn# ] the second heddar,[fn# ] the third fekic,[fn# ] the fourth el kouz el aswani,[fn# ] the fifth el feshar,[fn# ] the sixth shecashic[fn# ] and the seventh (myself) samit[fn# ].' whilst he thus overwhelmed me with his talk, i thought my gall-bladder would burst so i said to the servant, 'give him a quarter-dinar and let him go, for god's sake! i won't have my head shaved to-day.' 'what words are these, o my lord?' said he. 'by allah, i will take no hire of thee till i have served thee; and needs must i serve thee, for indeed it is incumbent on me to do so and fulfil thy need; and i care not if i take no money of thee. if thou knowest not my worth, i know thine; and i owe thy father (may god the most high have mercy on him!) many a kindness, for he was a generous man. by allah, he sent for me one day as it were this blessed day, and i went in to him and found a company of his friends with him. he would have had me let him blood; but i pulled out my astrolabe and taking an altitude for him, found the aspect inauspicious and the hour unfavourable for the letting of blood. i told him of this and he conformed to my advice and put off the operation to a more convenient season. so i recited the following verses in his honour: i came one day unto my lord, that i might let him blood, but found that for his body's health the season was not good; so sat me down and talked with him of many a pleasant thing and all the treasures of my mind before him freely strewed. well pleased, he listened, then, "o mine of knowledge!" he did say, "thy wit and wisdom overpass the bounds of likelihood!" "not so," quoth i; "my wit indeed were little, but for thee, o prince of men, that pour'st on me thy wisdom like a flood! thou seem'st indeed the lord of grace, bounty and excellence, world's treasure-house of knowledge, wit, sense and mansuetude!" thy father was charmed and cried out to the servant, saying, "give him a hundred and three dinars and a dress of honour." the servant did as he bade, and i waited till a favourable moment, when i let him blood; and he did not cross me, but thanked me, and all present also praised me. when the cupping was over, i could not help saying to him, "by allah, o my lord, what made thee say to the servant, 'give him a hundred and three dinars'?" quoth he, "one dinar was for the astrological observation, another for thine entertaining converse, the third for the bloodletting and the remaining hundred and the dress for thy verses in my honour."' 'may god show no mercy to my father,' exclaimed i, 'for knowing the like of thee?' he laughed and said, 'there is no god but god and mohammed is his apostle! glory be to him who changes but is not changed! i took thee for a man of sense; but i see thou dotest for illness. god says, in his precious book, that paradise is prepared for "those who restrain their wrath and forgive men", and in any case thou art excused. but i am ignorant of the cause of thy haste, and thou must know that thy father and grandfather did nothing without consulting me, for indeed it is said that he with whom one takes counsel should be trustworthy and that he who takes counsel shall not be disappointed. it is said also that he who hath not an elder (to advise him) will never be an elder himself; and indeed the poet says: ere thou decide to venture thyself in aught, consult an experienced man and cross him not. and indeed thou wilt find none better versed in affairs than i, and i am here standing on my feet to serve thee. i am not vexed with thee: why shouldst thou be vexed with me? but i will bear with thee for the sake of the favours i owe thy father.' 'by allah,' exclaimed i, 'o thou whose tongue is as long as a jackass's tail, thou persistest in pestering me with talk and pelting me with words, when all i want of thee is to shave my head and take thyself off!' then he lathered my head, saying, 'i know that thou art vexed with me, but i bear thee no malice; for thy wit is weak and thou art a boy: it was but yesterday i took thee on my shoulders and carried thee to the school' 'o my brother,'. cried i, 'for god's sake, do what i want and go thy way!' and i rent my clothes. when he saw me do this, he took the razor and fell to sharpening it and stinted not, till i was well-nigh distraught. then he came up to me and shaved a part of my head, then held his hand and said, 'o my lord, hurry is of the devil and deliberation of the merciful one. methinks thou knowest not my station; verily my hand falls on the heads of kings and amirs and viziers and sages and learned men: and it was of me the poet said: all the trades are like necklets of jewels and gold and this barber indeed's the chief pearl of the strings. he excelleth all others that boast of their skill. and under his hand are the topknots of kings.' 'leave what concerns thee not,' said i: 'indeed thou hast straitened my breast and troubled my mind.' quoth he, meseems thou art in haste. 'yes, yes, yes!' answered i, and he, 'thou wouldst do well to proceed with deliberation, for haste is of the devil and bequeaths repentance and disappointment. verily he upon whom be blessing and peace[fn# ] hath said, "the best affair is that which is undertaken with deliberation." by allah, thy case troubles me, and i would have thee let me know what it is thou art in such haste to do, for i fear me it is other than good.' then said he, 'it wants three hours yet of the time of prayer. however, i do not wish to be in doubt as to this, but am minded to know the time for certain; for speech, when it is conjectural, is but faulty, especially in the like of me, whose merit is plain and known of all men; and it does not befit me to talk at random, as do the common sort of astrologers.' so saying, he threw down the razor and taking up the astrolabe, went out under the sun and stood a long while, after which he returned and said to me, 'it wants three hours of the time of prayer, neither more nor less.' 'by allah,' answered i, 'hold thy tongue, for thou breakest my heart in pieces!' so he took his razor and after sharpening it as before, shaved another part of my head. then he said, 'i am concerned about thy haste; and indeed thou wouldst do well to tell me the cause of it, for thou knowest that thy father and grandfather did nothing without my counsel.' when i saw that there was no getting rid of him, i said to myself, 'the time of prayer draws near and i wish to go to her before the folk come out from the mosque. if i am delayed much longer, i know not how i shall come at her.' then i said to him, 'be quick and leave this prating and officiousness, for i have to go to an entertainment at the house of one of my friends.' when he heard me speak of an entertainment, he said, 'this thy day is a blessed one for me! verily, yesterday i invited a party of my intimate friends and i have forgotten to provide aught for them to eat. i bethought me of it but now, on hearing thee speak of an entertainment. alack, how i shall be disgraced in their eyes!' 'be in no concern for that,' answered i. 'have i not told thee that i am bidden abroad to-day? all the meat and drink in the house shall be thine, so thou despatch my affair and make haste to shave my head.' 'god requite thee with good!' rejoined he. 'tell me what thou hast for my guests, that i may know.' quoth i, 'i have five dishes of meat and ten fricasseed fowls and a roasted lamb.' 'bring them out to me,' said he, 'that i may see them.' so i had all this brought, and when he saw it, he said, 'there lacks the wine.' 'i have a flagon or two in the house,' answered i; and he said, 'have it brought out.' so i sent for it, and he exclaimed, 'god bless thee for a generous soul! but there are still the perfumes and the essences.' so i brought him a box, containing fifty dinars' worth of aloes-wood and ambergris and musk and other perfumes. by this, the time began to run short and my heart was straitened; so i said to him, 'take it all and finish shaving my head, by the life of mohammed, whom god bless and preserve!' 'by allah,' said he, 'i will not take it till i see all that is in it.' so i made the servant open the box, and the barber threw down the astrolabe and sitting down on the ground, turned over the contents, till i was well-nigh distracted. then he took the razor and coming up to me, shaved some little of my head and recited the following verse: the boy after his father's guise grows up and follows suit as surely as the tree springs up from out its parent root. then said he, 'o my son, i know not whether to thank thee or thy father; for my entertainment to-day is all due to thy kindness and liberality, and none of my company is worthy of it; though i have none but men of consideration, such as zentout the bath-keeper and selya the corn-chandler and silet the bean-seller and akresheh the grocer and hemid the scavenger and said the camel-driver and suweyd the porter and abou mukarish the bathman[fn# ] and cassim the watchman and kerim the groom. there is not among them all one curmudgeon or make-bate or meddler or spoil-sport; each has his own dance that he dances and his own couplets that he repeats, and the best of them is that they are like thy servant, knowing not abundance of talk nor meddlesomeness. the bath-keeper sings enchantingly to the tambourine and dances and says, "i am going, o my mother, to fill my jar!" as for the corn-chandler, he brings more skill to it than any of them; he dances and says, "o mourner, my mistress, thou dost not fall short!" and draws the very heart out of one for laughing at him. whilst the scavenger sings, so that the birds stop to listen to him, and dances and says, "news with my wife is not kept in a chest!" and indeed he is a witty, accomplished rogue, and of his excellence i use to say the following: my life redeem the scavenger! i love him passing dear, for, in his goodly gait, he's like the zephyr-shaken bough. fate blessed my eyes with him one night; and i to him did say, (whilst in my bosom, as i spoke, desire did ebb and flow,) "thou'st lit thy fire within my heart!" whereto he answer made "what wonder though the scavenger have turned a fire-man[fn# ] now?" and indeed each is perfection in all that can charm the wit with mirth and jollity. but hearing is not like seeing; and indeed if thou wilt join us and put off going to thy friends, it will be better both for us and for thee: for the traces of sickness are yet upon thee and belike thou art going amongst talkative folk, who will prate of what does not concern them, or there may be amongst them some impertinent busybody who will split thy head, and thou still weak from illness.' 'this shall be for another day,' answered i and laughed in spite of my anger. 'finish what thou hast to do for me and go in peace and enjoy thyself with thy friends, for they will be awaiting thy coming.' 'o my lord,' replied he, 'i only seek to bring thee in company with these pleasant folk, amongst whom there is neither meddlesomeness nor excess of talk; for never, since i came to years of discretion, could i endure to consort with those who ask of what concerns them not, nor with any except those who are, like myself, men of few words. verily, if thou wert once to see them and company with them, thou wouldst forsake all thy friends.' 'god fulfil thy gladness with them!' rejoined i. 'needs must i foregather with them one of these days.' and he said, 'i would it were to be to-day, for i had made up my mind that thou shouldst make one of us: but if thou must indeed go to thy friends to-day, i will take the good things, with which thy bounty hath provided me for them, to my guests, and leave them to eat and drink, without waiting for me, whilst i return to thee in haste and accompany thee whither thou goest; for there is no ceremony between me and my friends to hinder me from leaving them.' 'there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme!' cried i. 'go thou to thy friends and make merry with them and let me go to mine and be with them this day, for they expect me.' 'i will not let thee go alone,' replied he: and i said, 'none can enter where i am going but myself.' then said he, 'i believe thou hast an assignation with some woman to-day; else thou wouldst take me with thee, for it is the like of me that furnishes a merry-making; or if thou go to any one with whom thou wouldst be private, i am the fittest of all men for thy purpose, for i would help thee to what thou desirest and look that none saw thee. i fear lest thou go in to some strange woman and lose thy life; for in this city one cannot do aught of the kind, especially on a day like this and under so keen and masterful a chief of the police as ours of baghdad.' 'out on thee, o wretched old man!' cried i. 'avaunt! what words are these thou givest me?' 'o dolt!' rejoined he, 'thou sayest to me what is not true and hidest thy mind from me; but i know that this is so and am certain of it, and i only seek to help thee this day.' i was fearful lest my people or the neighbours should hear the barber's talk, so kept silence, whilst he finished shaving my head; by which time the hour of prayer was come and it was wellnigh time for the exhortation.[fn# ] when he had done, i said to him, 'take the meat and drink and carry them to thy friends. i will await thy return.' for i thought it best to dissemble with the accursed fellow and feign compliance with his wishes, so haply he might go away and leave me. quoth he, 'thou art deceiving me and wilt go alone and cast thyself into some peril, from which there will be no escape for thee. for god's sake, do not go till i return, that i may accompany thee and see what comes of thine affair.' 'it is well,' answered i: 'do not be long absent.' then he took all that i had given him and went out; but, instead of going home with it, the cursed fellow delivered it to a porter, to carry to his house, and hid himself in a by-street. as for me, i rose at once, for the muezzins had already chanted the salutation,[fn# ] and, dressing myself in haste, went out and hurried to the house where i had seen the young lady. i found the old woman standing at the door, awaiting me, and went up with her to the young lady's apartment. hardly had i done so, when the master of the house returned from the mosque and entering the saloon, shut the door. i looked out from the window and saw this barber (god's malison on him!) sitting over against the door, and said, 'how did this devil find me out?' at this moment, as god had decreed it for my undoing, it befell that a slave-girl belonging to the master of the house committed some offence, for which he beat her. she cried out, and a male slave came in to deliver her, whereupon the cadi beat him also, and he too cried out. the cursed barber concluded that it was i he was beating and fell to tearing his clothes and strewing dust on his head, shrieking and calling for help. so the folk came round him, and he said to them, 'my master is being murdered in the cadi's house!' then he ran, shrieking, to my house, with the folk after him, and told my people and servants: and before i knew what was forward, up they came, with torn clothes and dishevelled hair, calling out, 'alas, our master!' and the barber at their head, in a fine pickle, tearing his clothes and shouting. they made for the house in which i was, headed by the barber, crying out, 'woe is us for our murdered master!' and the cadi, hearing the uproar at his door, said to one of his servants, 'go and see what is the matter.' the man went out and came back, saying, 'o my lord, there are more than ten thousand men and women at the door, crying out, "woe is us for our murdered master!" and pointing to our house.' when the cadi heard this, he was troubled and vexed; so he went to the door and opening it, saw a great concourse of people; whereat he was amazed and said, 'o folk, what is the matter?' 'o accursed one, o dog, o hog,' replied my servants, 'thou hast killed our master!' quoth he, 'and what has your master done to me that i should kill him? behold, this my house is open to you!' 'thou didst beat him but now with rods,' answered the barber; 'for i heard his cries.' 'what has he done that i should beat him?' repeated the cadi; 'and what brings him into my house?' 'be not a vile, perverse old man!' replied the barber; 'i know the whole story. the long and the short of it is that thy daughter is in love with him and he with her; and when thou knewest that he had entered the house, thou badest thy servants beat him, and they did so. by allah, none shall judge between us and thee but the khalif! so bring us out our master, that his people may take him, before i go and fetch him forth of thy house and thou be put to shame.' when the cadi heard this, he was dumb for amazement and confusion before the people, but presently said to the barber, 'if thou speak truth, come in and fetch him out.' whereupon the barber pushed forward and entered the house. when i saw this, i looked about for a means of escape, but saw no hiding-place save a great chest that stood in the room. so i got into the chest and pulled the lid down on me and held my breath. hardly had i done this, when the barber came straight to the place where i was and catching up the chest, set it on his head and made off with it in haste. at this, my reason forsook me and i was assured that he would not let me be; so i took courage and opening the chest, threw myself to the ground. my leg was broken in the fall, and the door of the house being opened, i saw without a great crowd of people. now i had much gold in my sleeve, which i had provided against the like of this occasion; so i fell to scattering it among the people, to divert their attention from me; and whilst they were busy scrambling for it, i set off running through the by-streets of baghdad, and this cursed barber, whom nothing could divert from me, after me. wherever i went, he followed, crying out, 'they would have bereft me of my master and slain him who has been a benefactor to me and my family and friends! but praised be god who aided me against them and delivered my lord from their hands! where wilt thou go now? thou persistedst in following thine own evil devices, till thou broughtest thyself to this pass, and if god had not vouchsafed me to thee, thou hadst never won free from this strait, for they would have plunged thee into irremediable ruin. how long dost thou expect i shall live to save thee? by allah, thou hast well-nigh undone me by thy folly and thy perverseness in wishing to go by thyself! but i will not reproach thee with ignorance, for thou art little of wit and hasty.' 'does not what thou hast brought upon me suffice thee,' replied i, 'but thou must pursue me with the like of this talk through the public streets?' and i well-nigh gave up the ghost for excess of rage against him. then i took refuge in the shop of a weaver in the midst of the market and sought protection of the owner, who drove the barber away. i sat down in the back shop and said to myself, 'if i return home, i shall never be able to get rid of this accursed barber, for he will be with me night and day, and i cannot endure the sight of him.' so i sent out at once for witnesses and made a will, dividing the greater part of my money among my people, and appointed a guardian over them, to whom i committed the charge of great and small directing him to sell my house and estates. then i set out at once on my travels, that i might be free of this ruffian, and came to settle in your town, where i have lived for some time. when you invited me and i came hither the first thing i saw was this accursed pimp seated in the place of honour. how, then, can i be at my ease and how can it be pleasant to me to consort with you, in company with this fellow, who brought all this upon me and was the cause of the breaking of my leg and of my exile from my country and family?" and he refused to sit down and went away. when we heard the young man's story (continued the tailor), we were beyond measure amazed and diverted and said to the barber, "is it true that this young man says of thee?" "by allah," replied he, "i dealt thus with him of my courtesy and good sense and humanity. but for me, he had perished and none but i was the cause of his escape. well for him that it was in his leg that he suffered and not in his life! were i a man of many words or a busybody, i had not done him this kindness; but now i will tell you something that happened to me, that ye may know that i am indeed sparing of speech and no impertinent meddler, as were my six brothers; and it is this: the barber's story. i was living at baghdad, in the time of the khalif mustensir billah,[fn# ] who loved the poor and needy and companied with the learned and the pious. one day, it befell that he was wroth with a band of highway robbers, ten in number, who infested the neighbourhood, and ordered the chief of the baghdad police to bring them before him on the day of the festival. so the prefect sallied out and capturing the robbers, embarked with them in a boat. i caught sight of them, as they were embarking, and said to myself, 'these people are surely bound on some party of pleasure; methinks they mean to spend the day in eating and drinking, and none shall be their messmate but i.' so, of the greatness of my courtesy and the gravity of my understanding, i embarked in the boat and mingled with them. they rowed across to the opposite bank, where they landed, and there came up soldiers and police officers with chains, which they put round the necks of the robbers. they chained me with the rest, and, o company, is it not a proof of my courtesy and spareness of speech that i kept silence and did not choose to speak? then they took us away in chains and next morning they carried us all before the commander of the faithful, who bade strike off the heads of the ten robbers. so the herdsman came forward and made us kneel before him on the carpet of blood;[fn# ] then drawing his sword, struck off one head after another, till none was left but myself. the khalif looked at me and said to the headsman, 'what ails thee thou thou struck off but nine heads?' 'god forbid,' replied he, 'that i should behead only nine, when thou didst order me to behead ten!' quoth the khalif, 'meseems, thou hast beheaded but nine and he who is before thee is the tenth.' 'by thy munificence,' replied the headsman, 'i have beheaded ten!' so they counted the dead men, and behold, they were ten. then said the khalif to me, 'what made thee keep silence at such a time and how camest thou in company with these men of blood? thou art a man of great age, but assuredly thy wit is but little.' when i heard the khalif's words, i replied, 'know, o commander of the faithful, that i am the silent elder, and am thus called to distinguish me from my six brothers. i am a man of great learning, whilst, as for the gravity of my understanding, the excellence of my apprehension and the spareness of my speech, there is no end to them; and by craft i am a barber. i went out early yesterday morning and saw these ten men making for a boat, and thinking they were bound on a party of pleasure, joined myself to them and embarked with them. after awhile, there came up the officers, who put chains round their necks and round mine amongst the rest, but in the excess of my courtesy, i kept silence and did not speak, nor was this other than generosity on my part. then they brought us before thee and thou didst order the ten robbers' heads to be stricken off; yet did i not make myself known to thee, purely of my great generosity and courtesy, which led me to share with them in their death. but all my life have i dealt thus nobly with the folk, and they still requite me after the foulest fashion.' when the khalif heard what i said and knew that i was a man of exceeding generosity and few words and no meddler (as this young man would have it, whom i rescued from horrors and who has so scurvily repaid me), he laughed so immoderately that he fell backward. then said he to me, 'o silent man, are thy six brothers like thee distinguished for wisdom and knowledge and spareness of speech?' 'never were they like me,' answered i; 'thou dost me injustice, o commander of the faithful, and it becomes thee not to even my brothers with me: for, of the abundance of their speech and their lack of conduct and courtesy, each one of them has gotten some bodily defect. one is blind of an eye, another paralysed, a third blind, a fourth cropped of the ears and nose, a fifth crop-lipped and a sixth hunchbacked and a cripple. thou must not think, o commander of the faithful, that i am a man of many words; but i must needs explain to thee that i am a man of greater worth and of fewer words than they. by each one of my brothers hangs a tale of how he came by his defect, [fn# ] and these i will relate to thee. know then, o commander of the faithful that story of the barber's first brother. my first brother, the hunchback, was a tailor in baghdad, and plied his craft in a shop, which he hired of a very rich man, who dwelt over against him and had a mill in the lower part of the house. one day, as my brother the hunchback was sitting in his shop, sewing, he chanced to raise his head and saw, at the bay-window of his landlord's house, a lady like the rising full moon, engaged in looking at the passers-by. his heart was taken with love of her and he passed the day gazing at her and neglecting his business, till the evening. next day, he opened his shop and sat down to sew: but as often as he made a stitch, he looked at the bay-window and saw her as before; and his passion and infatuation for her redoubled. on the third day, as he was sitting in his usual place, gazing on her, she caught sight of him, and perceiving that he had fallen a captive to her love, smiled in his face, and he smiled back at her. then she withdrew and sent her slave-girl to him with a parcel of red flowered silk. the girl accosted him and said to him, "my lady salutes thee and would have thee cut out for her, with a skilful hand, a shift of this stuff and sew it handsomely." "i hear and obey," answered he; and cut out the shift and made an end of sewing it the same day. next morning early, the girl came back and said to him, "my mistress salutes thee and would fain know how thou hast passed the night; for she has not tasted sleep by reason of her heart being taken up with thee." then she laid before him a piece of yellow satin and said to him, "my mistress bids thee cut her two pairs of trousers of this stuff and sew them this day." "i hear and obey," answered he; "salute her for me with abundant salutation and say to her, 'thy slave is obedient to thy commands so order him as thou wilt.'" then he applied himself to cut out the trousers and used all diligence in sewing them. presently the lady appeared at the window and saluted him by signs, now casting down her eyes and now smiling in his face, so that he made sure of getting his will of her. she did not let him budge till he had finished the two pairs of trousers, when she withdrew and sent the slave-girl, to whom he delivered them, and she took them and went away. when it was night, he threw himself on his bed and tossed from side to side, till morning, when he rose and sat down in his shop. by-and-by, the slave-girl came to him and said, "my master calls for thee." when he heard this, he was afraid; but the girl, seeing his alarm, to him, "fear not: nought but good shall befall thee. my lady would have thee make acquaintance with my master." so my brother rejoiced greatly and went out with her. when he came into his landlord's presence he kissed the earth before him, and the latter returned his salute; then gave him a great piece of linen, saying, "make this into shirts for me." "i hear and obey," replied my brother, and fell to work at once and cut out twenty shirts by nightfall, without stopping to taste food. then said the husband "what is thy hire for this?" "twenty dirhems," answered my brother. so the man cried out to the slave-girl to give him twenty dirhems; but the lady signed to my brother not to take them, and he said, "by allah, i will take nothing from thee!" and took his work and went away, though he was sorely in want of money. then he applied himself to do their work, eating and drinking but little for three days, in his great diligence. at the end of this time, the slave-girl came to him and said, "what hast thou done?" quoth he, "they are finished;" and carried the shirts to his landlord, who would have paid him his hire; but he said, "i will take nothing," for fear of the lady, and returning to his shop, passed the night without sleep for hunger. now the lady had told her husband how the case stood, and they had agreed to take advantage of his infatuation to make him sew for them for nothing and laugh at him. next morning, as he sat in his shop, the servant came to him and said, "my master would speak with thee." so he accompanied her to the husband, who said to him, "i wish thee to make me five cassocks." so he cut them out and took the stuff and went away. then he sewed them and carried them to the man, who praised his work and offered him a purse of money. he put out his hand to take it, but the lady signed to him from behind her husband not to do so, and he replied, "o my lord, there is no hurry: by-and-by." then he went out, more abject than an ass, for verily five things at once were sore upon him, love and beggary and hunger and nakedness and toil; nevertheless, he heartened himself with the hope of gaining the lady's favours. when he had made an end of all their work, they put a cheat upon him and married him to their slave-girl. but when he thought to go in to her, they said to him, "lie this night in the mill; and to-morrow all will be well." my brother concluded that there was some good reason for this and passed the night alone in the mill. now the husband had set on the miller to make my brother turn the mill; so in the middle of the night, the miller came in and began to say, "this ox is lazy and stands still and will not turn, and there is much wheat to be ground. so i will yoke him and make him finish grinding it this night, for the folk are impatient for their flour." then he filled the hoppers with grain and going up to my brother, with a rope in his hand, bound him to the yoke and said to him, "come, turn the mill! thou thinkest of nothing but eating and voiding." then he took a whip and laid on to my brother, who began to weep and cry out; but none came to his aid, and he was forced to grind the wheat till near daylight, when the husband came in and seeing him yoked to the shaft and the miller flogging him, went away. at daybreak the miller went away and left him still yoked and well nigh dead; and soon after in came the slave-girl, who unbound him and said to him, "i am grieved for what has befallen thee, and both i and my lady are full of concern for thee." but he had no tongue wherewith to answer her, for excess of beating and toil. then he returned to his lodging, and presently the notary who had drawn up the marriage contract came to him and saluted him, saying, "god give thee long life! may thy marriage be blessed! thou hast doubtless passed the night clipping and kissing and dalliance from dusk to dawn." "may god curse thee for a liar, thousandfold cuckold that thou art!" replied my brother. "by allah, i did nothing but turn the mill in the place of the ox all night!" quoth the notary, "tell me thy story." so my brother told him what had happened, and he said, "thy star agrees not with hers: but if thou wilt, i can alter the contract for thee." and my brother answered, "see if thou have another device." then the notary left him and he sat down in his shop, till some one should bring him work by which he might earn his day's bread. presently the slave-girl came to him and said, "my mistress would speak with thee." "go, my good girl," replied he; "i will have no more to do with thy mistress." so the girl returned to her mistress and told her what my brother had said, and presently she put her head out of the window, weeping and saying, "o my beloved, why wilt thou have no more to do with me?" but he made her no answer. then she swore to him that all that had befallen him in the mill was without her sanction and that she was guiltless of the whole affair. when he saw her beauty and grace and heard the sweetness of her speech, he forgot what had befallen him and accepted her excuse and rejoiced in her sight. so he saluted her and talked with her and sat at his sewing awhile, after which the servant came to him and said, "my mistress salutes thee and would have thee to know that her husband purposes to lie this night abroad with some intimate friends of his; so when he is gone, do thou come to us and pass the night with her in all delight till the morning." now the man had said to his wile, "how shall we do to turn him away from thee?" quoth she, "let me play him another trick and make him a byword in the city." but my brother knew nothing of the malice of women. as soon as it was night, the servant came to him and carried him to the house; and when the lady saw him, she said to him, "by allah, o my lord, i have been longing for thee!" "by allah," replied he, "make haste and give me a kiss first of all." hardly had he spoken, when the master of the house came in from an inner room and seized him, saying, "by allah, i will not let thee go, till i deliver thee to the chief of the police." my brother humbled himself to him; but he would not listen to him and carried him to the prefect, who gave him a hundred lashes with a whip and mounting him on a camel, paraded him about the city, whilst the folk proclaimed aloud, "this is the punishment of those who violate people's harems!" moreover, he fell off the camel and broke his leg and so became lame. then the prefect banished him from the city and he went forth, not knowing whither to turn; but i heard of his mishap and going out after him, brought him back and took him to live with me.' the khalif laughed at my story and said, 'thou hast done well, o silent one, o man of few words!' and bade me take a present and go away. but i said, 'i will take nothing except i tell thee what befell my other brothers: and do not think me a man of many words. know, o commander of the faithful, that story of the barber's second brother. my second brother's name was becbac and he was the paralytic. one day, as he was going about his business, an old woman accosted him and said to him, "harkye, stop a little, that i may tell thee of somewhat, which, if it please thee, thou shalt do for me." my brother stopped and she went on, "i will put thee in the way of a certain thing, so thy words be not many." "say on," replied my brother; and she, "what sayest thou to a handsome house and a pleasant garden, with running waters and fruits and wine and a fair-faced one to hold in thine arms from dark till dawn?" "and is all this in the world?" asked my brother. "yes," answered she; "and it shall be thine, so thou be reasonable and leave impertinent curiosity and many words and do as i bid thee." "i will well, o my lady," rejoined my brother; "but what made thee choose me of all men for this affair and what is it pleases thee in me?" quoth she, "did i not bid thee be sparing of speech? hold thy peace and follow me. thou must know that the young lady, to whom i shall carry thee, loves to have her own way and hates to be crossed, so if thou fall in with her humour, thou shalt come to thy desire of her." and my brother said, "i will not thwart her in aught." then she went on and he followed her, eager to enjoy what she had promised him, till she brought him to a fine large house, richly furnished and full of servants, and carried him to an upper story. when the people of the house saw him, they said to him, "what dost thou here?" but the old woman bade them, "let him be and trouble him not; for he is a workman and we have occasion for him." then she brought him into a fine great gallery, with a fair garden in its midst, and made him sit down upon a handsome couch. he had not sat long, before he heard a great noise and in came a troop of damsels, with a lady in their midst, as she were the moon on the night of its full. when he saw her, he rose and made an obeisance to her; whereupon she bade him welcome and ordered him to be seated. so he sat down and she said to him. "god advance thee! is all well with thee?" "o my lady," replied my brother, "all is well." then she called for food, and they brought her a table richly served. so she sat down to eat, making a show of affection to my brother and jesting with him, though all the while she could not keep from laughing: but as often as he looked at her, she signed towards the waiting-maids, as if she laughed at them. my ass of a brother understood nothing, but concluded, in the blindness of his doting, that the lady was in love with him and would admit him to his desire. when they had finished eating, they set on wine, and there came in ten damsels like moons, with strung lutes in their hands, and fell a singing right melodiously; whereupon delight got hold upon him and he took the cup from the lady's hands and drank it off. then she drank a cup of wine, and he rose and bowed to her, saying, "health to thee!" she filled him another cup and he drank it off, and she gave him a cuff on the nape of his neck; whereupon he rose and went out in a rage; but the old woman followed him and winked to him to return. so he came back and the lady bade him sit, and he sat down without speaking. then she dealt him a second cuff, and nothing would serve her but she must make all her maids cuff him also. quoth he to the old woman, "never saw i aught finer than this!" and she kept saying, "enough, enough, i conjure thee, o my lady!" the women cuffed him till he was well-nigh senseless, and he rose and went out again in a rage; but the old woman followed him and said, "wait a little, and thou shalt come to what thou wishest." "how much longer must i wait?" asked he. "indeed i am faint with cuffing." "as soon as she is warm with wine," answered she, "thou shalt have thy desire." so he returned to his place and sat down, whereupon all the damsels rose and the lady bade them fumigate him and sprinkle rose-water on his face. then said she to him, "god advance thee! thou hast entered my house and submitted to my conditions; for whoso thwarts me, i turn him away, but he who is patient has his desire." "o my lady," replied he, "i am thy slave and in the hollow of thy hand." "know then," continued she, "that god has made me passionately fond of frolic, and whoso falls in with my humour comes by what he wishes." then she ordered the damsels to sing with loud voices, and they sang, till the whole company was in ecstasy: after which she said to one of the maids, "take thy lord and do what is wanting to him and bring him back to me forthright." so the damsel took my brother, who knew not what she would do with him; but the old woman came up to him and said, "be patient; there remains but little to do." at this his face cleared and he said, "tell me what she would have the maid do with me." "nothing but good," replied she, as i am thy ransom. she only wishes to dye thine eyebrows and pluck out thy moustaches." quoth he, "as for the dyeing of my eyebrows, that will come off with washing, but the plucking out of my moustaches will be irksome." "beware of crossing her," said the old woman; "for her heart is set on thee." so my brother suffered them to dye his eyebrows and pluck out his moustaches, after which the damsel returned to her mistress and told her. quoth she, "there is one thing more to be done; thou must shave his chin, that he may be beardless." so the maid went back and told my brother what her mistress bade her do, whereupon cried my fool of a brother, "how can i do what will dishonour me among the folk?" but the old woman said, "she only wishes to do thus with thee, that thou mayst be as a beardless youth and that no hair may be left on thy face to prick her; for she is passionately in love with thee. be patient and thou shalt attain thy desire." so he submitted to have his beard shaved off and his face rouged, after which they carried him back to the lady. when she saw him with his eyebrows dyed, his whiskers and moustaches plucked out, his beard shaved off and his face rouged, she was affrighted at him, then laughed till she fell backward and said, "o my lord, thou hast won my heart with thy good nature!" then she conjured him, by her life, to rise and dance; so he began to dance, and there was not a cushion in the place but she threw it at him, whilst the damsels pelted him with oranges and limes and citrons, till he fell down senseless. when he came to himself, the old woman said to him, "now thou hast attained thy desire. there is no more beating for thee and there remains but one thing more. it is her wont, when she is heated with wine, to let no one have to do with her till she put off her clothes and remain stark naked. then she will bid thee strip, in like manner, and run before thee from place to place, as if she fled from thee, and thou after her, till thy yard be in good point, when she will stop and give herself up to thee. so now rise and put off thy clothes." so he rose, well-nigh beside himself, and stripped himself stark naked; whereupon the lady stripped also and saying to my brother, "follow me, if thou desire aught," set off running in at one place and out at another and he after her, transported for desire, till his yard rose, as he were mad. presently she entered a dark passage, and in following her, he trod upon a soft place, which gave way with him, and before he knew where he was, he found himself in the midst of the market of the fell-mongers, who were calling skins for sale and buying and selling. when they saw him in this plight, naked, with yard on end, shaven face, dyed eyebrows and rouged cheeks, they cried out and clapped their hands at him and flogged him with skins upon his naked body, till he swooned away; when they set him on an ass and carried him to the chief of the police, who said, "what is this?" quoth they, "this fellow came out upon us from the vizier's house, in this plight." so the prefect gave him a hundred lashes and banished him from baghdad. however, i went out after him and brought him back privily into the city and made him an allowance for his living, though, but for my generous disposition, i had not put up with such a fellow. story of the barber's third brother the name of my third brother was fekic and he was blind. one day, chance and destiny led him to a great house and he knocked at the door, desiring speech of the owner, that he might beg of him somewhat. quoth the master of the house, "who is at the door?" but my brother was silent and heard him repeat, in a loud voice, "who is there?" still he made no answer and presently heard the master come to the door and open it and say, "what dost thou want?" "charity," replied my brother, "for the love of god the most high!" "art thou blind?" asked the man; and my brother said, "yes." quoth the other, "give me thy hand." so my brother put out his hand, thinking that he would give him something; but he took it and drawing him into the house, carried him up, from stair to stair, till they reached the housetop, my brother thinking the while that he would surely give him food or money. then said he to my brother, "what dost thou want, o blind man?" "charity, for the love of god!" repeated my brother. "god succour thee!"[fn# ] answered the master of the house. "o man," answered my brother, "why couldst thou not tell me this downstairs?" "o loser," answered he, "why didst thou not answer me, when i asked who was at the door?" quoth my brother, "what wilt thou with me now?" and the other replied, "i have nothing to give thee." "then take me down again," said my brother. but he answered, "the way lies before thee." so my brother rose and made his way down the stairs, till he came within twenty steps of the door, when his foot slipped and he rolled to the bottom and broke his head. then he went out, knowing not whither to turn, and presently fell in with other two blind men, comrades of his, who enquired how he had fared that day. he told them what had passed and said to them, "o my brothers, i wish to take some of the money in my hands and provide my self with it." now the master of the house had followed him and heard what they said, but neither my brother nor his fellows knew of this. so my brother went on to his lodging and sat down to await his comrades, and the owner of the house entered after him without his knowledge. when the other blind men arrived, my brother said to them, "shut the door and search the house, lest any stranger have followed us." the intruder, hearing this, caught hold of a rope that hung from the ceiling and clung to it, whilst the blind men searched the whole place, but found nothing. so they came back and sitting down beside my brother, brought out their money, which they counted, and lo, it was twelve thousand dirhems. each took what he wanted and the rest they buried in a corner of the room. then they set on food and sat down to eat. presently my brother heard a strange pair of jaws wagging at his side; so he said to his comrades, "there is a stranger amongst us;" and putting out his hand, caught hold of that of the intruder. therewith they all fell on him and beat him, crying out, "o muslims, a thief is come in to us, seeking to take our property!" so much people flocked to them, whereupon the owner of the house caught hold of the blind men and shutting his eyes, feigned to be blind like unto them, so that none doubted of it. then he complained of them, even as they of him, crying out, "o muslims, i appeal to god and the sultan and the chief of the police! i have a grave matter to make known to the chief of the police." at this moment, up came the watch and seizing them all, dragged them before the chief of the police, who enquired what was the matter. quoth the spy, "see here; thou shalt come at nought except by torture: so begin by beating me, and after me, beat this my captain." and he pointed to my brother. so they threw the man down and gave him four hundred strokes on the backside. the beating pained him, and he opened one eye; and as they redoubled their blows, he opened the other. when the chief of the police saw this, he said to him, "what is this, o accursed one?" "give me the seal-ring of pardon!" replied he. "we are four who feign ourselves blind and impose upon people, that we may enter houses and gaze upon women and contrive for their corruption. in this way, we have gotten much money, even twelve thousand dirhems. so i said to my comrades, 'give me my share, three thousand dirhems.' but they fell on me and beat me and took away my money, and i appeal to god and thee for protection; better thou have my share than they. so, an thou wouldst know the truth of my words, beat each of the others more than thou hast beaten me and he will surely open his eyes." the prefect bade begin with my brother: so they bound him to the whipping-post,[fn# ] and the prefect said, "o rascals, do ye abjure the gracious gifts of god and pretend to be blind?" "allah! allah!" cried my brother, "by allah, there is not one amongst us who can see!" then they beat him, till he fainted and the prefect said, "leave him till he revives and then beat him again." and he caused each of the others to be beaten with more than three hundred blows, whilst the sham blind man stood by, saying to them, "open your eyes, or you will be beaten anew." then he said to the prefect, "send some one with me to fetch the money, for these fellows will not open their eyes, lest they be put to shame before the folk." so the prefect sent to fetch the money and gave the impostor three thousand dirhems to his pretended share. the rest he took for himself and banished the three blind men from the city. but, o commander of the faithful, i went out and overtaking my brother, questioned him of his case; whereupon he told me what i have told thee. so i carried him back privily into the city and appointed him in secret wherewithal to eat and drink.' the khalif laughed at my story and said, 'give him a present and let him go.' by allah,' rejoined i, 'i will take nothing till i have made known to the commander of the faithful what happened to my other brothers, for i am a man of few words.' then i went on as follows story of the barber's fourth brother. 'my fourth brother, the one-eyed, was a butcher at baghdad, who sold meat and reared rams; and the notables and men of wealth used to buy meat of him, so that he amassed much wealth and got him cattle and houses. he fared thus a long while' till one day, as he was sitting in his shop, there came up to him an old man with a long beard, who laid down some money and said, "give me meat for this." so he gave him his money's worth of meat, and the old man went away. my brother looked at the money he had paid him, and seeing that it was brilliantly white, laid it aside by itself. the old man continued to pay him frequent visits for five months, and my brother threw the money he received from him into a chest by itself. at the end of this time, he thought to take out the money to buy sheep; so he opened the chest, but found in it nothing but white paper, cut round. when he saw this, he buffeted his face and cried out, till the folk came round him and he told them his story, at which they wondered. then he rose, as of his wont, and slaughtering a ram, hung it up within the shop; after which he cut off some of the meat and hung it up outside, saying the while, "would god that pestilent old man would come!" and surely before long up came the old man, with his money in his hand; whereupon my brother rose and caught hold of him, crying out, "come to my help, o muslims, and hear what befell me with this scoundrel!" when the old man heard this, he said to him, "an thou loose me not, i will expose thee before the folk!" "in what wilt thou expose me?" asked my brother, and the other replied, "in that thou sellest man's flesh for mutton." "thou liest, o accursed one!" cried my brother: and the old man said, "he is the accursed one who has a man hanging up in his shop." "if it be as thou sayest," rejoined my brother, "i give thee leave to take my property and my life." then said the old man, "ho, people of the city! an ye would prove the truth of my words, enter this man's shop." so they rushed into the shop, when they saw the ram was become a dead man hanging up and seized on my brother, crying out, "o infidel! o villain!" and his best friends fell to beating him and saying, "dost thou give us man's flesh to eat?" moreover, the old man struck him on the eye and put it out. then they carried the carcase to the chief of the police, to whom said the old man, "o amir, this fellow slaughters men and sells their flesh for mutton, and we have brought him to thee; so arise and execute the justice of god, to whom belong might and majesty!" my brother would have defended himself, but the prefect refused to hear him and sentenced him to receive five hundred blows with a stick and to forfeit all his property. and indeed, but for his wealth, they had put him to death. then he banished him from the city and my brother fared forth at a venture, till he came to a great city, where he thought well to set up as a cobbler. so he opened a shop and fell to working for his living. one day, as he went on an occasion, he heard the tramp of horse, and enquiring the cause, was told that the king was going out to hunt and stopped to look on his state. it chanced that the king's eye met his, whereupon he bowed his head, saying, "i take refuge with god from the evil of this day!" and drawing bridle, rode back to his palace, followed by his retinue. then he gave an order to his guards, who seized my brother and beat him grievously, till he was well-nigh dead, without telling him the reason: after which he returned to his shop, in a sorry plight, and told one of the king's household, who laughed till he fell backward and said to him, "o my brother, know that the king cannot endure the sight of a one-eyed man; especially if he be blind of the left eye, in which case, he does not let him go without killing him." when my brother heard this, he resolved to fly that city, so went forth and repaired to another country, where he was known of none. here he abode a long while, till one day, being heavy at heart for what had befallen him, he went out to divert himself. as he was walking along, he heard the tramp of horse behind him; whereupon he exclaimed, "the judgment of god is upon me!" and looked out for a hiding-place, but found none. at last he saw a closed door, and pushing against it, it yielded and he found himself in a long corridor, in which he took refuge. hardly had he done so, when two men laid hold of him, exclaiming, "praise be to god, who hath delivered thee into our hands, o enemy of allah! these three nights thou hast bereft us of sleep and given us no peace and made us taste the agonies of death!" "o folk," said my brother, "what ails you?" and they answered, "thou givest us the change and goest about to dishonour us and to murder the master of the house! is it not enough that thou hast brought him to beggary, thou and thy comrades? but give us up the knife, wherewith thou threatenest us every night." then they searched him and found in his girdle the knife he used to cut leather; and he said, "o folk, have the fear of god before your eyes and maltreat me not, for know that my story is a strange one." "what is thy story?" asked they. so he told them what had befallen him, hoping that they would let him go; however, they paid no heed to what he said, but beat him and tore off his clothes, and finding on his sides the marks of beating with rods, said, "o accursed one, these scars bear witness to thy guilt!" then they carried him to the chief of the police, whilst he said to himself, "i am undone for my sins and none can save me but god the most high!" the prefect said to him, "o villain, what made thee enter their house with murderous intent?" "o amir," replied my brother, "i conjure thee by allah, hear my words and hasten not to condemn me!" but the two men said to the prefect, "wilt thou listen to a robber, who beggars the folk and has the scars of beating on his back?" when the amir saw the scars on my brother's sides, he said to him, "they had not done this to thee, save for some great crime." and he sentenced him to receive a hundred lashes. so they flogged him and mounting him on a camel, paraded him about the city, crying out, "this is the reward and the least of the reward of those who break into people's houses!" then they thrust him forth the city, and he wandered at random, till i heard what had befallen him and going in search of him, questioned him of his case. so he told me all that passed and i carried him back privily to baghdad, where i made him an allowance for his living. story of the barber's fifth brother. my fifth brother, he of the cropt ears, o commander of the faithful, was a poor man, who used to ask alms by night and live by day on what he got thus. now, our father, who was an old man, far advanced in years, fell sick and died, leaving us seven hundred dirhems. so we took each of us a hundred; but when my brother received his share, he was at a loss to know what to do with it, till he bethought him to buy glass of all sorts and sell it at a profit. so he bought a hundred dirhems' worth of glass and putting it in a great basket, sat down, to sell it, on a raised bench, at the foot of a wall, against which he leant his back. as he sat, with the basket before him: he fell to musing in himself and said, "i have laid out a hundred dirhems on this glass and i will sell it for two hundred, with which i will buy other glass and sell it for four hundred; nor will i cease to buy and sell thus, till i have gotten much wealth. with this i will buy all kinds of merchandise and jewels and perfumes and gain great profit on them, till, god willing, i will make my capital a hundred thousand dirhems. then i will buy a handsome house, together with slaves and horses and trappings of gold, and eat and drink, nor will i leave a singing-man or woman in the city but i will have them to sing to me. as soon as i have amassed a hundred thousand dirhems,[fn# ] i will send out marriage-brokers to demand for me in marriage the daughters of kings and viziers; and i will seek the hand of the vizier's daughter, for i hear that she is perfect in beauty and of surpassing grace. i will give her a dowry of a thousand dinars, and if her father consent, well; if not, i will take her by force, in spite of him. when i return home, i will buy ten little eunuchs and clothes for myself such as are worn by kings and sultans and get me a saddle of gold, set thick with jewels of price. then i will mount and parade the city, with slaves before and behind me, whilst the folk salute me and call down blessings upon me: after which i will repair to the vizier, the girl's father, with slaves behind and before me, as well as on my either hand. when he sees me, he will rise and seating me in his own place, sit down below me, for that i am his son-in-law. now i will have with me two eunuchs with purses, in each a thousand dinars, and i will deliver him the thousand dinars of the dowry and make him a present of other thousand, that he may have cause to know my nobility and generosity and greatness of mind and the littleness of the world in my eyes; and for ten words he proffers me, i will answer him two. then i will return to my house, and if one come to me on the bride's part, i will make him a present of money and clothe him in a robe of honour; but if he bring me a present, i will return it to him and will not accept it, that they may know that i am great of soul. then i will command them to bring her to me in state and will order my house fittingly in the meantime. when the time of the unveiling is come, i will don my richest clothes and sit down on a couch of brocaded silk, leaning on a cushion and turning neither to the right nor to the left, for the haughtiness of my mind and the gravity of my understanding. my wife shall stand before me like the full moon, in her robes and ornaments, and i, of my pride and my disdain, will not look at her, till all who are present shall say to me, 'o my lord, thy wife and thy handmaid stands before thee: deign to look upon her! for standing is irksome to her.' and they will kiss the earth before me many times, whereupon i will lift my eyes and give one glance at her, then bend down my head again. then they will carry her to the bride-chamber, and meanwhile i will rise and change my clothes for a richer suit. when they bring in the bride for the second time, i will not look at her till they have implored me several times, when i will glance at her and bow down my head; nor will i leave to do thus, till they have made an end of displaying her, when i will order one of my eunuchs to fetch a purse of five hundred dinars and giving it to the tire-women, command them to lead me to the bride-chamber. when they leave me alone with the bride, i will not look at her or speak to her, but will lie by her with averted face, that she may say i am high of soul. presently her mother will come to me and kiss my head and hands and say to me, 'o my lord, look on thy handmaid, for she longs for thy favour, and heal her spirit. but i will give her no answer; and when she sees this, she will come and kiss my feet repeatedly and say, 'o my lord, verily my daughter is a beautiful girl, who has never seen man; and if thou show her this aversion, her heart will break; so do thou incline to her and speak to her.' then she will rise and fetch a cup of wine, and her daughter will take it and come to me; but i will leave her standing before me, whilst i recline upon a cushion of cloth of gold, and will not look at her for the haughtiness of my heart, so that she will think me to be a sultan of exceeding dignity and will say to me, 'o my lord, for god's sake, do not refuse to take the cup from thy servant's hand, for indeed i am thy handmaid.' but i will not speak to her, and she will press me, saying, 'needs must thou drink it,' and put it to my lips. then i will shake my fist in her face and spurn her with my foot thus." so saying, he gave a kick with his foot and knocked over the basket of glass, which fell to the ground, and all that was in it was broken. "all this comes of my pride!" cried he, and fell to buffeting his face and tearing his clothes and weeping. the folk who were going to the friday prayers saw him, and some of them looked at him and pitied him, whilst others paid no heed to him, and in this way my brother lost both capital and profit. presently there came up a beautiful lady, on her way to the friday prayers, riding on a mule with a saddle of gold and attended by a number of servants and filling the air with the scent of musk, as she passed along. when she saw the broken glass and my brother weeping, she was moved to pity for him; so she asked what ailed him and was told that he had a basket full of glass, by the sale of which he thought to make his living, but it was broken, and this was the cause of his distress. so she called one of her attendants and said to him, "give this poor man what is with thee." and he gave my brother a purse in which he found five hundred dinars, whereupon he was like to die for excess of joy and called down blessings on her. then he returned to his house, a rich man; and as he sat considering, some one knocked at the door. so he rose and opened and saw an old woman whom he knew not. "o my son," said she, "the time of prayer is at hand, and i have not yet made the ablution; so i beg thee to let me do so in thy house." "i hear and obey," replied he, and bade her come in. so she entered and he brought her an ewer, wherewith to wash, and sat down, beside himself for joy in the dinars when she had made an end of her ablutions, she came up to where he sat and prayed a two-bow prayer, after which she offered up a goodly prayer my brother, who thanked her and putting his hand to the bag of money, gave her two dinars, saying in himself, "this is an alms from me." "glory to god!" exclaimed she. "why dost thou look on one, who loves thee, as if she were a beggar? put up thy money! i have no need of it; or if thou want it not, return it to her who gave it thee, when thy glass was broken." "o my mother," asked he, "how shall i do to come at her?" "o my son," replied she, "she hath an inclination for thee, but she is the wife of a wealthy man of the city; so take all thy money with thee and follow me, that i may guide thee to thy desire: and when thou art in company with her, spare neither fair words nor persuasion, and thou shalt enjoy her beauty and her wealth to thy heart's content." so my brother took all his money and rose and followed the old woman, hardly believing in his good fortune. she led him on till they came to the door of a great house, at which she knocked, and a greek slave-girl came out and opened to them. then the old woman took my brother and brought him into a great saloon, spread with magnificent carpets and hung with curtains, where he sat down, with his money before him and his turban on his knee. presently in came a young lady richly dressed, never saw eyes handsomer than she; whereupon my brother rose to his feet, but she smiled upon him and welcoming him, signed to him to be seated. then she bade shut the door and taking my brother by the hand, led him to a private chamber, furnished with various kinds of brocaded silk. here he sat down and she seated herself by his side and toyed with him awhile; after which she rose and saying, "do not stir till i come back," went away. after awhile, in came a great black slave, with a drawn sword in his hand, who said to him, "woe to thee! who brought thee hither and what dost thou want?" my brother could make no answer, being tongue-tied for fear; so the black seized him and stripping him of his clothes, beat him with the flat of his sword till he swooned away. then the pestilent black concluded that he was dead, and my brother heard him say, "where is the salt-wench?" whereupon in came a slave-girl, with a great dish of salt, and the black strewed salt upon my brother's wounds; but he did not stir, lest he should know that he was alive and finish him. then the salt-girl went away and the black cried out, "where is the cellaress?" with this in came the old woman, and taking my brother by the feet, dragged him to an underground vault, where she threw him down upon a heap of dead bodies. there he remained two whole days, but god made the salt the means of saving his life, for it stayed the flow of blood. presently, he found himself strong enough to move; so he rose and opening the trap-door, crept out fearfully; and god protected him, so that he went on in the darkness and hid himself in the vestibule till the morning, when he saw the cursed old woman sally forth in quest of other prey. so he went out after her, without her knowledge, and made for his own house, where he dressed his wounds and tended himself till he was whole. meanwhile he kept a watch upon the old woman and saw her accost one man after another and carry them to the house. however, he said nothing; but as soon as he regained health and strength, he took a piece of stuff and made it into a bag, which he filled with broken glass and tied to his middle. then he disguised himself in the habit of a foreigner, that none might know him, and hid a sword under his clothes. then he went out and presently falling in with the old woman, accosted her and said to her, with a foreign accent, "o dame, i am a stranger, but this day arrived here, and know no one. hast thou a pair of scales wherein i may weigh nine hundred dinars? i will give thee somewhat of the money for thy pains." "i have a son, a moneychanger," replied she, "who has all kinds of scales; so come with me to him, before he goes out, and he will weigh thy gold for thee." and he said, "lead the way." so she led him to the house and knocked at the door; and the young lady herself came out and opened it; whereupon the old woman smiled in her face, saying, "i bring thee fat meat to-day." then the damsel took him by the hand and carrying him to the same chamber as before, sat with him awhile, then rose and went out, bidding him stir not till she came back. ere long in came the villainous black, with his sword drawn, and said to my brother, "rise, o accursed one!" so he rose and as the slave went on before him, he drew the sword from under his clothes and smiting him with it, made his head fly from his body; after which he dragged the corpse by the feet to the vault and cried out, "where is the salt-wench?" up came the girl with the dish of salt, and seeing my brother sword in hand, turned to fly; but he followed her and smote her and struck off her head. then he called out, "where is the cellaress?" and in came the old woman, to whom said he, "dost thou know me, o pestilent old woman?" "no, my lord," replied she; and he said, "i am he of the five hundred dinars, to whose house thou camest to make the ablution and pray, and whom thou didst after lure hither." "fear god and spare me!" exclaimed she. but he paid no heed to her and striking her with the sword, cut her in four. then he went in search of the young lady; and when she saw him, her reason fled and she called out for mercy. so he spared her and said to her, "how camest thou to consort with this black?" quoth she, "i was slave to a certain merchant and the old woman used to visit me, till i became familiar with her. one day she said to me, 'we have to-day a wedding at our house, the like of which was never beheld, and i wish thee to see it.' 'i hear and obey,' answered i, and rising, donned my handsomest clothes and jewellery and took with me a purse containing a hundred dinars. then she brought me hither, and hardly had i entered the house, when the black seized on me, and i have remained in this case these three years, through the perfidy of the accursed old woman." then said my brother, "is there aught of his in the house?" "he had great store of wealth," replied she: "and if thou canst carry it away, do so, and may god prosper it to thee!" then she opened to him several chests full of purses, at which he was confounded, and said to him, "go now and leave me here and fetch men to carry off the money." so he went out and hired ten men, but, when he returned, he found the door open and the damsel gone, and nothing left but a little of the money and the household stuff. by this, he knew that she had cheated him; so he opened the closets and took what was in them, together with the rest of the money, leaving nothing in the house, and passed the night in all content. when he arose in the morning, he found at the door a score of troopers, who seized him, saying, "the chief of the police seeks for thee." my brother implored them to let him return to his house, but they would grant him no delay, though he offered them a large sum of money, and binding him fast with cords, carried him off. on the way, there met them a friend of my brother, who clung to his skirts and implored him to stop and help to deliver him from their hands. so he stopped and enquired what was the matter; to which they replied, "the chief of the police has ordered us to bring this man before him, and we are doing so." the man interceded with them and offered them five hundred dinars to let my brother go, saying, "tell the magistrate that ye could not find him." but they refused and dragged him before the prefect, who said to him, "whence hadst thou these stuffs and money?" quoth my brother, "grant me indemnity." so the magistrate gave him the handkerchief of pardon, and he told him all that had befallen him, from first to last, including the flight of the damsel, adding, "take what thou wilt, so thou leave me enough to live on." but the prefect took the whole of the stuff and money for himself and fearing lest the affair should reach the sultan's ears, said to my brother, "depart from this city, or i will hang thee." "i hear and obey," replied my brother, and set out for another town. on the way thieves fell on him and stripped him and beat him and cut off his ears. but i heard of his misfortunes and went out after him, taking him clothes, and brought him back privily to the city, where i made him an allowance for meat and drink. story of the barber's sixth brother my sixth brother, he of the cropt lips, o commander of the faithful, was once rich, but after became poor. one day he went out to seek somewhat to keep life in him and came presently to a handsome house, with a wide and lofty portico and servants and others at the door, ordering and forbidding. my brother enquired of one of those standing there and he told him that the house belonged to one of the barmecide family. so he accosted the door-keepers and begged an alms of them. "enter," said they, "and thou shalt get what thou seekest of our master." accordingly, he entered and passing through the vestibule, found himself in a mansion of the utmost beauty and elegance, paved with marble and hung with curtains and having in the midst a garden whose like he had never seen. he stood awhile perplexed, knowing not whither to direct his steps: then seeing the door of a sitting-chamber, he entered and saw at the upper end a man of comely presence and goodly beard. when the latter saw my brother, he rose and welcomed him and enquired how he did; to which he replied that he was in need of charity. whereupon the other showed great concern and putting his hand to his clothes, rent them, exclaiming, "art thou hungry in a city of which i am an inhabitant? i cannot endure this!" and promised him all manner of good. then said he, "thou must eat with me." "o my lord," replied my brother, "i can wait no longer; for i am sore an hungred." so, the barmecide cried out, "ho, boy! bring the ewer and the basin!" and said to my brother, "o my guest, come forward and wash thy hands." my brother rose to do so, but saw neither ewer nor basin. however, the host made as if he were washing his hands and cried out, "bring the table." but my brother saw nothing. then said the barmecide, "honour me by eating of this food and be not ashamed." and he made as if he ate, saying the while, "thou eatest but little: do not stint thyself, for i know thou art famished." so my brother began to make as if he ate, whilst the other said to him, "eat and note the excellence of this bread and its whiteness." my brother could see nothing and said to himself, "this man loves to jest with the folk." so he replied, "o my lord, never in my life have i seen whiter or more delicious bread." and the host said, "i gave five hundred dinars for the slave-girl who bakes it for me." then he called out, "ho, boy! bring the frumenty first and do not spare butter on it." and turning to my brother, "o my guest," said he, "sawst thou ever aught better than this frumenty? eat, i conjure thee, and be not ashamed!" then he cried out again, "ho, boy! bring in the pasty with the fatted grouse in it." and he said to my brother, "eat, o my guest, for thou art hungry and needest it." so my brother began to move his jaws and make as if he chewed; whilst the other ceased not to call for dish after dish and press my brother to eat, though not a thing appeared. presently, he cried out, "ho, boy i bring us the chickens stuffed with pistachio-kernels!" and said to my brother, "these chickens have been fattened on pistachio-nuts; eat, for thou hast never tasted the like of them." "o my lord," replied my brother, "they are indeed excellent." then the host feigned to put his hand to my brother's mouth, as if to feed him, and ceased not to name various dishes and expatiate upon their excellence. meanwhile my brother was starving, and hunger was so sore on him that his soul lusted for a cake of barley bread. quoth the barmecide, "didst thou ever taste aught more delicious than the seasoning of these dishes?" "never, o my lord," replied my brother. "eat heartily and be not ashamed," repeated the host. "o my lord," said my brother, "i have had enough of meat." so the barmecide cried out, "take away and bring the sweetmeats." then he said, "eat of this almond conserve, for it is excellent, and of these fritters. my life on thee, take this one before the syrup runs out of it!" "may i never be bereaved of thee, o my lord!" replied my brother, and asked him of the abundance of musk in the fritters. "it is my custom," said the other, "to have three pennyweights of musk and half that quantity of ambergris put into each fritter." all this time my brother was wagging his jaws and moving his head and mouth, till the host said, "enough of this! bring us the dessert." then said he to him, "eat of these almonds and walnuts and raisins and of this and that," naming different kinds of dried fruits, "and be not ashamed." "o my lord," answered my brother, "indeed i am full: i can eat no more." "o my guest," repeated the other, "if thou have a mind to eat more, for god's sake do not remain hungry!" "o my lord," replied my brother, "how should one who has eaten of all these dishes be hungry?" then he considered and said to himself "i will do that which shall make him repent of having acted thus." presently the host called out, "bring me the wine," and making as if it had come, feigned to give my brother to drink, saying, "take this cup, and if it please thee, let me know." "o my lord," replied he, "it has a pleasant smell, but i am used to drink old wine twenty years of age." "then knock at this door,"[fn# ] said his host; "for thou canst not drink of aught better." "o my lord, this is of thy bounty!" replied my brother and made as if he drank. "health and pleasure to thee!" exclaimed the host, and feigned, in like wise, to fill a cup and drink it off and hand a second cup to my brother, who pretended to drink and made as if he were drunken. then he took the barmecide unawares and raising his arm, till the whiteness of his arm-pit appeared, dealt him such a buffet on the neck that the place rang to it. then he gave him a second cuff and the host exclaimed, "what is this, o vile fellow?" "o my lord," replied my brother "thou hast graciously admitted thy slave into thine abode and fed him with thy victual and plied him with old wine, till he became drunk and dealt unmannerly by thee; but thou art too noble not to bear with his ignorance and pardon his offence." when the barmecide heard my brother's words, he laughed heartily and exclaimed, "long have i used to make mock of men and play the fool with those who are apt at jesting and horse-play; but never have i come across any, who had patience and wit to enter into all my humours, but thee; so i pardon thee, and now thou shalt be my boon companion, in very deed, and never leave me." then he bade his servants lay the table in good earnest, and they set on all the dishes of which he had spoken, and he and my brother ate till they were satisfied, after which they removed to the drinking-chamber, where they found damsels like moons, who sang all manner of songs and played on all kinds of musical instruments. there they remained, drinking, till drunkenness overcame them, and the host used my brother as a familiar friend, so that he became as it were his brother, and bestowed on him a dress of honour and loved him with an exceeding love. next morning, they fell again to feasting and carousing, and ceased not to lead this life for twenty years, at the end of which time the barmecide died and the sultan laid hands on all his property and squeezed my brother, till he stripped him of all he had. so he left the city and fled forth at random, but the arabs fell on him midway and taking him prisoner, carried him to their camp, where the bedouin, his captor, tortured him, saying, "ransom thyself with money, or i will kill thee." my brother fell a-weeping and replied, "by allah, i have nought! i am thy prisoner; do with me as thou wilt." thereupon the bedouin took out a knife and cut off my brother's lips, still urging his demand. now this bedouin had a handsome wife, who used to make advances to my brother, in her husband's absence, and offer him her favours, but he held off from her. one day, she began to tempt him as usual, and he toyed with her and took her on his knee, when lo, in came the bedouin, and seeing this, cried out, "woe to thee, thou villain! wouldst thou debauch my wife?" then he took out a knife and cut off my brother's yard, after which he set him on a camel and carried him to a mountain, where he threw him down and left him. here he was found by some travellers, who recognized him and gave him meat and drink and acquainted me with his plight, whereupon i went forth to him and brought him back to baghdad, where i provided him with enough to live on. this then, o commander of the faithful, is the history of my brothers, and i was unwilling to go away without relating it to thee, that i might disabuse thee of thine error in confounding me with them. and now thou knowest that i have six brothers and support them all.' when the khalif heard my words, he laughed and said, 'thou sayst sooth, o silent one! thou art neither a man of many words nor an impertinent meddler; but now go out from this city and settle in another.' and he banished me from the city; so i left baghdad and travelled in foreign countries, till i heard of his death and the coming of another to the khalifate. then i returned to baghdad, where i found my brothers dead and fell in with this young man, to whom i rendered the best of services, for without me he had been killed. indeed he accuses me of what is foreign to my nature and what he relates of my impertinence is false; for verily i left baghdad on his account and wandered in many countries, till i came to this city and happened on him with you; and was not this, o good people, of the generosity of my nature?" when we heard the barber's story (continued the tailor) and saw the abundance of his speech and the way in which he had oppressed the young man, we laid hands on him and shut him up, after which we sat down in peace and ate and drank till the time of the call to afternoon-prayer, when i left the company and returned home. my wife was sulky and said to me, "thou hast taken thy pleasure all day, whilst i have been moping at home. so now, except thou carry me abroad and amuse me for the rest of the day, it will be the cause of my separation from thee." so i took her out and we amused ourselves till nightfall, when we returned home and met the hunchback, brimming over with drunkenness and repeating the following verses: the glass is pellucid, and so is the wine: so bring them together and see them combine: tis a puzzle; one moment, all wine and no cup; at another, in turn, 'tis all cup and no wine. so i invited him to pass the evening with us and went out to buy fried fish, after which we sat down to eat. presently my wife took a piece of bread and fish and crammed them into his mouth, and he choked and died. then i took him up and made shift to throw him into the house of the jewish physician. he in his turn let him down into the house of the controller, who threw him in the way of the christian broker. this, then, is my story. is it not more wonderful than that of the hunchback?' when the king heard the tailor's story, he shook his head for delight and showed astonishment, saying, 'this that passed between the young man and the meddlesome barber is indeed more pleasant and more wonderful than the story of that knave of a hunchback.' then he bade the tailor take one of the chamberlains and fetch the barber out of his duresse, saying, 'bring him to me, that i may hear his talk, and it shall be the means of the release of all of you. then we will bury the hunchback, for he is dead since yesterday, and set up a tomb over him.' so the chamberlain and the tailor went away and presently returned with the barber. the king looked at him and behold, he was a very old man, more than ninety years of age, of a swarthy complexion and white beard and eyebrows, flap-eared, long-nosed and simple and conceited of aspect. the king laughed at his appearance and said to him, 'o silent man, i desire thee to tell me somewhat of thy history.' 'o king of the age,' replied the barber, 'why are all these men and this dead hunchback before thee?' said the king, 'why dost thou ask?' 'i ask this,' rejoined the barber, 'that your majesty may know that i am no impertinent meddler and that i am guiltless of that they lay to my charge of overmuch talk; for i am called the silent, and indeed i am the man of my name, as says the poet: thine eyes shall seldom see a man that doth a nickname bear, but, if thou search, thou'lt find the name his nature doth declare. so the king said, 'explain the hunchback's case to him and repeat to him the stories told by the physician, the controller, the broker and the tailor.' they did as he commanded, and the barber shook his head and exclaimed, 'by allah, this is indeed a wonder of wonders!' then said he, 'uncover the hunchback's body, that i may see it.' they did so, and he sat down and taking the hunchback's head in his lap, looked at his face and laughed till he fell backward. then said he, 'to every death there is a cause; but the story of this hunchback deserves to be recorded in letters of gold!' the bystanders were astounded at his words and the king wondered and said to him, 'o silent man, explain thy words to us.' 'o king of the age,' replied the barber, 'by thy munificence, there is yet life in this hunchback.' then he pulled out from his girdle a barber's budget, whence he took a pot of ointment and anointed therewith the neck of the hunchback and its veins. then he took out a pair of tweezers and thrusting them down the hunchback's throat, drew out the piece of fish and its bone, soaked in blood. thereupon the hunchback sneezed and sat up, and passing his hand over his face, exclaimed, 'i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is his apostle!' at this all present wondered and the king laughed, till he fainted, and so did the others. then said the king, 'by allah, this is the most wonderful thing i ever saw! o muslims, o soldiers all, did you ever in your lives see a man die and come to life again? for verily, had not god vouchsafed him this barber to be the cause of his preservation, he had been dead!' 'by allah,' said they, 'this is a wonder of wonders!' then the king caused the whole history to be recorded and laid up in the royal treasury; after which he bestowed splendid dresses of honour on the jew, the broker and the controller and sent them away. then he gave the tailor a costly dress of honour and appointed him his own tailor, with a suitable stipend, and made peace between him and the hunchback, on whom he also bestowed a rich and fair dress of honour and made him his boon-companion, appointing him due allowances. as for the barber, he made him a like present and appointed him state barber and one of his boon-companions, assigning him regular allowances and a fixed salary. and they all ceased not from the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there overtook them the destroyer of delights and the sunderer of companies. noureddin ali and the damsel enis el jelis. there was once a king in bassora who cherished the poor and needy and loved his subjects and bestowed of his wealth on those who believed in mohammed (whom god bless and preserve!) and he was even as the poet hath described him: a king who, when the hostile hosts assault him in the field, smites them and hews them, limb from limb, with trenchant sword and spear full many a character of red he writes upon the breasts what time the mailed horsemen break before his wild career. his name was king mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini, and he had two viziers, one called muin ben sawa and the other fezl ben khacan. fezl was the most generous man of his time; noble and upright of life, all hearts concurred in loving him, and the wise complied with his counsel, whilst all the people wished him long life; for that he was a compend of good qualities, encouraging good and preventing evil and mischief. the vizier muin, on the contrary, was a hater of mankind and loved not good, being indeed altogether evil; even as says of him the poet: look thou consort with the generous, sons of the gen'rous; for lo! the generous, sons of the gen'rous, beget the gen'rous, i trow. and let the mean-minded men, sons of the mean-minded, go, for the mean-minded, sons of the mean, beget none other than so. and as much as the people loved fezl, so much did they hate muin. it befell one day, that the king, being seated on his throne, with his officers of state about him, called his vizier fezl and said to him, 'i wish to have a slave-girl of unsurpassed beauty, perfect in grace and symmetry and endowed with all praiseworthy qualities.' said the courtiers, 'such a girl is not to be had for less than ten thousand dinars!' whereupon the king cried out to his treasurer and bade him carry ten thousand dinars to fezl's house. the treasurer did so, and the vizier went away, after the king had charged him to go to the market every day and employ brokers and had given orders that no girl worth more than a thousand dinars should be sold, without being first shown to the vizier. accordingly, the brokers brought him all the girls that came into their hands, but none pleased him, till one day a broker came to his house and found him mounting his horse, to go to the palace; so he caught hold of his stirrup and repeated the following verses: o thou whose bounties have restored the uses of the state, o vizier helped of heaven, whose acts are ever fortunate! thou hast revived the virtues all were dead among the folk. may god's acceptance evermore on thine endeavours wait! then said he, 'o my lord, she for whom the august mandate was issued is here.' 'bring her to me,' replied the vizier. so he went away and returned in a little with a damsel of elegant shape, swelling-breasted, with melting black eyes and smooth cheeks, slender-waisted and heavy-hipped, clad in the richest of clothes. the dew of her lips was sweeter than syrup, her shape more symmetrical than the bending branch and her speech softer than the morning zephyr, even as says one of those who have described her: a wonder of beauty! her face full moon of the palace sky; of a tribe of gazelles and wild cows the dearest and most high! the lord of the empyrean hath given her pride and state, elegance, charm and a shape that with the branch may vie; she hath in the heaven of her face a cluster of seven stars, that keep the ward of her cheek to guard it from every spy. so if one think to steal a look, the imps of her glance consume him straight with a star, that shoots from her gleaming eye. when the vizier saw her she pleased him exceedingly, so he turned to the broker and said to him, 'what is the price of this damsel?' 'her price is ten thousand dinars,' replied he, 'and her owner swears that this sum will not cover the cost of the chickens she hath eaten, the wine she hath drunk and the dresses of honour bestowed on her teachers; for she hath learnt penmanship and grammar and lexicology and the exposition of the koran and the rudiments of law and theology, medicine and the calendar, as well as the art of playing on instruments of music.' then said the vizier, 'bring me her master.' so the broker brought him at once, and behold, he was a foreigner, who had lived so long that time had worn him to bones and skin. quoth the vizier to him, 'art thou content to sell this damsel to the sultan for ten thousand dinars?' 'by allah,' replied the merchant, 'if i made him a present of her, it were but my duty!' so the vizier sent for the money and gave it to the slave-dealer, who said, 'by the leave of our lord the vizier, i have something to say.' 'speak,' said the vizier: and the slave-dealer said, 'if thou wilt be ruled by me, thou wilt not carry the damsel to the king to-day, for she is newly off a journey; the change of air has affected her and the journey has fretted her. but let her abide in thy palace ten days, that she may recover her good looks. then send her to the bath and dress her in the richest of clothes and go up with her to the sultan, and this will be more to thy profit.' the vizier considered the man's advice and approved it; so he took her to his palace, where he appointed her a separate lodging and a daily allowance of meat and drink and so forth, and she abode thus awhile. now the vizier fezl had a son like the rising full moon, with shining visage, red cheeks covered with a tender down and a mole like a grain of ambergris; as says of him the poet and therein errs not: a moon,[fn# ] whose glances slay the folk, on whom he turns his eye; a branch, whose graces break all hearts, as he goes stately by slack as the night his browlocks are, his face the hue of gold; fair is his person, and his shape the spear-shaft doth outvie. ah me, how hard his heart, how soft and slender is his waist! why is the softness not transferred from this to that, ah why? were but the softness of his sides made over to his heart, he'd ne'er to lovers be unjust nor leave them thus to sigh. o thou that blam'st my love of thee, excuse me rather thou, nor chide me, if my body pine for languor like to die. the fault, indeed, lies not with me, but with my heart and eye; so chide me not, but let me be in this my misery. now he knew not the affair of the damsel, and his father had lessoned her, saying, 'know, o my daughter, that i have bought thee for the bed of the king mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini, and i have a son who leaves no girl in the quarter but he has to do with her; so be on thy guard against him and beware of letting him see thy face or hear thy voice.' 'i hear and obey,' replied she; and the vizier left her and went away. some days after this it chanced, as fate would have it, that the damsel went to the bath in the house, where some of the serving-women washed her, after which she arrayed herself in rich apparel, and her beauty and grace redoubled. then she went in to the vizier's wife and kissed her hand; and the lady said to her, 'may it profit thee, o enis el jelis! how didst thou find the bath?' 'o my lady,' answered she, 'i lacked but thy presence there.' thereupon said the mistress to her waiting-women, 'come with me to the bath, for it is some days since i went thither.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they; and rose and accompanied her to the bath, after enis el jelis had retired to her own chamber and the lady had set two little slave-girls to keep the door, charging them to let none go in to the damsel. presently, as enis el jelis sat resting after the bath, in came the vizier's son, whose name was noureddin ali, and asked after his mother and her women, to which the two little slaves replied that they had gone to the bath. the damsel heard noureddin's voice and said to herself, 'i wonder what like is this youth, of whom his father says that there is not a girl in the quarter but he has had to do with her. by allah, i long to see him!' so she rose, fresh as she was from the bath, and going to the door, looked at noureddin and saw that he was like the moon at its full. the sight cost her a thousand sighs, and noureddin, chancing to look that way, caught a glance of her that caused him also a thousand regrets, and each fell into the snare of the other's love. then he went up to the two little slaves and cried out at them, whereupon they fled before him and stood afar off to see what he would do. and behold, he went up to the door of the damsel's chamber and entering, said to her, 'art thou she whom my father bought for me?' 'yes,' answered she: whereupon noureddin, who was heated with wine, went up to her and embraced her, whilst she wreathed her arms about his neck and met him with kisses and sighs and amorous gestures. then he sucked her tongue and she his, and he did away her maidenhead. when the two little slaves saw their young master go in to the damsel, they cried out and shrieked. so, as soon as he had done his desire, he rose and fled, fearing the issue of his conduct. when the vizier's wife heard the slaves' cries, she sprang up and came out of the bath, with the sweat dripping from her, saying, 'what is this clamour in the house?' then she came up to the two little slaves, and said to them, 'out on you! what is the matter?' 'our lord noureddin came in and beat us,' answered they: 'so we fled and he went in to the damsel and embraced her, and we know not what he did after this: but when we cried out to thee, he fled.' thereupon, the mistress went in to enis el jelis and enquired what had happened. 'o my lady,' answered she, 'as i was sitting here, there came in a handsome young man, who said to me, "art thou she whom my father bought for me?" i answered, "yes;" (for by allah, o my lady, i believed that he spoke the truth!) and with this he came up to me and embraced me.' 'did he nought else with thee?' asked the lady. 'yes,' replied enis el jelis: 'he took of me three kisses.' 'he did not leave thee without deflowering thee!' cried the vizier's wife, and fell to weeping and buffeting her face, she and her women, fearing that noureddin's father would kill him. whilst they were thus, in came the vizier and asked what was the matter, and his wife said to him, 'swear that thou wilt hearken to what i say.' 'it is well,' replied he. so she told him what his son had done, and he was greatly afflicted and tore his clothes and buffeted his face and plucked out his beard. 'do not kill thyself,' said his wife: 'i will give thee the ten thousand dinars, her price, of my own money.' but he raised his head and said to her, 'out on thee! i have no need of her price, but i fear to lose both life and goods.' 'how so?' asked his wife, and he said, 'dost thou not know that yonder is our enemy muin ben sawa, who, when he hears of this affair, will go up to the sultan and say to him, "thy vizier, who thou wilt have it loves thee, had of thee ten thousand dinars and bought therewith a slave-girl, whose like was never seen; but when he saw her, she pleased him and he said to his son, 'take her: thou art worthier of her than the sultan.' so he took her and did away her maidenhead, and she is now with him." the king will say, "thou liest!" to which muin will reply, "with thy leave, i will fall on him at unawares and bring her to thee." the king will order him to do this, and he will come down upon the house and take the damsel and bring her before the king, who will question her and she will not be able to deny what has passed. then muin will say, "o my lord, thou knowest that i give thee true counsel, but i am not in favour with thee." thereupon the sultan will make an example of me, and i shall be a gazing-stock to all the people and my life will be lost.' quoth his wife, 'tell none of this thing, which has happened privily, but commit thy case to god and trust in him to deliver thee from this strait.' with this the vizier's heart was set at rest, and his wrath and chagrin subsided. meanwhile, noureddin, fearing the issue of the affair, spent the whole day in the gardens and came back by night to his mother's apartment, where he slept and rising before day, returned to the gardens. he lived thus for a whole month, not showing his face to his father, till at last his mother said to the vizier, 'o my lord, shall we lose our own son as well as the damsel? if things continue thus for long, the lad will flee forth from us.' 'what is to be done?' said he: and she answered, 'do thou watch this night, and when he comes, seize on him and frighten him. i will rescue him from thee and do thou then make peace with him and give him the girl, for she loves him and he her; and i will pay thee her price.' so the vizier watched that night and when his son came, he seized him and throwing him down, knelt on his breast and made as if he would cut his throat; but his mother came to his succour and said to her husband, 'what wilt thou do with him?' quoth he, 'i mean to kill him.' and noureddin said to his father 'am i of so little account with thee?' whereupon the vizier's eyes filled with tears and he replied, 'o my son, is the loss of my goods and my life of so little account in thine eyes?' quoth noureddin, 'hear, o my father, what the poet says: pardon me: true, i have sinned: yet the sagacious man ceases never to pardon freely the erring wight. surely, therefore, thy foe may hope for pardon from thee, since he is in the abyss and thou on honour's height!' then the vizier rose from off his breast, saying, 'o my son, i forgive thee!' for his heart was softened. noureddin rose and kissed the hand of his father, who said to him, 'if i knew that thou wouldst deal fairly by enis el jelis, i would give her to thee.' 'o my father,' replied noureddin, 'how should i not deal fairly by her?' quoth the vizier, 'o my son, i charge thee not to take another wife nor concubine to share with her nor sell her.' 'o my father,' answered noureddin, 'i swear to thee that i will do none of these things.' then he went in to the damsel and abode with her a whole year, whilst god caused the king to forget the affair. the matter, indeed, came to muin's ears, but he dared not speak of it, by reason of the favour in which the vizier fezl stood with the sultan. at the end of the year, the vizier fezl went one day to the bath and coming out, whilst still in a sweat, the air smote him and he caught cold and took to his bed. his malady gained upon him and sleeplessness was long upon him; so he called his son noureddin and said to him, 'o my son, know that fortune is lotted out and the term of life fixed, and needs must every soul drain the cup of death.' and he repeated the following verses: i'm dead: yet glory be to him that dieth not; for that i needs must die, indeed, full well i wot, he is no king, who dies with kingship in his hand, for sovranty belongs to him that dieth not. then he continued, 'o my son, i have no charge to lay on thee, except that thou fear god and look to the issue of thine actions and cherish the damsel enis el jelis.' 'o my father,' said noureddin, 'who is like unto thee? indeed thou art renowned for the practice of virtue and the praying of the preachers for thee in the pulpits.' quoth fezl, 'o my son, i hope for acceptance from god the most high.' then he pronounced the two professions of the faith and was numbered among the blessed. the palace was filled with crying and lamentation, and the news of his death reached the king and the people of the city, and even the children in the schools wept for fezi ben khacan. then his son noureddin arose and took order for his funeral, and the amirs and viziers and grandees were present, amongst them the vizier muin ben sawa; and as the funeral train came forth of the palace, one of the mourners recited the following verses: the fifth day i departed and left my friends alone: they laid me out and washed me upon a slab of stone; then stripped me of the raiment that on my body was, that they might put upon me clothes other than my own on four men's necks they bore me unto the place of prayer and prayed a prayer above me by no prostration known. then in a vaulted dwelling they laid me. though the years shall waste, its door will never be open to them thrown. when they had laid him in the earth, noureddin returned with the folk; and he lamented with groans and tears and the tongue of the case repeated the following verses: on the fifth day they departed in the eventide, and i took of them the last leave-taking, when they went and left me here. when they turned away and left me, lo! the soul with them did go. and i said, "return." it answered, "where, alas! should i recur; shall i come back to a body whence the life and blood are flown? nothing now but bones are left it, rattling in the sepulchre. lo! my eyes, excess of weeping hath put out their sight, i trow, and a deafness eke is fallen on my ears: i cannot hear." he abode a long while in great grief for his father, till one day, as he sat in his house, there came a knocking at the door; so he rose and opening the door, found there a man who had been one of his father's friends and boon-companions. he entered and kissing noureddin's hand, said to him, 'o my lord, he who has left the like of thee is not dead; and to this pass (death) came even the lord of the first and the last.[fn# ] o my lord, take comfort and leave mourning!' thereupon noureddin rose and going to the guest-chamber, transported thither all that he needed. then his friends gathered together to him and he took his slave-girl again and collecting round him ten of the sons of the merchants, began to eat meat and drink wine, giving entertainment after entertainment and dispensing gifts and favours with a lavish hand, till one day his steward came to him and said, 'o my lord noureddin, hast thou not heard the saying, "he who spends and does not reckon, becomes poor without knowing it?"' and he repeated the following verses: i'll hold my money fast, knowing, as well as i know, that 'tis my sword and shield against my every foe. if i should lavish it on those who love me not, my luck among the folk would change to grief and woe. so i will eat and drink my wealth for my own good nor upon any man a single doit bestow. i will preserve with care my money from all those by nature base and true to none. 'tis better so than that i e'er should say unto the mean of soul, "lend me so much i'll pay to-morrow five-fold mo," and see my friend avert his face and turn away, leaving my soul cast down, as 'twere a dog's, i trow! o what a sorry lot is his, who hath no pelf, e'en though his virtues bright like to the sun should show! 'o my lord,' continued the steward, 'this lavish expense and prodigal giving waste away wealth.' when noureddin heard his steward's words, he looked at him and said, 'i will not hearken to one word of all thou hast said, for i have heard the following saying of the poet: if i be blessed with wealth and be not liberal with it, may my hand wither and my foot eke paralysed remain! show me the niggard who hath won glory by avarice! show me the liberal man his own munificence hath slain! and he said, 'know, o steward, it is my desire that so long as there remains in thy hands enough for my morning meal, thou trouble me not with taking care for my evening meal.' therewith the steward went away and noureddin continued his extravagant way of living; and if any of his boon-companions chanced to say to him, 'this thing is handsome,' he would answer, 'it is thine as a gift;' or if another said, 'o my lord, such and such a house is handsome,' he would say, 'take it: it is thine.' in this manner he continued to live for a whole year, giving his friends a banquet in the morning and another in the evening, till one day as they were sitting together, the damsel enis el jelis repeated the following verses: thou madest fair thy thought of fate, when that the days were fair, and fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might bring: the nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wert deceived by them, for in the peace of night is born full many a troublous thing. just as she had finished, there came a knocking at the door; so noureddin rose to open it, and one of his companions followed him without his knowledge. at the door he found his steward and said to him, 'what is the matter?' 'omylord,' replied he, 'what i feared for thee has come to pass!' 'how so?' asked noureddin; and the steward said, 'know that there remains not a dirhem's worth, less nor more, in my hands. here are registers containing an account of the original state of thy property and the way in which thou hast spent it.' at this, noureddin bowed his head and exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god!' when the man who had followed him secretly to spy on him heard what the steward said, he returned to his companions and said to them, 'look what ye do; for noureddin ali is bankrupt.' when noureddin returned, they read trouble in his face; so one of them rose and said to him, 'o my lord, maybe thou wilt give me leave to retire?' 'why wilt thou go away to-day?' said he. 'my wife is brought to bed,' replied the other; 'and i cannot be absent from her; i wish to return and see how she does.' so noureddin gave him leave, whereupon another rose and said, 'o my lord, i wish to go to my brother, for he circumcises his son to-day.' and each made some excuse to retire, till they were all gone and noureddin remained alone. then he called his slave-girl and said to her, 'o enis el jelis, hast thou seen what has befallen me?' and he related to her what the steward had told him. 'o my lord,' replied she, 'some nights ago i had it in my mind to speak with thee of this matter; but i heard thee reciting the following verses: if fortune be lavish to thee, look thou be lavish with it unto all classes of men, ere it escapes from thy hand! munificence will not undo it, whilst it is constant to thee, nor, when it turneth away, will avarice force it to stand. when i heard thee speak thus, i held my peace and cared not to say aught to thee.' 'o enis el jelis,' said noureddin, 'thou knowest that i have not expended my substance but on my friends, who have beggared me, and i think they will not leave me without help.' 'by allah,' replied she, 'they will not profit thee in aught.' said he, 'i will rise at once and go to them and knock at their doors: maybe i shall get of them somewhat with which i may trade and leave pleasure and merry-making.' so he rose and repaired to a certain street, where all his ten comrades lived. he went up to the first door and knocked, whereupon a maid came out and said, 'who art thou?' 'tell thy master,' replied he, 'that noureddin ali stands at the door and says to him, "thy slave kisses thy hands and awaits thy bounty."' the girl went in and told her master, who cried out at her, saying, 'go back and tell him that i am not at home.' so she returned and said to noureddin, 'o my lord, my master is from home.' with this, he went away, saying to himself, 'though this fellow be a whoreson knave and deny himself, another may not be so.' then he came to the second door and sent in a like message to the master of the house, who denied himself as the first had done, whereupon noureddin repeated the following verse: they're gone who, if before their door thou didst arrest thy feet, would on thy poverty bestow both flesh and roasted meat. and said 'by allah, i must try them all: there may be one amongst them who will stand me in the stead of the rest.' so he went round to all the ten, but not one of them opened his door to him or showed himself to him or broke a cake of bread in his face; whereupon he repeated the following verses: a man in time of affluence is like unto a tree, round which the folk collect, as long as fruit thereon they see, till, when its burden it hath cast, they turn from it away, leave it to suffer heat and dust and all inclemency. out on the people of this age! perdition to them all! since not a single one of ten is faithful found to be. then he returned to his slave-girl, and indeed his concern was doubled, and she said to him, 'o my lord, did i not tell thee that they would not profit thee aught?' 'by allah,' replied he, 'not one of them would show me his face or take any notice of me!' 'o my lord! said she, 'sell some of the furniture and household stuff, little by little, and live on the proceed, against god the most high provide.' so he sold all that was in the house, till there was nothing left, when he turned to her and said, 'what is to be done now?' 'o my lord,' replied she, 'it is my advice that thou rise and take me down to the market and sell me. thou knowest that thy father bought me for ten thousand dinars; perhaps god may help thee to near that price, and if it be his will that we be reunited, we shall meet again.' 'o enis el jelis,' replied noureddin, 'by allah, i cannot endure to be parted from thee for a single hour!' 'by allah, o my lord,' rejoined she, 'nor is it easy to me; but necessity compels, as says the poet: necessity in life oft drives one into ways that to the courteous mind are foreign and abhorred. we do not trust our weight unto a rope, unless it be to do some thing adapted to the cord.' with this, he rose to his feet and took her, whilst the tears streamed down his cheeks like rain and he recited with the tongue of the case what follows: stay and vouchsafe me one more look before our parting hour, to soothe the anguish of a heart well-nigh for reverence slain! yet, if it irk thee anywise to grant my last request, far rather let me die of love than cause thee aught of pain! then he went down to the market and delivered the damsel to a broker, to whom he said, 'o hajj[fn# ] hassan, i would have thee note the value of her thou hast to offer for sale!' 'o my lord noureddin,' replied the broker, 'i have not forgotten my business.[fn# ] is not this enis el jelis, whom thy father bought of me for ten thousand dinars?' 'yes,' said noureddin. then the broker went round to the merchants, but found they were not all assembled; so he waited till the rest had arrived and the market was full of all kinds of female slaves, turks and franks and circassians and abyssinians and nubians and egyptians and tartars and greeks and georgians and others; when he came forward and said, 'o merchants! o men of wealth! every round thing is not a walnut nor every long thing a banana; every thing red is not meat nor everything white fat. o merchants, i have here this unique pearl, this unvalued jewel! what price shall i set on her?' 'say four thousand five hundred dinars,' cried one. so the broker opened the biddings for her at that sum and as he was yet calling, behold, the vizier muin ben sawa passed through the market and seeing noureddin standing in a corner, said to himself, 'what doth the son of khacan here? has this gallows-bird aught left to buy girls withal?' then he looked round and seeing the broker crying out and the merchants round him, said to himself, 'doubtless he is ruined and has brought the damsel enis el jelis hither to sell her! what a solace to my heart!' then he called the crier, who came up and kissed the ground before him, and he said to him, 'show me the girl thou art crying for sale.' the broker dared not cross him, so he answered, 'o my lord, in the name of god!' and brought the damsel and showed her to him. she pleased him and he said, 'o hassan, what is bidden for this damsel?' 'four thousand five hundred dinars,' replied the broker, 'as an upset price.' quoth the vizier, 'i take that bid on myself.' when the merchants heard this, they hung back and dared not bid another dirhem, knowing what they did of the vizier's tyranny. then muin looked at the broker and said to him, 'what ails thee to stand still? go and offer four thousand dinars for her, and the five hundred shall be for thyself.' so the broker went to noureddin and said to him, 'o my lord, thy slave is gone for nothing!' 'how so?' said he. the broker answered, 'we had opened the biddings for her at four thousand five hundred dinars, when that tyrant muin ben sawa passed through the market and when he saw the damsel, she pleased him and he said to me, "call me the buyer for four thousand dinars, and thou shalt have five hundred for thyself." i doubt not but he knows she belongs to thee, and if he would pay thee down her price at once, it were well; but i know, of his avarice and upright, he will give thee a written order on some of his agents and will send after thee to say to them, "give him nothing." so as often as thou shalt go to seek the money, they will say, "we will pay thee presently," and so they will put thee off day after day, for all thy high spirit, till at last, when they are tired of thine importunity, they will say, "show us the bill." then, as soon as they get hold of it, they will tear it up, and so thou wilt lose the girl's price.' when noureddin heard this, he looked at the broker and said to him, 'what is to be done?' 'i will give thee a counsel,' answered he, 'which if thou follow, it will be greatly to thine advantage.' 'what is that?' asked noureddin. 'do thou come to me presently,' said the broker, 'when i am standing in the midst of the market and taking the girl from my hand, give her a cuff and say to her, "o baggage, i have kept my vow and brought thee down to the market, because i swore that i would put thee up for sale and make the brokers cry thee." if thou do this, it may be the device will impose upon the vizier and the folk, and they will believe that thou broughtest her not to the market but for the quittance of thine oath.' 'this is a good counsel,' said noureddin. then the broker left him and returning to the midst of the market, took the damsel by the hand; then beckoned to muin and said to him, 'o my lord, here comes her owner.' with this up came noureddin and snatching the girl from the broker, gave her a cuff and said to her, 'out on thee, thou baggage! i have brought thee down to the market for the quittance of my oath; so now begone home and look that thou cross me not again. out on thee! do i need thy price, that i should sell thee? the furniture of my house would fetch many times thy value, if i sold it.' when muin saw this, he said to noureddin, 'out on thee! hast thou aught left to sell?' and he made to lay violent hands on him; but the merchants interposed, for they all loved noureddin, and the latter said to them, 'behold, i am in your hands, and ye all know his tyranny!' 'by allah,' exclaimed the vizier, 'but for you, i would have killed him!' then all the merchants signed to noureddin with their eyes as who should say, 'work thy will of him; not one of us will come betwixt him and thee.' whereupon noureddin, who was a stout-hearted fellow, went up to the vizier and dragging him from his saddle, threw him to the ground. now there was in that place a mortar-pit, into the midst of which he fell, and noureddin fell to cuffing and pummelling him, and one of the blows smote his teeth, dyeing his beard with his blood. there were with the vizier ten armed slaves, who, seeing their master thus evil entreated, clapped their hands to their swords and would have drawn them and fallen on noureddin, to kill him; but the bystanders said to them, 'this is a vizier and that a vizier's son; it may be they will make peace with one another anon, in which case you will have gotten the hatred of both of them. or a blow may fall on your lord, and you will all die the foulest of deaths; so you would do wisely not to interfere.' so they held aloof and when noureddin had made an end of beating the vizier, he took his slave-girl and went home; and muin rose, with his white clothes dyed of three colours with black mud, red blood and ashes. when he saw himself in this plight, he put a halter round his neck and taking a bundle of coarse grass in either hand, went up to the palace and standing under the king's windows, cried out, 'o king of the age, i am a man aggrieved!' so they brought him before the sultan, who looked at him and knowing him for his chief vizier, asked who had entreated him thus. whereupon he wept and sobbed and repeated the following verses: shall fortune oppress me, and that in thy day, o king? shall wolves devour me, whilst thou art a lion proud? shall all that are thirsty drink of thy water-tanks and shall i thirst in thy courts, whilst thou art a rain-fraught cloud? 'o my lord,' continued he, 'thus fare all who love and serve thee.' 'make haste,' said the sultan, 'and tell me how this happened and who hath dealt thus with thee, whose honour is a part of my own honour.' 'know then, o my lord,' replied the vizier, 'that i went out this day to the slave-market to buy me a cook-maid, when i saw in the bazaar a damsel, whose like for beauty i never beheld. she pleased me and i thought to buy her for our lord the sultan; so i asked the broker of her and her owner, and he replied, "she belongs to noureddin ali son of fezl ben khacan." now our lord the sultan aforetime gave his father ten thousand dinars to buy him a handsome slave-girl, and he bought therewith this damsel, who pleased him, so that he grudged her to our lord the sultan and gave her to his own son. when fezl died, his son sold all that he possessed of houses and gardens and household stuff and squandered the price, till he became penniless. then he brought the girl down to the market, to sell her, and handed her to the broker, who cried her and the merchants bid for her, till her price reached four thousand dinars; whereupon i said to myself, "i will buy her for our lord the sultan, for it was his money that paid for her." so i said to noureddin, "o my son, sell her to me for four thousand dinars." he looked at me and replied, "o pestilent old man, i will sell her to a jew or a christian rather than to thee!" "i do not buy her for myself," said i, "but for our lord and benefactor the sultan." when he heard my words, he flew into a passion and dragging me off my horse, for all i am an old man, beat me till he left me as thou seest; and all this has befallen me but because i thought to buy the girl for thee.' then the vizier threw himself on the ground and lay there, weeping and trembling. when the sultan saw his condition and heard his story, the vein of anger started out between his eyes, and he turned to his guards, who stood before him, forty swordsmen, and said to them, 'go down at once to the house of noureddin ben fezl, and sack it and raze it; then take him and the damsel and drag them hither with their hands bound behind them.' 'we hear and obey,' answered they: and arming themselves, set out for noureddin's house. now there was with the sultan a man called ilmeddin senjer, who had aforetime been servant to noureddin's father fezl ben khacan, but had left his service for that of the sultan, who had advanced him to be one of his chamberlains. when he heard the sultan's order and saw the enemies intent upon killing his master's son, it was grievous to him; so he went out from before the sultan and mounting his steed, rode to noureddin's house and knocked at the door. noureddin came out and knowing him, would have saluted him: but he said, 'o my lord, this is no time for greeting or converse.' 'o ilmeddin,' asked noureddin, 'what is the matter?' 'arise and flee for your lives, thou and the damsel,' replied he: 'for muin ben sawa hath laid a snare for you; and if you fall into his hands, he will kill you. the sultan hath despatched forty swordsmen against you and i counsel you flee ere evil overtake you.' then senjer put his hand to his pouch and finding there forty dinars, took them and gave them to noureddin, saying, 'o my lord, take these and journey with them. if i had more, i would give them to thee; but this is no time to take exception.' so noureddin went in to the damsel and told her what had happened, at which she wrung her hands. then they went out at once from the city, and god let down the veil of his protection over them, so that they reached the river-bank, where they found a ship about to sail. her captain stood in the waist, saying, 'whoso has aught to do, whether in the way of victualling or taking leave of his friends, or who has forgotten any necessary thing, let him do it at once and return, for we are about to sail.' and every one said, 'o captain, we have nothing left to do.' whereupon he cried out to his crew, saying, 'ho, there! cast off the moorings and pull up the pickets!' quoth noureddin, 'whither bound, o captain?' 'to the abode of peace, baghdad,' replied he. so noureddin and the damsel embarked with him, and they launched out and spread the sails, and the ship sped forth, as she were a bird in full flight, even as says right well the poet: look at a ship, how ravishing a sight she is and fair! in her swift course she doth outstrip the breezes of the air. she seems as 'twere a scudding bird that, lighting from the sky, doth on the surface of the stream with outspread pinions fare. meanwhile the king's officers came to noureddin's house and breaking open the doors, entered and searched the whole place, but could find no trace of him and the damsel; so they demolished the house and returning to the sultan, told him what they had done; whereupon he said, 'make search for them, wherever they are!' and they answered, 'we hear and obey.' then he bestowed upon the vizier muin a dress of honour and said to him, 'none shall avenge thee but myself.' so muin's heart was comforted and he wished the king long life and returned to his own house. then the sultan caused proclamation to be made in the town, saying, 'o all ye people! it is the will of our lord the sultan that whoso happens on noureddin ali ben khacan and brings him to the sultan shall receive a dress of honour and a thousand dinars, and he who conceals him or knows his abiding-place and informs not thereof, deserves the exemplary punishment that shall befall him.' so search was made for noureddin, but they could find neither trace nor news of him; and meantime he and the damsel sailed on with a fair wind, till they arrived safely at baghdad and the captain said to them, 'this is baghdad, and it is a city of safety: the winter hath departed from it, with its cold, and the season of the spring is come, with its roses; its trees are in blossom and its streams flowing.' so noureddin landed, he and the damsel, and giving the captain five dinars, walked on awhile, till chance brought them among the gardens and they came to a place swept and sprinkled, with long benches on either hand and hanging pots full of water. overhead was a trelliswork of canes shading the whole length of the alley, and at the further end was the door of a garden; but this was shut. 'by allah,' said noureddin to the damsel, 'this is a pleasant place!' and she answered, 'o my lord, let us sit down on these benches and rest awhile.' so they mounted and sat down on the benches, after having washed their faces and hands; and the air smote on them and they fell asleep, glory be to him who never sleeps! now the garden in question was called the garden of delight and therein stood a pavilion called the pavilion of pictures, belonging to the khalif haroun er reshid, who used, when sad at heart, to repair thither and there sit. in this pavilion were fourscore windows and fourscore hanging lamps and in the midst a great chandelier of gold. when the khalif entered, he was wont to have all the windows opened and to order his boon-companion isaac ben ibrahim and the slave-girls to sing, till his care left him and his heart was lightened. now the keeper of the garden was an old man by name gaffer ibrahim, and he had found, from time to time, on going out on his occasions, idlers taking their case with courtezans in the alley leading to the door of the garden, at which he was sore enraged; so he complained to the khalif, who said, 'whomsoever thou findest at the door of the garden, do with him as thou wilt.' as chance would have it, he had occasion to go abroad that very day and found these two sleeping at the gate, covered with one veil; whereupon, 'by allah,' said he, 'this is fine! these two know not that the khalif has given me leave to kill any one whom i may catch at the door of the garden: but i will give them a sound drubbing, that none may come near the gate in future.' so he cut a green palm-stick and went out to them and raising his arm, till the whiteness of his armpit appeared, was about to lay on to them, when he bethought himself and said, 'o ibrahim, wilt thou beat them, knowing not their case? maybe they are strangers or wayfarers, and destiny hath led them hither. i will uncover their faces and look on them.' so he lifted up the veil from their faces and said, 'they are a handsome pair! it were not fitting that i should beat them.' then he covered their faces again, and going to noureddin's feet, began to rub them, whereupon the young man awoke, and seeing an old man of venerable appearance rubbing his feet, was abashed and drawing them in, sat up; then took ibrahim's hand and kissed it. quoth the old man, 'o my son, whence art thou?' 'o my lord,' replied noureddin, 'we are strangers.' and the tears started to his eyes. 'o my son,' said ibrahim, 'know that the prophet (whom god bless and preserve!) hath charged us to be hospitable to strangers. wilt thou not rise, o my son, and pass into the garden and take thy pleasure therein and gladden thy heart?' 'o my lord,' said noureddin, 'to whom does the garden belong?' and he replied, 'o my son, i inherited it from my family.' now his object in saying this was to put them at their ease and induce them to enter the garden. so noureddin thanked him and rose, he and the damsel, and followed him into the garden. they entered through a gateway, vaulted like a gallery and overhung with vines bearing grapes of various colours, the red like rubies and the black like ebony, and passing under a bower of trellised boughs, found themselves in a garden, and what a garden! there were fruit-trees growing singly and in clusters and birds warbling melodiously on the branches, whilst the thousand-voiced nightingale repeated the various strains: the turtle-dove filled the place with her cooing, and there sang the blackbird, with its warble like a human voice, and the ring-dove, with her notes like a drinker exhilarated with wine. the trees were laden with all manner of ripe fruits, two of each: the apricot in its various kinds, camphor and almond and that of khorassan, the plum, whose colour is as that of fair women, the cherry, that does away discoloration of the teeth, and the fig of three colours, red and white and green. there bloomed the flower of the bitter orange, as it were pearls and coral, the rose whose redness puts to shame the cheeks of the fair, the violet, like sulphur on fire by night, the myrtle, the gillyflower, the lavender, the peony and the blood-red anemone. the leaves were jewelled with the tears of the clouds; the camomile smiled with her white petals like a lady's teeth, and the narcissus looked at the rose with her negro's eyes: the citrons shone like cups and the limes like balls of gold, and the earth was carpeted with flowers of all colours; for the spring was come and the place beamed with its brightness; whilst the birds sang and the stream rippled and the breeze blew softly, for the attemperance of the air. ibrahim carried them up into the pavilion, and they gazed on its beauty and on the lamps aforesaid in the windows; and noureddin called to mind his banquetings of time past and said, 'by allah, this is a charming place!' then they sat down and the gardener set food before them; and they ate their fill and washed their hands; after which noureddin went up to one of the windows and calling the damsel, fell to gazing on the trees laden with all manner of fruits. then he turned to the gardener and said to him, 'o gaffer ibrahim, hast thou no drink here, for folk use to drink after eating?' the old man brought him some fresh sweet cold water, but he said, 'this is not the kind of drink i want.' 'belike,' said ibrahim, 'thou wishest for wine?' 'i do,' replied noureddin. 'god preserve me from it!' said the old man. 'it is thirteen years since i did this thing, for the prophet (whom god bless and preserve!) cursed its drinker, its presser, its seller and its carrier.' 'hear two words from me,' said noureddin. 'say on,' replied ibrahim. 'if,' said noureddin, 'that unlucky ass there be cursed, will any part of the curse fall on thee?' 'not so,' replied the old man. 'then,' said noureddin, 'take this dinar and these two dirhems and mount the ass and stop at a distance (from the wineshop); then call the first man thou seest buying, and say to him, "take these two dirhems and buy me this dinar's worth of wine and set it on the ass." thus thou wilt be neither the purchaser nor the carrier of the wine and no part of the curse will fall on thee.' at this the gardener laughed and said, 'o my son, never have i seen one readier-witted than thou nor heard aught sweeter than thy speech.' so he did as noureddin had said, and the latter thanked him, saying, 'we are dependent on thee, and it is only fitting that thou comply with our wishes; so bring us what we require.' 'o my son,' replied he, 'there is my buttery before thee.' (now this was the store-room provided for the commander of the faithful.) enter and take what thou wilt; there is more there than thou needest.' so noureddin entered the pantry and found therein vessels of gold and silver and crystal, incrusted with all kinds of jewels, and was amazed and delighted at what he saw. then he took what he wanted and set it on and poured the wine into flagons and decanters, whilst ibrahim brought them fruits and flowers and withdrew and sat down at a distance. so they drank and made merry, till the wine got the mastery of them, so that their cheeks flushed and their eyes sparkled and their hair became dishevelled. then said ibrahim to himself, 'what ails me to sit apart? why should i not sit with them? when shall i find myself in company with the like of these two, who are like two moons?' so he came and sat down at the corner of the dais, and noureddin said to him, 'o my lord, my life on thee, come and sit with us!' so he came and sat by them, and noureddin filled a cup and said to him, 'drink, that thou mayst know the flavour of it.' 'god forbid!' replied he. 'i have not done such a thing these thirteen years.' noureddin did not press him, but drank off the cup, and throwing himself on the ground, feigned to be overcome with drunkenness. then said the damsel, 'o gaffer ibrahim, see how he serves me!' 'o my lady,' replied he, 'what ails him?' 'this is how he always treats me,' said she; 'he drinks awhile, then falls asleep and leaves me alone, with none to bear me company over my cup nor to whom i may sing whilst he drinks.' 'by allah,' said he (and indeed her words touched his heart and made his soul incline to her), 'this is not well!' then she looked at him and filling a cup said to him, 'i conjure thee, on my life, not to refuse me, but take this cup and drink it off and solace my heart.' so he took it and drank it off and she filled a second cup and set it on the chandelier, saying, 'o my lord, there is still this one left for thee.' 'by allah, i cannot take it,' answered he; 'that which i have drunk suffices me.' 'by allah,' said she, 'thou must indeed drink it.' so he took the cup and drank; and she filled him a third cup, which he took and was about to drink, when behold, noureddin opened his eyes and sitting up, exclaimed, 'hello, gaffer ibrahim, what is this? did i not adjure thee just now, and thou refusedst, saying, "i have not done such a thing these thirteen years"?' 'by allah,' replied he (and indeed he was abashed), 'it is her fault, not mine.' noureddin laughed and they sat down again to carouse, but the damsel turned to noureddin and whispered to him, 'o my lord, drink and do not press him, and i will show thee some sport with him.' then she began to fill her master's cup and he to fill to her, and so they did time after time, till at last ibrahim looked at them and said, 'what manner of good fellowship is this? god's malison on the glutton who keeps the cup to himself! why dost thou not give me to drink, o my brother? what manners are these, o blessed one!' at this they laughed till they fell backward; then they drank and gave him to drink and ceased not to carouse thus, till a third part of the night was past. then said the damsel, 'o gaffer ibrahim, with thy leave, i will light one of these candles.' 'do so,' said he; 'but light no more then one.' so she rose and beginning with one candle, lighted fourscore and sat down again. presently noureddin said, 'o gaffer ibrahim, how stands my favour with thee? may i not light one of these lamps ?' 'light one,' replied he, 'and plague me no more.' so noureddin rose and lighted one lamp after another, till he had lighted the whole eighty and the palace seemed to dance with light. quoth ibrahim (and indeed intoxication had mastered him), 'ye are more active than i.' then he rose and opened all the windows and sat down again; and they fell to carousing and reciting verses, till the place rang with their mirth. now as god the all-powerful, who appointeth a cause to everything, had decreed, the khalif was at that moment seated at one of the windows of his palace, overlooking the tigris, in the light of the moon. he saw the lustre of the candles and lamps reflected in the river and lifting his eyes, perceived that it came from the garden-palace, which was in a blaze with light. so he called jaafer the barmecide and said to him, 'o dog of a vizier, has the city of baghdad been taken from me and thou hast not told me?' 'what words are these?' said jaafer. 'if baghdad were not taken from me,' rejoined the khalif, 'the pavilion of pictures would not be illuminated with lamps and candles, nor would its windows be open. out on thee! who would dare to do this except the khalifate were taken from me?' quoth jaafer (and indeed he trembled in every limb), 'who told thee that the pavilion was illuminated and the windows open?' 'come hither and look,' replied the khalif. so jaafer came to the window and looking towards the garden, saw the pavilion flaming with light, in the darkness of the night, and thinking that this might be by the leave of the keeper, for some good reason of his own, was minded to make an excuse for him. so he said, 'o commander of the faithful, gaffer ibrahim said to me last week, "o my lord jaafer, i desire to circumcise my sons during thy life and that of the commander of the faithful." "what dost thou want?" asked i; and he said, "get me leave from the khalif to hold the festival in the pavilion." so i said to him, "go, circumcise them, and i will see the khalif and tell him." so he went away and i forgot to tell thee.' 'o jaafer,' said the khalif, 'thou hast committed two offences against me, first, in that thou didst not tell me, secondly, in that thou didst not give the old man what he sought; for he only came and told thee this, by way of hinting a request for some small matter of money, to help him out with the expenses; and thou gavest him nothing nor toldest me.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'i forgot.' 'by the virtue of my forefathers,' rejoined the khalif, 'i will not pass the rest of the night but with him, for he is a pious man, who consorts with the elders of the faith and the fakirs: doubtless they are now assembled with him and it may be that the prayer of one of them may profit us both in this world and the next. besides, my presence will advantage him and he will be pleased.' 'o commander of the faithful,' objected jaafer, 'the night is far spent, and they will now be about to break up.' 'it matters not,' replied the khalif; 'i must and will go to them.' and jaafer was silent, being perplexed and knowing not what to do. then the khalif rose to his feet and taking with him jaafer and mesrour the eunuch, they all three disguised themselves as merchants and leaving the palace, walked on through the by-streets till they came to the garden. the khalif went up to the gate and finding it open, was surprised and said to the vizier, 'look, jaafer, how gaffer ibrahim has left the gate open to this hour, contrary to his wont!' they entered and walked on till they came under the pavilion, when the khalif said, 'o jaafer, i wish to look in upon them privily before i join them, that i may see what they are about, for up to now i hear no sound nor any fakir naming[fn# ] god.' then he looked about and seeing a tall walnut-tree, said to jaafer, 'i will climb this tree, for its branches come near the windows, and so look in upon them.' so he mounted the tree and climbed from branch to branch, till he reached a bough that came up to one of the windows. on this he seated himself and looking in at the window, saw a young lady and a young man as they were two moons (glory be to him who created them and fashioned them!), and by them gaffer ibrahim seated, with a cup in his hand, saying, 'o princess of fair ones, drink without music is nothing worth; indeed i have heard a poet say: pass round the wine in the great and the small cup too, and take the bowl from the hands of the shining moon.[fn# ] but without music, i charge you, forbear to drink, for sure i see even horses drink to a whistled tune.' when the khalif saw this, the vein of anger started out between his eyes and he descended and said to the vizier, 'o jaafer, never saw i men of piety in such a case! do thou mount this tree and look upon them, lest the benisons of the devout escape thee.' so jaafer climbed up, perplexed at these words, and looking in, saw noureddin and the damsel and gaffer ibrahim with a cup in his hand. at this sight, he made sure of ruin and descending, stood before the commander of the faithful, who said to him, 'o jaafer, praised be god who hath made us of those who observe the external forms of the divine ordinances!' jaafer could make no answer for excess of confusion, and the khalif continued, 'i wonder how these people came hither and who admitted them into my pavilion! but the like of the beauty of this youth and this girl my eyes never beheld!' 'thou art right, o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, hoping to propitiate him. then said the khalif, 'o jaafer, let us both mount the branch that overlooks the window, that we may amuse ourselves with looking at them.' so they both climbed the tree and looking in, heard ibrahim say, 'o my lady, i have laid aside gravity in drinking wine, but this is not thoroughly delectable without the melodious sound of the strings. 'by allah,' replied enis el jelis, 'if we had but some musical instrument, our joy would be complete!' when the old man heard what she said, he rose to his feet, and the khalif said to jaafer, 'i wonder what he is going to do.' 'i know not,' replied jaafer. then ibrahim went out and returned with a lute; and the khalif looked at it and knew it for that of isaac the boon-companion. 'by allah,' said he, 'if this damsel sing ill, i will crucify you, all of you; but if she sing well, i will pardon them and crucify thee.' 'god grant she may sing ill!' said jaafer 'why so?' asked the khalif. 'because,' replied jaafer 'if thou crucify us all together, we shall keep each other company.' the khalif laughed at his speech; then the damsel took the lute and tuning it, played a measure which made all hearts yearn to her, then sang the following verses: o ye that to help unhappy lovers are fain! we burn with the fire of love and longing in vain. whatever ye do, we merit it: see, we cast ourselves on your ruth! do not exult in our pain. for we are children of sadness and low estate. do with us what you will; we will not complain. what were your glory to slay us within your courts? our fear is but lest you sin in working us bane. 'by allah,' said the khalif, 'it is good, o jaafer! never in my life have i heard so enchanting a voice!' 'belike,' said jaafer, 'the khalif's wrath hath departed from him.' 'yes,' said the khalif, 'it is gone.' then they descended from the tree, and the khalif said to jaafer, 'i wish to go in and sit with them and hear the damsel sing before me.' 'o commander of the faithful,' replied jaafer, 'if thou go in to them, they will most like be troubled and gaffer ibrahim will assuredly die of fright.' 'o jaafer,' said the khalif, 'thou must teach me some device, whereby i may foregather with them, without being known of them.' so they walked on towards the tigris, considering of this affair, and presently came upon a fisher man standing fishing under the windows of the pavilion. now some time before this, the khalif (being in the pavilion) had called to gaffer ibrahim and said to him, 'what is this noise i hear under the windows?' 'it is the voices of the fishermen, fishing,' answered he; and the khalif commanded him to go down and forbid them to resort thither; so the fishermen were forbidden to fish there. however, that night a fisherman named kerim, happening to pass by and seeing the garden gate open, said to himself, 'this is a time of negligence: i will take advantage of it to fish.' so he went in, but had hardly cast his net, when the khalif came up alone and standing behind him, knew him and called out to him, saying, 'ho, kerim!' the fisherman, hearing himself called by his name, turned round, and seeing the khalif, trembled in every limb and exclaimed, 'o commander of the faithful, i did it not in mockery of the edict; but poverty and distress drove me to what thou seest.' quoth the khalif, 'make a cast in my name.' at this the fisherman was glad and going to the bank, cast his net, then waiting till it had spread out to the utmost and settled down, pulled it up and found in it various kinds of fish. the khalif was pleased and said, 'o kerim, put off thy clothes.' so he put off a gown of coarse woollen stuff, patched in a hundred places and full of disgusting vermin, and a turban that had not been unwound for three years, but to which he had sewn every rag he came across. the khalif pulled off his cassock and mantle and two vests of alexandria and baalbec silk and saying to the fisherman, 'take these and put them on,' donned the latter's gown and turban and tied a chin band [fn# ] round the lower part of his face. then said he to the fisherman, 'go about thy business.' so he kissed the khalif's feet and thanked him and recited the following verses: thou hast heaped benefits on me, past all that i could crave! my tongue suffices not to praise thy goodness to thy slave. so i will thank thee whilst i live; and when i come to die, my very bones shall never cease to thank thee in the grave. hardly had he finished, when the lice began to crawl over the skin of the khalif, who fell to snatching them with either hand from his neck and throwing them down, exclaiming, 'out on thee, o fisherman, this gown is swarming with vermin!' 'o my lord,' replied the fisherman, 'they torment thee just now, but before a week has passed, thou wilt not feel them nor think of them.' the khalif laughed and said, 'out on thee! dost thou think i mean to leave this gown on my body?' 'o my lord,' said the fisherman, 'i desire to say one word to thee.' 'say on,' answered the khalif. 'it occurs to me, o commander of the faithful,' said the fisherman, 'that if thou wish to learn hunting, so thou mayst have an useful trade ready to thy hand, this gown will be the very thing for thee.' the khalif laughed, and the fisherman went his way. then the khalif took up the basket of fish, and laying a little grass over it, carried it to jaafer and stood before him. jaafer, concluding that it was kerim the fisherman, was alarmed for him and said, 'o kerim, what brings thee hither? flee for thy life, for the khalif is in the garden to-night, and if he see thee, thou wilt lose thy head.' at this the khalif laughed, and jaafer knew him and said, 'surely thou art our lord the khalif?' 'yes, o jaafer,' replied he. 'and thou art my vizier and i came hither with thee; yet thou knewest me not; so how should gaffer ibrahim know me, and he drunk? stay here, till i come back.' 'i hear and obey,' answered jaafer. then the khalif went up to the door of the pavilion and knocked softly, whereupon said noureddin, 'o gaffer ibrahim, some one knocks at the door.' 'who is at the door?' cried the old man; and the khalif replied, 'it is i, o gaffer ibrahim!' 'who art thou?' asked the gardener. 'i, kerim the fisherman,' rejoined the khalif. 'i hear thou hast company, so have brought thee some fine fish.' when noureddin heard the mention of fish, he was glad, he and the damsel, and they both said to ibrahim, 'o my lord, open the door and let him bring the fish in to us.' so he opened the door, and the khalif entered, in his fisherman's disguise, and began by saluting them. quoth ibrahim, 'welcome to the brigand, the robber, the gambler! let us see thy fish.' so the khalif showed them the fish and behold, they were still alive and moving, whereupon the damsel exclaimed, 'o my lord, these are indeed fine fish! would that they were fried!' 'by allah, o my mistress,' replied ibrahim, 'thou art right.' then said he to the khalif, 'o fisherman, why didst thou not bring us the fish ready fried? go now and fry them and bring them to us.' 'it shall be done at once,' answered he. said they, 'be quick about it.' so he went out, running, and coming up to jaafer, cried out, 'hallo, jaafer!' 'here am i, o commander of the faithful!' replied he. 'they want the fish fried,' said the khalif. 'o commander of the faithful,' answered jaafer, 'give it to me and i will fry it for them.' 'by the tombs of my forefathers,' said the khalif, 'none shall fry it but i, with my own hand!' so he repaired to the keeper's hut, where he searched and found all that he required, even to salt and saffron and marjoram and so forth. then he laid the fish on the frying-pan and setting it on the brazier, fried them handsomely. when they were done, he laid them on a banana-leaf, and gathering some lemons from the garden, carried the dish to the pavilion and set it before them. so noureddin and the damsel and ibrahim came forward and ate, after which they washed their hands and noureddin said to the khalif, 'o fisherman, thou hast done us a right welcome service this night!' then he put his hand to his pouch and taking out three of the dinars that senjer had given him, said, 'o fisherman, excuse me. by allah, had i known thee before that which has lately befallen me, i had done away the bitterness of poverty from thy heart; but take this as an earnest of my good will!' then he threw the dinars to the khalif, who took them and kissed them and put them up. now the khalif's sole desire in all this was to hear the damsel sing; so he said to noureddin, 'o my lord, thou hast rewarded me munificently, but i beg of thy great bounty that thou wilt let this damsel sing an air, that i may hear her.' so noureddin said, 'o enis el jelis!' 'yes,' replied she. and he said, 'my life on thee, sing us something for the sake of this fisherman, for he wishes to hear thee.' so she took the lute and struck the strings, after she had tuned them, and sang the following verses: the fingers of the lovely maid went wandering o'er the lute, and many a soul to ravishment its music did compel. she sang, and lo, her singing cured the deaf man of his ill, and he that erst was dumb exclaimed, "thou hast indeed done well!" then she played again, so admirably that she ravished their wits, and sang the following verses: thou honour'dst us, when thou didst in our land alight; thy lustre hath dispelled the moonless midnight gloom! wherefore with camphor white and rose-water and musk it e'en behoveth us our dwelling to perfume. at this the khalif was agitated and so overcome with emotion that he was not master of himself for excess of delight, and he exclaimed, 'by allah, it is good! by allah, it is good! by allah, it is good!' quoth noureddin, 'o fisherman, doth this damsel please thee?' 'ay, by allah!' replied he. whereupon said noureddin, 'i make thee a present of her, the present of a generous man who does not go back on his giving nor will revoke his gift.' then he sprang to his feet and taking a mantle, threw it over the pretended fisherman and bade him take the damsel and begone. but she looked at him and said, 'o my lord, art thou going away without bidding me adieu? if it must be so, at least, stay whilst i bid thee farewell and make known my case.' and she repeated the following verses: i am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, till i for languor am become a body without soul. say not to me, beloved one, "thou'lt grow consoled for me;" when such affliction holds the heart, what is there can console? if that a creature in his tears could swim as in a sea, i to do this of all that breathe were surely first and sole. o thou, the love of whom doth fill my heart and overflow, even when wine, with water mixed, fills up the brimming bowl, o thou for whom desire torments my body and my spright! this severance is the thing i feared was writ on fortune's scroll. o thou, whose love from out my heart shall nevermore depart, o son of khacan, thou my wish, my hope unshared and whole, on my account thou didst transgress against our lord and king and left'st thy native land for me, to seek a foreign goal. thou givest me unto kerim,[fn# ] may he for aye be praised! and may th' almighty for my loss my dearest lord console! when she had finished, noureddin answered her by repeating the following: she bade me adieu on the day of our parting and said, whilst for anguish she wept and she sighed, "ah, what wilt thou do, when from me thou art severed?" "ask that of the man who'll survive," i replied. when the khalif heard what she said in her verses, 'thou hast given me to kerim,' his interest in her redoubled and it was grievous to him to separate them; so he said to noureddin, 'o my lord, verily the damsel said in her verses that thou hadst transgressed against her master and him who possessed her; so tell me, against whom didst thou transgress and who is it that has a claim on thee?' 'by allah, o fisherman,' replied noureddin 'there hangs a rare story by me and this damsel, a story, which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, would serve as a lesson to him who can profit by example.' said the khalif, 'wilt thou not tell us thy story and acquaint us with thy case? peradventure it may bring thee relief, for the help of god is near at hand.' 'o fisher man,' said noureddin, 'wilt thou hear our story in prose or verse?' 'prose is but words,' replied the khalif, 'but verse is strung pearls.' then noureddin bowed his head and spoke the following verses. o my friend, i have bidden farewell to repose, and the anguish of exile has doubled my woes i once had a father, who loved me right dear, but left me, to dwell in the tombs, where all goes. there fell on me after him hardship and pain and fate broke in pieces my heart with its blows. he bought me a slave-girl, the fairest of maids; her shape shamed the branch and her colour the rose. i wasted the substance he left me, alas! and lavished it freely on these and on those, till for need i was minded to sell the fair maid, though sorely i grudged at the parting, god knows! but lo! when the crier 'gan call her for sale, a scurvy old skin-flint to bid for her chose. at this i was angered beyond all control and snatched her away ere the crier could close; whereupon the old rancorous curmudgeon flamed up with despite and beset me with insults and blows. in my passion i smote him with right hand and left, till my wrath was assuaged; after which i arose and returning, betook me in haste to my house, where i hid me for feat of the wrath of my foes. then the king of the city decreed my arrest: but a kind-hearted chamberlain pitied my woes and warned me to flee from the city forthright, ere my enemies' springes my life should enclose. so we fled from our house in the dead of the night and came to baghdad for a place of repose. i have nothing of value, nor treasures nor gold, or i'd handsel thee, fisherman, freely with those! but i give thee, instead, the beloved of my soul, and in her thou hast gotten my heart's blood, god knows! when he had finished, the khalif said to him, 'o my lord noureddin, explain to me thy case more fully!' so he told him the whole story from beginning to end, and the khalif said to him, 'whither dost thou now intend?' 'god's world is wide!' replied he. quoth the khalif, 'i will write thee a letter to carry to the sultan mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini, which when he reads, he will do thee no hurt.' 'who ever heard of a fisherman writing to kings?' said noureddin. 'such a thing can never be.' 'true,' replied the khalif; 'but i will tell thee the reason. know that he and i learnt in the same school, under one master, and that i was his monitor. since that time, fortune has betided him and he is become a sultan, whilst god hath abased me and made me a fisherman: yet i never send to him to seek aught, but he does my desire; nay, though i should ask of him a thousand favours a day, he would comply.' when noureddin heard this, he said, 'good: write that i may see.' so the khalif took pen and inkhorn and wrote as follows: 'in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful! this letter is from haroun er reshid son of el mehdi to his highness mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini, whom i have compassed about with my favour and made governor for me in certain of my dominions. the bearer of these presents is noureddin son of felz ben khacan the vizier. as soon as they come to thy hand, do thou put off thy kingly dignity and invest him therewith, and look thou oppose not my commandment, so peace be on thee.' then he gave the letter to noureddin, who took it and kissed it, then put it in his turban and set out at once on his journey. as soon as he was gone, gaffer ibrahim fumed to the khalif and said to him, 'o vilest of fishermen, thou hast brought us a couple of fish, worth a score of paras, and hast gotten three dinars for them; and thinkest thou to take the damsel also?' when the khalif heard this, he cried out at him and made a sign to mesrour, who discovered himself and rushed upon him. now jaafer had sent one of the gardeners to the doorkeeper of the palace for a suit of the royal raiment for the commander of the faithful; so he went and returning with the suit, kissed the earth before the khalif and gave it to him. then he threw off the clothes he had on and dressed himself in those which the gardener had brought, to the great amazement of gaffer ibrahim, who bit his nails in bewilderment and exclaimed, 'am i asleep or awake?' 'o gaffer ibrahim,' said the khalif, 'what state is this in which i see thee?' with this, he recovered from his drunkenness and throwing himself on the ground, repeated the following verses: forgive the error into which my straying feet did fall, for the slave sues for clemency from him to whom he's thrall! lo, by confessing i have done what the offence requires! where then is that for which good grace and generous mercy call? the khalif forgave him and bade carry the damsel to the palace, where he assigned her a separate lodging and servants to wait upon her, saying to her, 'know that we have sent thy master to be sultan in bassora, and god willing, we will despatch him a dress of honour and thee with it.' meanwhile, noureddin fared on, till he reached bassora, when he repaired to the sultan's palace and gave a loud cry. the sultan heard him and sent for him; and when he came into his presence, he kissed the earth before him and pulling out the letter, gave it to him. the sultan, seeing that the superscription was in the handwriting of the khalif, rose to his feet and kissed the letter three times, then read it and said, 'i hear and obey god and the commander of the faithful!' then he summoned the four cadis and the amirs and was about to divest himself of the kingly office, when in came the vizier muin ben sawa. the sultan gave him the khalif's letter, and he read it, then tore it in pieces and putting it in his mouth, chewed it and threw it away. 'out on thee!' exclaimed the sultan (and indeed he was angry); 'what made thee do that?' 'by thy life, o our lord the sultan,' replied muin, 'this fellow hath never seen the khalif nor his vizier: but he is a gallows-bird, a crafty imp who, happening upon a blank[fn# ] sheet in the khalif's handwriting, hath written his own desire in it. the khalif would surely not have sent him to take the sultanate from thee, without a royal mandate and a patent appended thereto, nor would he have omitted to send with him a chamberlain or a vizier. but he is alone and hath never come from the khalif, never! never!' 'what is to be done?' said the sultan. 'leave him to me,' replied the vizier: 'i will send him in charge of a chamberlain to the city of baghdad. if what he says be true, they will bring us back royal letters-patent and a diploma of investiture; and if not, i will pay him what i owe him.' when the sultan heard the vizier's words, he said, 'take him.' so muin carried noureddin to his own house and cried out to his servants, who threw him down and beat him, till he swooned away. then he caused heavy shackles to be put on his feet and carried him to the prison, where he called the gaoler, whose name was cuteyt, and said to him, 'o cuteyt, take this fellow and throw him into one of the underground cells in the prison and torture him night and day.' 'i hear and obey,' replied he, and taking noureddin into the prison, locked the door on him. then he bade sweep a bench behind the door and laying thereon a mattress and a leather rug, made noureddin sit down. moreover, he loosed his fetters and treated him kindly. the vizier sent every day to the gaoler, charging him to beat him, but he abstained from this, and things abode thus forty days' time. on the forty-first day, there came a present from the khalif: which when the sultan saw, it pleased him and he took counsel about it with his viziers, one of whom said, 'mayhap this present was intended for the new sultan.' quoth muin, 'we should have done well to put him to death at his first coming;' and the sultan said, 'by allah, thou remindest me of him! go down to the prison and fetch him, and i will strike off his head.' 'i hear end obey,' replied muin. 'with thy leave i will have proclamation made in the city, "whoso hath a mind to look upon the beheading of noureddin ali ben khacan, let him repair to the palace!" so, great and small will come out to gaze on him and i shall heal my heart and mortify those that envy me.' 'as thou wilt,' said the sultan; whereupon the vizier went out, rejoicing, and commanded the chief of the police to make the aforesaid proclamation. when the folk heard the crier, they all mourned and wept, even to the little ones in the schools and the tradersin the shops, and some hastened to get them places to see the sight, whilst others repaired to the prison thinking to accompany him thence. presently, the vizier came to the prison, attended by ten armed slaves, and the gaoler said to him, 'what seekest thou, o our lord the vizier?' 'bring me that gallows-bird,' replied the vizier; and the gaoler said, 'he is in the sorriest of plights for the much beating i have given him.' then cuteyt went into the prison, where he found noureddin repeating the following verses: who shall avail me against the woes that my life enwind? indeed my disease is sore and the remedy hard to find. exile hath worn my heart and my spirit with languishment, and evil fortune hath turned my very lovers unkind. o folk, is there none of you all will answer my bitter cry! is there never a merciful friend will help me of all mankind? yet death and the pains of death are a little thing to me; i have put off the hope of life and left its sweets behind. o thou that sentest the guide, the chosen prophet to men, the prince of the intercessors, gifted to loose and bind, i prithee, deliver me and pardon me my default, and put the troubles to flight that crush me, body and mind i the gaoler took off his clean clothes and clothing him in two filthy garments, carried him to the vizier. noureddin looked at him, and knowing him for his enemy who still sought to compass his death, wept and said to him, 'art thou then secure against fate? hast thou not heard the saying of the poet? where are now the old chosroes, tyrants of a bygone day? wealth they gathered; but their treasures and themselves have passed away! o vizier,' continued he, 'know that god (blessed and exalted be he!) doth whatever he will!' 'o ali,' replied the vizier, 'dost thou think to fright me with this talk? know that i mean this day to strike off thy head in despite of the people of bassora, and let the days do what they will, i care not; nor will i take thought to thy warning, but rather to what the poet says: let the days do what they will, without debate, and brace thy spirit against the doings of fate. and also how well says another: he who lives a day after his foe hath compassed his wishes, i trow! then he ordered his attendants to set noureddin on the back of a mule, and they said to the youth (for indeed it was grievous to them), 'let us stone him and cut him in pieces, though it cost us our lives.' 'do it not,' replied noureddin. 'have ye not heard what the poet says? a term's decreed for me, which i must needs fulfil, and when its days are spent, i die, do what i will. though to their forest dens the lions should me drag, whilst but an hour remains, they have no power to kill.' then they proceeded to proclaim before noureddin, 'this is the least of the punishment of those who impose upon kings with forgery!' and they paraded him round about bassora, till they came beneath the windows of the palace, where they made him kneel down on the carpet of blood and the headsman came up to him and said, 'o my lord, i am but a slave commanded in this matter: if thou hast any desire, let me know, that i may fulfil it; for now there remains of thy life but till the sultan shall put his head out of the window.' so noureddin looked in all directions and repeated the following verses: i see the headsman and the sword, i see the carpet spread, and cry "alas, my sorry plight! alas, my humbled head!" how is't i have no pitying friend to help me in my need? will no one answer my complaint or heed the tears i shed? my time of life is past away and death draws nigh to me: will no one earn the grace of god by standing me in stead? will none take pity on my state and succour my despair with but a cup of water cold, to ease my torments dread? the people fell to weeping for him, and the headsman rose and brought him a draught of water; but the vizier smote the gugglet with his hand and broke it: then he cried out at the executioner and bade him strike off noureddin's head. so he proceeded to bind the latter's eyes; whilst the people cried out against the vizier and there befell a great tumult and dispute amongst them. at this moment there arose a great cloud of dust and filled the air and the plain; and when the sultan, who was sitting in the palace, saw this, he said to his attendants, 'go and see what is the meaning of that cloud of dust.' 'when we have cut off this fellow's head,' replied muin; but the sultan said, 'wait till we see what this means.' now the cloud of dust in question was raised by jaafer the barmecide, vizier to the khalif, and his retinue; and the reason of his coming was as follows. the khalif passed thirty days without calling to mind the affair of noureddin ali ben khacan, and none reminded him of it, till one night, as he passed by the apartment of enis el jelis, he heard her weeping and reciting the following verse, in a low and sweet voice: thine image is ever before me, though thou art far away, nor doth my tongue give over the naming of thee aye! and her weeping redoubled; when lo, the khalif opened the door and entering the chamber, found her in tears. when she saw him, she fell to the earth and kissing his feet three times, repeated the following verses: o thou pure of royal lineage and exalted in thy birth! o thou tree of fruitful branches, thou the all unstained of race! i recall to thee the promise that thy noble bounty made: god forbid thou shouldst forget it or withhold the gifted grace! quoth the khalif, 'who art thou?' and she answered, 'i am she whom thou hadst as a present from noureddin ali ben khacan, and i crave the fulfilment of thy promise to send me to him with the dress of honour; for i have now been here thirty days, without tasting sleep.' thereupon the khalif sent for jaafer and said to him, 'o jaafer, it is thirty days since we had news of noureddin ali ben khacan, and i doubt me the sultan has killed him; but by the life of my head and the tombs of my forefathers, if aught of ill have befallen him, i will make an end of him who was the cause of it, though he be the dearest of all men to myself! so it is my wish that thou set out at once for bassora and bring me news of my cousin mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini and how he hath dealt with noureddin; and do thou tell my cousin the young man's history and how i sent him to him with my letter, and if thou find that the king hath done otherwise than after my commandment, lay hands on him and his vizier muin ben sawa and bring them to us, as thou shalt find them. nor do thou tarry longer on the road than shall suffice for the journey, or i will strike off thy head.' 'i hear and obey,' replied jaafer, and made ready at once and set out for bassora, where he arrived in due course. when he came up and saw the crowd and turmoil, he enquired what was the matter and was told how it stood with noureddin ali, whereupon he hastened to go in to the sultan and saluting him, acquainted him with his errand and the khalif's determination, in case of any foul play having befallen noureddin, to destroy whosoever should have been the cause of it. then he seized upon the sultan and his vizier and laid them in ward, and commanding noureddin to be released, seated him on the throne in the place of mohammed ben suleiman. after this jaafer abode three days at bassora, the usual guest-time, and on the morning of the fourth day, noureddin turned to him and said, 'i long for the sight of the commander of the faithful.' then said jaafer to mohammed ben suleiman, 'make ready, for we will pray the morning-prayer and take horse for baghdad.' and he answered, 'i hear and obey.' so they prayed the morning-prayer and set out, all of them, taking with them the vizier muin ben sawa, who began to repent of what he had done. noureddin rode by jaafer's side and they fared on without ceasing, till they arrived in due course at the abode of peace, baghdad, and going in to the khalif's presence, told him how they had found noureddin nigh upon death. the khalif said to noureddin, 'take this sword and strike off thine enemy's head.' so he took the sword and went up to muin ben sawa, but the latter looked at him and said, 'i did according to my nature; do thou according to thine.' so noureddin threw the sword from his hand and said to the khalif, 'o commander of the faithful, he hath beguiled me with his speech,' and he repeated the following verse: lo, with the cunning of his speech my heart he hath beguiled, for generous minds are ever moved by artful words and mild! 'leave him, thou,' said the khalif, and turning to mesrour, commanded him to behead muin. so mesrour drew his sword and smote off the vizier's head. then said the khalif to noureddin, 'ask a boon of me.' 'o my lord,' answered he, 'i have no need of the sovereignty of bassora: all my desire is to have the honour of serving thee and looking on thy face.' 'with all my heart,' replied the khalif. then he sent for enis el jelis and bestowed plentiful favours upon them both, assigning them a palace at baghdad and regular allowances. moreover, he made noureddin one of his boon-companions, and the latter abode with him in the enjoyment of the most delectable life, till death overtook him. ghanim ben eyoub the slave of love. there lived once at damascus, in the days of the khalif haroun er reshid, a wealthy merchant, who had a son like the moon at its full and withal sweet of speech, called ghanim ben eyoub, and a daughter called fitneh, unique in her beauty and grace. their father died and left them abundant wealth and amongst other things a hundred loads of silk and brocade and bladders of musk, on each of which was written, 'this is of the loads intended for baghdad,' he having been about to make the journey thither, when god the most high took him to himself. after awhile, his son took the loads and bidding farewell to his mother and kindred and townsfolk, set out for baghdad with a company of merchants, committing himself to god the most high, who decreed him safety, so that he arrived without hindrance at that city. here he hired a handsome house, which he furnished with carpets and cushions and hangings, and stored his goods therein and put up his mules and camels. then he abode awhile, resting, whilst the merchants and notables of baghdad came and saluted him; after which he took a parcel containing ten pieces of costly stuffs, with the prices written on them, and carried it to the bazaar, where the merchants received him with honour and made him sit down in the shop of the chief of the market, to whom he delivered the parcel of stuffs. he opened it and taking out the stuffs, sold them for him at a profit of two dinars on every one of prime cost. at this ghanim rejoiced and went on to sell his stuffs, little by little, for a whole year. on the first day of the following year, he repaired, as usual, to the bazaar in the market-place, but found the gate shut and enquiring the reason, was told that one of the merchants was dead and that all the others had gone to wail in his funeral and was asked if he were minded to gain the favour of god by going with them. he assented and enquired where the funeral was to be held, whereupon they directed him to the place. so he made the ablution and repaired with the other merchants to the place of prayer, where they prayed over the dead, then went before the bier to the burial-place without the city and passed among the tombs till they came to the grave. here they found that the dead man's people had pitched a tent over the tomb and brought thither lamps and candles. so they buried the dead and sat down to listen to the reading of the koran over the tomb. ghanim sat with them, being overcome with bashfulness and saying to himself, 'i cannot well go away till they do.' they sat listening to the recitation till nightfall, when the servants set the evening meal and sweetmeats before them and they ate till they were satisfied, then sat down again, after having washed their hands. but ghanim was troubled for his house and property being in fear of thieves, and said to himself, 'i am a stranger here and thought to be rich, and if i pass the night abroad, the thieves will steal the money and the goods.' so he arose and left the company, having first asked leave to go about a necessary business, and following the beaten track, came to the gate of the city, but found it shut and saw none going or coming nor heard aught but the dogs barking and the wolves howling, for it was now the middle of the night. at this he exclaimed, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god! i was in fear for my property and came back on its account, but now i find the gate shut and am become in fear for my life!' and he retraced his steps, seeking a place where he might pass the night, till he found a tomb enclosed by four walls, with a palm-tree in its midst and a gate of granite. the gate stood open; so he entered and lay down, but sleep came not to him and fright and oppression beset him, for that he was alone among the tombs. so he rose to his feet and opening the door, looked out and saw, in the distance, a light making for the tomb from the direction of the city-gate. at this he was afraid and hastening to shut the gate, climbed up into the palm-tree and hid himself among the branches. the light came nearer and nearer, till he could see three black slaves, two carrying a chest and a third a lantern, an adze and a basket of plaster. when they came to the tomb, one of those who were carrying the chest cried out to the other, 'hello, sewab!' 'what ails thee, o kafour?' said the other. 'were we not here at nightfall,' asked the first, 'and did we not leave the gate open?' 'true,' replied sewab. 'see,' said the other, 'it is now shut and barred.' 'how small is your wit!' broke in the bearer of the lantern, whose name was bekhit. 'do ye not know that the owners of the gardens use to come out of baghdad to tend them, and when the night overtakes them, they enter this place and shut the gate, for fear the blacks like ourselves should catch them and roast them and eat them?' 'thou art right,' replied the others; 'but, by allah, none of us is less of wit than thou!' 'if you do not believe me,' said bekhit, 'let us go into the tomb and i will unearth the rat for you; i doubt not but that, when he saw the light and us making for the tomb, he took refuge in the palm-tree, for fear of us.' when ghanim heard this, he said to himself, 'o most damnable of slaves, may god not have thee in his keeping for this thy craft and quickness of wit! there is no power and no virtue but in god the most high, the supreme! how shall i escape from these blacks?' then said the two bearers to him of the lantern, 'climb over the wall and open the door to us, o bekhit, for we are tired of carrying the chest on our shoulders; and thou shalt have one of those that we seize inside, and we will fry him for thee so featly that not a drop of his fat shall be lost.' but he said, 'i am afraid of somewhat that my little sense has suggested to me; we should do better to throw the chest over the wall; for it is our treasure.' 'if we throw it over, it will break,' replied they. and he said, 'i fear lest there be brigands within who kill four and steal their goods; for they are wont when night falls on them, to enter these places and divide their spoil.' 'o thou of little wit!' rejoined they, 'how could they get in here?' then they set down the chest and climbing the wall, got down and opened the gate, whilst bekhit held the light for them, after which they shut the door and sat down. then said one of them, 'o my brothers, we are tired with walking and carrying the chest, and it is now the middle of the night, and we have no breath left to open the tomb and bury the chest: so let us rest two or three hours, then rise and do what we have to do. meanwhile each of us shall tell how he came to be an eunuch and all that befell him from first to last, to pass away the time, whilst we rest ourselves.' 'good,' answered the others; and bekhit said, 'o my brothers, i will begin.' 'say on,' replied they. so he began as follows, 'know, o my brothers, that story of the eunuch bekhit. i was brought from my native country, when i was five years old, by a slave-merchant, who sold me to one of the royal messengers. my master had a three-year-old daughter, with whom i was reared, and they used to make sport of me, letting me play with the girl and dance and sing to her, till i reached the age of twelve and she that of ten; and even then they did not forbid me from her. one day, i went in to her and found her sitting in an inner room, perfumed with essences and scented woods, and her face shone like the round of the moon on its fourteenth night, as if she had just come out of the bath that was in the house. she began to sport with me, and i with her. now i had just reached the age of puberty, and my yard rose on end, as it were a great bolt. then she threw me down and mounting my breast, pulled me hither and thither, till my yard became uncovered. when she saw this, and it in point, she seized it in her hand and fell to rubbing it against the lips of her kaze, outside her trousers. at this, heat stirred in me and i put my arms round her, whilst she wreathed hers about my neck and strained me to her with all her might, till, before i knew what i did, my yard thrust through her trousers, and entering her kaze, did away her maidenhead. when i saw what i had done, i fled and took refuge with one of my comrades. presently, her mother came in to her, and seeing her in this state, was lost to the world. however, she smoothed the matter over and hid the girl's condition from her father, of the love they bore me, nor did they cease to call to me and coax me, till they took me from where i was. after two months had passed by, her mother married her to a young man, a barber, who used to shave her father, and portioned and fitted her out of her own monies, whilst her father knew nothing of what had passed. then they took me unawares and gelded me: and when they brought her to her husband, they made me her eunuch, to go before her, wherever she went, whether to the bath or to her father's house. on the wedding-night, they slaughtered a young pigeon and sprinkled the blood on her shift;[fn# ] and i abode with her a long while, enjoying her beauty and grace, by way of kissing and clipping and clicketing, till she died and her husband and father and mother died also; when they seized me for the treasury and i found my way hither, where i became your comrade. this then, o my brothers, is my story and how i came to be docked of my cullions; and peace be on you.' then said the second eunuch, 'know, o my brothers, that story of the eunuch kafour. from the time when i was eight years old, i was wont to tell the slave-merchants one lie every year, so that they fell out with one another, till at last my master lost patience with me and carrying me down to the market, delivered me to a broker and bade him cry me for sale, saying, "who will buy this slave with his fault?" he did so, and it was asked him, "what is his fault?" quoth he, "he tells one lie every year." then came up one of the merchants and said to the broker, "how much have they bidden for this slave, with his fault?" "six hundred dirhems," replied the broker. "and twenty dirhems for thyself," said the merchant. so he brought him to the slave-dealer, who took the money, and the broker carried me to my master's house and went away, after having received his brokerage. the merchant clothed me as befitted my condition, and i bode in his service the rest of the year, until the new year came in with good omen. it was a blessed season, rich in herbage and the fruits of the earth, and the merchants began to give entertainments every day, each bearing the cost in turn, till it came to my master's turn to entertain them in a garden without the city. so he and the other merchants repaired to the garden, taking with them all that they required of food and so forth, and sat, eating and drinking and carousing, till noon, when my master, having need of something from the house, said to me, "o slave, mount the mule and go to the house and get such and such a thing from thy mistress and return quickly." i did as he bade me and started for the house, but as i drew near, i began to cry out and weep copiously, whereupon all the people of the quarter collected, great and small; and my master's wife and daughters, hearing the noise i was making, opened the door and asked me what was the matter. quoth i, "my master and his friends were sitting beneath an old wall, and it fell on them: and when i saw what had befallen them, i mounted the mule and came hither, in haste, to tell you." when my master's wife and daughters heard this, they shrieked aloud and tore their clothes and buffeted their faces, whilst the neighbours came round them. then my mistress overturned the furniture of the house, pell-mell, tore down the shelves, broke up the casements and the lattices and smeared the walls with mud and indigo. presently she said to me, "out on thee, o kafour! come and help me tear down these cupboards and break up these vessels and porcelain!" so i went to her and helped her break up all the shelves in the house, with everything on them, after which i went round about the roofs and every part of the house, demolishing all i could and leaving not a single piece of china or the like in the house unbroken, till i had laid waste the whole place, crying out the while, "alas, my master!" then my mistress sallied forth, with her face uncovered and only her kerchief on, accompanied by her sons and daughters, and said to me, "go thou before us and show us the place where thy master lies dead under the wall, that we may take him out from the ruins and lay him on a bier and carry him to the house and give him a goodly funeral." so i went on before them, crying out, "alas, my master!" and they after me, bareheaded, crying out, "alas! alas for the man!" and there was not a man nor a woman nor a boy nor an old woman in the quarter but followed us, buffeting their faces and weeping sore. on this wise, i traversed the city with them, and the folk asked what was the matter, whereupon they told them what they had heard from me, and they exclaimed, "there is no power and no virtue but in god!" then said one of them, "he was a man of consideration; so let us go to the chief of the police and tell him what has happened." so they repaired to the magistrate and told him, whereupon he mounted and taking with him workmen with spades and baskets, set out for the scene of the accident, following my track, with all the people after him. i ran on before them, buffeting my face and throwing dust on my head and crying out, followed by my mistress and her children, shrieking aloud. but i outran them and reached the garden before them, and when my master saw me in this state and heard me crying out, "alas, my mistress! alas! alas! who is left to take pity on me, now that my mistress is dead? would god i had died instead of her!" he was confounded and his colour paled. then said he to me, "what ails thee, o kafour? what is the matter?" "o my lord," replied i, "when thou sentest me to the house, i found that the wall of the saloon had given way and the whole of it had fallen in upon my mistress and her children." "and did not thy mistress escape?" "no, by allah, o my master!" answered i. "not one of them was saved, and the first to die was my mistress, thine elder daughter." "did not my younger daughter escape?" asked he. "no," replied i; and he said, "what became of the mule i use to ride? was she saved?" "no, by allah," answered i; "the walls of the house and of the stable fell in on all that were in the dwelling, even to the sheep and geese and fowls, so that they all became a heap of flesh and the dogs ate them: not one of them is saved." "not even thy master, my elder son?" asked he. "no, by allah!" repeated i. "not one of them was saved, and now there remains neither house nor inhabitants nor any trace of them: and as for the sheep and geese and fowls, the dogs and cats have eaten them." when my master heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and he lost command of his senses and his reason, so that he could not stand upon his feet, for he was as one taken with the rickets and his back was broken. then he rent his clothes and plucked out his beard and casting his turban from his head, buffeted his face, till the blood streamed down, crying out, "alas, my children! alas, my wife! alas, what a misfortune! to whom did there ever happen the like of what hath befallen me?" the other merchants, his companions, joined in his tears and lamentations and rent their clothes, being moved to pity of his case; and my master went out of the garden' buffeting his face and staggering like a drunken man, for stress of what had befallen him and the much beating he had given his face. as he came forth of the garden-gate, followed by the other merchants, behold, they saw a great cloud of dust and heard a great noise of crying and lamentation. they looked, and behold, it was the chief of the police with his officers and the townspeople who had come out to look on, and my master's family in front of them, weeping sore and shrieking and lamenting. the first to accost my master were his wife and children; and when he saw them, he was confounded and laughed and said to them, "how is it with you all and what befell you in the house?" when they saw him, they exclaimed, "praised be god for thy safety!" and threw themselves upon him, and his children clung to him, crying, "alas, our father! praised be god for thy preservation, o our father!" then said his wife, "thou art well, praised be god who hath shown us thy face in safety!" and indeed she was confounded and her reason fled, when she saw him, and she said, "o my lord, how did you escape, thou and thy friends the merchants?" "and how fared it with thee in the house?" asked he. "we were all in good health and case," answered they; "nor has aught befallen us in the house, save that thy slave kafour came to us, bareheaded, with his clothes torn and crying out, 'alas, my master! alas, my master!' so we asked what was the matter, and he said, 'the wall of the garden has fallen on my master and his friends, and they are all dead.'" "by allah," said my master, "he came to me but now, crying out, 'alas, my mistress! alas, her children!' and said, 'my mistress and her children are all dead.'" then he looked round and seeing me with my torn turban hanging down my neck, shrieking and weeping violently and strewing earth on my head, cried out at me. so i came to him and he said, "woe to thee, o pestilent slave, o whore-son knave, o accurst of race! what mischiefs hast thou wrought! but i will strip thy skin from thy flesh and cut thy flesh off thy bones!" "by allah," replied i, "thou canst do nothing with me, for thou boughtest me with my fault, with witnesses to testify against thee that thou didst so and that thou knewest of my fault, which is that i tell one lie every year. this is but half a lie, but by the end of the year, i will tell the other half, and it will then be a whole lie." "o dog, son of a dog," exclaimed my master, "o most accursed of slaves, is this but a half lie? indeed, it is a great calamity! go out from me; thou art free before god!" "by allah," rejoined i, "if thou free me, i will not free thee, till i have completed my year and told the other half lie. when that is done, take me down to the market and sell me, as thou boughtest me, to whosoever will buy me with my fault: but free me not, for i have no handicraft to get my living by: and this my demand is according to the law, as laid down by the doctors in the chapter of manumission." whilst we were talking, up came the people of the quarter and others, men and women, together with the chief of the police and his suite. so my master and the other merchants went up to him and told him the story and how this was but half a lie, at which the people wondered and deemed the lie an enormous one. and they cursed me and reviled me, whilst i stood laughing and saying, "how can my master kill me, when he bought me with this fault?" then my master returned home and found his house in ruins, and it was i who had laid waste the most part of it, having destroyed things worth much money, as had also done his wife, who said to him, "it was kafour who broke the vessels and the china." thereupon his rage redoubled and he beat hand upon hand, exclaiming, "by allah, never in my life did i see such a son of shame as this slave; and he says this is only half a lie! how if he had told a whole one? he would have laid waste a city or two!" then in his rage he went to the chief of the police, who made me eat stick till i fainted: and whilst i was yet senseless, they fetched a barber, who gelded me and cauterized the parts. when i revived, i found myself an eunuch, and my master said to me, "even as thou hast made my heart bleed for the most precious things i had, so will i grieve thy heart for that of thy members by which thou settest most store." then he took me and sold me at a profit, for that i was become an eunuch, and i ceased not to make trouble, wherever i came, and was shifted from amir to amir and notable to notable, being bought and sold, till i entered the palace of the commander of the faithful, and now my spirit is broken and i have abjured my tricks, having lost my manhood.' when the others heard his story, they laughed and said, 'verily, thou art dung, the son of dung! thou liedst most abominably!' then said they to the third slave, 'tell us thy story.' 'o my cousins,' replied he, 'all that ye have said is idle: i will tell you how i came to lose my cullions, and indeed, i deserved more than this, for i swived my mistress and my master's son: but my story is a long one and this is no time to tell it, for the dawn is near, and if the day surprise us with this chest yet unburied, we shall be blown upon and lose our lives. so let us fall to work at once, and when we get back to the palace, i will tell you my story and how i became an eunuch.' so they set down the lantern and dug a hole between four tombs, the length and breadth of the chest, kafour plying the spade and sewab clearing away the earth by basketsful, till they had reached a depth of half a fathom, when they laid the chest in the hole and threw back the earth over it: then went out and shutting the door, disappeared from ghanim's sight. when he was sure that they were indeed gone and that he was alone in the place, his heart was concerned to know what was in the chest and he said to himself; 'i wonder what was in the chest!' however, he waited till break of day, when he came down from the palm-tree and scraped away the earth with his hands, till he laid bare the chest and lifted it out of the hole. then he took a large stone and hammered at the lock, till he broke it and raising the cover, beheld a beautiful young lady, richly dressed and decked with jewels of gold and necklaces of precious stones, worth a kingdom, no money could pay their price. she was asleep and her breath rose and fell, as if she had been drugged. when ghanim saw her, he knew that some one had plotted against her and drugged her; so he pulled her out of the chest and laid her on the ground on her back. as soon as she scented the breeze and the air entered her nostrils and lungs, she sneezed and choked and coughed, when there fell from her mouth a pastille of cretan henbane, enough to make an elephant sleep from night to night, if he but smelt it. then she opened her eyes and looking round, exclaimed in a sweet and melodious voice, 'out on thee, o breeze! there is in thee neither drink for the thirsty nor solace for him whose thirst is quenched! where is zehr el bustan?' but no one answered her; so she turned and cried out, 'ho, sebiheh, shejeret ed durr, nour el huda, nejmet es subh, shehweh, nuzheh, hulweh, zerifeh![fn# ] out on ye, speak!' but no one answered her; and she looked about her and said, 'woe is me! they have buried me among the tombs! o thou who knowest what is in the breasts and who wilt requite at the day of resurrection, who hath brought me out from among the screens and curtains of the harem and laid me between four tombs?' all this while ghanim was standing by: then he said to her, 'o my lady, here are neither screens nor curtains nor palaces; only thy bond slave ghanim ben eyoub, whom he who knoweth the hidden things hath brought hither, that he night save thee from these perils and accomplish for thee all that thou desirest.' and he was silent. when she saw how the case stood, she exclaimed, 'i testify that there is no god but god and that mohammed is the apostle of god!' then she put her hands to her face and turning to ghanim, said in a sweet voice, 'o blessed youth, who brought me hither! see, i am now come to myself.' 'o my lady,' replied he, 'three black eunuchs came hither, bearing this chest;' and told her all that had happened and how his being belated had proved the means of her preservation from death by suffocation. then he asked her who she was and what was her story. 'o youth,' said she, 'praised be god who hath thrown me into the hands of the like of thee! but now put me back into the chest and go out into the road and hire the first muleteer or horse-letter thou meetest, to carry it to thy house. when i am there, all will be well and i will tell thee my story and who am i, and good shall betide thee on my account.' at this he rejoiced and went out into the road. it was now broad day and the folk began to go about the ways: so he hired a muleteer and bringing him to the tomb, lifted up the chest, in which he had already replaced the young lady, and set it on the mule. then he fared homeward, rejoicing, for that she was a damsel worth ten thousand dinars and adorned with jewels and apparel of great value, and love for her had fallen on his heart. as soon as he came to the house, he carried in the chest and opening it, took out the young lady, who looked about her, and seeing that the place was handsome, spread with carpets and decked with gay colours, and noting the stuffs tied up and the bales of goods and what not, knew that he was a considerable merchant and a man of wealth. so she uncovered her face and looking at him, saw that he was a handsome young man and loved him. then said she to him, 'o my lord, bring us something to eat.' 'on my head and eyes,' replied he, and going to the market, bought a roasted lamb, a dish of sweetmeats, dried fruits and wax candles, besides wine and drinking gear and perfumes. with these he returned to the house, and when the damsel saw him, she laughed and kissed and embraced him. then she fell to caressing him, so that love for her redoubled on him and got the mastery of his heart. they ate and drank, each in love with the other, for indeed they were alike in age and beauty, till nightfall, when ghanim rose and lit the lamps and candles, till the place blazed with light; after which he brought the wine-service and set on the banquet. then they sat down again and began to fill and give each other to drink; and they toyed and laughed and recited verses, whilst joy grew on them and each was engrossed with love of the other, glory be to him, who uniteth hearts! they ceased not to carouse thus till near upon daybreak, when drowsiness overcame them and they slept where they were till the morning. then ghanim arose and going to the market, bought all that they required in the way of meat and drink and vegetables and what not, with which he returned to the house; and they both sat down and ate till they were satisfied, when he set on wine. they drank and toyed with each other, till their cheeks flushed and their eyes sparkled and ghanim's soul yearned to kiss the girl and lie with her. so he said to her, 'o my lady, grant me a kiss of thy mouth; maybe it will quench the fire of my heart.' 'o ghanim,' replied she, 'wait till i am drunk: then steal a kiss from me, so that i may not know thou hast kissed me.' then she rose and taking off her upper clothes, sat in a shift of fine linen and a silken kerchief. at this, desire stirred in ghanim and he said to her, 'o my mistress, wilt thou not vouchsafe me what i asked of thee!' 'by allah,' replied she, 'this may not be, for there is a stubborn saying written on the ribbon of my trousers.' thereupon ghanim's heart sank and passion grew on him the more that what he sought was hard to get; and he recited the following verses: i sought of her who caused my pain a kiss to ease me of my woe. "no, no!" she answered; "hope it not!" and i, "yes, yes! it shall be so!" then said she, smiling, "take it then, with my consent, before i know." and i, "by force!" "not so," said she: "i freely it on thee bestow." so do not question what befell, but seek god's grace and ask no mo; think what thou wilt of us; for love is with suspect made sweet, i trow. nor do i reck if, after this, avowed or secret be the foe. then love increased on him, and the fires were loosed in his heart, while she defended herself from him, saying, 'i can never be thine.' they ceased not to make love and carouse, whilst ghanim was drowned in the sea of passion and distraction and she redoubled in cruelty and coyness, till the night brought in the darkness and let fall on them the skirts of sleep, when ghanim rose and lit the lamps and candles and renewed the banquet and the flowers; then took her feet and kissed them, and finding them like fresh cream, pressed his face on them and said to her, 'o my lady, have pity on the captive of thy love and the slain of thine eyes; for indeed i were whole of heart but for thee!' and he wept awhile. 'o my lord and light of my eyes,' replied she, 'by allah, i love thee and trust in thee, but i know that i cannot be thine.' 'and what is there to hinder?' asked he. quoth she, 'tonight, i will tell thee my story, that thou mayst accept my excuse.' then she threw herself upon him and twining her arms about his neck, kissed him and wheedled him, promising him her favours; and they continued to toy and laugh till love got complete possession of them. they abode thus for a whole month, sleeping nightly on one couch, but whenever he sought to enjoy her, she put him off, whilst mutual love increased upon them, till they could hardly abstain from one another. one night as they lay, side by side, both heated with wine, he put his hand to her breast and stroked it, then passed it down over her stomach to her navel. she awoke and sitting up, put her hand to her trousers and finding them fast, fell asleep again. presently, he put out his hand a second time and stroked her and sliding down to the ribbon of her trousers, began to pull at it, whereupon she awoke and sat up. ghanim also sat up beside her and she said to him, 'what dost thou want?' 'i want to lie with thee,' answered he, 'and that we may deal frankly one with the other.' quoth she, 'i must now expound my case to thee, that thou mayst know my condition and my secret and that my excuse may be manifest to thee.' 'it is well,' replied he. then she opened the skirt of her shift, and taking up the ribbon of her trousers, said to him, 'o my lord, read what is on this ribbon.' so he took it and saw, wrought in letters of gold, the following words, 'i am thine, and thou art mine, o descendant of the prophet's uncle!' when he read this, he dropped his hand and said to her, 'tell me who thou art.' 'it is well,' answered she; 'know that i am one of the favourites of the commander of the faithful and my name is cout el culoub. i was reared in his palace, and when i grew up, he looked on me, and noting my qualities and the beauty and grace that god had bestowed on me, conceived a great love for me; so he took me and assigned me a separate lodging and gave me ten female slaves to wait on me and all this jewellery thou seest on me. one day he went on a journey to one of his provinces and the lady zubeideh came to one of my waiting-women and said to her, "i have somewhat to ask of thee." "what is it, o my lady?" asked she. "when thy mistress cout el culoub is asleep," said zubeideh, "put this piece of henbane up her nostrils or in her drink, and thou shalt have of me as much money as will content thee." "with all my heart," replied the woman, and took the henbane, being glad because of the money and because she had aforetime been in zubeideh's service. so she put the henbane in my drink, and when it was night, i drank, and the drug had no sooner reached my stomach than i fell to the ground, with my head touching my feet, and knew not but that i was in another world. when zubeideh saw that her plot had succeeded, she put me in this chest and summoning the slaves, bribed them and the doorkeepers, and sent the former to do with me as thou sawest. so my delivery was at thy hands, and thou broughtest me hither and hast used me with the utmost kindness. this is my story, and i know not what is come of the khalif in my absence. know then my condition, and divulge not my affair.' when ghanim heard her words and knew that she was the favourite of the commander of the faithful, he drew back, being smitten with fear of the khalif, and sat apart from her in one of the corners of the place, blaming himself and brooding over his case and schooling his heart to patience, bewildered for love of one who might not be his. then he wept, for excess of longing, and bemoaned the injustice and hostility of fortune (glory be to him who occupies hearts with love!) reciting the following verses: the heart of the lover's racked with weariness and care, for his reason ravished is for one who is passing fair. it was asked me, "what is the taste of love?" i answer made, "love is sweet water, wherein are torment and despair." thereupon cout el culoub arose and pressed him to her bosom and kissed him, for love of him mastered her heart, so that she discovered to him her secret and the passion that possessed her and throwing her arms about his neck, embraced him; but he held off from her, for fear of the khalif. then they talked awhile (and indeed they were both drowned in the sea of mutual love) till day, when ghanim rose and going to the market as usual, took what was needful and returned home. he found her in tears; but when she saw him, she ceased weeping and smiled and said, 'thou hast made me desolate, o beloved of my heart! by allah, the hour that thou hast been absent from me has been to me as a year! i have let thee see how it is with me for the excess of my passion for thee; so come now, leave what has been and take thy will of me.' 'god forbid that this should be!' replied he. 'how shall the dog sit in the lion's place? verily, that which is the master's is forbidden to the slave.' and he withdrew from her and sat down on a corner of the mat. her passion increased with his refusal; so she sat down beside him and caroused and sported with him, till they were both warm with wine, and she was mad for dishonour with him. then she sang the following verses: the heart of the slave of passion is all but broken in twain: how long shall this rigour last and this coldness of disdain? o thou that turnest away from me, in default of sin, rather to turn towards than away should gazelles be fain! aversion and distance eternal and rigour and disdain; how can youthful lover these hardships all sustain? thereupon ghanim wept and she wept because he did, and they ceased not to drink till nightfall, when he rose and spread two beds, each in its place. 'for whom is the second bed?' asked she. 'one is for me and the other for thee,' answered he. 'henceforth we must lie apart, for that which is the master's is forbidden to the slave.' 'o my lord,' exclaimed she, 'let us leave this, for all things happen according to fate and predestination.' but he refused, and the fire was loosed in her heart and she clung to him and said, 'by allah, we will not sleep but together!' 'god forbid!' answered he, and he prevailed against her and lay apart till the morning, whilst love and longing and distraction redoubled on her. they abode thus three whole months, and whenever she made advances to him, he held aloof from her, saying, 'whatever belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.' then, when this was prolonged upon her and affliction and anguish grew on her, for the weariness of her heart she recited the following verses: o marvel of beauty, how long this disdain? and who hath provoked thee to turn from my pain? all manner of elegance in thee is found and all fashions of fairness thy form doth contain. the hearts of all mortals thou stir'st with desire and on everyone's lids thou mak'st sleeplessness reign. i know that the branch has been plucked before thee; so, o capparis-branch, thou dost wrong, it is plain. i used erst to capture myself the wild deer. how comes it the chase doth the hunter enchain? but the strangest of all that is told of thee is, i was snared, and thou heard'st not the voice of my pain. yet grant not my prayer. if i'm jealous for thee of thyself how much more of myself? nor again, as long as life lasteth in me, will i say, "o marvel of beauty, how long this disdain?"' meanwhile, the lady zubeideh, when, in the absence of the khalif, she had done this thing with cout el culoub, abode perplexed and said to herself, 'what answer shall i make the khalif, when he comes back and asks for her?' then she called an old woman, who was with her, and discovered her secret to her, saying, 'what shall i do, seeing that cout el culoub is no more?' 'o my lady,' replied the old woman, 'the time of the khalif's return is at hand; but do thou send for a carpenter and bid him make a figure of wood in the shape of a corpse. we will dig a grave for it and bury it in the middle of the palace: then do thou build an oratory over it and set therein lighted lamps and candles and command all in the palace to put on mourning. moreover, do thou bid thy slave-girls and eunuchs, as soon as they know of the khalif's approach, spread straw in the vestibules, and when the khalif enters and asks what is the matter, let them say, "cout el culoub is dead, may god abundantly replace her to thee! and for the honour in which she was held of our mistress, she hath buried her in her own palace." when the khalif hears this, it will be grievous to him and he will weep: then will he cause recitations of the koran to be made over her and will watch by night over her tomb. if he should say to himself, "my cousin zubeideh has compassed the death of cout el culoub out of jealousy," or if love-longing should master him and he order to take her forth of the tomb, fear thou not; for when they dig and come to the figure, he will see it as it were a human body, shrouded in costly grave-clothes; and if he desire to take off the swathings, do thou forbid him and say to him, "it is unlawful to look upon her nakedness." the fear of the world to come will restrain him and he will believe that she is dead and will cause the image to be restored to its place and thank thee for what thou hast done: and so, if it please god, thou shalt be delivered from this strait.' her advice commended itself to zubeideh, who bestowed on her a dress of honour and a sum of money, bidding her do as she had said. so she at once ordered a carpenter to make the aforesaid figure, and as soon as it was finished, she brought it to zubeideh, who shrouded it and buried it and built a pavilion over it, in which she set lighted lamps and candles and spread carpets round the tomb. moreover, she put on black and ordered her household to do the same, and the news was spread abroad in the palace that cout el culoub was dead. after awhile, the khalif returned from his journey and entered the palace, thinking only of cout el culoub. he saw all the pages and damsels and eunuchs in mourning, at which his heart quaked; and when he went in to the lady zubeideh, he found her also clad in black. so he asked the cause of this and was told that cout el culoub was dead, whereupon he fell down in a swoon. as soon as he came to himself, he enquired of her tomb, and zubeideh said to him, 'know, o commander of the faithful, that for the honour in which i held her, i have buried her in my own palace.' then he repaired to her tomb, in his travelling dress, and found the place spread with carpets and lit with lamps. when he saw this, he thanked zubeldeh for what she had done and abode perplexed, halting between belief and distrust, till at last suspicion got the better of him and he ordered the grave to be opened and the body exhumed. when he saw the figure and would have taken off the swathings to look upon the body, the fear of god the most high restrained him, and the old woman (taking advantage of his hesitation) said, 'restore her to her place.' then he sent at once for readers and doctors of the law and caused recitations of the koran to be made over her grave and sat by it, weeping, till he lost his senses. he continued to frequent the tomb for a whole month, at the end of which time, he chanced one day, after the divan had broken up and his amirs and viziers had gone away to their houses, to enter the harem, where he laid down and slept awhile, whilst one damsel sat at his head, fanning him, and another at his feet, rubbing them. presently he awoke and opening his eyes, shut them again and heard the damsel at his head say to her at his feet, 'hist, kheizuran!' 'well, kezib el ban?' answered the other. 'verily,' said the first, 'our lord knows not what has passed and watches over a tomb in which there is only a carved wooden figure, of the carpenter's handiwork.' 'then what is become of cout el culoub?' enquired the other. 'know,' replied kezib el ban. 'that the lady zubeideh bribed one of her waiting-women to drug her with henbane and laying her in a chest, commanded sewab and kafour to take it and bury it among the tombs.' quoth kheizuran, 'and is not the lady cout el culoub dead?' 'no,' replied the other; 'god preserve her youth from death! but i have heard the lady zubeideh say that she is with a young merchant of damascus, by name ghanim ben eyoub, and has been with him these four months, whilst this our lord is weeping and watching anights over an empty tomb.' when the khalif heard the girls' talk and knew that the tomb was a trick and a fraud and that cout el culoub had been with ghanim ben eyoub for four months, he was sore enraged and rising up, summoned his officers of state, whereupon the vizier jaafer the barmecide came up and kissed the earth before him, and the khalif said to him, 'o jaafer, take a company of men with thee and fall upon the house of ghanim ben eyoub and bring him to me, with my slave-girl cout el culoub, for i will assuredly punish him!' 'i hear and obey,' answered jaafer, and setting out with his guards and the chief of the police, repaired to ghanim's house. now the latter had brought home a pot of meat and was about to put forth his hand to eat of it, he and cout d culoub, when the damsel, happening to look out, found the house beset on all sides by the vizier and the chief of the police and their officers and attendants, with drawn swords in their hands, encompassing the place, as the white of the eye encompasses the black. at this sight, she knew that news of her had reached the khalif, her master, and made sure of ruin, and her colour paled and her beauty changed. then she turned to ghanim and said to him, 'o my love, fly for thy life!' 'what shall i do?' said he; 'and whither shall i go, seeing that my substance and fortune are in this house?' 'delay not,' answered she, 'lest thou lose both life and goods.' 'o my beloved and light of my eyes,' rejoined he, 'how shall i do to get away, when they have surrounded the house?' 'fear not,' said she: and taking off his clothes, made him put on old and ragged ones, after which she took the empty pot and put in it a piece of bread and a saucer of meat, and placing the whole in a basket, set it on his head and said, 'go out in this guise and fear not for me, for i know how to deal with the khalif.' so he went out amongst them, carrying the basket and its contents, and god covered him with his protection and he escaped the snares and perils that beset him, thanks to the purity of his intent. meanwhile, jaafer alighted and entering the house, saw cout el culoub, who had dressed and decked herself after the richest fashion and filled a chest with gold and jewellery and precious stones and rarities and what else was light of carriage and great of value. when she saw jaafer, she rose and kissing the earth before him, said, 'o my lord, the pen[fn# ] hath written from of old that which god hath decreed.' 'by allah, o my lady,' rejoined jaafer, 'i am commanded to seize ghanim ben eyoub.' 'o my lord,' replied she, 'he made ready merchandise and set out therewith for damascus and i know nothing more of him; but i desire thee to take charge of this chest and deliver it to me in the palace of the commander of the faithful.' 'i hear and obey,' said jaafer, and bade his men carry the chest to the palace, together with cout el culoub, commanding them to use her with honour and consideration. and they did his bidding, after they had plundered ghanim's house. then jaafer went in to the khalif and told him what had happened, and he bade lodge cout el culoub in a dark chamber and appointed an old woman to serve her, thinking no otherwise than that ghanim had certainly debauched her and lain with her. then he wrote a letter to the amir mohammed ben suleiman ez zeini, the viceroy of damascus, to the following purport, 'as soon as this letter reaches thee, lay hands on ghanim ben eyoub and send him to me.' when the letter came to the viceroy, he kissed it and laid it on his head, then caused proclamation to be made in the streets of damascus, 'whoso is minded to plunder, let him betake himself to the house of ghanim ben eyoub!' so they repaired to the house, where they found that ghanim's mother and sister had made him a tomb midmost the house and sat by it, weeping for him, whereupon they seized them, without telling them the cause, and carried them before the sultan, after having plundered the house. the viceroy questioned them of ghanim, and they replied, 'this year or more we have had no news of him.' so they restored them to their place. meanwhile ghanim, finding himself despoiled of his wealth and considering his case, wept till his heart was well-nigh broken. then he fared on at random, till the end of the day, and hunger was sore on him and he was worn out with fatigue. coming to a village, he entered a mosque, where he sat down on a mat, leaning his back against the wall, and presently sank to the ground, in extremity for hunger and weariness, and lay there till morning, his heart fluttering for want of food. by reason of his sweating, vermin coursed over his skin, his breath grew fetid and he became in sorry case. when the people of the town came to pray the morning-prayer, they found him lying there, sick and weak with hunger, yet showing signs of gentle breeding. as soon as they had done their devotions, they came up to him and finding him cold and starving, threw over him an old mantle with ragged sleeves and said to him, 'o stranger, whence art thou and what ails thee?' he opened his eyes and wept, but made them no answer; whereupon, one of them, seeing that he was starving, brought him a saucerful of honey and two cakes of bread. so he ate a little and they sat with him till sunrise, when they went about their occupations. he abode with them in this state for a month, whilst sickness and infirmity increased upon him, and they wept for him and pitying his condition, took counsel together of his case and agreed to send him to the hospital at baghdad. meanwhile, there came into the mosque two beggar women, who were none other than ghanim's mother and sister; and when he saw them, he gave them the bread that was at his head and they slept by his side that night, but he knew them not. next day the villagers fetched a camel and said to the driver, 'put this sick man on thy camel and carry him to baghdad and set him down at the door of the hospital, so haply he may be medicined and recover his health, and god will reward thee.' 'i hear and obey,' said the camel-driver. so they brought ghanim, who was asleep, out of the mosque and laid him, mat and all, on the back of the camel; and his mother and sister came out with the rest of the people to look on him, but knew him not. however, after considering him, they said, 'verily, he favours our ghanim! can this sick man be he?' presently, he awoke and finding himself bound with ropes on the back of a camel, began to weep and complain, and the people of the village saw his mother and sister weeping over him, though they knew him not. then they set out for baghdad, whither the camel-driver forewent them and setting ghanim down at the door of the hospital, went away. he lay there till morning, and when the people began to go about the ways, they saw him and stood gazing on him, for indeed he was become as thin as a skewer, till the syndic of the market came up and drove them away, saying, 'i will gain paradise through this poor fellow; for if they take him into the hospital, they will kill him in one day.' then he made his servants carry him to his own house, where he spread him a new bed, with a new pillow, and said to his wife, 'tend him faithfully.' 'good,' answered she; 'on my head be it!' then she tucked up her sleeves and heating some water, washed his hands and feet and body, after which she clothed him in a gown belonging to one of her slave-girls and gave him a cup of wine to drink and sprinkled rose-water over him. so he revived and moaned, as he thought of his beloved cout el culoub! and sorrows were sore upon him. meanwhile, cout el culoub abode in duresse fourscore days, at the end of which time, the khalif chancing one day to pass the place in which she was, heard her repeating verses and saying, 'o my beloved, o ghanim, how great is thy goodness and how chaste is thy nature! thou didst good to him who hath injured thee, thou guardedst his honour who hath violated thine, and didst protect the harem of him who hath despoiled thee and thine! but thou wilt surely stand, with the commander of the faithful, before the just judge and be justified of him on the day when the judge shall be the lord of all (to whom belong might and majesty) and the witnesses the angels!' when the khalif heard her complaint, he knew that she had been wrongfully entreated and returning to his palace sent mesrour the eunuch for her. she came before him, with bowed head, tearful-eyed and mournful-hearted, and he said to her, 'o cout el culoub, i find thou taxest me with injustice and tyranny and avouchest that i have wronged him who did me good. who is this that hath guarded my honour and whose honour i have violated, and who hath protected my harem, whilst i have enslaved his?' 'ghanim ben eyoub,' replied she; 'for by thy munificence, o commander of the faithful, he never approached me by way of lewdness nor with evil intent!' then said the khalif, 'there is no power and no virtue but in god! ask what thou wilt of me, o cout el culoub, and it shall be granted to thee.' 'o commander of the faithful,' said she, 'i ask of thee my beloved ghanim ben eyoub.' the khalif granted her prayer, and she said, 'o commander of the faithful, if i bring him to thee, wilt thou bestow me on him?' 'if he come,' replied the khalif, 'i will bestow thee on him, the gift of a generous man who does not go back on his giving.' 'o commander of the faithful,' said she, 'suffer me to go in quest of him: it may be god will unite me with him.' 'do what seemeth good to thee,' answered he. so she rejoiced and taking with her a thousand dinars, went out and visited the elders of the various religious orders and gave alms for ghanim's sake. next day she went to the merchants' bazaar and told the chief of the market what she sought and gave him money, saying, 'bestow this in alms on strangers.' the following week she took other thousand dinars and going to the market of the goldsmiths and jewellers, called the syndic and gave him the money, saying, 'bestow this in alms on strangers.' the syndic, who was none other than ghanim's benefactor, looked at her and said, 'o my lady, wilt thou go to my house and look upon a strange youth i have there and see how goodly and elegant he is?' (now this stranger was ghanim, but the syndic had no knowledge of him and thought him to be some unfortunate debtor, who had been despoiled of his property, or a lover parted from his beloved.) when she heard his words, her heart fluttered and her bowels yearned, and she said to him, 'send with me some one who shall bring me to thy house.' so he sent a little boy, who led her thither and she thanked him for this. when she reached the house, she went in and saluted the syndic's wife, who rose and kissed the ground before her, knowing her. then said cout el culoub, 'where is the sick man who is with thee?' 'o my lady,' replied she, weeping, 'here he is, lying on this bed. by allah, he is a man of condition and bears traces of gentle breeding!' so cout el culoub turned and looked at him, but he was as if disguised in her eyes, being worn and wasted till he was become as thin as a skewer, so that his case was doubtful to her and she was not certain that it was he. nevertheless, she was moved to compassion for him and wept, saying, 'verily, strangers are unhappy, though they be princes in their own land!' and his case was grievous to her and her heart ached for him, though she knew him not to be ghanim. then she appointed him wine and medicines and sat by his head awhile, after which she mounted and returned to her palace and continued to make the round of the bazaars in search of ghanim. meanwhile ghanim's mother and sister arrived at baghdad and fell in with the charitable syndic, who carried them to cout el culoub and said to her, 'o princess of benevolent ladies, there be come to our city this day a woman and her daughter, who are fair of face and the marks of gentle breeding and fortune are manifest upon them, though they are clad in hair garments and have each a wallet hanging to her neck; and they are tearful-eyed and sorrowful-hearted. so i have brought them to thee, that thou mayest shelter them and rescue them from beggary, for they are not fit to ask alms, and if god will, we shall enter paradise through them.' 'o my lord,' exclaimed she, 'thou makest me long to see them! where are they? bring them to me.' so he bade the eunuch bring them in; and when she looked on them and saw that they were both possessed of beauty, she wept for them and said, 'by allah, they are people of condition and show signs of former fortune.' 'o my lady,' said the syndic's wife, 'we love the poor and destitute, because of the recompense that god hath promised to such as succour them: as for these, belike the oppressors have done them violence and robbed them of their fortune and laid waste their dwelling-place.' then ghanim's mother and sister wept sore, recalling their former prosperity and contrasting it with their present destitute and miserable condition and thinking of ghanim, whilst cout el culoub wept because they did. and they exclaimed, 'we beseech god to reunite us with him whom we desire, and he is none other than our son ghanim ben eyoub!' when cout el culoub heard this, she knew them to be the mother and sister of her beloved and wept till she lost her senses. when she revived, she turned to them and said, 'have no care and grieve not, for this day is the first of your prosperity and the last of your adversity.' then she bade the syndic take them to his own house and let his wife carry them to the bath and clothe them handsomely. and she charged him to take care of them and treat them with all honour, and gave him a sum of money. next day, she mounted and riding to his house, went in to his wife, who rose and kissed her hands and thanked her for her goodness. there she saw ghanim's mother and sister, whom the syndic's wife had taken to the bath and clothed afresh, so that the traces of their former condition were now plainly apparent. she sat awhile, conversing with them, after which she enquired for the sick youth, and the syndic's wife replied, 'he is in the same state.' then said cout el culoub, 'come, let us go and visit him.' so they all went into the room where he lay and sat down by him. presently, ghanim heard them mention the name of cout el culoub, whereupon his life came back to him, wasted and shrunken as he was, and he raised his head from the pillow and cried out, 'o cout el culoub!' 'yes, o friend!' answered she. 'draw near to me,' said he. so she looked at him earnestly and knew him and said to him, 'surely thou art ghanim ben eyoub?' 'i am indeed he,' replied he. at this, she fell down in a swoon, and when ghanim's mother and sister heard their words, they both cried out, 'o joy!' and swooned away. when they recovered, cout el culoub exclaimed, 'praised be god who hath brought us together again and hath reunited thee with thy mother and sister!' then she told him all that had befallen her with the khalif and said, 'i have made known the truth to the commander of the faithful, who believed me and approved of thee; and now he wishes to see thee.' then she told him how the khalif had bestowed her on him, at which he was beyond measure rejoiced, and she returned to the palace at once, charging them not to stir till she came back. there she opened the chest that she had brought from ghanim's house, and taking out some of the money, carried it to the syndic and bade him buy them each four suits of the best stuffs and twenty handkerchiefs and what else they needed; after which she carried them all three to the bath and commanded to wash them and made ready for them broths and galingale and apple-water against their coming out. when they left the bath, they put on new clothes, and she abode with them three days, feeding them with fowls and broths and sherbet of sugar-candy, till their strength returned to them. after this, she carried them to the bath a second time, and when they came out and had changed their clothes, she took them back to the syndic's house and left them there, whilst she returned to the palace and craving an audience of the khalif, told him the whole story and how her lord ghanim and his mother and sister were now in baghdad. when the khalif heard this, he turned to his attendants and said, 'bring hither to me ghanim.' so jaafer went to fetch him: but cout el culoub forewent him to the syndic's house and told ghanim that the khalif had sent for him and enjoined him to eloquence and self-possession and pleasant speech. then she clad him in a rich habit and gave him much money, bidding him be lavish of largesse to the household of the khalif, when he went in to him. presently, jaafer arrived, riding on his nubian mule, and ghanim met him and kissed the ground before him, wishing him long life. now was the star of his good fortune risen and shone, and jaafer took him and brought him to the khalif. when he entered, he looked at the viziers and amirs and chamberlains and deputies and grandees and captains, turks and medes and arabs and persians, and then at the khalif. then he made sweet his speech and his eloquence and bowing his head, spoke the following verses: long life unto a king, the greatest of the great, still following on good works and bounties without date! glowering with high resolves, a fountain of largesse, for ever full; 'tis said, of fire and flood and fate, that they none else would have for monarch of the world, for sovran of the time and king in kisra's gate.[fn# ] kings, salutation-wise, upon his threshold's earth, for his acceptance lay the jewels of their state; and when their eyes behold the glory of his might, upon the earth, in awe, themselves they do prostrate. this humbleness it is that profits them with thee and wins them wealth and power and rank and high estate. upon old saturn's heights pitch thy pavilion, since for thy countless hosts the world is grown too strait, and teach the stars to know thine own magnificence, in kindness to the prince who rules the starry state. may god with his consent for ever favour thee! for steadfastness of soul and sense upon thee wait: thy justice overspreads the surface of the earth, till far and near for it their difference abate. the khalif was charmed with his eloquence and the sweetness of his speech and said to him, 'draw near to me.' so he drew near and the khalif said, 'tell me thy story and expound to me thy case.' so ghanim sat down and related to him all that had befallen him, from beginning to end. the khalif was assured that he spoke the truth; so he invested him with a dress of honour and took him into favour. then he said to him, 'acquit me of the wrong i have done thee.' and ghanim did so, saying, 'o commander of the faithful, the slave and all that is his belong to his lord.' the khalif was pleased with this and bade set apart a palace for ghanim, on whom he bestowed great store of gifts and assigned him bountiful stipends and allowances, sending his mother and sister to live with him; after which, hearing that his sister fitneh was indeed a seduction[fn# ] for beauty, he demanded her in marriage of ghanim, who replied, 'she is thy handmaid and i am thy servant.' the khalif thanked him and gave him a hundred thousand dinars; then summoned the cadi and the witnesses, who drew up the contracts of marriage between the khalif and fitneh on the one hand and ghanim and cout el culoub on the other; and the two marriages were consummated in one and the same night. on the morrow, the khalif ordered the history of ghanim to be recorded and laid up in the royal treasury, that those who came after him might read it and wonder at the dealings of destiny and put their trust in him who created the night and the day. end of vol. footnotes to volume . [fn# ] the visible and the invisible. some authorities make it three worlds (those of men, of the angels and of the jinn or genii), and ethers more. [fn# ] the arabic word for island (jezireh) signifies also "peninsula," and doubtless here used in the latter sense. the double meaning of the word should be borne in mind, as it explains many apparent discrepancies in oriental tales. [fn# ] a powerful species of genie. the name is generally (but not invariably) applied to an evil spirit. [fn# ] god on thee! abbreviated form of "i conjure thee (or call on thee) by god!" [fn# ] lit. bull [fn# ] epithet of the ass and the cock. the best equivalent would be the french "père l'eveillé." [fn# ] i.e. stupid. [fn# ] the arabic word for garden (bustan) applies to any cultivated or fertile spot, abounding in trees. an european would call such a place as that mentioned in the tale an oasis. [fn# ] in preparation for death. [fn# ] jinn, plural of genie. [fn# ] a dinar (lat. denarius) is a gold coin worth about s. [fn# ] i.e. i have nothing to give thee. [fn# ] a dirhem (gr. drachma) is a silver coin worth about d. [fn# ] afriteh, a female afrit. afrit means strictly an evil spirit; but the term is not unfrequently applied to benevolent jinn, as will appear in the course of these stories. [fn# ] for his impatience. [fn# ] a marid is a genie of the most powerful class. the name generally, though not invariably, denotes an evil spirit. [fn# ] of islam, which is fabled by the muslims to have existed before mohammed, under the headship, first of abraham and afterwards of solomon. [fn# ] from this point i omit the invariable formula which introduces each night, as its constant repetition is only calculated to annoy the reader and content myself with noting the various nights in the margin. {which will not be included in this electronic version} [fn# ] probably the skin of some animal supposed to be a defence against poison. [fn# ] literally, "eyes adorned with kohl:" but this expression is evidently used tropically to denote a natural beauty of the eye, giving it that liquid appearance which it is the object of the use of the cosmetic in question to produce. [fn# ] a fabulous tribe of giants mentioned in the koran. [fn# ] the word here translated "eye" may also be rendered "understanding." the exact meaning of the phrase (one of frequent recurrence in these stories) is doubtful. [fn# ] a fabulous range of mountains which, according to muslim cosmography, encompasses the world. [fn# ] the prophet mohammed. [fn# ] various kinds of cakes and sweetmeats. [fn# ] the appearance of which is the signal for the commencement of the fast. all eyes being on the watch, it naturally follows that the new moon of this month is generally seen at an earlier stage than are those of the other months of the year, and its crescent is therefore apparently more slender. hence the comparison. [fn# ] caravanserai or public lodging-place. [fn# ] a kind of religious mendicant. [fn# ] one condition of which is that no violation of the ceremonial law (which prohibits the use of intoxicating liquors) be committed by the pilgrim, from the time of his assuming the pilgrim's habit to that of his putting it off; and this is construed by the stricter professors to take effect from the actual formation of the intent to make the pilgrimage. haroun er reshid, though a voluptuary, was (at all events, from time to time) a rigid observer of muslim ritual. [fn# ] it is a frequent practice, in the east, gently to rub and knead the feet, for the purpose of inducing sleep or gradually arousing a sleeper. [fn# ] an expression frequent in oriental works, meaning "the situations suggested such and such words or thoughts." [fn# ] religious mendicants. [fn# ] referring, of course, to the wine, which it appears to have been customary to drink warm or boiled (vinum coctum) as among several ancient nations and in japan and china at the present day. [fn# ] or chapter or formula. [fn# ] a play upon words is here intended turning upon the double meaning ("aloes" and "patience") of the arabic word sebr. [fn# ] see note on p. . {vol. , fn# } [fn# ] dar es selam. [fn# ] a certain fixed succession of prayers and acts of adoration is called a rekah (or bow) from the inclination of the body that occurs in it. the ordained prayers, occurring five times a day, consist of a certain number of rekahs. [fn# ] i.e. "there is no god but god", etc. [fn# ] or sinister conjunction of the planets. [fn# ] menkeleh, a game played with a board and draughtmen, partaking of the character of backgammon, draughts and fox-and-geese. [fn# ] a common oriental substitute for soap. [fn# ] i.e. newly dug over. [fn# ] lit. rukh. [fn# ] a sweet-scented, variegated wood. [fn# ] the arabs consider a slight division of the two middle teeth a beauty. [fn# ] the egyptian privet; a plant whose flowers have a very delicious fragrance. [fn# ] a kind of mocking-bird. [fn# ] of providence. [fn# ] literally, "o my eyes!" [fn# ] a niche in the wall, which indicates the position the worshipper must assume, in order to face mecca, in accordance with the ritual of prayer. [fn# ] cf. germ. zuckerpuppchen. [fn# ] i.e., moles, which are considered a great beauty in the east. [fn# ] a female genie. [fn# ] the unveiling or displaying of the bride before her husband is the culminating ceremony of a muslim wedding of the better class. the bride is always displayed in the richest clothes and ornament that can be mustered or borrowed for the occasion. [fn# ] moles? [fn# ] there is a play upon words in this line, founded upon the double meaning of the word shirk, sharing (or partnership) and polytheism or the attributing partners or equals to god (as in the trinity), the one unpardonable sin of the muslim religious code. [fn# ] both afterwards khalifs. [fn# ] i.e. god. [fn# ] lit "though lying save, yet truth saves and saves." [fn# ] on which she sits to be displayed. [fn# ] placed there for the purpose of the ablution prescribed by the ceremonial law. [fn# ] speaking, of course, ironically and supposing bedreddin to be the hunchback. [fn# ] bedreddin. [fn# ] mosul is a town of mesopotamia, some two hundred miles n.e. of baghdad. it is celebrated for its silk and muslin manufactories. the mosulis doubtless set the fashion in turbans to the inhabitants of baghdad and bassora, and it would appear from the vizier's remark that this fashion was notably different from that followed at cairo. [fn# ] eye-powder. the application of kohl to an infant's eyes is supposed to be beneficial. [fn# ] the north wind holds the same place in oriental metaphor and poetry as does the west wind in those of europe. [fn# ] or kernel. [fn# ] lit. puppet or lay figure. [fn# ] mole. [fn# ] a well-known legist and cadi of cufa in the seventh century. [fn# ] the sun. [fn# ] the word melik 'king,' by changing the second (unwritten) vowel to e becomes melek 'angel'. [fn# ] a measure of about five bushels. [fn# ] the left hand is considered unclean, being used for certain ablutions, and it is therefore a breach of good manners to use it in eating. [fn# ] between the two palaces. [fn# ] apparently said in jest. [fn# ] i.e. do not forget me. [fn# ] a kind of edible arum. [fn# ] this is apparently some proverbial saying. the meaning appears to be, "let every man be judge of his own case." [fn# ] that none might stare at or jostle her. [fn# ] about a hundred and twenty-five pounds. [fn# ] about five hundred pounds. [fn# ] i.e. of prime cost. [fn# ] the face of a mistress. [fn# ] it is a common oriental figure to liken a languishing eye to a dying narcissus. [fn# ] one of the companions of mohammed. [fn# ] prater. [fn# ] babbler. [fn# ] gabbler. [fn# ] the stone mug. [fn# ] the braggart. [fn# ] noisy. [fn# ] silent. [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] or attendant on the people in the bath. [fn# ] i.e. a stoker or man who keeps up the fire in the baths. [fn# ] a sort of sermon, which immediately follows, the noontide call to prayer on fridays. [fn# ] preliminary to the call to prayer. [fn# ] a.h. - . [fn# ] a leather rug on which they make criminals kneel to be beheaded. [fn# ] it will be seen that the stories told by the barber do not account for the infirmities of all his brothers, as this would imply. [fn# ] a formula of refusal. [fn# ] lit. ladder; a sort of frame, like the triangles to which they bound criminals sentenced to be flogged. [fn# ] dinars; , dirhems would be only five thousand dinars and it will be seen from the sequel that el feshar proposed to spend half that amount upon the dowry and presents to the tire-women alone. [fn# ] i.e. try this. [fn# ] the moon is masculine in arabic. [fn# ] mohammed. [fn# ] or hajji, pilgrim; title given to those who have made the pilgrimage to mecca. [fn# ] lit. the fundamentals are remembered. [fn# ] i.e. chanting the ninety-nine names of god or repeating the words "there is no god but god." [fn# ] i.e. a fair faced cup bearer. [fn# ] generally, the floating ends of the turban. this was for the purpose of concealment and is a common practice with the bedouins. [fn# ] the name kerim means "generous." [fn# ] or perhaps "cancelled." [fn# ] to simulate the customary evidence of virginity. [fn# ] names of her waiting women. [fn# ] of providence. [fn# ] i.e. monarch of persia, the realm of the ancient kisras or chosroes. [fn# ] fitneh. none * * * * * [illustration: sindbad the sailor entertains sindbad the landsman. page ] sindbad the sailor & other stories from the arabian nights illustrated by edmund dulac hodder & stoughton contents sindbad the sailor the first voyage of sindbad the sailor the second voyage of sindbad the sailor the third voyage of sindbad the sailor the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor aladdin and the wonderful lamp the three calenders the story of the first calender the story of the second calender the story of the third calender the sleeper awakened illustrations sindbad the sailor _sindbad the sailor entertains sindbad the landsman_ frontispiece _page_ _the episode of the whale_ _the episode of the rokh_ _the episode of the snake_ _the episode of the old man of the sea_ aladdin and the wonderful lamp _aladdin finds the magic lamp_ _aladdin and the efrite_ _the lady bedr-el-budur at her bath_ _the lady bedr-el-budur_ _the sultan and his vizier looking for aladdin's magic palace_ _the nuptial dance of aladdin and the lady bedr-el-budur_ _aladdin finds the princess in africa_ _the lady bedr-el-budur and the wicked magician_ the story of the three calenders _the porter and the ladies_ _the prince leads the lady to the tomb_ _the prince meets a noble lady in the underground palace_ _the princess burns the efrite to death_ _the prince is taken back to the golden palace by the magic black horse_ the sleeper awakened _the bridge at baghdad where abu-l-hasan awaits strangers_ _abu-l-hasan entertains the strangers with dancing and music_ _abu-l-hasan awakens in the bed of the khalifeh_ _abu-l-hasan orders that the sheiks of the district should be taken to be impaled on the back of a mangy camel_ _the room of the fruits prepared for abu-l-hasan_ sindbad the sailor in the time of harun-er-rashid there was, in baghdad, a rich merchant named sindbad the sailor, the source of whose wealth was a mystery. it seemed to be inexhaustible. for long seasons he kept open house, and his entertainments were the most magnificent of all save only those of er-rashid himself. all that riches could buy seemed at his disposal, and he lavished the good things of this life upon his guests. pages, slaves and attendants there were in great number; his garden was spacious and beautiful, and his house was filled with every costly luxury. this sindbad the sailor has a story to tell--the story of his life--but he never told it to any until, one day, there came to him one sindbad the landsman, a man of poor and humble birth. this man pleased him greatly with an apt recitation dealing with the widely different lots dispensed by god to men, and, being pleased, he was struck with the happy conceit that, now sindbad the sailor was at last confronted with sindbad the landsman, it would be no bad thing were he to narrate the story of his life so that all might know his strange adventures and conjecture no longer as to the source of his fabulous wealth. accordingly sindbad the sailor held seven receptions on seven different days, and, although on each occasion a multitude of guests was assembled to listen, he failed not to address his words from first to last to his simple listener, sindbad the landsman. following is his narration of the strange and wonderful adventures he experienced in his seven voyages:-- the first voyage of sindbad the sailor my father was a merchant of high rank and rich possessions. he died when i was but a child, leaving me all his wealth. when i reached manhood's estate i used my inheritance with no thought for the morrow, living in a sumptuous manner and consorting with the richest young men of baghdad. i continued this life for many years until, at last, when reason prevailed with me to mend my plan, i found with dismay that i had sunk to poverty. and then it was that i arose and sold what goods remained to me for three thousand pieces of silver, and girded myself, resolving to travel to other lands and rebuild my fortune by the wit of my mind and the labour of my hands. with a part of my hoard i bought merchandise for exchange in far lands, and also such things as i should require in my travels. thus prepared i set sail with a company of merchants in a ship bound for the city of el-basrah. for many days and nights we sailed upon the sea, visiting islands and passing thence to other islands; and everywhere we bartered, and bought and sold. at length we came to an island unlike the others. it seemed like a garden that had floated from off the sides of paradise and established itself in the sea. and here our ship cast anchor and we landed. then fires were lighted, and, while some cooked, others washed in the cool stream, and yet others amused themselves admiring the beauties of the place. when all had eaten of the food prepared the shore became a gay scene of sport and play, in which i engaged to the full. but, suddenly, a cry from the master of the ship put an end to our gaiety. standing at the side of the vessel he called loudly, "hear me, and may god preserve you! hasten back and leave everything; save yourselves from sudden death, for this that ye think is an island is not such. it is a mighty fish lying entranced in sleep on the surface of the sea since times of old, and trees have grown upon it; but your fires and your frolicking have awakened it, and lo! it moves; and, if it sink into the sea, ye will assuredly be drowned. hasten then, and save yourselves!" at this we all, with one accord, left everything and fled for the ship, hoping to escape with our lives. while we were making for safety the island moved with a great turmoil and sank behind us in the sea, and the waves leapt against each other above it. for a time i gave myself up as lost, for i was drawn down fathoms deep; but, by god's grace, i rose again to the surface, and to my hand was one of the large wooden bowls which some of the passengers had taken on shore for the purpose of washing. this i seized, and established myself in it, and thus combated the leaping waves, steadying myself with my hands and feet. in vain i called on the master of the ship. he heard me not. he had spread his sails and pursued his way, thinking that none beside those who had been taken up were left alive. astride my wooden bowl i gazed longingly at the ship until it was out of sight. then i prepared for death as the night was closing around me. perchance i swooned, for i remembered naught else until i found myself stranded upon a mountainous island. there were trees overhanging, and i grasped a drooping bough and drew myself up from the fretting wave. my limbs were benumbed, and, on looking at my legs, i saw the marks made by the nibbling teeth of fish, and marvelled at my salvation from death. staggering forward, i flung myself high on the beach like one dead, and so i remained until the dawn of the next day, when the sun, rising upon me, woke me to a sense of such a condition as i had never known before. long--long it was before i could rise to a sitting posture, and longer still before i could crawl on my hands and knees to a space of grass that was shielded from the sun. thence, in time, i staggered till i came to a brook, of which i drank; and strength returned to me. i found luscious fruits and ate of them, and drank again of the clear waters of the brook. and so i continued many days roaming the island and wondering at its beauties until i was strong again as before. and it chanced, as i took my way to and fro in the island, revelling in the sight of things that god had set there, that on a day when the sea was sounding loudly on the shore i beheld something in the distance which excited my curiosity. it seemed like a wild animal of gigantic size, and, as i approached, i feared it was some fabulous beast of the sea. but, as i drew still nearer, i was overcome with amazement to see a beautiful mare standing high, with mane and tail floating on the breeze. she was tethered to a stake on the shore, and, at sight of me, she screamed loudly and stamped her fore-feet on the sand; but, ere i turned to flee, i beheld a man come forth from a cave near by, and he ran after me, calling on me to give an account of myself and my presence in that place. thereupon i laid my story before him, sparing no detail, even to the wooden bowl by means of which and the grace of god i had come thither. gladness seized him at my recital, and he took my hand. saying, "come with me!" he led me into his cave and set food before me. i ate until i was satisfied; and, being at my ease, i repeated my story more minutely, and he wondered thereat. then i said, "thou hast the truth of my adventures upon the sea; now i pray thee, o my master, tell me who _thou_ art, that thou dwellest hidden in a cave while thy mare is tethered on the shore." he was in no way displeased at my curiosity, but answered me in plain words. "i am one of the grooms of the king el-mihraj," he said, "and the others are scattered about the island. for, look you, friend, it is the time of the new moon, when the sea-horse cometh up out of the sea; and it is our plan to bring our best mares hither and tether them by the shore so that they may lure the sea-horses into our hands." while i was wondering at the manner of this cunning device a magnificent sea-horse rose from the waves, shaking the foam from its crest and neighing loudly. as it approached, my companion drew me into the cave and placed himself at the opening with a long coil of thick cord in his hand. presently by means of this he leashed the sea-horse with great dexterity, and fettered him, and subdued him. then, with the mare and the sea-horse, he led me to his companions, who, when they had heard my story, were all of one mind that i should accompany them to the city of the king. so they mounted me on one of the mares and i rode with them to the king's palace. as soon as we had arrived at the palace gates they went in to the king and informed him of my strange adventures; whereupon he sent for me, and they led me before him. he greeted me very courteously and bade me tell him my story, which, when he had heard it, filled him with amazement, so that he cried, "by allah! my son, of a truth thou art favoured by fate; for how else could'st thou escape so great a peril? praise god for thy deliverance!" and he made much of me and caused me to be treated with honour; and he appointed me master of the harbour and comptroller of the shipping. my condition then was no longer that of a wayfarer. i rose day by day to a higher and a higher place in the king's favour, and he took me into his council in all affairs of state. for a long time i served him well, and he ceased not to recompense me with a liberal hand. yet my thoughts turned ever to baghdad, the abode of peace; but, when i enquired of merchants and travellers and masters of ships, in which direction it lay, and how one might come at it, they one and all shook their heads at the name of a strange city of which they had never heard. at last, weary of the wonders of that island and the sea around it--wonders the which, if i had time to tell you, would cause you the greatest amazement,--wearied, too, with my arduous duties, but most of all with my prolonged absence from my own land, i stood one day on the sea shore when a great ship drew near and a number of merchants landed from it. the sailors brought forth their merchandise, and, when i had made an account of it, i enquired of the master of the ship if that were the whole of his cargo. "all, o my master," he replied; "all save some bales whose owner was drowned on our voyage hither; but even these, being in my charge, i desire to sell on behalf of his family in baghdad." "sayest thou so?" i cried. "tell me, i pray thee, the name of the owner of these goods." and he replied, "his name was sindbad the sailor, and he was drowned on our way hither." when i heard this i regarded him more closely and recognised him. then i cried out, "o my master, i am he; and they are my goods that are in thy hold." but he neither recognised me nor believed my words; whereupon i narrated to him the history of my supposed death; but he shook his head and called upon allah to witness that there was neither faith nor conscience in any. "look you!" he said. "thou heardst me say the owner was dead, and therefore thou desirest the goods for thyself free of price. i tell thee we saw him sink into the sea with many others." "o my master," i answered, "hear me and then judge of my veracity." with this i narrated to him many trivial things which happened before we reached the great-fish island, and which could never be known to me had i not been on the ship. and then it was that he and many of the merchants regarded me with fixed looks and recognised me. "by allah!" said they one and all, "we truly believed thee drowned, but here we find thee alive." and they pressed upon me and congratulated me, and the master of the ship gave me my goods, at sight of which i was overjoyed; and they all rejoiced with me. mindful of the king i served, i at once opened my bales, and, selecting the most costly articles, went in to him and laid them at his feet, telling him how i had regained the goods of which they were a part. and the king wondered greatly at my good fortune and graciously accepted my gifts. he also showed me great favour and honour in that he bestowed upon me gifts in return for mine. then, having sold my remaining goods at a profit, i bought largely of the merchandise of the city, and, when the ship was about to sail, i approached the king and thanked him for his great kindness to me, and humbly begged his leave to depart to my own city and family. so he gave me his blessing and a great wealth of merchandise and rare commodities, and bade me farewell. and soon thereafter, having stowed all my goods in the hold of the ship, i set sail with the others for baghdad. our voyage was fortunate, and, with the aid of favourable winds, we reached the city of el-basrah in safety. thence i repaired to baghdad, and my family and my friends gave me a joyous welcome. and when i had sold my merchandise i set up a large establishment, sparing no cost. and i bought land and houses, and gathered round me wealthy companions, in whose society i soon forgot the dangers and terrors i had suffered in other lands. such is the story of my first voyage; and, to-morrow, by god's grace, i will narrate to you the strange adventures of my second voyage. the second voyage of sindbad the sailor as i related yesterday, i was living here in baghdad in the midst of every delight, surrounded by companions after my own heart. but a time came when the wandering spirit seized me again and i longed for the sight, even for the perils, of other and unknown lands. this, and the fact that i had decreased my substance by large expenditure, led me to adventure a second journey, at once to relieve the monotony of life and to replenish my exhausted store. the step was quickly taken. having collected suitable merchandise i repaired to the river, and, without a word to anyone, embarked on a new ship finely rigged and manned by a large crew. together with a goodly party of merchants i sailed away, and we passed over the deep from island to island and from sea to sea, with fair winds filling the sails. and at every place at which we cast anchor we bought and sold and bartered. so we continued until we came to an uninhabited island of great beauty. the trees hung with ripe fruits; birds of bright plumage flew hither and thither over the shining foliage, and their songs were heard in the topmost branches; rare flowers laid their scent upon the breeze, and pure clear streams coursed everywhere. when we landed we fell to extolling these master touches of the creator's hand, for, indeed, the place was, as it were, born of fragrant musk--so fresh and beautiful and full of all delights not made by man. selecting a rare spot on the bank of a stream, i sat apart, meditating upon the wonderful works of the omnipotent one. there the soft zephyrs singing in the trees, and the stream murmuring at my feet, lulled me to slumber; and, when i awoke later, i looked forth upon the sea and lo, the ship was far out on the wall of the ocean sloping to the sky. they had forgotten me and i was left alone upon the island. despair fell upon me as i gazed around and realised that i was desolate. and i said within myself, "what if i escaped from dangers in the past when all seemed lost--it still remains that here at least there is no escape." then i blamed myself for leaving my comfortable life in baghdad to undertake this voyage; for here there was neither strong food nor strong drink; nor rich apparel, nor gold, nor goods. as i pondered to the point of madness on these things a restless spirit came upon me, and i ran to and fro in the island, retracing my steps and crossing them; but i found naught to lessen my despair. [illustration: the episode of the whale. page ] at last i climbed to the top of a high tree, and, looking forth in every direction, saw only sky and sea and trees and watercourses. as i gazed, however, my eye reverted again and again to an object in a distant part of the island. it was round and white, and of enormous size. this aroused my curiosity and i resolved to find out what it was. having marked its position i descended from the tree and made my way towards it. when i reached it i found to my astonishment that it was a gigantic dome, white and shining. my first thought was to walk round it to ascertain if there were some door or opening, but none could i find in its whole circumference, which was about fifty paces. while i was meditating on some means to gain an entrance to this strange structure, behold, the sky darkened; and on looking towards the sinking sun, i saw it was hidden by a great black cloud,--an unwonted thing, as it was the summer season. while i continued to gaze the object drew rapidly nearer, and now i could discern in it the shape of a monstrous bird approaching swiftly through the air; and this it was that blotted out the sun. marvelling greatly i recalled a story told by travellers about certain islands where was found a bird of immense size called the rukh, which fed its young on elephants. it was then i knew that the great white dome i had discovered was one of this bird's eggs,--at which, not the least of the creator's works, i wondered greatly. then, while i so wondered, the giant bird alighted over the egg, and, crouching down, spread its wings and brooded over it, and composed itself to sleep. here, thought i, was a chance of escaping from the island. unfolding my turban i twisted it into a rope, and bound one end of it tightly about my waist; then i approached the great bird cautiously, and fastened the other end securely to one of its feet; for thus, when it flew away, it might perchance bear me through the air to some inhabited region. the whole night long i lay awake thinking of my projected flight, but it was not until morning that the bird awoke, and, with a loud cry, rose from the egg, bearing me aloft. higher and higher it soared, until i thought it must reach the stars; then, gradually, in vast circles, it descended, and finally came to earth on a high table-land. in great fear lest the bird should discover my presence i made haste to loose the turban from its foot, and, having done so, i crept away, trembling in every limb. then, as i watched the bird from a distance, i observed it pick something from the ground and soar away with it clutched in its talons; and i looked again and saw that it was an enormous serpent twisting and writhing in the grasp of the bird as it flew swiftly towards the sea. and at this strange thing i wondered greatly as i folded my turban. but what desert place had i come to by this daring misadventure? on the one side of the table-land was a deep valley, and, on the other, a steep mountain which no foot of man could climb. had i only remained in the island i should at least have had fruit to eat and water to drink, but here was nothing but desolation, from which i had no hope of escape. there was no course but to descend into the valley; and this i did, little caring whither i went. now, i had not walked therein but a few furlongs when i observed that the ground i trod was strewn with diamonds of large size, but--and this gave me cause for wild alarm--coiled here and there amongst the stones were gigantic serpents such as the one i had seen the bird bear away in its talons. as soon as i was aware of these sleeping serpents, which were of the same hue as the ground whereon they lay, i stept warily lest i should awaken them and be devoured. in this way was i proceeding down that valley, my flesh quaking and my knees a-tremble, when suddenly the flayed carcase of a slaughtered beast fell with a great noise before me. this aroused great wonder in my mind and also called to my recollection a story i had heard in my youth from a merchant traveller who had visited lands whence none else had ever come to deny the truth of it--a story confirmed by others who claimed a reputation for wide knowledge, and feared to lose it. it was this--that in a far land, where diamonds are as thickly strewn as the venomous serpents and other deadly perils which render it difficult to come at them, the daring merchants who seek these precious stones employ a cunning stratagem. they take a beast and slaughter it on the heights above the valley, and, having skinned it and lacerated the flesh, they throw it down. and, when it reaches the bottom of the valley whereon the diamonds lie, the stones adhere to the moist flesh. from the depths of the sky descends the watching vulture of the giant kind, and this bird, seizing the carcase in its talons, soars with it to the mountain tops; whereupon the merchants spring out and frighten the bird away with loud cries, and then take the stones adhering to the meat and bear them to their own country. i had my whole life long regarded this story with a half-shut eye, but now, beholding the slaughtered beast before me, and guessing full well the meaning of its presence there, i said within myself, "by allah! no marvel is past belief, for here is the verification." i surveyed that carcase and, having measured in a glance the distance to the mountains whence it had descended, i gazed into the blue sky in whose depths lurked the watching vulture. a plan of escape then came to me and i hastened to put it into operation. first i gathered as many diamonds as i could well dispose within my garments. then, unfolding my turban, i approached the slaughtered beast, and, lying on my back, drew it over me and bound myself firmly to it. i had not lain long in that position, with the heavy weight of the beast upon me, when a monstrous vulture came out of the sky, and, seizing upon the carcase with a loud scream, gripped it in its powerful talons and rose up and away with it and me. and it rose higher and higher, with a mighty flapping of its wings, until at last it alighted on a broad ledge near the summit of the mountain--a place which, judging by the bleached bones lying on every hand, was the favourite feeding-place of these birds. this was clearly known to the merchant who had cast the carcase down, for, no sooner had the vulture deposited his burden and started to tear at the flesh, than he sprang out with loud cries and scared it away. half smothered by the weight of the slaughtered beast i lost no time in freeing myself, and soon i struggled to my feet and stood there with my clothes stained and polluted with its blood. when the merchant saw me his fear was great; but his disappointment was even greater when, his fear mastered by the lust of gain, he turned the carcase over and found no diamonds sticking to the flesh. pitying him in his sad case--for he was smiting hand on hand and calling out against fate--i advanced and said, "curse not fate, nor fear me, for i am of thy kind, and i hear with me an abundance of these stones the loss of which thou lamentest; and they are of the largest that a man can carry upborne by a vulture's wings. of these will i give unto thee; therefore forget thy fear and bury thy disappointment." on hearing this the merchant thanked me and prayed fervently for me and my family; and he ceased not to pray for the prolongation of my life until i had bestowed upon him the largest diamonds i could find within my garments. while he was thanking me for this there came his companions, each of whom had cast down a carcase; and, when they had heard the story of my escape, they congratulated me and bade me come with them, for they said, "by allah! thou art greatly favoured by fate, since none but thee hath been in that valley and escaped to tell the tale." after my perilous adventures, and my despairing sojourn in the valley of serpents, i was filled with the utmost joy at finding my fellow mortals around me; and, seeing this, they made me welcome among them, and i partook of their food and wine. we passed the night in a safe place, and, when morning came, we set forth over the mountain ranges overlooking the valley of the serpents and at length descended to a stretch of sea. this we crossed by means of the boats which they had moored by the shore, and came thus to a low-lying island where grew camphor trees in abundance, each of which might shield a hundred men from the sun. here, too, upon the plains roamed the wild rhinoceros, of which wonderful tales are told by people who return from unknown lands. this beast impales an elephant upon its horn with ease, and wanders thus, with little hindrance to its pasturing, until the fat of the elephant, melting in the heat of the sun, and flowing down into its eyes, renders it blind; whereupon it seeks the seashore and lies down until such time as the rukh may find it and carry both it and the elephant away as a morsel for its young. but i speak of what i know and, as i saw naught of this kind, i can but say that i know not. i continued with my companions for some space, journeying from island to island and exchanging the diamonds we had acquired for rich merchandise. and, in passing through many countries unheard of in this city, i separated from them and went my way, coming at length to el-basrah with a princely cargo of goods. thence i journeyed to baghdad, the abode of peace, and rejoined my family. wealth i had in abundance, and i resorted to my former life of luxury, bestowing gifts and alms, wearing rich apparel, and eating and drinking with my companions. this is the story of my second voyage, and by the grace of god (whose name be exalted!) i will narrate to-morrow the still more remarkable adventures that befell me on my third voyage. the third voyage of sindbad the sailor having rested for a space in baghdad, where i lived surrounded by every happiness and delight, i began again to experience that restless desire for travel and commerce which had drawn me forth on my former voyages. when the desire grew so great that i could no longer withstand it, i set out with a large stock of merchandise and arrived at the city of el-basrah, where i took ship, together with a goodly company of merchants, and others of high standing and repute. for many days we sailed outwards, buying and selling among the islands; until, one day, while we were in the midst of the ocean, a storm descended upon us and blew the ship out of its course. the wind continued from one quarter with great violence, and for a day and night we were hurled before it. when morning came it abated, and the master of the ship looked forth on every hand to ascertain where we were. suddenly he uttered a loud cry and plucked his beard. "god preserve us!" he said. "the gale hath driven us to an evil fate. see! yonder is the mountain of apes! none hath ever come near it and escaped." we looked and beheld a high mountain on an island, and, while we were gazing at it, and wondering where lay the danger at so great a distance, behold, the sea around us was swarming with apes which had swum out from the island. they were hideous black beasts, not of large size, but of malignant aspect; and so great was their number that we were powerless to stand against them. they climbed up the sides of the ship and seized upon the ropes, which they severed with their sharp teeth so that the sails were powerless and the vessel drifted with tide and wind to the shore. there we were seized by the apes and set on the land, after which they returned to the ship and bent fresh ropes and set the sails and departed over the sea we knew not whither. but we ceased to wonder at the manner of their going, for we were in a desperate plight, since all sailors feared the mountain of apes and no ship would ever approach the island to rescue us. in our wanderings through the island, eating of its fruits and drinking of its streams, we came at length to an open space in which stood a house of gigantic size. the walls and the folding doors of ebony were very lofty, and, when we walked into an immense apartment--for the doors were open--we found everything within it of a corresponding size. the cooking utensils were large enough to cook an ox whole, and, on the couch at the upper end, a hundred men might sit with comfort. but no occupant could we find, so we seated ourselves and rested for a while, and then we slept. it was about sunset when we were awakened suddenly by a loud noise and a trembling of the earth; and lo, we beheld coming from the further end of the apartment a gigantic being in the shape of a man. his skin was black, and his eyes blazed like fire; two gleaming tusks protruded from his great mouth, his enormous ears drooped to his shoulders, and his nails were like the sharp claws of a beast of prey. we were stricken with great fear at the approach of this frightful being so that we could neither move nor cry out while he advanced to the couch and disposed his huge limbs thereon. then, on turning his head, he caught sight of us and arose and came towards us. as i was nearest to his hand he seized me, and, taking me from the ground, turned me over and over in his palm, feeling my limbs to see if they were fat. but, by the grace of god (whose name be exalted!) i was lean and wasted with fatigue and affliction; so he set me down and seized another, whom he turned over and felt in the same manner. he, too, was lean, and he let him go; but he took one after another until he came to the master of ship--a big man and fat. with him he was satisfied. then, seeing what he was about to do, we hid our eyes, and did not look again until the ogre, having cooked and eaten our master, threw his bones upon a heap of others on one side of the apartment. afterwards he arose and laid himself down upon the couch and slept, and his snoring was like the roll of thunder. [illustration: the episode of the rokh. page ] we crept forth from that house in terror, feeling that it were happier to be killed by apes or drowned in the sea than to be roasted on live coals--a terrible death for a man! we then considered means of hiding, or escaping from the place. but there was no place to hide, and the ship, our only way of escape, was gone. while we were lamenting, a spell seemed to be cast over us, so that our very excess of fear drew us back to the ogre's house, wherein we sat as before, and slept. again we were awakened by the thunder of the ogre's approach, and again he came and selected one of our number. when, having eaten, he slept upon the couch, we conversed together, thinking to find some way of escape. one said, "by allah! by allah! let us kill him!" and he proposed a plan. "listen, o my brothers!" i said on hearing this; "if we seek to kill him let us first prepare some rafts on which to escape, for we may fail of our purpose; and on these rafts we can at worst be drowned, which is better than being roasted." they answered me, "thou art right!" so we set to work and gathered stout pieces of wood and carried them to the seashore, where we constructed rafts and stowed food upon them in readiness for a hasty departure. then we returned to the giant's house to carry out our plan. the sound of his snoring told us he still slept, so we took two sharp-pointed iron spits and heated the points red-hot in the fire. then we approached him cautiously, and, at a given signal, thrust the red-hot points one into each of his eyes, and bore upon the spits with our combined weight. he arose with a mighty roar, and we fled right and left; for, his sight being destroyed, we feared his blind rage. he searched for us, but, not finding us, he groped for the door, and went forth uttering loud cries which shook the earth. in great haste, and lashed by mortal fear, we gained the seashore and launched the rafts; but, scarcely had we gained the water, when we saw the ogre approaching, led by a female more gigantic and more hideous than himself. we swam out, pushing the rafts before us; but they hurled great rocks after us, and many of our number were killed. three alone, including myself, escaped, and, after much stress and peril, reached another island. we had gained at length what seemed to us a place of safety, high and dry above the wave and far from the ogre's domain; and there, when night came on, we slept, but only to awaken to fresh terrors. lo! in the act of coiling round us was a serpent of enormous size, its folds contracting and its head raised to strike. at sight of this, another and myself were more nimble than our companion, for we sprang clear of the serpent's embrace while he was seized in the huge jaws and slowly swallowed with a horrible crackling of bones. and we mourned our companion and went thenceforth in fear for ourselves. dreading to sleep again on the ground we climbed a high tree, and, binding ourselves each in a safe position with our turbans, we slept fitfully. but alas! god hath given to all serpents the wisdom of the evil one. that night the serpent mounted the tree, and, seizing my companion, proceeded to swallow him, while i looked on in helpless fear. then, in descending the tree, it coiled its vast bulk round the trunk and i heard my companion's bones crack within its paunch. when morning had come i descended from the tree feeling that my safest course was to drown myself in the waves, for where else could i hide that the serpent could not find me? but life is sweet, and i pondered long upon a cunning plan to protect myself. then, repairing to the seashore, i selected some pieces of wood from the raft, and took them to a dry place. towards evening, when i had eaten of the fruits of the island and drunk of its streams, i bound a long piece of wood crosswise upon the soles of my feet and another crosswise upon my head; i secured a wide flat piece to my right side, another to my left side, and another to the front of my body; and there, having thrust my arms under the side pieces, i lay encased. and, as the evening wore on, the serpent saw me, and drew near; but it could not swallow me because of the pieces of wood. all through the night it tried to come at me, attempting in all ways to effect its purpose; but in every way it failed, while i lay like a dead man, gazing in speechless horror at the terrible creature. and it ceased not in its efforts to engulf me till morning broke, when it went its way consumed with rage and vexation. then i freed myself from the pieces of wood and arose, trembling in every limb, but thanking god for my deliverance; for, look you, i was sorely tried by what i had endured from that serpent. not many hours later i had the good fortune to espy a ship far out upon the sea, and, as it was making as if to pass a headland of the island somewhat closely, i ran with all speed and established myself on the furthest point. there i waved my unfolded turban to attract the notice of those on the vessel. at last they saw me, and came and took me on board. they listened to my story with great astonishment, and congratulated me on my escape. then they gave me clean raiment, and set food and drink before me, so that i was revived and comforted. and, as we proceeded on our way i was emboldened to look back on all i had suffered as nothing more than a terrible dream. in the course of our journey we came to an island where the sandal wood grows, and here i landed with the other merchants. but they had goods to sell, while i, alas! had none. then, strange to relate, the same kind providence that had befriended me on my first voyage was at my service once more, and in the same guise. the master of the ship, seeing me without merchandise, came to me, and, taking compassion upon my poor condition, told me of some goods in the hold which belonged to a man whom they had lost during the voyage. he offered me these goods to sell upon the island so that, when an account had been rendered to the owner's family in baghdad, there would be a recompense for my trouble and service. i thanked him gladly for this, and he ordered the goods to be brought up and landed on the island. and lo! when i saw the bales, i knew them, and showed how they were marked with the name of sindbad the sailor. then, seeing that they were perplexed, i shouted in my excitement, "do you not hear me? _i_ am sindbad the sailor, and these are my goods!" while some believed and others doubted i related my story from the time i had awakened upon the island to find myself alone; and, when i mentioned the valley of diamonds, a merchant came forward and confirmed my words, for it was he whose slaughtered beast had helped me to safety. "hear me, ye doubters!" he said. "when i related this very thing to you, you believed me not; but see--this is the man i spoke of, and now you have it independently from his own mouth. learn from this, o my brothers, never while living, doubt a true tale because it is marvellous." then the master asked me what was the distinguishing mark of my goods, and i replied that it was such and such a mark, and i also called to his mind some conversation between him and me before the ship left el-basrah. he was then convinced that i was sindbad the sailor, and he congratulated me and embraced me, saying that my story was most extraordinary. the remainder of this, my third voyage, was occupied in buying and selling among the islands on the way to el-basrah, whence, in good time, laden with wealth and rich merchandise, i proceeded to baghdad to dwell in peace again, surrounded by my family and friends. here, for a season, charmed with every delight, i forgot the perils and horrors i had endured. but the longing for travel and adventure found me out again, impelling me to undertake a fourth voyage; and the events of this--more marvellous than those of the preceding voyages, o sindbad, the landsman--i will narrate to you to-morrow. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor led by the desire to associate with other races, and to buy and sell for gain,--for the soul is prone to evil,--i departed from baghdad with many precious bales, and set sail from el-basrah in a large ship on which a company of other merchants embarked in like fashion. for many days we had a pleasant journey among the islands, and all went well with us until, on reaching the wider sea beyond, a mighty wind came up against us. the sea rose in great waves as the tempest increased, and we were in dire peril. more and more violent grew the gale, lashing the sea into fury. the sails were rent, the masts were blown away, we sprang a leak, and slowly the vessel began to sink. we gave ourselves up for lost, and, indeed, when the waves passed over us and we sank, many perished. but, in the seething turmoil, it was my good fortune to be cast against a broad plank, which i seized and held. others were struggling for life near by and i was able to draw some of them to me. sore buffetted as we were by wind and wave we mounted that plank and sat astride of it. thus, through a whole day and night, we drifted before the gale, now descending into despairing hollows of the sea, and now flung up on the mountain tops of billows. at dawn on the following day the sea cast us like dead men upon an island, where, for many hours, we lay exhausted. albeit, strength began to return to us again, and we arose feebly, and staggered forth into the island. fruit and herbs there were in abundance, and clear fresh water; so we ate and drank and were revived. that night we slept upon the shore, and in the morning we arose strengthened and invigorated. when we had broken our fast we set ourselves to explore the island, and had not gone far in this before we came to a great building. as we stood at the door of this, wondering who dwelt within, a party of naked men came out, and without a word, seized us and led us in to a spacious apartment, where we found ourselves standing before their king. he commanded us to be seated, and they brought us food of a strange kind, such as we had never seen. my companions ate largely of this but my stomach revolted at it and i ate but little--a thing which preserved me from a terrible fate. for, as my companions ate, they became mad with a ravenous hunger, and ate more and more. presently they were given cocoanut oil to drink, and, when they had swallowed it, their eyes rolled in their heads, and they continued to eat in a frenzy horrible to behold. i was consumed with fear at these things and said within myself, "this is a tribe of the magi and their king is a ghoul!" as i observed them attentively i remembered a story of these people: how they seize on travellers and set this loathsome food before them to eat, and give them the oil to drink, so that they swell out and eat more and more until they are fattened to an enormous degree and their minds are rendered like those of idiots; whereupon, in due time, they kill and roast them and serve them up as food to their king. and all these things i saw in the days that my companions were fattening, for there were others who had been seized before us, and each day one of these was killed and roasted and set before the king. while i was wasting away with fear and hunger--and it was on this account that they forgot me and left me to die in my own way--my companions had come to be like dull, heavy, stupid beasts of the field, so that they were placed in the care of a beastherd, who led them forth every day to the pasturage. as for myself, as soon as i observed that i was a failure in that i would not fatten, and that none took heed of me nor marked my coming or my going, i arose in the night and crept away among the trees surrounding the king's dwelling. then, when morning came, i went forth with a heart of fear, knowing not what fresh terror i should encounter. in my wanderings back and forth i came about midday to a stretch of green pasture, where i beheld with sorrow my late companions grazing on all fours, and fattening like beasts for the slaughter, while the beastherd sat upon a rock and piped on an oaten reed. i breathed a silent farewell to them as to those i should never see again, and turned sadly away. my heart was cold within me, and my steps were faltering as i wandered on, pausing here and there to gather edible herbs and roots, which, for want of something better, served to sustain life in my body. journeying in this way i came at length to a grove of pepper trees, and there were men at work in it, gathering the berries. their aspect seemed to me to be peaceable, so i exposed myself, and they approached me and pressed upon me, asking my name and whence i had come, for my aspect excited their curiosity. then i unfolded to them the tale of the adventures, the perils, and the horrors that had befallen me; and, when i had related the sad case of my companions, they wondered greatly at my escape. while they resumed their work, they made me welcome amongst them, and set nutritious food before me, the like of which i had not tasted for many days. i regaled myself on their bounty and rested, and was content. when they had finished their work at the setting of the sun they took me with them to the seashore, and i accompanied them in their vessel to an island, not far distant, where they brought me to their king. and, there, before them and his court, at his command i narrated my adventures since leaving baghdad, at which his interest was kindled, and he bade me sit with him and eat. and i did so gladly, for my body was thin and meagre, and my vigour was sorely wanting. after that, having shewn my gratitude to the king and offered praise to god for his saving grace, i rose, and, with the king's permission, went forth into his city. it was a well-conditioned, flourishing place, thronged with buyers and sellers; and there was an abundance of food and rich merchandise. as day followed day and time drew on i had cause to rejoice at my arrival in that city, for i found favour with the king, and he magnified me over his people and his great men. observing the ways of the people, i saw that the horses that they rode were without saddles; whereupon i went in to the king and spoke to him on the matter, describing a saddle and the ease and comfort of it. at this the king desired me to make him one, and placed at my disposal his cleverest carpenter with many tools and instruments. and i sat with the carpenter and instructed him how to proceed, so that the saddle, covered with polished leather and stuffed with teased wool, was soon complete. i attached stirrup-straps and girths, and showed the blacksmith how to fashion the stirrups. then, with the aid of costly fringes and trappings, the work was complete. full of satisfaction i sent for one of the king's finest horses, saddled and bridled him, and led him before his majesty. he was greatly pleased at the sight of what i had done, and, when he had mounted the horse and sat in the saddle, he was overjoyed at the ease and pleasure of it, and bestowed upon me a large reward. when the king's chief officials and the grandees of his court saw the saddle which i had made, they each and all desired me to make others like it. then, with the carpenter and the blacksmith, i employed many days in the construction of numerous saddles, and for these i received much gold, and rose to an assured position in the land. the high rank and honour which the king had bestowed upon me had but half expressed his heart towards me. i was yet to learn that he had a further favour in store. one day, while i was sitting at his right hand discussing affairs of state, he said to me, "o my son, seeing thou hast now become as one of us and we cannot part with thee, i desire that thou give ear to a matter which i have planned and which will bind thee more closely to us." and i answered him, "for thy great kindness to me, o king, i am now and henceforth thy faithful servant. what dost thou desire me to do?" and he looked at me intently and said, "i would marry thee to a woman of high rank among us--one possessed of great beauty and wealth--so that thou mayest continue to dwell with us in pleasure and comfort and with a good heart. thus shalt thou advantage greatly and receive every good thing at my hands; wherefore, refuse me not, nor oppose my wish." i remained silent, for i was overwhelmed by his proposal and the stress of bashfulness it brought to my face. seeing this, he rallied me and said, "art thou dumb? is not thy heart with us?" then of a sudden i replied, "o king! thy words took away my breath. as thou commandest, so i obey." pleased at my compliance the king immediately ordered his officials to bring the lady and the witnesses, and forthwith i was married to her with the king's blessing and the acclamation of all his court. she was of surpassing loveliness, and she brought me a dowry of abundant wealth and possessions. and to this the king added a magnificent house with servants and slaves, and assigned me a handsome salary. and i lived in ease and comfort, our days being full of delights. gone was all thought of the perils and hardships i had endured, and gone was the fear of adversities in store. but there is no strength nor power but in god, and he orders the fates of men as he will. on an evil day a great fear suddenly came to me by reason of a thing which i will make known to you. a companion of mine suffered a bereavement in that his wife died; whereupon i went to him, and mourned with him, saying, "take heart, o brother; god will fill her place to thee with one far better." but he continued to weep, saying, "alas! how can i marry another when this very day i depart this life?" "nay," said i, "that is not within reason, for thou art in good health and not like to die." he then raised his head and dried his tears, and said to me very slowly, "hear me, o my brother! knowest thou not that, to-day, they will bury my wife, and that they will bury me also in the same tomb with her? for such is our custom. when husband or wife is buried the other must be buried also, so that neither may continue to enjoy life alone." "by allah!" said i, smiting palm on palm, "this custom is wholly vile, and it toucheth me closely." then, as we continued to discuss this matter, there came others who condoled with my companion, grieving not only for the loss of his wife, but also that they should never see him more. and, later in the day, came yet others bearing a bier; and on this they laid the woman and carried her forth prepared for burial with all her jewels and raiment and wealth. and the husband went with them. through sympathy with my companion, and to bid him a last farewell, i followed this funeral procession till it halted in a distant spot on the sea-shore. there a great stone was lifted and a vault exposed. into this they threw the body of the woman, and then, by means of a stout cord, they lowered the husband gently till he rested by her side. a pitcher of water and seven cakes were then let down to him, and, when he had freed himself from the cord, they drew it up and closed the sepulchre and went their ways. "by allah!" said i within myself as i smote myself on my breast, "this manner of death is the worst of all!" and on my return i went in to the king with grief and fear gnawing at my heart. "o king!" i said, "tell me why is this: that ye bury the living with the dead?" said he, "o my son, it is the custom of our country and has descended to us from our ancestors: husband and wife are one, in death as in life." and i answered him with a question that concerned me nearly. "o my lord," i said, "and the stranger that sojourneth with thee: if his wife die, do ye treat him in like manner?" "yea," he replied, "in like manner, even as thou hast seen." then i departed from him in grief and mourning lest i should perchance be bereft of my wife. in vain did i say to myself, "be comforted! maybe thou wilt die before her--none knoweth." in vain did i give myself up to my manifold occupations. the fear was not to be dispelled. and, within a short time, what i had feared came to pass. my wife was stricken with a fever, and, when i had reason to hope she would recover, she suddenly relapsed and died. my grief at this was overwhelming, but, as if to add to it, there came many to condole with me on her death and to mingle their tears with mine for that i should soon be departing this life. the king himself came and commiserated with me on my most unhappy fate. and he said, "there is no strength nor power in any but god. farewell, o my son!" and they prepared my wife for burial, arraying her in her richest garments and her finest jewels. but, when they carried her to the burial place and cast her down into the pit, and all my companions pressed upon me to bid me farewell, my gorge rose and i cried out upon them that their custom was vile. loudly i spoke my bitter mind on the abominable nature of this thing; they would not listen, but took me by force and lowered me into the pit, together with the seven cakes and the pitcher of water. and when i had reached the floor of a vast cavern they called down to me: "untie the ropes that we may draw them up!" i answered, "draw me up with them!" "nay, nay;" they replied, "we do but follow our custom." "to the ravens with you and your custom!" i retorted, for i had no stomach for this proceeding. then, as i steadily refused to loose the ropes, they at last threw them down upon me, and, having closed the mouth of the pit, went their way. now was i in worse plight than i had ever been. on that cavern floor there were the bodies and bleached bones of those that had died a natural death cheek by jowl with those who had perished in the fulfilment of this abominable custom. and i said to myself, "better to remain single and live, than to marry and be buried alive." nevertheless, knowing not night from day, i kept myself from death by eating sparingly of the cakes and drinking some of the water, for i was in no mood to die in so vile a manner after having come through great perils by mountain and sea. at length, when i had eaten all the cakes and drunk all the water, and hunger and thirst began to cry out within me, i arose and wandered to and fro in the cavern, stumbling and falling over dead bodies and biting the dust of bones that had crumbled long since. by dint of much groping in the dark i at length found the wall of the cavern, and, selecting therein a cavity free from bones and corpses, i stretched myself and slept. i was awakened later as if by hunger and thirst knocking at the door; and, while i sat in gloom thinking of the plenty in baghdad--fool that i was to leave it!--i heard a sudden noise. looking forth from my cavity, i saw that the stone had been removed from the opening of the cavern and a dead body was being lowered. it was the body of a man, and after him was let down the living body of his wife. she was weeping and wailing for him and for herself. then the mouth of the cavern was closed again and all was dark and silent save for the wailing of the woman echoing through the cavern. "alas!" she cried, "that i should die this lingering death! had i the means to end my life, then would i do it. would that there were one here to slay me!" when i heard this i remembered that i had never been able to resist the pleadings of a woman. so i arose, and, taking a stout leg-bone in my hand, i slew her according to her desire. and i took her seven cakes and the pitcher of water, which she would no longer need, and, retiring to my cavity, i ate and drank. this thing occurred many times during my sojourn in that cavern, for a number of married men and women chanced to die. and, though they did not always cry out for me to slay them, i knew their prayer before-hand and answered it speedily. thus the cakes and the water bequeathed to me stayed my spirit and i continued to live. time passed slowly, but yet it passed. i had no other means of measuring it except to call an hour a day and a day a year. and i was weary to death of it all when an unwonted thing occurred. i was awakened suddenly from sleep by a noise at the far end of the cavern. then i heard footsteps as of some beast. i arose, and, arming myself with a stout bone, advanced upon the intruder; but it heard me and fled from me, and i could not come at it. yet, as i followed its footsteps, i saw its form darken a pin-spot of daylight at the end of a crevice of the cavern. this gave me a glimmer of hope, for, where that beast had passed, i myself might pass, and so gain the outer air. over jagged points of rock i clambered towards that opening, now losing sight of it, and now gaining view of it again, until at last i reached it and found that it was indeed a communication with the outer country. with some difficulty i forced my way through it and climbed down by a perilous pathway to the seashore. i had escaped from the sepulchre of the living and the dead, and i praised god for the sight of the sky and the sea; but, when i had looked into my position and found behind me an impassable precipice, before me the wide stretching sea, and above me the dome of heaven, i sat down on the shore with my head on my knees and said within myself, "there is no way out! i cannot scale the sheer cliff, neither can i tread the fishes' pathways in the sea, nor walk in the tracks made by birds in the air. there is no way out!" day followed day, and i strove to stay my hunger with what shell-fish i could find; but the supply was meagre, and again and again i was forced to return to the cavern to receive reward of cakes and water in return for merciful death dealt by my hand. far be it from me to rob the dead, and none can say i did so. it was in the spirit of a last gift generously bestowed by those about to die that chains of pure gold were hung about my neck and rich jewels thrust upon me. these keepsakes of many i retained, assured that later i should carry them with me to a nameless grave in a desolate spot. but god, in his infinite mercy, willed it otherwise, for one day, sitting sadly on the shore as was my wont, i espied a vessel on the sea. hope surged high within my breast and i arose and stripped myself of a white garment and mounted it on a staff and ran wildly to and fro, waving it above me. and, when my signal was observed, the vessel stayed its course and sent a boat ashore. "who art thou, and what doest thou here?" cried one from the boat as it ran upon the beach. "know ye not that this is a desolate coast, and none has ever been seen upon it?" and i greeted them with joy, and answered them, telling my strange experience in a few words. then, their wonder strong within them, they took me across to the ship and led me before the master, who marvelled greatly at finding a man where none had ever seen a human being before. he asked me many questions, and when i answered him, giving him the whole history of my adventures as heretofore set down, he was a man bewildered. raising his eyes to heaven he said, "by allah! thy case is extraordinary!" and all around wondered that a man could experience such things and live. in return for his kindness in rescuing me from my terrible plight, i tendered him some of the rarest jewels i had brought with me from the cavern. but he refused me courteously, saying, "nay, o my brother; if we find one in like case with thee, we succour him and give him to eat and drink; and, if he be naked, we clothe him. then, at the first city we reach, we set him on land with some valuable token of our goodwill; for so it is with us of the sea that we are not unmindful of the sufferings of others." and, when i heard this, i prayed for him and his family, that he and they might live long in health and prosperity. [illustration: the episode of the snake. page ] our journey from that place, where i had suffered so much, took us from island unto island towards the city of el-basrah. as we proceeded, the places where we cast anchor grew more and more familiar to me, and, as of old, i bought and sold as merchants do. at length we arrived at the city of el-basrah, whence, having transacted business there for some days, bartering and selling the jewels i had acquired, i journeyed to baghdad. there, in the bosom of my family, and surrounded by my companions, i returned to my former habit of life. these, then, were the experiences of my fourth voyage; and, o my brother, sindbad the landsman! if thou wilt honour me by thy presence to-morrow, i will relate to thee still stranger things that befel me in my fifth voyage. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor looking back from the position of safety and comfort to which i had returned i came in time to make light of the perils i had encountered and the sufferings i had endured. the advantages that had come to me through these perils and sufferings now stood in the foreground of my thoughts and i said within myself, "it is the life for a man; for how otherwise can he come at the meaning of the great book of the world than by treading its pages?" and, moreover i had conceived the wish to become the owner of a ship, for thus the gain accruing from a voyage to other lands would be so much greater. having considered the matter deeply, i arose from my life of luxury and ease and departed with many bales of merchandise for the city of el-basrah. there in the river i found at length a splendid vessel, which i purchased. i found a master and a crew, over whom i set my own trusty servants; and, having secured a goodly company of merchants as passengers, i embarked their bales and mine, and we set sail. we worked our way outwards, calling at island after island, and doing the usual business that merchants find in those places, until one day we came to a large uninhabited island. here, while i was engaged in matters concerning the vessel, the merchants landed and, as i afterwards learned, they found there the great egg of a rukh, such as i had met with on a former voyage. mistaking it for a deserted structure, and, failing to find an entrance, they had amused themselves by casting stones at it, so that it broke; whereupon a young rukh came forth from the shell. and they set upon this monstrous chicken in its helpless condition, and slew it, and brought great slabs of its flesh back to the ship. when i heard what they had done i was sore afraid and reproached them for their rash action. "for, look you," i said, "there is not a doubt the mother rukh will seek to revenge the loss of her young, and, seeing our ship, will attribute the deed to us, and attack us and destroy us." but they neither heeded my warning nor repented them of their rash action. the vengeance of the rukh was sudden and dire. scarce had i spoken when the sun was obscured from our sight, and, looking up, we beheld the gigantic bird descending upon the island. when it saw that its egg had been broken and its young one destroyed it flew above us, looking down at the ship and shrieking in a voice that filled the sky. on this it was joined by its mate, and the two circled round us, their hoarse cries of rage falling like thunder on the sea. in great fear i bade the master and the sailors hoist the sails and seek safety in flight. then, as soon as we began to draw off from the island, the rukhs left us and flew inland, so that we thought we had made good our escape. but soon they reappeared and came after us, each bearing in its talons a huge mass of rock. one of them flew above us and dropped the rock, so that we saw death descending upon us. but the great mass missed the ship by a narrow space, and, falling close astern, raised such a commotion of waves that the ship was flung up on a mountain of water and then hurled down against the bottom of the sea before little by little she came to rest on the level tide. then the other rukh dropped the rock from its talons, and fate ordained that it struck the ship astern with a mighty crash. amid cries of fear and despair we sank into the sea, and all seemed lost. how i survived the shock and turmoil of that sudden shipwreck i cannot describe clearly, for i was like one stunned or wrenched from his mind apart. how i sought to save myself is gone from me by reason of the extreme peril. i can imagine only that i touched some wreckage and clung to it, for, when my mind returned to me, i found myself on the shore of an island sitting upon a plank, which, it seemed had borne me hither. that i had fought against wind and wave i knew, for i was well nigh exhausted. i could do nothing more than drag myself painfully to a sheltered spot, where i rested and slept. when i arose later in the day, i was refreshed; and, having found both fruit and water, i ate and drank and my strength returned to me. i went forth upon the island, and to and fro in it, but i found no other's footprint on the shore, nor any sign of human habitation from coast to coast. but that there _was_ a dweller there i was soon to learn, and to my cost. it was on the following day towards evening, when i was walking among the trees, that i came upon an old man sitting on the bank of a stream. he was a comely old man, with flowing silver locks and an ample white beard. he was clothed, from the waist downward, with the leaves of trees threaded together. as i regarded him for some moments i felt that his whole aspect betokened a disposition of simplicity and mild benevolence. advancing upon the bank i spoke to him, but he shook his head sadly and sighed; and i saw that his speech was gone. then he made signs with his hands as if to say, "mount me upon thy neck and carry me across the stream." i felt kindly disposed towards this mild and gentle old man, and wished to do him a service; so i mounted him upon my neck and took him across the stream. "now," i said, "thou canst dismount when it pleaseth thee!" but, instead of dismounting, he wound his legs still more closely round my neck, and pressed his feet into my chest, so that i cried out with pain and rage and attempted to throw him from my shoulders. but my frantic efforts were in vain; he stuck like a leech, and i could not dislodge him. indeed, he clung so tight that he nearly throttled me, and i fell to the ground exhausted. then he belaboured me sorely with his feet until i arose with him again, and, in this way, he compelled me to obey him. when he would go in among the trees he made a sign with his hand, and, if i obeyed not with alacrity, he beat me with his feet unmercifully. by reason of his behaviour i was at last compelled to cancel my first opinion of him and, though he cleaved to me night and day, we were by no means friends. i was his captive and he ceased not to remind me of it. if i dallied by the way, or stumbled, his hard feet would rain blows upon me; and, at night, when he slept with his legs wound tightly round my neck, he would often dream that i had disobeyed him and would beat me violently with his feet and hands. for many many days i was ridden hither and hither at the will of this obstinate old fellow, who, though he could not torment me with speech, was truculent enough in his manner. and i reproached myself for having desired to do him a service, saying constantly in my mind, "by allah! never again while living will i do a service to any!" at length one day the old man guided and belaboured me into a space on the island where pumpkins grew in abundance. while he was eating some of these i took others that were ripe, and, having cleaned out the seeds and coarse matter through a small aperture, filled them with the juice of grapes; then i filled up the apertures and laid the pumpkins in the sun. thus in a few days i procured pure wine, and, every day thereafter, while the old man on my neck ate of the pumpkins, i drank of the wine until i became intoxicated, and laughed and sang and danced about with him among the trees. and when, with fist and heel, he desired to know the cause of this, i showed him the wine that i had made. seeing that its effect upon me was so agreeable he sought to achieve the same happy result by drinking largely of it himself, so that he grew hilarious and broke a pumpkin over my head, rocking and rolling in his seat with laughter. then, as he continued to drink, he gradually lost control of his limbs and lolled from side to side; whereupon i grasped his feet and unwound them from my neck and threw him on the ground. and so at last, to rid the earth of such a monster, i slew him, and left him there for the vultures. after this, happiness returned to me and i went about the island like one relieved of a heavy burden, as indeed i had been. and day by day i sat by the sea watching for a vessel. but i lived upon the island many days before at last i saw a ship approach and cast anchor off the shore. when the passengers had landed i ran towards them and welcomed them, answering their many questions respecting my condition. they listened to my story with great amazement. then someone said, "this old man of whom thou speakest is surely he whom they call the old man of the sea. he hath ridden many to death, and none hath escaped but thee. therefore, praise god for thy deliverance." they took me to the ship and set food before me, and, after i had eaten, they brought me some clean clothes and i clad myself decently. as the ship set sail for el-basrah my thoughts went before it to baghdad, the abode of peace; but i was destined to mischance, for a strange thing befell me. we had journeyed but a few days when we came to an island whereon was a city with lofty spires and splendid houses. this was the city of apes, of which i had heard that at night-time the people, fearing the apes, put out in boats upon the sea, so to sleep in safety. i landed on this island with some companions, and, in our going about the city, i missed them. while i was searching everywhere they must have returned to the ship, thinking i had preceded them, for, when i reached the shore later, the vessel had gone. i reproached myself for this mishap, for i had already suffered once at the hands of the apes. so i sat on the seashore bemoaning my fate. while i was doing this, one of the people of the city came to me and enquired as to my trouble, and i told him. "then come with us in our boat," he said, "for the night is falling, and if thou remain in the city the apes will devour thee." so i went with them, and we pushed off together with a multitude of other boats until we rested about a mile from the shore; and there we remained and slept till the morning, when everyone returned to the city and went about his occupation. and in like manner as the inhabitants sleep upon the sea by night, and dwell in the city by day, so the apes infest the city by night and sleep in the forests by day. woe betide any remaining in that city after the sun goes down, for he will of a certainty be torn limb from limb and devoured. i earned my bread in that island in a strange manner, and was able to set by a small store of gold. it was in this way. i observed many of the people gathering pebbles on the shore and placing them in bags, and, when they had collected a sufficient quantity, they went forth into a valley filled with lofty trees. here slept the apes among the branches, for the trees were so high that none but an ape could climb them. it was the way of the people then to pelt the apes with the pebbles, whereupon they awoke screaming and chattering, and plucked the fruit from the trees, and hurled it down at their tormentors. and i saw that the fruit was the cocoanut. when a sufficient number of these nuts had been secured the people gathered them up and returned to the city, where they sold them. very soon, i, too, was gathering pebbles and pelting the apes in the trees, and in this way i amassed a great store of cocoanuts. these i sold, and bought merchandise and traded and prospered in the city. in this way i continued for a long time, until at last i took to buying cocoanuts from the people and storing them against the arrival of a ship, when i hoped to sell them in bulk. at length a large vessel anchored off the island, and i bargained with the merchants thereon. they agreed with me upon a good price for my store. with the money thus obtained i bought more of the merchandise of the place, and embarked it on the ship; then, bidding farewell to my companions in the city, i took my departure. the ship was bound for el-basrah, but on the voyage we lingered to visit many islands that i had not seen before. upon one we found an abundance of cinnamon and pepper, and here i noted a peculiar thing. on every bunch of pepper was a large leaf that hung down when the sun shone, but, when it rained, this leaf twisted and erected itself above the tendrils to shield them. and this is truth. so we sailed onwards, past the islands of the aloes-wood, where the people are depraved and know not the call to prayer, until we came at length to the island of pearls. here i gave some cocoanuts to the divers, saying, "dive for me for luck!" and they dived in the sea and returned to the surface with pearls of great size, which they gave to me, assuring me that my fortune was of the best. so that when we reached el-basrah i was rich with pearls and merchandise, some of which i sold there, and some here in baghdad. [illustration: the episode of the old man of the sea. page ] once more in the lap of luxury, and reposing in the bosom of my family, i returned to my former life of revelry and ease, and soon forgot the hardships i had endured. and this is the whole story of my fifth voyage. return to-morrow, o sindbad the landsman, and thou shalt hear from me the adventures of my sixth voyage, for they are even yet more wonderful. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor on a day when i was living happily in baghdad, having forgotten the perils and dangers of my former voyages, i was sitting at ease in my garden when a party of merchants came to me, and their tales of travel aroused within my bosom a great longing to engage again in the hazardous delights of those things. i pondered long upon the matter, and, though i had said within myself, "never will i set forth again," i found that my mind was made up in spite of me. therefore i set about collecting merchandise, and, having packed a goodly number of bales, i departed for el-basrah, where i took ship with a company of merchants and others of high repute. the outward voyage was pleasant and fortunate, and we did as others do, buying and selling and amusing ourselves in different cities. but there came a day of disaster, when the master of the ship suddenly discovered that we had wandered from our course, and had lost our reckoning. he plucked his beard and smote his breast, and cried out in despair that we had sailed into an unknown sea, where dire perils awaited us. and so it proved, for not long afterwards, while we were sailing in a calm sea, a sudden wind burst upon us and, before the sails could be loosed, the rudder was broken and the ship drifted and was driven at last upon the sides of a high mountain rising up to heaven. she was dashed to pieces by the violence of the waves, and, from that terrible wreck, few survived. there were some others besides myself who clung to the sides of the mountain, and, by tooth and nail, climbed to a place of safety. little by little, when the tide receded, we made our way down among the crags until we came to a strip of seashore, and from this point we could see that the island was of large size, its interior being sheltered from storms by the front of the mountain. but what took our wonder was this: on the seashore was amassed the wealth of a thousand wrecks. scattered here, there, and everywhere, in foam and high dry, were flotsam and jetsam of richest merchandise, much of it spoiled by the sea, but much more cast high up and still of great value. all along the shore were planks and fragments of many vessels that had been wrecked on this inhospitable coast. and this was not all, for, when we proceeded through the island, we found a spring of pure ambergris overflowing into the sea; and by this the whales are attracted, but when they have swallowed it and dived to the depths of the sea it turns in their stomachs and they eject it, so that it rises to the surface in solid lumps such as are found by sailors. but the ambergris that is cast about the opening of the spring melts in the heat of the sun, and its perfume is blown about the island, wafted sweet upon the breeze like fragrant musk. when we had explored the island and wondered at the many strange things it contained, we searched among the wreckage on the shore and found some few barrels of preserved meats, and on these we stayed our hunger. with the provisions on the shore and the fruit we secured on the island we were in no danger of starvation, but a kind of fever seized upon our company and one after another sickened and died. this was a time of stress and despair. day after day the living buried the dead until there was only one left, and that one was i. and i wept and waited, and, as if death would not come uninvited, i arose and dug myself a grave in readiness, for there was none left to bury me when i died. it was on the seashore that i made my grave, so that, when i should come to lie in it in my last moments, the wind should blow the sand upon me and bury me. and in this state of mind i blamed myself for setting out on this voyage in disregard of the lessons learned from former perils. but god in his mercy led my footsteps forth and i roamed in the island, restless for the end. in my wanderings i came to a river gushing forth out of the side of a mountain, and, after flowing for a space between banks of verdure in a valley, entering again another mountain. having followed it to this point, i sat down upon a bank against the mountain wall and pondered. and i said within myself, "this river flowing through caverns within the mountain must have an opening somewhere, perchance in a fertile country where people dwell." for a long time i turned the chances of this within my mind and at last decided to build a raft and commit myself upon it to the current; for at most it were better to die that way than in my present desolation. by means of ropes and wreckage from the seashore my raft was soon constructed, and in its construction i omitted not to measure it according to the width of the river. then, full of a wild hope that i might at length reach an inhabited region, i stowed upon it rich goods from the shore, ambergris from the spring, and the rarest jewels i could find in the beds of the watercourses. as i set myself upon the raft and launched it, i said, "if i perish, i perish; but if i come to the haunts of men, i come to them rich in precious things." no sooner had i entered into the aperture of the mountain than i was suddenly encased in darkness, and, having no choice which way i went, flung myself flat on the raft lest my head should be shattered against the roof of the tunnel. like this i floated on, sometimes feeling there was a wide space around me, and sometimes clinging to the raft lest some narrowing of the passage should sweep me to destruction. and all this time my terror was so acute that at last i swooned and lay face downward on the raft, the plaything of fate and the sport of the rushing current. when i awoke i found myself in the open air. the sun was shining above and the birds were singing in the trees around me. i was still lying on the raft, which was tied to a stake on the shore of a beautiful lake. as soon as i had raised myself and looked about me a number of dark-skinned people gathered round and questioned me in an unknown tongue; but i shook my head, understanding nothing of what they said. at last one advanced from among them, and, addressing me in arabic, said, "peace be with thee, brother!" then i seized him joyfully by the hand and greeted him, but i was weary and hungry and could give no account of myself because of my utter exhaustion. seeing my state he called for food and wine, and they hastened to set them before me. when i had eaten and drunk and my strength had returned to me i told what i had come through, and the one who had addressed me in arabic interpreted it to the others. they were filled with wonder at my story and insisted that i should accompany them to their king and acquaint him with the history of my strange adventure. so they took me, with the raft and all the riches i had laid upon it, and led me before their king; and, from his state and magnificence, i knew that i beheld the king of sarandib, whose name and power and learning are known through all the earth. he saluted me in the custom of my own people, addressing me in arabic which fell easily from his tongue. this set me at my ease and i told him my story, to which he listened with great attention. when i had finished, he raised his hand and said, "by allah! thou hast endured much, and thy case is extraordinary. thou art greatly favoured by fate: wherefore i join my happiness with thine at thy deliverance and safety." i was greatly moved at his words, and, begging his acceptance of a gift at my hands, i took the rarest jewels from the raft, together with a quantity of ambergris and aloes-wood, and laid them at his feet. he graciously accepted my present and immediately established me in a position of honour, bidding me dwell with him in his palace. i accepted his hospitality and remained in his land in great happiness and honour, associating with the grandees and the people of rank. and i said to myself, "i care not if the rest of my days are passed in this kingdom of splendour and magnificence." it was indeed a land of wealth and abundance. and there the day is equally divided with the night the whole year round; and, when the sun rises, light bursts suddenly upon the earth, and, when it sets, the darkness descends like a curtain that is loosed. there is a lofty mountain whose glittering streams contain the richest jewels, with rare minerals; and everywhere, on hill and valley, are wafted the fragrant odours of spices. the delights of this realm held me enthralled for a long time, so that i forgot my own country, wherein is the abode of peace. but, on a day when i ascended the high mountain and looked far out across the sea, i seemed to hear the voice of my own land calling to me. then, with that far call still in my ears, i went in to the king and asked him to let me go. at first he demurred, and tried to induce me to remain with him and his people; but, when i pressed for his permission, he relented and gave me a large sum of money for my journey, and also many gifts. when i was about to depart the king called me to him and handed me a letter written on fine parchment. this he asked me to give into the hands of the khalifeh, harun er-rashid. the substance of the letter was this:--"the king of sarandib sends greeting. peace be on thee, o brother, from the king of sarandib, who commands a thousand elephants, and in whose palace are ten thousand jewels. by the bearer of this we send thee a gift, for we have a deep affection for thee. the gift is all too trifling, but we beseech thee to accept it graciously and reply to us. peace be upon thee!" the present with which i was entrusted was a goblet of ruby, the inside of which was set with sparkling diamonds and priceless pearls--truly a kingly gift. having bade farewell to the king and such of his people that i had associated with i embarked in a large ship which was bound for el-basrah. in good time we reached that port and i journeyed up the river to baghdad. my first thought was to deliver the letter and the gift into the hands of the khalifeh. so i lost no time in approaching him and fulfilling my pledge to the king of sarandib. he was greatly pleased with the letter, and, when he saw the sparkling goblet of ruby and precious stones, he was filled with delight. "o sindbad," he said, "this king must be exceedingly wealthy and powerful; what sayest thou?" and i told him of the wonder and magnificence of the land of sarandib: how the king's seat of state is on a splendid throne placed upon a gigantic elephant with his courtiers and officials standing about him on a richly decorated platform; how there are around his majesty a thousand other elephants on which sit the princes of the land; and, surrounding all, on every hand, ten thousand horsemen clad in silk and gold; and how a crier goes before the king exalting him to heaven, and another behind him proclaiming, "great is he, but he will die! again, again and again i say it: he will die!" and as i continued to tell of these things the khalifeh marvelled greatly at the wisdom and power of this king. "report hath spoken truly," he said. "as thou hast witnessed to me, o sindbad, the tales of his might and dominion have exaggerated nothing." he then thanked me for my faithful service and bestowed rich gifts upon me, and bade me seek my own house in peace and content. there in the bosom of my family, i lived at ease, having put behind me the perils of travel and set fixedly before me the determination never to seek them again. yet, o sindbad the landsman, my determination was overruled by the direct command of the khalifeh; and, if thou wilt honour me by thy presence again to-morrow, i will relate to thee the events of my seventh and last voyage. the seventh voyage of sindbad the sailor in adhering to my vow never again to fare forth from my native land in search of strange wonders at the risk of deadly peril, i was contented and happy in my state. while i was sitting one day thinking on this and saying within myself, "i am here in the abode of peace, and allah be praised! i shall never quit it for the haunts of trouble;" lo! there came a messenger summoning me to the khalifeh. i arose and followed him, and presently i was before his majesty, saluting him and kissing the ground. "welcome, o sindbad!" he said. "know that i have a matter of importance for thee to execute." "sire," i answered, "i am thy slave." then the khalifeh unfolded to me his wish: which was that i should go to the king of sarandib bearing a letter and a gift. "by allah!" i cried when i heard this. "o my lord, be not displeased, but have i not already taken a vow that i will not go forth again upon the sea lest i suffer worse things than have already befallen me? the bare mention of a voyage causes my knees to shake." and i repeated to him the terrible sufferings and perils i had encountered in my travels; whereupon the khalifeh raised his hands and said no man had endured worse things. "nevertheless," he added, smiling upon me, "thou wilt go forth once more, for my sake, and thou wilt bear my letter and gift to the king of sarandib." it was not for me to disobey the command of the prince of the faithful, and i bowed my head in submission. i took from his hands the account of the items composing the gift, together with a letter and a sum of money for my expenses; and, bidding him farewell, went forth, saying to myself that fate was against me. the khalifeh's gift to the king of sarandib was one of great magnificence. first there was a splendid white horse, the equal of which was not to be found in the length and breadth of arabia. its saddle and trappings were adorned with gold and set with brilliant jewels. then, in addition to this, there were a priceless robe, fit for the king of all the earth; a great quantity of rich stuffs from egypt and greece, and a wonderful crystal goblet of such a kind that a man's whole lifetime would be required to make it. and the khalifeh's letter ran as follows:--"peace be on thee from the king er-rashid, highest in any land but thine--under god (whose name be exalted!) we rejoiced greatly at thy letter and we have sent thee some royal trifles, thy gracious acceptance of which will give us joy and happiness. peace be with thee!" with all these things i embarked upon a large vessel and set sail from el-basrah with a company of merchants. we journeyed for long days and nights until at length we came to the island of sarandib. there i went in to the king in his palace, and he gave me a joyous welcome. "by allah!" he said, "we have often thought of thee, o sindbad; and now we rejoice to see thy face again." then he bade me sit beside him, and asked with courtesy the reason of my visit. i informed him and told him of the khalifeh's gift, handing him the letter. when he had read it he was overjoyed, and when at length he saw the gift and the richness of it, he marvelled greatly and conferred upon me all the honours befitting the ambassador of the prince of the faithful. after some days of pleasure and happiness in his land, i made known to him my desire to depart speedily to my own country, but it was with difficulty that i obtained his permission. at last he allowed me to go, bearing friendly messages to the khalifeh; and i set sail for my own land, glad that i was now free to return to the life to which i had vowed myself. but, o sindbad the landsman! the chances of long voyages upon the sea are such as thou know'st not of. we had not been many days on our course when, as we were passing near an island, a fleet of boats put off from the shore and surrounded us. they were manned by a host of men clad in suits of mail. they looked more like demons than men and were armed with swords and daggers. they drew in on us and attacked us, slaying those who offered resistance, and taking the rest prisoners. they towed the ship to the island and took all the merchandise in the hold. then they led us away to be sold as slaves. it fell to my lot that i was purchased by a rich man of gentle mien. he took me to his house, gave me food and drink, clothed me well and treated me in a friendly fashion. somewhat comforted i rested, giving my hands to light tasks about his house. after some days he called me to him and said, "art thou skilled in any art or trade?" i answered him that i was a merchant, and was skilled only in the art of buying and selling. "canst thou not use the bow?" he asked. now, i was skilled in archery, and i offered to give him proof in the matter. he then placed a bow and arrow in my hands and i pierced a mark at fifty paces. "it is well," he said; "thou art skilled." the next day he sat me behind him on an elephant, and, at nightfall, we journeyed to a place where there were some high trees. one of these he bade me climb and sit there with arrow on bowstring till the elephants came at dawn, when i was to shoot; and, if i was so fortunate as to kill one, i was to run to him in all haste and inform him of it. he then went away on his elephant, leaving me in the tree, full of terror. when at last the sun rose, a great number of elephants came straying about among the trees, and when one came beneath mine i sent my arrows at him. late in the morning a well-aimed shaft pierced the brain of a monstrous beast, and, with loud roarings, he fell and died. at evening time, when the other elephants had retired from the spot, i descended from the tree and ran with all haste to my master, who rejoiced at my news and sent his slaves to bring the beast in. day after day i continued at this sport, each day securing at least one elephant. but a day came when trouble gathered round that tree in which i sat. it appeared in the form of countless elephants of large size and ferocious aspect. one who seemed to be king among them led the others to my tree. after he had thundered round it many times until the whole world trembled, he made a dash at it, and, winding his trunk round it, tore it up by the roots and threw it down. when, half stunned, i found my way out from among the broken branches, the great elephant came upon me bellowing loudly, and, seizing me with his trunk, bore me aloft. in this manner he led the whole herd of elephants in a wild stampede that made the earth shake; and they ceased not in their career until they came to a valley in which were a great number of elephants' bones and teeth and tusks. on a heap of these the king-elephant set me down very gently; and, after that, he and the others turned and walked away, leaving me there. i looked about in the valley and saw a wealth of gleaming white tusks on every hand, and i said within myself, "the elephants liked not the death of one of their number every day, and they have done this to show how i may come by an abundance of tusks without further slaughter." then i found my way back over a great distance to the abode of my master. he welcomed me as one returned from the dead, for, when he had found the tree torn up by the roots, he had concluded that the elephants had made an end of me. i told him what had befallen me and described the position of the valley where the tusks lay. when he heard this he was greatly excited and lost no time in mounting me behind him on an elephant and setting forth to find the spot where so much wealth was stored. we reached the valley without mishap and i showed my master the ivory, at sight of which his joy knew no bounds. we then laded the elephant with as much as he could carry and returned with it to the house. this adventure of mine placed me in a most favourable light in my master's eyes; and, because i had been the means of revealing to him a source of enormous wealth, he set me free and gave me permission to return to my own country. he was even better than his word, for, not many days later, he set me on board a vessel bound for el-basrah and presented me with a large sum of money for my passage and expenses, together with many bales of merchandise. and my return journey was very fortunate. the traffic i did at the different cities on the way brought me great profit, and i bought many rare things suitable for gifts. on my arrival at baghdad i went in to the khalifeh and told him all that had befallen me; and he was so astonished thereat, and so delighted at my return, that he commanded his scribes to write my story in letters of gold. and he said to me, "o sindbad, my son; thou hast done well, and now thou shalt have the wish of thine heart and keep thy vow; for, unless thou so desirest, thou shalt go forth no more upon the sea." * * * * * this, o sindbad the landsman, is the end of the story of my voyages; and now, as i have conceived an affection for thee, thou shalt dwell with me and be my boon companion; and we shall pass our lives together in a state of the utmost joy and happiness, strengthened by god (whose name be exalted!) the great! the omnipotent creator of sea and land! aladdin and the wonderful lamp know, o king, that, once upon a time, in a far city of cathay, there dwelt a poor tailor who had an only son named aladdin. this boy was a born ne'er-do-well, and persistently resisted all his father's efforts to teach him a trade by means of which he would be able in future to earn a livelihood. aladdin would sooner play at knucklebones in the gutter with others as careless as himself than he would set his mind to honest business; and, as to obeying his parents in the smallest matter, it was not in his nature. such was this boy aladdin, and yet--so remarkable is the favour of fate--he was strangely predestined for great things. stricken with grief because of the waywardness and idle conduct of his son the father fell ill and died, and the mother found great difficulty in supporting herself, to say nothing of the worthless aladdin as well. while she wore the flesh off her bones in the endeavour to obtain a meagre subsistence aladdin would amuse himself with his fellow urchins of the street, only returning home to his meals. in this way he continued until he was fourteen years of age, when his extraordinary destiny took him by the hand, and led him, step by step, through adventures so wonderful that words can scarce describe them. one day he was playing in the gutter with his ragged companions, as was his wont, when a moorish dervish came by, and, catching sight of aladdin's face, suddenly stopped and approached him. this dervish was a sorcerer who had discovered many hidden secrets by his black art; in fact, he was on the track of one now; and, by the look on his face as he scrutinised aladdin's features, it seemed that the boy was closely connected with his quest. the dervish beckoned to one of the urchins and asked him who aladdin was, who his father was, and indeed all about him. having thus learned the whole history of the boy and his family the dervish gave his informer some coins and sent him away to spend them. then he approached aladdin and said to him, "boy, i seem to recognise in thee a family likeness. art thou not the tailor's son?" aladdin answered him that he was, and added that his father was dead. on hearing this the dervish cried out with grief and embraced aladdin, weeping bitterly. the boy was surprised at this and enquired the cause of such sorrow. "alas!" replied the dervish with tears running down his cheeks, "my fate is an unhappy one. boy, i have come from a distant country to find my brother, to look upon his face again, and to cheer and comfort him; and now thou tellest me he is dead." he took aladdin's face in his hands and gazed searchingly upon it as he continued: "boy, i recognise my brother's features in thine; and, now that he is dead, i will find comfort in thee." aladdin looked up at him in wonder, for he had never been told that he had an uncle; indeed, he was inclined to doubt the truth of the matter; but, when the dervish took ten pieces of gold from his purse and placed them in his hand, all doubt was out of the question, and he rejoiced at having found so rich an uncle. the dervish then asked him concerning his mother and begged him to show him the way to her house. and, when aladdin had shewed him, he gave the boy more gold and said, "give this to thy mother with my blessing, and say that her brother-in-law, who has been absent forty years, has returned and will visit her to-morrow to weep with her over the place where his brother is buried." with this he departed, and aladdin ran to his mother to tell her the news. "mother! mother!" he cried excitedly, bursting in upon her, "my uncle hath returned after forty years; he wept when i told him my father was dead; he salutes thee and--" "my son," she broke in, "what are these wild words? thou hast no uncle, and the only one thou ever hadst died many years before thou wast born." "nay, nay;" returned aladdin, "this is my father's brother; he recognised my father's features in mine and wept, and gave me this to bring to thee, with a message that he would come to see thee to-morrow." he handed her the gold, and, as the widow took it, her doubt was lessened considerably. "i wonder," she cried. "can it be that my husband's brother did not die after all, or that he has risen from the grave? in either case he is rich and generous." on the morrow the dervish sought aladdin in the street where he had seen him the day before, and found him there among his disreputable friends. taking him aside he kissed him and embraced him; then, placing ten gold pieces in his hand, he said, "hasten now to thy mother and give her these gold pieces and say that her brother-in-law would come to sup at her house this night." so aladdin left him and ran home to his mother with the gold pieces and the message. then the widow busied herself and prepared for the coming of this new-found relative. she bought rich food, and borrowed from the neighbours such dishes, utensils and napery as she required. when the supper was ready, and the widow was about to send aladdin to hasten the guest, the dervish entered, followed by a slave bearing fruit and wine, which he set down, and then went his way. the dervish, weeping bitterly, saluted the widow and immediately fell to asking questions about the departed, finally desiring to know which was his empty seat. on being shown it he prostrated himself and cried, "alas! that i should return to find his place vacant. oh! woe; there is no power nor strength but in god!" and he ceased not to weep until he had convinced the widow that his grief was genuine. [illustration: aladdin finds the magic lamp. page ] then, when he was comforted and they all sat at supper together, the dervish told them how he had journeyed from a far land with one thought only: to see his brother once again; and how, with a great joy, he had chanced to find aladdin, in whose face he had recognised his brother's likeness--a joy so suddenly turned to sadness and grief on his learning that his only brother was dead. at his words the widow fell to weeping, whereupon the dervish, to change the subject of talk, turned to aladdin and asked him if he knew any art or trade. at this aladdin hung his head, and, as he was too ashamed to answer, his mother dried her tears and answered for him. "alack!" she said, "he is nothing but an idler. he spends his time as thou didst find him, playing with ragamuffins in the street, and is never at home except at meal times. and i--i am an old woman and ugly through toil and hardship, and grief at his behaviour. o my brother-in-law! it is he who should provide for me, not i for him." "i am grieved to hear this of thee," said the dervish, turning to aladdin; "for thou art no longer a child, but a man of ability and kindness; and thou shouldst work to provide for thine aged mother so that she may live in comfort. now, tell thine uncle what trade thou wouldst follow, and he will start thee in it so that in time thou mayst be able to support thy mother and thyself. come, my son!" but aladdin was still silent, and it was clear that he had no mind to work at any trade. seeing this the dervish made a better offer. "wouldst thou like to be a merchant?" he asked. "if so i will give thee a shop with all kinds of merchandise, and thou shalt buy and sell and get gain, and rise to a position of importance." now aladdin regarded a merchant as a well-dressed, well-fed being, who did no work to speak of, but, from the profits on his wares, lived in a state of perfect delight. so the suggestion pleased him, and he replied with a smile that, above all things, he would like to be a merchant. "it is well, o son of my brother!" replied the dervish. "then, to-morrow, i will take thee to the market and purchase a fine dress for thee, so that thou wilt be well received amongst thy fellow merchants; and, on the following day, i will stock a shop and set thee up in it; for this is the least i can do to show the great affection i bear for the memory of my late lamented brother." at this aladdin clapped his hands with glee, and his mother was rejoiced. if at first she had been disposed to doubt the dervish she now accepted him unreservedly as her brother-in-law, saying within herself, "who but the boy's uncle would behave with such great kindness towards him?" and she chid her boy for his own good, and counselled him straitly to obey his uncle in all things. the dervish also gave aladdin much sound advice on the conduct of trade, so that the boy's head was bursting with buying and selling, and he could not sleep that night for dreams of rich stuffs, and bales of merchandise. at last, when the dervish arose and took his departure, promising to return for aladdin on the morrow and take him to buy his merchant's dress, the wizard felt that he had proved himself undoubtedly the best of brothers-in-law, and the best of uncles. true to his word the dervish came on the morrow, and aladdin, holding him affectionately by the hand, went with him forth to the market. there they entered a shop full of the finest materials, and the dervish asked to be shewn some dresses such as a wealthy merchant might wear. the owner of the shop laid a great variety before him and the dervish said, "now, my son, choose what dress you like." this delicate favour of choice pleased aladdin greatly, for it seemed that he had now at last reached the age of discretion. he picked out one that he liked, and the dervish paid the price without any attempt at bargaining. then they went together to the hammam, and, when they had bathed and rested, aladdin clothed himself in his new dress and came forth in great delight, kissing his uncle's hand and thanking him again and again. the dervish then showed aladdin the market and the traffic in goods, saying that he must study all these things in order to be apt in his profession. from the markets they passed on to the mosques and other fine buildings in the city, and thence to an eating-place where the finest food was served on silver dishes, and the sherbet was of the rarest kind. here they regaled themselves sumptuously, and rested. and, whenever aladdin thanked his uncle for his kindness, the dervish replied, "nay, boy; am i not thine uncle? would that i could do more by my brother's son." when the afternoon came they strolled in the beautiful gardens, and the dervish delighted aladdin by showing him the pleasure grounds and the magnificent palaces. and so they wandered on, hand in hand, until they came to a garden full of every delight, where crystal streams flowed between glorious banks of flowers, and fountains played and sparkled in the sunlight. there they sat down by the side of the running water and made merry, so that none observing them could doubt that they were kind uncle and glad nephew. after they had rested the dervish suggested a walk, and he led aladdin through garden after garden until they came to the confines of the city, beyond which stood a high hill. "shall we return, o my uncle?" said aladdin, who was in no mood for climbing the hill. "there are no more gardens outside the city." "nay," replied the dervish, "on the hillside is the loveliest garden of all. bear up, my son, and be a man; we shall soon be there." and, as they went, he beguiled the boy with anecdotes, so that aladdin forgot both the length of the way and his weariness. at last they came to a place on the hillside where the dervish paused and looked about him, saying to himself, "this is the spot i have journeyed so far to find." but to aladdin he said, "rest here awhile, o my son, and, when thou art refreshed, gather some wood and we will make a fire; then, if thou wish to see a most wonderful thing, i will shew thee that which will take thy breath away." at this aladdin's curiosity was excited, and, with no thought of resting, he began at once to gather wood. when he had collected a sufficient quantity the dervish lighted the fire, and, taking from his wallet a little box, drew some fine powder from it and scattered it over the fire, uttering an incantation. immediately, amid rumblings of thunder, the earth reeled and opened. at this aladdin fled in terror, but the dervish, powerless to effect his purpose without the boy's aid, flew after him in a rage, and smote him over the head, so that he fell to the ground stunned. when, presently, he regained his senses, he sat up and cried out, "what have i done, o my uncle, that thou shouldst strike me?" "nay, my son," replied the dervish, "i intended not to hurt thee. come, now, be a man, and obey my wishes if thou wouldst see the wonderful things that i will shew thee." with such words as these he banished aladdin's fears and smoothed him over. then he directed him to the opening in the earth, where there was revealed a slab of marble with a brass ring let into it. the dervish stooped and began to draw figures upon the ground, saying as he did so, "obey me, aladdin, in all that i say, for so thou shalt become richer than all the kings of the earth. know, o my son, that beyond that slab of stone lies vast treasure which none but thee can acquire and live. therefore, advance, my son, and take the brass ring in thy hand, and lift the slab from its place; for it is predestined that thou art the only one on this earth that hath the power to do this thing." and aladdin, stirred to great wonder by the words of the dervish, would have done his bidding with alacrity, but, on looking at the marble slab, he saw that it was far too heavy for him. "never can i raise that alone, o my uncle," he said. "wilt thou not help me?" "nay," answered the dervish, "it will yield to no hand but thine. grasp the ring and repeat the names of as many of thine ancestors as thou canst remember, beginning with thy father and mother; for thine ancestors are my ancestors, o my son! by this the stone will come away quite easily in thy hand as if it were a feather. am i not thine uncle, and have i not said it? and did i not cleave the hillside with my incantations? wherefore, pluck up courage, and forget not that all the riches beyond that stone are for thee." thus encouraged aladdin advanced to the stone, repeating the names of all the ancestors he could remember; and, taking hold of the ring, lifted the heavy slab from its place with perfect ease, and threw it aside. then within the aperture lay revealed a stairway of twelve steps leading into a passage. while aladdin was gazing at this wonder the dervish took a ring from his finger and placed it upon the middle finger of the boy's right hand, saying impressively as he did so, "listen to me, o my son! fear nothing in what i am about to bid thee do, for this ring will be thy protection in all dangers and against all evils. if thou shouldst find thyself in evil case thou hast only to--, but of that i will tell thee presently. what is more important now is this. in order to come at the treasure, o my son, steady thyself and listen attentively, and see to it that thou fail not a word of these my instructions. go down the steps and traverse the passage to the end, where thou wilt find a chamber divided into four parts, each containing four vessels of gold. touch not these on thy life, for if so much as the fringe of thy robe cometh in contact with any of them, thou wilt immediately be turned into stone. linger not to gaze upon them, but pass right through to the end, where thou wilt find a door. open this, repeating again the names of thine ancestors, when lo, thou wilt behold a beautiful garden before thee. take the pathway that is ready for thy feet and proceed forty nine cubits until thou comest to an alcove, where is set a stairway of forty nine steps. look not to ascend that stairway: it is not for thee nor me; but direct thine attention to a lamp hanging above the alcove. take it from its fastening, and pour out the oil therein; then put it in thy breast securely, and retrace thy steps to me. is it clear to thee, my son?" "o my uncle, it is quite clear," replied aladdin, and he repeated the instructions he had received. "pull thy wits together then, my son," said the dervish, well pleased; "and descend, for verily thou art a man of mettle, and not a child. yea, thou, and thou only, art the rightful owner of all this great treasure. come now!" filled with courage from the wizard's words, and enticed by the dazzle of untold riches, aladdin descended the twelve steps and passed through the fourfold chamber with the utmost care lest he should touch any of the golden jars therein with so much as the fringe of his garment. when he came to the door at the far end he paused to repeat the names of his ancestors, and opened it; then, lo, before him lay a beautiful garden where the trees were laden with many coloured fruit, while sweet voiced birds sang in the branches. he took the pathway that lay before his feet, and, as he followed it, he looked up and noticed that the trees bore, not fruit as he had supposed, but sparkling jewels flashing with many colours. on boughs where rosy apples might have hung were blood-red rubies half hidden in the leaves, and, where the purple grape might have clustered, were branches of large sapphires. on some trees white blossoms grew, and every blossom was a pearl, while what seemed like drops of dew among the blossoms were purest diamonds. all the leaves of the trees were of mother-of-emerald, and on their under surface they held, like seeds, rows of the emerald itself. virgin gold peeled like bark from the trunks and branches, and, when bird chased bird through the foliage, there fell such a rain of wealth on the dull earth's lap as would have enriched a king far above his fellow kings. but aladdin, though dazzled by the glitter, thought these sparkling things were but coloured glass; and it was for such that he plucked them with boyish delight until his pockets were full. "these are lovely things to play with," he said, and proceeded to fill his girdle also. as he made his way along the garden path, plucking the bright jewels as he went, he caught sight of the alcove at the far end, and, remembering his uncle's instructions, hastened towards it. there was the stairway of forty-nine steps, and there, hanging from a crystal beam, was the lamp. he paused, looking up at it. how should he reach it? his uncle had said that the stairway was neither for aladdin nor for himself, and yet he saw at a glance that the only way of reaching the lamp was by mounting seven steps of the stairway. he hesitated, then, concluding that the lamp was the whole object of his quest, and that he must reach it at all costs, he ventured. with some misgivings he mounted the seven steps and, reaching out, took the lamp from its fastening and descended with it. then, emptying out the oil, he placed it securely in his bosom, saying "now, as my uncle said to me, with this lamp in my bosom all is mine!" [illustration: aladdin and the efrite. page ] as aladdin was returning along the pathway among the trees, laden with the precious jewels, fear assailed him lest his uncle would be angry at his delay, for it was borne in upon him that no great delight can come to a mortal without his having to suffer for it. whereupon he hastened his footsteps, and, passing through the fourfold chamber without touching the golden jars--for the fear of that was still upon him,--he arrived quickly at the foot of the stairway of twelve steps. heavily weighted as he was with the jewels and the lamp he proceeded to mount the stairs at a run. but the jewels grew heavier, and the lamp weighed upon his bosom, so that he was exhausted by the time he was halfway up. kneeling on the seventh step he looked up and saw the dervish urging him on with the greatest impatience. "bear with me, o my uncle," he said. "i am heavily weighted and am out of breath. i will soon come to thee." then he climbed three steps and one step more, and sank exhausted before the last, which was far higher than the others. the jewels and the lamp oppressed him with heaviness and he could not mount that last step. "o my uncle, give me thy hand and help me up," he cried. but the wizard dare not touch him, for so the spell of fate was worded and he must abide by it. "nay," he called down, "thou art man enough! it is the lamp that hampers thee. reach up and place it on the ledge here; then thou canst mount easily thyself." the dervish held out his hand expectantly for the lamp and his eyes glittered. aladdin saw the evil light in them, and, having some mother wit, replied, "o my uncle, the lamp is no weight at all; it is simply that i am exhausted and this step is too high for me. give me thy hand and help me up." "give me the lamp!" cried the dervish holding his hand out for it, and beginning to rage. "place it on the ledge before thee, and then i will help thee up." "nay," returned aladdin, growing obstinate, "if thou wilt not give me thy hand i will not give thee the lamp, for it is in my thoughts that thou wantest the lamp more than thou wantest me." this enraged the dervish to a point beyond control, and he said within himself, "if i get not the lamp then may it perish with him!" and, taking a box from his wallet, he threw some powder on the embers of the fire, muttering curses and incantations as he did so. immediately a flame shot up, and its many tongues went hither and thither, licking the air. the earth shuddered and groaned with a hollow thunder; then the marble slab closed of itself over the aperture, the hillside rushed together above it, and all was as before, save that aladdin was sealed within that cavern without hope of escape. long and loud did aladdin call to his supposed uncle to save him from a living death; but there was no answer to his cries, and, at last, when he was almost exhausted, he took counsel of himself and plainly saw the truth of the matter. the dervish was no uncle of his, but a cunning wizard who had made a catspaw of him to secure treasure which, by the laws of magic and destiny, he was powerless to come at in any other way. the whole thing, from the very beginning, was a trick; and he saw it clearly now that it was too late. the way out was sealed, and the darkness pressed heavily upon him. frantic with the desire to escape from this dungeon he thought of the garden and the stairway in the alcove; but, when he had groped his way to the end of the passage, he found the door closed, and all his efforts failed to open it. the names of his ancestors were of no avail against the magic of the dervish. at this he wept loudly, and continued to weep throughout the night, until his rage and despair were spent. at last he sank down exhausted on the lowest step of the stairway by which he had first descended, and, feeling himself utterly abandoned by man, he raised his hands to god, praying for deliverance from his calamity. now, while he was holding his hands in supplication, he felt the ring upon his middle finger--the ring which the dervish had placed there saying, "in whatever difficulty thou mayst find thyself this ring will be thy protection; thou hast only to--but of that i will tell thee later." the dervish had perhaps given him the ring to gain his confidence, and had purposely omitted to reveal its secret. but now, in answer to aladdin's prayer, the power of the ring was revealed as if by the merest chance; for, when he felt the ring, he looked at it; and, seeing a light from the jewel therein, he breathed upon it and rubbed it with his palm to increase its lustre. no sooner had he done this when, lo, the slave of the ring appeared, and gathered shape before him, first in a luminous haze, and then, gradually, in clearer and clearer contour. "ask what thou wilt, and it shall be done," said the apparition; "for know that i am the slave of the ring and the slave of him on whose finger my master placed the ring." aladdin, seeing before him an efrite after the order of those invoked by the lord suleiman, was terrified, and his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth, so that he could not speak. but the efrite reassured him with kindly speech. "thou hast only to ask," he said, "and thy wish will be fulfilled; for, since my master's ring is on thy hand, i am thy servant." at this aladdin took heart, and, having considered his wish, resolved to put the matter to the test. "o slave of the ring!" he said, "my wish is that thou take me from this dungeon and place me in the light of day where the sun shines and the breezes blow--if indeed it _is_ day, for here have i been for many, many hours." scarcely had he spoken the words when there was a clap of thunder. the cavern opened, and, by some mysterious power, he was conveyed through the opening. then, when he sat up and looked around him, he was in the light of day upon the hillside, and everything was as it had been when he and the dervish had first reached the spot. aladdin marvelled greatly at this, and said within himself, "i wonder if it was all a dream!" but, when he looked at the ring upon his finger and felt the lamp and the jewel-fruit he had gathered from the trees in the garden, he knew it was not a dream. besides, there was the spot where the fire had been; and it was now but a heap of grey ashes on the ground. turning himself about, he saw the path by which they had ascended, and the gardens stretching below. nothing had changed. the side of the hill which the dervish by his magic had opened for his entrance, and the slave of the ring had now closed up behind him, was as it had been when he first saw it. seeing that he was safe and sound in the outer world, aladdin fell on his knees and gave thanks to the most high for his deliverance from a terrible death. then straightway he arose and took the path that led down the hillside and through the gardens of the city in the direction of his home. at length, with wearied body, but elated mind, he reached the doorway of his dwelling, and, entering, found his mother weeping. "where hast thou been, my son?" she cried. "all night long i lay awake, anxious for thee; and now it is again near nightfall, and thou comest like one about to die. where hast thou been, and where is thine uncle?" but aladdin could not answer her. what with utter weariness, and the joy of gaining his home once more, he fell in a swoon at her feet. quickly she dashed water on his face and restored him. then, when she had made him eat, she enquired gently what had befallen him. "o my mother," said aladdin, "how much thou art to blame! thou gavest me over to a devil of a sorcerer who tried, by his evil arts, to compass my ruin. i have a stout reckoning against thee for this; for, look you; this vile and wicked one, whom thou toldst me was my uncle, was naught but a liar and an impostor. think, mother, of the richness of his promises! what was he not going to do for me? his affection for me was overwhelming, and he ceased not to pretend in that lying hypocrisy until the cheat was exposed and i saw that his purpose was to use me for his own ends, and then to destroy me. mother, the devils beneath the sea and the earth are not the equal of this vile sorcerer." and thus, having vented his anger at the false conduct of the dervish, he proceeded to tell his mother, first about the lamp and the jewel-fruit, then about all that had happened on the hillside, from the opening of the earth by a magic spell, to the closing of it again, and his subsequent escape through the slave of the ring. "and thus," he concluded, "thus did this devil's own shew me in the end that he was accursed and that he cared no jot for me, but only for the lamp." then aladdin took the lamp and the precious stones from his bosom and placed them before his mother, albeit neither knew why the lamp had been so coveted by the dervish, or that the stones were more valuable than any possessed by kings. and aladdin, now weeping for joy at his deliverance, and now cursing with rage at the vile hypocrisy of the sorcerer, found sympathy in both cases in his mother, who wept and cursed with him, crying out that the omnipotent, who had graciously saved his life, would most assuredly punish that wicked man for his abominable actions. now, neither aladdin nor his mother had rested for two days and two nights, so that, exhausted at length with weeping and with heaping maledictions on the dervish, they slept; and, when they awoke, it was about noon of the following day. aladdin's first words on pulling his wits together were to the effect that he was hungry. "nay, o my son," replied his mother, "there is nothing to eat in the house, for thou didst eat yesterday all that there was. but stay, i have some spinning that is ready for the market. i will take and sell it and buy some food." she was busying herself about this when aladdin suddenly called out to her, "mother! bring me the lamp, and i will take and sell that; it will fetch more than the spinning." now, although aladdin and his mother knew that the dervish had greatly coveted the lamp, they both imagined that he had some strange reason of his own for this; and, as the lamp was an article that would command a ready sale, the mother quickly agreed to aladdin's proposal and brought the lamp to him in answer to his call. on regarding it closely, however, she observed that it was very dirty. well knowing that it would fetch a better price if it were clean and bright, she set to work to polish it with some fine sand; when lo, as soon as she started to rub the lamp, the air before her danced and quivered and a chill gasp of wind smote her in the face. then, looking up, she saw, towering above her, a being monstrous and terrible, with a fierce face in which gleamed fiery eyes beneath frowning brows. she gazed at this apparition in fear and astonishment, for she knew it was surely a powerful efrite such as were under the power of the lord suleiman. then the being spoke: "thou hast invoked me; what is thy wish?" but she only gazed at him, dumb with terror. again the awful being spoke: "thou hast summoned me, for i am the slave of the lamp which is in thy hand. what is thy desire?" at this the poor woman could no longer endure her fear, and, with a cry, she fell in a swoon. aladdin had heard the efrite's words and had hastened to his mother's side. he had already seen the power of the slave of the ring, and he guessed that now the slave of the lamp had appeared, and was ready to do the bidding of the one who held the lamp. so he quickly took it from his mother's hand, and, standing before the efrite, plucked up courage and said, "i desire food, o slave of the lamp! the finest food that ever was set before a king." no sooner had he spoken than the efrite vanished, but only to reappear immediately, bearing a rich tray of solid silver, on which were twelve golden dishes with fruits and meats of various kinds. there were also flagons of wine and silver goblets. as aladdin stared in amazement at this magnificent repast the efrite set the tray down before him and vanished in a flash. then aladdin turned to his mother and dashed cold water on her face, and held perfumes to her nostrils until she regained consciousness and sat up. and when she beheld the sumptuous repast set out upon the golden dishes she was greatly astonished, and imagined that the sultan had sent it from his palace. but aladdin, who was very hungry, fell to eating heartily; and, while persuading his mother to eat, he would tell her nothing. it was not until they had satisfied their hunger, and placed the remainder aside for the morrow, that aladdin informed her what had happened. then she questioned him, saying, "o my son, was not this the same efrite that appeared to thee when thou wast in the cavern?" "nay," he answered. "that was the slave of the ring; this was the slave of the lamp." "at all events," said she, "it was a terrible monster that nearly caused my death through fear. promise me, o my son, that thou wilt have naught further to do with the ring and the lamp. cast them from thee, for the holy prophet hath told us to have no traffic with devils." "nay, nay, o my mother," protested aladdin; "it were wiser to keep them, for did not the slave of the ring deliver me from death? and has not the slave of the lamp brought us delicious food when we were hungry?" "that may be so," replied his mother, "but hear my words, my son; no good thing can come of these dealings with accursèd spirits, and it were better for thee to have died in the cavern than to invoke their aid." and thus she pleaded with him to cast away the ring and the lamp, for she was sore afraid of the power of the evil one. but aladdin would not undertake to do this, although, in respect for her wishes, he agreed to conceal the objects so that she might never need to look upon them. he also agreed to invoke neither of the efrites again, unless it were a case of dire necessity. and with this his mother had to rest content. [illustration: the lady bedr-el-budur at her bath. page ] mother and son continued to live on the food that remained, until, in a few days, it was all gone. then aladdin took up one of the dishes from the tray, and, not knowing that it was of pure gold, went out to sell it and buy food with the proceeds. in the market he came to the shop of a jew--a man of exceeding vile methods of buying and selling; and he showed the dish to him. this jew, as soon as he saw the dish, knew it for pure gold and glanced sharply at aladdin to find whether he knew its value. but aladdin's face told him nothing; so he enquired, "what price do you ask, o my master?" "its value in the market," returned aladdin; and at this the jew pondered, saying within himself, "if he knoweth the value, and i offer him too little, he will give me a bad name in the market; yet, if he knoweth not, i should be ruining myself by offering him too large a price. perchance he knoweth not." then, preferring that others might call him a rogue rather than that the event might prove him a fool in his own eyes, he took a single gold piece from his pocket and handed it to aladdin. on this and its issue, seeing quickly that aladdin knew not the value of the thing--for he took the gold piece and walked away--the jew repented him bitterly of his rash act, for he could have bought the dish for much less. as for aladdin, he hastened home and gave the gold piece to his mother, begging her to buy food with it. she did so, and they ate, and were comforted. and so, from day to day, they lived on the proceeds of one dish after another, which the unregenerate hebrew bought at cheaper and cheaper prices, saying always that the metal was inferior and that the demand for such goods was not what it used to be. and, when at last the dishes were all sold, aladdin summoned the jew to the house to inspect the goblets and also the tray, which was too heavy for him to carry to the market. when the jew saw how much silver there was in the tray and the goblets he forgot himself and offered ten gold pieces for them--at least a thirtieth part of their value. aladdin took the gold pieces, and the jew departed with the tray. so food was forthcoming for many more days; but at last the money was exhausted and there was now nothing left to sell. at this aladdin, who, in deference to his mother's wishes, had concealed the lamp and the ring against a necessitous occasion, brought forth the former and rubbed it, for so, he concluded, was the slave invoked. his conclusion was right, for no sooner had he rubbed the lamp than the efrite suddenly appeared before him, immense and of terrible aspect. "what is thy wish, o my master?" said the efrite; "for i am the slave of the lamp and of him who holds it." "my wish," answered aladdin, "is that you bring me another tray of food similar to the one you brought before." immediately the efrite vanished, and, in a moment, appeared again, bearing a tray of food exactly similar to the one he had brought before. he set this down before aladdin and then disappeared. "mother! mother!" cried aladdin in delight. "come here and see what we have for supper." when she hastened to him and saw the delicate food, and smelt the rich savours, she was pleased, although she knew that aladdin had summoned the efrite and commanded him to bring the tray. "look at it, mother!" cried aladdin; "and thou wouldst have me cast away the lamp by means of which we have gotten this repast!" "o my son," answered she, "if the slave of the lamp be a devil then he is a good devil; but, for all that, i know i should swoon again at sight of him." and they ate and drank and were merry, the food lasting them some days. then, just as a tidy housewife clears away the platter after a meal, so, when the food was all gone, aladdin proceeded to dispose of the dishes as before. taking one of them he went forth to find the jew, but it chanced that on his way he passed the shop of a fair-dealing man--that is to say, not a jew--who had no vile methods of buying and selling, but was just, and feared god. when this man saw aladdin passing he called to him, and told him that he had frequently seen him selling things to the jew, and warned him about it. "thou knowest not how the jew will trick thee," he said, "for the goods of the faithful are fair spoil to the jews; and it was ever so, and ever will be. if, therefore, thou hast aught to sell, i will give thee its full value, in the name of the prophet." then aladdin shewed him the dish of gold and he took it, and weighed it on the scales. "did you sell any of this kind to the jew?" he asked. "yes," answered aladdin, "many--all of them exactly the same." "and what price did he pay you?" "a gold piece for the first, and afterwards less." the merchant looked grieved and spat on the ground. "my son," he said; "it is not meet that a servant of god should fall into the hands of the jew. woe unto him, accursèd! he hath cheated thee sore, for my balance tells me truly the weight of this dish, which is of pure gold; and its value is seventy pieces of gold. here is the price if thou wouldst sell." he counted out seventy gold pieces and handed them to aladdin, who took them and thanked the merchant heartily for his honest exposure of the jew's wickedness. and thereafter he brought the remaining dishes, and at last the tray, to that merchant, and received from him their full value; so that aladdin and his mother were placed above want and in a comfortable position for people of their station in life. during this time aladdin had changed his ways greatly. he no longer consorted with the ragamuffins of the street but selected for his friends men of standing and integrity. his daily practice was to go to the market and converse with the merchants in a serious and business-like manner in the endeavour to learn their methods and the value of stuffs. and often he would watch the jewellers at their work, and the goods they handled; and, through knowledge thus acquired, he began to suspect that the jewel-fruit he had gathered in the garden of the cavern was not glass, as he had imagined, but real gems. by this and that, and by comparing and asking questions, he came at length to the certainty that he actually possessed the richest jewels in all the earth. the smallest among them was bigger and more sparkling by far than the largest and finest he could see in any jeweller's shop. one day, while his mind was engaged with this amazing thing, and while he was as usual studying the ways of the merchants in the bazaar and the varying quality of their goods, a thing happened which was predestined to have far-reaching results on his life. he was in the jewellers' market, taking note of things, when a herald came by, crying to all people: "take heed! by command of the sultan, king of the age and lord of the earth, let all doors be closed, and let none come forth from shop or dwelling on pain of instant death, for the sultan's daughter, bedr-el-budur cometh to the bath! take heed!" now, on hearing this, a great longing arose in aladdin's breast to look upon the face of bedr-el-budur, the sultan's daughter. "all people extol her loveliness," he said to himself; "and i--even if i die for it--i will look upon her face; for something--i know not what--impels me to gaze on bedr-el-budur the beautiful." so, with this will, he speedily found the way. hastening to the hammam he secreted himself behind the door so that, unobserved himself, he might see her when she came in. and he had not long to wait, for, presently, the sultan's daughter arrived; and, as she entered, she lifted the veil from her face, so that aladdin saw her features clearly. what a wondrous beauty was there! the witchery of her eyes! the ivory of her skin! the jet of her glossy tresses! these, and the swaying of her graceful body as she walked, caused aladdin's heart to turn to water and then to spring wildly into flame. "what a creature is this princess!" he said within himself. "i knew not that god had ever created such a soul of loveliness." then, suddenly, an overwhelming love for her took him by the heart, and gat hold of him utterly, so that he knew naught else for the very stress of it. like one walking in a dream aladdin went home and sat him down in dejection of spirit. for a long time he answered not his mother's questions as to what ailed him, but continued like one who had beheld a vision so lovely that it had deprived him of his senses. at last, however, he looked up, and said, "o my mother, know that until to-day i had believed that all women were of thy fashion of face, but now i find they are not; for to-day i saw the sultan's daughter, and she is more beautiful than all others on earth." and aladdin told her how he had hidden behind the door of the hammam, so that, when bedr-el-budur had entered and lifted her veil, he had seen her clearly; and how, on that, a great love had leapt up in his heart and filled him to the exclusion of all else. "and there is no rest for me," he concluded, "until i win the lady bedr-el-budur, and make her my wife." at these daring words aladdin's mother regarded him sharply, with fear on her face. "art thou mad, my son?" she cried. "for, if such an insane act is thine intention, then god save thee!" "nay, o my mother," he answered, "i am not mad. but, as i risked my life to see her, so will i risk it again to win her; for, without her, life is of no account to me. i will go to the sultan and ask him to give me the lovely bedr-el-budur for my lawful wife." seeing his determination his mother was sore afraid, and knew not what to do. for a long time she reasoned with him anxiously, pointing out what a scandal it would be for the son of a poor tailor to aspire to the sultan's daughter--the highest in the land, and one whom the sultan would scarce bestow upon a king who was his equal. aladdin listened very quietly, and then replied that his resolve was unshaken; and, though he admitted the truth of all she had said, he would nevertheless carry out his purpose, for the lady bedr-el-budur was the only thing in the world to him, and if he did not win her he would die. in vain she suggested that there were many of his own class he might marry; besides, to approach the sultan on such a matter meant certain death; unless, indeed, the sultan thought to bind him on an ass, with his face to the tail, and parade him through the city with the heralds shouting, "behold the reward of presumption and the payment of impertinence!" these arguments, and more, his mother put before him; but aladdin shook his head at all of them, and remained firm in his determination. "and further, o my mother," he said, "i wish now that thou go thyself to the sultan and put my request to him, for am i not thy child? and is it not thy duty to perform this office for me?" "o my son," she cried in despair, "wilt thou bring me into thy madness? i, a poor woman of humble birth, to go in to the sultan and demand the princess for my son! why, if i were to go even to one of our equals and demand his daughter, i should immediately be asked what money and goods we possessed; and, if i could not give a ready reply on that matter to an equal, what reply, do you imagine, could i give the sultan? besides all this, o my son, how shall i even gain access to the sultan's presence for this purpose without bearing a rich gift to offer him? out on thee, my son, for thy presumption! what hast thou done for thy country, or what are thy vast possessions that the sultan should reward thee with his daughter?" "mother," answered aladdin, "thy words have served me well, for they have called to my recollection a thing which, through excess of love for the lady bedr-el-budur, i had forgotten. thou sayest that thou canst not approach the sultan without a rich gift. then, o my mother, if i place in thy hands an offering richer than any king in the world can make to any other, wilt thou carry out my desire?" thinking his words were wild as the wind, and that he could produce no such offering, his mother agreed; but, remembering the slave of the lamp, and what had already been done in that way, she stipulated with aladdin that she would carry out his wish only on condition that it required no further invoking of the efrite. aladdin assured her on this and asked her to fetch him a china bowl. wondering greatly she arose, and brought the bowl to him. then aladdin emptied into it all the sparkling jewels which he carried within his garments, and, when they were heaped together in the bowl they shone with a dazzling splendour. liking well her amazement he explained to his mother how he had learned in the market place that what he had at first thought were mere glass were really the rarest of precious stones, the equal of the least of which could not be found in the treasuries of kings. on hearing this, and at sight of the brilliant, flashing gems, his mother was dumbfounded, for she saw that this was indeed a treasure beyond all imagination, and worthy of the sultan's acceptance. but, as she had naught to say, aladdin spoke for her, and held her to her promise. "thou seest, o my mother," he said, "that this is an offering excelling all others. now, therefore, according to thy promise, arise straightway and go to the sultan, bearing these wondrous jewels. i am greatly mistaken if he accepteth not the gift." "but, o my son," answered she in dismay, "what can i say to him? the gift is fabulous indeed, but still more fabulous is the request thou desirest me to put to him. for, if i say i want his daughter for my son, he may be so angered at my impertinence that he will take the jewels and condemn me to death. and then he may search for thee, my son; and, when he hath found thee, and looked upon thy face, we shall assuredly die together." [illustration: the lady bedr-el-budur. page ] aladdin made a gesture of impatience at his mother's view of the matter. "on my head and eye," he said angrily, "though thou art my mother thou art verily lacking in sense. i put it to you: what man living, yea, even though he be the sultan, would refuse to grant thy request when thou comest to him with the price of more than half his kingdom? nay, my mother,--for such thou art,--thou art surely deficient in wisdom." and he took up the bowl of glittering jewels and weighed the chances of them in his hand. but his mother, silenced as she was with his shrewd words, was terrified at the prospect of her visit to the sultan, and still went on raising difficulties. "haply, o my son, he will be pleased to see me, because of the gift; but what if he say to me, 'who is this, thy son, who seeketh the hand of my daughter? what is his condition and state of life?'" "how can he ask thee that," answered aladdin, "when the jewels in the bowl are crying out my state and my condition? such a thing will never happen, except in thy mind. do thou now arise and go to him, for i will no longer listen to these fanciful excuses." "nay, nay, my son," she cried, seeing there was no withdrawing from her promise; "i will go, but give me till the morning to strengthen and prepare myself." so aladdin curbed his impatience and agreed to wait until the following day; but, since he realised that it was not impossible that the project might fail, and that he might have to seek to the slave of the lamp for advice and help in difficulty, he spoke to his mother on the matter. "o my mother," he said, "it was the condition of thy promise that i should not invoke the slave of the lamp in the furtherance of this my desire; yet it must be understood between us that if thou make a blunder--which thou needst not do--then, to extricate us from a dire calamity, i am free to rub the lamp and see what its slave can do for our salvation." his mother assented to this, for she knew, if she failed with the sultan, all was lost; and, in such case, even the aid of a demon would be acceptable. "then," said aladdin, "see thou to it that in thy gossip to our neighbours no word of the lamp escape thy lips, for, if this wonderful possession of ours become known, it will speedily pass out of our hands and its virtues with it. therefore keep thy counsel, o my mother, and babble not of our secret." "fear nothing, my son," she replied, "the lamp is our peculiar possession, and no word shall pass my lips concerning it." and they ceased not to talk of their project, and the saving powers of the lamp, far into the night. when morning dawned aladdin's mother arose and prepared herself for the visit to the palace, and, wrapping the bowl of jewels in a cloth, went forth early. when she arrived at the palace she found herself among the first there assembled, and at once fell to watching the princes and nobles and high officials as they came in. when the audience was full the sultan came in and seated himself on the royal divan. all bowed down before him, and then stood waiting with folded arms for his permission to be seated. and, when he gave permission, all sat down in their due order of precedence. then he listened to their petitions in the same order, and gave his decisions, until the hour grew late, and the audience was declared closed. the sultan arose and went into the palace, and the princes, with the nobles and the people, went their ways. among them went aladdin's mother, thinking to herself that this would be a matter of many days. she hastened home to aladdin, who, when he saw her with the bowl of jewels just as when she departed, cried, "what is this, o my mother? hath he refused the jewels, and thy head still on thy shoulders?" "nay, my son," she replied; "be patient! there were many before me and i had no opportunity." and she told him how she had gained a place in the audience, and how it was only a matter of waiting till her turn came to place her petition before the sultan; perchance to-morrow or the next day. aladdin was overjoyed at this; and, though his exceeding love for the princess probed him sore, yet he resolved to possess his soul in patience against the fulfilment of his desire. but what he momently expected was hourly delayed, and, from that time forth, the daily postponement of his request added fuel to the flame of love in his heart; for, on the following morning, his mother set forth again for the palace and returned again in the evening but one day nearer to the putting of her petition. and every day thereafter she stood in the audience with the bowl of jewels under her arm and heard the petitions, but dared not for very timidity address the sultan. and in this way she continued for a whole month, while aladdin was nursing his impatient soul and waiting on the issue. now the sultan, being observant, had noticed the woman present herself constantly at the levée; and, at length, one day, after the audience had dispersed and the sultan had retired with his grand vizier, he said to him, "hearken, o vizier! for many days have i seen an old woman at the levée, and on each occasion she has carried a bundle under her arm. knowest thou aught of her?" and the vizier, who had little esteem for women, replied, "doubtless a woman like other women, o our lord! maybe she cometh with a deadly grievance against her husband, whom she desires to be beheaded; and, when thou grantest her desire, she will plead for his life, supplicating thee with tears; for such was ever their way." but the sultan was curious about the woman and her silent persistence, and was not satisfied to dismiss the matter so easily. so he commanded the vizier to see to it that, should the woman present herself again, she be instantly brought before him. and so it came about. aladdin's mother, though weary with her many attendances, still persevered in her quest, feeling that, for the sake of her son, she would endure all delay so that the issue might come at last. and it came according to the sultan's command to the grand vizier; for one day the sultan saw her waiting in the audience chamber and ordered the vizier to bring her forward that he might consider her affair. now, at last, she was face to face with the sultan, making obeisance to him and kissing the ground at his feet. "i have seen thee here, o woman, for many days," said the sultan; "and thou hast not approached me. if thou hast a wish that i can grant, lay it before me." at this she kissed the ground again, and prayed fervently for the prolongation of his life. then she said, "o king of all the ages, i have a request; but, peace be on thee, it is a strange one! wherefore i claim thy clemency before i state it." these words whetted the sultan's curiosity, and, as he was a man of great gentleness, he spoke her softly in reply, and not only assured her of his clemency but ordered all others present to withdraw, saving only the grand vizier, so that he might hear her petition in secret. "now, woman," said the sultan, turning to her, "make thy petition, and the peace and protection of god be on thee." "thy forgiveness, also, o king," she said. "god forgive thee if there is aught to forgive," he replied. and at this aladdin's mother unfolded the tale of her son's exceeding love for bedr-el-budur, the sultan's daughter: how life had become intolerable to him because of this, and how his only thought was to win the lady bedr-el-budur for his wife, or die--either of grief, or by the sultan's anger. wherefore, his life being in the balance in any case, she had come as a last resort to beg the sultan to bestow his daughter on her son. and she concluded by beseeching the sultan not to punish either her or her son for this unparalleled hardihood. the sultan looked at the grand vizier, whose face was of stone--for the lady bedr-el-budur had already been promised to his son: a matter well understood between them. "what sayest thou?" said the sultan, regarding him with merriment in his eyes. but the grand vizier only cast a contemptuous look at aladdin's mother, and answered him: "o king of the age! thou knowest how to deal with this petition." at this the sultan laughed outright, and, turning a kindly face to the humble suppliant, observed her minutely. "what is that bundle thou hast under thine arm?" he said at last, remembering that she had brought it with her on every occasion. aladdin's mother, greatly relieved to see the sultan laughing, unfolded the wrappings of the bowl and handed it to him. as soon as he took it in his hand, and saw the size and splendid sparkle of the jewels, the sultan laughed no longer, but gazed at them, speechless with wonder and admiration. then at length, he handed the bowl to the grand vizier, saying, "upon my oath, this is a marvellous thing! tell me, o vizier, have i in my treasury a single jewel that will compare with even the smallest of these?" the grand vizier also was taken aback by their dazzling loveliness and beauty. he would have lied, saying they were glass or crystal, but the stones themselves flashed back the purposed lie in his teeth. all he could reply was, "never, o my lord the king, have i beheld the like of these; nor is there one in thy treasury that could equal the beauty of the smallest of them." and, saying this, the vizier turned very pale, for neither he nor his son could approach the sultan with such a gift. and it was as he had feared, and as aladdin had prophesied: the sultan required to know nothing further than what was before him in the bowl, for it was evident that the giver of these rare jewels must take precedence of all others, since, if they were sold in the market, their price would buy a dozen grand viziers and their sons, to say nothing of princes and nobles with their palaces and all. indeed, as the vizier readily saw, the worth of the precious stones might equal the worth of the sultan's kingdom, and this caused his knees to quake, for he quickly concluded within his mind that there was more behind this thing than what the eye beheld: perchance the old woman's story was but the curtain that concealed a richer treasury than cathay had ever heard of. "o vizier," said the sultan in dry and chilling tones, "it seemeth that in this land there are men greater than the greatest. what sayest thou? the man who sends me this kingly gift cannot conceal his greatness and worthiness behind the thin, loose yarn spun by his messenger here. that he is worthy of my daughter is clearly proved, o vizier; and i, the sultan, king of the age, having power over all men, do withdraw my former promise to thee to bestow her on thy son. bedr-el-budur, the one beautiful jewel in the treasury of my heart, is my gift in return to the man who has sent me these priceless jewels." the grand vizier bit his lips and pondered awhile. then he spoke. "peace be on thee, o king of all the earth. but is not thy promise worth most of all? thou didst pledge me thy daughter for my son, and with that pledge i went, thinking that the whole earth and all therein were not its value. wherefore, o king, i pray that thou wilt allow this matter time. if thou wilt pledge this foster mother of a prince that thou wilt comply with her request in three months time, then it seems to me that, by so doing, thou wilt cement the good feeling and loosen the griefs of all parties concerned. and in the meantime--yea, i have good reason for saying it--there will come before thee, o king of the age, a gift compared to which this thou hast seen is but dross." the sultan weighed the grand vizier's words in his mind, and concluded that it would be best for all concerned to accept the gift from aladdin's mother and to grant her son's wish, but at the same time to felicitate the grand vizier by imposing a three months' stay of the nuptials. accordingly, he said to the woman, "tell thy son that he hath my royal assent, and that i will give him my daughter in marriage; but, as every woman knows, these things cannot be hastened, for there are garments and necessaries to be prepared; wherefore thy son (on whom be peace) must abide in patience for, let us say, three months. at the end of that time he may approach me for the fulfilment of my promise." satisfied with this, aladdin's mother thanked and blessed the sultan, and, buoyed up with a burden of delight, almost flew back to her house. there aladdin was awaiting for her, and, when he saw her hastening, and noticed that she had returned without the bowl of jewels, his heart rose high to meet her. "hath the sultan considered thy request?" he cried, as she came in panting. "hath he accepted the jewels? tell me that only, and i know the rest without a movement of thy tongue." and his mother, whose haste and condition had already answered all his questions, answered them still further with "yea, yea, yea!" then she related to him the details of the interview, laying stress upon the fact that, although the sultan had been moved at the sight of the jewels to make immediate arrangements for the marriage, a private word from the grand vizier had led him to delay the ceremony for three months. "take heed, my son!" she concluded. "the grand vizier hath a motive for this counsel of delay. he is thine enemy. i saw it in his face. beware of him!" aladdin was greatly relieved by her news. he felt like one jerked out of the grave; and, where the sultan was favourable to his suit, he was in no mood to fear a grand vizier. "nay, nay," he said, "the jewels have the eye of the sultan more than the grand vizier hath his ear. fear nothing, o my mother! the sultan's word is good, and i rest content to wait; though i know not how such a long time as three months can be got into the calendar." two of these long, weary months went by, and aladdin nursed his soul in patience. then a thing happened which gave him seriously to think. on a day in the first week of the third month his mother went forth into the market place about sunset to buy oil, and she saw that all the shops were closed, and the people were adorning their windows with bright garlands as if for some festivity. she wondered greatly at this, thinking the sultan had either changed his birthday or that another child had been born to him. yet she had gleaned nothing of any great event from the gossip of her neighbours. having, after much difficulty, found an oil shop open, she bought her oil, and questioned the man. "uncle," she said; "what is abroad in the city that the people close their shops and place candles and garlands in their windows?" "thou art evidently a stranger," replied the man. "nay, i am of this city," said she. "then must thou cleanse thine ears," he retorted. "hast thou not heard that the grand vizier's son is to take to himself this evening the beautiful bedr-el-budur? surely, woman, thou hast been sleeping all day on thine ears, for the news went abroad early this morning. the vizier's son is at the hamman, and these soldiers and officials you see in the streets are waiting to escort him to the palace. and, look you, you are fortunate to get oil to-day, for all those who purvey oil to the grand vizier and his household have closed their shops as a mark of respect." on hearing this, aladdin's mother was so distressed that her knees shook, and she walked away without replying--even forgetting to pay for the oil. but the man speedily called her back and reminded her that, though the grand vizier had never given him an order, she had, and the price of the oil was such and such. in confusion of face she paid him and then hurried away, the oilman looking after her and wondering what manner of woman was this. had he known all, he might have wondered more, or ceased to wonder. meanwhile, aladdin's mother went home in a state of great consternation. though her feet hastened, her heart lagged behind her, for she knew not how to tell her son the terrible news. she was afraid that after his joy at the sultan's promise, and his patient waiting, this blow would send him from his mind. then she contrived it in her thoughts that it was best to provoke her son's anger against the sultan, rather than his grief at the loss of bedr-el-budur. accordingly, as soon as she entered the house and found him sitting thinking, as was his wont of late, she said, "o my son, who can put trust in a king? when i went to buy oil, i found that the sultan had proclaimed a holiday, and all the shops were closed except one. tush! there is no faith in sultans!" "how now, o my mother?" answered aladdin. "treason hath a loud voice. with the sultan and the grand vizier, _hush_! what ails thee? thy hand is a-tremble." and she answered him: "o my son, there is no faith nor trust but in god. said i not to thee that the grand vizier was thine enemy? out on him and the sultan, for their word is but hot wind, and there is no faith in the promise of a king." "i see by thy face and by thy speech," said aladdin, "that thou hast some bad news. what is it, o my mother?" then his mother told how that the sultan had violated his covenant, and how the marriage of the lady bedr-el-budur to the grand vizier's son was to take place that very evening. for this she heaped abuse upon the grand vizier, saying that it was only the worst of men that could so lead the sultan to break his promise. when she had told all, and aladdin understood how the matter lay, he arose, more in anger than in grief, and cried out against the grand vizier and cursed all the parties concerned in the affair. but presently he remembered that, when all seemed lost, he still had the lamp, and that was something in time of trouble and difficulty. so he suddenly restrained his speech and fell to thinking what manner of death the vizier's son should die. his mother, seeing him in better spirits, questioned him. "what now, o my son?" she said. "is thy bitterness of feeling gone? what gift wilt thou send the wedded pair? peradventure another bowl of jewels?" she spoke mockingly for she wanted him to spend his wrath and save his reason. "nay, o my mother," replied aladdin lightly; "they are not wedded yet; and, on my head and eye, verily it is not every knot that holds." with this he arose and retired to his own chamber, where he brought out the lamp. then, having considered well the manner of his wish, he rubbed it. immediately the efrite stepped out of the unseen and stood before him, saying, "thou hast invoked me: what is thy desire? i am the slave of the lamp in thy hand and am here to do thy bidding." and aladdin answered: "know, o slave of the lamp, that the sultan promised me his daughter for my wife, but he has broken his word, and this night she is to be united with the grand vizier's son; wherefore i wish that, as soon as the pair retire, thou take them up, with the couch whereon they lie, and bring them hither to me." "i hear and obey," said the slave of the lamp, and immediately vanished. aladdin waited expectantly for some time, for he guessed that the moment would not be long delayed when the wedded pair would retire from the ceremonies. and his guess was right, for when he had waited a little longer, suddenly a cold blast of air swept through the chamber; the wall opened and there appeared the efrite bearing in his arms the wedded pair upon the nuptial couch. they had been transported in the twinkling of an eye, and, when the efrite had set the couch down at aladdin's feet, they were both stupefied with astonishment at this proceeding. "take that scurvy thief," said aladdin to the efrite, pointing to the vizier's son, "and bind him and lodge him in the wood-closet for the night." and the efrite did so. he took up the vizier's son in one hand, and, reaching with the other for cords, drew them from the invisible and bound the miscreant securely. then he placed him in the wood-closet and blew an icy blast upon him to comfort him. returning to aladdin he said, "it is done, o master of the lamp! is there aught else thou dost desire?" "naught but this," replied aladdin. "in the morning, when the sultan is proceeding towards their chamber to wish them long life and happiness, convey them back thither in a state of sleep so that the sultan's knock at their door may wake them." "i will obey," said the efrite, and, in a moment, the air closed over him and he was gone. and aladdin smiled to himself to think that this thing had been done. then he turned to the lady bedr-el-budur, who was sitting weeping on the couch. "o lovely one," said he, "weep not; for i would not hurt one hair of thy head, nor sully thine honour in any way. know that i love thee too much to harm thee; but, since thy father the sultan promised me thee, and has violated his word, i am determined that none other shall call thee his. rest in peace, lovely lady; for neither am i thy husband nor the thief of thy husband's honour. wherefore, weep not, but rest in peace." so saying he took a sword that hung on the wall of his chamber, and, having placed it by her side in token of security, he stretched himself upon the couch so that they lay with the sword between them. thus they passed the night. the sultan's daughter wept the long night through, and aladdin could not close his eyes for thinking of his unfortunate rival's condition in the wood-closet. towards morning bedr-el-budur, utterly exhausted with weeping, fell asleep; and, as aladdin gazed upon her, he saw that indeed her loveliness was rare; and, the more he gazed, the more he thought of the unhappy fate of the vizier's son. never was a man so badly treated as to be bound fast on his wedding night and laid in a wood-cellar in deadly fear of the dreadful apparition that had placed him there. in the morning, while bedr-el-budur still slept, the slave of the lamp appeared according to aladdin's command. "o my master," he said, "the sultan hath left his couch and is about to knock at the door of the bridal chamber. i am here to perform thy bidding on the instant." "so be it," answered aladdin. "convey them together on the couch back to their place." and scarcely had he spoken when the efrite vanished and reappeared with the vizier's son, whom he quickly unbound and laid upon the couch beside the sleeping bedr-el-budur. then, lifting the couch with the two upon it, he vanished, and aladdin knew that, before the sultan had knocked at the door of the bridal chamber, everything would be as it had been. everything? no, not everything; for the lady bedr-el-budur must awake as from a terrible nightmare; and, as for the vizier's son, would he sing a song to the sultan about spending the night in the wood-closet? aladdin pondered over this and decided that nothing less than a repetition of the affair would wring the truth from either of them. at this moment the sultan knocked at the door of the bridal chamber in the palace, and the vizier's son, still cold from the wood-closet, arose and opened to him. the sultan advanced to the couch, and kissed his daughter, and asked her if she was happy and content. by way of answer she glared at him in sullen silence, for she had not forgotten, in dreams or in waking, what had happened to her. the sultan, not understanding what had befallen, and feeling annoyed, turned and left the chamber to lay the matter before the queen, to whose ear their daughter's tongue might the more easily be loosed. so he came to the queen and told her how bedr-el-budur had received him, concluding his recital with the remark, "thus it is; there is trouble behind the door of that bridal chamber." but the queen smiled at his serious fears and answered him: "o my lord the king, thou knowest little of the heart of a woman. when it is happiest, a trifle makes it sad; and, when it would send tears of laughter and joy to the eyes, it sometimes turns perverse against itself for very gladness, and sends tears of pain instead. wherefore, be not angry with her, but let me go and see her. she will surely confide in me." so saying, she arose and robed herself, and went to the bridal chamber. at first sight of her daughter's dejected attitude and pained expression she imagined that some lovers' quarrel over a mere trifle had occurred; but when she kissed her, wishing her good morning, and bedr-el-budur answered no word to her salutation, she began to think that some grave trouble rested on her daughter's mind. and it was not until she had coaxed her, and used every argument known to a mother, that she received an answer to her questions. "be not angry with me, o my mother," said bedr-el-budur at last, raising her sad, beautiful eyes, "but know that a terrible thing has happened,--a thing which i hardly dare tell thee lest thou think i have lost my reason. scarcely had we retired, o my mother, when there suddenly appeared a huge black shape,--terrible, horrific in aspect; and this--i know not what nor who--lifted the couch whereon we lay and conveyed us in a flash to some dark and vile abode of the common people." and then to her mother's astonished ears she unfolded the tale of all that had happened during the night till, suddenly, in the morning, she awoke to find the monstrous shape replacing them in the bridal chamber at the moment her father the sultan had knocked at the door. "and that, o my mother," she concluded, "is why i could not answer my father, for i was so bewildered and stricken with unhappiness that i thought that i was mad; though, now i have thought about the affair from beginning to end, i know that i have my wits like any other." "truly, o my daughter," said the queen with great concern, "if thou were to tell this story to thy father he would say thou wert mad. wherefore, i counsel thee, child, tell it to him not; neither to him nor to any other one." "nay, o my mother," answered bedr-el-budur, "dost thou doubt me? i have told thee the plain truth, and, if thou doubt it, ask my husband if my tale be true or not." but the queen replied, "sweep these fancies from thy mind, o my daughter; and arise and robe thyself to attend the rejoicings which this day have been prepared in the city in thine honour. for the whole people is in glad array, and the drums will beat and music will delight the ears of all; and the musicians will sing thy praises and all will wish thee long life and happiness." leaving bedr-el-budur, then, with her tirewomen, the queen sought the sultan, and begged him not to be angry with their daughter, for she had been distressed with unhappy dreams. then she sent for the vizier's son to come to her secretly, and, when he stood before her, she related to him what bedr-el-budur had told her, and asked him if it were true or if he knew aught of it. "nay," he answered, for he had thought the matter over and feared that the truth might rob him of his bride; besides, his acquaintance with the wood-closet seemed to him discreditable, and he felt little inclined to boast of it. "nay, o my lady the queen," said he; "i know naught of these things beyond what thou hast told me." from this there was no doubt left in the queen's mind that her daughter had suffered from a nightmare so vivid that she had been unable easily to cast it from her. nevertheless, she felt assured that, as the day wore on, with its gaieties and rejoicings, bedr-el-budur would be enabled to rid herself of these troublous imaginings of the night, and resume her former self. [illustration: the sultan and his vizier looking for aladdin's magic palace. page ] all that day the city was thrown into a state of the utmost festivity which the sultan and the queen busied themselves to augment, for to restore their daughter's happiness was their chief concern. the grand vizier, who knew only that his daughter-in-law had been troubled by evil dreams, laid this not to his conscience in that he had persuaded the sultan to break his pledge, but attempted rather to mend matters by adopting every means in his power to increase the universal gaiety. the drums beat, and music echoed through the city. trumpeters went forth, fanfaring the beauty of bedr-el-budur; heralds proclaimed her graces in the streets and byways; singers extolled her charms; and the heavy burden of taxation was lifted from the people's backs for one month, so that they might stand up for a little and see what a great man was the grand vizier in the sultan's eyes, and what a charming person his son must be to deserve the beautiful cause of these wonderful things. as for the vizier's son, he ceased not to pursue all manner of gaieties, thinking thereby to convince himself that the wood-closet was naught but an odious dream. but all this festivity and rejoicing failed to dispel bedr-el-budur's gloom. being of a sincere nature, she could not pretend like the vizier's son, nor could she love him the better for stoutly denying what was plain truth to them both. and, as the city went about its gladness without restraint, aladdin strolled forth from his mother's house and viewed it all from the point of view of one who knows. when he surveyed the delighted rabble rejoicing over the happiness of bride and bridegroom he laughed within himself, saying, "little they know!" but when he heard all men envying the great honour and distinction of the grand vizier's son, and praising him in that his excellent qualities had won the heart of the lady bedr-el-budur, he feared that he might die for laughing. "verily, ye glad people," he said within himself, "ye would envy him to distraction if ye only knew that he would far sooner rest in a wood-closet than on the bridal couch. ha! ha! ha! ye doubt me? then come and peep into the wood-closet to-night, ye rabble! and see for yourselves what a happy bridegroom he makes of himself, the gallows-bird that he is!" at eventime, when the wild rejoicing of the city had fatigued itself against replenishment by wine, aladdin retired to his chamber and rubbed the lamp. immediately the slave appeared and desired to know his wish. "o slave of the lamp," said aladdin, "do as thou didst last night. see to it that thou convey the bridal pair hither again as man and maid at the eleventh hour of their innocence." the slave of the lamp vanished in a moment, and aladdin sat for a long time; yet he was content, for he knew that the wily efrite was but waiting his opportunity. at length the monster reappeared before him, bearing in his arms the bridal couch with the pair upon it, weeping and wringing their hands in excess of grief and terror. and, at aladdin's word the slave took the vizier's son as before and put him to bed in the wood-closet, where he remained, bound fast in an icy chill. then having dismissed the efrite with injunctions to convey the pair back in the morning as he had done the day before, aladdin placed the sword between bedr-el-budur and himself and composed himself to rest, regardless of her weeping and restlessness; for, he said to himself, "i am sufficiently rewarded for all my trouble. the vizier's son hath retired to the wood-closet. he careth not for this world's joys--the gallows-bird! and he leaves me his bride to protect in the hour of need. verily he is of a trusting nature." and aladdin slept not nor stirred the whole night through; and it was as if bedr-el-budur's sobbing and tribulation were cut off from him by the sword that lay between them. and when it was morning, and the sultan was about to knock at the door of the bridal chamber in the palace, the slave of the lamp appeared and conveyed the bride and the bridegroom swiftly back to their place. on being set down in the bridal chamber, dazed and bewildered, they had not returned to their proper senses when the knock came at the door. the sultan had come to wish his daughter good-morning, and to see also if she would behave towards him as on the former occasion. the bridegroom arose, shivering with cold,--for he had but a moment since left the wood-closet,--and opened the door. he made way for the sultan, who entered, and, approaching the couch, saluted bedr-el-budur with a kiss. but, when he asked her if she was not the happiest of women, she made no reply, but met his gaze with an angry stare. it was easy to see that she was perfectly miserable. but the sultan did not look at it in that light, he saw only what he took for sullen obstinacy, and, flying into a passion, drew his sword, saying, "by allah! tell me what ails thee, or thy head will not remain upon thy body." then bedr-el-budur wept and supplicated him, and told him what had befallen on the second night as on the first, so that as she revealed it all his pity was aroused, and he sheathed his sword. "thy words ring true, o my daughter!" he said. "but fear not, and be comforted; for at this moment i am minded to set a guard on this chamber so that no such thing may happen a third time. for the present, peace be on thee!" the sultan repaired immediately to the grand vizier and told him all; and asked him whether he had received the same version of this matter from his son. but the grand vizier shook his head in the manner of one who might be lying and might not. "then," said the sultan, "go at once and question him, for it may be that my daughter hath seen visions and dreamed dreams; albeit, i am unable to disbelieve the truth of her story." so the grand vizier went and enquired of his son, and presently returned to the sultan in great perplexity of face, for his son, whatever he had admitted before, had now confessed to everything, even to the wood-closet. and, moreover, he had begged and implored his father to obtain his release from this most unhappy marriage, since it was better to be without a bride and sleep in peace than to have one and perish with cold in a wood-closet. thus it was with the vizier's son. "o king of the age," said the grand vizier, who could not see his way to conceal the truth, "my son telleth the same tale as thy daughter, the lady bedr-el-budur. wherefore i beseech thee that thou set a guard this night, so that----" "nay," broke in the sultan angrily; "it is an unhappy marriage and bodes no good. thou didst persuade me that my promise to that woman in respect of her son was not binding, but these unhappy events and ill-omened affairs make me think thou wast mistaken. abide not another night, for worse may happen. go forth, o vizier, and proclaim the marriage annulled. bid the people cease to rejoice, and command all to go their own ways and comport themselves as if the marriage had not been." at this the grand vizier bowed his head and went forth exceeding wroth, and proclaimed the annulment of the marriage to all the people. great was the wonder at this on every hand, for, among them all, none knew why, save one alone; and that one was aladdin, the master of the lamp and of the slave of the lamp. he alone knew, and it was almost with regret that he decided the wood-closet need have no tenant that night. whether the sultan had swiftly forgotten, or tardily remembered, his pledge, aladdin troubled not to enquire. he waited patiently until the three months had expired, and then sent his mother to demand of the sultan the fulfilment of his promise. so it transpired that, on the day of the expiration of the term, the sultan saw aladdin's mother standing in the hall of audience. he was not astonished at this, for the matter of his broken or twisted pledge had somewhat disturbed his dreams. "behold! there she stands!" he said to the grand vizier. "bring her before me immediately." the vizier arose, his face like autumn leaves withered in the wind, and did as he was bidden. "what is thy suit?" asked the sultan of aladdin's mother as soon as she stood before him. then, when she had kissed the ground and prayed for the prolongation of his life, she answered: "o king of all the earth, the three months thou didst proscribe are at an end and i have come to ask thee to redeem thy pledge in respect of thy daughter and my son aladdin." the sultan, who had not now the bowl of jewels before him to blind his vision, regarded her intently, and saw that she was of humble state; then, as he turned in perplexity to the grand vizier, he observed that the expression on his face was the expression of one who ponders the laying of a stratagem and the way it should be hatched. "what is thy thought on this, o vizier?" he said. "my word is my word, and i regret that thou shouldst have explained it away; yet it seems to me that this woman is not of the kind that could mother-in-law my daughter. hast thou a plan which is not a trick? if thou hast, whisper it in mine ear." the grand vizier was pleased to hear the sultan appealing to his ready wit in this way, for he was consumed with chagrin at what had befallen his son and desired only to non-suit this woman who had out-bid him with the jewels. so he unfolded his plan--his stratagem--his trick, privately to the sultan's ear. "o king of the age," he said, "thy pledge holds good, as ever it did; yea, as good as marriage vows. but verily, if this common woman's son desireth thy daughter for his wife, there should be a settlement befitting such a suit. wherefore ask of him forty bowls of gold filled with jewels of the same blood and tincture as the woman brought at first, with forty female slaves to carry them, and a fitting retinue of forty. this thing, which is a sultan's right to ask, it seemeth to me he cannot contrive to execute, and thus thou shalt be free of him." "by allah!" said the sultan, "thou art of ready wit, o vizier! truly a marriage settlement is needed." then, turning to aladdin's mother, he said: "o woman! know that when one asketh the daughter of the sultan one must have standing, for so it is in royal circles; and, to prove that standing, the suitor must show that he is able to provide for the sultan's daughter and keep her in that state to which she has been accustomed. wherefore he must bring to me forty golden bowls filled with jewels such as thou didst bring, with forty beautiful female slaves to carry them and forty black slaves as a retinue. coming like this, thy son may claim my daughter, for the sultan's word is the sultan's word." a sad woman then was aladdin's mother. she returned to her son sick at heart, saying with herself, "forty bowls of jewels, with forty maids and forty black slaves! how can my son do this? better he had not entered on this affair!" then, with bitterness, she added, "the sultan asketh far too little: forty _five_ bowls with forty _five_ maids and forty _five_ slaves and a palace to boot! oh! what a thing it is to live up to such a demand as i have made." thinking like this she found her son and spoke sorrowfully to him. "o my son," she exclaimed, weeping, "said i not to thee that the grand vizier was thine enemy? the sultan remembered his pledge, but the vizier--may his bones rot!--spake in his ear, and the outcome is this: forty golden bowls of jewels, forty female slaves to carry them, and forty slaves as an escort. with this dowry, o my son, thou mayest approach the sultan and claim his daughter as thy bride." loudly aladdin laughed to scorn. "o my mother," he said; "is this all the sultan requireth? the grand vizier--may his bones rot as thou sayest!--hath proposed what he imagines an impossible thing; but it is not at all impossible. now, mother, set some food before me, and, when i have eaten, i will tell thee." and when his mother had brought him food, and he had eaten, he arose and went into his chamber. there he brought out the lamp, and, sitting down, he rubbed it. immediately the slave appeared. "what is thy wish, o my master?" "lo, o slave of the lamp, know that the sultan hath promised me his daughter, but, repenting him of his promise, he hath required of me what he thinketh a dowry impossible for anyone to compass: forty golden bowls of rare and splendid jewels, carried by forty maids, with an escort of forty slaves. therefore i desire all these things of thee." "i obey!" said the efrite, and vanished. in less than an hour he returned and led before aladdin forty beautiful maidens, each carrying a golden bowl of jewels on her head, and each accompanied by a magnificent black slave. and when aladdin's mother saw this array she knew that it was done by the lamp, and she blessed it for her son's sake. then said aladdin, "o my mother, behold, the dowry is ready according to the sultan's requirement. it is for thee to take it to him, to shew him what is in my power, and also that no time hath been lost in complying with his request." then the maids, with the golden bowls of precious stones, arrayed themselves in the street outside the house, and by each maid stood a slave. thus, led by aladdin's mother, they proceeded to the sultan's palace; and the people crowded in the streets to see this unwonted sight, for the maids were richly dressed, and all, with the sun shining on their raiment and flashing in the jewels they bore, made a magnificent spectacle. never had the people seen such jewels, never such beauteous damsels, never such magnificent slaves. a cortège like this was a wonder beyond the reach of kings. but aladdin's mother headed the procession unmindful of their shouts of acclamation, for she well knew that she was going before the sultan in a manner and with a gift that would take his breath away. [illustration: the nuptial dance of aladdin and the lady bedr-el-budur. page ] when they reached the palace gates the wonder of the people spread to the soldiers and the guards, who, after a moment of speechless admiration, found tongue to say to one another, "does this earth contain such splendid jewels? and are there such radiant maidens even in the fragrant paradise?" and amazement gat hold of them, and their hearts leapt in their breasts, so that not one amongst them could ever think to become an anchorite, or hope to call one grandson. and so it was with the commanding officers, the chamberlains, the officials of the palace and the grandees and nobles there assembled; they were all cast into the depths of wonder, and the whole place effervesced and simmered with an excitement it had never known before. thus, in due course, came aladdin's mother before the sultan, leading the cortège into the audience hall. and so they stood before him, a magnificent array, before whose dazzle and splendour the richness of the place, the nobles and grandees with their costly robes, even the sultan himself and the throne whereon he sat, all seemed poor and common by comparison. the maidens took the bowls of jewels from their heads and set them on the ground. then they made obeisance, they and the slaves prostrating themselves before the sultan; and, having done this, they all arose and stood before him in humble reverence. and, when the sultan's gaze at last left the beauteous damsels and fell upon the bowls of jewels at their feet, he was beside himself with wonder and admiration; and he was the more amazed that surpassing wealth in this form could be brought before him in the short space of one hour. for some moments he was speechless; then, when he found words, he commanded that the whole cortège should present itself, with the jewels, to the lady bedr-el-budur in her palace. so, in due order and with perfect grace of movement, the damsels took up their precious burdens; and thus, escorted by the slaves, and led by aladdin's mother, they went in to the sultan's daughter. while they were laying this dowry before her, aladdin's mother returned to the sultan and spoke with him. "o king of the age," she said, "'tis but a mere trifle, and scarcely worthy of the priceless rarity of thy fair daughter." "what sayest thou?" said the sultan, addressing the grand vizier. "he who can control such wealth is surely worthy of my daughter." but the wily vizier, who had twice persuaded the sultan, and had twice been beaten, was minded to chance a third attempt, for he could not bear to see the lady bedr-el-budur pass to aladdin without a struggle. "o my lord," he said, green with envy, "rich though these things be, thinkest thou they are worth one single curl of thy daughter's head? thou art the king of earth, and the lady bedr-el-budur is thy daughter: this gift is not worthy of her." "perchance that is why thy son feared to bring the like lest i should be displeased," returned the sultan sharply, for he saw that the grand vizier was envious to excess. then he added to aladdin's mother: "tell thy son he need fear not but that i shall keep my promise; but bid him come hither to me with all haste, so that i may look upon his face and accept him as my son-in-law; for the marriage shall be this very night." aladdin's mother flushed red with joy--redder than she had ever known as a girl. the grand vizier turned white with rage--whiter than his false heart had ever been, even when a boy. after a dagger-thrust of glances between them, aladdin's mother made obeisance to the sultan and thanked him. then, with contempt for the grand vizier written plainly on her face, she withdrew, and returned home, walking on the air. as soon as she was gone the sultan dismissed the audience and repaired to his daughter's palace, where he found bedr-el-budur examining the jewels in a state of the utmost delight, and singing a song of their wondrous beauty. then, when the sultan told her that they came from her new bridegroom, she clapped her hands with joy and demanded to know what he was like, and where was his splendid kingdom. "i know not," said the sultan in answer, "but he cometh to me shortly, and then he will reveal to me his state. meanwhile, o my daughter, do thou regard him in the sparkling light of these wondrous jewels, and know that, while he regardeth them as not worth thy little finger, his love for thee must be great." now aladdin, when he saw his mother returning swift-footed and on wings of joy, knew that good tidings came with her. but, before he could speak, his mother burst in upon him and embraced him, crying, "o my son! thy heart's wish is fulfilled. this very night thou art to wed the sultan's daughter, and so it is proclaimed before all the world." then did aladdin rejoice that his expectations were fulfilled, and was continuing to rejoice when his mother addressed him suddenly. "nay," she said, "i have not told thee all. the sultan bids thee go to him immediately, for he desires to see his son-in-law. but how shalt thou approach the sultan in thy merchant's garments? however, i have done all i can for thee, and it is now thine own affair." so saying, she withdrew to rest a little, and aladdin, having blessed her, retired to his chamber and brought forth the lamp. with a set purpose in his mind, he rubbed it, and at once the slave appeared. "thou knowest me: what is thy desire?" "i wish," answered aladdin, "that thou take me to a bath which hath no equal in all the kingdoms, and provide me there with a change of raiment of resplendent glory, richer than any the sultan has ever worn." no sooner had he spoken than the efrite bore him away in his arms, and deposited him in a bath the like of which no king could compass nor any man describe. everything was there which delighted the eye, and not the least of the wonders of this splendid bath was a hall whose walls were encrusted with jewels. seeing there was no one in attendance, aladdin clapped his hands, and immediately came slaves to wait upon him. and one with marvellous strength and dexterity of hand washed him and manipulated his limbs until he was altogether refreshed. then he sought the jewelled hall and found there, in place of his merchant's garb, a set of robes that exceeded all imagination. these he put on, and smiled to himself as if he looked down on kings; for, indeed, the robes were more than royal. and, when he had drunk the sherbets and the coffee which the slaves brought him, he submitted to the completion of his dress by delicate unguents and perfumes, and then went forth. at the door of the bath, he was met by the efrite in waiting, who took up and bore him in a flash to his home. "hast thou still some further need?" asked the slave of the lamp, about to vanish. "yea," replied aladdin. "bring me here a chief of memluks with forty-eight in his train--twenty-four to precede me and twenty-four to follow after; and see that they have splendid horses and equipments, so that not even the greatest in the world can say, 'this is inferior to mine.' for myself i want a stallion such as cannot be equalled among the arabs, and his housings must be for value such as one could purchase only in dreams. and to each memluk give a thousand gold pieces, and to the chief memluk ten thousand; for we go to the sultan's palace and would scatter largesse on the way. wait! also twelve maidens of unequalled grace and loveliness in person to attire and accompany my mother to the sultan's presence. and look you! whatever of grace and beauty is lacking in my person supply it to me on my natural plan of being. see to it, o slave of the lamp!" "it is already done," said the slave of the lamp; and, vanishing on the instant, he reappeared at once at the doorway of the house, leading a noble white stallion gorgeously equipped, while behind came the twelve damsels and forty-nine memluks on magnificent chargers. the damsels were bearing rich stuffs in their arms; so aladdin, guessing that these were the robes for his mother, led them in to her that she might be arrayed in a manner befitting the mother-in-law of a princess. then he sent the chief memluk post haste to the palace to announce his speedy arrival. the memluk rode like the wind, and soon returned at full gallop, saying as he drew rein, "o my lord, the sultan expecteth thee every moment." then aladdin, having seen that the maidens had properly arrayed his mother, mounted his steed and set out for the palace with memluks before and behind him, and his mother following, supported by the maidens. it was a brave cavalcade that proceeded through the streets, and the people watched it in amazement. "is not this the tailor's son?" said one to another. "yea, we all thought so," was the reply; "but it seems we have never known the truth." for, when they saw aladdin's courtly grace, enhanced as it was by the slave of the lamp, and beheld his memluks scattering gold, they said among themselves that he was the son of a potent king of far lands, and had been placed in the tailor's care; for see! his foster mother, magnificently robed, was following. little did they think--for aladdin's mother had not gossiped--that all this ravishing splendour was of the lamp, which could work wonders for whosoever possessed it. and the cavalcade filed onwards amid the acclamations and blessings of the people, until the palace was reached. and all the way they ceased not to distribute largesse to the people. now, when the sultan had received word that aladdin was coming, he informed his nobles and grandees of the meaning of this thing; so that, when aladdin arrived, there was a vast concourse of people, and all the stateliest of the land were there awaiting his entry. and, as he rode in at the gates, he was received not only by the greatest personages of the sultan's realm, but also by officials high and low, who did him homage and extolled him. there was no office too small to be performed for him--no word of welcome too great to greet him. as the sun rises in glory upon a waiting world, so came aladdin to the palace. at the door of the hall of audience he dismounted, while hands held his stirrup that had never performed such an office before. the sultan was seated on his throne, and, immediately he saw aladdin, he arose and descended and took him to his breast, forbidding all ceremony on so great an occasion. then he led him up affectionately, and placed him on his right hand. in all this aladdin forgot not the respect due to kings. forbidden to be too humble, he was not too lofty in his bearing. he spoke: "o my lord the sultan! king of the earth and heaven's dispenser of all good! truly thou hast treated me graciously in bestowing upon me thy daughter the lady bedr-el-budur. know, o king, that when i consider her grace and loveliness, which cometh from thee, i feel unworthy, like one of the meanest slaves. yet, since thou hast so honoured me of thy felicity, i cannot bring to thy feet a slave's humility, for, by the gift of this lovely lady, thy daughter, thou hast raised me above my fellows beneath thy sheltering wing. wherefore, while my tongue knoweth no words to thank and extol thee for the magnitude of thy favour, it can still pray fervently for the prolongation of thy life. o king of the age! be gracious and hear me yet further, for i have a request to make. wilt thou grant me a site whereon to build a palace, unworthy as it may prove, for the comfort and happiness of thy daughter, the lady bedr-el-budur?" now, while aladdin was thus speaking with courtly grace and diction, the sultan's attention was divided between his ears and eyes. while listening to aladdin's words he was noting his more than princely raiment, his beauty and perfection of form, his magnificent retinue of memluks, and the royal richness of everything that appertained to him--all following his lordly wake without compulsion, as though it were natural from long custom so to do. and he was bewildered, and wondered greatly that this son of a thousand kings should have been heralded by a woman of the people, saying, forsooth, she was his mother. and, while he was wondering, aladdin's mother approached, apparelled in robes more costly than any in his own queen's wardrobe, and supported humbly and decorously by her twelve maidens of surpassing loveliness. at this, while the grand vizier came nigh to death with envy, the sultan on a sudden turned to aladdin and embraced and kissed him, saying, "my son! my son! how hast thou hid from me so long?" then the sultan conversed with aladdin and was greatly charmed with his courtliness and eloquence. anon he ordered the musicians to play, and together they listened to the music in the utmost content. finally he arose, and, taking aladdin by the hand, led him forth into the palace banqueting hall, where a splendid supper was awaiting them with the lords of the land standing ready in their proper order of degree. yet above them all sat aladdin, for he was at the sultan's right hand. and, while they ate, the music played and a merry wit prevailed; and the sultan drew nearer to aladdin in their talk, and saw, from his grace, his manner of speech, and his complaisance, that indeed he must have been brought up and nurtured among kings. then, while they conversed, the sultan's heart went out with joy and satisfaction to aladdin, and the whole assemblage saw that it was not as it had been with the vizier's son. the grand vizier himself would have retired early had it not been that his presence was required for the marriage ceremony. as soon as the banquet was over and the tables cleared away, the sultan commanded the vizier to summon the kadis and the witnesses, and thus the contract between aladdin and the lady bedr-el-budur was duly executed. then, without a warning word, aladdin arose to depart. "wherefore, o my son?" said the sultan. "thy wedding is duly contracted and the festivities are about to begin." "yea, o my lord the king," replied aladdin; "and none rejoiceth at that more than i; but, if it please thee, it is my thought to build a palace for the lady bedr-el-budur; and if my love and longing for her be anything, thou mayest rest assured that it will be completed so quickly as to amaze thee." at this the grand vizier tugged the sultan's sleeve, but received no attention. "it is well," said the sultan to aladdin; "choose what site seemeth best to thee and follow thine own heart in the matter. see! this open space by my palace! what thinkest thou, my son?" "o king," replied aladdin, "i cannot thank thee enough, for it is the summit of my felicity to be near thee." then aladdin left the palace in the same royal manner as he had approached it, with his memluks preceding and following; and again the people praised and blessed him as he passed. when he reached his house he left all other affairs in the hands of his chief memluk with certain instructions, and went into his chamber. there he took the lamp and rubbed it. the slave appeared on the instant and desired to know his pleasure. "o slave," answered aladdin, "i have a great task for thee. i desire thee to build for me in all haste a palace on the open space near the sultan's serai,--a palace of magnificent design and construction, and filled with rare and costly things. and let it be incomplete in one small respect, so that, when the sultan offers to complete it to match the whole, all the wealth and artifice at his command will not suffice for the task." "o my master," replied the efrite, "it shall be done with all speed. i will return when the work is finished." with this he vanished. it was an hour before dawn when the slave of the lamp returned to aladdin, and, awakening him from sleep, stood before him. "o master of the lamp," he said, "the palace is built as thou didst command." "it is well, o slave of the lamp," answered aladdin; "and i would inspect thy work." no sooner had he spoken than he found himself being borne swiftly through the air in the arms of the efrite, who set him down almost immediately within the palace. most excellently had the slave done his work. porphyry, jasper, alabaster and other rare stones had been used in the construction of the building. the floors were of mosaics the which to match would cost much wealth and time in the fashioning, while the walls and ceilings, the doors and the smallest pieces of detail were all such that even the imagination of them could come only to one dissatisfied with the palaces of kings. when aladdin had wondered at all this, the slave led him into the treasury, and showed him countless bars of gold and silver and gems of dazzling brilliance. thence to the banqueting hall, where the tables were arrayed in a manner to take one's breath away; for every dish and every flagon were of gold or silver, and all the goblets were crusted with jewels. thence, again, to the wardrobes, where the richest stuffs of the east were piled in great gold-bound chests to an extent that baffled the reason. and so from room to room, where everything that met the eye dazzled and captivated it. and all this had been done in a single night. having surveyed it all, aladdin knew not what to say, scarcely even what to think. it seemed to him that the most sovereign monarch of all the world could command nothing like this. but, when the slave led him further and shewed him a pavilion with twenty-four niches thickly set with diamonds and emeralds and rubies, he fairly lost his wits. and the slave took him to one niche and shewed him how his command had been carried out in that this was the one small part of the palace that was left incomplete in order to tempt and tax the sultan to finish it. when aladdin had viewed the whole palace, and seen the numerous slaves and beautiful maidens therein, he asked yet one thing more of the efrite. "o slave of the lamp," he said, "the work is wonderful, yet it still lacketh an approach from the sultan's palace. i desire, therefore, a rich carpet laid upon the intervening space, so that the lady bedr-el-budur may come and go upon a splendid pathway of brocade worked with gold and inwrought with precious stones." "i hear and obey," said the slave, and vanished. presently he returned and led aladdin to the steps of the palace. "o my lord," he said, "what thou didst command is done." and he pointed to a magnificent carpet extending from palace to palace. the gold and the precious stones in the brocade gleamed and sparkled in the stars' last rays before the rise of dawn. when aladdin had gazed upon it and wondered at it, the efrite carried him in the twinkling of an eye back to his own home. shortly afterwards, when the dawn had arisen, the sultan opened his eyes, and, looking forth from his window, beheld a magnificent structure where the day before had been an open space. doubting the evidence of his senses, he turned himself about and rubbed his eyes and looked again. there, undoubtedly, was a palace more splendid and glorious than any he had ever seen; and there, leading to it, was a carpet the like of which he had never trod. and all those who awoke betimes in the sultan's palace observed these wonderful things, and neither they nor the sultan could keep their amazement to themselves. the news of it spread through the palace like wildfire. the grand vizier came rushing to the sultan, and, finding him at the window, had no need to tell him the cause of his excitement. "what sayest thou, o vizier?" said the sultan. "yonder stands a palace surpassing all others. truly aladdin is worthy of my daughter, since at his bidding such a royal edifice arises in a single night." then the vizier's envy found vent. "o king," he said, "thinkest thou that such a thing as this could be done save by the vilest of sorcery? riches and jewels and costly attire are in the hands of mortals, but this--this is impossible!" "impossible?" said the sultan. "behold!"--and he pointed towards the palace--"there it stands in the light of day, and thou sayest it is impossible. verily, o vizier, it seems thy wits are turned with envy at the wealth of aladdin. prate not to me of sorcery. there are few things beyond the power of a man in whose treasury are such jewels as those sent me by aladdin." at this the grand vizier was silent; indeed, his excess of envy well nigh choked him, for he saw that the sultan loved aladdin greatly. now when aladdin awoke in the morning and knew that he must set forth for the palace where the nobles and grandees were already assembling for the wedding celebration, he took the lamp and rubbed it. the slave appeared on the instant and desired to know his wish. "o slave of the lamp," said aladdin, "this is my wedding day and i go to the sultan's palace. wherefore i shall need ten thousand gold pieces." "i hear and obey," said the efrite, and, vanishing, returned on the instant with the gold packed in bags. these he placed before aladdin, and then, receiving no further command, disappeared. aladdin called his chief memluk and ordered him to take the gold and see that it was scattered among the people on the way to the palace. when all was ready aladdin mounted his steed and rode through the city while the memluks before and behind distributed largesse all the way. and the people were loud in their praises of his dignity and grace and loved him greatly for his generosity. anon the palace was reached and there the high officials, who were looking for aladdin and his train, hastened to inform the sultan of his approach. on this the sultan arose, and, going out to the gates of the palace to meet him, embraced and kissed him. then, taking him by the hand, he led him in and seated him at his right hand. meanwhile the whole city was in festivity. pomp and ceremony went hand in hand with gaiety and mirth. soldiers and guards kept holiday order in the streets where youths and bright-garlanded maidens made merry riot. within the palace resounded music and singing and the murmur of happy voices, for this was the nation's day of joy. anon the sultan commanded the wedding banquet to be served, and the eunuchs set the tables out with royal dishes of gold and silver filled with sumptuous viands and fruits that might have been culled in paradise. and, when it was all ready, aladdin sat on the right hand of the sultan; and they, with all the nobles and foremost in the land, ate and drank. on every hand were honour and good will for aladdin. everyone was filled with joy at the event, saying that this wedding was as happy as that of the grand vizier's son was unfortunate. aladdin's palace and the space around it were thronged with people of every degree who ceased not to wonder at its resplendent beauty and the fact that it had been built in a single night. "may his head survive us all!" said some; and others, "god give him every pleasure, for verily he deserveth it." when the banquet was over aladdin repaired with his memluks to his palace to make ready for the reception of his bride, bedr-el-budur. and, as he went, all the people thronged him shouting, "god give thee happiness! god bless thy days!" and he scattered gold amongst them. coming to his palace he dismounted, and went in, and seated himself whilst his attendants bowed before him. and, thinking of naught else but his bride, the lady bedr-el-budur, he commanded them to prepare for her reception. and they did so. meanwhile aladdin looked forth from a window of the palace and saw the sultan with his horsemen descending into the riding ground. at this he bethought him of his stallion and commanded his chief memluk accordingly. then, mounted on his steed and accompanied by his retinue, he galloped down into the riding ground. there, javelin in hand, he displayed his prowess, and none could stand against him. bedr-el-budur, watching him from a window in her father's palace, felt her heart turn over and over in her bosom, and then, saying within herself, "he is my husband and none other," she renounced herself to the exquisite joy of sudden love. at eventime, when the sport and play were over, the princes of the land surrounded aladdin--for he had become the centre of all interest--and accompanied him to the hammam. there he was bathed and perfumed, and, when he came forth and mounted his matchless steed, he was escorted through the city by guards and emirs with drawn swords, while all the people thronged in procession before and behind and on every side, beating drums and playing musical instruments and singing for very excess of joy and revel. and when he reached his palace he dismounted and entered, and seated himself. and the nobles and grandees, submitting to the ruling of his chief memluk, were seated also, each according to his degree. then refreshments were served without stint, even to the multitude without the gates. and aladdin arose in the midst of this and beckoned to his chief memluk. "is there any gold?" he asked. "yea," answered the memluk, "some thousands of pieces." "then," said aladdin, "scatter it among the people who throng the gates." and thus it was at aladdin's palace. meanwhile the sultan, on returning from the riding ground, commanded an escort to conduct the lady bedr-el-budur to her husband's abode. on this the captains of guards, the officers of state and nobles, well equipped, were mounted in readiness and waiting at the door of bedr-el-budur's apartments. presently, preceded by female slaves and eunuchs bearing lighted tapers set in jewelled candlesticks, came forth a vision of liveliness. bedr-el-budur, aflame with love for aladdin, appeared on the threshold like a pure white bird about to fly into space. all too slow was the procession that escorted her to aladdin's palace. the stately pomp and splendour accorded not with the beating of her heart. she saw not aladdin's mother nor the beauteous damsels, nor the mounted guards, nor the emirs, nor the nobles--her only thought was aladdin, for her heart was consumed with love. thus from the seraglio to aladdin's palace, where bedr-el-budur, as one floating in a dream, was taken to her apartments and arrayed for presentation to the court assembled. and of all that court and multitude of people the only one who had no voice was aladdin, for, when he looked upon his bride in her surpassing loveliness, he was reft of speech or thought, and stood silent before a joy too great for tongue to tell. at last, when the presentation was over, aladdin sought the bridal chamber where he found his mother with bedr-el-budur. and there, in the apartment all sparkling with gold and precious stones, his mother unveiled her and aladdin gazed into her eyes and took no thought for the lustre of jewels. and while his mother went into raptures over the splendour of the place, aladdin and bedr-el-budur exchanged one look of love--a thing which none could purchase with all the treasures of the earth. and so it was with aladdin and his bride. in the morning aladdin arose and donned a costly robe of royal magnificence; then, when he had quaffed some delicious coffee flavoured with ambergris, he ordered his steed, and, with his memluks preceding and following, rode to the sultan's palace. as soon as the sultan was informed of his arrival he came to meet him, and, having embraced and kissed him with great affection, led him in and seated him on his right hand. and the nobles and grandees and high officials of the realm craved the privilege to approach him with congratulations and blessings. when this was over--aladdin having shown an exceeding graciousness to all--the sultan ordered breakfast to be brought. the tables were immediately laid, and all assembled ate and drank and conversed in a state of the utmost joy and happiness. [illustration: aladdin finds the princess in africa. page ] "o my lord," said aladdin to the sultan when they had finished the repast, "i crave that thou wilt favour and honour me with thy presence, and that of thy court, to dine with thy well-beloved daughter bedr-el-budur at her palace to-day. i entreat thy felicity to refuse not my request." and the sultan answered with a charming smile, "o my son, thou art too generous; but who could refuse thee anything?" accordingly, in due course, the sultan commanded his suite, and all rode forth with him and aladdin to bedr-el-budur's palace. great was the sultan's wonder and admiration when he saw the architecture and masonry of the structure, for, even without, it was all of the rarest and most costly stone inwrought with gold and silver and fashioned with consummate skill; but when he entered and viewed the entrance hall his breath was snatched away from him, for he had never seen anything so magnificent in his life. at length, finding speech, he turned to the grand vizier and said, "verily, this is the greatest wonder of all. hast thou ever, from first to last, beheld a palace like this?" "o king of the age," replied the vizier gravely, "there hath never been the like of this among the sons of men. it would take ten thousand workmen ten thousand days to construct it; wherefore, as i told thy felicity, its completion in a single night is the work of sorcery." at this the sultan was not pleased. "verily, o vizier," he replied, "thou hast an envious heart, and thou speakest foolishly with thy mouth." at this moment aladdin approached the sultan to conduct him through the rooms of the palace. and, as they went from one to another, the sultan was simply astounded at the wealth of metal and precious stones on every hand, and at the workmanship thereof. as for the vizier, he had said all he had to say, and followed sullenly, nursing an evil heart. at length they came to the kiosk, which was a crowning work of jewel-clusters so rich and splendid that the treasuries of the earth must have been emptied to fill them. the sultan nearly went from his wits in the effort to calculate the fabulous wealth of this apartment alone. his thought sped onward through thousands, millions, of gold pieces; and, losing itself in the thousands of millions, fell back staggering and distraught. for relief he turned this way and that, gazing upon the niches, which were the most precious and wonderful of all. and in this way he came at length to the niche that had been left incomplete. this gave him speech. "alas!" he said, relieved to find a flaw, "this niche, at least, is imperfect." then, turning to aladdin, he enquired the reason of it. "yea, o my lord," answered aladdin, "woe unto it; it is indeed unfinished, for the workmen clamoured to be allowed to prepare themselves for the wedding festivities and i had not the heart to say them nay. so they left it as thou seest it." then, while aladdin stood by observing intently the effect of his words, the sultan stroked his beard in contemplation. "o my son," he said presently, "the thought has come to me to complete it myself." "on the head and eye, o king!" cried aladdin. "and may thy life be prolonged! if thou wilt honour me thus it will be a fitting perpetuation of thy memory in the palace of thy daughter." at this, the sultan, vastly pleased, summoned his jewellers and artificers, and, empowering them to draw on the royal treasury for all they might require, he commanded them to complete the niche. scarcely had the sultan finished his directions in this matter when bedr-el-budur came to greet him. and his heart leapt with joy at her radiant face when he looked upon her. then, when she had confided to him how happy she was, aladdin led them into the banqueting hall, where all was ready. one table was set apart for the sultan and bedr-el-budur and aladdin, and another for the sultan's suite. then the sultan seated himself between aladdin and his daughter, and the meal proceeded. the viands were like ambrosia, and the wine like nectar; and the serving was done by eighty damsels, to each one of whom the moon might have curtseyed, saying, "thy pardon, but i have stolen thy seat." and some of these damsels took musical instruments and played and sang in a manner divine. the sultan's heart expanded, and he said, "verily, this is a feast to which a king might aspire." when they had eaten and emptied their cups the chief memluk opened the way to another room, where the most delicious fruits and sweetmeats were set out against a wealth of delicate flowers and greenery. here the whole assembly lingered long in perfect delight while, upon the soft carpets, the beauteous damsels danced to the sound of sweetest music. never had any of them, including the sultan himself, been so near to paradise before. even the grand vizier shed his envy for the moment and forgot himself to joy. when the sultan's soul was well nigh weary with excess of enjoyment he rose, and, bethinking himself of the unfinished niche, repaired to the kiosk to see how his workmen had progressed with their task. and when he came to them and inspected their work he saw that they had completed only a small portion and that neither the execution nor the material, which was already exhausted, could compare with that of the other niches. seeing this he bethought him of his reserve treasury and the jewels aladdin had given him. wherefore he commanded the workmen to draw upon these and continue their work. this they did, and, in due course, the sultan returned to find that the work was still incomplete. determined to carry out his design at whatever cost the sultan commanded his officials to seize all the jewels they could lay their hands on in the kingdom. even this was done, and lo, still the niche was unfinished. it was not until late on a day thereafter that aladdin found the jewellers and goldsmiths adding to the work the last stones at their command. "hast thou jewels enough?" he asked of the chief artificer. "nay, o my master," he replied sadly. "we have used all the jewels in the treasuries; yea, even in all the kingdom, and yet the work is only half finished." "take it all away!" said aladdin. "restore the jewels to their rightful owners." so they undid their work and returned the jewels to the treasuries and to the people from whom they had been taken. and they went in to the sultan and told him. unable to learn from them the exact reason for this, the sultan immediately called for his attendants and his horses and repaired to aladdin's palace. meanwhile, aladdin himself, as soon as the workmen had left, retired to a private chamber; and, taking out the lamp, rubbed it. "ask what thou wilt," said the slave, appearing on the instant. "i desire thee to complete the niche which was left incomplete," answered aladdin. "i hear and obey," said the slave, and vanished. in a very short space of time he returned, saying, "o my master, the work is complete." then aladdin arose and went to the kiosk, and found that the slave had spoken truly; the niche was finished. as he was examining it, a memluk came to him and informed him that the sultan was at the gates. at this aladdin hastened to meet him. "o my son," cried the sultan as aladdin greeted him, "why didst thou not let my jewellers complete the niche in the kiosk? wilt thou not have the palace whole?" and aladdin answered him, "o my lord, i left it unfinished in order to raise a doubt in thy mind and then dispel it; for, if thy felicity doubted my ability to finish it, a glance at the kiosk as it now stands will make the matter plain." and he led the sultan to the kiosk and showed him the completed niche. the sultan's astonishment was now greater than ever, that aladdin had accomplished in so short a space that which he himself could command neither workmen nor jewels sufficient to accomplish in many months. it filled him with wonder. he embraced aladdin and kissed him, saying there was none like him in all the world. then, when he had rested awhile with his daughter bedr-el-budur, who was full of joy and happiness, the sultan returned to his own palace. as the days passed by aladdin's fame went forth through all the land. it was his daily pleasure to ride through the city with his memluks, scattering gold among the people, and there was no kind of generosity or kindness that he did not practise. his hospitality drew the nobles and grandees to his table, and his name was exalted far and wide. in the chase and on the riding ground there was none could vie with aladdin, and frequently bedr-el-budur, watching from a window in the palace, would glow with love and pride at the sight of his graceful and daring horsemanship in the javelin joust. then she would say within herself, "a lucky one am i to have escaped the vizier's son." now it chanced that the sultan's enemies from distant parts invaded his territory and rode down against him. the sultan assembled his armies for war and gave the chief command to aladdin, whose skill and prowess had found great favour in his eyes. and bedr-el-budur wept when aladdin went forth to the wars, but great was her delight when he returned victorious, having routed the enemy in a great battle with terrible slaughter. many were the tales the soldiers told of aladdin's courage and strength, his daring when, at the head of his troops, he thundered down upon the enemy, sword in hand, and broke and dispersed them. a great triumph was held in the city, for aladdin returned not only with victory, but with much plunder and many flocks and herds of which he had despoiled the enemy. and the sultan rejoiced over aladdin in that he had saved the realm and smitten his enemies; and bedr-el-budur wept upon his breast with delight that he had returned to her safe and sound and covered with glory. the city was illuminated, and everyone feasted and drank by order of the sultan, and praised aladdin by the dictate of their own hearts. so greatly was he magnified by the people of high and low degree that, if any swore, it was by allah in heaven and by aladdin on earth. such was his exalted position in the land. now the fame of aladdin penetrated even to distant parts, so that his name was heard even in the land of the moors, where the accursed dervish dwelt. this sorcerer had not yet made an end of lamenting the loss of the lamp just as it seemed about to pass into his hands. and, while he lamented, he cursed aladdin in his bitter rage, saying within himself, "'tis well that ill-omened miscreant is dead and buried, for, if i have not the lamp, it is at least safe, and one day i may come by it." but when he heard the name "aladdin," and the fame attached to it, he muttered to himself, "can this be he? and hath he risen to a high position through the lamp and the slave of the lamp?" then he rose and drew a table of magic signs in the sand in order to find if the aladdin of destiny were indeed alive upon the earth. and the figures gave him what he feared. aladdin was alive and the lamp was not in the cavern where by his magic he had first discovered it. at this a great fear struck him to the heart, and he wondered that he had lived to experience it, for he knew that at any moment aladdin, by means of the slave of the lamp, might slay him for revenge. wondering that this had not occurred to aladdin's mind he hastened to draw another table; by which he saw that aladdin had acquired great possessions and had married the sultan's daughter. at this his rage mastered his fear and he cursed aladdin with fury and envy. but, though his magic was great, it could not cope with that which slumbered in the lamp, and his curses missed their mark, only to abide the time when they might circle back upon him. meanwhile, in great haste, he arose and journeyed to the far land of cathay, fearing every moment that aladdin would bethink him of revenge by means of the slave of the lamp. yet he arrived safely at the city of the sultan and rested at an inn where he heard naught but praises of aladdin's generosity, his bravery in battle, his beautiful bride bedr-el-budur and his magnificent palace. this gave a biting edge to his envious wrath, and, when he went forth into the ways of the city and still heard groups of people talking of aladdin and the splendour of his state, he approached a young man, and, saluting him with feigned graciousness, said, "o my master, pray tell me, who is this great one that all extol?" and the young man replied, "verily thou art a stranger in the city and from exceeding distant parts if thou hast not heard of aladdin--whose glory be increased! his wonderful palace is the talk of the world." "yea," answered the dervish, "i am a stranger from very distant lands and there is nothing more to my desire than to see the palace, if thou wilt direct me." "on the head and eye," replied the youth; and, leading him through the city, he brought him to aladdin's palace. then, when the dervish scrutinised the wonderful building, he knew it to be the work of the slave of the lamp. "by allah!" he cried when the youth had left him, "i will be even with this accursed tailor's son who got all this through me." he returned to the inn, and, taking his instruments of divination, soon learned that the lamp was not on aladdin's person, but in the palace. at this he was overjoyed, for he had a plan to get possession of it. then he went out into the market and bought a great number of new lamps, which he put in a basket and took back to the inn. when evening was drawing nigh, he took the basket and went forth in the city--for such was his plan--crying, "new lamps for old! who will exchange old lamps for new?" and the people hearing this, laughed among themselves, saying he was mad; and none brought an old lamp to him in exchange for a new one, for they all thought there was nothing to be gained out of a madman. but when the dervish reached aladdin's palace he began to cry more lustily, "new lamps for old! who will exchange old lamps for new?" and he took no heed of the boys who mocked him and the people who thronged him. [illustration: the lady bedr-el-budur and the wicked magician. page ] now fate so willed it that, as he came by, bedr-el-budur was sitting at a window of the kiosk; and, when she heard the tumult and saw the pedlar about whom it turned, she bade her maid go and see what was the matter. the girl went, and soon returned, saying, "o my lady, it is a poor pedlar who is asking old lamps for new ones; and the people are mocking him, for without a doubt he is mad." "it seems proof enough," answered lady bedr-el-budur, laughing. "'old wine for new' i could understand, but 'old lamps for new' is strange. hast thou not an old lamp so that we might test him and see whether his cry be true or false?" now the damsel had seen an old lamp in aladdin's apartment, and hastened to acquaint her mistress with this. "go and bring it!" said the lady bedr-el-budur, who had no knowledge whatever of the lamp and its wonderful virtues. so the maid went and brought the lamp, little knowing what woe she was working aladdin. then the lady bedr-el-budur called one of the memluks and handed him the lamp, bidding him go down to the pedlar and exchange it for a new one. presently he returned, bearing a new lamp, and, when the princess took it and saw that it was a far better one than the old one, she laughed and said, "verily this man is mad! a strange trade, and one that can bring him small profit. but his cry is true, therefore take him this gold to cover his losses." and she gave the memluk ten gold pieces, and bad him hasten. but the memluk returned anon with the ten pieces, saying that the pedlar had disappeared, having left all his new lamps with the people. the lady bedr-el-budur wondered at this, but knew not, nor guessed the terrible consequences of her act. as for the dervish, as soon as he had got the lamp, he recognised it. placing it in his bosom, he left all else and ran, which to the people was only a further proof of his madness. on and on he ran, through the city and its outskirts, until he came to the desert, where at last he was alone. then, and not till then, he took the lamp from his bosom and rubbed it. in a flash appeared the slave of the lamp. "what is thy wish? i am the slave of the lamp which is in thy hands." and the dervish replied, "i desire thee to take the palace of aladdin, with all it contains, and convey it to the land of the moors in africa, and set it down upon the open space within the gardens of my dwelling in that land. take me also with it. i have spoken." "o my master," said the slave, "in the twinkling of an eye it is done. if thou carest to close thine eyes for one moment, when thou openest them thou wilt find thyself within the palace, in thy garden in the land of the moors." and ere the dervish could say, "i have closed my eye and opened it again," he found that it was even so, as the slave had said. the palace and all in it were in his own garden, in his own country, with the sun of africa shining in upon him. now the lady bedr-el-budur was within the palace, but aladdin was not. he had not yet returned from the chase. this thing had taken place after nightfall, so that as yet none had perceived it. but at the hour of the rising of the full moon, the sultan looked forth from a window to admire aladdin's palace in its silver light; what was his surprise to find that there was no palace there! all was bare and open space just as it had been before this wonderful palace was built. "by allah!" he cried in distress and alarm. "can it be that the vizier was right, and that this splendid thing was but the fabric of sorcery, built in a single night and dissolved in a moment like a dream on waking? and my daughter, where is she? oh woe! oh woe!" and the sultan wrung his hands in grief. then presently he summoned the grand vizier, and bade him look forth at the palace of aladdin. and when the vizier looked forth and saw no splendid edifice giving back the rays of the moon, but all as bare as it had been before, he turned to the sultan, his face pale and twitching with excitement. "o king of the age," he said, "doth thy felicity now believe that the palace and all aladdin's wealth were the work of sorcery?" and the sultan did not reply, but beat his breast and plucked his beard; for, apart from sorcery, it was enough for him to know that aladdin's palace was gone and his daughter with it. "where is aladdin?" he demanded at last in wrath. "at the chase," replied the vizier. "then i command thee to have him brought before me at once, pinioned and shackled." a glad man then was the vizier. with all alacrity he issued the sultan's commands to the captains, who went forth with their soldiers to find and seize aladdin. it was a difficult task for them, for they all loved him greatly; and, when they came upon him, they asked his forgiveness, yet took him and led him bound and manacled before the sultan, whose word must be obeyed on the head and the eye. but when the people saw him thus, they one and all armed themselves and followed the soldiers with aladdin to the palace, saying among themselves, "it will be a bad day for the sultan if he cuts off aladdin's head." but the sultan knew not of this rising of the people, and, being filled with rage at the loss of his daughter, no sooner set eyes on aladdin among his captors than he ordered him to the executioner. now when this came to the ears of the people, they surrounded the palace and barred its gates and doors, and raised a great clamour without, so that the sultan sent his grand vizier to ascertain the cause. presently he returned, saying, "o king of the age, the people have risen in a great multitude, and they are shouting that they will pull down the palace over thy head if any harm come to aladdin. wherefore it were better to pardon aladdin, and so avert this great calamity, for it is evident the people love aladdin more than they love us." meanwhile on the scaffold the executioner had spread the mat of death and aladdin was kneeling thereon blindfolded, ready for the blow. the executioner walked round him thrice and then turned towards the sultan, who stood at a window and awaited his command to strike. at this moment the cries of the people grew louder and fiercer and the sultan beheld them scaling the walls of the palace. then fear gat hold of him for the issue, and he signalled to the executioner to stay his hand, and bade the vizier proclaim to the people that aladdin was pardoned. as soon as aladdin was freed from his chains he begged speech of the sultan, and said to him, "o my lord, i thank thee for thy clemency, though i know not yet wherein my offence lay." "o base one," replied the sultan; "hitherto i found thee blameless, but now--" he turned to the grand vizier, adding, "lead him to the windows overlooking his palace, and shew him how it sparkles in the light of the sun." so the vizier took aladdin to the window and bade him look forth. utter amazement fell upon aladdin when he saw that his palace had completely disappeared, leaving no vestige to mark the spot where it had stood. he was so dazed and bewildered that he turned in silence and walked back into the sultan's presence like one in a dream. "well," said the sultan, "where is thy palace? and, what is more to me, where is my daughter?" and aladdin shook his head sorrowfully and spread his hands in helpless despair; but made no other reply for he was dumbfounded. again the sultan spoke: "it was my thought to set thee free so that thou mayest search for my daughter and restore her to me. for this purpose i grant thee a delay of forty days, and, if in that time thou canst not find her, then, by allah! i will cut off thy head." and aladdin answered him, "o king of the age, if i find her not within forty days then i no longer wish to have a head left upon my body." and aladdin went forth sad and dejected. the cries of joy with which the people greeted him fell like lead on his aching heart. he escaped from their goodwill and wandered in the city like one distraught, greeting none, nor raising his eyes to any greeting. for two days he neither ate nor drank for grief at what had happened. finally he wandered beyond the confines of the city into the desert. there, on the bank of a dark pool, he resolved to drown himself and so end his misery. but, being devout and fearing god, he must first perform his ablutions. so he stooped and took water in his hands and rubbed them together, when lo! a strange thing happened; for as his hands came together, he chanced to rub the ring which was on one of his fingers. in a flash the slave of the ring appeared and standing before him, said, "o my master, what is thy desire?" aladdin then was seized with great joy, and he cried, "o slave, i desire my palace and my wife." "alas!" answered the slave, "that i cannot bring about, for this matter is protected by the slave of the lamp who hath put a seal upon it." "then," urged aladdin, "since thou canst not bring the palace and my wife to _me_, transport _me_ to the palace wherever it may be upon the earth." "on the head and the eye," replied the slave, and immediately aladdin found himself borne swiftly through the air and set down by his palace in the land of the moors. although the night had fallen he could recognise it without difficulty, and close at hand was the window of his wife's chamber. great joy at this exhausted what little strength remained to him--for he had neither eaten nor slept for many days--and, overcome with fatigue and weakness, he threw himself down beneath a tree hard by and slept. awakened at dawn by the singing of birds in the garden, aladdin arose, and, having bathed in a stream, recited the morning prayer, after which he returned and sat beneath the window of bedr-el-budur's apartment. now the lady bedr-el-budur, filled with grief at her separation from her husband and her father, could neither sleep nor eat by reason of her keen distress. each day when dawn leapt into the sky she would arise and sit at her window and weep. and on this morning she came as usual, but did not weep, for she saw aladdin sitting on the ground outside. and they both cried out and flew to one another; and their greeting was full of joy. she opened a side door for him, bidding him enter, for she knew it was not the time for the accursed dervish to come to see her as was his daily wont. then, when they had embraced and kissed and shed tears of joy, aladdin said to her, "o my beloved, before all else answer me one question: in my apartment there was an old copper lamp which--," "alas," broke in bedr-el-budur, "that lamp was the cause of it all, for the man who obtained it by a stratagem told me of its virtues and how he had achieved this thing by its aid." and immediately aladdin heard this he knew that it was indeed the dervish who had worked this woe upon him. "tell me, how doth this accursed man treat thee?" he asked. "he cometh once a day," she replied, "and he would fain win my love and console me for thy loss, for he saith the sultan, my father, hath struck off thy head, and at the best thou wert of poor family and stole thy wealth from him. but he gets no word from me, only tears and lamentations." and aladdin embraced her again and comforted her for what she had suffered. "tell me," he asked again presently, "where doth this accursed keep the lamp?" "always in his bosom," she replied, "where he guards it with the greatest care and none knows of it but me." aladdin was overjoyed when he heard this, for he thought he saw a way to obtain the lamp. "listen, my beloved," he said, "i will leave thee now and return shortly in disguise. bid thy maid stand by the side door to let me in. then i will tell thee my plan to slay this accursed one and take the lamp." then aladdin went forth upon the road that led to the city, and he had not journeyed far before he met a poor peasant proceeding to his daily toil. stopping him he offered to exchange his own costly garments for those the peasant was wearing. but the man demurred, whereat aladdin set upon him and effected the exchange by force. then, leaving the peasant battered and bruised but dressed like a prince, he went on into the city, and, coming to the market, purchased some powder of benj, which is called "the son of an instant," for it stupefies in a moment. with this he returned to the palace, and, when he came to the side door where the maid was waiting, she recognised him and opened immediately. very soon he was exposing his plan to bedr-el-budur. "o my beloved," he said, "i wish thee to attire thyself gaily, and adorn thyself with jewels in the sparkle of which no grief can live; and, when the accursed cometh, greet him with a smile and a look from thy lovely eyes; for so he will know thou hast turned his wooing over in thy mind and heart, and hast forgotten thy father and thine aladdin. then invite him to sup with thee, and, when thou hast aroused a blinding passion in his bosom, he will forget the lamp which lieth there. see," he drew forth the powder, "this is benj, the 'son of an instant.' it cannot be detected in red wine. thou knowest the rest: pledge him in a cup and see to it that the benj is in his and not in thine. thou knowest how to ply him till he is careless, how to resist him till he is blinded by thy loveliness, how at last to wish him joy and happiness for ever by thy side so that he will drain the cup. then, o my beloved, ere he can set it down, he will fall at thy feet like one in death. thou canst do this?" "yea," replied bedr-el-budur. "it is difficult, but i will dare all for thee; and well i know that this accursed wretch deserves not to live. yet will i add something to thy plan from a woman's wit. lest he should suspect a trick he shall find me weeping when he cometh; then will i take up some speech of his and dry my tears; and then, in a space--having all things ready--will i appear before him in a manner to dazzle his senses, and then--then--oh! my aladdin; fear not, for all will be well." and on this assurance aladdin withdrew to a private chamber and sat him down to wait. he realised his extreme danger, for he knew that if the dervish so much as suspected his existence in the flesh a rub of the lamp and a word to the slave would bring him instant death; but he did not know that bedr-el-budur, having learnt the virtues of the lamp, had exacted a pledge from the dervish that he would make no further use of it until she had given him her final decision as to whether she would come to him of her own free will and accord, which she maintained was a better thing than subsequently to be compelled by the abominable power of sorcery. bedr-el-budur, who in this was merely temporising, had not thought, in the joy and stress of their conversation, to tell aladdin of it; while, as for the wizard, he had kept his pledge, deeming that a woman's love freely given was a better thing to have than any that could be acquired by magic spells. [illustration: the porter and the ladies. page ] according to the plan set forth for the dervish's undoing bedr-el-budur ordered her slave girls to prepare everything of jewels and bright attire, ready for a rapid toilet. then, when the dervish appeared, she sat weeping as usual, and it was not until, in his protestations of love, he said words that were suitable to her purpose that she paused and half dried her tears as if it needed little more to make her weigh his petition with care. observing this he drew near and sat by her side, and now, though no longer weeping, she had not yet found words for him. he took her hand, but she snatched it away crying, "no, it cannot be! never can i forget aladdin!" he pleaded with her, and his passion made him eloquent. he showed her the uselessness of longing for a dead man when a living one was by her side. he told her too--and with the lamp in his bosom she could not doubt the truth of it--that he and she could command the earth and look down on kings. why had he not already won this as well as her love by means of the lamp? because he had pledged himself to wait and win her as a man wins woman. at this she turned her face to him on a sudden. a faint smile seemed to live in the corners of her bewitching mouth, and a look in her eyes convinced him that he was a much better man than he had thought since he could keep his pledge on so great a matter. on this, he drew still nearer to the lovely bedr-el-budur, and this time she did not snatch her hand away, but left it in his, pondering dreamily the while. presently, on a sudden, she pushed him away petulantly. "nay, nay," she cried, "i cannot rein my heart to thee at will. give me, i pray thee, a little space of time--two days; and when my eyes are dim with weeping for aladdin--" "two days? alas!" broke in the dervish, "two days is a lifetime." "_one_ day--i may decide in one, if weeping do not kill me." the dervish smote his breast, "_one_ day! one _hour_ is the limit of my life. think, o lovely one, how i have waited to win thee as man wins woman, when in a moment i could call thee mine by other means." and his hand moved to his bosom where lay the lamp. "stay!" she cried, rising and standing before him. "thy pledge! my decision is not yet. having waited so long, surely thou canst wait another--" "day? say not that." "well then, at least, another hour." and, flashing a look upon him that might hold his wits in thrall for that space of time, she turned to leave the apartment. "i go to weep," she said, throwing him a backward glance, "and my tears perchance will be for aladdin, perchance for thee if i cannot bend my heart from him. abide thou in patience. i will come to thee in one hour." so she went, leaving the dervish in an ecstasy of doubt. time, times passed over his head as he sat weighing the issue, and yet he smiled to himself, for he knew that the lady bedr-el-budur would sooner compel herself than be compelled by the slave of the lamp. and he was right. at the expiration of the hour the door opened and she stood before him a vision of loveliness in resplendent attire bedecked with priceless jewels. a smile was on her face and her answer to him was in her eyes. yet, as he darted forward, her manner of approach showed him that, although he had won her, she was a surrendering princess demanding in her condescension a fitting control--even homage--from him. having convinced him of this, she seated herself by his side and said boldly, "thou seest how it is with me. my tears for aladdin--who is dead--flowed till the hour was half spent; then, i know not why, they changed to tears of joy for thee, who art alive. then i arose and arrayed myself gladly and came to thee. yet even now i am not wholly thine, for tears--now grief now joy, i know not which--contend in mine eyes for him or thee. wherefore come not too near me lest what thou hast won be forfeited. perchance if we sup together with a jar of the red wine of thine own country--in which it may be that my soul will taste thine--then, who knows--" "o my life's delight," broke in the dervish. "a jar of red wine and thee! i have many jars in my house, and, not forgetting that tears contend in thine eyes as thou saidst, i will go and return in all haste with the reddest wine." "nay, go not thyself," said bedr-el-budur, bethinking her of the lamp. "do not leave me. one of my slave girls will go. my tears have dried in my heart, leaving it thirsty for love." and the dervish was cajoled, and he remained while a slave girl went forth for the wine. while she was gone bedr-el-budur pretended to busy herself issuing orders to the household about the preparation of supper. and under cover of this she sought and found aladdin. "it is well," she said as he held her to his heart and pressed his lips to hers. "but, o my beloved," he replied, "art thou sure that the lamp is in his bosom?" "i will go and see," she answered. and she returned to the dervish and, approaching him shyly, began to doubt the truth of this great thing--his love for her. as she did this she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes; whereat the dervish drew her close to him and she felt the lamp in his bosom. immediately she wrenched herself free and left him with a glance in which disdain and love were kindly mixed. "it is so," she said on returning to aladdin, "the lamp is in his bosom, and, since he embraced me--i could not help it nor could i endure it, beloved--it is a wonder the slave of the lamp did not appear to see how i tore myself away, i was pressed so close." meanwhile the slave girl returned with the wine, and, supper being ready, bedr-el-budur invited the dervish to sit by her at the table. and when they had eaten somewhat, she paused and questioned him with a glance. it was for him to call for wine, and he did so. immediately a slave girl filled their goblets, and they drank; and another and another until the distance between them was melted, and they became, so to speak, the best of boon companions. and he drank to her and she to him, and her tongue was loosed and she bewitched him with her charming eloquence of speech. but with it all was the dignity of the princess, which repelled while it attracted. in this subtle manner she fanned his passion to a flame until his heart rocked and his head swam, and all else but her was as nothing in his eyes. at length, when the supper was drawing to an end, and the wits of the dervish were well mastered by wine, bedr-el-budur leaned towards him in an unbending mood. "this wine of thine has set me on fire, beloved!" she said. "but one more cup and then, if i say thee nay, do not believe me, for thou hast kept thy pledge and hast won me as man wins woman. and this shall be a loving cup, for it is the fashion in my country for the lover to take the loved one's cup and drink it." "o lovely one of my eye," he replied, "i will honour thy custom, since thou hast so greatly honoured _me_." at this bedr-el-budur took his cup and filled it for herself, while a slave girl, who knew what to do as well as she hated the dervish, handed him the cup which, though it contained the benj, she had just filled as if for her mistress. she even had to be told twice that it was not for her mistress but for the guest. so the dervish took it, and felt for one moment like the conqueror of worlds and the lord of two horns as he looked into the eyes of bedr-el-budur brimming with love. but only for a moment. they drank, and immediately the dervish fell senseless at her feet, while the cup, flung from his nerveless hand, clattered across the floor. in the space of moments aladdin was on the spot. bedr-el-budur's arms were round his neck, and she was sobbing on his breast, while the dervish lay stretched helpless before them. "come, come," said aladdin, smoothing her raven hair, "thou hast succeeded: wherefore weep? thou art the cleverest of women. go now with the maidens, and leave me here with this accursed." and when he had comforted her she went, and the slave girls with her. then aladdin locked the door, and, approaching the dervish, drew the lamp from his bosom. this done, he stood over him and swore a fearful oath, then, without further shrift, he drew his sword and hewed off his head, after which he drove the point of the sword through his heart, for only in this way can a wizard be warned off the realm of mortals. and when the sword pierced the heart the look of hate on the upturned face of the wizard died out, and he was gone--for ever. once in possession of the lamp aladdin lost no time. he rubbed it and immediately the slave appeared. "i am here, o my master; what is thy wish?" "thou knowest," replied aladdin. "bear this palace and all that is in it to the land of cathay and set it down on the spot from which thou didst take it at the command of that." he pointed to the dismembered wizard. "it is well," said the slave, who served the living and not the dead; "i hear and obey, on the head and the eye." then aladdin returned to bedr-el-budur, and, in the space of one kiss of love, the palace with all therein was carried swiftly back to the original site from which it had been taken. when aladdin and bedr-el-budur looked forth and saw the lights in the windows of the sultan's palace they were overcome with joy. they feasted and drank and made merry far into the night. they kissed and embraced, and kissed again. and when aladdin had told her all the wretchedness of his losing her she wept, saying it was nothing to what she had endured. then aladdin made her narrate her way with the wizard, point by point, till he exclaimed, laughing, that a woman's way in such was more than a man could compass in a thousand years. and so, full of delight for to-day and anticipation of joy for to-morrow, they rose and went hand in hand to rest--those lovers reunited. thus it was with aladdin and bedr-el-budur. now the sultan was in grievous mood ever since the loss of his daughter--the apple of his eye. all night long he would weep, and, arising at dawn, would look forth on the empty space where once had stood aladdin's palace. then his tears would flow as from a woman's eyes, for bedr-el-budur was very dear to him. but, when he looked forth one morning and saw the palace standing as it had stood, he was rapt with joy. instantly he ordered his horse, and, mounting, rode to the gates. aladdin came out to greet him, and, taking him by the hand with never a word, led him towards the apartments of bedr-el-budur. she too, radiant with joy, was running to meet him. like a bird of the air she flew to his arms, and for some moments neither of them could say a word for very happiness. then in a torrent of words, she told him all about the accursed dervish; how by his sorcery he had conveyed the palace to africa, and how aladdin had slain him, thus releasing the spell and restoring everything to its place. but not a word did she say about the lamp and its virtues. and the sultan turned to aladdin as if he might add something to the tale. but aladdin had nothing to add save that he had outwitted the dervish and reversed his sorcery by cutting off his damnable head and plunging his sword through his heart. then they arose and went to the chamber which contained the trunk and severed head of the dervish. and, by the sultans orders, these remains of the sorcerer were burnt to ashes and scattered to the four winds of heaven. and so aladdin was restored to the sultan's favour, and he and the lady bedr-el-budur dwelt together in the utmost joy and happiness. and aladdin guarded the lamp with the greatest care, but, at the wish of bedr-el-budur, he refrained from seeking to it. "let well alone, my beloved," she said; "there is no happiness for us in commanding everything at will. besides, we are grateful to the lamp for what it has done for us; any more is of sorcery." and aladdin smiled to himself as he recognised the wisdom of a woman. never did he gainsay her words. never again did he rub the lamp. time, times, and the sultan died. then aladdin sat on the throne, and ruled the land wisely and well. and the people, with one heart, loved him and his queen bedr-el-budur; and the realm continued in peace and happiness until at last the great gleaner came in their old age and knocked at the palace doors and gathered them in to rest. [illustration] [illustration: the prince leads the lady to the tomb. page ] the three calenders one night, in the city of baghdad, the khalifeh harun-er-rashid went forth with ja'far, his grand vizier, and mesrur, his executioner, all three disguised as merchants, for it was the khalifeh's whim to wander abroad in this way at times, in order to learn how his people fared among themselves. taking their way at random, they had not gone far before they noticed a brilliantly-lighted house whence came sounds of music and revelry. "o vizier," the khalifeh said to ja'far, "it is in my mind to enter this house, and see what entertainment we might find. wherefore, devise some excuse whereby we may gain admittance." so ja'far knocked at the door, and it was opened presently by a beautiful lady, tall and graceful as a windflower. "o my mistress," said ja'far courteously, "we are merchants from tiberias, and, knowing not this city well, we have lost our way. i perceive that thou art kind, as well as beautiful; and i am emboldened to ask thee for safe shelter in thy house." the lady regarded the three lost merchants with an approving glance, for, though she knew not their high degree, the dignity of state cannot be well concealed from a woman's eyes. "wait a little," she said; "i will consult my sisters." and with this she retired within the house. presently she returned, and bade them enter; whereupon they followed her into a sumptuously furnished apartment, where they found two other ladies as beautiful as the first; and with them was a porter--an amusing fellow, as full of quips and cranks as he was of wine--who had been entertaining them with joke and song and dance. the ladies smiled upon the three merchants, and welcomed them graciously, setting food and wine before them, and bidding them join in their merriment. for a while the porter, who, like the three merchants, had come unbidden, but had been made welcome because of his versatility and ready wit in entertaining, kept the company in constant laughter, so that the khalifeh said to ja'far, "verily, o vizier, we should like this fellow's head and all it contains. nay, o mesrur," he added, turning to his executioner, "i want not his head without the rest of him. he shall be my wag." "o king of the age," answered the grand vizier, "i hear, and obey." meanwhile, the porter continued to amuse them, but at length he became so intoxicated that his efforts to amuse were unsuccessful, whereat the entertainment flagged. "it seems to me," said the khalifeh, "that these three ladies are no ordinary persons; perchance they have a history. ask them to entertain us with their various stories." accordingly, the vizier singled out the eldest and put the question to her. but she liked it not, and, with a clouded brow, led him to the door, on the lintel of which she pointed out an inscription: "ask not what doth not concern thee, lest thou hear what may not please thee." ja'far returned and informed the khalifeh of this, which only served to increase his curiosity. while he was planning a way with the vizier to induce them to tell their history, there came a knock at the door. one of the sisters went to open it, and presently returned, saying, "there, are three dervishes without, each of them clean shaven, and each lacking an eye." "ask them if they were born blind of an eye," said one of the sisters, "and if they are brothers." so the lady went and asked them these questions, and returned presently with the answer: "they were not born blind, but each lost his eye through an adventure; neither are they brothers, having met for the first time in this city, where they have lost their way. they are wandering mendicants or calenders." at this, her sister turned to ja'far. "thou didst desire to hear our stories, o my master, but it seemeth that these dervishes may have stories more interesting to hear. shall we admit them?" the khalifeh added his approval to that of ja'far on this point, and the three calenders were admitted. and strange looking men they were. differing widely in feature and expression, they were all alike in the manner of their dress and general appearance. each had lost one eye; and each had long black moustaches, twisted like silk, and drooping over a clean-shaven chin. being of the order of mendicants, they bowed humbly, and stood silent. "tell us how it is," said the eldest of the sisters, "that you three, being no relation one to another, and each lacking one eye, should be together." "in that," said one of the calenders, "there is no more cause for wonder than that you three women, all unrelated one to another before birth, and all equally beautiful, should find yourselves sisters of one household." at this the khalifeh whispered to ja'far, "this man's speech and address are not those of a mendicant. if i mistake not he hath moved in royal courts." "yet, o my mistress," the first calender continued, "it may be that it was decreed by destiny that we three, coming from three widely separate kingdoms, should meet in this city, the abode of peace, for our conditions appear to be similar. each of us having lost, not only an eye, but a throne--for know that we are kings, and the sons of kings--has been led hither by the same stars, to kneel at the feet of the khalifeh harun-er-rashid and implore his aid in the restoration of our royal state." on hearing this, the khalifeh looked down his beard, saying within himself, "if they knew, they would kneel and implore here and now. but they know not." then a stratagem within a stratagem got hold of him, and he arose and bowed low to the three ladies. "o my mistresses," he said, "whose beauty is unequalled, save by that of each to each, i crave your permission. it seems there is an entertainment in this matter. here we have three royal calenders suppliant to the khalifeh--on whom be peace! now, it will be good for them to rehearse their parts for our amusement; for so, when at last they gain audience of the khalifeh, they will be well versed. grant me then the privilege, o fair ones, to play the part of the khalifeh, for i am not unskilled in the art of such play. indeed, i have appeared before the khalifeh himself--("in a mirror," assented ja'far, in thought),--and he was greatly pleased with my impersonation and my appearance." "verily," said one of the sisters, in approval, "thou art a kingly man, and thou wilt play the part well. what say you, o my sisters?" she added, turning to the other two. they agreed, laughing, and clapping their hands, for they liked the idea of real suppliants rehearsing to a stage khalifeh. "good!" cried one, "and these calenders will approach thee as if thou wert in sober truth the khalifeh." "and," rejoined er-rashid, "as if these two were indeed my grand vizier, ja'far, and mesrur, my executioner." loudly the two laughed at the khalifeh's happy conceit, and preened themselves for office, ja'far assuming his old look of terrible solemnity, while mesrur, drawing his great sword, with a grin, struck an attitude that many had beheld for the last time. the calenders unbent to the play; the ladies sprang into animation; even the porter was rolled from a couch to give place to the khalifeh, who sat himself thereon in royal state. "on pain of death, o calenders," said the khalifeh--and all except ja'far and mesrur marvelled at his royal dignity--"i command you to make known to me severally the stories of your lives, for i would fain learn how each of you came to lose a throne, and an eye." on this, the royal calenders, taking up the jest in a proper spirit, advanced and kissed the ground. "rise!" said the khalifeh, imitating himself to perfection, "and see to it that your stories please not only me, but mesrur, my executioner; for his sword hath a cutting edge, and i observe that you have your heads with you." singling out one of the three, he commanded the other two to stand aside. then the first royal calender spoke as follows:-- the story of the first calender know, o prince of the faithful, that i am a king, the son of a king, and one robbed of his heritage. my father's brother was also a king, and his son, my cousin, was born on the same day as myself. we two princes were friends, and paid long visits to each other. on one occasion, when i was staying with him, he made much of me, honouring me with a rich banquet. when this was over, and we were alone, and the wine had made us genial, he drew near to me, and said: "o my cousin, i desire thine assistance in a matter that concerneth me greatly." "i will serve thee without question, o son of my uncle," said i. but he made me swear by the holiest oath that i would assist him in his undertaking. then, when he was satisfied, he left me for a little, and returned with a beautiful young woman, dressed in the manner of a queen. "lead this woman before me," he said, "to the place of sepulture, which thou knowest. enter that place, and await my coming." wondering greatly, but questioning nothing, i led the woman forth, and we waited for him among the tombs. soon he came, bearing a bowl of water, some plaster, and a pointed bar of iron. approaching a certain tomb, he dislodged the stones with the iron bar, and disclosed a vault with a stairway descending into it. then, addressing the woman, he said: "hast thou chosen?" and she replied, with a steady gaze, "yea, i have chosen." and she descended the stairway into the vault. then he said to me: "cousin, farewell! for i too descend. place the stones together above us, and cement them with the plaster moistened with the water, so that none can say, 'this vault is not as it should be.' farewell! and may thy head long survive mine!" with this, he descended into the vault. bound by my oath, and like one compelled against his will, i did his bidding, ceasing not until i had closed up the tomb in such a way that none could tell it had been opened. but that night i was visited by terrible dreams, which magnified the enormity of what i had done. repentance pricked me, and i arose, and went to the place of sepulture. there i searched for the tomb, but alas! so cleverly had i done my work that i could not trace it. all day long i sought it, but in vain; and, when evening fell, i returned to the palace burdened with grief and remorse. again my sleep was disturbed with dreams of horror, so that at daybreak, repenting of my action still more keenly, i repaired a second time to the burial place. but again my search was unsuccessful. and so i continued for seven days, searching and calling out among the tombs, but never could i find the place of my quest, nor from any tomb came back an answer to my cry. at last, nearly mad with grief and remorse, i left my uncle's palace to return to my father. but there fresh trouble awaited me, for, no sooner had i entered the gates of the city, than a party of guards sprang upon me, and bound me, and cast me into a dungeon. o prince of the faithful, imagine my despair. i was the son of the king, and his servants had treated me in this manner. with anger i enquired the cause of this, but none answered me. at last i saw one who had been my own servant, and had received many benefits at my hands. i put the question to him, and he replied: "o my master, thy father is no more, for the grand vizier hath killed him, and now sitteth in his place." at this i bowed my head in grief for my father, and despair for my own life. and they led me before the grand vizier who had slain my father. now this vizier had never been my friend, especially after an accident in which i was made instrumental by fate in depriving him of one of his eyes. it happened in this way: one day i was using the cross-bow when i saw a rare bird alight on the parapet of one of the windows in the vizier's palace. i shot at it, but the missile struck not the bird, which was protected by providence. passing it narrowly it sped in at the window, and, guided by destiny, struck out the eye of the vizier. my father being king the vizier could do nothing against me, but the malice and hatred with which he had always regarded me from two eyes lost naught through being concentrated into one. no wonder then that now, my father being dead, and i standing before this regicide, bound and helpless, he fiercely commanded the executioner to strike off my head. [illustration: the prince meets a noble lady in the underground palace. page ] "what is my offence?" i asked. "offence!" he cried. "is not this offence enough?" and he pointed to the socket where his eye had been. "that was done by accident," i said. "and this by design," he answered, advancing swiftly and thrusting out my left eye. he then commanded me to be bound, and placed in a chest, and when this was done, he said to the executioner: "take this carrion, and convey it beyond the confines of the city. there draw thy sword, and cut it in pieces, so that the wild beasts may the more readily devour it." accordingly, the executioner carried me forth upon a mule into the desert, where he took me out of the chest, and was about to kill me, when i implored him to spare my life, reminding him of the many kind deeds my father and i had done to him and to others. he was moved by my supplications, but shook his head, saying: "o my master, if i slay not thee, the vizier will slay me." "the vizier is not here to see," i said. "there is none here but thee and me." he was silent for a little. then he said: "depart with thy life, and return not to this country, lest both our lives be forfeit." when he had said this, i thanked him, and kissed his hands; then, lest he might change his mind, i fled from him, and ceased not to journey night and day until i reached my uncle's palace. there i related to my uncle all that had taken place, and he wept with excess of grief. "woe cometh on woe," he said, "for know that thy cousin, my son, hath gone from me, and hath not returned for many days. none knoweth where he is, nor what fate hath overtaken him. nephew, thou hast lost a father, and one of thine eyes; and now, woe is me! i have lost a brother, and an only son." on witnessing his terrible grief i could no longer remain silent regarding the disappearance of my cousin. i told him all. "by allah!" he cried, joyfully. "where is this tomb of which thou speakest?" "alas! o my uncle," i replied; "i know not. i searched for it for many days, but could not find it." on this my uncle commanded a company of workmen to proceed to the burial place, and there, in our presence, they opened tomb after tomb. in this manner, on the evening of the second day, when a great number of tombs had been opened and closed again, we came upon what we soon discovered to be the right one. when the stones had been dislodged, my uncle descended the stairway, and i followed. on reaching the bottom, we were met by a blinding smoke. enduring this, we found our way into an apartment wherein was a table bearing food of many kinds. at the far end of this apartment we found a curtain. my uncle drew this aside, and we looked within upon a sight of horror. there, side by side upon a couch, were the forms of my cousin and the lady, charred by fire, as if they had been thrown into a furnace. on seeing this terrible thing, my uncle uttered a loud cry, and spat upon his dead son's face. "wretch!" he exclaimed. "thou art come into thine own, and hast gone where worse awaits thee for this deed. may thou never find forgiveness!" and he spat again upon the charred face. "wherefore, o my uncle?" i said. "is not his state already grievous enough that thou must invoke a worse fate upon him?" "o son of my brother," he replied, "thou knowest not the sin of this accursed. from his youth he was inflamed with love for his foster sister, who now lies there upon the couch, and, in defiance of my will, he persisted in and encouraged this passion. while they were children i let it pass, saying, 'they are young: they will grow out of it.' but, alas! when they came of age i discovered that they were both deeply enamoured of each other. then i took my son, and counselled him, and bade him beware lest any act of his should bring us to dishonour, and i told him that if such occurred, i would slay him with my own hand. i then took steps to separate them, but who can lock love out? for when he knew my will, he called the devil to his purpose, and he entered and took possession of them both. and so it was that he made this secret place among the tombs wherein they met. but fire from heaven consumed them, as thou hast seen, and now they are further punished in the fires of iblis." then he wept bitterly, and i covered my head, and wept with him. and when at last he could speak, he said: "but his place shall be filled by thee. thou art now my son in his stead." long time we wept together there in the tomb by the side of the charred bodies of the dead, for we had no lack of trouble upon our heads. then we arose, and ascended the stairway, and my uncle ordered the workmen to replace the stones upon the tomb. sadly we turned away, and retraced our steps to my uncle's palace. there we were about to dispose ourselves to rest when we heard unwonted sounds without--the tramp of an advancing host; the clank of armour, and loud cries of dismay from the populace. drums beat and trumpets sounded; shrieks came out of riot, and groans issued from the wake of galloping hoofs. then came a eunuch running, his face distorted, and his garb dishevelled. "the city is lost!" he cried. "on a sudden, being taken unawares, it is surrendered to the enemy. o king, thy brother's vizier hath slain him, and he hath now come hither with his army, and none can stand against him." at this, my uncle arose, and hastened forth; but i, knowing full well what would happen to me if i fell into the vizier's hands, remained, and took thought on how i might escape unobserved by any of my father's city. i could think of naught but to shave off my beard, and change my clothes, thus disguising myself. this i did in all haste, and so made my way through the turbulent crowds of people, and escaped. far, far to the north i knew was the city of baghdad, the abode of peace; and i bent my steps hither, for i said within myself, "there abideth the khalifeh, the prince of the faithful, and the king of the age. i will go and kneel at his feet, and humbly entreat him to strike mine enemy, and restore to me my father's throne." and when i arrived in this city some few hours since, it was night. i stood at the cross roads, not knowing which way to turn, when one like myself, a mendicant, drew nigh, and i saluted him. "i am a stranger," i said. "canst thou direct me to a khan for shelter?" and he replied, "i too am a stranger, and would put the same question to thee." but lo, as i looked at him, i saw that he was in like case with me, having lost his left eye. i was about to question him on this, when a third mendicant came out of the night, and accosted us. "by allah!" cried the two of us in a breath, "and thou too hast lost an eye!" "verily," said he, "we are all strangers one to another, but the stars have enmeshed us in their network, and so have drawn us together with one purpose." "and that is?" we asked. "to seek audience of the khalifeh," he answered; "for the tables of the stars have told me that i, a king, and the son of a king, should meet in this city two others who, royal like myself, have planned to seek the khalifeh of the lord of all creatures, craving redress for wrongs." and the three of us marvelled at this thing, and at the exact computation of time and space in the mind of destiny. and thus, from strangers we speedily came to be friends, having a common object. then, proceeding forth together, we came at length to this house, where, by the grace of these hospitable ladies, we relate our true stories as if to the---- "as if?" cried mesrur, grasping his sword, and clanking it on the table before him. "as if!" echoed ja'far, springing from his seat with well-feigned indignation. "silence!" cried er-rashid, rising in stately wrath. "o calender, thy story is good, but if thou wert about to say 'as if to the khalifeh' thou wert out of order. when i play a part, i play a part. i _am_ the khalifeh! the prince of the faithful! the king of the age!" the ladies laughed, with beaming eyes. the three royal calenders yielded to the jest with winks and nods to one another; then, as the porter grovelled the floor in mock obeisance to the lord of the earth, the others followed in like spirit, and prostrated themselves in all humility. "peace be on you!" said er-rashid. "rise, and be seated! as for thee, o calender, thy case is extraordinary, and i will see to it that thou art restored to thy throne. now it is our royal will that ye proceed with this entertainment." at this, the second calender advanced, and, having kissed the ground, rose, and spoke as follows:-- the story of the second calender o king of the age, my story is such that none hearing it need lack a lesson or a warning. i, a king, the son of a king, devoted my youth and early manhood to the study of the arts and sciences, so that i became proficient, and excelled greatly in all branches of learning. my fame as a scribe spread far and wide, even to india, so that the king of that land sent a messenger with rich gifts to my father, requesting that i might be allowed to visit him. this pleased my father, and he fitted out a fleet of ships laden with rich gifts, and set them at my disposal. with a goodly company i sailed eastward, and after many days reached land. disembarking some splendid horses we had brought with us, we loaded them with gifts and set out for the king's capital, but we had not proceeded far when a cloud of dust arose in the distance and swept rapidly toward us, with a sound like thunder; and, not until it was near at hand did we observe, outstripping the cloud, a large body of horsemen. wild-eyed and fierce, and with lances poised, these rode down upon us. we shouted to them that we were ambassadors to the king of india, but this was of no service to us, for it appeared that these men were robbers and recognised no king. this we learned from their cries and shouts as they swept upon us, slaying all within reach of their spears. some of us fled. i was one of them, though i was wounded; and so closely were the robbers occupied with the treasure upon the horses, that they did not pursue. separated from the other survivors, and not knowing which way to search for them, i journeyed on and on, weak from loss of blood, and wretched from my change of state, until in the evening i discovered a cave at the foot of a mountain. here i rested until the morning, when, after having journeyed on for some hours, i found i was approaching a great city. with joy i made my way towards its sunlit towers and spires, passing through gardens of ever-increasing luxuriance, until i came to the busy parts of the thoroughfares, where merchants thronged the market places, buying and selling. not knowing how to proceed in this city, i looked about for someone who might give ear to my tale, and advise me what to do. at last i espied a tailor sitting at work in his shop, and decided that i would speak with him. he received me kindly, and i told him my tale, acquainting him with all that had happened since i left my father's capital. when i had finished he shook his head gravely, and said: "my son, verily thou art in hard case, though it is fortunate thou camest to me with thy story, and not to another. knowest thou not that the king of this city is thy father's greatest enemy, having a blood-debt against him? wherefore, tell not thy tale again to any, lest the king hear of it, and inflict an injury of vengence upon thee." the tailor then treated me with hospitality, setting food and wine before me, and bade me remain in his house awhile. when he had harboured me for some days, the tailor desired to know if i had any trade by means of which i could earn my living. whereat i informed him that i was learned in the arts and sciences, and a fine writer. "alas!" he said, "there is no profit in such things. this is a city of commerce, where people devote themselves to getting money. arise, therefore, o my son, and work for thy living." he then fetched an axe and a coil of rope, and bade me go to the forest without the city and hew firewood, which, on my return in the evening, i might sell for a good price. so i followed his counsel, and, when i found that my day's work brought me half a gold piece, i continued to dwell with the tailor, and hewed wood for the space of a whole year, paying my way, and steadily setting by something of my earnings day by day. then a strange thing happened to me. one day, while i was clearing the earth from the roots of a tree in the forest, i came upon a ring of brass. this, i soon discovered, was attached to a trap door, which, with some difficulty, i removed. then, seeing before me a staircase, i descended until i reached a door, by which, on opening it, i found admittance to a large underground palace, richly furnished. on wandering through the rooms of this place, i came at length to one more richly decorated than all the others; and here, reclining upon a couch, was a lady of surpassing loveliness. the rarity of her charms dazzled me and took my breath away, so that i stood speechless before her. "art thou a man?" said the lady, regarding me intently, "or art thou an efrite?" this loosened my tongue, and i replied, "i am a man, as thou art a woman." she answered, "yea, i am a woman, and thou art the first man i have seen for a space of twenty-five years, every day and night of which i have spent in this place. how camest thou hither?" [illustration: the princess burns the efrite to death. page ] her voice was sweet as her face was fair, and my heart was melted at the thought of her long captivity. i resolved to tell her my story, for here at least was one who could not spread it abroad in the bazaars. accordingly i seated myself on the couch at a little distance from her, and related my story from beginning to end; whereupon she wept at my hard lot, saying, "o my master, thy case is not unlike mine." and she proceeded to acquaint me with it. "i am the daughter of the king of the ebony isles," she said. "my father married me to my cousin, but on the night of our wedding an efrite--a true son of iblis--appeared, and, snatching me from my husband, carried me through the air to this spot where he had built this palace and filled it with all things necessary to my comfort. and from that night, twenty-five years ago, to the present, i have never seen the outside world. on every tenth day he cometh to me, to leave me on the following morning, but if i desire his instant presence at any time, i have but to press this panel of the wall whereon are inscribed some magic characters, and immediately he appeareth before me. four days have now passed since he was here, so that there remain six of the ten. do thou therefore dwell here with me for five days, and depart one day before he cometh." i agreed to this, and when i had bathed, and put on some garments which she gave me, i sat by her side, and we ate and drank, and conversed happily together. presently she sang to me in a sweet low voice, and, being fatigued, as well as drowsy with wine, i slept. when i awoke, she was bending over me, with joy on her face. "allah hath been good to me in sending thee here," she said; "for i was nigh to death with loneliness." at this my heart swelled with love for her, and i could think of naught else but her wondrous charm and beauty. and when i told her this, she said nothing, but the light of her eyes told me all there was to tell. and i remained with her in the greatest joy and happiness. we feasted, and drank, and sang; and, while i played upon musical instruments, she danced with a grace and skill that i had never seen before. at length, on the third day, when i was drunk with love and wine, i said to her: "let me take thee from this sumptuous dungeon, and free thee from this vile efrite." but perchance she knew that this would be impossible, for she replied, laughing softy, "hold thy peace, o man; thou hast nine days out of the ten." this inflamed me, and my passion made me valiant. "it is the tenth day i want," i cried, "and the other nine as well. lo here! i am a slayer and a conqueror of efrites. i will this instant break this panel with the magic signs, so that the efrite may come and be slain." with a cry she sprang forward to stop me, but i escaped from her embrace, and, aiming a violent kick at the panel, broke it. "flee for thy life ere he cometh," she cried, pointing towards the door. i scarcely knew whether to flee or to remain and face the efrite, but my feet settled the matter for me, and i gained the doorway in a bound. then, turning my head, i saw the ground open, and there rose into the room an efrite of terrible aspect, who looked threateningly at the woman, and demanded to know the cause of his being summoned in such a manner. "nay, it was naught," said she, "save that i tripped and fell against the panel, breaking it as thou seest." "thou liest!" he cried, in a voice of rage, and, as he said it, his eyes, rolling round in his head, fell upon my sandals and my axe, which in my haste i had left. "ha!" he exclaimed, snatching them up, "some man hath visited thee, and hath left his axe and his sandals. confess, vile woman!" but she denied it, saying, "no man hath visited me, and thou must have brought these things with thee, for i have never set eyes on them until this instant." "again thou liest!" he roared, "and unless thou tell me his name, i will beat thy body black and blue." with this he turned to look for the wherewithal to beat her, and, at sight of his fierce face and huge bulk, my heart turned to water within me, and i fled up the stairway. before i reached the top i heard the sound of blows, followed by loud cries and shrieks from the woman. full of bitter repentance that she should suffer thus on my account, and unable to endure the sounds of torture, i hastened through the trap door and fastened it behind me. then, when i had covered it with earth, i fled through the forest and paused not till i had gained the house of the tailor. i found him in a state of great anxiety on my account, for i had been absent three days and three nights. "i feared thou hadst fallen a prey to some wild beast," he cried, "but praise be to god that thou art safe!" i thanked him, and, saying that i was fatigued and would tell him all later, went to my own apartment to weep over what had come to that poor woman through my rash action. but i had not been there many minutes when the tailor came to me, saying, "there is one, a foreigner, in the shop, who desires to speak with thee. he hath an axe and a pair of sandals, which he thinks are thine, and the other woodcutters have directed him to thee; so come forth to receive them, and to thank him." with this, he returned to the shop, leaving me pale with fear, for well i knew the meaning of this thing. while i was planning what to do--whether to go into the shop, or escape by some other way--the floor was rent asunder, and there rose from it the efrite. in a loud voice he told me that he had tortured the lady nigh to death, but without avail, for she would tell him nothing; whereat he had taken the axe and the sandals, and, by enquiries, had traced me to the tailor's abode. with this, he seized me and bore me aloft through the roof of the house, and thence rapidly through the air into the forest, where he descended through the earth and placed me within the chamber of the palace from which i had fled. there, on the floor, laid the lady, bleeding from the wounds inflicted by the efrite's torture. "shameless woman!" cried he, standing over her; "here is thy lover: deny it not." she glanced at me, and answered him: "i have never set eyes on this man before." he appeared to take thought for a moment, and then he said: "thou wilt swear that thou lovest not this man?" she answered him: "i know him not; i love him not." the efrite drew his sword. "if thou lovest him not," said he, "take this sword and strike off his head." she took the sword from him, and, coming towards me, raised it to strike; but i made a sign with my eye, imploring her pity. she replied also with a sign, as if to say, "i have suffered all this through thee." but i still implored her with the speech of the eye, for, as the poet saith: the language of the eye, like the kisses of the mouth is sweet as honey, and only lovers understand it. when the lips are closed, love openeth the windows of the soul, and conveyeth its meaning by soft glances. and when my meaning was thus conveyed to her, she flung away the sword and faced the efrite, crying, "i cannot slay him, for he hath done me no injury." the efrite answered her not, but, taking up the sword, handed it to me. "strike off her head," he said, "and i will set thee free." i took the sword, and arose to do the deed; but, while my arm was raised to strike, love spoke again from her eyes. my hand trembled, my heart melted. i flung the sword from me. "wherefore should i slay this woman, who hath done me no injury, and whom i have never seen before?" i said to the efrite. "never before god can i commit this crime." the efrite took the sword, and saying, "it is clear there is love between you," he cut off one of the lady's hands, then the other, and then both her feet. and, in her pain, her eyes were turned on me, and the words of love were in them. the efrite saw her look, and cried, "is it not enough? wilt thou still commit the crime of unfaithfulness with thine eye?" and, raising the sword again, he cut off her head. "o man," he said, turning to me, "it is lawful for one, having known his wife for twenty-five years, to kill her for the crime of unfaithfulness. as for thee, i will not permit thee to join her. i will not take thy life, but, as i am minded to punish thee, i will give thee thy choice as to whether thou wilt be changed into the form of a dog, or an ass, or an ape." since he had shewn me this clemency, i thought by pleading to melt him further, so that perchance he would pardon me altogether. therefore, i recited many instances of kindness and generosity shewn by efrites to mortals, some of which i had gleaned from books, while others i invented then and there, with a ready wit. but, though the efrite listened, his bearing changed not towards me one hair's breadth. "thou hast been misinformed," he said at last. "the efrite knows neither kindness nor generosity: he is only constrained by the justice of those who have sovereignty over him. wherefore, hold thy peace, and neither fear that i shall slay thee, nor hope that i shall pardon thee. thou shalt be punished by the power of enchantment, and thou knowest not how to prevent it." immediately on these words, he stamped the floor with his foot, and the sides of the palace rocked on their foundations, and fell together; but seizing me, he clove a way through the falling structure, and bore me aloft to a great height. presently he set me down upon the summit of a high mountain, where he took up a handful of dust, and, having chanted some strange words over it, cast it upon me, crying, "change thy form, o man! retain thy form, o ape!" and immediately i suffered a rending pang in my bones and flesh, and behold, i was a man ape, old and ugly, and clothed only with hair. when i looked up from examining my ungainly limbs, the efrite had disappeared. long i remained, crouching on the summit of that mountain, realising my punishment, the keenness of which lay in the fact that it was only my form that was changed. my memory, my mental powers, and my likes and dislikes all remained to me, though i was bereft of the power of articulated speech. at last, rousing myself, i descended the mountain, subdued and resigned, to meet whatever further fate awaited me. i journeyed on through strange places, meeting no human being nor any of my present kind in the forests and deserts through which i passed, and subsisting on berries which i gathered from the trees. finally, i came to the seashore, and lo, there was a vessel making towards the land. presently the ship cast anchor, and some sailors landed in a small boat with some barrels, by which i knew that they were seeking water. there were six of these barrels, and when they had filled three of them from a spring some little distance inland, and had gone again with the other three to fill them also, i jumped into the boat, and secreted myself behind the three barrels, saying within myself, "if i can get on to the ship unobserved, and hide, i may reach a better land than this." presently the sailors returned with the remaining barrels, and placed them in the boat. i remained undiscovered, and when we reached the vessel's side, i leapt on board, and hid myself. but alas! i was soon observed, and not being able to explain my position there, knew not what my end would be. moreover, the merchants who found me clamoured that i should be cast into the sea to drown, for they said, "this ugly brute will be unlucky to us, and, if he remain on the ship, we shall meet with some grievous misfortune." while they were discussing among themselves whether to slay me with the sword, or cast me overboard to drown, the master of the ship chanced to spy me, and as soon as i saw him, and knew him for the master, i ran forward and threw myself at his feet, clutching and tugging his garment in the endeavour to excite his compassion. and in this i was successful, for he looked down at me with interest, saying: "in truth, this is an intelligent ape; see how he claims my protection! by allah! he shall have it! know, o ye merchants, that this is _my_ ape, wherefore harm him not, nor hinder him in his coming and going." he then took me, and treated me henceforth with the greatest kindness; and, in return for this, i proved myself still more intelligent by serving him in every way i could. when he discovered that i could understand everything he said to me, although i could not speak myself, his astonishment was great. "by the prophet!" he cried, with a great laugh, "methinks this ape hath already forgotten much that i have yet to learn." meanwhile, we sailed many days upon the sea, until at last we reached a great city built upon the side of a mountain. the houses of this city were numberless, and the inhabitants thereof beyond all reckoning. scarcely had we cast anchor, and set foot on land, when there came to us some high officials of the king of that city, with many greetings and congratulations on our fortunate journey. "our king hath seen thy vessel drawing near," said one of them to the master, "and he bade me say to thee: 'thine is a large vessel, and no doubt there are many passengers on board. is there, perchance, one amongst them who is a skilled caligraphist?' for thou must know, o my master, that since the death of one of the king's viziers,--a marvellous writer,--he hath searched the city in vain to find his equal. wherefore he hath sent thee this roll of parchment whereon he desireth that each of thy company write a line as candidate for the high office left vacant." immediately on hearing this, i sprang past the master, and seized the parchment, whereat there was great consternation lest i should tear it to pieces. but when i ran to a bale of goods near by, and, seating myself upon it, held the paper correctly with one hand, while making the motions of writing with the other, the master said, "let him write. he is a most marvellous ape, and i have yet to discover the full extent of his intelligence." out of curiosity, the officials, who were incredulous in the matter, agreed, and i was supplied with pen and ink. then i wrote in a large formal hand:-- he who writes will perish, though his writing live after him; let him write, therefore, only what will stand to the end of time. then in the epistolary hand i wrote: o king, thy virtues are so many and so great, fame has not space to set them on her page. ten thousand writers, writing for an age, one half thine excellence alone could indicate. to these i added, in several smaller and different hands, other quatrains in praise of the king; and, having finished, i gave the parchment to the official. when he saw my writing he could not contain his astonishment. he passed it round among the merchants, all of whom marvelled greatly, while some, thinking they could outwrite what i had written, took pen and ink, and wrote. finally, the official and his party returned with the parchment to the king. [illustration: the prince is taken back to the golden palace by the magic black horse. page ] now, it seems that when the king had read all that was inscribed upon the parchment, he liked none of it but mine; and, having summoned his attendants, he said to them: "take this parchment and find the author of this handwriting. clothe him in a splendid robe, and mount him upon the best of my horses, and bring him hither." on this, the officials who stood by could not restrain their laughter, so that the king was incensed at their behaviour, and was about to mark his displeasure by swift punishment when their chief advanced and explained the matter. "o king, didst thou only know why we laugh, thou wouldst laugh louder than any of us. we crave thy felicity to pardon us, but this writing was done, not by any son of adam, but by an ape, which belongeth to the master of the ship." "what?" said the king, "this excellent work done by an ape?" "yea, your majesty, it is even so, on the head and the eye. this ape, which is at least a hundred years old, and proportionately ugly, wrote those quatrains in our presence." the king laughed heartily and said, "make haste, and bring this ape before me in the manner i commanded, for i have never heard of anything so wonderful." and he gave them a written and sealed order to the master of the vessel. o prince of the faithful, i learnt all this that i have told thee from their narration to the master on their arrival. on seeing the king's order the master handed me over to them, and they clothed me with the splendid robe, and placed me upon the king's horse. great was the wonder of the people when the procession started for the palace. seeing an ugly ape, dressed in a royal robe and mounted upon the king's most splendid steed, their laughter died a sudden death in their throats, and they gaped and wondered. the rumour of my progress went before, and the way was soon thronged with people of high degree and low, while from the windows of houses and palaces looked forth a multitude of citizens to witness this strangest of all spectacles. then, gradually, arose a great cry of wonder and astonishment, which spread throughout the city: had the king chosen an ape for his grand vizier? what marvellous thing was this? but the king was the king, and the people was the people, and none among them could doubt his doings. and so i rode on in dignified procession. * * * * * [at this point in the story, the khalifeh, set off by the three ladies, could not forbear laughing. "verily," he said, slapping his hand on his knee, and rocking with mirth, "were i in reality the prince of the faithful, and not a poor impersonator, so would i laugh at the thought of this solemn ape, clad in a royal robe, and mounted on the king's horse, proceeding in stately dignity through the city." then, mastering his laughter, he added, to ja'far, "o vizier, i play my part badly when i say 'were i in reality the prince of the faithful,' for thou knowest, and my executioner knows, that i _am_ the khalifeh!" loudly did ja'far and mesrur laugh at this, and the others joined them, and clapped their hands, saying it was an excellent piece of play acting. "proceed, o royal brother!" said the khalifeh with grave dignity; and the story was resumed.] arriving at the palace i soon found myself before the king seated on his throne in a vast chamber, where were assembled the great ones of the earth. i made my obeisance three times to the king, and then, when he motioned me to be seated, i sat down, in the fashion of an ape, upon my haunches. so far, my intelligent respect to royalty commanded the admiration at once of the king and his subjects, for my performance required only the gift of speech to render it perfect. the king then ordered his court to withdraw, saving only his chief memluk, a young slave, and myself. he then bade us follow him into his private apartment, where he ordered food to be served. when it was ready, he beckoned me to approach and eat. at this i advanced and kissed the ground before him seven times, after which i sat down at the table and ate. when the repast was over i took a broad leaf from the flower-pod of a palm near at hand, and having signed to the slave to bring me pen and ink, wrote upon it the following verse: know, o blade that enclosed the flower of the palm! that what thou protectedst less beautiful seems, being now thus revealed, than the favour of kings unbladed to me by the finger of fate. having written this, i placed it before the king and arose, and seated myself at a little distance. but when he had read it, his face was distressed with wonder. "this surpasseth all," said he. "how can an ape possess such skill in the writing and rounding of a verse?" and he was overcome with astonishment. he motioned me to approach him, and said, "thou art a wonderful ape: drink to me in this my favourite liquor!" and he handed me his cup. i took it and drank, and as soon as i felt the warm impulse of the liquor i was quickened in my inspiration, and wrote upon the cup: stronger than the blood of heroes, sweeter than a woman's kiss; rare and royal though its savour, joy less fine than kingly favour lies in this. the king took the cup, and read what i had written. "by allah!" he exclaimed. "find me the man who hath the skill of this ape!" still wondering greatly as to the extent of my learning and intelligence, the king called for a chessboard; and, setting it before me, questioned me by signs as to whether i understood the game. by way of assent, i kissed the ground, and humbly seated myself before the board. now my name, as a chessplayer, had gone forth through all lands, but it still remained for me, as an ape, to justify that name. solemn and silent we sat at the board--the king of a vast territory matching his skill (of which i had heard, as he had heard of mine, from afar) against that of an ape. knowing all the science of the game, much of which i had myself discovered, i tested his skill by various openings, saying within myself, "this game i will not win, provided that i learn his measure." it so fell out that i lost, and the king, noting the character of my play, was pleased at his success. "another game," said he, resetting the pieces. this time, knowing his play, i held back in my moves, and awaited his openings. at length he made one which i knew, for i myself had invented it. "that," said he, "is the opening of prince eymar, whose treatise i have studied. i will allow thee a space to study it, and reply." what was his surprise when i replied immediately with the counter move! at that, from excess of wonder, he was unstrung, and, knowing not the following moves as well as i, he lost. again we played, a third time, and i, seeing from his eagerness that he had still something to spring upon me, fell in with his moves until we reached the position which was the crowning point of my treatise. at length it came to a pass which i well knew. there was only one way out--a pawn in a distant corner of the board. i moved it readily. "by allah!" he cried, upsetting the board with all that was on it, "thou art the most intelligent--as well as the ugliest--ape i ever saw." then, to appease him, i bethought myself of the battlefield of sixty-four squares, and wrote the following stanza on the edge of the board: two armies met and fought, and in the fight were many slain; yet peace succeeded; and that night each drank success to each, and drank again. during all this, the perplexity of the king had waxed greater and greater. at length, in order that his wonder might be shared by another, he sent for his only daughter--the lady of beauty--in order that she might witness these unheard of doings of an ape. no sooner had she entered the apartment than she hastily adjusted her veil. "sire," said she, "why dost thou summon me thus into the presence of men?" "nay, o my daughter," answered the king, "there is none here but myself, a eunuch, a slave, and this ape." her fingers fastened her veil more closely as she replied, "o my father, this that thou callest an ape is no ape at all. thou knowest i have the gift against enchantment, and i tell thee this is a man, the son of a king, and his name is prince eymar. he hath been transformed into this shape by a son of iblis. sire, i know this from the teaching of my old nurse, who instructed me in the seventy rules of magic." the king was amazed at his daughter's words, and, looking towards me, said, "i can readily believe that thou art eymar, for none other could beat me twice at chess. what sayest thou?" and i bowed my head, signifying that what had been said was true, and i wept bitterly. then said the king to the lady of beauty, "o my daughter, if thou hast this power of discernment, which i knew not, perchance thou hast the power also to undo the enchantment wrought upon this prince. if thou canst, i am minded to make him my grand vizier, for there is none like him." and she replied, "o my father, i know, and i am able. witness what i shall do." the king's daughter then brought forth a large knife, on the blade of which were strange characters engraven. with this she drew a wide circle upon the floor before us, and inscribed within it many magic signs. this done, she stood within the circle, and sang a wild barbaric chant, at which the place began to grow dark, while the roof and walls and floor creaked and groaned with ominous sounds. suddenly, while fear gat hold on us, there was a blinding flash, and the efrite appeared within the circle, immense and hideous, his teeth gnashing, and his eyes flashing fire. "traitress!" he cried; "did we not swear never to cross one another's path?" "wretch!" she replied, "i took no oath with thee." at this, the efrite quickly assumed the form of a lion, and sprang upon her to rend her; but she, being wary, plucked a hair from her head, and breathed upon it, whereupon it was instantly changed into a sharp sword. with this she severed the lion's head from his body, but the head at once became a scorpion. on this the lady became a serpent, and pursued the scorpion, which then took the form of an eagle. but the lady was now a vulture, and the two fought, screaming, in the air. anon, the eagle changed to a huge black cat, and the vulture, changing to a wolf, fought with it, until at last the cat, finding itself well-nigh vanquished, assumed the form of a pomegranate, and rolled into a pool at one side of the circle. when the wolf dashed in after it, the pomegranate rose up into the air and burst, its grains being scattered over the floor. quick as lightning, the wolf changed into a cock, which began picking up the grains. and when it had picked up what we thought were all, it began to flap its wings, and run to and fro, looking, as it were, for the last seed. it ran to us with a terrible cry, then, turning, it espied a seed on the brink of the pool, but ere it could reach it, that seed had rolled into the water, and changed itself into a fish. the cock flew screaming to the pool, and assuming the shape of a pike, dived in. then there was a terrible commotion in the depths. the water foamed and boiled, and the whole place shook as if monsters of the deep were in conflict. suddenly there was a mighty cry, as the efrite rose from the pool, encircled with a flame of fire, which continued to issue from his mouth, his nostrils, and eyes. but beside him, in an instant, was the king's daughter, also emitting fire. then began the most deadly contest between them. from their eyes and mouths darted shafts of fire at one another, until they were enshrouded in a dense smoke. long the battle raged within this murky canopy, until at last the efrite was driven forth from it. pursued by the king's daughter, he rushed at us, and blew fire in our faces, scorching the king's beard, destroying one of my eyes, and killing the eunuch and the slave outright. but, in a moment, the king's daughter was upon him. there was a blinding flash, a cry of victory from her, and we looked, and saw the efrite reduced to a heap of ashes on the floor at her feet. "it is done!" she said, panting. "he forced me to the last test of fire, and i conquered. yet i die, for this fire cannot be quenched, except by my life. quick! bring me here a bowl of water." i snatched a bowl that stood near by, and ran and dipped some water from the pool. she took it, and having chanted some strange words over the water, sprinkled it upon me, saying: "in the name of truth, return to thine original form." at this the pang of change rent my flesh and bones, and i became a man again, as i was before, saving the loss of an eye. but lo! as i looked at the king's daughter, to thank her, i saw a fire come out of her breast, and envelop her head and face. moans came from within the flame, and she staggered to and fro with muffled cries: "there is no god but allah! no god but allah! and mohammed is----" suddenly, there was a flash of of fire, and when the flames had disappeared, there, at our feet, lay a second heap of ashes. [illustration: the bridge at baghdad where abu-l-hasan awaits strangers. page ] i mingled my tears with those of the king, and remorse and bitterness took possession of my soul, for, i reflected, this sweet-faced lady had met her death through me. yet all is as allah wills it. the whole realm was cast into mourning over this sad event. the king enshrined his daughter's ashes in a magnificent tomb, and commanded the ashes of the efrite to be scattered to the four winds. me he summoned to his presence, and spoke these words: "would that i had never seen thee, for so i had not lost my daughter. yet the ways of god are inscrutable, and his will is fulfilled with thee and me. depart, therefore, o my son, in peace; and think not that i bear thee malice." so i went out from his presence, and shaved my beard, and left the city. and thus through many regions have i travelled to gain the abode of peace, and lay my case before thee, o prince of the faithful. * * * * * his story being finished, the khalifeh spoke. "thy case is extraordinary," he said, "and thou hast done well to bring it before me." and yet, none but ja'far and mesrur knew, or even suspected, that he was the khalifeh. then, after an interval, the third royal calender rose, and related his story as follows:-- the story of the third calender. o king of the age, my history is more wonderful than those of my two associates. their misfortunes were fashioned by the finger of fate, while mine were the outcome of my own self-will. yet in the event we are equal, since we each account to thee for the loss of an eye. know then, o king, that i, who stand before thee, am a king, and the son of a king. at my father's death, i ascended the throne, and ruled my subjects wisely, as he had done. yet, unlike him, i was by nature a seafarer, and would often absent myself for the space of a month or more on voyages to parts beyond my kingdom. and it so chanced that from one of these i never returned to my city. and the cause of this i will set before thee. i had been voyaging for some twenty days with a fleet of ten ships, when we were suddenly becalmed. a few hours later, the master of the vessel i was in came to me in a state of consternation, and told me we were drifting in a rapid current, so wide as to include all the ten ships of the fleet. at this, we signalled to the other ships, and all tried with oars to escape this current; but its width was beyond us; it seemed to flow from all sides to a centre. then, on a closer scrutiny, we saw that our ships were out-stripping the current, propelled, or attracted, by we knew not what. at this, the master gave a great cry, and plucked his beard, and flung his turban on the deck. "o sire," he said, "we are doomed! i know now the fate that awaits us. we are speeding towards a great mountain of loadstone, of which i have heard--a great black mountain, which attracteth everything that cometh near it. soon the very nails of all these ships will be drawn to this mountain, and the ships themselves will fall to pieces." at this i was dumbfounded. i could not believe that such a thing were possible; and yet there was no denying that we were being drawn by some unseen influence ever more and more rapidly through the water. "tell me," i said, "what is the history of this mountain?" "it is black, steep, and inaccessible," he replied. "on its summit is a dome of brass, supported by ten pillars of brass; and on this dome is a brazen horseman, mounted on a brazen horse, bearing in his hand a spear of brass, and on his breast a plate of lead, engraven with mystic signs. sire, while that horseman sits upon his horse, the spell of the loadstone spares no ship in the surrounding sea, for without iron no ship is built." the master's words were only too true, for soon the ships were rushing more swiftly through the sea, and it was not long before we sighted the black mountain, of which he had spoken. our velocity increased. the cleavage of the water rose from our bows. our ships groaned with the strain, which every moment grew more and more intense. swifter and swifter we sped on, as nearer loomed the mountain; and we all knew what was before us, and cried out to god for help. at last, our speed was so excessive that no ship could any longer endure the strain. with a creaking and groaning and rending of planks, the nails and ironwork were wrenched away; and every ship fell asunder, and spread itself in wreckage on the sea. many were drowned immediately, while some few clung to floating spars. i was one of these, and i know not if others, beside myself, survived, for i could only cling to my plank, and call on god, so great and boisterous were the waves. hours later i found myself cast up on the strip of shore at the foot of the great black mountain. i praised god for my deliverance, and then, being both hungry and thirsty, i searched for fruit among some trees growing upon the slopes. i soon found some hard by a small stream, and, when i had eaten and drunk, i noticed a pathway by the stream, and followed it. presently i came to the steep ascent of the hill where the path took the form of rugged steps. recalling the legend of the horseman, and praying devoutly that i might overthrow him, i toiled up and up the mountain side by this roughest of paths. by the grace of god i at length reached the summit, and found there the great dome surmounted by the horseman. too fatigued to do more than climb into the dome, i flung myself down there and slept. and, as i slept, a voice spake to me in a dream: "o valiant one, know that in the ground beneath thy feet lie a bow of brass and three arrows of lead, all engraven with talismanic signs. search for these, and, having found them, shoot the three arrows at the horseman, whereupon thy bow will fall from thy hand, and he and his horse will be hurled down into the midst of the sea. take thy bow, and bury it again; and, as soon as thou shalt have done this, the sea will rise swiftly up the mountain sides, until it reaches the foot of the dome. then, before thee, thou wilt perceive a man in a boat, with an oar in each hand--he being of metal also, but different from the horseman. embark with him in his boat, and within ten days he will convey thee to a calm sea, and to a ship which will bear thee to thine own land. but beware, o prince, lest in all these things thou utter the name of god, for, by so doing, thou wilt be in extreme peril." when i awoke, i marvelled at the vividness of this dream, and, remembering all the voice had said, i dug in the ground where my feet had lain. there i discovered the bow and the three arrows, and, taking them forth, i shot at the horseman. twice my aim failed, but the third arrow struck him, and lo, he and his horse fell headlong down the mountain into the sea. then, the bow having fallen from my hand, i took it and buried it within the dome. as soon as i had done this, i perceived the sea surging rapidly up the mountain sides. up and up it came, boiling and seething, until at last it reached the foot of the dome, than which it rose no further. presently a boat drew near from the midst of the sea, rowed by a man of gleaming metal. remembering the warning not to utter the name of god, i entered the boat, and the man rowed me away over the sea for many days, until we came in sight of some beautiful islands. when i set eyes on these habitable spots of safety then my heart leapt for joy, and, forgetting the warning of my dream, i cried in my delight, "god be praised!" no sooner had the words escaped my lips than the boat and the man sank in the sea, leaving me upon the surface. my peril was now extreme, for unless i could gain the land i must surely drown. the islands were distant, but they were my only hope, so i swam towards them hour after hour, until night fell. still i swam on and on in the dark, and at last, when i was spent, and about to sink, i felt a great wave rise beneath me, and hurl me forward. it carried me high up on the shore of an island, where it left me utterly exhausted, but safe from the sea. the next day, as i was walking along the shore in search of food, i heard voices coming from behind a bend. thinking not to lose a chance of being taken on board some vessel, i looked round the bend, and saw ten black slaves of evil aspect, landing from a vessel and bearing spades and axes. i liked not the faces of these men, and feared to expose myself to their view; moreover, being curious as to their mission, i resolved to watch them. noting the direction they were taking, i ran along the shore for some distance, and then, turning inland, i proceeded until i came to a high tree, into the topmost branches of which i climbed. presently i saw the slaves pass by and stop at a spot in the middle of the island, where they dug up the ground, until at length they came upon a trap door, which they lifted and set on one side. then they returned to the vessel, and brought from it loads of provisions, necessaries and even luxuries of every kind. many times they went and came, and by their loads, it was evident they were preparing some underground dwelling for habitation. at length, after many journeys to and fro, they returned from the vessel laden with beautiful garments of every kind; and with them came an aged sheik, leading by the hand a young man, whose grace and beauty could scarce be expressed in poems. they and the slaves entered the underground abode, and when, two hours later, i counted those who came forth, the young man was not of the number. when they had closed the trap door, and replaced the earth upon it, the slaves conducted the sheik back to the vessel, and sailed away. these doings caused me great wonder in my tree, and i resolved to see what they meant. i made haste to descend, and, having reached the spot, i ceased not to scrape away the earth until i had found the trap door. i removed this, and descended a flight of wooden steps, which led me to a large apartment, luxuriously furnished; and there, reclining upon a couch, with flowers and fruits before him, was the handsome youth. "fear me not," i said, when i saw that he had turned pale on observing my sudden intrusion; "i am a man, like thyself. destiny hath led me hither, to relieve thy solitude." then, seeing that he greeted me with delight, i said to him: "o, my brother, tell me how it is that thou art here in this secret place." and he complied with my request, and related to me his history. "o brother," he said, "my fate has been exceeding strange. my father is a rich dealer in jewels, and his business lies with kings. many years ago he was wont to grieve that, though god had given him wealth, he had not blest him with a son. shortly after, he dreamed that a male child would be born to him, but that its life would be cut off at the age of sixteen, and he awoke weeping. his dream was fulfilled, in so far that within a year my mother gave birth to me. great was his joy at this, but, remembering the further prophecy of his dream, he called in the astrologers, who, by their calculations, confirmed it. 'thy son's fate,' they said, 'is connected with a great mountain in the sea, called the mountain of loadstone, on the summit of which is a horseman of brass, bearing on his breast a tablet of lead, with mystic signs engraven. sixteen years hence a king, the son of a king, will arise, and hurl that horseman down into the sea, shortly after which he will slay thy son.' "my father grieved very greatly at this, and ceased not to love me the more throughout my youth. when i was nearing the age of sixteen, he again summoned the astrologers, who told him that the horseman had already been cast down into the sea, and there remained now only ten days of my life. then my father arose and prepared this place for me, so that i might dwell here in secret until the completion of the days, for the astrologers had said that if, by the will of god, i passed safely out of my sixteenth year, i should live to a great age. and thus it is that i am here, o my brother." "what strange thing is this?" said i within myself on hearing his words. "it was i who cast down the horseman, but, by allah! it will not be i who will slay this gracious youth." then, turning to him, i said: "fear nothing, sweet youth! here, at least, thou art safe. i myself will protect thee, and, when the term is expired, i will go forth with thee to thy father, and he shall restore me to my country, and so reap a great reward." he rejoiced at my words, and was comforted, and so far was i from wishing him harm that i waited upon him, and during the night slept by his side. once he awoke from dreams, crying: "the horseman is down! he hath fallen into the sea! whither, oh! whither shall i flee for safety?" but i quieted him, and comforted him, saying: "never will such a calamity as thou fearest come to thee while i am by thy side." for nine days i served him, sparing no trouble for his comfort; and on the tenth i could not conceal my joy, for i knew that, if it rested with me to slay him, he would be alive on the morrow. my happiness infected him, and he begged me to heat some water that he might bathe and array himself in bright garments, and then, with me, celebrate the hour of his release. i prepared all he required, and he bathed, and arrayed himself in costly robes, and reclined upon the couch to rest. it was the hour of sunset: a little while remained till the term expired. "o brother," he said to me, "wilt thou in thy kindness cut me up a water melon, and sprinkle it with sugar?" "o brother mine," i replied, "i see here a melon, but where is the knife?" he pointed to the shelf above his head, saying, "thou wilt find one there, o my creditor." then i stepped up on the side of the couch, and found the knife, and drew it from its sheath; but, having done this, my foot slipped, and i fell headlong. the next thing i knew was that the knife was buried in the youth's breast, with my hand upon the haft. i uttered a loud cry, and beat my bosom. oh! the grief of it! dead! and by my hand! o god! by what cruel misfortunes dost thou convince mortals that fate and destiny are thine instruments! [illustration: abu-l-hasan entertains the strangers with dancing and music. page ] long i wept by the side of the youth, imploring pardon from those cold lips; one glance of forgiveness from those glazed eyes. then, sad and sorrowful, i arose and ascended the steps; and, having replaced and covered the trap door, departed from that place. i remained upon the island, nursing a heavy weight of grief. from a place of hiding i saw them come and take the youth's dead body away. i saw his aged father's sorrow, as he followed weeping, and watched the vessel sail away out of sight. but great as was this calamity, i was destined to further trouble. in my daily wanderings about the island, i discovered that on one side of it the sea had been gradually receding. when another week had passed, there was a considerable extent of land that had risen above the water. i watched this day by day for a space of some months, at the end of which time dry land stretched into the distance so far that i resolved to set forth upon it, hoping to come at length to an inhabited region. i had proceeded some leagues when i saw before me, in the distance, an upland with a splendid palace upon it, shining all golden in the rays of the sun. when i drew near, almost dazzled at the sight of it, an old man came out to meet me; and following him were ten young men, each lacking an eye--a thing which caused me great astonishment. they and the old man saluted me, and asked me whence i came, whereupon i told them my story, which they listened to with looks of wonder. then they invited me into the palace, and one of them said: "be welcome, o brother, but see to it that thou ask us not respecting our condition, nor yet how it is we each lack an eye." presently the old man brought food and wine, and we ate and drank together, conversing on many things until it was time to sleep. then one of them called to the old man to bring the materials for penance, and he arose and placed before each a basin full of ashes and powdered charcoal. one and all then bared their arms and blackened their faces with the mixture, crying continually, "once we were dwelling in happiness, but now we are wretched; and this is the result of our idle curiosity." this they kept up till daybreak, when they washed their faces and changed their clothes and slept. next day, being unable to cast off my curiosity regarding this strange behaviour, i beseeched them to tell me the reason thereof, and one of them replied: "o young man, ask not what doth not concern thee, lest thou hear what may not please thee." but i was not content with this answer, and continued to entreat them to tell me the reason of their actions, and also the cause of each having lost an eye. "nay, be silent," said another; "what the mind doth not know, the heart doth not grieve." yet i still pestered them with my questions, giving them no peace. at length they lost patience, and, after conversing together awhile, one of them said to me: "o young man, if thou dost above all things desire to know the cause of these things, submit thyself to our hands, and thou shalt learn." and i answered, "i desire nothing more than to know;" for my curiosity had become a fever. then they slaughtered a ram and flayed it, and, placing a knife in my hand, sewed me up in the skin and carried me to a hilltop at a little distance, where they left me. presently i heard the flapping of giant wings, and then the ram's skin, with me inside it, was seized by the talons of a great bird and borne up and away. after a long flight, the bird set me down upon a high plateau. remembering the knife they had placed in my hand, i ripped open the skin, and emerged. the gigantic bird, on seeing me, flew off screaming. far in the distance, at the side of a hill, i saw a splendid palace, sparkling in the sunlight. it was the only habitation that i could discern, so i made my way towards it. after some hours' journey, i reached its gates, and seeing them open, entered, and soon found myself in a great chamber of indescribable splendour, where forty beautiful damsels, each one like a goddess, welcomed me with cries of joy. "o our master and prince," they said, "why hast thou tarried so long? we, thy handmaids, have waited many weeks for thy coming." and they set food and wine before me, and while i ate and drank, some sang and others danced; and they were so wildly beautiful that any one of them would have melted the heart of an anchorite. thus suddenly was i launched into a life of pure delight, and i dwelt among these rare and radiant damsels, their sole lord and master, in luxury and joy. thus it continued for a whole year, with never a shadow of dulness in our days; but, on the first morning of the new year, they all came to me weeping, and bidding me farewell, as each in turn clung to me with the sadness of parting. "wherefore this?" i cried. "ye will break my heart if ye leave me." and one replied, "nay, o master; we love thee most of any on earth, but we must leave thee for a time, and we fear to lose thee." and she fell to weeping afresh, and the others added their tears to hers. "tell me what this means," i said to her. "o my master, if thou wouldst know," she replied, "we are the daughters of kings, and for many years it has been our practice to dwell in this palace, returning only to our fathers for forty days at the beginning of each year. to-day we must go, and we fear that, before we return, thou wilt disregard our directions, in which case thou wilt be lost to us. here are the keys, a hundred in number, which will unlock a hundred doors for thee, admitting to gardens of various kinds, in which thou wilt find a hundred different delights; but we do entreat thee, open not the door which is fashioned of pure gold, for if thou dost, we shall never see thee again, and that is what we fear." i took the keys, greatly wondering, and when i had embraced them all, and said farewell, they departed, with sad looks, leaving me alone in the palace. many times i swore to myself that i would never open the golden door, and even as i swore, the wish to do it came uppermost. but i forced it down, saying: "there are ninety-nine doors without this one: surely it is enough!" and that evening, feeling sad and lonely, and longing for entertainment, i took the keys, and, selecting one engraven with a character corresponding to that on the first door, i opened and entered. within lay a garden like paradise, with running streams, and hanging fruits, and birds that sang the praises of their creator. every kind of delicate perfume breathed from the rarest of flowers, and the bosom of the dreamy trees moved in the soft wind as if langorous with love. seeing this wonderful place, i was impelled by curiosity to explore what lay behind the second door. accordingly, i opened it and entered. here was a large domain of forest and meadow, watered by a crystal river. uplands on which the sunlight slept, led up to mountain peaks towering against the sides of heaven. i noted all this with wonder, saying, "i will return, and enjoy this at my leisure; meanwhile, i die to know what fresh joy is concealed by the third door." when i entered the third place of delight, i found it to be a spacious aviary, containing all the birds of song and of rare plumage that could be found on earth. this vast place was paven with many-coloured marble, and graced with patches of forest and greensward. the birds drank from crystal fountains, and, flying off, sang gloriously. the streams of these fountains were of different colours, and when i drank of one, i found it was pure wine. so i wandered from one to another sipping the rarest vintages i had ever known, until, coming to a soft couch of moss, i reclined, and was lulled to sleep by the songs of countless nightingales. when i awoke next morning, i opened the fourth door and found beyond it a treasury passing the imagination of kings. jewels and precious stones there were beyond reckoning. "these," i said, "are mine, and forty priceless damsels are also mine: what sultan can compare with me?" that day, and on the following days, i opened one door after another, finding within each the strangest and most wonderful things man ever beheld; until, on the thirty-ninth day, i had opened every door except the last,--the one fashioned of pure gold. long i looked at it, recalling my oath, and fortifying myself against temptation. many times i turned away from it, with the key in my hand, but always the devil drove me back again. then, at last, my curiosity became acute, and i could not refrain. i opened the door, and passed within. i was met by an odour fragrant beyond conception, which mastered my brain so that i fell in a faint. but i soon recovered, and, rising to my feet, went on, treading on golden tiles spread with saffron, and lighted on my way by golden lamps, from which were wafted the odours of musk and ambergris. i soon saw that the place was, in effect, a stable, though words fail to describe its splendour. there, standing at a crystal manger full of choice sesame, with a trough adjoining filled with rose-water, stood a magnificent steed, as black as night. never had i seen his equal. he was saddled and bridled, and his trappings were of gold and thread-of-gold, sparkling with gems. "this is the steed of my desire," i said, and then, as i approached him, he turned his head towards me, and neighed. urged by the devil, i led him forth and mounted him. but when i jerked the reins, he stood stock still. i persuaded him with my heels, but he did not move. then i espied a whip deposited in the saddle. i took this and struck him a violent blow. with a neigh like thunder, he rose in the air, and soared up and up to a great height. then he flew with me over hills and valleys, until at last he alighted on the roof of another palace. there he plunged and reared, and finally shook me off behind him; and, as i fell, a blow from his tail struck out my eye. leaving me thus, he soared up and away, and was soon lost to sight. when i descended from the roof, i found i was back in the palace of the ten young men. when they beheld me, and saw that my eye was gone, they cried with one voice, "no welcome to thee, o curious one! thou art now in like case with us, having been chastised for thine impertinent curiosity. for know that we have all opened that golden door and ridden that black horse, and that is why we do nightly penance for our foolishness." i then begged them to receive me into their company, but they refused, saying their number was complete. so i went my way dejected, and wandered as a mendicant, ever on and on towards baghdad, the abode of peace, resolved to seek the khalifeh of the lord of all creatures and set my case before him. * * * * * "verily," exclaimed harun-er-rashid as the third royal calender retired to his place, "this is the most astounding tale of all. hear me now, all of you. these men have suffered greatly, but fate hath no further trouble in store for them. by allah! my armies are great, and i will restore each to his throne. as for you, o ladies," he continued, turning to the three sisters, "my seraglio is dull and lifeless without you. will you grace it with your presence?" "yes, o commander of the faithful," cried they all, laughing merrily and clapping their hands, for they thought him a perfect impersonator; "we will come to thee." "on the head and the eye?" "yea, o king, on the head and the eye is our promise given." at this the khalifeh turned to his two officials. "o vizier," he said, "i call thee to witness; and thee also, o mesrur." and they answered smiling, for they liked the pretence of his pretence, "king of the age, we hear and obey." then the khalifeh approached the porter, who was asleep upon the floor, and stirred him with his foot so that he awoke and sat up. "o thou carrier of goods and vast quantities of wine," said the khalifeh, "wouldst thou be the wag of harun-er-rashid, fifth khalifeh of the house of abbas?" the porter grinned. "o prince of the faithful," said he, "i was born with that ambition, for they say that when the khalifeh's wag waggeth his tongue no other tongue may wag." and with this he kissed the ground seven times in mock obeisance. "it is well," said the khalifeh, "for verily thou art a wag." and they all applauded his seeming royalty and said one among another, "never have we seen such an excellent impersonation of a king." the khalifeh then pointed to the first signs of day in the east, saying, "there was never so pleasant a night but morning ended it." and then, with ja'far and mesrur, he set about taking his departure, thanking the ladies for their kind hospitality and bidding them remember the promise they had given. the three royal calenders and the porter also bade the sisters farewell, and, when they were outside the house, the calenders were directed to a khan, while the porter took his own way home and the khalifeh and his two officials returned to the palace. on the following morning the khalifeh of baghdad sat on his throne, and his first thought was to send for the three royal calenders, the three ladies, and the porter. "lose no time in bringing them hither, o vizier," said the khalifeh to ja'far. the vizier sent in great haste, and, when the messengers returned with all of them, er-rashid received them in private audience. not one of them recognised the three merchants of the former evening, and their faces showed fear and surprise, for they knew not why they had been thus summoned. the khalifeh spoke. "know, o ye people, that i, harun-er-rashid, of the house of abbas, do not forget my promises. i promised three royal calenders that i would restore them to their thrones, and, by allah! this shall be done. three beautiful ladies of baghdad promised me that they would come into my seraglio, which thou didst witness, o ja'far; and thou, too, o mesrur." the two officials bowed low, confirming this. "but," continued the khalifeh, "i have since decided to make them queens by bestowing them in marriage upon these three kings." and he indicated the calenders. then, turning towards the porter, he continued: "i also promised that a carrier of goods,--a merry fellow,--should be my wag. this shall be, and his first duty will be to solve this riddle. which is easier: for the khalifeh to play the merchant, or the merchant to play the khalifeh? meanwhile, do you all agree to what i have proposed?" [illustration: abu-l-hasan awakens in the bed of the khalifeh. page ] they were all dumbfounded as they realised that their actor of the previous night had played his part so well, because he was indeed the khalifeh himself. for some moments no one spoke; then they all made obeisance to him and kissed the ground. "o king of the age," said one of the ladies, "i answer for my sisters and myself. we will obey thy commands willingly and with joy." then one of the calenders added, "o prince of the faithful, we also hear and obey, with equal willingness and equal joy." "and as for me, o king," said the porter, "i, being a wag, and also a liar of some excellence, knew that indeed thou wert the khalifeh of the lord of all creatures, but i was compelled to dissemble for fear of thine executioner's sword. thus i solve thy riddle, o king: the khalifeh played better than the merchant, whose play was equally good." the khalifeh smiled and, turning to ja'far, said, "o vizier, bestow upon him the robe of the wag." then the khalifeh arose, and, descending from his throne, placed the hands of the three ladies in those of the three royal calenders. the kadi and witnesses were summoned and the marriage contracts were signed and sealed. he then bestowed upon each of the three wedded pairs a splendid palace and sufficient money for their needs until such time as he had succeeded in restoring them to their thrones. and so did harun-er-rashid draw upon himself ten thousand blessings. [illustration] the sleeper awakened in the reign of harun-er-rashid, a merchant of the city of baghdad died, leaving his vast fortune to his son abu-l-hasan, the wag, who at once divided it into two equal parts: one to be set aside, and the other to be spent. selecting a number of wealthy merchants' sons as his boon companions, he lived a life of extravagance until every fraction of that which was to be spent was exhausted. at this he called his boon companions and laid his case before them, expecting at least sympathy, if not offers of assistance. but one and all treated him with the utmost unconcern and turned their backs on him. sad at heart he sought comfort of his mother, complaining of the injustice of this treatment. "o, abu-l-hasan," said she, "it was ever thus; when thou wast rich they were thy friends, but now thou art poor they look the other way." and she wept with him, mingling her tears with his. then abu-l-hasan arose and at once took steps to withdraw the other half of his fortune from the safe-keeping in which he had placed it. upon this he lived as befitted his condition in life, for he was still a wealthy man. but, remembering the lesson he had bought with the other half of his riches, he took an oath that henceforth he would consort neither with relations nor friends nor acquaintances, but only with strangers; and, furthermore, that the extent of his association with any one person would be for one night only, the acquaintanceship ceasing entirely at sunrise next morning. every evening thereafter, when the purple twilight fell upon baghdad, abu-l-hasan would walk in the ways of the city, saluting none, but at last waylaying a stranger, upon whom he would press an invitation to good food and wine and entertainment at his house. what stranger could refuse? with the guest in the place of honour abu-l-hasan drank deep with him till morning, when the guest departed with the understanding that if they ever met again they were not to recognise each other. this went on night after night for a whole year, until one night an illustrious stranger accepted abu-l-hasan's invitation. it was none other than harun-er-rashid himself, who had wandered forth in disguise to amuse himself, as was his wont at times. little dreaming that he was entertaining the khalifeh unawares, abu-l-hasan led his guest into his saloon--a most luxurious apartment where every comfort was provided: streams of water murmuring through silver channels; golden fountains playing in cool grottoes, and, over all, an amber light shed by a wonderful lamp, subduing the richness of the place to a vague and dreaming glamour. here they reclined, and abu-l-hasan summoned a slave girl, lissom as the willow tendril, and bade her sing to the music of her lute. sweetly then she sang these verses, inspired by the soft languor of the night:-- oh! love, thy footsteps stray in lands afar, but here within my heart thou dost abide. e'en though thou dwelt in yonder distant star no depths of space our spirits could divide. thou art my love! thro' all eternity thou art my soul, and nothing is but thee. er-rashid marvelled greatly at the singer and her song, and wondered in his heart what manner of man was abu-l-hasan that he could entertain on so magnificent a scale. "tell me, young man," he said, "what is thy name, that on a future occasion i may return thy hospitality?" and abu-l-hasan told him, but added with a smile: "alas! this night must end our acquaintance, for i have so vowed it." then he set forth the nature and the cause of his vow, at which er-rashid laughed heartily and said, "by allah! brother; i do not blame thee!" after this came the slave girls and spread a banquet before them, and they partook of it, abu-l-hasan giving the choicest portions to the khalifeh. when they had finished their repast abu-l-hasan brought out his oldest and most fragrant wines, laid the wine-cloth himself, and, having lighted some small lamps and candles, filled a goblet and raised it to the khalifeh. "best of boon companions," he said, "away with ceremony! regard me as thy faithful slave and may i never be compelled to grieve thy loss." with this he drained the goblet, and, still acting the part of the khalifeh's servant, filled another for his master and handed it to him. this pleased the khalifeh greatly. he appreciated such delicate attention. he took the goblet and drank, saying within himself, "by allah! a good return will i make him for this." abu-l-hasan continued to wait upon his guest in humble fashion, and the khalifeh enjoyed his hospitality to the full. if his host had known him to be er-rashid himself--which he did not--he could not have entertained him better. at the hour of midnight the khalifeh spoke to his host in serious tones. "o, abu-l-hasan," said he, "tell me what thing thou dost most desire." "why, my master," replied abu-l-hasan, "if thou wouldst know: my most constant prayer is that i may be rid of the incessant annoyance imposed upon me by the imam and the four sheiks of the neighbouring mosque. when they hear the sound of music and revelry at night they inform against me, so that i am harassed by heavy fines. by allah! if i had my way i would give each of them a thousand lashes." "may allah grant thy prayer!" said er-rashid, and, unobserved, he dropped a lozenge into his host's wine and handed him the goblet, bidding him drink. abu-l-hasan did so and speedily thereafter fell sound asleep. the khalifeh at once summoned his servants, who, having followed him at a little distance, were waiting without. he commanded them to place abu-l-hasan upon a mule and convey him to the palace. this was soon done. later, when the khalifeh had rested somewhat, he summoned the most important officials of his court, and, indicating the sleeping figure of abu-l-hasan, said to them, "in the morning you will find this young man upon the royal couch. when he awakes, see to it that you obey his lightest wish as you would my own; salute him as the khalifeh and make obeisance before him." to his women slaves he gave similar instructions and ordered them to address abu-l-hasan as the prince of the faithful. then er-rashid retired to another part of the palace and slept. in the morning when abu-l-hasan awoke upon the royal couch he stared in amazement at the attendants making obeisance before him. "o, prince of the faithful! it is the hour of morning prayer," said a beautiful slave girl, stepping forward. abu-l-hasan laughed, for he knew not what to make of it. then he rubbed his eyes and gazed around upon the sumptuous magnificence of the apartment with its gorgeous roof and walls, its rich silk hangings, its vessels of gold and sparkling crystal, its jewelled furniture, ornaments and luxurious carpets. "by allah!" he gasped; "have i attained to the fragrant paradise, or do i dream?" with that he closed his eyes as if to hold the dream in further slumber, but a eunuch advanced and kissed the ground before the royal couch. "o, prince of the faithful!" he said, humbly; "bethink thee of thy usual custom." at this abu-l-hasan, sorely perplexed, opened his eyes again very slowly, and saw the rich trappings of the couch whereon he lay. little by little he opened them until at last they were wide with wonder, for this was no dream--the voice of the eunuch who had spoken, the faces and forms of the attendants, the royal splendour of the place--all were as real as he could wish; and yet--yet--he raised his hand to his mouth and bit one of his fingers--hard; then cried out with sudden pain. angrily he raised himself on one elbow, and, addressing one of the female slaves, "come here!" he said. "my lord, i am always at thy service," she answered, drawing near. "what is thy will, o prince of the faithful?" "tell me," he said, "who am i, and where am i?" "thou art the prince of the faithful," answered she. "thou art in thy palace and upon thy royal couch." "nay, nay," said he; "i sleep. methinks i dream, or--" he went on, half to himself,--"can it be? my guest--he bade me drink and--what subtle enchantment is this? am i now abu-l-hasan dreaming i am the khalifeh, or was i, last night and heretofore for many nights, the khalifeh dreaming he was abu-l-hasan?" and the khalifeh himself, observing him all the while from a sheltered nook, revelled in the perplexity of his guest. [illustration: abu-l-hasan orders that the sheiks of the district should be taken to be impaled on the back of a mangy camel. page ] at last abu-l-hasan called one after another to him and questioned each in turn, asking if indeed he were the prince of the faithful; and in turn each showed amazement that he should put the question and assured him that indeed he was the khalifeh of the lord of all creatures. to the first he said, hotly, "thou liest!" to the next: "thou art in error!" to others: "impossible!" and "it cannot be!" until at last he was fairly beaten, and had to admit that he indeed was er-rashid himself, the prince of the faithful. he asked the attendants to withdraw so that he might give himself up to this new-found wonder and perplexity, and accustom himself to the strange position in which he found himself. the morning wore on and he was aroused from his reverie by a eunuch who approached with a salutation and handed him a pair of shoes of fine spun gold set with precious stones. abu-l-hasan put these on. then came female slaves with a golden basin and a silver jug and they bathed his hands. on this being done, they spread a praying carpet before him. although he knew not well how to pray, he made many protestations to allah, earnestly entreating that he might be convinced that this was not a dream. his prayers dispelled the doubt, but it returned when the eunuchs brought him priceless apparel in which to clothe himself, for, when he was arrayed in these magnificent garments, and sat contemplating himself, he muttered, "surely, 'tis all a dream, and a trick of the evil one." this thought was heavy upon him when a memluk entered. "o prince of the faithful!" he said, "the chamberlain craves speech with thee." "bid him enter!" replied abu-l-hasan, rousing himself. and presently the chamberlain was kissing the ground before him and saying, "peace be unto thee, o prince of the faithful!" then abu-l-hasan descended from the couch and stood before the chamberlain. "allah! allah!" cried that worthy servitor in astonishment. "o our lord! forget not that all men are thy slaves and it is not fitting that the prince of the faithful should rise to anyone." but abu-l-hasan bade him proceed with his business. the chamberlain then informed abu-l-hasan that certain high officials and the chief memluks were without, awaiting his commands. "let them enter!" said abu-l-hasan with growing authority. so they were summoned, and each as he advanced kissed the ground before him, saluting him as the prince of the faithful. abu-l-hasan was greatly pleased with this crowning proof of his position, and gave his commands forthwith. to the wali he said: "go at once to the mother of abu-l-hasan and give her a hundred gold pieces, with my blessing." and he named the street where he would find her. "when you have done this," he continued in tones of severity, "repair to the mosque and bestow upon the imam and the four sheiks, each a thousand lashes. then thou shalt bind them upon camels, with their faces to the beasts' tails, and make a public show of them in the ways of the city, proclaiming to all, 'behold the reward of fools who trouble their neighbours!' when this is done thou shalt execute a sworn bond expelling them from the mosque. and see to it that thou carry this out to the very letter." and the wali did as he was commanded. and abu-l-hasan continued issuing his commands in like fashion until the evening, when he felt weary and hungry. dismissing the officials, he summoned a eunuch and desired food to be brought him. "it is prepared, o prince of the faithful!" replied the eunuch. and he led him into the banqueting chamber, where a sumptuous feast was spread. ten slave-girls waited upon him and he ate with relish of the delicate viands they placed before him. when he had finished they led him to the drinking chamber and danced before him while he drank of the choicest and rarest wines. "by allah!" he said in his cups, "this is enchantment--naught but devilry, practised upon me by that guest of mine. here, girl! why dost thou laugh?" the girl he had called came and kissed the ground before him. "o prince of the faithful," she said, "here in thy palace all is thine. i laughed for very gladness to be thy slave." and she whirled away again into the dance. presently, however, she returned with a cup of wine and handed it to him. he drank, after which another came with another cup of wine, until the last was reached; and she, by order of the khalifeh, had dropped a drugged lozenge into the cup. ignorant of this, abu-l-hasan took it from her hand, and, saying to himself, "may allah protect me from the evil one!" drank the wine; and immediately on this he fell back senseless. the attendants then, in obedience to er-rashid's orders, took him back to his own house and laid him on his bed, still unconscious. when he awoke from his stupor it was dark, and he called loudly for lights; but there was no answer. where were the slave girls? angrily he summoned one or two by name. then it was that his mother, hearing him calling out in this way, came to his couch and asked what ailed him. had he gone mad? "darest thou address the prince of the faithful so?" he replied. "who art thou, miserable old woman?" "canst thou not recognise thy mother?" "cease, woman! i am the prince of the faithful, the lord of the earth and all its treasures; all people are my slaves and--" "silence!" she broke in, "if thou valuest thy life!" and, guessing that some spell had been laid upon him, she began to mutter charms to drive away the evil spirits. then, seeking to divert his mind, she told him the good news about the imam and the sheiks; how they had been punished, and how she herself had received a hundred gold pieces with the khalifeh's blessing. when he heard this he started up, shouting: "it was i who gave orders that these things should be done; i, the khalifeh, the prince of the faithful." and thereupon he took a stick and beat his mother till the neighbours flocked in and demanded to know the cause of the trouble. "wretched old woman!" he was shouting; "am i not the prince of the faithful?" hearing this the neighbours said among themselves, "he is mad!" and without more ado they fell upon him, and bound him, and took him to the madhouse. there he was beaten every day and treated in such a manner that he feared indeed to lose his reason. after many days of this harsh treatment his mother came to him and asked him what he was doing in such a distressful plight if, indeed, he was the prince of the faithful. and he was fain to admit that he had been mistaken--nay, worse still; he had been made the sport of evil spirits and the subject of enchantment. so he repented, and prayed to allah for forgiveness; and they released him from the madhouse. abu-l-hasan's return to his old life brought with it a desire for a boon companion, and this urged his restless feet through the ways of the city again, searching for one as of old. now er-rashid had kept a watchful eye on abu-l-hasan's movements, and thus it happened that one evening the khalifeh, in the garb of a merchant, stood before him. "greeting to thee, o master of devils!" cried abu-l-hasan, recognising him as soon as he saw him. "hast thou then suffered at my hands?" asked er-rashid. "suffered! vilest of devil drivers!" returned abu-l-hasan with bitter anger. then, after recounting the many things he had endured, he asked, "is this the way thou returnest my hospitality, to give thy devils control over me, to make sport of my sufferings? begone! i wish to see thy face no more." er-rashid then sought to disarm his resentment with courteous explanations. "nay," he said, "thou art surely in error, brother. yet i am to blame in some way, for, on parting with thee that night, i neglected to close the door of thy house behind me; and, methinks, the devil entered to thee after i had gone." and so, with subtle words, er-rashid softened the anger of abu-l-hasan and drew from him the whole tale of his sufferings, advising him on this point and on that and showing a pitiful countenance at his wrongs. but not until er-rashid had sworn on oath that, neither by carelessness nor otherwise, would he let in the devil upon him again, would abu-l-hasan comply with his earnest entreaty to be invited once more to his house that evening. "i swear by allah," said er-rashid, "thou shalt suffer no manner of ill through me." during the evening abu-l-hasan entertained his guest as before, and again, at midnight, the khalifeh dropped a lozenge into his host's wine, so that as soon as he had drained his cup he fell into a deep slumber. then once more the khalifeh commanded him to be taken to the palace and placed upon the royal couch and surrounded by slave girls to attend his waking. towards morning er-rashid, from his place of concealment, commanded one of the slave girls to strike the cords of her lute above the sleeper's head, so that abu-l-hasan awoke to the strains of music. "mother! mother!" he called out, but the slave girls answered him, "o prince of the faithful! we are here to do thy bidding." at this he gazed about him and immediately threw up his hands and called on allah to deliver him from the wicked enchantment which the evil one had a second time imposed upon him. then he turned to a memluk and bade him bite his ear so that he might know whether or no he was in the flesh, and awake. the memluk at first refused to bite the ear of the prince of the faithful, whereupon abu-l-hasan would have arisen and hewn off his head, had he not obeyed and bitten the ear till his teeth met. a loud shriek from abu-l-hasan brought er-rashid to his knees with suppressed laughter. then abu-l-hasan rose in wrath and cursed those who stood around him, calling upon their master by the most holy passages of the koran to break the spell which held him in so vile a thrall. at this er-rashid, unable to endure it further, called out from his hiding-place, "o abu-l-hasan! this is more than i can bear." and he came forth laughing. abu-l-hasan at once recognised him as er-rashid, the khalifeh, and made obeisance to him, praying that he might live for ever. "rise, abu-l-hasan, the wag!" commanded the khalifeh then; "and the peace of allah be with thee." with his own hands er-rashid then clothed him in rich apparel; after which he bestowed upon him a thousand gold pieces and raised him to the dignity of chief of his boon companions. abu-l-hasan quickly grew in favour with the khalifeh and the lady zubeydeh, his wife; and, in the course of time, married nuzhat-el-fuad, zubeydeh's treasurer. they lived very happily together, tasting every delight, until all their money was spent. then, abu-l-hasan, confronted with poverty and ashamed to beg a further favour from the khalifeh, belaboured his wits with regard to filling his empty treasure chest. "o, nuzhat-el-fuad!" he said at length, "i would play a jest upon the khalifeh, and i would that thou shouldst play a similar jest upon the lady zubeydeh; for so, methinks, we shall receive from them two hundred pieces of gold and two pieces of fine spun silk." "i am at thy service," she replied. "what is thy plan?" and he unfolded it to her. it was that they should both feign death. he was to die first, and, when she had laid him out with all the proper trappings of a corpse, she was to run dishevelled and in grief to the lady zubeydeh, and beat her breast and shriek and moan, and finally acquaint her with the sad cause of her sorrowing. "then," went on abu-l-hasan, "she will weep with thee, for have i not found favour in her eyes? and she will comfort thee and give thee a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of fine spun silk, and bid thee go and prepare my corpse decently for the grave." "it is well, o my lord!" said nuzhat-el-fuad, eagerly, "proceed--what then?" "then," continued abu-l-hasan, "when thou comest to me with the spoil, we will set it by; and thou shalt take my place, and, when i have bestowed on thee the honours of the much-lamented dead, i myself will run to the khalifeh, distracted with grief, and beat upon my breast and pluck my beard and tear my garments, and prostrate myself in sorrow before him, crying, 'there is no deity but allah!' and, when he has lifted me up and wiped away my tears, and drawn from me the history of thy death, then will he do by me in like manner as zubeydeh will have done by thee. he will bestow on me a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of fine spun silk, bidding me go and prepare thy corpse for decent burial. then i will come to thee and lay my piece of silk by thine, and place my hundred pieces on thy hundred pieces, and thenceforward we shall live in luxury, my nuzhat-el-fuad." his wife laughed with glee and clapped her hands. "verily, abu-l-hasan," she cried, "thou art a wag." still laughing, she proceeded to lay him out, directed by her lord and master, who, though dead, failed nothing in his instructions as to the minutest details--even to placing upon his stomach a knife and a pinch of salt. then she put on the garb of woe and dishevelled her hair, and ran weeping to the lady zubeydeh, who, seeing her thus distracted, was filled with pity and questioned her gently as to the cause of so great a grief. but nuzhat-el-fuad's sobs and tears rose to shrieks of wild despair before at length she made the matter plain. and, when zubeydeh knew it, she wept with her and mourned for abu-l-hasan the wag; and she bestowed upon her a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of fine spun silk, bidding her prepare his body for the grave. when nuzhat-el-fuad returned to the house and showed abu-l-hasan the first fruits of his plan, he arose and, sharing her delight, danced with glee. together they took the spoil and laid it by; then they addressed themselves to the second part of their jest. nuzhat-el-fuad was speedily disposed according to the first rites of the dead, and abu-l-hasan fell to tearing his garments and setting his turban awry, and practising postures of grief. then he set forth to the palace, plucking his beard and moaning as he ran. when he arrived there the khalifeh was in the judgment hall, but abu-l-hasan was given immediate audience because of his haste and despair. "what ails thee?" said the khalifeh, regarding abu-l-hasan with dismay, for he was beating his breast and moaning in agony of mind. "alas! o prince of the faithful! alas! that thy boon companion had ever been born!" at which outburst of grief the khalifeh took him gently and sought to learn the cause of such overwhelming woe. at length, abu-l-hasan told him. nuzhat-el-fuad, the half of his life, was dead! "now, by allah!" said the khalifeh, "there is no god but allah!" and he smote his palms together and raised his eyes to heaven. he condoled with the bereaved man and bade him submit to the will of allah. it was abu-l-hasan's plain duty to do this--especially as he, the khalifeh, would send him a far fairer woman than the one he had lost. then he bestowed on abu-l-hasan a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of fine silk, and bade him prepare the corpse for burial in a manner befitting one so dear. [illustration: the room of the fruits prepared for abu-l-hasan. page ] full of suppressed joy, abu-l-hasan took the guerdon and hastened back to his house, where he found nuzhat-el-fuad ready to dance in her turn. they rejoiced together and presently added the gold pieces and the silk to those already laid by. now, the khalifeh, as soon as he could dismiss his council, hurried with mesrur, his executioner, to zubeydeh to condole with her on the loss of nuzhat-el-fuad. but when he came to her he found her weeping and waiting for his coming to condole with him on the loss of abu-l-hasan. and when it came to a clear misunderstanding between them as to which was dead--abu-l-hasan or nuzhat-el-fuad,--or, at the furthest, which had died first, the khalifeh settled the matter in his own mind by turning to mesrur, his executioner, and saying, "truly, there is little sense in a woman." "jest not with me," cried zubeydeh, laughing contemptuously. "is it not enough that abu-l-hasan is dead, that thou shouldst seek to bury his wife with him! cease! nuzhat-el-fuad came to me in grief, mourning the death of abu-l-hasan." "cease to _thee_!" replied er-rashid, "for abu-l-hasan came since to me, mourning the death of nuzhat-el-fuad. silence, woman! it is nuzhat-el-fuad who is dead." then zubeydeh recounted all the facts of the case, but the khalifeh only laughed and reiterated: "it is certainly nuzhat-el-fuad who is dead, and not abu-l-hasan." and so they continued to contradict each other until the khalifeh grew very angry, and, thinking to settle the matter easily, sent mesrur in all haste to the house of abu-l-hasan to ascertain the truth. the executioner set forth running at full speed, and no sooner was he gone than the khalifeh said to zubeydeh, "wilt thou make me a wager?" "i will," said she, "for certain am i that abu-l-hasan is dead." "and equally certain am i that none but nuzhat-el-fuad is dead." so the khalifeh staked his garden of delight against zubeydeh's hall of statues, and, when this was agreed upon, they waited impatiently for mesrur's return. meanwhile, abu-l-hasan, seated at the window in his house, beheld the executioner come running in haste, and said to his wife, "methinks the khalifeh hath announced thy death to zubeydeh and she hath contradicted him, saying it is abu-l-hasan that is dead. and then, one word giving another, each hath become more obstinate, until the khalifeh hath proposed a wager and hath now sent his executioner running hither to learn which is dead. i think, therefore, to preserve my honour in the khalifeh's eyes, it is well that _thou_ be the corpse so that mesrur may see thee and return and inform the khalifeh, who will then at once believe my assertion and win his wager." swiftly nuzhat-el-fuad obeyed, and, by the time mesrur reached the house, she was extended ready for burial, while abu-l-hasan sat at her head weeping and beating his breast. and mesrur advanced and uncovered her face, crying "there is no god but allah! alas! our sister nuzhat-el-fuad is taken away!" he hastened back to the palace and told the khalifeh and zubeydeh that abu-l-hasan was alive and well, and that nuzhat-el-fuad was dead. at this the khalifeh laughed heartily, saying "now have i won thy hall of statues!" then he bade mesrur tell the story again, omitting no smallest point; for he said zubeydeh was lacking in sense and dull of comprehension. this enraged zubeydeh and she retorted that it was the one who believed the word of a slave like mesrur who was lacking in sense. but the more angry she became the more the khalifeh laughed, until she calmed herself and said, "o prince of the faithful! this slave here is lying in order to please thee. now i will send my messenger, and then the truth of the matter will be clear." the khalifeh, still laughing, readily consented; and zubeydeh summoned an old woman and bade her run with all speed to this house of the quick and the dead and learn for a certainty which was prepared for the grave. and the old woman set forth running as fast as her legs would carry her. now, when nuzhat-el-fuad, seated at the window, saw her drawing near, she said to abu-l-hasan, "methinks the lady zubeydeh hath found fault with mesrur's report of thy death, and hath sent her messenger to learn the truth. therefore, to preserve my honour in zubeydeh's eyes, is it not proper that _thou_ be dead?" "that is so," said abu-l-hasan, and he extended himself on the floor, while his wife prepared his corpse for the grave. when the old woman came in she found nuzhat-el-fuad sitting at his head, weeping bitterly and tearing her hair. "o my mother!" she wailed, "there was none like him! alas! i am alone and wretched!" and she fell to moaning and sobbing and rocking herself to and fro in uncontrollable grief. the old woman comforted her and told her how mesrur had sought to stir up a quarrel between the khalifeh and zubeydeh by a lying report. nuzhet-el-fuad, in return, protested that, not long since, she was with the lady zubeydeh, who had bestowed upon her a hundred pieces of gold and a piece of fine spun silk, saying, "go prepare thy husband's body for the grave!" and in a fresh outburst of grief nuzhet-el-fuad cried, "oh! would that mesrur's tale were true! would that i had died and abu-l-hasan had lived, for i am solitary and know not what to do." after the two had wept together over the body of abu-l-hasan the old woman hastened back to the palace and told her story to the lady zubeydeh, who laughed heartily and bade her tell it to the khalifeh. on hearing it the khalifeh paused and pondered, but mesrur cried, "thou liest, hag! i myself saw nuzhet-el-fuad lying dead and abu-l-hasan alive." "it is thou that liest!" retorted the old woman, "and thou hast a reason." and mesrur would have laid his hands upon her, but zubeydeh interposed, weeping; whereupon the khalifeh said, "nay, nay; it seems we are all liars, and methinks the proper course is that we all go together to the house of abu-l-hasan and so see who lieth truly and who lieth falsely." so all four went forth disputing and laying wager on wager as they went. now, abu-l-hasan, who had said within himself, "the matter cannot end here," had seated himself at the window to watch; and, when he saw the four approaching, he turned to his wife and remarked wisely, "o nuzhet-el-fuad! verily, all is not a pancake that is slippery, and the pitcher that goes often to the fountain will one day be broken. mesrur and the old woman have brewed trouble with their different tales. see! here come the khalifeh and _his_ messenger, and the lady zubeydeh and _her_ messenger; and they are contending and disputing among themselves. now, to save our reputation for veracity, we must _both_ be dead." with great haste they laid themselves out, and, before the babel of contention reached the house, they were lying side by side prepared for burial, and like nothing so much as the silence of the grave. and thus the khalifeh, and zubeydeh, and mesrur, and the old woman, found them when they entered. "alas!" cried the lady zubeydeh, turning to the khalifeh and mesrur, "by your repeated tales of her death you have succeeded at last in killing her!" "this is foolish talk," replied the khalifeh, while mesrur and the old woman glared at one another, speechless. "did not abu-l-hasan come to me, plucking his beard and smiting his breast, and saying, 'nuzhet-el-fuad is dead?' truly, then, she died first, and he, after we had made our wager, died of grief. i, therefore, have won." but zubeydeh replied to this in a torrent of words, saying that nuzhet-el-fuad came to her, tearing her hair and calling out in sorrow for the death of abu-l-hasan. and as this was _before_ the wager was made she in her turn claimed to have won. a long dispute ensued in which mesrur and the old woman joined, but neither side could convince the other; and none knew but the two who lay still as death. at last the khalifeh, weary of the wrangle, sat himself down at the heads of the two corpses and said hotly, "by allah! by the tomb of the prophet! by the graves of all my ancestors! i would give a thousand pieces of gold to any one who could tell me which of these two died before the other." no sooner had abu-l-hasan heard these words than he, being somewhat quicker in such things than his wife, sprang up crying, "o prince of the faithful! it was i who died first. and i have won the thousand pieces according to thine oath." but, when nuzhet-el-fuad sat up before them, and the lady zubeydeh saw that they had practised a trick to obtain the gold, she chid her gently, reproaching her for not asking for help; and yet she wept all the time with joy that she was alive. and the khalifeh--he wept with laughter, and, as soon as he could speak, he cried, "o abu-l-hasan, truly thou art a wag!" "nay, o prince of the faithful!" replied abu-l-hasan, "i had dispensed the good gifts at thy hands, and, being sore stricken with poverty, could contrive no other way but to play this trick upon thee. when i was alone i used my gold wisely, but since thou hast given me this female slave to wife, all thy wealth would not suffice for our extravagance; wherefore, if my lord make not haste to bestow upon me the thousand pieces of gold according to his oath, i may not take it, and--" at this the khalifeh and the lady zubeydeh laughed heartily, and even mesrur twisted his face into a grin and forgot his threat to bastinade the old woman. "come," said the khalifeh, "i must reward thee for thy victory over death." and, when they had gained the palace, er-rashid gave him the thousand pieces of gold, and assured to him an unstinted plenitude in the future. zubeydeh also, in token of similar goodwill, bestowed a thousand pieces of gold upon nuzhet-el-fuad. and abu-l-hasan and nuzhet-el-fuad lived happily thereafter, until, in the end, the last cup of joy was drunk, and the gleaner, who gleans in palaces and the humblest homes, came to gather them in. [illustration] _engraved and printed by henry stone & son, ltd., banbury_ * * * * * transcriber's notes: the table of contents was created by the transcriber to aid the reader. obvious punctuation errors repaired. in "the sleeper awakened," the character of zubeydeh's treasurer is first spelled "nuzhat-el-fuad." it is spelled this way times. halfway through page , the spelling is changed to "nuzhet-el-fuad" which continues nine more times. this was retained as printed. page , "kalifah" changed to "kalifeh" (hands of the khalifeh, harun) page , word "of" added to text (hands of the jew) page , "eunnch" changed to "eunuch" (myself, a eunuch, a slave) page , "hassan" changed to "hasan" (abu-l-hasan descended from) page , word "of" added to text (commanded one of the slave) page , "contempously" changed to "contemptuously" (zubeydeh, laughing contemptuously) this ebook was produced by jc byers. text scanned and proofread by jc byers (http://www.capitalnet.com/~jcbyers/index.htm) the "aldine" edition of the arabian nights entertainments illustrated by s. l. wood from the text of dr. jonathan scott in four volumes volume london pickering and chatto contents of volume ii. the story of the little hunch-back the story told by the christian merchant the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor the story told by the jewish physician the story told by the tailor the story told by the barber the story told by the barber's eldest brother the story told by the barber's second brother the story told by the barber's third brother the story told by the barber's fourth brother the story told by the barber's fifth brother the story told by the barber's sixth brother the history of aboulhassen ali ebn ecar, and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph haroon al rusheed the story of the loves of kummir al zummaun, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan, and of badoura, princess of china the story of the princes amgiad and assad the story of the prince amgiad and a lady of the city of magicians the story of noor ad deen and the fair persian the story of the little hunch-back. there was in former times at casgar, on the extreme boundaries of tartary, a tailor who had a pretty wife, whom he affectionately loved, and by whom he was beloved with reciprocal tenderness. one day while he was at work, a little hunch-back seated himself at the shop door and began to sing, and play upon a tabor. the tailor was pleased with his performance, and resolved to take him to his house to entertain his wife: "this little fellow," said he, "will divert us both this evening." he accordingly invited him, and the other readily accepted the invitation: so the tailor shut up his shop, and carried him home. immediately after their arrival the tailor's wife placed before them a good dish of fish; but as the little man was eating, he unluckily swallowed a bone, which, notwithstanding all that the tailor and his wife could do, choked him. this accident greatly alarmed them both, dreading, if the magistrates should hear of it, that they would be punished as murderers. however, the husband devised a scheme to get rid of the corpse. he reflected that a jewish doctor lived just by, and having formed his plan, his wife and he took the corpse, the one by the feet and the other by the head, and carried it to the physician's house. they knocked at the door, from which a steep flight of stairs led to his chamber. the servant maid came down without any light, and opening the door, asked what they wanted. "have the goodness," said the tailor, "to go up again, and tell your master we have brought him a man who is very ill, and wants his advice. here," continued he, putting a piece of money into her hand, "give him that beforehand, to convince him that we do not mean to impose." while the servant was gone up to inform her master, the tailor and his wife hastily conveyed the hunchbacked corpse to the head of the stairs, and leaving it there, hurried away. in the mean time, the maid told the doctor, that a man and woman waited for him at the door, desiring he would come down and look at a sick man whom they had brought with them, and clapped into his hand the money she had received. the doctor was transported with joy; being paid beforehand, he thought it must needs be a good patient, and should not be neglected. "light, light," cried he to the maid; "follow me quickly." as he spoke, he hastily ran towards the head of the stairs without waiting for a light, and came against the corpse with so much violence that he precipitated it to the bottom, and had nearly fallen with it. "bring me a light," cried he to the maid; "quick, quick." at last she brought one, and he went down stairs with her; but when he saw that what he had kicked down was a dead man, he was so frightened, that he invoked moses, aaron, joshua, esdras, and all the other prophets of his nation. "unhappy man that i am," said he, "why did i attempt to come without a light! i have killed the poor fellow who was brought to me to be cured: doubtless i am the cause of his death, and unless esdras's ass come to assist me, i am ruined: mercy on me, they will be here out of hand, and drag me out of my house for a murderer." notwithstanding the perplexity and confusion into which he was thrown, he had the precaution to shut his door, for fear any one passing by should observe the accident of which he reckoned himself to be the author. he then took the corpse into his wife's chamber, who was ready to swoon at the sight. "alas," cried she, "we are utterly ruined and undone, unless we can devise some expedient to get the corpse out of our house this night. if we harbour it till morning we are lost. what a deplorable misfortune is this! what have you done to kill this man?" "that is not now the question," replied the jew; "our business at present is, to find a remedy for the evil which threatens us." the doctor and his wife consulted how to dispose of the corpse that night. the doctor racked his brain in vain, he could not think of any stratagem to relieve his embarrassment; but his wife, who was more fertile in invention, said, "a thought is just come into my head; let us carry the corpse to the terrace of our house, and throw it down the chimney of our mussulmaun neighbour." this mussulmaun was one of the sultan's purveyors for furnishing oil, butter, and articles of a similar nature, and had a magazine in his house, where the rats and mice made prodigious havoc. the jewish doctor approving the proposed expedient, the wife and he took the little hunch-back up to the roof of the house; and clapping ropes under his arm-pits, let him down the chimney into the purveyor's chamber so dexterously that he stood upright against the wall, as if he had been alive. when they found he had reached the bottom, they pulled up the ropes, and left the corpse in that posture. they were scarcely got down into their chamber, when the purveyor, who had just returned from a wedding feast, went into his room, with a lanthorn in his hand. he was not a little surprised to discover a man standing in his chimney; but being a stout fellow, and apprehending him to be a thief, he took up a stick, and making straight up to the hunch-back, "ah!" said he, "i thought the rats and mice ate my butter and tallow; but it is you who come down the chimney to rob me? however, i think you will have no wish to come here again." upon this he attacked hunch-back, and struck him several times with his stick. the corpse fell down flat on the ground, and the purveyor redoubled his blows. but, observing that the body did not move, he stood a little time to regard it; and then, perceiving it to be dead, fear succeeded his anger. "wretched man that i am," said he, "what have i done! i have killed a man; alas, i have carried my revenge too far. good god, unless thou pity me my life is gone! cursed, ten thousand times accursed, be the fat and the oil that occasioned me to commit so criminal an action." he stood pale and thunderstruck; he fancied he already saw the officers come to drag him to condign punishment, and could not tell what resolution to take. the sultan of casgar's purveyor had never noticed the little man's hump-back when he was beating him, but as soon as he perceived it, he uttered a thousand imprecations against him. "ah, thou cursed hunch-back," cried he, "thou crooked wretch, would to god thou hadst robbed me of all my fat, and i had not found thee here. i then should not have been thrown into this perplexity on account of this and thy vile hunch. ye stars that twinkle in the heavens, give your light to none but me in this dangerous juncture." as soon as he had uttered these words, he took the crooked corpse upon his shoulders, and carried it to the end of the street, where he placed it in an upright posture against a shop; he then returned without once looking behind him. a few minutes before day-break, a christian merchant, who was very rich, and furnished the sultan's palace with various articles, having sat up all night at a debauch, happened to come from his house in this direction on his way to the bath. though he was intoxicated, he was sensible that the night was far spent, and that the people would soon be called to morning prayers; he therefore quickened his pace to get to the bath in time, lest some mussulmaun, in his way to the mosque, should meet him and carry him to prison for a drunkard. when he came to the end of the street, he had occasion to stop by the shop where the sultan's purveyor had put the hunch-backed corpse; which being jostled by him, tumbled upon the merchant's back. the merchant thinking he was attacked by a robber, knocked it down, and after redoubling his blows, cried out "thieves!" the outcry alarmed the watch, who came up immediately, and finding a christian beating a mussulmaun (for hump-back was of our religion), "what reason have you," said he, "to abuse a mussulmaun in this manner?" "he would have robbed me," replied the merchant, "and jumped upon my back in order to take me by the throat." "if he did," said the watch, "you have revenged yourself sufficiently; come, get off him." at the same time he stretched out his hand to help little hump-back up, but observing he was dead, "oh!" said he, "is it thus that a christian dares to assassinate a mussulmaun?" so saying, he laid hold of the christian, and carried him to the house of the officer of the police, where he was kept till the judge was stirring, and ready to examine him. in the mean time, the christian merchant became sober, and the more he reflected upon his adventure, the less could he conceive how such slight blows of his fist could have killed the man. the judge having heard the report of the watch, and viewed the corpse, which they had taken care to bring to his house, interrogated the christian merchant, who could not deny the crime, though he had not committed it. but the judge considering that little hump-back belonged to the sultan, for he was one of his buffoons, would not put the christian to death till he knew the sultan's pleasure. for this end he went to the palace, and acquainted the sultan with what had happened; and received this answer: "i have no mercy to show to a christian who kills a mussulmaun." upon this the judge ordered a stake to be prepared, and sent criers all over the city to proclaim that they were about to impale a christian for killing a mussulmaun. at length the merchant was brought to the place of execution; and the executioner was about to do his duty, when the sultan's purveyor pushed through the crowd, calling to him to stop for that the christian had not committed the murder, but he himself had done it. upon that, the officer who attended the execution began to question the purveyor, who told him every circumstance of his having killed the little hunchback, and how he had conveyed his corpse to the place where the christian merchant had found it. "you were about," added he, "to put to death an innocent person; for how can he be guilty of the death of a man who was dead before he touched him? it is enough for me to have killed a mussulmaun without loading my conscience with the death of a christian who is not guilty." the sultan of casgar's purveyor having publicly charged himself with the death of the little hunchbacked man, the officer could do no less than execute justice on the merchant. "let the christian go," said he to the executioner, "and impale this man in his stead, since it appears by his own confession that he is guilty." thereupon the executioner released the merchant, and seized the purveyor; but just as he was going to impale him, he heard the voice of the jewish doctor, earnestly intreating him to suspend the execution, and make room for him to approach. when he appeared before the judge, "my lord," said he, "this mussulmaun you are going to execute is not guilty. i am the criminal. last night a man and a woman, unknown to me, came to my door with a sick man; my maid went and opened it without a light, and received from them a piece of money with a commission to come and desire me, in their name, to step down and look at the patient. while she was delivering her message, they conveyed the sick person to the stair-head, and disappeared. i went, without staying till my servant had lighted a candle, and in the dark happened to stumble upon the sick person, and kick him down stairs. at length i saw he was dead, and that it was the crooked mussulmaun whose death you are now about to avenge. my wife and i took the corpse, and, after conveying it up to the roof of the purveyor, our next neighbour, whom you were going to put to death unjustly, let it down the chimney into his chamber. the purveyor finding it in his house, took the little man for a thief, and after beating him concluded he had killed him. but that it was not so you will be convinced by this my deposition; i am the sole author of the murder; and though it was committed undesignedly, i am resolved to expiate my crime, that i may not have to charge myself with the death of two mussulmauns." the chief justice being persuaded that the jewish doctor was the murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him and release the purveyor. accordingly the doctor was just going to be impaled, when the tailor appeared, crying to the executioner to hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make his confession to the chief judge. room being made, "my lord," said he, "you have narrowly escaped taking away the lives of three innocent persons; but if you will have the patience to hear me, i will discover to you the real murderer of the crook backed man. if his death is to be expiated by another, that must be mine. yesterday, towards the evening, as i was at work in my shop, and was disposed to be merry, the little hunch-back came to my door half-drunk, and sat down. he sung a little, and so i invited him to pass the evening at my house. he accepted the invitation and went in with me. we sat down to supper and i gave him a plate of fish; but in eating, a bone stuck in his throat, and though my wife and i did our utmost to relieve him, he died in a few minutes. his death afflicted us extremely, and for fear of being charged with it, we carried the corpse to the jewish doctor's house and knocked. the maid came. and opened the door; i desired her to go up again and ask her master to come down and give his advice to a sick person whom we had brought along with us; and withal, to encourage him, i charged her to give him a piece of money, which i put into her hand. when she was gone, i carried the hunch-back up stairs, and laid him upon the uppermost step, and then my wife and i made the best of our way home. the doctor coming, threw the corpse down stairs, and concluded himself to be the author of his death. this being the case," continued he, "release the doctor, and let me die in his stead." the chief justice, and all the spectators, wondered at the strange events which had ensued upon the death of the little hunch-back. "let the jewish doctor go," said the judge, "and seize the tailor, since he confesses the crime. it is certain this history is very uncommon, and deserves to be recorded in letters of gold." the executioner having dismissed the doctor prepared to impale the tailor. while the executioner was making ready to impale the tailor, the sultan of casgar, wanting the company of his crooked jester, asked where he was; and one of his officers told him; "the hunch- back, sir, whom you inquire after, got drunk last night, and contrary to his custom slipped out of the palace, and went strolling about the city, and this morning was found dead. a man was brought before the chief justice, and charged with the murder of him; but when he was going to be impaled, up came a man, and after him another, who took the charge upon themselves and cleared one another, and the judge is now examining a third, who gives himself out for the real author of the murder." upon this intelligence the sultan of casgar sent an officer to the place of execution. "go," said he, "with all expedition, and tell the judge to bring the accused persons before me immediately and bring also the corpse of poor hunch-back, that i may see him once more." accordingly the officer went, and happened to arrive at the place of execution at the very time that the executioner had laid his hands upon the tailor. he called aloud to him to suspend the execution. the executioner knowing the officer, did not dare to proceed, but released the tailor; and then the officer acquainted the judge with the sultan's pleasure. the judge obeyed, and went directly to the palace accompanied by the tailor, the jewish doctor, and the christian merchant; and made four of his men carry the hunch-backed corpse along with him. when they appeared in the sultan's presence, the judge threw himself at the prince's feet and after recovering himself, gave him a faithful relation of what he knew of the story of the hunch-backed man. the story appeared so extraordinary to the sultan, that he ordered his own historian to write it down with all its circumstances. then addressing himself to the audience; "did you ever hear," said he, "such a surprising event as has happened on the account of my little crooked buffoon?" the christian merchant, after falling down, and touching the earth with his forehead, spoke as follows: "most puissant monarch, i know a story yet more astonishing than this; if your majesty will give me leave, i will relate it. the circumstances are such, that no one can hear them without emotion." "well," said the sultan, "you have my permission:" and the merchant went on as follows: the story told by the christian merchant. sir, before i commence the recital of the story you have permitted me to relate, i beg leave to acquaint you, that i have not the honour to be born in any part of your majesty's empire. i am a stranger, born at cairo in egypt, a copt by nation, and by religion a christian. my father was a broker, and realized considerable property, which he left me at his death. i followed his example, and pursued the same employment. while i was standing in the public inn frequented by the corn merchants, there came up to me a handsome young man, well dressed, and mounted on an ass. he saluted me, and pulling out a handkerchief, in which he had a sample of sesame or turkey corn, asked me how much a bushel of such sesame would fetch. i examined the corn the young man shewed me, and told him it was worth a hundred dirhems of silver per bushel. "pray," said he, "look out for some merchant to take it at that price, and come to me at the victory gate, where you will see a khan at a distance from the houses." so saying, he left me the sample, and i shewed it to several merchants, who told me, that they would take as much as i could spare at a hundred and ten dirhems per bushel, so that i reckoned on getting ten dirhems per bushel for my commission. full of the expectation of this profit, i went to the victory gate, where i found the young merchant expecting me, and he took me into his granary, which was full of sesame. he had then a hundred and fifty bushels, which i measured out, and having carried them off upon asses, sold them for five thousand dirhems of silver. "out of this sum," said the young man, "there are five hundred dirhems coming to you, at the rate of ten dirhems per bushel. this i give you; and as for the rest which pertains to me, take it out of the merchants' hands, and keep it till i call or send for it, for i have no occasion for it at present." i answered, it should be ready for him whenever he pleased to demand it; and so, kissing his hand, took leave of him, with a grateful sense of his generosity. a month passed before he came near me: then he asked for the sum he had committed to my trust. i told him it was ready, and should be counted to him immediately. he was mounted on his ass, and i desired him to alight, and do me the honour to eat a mouthful with me before he received his money. "no," said he, "i cannot alight at present, i have urgent business that obliges me to be at a place just by; but i will return this way, and then take the money which i desired you would have in readiness." this said, he disappeared, and i still expected his return, but it was a full month before i saw him again. "this young merchant," thought i, "has great confidence in me, leaving so great a sum in my hands without knowing me; any other man would have been afraid i should have run away with it." to be short, he came again at the end of the third month, and was still mounted on his ass, but more handsomely dressed than before. as soon as i saw the young man, i intreated him to alight, and asked him if he would not take his money? "there is no hurry," said he, with a pleasant easy air, "i know it is in good hands; i will come and take it when my other money is all gone. adieu," continued he, "i will return towards the end of the week." with that he struck the ass, and soon disappeared. "well," thought i, "he says he will see me towards the end of the week, but he may not perhaps return for a great while; i will make the most i can of his money, which may bring me much profit." as it happened, i was not deceived in my conjecture; for it was a full year before i saw my young merchant again. he then appeared as richly appareled as before, but seemed to have something on his spirits. i asked him to do me the honour to walk into my house. "for this time," replied he, "i will: but on this condition, that you shall put yourself to no extraordinary charge on my account." "i will do just as you please," said i, "only do me the favour to alight and walk in." accordingly he complied. i gave orders to have a repast prepared, and while this was doing, we entered into conversation. all things being ready, we sat down. i observed he took the first mouthful with his left hand, and not with the right. i was at a loss what to think of this. "ever since i have known this young man," said i inwardly, "he has always appeared very polite; is it possible he can do this out of contempt? what can be the reason he does not use his right hand?" after we had done eating, and every thing was taken away, we sat upon a sofa, and i presented him with a lozenge by way of dainty; but still he took it with his left hand. i said to him, "pardon, sir, the liberty i take in asking you what reason you have for not using your right hand? perhaps you have some complaint in that hand." instead of answering, he heaved a deep sigh, and pulling out his right arm, which he had hitherto kept under his vest, shewed me, to my great astonishment, that it had been cut off. "doubtless you were displeased," said he, "to see me feed myself with the left hand; but i leave you to judge, whether it was in my power to do otherwise." "may one ask," said i, "by what mischance you lost your right hand?" upon that he burst into tears, and after wiping his eyes, gave me the following relation. you must know that i am a native of bagdad, the son of a rich merchant, the most eminent in that city for rank and opulence. i had scarcely launched into the world, when falling into the company of travellers, and hearing their wonderful accounts of egypt, especially of grand cairo, i was interested by their discourse, and felt a strong desire to travel. but my father was then alive, and would not grant me permission. at length he died; and being then my own master, i resolved to take a journey to cairo. i laid out a large sum of money in the purchase of several sorts of fine stuffs of bagdad and moussol. and departed. arriving at cairo, i went to the khan, called the khan of mesrour, and there took lodgings, with a warehouse for my bales, which i had brought with me upon camels. this done, i retired to my chamber to rest, after the fatigue of my journey, and gave some money to my servants, with orders to buy some provisions and dress them. after i had eaten, i went to view the castle, some mosques, the public squares, and the other most remarkable places. next day i dressed myself, and ordered some of the finest and richest of my bales to be selected and carried by my slaves to the circassian bazaar, whither i followed. i had no sooner made my appearance, than i was surrounded with brokers and criers who had heard of my arrival. i gave patterns of my stuffs to several of the criers, who shewed them all over the bazaar; but none of the merchants offered near so much as prime cost and carriage. this vexed me, and the criers observing i was dissatisfied, said, "if you will take our advice, we will put you in a way to sell your goods without loss." the brokers and the criers, having thus promised to put me in a way of losing nothing by my goods, i asked them what course they would have me pursue . "divide your goods," said they, among several merchants, they will sell them by retail; and twice a week, that is on mondays and thursdays, you may receive what money they may have taken. by this means, instead of losing, you will turn your goods to advantage, and the merchants will gain by you. in the mean while you will have time to take your pleasure about the town or go upon the nile." i took their advice, and conducted them to my warehouse; from whence i brought all my goods to the bazaar, and there divided them among the merchants whom they represented as most reputable and able to pay; and the merchants gave me a formal receipt before witnesses, stipulating that i should not making any demands upon them for the first month. having thus regulated my affairs, my mind was occupied with ordinary pleasures. i contracted acquaintance with divers persons of nearly the same age with myself, which made the time pass agreeably. after the first month had expired, i began to visit my merchants twice a week, taking with me a public officer to inspect their books of sale, and a banker to see that they paid me in good money, and to regulate the value of the several coins. every pay-day, i had a good sum of money to carry home to my lodging at the khan of mesrour. i went on other days to pass the morning sometimes at one merchant's house, and sometimes at that of another. in short, i amused myself in conversing with them, and seeing what passed in the bazaar. one monday, as i was sitting in a merchant â��s shop, whose name was buddir ad deen, a lady of quality, as might easily be perceived by her air, her apparel, and by a well-dressed slave attending her, came into the shop, and sat down by me. her external appearance, joined to a natural grace that shone in all her actions, prepossessed me in her favour, and inspired me with a desire to be better acquainted with her. i know not whether she observed that i took pleasure in gazing on her, and whether this attention on my part was not agreeable to her; but she let down the crepe that hung over the muslin which covered her face, and gave me the opportunity of seeing her large black eyes; which perfectly charmed me. in fine, she inflamed my love to the height by the agreeable sound of her voice, her graceful carriage in saluting the merchant, and asking him how he did since she had seen him last. after conversing with him some time upon indifferent subjects, she gave him to understand that she wanted a particular kind of stuff with a gold ground; that she came to his shop, as affording the best choice of any in all the bazaar; and that if he had any such as she asked for, he would oblige her in showing them. buddir ad deen produced several pieces, one of which she pitched upon, and he asked for it eleven hundred dirhems of silver. "i will," said she, "give you your price for it, but i have not money enough about me; so i hope you will give me credit till to- morrow, and in the mean time allow me to carry home the stuff. i shall not fail," added she, "to send you tomorrow the eleven hundred dirhems." "madam," said buddir ad deen, "i would give you credit with all my heart if the stuff were mine; but it belongs to the young man you see here, and this is the day on which we settle our accounts." "why," said the lady in surprise, "do you use me so? am not i a customer to your shop and when i have bought of you, and carried home the things without paying ready money for them, did i in any instance fail to send you your money next morning?" "madam," said the merchant, "all this is true, but this very day i have occasion for the money." "there," said she, throwing the stuff to him, "take your stuff, i care not for you nor any of the merchants. you are all alike; you respect no one." as she spoke, she rose up in anger, and walked out. when i saw that the lady walked away, i felt interested on her behalf, and called her back, saying, "madam, do me the favour to return, perhaps i can find a way to satisfy you both." she returned, saying, it was on my account that she complied. "buddir ad deen," said i to the merchant, "what is the price you must have for this stuff that belongs to me?" "i must have," replied he, "eleven hundred dirhems, i cannot take less." "give it to the lady then," said i, "let her take it home with her; i allow a hundred dirhems profit to yourself, and shall now write you a note, empowering you to deduct that sum upon the produce of the other goods you have of mine." in fine, i wrote, signed, and gave him the note, and then delivered the stuff to the lady. "madam," said i, "you may take the stuff with you, and as for the money, you may either send it to-morrow or the next day; or, if you will, accept it as a present from me." "pardon me," returned she, "i mean no such thing. you treat me with so much politeness, that i should be unworthy to appear in the world again, were i to omit making you my best acknowledgments. may god reward you, by an increase of your fortune; may you live many years after i am dead; may the gate of paradise be open to you when you remove to the other world, and may all the city proclaim your generosity." these words inspired me with some assurance. "madam," i replied, "i desire no other reward for the service i have done you than the happiness of seeing your face; which will repay me with interest." i had no sooner spoken than she turned towards me, took off her veil, and discovered to me a wonderful beauty. i became speechless with admiration. i could have gazed upon her for ever; but fearing any one should observe her, she quickly covered her face, and letting down the crepe, took up the piece of stuff, and went away, leaving me in a very different state of mind from that in which i had entered the shop. i continued for some time in great confusion and perplexity. before i took leave of the merchant, i asked him, if he knew the lady; "yes," said he, "she is the daughter of an emir." i went back to the khan of mesrour, and sat down to supper, but could not eat, neither could i shut my eyes all the night, which seemed the longest in my life. as soon as it was day i arose, in hopes of once more beholding the object that disturbed my repose: and to engage her affection, i dressed myself much richer than i had done the day before. i had but just reached buddir ad deen's shop, when i saw the lady coming in more magnificent apparel than before, and attended by her slave. when she entered, she did not regard the merchant, but addressing herself to me, said, "sir, you see i am punctual to my word. i am come for the express purpose of paying the sum you were so kind as to pass your word for yesterday, though you had no knowledge of me. such uncommon generosity i shall never forget." "madam," said i, "you had no occasion to be in such haste; i was well satisfied as to my money, and am sorry you should put yourself to so much trouble." "i had been very unjust," answered she, "if i had abused your generosity." with these words she put the money into my hand, and sat down by me. having this opportunity of conversing with her, i determined to improve it, and mentioned to her the love i had for her; but she rose and left me very abruptly, as if she had been angry with the declaration i had made. i followed her with my eyes as long as she continued in sight; then taking leave of the merchant walked out of the bazaar, without knowing where i went. i was musing on this adventure, when i felt somebody pulling me behind, and turning to see who it was, i was agreeably surprised to perceive it was the lady's slave. "my mistress," said she, "i mean the young lady you spoke to in the merchant's shop, wants to speak with you, if you please to give yourself the trouble to follow me." accordingly i followed her, and found her mistress sitting waiting for me in a banker's shop. she made me sit down by her, and spoke to this purpose. "do not be surprised, that i left you so abruptly. i thought it not proper, before that merchant, to give a favourable answer to the discovery you made of your affection for me. but to speak the truth, i was so far from being offended at it, that it gave me pleasure; and i account myself infinitely happy in having a man of your merit for my lover. i do not know what impression the first sight of me may have made on you, but i assure you, i had no sooner beheld you than i found my heart moved with the tenderest emotions of love. since yesterday i have done nothing but think of what you said to me; and my eagerness to seek you this morning may convince you of my regard." "madam," i replied, transported with love and joy, "nothing can be more agreeable to me than this declaration. no passion can exceed that with which i love you. my eyes were dazzled with so many charms, that my heart yielded without resistance." "let us not trifle away the time in needless discourse," said she, interrupting me; "make no doubt of your sincerity, and you shall quickly be convinced of mine. will you do me the honour to come to my residence? or if you will i will go to yours." "madam," i returned, "i am a stranger lodged in a khan, which is not the proper place for the reception of a lady of your quality. it is more proper, madam, that i should visit you at your house; have the goodness to tell me where it is." the lady consented; "come," said she, "on friday, which is the day after to-morrow, after noon-prayers, and ask for the house of abon schama, surnamed bercour, late master of the emirs; there you will find me." this said, we parted; and i passed the next day in great impatience. on friday i put on my richest apparel, and took fifty pieces of gold in my purse. i mounted an ass i had bespoken the day before, and set out, accompanied by the man who let me the ass. i directed the owner of the ass to inquire for the house i wanted; he found it, and conducted me thither. i paid him liberally, directing him to observe narrowly where he left me, and not to fail to return next morning with the ass, to carry me again to the khan of mesrour. i knocked at the door, and presently two little female slaves, white as snow, and neatly dressed came and opened it. "be pleased to come in, sir, said they, "our mistress expects you impatiently; these two days she has talked of nothing but you. i entered the court, and saw a pavilion raised seven steps, and surrounded with iron rails that parted it from a very pleasant garden. besides the trees which only embellished the place, and formed an agreeable shade, there was an infinite number of others loaded with all sorts of fruit. i was charmed with the warbling of a great number of birds, that joined their notes to the murmurings of a fountain, in the middle of a parterre enamelled with flowers. this fountain formed a very agreeable object; four large gilded dragons at the angles of the basin, which was of a square form, spouted out water clearer than rock-crystal. this delicious place gave me a charming idea of the conquest i had made. the two little slaves conducted me into a saloon magnificently furnished; and while one of them went to acquaint her mistress with my arrival, the other tarried with me, and pointed out to me the beauties of the hall. i did not wait long in the hall, ere the lady i loved appeared, adorned with pearls and diamonds ; but the splendour of her eyes far outshone that of her jewels. her shape, which was now not disguised by the habit she wore in the city, appeared the most slender and delicate. i need not mention with what joy we met once more; it far exceeded all expression. when the first compliments were over, we sat down upon a sofa, and there conversed together with the highest satisfaction. we had the most delicious refreshments served up to us; and after eating, continued our conversation till night. we then had excellent wine brought up, and fruit adapted to promote drinking, and timed our cups to the sound of musical instruments, joined to the voices of the slaves. the lady of the house sung herself, and by her songs raised my passion to the height. in short, i passed the night in full enjoyment. next morning i slipped under the bolster of the bed the purse with the fifty pieces of gold i had brought with me, and took leave of the lady, who asked me when i would see her again. "madam," said i, "i give you my promise to return this night." she seemed to be transported with my answer, and conducting me to the door, conjured me at parting to be mindful of my promise. the same man who had carried me thither waited for me with his ass, which i mounted, and went directly to the khan; ordering the man to come to me again in the afternoon at a certain hour, to secure which, i deferred paying him till that time came. as soon as i arrived at my lodging, my first care was to order my people to buy a lamb, and several sorts of cakes, which i sent by a porter as a present to the lady. when that was done i attended to my business till the owner of the ass arrived. i then went along with him to the lady's house, and was received by her with as much joy as before, and entertained with equal magnificence. next morning i took leave, left her another purse with fifty pieces of gold, and returned to my khan. i continued to visit the lady every day, and to leave her every time a purse with fifty pieces of gold, till the merchants whom i employed to sell my goods, and whom i visited regularly twice a week, had paid me the whole amount of my goods and, in short, i came at last to be moneyless, and hopeless of having any more. in this forlorn condition i walked out of my lodging, not knowing what course to take, and by chance went towards the castle, where there was a great crowd to witness a spectacle given by the sultan of egypt. as soon as i came up, i wedged in among the crowd, and by chance happened to stand by a horseman well mounted and handsomely clothed, who had upon the pommel of his saddle a bag, half open, with a string of green silk hanging out of it. i clapped my hand to the bag, concluding the silk-twist might be the string of a purse within: in the mean time a porter, with a load of wood upon his back, passed by on the other side of the horse so near, that the rider was forced to turn his head towards him, to avoid being hurt, or having his clothes torn by the wood. in that moment the devil tempted me; i took the string in one hand, and with the other pulled out the purse so dexterously, that nobody perceived me. the purse was heavy, and i did not doubt but it contained gold or silver. as soon as the porter had passed, the horseman, who probably had some suspicion of what i had done while his head was turned, presently put his hand to his bag, and finding his purse was gone, gave me such a blow, that he knocked me down. this violence shocked all who saw it. some took hold of the horse's bridle to stop the gentleman, and asked him what reason he had to strike me, or how he came to treat a mussulmaun so rudely. "do not you trouble yourselves," said he briskly, "i had reason for what i did; this fellow is a thief." at these words i started up, and from my appearance every one took my part, and cried out he was a liar, for that it was incredible a young man such as i was should be guilty of so base an action: but while they were holding his horse by the bridle to favour my escape, unfortunately passed by the judge, who seeing such a crowd about the gentleman on horseback, came up and asked what the matter was. every body present reflected on the gentleman for treating me so unjustly upon the presence of robbery. the judge did not give ear to all that was said; but asked the cavalier if he suspected any body else beside me? the cavalier told him he did not, and gave his reasons why he believed his suspicions not to be groundless. upon this the judge ordered his followers to seize me, which they presently did; and finding the purse upon me, exposed it to the view of all the people. the disgrace was so great, i could not bear it, and i swooned away. in the mean time the judge called for the purse. when the judge had got the purse in his hand, he asked the horseman if it was his, and how much money it contained. the cavalier knew it to be his own, and assured the judge he had put twenty sequins into it. upon which the judge called me before him; "come, young man," said he, "confess the truth. was it you that took the gentleman's purse from him? do not wait for the torture to extort confession." then with downcast eyes, thinking that if i denied the fact, they, having found the purse upon me, would convict me of a lie, to avoid a double punishment i looked up and confessed my guilt. i had no sooner made the confession, than the judge called people to witness it, and ordered my hand to be cutoff. this sentence was immediately put in execution, to the great regret of all the spectators; nay, i observed, by the cavalier's countenance, that he was moved with pity as much as the rest. the judge would likewise have ordered my foot to be cut off, but i begged the cavalier to intercede for my pardon; which he did, and obtained it. when the judge was gone, the cavalier came up to me, and holding out the purse, said, "i see plainly that necessity drove you to an action so disgraceful and unworthy of such a young man as you appear. here, take that fatal purse; i freely give it you, and am heartily sorry for the misfortune you have undergone." having thus spoken, he went away. being very weak by loss of blood, some of the good people of the neighbourhood had the kindness to carry me into a house and give me a glass of cordial; they likewise dressed my arm, and wrapped up the dismembered hand in a cloth, which i carried away with me fastened to my girdle. had i returned to the khan of mesrour in this melancholy condition, i should not have found there such relief as i wanted; and to offer to go to the young lady was running a great hazard, it being likely she would not look upon me after being informed of my disgrace. i resolved, however, to put her to the trial; and to tire out the crowd that followed me, i turned down several by- streets, and at last arrived at the lady's house very weak, and so much fatigued, that i presently threw myself down upon a sofa, keeping my right arm under my garment, for i took great care to conceal my misfortune. in the mean time the lady, hearing of my arrival, and that i was not well, came to me in haste; and seeing me pale and dejected, said, "my dear love, what is the matter with you?" "madam," i replied, dissembling, "i have a violent pain in my head." the lady seemed to be much concerned, and asked me to sit down, for i had arisen to receive her. "tell me," said she, "how your illness was occasioned. the last time i had the pleasure to see you, you were very well. there must be something that you conceal from me, let me know what it is." i stood silent, and instead of an answer, tears trickled down my cheeks. "i cannot conceive," resumed she, "what it is that afflicts you. have i unthinkingly given you any occasion of uneasiness? or do you come on purpose to tell me you no longer love me?" "it is not that, madam," said i, heaving a deep sigh; "your unjust suspicion adds to my misfortune." i could not think of discovering to her the true cause. when night came, supper was brought, and she pressed me to eat; but considering i could only feed myself with my left hand, i begged to be excused upon the plea of having no appetite. "it will return," said she, "if you would but discover what you so obstinately conceal from me. your want of appetite, without doubt, is only owing to your irresolution." "alas! madam," returned i, "i find i must resolve at last." i had no sooner spoken, than she filled me a cup full of wine, and offering it to me, "drink that," said she, "it will give you courage." i reached out my left hand, and took the cup. when i had taken the cup in my hand, i redoubled my tears and sighs. "why do you sigh and weep so bitterly?" asked the lady; "and why do you take the cup with your left hand, rather than your right?" "ah! madam," i replied, "i beseech you excuse me; i have a swelling in my right hand." "let me see that swelling," said she; "i will open it." i desired to be excused, alleging it was not ripe enough for such an operation; and drank off the cup, which was very large. the fumes of the wine, joined to my weakness and weariness, set me asleep, and i slept very soundly till morning. in the mean time the lady, curious to know what ailed my right hand, lifted up my garment that covered it; and saw to her great astonishment that it was cut off, and that i had brought it along with me wrapped up in a cloth. she presently apprehended what was my reason for declining a discovery, notwithstanding all her pressing solicitation; and passed the night in the greatest uneasiness on account of my disgrace, which she concluded had been occasioned only by the love i bore to her. when i awoke, i discerned by her countenance that she was extremely grieved. however, that she might not increase my uneasiness she said not a word. she called for jelly-broth of fowl, which she had ordered to be prepared, and made me eat and drink to recruit my strength. after that, i offered to take leave of her; but she declared i should not go out of her doors. "though you tell me nothing of the matter," said she, "i am persuaded i am the cause of the misfortune that has befallen you. the grief that i feel on that account will soon end my days, but before i die, i must execute a design for your benefit." she had no sooner spoken, than she called for a judge and witnesses, and ordered a writing to be drawn up, putting me in possession of her whole property. after this was done, and every body dismissed, she opened a large trunk where lay all the purses i had given her from the commencement of our amour. "there they are all entire," said she; "i have not touched one of them. here is the key ; take it, for all is yours." after i had returned her thanks for her generosity and goodness; "what i have done for you," said she, "is nothing; i shall not be satisfied unless i die, to show how much i love you." i conjured her, by all the powers of love, to relinquish such a fatal resolution. but all my remonstrances were ineffectual: she was so afflicted to see me have but one hand, that she sickened, and died after five or six weeks' illness. after mourning for her death as long as was decent, i took possession of all her property, a particular account of which she gave me before she died; and the corn you sold for me was part of it. "what i have now told you," said he, "will plead my excuse for eating with my left hand. i am highly obliged to you for the trouble you have given yourself on my account. i can never sufficiently recompense your fidelity. since i have still, thanks to god, a competent estate, notwithstanding i have spent a great deal, i beg you to accept of the sum now in your hand, as a present from me. i have besides a proposal to make to you. as i am obliged, on account of this fatal accident, to quit cairo, i am resolved never to return to it again. if you choose to accompany me, we will trade together as equal partners, and share the profits." i thanked the young man for the present he had made me, and i willingly embraced the proposal of travelling with him, assuring him, that his interest should always be as dear to me as my own. we fixed a day for our departure, and accordingly entered upon our travels. we passed through syria and mesopotamia, travelled over persia, and after stopping at several cities, came at last, sir, to your capital. some time after our arrival here, the young man having formed a design of returning to persia, and settling there, we balanced our accounts, and parted very good friends. he went from hence, and i, sir, continue here in your majesty's service. this is the story i had to relate. does not your majesty find it more surprising than that of the hunch-back buffoon? the sultan of casgar fell into a passion against the christian merchant. "thou art a presumptuous fellow," said he, "to tell me a story so little worth hearing, and then to compare it to that of my jester. canst thou flatter thyself so far as to believe that the trifling adventures of a young debauchee are more interesting than those of my jester? i will have you all four impaled, to revenge his death. hearing this, the purveyor prostrated himself at the sultan's feet. "sir," said he, "i humbly beseech your majesty to suspend your wrath, and hear my story; and if it appears to be more extraordinary than that of your jester, to pardon us." the sultan having granted his request, the purveyor began thus. the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor. sir, a person of quality invited me yesterday to his daughter's wedding. i went to his house in the evening at the hour appointed, and found there a large company of men of the law, ministers of justice, and others of the first rank in the city. after the ceremony was over, we partook of a splendid feast. among other dishes set upon the table, there was one seasoned with garlic, which was very delicious, and generally relished. we observed, however, that one of the guests did not touch it, though it stood just before him. we invited him to taste it, but he intreated us not to press him. "i will take good care," said he, "how i touch any dish that is seasoned with garlic; i have not yet forgotten what the tasting of such a dish once cost me." we requested him to inform us what the reason was of his aversion to garlic. but before he had time to answer, the master of the house exclaimed, "is it thus you honour my table? this dish is excellent, do not expect to be excused from eating of it; you must do me that favour as well as the rest." "sir," said the gentleman, who was a bagdad merchant, "i hope you do not think my refusal proceeds from any mistaken delicacy; if you insist on my compliance i will submit, but it must be on this condition, that after having eaten, i may, with your permission, wash my hands with alkali forty times, forty times more with ashes, and forty times again with soap. i hope you will not feel displeased at this stipulation, as i have made an oath never to taste garlic but on these terms." as the master of the house, continued the purveyor of the sultan of casgar, would not dispense with the merchant's partaking of the dish seasoned with garlic, he ordered his servants to provide a basin of water, together with some alkali, the ashes, and soap, that the merchant might wash as often as he pleased. after he had given these instructions, he addressed the merchant and said, "i hope you will now do as we do." the merchant, apparently displeased with the constraint put upon him, took up a bit, which he put to his mouth trembling, and ate with a reluctance that astonished us. but what surprised us yet more was, that he had no thumb; which none of us had observed before, though he had eaten of other dishes. "you have lost your thumb," said the master of the house. "this must have been occasioned by some extraordinary accident, a relation of which will be agreeable to the company." "sir," replied the merchant, "i have no thumb on either the right or the left hand." as he spoke he put out his left hand, and shewed us that what he said was true. "but this is not all," continued he: "i have no great toe on either of my feet: i was maimed in this manner by an unheard-of adventure, which i am willing to relate, if you will have the patience to hear me. the account will excite at once your astonishment and your pity. only allow me first to wash my hands." with this he rose from the table, and after washing his hands a hundred and twenty times, reseated himself, and proceeded with his narrative as follows. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, my father lived at bagdad, the place of my nativity, and was reputed one of the richest merchants in the city. but being a man addicted to his pleasures, and neglecting his private affairs, instead of leaving me an ample fortune, he died in such embarrassed circumstances, that i was reduced to the necessity of using all the economy possible to discharge the debts he had contracted. i at last, however, paid them all; and by care and good management my little fortune began to wear a smiling aspect. one morning, as i opened my shop, a lady mounted upon a mule, and attended by an eunuch and two slaves, stopped near my door, and with the assistance of the eunuch alighted. "madam," said the eunuch, "i told you you would be too early; you see there is no one yet in the bazaar: had you taken my advice, you might have saved yourself the trouble of waiting here." the lady looked and perceiving no shop open but mine, asked permission to sit in it till the other merchants arrived. with this request i of course readily complied. the lady took a seat in my shop, and observing there was no one in the bazaar but the eunuch and myself, uncovered her face to take the air. i had never beheld any thing so beautiful. i became instantly enamoured, and kept my eyes fixed upon her. i flattered myself that my attention was not unpleasant to her; for she allowed me time to view her deliberately, and only concealed her face so far as she thought necessary to avoid being observed. after she had again lowered her veil, she told me she wanted several sorts of the richest and finest stuffs, and asked me if i had them. "alas! madam," i replied, "i am but a young man just beginning the world; i have not capital sufficient for such extensive traffic. i am much mortified not to be able to accommodate you with the articles you want. but to save you the trouble of going from shop to shop, when the merchants arrive, i will, if you please, go and get those articles from them, and ascertain the lowest prices." she assented to this proposal, and entered into conversation with me, which i prolonged, making her believe the merchants that could furnish what she wanted were not yet come. i was not less charmed with her wit than i had been before with the beauty of her face; but was obliged to forego the pleasure of her conversation. i ran for the stuffs she wanted, and after she had fixed upon what she liked, we agreed for five thousand dirhems of coined silver; i wrapped up the stuffs in a small bundle, and gave it to the eunuch, who put it under his arm. she then rose and took leave. i followed her with my eyes till she had reached the bazaar gate, and even after she had remounted her mule. the lady had no sooner disappeared, than i perceived that love had led me to a serious oversight. it had so engrossed my thoughts, that i did not reflect that she went away without paying, and that i had not informed myself who she was, or where she resided. i soon felt sensible, however, that i was accountable for a large sum to the merchants, who, perhaps, would not have patience to wait for their money: i went to them, and made the best excuse i could, pretending that i knew the lady; and then returned home, equally affected with love, and with the burden of such a heavy debt. i had desired my creditors to wait eight days for their money: when this period had elapsed, they did not fail to dun me. i then intreated them to give me eight days more, to which they consented; but the next day i saw the lady enter the bazaar, mounted on her mule, with the same attendants as before, and exactly the same hour of the day. she came straight to my shop. "i have made you wait some time," said she, "but here is your money at last; carry it to the banker, and see that it is all good and right." the eunuch who carried the money went along with me to the banker, and we found it quite right. i returned, and had the happiness of conversing with the lady till all the shops of the bazaar were open. though we talked but of ordinary things, she gave them such a turn, that they appeared new and uncommon; and convinced me that i was not mistaken in admiring her wit at our first interview. as soon as the merchants had arrived and opened their shops, i carried to the respective owners the money due for their stuffs, and was readily intrusted with more, which the lady had desired to see. she chose some from these to the value of one thousand pieces of gold, and carried them away as before without paying; nay, without speaking a word, or informing me who she was. what distressed me was the consideration that while at this rate she risked nothing, she left me without any security against being made answerable for the goods in case she did not return. "she has paid me," thought i, "a considerable sum; but she leaves me responsible for a greater, surely she cannot be a cheat. the merchants do not know her, they will all come upon me." in short, my love was not so powerful as to stifle the uneasiness i felt, when i reflected upon the circumstances in which i was placed. a whole month passed before i heard any thing of the lady again; and during that time my alarm increased. the merchants were impatient for their money, and to satisfy them, i was going to sell off all i had, when one morning the lady returned with the same equipage as before. "take your weights," said she, "and weigh the gold i have brought you." these words dispelled my fear, and inflamed my love. before we counted the money, she asked me several questions, and particularly if i was married. i answered i never had been. then reaching out the gold to the eunuch, "let us have your interposition," said she, "to accommodate our matters." upon which the eunuch fell a laughing, and calling me aside, made me weigh the gold. while i was thus occupied, the eunuch whispered in my ear, "i know by your eyes you love this lady, and i am surprised that you have not the courage to disclose your passion. she loves you more ardently than you do her. do not imagine that she has any real occasion for your stuffs. she only makes this her presence to come here, because you have inspired her with a violent passion. it was for this reason she asked you if you were married. it will be your own fault, if you do not marry her." "it is true," i replied, "i have loved her since i first beheld her; but i durst not aspire to the happiness of thinking my attachment could meet her approbation. i am entirely hers, and shall not fail to retain a grateful sense of your good offices in this affair." i finished weighing the gold, and while i was putting it into the bag, the eunuch turned to the lady, and told her i was satisfied; that being the word they had agreed upon between themselves. presently after, the lady rose and took her leave; telling me she would send her eunuch to me, and that i had only to obey the directions he might give me in her name. i carried each of the merchants their money, and waited some days with impatience for the eunuch. at last he came. i received the eunuch very kindly, and inquired after his mistress's health. "you are," said he, "the happiest lover in the world; she is impatient to see you; aud were she mistress of her own conduct, would not fail to come to you herself, and willingly pass in your society all the days of her life." "her noble mien and graceful carriage," i replied, "convinced me, that she was a lady beyond the common rank." "you have not erred in your judgment on that head," said the eunuch; "she is the favourite of zobeide the caliph's wife, who is the more affectionately attached to her from having brought her up from her infancy, and intrusts her with all her affairs. having a wish to marry, she has declared to her mistress that she has fixed her affections upon you, and has desired her consent. zobeide told her, she would not withhold her consent; but that she would see you first, in order to judge if she had made a good choice; in which case she meant herself to defray the expenses of the wedding. thus you see your felicity is certain; since you have pleased the favourite, you will be equally agreeable to the mistress, who seeks only to oblige her, and would by no means thwart her inclination. all you have to do is to come to the palace. i am sent hither to invite you." "my resolution is already formed," said i, "and i am ready to follow you whithersoever you please." "very well," said the eunuch; "but you know men are not allowed to enter the ladies' apartments in the palace, and you must be introduced with great secrecy. the favourite lady has contrived the matter well. on your side you must act your part discreetly; for if you do not, your life is at stake." i gave him repeated assurances punctually to perform whatever he might require. "then," said he, "in the evening, you must be at the mosque built by the caliph's lady on the bank of the tigris, and wait there till somebody comes to conduct you." to this i agreed; and after passing the day in great impatience, went in the evening to the prayer that is said an hour and a half after sun-set in the mosque, and remained there after all the people had departed. soon after i saw a boat making up to the mosque, the rowers of which were all eunuchs, who came on shore, put several large trunks into the mosque, and then retired. one of them stayed behind, whom i perceived to be the eunuch that had accompanied the lady, and had been with me that morning. i saw the lady also enter the mosque; and approaching her, told her i was ready to obey her orders. "we have no time to lose," said she; and opening one of the trunks, desired me to get into it, that being necessary both for her safety and mine. "fear nothing," added she, "leave the management of all to me." i considered with myself that i had gone too far to recede, and obeyed her orders; when she immediately locked the trunk. this done, the eunuch her confidant called the other eunuchs who had brought in the trunks, and ordered them to carry them on board again. the lady and the eunuch re-embarked, and the boatmen rowed to zobeide's apartment. in the meantime i reflected very seriously upon the danger to which i had exposed myself, and made vows and prayers, though it was then too late. the boat stopped at the palace-gate, and the trunks were carried into the apartment of the officer of the eunuchs, who keeps the key of the ladies' apartments, and suffers nothing to enter without a narrow inspection. the officer was then in bed, and it was necessary to call him up. the officer of the eunuchs was displeased at having his rest disturbed, and severely chid the favourite lady for coming home so late. "you shall not come off so easily as you think," said he: "not one of these trunks shall pass till i have opened it." at the same time he commanded the eunuchs to bring them before him, and open them one by one. the first they took was that wherein i lay, which put me into inexpressible fear. the favourite lady, who had the key, protested it should not be opened. "you know very well," said she, "i bring nothing hither but what is for the use of zobeide, your mistress and mine. this trunk is filled with rich goods, which i purchased from some merchants lately arrived, besides a number of bottles of zemzem water sent from mecca; and if any of these should happen to break, the goods will be spoiled, and you must answer for them; depend upon it, zobeide will resent your insolence." she insisted upon this in such peremptory terms, that the officer did not dare to open any of the trunks. "let them go," said he angrily; "you may take them away." upon this the door of the women's apartment was opened, and all the trunks were carried in. this had been scarcely accomplished, when i heard the people cry, "here is the caliph! here comes the caliph!" this put me in such alarm, that i wonder i did not die upon the spot; for as they announced, it proved to be the caliph. "what hast thou got in these trunks?" said he to the favourite. "some stuffs," she replied, "lately arrived, which the empress wishes to see." "open them," cried he, "and let me see them." she excused herself, alleging the stuffs were only proper for ladies, and that by opening them, his lady would be deprived of the pleasure of seeing them first. "i say open them," resumed the caliph; "i will see them." she still represented that her mistress would be angry with her, if she complied: "no, no," said he, "i will engage she shall not say a word to you. come, come, open them, and do not keep me waiting." it was necessary to obey, which gave me such alarm, that i tremble every time i recollect my situation. the caliph sat down; and the favourite ordered all the trunks to be brought before him one after another. she opened some of them; and to lengthen out the time, displayed the beauties of each particular stuff, thinking in this manner to tire out his patience; but her stratagem did not succeed. being as unwilling as myself to have the trunk where i lay opened, she left that to the last. when all the rest were viewed, "come," said the caliph, "let us see what is in that." i am at a loss to tell you whether i was dead or alive that moment; for i little thought of escaping such imminent danger. when zobeide's favourite saw that the caliph persisted in having this trunk opened: "as for this," said she, "your majesty will please to dispense with the opening of it; there are some things in it which i cannot shew you without your lady be present." "well, well," said the caliph, "since that is the case, i am satisfied; order the trunks to be carried away." the words were no sooner spoken than they were moved into her chamber, where i began to revive again. as soon as the eunuchs, who had brought them, were gone, she opened the trunk in which i was confined. "come out," said she; "go up these stairs that lead to an upper room, and wait there till i come to you." the door, which led to the stairs, she locked after me; and that was no sooner done, than the caliph came and sat down on the very trunk which had been my prison. the occasion of this visit did not respect me. he wished to question the lady about what she had seen or heard in the city. so they conversed together some time; he then left her, and retired to his apartment. when she found the coast clear, she came to the chamber where i lay concealed, and made many apologies for the alarms she had given me. "my uneasiness," said she, "was no less than yours; you cannot well doubt of that, since i have run the same risk out of love to you. perhaps another person in my situation would not, upon so delicate an occasion, have had the presence of mind to manage so difficult a business with so much dexterity; nothing less than the love i had for you could have inspired me with courage to do what i have. but come, take heart, the danger is now over." after much tender conversation, she told me it was time to go to rest, and that she would not fail to introduce me to zobeide her mistress, some hour on the morrow, "which will be very easy," added she; "for the caliph never sees her but at night." encouraged by these words, i slept very well, or if my sleep was interrupted, it was by agreeable disquietudes, caused by the hopes of possessing a lady blest with so much wit and beauty. the next day, before i was introduced to zobeide, her favourite instructed me how to conduct myself, mentioning what questions she would probably put to me, and dictating the answers i was to return. she then carried me into a very magnificent and richly furnished hall. i had no sooner entered, than twenty female slaves, advanced in age, dressed in rich and uniform habits, came out of zobeide's apartment, and placed themselves before the throne in two equal rows; they were followed by twenty other younger ladies, clothed after the same fashion, only their habits appeared somewhat gayer. in the middle of these appeared zobeide with a majestic air, and so laden with jewels, that she could scarcely walk. she ascended the throne, and the favourite lady, who had accompanied her, stood just by her right hand; the other ladies, who were slaves, being placed at some distance on each side of the throne. as soon as the caliph's lady was seated, the slaves who came in first made a sign for me to approach. i advanced between the two rows they had formed, and prostrated myself upon the carpet that was under the princess's feet. she ordered me to rise, did me the honour to ask my name, my family, and the state of my fortune; to all which i gave her satisfactory answers, as i perceived, not only by her countenance, but by her words. "i am glad," said she, "that my daughter," (so she used to call the favourite lady,) "for i look upon her as such after the care i have take of her education, has made this choice; i approve of it, and consent to your marriage. i will myself give orders for having it solemnized; but i wish my daughter to remain with me ten days before the solemnity; in that time i will speak to the caliph, and obtain his consent: mean while do you remain here; you shall be taken care of." pursuant to the commands of the caliph's lady, i remained ten days in the women's apartments, and during that time was deprived of the pleasure of seeing the favourite lady: but was so well used by her orders, that i had no reason to be dissatisfied. zobeide told the caliph her resolution of marrying the favourite lady; and the caliph leaving to her the liberty to act in the business as she thought proper, granted the favourite a considerable sum by way of settlement. when the ten days were expired, zobeide ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn up and brought to her, and the necessary preparations being made for the solemnity, the musicians and the dancers, both male and female, were called in, and there were great rejoicings in the palace for nine days. the tenth day being appointed for the last ceremony of the marriage, the favourite lady was conducted to a bath, and i to another. at night i had all manner of dishes served up to me, and among others, one seasoned with garlic, such as you have now forced me to eat. this i liked so well, that i scarcely touched any of the other dishes. but to my misfortune, when i rose from table, instead of washing my hands well, i only wiped them; a piece of negligence of which i had never before been guilty. as it was then night, the whole apartment of the ladies was lighted up so as to equal the brightness of day. nothing was to be heard through the palace but musical instruments, dances, and acclamations of joy. my bride and i were introduced into a great hall, where we were placed upon two thrones. the women who attended her made her robe herself several times, according to the usual custom on wedding days; and they shewed her to me every time she changed her habit. all these ceremonies being over, we were conducted to the nuptial chamber: as soon as the company retired, i approached my wife; but instead of returning my transports, she pushed me away, and cried out, upon which all the ladies of the apartment came running in to inquire the cause: and for my own part, i was so thunderstruck, that i stood like a statue, without the power of even asking what she meant. "dear sister," said they to her, "what has happened since we left you? let us know, that we may try to relieve you." "take," said she, "take that vile fellow out of my sight." "why, madam?" i asked, "wherein have i deserved your displeasure?" "you are a villain," said she in a furious passion, "to eat garlic, and not wash your hands! do you think i would suffer such a polluted wretch to poison me? down with him, down with him on the ground," continued she, addressing herself to the ladies, "and bring me a bastinado." they immediately did as they were desired; and while some held my hands, and others my feet, my wife, who was presently furnished with a weapon, laid on me as long as she could stand. she then said to the ladies, "take him, send him to the judge, and let the hand be cut off with which he fed upon the garlic dish." "alas!" cried i, "must i be beaten unmercifully, and, to complete my affliction, have my hand cut off, for partaking of a dish seasoned with garlic, and forgetting to wash my hands? what proportion is there between the punishment and the crime? curse on the dish, on the cook who dressed it, and on him who served it up." "all the ladies who had seen me receive the thousand strokes, took pity on me, when they heard the cutting off of my hand mentioned. "dear madam, dear sister," said they to the favourite lady, "you carry your resentment too far. we own he is a man quite ignorant of the world, of your quality, and the respect that is due to you: but we beseech you to overlook and pardon his fault." "i have not received adequate satisfaction," said she; "i will teach him to know the world; i will make him bear sensible marks of his impertinence, and be cautious hereafter how he tastes a dish seasoned with garlic without washing his hands." they renewed their solicitations, fell down at her feet, and kissing her fair hands, said, "good madam, moderate your anger, and grant us the favour we supplicate." she made no reply, but got up, and after uttering a thousand reproaches against me, walked out of the chamber: all the ladies followed her, leaving me in inconceivable affliction. i continued thus ten days, without seeing any body but an old female slave that brought me victuals. i asked her what was become of the favourite lady. "she is sick," said the old woman; "she is sick of the poisoned smell with which you infected her. why did you not take care to wash your hands after eating of that cursed dish?" "is it possible," thought i, "that these ladies can be so nice, and so vindictive for such a trifling fault!" i loved my wife notwithstanding all her cruelty, and could not help pitying her. one day the old woman told me my spouse was recovered, and gone to bathe, and would come to see me the next day. "so," said she, "i would have you call up your patience, and endeavour to accommodate yourself to her humour. for she is in other respects a woman of good sense and discretion, and beloved by all the ladies about the court of our respected mistress zobeide." my wife accordingly came on the following evening, and accosted me thus: "you perceive that i must possess much tenderness to you, after the affront you have offered me: but still i cannot be reconciled till i have punished you according to your demerit, in not washing your hands after eating of the garlic dish." she then called the ladies, who, by her order, threw me upon the ground; and after binding me fast, she had the barbarity to cut off my thumbs and great toes herself, with a razor. one of the ladies applied a certain root to staunch the blood; but by bleeding and by the pain, i swooned away. when i came to myself, they gave me wine to drink, to recruit my strength. "ah! madam," said i to my wife, "if ever i again eat of a dish with garlic in it, i solemnly swear to wash my hands a hundred and twenty times with alkali, with ashes, and with soap." "well," replied she, "upon that condition i am willing to forget what is past, and live with you as my husband." "this," continued the bagdad merchant, addressing himself to the company, "is the reason why i refused to eat of the dish seasoned with what is now on the table." the ladies applied to my wounds not only the root i mentioned, but likewise some balsam of mecca, which they were well assured was not adulterated, because they had it out of the caliph's own dispensatory. by virtue of that admirable balsam, i was in a few days perfectly cured, and my wife and i lived together as agreeably as if i had never eaten of the garlic dish. but having been all my lifetime used to enjoy my liberty, i grew weary of being confined to the caliph's palace; yet i said nothing to my wife on the subject, for fear of displeasing her. however, she suspected my feelings; and eagerly wished for liberty herself, for it was gratitude alone that made her continue with zobeide. she represented to her mistress in such lively terms the constraint i was under, in not living in the city with people of my own rank, as i had always done, that the good princess chose rather to deprive herself of the pleasure of having her favourite about her than not to grant what we both equally desired. a month after our marriage, my wife came into my room with several eunuchs, each carrying a bag of silver. when the eunuchs were gone; "you never told me," said she, "that you were uneasy in being confined to court; but i perceived it, and have happily found means to make you contented. my mistress zobeide gives us permission to quit the palace; and here are fifty thousand sequins, of which she has made us a present, in order to enable us to live comfortably in the city. take ten thousand of them, and go and buy us a house." i quickly found a house for the money, and after furnishing it richly, we went to reside in it, kept a great many slaves of both sexes, and made a good figure. we thus began to live in a very agreeable manner: but my felicity was of short continuance; for at the end of a year my wife fell sick and died. i might have married again, and lived honourably at bagdad; but curiosity to see the world put me upon another plan. i sold my house, and after purchasing several kinds of merchandize, went with a caravan to persia; from persia i travelled to samarcand, and from thence to this city. "this," said the purveyor to the sultan of casgar, "is the story that the bagdad merchant related in a company where i was yesterday." "this story," said the sultan, "has something in it extraordinary; but it does not come near that of the little hunch-back." the jewish physician prostrated himself before the sultan's throne, and addressed the prince in the following manner: "sir, if you will be so good as to hear me, i flatter myself you will be pleased with a story i have to tell you." "well spoken," said the sultan; "but if it be not more surprising than that of little hunch-back, you must not expect to live." the jewish physician, finding the sultan of casgar disposed to hear him, gave the following relation. the story told by the jewish physician. when i was studying physic at damascus, and was just beginning to practise that noble profession with some reputation, a slave called me to see a patient in the governor of the city's family. accordingly i went, and was conducted into a room, where i found a very handsome young man, much dejected by his disorder. i saluted him, and sat down by him; but he made no return to my compliments, only a sign with his eyes that he heard me, and thanked me. "pray, sir," said i, "give me your hand, that i may feel your pulse." but instead of stretching out his right, he gave me his left hand, at which i was extremely surprised. however, i felt his pulse, wrote him a prescription, and took leave. i continued my visits for nine days, and every time i felt his pulse, he still gave me his left hand. on the tenth day he seemed to be so far recovered, that i only deemed it necessary to prescribe bathing to him. the governor of damascus, who was by, in testimony of his satisfaction with my service, invested me with a very rich robe, saying, he had appointed me a physician of the city hospital, and physician in ordinary to his house, where i might eat at his table when i pleased. the young man likewise shewed me many civilities, and asked me to accompany him to the bath. accordingly we went together, and when his attendants had undressed him, i perceived he wanted the right hand, and that it had not long been cut off, which had been the occasion of his disorder, though concealed from me; for while the people about him were applying proper remedies externally, they had called me to prevent the ill consequence of the fever which was on him. i was much surprised and concerned on seeing his misfortune; which he observed by my countenance. "doctor," cried he, "do not be astonished that my hand is cut off; some day or other i will tell you the cause; and in that relation you will hear very surprising adventures." after we had returned from the bath, we sat down to a collation; and he asked me if it would be any prejudice to his health if he went and took a walk out of town in the governor's garden? i made answer, that the air would be of service to him. "then," said he, "if you will give me your company, i will recount to you my history." i replied i was at his command for all that day. upon which he presently called his servants, and we went to the governor's garden. having taken two or three turns there, we seated ourselves on a carpet that his servants had spread under a tree, which gave a pleasant shade. the young man then gave me his history in the following terms; i was born at moussol, of one of the most considerable families in the city. my father was the eldest of ten brothers, who were all alive and married when my grandfather died. all the brothers were childless, except my father; and he had no child but me. he took particular care of my education; and made me learn every thing proper for my rank. when i was grown up, and began to enter into the world, i happened one friday to be at noon-prayers with my father and my uncles in the great mosque of moussol. after prayers were over, the rest of the company going away, my father and my uncles continued sitting upon the best carpet in the mosque; and i sat down by them. they discoursed of several things, but the conversation fell insensibly, i know not how, upon the subject of travelling. they extolled the beauties and peculiar rarities of some kingdoms, and of their principal cities. but one of my uncles said, that according to the uniform report of an infinite number of voyagers, there was not in the world a pleasanter country than egypt, on account of the nile; and the description he gave infused into me such high admiration, that from that moment i had a desire to travel thither. whatever my other uncles said, by way of preference to bagdad and the tigris, in calling bagdad the residence of the mussulmaun religion, and the metropolis of all the cities of the earth, made no impression upon me. my father joined in opinion with those of his brothers who had spoken in favour of egypt; which filled me with joy. "say what you will," said he, "the man that has not seen egypt has not seen the greatest rarity in the world. all the land there is golden; i mean, it is so fertile, that it enriches its inhabitants. all the women of that country charm you by their beauty and their agreeable carriage. if you speak of the nile, where is there a more wonderful river? what water was ever lighter or more delicious? the very slime it carries along in its overflowing fattens the fields, which produce a thousand times more than other countries that are cultivated with the greatest labour. observe what a poet said of the egyptians, when he was obliged to depart from egypt: â��your nile loads you with blessings every day; it is for you only that it runs from such a distance. alas! in removing from you, my tears will flow as abundantly as its waters; you are to continue in the enjoyment of its sweetnesses, while i am condemned to deprive myself of them against my will.' "if you look," added my father, "towards the island that is formed by the two greatest branches of the nile, what variety of verdure! what enamel of all sorts of flowers! what a prodigious number of cities, villages, canals, and a thousand other agreeable objects! if you turn your eyes on the other side, up towards ethiopia, how many other subjects of admiration! i cannot compare the verdure of so many plains, watered by the different canals of the island, better than to brilliant emeralds set in silver. is not grand cairo the largest, the most populous, and the richest city in the world? what a number of magnificent edifices both public and private! if you view the pyramids, you will be filled with astonishment at the sight of the masses of stone of an enormous thickness, which rear their heads to the skies! you will be obliged to confess, that the pharaohs, who employed such riches, and so many men in building them, must have surpassed in magnificence and invention all the monarchs who have appeared since, not only in egypt, but in all the world, for having left monuments so worthy of their memory: monuments so ancient, that the learned cannot agree upon the date of their erection; yet such as will last to the end of time. i pass over in silence the maritime cities of the kingdom of egypt, such as damietta, rosetta, and alexandria, where nations come for various sorts of grain, cloth, and an infinite number of commodities calculated for accommodation and delight. i speak of what i know; for i spent some years there in my youth, which i shall always reckon the most agreeable part of my life." my uncles could make no reply, and assented to all my father had said of the nile, of cairo, and of the whole kingdom of egypt. my imagination was so full of these subjects, i could not sleep that night. soon after, my uncles declared how much they were struck with my father's account. they made a proposal to him, that they should travel all together into egypt. to this he assented; and being rich merchants, they resolved to carry with them such commodities as were likely to suit the market. when i found that they were making preparations for their departure, i went to my father, and begged of him, with tears in my eyes, that he would suffer me to make one of the party, and allow me some stock of goods to trade with on my own account. "you are too young," said he, "to travel into egypt; the fatigue is too great for you; and, besides, i am sure you will come off a loser in your traffic." these words, however, did not suppress my eager desire to travel. i made use of my uncles' interest with my father, who at last granted me permission to go as far as damascus, where they were to leave me, till they had travelled through egypt. "the city of damascus," said my father, "may likewise glory in its beauties, and my son must be content with leave to go so far." though my curiosity to see egypt was very pressing, i considered he was my father, and submitted to his will. i set out from moussol in company with him and my uncles. we travelled through mesopotamia, passed the euphrates, and arrived at aleppo, where we stayed some days. from thence we went to damascus, the first sight of which struck me with agreeable surprise we lodged all together in one khan; and i had the view of a city that was large, populous, full of handsome people, and well fortified. we employed some days in walking up and down the delicious gardens that surrounded it; and we all agreed that damascus was justly said to be seated in a paradise. at last my uncles thought of pursuing their journey; but took care, before they went, to sell my goods so advantageously for me, that i gained by them five hundred per cent. this sale brought me a sum so considerable, as to fill me with delight. my father and my uncles left me in damascus, and pursued their journey. after their departure, i used great caution not to lay out my money idly. but at the same time i took a stately house, built of marble, adorned with paintings of gold, silver foliage, and a garden with fine water-works. i furnished it, not so richly indeed as the magnificence of the place deserved, but at least handsomely enough for a young man of my rank. it formerly belonged to one of the principal lords of the city; but was then the property of a rich jewel-merchant, to whom i paid for it only two sherifs a month. i had a number of domestics, and lived honourably; sometimes i gave entertainments to such people as i had made an acquaintance with, and sometimes was treated by them. thus did i spend my time at damascus, waiting for my father's return; no passion disturbed my repose, and my only employment was conversing with people of credit. one day, as i sat taking the cool air at my gate, a very handsome, well-dressed lady came to me, and asked if i did not sell stuffs? she had no sooner spoken the words, than she went into my house. when i saw that the lady had entered the house, i rose, and having shut the gate, conducted into a hall, and prayed her to sit down. "madam," said i, "i have had stuffs fit to be strewn to you, but at present, i am sorry to say, i have none." she removed the veil from her face, and discovered such beauty as affected me with emotions i had never felt before. "i have no occasion for stuffs," replied she, "i only come to see you, and, if you please, to pass the evening in your company; all i ask of you is a light collation." transported with joy, i ordered the servants to bring us several sorts of fruit, and some bottles of wine. these being speedily served, we ate, drank, and made merry till midnight. in short, i had not before passed a night so agreeably as this. next morning i would have put ten sherifs into the lady's hands, but she drew back instantly. "i am not come to see you," said she, "from interested motives; you therefore do me wrong. so far from receiving money from you, i must insist on your taking some from me, or else i will see you no more." in speaking this, she put her hand into her purse, took out ten sherifs, and forced me to take them, saying, "you may expect me three days hence after sun- set. she then took leave of me, and i felt that when she went she carried my heart along with her." she did not fail to return at the appointed hour three days after; and i received her with all the joy of a person who waited impatiently for her arrival. the evening and the night we spent as before; and next day at parting she promised to return the third day after. she did not, however, leave me without forcing me to take ten sherifs more. she returned a third time; and at that interview, when we were both warm with wine, she spoke thus: "my dear love, what do you think of me? am i not handsome and agreeable?" "madam," i replied, "i think this an unnecessary question: the love which i shew you ought to persuade you that i admire you; i am charmed to see and to possess you. you are my queen, my sultaness; in you lies all the felicity of my life." "ah!" returned she, "i am sure you would speak otherwise, if you saw a certain lady of my acquaintance, who is younger and handsomer than i am. she is of such a pleasant lively temper, that she would make the most melancholy people merry: i must bring her hither; i spoke of you to her, and from the account i have given of you she is dying with desire to see you. she intreated me to procure her that pleasure, but i did not dare to promise her without speaking to you beforehand." "madam," said i, "do what you please; but whatever you may say of your friend, i defy all her charms to tear my heart from you, to whom it is so inviolably attached, that nothing can disengage it." "be not too positive," returned she; "i now tell you, i am about to put your heart to a severe trial." we continued together all night, and next morning at parting, instead of ten sherifs she gave me fifteen, which i was forced to accept. "remember," said she, "that in two days' time you are to have a new guest; pray take care to give her a good reception: we will come at the usual hour." i had my hall put in great order, and a handsome collation prepared against they came. i waited for the two ladies with impatience and at last they arrived at the close of the day. they both unveiled, and as i had been surprised with the beauty of the first, i had reason to be much more so when i saw her friend. she had regular features, an elegant person, and such sparkling eyes, that i could hardly bear their splendour. i thanked her for the honour she did me, and entreated her to excuse me if i did not give her the reception she deserved. "no compliments," replied she; "it should be my part to make them to you, for allowing my friend to bring me hither. but since you are pleased to suffer it, let us lay aside all ceremony, and think only of amusing ourselves." i had given orders, as soon as the ladies arrived, to have the collation served up, and we soon sat down to our entertainment. i placed myself opposite the stranger, who never ceased looking upon me with a smiling countenance. i could not resist her conquering eyes, and she made herself mistress of my heart, without opposition. but while she inspired me with a flame, she caught it herself; and so far from appearing to be under any constraint, she conversed in very free and lively language. the other lady, who observed us, did nothing at first but laugh. "i told you," said she, addressing herself to me, "you would find my friend full of charms; and i perceive you have already violated the oath you made of being faithful to me." "madam," replied i, laughing as well as she, "you would have reason to complain, if i were wanting in civility to a lady whom you brought hither, and who is your intimate friend; both of you might then upbraid me for not performing duly the rites of hospitality." we continued to drink; but as the wine warmed us, the strange lady and i ogled one another with so little reserve, that her friend grew jealous, and quickly gave us a dismal proof of the inveteracy of her feelings. she rose from the table and went out, saying, she would be with us presently again: but in a few moments after, the lady who stayed with me changed countenance, fell into violent convulsions, and expired in my arms while i was calling for assistance to relieve her. i went out immediately, and enquired for the other lady; when my people told me, she had opened the street door and was gone. i then suspected what was but too true, that she had been the cause of her friend's death. she had the dexterity, and the malice, to put some very strong poison into the last glass, which she gave her with her own hand. i was afflicted beyond measure with the accident. "what shall i do?" i exclaimed in agony. "what will become of me?" i considered there was no time to lose, and it being then moon-light, i ordered my servants to take up one of the large pieces of marble, with which the court of my house was paved, dig a hole, and there inter the corpse of the young lady. after replacing the stone, i put on a travelling suit, took what money i had; and having locked up every thing, affixed my own seal on the door of my house. this done i went to the jewel-merchant my landlord, paid him what i owed, with a year's rent in advance and giving him the key, prayed him to keep it for me. "a very urgent affair," said i, "obliges me to be absent for some time; i am under the necessity of going to visit my uncles at cairo." i took my leave of him, immediately mounted my horse, and departed with my attendants from damascus. i had a good journey, and arrived at cairo without any accident. there i met with my uncles, who were much surprised to see me. to excuse myself, i pretended i was tired of waiting; and hearing nothing of them, was so uneasy, that i could not be satisfied without coming to cairo. they received me kindly, and promised that my father should not be displeased with me for leaving damascus without his permission. i lodged in the same khan with them, and saw all the curiosities of cairo. having finished their traffic, they began to talk of returning to moussol, and to make preparations for their departure; but i, having a wish to view in egypt what i had not yet seen, left my uncles, and went to lodge in another quarter at a distance from their khan, and did not appear any more till they were gone. they sought for me all over the city; but not finding me, supposed remorse for having come to egypt without my father's consent had occasioned me to return to damascus, without saying any thing to them. so they began their journey, expecting to find me at damascus, and there to take me up. after their departure i continued at cairo three years, more completely to indulge my curiosity in seeing all the wonders of egypt. during that time i took care to remit money to the jewel- merchant, ordering him to keep my house for me; for i designed to return to damascus, and reside there some years longer. i had no adventure at cairo worth relating; but doubtless you will be much surprised at that which befell me on my return to damascus. arriving at this city, i went to the jewel-merchant's, who received me joyfully, and would accompany me to my house, to shew me that no one had entered it whilst i was absent. the seal was still entire upon the lock; and when i went in, i found every thing in the order in which i had left it. in sweeping and cleaning out the hall where i had eaten with the ladies, one of my servants found a gold chain necklace, with ten very large and perfect pearls strung upon it at certain distances. he brought it to me, when i knew it to be the same i had seen upon the lady's neck who was poisoned; and concluded it had broken off and fallen. i could not look upon it without shedding tears, when i called to mind the lovely creature i had seen die in such a shocking manner. i wrapped it up, and put it in my bosom. i rested some days to recover from the fatigues of my journey; after which, i began to visit my former acquaintance. i abandoned myself to every species of pleasure, and gradually squandered away all my money. being thus reduced, instead of selling my furniture, i resolved to part with the necklace; but i had so little skill in pearls, that i took my measures very ill, as you shall hear. i went to the bazaar, where i called a crier aside, and strewing him the necklace, told him i wished to sell it, and desired him to show it to the principal jewellers. the crier was surprised to see such a valuable ornament. "how beautiful," exclaimed he, gazing upon it with admiration, "never did our merchants see any thing so rich; i am sure i shall oblige them highly in strewing it to them; and you need not doubt they will set a high price upon it, in emulation of each other." he carried me to a shop which proved to be my landlord's: "stop here," said the crier, "i will return presently and bring you an answer." while he was running about to shew the necklace, i sat with the jeweller, who was glad to see me, and we conversed on different subjects. the crier returned, and calling me aside, instead of telling me the necklace was valued at two thousand sherifs, assured me nobody would give me more than fifty. "the reason is," added he, "the pearls are false; consider if you will part with it at that price." i took him at his word, wanting money. "go," said i, "i take your word, and that of those who know better than myself; deliver it to them, and bring me the money immediately." the crier had been ordered to offer me fifty sherifs by one of the richest jewellers in town who had only made that offer to sound me, and try if i was well acquainted with the value of the pearls. he had no sooner received my answer, than he carried the crier to the judge, and shewing him the necklace; "sir," said he, "here is a necklace which was stolen from me, and the thief, under the character of a merchant, has had the impudence to offer it to sale, and is at this minute in the bazaar. he is willing to take fifty sherifs for a necklace that is worth two thousand which is a clear proof of his having stolen it." the judge sent immediately to seize me, and when i came before him, he asked me if the necklace he had in his hand was not the same that i had exposed to sale in the bazaar. i told him it was. "is it true," demanded he, "that you are willing to sell it for fifty sherifs,?" i answered i was. "well," continued he, in a scoffing way "give him the bastinado; he will quickly confess notwithstanding his merchant's disguise, that he is only an artful thief; let him be beaten till he owns his guilt." the pain of the torture made me tell a lie; i confessed, though it was not true that i had stolen the necklace; and the judge ordered my hand to be cut off according to the sentence of our law. this made a great noise in the bazaar, and i was scarcely returned to my house when my landlord came. "my son," said he, "you seem to be a young man well educated, and of good sense; how is it possible you could be guilty of such an unworthy action, as that i hear talked of? you gave me an account of your property yourself, and i do not doubt but the account was just. why did not you request money of me, and i would have lent it you? however, after what has happened, i cannot allow you to remain longer in my house; you must go and seek for other lodgings." i was extremely troubled at this; and entreated the jeweller, with tears in my eyes, to let me stay three days longer; which he granted. "alas," thought i, "this misfortune and affront are unsufferable; how shall i dare to return to moussol? nothing i can say to my father will persuade him that i am innocent." three hours after this fatal accident my house was forcibly entered by the judge's officers, accompanied by my landlord, and the merchant who had falsely accused me of having stolen the necklace. i asked them, what brought them there? but instead of giving me any answer, they bound and gagged me, calling me a thousand abusive names, and telling me the necklace belonged to the governor of damascus, who had lost it above three years before, and that one of his daughters had not been heard of since. judge of my sensations when i heard this intelligence. however, i summoned all my resolution, "i will," thought i, "tell the governor the truth, and it will rest with him either to put me to death, or to protect my innocence." when i was brought before him, i observed he looked upon me with an eye of compassion, from whence i augured well. he ordered me to be untied, and addressing himself to the jeweller who accused me, and to my landlord: "is this the man," asked he, "that sold the pearl necklace?" they had no sooner answered yes, than he continued, "i am sure he did not steal the necklace, and i am much astonished at the injustice that has been done him." these words giving me courage: "sir," said i, "i do assure you i am perfectly innocent. i am likewise fully persuaded the necklace never did belong to my accuser, whom i never saw, and whose horrible perfidy is the cause of my unjust treatment. it is true, i made a confession as if i had stolen it; but this i did contrary to my conscience, through the force of torture, and for another reason that i am ready to give you, if you will have the goodness to hear me." "i know enough of it already," replied the governor, "to do you one part of the justice to which you are entitled. take from hence," continued he, "the false accuser; let him undergo the same punishment as he caused to be inflicted on this young man, whose innocence is known to myself." the governor's orders were immediately put in execution; the jeweller was punished as he deserved. then the governor, having ordered all present to withdraw, said to me: "my son, tell me without fear how this necklace fell into your hands, conceal nothing from me." i related plainly all that had passed, and declared i had chosen rather to pass for a thief than to reveal that tragical adventure. "good god," exclaimed the governor, "thy judgments are incomprehensible, and we ought to submit to them without murmuring. i receive, with entire submission, the stroke thou hast been pleased to inflict upon me." then directing his discourse to me: "my son," said he, "having now heard the cause of your disgrace, for which i am truly concerned, i will give you an account of the affliction which has befallen myself. know then, that i am the father of both the young ladies you were speaking of. the first lady, who had the impudence to come to your house, was my eldest daughter. i had given her in marriage at cairo to one of her cousins, my brother's son. her husband died, and she returned home corrupted by every vice too often contracted in egypt. before i took her home, her younger sister, who died in that deplorable manner in your arms, was a truly virtuous girl, and had never given me any occasion to complain of her conduce. but after that, the elder sister became very intimate with her, and insensibly made her as wicked as herself. the day after the death of the younger not finding her at home, i asked her elder sister what was become of her; but she, instead of answering, affected to weep bitterly; from whence i formed a fatal presage. i pressed her to inform me of what she knew respecting her sister �father,' replied she, sobbing, �i can tell you no more than that my sister put on yesterday her richest dress, with her valuable pearl necklace, went out, and has not been heard of since.' i searched for her all over the town, but could learn nothing of her unhappy fate. in the mean time the elder, who doubtless repented of her jealous fury, became melancholy, and incessantly bewailed the death of her sister; she denied her self all manner of food, and so put an end to her deplorable days. such is the condition of mankind! such are the misfortunes to which we are exposed! however, my son," added he, "since we are both of us equally unfortunate, let us unite our sorrow, and not abandon one another. i will give you in marriage a third daughter i have still left, she is younger than her sisters, and in no respect imitates their conduct; besides, she is handsomer, and i assure you is of a disposition calculated to make you happy. you shall have no other house but mine, and, after my death, you and she shall be heirs to all my property." "my lord," i replied, "i am overcome by your favours, and shall never be able to make a sufficient acknowledgment." "enough," said he, interrupting me, "let us not waste time in idle words." he then called for witnesses, ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn, and i became the husband of his third daughter. he was not satisfied with punishing the jeweller, who had falsely accused me, but confiscated for my use all his property, which was very considerable. as for the rest, since you have been called to the governor's house, you may have seen what respect they pay me there. i must tell you further, that a person despatched by my uncles to egypt, on purpose to inquire for me there, passing through this city found me out last night, and delivered me a letter from them. they inform me of my father's death, and invite me to come and take possession of his property at moussol. but as the alliance and friendship of the governor have fixed me here, and will not suffer me to leave him, i have sent back the express with a power, which will secure to me my inheritance. after what you have heard, i hope you will pardon my seeming incivility during the course of my illness, in giving you my left instead of my right hand. " this," said the jewish physician, "is the story i heard from the young man of moussol. i continued at damascus as long as the governor lived; after his death, being still in the vigour of my age, i had the curiosity to travel. accordingly i went through persia to the indies, and came at last to settle in this your capital, where i have practised physic with reputation." the sultan of casgar was well pleased with this story. "i must confess," said he to the jew, "the story you have told me is very singular; but i declare freely, that of the little hump-back is: yet more extraordinary, and much more diverting; so you are not to expect that i will give you your life, any more than the rest. i will have you all four executed." "pray, sir, stay a minute," said the tailor, advancing, and prostrating himself at the sultan's feet. "since your majesty loves pleasant stories, i have one to tell you that will not displease you." "well, i will hear thee too," said the sultan; "but do not flatter thyself that i will suffer thee to live, unless thou tellest me some adventure that is yet more diverting than that of my hump-backed jester." upon this the tailor, as if he had been sure of success, spoke boldly to the following purpose. the story told by the tailor. a citizen of this city did me the honour two days ago to invite me to an entertainment, which he was to give to his friends yesterday morning. accordingly i went early, and found there about twenty persons. the master of the house was gone out upon some business, but in a short time returned, and brought with him a young man, a stranger, very well dressed, and handsome, but lame. when he entered, we all rose, and out of respect to the master of the house, invited the young man to sit down with us upon the estrade. he was going to comply; but suddenly perceiving a barber in our company, flew backwards, and made towards the door. the master of the house, surprised at his behaviour, stopped him. "where are you going?" demanded he. "i bring you along with me to do me the honour of being my guest among the rest of my friends, and you are no sooner got into my house, than you are for running away." "sir," replied the young man, "for god's sake do not stop me, let me go, i cannot without horror look upon that abominable barber, who, though he was born in a country where all the natives are white, resembles an ethiopian; and his soul is yet blacker and more horrible than his face." we were all surprised to hear the young man speak in this manner, and began to have a very bad opinion of the barber, without knowing what ground the young man had for what he said. nay, we protested we would not suffer any one to remain in our company, who bore so horrid a character. the master of the house intreated the stranger to tell us what reason he had for hating the barber. "gentlemen," resumed the young man, "you must know this cursed barber is the cause of my being lame, and having fallen into the most ridiculous and teasing situation you can imagine. for this reason i have sworn to avoid all the places where he is, and even not to stay in the cities where he resides. it was for this reason that i left bagdad, where he then dwelt; and travelled so far to settle in this city, at the extremity of tartary; a place where i flattered myself i should never see him. and now, after all, contrary to my expectation, i find him here. this obliges me, gentlemen, against my will, to deprive myself of the honour of being merry with you. this very day i shall take leave of your town, and go, if i can, to hide my head where he cannot come." this said, he would have left us, but the master of the house earnestly intreated him to stay, and tell us the cause of his aversion for the barber, who all this while looked down and said not a word. we joined with the master of the house in his request; and at last the young man, yielding to our importunities, sat down; and, after turning his back on the barber, that he might not see him, gave us the following narrative of his adventures. my father's quality might have entitled him to the highest posts in the city of bagdad, but he always preferred a quiet life to the honours of a public station. i was his only child, and when he died i had finished my education, and was of age to dispose of the plentiful fortune he had left me; which i did not squander away foolishly, but applied to such uses as obtained for me everybody's respect. i had not yet been disturbed by any passion: i was so far from being sensible of love, that i bashfully avoided the conversation of women. one day, walking in the streets, i saw a large party of ladies before me; and that i might not meet them, i turned down a narrow lane, and sat down upon a bench by a door. i was placed opposite a window, where stood a pot of beautiful flowers, on which i had my eyes fixed, when the window opened, and a young lady appeared, whose beauty struck me. immediately she fixed her eyes upon me; and in watering the flowerpot with a hand whiter than alabaster, looked upon me with a smile, that inspired me with as much love for her as i had formerly aversion for all women. after having watered her flowers, and darted upon me a glance full of charms that pierced my heart, she shut the window, and left me in inconceivable perplexity, from which i should not have recovered, if a noise in the street had not brought me to myself. i lifted up my head, and turning, saw the first cauzee of the city, mounted on a mule, and attended by five or six servants: he alighted at the door of the house, where the young lady had opened the window, and went in; from whence i concluded he was her father. i went home in an altered state of mind; agitated by a passion the more violent, as i had never felt its assaults before: i retired to bed in a violent fever, at which all the family were much concerned. my relations, who had a great affection for me, were so alarmed by the sudden disorder, that they importuned me to tell the cause; which i took care not to discover. my silence created an uneasiness that the physicians could not dispel, because they knew nothing of my distemper, and by their medicines rather inflamed than checked it. my relations began to despair of my life, when an old lady of our acquaintance, hearing i was ill, came to see me. she considered me with great attention, and after having examined me, penetrated, i know not how, into the real cause of my illness. she took my relations aside, and desired all my people would retire out of the room, and leave her with me alone. when the room was clear, she sat down on the side of my bed. "my son," said she, "you have obstinately concealed the cause of your illness; but you have no occasion to reveal it to me. i have experience enough to penetrate into a secret; you will not deny when i tell you it is love that makes you sick. i can find a way to cure you, if you will but inform me who that happy lady is, that could move a heart so insensible as yours; for you have the character of a woman-hater, and i was not the last who perceived that such was your disposition; but what i foresaw has come to pass, and i am now glad of the opportunity to employ my talents in relieving your pain." the old lady having thus spoken, paused, expecting my answer; but though what she had said had made a strong impression upon me, i durst not lay open to her the bottom of my heart; i only turned to her, and heaved a deep sigh, without replying a word. "is it bashfulness," said she, "that keeps you silent? or is it want of confidence in me? do you doubt the effect of my promise? i could mention to you a number of young men of your acquaintance, who have been in the same condition with yourself, and have received relief from me." the good lady told me so many more circumstances that i broke silence, declared to her my complaint, pointed out to her the place where i had seen the object which occasioned it, and unravelled all the circumstances of my adventure. "if you succeed," added i, "and procure me the happiness of seeing that charming beauty, and revealing to her the passion with which i burn for her, you may depend upon it i will be grateful." "my son," replied the old woman, "i know the lady you speak of; she is, as you rightly judged, the daughter of the first cauzee of this city: i am not surprised that you are in love with her. she is the handsomest and most lovely lady in bagdad, but very proud, and of difficult access. you know how strict our judges are, in enjoining the punctual observance of the severe laws that confine women; and they are yet more strict in the observation of them in their own families; the cauzee you saw is more rigid in that point than any of the other magistrates. they are always preaching to their daughters what a heinous crime it is to shew themselves to men; and the girls themselves are so prepossessed with the notion, that they make no other use of their own eves but to conduct them along the street, when necessity obliges them to go abroad. i do not say absolutely that the first cauzee's daughter is of that humour; but that does not hinder my fearing to meet with as great obstacles on her side, as on her father's. would to god you had loved any other, then i should not have had so many difficulties to surmount. however, i will employ all my wits to compass the matter; but it requires time. in the mean while take courage and trust to me." the old woman took leave; and as i weighed within myself all the obstacles she had been talking of, the fear of her not succeeding in her undertaking inflamed my disorder. next day she came again, and i read in her countenance that she had no favourable news to impart. she spoke thus: "my son, i was not mistaken, i have somewhat else to conquer besides the vigilance of a father. you love an insensible object, who takes pleasure in making every one miserable who suffers himself to be charmed by her; she will not deign them the least comfort: she heard me with pleasure, when i spoke of nothing but the torment she made you undergo; but i no sooner opened my mouth to engage her to allow you to see her, and converse with her, but casting at me a terrible look, �you are very presumptuous,' said she, �to make such a proposal to me; i charge you never to insult me again with such language.' "do not let this cast you down," continued she; "i am not easily disheartened, and am not without hope but i shall compass my end." to shorten my story, this good woman made several fruitless attacks in my behalf on the proud enemy of my rest. the vexation i suffered inflamed my distemper to that degree, that my physicians gave me over. i was considered as a dead man, when the old woman came to recall me to life. that no one might hear what was said, she whispered in my ear; "remember the present you owe for the good news i bring you." these words produced a marvellous effect; i raised myself up in the bed, and with transport replied, "you shall not go without a present; but what is the news you bring me?" "dear sir," said she "you shall not die; i shall speedily have the pleasure to see you in perfect health, and very well satisfied with me. yesterday i went to see the lady you love, and found her in good humour. as soon as i entered, i put on a sad countenance heaved many deep sighs, and began to squeeze out some tears. �my good mother,' demanded she �what is the matter with you, why are you so cast down?' �alas, my dear and honourable lady,' i replied, �i have just been with the young gentleman of whom i spoke to you the other day, who is dying on your account.' �i am at a loss to know,' said she, �how you make me to be the cause of his death. how can i have contributed to it?' �how?' replied i; �did not you tell me the other day, that he sat down before your window when you opened it to water your flower-pot? he then saw that prodigy of beauty, those charms that your mirror daily represents to you. from that moment he languished, and his disorder has so increased, that he is reduced to the deplorable condition i have mentioned.' "�you well remember,' added i, �how harshly you treated me at our last interview; when i was speaking to you of his illness, and proposing a way to save him from the threatened consequences of his complaint. after i left you i went directly to his house, and he no sooner learnt from my countenance that i had brought no favourable answer than his distemper increased. from that time, madam, he has been at the point of death; and i doubt whether your compassion would not now come too late to save his life.' the fear of your death alarmed her, and i saw her face change colour. �is your account true?' she asked. �has he actually no other disorder than what is occasioned by his love of me?' �ah, madam!' i replied, �it is too true; would it were false!' �do you believe,' said she, �that the hopes of seeing me would at all contribute to rescue him from his danger?' i answered, �perhaps it may, and if you will permit me, i will try the remedy.'? �well,' resumed she, sighing, �give him hopes of seeing me; but he must pretend to no other favours, unless he aspire to marry me, and obtains my father's consent.' �madam,' replied i. �your goodness overcomes me; i will instantly seek the young gentleman, and tell him he is to have the pleasure of an interview with you.' �the best opportunity i can think of,' said she, �for granting him that favour, will be next friday at the hour of noon prayers. let him observe when my father goes out, and then, if his health permits him to be abroad, come and place himself opposite the house. i shall then see him from my window, and will come down and open the door for him: we will converse together during prayer-time; but he must depart before my father returns.' "it is now tuesday," continued the old lady "you have the interval between this and friday to recover your strength, and make the necessary dispositions for the interview." while the good old lady was speaking, i felt my illness decrease, or rather, by the time she had done, i found myself perfectly recovered. "here, take this," said i, reaching out to her my purse, which was full, "it is to you alone that i owe my cure. i reckon this money better employed than all that i gave the physicians, who have only tormented me during my illness." when the lady was gone, i found i had strength enough to get up: and my relations finding me so well, complimented me on the occasion, and went home. on friday morning the old woman came, just as i was dressing, and choosing out the richest clothes in my wardrobe, said, "i do not ask you how you are, what you are about is intimation enough of your health; but will not you bathe before you go?" "that will take up too much time," i replied; "i will content myself with sending for a barber, to shave my head." immediately i ordered one of my slaves to call a barber that could do his business cleverly and expeditiously. the slave brought me the wretch you see here, who came, and after saluting me, said, "sir, you look as if you were not well." i told him i was just recovered from a fit of sickness. "may god," resumed he, "deliver you from all mischance; may his grace always go along with you." "i hope he will grant your wish, for which i am obliged to you." "since you are recovering from a fit of sickness," he continued, "i pray god preserve your health; but now let me know what i am to do; i have brought my razors and my lancets, do you desire to be shaved or to be bled?" i replied, "i am just recovered from a fit of sickness, and you may readily judge i only want to be shaved: come, do not lose time in prattling; for i am in haste, and have an appointment precisely at noon." the barber spent much time in opening his case, and preparing his razors instead of putting water into the basin, he took a very handsome astrolabe out of his case, and went very gravely out of my room to the middle of the court to take the height of the sun: he returned with the same grave pace, and entering my room, said, "sir, you will be pleased to know this day is friday the th of the moon suffir, in the year , from the retreat of our great prophet from mecca to medina, and in the year of the epocha of the great iskender with two horns; and that the conjunction of mars and mercury signifies you cannot choose a better time than this very day and hour for being shaved. but, on the other hand, the same conjunction is a bad presage to you. i learn from it, that this day you run a great risk, not indeed of losing your life, but of an inconvenience which will attend you while you live. you are obliged to me for the advice i now give you, to avoid this accident; i shall be sorry if it befall you." you may guess, gentlemen, how vexed i was at having fallen into the hands of such a prattling, impertinent fellow; what an unseasonable adventure was it for a lover preparing for an interview with his mistress! i was quite irritated. "i care not," said i, in anger, "for your advice and predictions; i did not call you to consult your astrology; you came hither to shave me; shave me, or begone." "i will call another barber, sir," replied he, with a coolness that put me out of all patience; "what reason have you to be angry with me? you do not know, that all of my profession are not like me; and that if you made it your business to search, you would not find such another. you only sent for a barber; but here, in my person, you have the best barber in bagdad, an experienced physician, a profound chemist, an infallible astrologer, a finished grammarian, a complete orator, a subtle logician, a mathematician perfectly well versed in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and all the refinements of algebra; an historian fully master of the histories of all the kingdoms of the universe. besides, i understand all parts of philosophy. i have all our sacred traditions by heart. i am a poet, i am an architect; and what is it i am not? there is nothing in nature hidden from me. your deceased father, to whose memory i pay a tribute of tears every time i think of him, was fully convinced of my merit; he was fond of me, and spoke of me in all companies as the first man in the world. out of gratitude and friendship for him, i am willing to attach myself to you, to take you under my protection, and guard you from all the evils that your stars may threaten." when i heard all this jargon, i could not forbear laughing, notwithstanding my anger. "you impertinent prattler!" said i, "will you have done, and begin to shave me?" "sir," replied the barber, "you affront me in calling me a prattler; on the contrary, all the world gives me the honourable title of silent. i had six brothers, whom you might justly have called prattlers. these indeed were impertinent chatterers, but for me, who am a younger brother, i am grave and concise in my discourse." for god's sake, gentlemen, do but suppose you had been in my place. what could i say when i saw myself so cruelly delayed? "give him three pieces of gold," said i to the slave who was my housekeeper, "and send him away, that he may disturb me no more; i will not be shaved this day." "sir," said the barber, "pray what do you mean? i did not come to seek for you, you sent for me; and as that is the case i swear by the faith of a moosulmaun, i will not stir out of these doors till i have shaved you. if you do not know my value, it is not my fault. your deceased father did me more justice. every time he sent for me to let him blood, he made me sit down by him, and was charmed with hearing what witty things i said. i kept him in a continual strain of admiration; i elevated him; and when i had finished my discourse, �my god,' he would exclaim, �you are an inexhaustible source of science, no man can reach the depth of your knowledge.' �my dear sir,' i would answer, �you do me more honour than deserve. if i say anything that is worth hearing, it is owing to the favourable audience you vouchsafe me; it is your liberality that inspires me with the sublime thoughts which have the happiness to please you.' one day, when he was charmed with an admirable discourse i had made him, he said, �give him a hundred pieces of gold, and invest him with one of my richest robes.' i instantly received the present. i then drew his horoscope, and found it the happiest in the world. nav. i carried my gratitude further; i let him blood with cupping-glasses." this was not all; he spun out another harangue that was a full half hour long. tired with hearing him, and fretted at the loss of time, which was almost spent before i was half ready, i did not know what to say. "it is impossible," i exclaimed, "there should be such another man in the world who takes pleasure, as you do, in making people mad." i thought i might perhaps succeed better if i dealt mildly with my barber. "in the name of god," said i, "leave off talking, and shave me directly: business of the last importance calls me, as i have already told you." at these words he fell a laughing: "it would be fortunate," said he, "if our minds were always in the same state; if we were always wise and prudent. i am willing, however, to believe, that if you are angry with me, it is your disorder that has caused the change in your temper, for which reason you stand in need of some instructions, and you cannot do better than follow the example of your father and grandfather. they came and consulted me upon all occasions, and i can say, without vanity, that they always highly prized my advice. pray observe, sir, men never succeed in their undertakings without the counsel of persons of understanding. a man cannot, says the proverb, be wise without receiving advice from the wise. i am entirely at service, and you have only to command me." "what! cannot i prevail with you then," i demanded,, interrupting him, "to leave off these long speeches, that tend to nothing but to distract my head, and detain me from my business? shave me, i say, or begone:" with that i started up in anger, stamping my foot against the ground. when he saw i was in earnest, he said, "sir, do not be angry, we are going to begin." he lathered my head, and began to shave me; but had not given four strokes with his razor before he stopped, and addressed me, "sir, you are hasty, you should avoid these transports that only come from the devil. i am entitled to some consideration on account of my age, my knowledge, and my great virtues." "go on and shave me," said i, interrupting him again, "and talk no more." "that is to say," replied he, "you have some urgent business to go about; i will lay you a wager i guess right." "why i told you two hours ago," i returned, "you ought to have shaved me before." "moderate your passion," replied he; "perhaps you have not maturely weighed what you are going about; when things are done precipitately, they are generally repented of. i wish you would tell me what mighty business this is you are so earnest upon. i would tell you my opinion of it; besides, you have time enough, since your appointment is not till noon, and it wants three hours of that yet." "i do not mind that," said i; "persons of honour and of their word are rather before their time than after. but i forget that by reasoning with you, i give into the faults of you prattling barbers; have done, have done; shave me." the more haste i was in, the less speed he made. he laid down the razor, and took up his astrolabe; then laid down his astrolabe, and took up his razor again. the barber quitted his razor again, and took up his astrolabe a second time; and so left me half shaved, to go and see precisely what hour it was. back he came, and exclaimed, "sir, i knew i was not mistaken, it wants three hours of noon. i am sure of it, or else all the rules of astronomy are false." "just heaven!" cried i, "my patience is exhausted, i can bear this no longer. you cursed barber, you barber of mischief, i can scarcely forbear falling upon you and strangling you." "softly, sir," said he, very calmly, without being moved by my anger: "are you not afraid of a relapse? be not in a passion, i am going to shave you this minute." in speaking these words, he clapped his astrolabe in his case, took up his razor, and passing it over the strap which was fixed to his belt, fell to shaving me again; but all the while he was thus employed, the dog could not forbear prattling. "if you would be pleased, sir," said he, "to tell me what the business is you are going about at noon, i could give you some advice that might be of use to you." to satisfy the fellow, i told him i was going to meet some friends at an entertainment at noon, to make merry with me on the recovery of ray health. when the barber heard me talk of regaling; "god bless you this day, as well as all other days!" he cried: "you put me in mind that yesterday i invited four or five friends to come and eat with me as this day; indeed i had forgotten the engagement, and have made no preparation for them." "do not let that trouble you," said i; "though i dine abroad, my larder is always well furnished. i make you a present of all that it contains; and besides, i will order you as much wine as you have occasion for; i have excellent wine in my cellar; only you must hasten to finish shaving me: and pray remember, as my father made you presents to encourage you to speak, i give you mine to induce you to be silent." he was not satisfied with my promise, but exclaimed, "god reward you, sir, for your kindness: pray shew me these provisions now, that i may see if there will be enough to entertain my friends. i would have them satisfied with the good fare i make them." "i have," said i, "a lamb, six capons, a dozen chickens, and enough to make four courses." i ordered a slave to bring all before him, with four great pitchers of wine. "it is very well," returned the barber; "but we shall want fruit, and sauce for the meat." these i ordered likewise; but then he left off shaving, to look over every thing one after another; and this survey lasted almost half an hour. i raged and stormed like a madman; but it signified nothing, the wretch made no more haste. however, he took up his razor again, and shaved me for some minutes; then stopping suddenly, exclaimed, "i could not have believed, sir, that you would have been so liberal; i begin to perceive that your deceased father lives again in you. most certainly, i do not deserve the favours with which you have loaded me; and i assure you i shall have them in perpetual remembrance; for, sir, to let you know, i have nothing but what i obtain from the generosity of such gentlemen as you: in which respect, i am like to zantout, who rubs the people in the baths; to sali, who cries boiled peas in the streets; to salout, who sells beans; to akerscha, who sells greens; to aboumecarez, who sprinkles the streets to lay the dust; and to cassem, the caliph's lifeguard man. of all these persons, not one is apt so be melancholy; they are neither impertinent nor quarrelsome; they are more contented with their lot, than the caliph in the midst of his court; they are always gay, ready to sing and dance, and have each of them their peculiar song and dance, with which they divert the city of bagdad; but what i esteem most in them is, that they are no great talkers, any more than your slave, that has bow the honour to speak to you. here, sir, is the song and dance of zantout, who rubs the people in the baths; mind me, pray, and see if i do not imitate it exactly." the barber sung the song, and danced the dance of zantout; and let me say what i could to oblige him to finish his buffooneries, he did not cease till he had imitated, in like manner, the songs and dances of the other persons he had named. "after that," addressing himself to me, "i am going," said he, "to invite all these honest men to my house; if you will take my advice you will join us, and disappoint your friends, who perhaps are great talkers. they will only teaze you to death with their impertinent discourse, and make you relapse into a disorder worse than that from which you are so lately recovered; whereas at my house you shall have nothing but pleasure." notwithstanding my anger, i could not forbear laughing at the fellow's impertinence. "i wish i had no business upon my hands," i replied, "i would accept your invitation, and go with all my heart to partake of your entertainment; but i beg to be excused, i am too much engaged; another day i shall be more at leisure, and then we will make up the same party. come, finish shaving me, and make haste home; perhaps your friends are already arrived at your house." "sir," replied he, "do not refuse me the favour i ask of you; were you but once in our company, it would afford you so much pleasure as abundantly to compensate you for forsaking your friends." "let us talk no more of that," said i; "i cannot be your guest." i found i gained no ground by mild terms. "since you will not come to my house," replied the barber, "you must allow me to go along with you: i will carry these things to my house, where my friends may eat of them if they like, and i will return immediately; i would not be so uncivil as to leave you alone. you deserve this piece of complaisance at my hands." "heavens!" cried i, "then i shall not get clear of this troublesome fellow to-day. in the name of the living god, leave off your unreasonable jargon; go to your friends, drink, eat, and be merry with them, and leave me at liberty to go to mine. i must go alone, i have no occasion for company; besides, i must needs tell you, the place to which i go is not one where you can be received." "you jest, sir," said he; "if your friends have invited you to a feast, what should prevent you from allowing me to go with you? you will please them, i am sure, by introducing to them a man who can talk wittily like me, and knows how to divert company. but say what you will, i am determined to accompany you." these words, gentlemen, perplexed me much. "how," thought i, "shall i get rid of this cursed barber? if i persist in contradicting him, we shall never have done." besides, i heard at this instant the first call to noon-prayers, and it was time for me to go. in fine, i resolved to say nothing, and to make as if i consented to his accompanying me. he then finished shaving me, and i said to him, "take some of my servants to carry these provisions along with you, and return hither; i will stay for you, and shall not go without you." at last he went, and i dressed myself as expeditiously as i could. i heard the last call to prayers, and hastened to set out: but the malicious barber, who guessed my intention, went with my servants only within sight of the house and stood there till he saw them enter it, after which he concealed himself at the corner of the street, with an intent to observe and follow me. in fine, when i arrived at the cauzee's door, i looked back and saw him at the head of the street which alarmed me to the last degree. the cauzee's door was half open, and as i went in i saw an old woman waiting for me, who, after she had shut the door, conducted me to the chamber of the young lady who was the object of my love; but we had scarcely begun to converse, when we heard a noise in the streets. the young lady put her head to the window, and saw through the gate that it was her father already returning from prayers. at the same time i looked, and saw the barber sitting over-against the house, on the bench from which i had first seen the young lady. i had then two things to fear, the arrival of the cauzee, and the presence of the barber. the young lady mitigated my apprehension on the first head, by assuring me the cauzee, came but seldom to her chamber, and as she had forseen that this misadventure might happen, she had contrived a way to convey me out safely: but the indiscretion of the accursed barber made me very uneasy; and you shall hear that my uneasiness was not without ground. as soon as the cauzee was come in, he caned one of his slaves, who had deserved chastisement. this slave made a horrid noise, which was heard in the streets; the barber thought it was i who cried out, and was maltreated. prepossessed with this thought, he roared out aloud, rent his clothes, threw dust upon his head, and called the neighbourhood to his assistance. the neighbours collected, and asked what assistance he wanted? "alas!" cried he, "they are assassinating my master, my dear patron;" and without saying anything more, he ran all the way to my house, with the very same cry in his mouth. from thence he returned, followed by all my domestics armed with sticks. they knocked with inconceivable fury at the door, and the cauzee sent slave to see what was the matter; but the slave being frightened, returned to his master, crying, "sir, above ten thousand men are going to break into your house by force." immediately the cauzee himself ran, opened the door, and asked what they wanted. his venerable presence could not inspire them with respect. they insolently said to him, "you cursed cauzee, what reason have you to assassinate our master? what has he done to you?" "good people," replied the magistrate, "for what should i assassinate your master, whom i do not know and who has done me no harm? my house is open to you, come and search." "you bastinadoed him," said the barber; "i heard his cries not a minute ago." "what harm could your master do to me," replied the cauzee, "to oblige me to abuse him at that rate? is he in my house? if he is, how came he in, or who could have introduced him?" "ah! wretched cauzee, cried the barber, "you and your long beard shall never make me believe you; i know your daughter is in love with our master, and appointed him a meeting during the time of noon-prayer, you without doubt have had notice of it, returned home, and surprised him, and made your slaves bastinado him: but this your wicked action shall not pass with impunity; the caliph shall be acquainted with it, and he will give true and brief justice. let him come out, deliver him to us immediately; or if you do not, we will go in and take him out to your shame." "there is no occasion for so many words," replied the cauzee, "nor to make so great a noise: if what you say is true, go and find him out, i give you free liberty." thereupon the barber and my domestics rushed into the house like furies, and looked for me all about. as i heard all that the barber said to the cauzee, i sought for a place to conceal myself, and could find nothing but a large empty trunk, in which i lay down, and shut it upon me. the barber, after he had searched everywhere, came into the chamber where i was, and opened the trunk. as soon as he saw me, he took it upon his head and carried it away. he descended a high staircase into a court, which he crossed hastily, and at length reached the street door. while he was carrying me, the trunk unfortunately flew open, and not being able to endure the shame of being exposed to the view and shouts of the mob who followed us, i leaped out into the street with so much haste, that i have been lame ever since. i was not sensible of the hurt at first, and therefore got up quickly to avoid the people, who laughed at me; nay, i threw handfuls of gold and silver among them, and whilst they were gathering it up, i made my escape by cross streets and alleys. but the cursed barber followed me close, crying, "stay, sir; why do you run so fast? if you knew how much i am afflicted at the ill treatment you received from the cauzee, you, who are so generous, and to whom i and my friends are so much obliged! did i not tell you truly, that you would expose your life by your obstinate refusal to let me go with you? see what has happened to you, by your own fault; and if i had not resolutely followed, to see whither you went, what would have become of you? whither do you go, sir? stay for me." thus the barber cried aloud in the street it was not enough for him to have occasioned so great a scandal in the quarter where the cauzee lived, but he would have it known through the whole town. i was in such a rage, that i had a great mind to stop and cut his throat; but considering this would have perplexed me farther, i chose another course. perceiving that his calling after me exposed me to vast numbers of people, who crowded to the doors or windows, or stopped in the street to gaze at me, i entered an inn, the chamberlain of which knew me, and finding him at the gate, whither the noise had brought him, i prayed him, for the sake of heaven, to hinder that madman from coming in after me. he promised to do so, and was as good as his word, but not without a great deal of trouble; for the obstinate barber would enter in spite of him, and did not retire without calling him a thousand names. after the chamberlain had shut the gate, the barber continued telling all he met what great service he had done me. thus i rid myself of that troublesome fellow. after this, the chamberlain prayed me to tell him my adventure, which i did, and then desired him to let me have an apartment until i was cured . "but sir," said he, "will it not be more convenient for you to go home?" "i will not return thither," replied i: "for the detestable barber will continue plaguing me there, and i shall die of vexation to be continually teazed by him. besides, after what has befallen me to-day, i cannot think of staying any longer in this town; i must go whither my ill-fortune leads me." accordingly, when i was. cured, i took all the money i thought necessary for my travels, and divided the rest of my property among my kindred. thus, gentlemen, i left bagdad, and came hither. i had ground to hope that i should not meet this pernicious barber in a country so far from my own, and yet i find him amongst you. be not surprised then at my haste to be gone: you may easily judge how unpleasant to me is the sight of a man who was the occasion of my lameness, and of my being reduced to the melancholy necessity of living so far from my kindred, friends, and country. when he had spoken these words, the lame young man rose up and went out; the master of the house conducted him to the gate, and told him, he was sorry that he had given him, though innocently, so great a subject of mortification. when the young man was gone, continued the tailor, we were all astonished at the story, and turning to the barber, told him he was very much to-blame, if what we had just heard was true. "gentlemen," answered he, raising up his head, which till then he had held down, "my silence during the young man's discourse is sufficient to testify that he advanced nothing that was not true: but for all that he has said to you, i maintain that i ought to have done what i did; i leave you to be judges. did not he throw himself into danger, and could he have come off so well without my assistance? he may think himself happy to have escaped with the lame leg did not i expose myself to greater danger to get him out of a house where i thought he was ill-treated? has he any reason to complain of and abuse me? this is what one gets by serving unthankful people. he accuses me of being a prattling fellow, which is a mere slander: of seven brothers, i speak least, and have most wit to my share; and to convince you of this, gentlemen, i need only relate my own story and theirs. honour me, i beseech you, with your attention." the story of the barber. in the reign of the caliph mustunsir billah, that is, seeking victory of god, a prince so famous for his liberality towards the poor, ten highwaymen infested the roads about bagdad, and for a long time committed unheard-of robberies and cruelties. the caliph, having notice of this, sent for the judge of the police, some days before the feast of bairam, and ordered him, on pain of death, to bring all the ten to him. the judge of the police used so much diligence, and sent so many people in pursuit of the ten robbers, that they were taken on the very day of bairam. i was walking at the time on the banks of the tigris, and saw ten men richly appareled go into a boat. had i but observed the guards who had them in custody, i might have concluded they were robbers; but my attention was fixed on the men themselves, and thinking they were people who designed to spend the festival in jollity, i entered the boat with them, hoping they would not object to my making one of the company. we descended the tigris, and landed before the caliph's palace: i had by this time had leisure to reflect, and to discover my mistake. when we quitted the boat, we were surrounded by a new troop of the judge of the police's guard, who bound us all, and carried us before the caliph. i suffered myself to be bound as well as the rest, without speaking one word: for what would it have availed to have spoken, or made any resistance? that had been the way to have got myself ill-treated by the guards, who would not have listened to me, for they are brutish fellows, who will hear no reason: i was with the robbers, and that was enough to make them believe me to be one of their number. when we had been brought before the caliph, he ordered the ten highwaymen's heads to be cut off immediately. the executioner drew us up in a file within reach of his arm, and by good fortune i was placed last. he cut off the heads of the ten highwaymen, beginning at the first; and when he came to me, he stopped. the caliph perceiving that he did not strike me, grew angry: "did not i command thee," said he, "to cut off the heads of ten highwaymen, and why hast thou cut off but nine?" "commander of the faithful," he replied, "heaven preserve me from disobeying your majesty's orders: here are ten bodies upon the ground, and as many heads which i have cut off; your majesty may count them." when the caliph saw that what the executioner said was true, he looked at me with amazement, and perceiving that i had not the face of a highwayman, said to me, "good old man, how came you to be among those wretches, who have deserved a thousand deaths?" i answered, "commander of the faithful, i will make a true confession. this morning i saw those ten persons, whose punishment is a proof of your majesty's justice, take boat: i embarked with them, thinking they were men going to celebrate this day, which is the most distinguished in our religion." the caliph could not forbear laughing at my adventure; and instead of treating me as a prattling fellow, as this lame young man did, he admired my discretion and taciturnity. "commander of the faithful," i resumed, "your majesty need not wonder at my silence on such an occasion, as would have made another apt to speak. i make a particular profession of holding my peace, and on that account have acquired the glorious title of silent; by which i am distinguished from my six brothers. this is the effect of my philosophy; and, in a word, in this virtue consists my glory and happiness." "i am glad," said the caliph, smiling, "that they gave you a title which you know so well how to use. but tell me what sort of men were your brothers, were they like you?" "by no means," i replied; "they were all of them loquacious, prating fellows. and as to their persons, there was still a greater difference betwixt them and me. the first was hump-backed; the second had rotten teeth; the third had but one eye; the fourth was blind; the fifth had his ears cut off; and the sixth had hare-lips. they had met with such adventures as would enable you to judge of their characters, had i the honour of relating them to your majesty:" and the caliph seemed desirous to hear their several stories, i went on without waiting his commands. the story of the barber's eldest brother. my eldest brother, whose name was bacbouc the hump-back, was a tailor: when he came out of his apprenticeship, he hired a shop opposite a mill, and having but very little business, could scarcely maintain himself. the miller, on the contrary, was very wealthy, and had a handsome wife. one day as my brother was at work in his shop, he saw the miller's wife looking out of the window, and was charmed with her beauty. the woman took no notice of him, but shut her window, and made her appearance no more that day the poor tailor did nothing all day long but lift up his eyes towards the mill. he pricked his finger oftener than once, and his work was not very regular. at night, when he was to shut his shop, he could scarcely tell how to do it, because he still hoped the miller's wife would once more come to the window; but at last he was forced to shut up, and go home, where he passed but a very uncomfortable night. he arose betimes in the morning, and ran to his shop, in hopes to see his mistress; but he was no happier than the day before, for the miller's wife did not appear at the window above a minute in the course of the day, but that minute made the tailor the most amorous man that ever lived. the third day he had more ground of satisfaction, for the miller's wife cast her eyes upon him by chance, and surprised him as he was gazing at her, which convinced her of what passed in his mind. no sooner did the miller's wife perceive my brother's inclination, than, instead of allowing it to excite her resentment, she resolved to divert herself with it. she looked at him with a smiling countenance, and my brother returned her smile, but in so ludicrous a way, that the miller's wife hastily shut her window, lest her loud laughter should make him sensible that she only ridiculed him. poor bacbouc interpreted her carriage to his own advantage, and flattered himself that she looked upon him with pleasure. the miller's wife resolved to have sport with my brother: she had a piece of very fine stuff, with which she had a long time designed to make a vest; she wrapped it up in a fine embroidered silk handkerchief, and sent it to him by a young slave whom she kept; who being taught her lesson, went to the tailor's shop, and told him, "my mistress gives you her service, and prays you to make her a vest of this stuff according to this pattern; she changes her dress often, so that her custom will be profitable to you." my brother doubted not but the miller's wife loved him, and thought she had sent him work so soon after what had passed betwixt them, only to signify that she knew his mind, and convince him that he had obtained her favour. he charged the slave to tell her mistress, that he would lay aside all work for hers and that the vest should be ready next morning. he worked at it with so much diligence, that he finished it in the course of the same day. next morning the young slave came to see if the vest was ready. bacbouc delivered it to her neatly folded up, telling her, "i am too much concerned to please your mistress to neglect her work; i would engage her by my diligence to employ no other than myself for the time to come." the young slave went some steps as if she had intended to go away, and then coming back, whispered to my brother, "i had forgotten part of my commission; my mistress charged me to make her compliments to you, and to ask how you passed the night; as for her, poor woman, she loves you to that degree that she could not sleep." "tell her," answered my silly brother, "i have so strong a passion for her, that for these four nights i have not slept one wink." after such a compliment from the miller's wife, my brother thought she would not let him languish long in expectation of her favours. about a quarter of an hour after, the slave returned to my brother with a piece of satin: "my mistress," said she, "is very well pleased with her vest, nothing in the world can fit her better, and as it is very handsome, she will not wear it without a new pair of drawers; she prays you to make her one, as soon as you can, of this piece of satin." "enough," said bacbouc, "i will do it before i leave my shop: you shall have it in the evening." the miller's wife shewed herself often at her window, and was very prodigal of her charms, to encourage my brother. you would have laughed to see him work. the pair of drawers was soon made, and the slave came for it, but brought the tailor no money, neither for the trimming he had bought for the vest, nor for the making. in the mean time, this unfortunate lover, whom they only amused, though he could not see it, had eaten nothing all that day, and was forced to borrow money at night to buy his supper. next morning, as soon as he arrived at his shop, the young slave came to tell him that the miller wanted to speak to him. "my mistress," said she, "spoke to him so much in your praise, when she shewed him your work, that he has a mind you should work for him also; she does this on purpose, that the connection she wishes to form betwixt you and him may crown your mutual wishes with success." my brother was easily persuaded, and went to the mill with the slave. the miller received him very kindly, and shewed him a piece of cloth, and told him he wanted shirts, bade him make it into twenty, and return him again what was left. my brother had work enough for five or six days to make twenty shirts for the miller, who afterwards gave him another piece of cloth to make him as many pair of drawers. when they were finished, bacbouc carried them to the miller, who asked him what he must have for his pains. my brother answered, he would be content with twenty dirhems of silver. the miller immediately called the young slave, and bade her bring him his weights to see if his money was right. the slave, who had her lesson, looked at my brother with an angry countenance, to signify to him, that he would spoil all if he took money. he knew her meaning, and refused to take any, though he wanted it so much that he was forced to borrow some to buy the thread to sew the shirts and drawers. when he left the miller, he came to me to borrow money to purchase provisions, and told me they did not pay him. i gave him some copper money i had in my purse, and upon that he subsisted for some days. it is true, indeed, he lived upon nothing but broth, nor had he his fill of that. one day he went to the miller, who was busy at his work, and thinking my brother came for money, offered him some; but the young slave being present, made him another sign not to take it, which he complied with, and told the miller he did not come for his money, but only to know how he did. the miller thanked him, and gave him an upper garment to make. bacbouc carried it to him the next day. when the miller drew out his purse, the young slave gave my brother the usual sign, on which he said to the miller, "neighbour, there is no haste, we will reckon another time;" so that the poor ninny went to his shop again, with three terrible distempers, love, hunger, and an empty purse. the miller's wife was not only avaricious, but ill-natured; for, not content with cheating my brother of his due, she provoked her husband to revenge himself upon him for making love to her, which they accomplished thus. the miller invited bacbouc one night to supper, and after giving him a very sorry treat, said to him, "brother, it is too late for you to return home, you had better stay here all night," and then took him to a place in the mill, where there was a bed; there he left him, and went to bed with his wife. about the middle of the night, the miller came to my brother, and said, "neighbour, are you asleep? my mule is ill, and i have a quantity of corn to grind; you will do me a great kindness if you will turn the mill in her stead." bacbouc, to shew his good nature, told him, he was ready to do him that service, if he would shew him how. the miller tied him by the middle in the mule's place, and whipping him soundly over the back, said to him, "go on, neighbour." "ho!" exclaimed my brother, "why do you beat me?" "it is to make you brisk," replied the miller, "for without a whip my mule will not go." bacbouc was amazed at this treatment, but durst not complain. when he had gone five or six rounds, he would fain have rested; but the miller gave him a dozen sound lashes, saying, "courage, neighbour! do not stop, pray; you must go on without taking breath, otherwise you will spoil my meal." the miller obliged my brother to turn the mill thus all night. about break of day he left him without untying him, and went to his wife's chamber. bacbouc continued there for some time, and at last the young slave came and untied him. "ah!" said the treacherous wretch, "how my mistress and i pitied you! we had no hand in this wicked trick which her husband has played you." the wretched bacbouc answered not a word, he was so much fatigued with work and blows; but crept home to his house, resolving never to think more of the miller's wife. the telling of this story, continued the barber, made the caliph laugh. "go home," said he to me, "i have ordered something to be given you to make up for the loss of the good dinner you expected." "commander of the faithful," i replied, "i pray your majesty to let me stay till i have told the story of my other brothers." the caliph having signified by his silence that he was willing to hear me, i went on thus. the story of the barber's second brother. my second brother, who was called backbarah the toothless, going one day through the city, met in a distant street an old woman, who came up to him, and said, "i want one word with you, pray stop a moment." he did so, and asked what she would have. "if you have time to come with me," said she, "i will bring you into a stately palace, where you shall see a lady as fair as the day. she will receive you with much pleasure, and treat you with excellent wine. i need say no more." "but is what you say true?" demanded my brother. "i am no lying hussy," replied the old woman. "i say nothing to you but what is true. but hark, i have something to ask of you. you must be prudent, say but little, and be extremely polite." backbarah agreed to all this. the old woman went on, and he followed her. they came to the gate of a great palace, where there was a number of officers and domestics. some of them would have stopped my brother, but no sooner did the old woman speak to them than they let him pass. then turning to my brother, she said to him, "you must remember that the young lady i bring you to loves good-nature and modesty, and cannot endure to be contradicted; if you please her in these respects, you may be sure to obtain of her what you please." backbarah thanked her for this advice, and promised to follow it. she brought him into a superb court, answerable to the magnificence of the palace. there was a gallery round it, and a garden in the middle. the old woman made him sit down on a handsome sofa, and bade him stay a moment, till she went to acquaint the young lady with his arrival. my brother, who had never been in such a stately palace before, gazed on the fine things that he saw; and judging of his good fortune by the magnificence of the palace, he was scarcely able to contain himself for joy. in a short time he heard a great noise, occasioned by a troop of merry slaves, who came towards him with loud fits of laughter; and in the middle of them he perceived a young lady of extraordinary beauty, who was easily known to be their mistress by the respect they paid her. backbarah, who expected private conversation with the lady, was extremely surprised when he saw so much company with her. in the mean time, the slaves, as they drew near, put on a grave countenance; and when the young lady came up to the sofa, my brother rose and made her a low obeisance. she took the upper seat, prayed him to sit down, and said to him with a smiling countenance, "i am much pleased to see you, and wish you all the happiness you can desire." "madam," replied backbarah, "i cannot desire a greater happiness than to be in your company." "you seem to be of a pleasant humour," said she, "and to be disposed to pass the time agreeably." she commanded a collation to be brought; and immediately a table was covered with several baskets of fruit and sweetmeats. the lady sat down at the table with the slaves and my brother; and he being placed just opposite to her, when he opened his mouth to eat, she perceived he had no teeth; and taking notice of this to her slaves, she and they laughed heartily. backbarah, from time to time, lifted up his head to look at her, and perceiving her laugh, concluded it was from the pleasure she derived from his company, and flattered himself that she would speedily send away her slaves, and remain with him alone. she guessed his thoughts, and amusing herself to flatter him in this mistake, addressed him in the most pleasant language, and presented him the best of every thing with her own hand. the entertainment being finished, they rose from the table; ten slaves took musical instruments, and began to play and sing, and others to dance. my brother, to please them, danced likewise, and the lady danced with them. after they had danced some time, they sat down to take breath, and the young lady calling for a glass of wine, looked upon my brother with a smiling countenance, to signify that she was going to drink his health. he rose and stood while she drank. when she had done instead of giving back the glass, she ordered it to be filled, and presented it to my brother, that he might pledge her. my brother took the glass from the young lady's hand, which he kissed at the same time and stood and drank to her, in return for the favour she had done him. the lady then made him sit down by her, and began to caress him. she put her hand behind his head, and gave him some tips from time to time with her fingers: ravished with these favours, he thought himself the happiest man in the world, and felt disposed to kiss the charming lady, but durst not take that liberty before so many slaves, who had their eyes upon him, and laughed at their lady's wanton tricks. the young lady continued to tip him with her fingers, but at last gave him such a sound box on the ear, that he grew angry; the colour came into his face, and he rose up to remove to a greater distance from such a rude playfellow. then the old woman, who brought him thither, gave him a look, to let him know that he was in the wrong, and that he had forgotten her advice, to be very complaisant. he owned his fault, and to make amends, went near the young lady again, pretending that he did not remove out of any ill-humour. she drew him by the arm, made him sit down by her, and gave him a thousand malicious squeezes. her slaves took their part in the diversion; one gave poor backbarah several fillips on the nose with all her might; another pulled him by the ears, as if she would have pulled them off; and others boxed him in a manner that might have made it appear they were not in jest. my brother bore all this with admirable patience, affecting a gay air, and looking at the old woman, said to her with a forced smile, "you told me, indeed, that i should find the lady perfectly kind, pleasant, and charming; i am mightily obliged to you!" "all this is nothing," replied the old woman; "let her go on, you will see other things by and by." then the young lady said to him, "brother, you are a brave man; i am glad to find you are so good-humoured and complaisant to bear with my little caprices, and that your humour is so conformable to mine." "madam," replied backbarah, who was charmed with this address, "l am no more at my own disposal, i am wholly yours, you may do with me as you please." "how you oblige me," returned the lady, "by such submission! i am well pleased with you, and would have you be so with me: bring him perfume, and rose-water." upon this, two slaves went out and returned speedily, one with a silver casket, filled with the best of aloes wood, with which she perfumed him; and the other with rose-water, which she sprinkled on his face and hands. my brother was quite enraptured with this handsome treatment. after this ceremony, the young lady commanded the slaves, who had already played on their instruments and sung, to renew their concerts. they obeyed, and while they were thus employed, the lady called another slave, and ordered her to take my brother with her, and do what she knew, and bring him back to her again. backbarah, who heard this order, got up quickly, and going to the old woman, who also rose to accompany him and the slave, prayed her to inform him what they were to do with him. "my mistress is only curious," replied the old woman softly; "she has a mind to see how you look in a woman's dress, and this slave, who is desired to take you with her, has orders to paint your eyebrows, to cut off your whiskers, and to dress you like a woman." "you may paint my eyebrows as much as you please," said my brother, "i consent to that, because i can wash it off again; but to shave me, you know i must not permit. how can i appear abroad again without moustaches?" "beware of refusing what is asked of you," returned the old woman, you will spoil your fortune, which is now in as favourable a train as heart can wish. the lady loves you, and has a mind to make you happy; and will you, for a nasty whisker, renounce the most delicious favours that man can obtain?" backbarah listened to the old woman, and without saying a word went to a chamber with the slave, where they painted his eyebrows with red, cut off his whiskers, and were going to do the like with his beard.. my brother's patience then began to fail: "oh!" said he, "i will never part with my beard." the slave told him, that it was to no purpose to have parted with his whiskers, if he would not also part with his beard, which could never comport with "woman's dress; and she wondered that a man, who was upon the point of being loved by the finest lady in bagdad, should be concerned about his beard. the old woman threatened him with the loss of the young lady's favour; so that at last he allowed them to do what they would. when he was dressed in female attire, they brought him before the young lady, who laughed so heartily when she saw him, that she fell backward on the sofa. the slaves laughed and clapped their hands, so that my brother was quite out of countenance. the young lady got up, and still laughing, said to him, "after so much complaisance, i should be very much to blame not to love you with all my heart: but there is one thing more you must do for me, and that is, to dance as we do." he obeyed, and the young lady and her slaves danced with him, laughing as if they had been mad. after they had danced some time, they all fell upon the poor wretch, and did so box and kick him, that he fell down like one out of his senses. the old woman helped him up again: and that he might not have time to think of his ill-treatment, bade him take courage, and whispered in his ear, that all his sufferings were at an end, and that he was just about to receive his reward. the old woman continued her discourse to backbarah thus: "you have only one thing more to do, and that is but a small one. you must know that my mistress has a custom, when she has drunk a little, as you see she has done to-day, to let no one that she loves come near her, except they be stripped to their shirt; and when they have done so, she takes a little advantage of them and begins running before them through the gallery, and from chamber to chamber, till they catch her. this is one more of her humours: what advantage soever she takes of you, considering your nimbleness, you will soon overtake her; strip yourself then to your shirt, undress yourself without ceremony." my silly brother had done too much to hesitate at anything now. he undressed himself; and in the mean time the young lady was stripped to her shift and drawers, that she might run the more nimbly. when they were ready, the young lady took the advantage of twenty paces, and then began to run with surprising swiftness: my brother followed as fast as he could, the slaves in the mean time laughing heartily and clapping their hands. the young lady, instead of losing ground, gained upon my brother: she made him run two or three times round the gallery, and then entering a long dark passage, made her escape. backbarah, who still followed, having lost sight of her in the passage, was obliged to slacken his pace, because of the darkness of the place: at last perceiving a light, he ran towards it, and went out at a door, which was immediately shut after him. you may imagine how he was surprised to find himself in a street inhabited by curriers, and they were no less surprised to see him in his shirt, his eyes painted red, and without beard or moustaches: they began to clap their hands and shout at him, and some of them ran after him and lashed his back with leather straps. they then took him and set him upon an ass which they met by chance, and carried him through the town exposed to the laughter of the people. to complete his misfortune, as he went by the judge's house, he would needs know the cause of the tumult. the curriers told him, that they saw him come in that condition from the gate of the apartments of the grand vizier's women, which opened into their street; upon which the judge ordered unfortunate backbarah to have a hundred blows with a cane on the soles of his feet, and sent him out of the town with orders never to return. "thus, commander of the faithful," said i to the caliph, "i have given an account of the adventure of my second brother, who did not know that our greatest ladies divert themselves sometimes by putting such tricks upon young people, who are so foolish as to be caught in the snare." the barber, without breaking off, told the story of his third brother in the following manner. the story of the barber's third brother. commander of the faithful, my third brother, whose name was backbac, was blind, and his evil destiny reduced him to beg from door to door. he had been so long accustomed to walk through the streets alone, that he wanted none to lead him: he had a custom to knock at people's doors, and not to answer till they opened to him. one day he knocked thus, and the master of the house, who was alone, cried, "who is there?" my brother made no answer, and knocked a second time: the master of the house asked again and again, "who is there?" but to no purpose, no one answered; upon which he came down, opened the door, and asked my brother what he wanted? "give me something for heaven's sake," said backbac. "you seem to be blind," replied the master of the house. "yes, to my sorrow," answered my brother. "give me your hand," resumed the master of the house. my brother did so, thinking he was going to give him alms; but he only took him by the hand to lead him up to his chamber. backbac thought he had been carrying him to dine with him, as many other people had done. when they reached the chamber, the man let go his hand, and sitting down, asked him again what he wanted? "i have already told you," said backbac, "that i want something for god's sake." "good blind man," replied the master of the house, "all that i can do for you is to wish that god may restore you your sight." "you might have told me that at the door," replied my brother, "and not have given me the trouble to come up stairs." "and why, fool," said the man of the house, "do not you answer at first, when people ask you who is there? why do you give any body the trouble to come and open the door when they speak to you?" "what will you do with me then?" asked my brother. "i tell you again," said the man of the house, "i have nothing to give you." "help me down the stairs then, as you brought me up." "the stairs are before you," said the man of the house, "and you may go down by yourself if you will." my brother attempted to descend, but missing a step about the middle of the stairs, fell to the bottom and hurt his head and his back: he got up again with much difficulty, and went out cursing the master of the house. who laughed at his fall. as my brother went out of the house, two blind men, his companions, were going by, knew him by his voice, and asked him what was the matter? he told them what had happened; and afterwards said, "i have eaten nothing to-day; i conjure you to go along with me to my house, that i may take some of the money that we three have in common to buy me something for supper." the two blind men agreed, and they went home with him. you must know that the master of the house where my brother was so ill used was a robber, and of a cunning and malicious disposition. he overheard from his window what backbac had said to his companions, and came down and followed them to my brother's house. the blind men being seated, backbac said to them, "brothers, we must shut the door, and take care there be no stranger with us." at this the robber was much perplexed, but perceiving a rope hanging down from a beam, he caught hold of it, and hung by it, while the blind men shut the door, and felt about the room with their sticks. when they had done, and had sat down again in their places, the robber left his rope, and seated himself softly by my brother, who thinking himself alone with his blind comrades, said to them, "brothers, since you have trusted me with the money, which we have been a long time gathering, i will show you that i am not unworthy of the confidence you repose in me. the last time we reckoned, you know we had ten thousand dirhems, and that we put them into ten bags; i will shew you that i have not touched one of them:" having so said, he put his hand among some old clothes, and taking out the bags one after another, gave them to his comrades, saying, "there they are; you may judge by their weight that they are whole, or you may tell them if you please." his comrades answered there was no need, they did not mistrust him; so he opened one of the bags, and took out ten dirhems, and each of the other blind men did the like. my brother put the bags into their place again: after which, one of the blind men said to him, "there is no need to lay out anything for supper, for i have collected as much victuals from good people as will serve us all." at the same time he took out of his bag bread and cheese, and some fruit, and putting all upon the table, they began to eat, the robber, who sat at my brother's right hand, picked out the best, and eat with them; but whatever care he took to make no noise, backbac heard his chaps going, and cried out immediately, "we are undone, there is a stranger among us:" having so said, he stretched out his hand, and caught hold of the robber by the arm, cried out "thieves!" fell upon him, and struck him. the other blind men fell upon him in like manner; the robber defended himself as well as he could, and being young and vigorous, besides having the advantage of his eyes, gave furious blows, sometimes to one, sometimes to another, and cried out "thieves!" louder than they did. the neighbours came running at the noise, broke open the door, and had much ado to separate the combatants; but having at last succeeded, they asked the cause of their quarrel. my brother, who still had hold of the robber, cried out, "gentlemen, this man i have hold of is a thief, and stole in with us on purpose to rob us of the little money we have." the thief, who shut his eyes as soon as the neighbours came, feigned himself blind, and exclaimed, "gentlemen, he is a liar. i swear to you by heaven, and by the life of the caliph, that i am their companion, and they refuse to give me my just share. they have all three fallen upon me, and i demand justice." the neighbours would not interfere in their quarrel, but carried them all before the judge. when they came before the magistrate, the robber, without staying to be examined, cried out, still feigning himself blind, "sir, since you are deputed to administer justice by the caliph, whom god prosper, i declare to you that we are equally criminal, my three comrades and i; but we have all engaged, upon oath, to confess nothing except we be bastinadoed; so that if you would know our crime, you need only order us to be bastinadoed, and begin with me." my brother would have spoken, but was not allowed to do so: and the robber was put under the bastinado. the robber being under the bastinado, had the courage to bear twenty or thirty blows; when, pretended to be overcome with pain, he first opened one eve, and then the other, and crying out for mercy, begged the judge would put a stop to the blows. the judge perceiving that he looked upon him with his eyes open, was much surprised, and said to him, "rogue, what is the meaning of this miracle?" "sir," replied the robber, "i will discover to you an important secret, if you will pardon me, and give me, as a pledge that you will keep your word, the seal-ring which you have on your finger." the judge consented, gave him his ring, and promised him pardon. "under this promise," continued the robber, "i must confess to you sir, that i and my three comrades do all of us see very well. we feigned ourselves to be blind, that we might freely enter people's houses, and women's apartments, where we abuse their weakness. i must farther confess to you, that by this trick we have gained together ten thousand dirhems. this day i demanded of my partners two thousand five hundred that belonged to my share, but they refused because i told them i would leave them; and they were afraid i should accuse them. upon my pressing still to have my share, they fell upon me; for which i appeal to those people who brought us before you. i expect from your justice, sir, that you will make them deliver me the two thousand five hundred dirhems which is my due; and if you have a mind that my comrades should confess the truth, you must order them three times as many blows as i have had, and you will find they will open their eyes as well as i have done." my brother and the other two blind men would have cleared themselves of this horrid charge, but the judge would not hear them: "villains," said he, "do you feign yourselves blind then, and, under that pretext of moving their compassion, cheat people, and commit such crimes?" "he is an impostor," cried my brother, "and we take god to witness that none of us can see." all that my brother could say was in vain, his comrades and he received each of them two hundred blows. the judge expected them to open their eyes, and ascribed to their obstinacy what really they could not do. all the while the robber said to the blind men, "poor fools that you are, open your eyes, and do not suffer yourselves to be beaten to death." then addressing himself to the judge, said, "i perceive, sir, that they will be maliciously obstinate to the last, and will never open their eyes. they wish certainly to avoid the shame of reading their own condemnation in the face of every one that looks upon them; it were better, if you think fit, to pardon them, and to send some person along with me for the ten thousand dirhems they have hidden." the judge consented to give the robber two thousand five hundred dirhems, and kept the rest himself; and as for my brother and his two companions, he thought he shewed them pity by sentencing them only to be banished. as soon as i heard what had befallen my brother, i went to him; he told me his misfortune, and i brought him back secretly to the town. i could easily have justified him to the judge, and have had the robber punished as he deserved, but durst not make the attempt, for fear of bringing myself into danger of assassination. thus i finished the sad adventure of my honest blind brother. the caliph laughed at it, as much as at those he had heard before, and ordered again that something should be given me; but without staying for it, i began the story of my fourth brother. the story of the barber's fourth brother. alcouz was the name of the fourth brother who lost one of his eyes, upon an occasion that i shall have the honour to relate to your majesty. he was a butcher by profession, and had a particular way of teaching rams to fight, by which he gained the acquaintance and friendship of the chief lords of the country, who loved that sport, and for that end kept rams at their houses. he had besides a very good trade, and had his shop always full of the best meat, because he spared no cost for the prime of every sort. one day when he was in his shop, an old man with a long white beard came and bought six pounds of meat of him, gave him money for it, and went his way. my brother thought the money so pure and well coined, that he put it apart by itself: the same old man came every day for five months together, bought a like quantity of meat, and paid for it in the same kind of money, which my brother continued to lay apart. at the end of five months, alcouz having a mind to buy a lot of sheep, and to pay for them in this money, opened his chest; but instead of finding his money, was extremely surprised to see nothing in the place where he had laid it, but a parcel of leaves clipped round. he beat his head, and cried out aloud, which presently brought the neighbours about him, who were as much surprised as he, when he told them the story. "o!" cried my brother, weeping, "that this treacherous old fellow would come now with his hypocritical looks!" he had scarcely spoken, when he saw him at a distance; he ran to him, and laid hands on him; "moosulmauns," cried he, as loud as he could, "help! hear what a cheat this wicked fellow has put upon me," and at the same time told a great crowd of people, who came about him, what he had formerly told his neighbours. when he had done, the old man said to him very gravely and calmly, "you had better let me go, and by that means make amends for the affront you have put upon me before so many people, for fear i should put a greater affront upon you, which i should be sorry to do." "how," said my brother, "what have you to say against me? i am an honest man in my business, and fear not you, nor any body." "you would have me speak out then," resumed the old man in the same tone; and turning to the crowd, said to them, "know, good people, that this fellow, instead of selling mutton as he ought to do, sells human flesh." "you are a cheat," said my brother. "no, no," continued the old man; "good people, this very minute while i am speaking to him, there is a man with his throat cut hung up in the shop like a sheep; do any of you go thither, and see if what i say be not true." just before my brother had opened his chest he had killed a sheep, dressed it, and exposed it in the shop, according to custom: he protested that what the old man said was false; but notwithstanding all his protestations, the credulous mob, prejudiced against a man accused of such a heinous crime, would go to see whether the charge were true. they obliged my brother to quit the old man, laid hold of him, and ran like madmen into his shop, where they saw, to all appearance, a man hung up with his throat cut, as the old man had told them; for he was a magician, and deceived the eyes of all people, as he did my brother, when he made him take leaves instead of money. at this sight, one of those who held alcouz gave him a violent blow with his fist, and said to him, "thou wicked villain, dost thou make us eat man's flesh instead of mutton?" and at the same time the old man gave him another blow, which beat out one of his eyes. every body that could get near him struck him; and not content with that, they carried him before a judge, with the pretended carcase of the man, to be evidence against him." "sir," said the old magician to the judge, "we have brought you a man, who is so barbarous as to murder people, and to sell their flesh instead of mutton. the public expects that you will punish him in an exemplary manner." the judge heard my brother with patience, but would believe nothing of the story of the money changed into leaves, called my brother a cheat, told him he would believe his own eyes, and ordered him to receive five hundred blows. he afterwards made him tell him where his money was, took it all from him, and banished him for ever, after having made him ride three days through the city upon a camel, exposed to the insults of the people. i was not at bagdad when this tragical adventure befell my fourth brother. he retired into a remote place, where he lay concealed till he was cured of the blows with which his back was terribly mangled. when he was able to walk, he went by night to a certain town where nobody knew him; and there he took a lodging, from whence he seldom moved; but being weary of this confined life, he went to walk in one of the suburbs, where suddenly he heard a noise of horsemen coming behind him. he was then by chance near the gate of a house, and fearing, after what had befallen him, that these horsemen were pursuing him, he opened the gate in order to hide himself, and after he had shut it, entered a court, where immediately two servants came and collared him, saying, "heaven be praised, that you have come of your own accord to surrender yourself; you have alarmed us so much these three last nights, that we could not sleep; nor would you have spared our lives, if we had not prevented your design." you may well imagine my brother was much surprised. "good people," said he, "i know not what you mean; you certainly take me for somebody else." "no, no," replied they, "we know that you and your comrades are robbers: you were not contented to rob our master of all that he had, and to reduce him to beggary, but you conspired to take his life. let us see if you have not a knife about you, which you had in your hand when you pursued us last night." having said thus, they searched him, and found he had a knife. "ho! ho!" cried they, laying hold of him, "and dare you say that you are not a robber?" "why," said my brother, "cannot a man carry a knife about him without being a robber? if you will hearken to my story, instead of having so bad an opinion of me, you will be touched with compassion at my misfortunes." but far from attending to him, they fell upon him, trod upon him, took away his clothes, and tore his shirt. then seeing the scars on his back, "o dog," said they, redoubling their blows, "would you have us believe you are an honest man, when your back shews us the contrary?" "alas!" said my brother, "my crimes must be very great, since, after having been abused already so unjustly, i am thus treated a second time without being more culpable!" the two servants, no way moved with his complaint, carried him before the judge, who asked him how he durst presume to go into their house, and pursue them with a drawn knife? "sir," replied the unfortunate alcouz, "i am the most innocent man in the world, and am undone if you will not be pleased to hear me patiently: no one deserves more compassion." "sir," exclaimed one of the domestics, "will you listen to a robber, who enters people's houses to plunder and murder them? if you will not believe us, only look upon his back;" and while he said so he uncovered my brother's back, and shewed it to the judge, who, without any other information, commanded his officers immediately to give him a hundred lashes over the shoulders, and made him afterwards be carried through the town on a camel, with one crying before him, "thus are men punished who enter people's houses by force." after having treated him thus, they banished him the town, and forbad him ever to return. some people, who met him after the second misfortune, brought me word where he was; i went, brought him to bagdad privately, and gave him all the assistance i could. the caliph did not laugh so much at this story as at the other. he was pleased to pity the unfortunate alcouz, and ordered something to be given me. but without giving his servants time to obey his orders, i continued my discourse, and said to him: "my sovereign lord and master, you see that i do not talk much; and since your majesty has been pleased to do me the favour to listen to me so far, i beg you would likewise hear the adventures of my two other brothers; i hope they will be as diverting as those of the former. you may make a complete history of them, that will not be unworthy of your library: i shall do myself the honour then to acquaint you, that the fifth brother was called alnaschar." the story of the barber's fifth brother. alnaschar, as long as our father lived, was very lazy; instead of working he used to beg in the evening, and live upon what he got. our father died at a very old age, and left among us seven hundred dirhems: we divided equally, so that each of us had a hundred for his share. alnaschar, who had never before possessed so much money, was much perplexed to know what he should do with it. he consulted a long time with himself, and at last resolved to lay it out in glass-ware which he bought of a wholesale dealer. he put all in an open basket, and sat with it before him, and his back against a wall, in a place where he might sell it. in this posture, with his eyes fixed on his basket, he began to meditate; during which he spoke as follows: "this basket cost me a hundred dirhems, which is all i have in the world. i shall make two hundred of them by retailing my glass, and of these two hundred, which i will again lay out in glass-ware, i shall make four hundred; and going on thus, i shall at last make four thousand dirhems; of four thousand i shall easily make eight thousand, and when i come to ten thousand, i will leave off selling glass and turn jeweller; i will trade in diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of precious stones: then when i am as rich as i can wish, i will buy a fine mansion, a great estate, slaves, eunuchs, and horses. i will keep a good house, and make a great figure in the world; i will send for all the musicians and dancers of both sexes in town. nor will i stop here, for, i will, by the favour of heaven, go on till i get one hundred thousand dirhems, and when i have amassed so much, i will send to demand the grand vizier's daughter in marriage; and represent to that minister, that i have heard much of the wonderful beauty, understanding, wit, and all the other qualities of his daughter; in a word, that i will give him a thousand pieces of gold the first night after we are married; and if the vizier be so uncivil as to refuse his daughter, which cannot be supposed, i will go and carry her off before his face, and take her to my house whether he will or no. as soon as i have married the grand vizier's daughter, i will buy her ten young black eunuchs, the handsomest that can be had; i will clothe my self like a prince, and mounted upon a fine horse, with a saddle of fine gold, with housings of cloth of gold, finely embroidered with diamonds and pearls, i will ride through the city, attended by slaves before and behind. i will go to the vizier's palace in view of all the people great and small, who will show me the most profound respect. when i alight at the foot of the vizier's staircase, i will ascend through my own people, ranged in files on the right and left; and the grand vizier, receiving me as his son-in-law, shall give me the right hand and set me above him, to do me the more honour. if this comes to pass, as i hope it will, two of my people shall each of them have a purse with a thousand pieces of gold, which they shall carry with them. i will take one, and presenting it to the grand vizier, tell him, �there is the thousand pieces of gold that i promised the first night of marriage:' and i will offer him the other and say to him, �there is as much more, to shew you that i am a man of my word, and even better than my promise.' after such an action as this, all the world will talk of my generosity. i will return to my own house in the same pomp. my wife will send some officer to compliment me, on account of my visit to the vizier, her father: i will honour the officer with a fine robe, and send him back with a rich present. if she send me a present, i will not accept it, but dismiss the bearer. i will not suffer her to go out of her apartment on any account whatever, without giving me notice: and when i have a mind to come to her apartment, it shall be in such a manner as to make her respect me. in short, no house shall be better ordered than mine. i will be always richly clad. when i retire with my wife in the evening, i will sit on the upper seat, i will affect a grave air, without turning my head to one side or the other. i will speak little; and whilst my wife, beautiful as the full moon, stands before me in all her charms, i will make as if i did not see her. her women about her will say to me, �our dear lord and master, here is your spouse, your humble servant, before you, ready to receive your caresses, but much mortified that you do not vouchsafe to look upon her; she is wearied with standing so long, bid her, at least, sit down.' i will make no answer, which will increase their surprise and grief. they will prostrate themselves at my feet; and after they have for a considerable time entreated me to relent, i will at last lift up my head, give her a careless look, and resume my former posture: they will suppose that my wife is not handsomely enough dressed, and will carry her to her closet to change her apparel. at the same time i will get up and put on a more magnificent suit; they will return and address me as before, but i will not so much as look upon my wife, till they have prayed and entreated as long as they did at first. thus i will begin on the first day of marriage, to teach her what she is to expect during the rest of her life. "after the ceremonies of the marriage, i will take from one of my servants, who shall be about me, a purse of five hundred pieces of gold, which i will give to the tire-women, that they may leave me alone with my spouse: when they are gone, my wife shall go to bed first; then i will lie down by her with my back towards her, and will not say one wore to her all night. the next morning she will certainly complain of my contempt and of my pride, to her mother the grand vizier's wife, which will rejoice my heart. her mother will come to wait upon me, respectfully kiss my hands, and say to me, �sir' (for she will not dare to call me son-in-law, for fear of provoking me by such a familiar style), �i entreat you not to disdain to look on my daughter, and refuse to come near her. i assure you that her chief delight is to please you, and that she loves you with all her soul.' but in spite of all my mother-in-law can say, i will not answer her one word, but keep an obstinate gravity. then she will throw herself at my feet, kiss them repeatedly, and say to me, �sir, is it possible that you can suspect my daughter's virtue? you are the first man who ever saw her face: do not mortify her so much; do her the favour to look upon her, to speak to her, and confirm her in her good intentions to satisfy you in every thing.' but nothing of this shall prevail with me. upon which my mother-in-law will take a glass of wine, and putting it in the hand of her daughter my wife, will say, �go, present him this glass of wine yourself; perhaps he will not be so cruel as to refuse it from so fair a hand.' my wife will come with the glass and stand trembling before me; and when she finds that i do not look towards her, but that i continue to disdain her, she will say to me with tears in her eyes, �my heart, my dear soul, my amiable lord, i conjure you, by the favours which heaven heaps upon you, to receive this glass of wine from the hand of your most humble servant:' but i will not look upon her still, nor answer her. �my charming spouse,' will she say, redoubling her tears, and putting the glass to my mouth, "i will never cease till i prevail with you to drink;' then, wearied with her entreaties, i will dart a terrible look at her, shake my hand in her face, and spurn her from me with my foot." my brother was so full of these chimerical visions, that he acted with his foot as if she had been really before him, and unfortunately gave such a push to his basket and glasses, that they were thrown down, and broken into a thousand pieces, on this fatal accident, he came to himself, and perceiving that he had brought misfortune upon himself by his insupportable pride, beat his face, tore his clothes, and cried so loud, that the neighbours came about him; and the people, who were going to their noon prayers, stopped to know what was the matter. being on a friday, more people went to prayers than usual; some of them took pity on alnaschar, and others only laughed at his extravagance. in the mean time, his vanity being dispersed with his property, he bitterly bewailed his loss; and a lady of rank passing by upon a mule richly caparisoned, my brother's situation moved her compassion. she asked who he was, and what he cried for? they told her, that he was a poor man, who had laid out the little money he possessed in the purchase of a basket of glassware, that the basket had fallen, and all his glasses were broken. the lady immediately turned to an eunuch who attended her, and said to him, "give the poor man what you have about you." the eunuch obeyed, and put into my brother's hands a purse with five hundred pieces of gold. alnaschar was ready to die with joy when he received it. he gave a thousand blessings to the lady, and shutting up his shop, where he had no more occasion to sit, went to his house. while he was pondering over his good luck, he heard somebody knock at his door. before he opened, he asked who it was, and knowing by the voice that it was a woman, he let her in. "my son," said she, "i have a favour to beg of you: the hour of prayer is come, let me perform my ablutions in your house, that i may be fit to say my prayers." my brother looking at her, and seeing that she was well advanced in years, though he knew her not, granted her request, and sat down again still full of his new adventure. he put his gold in a long strait purse, proper to carry at his girdle. the old woman in the mean time said her prayers, and when she had done, came to my brother and bowed twice to the ground, so low, that she touched it with her forehead: then rising up, she wished him all happiness. the old woman then bowed again, and thanked him for his civility. being meanly clad, and very humble, he thought she asked alms; upon which he offered her two pieces of gold. the old woman stepped back in a sort of surprise, as if my brother had affronted her. "good god!" said she, "what is the meaning of this? is it possible, sir, that you took me for one of those impudent beggars who push into people's houses to ask alms? take back your money: thank heaven, i need it not. i belong to a young lady of this city, who is a perfect beauty, and very rich; she lets me want for nothing." my brother was not cunning enough to perceive the craft of the old woman, who only refused the two pieces of gold, that she might catch more. he asked her, if she could not procure him the honour of seeing that lady. "with all my heart," she replied; "she will be very glad to marry you, and to put you in possession of her fortune, by making you master of her person. take up your money, and follow me." my brother, transported with his good luck in finding so great a sum of money, and almost at the same time a beautiful and rich wife, shut his eyes to all other considerations; so that he took his five hundred pieces of gold, and followed the old woman. she walked on, and he followed at a distance, to the gate of a great house, where she knocked. he came up just as a young greek slave opened the gate. the old woman made him enter first, crossed a well-paved court, and introduced him into a hall, the furniture of which confirmed him in the good opinion he had conceived of the mistress of the house. while the old woman went to acquaint the lady, he sat down, and the weather being hot, put off his turban, and laid it by him. he speedily saw the young lady enter: her beauty and rich apparel perfectly surprised him; he arose as soon as he saw her. the lady, with a smiling countenance, prayed him to sit down again, and placed herself by him. she told him, she was very glad to see him; and after having spoken some engaging words, said, "we do not sit here at our ease. come, give me your hand." at these words she presented him hers, and conducted him into an inner chamber, where she conversed with him for some time: she then left him, saying that she would be with him in a moment. he waited for her; but instead of the lady came in a great black slave with a cimeter in his hand, and looking upon my brother with a terrible aspect, said to him fiercely, "what have you to do here?" alnaschar was so frightened, that he had no power to answer. the black stripped him, carried off his gold, and gave him several flesh wounds with his cimeter. my unhappy brother fell to the ground, where he lay without motion, though he had still the use of his senses. the black thinking him to be dead, asked for salt: the greek slave brought him a basin full: they rubbed my brother's wounds with it, but he had so much command of himself, notwithstanding the intolerable pain it put him to, that he lay still without giving any sign of life. the black and the greek slave having retired, the old woman, who had enticed my brother into the snare, came and dragged him by the feet to a trapdoor, which she opened, and threw him into a place under ground, among the bodies of several other people who had been murdered. he perceived this as soon as he came to himself, for the violence of the fall had taken away his senses. the salt rubbed into his wounds preserved his life, and he recovered strength by degrees, so as to be able to walk. after two days he opened the trap-door in the night, and finding in the court a place proper to hide himself in, continued there till break of day, when he saw the cursed old woman open the street gate, and go out to seek another victim. he stayed in the place some time after she was gone, that she might not see him, and then came to me for shelter, when he told me of his adventures. in a month's time he was perfectly cured of his wounds by medicines that i gave him, and resolved to avenge himself of the old woman, who had put such a barbarous cheat upon him. to this end he took a bag, large enough to contain five hundred pieces of gold, and filled it with pieces of glass. my brother fastened the bag of glass about him, disguised himself like an old woman, and took a cimeter under his gown. one morning he met the old woman walking through the town to seek her prey; he went up to her, and counterfeiting a woman's voice, said, "cannot you lend me a pair of scales? i am newly come from persia, have brought five hundred pieces of gold with me, and would know if they are weight." "good woman," answered the old hag, "you could not have applied to a fitter person: follow me, i will conduct you to my son, who changes money, and will weigh them himself to save you the trouble. let us make haste, for fear he should go to his shop." my brother followed her to the house where she carried him at first, and the greek slave opened the door. the old woman took my brother to the hall where she desired him to wait till she called her son. the pretended son came, and proved to be the villainous black slave. "come, old woman," said he to my brother, "rise and follow me:" having spoken thus, he went before to conduct him to the place where he designed to murder him. alnaschar got up, followed him, and drawing his cimeter, gave him such a dexterous blow behind on the neck, that he cut off his head, which he took in one hand, and dragging the corpse with the other, threw them both into the place under ground before-mentioned. the greek slave, who was accustomed to the trade, came presently with a basin of salt; but when she saw alnaschar with his cimeter in his hand, and without his veil, she laid down the basin, and fled. but my brother overtaking her, cut off her head also. the wicked old woman came running at the noise, and my brother seizing her, said to her, "treacherous wretch, do not you know me?" "alas, sir!" answered she trembling, "who are you? i do not remember that i ever saw you." "i am," replied he, "the person to whose house you came the other day to wash and say your prayers. hypocritical hag, do not you remember?" then she fell on her knees to beg his pardon, but he cut her in four pieces. there remained only the lady, who knew nothing of what had passed: he sought her out, and found her in a chamber, where she was ready to sink when she saw him: she begged her life, which he generously granted. "madam," said he, "how could you live with such wicked people, as i have so justly revenged myself upon?" "i was," she answered, "wife to an honest merchant; and the old woman, whose wickedness i did not then know, used sometimes to come to see me; �madam,' said she to me one day, �we have a wedding at our house, which you will be pleased to see, if you will give us the honour of your company:' i was persuaded by her, put on my best apparel, and took with me a hundred pieces of gold. i followed her; she brought me to this house, where the black has since kept me by force, and i have been three years here to my great sorrow." "by the trade which that cursed black followed," replied my brother, "he must have gathered together a vast deal of riches." "there is so much," said she "that you will be made for ever, if you can carry them off: follow me, and you shall see them." alnaschar followed her to a chamber, where she shewed him several coffers full of gold, which he beheld with admiration. "go," said she, "and fetch people to carry it all off." my brother went out, got ten men together, and brought them with him, but was much surprised to find the gate open, the lady and the coffers gone, for she being more diligent than he, had conveyed them all off and disappeared. however, being resolved not to return empty-handed, he carried off all the furniture of the house, which was a great deal more than enough to make up the five hundred pieces of gold he had been robbed of; but when he went out of the house, he forgot to shut the gate. the neighbours, who saw my brother and the porters come and go, went and acquainted the magistrate, for they looked upon my brother's conduct as suspicious. alnaschar slept well enough all night, but the next morning, when he came out of his house, twenty of the magistrate's men seized him. "come along with us," said they, "our master would speak with you." my brother prayed them to have patience for a moment, and offered them a sum of money to let him escape; but instead of listening to him, they bound him, and forced him to go with them. they met in the street an old acquaintance of my brother's, who stopped them awhile, asked them why they had seized my brother, offered them a considerable sum to let him escape, and tell the magistrate they could not find him, but in vain. when the officers brought him before the magistrate, he asked him where he had the goods which he had carried home the preceding evening? "sir," replied alnaschar, "i am ready to tell you all the truth; but allow me first to have recourse to your clemency, and to beg your promise, that i shall not be punished." "i give it you," said the magistrate. my brother then told him the whole story without disguise, from the period the old woman came into his house to say her prayers, to the time the lady made her escape, after he had killed the black, the greek slave, and the old woman: and as for what he had carried to his house, he prayed the judge to leave him part of it, for the five hundred pieces of gold of which he had been robbed. the judge, without promising any thing, sent his officers to bring off the whole, and having put the goods into his own warehouse, commanded my brother to quit the town immediately, and never to return, for he was afraid, if he had stayed in the city, he would have found some way to represent this injustice to the caliph. in the mean time, alnaschar obeyed without murmuring, and left that town to go to another. by the way, he met with highwaymen, who stripped him naked; and when the ill news was brought to me, i carried him a suit, and brought him secretly into the town, where i took the like care of him as i did of his other brothers. the story of the barber's sixth brother. i have now only to relate the story of my sixth brother, called schacabac, with the hare lips. at first he was industrious enough to improve the hundred dirhems of silver which fell to his share, and went on very well; but a reverse of fortune brought him to beg his bread, which he did with a great deal of dexterity. he studied chiefly to get into great men's houses by means of their servants and officers, that he might have access to their masters, and obtain their charity. one day as he passed by a magnificent house, whose high gate shewed a very spacious court, where there was a multitude of servants, he went to one of them, and asked him to whom that house belonged? "good man," replied the servant, "whence do you come that you ask me such a question? does not all that you behold point out to you that it is the palace of a barmecide?" "my brother, who very well knew the liberality and generosity of the barmecides, addressed himself to one of his porters (for he had more than one), and prayed him to give him alms. "go in," said he, "nobody hinders you, and address yourself to the master of the house; he will send you back satisfied." my brother, who expected no such civility, thanked the porters, and with their permission entered the palace, which was so large, that it took him a considerable time to reach the barmecide's. apartment; at last he came to an arcade square building of an excellent architecture, and entered by parterres of flowers intersected by walks of several colours, extremely pleasant to the eye: the lower apartments round this square were most of them open, and were shut only with great curtains to keep out the sun, which were opened again when the heat was over to let in the fresh air. such an agreeable place would have struck my brother with admiration, even if his mind had been more at ease than it was. he went on till he came into a hall richly furnished and adorned with painting of gold and azure foliage, where he saw a venerable man with a long white beard, sitting at the upper end on a sofa, whence he concluded him to be the master of the house; and in fact it was the barmecide himself, who said to my brother in a very civil manner, that he was welcome; and asked him what he wanted? "my lord," answered my brother, in a begging tone, "i am a poor man who stands in need of the help of such rich and generous persons as yourself." he could not have addressed himself to a fitter person than this lord, who had a thousand good qualities. the barmecide seemed to be astonished at my brother's answer, and putting both his hands to his stomach, as if he would rend his clothes for grief, "is it possible," cried he, "that i am at bagdad, and that such a man as you is so poor as you say? this is what must never be." my brother, fancying that he was going to give him some singular mark of his bounty, blessed him a thousand times, and wished him all happiness. "it shall not be said," replied the barmecide, "that i will abandon you, nor will i have you leave me." "sir," replied my brother, "i swear to you i have not eaten one bit to-day." "is it true," demanded the barmecide, "that you are fasting till now? alas, poor man! he is ready to die for hunger. ho, boy," cried he, with a loud voice, "bring a basin and water presently, that we may wash our hands." though no boy appeared, and my brother saw neither water nor basin, the barmecide fell to rubbing his hands as if one had poured water upon them, and bade my brother come and wash with him. schacabac judged by this, that the barmecide lord loved to be merry, and he himself understanding raillery, and knowing that the poor must be complaisant to the rich, if they would have any thing from them, came forward and did as he was required. "come on," said the barmecide, "bring us something to eat, and do not let us wait." when he had spoken, though nothing appeared, he began to cut as if something had been brought him upon a plate, and putting his hand to his mouth began to chew, and said to my brother, "come, friend, eat as freely as if you were at home; come, eat; you said you were like to die of hunger, but you eat as if you had no appetite." "pardon me, my lord," said schacabac, who perfectly imitated what he did, "you see i lose no time, and that i play my part well enough." "how like you this bread," said the barmecide; "do not you find it very good?" "o! my lord," replied my brother, who saw neither bread nor meat, "i have never eaten anything so white and so fine." "eat your belly-full," said the barmecide; "i assure you the woman who bakes me this good bread cost me five hundred pieces of gold to purchase her." the barmecide, after having boasted so much of his bread, which my brother ate only in idea, cried, "boy, bring us another dish:" and though no boy appeared, "come, my good friend," continued he, "taste this new dish; and tell me if ever you ate better mutton and barley-broth than this." "it is admirably good," replied my brother, "and therefore you see i eat heartily." "you oblige me highly," resumed the barmecide; "i conjure you then, by the satisfaction i have to see you eat so heartily, that you eat all up, since you like it so well." a little while after he called for a goose and sweet sauce, made up of vinegar, honey, dry raisins, grey peas, and dry figs, which were brought just in the same manner as the others had. "the goose is very fat," said the barmecide, "eat only a leg and a wing; we must save our stomachs, for we have abundance of other dishes to come." he actually called for several others, of which my brother, who was ready to die of hunger, pretended to eat; but what he boasted of more than all the rest was a lamb fed with pistachio nuts, which he ordered to be brought up in the same manner. "here is a dish," said the barmecide "that you will see at nobody's table but my own; i would have you eat your belly-full of it." having spoken thus, he stretched out his hand as if he had had a piece of lamb in it, and putting it to my brother's mouth, "there," said he, "swallow that, and you will judge whether i had not reason to boast of this dish." my brother thrust out his head, opened his mouth, and made as if he took the piece of lamb, and eat it with extreme pleasure. "i knew you would like it," said the barmecide. "there is nothing in the world finer," replied my brother; "your table is most delicious." "come, bring the ragout; i fancy you will like that as well as you did the lamb: well, how do you relish it?" "o! it is wonderful," replied schacabac; "for here we taste all at once, amber, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and the most odoriferous herbs, and all these delicacies are so well mixed, that one does not prevent our tasting the other." "how pleasant! honour this ragout," said the barmecide, "by eating heartily of it. ho, boy, bring us another ragout." "no, my lord, if it please you," replied my brother, "for indeed i can eat no more." "come, take away then," said the barmecide, "and bring the fruit." he stayed a moment as it were to give time for his servants to carry away; after which, he addressed my brother, "taste these almonds, they are good and fresh gathered." both of them made as if they had peeled the almonds, and eaten them; after this, the barmecide invited my brother to eat something else. "look," said he, "there are all sorts of fruits, cakes, dry sweetmeats, and conserves, take what you like;" then stretching out his hand, as if he had reached my brother something, "look," he continued, "there is a lozenge, very good for digestion." schacabac made as if he ate it, and said, "my lord, there is no want of musk here." "these lozenges," replied the barmecide, "are made at my own house, where nothing is wanting to make every article good." he still bade my brother eat, and said to him, "methinks you do not eat as if you had been so hungry as you complained you were when you came in." "my lord," replied schacabac, whose jaws ached with moving and having nothing to eat, "i assure you i am so full that i cannot eat one bit more." "well, then, friend," resumed the barmecide, "we must drink now, after we have eaten so well." "you may drink wine, my lord," replied my brother, "but i will drink none if you please, because i am forbidden." "you are too scrupulous," rejoined the barmecide; "do as i do." "i will drink then out of complaisance," said schacabac, "for i see you will have nothing wanting to make your treat complete; but since i am not accustomed to drink wine, i am afraid i shall commit some error in point of good breeding, and contrary to the respect that is due to you; therefore i pray you, once more, to excuse me from drinking any wine; i will be content with water." "no, no," said the barmecide, "you shall drink wine," and at the same time he commanded some to be brought, in the same manner as the meat and fruit had been served before. he made as if he poured out wine, and drank first himself, and then pouring out for my brother, presented him the glass, saying, "drink my health, and let us know if you think this wine good." my brother made as if he took the glass, and looked as if the colour was good, and put it to his nose to try the flavour: he then made a low salute to the barmecide, to signify that he took the liberty to drink his health, and lastly he appeared to drink with all the signs of a man that drinks with pleasure: "my lord," said he, "this is very excellent wine, but i think it is not strong enough." "if you would have stronger," answered the barmecide, "you need only speak, for i have several sorts in my cellar. try how you like this." upon which he made as if he poured out another glass for himself, and one for my brother; and did this so often, that schacabac, feigning to be intoxicated with the wine, and acting a drunken man, lifted up his hand, and gave the barmecide such a box on the ear as made him fall down. he was going to give him another blow, but the barmecide holding up his hand to ward it off, cried, "are you mad?" then my brother, making as if he had come to himself again, said, "my lord, you have been so good as to admit your slave into your house, and give him a treat; you should have been satisfied with making me eat, and not have obliged me to drink wine; for i told you beforehand, that it might occasion me to fail in my respect for you. i am very sorry for it, and beg you a thousand pardons." scarcely had he finished these words, when the barmecide, instead of being in a passion, fell a laughing with all his might. "i have been long," said he, "seeking a man of your character." the barmecide caressed schacabac mightily, and told him, "i not only forgive the blow you have given me, but i desire henceforward we should be friends, and that you take my house for your home: you have had the complaisance to accommodate yourself to my humour, and the patience to keep the jest up to the last; we will now eat in good earnest." when he had finished these words, he clapped his hands, and commanded his servants, who then appeared, to cover the table; which was speedily done, and my brother was treated with all those dishes in reality, which he ate of before in fancy. at last they cleared the table, and brought in the wine, and at the same time a number of handsome slaves, richly appareled, came and sung some agreeable airs to their musical instruments. in a word, schacabac had all the reason in the world to be satisfied with the barmecide's civility and bounty; for he treated him as his familiar friend, and ordered him a suit from his wardrobe. the barmecide found my brother to be a man of so much wit and understanding, that in a few days after he entrusted him with the care of his household and all his affairs. my brother acquitted himself very well in that employment for twenty years; at the end of which the generous barmecide died, and leaving no heirs, all his property was confiscated to the use of the prince; and my brother lost all he had acquired. being reduced to his first condition, he joined a caravan of pilgrims going to mecca, designing to accomplish that pilgrimage by their charity; but unfortunately the caravan was attacked and plundered by a number of bedouins, superior to that of the pilgrims. my brother was then taken as a slave by one of the bedouins, who put him under the bastinado for several days, to oblige him to ransom himself. schacabac protested that it was all in vain. "i am your slave," said he, "you may dispose of me as you please; but i declare to you that i am extremely poor, and not able to redeem myself." in a word, my brother discovered to him all his misfortunes, and endeavoured to soften him with tears; but the bedouin was not to be moved, and being vexed to find himself disappointed of a considerable sum of which he reckoned himself sure, he took his knife and slit my brother's lips. to avenge himself by this inhumanity for the loss that he thought he had sustained. the bedouin had a handsome wife, and frequently when he went on his excursions left my brother alone with her. at such times she used all her endeavours to comfort my brother under the rigour of his slavery. she gave him tokens enough that she loved him, but he durst not return her passion, for fear he should repent; and therefore avoided being alone with her, as much as she sought the opportunity to be alone with him. she was so much in the habit of caressing and playing with the miserable schacabac, whenever she saw him, that one day she happened to act in the same manner, in the presence of her husband. my brother, without taking notice that he observed them (so his sins would have it), played likewise with her. the bedouin, immediately supposing that they lived together in a criminal manner, fell upon my brother in a rage, and after he had mutilated him in a barbarous manner, carried him on a camel to the top of a desert mountain, where he left him. the mountain was on the road to bagdad, so that the passengers who saw him there informed me where he was. i went thither speedily, and found unfortunate schacabac in a deplorable condition: i gave him what help he stood in need of, and brought him back to the city. this is what i told the caliph; that prince applauded me with new fits of laughter. "now," said he, "i cannot doubt but they justly give you the surname of silent. no one can say the contrary for certain reasons, however, i command you to depart this town immediately, and let me hear no more of you." i yielded to necessity, and travelled for several years in distant countries. understanding at last that the caliph was dead, i returned to bagdad, where i found not one of my brothers alive. it was on my return to this city that i did the lame young man the important service which you have heard. you are, however, witnesses of his ingratitude, and of the injurious manner in which he treated me; instead of testifying his obligation, he rather chose to fly from me and leave his own country. when i understood that he was not at bagdad, though no one could tell me whither he was gone, i determined to seek him. i travelled from province to province a long time; and when i least expected, met him this day, but i little thought to find him so incensed against me. when the barber had concluded his story, we found that the young man was not to blame for calling him a great chatterer. however, he wished him to stay with us, and partake of the entertainment which the master of the house had prepared. we sat down to table, and were merry together till afternoon prayers; when all the company parted, and i went to my shop, till it was time to return home. it was during this interval that humpback came half drunk before my shop, where he sung and played on his tabor. i thought that, by carrying him home with me, i should divert my wife, therefore i took him in: my wife gave us a dish of fish, and i presented humpback with some, which he ate, without taking notice of a bone. he fell down dead before us, and after having in vain essayed to help him, in the trouble and fear occasioned by such an unlucky accident, we carried the corpse out, and dexterously lodged him with the jewish doctor. the jewish doctor put him into the chamber of the purveyor, and the purveyor carried him out into the street, where it was believed the merchant had killed him. "this sir," added the tailor, "is what i had to say to satisfy your majesty, who must pronounce whether we be worthy of mercy or wrath, life or death." the sultan of casgar shewed a satisfaction in his countenance, which restored the tailor and his comrades to life. "i cannot but acknowledge," said he, "that i am more struck with the history of the young cripple, with that of the barber, and with the adventures of his brothers, than with the story of my jester: but before i send you all away, and we proceed to bury humpback, i should like to see the barber who is the occasion of my pardoning you; since he is in my capital, it is easy to satisfy my curiosity." at the same time he sent an officer with the tailor to find him. the officer and the tailor went immediately and brought the barber, whom they presented to the sultan: the barber was a venerable man about ninety years of age; his eye-brows and beard were white as snow, his ears hanging down, and his nose very long. the sultan could not forbear laughing when he saw him. "silent man," said he to him, "i understand that you know wonderful stories, will you tell me some of them?" "sir," answered the barber, "let us forbear the stories, if you please, at present. i most humbly beg your majesty to permit me to ask what that christian, that jew, that moosulmaun and that dead humpback, who ties on the ground, do here before your majesty?" the sultan smiled at the barber's freedom, and replied, "why do you ask?" "sir," replied the barber, "it concerns me to ask, that your majesty may know i am not so great a talker as some represent me, but a man justly called silent." the sultan commanded them to tell him the story of the humpback, which he seemed earnestly to wish for. when the barber heard it, he shook his head, as if he would say, there was something under this which he did not understand. "truly," cried he, "this is a surprising story; but i wish to examine humpback a little nearer." he approached him, sat down on the ground, took his head between his knees, and after he had looked upon him steadfastly, fell into so great a fit of laughter, and had so little command of himself, that he fell backwards on the ground, without considering that he was before the sultan of casgar. as soon as he came to himself, "it is said," cried he, "and not without reason, that no man dies without a cause. if ever any history deserved to be written in letters of gold, it is that of this humpback." at this all the people looked on the barber as a buffoon, or an old dotard. "silent man," said the sultan, "why do you laugh?" "sir," answered the barber, "i swear by your majesty's benevolence, that humpback is not dead: he is yet alive, and i shall be content to pass for a madman if i do not convince you this minute." so saying, he took a box wherein he had several medicines that he carried about him to use as occasion might require; and drew out a little phial of balsam, with which he rubbed humpback's neck a long time; then he took out of his case a neat iron instrument, which he put betwixt his teeth, and after he had opened his mouth, he thrust down his throat a pair of small pincers, with which he took out a bit of fish and bone, which he shewed to all the people. immediately humpback sneezed, stretched forth his arms and feet, opened his eyes, and shewed several other signs of life. the sultan of casgar, and all who were witnesses of this operation, were less surprised to see humpback revive, after he had passed a whole night, and great part of a day, without giving any sign of life, than at the merit and capacity of the barber, who performed this; and notwithstanding all his faults, began to look upon him as a great physician. the sultan, transported with joy and admiration, ordered the story of humpback to be written down, with that of the barber, that the memory of them might, as it deserved, be preserved for ever. nor did he stop here; but, that the tailor, jewish doctor, purveyor, and christian merchant might remember the adventure, which the accident of humpback had occasioned to them, with pleasure, he did not send them away till he had given each of them a very rich robe, with which he caused them to be clothed in his presence. as for the barber, he honoured him with a great pension, and kept him near his person. the history of aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph maroon al rusheed. in the reign of the caliph haroon al rusheed, there lived at bagdad a druggist, named alboussan ebn thaher, a very rich handsome man. he had more wit and politeness than people of his profession generally possess: his integrity, sincerity, and good humour made him beloved and sought after by all sorts of people. the caliph, who knew his merit, had entire confidence in him. he held him in such high esteem, that he entrusted him to provide his favourite ladies with all the things they stood in need of. he chose for them their clothes, furniture, and jewels, with admirable taste. his good qualities, and the favour of the caliph, occasioned the sons of emirs, and other officers of the first rank, to be always about him: his house was the rendezvous of all the nobility of the court among the young lords that went daily to visit him, was one whom he took more notice of than the rest, and with whom he contrasted a particular friendship, called aboulhassen ali ebn becar, originally of an ancient royal family of persia. this family had continued at bagdad ever since the conquest of that kingdom. nature seemed to have taken pleasure in endowing this young prince with the rarest qualities of body and mind: his face was so very beautiful, his shape so fine, his air so easy, and his physiognomy so engaging, that it was impossible to see him without immediately loving him. when he spoke, he expressed himself in terms proper and well chosen, with a new and agreeable turn, and his voice charmed all that heard him: he had besides so much wit and judgment, that he thought and spoke of all subjects with admirable exactness. he was so reserved and modest, that he advanced nothing till after he had taken all possible care to avoid giving any ground of suspicion that he preferred his own opinion to that of others. being such a person as i have represented him, we need not wonder that ebn thaher distinguished him from all the other young noblemen of the court, most of whom had the vices which composed the opposites to his virtues. one day, when the prince was with ebn thaher, there came a lady mounted on a piebald mule, in the midst of ten female slaves who accompanied her on foot, all very handsome, as far as could be judged by their air, and through their veils which covered their faces. the lady had a girdle of a rose colour, four inches broad, embroidered with pearls and diamonds of an extraordinary bigness; and for beauty it was easy to perceive that she surpassed all her women, as far as the full moon does that of two days old. she came to buy something, and as she wanted to speak to ebn thaher, entered his shop, which was very neat and spacious; and he received her with all the marks of the most profound respect, entreating her to sit down, and directing her to the most honourable place. in the mean time, the prince of persia, unwilling to lose such an opportunity of strewing his good breeding and gallantry, adjusted the cushion of cloth of gold, for the lady to lean on; after which he hastily retired, that she might sit down; and having saluted her, by kissing the carpet under her feet, rose and stood before her at the lower end of the sofa. it being her custom to be free with ebn thaher, she lifted up her veil, and discovered to the prince of persia such an extraordinary beauty as struck him to the heart. on the other hand, the lady could not refrain from looking upon the prince, the sight of whom had made the same impressions upon her. "my lord," said she to him, with an obliging air, "pray sit down." the prince of persia obeyed, and sat on the edge of the sofa. he had his eyes constantly fixed upon her, and swallowed large draughts of the sweet poison of love. she quickly perceived what passed in his heart, and this discovery served to inflame her the more towards him. she arose, went to ebn thaher, and after she had whispered to him the cause of her coming, asked the name and country of the prince. "madam," answered ebn thaher, "this young nobleman's name is aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and he is a prince of the blood royal of persia." the lady was transported at hearing that the person she already loved so passionately was of so high a rank. "do you really mean," said she, "that he is descended from the kings of persia?" "yes, madam," replied ebn thaher, "the last kings of persia were his ancestors, and since the conquest of that kingdom, the princes of his family have always made themselves very acceptable at the court of our caliphs." "you will oblige me much," added she, "by making me acquainted with this young nobleman: when i send this woman," pointing to one of her slaves, "to give you notice to come and see me, pray bring him with you; i shall be glad to afford him the opportunity of seeing the magnificence of my house, that he may have it in his power to say, that avarice does not reign at bagdad among persons of quality. you know what i mean." ebn thaher was a man of too much penetration not to perceive the lady's mind by these words: "my princess, my queen," replied he, "god preserve me from giving you any occasion of anger: i shall always make it a law to obey your commands." at this answer, the lady bowed to ebn thaher, and took her leave; and after she had given a favorable look to the prince of persia, she remounted her mule, and departed. the prince of persia was so deeply in love with the lady, that he looked after her as far as he could; and long after she was out of sight directed his eyes that way. ebn thaher told him, that he remarked several persons observing him, and began to laugh to see him in this posture. "alas!" said the prince, "the world and you would pity me, if you knew that the beautiful lady, who is just gone from you, has carried with her the best part of me, and that the remaining part seeks for an opportunity to go after her. tell me, i conjure you," added he, "what cruel lady is this, who forces people to love her, without giving them time to reflect?" "my lord," answered ebn thaher, "this is the celebrated schemselnihar, the principal favourite of the caliph, our master." "she is justly so called," added the prince, "since she is more beautiful than the sun at noonday." "true," replied ebn thaher; "therefore the commander of the faithful loves, or rather adores her. he gave me express orders to furnish her with all that she asked for, and to anticipate her wishes as far as lies in my power." he spoke thus to hinder him from engaging in a passion which could not but prove unfortunate to him; but this served only to inflame it the more. "i feared, charming schemselnihar," cried he, "i should not be allowed so much as to think of you; i perceive, however, that without hopes of being loved in return, i cannot forbear loving you; i will love you then, and bless my lot that i am the slave of an object fairer than the meridian sun." while the prince of persia thus consecrated his heart to the fair schemselnihar, this lady, as she went home, contrived how she might see, and have free converse with him. she no sooner entered her palace, than she sent to ebn thaher the woman she had pointed out to him, and in whom she placed all her confidence, to tell him to come and see her without delay, and bring the prince of persia with him. the slave came to ebn thaher's shop, while he was speaking to the prince, and endeavouring to dissuade him, by very strong arguments, from loving the caliph's favourite. when she saw them together, "gentlemen," said she, "my honourable mistress schemselnihar the chief favourite of the commander of the faithful, entreats you to come to her palace, where she waits for you." ebn thaher, to testify his obedience, rose up immediately, without answering the slave, and followed her, not without some reluctance. the prince also followed he, without reflecting on the danger there might be in such a visit. the presence of ebn thaher, who had liberty to go to the favourite when he pleased, made the prince very easy: they followed the slave, who went a little before them, and entered after her into the caliph's palace, and joined her at the gate of schemselnihar's pavilion, which was ready open. she introduced them into a great hall, where she prayed them to be seated. the prince of persia thought himself in one of those delicious palaces that are promised to us in the other world: he had never seen any thing that came near the magnificence of the place. the carpets, cushions, and other appendages of the sofa, the furniture, ornaments, and architecture, were surprisingly rich and beautiful. a little time after ebn thaher and he had seated themselves, a very handsome black slave brought in a table covered with several delicacies, the admirable smell of which evinced how deliciously they were seasoned. while they were eating, the slave who brought them in waited upon them; she took particular care to invite them to eat of what she knew to be the greatest dainties. the other slaves brought them excellent wine after they had eaten. when they had done, there was presented to each of them a gold basin full of water to wash their hands; after which, they brought them a golden pot full of the wood of aloes, with which they perfumed their beards and clothes. odoriferous water was not forgotten, but served in a golden vessel enriched with diamonds and rubies, and it was thrown upon their beards and faces according to custom; they then resumed their places, but had scarcely sat down, when the slave entreated them to arise and follow her. she opened a door, and conducted them into a large saloon of wonderful structure. it was a dome of the most agreeable form, supported by a hundred pillars of marble, white as alabaster. the bases and chapiters of the pillars were adorned with four-footed beasts, and birds of various sorts, gilded. the carpet of this noble saloon consisted of one piece of cloth of gold, embroidered with bunches of roses in red and white silk; and the dome painted in the same manner, after the arabian fashion, presented to the mind one of the most charming objects. in every space between the columns was a little sofa adorned in the same manner, and great vessels of china, crystal, jasper, jet, porphyry, agate, and other precious materials, garnished with gold and jewels; in these spaces were also so many large windows, with balconies projecting breast high, fitted up as the sofas, and looking out into the most delicious garden; the walks were of little pebbles of different colours, of the same pattern as the carpet of the saloon; so that, looking upon the carpet within and without it seemed as if the dome and the garden with all its ornaments had been upon the same carpet. the prospect was, at the end of the walks, terminated by two canals of clear water, of the same circular figure as the dome, one of which being higher than the other, emptied its water into the lowermost, in form of a sheet; and curious pots of gilt brass, with flowers and shrubs, were set upon the banks of the canals at equal distances. those walks lay betwixt great plots of ground planted with straight and bushy trees, where a thousand birds formed a melodious concert, and diverted the eye by flying about, and playing together, or fighting in the air. the prince of persia and ebn thaher were a long time engaged in viewing the magnificence of the place, and expressed their surprise at every thing thing saw, especially the prince, who had never beheld any thing like it. ebn thaher, though he had been several times in that delicious place, could not but observe many new beauties, in a word they never grew weary in admiring so many singularities, and were thus agreeably employed, when they perceived a company of ladies richly appareled sitting without, at some distance from the dome, each of them upon a seat of indian plane wood inlaid with silver filigree in compartments, with instruments of music in their hands, waiting for orders to play. they both went forward, and had a full view of the ladies, and on the right they saw a great court with a stair up from the garden, encompassed with beautiful apartments. the slave had left them, and being alone, they conversed together; "for you, who are a wise man," said the prince of persia, "i doubt not but you look with a great deal of satisfaction upon all these marks of grandeur and power; for my part, i do not think there is any thing in the world more surprising. but when i consider that this is the glorious habitation of the lovely schemselnihar, and that the greatest monarch of the earth keeps her here, i confess to you that i look upon myself to be the most unfortunate of all mankind, and that no destiny can be more cruel than mine, to love an object possessed by my rival, and that too in a place where he is so potent, that i cannot think myself sure of my life one moment." ebn thaher, hearing the prince of persia speak, replied, "sir, i wish you could give me as good assurance of the happy success of your passion, as i can give you of the safety of your life. though this stately palace belongs to the caliph, who built it on purpose for schemselnihar, and called it the palace of eternal pleasures, and though it makes part of his own palace, yet you must know that this lady lives here at absolute liberty. she is not beset by eunuchs to be spies upon her; this is her private house, absolutely at her disposal. she goes into the city when she pleases, and returns again, without asking leave of any body: and the caliph never comes to see her, but he sends mesrour, the chief of his eunuchs, to give her notice, that she may be prepared to receive him. therefore you may be easy, and give full attention to the concert of music, which, i perceive, schemselnihar is preparing for you." just as ebn thaher had spoken these words, the prince of persia, and he, saw the favourite's trusty slave giving orders to the ladies to begin to sing, and play with the instruments: they all began immediately to play together as a prelude, and after they had played some time, one of them began to sing alone, and accompanied herself at the same time admirably upon her lute, being informed beforehand upon what subject she was to sing. the words were so agreeable to the prince of persia's sentiments, that he could not forbear applauding her at the end of the couplet. "is it possible," cried he, "that you have the gift of knowing people's hearts, and that the knowledge of what is passing in my mind has occasioned you to give us a taste of your charming voice by those words? i should not express myself otherwise, were i to choose." the lady made no reply, but went on and sung several other stanzas, with which the prince was so affected, that he repeated some of them with tears in his eyes; which discovered plainly enough that he applied them to himself. when she had finished, she and her companions rose up and sung a chorus, signifying by their words, that the full moon was going to rise in all her splendour, and that they should speedily see her approach the sun. intimating, that schemselnihar was coming, and that the prince of persia would soon have the pleasure of beholding her. in fact, as they looked towards the court, they saw schemselnihar's confidant coming towards them, followed by ten black women, who, with much difficulty, carried a throne of massive silver curiously wrought, which they set down before them at a certain distance; the black slaves then retired behind the trees, to the entrance of a walk. after this came twenty handsome ladies richly appareled alike; they advanced in two rows, each singing and playing upon instruments which she held in her hands, and placed themselves on each side of the throne. all these things kept the prince of persia and ebn thaher in so much the greater expectation, as they were curious to know how they would end. at length they saw advancing from the gate through which the ten black women had proceeded ten other ladies equally handsome, and well dressed, who halted a few moments, expecting the favourite, who came out last, and placed herself in the midst of them. schemselnihar was easily distinguished from the rest, by her fine shape and majestic air, as well as by a sort of mantle, of a very fine stuff of gold and sky-blue, fastened to her shoulders, over her other apparel, which was the most handsome, most magnificent, and best contrived that could be imagined. the pearls, rubies, and diamonds, which adorned her, were well disposed; not many in number, but chosen with taste, and of inestimable value. she came forward, with a majesty resembling the sun in its course amidst the clouds, which receive his splendour without hiding his lustre, and sat upon the silver throne that had been brought for her. as soon as the prince of persia saw schemselnihar, his eyes were rivetted on her. "we cease inquiring," said he to ebn thaher, "after what we seek, when once it is in view; and no doubt remains, when once the truth is made apparent. do you see this charming beauty? she is the cause of all my sufferings, which i bless, and will never forbear to bless, however severe and lasting. at the sight of this objets, i am not my own master; my soul is disturbed, and rebels, and seems disposed to leave me. go then, my soul, i allow thee; but let it be for the welfare and preservation of this weak body. it is you, cruel ebn thaher, who are the cause of this disorder, in bringing me hither. you thought to do me a great pleasure; but i perceive i am only come to complete my ruin. pardon me," he continued, interrupting himself; "i am mistaken. i would come, and can blame no one but myself;" and at these words he burst into tears. "i am glad," said ebn thaher, "that you do me justice. when i told you at first, that schemselnihar was the caliph's chief favourite, i did it on purpose to prevent that fatal passion which you please yourself with entertaining. all that you see here ought to disengage you, and you are to think of nothing but of acknowledging the honour which schemselnihar has done you, by ordering me to bring you with me; recall then your wandering reason, and prepare to appear before her, as good breeding requires. see, she advances: were we to begin again, i would take other measures, but since the thing is done, i pray god we may not have cause to repent. all that i have now to say to you is, that love is a traitor, who may involve you in difficulties from which you will never be able to extricate yourself." ebn thaher had no time to say more, because schemselnihar approached, and sitting down upon her throne, saluted them both by bowing her head; but she fixed her eyes on the prince of persia, and they spoke to one another in a silent language intermixed with sighs; by which in a few moments they spoke more than they could have done by words in a much longer time. the more schemselnihar, looked upon the prince, the more she found in his looks to confirm her opinion that he was in love with her; and being thus persuaded of his passion, thought herself the happiest woman in the world. at last she turned her eyes from him, to command the women, who began to sing first, to come near; they rose, and as they advanced, the black women, who came out of the walk into which they had retired, brought their seats, and placed them near the window, in the front of the dome where ebn thaher and the prince of persia stood, and their seats were so disposed, that, with the favourite's throne and the women on each side of her, they formed a semicircle before them. the women, who were sitting before she came resumed their places, with the permission of schemselnihar, who ordered them by a sign; that charming favourite chose one of those women to sing, who, after she had spent some moments in tuning her lute, sung a song, the meaning whereof was, that when two lovers entirely loved one another with affection boundless, their hearts, though in two bodies, were united; and, when any thing opposed their desires, could say with tears in their eyes, "if we love because we find one another amiable, ought we to be blamed? let destiny bear the blame." schemselnihar evinced so plainly by her eyes and gestures that those words were applicable to herself and the prince of persia, that he could not contain himself. he arose, and advancing to a balustrade, which he leaned upon, beckoned to one of the companions of the woman who had just done singing, to approach. when she had got near enough, he said to her, "do me the favour to accompany me with your lute, in a song which you shall hear me sing." he then sung with an air so tender and passionate, as perfectly expressed the violence of his love. as soon as he had done, schemselnihar, following his example, said to one of the women, "attend to me likewise, and accompany my song." at the same time she sung in such a manner, as more deeply to penetrate the heart of the prince of persia, who answered her by a new air, more passionate than the former. the two lovers having declared their mutual affection by their songs, schemselnihar yielded to the force of hers. she arose from her throne in transport, and advanced towards the door of the hall. the prince, who perceived her design, rose up immediately, and went to meet her. they met at the door, where they took one another by the hand, and embraced with so much passion, that they fainted, and would have fallen, if the woman who followed schemselnihar had not hindered them. they supported them to a sofa, where they were brought to themselves, by throwing odoriferous water on their faces, and applying pungent odours to their nostrils. when they had recovered, the first thing schemselnihar did was to look about: and not seeing ebn thaher, she asked, with eagerness, where he was? he had withdrawn out of respect whilst her women were engaged in recovering her, and dreaded, not without reason, that some disagreeable consequence might follow what he had seen; but as soon as he heard schemselnihar inquire for him, he came forward. schemselnihar was much pleased to see ebn thaher, and expressed her joy in the most obliging terms: "ebn thaher, i know not how to make you proper returns for the great obligations you have put upon me; without you, i should never have seen the prince of persia, nor have loved the most amiable person in the world. assure yourself i shall not die ungrateful, and that my gratitude, if possible, shall be equal to the obligation." ebn thaher answered this compliment by a low obeisance, and wished the favourite the accomplishment of all her desires. schemselnihar, turning towards the prince of persia, who sat by her, and looking upon him with some confusion after what had passed, said to him, "i am well assured you love me, and how great soever your love may be to me, you need not doubt but mine is as great towards you: but let us not flatter ourselves; for, notwithstanding this conformity of our sentiments, i see nothing for you and me but trouble, impatience, and tormenting grief. there is no other remedy for our evils but to love one another constantly, to refer ourselves to the disposal of heaven, and to wait its determination of our destiny." "madam," replied the prince of persia, "you will do me the greatest injustice, if you doubt for a moment the continuance of my love. it is so interwoven with my soul, that i can justly say it makes the best part of it, and will continue so after death. pains, torments, obstacles, nothing shall prevent my loving you." speaking these words he shed tears in abundance, and schemselnihar was not able to restrain hers. ebn thaher took this opportunity to speak to the favourite. "madam, allow me to represent to you, that, instead of melting into tears, you ought to rejoice that you are now together. i understand not this grief. what will it be when you are obliged to part? but why do i talk of that? we have been a long while here, and you know, madam, it is time for us to be going." "ah! how cruel are you!" replied schemselnihar, "you, who know the cause of my tears, have you no pity for my unfortunate condition? oh! sad fatality! what have i done to subject myself to the severe law of not being able to join with the only person i love?" persuaded as she was that ebn thaher spoke to her only out of friendship, she did not take amiss what he said, but made a proper use of his intimation she made a sign to the slave her confidant, who immediately went out, and in a little time brought a collation of fruits upon a small silver table, which she set down betwixt her mistress and the prince of persia. schemselnihar took some of the best, and presented it to the prince, praying him to eat it for her sake; he took it, and put to his mouth that part which she had touched; and then he presented some to her, which she took, and ate in the same manner. she did not forget to invite ebn thaher to eat with them; but he thinking himself not safe in that place, and wishing himself at home, ate only out of complaisance. after the collation was taken away, they brought a silver basin, with water in a vessel of gold, and washed together; they afterwards returned to their places, and three of the ten black women brought each a cup of rock crystal full of exquisite wine, upon a golden salver; which they placed before schemselnihar, the prince of persia, and ebn thaher. that they might be the more private, schemselnihar kept with her only ten black women, with ten others who began to sing, and play upon instruments; and after she had sent away all the rest, she took up one of the cups, and holding it in her hand sung some tender words, which one of her women accompanied with her lute. when she had done, she drank, and afterwards took up one of the other cups and presented it to the prince, praying him to drink for love of her, as she had drunk for love of him. he received the cup with a transport of love and joy; but before he drank, he sung also a song, which another woman accompanied with an instrument: and as he sang the tears fell from his eyes in such abundance, that he could not forbear expressing in his song, that he knew not whether he was going to drink the wine she had presented to him, or his own tears. schemselnihar at last presented the third cup to ebn thaher, who thanked her for her kindness, and for the honour she did him. after this she took a lute from one of her women, and sung to it in such a passionate manner, that she seemed to be transported out of herself: and the prince of persia stood with his eyes fixed upon her, as if he had been enchanted. at this instant, her trusty slave came in great alarm, and addressing herself to her mistress, said, "madam mesrour and two other officers, with several eunuchs that attend them, are at the gate, and want to speak with you from the caliph." when the prince of persia and ebn thaher heard these words, they changed colour, and began to tremble as if they had been undone: but schemselnihar who perceived their agitation, revived their courage by a sigh. after schemselnihar had quieted the fears of the prince of persia and ebn thaher, she ordered the slave, her confidant, to go and speak to mesrour, and the two other officers, till she had put herself in a condition to receive them, and could send her to introduce them. immediately she ordered all the windows of' the saloon to be shut, and the painted cloth on the side of the garden to be let down: and after having assured the prince and ebn thaher that they might continue there without any fear, she went out at the gate leading to the garden, and closed it upon them: but whatever assurance she had given them of their safety, they were full of apprehension all the while they remained there. as soon as schemselnihar had reached the garden with the women that had followed her, she ordered all the seats, which served the women who played on the instruments, to be placed near the window, where the prince of persia and ebn thaher heard them; and having got things in order, she sat down upon her silver throne: she then sent notice to the slave her confidant to bring in the chief of the eunuchs, and his two subaltern officers. they appeared, followed by twenty black eunuchs all handsomely clothed, with cimeters by their sides, and gold belts of four inches broad. as soon as they perceived the favourite schemselnihar at a distance, they made her a profound reverence, which she returned them from her throne. when they approached, she arose and went to meet mesrour, who advanced first; she asked what news he brought? he answered, "madam, the commander of the faithful has sent me to signify that he cannot live longer without seeing you; he designs to do himself that pleasure this night, and i am come to give you notice, that you may be ready to receive him. he hopes, madam, that you will receive him with as much pleasure as he feels impatience to see you." at these words the favourite schemselnihar prostrated herself to the ground, as a mark of that submission with which she received the caliph's order. when she rose, she said, "pray tell the commander of the faithful, that i shall always reckon it my glory to execute his majesty's commands, and that his slave will do her utmost to receive him with all the respect that is due to him." at the same time she ordered the slave her confidant to tell the black women appointed for that service to get the palace ready to receive the caliph, and dismissing the chief of the eunuchs, said to him, "you see it requires some time to get all things ready, therefore i entreat you to curb his majesty's impatience, that, when he arrives, he may not find things out of order." the chief of the eunuchs and his retinue being gone, schemselnihar returned to the saloon, extremely concerned at the necessity she was under of sending back the prince of persia sooner than she had intended. she came up to him again with tears in her eyes, which heightened ebn thaher's fear, who thought it no good omen. "madam," said the prince to her, "i perceive you are come to tell me that we must part: if there be nothing more to dread, i hope heaven will give me the patience which is necessary to support your absence." "alas!" replied the too tender schemselnihar, "how happy do i think you, and how unhappy do i think myself, when i compare your lot with my sad destiny! no doubt you will suffer by my absence, but that is all, and you may comfort yourself with hopes of seeing me again; but as for me, just heaven! what a terrible trial am i brought to! i must not only be deprived of the sight of the only person whom i love, but i must be tormented with the presence of one whom you have made hateful to me. will not the arrival of the caliph put me in mind of your departure? and how can i, when i am taken up with your dear image, express to that prince the joy which he always observed in my eyes whenever he came to see me? i shall have my mind perplexed when i speak to him, and the least complaisance which i shew to his love will stab me to the heart. can i relish his kind words and caresses? think, prince, to what torments i shall be exposed when i can see you no more." her tears and sighs hindered her from going on, and the prince of persia would have replied, but his own grief, and that of his mistress, deprived him of the power of speech. ebn thaher, who only wished to get out of the palace, was obliged to comfort them, and to exhort them to have patience: but the trusty slave again interrupted them. "madam," said she to schemselnihar, "you have no time to lose; the eunuchs begin to arrive, and you know the caliph will be here immediately." "o heaven! how cruel is this separation!" cried the favourite. "make haste," said she to the confidant, "take them both to the gallery which looks into the garden on the one side, and to the tigris on the other; and when the night grows dark, let them out by the back gate, that they may retire with safety." having spoken thus, she tenderly embraced the prince of persia, without being able to say one word more, and went to meet the caliph in such disorder as cannot well be imagined. in the mean time, the trusty slave conducted the prince and ebn thaher to the gallery, as schemselnihar had appointed; and left them there, assuring them, as she closed the door upon them, that they had nothing to fear, and that she would come for them when it was time when schemselnihar's trusty slave had left the prince of persia and ebn thaher, they forgot she had assured them they had nothing to apprehend. they examined the gallery, and were seized with extreme fear, because they knew no means of escape, if the caliph or any of his officers should happen to come there. a great light, which they suddenly beheld through the lattices on the garden side, caused them to approach them to see from whence it came. it was occasioned by a hundred flambeaux of white wax, carried by as many young eunuchs: these were followed by more than a hundred others, who guarded the ladies of the caliph's palace, clothed, and armed with cimeters, in the same manner as those i spoke of before; and the caliph came after them, betwixt mesrour their captain on his right, and vassif their second officer on his left hand. schemselnihar waited for the caliph at the entrance of a walk, accompanied by twenty women all of surprising beauty, adorned with necklaces and ear-rings of large diamonds; they played and sung on their instruments, and formed a charming concert. the favourite no sooner saw the prince appear, but she advanced and prostrated herself at his feet; and while she was doing this, "prince of persia," said she, within herself, "if your sad eyes witness what i do, judge of my hard lot; if i were humbling myself so before you, my heart would feel no reluctance." the caliph was delighted to see schemselnihar: "rise, madam," said he to her, "come near, i am angry with myself that i should have deprived myself so long of the pleasure of seeing you." as he spoke, he took her by the hand, and, with many tender expressions, went and sat down upon the silver throne which schemselnihar caused to be brought for him, and she sat down on a seat before him. the twenty women made a circle round them upon other seats, while the young eunuchs, who carried flambeaux, dispersed themselves at a certain distance from one another, that the caliph might the better enjoy the cool of the evening. when the caliph had seated himself, he looked round him, and beheld with great satisfaction the garden illuminated with many other lights, besides those flambeaux which the young eunuchs held; but taking notice that the saloon was shut, expressed his surprise, and demanded the reason. it was done on purpose to surprise him; for he had no sooner spoken, than all the windows flew open at once, and he saw it illuminated within and without, in a much better manner than ever he had beheld it before. "charming schemselnihar," cried he, at this sight, "i understand you; you would have me know there are as fine nights as days. after what i have seen, i cannot deny this." let us return to the prince of persia and ebn thaher, whom we left in the gallery. ebn thaher could not enough admire all that he saw: "i am not young," said he, "and i have seen great entertainments in my time; but i do not think any thing can be seen so surprising and magnificent! all that is said of enchanted palaces does not come up to the prodigious spectacle we now behold. what riches and magnificence united!" the prince of persia was not at all interested by the objects which so delighted ebn thaher; he could look on nothing but schemselnihar, and the presence of the caliph threw him into inconceivable grief. "dear ebn thaher," he exclaimed, "would to god i had my mind as much at liberty to attend to those objects of admiration as you! but alas! i am in a quite different situation, all these things serve only to increase my torment. can i see the caliph familiar with the objets of my love, and not die of grief? must so ardent a passion as mine be disturbed with so potent a rival? o heavens! how cruel and strange is my destiny! it is but a moment since i esteemed myself the most fortunate lover in the world, and at this instant i feel a death stroke to my heart. i cannot resist it, my dear ebn thaher; my patience is exhausted, my disorder overwhelms me, and my courage fails." while he was speaking, he saw something pass in the garden, which obliged him to be silent and to turn all his attention that way. the caliph had ordered one of the women, who was near him, to play upon her lute, and she began to sing. the words she sung were very passionate, and the caliph, persuaded that she sung thus by order of schemselnihar, who had frequently entertained him with the like testimonies of her affection, interpreted them in his own favour. but this was not now schemselnihar's meaning; she applied them to her dear ali ebn becar, and was so sensibly touched with grief, to have before her an object whose presence she could no longer enjoy, that she fainted and fell backwards upon her seat, which having no arms to support her, she must have fallen, had not some of the women given her timely assistance, taken her up, and carried her into the saloon. ebn thaher, who was in the gallery, being surprised at this accident, turned towards the prince of persia; but instead of finding him standing, and looking through the window as before, he was extremely amazed to discover him iying at his feet motionless. this convinced him of the violence of the prince's passion for schemselnihar, and he admired that strange effect of sympathy, which put him into a mortal fear on account of the place they were in. he did all he could to recover the prince, but in vain. ebn thaher was in this perplexity, when schemselnihar's confidant opened the gallery door, and entered out of breath, as one who knew not where she was. "come speedily," cried she "that i may let you out; all is in confusion here; and i fear this will be the last of our days." "alas! how would you have us go?" replied ebn thaher, with a mournful voice; "approach, and see what a condition the prince of persia is in." when the slave saw him in a swoon, she ran for water, and returned in an instant. at last the prince of persia, after they had thrown water on his face, recovered. "prince," said ebn thaher to him, "we run the risk of perishing if we stay here any longer; exert yourself, therefore, let us endeavour to save our lives." he was so feeble, that he could not rise alone; ebn thaher and the confidant lent him their hands, and supported him on each side. they reached a little iron gate which opened towards the tigris, went out at it, and came to the side of a little canal which communicated with the river. the confidant clapped her hands, and immediately a little boat appeared, and came towards them with one rower. ali ebn becar and his comrade went aboard, and the confidant remained at the side of the canal. as soon as the prince was seated in the boat, he stretched out one hand towards the palace, and laying the other on his heart, exclaimed with a feeble voice, "dear object of my soul, receive my faith with this hand, while i assure you with the other, that my heart shall for ever preserve the fire with which it burns for you." in the mean time the boatman rowed with all his might, and schemselnihar's confidant accompanied the prince of persia and ebn thaher walking along the side of the canal, until they came to the tigris, and when she could go no farther she took leave of them and returned. the prince of persia continued very feeble. ebn thaher comforted him, and exhorted him to take courage. "consider," said he, "that when we are landed, we have a great way to walk before we reach my house, and i would not advise you to go to your palace, which is a great deal farther, at this hour and in this condition." at last they went out of the boat, but the prince had so little strength that he could not walk, which put ebn thaher into great perplexity. he recollected he had a friend in the neighbourhood, and carried the prince thither with great difficulty. his friend received him very cheerfully, and when he had made them sit down, he asked them where they had been so late. ebn thaher answered, "i heard this evening that a man who owed me a considerable sum of money was setting out on a long voyage. i lost no time to find him, and by the way i met with this young nobleman, to whom i am under a thousand obligations; for knowing my debtor, he did me the favour to go along with me. we had a great deal of trouble to bring the man to reason. we have at length succeeded, and that is the cause of our being so late. in our return home, this good lord, to whom i am for ever bound to shew all possible respect, was attacked by a sudden illness, which made me take the liberty to knock at your door, flattering myself that you would be pleased to lodge us this night." ebn thaher's friend took all this for truth, told them they were welcome, and offered the prince of persia, whom he knew not, all the assistance he could desire; but ebn thaher spoke for the prince, and said, that his distemper was of such a nature as to require nothing but rest. his friend understood by this that they desired to go to bed. upon which he conducted them to an apartment, where he left them. though the prince of persia slept, he was interrupted by troublesome dreams, which represented schemselnihar in a swoon at the caliph's feet, and increased his affliction. ebn thaher was very impatient to be at home, and doubted not but his family was under great apprehension, because he never used to sleep out. he arose and departed early in the morning, after he had taken leave of his friend, who rose at break of day to prayers at last he reached his house, and the first thing the prince of persia did, who had walked so far with much trouble, was to lie down upon a sofa, as weary as if he had been a long journey. not being in a state to go to his own palace, ebn thaher ordered a chamber to be prepared for him, and sent to acquaint his friends with his condition, and where he was. in the mean time he begged him to compose himself, to command in his house, and to dispose of all things as he pleased. "i thank you heartily for your obliging offers," said the prince; "but that i may not be any ways troublesome to you, i conjure you to deal with me as if i were not at your house. i would not stay one moment, if i thought my presence would incommode you in the least." as soon as ebn thaher had time to recollect himself, he told his family all that had passed at schemselnihar's palace, and concluded by thanking god, who had delivered him from the danger he had been in. the prince of persia's principal domestics came to receive his orders at ebn thaher's house, and in a little time there arrived several of his friends, who had notice of his indisposition. those friends passed the greatest part of the day with him; and though their conversation could not extinguish those melancholy ideas which were the cause of his trouble, yet it afforded him some relief. he would have taken his leave of ebn thaher towards the evening; but this faithful friend found him still so weak, that he obliged him to stay till next day, and in the mean time, to divert him, gave a concert of vocal and instrumental music in the evening; but this concert served only to remind him of the preceding night, and renewed his trouble, instead of assuaging it; so that next day his distemper seemed to increase. upon this ebn thaher did not oppose his going home, but took care to accompany him; and when he was with him alone in his chamber, he represented to him all those arguments which might influence him to a generous effort to overcome his passion, which in the end would neither prove fortunate to himself nor to the favourite. "ah! dear ebn thaher," exclaimed the prince, "how easy is it for you to give this advice, but how hard for me to follow it! i am sensible of its importance, but am not able to profit by it. i have said already, that i shall carry to the grave the love i bear to schemselnihar." when ebn thaher saw that he could gain nothing upon the prince, he took his leave, and would have retired. the prince of persia interrupted him, and said, "kind ebn thaher, since i have declared to you that it is not in my power to follow your wise counsels, i beg you would not charge it on me as a crime, nor forbear to give me the usual testimonies of your friendship. you cannot do me a greater favour than to inform me of the destiny of my dear schemselnihar, when you hear of her. the uncertainty i am in concerning her fate, and the apprehensions her fainting have occasioned in me, keep me in this languishing condition you reproach me with." "my lord," answered ebn thaher, "you have reason to hope that her fainting was not attended with any bad consequences: her confidant will quickly come and inform me of the issue; and as soon as i know the particulars, i will not fail to impart them." ebn thaher left the prince in this hope, and returned home, where he expected schemselnihar's confidant all the rest of the day, but in vain, nor did she come on the following. his uneasiness to know the state of the prince of persia's health would not suffer him to wait any longer without seeing him. he went to his palace to exhort him to patience, and found him lying on his bed as ill as ever, surrounded by a great many of his friends, and several physicians, who used all their art to discover the cause of his disorder. as soon as he saw ebn thaher, he looked at him with a smile, to signify that he had two things to tell him; the one, that he was glad to see him; the other how much the physicians, who could not discover the cause of his illness, were out in their reasonings. his friends and physicians retired one after another, so that ebn thaher being alone with him, approached his bed to ask him how he had been since he had last seen him. "i must tell you," answered the prince, "that my passion, which continually gathers new strength, and the uncertainty of the lovely schemselnihar's fate, augment my disorder every moment, and cast me into such a state as afflicts my kindred and friends, and breaks the measures of my physicians, who do not understand it. you cannot think," he added, "how much i suffer by seeing so many people about me, who importune me, and whom i cannot in civility put away. your company alone relieves me; but i conjure you not to dissemble with me: what news do you bring of schemselnihar? have you seen her confidant? what says she to you?" ebn thaher answered, that he had not seen her yet. no sooner had he communicated to the prince of persia this sad intelligence, than the tears came into his eyes; he could not answer one word, his heart was so oppressed. "prince," added ebn thaher, "suffer me to tell you, that you are too ingenious in tormenting yourself. in the name of god, wipe away your tears: if any of your people should come in, they would discover you by this, notwithstanding the care you ought to take to conceal your thoughts." whatever his judicious adviser could say, it was not possible for the prince to refrain from weeping. "wise ebn thaher," said he, when he had recovered his speech, "i may indeed hinder my tongue from revealing the secrets of my heart, but i have no power over my tears, upon such an alarming subject as schemselnihar's danger. if that adorable and only objets of my desires be no longer in the world, i shall not survive her a moment." "reject so afflicting a thought," replied ebn thaher; "schemselnihar is yet alive, you need not doubt it: if you have heard no news of her, it is because she could find no opportunity to send to you, and i hope you will hear from her to-day." to this he added several other consoling arguments, and then withdrew. ebn thaher had scarcely reached his own house, when schemselnihar's confidant arrived with a melancholy countenance, which he reckoned a bad omen. he asked news of her mistress. "tell me yours first," said the confidant, "for i was in great trouble to see the prince of persia go away in that condition." ebn thaher told her all that she wished to know, and when he had done, the slave began thus: "if the prince of persia has suffered, and does still suffer for my mistress, she suffers no less for him. after i departed from you, i returned to the saloon, where i found schemselnihar not yet recovered from her swoon, notwithstanding all the assistance they endeavoured to give her. the caliph was sitting near her with all the signs of real grief. he asked all the women, and me in particular, if we knew the cause of her disorder; but we kept all secret, and told him we were altogether ignorant of it. in the mean time we all wept to see her suffer so long, and forgot nothing that might any ways relieve her. in a word, it was almost midnight before she came to herself. the caliph, who had the patience to wait the event, was rejoiced at her recovery, and asked schemselnihar the cause of her illness. as soon as she heard him speak, she endeavoured to recover her seat; and after she had kissed his feet, before he could hinder her, �sir,' said she, �i have reason to complain of heaven, that it did not allow me to expire at your majesty's feet to testify thereby how sensible i am of your favours.' "�i am persuaded you love me,' replied the caliph, �and i command you to preserve yourself for my sake. you have probably exceeded in something to-day, which has occasioned this indisposition; take care, i entreat you; abstain from it for the future. i am glad to see you better, and advise you to stay here to-night, and not return to your chamber, for fear the motion should affect you.' he then commanded a little wine to be brought to strengthen her; and taking leave of her, returned to his apartment. "as soon as the caliph had departed, my mistress gave me a sign to come near her. she asked me earnestly concerning you: i assured her that you had been gone a long time, which made her easy on that head. i took care not to speak of the prince of persia's fainting, lest she should fall into the same state, from which we had so much trouble to recover her: but my precautions were in vain, as you shall hear. �prince,' exclaimed she, �i henceforth renounce all pleasure as long as i am deprived of the sight of you. if i have understood your heart right, i only follow your example. you will not cease to weep and mourn until i see you.' at these words, which she uttered in a manner expressive of the violence of her passion, she fainted a second time in my arms. "my companions and i were a long time recovering her; at last she came to herself; and then i said to her, �madam, are you resolved to kill yourself, and to make us also die with you? i entreat you, in the name of the prince of persia, who is so deeply interested in your life, to preserve it.' �i am much obliged to you,' replied she, � for your care, your zeal, and your advice; but alas! they are useless to me: you are not to flatter us with any hopes, for we can expect no end of our torment but in the grave' "one of my companions would have diverted these sad thoughts by playing on the lute, but she commanded her to be silent, and ordered all of them to retire, except me, whom she kept all night with her. o heavens! what a night it was! she passed it in tears and groans, and incessantly naming the prince of persia. she lamented her lot, that had destined her to the caliph, whom she could not love, and not for him whom she loved so dearly. "next morning, as she was not commodiously lodged in the saloon, i helped her to her chamber, which she had no sooner reached, than all the physicians of the palace came to see her, by order of the caliph, who was not long before he arrived himself. the medicines which the physicians prescribed to schemselnihar were ineffectual, because they were ignorant of the cause of her malady, which was augmented by the presence of the caliph. she got a little rest however this night, and as soon as she awoke, she charged me to come to you, to learn some news of the prince of persia." "i have already informed you of his case," said ebn thaher; "so return to your mistress, and assure her, that the prince of persia waits for some account of her with an impatience equal to her own. above all, exhort her to moderation, and to overcome her feelings, for fear she should drop before the caliph some word, which may prove fatal to us all." "as for me," replied the confidant, "i confess i dread her transports. i have taken the liberty to tell her my mind, and am persuaded that she will not take it ill that i tell her this from you." ebn thaher, who had but just come from the prince of persia's lodgings, thought it not convenient to return so soon, and neglect his own important affairs; he therefore went not till the evening. the prince was alone, and no better than in the morning. "ebn thaher," said he to him, as soon as he saw him, "you have doubtless many friends, but they do not know your worth, which you discover to me by your zeal, your care, and the trouble you give yourself to oblige me. i am confounded with all that you do for me with so much affection, and i know not how i shall be able to express my gratitude." "prince," answered ebn thaher, "do not speak thus, i entreat you. i am ready, not only to give one of my eyes to save one of yours, but to sacrifice my life for you. but this is not the present business. i come to tell you that schemselnihar sent her confidant to ask me about you, and at the same time to inform me of her condition. you may assure yourself that i said nothing but what might confirm the excess of your passion for her mistress, and the constancy with which you love her." then ebn thaher gave him a particular account of all that had passed betwixt the trusty slave and him. the prince listened with all the different emotions of fear, jealousy, affection, and compassion, which this conversation could inspire, making, upon every thing which he heard, all the afflicting or comforting reflections that so passionate a lover was capable of. their conversation continued so long that the night was far advanced, so that the prince of persia obliged ebn thaher to stay with him. the next morning, as this trusty friend returned home, there came a woman to him whom he knew to be schemselnihar's confidant, and immediately she spoke to him thus: "my mistress salutes you, and i am come to entreat you in her name to deliver this letter to the prince of persia." the zealous ebn thaher took the letter, and returned to the prince, accompanied by the confidant slave. when ebn thaher entered the prince of persia's house with schemselnihar's confidant, he prayed her to stay, and wait for him a moment in the ante-room. as soon as the prince saw him, he asked earnestly what news he had to communicate? "the best you can expect," answered ebn thaher: "you are as dearly beloved as you love; schemselnihar's confidant is in your anteroom; she has brought you a letter from her mistress, and waits for your orders to come in." "let her enter," cried the prince, with a transport of joy; and so saying, sat up to receive her. the prince's attendants retired as soon as they saw ebn thaher, and left him alone with their master. ebn thaher opened the door himself, and brought in the confidant. the prince knew her, and received her with great politeness. "my lord," said she to him, "i am sensible of the affliction you have endured since i had the honour to conduct you to the boat which waited to bring you back; but i hope the letter i have brought will contribute to your cure." so saying, she presented him the letter. he took it, and after he had kissed it several times, opened it, and read as follows: letter from schemselnihar to the prince of persia. "the person who will deliver to you this letter will give you more correct information concerning me than i can, for i have not been myself since i saw you. deprived of your presence, i endeavour to deceive myself by conversing with you by these ill- written lines, with the same pleasure as if i had the happiness of speaking to you in person. "it is said that patience is a cure for all evils, but instead of relieving it heightens my sufferings. although your picture is deeply engraver in my heart, my eyes desire to have the original continually before them; and they will lose all their light, if they be any considerable time deprived of this felicity. may i flatter myself that yours have the same impatience to see me? yes, i can; their tender glances have sufficiently assured me of this. how happy, prince, would it be for you, how happy for schemselnihar, if our united desires were not thwarted by invincible obstacles; obstacles which afflict me the more sensibly as they affect you. "these thoughts which my fingers write, and which i express with incredible pleasure, repeating them again and again, proceed from the bottom of my heart, and from the incurable wound which you have made in it; a wound which i bless a thousand times, notwithstanding the cruel torments i endure through your absence. i would reckon all that opposes our love nothing, were i only allowed to see you sometimes with freedom; i should then enjoy your company, and what could i desire more? "do not imagine that i say more than i think. alas! whatever expressions i use, i feel that i think more than i can tell you. my eyes, which are continually watching and weeping for your return; my afflicted heart, which desires you alone; the sighs that escape me as often as i think on you, and that is every moment; my imagination, which represents no other object to me than my dear prince; the complaints that i make to heaven for the rigour of my destiny; m a word, my grief, my distress, my torments, which have allowed me no ease since i was deprived of your presence, will vouch for what i write. "am not i unhappy to be born to dove, without hope of enjoying the object of my passion? this afflicting thought oppresses me so that i should die, were i not persuaded that you love me: but this sweet comfort balances my despair, and preserves my life. tell me that you love me always. i will keep your letter carefully, and read it a thousand times a-day: i shall endure my afflictions with less impatience: i pray heaven may cease to be angry at us, and grant us an opportunity to say that we love one another without fear; and that we shall never cease thus to love. adieu. i salute ebn thaher, to whom we are so much obliged." the prince of persia was not satisfied with reading the letter once; he thought he had perused it with too little attention, and therefore read it again with more leisure; and while so doing, sometimes heaved deep sighs, sometimes shed tears, and sometimes broke out into transports of joy and tenderness as the contents affected him. in short, he could not keep his eyes off those characters drawn by so beloved a hand, and was beginning to read it a third time, when ebn thaher observed to him that the confidant had no time to lose, and that he ought to think of giving an answer. "alas!" cried the prince, "how would you have me reply to so kind a letter! in what terms shall i express myself in my present disturbed state! my mind is tossed with a thousand tormenting thoughts, which are lost the moment they are conceived, to make way for others. so long as my body is influenced by the impressions of my mind, how shall i be able to hold the paper, or guide a reed to write." so saying, he took out of a little desk which was near him, paper, a cane ready cut, and an inkhorn. the prince of persia, before he began to write, gave schemselnihar's letter to ebn thaher, and prayed him to hold it open while he wrote, that by casting his eyes upon it he might the better see what to answer. he began to write; but the tears that fell from his eyes upon the paper obliged him several times to stop, that they might fall the more freely. at last he finished his letter, and giving it to ebn thaher, "read it, i pray," said he, "and do me the favour to see if the disorder of my mind has allowed me to give a favourable answer." ebn thaher took it, and read as follows: the prince of persia's answer to schemselnihar's letter. "i was plunged in the deepest grief when i received your letter, but at the sight of it i was transported with unspeakable joy. when i beheld the characters written by your fair hand, my eyes were enlightened by a stronger light than they lost, when yours were suddenly closed at the feet of my rival. the words contained in your kind epistle are so many rays which have dispelled the darkness wherewith my soul was obscured; they shew me how much you suffer from your love of me, and that you are not ignorant of what i endure on your account. thus they comfort me in my afflictions. on the one hand they cause me to shed tears in abundance; and on the other, inflame my heart with a fire which supports it, and prevents my dying of grief. i have not had one moment's rest since our cruel separation. your letter alone gave me some ease. i kept a mournful silence till the moment i received it, and then recovered my speech. i was buried in profound melancholy, but it inspired me with joy, which immediately appeared in my eyes and countenance. but my surprise at receiving a favour which i had not yet deserved was so great, that i knew not how to begin to testify my thankfulness. in a word, after having kissed it several times, as a precious pledge of your goodness, i read it over and over, and was confounded at the excess of my good fortune. you would have me declare that i always love you. ah! did i not love you so perfectly as i do, i could not forbear adoring you, after all the marks you have given me of an affection so uncommon: yes, i love you, my dear soul, and shall account it my glory to burn all my days with that sweet fire you have kindled in my heart. i will never complain of that ardour with which i feel it consumes me: and how rigorous soever the evils i suffer, i will bear them with fortitude, in hopes some time or other to see you. would to heaven it were to-day, and that, instead of sending you my letter, i might be allowed to come and assure you in person, that i die for you! my tears hinder me from saying more. adieu." ebn thaher could not read these last lines without weeping. he returned the letter to the prince of persia, and assured him it wanted no correction. the prince closed it, and when he had sealed it, he desired the trusty slave to come near, and said to her, "this is my answer to you dear mistress's letter. i conjure you to carry it to her, and to salute her in my name." the slave took the letter, and retired with ebn thaher. after ebn thaher had walked some way with the slave, he left her, and went to his house, and began to think in earnest upon the amorous intrigue in which he found himself unhappily engaged. he considered, that the prince of persia and schemselnihar, notwithstanding their interest to conceal their correspondence, conducted themselves with so little discretion, that it could not be long a secret. he drew all the consequences from it, which a man of good sense might have anticipated. "were schemselnihar," said he to himself, "a lady of common rank, i would contribute all in my power to make her and her lover happy; but she is the caliph's favourite, and no man can without danger attempt to engage the affections of the objets of his choice. his anger would fall in the first instance on schemselnihar; it will next cost the prince of persia his life, and i should be involved in his misfortune. in the mean time i have my honour, my quiet, my family, and my property to preserve. i must, while i can, extricate myself out of such a perilous situation." these thoughts occupied his mind all that day. next morning he went to the prince of persia, with a design of making one more effort to induce him to conquer his passion. he represented to him what he had before urged in vain; that it would be much better for him to summon all his resolution, to overcome his inclination for schemselnihar, than to suffer himself to be hurried away by it; and that his passion was so much the more dangerous, as his rival was powerful. "in short, sir," added he, "if you will hearken to me, you ought to think of nothing but to triumph over your love; otherwise you run the risk of destroying yourself with schemselnihar, whose life ought to be dearer to you than your own. i give you this advice as a friend, for which you will some time or other thank me." the prince heard ebn thaher with great impatience, but suffered him to speak his mind, and then replied to him thus: "ebn thaher, do you think i can cease to love schemselnihar, who loves me so tenderly? she is not afraid to expose her life for me, and would you have me regard mine? no; whatever misfortunes befall me, i will love schemselnihar to my last breath." abn thaher, shocked at the obstinacy of the prince of persia, left him hastily, and going to his own house, recalled his former reflections, and began to think seriously what he should do. in the mean time a jeweller, one of his intimate friends, came to see him. the jeweller had perceived that schemselnihar's confidant came oftener to ebn thaher than usual, and that he was constantly with the prince of persia, whose sickness was known to every one, though not the cause. this had awakened the jeweller's suspicions, and finding ebn thaher very pensive, he presently judged that he was perplexed with some important affair, and fancying that he knew the cause, he asked what schemselnihar's confidant wanted with him? ebn thaher being struck with this question, would have dissembled, and told him, that it was on some trifling errand she came so frequently to him. "you do not tell me the truth," said the jeweller, "and your dissimulation only serves to prove to me that this trifle is a more important affair than at first i thought it to be." ebn thaher, perceiving that his friend pressed him so much, said to him, "it is true, that it is an affair of the greatest consequence. i had resolved to keep it secret, but since i know how much you are my friend, i choose rather to make you my confidant, than to suffer you to be under a mistake about it. i do not bind you to secrecy, for you will easily judge by what i am going to tell you how impossible it is to keep it unknown." after this preamble, he told him the amour between schemselnihar and the prince of persia. "you know," he continued, "in what esteem i am at court, in the city, and with lords and ladies of the greatest quality; what a disgrace would it be for me, should this rash amour come to be discovered? but what do i say; should not i and my family be completely ruined! that is what perplexes my mind; but i have just formed my resolution: i will go immediately and satisfy my creditors, and recover my debts, and when i have secured my property, will retire to bussorah, and stay till the storm, that i foresee, is blown over. my friendship for schemselnihar and the prince of persia makes me very sensible to what dangers they are exposed. i pray heaven to convince them of their peril, and to preserve them; but if their evil destiny should bring their attachment to the knowledge of the caliph, i shall, at least, be out of the reach of his resentment; for i do not think them so wicked as to design to involve me in their misfortunes. it would be the height of ingratitude, and a bad reward for the service i have done them, and the good advice i have given, particularly to the prince of persia, who may save both himself and his mistress from this precipice. he may as easily leave bagdad as i; and absence will insensibly disenage him from a passion, which will only increase whilst he continues in this place." the jeweller was extremely surprised at what ebn thaher told him. "what you say," said he, "is of so much importance, that i cannot understand how schemselnihar and the prince could have abandoned themselves to such a violent passion. what inclination soever they may have for one another, instead of yielding to it, they ought to resist it, and make a better use of their reason. is it possible they can be insensible of the danger of their correspondence? how deplorable is their blindness! i anticipate all its consequences as well as yourself; but you are wise and prudent, and i approve your resolution; as it is the only way to deliver yourself from the fatal events which you have reason to fear." after this conversation the jeweller rose, and took his leave of ebn thaher. before the jeweller retired, ebn thaher conjured him by the friendship betwixt them, to say nothing of what he had heard. "fear not," replied the jeweller, "i will keep this secret at the peril of my life." two days after, the jeweller went to ebn thaher's shop, and seeing it shut, he doubted not but he had executed his design; but, to be more sure, he asked a neighbour, if he knew why it was not opened? the neighbour answered that he knew not, unless ebn thaher was gone a journey. there was no need of his enquiring farther, and he immediately thought of the prince of persia: "unhappy prince," said he to himself, "what will be your grief when you hear this news? how will you now carry on your correspondence with schemselnihar? i fear you will die of despair. i pity you, and must repair your loss of a too timid confidant." the business that obliged him to come abroad was of no consequence, so that he neglected it, and though he had no knowledge of the prince of persia, only by having sold him some jewels, he went to his house. he addressed himself to one of his servants, and desired him to tell his master, that he wished to speak with him about business of very great importance. the servant returned immediately to the jeweller, and introduced him to the prince's chamber. he was leaning on a sofa, with his head on a cushion. as soon as the prince saw him, he rose up to receive and welcome him, and entreated him to sit down; asked him if he could serve him in any thing, or if he came to tell him any thing interesting concerning himself. "prince," answered the jeweller, "though i have not the honour to be particularly acquainted with you, yet the desire of testifying my zeal has made me take the liberty to come to your house, to impart to you a piece of news that concerns you. i hope you will pardon my boldness for my good intention." after this introduction, the jeweller entered upon the matter, and continued: "prince, i shall have the honour to tell you, that it is a long time since conformity of disposition, and some business we have had together, united ebn thaher and myself in strict friendship. i know you are acquainted with him, and that he has employed himself in obliging you to his utmost. i have learnt this from himself, for he keeps nothing secret from me, nor i from him. i went just now to his shop, and was surprised to find it shut. i addressed myself to one of his neighbours, to ask the reason; he answered me, that two days ago ebn thaher took leave of him, and other neighbours, offering them his service at bussorah, whither he is gone, said he, about an affair of great importance. not being satisfied with this answer, my concern for his welfare determined me to come and ask if you knew any thing particular concerning this his sudden departure." at this discourse, which the jeweller accommodated to the subject, the better to compass his design, the prince of persia changed colour, and looked at the jeweller in a manner which convinced him how much he was disconcerted at the intelligence. "i am surprised at what you inform me," said he; "a greater misfortune could not befall me: ah!" he continued, with tears in his eyes, "if what you tell me be true, i am undone! has ebn thaher, who was all my comfort, in whom i put all my confidence, left me? i cannot think of living after so cruel a blow." the jeweller needed no more to convince him fully of the prince of persia's violent passion, which ebn thaher had told him of: mere friendship would not make him speak so; nothing but love could produce such lively sensations. the prince continued some moments absorbed in melancholy thoughts; at last he lifted up his head, and calling one of his servants, said, "go, to ebn thaher's house, and ask some of his domestics if he be gone to bussorah: run, and come back quickly with the answer." while the servant was gone, the jeweller endeavoured to entertain the prince of persia with indifferent subjects; but the prince gave little heed to him. he was a prey to fatal grief: sometimes he could not persuade himself that ebn thaher was gone, and at others he did not doubt of it, when he reflected upon the conversation he had had with him the last time he had seen him, and the abrupt manner in which he had left him. at last the prince's servant returned, and reported that he had spoken with one of ebn thaher's servants, who assured him that he had been gone two days to bussorah. "as i came from ebn thaher's house," added the servant. "a slave well dressed met me, and after she had asked me if i had the honour to belong to you, told me she wanted to speak with you, and begged at the same time that she might accompany me: she is in the outer room, and i believe has a letter to deliver to you from some person of consequence." the prince commanded her to be immediately introduced, not doubting but it was schemselnihar's confidant slave, as indeed it was. the jeweller knew her, having seen her several times at ebn thaher's house: she could not have come at a better time to save the prince from despair. she saluted him. the prince of persia returned the salute of schemselnihar's confidant. the jeweller arose as soon as he saw her and retired, to leave them at liberty to converse together. the confidant, after she had spoken some time with the prince, took her leave and departed. she left him quite another person from what he was before; his eyes appeared brighter, and his countenance more gay, which satisfied the jeweller that the good slave came to tell him something favourable to his amour. the jeweller having taken his place again near the prince, said to him smiling, "i see, prince, you have business of importance at the caliph's palace." the prince of persia, astonished and alarmed at these words, answered the jeweller, "what leads you to suppose that i have business at the caliph's palace?" "i judge so," replied the jeweller, "by the slave who has just left you." "and to whom, think you, belongs this slave?" demanded the prince. "to schemselnihar the caliph's favourite," answered the jeweller: "i know," continued he, "both the slave and her mistress, who has several times done me the honour to come to my house, and buy jewels. besides, i know that schemselnihar keeps nothing secret from this slave; and i have seen her pass backwards and forwards for several days along the streets, as i thought very much troubled; i imagined that it was for some affair of consequence concerning her mistress." the jeweller's words greatly troubled the prince of persia. "he would not say so," said he to himself, "if he did not suspect, or rather were not acquainted with my secret." he remained silent for some time, not knowing what course to take. at last he began, and said to the jeweller, "you have told me things which make me believe that you know yet more than you have acquainted me with; it concerns my repose that i be perfectly informed; i conjure you therefore not to conceal any thing from me." then the jeweller, who desired nothing more, gave him a particular account of what had passed betwixt ebn thaher and himself. he informed him that he was apprised of his correspondence with schemselnihar. and forgot not to tell him that ebn thaher, alarmed at the danger of being his confidant in the matter, had communicated to him his intention of retiring to bussorah, until the storm which he dreaded should be blown over. "this he has executed," added the jeweller, "and i am surprised how he could determine to abandon you, in the condition he informed me you were in. as for me, prince, i confess, i am moved with compassion towards you, and am come to offer you my service. if you do me the favour to accept of it, i engage myself to be as faithful to you as ebn thaher; besides, i promise to be more resolute. i am ready to sacrifice my honour and life for you: and, that you may not doubt of my sincerity, i swear by all that is sacred in our religion, to keep your secret inviolable. be persuaded then, prince, that you will find in me the friend whom you have lost." this declaration encouraged the prince, and comforted him under ebn thaher's absence. "i am glad," said he to the jeweller, "to find in you a reparation of my loss; i want words to express the obligations i am under to you. i pray god to recompense your generosity, and i accept your obliging offer with all my heart. believe me," continued he, "schemselnihar's confidant came to speak to me concerning you. she told me that it was you who advised ebn thaher to go from bagdad; these were the last words she spoke to me, as she went away, and she seemed persuaded of what she said; but they do not do you justice. i doubt not, after what you have told me, she is deceived." "prince" replied the jeweller, "i have had the honour to give you a faithful account of my conversation with ebn thaher. it is true, when he told me he meant to retire to bussorah, i did not oppose his design; but let not this prevent your putting confidence in me. i am ready to serve you with all imaginable zeal. if you do not use my service, this shall not hinder me from keeping your secret religiously, according to my oath." "i have already told you," replied the prince, "that i did not believe what the confidant said: it is her zeal which inspired her with this groundless suspicion, and you ought to excuse it, as i do." they continued their conversation for some time, and consulted together about the most convenient means to keep up the prince's correspondence with schemselnihar. they agreed to begin by undeceiving the confidant, who was so unjustly prepossessed against the jeweller. the prince engaged to remove her mistake the first time he saw her again, and to intreat her to address herself to the jeweller whenever she might bring letters, or any other information from her mistress to him. in short, they determined, that she ought not to come so frequently to the prince's house, because thereby she might lead to the discovery of what it was of so great importance to conceal. at last the jeweller arose, and, after having again intreated the prince of persia to place an unreserved confidence in him, withdrew. the jeweller returning to his house perceived before him a letter, which somebody had dropped in the street. he took it up, and as it was not sealed, he opened it, and read as follows: letter from schemselnihar to the prince of persia. "i have received from my confidant intelligence which gives me no less concern than it must give you. in ebn thaher, we have indeed sustained a great loss; but let this not hinder you, dear prince, from thinking of your own preservation. if our friend has abandoned us through fear, let us consider that it is a misfortune which we could not avoid. i confess ebn thaher has left us at a time when we most needed his assistance; but let us bear this unexpected stroke with patience, and let us not forbear to love one another constantly. fortify your heart under this misfortune. the object of our wishes is not to be obtained without trouble. let us not be discouraged, but hope that heaven will favour us, and that, after so many afflictions, we shall see a happy accomplishment of our desires. adieu." while the jeweller was conversing with the prince of persia, the confidant had time to return to the palace and communicate to her mistress the ill news of ebn thaher's departure. schemselnihar immediately wrote this letter, and sent back her confidant with it to the prince of persia, but she negligently dropped it on her way. the jeweller was glad to find it, for it furnished him with an opportunity of justifying himself to the confidant, and bringing her to the point he desired. when he had read it, he perceived the slave seeking for it with the greatest anxiety. he closed it again quickly, and put it into his bosom; but the slave observed him, and running to him, said, "sir, i have dropped a letter, which you had just now in your hand; i beseech you to restore it." the jeweller, pretending not to hear her, continued his way till he came to his house. he left his door open, that the confidant, who followed him, might enter after him. she followed him in, and when she came to his apartment, said, "sir, you can make no use of that letter you have found, and you would not hesitate to return it to me, if you knew from whom it came, and to whom it is directed. besides, allow me to tell you, you cannot honestly keep it." before the jeweller returned her any answer he made her sit down, and then said to her, "is not this letter from schemselnihar, and is it not directed to the prince of persia?" the slave, who expected no such question, blushed. "the question embarrasses you," continued he; "but i assure you i do not put it rashly: i could have given you the letter in the street, but i wished you to follow me, on purpose that i might come to some explanation with you. is it just, tell me, to impute a misfortune to persons who have no ways contributed towards it? yet this you have done, in telling the prince of persia that it was i who advised ebn thaher to leave bagdad for his own safety. i do not intend to waste time in justifying myself; it is enough that the prince of persia is fully persuaded of my innocence; i will only tell you, that instead of contributing to ebn thaher's departure, i have been extremely afflicted at it, not so much from my friendship to him, as out of compassion for the condition in which he left the prince of persia, whose correspondence with schemselnihar he has discovered to me. as soon as i knew certainly that ebn thaher was gone from bagdad, i went and presented myself to the prince, in whose house you found me, to inform him of this event, and to offer to undertake the service in which he had been employed; and provided you put the same confidence in me, that you did in ebn thaher, it will be your own fault if you do not make my assistance of use to you. inform your mistress of what i have told you, and assure her, that though i should die for engaging in so dangerous an intrigue, i should not repent of having sacrificed myself for two lovers so worthy of one another." the confidant, after having heard the jeweller with great satisfaction, begged him to pardon the ill opinion she had conceived of him, for the zeal she had for her mistress's interest.? i am beyond measure glad," she added, "that schemselnihar and the prince have found in you a person so fit to supply ebn thaher's place i will not fail to convince my mistress of the good-will you bear her." after the confidant had testified to the jeweller her joy to see him so well disposed to serve schemselnihar and the prince of persia, the jeweller took the letter out of his bosom, and restored it to her, saying, "go, carry it quickly to the prince, and return this way that i may see his reply. forget not to give him an account of our conversation." the confidant took the letter and carried it to the prince, who answered it immediately. she returned to the jeweller's house to shew him the answer, which was in these words: the prince of persia's answer to schemselnihar. "your precious letter has had a great effect upon me, but not so great as i could have wished. you endeavour to comfort me for the loss of ebn thaher; alas! however sensible i am of this, it is but the least of my troubles. you know these troubles, and you know also that your presence alone can cure me. when will the time come that i shall enjoy it without fear of a separation? how distant does it seem to me! or shall we flatter ourselves that we may ever see it? you command me to preserve myself; i will obey you, since i have renounced my own will to follow only yours. adieu." after the jeweller had read this letter, he returned it to the confidant, who said, as she was going away, "i will desire my mistress to put the same confidence in you that she did in ebn thaher. you shall hear of me to-morrow." accordingly, next day she returned with a pleasant countenance. "your very looks," said he to her, "inform me that you have brought schemselnihar to the point you wished." "it is true," replied the confidant, "and you shall hear how i succeeded. i found yesterday, on my return, schemselnihar expecting me with impatience, i gave her the prince of persia's letter, and she read it with tears in her eyes. when she had done, i saw that she had abandoned herself to her usual sorrow. �madam,' said i to her, �it is doubtless ebn thaher's removal that troubles you; but suffer me to conjure you in the name of god, to alarm yourself no farther on this account. we have found another ebn thaher, who offers to oblige you with equal zeal; and, what is yet more important, with greater courage.' then i spoke to her of you," continued the slave, "and acquainted her with the motive which led you to the prince of persia's house. in short, i assured her that you would keep inviolably the secret betwixt her and the prince of persia, and that you were resolved to favour their amour with all your might. she seemed to be much relieved by my discourse. �ah! what obligations,' said she, �are the prince of persia and i under to that honest man you speak of! i must be acquainted with him and see him, that i may hear from his own mouth what you tell me, and thank him for such unheard-of generosity towards persons on whose account he is no way obliged to interest himself. the sight of him will give me pleasure, and i shall omit nothing to confirm him in those good sentiments. fail not to bring him to me to- morrow.' therefore, sir, be so good as to accompany me to the palace." the confidant's proposal perplexed the jeweller. "your mistress," replied he, "must allow me to say that she has not duly considered what she requires of me. ebn thaher's access to the caliph gave him admission every where; and the officers who knew him, allowed him free access to schemselnihar's palace; but as for me, how dare i enter? you see clearly that it is impossible. i entreat you to represent to schemselnihar the reasons which prevent me from affording her that satisfaction; and acquaint her with all the ill consequences that would attend my compliance. lf she considered it ever so little, she would find that it would expose me needlessly to very imminent danger." the confidant endeavoured to encourage the jeweller. "can you believe," said she, "that schemselnihar is so unreasonable as to expose you to the least danger by bringing you to her, from whom she expects such important services? consider with yourself that there is not the least appearance of risk. my mistress and i are too much interested in this affair to involve you in any danger. you may depend upon me, and leave yourself to my conduit. after the thing is over you will be the first to confess that your apprehensions were groundless." the jeweller yielded to the confidant's assurances, and rose up to follow her, but notwithstanding his boasted courage, he was seized with such terror that his whole body trembled. "in your present state," said she, "i perceive it will be better for you to remain at home, and that schemselnihar should take other measures to see you. it is not to be doubted but that to satisfy her desire she will come hither herself: the case being so, sir, i would not have you go: i am persuaded it will not be long ere you see her here." the confidant foresaw this; for she no sooner informed schemselnihar of the jeweller's fear, but she prepared to go to his house. he received her with all the expressions of profound respect. when she sat down, being a little fatigued, she unveiled herself, and exhibited to the jeweller such beauty as convinced him that the prince of persia was excusable in giving his heart to the caliph's favourite. then she saluted the jeweller with a graceful air, and said to him, "i could not hear with what zeal you have engaged in the prince of persia's concerns and mine, without immediately determining to express my gratitude in person. i thank heaven for having so soon made up to us the loss of ebn thaher." schemselnihar said many other obliging things to the jeweller, after which she returned to her palace. the jeweller went immediately to give an account of this visit to the prince of persia; who said to him, as soon as he saw him, "i have expected you impatiently. the trusty slave has brought me a letter from her mistress, but it does not relieve me. whatever the lovely schemselnihar says, i dare not hope, and my patience is exhausted; i know not now what measures to pursue; ebn thaher's departure reduces me to despair. he was my only support: in him i have lost every thing. i had flattered myself with some hopes by reason of his access to schemselnihar." after these words, which the prince spoke with so much eagerness, that he gave the jeweller no time to interrupt him, he said to the prince, "no man can take more interest in your affliction than i do; and if you will have patience to hear me you will perceive that i can relieve you." upon this the prince became silent, and listened to him. "i see," said the jeweller, "that the only way to give you satisfaction is to devise a plan that will afford you an opportunity of conversing freely with schemselnihar. this i wish to procure you, and to-morrow will make the attempt. you must by no means expose yourself to enter schemselnihar's palace; you know by experience the danger of that step. i know a fitter place for this interview, where you will be safe." when the jeweller had finished, the prince embraced him with transports of joy. "you revive," said he, "by this promise, a wretched lover, who was condemned to die. you have fully repaired the loss of ebn thaher; whatever you do will be well performed; i leave myself entirely to your conduct." after the prince had thus thanked him for his zeal, the jeweller returned home, and next morning schemselnihar's confidant came to him. he told her that he had given the prince of persia hopes that he should shortly see her mistress. "i am come on purpose," answered she, "to concert measures with you for that end. i think this house will be convenient enough for their interview." "i could receive them very well here," replied he, "but i think they will have more liberty in another house of mine where no one resides at present; i will immediately furnish it for their reception." "there remains nothing then for me to do," replied the confidant, "but to bring schemselnihar to consent to this. i will go and speak to her, and return speedily with an answer." she was as diligent as her promise, and returning to the jeweller, told him that her mistress would not fail to keep the appointment in the evening. in the mean time she gave him a purse, and told him it was to prepare a collation. he carried her immediately to the house where the lovers were to meet, that she might know whither to bring her mistress: and when she was gone, he went to borrow from his friends gold and silver plate, tapestry, rich cushions, and other furniture, with which he furnished the house very magnificently; and when he had put all things in order, went to the prince of persia. you may easily conceive the prince of persia's joy, when the jeweller told him that he came to conduct him to the house he had prepared to receive him and schemselnihar. this news made him forget all his former trouble. he put on a magnificent robe, and went without his retinue along with the jeweller; who led him through several by-streets that nobody might observe them, and at last brought him to the house, where they conversed together until schemselnihar's arrival. they did not wait long for this passionate lover. she came after evening prayer, with her confidant, and two other slaves. it is impossible to express the excess of joy that seized these two lovers when they saw one another. they sat down together upon a sofa, looking upon one another for some time, without being able to speak, they were so much overjoyed: but when their speech returned, they soon made up for their silence. they said to each other so many tender things, as made the jeweller, the confidant, and the two other slaves weep. the jeweller however restrained his tears, to attend the collation, which he brought in himself. the lovers ate and drank little, after which they sat down again upon the sofa: schemselnihar asked the jeweller if he had a lute, or any other instrument, the jeweller, who took care to provide all that could please her, brought her a lute: she spent some time in tuning it, and then sung. while schemselnihar was charming the prince of persia, and expressing her passion by words composed extempore, a great noise was heard; and immediately the slave, whom. the jeweller had brought with him, came in great alarm to tell him that some people were breaking in at the gate; that he asked who they were, but instead of any answer the blows were redoubled. the jeweller, being alarmed, left schemselnihar and the prince to inform himself of the truth of this intelligence. no sooner had he got to the court, than he perceived, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, a company of men armed with spears and cimeters, who had broken the gate, and came directly towards him. he stood close to a wall for fear of his life, and saw ten of them pass without being perceived by them. finding he could give no great assistance to the prince of persia and schemselnihar, he contented himself with lamenting their fate, and fled for refuge to a neighbour's house, who was not yet gone to bed. he did not doubt but this unexpected violence was by the caliph's order, who, he thought, had been informed of his favourite's meeting the prince of persia there. he heard a great noise in his house, which continued till midnight: and when all was quiet, as he thought, he desired his neighbour to lend him a cimeter; and being thus armed, went on till he came to the gate of his own house: he entered the court full of fear, and perceived a man, who asked him who he was; he knew by his voice that it was his own slave. "how did you manage," said he, "to avoid being taken by the watch?" "sir," answered the slave, "i hid myself in a corner of the court, and i went out as soon as i heard the noise. but it was not the watch who broke into your house: they were robbers, who within these few days robbed another house in this neighbourhood. they doubtless had notice of the rich furniture you brought hither, and had that in view." the jeweller thought his slave's conjecture probable enough. he entered the house, and saw that the robbers had taken all the furniture out of the apartment where he received schemselnihar and her lover, that they had also carried off the gold and silver plate, and, in a word, had left nothing. perceiving this desolation, he exclaimed, "o heaven! i am irrecoverably ruined! what will my friends say, and what excuse can i make when i shall tell them that the robbers have broken into my house, and robbed me of all they had generously lent me? i shall never be able to make up their loss. besides, what is become of schemselnihar and the prince of persia? this business will be so public, that it will be impossible but it must reach the caliph's ears. he will get notice of this meeting, and i shall fall a sacrifice to his fury." the slave, who was very much attached to him, endeavoured to comfort him. "as to schemselnihar," said he, "the robbers would probably consent themselves with stripping her, and you have reason to think that she is retired to her palace with her slaves. the prince of persia too has probably escaped, so that you have reason to hope the caliph will never know of this adventure. as for the loss your friends have sustained, that is a misfortune that you could not avoid. they know very well the robbers are numerous, that they have not only pillaged the house i have already spoken of, but many other houses of the principal noblemen of the court: and they are not ignorant that, notwithstanding the orders given to apprehend them, nobody has been yet able to seize any of them. you will be acquitted by restoring your friends the value of the things that are stolen, and, blessed be god, you will have enough left." while they were waiting for day-light, the jeweller ordered the slave to mend the street door, which was broken, as well as he could: after which he returned to his usual residence with his slave, making melancholy reflections on what had happened. "ebn thaher," said he to himself, "has been wiser than i; he foresaw the misfortune into which i have blindly thrown myself: would to god i had never meddled in this intrigue, which will, perhaps, cost me my life!" it was scarcely day when the report of the robbery spread through the city, and a great many of his friends and neighbours came to his house to express their concern for his misfortune; but were curious to know the particulars. he thanked them for their affection, and had at least the consolation, that he heard no one mention schemselnihar. or the prince of persia: which made him believe they were at their houses, or in some secure place. when the jeweller was alone, his servants brought him something to eat, but he had no appetite. about noon one of his slaves came to tell him there was a man at the gate, whom he knew not, that desired to speak with him. the jeweller, not choosing to receive a stranger into his house, rose up, and went to speak to him. "though you do not know me," said the man; "i know you, and i am come to talk to you about an important affair." the jeweller desired him to come in. "no," answered the stranger "if you please, rather take the trouble to go with me to your other house." "how know you," asked the jeweller, "that i have another house?" "i know very well," answered the stranger; "follow me, and do not fear any thing: i have something to communicate which will please you." the jeweller went immediately with him; and after he had considered by the way how the house they were going to had been robbed, he said to him that it was not fit to receive him. when they were before the house, and the stranger saw the gate half broken down, he said to the jeweller, "i see you have told me the truth. i will conduct you to a place where we shall be better accommodated." when he had thus spoken, he went on, and walked all the rest of the day without stopping. the jeweller being fatigued with his walk, vexed to see night approach, and that the stranger went on without telling him where he was going, began to lose his patience, when they came to a path which led to the tigris. as soon as they reached the river, they embarked in a little boat, and went over. the stranger led the jeweller through a long street, where he had never been before; and after he had brought him through several by-streets, he stopped at a gate, which he opened. he made the jeweller go in before him, he then shut and bolted the gate, with a huge iron bolt, and conducted him to a chamber, where there were ten other men, all of them as great strangers to the jeweller as he who had brought him hither. these ten men received him without much ceremony. they desired him to sit down, of which he had great need; for he was not only out of breath with walking so far, but his terror at finding himself with people whom he thought he had reason to fear would have disabled him from standing. they waited for their leader to go to supper, and as soon as he came it was served up. they washed their hands, obliged the jeweller to do the like, and to sit at table with them. after supper the men asked him, if he knew whom he spoke to? he answered, "no; and that he knew not the place he was in." "tell us your last night's adventure," said they to him, "and conceal nothing from us." the jeweller, being astonished at this request, answered, "gentlemen, it is probable you know it already." "that is true," replied they; "the young man and the young lady, who were at your house yesternight, told it us; but we would know it from your own mouth." the jeweller needed no more to inform him that he spoke to the robbers who had broken into and plundered his house. "gentlemen," said he, "i am much troubled for that young man and lady; can you give me any tidings of them?" upon the jeweller's inquiry of the thieves, if they knew any thing of the young man and the young lady, they answered, "be not concerned for them, they are safe and well," so saying, they shewed him two closets, where they assured him they were separately shut up. they added, "we are informed you alone know what relates to them, which we no sooner came to understand, but we shewed them all imaginable respect, and were so far from doing them any injury, that we treated them with all possible kindness on your account. we answer for the same," proceeded they, "for your own person, you may put unlimited confidence in us." the jeweller being encouraged by this assurance, and overjoyed to hear that the prince of persia and schemselnihar were safe, resolved to engage the robbers yet farther in their interest. he commended them, flattered them, and gave them a thousand benedictions. "gentlemen," said he, "i must confess i have not the honour to know you, yet it is no small happiness to me that i am not wholly unknown to you; and i can never be sufficiently grateful for the favours which that knowledge has procured me at your hands. not to mention your great humanity, i am fully persuaded now, that persons of your character are capable of keeping a secret faithfully, and none are so fit to undertake a great enterprise, which you can best bring to a good issue by your zeal, courage, and intrepidity. confiding in these qualities, which are so much your due, i hesitate not to tell you my whole history, with that of those two persons you found in my house, with all the fidelity you desire me." after the jeweller had thus secured, as he thought, the confidence of the robbers, he made no scruple to relate to them the whole amour of the prince of persia and schemselnihar, from the beginning of it to the time he had received them into his house. the robbers were greatly astonished at all the particulars they heard, and could not forbear exclaiming, "how! is it possible that the young man should be the illustrious ali ebn becar, prince of persia, and the young lady the fair and celebrated beauty schemselnihar?" the jeweller assured them nothing was more certain, and that they need not think it strange, that persons of so distinguished a character should wish not to be known. upon this assurance of their quality, the robbers went immediately, one after another, and threw themselves at their feet, imploring their pardon, and protesting that nothing of the kind would have happened to them, had they been informed of the quality of their persons before they broke into the house; and that they would by their future conduct endeavour to make amends for the crime they had thus ignorantly committed. then turning to the jeweller, they told him, they were heartily sorry they could not restore to him all that had been taken from him, part of it being no longer in their possession. but as for what remained, if he would content himself with his plate, it should be forthwith put into his hand. the jeweller was overjoyed at the favour done him, and after the robbers had delivered to him the plate, they required of the prince, schemselnihar, and him, to promise them upon oath, that they would not betray them, and they would carry them to a place whence they might easily return to their respective homes. the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, replied, that they might rely on their words, but since they desired an oath of them, they solemnly swore not to discover them. the thieves, satisfied with this, immediately went out with them. on the way, the jeweller, uneasy at not seeing the confidant and the two slaves, came up to schemselnihar, and begged her to inform him what was become of them. she answered, she knew nothing of them, and that all she could tell him was, that she was carried away from his house, ferried over the river, and brought to the place from whence they were just come. schemselnihar and the jeweller had no farther conversation; they let the robbers conduit them with the prince to the river's side, when the robbers immediately took boat, and carried them over to the opposite bank. while the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller were landing, they heard the noise of the horse patrol coming towards them, just as the boat had conveyed the robbers back. the commander of the brigade demanded of the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, who they were, and whence they had come so late? frightened as they were, and apprehensive of saying any thing that might prejudice them, they could not speak; but at length it was necessary they should. the jeweller's mind being most at ease, he said, "sir, i can assure you, we are respectable people of the city. the persons who have just landed us, and are now returned to the other side of the water, are thieves, who having last night broke open the house where we were, pillaged it, and afterwards carried us to their quarters, whence by fair words, we prevailed on them to let us have our liberty; and they brought us hither. they have restored us part of the booty they had taken from us." at which words he shewed the parcel of plate he had recovered. the commander, not satisfied with what the jeweller had told him, came up to him and the prince of persia, and looking steadfastly at them, said, "tell me truly, who is this lady? how came you to know her?" these questions embarrassed them so much that neither of them could answer; till at length schemselnihar extricated them from their difficulty, and taking the commander aside, told him who she was; which he no sooner heard, than he alighted with expressions of great respect and politeness, and ordered his men to bring two boats. when the boats were come, he put schemselnihar into one, and the prince of persia and the jeweller into the other, with two of his people in each boat; with orders to accompany each of them whithersoever they were bound. the boats took different routes, but we shall at present speak only of that which contained the prince and the jeweller. the prince, to save his guides trouble, bade them land the jeweller at his house, naming the place. the guide, by this direction, stopped just before the caliph's palace, which put both him and the jeweller into great alarm; for although they had heard the commander's orders to his men, they could not help imagining they were to be delivered up to the guard, to be brought before the caliph next morning. this nevertheless was not the intention of the guides. for after they had landed them, they, by their master's command, recommended them to an officer of the caliph's guard who assigned them two soldiers to conduct them by land to the prince's house, which was at some distance from the river. they arrived there, but so tired and weary that they could hardly move. the prince being come home, with the fatigue of his journey, and this misadventure to himself and schemselnihar, which deprived him of all hope of ever seeing her more, fell into a swoon on his sofa. while the greatest part of his servants were endeavoring to recover him, the rest gathered about the jeweller, and begged him to tell them what had happened to the prince their lord, whose absence had occasioned them such inexpressible uneasiness. while the greatest part of the prince's domestics were endeavouring to recover him from his swoon, others of them got about the jeweller, desiring to know what had happened to their lord. the jeweller, who took care to discover nothing that was not proper for them to know, told them that it was an extraordinary case, but that it was not a time to relate it, and that they would do better to go and assist the prince. by good fortune the prince came to himself that moment, and those that but just before required his history with so much earnestness retreated to a respectful distance. although the prince had in some measure recovered his recollection, he continued so weak that he could not open his mouth to speak. he answered only by signs, even to his nearest relations, when they spoke to him. he remained in this condition till next morning, when the jeweller came to take leave of him. he could answer only by a movement of his eyes, and holding out his right hand; but when he saw he was laden with a bundle of plate, which the thieves had returned to him, he made a sign to his servants that they should take it and carry it to his house. the jeweller had been expected with great impatience by his family the day he departed with the stranger; but now he was quite given over, and it was no longer doubted but some disaster had befallen him. his wife, children, and servants, were in the greatest alarm, and lamenting him. when he arrived, their joy was excessive; yet they were troubled to see that he was so much altered in the short interval, that he was hardly to be known. this was occasioned by the great fatigue of the preceding day, and the fears he had undergone all night, which would not permit him to sleep. finding himself much indisposed, he continued at home two days, and would admit only one of his intimate friends to visit him. the third day, finding himself something better, he thought he might recover strength by going abroad to take the air; and therefore went to the shop of a rich merchant of his acquaintance, with whom he continued long in conversation. as he was rising to take leave of his friend to return home, he observed a woman making a sign to him, whom he presently knew to be the confidant of schemselnihar. between fear and joy, he made what haste he could away, without looking at her; but she followed him, as he feared she would, the place they were in being by no means proper to converse in. as he quickened his pace, she, not being able to overtake him, every now and then called out to him to stay. he heard her; but after what had happened, he did not think fit to speak to her in public, for fear of giving cause to suspect that he was connected with schemselnihar. it was known to every body in bagdad, that this woman belonged to her, and executed all her little commissions. he continued the same pace, and at length reached a mosque, where he knew but few people came. he entered, and she followed him, and they had a long conversation together, without any body overhearing them. both the jeweller and confidant expressed much joy at seeing each other, after the strange adventure of the robbers, and their reciprocal apprehension for each other, without regarding their own particular persons. the jeweller wished her to relate to him how she escaped with the two slaves, and what she knew of schemselnihar from the time he lost sight of her; but so great was her eagerness to know what had happened to him from the time of their unexpected separation, that he found himself obliged to satisfy her. "having given you the detail you desired," said he, "oblige me in your turn," which she did in the following manner. "when i first saw the robbers, i hastily imagined that they were soldiers of the caliph's guard, and that the caliph being informed of schemselnihar's going out, had sent them to put her, the prince, and all of us to death. under this impression i immediately got up to the terrace of your house, when the thieves entered the apartment where the prince and schemselnihar were, and i was soon after followed by that lady's two slaves. from terrace to terrace, we came at last to a house of very honest people, who received us with much civility, and with whom we lodged that night. "next morning, after thanking the master of the house for our good usage, we returned to schemselnihar's palace, where we entered in great disorder and distress, because we could not learn the fate of the two unfortunate lovers. the other women of schemselnihar were astonished to see me return without their lady. we told them, we had left her at the house of one of her female friends, and that she would send for us when she wished to come home; with which excuse they seemed well satisfied. "for my part, i spent the day in great uneasiness, and when night arrived, opening a small private gate, i espied a little boat on the canal which seemed driven by the stream. i called to the waterman, and desired him to row up each side of the river, and look if he could not see a lady; and if he found her, to bring her along with him. the two slaves and i waited impatiently for his return, and at length, about midnight, we saw the boat coming down with two men in it, and a woman lying along in the stern. when the boat was come up, the two men helped the woman to rise, and then it was i knew her to be schemselnihar. i cannot express my joy at seeing her. "i gave my hand to schemselnihar to help her out of the boat; she had great need of my assistance, for she could hardly stand. when she was landed, she whispered me in a tone expressive of her affliction, and bade me go and take a purse of one thousand pieces of gold and give it to the two soldiers that had accompanied her. i left her to the care of the two slaves to support her, and having ordered the two soldiers to wait for me a moment, i took the purse, and returned instantly; i gave it to them, and having paid the waterman, shut the door. "i then followed my lady, and overtook her before she had reached her chamber. we immediately undressed her, and put her to bed, where she had not long been, before she became so ill that for the whole of the night we almost despaired of her life. the day following, her other women expressed a great desire to see her; but i told them she had been greatly fatigued, and wanted rest. the other two women and i gave her all the assistance in our power; but we should have given over every hope of her recovery, had i not at last perceived that the wine which we every now and then gave her had a sensible effect in recruiting her strength. by importunity we at length prevailed with her to eat. "when she recovered the use of her speech, for she had hitherto only wept, groaned, and sighed, i begged of her to tell me how she had escaped out of the hands of the robbers. �why would you require of me,' said she, with a profound sigh, �to renew my grief? would to god the robbers had taken away my life, rather than have preserved it; my misfortunes would then have had an end, whereas i live but to increase my sufferings.' "madam,' i replied, �i beg you would not refuse me this favour. you cannot but know that the wretched feel a consolation in relating their greatest misfortunes; what i ask would alleviate yours, if you would have the goodness to gratify me.' "�hear then,' said she, �the most afflicting adventure that could possibly have happened to one so deeply in love as myself, who considered myself as at the utmost point of my wishes. you must know, when i first saw the robbers enter, sword in hand, i considered it as the last moment of our lives. but death was not an object of regret, since i thought i was to die with the prince of persia. however, instead of murdering us, as i expected, two of the robbers were ordered to take care of us, whilst their companions were busied in packing up the goods they found in the house. when they had done, and got their bundles upon their backs, they went out, and took us with them. "�as we went along, one of those that had charge of us demanded of me who i was? i answered, i was a dancer. he put the same question to the prince, who replied, he was a citizen. "when we had reached the place of our destination, a new alarm seized us. they gathered about us, and after having considered my dress, and the rich jewels i was adorned with, they seemed to suspect i had disguised my quality. "dancers," said they, "do not use to be dressed as you are. tell us truly who you are?" "�when they saw i made no reply, they asked the prince once more who he was, for they told him they plainly perceived he was not the person he pretended to be. he did not satisfy them much more than i had done; he only told them he came to see the jeweller, naming him, who was the owner of the house where they found us. "i know this jeweller," replied one of the rogues, who seemed to have some authority over the rest: "i owe him some obligations, which he knows nothing of, and i take upon me to bring him hither to-morrow morning; but you must not expect," continued he, "to be released till he arrives and tells us who you are; in the mean time, i promise you there shall be no injury offered to you." "� the jeweller was brought next morning, who thinking to oblige us, as he really did, declared to the robbers the whole truth. they immediately came and asked my pardon, and i believe did the like to the prince, who was shut up in another room. they protested to me, they would not have broken open the house where we were, had they known it was the jeweller's. they soon after took us (the prince, the jeweller, and myself), carried us to the river side, put us aboard a boat, and rowed us across the water; but we were no sooner landed, than a party of horse-patrol came up to us. "the robbers fled; i took the commander aside, and told him my name, and that the night before i had been seized by robbers, who forced me along with them; but having been told who i was, released me, and the two persons he saw with me, on my account. he alighted out of respect to me; and expressing great joy at being able to oblige me, caused two boats to be brought: putting me and two of his soldiers, whom you have seen, into one, he escorted me hither: but what is become of the prince and his friend i cannot tell. "�i trust,' added she, melting into tears, �no harm has befallen them since our separation; and i do not doubt but the prince's concern for me is equal to mine for him. the jeweller, to whom we have been so much obliged, ought to be recompensed for the loss he has sustained on our account. fail not, therefore, to take two purses of a thousand pieces of gold in each, and carry them to him to-morrow morning in my name, and be sure to inquire after the prince's welfare.' "when my good mistress had done speaking, i endeavoured, as to the last article of inquiring into the prince's welfare, to persuade her to endeavour to triumph over her passion, after the danger she had so lately escaped almost by miracle. �make me no answer,' said she, �but do what i require.' "i was obliged to be silent, and am come hither to obey her commands. i have been at your house, but not finding you at home, and uncertain as i was of where you might be found, was about going to the prince of persia; but not daring to attempt the journey, i have left the two purses with a particular friend, and if you will wait here, i will go and fetch them immediately." the confidant soon returned to the jeweller in the mosque, where she had left him, and giving him the two purses, bade him out of them satisfy his friends. "they are much more than is necessary," said he, "but i dare not refuse the present from so good and generous a lady to her most humble servant; i beseech you to assure her from me, that i shall preserve an eternal remembrance of her goodness." he then agreed with the confidant, that she should find him at the house where she had first seen him, whenever she had occasion to impart any thing from schemselnihar, or to hear any tidings of the prince of persia: and so they parted. the jeweller returned home well pleased, not only that he had got wherewithal so fully to satisfy his friends, but also to think that no person in bagdad could possibly know that the prince and schemselnihar had been in his other house when it was robbed. it is true, he had acquainted the thieves with it, but on their secrecy he thought he might very well depend. next morning he visited the friends who had obliged him, and found no difficulty in satisfying them. he had money in hand to furnish his other house, in which he placed servants. thus he forgot all his past danger, and the next evening waited on the prince of persia. the prince's domestics told the jeweller, that he came very opportunely, as the prince, since he had parted with him, was reduced to such a state that his life was in danger. they introduced him softly into his chamber, and he found him in a condition that excited his pity. he was lying on his bed, with his eyes closed; but when the jeweller saluted him, and exhorted him to take courage, he recollected him, opened his eyes, and gave him a look that sufficiently declared the greatness of his affliction, infinitely beyond what he felt after he first saw schemselnihar. he grasped him by the hand, to testify his friendship, and told him, in a feeble voice, that he was extremely obliged to him for coming so far to visit one so unhappy and wretched. "prince," replied the jeweller, "mention not, i beseech you, any obligations you owe to me. i wish the good offices i have endeavoured to do you had had a better effect; but at present, let us talk only of your health; which, in the state i see you, i fear you greatly injure by unreasonably abstaining from proper nourishment." the prince's servants took this opportunity to tell him, it was with the greatest difficulty they had prevailed on their master to take the smallest refreshment, and that for some time he had taken nothing. this obliged the jeweller to entreat the prince to let his servants bring him something to eat. after the prince had, through the persuasion of the jeweller, eaten more than he had hitherto done, he commanded the servants to leave him alone with his friend. when the room was clear, he said, "besides the misfortune that distracts me, i have been exceedingly concerned to think what a loss you have sustained on my account; and it is but just i should make you some recompence. but before i do this, after begging your pardon a thousand times, i conjure you to tell me whether you have learnt any tidings of schemselnihar, since i had the misfortune to be parted from her." here the jeweller, instructed by the confidant, related to him all that he knew of schemselnihar's arrival at her palace, her state of health from that time till she recovered, and how she had sent her confidant to him to inquire after his welfare. to all this the prince replied only by sighs and tears. he made an effort to get up, and calling his servants, went himself to his wardrobe, and having caused several bundles of rich furniture and plate to be packed up, he ordered them to be carried to the jeweller's house. the jeweller would fain have declined this kind offer; but although he represented that schemselnihar had already made him more than sufficient amends for what he had lost, the prince would be obeyed. the jeweller was therefore obliged to make all possible acknowledgments, and protested how much he was confounded at his highness's liberality. he would then have taken his leave, but the prince desired him to stay, and they passed good part of the night in conversation. next morning the jeweller waited again on the prince, who made him sit down by him. "you know," said he, "there is an end proposed in all things: that which the lover proposes, is to enjoy the beloved object in spite of all opposition. if once he loses that hope, he must not think to live. such is my hard case; for twice when i have been at the very point of fulfilling my desires, i have suddenly been torn from her i loved in the most cruell manner imaginable. it remains for me only to think of death, and i had sought it, but that our holy religion forbids suicide; but i need not anticipate it; i need not wait long." here he stopped, and vented his passion in groans, sighs, sobs, and tears, which flowed abundantly. the jeweller, who knew no better way of diverting him from his despair than by bringing schemselnihar into his mind, and giving him some shadow of hope, told him, he feared the confidant might be come from her lady, and therefore it would not be proper to stay any longer from home. "i will let you go," said the prince, "but conjure you, that if you see her, you recommend to her to assure schemselnihar, that if i die, as i expect to do shortly, i shall love her to the last moment, even in the grave." the jeweller returned home, and waited in expectation of seeing the confidant, who came some hours after, but all in tears, and in great affliction. the jeweller alarmed, asked her what was the matter? she answered, that schemselnihar, the prince, herself, and he, were all ruined. "hear the sad news," said she, "as it was told me just upon my entering the palace after i had left you "schemselnihar had for some fault chastised one of the slaves you saw with her when you met in your other house. the slave, enraged at the ill treatment, ran immediately away, and finding the gate open, went out; so that we have just reason to believe she has discovered all to an eunuch of the guard, who gave her protection. "but this is not all; the other slave her companion has fled too, and has taken refuge in the caliph's palace. so that we may well fear she has borne her part in this discovery: for just as i came away, the caliph had sent twenty of his eunuchs for schemselnihar, who have carried her to the palace. i just found means to come and tell you this. i know not what has passed, yet i fear no good; but above all, i recommend to you to keep the secret inviolate." the confidant added to what she had related before to the jeweller, that it was proper he should go immediately and acquaint the prince with the whole affair, that he might be prepared for every event, and keep faithful to the common cause. she went away in haste, without staying for any answer. what answer could the jeweller have made in the condition he was in? he stood motionless as if thunderstruck. he found, however, that there was no time to be lost, and immediately went to give the prince information. he addressed him with an air, that sufficiently shewed the bad news he brought. "prince," said he, "arm yourself with courage and patience, and prepare to receive the most terrible shock that ever you had to encounter." "tell me in a few words," replied the prince, "what is the matter, without keeping me in suspense; i am, if necessary, prepared to die." then the jeweller repeated all that he had learnt from the confidant. "you see," continued he, "your destruction is inevitable. rise, save yourself by flight, for the time is precious. you, of all men, must not expose yourself to the anger of the caliph, and, less than any, confess in the midst of torture." at these words the prince was ready to expire through grief, affliction, and fear. however, he recovered himself, and asked the jeweller what resolution he would advise him to take in this conjuncture, every moment of which ought to be employed. the jeweller told him, he thought nothing remained, but that he should immediately take horse, and hasten away towards anbar, that he might get thither before day. "take what servants and swift horses you think necessary," continued he, "and suffer me to escape with you." the prince, seeing nothing more to be done, immediately gave orders to prepare such an equipage as would be least troublesome; took money and jewels, and having taken leave of his mother, departed with the jeweller and such servants as he had chosen. they travelled all night without stopping, till at length, both their horses and themselves being spent with so long a journey, they halted to rest themselves. they had hardly alighted before they found themselves surrounded and assaulted by a band of robbers. they defended their lives for some time courageously; but at length the prince's servants being all killed, both he and the jeweller were obliged to yield at discretion. the robbers, however, spared their dives, but after they had seized the horses and baggage, they took away their clothes and left them naked. when the thieves were gone, the prince said to the jeweller, "what think you of our adventure and condition? had i not better have tarried in bagdad, and awaited my death?" "prince," replied the jeweller, "it is the decree of heaven that we should thus suffer. it has pleased god to add affliction to affliction. and we must not murmur, but receive his chastisements with submission. let us stay no longer here, but seek for some retreat where we may perhaps be relieved." "let me die," said the prince; "for what signifies it whether i die here or elsewhere. perhaps while we are talking, schemselnihar is no more, and why should i endeavour to live after she is dead!" the jeweller, by his entreaty, at length prevailed on him, and they had not gone far before they came to a mosque, which was open; they entered it, and passed there the remainder of the night. at day-break a man came into the mosque. when he had ended his prayer, as he turned about to go away, he perceived the prince and jeweller, who were sitting in a corner. he came up to them, and after having saluted them with a great deal of civility, said, "i perceive you are strangers." the jeweller answered, "you are not deceived. we have been robbed to-night in coming from bagdad, as you may see, and have retired hither for shelter, but we know not to whom to apply." "if you think fit to accompany me to my house," answered the man, "i will give you all the assistance in my power." upon this obliging offer, the jeweller turned to the prince, and whispered, "this man, as you perceive, sir, does not know us, and we have reason to fear that somebody else may come who does. we cannot, i think, refuse his offer." "do as you please," said the prince; "i am willing to be guided by your discretion." the man observing the prince and jeweller consulting together, and thinking they made some difficulty to accept his offer, asked them if they were resolved what to do? the jeweller answered "we are ready to follow you; all we hesitate about is that we are ashamed to appear thus naked." fortunately the man had it in his power to cover them sufficiently till they could get to his house. as soon as they had entered, he brought a very handsome suit for each of them. as he thought they must be hungry, and might wish to be alone, he had several dishes brought to them by a slave; but they ate little, especially the prince who was so dejected and dispirited, that he gave the jeweller cause to fear he would die. their host visited them several times in the course of the day, and in the evening, as he knew they wanted rest, he left them early. but he was no sooner in bed, than the jeweller was forced to call him again to assist at the death of the prince of persia. he found him breathe short, and with difficulty, which gave him reason to fear he had but few minutes to live. coming near him, the prince said, "it is all over, and i am glad you are witness of my last words. i quit life with a great deal of satisfaction; i need not tell you the reason, for you know it already. all my concern is, that i cannot die in the arms of my dear mother, who has always loved me tenderly, and for whom i had a reciprocal affection. let her know how much i was concerned at this, and request her in my name to have my body removed to bagdad, that she may have an opportunity to bedew my tomb with her tears, and assist my departed soul with her prayers." he then took notice of the master of the house, and thanked him for his kindness in taking him in; and after desiring him to let his body rest with him till it should be conveyed to bagdad, he expired. the day after the prince's death, the jeweller took the opportunity of a numerous caravan that was going to bagdad, and arrived there in safety. he first went home to change his clothes, and then hastened to the prince's palace, where every body was alarmed at not seeing the prince with him. he desired them to acquaint the prince's mother that he wished to speak with her, and it was not long before he was introduced to her in a hall, with several of her women about her. "madam," said he to her, with an air that sufficiently denoted the ill news he brought, "god preserve you, and shower down upon you the choicest of his blessings. you cannot be ignorant that he alone disposes of us at his pleasure." the princess would not permit him to proceed, but exclaimed, "alas! you bring me the news of my son's death?" she and her women at the same time wept and sobbed loudly. at length she checked her sighs and groans, and begged of him to continue without concealing from her the least circumstance of such a melancholy separation. he satisfied her, and when he had done, she farther demanded of him, if her son the prince had not given him in charge something more particular in his last moments? he assured her his last words were, that it was to him the most afflicting circumstance that he must die so far distant from his dear mother, and that the only thing he wished was, that she would have his corpse transported to bagdad. accordingly early next morning the princess set out with her women and great part of her slaves, to bring her son's body to her own palace. when the jeweller, whom she had detained, had seen her depart, he returned home very sad and melancholy, at the reflection that so accomplished and amiable a prince was thus cut off in the flower of his age. as he walked towards his house, dejected and musing, he saw a woman standing before him. he recognized her to be schemselnihar's confidant. at the sight of her, his tears began to flow afresh but he said nothing to her; and going into his own house, she followed him. they sat down; when the jeweller beginning the conversation, asked the confidant, with a deep sigh, if she had heard of the death of the prince of persia, and if it was on his account that she grieved. "alas!" answered she, "what! is that charming prince then dead? he has not lived long after his dear schemselnihar. beauteous souls," continued she, "in whatsoever place ye now are, ye must be happy that your loves will no more be interrupted. your bodies were an obstacle to your wishes; but heaven has delivered you from them; ye may now form the closest union." the jeweller, who had heard nothing of schemselnihar's death, and had not reflected that the confidant was in mourning, suffered fresh grief at this intelligence. "is schemselnihar then dead?" cried he. "she is," replied the confidant, weeping afresh, "and it is for her i wear these weeds. the circumstances of her death were extraordinary," continued she, "and deserve to be known to you: but before i give you an account of them, i beg you to acquaint me with those of the prince of persia, whom, with my dearest friend and mistress, i shall lament as long as i live." the jeweller then gave the confidant the information she desired; and after he had told her all, even to the departure of the prince's mother to bring her son's body to bagdad, she began and said, "you have not forgotten that i told you the caliph had sent for schemselnihar to his palace. he had, as we had every reason to believe, been informed of the amour betwixt her and the prince by the two slaves, whom he had examined apart. you may imagine, he would be exceedingly enraged at schemselnihar's conduct, and give striking proofs of his jealousy and of his impending vengeance against the prince. but this was by no means the case. he pitied schemselnihar, and in some measure blamed himself for what had happened, in giving her so much freedom to walk about the city without being attended by his eunuchs. this is the only conclusion that could be drawn from his extraordinary behavior towards her, as you will hear. "he received her with an open countenance; and when he observed that the melancholy which oppressed her did not lessen her beauty (for she appeared thus before him without surprise or fear), with a goodness worthy himself, he said �schemselnihar, i cannot bear your appearing before me thus with an air which gives me infinite pain. you must needs be sensible how much i have always loved you, and be convinced of the sincerity of my passion by the continued demonstrations i have given of it. i can never change my mind, for i love you more than ever. you have enemies, schemselnihar,' proceeded he, �and those enemies have insinuated things against your conduct, but all they have said against you has not made the least impression upon me. shake off then this melancholy, and prepare to entertain me this night with some amusing conversation, after your accustomed manner.' he said many other obliging things to her, and then desired her to step into a magnificent apartment near her own, and wait for him. "the afflicted schemselnihar was very sensible of the caliph's kindness; but the more she thought herself obliged to him, the more she was concerned that she was so far removed, perhaps for ever, from her prince, without whom she could not live. "this interview between the caliph and schemselnihar," continued the confidant, "took place whilst i was come to speak to you, and i learned the particulars of it from my companions who were present. but i had no sooner left you," proceeded she, "than i went to my dear mistress again, and was eye-witness to what happened in the evening. i found her in the apartment i told you of; and as she though i came from you, she drew near me, and whispering me, said, �i am much obliged to you for the service you have done me, but i feel it will be the last.' she said no more; but i was not in a place proper to offer any thing to comfort her. "the caliph was introduced at night with the sound of instruments which her women played upon, and the collation was immediately served up. he took his mistress by the hand, and made her sit down with him on the sofa; she put such a force upon herself to please him, that she expired a few minutes after. in short, she was hardly set down, when she fell backwards. the caliph believed she had only fainted, and so we all thought; but she never recovered, and in this manner we lost her. "the caliph did her the honour to weep over her, not being able to refrain from tears; and before he left the room ordered all the musical instruments to be broken; this was immediately done. i stayed with her corpse all night, and next morning washed and dressed her for her funeral, bathing her with my tears. the caliph had her interred in a magnificent tomb he had erected for her in her lifetime, in a place she had desired to be buried in. now since you tell me," said she, "the prince of persia's body is to be brought to bagdad, i will use my best endeavours that he shall be interred in the same tomb." the jeweller was much surprised at this resolution of the confidant, and said, "certainly you do not consider that the caliph will never suffer this?" "you think the thing impossible," replied she; "it is not. you will alter your opinion when i tell you that the caliph has given liberty to all her slaves, with a pension to each for their support. he has committed to me the care and keeping of my mistress's tomb, and allotted me an annual income for that purpose, and for my maintenance. besides, the caliph, who was not ignorant of the amour between schemselnihar and the prince, as i have already told you, without being offended, will not be sorry if after her death he be buried with her." to all this the jeweller had not a word to say. he earnestly entreated the confidant to conduct him to her mistress's tomb, that he might say his prayers over her. when he came in sight of it, he was not a little surprised to find a vast concourse of people of both sexes, who were come thither from all parts of bagdad. as he could not come near the tomb, he said his prayers at a distance; and then going to the confidant, who was waiting hard by, said to her, "i am now so far from thinking that what you proposed cannot be put in execution, that you and i need only publish abroad what we know of the amour of this unfortunate couple, and how the prince died much about the same time with his mistress. before his corpse arrives, all bagdad will concur to desire that two such faithful lovers, whom nothing could divide in affection whilst they lived, should not be separated when dead." it happened as he said; for as soon as it was known that the corpse was within a day's journey of the city, an infinite number of people went above twenty miles to meet it, and afterwards walked before it till it came to the city gate; where the confidant, waiting for that purpose, presented herself before the prince's mother, and begged of her in the name of the whole city, who earnestly desired it, that she would be pleased to consent that the bodies of the two lovers, who had but one heart whilst they lived, from the time their mutual passion commenced, might be buried in the same tomb. the princess immediately consented; and the corpse of the prince, instead of being deposited in his own burying-place, was laid by schemselnihar's side, after it had been carried along in procession at the head of an infinite number of people of all ranks. from that time all the inhabitants of bagdad, and even strangers from all parts of the world where the mahummedan religion prevails have held that tomb in the highest veneration, and pay their devotions at it. the story of the loves of kummir al zummaun, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan, and of badoura, princess of china. about twenty days' sail from the coast of persia, there are islands in the main ocean called the islands of the children of khaledan. these islands are divided into four great provinces, which have all of them very flourishing and populous cities, forming together a powerful kingdom. it was formerly governed by a king named shaw zummaun, who had four lawful wives, all daughters of kings, and sixty concubines. shaw zummaun thought himself the most happy monarch of the world, on account of his peaceful and prosperous reign. one thing only disturbed his happiness; which was, that he was advanced in years, and had no children, though he had so many wives. he knew not to what to attribute this barrenness; and what increased his affliction was, that he was likely to leave his kingdom without a successor. he dissembled his discontent, and this dissimulation only heightened his uneasiness. at length he broke silence; and one day after he had complained bitterly of his misfortune to his grand vizier, he asked him if he knew any remedy for it? that wise minister replied, "if what your majesty requires of me had depended on the ordinary rules of human wisdom, you had soon had an answer to your satisfaction; but my experience and knowledge fall far short of your question. it is to god only that we can apply in cases of this kind. in the midst of our prosperities, which often tempt us to forget him, he is pleased to mortify us in some instance, that we may address our thoughts to him, acknowledge his omnipotence, and ask of him what we ought to expect from him alone. your majesty has subjects," proceeded he "who make a profession of honouring and serving god, and suffering great hardships for his sake; to them i would advise you to have recourse, and engage them, by alms, to join their prayers with yours. perhaps some one among them may be so pure and pleasing to god as to obtain a hearing for your prayers." shaw zummaun approved this advice, and thanked his vizier. he immediately caused alms to be given to every community of these holy men in his dominions: and having sent for the superiors, declared to them his intention, and desired them to acquaint their devout men with it. the king obtained of heaven what he requested, for in nine months' time he had a son by one of his wives. to express his gratitude to heaven, he sent fresh alms to the communities of devotees, and the prince's birth-day was celebrated not only in his capital, but throughout his dominions, for a whole week. the prince was brought to him as soon as born, and he found him so beautiful that he gave him the name of kummir al zummaun, or moon of the age. he was brought up with all imaginable care; and when he had arrived at a proper age, his father appointed him an experienced governor and able preceptors. these persons, distinguished by their capacity, found in him a ready wit capable of receiving all the instructions that were proper to be given him, as well in relation to morals as other knowledge which a prince ought to possess. as he grew up, he learned all his exercises, and acquitted himself with such grace and wonderful address, as to charm all that saw him, and particularly the sultan his father. when he had attained the age of fifteen, the sultan, who tenderly loved him, and gave him every day new marks of his affection, proposed to afford a still higher demonstration by resigning his throne to him, and he accordingly acquainted his grand vizier with his intentions. "i fear," said he, "lest my son should lose in the inactivity of youth those advantages which nature and my education have give him; therefore, since i am advanced in age, and ought to think of retirement i propose to resign the government to him, and pass the remainder of my days in the satisfaction of seeing him reign. i have borne the fatigue of a crown till i am weary of it, and think it is now proper for me to retire." the grand vizier declined offering all the reasons he could have alleged to dissuade the sultan from such a proceeding; on the contrary, he appeared to acquiesce with him in his opinion. "sir," replied he, "the prince is yet but young, and it would not, in my humble opinion, be advisable to burden him with the weight of a crown so soon. your majesty fears, with great reason, his youth may be corrupted by indolence: but to avoid this danger, do not you think it would be proper to marry him? marriage forms attachment, and prevents dissipation. your majesty might then admit him of your council, where he would learn by degrees the art of reigning; and so be prepared to receive your authority, whenever by your own experience you shall think him qualified." shaw zummaun approved the advice of his prime minister; and summoned the prince to appear before him, at the same time that he dismissed the grand vizier. the prince, who had been accustomed to see his father only at certain times without being sent for, was a little startled at this summons; when, therefore, he came into his presence, he saluted him with great respect, and stood with his eyes fixed on the ground. the sultan perceiving his constraint, addressed him with great mildness, "do you know, son, for what reason i have sent for you?" the prince modestly replied, "god alone knows the heart: i shall hear it from your majesty with pleasure." "i sent for you," resumed the sultan, "to inform you that it is my intention to provide a proper marriage for you: what do you think of my design?" the prince heard this with great uneasiness: he was greatly agitated, and knew not what answer to make. after a few moments silence, he replied, "sir, i beseech you to pardon me if i seem surprised at the declaration you have made. i did not expect such proposals at my present age. i know not whether i could prevail on myself to marry, on account of the trouble incident to a married life, and the many treacheries of women, which i have read of. i may not be always of the same mind, yet i conceive it will require time to determine on what your majesty requires of me." the prince's answer extremely afflicted his father. he was not a little grieved to discover his aversion to marriage; yet would not charge him with disobedience, nor exert his paternal authority. he contented himself with telling him, he would not force his inclinations, but give him time to consider of the proposal; and reflect, that a prince destined to govern a great kingdom ought to take some care to leave a successor; and that in giving himself that satisfaction he communicated it to his father, who would be glad to see himself revive in his son and his issue. shaw zummaun said no more to the prince but admitted him into his council, and gave him every reason to be satisfied. at the end of the year he took him aside, and said to him; "my son, have you thoroughly considered what i proposed to you last year about marrying? will you still refuse me that pleasure i expect from your obedience, and suffer me to die without affording me that satisfaction?" the prince seemed less disconcerted than before; and was not long answering his father to this effect: "sir, i have not neglected to consider of your proposal; but after the maturest reflection find myself more confirmed in my resolution to continue in a state of celibacy. the infinite mischief which women have caused in the world, and which are on record in our histories, and the accounts i daily hear to their disadvantage, are the motives which powerfully influence me against having any thing to do with them; so that i hope your majesty will pardon me if i presume to tell you, it will be in vain to solicit me any further upon this subject." as soon as he had thus spoken, he quitted the sultan abruptly without waiting his answer. any monarch but shaw zummaun would have been angry at such freedom in a son, and would have made him repent; but he loved him, and preferred gentle methods before he proceeded to compulsion. he communicated this new cause of discontent to his prime minister. "i have followed your advice," said he, "but kummir al zummaun is farther than ever from complying with my desires. he delivered his determination in such free terms, that it required all my reason and moderation to keep my temper. fathers who so earnestly desire children as i did this son are fools, who seek to deprive themselves of that rest which it is in their own power to enjoy without control. tell me, i beseech you, how i shall reclaim a disposition so rebellious to my will?" "sir," answered the grand vizier, "patience brings many things about that before seemed impracticable; but it may be this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed that way. your majesty will have no cause to reproach yourself for precipitation, if you would give the prince another year to consider your proposal. if in this interval he return to his duty, you will have the greater satisfaction, as you will have employed only paternal love to induce him; and if he still continue averse when this is expired, your majesty may in full council observe, that it is highly necessary for the good of the state that he should marry; and it is not likely he will refuse to comply before so grave an assembly, which you honour with your presence." the sultan, who so anxiously desired to see his son married, thought this long delay an age; however, though with much difficulty, he yielded to his grand vizier's reasons, which he could not disapprove. after the grand vizier was gone, the sultan went to the apartment of the mother of prince kummir al zummaun, to whom he had often expressed his desire to see the prince married. when he had told her, with much concern, how his son had a second time refused to comply with his wishes, and the indulgence which, by the advice of his grand vizier, he was inclined to shew him; he said, "i know he has more confidence in you than he has in me, and will be more likely to attend to your advice. i therefore desire you would take an opportunity to talk to him seriously, and urge upon him, that if he persists in his obstinacy, he will oblige me to have recourse to measures which would be disagreeable to me, and which would give him cause to repent having disobeyed me." fatima, for so was the lady called, told the prince the first time she saw him, that she had been informed of his second refusal to marry; and how much chagrin his resolution had occasioned his father. "madam," replied the prince, "i beseech you not to renew my grief upon that head. i fear, under my present uneasiness, something may escape me, which may not be consistent with the respect i owe you." fatima judged from this answer that this was not a proper time to speak to him, and therefore deferred what she had to say to another opportunity. some considerable time after, fatima thought she had found a more favourable season, which gave her hopes of being heard upon that subject. "son," said she, "i beg of you, if it be not disagreeable, to tell me what reason you have for your great aversion to marriage? if it be the wickedness of some women, nothing can be more unreasonable and weak. i will not undertake the defence of those that are bad; there are a great number of them undoubtedly; but it would be the height of injustice on their account to condemn all the sex. alas! my son, you have in your books read of many bad women, who have occasioned great mischief, and i will not excuse them: but you do not consider how many monarchs, sultans, and other princes there have been in the world, whose tyrannies, barbarities, and cruelties astonish those that read of them, as well as myself. now, for one wicked woman, you will meet with a thousand tyrants and barbarians; and what torment do you think must a good woman undergo, who is matched with any of these wretches?" "madam," replied the prince, "i doubt not there are a great number of wise, virtuous, good, affable, and well-behaved women in the world; would to god they all resembled you! but what deters me is, the hazardous choice a man is obliged to make, and oftentimes one has not the liberty of following his inclination. "let us suppose then, madam," continued he, "that i had a mind to marry, as the sultan my father so earnestly desires; what wife, think you, would he be likely to provide for me? probably a princess whom he would demand of some neighbouring prince, and who would think it an honour done him to send her. handsome or ugly, she must be taken; nay, suppose no other princess excelled her in beauty, who can be certain that her temper would be good; that she would be affable, complaisant, easy, obliging, and the like? that her conversation would generally turn on solid subjects, and not on dress, fashions, ornaments, and a thousand such fooleries, which would disgust any man of sense? in a word, that she would not be haughty, proud, arrogant, impertinent, scornful, and waste an estate in frivolous expenses, such as gay clothes, jewels, toys, and foolish mistaken magnificence? "you see, madam," continued he, "by one single article, how many reasons a man may have to be disgusted at marriage. let this princess be ever so perfect, accomplished, and irreproachable in her conduct, i have yet a great many more reasons not to alter my opinion and resolution." "what, son," exclaimed fatima; "have you then more reasons after those you have already alleged? i do not doubt of being able to answer them, and stop your mouth with a word." "you may proceed, madam," returned the prince, "and perhaps i may find a reply to your answer." "i mean, son," said fatima, "that it is easy for a prince, who has had the misfortune to marry such a wife as you describe, to get rid of her, and take care that she may not ruin the state." "ah, madam," replied the prince, "but you do not consider what a mortification it would be to a person of my quality to be obliged to come to such an extremity. would it not have been more for his honour and quiet that he had never run such a risk?" "but, son," said fatima once more, "as you take the case, i apprehend you have a mind to be the last king of your race, who have reigned so long and gloriously over the isles of the children of khaledan?" "madam," replied the prince, "for myself i do not desire to survive the king my father; and if i should die before him, it would be no great matter of wonder, since so many children have died before their parents. but it is always glorious to a race of kings, that it should end with a prince worthy to be so, as i should endeavour to make myself like my predecessors, and like the first of our race." from that time fatima had frequent conferences with her son the prince on the same subject; and she omitted no opportunity or argument to endeavour to root out his aversion to the fair sex; but he eluded all her reasonings by such arguments as she could not well answer, and continued unaltered. the year expired, and, to the great regret of the sultan, prince kummir al zummaun gave not the least proof of having changed his sentiments. one day, therefore, when there was a great council held, the prime vizier, the other viziers, the principal officers of the crown, and the generals of the army being present, the sultan thus addressed the prince: "my son, it is now a long while since i expressed to you my earnest desire to see you married, and i imagined you would have had more complaisance for a father, who required nothing unreasonable of you, than to oppose him so long. but after such a resistance on your part, which has almost worn out my patience, i have thought fit to propose the same thing once more to you in the presence of my council. it is not merely to oblige a parent that you ought to have acceded to my wish, the well-being of my dominions requires your compliance, and this assembly join with me in expecting it: declare yourself, then; that your answer may regulate my proceedings." the prince answered with so little reserve, or rather with so much warmth, that the sultan, enraged to see himself thwarted by him in full council, exclaimed, "how, unnatural son! have you the insolence to talk thus to your father and sultan?" he ordered the guards to take him away, and carry him to an old tower that had been long unoccupied; where he was shut up, with only a bed, a little furniture, some books, and one slave to attend him. kummir al zummaun, thus deprived of liberty, was nevertheless pleased that he had the freedom to converse with his books, which made him regard his confinement with indifference. in the evening he bathed and said his prayers; and after having read some chapters in the koraun, with the same tranquillity of mind as if he had been in the sultan's palace, he undressed himself and went to bed, leaving his lamp burning by him while he slept. in this tower was a well, which served in the daytime for a retreat to a certain fairy, named maimoune, daughter of damriat, king or head of a legion of genies. it was about midnight when maimoune sprung lightly to the mouth of the well, to wander about the world after her wonted custom, where her curiosity led her. she was surprised to see a light in the prince's chamber. she entered, and without stopping at the slave who lay at the door, approached the bed. the prince had but half covered his face with the bed-clothes, which maimoune lifted up, and perceived the finest young man she had ever seen in her rambles through the world. "what beauty, or rather what prodigy of beauty," said she within herself, "must this youth appear, when the eyes, concealed by such well-formed eyelids, shall be open? what crime can he have committed, that a man of his high rank can deserve to be treated thus rigorously?" for she had already heard his story, and could hardly believe it. she could not forbear admiring the prince, till at length having kissed him gently on both cheeks, and in the middle of the forehead, without waking him, she laid the bed-clothes in the order they were in before, and took her flight into the air. as she was ascending into the middle region, she heard a great flapping of wings, towards which she directed her course; and when she approached, she knew it was a genie who made the noise, but it was one of those that are rebellious against god. as for maimoune, she belonged to that class whom the great solomon had compelled to acknowledge him. this genie, whose name was danhasch, and son of schamhourasch, knew maimoune, and was seized with fear, being sensible how much power she had over him by her submission to the almighty. he would fain have avoided her, but she was so near him, he must either fight or yield. he therefore broke silence first. "brave maimoune," said he, in the tone of a suppliant, "swear to me in the name of the great god, that you will not hurt me; and i swear also on my part not to do you any harm." "cursed genie," replied maimoune, "what hurt canst thou do me? i fear thee not; but i will grant thee this favour; i will swear not to do thee any harm. tell me then, wandering spirit, whence thou comest, what thou hast seen, and what thou hast done this night?" "fair lady," answered danhasch, "you meet me in a good time to hear something very wonderful." danhasch, the genie rebellious against god, proceeded and said to maimoune, "since you desire, i will inform you that i have come from the utmost limits of china, which comprise the remotest islands of this hemisphere. . . . . but, charming maimoune," said danhasch, who trembled with fear at the sight of this fairy, so that he could hardly speak, "promise me at least you will forgive me, and let me proceed after i have satisfied your request." "go on, cursed spirit," replied maimoune; "go on, and fear nothing. dost thou think i am as perfidious as thyself, and capable of breaking the solemn oath i have made? be sure you relate nothing but what is true, or i shall clip thy wings, and treat thee as thou deserves" danhasch, a little encouraged by the words of maimoune, said, "my dear lady, i will tell you nothing but what is strictly true, if you will but have the goodness to hear me. the country of china, from whence i come, is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the earth, on which depend the remotest islands of this hemisphere, as i have already told you. the king of this country is at present gaiour, who has an only daughter, the finest woman that ever was seen in the world since it has been a world. neither you nor i, neither your class nor mine, nor all our respective genies, have expressions forcible enough, nor eloquence sufficient to convey an adequate description of her charms. her hair is brown, and of such length as to trail on the ground; and so thick, that when she has fastened it in buckles on her head, it may be fitly compared to one of those fine clusters of grapes whose fruit is so very large. her forehead is as smooth as the best polished mirror, and admirably formed. her eyes are black, sparkling, and full of fire. her nose is neither too long nor too short, and her mouth small and of a vermilion colour. her teeth are like two rows of pearls, and surpass the finest in whiteness. when she moves her tongue to speak, she utters a sweet and most agreeable voice; and expresses herself in such terms, as sufficiently indicate the vivacity of her wit. the whitest alabaster is not fairer than her neck. in a word, by this imperfect sketch, you may guess there is no beauty likely to exceed her in the world. "any one that did not know the king, the father of this incomparable princess, would be apt to imagine, from the great respect and kindness he shews her, that he was enamoured with her. never did a lover more for the most beloved mistress than he has been seen to do for her. the most violent jealousy never suggested such measures as his care has led him to adopt, to keep her from every one but the man who is to marry her: and that the retreat in which he has resolved to place her may not seem irksome, he has built for her seven palaces, the most extraordinary and magnificent that ever were known. "the first palace is of rock crystal, the second of brass, the third of fine steel, the fourth of another kind of brass more valuable than the former and also than steel, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of massive gold. he has furnished these palaces most sumptuously, each in a manner corresponding to the materials of the structure. he has embellished the gardens with parterres of grass and flowers, intermixed with pieces of water, water-works, jets d'eau, canals, cascades, and several great groves of trees, where the eye is lost in the perspective, and where the sun never enters, and all differently arranged. king gaiour, in a word, has shewn that his paternal love has led him to spare no expense. "upon the fame of this incomparable princess's beauty, the most powerful neighbouring kings have sent ambassadors to solicit her in marriage. the king of china received them all in the same obliging manner; but as he resolved not to marry his daughter without her consent, and she did not like any of the parties, the ambassadors were forced to return as they came, as to the subject of their embassy; they were perfectly satisfied with the great honours and civilities they had received. "�sir,' said the princess to the king her father, � you have an inclination to see me married, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall i find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as are furnished me by your majesty? through your good pleasure i am under no constraint, and have the same honours shewn to me as are paid to yourself. these are advantages i cannot expect to find any where else, whoever may be my husband; men love to be masters, and i have no inclination to be commanded.' "after several other embassies on the same occasion, there arrived one from a king more opulent and powerful than any of the preceding. this prince the king of china recommended to his daughter for her husband, urging many forcible arguments to shew how much it would be to her advantage to accept him, but she entreated her father to excuse her compliance for the reasons she had before urged. he pressed her; but instead of consenting, she lost all the respect due to the king her father: � sir,' said she, in anger, �talk to me no more of this or any other match, unless you would have me plunge this dagger in my bosom, to deliver myself from your importunities' "the king, greatly enraged, said, �daughter, you are mad, and i must treat you accordingly.' in a word, he had her shut up in a single apartment of one of his palaces, and allowed her only ten old women to wait upon her, and keep her company, the chief of whom had been her nurse that the kings his neighbours, who had sent embassies to him on her account, might not think any more of her, he despatched envoys to them severally, to let them know how averse his daughter was to marriage; and as he did not doubt but she was really mad, he charged them to make known in every court, that if there were any physician that would undertake to cure her, he should, if he succeeded, have her for his pains. "fair maimoune," continued danhasch, "all that i have told you is true; and i have gone every day regularly to contemplate this incomparable beauty, to whom i would be sorry to do the least harm, notwithstanding my natural inclination to mischief. come and see her, i conjure you; it would be well worth your while. when you have seen from your own observation that i am no liar, i am persuaded you will think yourself obliged to me for the sight of a princess unequalled in beauty." instead of answering danhasch, maimoune burst out into violent laughter, which lasted for some time; and danhasch, not knowing what might be the occasion of it, was astonished beyond measure. when she had done laughing, she exclaimed, "good, good, very good! you would have me then believe all you have told me? i thought you designed to tell me something surprising and extraordinary, and you have been talking all this while of a mad woman. fie, fie! what would you say, cursed genie, if you had seen the beautiful prince from whom i am just come, and whom i love as he deserves. i am confident you would soon give up the contest, and not pretend to compare your choice with mine." "agreeable maimoune," replied danhasch, "may i presume to ask who this prince you speak of is?" "know," answered maimoune, "the same thing has happened to him as to your princess. the king his father would have married him against his will; but after much importunity, he frankly told him he would have nothing to do with a wife. for this reason he is at this moment imprisoned in an old tower where i reside." "i will not absolutely contradict you," replied danhasch; "but, my pretty lady, you must give me leave to be of opinion, till i have seen your prince, that no mortal upon earth can equal my princess in beauty." "hold thy tongue, cursed sprite," replied maimoune. "i tell thee once more thou art wrong." "i will not contend with you," said danhasch, "but the way to be convinced, whether what i say be true or false, is to accept of my proposal to go and see my princess, and after that i will go with you to your prince." "there is no need i should be at so much trouble," replied maimoune; "there is another way to satisfy us both; and that is, for you to bring your princess, and place her at my prince's bed- side: by this means it will be easy for us to compare them together, and determine the dispute." danhasch consented, and determined to set out immediately for china. but maimoune drew him aside, and told him, she must first shew him the tower whither he was to bring the princess. they flew together to the tower, and when maimoune had strewn it to danhasch, she cried, "go fetch your princess, and do it quickly, you will find me here." danhasch left maimoune, and flew towards china, whence he soon returned with incredible speed, bringing the fair princess along with him asleep. maimoune received him, and introduced him into the chamber of kummir al zummaun, where they placed the princess by the prince's side. when the prince and princess were thus laid together, there arose a sharp contest between the genie and the fairy about the preference of their beauty. they were some time admiring and comparing them without speaking; at length danhasch said to maimoune, "you see, and i have already told you, my princess was handsomer than your prince; now, i hope, you are convinced." "how! convinced!" replied maimoune; "i am not convinced, and you must be blind, if you cannot see that my prince excels in the comparison. that the princess is fair, i do not deny; but if you compare them together without prejudice, you will soon see the difference." "how much soever i may compare them," returned danhasch, "i shall never change my opinion. i saw at first sight what i now behold, and time will not make me see differently: however, this shall not hinder my yielding to you, charming maimoune, if you desire it." "what! have you yield to me as a favour! i scorn it," said maimoune, "i would not receive a favour at the hand of such a wicked genie. i will refer the matter to an umpire, and if you do not consent, i shall win by your refusal." danhasch, who was ready to have shewn a different kind of complaisance, no sooner gave his consent, than maimoune stamped with her foot. the earth opened, and out came a hideous, hump- backed, squinting, and lame genie, with six horns upon his head, and claws on his hands and feet. as soon as he was come out, and the earth had closed, perceiving maimoune, he threw himself at her feet, and then rising on one knee, inquired her commands. "rise, caschcasch," said maimoune, "i brought you hither to determine a difference between me and this cursed danhasch. look on that bed, and tell me without partiality who is the handsomer of those two that lie there asleep, the young man or the young lady." caschcasch looked on the prince and princess with great attention, admiration, and surprise; and after he had considered them a good while, without being able to determine, he turned to maimoune, and said, "madam, i must confess i should deceive you, and betray myself, if i pretended to say one was handsomer than the other. the more i examine them, the more clearly it appears to me each possesses, in a sovereign degree, the beauty of which both partake. neither of them appears to have the least defect, to yield to the other the palm of superiority; but if there be any difference, the best way to determine it is, to awaken them one after the other, and to agree that the person who shall express most love for the other by ardour, eagerness, and passion, shall be deemed to have in some respect less beauty." this proposal of caschcasch's pleased both maimoune and danhasch. maimoune then changed herself into a flea, and leaping on the prince's neck, stung him so smartly, that he awoke, and put up his hand to the place; but maimoune skipped away, and resumed her pristine form, which, like those of the two genies, was invisible, the better to observe what he would do. in drawing back his hand, the prince chanced to let it fall on that of the princess of china. he opened his eyes, and was exceedingly surprised to find lying by him a lady of the greatest beauty. he raised his head, and leaned on his elbow, the better to observe her. her blooming youth and incomparable beauty fired him in a moment with a flame of which he had never yet been sensible, and from which he had hitherto guarded himself with the greatest attention. love seized on his heart in the most lively manner, and he exclaimed, "what beauty! what charms! my heart! my soul!" as he spoke he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her mouth with so little caution, that he would have awakened her, had she not slept sounder than ordinary, through the enchantment of danhasch. "how!" said the prince, "do you not awake at these testimonies of love?" he was going to awake her, but suddenly refrained. "is not this she," said he, "that the sultan my father would have had me marry? he was in the wrong not to let me see her sooner. i should not have offended him by my disobedience and passionate language to him in public, and he would have spared himself the confusion which i have occasioned him." the prince began to repent sincerely of the fault he had committed, and was once more on the point of awaking the princess of china. "it may be," said he, "that the sultan my father has a mind to surprise me; and has sent this young lady to try if i had really that aversion to marriage which i pretended. who knows but he has brought her himself, and is hidden behind the hangings, to observe me, and make me ashamed of my dissimulation? the second fault would be greater than the first. at all events, i will content myself with this ring, as a remembrance of her." he then gently drew off a ring which the princess had on her finger, and immediately replaced it with one of his own. after this he fell into a more profound sleep than before, through the enchantment of the genies. danhasch now transformed himself into a flea in his turn, and bit the princess so rudely on the lip, that she awoke, started up, and on opening her eyes, was not a little surprised to see a man lying by her side. from surprise she proceeded to admiration, and from admiration to a transport of joy, at beholding so beautiful and lovely a youth. "what!" cried she, "is it you the king my father has designed me for a husband? would that i had known it, for then i should not have displeased him, nor been deprived of a husband whom i cannot forbear loving. wake then, awake!" so saying, she took the prince by the arm, and shook him so violently, that he would have awaked, had not maimoune increased his sleep by her enchantment. she shook him several times, and finding he did not awake, exclaimed, "what is come to thee? what jealous rival, envying thy happiness and mine, has had recourse to magic to throw thee into this unconquerable drowsiness when thou shouldst be most awake?" tired at length with her fruitless endeavours to awaken the prince; "since," said she, "i find it is not in my power to awake thee, i will no longer disturb thy repose, but wait our next meeting." after having kissed his cheek, she lay down and fell asleep by enchantment. maimoune now cried out to danhasch, "ah, cursed genie, art thou not now convinced how much thy princess is inferior to my prince? another time believe me when i assert any thing." then turning to caschcasch, "as for you," said she, "i thank you for your trouble; take the princess, in conjunction with danhasch, and convey her back again to her bed, from whence he has taken her." danhasch and caschcasch did as they were commanded, and maimoune retired to her well. kummir al zummaun on waking next morning, looked if the lady whom he had seen the night before were by him. when he found she was gone, he cried out, "i thought indeed this was a trick the king my father designed to play me. i am glad i was aware of it." he then awaked the slave, who was still asleep, and after he had washed and said his prayers, took a book and read some time. after these usual exercises, he called the slave, and said to him, "come hither, and be sure you do not tell me a lie. how came the lady hither who lay with me to-night, and who brought her?" "my lord," answered the slave with great astonishment, "i know not what lady your highness speaks of." "i speak," said the prince, "of her who came, or rather was brought hither, and lay with me to-night." "my lord," replied the slave, "i swear i know of no such lady; and how should she come in without my knowledge, since i lay at the door?" "you are a lying knave," replied the prince, "and in the plot to vex and provoke me." he then gave him a box on the ear, which knocked him down; and after having stamped upon him for some time, he tied the well-rope under his arms, and plunged him several times into the water, neck and heels. "i will drown thee," cried he, "if thou dost not tell me directly who this lady was, and who brought her." the slave, perplexed and half dead, said within himself, "the prince must have lost his senses through grief, and i shall not escape if i do not tell him a falsehood. my lord," cried he, in a suppliant tone, "i beseech your highness to spare my life, and i will tell you the truth." the prince drew the slave up, and pressed him to tell him. as soon as he was out of the well, "my lord," said he, trembling, "your highness must perceive it is impossible for me to satisfy you in my present condition; i beg you to give me leave first to go and change my clothes." "i permit you, but do it quickly," said the prince; "and be sure you conceal nothing." the slave went out, and having locked the door upon the prince, ran to the palace just as he was. the king was at that time in discourse with his prime vizier, to whom he had just related the grief in which he had passed the night on account of his son's disobedience and opposition to his will. the minister endeavoured to comfort his master, by telling him, the prince himself had given him cause for his severity. "sir," said he, "your majesty need not repent of having treated your son in this manner. have but patience to let him continue a while in prison, and assure yourself his heat will abate, and he will submit to all you require." the grand vizier had but just done speaking when the slave came in, and cast himself at the feet of the sovereign. "my lord," said he, "i am sorry to be the messenger of ill news to your majesty, which i know must occasion you fresh affliction. the prince is distracted; he raves of a lady having lain with him all night, and his treatment of me, as you may see, too plainly proves the state of his mind." then he proceeded to relate the particulars of what the prince had said, and the violence with which he had been treated. the king, who did not expect to hear any thing of this afflicting kind, said to the prime minister, "this is a melancholy turn, very different from the hopes you gave me: go immediately and examine the condition of my son." the grand vizier obeyed; and coming into the prince's chamber, found him sitting on his bed with a book in his hand, which he was reading. after mutual salutations, the vizier said, "my lord, i wish that a slave of yours were punished for coming to alarm the king your father by news that he has brought him." "what is it," demanded the prince, "that could give my father so much uneasiness?" "prince," answered the vizier, "god forbid that the intelligence he has conveyed to your father concerning you should be true; indeed, i find it to be false, by the calm temper in which i observe you, and which i pray you to continue." "it may be," replied the prince, "he did not make himself well understood; but since you are come, who ought to know something of the matter, permit me to ask you who that lady was that lay with me last night?" the grand vizier was thunderstruck at this question; he recovered himself and said, "my lord, be not surprised at my astonishment at your question. is it possible, that a lady or any other person should penetrate by night into this place without entering at the door, and walking over the body of your slave? i beseech you, recollect yourself, and you will find it is only a dream which has made this impression on you." "i give no ear to what you say," replied the prince, raising his voice. "i must know from you absolutely what is become of the lady; and if you hesitate, i am in a place where i shall soon be able to force you to obey me." at this stern language, the grand vizier began to feel more alarmed than before, and to think how he could extricate himself. he endeavoured to pacify the prince, and begged of him, in the most humble and guarded manner, to tell him if he had seen this lady. "yes, yes," answered the prince, "i have seen her, and am very well satisfied you sent her here to tempt me. she played the part in which you had instructed her admirably well. she pretended to be asleep, and i had no sooner fallen into a slumber, than she arose and left me. you know all this; for i doubt not she has been to make her report to you." "my lord," replied the vizier, "i swear to you nothing of this kind has been acted; neither your father nor i sent this lady you speak of; permit me therefore once more to suggest to your highness, that you have only seen this lady in a dream." "do you come to affront and contradict me," said the prince in a rage, "and to tell me to my face, that what i have told you is a dream?" at the same time he took him by the beard, and loaded him with blows, as long as he could stand. the grand vizier endured with respectful patience all the violence of the prince's indignation, and could not help saying within himself, "now am i in as bad a condition as the slave, and shall think myself happy, if i can, like him, escape from any further danger." in the midst of repeated blows, he cried out but for a moment's audience, which the prince, after he had nearly tired himself with beating him, consented to give him. "i own, my prince," said the grand vizier dissembling, "there is something in what your highness suspects; but you cannot be ignorant of the necessity a minister is under to obey his royal master's commands: yet, if you will but be pleased to set me at liberty, i will go and tell him any thing on your behalf that you shall think fit to require." "go then," said the prince, "and tell him from me, if he pleases, i will marry the lady he sent me, or, rather, that was brought to me last night. do this immediately, and bring me a speedy answer." the grand vizier made a profound reverence and went away, not thinking himself altogether safe till he had got out of the tower, and had closed the door on the prince. he came and presented himself before shaw zummaun, with a countenance that sufficiently shewed he had been ill used, and which the king could not behold without concern. "well," said the king, "in what condition did you find my son?" "sir," answered the vizier, "what the slave reported to your majesty is but too true." he then began to relate his interview with the prince, how he flew into a passion upon his endeavouring to persuade him it was impossible the lady he spoke of should have been introduced; the ill treatment he had received from him; how he had used him, and by what means he had made his escape. the king, the more concerned as he loved the prince with excessive tenderness, resolved to find out the truth, and therefore proposed to go himself and see his son in the tower, accompanied by the grand vizier. the prince received his father in the tower, where he was confined, with great respect. the king put several questions to him, which he answered calmly. the king every now and then looked on the grand vizier, as intimating he did not find his son had lost his wits, but rather thought he had lost his. the king at length spoke of the lady to the prince. "my son," said he, "i desire you to tell me what lady it was who lay with you last night." "sir," answered the prince, "i beg of your majesty not to give me more vexation on that head, but rather to oblige me by letting me have her in marriage; whatever aversion i may hitherto have discovered for women, this young lady has charmed me to that degree, that i cannot help confessing my weakness. i am ready to receive her at your majesty's hands, with the deepest gratitude." shaw zummaun was surprised at this answer of the prince, so remote, as he thought, from the good sense he had strewn before. "my son," said he, "you fill me with the greatest astonishment by what you say: i swear to you i know nothing of the lady you mention; and if any such has come to you, it was without my knowledge or privily. but how could she get into this tower without my consent? for whatever my grand vizier told you, it was only to appease your anger, it must therefore be a mere dream; and i beg of you not to believe otherwise, but recover your senses." "sir," replied the prince, "i should be for ever unworthy of your majesty's favour, if i did not give entire credit to what you are pleased to say but i humbly beseech you at the same time to give a patient hearing to what i shall relate, and then to judge whether what i have the honour to tell you be a dream or not." the prince then related to his father how he had been awaked, exaggerating the beauty and charms of the lady he found by his side, the instantaneous love he conceived for her, and the pains he took to awaken her without effect. shewing the king the ring he had taken from her finger he added, "after this, i hope you will be convinced that i have not lost my senses, as you have been almost made to believe." shaw zummaun was so perfectly convinced of the truth of what his son had been telling him, that he could make no reply, remaining astonished for some time, and not being able to utter a syllable. the prince took advantage of this opportunity, and said, "the passion i have conceived for this charming lady, whose lovely image i bear continually in my mind, is so ardent, that i cannot resist it. i entreat you therefore to have compassion, and procure me the happiness of being united to her." "son," replied the king, "after what i have just heard, and what i see by the ring on your finger, i cannot doubt but that your passion is real, and that you have seen this lady, who is the object of it. would to god i knew who she was. i would instantly comply with your wishes, and should be the happiest father in the world! but where shall i seek her? how came she here, and by what conveyance, without my consent? why did she come to sleep with you only to display her beauty, to kindle a flame of love while she slept, and then leave you while you were in a slumber? these things, i must confess, i do not understand; and if heaven do not favour us in our perplexity, i fear we must both go down to the grave together." as he spoke, he took the prince by the hand, and said, "come then, my son, let us go and grieve together; you with hopeless love, and i with seeing your affliction, without being able to afford you relief." shaw zummaun then led his son out of the tower, and conveyed him to the palace, where he had no sooner arrived, than in despair at loving an unknown object he fell sick, and took to his bed; the king shut himself up with him, without attending to the affairs of his kingdom for many days. the prime minister, who was the only person that had admittance, at length informed him, that the whole court, and even the people, began to murmur at not seeing him, and that he did not administer justice every day as he was wont to do; adding, he knew not what disorder it might occasion. "i humbly beg your majesty, therefore," proceeded he, "to pay some attention. i am sensible your majesty's company is a great comfort to the prince, and that his tends to relieve your grief; but you must not run the risk of letting all be lost. permit me to propose to your majesty, to remove with the prince to the castle near the port, where you may give audience to your subjects twice a week only. during these absences the prince will be so agreeably amused with the beauty, prospect, and good air of the place, that he will bear them with the less uneasiness." the king approved this proposal: he removed thither with the prince; and, excepting when he gave audience, never left him, but passed all his time endeavouring to comfort him by sharing his distress. whilst matters passed thus in the capital of shaw zummaun, the two genies, danhasch and caschcasch, had carried the princess of china back to the palace where the king her father had confined her, and laid her in her bed as before. when she awoke next morning, and found that prince kummir al zummaun was not by her, she cried out in such a manner to her women, that she soon brought them to her bed. her nurse, who arrived first, desired to be informed if any thing disagreeable had happened to her. "tell me," said the princess, "what is become of the young man that has passed the night with me, and whom i love with all my soul?" "madam," replied the nurse, "we cannot understand your highness, unless you will be pleased to explain yourself." "a young man, the handsomest and most amiable," said the princess, "slept with me last night, whom, with all my caresses, i could not awake; i ask you where he is?"' "madam,"answered the nurse, "your highness asks us these questions in jest. i beseech you to rise." "i am in earnest," said the princess, "and i must know where this young man is." "madam," insisted the nurse, "you were alone when you went to bed last night; and how any man could come to you without our knowledge we cannot imagine, for we all lay about the door of your chamber, which was locked, and i had the key in my pocket." at this the princess lost all patience,and taking her nurse by the hair of her head, and giving her two or three sound cuffs, cried, "you shall tell me where this young man is, you old sorceress, or i will put you to death." the nurse struggled to get from her, and at last succeeded. she went immediately with tears in her eyes, and her face all bloody, to complain to the queen, who was not a little surprised to see her in this condition, and asked who had misused her. "madam," began the nurse, "you see how the princess has treated me; she had certainly murdered me, if i had not had the good fortune to escape out of her hands." she then related what had been the cause of all that violent passion in the princess. the queen was surprised at her account, and could not guess how she came to be so infatuated as to take that for a reality which could be no other than a dream. "your majesty must conclude from all this," continued the nurse, "that the princess is out of her senses. you will think so yourself if you will go and see her." the queen's affection for the princess deeply interested her in what she heard; she ordered the nurse to follow her; and they immediately went together to the princess's palace. the queen of china sat down by her daughter's bed-side on her arrival in her apartment, and after she had informed herself about her health began to ask her what had made her so angry with her nurse, as to treat her in the manner she had done. "daughter," said she, "this is not right, and a great princess like you should not suffer herself to be so transported by passion," "madam," replied the princess, "i plainly perceive your majesty is come to mock me; but i declare i will never let you rest till you consent to my marrying the young man who lay with me last night. you must know where he is, and therefore i beg of your majesty to let him come to me again." "daughter," answered the queen, "you surprise me; i do not understand your meaning." the princess now forgot all respect for the queen; "madam," replied she, "the king my father and you have persecuted me about marrying, when i had no inclination; i now have an inclination, and i will have this young man i told you of for my husband, or i will destroy myself." the queen endeavoured to calm the princess by conciliatory language: "daughter," said she, "you know well you are guarded in this apartment, how then could any man come to you?" but instead of attending to her, the princess interrupted her, by such extravagancies as obliged the queen to leave her, and retire in great affliction, to inform the king of all that had passed. when the king had heard the account, he wished likewise to be satisfied in person, and coming to his daughter's apartment, asked her, if what he had been told was true? "sir," replied the princess, "let us talk no more of that; i only beseech your majesty to grant me the favour, that i may marry the young man i lay with last night." "what! daughter," said the king, "has any one lain with you last night?" "how, sir," replied the princess, without giving him time to go on, "do you ask me if any one lay with me last night? your majesty knows that but too well. he was the most beautiful youth the sun ever saw: i ask him of you for my husband; i entreat you do not refuse me. but that your majesty may not longer doubt whether i have seen this young man, whether he has lain with me, whether i have caressed him, or whether i did not my utmost to awake him without succeeding, see, if you please, this ring." she then reached forth her hand, and shewed the king a man's ring on her finger. the king was perplexed what to think. he had confined his daughter as mad, he began now to think her more insane than ever. without saying any thing more to her, lest she might do violence to herself or somebody about her, he had her chained, and confined more closely than before, allowing her only the nurse to wait on her, with a good guard at the door. the king, exceedingly concerned at this indisposition of his daughter, sought all possible means to effect her cure. he assembled his council, and after having acquainted them with her condition "if any of you," said he, "is capable of undertaking to restore her to health, and succeed, i will give her to him in marriage, and make him heir to my dominions." the desire of obtaining a handsome young princess, and the hopes of one day governing so great a kingdom as that of china, had a powerful effect on an emir, already advanced in years, who was present at this council. as he was well skilled in magic, he offered the king to recover his daughter, and flattered himself with success. "i consent to the trial," said the king; "but i forgot to tell you one condition, and that is, that if you do not succeed, you shall lose your head. it would not be reasonable you should have so great a reward, and yet run no risk: and what i say to you," continued the king, "i say to all others who shall come after you, that they may consider beforehand what they undertake." the emir accepted the condition, and the king conducted him to the princess's place of confinement. she covered her face as soon as she saw them enter, and exclaimed, "your majesty surprises me, in bringing with you a man whom i do not know, and by whom my religion forbids me to let myself be seen." "daughter," replied the king, "you need not be scandalized, it is only one of my emirs who is come to demand you in marriage." "it is not, i perceive, the person that you have already given me, and whose faith is plighted by the ring i wear," replied the princess; "be not offended that i will never marry any other." the emir expected the princess would have said or done some extravagant thing, and was not a little disappointed when he heard her talk so calmly and rationally; for he then concluded that her disease was nothing but a violent and deep-rooted passion. he therefore threw himself at his majesty's feet, and said, "after what i have heard and observed, sir, it will be to no purpose for me to think of curing the princess, since i have no remedies proper for her malady; for which reason i humbly submit my life to your majesty's pleasure." the king, enraged at his incapacity, and the trouble he had given him, caused him to be immediately beheaded. some days after, unwilling to have it said that he had neglected his daughter's cure, the king put forth a proclamation in his capital, importing, that if there were any physician, astrologer, or magician who would undertake to restore the princess to her senses, he needed only to offer himself, and he should be employed, on condition of losing his head if he failed. he had the same published in the other principal cities and towns of his dominions, and in the courts of the princes his neighbours. the first that presented himself was an astrologer and magician, whom the king caused to be conducted to the princess's prison by an eunuch. the astrologer drew forth, out of a bag he carried under his arm, an astrolabe, a small sphere, a chafing-dish, several sorts of drugs proper for fumigations, a brass pot, with many other articles, and desired he might have a fire. the princess demanded what all these preparations were for. "madam," answered the eunuch, "they are to exorcise the evil spirit that possesses you, to shut him up in this pot, and throw him into the sea." "foolish astrologer," replied the princess, "i have no occasion for any of your preparations, but am in my perfect senses, and you alone are mad. if your art can bring him i love to me, i shall be obliged to you; otherwise you may go about your business, for i have nothing to do with you." "madam," said the astrologer, "if your case be so, i shall desist from all endeavours, believing the king your father only can remove your disorder:" so putting up his trinkets again, he marched away, much concerned that he had so easily undertaken to cure an imaginary malady. the eunuch conducted the astrologer to the king, whom the astrologer thus addressed: "according to what your majesty published in your proclamation, and what you were pleased to confirm to me yourself, i thought the princess was insane, and depended on being able to recover her by the secrets i have long been acquainted with; but i soon found she had no other disease but that of love, over which my art has no power: your majesty alone is the physician who can cure her, by giving her in marriage the person whom she desires." the king was much enraged at the astrologer, and had his head instantly cut off. a hundred and fifty astrologers, physicians, and magicians, came on this account, who all underwent the same fate; and their heads were set upon poles on every gate of the city. the princess of china's nurse had a son whose name was marzavan, who had been foster-brother to the princess, and brought up with her, the friendship was so great during their childhood, and all the time they had been together, that as they grew up, even some time after their separation, they treated each other as brother and sister. marzavan, among other studies, had from his youth been much addicted to judicial astrology, geomancy, and the like secret arts, wherein he became exceedingly skilful. not satisfied with what he had learned from masters, he travelled, and there was hardly any person of note in any science or art, but he sought him in the most remote cities, to obtain information, so great was his thirst after knowledge. after several years' absence in foreign parts, he returned to the capital of his native country, where, seeing so many heads on the gate by which he entered, he was exceedingly surprised, and demanded for what reason they had been placed there; but he more particularly inquired after the princess his foster-sister. as he could not receive an answer to one inquiry without the other, he heard at length a general account of what had happened, and waited for further particulars till he could see his mother, the princess's nurse. although the nurse, the mother of marzavan, was much employed about the princess, yet she no sooner heard her son was returned, than she found time to come out, embrace him, and converse with him a little. having told him, with tears in her eyes, the unhappy condition of the princess, and for what reason the king her father had confined her; her son desired to know if she could not procure him a private view of her royal mistress, without the king's knowledge. after some pause, she told him she could give him no answer for the present; but if he would meet her the next day at the same hour, she would inform him. the nurse knowing none could approach the princess but herself; without leave of the eunuch, who commanded the guard at the gate, addressed: herself to him, and said, "you know i have brought up and suckled the princess, and you may likewise have heard that i had a daughter whom i brought up along with her. this daughter has been since married, yet the princess still does her the honour to love her, and wishes to see her, without any person's observing her enter or depart." the nurse was proceeding, but the eunuch interrupted her and exclaimed, "say no more, i will with pleasure do any thing to oblige the princess; go and fetch your daughter, or send for her about midnight,and the gate shall be open for you." as soon as it was dark, the nurse went to marzavan, and having dressed him so well in women's clothes, that nobody could suspect he was a man, carried him along with her; and the eunuch believing it was her daughter, admitted them. the nurse, before she presented marzavan, went to the princess, and said, "madam, this is not a woman i have brought to you, it is my son marzavan in disguise, newly arrived from his travels; having a great desire to kiss your hand, i hope your highness will vouchsafe him that honour." "what! my brother marzavan," exclaimed the princess, with great joy; "approach, and take off that veil; for it is not unreasonable that a brother and a sister should see each other without covering their faces." marzavan saluted her with profound respect, while, without giving him time to speak, she continued, "i rejoice to see you returned in good health, after so many years' absence, and without sending any account of your welfare, even to your good mother." "madam," replied marzavan, "i am infinitely obliged to your goodness. i hoped to have heard a better account of your health than has been given me, and which i lament to find confirmed by your appearance. it gives me pleasure, however, to have come so seasonably to bring your highness that remedy which your situation requires. should i reap no other benefit from my studies and travels, i should think myself amply recompensed." having thus spoken, marzavan drew out of his pocket a book and some other things, which from the account he had had from his mother of the princess's distemper, he thought he might want. the princess, observing these preparations, exclaimed, "what! brother, are you one of those who believe me mad? undeceive yourself, and hear me." the princess then related to marzavan all the particulars of her story, without omitting the least circumstance, even to the ring which was exchanged for hers, and which she shewed him. "i have not concealed the least incident from you," continued she; "there is something in this business which i cannot comprehend, and which has given occasion for some persons to think me mad. but no one will attend to the rest, which is literally as i have stated." after the princess had concluded, marzavan, filled with wonder and astonishment, remained for some time with his eyes fixed on the ground, without speaking a word; but at length he lifted up his head, and said, "if it be as your highness says, and which i do not in the least doubt, i do not despair of being able to procure you the gratification of your wishes. but i must first entreat your highness to arm yourself with patience, till i have travelled over kingdoms which i have not yet visited, and when you hear of my return, be assured the object of your desire is not far distant." having thus spoken, marzavan took leave of the princess, and set out the next morning on his intended travels. he journeyed from city to city, from province to province, and from island to island; and in every place he visited, he could hear of nothing but the princess badoura (which was the princess of china's name) and her history. about four months after, our traveller arrived at torf, a sea- port town, large and populous, where the theme was changed; he no more heard of the princess badoura, but all the talk was of prince kummir al zummaun, who was sick, and whose history greatly resembled hers. marzavan was extremely delighted on hearing this, and informed himself where the prince was to be found. there were two ways to it; one, by land and sea; the other, by sea only, which was the shortest. marzavan chose the latter; and embarking on board a merchant ship, arrived safely in sight of shaw zummaun's capital; but just before it entered the port, the ship struck upon a rock, by the unskilfulness of the pilot, and foundered: it went down in sight of the castle, where at that time were the king and his grand vizier. marzavan, who could swim well, immediately upon the ship's sinking cast himself into the sea, and got safe on shore under the castle, where he was soon relieved by the grand vizier's order. after he had changed his clothes, and been well treated, he was introduced to the grand vizier, who lead sent for him. marzavan being a young man of good address, the minister received him with great politeness; and was induced, from the just and pertinent answers he returned to the questions put to him, to regard him with great esteem. finding by degrees that he possessed great variety and extent of information, he said to him, "from what i can understand, i perceive you are no common man; you have travelled much: would to god you had discovered some remedy for a malady which has been long a source of great affliction at this court." marzavan replied, if he knew what malady it was, he might perhaps find a remedy applicable to it. the grand vizier then related to him the story of prince kummir al zummaun. he concealed nothing relating to his birth, which had been so earnestly desired, his education, the wish of the king his father to see him early married, his resistance and extraordinary aversion from marriage, his disobeying his father in full council, his imprisonment, his extravagancies in prison, which were afterwards changed into a violent passion for some unknown lady, who, he pretended, had exchanged a ring with him, though, for his part, he verily believed there was no such person in the world. marzavan gave great attention to all the grand vizier said, and was infinitely rejoiced to find that, by means of his shipwreck, he had so fortunately lighted on the person he was seeking. he saw no reason to doubt that the prince was the man whom the princess of china so ardently loved, and that this princess was equally the object of his passion. without explaining himself farther to the vizier, he desired to see the prince, that he might be better able to judge of his disorder and its cure. "follow me," said the grand vizier, "and you will find the king with him, who has already desired i should introduce you." on entering the prince's chamber, the first thing marzavan observed was the prince upon his bed languishing, and with his eyes shut. notwithstanding his condition, and regardless of the presence of the king his father, who was sitting by him, he could not avoid exclaiming, "heavens! was there ever a greater resemblance?" he meant to the princess of china; for it seems the princess and the prince were much alike. this exclamation of marzavan excited the prince's curiosity; he opened his eyes and looked at him. marzavan, who had a ready wit, seized that opportunity, and made his compliment in extempore verse; but in such a disguised manner, that neither the king nor the grand vizier under stood his meaning. he represented so exactly what had happened to him with the princess of china, that the prince had no reason to doubt he knew her, and could give him tidings of her. his countenance immediately brightened up with joy. after marzavan had finished his compliment in verse, which surprised kummir al zummaun so agreeably, the prince took the liberty of making a sign to the king his father, to give his place to marzavan, and allow him to sit by him. the king, overjoyed at this alteration, which inspired him with hopes of his son's speedy recovery, quitted his place, and taking marzavan by the hand, led him to it, obliging him to sit. he then demanded of him who he was, and whence he had come? and upon marzavan's answering he was a subject of china, and came from that kingdom, the king exclaimed, "heaven grant you may be able to recover my son from this profound melancholy; i shall be eternally obliged to you, and all the world shall see how handsomely i will reward you." having said thus, he left the prince to converse at full liberty with the stranger, whilst he went and rejoiced with the grand vizier on this happy incident. marzavan leaning down to the prince, addressed him in a low voice: "prince, it is time you should cease to grieve. the lady, for whom you suffer, is the princess badoura, daughter of gaiour, king of china. this i can assure your highness from what she has told me of her adventure, and what i have learned of yours. she has suffered no less on your account than you have on hers." here he related all that he knew of the princess's story, from the night of their extraordinary interview. he omitted not to acquaint him how the king had treated those who had failed in their endeavours to cure the princess of her indisposition. "but your highness is the only person," added he, "that can cure her effectually, and you may present yourself without fear. however, before you undertake so long a voyage, i would have you perfectly recovered, and then we will take what measures may be necessary. think then immediately of the recovery of your health." this account had a marvellous effect on the prince. the hopes of speedily fulfilling his desires so much relieved him, that he felt he had strength sufficient to rise, and begged permission of his father to dress himself, with such an air as gave him incredible pleasure. shaw zummaun, without inquiring into the means he had used to produce this wonderful effect, could not refrain from embracing marzavan, and soon after went out of the prince's chamber with the grand vizier, to publish the agreeable tidings. he ordered public rejoicings for several days together, gave great largesses to his officers and the people, and alms to the poor, and caused the prisoners to be set at liberty throughout his kingdom the joy was soon general in the capital, and in every part of his dominions. kummir al zummaun, though extremely weakened by almost continual privation of sleep and long abstinence, soon recovered his health. when he found himself in a condition to undertake the voyage, he took marzavan aside, and said, "dear marzavan, it is now time to perform the promise you have made me. my impatience to behold the charming princess, and to relieve her of the torments she is now suffering on my account, is such, that if we do not shortly depart, i shall relapse into my former indisposition. one thing still afflicts me," continued he, "and that is the difficulty i shall find, from his tender affection for me, to obtain my father's permission to travel into a distant country. you observe he scarcely allows me to be a moment out of his sight." at these words the prince wept. marzavan then replied, "i foresaw this difficulty, and i will take care it shall not obstruct us. my principal design in this voyage was to cure the princess of china of her malady, and this on account of the mutual affection which we have borne to each other from our birth, as well as from the zeal and affection i otherwise owe her. i should therefore be wanting in my duty to her, if i did not use my best endeavours to effect her cure and yours. this is then the mode i have devised to obtain the king your father's consent. you have not stirred abroad for some time, therefore request his permission to go upon a hunting party with me. he will no doubt comply. when you have obtained his leave, obtain two fleet coursers for each of us to be got ready, one to mount, the other to change, and leave the rest to me." the following day the prince did as he had been instructed. he acquainted the king he was desirous of taking the air, and, if he pleased, would go and hunt for two or three days with marzavan. the king gave his consent, but wished him not to be absent more than one night, since too much exercise at first might impair his health and a longer absence would make him uneasy. he then ordered him to choose the best horses in the royal stable, and took particular care that nothing should be wanting for his accommodation. when all was ready, he embraced the prince, and having recommended to marzavan to be careful of him, he let him go. kummir al zummaun and marzavan were soon mounted, when, to amuse the two grooms who led the spare horses, they made as if they were going to hunt, and under this pretence got as far from the city and out of the high road as was possible. when night began to approach, they alighted at a caravanserai or inn, where they supped, and slept till about midnight; when marzavan awakened the prince, and desired his highness to let him have his dress, and to take another for himself, which was brought in his baggage. thus equipped, they mounted the fresh horses, and after marzavan had taken one of the grooms' horses by the bridle, they left the caravanserai. at day-break they found themselves in a forest, where four roads met. here marzavan, desiring the prince to wait for him a little, went into the wood. he then cut the throat of the groom's horse, and after having torn the suit which the prince had taken off, and besmeared it with blood, threw it into the highway. the prince inquired his reason for what he had done. he replied, he was sure that when the king his father found he did not return, and should learn that he had departed without the grooms, he would suspect something wrong, and immediately send in quest of them. "they who may come this way, finding this bloody habit, will conclude you are devoured by wild beasts, and that i have escaped to avoid the king's anger. the king, concluding you are dead, will stop further pursuit, and we may have leisure to continue our journey without fear of being followed." "i must confess," continued marzavan, "it is a violent way of proceeding, to alarm a fond father with the death of his son, but his joy will be the greater when he shall hear you are alive and happy." "breve marzavan," replied the prince, "i cannot but approve such an ingenious stratagem, or sufficiently admire your conduct: you place me under fresh obligations to you." the prince and marzavan being well provided for their expenses, continued their journey both by land and sea, and found no other obstacle but the length of the time which it necessarily took up. they arrived at length at the capital of china, where marzavan, instead of going to his house, carried the prince to a public inn. they remained there incognito three days, to rest themselves after the fatigue of the voyage; during which time marzavan caused an astrologer's habit to be made for the prince. the three days being expired, they went together to the bath, where the prince put on his astrologer's dress: from thence marzavan conducted him to the neighbourhood of the king of china's palace, where he left him, to go and inform his mother of his arrival. kummir al zummaun, instructed by marzavan what he was to do, came next morning to the gate of the king's palace, and cried aloud, "i am an astrologer, and am come to cure the illustrious princess badoura, daughter of the most high and mighty monarch gaiour king of china, on the conditions proposed by his majesty, to marry her if i succeed, or else to lose my life for my fruitless and presumptuous attempt." besides the guards and porters at the gate, this incident drew together a great number of people about the prince. there had no physician, astrologer, or magician appeared for a long time on this account, being deterred by the many tragical examples of ill success that appeared before; it was therefore thought there remained no more of these professions in the world, or none so mad as those that had already forfeited their lives. the prince's appearance, his noble air, and blooming youth, made every one who saw him pity him. "what mean you, sir," said some that were nearest to him, "thus to expose a life of such promising expectations to certain death? cannot the heads you see on all the gates of this city deter you from such an undertaking? in the name of god consider what you do! abandon this rash attempt, and depart." the prince continued firm, notwithstanding all these remonstrances; and as he saw no one coming to introduce him, he repeated the same cry with a boldness that made every body tremble. they all then exclaimed, "let him alone, he is resolved to die; god have mercy on his youth and his soul!"" he then proceeded to cry a third time in the same manner, when the grand vizier came in person, and introduced him to the king of china. as soon as the prince came into the presence, he bowed and kissed the ground. the king, who, among all that had hitherto presumptuously exposed their lives on this occasion, had not before seen one worthy of his attention, felt real compassion for kummir al zummaun, on account of the danger to which he exposed himself. "young man," said he, "i can hardly believe that at this age you can have acquired experience enough to dare attempt the cure of my daughter. i wish you may succeed, and would give her to you in marriage with all my heart, and with the greatest joy, more willingly than i should have done to others that have offered themselves before you; but i must declare to you at the same time, though with great concern, that if you fail, notwithstanding your noble appearance and your youth, you must lose your head." "sir," replied the prince, "i have infinite obligations to your majesty for the honour you design me, and the great goodness you shew to a stranger; but i desire your majesty to believe i would not have come from so remote a country as i have done, the name of which perhaps may be unknown in your dominions, if i had not been certain of the cure i propose. what would not the world say of my fickleness, if, after such great fatigues and so many dangers as i have undergone in the pursuit, i should abandon this generous enterprise? even your majesty would lose that esteem you have conceived for me. if i perish, i shall die with the satisfaction of not having forfeited your good opinion. i beseech your majesty therefore to keep me no longer from displaying the certainty of my art, by the proof i am ready to afford." the king now commanded the eunuch, who had the custody of the princess, to introduce kummir al zummaun into her apartment: but before he would let him go, reminded him once more that he was at liberty to renounce his design; but the prince paid no regard to this, and with astonishing resolution and eagerness followed the eunuch. when they had entered a long gallery, at the end of which was the princess's apartment, the prince, who saw himself so near the objets of his wishes, who had occasioned him so many tears, pushed on, and got before the eunuch. the eunuch redoubling his pace, with difficulty got up to him, "wither so fast?"" cried he, taking him by the arm; "you cannot get in without me; and it should seem you have a great desire for death, thus to run to it headlong. not one of all those many astrologers and magicians i have introduced before made such haste as yourself, to a place whence i fear you will come but too soon." "friend," replied the prince, looking earnestly on the eunuch, and continuing his pace, "this was because none of the astrologers you speak of were so confident in their art as i am: they were certain indeed they should die, if they did not succeed, .but they had no certainty of their success. on this account they had reason to tremble on approaching this spot, where i am sure to find my happiness." he had just spoken these words when he reached the door. the eunuch opened it, and introduced him into a great hall, whence was an entrance into the princess's apartment, divided from it only by a piece of tapestry. the prince stopped before he entered, speaking more softly to the eunuch for fear of being heard by the princess. "to convince you," said he; "there is neither presumption, nor whim, nor youthful conceit in my undertaking, i leave it to your choice whether i shall cure the princess in her presence, or where we are, without going any farther, or seeing her?" the eunuch was amazed to hear the prince talk to him with such confidence: he left off jeering, and said seriously to him, "it is no matter where it is done, provided it be effected: cure her how you will, if you succeed you will gain immortal honour, not only in this court, but over all the world." the prince replied, "it will be best then to cure her without seeing her, that you may be witness of my skill; notwithstanding my impatience to see a princess of her rank, who is to be my wife, yet out of respect to you, i will deprive myself of that pleasure for a little while." being furnished with every thing proper for an astrologer to carry about him, he took pen, ink, and paper our of his pocket, and wrote the following billet to the princess. "the impassioned kummir al zummaun cannot recite the inexpressible pain he has endured since that fatal night in which your charms deprived him of the liberty which he had resolved to preserve. he only tells you that he devoted his heart to you in your charming slumbers; those obstinate slumbers which hindered him from beholding the brightness of your piercing eyes, notwithstanding all his endeavours to oblige you to open them. he presumed to present you with his ring as a token of his passion; and to take yours in exchange, which he encloses. if you condescend to return his as a reciprocal pledge of love, he will esteem himself the happiest of mankind. if not, the sentence of death, which your refusal must draw upon him, will be received with resignation, since he will perish on account of his love for you." when the prince had finished his billet, he folded it up, and enclosed in it the princess's ring. "there, friend," said he to the eunuch, "carry this to your mistress; if it does not cure her as soon as she reads it, and sees what it contains, i give you leave to tell every body, that i am the most ignorant and impudent astrologer that ever existed." the eunuch entering the princess of china's apartment, gave her the packet, saying, "the boldest astrologer that ever lived is arrived here, and pretends, that on reading this letter and seeing what it encloses, you will be cured; i wish he may prove neither a liar nor an impostor." the princess badoura took the billet, and opened it with indifference: but when she saw the ring, she had not patience to read it through: she rose hastily, broke the chain that held her, ran to the door and opened it. they immediately recognized each other, tenderly embraced, and without being able to speak for excess of joy, looked at one another, wondering how they met again after their first interview. the princess's nurse, who ran to the door with her, made them come into her apartment, where the princess badoura gave the prince her ring, saying, "take it, i cannot keep it without restoring yours; which i will never part with; neither can it be in better hands." the eunuch went immediately to inform the king of china of what had happened: "sir," said he, "all the astrologers and doctors who have hitherto pretended to cure the princess were fools compared with the present. he made use neither of schemes nor conjurations, of perfumes, nor any thing else, but cured her without seeing her." the monarch was agreeably surprised at this intelligence, and going to the princess's apartment, he embraced her, and afterwards the prince, and taking his hand joined it to the princess's, saying, "happy stranger, whoever you are, i will keep my word, and give you my daughter for your wife; though, by what i see in you, it is impossible for me to believe you are really what you pretend, and would have me take you to be." kummir al zummaun thanked the king in the most humble expressions, that he might the better shew his gratitude. "as for my condition," said he, "i must own i am not an astrologer, as your majesty has guessed; i only put on the habit of one, that i might succeed the more easily in my ambition to be allied to the most potent monarch in the world. i was born a prince, and the son of a king and of a queen; my name is kummir al zummaun; my father is shaw zummaun, who now reigns over the islands that are well known by the name of the islands of the children of khaledan." he then related to him his history, and how wonderful had been the origin of his love; that the princess's was altogether as marvellous; and that both were confirmed by the exchange of the two rings. when the prince had done speaking, the king said to him, "this history is so extraordinary, it deserves to be known to posterity; i will take care it shall; and the original being deposited in my royal archives, i will spread copies of it abroad, that my own kingdoms and the kingdoms around me may know it." the marriage was solemnized the same day, and the rejoicings were universal all over the empire of china. nor was marzavan forgotten: the king gave him an honourable post in his court, and a promise of further advancement. the prince and princess enjoyed the fulness of their wishes in the sweets of marriage; and the king kept continual feastings for several months, to manifest his joy on the occasion. in the midst of these pleasures kummir al zummaun dreamt one night that he saw his father on his bed at the point of death, and heard him thus address his attendants: "my son, to whom i gave birth; my son, whom i so tenderly loved whom i bred with so much fondness, so much care, has abandoned me, and is himself the cause of my death." he awoke with a profound sigh, which alarmed the princess, who asked him the cause. "alas! my love," replied the prince, "perhaps at the very moment while i am speaking, the king my father is no more." he then acquainted her with his melancholy dream, which occasioned him so much uneasiness. the princess, who studied to please him in every thing, went to her father the next day, kissed his hand, and thus addressed him: "i have a favour to beg of your majesty, and i beseech you not to deny me; but that you may not believe i ask it at the solicitation of the prince my husband, i assure you beforehand he knows nothing of my request: it is, that you will grant me your permission to go with him and visit his father." "daughter," replied the king, "though i shall be sorry to part with you for so long a time as a journey to a place so distant will require, yet i cannot disapprove of your resolution; it is worthy of yourself: go, child, i give you leave, but on condition that you stay no longer than a year in shaw zummaun's court. i hope the king will agree to this, that we shall alternately see, he his son and his daughter-in-law, and i my daughter and my son- in-law." the princess communicated the king of china's consent to her husband, who was transported to receive it, and returned her thanks for this new token of her love. the king of china gave orders for preparations to be made for their departure; and when all things were ready, he accompanied the prince and princess several days' journey on their way; they parted at length with much affliction on both sides: the king embraced them; and having desired the prince to be kind to his daughter, and to love her always with the same tenderness he now did, he left them to proceed, and to divert himself, hunted as he returned to his capital. when the prince and princess had recovered from their grief, they comforted themselves with considering how glad shaw zummaun would be to see them, and how they should rejoice to see the king. after travelling about a month, they one day entered a plain of great extent, planted at convenient distances with tall trees, forming an agreeable shade. the day being unusually hot, the prince thought it best to encamp there, and proposed it to badoura, who, having the same wish, the more readily consented. they alighted in one of the finest spots; a tent was presently set up; the princess, rising from the shade under which she had sat down, entered it. the prince then ordered his attendants to pitch their tents, and went himself to give directions. the princess, weary with the fatigues of the journey, bade her women untie her girdle, which they laid down by her; and she falling asleep, they left her alone. kummir al zummaun having seen all things in order, came to the tent where the princess was sleeping: he entered, and sat down without making any noise, intending to repose himself; but observing the princess's girdle lying by her, he took it up, and looked at the diamonds and rubies one by one. in viewing it he observed a little purse hanging to it, sewed neatly on the stuff, and tied fast with a riband; he felt it, and found it contained something solid. desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse, and took out a cornelian, engraven with unknown figures and characters. "this cornelian," said the prince to himself, "must be something very valuable, or my princess would not carry it with so much care." it was badoura's talisman, which the queen of china had given her daughter as a charm, that would keep her, as she said, from any harm as long as she had it about her. the prince, the better to look at the talisman, took it out to the light, the tent being dark; and while he was holding it up in his hand, a bird darted down from the air and snatched it away from him. one will easily conceive the concern and grief of the prince, when he saw the bird fly away with the talisman. he was more troubled than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by which his dear princess had lost a treasure, that was so precious, and so valued by her. the bird having got its prize, settled on the ground not far off, with the talisman in its mouth. the prince drew near it, hoping it would drop it; but as he approached, the bird took wing, and settled again on the ground further off. kummir al zummaun followed, and the bird took a further flight: the prince being very dexterous at a mark, thought to kill it with a stone, and still pursued; the further it flew, the more eager he grew in pursuing, keeping it always in view. thus the bird drew him along from hill to valley, and valley to hill, all the day, every step leading him out of the way from the plain where he had left his camp and the princess badoura: and instead of perching at night on a bush, where he might probably have taken it, roosted on a high tree, safe from his pursuit. the prince, vexed to the heart at having taken so much pains to no purpose, thought of returning; "but," said he to himself, "which way shall i return? shall i go down the hills and valleys which i have passed overt' shall i wander in darkness? and will my strength bear me out? how shall i dare appear before my princess without her talisman?" overwhelmed with such thoughts, and tired with the pursuit, sleep came upon him, and he lay down under a tree, where he passed the night. he awoke the next morning before the bird had left the tree, and as soon as he saw it on the wing, followed it again the whole of that day, with no better success than he had done the last, eating nothing but herbs and fruits as he went. he did the same for ten days together, pursuing the bird, and keeping it in view from morning to night, lying always under the tree where it roosted. on the eleventh day, the bird continued flying, and kummir al zummaun pursuing it, came near a great city. when the bird had reached the walls, it flew over them, and the prince saw no more of it; so that he despaired of ever recovering the princess badoura's talisman. the prince, whose grief was beyond expression, went into the city, which was built on the seaside, and had a fine port; he walked up and down the streets without knowing where he was, or where to stop. at last he came to the port, in as great uncertainty as ever what he should do. walking along the shore, he perceived the gate of a garden open, and an old gardener at work in it; the good man looking up, saw he was a stranger and a moosulmaun, and asked him to come in, and shut the door after him. kummir al zummaun entered, and demanded of the gardener why he was so cautious? "because," replied the old man, "i see you are a stranger newly arrived; and this city is inhabited for the most part by idolaters, who have a mortal aversion to us moosulmauns, and treat a few of us that are here with great barbarity. i suppose you did not know this, and it is a miracle that you have escaped as you have thus far: these idolaters being very apt to fall upon strangers, or draw them into a snare. i bless god, who has brought you into a place of safety." kummir al zummaun thanked the honest gardener for his advice, and the security he offered him in his house; he would have said more, but the good man interrupted him, saying, "let us leave complimenting; you are weary, and must want to refresh yourself. come in, and rest." he conducted him into his little hut; and after the prince had eaten heartily of what he set before him, with a cordiality that charmed him, he requested him to relate how he had come there. the prince complied; and when he had finished his story, without concealing any part of it, asked him which was the nearest route to his father's territories; saying, "it is in vain for me to think of finding my princess where i left her, after wandering eleven days from the spot by so extraordinary an adventure. ah!" continued he, "how do i know she is alive?" and saying this, he burst into tears. the gardener replied, "there was no possibility of his going thither by land, the ways were so difficult, and the journey so long; besides, there was no accommodation for his subsistence; or, if there were, he must necessarily pass through the countries of so many barbarous nations, that he would never reach his father's. it was a year's journey from the city where he then was to any country inhabited only by moosulmauns; that the quickest passage for him would be to go to the isle of ebene, whence he might easily transport himself to the isles of the children of khaledan; that a ship sailed from the port every year to ebene, and he might take that opportunity of returning to those islands. "the ship departed," said he, "but a few days ago; if you had come a little sooner, you might have taken your passage in it. you must wait till it makes the voyage again, and if you will stay with me and accept of my house, such as it is, you shall be as welcome to it as to your own." the prince was glad he had met with such an asylum, in a place where he had no acquaintance. he accepted the offer, and lived with the gardener till the time arrived that the ship was to sail to the isle of ebene. he spent the interval in working by day in the garden, and passing the night in sighs, tears, and complaints, thinking of his dear princess badoura. we must leave him in this place, to return to the princess, whom we left asleep in her tent. the princess slept a long time, and when she awoke, wondered that the prince was not with her; she called her women, and asked if they knew where he was. they told her they saw him enter the tent, but did not see him go out. while they were talking to her, she took up her girdle, found her little purse open, and that the talisman was gone. she did not doubt but that the prince had taken it to see what it was, and that he would bring it back with him. she waited for him impatiently till night, and could not imagine what made him stay away from her so long. when it was quite dark, and she could hear no tidings of him, she fell into violent grief: she cursed the talisman, and him that made it; and, had not she been restrained by duty, would have cursed the queen her mother, who had given her such a fatal present. she was the more troubled, because she could not imagine how her talisman should have caused the prince's separation from her; she did not however lose her judgment, and came to a courageous resolution, not common with persons of her sex. only herself and her women knew of the prince's absence; for his men were reposing or asleep in their tents. the princess, fearing they would betray her, if they had any knowledge of this circumstance, moderated her grief, and forbade her women to say or do any thing that might create the least suspicion. she then laid aside her own habit, and put on one of kummir al zummaun's. she was so much like him, that the next day, when she came abroad, the male attendants took her for the prince. she commanded them to pack up their baggage and begin their march; and when all things were ready, she ordered one of her women to go into her litter, she herself mounting on horseback, and riding by her side. she travelled several months by land and sea; the princess continuing the journey under the name of kummir al zummaun. they touched at ebene in their way to the isles of the children of khaledan, and went to the capital of the island, where a king reigned, whose name was armanos. the persons who first landed, giving out that the ship carried prince kummir al zummaun, who was returning from a long voyage, and was forced in by a storm, the news of his arrival was soon carried to court. king armanos, accompanied by his courtiers' went immediately to wait on the prince, and met the princess just as she was landing, and going to the palace that had been prepared for her. he received her as the son of a king, who was his friend, and with whom he always kept up a good understanding: he conducted her to the palace, where an apartment was prepared for her and all her attendants; though she would fain have excused herself. he shewed her all possible honour, and entertained her three days together with extraordinary magnificence. at the end of this time king armanos understanding that the princess intended proceeding on her voyage, charmed with the air and qualities of such an accomplished prince, as he supposed her, took an opportunity when she was alone, and spoke to her in this manner: "you see, prince, that i am old, and to my great mortification have not a son to whom i may leave my crown. heaven has only blest me with one daughter, whose beauty cannot be better matched than with a prince of your rank and accomplishments. instead of going home, stay and accept my crown, which i will resign in your favour. it is time for me to rest, and nothing could be a greater pleasure to me in my retirement, than to see my people ruled by so worthy a successor to my throne." the king's offer to bestow his only daughter in marriage, and with her his kingdom, on the princess badoura, put her into unexpected perplexity. she thought it would not become a princess of her rank to undeceive the king, and to own that she was not prince kummir al zummaun, whose part she had hitherto acted so well. she was also afraid to decline the honour he offered her, lest, being so much bent upon the conclusion of the marriage, his kindness might turn to aversion, and he might attempt something even against her life. these considerations, added to the prospect of obtaining a kingdom for the prince her husband, in case she found him again, determined her to accept the proposal of king armanos, and marry his daughter. after having stood silent for some minutes, she with blushes, which the king took for a sign of modesty, answered, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for your good opinion of me, for the honour you do me, and the great favour you offer, which i cannot pretend to merit, and dare not refuse." "but," continued she, "i cannot accept this great alliance on any other condition, than that your majesty will assist me with your counsels, and that i do nothing without having first obtained your approbation." the marriage treaty being thus concluded, the ceremony was put off till the next day. in the mean time princess badoura gave notice to her officers, who still took her for their prince, of what she was about to do, that they might not be surprised, assuring them the princess badoura consented. she talked also to her women, and charged them to continue to keep the secret she had entrusted to them. the king of the isle of ebene, rejoicing that he had found a son- in-law so much to his satisfaction, next morning summoned his council, and acquainted them with his design of marrying his daughter to prince kummir al zummaun, whom he introduced to them, and told them he resigned the crown to him, and required them to acknowledge him for their king, and swear fealty to him. having said this, he descended from his throne, and the princess badoura, by his order, ascended it. as soon as the council broke up, the new king was proclaimed through the city, rejoicings were appointed for several days, and couriers despatched over all the kingdom, to see the same ceremonies observed with the usual demonstrations of joy. at night there were extraordinary feastings at the palace, and the princess haiatalnefous was conducted to the princess badoura, whom every body took for a man, dressed like a royal bride: the wedding was solemnized with the utmost splendour: they were left together, and retired to bed. in the morning, while the princess badoura went to receive the compliments of the nobility in the hall of audience, where they congratulated her on her marriage and accession to the throne, king armanos and his queen went to the apartment of their daughter to inquire after her health. instead of answering, she held down her head, and by her looks they saw plainly enough that she was disappointed. king armanos, to comfort the princess haiatalnefous, bade her not be troubled. "prince kummir al zummaun," said he, "when he landed here might think only of going to his father's court. though we have engaged him to stay by arguments, with which he ought to be well satisfied, yet it is probable he grieves at being so suddenly deprived of the hopes of seeing either his father or any of his family. you must wait till those first emotions of filial love are over; he will then conduct himself towards you as a good husband ought to do." the princess badoura, under the name and character of kummir al zummaun, the king of ebene, spent the whole day in receiving the compliments of the courtiers and the nobility of the. kingdom who were in and about the city, and in reviewing the regular troops of her household; and entered on the administration of affairs with so much dignity and judgment, that she gained the general applause of all who were witnesses of her conduct. it was evening before she returned to queen haiatalnefous's apartment, and she perceived by the reception she gave her, that the bride was not at all pleased with the preceding night. she endeavoured to dissipate her grief by a long conversation, in which she employed all the wit she had (and she possessed a good share), to persuade her she loved her entirely. she then gave her time to go to bed, and while she was undressing she went to her devotions; her prayers were so long, that queen haiatalnefous was asleep before they were ended. she then left off, and lay down softly by the new queen, without waking her, and was as much afflicted at being forced to act a part which did not belong to her, as in the loss of her dear kummir al zummaun, for whom she: ceased not to sigh. she rose as soon as it was day, before haiatalnefous was awake; and, being dressed in her royal robes as king, went to council. king armanos, as he had done the day before, came early to visit the queen his daughter, whom he found in tears; he wanted nothing more to be informed of the cause of her trouble. provoked at the contempt, as he thought, put upon his daughter, of which he could not imagine the reason: "daughter," said he, "have patience for another night. i raised your husband to the throne, and can pull him down again, and drive him thence with shame, unless he shews you proper regard. his treatment of you has provoked me so much, i cannot tell to what my resentment may transport me; the affront is as great to me as to you." it was late again before the princess badoura came to queen haiatalnefous. she talked to her as she had done the night before, and after the same manner went to her devotions, desiring the queen to go to bed. but haiatalnefous would not be so served; she held her back, and obliged her to sit down. "tell me, i beseech you," said she, "what can you dislike in a princess of my youth and beauty, who not only loves but adores you, and thinks herself the happiest of women in having so amiable a prince for her husband. any body but me would be not merely offended but shocked by the slight, or rather the unpardonable affront you have put upon me, and abandon you to your evil destiny. however, though i did not love you so well as i do, yet out of pure good- nature and humanity, which makes me pity the misfortunes of persons for whom i am less concerned, i cannot forbear telling you, that the king my father is enraged against you for your behaviour towards me, and to-morrow will make you feel the weight of his just anger, if you continue to neglect me as you have hitherto done. do not therefore drive to despair a princess, who, notwithstanding all your ill usage, cannot help loving you." this address embarrassed the princess badoura inexpressibly. she did not doubt the truth of what haiatalnefous had said. king armanos's coldness to her the day before had given her but too much reason to see he was highly dissatisfied with her. the only way to justify her conduit was, to communicate her sex to the princess haiatalnefous. but though she had foreseen she should be under a necessity of making such a discovery to her, yet her uncertainty as to the manner in which she would receive it, made her tremble; but, considering that if kummir al zummaun was alive, he must necessarily touch at the isle of ebene in his way to his father's kingdom, she ought to preserve herself for his sake; and that it was impossible to do this, if she did not let the princess haiatalnefous know who and what she was, she resolved to venture the experiment. the princess badoura stood as one who had been struck dumb, and haiatalnefous being impatient to hear what she could say, was about to speak to her again, when she prevented her by these words: "lovely and too charming princess! i own i have been in the wrong, and i condemn myself for it; but i hope you will pardon me, and keep the secret i am going to reveal to you for my justification." she then opened her bosom, and proceeded thus: "see, princess, if a woman like yourself does not deserve to be forgiven. i believe you will be so generous, at least when you know my story, and the afflicting circumstance that forced me to act the part i have done." the princess badoura having discovered her sex to the princess of the isle of ebene, she again prayed her to keep the secret, and to pretend to be satisfied with her as a husband, till the prince's arrival, which she hoped would be in a little time. "princess," replied haiatalnefous, "your fortune is indeed strange, that a marriage, so happy as yours, should be shortened by so unaccountable an accident, after a passion so reciprocal and full of wonders. pray heaven you may soon meet with your husband again, and assure yourself i will keep religiously the secret committed to me. it will be to me the greatest pleasure in the world to be the only person in the great kingdom of the isle of ebene who knows what and who you are, while you go on governing the people as happily as you have begun. i only ask of you at present to be your friend." then the two princesses tenderly embraced each other, and after a thousand expressions of mutual friendship lay down to rest. the two princesses having decided on a way to make belief that the marriage had been consummated: queen haiatalnefous's women were deceived themselves next morning, and it deceived armanos, his queen, and the whole court. from this time the princess badoura rose in the king's esteem and affection, governing the kingdom peaceably and prosperously. while things passed as already mentioned in the court of the isle of ebene, prince kummir al zummaun remained in the city of idolaters with the gardener, who had offered him his house for a retreat till the ship should sail to convey him away. one morning early, when the prince was as usual preparing to work in the garden, the gardener prevented him, saying, "this day is a great festival among the idolaters, and because they abstain from all work themselves, to spend the time in their assemblies and public rejoicings, they will not let the moosulmauns labour; who, to gain their favour, generally attend their shows, which are worth seeing. you will therefore have nothing to do to-day: i leave you here. as the time approaches, at which it is usual for the ship to sail for the isle of ebene, i will call on some of my friends to know when it will depart, and secure you a passage." the gardener put on his best apparel, and went out. when the prince was alone, instead of going out to share in the public joy of the city, his solitude brought to his mind, with more than usual violence, the loss of his dear princess. he walked up and down the garden sighing and lamenting, till the noise which two birds made on a neighbouring tree led him to lift up his head, to see what was the matter. kummir al zummaun was surprised to observe that the birds were fighting furiously: in a very little while, one of them fell down dead at the foot of the tree; the victorious bird took wing again, and flew away. in an instant, two other large birds, that had beheld the battle at a distance, came from the other side of the garden, and pitched on the ground, one at the feet, and the other at the head of the dead bird: they looked at it for some time, shaking their heads in token of grief; after which they dug a grave with their talons, and buried it. when they had filled up the grave with the earth they had turned up, they flew away, but returned in a few minutes, bringing with them the bird that had committed the murder, one holding one of its wings in its beak, and the other one of its legs; the criminal all the while crying out in a doleful manner, and struggling to escape. they carried it to the grave of the bird which it had lately sacrificed to its rage, and there killed it in just revenge for the murder it had committed. they opened its belly, tore out the entrails, left the body on the spot unburied, and flew away. the prince had remained in astonishment all the time that he stood beholding this singular spectacle. he now drew near the tree where this scene had passed, and casting his eyes on the scattered entrails of the bird that had been last killed, spied something red hanging out of the stomach. he took it up, and found it was his beloved princess badoura's talisman, which had cost him so much pain and sorrow, and so many sighs, since the bird had snatched it out of his hand. "ah, cruel!" said he to himself; still looking on the bird, "thou took'st delight in doing mischief, so i have the less reason to complain of that which thou didst to me: but the greater it was, the more do i wish well to those that revenged my quarrel, punishing thee for the murder of one of their own kind." it is impossible to express the prince's joy: "dear princess," continued he to himself, "this happy minute, which restores to me a treasure so precious to thee, is, without doubt, a presage of our meeting again, and perhaps sooner than i think of. thank heaven who sent me this good fortune, and gives me hope of the greatest felicity that my heart can desire." saying this, he kissed the talisman, wrapped it up in a riband, and tied it carefully about his arm. he had been almost every night a stranger to rest, the recollection of his misfortunes keeping him awake, but this night he enjoyed calm repose: he rose somewhat later the next morning than he used to do, and went to the gardener for orders. the good man bade him root up an old tree which bore no fruit. kummir al zummaun took an axe and began his work. in cutting off a branch of the root, he found his axe struck against something that resisted the blow. he removed the earth, and discovered a broad plate of brass, under which was a staircase of ten steps. he went down, and at the bottom saw a cavity about six yards square with fifty brass urns placed in order, each with a cover over it. he opened them all, one after another, and found they were all of them full of gold-dust. he came out of the cave, rejoicing that he had found such a vast treasure, put the brass plate on the staircase, and had the tree rooted up by the gardener's return. the gardener had ascertained that the ship which was bound for the isle of ebene, would sail in a few days, but the exact time was not yet fixed. his friend promised to let him know the day, if he called upon him on the morrow; and while the prince was rooting up the tree, he went to have his answer. he returned with a joyful countenance, by which the prince guessed he brought him good news. "son," said the old man (so he always called him on account of the difference of years between him and the prince) "be joyful, and prepare to embark in three days; the ship will then certainly sail; i have agreed with the captain for your passage." "in my present situation," replied kummir al zummaun, "you could not bring me more agreeable intelligence; and in return, i have also tidings that will be as welcome to you: come along with me, and you shall see what good fortune heaven has in store for you." the prince led the gardener to the place where he had rooted up the tree, made him go down into the cave, shewed him what a treasure he had discovered, thanking providence for rewarding his virtue, and the pains he had been at for so many years. "what do you mean?" replied the gardener: "do you imagine i will take these riches as mine? the property is yours: i have no right to it. for fourscore years, since my father's death, i have done nothing but dig in this garden, and could not discover this treasure, which is a sign it was destined for you, since god has permitted you to find it. it is better suited to a prince like you than to me; i have one foot in the grave, and am in no want of any thing. providence has bestowed it upon you, just when you are returning to that country, which will one day be your own, where you will make good use of it." kummir al zummaun would not be surpassed in generosity by the gardener. they disputed for some time. at last the prince solemnly protested, that he would have none of it, unless the gardener would divide it with him. the good man, to please the prince, consented; so they shared it between them, and each had twenty-five urns. "having thus divided it, son," said the gardener to the prince, "it is not enough that you have got this treasure; we must now contrive to carry it privately aboard, otherwise you will run the risk of losing it. there are no olives in the isle of ebene, those that are exported hence are a good commodity there: you know i have plenty of them, take what you will; fill fifty pots, half with the gold-dust and half with olives, and i will get them carried to the ship when you embark." the prince followed this advice, and spent the rest of the day in packing up the gold and the olives in the fifty pots, and fearing the talisman, which he wore on his arm, might be lost again, he carefully put it into one of the pots, with a particular mark to distinguish it from the rest. when they were all ready to be shipped, night coming on, the prince retired with the gardener, and related to him the battle of the birds, with the circumstance by which he had found the talisman. the gardener was equally surprised and joyful to hear it on his account. whether the old man was quite worn out with age, or had exhausted himself too much that day, the gardener had a very bad night; he grew worse the next day, and on the third day, when the prince was to embark, was so ill, that it was plain he was near his end. as soon as day broke, the captain of the ship came with several seamen to the gardener's; they knocked at the garden-door, which the prince opened to them. they asked him for the passenger who was to go with them. the prince answered, "i am he; the gardener who agreed with you for my passage is sick, and cannot be spoken with; come in, and let your men carry those pots of olives and my baggage aboard for me; i will only take leave of the gardener, and follow you." the seamen took the pots and the baggage, and the captain bade the prince make haste, the wind being fair. when the captain and his men were gone, kummir al zummaun went to the gardener to take his leave of him, and thanked him for all his good offices; but found him in the agonies of death, and had scarcely time to bid him rehearse the articles of his faith, which all good moosulmauns do before they die, before the gardener expired. the prince being under the necessity of embarking immediately, hastened to pay the last duty to the deceased. he washed his body, buried him in his own garden, and having nobody to assist him, it was almost evening before he had put him into the ground. as soon as he had done, he ran to the water-side, carrying with him the key of the garden, designing, if he had time, to give it to the landlord; otherwise to deposit it in some trusty person's hand before a witness, that he might have it after he was gone. when he reached the port, he was told the ship had sailed several hours, and was already out of sight. it had waited three hours for him, and the wind standing fair, the captain durst not stay longer. it is easy to imagine that kummir al zummaun was exceedingly grieved at being forced to remain longer in a country where he neither had, nor wished to have, any acquaintance; to think that he must wait another year for the opportunity he had lost. but the greatest affliction of all was, his having parted with the princess badoura's talisman, which he now considered lost. the only course left him was to return to the garden from whence he had come, to rent it of the landlord and continue to cultivate it by himself, deploring his misery and misfortunes. he hired a boy to assist him to do some part of the drudgery: that he might not lose the other half of the treasure which came to him by the death of the gardener, who died without heirs, he put the gold- dust into fifty other jars, which he filled up with olives, to be ready against the ship's return. while the prince was beginning another year of labour, sorrow, and impatience, the ship having a fair wind, continued her voyage to the isle of ebene, and happily arrived at the capital. the palace being by the sea side, the new king, or rather the princess badoura, espying the ship as she was entering into the port, with all her flags, asked what vessel it was: she was answered, that it came annually from the city of the idolaters, and was generally richly laden. the princess, who always had kummir al zummaun in her mind, imagined that the prince might be aboard; and resolved to visit the ship and meet him, without discovering herself; but to observe him, and take proper measures for their making themselves mutually known. under pretence of inquiring what merchandize was on board, and having the first sight of the goods, she commanded a horse to be brought, which she mounted, accompanied by several officers in waiting, and arrived at the port, just as the captain came ashore. she ordered him to be brought before her, asked whence he had come, how long he had been on his voyage, and what good or bad fortune he had met with: if he had no stranger of quality aboard, and particularly with what his ship was laden. the captain gave a satisfactory answer to all her demands; and as to passengers, assured her there were none but merchants in his ship, who used to come every year, and bring rich stuffs from several parts of the world to trade with, the finest linens painted and plain, diamonds, musk, ambergris, camphire, civet, spices, drugs, olives, and many other articles. the princess badoura loved olives extremely when she heard the captain speak of them, "land them," said she, "i will take them off your hands; as to the other goods, tell the merchants to bring them to me, and let me see them before they dispose of, or shew them to any one." the captain taking her for the king of the isle of ebene, replied, "sire, there are fifty great jars of olives, but they belong to a merchant whom i was forced to leave behind. i gave him notice myself that i stayed for him, and waited a long time, but he not coming, and the wind offering, i was afraid of losing the opportunity, and so set sail." the princess answered, "no matter, bring them ashore; we will nevertheless make a bargain for them." the captain sent the boat, which in a little time returned with the olives. the princess demanded how much the fifty jars might be worth in the isle of ebene? "sir," replied the captain, "the merchant is very poor, and your majesty will do him a singular favour if you give him one thousand pieces of silver." "to satisfy him," said the princess, "and because you tell me he is poor, i will order you one thousand pieces of gold for him, which do you take care to give him." the money was accordingly paid, and the jars carried to the palace. night drawing on the princess withdrew into the inner palace, and went to the princess haiatalnefous's apartment, ordering the olives to be brought thither. she opened one jar to let the princess haiatalnefous taste them, and poured them into a dish. great was her astonishment, when she found the olives were mingled with gold-dust. "what can this mean!" said she, "it is wonderful beyond comprehension." her curiosity increasing from so extraordinary an adventure, she ordered haiatalnefous's women to open and empty all the jars in her presence; and her wonder was still greater, when she saw that the olives in all of them were mixed with gold-dust; but when she saw her talisman drop out, she was so surprised that she fainted away. haiatalnefous and her women brought the princess to herself, by throwing cold water in her face. when she recovered, she took the talisman, and kissed it again and again; but not being willing that the princess haiatalnefous's women, who were ignorant of her disguise, should hear what she said, and it growing late, she dismissed them. "princess," said she to haiatalnefous, as soon as they were gone, "you who have heard my story, doubtless, guessed it was at the sight of the talisman that i fainted. this is that talisman, and the fatal cause of my dosing my husband; but as it was that which caused our separation, so i foresee it will be the means of our meeting." the next day, as soon as it was light, she sent for the captain of the ship; and when he came, spoke to him thus: "i want to know something more of the merchant to whom the olives belong, that i bought of you yesterday. i think you told me you left him behind in the city of the idolaters; can you tell me what is his employment there?" "yes," replied the captain, "i can speak from my own knowledge. i agreed for his passage with a very old gardener, who told me i should find him in his garden, where he worked under him. he shewed me the place, and for that reason i told your majesty he was poor. i went thither to call him. i told him what haste i was in, spoke to him myself in the garden, and cannot be mistaken in the man." "if what you say is true," replied the princess, "you must set sail this very day for the city of idolaters, and bring me that gardener's man, who is my debtor; else i will not only confiscate all your goods and those of your merchants, but your life and theirs shall answer for his. i have ordered my seal to be put on the warehouses where their goods are deposited, which shall not be taken off till your return: this is all i have to say to you; go and do as i command you." the captain could make no reply to this order, the disobeying of which must have proved of such loss to him and his merchants. he acquainted them with it; and they hastened him away as fast as they could, after he had laid in a stock of provisions and fresh water for his voyage. they were so diligent, that he set sail the same day. he had a prosperous voyage to the city of the idolaters, where he arrived in the night. when he was got as near the city as he thought convenient, he would not cast anchor, but lay to off shore; and going into his boat, with six of his stoutest seamen, landed a little way off the port, whence he went directly to the garden of kummir al zummaun. though it was about midnight when he came there, the prince was not asleep. his separation from the fair princess of china his wife afflicted him as usual. he cursed the minute in which his curiosity tempted him to touch the fatal girdle. thus was he passing those hours which are devoted to rest, when he heard somebody knock at the garden-door: he ran hastily to it; but he had no sooner opened it than the captain and his seamen took hold of him, and carried him to the boat, and so on ship- board. as soon as he was safely lodged, they set sail, and made the best of their way to the isle of ebene. hitherto kummir al zummaun, the captain, and his men, had not said a word to one another; at last the prince asked the captain, whom he knew again, why they had taken him away by force? the captain in his turn demanded of the prince, whether he was not a debtor of the king of ebene? "i the king of ebene's debtor!" replied the prince in amazement; "i do not know him, and have never set foot in his kingdom." the captain answered, "you should know that better than i; you will talk to him yourself in a little while; till then stay here and have patience." the captain was not long on his voyage back to the isle of ebene. though it was night when he cast anchor in the port, he landed immediately, and taking his prisoner with him, hastened to the palace, where he demanded to be introduced to the king. the princess badoura had withdrawn into the inner palace, but as soon as she heard of the captain's return, she came out to speak to him. immediately as she cast her eyes on the prince, for whom she had shed so many tears, she recognized him in his gardener's habit. as for the prince, who trembled in the presence of a king, as he thought her, to whom he was to answer for an imaginary debt, it could not enter into his thoughts, that the person whom he so earnestly desired to see stood before him. if the princess had followed the dictates of her inclination, she would have run to him, and, by embracing, discovered herself to him; but she put a constraint on herself, believing that it was for the interest of both that she should act the king a little longer before she made herself known. she contented herself for the present to put him into the hands of an officer, who was then in waiting, charging him to take care of him, and use him well, till the next day. when the princess badoura had provided for kummir al zummaun, she turned to the captain, whom she was now to reward for the important service he had done her. she commanded another officer to go immediately to take the seal off the warehouse which contained his goods, and gave him a rich diamond, worth much more than the expense he had been at in both his voyages. she also bade him keep the thousand pieces of gold she had given for the olives, telling him she would make up the account with the merchant whom he had brought with him. this done, she returned to the princess of the isle of ebene's apartment, to whom she communicated her joy, praying her to keep the secret still. she told how she intended to manage the discovering of herself to kummir al zumrnaun, and resignation of the kingdom to him; adding, there was so vast a distance between a gardener, as he would appear to the public, and a great prince, that it might be dangerous to raise him at once from the lowest condition of the people to the highest honour, however justice might require it should be done. the princess of the isle of ebene was so far from betraying her, that she rejoiced with her, and entered into the design. the next morning the princess of china ordered kummir al zummaun to be conducted early to the bath, and then to be appareled in the robes of an emir or governor of a province. she commanded him to be introduced into the council, where his fine person and majestic air drew upon him the eyes of all the lords present. the princess badoura herself was charmed to see him look as lovely as ever, and her pleasure inspired her to speak the more warmly in his praise. when she spoke to the council, having ordered the prince to take his seat among the emirs, she addressed them thus: "my lords, kummir al zummaun, whom i have advanced to the same dignity with yourselves, is not unworthy of the place assigned him. i have known enough of him in my travels to answer for him, and i can assure you he will make his merit known to all of you, as well by his velour, as by a thousand other brilliant qualities, and the extent of his genius." the prince was extremely amazed to hear the king of the isle of ebene, whom he was far from taking for a woman, much less for his dear princess, name him, and declare that he knew him, while he thought himself certain he had never seen him before. he was much more surprised when he heard him praise him so highly. those praises however from the mouth of majesty did not disconcert him, though he received them with such modesty, as shewed that he deserved them. he prostrated himself before the throne of the king, and rising again, said, "sire, i want words to express my gratitude to your majesty for the honour you have done me; i shall do all in my power to render myself worthy of your royal favour." from the council-board the prince was conducted to a palace, which the princess badoura had ordered to be fitted up for him; where he found officers and domestics ready to obey his commands, a stable full of fine horses, and every thing suitable to the quality of an emir. when he was in his closet, the steward of his household brought him a strong box full of gold for his expenses. the less he could conceive whence his happiness proceeded, the more he wondered, but he never once imagined that he owed it to the princess of china. two or three days after, the princess badoura, that he might be nearer her person and in a more distinguished post, made him high treasurer, which office had lately become vacant. he conducted himself in his new charge with so much integrity, yet obliging every body, that he not only gained the friendship of the great, but also the affections of the people, by his uprightness and bounty. kummir al zummaun had been the happiest man in the world, to see himself in so high favour with a foreign king as he conceived, and increasing in the esteem of all his subjects, if he had had his princess with him. in the midst of his good fortune he never ceased lamenting her, and grieved that he could hear no tidings of her, especially in a country which she must necessarily have visited in her way to his father's court after their separation. he would have mistrusted something, had the princess still gone by the name of kummir al zummaun, which she took with his habit; but on her accession to the throne, she had changed it, and taken that of armanos, in honour of the old king her father-in-law. the princess desiring that her husband should owe the discovery of her to herself alone, resolved to put an end to her own torments and his; for she had observed, that as often as she discoursed with him about the affairs of office, he heaved such deep sighs, as could be addressed to nobody but her. while she herself lived in such a constraint, that she could endure it no longer. the princess badoura had no sooner formed her resolution in concert with the princess haiatalnefous, than she the same day took kummir al zummaun aside, saying, "i must talk with you about an affair which requires much consideration, and on which i want your advice. as i do not see how it can be done so conveniently as in the night, come hither in the evening, and leave word at home not to be waited for; i will take care to provide you a lodging." kummir al zummaun came punctually to the palace at the hour appointed by the princess; she took him with her into the inner apartment, and having told the chief eunuch, who prepared to follow her, that she had no occasion for his service, conducted him into a different apartment from that of the princess haiatalnefous, where she used to sleep. when the prince and princess entered the chamber, she shut the door, and taking the talisman out of a little box, gave it to kummir al zummaun, saying, "it is not long since an astrologer presented me with this talisman; you being skilful in all things, may perhaps tell me its use." kummir al zummaun took the talisman, and drew near a lamp to view it. as soon as he recollected it, with an astonishment which gave the princess great pleasure, "sire," said he to the prince, "your majesty asked me the use of this talisman. alas! its only purpose is to kill me with grief and despair, if i do not quickly find the most charming and lovely princess in the world to whom it belonged, whose loss it occasioned me by a strange adventure, the recital of which will move your majesty to pity such an unfortunate husband and lover as i am." "you shall tell me the particulars another time," replied the princess; "i know something of them already: remain here a little, and i will soon return to you." at these words she went into her closet, put off her royal turban, and in a few minutes dressed herself in her female attire; and having the girdle round her, which she had on the day of their separation, re-entered the chamber. kummir al zummaun immediately recognized his dear princess, ran to her, and tenderly embraced her, exclaiming, "how much am i obliged to the king who has so agreeably surprised me!" "do not expect to see the king any more," replied the princess, embracing him in her turn, with tears in her eyes: "you see him in me; sit down, and i will explain this enigma to you." they seated themselves, and the princess related the plan she had formed in the plain where they were encamped the last time they were together, as soon as she perceived she waited for him to no purpose; how she went through with it till she arrived at the isle of ebene, where she had been obliged to marry the princess haiatalnefous, and accept of the crown, which king armanos offered her as a condition of the marriage: how the princess, whose merit she highly extolled, had obliged her to make declaration of her sex: and how she found the talisman in the pots of olives mingled with the gold-dust, which she had bought, and how this circumstance had proved the cause of her sending for him from the city of the idolaters. when she had concluded her adventure, she obliged the prince to tell her by what means the talisman had occasioned their separation. he satisfied her inquiries; after which, it growing late, they retired to rest. the princess badoura and kummir al zummaun rose next morning as soon as it was light, but the princess would no more put on her royal robes as king; she dressed herself in her female attire, and then sent the chief eunuch to king armanos, her father-in- law, to desire he would oblige her by coming to her apartment. when the king entered the chamber, he was amazed at seeing a lady who was unknown to him, and the high treasurer with her, who was not by etiquette permitted to come within the inner palace. he sat down, and asked where the king was. the princess answered, "yesterday i was king, but to-day i am only princess of china, wife to the true prince kummir al zummaun. if your majesty will have patience to hear our adventures, i hope you will not condemn me for putting an innocent deceit upon you." the king bade her go on, and heard her narrative from beginning to end with astonishment. the princess on finishing said to him, "sir, though women do not easily comply with the liberty assumed by men to have several wives; yet if your majesty will consent to give your daughter the princess haiatalnefous in marriage to the prince, i will with all my heart yield up to her the rank and quality of queen, which of right belongs to her, and content myself with the second place. if this precedence were not her due, i would resign it to her, after the obligation i have to her for keeping my secret so generously. if your majesty refer it to her consent, i am sure of that, having already consulted her; and i will pass my word that she will be very well satisfied." king armanos listened to the princess with astonishment, and when she had done, turned to kummir al zummaun, saying, "son, since the princess badoura your wife, whom i have all along thought to be my son-in-law, through a deceit of which i cannot complain, assures me, that she will divide your bed with my daughter; i would know if you are willing to marry her, and accept of the crown, which the princess badoura would deservedly wear, if she did not quit it out of love to you." "sir," replied kummir al zummaun, "though i desire nothing so earnestly as to see the king my father, yet the obligations i have to your majesty and the princess haiatalnefous are so weighty, i can refuse her nothing." the prince was then proclaimed king, and married the same day with all possible demonstrations of joy; and had every reason to be well pleased with the princess haiatalnefous's beauty, wit, and love for him. the two queens lived together afterwards on the same friendly terms and in the same cordiality as they had done before, both being contented with kummir al zummaun's equal carriage towards them. the next year each brought him a son at the same time, and the births of the two princes were celebrated with extraordinary rejoicings: the first, whom the princess badoura was delivered of, was named amgiad (most illustrious); and the other, born of queen haiatalnefous, assad (most virtuous). the story of the princes amgiad and assad. the two princes were brought up with great care; and, when they were old enough, had the same governor, the same instructors in the arts and sciences, and the same master for each exercise. the affection which from their infancy they conceived for each other occasioned an uniformity of manners and inclination, which increased it. when they were of an age to have separate households, they loved one another so tenderly, that they begged the king to let them live together. he consented, and they had the same domestics, the same equipages, the same apartment, and the same table. kummir al zummaun had formed so good an opinion of their capacity and integrity, that he made no scruple of admitting them into his council at the age of eighteen, and letting them, by turns, preside there, while he took the diversion of hunting, or amused himself with his queens at his houses of pleasure. the princes being equally handsome, the two queens loved them with incredible tenderness; but the princess badoura had a greater kindness for prince assad, queen haiatalnefous's son, than for her own; and queen haiatalnefous loved amgiad, the princess badoura's son, better than her own son assad. the two queens thought at first this inclination was nothing but a regard which proceeded from an excess of their own friendship for each other, which they still preserved: but as the two princes advanced in years, that friendship grew into a violent love, when they appeared in their eyes to possess graces that blinded their reason. they knew how criminal their passion was, and did all they could to resist it; but the familiar intercourse with them, and the habit of admiring, praising, and caressing them from their infancy, which they could not restrain when they grew up, inflamed their desires to such a height as to overcome their reason and virtue. it was their and the princes' ill- fortune, that the latter being used to be so treated by them, had not the least suspicion of their infamous passion. the two queens had not concealed from each other this passion, but had not the boldness to declare it to the princes they loved; they at last resolved to do it by a letter, and to execute their wicked design, availed themselves of the king's absence, when he was gone on a hunting party for three or four days. prince amgiad presided at the council on the day of his father's departure, and administered justice till two or three o'clock in the afternoon. as he returned to the palace from the council- chamber, an eunuch took him aside, and gave him a letter from queen haiatalnefous. amgiad took it, and read it with horror. "traitor," said he, to the eunuch. as soon as he had perused it through, "is this the fidelity thou owest thy master and thy king?" at these words he drew his sabre and cut off his head. having done this in a transport of anger he ran to the princess badoura his mother, shewed her the letter, told her the contents of it, and from whom it came. instead of hearkening to him, she fell into a passion, and said, "son, it is all a calumny and imposture; queen haiatalnefous is a very discreet princess, and you are very bold to talk to me against her." the prince, enraged at his mother, exclaimed, "you are both equally wicked, and were it not for the respect i owe my father, this day should have been the last of haiatalnefous's life." queen badoura might have imagined by the example of her son amgiad, that prince assad, who was not less virtuous, would not receive more favourably a declaration of love, similar to that which had been made to his brother. yet that did not hinder her persisting in her abominable design; she, the next day, wrote him a letter, which she entrusted to an old woman who had access to the palace, to convey to him. the old woman watched her opportunity to put it into his hands as he was coming from the council-chamber, where he presided that day in his turn. the prince took it, and reading it, fell into such a rage, that, without giving himself time to finish it, he drew his sabre and punished the old woman as she deserved. he ran immediately to the apartment of his mother queen haiatalnefous, with the letter in his hand: he would have shewn it to her, but she did not give him time, crying out, "i know what you mean; you are as impertinent as your brother amgiad: be gone, and never come into my presence again." assad stood as one thunder-struck at these words, so little expected. he was so enraged, that he had like to have given fatal demonstrations of his anger; but he contained himself, and withdrew without making any reply, fearing if he stayed he might say something unworthy the greatness of his soul. amgiad had not mentioned to him the letter which he had received the preceding day; and finding by what his mother had said to him that she was altogether as criminal as queen haiatalnefous, he went to his brother, to chide him for not communicating the hated secret to him, and to mingle his own sorrow with his. the two queens, rendered desperate by finding in the two princes such virtue as should have made them look inwardly on themselves, renounced all sentiments of nature and of mothers and conspired together to destroy them. they made their women believe the two princes had attempted their virtue: they counterfeited the matter to the life by their tears, cries, and curses; and lay in the same bed, as if the resistance they pretended to have made had reduced them almost to death's-door. when kummir al zummaun returned to the palace from hunting, he was much surprised to find them in bed together, in tears, acting despondency so well, that he was touched with compassion. he asked them with earnestness what had happened to them. at this question, the dissembling queens wept and sobbed more bitterly than before; and after he had pressed them again and again to tell him, queen badoura at last answered him: "sir, our grief is so well founded, that we ought not to see the light of the sun, or live a day, after the violence that has been offered us by the unparalleled brutality of the princes your sons. they formed a horrid design, encouraged by your absence, and had the boldness and insolence to attempt our honour. your majesty will excuse us from saying any more; you may guess the rest by our affliction." the king sent for the two princes, and would have killed them both with his own hand, had not old king armanos his father-in- law, who was present, held his hand: "son," said he, "what are you going to do? will you stain your hands and your palace with your own blood? there are other ways of punishing them, if they are really guilty." he endeavoured thus to appease him, and desired him to examine whether they did indeed commit the crime of which they were accused. it was no difficult matter for kummir al zummaun to restrain himself so far as not to butcher his own children. he ordered them to be put under arrest, and sent for an emir called jehaun- dar, whom he commanded to conduct them out of the city, and put them to death, at a great distance, and in what place he pleased, but not to see him again, unless he brought their clothes with him, as a token of his having executed his orders. jehaun-dar travelled with them all night, and early next morning made them alight, telling them, with tears in his eyes, the commands he had received. "believe me, princes," said he, "it is a trying duty imposed on me by your father, to execute this cruel order: would to heaven i could avoid it!" the princes replied, "do your duty; we know well you are not the cause of our death, and forgive you with all our hearts." they then embraced, and bade each other a last adieu with so much tenderness, that it was a long time before they could leave one another's arms. prince assad was the first who prepared himself for the fatal stroke. "begin with me," said he "that i may not have the affliction to see my dear brother amgiad die." to this amgiad objected; and jehaun-dar could not, without weeping more than before, be witness of this dispute between them; which shewed how perfect and sincere was their affection. at last they determined the contest, by desiring jehaun-dar to tie them together, and put them in the most convenient posture for him to give them the fatal stroke at one blow. "do not refuse the comfort of dying together to two unfortunate brothers, who from their birth have shared every thing, even their innocence," said the generous princes. jehaun-dar granted their request; he tied them to each other, breast to breast; and when he had placed them so that he thought he might strike the blow with more certainty, asked them if they had any thing to command him before they died. "we have only one thing to desire of you," replied the princes, "which is, to assure the king our father on your return, that we are innocent; but that we do not charge him with our deaths, knowing he is not well informed of the truth of the crime of which we are accused." jehaun-dar promised to do what they desired and drew his sabre, when his horse, being tied to a tree just by, started at the sight of the sabre, which glittered against the sun, broke his bridle, and ran away into the country. he was a very valuable horse, and so richly caparisoned, that the emir could not bear the loss of him. this accident so vexed him, that instead of beheading the two princes, he threw away his sabre, and ran after his horse. the horse galloped on before him, and led him several miles into a wood. jehaun-dar followed him, and the horse's neighing roused a lion that was asleep. the lion started up, and instead of running after the horse, made directly towards jehaun-dar, who thought no more of his horse, but how to save his life. he ran into the thickest of the wood, the lion keeping him in view, pursuing him among the trees. in this extremity he said to himself, "heaven had not punished me in this manner, but to shew the innocence of the princes whom i was commanded to put to death; and now, to my misfortune, i have not my sabre to defend myself." while jehaun-dar was gone, the two princes were seized with a violent thirst, occasioned by the fear of death, notwithstanding their noble resolution to submit to the king their father's cruel order. prince amgiad told the prince his brother there was a spring not far off. "ah! brother," said assad, "we have so little time to live, what need have we to quench our thirst? we can bear it a few minutes longer." amgiad taking no notice of his brother's remonstrance, unbound himself, and the prince his brother. they went to the spring, and having refreshed themselves, heard the roaring of the lion. they also heard jehaun-dar's dreadful cries in the wood, which he and the horse had entered. amgiad took up the sabre which lay on the ground, saying to assad, "come, brother, let us go and save the unfortunate jehaun-dar; perhaps we may arrive soon enough to deliver him from the danger to which he is now exposed." the two princes ran to the wood, and entered it just as the lion was going to fall on jehaun-dar. the beast seeing prince amgiad advancing towards him with a sabre in his hand, left his prey, and rushed towards him with great fury. the prince met him intrepidly, and gave him a blow so forcibly and dexterously, that it felled him to the ground. when jehaun-dar saw that he owed his life to the two princes, he threw himself at their feet, and thanked them for the obligation, in words which sufficiently testified his gratitude. "princes," said he, rising up and kissing their hands, with tears in his eyes, "god forbid that ever i should attempt any thing against your lives, after you have so kindly and bravely saved mine. it shall never he said, that the emir jehaun-dar was guilty of such ingratitude." "the service we have done you," answered the princes, "ought not to prevent you from executing the orders you have received: let us first catch your horse, and then return to the place where you left us."--they were at no great trouble to take the horse, whose mettle was abated with running. when they had restored him to jehaun-dar, and were come near the fountain, they begged of him to do as their father had commanded; but all to no purpose. "i only take the liberty to desire," said jehaun-dar, "and i pray you not to deny me, that you will divide my clothes between you, and give me yours; and go to such a distance, that the king your father may never hear of you more." the princes were forced to comply with his request. each of them gave him his clothes, and covered themselves with what he could spare them of his. he also gave them all the money he had about him, and took his leave of them. after the emir jehaun-dar had parted from the princes, he passed through the wood where amgiad had killed the lion, in whose blood he dipped their clothes: which having done, he proceeded on his way to the capital of the isle of ebene. on his arrival there, kummir al zummaun inquired if he had done as commanded? jehaun-dar replied, "behold, sir, the proofs of my obedience;" giving him at the same time the princes' clothes. "how did they bear their punishment?" jehaun-dar answered, "with wonderful constancy and resignation to the decrees of heaven, which shewed how sincerely they made profession of their religion: but particularly with great respect towards your majesty, and an inconceivable submission to the sentence of death. �we die innocent,' said they; �but we do not murmur: we take our death from the hand of heaven, and forgive our father; for we know he has not been rightly informed of the truth.'" kummir al zummaun was sensibly touched at jehaun-dar's relation. a thought occurred to him to search the princes' pockets; he began with prince amgiad's where he found a letter open, which he read. he no sooner recognized the hand-writing than he was chilled with horror. he then, trembling, put his hand into that of assad, and finding there queen badoura's letter, his horror was so great, that he fainted. never was grief equal to kummir all zummaun's, when he recovered from his fit: "barbarous father," cried he, "what hast thou done? thou hast murdered thy own children, thy innocent children! did not their wisdom, their modesty, their obedience, their submission to thy will in all things, their virtue, all plead in their behalf? blind and insensible father! dost thou deserve to live after the execrable crime thou hast committed? i have brought this abomination on my own head; and heaven chastises me for not persevering in that aversion to women with which i was born. and, oh ye detestable wives! i will not, no, i will not, as ye deserve, wash off the guilt of your sins with your blood; ye are unworthy of my rage: but i will never see you more!" kummir al zummaun was a man of too much religion to break his vow: he commanded the two queens to be lodged in separate apartments that very day, where they were kept under strong guards, and he never saw them again as long as he lived. while the king of the isle of ebene was afflicting himself for the loss of his sons, of whose death he thought he had been the author by his too rashly condemning them, the royal youths wandered through deserts, endeavouring to avoid all places that were inhabited, and shun every human creature. they lived on herbs and wild fruits, and drank only rain-water, which they found in the crevices of the rocks. they slept and watched by turns at night, for fear of wild beasts. when they had travelled about a month, they came to the foot of a frightful mountain of black stones, and to all appearance inaccessible. they at last espied a kind of path, but so narrow and difficult that they durst not venture to follow it: this obliged them to go along by the foot of the mountain, in hopes of finding a more easy way to reach the summit, but could discover nothing like a path, so they were forced to return to that which they had neglected. they still thought it would be in vain for them to attempt it. they deliberated for a long time what they should do, and at last, encouraging one another, resolved to ascend. the more they advanced the higher and steeper the mountain appeared, which made them think several times of giving over their enterprise. when the one was weary, the other stopped, and they took breath together; sometimes they were both so tired, that they wanted strength to proceed: then despairing of being able to reach the top they thought they must lie down and die of fatigue and weariness. a few minutes after, when they found they recovered strength, they animated each other and went on. notwithstanding all their endeavours, their courage and perseverance, they could not reach the summit that day; night came on, and prince assad was so spent, that he stopped and said to amgiad, "brother, i can go no farther, i am just dying." "let us rest ourselves," replied prince amgiad, "as long as you will, and have a good heart: it is but a little way to the top, and the moon befriends us." they rested about half an hour, and then assad making a new effort, they ascended what remained of the way to the summit, where they both at last arrived, and lay down. amgiad rose first, and advancing, saw a tree at a little distance. he went to it, and found it was a pomegranate, with large fruit upon it, and he perceived there was a spring at its foot: he ran to his brother assad to tell him the good news, and conduct him to the tree by the fountain side. here they refreshed themselves by eating each a pomegranate, after which they fell asleep. when they awoke the next morning, "come, brother," said amgiad to assad, "let us go on; i see the mountain is easier to be travelled over on this side than the other, all our way now is down hill." but assad was so tired with the preceding day's exertions, that he wanted three days' repose to recover himself. they spent these days as they had done many before, in conversing on their mothers' inordinate passion, which had reduced them to such a deplorable state: but, said they, "since heaven has so visibly declared itself in our favour, we ought to bear our misfortunes with patience, and comfort ourselves with hopes that we shall see an end of them." after having rested three days, the two brothers continued their travels. as the mountain on that side was composed of several shelves of extensive flat, they were five days in descending before they came into the plain. they then discovered a large city, at which they rejoiced: "brother," said amgiad to assad, "are not you of my opinion that you should stay in some place out of the city, where i may find you again, while i go and inform myself what country we are in, and when i come back i will bring provisions with me? it may not be safe for us to go there together." "brother," replied assad, "your plan is both safe and prudent, and i approve of what you say but if one of us must part from the other on that account, i will not suffer it shall be you; you must allow me to go; for what shall i suffer, if any accident should befall you?" "but, brother," answered amgiad, "the very accident you fear would befall me, i have as much reason to fear would happen to you: i entreat you to let me go, and do you remain here patiently." "i will never consent to this," said assad; "if any ill happen to me, it will be some comfort to think you are safe." amgiad was forced to submit, and assad going towards the city, he stayed under the trees at the foot of the mountain. prince assad took the purse of money which amgiad had in charge, and went forwards towards the city. he had not proceeded far in the first street, before he met with a reverend old man with a cane in his hand. he was neatly dressed, and the prince took him for a man of note in the place, who would not put a trick upon him, so he accosted him thus: "pray, my lord, which is the way to the market-place?" the old man looked at prince assad smiling; "child," said he, "it is plain you are a stranger, or you would not have asked that question." "yes, my lord, i am a stranger," replied assad. the old man answered, "you are welcome then; our country will be honoured by the presence of so handsome a young man as you are: tell me what business you have at the market-place." "my lord," replied assad, "it is near two months since my brother and i set out from our own country: we have not ceased travelling, and we arrived here but to-day; my brother, tired with such a long journey, stays at the foot of the mountain, and i am come to buy some provisions for him and myself." "son," said the old man, "you could not have come in a better time, and i am glad of it for your and your brother's sake. i made a feast today for some friends of mine: come along with me; you shall eat as much as you please; and when you have done, i will give you enough to last your brother and yourself several days. do not spend your money, when there is no occasion; travellers are always in want of it: while you are eating i will give you an account of our city, which no one can do better than myself, who have borne all the honourable offices in it. it is well for you that you happen to light upon me; for i must tell you, all our citizens cannot so well assist and inform you. i can assure you some of them are very wicked. come, you shall see the difference between a real honest man, as i am, and such as boast of being so, and are not." "i am infinitely obliged to you," replied assad, "for your kindness; i put myself entirely into your hands, and am ready to go with you where you please." the old man, as he walked along by his side, laughed inwardly, to think he had got the prince in his clutches; and all the way, lest he should perceive his dissimulation, talked of various subjects, to preserve the favourable opinion assad had of him. among other things, he said, "it must be confessed you were very fortunate to have spoken to me, rather than to any one else: i thank god i met with you; you will know why, when you come to my house." at length they arrived at the residence of the old man, who introduced assad into a hall, where there were forty such old fellows as himself, who made a circle round a flaming fire, which they were adoring. the prince was not less struck with horror at the sight of so many men mistakenly worshipping the creature for the creator, than he was with fear at finding himself betrayed into so abominable a place. while the prince stood motionless with astonishment, the old cheat saluted the forty gray-headed men. "devout adorers of fire," said he to them, "this is a happy day for us; where is gazban? call him." he spake these words aloud, when a negro who waited at the lower end of the hall immediately came up to him. this black was gazban, who, as soon as he saw the disconsolate assad, imagined for what purpose he was called. he rushed upon him immediately, threw him down, and bound his hands with wonderful activity. when he had done, "carry him down," said the old man, "and fail not to order my daughters, bostama and cavama, to give him every day a severe bastinado, with only a loaf morning and night for his subsistence; this is enough to keep him alive till the next ship departs for the blue sea and the fiery mountain, where he shall be offered up an acceptable sacrifice to our divinity." as soon as the old man had given the cruel order, gazban hurried prince assad under the hall, through several doors, till they came to a dungeon, down to which led twenty steps; there he left him in chains of prodigious weight and bigness, fastened to his feet. when he had done, he went to give the old man's daughters notice: but their father had before sent for them, and given them their instructions himself: "daughters," said he to them, "go down and give the mussulmaun i just now brought in the bastinado: do not spare him; you cannot better shew your zeal for the worship of the fire." bostama and cavama, who were bred up in their hatred to the faithful, received this order with joy. they descended into the dungeon that instant, stripped assad, and bastinadoed him unmercifully, till the blood issued out of his wounds and he was almost dead. after this cruel treatment, they put a loaf of bread and a pot of water by him, and retired. assad did not come to himself again for a long time; when he revived, he burst out into a flood of tears, deploring his misery. his comfort however was, that this misfortune had not happened to his brother. amgiad waited for his brother till evening with impatience; as two, three, or four of the clock in the morning arrived, and assad did not return, he was in despair. he spent the night in extreme uneasiness; and as soon as it was day went to the city, where he was surprised to see but very few mussulmauns. he accosted the first he met, and asked him the name of the place. he was told it was the city of the magicians, so called from the great number of magicians, who adored the fire; and that it contained but few mussulmauns. amgiad then demanded how far it was to the isle of ebene? he was answered, four months' voyage by sea, and a year's journey by land. the man he talked to left him hastily, having satisfied him as to these two questions. amgiad, who had been but six weeks coming from the isle of ebene with his brother assad, could not comprehend how they had reached this city in so short a time, unless it was by enchantment, or that the way across the mountain was a much shorter one, but not frequented because of its difficulty. going farther into the town, he stopped at a tailor's shop, whom he knew to be a mussulmaun by his dress. having saluted him, he sat down, and told him the occasion of the trouble he was in. when prince amgiad had done talking, the tailor replied, "if your brother has fallen into the hands of some magicians, depend upon it you will never see him more. he is lost past all recovery; and i advise you to comfort yourself as well as you can, and to beware of falling into the same misfortune: to which end, if you will take my advice, you shall stay at my house, and i will tell you all the tricks of these magicians, that you may take care of yourself, when you go out." amgiad, afflicted for the loss of his brother, accepted the tailor's offer and thanked him a thousand times for his kindness to him. the story of the prince amgiad and a lady of the city of the magicians. for a whole month prince amgiad never went out of the tailor's house without being accompanied by his host. at last he ventured to go alone to the bath. as he was returning home, he met a lady on the way. seeing a handsome young man, she lifted up her veil, asked him with a smiling air, and bewitching look, whither he was going? amgiad was overpowered by her charms, and replied, "madam, i am going to my own house, or, if you please, i will go to yours." "my lord," resumed the lady, with a smile, "ladies of my quality never take men to their houses, they always accompany them to theirs." amgiad was much perplexed by this unexpected reply. he durst not venture to take her home to his landlord's house, lest he should give him offence, and thereby lose his protection, of which he had so much need, in a city which required him to be always on his guard. he knew so little of the town, that he could not tell where to convey her, and he could not make up his mind to suffer the adventure to go unimproved. in this uncertainty, he determined to throw himself upon chance; and without making any answer, went on, and the lady followed him. amgiad led her from street to street, from square to square, till they were both weary with walking. at last they entered a street, at the end of which was a closed gateway leading to a handsome mansion. on each side of the gateway was a bench. amgiad sat down on one of them, as if to take breath: and the lady, more weary than he, seated herself on the other. when she had taken her seat, she asked him, whether that was his house? "you see it, madam," said amgiad. "why do you not open the gate then," demanded the lady; "what do you wait for?" "fair lady," answered amgiad, "i have not the key; i left it with my slave, when i sent him on an errand, and he cannot be come back yet: besides, i ordered him afterwards to provide something good for dinner; so that i am afraid we shall wait a long time for him." the prince, meeting with so many obstacles to the satisfying of his passion, began to repent of having proceeded so far, and contrived this answer, in hopes that the lady would take the hint, would leave him out of resentment, and seek elsewhere for a lover; but he was mistaken. "this is a most impertinent slave," said the lady, "to make us wait so long. i will chastise him myself as he deserves, if you do not, when he comes back. it is not decent that i should sit here alone with a man." saying this, she arose, and took up a stone to break the lock, which was only of wood, and weak, according to the fashion of the country. amgiad gave himself over for a lost man, when he saw the door forced open. he paused to consider whether he should go into the house or make off as fast as he could, to avoid the danger which he believed was inevitable; and he was going to fly when the lady returned. seeing he did not enter, she asked, "why do not you come into your house?" the prince answered, "i am looking to see if my slave is coming, fearing we have nothing ready." "come in, come in," resumed she, we had better wait for him within doors than without." amgiad, much against his will, followed her into the house. passing through a spacious court, neatly paved, they ascended by several steps into a grand vestibule, which led to a large open hall very well furnished, where he and the lady found a table ready spread with all sorts of delicacies, another heaped with fruit, and a sideboard covered with bottles of wine. when amgiad beheld these preparations, he gave himself up for lost. "unfortunate amgiad," said he to himself, "thou wilt soon follow thy dear brother assad." the lady, on the contrary, transported at the sight, exclaimed, "how, my lord, did you fear there was nothing ready? you see your slave has done more than you expected. but, if i am not mistaken, these preparations were made for some other lady, and not for me: no matter, let her come, i promise you i will not be jealous; i only beg the favour of you to permit me to wait on her and you." amgiad, greatly as he was troubled at this accident, could not help laughing at the lady's pleasantry. "madam," said he, thinking of something else that tormented his mind, "there is nothing in what you imagine; this is my common dinner, and no extraordinary preparation, i assure you." as he could not bring himself to sit down at a. table which was not provided for him, he would have taken his seat on a sofa, but the lady would not permit him. "come, sir," said she, "you must be hungry after bathing, let us eat and enjoy ourselves." amgiad was forced to comply: they both sat down, and began to regale themselves. after having taken a little, the lady took a bottle and glass, poured out some wine, and when she had drunk herself, filled another glass, and gave it to amgiad, who pledged her. the more the prince reflected on this adventure, the more he was amazed that the master of the house did not appear; and that a mansion, so rich and well provided, should be left without a servant. "it will be fortunate," said he to himself, "if the master of the house do not return till i am got clear of this intrigue." while he was occupied with these thoughts, and others more troublesome, she ate and drank heartily, and obliged him to do the same. just as they were proceeding to the dessert, the master of the house arrived. it happened to be bahader, master of the horse to the king of the magicians. this mansion belonged to him, but he commonly resided in another; and seldom came to this, unless to regale himself with two or three chosen friends he always sent provisions from his other house on such occasions, and had done so this day by some of his servants, who were just gone when the lady and amgiad entered. bahader came as he used to do, in disguise, and without attendants, and a little before the time appointed for the assembling of his friends. he was not a little surprised to find the door broken open; he entered, making no noise, and hearing some persons talking and making merry in the hall, he stole along under the wall, and put his head half way within the door to see who they were. perceiving a young man and a young lady eating at his table the victuals that had been provided for his friends and himself, and that there was no great harm done, he resolved to divert himself with the adventure. the lady's back was a little turned towards him, and she did not see the master of the horse, but amgiad perceived him immediately. the glass was at the time in his hand, and he was going to drink; he changed colour at the sight of bahader, who made a sign to him not to say a word, but to come and speak to him. amgiad drank and rose: "where are you going?" inquired the lady. the prince answered, "pray, madam, stay here a little; i shall return directly." bahader waited for him in the vestibule, and led him into the court to talk to him without being overheard by the lady. when bahader and amgiad were in the court, bahader demanded of the prince, how the lady came into his house? and why they broke open his door? "my lord," replied amgiad, "you may very reasonably think me guilty of a very unwarrantable action: but if you will have patience to hear me, i hope i shall convince you of my innocence." he then related, in a few words, what had happened, without disguising any part of the truth; and to shew him that he was not capable of committing such an action as to break into a house, told him he was a prince, and informed him of the reason of his coming to the city of the magicians. bahader, who was a good man, was pleased with an opportunity of obliging one of amgiad's rank: for by his air, his actions, and his well-turned conversation, he did not in the least doubt the truth of what he had asserted. "prince," said bahader, "i am glad i can oblige you in so pleasent an adventure. far from disturbing the feast, it will gratify me to contribute to your satisfaction in any thing. before i say any more on this subject, i must inform you my name is bahader; i am master of the horse to the king of the magicians; i commonly reside in another house, which i have in the city, and come here sometimes to have the more liberty with my friends. you have made this lady believe you have a slave, though you have none; i will personate that slave, and that this may not make you uneasy, and to prevent your excuses, i repeat again, that i will positively have it to be so; you will soon know my reason. go to your place, and continue to divert yourself. when i return again, and come to you in a slave's habit, chide me for staying so long, do not be afraid even to strike me. i will wait upon you while you are at table till night; you shall sleep here, and so shall the lady, and to-morrow morning you may send her home with honour. i shall afterwards endeavour to do you more important services: go, and lose no time." amgiad would have made him an answer, but the master of the horse would not suffer him, forcing him to return to the lady. he had scarcely reentered the hall before bahader's friends, whom he had invited, arrived. bahader excused himself for not entertaining them that day, telling them they would approve of his reason when they should be informed of it, which they should be in due time. when they were gone, he went and dressed himself in a slave's habit. prince amgiad returned to the lady much pleased at finding the house belonged to a man of quality, who had received him so courteously. when he sat down again, he said, "madam, i beg a thousand pardons for my rudeness. i was vexed that my slave should tarry so long; the rascal shall pay for it when he comes: i will teach him to make me wait so for him." "let not that trouble you," said the lady. "the evil is his; if he is guilty of any faults, let him pay for it: but do not let us think of him, we will enjoy ourselves without him." they continued at the table with the more pleasure, as amgiad was under no apprehensions of the consequence of the lady's indiscretion in breaking open the door. the prince was now as merry as the lady: they said a thousand pleasant things, and drank more than they ate, till bahader arrived in his disguise. bahader entered like a slave who feared his master's displeasure for staying out when he had company with him. he fell down at his feet and kissed the ground, to implore his clemency; and when he had done, stood behind him with his hands across, waiting his commands. "sirrah," said amgiad, with a fierce tone, and angry look, "where have you been? what have you been doing, that you came no sooner?" "my lord," replied bahader, "i ask your pardon; i was executing your orders, and did not think you would return home so early." "you are a rascal," said amgiad, "and i will break your bones, to teach you to lie, and disappoint me." he then rose up, took a stick, and gave him two or three slight blows; after which he sat down again. the lady was not satisfied with this chastisement. she also rose, took the stick, and fell upon bahader so unmercifully, that the tears came into his eyes. amgiad, offended to the last degree at the freedom she took, and that she should use one of the king's chief officers so ill, called out to her in vain to forbear. "let me alone," said she "i will give him enough, and teach him to be absent so long another time." she continued beating him with great fury, till amgiad rose from the table, and forced the stick out of her hand which she did not relinquish without much struggling. when she found she could beat bahader no longer, she sat down, railed at and cursed him. bahader wiped his eyes, and stood up to fill out wine when he saw they had done eating and drinking, he took away the cloth, cleared the hall, put every thing in its place; and night coming on, lighted up the lamps. every time he came in, or went out, the lady muttered, threatened him, and gave him abusive language, to amgiad's great regret, who would have hindered her, but could not. when it was time for them to retire to bed, bahader prepared one for them on the sofa, and withdrew into a chamber, where he laid himself down, and soon fell asleep, having been fatigued with his beating. amgiad and the lady entertained one another for some time afterwards. the lady before she went to bed having occasion to go to another part of the house, passing through the vestibule, heard bahader snore, and having seen a sabre hanging up in the hall, turned back, and said to amgiad, "my lord, as you love me, do one thing for me." "in what can i serve you?" asked the prince. "oblige me so far as to take down this sabre and cut off your slave's head." amgiad was astonished at such a proposal from a lady, and made no doubt but it was the wine she had drunk that induced her to make it. "madam," said he, "let us suffer him to rest, he is not worthy of your farther notice: i have beaten him, and you have beaten him: that ought to be sufficient; besides, i am in other respects well satisfied with him." "that shall not satisfy me," replied the lady, in a violent passion; "the rascal shall die, if not by your hands, by mine." as she spoke, she took down the sabre from the place where it hung, drew it out of the scabbard, and prepared to execute her wicked design. amgiad met her in the vestibule, saying, "you shall be satisfied, madam, since you will have it so; but i should be sorry that any one besides myself should kill my slave." when she had given him the sabre, "come, follow me," said he; "make no noise, lest we should awaken him." they went into bahader's chamber, where amgiad, instead of striking him, aimed his blow at the lady, and cut off her head, which fell upon bahader. bahader was awakened by the head of the lady falling upon him. he was amazed to see amgiad standing by him with a bloody sabre, and the body of the lady lying headless on the ground. the prince told him what had passed, and said, "i had no other way to prevent this furious woman from killing you, but to take away her life." "my lord," replied bahader, full of gratitude, "persons of your rank and generosity are incapable of doing such a wicked action: as she desired of you. you are my deliverer, and i cannot sufficiently thank you." after having embraced him, to evince the sense he entertained of his obligations to him, he said, "we must carry this corpse out before it is quite day; leave it to me, i will do it." amgiad would not consent to this, saying, "he would carry it away himself, since he had struck the blow." bahader replied, "you are a stranger in this city, and cannot do it so well as one who is acquainted with the place. i must do it, if for no other reason, yet for the safety of both of us, to prevent our being questioned about her death. remain you here, and if i do not return before day, you may be sure the watch has seized me; and for fear of the worst, i will by writing give this house and furniture for your habitation." when he had written, signed, and delivered the paper to prince amgiad, he put the lady's body in a bag, head and all; laid it on his shoulder, and went out with it from one street to another, taking the way to the sea-side. he had not proceeded far before he met one of the judges of the city, who was going the rounds in person. bahader was stopped by the judge's followers, who, opening the bag, found the body of a murdered lady, bundled up with the head. the judge, who knew the master of the horse notwithstanding his disguise, took him home to his house, and not daring to put him to death without telling the king, on account of his rank, carried him to court as soon as it was day. when the king had been informed by the judge of the crime bahader had, as he believed from the circumstances, committed, he addressed himself to the master of the horse as follows: "it is thus then that thou murderess my subjects, to rob them, and then wouldst throw their dead bodies into the sea, to hide thy villainy? let us get rid of him; execute him immediately." innocent as bahader was, he received sentence of death with resignation, and said not a word in his justification. the judge carried him to his house, and while the pale was preparing, sent a crier to publish throughout the city, that at noon the master of the horse was to be impaled for a murder. prince amgiad, who had in vain expected bahader's return, was struck with consternation when he heard the crier publish the approaching execution of the master of the horse. "if," said he to himself, "any one ought to die for the murder of such a wicked woman, it is i, and not bahader; i will never suffer an innocent man to be punished for the guilty." without deliberating, he then hastened to the place of execution, whither the people were running from all parts. when amgiad saw the judge bringing bahader to the pale, he went up to him, and said, "i am come to assure you, that the master of the horse, whom you are leading to execution, is wholly innocent of the lady's death; i alone am guilty of the crime, if it be one, to have killed a detestable woman, who would have murdered bahader." he then related to him how it had happened. the prince having informed the judge of the manner in which he had met her coming from the bath; how she had occasioned his going into the master of the horse's pleasure-house, and all that had passed to the moment in which he was forced to cut off her head, to save bahader's life; the judge ordered execution to be stopped, and conducted amgiad to the king, taking the master of the horse with them. the king wished to hear the story from amgiad himself; and the prince, the better to prove his own innocence and that of the master of the horse, embraced the opportunity to discover who he was, and what had driven him and his brother assad to that city, with all the accidents that had befallen them, from their departure from the isle of ebene. the prince having finished his account, the king said to him, "i rejoice that i have by this means been made acquainted with you; i not only give you your own life, and that of my master of the horse, whom i commend for his kindness to you, but i restore him to his office; and as for you, prince, i declare you my grand vizier, to make amends for your father's unjust usage, though it is also excusable, and i permit you to employ all the authority with which i now invest you to find out prince assad." amgiad having thanked the king for the honour he had done him, on taking possession of his office of grand vizier used every possible means to find out the prince his brother. he ordered the common criers to promise a great reward to any who should discover him, or give any tidings of him. he sent men up and down the country to the same purpose; but in vain. assad in the meanwhile continued in the dungeon in chains; bostama and cavama, the cunning old conjuror's daughters, treating him daily with the same cruelty and inhumanity as at first. the solemn festival of the adorers of fire approached; and a ship was fitted out for the fiery mountain as usual: the captain's name was behram, a great bigot to his religion. he loaded it with proper merchandize; and when it was ready to sail, put assad in a chest, which was half full of goods, a few crevices being left between the boards to give him air. before the ship sailed, the grand vizier amgiad, who had been told that the adorers of fire used to sacrifice a mussulmaun every year on the fiery mountain, suspecting that assad might have fallen into their hands, and be designed for a victim, resolved to search the ship in person. he ordered all the passengers and seamen to be brought upon deck, and commanded his men to search all over the ship, which they did, but assad could not be found, he was so well concealed. when the grand vizier had done searching the vessel, she sailed. as soon as behram was got out to sea, he ordered prince assad to be taken out of the chest, and fettered, to secure him, lest he should throw himself into the sea in despair since he knew he was going to be sacrificed. the wind was very favourable for a few days, after which there arose a furious storm. the vessel was driven out of her course, so that neither behram nor his pilot knew where they were. they were afraid of being wrecked on the rocks, for in the violence of the storm they discovered land, and a dangerous shoal before them. behram perceived that he was driven into the port and capital of queen margiana, which occasioned him great mortification. this queen margiana was a devout professor of the mahummedan faith, and a mortal enemy to the adorers of fire. she had banished all of them out of her dominions, and would not suffer their ships to touch at her ports. it was no longer in the power of behram to avoid putting into the harbour, for he had no alternative but to be dashed to pieces against the frightful rocks that lay off the shore. in this extremity he held a council with his pilot and seamen. "my lads," said he, "you see to what a necessity we are reduced. we must choose one of two things; either to resolve to be swallowed up by the waves, or put into queen margiana's port, whose hatred to all persons of our religion you well know. she will certainly seize our vessel and put us all to death, without mercy. i see but one way to escape her, which is, to take off the fetters from the mussulmaun we have aboard, and dress him like a slave. when queen margiana commands me to come before her, and asks what trade i follow, i will tell her i deal in slaves; that i have sold all i had, but one, whom i keep to be my clerk, because he can read and write. she will by this means see him, and he being handsome, and of her own religion, will have pity on him. no doubt she will then ask to buy him of me, and on this account will let us stay in the port till the weather is fair. if any of you have any thing else to propose that will be preferable, i am ready to attend to it." the pilot and seamen applauded his judgment, and agreed to follow his advice. behram commanded prince assad's chains to be taken off, and had him neatly habited like a slave, as became one who was to pass for his clerk before the queen of the country. they had scarcely time to do this, before the ship drove into the port, and dropped anchor. queen margiana's palace was so near the sea, that her garden extended down to the shore. she saw the ship anchor, and sent to the captain to come to her, and the sooner to satisfy her curiosity waited for him in her garden. behram landed with prince assad, whom he required to confirm what he had said of his being a slave, and his clerk. when he was introduced to the queen, he threw himself at her feet, and informed her of the necessity he was under to put into her port: that he dealt in slaves, and had sold all he had but one, who was assad, whom he kept for his clerk. the queen was taken with assad from the moment she first saw him, and was extremely glad to hear that he was a slave; resolving to buy him, cost what he would. she asked assad what was his name. "great queen," he replied, with tears in his eyes, "does your majesty ask what my name was formerly, or what it is now?" the queen answered, "have you two names then?" "alas! i have," said assad: "i was once called assad (most happy); and now my name is motar" (devoted to be sacrificed). margiana not being able to comprehend the meaning of his answer, interpreted it to refer to his condition of a slave. "since you are clerk to the captain," said she, "no doubt you can write well; let me see your hand." behram had furnished assad with pen, ink, and paper, as a token of his office, that the queen might take him for what he designed she should. the prince stepped a little aside, and wrote as follows, suitable to his wretched circumstances: "the blind man avoids the ditch into which the clear-sighted falls. fools advance themselves to honours, by discourses which signify nothing, while men of sense and eloquence live in poverty and contempt. the mussulmaun with all his riches is miserable. the infidel triumphs. we cannot hope things will be otherwise. the almighty has decreed it shall be so." assad presented the paper to queen margiana, who admired alike the moral of the sentences, and the goodness of the writing. she needed no more to have her heart inflamed, and to feel a sincere concern for his misfortunes. she had no sooner read the lines, than she addressed herself to behram, saying, "do which you will, either sell me this slave, or make me a present of him; perhaps it will turn most to your account to do the latter." behram answered insolently, that he could neither give nor sell him; that he wanted his slave, and would keep him. queen margiana, provoked at his rudeness, would not talk to him any more on the subject. she took the prince by the arm, and turned him before her to the palace, sending behram word, that if he stayed the night in her port, she would confiscate his goods, and burn his ship. he was therefore forced to return to his vessel, and prepare to put to sea again, notwithstanding the tempest had not yet subsided. queen margiana, on entering her palace, commanded supper to be got ready; and while it was providing, she ordered assad to be brought into her apartment, where she bade him sit down. assad would have excused himself: "it becomes not a slave," said he, "to presume to this honour." "to a slave! "replied the queen: "you were so a moment ago; henceforward you are no more a slave. sit down near me, and tell me the story of your life; for by what you wrote, and the insolence of that slave-merchant, i guess there is something extraordinary in your history." prince assad obeyed her; and sitting down, began thus: "mighty queen, your majesty is not mistaken, in thinking there is something extraordinary in the story of my life: it is indeed more so than you can imagine. the ills, the incredible torments i have suffered, and the death to which i was devoted, and from which i am delivered by your royal generosity, will shew the greatness of my obligation to you, never to be forgotten. but before i enter into particulars of my miseries, which will strike horror into the hearts of all that hear them, i must trace the origin of them to its source." this preamble increased queen margiana's curiosity. the prince then told her of his royal birth; of his brother amgiad, and their mutual friendship; of their mothers' criminal passion, the cause of all their sufferings; of the king his father's rage; how miraculously their lives were saved; how he had lost his brother; how he had been long imprisoned and tortured, and was devoted to be sacrificed on the fiery mountain. when assad had finished his recital' the queen was more than ever enraged at the adorers of fire. "prince," said she, "though i have always had an aversion to the adorers of fire, yet hitherto i have had some humanity for them: but after their barbarous usage of you, and their execrable design to sacrifice you, i will henceforth wage perpetual war against them." she was proceeding, but supper being served in, she made prince assad sit down at table with her, being charmed with his beauty and eloquence, and touched with a passion which she hoped soon to have an opportunity of making known to him "prince," said she, "we must make you amends for so many fasts and wretched meals, to which the pitiless adorers of fire made you submit; you must want nourishment after such sufferings." with conversation of this kind she helped him at supper; and ordered him to drink a good deal of wine to recover his spirits; by which means he drank more than he could well bear. the cloth being taken away, assad having occasion to go out, took an opportunity when the queen did not observe him. he descended into the court, and seeing the garden-door open, went into it. being tempted by the pleasantness of the place, he walked there for some time. at last he came to a fountain, where he washed his face and hands to refresh himself, and lying down on the turf by the fountain, fell asleep. behram, to prevent the queen from executing her threats, had weighed anchor, vexed at the loss of assad, by which he was disappointed of a most acceptable sacrifice. he comforted himself as well as he could, with the thoughts that the storm was over, and that a land breeze favoured his getting off the coast. as soon as he was towed out of the port by the help of his boat, before it was hoisted up into the ship again, "stop, my lads," said he to the seamen, "do not come on board yet; i will give you some casks to fill with water, and wait for you." behram had observed, while he was talking to the queen in the garden, that there was a fountain at the end of it, near the port. "go," said he, "land before the palace-garden; the wall is not above breast high, you may easily get over; there is a basin in the middle of the garden, where you may fill all your barrels, and hand them aboard without difficulty." the sailors went ashore at the place he directed them to, and laying their casks on their shoulders easily got over the wall. as they approached the basin, they perceived a man sleeping on the grass, and knew him to be assad. they immediately divided themselves; and while some of the crew filled their barrels with as little noise as possible, others surrounded assad, and watched to seize him if he should awake. he slept on undisturbed, giving them time to fill all their casks; which they afterwards handed over the wall to others of the crew who waited to carry them aboard. they next seized assad, and conveyed him away, without giving him time to recollect himself. they got him over the wall into their boat with the casks, and rowed to the ship. when they drew near her they cried out for joy, "captain, sound your trumpets, beat your drums, we have brought you your slave." behram, who could not imagine how the seamen could find and take him again, and did not see assad in the boat, it being night, waited their arrival with impatience, to ask what they meant; but when he saw him, he could not contain himself for joy. he commanded him to be chained, without staying to inquire how they came by him; and having hoisted the boat on board, set sail for the fiery mountain. in the meanwhile queen margiana was in alarm. she was not at first apprehensive when she found prince assad was gone out, because she did not doubt but he would soon return when some time had passed without his appearing, she began to be uneasy, and commanded her women to look for him. they sought for him in every direction, and at night renewed their search by torch-light, but all to no purpose. queen margiana was so impatient and alarmed, that she went herself with lights, and finding the garden-door open, entered, and walked all over it with her women to seek for him. passing by the fountain and basin, she espied a slipper, which she took up, and knew it to be prince assad's, her women also recognized it to be his. this circumstance, together with the water being spilt about the edge of the basin, induced her to believe that behram had carried him off. she sent immediately to see if he was still in the port; and hearing he had sailed a little before it was dark, that he lay-to some time off the shore, while he sent his boat for water from the fountain, she sent word to the commander of ten ships of war, which lay always ready in the harbour, to sail on the shortest notice, that she would embark herself next morning as soon as it was day. the commander lost no time, ordered the captains, seamen and soldiers aboard, and was ready to sail at the time appointed. she embarked, and when the squadron was at sea, told the commander her intention. "make all the sail you can," said she, "and chase the merchantman that sailed last night out of this port. if you capture it, i assign it to you as your property; but if you fail, your life shall answer." the ten ships chased behram's vessel two whole days without seeing her. the third day in the morning they discovered her, and at noon had so surrounded her, that she could not escape. as soon as behram espied the ten ships of war, he made sure it was queen margiana's squadron in pursuit of him; and upon that he ordered assad to be bastinadoed, which he had done every day. he was much perplexed what to do, when he found he was surrounded. to keep assad, was to declare himself guilty; to kill him was as dangerous, for he feared some marks of the murder might be seen. he therefore commanded him to be unfettered and brought from the bottom of the hold where he lay. when he came before him, "it is thou," said he, "that art the cause of my being pursued;" and so saying, he flung him into the sea. prince assad being an expert swimmer, made such good use of his feet and hands, that he reached the shore in safety. the first thing he did after he had landed, was to thank god who had delivered him from so great a danger, and once more rescued him out of the hands of the adorers of fire. he then stripped himself, and wringing the water out of his clothes, spread them on a rock, where, by the heat of the sun, and of the rock, they soon dried. after this he lay down to rest himself, deploring his miserable condition, not knowing in what country he was nor which way to direct his course. he dressed himself again and walked on, keeping as near the sea-side as he could. at last he entered a kind of path, which he followed, and travelled on ten days through an uninhabited country, living on herbs, plants, and wild fruits. at last he approached a city, which he recognized to be that of the magicians, where he had been so ill used and where his brother amgiad was grand vizier. he rejoiced to discover where he was, but resolved not to approach any of the adorers of fire, and to converse only with moosulmauns, for he remembered he had seen some the first time he entered the town. it being late, and knowing the shops were already shut, and few people in the streets, he resolved to remain in a burying ground near the city, where there were several tombs built in the form of mausoleums. he found the door of one of them open, which he entered, designing to pass the night there. we must now return to behram's ship, which, after he had thrown prince assad overboard, was soon surrounded on all sides by queen margiana's squadron. the ship in which queen margiana was in person first came up with him, and behram, being in no condition of defence against so many, furled his sails as a mark of his submission. the queen herself boarded his ship, and demanded where the clerk was, whom he had the boldness to take or cause to be taken out of her palace. behram replied, "o queen! i swear by your majesty, he is not in my ship; you will, by searching, be convinced of my innocence." margiana ordered the ship to be searched as narrowly as possible, but she could not find the man, whom she so much wished to recover, as well on account of her love for him, as of the generosity for which she was distinguished. she once resolved to kill behram with her own hand, but refrained, and contented herself with seizing his ship and cargo, and turning him and his men on shore in their boat. behram and his seamen arrived at the city of the magicians the same night as assad, and stopped at the same burying-ground, the city gates being shut, intending to stay in some tomb till the next day, when they should be opened again. to assad's misfortune, behram came to that in which the prince was sleeping with his head wrapped up in his habit, and entered it. assad awoke at the noise of his footsteps, and demanded who was there. behram immediately recognized him. "hah, hah," said he, "thou art the man who has ruined me for ever; thou hast escaped being sacrificed this year, but depend on it thou shalt not be so fortunate the next." saying this, he flew upon him, clapped his handkerchief into his mouth to prevent his making a noise, and with the assistance of his seamen bound him. the next morning as soon as the city gates were open, behram and his men easily carried assad through streets, where no one was yet stirring, to the old man's house, where he had been so inhumanly treated. as soon as he was brought in, he was again thrown into the same dungeon. behram acquainted the old man with the unfortunate circumstances of his return, and the ill success of his voyage. the old savage, upon this, commanded his two daughters bostama and cavama to treat him, if possible, more cruelly than before. assad was overwhelmed with terror at seeing himself again in the hands of persecutors from whom he had suffered so much, and expected the repetition of the torments from which he hoped that he had been delivered. he was lamenting the severity of his fate, when bostama entered with a stick in her hand, a loaf and a pitcher of water. he trembled at the sight of this unmerciful wretch, and at the very thoughts of the sufferings he was to endure for another year, at the conclusion of which he was to die the most horrible death. bostama treated prince assad as inhumanly as she had done during his first confinement. but his cries, lamentations, and earnest entreaties to her to spare him, joined with his tears, were so affecting, that she could not help shedding tears. "my lord," said she, covering his shoulders again, "i ask a thousand pardons for my inhuman treatment of you formerly, and for making you once more feel its effect. till now i was afraid of disobeying a father, who is unjustly enraged against you, and resolved on your destruction, but at last i abhor this barbarity. be comforted, your evil days are over. i will endeavour by better treatment to make amends for all my crimes, of the enormity of which you will find i am duly sensible. you have hitherto regarded me as an infidel; henceforth believe me one of your own religion; having been taught it by a slave, i hope your lessons will complete my conversion. to convince you of my sincerity, i first beg pardon of the true god for all my sins, in dealing so cruelly by you, and i trust he will put it in my power to set you entirely at liberty." this address afforded the prince much comfort. he thanked the almighty for the change wrought in her heart, he also thanked her for her favourable disposition towards him, and omitted no arguments which he thought would have any effect in confirming her conversion to the moosulmaun religion. he afterwards related to her the whole story of his life to that time. when he was fully assured of her good intentions respecting him, he asked her how she could continue to keep her sister cavama in ignorance of them; and prevent her treating him as barbarously as she used to do? "let not that trouble you," replied bostama; "i know how to order matters so that she shall never come near you." she accordingly every day prevented her sister's coming down into the dungeon, where she often visited the prince. instead of carrying him bread and water, she now brought him the best wine and the choicest victuals she could procure, which were prepared by her twelve mahommedan slaves. she ate with him herself from time to time, and did all in her power to alleviate his misfortunes. a few days afterwards, bostama, as she stood at her father's door, observed the public crier making proclamation, but she could not hear what it was about, being too far off. as he was proceeding in the direction of her father's house, she went in, and holding the door half open, perceived that he went before the grand vizier amgiad, brother to assad; who was accompanied by several officers, and other attendants. the crier, a few steps from the house, repeated the proclamation with a loud voice, as follows: "the most excellent and illustrious grand vizier is come in person to seek for his dear brother, from whom he was separated about a year ago. he is a young man of such an appearance; if any one has him in keeping, or knows where he is, his excellency commands that they bring him forth, or give him notice where to find him, promising a great reward to the person that shall give the information. if any one conceal him, and he be hereafter found, his excellency declares' he shall be punished with death, together with his wife, children, and all his family, and his house to be razed to the ground. bostama, as soon as she had heard this, shut the door as fast as she could, and ran to assad in the dungeon. "prince," said she, with joy, "your troubles are at an end; follow me immediately. she had taken off his fetters the day he was brought in, and the prince followed her into the street, where she cried, "there he is, there he is!" the grand vizier, who was not far from the house, returned. assad knew him to be his brother, ran to him, and embraced him. amgiad, who immediately recollected him, returned his embrace with all possible tenderness; made him mount one of his officers' horses, who alighted for that purpose; and conducted him in triumph to the palace, where he presented him to the king, by whom he was advanced to the post of a vizier. bostama not wishing to return to her father's house, which was the next day razed to the ground, was sent to the queen's apartments. the old man her father, behram, and all their families were brought before the king, who condemned them to be beheaded. they threw themselves at his feet, and implored his mercy. "there is no mercy for you to expect," said the king, "unless you renounce the adoration of fire, and profess the mahummedan religion." they accepted the condition, and were pardoned at the intercession of assad, in consideration of bostama's friendship; for whose sake cavama's life, and the lives of the rest of their families were saved. amgiad, in consideration of behram turning mussulmaun, and to compensate for the loss which he had suffered before he deserved his favour, made him one of his principal officers, and lodged him in his house. behram, being informed of amgiad and his brother assad's story, proposed to his benefactor, to fit out a vessel to convey them to their father's court: "for," said he, "the king must certainly have heard of your innocence, and impatiently desire to see you: otherwise we can easily inform him of the truth before we land, and if he is still in the same mind, you can but return." the two brothers accepted the proposal, communicated it to the king of the city of the magicians, who approved of it; and commanded a ship to be equipped. behram undertook the employment cheerfully, and soon got in readiness to sail. the two princes, when they understood the ship was ready, waited upon the king to take leave. while they were making their compliments, and thanking the king for his favours, they were interrupted by a great tumult in the city: and presently an officer came to give them notice that a numerous army was advancing against the city, nobody knowing who they were, or whence they had come. the king being alarmed at the intelligence, amgiad addressed him thus: "sir, though i have just resigned into your majesty's hands the dignity of your first minister, with which you were pleased to honour me, i am ready to do you all the service in my power. i desire therefore that you would be pleased to let me go and see who this enemy is, that comes to attack you in your capital, without having first declared war." the king desired him to do so. amgiad departed immediately, with a very small retinue, to see what enemy approached, and what was the reason of their coming. it was not long before prince amgiad descried the army, which appeared very formidable, and which approached nearer and nearer. the advanced guards received him favourably, and conducted him to a princess, who stopped, and commanded her army to halt, while she talked with the prince; who, bowing profoundly to her, demanded if she came as a friend or an enemy: if as an enemy, what cause of complaint she had against the king his master? "i come as a friend," replied the princess, "and have no cause of complaint against the king of the city of the magicians. his territories and mine are so situated, that it is almost impossible for us to have any dispute. i only come to require a slave named assad, to be delivered up to me. he was carried away by one behram, a captain of a ship belonging to this city, the most insolent man in the world. i hope your king will do me justice, when he knows i am margiana." the prince answered, "mighty queen, the slave whom you take so much pains to seek is my brother: i lost him, and have found him again. come, and i will deliver him up to you myself; and will do myself the honour to tell you the rest of the story: the king my master will rejoice to see you." the queen ordered her army to pitch their tents, and encamp where they were; and accompanied prince amgiad to the city and palace, where he presented her to the king; who received her in a manner becoming her dignity. assad, who was present, and knew her as soon as he saw her, also paid his respects to her. she appeared greatly rejoiced to see him. while they were thus engaged, tidings came, that an army more powerful than the former approached on the other side of the city. the king of the magicians was more terrified than before, understanding the second army was more numerous than the first, for he saw this by the clouds of dust they raised, which hid the face of the heavens. "amgiad," cried he, "what shall we do now? a new army comes to destroy us." amgiad guessed what the king meant; he mounted on horseback again, and galloped towards the second army. he demanded of the advanced guards to speak with their general, and they conducted him to their king. when he drew near him, he alighted, prostrated himself to the ground, and asked what he required of the king his master. the monarch replied, "i am gaiour, king of china; my desire to learn tidings of a daughter, whose name is badoura, whom i married to kummir al zummaun, son of shaw zummaun, king of the isles of the children of khaledan, obliged me to leave my dominions. i suffered that prince to go to see his father, on condition that he came back in a year with my daughter; from that time i have heard nothing of them. your king will lay an infinite obligation on an afflicted father, by telling him if he knows what is become of them." prince amgiad, perceiving by his discourse that the king was his grandfather, kissed his hand with tenderness, and answered him thus: "i hope your majesty will pardon my freedom, when you know that i only pay my duty to my grandfather. i am the son of kummir al zummaun, king of the isle of ebene, and of queen badoura, for whom you are thus troubled; and i doubt not but they are both in good health in their kingdom." the king of china, overjoyed to see his grandson, tenderly embraced him. such a meeting, so happy and unexpected, drew tears from both. the king inquiring on what occasion he had come into a strange country, the prince told him all that had happened to him and his brother assad. when he had finished his relation, "my son," replied the king of china, "it is not just that such innocent princes as you are should be longer ill used. comfort yourself, i will carry you and your brother home, and make your peace. return, and acquaint your brother with my arrival." while the king of china encamped in the place where prince amgiad met him, the prince returned to inform the king of the magicians, who waited for him impatiently, how he had succeeded. the king was astonished that so mighty a king as that of china should undertake such a long and troublesome journey, out of a desire to see his daughter. he gave orders to make preparations for his reception, and went forth to meet him. while these things were transacting, a great dust was seen on another side of the town; and suddenly news was brought of the arrival of a third army, which obliged the king to stop, and to desire prince amgiad once more to see who they were, and on what account they came. amgiad went accordingly, and prince assad accompanied him. they found it was kummir al zummaun their father's army, with whom he was coming to seek for them. he was so grieved for the loss of his sons, that at last emir jehaun-dar declared that he had saved their lives, which made him resolve to seek for them wherever he was likely to find them. the afflicted father embraced the two princes with tears of joy, which put an end to those he had a long time shed for grief. the princes had no sooner told him the king of china, his father-in- law, was arrived, than, accompanied by them and a small party, he rode to wait upon him in his camp. they had not gone far, before they saw a fourth army advancing in good order, which seemed to come from persia. kummir al zummaun desired the two princes to go and see what army it was, and he would in the meanwhile wait for them. they departed immediately, and coming up to it, were presented to the king to whom the army belonged; and, after having saluted him with due reverence, they demanded on what design he approached so near the king of the magicians' capital. the grand vizier, who was present, answered in the name of the king his master, "the monarch to whom you speak is shaw zummaun, king of the isles of the children of khaledan, who has a longtime travelled, thus attended, to seek his son, who left his dominions many years ago: if you know any thing of him, you cannot oblige him more than by communicating to him all the information in your power." the princes only replied, that they would shortly bring him an answer, and galloping back as fast as they could, told kummir al zummaun that the king his father was approaching with his army. wonder, surprise, joy, and grief, had such an effect on kummir al zummaun, that he fainted as soon as he heard he was so near. prince amgiad and prince assad, by their assiduities, at length brought him to himself; and when he had recovered his strength, he went to his father's tent, and threw himself at his feet. never was there a more affecting interview. shaw zummaun gently upbraided his son with unkindness in so cruelly leaving him; and kummir al zummaun discovered a hearty sorrow for the fault which love had urged him to commit. the three kings, and queen margiana, stayed three days at the court of the king of the magicians, who treated them magnificently. these three days were rendered more remarkable by prince assad's marriage with queen margiana, and prince amgiad with bostama, for the service she had done his brother assad. at length the three kings, and queen margiana, with her husband assad, returned to their respective kingdoms. as for amgiad, the king of the magicians had such an affection for him, he could not part with him; and being very old, he resigned his crown to him. amgiad, when he had the supreme authority, did his utmost to exterminate the worship of fire, and establish the mahummedan religion throughout his dominions. the story of noor ad deen and the fair persian. the city of bussorah was for many years the capital of a kingdom tributary to the caliphs of arabia. the king who governed it in the days of the caliph haroon al rusheed was named zinebi, who not thinking it proper to commit the administration of his affairs to a single vizier, made choice of two, khacan and saouy. khacan was of a sweet, generous, and affable temper, and took pleasure in obliging, to the utmost of his power, those with whom he had any business to transact, without violating the justice which it became him to dispense to all. he was therefore universally respected, at court, in the city, and throughout the whole kingdom; and the praises he so highly deserved were the general theme. saouy was of a very different character: he was always sullen and morose, and disgusted every body, without regard to their rank or quality. instead of commanding respect by the liberal distribution of his immense wealth, he was so perfect a miser as to deny himself the necessaries of life. in short, nobody could endure him; and nothing good was said of him. but what rendered him most hateful to the people, was his implacable aversion to khacan. he was always putting the worst construction on the actions of that worthy minister, and endeavouring as much as possible to prejudice him with the king. one day after council, the king of bussorah amused himself with his two viziers and some other members. the conversation turned upon the female slaves that are daily bought and sold, and who hold nearly the same rank as the lawful wives. some were of opinion, that personal beauty in slaves so purchased was of itself sufficient to render them proper substitutes for wives, which, often on account of alliance or interest in families, men are obliged to marry, though they are not always possessed of any perfection, either of mind or body. others maintained, and amongst the rest khacan, that personal charms were by no means the only qualifications to be desired in a slave; but that they ought to be accompanied with a great share of wit, a cultivated understanding, modesty, and, if possible, every agreeable accomplishment. the reason they gave was, that nothing could be more gratifying to persons on whom the management of important affairs devolved, than, after having spent the day in fatiguing employment, to have a companion in their retirement, whose conversation would be not only pleasing, but useful and instructive: for, in short, continued they, there is but little difference between brutes and those men who keep a slave only to look at, and to gratify a passion that we have in common with them. the king entirely concurred in this opinion, and accordingly ordered khacan to buy him a slave, of perfect beauty, mistress of all the qualifications they had enumerated, and possessed, above all things, of an enlightened understanding. saouy, jealous of the honour the king had done khacan, and differing widely with him in opinion, said, "sire, it will be very difficult to find a slave so accomplished as your majesty requires; and should such a one be discovered, which i scarcely believe possible, she will be cheap at ten thousand pieces of gold." "saouy," replied the king, "i perceive plainly you think the sum too great; it may be so for you, though not for me." then turning to his high treasurer, he ordered him to send the ten thousand pieces of gold to the vizier's house. khacan, as soon as he had returned home, sent for all the brokers who used to deal in women-slaves, and strictly charged them, that, if ever they met with one who answered the description he gave them, they should immediately apprise him. the brokers, partly to oblige the vizier, and partly for their own interest, promised to use their utmost endeavours to procure for him one that would accord with his wishes. scarcely a day passed but they brought him a slave for his inspection, but he always discovered in each something defective. one day, early in the morning, as khacan was mounting his horse to go to court, a broker came to him, and, taking hold of the stirrup with great eagerness, told him a persian merchant had arrived very late the day before, who had a slave to sell, so surprisingly beautiful that she excelled all the women his eyes had ever beheld; "and for wit and knowledge," added he, "the merchant engages she shall match the most acute and learned persons of the age." khacan, overjoyed at this intelligence, which promised him a favourable opportunity for making his court, ordered him to bring the slave to his palace against his return, and departed. the broker failed not to be at the vizier's at the appointed hour; and khacan, finding the lovely slave so much beyond his expectation, immediately gave her the name of the fair persian. as he had himself much wit and learning, he soon perceived by her conversation, that it was in vain to search further for a slave that surpassed her in any of the qualifications required by the king; and therefore he asked the broker at what sum the persian merchant valued her. "sir," replied the broker, "he is a man of few words in bargaining, and he tells me, that the very lowest price he will take for her is ten thousand pieces of gold: he has also sworn to me, that, without reckoning his care and pains from the time of his first taking her under his charge, he has laid out nearly that sum on her education in masters to improve her form and cultivate her mind, besides what she has cost him in clothes and maintenance. as he always thought her fit for a king, he has from her infancy, when he first bought her, been sparing of nothing that might contribute towards advancing her to that high distinction. she plays upon all kinds of instruments to perfection; she sings, dances, writes better than the most celebrated authors, makes verses, and there is scarcely any book but she has read; so that there never was a slave so accomplished heard of before." the vizier khacan, who could estimate the merits of the fair persian better than the broker, who only reported what he had heard from the merchant, was unwilling to defer the bargain to a future opportunity, and therefore sent one of his servants to look for the merchant, where the broker told him he was to be found. as soon as the persian merchant arrived, "it is not for myself, but for the king," said the vizier khacan, "that i buy your slave; but, nevertheless, you must let him have her at a more reasonable price than you have set upon her." "sir," replied the merchant, "i should do myself unspeakable honour in offering her as a present to his majesty, if it became a person in my situation to make him one of such inestimable value. i ask no more than her education and accomplishments have cost me; and all i have to say is, that i believe his majesty will be extremely pleased with the purchase." the vizier khacan would stand no longer bargaining with the merchant, but paid him the money immediately. "sir," said he to the vizier, upon taking his leave of him, "since the slave is designed for the king's use, give me leave to tell you, that being extremely fatigued with our long journey, you see her at present under great disadvantage. though she has not her equal in the world for beauty, yet if you please to keep her at your own house for a fortnight, she will appear quite another creature. you may then present her to the king with honour and credit; for which i hope you will think yourself much obliged to me. the sun, you perceive, has a little injured her complexion; but after two or three times bathing, and when you have dressed her as you think proper, she will be so changed, that she will appear infinitely more charming." khacan was pleased with the instructions the merchant gave him, and resolved to abide by them. he assigned the fair persian a particular apartment near his lady's, whom he desired to invite her to an entertainment, and thenceforth to treat her as a person designed for the king: he also provided for her several suits of the richest clothes that could be had, and would become her best. before he took his leave of the fair persian, he said "your happiness, madam, cannot be greater than what i am about to procure for you; you shall judge for yourself; it is for the king i have purchased you; and i hope he will be even more pleased with possessing you than i am in having discharged the commission with which his majesty has honoured me. i think it, however, my duty to warn you that i have a son, who, though he does not want wit, is yet young, insinuating, and forward; and to caution you how you suffer him to come near you." the fair persian thanked him for his advice; and after she had given him assurance of her intention to follow it, he withdrew. noor ad deen, for so the vizier's son was named, had free access to the apartment of his mother, with whom he usually ate his meals. he was young, handsome in person, agreeable in manners, and firm in his temper; and having great readiness of wit, and fluency of language, was perfect master of the art of persuasion. he saw the fair persian; and from their first interview, though he knew his father had bought her purposely for the king, and had so informed him, yet he never used the least endeavour to check the violence of his passion. in short, he resigned himself wholly to the power of her charms, by which his heart was at first captivated; and, from his first conversation with her, resolved to use his utmost endeavours to keep her from the king. the fair persian, on her part, had no dislike to noor ad deen. "the vizier," said she to herself, "has done me honour in purchasing me for the king; but i should have thought myself very happy if he had designed me only for his own son." noor ad deen was not remiss in improving the advantage he enjoyed of seeing and conversing with a beauty of whom he was so passionately enamoured; for he would never leave her till obliged by his mother. "my son," she would say, "it is not proper for a young man like you to be always in the women's apartments; go, mind your studies, and endeavour to qualify yourself to succeed to the honours of your father." the fair persian not having bathed for a considerable time on account of the length of her journey, the vizier's lady, five or six days after she was purchased, ordered the bath in her own house to be got ready purposely for her. she sent her to it accompanied by many other women-slaves, who were charged by the vizier's lady to be as attentive to her as to herself, and, after bathing, to put her on a very rich suit of clothes that she had provided for her. she was the more careful in order to ingratiate herself with her husband, by letting him see how much she interested herself in every thing that contributed to his pleasure. as soon as she came out of the bath, the fair persian, a thousand times more beautiful than she had appeared to khacan when he bought her, went to visit his lady, who at first hardly knew her. the fair persian gracefully kissed her hand, and said, "madam, i know not how you like me in this dress you have been pleased to order for me; but your women, who tell me it becomes me so extremely well they should scarcely know me, certainly flatter me. from you alone i expect to hear the truth; but, if what they say be really so, i am indebted to you, madam, for the advantage it has given me." "oh! my daughter," cried the vizier's lady, transported with joy, "you have no reason to believe my women have flattered you; i am better skilled in beauty than they; and, setting aside your dress, which becomes you admirably well, your beauty is so much improved by the bath, that i hardly knew you myself. if i thought the bath was warm enough, i would take my turn; for i am now of an age to require its frequent use." "madam," replied the fair persian, "i have nothing to say to the undeserved civilities you have been pleased to shew me. as for the bath, it is in fine order; and if you design to go in, you have no time to lose, as your women can inform you." the vizier's lady, considering that she had not bathed for some days, was desirous to avail herself of that opportunity; and accordingly acquainted her women with her intention, who immediately prepared all things necessary for the occasion. the fair persian withdrew to her apartment; and the vizier's lady, before she went to bathe, ordered two little female slaves to stay with her, with a strict charge that if noor ad deen came, they should not give him admittance. while the vizier's lady was bathing, and the fair slave was alone in her apartment, noor ad deen came in, and not finding his mother in her chamber, went directly towards the fair persian's, and found the two little slaves in the antechamber. he asked them where his mother was? they told him in the bath. "where is the fair persian, then?" demanded noor ad deen. "in her chamber," answered the slaves; "but we have positive orders from your mother not to admit you." the entrance into the fair persian's chamber being only covered with a piece of tapestry, noor ad deen went to lift it up, in order to enter, but was opposed by the two slaves, who placed themselves before it, to stop his passage. he presently caught them both by the arms, and, thrusting them out of the antechamber, locked the door upon them. they immediately ran with loud lamentations to the bath, and with tears in their eyes, told their lady, that noor ad deen, having driven them away by force, had gone into the fair persian's chamber. the vizier's lady received the account of her son's presumption with the greatest concern. she immediately left the bath, and dressing herself with all possible speed, came directly to the fair persian's chamber; but before she could get thither, noor ad deen had gone away. the fair persian was extremely surprised to see the vizier's lady enter her chamber in tears, and in the utmost confusion. "madam," said she, "may i presume to ask you the occasion of your concern; and what accident has happened in the bath, to make you leave it so soon?" "what!" cried the vizier's lady, "can you so calmly ask that. question, after my son has been with you alone in your chamber? can there happen a greater misfortune to him or me?" "i beseech you, madam," replied the fair slave, "what prejudice can this action of noor ad deen's do to you or him?" "how," returned the vizier's lady, "did not my husband tell you that you were designed for the king, and sufficiently caution you to beware of our son?" "i have not forgotten that, madam," replied the fair persian; "but your son came to tell me the vizier his father had changed his purpose, and instead of reserving me for the king, as he first designed, had made him a present of my person. i easily believed him; for, oh! think how a slave as i am, accustomed from my infant years to the laws of servitude, could or ought to resist him! i must own i did it with the less reluctance, on account of the affection for him, which the freedom of our conversation and daily intercourse has excited in my heart. i could without regret resign the hope of ever being the king's, and think myself perfectly happy in spending my whole life with noor ad deen." at this discourse of the fair persian's, the vizier's lady exclaimed, "would to god that what you say were true! i should hear it with joy; but, believe me, noor ad deen has deceived you; for it is impossible his father should ever make him such a present. ah! wretched youth, how miserable has he made me! and more especially his father, by the dismal consequences we must all expect to share with him! neither my prayers nor tears will be able to prevail, or obtain a pardon for him; for as soon as his father hears of his violence to you, he will inevitably sacrifice him to his resentment." at these words she wept bitterly; and the slaves, who were as much alarmed for noor ad deen as herself, joined in her tears. shortly after the vizier khacan entered; and being surprised to find his lady and her slaves all in tears, and the fair persian very melancholy asked the reason; but instead of answering him his wife and the slaves continued weeping and lamenting. this astonished him still more; at last, addressing himself to his wife, "i command you," said he, "to let me know the reason of your tears, and to tell me the whole truth." the disconsolate lady could no longer refuse to satisfy her husband. "sir," said she, "first promise not to use me unkindly on account of what i shall inform you, since i assure you, that what has happened has not been occasioned by any fault of mine." without waiting for his answer, she then proceeded, "whilst i was bathing with my women, your son seizing that fatal opportunity to ruin us both, came hither, and made the fair persian believe, that instead of reserving her for the king, you had given her to him as a present. i will not say what he did after such a wicked falsehood, but shall leave you to judge. this is the cause of my affliction, on your account, and his, for whom i want confidence to implore your pardon." it is impossible to express the vizier khacan's distraction at this account of the insolence of his son. "ah!" cried he, beating his breast, and tearing his beard, "miserable son! unworthy of life! hast thou at last thrown thy father from the highest pinnacle of happiness into a misfortune that must inevitably involve thee also in his ruin? neither will the king be satisfied with thy blood or mine, to avenge the affront offered to his royal person." his lady endeavoured to comfort him. "afflict yourself no more," said she; "i shall easily raise, with part of my jewels, ten thousand pieces of gold, and you may buy another slave, more beautiful and more worthy of the king." "ah!" replied the vizier, "could you think me capable of being so extremely afflicted at losing ten thousand pieces of gold? it is not that loss, nor the loss of all i am worth, for that i should not feel; but the forfeiting my honour, more precious than all the riches in the world, that distresses me." "however," replied the lady, "a loss that can be repaired by money cannot be so very great." "how!" exclaimed the vizier; "do you not know that saouy is my mortal enemy; and as soon as this affair comes to his knowledge, do you think he will not exult over me before the king? �your majesty,' will he not say to him, �is always talking of khacan's zeal and affection for your service; but see what a proof he has lately given of his claim to the regard you have hitherto shewn him. he has received ten thousand pieces of gold to buy a slave; and, to do him justice, he has most honourably acquitted himself of that commission, by purchasing the most beautiful that ever eyes beheld; but, instead of bringing her to your majesty, he has thought it better to make a present of her to his son. "here, my son," said he, "take this slave, since thou art more worthy of her than the king."' then, with his usual malice, will he not go on, �his son has her now entirely in his possession, and every day revels in her arms, without the least disturbance. this, sir, is the exact truth, that i have done myself the honour of acquainting you with; and if your majesty questions my veracity, you may easily satisfy yourself.' do you not plainly see," continued the vizier, "how, upon such a malicious insinuation as this, i am every moment liable to have my house forced by the king's guards, and the fair persian taken from me, besides a thousand other misfortunes that will unavoidably follow?" "sir," replied the vizier's lady to her husband, "i am sensible the malice of saouy is very great, and that, if he have but the least intimation of this affair, he will certainly give it a turn very disadvantageous to your interest; but how is it possible that he or any one else should know what has been privately transacted in your family? suppose it comes to the king's ears, and he should ask you about it; cannot you say, that upon a strict examination you did not deem the slave so fit for his majesty's use as you had at first thought her; that the merchant has cheated you; that, indeed, she has considerable beauty, but is by no means so accomplished as she had been represented. the king will certainly believe what you say, and saouy be vexed to the soul, to see all his malicious design of ruining you disappointed. take courage then, and, if you will follow my advice, send for all the brokers, tell them you do not like the fair persian, and order them to be as expeditious as possible in procuring for you another slave." as this advice appeared rational to the vizier khacan, and as his passion began to cool, he resolved to abide by it, but his indignation against his son remained as violent as ever. noor ad deen did not make his appearance during the whole of that day, and not daring to hide himself among his young companions, lest his father should search for him in their houses, he went a little way out of town, and took sanctuary in a garden, where he had never been before, and where he was totally unknown. he did not return home till it was very late, when he knew his father was in bed; and then his mother's women, opening the door very softly; admitted him without any noise. he quitted the house again next morning before his father was stirring; and this plan he pursued for a whole month, to his great mortification. indeed, the women never flattered him, but told him plainly, his father's anger was not at all diminished, and that he protested if he came into his sight he would certainly kill him. the vizier's lady learnt from her women that noor ad deen slept every night in the house, but she could not summon resolution to supplicate her husband for his pardon. at last, however, she ventured. one day she said to him, "i have hitherto been silent, sir, not daring to take the liberty of talking to you about your son; but now give me leave to ask what you design to do with him? it is impossible for a son to have acted more criminally towards a father than he has done, in depriving you of the honour and gratification of presenting to the king a slave so accomplished as the fair persian. this i acknowledge; but, after all, are you resolved to destroy him, and, instead of a light evil no more to be thought of, to draw upon yourself a far greater than perhaps you at present apprehend? are you not afraid that the malicious world, which inquires after the reason of your son's absconding, may find out the true cause, which you are so desirous of concealing? should that happen, you would justly fall into a misfortune, which it is so much your interest to avoid." "madam," returned the vizier, "there is much reason in what you have urged; but i cannot think of pardoning our son, till i have mortified him as he deserves." "he will be sufficiently mortified," replied the lady, "if you will only do what has just suggested itself to my mind. your son comes home every night after you have retired; he sleeps here, and steals out every morning before you are stirring. wait for his coming in to-night, make as if you designed to kill him, upon which i will run to his assistance, and when he finds he owes his life entirely to my prayers and entreaties, you may oblige him to take the fair persian on what condition you please. he loves her, and i am well satisfied the fair slave has no aversion for him." khacan readily consented to this stratagem. accordingly, when noor ad deen came at the usual hour, before the door was opened, he placed himself behind it: as soon as he entered, he rushed suddenly upon him, and got him down under his feet. noor ad deen, lifting up his head, saw his father with a dagger in his hand, ready to stab him. at that instant his mother arrived, and catching hold of the vizier's arm, cried, "sir, what are you doing?" "let me alone," replied the vizier, "that i may kill this base, unworthy son." "you shall kill me first," returned the mother; "never will i suffer you to imbue your hands in your own blood." noor ad deen improved this moment. "my father," cried he with tears in his eyes, "i implore your clemency and compassion; nor must you deny me pardon, since i ask it in his name before whom we must all appear at the last day." khacan suffered the dagger to be taken out of his hand; and as soon as noor ad deen was released, he threw himself at his father's feet and kissed them, to shew how sincerely he repented of having offended him. "son," said the vizier, "return thanks to your mother, since it is for her sake i pardon you. i propose also to give you the fair persian, on condition that you will bind yourself by an oath not to regard her any longer as a slave, but as your wife; that you will not sell her, nor ever be divorced from her. as she possesses an excellent understanding, and abundantly more wit and prudence than yourself, i doubt not but that she will be able to moderate those rash sallies of youth, which are otherwise so likely to effect your ruin." noor ad deen, who little expected such indulgent treatment, returned his father a thousand thanks, and the fair persian and he were well pleased with being united to each other. the vizier khacan, without waiting for the king's inquiries about the success of the commission he had given him, took particular care to mention the subject often, representing to his majesty the many difficulties he met, and how fearful he was of not acquitting himself to his majesty's satisfaction. in short, he managed the business with so much address, that the king insensibly forgot it. though saouy had gained some intimation of the transaction, yet khacan was so much in the king's favour, that he was afraid to divulge what he had heard. this delicate affair had now been kept rather more than a year with greater secrecy than the vizier at first expected, when being one day in the bath, and some important business obliging him to leave it, warm as he was, the air, which was then cold, struck to his breast, caused a defluxion to fall upon his lungs, which threw him into a violent fever, and confined him to his bed. his illness increasing every day, and perceiving he had not long to live, he thus addressed himself to his son, who never quitted him during the whole of his illness: "my son," said he, "i know not whether i have well employed the riches heaven has blessed me with, but you see they are not able to save me from the hands of death. the last thing i desire of you with my dying breath is, that you would be mindful of the promise you made me concerning the fair persian, and in this assurance i shall die content." these were the vizier khacan's last words. he expired a few moments after, and left his family, the court, and the whole city, in great affliction, the king lamented him as a wise, zealous, and faithful minister; and the people bewailed him as their protector and benefactor.. never was there a funeral in bussorah solemnized with greater pomp and magnificence. the viziers, emirs, and in general all the grandees of the court, strove for the honour of bearing his coffin, one after another, upon their shoulders, to the place of burial; and both rich and poor accompanied him, dissolved in tears. noor ad deen exhibited all the demonstrations of a sorrow proportioned to the loss he had sustained, and long refrained from seeing any company. at last he admitted of a visit from an intimate acquaintance. his friend endeavoured to comfort him; and finding him inclined to hear reason, told him, that having paid what was due to the memory of his father, and fully satisfied all that decency required of him, it was now high time to appear again in the world, to converse with his friends, and maintain a character suitable to his birth and talents. "for," continued he, "though we should sin against the laws both of nature and society, and be thought insensible, if on the death of our fathers we neglected to pay them the duties which filial love imposes upon us; yet having performed these, and put it out of the power of any to reproach us for our conduct, it behoves us to return to the world, and our customary occupations. dry up your tears then, and reassume that wonted air of gaiety which has always inspired with joy those who have had the honour of your friendship." this advice seemed too reasonable to be rejected, and had noor ad deen strictly abided by it, he would certainly have avoided all the misfortunes that afterwards befell him. he entertained his friend honourably; and when he took his leave, desired him to come again the next day, and bring with him three or four friends of their acquaintance. by this means he insensibly fell into the society of about ten young men nearly of his own age, with whom he spent his time in continual feasting and entertainments; and scarcely a day passed but he made every one of them some considerable present. the fair persian, who never approved of his extravagant way of living, often spoke her mind freely. "i question not," said she, "but the vizier your father has left you an ample fortune: but great as it may be, be not displeased with your slave for telling you, that at this rate of living you will quickly see an end of it. we may sometimes indeed treat our friends, and be merry with them; but to make a daily practice of it, is certainly the high road to ruin and destruction: for your own honour and reputation, you would do better to follow the footsteps of your deceased father, that in time you may rise to that dignity by which he acquired so much glory and renown." noor ad deen hearkened to the fair persian with a smile: and when she had done, "my charmer," said he, with the same air of gaiety, "say no more of that; let us talk of nothing but mirth and pleasure. in my father's lifetime i was always under restraint; and i am now resolved to enjoy the liberty i so much sighed for before his death. it will be time enough for me hereafter to think of leading the sober, regular life you talk of; and a man of my age ought to taste the pleasures of youth." what contributed still more to the ruin of noor ad deen's fortune, was his unwillingness to reckon with his steward; for whenever he brought in his accounts, he still sent him away without examining them: "go, go," said he, "i trust wholly to your honesty; only take care to provide good entertainments for my friends." "you are the master, sir," replied he, "and i but the steward; however, you would do well to think upon the proverb, �he that spends much, and has but little, must at last insensibly be reduced to poverty.' you are not contented with keeping an extravagant table, but you must lavish away your estate with both hands: and were your coffers as large as mountains, they would not be sufficient to maintain you." "begone," replied noor ad deen, "i want not your grave lessons; only take care to provide good eating and drinking, and trouble your head no farther about the rest." in the meantime, noor ad deen's friends were constant guests at his table, and never failed to take advantage of the easiness of his temper. they praised and flattered him, extolling his most indifferent actions; but, above all, they took particular care to commend whatever belonged to him; and in this they found their account. "sir," said one of them, "i came the other day by your estate that lies in such a place; nothing can be so magnificent or so handsomely furnished as your house; and the garden belonging to it is a paradise upon earth." "i am very glad it pleases you," replied noor ad deen: "bring me pen, ink, and paper; without more words, it is at your service; i make you a present of it." no sooner had others commended one of his houses, baths, or public buildings erected for the use of strangers, the yearly revenue of which was very considerable, than he immediately gave them away. the fair persian could not forbear stating to him how much injury he did himself; but, instead of paying any regard to her remonstrances, he continued his extravagances, and the first opportunity that offered, squandered away the little he had left. in short, noor ad deen did nothing for a whole year but feast and make merry, wasting and consuming, with the utmost prodigality, the great wealth that his predecessors, and the good vizier his father, had with so much pains and care acquired and preserved. the year was but just expired, when a person one day knocked at the door of the hall, where he and his friends were at dinner together by themselves, having sent away the slaves, that they might enjoy the greater liberty. one of his friends offered to rise; but noor ad deen stepping before him, opened the door himself. it was the steward; and noor ad deen, going a little out of the hall to know his business, left the door half open. the friend that offered to rise from his seat, seeing it was the steward, and being curious to know what he had to say, placed himself between the hangings and the door, where he plainly overheard the steward's discourse to his master. "sir," said he, "i ask a thousand pardons for coming to disturb you in the height of your pleasure; but what i have to say is of such importance, that i thought myself bound in duty to acquaint you with it. i am come, sir, to make up my last accounts, and to tell you, that what i all along foresaw, and have often warned you of, is at last come to pass. i have not the smallest piece left of all the sums i have received from you for your expenses; the other funds you assigned me are all exhausted. the farmers, and those that owe you rent, have made it so plainly appear to me, that you have assigned over to others what they held of you, that it is impossible for me to get any more from them on your account. here are my books; if you please, examine them; and if you wish i should continue useful to you, assign me other funds, or else give me leave to quit your service." noor ad deen was so astonished at his statement, that he gave him no answer. the friend who had been listening all this while, and had heard every syllable of what the steward said, immediately came in, and told the company what he had overheard. "it is your business, gentlemen," said he, "to make your use of this caution; for my part, i declare to you, this is the last visit i design ever to make noor ad deen." "nay," replied they, "if matters go thus, we have as little business here as you; and for the future shall take care not to trouble him with our company." noor ad deen returned presently after; notwithstanding all his efforts to appear gay to his guests, he could not so dissemble his concern, but they plainly perceived the truth of what they had heard. he was scarcely sat down in his place, when one of his friends arose: "sir," said he, "i am sorry i cannot have the honour of keeping you company any longer; and therefore i hope you will excuse my rudeness in leaving you so soon." "what urgent affair," demanded noor ad deen, "obliges you to be going so soon?" "my wife, sir," he replied, "is brought to bed to-day; and upon such an occasion, you know a husband's company is always necessary." so making a very low bow, he went away. a minute afterwards a second took his leave, with another excuse. the rest did the same, one after another, till at last not one of the ten friends that had hitherto kept noor ad deen company remained. as soon as they were gone, noor ad deen, little suspecting the resolution they had formed never to see him again, went directly to the fair persian's apartment; to whom he related all the steward had told him, and seemed extremely concerned at the ill state of his affairs. "sir," said the fair persian, "allow me to say, you would never take my advice, but always managed your concerns after your own way, and now you see the fatal consequences. i find i was not mistaken, when i presaged to what a miserable condition you would bring yourself at last: but what afflicts me the more is, that at present you do not see the worst of your misfortunes. whenever i presumed freely to remonstrate with you, �let us be merry,' you replied, �and improve the time that fortune offers us; perhaps she will not always be so prodigal of her favours:' but was i to blame in telling you, that we are ourselves the makers of our own fortunes by a prudent management of them? you would not hearken to me; and i was forced, however reluctantly, to let you go on." "i must own," replied noor ad deen, "i was extremely in the wrong in not following the advice which with such admirable prudence you gave me. it is true, i have spent my estate; but do you not consider, it is among a chosen set of friends, whom i have long known, and who, i am persuaded, have more generosity and gratitude than to abandon me in distress?" "sir," replied the fair persian, "if you have nothing but the gratitude of your friends to depend on, your case is desperate; for, believe me, that hope is ill-grounded, and you will tell me so yourself in time." to this noor ad deen replied, "charming persian, i have a better opinion of my friends' generosity: to-morrow i design to visit them all, before the usual time of their coming hither; and you shall see me return with a round sum that they will assist me with. i am resolved to alter my way of living, and, with the money they lend me, to set up in some business." next morning, noor ad deen visited his ten friends, who lived in the same street. he knocked at the first door, where one of the richest of them resided. a slave came to the door: but before he would open it, asked who was there. "tell your master," said he to the slave, "it is noor ad deen, the late vizier khacan's son." the slave opened the door, and shewed him into a hall, where he left him, in order to inform his master, who was in an inner room, that noor ad deen was come to wait on him, "noor ad deen!" cried he, in a disdainful tone, loud enough for him to hear: "go tell him i am not at home; and whenever he may come again, be sure you give him the same answer." the slave returned, and told noor ad deen he thought his master was within, but was mistaken. noor ad deen came away in the greatest confusion. "ah! base, ungrateful wretch!" cried he, "to treat me so to-day after the vows and protestations of friendship that he made me yesterday." he went to another door, but that friend ordered his slave also to say he was gone out. he had the same answer at the third; and, in short, all the rest denied themselves, though every one was at home. noor ad deen now began in earnest to reflect with himself, and see the folly of relying upon the protestations of attachment that his false friends had solemnly made him in the time of his prosperity, when he could treat them sumptuously, and load them with favours. "it is true," said he to himself, "that a fortunate man, as i was, may be compared to a tree laden with fruit, which, as long as there is any on its boughs, people will be crowding round, and gathering; but as soon as it is stripped of all, they immediately leave it, and go to another." he smothered his passion as much as possible while he was abroad; but no sooner was he got home than he gave a loose to his affliction, and discovered it to the fair persian. the fair persian seeing him so extremely concerned, guessed he had not found his friends so ready to assist him as he expected. "well, sir," said she, "are you now convinced of the truth of what i told you?" "ah!" cried he, "thou hast been too true a prophetess; for not one of them would know me, see me, or speak to me. who could ever have believed, that persons so highly obliged to me, and on whom i have spent my estate, could have used me so ungratefully? i am distracted; and i fear shall commit some action unworthy myself, in the deplorable and desperate condition i am reduced to, unless you assist me with your prudent advice." "sir," replied the fair persian, "i see no other way of supporting yourself in your misfortunes, but selling off your slaves and furniture, and living on the money they produce, till heaven points out some other means to deliver you from your present misery." noor ad deen was loth to resort to this expedient; but what could he do in the necessitous circumstances to which he was reduced? he first sold off his slaves, those unprofitable mouths, which would have been a greater expense to him than in his present condition he could bear. he lived on the money for some time; and when it was spent, ordered his goods to be carried into the market-place, where they were sold for half their value, though there were among them several articles that had cost immense sums. upon the produce of these he lived a considerable time; but this supply failing at last, he had nothing left by which he could raise any more money, of which he informed the fair persian in the most sorrowful expressions. noor ad deen little expected the answer this prudent woman made him. "sir," said she, "i am your slave; and the late vizier your father gave ten thousand pieces of gold for me. i know i am a little sunk in value since that time; but i believe i shall sell for pretty near that sum. let me entreat you then instantly to carry me to the market, and expose me to sale; and with the money that you get for me, which will be very considerable, you may turn merchant in some city where you are not known, and by that means find a way of living, if not in splendour, yet with happiness and content." "lovely and adorable persian!" cried noor ad deen, "is it possible you can entertain such a thought? have i given you such slender proofs of my love, that you should think me capable of so base an action? but suppose me so vile a wretch, could i do it without being guilty of perjury, after the oath i have taken to my late father never to sell you? i would sooner die than break it, and part with you, whom i love infinitely beyond myself; though, by the unreasonable proposal you have made me, you shew me that your love is by no means reciprocal." "sir," replied the fair persian, "i am convinced that your passion for me is as sincere as you express; and heaven, who knows with what reluctance i have made this proposal which induces you to think so hardly of me, is my witness, that mine is as great as yours; but to silence your reasons, i need only bid you remember, that necessity has no law. i love you to that degree that it is impossible for you to love me more; and be assured, that to what master soever i shall belong, my love for you will continue undiminished; and if you are ever able to redeem me, as i hope you may, it will be the greatest pleasure in the world to be restored to you again. i confess it is a fatal and cruel necessity to which we are driven; but i see no other way of freeing ourselves from the misery that involves us both." noor ad deen, convinced of the truth of what the fair persian had said, and that there was no other way of avoiding a shameful poverty, was forced to yield to her proposal. accordingly he led her to the market where the women-slaves are exposed to sale, with a regret that cannot easily be expressed. he applied himself to a broker, named hagi hassan. "hagi hassan," said he, "here is a slave whom i mean to sell; what will they give for her?" hagi hassan desired noor ad deen and the fair persian to walk into a room; and when she had pulled off the veil that covered her face, "sir," said hagi hassan, in surprise, "if i am not mistaken, this is the slave your father, the late vizier, gave ten thousand pieces of gold for?" noor ad deen assured him she was the same and hagi hassan gave him some hopes of selling her at a high price, and promised to use all his art to raise her value as high as he could. hagi hassan and noor ad deen went out of the room; and hagi hassan locked the fair persian in. he went immediately to the merchants; but they being busy in buying slaves from different countries, greeks, franks, africans, tartars, and others, he was forced to wait till the market was over. when the sale was ended, and the greatest part of them were got together again, "my masters," said he to them, with an air of gaiety in his looks and actions, "every thing that is round is not a nut, every thing that is long is not a fig, all that is red is not flesh, and all eggs are not fresh; it is true you have seen and bought a great many slaves in your lives, but you never yet saw one comparable to her i am going to tell you of. she is the very pearl of slaves. come, follow me, you shall see her yourselves, and judge at what rate i shall cry her." the merchants followed hagi hassan into the apartment where he had left the fair persian, and as soon as they beheld her were so surprised at her beauty, that they unanimously agreed, four thousand pieces of gold was the very lowest price they could set upon her. the merchants left the room; and hagi hassan, who came out with them, without going any farther, proclaimed with a loud voice, "four thousand pieces of gold for a persian slave." none of the merchants had yet offered anything, and were consulting together about what they might afford to give for her, when the vizier saouy appeared. perceiving noor ad deen in the market, he said to himself, "noor ad deen is certainly still making money of his goods" (for he knew he had exposed them to sale), "and is come hither to buy a slave with the product." he advanced forward just as hagi hassan began to proclaim a second time, "four thousand pieces of gold for a persian slave." the vizier saouy, who concluded by the high price, that the slave must be extraordinarily beautiful, was very desirous to see her; so spurring his horse forward, he rode up to hagi hassan, who was surrounded by the merchants. "open the door," said he, "and let me see the slave." it was not the custom to shew a slave to a particular person after the merchants had seen her, and were treating for her; but none of them durst dispute their right with the vizier; and hagi hassan was obliged to open the door, and he made a sign to the fair persian to come forward, that saouy might see her, without alighting from his horse. the vizier was astonished at the sight of so beautiful a slave; and knowing the broker's name (having formerly dealt with him), "hagi hassan," said he, "is it not at four thousand pieces of gold that you cry her?" "yes, sir," answered he; "the merchants just now agreed that i should put her up at that price: i wait their advance; and i question not but they will give a great deal more." "if no one offers more, i will give that sum," replied saouy, looking at the merchants at the same time with a countenance that forbad them to advance the price. he was so universally dreaded, that no one durst speak a word, even to complain of his encroaching upon their privilege. the vizier having stayed some time, and finding none of the merchants outbid him, "what do you stay for?" said he to hagi hassan. "inquire after the seller, and strike a bargain with him at four thousand pieces of gold, or ask if he demands more." hagi hassan having locked the chamber-door, went to confer with noor ad deen. "sir," said he to him, "i am very sorry to bring you the ill news of your slave's going to be sold for nothing." "how so?" replied noor ad deen. "why sir," continued hagi hassan, "you must know that the business at first went on well; for as soon as the merchants had seen your slave, they ordered me, without hesitation, to cry her at four thousand pieces of gold; accordingly i cried her at that price, but presently the vizier saouy came, and his presence has stopped the mouths of all the merchants, who seemed disposed to raise her, at least to the same price your deceased father gave for her. saouy will give no more than four thousand pieces; and it is much against my inclination that i am come to tell you his despicable offer. the slave indeed is your own; but i will never advise you to part with her upon those terms, since you and every one else are sensible of her being worth infinitely more; besides, he is base enough to contrive a way to trick you out of the money." "hagi hassan," replied noor ad deen, "i am highly obliged to thee for thy advice: do not think i will ever sell my slave to any enemy of our family; my necessities, indeed, are at present very great; but i would sooner die in the utmost poverty than consent to delivering her up to him. i have only one thing to beg of thee, who art skilful in all the turns and shifts of sale, that thou wouldst put me in a way to prevent the completion of the bargain." "sir," said hagi hassan, "nothing is more easy: you must pretend that, being in a violent passion with your slave, you swore to expose her in the market, and for the sake of your oath have now brought her hither, without any intention of selling her. this will satisfy every one; and saouy will have nothing to say against it. come along with me then; and just as i am presenting her to saouy as if it were by your own consent, pull her to you, give her two or three blows, and send her home." "i thank thee for thy counsel," said noor ad deen, "and will make use of it." hagi hassan went back to the chamber; and having privately acquainted the fair persian with their design, that she might not be surprised, took her by the hand, and led her to the vizier saouy, who was still on horseback at the door "sir," said he, "here is the slave, she is yours; take her." the words were scarcely out of hagi hassan's mouth, when noor ad deen, catching hold of the fair persian, pulled her to him, and giving her a box on the ear, "come hither, impertinence," said he, "and get you home again; for though your ill-humour obliged me to swear i should bring you hither, yet i never intended to sell you: i have business for you to do yet; and it will be time enough to part with you when i have nothing else left." this conduct of noor ad deen put the vizier saouy into a violent passion. "miserable debauchee," cried he, "wouldst thou have me believe thou hast any thing else left to make money of but thy slave?" and at the same instant, spurring his horse directly against him, endeavoured to carry off the fair persian. noor ad deen. nettled to the quick at the affront the vizier had put upon him, quitted the fair persian, and laying hold of his horse's bridle, made him run two or three paces backwards. "vile dotard," said he to the vizier, "i would tear thy soul out of thy body this moment, were it not out of respect for the crowd of people here present." the vizier saouy being hated by all, there was not one among them but was pleased to see noor ad deen mortify him; and by signs they gave him to understand, that he might revenge himself upon him as much as he pleased, for nobody would interfere in their quarrel. saouy endeavoured to force noor ad deen to quit the bridle; but he being a lusty, vigorous man, and encouraged by those that stood by, pulled him off his horse, gave him several blows, and dashed his head against the stones, till it was all over blood. the slaves who waited upon the vizier would have drawn their cimeters, and fallen upon noor ad deen; but the merchants interposing prevented them. "what do you mean?" said they to them; "do you not see that one is a vizier, the other a vizier's son? let them fight it out; perhaps they will be reconciled one time or another; whereas, if you had killed noor ad deen, your master, with all his greatness, could not have been able to protest you against the law?" noor ad deen having given over beating the vizier saouy, left him in the mire, and taking the fair persian, marched home with her, attended by the people, with shouts and acclamations for the action he had performed. the vizier, cruelly bruised with the blows he had received, made shift to get up, with the assistance of his slaves, and had the mortification to see himself besmeared with blood and dirt. he leaned on the shoulders of two slaves, and in that condition went straight to the palace in the sight of all the people, with the greater confusion, because no one pitied him. as soon as he reached the king's apartment, he began to cry out, and call for justice in a lamentable tone. the king ordered him to be admitted; and asked who it was that had abused and put him into that miserable plight. "sire," cried saouy, "it is the favour of your majesty, and being admitted into your sacred councils, that has occasioned me to be so barbarously treated." "say no more of that," replied the king, "only let me hear the whole story simply, and who the offender is; and if he is in the wrong, you may depend upon it he shall be severely punished." "sire," said saouy, telling the whole matter to his own advantage, "having occasion for a cook, i went to the market of women-slaves to buy one: when i came thither, there was a slave just cried at four thousand pieces of gold; i ordered them to bring her before me, and i think my eyes never did nor will behold a more beautiful creature: i had no sooner examined her beauty with the highest satisfaction, than i immediately asked to whom she belonged; and upon inquiry found that noor ad deen, son to the late vizier khacan, had the disposing of her. "your majesty may remember, that about two or three years ago, you gave that vizier ten thousand pieces of gold, strictly charging him to buy you a slave with that sum. the money, indeed, was laid out upon this very slave; but instead of bringing her to your majesty, thinking his son deserved her better, he made him a present of her. noor ad deen, since his father's death, having wasted his whole fortune in riot and feasting, has nothing left but this slave, whom he at last resolved to part with; and she was to be sold in his name, i sent for him; and, without mentioning any thing of his father's prevarication, or rather treachery to your majesty, i in the civilest manner said to him, �noor ad deen, the merchants, i perceive, have put your slave up at four thousand pieces of gold; and i question not, but, in emulation of each other, they will raise the price considerably: let me have her for the four thousand pieces; i am going to buy her for the king our lord and master; this will be a handsome opportunity of making your court to him: and his favour will be worth far more than the merchants can propose to give you.' "instead of returning me a civil answer, the insolent wretch, beholding me with a fierce air, "impotent villain,' said he, �i would rather give my slave to a jew for nothing than to thee for money.' �noor ad deen,' i replied, without passion, though i had some reason to be a little warm,'you do not consider, that by talking in this manner you affront the king, who raised both your father and me to the honours we have enjoyed.' "this admonition, instead of softening him, only provoked him to a higher degree; so that, falling upon me like a madman, without regard to my age or rank, he pulled me off my horse, and put me into this miserable plight. i beseech your majesty to consider, that it is on your account i have been so publicly affronted." the abused king, highly incensed against noor ad deen by this relation, so full of malice and artifice, discovered by his countenance the violence of his anger; and turning to the captain of his guards, who stood near him, "take forty of your soldiers," said he, "immediately plunder noor ad deen's house, and having ordered it to be razed to the ground, bring him and his slave to the presence." before the captain of the guards was gone out of the king's presence, an officer belonging to the court, who overheard the order given, hastened out. his name was sangiar; and he had been formerly a slave of the vizier khacan who had introduced him at court, where by degrees he had raised himself. sangiar, full of gratitude to his old master and affection for noor ad deen, whom he remembered a child, being no stranger to saouy's hatred of khacan's family, could not hear the order without concern. "this action," said he to himself, "may not be altogether so black as saouy has represented it. he has prejudiced the king against him, who will certainly put him to death, without allowing him time to justify himself." he made so much haste to noor ad deen's house, as to get thither soon enough to acquaint him with what had passed at court, and give him time to provide for his own and the fair persian's safety. he knocked so violently at the door, that noor ad deen, who had been a great while without any servant, ran immediately to open it. "my dear lord," said sangiar, "there is no safety for you in bussorah; you must lose no time, but depart hence this moment." "how so?" demanded noor ad deen. "what is the reason i must be gone so soon?" "make haste away, sir," replied sangiar, "and take your slave with you. in short, saouy has been just now acquainting the king, after his own way of telling it, all that passed between you and him; and the captain of the guards will be here in an instant, with forty soldiers, to seize you and the fair persian. take these forty pieces of gold to assist you in repairing to some place of safety. i would give you more if i had it about me. excuse my not staying any longer; i leave you with reluctance." sangiar gave noor ad deen but just time to thank him, and departed. noor ad deen acquainted the fair persian with the absolute necessity of their going that moment. she only put on her veil; they both stole out of the house, and were fortunate enough not only to get clear of the city, but also safely to arrive at the euphrates, which was not far off, where they embarked in a vessel that lay ready to weigh anchor. as soon as they were on board, the captain came on deck amongst his passengers. "children," said he to them, "are you all here? have any of you any more business to do in the city? or have you left any thing behind you?" they were all there, they answered him, and ready; so that he might sail as soon as he pleased. when noor ad deen came aboard, the first question he asked was, whither the vessel was bound? and being told for bagdad, he rejoiced at it. the captain, having weighed anchor, set sail; and the vessel, with a very favourable wind, lost sight of bussorah. the captain of the guards came to noor ad deen's house, and knocked at the door; but no one answering, he ordered his soldiers to break it open, who immediately obeyed him, and rushed in. they searched the house; but neither he nor the fair persian were to be found. the captain of the guards made them inquire of the neighbours; and he himself asked if they had seen them lately. it was all in vain; for if they had seen him go out of his house, so universally beloved was noor ad deen by the people, that not one of them would have said the least word to his prejudice. while they were rifling the house, and levelling it to the ground, he went to acquaint the king with the news. "look for them," said he, "every where; for i am resolved to have them." the captain of the guards made a second search, and the king dismissed the vizier saouy with honour. "go home," said he, "trouble yourself no farther to punish noor ad deen; i will revenge your injuries." without delay the king ordered to be proclaimed throughout the whole city a reward of a thousand pieces of gold for any person that should apprehend noor ad deen and the fair persian, also a severe punishment upon those who should conceal them. no tidings however could be heard of them; and the vizier saouy had only the comfort of seeing the king espouse his quarrel. in the mean time, noor ad deen and the fair persian, after a prosperous voyage, landed safe at bagdad. as soon as the captain came within sight of that city, pleased that his voyage was at an end, "rejoice, my children," cried he to the passengers; "yonder is that great and wonderful city, where there is a perpetual concourse of people from all parts of the world: there you shall meet with innumerable crowds, and never feel the extremity of cold in winter, nor the excess of heat in summer, but enjoy an eternal spring with all its flowers, and the delicious fruits of autumn." when the vessel came to anchor, a little below the city, the passengers went ashore, each to their respective place of abode. noor ad deen gave the captain five pieces of gold for his passage, and went ashore also with the fair persian; but being a perfect stranger in bagdad, was at a loss for a lodging. they rambled a considerable time along the gardens that bordered on the tigris, and keeping close to one of them that was enclosed with a very long wall, at the end of it they turned into a street well paved, where they perceived a magnificent gateway and a fountain near it. the inner door happened to be shut, but the portal was open, in which there was an estrade on each side. "this is a very convenient place for us," said noor ad deen to the fair persian; "night comes on apace; and though we have eaten nothing since our landing, i am for passing the night here, and to-morrou we shall have time enough to look for a lodging." "sir," replied the fair persian, "you know your wishes are mine; les us go no farther, since you are willing to stay here." each of them having drunk a draught of water at the fountain, they laid themselves down upon one of the estrades; and after a little chat, being soothed by the agreeable murmur of the water, fell asleep. the garden belonged to the caliph: and in the middle of it there was a pavilion, called the pavilion of pictures, because its chief ornaments were pictures after the persian manner, drawn by the most celebrated painters in persia, whom the caliph had sent for on purpose. the stately hall within this pavilion was lighted by fourscore arches and a lustre in each; but these were lighted only when the caliph came thither to spend the evening. on such occasions they made a glorious illumination, and could be seen at a great distance in the country on that side, and by great part of the city. the office of keeper of this pleasure house was at this time held by a very aged officer, named scheich ibrahim, whom the caliph, for some important service, had put into that employment, with strict charge not to let all sorts of people in, but especially to suffer no one either to sit or lie down on the estrades at the outward door, that they might always be clean; and whenever he found any body there, to punish them severely. some business had obliged this officer to go abroad, and he was not yet returned. when he came back, there was just day-light enough for him to discern two persons asleep upon one of the estrades, with their heads under a piece of linen, to defend them from the gnats. "very well," said scheich ibrahim to himself; "these people disobey the caliph's orders: but i will take care to teach them better manners." upon this he opened the door very softly, and a moment after returned with a cane in his hand, and his sleeve tucked up to the elbow: he was just going to lay on them both with all his might, but withholding his arm, began to reason with himself after this manner: "thou wast going, without reflection, to strike these people, who perhaps are strangers, destitute of a lodging, and utterly ignorant of the caliph's order; so that it would be advisable to know first who they are." upon this he gently lifted up the linen that covered their heads, and was astonished to see a young man so well shaped, and a young woman so beautiful; he then waked noor ad deen, by pulling him softly by the feet. noor ad deen, lifting up his head, and seeing an old man with a long white beard standing at his feet, got up, and throwing himself upon his knees, and taking his hand, kissed it. "good father," said he, "heaven preserve you!" "what do you want, my son?" replied scheich ibrahim; "who are you, and whence came you?" "we are strangers newly arrived," answered noor ad deen, "and would fain tarry here till to-morrow." "this is not a proper place for you," said scheich ibrahim; "come in with me, and i will find one fitter for you to sleep in than this; and the sight of the garden, which is very fine, will please you, when you see it to-morrow by day light." "is this garden your own?" asked noor ad deen. "yes," replied scheich ibrahim, smiling; "it is an inheritance left me by my father: pray walk in, for i am sure you will not repent seeing it." noor ad deen rose to thank scheich ibrahim for the civility he had strewn, as did afterwards the fair persian; and they entered the garden. scheich ibrahim locked the door, and going before, led them to a spot from whence, at one view, they might see the disposition, grandeur, and beauty of the whole. noor ad deen had seen very fine gardens, but never any comparable to this. having satisfied his curiosity, as he was walking in one of the walks, he turned about to the officer, and asked his name. as soon as he had told him it was scheich ibrahim; "scheich ibrahim," said he to him, "i must confess this is a charming garden indeed. heaven send you long to enjoy the pleasures of it; we cannot sufficiently thank you for the favour you have done by shewing us a place so well worth seeing; however, it is but just that we should make you some amends for your kindness; here are two pieces of gold; take them and get us something to eat, that we may be merry together." at the sight of the two pieces of gold, scheich ibrahim, who was a great admirer of that metal, laughed in his sleeve: he took them, and leaving noor ad deen and the fair persian by themselves, went to provide what was necessary; for he was alone. said he to himself with great joy, "these are generous people; i should have done very wrong, if, through imprudence, i had ill- treated and driven them away. a tenth part of the money will suffice to treat them; and the rest i will keep for my pains." while scheich ibrahim was gone to fetch something for his own supper, as well as for his guests noor ad deen and the fair persian walked up and down the garden, till at last they came to the pavilion of pictures. they stood awhile to admire its wonderful structure, size, and loftiness; and after taking a full view of it on every side, went up many steps of fine white marble to the hall-door, which they found locked. they were but just returned to the bottom of the steps, when scheich ibrahim arrived, loaded with provisions. "scheich ibrahim," said noor ad deen, in great surprise, "did you not tell us that this was your garden?" "i did," replied scheich ibrahim, "and do so still." "and does this magnificent pavilion also belong to you?" scheich ibrahim was staggered at this unexpected question. "if," said he to himself, "i should say it is none of mine, they will ask me how i can be master of the garden and not of the pavilion.' as he had made them believe the garden was his, he said the same of the pavilion. "my son," said he, "the pavilion is not distinct from the garden; but they both belong to me." "if so," said noor ad deen, "since you invite us to be your guests to-night, do us the favour to shew us the inside of it; for if we may judge by the outward appearance, it must certainly be extraordinarily magnificent." it would have been a great piece of incivility in scheich ibrahim to refuse this favour, after what he had already done: moreover, he considered that the caliph not having given him notice, according to his usual custom, it was likely he would not be there that night, and therefore resolved to treat his guests, and sup with them in the pavilion. he laid the provisions on the first step, while he went to his apartment for the key: he soon returned with a light, and opened the door. noor ad deen and the fair persian entered the hall, and were never tired with admiring the beauty and richness of the place. indeed, without saying anything of the pictures. which were admirably well drawn, the sofas were very noble and costly; and besides lustres suspended from every arch, there was between each a silver branch supporting a wax candle. noor ad deen could not behold these glorious objects without recollecting his former splendour, and sighing. in the mean time scheich ibrahim was getting supper ready; and the cloth being laid upon a sofa, and every thing in order, noor ad deen, the fair persian, and he sat down and ate together. when supper was finished, and they had washed their hands, noor ad deen opened a lattice, and calling the fair persian to him, "come hither," said he, "and with me admire the charming prospect and beauty of the garden by moon-light; nothing can be more agreeable." she came to him; and they both enjoyed the view, while scheich ibrahim was busy in taking away the cloth. when scheich ibrahim came to his guests again, noor ad deen asked him whether he had any liquor to treat them with. "what liquor would you have?" replied scheich ibrahim--"sherbet? i have the best in the world; but sherbet, you know, my son, is never drunk after supper." "i know that very well," said noor ad deen; "it is not sherbet, but another sort of liquor that we ask you for, and i am surprised at your not understanding me." "it is wine then you mean?" said scheich ibrahim. "you guess right," replied noor ad deen, "and if you have any, oblige us with a bottle: you know a bottle after supper is a very proper companion to spend the hours with till bed-time." "heaven defend me from keeping wine in my house," cried scheich ibrahim, "and from ever coming to a place where any is found! a man who, like me, has been a pilgrimage four times to mecca, has renounced wine for ever." "you would do us a singular kindness," said noor ad deen, "in getting a little for our own drinking; and if it be not too much trouble, i will put you in a way how you may do it, without going into a vintner's shop, or so much as laying your hand upon the vessel that contains it." "upon that condition i will do it," replied scheich ibrahim, "only let me know what i am to do." "why then," said noor ad deen, "we just now saw an ass tied at the entrance of your garden, which certainly must be yours, and which you may make use of in this extremity: here are two pieces of gold more; take them, and lead your ass with the panniers to the next vintner's; you may stand at as great a distance as you please, do but give something to the first person that comes by, and desire him to go with your ass, and procure two pitchers of wine; put one in one pannier, in another, another, which he must pay for out of the money you give him, and so let him bring the ass back to you: you will have nothing to do, but to drive the beast hither before you; we will take the wine out of the panniers: by this means you will do nothing that will give you any scruple." the two last pieces of gold that scheich ibrahim was going to receive wrought wonderfully upon his mind. "ah! my son," cried he, "you have an excellent contrivance; and had it not been for your invention, i should never have thought of this way of getting you some wine without any scruple of conscience." away he went to execute the orders, which he did in a little time; and, upon his return, noor ad deen taking the pitchers out of the panniers, carried them into the hall. scheich ibrahim having led the ass to the place from whence he took him, came back again, "scheich ibrahim," said noor ad deen, "we cannot enough thank you for the trouble we have already given you; but we want something yet." "what is that? "replied scheich: "what more service can i do you?" "we have no cups to drink out of," said noor ad deen, "and a little fruit, if you had any, would be very acceptable." "do but say what you have a mind to," replied scheich ibrahim, "and you shall have every thing to your heart's content." down went scheich ibrahim, and in a short time spread a carpet for them with beautiful porcelain dishes, full of all sorts of delicious fruits, besides gold and silver cups to drink out of; and having asked them if they wanted any thing else, he withdrew, though they pressed him earnestly to stay. noor ad deen and the fair persian sat down again, and drank each a cup. they were pleased with the wine, which was excellent. "well, my dear," said noor ad deen to the fair persian, "are we not the most fortunate persons in the world, after so many dangers, to meet with so charming and agreeable a place? let us be merry, and think no more on the hardships of our voyage. can my happiness be greater in this world, than to have you on one side of me, and my glass on the other?" they drank freely, and diverted themselves with agreeable conversation, each singing a song. both having very fine voices, but especially the fair persian, their singing attracted scheich ibrahim, who had stood hearkening a great while on the steps, without discovering himself. he could contain himself no longer; but thrusting his head in at the door, "courage, sir," said he to noor ad deen, whom he took to be quite drunk, "i am glad to see you so pleased." "ah! scheich ibrahim," cried noor ad deen, turning to him, "you are a glorious man, and we are extremely obliged to you. we dare not ask you to drink a cup; but walk in; come, sit down, and let us have the honour at least of your company." "go on, go on," said scheich ibrahim; "the pleasure of hearing your songs is sufficient for me." upon this he immediately retired. the fair persian perceiving scheich ibrahim, through one of the windows, standing upon the steps, told noor ad deen of it. "sir," said she, "you see what an aversion he has for wine; yet i question not in the least to make him drink, if you will do as i would have you." noor ad deen asked her what it was. "do but say the word," replied he, "and i am ready to do what you please." "prevail with him then only to come in, and bear us company; some time after fill up a bumper, and give it him; if he refuses, drink it yourself, pretend to be asleep, and leave the rest to me." noor ad deen understood the fair persian's design, and called to scheich ibrahim, who came again to the door. "scheich ibrahim," said he, "we are your guests; you have entertained us in the most obliging manner, and will you now refuse our solicitations to honour us with your company? we do not ask you to drink, but only the favour of seeing you." scheich ibrahim being at last prevailed upon, came into the hall, and sat down on the edge of a sofa nearest to the door. "you do not sit well there," said noor ad deen, "and we cannot have the honour of seeing you; pray come nearer, and sit you down by the lady; she will like it much." "i will obey you," replied scheich ibrahim, so coming forward, simpering, to think he should be seated near so beautiful a creature, he placed himself at some distance from the fair persian. noor ad deen desired a song of her, in return for the honour scheich ibrahim had done them; and she sung one that charmed him. when the fair persian had ended her song, noor ad deen poured out a cup of wine, and presented it to scheich ibrahim. "scheich ibrahim," said he, "i entreat you, drink this to our healths." "sir," replied he, starting back, as if he abhorred the very sight of the wine, "i beseech you to excuse me; i have already told you that i have forsworn the use of wine these many years." "then since you will not drink our healths," said noor ad deen, "give me leave to drink yours." while noor ad deen was drinking, the fair persian cut half an apple, and presented it to scheich ibrahim. "though you refused drinking," said she, "yet i believe you will not refuse tasting this apple; it is very excellent." scheich ibrahim had no power to refuse it from so fair a hand; but taking it with a very low bow, put it in his mouth. she said a great many pleasant things on the occasion; and noor ad deen, falling back upon a sofa, pretended to fall fast asleep. the fair persian presently advanced towards scheich ibrahim, and speaking in a low voice, "look at him," said she, "thus in all our merry parties he constantly serves me; and no sooner has he drunk a cup or two, but he falls asleep, and leaves me alone; but i hope you will have the goodness to keep me company till he awakes." at this the fair persian took a cup, and filling it with wine, offered it to scheich ibrahim. "here," said she, "drink off this to my health; i am going to pledge you." scheich ibrahim made a great many difficulties, and begged her to excuse him from drinking; but she pressed him so, that overcome by her charms and entreaties he took the cup, and drank off every drop of the wine. the good old man loved a chirruping cup to his heart, but was ashamed to drink among strangers. he often went to the tavern in private, as many other people do; and he did not take the precaution recommended, but went directly where he was well known (night serving him instead of a cloak), and saved the money that noor ad deen had ordered him to give the messenger who was to have gone for the wine. while scheich ibrahim was eating fruit after his draught, the fair persian filled him out another, which he received with less difficulty than the former, but made none at all at the third. in short, a fourth was quaffing, when noor ad deen started up from his pretended sleep; and bursting out into a violent fit of laughter, and looking at him, "ha! ha!" said he, "scheich ibrahim, have i caught you at last? did you not tell me you had forsworn wine? and now you have drunk it all up from me." scheich ibrahim, not expecting to be surprised, blushed a little; however, that did not spoil his draught; but when he had done, "sir," said he laughing, "if there is any crime in what i have done, it lies at this fair lady's door, not mine: for who could possibly resist so many charms?" the fair persian, who perfectly understood noor ad deen, took scheich ibrahim's part. "let him talk," said she, "scheich ibrahim, take no notice of him, but let us drink on and be merry." awhile after noor ad deen filled out a cup for himself and the fair persian; but when scheich ibrahim saw that noor ad deen had forgotten him in his turn, he took his cup, and presenting it to the fair persian, "madam," said he, "do you suppose i cannot drink as well as you?" at these words noor ad deen and the fair persian laughed very heartily. they poured him out some wine; and sat laughing, chatting, and drinking, till near midnight. about that hour the fair persian began to notice that there was but one candle on the carpet. "scheich ibrahim," said she to the good old officer, "you have afforded us but one candle, when there are so many wax- lights yonder; pray do us the favour to light some of them, that we may see a little better what we are doing." scheich ibrahim making use of the liberty that wine inspires when it gets into the head, and not caring to be interrupted in his discourse, bade the fair persian light them herself. "it is fitter for a young person like you to do it," said he, "than for me; but be sure not to light above five or six" up rose the fair persian immediately, and taking a wax candle in her hand, lighted it with that which stood upon the carpet, and without any regard to scheich ibrahim's order, lighted up the whole fourscore. by and by, while scheich ibrahim was entertaining the fair persian with some discourse, noor ad deen took his turn to desire him to light up some of the candles in the lustres, not taking notice that all the wax-lights were already in a blaze. "certainly," replied scheich ibrahim, "you must be very lazy, or less vigorous than i am, that you are not able to light them yourself; get you gone, and light them; but be sure you light no more than three." to work he went; but instead of that number, he lighted them all, and opened the shutters of the fourscore windows, before scheich ibrahim, who was deeply engaged with the fair persian, knew any thing of the matter. the caliph haroon al rusheed being not yet gone to rest, was in a room of his palace on the river tigris, from whence he could command a view both of the garden and pavilion. he accidentally opened the casement, and was extremely surprised at seeing the pavilion illuminated; and at first, by the greatness of the light, thought the city was on fire. the grand vizier jaaffier was still with him, waiting for his going to rest. the caliph, in a great rage, called the vizier to him. "careless vizier," said he, "come hither, come hither; look at the pavilion of pictures, and tell me the reason of its being illuminated at this hour, now i am not there." the grand vizier at this account fell into a violent trembling; but when he came nearer, and with his own eyes saw the truth of what the caliph had told him, he was more alarmed than before. some excuse must be made to appease the caliph's anger. "commander of the true believers," said he, "all that i can say to your majesty about this matter is, that some five or six days ago scheich ibrahim came to acquaint me, that he had a design to assemble the ministers of his mosque, to assist at a ceremony he was ambitious of performing in honour of your majesty's auspicious reign. i asked him if i could be any way serviceable to him in this affair; upon which he entreated me to get leave of your majesty to perform the ceremony in the pavilion. i sent him away with leave to hold the assembly, telling him i would take care to acquaint your majesty with it; and i ask pardon for having quite forgotten it." "scheich ibrahim," continued he, "has certainly made choice of this day for the ceremony; and after treating the ministers of his mosque, was willing to indulge them with the sight of this illumination." "jaaffier," said the caliph, with a tone that plainly shewed his anger was a little mollified, "according to your own account, you have committed three faults; the first, in giving scheich ibrahim leave to perform this ceremony in my pavilion, for a person in such an office is not worthy of so great an honour; the second, in not acquainting me with it; and the third, in not diving into the bottom of the good old man's intention. for my part, i am persuaded he only did it to try if he could get any money towards bearing the charge of it; but that never came into your head." the grand vizier, overjoyed to hear the caliph put the matter upon that footing, very willingly owned the faults he reproached him with, and freely confessed he was to blame in not giving scheich ibrahim a few pieces of gold. "since the case is so," added the caliph, "it is just that thou shouldst be punished for thy mistakes, but thy punishment shall be light: thou shalt spend the remainder of the night as i mean to do, with these honest people, whose company i shall be well pleased with; and while i am putting on a citizen's habit, go thou and disguise thyself with mesrour, and come both of you along with me." the vizier would have persuaded him it was late, and that all the company would be gone before he could get thither: but the caliph said he would positively go. the vizier, who knew that not a syllable of what he had said was true, began to be in great consternation; but there was no reply to be made, and go he must. the caliph then, disguised like a citizen, with the grand vizier jaaffier and mesrour, chief of the eunuchs, stole out of the palace together. they rambled through the streets of bagdad till they came to the garden; the door, through the carelessness of scheich ibrahim, was open, he having forgotten to shut it when he came back with the wine. the caliph was very angry at this. "jaaffier," said he to the grand vizier, "what excuse have you for the door's being open at this unseasonable hour?" "is it possible that scheich ibrahim makes a custom of leaving it thus all night? i rather believe the hurry of the feast has been the occasion of this neglect." the caliph went into the garden; and when he came to the pavilion, resolving not to go into the hall till he knew what was doing, consulted with the grand vizier whether it was not his best way to climb up into one of the trees that was near, to observe what was going forward. the grand vizier casting his eyes upon the door, perceived it stood half open, and told the caliph. it seems scheich ibrahim had left it so, when he was prevailed upon to come in and bear noor ad deen and the fair persian company. the caliph laying aside his first design, stole softly up to the hall-door, which standing half open, he could see all the company within, without being discovered himself. but how was he surprised, when he saw a lady of incomparable beauty and a handsome young man sitting, with scheich ibrahim by them. scheich ibraham held a cup in his hand. "my fair lady," said he to the fair persian, "a true toper never drinks without singing a song first: if you please to hear, i will give you one of my best songs." scheich ibrahim sung, and the caliph was the more surprised, because till that moment he never knew of his drinking wine, but always took him for a grave, solid man, as he seemed to be to outward appearance. the caliph retired from the door with the same caution as he had made his approaches to it; and coming to the grand vizier, who was standing on the steps a little lower, "come up," said he to him, "and see if those within are the ministers of the mosque, as you would have made me believe." by the tone of voice in which the caliph spoke these last words, the vizier understood that things went ill on his side: however, he went up the steps; but when he had peeped in at the door, and saw the three sitting in that condition, he trembled for his life. he returned to the caliph, but in such confusion, that he knew not what to say. "what riotous doings are here?" said the caliph to him: "who are these people that have presumed to take the liberty of diverting themselves in my garden and pavilion? and how durst scheich ibrahim give them admittance, and partake of the diversion with them? i must, however, confess, i never saw two persons more beautiful or better paired in my life; and therefore, before i discover my anger, i will inform myself better, and know who they are, and the reason of their being here." he went to the door again to observe them more narrowly; and the vizier, who followed, stood behind him, while he fixed his eyes upon them. they both plainly heard every word that scheich ibrahim said to the fair persian. "is there any thing, my charming lady, wanting to render the pleasure of the evening more complete?" "nothing but a lute," replied the fair persian, "and methinks, if you could get me one, all would be well." "can you play upon it?" said scheich ibrahim. "fetch me one," replied the fair persian, "and you shall hear whether i can or not." scheich ibrahim, without stirring very far from his place, took a lute out of a press, and presented it to the fair persian, who begun to tune it. the caliph, in the mean time, turning to the grand vizier, "jaaffier," said he, "the young lady is going to play upon the lute; and if she performs well, i will forgive her, and the young man for her sake; but as for thee, i will have thee impaled." "commander of the true believers," replied the grand vizier, "if that is your intention, i wish to god she may play ill." "why so?" said the caliph. "because," replied the grand vizier, "the longer we live in this world, the more reason we shall have to comfort ourselves with the hopes of dying in good sociable company." the caliph, who loved a repartee, began to laugh at this; and putting his ear to the opening of the door, listened to hear the fair persian play. the fair persian began in such a style, that, from the first moment of her touching the lute, the caliph perceived she did it with a masterly hand. afterwards accompanying the lute with her voice, which was admirably fine, she sung and played with so much skill and sweetness, that the caliph was quite ravished to hear her. as soon as the fair persian had finished her song, the caliph went down the steps, and the vizier followed him. when he came to the bottom, "i never," said he to the vizier, "heard a more charming voice, or a lute better touched. isaac, whom i thought the most skilful player in the world, does not come up to her. i am so charmed with her music, that i will go in, and hear her play before me. we must, therefore, consider how i can do it." "commander of the true believers," said the grand vizier, "if you should go in, and scheich ibrahim chance to know you, he would infallibly die with the fright." "it is that which hurts me," replied the caliph, "and i should be loth to be the occasion of his death, after so many years service. a thought is just come into my head, that may succeed; stay here with mesrour, and wait for me in the next walk." the neighbourhood of the tigris had given the caliph an opportunity of turning the stream under a stately bridge into his garden, through a piece of water, whither the choicest fish of the river used to retire. the fishermen knew it well; but the caliph had expressly charged scheich ibrahim not to suffer any of them to come near it. however, that night, a fisherman passing by the garden-door, which the caliph had left open as he found it, made use of the opportunity, and going in, went directly to the canal. the fisherman immediately fell to work with his nets, and was just ready to draw them, when the caliph, fearing what would be the effect of scheich ibrahim's negligence, but willing to make use of it to bring his design about, came to the same place. the fisherman, in spite of his disguise, knew him, and throwing himself at his feet, humbly implored his pardon, and excused himself on account of his poverty. "rise," said the caliph, "and be not afraid; only draw your nets, that i may see what fish you have got." the fisherman, recovered of his fright, quickly obeyed the caliph's orders. he drew out five or six very large fishes; and the caliph choosing the two biggest, tied them together by the head, with the twig of a tree. "after this," said he to the fisherman, "give me thy clothes, and take mine." the exchange was soon made; and the caliph being dressed like a fisherman, even to his boots and turban, "take thy nets," said he to the fisherman, "and get thee about thy business." when the fisherman, well pleased with his good fortune, was gone, the caliph, taking the two fishes in his hand, went to look after the grand vizier and mesrour; he first met jaaffier, who, not knowing him, asked what he wanted, and bade him go about his business. the caliph fell a laughing; by which the vizier recognising him, "commander of the true believers," said he, "is it possible it can be you? i knew you not; and i ask a thousand pardons for my rudeness. you are so disguised that you may venture into the hall without any fear of being discovered by scheich ibrahim." stay you here with mesrour," said the caliph, "while i go and play my part." the caliph went up to the hall, and knocked at the door. noor ad deen hearing him first, told scheich ibrahim of it, who asked who was there? the caliph opened the door, and stepping a little way into the hall to shew himself, "scheich ibrahim," said he, "i am the fisherman kerim, who being informed of your design to treat some of your friends, have brought you two very fine fishes, fresh caught, to ask if you have any occasion for them." noor ad deen and the fair persian were pleased to hear him name fish. "pray," said the latter to scheich ibrahim, "let him come in, that we may look at them." scheich ibrahim, by this time, was incapable of asking this counterfeit fisherman how or which way he came thither, his whole thought being only to oblige the fair persian. with much ado he turned his head towards the door, being quite drunk, and, in a stammering tone, calling to the caliph, whom he took to be a fisherman, "come hither, thou nightly thief," said he, "and let us see what thou hast got." the caliph went forwards, and counterfeiting all the actions of a fisherman, presented the two fishes. "these are very fine ones indeed," said the fair persian, "and if they were well dressed and seasoned, i should be glad to eat some of them." "the lady is in the right," answered scheich ibrahim; "but what can you do with your fish, unless it were dressed? go, dress it thyself, and bring it to us; thou wilt find every thing necessary in my kitchen." the caliph went back to the grand vizier. "jaaffier," said he, "i have been very well received; but they want the fish to be dressed." "i will take care to dress it myself," said the grand vizier, "and they shall have it in a moment." "nay," replied the caliph, "so eager am i to accomplish my design, that i will take that trouble myself; for since i have personated the fisherman so well, surely i can play the cook for once; in my younger days, i dealt a little in cookery, and always came off with credit." so saying, he went directly towards scheich ibrahim's lodgings, and the grand vizier and mesrour followed him. they all fell to work; and though scheich ibrahim's kitchen was not very large, yet there was every thing in it that they wanted. the fish was quickly cooked; and the caliph served it up, putting to every one's place a lemon to squeeze into the sauce, if they thought proper. they all ate very heartily, but especially noor ad deen and the fair persian; and the caliph stood before them. as soon as the repast was over, noor ad deen looking at the caliph, "fisherman," said he, "there never was better fish eaten; and you have done us the greatest favour." at the same time, putting his hand into his bosom, and pulling out a purse of thirty pieces of gold, the remainder of forty that sangiar, the officer of the king of bussorah, had given him just upon his departure, "take it," said he to him; "if i had any more, thou shouldst have it; had i known thee in my prosperity, i would have taken care to secure thee from want: do not refuse the small present i make thee, but accept of it as kindly as if it were much greater." the caliph took the purse, thanked noor ad deen, and perceiving by the weight that it contained gold, "sir," said he to him, "i cannot enough thank you for your liberality, and i think myself very fortunate in having to do with a person of your generosity; but before i take my leave i have a favour to ask, which i beg you not to deny me. yonder is a lute, which makes me believe that the lady understands playing upon it; and if you can prevail with her to play but one tune, i shall go away perfectly satisfied; for a lute, sir, is an instrument i am particularly fond of." "fair persian," said noor ad deen, immediately addressing himself to her, "i ask that favour of you, and i hope you will not refuse me." she took up the lute without more entreaties, and putting it presently in tune, played and sung with such an air, as charmed the very soul of the caliph. afterwards she played upon the lute without singing, but with so much strength and softness, as to transport him into an ecstasy. when the fair persian had given over playing, the caliph cried out, "what a voice! what a hand! what skill! was there ever finer singing, or better playing upon the lute? never was there any seen or heard like it." noor ad deen, who was accustomed to give all that belonged to him to persons who praised him, said, "fisherman, i find thou hast some taste for music; since thou art so delighted with her performance, she is thine, i make thee a present of her." at the same time he rose up, and taking his robe which he had laid by, was going away, and leaving the caliph, whom he believed to be no other than a fisherman, in possession of the fair persian. the fair persian was extremely surprised at noor ad deen's liberality; she took hold of him, and looking tenderly at him, "whither, sir," said she, "are you going? sit down in your place, i entreat you, and hearken to what i am going to sing and play." he did as she desired him, and then the fair persian, touching the lute, and looking upon him with tears in her eyes, sung some verses that she had made ex tempore, to reproach him with his indifference, and the easiness as well as cruelty with which he resigned her to kerim. she only hinted, without explaining herself any farther to a fisherman; for she, as well as noor ad deen, was ignorant of his being the caliph. when she had done playing, she put the lute down by her, and clapped a handkerchief to her face, to hide the tears she could not repress. noor ad deen made no answer to all these reproaches, but by his silence seemed to declare he did not repent of what he had done the caliph, surprised at what he had heard, said, "sir, as far as i see, this beautiful, rare, and accomplished lady, of whom so generously you have made me a present, is your slave?" "it is very true, kerim," replied noor ad deen, "and thou wouldst be more surprised than thou art now, should i tell thee all the misfortunes that have happened to me upon her account." "ah! i beseech you, sir," replied the caliph, still behaving like a fisherman, "oblige me so far as to let me hear part of your story." noor ad deen, who had already obliged him in several things of more consequence, was so complaisant as to relate the whole story to him. he began with the vizier his father's buying the fair persian for the king of bussorah, and omitted nothing of what he had done, or what had happened to him, from that time to their arrival at bagdad, and to the very moment he was talking to him. when noor ad deen had ended his story, "and whither are you going now?" asked the caliph. "where heaven shall direct me," answered noor ad deen. "if you will believe me," replied the caliph, "you shall go no farther, but, on the contrary, you must return to bussorah: i will write a short letter, which you shall give the king in my name: you shall see upon the reading it, he will give you a very handsome reception, and nobody will dare to speak against you." "kerim," said noor ad deen, "what thou hast told me is very singular; i never heard that a poor fisherman, as thou art, had any correspondence with a king?" "be not astonished at that," replied the caliph: "you must know, that we both studied together under the same masters, and were always the best friends in the world: it is true, fortune has not been equally favourable to us; she has made him a king, and me a fisherman. but this inequality has not lessened our friendship. he has often expressed a readiness and desire to advance my fortune, but i always refused; and am better pleased with the satisfaction of knowing that he will never deny me whatever i ask for the service and advantage of my friends: let me do it, and you shall see the success." noor ad deen consented to what the caliph had proposed; and there being every thing necessary for writing in the hall, the caliph wrote a letter to the king of bussorah; at the top of which he placed this form, "in the name of the most merciful god," to shew he would be absolutely obeyed. "haroon al rusheed, son of mhadi, sends this letter to zinebi, his cousin. as soon as noor ad deen, son to the late vizier khacan, the bearer, has delivered you this letter, and you have read it, pull off the royal vestments, put them on his shoulders, and place him in thy seat without fail. farewell." the caliph folded up the letter, sealed it, and giving it to noor ad deen, without saying any thing of what was in it, "go," said he, "embark immediately in a vessel that is ready to go off (as there did constantly every day at the same hour); you may sleep when you are aboard." noor ad deen took the letter, and departed with the little money he had about him when sangiar gave him his purse; and the fair persian, distracted with grief at his departure, retired to one of the sofas, and wept bitterly. noor ad deen was scarcely gone out of the hall, when scheich lbrahim, who had been silent during the whole transaction, looking steadfastly upon the caliph, whom he still took for the fisherman kerim, "hark'e," said he, "kerim, thou hast brought us two fishes, that are worth twenty pieces of copper at most, and thou hast got a purse and a slave: but dost thou think to have all for thyself? i here declare, that i will go halves with thee in the slave; and as for the purse, shew me what is in the inside: if it is silver, thou shalt have one piece for thyself; but if it is gold, i will have it all, and give thee in exchange some pieces of copper which i have in my purse." the caliph, before his serving up the fish, had dispatched the grand vizier to his palace, with orders to get four slaves with a rich habit, and to wait on the other side of the pavilion till he gave a signal with his finger against the window. the grand vizier performed his commission; and he, mesrour, and the four slaves, waited at the appointed place, expecting the sign. the caliph, still personating the fisherman, answered scheich ibrahim boldly, "i know not what there is in the purse; gold or silver, you shall freely go my halves: but as to the slave, i will have her all to myself; and if you will not accept these conditions, you shall have nothing." scheich lbrahim, enraged to the last degree at this insolence, considering him only as a fisherman, snatched up one of the china dishes which were on the table, and flung it at the caliph's head. the caliph easily avoided the blow, being thrown by a person in liquor; but the dish striking against the wall, was dashed into a thousand pieces. scheich ibrahim grew more enraged at having missed his aim, and catching up the candle that stood upon the table, rose from his seat, and went staggering down a pair of back-stairs to look for a cane. the caliph took this opportunity, and striking his hands against the window, the grand vizier, mesrour, and the four slaves were with him in an instant: the slaves quickly pulled off the fisherman's clothes, and put him on the habit they had brought. they had not quite dressed the caliph, who had seated himself on the throne that was in the hall, but were busy about him when scheich ibrahim, spurred on by interest, came back with a cane in his hand, with which he designed to pay the pretended fisherman soundly; but instead of finding him, he saw his clothes in the middle of the hall, and the caliph on his throne, with the grand vizier and mesrour on each side of him. he stood awhile gazing on this unexpected sight, doubting whether he was awake or asleep. the caliph fell a laughing at his astonishment; and calling to him, "scheich ibrahim," said he, "what dost thou want? whom dost thou look after?" scheich ibrahim, no longer doubting that it was the caliph, immediately threw himself at his feet, with his face and long beard to the ground. "commander of the true believers," cried he, "your vile slave has offended you; but he implores your clemency, and asks a thousand pardons for his offence." as soon as the slaves had finished dressing him, he came down from his throne, and advancing towards him, "rise," said he, "i forgive thee." the caliph then addressed himself to the fair persian, who had suspended her sorrow as soon as she understood that the garden and pavilion belonged to that prince, and not to scheich ibrahim, as he had all along made her believe, and that it was he himself disguised in the fisherman's clothes. "fair persian," said he, "rise, and follow me: by what you have lately seen, you ought to know who i am, and to believe that i am above taking any advantage of the present which noor ad deen, with a generosity not to be paralleled, has made me of your person. i have sent him to bussorah as king; and when i have given him the dispatches necessary for his establishment, you shall go thither and be queen. in the mean time i am going to order an apartment for you in my palace, where you shall be treated according to your desert." this discourse encouraged the fair persian, and comforted her very sensibly. the joy for the advancement of noor ad deen, whom she passionately loved, to so high an honour, made her sufficient amends for her affliction. the caliph kept his promise, and recommended her to the care of his empress zobeide, whom he acquainted with the esteem he had entertained for noor ad deen. noor ad deen's return to bussorah was more fortunate, and speedier by some days than he could have expected. upon his arrival, without visiting any of his friends or relations he went directly to the palace, where the king at that time was giving public audience. with the letter held up in his hand, he pressed through the crowd, who presently made way for him to come forward and deliver it. the king took and opened it, and his colour changed in reading it; he kissed it thrice, and was just about to obey the caliph's orders, when he bethought himself of strewing it to the vizier saony, noor ad deen's irreconcileable enemy. saouy, who had discovered noor ad deen, and began to conjecture, with great uneasiness, what might be the design of his coming, was no less surprised than the king at the order contained in the letter; and being as much concerned in it, he instantly devised a method to evade it. he pretended not to have read the letter quite through, and therefore desiring a second view of it, turned himself a little on one side as if he wanted a better light, and, without being perceived by any body, dexterously tore off from the top of it the form which shewed the caliph would be absolutely obeyed, and putting it into his mouth, swallowed it. after this egregious piece of villainy, saouy turned to the king, and giving him the letter, "sir," said he to him in a low voice, "what does your majesty intend to do?" "what the caliph has commanded me," replied the king. "have a care, sir," said the wicked vizier, "what you do. it is true this is the caliph's hand, but the form is not to it." the king had observed it, but in his confusion thought his eyes had deceived him when he saw it was gone. "sir," continued the vizier, "we have no reason to doubt but that the caliph, on the complaints he has made against your majesty and myself, has granted him this letter to get rid of him, and not with any intention of having the order contained in it executed. besides, we must consider he has sent no express with a patent; and without that the order is of no force. and since a king like your majesty was never deposed without that formality, any other man as well as noor ad deen might come with a forged letter: let who will bring such a letter as this, it ought not to be put in execution. your majesty may depend upon it, that is never done; and i will take upon myself all the consequence of disobeying this order." king zinebi, easily persuaded by this pernicious counsel, left noor ad deen entirely to the discretion of the vizier saouy, who led him to his house in a very insulting manner; and after causing him to be bastinadoed till he was almost dead, he ordered him to a prison, where he commanded him to be put into the darkest and deepest dungeon, with a strict charge to the gaoler to give him nothing but bread and water. when noor ad deen, half dead with the strokes, came to himself, and found what a dismal dungeon he was in, he bewailed his misfortunes in the most pathetic manner. "ah! fisherman," cried he, "how hast thou cheated me; and how easy have i been in believing thee! could i, after the civility i shewed thee, expect such inhuman and barbarous usage? however, may heaven reward thee; for i cannot persuade myself that thy intention was so base; and i will with patience wait the end of my afflictions." the disconsolate noor ad deen remained six whole days in this miserable condition; and saouy did not forget that he had confined him there; but being resolved to put him to a shameful death, and not daring to do it by his own authority, to accomplish his villainous design, loaded some of his slaves with rich presents, which he, at the head of them, went and presented to the king. "behold, sire," said he, with the blackest malice, "what the new king has sent you upon his accession to the crown, and begs your majesty to accept." the king taking the matter just as saouy intended, "what!" replied he, "is that wretch still living? i thought you had put him to death already." "sire, i have no power," answered the vizier, "to take any person's life; that only belongs to your majesty." "go," said the king, "behead him instantly; i give you full authority." "sire," replied the vizier saouy, "i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for the justice you do me; but since noor ad deen has publicly affronted me, i humbly beg the favour, that his execution may be performed before the palace; and that the criers may publish it in every quarter of the city, so that every body may be satisfied he has made a sufficient reparation for the affront." the king granted his request; and the criers in performing their office diffused universal sorrow through the whole city. the memory of his father's virtues being yet fresh among them, no one could hear, without horror and indignation, that the son was going to suffer an ignominious death. saouy went in person to the prison, accompanied by twenty slaves, ministers of his cruelty, who took noor ad deen out of the dungeon, and put him upon a shabby horse without a saddle. when noor ad deen saw himself in the hands of his enemy, "thou triumphest now," said he, "and abusest thy power; but i trust in the truth of what is written in our scripture, �you judge unjustly, and in a little time you shall be judged yourself.'" the vizier saouy triumphed in his heart. "what! insolent," said he, "darest thou insult me yet? but i care not what may happen to me, so i have the pleasure of seeing thee lose thy head in the public view of all bussorah. thou oughtest also to remember what another of our books says, �what signifies if one dies the next day after the death of his enemy?'" the vizier, implacable in his hatred and enmity, surrounded by his slaves in arms, conducted noor ad deen towards the palace. the people were ready to fall upon him as he passed; and if any one had set the example, would certainly have stoned him to death. when he had brought him to the place of suffering, which was to be in sight of the king's apartment, he left him in the executioner's hands, and went straight to the king, who was in his closet, ready to glut his eyes with the bloody spectacle he had prepared. the king's guard and the vizier's slaves, who made a circle round noor ad deen, had much trouble to withstand the people, who made all possible efforts to break through, and carry him off by force. the executioner coming up to him, said, "i hope you will forgive me, i am but a slave, and cannot help doing my duty. if you have no occasion for any thing more, i beseech you to prepare yourself; for the king is just going to give me orders to strike the blow." the unfortunate noor ad deen, at that moment, looking round upon the people, "will no charitable body," cried he, "bring me a little water to quench my thirst?" which immediately they did, and handed it up to him upon the scaffold. the vizier saouy perceiving this delay, called out to the executioner from the king's closet window, where he had planted himself, "strike, what dost thou stay for?" at these inhuman words the whole place echoed with loud imprecations against him; and the king, jealous of his authority, made it appear, by enjoining him to stop awhile, that he was angry at his presumption. but there was another reason; for the king that very moment casting his eye towards a street that faced him, saw a troop of horsemen advancing full speed towards the palace. "vizier," said the king immediately, "look yonder; what is the meaning of those horsemen?" saouy, who knew not who they might be, earnestly pressed the king to give the executioner the sign. "no," replied the king; "i will first know who those horsemen are." it was the vizier jaaffier, with his train, who came in person from bagdad by the caliph's order. to understand the occasion of this minister's coming to bussorah, we must observe, that after noor ad deen's departure with the letter, the caliph the next day, nor for several days after, thought not of sending him the patent which he mentioned to the fair persian. he happened one day to be in the inner palace, which was that of the women, and passing by her apartment, heard the sound of a fine voice: he listened to it; and he had no sooner heard the words of one complaining for the absence of somebody, than he asked the officer of the eunuchs who attended him who the woman was that lived in that apartment? the officer told him it was the young stranger's slave whom he had sent to bussorah to be king in the room of mahummud zinebi. "ah! poor noor ad deen," cried the caliph, "i had forgotten thee; but hasten," said he to the officer, "and bid jaaffier come to me." the vizier was with him in an instant. as soon as he came, "jaaffier," said he, "i have hitherto neglected sending the patent which was to confirm noor ad deen king of bussorah; but we have no time now to draw up one; therefore immediately take post- horses, and with some of your servants, make what haste you can to that city. if noor ad deen is no longer alive, but put to death by them, order the vizier saouy to be impaled; but if he is living, bring him to me with the king and the vizier." the grand vizier stayed no longer than just to get on horseback; and being attended by a great train of officers belonging to his household departed for bussorah, where he arrived in the manner and at the time already mentioned. as soon as he came to the palace-yard, the people cleared the way for him, crying out, "a pardon for noor ad deen!" and with his whole train he rode into the palace, even to the very stairs, where he alighted. the king of bussorah, knowing him to be the caliph's chief minister, went to meet him, and received him at the entrance of his apartment. the first question the vizier asked was, if noor ad deen was living? and if he was, he desired that he might be sent for. the king made answer, he was alive, and gave orders to have him brought in. accordingly he soon made his appearance as he was, bound with cords. the grand vizier jaaffier caused him to be unbound, and setting him at liberty, ordered the vizier saoay to be seized, and bound him with the same cords. the grand vizier remained but one night at bussorah; and, according to the order he had received, carried saouy, the king of bussorah, and noor ad deen, along with him. upon his arrival at bagdad, he presented them to the caliph: and after he had given him an account of his journey, and particularly the miserable condition in which he found noor ad deen, and his ill- usage by the advice and malice of saony, the caliph desired noor ad deen to behead the vizier himself. "commander of the true believers," said the generous youth, "notwithstanding the injury this wicked man has done me, and the mischief he endeavoured to do my deceased father, i should think myself the basest of mankind if i stained my hands with his blood." the caliph was pleased with his generosity, and ordered justice to be done by the executioner. the caliph would fain have sent noor ad deen to bussorah as king: but he humbly begged to be excused from accepting the offer. "commander of the true believers," said noor ad deen, "the city of bussorah, after the misfortunes that have happened to me there, will be so much my aversion, that i beseech your majesty to give me leave to keep the oath which i have made, of never returning thither again; and i shall think it my greatest glory to serve near your royal person, if you are pleased to allow me the honour." the caliph consented; and placing him among the number of those courtiers who were his greatest favourites, restored the fair persian to him again. to all these favours he added a plentiful fortune; and he and the fair persian lived together thenceforth, with all the happiness this world could afford. as for the king of bussorah, the caliph contented himself with hinting how careful he ought to be in the choice of his viziers, and sent him back to his kingdom. end of volume . text scanned by jc byers and proof read by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site: http://charlz.dns go.com/gutenberg/ the arabian nights entertainments; consisting of one thousand and one stories, told by the sultaness of the indies, to divert the sultan from the execution of a bloody vow he had made to marry a lady every day, and have her cut off next morning, to avenge himself of the disloyalty of his first sultaness, &c. containing an accurate account of the customs, manners, and religion, of the eastern nations. in two volumes. vol. i. contents of volume i. the story of the genius and the lady shut up in a glass box the fable of the ass, the ox, and the labourer the fable of the dog and the cock the story of the merchant and genius the history of the first old man and the bitch the story of the second old man and the two black dogs the story of the fisherman the story of the grecian king, and the physician douban the story of the husband and parrot the story of the vizier that was punished the history of the young king of the black isles the story of the three calenders, sons of kings; and of the five ladies of bagdad the history of the first calender, a king's son the history of the second calender, a king's son the story of the envious man, and of him whom he envied the history of the third calender, a king's son the story of zobeide the story of amine the story of sindbad the sailor his first voyage his second voyage his third voyage his fourth voyage his fifth voyage his sixth voyage his seventh and last voyage the story of the three apples the story of the young lady that was murdered, and of the young man her husband the story of nourreddin ali and bedreddin hassan the story of the little hunch-back the story told by the christian merchant the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor the story told by the jewish physician the story told by the tailor the story of the barber the story of the barber's eldest brother of the second of the third of the fourth of the fifth of the sixth the history of aboulhassan all ebn becar and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph haroun alraschid the story of the amours of camaralzaman, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan, and of badoura, princess of china the history of the princess of china the story of marzavan, with the sequel of that of the prince camaralzaman the story of the princess badoura, after her separation from prince camaralzaman the story of the princes, amgrad and assad the story of prince amgrad and a lady of the city of the magicians the sequel of the story of prince assad the story of nourreddin aad the fair persian epistle dedicatory, to the right hon. the lady marchioness d'o, lady of honour to the duchess of burgundy. madam, the great kindnesses i received from m. de guilleragus, your illustrious father, during my abode at constantinople some years ago, are too fresh in my mind for me to neglect any opportunity of publishing what i owe to his memory. were he still alive, for the welfare of france, and my particular advantage, i would take the liberty to dedicate this work to him, not only as my benefactor, but as a person most capable of judging what is fine, and inspiring others with the like sentiments. every one remembers the wonderful exactness of his judgment;--the meanest of his thoughts had something in them that was shining, and his lowest expressions were always exact and nice, which made every one admire him; for never had any man so much wit and so much solidity. i have seen him, at a time when he was so much taken up with the affairs of his master, that nobody could expect any thing from him but what related to his ministry, and his profound capacity to manage the most knotty negotiations; yet all the weight of his employment diminished nothing of his inimitable pleasantness, which charmed his friends, and was agreeable even to those barbarous nations with whom that great man did treat. after the loss of him, which to me is irreparable, i could not address myself to any other person than yourself, madam, since you alone can supply the want of him to me; therefore it is that i take the boldness to beg of you the same protection for this book that you was pleased to grant to the french translation of the seven arabian stories that i had the honour to present you. you may perhaps wonder, madam, that i have not since that time presented them to you in print; but the reason of it is, that when i was about putting them to the press, i was informed that those seven stories were taken out of a prodigious collection of stories of the like sort, entitled "one thousand and one nights." this discovery obliged me to suspend the printing of them, and to use my endeavours to get that collection. i was forced to send for it from syria; and have translated into french this first volume being one of the four that were sent me. these stories will certainly divert you, madam, much more than those you have already seen. they are new to you, and more in number; you will also perceive, with pleasure, the ingenious design of this anonymous arabian, who has given us these stories after the manner of his country, fabulous indeed, but very diverting. i beg, madam, your acceptance of this small present which i have the honour to make you; it is a public testimony of my acknowledgment of the profound respect with which i am, and shall for ever be, madam, your most humble and most obedient servant, galland. preface there is no occasion to prepossess the reader with an opinion of the merit and beauty of the following work. there needs no more but to read it to satisfy any man, that hitherto nothing so fine of this nature has appeared in any language. what can be more ingenious than to compose such a prodigious quantity of pleasant stories, whose variety is surprising, and whose connexion is so wonderful? we know not the name of the author of so great a work; but probably it is not all done by one hand; for how can we suppose that one man alone could have invention enough to make so many fine things? if stories of this sort be pleasant and diverting, because of the wonders they usually contain, these have certainly the advantage above all that have yet been published; because they are full of surprising events, which engage our attention, and show how much the arabians surpass other nations in compositions of this sort. they must also be pleasing, because of the account they give of the customs and manners of the eastern nations, and of the ceremonies of their religion, as well pagan as mahometan, which are better described here than in any author that has written of them, or in the relation of travellers. all the eastern nations, persians, tartars, and indians, are here distinguished, and appear such as they are, from the sovereign to the meanest subject; so that, without the fatigue of going to see those people in their respective countries, the reader has here the pleasure to see them act, and hear them speak. care has been taken to preserve their characters, and to keep their sense; nor have we varied from the text, but when modesty obliged us to it. the translator flatters himself, that those who understand arabic, and will be at the pains to compare the original with the translation, must agree that he has showed the arabians to the french with all the circumspection that the niceness of the french tongue and of the times require; and if those who read these stories have any inclination to profit by the example of virtue and vice which they will here find exhibited, they may reap an advantage by it that is not to be reaped in other stories, which are more fit to corrupt than to reform our manners. approbation. i have read, by order of my lord chancellor, this manuscript, and find nothing in it that should hinder its being printed. (signed) fontenelle. paris, october . . arabian nights entertainments. the chronicles of the susanians, the ancient kings of persia, who extended their empire into the indies, over all the islands thereunto belonging, a great way beyond the ganges, and as far as china, acquaint us, that there was formerly a king of that potent family, the most excellent prince of his time; he was as much beloved by his subjects for his wisdom and prudence, as he was dreaded by his neighbours because of his valour, and his warlike and well-disciplined troops. he had two sons; the eldest schahriar, the worthy heir of his father, and endowed with all his virtues. the youngest, schahzenan, was likewise a prince of incomparable merit. after a long and glorious reign, the king died; and schahriar mounted his throne. schahzenan being excluded from all share of the government by the laws of the empire, and obliged to live a private life, was so far from envying the happiness of his brother, that he made it his whole business to please him, and effected it without much difficulty. schahriar, who had naturally a great affection for that prince, was so charmed with his complaisance, that, out of an excess of friendship, he would needs divide his dominions with him, and gave him the kingdom of great tartary: schahzenan went immediately and took possession of it, and fixed the seat of his government at samarcande, the metropolis of the country, after they had been separated ten years, schahriar, having a passionate desire to see his brother, resolved to send an embassador to invite him to his court. he made choice of his prime vizier for the embassy, sent him to tartary with a retinue answerable to his dignity, and he made all possible haste to samarcande. when he came near the city, schahzenan had notice of it, and went to meet him with the principal lords of his court; who, to put the more honour on the sultan's minister, appeared in magnificent apparel. the king of tartary received the embassador with the greatest demonstrations of joy, and immediately asked him concerning the welfare of the sultan, his brother. the vizier, having acquainted him that he was in health, gave him an account of his embassy. schahzenan was so much affected with it, that he answered thus:--"sage vizier, the sultan, my brother, does me too much honour; he could propose nothing in the world more acceptable; i long as passionately to see him as he does to see me. time has been no more able to diminish my friendship than his. my kingdom is in peace, and i desire no more than ten days to get myself ready to go with you; so that there is no necessity of your entering the city for so short a time; i pray you to pitch your tents here, and i will order provisions in abundance for yourself and company." the vizier did accordingly; and as soon as the king returned, he sent him a prodigious quantity of provisions of all sorts, with presents of great value. in the mean while, schahzenan made ready for his journey, took orders about his most important affairs, appointed a council to govern in his absence, and named a minister, of whose wisdom he had sufficient experience, and in whom he had entire confidence, to be their president. at the end of ten days, his equipage being ready, he took his leave of the queen, his wife, and went out of town in the evening with his retinue, pitching his royal pavilion near the vizier's tent, and discoursed with that embassador till midnight. but willing once more to embrace the queen, whom he loved entirely, he returned alone to his palace, and went straight to her majesty's apartment; who, not expecting his return, had taken one of the meanest officers of the household to her bed, where they lay both fast asleep, having been in bed a considerable while. the king entered without any noise and pleased himself to think how he should surprise his wife, who, he thought, loved him as entirely as he did her; but how strange was his surprise, when, by the light of the flambeaus, which burn all night in the apartments of those eastern princes, he saw a man in her arms! he stood immovable for a time, not knowing how to believe his own eyes; but finding it was not to be doubted, how! says he to himself, i am scarce out of my palace, and but just under the walls of samarcande, and dare they put such an outrage upon me? all! perfidious wretches, your crime shall not go unpunished. as king, i am to punish wickednesses committed in my dominions; and, as an enraged husband, i must sacrifice you to my just resentment. in a word, this unfortunate prince, giving way to his rage, drew his scimitar, and, approaching the bed, killed them both with one blow, turning their sleep into death, and afterwards taking them up, threw them out of a window into the ditch that surrounded the palace. having avenged himself thus, he went out of town privately as he came into it; and returning to his pavilion, without saying one word of what had happened, he ordered the tents to be struck, and to make ready for his journey. this was speedily done, and before day he began his march, with kettle-drums and other instruments of music, that filled every one with joy, except the king, who was so much troubled at the disloyalty of his wife, that he was seized with extreme melancholy, which preyed upon him during his whole journey. when he drew near the capital of the indies, the sultan schahriar, and all his court, came out to meet him; the princes were overjoyed fo see one another; and alighting, after mutual embraces, and other marks of affection and respect, they mounted again, and entered the city, with the acclamations of vast multitudes of people. the sultan conducted his brother to the palace he had provided for him, which had a communication with his own by means of a garden; and was so much the more magnificent, for it was set apart as a banqueting-house for public entertainment, and other diversions of the court, and the splendour of it had been lately augmented by new furniture. schahriar immediately left the king of tartary, that he might give him time to bathe himself, and to change his apparel; and as soon as he had done, he came to him again, and they sat down together upon a sofa or alcove. the courtiers kept a distance, out of respect; and those two princes entertained one another suitably to their friendship, their nearness of blood, and the long separation that had been betwixt them. the time of supper being come, they ate together; after which they renewed their conversation, which continued till schahriar, perceiving it was very late, left his brother to his rest. the unfortunate schahzenan went to bed; and though the conversation of his brother had suspended his grief for some time, it returned upon him with more violence; so that, instead of taking his necessary rest, he tormented himself with cruel reflections. all the circumstances of his wife's disloyalty represented themselves afresh to his imagination in so lively a manner, that he was like one beside himself. in a word, not being able to sleep, he got up, and giving himself over to afflicting thoughts, they made such an impression upon his countenance, that the sultan could not but take notice of it, and said thus to himself: "what can be the matter with the king of tartary, that he is so melancholy; has he any cause to complain of his reception? no, surely; i have received him as a brother whom i love, so that i can charge myself with no omission in that respect. perhaps it grieves him to be at such a distance from his dominions, or from the queen, his wife: alas! if that be the matter, i must forthwith give him the presents i designed for him, that he may return to samarcande when he pleases.' accordingly, next day schahriar sent him a part of those presents, being the greatest rarities and the richest things that the indies could afford. at the same time he endeavoured to divert his brother every day by new objects of pleasure, and the finest treats, which, instead of giving the king of tartary any ease, did only increase his sorrow. one day, schahriar having appointed a great hunting-match, about two days journey from his capital, in a place that abounded with deer, schahzenan prayed him to excuse him, for his health would not allow him to bear him company. the sultan, unwilling to put any constraint upon him, left him at his liberty, and went a hunting with his nobles. the king of tartary, being thus left alone, shut himself up in his apartment, and sat down at a window that looked into the garden. that delicious place, and the sweet harmony of an infinite number of birds, which chose it for a place of retreat, must certainly have diverted him, had he been capable of taking pleasure in any thing; but, being perpetually tormented with the fatal remembrance of his queen's infamous conduct, his eyes were not so often fixed upon the garden, as lifted up to heaven to bewail his misfortune. whilst he was thus swallowed up with grief, an object presented itself to his view, which quickly turned all his thoughts another way. a secret gate of the sultan's palace opened all of a sudden, and there came out at it twenty women, in the midst of whom marched the sultaness, who was easily distinguished from the rest by her majestic air. this princess, thinking that the king of tartary was gone a hunting with his brother the sultan, came up with her retinue near the windows of his apartment; for the prince had placed himself so that he could see all that passed in the garden without being perceived himself. he observed that the persons who accompanied the sultaness threw off their veils and long robes, that they might be at more freedom; but was wonderfully surprised when he saw ten of them to be blacks, and that each of them took his mistress. the sultaness, on her part, was not long without her gallant. she clapped her hands, and called out masoud, masoud, and immediately a black came down from a tree, and ran to her in all haste. modesty will not allow, nor is it necessary to relate, what passed betwixt the blacks and ladies. it is sufficient to say, that schahzenan saw enough to convince him that his brother had as much cause to complain as himself. this amorous company continued together till midnight and having bathed all together in a great pond, which was one of the chief ornaments of the garden, they dressed themselves, and re-entered the palace, by the secret door, all except masoud, who climbed up his tree, and got over the garden-wall the same way as he came. all this having passed in the king of tartary's sight, it gave him occasion to make a multitude of reflections. how little reason had i, says he, to think that no one was so unfortunate as myself? it is certainly the unavoidable fate of all husbands, since the sultan, my brother, who is sovereign of so many dominions, and the greatest prince of the earth, could not escape it. the case being so, what a fool am i to kill myself with grief? i will throw it off, and the remembrance of a misfortune so common shall never after this disturb my quiet. so that, from that moment, he forebore afflicting himself. being unwilling to sup till he saw the whole scene that was acted under his window, he called then for his supper, ate with a better appetite than he had done at any time after his coming to samarcande, and listened with pleasure to the agreeable concert of vocal and instrumental music that was appointed to entertain him while at table. he continued after this to be of a very good humour; and when he knew that the sultan was returning, he went to meet him, and paid him his compliments with a great deal of gaiety. schahriar at first took no notice of this great alteration, but expostulated with him modestly, why he would not bear him company at hunting the stag; and, without giving him time to reply, entertained him with the great number of deer and other game they had killed, and what pleasure he had in the sport. schahzenan heard him with attention, gave answers to every thing, and being rid of that melancholy which formerly over-clouded his wit, he said a thousand agreeable and pleasant things to the sultan. schahriar, who expected to have found him in the same condition as he left him, was overjoyed to see him so cheerful, and spoke to him thus: dear brother, i return thanks to heaven for the happy change it has made on you during my absence; i am extremely rejoiced at it; but i have a request to make to you, and conjure you not to deny me. i can refuse you nothing, replies the king of tartary; you may command schahzenan as you please; pray speak, i am impatient to know what you desire of me. ever since you came to my court, replies schahriar, i found you swallowed up by a deep melancholy, and i did in vain attempt to remove it by diversions of all sorts. i imagined it might be occasioned by reason of the distance from your dominions, or that love might have a great share in it; and that the queen of samarcande, who, no doubt, is an accomplished beauty, might be the cause of it. i do not know if i be mistaken; but i must own that this was the peculiar reason why i did not importune you upon the subject, for fear of making you uneasy. but, without my being able to contribute any thing towards it, i find now, upon my return, that you are in the best humour that can be, and that your mind is entirely delivered from that black vapour which disturbed it. pray do me the favour to tell me why you were so melancholy, and how you came to be rid of it. upon this, the king of tartary continued for some time as if he had been in a dream, and contrived what he should answer; but at last replied as follows: you are my sultan and master; but excuse me, i beseech you, from answering your question. no, dear brother, said the sultan, you must answer, i will take no denial. schahzenan, not being able to withstand these pressing instances, answered, well, then, brother, i will satisfy you, since you command me; and, having told him the story of the queen of samarcande's treachery, this, says he, was the cause of my grief; pray judge whether i had not reason enough to give myself up to it. oh! my brother, says the sultan, (in a tone which showed that he had the same sentiments of the matter with the king of tartary,) what a horrible story do you tell me! how impatient was i till i heard it out! i commend you for punishing the traitors who put such an outrage upon you. nobody can blame you for that action: it was just; and for my part, had the case been mine, i could scarce have been so moderate as you, i should not have satisfied myself with the life of one woman; i verily think i should have sacrificed a thousand to my fury. i cease now to wonder at your melancholy. the cause of it was too sensible, and too mortifying, not to make you yield to it. o heaven! what a strange adventure! nor do i believe the like of it ever befel any man but yourself. but, in short, i must bless god, who has comforted you; and since i doubt not but your consolation is well grounded, be so good as let me know what it is, and conceal nothing from me. schahzenan was not so easily prevailed upon in this point as he had been in the other, because of his brother's concern in it; but, being obliged to yield to his pressing instances, answered, i must obey you then, since your command is absolute; yet am afraid that my obedience will occasion your trouble to be greater than ever mine was. but you must blame yourself for it, since you force me to reveal a thing which i should have otherwise buried in eternal oblivion. what you say, answers schahriar, serves only to increase my curiosity. make haste to discover the secret, whatever it may be. the king of tartary, being no longer able to refuse, gave him the particulars of all that he had seen of the blacks in disguise, of the lewd passion of the sultaness and her ladies; and, to be sure, he did not forget masoud. after having been witness to those infamous actions, says he, i believed all women to be that way naturally inclined, and that they could not resist those violent desires. being of this opinion, it seemed to me to be an unaccountable weakness in men to make themselves uneasy at their infidelity. this reflection brought many others along with it; and, in short, i thought the best thing i could do was to make myself easy. it cost me some pain indeed, but at last i effected it; and, if you will take my advice, you shall follow my example. though the advice was good, the sultan could not take it, but fell into a rage. what! says he, is the sultaness of the indies capable of prostituting herself in so base a manner? no, brother, i cannot believe what you say,--unless i saw it with my eyes: yours must needs have deceived you; the matter is so important, that i must be satisfied of it myself. dear brother, answers schahzenan, that you may without much difficulty. appoint another hunting-match, and when we are out of town with your court and mine, we will stop under our pavilions, and at night let you and i return alone to my apartment. i am certain that next day you will see what i saw. the sultan, approving the stratagem, immediately appointed a new hunting-match; and that same day the pavilions were set up at the place appointed. next day the two princes set out with all their retinue; they arrived at the place of encampment, and staid there till night. then schahriar called his grand vizier, and, without acquainting him of his design, commanded him to stay in his place during his absence, and to suffer no person to go out of the camp upon any occasion whatever. as soon as he had given this order, the king of grand tartary and he took horse, passed through the camp incognito, returned to the city, and went to schahzenan's apartment. they had scarce placed themselves in the same window where the king of tartary had seen the disguised blacks act their scene, but the secret gate opened, the sultaness and her ladies entered the garden with the blacks, and she having called upon masoud, the sultan saw more than enough to convince him plainly of his dishonour and misfortune. o heavens! cried he, what indignity! what horror! can the wife of a sovereign, such as i am, be capable of such an infamous action? after this let no prince boast of his being perfectly happy. alas! my brother, continues he, (embracing the king of tartary,) let us both renounce the world; honesty is banished out of it; if it flatter us the one day, it betrays us the next; let us abandon our dominions and grandeur; let us go into foreign countries, where we may lead an obscure life, and conceal our misfortune. schahzenan did not at all approve of such a resolution, but did not think fit to contradict schahriar in the heat of his passion. dear brother, says he, your will shall be mine; i am ready to follow you whither you please; but promise that you will return, if we can meet with any one that is more unhappy than ourselves. i agree to it, says the sultan, but doubt much whether we shall. i am not of your mind in this, replied the king of tartary; i fancy our journey will be but short. having said this, they went secretly out of the palace by another way than they came. they travelled as long as it was day, and lay the first night under the trees; and getting up about break of day, they went on till they came to a fine meadow upon the banks of the sea, in which meadow there were tufts of great trees at some distance from one another. they sat down under those trees to rest and refresh themselves, and the chief subject of their conversation was the lewdness of their wives. they had not sat long, before they heard a frightful noise, and a terrible cry from the sea, which filled them with fear; then the sea opening, there rose up a thing like a great black column, which reached almost to the clouds. this redoubled their fear, made them rise speedily, and climb up into a tree to hide themselves. they had scarce got up, till, looking to the place from whence the voice came, and where the sea opened, they observed that the black column advanced, winding about towards the shore, cleaving the water before it. they could not at first think what it should be; but in a little time they found that it was one of those malignant genie that are mortal enemies to mankind, and always doing them mischief. he was black, frightful, had the shape of a giant, of a prodigious stature, and carried on his head a great glass box, shut with four locks of fine steel. he entered the meadow with his burden, which he laid down just at the foot of the tree where the two princes were, who looked upon themselves to be dead men. meanwhile the genie sat down by his box, and opening it with four keys that he had at his girdle, there came out a lady magnificently apparelled, of a majestic stature, and a complete beauty. the monster made her sit down by him; and eying her with an amorous look, lady (says he) nay, most accomplished of all ladies who are admired for their beauty my charming mistress, whom i carried off on your wedding-day, and have loved so constantly ever since, let me sleep a few moments by you; for i found myself so very sleepy, that i came to this place to take a little rest. having spoken thus, he laid down his huge head on the lady's knees; and stretching out his legs, which reached as far as the sea, he fell asleep, and snored so, that he made the banks to echo again. the lady, happening at the same time to look up to the tree, saw the two princes and made a sign to them with her hand to come down without making any noise. their fear was extraordinary when they found themselves discovered, and they prayed the lady, by other signs, to excuse them; but she, after having laid the monster's head softly down, rose up, and spoke to them with a low but quick voice to come down to her; she would take no denial. they made signs to her that they were afraid of the genie, and would fain have been excused. upon which she ordered them to come down, and, if they did not make haste, threatened to awake the giant, and bid him kill them. these words did so much intimidate the princes, that they began to come down with all possible precaution, lest they should awake the genie. when they came down, the lady took them by the hand, and going a little farther with them under the trees, made a very urgent proposal to them. at first they rejected it, but she obliged them to accept it by her threats. having obtained what she desired, she perceived that each of them had a ring on his finger, which she demanded of them. as soon as she received them, she went and took a box out of the bundle, where her toilet was, pulled out a string of other rings of all sorts, which she showed them, and asked them if they knew what those jewels meant? no, say they, we hope you will be pleased to tell us. they are, replies she, the rings of all the men to whom i have granted my favour; there are full fourscore and eighteen of them, which i keep in token to remember them; and asked yours for the same reason, to make up my hundred. so that, continues she, i have had a hundred gallants already, notwithstanding the vigilance of this wicked genie, that never leaves me. he is much the nearer for locking me up in this glass box, and hiding me in the bottom of the sea; i find a way to cheat him for all his care. you may see by this, that when a woman has formed a project, there is no husband or gallant that can hinder her from putting it in execution. men had better not put their wives under such restraint, if they have a mind they should be chaste. having spoken thus to them, she put their rings upon the same string with the rest, and, sitting down by the monster as before, laid his head again upon her lap, and made a sign for the princes to be gone. they returned immediately by the same way they came; and when they were out of sight of the lady and the genie, schahriar says to schahzenan, well, brother, what do you think of this adventure? has not the genie a very faithful mistress? and do not you agree that there is no wickedness equal to that of women? yes, brother, answers the king of great tartary; and you must. agree that the monster is more unfortunate, and has more reason to complain, than we. therefore, since we have found what we sought for, let us return to our dominions, and let not this hinder us to marry again. for my part, i know a method by which i think i shall keep inviolable the faith that any woman shall plight to me. i shall say no more of it at present, but you will hear of it in a little time, and i am sure you will follow my example. the sultan agreed with his brother; and, continuing their journey, they arrived in the camp the third night after they left it. the news of the sultan's return being spread, the courtiers came betimes in the morning before his pavilion to wait on him. he ordered them to enter, received them with a more pleasant air than formerly, and gave each of them a gratification; after which he told them he would go no further, ordered them to take horse, and returned speedily to his palace. as soon as he arrived, he ran to the sultaness's apartment, commanded her to be bound before him, and delivered her to his grand vizier, with an order to strangle her; which was accordingly executed by that minister, without inquiring into her crime. the enraged prince did not stop here; he cut off the heads of all the sultaness's ladies with his own hand. after this rigorous punishment, being persuaded that no woman was chaste, he resolved, in order to prevent the disloyalty of such as he should afterwards marry, to wed one every night, and have her strangled next morning. having imposed this cruel law upon himself, he swore that he would observe it immediately after the departure of the king of tartary, who speedily took leave of him, and, being loaded with magnificent presents, set forward on his journey. schahzenan being gone, schahriar ordered his grand vizier to bring him the daughter of one of his generals. the vizier obeyed; the sultan lay with her, and, putting her next morning into his hands in order to be strangled, commanded him to get another next night. whatever reluctance the vizier had to put such orders in execution, as he owed blind obedience to the sultan his master, he was forced to submit. he brought him then the daughter of a subaltern, whom he also cut off the next day. after her, he brought a citizen's daughter; and, in a word, there was every day a maid married, and a wife murdered. the rumour of this unparalleled barbarity occasioned a general consternation in the city, where there was nothing but crying and lamentation. here a father in tears, and inconsolable for the loss of his daughter; and there tender mothers, dreading lest theirs should have the same fate, making the air to resound beforehand with their groans; so that, instead of the commendations and blessings which the sultan had hitherto received from his subjects, their mouths were now filled with imprecations against him. the grand vizier, who, as has been already said, was the executioner of this horrid injustice against his will, had two daughters, the eldest called scheherazade, and the youngest dinarzade: the latter was a lady of very great merit; but the elder had courage, wit, and penetration, infinitely above her sex; she had read abundance, and had such a prodigious memory that she never forgot any thing. she had successfully applied herself to philosophy, physic, history, and the liberal arts, and for verse exceeded, the best poets of her times; besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her fine qualifications were crowned by solid virtue. the vizier passionately loved a daughter so worthy of his tender affection; and one day, as they were discoursing together, she says to him, father, i have one favour to beg of you, and must humbly pray you to grant it me. i will not refuse it, answered he, provided it be just and reasonable. for the justice of it, says she, there can be no question, and you may judge of it by the motive which obliges me to demand it of you. i have a design to stop the course of that barbarity which the sultan exercises upon the families of this city. i would dispel those unjust fears which so many mothers have of losing their daughters in such a fatal manner. your design, daughter, replies the vizier, is very commendable; but the disease you would remedy seems to be incurable; how do you pretend to effect it? father, says scheherazade, since by your means the sultan makes every day a new marriage, i conjure you, by the tender affection you bear to me, to procure me the honour of his bed. the vizier could not hear this without horror. o heavens! replies he, in a passion, have you lost your senses, daughter, that you make such a dangerous request to me? you know the sultan has sworn by his soul that he will never lie above one night with the same woman, and to order her to be killed the next morning; and would you that i should propose you to him? pray consider well to what your indiscreet zeal will expose you. yes, dear father, replies the virtuous daughter, i know the risk i run; but that does not frighten me. if i perish, my death will be glorious; and if i succeed, i shall do my country an important piece of service. no, no, says the vizier, whatever you can represent to engage me to let you throw yourself into that horrible danger, do not you think that ever i will agree to it. when the sultan shall order me to strike my poignard into your heart, alas! i must obey him; and what a dismal employment is that for a father? ah! if you do not fear death, yet at least be afraid of occasioning me the mortal grief of seeing my hand stained with your blood. once more, father, says scheherazade, grant me the favour i beg. your stubbornness, replies the vizier, will make me angry; why will you run headlong to your ruin? they that do not foresee the end of a dangerous enterprise can never bring it to a happy issue. i am afraid the same thing will happen to you that happened to the ass, which was well, and could not keep itself so. what misfortune befel the ass? replies scheherazade. i will tell you, says the vizier, if you will hear me. fable. the ox, the ass, and the labourer. a very rich merchant had several country-houses, where he had abundance of cattle of all sorts. he went with his wife and family to one of those estates, in order to improve it himself. he had the gift of understanding the language of beasts, but with this condition, that he should interpret it to nobody on pain of death; and this hindered him from communicating to others what he had learned by means of this gift. he had in the same stall an ox and an ass; and one day as he sat near them, and diverted himself to see his children play about, him, he heard the ox say to the ass, sprightly, o how happy do i think you, when i consider the ease you enjoy, and the little labour that is required of you! you are carefully rubbed down and washed; you have well-dressed corn, and fresh clean water. your greatest business is to carry the merchant, our master, when he has any little journey to make; and, were it not for that, you would be perfectly idle. i am treated in a quite different manner, and my condition is as unfortunate as yours is pleasant. it is scarce day-light when i am fastened to a plough, and there they make me work till night, to till up the ground, which fatigues me so, that sometimes my strength fails me. besides, the labourer, who is always behind me, beats me continually. by drawing the plough my tail is all flead; and, in short, after having laboured from morning till night, when i am brought in, they give me nothing to eat but sorry dry beans, not so much as cleaned from sand, or other things as pernicious; and, to heighten my misery, when i have filled my belly with such ordinary stuff, i am forced to lie all night in my own dung; so that you see i have reason to envy your lot. the ass did not interrupt the ox, till he had said all that he had a mind to say; but, when he had made an end, answered, they that call you a foolish beast do not lie; you are too simple, you let them carry you whither they please, and show no manner of resolution. in the mean time, what advantage do you reap by all the indignities you suffer? you kill yourself for the ease, pleasure, and profit of those that give you no thanks for so doing. but they would not treat you so, if you had as much courage as strength. when they come to fasten you to the stall, why do not you make resistance? why do not you strike them with your horns, and show that you are angry by striking your foot against the ground? and, in short, why do not you frighten them by bellowing aloud? nature has furnished you with means to procure you respect, but you do not make use of them. they bring you sorry beans and bad straw; eat none of them; only smell them, and leave them. if you follow the advice i give you, you will quickly find a change, for which you will thank me. the ox took the ass's advice in very good part, and owned he was very much obliged to him for it. dear sprightly, adds he, i will not fail to do all that you have said, and you shall see how i shall acquit myself. they held their peace after this discourse, of which the merchant heard every word. next morning betimes the labourer came to take the ox; he fastened him to the plough, and carried him to his ordinary work. the ox, who had not forgotten the ass's counsel, was very troublesome and untoward all that day; and in the evening, when the labourer brought him back to the stall, and began to fasten him to it, the malicious beast, instead of presenting his horns willingly as he used to do, was restive, and went backward bellowing, and then made at the labourer as if he would have pushed him with his horns; in a word, he did all that the ass advised him to. next day the labourer came, as usual, to take the ox to his labour; but, finding the stall full of beans, the straw that he put in the night before not touched, and the ox lying on the ground with his legs stretched out, and panting in a strange manner, he believed him to he sick, pitied him, and thinking; that it was not proper to carry him to work, went immediately and acquainted the merchant with it; who, perceiving that the ox had followed all the mischievous advices of the ass, whom he thought fit to punish for it, ordered the labourer to go and put the ass in the ox's place, and to be sure to work him hard. the labourer did so: the ass was forced to draw the plough all that day; which fatigued him so much the more, as he was not accustomed to that sort of labour; besides, he had been so soundly beaten, that he could scarcely stand when he came back. meanwhile the ox was mightily pleased; he ate up all that was in his stall, and rested himself the whole day. he was glad at the heart that he had followed the ass's advice, blessed him a thousand times for it, and did not fail to compliment him upon it when he saw him come back. the ass answered him not one word, so vexed was he to be so ill treated; but says within himself, it is by my own imprudence i have brought this misfortune upon myself; i lived happily, every thing smiled upon me. i had all that i could wish, it is my own fault that i am brought to this miserable condition, and if i cannot contrive some way to get out of it, i am certainly undone; and as he spoke thus, his strength was so much exhausted, that he fell down at his stall, as if he had been half dead. here the grand visier addressed himself to scheherazade, and said, daughter, you do like the ass; you will expose yourself to destruction by your false prudence. take my advice; be easy, and do not take such measures as will hasten your death. father, replies scheherazade, the example you bring me is not capable of making me change my resolution; i will never cease importuning you until you present me to the sultan to be his bride. the vizier, perceiving that she persisted in her demand, replied, alas, then! since you will continue obstinate, i shall be obliged to treat you in the same manner as the merchant i named treated his wife in a little time after. the merchant, understanding that the ass was in a lamentable condition, was curious to know what passed betwixt him and the ox; therefore, after supper, he went out by moon-light, and sat down by them, his wife bearing him company. when he arrived, he heard the ass say to the ox, comrade, tell me, i pray you, what you intend to do to-morrow, when the labourer brings you meat? what will i do? says the ox: i will continue to do as you taught me. i will go off from him, and threaten him with my horns, as i did yesterday; i will feign myself to be sick, and just ready to die. beware of that, replies the ass, it will ruin you: for as i came home this evening, i heard the merchant, our master, say something that makes me tremble for you. alas! what did you hear? says the ox; as you love me, hide nothing from me, my dear sprightly. our master, replied the ass, had these sad expressions to the labourer: since the ox does not eat, and is not able to work, i would have him killed tomorrow, and we will give his flesh as an alms to the poor for god's sake; as for his skin, that will be of use to us, and i would have you give it to the currier to dress; therefore do not fail to send for the butcher. this is what i had to tell you, says the ass. the concern i have for your preservation, and my friendship for you, obliged me to let you know it, and to give you new advice. as soon as they bring you your bran and straw, rise up and eat heartily. our master will, by this, think that you are cured, and no doubt will recal his orders for killing you; whereas, if you do otherwise, you are certainly gone. this discourse had the effect which the ass designed. the ox was strangely troubled at it, and bellowed out for fear. the merchant, who heard the discourse very attentively, fell into such a fit of laughter, that his wife was surprised at it, and said, pray, husband, tell me what you laugh at so heartily, that i may laugh with you. wife, said he, you must content yourself with hearing me laugh. no, replies she, i will know the reason. i cannot give you that satisfaction, answers he, but only that i laugh at what our ass just now said to our ox. the rest is a secret, which i am not allowed to reveal. and what hinders you from revealing the secret, says she? if i tell it you, answers he, it will cost me my life. you only jeer me, cried his wife; what you tell me now cannot be true. if you do not satisfy me presently with what you laugh at, and tell me what the ox and ass said to one another, i swear by heaven that you and i shall never bed together again. having spoken thus, she went into the house in a great fret, and, setting herself in a corner, cried there all night. her husband lay alone, and finding next morning that she continued in the same humour, told her she was a very foolish woman to afflict herself in that manner, the thing was not worth so much; and that it concerned her as little to know the matter, as it concerned him so much to keep it secret; therefore i conjure you to think no more of it. i shall still think so much of it, says she, as never to forbear weeping till you have satisfied my curiosity. but i tell you very seriously, replied he, that it will cost me my life, if i yield to your indiscretion. let what will happen, says she, i do insist upon it. i perceive, says the merchant, that it is impossible to bring you to reason; and since i foresee that you will occasion your own death by your obstinacy, i will call in your children, that they may see you before you die. accordingly he called for them, and sent for her father and mother, and other relations. when they were come, and heard the reason of their being called, they did all they could to convince her that she was in the wrong, but to no purpose: she told them she would rather die than yield that point to her husband. her father and mother spoke to her by herself, and told her that what she desired to know was of no importance to her; but that could gain nothing upon her, either by their authority or entreaties. when her children saw that nothing could prevail to bring her out of that sullen temper, they wept bitterly. the merchant himself was like a man out of his senses, and was almost ready to risk his own life to save that of his wife, whom he loved dearly. now, my daughter, says the vizier to scheherazade, this merchant had fifty hens, and a cock, with a dog that gave good heed to all that passed; and while the merchant was set down, as i said, and considering what he had best do, he sees the dog run towards the cock, as he was treading a hen, and heard him speak to him thus: cock, says he, i am sure heaven will not let you live long; are you not ashamed to do that thing to-day? the cock, standing up on tip-toe, answers the dog fiercely, and why should i not do it to-day as well as other days? as you do not know, replies the dog, then i tell you that this day our master is in great perplexity. his wife would have him reveal a secret, which is of such a nature, that it will cost him his life if he doth it. things are come to that pass, that it is to be feared he will scarcely have resolution enough to resist his wife's obstinacy; for, he loves her, and is affected with the tears that she continually sheds, and perhaps it may cost him his life. we are all alarmed at it, and you only insult our melancholy, and have the imprudence to divert yourself with your hens. the cock answered the dog's reproof thus: what! has our master so little sense? he has but one wife, and cannot govern her; and though i have fifty, i make them all do what i please. let him make use of his reason, he will speedily find a way to rid himself of his trouble. how, says the dog,, what would you have him to do? let him go into the room where his wife is, says the cock, lock the door, and take a good stick, and thrash her well, and i will answer for it that that will bring her to her right wits, and make her forbear to ask him any more what he ought not to tell her. the merchant had no sooner heard what the cock said, than he took up a good stick, went to his wife, whom he found still a crying, and, shutting the door, belaboured her so soundly, that she cried out, "it is enough, husband, it is enough, let me alone, and i will never ask the question more." upon this, perceiving that she repented of her impertinent curiosity, he forbore drubbing her; and, opening the door, her friends came in, were glad to find her cured of her obstinacy, and complimented her husband upon this happy expedient to bring his wife to reason. daughter, adds the grand vizier, you deserve to be treated as the merchant treated his wife. father, replies scheherazade, i beg you will not take it ill that i persist in my opinion. i am nothing moved by the story of that woman; i can tell you abundance of others to persuade you that you ought not to oppose my design. besides, pardon me for declaring to you that your opposing me would be in vain; for if your paternal affection should hinder you to grant my request, i would go and offer myself to the sultan. in short, the father being overcome by the resolution of his daughter, yielded to her importunity; and though he was very much grieved that he could not divert her from such a fatal resolution, he went that minute to acquaint the sultan that next night he would bring him scheherazade. the sultan was much surprised at the sacrifice which the grand vizier made to him. how could you resolve, says he, to bring me your own daughter? sir, answers the vizier, it is her own offer. the sad destiny that attends it could not scare her; she prefers the honour of being your majesty's wife for one night to her life. but do not mistake yourself, vizier, says the sultan; to-morrow, when i put scheherazade into your hands, i expect you shall take away her life; and, if you fail, i swear that yourself shall die. sir, rejoins the vizier, my heart, without doubt will be full of grief to execute your commands; but it is to no purpose for nature to murmur; though i be her father i will answer for the fidelity of my hand to obey your order. schahriar accepted his minister's offer, and told him he might bring his daughter when he pleased. the grand vizier went with the news to scheherazade, who received it with as much joy as if it had been the most agreeable thing in the world; she thanked her father for having obliged her in so sensible a manner; and, perceiving that he was overwhelmed with grief, she told him, in order to his consolation, that she hoped he would never repent his having married her to the sultan; but that, on the contrary, he should have cause to rejoice at it all his days. all her business was to put herself in a condition to appear before the sultan; but, before she went, she took her sister dinarzade apart, and says to her, my dear sister, i have need of your help in a matter of very great importance, and must pray you not to deny it me. my father is going to carry me to the sultan to be his wife; do not let this frighten you, but hear me with patience. as soon as i come to the sultan, i will pray him to allow you to lie in the bride-chamber, that i may enjoy your company this one night more. if i obtain that favour, as i hope to do, remember to awake me to-morrow an hour before day, and to address me in these or some such words: "my sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you, that till day-break, which will be very speedily, you would tell me one of the fine stories of which you have read so many." immediately i will tell you one; and i hope by this means to deliver the city from the consternation they are under at present. dinarzade answered, that she would obey with pleasure what she required of her. the time of going to bed being come, the grand vizier conducted scheherazade to the palace, and retired, after having introduced her into the sultan's apartment. as soon as the sultan was left alone with her, he ordered her to uncover her face, and found it so beautiful, that he was perfectly charmed with her; and perceiving her to be in tears, asked her the reason. sir, answered scheherazade, i have a sister, who loves me tenderly, as i do her, and i could wish that she might be allowed to be all night in this chamber, that i might see her, and bid her once more adieu. will you be pleased to allow me the comfort of giving her this last testimony of my friendship? schahriar having consented to it, dinarzade was sent for, who came with all possible diligence. the sultan went to bed with scheherazade upon an alcove raised very high, according to the custom of the monarchs of the east; and dinarzade lay in a bed that was prepared for her, near the foot of the alcove. an hour before day, dinarzade, being awake, failed not to do as her sister ordered her. my dear sister, cries she, if you be not asleep, i pray, until day-break, which will be in a very little time, that you will tell me one of those pleasant stories you have read; alas! this may perhaps be the last time that ever i shall have that satisfaction. scheherazade, instead of answering her sister, addressed herself to the sultan thus: sir, will your majesty be pleased to allow me to give my sister this satisfaction? with all my heart, answers the sultan. then scheherazade bid her sister listen; and afterwards, addressing herself to schahriar, began thus. the first night. the merchant and the genie. sir--there was formerly a merchant, who had a great estate in lands, goods, and money. he had abundance of deputies, factors, and slaves. he was obliged from time to time to take journies, and talk with his correspondents; and one day being under the necessity of going a long journey about an affair of importance, he took horse, and put a portmanteau behind him, with some biscuits and dates, because he had a great desert to pass over, where he could have no manner of provisions. he arrived without any accident at the end of his journey, and, having despatched his affairs, took horse again in order to return home. the fourth day of his journey, he was so much incommoded by the heat of the sun, and the reflection of that heat from the earth, that he turned out of the road to refresh himself under some trees that he saw in the country. there he found, at the foot of a great walnut-tree, a fountain of very clear running water; and alighting, tied his horse to a branch of the tree, and sitting down by the fountain, took some biscuits and dates out of his portmanteau, and, as he ate his dates, threw the shells about on both sides of him. when he had done eating, being a good mussulman, he washed his hands, his face, and his feet, and said his prayers. he had not made an end, but was still on his knees, when he saw a genie appear, all white with age, and of a monstrous bulk; who, advancing towards him, with a scimitar in his hand, spoke to him in a terrible voice thus: rise up, that i may kill thee with this scimitar, as you have killed my son; and accompanied those words with a frightful cry. the merchant, being as much frightened at the hideous shape of the monster as at these threatening words, answered him trembling, alas! my good lord, of what crime can i be guilty towards you, that you should take away my life? i will, replies the genie, kill thee, as thou hast killed my son. o heaven! says the merchant, how should i kill your son? i did not know him, nor ever saw him. did not you sit down when you came hither, replies the genie? did not you take dates out of your portmanteau, and, as you ate them, did not you throw the shells about on both sides? i did all that you say, answers the merchant; i cannot deny it. if it be so, replies the genie, i tell thee that thou hast killed my son, and the way was thus; when you threw your nut-shells about, my son was passing by, and you threw one of them into his eye, which killed him; therefore i must kill thee. ah! my lord, pardon me, cried the merchant. no pardon, answers the genie, no mercy. is it not just to kill him that has killed another? i agree to it, says the merchant; but certainly i never killed your son; and if i have, it was unknown to me, and i did it innocently; therefore i beg you to pardon me, and suffer me to live. no, no, says the genie, persisting in his resolution, i must kill thee, since thou hast killed my son; and then taking the merchant by the arm, threw him with his face upon the ground, and lifted up his scimitar to cut off his head. the merchant, all in tears, protested he was innocent, bewailed his wife and children, and spoke to the genie in the most moving expressions that could be uttered. the genie, with his scimitar still lifted up, had so much patience as to hear the wretch make an end of his lamentations, but would not relent. all this whining, says the monster, is to no purpose; though you should shed tears of blood, that shall not hinder me to kill thee, as thou killedst my son. why! replied the merchant, can nothing prevail with you? will you absolutely take away the life of a poor innocent? yes, replied the genie, i am resolved upon it. as scheherazade had spoken these words, perceiving it was day, and knowing that the sultan rose betimes in the morning to say his prayers, and hold his council, scheherazade held her peace. lord, sister, says dinarzade, what a wonderful story is this! the remainder of it, says scheherazade, is more surprising; and you will be of my mind, if the sultan will let me live this day, and permit me to tell it you next night. schahriar, who had listened to scheherazade with pleasure, says to himself, i will stay till to-morrow, for i can at any time put her to death, when she has ended the story. so having resolved not to take away scheherazade's life that day, he rose and went to prayers, and then called his council. all this while the grand vizier was terribly uneasy. instead of sleeping, he spent the night in sighs and groans, bewailing the lot of his daughter, of whom he believed that he himself should be the executioner: and as, in this melancholy prospect, he was afraid of seeing the sultan, he was agreeably surprised when he saw the prince enter the council-chamber, without giving him the fatal orders he expected. the sultan, according to his custom, spent the day in regulating his affairs; and when night came, he went to bed with scheherazade. next morning, before day, dinarzade failed not to address herself to her sister thus: my dear sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you, till day-break, which will be in a very little time, to go on with the story you began last night. the sultan, without staying till scheherazade asked him leave, bid her make an end of the story of the genie and the merchant, for i long to hear the issue of it; upon which scheherazade spoke, and continued the story as follows. the second night. when the merchant saw that the genie was going to cut off his head, he cried out aloud, and said to him, for heaven's sake hold your hand! allow me one word, be so good as to grant me some respite; allow me but time to bid my wife and children adieu, and to divide my estate among them by will, that they may not go to law with one another after my death; and when i have done so, i will come back to the same place, and submit to whatever you shall please to order concerning me. but, says the genie, if i grant you the time you demand, i doubt you will never return. if you will believe my oath, answers the merchant, i swear, by all tnat is sacred, that i will come and meet you here without fail. what time do you demand then, replies the genie? i ask a year, says the merchant; i cannot have less to order my affairs, and prepare myself to die without regret. but i promise you that this day twelve months i will return under these trees, to put myself into your hands. do you take heaven to be witness to this promise, says the genie? i do, answers the merchant, and repeat it, and you may rely upon my oath. upon this the genie left him near the fountain, and disappeared. the merchant, being recovered from his fright, mounted his horse, and set forward on his journey; and as he was glad, on the one hand, that he had escaped so great a danger, so he was mortally sorry, on the other, when he thought on his fatal oath. when he came home, his wife and children received him with all the demonstrations of perfect joy. but he, instead of making them answerable returns, fell a-weeping bitterly; from whence they readily conjectured that something extraordinary had befallen him. his wife asked the reason of his excessive grief and tears; we are all overjoyed, says she, at your return, but you frighten us to see you in this condition? pray tell us the cause of your sorrow. alas! replies the husband, the cause of it is, that i have but a year to live; and then told what had passed betwixt him and the genie, and that he had given his oath to return at the end of the year to receive death from his hands. when they had heard these sad news, they all began to lament heavily; his wife made a pitiful outcry, beat her face, and tore her hairs. the children, being all in tears, made the house resound with their groans; and the father, not being able to overcome nature, mixed his tears with theirs; so that, in a word, it was the most affecting spectacle that any man could behold. next morning, the merchant applied himself to put his affairs in order, and, first of all, to pay his debts. he made presents to his friends, gave great alms to the poor, set his slaves of both sexes at liberty, divided his estate among his children, appointed guardians for such of them as were not come of age; and restoring to his wife all that was due to her by contract of marriage, he gave her, over and above, all that he could do by law. at last the year expired, and go he must. he put his burial-clothes in his portmanteau; but never was there such grief seen, as when he came to bid his wife and children adieu. they could not think of parting, but resolved to go along and to die with, him; but, finding that he must be forced to part from those dear objects, he spoke to them thus: 'my dear wife and children,' says he, 'i obey the order of heaven in quitting you; follow my example, submit courageously to this necessity, and consider that it is the destiny of man to die.' having said these words, he went out of the hearing of the cries of his family; and, taking his journey, arrived at the place, where he promised to meet the genie, on the day appointed. he alighted, and setting himself down by the fountain, waited the coming of the genie with all the sorrow imaginable. whilst he languished in this cruel expectation, a good old man, leading a bitch, appeared, and drew near him; they saluted one another, after which the old man says to him, brother, may i ask you why you are come into this desert place, where there is nothing but evil spirits, and by consequence you cannot be safe. to look upon these fine trees, indeed, one would think the place inhabited; but if is a true wilderness where it is not safe to stay long. the merchant satisfied his curiosity, and told him the adventure which obliged him to be there. the old man listened to him with astonishment, and when he had done, cried out, this is the most surprising thing in the world, and you are bound by the most inviolable oath; however, i will be witness of your interview with the genie; and sitting down by the merchant, they talked together. but i see day, says scheherazade, and must leave off; but the best of the story is yet to come. the sultan, resolving to hear the end of it, suffered her to live that day also. the third night. next morning dinarzade made the same request to her sister as formerly, thus: my dear sister, says she, if you be not asleep, tell me one of those pleasant stories you have read: but the sultan, willing to understand what followed betwixt the merchant and the genie, bid her go on with that; which she did as follows: sir, while the merchant and the old man that led the bitch were talking, they saw another old man coming to them, followed by two black dogs; after they had saluted one another, he asked them what they did in that place? the old man with the bitch told him the adventure of the merchant and genie, with all that had passed betwixt them, particularly the merchant's oath. he added, that this was the day agreed on, and that he was resolved to stay and see the issue. the second old man, thinking it also worth his curiosity, resolved to do the like: he likewise sat down by them; and they had scarcely begun to talk together, when there came a third old man, who, addressing himself to the two former, asked why the merchant that sat with them looked so melancholy. they told him the reason of it, which appeared so extraordinary to him, that he also resolved to be witness to the result, and for that end sat down with them. in a little time they perceived in the field a thick vapour, like a cloud of dust rising by a whirlwind, advancing towards them, which vanished all of a sudden, and then the genie appeared, who, without saluting them, came up to the merchant with his drawn scimitar, and taking him by the arm, says, get thee up, that i may kill thee as thou didst kill my son. the merchant and the three old men being frightened, began to lament, and to fill the air with their cries.--here scheherazade, perceiving day, left off her story which did so much whet the sultan's curiosity, that he was absolutely resolved to hear the end of it, and put off the sultaness's execution till next day. nobody can express the grand vizier's joy, when he perceived that the sultan did not order him to kill scheherazade; his family, the court, and all the people in general, were astonished at it. the fourth night. towards the end of the following night, dinarzade failed not to awake the sultaness. mv dear sister, says she, if you be not asleep, pray tell me one of your fine stories. then scheherazade, with the sultan's permission, spoke as follows: sir, when the old man that led the bitch saw the genie lay hold of the merchant, and about to kill him without pity, he threw himself at the feet of the monster, and kissing them, says to him: prince of genies, i most humbly request you to suspend your anger, and do me the favour to hear me. i will tell you the history of my life, and of the bitch you see; and if you think it more wonderful and surprising than the adventure of the merchant you are going to kill, i hope you will pardon the poor unfortunate man the third of his crime. the genie took some time to consult upon it, but answered at last, well, then; i agree to it. the history of the first old man and the bitch. i shall begin then, says the old man; listen to me i pray you, with attention. this bitch you see is my cousin, nay, what is more, my wife: she was only twelve years of age when i married her, so that i may justly say, she ought as much to regard me as her father, as her kinsman and husband. we lived together twenty years without any children, yet her barrenness did hot hinder my haying a great deal of complaisance and friendship for her. the desire of having children only made me to buy a slave, by whom i had a son, who was extremely promising. my wife being jealous, conceived a hatred both for mother and child, but concealed it so well, that i did not know it till it was too late. mean time my son grew up, and was ten years old, when i was obliged to undertake a journey: before i went, i recommended to my wife, of whom i had no mistrust, the slave and her son, and prayed her to take care of them during my absence, which was for a whole year. she made use of that time to satisfy her hatred: she applied herself to magic, and when she knew enough of that diabolical art to execute her horrible contrivance, the wretch carried my son to a desolate place, where, by her enchantments, she changed my son into a calf, and gave him to my farmer to fatten, pretending she had bought him. her fury did not stop at this abominable action, but she likewise changed the slave into a cow, and gave her also to the farmer. at my return, i asked for the mother and child: your slave, says she, is dead; and for your son, i know not what is become of him: i have not seen him these two months. i was troubled at the death of my slave; but my son having also disappeared, as she told me, i was in hopes he would return in a little time. however, eight months passed, and i heard nothing of him, when the festival of the great bairam happened, to celebrate the same, i sent to my farmer for one of the fattest cows to sacrifice; and he sent me one accordingly. the cow which he brought me was my slave, the unfortunate mother of my son, i tied her, but as i was going to sacrifice her, she bellowed pitifully and i could perceive streams of tears run from her eyes. this seemed to me very extraordinary, and finding myself, in spite of all i could do, seized with pity, i could not find in my heart to give her the blow, but ordered my farmer to get me another. my wife, who was present, was enraged at my compassion, and opposing herself to an order which disappointed her malice, she cries out, what do you do, husband? sacrifice that cow, your farmer has not a finer, nor one fitter for that use. out of complaisance to my wife, i came again to the cow, and combatting my pity, which suspended the sacrifice, was going to give her the fatal blow, when the victim redoubling her tears, and bellowing, disarmed me a second time. then i put the mell into the farmer's hands, and bade him sacrifice her himself, for her tears and bellowing pierced my heart. the farmer, less compassionate than i, sacrificed her; and when he flead her, found her nothing but bones, though to us she seemed very fat. take her to yourself, says i to the farmer, i quit her to you; give her in alms, or which way you will; and if you have a very fat calf, bring me it in her stead. i did not inform myself what he did with the cow; but, soon after he took her away, he came with a very fat calf. though i knew not that the calf was my son, yet i could not forbear being moved at the sight of him. on his part, as soon as he saw me, he made so great an effort to come to me, that he broke his cord, threw himself at my feet, with his head against the ground, as if he would excite my compassion, conjuring me not to be so cruel as to take his life, and did as much as was possible for him to do, to signify that he was my son. i was more surprised and affected with this action than with the tears of the cow: i found a tender pity, which made me concern myself for him, or rather nature did its duty. go, says i to the farmer, carry home that calf, take great care of him, and bring me another in his stead immediately. as soon as my wife heard me say so, she immediately cried out, what do you do, husband? take my advice, sacrifice no other calf but that. wife, said i, i will not sacrifice him, i will spare him, and pray do not you oppose it. the wicked woman had no regard to my desire, she hated my son too much to consent that i should save him; i tied the poor creature, and taking up the fatal knife--here scheherazade stopped, because she perceived day-light. then dinarzade said, sister, i am enchanted with this story, which bespeaks my attention so agreeably. if the sultan will suffer me to live to-day, answers scheherazade, what i have to tell you to-morrow will divert you abundantly more. schahriar, curious to know what would become of the old man's son, who led the bitch, told the sultaness he would be very glad to hear the end of that story next night. the fifth night. when day began to draw near, dinarzade put her sister's orders in execution very exactly, who, being awaked, prayed the sultan to allow her to give dinarzade that satisfaction, which the prince, who took so much pleasure in the story himself, readily agreed to. sir, then, says scheherazade, the first old man, who led the bitch, continuing his story to the genie, the two other old men, and the merchant, proceeded thus: i took the knife, says he, and was going to strike it into my son's throat, when, turning his eyes, bathed with tears, in a languishing manner towards me, he affected me so, that i had not strength to sacrifice him, but, let the knife fall, and told my wife positively that i would have another calf to sacrifice, and not that. she used all endeavours to make me change my resolution; but i continued firm, and pacified her a little, by promising that i would sacrifice him against the bairam next year. next morning, my farmer desired to speak with me alone; and told me, i come, says he, to tell you a piece of news, for which, i hope, you will return me thanks. i have a daughter that has some skill in magic: yesterday, as i carried back the calf which you would not sacrifice, i perceived she laughed when she saw him, and in a moment after fell a-weeping. i asked her why she acted two such contrary parts at one and the same time. father, replies she, the calf you bring back is our landlord's son: i laughed for joy to see him still alive, and i wept at the remembrance of the former sacrifice that was made the other day of his mother, who was changed into a cow. these two metamorphoses were made by the enchantments of our master's wife, who hated the mother and son; and this is what my daughter told me, said the farmer, and i come to acquaint you with it. at these words, the old man adds, i leave you to think, my lord genie, how much i was surprised: i went immediately to my farmer, to speak with his daughter myself. as soon as i came, i went forthwith to the stall where my son was; he could not answer my embraces, but received them in such a manner as fully satisfied me he was my son. the farmer's daughter came: my good maid, says i, can you restore my son to his former shape? yes, says she, i can, ah! said i, if you can, i will make you mistress of my fortune. she replied to me, smiling, you are our master, and know very well what i owe to you, but cannot restore your son into his former shape, but on two conditions. the first is, that you give him me for my husband, and the second is, that you allow me to punish the person who changed him into a calf. for the first, said i, i agree to it with all my heart; nay, i promise you more, a considerable estate for yourself, independent of what i design for my son. in a word, you shall see how i will reward the great service i expect from you. as to what relates to my wife, i also agree to it: a person that has been capable of committing such a criminal action, deserves very well to be punished; i leave her to you; only i must pray you not to take her life. i am just going then, answers she, to treat her as she has treated my son. i agree to it, said i, provided you restore my son to me beforehand. then the maid took a vessel full of water, pronounced words over it that i did not understand, and addressing herself to the calf, o calf, says she, if thou wast created by the almighty and sovereign master of the world, such as you appear at this time, continue in that form: but, if thou art a man, and changed into a calf by enchantment, return to thy natural shape by the permission of the sovereign creator. as she spoke these words, she threw water upon him, and in an instant he recovered his first shape. my son, my dear son, cried i! immediately embracing him with such a transport of joy that i knew not what i was doing; it is heaven that has sent us this young maid to take off the horrible charm by which you were enchanted, and to avenge the injury done to you and your mother. i doubt not but, in acknowledgment, you will take your deliverer to wife, as i have promised. he consented to it with joy; but, before they were married, she changed my wife into a bitch, and this is she you see here. i desired she should have this shape, rather than another less agreeable, that we might see her in the family without horror. since that time my son has become a widower, and gone to travel; and it being several years since i heard of him, i am come abroad to inquire after him; and not being willing to trust any body with my wife while i should come home, i thought it fit to carry her every where with me. this is the history of myself and this bitch, is it not one of the most wonderful and surprising that can be? i agree it is, says the genie, and, upon that account, i forgive the merchant the third of his crime. when the first old man, sir, continued the sultaness, had finished his story, the second, who led the two black dogs, addressed himself to the genie, and says to him, i am going to tell you what happened to me and these two black dogs you see by me, and i am certain you will say that my story is yet more surprising than that which you have just now heard; but when i have told it you, i hope you will be pleased to pardon the merchant the second third of his crime. yes, replies the genie, provided your story surpass that of the bitch. then the second began in this manner. but as scheherazade pronounced these words, she saw it was day, and left off speaking. o heaven! sister, says dinarzade, these adventures are very singular. sister, replies the sultaness, they are not comparable to those which i have to tell you next night, if the sultan, my lord and master, be so good as to let me live. schahriar answered nothing to that, but rose up, said his prayers, and went to council, without giving any order against the life of the scheherazade. the sixth night. the sixth night being come, the sultan and his lady went to bed. dinarzade awaked at the usual hour, and calling to the sultaness, says, dear sister, if you be not asleep, i pray you, until it be day, to satisfy my curiosity; i am impatient to hear the story of the old man and the two black dogs. the sultan consented to it with pleasure, being no less desirous to know the story than dinarzade; and scheherazade continued it as follows. the story of the second old man and the two black dogs. great prince of genies, says the old man, you must know that we are three brothers, i and the two black dogs you see: our father left each of us, when he died, one thousand sequins; with that sum we all entered into the same way of living, and became merchants. a little time after we had opened shop, my eldest brother, one of these two dogs, resolved to travel and trade in foreign countries. upon this design, he sold his estate, and bought goods proper for the trade he intended. he went away, and was absent a whole year; at the end of which, a poor man, who, i thought, had come to ask alms, presented himself before me in my shop. i said to him, god help you. god help you also, answered he, is it possible you do not know me? upon this, i looked to him narrowly, and knew him. ah, my brother! cried i, embracing him, how could i know you in this condition? i made him come into my house, and asked him concerning his health, and the success of his travels. do not ask me that question, says he; when you see me, you see all. it would only renew my grief to tell you all the particulars of the misfortunes that have befallen me, and reduced me to this condition, since i left you. i immediately shut up my shop, and, carrying him to a bath, gave him the best clothes i had by me; and examining my books, and finding that i had doubled my stock, that is to say, that i was worth two thousand sequins, i gave him one half. with that, said i, brother, you may make up your loss. he joyfully accepted the proffer, recovered himself, and we lived together as before. some time after, my second brother, who is the other of these two dogs, would also sell his estate. i and his other brother did all we could to divert him from it, but could not; he sold it, and with the money bought such goods as were suitable for the trade he designed. he joined a caravan; and took a journey. he returned at the end of the year in the same condition as my other brother; and i having gained another thousand sequins, gave him them, with which he furnished his shop, and continued to follow his trade. some time after, one of my brothers comes to me to propose a trading voyage with them; i immediately rejected their proposal. you have travelled, said i, and what have you gained by it? who can assure me that i shall be more successful than you have been? they represented to me in vain all that they thought fit to prevail upon me to engage in that design with them, for i constantly refused; but they importuned me so much, that after having resisted their solicitations five whole. years, they overcame me at last: but when we were to make preparations for our voyage, and to buy goods necessary for the undertaking, i found they had spent all, and that they had not one farthing left of the thousand sequins i had given each of them. i did not, however, upbraid them in the least with it. on the contrary, my stock being six thousand sequins, i shared the half of it with them, telling them, my brothers, we must venture these three thousand sequins, and hide the rest in some sure place, that, in case our voyage be no more successful than yours was formerly, we may have wherewith to assist us, and to follow our ancient way of living. i gave each of them a thousand sequins; and keeping as much for myself, i buried the other three thousand in a corner of my house. we bought our goods; and, after having embarked them on board a vessel, which we freighted betwixt us three, we put to sea with a favourable wind. after a month's sail--but i see day, says scheherazade, i must stop here. sister, says dinarzade, this story promises a great deal; i fancy the rest of it must be very extraordinary. you are not mistaken, answered the sultaness; and if the sultan will allow me to tell it you, i am persuaded it will very much divert you. schahriar got up, as he did the day before, without explaining his mind; but gave no order to the grand vizier to kill his daughter. the seventh night. when the seventh night drew near a close, dinarzade awaked the sultaness, and prayed her to continue the story of the second old man. i will, answered scheherazade, provided the sultan, my lord and master, do not oppose it. not at all, says shahriar; i am so far from opposing it, that i desire you earnestly to go on with it. to resume the thread of the story, says scheherazade, you must know that the old man, who led the two dogs, continued his story to the genie, the other two old men, and the merchant, thus: in short, says he, after two months sail, we arrived happily at a port, where we landed, and had a very great vent for our goods. i especially sold mine so well, that i gained ten to one; and we bought commodities of that country to transport and sell in our own. when we were ready to embark in order to return, i met, upon the banks of the sea, a lady handsome enough, but poorly clad. she came up to me presently, kissed my hand, prayed me, with the greatest earnestness imaginable, to marry her, and take her along with me. i made some difficulty to agree to it; but she said so many things to persuade me that i ought to make no objections to her poverty, and that i should have all the reason in the world to be satisfied with her conduct, that i yielded. i ordered fit apparel to be made for her; and, after having married her according to form, i took her on board, and we set sail. during the navigation, i found the wife i had taken had so many good qualities, that i loved her every day more and more. in the mean time my two brothers, who had not managed their affairs so well as i did mine, envied my prosperity; and their fury carried them so far as to conspire against my life; so that one night, when my wife and i were asleep, they threw us both into the sea. my wife was a fairy, and by consequence, genie, you know well, she could not be drowned; but for me, it is certain, i had been lost without her help. i had scarcely fallen into the water, till she took me up, and carried me to an island. when it was day, the fairy said to me, you see, husband, that, by saving your life, i have not rewarded you ill for your kindness to me. you must know that i am a fairy, and that, being upon the bank of the sea, when you were going to embark, i found i had a strong inclination for you: i had a mind to try your goodness, and presented myself before you in the disguise wherein you saw me. you have dealt very generously with me, and i am mighty glad to have found an opportunity of testifying my acknowledgment to you: but i am incensed against your two brothers, and nothing will satisfy me but their lives. i listened to this discourse of the fairy with admiration. i thanked her as well as i could for the great kindness she had done me; but, madam, said i, for my brothers, i beg you to pardon them; whatever cause they have given me, i am not cruel enough to desire their death. i told her the particulars of what i had done for them, which increased her indignation so, that she cried out, i must immediately fly after those ungrateful traitors, and take speedy vengeance on them; i will drown their vessel, and throw them into the bottom of the sea. no, my good lady, replied i, for the sake of heaven do not so; moderate your anger, consider that they are my brothers, and that we must do good for evil. i pacified the fairy by these words; and as soon as i had spoken them, she transported me in an instant from the island where we were to the roof of my own house, which was terrassed, and disappeared in a moment. i went down, opened the doors, and dug up the three thousand sequins i had hid. i went afterwards to the place where my shop was, which i also opened, and was complimented by the merchants, my neighbours, upon my return. when i went to my house, i perceived two black dogs, which came to me in a very submissive manner; i knew not what it meant, but was much astonished at it. but the fairy, who appeared immediately, says to me, husband, do not be surprised to see these two black dogs by you; they are your two brothers. i was troubled at these words, and asked her by what power they were so transformed. it was i that did it, says she, at least i gave commission to one of my sisters to do it, who, at the same time, sunk their ship. you have lost the goods you had on board, but i will make it up to you in another way. as to your two brothers, i have condemned them to remain five years in that shape. their perfidiousness too well deserves such a penance; and, in short, after having told me where i might hear of her, she disappeared. now the five years being out, i am travelling in quest of her; and as i passed this way, i met this merchant, and the good old man that led the bitch, and sat down by them. this is my history, o prince of genies, do not you think it very extraordinary? i own it, says the genie, and, upon that account, remit the merchant the second third of the crime which he has committed against me. as soon as the second old man had finished his story, the third began, and made the like demand of the genie with the two first; that is to say, to pardon the merchant the other third of his crime, provided the story he had to tell him exceeded the two he had already heard for singular events. the genie made him the same promise as he had done the other two. hearken then, says the old man to him. but day appears, says scheherazade, i must stop here. i cannot enough admire, sister, says dinarzade, the adventures you have told me. i know abundance more, answers the sultaness, that are still more wonderful. schahriar, willing to know if the story of the third old man would be as agreeable as that of the second, put off the execution of scheherazade till the next night. the eighth night. as soon as dinarzade perceived it was time to call the sultaness, she says, sister, i have been awake a long time, and have a great mind to awake you, i am so impatient to hear the story of the third old man. the sultan answered, i can hardly think that the third story will surpass the two former ones. sir, replies the sultaness, the third old man told his story to the genie; i cannot tell it you, because it is not come to my knowledge, but i know that it did so much exceed the two former stories in the variety of wonderful adventures that the genie was astonished at it; and no sooner heard the end of it, but he said to the third old man, i remit the other third part of the merchant's crime upon the account of your story. he is very much obliged to all three of you, for having delivered him out of this danger by your stories; without which he had not now been in the world. and, having spoken thus, he disappeared to the great contentment of the company. the merchant failed not to give his three deliverers the thanks he owed them. they rejoiced to see him out of danger; after which he bid them adieu, and each of them went on his way. the merchant returned to his wife and children, and passed the rest of his days with them in peace. but, sir, added scheherazade, how pleasant soever these stories may be, that i have told your majesty hitherto, they do not come near that of the fisherman. dinarzade, perceiving that the sultaness demurred, says to her, sister, since there is still some time remaining, pray tell us the story of the fisherman, if the sultan is willing. schahriar agreed to it, and scheherazade, resuming her discourse, pursued it in this manner. the story of the fisherman. sir--there was a very ancient fisherman, so poor, that he could scarcely earn enough to maintain himself, his wife, and three children. he went every day to fish betimes in a morning; and imposed it as a law upon himself, not to cast his nets above four times a-day. he went one morning by moon-light, and, coming to the sea-bank, undressed himself, and cast in his nets. as he drew them towards the shore, he found them very heavy, and thought he had got a good draught of fish, at which he rejoiced within himself; but, in a moment after, perceiving that, instead of fish, there was nothing in his nets but the carcase of an ass, he was mightily vexed. scheherazade stopped here, because she saw it was day. sister, says dinarzade, i must confess that the beginning of this story charms me, and i foresee that the result of it will be very agreeable. there is nothing more surprising than the story of this fisherman, replied the sultaness, and you will be convinced of it next night, if the sultan will be so gracious as to let me live. schahriar, being curious to hear the success of such an extraordinary fishing, would not order scheherazade to be put to death that day. the ninth night. my dear sister, cries dinarzade, next morning at the usual hour, if you be not asleep, i pray you to go on with the story of the fisherman; i am ready to die till i hear it. i am willing to give you that satisfaction, says the sultaness; but at the same time she demanded leave of the sultan, and, having obtained it, began again as follows: sir, when the fisherman, vexed to have made such a sorry draught, had mended his nets, which the carcase of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a pannier full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. o fortune! cries he, with a lamentable tone, do not be angry with me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. i came hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou pronouncest death against me. i have no other trade but this to subsist by; and, notwithstanding all the care i take, i can scarcely provide what is absolutely necessary for my family. but i am in the wrong to complain of thee; thou takest pleasure to persecute honest people, and to leave great men in obscurity, whilst thou showest favour to the wicked, and advancest those who have no virtue to recommend them. having finished this complaint, he threw away the pannier in a fret, and washing his nets from the slime, cast them the third time, but brought up nothing except stones, shells, and mud. nobody can express his disorder; he was within an ace of going quite mad. however, when day began to appear, he did not forget to say his prayers like a good mussulman, and afterwards added this petition: "lord, you know that i cast my net only four times a day; i have already drawn them three times, without the least reward for my labour: i am only to cast them once more; i pray you to render the sea favourable to me, as you did to moses." the fisherman, having finished this prayer, cast his nets the fourth time; and, when he thought it was time, he drew them, as formerly, with great difficulty; but, instead of fish, found nothing in them but a vessel of yellow copper, that, by its weight, seemed to be full of something; and he observed that it was shut up and sealed with lead, having the impression of a seal upon it. this rejoiced him; i will sell it, says he, to the founder, and with the money arising from the product, buy a measure of corn. he examined the vessel on all sides, and shook it, to see if what was within made any noise, and heard nothing. this circumstance, with the impression of the seal upon the leaden cover, made him to think there was something precious in it. to try this, he took a knife, and opened it with very little labour; he presently turned the mouth downward; but nothing came out, which surprised him extremely. he set it before him, and, while he looked upon it attentively, there came out a very thick smoke which obliged him to retire two or three paces from it. this smoke mounted as high as the clouds, and extending itself along the sea, and upon the shore, formed a great mist, which, we may well imagine, did mightily astonish the fisherman. when the smoke was all out of the vessel, it reunited itself, and became a solid body, of which there was formed a genie twice as high as the greatest of giants. at the sight of a monster of such unsizeable bulk, the fisherman would fain have fled, but was so frightened that he could not go one step. solomon, cried the genie immediately, solomon, the great prophet, pardon, pardon; i will never more oppose your will: i will obey all your commands.--scheherazade, perceiving it day, broke off her story. upon which dinarzade said, dear sister, nobody can keep their promise better than you can keep yours. this story is certainly more surprising than the former. sister, replies the sultaness, there are more wonderful things yet to come, if my lord the sultan will allow me to tell them you. schahriar had too great a desire to hear out the story of the fisherman to deprive himself of that pleasure, and therefore put off the sultaness's death another day. the tenth night. dinarzade called her sister next night when she thought it was time, and prayed her to continue the story of the fisherman; and the sultan being also impatient to know what concern the genie had with solomon, scheherazade continued her story thus; sir, the fisherman, when he heard these words of the genie, recovered his courage, and says to him, thou proud spirit, what is this that you talk? it is above eighteen hundred years since the prophet solomon died, and we are now at the end of time: tell me your history, and how you came to be shut up in this vessel. the genie, turning to the fisherman with a fierce look, says, you must speak to me with more civility; thou art very bold to call me a proud spirit. very well, replies the fisherman, shall i speak to you with more civility, and call you the owl of good luck? i say, answers the genie, speak to me more civilly, before i kill thee. i have only one favour to grant thee. and what is that, says the fisherman? it is, answers the genie, to give you your choice in what manner you wouldst have me to take thy life. but wherein have i offended you, replies the fisherman? is this the reward for the good service i have done you. i cannot treat you otherwise, says the genie; and that you may be convinced of it, hearken to my story. i am one of those rebellious spirits that opposed themselves to the will of heaven; all the other genies owned solomon, the great prophet, and submitted to him. sacar and i were the only genies that would never be guilty of so mean a thing: and, to avenge himself, that great monarch sent asaph, the son of barakia, his chief minister, to apprehend me. that was accordingly done; asaph seized my person, and brought me by force before his master's throne. solomon, the son of david, commanded me to quit my way of living, to acknowledge his power, and to submit myself to his commands: i bravely refused to obey, and told him, i would rather expose myself to his resentment, than swear fealty, and submit to him as he required. to punish me, he shut me up in this copper vessel; and to make sure of me that i should not break prison, he stamped (himself) upon this leaden cover his seal, with the great name god engraven upon it. thus he gave the vessel to one of the genies that submitted to him, with orders to throw it into the sea, which was executed to my great sorrow. during the first hundred years imprisonment, i swore that if one would deliver me before the hundred years expired, i would make him rich even after his death: but that century ran out, and nobody did me that good office. during the second, i made an oath, that i would open all the treasures of the earth to any one that would set me at liberty, but with no better success. in the third, i promised to make my deliverer a potent monarch, to be always near him in spirit, and to grant him every day three demands, of what nature soever they might be: but this century ran out as well as the two former, and i continued in prison. at last, being angry, or rather mad, to find myself a prisoner so long, i swore, that if afterwards any one should deliver me, i would kill him without pity, and grant him no other favour but to choose what kind of death he would die; and therefore, since you have delivered me to-day, i give you that choice. this discourse afflicted the poor fisherman extremely: i am very unfortunate, cries he, to come hither to do such a piece of good service to one that is so ungrateful. i beg you to consider your injustice, and revoke such an unreasonable oath: pardon me, and heaven will pardon you; if you grant me my life, heaven will protect you from all attempts against yours. no, thy death is resolved on, says the genie, only choose how you will die. the fisherman, perceiving the genie to be resolute, was extremely grieved, not so much for himself as for his three children, and bewailed the misery they must be reduced to by his death. he endeavoured still to appease the genie, and says, alas! be pleased to take pity on me in consideration of the good service i have done you. i have told thee already, replies the genie, it is for that very reason i must kill thee. that is very strange, says the fisherman, are you resolved to reward good for evil? the proverb says, "that he who does good to one who deserves it not, is always ill rewarded." i must confess i thought it was false; for in effect there can be nothing more contrary to reason, or the laws of society. nevertheless, i find now, by cruel experience, that it is but too true. do not let us lose time, replies the genie, all thy reasoning shall not divert me from my purpose: make haste, and tell me which way you choose to die. necessity is the mother of invention. the fisherman bethought himself of a stratagem. since i must die then, says he to the genie, i submit to the will of heaven; but, before i choose the manner of death, i conjure you by the great name which was engraven upon the seal of the prophet solomon, the son of david, to answer me truly the question i am going to ask you. the genie, finding himself obliged to give a positive answer by this adjuration, trembled, and replied to the fisherman, ask what thou wilt, but make haste. day appearing, scheherazade held her peace. sister, says dinarzade, it must be owned, that the more you speak, the more you surprise and satisfy. i hope the sultan, our lord, will not order you to be put to death till he hears out the fine story of the fisherman. the sultan is absolute, replies scheherazade; we must submit to his will in every thing. but shahriar, being as willing as dinarzade to hear an end of the story, did again put off the execution of the sultaness. the eleventh night. shahriar, and the princess his spouse, passed this night in the same manner as they had done the former; and, before break of day, dinarzade awaked them with these words, which she addressed to the sultaness: i pray you, sister, to resume the story of the fisherman. with all my heart, says scheherazade, i am willing to satisfy you, with the sultan's permission. the genie (continued she) having promised to speak the truth, the fisherman says to him, i would know if you were actually in this vessel? dare you swear it by the name of the great god? yes, replied the genie, i do swear by that great name that i was, and it is a certain truth. in good faith, answered the fisherman, i cannot believe you; the vessel is not capable to hold one of your feet, and how should it be possible that your whole body could be in it? i swear to thee notwithstanding, replied the genie, that i was there just as you see me here: is it possible that thou dost not believe me after the great oath which i have taken? truly, not i, said the fisherman; nor will i believe you unless you show it me. upon which the body of the genie was dissolved, and changed itself into smoke, extending itself, as formerly, upon the sea-shore; and then at last, being gathered together, it began to reenter the vessel, which he continued to do successively, by a slow and equal motion, after a smooth and exact way, till nothing was left out, and immediately a voice came forth, which said to the fisherman, well, now, incredulous fellow, i am all in the vessel, do not you believe me now? the fisherman, instead of answering the genie, took the cover of lead, and having speedily shut the vessel, genie, cries he, now it is your turn to beg my favour, and to choose which way i shall put thee to death; but not so, it is better that i should throw you into the sea, whence i took you; and then i will build a house upon the bank, where i will dwell, to give notice to all fishermen, who come to throw in their nets, to beware of such a wicked genie as thou art, who hast made an oath to kill him who shall set thee at liberty. the genie, enraged at these expressions, did all he could to get out of the vessel again, but it was not possible for him to do it; for the impression of solomon's seal prevented him; so, perceiving that the fisherman had got the advantage of him, he thought fit to dissemble his anger. fisherman, says he, in a pleasant tone, take heed you do not what you say; for what i spoke before was only by way of jest, and you are to take it no otherwise. o genie! replies the fisherman, thou who wast but a moment ago the greatest of all genies, and now art the least of them, thy crafty discourse will signify nothing to thee, but to the sea thou shalt return: if thou hadst staid in the sea so long as thou hast told me, thou mayst very well stay there till the day of judgment. i begged thee, in god's name, not to take away my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; i am obliged to treat you in the same manner. the genie omitted nothing that could prevail upon the fisherman: open the vessel, says he, give me my liberty, i pray thee, and i promise to satisfy thee to thy own content. thou art a mere traitor, replies the fisherman, i should deserve to lose my life, if i be such a fool as to trust thee; thou wilt not fail to treat me in the same manner as a certain grecian king treated the physician douban. it is a story i have a mind to tell thee, therefore listen to it. the story of the grecian king, and the physician douban. there was in the country of zouman, in persia, a king whose subjects were originally greeks. this king was all over leprous, and his physicians in vain endeavoured his cure; and when they were at their wits end what to prescribe him, a very able physician, called douban, arrived at his court. this physician had learned his science in greek, persian, turkish, arabian, latin, syrian, and hebrew books; and, besides that he was an expert philosopher, he fully understood the good and bad qualities of all sorts of plants and drugs. as soon as he was informed of the king's distemper, and understood that his physicians had given him over, he clad himself the best he could, and found a way to present himself to the king: sir, says he, i know that all your majesty's physicians have not been able to cure you of the leprosy; but if you will do me the honour to accept my service, i will engage myself to cure you without drenches or external applications. the king listened to what he said, and answered, if you are able to perform what you promise, i will enrich you and your posterity; and, besides the presents i shall make you, you shall be my chief favourite. do you assure me, then, that you will cure me of my leprosy, without making me take any potion, or applying any external medicine? yes, sir, replies the physician, i promise myself success, through god's assistance, and to-morrow i will make trial of it. the physician returned to his quarters, and made a mallet, hollow within, and at the handle he put in his drugs: he made also a ball in such a manner as suited his purpose, with which, next morning, he went to present himself before the king, and, falling down at his feet, kissed the very ground. here scheherazade, perceiving day, acquainted the sultan with it, and held her peace. i wonder, sister, says dinarzade, where you learn so many things. you will hear a great many others to-morrow, re-* .txt---------------------------- plies scheherazade, if the sultan, my master, will be pleased to prolong my life further, schahriar, who longed as much as dinarzade to hear the sequel of the story of douban the physician, did not order the sultaness to be put to death that day. the twelfth night. the twelfth night was pretty far advanced, when dinarzade called, and says, sister, you owe us the continuation of the agreeable history of the grecian king and the physician douban. i am very willing to pay my debt, replies scheherazade, and resumed the story as follows. sir, the fisherman, speaking always to the genie, whom he kept shut up in his vessel, went on thus: the physician douban rose up, and, after a profound reverence, says to the king, he judged it meet that his majesty should take horse, and go to the place where he used to play at the mell. the king did so, and when he arrived there, the physician came to him with the mell, and says to him, sir, exercise yourself with this mell, and strike the ball with it until you find your hands and your body in a sweat. when the medicine i have put in the handle of the mell is heated with your hand, it will penetrate your whole body; and as soon as you shall sweat, you may leave off the exercise, for then the medicine will have had its effect. as soon as you are returned to your palace, go into the bath, and cause yourself to be well washed and rubbed; then go to bed, and, when you rise to-morrow, you will find yourself cured. the king took the mell, and struck the ball, which was returned by his officers that played with him; he struck it again, and played so long, till his hand and his whole body were in a sweat, and then the medicine shut up in the handle of the mell had its operation, as the physician said. upon this the king left off play, returned to his palace, entered the bath, and observed very exactly what his physician had prescribed him. he was very well after; and next morning, when he arose, he perceived, with as much wonder as joy, that his leprosy was cured, and his body as clean as if he had never been attacked with that distemper. as soon as he was dressed, he came into the hall of public audience, where he mounted his throne, and showed himself to his courtiers, who, longing to know the success of the new medicine, came thither betimes, and, when they saw the king perfectly cured, did all of them express a mighty joy for it. the physician douban, entering the hall, bowed himself before the throne wiih his face to the ground. the king, perceiving him, called him, made him sit down by his side, showed him to the assembly, and gave him all the commendation he deserved. his majesty did not stop here; but, as he treated all his court that day, he made him to eat at his table atone with him. at these words scheherazade, perceiving day, broke off her story. sister, says dinarzade, i know not what the conclusion of this story will be, but i find the beginning very surprising. that which is to come is yet better, answered the sultaness, and i am certain you will not deny it, if the sultan gives me leave to make an end of it to-morrow night. shahriar consented, and rose very well satisfied with what he had heard. the thirteenth night. dinarzade, willing to keep the sultan in ignorance of her design, cried out, as if she had started out of her sleep, dear sister, i have had a troublesome dream, and nothing will sooner make me forget it than the remainder of the story of the grecian king and the doctor douban. i conjure you, by the love you always bore me, not to defer it a moment longer. i shall not be wanting, good sister, to ease your mind; and, if my sovereign will permit me, i will go on. schahriar, being charmed with the agreeable manner of scheherazade's telling her story, says to her, you will oblige me no less than dinarzade, therefore continue. the grecian king (says the fisherman to the genie) was not satisfied with having admitted the physician douban to his table, but towards night, when he was about dismissing the company, he caused him to be clad in a long rich robe, like unto those which his favourites usually wore in his presence; and, besides that, he ordered him two thousand sequins. the next day, and the day following, he was very familiar with him. in short, this prince, thinking that he could never enough acknowledge the obligations he lay under to that able physician, bestowed every day new favours upon him. but this king had a grand vizier that was avaricious, envious, and naturally capable of all sorts of mischief; he could not see, without envy, the presents that were given to the physician, whose other merits had begun to make him jealous, and therefore he resolved to lessen him in the king's esteem. to effect this, he went to the king, and told him in private that he had some advice to give him which was of the greatest concernment. the king having asked what it was, sir, said he, it is very dangerous for a monarch to put confidence in a man whose fidelity he never tried. though you heap favours upon the physician douban, and show him all the familiarity that may be, your majesty does not know but he may be a traitor at the same time, and came on purpose to this court to kill you. from whom have you this, answered the king, that you dare tell it me? consider to whom you speak, and that you advance a thing which i shall not easily believe. sir, replied the vizier, i am very well informed of what i have had the honour to represent to your majesty, therefore do not let your dangerous confidence grow to a further height; if your majesty be asleep, be pleased to awake; for i do once more repeat it, that the physician douban did not leave the heart of greece, his country, nor come hither to settle himself at your court, but to execute that horrid design which i have just now hinted to you. no, no, vizier, replies the king, i am certain that this man, whom you treat as a villain and a traitor, is one of the best and most virtuous men in the world; and there is no man i love so much. you know by what medicine, or rather by what miracle, he cured me of my leprosy; if he had a design upon my life, why did he save me? he needed only to have left me to my disease; i could not have escaped; my life was already half gone; forbear, then, to fill me with any unjust suspicions. instead of listening to you, i tell you, that from this day forward i will give that great man a pension of a thousand sequins per month for his life; nay, though i did share with him all my riches and dominions, i should never pay him enough for what he has done me; i perceive it to be his virtue that raises your envy; but do not think that i will be unjustly possessed with prejudice against him; i remember too well what a vizier said to king sinbad, his master, to prevent his putting to death the prince his son. but, sir, says scheherazade, day-light appears, which forbids me to go further. i am very well pleased that the grecian king, says dinarzade, had so much firmness of spirit as to reject the false accusation of his vizier. if you commend the firmness of that prince to-day, says scheherazade, you will as much condemn his weakness to-morrow, if the sultan be pleased to allow me time to finish this story. the sultan, being curious to hear wherein the grecian king discovered his weakness, did further delay the death of the sultaness. the fourteenth night. an hour before day, dinarzade awaked her sister, and says to her, you will certainly be as good as your word, madam, and tell us out the story of the fisherman. to assist your memory, i will tell you where you left off; it was where the grecian king maintained the innocence of his physician douban against his vizier. i remember it, says scheherazade, and am ready to give you satisfaction. sir, continues she, addressing herself to schahriar, that which the grecian king said about king sinbad raised the vizier's curiosity, who says to him, sir, i pray your majesty to pardon me, if i have the boldness to demand of you what the vizier of king sinbad said to his master to divert him from cutting off the prince his son. the grecian king had the complaisance to satisfy him: that vizier, says he, after having represented to king sinbad that he ought to beware lest, on the accusation of a mother-in-law, he should commit an action which he might afterwards repent of, told him this story. the story of the husband and parrot. a certain man had a fair wife, whom he loved so dearly that he could scarcely allow her to be out of his sight. one day, being obliged to go abroad about urgent affairs, he came to a place where all sorts of birds were sold, and there bought a parrot, which not only spoke very well, but could also give an account of every thing that was done before it. he brought it in a cage to his house, prayed his wife to put it in the chamber, and to take care of it, during a journey he was obliged to undertake, and then went out. at his return, he took care to ask the parrot concerning what had passed in his absence, and the bird told him things that gave him occasion to upbraid his wife. she thought some of her slaves had betrayed her, but all of them swore they had been faithful to her; and they all agreed that it must have been the parrot that had told tales. upon this, the wife bethought herself of a way how, she might remove her husband's jealousy, and at the same time revenge herself on the parrot, which she effected thus: her husband being gone another journey, she commanded a slave, in the night time, to turn a hand-mill under the parrot's cage; she ordered another to throw water, in form of rain, over the cage; and a third to take a glass, and turn it to the right and to the left before the parrot, so as the reflections of the candle might shine on its face. the slaves spent great part of the night in doing what their mistress commanded them, and acquitted themselves very dexterously. next night the husband returned, and examined the parrot again about what had passed during his absence. the bird answered, good master, the lightning, thunder, and rain, did so much disturb me all night, that i cannot tell how much i suffered by it. the husband, who knew that there had been neither thunder, lightning, nor rain that night, fancied that the parrot, not having told him the truth in this, might also have lied to him in the other; upon which he took it out of the cage, and threw it with so much force to the ground that he killed it; yet afterwards he understood, by his neighbours, that the poor parrot had not lied to him when it gave him an account of his wife's base conduct, which made him repent that he had killed it. scheherazade stopped here, because she saw it was day. all that you tell us, sister, says dinarzade is so curious, that nothing can be more agreeable. i shall be willing to divert you, answers scheherazade, if the sultan, my master, will allow me time to do it. schahriar, who took as much pleasure to hear the sultaness as dinarzade, rose, and went about his affairs, without ordering the vizier to cut her off. the fifteenth night. dinarzade was punctual this night, as she had been the former, to awake her sister, and begged of her, as usual, to tell her a story. i am going to do it, sister, says scheherazade; but the sultan interrupted her, for fear she should begin a new story, and bid her finish the discourse between the grecian king and his vizier about his physician douban. sir, says scheherazade, i will obey you, and went on with the story as follows. when the grecian king, says the fisherman to the genie, had finished the story of the parrot; and you, vizier, adds he, because of the hatred you bear to the physician douban, who never did you any hurt, you would have me cut him off; but i will take care of that, for fear i should repent it, as the husband did the killing of his parrot. the mischievous vizier was too much concerned to effect the ruin of the physician douban to stop here. sir, says he, the death of the parrot was but a trifle, and i believe his master did not mourn for him long. but why should your fear of wronging an innocent man hinder your putting this physician to death? is it not enough that he is accused of a design against your life to authorize you to take away his? when the business in question is to secure the life of a king, bare suspicion ought to pass for certainty; and it is better to sacrifice the innocent than to spare the guilty. but, sir, this is not an uncertain thing; the physician douban has certainly a mind to assassinate you. it is not envy which makes me his enemy; it is only the zeal and concern i have for preserving your majesty's life, that make me give you my advice in a matter of this importance. if it be false, i deserve to be punished in the same manner as a vizier was formerly punished. what had that vizier done, says the grecian king, to deserve punishment? i will inform your majesty of that, says the vizier, if you will be pleased to hear me. the story of the vizier that was punished. there was a king, says the vizier, who had a son that loved hunting mightily. he allowed him to divert himself that way very often, but gave orders to his grand vizier to attend him constantly, and never to lose sight of him. one hunting day, the huntsman having roused a deer, the prince who thought the vizier followed him, pursued the game so far, and with so much earnestness, that he was left quite alone. he stopped, and finding that he had lost his way, endeavoured to return the same way he came, to find out the vizier, who had not been careful enough to find him, and so wandered further. whilst he rode up and down without keeping any road, he met, by the way-side, a handsome lady, who wept bitterly. he stopped his horse, asked who she was, how she came to be alone in that place, and what she wanted? i am, says she, daughter of an indian king; as i was taking the air on horseback in the country, i grew sleepy, fell from my horse, who is got away, and i know not what is become of him. the young prince, taking compassion on her, asked her to get up behind him, which she willingly accepted. as they passed by the ruins of a house, the lady signified a desire to alight on some occasion. the prince stopped his horse, and suffered her to alight; then he alighted himself, and went near the ruins with his horse in his hand: but you may judge how much he was surprised, when he heard the lady within it say these words, "be glad, my children, i bring you a handsome young man, and very fat;" and other voices which answered immediately, "mamma, where is he, that we may eat him presently, for we are very hungry." the prince heard enough to convince him of his danger, and then he perceived that the lady, who called herself daughter to an indian king, was a hogress, wife to one of those savage demons called hogress, who live in remote places, and make use of a thousand wiles to surprise and devour passengers; so that the prince, being thus frightened, mounted his horse as soon as he could. the pretended princess appeared that very moment, and perceiving that she had missed her prey, she cries, fear nothing, prince! who are you? whom do you seek? i have lost my way, replies he, and am seeking it. if you have lost your way, says she, recommend yourself to god, he will deliver you out of your perplexity. then the prince lift up his eyes towards heaven. but, sir, says scheherazade, i am obliged to break off, for day appears. i long mightily, says dinarzade, to know what became of that young prince, i tremble for him. i will deliver you from your uneasiness to-morrow, answers the sultaness, if the sultan will allow me to live till then. schahriar, willing to hear an end of this adventure, prolonged scheherazade's life for another day. the sixteenth night. dinarzade had such a mighty desire to hear out the story of the young prince, that she awaked that night sooner than ordinary, and said, sister, pray go on with the story you began yesterday: i am much concerned for the young prince, and ready to die for fear that he was eaten up by the hogress and her children. schahriar having signified that he had the same fear, the sultaness replies, well, sir, i will satisfy you immediately. after the counterfeit indian princess had bid the young prince recommend himself to god, he could not believe she spoke sincerely, but thought she was sure of him, and therefore lifting up his hands to heaven, said, almighty lord, cast thine eyes upon me, and deliver me from this enemy. after this prayer, the hogress entered the ruins again, and the prince rode off with all possible haste. he happily found his way again, and arrived safe and sound at his father's court, to whom he gave a particular account of the danger he had been in through the vizier's neglect; upon which the king, being incensed against that minister, ordered him to be strangled that very moment. sir, continues the grecian king's vizier, to return to the physician douban, if you do not take care, the confidence you put in him will be fatal to you: i am very well assured that he is a spy sent by your enemies to attempt your majesty's life. he has cured you, you will say: but, alas! who can assure you of that? he has perhaps cured you only in appearance, and not radically; who knows but the medicines he has given you may in time have pernicious effects? the grecian king, who had naturally very little sense, was not able to discover the wicked design of his vizier, nor had he firmness enough to persist in his first opinion. this discourse staggered him: vizier, says he, thou art in the right; he may be come on purpose to take away my life, which he may easily do by the very smell of some of his drugs. we must consider what is fit for us to do in this case. when the vizier found the king in such a temper as he would have him, sir, says he, the surest and speediest method you can take to secure your life, is to send immediately for the physician douban, and order his head to be cut off as soon as he comes. in truth, says the king, i believe that is the way we must take to prevent his design. when he had spoken thus, he called for one of his officers, and ordered him to go for the physician; who, knowing nothing of the king's design, came to the palace in haste. know ye, says the king, when he saw him, why i sent for you? no, sir, answered he; i wait till your majesty be pleased to inform me. i sent for you, replied the king, to rid myself of you by taking your life. no man can express the surprise of the physician, when he heard the sentence of death pronounced against him. sir, says he, why would your majesty take away my life? what crime have i committed? i am informed by good hands, replies the king, that you come to my court only to attempt my life; but, to prevent you, i will be sure of yours. give the blow, says he to the executioner, who was present, and deliver me from a perfidious wretch, who came hither on purpose to assassinate me. when the physician heard this cruel order, he readily judged that the honours and presents he had received from the king had procured him enemies, and that the weak prince was imposed upon. he repented that he had cured him of his leprosy, but it was now too late. is it thus, replies the physician, that you reward me for curing you? the king would not hearken to him, but ordered the executioner a second time to strike the fatal blow. the physician then had recourse to his prayers: alas! sir, cries he, prolong my days, and god will prolong yours; do not put me to death, lest god treat you in the same manner. the fisherman broke off his discourse here, to apply it to the genie. well, genie, says he, you see that what passed then betwixt the grecian king and his physician douban is acted just now betwixt us. the grecian king, continues he, instead of having regard to the prayers of the physician, who begged him for god's sake to spare him, cruelly replied to him, no, no; i must of necessity cut you off, otherwise you may take away my life with as much subtleness as you cured me. the physician, melting into tears, and bewailing himself sadly for being so ill rewarded by the king, prepared for death. the executioner bound up his eyes, tied his hands, and went to draw his scimitar. then the courtiers, who were present, being moved with compassion, begged the king to pardon him, assuring his majesty that he was not guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and that they would answer for his innocence; but the king was inflexible, and answered them so, as they dared not to say any more of the matter. the physician being on his knees, his eyes tied up, and ready to receive the fatal blow, addressed himself once more to the king: sir, says he, since your majesty will not revoke the sentence of death, i beg, at least, that you will give me leave to return to my house, to give orders about my burial, to bid farewell to my family, to give alms, and to bequeath my books to those who are capable of making good use of them. i have one in particular i would present to your majesty; it is a very precious book, and worthy to be laid up very carefully in your treasury. well, replies the king, why is that book so precious as you talk of? sir, says the physician, because it contains an infinite number of curious things, of which the chief is, that when you have cut off my head, if your majesty will give yourself the trouble to open the book at the sixth leaf, and read the third line of the left page, my head will answer all the questions you ask it. the king, being curious to see such a wonderful thing, deferred his death till next day, and sent him home under a strong guard. the physician, during that time, put his affairs in order; and the report being spread, that an unheard-of prodigy was to happen after his death, the viziers, emirs, officers of the guard, and, in a word, the whole court, repaired next day to the hall of audience, that they might be witnesses of it. the physician douban was soon brought in, and advanced to the foot of the throne, with a great book in his hand; there he called for a bason, upon which he laid the cover that the book was wrapped in, and presenting the book to the king, sir, says he, take that book, if you please, and as soon as my head is cut off, order that it may be put into the bason upon the cover of the book; as soon as it is put there, the blood will stop; then open the book, and my head will answer your questions. but, sir, says he, permit me once more to implore your majesty's clemency; for god's sake grant my request, i protest to you that i am innocent. your prayers, answers the king, are vain; and if it were for nothing but to hear your head speak after your death, it is my will you should die. as he said this, he took the book out of the physician's hand, and ordered the executioner to do his duty. the head was so dexterously cut off, that it fell into the bason, and was no sooner laid upon the cover of the book than the blood stopped; then, to the great surprise of the king, and all the spectators, it opened its eyes, and said, sir, will your majesty be pleased to open the book? the king opened it, and finding that one leaf was, as it were, glued to another, that he might turn it with more ease, he put his finger to his mouth, and wet it with spittle. he did so till he came to the sixth leaf, and finding no writing on the place where he was bid to look for it, physician, says he to the head, here is nothing written. turn over some more leaves, replies the head. the king continued to turn over, putting always his finger to his mouth, until the poison, with which each leaf was imbued, came to have its effect; the prince finding himself, all of a sudden, taken with an extraordinary fit, his eye-sight failed, and he, fell down at the foot of his throne in great convulsions. at these words scheherazade, perceiving day, gave the sultan notice of it, and forbore speaking. ah! dear sister, says dinarzade, how grieved am i that you have not time to finish this story! i should be inconsolable if you lose your life to-day. sister, replies the sultaness, that must be as the sultan pleases; but i hope he will be so good as to suspend my death till to-morrow. and accordingly schahriar, far from ordering her death that day, expected next night with much impatience; so earnest was he to hear out the story of the grecian king, and the sequel of that of the fisherman and the genie. the seventeenth night. though dinarzade was very curious to hear the rest of the story of the grecian king, she did not awake that night so soon as usual, so that it was almost day before she called upon the sultaness; and then said, i pray you, sister, to continue the wonderful story of the greek king; but make haste, i beseech you, for it will speedily be day. scheherazade resumed the story where she left off the day before. sir, says she to the sultan, when the physician douban, or rather his head, saw that the poison had taken effect, and that the king had but a few moments to live: tyrant, it cried, now you see how princes are treated, who, abusing, their authority, cut off innocent men: god punishes, soon or late, their injustice and cruelty. scarcely had the head spoken these words, when the king fell down dead, and the head itself lost what life it had. sir, continues scheherazade, such was the end of the grecian king, and the physician douban; i must return now to the story of the fisherman and the genie; but it is not worth while to begin it now, for it is day. the sultan, who always observed his hours regularly, could stay no longer, but got up; and having a mind to hear the sequel of the story of the genie and, the fisherman, he bid the sultaness prepare to tell it him next night. the eighteenth night. dinarzade made amends this night for last night's neglect; she awaked long before day, and calling upon scheherazade, sister, says she, if you be not asleep, pray give us the rest of the story of the fisherman and the genie; you know the sultan desires to hear it as well as i. i shall soon satisfy his curiosity and yours, answers the sultaness; and then, addressing herself to schahriar, sir, continued she, as soon as the fisherman had concluded the history of the greek king and his physician douban, he made the application to the genie, whom he still kept shut up in the vessel. if the grecian king, says he, would have suffered him to live; but he rejected his most humble prayers; and it is the same with thee, o genie. could i have prevailed with thee to grant me the favour i demanded, i should now have had pity upon thee; but since, notwithstanding the extreme obligation thou wast under to me for having set thee at liberty, thou didst persist in thy design to kill me, i am obliged in my turn to be as hard-hearted to thee. my good friend fisherman, replies the genie, i conjure thee once more not to be guilty of so cruel a thing; consider that it is not good to avenge one's self, and that, on the other hand, it is commendable to do good for evil; do not treat me as imama treated ateca formerly. and what did imama to ateca, replies the fisherman? ho! says the genie, if you have a mind to know it, open the vessel; do you think that i can be in a humour to tell stories in so strait a prison? i will tell you as many as you please when you let me out. no, says the fisherman, i will not let thee out, it is in vain to talk of it; i am just going to throw you into the bottom of the sea. hear me one word more, cries the genie, i promise to do thee no hurt; nay, so far from that, i will show thee a way how thou mayst become exceeding rich. the hope of delivering himself from poverty prevailed with the fisherman. i could listen to thee says he, were there any credit to be given to thy word; swear to me by the great name of god, that you will faithfully perform what you promise, and i will open the vessel; i do not believe you will dare to break such an oath. the genie swore to him, and the fisherman immediately took off the covering of the vessel. at that very instant the smoke came out, and the genie having resumed his form as before, the first thing he did was to kick the vessel into the sea. this action frightened the fisherman: genie, says he, what is the meaning of that; will not you keep the oath you made, just now? and must i say to you as the physician douban said to the grecian king, suffer me to live, and god will prolong your days. the genie laughed at the fisherman's fear, and answered, no, fisherman, be not afraid, i only did it to divert myself, and to see if thou wouldst be alarmed at it: but, to persuade thee that i am in earnest, take thy net and follow me. as he spoke these words, he walked before the fisherman, who, having taken up his nets, followed him, but with some distrust: they passed by the town, and came to the top of a mountain, from whence they descended into a vast plain, which brought them to a great pond that lay betwixt four hills, when they came to the side of the pond, the genie says to the fisherman, cast in thy nets, and take fish; the fisherman did not doubt to catch some, because he saw a great number in the pond; but he was extremely surprised when he found they were of four colours; that is to say, white, red, blue, and yellow. he threw in his nets, and brought out one of each colour; having never seen the like, he could not but admire them, and, judging that he might get a considerable sum for them, he was very joyful. carry these fish, says the genie to him, and present them to the sultan; he will give you more money for them than ever you had in your life. you may come every day to fish in this pond, and i give thee warming not to throw in thy nets above once a day; otherwise you will repent it. take heed, and remember my advice; if you follow it exactly, you will find your account in it. having spoken thus, he struck his foot upon the ground, which opened, and shut again after it had swallowed up the genie. the fisherman, being resolved to follow the genie's advice exactly, forebore casting in his nets a second time; but returned to the town very well satisfied with his fish, and making a thousand reflections upon his adventure. he went straight to the sultan's palace to present him his fish. but, sir, says scheherazade, i perceive day, and must stop here. dear sister, says dinarzade, how surprising are the last events you have told us? i have much ado to believe that any thing you have to say can be more surprising. sister, replies the sultaness, if the sultan, my master, will let me live till to-morrow, i am persuaded you will find the sequel of the history of the fisherman more wonderful than the beginning of it, and incomparably more diverting. schahriar, being curious to know if the remainder of the story of the fisherman would be such as the sultaness said, put off the execution of the cruel law one day more. the nineteenth night. towards morning, dinarzade called the sultaness, and said, dear sister, my pendulum tells me it will be day speedily, therefore pray continue the history of the fisherman; i am extremely impatient to know what the issue of it was. scheherazade, having demanded leave of schahriar, resumed her discourse as follows: sir, i leave it to your majesty to think how much the sultan was surprised when he saw the four fishes which the fisherman presented him. he took them up one after another, and beheld them with attention; and after having admired them a long time, take these fishes, says he to his prime vizier, and carry them to the fine cook-maid that the emperor of the greeks has sent me. i cannot imagine but they must be as good as they are fine. the vizier carried them himself to the cook, and, delivering them into her hands, look ye, says he, there are four fishes newly brought to the sultan, he orders you to dress them; and, having said so, he returned to the sultan his master, who ordered him to give the fisherman four hundred pieces of gold of the coin of that country, which he did accordingly. the fisherman, who had never seen so much cash in his lifetime, could scarcely believe his own good fortune, but thought it must needs be a dream, until he found it to be real, when he provided necessaries for his family with it. but, sir, says scheherazade, having told you what happened to the fisherman, i must acquaint you next with what befel the sultan's cook-maid, whom we shall find in a mighty perplexity. as soon as she had gutted the fishes, she put them upon the fire in a frying-pan with oil, and when she thought them fried enough on one side, she turned them upon the other; but, o monstrous prodigy! scarcely were they turned, when the wall of the kitchen opened, and in comes a young lady of wonderful beauty and comely size. she was clad in flowered satin, after the egyptian manner, with pendants in her ears, necklace of large pearl, and bracelets of gold, garnished with rubies, with a rod of myrtle in her hand. she came towards the frying-pan, to the great amazement of the cook-maid, who continued immovable at this sight, and, striking one of the fishes with the end of the rod, says, "fish, fish, art thou in thy duty?" the fish having answered nothing, she repeated these words, and then the four fishes lift up their heads altogether, and said to her, "yes, yes, if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." as soon as they had finished these words, the lady overturned the frying-pan, and entered again into the open part of the wall, which shut immediately, and became as it was before. the cook-maid was mightily frightened at this, and, coming a little to herself, went to take up the fishes that fell upon the earth, but found them blacker than coal, and not fit to be carried to the sultan. she was grievously troubled at it, and fell a-weeping most bitterly: alas! says she, what will become of me? if i tell the sultan what i have seen, i am sure he will not believe me, but will be mightily enraged against me. whilst she was thus bewailing herself, in comes the grand vizier, and asked her if the fishes were ready? she told him all that had happened, which, we may easily imagine, astonished him mightily; but, without speaking a word to the sultan, he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and sending immediately for the fisherman, bid him bring four more such fish; for a misfortune had befallen the other, that they were not fit to be carried to the sultan. the fisherman, without saying any thing of what the genie had told him, in order to excuse himself from bringing them that very day, told the vizier he had a great way to go for them, but would certainly bring them to-morrow. accordingly the fisherman went away by night, and, coming to the pond, threw in his nets betimes next morning, took four such fishes as the former, and brought them to the vizier at the hour appointed. the minister took them himself, carried them to the kitchen, and shutting himself up all alone with the cook-maid, she gutted them, and put them on the fire, as she had done the four others the day before; when they were fried on the one side, and she had turned them upon the other, the kitchen-wall opened, and the same lady came in with the rod in her hand, struck one of the fishes, spoke to it as before, and all four gave her the same answer. but, sir, says scheherazade, day appears, which obliges me to break off. what i have told you is indeed singular, but if i be alive to-morrow, i will tell you other things which are yet better worth your hearing. schahriar, conceiving that the sequel must be very curious, resolved to hear her next night. the twentieth night. next morning the sultan prevented dinarzade, and says to scheherazade, madam, i pray you make an end of the story of the fisherman; i am impatient to hear it. upon which the sultaness continued it thus: sir, after the four fishes had answered the young lady, she overturned the frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the same place of the wall from whence she came out. the grand vizier being witness to what passed, this is too surprising and extraordinary, says he, to be concealed from the sultan; i will inform him of this prodigy; which he did accordingly, and gave him a faithful account of all that had happened. the sultan, being much surprised, was mighty impatient to see this himself. to this end, he sent immediately for the fisherman, and says to him, friend, cannot you bring me four more such fishes? the fisherman replied, if your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days time, i will do it. having obtained this time, he went to the pond immediately, and, at the first throwing in of his net, he took four such fishes, and brought them presently to the sultan, who was the more rejoiced at it, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him other four hundred pieces of gold. as soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to be carried into the closet, with all that was necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up there with his vizier, that minister gutted them, put them in the pan upon the fire, and when they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of the closet opened; but, instead of the young lady, there came out a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with a great green baton in his hand. he advanced towards the pan, and touching one of the fishes with his baton, says to it with a terrible voice, "fish, art thou in thy duty?" at these words, the fishes raised up their heads, and answered, "yes, yes, we are: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content." the fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced these fishes to a coal. having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again into the hole of the wall, it shut, and appeared just as it was before. after what i have seen, says the sultan to the vizier, it will not be possible for me to be easy in my mind. these fish, without doubt, signify something extraordinary, in which i have a mind to be satisfied. he sent for the fisherman; and when he came, says to him, fisherman, the fishes you have brought us make me very uneasy; where did you catch them? sir, answers he, i fished for them in a pond situate betwixt four hills, beyond the mountain that we see from hence. know you that pond, says the sultan to the vizier? no, sir, replies the vizier, i never so much as heard of it; and yet it is not sixty years since i hunted beyond that mountain and thereabouts. the sultan asked the fisherman, how far the pond might be from the palace? the fisherman answered, it was not above three hours journey. upon this assurance, and there being day enough beforehand, the sultan commanded all his court to take horse, and the fisherman served them for a guide. they all ascended the mountain, and at the foot of it they saw, to their great surprise, a vast plain, that nobody had observed till then; and at last they came to the pond, which they found actually to be situate betwixt four hills, as the fisherman had said. the water of it was so transparent, that they observed all the fishes to be like those which the fisherman had brought to the palace. the sultan staid upon the bank of the pond, and, after beholding the fishes with admiration, he demanded of his emirs and all his courtiers, if it was possible they had never seen this pond, which was within so little a way of the town. they all answered, that they had never so much as heard of it. since you all agree, says he, that you never heard of it, and as i am no less astonished than you are, at this novelty i am resolved not to return to my palace till i know how this pond came hither, and why all the fish in it are of four colours. having spoken thus, he ordered his court to encamp, and immediately his pavilion, and the tents of his household, were planted upon the banks of the pond. when night came, the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke to the vizier by himself thus: vizier, my mind is very uneasy: this pond transported hither, the black that appeared to us in my closet, and the fishes that we heard speak; all this does so much whet my curiosity, that i cannot resist the impatient desire that i have to be satisfied in it. to this end, i am resolved to withdraw alone from the camp, and i order you to keep my absence secret; stay in my pavilion, and to-morrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers come to attend my levee, send them away, and tell them, that i am somewhat indisposed, and have a mind to be alone: and the following day tell them the same thing, till i return. the grand vizier said several things to divert the sultan from his design: he represented to him the danger to which he might be exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain. but it was to no purpose; the sultan was resolved on it, and would go. he put on a suit fit for walking, and took his scimitar; and as soon as he saw that all was quiet in the camp, he goes out alone, and went over one of the hills without much difficulty; he found the descent still more easy, and, when he came to the plain, walked on till the sun rose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a great building. he rejoiced at the sight, in hopes to be informed there of what he had a mind to know. when he came near, he found it was a magnificent palace, or rather a very strong castle, of fine black polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as a looking-glass. being mightily pleased that he had so speedily met with something worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle, and considered it with abundance of attention. he afterwards came up to the gate, which had two leaves, one of them open: though he might have entered when he would, yet he thought it best to knock. he knocked at first softly, "and waited for some time; but seeing nobody, and supposing they had not heard him, he knocked harder the second time; but neither seeing nor hearing anybody, he knocked again and again; but nobody appearing, it surprised him extremely; for he could not think that a castle so well in repair was without inhabitants. if there be nobody in it, says he to himself, i have nothing to fear, and if there be, i have wherewith to defend me. at last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cries, is there nobody here to receive a stranger, who comes in for some refreshment as he passes by? he repeated the same two or three times; but, though he spoke very high, nobody answered. this silence increased his astonishment; he came into a very spacious court, and looking on every side to see if he could perceive any body, he saw no living thing. but, sir, says scheherazade, day appears, and i must stop. ah! sister, says dinarzade, you break off at the very best of the story. it is true, answers the sultaness; but, sister, you see i am forced to do so. if my lord the sultan pleases, you may hear the rest to-morrow, schahriar agreed to this, not so much to please dinarzade as to satisfy his own curiosity, being mightily impatient to hear what adventure the prince met with in the castle. the twenty-first night. dinarzade, to make amends for her neglect the night before, never laid eye together, and, when she thought it was time, awaked the sultaness, saying to her, my dear sister, pray give us an account of what happened in the fine castle where you left us yesterday. scheherazade forthwith resumed her story, and, addressing herself to schahriar, says, sir, the sultan, perceiving nobody in the court, entered the great halls, which were hung with silk tapestry; the alcoves and sofas were covered with stuffs of mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of the indies, mixed with gold and silver. he came afterwards into an admirable saloon, in the middle of which there was a great fountain, with a lion of massy gold at each corner: water issued at the mouths of the four lions, and this water, as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls, that very well answered a jet of water, which, springing from the middle of the fountain, rose as high almost as the bottom of a cupola painted after the arabian manner. the castle on three sides was encompassed by a garden, with flower-pots, water-works, groves, and a thousand other fine things concurring to embellish it; and what completed the beauty of the place, was an infinite number of birds, which filled the air with their harmonious notes, and always staid there; nets being spread over the trees, and fastened to the palace, to keep them in. the sultan walked a long time from apartment to apartment, where he found every thing very grand and magnificent. being tired with walking, he sat down in an open closet, which had a view over the garden, and there reflecting upon what he had already seen, and did then see, all of a sudden he heard the voice of one complaining, accompanied with lamentable cries. he listened with attention, and heard distinctly these sad words: "o fortune! thou who wouldst not suffer me longer to enjoy a happy lot, and hast made me the most unfortunate man in the world, forbear to persecute me, and by a speedy death, put an end to my sorrows! alas! is it possible that i am still alive after so many torments as i have suffered? the sultan, being affected with those pitiful complaints, rose up, and made towards the place where he heard the voice; and when he came to the gate of a great hall, he opened it, and saw a handsome young man, richly habited, set upon a throne raised a little above the ground. melancholy was painted in his looks, the sultan drew near, and saluted him: the young man returned him his salute by a low bow with his head; but not being able to rise up, he says to the sultan, my lord, i am very well satisfied that you deserve i should rise to receive you, and do you all possible honour; but i am hindered from doing so by a very sad reason, and therefore hope you will not take it ill. my lord, replies the sultan, i am very much obliged to you for having so good an opinion of me: as to the reason of your not rising, whatever your apology be, i heartily accept of it. being drawn hither by your complaints, and affected by your grief, i came to offer you my help; would to god that it lay in my power to ease you of your trouble; i would do my utmost to effect it. i flatter myself that you would willingly tell me the history of your misfortunes; but pray tell me first the meaning of the pond near the palace, where the fishes are of four colours? what this castle is? how you came to be here? and why you are alone? instead of answering these questions, the young man began to weep bitterly. "oh, how inconstant is fortune!" cried he: "she takes pleasure to pull down those men she hath raised up. where are they who enjoy quietly the happiness which they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and serene?" the sultan, moved with compassion to see him in that condition, prayed him forthwith to tell him the cause of his excessive grief. alas! my lord, replies the young man, how is it possible but i should grieve? and why should not my eyes be inexhaustible fountains of tears? at these words, lifting up his gown, he showed the sultan that he was a man only from his head to the girdle, and that the other half of his body was black marble. here scheherazade broke off, and told the sultan that day appeared. schahriar was so much charmed with the story, and became so much in love with scheherazade, that he resolved to let her live a month. he got up, however, as usual, without acquainting her with his resolution. the twenty-second night. dinarzade was so impatient to hear out the story, that she called her sister next morning sooner than usual, and says to her, sister, pray continue the wonderful story you began, but could not make an end of yesterday morning. i agree to it, replied the sultaness; hearken then. you may easily imagine, continues she, that the sultan was strangely surprised when he saw the deplorable condition of the young man. that which you show me, says he, as it fills me with horror, whets my curiosity so, that i am impatient to hear your history, which no doubt is very strange, and i am persuaded that the pond and the fishes make some part of it; therefore i conjure you to tell it me. you will find some comfort in it, since it is certain that unfortunate people find some sort of ease in telling their misfortunes. i will not refuse you that satisfaction, replies the young man, though i cannot do it without renewing my grief. but i give you notice beforehand, to prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for things that surpass all that the most extraordinary imagination can conceive. the history of the young king of the black isles. you must know, my lord, continued he, that my father, who was called mahmoud, was king of this country. this is the kingdom of the black isles, which takes its name from the four little neighbouring mountains; for those mountains were formerly isles: the capital where the king my father had his residence, was where that pond you now see is. the sequel of my history will inform you of all those changes. the king my father died when he was seventy years of age: i had no sooner succeeded him, but i married; and the lady i chose to share the royal dignity with me was my cousin. i had all the reason imaginable to be satisfied in her love to me; and, for my part, i had so much tenderness for her, that nothing was comparable to the good understanding betwixt us, which lasted five years, at the end of which time i perceived the queen my cousin had no more delight in me. one day, while she was at bath, i found myself sleepy after dinner, and lay down upon a sofa; two of her ladies, who were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head, and the other at my feet, with fans in their hands to moderate the heat, and to hinder the flies from troubling me in my sleep. they thought i was fast, and spoke very low; but i only shut my eyes, and heard every word they said. one of them says to the other, is not the queen much in the wrong not to love such an amiable prince as this? ay, certainly, replies the other; for my part i do not understand it, and i know not how she goes out every night, and leaves him alone: is it possible that he does not perceive it? alas! says the first, how would you have him to perceive it? she mixes every evening in his drink the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night, that she has time to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear, the comes and lies down by him again, and wakes him by the smell of something she puts under his nose. you may guess, my lord, how much i was surprised at this discourse, and with what sentiments it inspired me; yet, whatever emotions it made within me, i had command enough over myself to dissemble it, and feigned myself to awake, without having heard one word of it. the queen returned from the bath; we supped together, and, before we went to bed, she presented me with a cup of water such as i was accustomed to drink; but, instead of putting it to my mouth, i went to a window that stood open, and threw out the water so privately that she did not perceive it, and put the cup again into her hands, to persuade her i had drunk it. we went to bed together, and soon after, believing that i was asleep, though i was not, she got up with so little precaution, that she said, so loud as i could hear distinctly, sleep, and may you never awake again. she dressed herself speedily, and went out of the chamber. as scheherazade spoke these words, she saw day appear, and stopped. dinarzade had heard, her sister with a great deal of pleasure; and shahriar thought the history of the king of the black isles so worthy of his curiosity, that he rose up full of impatience for the rest of it. the twenty-third night. an hour before day, dinarzade, being awake, failed not to call upon the sultaness, and said, pray, dear sister, go on with the history of the young king of the black islands. scheherazade, calling to mind where she left off, resumed ths story thus: as soon as the queen my wife went out, continues the king of the black islands, i got up, dressed me in haste, took my scimitar, and followed her so quick that i soon heard the sound of her feet before me, and then walked softly after her, for fear of being heard. she passed through several gates, which opened upon her pronouncing some magical words; and the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered: i stopped at the gate, that she might not perceive me, as she crossed a plot, and looking after her as far as i could in the night, i perceived that she entered a little wood, whose walks were guarded by thick palisadoes. i went thither by another way, and slipping behind the palisadoes of a long walk, i saw her walking there with a man. i gave good heed to their discourse, and heard her say thus; i do not deserve, says the queen to her gallant, to be upbraided by you for want of diligence; you know very well what hinders me; but if all the marks of love that i have already given you be not enough, i am ready to give you greater marks of it: you need but command me; you know my power. i will, if you desire it, before sun-rising, change this great city, and this fine palace, into frightful ruins, which shall be inhabited by nothing but wolves, owls, and ravens. would you have me to transport all the stones of those walls, so solidly built, beyond mount caucasus, and out of the bounds of the habitable world? speak but the word, and all those places shall be changed. as the queen finished these words, her gallant and she came to the end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me. i had already drawn my scimitar, and her gallant being next me, i struck him in the neck, and made him fall to the ground. i thought i had killed him, and therefore retired speedily without making myself known to the queen, whom i had a mind to spare, because she was my kinswoman. in the mean time, the blow i had given her gallant was mortal, but she preserved his life by the force of her enchantments, in such a manner, however, that he could not be said to be either dead or alive. as i crossed the garden to return to the palace, i heard the queen cry out lamentably, and, judging by that how much she was grieved, i was pleased that i had spared her life. when i returned to her apartment, i went to bed, and being satisfied with having punished the villain that did me the injury, i went to sleep; and when i awaked next morning, found the queen lying by me. scheherazade was obliged to stop here, because she saw day. o heaven! sister, says dinarzade, how it troubles me that you can say no more! sister, replies the sultaness, you ought to have awaked me sooner; it is your fault. i will make amends next night, replies dinarzade; for i doubt not but the sultan will be as willing to hear out the story as i am; and i hope he will be so good as to let you live one day more. the twenty-fourth night. dinarzade was actually as good as her word; she called the sultaness very early, saying, dear sister, if you be not asleep, pray make an end of the agreeable history of the king of the black isles; i am ready to die with impatience to know how he came to be changed into marble. you shall hear it, replies scheherazade, if the sultan will give me leave. i found the queen lying by me, then, says the king of the black islands; i cannot tell you whether she slept or not; but i got up without making any noise, and went to my closet, where i made an end of dressing myself. i afterwards went and held my council, and, at my return, the queen was clad in mourning, her hair hanging about her eyes, and part of it pulled off. she presented herself before me, and said, sir, i come to beg your majesty not to be surprised to see me in this condition; three afflicting pieces of news that i have just now received all at once are the cause of my heavy grief, of which the tokens you see are but very faint resemblances. alas! what is that news, madam, said i? the death of the queen, my dear mother, said she; that of the king my father killed in battle; and that of one of my brothers, who is fallen headlong into it. i was not ill pleased that she made use of this pretext to hide the true cause of her grief, and i thought she had not suspected me to have killed her gallant. madam, said i, i am so far from blaming your grief, that i assure you i am willing to bear what share of it is proper for me. i should very much wonder if you were insensible of so great a loss. mourn on, your tears are so many proofs of your good-nature; but i hope, however, that time and reason will moderate your grief. she retired into her apartment, where, giving herself wholly up to sorrow, she spent a whole year in mourning and afflicting herself. at the end of that time, she begged leave of me to build a burying-place for herself within the bounds of the palace, where she would continue, she told me, to the end of her days. i agreed to it, and she built a stately palace, with a cupola, that may be seen here, and she called it the palace of tears. when it was finished, she caused her gallant to be brought thither from the place that she made him to be carried the same night that i wounded him; she had hindered his dying by the drink she gave him, and carried to him herself every day after he came to the palace of tears. yet, with all her enchantments, she could not cure the wretch; he was not only unable to walk, and to help himself, but had also lost the use of his speech, and gave no sign of life but only by his looks. though the queen had no other consolation but to see him, and to say to him all that her foolish passion could inspire her with, yet every day she made him two long visits; i was very well informed of all this, but pretended to know nothing of it. one day i went out of curiosity to the palace of tears to see how the princess employed herself, and, going to a place where she could not see me, i heard her speak thus to her gallant: i am afflicted to the highest degree to see you in this condition; i am as sensible as you are yourself of the tormenting grief you endure; but, dear soul, i always speak to you, and you do not answer me. how long will you be silent? speak only one word: alas! the sweetest moments of my life are those i spend here in partaking of your grief. i cannot live at a distance from you, and would prefer the pleasure of always seeing you to the empire of the universe. at these words, which were several times interrupted by her sighs and sobs, i lost all patience; and, discovering myself, came up to her, and said, madam, you have mourned enough, it is time to give over this sorrow which dishonours us both; you have too much forgotten what you owe to me and to yourself. sir, says she, if you have any kindness or complaisance left for me, i beseech you to put no force upon me; allow me to give myself up to mortal grief; it is impossible for time to lessen it. when i saw that my discourse, instead of bringing her to her duty, served only to increase her rage, i gave over and retired. she continued every day to visit her gallant, and for two long years gave herself up to excessive grief. i went a second time to the palace of tears while she was there; i hid myself again, and heard her speak thus to her gallant: it is now three years since you spoke one word to me; you return no answer to the marks of love i give you by my discourse and groans. is it from want of sense, or out of contempt? o tomb! have you abated that excessive love he had for me? have you shut those eyes that showed me so much love, and were all my joy? no, no, i believe nothing of it. tell me rather by what miracle you became intrusted with the rarest treasure that ever was in the world? i must confess, my lord, i was enraged at these words; for, in short, this gallant so much doted upon, this adored mortal, was not such a one as you would imagine him to have been; he was a black indian, a native of that country. i say, i was so enraged at this discourse, that i discovered myself all of a sudden, and addressing the tomb in my turn, o tomb! cried i, why do you not swallow up that monster in nature, or rather why do you not swallow up the gallant and his mistress? i had scarcely finished these words, when the queen, who sat by the black, rose up like a fury. ah, cruel man! says she, thou art the cause of my grief; do not you think but i know it. i have dissembled it but too long; it is thy barbarous hand which hath brought the object of my love to this lamentable condition; and you are so hard-hearted as to come and insult a despairing lover. yes, said i, in a rage, it is i who chastized that monster according to his desert; i ought to have treated thee in the same manner; i repent now that i did not do it; thou hast abused my goodness too long. as i spoke these words, i drew out my scimitar, and lifted up my hand to punish her; but she, steadfastly beholding me, said, with a jeering smile, moderate thy anger. at the same time she pronounced words i did not understand, and afterwards added, by virtue of my enchantments, i command thee immediately to become half marble and half man. immediately, my lord, i became such as you see me, already a dead man among the living, and a living man among the dead. here scheherazade, perceiving day, broke off her story. upon which dinarzade says, dear sister, i am exceedingly obligated to the sultan, for it is to his goodness i owe the extraordinary pleasure i have in your stories. my sister, replies the sultaness, if the sultan will be so good as to suffer me to live till to-morrow, i shall tell you a thing that will afford as much satisfaction as any thing you have yet heard. though schahriar had not resolved to defer the death of scheherazade a month longer, he could not have ordered her to be put to death that day. the twenty-fifth night. towards the end of the night, dinarzade cried, sister, if i do not trespass too much upon your complaisance, i would pray you to finish the history of the king of the black islands. scheherazade, having awaked upon her sister's call, prepared to give the satisfaction she required, and began thus: the king, half marble half man, continued his history to the sultan thus: after this cruel magician, unworthy of the name of a queen, had metamorphosed me thus, and brought me into this hall by another enchantment, she destroyed my capital, which was very flourishing and full of people; she abolished the houses, the public places, and markets, and made a pond and desert field of it, which you may have seen; the fishes of four colours in the pond are the four sorts of people, of different religions, that inhabited the place. the white are the mussulmen; the red, the persians, who worshipped the fire; the blue, the christians; and the yellow, the jews. the four little hills were the four islands that gave name to this kingdom. i learned all this from the magician, who, to add to my affliction, told me with her own mouth these effects of her rage. but this is not all; her revenge was not satisfied with the destruction of my dominions, and the metamorphosis of my person; she comes every day, and gives me, over my naked shoulders, an hundred blows with ox pizzles, which makes me all over blood; and, when she has done so, covers me with a coarse stuff of goats hair, and throws over it this robe of brocade that you see, not to do me honour, but to mock me. at this part of the discourse, the king could not withhold his tears; and the sultan's heart was so pierced with the relation, that he could not speak one word to comfort him. a little time after, the young king, lifting up his ryes to heaven, cried out, mighty creator of all things, i submit myself to your judgments, and to the decrees of your providence; i endure my calamities with patience, since it is your will it should be so; but i hope your infinite goodness will reward me for it. the sultan, being much moved by the recital of so strange a story, and animated to avenge this unfortunate prince, says to him, tell me whither this perfidious magician retires, and where her unworthy gallant may be, who is buried before his death? my lord, replies the prince, her gallant, as i have already told you, is in the palace of tears, in a tomb in form of a dome, and that palace joins to this castle on the side of the gate. as to the magician, i cannot precisely tell whither she retires; but every day at sun-rising she goes to see her gallant, after having executed her bloody vengeance upon me, as i have told you: and you see i am not in a condition to defend myself against so great cruelty. she carries him the drink with which she has hitherto prevented his dying, and always complains of his never speaking to her since he was wounded. oh, unfortunate prince, says the sultan, you can never enough be bewailed! nobody can be more sensibly touched with your condition than i am; never did such an extraordinary misfortune befal any man; and those who write your history will have the advantage to relate a passage that surpasses all that has ever yet been recorded. there is nothing wanting but one thing, the revenge which is due to you, and i will omit nothing that can be done to procure it. while the sultan discoursed upon this subject with the young prince, he told him who he was, and for what end he entered the castle, and thought on a plan of revenge, which he communicated to him. they agreed upon the measures they were to take for effecting their design, but deferred the execution of it till the next day. in the mean time, the night being far spent, the sultan took some rest, but the poor young prince passed the night without sleep as usual, having never slept since he was enchanted; but he conceived some hopes of being speedily delivered from his misery. next morning the sultan got up before day, and, in order to execute his design, he hid in a corner his upper garment, that would have been cumbersome to him, and went to the palace of tears. he found it illuminated with an infinite number of flambeaux of white wax, and a delicious scent issued from several boxes of fine gold, of admirable workmanship, all ranged in excellent order. as soon as he saw the bed where the black lay, lie drew his scimitar, killed the wretch without resistance, dragged his corpse into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. after this he went and lay down in the black's bed, took his scimitar with him under the counterpane, and lay there to execute what he had designed. the magician arrived in a little time; she first went into the chamber where her husband, the king of the black islands, was; stripped him, and beat him with bull pizzles in a most barbarous manner. the poor prince filled the palace with his lamentations to no purpose; and conjured her, in the most affecting manner that could be, to take pity on him; but the cruel woman would not give over till she had given him an hundred blows. you had no compassion on my lover, said she, and you are to expect none from me. scheherazade, perceiving day, stopped, and could go no further. o heaven! says dinarzade, sister, this was a barbarous enchantress indeed. but must we stop here? will you not tell us whether she received the chastisement she deserved? my dear sister, says the sultaness, i desire nothing more than to acquaint you with it to-morrow; but you know that depends on the sultan's pleasure. after what schahriar had heard, he was far from any design to put scheherazade to death; on the contrary, says he to himself, i will not take away her life till she has finished this surprising story, though it should last for two months. it shall always be in my power to keep the oath i have made. the twenty-sixth night. as soon as dinarzade thought it was time to call the sultaness, she says to her, how much should i be obliged to you, dear sister, if you would tell us what passed in the palace of tears. schahriar having signified that he was as curious to know it as dinarzade, the sultaness resumed the story of the young enchanted prince as follows: sir, after the enchantress had given the king her husband an hundred blows with bull pizzles, she put on again his covering of goat hair, and his brocade gown over all; she went afterwards to the palace of tears, and, as she entered the same, she renewed her tears and lamentations; then approaching the bed, where she thought her gallant was, what cruelty, cries she, was it to disturb the contentment of so tender and passionate a lover as i am! o thou who reproachest me that i am too inhuman, when i make thee feel the effects of my resentment! cruel prince! does not thy barbarity surpass my vengeance? ah, traitor! in attempting the life of the object whom i adore, hast thou not robbed me of mine? alas! says she, addressing herself to the sultan, while she thought she spoke to the black, my soul, my life, will you always be silent? are you resolved to let me die, without giving me so much comfort as to tell me that you love me? my soul! speak one word to me at least, i conjure you. the sultan, making as if he had awakened out of a deep sleep, and counterfeiting the language of the blacks, answers the queen with a grave tone, 'there is no force nor power but in god alone, who is almighty.' at these words, the enchantress, who did not expect them, gave a great shout, to signify her excessive joy. my dear lord, says she, do not i deceive myself? is it certain that i hear you, and that you speak to me? unhappy wretch, said the sultan, art thou worthy that i should answer thy discourse? alas! replies the queen, why do you reproach me thus? the cries, replied he, the groans and tears of thy husband, whom thou treatest every day with so much indignity and barbarity, hinder me to sleep night and day. i should have been cured long ago, and have recovered the use of my speech, hadst thou disenchanted him. this is the cause of my silence, which you complain of. very well, says the enchantress, to pacify you, i am ready to do what you will command me; would you that i restore him as he was? yes, replies the sultan, make haste to set him at liberty, that i be no more disturbed with his cries. the enchantress went immediately out of the palace of tears; she took a cup of water, and pronounced words over it, which caused it to boil as if it had been on the fire. she went afterwards to the hall to the young king her husband, and threw the water upon him, saying, 'if the creator of all things did form thee so as thou art at present, or if he be angry with thee, do not change; but if thou art in that condition merely by virtue of my enchantments, resume thy natural shape, and become what thou wast before.' she had scarcely spoken these words, when the prince, finding himself restored to his former condition, rose up freely with all imaginable joy, and returned thanks to god. the enchantress then said to him, get thee gone from this castle, and never return here on pain of death. the young king, yielding to necessity, went away from the enchantress without replying a word, and retired to a remote place, where he immediately expected the success of the design which the sultan had begun so happily. meanwhile the enchantress returned to the palace of tears, and, supposing that she still spoke to the black, says, dear lover, i have done what you ordered; let nothing now hinder you to give me that satisfaction of which i have been deprived so long. the sultan continued to counterfeit the language of the blacks. that which you have just now done, said he, signifies nothing to my cure; you have only eased me of part of my disease; you must cut it up by the roots. my lovely black, replies she, what do you mean by the roots? unfortunate woman, replies the sultan, do you not understand that i mean the town and its inhabitants, and the four islands, which thou hast destroyed by thy enchantments? the fishes, every night at midnight, raise their heads out of the pond, and cry for vengeance against thee and me. this is the true cause of the delay of my cure. go speedily, restore things as they were, and at thy return i will give thee my hand, and thou shalt help me to rise. the enchantress, filled with hopes from these words, cried out in a transport of joy, my heart, my soul, you shall soon be restored to your health; for i will immediately do what you command me. accordingly she went that moment, and when she came to the brink of the pond, she took a little water in her hand, and sprinkling it--here scheherazade saw day, and stopped. dinarzade says to the sultaness, sister, i am much rejoiced to hear that the young king of the black islands was disenchanted, and i already consider the town and the inhabitants as restored to their former state; but i long to know what will become of the enchantress. have a little patience, replies the sultaness, and you shall have the satisfaction you desire to-morrow, if the sultan, my lord, will consent to it. schahriar, having resolved on it already, as was said before, rose up, and went about his business. the twenty-seventh night. at the usual hour dinarzade called upon the sultaness thus: dear sister, pray tell us what was the fate of the magician queen, as you promised us; upon which scheherazade went on thus: the enchantress had no sooner sprinkled the water, and pronounced some words over the fishes and the pond, than the city was restored that very minute. the fishes became men, women, and children; mahometans, christians, persians, or jews, freemen or slaves, ns they were before; every one having recovered their natural form. the houses and shops were immediately filled with their inhabitants, who found all things as they were before the enchantment. the sultan's numerous retinue, who found themselves encamped in the largest square, were astonished to see themselves, in an instant, in the middle of a large, fine, and well-peopled city. to return to the enchantress: as soon as she had made this wonderful change, she returned with all diligence to the palace of tears, that she might reap the fruits of it. my dear lord, cries she, as she entered, i come to rejoice with you for the return of your health; i have done all that you required of me; then pray rise, and give me your hand. come near, says the sultan, still counterfeiting the language of the blacks. she did so. you are not near enough, replies he; come nearer. she obeyed. then he rose up, and seized her by the arm so suddenly, that she had not time to know who it was, and with a blow of his scimitar cut her in two, so that the one half fell one way, and the other another. this being done, he left the carcase upon the place, and, going out of the palace of tears, he went to seek the young king of the black isles, who waited for him with a great deal of impatience; and when he found him, prince, says he, embracing him, rejoice, you have nothing to fear now; your cruel enemy is dead. the young prince returned thanks to the sultan in such a manner as showed that he was thoroughly sensible of the kindness that he had done him, and, in acknowledgment, wished him a long life and all happiness. you may henceforward, says the sultan, dwell peaceably in your capital, unless you will go to mine, which is so near, where you shall be very welcome, and have as much honour and respect as if you were at home. potent monarch, to whom i am so much indebted, replies the king, you think then that you are very near your capital. yes, says the sultan, i know it, it is not above four or five hours journey. it will take you a whole years journey, says the prince; i do believe, indeed, that you came hither from your capital in the time you spoke of, because mine was enchanted; but, since the enchantment is taken off, things are changed: however, this shall not hinder me to follow you, were it to the utmost corner of the earth. you are my deliverer, and that i may give you proofs of my acknowledging this during my whole life, i am willing to accompany you, and to leave my kingdom without regret. the sultan was exceedingly surprised to understand that he was so far from his dominions, and could not imagine how it could be. but the young king of the black islands convinced him so plainly, that he could no more doubt of it. then the sultan replied, it is no matter; the trouble that i shall have to return to my own country is sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction i have had to oblige you, and by acquiring you for a son; for since you will do me the honour to attend me, and that i have no child, i look upon you as one; and from this moment i appoint you my heir and successor. this discourse between the sultan and the king of the black islands concluded with the most affectionate embraces; after which the young prince was wholly taken up in making preparations for his journey, which were finished in three weeks time, to the regret of his court and subjects, who agreed to receive at his hands one of his nearest kindred for king. at last the sultan and the young prince began their journey with an hundred camels laden with inestimable riches from the treasury of the young king, followed by fifty handsome gentlemen on horseback, perfectly well mounted and dressed. they had a very happy journey; and when the sultan, who had sent courtiers to give advice of his delay, and of the adventure which had occasioned it, came near his capital, the principal officers he had left there came to receive him, and to assure him that his long absence had occasioned no alteration in his empire. the inhabitants also came out in great crowds, receiving him with, mighty acclamations, and made public rejoicings for several days, next day after his arrival, the sultan gave all his courtiers a very ample account of all things which, contrary to his expectation, had detained him so long. he acquainted them with his having adopted the king of the four black islands, who was willing to leave a great kingdom to accompany and live with him; and in short, as an acknowledgment of their loyalty, he rewarded each of them according to their rank. as for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him a plentiful estate, which made him and his family happy the rest of their days. here scheherazade made an end of the story of the fisherman and the genie. dinarzade signified that she had taken a great deal of pleasure in it; and schahriar having said the same thing, the sultaness told that she knew another which was much finer; and if the sultan would give her leave, she would tell it them next morning, for day began to appear. schahriar, bethinking himself that he had granted the sultaness a month's reprieve, and being curious, moreover, to know if this new story would be as agreeable as she promised, got up with a design to hear it next morning. [advertisement. the readers of the tales were tired, in the former editions, with the interruption dinarzade gave them: this defect is now remedied; and they will meet with no more interruptions at the end of every night. it is sufficient to know the design of the arabian author who first made this collection; and for this purpose we retained his method in the preceeding nights. there are of these arabian tales where neither scheherazade, sultan schahriar, dinarzade, or any distinction by nights, is mentioned; which shows that all the arabians have not approved the method which this author has used, and that a great number of them have been fatigued with these repetitions. this, therefore, being reformed in the following translation, the reader must be acquainted that scheherazade goes on always without being interrupted.] the story of the three calenders, sons of kings; and of the five ladies of bagdad. in the reign of the caliph haroun alraschid, there was at bagdad, the place of their residence, a porter, who, notwithstanding his mean and laborous business, was a fellow of wit and good-humour. one morning, as he was at a place where he usually plied, with a great basket, waiting for employment, a young handsome lady, covered with a great muslin veil, came to him, and said with a pleasant air, hark ye, porter, take your basket, and follow me. the porter, charmed with those few words pronounced in so agreeable a manner, took his basket immediately, set it on his head, and followed the lady, saying, "o happy day, a day of good luck!" the lady stopped presently before a gate that was shut, and knocked: a christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened the gate, and she put money into his hand, without speaking one word; but the christian, who knew what she wanted, went in, and in a little time after brought a large jug of excellent wine. take this jug, says the lady to the porter, and put it in your basket. this being done, she commanded him to follow her; and as she went on, the porter says still, "o happy day! this is a day of agreeable surprise and joy!" the lady stopped at a fruit-shop, where she bought several sorts of apples, apricots, peaches, quinces, lemons, citrons, oranges, myrtles, sweet basil, lilies, jessamine, and some other sorts of flowers and plants that smell well; she bid the porter put them all into his basket, and follow her. as she went by a butcher's stall, she made him weigh her twenty-five pounds of his best meat, which she ordered the porter to put also in his basket. at another shop, she took capers, cucumbers, and other herbs preserved in vinegar; at another she bought pistachios, walnuts, small nuts, almonds, kernels of pine-apples, and other fruits; and of another she bought all sorts of confections. when the porter had put all these things into his basket, and perceiving, that it grew full, my good lady, says he, you ought to have given me notice that you had so much provision to carry, and then i would have got a horse, or rather a camel, to have carried them; for if you buy ever so little more, i shall not be able to carry it. the lady laughed at the fellow's pleasant humour, and ordered him still to follow her. then she went to a druggist, where she furnished herself with all manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a great piece of ambergris, and several other indian spices; this quite filled the porter's basket, and she ordered him to follow her. they walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned with fine columns, and which had a gate of ivory: there they stopped, and the lady knocked softly. while the young lady and the porter staid for the opening of the gate, the porter had a thousand thoughts: he wondered that such a line lady should come abroad to buy provisions; he concluded she could not be a slave, her air being too noble for that, and therefore he thought she must needs be a woman of quality. just as he was about to ask her some questions upon that head, another lady came to open the gate, and appeared so beautiful to him, that he was perfectly surprised, or rather so much struck with her charms, that he was like to let the basket fall, for he had never seen any beauty that came near her. the lady, who brought the porter with her, perceiving his disorder, and the occasion of it, diverted herself with it, and took so much pleasure to examine his looks, that she forgot the gate was opened. upon this, the beautiful lady says to her, pray sister, come in, what do you stay for? do you not see this poor man so heavy loaded, that he is scarcely able to stand under it? when she entered with the porter, the lady who opened the gate shut it, and all three, after having gone through a very fine porch, came into a very spacious court encompassed with an open gallery, which had a communication with several apartments on a floor, and was extremely magnificent. there was at the further end of the court a sofa richly adorned, with a throne of amber in the middle of it, supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls of extraordinary size, and covered with satin embroidered with indian gold, of admirable workmanship. in the middle of the court there was a great fountain faced with white marble, and full of clear water, which fell into it abundantly out of the mouth of a lion of brass. the porter, though very heavily loaded, could not but admire the magnificence of the house, and the excellent order that every thing was placed in; but that which particularly captivated his attention was a third lady, who seemed to be a greater beauty than the second, and was set upon the throne just now mentioned: she came down from it as soon as she saw the two former ladies, and advanced towards them: he judged, by the respect which the others showed her, that she was the chief, in which he was not mistaken. this lady was called zobeide, she who opened the gate was called safie, and amine was the name of her who went out to buy the provisions. zobeide says to the two ladies, when she came to them, sisters, do not you see that this honest man is like to sink under his burden? why do not you ease him of it? then amine and safie took the basket, the one before and the other behind; zobeide also lent her hand, mid all three set it on the ground, then emptied it; and when they had done, the beautiful amine took out money, and paid the porter liberally. the porter, very well satisfied with the money he had received, was to have taken up his basket and be gone; but he could not tell how to think on it. do what he could, he found himself stopped by the pleasure of seeing three such beauties, who appeared to him equally charming; for amine, having now laid aside her veil, was as handsome as either of them. that which surprised him most was, that he saw never a man about the house; yet most of the provisions he brought in, as dry fruits, and several sorts of cakes and confections, were fit chiefly for those who could drink and make merry. zobeide thought at first that the porter staid only to take his breath; but perceiving that he staid too long, what do you wait for, says she, are you not well enough paid? and turning to amine, says, sister, give him something more, that he may depart satisfied. madam, replies the porter, it is not that which stays me. i am over and above paid; i am sensible that i am unmannerly to stay longer than i ought, but, i hope you will be so good as to pardon me, if i tell you that i am astonished to see that there is no man with three ladies of such extraordinary beauty; and you know that a company of women without men is as melancholy a thing as a company of men without women. to this he added several very pleasing things to prove what he said, and did not forget the bagdad proverb, 'that one is never well at a table, unless there be four in company. and so concluded, that as there were but three, they had need of a fourth.' the ladies fell a laughing at the porter's discourse, after which zobeide says to him, very gravely, friend, you are a little too bold; and though you do not deserve that i should enter into particulars with you, yet i am willing to tell you we are three sisters, who do our business so secretly that nobody knows any thing of it. we have too great reason to be cautious of acquainting indiscreet persons with it; and a good author that we have read, says, 'keep your secret, and do not reveal it to any body.' he that reveals it is no longer master of it. if your own breast cannot keep your secret, how do you think that another person will keep it? my ladies, replies the porter, by your very air i judged at first you were persons of extraordinary merit, and i conceive that i am not mistaken; though fortune has not given me wealth enough to raise me above my mean profession, yet i have not failed to cultivate my mind as much as i could by reading books of science and history: and allow me, if you please, to tell you, that i have also read in another author a maxim which i have always happily practised: 'we do not conceal our secrets, says he, but from such persons as are known to all the world to want discretion, and would abuse the confidence we put in them; but we make no scruple to discover them to prudent persons, because we know they can keep them.' a secret with me is as sure as if it were in a closet whose key is lost, and the door sealed up. zobeide, perceiving that the porter did not want sense, but conceiving that he had a mind to have a share in their treat, replies to him, smiling, you know that we are about to have a treat, and you know also that we have been at a considerable expense, and it is not just that you should have a share of it without contributing towards it. the beautiful safie seconded her sister, and says to the porter, friend, have you never heard that which is commonly said, "if you bring any thing with you, you shall be welcome; but if you bring nothing, you must get you gone with nothing?" the porter, notwithstanding his rhetoric, must, in all probability, have retired in confusion, if amine had not taken his part, and said to zobeide and safie, my dear sisters, i conjure you to let him stay with us; i need not tell you that he will divert us, you see well enough that he is capable of that: i must needs tell you, that unless he had been very willing, as well as nimble, and hardy enough to follow me, i could not have done so much business in so little time; besides, should i repeat to you all the obliging expressions he made to me by the way, you would not he surprised at my protecting him. at these words of amine, the porter was so much transported with joy, that he fell on his knees, kissed the ground at the feet of that charming person, and, raising himself up, says, most beautiful lady, you began my good fortune to-day, and now you complete it by this generous action; i cannot enough testify my acknowledgment of it. as to what remains, my ladies, says he, addressing himself to all the three sisters, since you do me so great honour, do not think that i will abuse it, or look upon myself as a person who deserves it. no, i shall always look upon myself as one of your most humble slaves. when he had spoken these words, he would have returned the money he had received; but the grave zobeide ordered him to keep it. that which we have once given, says she, to reward those who have served us, we never take again. zobeide would not take back the money from the porter, but said, my friend, in consenting that you stay with us, i must forewarn you, that it is not only on condition that you keep secret what we have required of you, but also that you observe exactly the rules of good manners and civility. in the mean time the charming amine put off the apparel she went abroad with, put on her night-gown, that she might be more easy, and covered the table, which she furnished with several sorts of meat, and upon a sideboard she set bottles of wine and cups of gold. soon after the ladies took their places, and made the porter sit down by them, who was overjoyed to see himself at the table with three such admirable beauties. after they had ate a little, amine, who sat next the sideboard, took up a bottle and cup, filled out wine, and drank first herself, according to the custom of the arabians; then she filled the cup to her sisters, who drank in course as they sat; and at last she filled it the fourth time to the porter, who, as he received it, kissed amine's hand, and, before he drank, sung a song to this purpose: that as the wind brings along with it the sweet scents of the perfumed places through which it passes, so the wine he was going to drink, coming from her fair hands, received a more exquisite taste than what it had of its own nature. this song pleased the ladies so much, that each of them sung another in their turn. in short, they were extraordinary merry all the time of dinner, which lasted a long while, and nothing was wanting that could make it agreeable. the day being almost spent, safie spoke in the name of the three ladies, and says to the porter, arise, and be gone; it is time for you to depart. but the porter, not willing to leave so good company, cried, alas! ladies, whither do you command me to go in the condition i am in? i am quite beside myself by what i have seen since i came hither, and having also drank above my ordinary, i shall never find the way home: allow me this night to recover myself in any place where you please, for no less time is necessary for me to come to myself; but, go when i will, i shall leave the best part of myself behind me. amine pleaded a second time for the porter, saying, sisters, he is in the right; i am pleased with the request; he having already diverted us so well; and if you will take my advice, or if you love me as much as i think you do, let us keep him to pass away the remaining part of the night. sister, answered zobeide, we can refuse you nothing; and then, turning to the porter, said, we are willing once more to grant your request; but upon this new condition, that whatever we do in your presence, relating to ourselves or any thing else, take heed that you do not once open your mouth to ask the reason of it; for if you ask questions about that which does not belong to you, you may come to know that which will be no way pleasing to you: beware, therefore, and be not too curious to dive into the motives of our actions. madam, replies the porter, i promise to observe this condition with such exactness, that you shall have no cause to reproach me with the breaking of it, and far less to punish my indiscretion; my tongue shall be immovable on this occasion, and my eye like a looking-glass, which retains nothing of the object that is set before it. and to show you, says zobeide, with a serious countenance, that what we demand of you is not a new thing among us, rise up and read what is over our gate in the inside. the porter went thither, and read these words, written in large characters of gold: 'he who speaks of things that do not concern him, shall hear of things that will not please him.' returning again to the three sisters, ladies, says he, i give you my oath that you will never hear me speak any thing which does not concern me, or wherein you may have any concern. this agreement being made, amine brought in supper, and after the room was set round with tapers that were mixed with aloes and ambergris, which gave a most agreeable scent, as well as a delicate light, she sat down at table with her sisters and the porter. they began again to eat and drink, to sing and repeat verses. the ladies took pleasure to inebriate the porter, under pretext of causing him to drink their healths; and abundance of witty sentences passed on both sides. in short, as they were all in the best humour in the world, they heard one knocking at the gate. when the ladies heard the knocking, they all three got up to open the gate; but safie, to whom this office did particularly belong, was the nimblest; which her other two sisters perceiving, sat down till she came back to acquaint them who it could be that had any business with them so late. safie returning, said, sisters, we have here a very fine opportunity to pass a good part of the night with much satisfaction, and if you be of the same mind with me, we shall not let it slip. there are three calenders at our gate, at least they appear to be such by their habit; but that which you will most wonder at is, they are all three blind of the right eye, have their heads, beards, and eye-brows shaved, and, as they say, are but just come to bagdad, where they never were before; and it being night, and not knowing where to find any lodging, they happened by chance to knock at this gate, and pray us, for the love of heaven, to have compassion on them, and receive them into the house: they care not what place we put them in; provided they may be under shelter, they would be satisfied with a stable. they are young and handsome enough, and seem also to be men of good sense; but i cannot, without laughing, think of their pleasant and uniform figure. here safie fell a-laughing so heartily, that it put the two sisters and the porter into the same mood. my dear sisters, says she, are you content that they come in? it is impossible but, with such persons as i have already described them to be, we shall finish the day better than we began it; they will afford us diversion enough, and put us to no charge, because they desire shelter only for this night, and resolve to leave us as soon as day appears. zobeide and amine made some difficulty to grant safie's request, for reasons they knew well enough; but she having so great a desire to obtain this favour, they could not refuse. go then, says zobeide, and bring them in, but do not forget to acquaint them that they must not speak of any thing which does not concern them, and cause them to read what is written over the gate. safie ran out with a great deal of joy, and in a little while after returned with the three calenders in company. at their entrance they made a profound bow to the ladies. who rose up to receive them; told them most obligingly that they were very welcome, that they were glad to have met with an opportunity to oblige them, and to contribute towards relieving them from the fatigue of their journey, and at last invited them to sit down with them. the magnificence of the place, and the civility of the ladies, made the calenders to conceive a mighty idea of their fine land-ladies: but, before they sat down, having by chance cast their eye upon the porter, whom they saw clad almost like one of those other calenders with whom they are in controversy about several points of discipline, because they neither shave their beards nor eye-brows, one of them said, look here, i believe we have got one of our revolted arabian brethren. the porter, though half asleep, and having his head pretty warm with wine, was affronted at these words; and, with a fierce look, without stirring from his place, answered, sit you down, and do not meddle with what does not concern you. have you not read the inscription over the gate? do not pretend to make people live after your fashion, but follow ours. honest man, says the calender, do not put yourself into a passion; we should be very sorry to give you the least occasion; but, on the contrary, we are ready to receive your commands. upon which, to avoid all quarrels, the ladies interposed, and pacified them. when the calenders were set at table, the ladies served them with meat; and safie, being most pleased with them, did not let them want for drink. after the calenders had ate and drunk liberally, they signified to the ladies that they had a great desire to entertain them with a concert of music, if they had any instruments in the house, and would cause them to be brought them. they willingly accepted the proffer, and fair safie, going to fetch them, returned again in a moment, and presented them with a flute of her own country fashion, another of the persian sort, and a tabor. each man took the instrument he liked, and all the three together began to play a tune. the ladies, who knew the words of a merry song that suited that air, joined the concert with their voices; but the words of the song made them now and then stop, and fall into excessive laughter. at the height of this diversion, and when the company was in the midst of their jollity, somebody knocks at the gate; safie left off singing, and went to see who it was. but, sir, says scheherazade to the sultan, it is fit your majesty should know why this knocking happened so late at the ladies' house, and the reason was this: the caliph haroun alraschid was accustomed to walk abroad in disguise very often by night, that he might see with his own eyes if every thing was quiet in the city, and that no disorders were committed in it. this night the caliph went out pretty early on his rambles, accompanied with giafar his grand vizier, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs of his palace, all disguised in merchants' habits; and passing through the street where the three ladies dwelt, he heard the sound of the music, and great fits of laughter; upon which he commanded the vizier to knock, because he would go in to know the reason of that jollity. the vizier told him in vain that it was some women a merry-making; that, without question, their heads were warm with wine; and that it would not be proper he should expose himself to be affronted by them; besides, it was not yet an unlawful hour, and therefore he ought not to disturb them in their mirth. no matter, said the caliph, i command you to knock. so it was that the grand vizier giafar knocked at the ladies' gate by the caliph's order, because he himself would not be known. safie opened the gate, and the vizier perceived, by the light that she held in her hand, that she was an incomparable beauty. the vizier acted his part very well, and, with a very low bow and respectful behaviour, said, madam, we are three merchants of moussol, who arrived about ten days ago with rich merchandise, which we have in a warehouse at a khan, or inn, where we have also our lodging. we happened to-day to be with a merchant of this city, who invited us to a treat at his house, where we had a splendid entertainment; and the wine having put us in humour, he sent for a company of dancers; night being come on, and the music and dancers making a great noise, the watch came by in the mean time, caused the gate to be opened, and some of the company to be taken up; but we had the good fortune to escape by getting over a wall. now, says the vizier, being strangers, and somewhat overcome with wine, we were afraid of meeting another, or perhaps the same watch, before we got home to our khan, which lies a good way from hence. besides, when we come there, the gates will be shut, and not opened till morning; wherefore, madam, hearing, as we passed by this way, the sound of music, we supposed you were not yet going to rest, and made bold to knock at your gate, to beg the favour of lodging ourselves in the house till morning; and if you think us worthy of your good company, we will endeavour to contribute to your diversion what lies in our power, to make some amends for the interruption we have given you; if not, we only beg the favour of staying this night under your porch. while giafar held this discourse, fair safie had time to observe the vizier and his two companions, who were said to be merchants like himself, and told them that she was not mistress of the house; but, if they would have a minute's patience, she would return with an answer. safie acquainted her sisters with the matter, who considered for some time what to conclude upon; but, being naturally of a good disposition, and having granted the same favour to the three calenders, they at last consented to let them in. the caliph, his grand vizier, and the chief of the eunuchs, being introduced by the fair safie, very courteously saluted the ladies and the calenders; the ladies returned them the like civilities, supposing them to be merchants. zobeide, as the chief, says to them, with a grave and serious countenance, which was natural to her, you are welcome; but, before i proceed further, i hope you will not take it ill if we desire one favour of you. alas! said the vizier, what favour? we can refuse nothing to such fair ladies. zobeide replied, it is, that you would only have eyes, but no tongues; that you put no questions to us about the reason of any thing you may happen to see; and not to speak of any thing that does not concern you, lest you come to hear of things that will by no means please you. madam, replied the vizier, you shall be obeyed. we are not censorious, nor impertinently curious; it is enough for us to take notice of that which concerns us, without meddling with that which does not belong to us. upon this they all sat down, and the company being united, they drank to the health of the new comers. while giafar entertained the ladies in discourse, the caliph could not forbear to admire their extraordinary beauty, graceful behaviour, pleasant humour, and ready wit; on the other hand, nothing was more surprising to him than the calenders being all three blind of the right eye. he would gladly have been informed of this singularity; but the conditions so lately imposed upon himself and his companions would not allow him to speak. this, with the richness of the furniture, the exact order of every thing, and neatness of the house, made him think it was some enchanted palace. their entertainment happening to be upon divertisements, and different ways of making merry, the calenders rose and danced after their fashion, which augmented the good opinion the ladies had conceived of them, and procured them the esteem of the caliph and his companions. when the three calenders had made an end of their dance, zobeide arose, and, taking amine by the hand, said, pray, sister, rise up, for the company will not take it ill if we use our freedom; and their presence need not hinder our performance of what we were wont to do. amine, by understanding her sister's meaning, rose up from her seat, carried away the dishes, the table, the flasks, and cups, together with the instruments which the calenders had played upon. safie was not idle, but swept the room, put every thing again in its place, snuffed the candies, and put fresh aloes and ambergris to them, and then prayed the three calenders to sit down upon the sofa on one side, and the caliph, with his companions, on the other. as to the porter, she savs to him, get up, and prepare yourself to serve in what we are going to be about; a man like you, who is one of the family, ought not to be idle. the porter, being somewhat recovered from his wine, gets up immediately, and, having tied the sleeve of his gown to his belt, answers, here am i, ready to obey your commands in any thing. that is very well, replied safie; stay till you are spoken to; you shall not be idle very long. a little time after, amine came in with a chair, which she placed in the middle of the room; and so went to a closet, which having opened, she beckoned to the porter, and says to him, come hither and help me; which he obeying, entered the closet, and returned immediately leading two black bitches, with each of them a collar and chain; they looked as if they had been severely whipped with rods, and he brought them into the middle of the room. then zobeide, rising from her seat between the calenders and the caliph, marched very gravely towards the porter, come on, says she, with a great sigh, let us perform our duty; then tucking up her sleeves above her elbows, and receiving a rod from safie, porter, said she, deliver one of the bitches to my sister amine, and come to me with the other. the porter did as he was commanded; the bitch that he held in his hand began to cry, and, turning towards zobeide, held her head up in a begging posture; but zobeide, having no regard to the sad countenance of the bitch, which would have moved pity, nor her cries that sounded through ail the house, whipped her with the rod till she was out of breath; and having spent her strength that she could strike no more, she threw down the rod, and, taking the chain from the porter, lifted up the bitch by her paws, and looking upon her with a sad and pitiful countenance, they both wept; after which zobeide, with her handkerchief, wiped the tears from the bitch's eyes, kissed her, returned the chain to the porter, bid him carry her to the place whence he took her, and bring her the other. the porter led back the whipped bitch to the closet, and receiving the other from amine, presented her to zobeide, who, bidding the porter hold her as he had done the first, took up the rod, and treated her after the same manner; and when she had wept over her, dried her eyes, and, kissing her, returned her to the porter; but lovely amine spared him the trouble of leading her back into the closet, and did it herself. the three calenders and the caliph, with his companions, were extremely surprised at this execution, and could not comprehend why zobeide, after having so furiously whipped those two bitches, that, by the mussulman religion, are reckoned unclean animals, should cry with them, wipe off their tears, and kiss them. they muttered among themselves; and the caliph, being more impatient than the rest, longed exceedingly to be informed of the cause of so strange an action, and could not forbear making signs to the vizier to ask the question; the vizier turned his head another way; but, being pressed by repeated signs, he answered by others that it was not yet time for the caliph to satisfy his curiosity. zobeide sat still some time in the middle of the room, where she had whipped the two bitches, to recover from the fatigue; and fair safie called to her, dear sister, will you be pleased now to return to your place, that i may also act my part? yes, sister, replies zobeide, and then went and sat down upon the sofa, having the caliph, giafar, and mesrour, on her right hand, and the three calenders, with the porter, on her left. after zobeide sat down, the whole company was silent for a while; at last safie, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, spoke to her sister amine; dear sister, i conjure you to rise up; you know well enough what i would say, amine rose up, and went into another closet near to that where the bitches were, and brought out a case covered with yellow satin, richly embroidered with gold and green silk; she came near safie, and opened the case, from whence she took a lute, and presented her, and, after some time spent in tuning it, safie began to play, and, accompanying it with her voice, she sung a song about the torments that absence creates to lovers, with so much sweetness as to charm the caliph and all the company. having sung with a great deal of passion and action, she said to lovely amine, pray take it, sister, for i can do no more; my voice fails me; oblige the company with a tune and song in my room. very willingly, replied amine, who, taking the lute from her sister safie, sat down in her place. amine, after a small trial to see whether the instrument was in tune, played and sung almost as long upon the same subject, but with so much vehemency, and was so much affected, or rather transported, by the words of the song, that her strength failed her as she made an end of it. zobeide, willing to testify her satisfaction, said, sister, you have done wonders, and we may easily see that you have a feeling of the grief you have expressed so much to the life. amine was prevented from answering this civility, her heart being so sensibly touched at the same moment, that she was obliged, for air, to uncover her neck and breast, which did not appear so fair as might have been expected from such a lady; but, on the contrary, black and full of scars, which frightened all the spectators. this, however, gave her no ease, but she fell into a fit. while zobeide and safie ran to help their sister, one of the calenders could not forbear to say, we had better have slept in the streets than have come hither, had we thought to have seen such spectacles. the caliph, who heard this, came up to him and the other calenders, and asked them what might be the meaning of all this? they answered, sir, we know no more than you do. what, says the caliph, are you not of the family? nor can you resolve us concerning the two black bitches and the lady that fainted away, and has been so basely abused? sir, said the calenders, this is the first time that ever we were in the house, having come in but a few minutes before you. this increased the caliph's astonishment. it may be, says he, this other man that is with you may know something of it. one of the calenders made a sign for the porter to come near, and asked him whether he knew why those two black bitches had been whipped, and why amine's bosom was so scarred? sir, said the porter, i can swear by heaven, that if you know nothing of all this, i know as little as you do. it is true i live in this city, but i never was in the house till now, and if you are suprised to see me here, i am as much to find myself in your company; and that which increases my wonder is, that i have not seen one man with these ladies. the caliph and his company, as well as the calenders, supposed the porter had been one of the family, and hoped he could inform them of what they desired to know; but finding he could not, and resolving to satisfy his curiosity, cost what it would, he says to the rest, look ye, we are here seven men, and have but three women to deal with; let us try if we can oblige them to satisfy us, and, if they refuse by fair means, we are in a condition to force them to it. the grand vizier giafar was against this method, and showed the caliph what might be the consequence of it; but, without discovering the prince to the calenders, he addressed him, as if he had been, a merchant, thus: sir, consider, i pray you, that our reputation lies at stake; you know very well upon what conditions these ladies were ready to receive us, and we also agreed to them. what will they say of us if we break them? we shall be still more to blame if any mischief befal us; for it is not likely that they would demand such a promise of us, if they did not know themselves in a condition to make us repent the breaking of it. here the vizier took the caliph aside, and whispered to him thus: sir, the night will soon be at an end, and if your majesty will only be pleased to have so much patience, i will take these ladies to-morrow morning, and bring them before your throne, where you may be informed of all you desire to know. though this advice was very judicious, the caliph rejected it, bid the vizier hold his tongue, and said he would not stay till then, but would have satisfaction in the matter presently. the next business was to know who should carry the message. the caliph endeavoured to prevail with the calenders to speak first; but they excused themselves, and at last they agreed that the porter should be the man. and as they were consulting how to word this fatal question, zobeide returned from her sister amine, who was recovered of her fit, drew near them, and having overheard them speaking pretty loud, and with some passion, says, gentlemen, what is the subject of your discourse? what are you disputing about? the porter answered immediately, madam, these gentlemen pray you to let them understand wherefore you wept over your two bitches, after you whipped them so severely, and how the bosom of the lady, who lately fainted away, comes to be so full of scars? this is what i am ordered to ask in their name. at these words, zobeide looked with a stern countenance, and, turning towards the caliph and the rest of the company, is it true, gentlemen, says she, that you have given him orders to ask me this question? all of them, except giafar, who spoke not a word, answered, yes. on which she told them, in a tone which sufficiently expressed her resentment, before we granted you the favour of being received into our house, and to prevent all occasion of trouble from you, because we are alone, we did it upon condition that you should not speak of any thing that did not concern you, lest you might come to hear that which would not please you; and yet, after having received and entertained you as well as possibly we could, you make no scruple to break your promise. it is true that our easy temper has occasioned this, but that shall not excuse you, for your proceedings are very unhandsome. as she spoke these words, she gave three hard knocks with her foot, and, clapping her hands as often together, cried, come quick! upon this a door flew open, and seven strong sturdy black slaves, with scimitars in their hands, rushed in; every one seized a man, threw him on the ground, and dragged him into the middle of the room in order to cut off his head. we may easily conceive what a fright the caliph was in; he then repented, but too late, that he had not taken his vizier's advice. in the mean time this unhappy prince, giafar, mesrour, the porter, and the calenders, were upon the point of losing their lives by their indiscreet curiosity. but, before they would strike the fatal blow, one of the slaves says to zobeide and her sisters, high, mighty, and adorable mistresses, do you command us to cut their throats? stay, says zobeide, i must examine them first. the frightened porter interrupted her thus: in the name of heaven, do not make me die for another man's crime. i am innocent, they are to blame. alas! says he, crying, how pleasantly did we pass our time! those blind calenders are the cause of this misfortune; there is no town in the world but goes to ruin, wherever these inauspicious fellows come. madam, i beg you not to destroy the innocent with the guilty, and consider that it is more glorious to pardon such a wretch as i, who have no way to help myself, than to sacrifice me to your resentment. zobeide, notwithstanding her anger, could not but laugh within herself at the porters lamentation; but, without answering him, she spoke a second time to the rest: answer me, says she, and tell me who you are, otherwise you shall not live one moment longer. i cannot believe you to be honest men, nor persons of authority or distinction in your own countries; for, if you were, you would have been more modest and more respectful to us. the caliph, who was naturally impatient, was infinitely more so than the rest, to find his life depend upon the command of a lady justly incensed; but he began to conceive some hopes when he saw she would know who they all were; for he imagined she would not take away his life when once she came to be informed who he was; therefore he spoke with a low voice to the vizier, who was near him, to declare speedily who he was; but the vizier, being more prudent, resolved to save his master's honour, and not to let the world know the affront he had brought upon himself by his own weakness; and therefore answered, we have what we deserve. but, if he would have spoken in obedience to the caliph, zobeide did not give him time; for having turned to the calenders, and seeing them all three blind of one eye, she asked if they were brothers. one of them answered, no, madam, no otherwise than as we are all calenders; that is to say, as we observe the same rules. were you born blind of the right eye? replied she. no, madam, answers he, i lost my eye in such a surprising adventure, that it would be instructive to every body, were it in writing. after this misfortune, i shaved my beard and eye-brows, and took the habit of a calender, which i now wear. zobeide asked the other two calenders the same question, and had the same answer; but he that spoke last added, madam, to show you that we are no common fellows, and that you may have some consideration for us, be pleased to know, that we are all three sons of kings; and though we never met together till this evening, yet we have had time enough to make that known to one another; and i assure you that the kings from whom we derive our being made some noise in the world. at this discourse zobeide assuaged her anger, and said to the slaves, give them their liberty a while, but stay here. those who tell us their history, and the occasion of their coming, do them no hurt, let them go where they please, but do not spare those who refuse to give vis that satisfaction. scheherazade demanded leave of the sultan, and having obtained it, sir, says she, the three calenders, the caliph, the grand vizier giafar, the eunuch mesrour, and the porter, were all in the middle of the hall, set upon a foot-carpet, in the presence of the three ladies, who sat upon a sofa, and the slaves stood ready to do whatever their mistresses should command. the porter, understanding that he might rid himself of his danger by telling his history, spoke first, and said, madam, you know my history already, and the occasion of coming hither; so that what i have to say will be very short. my lady, your sister there, called me this morning at the place where i plied as a porter to see if anybody would employ me, that i might get my bread; i followed her to a vintner's, then to an herb-woman's, then to one that sold oranges, lemons, and citrons, then to a grocer's, next to a confectioner's and a druggist's, with my basket upon my head, as full as i was able to carry it; then i came hither, where you had the goodness to suffer me to continue till now; a favour that i shall never forget. this, madam, is my history. when the porter had done, zobeide says to him, go, march; let us see you no more here. madam, replies the porter, i beg you to let me stay; it would be just, after the rest have had the pleasure to hear my history, that i should also have the satisfaction to hear theirs. and having spoken thus, he sat him down at the end of the sofa, glad to the heart to have escaped the danger that had frightened him so much. after him, one of the three calenders, directing his speech to zobeide, as the principal of the three ladies, and the person that commanded him to speak, began his history thus; the history of the first calender, a king's son. madam, in order to inform you how i lost my right eye, and why i was obliged to put myself into a calender's habit, i must tell you that i am king's son born; the king my father had a brother that reigned, as he did, over a neighbouring kingdom; and the prince his son and i were almost of one age. after i had learned my exercises, and that the king my father granted me such liberty as suited my dignity, i went regularly every year to see my uncle, at whose court i diverted myself during a month or two, and then returned again to my father's. these several journies gave occasion of contracting a very firm and particular friendship between the prince my cousin and myself. the last time i saw him, he received me with greater demonstrations of tenderness than he had done at any time before; and resolving one day to give me a treat, he made great preparations for that purpose. we continued a long time at table, and after we had both supped very well, cousin, says he, you will hardly be able to guess how i have been employed since your last departure from hence, now about a year past. i have had a great many men at work to perfect a design i have had in my mind; i have caused an edifice to be built, which is now finished so well as one may dwell in it: you will not be displeased if i show'it you. but first you are to promise me, upon oath, that you will keep my secret, according to the confidence i repose in you. the love and familiarity existing between us would not allow me to refuse him any thing. i very readily took the oath required of me: upon which he says to me, stay here till i return; i will be with you in a moment: and accordingly he came with a lady in his hand, of singular beauty, and magnificently apparrelled. he did not discover who she was, neither did i think it was polite in me to make inquiry. we sat down again with this lady at table, where we continued some time entertaining ourselves with discourses upon indifferent subjects; and now and then a full glass to drink one another's health. after which the prince said, cousin, we must lose no time, therefore pray oblige me to take this lady along with you, and conduct her to such a place, where you will see a tomb newly built in the form of a dome; you will easily know it; the gate is open; go in there together, and tarry till i come, which will be very speedily. being true to my oath, i made no further inquiry, but took the lady by the hand, and by the directions which the prince my cousin had given me, i brought her to the place, by the light of the moon, without losing one step of the way. we were scarcely got thither, when we saw the prince following after, carrying a little pitcher with water, a hatchet, and a little bag with plaister. the hatchet served him to break down the empty sepulchre in the middle of the tomb; he took away the stones one after another, and laid them in a corner. when all this was taken away, he digged up the ground, where i saw a trap-door under the sepulchre, which he lifted up, and underneath perceived the head of a staircase leading into a vault. then my cousin, speaking to the lady, said, madam, it is by this way that we are to go to the place i told you of. upon which the lady drew nigh and went down, and the prince began to follow after, but, turning first to me, said, my dear cousin, i am infinitely obliged to you for the trouble you have been at; i thank you: adieu. i cried, dear cousin, what is the meaning of this? be content, replied he; you may return back the same way you came. madam, said the calender to zobeide, i could get nothing further from him, but was obliged to take leave of him; as i returned to my uncle's palace, the vapours of the wine got up into my head; however, i got to my apartment, and went to bed. next morning, when i awaked, i began to reflect upon what befel me the night before, and, after recollecting all the circumstances of such a singular adventure, i fancied it was nothing but a dream. being full of these thoughts, i sent to see if the prince my cousin was ready to receive a visit from me; but when they brought back word that he did not lie in his own lodgings that night, they knew not what was become of him, and were in much trouble about it, i conceived that the strange event of the tomb was but too true. i was sensibly afflicted at it, and, stealing away privately from my people, i went to the public burying-place, where there was a vast number of tombs like that which i had seen. i spent the day in viewing them one after another, but could not find that i sought for; and thus i spent four days successively in vain. you must know all this while the king my uncle was absent, and had been a-hunting for several days. i grew weary of staying for him, and having prayed his ministers to make my apology to him at his return, i left his palace, and set towards my father's court, from which i had never been so long absent before. i left the ministers of the king my uncle in great trouble to think what had become of the prince my cousin; but, because of the oath i had made to keep his secret, i durst not tell them any thing of what i had seen or knew, in order to make them easy. i arrived at my father's capital, the usual place of his residence, where, contrary to custom, i found a great guard at the gate of the palace, who surrounded me as i entered. i asked the reason, and the commanding officer replied, prince, the army proclaimed the grand vizier king instead of your father, who is dead; and i take you prisoner in the name of the new king. at these words the guards laid hold of me, and carried me before the tyrant. i leave you to judge, madam, how much i was surprised and grieved. the rebel vizier had entertained a mortal hatred against me for a long time upon this occasion: when,i was a stripling, i loved to shoot with a cross-bow; and being one day upon the terrace of the palace with my bow, a bird happened to come by; i shot, but missed him, and the ball by misfortune hit the vizier, who was taking the air upon the terrace of his own house, and put out one of his eyes. as soon as i understood it, i not only sent to make my excuse to him, but did it in person; yet he always resented it, and, as opportunity offered, made me sensible of it. but now, madam, that he had me in his power, he expressed his resentment in a very barbarous manner; for he came to me like a madman as soon as ever he saw me, and, thrusting his finger into my right eye, pulled it out himself; and so, madam, i became blind of one eye. but the usurper's cruelty did not stop here; he ordered me to be shut up in a box, and commanded the executioner to carry me into the country to cut off my head, and leave me to be devoured by the birds of prey. the hangman and another carried me, thus shut up on horseback, into the country, in order to execute the usurper's barbarous sentence; but by my prayers and tears i moved the executioner's compassion. go, says he, get you speedily out of the kingdom, and take heed of ever returning to it, otherwise you will certainly meet with your own ruin and be the cause of mine. i thanked him for the favour he did me; and as soon as i was left alone, i comforted myself for the loss of my eye, by considering that i had very narrowly escaped a much greater danger. being in such a condition, i could not travel far at a time. i retired to remote places while it was day, and travelled as far by night as my strength would allow me. at last i arrived in the dominions of the king my uncle, and came to his capital. i gave him a long detail of the tragical cause of my return, and of the sad condition he saw me in. alas! cried he, was it not enough for me to have lost my son; but must i have also news of the death of a brother i loved so dearly, and see you also reduced to this deplorable condition? he told me how uneasy he was; that he could hear nothing of his son, notwithstanding all the diligence and inquiry he could make. at these words, the unfortunate father burst out into tears, and was so much affected, that, pitying his grief, it was impossible for me to keep the secret any longer; so that, notwithstanding the oath i had made to the prince my cousin, i told the king his father all that i knew. his majesty listened to me with some sort of comfort, and when i had done, nephew, says he, what you tell me gives me some hope. i know that my son ordered that tomb to be built, and i can guess pretty near at the place, and, with the idea you still have of it, i fancy we shall find it; but since he ordered it to be built privately, and you took your oath to keep his secret, i am of opinion that we ought to go in quest of it alone, without saying any thing. but he had another reason for keeping the matter secret, which he did not then tell me, and an important reason it was, as you will perceive by the sequel of my discourse. we both of us disguised ourselves, and went out by a door of the garden which opened into the field, and soon found what we sought for. i knew the tomb, and was so much the more rejoiced at it, because i had formerly sought it a long time in vain. we entered, and found the iron trap pulled down upon the entrance of the stair-case; we had much ado to raise it, because the prince had fastened it on the inside with the water and mortar formerly mentioned; but at last we got it up. the king my uncle went down first, i following, and we went down about fifty steps. when we came to the foot of the stairs, we found a sort of antichamber full of a thick smoke, and an ill scent, which obscured the lamp that gave a very faint light. from this antichamber we came into another, very large, supported by great columns, and lighted by several branched candlesticks. there was a cistern in the middle, with provisions of several sorts standing on one side of it; but we were very much surprised to see nobody. before us there appeared a high sofa, which we mounted by several steps, and over this there appeared a very large bed, with the curtains drawn close. the king went up, and, opening the curtains, perceived the prince his son and the lady in bed together, but burnt and changed into a coal, as if they had been thrown into a great fire, and taken out again before they were consumed. but that which surprised me most of all was, that though this spectacle filled me with horror, the king my uncle, instead of testifying his sorrow to see the prince his son in such a frightful condition, spit in his face, and says to him, with an air, "this is the punishment of this world, but that of the other will last to eternity;" and, not content with this, he pulled off his sandal, and gave his son a great blow on the cheek with it. i cannot enough express, madam, said the calender how much i was astonished, when i saw the king my uncle abuse the prince his son, thus, after he was dead. sir, said i, whatever grief this dismal sight is capable to impress upon me, i am forced to suspend it, on purpose to ask your majesty what crime the prince my cousin may have committed, that his corpse should deserve this sort of treatment? nephew, replied the king, i must tell you that my son (who is unworthy of that name) loved his sister from his infancy, and so she did him: i did not hinder their growing love, because i did not foresee the pernicious consequences of it. this tenderness increased as they grew in years, and came to such a height, that i dreaded the end of it. at last i applied such remedies as were in my power; i not only gave my son a severe reprimand in private, laying before him the foulness of the passion he was entertaining, and the eternal disgrace he would bring upon my family if he persisted in such criminal courses, but i also represented the same thing to my daughter; and besides i shut her up so close, that she could have no conversation with her brother. but that unfortunate creature had swallowed so much of the poision, that all the obstacles, which by my prudence i could lay in the way, served only the more to inflame her love. my son, being persuaded of his sister's constancy, on pretence of building a tomb, caused this subterraneous habitation to be made, in hopes to find one day or other an opportunity to possess himself of that object which was the cause of his flame, and to bring her hither. he laid hold on the time of my absence to enter by force into the place of his sister's confinement; but that is a thing which my honour would not suffer me to make public; and, after so damnable an action, he came and enclosed himself and her in this place, which he has supplied, as you see, with all sorts of provisions, that he might enjoy his detestable pleasures for a long time, which ought to be a subject of horror to all the world: but god, who would not suffer such an abomination, has justly punished them both. at these words he melted into tears, and i joined mine with his. after a while, casting his eyes upon me, dear nephew, cried he, embracing me, if i have lost that unworthy son, i shall happily find in you one who will better supply his place. and, upon some other reflections he made on the doleful end of the prince and princess, we both fell into a new fit of weeping. we went up the same stairs again, and departed at last from this dismal place. we let down again the trapdoor, and covered it with earth, and such other materials as the tomb was built of, on purpose to hide, as much as lay in our power; so terrible an effect of the wrath of god. we had not been very long got back to the palace unperceived by anyone, before we heard a confused noise of trumpets, drums, and other instruments of war: we soon understood, by the thick cloud of dust which almost darkened the air, that it was the arrival of a formidable army; and it proved to be the same vizier that had dethroned my father, and usurped his throne, who, with a vast number of troops, was also come to possess himself of that of the king my uncle. that prince, who then had only his usual guards about him, could not resist so many enemies; they invested the city, and the gates being opened to them without any resistance, they very soon became masters of the city, and broke into the palace where the king my uncle was, who defended himself till he was killed, and sold his life at a dear rate. for my part i fought as well as i could for a while, but, seeing we were forced to submit to a superior power, i thought on my retreat and safety, which i had the good fortune to effect by some back ways, and got to one of the king's servants, on whose fidelity i could depend. being thus surrounded with sorrows, and persecuted by fortune, i had recourse to a stratagem, which was the only means left me to save my life; i caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and putting on a calender's habit, i passed, unknown by any, out of the city: after that, by degrees, i found it easy to get out of my uncle's kingdom by taking the byeroads. i avoided passing through towns, until i was got into the empire of the mighty governor of the mussulmen, the glorious and renowned caliph haroun alraschid, when i thought myself out of danger; and, considering what i was to do, i resolved to come to bagdad, intending to throw myself at the monarch's feet, whose generosity is every where applauded. i shall move him to compassion, said i to myself, by the relation of my surprising misfortunes, and without doubt he will take pity on such an unfortunate prince, and not suffer me to implore his assistance in vain. in short, after a journey of several months, i arrived yesterday at the gate of this city, into which i entered about the dusk of the evening, and standing still a little while to revive my spirits, and to consider on which hand i was to turn, this other calender you see here next me came also along; he saluted me, and i him. you appear, said i, to be a stranger, as i am. you are not mistaken, replied he. he had no sooner returned this answer, than this third calender you see there overtook us. he saluted us, and told us he was a stranger newly come to bagdad; so that as brethren we joined together, resolving not to separate from one another. meanwhile it was late, and we knew not where to seek a lodging in the city, where we had no acquaintance, nor had ever been before. but good fortune having brought us before your gate, we made bold to knock, when you received us with so much kindness, that we are incapable to return you suitable thanks. this, madam, (said he,) is, in obedience to your commands, the account i was, to give you why i lost my right eye, wherefore my beard and eye-brows are shaved, and how i came to be with you at this present time. it is enough, says zobeide, you may retire to what place you think fit. the calender made his excuse, and begged the ladies' leave to stay till he had heard the relations of his two comrades, whom i cannot, says he, leave with honour; and till he might also hear those of the three other persons that were in company. the story of the first calender seemed very strange to the whole company, but especially to the caliph, who, though the slaves stood by with their scimitars in their hands, could not forbear whispering to the vizier, many stories have i heard, but never any thing that came near the story of the calender. whilst he was saying this, the second calender began, addressing himself to zobeide. the story of the second calender, a king's son. madam, said he, to obey your command, and to show you by what strange accident i became blind of the right eye, i must of necessity give you the whole account of my life. i was scarcely past my infancy, when the king my father (for you must know, madam, i am a prince by birth) perceived that i was endowed with a great deal of sense, and spared nothing to improve it. he employed all the men in his dominions, who excelled in sciences and arts, to be constantly about me. no sooner had i learned to read and write, than i learned the alcoran from the beginning to the end by heart; that admirable book, which contains the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and, that i might be thoroughly instructed in it, i read the works of the most approved authors by whose commentaries it had been explained. i added to this study that of all the traditions collected from the mouth of our prophet by the great men that were contemporary with him. i was not satisfied with the knowledge alone of all that had any relation to our religion, but made also a particular search into our histories. i made myself perfect in polite learning, in the works of the poets, and in versification. i applied myself to geography, to chronology, and to speak our arabian language in its purity; not forgetting, in the mean time, all such exercises as were proper for a prince to understand. but one thing i was mightily in love with, and succeeded in to admiration, was, to form the characters of our arabian language, wherein i surpassed all the writing-masters of our kingdom, that had acquired the greatest reputation. fame did me more honour than i deserved, for she had not only spread the renown of my parts through all the dominions of the king my father, but carried it as far as the indian court, whose potent monarch, desirous to see me, sent an embassador, with rich presents, to demand me of my father, who was extremely glad of this embassy for several reasons; for he was persuaded that nothing could be more commendable in a prince of my age, than to travel and see foreign courts; and, besides, he was very glad to gain the friendship of the indian sultan. i departed with the embassador, but with no great retinue, because of the length and difficulty of the journey. when we had travelled about a month, we discovered at a distance a great cloud of dust, and under that we saw very soon fifty horsemen well armed, that were robbers, coming towards us at full gallop. as we had ten horses laden with baggage and other presents, which i was to present to the indian sultan from the king my father, and that my retinue was but small, you may easily judge that these robbers came boldly up to us; and, not being in a posture to make any opposition, we told them that we were embassadors belonging to the sultan of the indies, and hoped they would attempt nothing contrary to the honour that is due to them, thinking to save our equipage and our lives; but the robbers most insolently replied, for what reason would you have us show any respect to the sultan your master? we are none of his subjects, nor are we upon his territories. and, having spoken thus, they surrounded and fell upon us. i defended myself as well as i could; but finding myself wounded, and seeing the embassador, with his servants and mine, lying on the ground, i made use of what strength yet remained in my horse, who was also very much wounded, and separated myself from the crowd, and rode away as fast as he could carry me; but he, happening all of a sudden to fall under me by weariness and the loss of blood, fell down dead; i got rid of him in a trice; and finding that i was not pursued, it made me judge the robbers were not willing to quit the booty they had got. here you see me alone, wounded, destitute of all help, and in a strange country. i durst not betake myself to the high- road, fearing i might fall again into the hands of these robbers. when i had bound up my wound, which was not dangerous, i marched on the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where i perceived a passage into a cave; i went in, and staid there that night with little satisfaction, after i had eaten some fruits that i had gathered by the way. i continued my journey for several days following, without finding any place of abode; but, after a month's time, i came to a large town well inhabited, and situtate very advantageously, being surrounded with several rivers, so that it enjoyed a perpetual spring. the pleasant objects which then presented themselves to my view, afforded me some joy, and suspended for a time the deep sorrow with which i was overwhelmed, to find myself in such a condition. my face, hands, and feet, were all tawny and sun-burnt, and by my long journey my shoes and stockings were quite worn out, so that i was forced to walk bare-footed; arid, besides, my clothes were all in rags. i entered into the town to inform myself where i was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop; who, perceiving by my air that i was a person of more note than my outward appearance bespoke me to be, made me sit down by him, and asked me who i was, and from whence i came, and what had brought me thither? i did not conceal any thing of all that had befallen me. nor made i any scruple to discover my quality. the tailor listened with attention to my words; but after i had done speaking, he, instead of giving me any consolation, augmented my sorrow. take heed, says he, how you discover to any person what you have now declared to me; for the prince of this country is the greatest enemy that the king your father has, and he will certainly do you some mischief when he comes to hear of your being in this city. i made no doubt of the tailor's sincerity when he named the prince; but since that enmity which is between my father and him has no relation to my adventures, i must beg your pardon, madam, to pass it over in silence. i returned the tailor thanks for his good advice, and showed myself inclinable wholly to follow his counsel, and assured him that his favours should never be forgotten by me. and as he believed i could not but be hungry, he caused them to bring me somewhat to eat, and offered me at the same time a lodging--in his house, which i accepted. some days after, finding me pretty well recovered of the fatigue i had endured by a long and tedious journey, and, besides, being sensible that most princes of our religion did apply themselves to some art or calling that might stand them in stead upon occasion, he asked me if i had learned any thing whereby i might get a livelihood, and not be burdensome to any man? i told him that i understood the laws both divine and human; that i was a grammarian and poet; and, above all, that i understood writing perfectly well. by all this, says he, you will not be able, in this country, to purchase yourself one morsel of bread; nothing is of less use here than those sciences: but if you will be advised by me, says he, dress yourself in a labourer's habit; and since you appear to be strong, and of a good constitution, you shall go into the next forest, and cut down fire-wood, which you may bring to the market to be sold; and i can assure you it will turn to so good an account, that you may live by it without dependence upon any man: by this means you will be in a condition to wait for the favourable minute when heaven shall think fit to dispel those clouds of misfortune that thwart your happiness, and oblige you to conceal your birth: i will take care to supply you with a rope and a hatchet. the fear of being known, and the necessity i was under of getting a livelihood, made me agree to this proposal, notwithstanding all the meanness and hardships that attend it. the day following, the tailor brought me a rope, a hatchet, and a short coat, and recommended me to some poor people that gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. they conducted me to the wood, and the first day i brought in as much upon my head as brought me half a piece of gold, which is the money of that country; for though the wood is not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce there, by reason that few or none would be at the trouble to go and cut it. i gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had advanced for me. i continued this way of living for a whole year; and one day that by chance i had gone further into the wood than usual, i happened to light on a very pleasant place, where i began to cut down wood; and, in pulling up the root of a tree, i espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap-door of the same metal. i took away the earth that covered it, and, having lifted it up, saw stairs, which i descended, with my axe in my hand. when i was come to the bottom of the stairs, i found myself in a large palace, which put me into a mighty consternation, because of the great light which appeared as clear in it as if it had been above ground in the open air. i went forward along a gallery supported by pillars of jasper, the bases and chapiters of massy gold; but seeing a lady of a noble and free air, and of extraordinary beauty, coming towards me, this turned my eyes from beholding any other object but her alone. being desirous to spare the lady the trouble to come to me, i made haste to meet her; and as i was saluting her with a low bow, she asked me, what are you? a man or a genie? a man, madam, said i; i have no correspondence with genies. by what adventure, said she, (fetching a deep sigh,) are you come hither? i have lived here these twenty-five years, and never saw any man but yourself during that time. her great beauty, which had already smitten me, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, made me bold to say to her, madam, before i have the honour to satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to tell you that i am infinitely satisfied with this unexpected rencounter, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity to make you also more happy than you are. i gave her a true account by what strange accident she saw me, the son of a king, in such a condition as i then appeared in her presence; and how fortune would have it that i should discover the entrance into that magnificent prison, where i had found her, but in an uneasy condition, according to appearance. alas! prince, said she, (sighing once more,) you have just cause to believe this rich and pompous prison cannot be otherwise than a most wearisome abode; the most charming place in the world being nowise delightful when we are detained in it contrary to our will. it is not possible but you have heard of the great epitimarus, king of the isle of ebone, so called from that precious wood it produces in abundance; i am the princess his daughter. the king my father had chosen for me a husband, a prince that was my cousin; but, on my wedding-night, in the midst of the rejoicing there was in the court and the capital city of the kingdom of the isle of ebone, before i was given to my spouse, a genie took me away. i fainted at the same moment, and lost all my senses; but, when i came to myself again, i found myself in this place. i was a longtime inconsolable; but time and necessity have accustomed me to see and receive the genie. it is twenty-five years, as i told you before, that i have continued in this place, where, i must confess, i have every thing that i can wish for necessary to life; and also every thing that can satisfy a princess that loves nothing but fine dress and fashions. every ten days, says the princess, the genie comes hither to lie with me one night, which he never exceeds; and the excuse he makes for it is, that he is married to another wife, who would grow jealous if she came to know how unfaithful he was to her. meanwhile, if i have any occasion for him by day or night, as soon as i touch a talisman, which is at the entrance of my chamber, the genie appears. it is now the fourth day since he was here, and i do not expect him before the end of six more; so, if you please, you may stay five days and keep me company, and i will endeavour to entertain you according to your quality and merit. i thought myself too fortunate to have obtained so great a favour without asking it, to refuse so obliging a proffer. the princess made me go into a bagnio, which was the most handsome, the most commodious, and the most sumptuous, that could be imagined; and when i came forth, instead of my own clothes, i found another very costly suit, which i did not esteem so much for its richness as that it made me look worthy to be in her company. we sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions to lean upon, of the rarest indian brocade; and, some time after, she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. we ate together, and passed the remainder of the day with very great satisfaction; and at night she received me to her bed. the next day, as she contrived all manner of ways to please me, she brought in at dinner a bottle of old wine, the most excellent that ever was tasted, and, out of complaisance, she drank part of it with me. whan my head grew hot with the agreeable liquor, fair princess, said i, you have been too long thus buried alive; come follow me, and enjoy the real day from which you have been deprived of so many years, and abandon this false light that you have here. prince, replied she with a smile, leave this discourse; if you, out of the days, will grant me nine, and resign the last to the genie, the fairest day that ever was would be nothing in my esteem. princess, said i, it is the fear of the genie that makes you speak thus; for my part, i value him so little that i will break his talisman, with the conjuration that is written about it, in pieces. let him come then, i will expect him, and how brave or redoubtable soever he be, i will make him feel the weight of my arm. i swear solemnly that i shall extirpate all the genies in the world, and him first. the princess, who knew the consequence, conjured me not to touch the talisman, for that would be a mean, said she, to ruin both you and me; i know what belongs to genies better than you. the fumes of the wine did not suffer me to hearken to her reasons, but i gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in several pieces. the talisman was no sooner broken than the palace began to shake, and was ready to fall, with a hideous noise like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning, and a great darkness. this terrible noise in a moment dispelled the fumes of my wine, and made me sensible, but too late, of the folly i had committed. princess, cried i, what means all this? she answered in a fright, and without any concern for her own misfortune, cries, alas! you are undone, if you do not escape presently. i followed her advice, and my fears were so great that i forgot my hatchet and cords. i was scarcely got to the stairs by which i came down, when the enchanted palace opened at once, and made a passage for the genie. he asked the princess, in great anger, what has happened to you, and why did you call me? a qualm at my stomach, said the princess, made me fetch this bottle which you see here, out of which i drank twice or thrice, and by mischance made a false step, and fell upon the talisman, which is broken, and that is all the matter. at this answer the furious genie told her, you are a false woman and a liar. how came that axe and those ropes there? i never saw them till this moment, said the princess. your coming in such an impetuous manner has, it may be, forced them up in some place as you came along, and so brought them hither without your knowing it. the genie made no other answer but what was accompanied with reproaches and blows, of which i heard the noise. i could not endure to hear the pitiful cries and shouts of the princess so cruelly abused; i had already laid off the suit she made me put on, and taken my own, which i had laid on the stairs the day before, when i came out of the bagnio. i made haste up stairs, being so much the more full of sorrow and compassion that i had been the cause of so great a misfortune; and that, by sacrificing the fairest princess on earth to the barbarity of a most merciless genie, i was become the most criminal and ungrateful of mankind. it is true, said i, she has been a prisoner these twenty-five years; but, setting liberty aside, she wanted nothing that could make her happy. my madness has put an end to her happiness, and brought upon her the cruelty of an unrelenting devil. i let down the trap-door, covered it again with earth, and returned to the city with a burden of wood, which i bound up without knowing what i did, so great were my trouble and sorrow. my landlord, the tailor, was very much rejoiced to see me. your absence, said he, has disquieted me very much, by reason you had intrusted in with the secret of your birth, and i knew not what to think. i was afraid that somebody had known you; god be thanked for your return. i thanked him for his zeal and affection, but never a word durst i say of what had passed, nor the reason why i came back without my hatchet and cords. i retired to my chamber, where i reproached myself a thousand times for my excessive imprudence. nothing, said i, could have paralleled the princess's good fortune and mine, had i foreborn to break the talisman. while i was thus giving myself over to melancholy thoughts, the tailor came in and told me, an old man, said he, whom i do not know, brings me your hatchet and cords, which he found in his way, as he tells me, and understood, by your comrades that go along with you to the woods, that you lodge here. come out and speak to him, for he will deliver them to none but yourself. at this discourse i changed colour, and fell a-trembling. while the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber-door opened at once, and the old man, having no patience to stay, appeared to us with my hatchet and cords. this was the genie, the ravisher of the fair princess of the isle of ebone, who had thus disguised himself, after he had treated her with the utmost barbarity. i am a genie, said he, son of the daughter of ebis, prince of genies. is not this your hatchet? said he, speaking to me, and are not these your cords? after the genie had put the question to me, he gave me no time to answer, nor was it in my power, so much had his terrible aspect put me beside myself. he grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and, mounting into the air, carried me up as high as the skies, with such swiftness, that i perceived i was got so high as not to be able to take notice of the way, being carried in so few moments. he descended again in like manner to the earth, which, on a sudden, he caused to open with a knock of his foot, and so sunk down at once, where i found myself in the enchanted palace before the fair princess of the isle of ebone. but, alas! what a spectacle was there; i saw that which pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was quite naked, all in blood, and laid upon the ground, more like one dead than alive, with her cheeks all bathed in tears. perfidious wretch, said the genie to her, pointing at me, is not this your gallant? she cast her languishing eyes upon me, and answered mournfully, i do not know him; i never saw him till this moment. what, said the genie, he is the cause of thy being in the condition thou art justly in; and yet darest thou say thou dost not know him? if i do not know him, said the princess, would you have me to make a lie on purpose to ruin him? o then, said the genie, pulling out a scimitar, and presenting it to the princess, if you never saw him before, take the scimitar and cut off his head. alas! replied the princess, how is it possible i should execute what you would force me to do? my strength is so far spent that i cannot lift my arm; and if i could, how should i have the heart to take away an innocent man's life, and one i do not know? this refusal, said the genie to the princess, sufficiently informs me of your crime. upon which, turning to me, and thou, said he, dost thou hot know her? i should have been the most ungrateful wretch, and the most perfidious of all mankind, if i had not shown myself as faithful to the princess as she was to me, who had been the cause of her misfortunes. therefore i answered the genie, how should i know her, that never saw her till now? if that be so, said he, take the scimitar and cut off her head. on this condition i will set thee at liberty, for then i will be convinced that thou never saw her till this very moment, as thou sayest thyself. with all my heart, replied i, and took the scimitar in my hand. do not think, madam, that i drew near to the fair princess of the isle of ebone, to be the executioner of the genie's barbarity; i did it only to demonstrate by my behaviour, as much as possible, that as she had shown her resolution to sacrifice her life for my sake, so i would not refuse to sacrifice mine for her's. the princess, notwithstanding her pain and suffering, understood my meaning, which she signified by an obliging look, and made me understand her willingness to die for me; and that she was satisfied to see also how willing i was to die for her. upon this i stepped back, and threw the scimitar on the ground. i shall for ever, says i to the genie, be hateful to all mankind, should i be so base as to murder, i do not only say a person whom i do not know, but also a lady like this, who is ready to give up the ghost; do with me what you please since i am in your power; i cannot obey your barbarous commands. i see, said the genie, that you both out-brave me, and insult my jealousy; but both of you shall know, by the treatment i give you, what i am capable to do. at these words, the monster took up the scimitar and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other, that she bid me for ever adieu. for the blood she had lost before, and that which gushed out then, did not permit her to live above one or two moments after this barbarous cruelty, the sight of which threw me into a fit. when i was come to myself again, i expostulated with the genie, why he made me languish in expectation of death. strike, cried i, for i am ready to receive the mortal blow, and expect it as the greatest favour you can show me. but instead of agreeing to that, look ye, says he, how genies treat their wives whom they suspect of unfaithfulness; she has received thee here, and were i certain that she had put any other affront upon me, i would make thee die this minute; but i will content myself to transform thee into a dog, ape, lion, or bird: take thy choice of any of these, i will leave it to thyself. these words gave me some hopes to mollify him. o genie; said i, moderate your passion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously; i shall always remember your clemency, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world pardoned one of his neighbours who bore him a mortal hatred. the genie asked me what had passed between those two neighbours, and said, he would have patience till he heard the story, which i told him thus: and i believe, madam, you will not take it ill if i also relate it to you. the story of the envious man, and of him whom he envied. in a considerable town, two persons dwelt next door to each other; one of them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that he who was hated resolved to remove his dwelling further off, being persuaded that their being neighbours was the only cause from whence his animosity did arise; for, though he had done him several pieces of service, he found, nevertheless, that his hatred was nothing diminished; therefore he sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the capital city of that kingdom, which was not far distant. he bought a little spot of ground, which lay about half a league from the city; he had a house convenient enough, with a fine garden, and a pretty spacious court, wherein was a deep well, which was not in use. the honest man, having made this purchase, put on a dervize's or monk's habit to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in the house, where in a short time he established a numerous society of dervizes. he came soon to be publicly known by his virtue, through which he acquired the esteem of a great many people, as well of the commonalty as of the chief of the city. in short, he was extremely honoured and cherished by every one. people came from far to recommend themselves to his prayers; and all those that came to live with him published what blessings they received through his means. the great reputation of that honest man having spread to the town from whence he came, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he left his house and affairs, with a resolution to go and ruin him. with this intent he went to the new convent of dervizes, of which his former neighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of friendship. the envious man told him that he was come on purpose to communicate a business of importance to him, which he could not do but in private; and because that nobody shall hear us, let us, says he, take a walk in your court, and seeing night begins to draw on, command your dervizes to retire to their cells. the head of the dervizes did as he required. when the envious man saw that he was alone, with this good man, he began to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court until he saw his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well, he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without any body being witness to so wicked an action. having done this, he marched off immediately, got out at the gate of the convent without being known to any one, and came home to his own house, well satisfied with his journey, being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no more in this world. this old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt. he perceived well enough that there was something extraordinary in his fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; whereas he neither saw nor felt any thing. but he soon heard a voice, which said, do you know what honest man this is to whom we have done this piece of service? another voice answered, no. to which the first replied, then i will tell you. this man, out of charity the greatest that ever was known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had conceived against him; he has acquired such a general esteem, that the envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him, which he had performed, had it not been for the assistance which we have given this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan, who keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit to-morrow, and to recommend the princess his daughter to his prayers. another voice asked, what need had the princess of the dervize's prayers? to which the first answered, you do not know, it seems, that she is possessed by genie maimoun, the son of demdim, who is fallen in love with her. but i know well how this good head of the dervizes may cure her; the thing is very easy, and i will tell it you. he has a black cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the bigness of a small piece of english money: let him only pull seven hairs out of this white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with the fume, she will not only be perfectly cured, but be so safely delivered from maimoun, the son of demdim, that he will never dare to come near her a second time. the head of the dervizes remembered every word of the discourse between the fairies and the genies, who were very silent all the night after. the next morning, by break of day, when he could discern one thing from another, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole, by which he crept out with ease. the other dervizes who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see him. he gave them a brief account of the wickedness of that man to whom he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired into his cell. it was not long till the black cat, of which the fairies and the genies had made mention in their discourses the night before, came to fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do: he took her up, and pulled seven hairs out of the white spot that was upon her tail, and laid them aside for his use, when occasion should serve. the sun was not high, when the sultan, who would leave no means untried which he thought could restore the princess to her perfect health, arrived at the gate of the convent. he commanded his guards to halt, whilst he, with his principal officers, went in. the dervizes received him with profound respect. the sultan called their head aside, and says, good sheik, it may be you know already the cause of my coming hither. yes, sir, replies he, very gravely; if i do not mistake it, it is the disease of the princess which procures me this honour that i have not deserved. that is the very thing, replied the sultan. you will give me new life, if your prayers, as i hope they will, can procure my daughter's health. sir, said the good man, if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, i am in hopes, that through god's assistance and favour, she shall return in perfect health. the prince, transported with joy, sent immediately to fetch his daughter, who very soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and eunuchs, but masked, so that her face was not seen. the chief of the dervizes caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner thrown the seven tufts of hair upon the burning coal, than the genie maimoun, the son of demdim, gave a great cry, without any thing being seen, and left the princess at liberty; upon which she took the veil from off her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, where am i, and who brought me hither? at these words, the sultan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also kissed the chief of the dervize's hands, and said to his officers, tell me your opinion, what reward does he deserve who has cured my daughter? they all cried, he deserves her in marriage. that is what i had in my thoughts, said the sultan; and i make him my son-in-law from this moment. some time after, the prime vizier died, and the sultan conferred the place on the dervize. the sultan himself died without heirs-male; upon which the religious orders and the militia gathered together, and the honest man was declared and acknowledged sultan by general consent. the honest dervize, being mounted on the throne of his father-in-law, as he was one day in the midst of his courtiers upon a march, espied the envious man among the crowd of people that stood as he passed along, and calling one of his viziers that attended him, whispered him in the ear thus: go bring me that man you see there, but take care you do not frighten him. the vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his presence, the sultan said, friend, i am extremely glad to see you. upon which he called an officer: go immediately, says he, and cause to be paid this man out of my treasury one hundred pieces of gold; let him have also twenty load of the richest merchandise in my store-houses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house. after he had given this charge to the officer, he bade the envious man farewell, and proceeded on his march. when i had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the murderer of the princess of the isle of ebone, i made the application to himself thus: o genie! you see here that this bountiful sultan did not content himself with forgetting the design of the envious man to take away his life, but treated him kindly, and sent him back with all the favours which i just now related. in short, i made use of all my eloquence, prayed him to imitate such a good example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible for me to move his compassion. all that i can do for thee, said he, is, that i will not take away thy life; do not flatter thyself that i will send thee safe and sound back. i must let you feel what i am able to do by my enchantments. with that he laid violent hands on me, and carried me across the vault of the subterraneous palace, which opened to give him passage; he flew up with me so high, that the earth seemed to be only a little white cloud; from thence he came down again like lightning, and alighted upon the ridge of a mountain. there he took up a handful of earth, and pronounced, or rather muttered, some words which i did not understand, and threw it upon me. leave the shape of a man, says he to me, and take on that of an ape. he vanished immediately, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, not knowing if i was near unto or far from my father's dominions. i went down from the height of the mountain, and came into a plain country, which took me a month's time to travel through, and then i came to a coast of the sea. it happened then to be a great calm, and i espied a vessel about half a league from the shore; i would not lose this good opportunity, but broke off a large branch from a tree, which i carried with me to the sea-side, and set myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars. i launched out in this posture, and advanced near the ship. when i was near enough to be known, the seamen and passengers that were upon the deck thought it an extraordinary spectacle, and all of them looked upon me with great astonishment. in the mean time, i got aboard, and laying hold of a rope, i jumped on the deck, and, having lost my speech, i found myself in very great perplexity; and indeed the risk i ran then was nothing less than when i was at the mercy of the genie. the merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, believed i should occasion some mischief to their voyage, if they received me: therefore, says one, i will knock him down with an handspike; says another, i will shoot an arrow through his guts; says a third, let us throw him into the sea. some of them would not have failed to have executed their design, if i had not got to the side where the captain was; when i threw myself at his feet, and took him by the coat in a begging posture. this action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion; so that he took me into his protection, threatened to be avenged on him that should do me the least hurt; and he himself made very much of me, and on my part, though i had no power to speak, i did, by my gestures, show all possible signs of gratitude. the wind that succeeded the calm was gentle and favourable, and did not alter for five days, but brought us safe to the port of a fine town, well peopled, and of great trade, where we came to an anchor. it was so much the more considerable, that it was the capital city of a powerful state. our vessel was speedily surrounded with an infinite number of boats, full of people, who either came to congratulate their friends upon their safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in the country from whence they came, or out of curiosity to see a ship that came from a far country. amongst the rest, some officers came on board, desiring to speak with the merchants in the name of the sultan. the merchants appearing, one of the officers told them, the sultan, our master, hath commanded us to acquaint you that he is glad of your safe arrival, and prays you to take the trouble, every one of you, to write some lines upon this roll of paper; and, that his design may be understood, you must know that he had a prime vizier, who, besides a great capacity to manage affairs, understood writing to the highest perfection. this minister is lately dead, at which the sultan is very much troubled, and since he can never behold his writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow not to give the place to any man but to him that can write as well as he did. abundance of people have presented their writings; but to this day nobody in all this empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place. those merchants that believed they could write well enough to pretend to this high dignity, wrote, one after another, what they thought fit. after they had done, i advanced and took the roll out of the gentleman's hand; but all the people, especially the merchants, cried out, he will tear it, or throw it into the sea, till they saw how properly i held the roll, and made a sign that i would write in my turn. then they were of another opinion, and their fears turned into admiration. however, since they had never seen an ape that could write, nor could be persuaded that i was more ingenious than other apes, they offered to snatch the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. let him alone, says he; suffer him to write. if he only scribbles the paper, i promise you that i will punish him upon the spot. if, on the contrary, he writes well, as i hope he will, because i never saw an ape so handy and ingenious, and so apprehensive of every thing, i do declare that i will own him as my son. i had one that had not by far the wit that he has. perceiving that no man did any more oppose my design, i took the pen, and wrote, before i had done, six sorts of hands used among the arabians, and each specimen containing an extemporary distich or quatram in praise of the sultan. my writings did not only outdo that of the merchants, but i dare say they had not before seen any such fair writing in that country. when i had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan. the sultan took little notice of any of the other writings, but considered mine, which was so much to his liking, that he says to the officers, take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest harness, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade, to put upon that person who wrote those six hands, and bring him hither to me. at this command the officers could not forbear laughing: the sultan grew angry at their boldness, and was ready to punish them till they told him. sir, replied the officers, we humbly beg your majesty's pardon; these characters are not written by a man, but by an ape. what do you say! says the sultan, are not these admirable characters written by the hands of a man? no, sir, replied the officers, we do assure your majesty that it was an ape who wrote them in our presence. the sultan was too much surprised at this account not to desire a sight of me; and therefore says, do what i command you, and bring me speedily that wonderful ape. the officers returned to the vessel, and showed the captain their order, who answered, that the sultan's commands must be obeyed. whereupon they clothed me with that rich brocade robe, and carried me ashore, where they set me on horseback, whilst the sultan waited for me at the palace with a great number of courtiers, whom he gathered together, to do me the more honour. the cavalcade being begun, the harbour, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses, were all filled with an infinite number of people, of all sorts, who were curious to come from all parts of the city to see me; for the rumour was spread in a moment, that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier; and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, i arrived at the palace of the sultan. i found the prince seated on his throne, in the midst of the grandees. i made my bow three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterwards sat down in my seat in the posture of an ape. the whole assembly admired me, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should understand so well to give the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any man. in short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete, could i have added speech to my behaviour; but apes do never speak, and the advantage i had of having been a man did not allow me that privilege. the sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but his chief of the eunuchs, a little young slave, and myself. he went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. as he sat at table, he gave me a sign to come near, and eat with him. to show my obedience, i kissed the ground, stood up, sat down at table, ate with discretion, and moderately. before the table was uncovered, i espied an ink-horn, which i made a sign should be brought me; having got it, i wrote upon a large peach some verses after my own way, which testified my acknowledgment to the sultan; who having read them, after my presenting him the peach, it increased his astonishment. when the table was uncovered, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a glass. i drank, and wrote some new verses upon it, which explained the state i was in, after a great many sufferings. the sultan read them likewise, and said, an ape that was capable of doing so much ought to be exalted above the greatest of men. the sultan caused them to bring in a chess-board, and asked me, by a sign, if i understood that game, and would play with him? i kissed the ground, and laying my hand upon my head, signified that i was ready to receive that honour. he won the first game, but i won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at it, i made a quatrain to pacify him; in which i told him that two potent armies had been fighting very eagerly all day, but that they made up a peace towards the evening, and passed the remaining part of the night very peaceably together upon the field of battle. so many things appearing to the sultan far beyond what any one had either seen or known of the behaviour or knowledge of apes, he would not be the only witness of these prodigies himself; but having a daughter, called the lady of beauty, to whom the head of the eunuchs, then present, was governor, go, said the sultan to him, and bid your lady come hither: i am willing she should have a share in my pleasure. the eunuch went, and immediately brought the princess, who had her face uncovered; but she was no sooner got into the room, than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, sir, your majesty must needs have forgotten yourself; i am very much surprised that your majesty has sent for me to appear among men. how, daughter! said the sultan, you do not know what you say. here is nobody but the little slave, the eunuch your governor, and myself, who have the liberty to see your face; and yet you lower your veil, and would make me a criminal in having sent for you hither. sir, said the princess, your majesty shall soon understand that i am not in the wrong. that ape you see before you, though he has the shape of an ape, is a young prince, son of a great king; he has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. a genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, has maliciously done him this wrong, after having cruelly taken away the life of the princess of the isle of ebone, daughter to the king of epitimarus. the sultan, astonished at this discourse, turned towards me, and spoke no more by signs, but, in plain words, asked me, if it was true what his daughter said? seeing i could not speak, i put my hand to my head to signify that what the princess spoke was true. upon this the sultan said again to his daughter, how do you know that this prince has been transformed by enchantment into an ape? sir, replied the lady of beauty, your majesty may remember that when i was past my infancy, i had an old lady that waited upon me; she was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic, by virtue of which i can transport your capital city into the midst of the sea, in the twinkling of an eye, or beyond mount caucasus. by this science i know all enchanted persons at first sight. i know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted: therefore do not admire if i forthwith relieve this prince, in spite of enchantments, from that which hinders him to appear in your sight what he naturally is. daughter, said the sultan, i did not believe you to have understood so much. sir, replies the princess, these things are curious, and worth knowing; but i think i ought not to boast of them. since it is so, said the sultan, you can dispel the prince's enchantment. yes, sir, said the princess, i can restore him to his first shape again. do it then, said the sultan, you cannot do me a greater pleasure; for i will have him to be my vizier, and he shall marry you. sir, said the princess, i am ready to obey you in all that you shall be pleased to command me. the princess, the lady of beauty, went into her apartment, from whence she brought in a knife which had some hebrew words engraved on the blade: she made us all, viz. the sultan, the master of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself, to go down into a private court adjoining to the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. she placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in arabian characters, some of them ancient, and others of those which they call the character of cleopatra. when she had finished and prepared the circle as she thought fit, she placed herself in the centre of it, where she began adjurations, and repeated verses out of the alcoran. the air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night, and the whole world about to be dissolved. we found ourselves struck with a panic fear, and this fear increased the more, when we saw the genie, the son of the daughter of eblis, appear all of a sudden in the shape of a lion of a frightful size. as soon as the princess perceived this monster, you dog, said she, instead of creeping before me, dare you present yourself in this shape, thinking to frighten me? and thou, replied the lion, art thou not afraid to break the treaty which was solemnly made and confirmed between us by oath, not to wrong or do one another any hurt? oh, thou cursed creature! replied the princess, i can justly reproach thee with doing so. the lion answered fiercely, thou shalt quickly have thy reward for the trouble thou hast given me to return: with that he opened his terrible throat, and ran at her to devour her; but she, being upon her guard, leaped backward, got time to pull out one of her hairs, and, by pronouncing three or four words, changed herself into a sharp sword, wherewith she cut the lion through the middle in two pieces. the two parts of the lion vanished, and the head was only left, which changed itself into a large scorpion. immediately the princess turned herself into a serpent, and fought the scorpion, who, finding himself worsted, took the shape of an eagle, and flew away: but the serpent at the same time took also the shape of an eagle that was black and much stronger, and pursued him, so that we lost sight of them both. some time after they disappeared, the ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a cat, black and white, with her hair standing upright, and keeping up a fearful mewling; a black wolf followed her close, and gave her no time to rest. the cat, being thus hard beset, changed herself into a worm, and being nigh to a pomegranate that had accidentally fallen from a tree that grew on the side of a canal, which was deep, but not broad, the worm pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself; but the pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, mounting up to the top of the gallery, rolled there for some space backward and forward, fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces. the wolf, who had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a cock, fell a-picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another; but, finding no more, he came towards us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there was any more seed? there was one lying on the brink of the canal, which the cock perceiving as he went back, ran speedily thither; but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the river, and turned into a little fish. the cock jumped into the river, and was turned into a pike, that pursued the small fish; they continued both under water above two hours, and we knew not what became of them; but all of a sudden we heard terrible cries, which made us to quake, and a little while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. they threw flashes of fire out of their mouths at one another, until they came to it hand to hand; then the fires increased, with a thick burning smoke, which mounted so high, that we had reason to fear that it would set the palace on fire. but we very soon had a more pressing occasion of fear; for the genie, having got loose from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew flames of fire upon us. we had all perished, if the princess, running to our assistance, had not forced him, by her efforts, to retire and defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all her diligence, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being burnt, and his face spoiled, the chief of the eunuch's from being stifled, and burnt on the spot, nor a spark to enter my right eye, and make it blind. the sultan and i expected nothing but death, when we heard a cry, victory, victory; and, all of a sudden, the princess appeared in her natural shape, but the genie was reduced to a heap of ashes. the princess came near to us, and, that she might not lose time, called for a cup of cold water, which the young slave that had got no damage brought her: she took it, and, after pronouncing some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, if thou art become an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man, which thou hadst before. these words were hardly uttered till i became a man, as i was before, one eye only excepted. i was preparing myself to give thanks to the princess, but she prevented me, by addressing herself to her father thus: sir, i have got the victory over the genie, as your majesty may see; but it is a victory that costs me dear; i have but a few moments to live, and you will not have the satisfaction to make the match you intended; the fire has pierced me during the terrible combat, and i find it consumes me by degrees. this would not have happened, had i perceived the last of the pomegranate seeds, and swallowed it as i did the other, when i was changed into a cock. the genie had fled thither as to his last intrenchment, and upon that the success of the combat depended, which would have been successful, and without danger to me. this slip obliged me to have recourse to fire, and to fight with those mighty arms as i did between heaven and earth in your presence; for, in spite of all his redoubtable art and experience, i made the genie to know that i understood more than he: i have conquered and reduced him to ashes, but i cannot escape death, which is approaching. the sultan suffered the princess, the lady of beauty, to go on with the recital of her combat; and when she had done, he spoke to her in a tone that sufficiently testified his grief. my daughter, said he, you see in what condition your father is: alas! i wonder that i am yet alive! your governor, the eunuch, is dead, and the prince whom you have delivered from his enchantment has lost one of his eyes. he could speak no more; for his tears, sighs, and sobs, made him speechless; his daughter and i were exceedingly sensible of his sorrow, and wept with him. in the mean time, while we were striving to outdo one another in grief, the princess cried, i burn; oh, i burn! she found that the fire which consumed her had at last seized upon her whole body, which made her still to cry, i burn, until death had made an end of her intolerable pains. the effect of that was so extraordinary, that in a few moments she was wholly reduced to ashes like the genie. i cannot tell you, madam, how much i was grieved at so dismal a spectacle. i had rather all my life have continued an ape or a dog, than to have seen my benefactress thus miserably perish. the sultan, being afflicted beyond all that can be imagined, cried out piteously, and beat himself upon his head and stomach, until such time as, being quite overcome with grief, he fainted away, which made me fear his life. in the mean time the eunuchs and officers came running at the sultan's cries, and with very much ado brought him to himself again. there was no need for that prince and me to give them a long narrative of this adventure, in order to convince them of their great loss. the two heaps of ashes, into which the princess and genie had been reduced, were demonstration enough. the sultan was hardly able to stand upright, but was forced to be supported by them till he could get to his apartment. when the noise of this tragical event had spread itself through the palace and the city, all the people bewailed the misfortune of the princess, the lady of beauty, and were sensible of the sultan's affliction. every one was in deep mourning for seven days, and a great many ceremonies were performed: the ashes of the genie were thrown into the air, but those of the princess were gathered into a precious urn, to be kept; and the urn was set in a stately tomb, which was built for that purpose, on the same place where the ashes had lain. the grief which the sultan conceived for the loss of his daughter threw him into a fit of sickness, which confined him to his chamber for a whole month. he had not fully recovered strength when he sent for me: prince, said he, hearken to the orders that i now give you; it will cost you your life if you do not put them in execution. i assured him of exact obedience; upon which he went on thus: i have constantly lived in perfect felicity, and never was crossed by any accident; but by your arrival all the happiness i possessed is vanished; my daughter is dead, her governor is no more, and it is through a miracle that i am yet alive. you are the cause of all those misfortunes, for which it is impossible that i should be comforted; therefore depart from hence in peace, but without further delay, for i myself must perish, if you stay any longer: i am persuaded that your presence brings mischief along with it. this is all i have to say to you. depart, and take care of ever appearing again in my dominions; there is no consideration whatsoever that shall hinder me from making you repent of it. i was going to speak, but he stopped my mouth by words full of anger; and so i was obliged to remove from his palace, rejected, banished, thrown off by all the world, and not knowing what would become of me. before i left the city, i went into a bagnio, where i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaved, and put on a calender's habit. i began my journey, not so much deploring my own miseries as the death of the two fair princesses of which i had been the occasion. i passed through many countries without making myself known; at last i resolved to come to bagdad, in hopes to get myself introduced to the commander of the faithful, to move his compassion by giving him an account of my strange adventures. i came hither this evening, and the first man i met was this calender, our brother, that spoke before me. you know the remaining part, madam, and the cause of my having the honour to be here. when the second calender made an end of his story, zobeide, to whom he had addressed his speech, told him, it is very well, you may go which way you please; i give you leave: but, instead of departing, he also petitioned the lady to show him the same favour she had vouchsafed to the first calender, and went and sat down by him. the third calender, perceiving it was his turn to speak, addressed his speech, as the rest had done, to zobeide, and began in this manner. the history of the third calender, a king's son. most honourable lady, that which i am going to tell you very much differs from what you have heard already. the two princes that spoke before me have each lost an eye by the pure effects of their destiny, but mine i lost through my own fault, and by hastening to seek my own misfortune, as you shall hear by the sequel of my story. my name is agib, and i am the son of a king who was called cassib. after his death i took possession of his dominions, and resided in the same city where he lived before. this city is situate on the sea-coast; has one of the finest and safest harbours in the world, and an arsenal large enough for fitting out fifty men of war to sea, that are always ready on occasion, and light frigates, and pleasure-boats for recreation. my kingdom is composed of several fine provinces upon terra firma, besides a number of spacious islands, every one of which lies almost in sight of my capital city. the first thing i did was to visit the provinces; i afterwards caused to fit out and man my whole fleet, went to my islands to gain the hearts of my subjects by my presence, and to confirm them in their loyalty; and, some time after i returned, i went thither again. these voyages giving me some taste for navigation, i took so much pleasure in it that i resolved to make some discoveries beyond my islands; to which end i caused only ten ships to be fitted out, embarked on board them, and set sail. our voyage was very successful for forty days together; but on the forty-first night the wind became contrary, and withal so boisterous that we were like to have been lost in the storm. about break of day the wind grew calm, the clouds were dispersed, and the sun having brought back fair weather, we came close to an island, where we remained two days to take in fresh provisions; this being done, we put off again to sea. after ten days sail, we were in hopes of seeing land, for the tempests we had gone through had so much abated my curiosity, that i gave orders to steer back to my own coast; but i perceived at the same time that my pilot knew not where we were. upon the tenth day, a seaman being sent to look out for land from the mast-head, he gave notice that on starboard and larboard he could see nothing but the sky and the sea which bounded the horizon, but just before us, upon the stern, he saw a great blackness. the pilot changed colour at the relation and throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other, cried, o, sir, we are all lost; not one of us will escape; and, with all my skill, it is not in my power to prevent it! having spoken thus, he fell a-crying like a man who foresaw unavoidable ruin; his despair put the whole ship's crew into a terror. i asked him what reason he had thus to despair? he told me, the tempest which we had outlived had brought us so far out of our course that to-morrow about noon we should come near to that black place, which is nothing else but the black mountain, that is, a mine of adamant, which at this very minute draws all your fleet towards it, by virtue of the iron nails that are in your ships; and when we come to-morrow, at a certain distance, the strength of the adamant will have such a force, that all the nails will be drawn out of the sides and bottoms of the ships, and fastened to the mountain, so that your vessel will fall to pieces, and sink to the bottom; and as the adamant has a virtue to draw all iron to it, whereby its attraction becomes stronger, this mountain on the side of the sea is all covered over with nails, drawn out of an infinite number of vessels that have perished by it; and this preserves and augments its virtue at the same time. this mountain, continues the pilot, is very rugged. on the top of it there is a dome of fine brass, supported by pillars of the same, and upon the top of that dome there stands a horse of the same metal, with a rider on his back, who has a plate of lead fixed to his breast, upon which some talismantical characters are engraved. sir, the tradition is, that this statue is the chief cause that so many ships and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever continue to be fatal to all who have the misfortune to come near it, until such time as it shall be thrown down. the pilot, having ended his discourse, began to weep afresh, and this made all the rest of the ship's company to do the like. i myself had no other thoughts but that my days were there to have an end. in the mean time every one began to provide for his own safety, and to that end took all imaginable precautions; and, being uncertain of the event, they all made one another their heirs, by virtue of a will, for the benefit of those that should happen to be saved. the next morning we perceived the black mountain very plain, and the idea we had conceived of it made it appear more frightful than it was. about noon we were come so near that we found what the pilot had foretold to be true; for we saw all the nails and iron about the ships fly towards the mountain, where they were fixed, by the violence of the attraction, with a horrible noise; the ship split asunder, and sunk into the sea, which was so deep about that place that we could not sound it. all my people were drowned, but god had mercy on me, and permitted me to save myself by means of a plank, which the wind drove ashore just at the foot of the mountain; i did not receive the least hurt, and my good fortune brought me to a landing-place, where there were steps that went up to the top of the mountain. at the sight of these steps, for there was not a bit of ground either on the right or left whereon a man could set his foot, i gave thanks to god, and recommended myself to his holy protection. i began to mount the steps, which were so narrow, rugged, and hard to get up, that had the wind blown ever so little, it would have thrown me down into the sea; but at last i got up to the top without any accident; i came into the dome, and, kneeling on the ground, gave god thanks for his mercies to me. i passed the night under the dome, and, in my sleep, an old grave man appeared to me, and said, hearken, agib, as soon as thou art awake, dig up the ground under thy feet; thou shalt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain constellations, to deliver mankind from so many calamities that threaten them. shoot the three arrows at the statue, and the rider shall fall into the sea, but the horse will fall down by thy side, which thou must bury in the same place from whence you took the bow and arrows. this being done, the sea will swell and rise up to the foot of the dome that stands upon the top of the mountain; when it is come up so high, thou shalt see a boat with one man and an oar in each hand. this man is also of metal, different from that thou hast thrown down; step on board to him without mentioning the name of god, and let him conduct thee. he will in ten days time bring thee into another sea, where thou shalt find an opportunity to get home to thy country safe and sound, provided, as i have told thee, thou dost not mention the name of god during the whole voyage. these were the contents of the old man's discourse. when i awaked, i was very much comforted by the vision, and did not fail to observe every thing that he had commanded me. i took the bow and arrows out of the ground, shot them at the horseman, with the third arrow i overthrew him, and he full into the sea, as the horse fell by my side, which i buried in the place whence i took the bow and arrows. in the mean time the sea swelled, and rose up by degrees. when it came as high as the foot of the dome that stood upon the top of the mountain, i saw afar off a boat rowing towards me, and i returned god thanks that every thing succeeded according to my dream. at last the boat came ashore, and i saw the man was made of metal, according as i had dreamed. i stepped aboard, and took great heed not to pronounce the name of god, neither spoke i one word at all; i sat down, and the man of metal began to row off from the mountain. he rowed without ceasing, till the ninth day that i saw some islands, which put me in hopes that i was out of all the danger that i was afraid of. the excess of joy made me forget what i was forbidden to do; god's name be blessed, said i, the lord be praised! i had no sooner spoken these words than the boat sunk with the man of metal, and, leaving me upon the surface, i swam the remaining part of the day towards that land which appeared nearest to me. a very dark night succeeded, and, not knowing whereabouts i was, i swam at a venture; my strength began at last to fail, and i despaired of being able to save myself, when the wind began to blow hard, and a wave as big as a mountain threw me on a flat, where it left me, and drew back. i made haste to get ashore, fearing another wave might wash me back again. the first thing i did was to strip and wring the water out of my clothes, and then i laid them down to dry on the sand, which was still pretty warm by the heat of the day. next morning the sun dried my clothes betimes; i put them on, and went forward to see whereabouts i was. i had not walked very far till i found i was got upon a little desert island, though very pleasant, where grew several sorts of trees and wild fruits; but i perceived it was very far from the continent, which much diminished the joy i conceived for having escaped the danger of the seas. notwithstanding, i recommended myself to god, and prayed him to dispose of me according to his good-will and pleasure; at the same time i saw a vessel coming from the main-land, before the wind, directly to the island. i doubted not that they were coming to anchor there, and being uncertain what sort of people they might be, whether friends or foes, thought it not safe for me to be seen: i got up into a very thick tree, from whence i might safely view them. the vessel came into a little creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying a spade and other instruments fit for digging up the ground; they went towards the middle of the island, where i saw them stop, and dig the ground a long while, after which i thought i saw them lift a trap-door. they returned again to the vessel, and unloaded several sorts of provisions and furniture, which they carried to that place where they had broken ground, and so went downward, which made me suppose it was a subterraneous dwelling. i saw them once more go to the ship, and return soon after with an old man, who led a very handsome young lad in his hand, of about fourteen or fifteen years of age; they all went down at the trap-door; and being come up again, having let down the trap-door, and covered it over with earth, they returned to the creek where the ship lay, but i saw not the young man in their company; this made me believe that he staid behind in that place under ground, at which i could not but be extremely astonished. the old man and the slaves went on board again, and the vessel being got under sail, steered its course towards the mainland. when i perceived they were at such a distance that they could not see me, i came down from the tree, went directly to the place where i had seen the ground broken, and removed the earth by degrees, till i found a stone that was two or three feet square. i lifted it up, and saw it covered the head of the stairs, which were also of stone; i went down, and came into a large room, where there was laid a foot-carpet, with a couch covered with tapestry, and cushions of rich stuff, upon which the young man sat with a fan in his hand. i saw all this by the light of two tapers, together with the fruits and flower-pots he had standing about him. the young lad was startled at the sight of me; but, to rid him of his fear, i spoke to him as i came in thus: whoever you be, sir, do not fear any thing: a king, and the son of a king, as i am, is not capable of doing you any prejudice. on the contrary, it is probable that your good destiny has brought me hither to deliver you out of this tomb, where it seems they have buried you alive, for reasons unknown to me. but that which makes me wonder, and that which i cannot conceive, (for you must know that i have been witness to all that hath passed since your coming into this island) is, that you suffered yourself to be buried in this place without any resistance. the young man recovered himself at these words, and prayed me, with a smiling countenance, to sit down by him; which when i had done, he said, prince, i am to acquaint you with a matter so odd in itself that it cannot but surprise you. my father is a merchant-jeweller, who has acquired, through his ingenuity in his calling, a great estate; he hath a great many slaves, and also deputies whom he employs to go as supercargoes to sea with his own ships, on purpose to maintain the correspondence he has at several courts, which he furnishes with such precious stones as they want. he had been married a long while, and without issue, when he understood by a dream that he should have a son, though his life would be but short, at which he was very much concerned when he awaked. some days after, my mother acquainted him that she was with child, and the time which she supposed to be that of her conception agreed exactly with the day of his dream. she was brought to bed of me at the end of nine months, which occasioned great joy in the family. my father, who had observed the very moment of my birth, consulted astrologers about my nativity, who told him, your son shall live very happy till the age of fifteen, when he will be in danger of losing his life, and hardly be able to escape it; but if his good destiny preserve him beyond that time, he will live to grow very old. it will be then, said they, when the statue of brass that stands upon the top of the mountain of adamant, shall be thrown down into the sea by prince agib, son of king cassib; and, as the stars prognosticate, your son shall be killed fifty days afterwards by that prince. as the event of this part of the prediction about the statue agrees exactly with my father's dream, it afflicted him so much that he was struck to the very heart with it. in the mean time, he took all imaginable care of my education, until this present year, which is the fifteenth of my age; and he had notice given him yesterday that the statue of brass had been thrown into the sea about ten days ago by the same prince i told you of. this news has cost him so many tears, and has alarmed him so much, that he looks not like himself. upon these predictions of the astrologers, he has sought by all means possible to falsify my horoscope, and to preserve my life. it is not long since he took the precaution to build me this subterranean habitation to hide me in till the expiration of the fifty days after the throwing down of the statue; and therefore, since it was that this had happened ten days ago, he came hastily hither to hide me, and promised at the end of forty days to come again and fetch me out. as for my own part, i am in good hopes, and cannot believe that prince agib will come to seek for me in a place under ground in the midst of a desert island. this, my lord, is what i have to say to you. whilst the jeweller's son was telling me this story, i laughed in myself at those astrologers who had foretold that i should take away his life; for i thought myself so far from being likely to verify what they said, that he had scarcely done speaking when i told him with great joy, dear sir, put your confidence in the goodness of god, and fear nothing; you may consider it as a debt you was to pay, but that you are acquitted of it from this very hour. i am glad that, after my shipwreck, i came so fortunately hither to defend you against all those that would attempt your death; i will not leave you till the forty days are expired, of which the foolish astrologers have made you so apprehensive; and in the mean time i will do you all the service that lies in my power; after which i shall have the benefit of getting to the main-land in your vessel, with leave of your father and yourself; and when i am returned into my kingdom, i shall remember the obligations i owe you, and endeavour to demonstrate my acknowledgments in a suitable manner. this discourse of mine encouraged the jeweller's son, and made him have confidence in me. i took care not to tell him i was the very agib whom he dreaded, lest i should put him into a fright, and took as much care not to give him any cause to suspect it. we passed the time in several discourses, till night came on. i found the young lad of a ready wit, and ate with him of his provisions, of which he had enough to have lasted beyond the forty days, though he had had more guests than myself. after supper, we continued some time in discourse, at last we went to bed. the next day, when we got up, i held the basin and water to him; i also provided dinner, and set it on the table in due time. after we had done, i invented a play to divert ourselves, not only for that day, but for those that followed. i prepared supper after the same manner as i had prepared dinner; and having supped, we went to bed as formerly. we had time enough to contract friendship; i found he loved me; and, for my part, i had so great a respect for him, that i have often said to myself, those astrologers, who predicted to his father that his son should die by my hand, were impostors; for it is not possible that i could commit so base an action. in short, madam, we spent thirty-nine days in the pleasantest manner that could be in a place under ground. the fortieth day appeared; and in the morning, when the young man awaked, he says to me, with a transport of joy that he could not restrain, prince, this is the fortieth day, and i am not dead; thanks to god and your good company. my father will not fail to be here anon to give you testimony of his gratitude for it, and shall furnish you with all that is necessary for your return to your kingdom; but in the mean time, said he, i beg you to get ready some water very warm to wash my whole body in that portable bagnio, that i may clean myself, and change my clothes, to receive my father more cheerfully. i set the water on the fire, and when it was hot put it into the moveable bagnio. the youth went in, and i myself washed and rubbed him. at last he came out, and laid himself down in his bed that i had prepared, and covered him with his bed-clothes. after he had slept a while, he awaked, and said, dear prince, pray do me the favour to fetch me a melon and some sugar, that i may eat some and refresh me. out of several melons that remained, i took the best, and laid it on a plate; and because i could not find a knife to cut it with, i asked the young man if he knew where there was one? there is one, said he, upon this cornice over my head; i accordingly saw it there, and made so much haste to reach it, that while i had it in my hand, my foot being entangled in the covering, i fell most unhappily upon the young man, and the knife ran into his heart in a minute. at this spectacle i cried out most hideously; i beat my head, my face, and breast; i tore my clothes, and threw myself on the ground with unspeakable sorrow and grief. alas! i cried, there were only some hours wanting to have put him out of that danger from which he sought sanctuary here; and when i myself thought the danger past, then i became his murderer, and verified the prediction. but, o lord, said i, lifting up my face and hands to heaven, i beg thy pardon, and, if i be guilty of his death, let me not live any longer. after this misfortune i would have embraced death without any reluctance, had it presented itself to me. but what we wish to ourselves, whether good or bad, will not always happen. nevertheless, considering with myself that all my tears and sorrows would not bring the young man to life again, and, the forty days being expired, i might be surprised by his father, i quitted that subterranean dwelling, laid down the great stone upon the entry of it, and covered it with earth. i had scarcely done, when, casting my eyes upon the sea towards the main-land, i perceived the vessel coming to fetch home the young man. i began then to consider what i had best do; i said to myself, if i am seen by the old man, he will certainly lay hold on me, and perhaps cause me to be massacred by his slaves. when he has seen his son killed, all that i can allege to justify myself will not be able to persuade him of my innocence. it is better for me, then, to withdraw, since it is in my power, than expose myself to his resentment. there happened to be near this subterranean habitation a large tree with thick leaves, which i thought fit to hide me in. i got up to it, and was no sooner fixed in a place where i could not be seen, than i saw the vessel come to the same place where she lay the first time. the old man and his slaves landed immediately, and advanced towards the subterranean dwelling, with a countenance that showed some hope; but when they saw the earth had been newly removed, they changed colour, particularly the old man. they lifted up the stone, and went down; they called the young man by his name, but he not answering, their fears increased; they went down to seek him, and at length found him lying upon the bed with the knife in his heart, for i had not power to take it out. at this sight, they cried out lamentably, which increased my sorrow: the old man fell down in a swoon. the slaves, to give him air, brought him up in their arms, and laid him at the foot of the tree where i was; but, notwithstanding all the pains they took to recover him, the unfortunate father continued a long while in that condition, and made them oftener than once despair of his life; but at last he came to himself. then the slaves brought up his son's corpse dressed in his best apparel, and when they had made a grave, they put him into it. the old man, supported by two slaves, and his face all covered with tears, threw the first earth upon him, after which the slaves filled up the grave. this being done, all the furniture was brought out from under ground, and, with the remaining provisions, put on board the vessel. the old man, overcome with sorrow, and not being able to stand, was laid upon a sort of litter, and carried to the ship, which put forth to sea, and in a short time sailed quite out of sight. after the old man and his slaves were gone with the vessel, i was left alone upon the island. i lay that night in the subterranean dwelling, which they had shut up; and when the day came, i walked round the isle, and stopped in such places as i thought most proper to repose in when i had need. i led this wearisome life for a month together; after which i perceived the sea to be mightily fallen, the island to be much larger, and the main-land seemed to be drawing nearer me. in effect, the water grew so low, that there was but a small stream between me and the terra firma. i crossed it, and the water did not come above the middle of my leg. i marched so long upon the slime and sands that i was very weary; at last i got upon firm ground, and, when at a good distance from the sea, i saw a good way before me somewhat like a great fire, which gave me some comfort, for i said to myself, i shall find somebody or other, it not being possible that this fire should kindle of itself; but when i came nearer, i found my error, and saw that what i had taken to be fire was a castle of red copper, which the beams of the sun made look, at a distance, as if it had been in flames. i stopped near the castle, and sat down to admire its admirable structure, and to rest a while. i had not taken such a full view of this magnificent building, as it deserved, when i saw ten handsome young men coming along as if they had been taking a walk; but that which most surprised me was, that they were all blind of the right eye; they accompanied an old man, who was very tall, and of a venerable aspect. i could not but wonder at the sight of so many half-blind men all together, and every one of the same eye. as i was thinking in my mind by what adventure all these could come together, they came up to me, and seemed to be mighty glad to see me. after the first compliments were passed, they inquired what had brought me hither? i told them my story would be somewhat tedious, but, if they would take the trouble to sit down, i would satisfy their request. they did so, and i related unto them all that had happened unto me since i left my kingdom, which filled them with astonishment. after i had ended my discourse, the young gentlemen prayed me to go with them into the castle; i accepted the proffer, and we passed through a great many halls, antichambers, bedchambers, and closets, very well furnished, and arrived at last in a spacious hall, where there were ten small blue sofas set round, and separate from each other, upon which they sat by day, and slept by night. in the middle of this round there stood an eleventh sofa, not so high as the rest, but of the same colour, upon which the old man before mentioned sat down, and the young gentlemen made use of the other ten, whereas each sofa could only contain one man. one of the young men says to me, comrade, sit down upon that carpet in the middle of the room, and do not inquire into any thing that concerns us, nor the reason why we are all blind of the right eye; be content with what you see, and let not your curiosity go any further. the old man, having sat a little while, rose up, and went out; but he returned in a minute or two, brought in supper for the ten gentlemen, distributed to each man his proportion by himself, and likewise brought me mine, which i ate by myself, as the rest did, and when supper was almost done, he presented to each of us a cup of wine. they thought my story so extraordinary, that they made me repeat it after supper, and this gave occasion to discourses which lasted a good part of the night. one of the gentlemen, observing that it was late, said to the old man, you see it is time to go to bed, and you do not bring us that with which we may acquit ourselves of our duty. at these words the old man rose, and went into a closet, from whence he brought out upon his head ten basons, one after another, all covered with blue stuff: he set one before every gentleman, together with a light. they uncovered their basons, in, which there were ashes, coal- dust, and lamp-black; they mixed all together, and rubbed and bedaubed their faces with it in such a manner, that they looked very frightful. after having thus blackened themselves, they fell a-weeping and lamenting, beating their heads and breasts, and cried continually, this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches. they continued this almost the whole night, and when they left off, the old man brought them water, with which they washed their faces and hands; they also changed their clothes, which were spoiled, and put on others; so that they did not look in the least as if they had been doing so strange an action. you may judge, madam, how uneasy i was all the while; i had a mind a thousand times to break the silence which these young gentlemen had imposed upon me, and ask questions; nor was it possible for me to sleep that night. after we got up next day, we went out to walk, and then i told them, gentlemen, i declare to you that i must renounce that law which you prescribed to me last night, for i cannot observe it. you are men of sense, and all of you have wit in abundance; you have convinced me of it, yet i have seen you do such actions, as none but madmen could be capable of. whatever misfortune befals me, i cannot forbear asking, why you bedaubed your faces with black? how it comes that each of you have but one eye? some singular thing must have been the cause of it, therefore i conjure you to satisfy my curiosity. to these pressing instances they answered nothing, but that it was none of my business to ask such questions, and that i should do well to hold my peace. we passed that day in discourses upon different subjects, and when night was come, and every man had supped, the old man brought in the blue basons, and the young gentlemen bedaubed their faces, wept, and beat themselves, crying, this is the fruit of our idleness and debauches, as before, and continued the same actions the following night. at last, not being able to resist my curiosity, i earnestly prayed them to satisfy me, or to show me how to return to my own kingdom, for it was impossible for me to keep them company any longer, and to see every night such an odd spectacle, without being permitted to know the reason. one of the gentlemen answered in behalf of the rest, do not wonder at our conduct in regard to yourself; and that hitherto we have not granted your request; it is out of mere kindness, and to prevent the sorrow of your being reduced to the same condition with us. if you have a mind to try our unfortunate destiny, you need but speak, and we will give you the satisfaction you desire. i told them i was resolved on it, let come what will. once more, said the same gentleman, we advise you to restrain your curiosity; it will cost you the loss of your right eye. no matter, said i; i declare to you, that if such a misfortune befal me, i will not impute it to you, but to myself. he further represented to me, that when i had lost an eye, i must not hope to stay with them, if i were so minded, because their number was complete, and no addition could be made to it. i told them, that it would be a great satisfaction to me never to part from such honest gentlemen, but, if there was necessity for it, i was ready to submit; and, let it cost what it would, i begged them to grant my request. the ten gentlemen, perceiving that i was positive in my resolution, took a sheep and killed it, and, after they had taken off the skin, presented me with the knife, telling me it would be useful to me on a certain occasion, which they should tell me of presently. we must sew you into this skin, said they, and then leave you; upon which a fowl of monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, and, taking you to be a sheep, will come down upon you, and carry you up to the very sky; but let not that frighten you, he will come down again with you, and lay you upon the top of a mountain. when you find yourself upon the ground, cut the skin with the knife, and throw it off. as soon as the roc sees you, he will fly away for fear, and leave you at liberty. do not stay, but walk on till you come to a prodigious castle, all covered with plates of gold, large emeralds, and other precious stones: go up to the gate, which always stands open, and walk in: we have been in the castle as long as we have been here: we will tell you nothing of what we saw, or what befel us there, because you will learn it yourself; all that we can inform you is, that it has cost each of us our right eye, and the penance which you have been witness to is what we are obliged to do, because we have been there. the history of each of us in particular is so full of extraordinary adventures, that a large volume would not contain them; but we must explain ourselves no further. when the gentleman had ended this discourse, i wrapt myself in the sheep's skin, held fast the knife which was given me; and after those young gentlemen had been at the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me on the place. the roc they had spoken of was not long a-coming; he fell down upon me, took me up between his talons like a sheep, and carried me to the top of the mountain. when i found myself upon the ground, i made use of the knife, cut the skin, and throwing it off, the roc at the first sight of me flew away. this roc is a white bird of a monstrous size; his strength is such that he can lift up elephants from the plains, and carry them to the tops of mountains, where he feeds upon them. being impatient till i reached the castle, i lost no time, but made so much haste, that i got thither in half a day's journey, and i must say, that i found it surpassed the description they had given me of it. the gate being open, i entered into a court that was square, and so large, that there were round it ninety-nine gates of wood of sanders and aloes, with one of gold, without counting those of several magnificent stair-cases that led up to apartments above, besides many more i could not see. the hundred doors i spoke of opened into gardens or store-houses full of riches, or into palaces that contained things wonderful to be seen. i saw a door standing open just before me, through which i entered into a large hall, where i found forty voung ladies of such perfect beauty, that imagination could not go beyond it; they were all most sumptuously apparelled; and as soon as they saw me, they rose up, and, without expecting my compliments, said to me, with demonstrations of joy, noble sir, you are very welcome. and one spoke to me in the name of the rest thus: we have been in expectation a long while of such a gentleman as you; your mien assures us that you are master of all the good qualities we can wish for, and we hope you will not find our company disagreeable or unworthy of yours. they forced me, notwithstanding all the opposition i could make, to sit down on a seat that was higher than theirs, and though i signified that i was uneasy. that is your place, said they; you are at present our lord, master, and judge, and we are your slaves, ready to obey your commands. nothing in the world, madam, so much astonished me as the passion and eagerness of those fair ladies to do me all possible service. one brought hot water to wash my feet; a second poured sweet scented water on my hands; some brought me all sorts of necessaries, and change of apparel; others brought in a magnificent collation; and the rest came with glasses in their hands to fill me delicious wines, all in good order, and in the most charming manner that could be. i ate and drank; after which the ladies placed themselves about me, and desired an account of my travels. i gave them a full relation of my adventures, which lasted till night came on. when i had made an end of my story, which i related to the forty ladies, some of them that sat nearest me staid to keep me company, whilst the rest, seeing it was dark, rose to fetch tapers. they brought a prodigious quantity, which made such a marvellous light as if it had been day, and they were so proportionably disposed,, that nothing could be more beautiful. other ladies covered a table with dry fruits, sweet-meats, and everything proper to make the liquor relish; and a side-board was set with several sorts of wines and other liquors. some of the ladies came in with musical instruments, and, when every thing was prepared, they invited me to sit down to supper. the ladies sat down with me, and we continued a long while at supper. they that were to play upon the instruments, and sing, stood up, and made a most charming concert. the others began a sort of ball, and danced by two and two, one after another, with a wonderfully good grace. it was past midnight before those divertisements ended. at length one of the ladies says to me, you are doubtless wearied by the journey you have made to-day; it is time for you to go to rest; your lodging is prepared; but, before you depart, make choice of any of us you like best to be your bed-fellow. i answered, that i knew better things than to offer to make my own choice, since they were all equally beautiful, witty, and worthy of my respects and service, and that i would not be guilty of so much incivility as to prefer one before another. the same lady that spoke to me before answered. we are all very well satisfied of your civility, and find you are afraid to create a jealousy among us, which occasions your modesty; but let nothing hinder you. we assure you, that the good fortune of her whom you choose shall cause no jealousy; for we are agreed among ourselves, that every one of us shall have the same honour till it go round, and, when forty days are past, to begin again; therefore make your free choice, and lose no time to go and take the repose you stand in need of. i was obliged to yield to their instances, and offered my hand to the lady that spoke; she, in return, gave me hers, and we were conducted to an apartment, where they left us; and then every one retired to their own apartment. i was scarcely dressed next morning, when the other thirty-nine ladies came into my chamber, all in other dresses than they had the day before: they bid me good-morrow, and inquired after my health; after which they carried me into a bagnio*, where they washed me themselves, and, whether i would or not, served me in every thing i stood in need of; and when i came out of the bath, they made me put on another suit much richer that the former. we passed the whole day almost constantly at table; and when it was bed-time, they prayed me again to make choice of one of them to keep me company. in short, madam, not to weary you with repetitions, i must tell you, that i continued a whole year among those forty ladies, and received them into my bed one after another: and during all the time of this voluptuous life, we met not with the least kind of trouble. when the year was expired, i was strangely surprised that these forty ladies, instead of appearing, with their usual cheerfulness, to ask how i did, entered one morning into my chamber all in tears: they embraced me with great tenderness one after another, saying, adieu, dear prince, adieu! for we must leave you. their tears affected me; i prayed them to tell me the reason of their grief, and of the separation they spoke of. for god's sake, fair ladies, let me know, said i, if it be in my power to comfort you, or if my assistance can be any way useful to you. instead of returning a direct answer, would to god, said they, we had never seen nor known you. several gentlemen have honoured us with their company before you, but never one of them had that comeliness, that sweetness, that pleasantness of humour, and merit, which you have; we know not how to live without you. after they had spoken these words, they began to weep bitterly. my dear ladies, said i, be so kind as not to keep me in suspense any more: tell me the cause of your sorrow. alas! said they, what other thing could be capable of grieving us, but the necessity of parting from you? it may so happen that we shall never see you again; but if you be so minded, and have command enough over yourself, it is not impossible for us to meet again. ladies, said i, i understand not your meaning; pray explain yourselves more clearly. oh, then, said one of them, to satisfy you, we must acquaint you, that we are all princesses, daughters of kings; we live here together in such a manner as; you have seen, but, at the end of every year, we are obliged to be absent forty days upon indispensable duties, which we are not permitted to reveal; and afterwards we return again to this castle. yesterday was the last day of the year, and we must leave you this day, which is the cause of our grief. before we depart, we will leave you the keys to every thing; especially those belonging to the hundred doors, where you will have enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to sweeten your solitude during our absence: but, for your own welfare, and our particular concern in you, we recommend unto you to forbear opening the golden door; for, if you do, we shall never see you again; and the fear of this augments our grief. we hope, nevertheless, that you will follow the advice we give you, as you tender your own quiet, and the happiness of your life; therefore take heed that you do not give way to indiscreet curiosity, for you will do yourself a considerable prejudice. we conjure you, therefore, not to commit this fault, but to let us have the comfort of finding you here again after forty days. we would willingly carry the key of the golden door along with us; but it would be an affront to a prince like you to question your discretion and modesty. this discourse of the fair princesses made me extremely sorrowful. i omitted not to make them sensible how much their absence would afflict me: i thanked them for their good advice, and assured them that i would follow it, and willingly do what was much more difficult, in order to be so happy as to pass the rest of my days with ladies of such rare qualifications. we took leave of one another with a great deal of tenderness; and having embraced them all, they at last departed, and i was left alone in the castle. their agreeable company, the good cheer, the concert of music, and other pleasures, had so much diverted me during the whole year, that i neither had time, nor the least desire, to see the wonderful things contained in this enchanted palace. nay, i did not so much as take notice of a. thousand rare objects that were every day in my sight; for i was so taken with the charming beauty of those ladies, and took so much pleasure in seeing them wholly employed to oblige me, that their departure afflicted me very sensibly; and though their absence was to be only forty days, it seemed to be an age to live without them. i promised myself not to forget the important advice they had given me, not to open the golden door; but as i was permitted to satisfy my curiosity in every thing i took the first of the keys of the other doors, which were hung in good order. i opened the first door, and came into an orchard, which i believe the universe could not equal; i could not imagine that any thing could surpass it, but that which our religion promises us after death; the symmetry, the neatness, the admirable order of the trees, the abundance and diversity of a thousand sorts of unknown fruits, their freshness and beauty, ravished my sight. i ought not to forget, madam, to acquaint you, that this delicious orchard was watered after a very particular manner; there were channels so artificially and proportionably digged, that they carried water in abundance to the roots of such trees as wanted it for making them produce their leaves and flowers. some carried it to those that had their fruit budded;* others carried it in lesser quantities to those whose fruit was growing big; and others carried only so much as was just requisite to water those which had their fruit come to perfection, and only wanted to be ripened. they exceeded the ordinary fruits of our gardens very much in bigness; and, lastly, those channels that watered the trees whose fruits were ripe, had no more moisture than what would just preserve them from withering. i could never be weary to look at and admire so sweet a place; and i should never have left it, had i not conceived a greater idea of the other things which i had not seen. i went out at last with my mind filled with those wonders; i shut that door, and opened the next. instead of an orchard, i found a flower-garden, which was no less extraordinary of its kind; it contained a spacious plot, not watered so profusely as the former, but with greater niceness, furnishing no more water than just what each flower required. the roses, jessamines, violets, dills, hyacinths, wind-flowers, tulips, crowsfoots, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of other flowers, which do not grow in other places but at certain times, were there flourishing all at once; and nothing could be more delicious than the fragrant smell of this garden. i opened the third door, where i found a large volary, paved with marble of several fine colours that were not common. the cage was made of sanders and wood of aloes: it contained a vast number of nightingales, goldfinches, canary birds, larks, and other rare singing-birds which i never heard of; and the vessels that held their seed and water were of the most precious jasper or agate. besides, this volary was so exceedingly neat, that, considering its extent, one would think there could not be less than an hundred persons to keep it so clean as it was; but all this while not one soul appeared, either here or in the gardens where i had been, and yet i could not perceive a weed or any superfluous thing there. the sun went down, and i retired, being perfectly charmed with the chirping notes of the multitude of birds, which then began to perch upon such places as were convenient for them to repose on during the night. i went to my chamber, resolving to open all the rest of the doors the day following, except the golden one. i failed not to open a fourth door next day, and if what i had seen before was capable of surprising me, that which i saw then put me into a perfect ecstasy. i went into a large court, surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the description of which i shall pass by to avoid prolixity. this building had forty doors, wide open, and through each of them there was an entrance into a treasury, several of which were of greater value than the largest kingdoms. the first contained heaps of pearls; and, what is almost incredible, the number of these stones, which are most precious, and as large as pigeons' eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size: in the second treasury there were diamonds, carbuncles, and rubies: in the third there were emeralds: in the fourth there were ingots of gold: in the fifth, money: in the sixth, ingots of silver: in the two following there was also money. the rest contained amethysts, chrysolites, topazes, opals, turkoises, and hyacinths, with all the other stones unknown to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian, and coral, of which there was a storehouse filled, not only with branches, but whole trees. being filled with amazement and admiration, i cried out to myself, after having seen all these riches, now, if all the treasures of the kings of the universe were gathered together in one place, they could not come near this. what good fortune have i to possess all this wealth, with so many admirable princesses! i shall not stay, madam, to tell you the particulars of all the other rare and precious things i saw the days following: i shall only tell you, that thirty-nine days afforded me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so that there was only the hundredth door left, the opening of which was forbidden. i was come to the fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses, and had i but retained so much power over myself as i ought to have had, i should have been this day the happiest of all mankind, whereas now i am the most unfortunate. they were to return the next day, and the pleasure of seeing them again ought to have restrained my curiosity; but, through my weakness, which i shall ever repent, i yielded to the temptations of the evil spirit, who gave me no rest till i had thrown myself into those misfortunes that i have since undergone. i opened that fatal door, which i promised not to meddle with, and had not moved my foot to go in, when a smell that was pleasant enough, but contrary to my constitution, made me faint away: nevertheless, i came to myself again, and instead of taking this warning to shut the door, and forbear satisfying my curiosity, i went in, after i had stood some time in the air to carry off the scent, which did not incommode me any more. i found a large place, very well vaulted, the pavement strewed over with saffron; several candlesticks of massy gold, with lighted tapers that smelled of aloes and ambergris, lighted the place; and this light was augmented by lamps of gold and silver, that burned with oil made of several sorts of sweet-scented materials. among a great many objects that engaged my attention, i perceived a black horse, of the handsomest and best shape that ever was seen. i went nearer the better to observe him, and found he had a saddle and a bridle of massy gold, curiously wrought. the one side of his trough was filled with clean barley and sessems, and the other with rose water; i took him by the bridle, and led him forth to view him by the light; i got on his back, and would have had him move; but he not stirring, i whipped him with a switch i had taken up in his magnificent stable; and he had no sooner felt the stroke, than he began to neigh with a horrible noise, and extending his wings, which i had not seen before, he flew up with me into the air quite out of sight. i thought on nothing then but to sit fast; and, considering the fear that had seized upon me, i sat very well. he afterwards flew down again towards the earth, and lighting upon the terrace of a castle, without giving me any time to get off, he shook me out of the saddle with such force, that he made me fall behind him, and with the end of his tail struck out my right eye. thus i became blind of one eye, and then i began to remember the predictions of the ten young gentlemen. the horse flew again out of sight. i got up very much troubled at the misfortune i had brought upon myself: i walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then came down and entered into the hall, which i knew presently by the ten sofas in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the rest, to be the same castle from whence i was taken by the roc. the ten half-blind gentlemen were not in the hall when i came in, but came soon after with the old man; they were not at all surprised to see me again, nor at the loss of my eye; but said, we are sorry that we cannot congratulate you upon your return as we could have desired; but we are not the cause of your misfortune. i should be in the wrong to accuse you, said i, for i have drawn it upon myself, and i can charge the fault upon no other person. if it be a consolation to the unfortunate, said they, to have fellows, this example may afford us a subject of rejoicing; all that has happened to you, we also have undergone: we tasted all sorts of pleasure during a year successively; and we had continued to enjoy the same happiness still, had we not opened the golden door when the princesses were absent: you have been no wiser than we, and you had likewise the same punishment; we would gladly receive you among us, to do such penance as we do, though we know not how long it may continue: but we have already declared the reasons that hinder us; therefore depart from hence, and go to the court of bagdad, where you will meet with him that can decide your destiny. they told me the way i was to travel, and so i left them. on the road i caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaved, and took on a calender's habit. i have had a long journey; but at last arrived this evening in this city, where i met these my brother calenders at the gate, being strangers as well as myself. we wondered much at one another, to see all three blind, of the same eye; but we had not leisure to discourse long of our common calamities, having only so much time as to come hither to implore those favours which you have been generously pleased to grant us. the third calender having finished this relation of his adventures, zobeide addressed her speech to him and his fellow-calenders thus: go wherever you think fit; you are all three at liberty. but one of them answered, madam, we beg you to pardon our curiosity, and permit us to hear those gentlemen's stories who have not yet spoken. then the lady turned to that side where stood the caliph, the vizier giafar, and mesrour, whom she knew not; but said to them, it is now your turn to tell me your adventures; therefore speak. the grand vizier giafar, who had always been the spokesman, answered zobeide thus: madam, in order to obey you, we need only repeat what we have said already, before we entered your house. we are merchants of moussol, that came to bagdad to sell our merchandise, which lies in the khan where we lodge. we dined to-day, with several other persons of our profession, at a merchant's house in this city; who, after he had treated us with choice dainties and excellent wines, sent for men and women dancers and musicians. the great noise we made brought in the watch, who arrested some of the company, but we had the good fortune to escape; and it being already late, and the door of our khan shut up, we knew not whither to retire. it was our hap, as we passed along this street, to hear mirth at your house, which made us determine to knock at your gate. this is all the account that we can give you in obedience to your commands. zobeide, having heard this discourse, seemed to hesitate as to what she should say; which the calenders perceiving, prayed her to grant the same favour to the three moussol merchants as she had done to them. well, then, said she, i give my consent, for you shall be all equally obliged to me; i pardon you all, provided you depart immediately out of this house, and go whither you please. zobeide haying given this command in a tone that signified she would be obeyed, the caliph, the vizier, mesrour, the three calenders, and the porter, departed without saying one word; for the presence of the seven slaves with their weapons kept them in awe. when they were out of the house, and the door shut, the caliph said to the calenders, without making himself known, you gentlemen strangers, that are newly come to town, which way do you design to go, since it is not yet day? it is that which perplexes us, sir, said they. follow us, replies the caliph, and we shall bring you out of danger. after saying these words, he whispered to the vizier, take them along with you, and to-morrow morning bring them to me; i will cause their history to be put in writing, for it deserves a place in the annals of my reign. the vizier giafar took the three calenders along with him; the porter went to his quarters, and the caliph and mesrour returned to the palace. the caliph went to bed, but could not get a wink of sleep, his spirits being perplexed by the extraordinary things he had seen and heard; but, above all, he was most concerned to know who zobeide was, what reason she could have to be so severe to the two black bitches, and why amine had her bosom so mortified. day began to appear whilst he was thinking upon these things: he arose and went to his council-chamber, where he used to give audience, and sat upon his throne. the grand vizier came in a little after, and paid his respects as usual. vizier, said the caliph, the affairs we have to consider at present are not very pressing; that of the three ladies and the two black bitches is much more so. my mind cannot be at ease till i be thoroughly satisfied in all those matters that have surprised me so much. go, bring these ladies and the calenders at the same time; make haste, and remember that i do impatiently expect your return. the vizier, who knew his master's quick and fiery temper, made haste to obey, and went to the ladies, to whom he communicated, in a civil way, the orders he had to bring them before the caliph, without taking any notice of what had passed the night before at their house. the ladies put on their veils, and went with the vizier; as he passed by his own house, he took the three calenders along with him, and they, in the mean time, had got notice that they had both seen and spoken with the caliph without knowing him. the vizier brought them to the palace with so much diligence, that the caliph was mightily pleased at it. this prince, that he might keep a good decorum before all the officers of his court who were then present, made those ladies be placed behind the hanging of the door of the room that was next his bedchamber, and kept by him the three calenders; who, by their respectful behaviour, gave sufficient proof that they were not ignorant before whom they had the honour to appear. when the ladies were placed, the caliph turned towards them, and said, when i shall acquaint you, that i came last night, disguised in a merchant's habit, into your house, it will certainly alarm you, and make you fear that you have offended me; and perhaps you believe that i have sent for you to no other end but to show some marks of my resentment: but be not afraid; you may rest assured that i have forgotten all that has passed, and am very well satisfied with your conduct. i wish that all the ladies of bagdad had as much discretion as you have given proof of before me. i shall always remember the moderation you made use of, after the incivility we had committed. i was then a merchant of moussol, but am at present haroun alraschid, the seventh caliph of the glorious house of abbas, who holds the place of our great prophet. i have only sent for you to know who you are, and to ask for what reason one of you, after severely whipping the two black bitches, did weep with them? and i am no less curious to know why another of you has her bosom full of scars? though the caliph pronounced these words very distinctly, so that the three ladies heard them well enough, yet the vizier giafar did, out of ceremony, repeat them over again. zobeide, after the caliph by his discourse encouraged her, satisfied his curiosity in this manner. the story of zobeide. commander of the faithful, says she, the relation i am about to give to your majesty is one of the strangest that ever was heard. the two black bitches and myself are sisters by the same father and mother; and i shall acquaint you by what strange accident they came to be metamorphosed. the two ladies that live with me, and are now here, are also my sisters by the father's side, but by another mother; she that has the scars on her breast is amine, the other is safie, and mine is zobeide. after our father's death, the estate that he left us was equally divided among us; and so soon as those two sisters received their portions, they went from me to live with their mother. my other two sisters and myself staid with our mother, who was then alive, and, when she died, left each of us a thousand sequins. as soon as we received our portions, the two elder (for i am the youngest) being married, followed their husbands, and left me alone. some time after, my eldest sister's husband sold all that he had; and with that money, and my sister's portion, they both went into africa, where her husband, by riotous living and debauchery, spent all; when, finding himself reduced to poverty, he found a pretext for divorcing my sister, and put her away. she returned to this city, and having suffered incredible hardships by the way, came to me in so lamentable a condition, as would have moved the hardest heart to compassion. i received her with all the tenderness she could expect; and inquiring into the cause of her sad condition, she told me, with tears, how inhumanly her husband had dealt by her. i was so much concerned at her misfortune, that tears flowed from my eyes: i put her into a bagnio, and clothed her with my own apparel, and spoke to her thus: sister, you are the elder, and i esteem you as my mother: during your absence, god has blessed the portion that fell to my share, and the employment i follow to feed and bring up silk-worms. assure yourself that there is nothing i have but what is at your service and as much at your disposal as my own. we lived very comfortably together for some months; and as we were often discoursing together about our third sister, and wondering we heard no news of her, she came in as bad a condition as the elder; her husband had treated her after the same manner, and i received her with the same affection as i had done the former. some time after, my two sisters, on pretence that they would not be chargeable to me, told me they had thoughts to marry again. i answered them, that if their putting me to charge was the only reason, they might lay those thoughts aside, and be very welcome to stay with me; for what i had would be sufficient to maintain us all three, answerably to our condition: but, said i, i rather believe you have a mind to marry again; which if you have, i am sure it will very much surprise me: after the experience you have had of the small satisfaction there is in wedlock, is it possible you dare venture a second time? you know how rare it is to meet with a husband that is a real honest man. believe what i say, and let us stay together, and live as comfortably as we can. all my persuasion was in vain; they were resolved to marry, and so they did; but, after some months were past, they came back again, and begged my pardon a thousand times for not following my advice. you are our youngest sister, said they, and abundantly more wise than we; but if you will vouchsafe to receive us once more into your house, and account us your slaves, we shall never commit such a fault again. my answer was, dear sisters, i have not altered my mind with respect to you since we last parted from one another; come again, and take part of what i have. upon this, i embraced them cordially, and we lived together as formerly. we continued thus a whole year in perfect love and tranquillity; and seeing that god had increased my small stock, i projected a voyage by sea to hazard somewhat in trade. to this end, i went with my two sisters to balsora, where i bought a ship ready fitted for sea, and loaded her with such merchandise as i brought from bagdad. we set sail with a fair wind, and soon got through the persian gulph; and when got into the ocean, we steered our course for the indies, and saw land the twentieth day. it was a very high mountain, at the bottom of which we saw a great town; and having a fresh gale, we soon reached the harbour, where we cast anchor. i had not patience to stay till my sisters were dressed to go along with me, but went ashore in the boat myself; and making directly to the gate of the town, i saw there a great number of men upon guard, some sitting and others standing, with batons in their hands; and they had all such dreadful countenances that they frightened me; but perceiving that they had no motion, nay not so much as with their eyes, i took courage, and went nearer, and then found they were all turned into stones. i entered the town, and passed through the several streets, where there stood every where men in several postures, but all immovable and petrified. on that side where the merchants lived, i found most of the shops shut, and, in such as were open, i likewise found the people petrified. i looked up to the chimnies, but saw no smoke; which made me conjecture that those within, as well as those without, were turned into stones. being come into a vast square in the heart of the city, i perceived a great gate covered with plates of gold, the two leaves of which stood open, and a curtain of silk stuff seemed to be drawn before it; i also saw a lamp hanging over the gate. after i had well considered the fabric, i made no doubt but it was the palace of the prince who reigned over that country; and being very much astonished that i had not met with one living creature, i went thither in hopes to find some: i entered the gate, and was still more surprised when i saw none but the guards in the porches all petrified; some standing, some sitting, and others lying. i crossed over a large court, where i saw just before me a stately building, the windows of which were enclosed with gates of massy gold: i looked upon it to be the queen's apartment, and went into a large hall, where stood several black eunuchs turned into stone. i went from thence in to a room richly hung and furnished, where i perceived a lady in the same manner. i knew it to be the queen, by the crown of gold that hung over her head, and a necklace of pearl about her neck, each of them as big as a nut: i, went up close to her to view it, and never saw any thing finer, i stood some time, and admired the richness and magnificence of the room; but, above all, the foot-cloth, the cushions, and the sofas, which were all lined with indian stuff of gold, with pictures of men and beasts in silver, drawn to admiration. i went out of the chamber where the petrified queen was, and came through several other apartments and closets richly furnished, and at last came into a vast large room, where there was a throne of massy gold raised several steps above the floor, and enriched with large enchased emeralds, and a bed upon the throne of rich stuff embroidered with pearls. that which surprised me more than all the rest was a sparkling light which came from above the bed: being curious to know from whence it came, i mounted the steps, and lifting up my head, i saw a diamond, as big as the egg of an ostrich, lying upon a low stool: it was so pure, that i could not find the least blemish in it; and it sparkled so bright, that i could not endure its lustre when i saw it by day. on each side of the bed-head there stood a lighted flambeau, but for what use i could not apprehend; however, it made me imagine that there was some living creature in this place; for i could not believe that these torches continued burning of themselves. several other rarities detained me in this room, which was inestimable, were it only for the diamond i mentioned. the doors being all open, or but half shut, i surveyed some other apartments as fine as those i had already seen. i looked into the offices and store-rooms, which were full of infinite riches; and i was so much taken with the sight of all these wonderful things, that i forgot myself, and did not think on my ship or my sisters, my whole design being to satisfy my curiosity: meantime night came on, which put me in mind that it was time to retire. i was for returning by the same way i came in, but could not find it; i lost myself among the apartments; and finding i was come back again to that large room where the throne, the couch, the large diamond, and the torches stood, i resolved to make my night's lodging there, and to depart the next morning betimes, in order to get on board my ship. i laid myself down upon the couch, not without some dread to be alone in a wild place, and this fear hindered my sleep. about midnight i heard a voice like that of a man reading the alcoran, after the same manner, and in the same tone, as we used to read it in our mosques. being extremely glad to hear it, i got up immediately, and, taking a torch in my hand to light me, i passed from one chamber to another, on that side whence the voice issued; i came to the closet-door, where i stood still, not doubting that it came from thence. i set down my torch upon the ground, and looking through a window, i found it to be an oratory. in short, it had, as we have in our mosques, a niche, which shows where we must turn to say our prayers. there were also lamps hung up, and two candlesticks with large tapers ef white wax burning. i saw a little carpet laid down like those we kneel upon when we say our prayers, and a comely young man sat upon this carpet reading the alcoran, which lay before him upon a desk, with great devotion. at the sight of this i was transported with admiration; i wondered how it came to pass that he should be the only living creature in a town where all the people were turned into stones, and did not doubt but that there was something in it very extraordinary. the door being only half shut, i opened it, and went in, and, standing upright before the niche, said this prayer aloud: 'praise be to god, who has favoured us with a happy voyage; and may he be graciously pleased to protect us in the same manner, until we arrive again in our own country. hear me, o lord, and grant my request.' the young man cast his eyes upon me, and said, my good lady, pray let me know who you are, and what has brought you to this desolate city? in requital i will tell you who i am, what happened to me, why the inhabitants of this city are reduced to the state you see them in, and why i alone am safe and sound in the midst of such a terrible disaster. i told him in few words from whence i came, what made me undertake the voyage, and how i safely arrived at this port, after twenty days sailing; and when i had done, prayed him to perform his promise, and told him how much i was struck by the frightful desolation which i had seen in all places as i came along. my dear lady, says the young man, have patience for a moment. at those words he shut the alcoran, put it into a rich case, and laid it in the niche. i took that opportunity to observe him, and perceived so much good nature and beauty in him, that i felt very strange emotions. he made me sit down by him, and, before he began his discourse, i could not forbear saying to him, with an air that discovered the sentiments i was inspired with, amiable sir, dear object of my soul, i can scarcely have patience to wait for an account of all those wonderful things that i have seen since the first time i came into your city, and my curiosity cannot be satisfied too soon; therefore, pray, sir, let me know by what miracle you alone are left alive among so many persons who have died in so strange a manner. madam, says the young man, you have given me to understand you have the knowledge of a true god, by the prayer you have just now addressed to him. i will acquaint you with a most remarkable effect of his greatness and power. you must know that this city was the metropolis of a mighty kingdom, over which the king my father reigned. that prince, his whole court, the inhabitants of the city, and all his other subjects, were magi, worshippers of fire, and of nardoun, the ancient king of the giants, who rebelled against god. though i was begotten and born of an adulterous father and mother, i had the good fortune in my youth to have a woman-governess who was a good mussulman; i had the alcoran by heart, and understood the explanation of it perfectly well. dear prince, would she oftentimes say, there is but one true god; take heed that you do not acknowledge or adore any other. she learned me to read arabic, and the book she gave me to exercise upon was the alcoran. as soon as i was capable of understanding it, she explained to me all the heads of this excellent book, and infused piety into my mind, unknown to my father or any body else. she happened to die, but not before she had perfectly instructed me in all that was necessary to convince me of the mussulman religion. after her death, i persisted with constancy in the belief i was in; and i abhor the false god nardoun, as well as the adoration of fire. about three years and some months ago, a thundering voice was heard, all of a sudden, so distinctly through the whole city, that nobody could miss hearing it. the words were these: 'inhabitants, abandon the worship of nardoun and of fire, and worship the only god that shows mercy.' this voice was heard three years successively, but nobody was converted: so the last day of the year, at four o'clock in the morning, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, every one in the same condition and posture in which he then happened to be. the king my father had the same fate, for he was metamorphosed into a black stone, as may be seen in this palace; and the queen my mother had the like destiny. i am the only person that did not suffer under that heavy judgment; and ever since i have continued to serve god with more fervency than before. i am persuaded, dear lady, that he has sent you hither for my comfort, for which i render him infinite thanks; for i must own that this solitary life is very uneasy. all these expressions, and particularly the last, increased my love to him extremely. prince, said i, there is no doubt that providence hath brought me into your port to present you with an opportunity of withdrawing from this dismal place; the ship that i am come in may in some measure persuade you that i am in some esteem at bagdad, where i have left also a considerable estate; and i dare engage to promise you sanctuary there, until the mighty commander of the faithful, who is vice regent to our prophet, whom you acknowledge, do you the honour that is due to your merit. this renowned prince lives at bagdad; and as soon as he is informed of your arrival in his capital, you will find that it is not in vain to implore his assistance. it is impossible you can stay any longer in a city where all the objects you see must renew your grief: my vessel is at your service, where you may absolutely command as you shall think fit. he accepted the offer, and we discoursed the remaining part of the night about our embarkation. as soon as it was day, we left the palace, and came on board my ship, where we found my sisters, the captain, and the slaves, all very much troubled about my absence. after i had presented my sisters to the prince, i told them what had hindered my return to the vessel the day before; how i had met with the young prince; his story, and the cause of the desolation of so fine a city. the seamen were taken up several days in unloading the merchandise i brought along with me, and embarking, instead of that, all the precious things in the palace, as jewels, gold, and money. we left the furniture and goods, which consisted of an infinite quantity of plate, etc., because our vessel could not carry it; for it would have required several vessels more to carry all the riches to bagdad which it was in our option to take with us. after we had loaded the vessel with what we thought fit, we took such provisions and water on board as were necessary for our voyage, (for we had still a great deal of those provisions left that we had taken in at balsora;) and at last set sail with a favourable wind. the young prince, my sisters, and myself, enjoyed ourselves for some time very agreeably. but, alas! this good understanding did not last long; for my sisters grew jealous of the friendship between the prince and me, and maliciously asked me one day, what we should do with him when we came to bagdad? i perceived immediately that they put this question to me on purpose to discover my inclinations; therefore resolving to put it off with a jest, i answered them, i will take him for my husband; and upon that, turning myself to the prince, sir, i humbly beg of you to give your consent; for, as soon as we come to bagdad, i design to offer you my person to be your slave, to do you all the service that is in my power, and to resign myself wholly to your commands. the prince answered, i know not, madam, whether you are in jest or not; but, for my own part, i seriously declare before these ladies, your sisters, that from this moment i heartily accept your offer, not with any intention to have you as a slave, but as my lady and mistress; nor will i pretend to have any power over your actions. at these words my sisters changed colour, and i could easily perceive that afterwards they did not love me as formerly. we were come into the persian gulph, and not far from balsora, where i hoped, considering the fair wind, we might have arrived the day following; but in the night, when i was asleep, my sisters watched their time, and threw me overboard. they did the same to the prince, who was drowned. i swam some minutes on the water; but by good fortune, or rather miracle, i felt ground. i went towards a black place, which, by what i could discern in the dark, seemed to be land, and actually was a flat on the coast: when day came, i found it to be a desert island, lying about twenty miles from balsora. i soon dried my clothes in the sun; and as i walked along, found several sorts of fruit, and likewise fresh water, which gave me some hopes of preserving my life. i laid myself down in a shade, and soon after i saw a winged serpent, very large and long, coming towards me wriggling to the right and to the left, and hanging out his tongue, which made me think he had got some hurt. i rose, and saw a serpent still larger following, holding him by the tail, and endeavouring to devour him, i had compassion on him, and, instead of flying away, had the boldness and courage to take up a stone that by chance lay by me, and threw it at the great serpent with all my strength, whom i hit on the head and killed. the other, finding himself at liberty, took to his wings and flew away. i looked a long while after him in the air, as being an extraordinary thing; but he flew out of sight, and i lay down again in another place in the shade, and fell asleep. when i awaked, judge how i was surprised to see a black woman by me, of a lively and agreeable complexion, who held two bitches tied together in her hand, of the same colour. i sat up, and asked her who she was? i am, said she, the serpent whom you delivered not long since from my mortal enemy. i know not how to acknowledge the great kindness you did me, except by doing what i have done. i know the treachery of your sisters, and, to revenge you as soon as i was set at liberty by your generous assistance, i called several of my companions together, fairies like myself. we have carried the loading that was in your vessel into your storehouses at bagdad, and afterwards sunk it. these two black bitches are your sisters, whom i have transformed into this shape: but this punishment is not sufficient, for i will have you to treat them after such a manner as i shall direct. at these words, the fairy took me fast under one of her arms, and the two bitches in the other, and carried me to my house at bagdad, where i found all the riches, which were loaded on board my vessel, in my store-houses. before she left me, she delivered me the two bitches, and told me, if you wish not to be changed into a bitch, as they are, i ordain you, in the name of him that governs the sea, to give each of your sisters every night a hundred lashes with a rod, for the punishment of the crime they have committed against your person, and the young prince whom they have drowned. i was forced to promise that i would obey her order. since that time i have whipped them every night, though with regret, whereof your majesty has been a witness. i give evidence, by my tears, with how much sorrow and reluctance i must perform this cruel duty; and in this your majesty may see i am more to be pitied than blamed. if there be any thing else, with relation to myself, that you desire to be informed of, my sister amine will give you the full discovery of it by the relation of her story. the caliph heard zobride with a great deal of astonishment, and desired his grand vizier to pray fair amine to acquaint him wherefore her breast was marked with so many scars. upon this, amine addressed herself to the caliph, and began her story after this manner: the story of amine. commander of the faithful, says she, to avoid repeating what your majesty has already heard from my sister's story, i shall only add, that after my mother had taken a house for herself to live in during her widowhood, she gave me in marriage, with the portion my father left me, to a gentleman that had one of the best estates in this city. i had scarcely been a year married when i became a widow, and was left in possession of all my husband's estate, which amounted to ninety thousand sequins. the interest of this money was sufficient to maintain me very honourably. in the mean time, when my first six months' mourning was over, i caused to be made me ten suits of clothes, very rich, so that each suit came to a thousand sequins; and, when the year was past, i began to wear them. one day, as i was busy all alone about my private affairs, one came to tell me that a lady desired to speak with me. i ordered that she should be brought in: she was a person well stricken in years; she saluted me by kissing the ground, and told me, kneeling, dear lady, pray excuse the freedom i take; the confidence i have in your charity makes me thus bold: i must acquaint your ladyship that i have a daughter, an orphan, who is to be married this day; she and i are both strangers, and have no acquaintances at all in this town: this puts me in a perplexity, for we would have the numerous family with whom we are going to ally ourselves to think we are not, altogether strangers, and without credit: therefore, most beautiful lady, if you would vouchsafe to honour the wedding with your presence, we shall be infinitely obliged to you; because the ladies of your country will then know that we are not looked upon here as despicable wretches, when they shall come to understand that a lady of your quality did us that honour. but, alas! madam, if you refuse this request, we shall be altogether disgraced, and dare not address ourselves to any other. the poor woman's discourse, mingled with tears, moved my compassion. good woman, said i, do not afflict yourself; i am willing to grant you the favour you desire; tell me what place i must come to, and i will meet you as soon as i am dressed. the old woman was so transported with joy at my answer, that she kissed my feet, without my being able to hinder her. good charitable lady, said she, rising up, god will reward the kindness you have shown to your servants, and make your heart as joyful as you have made theirs. it is too soon yet to give yourself that trouble; it will be time enough when i come to call you in the evening: so farewell, madam, said she, until i have the honour to see you again. as soon as she was gone, i took the suit i liked best, with a necklace of large pearls, bracelets, pendents in my ears, and rings set with the finest and most sparkling diamonds; for my mind presaged what would befall me. when night drew on, the old woman came to call me with a countenance full of joy; she kissed my hands, and said, my dear lady, the relations of my son-in-law, who are the principal ladies of the town, are now met together; you may come when you please, i am ready to wait on you. we went immediately, she going before, and i followed her with a good number of my maids and slaves, very well dressed. we stopped in a large street, newly swept and watered, at a large gate, with a lantern before it, by the light of which i could read this inscription over the gate in golden letters: 'here is the abode of everlasting pleasures and content.' the old woman knocked, and the gate was opened immediately. they brought me to the lower end of the court into a large hall, where i was received by a young lady of admirable beauty; she came up to me, and after having embraced me, and made me sit down by her upon a sofa, where there was a throne of precious wood beset with diamonds, madam, said she, you are brought hither to assist at a wedding; but i hope this marriage will prove otherwise than you expect. i have a brother, one of the handsomest men in the world; he has fallen so much in love with your beauty, that his fate depends wholly upon you, and he will be the unhappiest of men, if you do not take pity on him. he knows your quality, and i can assure you he is not unworthy of your alliance. if my prayers, madam, can prevail, i shall join them with his, and humbly beg you will not refuse the offer of being his wife. after the death of my husband, i had no thoughts of marrying again; but i had not power to refuse the offer made by so charming a lady. as soon as i had given consent by silence, accompanied with a blush, the young lady clapped her hands, and immediately a closet-door opened, out of which came a young man of a majestic air, and of so graceful a behaviour, that i thought myself happy to have made so great a conquest. he sat down by me, and, by the discourse we had together, i found that his merits far exceeded the account his sister had given me of him. when she saw that we were satisfied one with another, she clapped her hands a second time, and out came a cadi, or scrivener, who wrote our contract of marriage, signed it himself, and caused it to be attested by four witnesses he brought along with him. the only thing that my new spouse made me promise was, that i should not be seen nor speak with any other man but himself; and he vowed to me, upon that condition, that i should have no reason to complain of him. our marriage was concluded and finished after this manner; so i became the principal actress in a wedding to which i was invited only as a guest. after we bad been married about a month, i had occasion for some stuffs; i asked my husband's leave to go out to buy them which he granted; and i took that old woman along with me of whom i spoke before, she being one of the family, with two of my own female slaves. when we came to the street where the merchants dwell, the old woman told me, dear mistress, since you want silk stuffs, i must carry you to a young merchant of my acquaintance who has of all sorts, which will prevent your wearying yourself by going from one shop to another. i can assure you that he is able to furnish you with that which nobody else can. i was easily persuaded, and we entered into a shop belonging to a young merchant. i sat down and bid the old woman desire him to show me the finest silk stuffs he had: the woman bid me speak myself; but, i told her it was one of the articles of my marriage-contract not to speak to any man but my husband, and that i must keep to it. the merchant showed me several stuffs, of which one pleased me better than the rest. i bid her ask the price. he answered the old woman, i will not sell it for gold or money, but i will make her a present of it, if she will give me leave to kiss her cheek. i bid the old woman tell him that he was very rude to propose such a thing. but, instead of obeying me, she said, what the merchant desires of you is no such great matter; you need not speak, but only present him your cheek, and the business will soon be done. the stuff pleased me so much, that i was foolish enough to take her advice. the old woman and my slaves stood up, that nobody might see, and i put up my veil; but, instead of a kiss, the merchant bit me till the blood came. the pain and surprise were so great, that i fell down in a swoon, and continued in it so long, that the merchant had time to shut his shop, and fly for it. when i came to myself, i found my cheek all bloody: the old woman and my slaves took care to cover it with my veil, lest the people who cams about us should perceive; but they supposed it only a fainting-fit. the old woman that was with me, being extremely troubled at the accident, endeavoured to comfort me: my dear mistress, said she, i beg your pardon, for i am the cause of this misfortune, having brought you to this merchant because he is my countryman; but i never thought he could be capable of so vile an action. but do not grieve; let us make haste to go home. i will give you a medicine that will perfectly cure you in three days time, so that the least mark will not be seen. the fit had made me so weak, that i was scarcely able to walk; but at last i got home, where i had a second fit as i went into my chamber. meanwhile the old woman applied her remedy, so that i came to myself, and went to bed. my husband came to me at night, and seeing my head bound up, asked the reason. i told him i had the headache, and hoped he would inquire no further; but he took a candle, and saw that my cheek was hurt: how comes this wound? said he. though i was not very guilty, yet i could not think of owning the thing: besides, to make such confession to a husband, was somewhat indecent; therefore i told him, that as i was going to seek for that stuff you gave me leave to buy, a porter carrying a load of wood came so close by me, as i went through a narrow street, that one of the sticks gave me a rub on my cheek; but it is not much hurt. this put my husband into such a passion, that he vowed it should not go unpunished; for he should to-morrow give orders to the lieutenant of the police to seize upon all those brutes of porters, and cause them to be hanged. being afraid to occasion the death of so many innocent persons, i told him, sir, i should be sorry that so great a piece of injustice should be committed. pray, do not do it; for i should judge myself unpardonable, if i were the cause of so much mischief. then tell me sincerely, said he, how you came by this wound? i answered, that it came through the inadvertency of a broom-seller upon an ass, who coming behind me, and looking another way, his ass gave me such a push, that i fell down, and hurt my cheek upon some glass. is it so? said my husband, then to-morrow morning, before sun-rise, the grand vizier giafar shall have an account of this insolence, and he shall cause all the broom-sellers to be put to death. for the love of god, sir, said i, let me beg of you to pardon them, for they are not guilty. how, madam, said he, what is it i must believe? speak, for i am absolutely resolved to know the truth from your own mouth. sir, said i, i was taken with a giddiness, and fell down; and that is the whole matter. at these last words, my husband lost all patience. oh! cried he, i have given ear to your lies too long. with that, clapping his hands, in came three slaves: pull her out of bed, said he, and lay her in the middle of the floor. the slaves obeyed his orders, one holding me by the head, and another by the feet: he commanded the third to fetch him a scimitar, and when he had brought it, strike, said he, cut her in two in the middle, and then throw her into the tigris to feed the fishes. this is the punishment i give to those to whom i have given my heart, if they falsify their promise. when he saw that the slave made no haste to obey his orders, why do not you strike? said he; who is it that holds you? what art thou waiting for? madam, then, said the slave, as you are near the last moment of your life, consider if you have, any thing to dispose of before you die. i begged to be allowed to speak one word, which was granted me. i lifted up my head, and looking wistfully to my husband, alas, said i, to what condition am i reduced? must i then die in the prime of my youth? i could say no more, for my tears and sighs prevented me. my husband was not at all. moved, but to the contrary, went on to reproach me; so that to have made an answer would have been in vain. i had recourse to entreaties and prayers; but he had no regard to them, and commanded the slaves to proceed to execution. the old woman that had been his nurse came in just at that moment, fell down upon her knees, and endeavoured to appease his wrath: my son, said she, since i have been your nurse, and brought you up, let me beg the favour of you to grant me her life; consider that he who kills shall be killed, that you will stain your reputation, and lose the esteem of mankind. what will not the world say of such a bloody rage? she spoke these words in such a taking away, accompanied with tears, that she gained upon him at last. well, then, says he to his nurse, for your sake i will spare her life; but she shall carry some marks along with her, to make her remember her crime. with that, one of the slaves, by his order, gave me so many blows, as hard as he could strike, with a little cane, upon my sides and breast, that he fetched both skin and flesh away, so that i lay senseless: after that he caused the same slaves, the executioners of his fury, to carry me into a house, where the old woman took care of me. i kept my bed four months; at last i recovered; but the scars you saw yesterday have remained ever since. as soon as i was able to walk and go abroad, i resolved to go to the house which was my own by my first husband, but i could not find the place. my second husband, in the heat of his wrath, was not content to have it razed to the ground, but caused all the street where it stood to be pulled down. i believe such a violent proceeding was never heard of before; but against whom should i make my complaint? the author had taken such care, that he was not to be found, neither could i know him again if i saw him; and suppose i had known him, is it not easily seen that the treatment i met with proceeded from absolute power? how then dared i make any complaints. being destitute and unprovided of every thing, i had recourse to my dear sister zobeide, who gave your majesty just now an account of her adventures; to her i made known my misfortune; she received me with her accustomed goodness, and advised me to bear it with patience. this is the way of the world, said she, which either robs us of our means, our friends, or our lovers, and oftentimes of all at once; and at the same time, to confirm what she had said, she gave me an account of the loss of the young prince, occasioned by the jealousy of her two sisters; she told me also by what accident they were transformed into bitches; and, in the last place, after a thousand testimonials of her love towards me, she showed me my youngest sister, who had likewise taken sanctuary wish her after the death of her mother. thus we gave god thanks, who had brought us together again, resolving to live a single life, and never to separate any more, for we have enjoyed this peaceable way of living many years; and as it was my business to mind the affairs of the house, i always took pleasure to go myself, and buy in what we wanted. i happened to go abroad yesterday, and the things i bought i caused to be brought home by a porter, who proved to be a sensible and jocose fellow, and we kept him by us for a little diversion. three calenders happened to come to our door as it began to grow dark, and prayed us to giye them shelter until next morning: we gave them entrance upon certain conditions, to which they agreed; and after we had made them sit down at the table by us, they gave us a concert of music after their fashion, and at the same time we heard a knocking at our gate. these were the three merchants of moussol, men of a very good mien, who begged the same favour which the calenders had obtained before: we consented upon the same conditions, but neither of them kept their promise; and though we had power as well as justice on our side to punish them, yet we contented ourselves with demanding from them the history of their lives, and consequently bounded our revenge with dismissing them after they had done, and depriving them of the lodging they demanded. the caliph haroun alraschid was very well satisfied with these strange stories, and declared publicly his astonishment at what he had heard. having satisfied his curiosity, he thought himself obliged to give some marks of grandeur and generosity to the calender princes, and also to give the three ladies some proofs of his bounty. he himself, without making use of his minister the grand vizier, said to zobeide, madam, did not this fairy, that showed herself to you in the shape of a serpent, and imposed such a rigorous command upon you, tell you where her place of abode was? or rather did she not promise to see you, and restore those bitches to their natural shape? commander of the faithful, answered zobeide, i forgot to tell your majesty, that the fairy left with me a bundle of hair, saying withal that her presence would one day stand me in stead; and then, if i only burnt two tufts of this hair, she would be with me in a moment, though she were beyond mount caucasus. madam, says the caliph, where is the bundle of hair? she answered, ever since that time, i have had such a particular care of it, that i always carry it about with me: upon which she pulled it out, opened the case a little where it was, and showed it him. well, then, said the caliph, let us make the fairy come hither; you could not call her in a better time, for i long to see her. zobeide having consented to it, fire was brought in, and she threw the whole bundle of hair into it. the palace began to shake at that very instant, and the fairy appeared before the caliph in the shape of a lady very richly dressed. commander of the faithful, said she to the prince, you see i am ready to come and receive your commands. the lady that gave me this call by your order, did me a particular piece of service: to make my gratitude appear, i revenged her of her sisters' inhumanity by changing them into bitches; but, if your majesty command, i shall restore them to their former shape. handsome fairy, said the caliph, you cannot do me a greater pleasure; vouchsafe them that favour, and after that i will find out some means to comfort them for their hard penance; but, besides, i have another boon to ask in favour of this lady who has had such cruel usage from an unknown husband; and as you undoubtedly know a great many things, we have reason to believe you cannot, be ignorant of this; oblige me with the name of this unfeeling fellow, who could not be contented to exercise his cruelty upon her person, but has also most unjustly taken from her all the substance she had i only wonder that such an unjust and inhuman action could be performed in spite of my authority, and not come to my ears. to serve your majesty, answered the fairy, i will restore the two bitches to their former state, and cure the lady of her scars, so that it will never appear she was so beaten; after which i will tell you who it was that did it. the caliph sent for the two bitches from zobeide's house, and when they came, a glass of water was brought to the fairy at her desire: she pronounced some words over it which nobody understood; then throwing some part of it upon amine, and the rest upon the bitches, the latter became two ladies of surprising beauty, and the scars that were upon amine vanished away. after which the fairy said to the caliph, commander of the faithful, i must now discover to you, the unknown husband you inquire after: he is very nearly related to yourself; for it is prince amin, your eldest son, who, falling passionately in love with this lady by the fame he had heard of her beauty, by an intrigue got her brought to his house, where he married her. as to the strokes he caused to be given her, he is in some measure excusable; for his spouse had been a little too easy, and the excuses she made were calculated to make him believe that she was more faulty than she really was. this is all i can say to satisfy your curiosity. at these words she saluted the caliph, and vanished. the prince, being filled with admiration, and having much satisfaction the changes that had happened through his means, did such things as will perpetuate his memory to future ages. first, he sent for his son amin, and told him that he was informed of his secret marriage, and how he had wounded amine upon a very slight cause; upon which the prince did not wait for his father's commands, but received her again immediately. after this, the caliph declared that he would give his own heart and hand to zobeide, and offered the other three sisters to the calenders, who accepted them with a great deal of joy. the caliph assigned to each a magnificent palace in the city of bagdad, promoted them to the highest dignities, and admitted them to his councils. the town-clerk of bagdad, being called with witnesses, wrote the contracts of marriage; and the famous caliph haroun alraschid, by making the fortunes of so many persons who had undergone such incredible misfortunes, drew a thousand blessings upon himself. the story of sindbad the sallor. dinarzade having awaked her sister the sultaness as usual, prayed her to tell her another story. scheherazade asked leave of the sultan, and having obtained it, began thus: sir, in the reign of the same caliph haroun alraschid, whom i formerly mentioned, there lived at bagdad a poor porter called hindbad. one day, when the weather was very hot, he was employed to carry a heavy burden from one end of the town to the other. being very weary, and having still a great way to go, he came into a street, where the delicate western breeze blew on his face, and the pavement of the street being sprinkled with rose water, he could not desire a better place to rest in; therefore, laying off his burden, he sat down by it near a great house. he was mightily pleased that he had stopped in this place, for an agreeable smell of wood of aloes and of pastils, that came from the house, mixing with the scent of the rose water, did completely perfume the air. besides, he heard from within a concert of several sorts of instrumental music, accompanied with the harmonies of nightingales, and other birds peculiar to that climate. this charming melody, and the smell of several sorts of victuals, made the porter think there was a feast, with great rejoicings within. his occasions leading him seldom that way, he knew not who dwelt in the house; but, to satisfy his curiosity, he went to some of the servants, whom he saw standing at the gate in magnificent apparel, and asked the name of the master of the house. how, replied one of them, do you live in bagdad, and know not that this is the house of signior sindbad, the sailor, that famous traveller who has sailed round the world? the porter, who had heard of sindbad's riches, could not but envy a man whose condition he thought to be as happy as his own was deplorable; and his mind being fretted with these reflections, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and says, loud enough to be heard, almighty creator of all things, consider the difference between sindbad and me. i am every day exposed to fatigues and calamities, and can scarcely get coarse barley bread for myself and family, whilst happy sindbad profusely expends immense riches, and leads a life of continual pleasure. what has he done to obtain from thee a lot so agreeable, and what have i done to deserve one so miserable? having finished this expostulation, he struck his foot against the ground, like a man overwhelmed with grief and despair. while the porter was thus indulging his melancholy, a servant came out of the house, and taking him by the arm, bid him follow him, for signior sindbad, his master, wanted to speak with him. your majesty may easily imagine that poor hindbad was not a little surprised at this compliment; for, considering what he had said, he was afraid sindbad had sent for him to punish him; therefore he would have excused himself, alleging that he could not leave his burden in the middle of the street. but sindbad's servants assured him they would look to it, and pressed the porter so that he was obliged to yield. the servants brought him into a large hall, where a number of people sat round a table covered with all sorts of fine dishes. at the upper end there sat a grave, comely, venerable gentleman, with a long white beard, and behind him stood officers and domestics ready to serve him; this grave gentleman was sindbad. the porter, whose fear was increased at the sight of so many people, and of a banquet so sumptuous, saluted the company tremblingly. sindbad bid him draw near, and setting him down at his right hand, served him himself, and gave him excellent wine, of which there was good store upon the side-board. when dinner was over, sindbad began his discourse to hindbad; and calling him brother, according to the manner of the arabians when they are familiar one to another, he asked him his name and employment. signior, answered he, my name is hindbad. i am very glad to see you, replies sindbad; and i dare to say the same for all the company: but i would be glad to hear, from your own mouth, what it was you said a while ago in the street; for sindbad had heard it himself through the window before he sat down to table; and that occasioned his calling for him. hindbad, being surprised at the question, hung down his head, and replied, signior, i confess that my weariness put me out of humour, and occasioned me to speak some indiscreet words, which i beg you to pardon. oh, do not you think i am so unjust, replies sindbad, to resent such a thing as that; i consider your condition, and, instead of upbraiding you with your complaints, i am sorry for you; but i must rectify your mistake concerning myself. you think, no doubt, that i have acquired, without labour or trouble, the ease and conveniency which i now enjoy. but do not mistake yourself; i did not attain to this happy condition without enduring more trouble of body and mind for several years than can well be imagined. yes, gentleman, adds he, speaking to the company, i can assure you my troubles were so extraordinary, that they were capable of discouraging the most covetous men from undertaking such voyages as i did to acquire riches. perhaps you have never heard a distinct account of the wonderful adventures and dangers i met with in my seven voyages; and, since i have this opportunity, i am willing to give you a faithful account of them, not doubting that it will be acceptable. and because sindbad was to tell this story particularly on the porter's account, he ordered his burden to be carried to the place appointed, and began thus: the story of sindbad the sailor. his first voyage. my father left me a considerable estate, most part of which i spent in debauches during my youth; but i perceived my error, and called to mind that riches were perishable, and quickly considered, that by my irregular way of living, i wretchedly misspent my time, which is the most valuable thing in the world. i remembered the saying of the great solomon, which i frequently heard from my father, that death is more tolerable than poverty. being struck with those reflections, i gathered together the ruins of my estate, and sold all my moveables in the public market to the highest bidder. then i entered into a contract with some merchants that traded by sea, took the advice of those whom i thought most capable to give it, and resolving to improve what money i had, went to balsora, a port in the persian gulph, and embarked with several merchants, who joined with me in fitting out a ship on purpose. we set sail, steering our course towards the east indies through the persian gulph, which is formed by the coasts of arabia felix on the right, by those of persia on the left, and, according to common account, is seventy leagues in the broadest place. the eastern sea, like that of the indies, is very spacious. it is bounded on one side by the coast of abyssinia, and leagues in length to the isles of vakvak[footnote: these islands, according; to the arabians, are beyond china: and are so called from a tree which bears a fruit of that name. they are, without doubt, the isles of japan; but they are not, however, so far from abyssinia.]. at first i was troubled with sea-sickness, but speedily recovered, and was not afterwards troubled with that disease. in our voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. one day, whilst under sail, we were becalmed near a little island, even almost with the surface of the water, which resembled a green meadow. the captain ordered his sails to be furled, and suffered such persons as had a mind to land upon the island, amongst whom i was one. but while we were diverting ourselves with eating and drinking, and refreshing ourselves from the fatigue of the sea, the island trembled all of a sudden, and shook us terribly. they perceived the trembling of the island on board the ship, and called to us to re-embark speedily, else we should be all lost; for what we took for an island was only the back of a whale. the nimblest got into the sloop, others betook themselves to swimming; but, for my part, i was still upon the back of the whale, when he dived into the sea, and i had time only to catch hold of a piece of wood that we had brought out of the ship to make a fire. meanwhile the captain, having received those on board who were in the sloop, and taken up some of those that swam, resolved to improve the favourable gale that was just risen, and, hoisting his sails, pursued his voyage, so that it was impossible to recover the ship. thus was i exposed to the mercy of the waves, and struggled for my life all the rest of the day and the following night. next morning i found my strength gone, and despaired of saving my life, when a wave threw me happily against an island. the bank was high and rugged, so that i should scarcely have got up, had it not been for some roots of trees which fortune seemed to have preserved in this place for my safety. being got up, i lay down upon the ground half dead, until such time as the sun appeared. then, though i was very feeble, both by reason of my hard labour and want of victuals, i crept along to seek for some herbs fit to eat, and had not only the good luck to find some, but likewise a spring of excellent water, which contributed much to recover me. after this i advanced further into the island, and came at last into a fine plain, where i perceived a horse feeding at a great distance. i went towards him between hope and fear, not knowing whether i was going to lose my life or to save it. when i came near, i perceived it to be a very fine mare tied to a stake. whilst i looked upon her, i heard the voice of a man from under ground, who immediately appeared to me, and asked who i was? i gave him an account of my adventure; after which, taking me by the hand, he led me into a cave, where there were several other people, no less amazed to see me than i was to see them. i ate some victuals which they offered me; and then, having asked them what they did in such a desert place, they answered, that they were grooms belonging to king mihrage, sovereign of the island; and that every year, at the same season, they brought thither the king's mares, and fastened them as i saw that mare, until they were covered by a horse that came out of the sea, who, after he had done so, endeavoured to destroy the mares, but they hindered him by their noise, and obliged him to return to the sea; after which they carried home the mares, whose foals were kept for the king's use, and called sea-horses. they added, that we were to get home to-morrow, and had i been one day later, i must have perished, because the inhabited part of the island was at a great distance, and it would have been impossible for me to have got thither without a guide. whilst they entertained me thus, the horse came out of the sea, as they had told me, covered the mare, and afterwards would have devoured her; but, upon a great noise made by the grooms, he left her, and went back to the sea. next morning they returned with their mares to the capital of the island, took me with them, and presented me to king mihrage. he asked me who i was, and by what adventure i came into his dominions? after i had satisfied him, he told me he was much concerned for my misfortune, and at the same time ordered that i should want nothing; which his officers were so generous and careful as to see exactly fulfilled. being a merchant, i frequented men of my own profession, and particularly inquired for those who were strangers, if perhaps i might hear any news from bagdad, or find an opportunity to return thither; for king mihrage's capital is situate on the bank of the sea, and has a fine harbour, where ships arrive daily from different quarters of the world. i frequented also the society of the learned indians, and took delight to hear them discourse; but withal i took care to make my court regularly to the king, and conversed with the governors and petty kings, his tributaries, that were about him. they asked me a thousand questions about my country; and being willing to inform myself as to their laws and customs, i asked them every thing which i thought worth knowing. there belongs to this king an island named cassel; they assured me, that every night a noise of drums was heard there, whence the mariners fancied that it was the residence of degial [footnote: degial, to the mahometans, is the same with antichrist to us. according to them, he is to appear about the end of the world, and will conquer all the earth, except mecca, medina, tarsus, and jerusalem, which are to be preserved by angels, whom he shall set round them.]. i had a great mind to see this wonderful place, and in my way thither saw fishes of an hundred and two hundred cubits long, that occasion more fear than hurt; for they are so fearful, that they will fly upon the rattling of two sticks or boards. i saw likewise other fishes about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls. as i was one day at the port after my return, a ship arrived. as soon as she cast anchor, they began to unload her, and the merchants on board ordered their goods to be carried into the magazine. as i cast my eye upon some bales, and looked to the name i found my own, and perceived the bales to be the same that i had embarked at balsora. i also knew the captain; but, being persuaded that he believed me to be drowned, i went and asked him whose bales these were? he replied, that they belonged to a merchant of bagdad, called sindbad, who came to sea with him; but one day, being near an island, as we thought, he went ashore, with several other passengers, upon this supposed island, which was only a monstrous whale that lay asleep upon the surface of the water; but as soon as he felt the heat of the fire they had kindled upon his back to dress some victuals, he began to move, and dived under water, when most of the persons who were upon him perished, and among them the unfortunate sindbad. these bales belong to him, and i am resolved to trade with them, until i meet with some of his family, to whom i may return the profit. captain, says i, i am that sindbad whom you thought to be dead, and these bales are mine. when the captain heard me speak thus, o heaven, says he, whom can we ever trust now-a-days? there is no faith left among men. i saw sindbad perish with my own eyes, and the passengers on board saw it as well as i, and yet you tell me that you are that sindbad? what impudence is this? to look on you, one would take you to be a man of probity; and yet you tell a horrible falsehood, in order to possess yourself of what does not belong to you. have patience, captain, replied i; do me the favour to hear what i have to say. very well, says he, speak; i am ready to hear you. then i told him how i escaped, and by what adventure i met with the grooms of king mihrage, who brought me to his court. the captain began to abate of his confidence upon my discourse, and was soon persuaded that i was no cheat; for there came people from his ship who knew me, made me great compliments, and testified a great deal of joy to see me alive. at last he knew me himself, and embracing me, heaven be praised, says he, for your happy escape! i cannot enough express my joy for it; there are your goods, take and do with them what you will. i thanked him, acknowledged his probity, and in requital offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. i took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented it to king mihrage, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how i came by such rarities? i acquainted him with the whole story. he was mightily pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and gave me one much more considerable in return. upon this, i took leave of him, and went on board the same ship, after i had exchanged my goods for the commodities of the country. i carried with me the wood of aloes, sanders, camphire, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. we passed by several islands, and at last arrived at balsora, from whence i came to this city, with the value of one hundred thousand sequins[footnote: the turkish sequin is about nine shillings sterling.]. my family and i received one another with all the transport that can arise from true and sincere friendship. i bought slaves of both sexes, fine lands, and built me a great house. thus i settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries i had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life. sindbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to go on with their concert, which his story had interrupted. the company continued to eat and drink until the evening, when it was time to retire. sindbad sent for a purse of one hundred sequins, and, giving it to the porter, says, take this, hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear some more of my adventures. the porter went home, astonished at the honour done him, and the present made him. the relation of it was very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return god thanks for what he had sent them by the hands of sindbad. hindbad put on his best clothes next day, and returned to the bountiful traveller, who received him with a pleasant air, and caressed him mightily. when all the guests were come, dinner was set upon the table, and continued a long time. when it was ended, sindbad, addressing himself to the company, says, gentlemen, be pleased to give me audience, and listen to the adventures of my second voyage; they better deserve your attention than the first. upon this, every one held his peace, and sindbad proceeded: the second voyage of sindbad the sailor. i intended, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at bagdad, as i had the honour to tell you yesterday; but it was not long ere i grew weary of a quiet life. my inclination to travel revived. i bought goods proper for the commerce i designed, and put to sea a second time with merchants of known probity. we embarked on board a good ship, and, after recommending ourselves to god, set sail: we traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. one day we landed upon an isle covered with several sorts of fruit-trees, but so deserted that we could see neither man nor horse upon it. we went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, and along the streams that watered them. whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and others with gathering fruits, i took my wine and provisions, and sat down by a stream betwixt two great trees which formed a curious shade. i made a very good meal, and afterwards fell asleep. i cannot tell how long i slept, but, when i awaked, the ship was gone. i was very much surprised, but got up, looking about every where, and could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. at last i perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance, that i lost sight of her in a very little time. i leave you to guess at my melancholy reflections in this sad condition, i was like to die of grief, cried out sadly, beat my head and breast, and threw myself down upon the ground, where i lay some time in terrible agony, one afflicting thought being succeeded by another still more afflicting. i upbraided myself an hundred times for not being content with the product of my first voyage, that might very well have served me all my life. but all this was vain, and my repentance out of season. at last i resigned myself to the will of god; and, not knowing what to do, i climbed to the top of a great tree, from whence i looked about on all sides to see if there were any thing that could give me hopes. when i looked towards the sea, i could see nothing but sky and water; but, on looking towards the land, i saw something white; coming down from the tree i took up what provisions i had left, and went towards it, the distance being so great that i could not distinguish what it was. when i came nearer, i thought it to be a white bowl, of a prodigious height and bigness; and when i came up to it, i touched it, and found it to be very smooth. i went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and it was so smooth that there was no climbing to the top of it. it was at least fifty paces round. by this time the sun was ready to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. i was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when i found it occasioned by a bird of monstrous size, that came flying towards me. i remembered a fowl called *roc, that i had often heard mariners speak of, and conceived that the great bowl, which i so much admired, must needs be its egg. in short, the bird lighted, and sat over the egg to hatch it. as i perceived her coming, i crept close to the egg, so that i had before me one of the legs of the bird, that was as big as the trunk of a tree; i tied myself strongly to it with the cloth that went round my turban, in hopes that when the roc[footnote: mark paul in his travels, and father martini in his history of china, speak each of this bird, and say it will take up an elephant and a rhinoceros.] flew away next morning, she would carry me with her out of this desert island. after having passed the night in this condition, the bird actually flew away next morning as soon as it was day, and carried me so high that i could not see the earth; she afterwards descended all of a sudden, and with so much rapidity, that i lost my senses. but when the roc was sat, and i found myself on the ground, i speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the bird, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew straight away. the place where it left me was a very deep valley, encompassed on all sides with mountains so high, that they seemed to reach above the clouds, and so full of steep rocks, that there was no possibility to get out of the valley. this was a new perplexity upon me; so that, when i compared this place with the desert island the roc brought me from, i found that i had gained nothing by the change. as i walked through this valley, i perceived that it was strewed with diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. i took a great deal of pleasure to look upon them, but speedily saw at a distance such objects as very much diminished my satisfaction, and which i could not look upon without terror; there were a great number of serpents, so big, and so long, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. they retired in the day-time to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and did not come out but in the night-time. i spent the day in walking about the valley, resting myself at times, in such places as i thought most commodious. when night came on, i went into a cave, where i thought i might be in safety; i stopped the mouth of it, which was low and straight, with a great stone, to preserve me from the serpents, but not so exactly fitted as to hinder light from coming in. i supped on part of my provisions; but the serpents, which began to appear, hissing about in the mean time, put me into such extreme fear, that you may easily imagine i did not sleep. when day appeared, the serpents retired, and i came out of the cave trembling; i can truly say, that i walked a long time upon diamonds, without having a mind to touch any of them. at last i sat down, and, notwithstanding my uneasiness, not having shut my eyes during the night, i fell asleep, after having ate a little more of my provisions. but i had scarcely shut my eyes, when something that fell by me with a great noise awakened me, and this was a great piece of fresh meat; at the same time i saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places. i always looked upon it to be a fable, when i heard mariners and others discourse of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems made use of by some merchants to get jewels from thence; but i found it to be true; for, in reality, those merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into it, the diamonds upon whose points they fall stick to them: the eagles, which are stronger in this country than any where else, fall down with great force upon these pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests upon the top of the rocks, to feed their young ones with; at which time the merchants, running to these nests, frighten the eagles by their noise, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. and this stratagem they made use of to get the diamonds out of the valley, which is surrounded with such precipices that nobody can enter it. i believed, till then, that it was not possible for me to get out of this abyss,which i looked upon as my grave; but then i changed my mind, for the falling in of those pieces of meat put me in hopes of a way to save my life. i began to gather together the greatest diamonds i could see, and put them into a leather bag in which i used to carry my provisions. i afterwards took the largest piece of meat i could find, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being tied fast to my girdle, so that it could not possibly drop off. i had scarcely laid me down when the eagles came; each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up with the piece of meat on my back, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. the merchants fell straightway a-shooting to frighten the eagles; and when they had forced them to quit their prey, one of them came up to the nest where i was: he was very much afraid when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of inquiring how i came hither, he began to quarrel with me, and asked why i stole his goods? you will treat me, replied i, with more civility, when you know me better. do not trouble yourself; i have diamonds enough for you and me too, more than all the merchants together. if they have any, it is by chance; but i chose myself, in the bottom of the valley, all those which you see in this bag; and, having spoken these words, i showed him them. i had scarcely done speaking, when the other merchants came trooping about us, very much astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when i told them my story; yet they did not so much admire my stratagem to save myself, as my courage to attempt it. they carried me to the place where they staid all together, and there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed, that in all the courts where they had been, they never saw any that came near them. i prayed the merchant, to whom the nest belonged whither i was carried, (for every merchant had his own,) to take as many for his share as he pleased: he contented himself with one, and that too the least of them; and when i pressed him to take more without fear of doing me any injury, no, says he, i am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and to raise as great a fortune as i desire. i spent the night with these merchants, to whom i told my story a second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. i could not moderate my joy, when i found myself delivered from the danger i have mentioned; i thought myself to be in a dream, and could scarcely believe myself to be out of danger. the merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for several days; and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his lot, we left the place next morning all together, and travelled near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to escape. we took the first port, and came to the isle of ropha, where trees grow that yield camphire. this tree is so large, and its branches so thick, that a hundred men may easily sit under its shade. the juice, of which the camphire is made, runs out from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a vessel, where it grows to a consistency, and becomes what we call camphire; and the juice being thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies. there is here also the rhinoceros, a creature less than the elephant, but greater than the buffalo: it has a horn upon its nose about a cubit long; which is solid, and cleft in the middle from one end to the other, and there are upon it white draughts, representing the figure of a man. the rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his head; but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his eyes, and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and, what is astonishing, the roc comes and carries them both away in her claws, to be meat for her young ones. i pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest i should be troublesome to you. here i exchanged some of my diamonds for good merchandise. from thence we went to other isles; and at last, having traded at several trading towns off the firm land, we lauded at balsora, from whence i went to bagdad. there i immediately gave great alms to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches i had brought, and gained with so much fatigue. thus sindbad ended the story of his second voyage, gave hindbad another hundred sequins, and invited him to come next day to hear the story of the third. the rest of the guests returned to their homes, and came again the next day at--the same hour; and certainly the porter did not fail, having almost forgotten his former poverty. when dinner was over, sindbad demanded attention, and gave them the following account of his third voyage. sindbad the sailor's third voyage. the pleasures of the life which i then led soon made me forget the risks i had run in my two former voyages; but being then in the flower of my age, i grew weary of living without business; and hardening myself against the thoughts of any danger i might incur, i went from bagdad with the richest commodities of the country to balsora. there i embarked again with other merchants. we made a long navigation, and touched at several ports, where we drove a considerable commerce. one day being out in the main ocean, we were attacked by a horrible tempest, which made us lose our course. the tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor there. when we had furled our sails, the captain told us, that this and some other neighbouring islands were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was such, that we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them, they would all fall upon us and destroy us. this discourse of the captain put the whole equipage into a great consternation, and we found very soon, to our cost, that what he had told us was too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, covered over with red hair, and about two feet high, came swimming towards us, and encompassed our ship in a little time. they spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with so much agility as surprised us. we beheld all this with fear, without daring to offer at defending ourselves, or to speak one word to divert them from their mischievous design. in short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and, hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another island from whence they came. all travellers carefully avoided that island where they left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall hear anon; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience. we went forward into the island, where we found some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. as we went on, we perceived at a distance a great pile of building, and made towards it. we found it to be a palace, well built and very high, with a gate of ebony of two leaves, which we thrust open. we entered the court, where we saw before us a vast apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of men's bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits. we trembled at this spectacle, and being weary with travelling, our legs failed under us, we fell to the ground, and lay a long time immoveable. the sun was set, and whilst we were in this lamentable condition the gate of the apartment opened with a great noise, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as high as a palm-tree. he had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as burning coal. his foreteeth were very long and sharp, and came without his mouth, which was deep like that of a horse. his upper lip hung down upon his breast. his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds. at last we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch looking at us: when he had considered us well, he advanced towards us, and laying his hand upon me, he took me up by the nape of the neck, turned me round as a butcher would do a sheep's head; and, after having viewed me well, and perceiving me to be so lean that i had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. he took up all the rest one by one, viewing them in the same manner: and the captain being the fattest, he held him with one hand, as i would do a sparrow, and thrusting a spit through him, kindled a great fire, and roasted him in his apartment for supper; which being done, he returned to the porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder: he slept thus till morning; for our parts, it was not possible for us to enjoy any rest, so that we passed the night in the most cruel fear that can be imagined. day being come, the giant awaked, got up, went out, and left us in the palace. when we thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had kept all night; and, every one grieving more than another, we made the palace resound with our complaints and groans. though there were a great many of us, and we had but one enemy, we had not at first the presence of mind to think of delivering ourselves from him by his death. this enterprise, however, though hard to put in execution, was the only design we ought naturally to have formed. we thought upon several other things, but determined nothing; so that, submitting to what it should please god to order concerning us, we spent the day in running about the island for fruit and herbs to sustain our lives. when evening came, we sought for a place to lie in, but found none; so that we were forced, whether we would or not, to return to the palace. the giant failed not to come back, and supped once more upon one of our companions; after which he slept and snored till day, and then went out and left us as formerly. our condition was so very terrible, that some of my comrades designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so strange a death; and those who were of this mind argued with the rest to follow their example. upon this, one of the company answered, that we were forbidden to destroy ourselves; but, allowing it to be lawful, it was more reasonable to think of a way to rid ourselves of the barbarous tyrant who designed so cruel a death for us. having thought of a project for that end, i communicated the same to my comrades, who approved it. brethren, said i, you know there is a great deal of timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us make several floats of it that may carry us, and, when they are done, leave them there till we think fit to make use of them. in the mean time we will execute the design to deliver ourselves from the giant; and, if it succeed, we may stay here with patience till some ship pass by that may carry us out of this fatal island; but, if it happen to miscarry, we may speedily get to our floats, and put to sea. i confess, that, by exposing ourselves to the fury of the waves, we run a risk of losing our lives; but, if we do, is it not better to be buried in the sea than in the entrails of this monster, who has already devoured two of us? my advice was relished, and we made floats capable of carrying three persons each. we returned to the palace towards evening, and the giant arrived a little while after. we were forced to submit to see a number of our comrades roasted; but at last revenged ourselves on the brutish giant thus. after he had made an end of his cursed supper, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. as soon as we heard him snore[footnote: it would seem the arabian author has taken this story from homer's odyssey.] according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, with myself, took each a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded him. the pain occasioned him to make a frightful cry, and to get up and stretch out his hands, in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage; but we ran to such places as he could not find us; and, after having sought for us in vain, he groped for the gate, and went out howling dreadfully. we went out of the palace after the giant, and came to the shore, where we had left our floats, and put them immediately into the sea. we waited till day, in order to get upon them, in case the giant came towards us with any guide of his own species; but we hoped, if he did not appear by sun-rise, and give over his howling which we still heard, that he would die; and if that happened to be the case, we resolved to stay in the island, and not to risk our lives upon the floats. but day had scarcely appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied with two others, almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming before him with a very quick pace. when we saw this, we made no delay, but got immediately upon our floats, and rowed off from the shore. the giants, who perceived this, took up great stones, and running to the shore, entered the water up to the middle, and threw so exactly, that they sunk all the floats but that i was upon; and all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. we rowed with all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants. when we got to sea, however, we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and the winds, tossed about sometimes on one side and sometimes on another, and spent that night and the following day under a cruel uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good luck to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. we found excellent fruit there that gave us great relief, so that we pretty well recovered our strength. in the evening we fell asleep on the bank of the sea, but were awaked by the noise of a serpent as long as a palmtree, whose scales made a rustling as he creeped along. he swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries, and the efforts he made to rid himself of the serpent; which, shaking him several times against the ground, crushed him, and we could hear him gnaw and tear the poor wretch's bones, when we had fled at a great distance from him. next day we saw the serpent again, to our great terror, when i cried out, o heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! we rejoiced yesterday at our having escaped from the cruelty of a giant, and the rage of the waves, and now are fallen into another danger equally as terrible. as we walked about, we saw a large tall tree, upon which we intended to pass the following night for our security; and, having satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it accordingly. a little while after, the serpent came hissing to the root of the tree, raised itself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than i, swallowed him at once, and went off; i staid upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate with my two companions. this filled me with horror, so that i was going to throw myself into the sea; but as nature prompts us to a desire to live as long as we can, i withstood this temptation to despair, and submitted myself to the will of god, who disposes of our lives at pleasure. in the mean time i gathered together a quantity of small wood, brambles, and dry thorns, and making them up into faggots, made a great circle with them round the tree, and tied some of them to the branches over my head. having done this, when the evening came, i shut myself up within the circle, with this melancholy piece of satisfaction, that i had neglected nothing which could preserve me from the cruel destiny with which i was threatened. the serpent failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart i had made; so that he sat till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse, that has retired to a place of safety. when day appeared, he retired, but i dared not leave my fort until the sun rose. i was fatigued with the toil he had put me to, and suffered so much by his poisonous breath, that death seemed more eligible to me than the horror of such a condition. i came down from the tree and, not thinking on the resignation i had made to the will of god the preceding day, i ran towards the sea with a design to throw myself headlong into it. god took compassion on my desperate state; for, just as i was going to throw myself, into the sea, i perceived a ship at a considerable distance. i called as loud as i could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it so as they might observe me. this had the desired effect; the crew perceived me, and the captain sent me his boat. as soon as i came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me to learn how i came into that desert island; and after i had told them all that befell me, the oldest among them said to me, they had several times heard of the giants that dwelt in that island; that they were cannibals, and ate men raw as well as roasted. as to the serpents, they added, that there were abundance in the isle, that they hid themselves by day, and came abroad at night. after having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of what they had to eat; and the captain, seeing that i was in rags, was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. we were at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of salabat, where grows sanders, a wood of great use in physic. we entered the port, and came to anchor. the merchants began to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. in the meantime the captain came to me, and said, brother, i have here a parcel of goods that belonged to a merchant, who sailed some time on board this ship; and he being dead, i design to dispose of them for the benefit of his heirs, when i know them. the bales he spoke of lay on the deck; and showing them to me, he says, there are the goods; i hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have factorage. i thanked him for giving me an opportunity to employ myself, because i hated to be idle. the clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of the merchants to whom they belonged; and when he asked the captain in whose name he should enter those he gave me the charge of, enter them, says the captain, in the name of sindbad the sailor. i could not hear myself named without some emotion; and looking steadfastly on the captain, i knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island, where i fell asleep by a brook, and set sail without me, or sending to see for me. but i could not remember him at first, he being so much altered since i saw him. as for him, who believed me to be dead, i could not wonder at his not knowing me. but captain, says i, was the merchant's name, to whom those bales belonged, sindbad? yes, replies he, that was his name; he came from bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at balsora. one day when we landed at an island to take in water and other refreshments, i know not by what mistake, i set sail without observing that he did not re- embark with us; neither i nor the merchants perceived it till four hours after. we had the wind in our stern, and so fresh a gale, that it was not then possible for us to tack about for him. you believe him then to be dead, said i? certainly answered he. no, captain, said i; look upon me, and you may know that i am sindbad, whom you left in the desert island: i fell asleep by a brook, and, when i awaked, i found all the company gone. at these words the captain looked steadfastly upon me; and, having considered me attentively, knew me at last, embraced me, and said, god be praised that fortune has supplied my defect. there are your goods, which i always took care to preserve, and to make the best of them at every port where i touched. i restore them to you, with the profit i have made on them. i took them from him, and at the same time acknowledged how much i owed to him. from the isle of salabat we went to another, where i furnished myself with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. as we sailed from the island, we saw a tortoise that was twenty cubits in length and breadth. we observed also a fish which looked like a crow, and gave milk, and its skin is so hard that they usually make bucklers of it. i saw another which had the shape and colour of a camel. in short, after a long voyage, i arrived at balsora, and from thence returned to this city of bagdad, with so great riches, that i knew not what i had. i gave a great deal to the poor, and added another great estate to those i had already. thus sindbad finished the history of his third voyage; gave another hundred sequins to hindbad, and invited him to dinner next day, to hear the history of his fourth voyage. hindbad and the company retired: and next day when they returned, sindbad, after dinner, continued the relation of his adventures. the fourth voyage of sindbad the sailor. the pleasure, says he, and the divertisements i took after my third voyage, had not charms enough to divert me from another. i was again prevailed upon by my passion for traffic, and curiosity to see new things. i therefore put my affairs in order, and having provided a stock of goods fit for the places i designed to trade, i set out on my journey. i took the way of persia, of which i travelled several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where i embarked. we set sail, and having touched at several ports of terra firma, and some of the eastern islands, we put out to sea, and were seized by such a sudden gust of wind, as obliged the captain to furl his sails, and to take all other necessary precautions, to prevent the danger that threatened us; but all was in vain; our endeavours took no effect; the sails were torn in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded, so that a great many of the merchants and seamen were drowned, and the cargo lost. i had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to get a plank, and we were carried by the current to an island which lay before us. there we found fruit and fountain water, which preserved our lives. we staid all night near the place where the sea cast us ashore, without consulting what we should do, our misfortune having dispirited us so much. next morning, as soon as, the sun was up, we walked from the shore, and, advancing into the island, saw some houses to which we went; and as soon as we came thither, we were encompassed by a great number of blacks, who seized us, shared us amongst them, and carried us to their respective habitations. i, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place: they made us sit down immediately, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs for us to eat. my comrades, not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it themselves, consulted only the satisfying their own hunger, and fell to eating with greediness. but i, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for me; for in a little time after i perceived my companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they knew not what they said. the blacks filled us afterwards with rice, prepared with oil of cocoas; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it greedily. i ate of it also, but very sparingly. the blacks gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they gave us rice on purpose to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. they accordingly ate my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess, gentlemen, that instead of growing fat, like the rest, i grew leaner every day. the fear of death, under which i laboured, turned all my food into poison. i fell into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the blacks having killed and eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death till another time. meanwhile i had a great deal of liberty, so that there was scarcely any notice taken of what i did; and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. an old man who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but, instead of obeying him, i redoubled my pace, and, quickly got out of sight. at that time there was none but an old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to come home till night, which was pretty usual with them. therefore, being sure that they could not come time enough to pursue me, i went on till night, when i stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions i had taken care of; but i speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. on the eighth day i came near the sea, and saw all of a sudden white people like myself gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place; this i took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. the people who gathered pepper came to meet me, and, as soon as they saw me, asked me in arabic, who i was, and whence i came? i was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and willingly satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how i fell into the hands of the blacks. those blacks, replied they, eat men; but by what miracle did you escape their cruelty? i told them the same story i now told you, at which they were wonderfully surprised. i staid with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they came. they presented me to their king, who was a good prince: he had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him; and he afterwards gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me. the island was very well peopled, plentiful of everything, and the capital was a place of great trade. this agreeable place of retreat was very comfortable to me after my misfortune, and the kindness of this generous prince towards me completed my satisfaction. in a word, there was not a person more in favour with him than myself, and by consequence every man in court and city sought how to oblige me; so that in a very little time i was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger. i observed one thing which to me appeared very extraordinary; all the people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without bridles or stirrups. this made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how that came to pass. his majesty answered, that i talked to him of things which nobody knew the use of in his dominions. i went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the stock of a saddle. when that was done, i covered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with gold. i afterwards went to a locksmith, who made me a bridle according to the pattern i showed him, and then he also made me some stirrups. when i had all things completed, i presented them to the king, and put them upon one of his horses. his majesty mounted immediately, and was so mightily pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by large presents to me. i could not avoid making several others for his ministers and principal officers of his household, who all of them made me presents that enriched me in a little time. i also made for the people of quality in the city, so that i gained great reputation and regard from everybody. as i made my court very exactly to the king, he says to me one day, sindbad, i love thee; and all my subjects, who know thee, treat thee according to my example. i have one thing to demand of thee, which thou must grant. sir, answered i, there is nothing but what i will do as a mark of my obedience to your majesty, whose power over me is absolute. i have a mind thou shouldst marry, replies he, that thou mayst stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own country. i dared not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one of the ladies of his court, a noble, beautiful, chaste, and rich lady. the ceremonies of marriage being over, i went and dwelt with the lady, and for some time we lived in perfect harmony. i was not, however, very well satisfied with my condition, and therefore designed to make my escape on the first occasion, and to return to bagdad, winch my present establishment, however advantageous, could not make me forget. while i was thinking on this, the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom i had contracted a very strict friendship, fell sick and died. i went to see and comfort him in his affliction; and finding him swallowed up with sorrow, i said to him as soon as i saw him, god preserve you, and grant you a long life. alas! replies he, how do you think i should obtain that favour you wish me? i have not above an hour to live. pray, says i, do not entertain such a melancholy thought; i hope it will not be so, but that i shall enjoy your company for many years. i wish you, says he, a long life; but for me, my days are at an end, for i must be buried this day with my wife. this is a law which our ancestors established in this land, and always observed it inviolably. the living husband is interred with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law. while he was entertaining me with an account of this barbarous custom, the very hearing of which frightened me cruelly, his kindred, friends, and neighbours, came in a body to assist at the funeral. they put on the corpse the woman's richest apparel, as if it had been her wedding-day, and dressed her with all her jewels; then they put her into an open coffin, and, lifting it up, began their march to the place of burial. the husband walked at the head of the company, and followed the corpse. they went up to an high mountain, and, when they came thither, took up a great stone, which covered the mouth of a very deep pit, and let down the corpse with all its apparel and jewels. then the husband, embracing his kindred and friends, suffered himself to be put into another open coffin without resistance, with a pot of water and seven little loaves, and was let down in the same manner as his wife. the mountain was pretty long, and reached to the sea. the ceremony being ever, they covered the hole again with the stone, and returned. it is needless, gentlemen, for me to tell you that i was the only melancholy spectator of this funeral; whereas the rest were scarcely moved at it, the thing being customary to them. i could not forbear speaking my thoughts of this matter to the king: sir, says i, i cannot enough admire the strange custom in this country of burying the living with the dead. i have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so cruel a law. what do you mean, sindbad? says the king; it is a common law. i shall be interred with the queen my wife, if she die first. but, sir, says i, may i presume to demand of your majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law? without doubt, replies the king, (smiling at the occasion of my question,) they are not exempted, if they be married in this island. i went home very melancholy at this answer, from fear of my wife dying first, and lest i should be interred alive with her, which occasioned me very mortifying reflections. but there was no remedy; i must have patience, and submit to the will of god. i trembled, however, at every little indisposition of my wife: but, alas! in a little time my fears came upon me all at once; for she fell sick, and died in a few days. you may judge of my sorrow: to be interred alive seemed to me as deplorable an end as to be devoured by cannibals. but i must submit; the king and all his court would honour the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city would do the like. when all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a coffin, with all the jewels and magnificent apparel. the cavalcade was begun; and, as second actor in this doleful tragedy, i went next the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable fate. before i came to the mountain, i made an essay on the minds of the spectators; i addressed myself to the king in the first place, and then to all those who were round me, and, bowing before them to the earth to kiss the border of their garments, i prayed them to have compassion upon me. consider, said i, that i am a stranger, and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that i have another wife and children in my own country[footnote: he was a mahometan, and this sect allows polygamy.]. it was to no purpose for me to speak thus, for no soul was moved at it; on the contrary, they made haste to let down my wife's corpse into the pit, and put me down the next moment in an open coffin, with a vessel full of water, and seven loaves. in short, the fatal ceremony being performed, they covered up the mouth of the pit, notwithstanding the excess of my grief, and my lamentable cries. as i came near the bottom, i discovered, by help of the little light that came from above, the nature of this subterraneous place; it was a vast long cave, and might be about fifty fathoms deep. i immediately felt an insufferable stench, proceeding from the multitude of dead corpses which i saw on the right and left; nay, i fancied that i heard some of them sigh out their last. however, when i got down, i immediately left my coffin, and getting at a distance from the corpse, held my nose, and lay down upon the ground, where i staid a long time, bathed in tears. then reflecting upon my sad lot, it is true, said i, that god disposes all things according to the decrees of his providence; but, poor sindbad, art not thou thyself the cause of being brought to die so strange a death? would to god thou hadst perished in some of those tempests which thou hast escaped; then thy death would not have been so lingering and terrible in all its circumstances. but thou hast drawn all this upon thyself by thy cursed avarice. ah, unfortunate wretch! shouldst thou not rather have staid at home, and quietly enjoyed the fruits of thy labour? such were the vain complaints with which i made the cave to echo, beating my head and stomach out of rage and despair, and abandoning myself to the most afflicting thoughts. nevertheless, i must tell you, that instead of calling death to my assistance in that miserable condition, i felt still an inclination to live, and to do all i could to prolong my days. i went groping about, with my nose stopped, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. though the darkness of the cave was so great that i could not distinguish day and night, yet i always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious and fuller of corpses than it appeared to be at first. i lived for some days upon my bread and water; which being all spent, at last i prepared for death. as i was thinking of death, i heard the stone lifted from the mouth of the cave, and immediately the corpse of a man was let down. when men are reduced to necessity, it is natural for them to come to extreme resolutions. while they let down the woman, i approached the place where her coffin was to be put, and as soon as i perceived they were covering the mouth of the cave, i gave the unfortunate wretch two or three great blows over the head with a large bone that i found; which stunned, or, to say the truth, killed her. i committed this horrid action merely for the sake of the bread and water that were in her coffin, and thus i had provisions for some days more. when that was spent, they let down another dead woman, and a living man; i killed the man in the same manner; and, as good luck would have it for me, there was then a sort of mortality in the town, so that by this means i did not want for provisions. one day, as i had despatched another woman, i heard something walking, and blowing or panting as it walked. i advanced towards that side from whence i heard the noise, and, upon my approach, the thing puffed and blew harder, as if it had been running away from me. i followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as i approached. i followed it so long and so far, that at last i perceived a light resembling a star: i went on towards the light, and sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again; and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock, large enough for a man to get out at. upon this, i stopped for some time to rest myself, being much fatigued with pursuing this discovery so fast: afterwards coming up to the hole, i went out at it, and found my self upon the banks of the sea. i leave you to guess at the excess of my joy; it was such, that i could scarcely persuade myself of its being real. but when i recovered from my surprise, and was convinced of the truth of the matter, i found the thing which i had followed, and heard puff and blow, to be a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter at that hole to feed upon the dead carcases. i considered the mountain, and perceived it to be situate betwixt the sea and the town, but without any passage or way to communicate with the latter, the rocks on the side of the sea being rugged and steep. i fell down upon the shore to thank god for his mercy, and afterwards entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which i did by daylight, with a better appetite than i had done since my interment in the dark hole. i returned thither again, and groped about among the biers for all the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold, bracelets, and rich stuffs i could find; these i brought to the shore, and tying them up neatly into bales with the cords that let down the coffins, i laid them together upon the bank, waiting till some ship passed by, without any fear of rain, for it was not then the season. after two or three days, i perceived a ship that had but just come out of the harbour, and passed near the place where i was. i made signs with the linen of my turban, and called to them as loud as i could: they heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board. when the mariners asked by what misfortune i came thither, i told them that i suffered shipwreck two days ago, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. it was happy for me that these people did not consider the place where i was, nor inquire into the probability of what i told them, but, without any more ado, took me on board with my goods. when i came to the ship, the captain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which i offered him. we passed by several islands, and, among others, that called the isle of bells, about ten days sail from serendib, with a regular wind, and six from that of kela, where we landed. this island produces lead mines, indian canes, and excellent camphire. the king of the isle of kela is very rich and potent, and the isle of bells[footnote: now ceylon.], which is about two days journey in extent, is also subject to him. the inhabitants are so barbarous, that they still eat human flesh. after we had finished our commerce in that island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports, and at last arrived happily at bagdad with infinite riches, of which it is needless to trouble you with the detail. out of thankfulness to god for his mercies, i gave great alms for the entertainment of several mosques, and for the subsistence of the poor, and employed myself wholly in enjoying my kindred and friends, making good cheer with them. here sindbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage, which was more surprising to the company than all the three former. he gave a new present of a hundred sequins to hindbad, whom he prayed to return next day at the same hour to dine with him, and to hear the story of his fifth voyage. hindbad and the rest of his guests took leave of him, and retired. next day, when all met, they sat down at table; and when dinner was over, sindbad began the relation of his fifth voyage. the fifth voyage of sindbad the sailor. the pleasures i enjoyed had charms enough again to make me forget all the troubles and calamities i had undergone, without curing me of my inclination to make new voyages; therefore i bought goods, ordered them to be packed and loaded, and set out with them for the best sea-ports; and there, that i might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, i staid till one was built on purpose at my own charge. when the ship was ready, i went on board with my goods; but, not having enough to load her, i took on board several merchants of different nations with their merchandise. we sailed with the first fair wind, and, after a long navigation, the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found the egg of a roc, equal in bigness to that i formerly mentioned. there was a young roc in it just ready to be hatched, and the bill of it began to appear. the merchants whom i had taken on board my ship, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatches, and made a hole in it, from whence they pulled out the young roc, piece after piece, and roasted it. i had earnestly dissuaded them from meddling with the egg, but they would not listen to me. scarcely had they made an end of their treat, when there appeared in the air, at a considerable distance from us, two great clouds. the captain, whom i hired to sail my ship, knowing by experience what it meant, cried that it was the he and the she roc that belonged to the young one, and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. we made haste to do so, and set sail with all possible diligence. in the mean time the two rocs approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. but, having a mind to avenge themselves, they flew back towards the place from whence they came; and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could to prevent that which unhappily befell us. they returned, and we observed that each of them carried between their talons stones, or rather rocks, of a monstrous size. when they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let fall a stone; but, by the dexterity of the steersman, who turned the ship with the rudder, it missed us, and falling by the side of the ship into the sea, divided the water so that we could almost see to the bottom. the other roc, to our misfortune, threw the stone so exactly upon the middle of the ship, that it split it in a thousand pieces. the mariners and passengers were all killed by the stone, or sunk. i myself had the last fate; but as i came up again, i caught hold, by good fortune, of a piece of the wreck; and swimming sometimes with one hand, and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast my board, the wind and the tide being for me, i came to an island whose banks were very steep; i overcame that difficulty, however, and got ashore. i sat down upon the grass to recover myself a little from my fatigue, after which i got up, and went into the island to view it. it seemed to be a delicious garden. i found trees everywhere, some of them bearing green, and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water, with pleasant windings and turnings. i ate the fruits, which i found excellent, and drank of the water, which was very pleasant. night being come, i lay down upon the grass, in a place convenient enough; but i could not sleep an hour at a time, my mind being disturbed with the fear of being alone in so desert a place. thus i spent the best part of the night in fretting and reproaching myself for my imprudence in not staying at home, rather than undertake this last voyage. these reflections carried me so far, that i began to form a design against my own life; but daylight dispersed those melancholy thoughts, and i got up and walked among the trees, but not without apprehensions of danger. when i was a little advanced into the island, i saw an old man, who seemed very weak and feeble. he sat upon the banks of a stream, and at first i took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. i went towards him, and saluted him; but he only bowed his head a little. i asked him what he did there; but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit. i believed him really to stand in need of help; so i took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bid him get down, and, for that end, stooped, that he might get off with ease; but, instead of that, he, who to me appeared very decrepit, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck, when i perceived his skin to be like that of a cow. he sat astride me upon my shoulders, and held my throat so strait, that i thought he would have strangled me, the fright of which made me faint away and fall down. notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me some time to recover my breath. when i had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other, that he forced me to rise up against my will. having got up, he made me walk up under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop to gather and eat such fruits as we found. he never left me all day; and when i lay down to rest me by night, he laid himself down by me, holding always fast about my neck. every morning he pushed me to make me awake; and afterwards obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. you may judge then, gentlemen, what trouble i was in, to be charged with such a burden as i could no ways rid myself from. one day i found in my way several dry calabashes that had fallen from a tree: i took a large one, and, after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island; having filled the calabash, i set it in a convenient place, and, coming hither again some days after, i took up the calabash, and, setting it to my mouth, found the wine to be so good, that it made me presently not only forget my sorrow, but i grew vigorous, and was so light-hearted, that i began to sing and dance as i walked along. the old man, perceiving the effect which this drink had upon me, and that i carried him with more ease than i did before, made a sign for me to give him the calabash; and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. there being enough of it to stupify him, he became drunk immediately; and the fumes getting into his head, he began to sing after his manner, and to dance with his breech upon my shoulders. his jolting made him vomit, and he loosened his legs from me by degrees; so that, finding he did not press me as before, i threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion, when i took up a great stone, with which i crushed his head to pieces. i was extremely rejoiced to be freed thus for ever from this cursed old fellow, and walked upon the bank of the sea, where i met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor to take in water and refresh themselves. they were extremely surprised to see me, and to hear the particulars of my adventures. you fell, said they, into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first that ever escaped strangling by him. he never left those he had once made himself master of till he destroyed them; and he has made this island famous by the number of men he has slain, so that the merchants and mariners who landed upon it dared not to advance into the island but in numbers together. after having informed me of those things, they carried me with them to the ship; the captain received me with great satisfaction when they told him what had befallen me. he put out again to sea; and, after some days sail, we arrived at the harbour of a great city, the houses of which were built with good stone. one of the merchants of the ship, who had taken me into his friendship, obliged me to go along with him, and carried me to a place appointed as a retreat for foreign merchants. he gave me a great bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town who used to gather cocoas, he desired them to take me with them to do the like. go, says he, follow them, and do as you see them do, and do not separate from them, otherwise you endanger your life. having thus spoken, he gave me provisions for the journey, and i went with them. we came to a great forest of trees, extremely straight and tall, the trunks of which were so smooth that it was not possible for any man to climb up the branches that bore the fruit. all the trees were cocoa ones; and when we entered the forest, we saw a great number of apes of several sizes, that fled as soon as they perceived us, climbing up to the tops of the trees with surprising swiftness. the merchants with whom i was, gathered stones, and threw them at the apes on the tops of the trees. i did the same, and the apes, out of revenge, threw cocoa nuts at us so fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment: we gathered up the cocoas, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that, by this stratagem, we filled our bags with cocoa nuts, which it had been impossible for us to have done otherwise. when we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant who sent me to the forest gave me the value of the cocoas i brought: go on, says he, and do the like every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home. i thanked him for his good advice, and insensibly gathered together as many cocoas as amounted to a considerable sum. the vessel in which i arrived sailed with the merchants, who loaded her with cocoas. i expected the arrival of another, which landed speedily for the like loading. i embarked on board the same all the cocoas that belonged to me, and when she was ready to sail, i went and took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me; but he could not embark with me, because he had not finished his affairs. we set sail towards those islands where pepper grows in great plenty. from thence we went to the isle of comari[footnote: this island, or peninsula, ends at the cape which we now call cape comorin. it is also called comar and comor.], where the best kind of wood of aloes grows, and whose inhabitants have made it an inviolable law to themselves to drink no wine, nor to suffer any place of debauch. i exchanged my cocoas in these two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with other merchants a pearl-fishing. i hired divers, who fetched me up those that were very large and pure. i embarked joyfully in a vessel that happily arrived at balsora; from thence i returned to bagdad, where i made vast sums of my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. i gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as i had done upon my return from other voyages, and endeavoured to ease myself from my fatigues by diversions of all sorts. when sindbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred sequins to hindbad, who retired with all the other guests; but next day the same company returned to dine with rich sindbad, who, after having treated them as formerly, demanded audience, and gave the following account of his sixth voyage. the sixth voyage of sindbad the sailor. gentlemen, says he, you long, without doubt, to know how, after being shipwrecked five times, and escaping so many dangers, i could resolve again to try my fortune, and expose myself to new hardships. i am astonished at it myself when i think on it, and must certainly have been induced to it by my stars. but, be that as it will, after a year's rest i prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the prayers of my kindred and friends, who did all that was possible to prevent me. instead of taking my way by the persian gulph, i travelled once more through several provinces of persia and the indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where i embarked on board a ship, the captain of which was resolved on a long voyage. it was very long, indeed, but at the same time so unfortunate, that the captain and pilot lost their course, so that they knew not where they were. they found it at last, but we had no ground to rejoice. we were all seized with extraordinary fear, when we saw the captain quit his post, and cry out. he threw off his turban, pulled the hair off his beard, and beat his head like a madman. we asked him the reason, and he answered, that he was in the most dangerous place in all the sea: a rapid current carries the ship along with it, and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. pray to god to deliver us from this danger; we cannot escape it, if he do not take pity on us. at these words he ordered the sails to be changed; but all the ropes broke, and the ship, without any possibility of helping it, was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she was run ashore, and broken to pieces, yet so as we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods. this being over, the captain says to us, god has now done what he pleased; we may every man dig our grave here, and bid the world adieu; for we are all in so fatal a place, that none shipwrecked here did ever return to their homes again. his discourse afflicted us mortally, and we embraced one another with tears in our eyes, bewailing our deplorable lot. the mountain at the foot of which we were cast, was the coast of a very long and large island. this coast was covered over with wrecks: and, by the vast number of men's bones we saw every where, and which filled us with horror, we concluded that abundance of people had died there. it is also incredible to tell what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore there. all those objects served only to augment our grief. while, in all other places, rivers run from their channels into the sea, here a great river of fresh water runs out of the sea into a dark cave, whose entrance is very high and large. what is most remarkable in this place is, that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. here also is a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen that runs into the sea, which the fishes swallow, and then vomit up again turned into ambergris; this the waves throw upon the beach in great quantities. here grow also trees, most of which are wood of aloes, equal to those of comari. to finish the description of this place, which may well be called the gulph, as nothing ever returns from it, it is not possible for ships to get off from it, when once they come within ft certain distance of it. if they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current ruin them; and if they come into it when a land wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current drives them ashore, where they are broken in pieces, as ours was; and what completes the misfortune, there is no possibility of getting to the top of the mountain, or getting out in any manner of way. we continued upon the shore like men out of their senses, and expected death every day. at first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, so that every one lived a longer or shorter time, according to his temperance, and the use he made of his provisions. those who died first were interred by the rest; and for my part, i paid the last duty to all my companions. nor need you wonder at this; for, besides that i husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, i had provisions of my own which i did not share with my comrades; yet, when i buried the last, i had so little remaining, that i thought it could not hold out long: so i dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was none left alive to inter me. i must confess to you, at the same time, that, while i was thus employed, i could not but reflect upon myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that i had ever undertaken this last voyage. nor did i stop at reflections only, but had well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth. but it pleased god once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cave, where, considering the river with great attention, i said to myself, this river, which runs thus under the ground, must come out somewhere or other. if i make a float, and leave myself to the current, it will bring me to some inhabited country, or drown me. if i be drowned, i lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another; and if i get out of this fatal place, i shall not only avoid the fate of my comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. who knows but fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous shelve, to compensate my shipwreck with usury? after this, i immediately went to work on a float. i made it of good large pieces of timber and cables, for i had choice of them, and tied them together so strong, that i had made a very solid little float. when i had finished it, i loaded it with some bales of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock crystal, and rich stuffs. having balanced all my cargo exactly, and fastened them well to the float. i went on board it with two little oars that i had made: and leaving it to the course of the river, i resigned myself to the will of god. as soon as i came into the cave, i lost all light, and the stream carried me i knew not whither. thus i sailed some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it almost broke my head, which made me very cautious afterwards to avoid the like danger. all this while i ate nothing but what was just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding this frugality, all my provisions were spent. then a pleasant sleep seized upon me: i cannot tell how long it continued; but when i awaked, i was surprised to find myself in the middle of a vast country, on the brink of a river, where my float was tied amidst a great number of negroes. i got up as soon as i saw them, and saluted them. they spoke to me, but i did not understand their language. i was so transported with joy, that i knew not whether i was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that i was not asleep, i recited the following words in arabic aloud: call upon the almighty, and he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about any thing else; shut thine eyes, and, while thou art asleep, god will change thy bad fortune into good. one of the blacks who understood arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me, and said, brother, do not be surprised at us: we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to day to water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. we perceived something floating upon the water, went speedily to see what it was, and perceiving your float, one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither, where we fastened it as you see until you should awake. pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come? i begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then i would satisfy their curiosity. they gave me several sorts of food; and when i had satisfied my hunger, i gave them a true account of all that had befallen me, which they listened to with admiration. as soon as i had finished my discourse, they told me, by the person who spoke arabic, and interpreted to them what i said, that it was one of the most surprising stories they ever heard, and that i must go along with them, and tell it to their king myself; for the thing was too extraordinary to be told by any other than the person to whom it happened. i told them i was ready to do whatever they pleased. they immediately sent for a horse, which was brought them in a little time; and having made me get up upon him, some of them walked before me to show me the way, and the rest took my float and cargo, and followed me. we marched thus all together, till we came to the city of serendib, for it was in that island where i landed. the blacks presented me to their king. i approached his throne, and saluted him as i used to do the kings of the indies; that is to say, i prostrated myself at his feet, and kissed the earth. the prince ordered me to rise up, received me with an obliging air, and made me come and sit down near him. he first asked me my name: i answered, they call me sindbad the sailor, because of the many voyages i had undertaken; and that i was a citizen of bagdad. but, replies he, how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last? i concealed nothing from the king; i told him all that i have now told you; and his majesty was so surprised and charmed with it, that he commanded my adventures to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of the kingdom. at last my float was brought to him, and the bales opened in his presence; he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris, but, above all, the rubies and emeralds; for he had none in his treasury that came near them. observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them one after another, i fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of the float, and i would beg of you to dispose of it as your own. he answered me with a smile, sindbad, i will take care not to covet any thing of yours, nor to take any thing from you that god has given you; far from lessening your wealth, i design to augment it, and will not let you go out of my dominions without marks of my liberality. all the answer i returned was by praying for the prosperity of the prince, and commendations of his generosity and bounty. he charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own charge. the officer was very faithful in the execution of his orders, and made all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. i went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in seeing the city, and what was most worthy of my curiosity. the isle of serendib[footnote: geographers place it on this side of the line, in the first climate.] is situate just under the equinoctial line; so that the days and nights there are always twelve hours each, and the island is eighty[footnote: the eastern geographers make a parasang longer than a french league.] parasangs in length, and as many in breadth. the capital city stands in the middle of a fine valley formed by a mountain, in the middle of the island, which is the highest in the world. it is seen three days sail off at sea. there are rubies and several sorts of minerals in it, and all the rocks for the most part emerald, a metal line stone made use of to cut and smooth other precious stones. here grow all kinds of rare plants and trees, especially cedars and cocoas. there is also pearl-fishing in the mouth of its river, and in some of its vallies there are found diamonds. i made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where adam was confined after his banishment from paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of it. when i came back to the city, i prayed the king to allow me to return to my country, which he granted me in the most obliging and honourable manner. he would needs force a rich present upon me; and when i went to take leave of him, he gave me one much more considerable, at the same time charging me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our sovereign, and said, i pray you give this present from me, and this letter, to caliph haroun alraschid, and assure him of my friendship. i took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was pleased to honour me. before i embarked, this prince sent to seek for the captain and the merchants who were to go with me, and ordered them to treat me with all possible respect. the letter from the king of serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. the characters of this letter were of azure, and the contents thus: "the king of the indies, before whom march elephants, who lives in a palace that shines with , rubies, and who has in his treasury , crowns enriched with diamonds, to caliph haroun alraschid. though the present which we send you be inconsiderable, receive it, as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear you, and of which we are willing to give you proof. we desire the same part in your friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with yourself. we conjure you thus in the quality of a brother. adieu." the present consisted, in the first place, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a dram each. . of the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. . in , drams of the best wood of aloes, with grains of camphire as big as pistachios. and, . a female slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was covered with jewels. the ship set sail, and, after a very long and successful navigation, we landed at balsora, from whence i went to bagdad, where the first thing i did was to acquit myself of my commission. i took the king of serendib's letter, continued sindbad, and went to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the beautiful slave, and such of my own family as carried the presents. i gave an account of the reason of my coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. i made my reverence by prostration, and, after a short speech, gave him the letter and present. when he had read what the king of serendib wrote to him, he asked me if that prince was really so rich and potent as he had said in his letter? i prostrated myself a second time, and rising again, commander of the faithful, says i, i can assure your majesty he does not exceed the truth on that head; i am witness of it. there is nothing more capable of raising a man's admiration than the magnificence of his palace. when the prince appears in public, he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other people of his court: before him, upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand; and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright, with a column of gold, on the top of which there is an emerald half a foot long, and an inch thick; before him there marches a guard of one thousand men clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned. while the king is on his march, the officer who is before him on the same elephant cries, from time to time, with a loud voice, behold the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the indies, whose palace is covered with , rubies, and who possesses , crowns of diamonds. behold the crowned monarch, greater than the great solima[footnote: solomon.] and the great mihrage[footnote: an ancient king of a great island, of the same name, in the indies, and much famed among the arabians for his power and wisdom.]. after he has pronounced these words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn, this monarch, so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die. and the officer before replies, praise be to him that lives for ever. further, the king of serendib is so just, that there are no judges in his dominions; his people have no need of them; they understand and observe justice exactly of themselves. the caliph was much pleased with my discourse. the wisdom of that king, says he, appears in his letter; and, after what you tell me, i must confess that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince. having spoken thus, he discharged me, and sent me home with a rich present. sindbad left off speaking, and his company retired, hindbad having first received one hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear the relation of his seventh and last voyage. the seventh and last voyage of sindbad the sailor. being returned from my sixth voyage, i absolutely laid aside all thoughts of travelling any further. for, besides that my years did now require rest, i was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as i had run: so that i thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in quiet. one day, as i was treating some of my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an officer of the caliph asked for me. i rose from the table, and went to him. the caliph, says he, has sent me to tell you that he must speak with you. i followed the officer to the palace; where being presented to the caliph, i saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. sindbad, says he to me, i stand in need of you; you must do me the service to carry my answer and present to the king of serendib. it is but just i should return his civility. this command of the caliph to me was like a clap of thunder. commander of the faithful, replied i, i am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command me; but i beseech you most humbly to consider what i have undergone; i have also made a vow never to go out of bagdad. hence i took occasion to give him a large and particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience to hear out. as soon as i had finished, i confess, says he, that the things you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must, for my sake, undertake this voyage which i propose to you. you have nothing to do but to go to the isle of serendib, and deliver the commission which i give you; after that, you are at liberty to return. but you must go; for you know it would be indecent, and not suitable to my dignity, to be indebted to the king of the island. perceiving that the caliph insisted upon it, i submitted, and told him that i was willing to obey. he was very well pleased at it, and ordered me a thousand sequins for the charge of my journey. i prepared for my departure in a few days; and as soon as the caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, i went to balsora, where i embarked, and had a very happy voyage. i arrived at the isle of serendib, where i acquainted the king's ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me a speedy audience. they did so, and i was conducted to the palace in an honourable manner, where i saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. the prince knew me immediately, and testified very great joy to see me. o sindbad, says he, you are welcome; i swear to you i have many times thought of you since you went hence. i bless the day upon which we see one another once more. i made my compliment to him; and, after having thanked him for his kindness to me, i delivered him the caliph's letter and present, which he received with all imaginable satisfaction. the caliph's present was a complete set of cloth of gold, valued at a thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred others of white cloth, the finest of cairo, suez[footnote: a port on the red sea.], cusa[footnote: a town of arabia.], and alexandria; a royal crimson bed, with a second of another fashion; a vessel of agate, broader than deep, of an inch thick, and half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented, in bass- relief, a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and arrow, ready to let fly at a lion. he sent him also a rich table, which, according to tradition, belonged to the great solomon. the caliph's letter was as follows: "greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, to the potent and happy sultan from abdallah haroun alraschid, whom god hath set in the place of honour after his ancestors of happy memory. we received your letter with joy, and send you this from the council of our port, the garden of superior wits. we hope, when you look upon it, you will find our good intention, and be pleased with it. adieu." the king of serendib was mightily pleased that the caliph answered his friendship. a little time after this audience, i solicited leave to depart, and obtained the same with much difficulty. i got it, however, at last; and the king, when he discharged me, made me a very considerable present. i embarked immediately to return to bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there as i hoped. god ordered it otherwise; for, three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by corsairs, who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no vessel of force. some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives. but for me and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the corsairs saved us on purpose to make slaves of us. we were all stripped; and, instead of our own clothes, they gave us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they sold us. i fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me handsomely for a slave. some days after, not knowing who i was, he asked me if i knew any trade? i answered, that i was no mechanic, but a merchant; and that the corsairs, who sold me, robbed me of all i had. but tell me, replies he, can you shoot with a bow? i answered, that the bow was one of the exercises of my youth, and i had not forgotten it. then he gave me a bow and arrows, and taking me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a vast forest some leagues from the town. we went a great way into the forest, and when he thought to stop, he bid me alight: then showing me a great tree, climb up that tree, says he, and shoot at the elephants as you see them pass by; for there is a prodigious number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall, come and give me notice of it. having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and returned to the town and i continued upon the tree all night, during which i saw no elephants, but next morning, as soon as the sun was up, i saw a great number; i shot several arrows among them, and at last one of the elephants fell; the rest retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron with my booty. when i had told him the news, he gave me a good, meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me mightily. we went afterwards together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant; my patron designing to return when it was rotten, and to take his teeth, &c. to trade with. i continued this game for two months, and killed an elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, sometimes upon another. one morning, as i looked for the elephants, i perceived, with extreme amazement, that, instead of passing by me across the forest, as usual, they stopped, and came to me, with a horrible noise, in such a number that the earth was covered with them, and shook under them. they encompassed the tree where i was, with their trunks extended, and their eyes all fixed upon me. at this frightful spectacle i continued immovable, and was so much frightened, that my bow and arrows fell out of my hands. my fears were not vain; for, after the elephants had stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his trunk round the root of the tree, and pulled so strong, that he plucked it up, and threw it on the ground: i fell with the tree, and the elephant, taking me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where i sat more like one dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. he put himself afterwards at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops, and carried me to a place where he laid me down on the ground, and retired with all his companions. conceive, if you can, the condition i was in: i thought myself to be in a dream; at last, after having lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, i got up, and found i was upon a long and broad hill, covered all over with the bones and teeth of elephants. i confess to you that this object furnished me with abundance of reflections. i admired the instinct of those animals; i doubted not but that was their burying-place, and they carried me thither on purpose to tell me that i should forbear to persecute them, since i did it only for their teeth. i did not stay on the hill, but turned towards the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night, i came to my patron. i met no elephant in my way, which made me think they had retired further into the forest, to leave me at liberty to come back to the hill without any obstacle. as soon as my patron saw me, ah, poor sindbad, says he, i was in great trouble to know what was become of you. i have been at the forest, where i found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow and arrows on the ground; and, after having sought for you in vain, i despaired of ever seeing you more. pray tell me what befel you, and by what good hap thou art still alive. i satisfied his curiosity; and going both of us next morning to the hill, he found, to his great joy, that what i had told him was true. we loaded the elephant upon which we came with as many teeth as he could carry; and when we were returned, brother, says my patron, (for i will treat you no more as a slave, after having made such a discovery as will enrich me,) god bless you with all happiness and prosperity. i declare before him, that i give you your liberty. i concealed from you what i am now going to tell you. the elephants of our forest have every year killed us a great many slaves whom we sent to seek ivory. for all the cautions we gave them, these crafty animals killed them one time or other. god has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed that favour upon you only. it is a sign that he loves you, and has use for your services in the world. you have procured me incredible gain. we could not have ivory formerly, but by exposing the lives of our slaves; and now our whole city is enriched by your means. do not think i pretend to have rewarded you by giving you liberty; i will also give you considerable riches. i could engage all our city to contribute towards making your fortune, but will have the glory of doing it myself. to this obliging discourse, i replied, patron, god preserve you. your giving me liberty is enough to discharge what you owe me; and i desire no other reward for the service i have had the good fortune to do to you and your city, but leave to return to my own country. very well, says he, the mocon [footnote: a regular wind that comes six months from the east, and as many from the west.] will in a little time bring ships for ivory. i will send you home then, and give you wherewith to bear your charges. i thanked him for my liberty, and his good intention towards me. i staid with him, expecting the mocon; and during that time we made so many journies to the hill, that we filled our warehouses with ivory. the other merchants, who traded in it, did the same thing, for it could not be long concealed from them. the ships arrived at last, and my patron himself, having made choice of the ship wherein i was to embark, loaded half of it with ivory on my account; he laid in provisions in abundance for my passage; and besides obliged me to accept a present of the curiosities of the country, of great value. after i had returned him a thousand thanks for all his favours, i went on board. we set sail; and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was very extraordinary, i had it continually in my thoughts. we stopped at some islands to take in fresh provisions; our vessel being come to a port on the terra firma in the indies, we touched there, and not being willing to venture by sea to balsora, i landed my proportion of the ivory, resolving to proceed on my journey by land. i made vast sums of my ivory, bought several rarities which i intended for presents, and, when my equipage was got ready, i set out in company with a large caravan of merchants. i was a long time on the way, and suffered very much; but endured all with patience, when i considered that i had nothing to fear from the seas, from pirates, from serpents, nor of the other perils i had undergone. all these fatigues, however, ended at last, and i came safe to bagdad. i went immediately to call upon the caliph, and gave him an account of my embassy. that prince told me he had been uneasy because i was so long of returning, but he always hoped god would preserve me. when i told him the adventure of the elephants, he seemed to be much surprised at it, and would never have given any credit to it, had he not known my sincerity. he reckoned this story, and the other relations i had given him, to be so curious, that he ordered one of his secretaries to write them in characters of gold, and lay them up in his treasury. i retired very well satisfied with the honours i had received, and the presents which he gave me; and after that i gave myself up wholly to my family, kindred, and friends. sindbad here finished the relation of his seventh and last voyage; and then addressing himself to hindbad, well, friend, says he, did you ever hear of any person that suffered so much as i have done, or of any mortal that has gone through so many perplexities? is it not reasonable, that, after all this, i should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life? as he said this, hindbad drew near to him, and, kissing his hand, said, i must acknowledge, sir, that you have gone through terrible dangers; my troubles are not comparable to yours; if they afflict me for a time, i comfort myself with the thoughts of the profit i get by them. you not only deserve a quiet life, but are worthy besides of all the riches you enjoy, because you make such a good use of them. may you therefore continue to live in happiness and joy till the day of your death. sindbad gave him a hundred sequins more, received him into the number of his friends, and desired him to quit his porter's employment, and come and dine every day with him, that he might all his days have reason to remember sindbad the sailor. scheherazade, perceiving it was not yet day, continued her discourse, and began another story. the three apples. sir, said she, i have already had the honour to entertain your majesty with a ramble which the caliph haroun alraschid made one night from his palace; i will give you an account of one more. this prince one day commanded the grand vizier giafar to come to his palace the night following. vizier, says he, i will take a walk round the town, to inform myself what people say, and particularly how they are pleased with my officers of justice. if there be any against whom they have reason of just complaint, we will turn them out, and put others in their stead, who may officiate better: if, on the contrary, there be any that have gained their applause, we will have that esteem for them which they deserve. the grand vizier being come to the palace at the hour appointed, the caliph, he, and mesrour the chief of the eunuchs, disguised themselves so as they could not be known, and went out ail together. they passed through several places, and by several markets; and as they entered a small street, they perceived, by the light of the moon, a tall man, with a white beard, who carried nets on his head; he had a folding basket of palm leaves on his arm, and a club in his hand. this old man, says the caliph, does not seem to be rich; let us go to him, and inquire into his circumstances. honest man, said the vizier, who art thou? the old man replied, sir, i am a fisher, but one of the poorest and most miserable of the trade; i went from my house about noon to go a-fishing, and from that time to this i have not been able to catch one fish; at the same time i have a wife and small children, and nothing to maintain them. the caliph, moved with compassion, says to the fisherman, hast thou the courage to go back and cast thy nets once more? we will give thee a hundred sequins for what thou shall bring up. at this proposal, the fisherman, forgetting all his day's toil, took the caliph at his word, and with him, giafar, and mesrour, returned to the tigris; he saying to himself, these gentlemen seem to be too honest and reasonable not to reward my pains; and if they give me the hundredth part of what they promise me, it will be a great deal. they came to the bank of the river; and the fisherman throwing in his net, when he drew it again, brought up a trunk close shut, and very heavy. the caliph made the grand vizier pay him a hundred sequins immediately, and sent him away. mesrour, by his master's order, carried the trunk on his shoulder; and the caliph was so very eager to know what was in it, that he returned to the palace with all speed. when the trunk was opened, they found in it a large basket made of palm leaves, shut up, and the covering of it sewed with red thread. to satisfy the caliph's impatience, they would not take time to unrip it, but cut the thread with a knife, and they took out of the basket a bundle wrapt up in a sorry piece of hanging, and bound round with a rope, which being untied, and the bundle opened, they found, to their great amazement, the corpse of a young lady, whiter than snow, all cut in pieces. your majesty may imagine, a great deal better than i am able to express the astonishment of the caliph at this dreadful spectacle. his surprise was instantly changed into passion, and darting an angry look at the vizier, ah! thou wretch, said he, is this your inspection into the actions of my people? do they commit such impious murders under thy ministry in my capital city, and throw my subjects into the tigris, that they may cry for vengeance against me at the day of judgment? if thou dost not speedily revenge the murder of this woman, by the death of her murderer, i swear by heaven, that i will cause thee to be hanged, and forty more of thy kindred. commander of the faithful, replied the grand vizier, i beg your majesty to grant me time to make inquiry. i will allow thee no more, said the caliph, than three days; therefore thou must look to it. the vizier giafar went home in great confusion of mind. alas, said he, how is it possible that, in such a vast and populous city as bagdad, i should be able to detect a murderer, who undoubtedly committed the crime without witness, and perhaps may be already gone from hence? any other person but me would take some wretched person out of prison, and cause him to die, to satisfy the caliph; but i will not burden my conscience with such a barbarous action; i will rather die than save my life at this rate. he ordered the officers of police and justice to make strict search for the criminal: they sent their servants about, and they themselves were not idle, for they were no less concerned in this matter than the vizier. but all their endeavours turned to nothing; what pains soever they took, they could not find out the murderer; so that the vizier concluded his life to be gone, unless some remarkable providence hindered it. the third day being come, an officer came to this unfortunate minister with a summons to follow him, which the vizier obeyed. the caliph asked him for the murderer. he answered, with tears in his eyes, commander of the faithful, i have not found any person that could give me the least account of him. the caliph, full of fury and rage, gave him many reproachful words, and ordered that he and forty bermecides[footnote: the bermecides were a family come out of persia, and of them the grand vizier was descended.] more should be hanged up at the gate of the palace. in the mean while the gibbets were preparing, and orders were sent to seize forty bermecides more in their houses; a public crier was sent about the city to cry thus, by the caliph's order, those who have a desire to see the grand vizier giafar hanged, and forty more bermecides of his kindred, let them come to the square before the palace. when all things were ready, the judge criminal, and a great many officers belonging to the palace, brought out the grand vizier with forty bermecides, and set each of them at the foot of the gibbet designed for them, and a rope was put about each of their necks. the multitude of people that filled the square could not, without grief and tears, behold this tragical sight; for the grand vizier and the bermecides were loved and honoured on account of their probity, bounty, and impartiality, not only in bagdad, but through all the dominions of the caliph. nothing could prevent the execution of this prince's too severe and irrevocable sentence; and the lives of the most honest people in the city were just going to be taken away, when a young man, of handsome mien and good apparel, pressed through the crowd till he came to the place where the grand vizier was; and after he had kissed his hand, said, most excellent vizier, chief of the emirs of this court, and comforter of the poor, you are not guilty of the crime for which you stand here. withdraw, and let me expiate the death of the lady who was thrown into the tigris. it was i who murdered her, and deserve to be punished for it. though these words occasioned great joy to the vizier, yet he could not but pity the young man, in whose look he saw something that, instead of being ominous, was engaging; but as he was about to answer him, a tall man, pretty well in years, who had likewise forced his way through the crowd, came up to him, saying, sir, do not believe what this young man tells you; i killed that lady who was found in the trunk; and this punishment ought only to fall upon me. i conjure you, in the name of god, not to punish the innocent for the guilty. sir, says the young man to the vizier, i do protest that i am he who committed this vile act, and nobody else had any hand it. my son, said the old man, it is despair that brought you hither, and you would anticipate your destiny. i have lived a long time in the world, and it is time for me to be gone; let me therefore sacrifice my life for yours. sir, said he again to the vizier, i tell you once more i am the murderer; let me die without any more ado. the controversy between the old man and the young one obliged the grand vizier giafar to carry them both before the caliph, to which the criminal judge consented, being very glad to serve the vizier. when he came before the prince, he kissed the ground seven times, and spoke after this manner: commander of the faithful, i have brought here before your majesty this old man, and this young one, who both confess themselves to be the sole murderers of the lady. then the caliph asked the criminals which of them it was that so cruelly murdered the lady, and threw her into the tigris? the young man assured him it was he, but the old man maintained the contrary. go, says the caliph to the grand vizier, and cause them both to be hanged. but, sir, says the vizier, if only one of them be guilty, it would be unjust to take the lives of both. at these words the young man spoke again: i swear by the great god, who has raised the heavens so high as they are, that i am the man who killed the lady, cut her in quarters, and threw her into the tigris about four days ago. i renounce my part of happiness among the just at the day of judgment, if what i say be not truth; therefore i am he that ought to suffer. the caliph, being surprised at this oath, believed him, especially as the old man made no answer to this. whereupon, turning to the young man, thou wretch, said he, what was it that made thee to commit that detestable crime, and what is it that moves thee to offer thyself voluntarily to die? commander of the faithful, said he, if all that has passed between that lady and me were set down in writing, it would be a history that would be very useful to other men. i command you then to relate it, said the caliph. the young man obeyed, and began. the story of the lady that was murdered, and of the young man her husband. commander of the faithful, your majesty may be pleased to know, that this murdered lady was my wife, the daughter of this old man you see here, who is my uncle by the father's side. she was not above twelve years old when he gave her to me, and it is now eleven years ago. i have three children by her, all boys, yet alive; and i must do her the justice to say, that she never gave me the least occasion of offence; she was chaste, of good behaviour, and made it her whole business to please me. for my part, i loved her entirely, and rather prevented her, in granting any thing she desired, than opposed it. about two months ago she fell sick; i took all imaginable care of her, and spared nothing that could procure a speedy recovery. after a month, she began to grow better, and had a mind to go to the bagnio. before she went out of the house, cousin, said she, (for so she used to call me from familiarity), i long for some apples; if you could get me any, you would please me extremely; i have longed for them a great while, and i must own it is come to that height, that if i be not satisfied very soon, i fear some misfortune will befal me. with all my heart, said i, i will do all that is in my power to make you easy, and went immediately round all the markets and shops in the town to seek for apples, but could not get one, though i offered a sequin for each. i returned home very much dissatisfied at my disappointment. as for my wife, when she returned from the bagnio, and saw no apples, she became so very uneasy, that she could not sleep all night: i rose betimes in the morning, and went through all the gardens, but had no better success than the day before; only i happened to meet an old gardener, who told me that all my pains would signify nothing, for i could not expect to find apples any where but in your majesty's garden at balsora. as i loved my wife passionately, and would not have any thing of neglect to satisfy her chargeable upon me, i put myself in a traveller's habit, and after i had told her my design, i went to balsora, and made my journey with so great diligence, that i returned at the end of fifteen days with three apples, which cost me a sequin each; there were no more left in the garden, so that the gardener would let me have them no cheaper. as soon as i came home, i presented them to my wife, but her longing was over; so she satisfied herself with receiving them, and laid them down by her. in the mean time she continued sickly, and i knew not what remedy to get for her. a few days after i returned from my journey, as i was sitting in my shop, in the public place where all sorts of fine stuffs are sold, i saw an ugly tall black slave come in with an apple in his hand, which i knew to be one of those i had brought from balsora. i had no reason to doubt it, because i was certain there was not one to be had in all bagdad, nor in any garden about it. i called to him, and said, good slave, pray thee tell me where thou hadst this apple? it is a present (said he, smiling) from my mistress. i was to see her to-day, but found her indisposed. i saw three apples lying by her, and asked where she had them? she told me, the good man her husband had made a fortnight's journey on purpose for them, and brought them to her. we had a collation together; and, when i took my leave of her, i brought away this apple that you see. this discourse put me out of my senses; i rose, shut up my shop, ran home with all speed, and going to my wife's chamber, looked immediately for apples, and seeing only a couple, asked what was become of the third? then my wife turning her head to the place where the apples lay, and perceiving there were but two, answered me coldly, cousin, i know not what is become of it. at this answer i did verily believe what the slave told me to be true; and at the same time giving myself up to madness and jealousy, i drew my knife from my girdle, and thrust it into the unfortunate creature's throat; i afterwards cut off her head, and divided her body into four quarters, which i packed up in a bundle, and hiding it in a basket, sewed it up with a thread of red yarn, put all together in a trunk, and, when night came, carried it on my shoulder down to the tigris, where i sunk it. the two youngest of my children were already put to bed, and asleep, the third being gone abroad; but, at my return, i found him sitting by my gate, weeping very much. i asked him the reason: father, said he, i took this morning from my mother, without her knowledge, one of those three apples you brought her, and i kept it a long while; but, as i was playing some time ago with my little brother in the street, a tall slave that went by snatched it out of my hands, and carried it with him: i ran after him, demanding it back; and besides, told him that it belonged to my mother, who was sick; and that you had made a fortnight's journey to fetch it; but all to no purpose, he would not restore it. and whereas i still followed him, crying out, he turned and beat me, and then ran away as fast as ever he could from one lane to another, till at length i lost sight of him. i have since been walking without the town, expecting your return, to pray you, dear father, not to tell my mother of it, lest it should make her worse. when he had said these words, he fell a weeping again more bitterly than before. my son's discourse afflicted me beyond measure: i then found myself guilty of an enormous crime, and repented too late of having so easily believed the calumnies of a wretched slave, who, from what he had learned of my son, invented that fatal lie. my uncle, here present, came just at the time to see his daughter; but, instead of finding her alive, understood from me that she was murdered, for i concealed nothing from him; and, without staying for his censure, declared myself the greatest criminal in the world. upon this, instead of reproaching me, he joined his tears with mine, and we wept three days together without intermission; he for the loss of a daughter whom he always loved tenderly, and i for the loss of a dear wife, of whom i had deprived myself after so cruel a manner, by giving too easy credit to the report of a lying slave. this, commander of the faithful, is the sincere confession your majesty commanded from me. you have now heard all the circumstances of my crime, and i most humbly beg of you to order the punishment which it merits; and, however severe it may be, i shall not in the least complain, but esteem it too easy and gentle. the caliph was very much astonished at the young man's relation; but this just prince, finding he was to be pitied rather than condemned, began to speak in his favour. this young man's crime, said he, is pardonable before god, and excusable with men. the wicked slave is the sole cause of this murder; it is he alone that must be punished. wherefore, said he, looking upon the grand vizier, i give you three days time to find him out; if you do not bring him within that space, you shall die in his stead. the unfortunate giafar, who thought himself now out of danger, was terribly perplexed at this new order of the caliph; but not daring to return any answer to the prince, whose hasty temper he well knew, he departed from his presence, and retired to his house with tears in his eyes, persuading himself he had but three days to live; for he was so fully convinced that he should not find the slave, that he made not the least inquiry about him. is it possible, said he, that in such a city as bagdad, where there is such an infinite number of negro slaves, i should be able to find out him who is guilty? so that, unless god be pleased to bring it about, as he has already detected the murderer, nothing can possibly save my life! the vizier spent the two first days in mourning with his family, who sat round him weeping, and complaining of the caliph's cruelty. the third day being come, he prepared himself to die with courage, as an honest minister, and one who had nothing to trouble his conscience with: he sent for notaries and witnesses, who signed the last will he made in their presence; after which he took leave of his wife and children, and bade them the last farewell. all his family were drowned in tears, so that there never was a more sorrowful spectacle; at last the messenger came from the caliph to tell him that he was out of all patience, having heard nothing from him, nor concerning the negro slave, whom he had commanded him to search for: i am therefore ordered, said he, to bring you before his throne. the afflicted vizier made ready to follow the messenger; but, as he was going but, they brought him his youngest daughter, who was about five or six years of age. the nurses who attended her, presented her to her father to receive his last blessing. having a particular love to the child, he prayed the messenger to give him leave to stop for a moment, and, taking his daughter in his arms, kissed her several times; as he was embracing her the last time, he perceived she had somewhat in her bosom that looked bulky, and a sweet scent. my dear little one, said he, what hast thou in thy bosom? my dear father, said she, it is an apple, upon which is written the name of our lord and master the caliph; our slave rihan[footnote: this word signifies, in arabic, basilic, an odoriferous plant; and the arabians call their slaves by this name, as the custom in france is to give the name of jessamin to a footman.] sold it to me for two sequins. at the words apple and slave, the grand vizier cried out with surprise intermixed with joy, and, putting his hand into the child's bosom, pulled out the apple. he caused the slave, who was not far off, to be brought immediately; and when he came, rascal! said he, where hadst thou this apple? my lord, said the slave, i swear to you that i neither stole it in your house, nor out of the commander of the faithful's garden; but the other day, as i was going through a street where three or four children were at play, one of them having it in his hand, i snatched it from him, and carried it away. the child ran after me, telling me it was none of his own, but belonged to his mother, who was sick; and that his father, to save her longing, had made a long journey, and brought home three apples, whereof this was one, which he had taken from his mother without her knowledge. he said what he could to make me give it him back, but i would not; i brought it home, and sold it for two sequins to the little lady your daughter; and this is the whole truth of the matter. giafar could not enough admire how the roguery of a slave had been the cause of an innocent woman's death, and almost of his own. he carried the slave along with him, and, when he came before the caliph, gave the prince an exact account of all that the slave had told him, and the chance that brought him to the discovery of his crime. never was any surprise so great as the caliph's, yet he could not prevent himself from falling into excessive fits of laughter. at last he recovered himself, and, with a serious mien, told the vizier, that, since his slave had been the occasion of so strange an accident, he deserved an exemplary punishment. sir, i must own it, said the vizier, but his guilt is not irremissible; i remember a strange story of a vizier of cairo, called noureddin[footnote: noureddin signifies, in arabic, the light of religion.] ali and of his son bedreddin[footnote: bedreddin signifies the full moon of religion.] hassan of balsora; and as your majesty delights to hear such things, i am ready to tell it on this condition, that if your majesty find it more astonishing than that which gives me occasion to tell it, you will be pleased to pardon my slave. i am content, said the caliph; but you undertake a hard task, for i do not believe you can save your slave, the story of the apples being so very singular. upon this giafar began his story thus: the story of noureddin ali and bedreddin hassan. commander of the faithful, there was in former days a sultan of egypt, a strict observer of justice, gracious, merciful, and liberal; and his valour made him terrible to his neighbours. he loved the poor, and protected the learned, whom he advanced to the highest dignities. this sultan had a vizier, who was prudent, wise, sagacious, and well versed in the sciences. this minister had two sons, very handsome men, and who in every thing followed his own footsteps. the eldest was called schemseddin[footnote: that is to say, the sun of religion.] mohammed, and the younger noureddin ali. the last especially was endowed with all the good qualities that any man could have. the vizier their father being dead, the sultan sent for them; and after he had caused them both to put on the usual robes of a vizier, i am as sorry, says he, for the loss of your father as yourselves; and because i know you live together, and love one another entirely, i will bestow his dignity upon you conjunctly; go and imitate your father's conduct. the two new viziers humbly thanked the sultan, and went home to their house to make due preparation for their father's interment. they did not go abroad for a month, and then went to court, where they appeared continually on council-days; when the sultan went a hunting, one of the brothers went along with him and this honour they had by turns. one evening, as they were talking after supper, the next day being the elder brother's turn to go a hunting with the sultan, he said to his younger brother, since neither of us is yet married, and as we live so lovingly together, a thought is come into my head; let us both marry in one day, and let us choose two sisters out of some family that may suit our quality: what do you think of this fancy? i must tell you, brother, answered noureddin, that it is very suitable to our friendship; there cannot be a better thought; for my part, i am ready to agree to any thing you shall think fit. but hold, this is not all, says schemseddin; my fancy carries me further. suppose both our wives should conceive the first night of marriage, and should happen to be brought to bed on one day, yours of a son and mine of a daughter, we will give them to one another in marriage when they come of age. nay, says noureddin aloud, i must acknowledge that this project is admirable; such a marriage will perfect our union, and i willingly consent to it. but then, brother, says he further, if this marriage should happen, would you expect that my son should settle a jointure on your daughter? there is no difficulty in that, replies the elder; for i am persuaded, that, besides the usual articles of marriage-contract, you will not fail to promise in his name at least three thousand sequins, three good manors, and three slaves. no, said the younger, i will not consent to that; are we not brethren, and equal in title and dignity? do not you and i both know what is just? the male being nobler than the female, it is your part to give a large dowry with your daughter. by what i perceive, you are a man that would have your business done at another's charge. though noureddin spoke these words in jest, his brother, being of an ill temper, was offended; and falling into a passion, a mischief upon your son, said he, since you prefer him before my daughter; i wonder you had so much confidence as to believe him worthy of her; you must needs have lost your judgment, to think that you are my equal, and say we are colleagues: i would have you to know, you fool, that, since you are so impudent, i would not marry my daughter to your son, though you would give him more than you are worth. this pleasant quarrel between two brothers, about the marriage of their children before they were born, went so far, that schemseddin concluded with threatening: were i not to-morrow, says he, to attend the sultan, i would treat you as you deserve; but, at my return, i shall make you sensible that it does not become a younger brother to speak so insolently to his elder brother as you have done to me. upon this he retired to his apartment, and his brother went to bed. schemseddin rose very early next morning, and goes to the palace to attend the sultan, who went to hunt about cairo, near the pyramids. as for noureddin, he was very uneasy all night, and considering that it would not be possible for him to live longer with a brother who treated him with so much haughtiness, he provided a good mule, furnished himself with money, jewels, provisions, and victuals; and having told his people that he was going a private journey for two or three days, he departed. when he was out of cairo, he rode by the desert toward arabia; but his mule happening to tire by the way, he was forced to pursue his journey on foot. a courier that was going to balsora, by good fortune overtaking him, took him up behind him. as soon as the courier came to balsora, noureddin alighted, and returned him thanks for his kindness. as he went about to seek for a lodging, he saw a person of quality, with a great retinue, coming along, to whom all the people showed a mighty respect, and stood still till he passed by, noureddin stopping among the rest. this was the grand vizier to the sultan of balsora, who walked through the city, to see that the inhabitants kept good order and discipline. this minister, casting his eye by chance on noureddin, and finding something extraordinary in his aspect, looked very attentively upon him, and as he came near him, and saw him in a traveller's habit, he stood still, asked him who he was, and from whence he came? sir, said noureddin, i am an egyptian, born at cairo, and have left my country, because of the unkindness of a near relation, and am resolved to travel through the world, and rather to die than return home again. the grand vizier, who was a reverend old gentleman, after hearing those words, says to him, son, beware, do not pursue your design; there is nothing but misery in the world; you are not sensible of the hardships you must endure; come follow me, i may perhaps make you forget the thing that has forced you to leave your own country. noureddin followed the grand vizier, who soon perceived his good qualities, and fell so much in love with him, that one day he said to him in private, my son, i am, as you see, so far gone in years, that there is no likelihood i shall live much longer. heaven has bestowed only one daughter upon me, who is beautiful as you are handsome, and now fit for marriage. several people of the greatest quality at this court have desired her for their sons, but i could not grant their request. i have a love for you, and think you so worthy to be received into my family, that, preferring you before all those that have sought her, i am ready to accept you for my son-in-law. if you like the proposal, i will acquaint the sultan my master that i have adopted you by this marriage, and will pray him to grant you the reversion of my dignity of grand vizier in the kingdom, of balsora. in the meantime, nothing being more requisite for me than ease in my old age, i will not put you in possession of my estate, but leave the administration of public affairs to your management. having made an end of this kind and generous proposal, noureddin fell at his feet, and expressing himself in terms that demonstrated his joy and gratitude, told the vizier that he was at his command in every thing. upon this the vizier sent for his chief domestics, ordered them to furnish the great hall of his palace, and to prepare a great feast. he afterwards sent to invite the nobility of the court and city to honour him with their company, and when they were all met, (noureddin having now told him who he was,) he said to those lords, for he thought it proper to speak thus on purpose to satisfy such of them to whom he had refused his alliance: i am now, my lords, to discover a thing to you which i have hitherto kept a secret. i have a brother who is grand vizier to the sultan of egypt, as i am to the sultan of this kingdom. this brother has but one son, whom he would not marry in the court of egypt, but sent him hither to marry my daughter, that both our branches may be reunited. his son, whom i knew to be my nephew as soon as i saw him, is the young gentleman whom i here present to you, and is to be my son-in-law. i hope you will do me the honour to be present at his wedding, which i am resolved to celebrate this day. the noblemen, who could not take it ill that he preferred his nephew before all the great matches that had been proposed to him, said, that he had very good reasons, for what he did, were willing to be witnesses to the ceremony, and wished that god might prolong his days to enjoy the satisfaction of the happy match. the lords met at the vizier's, having testified their satisfaction at the marriage of his daughter with noureddin, sat down to dinner, which lasted a good while; and the latter course was sweet-meats, of which every one, according to custom, took what he thought fit. the notaries came in with the marriage-contract, when the chief lords signed it; and, after the company departed, the grand vizier ordered his servants to prepare a bagnio, and have every thing else provided for noureddin in the best manner: when he had washed and dried himself, he was going to put on his former apparel, but had an extraordinary rich suit brought him. being dressed and perfumed with the most odoriferous essence, he went to see the grand vizier, his father-in-law, who was exceedingly well pleased with his genteel mien; and having made him sit down, my son, said he, you have declared unto me who you are, and the quality you had at the court of egypt. you have also told me of a difference betwixt you and your brother, which occasioned you to leave your country. i desire you to make me your entire confident, and to acquaint me with the cause of your quarrel; for now you have no reason either to doubt me, or to conceal any thing from me. noureddin accordingly gave him an account of every circumstance of the quarrel; at which the vizier burst out into a fit of laughter, and said, this is one of the oddest things that i ever heard: is it possible, my son, that your quarrel should rise so high about an imaginary marriage? i am sorry you fell out with your elder brother upon such a frivolous matter; but i find he is in the wrong to be angry at what you only spoke in jest, and i ought to thank heaven for that difference which has procured me such a son-in-law. but, said the old gentleman, it is late, and time for you to retire; go to your bride, my son; she expects you; to-morrow i will present you to the sultan, and hope he will receive you in such a manner as shall satisfy us both. noureddin took leave of his father-in-law, and went to his spouse's apartment. it is remarkable, continued giafar, that schemseddin happened also to marry at cairo the very same day that this marriage was solemnized at balsora; the particulars are as follow. after noureddin left cairo, with an intention never to return, schemseddin, who was gone a hunting with the sultan of egypt, did not come back in a month; for the sultan loved the game extremely, and continued the sport all that while. schemseddin, on his return, ran to noureddin's apartment, but was much surprised when he understood, that, under pretence of taking a journey of two or three days, he had gone away on a mule the same day that the sultan went a hunting, and never appeared since. this circumstance vexed him so much the more, beeause he did not doubt that the hard words he had used were the cause of his going away. he sent a messenger in search of him, who went to damascus, and as far as aleppo, but noureddin was then at balsora. when the courier returned, and brought word that he heard no news of him, schemseddin intended to make further inquiry after him in other parts; but in the mean time had a fancy to marry, and obtained the daughter of one of the greatest lords in cairo upon the same day that his brother married the daughter of the grand vizier of balsora. but this is not all, said giafar; at the end of nine months, schemseddin's wife was delivered of a daughter at cairo, and on the same day noureddin's wife had a son at balsora, who was named bedreddin hassan. the grand vizier of balsora testified his joy for the birth of his grandson by great gifts and public entertainments; and, to show his son-in-law the great esteem he had for him, he went to the palace, and begged the sultan to grant noureddin his office, that he might have the comfort, before his death, to see his son-in-law made grand vizier his stead. the sultan, who had taken a great liking to noureddin when his father presented him after his marriage, and had ever since heard every body speak well of him, readily granted his father-in-law's request, and caused noureddin immediately to put on the robe of a grand vizier. the next day, when the father saw his son-in-law preside in council as he himself had done, and perform all the offices of grand vizier, his joy was complete. noureddin behaved himself so well in every thing, that one would have thought he had been all his lifetime employed in such affairs. he continued afterwards to assist in council every time when the infirmities of age would not permit his father-in-law to appear. the old gentleman died about four years after, and noureddin performed the last duties to him with all possible love and gratitude. as soon as his son bedreddin had attained to seven years of age, he provided him a most excellent tutor, who taught him as became his birth. the child had a ready wit, a genius capable of receiving all the instructions that could be given, and, after having been two years under the tuition of his master, learned the alcoran by heart. his father noureddin put him afterwards to other tutors, by whom his mind was cultivated to such a degree, that, when he was twelve years of age, he had no more occasion for them; and then, as his physiognomy promised wonders, he was admired by all. noureddin had hitherto kept him to his studies, and had not yet brought him into public; but now he carried him to the palace, on purpose to have the honour of kissing the hand of the sultan, who received him very graciously. the people who saw him in the streets were charmed with his genteel mien, and gave him a thousand blessings. his father, purposing to make him capable of supplying his place, spared no cost for that end, brought him up to business of the greatest moment, and in short omitted nothing to advance a son he loved so well. but as he began to enjoy the fruits of his labour, he was all of a sudden taken with a violent fit of sickness; and, finding himself past recovery, disposed himself to die like a good mussulman. in his last moments he forgot not his son bedreddin, but called for him, and said, my son, you see this world is transitory; there is nothing durable but that to which i shall speedily go. you must therefore from henceforth begin to fit yourself for this change, as i have done; you must prepare for it without murmuring, so as to have no trouble of conscience for not acting the part of a really honest man. as for your religion, you are sufficiently instructed in it by what you have learned from your tutors, and by your own study. as to what belongs to an honest man, i shall give you some instructions, of which i hope you will make good use; and as it is a necessary thing to know one's self, and you cannot come to that knowledge unless you first understand who i am, i shall now tell you. i am a native of egypt; my father, your grandfather, was first minister to the sultan of that kingdom. i myself had the honour to be vizier to that same sultan, and so has my brother, your uncle, who, i suppose, is yet alive; his name is schemseddin. i was obliged to leave him, and come into this country, where i have raised myself to the high dignity which i now enjoy. but you will understand all these matters more fully by a manuscript which i shall leave you. noureddin pulled out his pocket-book, which he had written with his own hand, and carried always about him, and giving it to bedreddin, take it, says he, and read it at your leisure; you will find, among other things, the day of my marriage, and that of your birth; these are such circumstances as perhaps you may hereafter have occasion to know; therefore you must keep it very carefully. bedreddin, being most afflicted to see his father in that condition, and sensibly touched with his discourse, could not but weep when he received the pocket-book, and promised never to part with it. that very moment noureddin fainted, so that it was thought he would have expired; but he came to himself again, and uttered these words: my son, the first instruction i give you is, not to make yourself familiar with all sorts of people. the way to live happy is to keep your mind to yourself, and not tell your thoughts too freely. secondly, not to do violence to any body whatever, for in that case you will draw every body's hatred upon you. you ought to consider the world as a creditor, to whom you owe moderation, compassion, and forbearance. thirdly, not to say a word when you are reproached; for, as the proverb says, he that keeps silence is out of danger. in this case particularly you ought to practise it. you also know what one of our poets says upon this subject, that silence is the ornament and safeguard of life; and that our speech ought not to be like a storm of rain that spoils all. never did any man yet repent of having spoken too little, though many have been sorry that they spoke too much. fourthly, to drink no wine, for that is the source of all vices. fifthly, to be frugal in your way of living; if you do not squander your estate away, it will maintain you in time of necessity. i do not mean you should be either too liberal or too niggardly; for though you have but little, if you husband it well, and lay it out upon proper occasions, you will have many friends; but if, on the contrary, you have great riches, and make a bad use of them, the world will forsake you, and leave you to yourself. in short, noureddin ali continued, till the last moment of his breath, to give good advice to his son, by whom he was magnificently interred. bedreddin hassan of balsora, for so he was called because born in that town, was so overwhelmed with grief for the death of his father, that instead of a month's time to mourn, according to custom, he kept himself closely shut up in tears and solitude about two months without seeing any body, or so much as going abroad to pay his duty to the sultan of balsora, who, being displeased at his neglect, and regarding it as a slight put upon his court and person, suffered his passion to prevail, and in his fury called for the new grand vizier, (for he had created a new one as soon as noureddin died,) commanded him to go to the house of the deceased, and seize upon it, with all his other houses, lands, and effects, without leaving any thing for bedreddin hassan, and to bring him prisoner along with him. the new grand vizier, accompanied by a great many messengers belonging to the palace, justices and other officers, went immediately to execute his commission; but one of bedreddin's slaves, happening accidentally to come into the crowd, no sooner understood the vizier's errand, than he ran in all haste to give his master warning. he found him sitting in the porch of his house, as melancholy as if his father had been but newly dead. he fell down at his feet quite out of breath; and, after he had kissed the hem of his garment, cried out, my lord, save yourself immediately. bedreddin, lifting up his head, said, what is the matter? what news dost thou bring? my lord, said he, there is no time to be lost; the sultan, horribly incensed against you, has sent people to take all you have, and to seize your person. the words of this faithful and affectionate slave put bedreddin into great confusion. may not i have so much time, said he, as to take some money and jewels along with me? no, sir, replied the slave; the grand vizier will be here this moment. begone immediately; save yourself. bedreddin rose up from the sofa in haste, put his feet in his sandals, and, after covering his head with the tail of his gown, that his face might not be known, he fled, without knowing what way to go, in order to avoid the impending danger. the first thought that came into his head was to get out at the next gate with all speed. he ran without stopping till he came to the public church-yard; and, as it was growing dark, he resolved to pass the night on his father's tomb. it was a large edifice in the form of a dome, which noureddin ali built when he was alive. bedreddin met by the way a very rich jew, who was a banker and merchant, and was returning to the city from a place where his affairs had called him. the jew, knowing bedreddin, halted, and saluted him very courteously. the caliph was very attentive to the discourse of the grand vizier, who went on after this manner. isaac the jew, after he had paid his respects to bedreddin hassan by kissing his hand, says, my lord, dare i be so bold as to ask whither you are going at this time of night alone, and so much troubled? has any thing disquieted you? yes, said bedreddin, a while ago i was asleep, and my father appeared to me in a dream, looking fiercely upon me, as if he were very angry; i started out of my sleep very much frightened, and came out immediately to go and pray upon his tomb. my lord, said the jew, who did not know the true reason why bedreddin left the town, your father of happy memory, and my good lord, had store of merchandise in several vessels which are yet at sea, and belong to you; i beg the favour of you to grant me the first refusal of them before any other merchant. i am able to lay down ready money for all the goods that are in your ships; and to begin, if you will give me those that happen to come in the first ship that arrives in safety, i will pay you down, in part payment, a thousand sequins. drawing out a bag from under his gown, he showed it him sealed up with one seal. bedreddin, banished from home, and dispossessed of all he had in the world, looked upon this proposal of the jew as a favour from heaven, and therefore accepted it with a great deal of joy. my lord, said the jew, then you sell unto me, for a thousand sequins, the lading of the first of your ships that shall arrive in port? yes, answered bedreddin, i sell it to you for a thousand sequins; it is done. upon this, the jew delivered him the bag of a thousand sequins, and offered to count them; but bedreddin saved him the trouble, and said, he would trust his word. since it is so, my lord, be pleased to favour me with a small note, in writing, of the bargain we have made. having said this, he pulled his ink-horn from his girdle, and taking a small reed out of it, neatly cut for writing, he presented it to him, with a piece of paper he took out of his letter-case, and, whilst he held the ink-horn, bedreddin hassan wrote these words: 'this writing is to testify, that bedreddin hassan of balsora has sold to isaac the jew, for the sum of one thousand sequins, received in hand, the lading of the first of his ships that shall arrive in this port.' this note he delivered to the jew, who put it in his letter-case, and then took leave of him. while isaac pursued his journey to the city, bedreddin made the best of his way to his father's tomb. when he came to it, he bowed his face to the ground, and, with his eyes full of tears, deplored his miserable condition. alas! said he, unfortunate bedreddin, what will become of thee? whither canst thou fly for refuge against the unjust prince who persecutes thee? was it not enough to be afflicted for the death of so dear a father? must fate add new misfortunes to just complaints? he continued a long time in this posture; but at last rose up again, and, leaning his head upon his father's sepulchre, his sorrows returned more violently than before; so that he sighed and mourned, till, overcome with heaviness, he stretched himself upon the floor, and fell asleep. he had not slept long when a genius, who had retired to the church-yard during the day, and was intending, according to custom, to range about the world at night, espying this young man in noureddin's tomb, entered, and finding bedreddin lying on his back, was surprised at his beauty. when he had attentively considered bedreddin, he said to himself, to judge of this creature by his good mien, he seems to be an angel of the terrestrial paradise, whom god has sent to put the world in a flame with his beauty. at last, after he had satisfied himself with looking upon him, he took a flight into the air, where meeting by chance with a fairy, they saluted each other; after which he said to her, descend with me into the church-yard where i stay, and i will show you a prodigious beauty, who is worthy of your admiration as well as mine. the fairy consented, and both descended in an instant; they came into the tomb: look ye, said the genius to the fairy, showing him bedreddin, did you ever see a young man of a better shape, and more beautiful than this? the fairy, having attentively observed bedreddin, answered, i must confess that he is a very handsome man, but i am just come from seeing an object at cairo still more admirable; and if you hear me, i will tell you a strange story concerning her. you will very much oblige me by so doing, answered the genius. you must know then, said the fairy, that the sultan of egypt has a vizier called schemseddin mohammed, who has a daughter of about twenty years of age, the most beautiful and complete person that ever was known. the sultan having heard of this young lady's beauty, sent the other day for her father, and said, i understand you have a daughter; i have a mind to marry her; will you consent to it? the vizer, who did not expect this proposal, was troubled at it; and, instead of accepting it joyfully, which another in his place would certainly have done, he answered the sultan, may it please your majesty, i am not worthy of the honour you confer upon me, and i most humbly beseech you to pardon me if i do not agree to your request. you know i had a brother called noureddin ali, who had the honour, as well as myself, to be one of your viziers: we had some difference together, which was the cause of his leaving me on a sudden, and since that time i have had no account of him till within these four days, when i heard he died at balsora, being grand vizier to the sultan of that kingdom. he has left a son behind him; and there having been an agreement between us to match our children together, should we have any, i am persuaded he intended the match when he died. being desirous to fulfil the promise on my part, i conjure your majesty to grant me leave; you have in your court many other lords who have daughters on whom you may please to bestow that honour. the sultan of egypt was incensed against schemseddin to the highest degree, and said to him in a passion, which he could not restrain, is this the way you requite my condescension to stoop so low as to desire your alliance? i know how to revenge your daring to prefer another to me, and i swear that your daughter shall be married to the most contemptible and ugly of all my slaves. having spoken these words, he angrily bid the vizier begone, who went home to his house full of confusion, and very sad. the same day the sultan sent for one of his grooms, who is hump-backed, big-bellied, crook-legged, and as ugly as a hobgoblin; and, after having commanded schemseddin to consent to marry his daughter to this ghastly slave, he caused the contract to be made out and signed by witnesses in his own presence. the preparations for this fantastical wedding, says the fairy, are all ready, and at this moment all the slaves belonging to the lords of the court of egypt are waiting at the door of the bagnio, each with a flambeau in his hand, for the crook-backed groom to go along with them to his bride, who is already dressed to receive him. when i departed from cairo, the ladies, met for that purpose, were going to conduct her, in all her nuptial attire, to the hall, where she is to receive her hump-backed bridegroom, and is this minute now expecting him; i have seen her, and do assure you that no person can look upon her without admiration. when the fairy left off speaking, the genius says to her, whatever you think or say, i cannot be persuaded that the girl's beauty exceeds that of this young man. i will not dispute it with you, answered the fairy, for i must confess he deserves to be married to that charming creature whom they design for hump-back; and i think it were a deed worthy of us to obstruct the sultan of egypt's injustice, and put this young gentleman in the room of the slave. you are in the right, answered the genius; i am extremely obliged to you for so good a thought; let us deceive him: i consent to your revenge upon the sultan of egypt; let us comfort a distressed father, and make his daughter as happy as she thinks herself miserable; i shall do my utmost to make this project take, and am persuaded you will not be backward; i shall carry him to cairo before he awake, and afterwards leave it to you to carry him elsewhere when we have accomplished our design. the plan being thus concerted, the genius lifted bedreddin gently, carried him with an inconceivable swiftness through the air, and set him down at the door of a public-house next to the bagnio, whence hump-back was to come with the train of slaves that waited for him. bedreddin awaked that very moment, and was mightily surprised to find himself in the middle of a city which he knew not: he was going to cry out, and to ask where he was; but the genius touched him gently on the shoulder, and forbade him to speak a word. then he put a torch in his hand, bid him mix with the crowd at the bagnio door, and follow them till he came into a hall, where they were to celebrate a marriage. the bridegroom is a hump-backed fellow, and by this description you will easily know him. place yourself at the right hand as you go in, then immediately open the purse of sequins you have in your bosom, and distribute them among the musicians and dancers as they go along. when you have got into the hall, give money also to the female slaves you see about the bride, when they come near you; but every time you put your hand in your purse, be sure to take out a whole handful, and be not sparing. observe to do every thing exactly as i have told you, with great presence of mind; be not afraid of any person or thing, but leave the rest to a superior power, who will order matters as he thinks fit. young bedreddin, thus instructed in all that he was to do, advanced towards the door of the bagnio: the first thing he did was to light his torch like a slave; then mixing among them, as if he belonged to some nobleman of cairo, he marched along as they did, following hump-back, who came out of the bagnio, and mounted a horse from the sultan's own stable. being come near the musicians and men and women-dancers, who preceded the bridgroom, bedreddin pulled out, time after time, whole handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among them. as he gave his money with an unparalleled grace and engaging mien, those who received it cast their eyes upon him, and, after they had taken a full view of his face, found him so handsome and comely, that they could not look off again. at last they came to schemseddin's gate. schemseddin was bedreddin's uncle, and little thought his nephew was so near. the door-keepers, to prevent any disorder, kept back all the slaves who carried torches, and would not let them come in. bedreddin was likewise refused; but the musicians, who had free entrance, stood still, and protested they would not go in without him. he is not one of the slaves, said they; look upon him, and you will soon be satisfied as to that; he is certainly a young stranger, who is curious to see the ceremonies observed at weddings in this city. saying thus, they put him in the midst of them, and carried him in; they took his torch out of his hand, and gave it to the first they met. having brought him into the hall, they placed him at the right hand of the hump-backed bridegroom, who sat near the vizier's daughter on a throne most richly adorned. she appeared very lovely in her dress, but in her face there was nothing to be seen but poignant grief. the cause was easy to be guessed at, when she had by her side a bridegroom so very deformed, and so unworthy of her love. the throne of that ill-matched couple was in the midst of a sofa. the ladies of the emirs, viziers, those of the sultan's bed-chamber, and several other ladies of the court and city, were placed on each side, a little lower, every one according to rank, and all of them so fine and richly dressed, that it was one of the pleasantest sights that could be seen, each of them holding a large wax taper. as soon as they saw bedreddin come into the room, all fixed their eyes upon him, admiring his shape, his behaviour, and the beauty of his face. when he was set down, they left their seats, and came near him, to have a full view of his face; and almost all of them, as they returned to their seats, found themselves moved with tender passion. the disparity between bedreddin and the hump-backed groom, who made such a horrible figure, occasioned a great murmuring among the company, insomuch that the ladies cried out, we must give our bride to this handsome young gentleman, and not to this ugly hump-back. nor did they rest here, but uttered imprecations against the sultan, who, abusing his absolute power, would unite ugliness and beauty together. they also upbraided the bridegroom, and put him quite out of countenance, to the great satisfaction of the spectators, whose shouts for some time put a stop to the concert of music in the hall. at last the musicians began again, and the women who had dressed the bride came round her. each time she changed her habit, she rose up from her seat, followed by her bride-women, and passed by hump-back without giving him one look; but went towards bedreddin, before whom she presented herself in her new attire. on this occasion bedreddin, according to the instructions given him by the genius, failed not to put his hand in his purse, and pulled out handfuls of sequins, which he distributed among the women that followed the bride; nor did he forget the players and dancers, but also threw money to them. they showed themselves very thankful, and made signs that the young bride should be for him, and not for the hump-back fellow. the women who attended her told her the same thing, and did not care whether the groom heard them or not; for they put a thousand tricks upon him, which very much pleased the spectators. the ceremony of changing habits being over, the musicians ceased and went away, but made a sign to bedreddin hassan to stay behind. the ladies did the same, and went all home, except those belonging to the house. the bride went into a closet, whither her women followed to undress her, and none remained in the hall but the hump-back groom, bedreddin, and some of the domestics. hump-back, who was furiously mad at bedreddin, suspecting him to be his rival, gave him a cross look, and said, and thou, what dost thou wait for? why art thou not gone as well as the rest? begone. bedreddin, having no pretence to stay, withdrew, not knowing what to do with himself. but he had not got out of the porch, when the genius and the fairy met and stopped him. whither art thou going? said the fairy; stay, for hump-back is not in the hall, but has gone out about some business; you have nothing to do but to return, and introduce yourself into the bride's chamber: as soon as you are alone with her, tell her boldly that you are her husband; that the sultan's intention was only to make sport with the groom; and, to make this pretended bridegroom some amends, you had caused to be prepared for him, in the stable, a good dish of cream: then tell her all the fine things you can think of to persuade her, for, with your handsomeness, little persuasion will do, and she will think herself happy in being deceived so agreeably. in the mean time we shall take care that hump-back return not, and let nothing hinder you from passing the night with your bride, for she is yours. while the fairy thus encouraged bedreddin, and instructed him how he should behave himself, hump-back was really gone out of the room; for the genius went to him in the shape of a great cat, miauling at a most fearful rate: the fellow called to the cat, and clapped his hands to make her flee; but, instead of that, the cat stood upon her hind feet, staring with her eyes like fire, looking fiercely at him, miauling louder than she did at first, and growing bigger, till she was as large as an ass. at this sight hump-back would have cried out for help, but his fear was so great that he stood gaping, and could not utter one word. that he might have no time, however, to recover, the genius changed himself immediately into a large buffalo, and in this shape called to him with a voice that redoubled his fear, thou hump-backed villain! at these words the affrighted groom cast himself on the ground, and covering his face with his gown, that he might not see this dreadful beast, sovereign prince of buffaloes, said he, what is it you want with me? woe be to thee, replies the genius, hast thou the boldness to venture to marry my mistress? o my lord, said hump-back, i pray you to pardon me; if i am guilty, it, is through ignorance; i did not know that this lady had a buffalo for her sweetheart: command me in any thing you please; i give you my oath that i am ready to obey you. by death, replied the genius, if thou goest out from hence, or speakest a word till the sun rises, i will crush thy head to pieces; but then i give thee leave to go from hence: i warn thee to hasten, and not to look back; but if thou hast the impudence to return, it shall cost thee thy life. when the genius had done speaking, he transformed himself into the shape of a man, took hump-back by the legs, and after having set him against the wall, with his head downwards, if thou stir, said he, before the sun rises, as i have told thee already, i will take thee by the heels again, and dash thy head in a thousand pieces against the wall. to return to bedreddin: being prompted by the genius and the presence of the fairy, he got into the hall again, from whence he slipped into the bride-chamber, where he sat down expecting the success of his adventure. after a while the bride arrived, conducted by an old matron, who came no further than the door, exhorting the bridegroom to do his duty like a man, without looking to see if it was hump-back or another; she then locked the door, and retired. the young bride was mightily surprised, instead of hump-back to find bedreddin hassan, who came up to her with the best grace in the world. what! my dear friend, said she, by your being here at this time of night, you must be my husband's comrade? no, madam, said bedreddin, i am of another sort of quality than that ugly hump-back. but, said she, you do not consider that you speak degradingly of my husband. he your husband, madam? replied he; can you retain these thoughts so long? be convinced of your mistake, madam, for so much beauty must never be sacrificed to the most contemptible of mankind: it is i, madam, that am the happy mortal for whom it is reserved. the sultan had a mind to make himself merry by putting this trick upon the vizier your father, but he chose me to be your real husband. you might have observed how the ladies, the musicians, the dancers, your women, and all the servants of your family, were pleased with this comedy. i have sent that hump-back fellow to his stable again, where he is just now eating a dish of cream; and you may rest assured that he will never appear any more before you. at this discourse, the vizier's daughter, who was more like one dead than alive when she came into the bride-chamber, put on a gay air, which made her so handsome that bedreddin was perfectly charmed with her. i did not expect, said she, to meet with so pleasing a surprise, and had condemned myself to live unhappy all my days; but my good fortune is so much the greater, as i possess in you a man that is worthy of my tenderest affection. having spoken thus, she undressed herself, and stepped into bed. bedreddin, overjoyed to see himself possessor of so many charms, made haste to follow her, and laid his clothes upon a chair, with a bag that he got from the jew, which, notwithstanding all the money he pulled out, was still full. he likewise threw off his turban, and put on a night-cap that had been ordered for hump-back, and so went to bed in his shirt and drawers[footnote: all the eastern nations lie in their drawers; but this circumstance will serve bedreddin in the sequel.]; the latter were of blue satin, tied with a lace of gold. whilst the two lovers were asleep, the genius, who had met again with the fairy, says to him, that it was high time to finish what was begun, and hitherto so successfully carried on; then let us not be overtaken by day-light, which will soon appear; go you, and bring off the young man again without awaking him. the fairy went into the bed-chamber where the two lovers were fast asleep, and took up bedreddin just as he was, that is to say, in his shirt and drawers, and, in company with the genius, with a wonderful swiftness flew away with him to the gates of damascus in syria, where they arrived when the officer of the mosques, appointed for that end, was calling the people to come to prayers at break of day. the fairy laid bedreddin softly on the ground, and, leaving him close by the gate, departed with the genius. the gate of the city being opened, and a great many people assembled to get out, they were mightily surprised to see bedreddin lying in his shirt and drawers upon the ground. one said, he has been so hard put to it to get away from his mistress, that he had not time to put on his clothes. look ye, says another, how people expose themselves; sure enough he has spent the most part of the night in drinking with his friends, till he has got drunk, and then perhaps, having occasion to go out, instead of returning, is come this length, and, not having his senses about him, was overtaken with sleep. others were of different opinions; but nobody could guess the occasion of his being there. a small puff of wind happening to blow at the time, uncovered his breast, which was whiter than snow. every one, being struck with admiration at the fineness of his complexion, spoke so loud as to awake him. his surprise was as great as theirs, when he found himself at the gate of a city where he had never been before, and encompassed by a crowd of people gazing at him. gentlemen, said he, for god's sake tell me where i am, and what you would have of me. one of the crowd said to him, young man, the gates of the city were just now opened, and, as we came out, we found you lying here in this condition, and stood to look on you: have you lain here all night? and do you not know that you are at one of the gates of damascus? at one of the gates of damascus! answered bedreddin; sure you mock me: when i lay down to sleep last night, i was at cairo. when he said these words, some of the people, moved with compassion for him, said, it is a pity such a handsome young man should have lost his senses; and so went away. my son, says an old gentleman to him, you know not what you say: how is it possible that you, being this morning at damascus, could be last night at cairo? it is true for all that, said bedreddin; for i swear to you that i was all yesterday at balsora. he had no sooner said these words, than all the people fell into a fit of laughter, and cried out, he is a fool, he is a madman. there were some, however, who pitied him because of his youth; and one among the company said to him, my son, you must certainly be crazed; you do not consider what you say; how is it possible that a man could yesterday be at balsora, the same night at cairo, and next morning at damascus? sure you are asleep still; come, rouse up your spirits. what i say, answered bedreddin, is so true, that last night i was married in the city of cairo. all those that laughed before could not forbear laughing again when he said so. recollect yourself, says the same person that spoke before; you have dreamed all this, and that fancy still possesses your brain. i am sensible of what i say, answered the young man: pray can you tell me how it was possible to go in a dream to cairo, where i am very certain i was in person, and where my bride was seven times brought before me, each time dressed in a different habit, and where i saw an ugly hump-backed fellow to whom they intended to give her? besides, i want to know what is become of my gown, my turban, and the bag of sequins i had at cairo. though he assured them that all these things were matters of fact, yet they could not forbear laughing at him, which put him into such confusion that he knew not well what to think. after bedreddin had confidently affirmed all that he said to be true, he rose up to go into the town, and every one that followed him called out, a madman, a fool. upon this, some looked out at their windows, some came to their doors, and others joined with those that were about him, calling out as they did, but not knowing for what. in this perplexity bedreddin happened to reach a pastry-cook's shop, and went into it to avoid the rabble. this pastry-cook had formerly been captain of a troop of arabian robbers who plundered the caravans; and though he was become a citizen of damascus, where he behaved himself with decorum, yet he was dreaded by all those who knew him; wherefore, as soon as he came out to the rabble that followed bedreddin, they dispersed. the pastry-cook, seeing them all gone, asked him what he was, and who brought him hither? bedredclin told him all, not even concealing his birth, nor the death of his father the grand vizier: he afterwards gave him an account why he left balsora; how, after he fell asleep the night following upon his father's tomb, he found himself, when he awaked, at cairo, where he had married a lady; and, finally, in what amazement he was when he found himself at damascus, without being able to penetrate into all those wonderful events. your history is one of the most surprising (said the pastry-cook); but, if you follow my advice, you will let no man know the matters yon have revealed to me, but patiently expect till heaven think fit to put an end to your misfortunes: you are free to stay with me till then; and as i have no children, i will own you for my son, if you consent to it; and when you are so adopted, you may freely walk up and down the city, without being further exposed to the insults of the rabble. though this adoption was below the son of a grand vizier, bedreddin was glad to accept of the pastry-cook's proposal, judging it the best thing he could do in his then circumstances. the cook clothed him, called witnesses, and sent for a notary, before whom he acknowledged him as his son. after this, bedreddin staid with him by the name of hassan, and learned the pastry trade. whilst these things passed at damascus, schemseddin mohammed's daughter awaked, and, finding bedreddin out of bed, supposed he had risen softly from a fear of disturbing her, but that he would soon return. as she was in expectation of him, her father the vizier, who was mightily vexed at the affront put upon him by the sultan, came and knocked at her chamber-door, with a resolution to bewail her sad destiny. he called her by her name, and she, knowing him by his voice, immediately got up and opened the door; she kissed his hand, and received him with so much satisfaction in her countenance as surprised the vizier, who expected to find her drowned in tears, and as much grieved, as himself. unhappy wretch! said he in a passion, do you appear before me thus? after the hideous sacrifice you have just consummated, can you see me with so much satisfaction? the new bride, seeing her father angry at her pleasant countenance, said to him, for god's sake, sir, do not reproach me wrongfully: it is not the hump-back fellow, whom i abhor more than death, it is not that monster i have married; every body laughed him so to scorn, and put him so out of countenance, that he was forced to run away and hide himself, to make room for a charming young gentleman who is my real husband. what fable do you tell me? said schemseddin roughly? what! did not crook-back lie with you last night? no, sir, said she, it was that young gentleman who has large eyes and black eye-brows. at these words the vizier lost all patience, and fell into a terrible passion. ah, wicked woman, says he, you will make me distracted! it is you, father, said she, that puts me out of my senses by your incredulity. so it is not true, replies the vizier, that hump-back--let us talk no more of hump-back, said she; a curse upon hump-back, must i always have him cast in my dish? father, said she, i tell you once more that i did not bed with him, but with my dear spouse, who, i believe, is not very far off. schemseddin immediately went out to seek him; but, instead of seeing him, was mightily surprised to find hump-back with his head on the ground, and his heels uppermost, as the genius had placed him. what is the meaning of this? said he; who placed you thus? crook-back, knowing it to be the vizier, answered, alas! alas! it is you then that would marry me to the mistress of a buffalo, the sweetheart of an ugly genius; i will not be your fool, you shall not put a trick upon me. schemseddin, on hearing hump-back speak thus, thought he was raving, and bade him move, and stand upon his legs. i will take care how i do that, said hump-back, unless the sun be risen. know, sir, that when i came thither last night, on a sudden a black cat appeared to me, and in an instant grew as big as a buffalo: i have not forgotten what he said to me; therefore you may go about your business, and leave me here. the vizier, instead of going away, took hump-back by the heels, and made him get up, after which he ran as fast as he could, without looking behind him, and, coming to the palace, presented himself to the sultan, who laughed heartily when he told him how the genius had served him. schemseddin returned to his daughter's chamber more astonished than before. well then, my abused daughter, said he, can you give me no further light into this matter? sir, said she, i can give you no other account than what i have done already. here are my husband's clothes, which he left upon the chair; perhaps you may find somewhat that may solve your doubt. she then showed him bedreddin's turban, which he took and examined carefully on all sides. i should take this to be a vizier's turban, if it were not made after the moussol[footnote: the town of moussol is in mesopotamia, and built opposite to old nineveh.] fashion; but, perceiving somewhat to be sewed between the stuff and the lining, he called for scissars, and, having unripped it, found the paper which noureddin ali gave bedreddin his son as he was dying, and he had put it in his turban for more security. schemseddin, having opened the paper, knew his brother noureddin's hand, and found this superscription, 'for my son bedreddin hassan.' before he could make any reflections, his daughter delivered him the bag that lay under his clothes, which he likewise opened, and found full of sequins; for, as before mentioned, notwithstanding all the liberality of bedreddin, it was still kept full by the genius and fairy. he read these words upon a note in the bag, 'a thousand sequins belonging to isaac the jew;' and these lines underneath, which the jew wrote before he departed from bedreddin: ' delivered to bedreddin hassan, for the cargo of the first of those ships that formerly belonged to noureddin ali, his father, of worthy memory, sold unto me upon its arrival in this place.' he had scarcely read these words, when he gave a shout, and fainted. being recovered, however, by the help of his daughter, and the woman whom she called to her assistance, daughter, said he, do not frighten yourself at this accident, the reason of which is such as you can scarcely believe: your bridegoom is your cousin, the son of noureddin ali; the thousand sequins put me in mind of a quarrel i had with my dear brother; it is without doubt the dowry he gives you. god be praised for all things, and particularly for this, miraculous adventure, which demonstrates his almighty power. then looking again upon his brother's writing, he kissed it several times, shedding abundance of tears. having looked over the book from one end to the other, he found the date of his brother's arrival at balsora, his marriage, and the birth of bedreddin hasaan; and when he compared the same with the day of his own marriage, and the birth of his daughter at cairo, he wondered how every thing so exactly agreed. this happy discovery put him into such a transport of joy, that he took up the book, with the ticket of the bag, and showed it to the sultan, who pardoned what was past, and was so much pleased with the relation of the adventure, that he caused it, with all its circumstances, to be put in writing for the use of posterity. meanwhile schemseddin could not comprehend why his nephew did not appear; he expected him every moment, and was impatient to have him in his arms. after he had expected him seven days in vain, he searched for him through all cairo, but could hear no news of him, which perplexed him very much. this is the strangest adventure, said he, that ever man met with. not knowing what alteration might happen, he thought fit to draw up in writing, with his own hand, after what manner the wedding had been solemnized; how the hall and his daughter's bed-chamber were furnished, and other circumstances. he likewise made the turban, the bag, and the rest of bedreddin's things, into a bundle, and locked them up. after some weeks, the vizier's daughter perceived herself with child, and was delivered of a son at the end of nine months. a nurse was provided, besides women and slaves; and his grandfather called him agib[footnote: this word, in arabic, signifies wonderful.]. when young agib had attained the age of seven, the vizier, instead of teaching him to read at home, sent him to a master who was in great esteem; and two slaves were ordered to wait upon him. agib used to play with his school-fellows, and as they were all inferior to him in quality, they showed him great respect, according to the example of their master, who often would excuse faults in him that he would not pass by in the rest. this complaisance spoiled agib so, that he became proud and insolent, would have his play-fellows bear all from him, and would bear nothing from them, but be master every where; and if any one took the liberty to thwart him, he would call them a thousand names, and many times beat them. in short, all the scholars were weary of his company, and complained of him to the master, who answered, that they must have patience. but when he saw that agib still grew more and more insolent, and occasioned him a great deal of trouble, children, said he to his scholars, i find that agib is a little insolent gentleman; i will show you a way how to mortify him, so that he will never torment you more; nay, i believe it will make him leave the school: when he comes again to-morrow, and if you have a mind to play together, set yourselves round him, and do one of you call out, come let us play, but upon condition, that he who desires to play shall tell his own name, and the names of his father and mother; and they who refuse it shall be esteemed bastards, and not suffered to play in our company. next day, accordingly, when they were gathered together, they failed not to follow their master's instructions: they placed themselves round agib, and one of them called out, let us begin a play, but on condition, that he who cannot tell his own name, with that of his father and mother, shall not play at all. they all cried out, and so did agib, we consent to it. then he that spoke first asked every one the question, and all fulfilled the condition except agib, who answered, my name is agib, my mother is called the lady of beauty, and my father schemseddih mohammed, vizier to the sultan. at these words the children cried out, agib, what do you say? that is not the name of your father, but of your grandfather. a curse on you, said he in a passion: what! dare you say that the vizier schemseddin is not my father? no, no, cried they, with great laughter, he is but your grandfather, and you shall not play with us; nay, we will take care how we come into your company. having spoken thus, they left him, scoffing and laughing among themselves, which mortified agib so much that he wept. the schoolmaster, who was near, and heard all that passed, came just at the nick of time, and speaking to agib, says, agib, do not you know that the vizier schemseddin is not your father, but your grandfather, and the father of your mother, the lady of beauty? we know not the name of your father any more than you do; but only know that the sultan was going to marry your mother to one of his grooms, a hump-back fellow, but a genius lay with her. this is hard upon you, and ought to teach you to treat your school-fellows with less haughtiness than you have done hitherto. little agib, being nettled at this, ran hastily out of the school, and went home crying. he came straight to his mother's chamber, who, being alarmed to see him thus grieved, asked him the reason. he could not answer for tears, and it was but now and then he could speak plain enough to repeat what had been the occasion of his sorrow. having come to himself, mother, said he, for the love of god, be pleased to tell me who is my father. my son, said she, schemseddin mohammed, that every day makes so much of you, is your father. you do not tell me truth, said he; he is your father, not mine; but whose son am i? at this question, the lady of beauty, calling to mind her wedding-night, which had been succeeded by a long widowhood, began to shed tears, repining bitterly at the loss of so lovely a husband as bedreddin. whilst she and agib were weeping, the vizier entered, and demanded the reason of their sorrow. the lady told him the shame agib had undergone at school, which did so much afflict the vizier, that he joined his tears with theirs; and judging that the misfortune that had happened to his daughter was the common discourse of the town, he was quite out of patience. in this state he went to the sultan's palace, and, falling at his feet, humbly prayed him to give him leave to make a journey into the provinces of the levant, and particularly to balsora, in search of his nephew bedreddin, as he could not bear that the people of the city should believe a genius had got his daughter with child. the sultan was much concerned at the vizier's affliction, commended his resolution, gave him leave to go, and caused a passport also to be written for him, praying, in the most obliging terms, all kings and princes, in whose dominions the said bedreddin might sojourn, to grant that the vizier might bring him along with him. schemseddin, not knowing how to express his thankfulness to the sultan for this favour, thought it his duty to fall down before him a second time, and the floods of tears he shed gave sufficient testimony of his gratitude. at last, having wished the sultan all manner of prosperity, he took leave, and went home to his house, where he disposed every thing for his journey, the preparations for which were carried on with so much diligence, that in four days he left the city, accompanied by his daughter and his grandson agib. they travelled nineteen days without stopping; but on the twentieth, arriving in a very pleasant meadow at a small distance from damascus, they stopped, and pitched their tents on the banks of a river that runs through the town, and affords a very agreeable prospect to its neighbourhood. schemseddin mohammed declared that he would stay in that pleasant place two days, and pursue his journey on the third. in the mean time he granted permission to his retinue to go to damascus; and almost all of them made use of it--some influenced by curiosity to see a city of which they had heard much, and others by the opportunity of vending in it such egyptian goods as they had brought with them, or of buying the stuffs and rarities of the country. the beautiful lady, desirous that her son agib might share in the satisfaction of viewing that celebrated city, ordered the black eunuch, who acted in the quality of his governor, to conduct him hither, and to take care that he came to no harm. accordingly agib, arrayed in magnificent apparel, went along with the eunuch, who held a large cane in his hand. they had no sooner entered the city than agib, fair and glorious as the day, attracted the eyes of the people. some left their houses in order to gain a nearer view of him, others looked out at their windows, and those who passed along the streets were not satisfied with stopping to view him, but kept pace with him to prolong the pleasure of such an agreeable sight: in fine, every one admired him, and implored a thousand benedictions on the father and mother who had given being to so fine a child. by chance the eunuch and he passed by the shop where bedreddin hassan was, and there the crowd was so great, that they were forced to halt. the pastry-cook who had adopted bedreddin, had died some years before, leaving him his shop and all his estate; and he now managed the pastry trade so dexterously, that he gained great reputation in damascus. bedreddin, seeing so great a crowd gazing attentively upon agib and the black eunuch, stepped out to view them himself. having cast his eyes particularly on agib, he presently found himself involuntarily moved. he was not struck like the crowd, with the shining beauty of the boy; a very different cause, unknown to him, gave rise to his commotion. it was the force of the blood that worked in this tender father, who, laying aside all business, made up to agib, and, with an engaging air, said to him, my little lord, who hast won my soul, be so kind as to come into my shop, and eat a bit of such fare as i have, that i may have the pleasure of admiring you at my ease. these words he pronounced with such tenderness, that tears trickled from his eyes. little agib himself was greatly moved; and, turning to the eunuch, said, this honest man's face pleases me much; he speaks in such an affectionate manner, that i cannot avoid complying with his desire; let us step into his house, and taste his pastry. ah, by my troth! replied the slave, it would be a fine thing to see the son of a vizier go into a pastry shop to eat; do not you imagine that i will suffer any such thing. alas, my little lord, cried bedreddin, it is an injustice to trust your conduct in the hands of a person who treats you so harshly. then applying himself to the eunuch, my good friend, continued he, pray do not himder this young lord to grant me the favour i ask; do not put that piece of mortification on me; rather do me the honour to walk in along with him; and, by so doing, you will give the world to know, that, though your outside is brown like a chesnut, your inside is as white as his. do you know, continued he, that i am master of the secret to make you white, instead of being black as you are? this set the eunuch a laughing, and then he asked bedreddin what that secret was. i will tell you, replied bedreddin, repeating some verses in praise of black eunuchs, implying, that by their ministry the honour of princes, and of all great men, was insured. the eunuch was so charmed with the verses, that, without further hesitation, he suffered agib to go into the shop, and also went in himself. bedreddin was overjoyed at having obtained what he had so passionately desired; and falling about the work he had discontinued, i was making, said he, cream-tarts, and you must, with submission, eat of them, i am persuaded you will find them very good; for my own mother, who makes them incomparably well, taught me; and people send to buy them of me from all quarters of the town. this said, he took a cream-tart out of the oven, and, after strewing on it some pomegranate kernels and sugar, set it before agib, who pronounced it very delicious. another was served up to the eunuch, who gave the same judgment. while they were both eating, bedreddin regarded agib very attentively; and, after looking on him again and again, it occurred to him that, for any thing he knew, he might have such a son by his charming wife, from whom he had been so soon and so cruelly separated; and the very thoughts drew tears from his eyes. he also intended to put some questions to little agib about his journey to damascus; but the child had no time to gratify his curiosity; for the eunuch, pressing him to return to his grandfather's tent, took him away as soon as he had done eating. bedreddin, however, not contented with looking after him, shut up his shop immediately, and followed him. the eunuch, perceiving that he followed them, was extremely surprised: you impertinent fellow, said he, with an angry tone, what do you want? my dear friend, replied bedreddin, do not trouble yourself; i have a little business out of town that is just come into my head, and i must needs go and look after it. this answer, however, did not at all appease the eunuch, who, turning to agib, said, this is all owing to you; i foresaw that i should repent of my complaisance; you would needs go into the man's shop; it was not wise in me to give you leave. perhaps, replied agib, he has real business out of town, and the road is free to every body. while this conversation passed, they kept walking together, without looking behind them, till they came near the vizier's tents, when they turned about to see if bedreddin followed them. agib, perceiving he was within two paces of him, grew red and white alternately, according to his different emotions; he was afraid that the grand vizier his grandfather should come to know that he had been in the pastry-shop, and had eaten there. in this dread he took up a pretty large stone that lay at his foot, and throwing it at bedreddin, hit him on the forehead, which gave him such a wound, that his face was covered with blood; he then took to his heels, and ran under the eunuch's tent. the eunuch gave bedreddin to understand that he had no reason to complain of a mischance which he had merited and brought upon himself. bedreddin turned towards the city, staunching the blood with his apron, which he had not put off. i was a fool, said he within himself, for leaving my house, to take so much pains about this brat; for doubtless he would never have used me after this manner, if he had not thought i had some fatal design against him; when he got home, he had his wound dressed, and softened the sense of his mischance by the reflection that there was an infinite number of people yet more unfortunate than himself. bedreddin kept on the pastry trade at damascus, whence his uncle sehemseddin departed three days after his arrival; he went by the way of emaus, hanah, and halep; then crossed the euphrates; and, after passing through mardin, moussoul, singier, diarbeker, and several other towns, arrived at last at balsora; and, immediately after his arrival, desired audience of the sultan, who was no sooner informed of schemseddin's quality, than he received him very favourably, and asked him the occasion of his journey to balsora. sir, replied the vizier schemseddin, i come to know what is become of the son of noureddin ali, my brother, who has had the honour to serve your majesty. noureddin, said the sultan, has been dead a long while: as to his son, all i can tell you of him is, that he disappeared very suddenly about two months after his father's death, and nobody has seen him since, notwithstanding all the inquiry i ordered to be made; but his mother, who is the daughter of one of my viziers, is still alive. schemseddin desired leave of the sultan to see her, and carry her to egypt; and having obtained his request, without tarrying till next day for the satisfaction of seeing her, inquired her place of abode, and that very hour went to her house, accompanied by his daughter and grandson. the widow of noureddin resided still in the same house where her husband had lived: it was a very magnificent structure, adorned with marble pillars; but schemseddin did not stop to view it. at his entry, he kissed the gate, and the piece of marble upon which his brother's name was written in letters of gold. he desired to speak with his sister-in-law, and was told by the servants that she was then in a small edifice, in the form of a dome, which they showed him, in the middle of a very spacious court. this tender mother used to spend the greater part of the day, as well as the night, in that room, which she had built in order to represent the tomb of bedreddin, whom she supposed to be dead after so long an absence. at this very instant she was shedding tears at the thoughts of her dear child; and schemseddin entering, found her labouring under that affliction. he paid his compliments, and, after beseeching her to suspend her tears and groans, gave her to know that he had the honour to be her brother-in-law, and acquainted her with the occasion of his journey from cairo to balsora. schemseddin, after relating all that had passed at cairo on his daughter's wedding-night, and the surprise occasioned by the discovery of the paper sewed up in bedreddin's turban, presented to her agib and the beautiful lady. the widow of noureddin ali, who had still continued sitting like a woman moped and weaned from the affairs of this world, no sooner understood by his discourse that her dear son, whom she lamented so bitterly, might still be alive, than she rose, and repeatedly embraced the beautiful lady and her grandchild agib; and perceiving in the youth the features of bedreddin, she shed tears very different from those to which she had been so long accustomed. she could not forbear kissing the youth, who, on his part, received her embraces with all the demonstrations of joy he was capable of. madam, said schemseddin, it is time to wipe away your tears, and cease your groans; you must now think of accompanying us to egypt. the sultan of balsora has given me leave to carry you thither, and i doubt not that you will agree to it. i am hopeful that we shall at last find out your son, my nephew; and if that should come to pass, the history of him, of you, of my own daughter, and of my own adventures, will deserve to be committed to writing, and to be transmitted to posterity. the widow of noureddin ali heard this proposal with pleasure, and from that very minute ordered preparations to be made for her departure. in the mean time schemseddin desired a second audience; and, after taking leave of the sultan, who received him with ample marks of respect, giving him a considerable present for himself, and another of great value for the sultan of egypt, he set out from balsora for the city of damascus. when he arrived in its neighbourhood, he ordered his tents to be pitched without the gate at which he designed to enter the city, and gave out that he would tarry there three days in order to give his equipage rest, and buy up the best curiosities he could meet with, in order to present them to the sultan of egypt. while he was thus employed in choosing the finest of the stuffs which the principal merchants had brought to his tents, agib begged the black eunuch, his governor, to carry him through the city, in order to see what he had not leisure to view as he passed before, and to know what was become of the pastry-cook whom he had wounded with a stone. the eunuch, complying with his request, went with him towards the city, after leave obtained from his mother. they entered damascus by the paradise-gate, which lay next to the tents of the vizier schemseddin. they walked through the great squares and public places where the richest goods were sold, and viewed the ancient mosque of the ommidae[footnote: that is, of caliphs who reigned after the four first successors of mahomet, and were so called from one of their ancestors whose name was ommiam.], at the hour of prayer, between noon and sunset[footnote: this prayer is always repeated two hours and a half before sunset.]. after that they passed the shop of bedreddin, whom they found still employed in making cream-tarts: i salute you, sir, said agib. do you know me? do you remember ever seeing me before? bedreddin, hearing these words, cast his eyes on him, and knowing him, (oh, the surprising effect of paternal love!) found the same emotions which he had experienced when he first saw him; he seemed much confused; and, instead of making an answer, continued a long time without uttering one word. but at last, recollecting himself, my little lord, said he, be so kind as to come once more with your governor into my house, and taste a cream-tart. i beg your lordship's pardon for my imprudence in following you out of town; i was at that time not myself, and scarcely knew what i did. you dragged me after you, and the violence of the pull was so soft, that i could not withstand it. agib, astonished at what bedreddin said, replied thus: there is an excess in the kindness you express; and unless you engage, on oath, not to follow me when i go from hence, i will not enter your house. if you give me your promise, and prove a man of your word, i will visit you again to-morrow, as the vizier my grand-father is still employed in buying up things for a present to the sultan of egypt. my little lord, replied bedreddin, i will do whatever you desire me. accordingly agib and the eunuch went into the shop. bedreddin set before them a cream-tart, fully as good as what they had eaten of when they saw him before. come, said agib, addressing himself to bedreddin, sit down by me, and eat with us. bedreddin sat down, and offered to embrace agib, as a testimony of the joy he conceived on his sitting by him; but agib, shoving him away, desired him to be easy, not to run his friendship too close, and to content bimself with seeing and entertaining him. bedreddin obeyed, and began to sing a song, the words of which he had composed extempore in praise of agib: he did not eat himself, but busied himself in serving his guests. when they had done eating, he brought them water to wash with[footnote: the mahometans having a custom of washing their hands five times a day when they go to prayers, they reckon that they have no occasion to wash before eating, but always after it, because they eat without forks.], and a white napkin to wipe their hands: he then filled a large china cup with sherbet, and put snow into it[footnote: this is done all over the levant, for the purpose of cooling liquor.]; and offering it to agib, this, said he, is sherbet of roses, and the pleasantest you will meet with in all damascus; i am sure you never tasted better. agib, having drunk of it with pleasure, bedreddin hassan took the cup from him, and presented it to the eunuch, who drank the contents at one pull. in short, agib and his governor having fared sumptuously, returned thanks to the pastry-cook for their good entertainment, and proceeded homewards, it being then pretty late. whew they arrived at the tents of schemseddin, agib's grandmother received him with transports of joy: her son bedreddin ran always in her mind; and, in embracing agib, the remembrance of him drew tears from her eyes. ah, my child! said she, my joy would be complete, had i the pleasure of embracing your father bedreddin hassan as i now embrace you! then sitting down to supper, she made agib sit by her, and put several questions to him relating to the walk he had been taking along with the eunuch; and, complaining of his want of appetite, gave him a piece of a cream-tart that she had made herself, and was indeed very good; for i told you before that she could make them better than the best pastry-cooks. she likewise gave part of it to the eunuch; but they had eaten so heartily at bedreddin's house, that they could not taste it. agib no sooner touched the piece of cream-tart that had been set before him, than he pretended that he did not like it, and left it uncut. schaban[footnote: the mahometans give this name generally to their black eunuchs.] (for such was the eunuch's name) did the same. the widow of noureddin ali observed, with regret, that her grandson did not like the tart. what! said she, does my child thus despise the work of my hands? be it known to you, that not one in the world can make such cream-tarts, except myself and your father bedreddin, whom i myself taught. my good mother, replied agib, give me leave to tell you, that if you do not know how to make them better, there is a pastry-cook in this town who exceeds you. we were but just now at his shop, and ate of one that was much better than yours. the grandmother, frowning on the eunuch, said, how now, schaban? was the care of my grandchild committed to you to carry him to eat at pastry-shops like a beggar? madam, replied the eunuch, it is true we did stop a little while, and talked with the pastry-cook, but we did not eat with him. pardon me, said agib; we went into his shop, and there ate a cream-tart. upon this, the lady, more incensed against the eunuch than before, rose in a passion from the table, and running to the tent of schemseddin, informed him of the eunuch's crime, and that in such terms as tended more to inflame the vizier than to dispose him to excuse it. schemseddin, who was naturally passionate, did not fail on this occasion to display his anger. he went forthwith to his sister-in-law's tent; and, making up to the eunuch, what! said he, you pitiful wretch, have you the impudence to abuse the trust i repose in you? schaban, though sufficiently convicted by agib's testimony, still denied the fact. but the child persisted in what he had already affirmed: grandfather, said he, i can assure you that we did not only eat, but that both of us so much satisfied our appetites, that we have no occasion for supper; besides, the pastry-cook treated us with a large bowl of sherbet. well, cried schemseddin, turning to schaban, after all this, will you continue to deny that you entered the pastry-cook's house, and ate there? schaban had still the impudence to swear that it was not true. then you are a liar! said the vizier; i will believe my grandchild rather than you; but, after all, if you can eat up this cream-tart on the table, i shall be persuaded that you have truth on your side. though schaban had crammed himself immoderately before, yet he agreed to stand the test, and accordingly took a piece of the tart; but his stomach rising against it, he was obliged to spit it out of his mouth: he still, however, pursued the lie, pretending he had over-eaten himself the day before, so that his stomach was cloyed. the vizier, irritated by the eunuch's frivolous pretences, and convinced of his guilt, ordered him to lie flat upon the ground, and to be soundly bastinadoed. in undergoing this punishment, the poor wretch shrieked out prodigiously, and at last confessed the truth: i own, cried he, that we did eat a cream-tart at the pastry-cook's, and that it was much better than that upon the table. the widow of noureddin thought it was out of spite to her, and with a design to mortify her, that schaban commended the pastry-cook's tart; and accordingly said, i cannot believe the cook's tarts are better than mine, and am resolved to satisfy myself upon that head. where does he live? go immediately, and buy me one of his tarts. the eunuch having received of her the money necessary for the purchase, repaired to bedreddin's shop, and, addressing him, good mr. pastry-cook, said he, take this money, and let me have one of your cream-tarts; one of our ladies wants to taste them. bedreddin chose one of the best, and gave it to the eunuch. take this, said he, i will engage it is an excellent one, and can assure you that nobody is able to make the like unless it be my mother, who perhaps still lives. schaban returned speedily to the tents, and gave the tart to noureddin's widow, who snatched it eagerly, and broke off a piece; but had no sooner put it to her mouth, than she screamed and swooned away, schemseddin, being present, was extremely surprised at the accident, threw water upon her face himself, and was very active in succouring her. as soon as she recovered, my god! cried she, it must certainly be my son, my dear bedreddin, who made this tart! when the vizier schemseddin heard his sister-in-law say that the maker of the tart brought by the eunuch must without doubt be bedreddin, he was overjoyed; but reflecting that his joy might prove groundless, and in all likelihood the conjecture of noureddin's widow be false, madam, said he, why are you of that mind? do you think there may not be a pastry-cook in the world who knows how to make cream-tarts as well as your son? i own, replied she, there may be pastry-cooks who can make as good tarts; but as i make them after a peculiar manner, and nobody but my son is let into the secret, it must absolutely be he who made this. come, my brother, added she in transport, let us call up mirth and joy; we have at last found what we have been so long looking for! madam, said the vizier, i entreat you to moderate your impatience, for we shall quickly know the truth. all we have to do, is to bring the pastry-cook hither, and then you and my daughter will readily distinguish whether it is bedreddin or not; but you must both be hidden, so as to have a view of him without his seeing you; for my design is to delay the discovery till we return to cairo, where i propose to regale you with very agreeable diversion. he then left the ladies in their tent, and retired to his own, where he called for fifty of his men, and said to them, take each of you a stick in your hands, and follow schaban, who will conduct you to a pastry-cook's in the city. when you arrive there, break and dash in pieces all you find in the shop; if he asks you why you commit such disorder, only ask him again if it was not he who made the cream-tart that was brought from his house. if he owns himself the man, seine his person, fetter him, and bring him along with you; but take care you do not beat him, nor do him the least harm. go, and lose no time. the vizier's orders were immediately executed. the detachment, conducted by the black eunuch, went with expedition to bedreddin's house, and broke in pieces the plates, kettles, copper-pans, tables, and all the other moveables and utensils they met with, and drowned the sherbet-shop with creams and comfits. bedreddin, astonished at the sight, said, with a pitiful tone, pray, good people, why do you serve me so? what is the matter? what have i done? was it not you, said they, who sold this eunuch the cream-tart? yes, replied he, i am the man, and who says any thing against it? i defy any one to make a better. instead of giving him an answer, they continued to break all round them; even the oven was not spared. the neighbours in the mean time took the alarm; and, surprised to see fifty armed men commit such a disorder, asked the reason of such violence. bedreddin said once more to the actors of it. pray, tell me what crime i am guilty of, to have deserved this usage? was it not you, replied they, who made the cream-tart you sold to the eunuch? yes, it was i, replied he; i maintain it is a good one, and i do not deserve the usage you give me. however, without listening to him, they seized his person, and snatching the cloth off his turban, tied his hands with it behind his back; then dragging him by force out of his shop, they marched off with him. the mob gathering, and taking compassion on bedreddin, took his part, and offered opposition to schemseddin's men; but that very minute up came some officers from the governor of the city, who dispersed the people, and favoured the carrying off of bedreddin; for schemseddin had in the mean time gone to the governor's house to acquaint him with the order he had given, and to demand the interposition of force to favour the execution. the governor, who commanded all syria in the name of the sultan of egypt, was loath to refuse any thing to his master's vizier; so that bedreddin was carried off, notwithstanding his cries and tears. it was needless for him to ask, by the way, those who forced him off, what fault had been found with his cream-tart, as they gave him no answer. in short, they carried him to the tents, and detained him till schemseddin returned from the governor of damascus's house. upon the vizier's return, bedreddin hassan was brought before him: my lord, said bedreddin, with tears in his eyes, pray do me the favour to let me know wherein i have displeased you. why, you wretch! said the vizier, was it not you who made the cream-tart you sent me? i own i am the man, replied bedreddin; but pray what crime is that? i will punish you according to your deserts, said schemseddin: it shall cost you your life for sending me such a sorry tart. good god, cried bedreddin, what news is this? is it a capital crime to make a bad creamtart? yes, said the vizier, and you are to expect no mercy from me. while this interview lasted, the ladies, who were hid, observed bedreddin narrowly, and readily knew him, though he had been so long absent. they were so transported with joy, that they swooned away, and, when they recovered, would fain have run and fallen upon bedreddin's neck; but the promise they had made to the vizier, not to discover themselves, restrained the tender emotions of love and nature. schemseddin, having resolved to set out that very night, ordered the tents to be struck, and the necessary preparations to be made for his journey. as for bedreddin, he ordered him to be put into a chest or box well locked, and laid on a camel. when every thing was got ready, the vizier and his retinue began their march, and travelled all that night and the next day without stopping. in the evening they halted, when bedreddin was taken out of his cage in order to be served with necessary refreshments, but still carefully kept at a distance from his mother and wife; and, during the whole expedition, which lasted twenty days, he was served in the same manner. when they arrived at cairo, and had encamped in the neighbourhood of that place, schemaeddin called for bedreddin, gave orders in his presence to a carpenter to get some wood with all expedition, and make a stake. heyday! said bedreddin, what do you mean to do with a stake? why, to nail you to it, replies schemseddin; then to have you carried through all the quarters of the town, that the people may have the spectacle of a worthless pastry-cook who makes cream-tarts without pepper! bedreddin cried out so comically, that schemseddin could hardly keep his countenance: good god, cried he, must i suffer a death, as cruel as ignominious, for not putting pepper in a cream-tart? must i be rifled, and have all the godds in my house broken in pieces, imprisoned in a chest, and at last nailed to a stake? and all for not putting pepper in a cream-tart! good god! who ever heard of such a thing? are these the actions of mussulmen, of persons who make professions of probity and justice, and practise all manner of good works? with these words he shed tears; and then renewing his complaint, no, continued he, never was man used so unjustly, nor so severely. is it possible they should be capable of taking a man's life for not putting pepper in a cream-tart? cursed be all cream-tarts, as well as the hour in which i was born! would to god i had died that minute! the disconsolate bedreddin did not cease to pour forth his lamentations; and when the stake was brought, and the nails to nail him to it, he cried out bitterly at the horrid sight. heaven! said he, canst thou suffer me to die an ignominious and painful death? and for what crime? not for robbery or murder, or renouncing my religion, but for not putting pepper in a cream- tart! night being pretty far advanced, the vizier ordered bedreddin to be put up again in his cage, saying to him, stay here till to-morrow; the day shall not be spent before i give orders for your death. the chest or cage was then carried away, and laid upon the camel that had brought it from damascus; at the same time all the other camels were loaded again, and the vizier, mounting his horse, ordered the camel that carried his nephew to march before him, thus entering the city, with all his equipage following. after passing through several streets, where nobody appeared, every one being in bed, he arrived at his house, where he ordered the chest to be taken down, but not to be opened till further orders. while his retinue were unloading the other camels, the vizier took bedreddin's mother and his daughter aside; and, addressing himself to the latter, said, god be praised, my child, for this happy occasion of meeting your cousin and your husband. you surely remember in what order your chamber was on your wedding night; put every thing in the very same situation; and, in the mean time, if your memory do not serve you, i can supply you by a written account which i caused to be taken upon that occasion; and leave the rest to me. the beautiful lady went joyfully about the orders of her father, who at the same time began to put things in the hall in the same order they were in when bedreddin was there with the sultan of egypt's hunch-backed groom. as he went over his manuscript, his domestics placed every moveable accordingly. the throne was not forgotten, nor the lighted wax-candles. when every thing was put to rights in the hall, the vizier went into his daughter's chamber, and put bedreddin's clothes, with the purse of sequins, in their proper place. this done, he said to the beautiful lady, undress yourself, my child, and go to bed. as soon as bedreddin enters the room, complain of his being from you so long, and tell him, that when you awaked, you were astonished you did not find him by you. press him to come to bed again; and to-morrow morning you will divert your mother-in-law and me by telling us what has passed between you and him. the vizier went from his daughter's apartment, and left her to undress and go to bed. schemseddin ordered all his domestics to leave the hall, except two or three, whom he ordered to remain. these he commanded to go and take bedreddin out of the chest, to strip him to his shirt and drawers, conduct him in that condition to the hall, leave him there all alone, and shut the door upon him. bedreddin, though overwhelmed with grief, had been asleep all the while; insomuch that the vizier's domestics had taken him put of the chest, and stripped him, before he awaked, and carried him so suddenly into the hall, that they did not give him time to bethink himself where he was. when he found himself alone in the hall, he looked round, and the objects of his sight recalling to his memory the circumstances of his marriage, he perceived with astonishment that it was the same hall where he had seen the sultan's groom of the stables. his surprise was still greater, when, approaching softly to the door of a chamber which he found open, he espied his clothes in the very place where he remembered to have left them on his wedding-night. my god! said he, rubbing his eyes, am i asleep or awake? his wife, who in the mean time was diverting herself with his astonishment, suddenly opened the curtains of her bed; and, bending her head forward, my dear lord, said she, with a tender air, what do you there? pr'ythee come to bed again; you have been out of it a long time. i was strangely surprised, when i awaked, at not finding you by me. bedreddin's countenance changed when he perceived that the lady who spoke to him was the charming person he had lain with before; he therefore entered the room; but, calling to mind all that had passed for an interval of ten years, and not being able to persuade himself that it could have happened in one night, he went to the place where his clothes and the purse of sequins lay, and, after examining them very carefully, by heaven, cried he, these are things that i can by no means comprehend! the lady, who enjoyed his confusion, said, once more, i pray you, my lord, come to bed again; why do you stand? he then stepped towards the bed, and said to her, pray, madam, tell me, is it long since i left you? the question, answered she, surprises me. did you not rise from me but now? your thoughts are surely very busy. madam, replied bedreddin, i do assure you that my thoughts are not very easy. i remember, indeed, to have been with you; but i remember, at the same time, that i have since lived ten years at damascus. now, if i was actually in bed with you this night, i cannot have been from you so long; these two things are inconsistent. pray tell me what to think; whether my marriage with you be an illusion, or whether my absence from you be only a dream, yes, my lord, cried she; doubtless you were light-headed when you thought you were at damascus. upon this bedreddin laughed heartily, and said, what a comical fancy is this! i assure you, madam, this dream of mine will be very pleasant to you. do but imagine, if you please, that i was at the gate of damascus in my shirt and drawers, as i am here now; that i entered the town with the halloo of a mob who followed and insulted me; that i fled into a pastry-cook's, who adopted me, taught me his trade, and left me all he had when he died; and that after his death i kept a shop. in fine, madam, i had a great number of other adventures too tedious to recount; and all i can say is, that it was not amiss that i awaked, for they were going to nail me to a stake. oh, lord, and for what (cried the lady, feigning astonishment) would they have used you so cruelly? you must certainly have committed some enormous crime. not in the least, replied bedreddin; it was nothing in the world but a mere trifle, the most ridiculous thing you can think of. all the crime i was charged with, was selling a cream-tart that had no pepper in it. as for that matter, said the beautiful lady, laughing heartily, i must say they did you great injustice. ah, madam, replied he, that was not all; for this cursed cream-tart was every thing in my shop broken to pieces, and myself bound, fettered, and flung into a chest, where i lay so close, that methinks i am there still. in fine, a carpenter was sent for, and he was ordered to get ready a stake for me; but, thanks be to god, all these things are no more than a dream. bedreddin was not easy all night; he awaked from time to time, and put the question to himself, whether he dreamed or was awake. he distrusted his felicity; and to ascertain whether it was real or not, opened the curtains, and looked round the room. i am not mistaken, said he; this is the same chamber which i entered, instead of the hunch-backed groom of the stables, and am now in bed with the fair lady who was designed for him. day-light, which then appeared, had not yet dispelled his uneasiness, when the vizier schemseddin, his uncle, knocked at the door, and went to bid him good-morrow. bedreddin was extremely surprised to see, on a sudden, a man whom he knew so well, and who now appeared with a quite different air from that with which he pronounced the terrible sentence of death against him. ah! cried bedreddin, it was you who condemned me so unjustly to a manner of death the thoughts of which make me shrink still; and all for a cream-tart without pepper. the vizier laughed heartily; but, to put him out of suspense, told him how, by the ministry of a genius, (for bossu's relation had made him suspect the adventure) he had been at his house, and had married his daughter instead of the sultan's groom of the stables; he then acquainted him that he had discovered him to be his nephew by a book written by the hand of noureddin ali, and, pursuant to that discovery, had gone from cairo to balsora in quest of him. my dear nephew, added he, with embraces and all the marks of tenderness, i ask your pardon for all i have made you undergo since i discovered you: i had a mind to bring you to my house before i told you your happiness, which ought now to be so much the dearer to you as it has cost you so much perplexity. to atone for all your afflictions, comfort yourself with the joy of being in the company of those who ought to be dearest to you. while you are dressing yourself, i shall acquaint your mother, who is beyond measure impatient to see you; and will likewise bring to you your son, whom you saw at damascus, and for whom you showed so much affection without knowing him. no words are sufficient to express the joy of bedreddin when he saw his mother and his son. these three embraced, and showed all the transports which love and tenderness can inspire. the mother spoke to bedreddin in the most moving terms; she mentioned the grief she had felt for his long absence, and the tears she had shed. little agib, instead of flying his father's embraces as at damascus, received them with ail the marks of pleasure; while his father, divided between two objects so worthy of his love, thought he could not give sufficient proofs of his affection. in the mean time schemseddin went to the palace to give an account of the happy success of his travels to the sultan, who was so charmed with the recital, that he ordered it to be taken down in writing, and to be preserved among the archives of his kingdom. after schemseddin's return to his house, having prepared a noble feast, he sat down at the table with his family, and all his household passed the day in social conviviality. the vizier giafar having made an end of the story of bedreddin hassan, told the caliph haroun alraschid, that this was what he had to relate to his majesty. the caliph found the story so surprising, that, without further hesitation, he granted his slave rihan's pardon, and to condole the young man for the grief of having unhappily deprived himself of a woman whom he loved so tenderly, he married him to one of his slaves, bestowed liberal gifts upon him, and entertained him until he died. but, sir, said scheherazade, observing that day began to appear, though the story i have how told you be agreeable, i have one that is even much more so. if your majesty will please to hear it the next night, i am certain you will be of the same mind. schahriar rose without giving any answer, and was in a quandary what to do. the good sultaness, said he within himself, tells very long stories; and when once she begins one, there is no refusing to hear it out. i cannot tell whether i shall put her to death to-day or not. no, surely not, i will do nothing rashly: the story she promises is perhaps more diverting than those she has yet told, and i will not deprive myself of the pleasure of hearing it. dinarzade did not fail to awake the sultaness of the indies, who thus commenced her story. the story of the little hunch-back. there was in former times at casgar, upon the utmost borders of tartary, a tailor who had a pretty wife, whom he ardently loved, and by whom he was loved in return. one day, as he sat at work, a little hunch-back my lord came and sat down at the shop-door, began singing, at same time playing upon a tabor. the tailor was pleased to hear him, and had a strong mind to take him to his house to make his wife merry: this little fellow, said he to his wife, will divert us both very agreeably. in fine, he invited my lord, who readily accepted of the invitation; the tailor then shut up his shop, and conducted him in. the little gentleman being arrived at the tailor's house, his wife covered the table, and they sat down to sup on a good large dish of fish; but as they ate heartily, the little crooked gentleman unluckily swallowed a large bone, of which he died in a few minutes, notwithstanding all the tailor and his wife could do to prevent it. both were mightily frightened at the accident, especially as it happened in their house; and there was reason to fear, that if the justiciary magistrates should hear of it, they would be punished as assassins. the husband, however, found an expedient to get rid of the corpse: recollecting that there was a jewish doctor who lived just by, he formed a project, to execute which, his wife and he took the corpse, the one by the feet and the other by the head, and carried it to the physician's house. they knocked at the door, from which ascended a steep pair of stairs to his chamber. as soon as they bad knocked, the servant-maid came down without any light; and, opening the door, asked what they wanted. pr'ythee, go up again, said the tailor, and tell your master we have brought him a man that is very sick, and wants his advice. here, putting a piece of money into her hand, give him that beforehand, to convince him that we have no mind to make him lose his labour. while the servant was gone up to acquaint her master with the welcome news, the tailor and his wife nimbly conveyed the hunch-backed corpse to the head of the stairs; and, leaving it there, ran off. in the mean time, the maid, having told the doctor that a man and a woman staid for him at the door, desiring he would come down and look upon a sick man they had brought with them, and the maid clapping the money she had received into his hand, the doctor was transported with joy; being paid beforehand, he thought it was a good job, and should not be neglected. light, light! cried he to the maid; follow me nimbly. however, without staying for the light, he got to the stair-head in such haste, that stumbling against the corps, he gave it such a kick, as made it tumble down quiite to the stair-foot, and with difficulty saved himself. a light, a light! cried he to the maid, quick, quick! at last the maid came with a light, and he went down stairs with her; but when he gav that the stumbling-block he had kicked down was a dead man, he was so frightened, that he invoked moses, aaron, joshua, and esdras, and all the other prophets of his law. unhappy man that i am! said he, what induced me to come down without a light? i have e'en made an end of the fellow who was brought to me to be cured? i am undoubtedly the cause of his death, and unless, esras's ass[footnote: here the arabian author ridicules the jews: this ass is that which, as the mahometans believe, esdras rode upon when he came from the babylonian captivity to jerusalem.] comes to assist me, i nm ruined: mercy on me, they will be here instantly, and drag me from my house as a murderer! but, notwithstanding the perplexity and jeopardy he was in, he had the precaution to shut his door, lest any one passing by in the street should observe the mischance, of which he reckoned himself the author. he then took the corpse into his wife's chamber, upon which she swooned away. alas! cried she, we are utterly ruined! undone! undone! unless we fall upon some expedient or other to turn the corpse out of our house this night! beyond all question, if we harbour it till morning, our lives must pay for it. what a sad mischance is this! why, how did you kill this man? that is not the question, replied the jew; our business now is to find out a remedy for such a shocking accident. they then consulted together how to get rid of the corpse that night. the doctor racked his brain in vain; he could not think of any stratagem to get clear: but his wife, who was more fertile in invention, said, there is a thought come into my head; let us carry.the corpse to the leads of our house, and tumble it down the chimney into the house of the mussulman, our next neighbour. this mussulman, or turk, was one of the sultan's purveyors for furnishing oil, butter, and all sorts of fat, tallow, &c. and had a magazine in his house, in which the rats and mice made prodigious havoe. the jewish doctor approving the proposed expedient, his wife and he took the little hunch-back up to the roof of the house; and, clapping ropes under his arm-pits, let him down the chimney into the purveyor's chamber so softly and dexterously, that he stood upright against the wall as if he had been alive. when they found he stood firm, they pulled up the ropes, and left the gentleman in that posture. they were scarcely got into their chamber, when the purveyor went into his, being just come from a wedding feast, with a lantern in his hand. he was mightily surprised, when, by the light of his lantern, he descried a man standing upright in his chimney; but being a stout man, and apprehending it was a thief or a robber, he took up a large cane; and, making straight up to the hunch-back, ah, said he, i thought it was the rats and the mice that ate my butter and tallow! and it is you that come down the chimney to rob me, is it? i question if ever you come back again on the same errand? this said, he fell foul of the man, and gave him a good many swinging thwacks with his cane: upon which the corpse fell down, running its nose against the ground, and the purveyor redoubled his blows: but, observing that the body did not move, he stood to consider a little; when, perceiving it was a corpse, fear succeeded his anger. wretched man that i am! said he; what have i done? i have killed a man! alas, i have carried my revenge too far! good god, unless thou pityest me, my life is gone! cursed, ten thousand times accursed, be the fat and the oil that gave occasion to the commission of so criminal an action. in fine, he stood pale and thunder-struck; he thought he saw the officers already come to drag him to condign punishment, and could not think what resolution to take. the sultan of casgar's purveyor did not observe the little gentleman's hunch when he was beating him, but as soon as he did, he threw out a thousand imprecations against him. ah, you crooked hunch-back! cried he; would to god you had robbed me of all my fat, and i had not found you here! had it been so, i would not have been now so much perplexed for the sake of you and your nasty hunch. oh! the stars that twinkle in the heavens give light to none but me in this dangerous juncture! as soon as he had uttered these words, he took the little crooked corpse upon his shoulders, and carried it out of doors to the end of the street, where he set it upright against a shop, and then trudged home again without looking behind him. a few minutes before the break of day, a christian merchant, who was very rich, and furnished the sultan's palace with most things it wanted; this merchant, having sat up all night debauching, stepped out of his house to go to bathe. though he was drunk, he was sensible that the night was far spent, and that the people would quickly be called to the morning prayers, which begin at break of day; he therefore quickened his pace to get in time to the bath, lest a turk, meeting him in his way to the mosque, should carry him to prison for a drunkard. when he came to the end of the street, he stopped on some necessary occasion, and leaned against the shop where the sultan's purveyor had put the hunch-backed corpse; but the corpse being jostled, tumbled upon the merchant's back. the merchant thinking it was a robber that came to attack him, knocked him down with a hearty box on the ear, and, after redoubling his blows, cried out, thieves! the outcry alarmed the watch, who came up immediately; and finding a christian beating a turk, (for crump-back was of our religion), what reason have you, said he, to abuse a mussulman after this rate? he would have robbed me, replied the merchant, and jumped upon my back with intent to take me by the throat. if he did, said the watch, you have revenged yourself sufficiently; come, get off him. at the same time he stretched out his hand to help little crump-back up: but observing that he was dead, ah! hey-day! said he, is it thus that a christian dares to assassinate a mussulman? so he laid hold of the christian, and carried him to the sheriff's house, where he was kept till the judge was up, and ready to examine him. in the mean time, the christian merchant grew sober, and the more he reflected upon his adventure, the less could he conceive how such single fisty-cuffs could kill the man. the judge having heard the report of the watch, and viewed the corpse, which they had taken care to bring to his house, interrogated the christian merchant, who could not deny the crime, though he had not committed it. but the judge considering that little crump-back belonged to the sultan, (for he was one of his buffoons) would not put the christian to death till he knew the sultan's pleasure. for this end he went to the palace, and acquainted the sultan with what had happened, and received from him this answer, i have no mercy to show to a christian, who kills a mussulman; go do your office. upon this the judge ordered a gibbet to be erected, and sent criers all over the city to proclaim that they were about to hang a christian for killing a mussulman. in fine, the merchant was brought out of gaol to the foot of the gallows; and the hangman, having put the rope about his neck, was going to throw him off, when the sultan's purveyor pushed through die crowd, made up to the gibbet, calling to the hangman to stop, for that the christian had not committed the murder, but himself. the sheriff who attended the execution immediately put interrogatories to the purveyor, who told him every circumstance of his killing the little crump-back, and conveying his corpse to the place where the merchant found him. you were about, added he, to put to death an innocent person; for how can he be guilty of the death of a man who was dead before he saw him? my burden is sufficient in having killed a turk, without loading my conscience with the additional charge of the death of a christian who is not guilty. the sultan of casgar's purveyor having publicly charged himself with the death of the little hunch-backed man, the sheriff could not avoid doing justice to the merchant. let the christian go, said he, and hang this man in his room, since it appears by his own confession that he is guilty. whereupon the hangman released the merchant, and clapped the rope round the purveyor's neck; but just as he was going to pull him up, he heard the voice of the jewish doctor, earnestly entreating him to suspend the execution, and make room for him to throw himself at the foot of the gallows. when he appeared before the judge, my lord, said he, this mussulman you are going to hang is not guilty: the crime rests with me. last night a man and a woman, unknown to me, came to my house with a sick man they had brought along with them; and knocking at my door, my maid went and opened it without a light, and received from them a piece of money, with a commission to come and desire me, in their names, to step down and look upon the sick person. while she was delivering her message to me, they conveyed the sick person to the stair-head, and then disappeared. i went down, without staying for my servant to light a candle, and in the dark happened to stumble upon the sick person, and kicked him down stairs. in fine, i saw he was dead, and that it was the crooked mussulman, whose death you are now about to avenge. so my wife and i took the corpse, and, after conveying it up to the leads of our house, moved it to the roof of the purveyor's house, our next neighbour, and let it down the chimney into the chamber. the purveyor, finding it in his house, took the little man for a thief, and, after beating him, concluded he had killed him; but that it was not so, you will be convinced by this my deposition; so that i am the only author of the murder: and though it was committed undesignedly, i have resolved to expiate my crime by keeping clear of the charge of the death of two mussulmen, and hinder you from executing the sultan's purveyor, whose innocence i have now revealed. so pray dismiss him, and put me in his place, for i alone am the cause of the death of the little man. the chief justice being persuaded that the jewish doctor was the murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him, and release the purveyor. accordingly the doctor was just going to be hung up, when the tailor appeared, crying to the executioner to hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make his confession to the lord justice; which being done, my lord, said he to the judge, you have narrowly escaped taking away the lives of three innocent persons, but if you will have patience to hear me, i will discover to you the real murderer of the crook-backed man. if his death is to be expiated by another, that must be mine. yesterday evening, as i was at work in my shop, and pretty merry, the little hunch-back came to my door half drunk, and sat down before it. he began to sing, so i invited him to pass the evening at my house. accordingly, he accepted of the invitation, and went with me. we sat down to supper, and i gave him a plate of fish; but, in eating, a bone stuck in his throat; and though my wife and i did our utmost to relieve him, he died in a few minutes. his death affected us extremely; and from fear of being charged with it, we carried the corpse to the jewish doctor's house, and knocked at the door. the maid coming down and opening it, i desired her to go up forthwith, and ask her master to come down and give his advice to a sick person that we had brought along with us; and withal, to encourage him, i charged her to give him a piece of money, which i put into her hand. when she was gone up, i carried hunch-back up stairs, laid him upon the uppermost step, and then my wife and i made the best of our way home. the doctor, in coming down, kicked the corpse down stairs, and thereupon he supposed himself to be the author of his death. now, this being the case, continued he, release the doctor, and let me die in his room. the chief justice, and all the spectators, could not sufficiently admire the strange emergencies that ensued upon the death of the little crooked gentleman. let the jewish doctor go, said the judge, and hang up the tailor, since he confesses the crime. it is certain this history is very uncommon, and deserves to be recorded in letters of gold. the executioner having dismissed the doctor, made every thing ready to tie up the tailor. while the executioner was making ready to hang up the tailor, the sultan of casgar, wanting the company of his crooked jester, asked where he was. one of his officers answered, the hunch-back, sir, whom you inquire after, got drunk last night, and, contrary to his custom, slipped out of the palace, went a sauntering into the city, and was this morning found dead. a man was brought before the chief justice, and charged with the murder of him; but as he was going to be hanged, up came a man, and after him another, who took the charge upon themselves, and cleared each other. the examination has continued a long while, and the judge is now interrogating a third man who avows himself the real author of the murder. upon this intelligence, the sultan of casgar sent a hussar to the place of execution. go, said he to the messenger, make all the haste you can, bring the arraigned persons before me immediately, with the corpse of poor crump-back, that i may see him once more. accordingly the hussar went, and happened to arrive at the place of execution at the time when the executioner was going to tie up the tailor. he cried aloud to the executioner to suspend the execution. the hangman, knowing the hussar, did not dare to proceed, but untied the tailor; and then the hussar acquainted the judge with the sultan's pleasure. the judge obeyed, and went straight to the palace, accompanied by the tailor, the jewish doctor, and the christian merchant; causing four of his men to carry the hunch corpse along with him. the judge, on appearing before the sultan, threw himself at the prince's feet, and, after recovering himself, gave him a faithful relation of what he knew of the story of the crump-backed man. the sultan found the story so uncommon, that he ordered his private historians to write it with all its circumstances. then addressing himself to the audience, did you ever hear, said he, such a surprising story as has happened on account of my little crooked buffoon? the christian merchant then, after falling down, and saluting the earth with his forehead, spoke in the following manner: most puisant monarch, said he, i know a story even more astonishing than that you have now spoken off; and if your majesty will give me leave, i will tell it you. the circumstances are such, that nobody can hear them without being moved. well, said the sultan, i give you leave; and the merchant went on as follows. the story told by the christian merchant. sir, before i commence the recital of the story you have allowed me to tell, i beg leave to acquaint you, that i have not the honour to be born in a place that pertains to your majesty's empire. i am a stranger, born at cairo in egypt, one of the coptic nations, and a professor of the christian religion: my father was a broker, and got a good estate, which he left me at his death: i followed his example, and took up the same employment. one day at cairo, as i was standing in the public resort for the corn-merchants, there came up to me a handsome young man, well clad, and mounted upon an ass. he saluted me, and pulling out his handkerchief, where he had a sample of sesame and turkey corn, asked me what a bushel of such sesame would fetch? i examined the corn which the young man showed me, and told him it was worth a hundred drams of silver per bushel. 'pray, said he, look out for some merchant to take it at that price, and come to me at the victory-gate, where you will see a hut at a distance from the houses.' he then left me, and i showed the sample to several merchants, who told me they would take as much as i could spare at an hundred and ten drams per bushel; so that i made an account to get ten drams per bushel for my brokerage. full of the expectation of this profit, i went forthwith to the victory-gate, where i found the young merchant waiting for me, and he carried me into his granary, which was full of sesame. he had an hundred and fifty bushels of it, which i measured out, and, having carried them off upon asses, sold them for five thousand drams of silver. now, out of this sum, said the young man, five hundred drams fall to you, at the rate of ten drams per bushel. i order you to take it, and apply it to your own use; and as for the rest, which is mine, do you take it out of the merchant's hand, and keep it till i call for it, as i nave no occasion for it at present. i made answer, that it should be ready for him whenever he pleased; and so took leave of him, with a grateful sense of his generosity. in a month after, he came and asked for his four thousand five hundred drams of silver. i told him they were ready, and should be told down to him in a minute: he was mounted on his ass;, so i desired him to alight, and do me the honour to eat a mouthful with me before he received his money. no, said he, i cannot alight at present; i have urgent business that obliges me to be at a place hard by here; but i will return this way, and take the money, which i desire you would have in readiness. this said, he disappeared; and i still expected his return, but it was a full month before he came again. i thought with myself, the young man reposes a great trust in me, leaving so great a sum in my hands without knowing me; another would have been afraid lest i should have run away with it. to be short, he came again at the end of the third month, and was still mounted on his ass, but finer in his clothes than before. as soon as i saw him, i entreated him to alight, and asked him if he would not take his money? it is no matter for that, said he, with a pleasant easy air, i know it is in good hands; i will come and take it when all my other money is gone: adieu, continued he, i will come again towards the latter end of the week. he then clapped spurs to his ass, and away he went. well, thought i to myself, he says he will see me towards the latter end of the week, but it is likely i may not see him for a great while; will go and make the most of his money, and get a good penny by it. as it happened, i was not out of my conjecture, for it was a full year before i saw my young merchant again. then he appeared indeed with richer apparel than before, but very thoughtful. i asked him to do me the honour to walk into my house: for this time, replied he, i will go in; but upon this condition, that you shall put yourself to no extraordinary charge upon my account. that shall be as you please, said i; only do me the favour to alight and walk in. he accordingly complied, and i gave orders for some sort of entertainment; and, while that was getting ready we fell into discourse together. when the victuals were got ready, we sat down at table. when he ate the first mouthful, i observed he fed himself with the left hand, and not with the right; i could not tell what to think of it; i thought within myself, ever since i knew this young man, he always appeared very polite: is it possible he can do this out of contempt? what can the matter be that he does not make use of his right hand? after we had done eating, and every thing was taken away, we sat down upon a sofa, when i presented him with a lozenge that was excellent for giving a sweet breath, but he still took it with his left hand. then i accosted him in this manner: sir, pray pardon the liberty i take in asking you what reason you have for not making use of your right hand; it is likely you have some disorder in that hand. instead of answering, he fetched a deep sigh, and pulling out his right arm, which he had hitherto kept under his garment, showed me, to my great astonishment, that his hand had been cut off. doubtless you were alarmed, said he, to see me feed myself with the left hand; but i leave you to judge whether it was in my power to do otherwise. may one ask you; said i, by what mischance it was that you lost your right hand? upon that he fell into tears, and, after wiping his eyes, gave me the following relation. you must know, said he, that i am a native of bagdad, the son of a rich father, the most noted man in that city both for quality and riches. i had scarcely launched into the world, when falling into the company of travellers, and hearing wonders told of egypt, especially of grand cairo, i was moved by their discourse, and took a longing desire to travel thither; but my father was then alive, and had not given me leave. in fine, he died, and thereupon, being my own master, i resolved to take a journey to cairo. i laid out a large sum of money upon several sorts of fine stuffs of bagdad and moussol, and then undertook my journey. arriving at cairo, i went to the khan called the khan of mesrour, and there took lodgings, with a warehouse for my bales, which i brought along upon camels: this done, i retired to my chamber to rest myself after the fatigue of my journey, after ordering my servants to buy some provisions, and dress them; after i had eaten, i went and saw the castle, some mosques, public places, and other things that were curious. next day i dressed myself handsomely, and ordered some of the finest and richest of my bales to be selected, and carried by my slaves to the circassian bezestein [footnote: a bezestcin is a public place, where silk; stuffs and other precious things are exposed to sale.], whither i went myself. i no sooner got thither than i was surrounded by brokers and criers who had heard of my arrival. i gave patterns of my stuffs to several of the criers, who carried and showed them all over the bezestein; but none of the merchants offered nearly so much as prime cost and carriage. this vexed me, and the criers observing i was dissatisfied, if you will take our advice, said they, we will put you in a way of selling your stuffs without losing by them. the brokers and criers having thus promised to put me in a way of losing nothing by my goods, i asked them what course they would have me take? divide your goods, said they, among several merchants, and they will sell them by retail; and twice a week, that is, on mondays and tuesdays, you may receive what money they take: by this means you will gain instead of losing, and the merchants will gain by you: in the mean time, you will have time to take your pleasure, and walk up and down the town, or to go upon the nile. i took their advice, and carried them to my warehouse, from whence i brought all my goods to the bezestein, and divided them among the merchants, whom they represented as most reputable and able to pay: the merchants gave me a formal receipt before witnesses, stipulating withal that i should not make any demands upon them for the first month. having thus regulated my affairs, my mind was taken up with other sort of things than ordinary pleasures. i contracted friendship with divers persons of almost the same age with myself, who took care i did not want company. the first month expired, i began to visit my merchants twice a week, taking along with me a public officer to inspect their books of sale, and a banker to see they paid me in good money, as well as to regulate the value of the several species; so that every pay-day i had a good sum of money to carry home to my lodging. i went nevertheless on the other days to pass the morning, sometimes at a merchant's house, and sometimes at some other person's. in fine, i diverted myself in conversing with one or other, and seeing what passed in the bezestein. one monday, as i sat in the shop of a merchant whose name was bedreddin, a lady of quality, as one might easily perceive by her air, her habit, and her being attended by a female slave in neat clothes, came into the shop, and sat down by me: her external appearance, joined to a natural grace that shone through all she did, inspired me with a longing desire to know her better. i was at a loss to know whether she observed that i took pleasure in gazing upon her, but she tucked up the crape that hung down over the muslin which covered her face, and gave me an opportunity of seeing her large black eyes, which perfectly charmed me. in fine, she screwed my love to its height by the agreeable sound of her voice, her genteel graceful carriage in saluting the merchant, and asking him how he did since she saw him last. after entertaining him some time upon indifferent things, she informed him that she wanted a sort of stuff with a ground of gold; that he came to his shop as affording the best choice of any in all the bezestein, and if he had what she asked for, he would oblige her by showing them. bedreddin showed her several pieces, one of which she pitched upon, and he asked for it eleven hundred drams of silver. i agree, said she, to give you so much, but i have not money enough about me, so i hope you will give me credit till to-morrow, and in the mean time allow me to carry off the stuff. i shall not fail, added she, to send you to-morrow the eleven hundred drams i agreed for. madam, said bedreddin, i would give you credit with all my heart, and allow you to carry off the stuff, if it were mine, but it belongs to that young man you see here, and this is the day on which we state our accounts. why, said the lady in a surprise, why do you offer to use me so? am not i a customer to your shop? and as often as i have bought of you, and carried home the things without paying ready money for them, did i ever fail to send you your money next morning? madam, said the merchant, it is true, but this very day i have occasion for money. there, said she, throwing the piece at him, take your stuff; may god confound you and all other merchants: you are all of you of one kidney; you respect nobody. she then rose up in a passion, and walked out. when i saw that the lady walked off, i found in my breast a great concern for her; so i called her back, saying, madam, do me the favour to return; perhaps i can find a way to content you both. in fine, back she came, saying, it was for the love of me that she complied. mr bedreddin, said i to the merchant, what do you say, you must have for this stuff that belongs to me? i must have eleven hundred drams; i cannot take less. give it to the lady then, said i, let her take it home with her; i allow a hundred drams profit to yourself, and shall now write you a note, empowering you to discount that sum upon the other goods you have of mine. in fine, i wrote, signed, and delivered the note, and then handed the stuff to the lady: madam said i, you may take the stuff with you, and as for the money, you may either send it to-morrow or next day; or, if you will, accept the stuff as a present from me. i beg your pardon, sir, said she, i mean nothing of that; you use me so very civilly and obligingly, that i ought never to show my face in the world again, if i did not show my gratitude to you. may god reward you in enlarging your fortune; may you live many years when i am dead; may the gate of heaven be opened to you when you remove to the other world, and may all the city proclaim your generosity. these words inspired me with some assurance: madam, said i, i desire no other reward for any service i have done to you than the happiness of seeing your face; that will repay me with interest. i had no sooner spoken than she turned towards me, took off the muslin that covered her face, and discovered to my eyes a killing beauty. i was so struck with the surprising sight, that i could not express my thoughts to her. i could have looked upon her for ever without being cloyed; but fearing any one should take notice, she quickly covered her face, and pulling down the crape, took up the piece of stuff, and went away, leaving me in a quite different sort of temper from what i was in when i came to the shop. i continued for some time in great disorder and perplexity. before i took leave of the merchant, i asked him if he knew the lady? yes, said he, she is the daughter of an emir, who left her an immense fortune at his death. i went home, and sat down to supper, but could not eat, neither could i shut my eyes during the night; i thought it the longest night in my lifetime. as soon as it was day, i got up in hopes to see once more the object that disturbed my repose; and, to engage her affection, i dressed myself yet more nicely than i had done the day before. i had but just got to bedreddin's shop, when i saw the lady coming in more magnificent apparel than before, and attended by her slave. when she came in, she did not regard the merchant; but, addressing herself to me, sir, said she, you see i am punctual to my word. i am come on purpose to pay the sum you were so kind as to pass your word for yesterday, though you had no knowledge of me: such an uncommon piece of generosity i shall never forget. madam, said i, you had no occasion to be so hasty; i was well satisfied as to my money, and am sorry you should put yourself to so much trouble about it. i had been very unjust, answered she, if i had abused your generosity. with these words, she put the money into my hand, and sat down by me. having this opportunity of conversing with her, i made the best use of it, and mentioned to her the love i had for her; but she rose and left me very abruptly, as if she had been angry with the declaration i had made. i followed her with my eyes as long as she was in sight; and as soon as she was out of sight, i took leave of the merchant, and walked out of the bezestein, without knowing where i went. i was musing upon this adventure, when i felt somebody pulling me behind, and turning about to see who it was, i had the agreeable surprise to perceive it was the lady's slave. my mistress, said the slave, i mean the young lady you just spoke with in the merchant's shop, wants to speak one word with you; so if you please to give yourself the trouble to follow me, i will conduct you. accordingly i followed her, and found my mistress staying for me in a banker's shop. she made me sit down by her, and spoke to this purpose; dear sir, said she, do not be surprised that i left you so abruptly: i thought it not proper, before that merchant, to give a favourable answer to the discovery you made of your affection for me. but to speak the truth, i was so far from being offended at it, that i was pleased when i heard it; and i account myself infinitely happy in having a man of true merit for my lover. i do not know what impression the first sight of me could make upon you; but i assure you that i no sooner saw you than i had tender thoughts of you. since yesterday i have thought only of what you said to me; and the haste i made to come and find you out this morning may convince you that i have no small regard for you. madam, said i, transported with love and joy, nothing can be more agreeable to me than what i now hear; no passion can be greater than that with which i love you; since the happy moment i cast my eyes upon you, my eyes were dazzled with so many charms, that my heart yielded without resistance. do not let us trifle away the time in needless discourse, said she, interrupting me: i make no doubt of your sincerity, and you shall quickly be convinced of mine. will you do me the honour to come to my home? or, if you will, i will come to yours. madam, said i, i am a stranger, lodging in a khan, which is not a proper place for the reception of a lady of your quality and merit. it is more proper, madam, for me to come to you at your home, if you will please to tell me where it is. the lady complying with this desire, i live, said she, in devotion-street; come next friday after noon prayers, and ask for the house of abbon schamam, surnamed bercount, late master of the emirs; there you will find me. this said, we parted, and i passed the next day in great impatience. on friday i got up betimes, and put on my best clothes, with fifty pieces of gold in my pocket: thus prepared, i mounted an ass, which i had bespoken the day before, and set out, accompanied by the man that lent me the ass. when we came to devotion-street, i directed the owner of the ass to inquire for the house i wanted: he accordingly inquired, and conducted me to it. i paid him liberally, and sent him back directing him to observe narrowly where he left me, and not to fail to come back with the ass to-morrow morning to carry me back again. i knocked at the door, and presently two little girl slaves, white as snow, and neatly dressed, came and opened it. be pleased to come in, sir, said they, our mistress expects you impatiently; for two days she has spoken of nothing but you. i entered the court, and saw a great pavilion raised upon seven steps, and surrounded with iron rails that parted it from a very pleasant garden. besides the trees which embellished the prospect, and formed an agreeable shade, there was an infinite number of other trees loaded with all manner of fruit. i was charmed with the warbling of a great number of birds, which joined their notes to the murmurings of a very high water-work in the middle of a ground-plot enamelled with flowers. this water- work was a very agreeable sight; four large gilded dragons adorned the angles of the bason, which was of a square form; and these dragons spouted out water clearer than rock crystal. this delicious place gave me a charming idea of the conquest i had made. the two little slaves conducted me into a parlour magnificently furnished, and while one of them went to acquaint her mistress with my arrival, the other tarried behind, and pointed out to me the ornaments of the hall. i did not tarry long in the hall, said the young man of bagdad, ere the lady i loved appeared, adorned with pearls and diamonds; but the splendour of her eyes did far outshine that of her jewels. her shape, which was not now disguised by the habit usual in the streets, was extremely fine and charming. i need not mention with what joy we received one another; it leaves all expression far behind it: i shall only tell you, that when the first compliments were over, we sat both down upon a sofa, and there entertained one another with all imaginable satisfaction. after that, we had the most delicious messes served up to us, and, after eating, continued our discourse till night. at night we had excellent wine brought up, and such fruit as is apt to promote drinking, and timed our cups to the sound of musical instruments joined to the voices of the slaves. the lady of the house sung herself, and by her songs screwed up my passion to the height. in fine, i passed the night in the full enjoyment of all manner of pleasure. next morning i slipped under the bolster of the bed the purse with the fifty pieces of gold i had brought with me, and took leave of the lady, who asked me when i would see her again? madam, said i, i give you my promise to return this night. she seemed transported with my answer, and, conducting me to the door, conjured me, at parting, to be mindful of my promise. the same man that had carried me thither waited for me with his ass to carry me home again; so i mounted the ass, and went straight home, ordering the man to come to me again in the afternoon at a certain hour; to secure which, i would not pay him till the time came. as soon as i arrived at my lodging, my first care was to order my folks to buy a good lamb and several sorts of cakes, which i sent by a porter as a present to the lady. when that was done, i minded my serious affairs till the owner of the ass came; then i went along with him to the lady's house, and was received by her with as much joy as before, and entertained with equal magnificence. next morning i took leave, and left her another purse with fifty pieces of gold. i continued to visit the lady every day, and to leave her every time a purse of fifty pieces of gold, till the merchants whom i employed to sell my cloth, and whom i visited regularly twice a week, owed me nothing: in this way i became moneyless, and even hopeless of having any more. in this desperate condition i walked out of my lodging, not knowing what course to take, and by chance steered towards the castle, where there was a great crowd of people, to see the sultan of egypt. as soon as i came up to them, i wedged in among the crowd, and by chance happened to stand by a cavalier well mounted and handsomely clothed, who had upon the bow of his saddle a bag half open, with a string of green silk hanging out of it, i clapped my hand into the bag, concluding the silk- twist might be the string of a purse within the bag: in the mean time, a porter, with a load of wood upon his back, passed by the other side of the horse, so near, that the gentleman on horse-* back was forced to turn his head towards him to avoid being rubbed by the wood. in that very moment did the devil tempt me; i took the string in one hand, and with the other laid open the mouth of the bag, and pulled out the purse so dexterously that nobody perceived it. the purse was heavy, therefore i did not doubt that there was gold or silver in it. as soon as the porter had passed, the cavalier, who probably had some suspicion of what i had done while his head was turned, presently put his hand to his bag, and, finding his purse gone, gave me such a blow as knocked me down. this violence shocked all who saw it; some took hold of the horse's bridle to stop the gentleman, and inquire what reason he had to beat me, or how he came to treat a mussulman after that rate. do not you trouble yourselves, said he, with a brisk tone; i had reason enough for what i did; this fellow is a thief. in fine, every one took my part, cried he was a liar, and that it was incredible a young man like me should be guilty of so foul an action: but while they were holding his horse by the bridle to favour my escape, unfortunately came by the justiciary judge, who, seeing such a crowd about the gentleman on horseback and me, came up and asked what the matter was? everybody reflected on the gentleman for treating me so unjustly upon pretence of robbery. the judge did not give ear to all that was said in my behalf, but asked the cayalier if he suspected anybody else besides me? the cavalier told him he did not, and gave his reasons why he believed his suspicion not to be groundless. upon this, the judge ordered his followers to seize and search me, which they presently did; and finding the purse upon me, exposed it to the view of all the people. the shame was so great, that i could not bear it, but swooned away; and in the meantime the judge called for the purse. when he had got the purse in his hand, he asked the horseman if it was his, and how much money was in it? the cavalier knew it to be his own, and assured the judge he had put twenty sequins into it. upon that the judge called me before him; come, young man, said he, confess the truth. was it you that took the gentleman's purse from him? do not put yourself to the trouble of torture to extort confession. then i looked down with my eyes, thinking within myself, that if i denied the fact, they, finding the purse about me, would convict me of a lie; so, to avoid a double punishment, i looked up, and confessed the fact. i had no sooner made this confession than the judge called people to witness it, and ordered my hand to be cut off. this hard sentence was put in execution immediately upon the spot, to the great regret of all the spectators; nay, i observed by the cavalier's countenance, that he was moved with pity as much as the rest. the judge likewise would have ordered my foot to be cut off, but i begged the cavalier to intercede for my pardon, which he did, and obtained it. the judge being gone, the cavalier came up to me, and holding out the purse, i see plainly, said he, that necessity put you upon an action so disgraceful, and so unworthy of such a handsome young man as you are. here, take that fatal purse, i freely give it you, and am heartily sorry for the misfortune you have undergone. he then went away; and i being very weak, by reason of the loss of blood, some of the good people that lived that way had the kindness to carry me into one of their houses, and gave me a glass of wine; they likewise dressed my arm, and wrapped up the dismembered hand in a cloth. if i had returned to the khan where i lodged, i should not have found such relief as i wanted; and to offer to go to the young lady's was running a great hazard, it being likely she would not look upon me after such an infamous thing had befallen me. i resolved, however, to put it to the trial; and, to tire out the crowd that followed me, i turned down several by-streets, and at last arrived at my lady's, very weak, and so much fatigued, that i presently threw myself down upon a sofa, keeping my right arm under my coat, for i took great care to conceal my misfortune. the lady hearing of my arrival, and that i was not well, came to me in all haste: my dear soul, said she, what is the matter with you? madam, said i, i have got a violent pain in my head. the lady seemed to be mightily afflicted with my pretended illness, and asked me to sit down, for i had got up to receive her. tell me, said she, how your illness came; the last time i had the pleasure of seeing you, you was very well; there must be something else that you conceal from me; pray, let me know what it is. i stood silent, and, instead of an answer, tears trickled down my cheeks. i cannot conceive, said she, what it is that afflicts you. have i given you any occasion to be uneasy? or do you come on purpose to tell me you do not love me? it is not that, madam, said i, fetching a deep sigh; your unjust suspicion is an addition to my evil. still i could not think of discovering to her the true cause. when night came, supper was brought, and she pressed me to eat; but considering i could only feed myself with my left hand, i begged to be excused upon the plea of having no stomach. your stomach will come to you, said she, if you would but discover what you so obstinately hide from me. your inappetency, without doubt, is only owing to the aversion you have to a discovery. alas! madam, said i, i find i must discover at last. i had no sooner spoken these words than she filled me a cup of wine: drink that, said she, it will give you assurance. so i reached out my left hand, and took the cup. as soon as i took it, i redoubled my tears and sighs. why do you sigh and cry so bitterly? said the lady; and why do you take the cup with your left hand instead of your right? ah, madam, said i, excuse me, i beseech you, i have got a swelling in my right hand. let me see that swelling, said she; i will open it. i desired to be excused upon that head, alleging the tumour was not ripe enough for opening; and drank the cupful, which was very large. in fine, the steams of the wine, joined to my weakness and weariness, set me asleep, and i slept very sound till next morning. in the mean time, the lady, curious to know what ailment i had in my right hand, lifted up my coat that covered it, and saw, to her great astonishment, that it was cut off, and that i had brought it along with me wrapt in a cloth. she presently apprehended my reason for declining a discovery, notwithstanding all the pressing instances she made, and passed the whole night in the greatest uneasiness upon my disgrace, which she concluded had been occasioned by the love i bore to her. when i awaked, i observed by her countenance that she was extremely grieved. that she might not, however, increase my uneasiness, she said not one word. she called for jelly broth of fowl, which she had ordered to be got ready, and made me eat and drink to recruit my strength. after that, i offered to take leave of her, but she declared i should not go out of her doors; though you tell me nothing of the matter, said she, i am persuaded i am the cause of the misfortune that has befallen you: the grief that i feel upon that score will quickly make an end of me; but, before i die, i must do one thing that is designed for your advantage. she had no sooner said these words, than she called for a public notary and witnesses, and ordered a writing to be drawn up, conveying to me her whole estate. after this was done, and the men despatched, she opened a large trunk, where lay all the purses i had given her from the commencement of our amours. there are they all entire, said she; i have not touched one of them: here, take the key, the trunk is yours. after i had returned her thanks for her generosity and bounty, what i do for you, said she, is nothing at all; i shall not be satisfied unless i die, to show how much i love you. i conjured her, by all the powers of love, to drop such a fatal resolution; but all my remonstrances were ineffectual: she was so afflicted to see me have but one hand, that she sickened and died, after five or six weeks' illness. after mourning for her death as long as was decent, i took possession of her estate, a particular account of which she gave me before she died; and the corn you sold for me was part of it. what i have now told you will induce you to excuse me for eating with my left hand. i am greatly obliged to you for the trouble you have given yourself on my account. i can never make sufficient acknowledgment of your fidelity. since god has still given me a competent estate, notwithstanding i have spent a great deal, i beg you to accept of the sum now in your hand as a present from me. over and above this, i have a proposal to make to you, which is this: for as much as, by reason of this fatal accident, i am obliged to depart from cairo, i am resolved never to see it more. so, if you please to accompany me, we shall trade together as equal partners, and divide the profits. i thanked the young man, said, the christian merchant, for the present he made me; and as to the proposal of travelling with him, i willingly embraced it, assuring him that his interest should always be as dear to me as my own. we accordingly get a day for our departure, and set out upon our travels. we passed through syria and mesopotamia, travelled all over persia, and, after stopping at several cities, came at last, sir, to your metropolis. some time after our arrival in this place, the young man having formed a design of returning to persia, and settling there, we settled our accounts, and parted very good friends; so he went from hence, and i continue here at your majesty's service. this, sir, is the story i had to tell you: does not your majesty find it yet more surprising than that of the crooked buffoon? the sultan of casgar fell into a passion against the christian merchant: you are very bold, said he, to tell me a story so little worth my hearing, and then to compare it with that of my jester. can you flatter yourself so far as to believe that the trifling adventures of a young rake can make such an impression upon me as those of my jester? well, i am resolved to hang you all four to revenge his death. this said, the purveyor fell down at the sultan's feet. sir, said he, i humbly beseech your majesty to suspend your just wrath, and hear my story; and if my story appears to your majesty to be prettier than that of your jester, to pardon us all four. the sultan having granted his request, the purveyor began his story. the story told by the sultan of casgar's purveyor. sir, a person of quality invited me yesterday to his daughter's wedding; i went accordingly to his house at the hour appointed, and found there a large company of doctors, ministers of justice, and others of the best quality in the city. after the ceremony was over, we had a splendid treat; and, among other things set upon the table, there was a course with garlic sauce, which was very delicious and palatable to everybody; but we observed that one of the guests did not touch it, though it stood just before him, and thereupon we invited him to do as we did: he conjured us, however, not to press him upon that head. i will take care, said he, not to touch any thing that has garlic in it; i remember well what the tasting of such a thing cost me once before. we entreated him to tell us what was the occasion of his aversion to garlic; but before he had time to make answer, is it thus, said the master of the house, that you honour my table? this ragoo is excellent, therefore do not you pretend to be excused from eating of it; you must do me that favour as well as the rest. sir, said the gentleman, who was a bagdad merchant, i hope you do not think that i refuse to eat of it out of mistaken nicety; if you will have me eat of it, i will do so; but upon this condition, that, after eating of it, i may wash my hands, by your leave, forty times with alcali[footnote: this in english is called salt wort.*], forty times more with the ashes of the same plant, and forty times again with soap, i hope you will not take it ill that i stipulate so, as it is in pursuance of an oath i have made never to taste garlic without observing this rule. the master of the house would not dispense with the merchant from eating of the ragoo with garlic, and therefore ordered his servant to get ready a bason of water together with alcali, the ashes of the same plant, and soap, that the merchant might wash as often as he pleased. when every thing was got ready, now, said he to the merchant, i hope you will do as we. the merchant, displeased with the violence that was offered him, reached out his hand to take a bit, which he put to his mouth trembling, and ate with a reluctance that surprised us all. but the greatest surprise was, that he had only four fingers and no thumb, which none of us observed before, though he had eaten of other dishes. you have lost your thumb, said the master of the house; how came that about? it must have been occasioned by some extraordinary accident, a relation of which will be an agreeable entertainment to the company. sir, replied the merchant, i have not a thumb on either the right or left hand. he then showed us his left hand, as well as his right. but this is not all, continued he, i have not a great toe on either of my feet! i hope you will take my word for it. i was maimed in this manner by an unheard-of accident, which i am willing to relate to you, if you have the patience to hear me. the relation will equally astonish, and affect you with pity; but suffer me to wash my hands first. upon this he rose from the table, and, after washing his hands an hundred and twenty times, took his place again, and thus proceeded: you must know, gentlemen, that, in the reign of the caliph haroun alrasehid, my father lived at bagdad, the place of my nativity, and was reputed one of the richest merchants in the city; but, being a man too much addicted to pleasure, one that loved an irregular life, and neglected his private affairs, instead of leaving me a plentiful fortune at his death, he left me in such a condition, that all my economy was scarcely sufficient to clear his debts. with much ado, however, i paid them all, and, through industry and care, my little fortune began to assume a smiling countenance. one morning as i opened my shop, a lady mounted upon a mule, attended by an eunuch and two women slaves, stopped near my shop-door, and, with the assistance of the eunuch, alighted. madam, said the eunuch, i said you would be too soon, you see there is nobody yet in the bezestein; if you had taken my advice, you might have saved yourself the trouble of waiting here. the lady looked around her, and finding there was no shop open but mine, addressed herself to me, asking leave to sit in my shop till the rest of the merchants came; of course i could do no less than return a civil answer, and invite the lady into my shop. she sat down in my shop, and, observing there was nobody in the whole bezestein save the eunuch and me, uncovered her face to take the air; and i must say i never saw any thing so pretty in my lifetime. i had no sooner a sight of her face than i loved her; of course i fixed my eyes upon her, and perceived that she was not displeased; for she gave me a full opportunity to look upon her, and did not cover her face till she was afraid of being taken notice of. having let down her veil, she told me that she wanted several sorts of the richest and finest stuffs, and asked me if i had them? alas! madam, said i, i am but a young man, just beginning the world, and have not stock enough for such great concerns; and it is a mortification to me that i have nothing to show you such as you want: but to save you the trouble of going from shop to shop, as soon as the merchants come, i will go, if you please, and fetch from them what you want, with the lowest prices; and so you may do your business without going any further. she complied with my proposal, and entered into discourse, which continued so much the longer, that i still made her believe that the merchants who could furnish what she wanted were not yet come. i was charmed no less with her wit than i had been before with the beauty of her face; but there was a necessity for denying myself the pleasure of her conversation: i ran out to seek for the stuffs she wanted, and after she had pitched upon what she liked, we struck the price at five thousand drams of coined silver; so i wrapped up the stuffs in a small bundle, and gave it to the eunuch, who put it under his arm; after which, she rose and took leave. i still continued to look after her, till she had got to the bezestein gate; and mounted her mule again. the lady had no sooner disappeared than i perceived that love was the cause of great oversights; it had so engrossed all my thoughts; that i did not recollect she had gone off without paying the money; nor had i the consideration to ask who she was, or where she dwelt. however, i considered that i was accountable for a large sum to the merchants, who, perhaps, would not have the patience to stay for their money; so i went to them, and made the best excuse i could, pretending that i knew the lady; but came home equally affected with love, and with the burden of such a heavy debt. i had desired my creditors to stay eight days for their money, and, when the eight days were past, they did not fail to dun me; then i intreated them to give me eight days more, which they agreed to; and the very next day i saw the lady come to the bezestein, mounted on her mule, with the same attendants as before, and exactly at the same hour of the day. she came straight to my shop. i have made you stay some time, said she, but here is your money at last; carry it to a banker, and see that it is all good. the eunuch, who brought me the money, went along with me to the banker's, and we found it very right. i came back again, and had the happiness of conversing with the lady till all the shops in the bezestein were open: though we talked of ordinary things, she gave them such a turn, that they appeared new and uncommon, and convinced me that i was not mistaken in admiring her wit. as soon as the merchants were come, and had opened their shops, i carried to the respective people the money due for their stuffs, and was readily intrusted with more which the lady had desired to see. in short, the lady took stuffs to the value of an hundred pieces of gold, and again carried them away without paying for them: nay, without saying one word, or informing me where she was. i was astonished when i considered that at this rate she left me without any security of not being troubled, if she never came back again. she has paid me, thinks i to myself, a good round sum, but she leaves me in the lurch for another that runs much deeper. surely she cannot be a cheat; it is not possible she can have any design to inveigle me: the merchants do not know her, and will all come upon me. in short, my love was not so powerful as to remove the uneasiness i felt when i reflected upon all circumstances. a whole month passed before i heard any thing of the lady again; and during that time the alarm grew higher and higher every day. the merchants were impatient for their money; and, to satisfy them, i was even going to sell off all i had, when the lady returned one morning with the same equipage as before. take your weights, said she, and weigh the gold i have brought you. these words dispelled my fear, and inflamed my love. before we told down the money, she asked me several questions, and particularly if i was married? i made answer, i never was. then reaching out the gold to the eunuch, let us have your interposition, said she, to accommodate our matters: upon which the eunuch fell a laughing, and, calling me aside, made me weigh the gold. while i was weighing, the eunuch whispered in my ear, i know by your eyes that you love this lady, and am surprised to find you have not the assurance to disclose your love to her: she loves you more passionately than you do her. do you imagine that she has any real occasion for your stuffs? she only makes an errand to come hither, because you have inspired her with a violent passion. do but ask her the question; it will be your fault if you do not marry her. it is true, said i, i have had a love for her from the first moment i cast my eyes upon her; but i did not aspire to the happiness of thinking my love acceptable to her. i am entirely hers, and shall not fail to retain a grateful sense of your good offices in that matter. in fine, i made an end of weighing the gold, and while i was putting it into the bag, the eunuch turned to the lady, and told her i was satisfied, that being the word they had both agreed upon between themselves. presently after that, the lady rose and took leave; telling me she would send the eunuch to me, and that i should do what he directed me to do in her name. i carried every one of the merchants their money, and waited some days with impatience for the eunuch. at last he came. i entertained him very kindly, and asked him how his mistress did? you are, said he, the happiest lover in the world; she is quite sick of love for you; she covets extremely to see you; and were she mistress of her own conduct, would not fail to come to you, and willingly pass every moment of her life in your company. her noble mien and graceful carriage, said i, evinced that she was a lady beyond the common level. the judgement you have formed upon that head, said the eunuch, is very just; she is the favourite of zobeide, the caliph's lady, who has brought her up from her infancy, and intrusts her with all her affairs. having a mind to marry, she has declared to zobeide that she has cast her eyes upon you, and desired her consent. zobeide told her she agreed to it, only she had a mind to see you first, in order to judge whether she had made a good choice: if she had, zobeide meant to defray the charges of the wedding. thus you see your felicity is certain; since you have pleased the favourite, you will be equally agreeable to the mistress, who seeks only to oblige her favourite, and would by no means thwart her inclination. in fine, all you have to do is to come to the palace. i am sent hither to call you, so you will please to come to a resolution. my resolution is formed already, said i; and i am ready to follow you whithersoever you please to conduct me. very well, said the eunuch; but you know that men are not allowed to enter the ladies' apartments in the palace, and so you must be introduced with great secrecy: the favourite lady has contrived the matter very well. upon your side you are to act your part very discreetly; for if you do not, your life is at stake. i gave him repeated assurances of a punctual performance of whatever should be enjoined me. then, said he, in the evening you must be at the mosque built by the caliph's lady on the banks of the tigris, and stay there till one comes to call you, i agreed to what he proposed; and, after passing the day in great impatience, went in the evening to the prayer that is said in an hour and an half after sunset in the mosque, and there i staid after the people were gone. immediately i saw a boat making up to the mosque, the rowers of which were all eunuchs, who came on shore, and put several large trunks into the mosque, and then retired; only one of them remained, whom i perceived to be the same eunuch that had all along accompanied the lady, and had been with me that morning. about the same time, i saw the lady enter the mosque; and, making up to her, told her i was ready to obey her orders. come, said she, we have no time to lose. with that she opened one of the trunks, and bid me get into it, that being necessary both for her safety and mine. fear nothing, added she; leave the management of the rest to me. i considered that i had gone too far to look back, and so obeyed her orders; upon which she locked the trunk. this done, the eunuch who was her confident, called the other eunuchs who had brought in the trunks, and ordered them to carry them on board again; after which the lady and eunuch re-embarked, and the boatmen rowed to zobeide's apartment. in the mean time, i reflected very seriously upon the danger to which i had exposed myself, and made vows and prayers, though it was then too late. the boat put into the palace-gate, and the trunks were carried into the apartment of the officer of the eunuchs, who keeps the key of the ladies' apartments, and suffers nothing to enter without a narrow inspection. the officer was then in bed, consequently there was a necessity for calling him. he was angry that they should break his rest, and chid the favourite lady severely for coming home so late: you shall not come off so easily as you think; for, said he, not one of these trunks shall pass till i have opened every one of them. he then commanded the eunuchs to bring them before him, and open them one by one. the first they began with was that in which i lay; so that i was in the last degree of consternation. the favourite lady, who had the key of the trunk, protested it should not be opened. you know very well, said she, i bring nothing hither but what is to serve zobeide, your mistress and mine. this trunk, continued she, is filled with rich goods i had from some merchants lately arrived, besides a number of bottles of zemzem water [footnote: there is a fountain at mecca, which, according to the mahometans, is a spring that god showed to hagar after abraham was obliged to put her away. the water of this spring is drank by way of devotion, and is sent in presents to the princes and princesses.] sent from mecca; if any of these should happen to break, the goods will be spoiled, and you must answer for them. zobeide will take care, i warrant you, to resent your insolence. in fine, she stood up so tight to the matter, that the officer did not dare to take upon him to open any of the trunks. let me go then, said he, carry them off. immediately the lady's apartment was opened, and the trunks were carried in. they were scarcely got in, when all of a sudden i heard a cry, here is the caliph, here comes the caliph. this put me in such a fright, that i wonder i did not die upon the spot, for it was actually the caliph. what hast thou got in these trunks? said he to the favourite. some stuffs, said she, lately arrived, which your majesty's lady had a mind to see. open them, cried he, and let me see them too. she pretended to excuse herself, alleging that the stuffs were only proper for ladies, and that by opening them his lady would be deprived of the pleasure of seeing them first. i say, open them, cried the caliph; i have a mind to see them, and shall see them. she still represented that her mistress would be angry with her if she opened them. no, no, said he, i will engage she shall not say a word to you for so doing; come, open them, i cannot stop. there was a necessity of obeying, which gave me such shocking alarms, that i trembled every time i thought on it. down sat the caliph; and the favourite ordered all the trunks to be brought before him, one after another. then she opened them; and, to spin out the time, showed all the beauties of each particular stuff, thinking thereby to tire out his patience; but her stratagem did not take. being as loath as i to have the trunk where i lay open, she left that till the last. so when all the rest were viewed, come, says the caliph, make an end; let us see what is in that one. i am at a loss to tell you whether i was dead or alive at that moment, for i little thought of escaping so great a danger. when zobeide's favourite saw that the caliph would needs have the trunk opened where i lay, as for this trunk, says she, your majesty will please to dispense with the opening of it; there are some things in it which i cannot show you unless your lady be by. well, well, says the caliph, since it is so, i am satisfied; order the trunks to be carried away. the word was no sooner spoken, than the trunks were removed into her chamber, where i began to come to life again. as soon as the eunuchs who had brought them were gone, she presently opened the trunk where i was prisoner. come out, said she, go up these stairs that lead to an upper room, and stay there till i come. the door which led to the stairs she locked after i was in; and that was no sooner done than the caliph came and clapped him down upon the very trunk wherein i had been. the occasion of this visit was a motion of curiosity that did not respect me. he had a mind to discourse the lady about what she had seen or heard in the city. so they discoursed together a pretty while, after which he left her, and retired to his apartment. when she found the coast clear, she came to the chamber where i was, and made many apologies for the alarms she had given me. my uneasiness, said she, was no less than yours; you cannot well doubt of that, since i have run the same risk from love to you; perhaps another would not have had the presence of mind to manage matters so dexterously upon so tender an occasion; nothing less than the love i had for you could have inspired me with courage to do it. but come, take heart, now the danger is over. after some tender discourse between us, she told me it was time to go to bed, and that she would not fail to introduce me to zobeide, her mistress, to-morrow, some hour of the day; for the caliph never sees her, added she, but at nights. heartened by these words, i slept very well; or at least, whatever interruptions happened were agreeable disquietings, caused by the hopes of enjoying a lady blessed with such sparkling wit and beauty. the next day, before i was introduced to zobeide, her favourite instructed me how to behave, naming nearly the same questions as she put to me, and dictating the answers i was to give. this done, she carried me into a very magnificent and richly furnished hall: i had no sooner entered, than twenty female slaves, in rich and uniform habits, came out of zobeide's apartment, and placed themselves very modestly before the throne in two equal rows: they were followed by twenty other ladies who looked younger, and were clothed after the same manner, though their habits appeared somewhat gayer. in the middle of these appeared zobeide, with a majestic air, and so loaded with jewels, that she could scarcely walk. zobeide then went and sat down on the throne, and the favourite lady, who had accompanied her, just by her, on her right hand; the other ladies being placed at some distance on each side of the throne. the caliph's lady having sat down, the slaves who came in first made a sign for me to approach: i advanced between the rows they had formed, and prostrated myself upon the tapestry under the princess's feet. she ordered me to rise, and did me the honour to ask my name, my family, and the condition of my fortune; to all which i gave her satisfactory answers, as i perceived not only by her countenance, but by her words. i am very glad, said she, that my daughter (so she used to call the favourite lady, looking upon her as such, after the care she had taken of her education) has made a choice that pleases me; i approve of it, and give consent to your marriage: i shall give orders myself for what is to be done in solemnizing it, but i wish her to stay ten davs with me before the solemnity; and in that time i will speak to the caliph, and obtain his consent; mean while do you stay here, you shall be taken care of. accordingly i staid ten days in the ladies' apartments, and during that time was deprived of the pleasure of seeing the favourite lady; but was so well used, by her orders, that i had no reason to be dissatisfied. zobeide told the caliph her resolution of marrying the favourite lady; and he, leaving to her the liberty of doing upon that head as she pleased, granted the favourite a considerable sum to help her fortune. when the ten days were expired, zobeide ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn up; and the necessary preparations being made for the solemnity, the dancers, (both men and women) were called in, and rejoicings continued in the palace nine days. the tenth day being appointed for the last ceremony of the marriage, the favourite lady was conducted to a bath, and i to another. at night i sat down at table, and had all manner of rarities served up to me, and, among other things ragoo with garlic, such as you have now forced me to eat of. this ragoo i liked so well, that i scarcely touched any other of the dishes. but such was my unhappiness, that when i rose from the table, i only wiped my hands instead of washing them well; a piece of negligence of which i had never before been guilty. though it was night, the whole apartment of the ladies was as light as day, by means of illuminations. nothing was to be heard in the palace but music and acclamations of joy. my bride and i were introduced into a great hall, where we were placed upon two thrones. the women who attended her made her shift herself several times, and painted her face with different sorts of colours, according to the usual custom on wedding- days; and every time she changed her habit, they exposed her to my view. after these ceremonies, we were conducted to the wedding- room, and, as soon as the company retired, i approached to embrace my mistress, but, instead of answering me with transports, she shoved me off, and cried out most fearfully; upon which all the ladies of the apartment came running into the chamber to know what she cried for; and, for my own part, i was so thunderstruck, that i stood, without the power of so much as asking what she meant by it. dear sister, said they to her, what is the matter? let us know it, that we may try to relieve you. take, said she, out of my sight that vile fellow. why, madam, said i, wherein have i deserved your displeasure? you are a villain, said she, furiously: what, to eat garlic, and not wash your hands! do you think that i would suffer such a filthy fellow to touch me? down with him, down with him upon the ground, continued she, addressing herself to the ladies; and pray let me have a good bull's pizzle. in short, i was thrown down upon the ground, and while some held my hands, and others my feet, my wife, who was presently furnished with a weapon, laid on me most unmercifully, till i could scarcely breathe: then she said to the ladies, take him, send him to the justiciary judge, and let the hand be cut off with which he fed upon the garlic ragoo. god bless my soul, cried i, must i be beat, bruised, unmercifully mauled, and, to complete my affliction, have my hand cut off, for eating of a ragoo with garlic, and forgetting to wash my hands? what proportion is there between the punishment and the crime? plague on the ragoo, plague on the cook that dressed it, and may he be equally unhappy that served it up! all the ladies that were by took pity on me, when they heard the cutting off of my hand spoken of. dear madam, dear sister, said they to the favourite lady, you carry your resentment too far. we own he is a man quite ignorant of the world, that he does not observe your quality, and the regards that are due to you; but we beseech you to overlook and pardon the fault he has committed. i have not received suitable satisfaction, said she; i will teach him to know the world, make him bear the sensible marks of his impertinence, and be cautious hereafter how he tastes a garlic ragoo without washing his hands. however, they still continued their solicitations, and fell down at her feet, and kissing her fair hand, good madam, said they, in the name of god, moderate your wrath, and grant the favour we request. she answered never a word, but got up, and, after throwing out a thousand hard words against me, walked out of the chamber, with the ladies, leaving me in inconceivable affliction. i continued here ten days, without seeing any body but an old woman-slave who brought me victuals. i asked the old woman what was become of the favourite lady? she is sick, said the old woman, of the poisoned smell you infected her with. why did you not take care to wash your hands after eating of that cursed ragoo? is it possible, thought i to myself, that these ladies can be so nice and vindictive for so small a fault? in the mean time i loved my wife, notwithstanding all her cruelty. one day the old woman told me that my spouse was recovered and gone to bathe, and would come to see me the next day; so, said she, i would have you to call up your patience, and endeavour to accommodate yourself to her humour. besides, she is a woman of good sense and discretion, and entirely beloved by all the ladies about zobeide's court. accordingly my wife came next night, and accosted me thus: you see i am too good in seeing you again, after the affront you have offered me; but still i cannot stoop to be reconciled to you, till i have punished you according to your demerit, in not washing your hands after eating the garlic ragoo. this said, she called the ladies, who, by her order, threw me upon the ground, and, after binding me fast, had the barbarity to cut off my thumbs and great toes with a razor. one of the ladies applied a certain root to staunch the blood; but by the bleeding and pain i swooned away. when i came to myself, they gave me wine to drink to recruit my strength. ah! madam, said i to my wife, if ever i eat of garlic ragoo again, i solemnly swear to wash my hands an hundred and twenty times with the herb alcali, with the ashes of the same plant, and with soap. well, replied my wife, upon that condition i am willing to forget what is past, and live with you as my husband. this, continued the bagdad merchant, addressing himself to the company, is the reason why i refused to eat of the garlic ragoo now upon the table. to make an end of the bagdad merchant's story, the ladies, said he, applied to my wounds, not only the root i mentioned to you but likewise some balsam of mecca, which they were morally assured was not adulterated, because they had it from the caliph's own dispensatory; by virtue of that admirable balsam i was perfectly cured in a few days, and my wife and i lived together as agreeably as if i had never eaten of the garlic ragoo. but having been all my lifetime used to the liberty of ranging abroad, i was very uneasy at being confined to the caliph's palace, and yet said nothing of it to my wife, from a fear of displeasing her. she smelt it, however; and wanted nothing more herself than to get out, for it was gratitude alone that made her continue with zobeide. in fine, being a very witty woman, she represented, in lively terms, to her mistress, the constraint i was under in not living in the city with my fellow-companions, as i had always done: this she did so effectually, that the good princess chose rather to deprive herself of the pleasure of having her favourite about her, than not to grant what she desired. accordingly, about a month after our marriage, my wife came into my room with several eunuchs, each carrying a bag of silver. when the eunuchs were gone, you never told me, said she, that you were uneasy in being confined to court, but i perceived it very well, and have happily found means to make you contented. my mistress zobeide gives us leave to go out of the palace, and here are fifty thousand sequins, of which she has made us a present, in order to enable us to live comfortable in the city. take ten thousand of them, and go and buy us a house, i soon purchased a house; and, after furnishing it richly, we went and lived in it, and kept a great many slaves of both sexes, with a very pretty equipage. in short, we began to live in a very agreeable manner, which did not last long, for at a year's end my wife fell sick and died. i might have married again, and lived honourably at bagdad; but ambition to see the world put me upon other thoughts. i sold my house, and, after buying up several sorts of goods, went with a caravan to persia; from persia i travelled to samarcande, and from thence hither. this, said the purveyor to the sultan of casgar, is the story that the bagdad merchant told in a company where i was yesterday. this story, said the sultan, has something extraordinary in it, but it does not come near that of my little hunchback. then the jewish physician prostrated himself before the sultan's throne, and rising again, addressed himself to that prince in the following manner: sir, if you will be so good as to hear me, i flatter myself you will be pleased with a story i have to tell you. well spoken, said the sultan; but if it is not more surprising than that of little hunch-back, do not you expect to live. the physician, finding the sultan of casgar disposed to hear him, gave the following relation: the story told by the jewish physician. sir, when i was a student of physic, and just beginning the practice of that noble profession with some reputation, a man-slave called me to see a patient in the city governor's family. i went accordingly, and was carried into a room, where i found a very handsome young man mightily cast down with his condition: i saluted him, and sat down by him, but he made no return to my compliments, except by a sign with his eyes that he heard me and thanked me. pray, sir, said i, give me your hand, that i may feel your pulse. but, instead of stretching out his right, he gave me his left hand, at which i was extremely surprised. this, said i to myself, is a gross piece of ignorance, not to know that people present their right hand, and not their left, to a physician. however, i felt his pulse, wrote him a receipt, and took leave. i continued my visits for nine days, and every time i felt his pulse he still gave me the left hand: on the tenth day he seemed to be pretty well, and so i prescribed nothing for him but bathing. the governor of damascus, who was by, did, in testimony of his being well satisfied with my service, invest me with a very rich robe, saying, he made me a physician of the city hospital, and physician in ordinary to his house, where i might freely eat at his table when i pleased. the young man likewise showed me many civilities, and asked me to accompany him to the bath: accordingly we went together; and when his attendants had undressed him, i perceived he wanted the right hand, and that it had not been long cut off, which had been the occasion of his distemper, though concealed from me; for while the people about him were applying proper medicines externally, they had called me to prevent the ill consequences of the fever he was then in. i was very much surprised and concerned on seeing his misfortune, which he observed by my countenance. doctor, cried he, do not be astonished to see that my hand is cut off; some day or other i will tell you the occasion of it; and in that relation you will be entertained with very surprising adventures. after bathing, we sat down and ate; and after we had some other discourse together, he asked me if it would be any prejudice to his health, if he went to take a walk out of town in the governor's garden? i made answer, it would be so far from that, that it would benefit his health. since it is so, said he, if you would let me have your company, i will tell you the history of my adventures, i replied, i was at his command for all that day. upon which he presently called his servants, to bring something for a collation; and so we went to the governor's garden. there we took two or three turns, and then sat down upon a carpet that his servants had spread under a tree, which gave a very pleasant shade. after we were set, the young man gave his history in the following terms: i was born, said he, at moussol, and come of one of the most considerable families in the city. my father was the eldest of ten brothers that were all alive, and all married, when my grandfather died. all the brothers were childless but my father, and he had never a child but me. he took particular care of my education, and made me learn every thing that was proper for a child of my quality. when i was grown pretty tall, and beginning to keep company with the world, i happened one friday to be at noon prayers with my father and my uncles, in the great mosque at moussol; and after prayers were over, the rest of the company going away, my father and my uncles continued sitting upon the best tapestry in the mosque, and i sat down by them. they discoursed of several things, but they fell insensibly, i do not know how, upon the subject of voyages. they extolled the beauties and peculiar rarities of some kingdoms, and of their principal cities. but one of my uncles said, that, according to the uniform report of an infinite number of voyagers, there was not in the world a pleasanter country than egypt, nor river than the nile; and the account he gave of them infused into me such a charming idea of them, that, from that very moment, i had a desire to travel. whatever my other uncles said, by way of preference to bagdad and the tigris, in calling bagdad the true residence of the mussulman religion, and the metropolis of all the cities in the earth, all this made no impression upon me. my father joined in his opinion with those who had spoken on the behalf of egypt, which gave me a great deal of joy. say what you will, said he, he that has not seen egypt, has not seen the greatest rarity in the world. all the land there is golden, i mean, it is so fertile that it enriches its inhabitants: all the women of that country are charming, either in their beauty or in their agreeable carriage. if you speak of the nile, pray where is there a more admirable river? what water was ever lighter or more delicious? the very slime it carries along in its overflowing fattens a thousand times more than other countries that are cultivated with great labour. do but mind what a poet said of the egyptians when lie was obliged to depart egypt: 'your nile loads you with good offices every day; it is for you only that it travels so far. alas! in removing from you, my tears are going to run as abundantly as its water; you are to continue in the enjoyment of its sweetness, while i am condemned to rob myself of it against my will.' if you look, added he, towards the island that is formed by the two great branches of the nile, what variety of verdure have you there? what enamel of all sorts of flowers? what a prodigious number of cities, villages, canals, and a thousand other agreeable objects? if you cast your eyes on the other side, steering up towards ethiopia, how many other objects of admiration? i cannot compare the verdure of so many plains, watered with the different canals of the island, better than to sparkling emeralds set in silver. is not grand cairo the largest, the most populous, and the richest city in the universe? what a prodigious number of magnificent edifices, both public and private! if you view the pyramids, you will be seized with astonishment: you will turn stiff and immoveable at the sight of these masses of stone of an extravagant thickness, which rise to the skies: and you will be obliged to confess, that the pharaohs, who employed such riches, and so many men in building them, must have surpassed all the monarchs that have appeared since, not only in egypt, but all the world over, in magnificence and invention; so transcendent are the monuments they have left worthy of their memory; monuments so ancient, that the learned cannot agree as to the time of their erection; and yet such as last to this day, and will last while ages are. i silently pass over the maritime cities in the kingdom of egypt, such as damietta, rosetta, alexandria, &c. where the lord knows how many nations come for a thousand sorts of grain, seeds, cloth, and an infinite number of other things, calculated for the conveniency and the delight of men. what i speak of i have some occasion to know. i spent some years of my youth there, which, as long as i live, i shall always reckon the most agreeable part of my life. my uncles had no answer to give my father, and agreed to all he had said of the nile, of cairo, and of the whole kingdom of egypt; as for my own part, i was so taken with it, that i had never a wink of sleep that night. soon after, my uncles declared themselves how much they were touched with my father's discourse. they made a proposal to him that they should travel all together into egypt. he accepted of the proposal; and, being rich merchants, they resolved to carry with them such goods as would go off there. i came to know that they were making preparations for their departure; and thereupon went to my father, and begged of him, with tears in my eyes, that he would suffer me to go along with him, and allow me some stock of goods to trade with by myself; you are too young yet, said my father, to travel into egypt; the fatigue is too great for you; and, besides, i am sure you will come off a loser in your traffic. however, these words did not cure me of the eager desire i had to travel. i made use of my uncle's interest with my father, who at last granted me leave to go as far as damascus, where they would drop me, till they went through their travels into egypt. the city of damascus, said my father, may likewise glory in its beauties, and it is very well if my son get leave to go so far. though my curiosity to see egypt was very pressing, i considered he was my father, submitted to his will, and set out from moussol with him and my uncles. we travelled through mesopotamia, passed the euphrates, and arrived at halep, where we staid some days. from thence we went to damascus, the first sight of which was a very agreeable surprise to me. we lodged in one khan; and i had the view of a city that was large, populous, full of fine people, and very well fortified. we employed some days in walking up and down the delicious gardens that surrounded it; and we all agreed that damascus was justly said to be seated in a paradise. at last my uncles thought of pursuing their journey; but took care, before they went, to seil my goods, which they did so advantageously for me, that i got five hundred per cent. this sale fetched me so considerable a sum, that i was transported to see myself possessor of it. my father and my uncles left me in damascus, and pursued their journey. after their departure, i used mighty caution not to lay out my money idly; but, at the same time, i took a stately house, all of marble, adorned with pictures of gold, and a pure branched work, and excellent water-works. i furnished it, not so richly indeed as the magnificence of the place deserved, but at least handsomely enough for a young man of my condition. it had formerly belonged to one of the principal lords of the city, whose name was modoun adalraham; but then was the property of a rich jewel merchant, to whom i paid for it only two sherriffs[footnote: a sherriff is the same with a sequin. this word is in the ancient authors.] a month. i had a good large number of domestics, and lived honourably; sometimes i gave entertainments to such people as i was acquainted with, and sometimes i went and was treated by them. thus did i spend my time at damascus, waiting for my father's return; no passion disturbed my repose, and my only employment was conversing with people of credit. one day as i sat taking the cool air at my gate, a very fine lady came to me, and asked if i did not sell stuffs? but had no sooner spoken the words than she went into my house. when i saw that the lady had gone into the house, i rose, and having shut the gate, carried her into a hall, and prayed her to sit down. madam, said i, i have had stuffs that were fit to be shown to you, but i have them not now, for which i am very sorry. she took off the veil that covered her face, and made a beauty sparkle in my eyes, which affected me with such emotions as i never felt before. i have no occasion for stuffs, said she; i only come to see you, and pass the evening with you: if you are pleased with it, all i ask of you is a light collation. transported with such happy luck, i ordered the folks to bring us several sorts of fruits, and some bottles of wine, they served us nimbly; and we ate and drank, and made merry, till midnight. in short, i had not passed a night so agreeably all the while i had been there. next morning i would have put ten sherriffs in the lady's hands, but she refused them: i am not come to see you, said she, from a design of interest; you affront me: i am so far from receiving money, that i desire you to take money of me, or else i will see you no more. in speaking this, she put her hand into her purse, took out ten sherriffs, and forced me to take them, saying, you may expect me three days hence after sunset. then she took leave of me, and i felt that when she went, she carried my heart along with her. she did not fail to return at the appointed hour three days after; and i did not fail to receive her with all the joy of a person that waited impatiently for her arrival. the evening and night we spent as before; and next day at parting, she promised to return the third day after. she did not go, however, without forcing me to take ten sherriffs more. she returned a third time; and, at that interview, when we were both warm with wine, she spoke thus: my dear heart, what do you think of me? am i not handsome and agreeable? madam, said i, all the marks of love with which i entertain you ought to persuade you that i love you: i am charmed with seeing you, and more so in enjoying you. you are my queen, my sultaness; in you lies all the felicity of my life. ah, sir, replied she, i am sure you would speak otherwise, if you saw a certain lady of my acquaintance that is younger and handsomer: she is a lady of such a pleasant jocund temper as would make the most melancholy person merry. i must bring her hither: i spoke of you to her, and, from the account i have given of you, she dies of desire to see you. she entreated me to gain her that pleasure, but i did not dare to humour her without speaking to you beforehand. madam, said i, you shall do what you please; but whatever you may say of your friend, i defy all her charms to tear my heart from you, to whom it is so inviolably tied, that nothing can disengage it. do not be too positive, said she; i now tell you i am about to put your heart to a strange trial. we staid together all night, and next morning at parting, instead of ten sherriffs, she gave me fifteen, which i was forced to accept. remember, said she, that in two days you are to have a new guest; pray take care to give her a good reception: we come at the usual hour after sunset. i took care to have my hall in great order, and a nice collation prepared against they came. i waited for the two ladies with impatience, and at last they arrived. they both unveiled themselves, and as i had been surprised with the beauty of the first, i had reason to be much more so when i saw her friend: she had regular features, a lively complexion, and such sparkling eyes that i could hardly bear their splendour, i thanked her for the honour she did me, and entreated her to excuse me if i did not give her the reception she deserved. no compliments said she; it should be my part to make them to you for allowing my friend to bring me hither. but since you are pleased to suffer it, let us lay aside all ceremony, and think of nothing but making merry. as soon as the ladies arrived, the collation was served up, and we sat down to supper. i sat opposite to the stranger lady, and she never left off looking upon me with a smile: i could not resist her conquering eyes, and she made herself mistress of my heart with such force, that i had not power to offer opposition. but, by inspiring me, she took fire herself, and was equally touched, and was so far from showing any thing of constraint in her carriage, that she told me many sensible moving things. the other lady did nothing at first but laugh at us. i told you, said she, addressing herself to me, you would find my friend full of charms; and i perceive you have already violated the oath you made of being faithful to me. madam, said i, laughing as well as she, you would have reason to complain of me, if i were wanting in civility to a lady whom you brought hither, and one whom you are fond of; you might then upbraid me, both of you, for not knowing the measures of hospitality and entertainment. we continued to drink on; but as the wine grew warm in our stomachs, the stranger lady and i ogled one another with so little reserve, that her friend grew jealous, and quickly gave us a dismal proof of her jealousy. she rose from the table, and went out, saying she would be with us presently again; but a few moments after, the lady that staid with me changed her countenance, fell into violent convulsions, and, in fine, expired in my arms, while i was calling to the people to come and assist me in relieving her. immediately i went out, and asked for the other lady; and my people told me she had opened the street-door, and gone out of doors. then i suspected she had been the cause of her friend's death. in fine, she had the dexterity and the malice to put some strong poison into the last glass, which she gave her out of her own hand. i was afflicted to the last degree with the accident. what shall i do? thinks i within myself: what will become of me? i thought there was no time to lose, and so, it being then moon-light, made my servants quietly take up a great piece of marble, with which the yard of my house was paved; under that i made them dig a hole presently, and there inter the corpse of the young lady. after replacing the stone, i put on a travelling suit, and took what silver i had; and, having locked up every thing, affixed my own seal to the door of my house. this done, i went to seek for the jewel merchant, my landlord, paid him what rent i owed, with a year's rent more; and giving him the key, prayed him to keep it for me: a very urgent affair, said i, obliges me to be absent for some time; i am under the necessity of going to find out my uncles at cairo. i took my leave of him, and that very moment mounted my horse, and set out with my equipage. i had a good journey, and arrived at cairo without any ill accident. there i met with my uncles, who were much surprised to see me. to excuse myself, i pretended that i was tired staying for them; and, hearing nothing of them, was so uneasy that i could not be satisfied without coming to cairo. they received me very kindly, and promised my father should not be angry with me for leaving damascus without his permission. i lodged in the same khan with them, and saw all the curiosities of cairo. having finished their traffic, they began to speak of returning to moussol, and to make preparations for their departure. but i, having yet a mind to see something in egypt, left my uncles, and went to lodge at a great distance from the khan, and did not appear till they were gone. they had sought for me all over the city; but, not finding me, they judged the remorse of having come to egypt without my father's consent, had induced me to return to damascus, without saying any thing to them. so they began their journey, expecting to find me at damascus, and there to take me up. i remained at cairo, after their departure, three years, to give full satisfaction to the curiosity i had of seeing all the wonders of egypt, during that time, i took care to send money to the jewel-merchant, ordering him to keep my house for me, for i had a design to return to damascus, and stay there for some years. i had no adventure at cairo worthy of your hearing; but doubtless you will be surprised at that i met with after my return to damascus. on my arrival in this place, i went to the jewel-merchant's house, who received me joyfully, and went along with me to my house, to show me that nobody had entered it whilst i was absent. the seal was still entire upon the lock; and, when i went in, i found every thing in the same order in which i left it. in sweeping and cleaning out my hall, where i had used to eat, one of my servants found a gold chain necklace, with ten very large and very perfect pearls placed upon it at certain distances. he brought it to me, and i knew it to be the same i had seen upon the lady's neck that was poisoned; and concluded it had broken off, and fallen without my perceiving it. i could not look upon it without shedding tears, when i called to mind the lovely creature i had seen die in so fatal a manner; so i wrapped it up, and put it in my bosom. i passed some days to work off the fatigues of my voyage; after which i began to visit my former acquaintances. i abandoned myself to all manner of pleasure, insensibly squandered away all my money, and in this condition, instead of selling my moveables, resolved to part with my necklace, but had so little skill in pearls, that i took my measures very ill. i went to the bezestein, where i called a crier aside, and, showing him the necklace, told him i had a mind to sell it, and desired him to show it to the principal jewellers. the crier was surprised to see such an ornament: what a pretty thing it is! tried he, staring upon it with admiration, never did our merchants see any thing so rich; i am sure i shall oblige them by showing it; and you need not doubt they will set a high price upon it from emulation. he carried me to a shop, which proved to be my landlord's: tarry here, says the crier; i will return presently, and bring you an answer. while he was running about to show the necklace, i sat with the jeweller, who was glad to see me; and we discoursed on common subjects. the crier returned, and calling me aside, instead of telling me that the necklace was valued at two thousand sherriffs, he assured me nobody would give me more than fifty. the reason is, added he, the pearls are false; so see if you can part with it at that price. i took the crier to be an honest fellow; and wanting money, go, said i, i trust to what you say, and to those who know better than i; deliver it to them, and bring me the money immediately. the crier had been ordered to offer me fifty sherriffs by one of the richest jewellers in town, who had made that offer only to sound me, and try if i was acquainted with the value of the goods which i exposed to sale. he had no sooner received my answer, than he carried the crier to the justiciary judge; and showing him the necklace, sir, said he, here is a necklace that was stolen from me, and the thief, under the character of a merchant, has had the impudence to offer it to sale, and is this minute in the bezestein. he is willing to take fifty sherriffs for a necklace that is worth two thousand, which is a plain argument that it is stolen. the judge seat immediately to seize me, and, on coming before him, he asked me if the necklace in his hand was not the one i had exposed to sale in the bezestein? i told him it was. is it true, said he, that you are willing to deliver it for fifty sherriffs? i answered in the affirmative. well, said he, in a scoffing way, give him the bastinado; he will quickly tell us, with all his fine merchant's clothes, that he is only a downright thief; let him be beaten till he confesses. the violence of the blows made me tell a lie: i confessed, though it was not true, that i had stolen the necklace, and presently the judge ordered my hand to be cut off. this made a great noise in the bezestein, and i was scarcely returned to my house, when my landlord came. my son, said, he, you seem to be a young man well educated, and of good sense; how is it possible that you could be guilty of such an unworthy action? you gave me an account of your estate yourself, and i do not doubt the correctness of it. why did you not ask money of me, and i would have lent it you? since, however, the thing has happened, i cannot allow you to lodge longer in my house; you must look out for other lodgings. i was extremely troubled, and entreated the jeweller, with tears in my eyes, to let me stay three days longer in, his house, which he granted. alas! said i to myself, this affront is insufferable; how shall i dare to return to moussol? nothing will persuade his father that i am innocent. three hours after this fatal accident, my house was assaulted by the judge's officers, accompanied by my landlord and the merchant who had falsely accused me of having stolen the necklace. i asked them what brought them there? but, instead of giving me an answer, they bound me, calling me a thousand rogues, and told me that the necklace belonged to the governor of damascus, who had lost it about three years ago, and whose daughter had not been heard of since. conceive my thoughts when i heard this news. however, i called all my resolution about me: i will tell, thinks i, the governor the truth; and so it will lie at his door either to put me to death, or to pardon me. when i was brought before him, i observed he looked upon me with an eye of compassion, from whence i prophesied good things. he ordered me to be untied, and addressing himself to the jeweller who accused me, and to my landlord, is this the man, said he, who sold the pearl necklace? they had no sooner answered yes, than he said, i am sure he did not steal the necklace, and i am much astonished at the injustice that has been done him. these words giving me courage, sir, said i, i do assure you that i am really innocent, and am likewise persuaded that the necklace never did belong to my accuser, whose horrible perfidiousness is the cause of my unjust treatment. it is true, i made a confession as if i had stolen it; but this was contrary to my conscience, through the force of torture, and for another reason that i am ready to tell you, if you will be so good as hear me. i know enough of it already, replied the governor, to do you one part of the justice that is due to you: take from hence, continued he, the false accuser, and let him undergo the same punishment which he caused to be inflicted on this young man, whose innocence is known to me. the governor's orders were immediately put in execution, and the jeweller was punished according to his demerit. then the governor, having ordered all the company to withdraw, said to me, my child, tell me without fear how this necklace fell into your hands; conceal nothing of the matter from me. then i told him plainly all that had passed, and declared i had chosen rather to pass for a thief, than to reveal that tragical adventure. good god! said the governor, thy judgments are incomprehensible, and we ought to submit to them without murmuring. i receive, with an entire submission, the stroke thou hast been pleased to inflict upon me. then directing his discourse to me, my child, said he, having now heard the cause of your disgrace, for which i am much concerned, i will give you an account of the disgrace that befel me. know, then, that i am the father of those two young ladies of whom you were just speaking. i know that the first lady, who had the impudence to come to your house, was my eldest daughter. i had given her in marriage to one of her cousins, my own brother's son, at cairo. her husband died, and she returned home corrupted with all manner of wickedness, which she had learned in egypt. before i took her home, her younger sister, who died in that deplorable manner in your arms, was a very prudent young woman, and had never given me any occasion to complain of her conduct; but, after that, the eldest sister grew very intimate with her, and insensibly made her as wicked as herself. the day after the death of the youngest, not finding her at table, i asked her eldest sister what was become of her? but she, instead of answering, fell a-crying bitterly, from which i formed a fatal presage. i pressed her to inform me of what i asked her. my father, said she, with sobs, i can tell you no more than that my sister put on her best clothes yesterday, and her fine necklace, and went abroad, and has not been heard of since. i made search of my daughter all over the town, but could learn nothing of her unhappy fate. in the mean time, the eldest, who doubtless repented of her jealous fury, very much bewailed the death of her sister, and denied herself all manner of food, and so put an end to her deplorable days. such, continued the governor, is the state of mankind; such are the unlucky accidents to which they are exposed; however, my child, added he, since we are both of us equally unfortunate, let us unite our sorrow, and not abandon one another. i give you in marriage a third daughter i have still left; she is younger than her sisters, and imitates their conduct in no manner of way; besides, she is handsomer than they were, and i assure you is of a humour fitted to make you happy: you shall have no other house but mine; and, after my death, you and she shall be my heirs. sir, said i, i am ashamed of all your favours, and shall never be able to make a sufficient acknowledgment. that is enough, said he, interrupting me; let us not waste time in idle words. he then called for witnesses, ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn, and i married his daughter without further ceremony. he was not satisfied with punishing the jeweller who had falsely accused me, but confiscated for my use all his goods, which were very considerable. as for the rest, since you have been called to the governor's house, you have seen what respect they pay me there. i must tell you further, that a man, who was sent by my uncles to egypt on purpose to inquire for me there, passing through this city, found me out, and came last night, and delivered me a letter from them. they gave me notice of my father's death, and invited me to come and take possession of his estate at moussol; but as the alliance and friendship of the governor has fixed me with him, and will not suffer me to remove from him, i have sent back the express, with an order which will secure to me what is my due. now, after what you have heard, i hope you will pardon my incivility, during the course of my illness, in giving you my left hand. this, said the jewish physician, is the story i heard from the young man of moussol. i continued at damascus as long as the governor lived; after his death, being in the flower of my age, i had the curiosity to travel. accordingly, i went over persia to the indies, and came at last to settle in your capital, where i practise physic with reputation and honour. the sultan of casgar was pretty well pleased with this last story. i must say, said he to the jew, your story is very odd; but i declare freely, that little humph's is yet more extraordinary, and much more comical; therefore yon are not to expect that i will give you your life any more than the rest; i will hang you all four. pray, sir, stay a minute, said the tailor; and then prostrating himself at the sultan's feet. since your majesty loves pleasant stories, i have one to tell you that is very comical. well, i will hear thee too, said the sultan: but do not flatter thyself that i will suffer thee to live, unless thou tellest me some adventure that is yet more diverting than that of the hump-bucked man. upon this the tailor, as if he had been sure of his project, spoke very briskly to the following purpose: the story told by the tailor. a citizen of this city did me the honour, two days ago, to invite me to a treat, which he was to give to his friends yesterday morning. accordingly, i went pretty early, and found twenty persons waiting. the master of the house was gone out upon some business, but in a very little time came home, and brought with him a young man, a stranger, well dressed, and very handsome, but lame. when he came in, we all rose, and, out of respect to the master of the house, invited the young gentleman to sit down with us upon the sofa. he was going to sit down; but all on a sudden, spying a barber in our company, he flew backwards, and made towards the door. the master of the house being surprised, stopped him: where are you going? said he; i brought you along with me to do me the honour of being my guest, and you are no sooner got into my house than you run away again. sir, said the young man, for god's sake do not stop me, let me go; i cannot, without horror, look upon that abominable barber; though he was born in a country where all the natives are whites, he resembles an ethiopian; and when all is come to all, his soul is yet blacker, and yet more horrible than his face. we were, continued the tailor, surprised to hear the young man speak so, and began to have a very bad opinion of the barber, without knowing what ground the young man had for what he said. nay, we protested we would not suffer any one to remain in our company who bore so horrid a character. the master of the house entreated the stranger to tell us what reason he had for hating the barber. gentlemen, said the young man, you must know that this cursed barber is the cause of my being lame, and of the most cruel accident that any one can imagine: for this reason, i have made an oath to avoid every place where he dwells. it was for this reason that i left bagdad, where he then was, and travelled so far to settle in this city, in the heart of great tartary, a place where i flattered myself i should never see him; and now, after all, contrary to my expectations, i find him here. this obliges me, gentlemen, against my will, to deprive myself of the honour of being merry with you. this very day i take leave of your town, and will go, if possible, to hide me from him. this said, he would have left us, but the master entreated him to stop, and tell the cause of his aversion to the barber, who all this while looked down, and said nothing. we joined with the master of the house in requesting him to stay; and at last the young man, yielding to our instances, sat down upon the sofa; and, after turning his back to the barber, that he might not see him, gave us the following account. my father's quality might have entitled him to the highest posts in the city of bagdad, but he always preferred a quiet life to any honours he might deserve. i was his only child; and, when he died, i was already educated, and of age to dispose of the plentiful fortune he had left me, which i did not squander away foolishly, but applied to such uses, that every body respected me. i had never been in love, and was so far from being sensible of that passion, that i acknowledge, perhaps to my shame, that i cautiously avoided the conversation of women. one day, walking in the streets, i saw a great company of ladies before me, and, that i might not meet them, turned down a narrow lane just by, and sat down upon a bench by a door. i sat over against a window, where stood a pot with pretty flowers; and i had my eyes fixed upon this, when, all on a sudden, the window opened, and a young lady appeared, whose beauty was dazzling. immediately she cast her eyes upon me; and, in watering the flower-pot with a hand whiter than alabaster, looked upon me with a smile that inspired me with as much love for her as i had formerly an aversion for all women. after having watered all her flowers, and darting upon me a glance full of charms that quite pierced my heart, she shut up the window again, and so left me in inconceivable trouble and disorder. i had dwelt upon these thoughts long enough, had not a noise in the streets brought me to myself: alarmed thus, i turned my head in a rising posture, and saw it was the upper cadi of the city, mounted on a mule, and attended by five or six servants. he alighted at the door of the house where the young lady had opened the window, and went in there; so i concluded he was the young lady's father. i went home in a different sort of humour from that in which i came, with a passion which was the mere violent as i had never felt before its assaults. in fine, i went to bed in a violent fever, at which all the family was greatly concerned. my relations, who had a great love for me, were so alarmed and moved at my sudden disorder, that they came about me, and importuned me to know the cause, which i took care not to reveal to them. my silence created an uneasiness which the physicians could not dispel, because they knew nothing of my distemper, and rather inflamed than repaired it, by the medicines they exhibited. my relations began to despair of my life, when a certain old lady of our acquaintance, learning my illness, came to see me. she considered and examined every thing with great attention, and dived, i do not know how, into the real cause of my illness. then she took my relations aside, and desired they would retire from the room. when the room was clear, she sat down on the side of my bed: my child, said she, you are very obstinate in concealing hitherto the cause of your illness; but you have no occasion to reveal it to me, i have experience enough to penetrate into a secret; you will not surely disown that it is love that makes you sick. i can find a way to cure you, if you but let me know who the happy lady is that could move a heart so insensible as yours; for you have the name of a woman-hater, and i was not the last that perceived you to be of that temper; but, in short, what i foresaw has just come to pass, and am now glad of the opportunity to employ my talents in bringing you out of pain. the old lady, having talked to me in this fashion, paused, expecting my answer; but, though what she had said made a strong impression upon me, i durst not lay open to her the bottom of my heart; i only turned to her, and fetched a deep sigh without saying any thing. is it bashfulness, said she, that keeps you from speaking? or is it want of confidence in me? do not doubt the effect of my promise. i could mention to you an infinite number of young men of your acquaintance, that have been in the same condition with you, and have received relief from me. in fine, the good lady told me so many things more, that i broke silence, declared to her my evil, pointed out to her the place where i had seen the object which caused it, and unravelled all the circumstances of my adventure. if you succeed, said i, and procure me the felicity of seeing that charming beauty, and revealing to her the passion with which i burn for her, you may depend upon it i will be grateful. my son, said the old woman, i know the lady you speak of; she is, as you judged right, the daughter of the first cadi of the city: i think it no wonder that you are in love with her; she is the handsomest, comeliest lady in bagdad; but what i most boggle at is, that she is very proud and of difficult access. you see how strict our judges are in enjoining the punctual observance of the severe laws that lay women under such a burdensome constraint; and they are yet more strict in the observation of their own families: nay, the cadi you saw is more rigid than all the other magistrates put together. they are always preaching to their daughters what a heinous crime it is to show themselves to men; and by this means the girls themselves are so prepossessed with the notion, that they make no other use of their own eyes than to conduct them along the streets when necessity obliges them to go abroad. i do not say absolutely that the cadi's daughter is of that humour; but i still fear to meet with as great obstacles on her side as on her father's. would to god you had loved some other lady, then i had not had so many difficulties to surmount. however, i shall employ all my wits to compass the thing; but time is required. in the mean time, take heart, and trust to me. the old woman took leave; and as i weighed within myself all the obstacles she had been talking of, the fear of her not succeeding inflamed my illness. next day she came again, and i read in her countenance that she had no favourable news to impart. she spoke thus: my child, i was not mistaken in the matter; i have somewhat else to conquer besides the vigilance of a father; you love an indifferent, insensible girl, who takes pleasure in making those to burn with love that suffer themselves to be charmed by her; when she has once gained that point, she will not deign them the least comfort. she heard me with pleasure, when i spoke of nothing but the torment she had made you undergo; but i had no sooner requested her to allow you to see, and converse with her, than, with a terrible look, you are very bold, said she, to make such a proposal to me; i discharge you ever to see me again with such discourse in your mouth. do not let this cast you down, continued she, i am not easily disheartened; and if your patience does but hold out, i am hopeful i shall compass my end. to shorten my story, said the young man, this good procuress made several attempts on my behalf with the proud enemy of my rest. the fret i thereby underwent inflamed my distemper to that degree that my physicians gave me quite over; so that i was looked on as a dead man, when the old woman came to give me life. that nobody might hear what was said, she whispered in my ear, remember now you owe me a present for the good news i bring you. these words produced a marvellous effect; i raised myself to sit up in the bed, and with transports made answer, you shall not be without a present: but what are the news you bring me? dear sir, said she, you shall not die yet: i shall speedily have the pleasure to see you in perfect health, and very well satisfied with me. yesterday being monday, i went to see the lady you love, and found her in very good humour. i put on a sad countenance, and fetched many deep sighs, and began to squeeze out some tears: my good mother, said she, what is the matter with you? why are you so cast down? alas, my dear and honourable lady, said i, i have been just now with the young gentleman i spoke to you of the other day; his business is done; he is giving up his life for the love of you; it is a great injury, i assure you, and there is a great deal of cruelty on your side. i am at a loss to know, replied she, how you suppose me to be the cause of his death. how can i have contributed to it? how, replied i, did not you tell me the other day that he sat down before your window when you opened it to water your flower-pot? he then saw that prodigy of beauty, those charms that your looking-glass represents to you every day. from that moment he languished, and his disease is risen to that height, that he is reduced to the deplorable condition i have mentioned. you remember well, added i, how rigorously you treated me the last time i was here, when i was offering to speak to you of his illness, and to propose means to rescue him from the danger he was in; when i took leave of you, i went straight to his house, and he no sooner knew by my countenance that i had brought him no favourable answer than his distemper increased. from that time, madam, he is ready to die, and i do not know whether you can save his life now, though you should take pity on him. this is just what i said to her, continued the old woman. the fear of your death shaked her, and i saw her face change colour. is it true what you say? said she. has he actually no other disease than what is occasioned by the love of me? ah, madam, said i, that is too true; would to god it were false! do you believe, said she, that the hope of seeing me would contribute any thing to rescue him from the danger he is in? perhaps it may, said i, and if you will give me orders, i will try the remedy. well, said she, sighing, make him hope to see me; but he can pretend to no other favours from me, unless he aspires to marry me, and my father gives his consent to it. madam, replied i, your goodness overcomes me: i will go and see for the young gentleman, and tell him he is to have the pleasure of an interview with you: the most proper time i can think of, said she, for granting him that favour, is next friday, at the time of noon-prayers. let him take care to observe when my father goes out, and then come and plant himself over against the house, if so be his health permits him to come abroad. when he comes, i shall see him through my window, and shall come down and open the door to him; we shall then converse together during prayer-time, but he must be gone before my father returns. it is now tuesday, continued the old gentlewoman, you have till friday to recruit your strength, and make the necessary dispositions for the interview. while the good old gentlewoman was telling her story, i felt my illness decrease, or rather, by the time she had done, i found myself perfectly well. here, take this, said i, reaching out to her my purse, which was full, it is to you alone that i owe my cure. i reckon this money better employed than what i gave to the physicians, who have done nothing but tormented me during the whole course of my illness. when the lady was gone, i found i had strength enough to get up; and my relations, finding me so well, complimented me and went home. on friday morning the old woman came just when i was dressing myself, and laying out the finest clothes i had; i do not ask you, says she, how you do; what you are about is intimation enough of your health; but will you not bathe before you go to the first cadi's house? that will take up too much time, said i; i will content myself with calling a barber to get my head and beard shaved. presently i ordered one of my slaves to call a barber that could do his business cleverly and expeditiously. the slave brought me this wretch you see here, who came in, and after saluting me, sir, said he, you look as if you were not very well. i told him i was just recovered from a fit of sickness: i wish, said he, god may deliver you from all mischance; may his grace always go along with you. i hope, said i, he will grant your wish, for which i am very much obliged to you. since you are recovering, said he, i pray god preserve your health; but now pray let us know what service i am to do; i have brought my razors and my lancets; do you desire to be shaved or to be bled? i replied, i am just recovered of a fit of sickness, and so you may readily judge i only want to be shaved: come, make haste, do not lose time in prattling, for i am in haste, and precisely at noon must be at a certain place. the barber spent much time in opening his case, and preparing his razors: instead of putting water into the bason, he took a very handsome astrolabe out of his budget, and went very gravely out of my room to the middle of the yard to take the height of the sun; then he returned with the same grave pace, and, entering my room, sir, said he, you will be pleased to know this day is friday the th of the month saffar, in the year , [footnote: this year is one of the hegira, the common epocha of the mahometans, and answers to the year , from the nativity of christ; from whence we may conjecture that these computations were made in arabia about that time.] from the retreat of our great prophet from mecca to medina, and in the year [footnote: as for the year , the author is mistaken in that computation. the year of the hegira, and the of christ, coincide only with the of the aera or the epocha of the selucides, which is the same with that of alexander the great, who is called iskender with two horns, according to the expression of the arabians.] of the epocha of the great iskender with two horns; and that the conjunction of mars and mercury signifies you cannot choose a better time than this very day for being shaved. but, on the other hand, the same conjunction is a bad presage to you. i learn from thence, that this day you run a great risk, not indeed of losing your life, but of an inconvenience which will attend you while you live. you are obliged to me for the advice i now give you to take care to avoid it; i should be sorry if it befel you. you may guess, gentlemen, how sorry i was for having fallen into the hands of such a prattling impertinent barber; what an unseasonable adventure it was for a lover preparing for an interview! i was quite angry. i do not trouble my head, said i, in anger, with your advice and predictions, nor did i call you to consult your astrology; you came here to shave me, so pray do it, or be gone, and i will call another barber. sir, said he, with a dulness that put me out of all patience, what reason have you to be angry with me? you do not know that all barbers are not like me, and that you could scarcely find such another, if you made it your business to search. you only sent for a barber: but here, in my person, you have the best barber in bagdad; an experienced physician, a very profound chemist, an infallible astrologer, a finished grammarian, a complete orator, a subtle logician, a mathematician perfectly conversant in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and all the divisions of algebra; an historian fully master of the histories of all the kingdoms of the universe; besides, i know all parts of philosophy, and have all the traditions upon my finger ends. i am a poet, an architect, nay, what is it i am not? there is nothing in nature hidden from me. your deceased father, to whose memory i pay a tribute of tears every time i think of him, was fully convinced of my merit; he was fond of me, and spoke of me in all companies as the greatest man in the world. out of gratitude and friendship for him, i am willing to take you into my protection, and guard you from all the evils that your stars may threaten. at hearing this stuff, i could not forbear laughing, notwithstanding my anger. you impertinent prattler, said i, will you have done, and begin to shave me? sir, replied the barber to me, you affront me in calling me a prattler; on the contrary, all the world gives me the honourable title of silent. i had six brothers that you might justly have called prattlers; and that you may know them the better, the name of the first was bacbouc, of the second backbarah of the third backback, of the fourth barbarak, of the fifth alnaschar, of the sixth schacabac. these indeed were impertinent noisy fellows; but as for me, who am a younger brother, i am grave and concise in my discourses. for god's sake, gentlemen, do but suppose you had been in my place. what could i say when i felt myself so cruelly tortured? give him three pieces of gold, said i to the slave that was my housekeeper, and send him away, that he may disturb me no more; i will not be shaved this day. sir, said the barber, what do you mean by that? i did not come to seek for you, it was you that sent for me; and since it is so, i swear by the faith of a mussulman, i will not stir out of these doors till i have shaved you: if you do not know my value, that is not my fault. your deceased father did me more justice. every time he sent for me to let blood, he made me sit down by him, and was charmed to hear the fine things i talked of. i kept him in a continual strain of admiration, and ravished him; when i had finished my discourses, my god, would he cry, you are an inexhaustible source of sciences; no man can reach the depth of your knowledge. my dear sir, said i again, you do me more honour than i deserve: if i say any thing that is fine, it is owing to the favourable audience you vouchsafe me; it is your liberality that inspires me with the sublime thoughts that have the happiness to please you. one day, when he was charmed with an admirable discourse i had made, give him, says he, an hundred pieces of gold, and invest him with one of my richest robes. i received the present upon the spot, and presently i drew his horoscope, and found it the happiest in the world. nay, i was grateful still, and bled him with cupping glasses. this was not all: the barber spinned out, besides, another harangue that was a half hour long. fatigued with hearing him, and fretted at the time which was spent before i was half ready, i did not know what to say. no, said i, it is impossible there should be such another man in the world, that takes pleasure, as you do, in making people mad. i thought that i should succeed better if i dealt mildly with my barber. in the name of god, said i, leave off all your fine discourses, and despatch me presently; i am called to attend an affair of the last importance, as i have told you already. then he fell a laughing: it would be a laudable thing, said he, if our minds were always in the same strain; if we were wise and prudent: however, i am willing to believe, that if you are angry with me, it is your distemper which has caused that change in your humour; and, for that reason, you stand in need of some instructions, and you cannot do better than follow the example of your father and grandfather. they came and consulted me upon all occasions; and i can say, without vanity, that they always extolled my council. pray, recollect, sir, men never succeed in their enterprises without having recourse to the advice of quick-sightedmen. the proverb tells you, a man cannot be wise without receiving advice from the wise. i am entirely at your service, and you have nothing to do but command me. what! cannot i prevail with you then? said i, interrupting him. leave off these long discourses which tend to nothing but to split my head to pieces, and to detain me from the place where my business lies. shave me, i say, or be gone; with that i started up in a huff, stamping my foot against the ground. when he saw i was angry in earnest; sir, said he, do not be angry, we are going to begin soon. he washed my head, and fell a shaving me; but he had not given me four sweeps of his razor, when he stopped, saying, sir, you are hasty, you should avoid these transports that come only from the devil. besides, my merit speaks that you ought to have some more consideration for me, with respect to my age, my knowledge, and my shining virtues. go on and shave me, said i, interrupting him again, and do not speak. that is to say, replies he, you have some urgent business to go about; i will lay you a wager i guess right. why, i told you so these two hours, said i, you ought to have done before now. moderate your passion, replied he, perhaps you have not maturely weighed what you are going about: when things are done precipitately, they are generally repented of. i wish you would tell me what mighty business this is you are so earnest upon: i would tell you my opinion of it: besides, you have time enough, since your appointment is not till noon, and it wants three hours of that yet. i do not mind that, said i; persons of honour, and of their word, are rather before their time than after. but i forget that, in amusing myself by reasoning with you, i give into the faults of you prattling barbers: have done, have done, shave me. the more haste i was in, the less haste he made: he laid down the razor, and took up his astrolabe; this done, he even laid down the astrolabe, and took up his razor again. the barber quitted his razor again, and took up his astrolabe, a second time; and so left me, half shaved, to go and see precisely what o'clock it was. back he came, and then, sir, said he, i knew i was not mistaken, it wants three hours of noon, i am sure of it, or else all the rules of astronomy are false. just heaven! cried i, my patience is at an end, i can forbear no longer. you cursed barber, you barber of mischief, i do not know what holds me from falling upon you, and strangling you. softly, sir, said he, very calmly, without being moved by my passion: you are not afraid of a relapse: do not be in a passion, i am going to serve you this minute. on speaking these words, he clapped his astrolabe in his case, took up his razor, which he had fixed to his belt, and fell a shaving again: but, all the while he shaved me, the dog could not forbear prattling. if you please, sir, said he, to tell me what business it is you are going about, i could give you some advice that may be of use to you. to satisfy the fellow, i told him i was going to meet some friends who were to regale me at noon, and make merry with me upon the recovery of my health. when the barber heard me talk of regaling, god bless you this day as well as all other days, cried he: you put me in mind that yesterday i invited four or five friends to come and eat with me this day: indeed i had forgot it, and i have as yet made no preparation for them. do not let that trouble you. said i; though i dine abroad, my house is always well provided. i make you a present of what is in it; nay, besides, i will order you as much wine as you may have occasion for, for i have excellent wine in my cellar; only despatch the shaving of me presently, and pray do not mind it; whereas my father made you presents to encourage you to speak, i give you mine to make you hold your peace. he was not satisfied with the promise i made him: god reward you, sir, said he, for your kindness; but pray show me these provisions now, that i may see if there will be enough to entertain my friends: i would have them satisfied with the good fare i make them. i have, said i, a lamb, six capons, a dozen of pullets, and enough to make four services of. i ordered a slave to bring them all before him, with four great pitchers of wine. it is very well, said the barber, but we shall want fruit, and sauce for the meat: that i ordered likewise; but then he gave over shaving to look over every thing one after another; and this survey lasted almost half an hour. i raged, and stormed, and went mad, but it signified nothing, the coxcomb never troubled himself. he, however, took up his razor again, and shaved me for some moments; then stopping all on a sudden, i could not have believed, sir, that you would have been so liberal; i begin to perceive that your deceased father lives again in you: most certainly i do not deserve the favours with which you have loaded me; and i assure you i shall have them in perpetual remembrance: for, sir, to let you know it, i have nothing but what comes from the generosity of honest gentlemen, such as you; in which point i am like to zantout that rubs the people in bathing; to sali that cries boiled pease in the streets: to salout that sells beans; to akerscha that sells greens; to amboumecarez that sprinkles the streets to lay the dust, and to cassem the caliph's life-guard man. of all these persons, not one is apt to be made melancholy; they are neither peevish nor quarrelsome; they are more contented with their lot than the caliph in the midst of his court; they are always gay, ready to dance and to sing, and have each of them their peculiar song and dance, with which they divert the city of bagdad: but what i esteem most in them is, that they are no great talkers, no more than your slave that has now the honour to speak to you. here, sir, that is the song and dance of zantout, who rubs the people in baths: mind me, pray, and see if i do not imitate it exactly. the barber sung the song and danced the dance of zantout; and though i did what i could to make an end to his buffoonery, he did not give over till he had imitated, in like manner, the songs and dances of the other people he had named. after that, addressing himself to me, i am going, says he, to invite all these honest persons to my house: if you take my advice, you will join with us, and balk your friends yonder, who perhaps are noisy prattlers, that will only teaze you to death with their nauseous discourses, and make you fall into a distemper worse than that you so lately recovered of; whereas, at my house, you shall have nothing but pleasure. notwithstanding my anger, i could not forbear laughing at the fellow's impertinence. i wish i had no business upon my hands, said i; if i had not, i would accept of the proposal you make me; i would go with all my heart to be merry with you, but i beg to be excused, i am too much engaged this day; another day i shall be more at leisure, and then we shall make up that company. come, have done shaving me, and make haste to return home; perhaps your friends are already come to your house. sir, said he, do not refuse me the favour i ask of you; come and be merry with the good company i am to have; if you were but once in our company, you would be so well pleased with it, you would forsake your friends to come to us: let us talk no more of that, said i, i cannot be your guest. i found i gained no ground upon him by mild terms. since you will not come to my house, replied the barber, then pray let me go along with you; i will go and carry these things to my house, where my friends may eat of them if they like them, and i will return immediately; i would not be so uncivil as to leave you alone; you deserve this complaisance at my hands. heavens! cried i, then i shall not get clear of this troublesome man this day. in the name of the living god, said i, leave off your unreasonable jargon: go to your friends, drink, eat, and be merry with them, and leave me at liberty to go to mine. i have a mind to go alone, i have no occasion for company: besides, i must needs tell you, the place to which i go is not a place where you can be received; nobody must come there but me. you jest, sir, said he; if your friends have invited you to a feast, why should you hinder me to accompany you? you will please them, i am sure, by carrying thither a man that can speak comically like me, and knows how to divert company agreeably: but, say what you will, the thing is resolved upon; i will go along with you in spite of your teeth. these words, gentlemen, made me very uneasy. how shall i get rid of this cursed barber? thought i to myself. if i do not snub him roundly, we shall never have done contesting. besides, i heard then the first call to noon-prayers, and it was time for me to go. in fine, i resolved to say nothing at all, and to make as if i consented to his proposal. by that time he had done shaving me; then said i to him, take some of my servants to carry these provisions along with you, and return hither; i will stay for you, and shall not go without you. at last he went, and i dressed myself nimbly. i heard the last call to prayers; and made haste to set out: but the malicious barber, jealous of my intention, went with my servants only within sight of the house, and stood there till he saw them enter his house; having hid himself upon the turning of a street, with intent to observe and follow me. in fine, when i arrived at the cadi's door, i looked back and saw him at the head of the street, which fretted me to the last degree. the cadi's door was half open, and as i went in, i saw an old woman waiting for me, who, after she had shut the door, conducted me to the chamber of the young lady i was in love with: but we had scarcely begun our interview, when we heard a noise in the street. the young lady put her head to the window, and saw through the grate that it was the cadi, her father, returning already from prayers. at the same time, i looked through the window, and saw the barber sitting over against the house in the same place where i had before seen the young lady. i had then two things to fear, the arrival of the cadi, and the presence of the barber. the young lady mitigated my fear of the first, by assuring me the cadi came but very seldom to her chamber; and, as she had foreseen that this misadventure might happen, she had contrived a way to convey me out safe; but the indiscretion of the accursed barber made me very uneasy; and you shall hear that this my uneasiness was not without ground. as soon as the cadi came in, he caned one of his slaves that deserved it. the slave made horrid shouts, which were heard in the streets; the barber thought it was i that cried out, and that i was maltreated. prepossessed with this thought, he screamed out most fearfully, rent his clothes, threw dust upon his head, and called the neighbourhood to his assistance. the neighbourhood came, and asked what ailed him, and what relief he wanted that they could give? alas! cried he, they are assassinating my master, my dear patron: and, without saying any other thing, he ran all the way to my house with the very same cry in his mouth. from thence he returned, followed by all my domestics, armed with batoons. they knocked with inconceivable fury at the cadi's door, and the cadi sent a slave to see what was the matter; but the slave being frightened, returned to his master, crying, sir, above ten thousand men are going to break into your house by force. immediately the cadi ran himself, opened the door, and asked what they wanted? his venerable presence could not inspire them with respect: they insolently said to him, you cursed cadi, you dog of a cadi, what reason have you to assassinate our master? what has he done to you? good people, replied the cadi, for what should i assassinate your master, whom i do not know, and who has done no offence? my house is open to you, come see and search. you bastinadoed him, said the barber; i heard his cries not above a minute ago. but pray, replies the cadi, what offence could your master do to me, to oblige me to use him after that rate? is he in my house? if he is, how came he in, or who could have introduced him? ah! wretched cadi cried the barber, you and your long beard shall never make me believe what you say. what i say i know to be true; your daughter is in love with our master, and gave him a meeting during the time of noon-prayers; you, without doubt, have had notice of it; you returned home, and surprised him, and made your slave bastinado him: but this your wicked action shall not pass with impunity; the caliph shall be acquainted with it, and he shall give true and brief justice. let him come out; deliver him to us immediately: or if you do not, we will go in and take him from you, to your shame. there is no occasion for so many words, replied the cadi, nor to make so great a noise: if what you say is true, go in and find him out, i give you free liberty. thereupon the barber and my domestics rushed into the house like furies, and looked for me all about. when i heard all that the barber said to the cadi, i sought for a place to hide myself, and could find nothing but a great empty trunk, in which i lay down, and shut it upon me. the barber, after he had searched every where, came into the chamber where i was, and opening the trunk, as soon as he saw me, he took it upon his head, and carried it away. he came down a high stair-case into a court, which he went through very speedily, and got to the street. while he carried me, the trunk unhappily opened, and i, not being able to endure to be exposed to the view and shouts of the mob that followed us, leaped out into the street with so much haste that i hurt my leg, so as i have been lame ever since. i was not sensible how bad it was at first, and therefore got up quickly to get away from the people, who laughed at me; nay, i threw handfuls of gold and silver among them, and, whilst they were gathering it up, i made my escape by cross streets and alleys. but the cursed barber, improving the stratagem that i made use of to get away from the mob, followed me close, crying, stay, sir, why do you run so fast? if you knew how much i am afflicted at the ill treatment you received from the cadi, you who are so generous a person, and to whom i and my friends are so much obliged! did not i tell you truly that you would expose your life by your obstinate refusal to let me go with you? see now what has happened to you by your own fault; and if i had not resolutely followed you to see whither you went, what would have become of you? whither do you go then, sir? stay for me. thus the wretched barber cried aloud in the streets; it was not enough for him to have occasioned so great a scandal in the quarter of the cadi, but he would have it be known through the whole town. i was in such a rage that i had a great mind to have staid and cut his throat; but considering that would have perplexed me further, i chose another course; for perceiving that his calling after me exposed me to vast numbers of people, who crowded to the doors or windows, or stopped in the streets, to gaze on me, i entered into a khan or inn, the chamberlain of which knew me; and finding him at the gate, whither the noise had brought him, i prayed him, for the sake of heaven, to hinder that madman from coming in after me. he promised to do so, and was as good as his word, but not without a great deal of trouble, for the obstinate barber would go in, in spite of him, and did not retire without calling him a thousand ill names; and after the chamberlain shut the gate, the barber continued telling the mob what great service he had done me. thus i rid myself of that troublesome fellow. after that, the chamberlain prayed me to tell him my adventure, which i did, and then desired him to let me have an apartment until i was cured: but, sir, says he, would it not be more convenient for you to go home? i will not return thither, said i; for the detestable barber will continue plaguing me there, and i shall die of vexation to be continually teazed with him. besides, after what has befallen me to-day, i cannot think of staying any longer in this town; i must go whither my ill fortune leads me. and actually, when i was cured, i took all the money i thought necessary for my travels, and divided the remainder of my estate among my kindred. thus, gentlemen, i left bagdad, and came hither. i had ground to hope that i should not meet this pernicious barber in a country so far from my own, and yet i found him amongst you. do not be surprised, then, at my haste to be gone; you may easily judge how disgusting to me the sight of a man is who was the occasion of my lameness, and of my being reduced to the melancholy necessity of living at so great a distance from my kindred, friends, and country. when the lame young man had spoken these words, he rose, and went out: the master of the house conducted him to the gate, and told him he was sorry that he had given him, though innocently, so great a subject of mortification. when the young man was gone, continued the tailor, we were all astonished at the story; and turning to the barber, told him he was very much in the wrong, if what we had just now heard was true. gentlemen, answered he, raising up his head, which till then he had held down, my silence during the young man's discourse is enough to testify that he advanced nothing but what was really true; but, notwithstanding all that he has said to you, i maintain that i ought to have done what i did; i leave yourselves to be judges of it. did not he throw himself into danger, and could he have come off so well without my assistance? he was too happy to escape with a lame leg. did not i expose myself to a greater danger in getting him out of a house where i thought he was ill-treated? has he any reason to complain of me, and to give me so many bad words? this is what one gets by serving unthankful people. he accuses me of being a prattling fellow, which is a mere slander. of seven brothers, i am he who speaks the least, and have most wit for my share; and, to convince you of it, gentlemen, i need only tell my own story and theirs. honour me, i beseech you, with your attention. the story of the barber. in the reign of the caliph moustancer billah [footnote: he was raised to this dignity in the year of the hegira , and anno dom. ; and was the thirty-sixth caliph of the race of the abassides.], continued he, a prince famous for his vast liberality towards the poor, ten highwaymen infested the roads about bagdad, who had for a long time committed unheard-of robberies and cruelties. the caliph having notice of this, sent for the judge of the police some days before the feast of bairam, and ordered him, on pain of death, to bring all the ten to him. the judge of the police, continued the barber, used so much diligence, and sent so many people in pursuit of the ten robbers, that they were taken on the day of bairam. i was then walking on the banks of the tigris, and saw ten men, richly apparelled, go into a boat. i might have known they were robbers, had i observed the guards that were with them; but i looked only to them; and, thinking they were people who had a mind to spend the festival-day in jollity, i entered the boat with them, without saying one word, in hopes they would allow me to be one of the company. we went down the tigris, and landed before the caliph's palace; and i then had time to consider with myself, and to find out my mistake. when we came out of the boat, we were surrounded by a new troop of the judge of the police's guard, who tied us all, and carried us before the caliph. i suffered myself to be tied as well as the rest, without speaking one word: for to what purpose should i have spoken, or made any resistance? that would have been the way to have been ill treated by the guards, who would not have listened to me, for they are brutish fellows, who will hear no reason: i was with the robbers, which was sufficient to make them believe me to be one. when we came before the caliph, he ordered the ten highwaymen's heads to be cut off immediately. the executioner drew us up in a file within the reach of his arm, and by good fortune i was the last. he cut off the heads of the ten highwaymen, beginning with the first; and when he came to me he stopped. the caliph, perceiving that he did not meddle with me, grew angry: did not i command thee, said he, to cut off the heads of ten highwaymen? why, then, hast thou cut off but nine? commander of the faithful, said he, heaven preserve me from disobeying your majesty's orders! here are ten corpses upon the ground, and as many heads which i cut off; your majesty may count them. when the caliph saw himself that what the executioner said was true, he looked upon me with astonishment; and, perceiving that i had not the face of a highwayman, said to me, good old man, how came you to be among those wretches, who have deserved a thousand deaths? i answered, commander of the faithful, i shall make a true confession. this morning i saw those ten persons, whose unhappy fate is a proof of your majesty's justice, take boat; and i embarked with them, thinking they were men going to an entertainment to celebrate this day, which is the most remarkable in our religion. the caliph, who could not forbear laughing at my adventure, instead of treating me as a prattling fellow, as the lame young man did, admired my discretion and constant silence. commander of the faithful, said i, your majesty need not wonder at my keeping silence on such an occasion, which would have made another apt to speak. i make a particular profession of holding my peace; and on that account i have acquired the title of silent. thus i am called, to distinguish me from my six brothers. this is the effect of my philosophy; and, in a word, in this virtue consists my glory and happiness. i am very glad, said the caliph, smiling, that they gave you a title which you so well deserve, and know how to make such good use of. but tell me what sort of men your brothers are: were they like you? by no means, said i; they were all of them given to prating, one more than another; and as to their persons, there was still a greater difference betwixt them and me. the first was hump-backed; the second had rotten teeth; the third had but one eye; the fourth was blind; the fifth had his ears cut; and the sixth had hare-lips. they had such adventures as would inform you of their characters, had i the honour of telling them to your majesty. accordingly, the caliph expressing a desire to hear a relation of their stories, i began thus: the story of the barber's eldest brother. sir, said i, my eldest brother, whose name was bacbouc the hump-back, was a tailor by trade: when his apprenticeship expired, he hired a shop just opposite a mill; and, having but very little business, could scarcely maintain himself. the miller, on the contrary, was wealthy, and had a very handsome wife. one day, as my brother was at work in his shop, he lifted up his head, and saw the miller's wife looking out of the window, and was charmed with her beauty. the woman took no notice of him, but shut the window, and came no more to it all that day; while the poor tailor did nothing but lift up his eyes towards the mill all day long. he pricked his fingers more than once; and his work that day was not very regular. at night, when he was to shut up his shop, he could scarcely tell how to do it, because he still hoped the miller's wife would come to the window once more; but at last he was forced to shut it up, and go home to his little house, where he passed the night in great uneasiness. he rose very early the next morning, and ran to his shop, in hopes of seeing his mistress again; but he was no happier than the day before, for the miller's wife did not appear at the window above one moment all the day; but that moment made the tailor the most amorous that ever lived. the third day he had some more ground of satisfaction; for the miller's wife cast her eyes upon him by chance, and surprised him as he was gazing at her, of which she presently knew the reason. no sooner did the miller's wife perceive my brother's mind, continued the barber, but, instead of being vexed at it, she resolved to make it her diversion. she looked upon him with a smiling countenance, and my brother looked upon her in the same manner; but his looks were so very whimsical and singular, that the miller's wife was obliged to shut her window, lest her loud laughter should have made him sensible that she only ridiculed him. poor bacbouc interpreted her behaviour on this occasion to his own advantage, and flattered himself that she had looked upon him with pleasure. the miller's wife resolved to make sport with my brother. she had a piece of very fine stuff, with which she had for a long time designed to make herself a suit; she therefore wrapped it up in a fine embroidered silk handkerchief, and sent it to him by a young slave; who, having been first taught her lesson, came to the tailor's shop, and said, my mistress gives you her service; and prays you to make her a suit with this stuff according to the pattern: she changes her clothes often, so that her custom will be profitable to you. my brother doubted not but the miller's wife loved him, and therefore concluded that she sent him work so soon after what had passed betwixt them only to signify that she knew his mind, and to convince him that he had obtained her favour. confirmed in this opinion, my brother charged the slave to tell her mistress that he would lay aside all other work for her's, and that the suit should be ready by next morning. in effect, he laboured at it with so much diligence, that he finished it the same day. next morning, the young slave coming to see if the suit was ready, bacbouc gave it to her neatly folded up; and said, i am too anxious to please your mistress to neglect her suit: i would engage her by my diligence to employ no other but myself for the future. the young slave went some steps, as if she had intended to go away; and then coming back, whispered to my brother, i had forgot part of my commission; my mistress charged me to compliment you in her name, and to ask you how you passed the night: for her part, poor woman, she loves you so mightily, that she could not sleep. tell her, answered my silly brother, that i have so violent a passion for her, that i have not closed my eyes in sleep these four nights. after such a compliment from the miller's wife, my brother thought she would not let him languish in expectation of her favour. about a quarter of an hour after, the slave returned to my brother with a piece of satin. my mistress, said she, is very well pleased with her suit; nothing in the world can fit her better: and as it is very fine, she would not wear it without a new petticoat; and she prays you to make her one, as soon as you can, of this piece of satin. it is enough, said bacbouc; i will do it before i leave my shop; you shall have it in the evening. the miller's wife showed herself often at her window; was very prodigal of her charms; and, to encourage my brother, she feigned to take pleasure in seeing him work. the petticoat was soon made; and the slave came for it, but brought the tailor no money, neither for the trimming he had bought for the suit, nor for his labour. in the mean time, this unfortunate lover, whom they only amused, though he could not perceive it, had eat nothing all that day, and was under the necessity of borrowing money to purchase himself a supper. next morning, as soon as it was day, the young slave came to tell him that the miller wanted to speak with him. my mistress, said she, has told him so much good of you, when she showed him your work, that he has a mind you should work also for him; she does it on purpose, that the friendship she designs to form betwixt you and him may make you succeed in what you both equally desire. my brother was easily persuaded, and went to the mill with the slave. the miller received him very kindly, and showed him a piece of cloth, told him he wanted shirts, bid him make twenty of that cloth, and return to him what he should not make use of. my brother, said the barber, had work enough for five or six days to make twenty shirts for the miller; who afterwards gave him another piece of cloth to make him as many pair of drawers. when, they were finished, bacbouc carried them to the miller, who asked him what he must have for his pains. my brother answered, that he would be content with twenty drams of silver. the miller immediately called the young slave, and bid her bring him his weights, that he might see if his money was right. the slave who had her lesson, looked upon my brother with an angry countenance, to signify to him that their project would be frustrated if he took any money. he knew her meaning, and refused to take any, though he wanted it so much that he was forced to borrow money to buy the thread with which he sewed the shirts and drawers. when he left the miller, he came to me to borrow money to live on, and told me they did not pay him. i gave him some copper-money that i had in my pocket, on which he subsisted for some days. it is true, indeed, he lived upon nothing but broth; nor had he a sufficiency of that. one day he went to the miller, who was busy at his work; and, thinking that my brother came for money, he offered him some; but the young slave being present, made him another sign not to take it, with which he complied, and told the miller he did not come for his money, but only to know how he did. the miller thanked him, and gave him an upper garment to make. bacbouc carried it to him the next day; and when the miller drew out his purse, the young slave gave my brother the usual sign; on which he said to the miller, neighbour, there is no haste; we will reckon another time. the poor simpleton then returned again to his shop, with the three terrible distempers of love, hunger, and want of money, upon him. the miller's wife was not only avaricious, but very ill-natured; for, not content with having cheated my brother of what was due to him, she provoked her husband to revenge himself upon him for making love to her; which they accomplished thus. the miller invited bacbouc one night to supper; and, after having entertained him in a very indifferent manner, addressed himself to him in this way: brother, it is too late for you to go home; you had better stay here all night: and then he took him to a place in the mill, in which was a bed, where he left him, and went to bed with his wife. about the middle of the might, the miller came to my brother, and said, neighbour, are you asleep? my mule is ill, and i have a great deal of corn to grind; you will do me a mighty kindness if you will turn the mill in her stead. bacbouc, to show his good-nature, told him that he was ready to do him such a piece of service, if he would first instruct him. the miller then tied him by the middle to the mule's place; and whipping him over the back, cried, go neighbour! ho! said my brother, why do you beat me? it is to make you brisk, said the miller; for without a whip my mule will not go. bacbouc was amazed at this sort of treatment, but durst not complain. when he had gone five or six rounds he would fain have rested; but the miller gave him a dozen of sound lashes, saying, courage, neighbour! do not stop, pray; you must go on without taking your breath, otherwise you will spoil my meal. the miller obliged my brother, continued the barber, thus to turn the mill all night; about break of day he left him, without untying him, and went to his wife's chamber. bacbouc continued there for some time; and at last the young slave came and untied him. ah! said the treacherous wretch, how my mistress and i bemoaned you! we had no hand in this wicked trick which her husband has put upon you. unhappy bacbouc answered her not a word, he was so much fatigued with labour and blows: but, creeping to his own house, resolved never more to think on the miller's wife. the telling of this story, said the barber, made the caliph laugh. go home, said he to me, i have ordered something to be given you instead of the good dinner you expected. commander of the faithful, said i, i pray your majesty to stay till i have related the story of my other brothers. the caliph having signified by his silence that he was willing to hear me, i proceeded thus: the story of the barber's second brother. my second brother, who was called backbarah the toothless, going one day through the city, met an old woman in an out-street, who came to him presently, and said, i want one word with you, pray stop one moment. he did so, and asked her what she would have. if you will come along with me, said she, i will bring you into a stately palace, where you shall see a lady as fair as the day. she will receive you with abundance of pleasure, and give you a treat with excellent wine. i need say no more to you. but is what you say true? replied my brother. i am no lying hussy, replied the old woman; i say nothing to you but what is true. but hark, i have something to ask of you. you must be wise, you must speak but little, and you must be mighty complaisant. backbarah agreed to all this. the old woman went before, and he followed after. they came to the gate of a great palace, where there was a great number of officers and domestics. some of them would have stopped my brother, but no sooner did the old woman speak to them, than they let him pass. then turning to my brother, she said to him, you must remember that the young lady i bring you to loves good-nature and modesty, and cannot endure to be contradicted; if you please her in that, you may be sure to obtain of her what you wish. backbarah thanked her for this advice, and promised to follow it. she brought him into a fine apartment, which was a great square building, answerable to the magnificence of the palace. there was a gallery round it, and a very fine garden in the middle. the old woman made him sit down upon a sofa very well trimmed, and bid him stay a moment, till she went to tell the young lady of his being come. my brother, who had never been before in such a stately palace, gazed upon the fine things that he saw; and, judging of his good fortune by the magnificence of the palace, he was scarcely able to contain himself for joy. by and by he heard a great noise, occasioned by a troop of merry slaves, who came towards him with loud fits of laughter, and in the middle of them he perceived a young lady of extraordinary beauty, who was easily known to be their mistress by the respect they paid her. backbarah, who expected private conversation with the lady, was extremely surprised when he saw so much company with her. in the mean time, the slaves put on a grave countenance when they drew near; and when the young lady came up to the sofa, my brother rose up and made her a low bow. she took the upper-hand, prayed him to sit down, and with a smiling countenance, said to him, i am mighty glad to see you, and wish you all the happiness you can desire. madam, replied backbarah, i cannot desire a greater happiness than to be in your company. you seem to be of a good-humour, said she, and to have a mind that we should pass the time pleasantly together. she forthwith commanded a collation to be brought; and immediately a table was covered with several baskets of fruit and confections. the lady sat down at the table with the slaves and my brother, and he being placed just over against her, when he opened his mouth to eat, she perceived he had no teeth; and taking notice of it to her slaves, she and they laughed at him heartily. backbarah, from time to time, lifted up his head to look at her, and perceiving her laugh, thought it was for joy of his company, and flattered himself that she would speedily send away her slaves, and be with him alone. she judged what was his mind; and, pleasing herself to flatter him in his mistake, she gave him abundance of sweet words, and presented him the best of every thing with her own hand. the treat being done, they rose from the table, when ten slaves took musical instruments, and began to play and sing, and others went to dance. my brother, to make them sport, did likewise dance, and the lady danced with them. after they had danced some time, they sat down to take breath; and the young lady, calling for a glass of wine, looked upon my brother with a smiling countenance, to signify that she was going to drink his health. he rose up, and stood while she drank. when she had done, instead of giving back the glass, she ordered it to be filled, and presented it to my brother, that he might pledge her. my brother took the glass from the young lady's hand, which he at the same time kissed, and stood and drank to her, in acknowledgment of the favour she had done him. then the young lady made him sit down by her, and began to caress him. she put her hand behind his head, and gave him some tips from time to time with her fingers: ravished with those favours, he thought himself the happiest man in the world, and had a great mind to toy also with the charming lady, but durst not take that liberty before so many slaves, who had their eyes upon him, and laughed at their lady's wanton tricks. the young lady continued to tip him with her fingers, but at last gave him such a sound box on the ear, that he grew angry at it; the colour came in his face, and he rose up to sit at a greater distance from such a rude play-fellow. then the old woman who brought him thither gave him a look, to let him know he was in the wrong, and that he had forgot the advice she gave him to be very complaisant. he owned his fault; and, in order to make amends, he went near the young lady again, pretending that he did not go away out of any bad humour. she drew him by the arm, made him sit down by her again, and gave him a thousand malicious hugs. her slaves came in for a part of the diversion: one gave poor backbarah a fillip on the nose with all her strength; another pulled him by the ears, as if she would have plucked them off; and others boxed him so, as might show they were not in jest. my brother suffered all this with admirable patience, affected a gay air, and, looking to the old woman, said to her, with a forced smile, you told me, indeed, that i should find the lady very good, very pleasant, and very charming; i must own i am mightily obliged to you! all this is nothing, replied the old woman: let her go on; you will see another thing by and by. then the young lady said to him, brother, you are a brave man, i am glad to find you are of so good an humour, and so complaisant, as to bear with my little caprices; your humour is exactly like mine. madam, replied backbarah, who was charmed with this discourse, i am no more my own man, i am wholly yours; you may dipose of me as you please. oh, how you oblige me! said the lady, by so much submission! i am very well satisfied with you, and will have you to be so with me. bring him perfume, said she, and rose-water. upon this, two slaves went out, and returned speedily; one with a silver perfume-box, with the best wood-aloes, with which she perfumed him; and the other with rose-water, which she threw on his hands and face. my brother was quite beside himself at this honourable treatment. after this ceremony, the young lady commanded the slaves, who had already played on their instruments and sung, to renew their concerts. they obeyed; and, in the mean time, the lady called another slave, and ordered her to carry my brother with her, and do what she knew, and bring him back to her again. backbarah, who heard this order, got up quickly, and going to the old woman, who also rose up to go along with him and the slave, prayed her to tell him what they were to do with him. my mistress is only curious, replied the old woman softly; she has a mind to see how you look in a woman's dress; and this slave who has orders to carry you with her, is instructed to paint your eye-brows, to cut off your whiskers, and to dress you like a woman. you may paint my brows as much as you please, said my brother; i agree to that, because i can wash it off again: but to shave me, you know i must not allow that. how can i appear abroad again without mustachos? beware of refusing what is asked of you, said the old woman: you will spoil your affairs, which go on now as well as heart can wish. the lady loves you, and has a mind to make you happy: and will you, for a nasty whisker, renounce the most delicious favour that man can obtain. backbarah listened to the old woman, and without saying one word, went to a chamber with the slave, where they painted his eye-brows with red, cut off his whisker, and went to do the like with his beard. my brother's patience began to wear out; o! said he, i will never part with my beard. the slave told him, that it was to no purpose to have parted with his whiskers, if he would not also part with his beard, which could never agree with a woman's dress; and she wondered that a man, who was on the point of enjoying the finest lady in bagdad, should have any regard to his beard. the old woman threatened him with the loss of the young lady's favour, so that at last he let them do what they would. when he was dressed like a woman, they brought him before the young lady, who laughed so heartily when she saw him, that she fell backward on the sofa where she sat. the slaves laughed and clapped their hands, so that my brother was quite out of countenance. the young lady got up, and still laughing, said to him, after so much complaisance for me, i should be very much in the wrong not to love you with all my heart: but there is one thing more you must do for me; and that is, to dance as we do. he obeyed; and the young lady and her slaves danced with him, laughing as if they had been mad. after they had danced some time with him, they all fell upon the poor wretch, and did so box and kick him, that he fell down like one out of his senses. the old woman helped him up again; and that he might not have time to think of his ill treatment, she bid him take courage, and whispered in his ear that all his sufferings were at an end, and that he was just about to receive his reward. you have only one thing more to do, and that is but a small one. you must know that my mistress has a custom, when she has drank a little, as you see she has done to-day, to let nobody that she loves come near her, except they are stripped to their shirt; and when they have done so, she takes a little advantage of them, and sets a running before them through the gallery, and from chamber to chamber, till they catch her. this is one more of her humours: what advantage soever she takes of you, considering your nimbleness, and inclination to the work, you will soon overtake her; strip yourself, then, to the shirt, and undress yourself without delay. my silly brother, said the barber, had done too much to stick at any thing now. he undressed himself; and, in the mean time, the young lady was stripped to her shift and under-petticoat, that she might run the more nimbly. when they were ready to run, the young lady took the advantage of twenty paces, and then fell a running with surprising swiftness: my brother followed her as fast as he could, the slaves in the mean time laughing aloud and clapping their hands. the young lady, instead of losing ground, gained upon my brother: she made him run three or four times round the gallery, and then running into a long dark entry, got away by a passage which she knew. backbarah, who still followed her, having lost sight of her in the entry, was obliged to slacken his pace, because of the darkness of the place: at last perceiving a light, he ran towards it, and went out at a door, which was immediately shut upon him. you may imagine he was mightily surprised to find himself in a street inhabited by curriers, and they were no less surprised to see him in his shirt, his eye-brows painted red, and without beard or mustachos; they began to clap their hands and shout at him, some of them even ran after him, and lashed his buttocks with pieces of leather. then they stopped, and set him upon an ass, which they met by chance, and carried him through the town exposed to the laughter of the people. to complete his misfortune, as he went by the house of a justice of peace, he would needs know the cause of the tumult. the curriers told him, that they saw him come out in that condition at the gate of the apartment of the grand vizier's lady, which opened into their street; upon which the justice ordered unfortunate backbarah to have an hundred blows with a cane on the soles of his feet, and sent him out of the town, with orders never to return again. thus, commander of the faithful, said i to the caliph monstancer billah, i have given an account of the adventure of my second brother, who did not know that our greatest ladies divert themselves sometimes by putting such tricks upon young people that are foolish enough to be caught in their snares. the story of the barber's third brother. commander of the faithful, said he to the caliph, my third brother, whose name was backback, was blind, and his ill destiny reduced him to beg from door to door. he had been so long accustomed to walk through the streets alone, that he had no need of one to lead him: he had a custom to knock at people's doors, and apt to answer till they opened to him. one day he knocked thus at a door, and the master of the house, who was alone, cried, who is there? my brother gave no answer, and knocked a second time: the master of the house asked again, who is there? but to no purpose; my brother did not answer: upon which the man of the house came down, opened the door, and asked my brother what he wanted. that you would give me something, for heaven's sake! said backback. you seem to be blind, replied the master of the house. yes, to my sorrow, said my brother. give me your hand, said the master of the house. my brother did so, thinking he was going to give him alms; but he only took him by the hand, to lead him up to his chamber: backback thought he had been carrying him to dinner with him, as several other people had done. when they came up to the chamber, the man loosed his hand out of my brother's, and sitting down, asked again what he wanted. i have already told you, said backback, that i want something for god's sake. good blind man, replied the master of the house, all that i can do for you is to wish that god may restore you your sight. you might have told me that at the door, said my brother, and not have given me the trouble to come up. and why, fool, said the man of the house, do you not answer at first, when people ask you who is there? why do you give any body the trouble to come and open the door when they speak to you? what will you do with me, then? said my brother. i tell you again, said the man of the house, i have nothing to give you. help me down stairs, then, replied backback, as you helped me up. the stairs are before you, said the man of the house, and you may go down alone if you will. my brother went to go down, but missing a step about the middle of the stairs, he fell down and hurt his head and his back: he got up again with a great deal of difficulty, and complained heavily of the master of the house, who only laughed at his fall. as my brother went out of the house, two blind men, his companions, going by, knew him by his voice, and asked him what was the matter. he told them what had happened to him, and afterwards said, i have eaten nothing to-day; i conjure you to go along with me to my house, that i may take some of the money that we three have in common, to buy me something for supper. the two blind men agreed to it, and they went home with him. you must know that the master of the house where my brother was so ill used, was a highwayman, and naturally cunning and malicious. he heard at his window what backback had said to his companions, and therefore came down and followed them to my brother's house. the blind men being seated, backback said to them, brethren, we must shut the door, and take care there be no strangers with us. at this the highwayman was much perplexed, but perceiving a rope hanging down from a beam, he caught hold of it, and hung by it, while the blind men shut the door, and felt about the room with their sticks. when they had done this, and sat down again in their places, the highwayman left his rope, and sat down softly by my brother, who thinking himself alone with his blind comrades, said to them, brothers, since you have trusted me with the money, which we all three have gathered a long time, i will show you that i am not unworthy of the trust that you repose in me. the last time we reckoned, you know we had ten thousand drams, and that we put them into ten bags; i will show you that i have not touched one of them. having said so, he put his hand among some old lumber, and taking out the bags, one after another, gave them to his comrades, saying, there they are; you may judge by their weight that they are whole, or you may tell them if you please. his comrades answered, there was no occasion, they did not mistrust him; so opened one of the bags, and took out ten drams, and each of the other blind men did the like. my brother put the bags into their place again; after which one of them said to him, there is no need to lay out any thing for supper, for i have got as much provision from good people as will serve us all three. at the same time he took out of his bag bread and cheese, and some fruit; and, putting them all upon the table, they began to eat. the highwayman, who sat at my brother's right hand, picked out the best, and ate with them; but, whatever care he took to make no noise, backback heard his jaws going, and cried out immediately, we are undone! there is a stranger among us! and having said so, he stretched out his hand, and catching hold of the highwayman by the arm, cried out, thieves! fell upon him, and boxed him. the other blind men fell upon him in like manner, and the highwayman defended himself as well as he could; but being young and vigorous, and having the advantage of his eyes, he gave furious blows, sometimes to one, sometimes to another, as he could come at them, and cried out thieves! louder than they did. the neighbours came running at the noise, broke open the door, and had much ado to separate the combatants; but, having at last done it, they asked the cause of their quarrel. my brother, who still had hold of the highwayman, cried out, gentlemen, this man i have hold of is a thief, and stole in with us on purpose to rob us of the little money we have. the thief, who shut his eyes as soon as the neighbours came, feigned himself also to be blind, and cried out, gentlemen, he is a liar. i swear to you by heaven, and by the life of the caliph, that i am their companion, and they refuse to give me my just share! they have all three fallen upon me, and i demand justice. the neighbours would not meddle with their quarrel, but carried them all before a judge. when they came before the magistrate, the highwayman, without staying to be examined, cried out, still feigning himself to be blind, sir, since you are deputed to administer justice by the caliph, whom god prosper, i declare to you that we are equally criminal, my three comrades and i; but we have all engaged upon oath to confess nothing unless we be bastinadoed; so that if you would know our crime, you need only order us to be bastinadoed, and begin with me. my brother would have spoken, but was not allowed to do so; and the highwayman was put under the bastinado. the robber, being under the bastinado, had the courage to bear twenty or thirty blows; when, seeming to be overcome with pain he first opened one eye, and then the other; and, crying out for mercy, begged the judge would put a stop to the blows, the judge, perceiving that he looked upon him with his eyes open, was much surprised, and said to him, rogue! what is the meaning of this miracle? sir, replied the highwayman, i will discover to you an important secret, if you pardon me, and give me, as a pledge that you will keep your word, the seal-ring which you have on your finger. the judge agreed to it, gave him his ring, and promised him pardon. upon this, said the highwayman, i must confess to you, sir, that i and my three comrades do all see very well: we feigned ourselves to be blind, that we might more freely enter people's houses, and into women's apartments, where we abuse their frailty. i must further, confess to you, that by this trick we have gained together ten thousand drams. this day i demanded of my partners two thousand five hundred that belong to me as my share, but they refused, because i told them i would leave them; and they were afraid i should accuse them. upon pressing still to have my share, they all three fell upon me; for the truth of which i appeal to those people who brought us before you, i expect from your justice, that you will make them deliver to me the two thousand five hundred drams which are my due; and if you have a mind to make my comrades confess the truth, you must order them three times as many blows as i have had, and you will find they will open their eyes as well as i did. my brother and the other two blind men would have cleared themselves of this horrid cheat, but the judge would not hear them: villains! said he, do you feign yourselves blind then, and under that pretext cheat people, by begging their charity, and abusing poor women? he is a cheat, cried my brother; we take god to witness that none of us can see! all that my brother could say was in vain; his comrades and he received each of them two hundred blows. the judge looked always when they should have opened their eyes, and ascribed to their obstinacy what really they could not do. all the while the highwayman said to the blind men, poor fools that you are, open your eyes, and do not suffer yourselves to be killed with blows. then addressing himself to the judge, said, i perceive, sir, that they will be maliciously obstinate to the last, and will never open their eyes: they have a mind certainly to avoid the shame of reading their own condemnation in the face of every one who looks upon them; it were better, if you think fit, to pardon them, and to send some person along with me for the ten thousand drams they have hid. the judge did so, gave the highwayman two thousand five hundred drams, and kept the rest to himself; and as for my brother and his two companions, he thought he showed them a great deal of pity by sentencing them only to be banished. as soon as i heard what befel my brother, i ran after him; he told me his misfortune, and i brought him back secretly to the town. i could easily have justified him to the judge, and have got the highwayman punished as he deserved, but durst not attempt it, for fear of bringing myself into trouble. thus i finished the sad adventure of my honest blind brother. the caliph laughed at it, as much as at those he had heard before, and ordered again that something should be given me; but, without staying for it, i began the story of my fourth brother. the story of the barber's fourth brother. alcouz was the name of my fourth brother, who came to lose one of his eyes upon an occasion that i shall by and by acquaint your majesty with. he was a butcher by profession, and had a particular way of teaching rams to fight by which he procured the acquaintance and friendship of the chief lords of the country, who loved that sport, and for that end kept rams about their houses: he had, besides, a very good trade, and had his shop always full of the best meat, because he was very rich, and spared no cost for the best of every sort. one day, when he was in his shop, an old man with a long white beard came and bought six pounds of meat, gave him money for it, and went his way. my brother thought the money so fine, so white, and so well coined, that he put it apart by itself: the same old man came every day for five months together, bought a like quantity of meat, and paid for it in the same sort of money, which my brother continued to lay apart by itself. at the end of five months, alcouz having a mind to buy some sheep, and to pay for them with this fine money, opened his trunk; but, instead of finding money, was extremely surprised to see nothing but a parcel of leaves clipped round in the place where he had laid it: he beat his head, and cried out aloud, which presently brought the neighbours about him, who were as much surprised as he, when he told them the story. o! cried my brother, weeping, that this treacherous old fellow would come now with his hypocritical looks! he had scarce done speaking, when seeing him coming at a distance, he ran to him, and laid hands on him, mussulman, cried he, as loud as he could, help! hear what a cheat this wicked fellow has put upon me! and at the same time told a great crowd of people, who came about him, what he had formerly told his neighbours. when he had done, the old man, without any passion, said to him very gravely, you would do well to let me go, and by that means make amends for the affront you have put upon me before so many people, for fear i should put a greater affront upon you, which i am not willing to do. how! said my brother, what have you to say against me? i am an honest man in my business, and fear not you nor any body. you would have me to tell it then, said the old man; and turning to the people, said, know, good people, that this fellow, instead of selling mutton as he ought, sells man's flesh. you are a cheat, said my brother. no! no! said the old man: good people, this very minute that i am speaking, there is a man with his throat cut hung up in his shop like a sheep; do any of you go thither, and see if what i say be not true. before my brother had opened his trunk, he had just killed a sheep, dressed it, and exposed it in his shop, according to custom: he protested that what the old man said was false; but, notwithstanding all his protestations, the mob, being prejudiced against a man accused of such a heinous crime, would go to see whether the matter was true. they obliged my brother to quit the old man, laid hold of him, and ran like madmen into his shop, where they saw a man murdered and hung up, as the old man had told them; for he was a magician, and deceived the eyes of all people, as he did my brother's, when he made him take leaves instead of money. at this spectacle, one of those who held alcouz gave him a great blow with his fist, and said to him, thou wicked villain, dost thou make us eat man's flesh instead of mutton? at the same time the old man gave him another blow, which beat out one of his eyes, and every body that could get near him beat him; and, not content with that, they carried him before a judge, with the pretended carcase of the man, to be evidence against him. sir, said the old magician to the judge, we have brought you a man, who is so barbarous as to murder people, and to sell their flesh instead of mutton; the public expect that you should punish him in an exemplary manner. the judge heard my brother with patience, but would believe nothing of the story of the money exchanged into leaves; called my brother a cheat, told him he would believe his own eyes, and ordered him to have five hundred blows. he afterwards made him tell where his money was, took it all from him, and banished him for ever, after having made him ride three days through the town upon a camel, exposed to the insults of the people. i was not at bagdad when this tragical adventure befel my fourth brother. he retired into a remote place, where he lay concealed till he was cured of the blows with which his back was terribly gored. when able to walk, he went by night to a certain town where nobody knew him, and there he took a lodging, from whence he seldom went out; but, being at last weary of his life, he took a walk into one of the suburbs, where he was suddenly alarmed with the noise of horsemen coming behind him. he was then by chance near the gate of a great house; and fearing, after what had befallen him, that these horsemen were pursuing him, he opened the gate in order to hide himself; and, after shutting it again, he came into a wide court, where two servants immediately came and took him by the neck, and said, heaven be praised that you are come voluntarily to surrender yourself up to us! you have frightened us so much these three last nights, that we could not sleep; nor would you have spared our lives, if you could have come at us! you may very well imagine that my brother was much surprised at this compliment. good people, said he, i know not what you mean; you certainly take me for another! no, no, replied they; you and your comrades are great robbers: you were not contented with robbing our master of all that he had, and thereby reducing him to beggary, but you were also going to take his life; let us examine whether you have not a knife about you, which you had in your hand when you pursued us last night. having said this, they searched him, and found that he had a knife. ho! ho! cried they, laying hold of him; and dare you say that you are not a robber? why, said my brother, cannot a man carry a knife without being a highwayman? if you will be attentive to my story, continued he, instead of having so bad an opinion of me, you will be touched with compassion at my misfortunes. but, far from hearkening to him, they fell upon him, trod him underfoot, took away his clothes, and tore his shirt. then observing the scars on his back, o you dog! cried they, redoubling their blows, would you have us to believe you are an honest man, when your back convinces us to the contrary? alas! said my brother, my faults must be very great, since, after having been abused already so unjustly, i am ill treated a second time without being more culpable! the two servants, no way moved with his complaint, carried him before the judge, who asked him how he durst be so bold as to go into their house, and pursue them with a drawn knife. sir, replied poor alcouz, i am the most innocent man in the world, and am undone if you will not hear me patiently: nobody deserves more compassion. sir, replied one of the domestics, will you listen to a robber, who enters people's houses to plunder and murder them? if you will not believe us, only look upon his back. upon which they showed it to the judge, who, without any other information, immediately commanded one hundred lashes to be given him with a bull's pizzle over his shoulders, and caused him afterwards to be carried through the town on a camel, with one crying before him, thus are such men punished as enter people's houses by force! after treating him thus, they banished him from the town, and forbade him ever to return to it. some people, who met him after the second misfortune, brought me word where he was; and i went and fetched him to bagdad privately, and gave him all the assistance i could. the caliph, continued the barber, did not laugh so much at this story as at the other: he was pleased to bewail the unfortunate alcouz, and ordered something to be given me. but, without giving his servants time to obey his orders, i continued my discourse, and said to him, my sovereign lord and master, you see that i do not speak much; and since your majesty has been pleased to do me the favour to listen to me so far, i beg you would likewise hear the adventures of my two other brothers; i hope they will be as diverting as those of the former. you may make a complete history of them, which will not be unworthy of your library. i do myself the honour, then, to acquaint you that my fifth brother was called alnaschar. the story of the barber's fifth brother. alnaschar, as long as our father lived, was very lazy; instead of working for his living, he used to go a begging in the evening, and to live upon what he got the next day. our father died in a very old age, and left among us seven hundred drams of silver, which we equally divided; so that each of us had one hundred to his share. alnaschar, who never had so much money before in his possession, was very much perplexed to know what he should do with it; he consulted a long time with himself, and at last resolved to lay it out in glasses, bottles, and other glass-work, which he bought of a great merchant, he put them all in an open basket, and chose a very little shop, where he sat with the basket before him, and his back against the wall, expecting that somebody would come and buy his ware. in this posture he sat with his eyes fixed on his basket; and beginning to rave, spoke the following words loud enough to be heard by a neighbour tailor: this basket, said he, cost me one hundred drams, which are all i have in the world; i shall make two hundred of it by retailing my glass; and of these two hundred drams, which i will again lay out in glass, i shall make four hundred; and, going on thus, i shall make at last make four thousand drams; of four thousand i shall easily make eight thousand; and when i come to ten thousand, i will leave off selling glass, turn jeweller and trade in diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of precious stones. then, when i am as rich as i can wish, i will buy a fine house, a great estate, slaves, eunuchs, and horses: i will keep a good house, make a great figure in the world, and will send for all the musicians and dancers of both sexes in town. nor will i stop here; i will, by the favour of heaven, go on till i get a hundred thousand drams; and when i have got so much, i will think myself as great as a prince, send to demand the grand vizier's daughter in marriage, and represent to that minister that i have heard very much of the wonderful beauty, modesty, wit, and all the other qualities of his daughter; in a word, that i will give him one thousand pieces of gold the first night we are married; and if the vizier be so uncivil as to refuse his daughter, which cannot be, i will go and take her before his face, and carry her to my house, whether he will or no. as soon as i have married the grand vizier's daughter, i will buy her ten young black eunuchs, the handsomest that can be had; i will clothe myself like a prince, and ride upon a fine horse, with a saddle of rich gold, and housings of cloth, of gold, elegantly embroidered with diamonds and pearls. i will march through the city, attended both before and behind; and i will go to the vizier's palace, in the view of all sorts of people, who will show me profound reverence. when i alight at the foot of the vizier's stair-case, i will ascend it in the presence of all my people, ranged in files on the right and left; and the grand vizier, receiving me as his son-in-law, shall give me his right hand, and set me above him, to do me the more honour. if this comes to pass, as i hope it will, two of my people shall have each of them a purse of a thousand pieces of gold, which they shall carry with them. i will take one, and presenting it to the grand vizier, will tell him, there are the thousand pieces that i promised the first night of marriage; and i will offer him the other, and say to him, there are as many more, to show you that i am a man of my word, and that i am better than my promise. after such an action as this, all the world will speak of my generosity, and i will return to my own house in the same pomp. my wife shall send to compliment me by some officer, on account of the visit i made to her father: i will honour the officer with a fine robe, and send him back with a rich present. if she thinks to send me one, i will not accept of it, but dismiss the bearer. i will not suffer her to go out of her apartment, on any account whatever, without giving me notice; and when i have a mind to go to her apartment, it shall be in such a manner as to make her respect me. in short, no house shall be better ordered than mine. i shall be always richly clad. when i retire with my wife in the evening, i will sit on the upper hand; i will assume a grave air, without turning my head to the one side or to the other; i will speak little; and whilst my wife, as beautiful as the full moon, stands before me in all her ornaments, will feign as if i did not notice her. the women about her will say to me, our dear lord and master, here is your spouse, your humble servant, before you; she expects you will caress her, and is very much mortified that you do not so much as vouchsafe to look upon her: she is wearied with standing so long; bid her at least sit down. i will give no answer to this discourse, which will increase their surprise and grief; they will lay themselves at my feet; and, after they have done so a considerable time, begging me to relent, i will at last lift up my head, and give her a careless look. afterwards i will return to my former posture; and then will they think that my wife is not well enough, nor handsome enough dressed, and will take her to her closet to change her apparel. at the same time i will get up and put on a more magnificent suit than before: they will return and hold the discourse with me as before; and i shall have the pleasure not so much as to look upon my wife, till they have prayed and entreated as long as they did at first. thus i will begin, on the first day of marriage, to teach her what she is to expect during the rest of her life. after the ceremonies of the marriage are over, said alnaschar, i will take from one of my servants, who shall be about me, a purse of five hundred pieces of gold, which i will give to the tire-women, that they may leave me alone with my spouse. "when they are retired, my wife shall go to bed first, and then i will lie down beside her, with my back towards her, and will not speak even one word to her the whole night. the next morning she will certainly complain of my contempt of her, and of my pride, to her mother, the grand vizier's wife, which will rejoice me extremely. her mother will then wait upon me, respectfully kiss my hands, and say to me, sir, (for she will not dare to call me her son-in-law, for fear of provoking me by such familiarity), i pray you not to disdain my daughter, by refusing to approach her: i assure you that her chief study is to please you; and that she loves you with all her heart. but my mother-in-law might as well hold her peace; i will not make her the least answer, but keep my gravity. then she will prostrate herself at my feet, kiss them, and say to me, sir, is it possible that you can suspect my daughter's chastity? i assure you that i never let her go out of my sight. you are the first man that ever saw her face; do not, then, mortify her so much. do her the favour to look upon her, to speak to her, and confirm her in her good intentions to satisfy you in every thing. but nothing of this shall prevail; upon which my mother-in-law will take a glass of wine, and, putting it into the hand of her daughter, will say, go, present him with this glass of wine yourself; perhaps he will not be so cruel as to refuse it from so fair a hand. my wife will come with the glass, and stand trembling before me; and when she finds that i do not look towards her, and that i continue my disdain, she will say to me, with tears in her eyes, my heart! my dear soul! my amiable lord! i conjure you, by the favours which heaven bestows upon you, to receive this glass of wine from the hand of your most humble servant! but i will not look upon her still, nor answer her. my charming spouse! she will then say, redoubling her tears, and putting the glass to my mouth, i will never leave off till i prevail with you to drink! then, being fatigued with her entreaties, i will dart a terrible look at her, give her a good box on the cheek, and such a kick with my foot, as will throw her quite off the alcove. my brother was so full of these chimerical visions, that he acted with his foot as if she had been really before him; and unfortunately gave such a push against the basket and glasses, that they were thrown down in the street, and broken in a thousand pieces. a tailor, who was his neighbour, and who had heard his extravagant discourse, fell into a fit of laughter when he saw the basket fall. o what an unworthy fellow art thou! said he to my brother; ought you not to be ashamed to abuse thus a young spouse, who gave you no cause to complain? you must be a very brutish fellow to despise the tears and charms of such a beautiful lady! were i the vizier your father-in-law, i would order you a hundred lashes with a bull's pizzle, and send you through the town with your character written on your forehead. my brother, on this fatal accident, came to himself; and perceiving that he had brought this misfortune upon himself by his unsupportable pride, beat his face, tore his clothes, and cried so loud, that the neighbours came about him; and the people who were going to their noon-prayers stopped to know what was the matter. it being on a friday, a greater number of people was going to prayers than usual; some of them took pity on alnaschar, while others only laughed at his extravagance. in the mean time, his vanity being dispersed, as well as his glasses, he bitterly lamented his loss; and a lady of distinction passing by on a mule with rich caparisons, my brother's condition excited her compassion; she asked who he was, and what was the matter with him; they told her that he was a poor man, who had laid out a little money in buying a basket of glasses, and that the basket falling, all his glasses were broken. the lady immediately turned to an eunuch who attended her, and said to him, give the poor man what money you have about you. the eunuch obeying, put into my brother's hand five hundred pieces of gold. alnaschar was transported with excess of joy on receiving them; he bestowed a thousand blessings upon the lady, and shutting up his shop, where he had no longer occasion to sit, he returned to his house. whilst he was seriously reflecting upon his good fortune, he heard a knocking at the door; but, before he opened it, he thought it prudent first to inquire who it was; when knowing it to be a woman by her voice, he instantly admitted her. my son, said she, i have a favour to beg of you: the hour of prayer is come; be pleased, therefore, to let me wash myself, that i may be fit to say my prayers. my brother looked at her, and saw that she was a woman far advanced in years: though he knew her not, he granted what she required, and then sat down again, being still full of his new adventure. he put his gold into a long strait purse, proper to carry at his girdle. the old woman, in the mean time, said her prayers, and, when she had done, came to my brother, and bowed twice to the ground, so low that she almost touched it with her forehead; then raising herself up, she wished my brother all manner of happiness, and thanked him for his civility. being meanly clad, and very humble to him, he thought she asked alms, upon which he offered her two pieces of gold. the old woman stepped back in a sort of surprise, as if my brother had done her an injury. heavens! said she, what is the meaning of this? is it possible, sir, said she, that you take me for an impudent beggar? did you think i came so boldly into your house to ask alms? take back your money; i have no need of it, thanks to heaven! i belong to a young lady of this city, who is a charming beauty, and very rich; she does not let me want for any thing. my brother was not cunning enough to perceive the craft of the old woman, who only refused the two pieces of gold that she might catch more. he asked her if she could not procure him the honour of seeing her lady. with all my heart, replied she, she will be very well satisfied to marry, and to put you in possession of her estate, by making you master of her person. take up your money, and follow me. my brother being ravished with his good luck of finding so great a sum of money, and almost at the same time a beautiful and rich wife, his eyes were shut to all other considerations; so that he took his five hundred pieces of gold, and followed the old woman. she walked before him, and he followed at a distance, to the gate of a great house, where she knocked. he came up to her just as a young greek slave opened the gate. the old woman made him enter first, went across a court very well paved, and introduced him into a hall, the furniture of which confirmed him in the good opinion he had conceived of the mistress of the house. while the old woman went to acquaint the lady, he sat down, and, the weather being hot, pulled off his turban, and laid it by him. he speedily saw the young lady come in, whose beauty and rich apparel perfectly surprised him. he got up as soon as he saw her. the lady, with a smiling countenance, prayed him to sit down again, and placed herself by him. she told him she was very glad to see him; and, after having spoken some engaging words, said, we do not sit here at our conveniency. come, give me your hand. at these words, she presented her's, and carried him into an inner chamber, where she entertained him for some time; then she left him, bidding him stay, and she would be with him in a moment. he expected her; but, instead of the lady, came in a great black slave, with a scimitar in his hand; and looking upon my brother with a terrible aspect, said to him fiercely, what have you to do here? alnaschar was so full of fear at the sight of the slave, that he had no power to answer. the black stripped him, carried off his gold, and gave him several cuts with his scimitar. my unhappy brother fell to the ground, where he lay without motion, though he had still the use of his senses. the black, thinking him to be dead, asked for salt; the greek slave brought him a basin full; they rubbed my brother's wounds with it; who had so much command of himself, notwithstanding the intolerable pain it put him to, that he lay still without showing any sign of life. the black and the greek slave having retired, the old woman who drew my brother into the snare, came and dragged him by the feet to a trap-door, which she opened, and threw him into a place under ground, among the corpses of several other people who had been murdered. he perceived this as soon as he came to himself; for the violence of his fall had taken away his senses. the salt rubbed into his wounds preserved his life, and he recovered strength by degrees, so as to be able to walk. after two days he opened the trap-door during the night; and, finding a proper place in the court to hide himself, continued there till break of day, when he saw the cursed old woman open the gate, and go out to seek another prey. he staid in the place some time after she went out, that she might not see him, and then came to me for shelter, when he told me of his adventures. in a month he was perfectly cured of his wounds by medicines that i gave him, and resolved to avenge himself of the old woman who had put upon him such a barbarous cheat. to this end, he took a bag, large enough to contain five hundred pieces of gold, and filled it with pieces of glass. my brother, continued the barber, one morning fastened the bag of glass about him, disguised himself like an old woman, and took a scimitar under his gown. he met the old woman walking through the town to seek her prey: he went up to her, and, counterfeiting a woman's voice, said, cannot you lend me a pair of scales? i am a woman newly come from persia, have brought five hundred pieces of gold with me, and would know if they will hold out according to your weights. good woman, answered the old hag, you could not have applied to a more proper person. follow me; i will bring you to my son, who changes money, and will weigh them himself, to save you the trouble. let us make haste, for fear he be gone to his shop. my brother followed her to the house where she carried him the first time, and the greek slave opened the door. the old woman carried my brother to the hall, where she bid him stay a moment till she called her son. the pretended son came, and proved to be the villanous black slave. come, old woman, said he to my brother, rise and follow me. having spoken thus, he went before to bring him to the place where he designed to murder him. alnaschar got up, followed him, and, drawing his scimitar, gave him such a dexterous blow on the neck, as to cut off his head, which he took in one hand, and dragging the body with the other, threw them both into the place under ground before mentioned. the greek slave, who was accustomed to the trade, came presently with a basin of salt; but when she saw alnaschar with the scimitar in his hand, and without his veil, she laid down the basin, and fled. but my brother overtaking her, cut off her head also. the wicked old woman came running at the noise, and my brother seizing her, said to her, treacherous wretch! do not you know me? alas, sir, answered she, trembling, who are you? i do not remember that i ever saw you. i am, said he, the person to whose house you came the other day to wash and say your prayers. hypocritical hag! said he, do not you remember it? then she fell upon her knees to beg his pardon; but he cut her in four pieces. there remained only the lady, who knew nothing of what had passed. he sought her out, and found her in a chamber, where she was ready to sink when she saw him. she begged her life, which he generously granted. madam, said he, how could you live with such wicked people as i have now so justly revenged myself upon? i was, said she, wife to an honest merchant; and the cursed old woman, whose wickedness i did not know, used sometimes to come to see me. madam, said she one day, we have a very fine wedding at our house, which you will be pleased to see, if you give us the honour of your company. i was persuaded by her, put on my best apparel, and took with me a hundred pieces of gold. i followed her; she brought me to this house, where the black has kept me since by force, and i have been three years here to my very great sorrow. by the trade which the cursed black followed, replied my brother, he must have gathered together a vast deal of riches. there is so much, said she, that you will be made for ever, if you can carry them off. follow me, and you shall see them, said she. alnaschar followed her to a chamber, where she showed him several coffers full of gold, which he beheld with admiration. go, said she, fetch people enough to carry it all off. my brother needed not to be bid twice; he went out, but staid only till he got ten men together, and he brought them with him, and was much surprised to find the gate open, but more when he found the lady and the coffers all gone; for she, being more diligent than he, had carried them all away. however, being resolved not to return empty-handed, he carried off all the goods he could find in the house; which were a great deal more than enough to make up the five hundred pieces of gold of which he was robbed; but, when he went out of the house, he forgot to shut the gate. the neighbours, who saw my brother and the porters come and go, went and acquainted the magistrate with it; for they looked upon my brother's conduct as suspicious. alnaschar slept well enough all night; but next morning, when he came out of his house, twenty of the magistrate's men seized him. come along with us, said they; our master would speak with you. my brother prayed them to have patience for a moment, and offered them a sum of money to let him escape; but, instead of listening to him, they bound him, and forced him to go along with them. they met in the street an old acquaintance of my brother's, who stopped them a while, and asked them why they seized my brother, and offered them a considerable sum to let him escape, and to tell the magistrate that they could not find him. but this would not do; so he was carried before the magistrate. when the officers brought him before the magistrate, he asked him where he had the goods which he carried home last night? sir, replied alnaschar, i am ready to tell you all the truth; but allow me first to have recourse to your clemency, and to beg your promise that nothing shall be done to me. i give it you, said the magistrate. then my brother told him the whole story without disguise, from the time the old woman came into his house to say her prayers, to the time the lady made her escape, after he had killed the black, the greek slave, and the old woman; and as for what he had carried to his house, he prayed the judge to leave him part of it for the five hundred pieces of gold that he was robbed of. the judge, without promising any thing, sent his officers to bring all off; and, having put the goods into his own wardrobe, commanded my brother to quit the town immediately, and never to return; for he was afraid, if my brother had staid in the city, he would have found some way to represent this injustice to the caliph. in the mean time, alnaschar obeyed without murmuring, and left that town to go to another. by the way he met with highwaymen, who stripped him naked; and when the ill news was brought to me, i carried him a suit, and brought him in secretly again to the town, where i took the like care of him as i did of his other brothers. the story of the barber's sixth brother. i am now only to tell the story of my sixth brother, called schacabac, with the hare-lips. at first he was industrious enough to improve the hundred drams of silver which fell to his share, and became very well to pass; but a reverse of fortune brought him to beg his bread, which he did with a great deal of dexterity. he studied chiefly to get into great men's houses by means of their servants and officers, that he might have access to their masters, and obtain their charity. one day, as he passed by a magnificent house, whose high gate showed a very spacious court, where there was a multitude of servants, he went to one of them, and asked to whom that house belonged. good man, replied the servant, whence do you come, that you ask such a question? does not all that you see make you understand that it is the palace of a bermecide? [footnote: the bermecides were, as has been mentioned, a noble family of persia, who settled at bagdad.] my brother, who very well knew the liberality and generosity of the bermecides, addressed himself to one of his porters, (for he had more than one,) and prayed him to give him an alms. go in, said he; nobody hinders you, and address yourself to the master of the house; he will send you back satisfied. my brother, who expected no such civility, thanked the porter, and with his permission entered the palace, which was so large, that it took him a considerable time to reach the bermecide's apartment. at last he came to a fine square building, of excellent architecture, and entered by a porch, through which he saw one of the finest gardens, with gravel-walks of several colours, extremely pleasant to the eye. the lower apartments round this square were most of them open, and shut only with great curtains, to keep out the sun, which were opened again when the heat was over. such an agreeable place struck my brother with admiration, and might well have done so to a man far above his quality. he went on till he came into a hall richly furnished, and adorned with paintings of gold and azure foliage, where he saw a venerable man with a long white beard, sitting at the upper end of an alcove, whence he concluded him to be the master of the house; and in effect it was the bermecide himself, who said to my brother, in a very civil manner, that he was welcome, and asked him what he wanted. my lord, answered my brother, in a begging tone, i am a poor man, who stand in need of the help of such rich and generous persons as yourself. he could not have addressed himself to a fitter person than this lord, who had a thousand good qualities. the bermecide seemed to be astonished at my brother's answer; and, putting both his hands to his stomach, as if he would rend his clothes for grief, is it possible, cried he, that i am at bagdad, and that such a man as you is so poor as you say? this is what must never be. my brother, fancying that he was going to give him some singular mark of his bounty, blessed him a thousand times, and wished him all sort of happiness. it shall not be said, replied the bermecide, that i will abandon you, nor will i have you to leave me. sir, replied my brother, i swear to you i have not swallowed one bit to-day! is that true? replied the bermecide; and are you fasting till now? alas, for thee, poor man! he is ready to die for hunger. ho, boy! cried he with a loud voice, bring a bason and water presently, that we may wash our hands. though no boy appeared, that my brother saw, either with water or bason, the bermecide fell a rubbing his hands, as if one had poured water upon them, and bid my brother come and wash with him. schacabac judged by this that the bermecide lord loved to be merry; and he himself understanding raillery, and knowing that the poor must be complaisant to the rich, if they would have any thing, came forward, and did as he did. come on, said the bermecide, bring us something to eat, and do not let us stay for it. when he had said so, though nothing was brought, he cut as if something had been brought upon a plate; and, putting his hand to his mouth, began to chew, and said to my brother, come, friend, eat as freely as if you were at home; come and eat: you said you were like to die of hunger; but you eat as if you had no stomach. pardon me, my lord, said schacabac, who perfectly imitated what he did, you see i lose no time, and that i do my part well enough. how like you this bread? said the bermecide; do not you find it very good? o, my lord, said, my brother, who neither saw bread nor meat, i never ate any thing so white and so fine. come, eat your bellyful, said the bermecide; i assure you the baker-woman that bakes me this bread, cost me five hundred pieces of gold to purchase her. the bermecide, after having boasted so much of his bread, which my brother ate only in idea, cried, boy, bring us another dish. though no boy appeared, come, my good friend, said he to my brother, taste this new dish, and tell me if ever you ate better mutton and barley broth than this. it is admirably good, replied my brother, and therefore you see i eat heartily. you oblige me mightily, replied the bermecide: i conjure you, then, by the satisfaction i have to see you eat so heartily, that you eat all up, since you like it so well. a little while after he called for a goose and sweet sauce, vinegar, honey, dry raisins, grey peas, and dry figs, which were brought just in the same manner as the other was. the goose is very fat, said the bermecide; eat only a leg and a wing; we must save our stomachs, for we have abundance of other dishes to come. he actually called for several other dishes, of which my brother, who was ready to die of hunger, pretended to eat; but what he boasted of more than all the rest, was a lamb fed with pistacho nuts, which he ordered to be brought up in the same manner that the rest were. here is a dish, said the bermecide, that you will see at nobody's table but my own; i would have you eat unsparingly of it. having spoken thus, he stretched out his hand as if he had a piece of lamb in it, and putting it to my brother's mouth, there, said he, swallow that, and you will know whether i had not reason to boast of this dish. my brother thrust out his head, opened his mouth, and made as if he took the piece of lamb, and ate it with extreme pleasure. i knew you would like it, said the bermecide. there is nothing in the world more fine, replied my brother; your lamb is a most delicious thing. come, bring the ragoo presently; i fancy you will like that as well as the lamb. well, how do you relish it? said the bermecide. o! it is wonderful! replied schacabac, for here we taste all at once, amber, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and the most odoriferous herbs; and all these tastes are so well mixed, that one does not hinder us from perceiving the other: o how pleasant it is. honour this ragoo, said the bermecide, by eating heartily of it, ho, boy! cried he; bring us a new ragoo. no, my lord, an't please you, replied my brother; for indeed i cannot eat any more. come, take it away then, said the bermecide, and bring the fruit. he staid a moment, as it were, to give time for his servants to carry away; after which, he said to my brother, taste these almonds; they are fresh and new gathered. both of them made as if they had peeled the almonds, and ate them. after this, the bermecide invited my brother to eat something else. look you, said he, there are all sorts of fruits, cakes, dry sweatmeats, and conserves; take what you like. then stretching out his hand as if he had reached my brother something, look, said he, there is a lozenge very good for digestion. schacabac made as if he ate it, and said, my lord, there is no want of musk here. these lozenges, said the bermecide, are made in my own house, where there is nothing wanting to make every thing good. he still bade my brother eat, and said to him, methinks you do not eat as if you had been so hungry as you said when you came in. my lord, replied schacabac, whose jaws ached with moving and having nothing to eat, i am so full, that i cannot eat one bit more. well, then, my friend, replied the bermecide, we must drink now, after we have eaten so well. you drink wine, my lord, replied my brother; but i will, if you please, drink none, because i am forbidden. you are too scrupulous, replied the bermecide, do as i do. i will drink then out of complaisance, said schacabac; for i see you will have nothing wanting to make your treat noble: but, since i am not accustomed to drink wine, i am afraid that i shall commit some error in point of breeding, contrary to the respect that is due to you, and therefore i pray you once more to excuse me from drinking any wine; i will be content with water. no, no, said the bermecide, you shall drink wine; and at the same time he commanded some to be brought in the same manner as the meat and fruit had been brought before. he made as if he poured out wine, drank first himself, and then pouring out for my brother, presented him the glass: drink my health, said he, and let me know if you think this wine good. my brother made as if he took the glass, and looked as if the colour was good, and put it to his nose to try if it had a good flavour; he then made a low bow to the bermecide, to signify that he took the liberty to drink his health, making all the signs of a man who drinks with pleasure: my lord, said he, this is very excellent wine; but i think it is not strong enough. if you would have stronger, said the bermecide, you need only speak, for i have several sorts in my cellar; try how you like this; upon which he made as if he poured out another glass to himself, and then to my brother; and did this so often, that schacabac, feigning to be drunk with the wine, took up his hand, and gave the bermecide such a box on the ear as made him fall down; he lifted up his hand to give him another blow; but the bermecide, holding up his hand to ward it off, cried to him, what! are you mad? then my brother, making as if he had come to himself again, said, my lord, you have been so good as to admit your slave into your house, and give him a great treat; you should have been satisfied in making me eat, and not have obliged me to drink wine; for i told you beforehand that it might occasion me to come short in my respect: i am very much troubled at it, and beg you a thousand pardons. he had scarcely finished these words, when the bermecide, instead of being in a rage, fell a laughing with all his might. it is a long time, said he, since i wished a man of your character. the bermecide caressed schacabac mightily, and told him, i not only forgive the blow you have given me, but am willing henceforward we should be friends; and that you take my house for your home: you have been so complaisant as to accommodate yourself to my humour, and have had the patience to bear the jest out to the last; we will now eat in good earnest. when he had finished these words, he clapped his hands, and commanded his servants, who then appeared, to cover the table; which was speedily done, and my brother was treated with all those viands in reality which he ate of before in fancy. at last they took them away, and brought wine; and at the same time a number of handsome slaves, richly apparelled, came in and sung some agreeable airs to their musical instruments. in a word, schacabac had all the reason in the world to be satisfied with the bermecide's civility and bounty; for he treated him as his familiar friend, and ordered him a suit out of his wardrobe. the bermecide found my brother to be a man of so much wit and understanding, that in a few days after he trusted him with his household, and all his affairs. my brother acquitted himself very well in that employment for twenty years, at the end of which the generous bermecide died, and, leaving no heirs, all his estate was confiscated to the use of the prince; upon which my brother was reduced to his first condition, and joined a caravan of pilgrims going to mecca, designing to accomplish that pilgrimage upon their charity; but by misfortune the caravan was attacked and plundered by a number of beduins [footnote: vagabond arabians, who wander in the deserts, and plunder the caravans when they are not strong enough to resist them.] superior to that of the pilgrims. my brother was then taken as a slave by one of the beduins, who put him under the bastinado for several days, to oblige him to ransom himself. schacabac protested to him that it was all in vain. i am your slave, said he, you may dispose of me as you please: but i declare unto you that i am extremely poor, and not able to redeem myself. in a word, my brother discovered to him all his misfortunes, and endeavoured to soften him with tears; but the beduin had no mercy; and, being vexed to find himself disappointed of a considerable sum, which he reckoned he was sure of, he took his knife, and slit my brother's lips, to avenge himself, by this inhumanity, for the loss that he imagined he had sustained. the beduin had a handsome wife; and frequently, when he went on his courses, he left my brother alone with her, and then she used all her endeavours to comfort my brother under the rigour of his slavery: she gave him tokens enough that she loved him; but he durst not yield to her passion, for fear he should repent it, and therefore he shunned to be alone with her, as much as she sought the opportunity to be alone with him. she had so great a custom of toying and jesting with the miserable schacabac, whenever she saw him, that one day she happened to do it in presence of her husband. my brother, without taking notice that he observed them, (so his stars would have it) jested likewise with her. the beduin, immediately supposing that they lived together in a criminal manner, fell upon my brother in a rage, and after he had mangled him in a barbarous manner, he carried him on a camel to the top of a desert mountain, where he left him. the mountain was on the way to bagdad, so that the passengers who passed that road gave me an account of the place where he was. i went thither speedily, where i found the unfortunate schacabac in a deplorable condition: i gave him what help he stood in need of, and brought him back to the city. this is what i told the caliph, added the barber; that prince applauded me with new fits of laughter. now, said he, i cannot doubt that they justly gave you the surname of silent; nobody can say the contrary. for certain reasons, however, i command you to depart this town immediately, and let me hear no more of your discourse. i yielded to necessity, and went to travel several years in far countries. i understood at last that the caliph was dead, and returned to bagdad, where i found not one of my brethren alive. it was on my return to this town that i did the important service to the same young man which you have heard. you are, however, witness of his ingratitude, and of the injurious manner in which he treated me. instead of testifying his acknowledgments, he chose rather to fly from me, and to leave his own country. when i understood that he was not at bagdad, though nobody could tell me truly whither he was gone, yet i did not forbear to go and seek him. i travelled from province to province a long time; and when i had given over all hopes, i met him this day; but i did not think to find him so incensed against me. the tailor made an end of telling the sultan of casgar the history of the lame young man, and the barber of bagdad, after that manner i had the honour to tell your majesty. when the barber, continued he, had finished his story, we found that the young man was not to blame for calling him a great prattler. however, we were pleased that he would stay with us, and par take of the treat which the master of the house had prepared for us. we sat down to table, and were merry together till afternoon prayers; then all the company parted, and i went to my shop, till it was time for me to return home. it was during this interval that hump-back came half drunk before my shop, where he sung and taboured. i thought that, by carrying him home with me, i should divert my wife; therefore i brought him along. my wife gave us a dish of fish, and i presented hump-back with some, which he ate without taking notice of a bone. he fell down dead before us; and, after having in vain essayed to help him, in the trouble occasioned us by such an unlucky accident, and through the fear of punishment, we carried the corpse out, and dexterously lodged it with the jewish doctor. the jewish doctor put it into the chamber of the purveyor, and the purveyor carried it forth into the street, where it was believed the merchant had killed him. this, sir, added the tailor, is what i had to say to satisfy your majesty, who must pronounce whether we be worthy of mercy or wrath, life or death. the sultan of casgar looked with a contented air, and gave the tailor and his comrades their lives. i cannot but acknowledge, said he, that i am more amazed at the history of the young cripple, at that of the barber, and at the adventures of his brothers, than at the story of my jester; but before i send you all four away, and before we bury hump, i would see the barber, who is the cause that i have pardoned you. since he is in my capital, it is easy to satisfy my curiosity. at the same time he sent a serjeant with the tailor to find him. the serjeant and the tailor went immediately, and brought the barber, whom they presented to the sultan. the barber was an old man of ninety years; his eye-brows and beard were as white as snow, his ears hung down, and he had a very long nose. the sultan could not forbear laughing when he saw him. silent man, said he to him, i understand that you know wonderful stories; will you tell me some of them? sir, answered the barber, let us forbear the stories, if you please, at present. i most humbly beg your majesty to permit me to ask what that christian, that jew, that mussulman, and that dead hump-back, who lies on the ground, do here before your majesty. the sultan smiled at the barber's liberty, and replied, why do you ask? sir, replied the barber, it concerns me to ask, that your majesty may know that i am not so great a talker as some pretend, but a man justly called silent. the sultan of casgar was so complaisant as to satisfy the barber's curiosity. he commanded them to tell him the story of the hump-back, which he earnestly wished for. when the barber heard it, he shook his head, as if he would say, there was something under this which he did not understand. truly, cried he, this is a surprising story; but i am willing to examine hump-back a little closely. he drew near him, sat down on the ground, put his head between his knees, and after he had looked upon him steadfastly, he fell into so great a fit of laughter, and had so little command of himself, that he fell backwards on the ground, without considering that he was before the sultan of casgar. as soon as he came to himself, it is said, cried he, and without reason, that no man dies without a cause. if ever any history deserved to be written in letters of gold, it is this of hump-back. at this all the people looked on the barber as a buffoon, or a doting old man. silent man, said the sultan, speak to me; why do you laugh so hard? sir, answered the barber, i swear by your majesty's good humour that hump-back is not dead! he is yet alive; and i shall be willing to pass for a madman, if i do not let you sec it this minute. having said these words, he took a box, wherein he had several medicines, that he carried about to make use of on occasion; and took out a phial with balsam, with which he rubbed hump-back's neck a long time; then he took out of his case a neat iron instrument, which he put betwixt his teeth, and, after he had opened his mouth, he thrust down his throat a pair of pincers, with which he took out a bit offish and bone, which he showed to all the people. immediately hump-back sneezed, stretched forth his arms and feet, and gave several other signs of life. the sultan of casgar, and those with him, who were witnesses to this operation, were less surprised to see hump-back revive, after he had passed a whole night and great part of a day without giving any signs of life, than at the merit and capacity of the barber who performed this; and, notwithstanding all his faults, began to look upon him as a great person. the sultan, ravished with joy and admiration, ordered the story of hump-back to be recorded, with that of the barber, that the memory of it might, as it deserved, be preserved for ever. nor did he stop here; but that the tailor, jewish doctor, purveyor, and christian merchant, might remember, with pleasure, the adventure which the accident of hump-back had occasioned to them, he did not send them away till he had given each of them a very rich robe, with which he caused them to be clothed in his presence. as for the barber, he honoured him with a great pension, and kept him near his person. thus the sultaness finished this long train of adventures, to which the pretended death of hump-back gave occasion; then held her peace, because day appeared; upon which her sister dinarzade said to her, my princess, my sultaness, i am so much the more charmed with the story you just now told, because it concludes with an incident i did not expect. i verily thought hump-back was dead. this surprise pleases me, said schahriar, as much as the adventures of the barber's brothers. the story of the lame young man of bagdad diverted me also very much, replied dinarzade. i am very glad of it, dear sister, said the sultaness; and since i have the good fortune not to tire out the patience of the sultan, our lord and master, if his majesty will still be so gracious as to preserve my life, i shall have the honour to give him an account to-morrow of the history of the amours of aboulhassen ali ebn becar and schemselnihar, favourite of the caliph haroun alraschid, which is no less worthy of your notice than the history of hump-back. the sultan of the indies, who was very well satisfied with the stories which scheherazade had told him hitherto, was willing to hear the history which she promised. he rose, however, to go to prayers, and hold his council, without giving any signification of his pleasure towards the sultaness. dinarzade, being always careful to awake her sister, called this night at the ordinary hour. my dear sister, said she, day will soon appear. i earnestly beg of you to tell us some of your fine stories. we need no other, said schahriar, but that of the amours of aboulhassen ali ebn becar and schemselnihar, the favourite of caliph haroun alraschid. sir, said scheherazade, i will satisfy your curiosity; and began thus. the history of aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and schemselnihar, favourite of caliph haroun alraschid. in the reign of the caliph haroun alraschid, there was at bagdad a druggist, called aboulhassen ebn thaher, a very rich and handsome man. he had more wit and politeness than those of his profession generally have. his integrity, sincerity, and jovial humour, made him to be loved and sought after by all sorts of people. the caliph, who knew his merit, had entire confidence in him; and so great was his esteem for him, that he entrusted him with the care of providing the ladies his favourites with all things they stood in need of. he chose for them their clothes, furniture, and jewels, with admirable judgment. his good qualities, with the favour of the caliph, made the sons of emirs, officers, and others of the first rank, to be always about him. his house was the rendezvous of all the nobility of the court. but, among the young lords who daily visited him, there was one of whom he took more notice, and with whom he contracted a particular friendship, called aboulhassen ali ebn becar, originally of an ancient royal family of persia. this family had continued at bagdad ever since the mussul-men made a conquest of that kingdom. nature seemed to have taken pleasure to endow this young prince with many of the rarest qualities both of body and mind. his face was so very beautiful, his shape so fine, and his physiognomy so prepossessing; that none could see him without loving him immediately. when he spoke, he expressed himself always in terms the most proper and well chosen, with a new and agreeable turn, and his voice charmed all who heard him. he had withal so much wit and judgment, that he thought and spoke on every subject with admirable exactness. he was so reserved and modest, that he advanced nothing till he had taken all possible precautions to avoid giving any ground of suspicion that he preferred his own opinion to that of others. being such a person as i have represented him, we need not wonder that ebn thaher distinguished him from all the other young noblemen of the court, most of whom had vices contrary to his virtues. one day, when the prince was with ebn thaher, there came a lady mounted on a piebald mule, surrounded by six women-slaves, who accompanied her on foot, all very handsome, as far as could be judged by their air, and through the veils which covered their faces. the lady had a girdle of a rose colour, four inches broad, embroidered with pearls and diamonds of an extraordinary bigness; and it was easy to perceive that she surpassed all her women in beauty as much as the full moon does that of two days old. she came to buy something; and when she had spoken to ebn thaher, entered his shop, which was very neat and large, and receiving her with all the marks of the most profound respect, entreated her to sit down, and showed her the most honourable place. in the mean time the prince of persia, unwilling to let such an opportunity pass to show his good-breeding and courtly temper, beat up the cushion of gold cloth for the lady to lean on; upon which he retired speedily, that she might sit down; and having saluted her, by kissing the tapestry under her feet, he rose, and stood at the lower end of the sofa. it being her custom to be free with ebn thaher, she lifted her veil, and discovered to the prince of persia such extraordinary beauty, that he was struck with it to the heart. on the other hand, the lady could not contain herself from looking on the prince, the sight of whom had made the same impression, upon her. my lord, said she to him, with an obliging air, pray sit down. the prince of persia obeyed, and sat down upon the edge of the sofa. he had his eyes constantly fixed upon her, and swallowed large draughts of the sweet poison of love. she quickly perceived what worked in his heart, and this discovery inflamed her the more towards him. she rose up, went to ebn thaher, and, after whispering to him the cause of her coming, asked the name and country of the prince. madam, answered ebn thaher, this young nobleman's name is aboulhassen ali ebn becar, and he is a prince of the blood-royal. the lady was overjoyed to hear that the person she already so passionately loved was of a quality so high. you certainly mean, said she, that he is descended from the kings of persia. yes, madam, replied ebn thaher; the last kings of persia were his ancestors, and, since the conquest of that kingdom, the princes of his family have always made themselves acceptable at the court of the caliphs. you will oblige me much, added she, in making me acquainted with this young nobleman. when i send this woman, said she, pointing to one of her slaves, to give you notice to come and see me, pray bring him with you; i shall be very glad to display to him the magnificence of my house, that he may see that avarice does not reign at bagdad among persons of quality. you know what i mean; therefore do not fail, other, wise i will be very angry with you, and beg you will never come hither again while i live. ebn thaher was a man of too much penetration not to perceive the lady's mind by these words. my princess! my queen! replied he; god preserve me from ever giving you any occasion of anger against me! i shall always make it a law to obey your commands. at this answer, the lady bowed to ebn thaher, and bid farewell; and, after giving a favourable look to the prince of persia, remounted her mule, and went away. the prince of persia was so deeply smitten with the lady, that he looked after her as far as he could see; and, for a long time after she was out of sight, he still looked that way. ebn thaher told him, that several persons were observing him, and were laughing to see him in this posture. alas! said the prince, the world and you would have compassion on me, if you knew that the fine lady who is just now gone, has carried with her the best part of me, and that the remaining part seeks for an opportunity to go after her. tell me, i conjure you, added he, what cruel lady this is, who forces people to love her, without giving them time to advise? my lord, answered ebn thaher, this is the famous schemselnihar, [footnote: this word signifies the sun of the day.] the principal favourite of the caliph our master. she is justly so called, added the prince, since she is more beautiful than the sun at noon-day. that is true, replied ebn thaher; therefore the commander of the faithful loves, or rather adores her: he gave me express orders to furnish all that she asked of me, and to prevent, as much as possible, every thing that she can desire of me. he spoke in this manner, in order to hinder him from engaging in an amour which could not but prove unhappy to him; but it served only to inflame him the more. i was very doubtful, charming schemselnihar, said he, that i should not be allowed so much as to think of you. i perceive well, however, that, without hopes of being loved by you, i cannot forbear loving you. i will love you then, and bless my lot that i am slave to an object fairer than the meridian sun. while the prince of persia was thus consecrating his heart to fair schemselnihar, this lady, upon returning home, thought upon a way how she might see and have free converse with him. she no sooner entered her palace, than she sent to ebn thaher the woman she had shown him, and in whom she put all her confidence, to tell him to come and see her without delay, and to bring the prince of persia with him. the slave came to ebn thaher's shop while he was speaking with the prince, and endeavouring, by very strong arguments, to dissuade him from loving the caliph's favourite. when she saw them together, gentlemen, said she, my honourable mistress schemselnihar, the chief favourite of the commander of the faithful, entreats you to come to her palace, where she waits for you. ebn thaher, to testify his obedience, rose up immediately, without answering the slave, and followed her, though with some reluctance. as for the prince, he followed without reflecting upon the danger that might happen in such a visit: the company of ebn thaher, who had liberty to visit the favourite whenever he pleased, made the prince very easy in the affair. they followed the slave, who went a little before them, entering after her into the caliph's palace, and joined her at the gate of schemselnihar's little palace, which was already open: she introduced them into a great hall, where she entreated them both to sit down. the prince of persia thought himself in one of those magnificent palaces that are promised us in the other world, for he had never seen any thing that equalled the shining splendour of the place; the carpets, cushions, and other furniture of the sofas, the moveables, ornaments, and architecture, were all surprisingly beautiful. a little time after ebn thaher and he were sat down, a very handsome black slave set before them a table covered with several very fine dishes, the delicious smell of which made them judge of the delicacy of the sauce. while eating, they were waited upon by the slave who had introduced them, and who invited them to eat of what she knew to be the greatest dainties; when they had done, they were served with excellent wine by the other slaves, who afterwards presented to each of them a fine gold basin full of water to wash their hands, and also a golden pot full of the perfume of aloes, with which they both perfumed their beards and clothes; nor was odoriferous water forgotten, which the slaves brought to them in a golden vessel, enriched with diamonds and rubies, made particularly for that use, and which they threw upon their beards and faces, according to custom. they then went to their places; but had scarcely seated themselves, when the slave entreated them to rise and follow her; and opening a gate of the hall in which they were, they entered into a spacious saloon of a marvellous structure. it was a dome of the most agreeable fashion, supported by a hundred pillars of marble, white as alabaster; the bases and chapiters of the pillars were adorned with four-footed beasts and birds of several sorts gilded. the foot-carpet of this noble parlour consisted of one piece of gold cloth, embroidered with garlands of roses in red and white silk; and the dome being painted in the same manner, after the arabian form, was one of the most charming objects the eye ever beheld: betwixt each column was placed a little sofa adorned in the same manner, and great vessels of china, crystal, jasper, jet, porphyry, agate, and other precious materials, garnished with gold and jewels: the spaces betwixt the columns were so many large windows, with jets high enough to lean on, covered with the same sort of stuff as the sofas, from which was a prospect into one of the most delightful gardens in the world, the walks of which, being made of little pebbles of different colours, much resembled the foot-carpet of the saloon; so that it appeared, both within and without, as if the dome and the garden, with all their ornaments, had stood upon the same carpet. the prospect round was thus diversified: at the ends of the walks were two canals of clear water, of the same circular figure as the dome; one of which, being higher than the other, emptied itself into the lowermost, in form of a table-cloth; and curious pots of gilded brass, with flowers and greens, were placed at equal distances on the banks of the canals: the walks lay betwixt great plots of ground, planted with straight and bushy trees, among winch were thousands of birds, whose notes formed a melodious concert, and entertained the beholder by sometimes flying about, at others by playing together, and sometimes by fighting in the air. the prince of persia and ebn thaher diverted themselves for some time with viewing the magnificence of the place, and testified great surprise at everything they saw, especially the prince, who had never before seen any thing to equal it; and ebn thaher, though he had several times been in that delightful place, yet could now observe many new beauties: in a word, they never grew weary of admiring so many singular things; and were thus agreeably employed, when they perceived, at some distance from the dome, a company of ladies richly apparelled, each of them sitting upon a seat of indian wood, inlaid with silver wire in figures, with instruments of music in their hands, expecting orders to play. they both advanced to the jet which fronted the ladies, and on the right they saw a large court, with a stair up from the garden, encompassed with beautiful apartments. the slave having retired, and left them alone, they entered into conversation: as to you, who are a wise man, said the prince of persia to ebn thaher, i doubt not but that you look with much satisfaction upon all these marks of grandeur and power. for my part, i do not think there is any thing in the world more surprising. but when i consider that this is the glorious habitation of the lovely schemselnihar, and that he who keeps her here is the greatest monarch of the earth, i confess to you that i look upon myself to be the most unfortunate of all mankind; that no destiny can be more cruel than mine, in loving an object possessed by a rival, and that too in a place where he is so potent, that i cannot think myself sure of my life one moment! ebn thaher hearing the prince of persia speak, said to him, sir, i wish you could give me as good an assurance of the happy success of your amours, as i can give you of the safety of your life. though this stately palace belongs to the caliph, who built it on purpose for schemselnihar, and called it the palace of eternal pleasures, and that it makes part of his own palace, yet you must know that this lady lives here at entire liberty; she is not surrounded by eunuchs as spies over her; this is her own particular house, which is absolutely at her disposal: she goes into the city when she pleases, and returns again, without asking leave of any body; and the caliph never comes to see her without sending mesrour, the chief of his eunuchs, to give her notice, that she may be prepared to receive him. therefore you may be easy, and give full attention to the concert of music, which i perceive, schemselnihar is preparing on purpose for you. just as ebn thaher spoke these words to the prince of persia, they observed the favourite's trusty slave coming with orders for the ladies to begin singing and playing on the instruments, which they instantly obeyed, and all began playing together as a preludium; after which, one of them began singing alone, at the same time playing admirably well upon her lute, having been before advertised of the subject on which she was to sing. the words were so agreeable to the prince of persia's sentiments, that he could not forbear applauding her at the end of the stave. is it possible, cried he, that you have the gift of knowing people's hearts, and that the knowledge of what is in my mind has occasioned you to give us a taste of your charming voice by those words? were i to choose, i should not express myself otherwise. the lady made no reply, but went on, and sung several other staves, with which the prince was so much affected, that he repeated some of them with tears in his eyes, which plainly discovered that he applied them to himself. when she had made an end, she and her companions rose up, and sung all together, signifying by their words that the full moon was going to rise in all her splendour, and that they should speedily see her approach the sun; by which it was meant that schemselnihar was just coming, and that the prince of persia should have the pleasure of seeing her. in effect, as they were looking towards the court, they saw schemselnihar's confident coming towards them, followed by ten black women, who, with much difficulty, carried a throne of massy silver most curiously wrought, which they set down, before them at a certain distance; upon which the black slaves retired behind the trees to the entrance of a walk. after this there came twenty handsome ladies, all alike most elegantly apparelled: they advanced in two rows, singing and playing upon instruments which each of them held in her hand; and, coming near the throne, ten of them sat down on each side of it. all these things kept the prince of persia and ebn thaher in very great suspense, both of them being impatient to know how they would end. in this state of anxious expectation, they saw ten handsome ladies, well dressed, come out of the same gate whence the ten black women came, where they stopped for a few moments, expecting the favourite, who came out last, and placed herself in the midst of them. schemselnihar was easily distinguished from the rest by her fine shape and majestic air, as well as by a sort of mantle, of very fine stuff of gold and sky-blue, fastened to her shoulders over her other apparel, which was the most handsome, best contrived, and most magnificent, that could be thought of. the pearls, rubies, and diamonds, with which she was adorned, though few in number, were well chosen, and of inestimable value, and were displayed in excellent order. she came forward with a majesty resembling the sun in his course amidst the clouds, which receive his splendour without hiding his lustre, and seated herself on the silver throne that was brought for her. as soon as the prince of persia beheld schemselnihar, nothing else could attract his notice: we cease inquiring after what we seek, said he to ebn thaher, when we see it; and there is no doubt remaining when once the truth makes itself manifest. do you see this charming beauty? she is the cause of all my sufferings, which i hug, and will never forbear blessing them, however lasting they may be! at the sight of this object, i am not my own master; my soul rebels, and disturbs me; and i fancy it has a mind to leave me! go then, my soul, i allow thee; but let it be for the welfare and preservation of this weak body! it is you, cruel ebn thaher, who are the cause of this disorder! you thought to do me great pleasure in bringing me hither, and i perceive i am only come to complete my ruin! pardon me, said he, interrupting himself; i am mistaken: i was willing to come, and can blame nobody but myself. at these words, he could not refrain from tears. i am very well pleased, said ebn thaher, that you do me justice; when at first i told you that schemselnihar was the caliph's chief favourite, i did it on purpose to prevent that fatal passion which you please yourself with entertaining in your breast. all that you see here ought to disengage you, and you are to think of nothing but of acknowledgments for the honour which schemselnihar was willing to do you, by ordering me to bring you with me. call in, then, your wandering reason, and put yourself in a condition to appear before her, as good-breeding requires. behold, there she comes! were the matter to begin again, i would take other measures; but, since the thing is done, i wish we may not repent of it. what i have further to say to you is this, that love is a traitor, who may throw you into a pit from which you will never be able to escape. ebn thaher had not time to say more, because schemselnihar came, and, sitting down upon her throne, saluted them both with an inclination of the head; but she fixed her eyes on the prince of persia, and they spoke to one another in a silent language, intermixed with sighs; by which, in a few moments, they spoke more than could have been done by words in a great deal of time. the more schemselnihar looked upon the prince, the more she found from his looks that he was in love with her; and, being thus persuaded of his passion, thought herself the happiest woman in the world. at last, turning her eyes from him to command the women who began to sing first to come near; they got up, and whilst they advanced, the black women, who came out of the walk into which they retired, brought their seats, and set them near the window, in the jet of the dome, where ebn thaher and the prince of persia stood; and then they so disposed them on each side of the favourite's throne, that they formed a semicircle. the women who were sitting before she came, took each of them their places again, with the permission of schemselnihar, who ordered them by a sign. that charming favourite chose one of these women to sing; who, after she had spent some moments in tuning her lute, played a song, the meaning whereof was, that two lovers, who entirely loved each other, and whose affection was boundless, their hearts, though in two bodies, were one and the same; and, when any thing opposed their desires, could say, with tears in their eyes, if we love, because we find one another amiable, ought we to be blamed for this? let destiny bear the blame. schemselnihar discovered so well, by her eyes and gestures, that these sayings ought to be applied to her and the prince of persia, that he could not maintain himself; he rose, and came to a balluster, which he leaned upon, and obliged one of the women, who came to sing, to observe him. when she was near him, follow me, said he to her, and do me the favour to accompany with your lute a song which you shall forthwith hear. then he sang with an air so tender and passionate, as perfectly expressed the violence of his love. when he had done, schemselnihar, following his example, said to one of the women, follow me likewise, and accompany my voice; at the same time she sung after such a manner, as further pierced the heart of the prince of persia, who answered her by a new air as passionate as the former. these two lovers declared their mutual affection by their songs. schemselnihar yielded to the force of hers; she rose from her throne, and advanced towards the door of the hall. the prince, who knew her design, rose likewise, and went towards her in all haste. they met at the door, where they took each other by the hand, embracing with so much passion, that they fainted, and would have fallen, if the women who followed them had not helped them. but they were supported and carried to a sofa, where they were brought to themselves again, by throwing odoriferous water upon their faces, and giving them other things to smell. when they came to themselves, the first tiling that schemselnihar did was to look about; and not seeing ebn thaher, she asked, with a great deal of concern, where he was. he had withdrawn out of respect, whilst her women were applying things to recover her, and dreaded, not without reason, that some troublesome consequence might attend what had happened; but as soon as he heard schemselnihar ask for him, he came forward, and presented himself before her. schemselnihar was very well pleased to see ebn thaher, and expressed her joy in these terms: kind ebn thaher, i do not know how to make amends for the great obligation you have put upon me: without you i should never have seen the prince of persia, nor have loved him who is the most amiable person in the world; but you may assure yourself, however, that i shall not die ungrateful, and that my acknowledgment, if possible, shall be equal to the obligation. ebn thaher answered this compliment by a low bow, and wished the favourite the accomplishment of all her desires. schemselnihar, turning towards the prince of persia, who sat by her, and looking upon him with some sort of confusion, after what had passed between them, said to him, sir, i am very well assured you love me; and, however great your love may be to me, you need not doubt but mine is as great towards you; but let us not flatter ourselves; for, though we are both agreed, yet i see nothing for you and me but trouble, impatience, and tormenting grief. there is no other remedy for our evils but to love one another constantly, to refer ourselves to the disposal of heaven, and to wait till it shall determine our destiny. madam, replied the prince of persia, you will do me the greatest injustice in the world if you doubt but one moment of the continuance of my love. it is so united to my soul, that i can justly say it makes the best part of it, and that i shall persevere in it till death. pains, torments, obstacles, nothing shall be capable of hindering me to love you. speaking these words, he shed tears in abundance, and schemselnihar was not able to restrain hers. ebn thaher took this opportunity to speak to the favourite: madam, said he, allow me to represent to you, that, instead of breaking forth into tears, you ought to rejoice that you are together. i understand not this grief. what will it be when you are obliged to part? but why do i talk of that? we have been a long time here; and you know, madam, that it is time for us to be going. ah, how cruel you are! replied schemselnihar. you, who know the cause of my tears, have you no pity for my unfortunate condition? oh, sad fatality! what have i done to be subject to the severe law of not being able to enjoy the person whom i love? she being persuaded that ebn thaher spoke to her only out of friendship, did not take amiss what he said to her, but made a right use of it. then she made a sign to the slave, her confident, who immediately went out, and in a little time brought a collation of fruit upon a small silver table, which she set down between her mistress and the prince of persia. schemselnihar presented some of the best to the prince, and prayed him to eat for her sake: he did so, and put that part to his mouth which she had touched; and then he presented some to her, which she took, and ate in the same manner. she did not forget to invite ebn thaher to eat with them; but he not thinking himself safe in that place, ate only from complaisance. after the collation was taken away, they brought a silver basin with water in a vessel of gold, and washed together; they afterwards returned to their places, when three of the ten black women brought each of them a cup of rock crystal full of curious wines, upon a golden salver, which they set down before schemselnihar, the prince of persia, and ebn thaher. that they might be more private, schemselnihar kept with her only ten black women, with ten others who began to sing and play upon instruments; and, after she had sent away all the rest, she took up one of the cups, and holding it in her hand, sung some tender expressions, which one of her women accompanied with her lute. when she had done, she drank, and afterwards took up one of the other cups, and presented it to the prince, praying him to drink for love of her, as she had drunk for love of him. he received the cup with a transport of love and joy, but, before drinking, he also sung a song, which another woman accompanied with an instrument and as he sung, the tears fell from his eyes in such abundance, that he could not forbear expressing in his song that he knew not whether he was going to drink the wine she had presented to him, or his own tears. schemselnihar at last presented the third cup to ebn thaher, who thanked her for her kindness, and for the honour she did him. she then took a lute from one of her women, and sung to it in such a passionate manner as bespoke her to be beside herself, the prince of persia standing with his eyes fixed upon her, as if he had been enchanted. as these things were passing, her trusty slave arrived all in a fright; and, addressing herself to her mistress, said, madam, mesrour and two other officers, with several eunuchs that attend them, are at the gate and want to speak with you from the caliph. when the prince of persia and ebn thaher heard these words, they changed colour, and began to tremble, as if they had been undone; but schemselnihar, who perceived it, recovered their courage by a smile. after schemselnihar had quieted the prince of persia and ebn thaher's fears, she ordered the slave, her confident, to go and entertain mesrour and the two other officers till she was in a condition to receive them, and send to her to bring them in. she immediately ordered all the windows of the saloon to be shut, and the painted cloth on the side of the garden to be let down; and having assured the prince and ebn thaher that they might continue there without fear, she went out at the gate leading to the garden, and shut it upon them; but, whatever assurance she had given them of their being safe, they were still much terrified all the while they were there. as soon as schemselnihar was in the garden with the women that followed her, she ordered all the seats which served the women who played on the instruments to be set near the window where ebn thaher and the prince of persia heard them, and having got things in order, she sat down upon a silver throne; then she sent by the slave, her confident, to bring in the chief of the eunuchs, and his subaltern officers. they appeared, followed by twenty black eunuchs, all handsomely clothed, with scimitars by their sides, and gold belts of four inches broad. as soon as they perceived the favourite schemselnihar at a distance, they made her a profound reverence, which she returned them from her throne. when they came near, she got up and went to meet mesrour, who came first. she asked what news he brought. he answered, madam, the commander of the faithful has sent me to signify that he cannot live longer without seeing you; he designs to come to you tonight, and i come beforehand to give notice, that you may be prepared to receive him. he hopes, madam, that you long as much to see him as he is impatient to see you. upon this discourse of mesrour, the favourite schemselnihar prostrated herself to the ground, as a mark of the submission with which she received the caliph's order. when she rose again, she said, pray tell the commander of the faithful, that i shall always esteem it my glory to execute his majesty's commands, and that his slave will do her utmost to receive him with all the respect that is due to him. at the same time she ordered the slave, her confident, to tell the black women appointed for that service to get the palace ready to receive the caliph; and dismissing the chief of the eunuchs, said to him, you see it requires some time to get all things ready, therefore i pray you to take care that his majesty may have a little patience, that, when he arrives, he may not find things out of order. the chief of the eunuchs and his retinue being gone, schemselnihar returned to the saloon, extremely concerned at the necessity she was under of sending back the prince of persia sooner than she thought to have done. she came up to him again with tears in her eyes, which heightened ebn thaher's fear, who thought it no good omen. madam, said the prince to her, i perceive you are come to tell me that we must part; provided there be nothing more to dread, i hope heaven will give me the patience which is necessary to support your absence. alas, my dear heart, my dear soul, replied the tender-hearted schemselnihar, how happy do i think you, and how unhappy myself, when i compare your lot with my sad destiny! no doubt, you will suffer by my absence; but that is all, and you may comfort yourself with the hope of seeing me again; but as for me, just heaven! what a terrible trial am i brought to! i must not only be deprived of the sight of the only person whom i love, but i must be tormented with the sight of one whom you have made hateful to me. will not the arrival of the caliph put me in mind of your departure? and how can i, when i think of your sweet face, entertain that prince with that joy which he always observed in my eyes whenever he came to see me? i shall have my mind wavering when i speak to him; and the least complaisance which i show to him, will stab me to the heart like a dagger. can i relish his kind words and caresses? think, prince, to what torments i shall be exposed when i can see you no more! her tears and sighs hindered her to go on, and the prince of persia would have replied to her; but his own grief, and that of his mistress, made him incapable. ebn thaher, whose chief business was to get out of the palace, was obliged to comfort them, and to exhort them to have patience. but the trusty slave interrupted them: madam, said she to schemselnihar, you have no time to lose, the eunuchs begin to arrive, and you know the caliph will be here immediately. heaven, how cruel is this separation! cried the favourite. make haste, said she to the confident, carry them both to the gallery which looks into the garden on the one side, and to the tigris on the other; and when the night grows dark, let them out by the back gate, that they may retire with safety. having spoken thus, she tenderly embraced the prince of persia, without being able to say one word more, and went to meet the caliph in such disorder as cannot well be imagined. in the mean time the trusty slave carried the prince and ebn thaher to the gallery, as schemselnihar had appointed; and having brought them in, left them there, and shut the door upon them, after having assured them that they had nothing to fear, and that she would come for them when it was time. schemselnihar's trusty slave leaving the prince of persia and ebn thaher, they forgot she had assured them that they needed not to be afraid; they searched all the gallery, and were seized with extreme fear, because they knew no place where they might escape, in case the caliph, or any of his officers, should happen to come there. a great light, which came on a sudden from the side of the garden through the windows, caused them to approach to see from whence it came. it was occasioned by a hundred flambeaux of white wax, carried by as many young eunuchs; these were followed by as many others, who guarded the ladies of the caliph's palace, clothed, and armed with scimitars, in the same manner as those already mentioned; and the caliph came after them, betwixt mesrour, their captain, on his right, and the vassif, their second officer, on his left hand. schemselnihar waited for the caliph at the entry of an alley, accompanied by twenty women, all of surprising beauty, adorned with necklaces and ear-rings of large diamonds, and some of them had their whole heads covered with them. they played upon instruments, and made a charming concert. the favourite no sooner saw the prince appear than she advanced, and prostrated herself at his feet; and while doing this, prince of persia, said she within herself, if your sad eyes bear witness to what i do, judge of my hard lot; if i was humbling myself so before you, my heart should feel no reluctance. the caliph was ravished to see schemselnihar. rise, madam, said he to her; come near: i am angry that i should have deprived myself so long of the pleasure of seeing you. saying this, he took her by the hand, and, after abundance of tender expressions, went and sat down upon a silver throne which schemselnihar caused to be brought for him, and she sat down upon a seat opposite, and the twenty women made a circle round about them upon other seats, while the young eunuchs, who carried flambeaux, dispersed themselves at a certain distance from each other, that the caliph might enjoy the cool of the evening the better. when the caliph sat down, he looked round him, and beheld with satisfaction a great many other lights besides those flambeaux which the young eunuchs held; but taking notice that the saloon was shut, was astonished thereat, and demanded the reason. it was done on purpose to surprise him; for he had no sooner spoken, than the windows were at once opened, and he saw it illuminated within and without in a much better manner than ever he had seen it before. charming schemselmhar, cried he at this sight, i understand you; you would have me to know there are as fine nights as days. after what i have seen, i cannot disown it. let us return to the prince of persia and elm thaher, whom we left in the gallery. ebn thaher could not enough admire all he saw. i am not very young, said he, and in my time have seen great entertainments; but i do not think any thing can be more surprising and magnificent. all that is said of enchanted palaces does no way come near this prodigious spectacle we now see. o strange! what riches and magnificence together! the prince of persia was nothing moved with those objects which were so pleasant to ebn thaher; he could look on nothing but schemselnihar, and the presence of the caliph threw him into inconceivable grief. dear ebn thaher, said he, would to god i had my mind as free to admire these things as you! but, alas! i am in a quite different condition; all those objects serve only to increase my torment. can i see the caliph cheek to cheek with her that i love, and not die of grief? must such a passionate love as mine be disturbed by so potent a rival? o heavens, how cruel is my destiny! it is but a moment since i esteemed myself the most fortunate lover in the world, and at this instant i feel my heart so struck, that it is like to kill me. i cannot resist it, my dear ebn thaher; my patience is at an end; my distemper overwhelms me, and my courage fails. while speaking, he saw something pass in the garden, which obliged him to keep silence, and to turn all his attention that way. the caliph had ordered one of the women, who was near him, to play on her lute, and she began to sing. the words that she sung were very passionate; and the caliph was persuaded that she sung thus by order of schemselnihar, who had frequently entertained him with the like testimonies of her affection; therefore he interpreted all in his own favour. but this was not now schemselnihar's meaning; she applied it to her dear ali ebn becar, and was so sensibly touched with grief, to have before her an object whose presence she could no longer enjoy, that she fainted and fell backwards upon her seat, which having no arms to support her, she must have fallen down, had not some of the women helped her in time; who took her up, and carried her into the saloon. ebn thaher, who was in the gallery, being surprised at this accident, turned towards the prince of persia; but, instead of seeing him stand and look through the window as before, he was extremely amazed to see him fall down at his feet, and without motion. he judged it to proceed from the violence of his love to schemselnihar, and admired the strange effect of sympathy which threw him into great fear, because of the place in which they were. in the mean time he did all he could to recover the prince, but in vain. ebn thaher was in this perplexity when schemselnihar's confident, opening the gallery door, came in out of breath, as one who knew not where she was. come speedily, cried she, that i may let you out. all is confusion here, and i fear this will be the last of our days. ah! how would you have us go? replied ebn thaher, with a mournful voice. come near, i pray you, and see in what condition the prince of persia is. when, the slave saw him in a swoon, she ran for water in all haste, and returned in an instant. at last the prince of persia, after they had thrown water on his face, recovered his spirits. prince, said ebn thaher to him, we run the risk of being destroyed, if we stay here any longer; let us therefore endeavour to save our lives. he was so feeble that he could not rise unassisted. ebn thaher and the confident lent him their hands, and supported him on each side. they came to a little iron gate which opened towards the tigris, went out at it, and got to the side of a little canal communicating with the river. the confident clapped her hands, and immediately a little boat appeared, which came towards them with one rower. ali ebn becar and his comrade went aboard, and the trusty slave staid at the side of the canal. as soon as the prince sat down in the boat, he stretched out one hand towards the palace and laid the other upon his heart. dear object of my soul! cried he with a feeble voice, receive my faith with this hand, while i assure you with the other, that for you my heart shall for ever preserve the fire with which it burns! in the mean time the boatman rowed with all his might; and schemselnihar's trusty slave accompanied the prince of persia and ebu thaher, walking along the side of the canal, until they came to the tigris; and when she could go no further, she took farewell of them, and returned. the prince of persia continued very feeble. ebn thaher comforted him, and exhorted him to take courage. consider, said he, that when we are landed, we have a great way to go before we come to my house; and i would not at this hour, and in this condition, advise you home to your lodgings, which are a great way further off than mine. at length they got out of the boat, but the prince was so weak that he could not walk, which put ebn thaher into great perplexity. he remembered he had a friend in the neighbourhood, and carried the prince thither with great difficulty. his friends received them very cheerfully; and, when he made them sit down, asked where they had been so late. ebn thaher answered him, i was this evening with a man who owed me a considerable sum of money, and designed to go a long voyage. i was unwilling to lose time to find him, and by the way i met with this young nobleman whom you see, and to whom i am under a thousand obligations; for, knowing my debtor, he would needs do me the favour of going along with me. we had a great deal of trouble to bring the man to reason; besides, we went out of the way, and that is the reason we are so late. in our return home, this good lord, for whom i have all possible respect, was attacked by a sudden distemper; which made me take the liberty of calling at your house, flattering myself that you would be pleased to give us quarters for this night. ebn thaher's friend, who believed all this, told them they were welcome, and offered the prince of persia, whom he knew not, all the assistance he could desire; but ebn thaher spoke for the prince, and said, that his distemper was of a nature that required nothing but rest. his friend understood by this that they desired to go to bed; on which he conducted them to an apartment, where he left them. though the prince of persia slept, he had troublesome dreams, which represented schemselnihar in a swoon at the caliph's feet, and increased his affliction. ebn thaher was very impatient to be at home, and doubted not but his family were in great trouble, because he never used to lie abroad. he rose and deported early in the morning, after taking leave of his friend, who rose at break of day to say his prayers. at last he came home; and the prince of persia, who had walked so far with much trouble, lay down upon a sofa, as weary as if he had travelled a long journey not being in a condition to go home, ebn thaher ordered a chamber to be got ready for him, and sent to acquaint his friends with his condition, and where he was. in the mean time he begged him to compose himself, to command in his house, and order things as he pleased. i thank you hcartily for these obliging offers, said the prince of persia; but, that i may not be any way troublesome to you, i conjure you to deal with me as if i were not at your house. i would not stay one moment, if i thought my presence would incommode you in the least. as soon as ebn thaher had time to recollect himself, he told his family all that had passed at schemselnihar's palace, and concluded by thanking god, who had delivered him from the danger he was in. the prince of persia's principal domestics came to receive his orders at ebn thaher's house, and in a little time several of his friends who had notice of his indisposition arrived. those friends passed the greater part of the day with him; and, though their conversation could not dissipate those sad ideas which were the cause of his trouble, yet it gave him some relief. he would have taken his leave of ebn thaher towards the evening; but this faithful friend found him still so weak, that he obliged him to stay till next day, and in the mean time, to divert him, gave him a concert of vocal and instrumental music in the evening; but this concert served only to put him in mind of the preceding night, and renewed his trouble, instead of assuaging it; so that next day his distemper seempd to increase. upon this, ebn thaher did not oppose his going home, but took care to accompany him thither; and, when alone with him in his chamber, he represented to him all those arguments which might influence him to a generous endeavour to overcome that passion, which in the end would neither prove lucky to himself nor to the favourite. ah, dear ebn thaher! cried the prince, how easy is it for you to give this advice, but how hard is it for me to follow it! i am sensible of its importance, but am not able to profit by it, i have said already, that i shall carry with me to the grave the love that i bear to schemselnihar. when ebn thaher saw that lie could not prevail on the prince, he took his leave of him, and would have retired. the prince of persia detained him, and said, kind ebn thaher, since i have declared to you that it is not in my power to follow your wise counsels, i beg you will not charge it on me as a crime, nor forbear to give me the usual testimonies of your friendship; you cannot do me a greater favour than to inform me of the destiny of my dear schemselnihar, when you hear any news of it. the uncertainty i am in concerning her fate, and the apprehensions which her fainting occasioned me, keep me in this languishing condition you reproach me with. my lord, answered ebn thaher, you have reason to hope that her fainting was not attended with any serious consequences; her confident, will soon come and inform me of the issue, and as soon as i know the particulars, i shall not fail to impart them. ebn thaher left the prince in this hope, and returned home where he expected schemselnihar's confident all day, but in vain, nor did she come next day. his uneasiness to know the state of the prince of persia's health would not suffer him to stay any longer without seeing him; he went to his lodgings to exhort him to patience, and found him lying in bed as sick as ever, surrounded by many of his friends, and several physicians, who used all their art to discover the cause of his distemper. as soon as he saw ebn thaher, he looked upon him smiling, to signify that he had two things to tell him; the one, that he was glad to see him; the other, how much the physicians, who could not discover the cause of his distemper, were mistaken in their reasonings. his friends and physicians retired one after another; so that ebn thaher, being alone with him, came near his bed, to ask how he did since he saw him. i must tell you, answered the prince, that my passion, which continually gathers new strength, and the uncertainty of the lovely schemselnihar's destiny, augment my distemper every moment, and throw me into such a condition as afflicts my kindred and friends, and breaks the measures of my physicians, who do not understand it. you cannot think, added he, how much i suffer to see so many importunate people about me, and whom i cannot in civility put away. it is your company alone that is comfortable to me: but, in a word, i conjure you not to dissemble with me; what news do you bring of schemselnihar? have you seen her confident? what said she to you? ebn thaher answered, that he had not yet seen her; and no sooner had he told the prince of persia this sad news, than tears came from his eyes, and his heart was so oppressed that he could not answer him one word. prince, added ebn thaher, suffer me to tell you, that you are very ingenious in tormenting yourself. in the name of god, wipe away your tears: if any of your people should come in just now, they would discover you by this, notwithstanding the care you ought to take to conceal your thoughts. whatever this judicious confident could say, it was impossible for the prince to refrain from weeping. wise ebn thaher, said he, when he had recovered his speech, i may well hinder my tongue from revealing the secrets of my heart, but i have no power over my tears upon such a direful subject as schemselnihar's danger! if that adorable and only object of my desires be no longer in the world. i shall not be one moment after! reject so afflicting an idea, replied ebn thaher; schemselnihar is yet alive; you need not doubt the certainty of it. if you have heard nothing of her, it is because she could find no occasion to send to you; and i hope you will hear from her to-day. to this he added several other comfortable things, and then retired. ebn thaher was scarcely at his own house, when schemselnihar's confident arrived with a melancholy countenance, which he reckoned a bad omen. he asked concerning her mistress. tell me yours first, said the confident; for i was in great trouble to see the prince of persia go away in that condition. ebn thaher told her all that she desired to know, and when he had done, the slave began her discourse: if the prince of persia, said she, has suffered, and does still suffer, for my mistress, she suffers no less for him. after i departed from you, continued she, i returned to the saloon, where i found schemselnihar not yet recovered from her swoon, notwithstanding all the help they endeavoured to give her. the caliph was sitting near her with all the signs of real grief; he asked the women, and me in particular, if we knew the cause of her distemper; but we all kept secret, and told him we were altogether ignorant of it. in the mean time, we wept to see her suffer so long, and forgot nothing that might any ways help her. in a word, it was almost midnight before she recovered. the caliph, who had the patience to wait, was truly glad at her recovery, and asked schemselmhar the cause of her distemper. as soon as she heard him speak, she endeavoured to resume her seat; and, after she had kissed his feet before he could hinder her, sir, said she, i have reason to complain of heaven, that it did not allow me to expire at your majesty's feet, to testify thereby how sensible i am of your favours! i am persuaded you love me, said the caliph to her, and i command you to preserve yourself for my sake. you have probably exceeded in something today, which has occasioned this indisposition; take heed, i pray you, abstain from it for the future. i am glad to see you better; and i advise you to stay here tonight, and not to return to your chamber, lest the motion disturb you. upon this he commanded a little wine to be brought her, in order to strengthen her; and then taking his leave, returned to his apartment. as soon as the caliph was gone, my mistress gave me a sign to come near her. she asked me earnestly concerning you: i assured her that you had been gone a long time, which made her easy as to that matter. i took care not to speak of the prince of persia's fainting, lest it should make her fall into the same condition from which we had so much trouble to recover her; my precautions were all in vain, as you shall hear. prince, said she, i henceforth renounce all pleasure as long as i am deprived of a sight of you. if i have understood your heart right, i only follow your example. thou wilt not cease to weep until thou seest me again; it is but just, then, that i weep and mourn till i see you! at these words, which she uttered in such a manner as expressed the violence of her passion, she fainted in my arms a second time. my comrades and i, said she, were long in recovering her; at last she came to herself; and then i said to her, madam, are you resolved to kill yourself, and to make us also die with you? i beg of you to be persuaded, in the name of the prince of persia, for whom it is your interest to live, to save yourself, as you love yourself, as you love the prince, and for our sakes, who are so faithful to you! i am very much obliged to you, replied she, for your care, zeal, and advice; but alas! these are useless to me! you are not to flatter us with hopes; for we can expect no end of our torment but in the grave! one of my companions would have diverted those sad ideas by playing on her lute; but she commanded her to be silent, and ordered all of them to retire, except me, whom she kept all night with her. o heavens! what a night was it! she passed it in tears and groans, always naming the prince of persia; lamented her lot, which had destined her to the caliph, whom she could not love, and not to him she loved so dearly. next morning, because she was not commodiously lodged in the saloon, i helped her to her chamber, where she no sooner arrived, than all the physicians of the palace came to see her by order of the caliph, who was not long in coming himself. the medicines which the physicians prescribed for schemselnihar were to no purpose, because they were ignorant of the cause of her distemper, and the presence of the caliph augmented it. she got a little rest, however, this night; and as soon as she awoke, she charged me to come to you to hear concerning the prince of persia. i have already informed you of his case, said ebn thaher; so return to your mistress, and assure her that the prince of persia waits to hear from her with the like impatience that she does from him; besides, exhort her to moderation, and to overcome herself, lest she drop some words before the caliph, which may prove fatal to us all. as for me, replied the confident, i confess i dread her transport; i have taken the liberty to tell her my mind, and am persuaded that she will not take it ill that i tell her this from you. ebn thaher, who had but just come from the prince of persia's lodgings, thought it not convenient to return so soon, and neglect his own important affairs, and therefore went not till the evening. the prince was alone, and no better than in the morning. ebn thaher, said he, you have doubtless many friends; but they do not know your worth, which you discover to me by the zeal, care, and trouble, you give yourself to oblige me in my condition. i am confounded with all that you do for me with so great affection, and i know not how i shall be able to express my gratitude! prince, answered ebn thaher, do not speak so, i entreat you; i am ready not only to give one of my own eyes to save one of yours, but to sacrifice my life for you. but this is not the present business; i come to tell you that schemselnihar sent her confident to ask me about you, and at the same time to inform me of her condition. you may assure yourself that i said nothing but what might confirm the excess of your passion for her mistress, and the constancy with which you love her. then ebn thaher gave him a particular account of all that had passed betwixt the trusty slave and him. the prince listened with all the different emotions of fear, jealousy, affection, and compassion, with which this discourse could inspire him, making, upon every thing which he heard, all the afflicting or comforting reflections that so passionate a lover was capable of. their conversation continued so long, that the night was far advanced, so that the prince of persia obliged ebn thaher to stay with him. next morning, as this trusty friend was returning home, there came to him a woman, whom he knew to be schemselnihar's confident, who eagerly addressed him thus: my mistress salutes you; and i am come to entreat you, in her home, to deliver this letter to the prince of persia. the zealous ebn thaher took the letter, and returned to the prince, accompanied by the confident. when ebn thaher entered the prince of persia's house with schemselnihar's confident, he prayed her to stay one moment in the drawing room. as soon as the prince of persia saw him, he earnestly asked what news he had. the best you can expect, answered ebn thaher; you are as dearly beloved as you love; schemselnihar's confident is in your drawing room; she has brought you a letter from her mistress, and waits for your orders to come in. let her come in! cried the prince, with a transport of joy; and, speaking thus, sat down to receive her. the prince's attendants retired as soon as they saw ebn thaher, and left him alone with their master. ebn thaher went and opened the door, and brought in the confident. the prince knew her, and received her very civilly. my lord, said she to him, i am sensible of the afflictions you have endured since i had the honour to conduct you to the boat which waited to bring you back; but i hope this letter i have brought will contribute to your cure. upon this, she presented him the letter. he took it, and, after kissing it several times, opened it, and read as follows: letter from schemselnihar to ali ebn becar, prince of persia. the person who carries this letter will give you a better account concerning me than i can do, for i have not been myself since i saw you: deprived of your presence, i sought to divert myself by entertaining you with these ill-written lines, as if i had the good fortune to speak to you. it is said that patience is a cure for all distempers; but it sours mine instead of sweetening it. although your picture be deeply engraven in my heart, my eyes desire constantly to see the original; and their sight will vanish if they are much longer deprived of that pleasure. may i flatter myself that yours have the same impatience to see me? yes i can; their tender glances discovered it to me. how happy, prince, should you and schemselnihar both be, if our agreeable desires were not crossed by invincible obstacles, which afflict me as sensibly as they do you! those thoughts which my fingers write, and which i express with incredible pleasure, and repeat again and again, speak from the bottom of my heart, and from the incurable wound which you have made in it; a wound which i bless a thousand times, notwithstanding the cruel torments i endure for your absence. i would reckon all that opposes our love nothing, were i only allowed to see you sometimes with freedom; i would then enjoy you, and what more could i desire? do not imagine that i say more than i think. alas! whatever expressions i am able to use, i am sensible that i think more than i can tell you. my eyes, which are continually watching and weeping for your return; my afflicted heart, which desires nothing but you alone; the sighs that escape me as often as i think on you, that is, every moment; my imagination, which represents no other object than my dear prince; the complaints that i make to heaven for the rigour of my destiny; in a word, my grief, my trouble, my torments, which give me no ease ever since i lost the sight of you, are witnesses of what i write. am not i unhappy to be born to love, without hope of enjoying him whom i love? this doleful thought oppresses me so much, that i should die, were i not persuaded that you love me: but this sweet comfort balances my despair, and preserves my life. tell me that you love me always; i will keep your letter carefully, and read it a thousand times a day; i will endure my afflictions with less impatience. i pray heaven may cease to be angry at us, and grant us an opportunity to say that we love one another without fear; and that we may never cease to love! adieu. i salute ebn thaher, who has so much obliged us. the prince of persia was not satisfied to read the letter once; he thought he had read it with too little attention, and therefore read it again with more leisure; and as he read, sometimes he uttered sighs, sometimes he wept, and sometimes he discovered transports of joy and affection, as one who was touched with what he read. in a word, he could not keep his eyes off those characters drawn by so lovely a hand, and therefore began to read it a third time. then ebn thaher told him that the confident could not stay, and he ought to think of giving an answer. alas! cried the prince, how would you have me answer so kind a letter? in what terms shall i express the trouble that i am in? my spirit is tossed with a thousand tormenting things, and my thoughts destroy one another the same momunt they are conceived, to make way for more; and so long as my body suffers by the impressions of my mind, how shall i be able to hold paper, or a reed [footnote the arabians, persians, and turks, when they write, hold the paper ordinarily upon their knees with their left hands, and write with their right, with a little reed or cane cut like our pens; this cane is hollow, and resembles our reeds, but is harder.], to write? having spoken thus, he took out of a little desk paper, cane, and ink. the prince of persia, before he began to write, gave schemselnihar's letter to ebn thaher, and prayed him to hold it open while he wrote, that, by casting his eyes upon it, he might see the better what to answer. he began to write; but the tears that fell from his eyes upon the paper obliged him several times to stop, that they might trickle down the more freely. at last he finished his letter, and giving it to ebn thaher, read it, i pray, said he, do me the favour to see if the disorder of my mind has allowed me to give a reasonable answer. ebn thaher took it, and read as follows: the prince of persia's answer to schemselnihar's letter. i was swallowed up with mortal grief before i received your letter, at the sight of which i was transported with unspeakable joy; and the view of the characters written by your lovely hand enlightened my eyes more sensibly than they were darkened when yours were closed on a sudden at the feet of my rival. those words which your courteous letter contains, are so many rays of light, which have dispelled the darkness with which my soul was obscured; they show me how much you suffer by your love to me, and that you are not ignorant of what i endure for you, and thereby comfort me in my afflictions. on the one hand, they make me shed tears in abundance; and, on the other, they inflame my heart--with a fire which supports it, and hinders my dying of grief. i have not had one moment's rest since our cruel separation. your letter only gave me some ease. i kept a sorrowful silence till the moment i received it, and then it restored me to speech. i was buried in a profound melancholy, but it inspired me with joy, which immediately appeared in my eyes and countenance. but my surprise at receiving a favour which i had not deserved was so great, that i knew not which way to begin to testify my thankfulness for it. in a word, after having kissed it as a valuable pledge of your goodness, i read it over and over, and was confounded at the excess of my good fortune. you would have me to signify to you that i always love you. ah! though i did not love you so perfectly as i do, i could not forbear adoring you, after all the marks you have given me of a love so uncommon: yes, i love you, my dear soul, and shall account it my glory to burn all my days with that sweet fire you have kindled in my heart. i will never complain of the brisk ardour with which i find it consumes me; and how rigorous soever the grief be which i suffer, i will bear it corageously, in hopes to see you some time or other. would to heaven it were today; and that, instead of sending you my letter, i might be allowed to come and assure you that i die for love of you! my tears hinder me from saying any more. adieu. ebn thaher could not read these last lines without weeping. he returned the letter to the prince of persia, and assured him it wanted no correction. the prince shut it, and when he had sealed it, desired the trusty slave to come near, and told her, this is my answer to your dear mistress; i conjure you to carry it to her, and to salute her in my name. the slave took the letter, and retired with ebn thaher. after ebn thaher had walked some way with the slave, he left her, went to his house, and began to think in earnest upon the amorous intrigue in which he found himself unhappily engaged. he considered that the prince of persia and schemselnihar, notwithstanding their interest to conceal their correspondence, managed with so little discretion, that it could not be long a secret. he drew all the consequences from it which a man of good sense ought to do. were schemselnihar, said he to himself, an ordinary lady, i would contribute all in my power to make her and her sweetheart happy; but she is the caliph's favourite, and no man can without danger undertake to displease him. his anger will fall at first upon schemselnihar; it will cost the prince of persia his life; and i shall be embarked in his misfortune. in the mean time, i have my honour, my quiet, my family, and my estate to preserve; i must then, while i can, deliver myself out of so great a danger. he was taken up with these thoughts all the day; next morning he went to the prince of persia, with a design to use his utmost endeavors to oblige him to conquer his passion. he actually represented to him what he had formerly done in vain; that it would be much better to make use of all his courage to overcome his inclinations for schemselnihar, than to suffer himself to be conquered by it; and that his passion was so much the more dangerous, as his rival was the more potent. in a word, sir, added he, if you will hearken to me, you ought to think of nothing but to triumph over your amour, otherwise you run a risk of destroying yourself, with schemselnihar, whose life ought to be dearer to you than your own. i give you this counsel as a friend, for which you will thank me some time or other. the prince heard ebn thaher with a great deal of impatience, but suffered him, however, to speak out his mind; and then replied to him thus: ebn thaher, said he, do you think i can forbear to love schemselnihar, who loves me so tenderly? she is not afraid to expose her life for me, and would you have me to regard mine? no; whatever misfortune befal me, i will love schemselnihar to my last breath. ebn thaher, being offended at the obstinacy of the prince of persia, left him hastily; and, going to his own house, recalled to mind what he thought on the other day, and began to think in earnest what he should do. at the same time a jeweller, one of his intimate friends, came to see him: this jeweller had perceived that schemselnihar's confident came oftener to ebn thaher than usual, and that he was constantly with the prince of persia, whose sickness was known to every one, though not the cause of it. the jeweller began to be suspicious, and finding ebn thaher very pensive, judged presently that he was perplexed with some important affair; and fancying that he knew the cause, he asked what schemselniliar's confident wanted with him. ebn thaher, being struck with this question, dissembled, and told him, that it was a mere trifle that brought her so frequently to him. you do not tell me the truth, said the jeweller, and give me ground to think, by your dissimulation, that this trifle is an affair of more importance than at first i thought. ebn thaher, perceiving that his friend pressed him so much, said to him, it is true that it is an affair of the greatest consequence: i had resolved to keep it secret; but since i know how much you are my friend, i choose rather to make you my confident, than to suffer you to be in a mistake about it. i do not recommend it to you to keep the secret, for you will easily judge, by what i am going to tell you, how important it is to keep it. after this preamble, he told him the amour between schemselnihar and the prince of persia. you know, continued he, in what esteem i am at court, in the city, and with lords and ladies of the greatest quality; what a disgrace would it be for me, should this rash intrigue come to be discovered? but what do i say? should not i and my family be quite destroyed? that is the thing perplexes my mind. but i have just now come to such a resolution as i ought to make: i will go immediately and satisfy my creditors, and recover my debts; when i have secured my estate, i will retire to balsora, and stay till the tempest i foresee blows over. the friendship i have for schemselnihar and the prince of persia makes me very sensible to what danger they are exposed. i pray heaven to discover it to themselves, and to preserve them; but if their ill destiny will have their amours come to the knowledge of the caliph, i shall at least be out of the reach of his resentment; for i do not think them so wicked as to design to draw me into their misfortunes. it would be extreme ingratitude in them to do so, and a sorry reward for the good service i have done them, particularly to the prince of persia, who may save himself and his mistress from this precipice, if he pleases: he may as easily leave bagdad as i; absence would insensibly disengage him from a passion which will only increase whilst he continues in this place. the jeweller was extremely surprised at what ebn thaher told him. what you say to me, said he, is of so great importance, that i cannot understand how schemselnihar and the prince have been capable of abandoning themselves to such a violent amour. what inclination soever they may have for one another, instead of yielding to it, they ought to resist it, and make a better use of their reason. is it possible they can be insensible of the dangerous consequences of their correspondence? how deplorable is their blindness! i perceive all the consequences of it as well as you; but you are wise and prudent, and i approve your resolution; that is the only way to deliver yourself from the fatal events which you have reason to fear. the jeweller then rose, and took his leave of ebn thaher. before the jeweller retired, ebn thaher conjured him, by the friendship betwixt them, to speak nothing of this to any person. be not afraid, said the jeweller; i will keep this secret on peril of my life. two days after, the jeweller went to ebn thaher's shop; and, seeing it shut, doubted not that he had executed the design he had spoken of; but, to be certain, he asked a neighbour if he knew why it was shut? the neighbour answered, that he knew not, unless ebn thaher was gone a journey. there was no need of his inquiring further, and immediately he thought upon the prince of persia: unhappy prince, said he to himself, what grief will you suffer when you hear this news? by what means will you now carry on your correspondence with schemselnihar? i fear you will die of despair. i have compassion on you; i must make up the loss that you have of a too timid confident. the business that obliged him to come abroad was of no consequence, so that he neglected it; and though he did not know the prince of persia, but only by having sold him some jewels, he went strait to his house, addressed himself to one of his servants, and prayed him to tell his master that he desired to speak with him about business of very great importance. the servant returned immediately to the jeweller, and introduced him to the chamber of the prince, who was leaning on a sofa, with his head upon a cushion. as soon as the prince saw him, he rose to receive him, said he was welcome, entreated him to sit down, and asked if he could serve him in any thing, or if he came to tell him any matter concerning himself. prince, answered the jeweller, though i have not the honour to be particularly acquainted with you, yet the desire of testifying my zeal has made me take the liberty to come to your house, to impart to you some news that concerns you. i hope you will pardon my boldness, because of my good intention. after this introduction, the jeweller entered upon the matter, and pursued it thus: prince, i shall have the honour to tell you, that it is a long time since the conformity of humour, and several affairs we had together, united ebn thaher and myself in strict friendship. i know you are acquainted with him, and that he has been employed in obliging you in all that he could. i am informed of this from himself; for he keeps nothing secret from me, nor i from him. i went just now to his shop, and was surprised to find it shut. i addressed myself to one of his neighbours, to ask the reason; he answered me, that, two days ago, ebn thater took his leave of him and other neighbours, offering them his service at balsora, whither he was gone, he said, about an affair of great importance. not being satisfied with this answer, the concern that i have for whatever belongs to him, determined me to come and ask you if you knew any thing particularly concerning his sudden departure. at this discourse, which the jeweller accommodated to the subject, that he might come the better to his design, the prince of persia changed colour, and looked so as made the jeweller sensible that he was afflicted with the news. i am surprised at what you inform me, said he; there could not befal me a greater misfortune. ah! said he, with tears in his eyes, i am undone if what you tell me be true! has ebn thaher, who was all my comfort, and in whom i put all my confidence, left me! i cannot think of living after so cruel a blow. the jeweller needed no more to convince him fully of the prince of persia's violent passion, which ebn thaher had told him: mere friendship would not let him speak so; nothing but love could produce such feeling expressions. the prince continued some moments swallowed up with these melancholy thoughts: at last he lifted up his head, and calling one of his servants, go, said he, to ebn timber's house, and ask any of his domestics if he be gone to balsora; run and come back quickly, and tell me what you hear. while the servant was gone, the jeweller endeavoured to entertain the prince of persia with indifferent subjects; but the prince gave little heed to him, for he was a prey to fatal grief. sometimes he could not persuade himself that ebn thaher was gone; at other times he did not doubt the truth of it, when he reflected upon the discourse he had the last time he saw him, and the angry countenance with which he left him. at last the prince's servant returned, and reported that he had spoken to one of ebn thaher servants, who assured him that he was gone two days before to balsora. as i came from ebn thaher's house, added the servant, a slave well arrayed came to me, and, asking if i had the honour to belong to you, she told me she wanted to speak with you, begging, at the same time, that she might come along with me: she is now in the house, and i believe has a letter to give you from some person of note. the prince commanded him to bring her in immediately: he doubted not but it was schemselnihar's confident slave, as indeed it was. the jeweller knew who she was, having seen her several times at ebn thaher's house. she could not have come at a better time to hinder the prince from despair. she saluted him, and the prince of persia did likewise salute schemselnihar's confident. the jeweller rose as soon as he saw her appear, and stepped aside, to leave them at liberty to speak together. the confident, after conversing some time with the prince, took leave, and departed. she left him quite another thing than before; his eyes appeared brighter, and his countenance more gay; which made the jeweller know that the good slave came to tell him some news that favoured his amour. the jeweller having taken his place again near the prince, said to him, smiling, i see, prince, you have important affairs at the caliph's palace. the prince of persia was astonished and alarmed at this discourse, and answered the jeweller, why do you judge that i have affairs at the caliph's palace? i judge, replied the jeweller, by the slave that is gone forth. to whom, think you, belongs this slave? said the prince. to schemselnihar, the caliph's favourite, answered the jeweller. i know, continued he, both the slave and her mistress, who have several times done me the honour to come to my house, and buy jewels. besides, i know that schemselnihar keeps nothing secret from this slave; and i have seen her go and come for several days along the streets, very much troubled, which made me imagine that it was upon some affair of consequence concerning her mistress. the jeweller's words did much trouble the prince of persia. he would not say so, said he to himself, if he did not suspect, or rather know, my secret. he remained silent for some time, not knowing what to answer. at length he said to the jeweller, you have told me those things which make me believe that you know yet more than you have acquainted me with. it will tend much to my quiet if i be perfectly informed; i conjure you, therefore, not to dissemble. then the jeweller, who desired no better, gave him a particular account of what had passed between ebn thaher and himself; so that he let him know that he was informed of his correspondence with schemselnihar; and forgot not to tell him that ebn thaher was afraid of the danger of being his confident in the matter, which was partly the occasion of his retiring to balsora, to stay till the storm which he feared should he over. this he has done, added the jeweller; and i am surprised how he could determine to abandon you in the condition he informed me you was in. as for me, prince, i confess i am moved with compassion towards you, and am come to offer you my service; and if you do me the favour to accept of it, i engage myself to be as faithful to you as ebn thaher; besides, i promise to be more constant, i am ready to sacrifice my honour and life for you; and, in fine, that you may not doubt my sincerity, i swear, by all that is sacred in our religion, to keep your secret inviolable! be persuaded, then, that you will find in me the friend that you have lost. this discourse encouraged the prince, and comforted him under ebn thaher's absence. i am very glad, said he to the jeweller, to find in you a reparation of my loss: i want words to express the obligations i am under to you. i pray god to recompense your generosity; and i accept your obliging offer with all my heart. believe it, continued he, that schemselnihar's confident came to speak to me concerning you; she told me that it was you who advised ebn thaher to go from bagdad; these were the last words she spoke to me when she went away, and had almost persuaded me of it. but do not resent it; for i doubt not but she is deceived, after what you have told me. prince, replied the jeweller, i have had the honour to give you a faithful account of my conversation with ebn thaher. it is true, when he told me he would return to balsora, i did not oppose his design, but said he was a wise and prudent man; and, that this may not hinder you from putting confidence in me, i am ready to serve you with all imaginable zeal; which though you do otherwise, this shall not hinder me from keeping your secret religiously according to my oath. i have already told you, replied the prince, that i would not believe what the confident said; it is her zeal that inspired her with this groundless suspicion, and you ought to excuse it, as i do. they continued their conversation for some time, and consulted together of convenient means to continue the prince's correspondence with schemselnihar: they agreed to begin by disabusing the confident, who was so unjustly prepossessed against the jeweller. the prince engaged to undeceive her the first time she returned, and to entreat her to engage herself to the jeweller, that she might bring the letters, or any other information, from her mistress to him. in fine, they agreed that she ought not to come so frequently to the prince's house, because she might thereby give occasion to discover that which was of so great importance to conceal. at last the jeweller rose, and, after having again prayed the prince of persia to have an entire confidence in him, retired. the jeweller, returning to his house, perceived before him a letter which somebody had dropped in the street; he took it up; and, not being sealed, he opened it, and found that it contained as follows: letter from schemselnihar to the prince of persia. i am informed by my confident of a piece of news which troubles me no less than it does you: by losing ebn thaher, we have indeed lost much; but let this not hinder you, dear prince, thinking to preserve yourself. if our confident has abandoned us through a slavish fear, let us consider that it is a misfortune which we could not avoid. i confess ebn thaher has left us at a time when we need him most; but let us fortify ourselves by patience against this unlooked-for accident, and let us not forbear to love one another constantly. fortify your heart against this misfortune. nobody can obtain what they desire without trouble. let us not discourage ourselves, but hope that heaven will favour us; and that, after so many afflictions, we shall come to a happy accomplishment of our desires. adieu. while the jeweller was conversing with the prince of persia, the confident had time to return to the palace, and tell her mistress the ill news of ebn thaher's departure. schemselniliar immediately wrote this letter, and sent back her confident with it to the prince of persia; but she negligently dropped it. the jeweller was glad to find it; for it was a good way to set him right with the confident, and bring him to the point he desired. when he had read it, he perceived the slave, who sought it with a great deal of uneasiness, looking about every where. he closed it again quickly, and put it into his bosom; but the slave took notice of it, and ran to him. sir, said she, i have dropped a letter which you had just now in your hand; i beseech you be pleased to restore it. the jeweller, taking no notice that he heard her, continued his way till he came to his house. he did not shut the door behind him, that the confident, who followed him, might come in. she accordingly did so; and when she came to his chamber, sir, said she to him, you can make no use of the letter you have found; and you would make no difficulty in returning it to me, if you knew from whom it came, and to whom it is directed. besides, let me tell you, you cannot honestly keep it. before the jeweller answered the confident, he made her sit down, and said to her, is not this letter from schemselnihar, and directed to the prince of persia? the slave, who expected no such question, blushed. the question puzzles you, replied he, but i assure you i do not propose it rashly: i could have given you the letter in the street, but i suffered you to follow me, on purpose that i might discourse with you. tell me, is it just to impute an unhappy accident to people who no ways contributed towards it? yet this you have done, in telling the prince of persia that it was i who counselled ebn thaher to leave bagdad for his own safety. i do not intend to lose time in justifying myself to you; it is enough that the prince of persia is fully persuaded of my innocence in this matter: i will only tell you, that instead of contributing to ebn thaher's departure, i have been extremely afflicted at it; not so much for my friendship to him, as out of compassion for the condition in which he left the prince of persia, whose correspondence with schemselnihar he has acknowledged to me. as soon as i knew certainly that ebn thaher was gone from bagdad, i presented myself to the prince, in whose house you found me, to inform him of this news, and to offer him the same service which he did him; and, provided you put the same confidence in me that you did in ebn thaher, you may serve yourself by my assistance. inform your mistress of what i have told you, and assure her, that if i should die for engaging in so dangerous an intrigue, i will rejoice to have sacrificed myself for two lovers so worthy of each other. the confident, after having heard the jeweller with great satisfaction, begged him to pardon her the ill opinion she had conceived of him, out of the zeal she had for her mistress. i am extremely glad, added she, that schemselnihar and the prince have found you, who are a man fit to supply ebn thaher's place, and i shall not fail to signify to my mistress the good-will you bear her. after the confident had testified to the jeweller her joy to see him so well disposed to serve schemselnihar and the prince of persia, the jeweller took the letter out of his bosom, and restored it to her, saying, go, carry it quickly to the prince of persia, and come back this way, that i may see the answer. forget not to give him an account of our conversation. the confident took the letter, and carried it to the prince, who answered it immediately. she returned to the jeweller's house to show him the answer, which was this: the prince of persia's answer to schemselniliar. your precious letter had a great effect upon me, but not so great as i could wish. you endeavour to comfort me for the loss of ebn thaher; but, alas! sensible as i am of this, it is the least of my troubles! you know my malady, and that your presence only can cure me. when will the time come that i shall enjoy it without fear of being ever deprived of it? o how long does it seem to me! but shall we rather flatter ourselves that we may see one another? you command me to preserve myself; i will obey, since i have renounced my own will to follow yours. adieu. after the jeweller had read this letter, he gave it again to the confident, who said, when she was going away, i will tell my mistress to put the same confidence in you that she did in ebn thaher, and you shall hear of me to-morrow. accordingly, next day she returned with a pleasant countenance. your very look, said he to her, informs me that you have brought schemselnihar to what you wished. that is true, said the confident, sand you shall hear how i effected it. yesterday, continued she, i found schemselnihar expecting me with impatience; i gave her the prince of persia's letter, which she read with tears in her eyes; and when she had done, i observed she had abandoned herself to her usual sorrow. madam, said i, it is doubtless ebn thaher's removal that troubles you; but suffer me to conjure you, in the name of god, not to concern yourself any further about that matter. we have found another who offers to oblige you with as much zeal, and, what is yet more important, with greater courage. then i mentioned you, continued the slave, and acquainted her with the motive which made you go to the prince of persia's house. in short, i assured her that you would inviolably keep the secret betwixt her and the prince of persia, and that you was* resolved to favour their amours with all your might. she seemed to me much relieved by my discourse. ah! what obligations, said she, are the prince of persia and i under to that honest man you speak of? i must see him, that i may hear from his own mouth what you tell me, and thank him for such an unheard-of piece of generosity towards persons with whom he is no way obliged to concern himself. a sight of him will please me; and i will not omit any thing to confirm him in those good sentiments. do not fail to bring him to-morrow. therefore, pray, sir, go with me lo the palace. the confident's discourse perplexed the jeweller. your mistress, replied he, must allow me to say, that she has not thought well of what she requires. ebn thaher's access to the caliph gave him admission every where; and the officers, who knew him, suffered him to go and come freely to schemselnihar's palace; but, as for me, how dare i enter? you see well enough that it is not possible. i entreat you to represent those reasons to schemselnihar which hinder me giving her that satisfaction, and acquaint her with all the ill consequences that would result from it. if she considers it ever so little, she will find that it would expose me needlessly to very great danger. the confident endeavoured to encourage the jeweller: believe me, said he, that schemselnihar is not so unreasonable as to expose you to the least danger, from whom she expects such considerable services. consider with yourself that there is not the least appearance of hazard: my mistress and i are too much interested in this affair to involve you in any danger. you may depend upon me, and leave yourself to my conduct. after the affair is over, you will confess to me that your fear was groundless. the jeweller hearkened to the confident's discourse, and got up to follow her; but, notwithstanding his natural courage, he was seized with such terror that his whole body trembled. in the condition you are in, said she, i perceive it will be better for you to stay at home, and that schemselnihar take other measures to see you. it is not to be doubted but that, to satisfy her desire, she will come hither herself. the case being so, sir, i would not have you to go, as i am persuaded it will not be long before she comes to you. the confident foresaw this very well; for she no sooner informed schemselnihar of the jeweller's fear, than she made ready to go to his house. he received her with all the marks of profound respect. when she sat down, being a little fatigued with walking, she unveiled herself, and discovered to the jeweller such beauty as made him acknowledge that the prince of persia was excusable in giving his heart to her. then she saluted the jeweller with a graceful countenance, and said to him, i am informed with what zeal you have engaged in the prince of persia's concerns and mine; but, without immediately forming a design to express my gratitude, i thank heaven, which has so soon made up ebn thaher's loss. schemselnihar said several other obliging things to the jeweller, after which she returned to her palace. the jeweller went immediately to give an account of this visit to the prince of persia, who said to him, as soon as he saw him, i have expected you impatiently. the trusty slave has brought me a letter from her mistress, but she does not comfort me: whatever the lovely schemselnihar says, i dare not hope for any thing; my patience is at an end; i know not now what measures to take. ebn thaher's departure makes me despair; he was my only support; i lost all by losing him, for i flattered myself with some hopes by reason of his access to schemselnihar. after these words, which the prince pronounced with so much eagerness that he gave the jeweller no time to interrupt him, he said to the prince, no man can bear a greater share of your affliction than i do; and if you will have patience to hear me, you will perceive that i am capable of giving you ease. upon this the prince became silent, and hearkened to him. i see very well, said the jeweller, that the only thing to give you satisfaction is to fall upon a way that you may converse freely with schemselnihar. this i will procure you, and to-morrow will set about it. you must by no means expose yourself to enter schemselnihar's palace; you know by experience the danger of that: i know a very fit place for this interview, where you shall be safe. when the jeweller had spoken thus, the prince embraced him with a transport of joy. you revive, said he, by this charming promise, an unhappy lover who was resolved to die; i see that you have fully repaired the loss of ebn thaher: whatever you do will be well done; i leave myself entirely to you. the prince, after thanking the jeweller for his zeal, returned home, and next morning schemselnihar's confident came to him. he told her that he had put the prince of persia in hopes that he should see schemselnihar speedily. i am come purposely, answered she, to take measures with you for that end. i think, continued she, this house will be convenient enough for their interview. i could receive them very well here, replied he; but i think they will have more liberty in another house of mine, where nobody lives at present; i will quickly furnish it for receiving them. since the matter is so, replied the confident, there remains nothing for me to do but to make sehemselnihar consent to it. i will go tell her, and return speedily with an answer. she was as diligent as her promise; and, returning to the jeweller, told him that her mistress would not fail to keep the appointment in the evening. in the mean time she gave him a purse of money to prepare a collation. he sent her immediately to the house where the lovers were to meet, that she might know whither to bring her mistress; and when she was gone, he went to borrow from his friends vessels of gold and silver, tapestry, rich cushions, and other furniture, with which he furnished the house very magnificently; and, when he had put all things in order, went to the prince of persia. you may easily conceive the prince of persia's joy, when the jeweller told him that he came to conduct him to the house he had prepared to receive him and schemselnihar. this news obliterated all his former trouble. he put on a magnificent robe, and went without his retinue along with the jeweller, who led him through several by-streets, that nobody might observe him, and at last brought him to the house, where they discoursed together until schemselnihar came. they did not stay long for this passionate lover. she came after evening-prayers, with her confident and two other slaves. the excess of joy that seized those two lovers, when they saw one another, it is altogether impossible to express. they sat down together upon the sofa for some time, without being able to speak, they were so much overjoyed; but, when speech returned to them, they soon made up for their silence. they expressed themselves with so much tenderness, as made the jeweller, the confident, and the two other slaves, weep. the jeweller, however, restrained his tears to think upon the collation, which he brought. the lovers ate and drank a little, after which they again sat down on the sofa. schemselnihar asked the jeweller if he had a lute, or any other instrument. the jeweller, who took care to provide all that might please them, brought her a lute, which she took some time to tune, and then played. while schemselnihar was thus charming the prince of persia, and expressing her passion by words composed extempore, a great noise was heard, and immediately the slave whom the jeweller brought with him appeared in a terrible fright, to tell him that some people were breaking up the gate; that he asked who it was, but, instead of an answer, the blows were redoubled. the jeweller, being alarmed, left schemselnihar and the prince, to go and inform himself of the truth of this bad news. there was already got into the court a company of men armed with bayonets and scimitars, who had entered privately, and, having broken up the gate, came straight towards him: he stood close to a wall for fear of his life, and saw ten of them pass without being perceived by them; and, finding that he could give no help to the prince of persia and schemselnihar, he satisfied himself with bewailing them, and fled for refuge to a neighbour's house, who was not yet gone to bed. he did not doubt that this unexpected violence was by the caliph's order, who, he thought, had been informed of his favourite's meeting with the prince of persia. he heard a great noise in his own house, which continued till midnight; and when all was quiet, as he thought, he prayed his neighbour to lend him a scimitar, and, being thus armed, went on till he came to the gate of his own house. he entered the court full of fear, and perceived a man, who asked him who he was? he knew by his voice that it was his own slave. how didst thou do, said he, to avoid being taken by the watch? sir, answered the slave, i hid myself in a corner of the court, and i went out as soon as i heard the noise. but it was not the watch who broke your house; they were highwaymen, who within these few days robbed another in this neighbourhood: they have doubtless had notice of the rich furniture you brought hither, and had that in their view. the jeweller thought his slave's conjecture probable: he entered the house, and saw that the highwaymen had taken all the furniture out of the chamber where he received schemselnihar and her lover; that they had also carried off the vessels of gold and silver, and, in a word, had left nothing. being in this condition, o heaven! cried he, i am irrecoverably undone! what will my friends say, and what excuse can i make, when i tell them that highwaymen have broken into my house, and robbed me of all that they generously lent me? i shall never be able to make up their loss. besides, what is become of schemselnihar and the prince of persia? this business will be so public, that it is impossible but it must reach the caliph's ears. he will get notice of this meeting, and i shall fall a sacrifice to his fury. the slave, who loved him, endeavoured to comfort him thus: as to schemselnihar, said he, the highwaymen probably would content themselves to strip her; and you have reason to think that she is retired to her palace with her slaves. the prince of persia is probably in the same condition; so that you have reason to hope that the caliph will never know of this adventure. as for the loss your friends have sustained, that is a misfortune which you could not avoid. they know very well the highwaymen to be so numerous, that they have not only pillaged the house i have already spoken of, but many other houses of the principal noblemen of the court; and they are not ignorant that, notwithstanding the orders given to apprehend them, nobody has yet been able to seize any of them. you will be acquitted by restoring your friends the value of the things that are stolen; and, blessed be god, you have enough left. waiting till day, the jeweller ordered the slave to mend the gate of the house, which was broken up, as well as he could: after which he returned to his ordinary house with his slave, making sad reflections on what had befallen him. ebn thaher, said he to himself, has been wiser than i; he foresaw the misfortune into which i have blindly thrown myself: would to god i had never meddled in this intrigue, which i fear will cost me my life! it was scarcely day, when the report of the robbery had spread through the city, and there came to the house a great many of the jeweller's friends and neighbours, to testify their grief for this misfortune, but were curious to know the particulars. he thanked them for their affection, and was so much the better satisfied, that he heard nobody speak of schemselnihar or the prince of persia, which made him believe they were at their houses. or in some secure place. when the jeweller was alone, his servants brought him something to eat, but he could not taste a bit. about noon one of his slaves came to tell him that a man was at the gate, whom he knew not, and desired to speak with him. the jeweller, not willing to receive a stranger into his house, rose up, and went to speak with him. though you do not know me, said the man, i know you, and am come to discourse with you on an important affair. the jeweller prayed him to step in. no, answered the stranger; if you please, rather take the trouble to go with me to your other house. how know you, replied the jeweller, that i have another house? i know well enough, answered the stranger: follow me, do not fear any thing; i have something to communicate to you which will please you. the jeweller went immediately with him; and after he had considered by the way how the house they were going to was robbed, he said to him that it was not fit to receive him. when they were before the house, and the stranger saw the gate half broken down, he said to the jeweller, i see you have told me the truth; i will carry you to a place which will be more convenient. he went on when he had spoken thus, and walked all the rest of the day without stopping. the jeweller being weary with walking, vexed to see night approach, and the stranger having walked all day without acquainting him where he was going, began to lose patience. then they came to a path which led them to the tigris; and as soon as they came to the river, they crossed in a little boat. the stranger led the jeweller through a long street, where he had never been before, and, after taking him through several streets, stopped at a gate, which he opened. he caused the jeweller to go in, shut the gate, bolted it with a huge iron bolt, and then conducted, him to a chamber, where there were ten other men, all as great strangers to the jeweller as his conductor. the ten men received the jeweller without any compliments. they bid him sit down; of which he had great need, for he was not only weak with walking so far, but the fear be was in, on finding himself with people whom he thought he had reason to dread, would have disabled him from standing. they waited for their leader to supper, and, as soon as he came, it was served up. they washed their hands, obliging the jeweller to do the like, and to sit at table with them. after supper, the men asked him if he knew to whom he spoke. he answered, no, and that he knew not the place he was in. tell us your last nights adventure, said they to him, and conceal nothing from us. the jeweller, being astonished at this discourse, answered, gentlemen, it is probable you know it already. that is true, replied they, the young man and the young lady, who were at your house yesternight, told it us; but we would know it from your own mouth. the jeweller needed no more to be informed that they were the highwaymen who had broken up and plundered his house. gentlemen, said he, i am much troubled for that young man and the lady; can you tell me any thing of them? upon the jeweller's inquiry if they knew any thing of the young man and the young lady, the thieves answered, be not concerned for them; they are safe enough, and in good health: which saying, they showed him two closets, where they assured him they were separately shut up. they added, we are informed you only know what relates to them; which we no sooner came to understand, than we showed them all imaginable respect, and were so far from doing them any injury, that we treated them with all the kindness we were capable of on your account. you may secure yourself the like favour, proceeded they, in regard to your own person, and put all manner of confidence in us without the least reserve. the jeweller, being heartened at this, and overjoyed to hear that the prince of persia and schemselnihar were safe, resolved to engage the thieves yet further in their interest. for this purpose he commended them, flattered them, and gave them a thousand benedictions. gentlemen, said he, i must confess i have not the honour of knowing you; yet it is no small happiness to me that i am not wholly unknown to you; and i can never be sufficiently grateful for the favours which that knowledge has procured me at your hands. without mentioning so great an act of humanity as that i lately received from you, i must needs say, i am fully persuaded that no persons in the world can be so proper to be trusted with a secret, and none more fit to undertake a great enterprise, which you can best bring to a good issue by your zeal, courage, and intrepidity. in confidence of these great and good qualities, which are so much your due, i will not scruple to relate to you my whole history, with that of the two persons you found in my house. after the jeweller had thus secured, as he thought, the thieves to secrecy, he made no scruple to relate to them the whole amour of the prince of persia and schemselnihar, from the beginning of it to the time he received them into his house. the thieves were greatly astonished at the surprising particulars they heard, and could not forbear crying out, how! is it possible that the young man should be the illustrious ali elm becar, prince of persia; and the young lady the fair and celebrated schemselnihar! the jeweller assured them nothing was more certain, and that they needed not to think it strange that persons of so distinguished a character should not care to be known. upon this assurance of their quality, the thieves went immediately, one after the other, and threw themselves at their feet, imploring pardon, and begging them to believe they would never have offered any violence to their persons, had they known who they were; but, seeing they did not, they would by their future conduct do their best endeavours to make some recompence at least for the crime they had thus ignorantly committed. having made profound reverences, they returned to the jeweller, and told him they were heartily sorry they could not restore all that had been taken from him, some part of it being out of their possession; but as for what remained, if he would content himself with his plate, it should be forthwith put into his hands. the jeweller was overjoyed at the favour; and after the thieves had delivered the plate, they required the prince, schemselnihar, and him, to promise upon oath that they would not betray them, and they would carry them to a place whence they might easily go to their respective homes. the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, replied, that they might rely on their words; but since they desired an oath of them, they solemnly swore not to discover them so long as they were with them. with this the thieves were satisfied, and immediately set out to perform their promise. by the way, the jeweller, being concerned that he could not see the confident and the two slaves, came up to schemselnihar and begged her to inform him what was become of them. she answered, she knew nothing of them, and that all she could tell him was, that she was carried away from his house, ferried over a river, and brought to the place from whence they were just now come. schemselnihar and the jeweller had no further discourse; they found themselves at the brink of a river, whence the thieves immediately took boat, and carried them to the other side. whilst the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, were landing, they heard a noise as of horse-guards that were coming towards them. the thieves no sooner perceived the danger, but they took to their oars, and got over to the other side of the river in an instant. the commander of the brigade demanded of the prince, schemselnihar, and the jeweller, who they were, and whence they came so late. this frightened them at first so much that they could not speak; but at length the jeweller found his tongue, and said, sir, i can assure you, we are very honest people; but those persons who have just landed us, and are got to the other side of the water, are thieves, who, having last night broken open the house that we were in, pillaged it, and afterwards carried us to an obscure inn, where, by some entreaty and good management, we prevailed on them to let us have our liberty; to which end they brought us hither. they have restored us part of the booty they had taken from us. at these words he showed the plate he had recovered. the commander, not being satisfied with what the jeweller told him, came up to him and the prince of persia, and, looking steadfastly at them, said, tell me truly who is this lady? how came you to know her? and whereabouts do you live? this demand surprised them strangely, and tied their tongues, insomuch that neither of them could answer; till at length schemselnihar, taking the commander aside, told him frankly who she was; which he no sooner came to know, than he alighted, paid both her and the company great respect, and caused two boats to be got ready for their service. when the boats were come, he put schemselnihar into one, and the prince of persia and the jeweller into the other, with two of his people in each: they had orders to accompany them whithersoever they were bound. being abroad, the two boats took different routes; but we shall at present speak only of that wherein were the prince and the jeweller. the prince, to save his guides trouble, bid them land the jeweller with him, and named the place whither he would go. the guides, mistaking his orders, stopped just before the caliph's palace, which put both him and the jeweller into a fright, though he durst discover nothing of the matter; for though they had heard the commander's orders to his men, they could not help imagining they were to be delivered up to the guard, and brought before the caliph next morning. this, nevertheless, was not the intention of the guides; for, after they had landed them, they, by their master's command, recommended them to an officer of the guard, who next morning assigned them soldiers to conduct them by land to the prince's chateau, which was at some distance from the river. the prince being come home, what with the fatigue of his journey, and the affliction he conceived at being never likely again to see schemselnihar, fell into a swoon on his sofa; and while the greater part of his servants was endeavouring to recover him, the other part gathered about the jeweller, and begged of him to tell them what had happened to the prince their lord, whose absence had occasioned inexpressible disquiet. the jeweller, who would discover nothing to them that was not prudent to be repealed, told them it was not a proper time for such a relation, and that they would do better to go and assist the prince, than require anything of him, especially at that juncture. the prince fortunately came to himself that very moment; when those that but just before required his history with so much earnestness, began now to get at a distance, and pay that respect which was due from them. although the prince had in some measure recovered himself, yet he continued so weak, that he could not open his mouth. he answered only by signs, and that even to his nearest relations who spoke to him. he remained in the same condition till next morning, when the jeweller came to take leave of him. his answer was only with a wink, holding forth his right hand; but when he saw he was loaded with the bundle of plate the thieves had taken from him, he made a sign to his servants that they should take and carry it along with him to his house. the jeweller had been expected home with great impatience by his family the day he went forth with the man that came to ask for him, and whom he did not know; but no who was quite given over, and it was no longer doubted that some disaster had befallen him. his wife, children, and servants, were in continual grief, and lamented him night and day; but at length, when they saw him again, their joy was so great, they could hardly contain themselves; yet they were troubled to find that his countenance was greatly altered from what it had been before, insomuch that he was hardly to be known. this was thought to have been occasioned by his great fatigue, and the fears he had undergone, which would not let him sleep. finding himself something out of order, he continued within doors for two days, and would admit only one of his intimate friends to visit him. the third day, perceiving himself better, he thought he might regain strength by going abroad, and therefore went to the shop of a rich friend of his, with whom he continued long in discourse. as he was rising to go home, he observed a woman make a sign to him, whom he presently knew to be the confident of schemselnihar. partly out of fear, and partly through joy, he made what haste he could away, without looking at her; but she followed him, as he very well knew she would, the place in which they saw each other being by no means proper for an interview. as he walked a little faster than usual, she could not overtake him, and therefore every now and then called out to stop. he heard her, it is true; but, after what had happened, he did not think fit to take notice of her in public, for fear of giving cause to believe that he had been with schemselnihar. in short, it was known to every body in bagdad that this woman belonged to her, and therefore he thought it prudent to conceal his having any knowledge of her. he continued the same pace, and at last came to a mosque, where he knew but few people resorted; there he entered, and she after him, wherein they had a long converse together, without any body overhearing them. both the jeweller and the confident expressed a great deal of joy at seeing each other after the strange adventure occasioned by the thieves, and their reciprocal concern for each other's welfare, without mentioning a word of what related to their own particular persons. the jeweller would needs have her relate to him how she escaped with the two slaves, and what she knew of sehemselnihar from the time he had left her; but so great were her importunities to be informed of what had happened to him from the time of their unexpected separation, that he found himself obliged to comply. having finished what she desired, he told her that he expected she would oblige him in her turn; which she did in the following manner. when i first saw the thieves, said she, i imagined, rightly considered, that they were of the caliph's guard, who, being informed of the escape of schemselnihar, had sent them to take away the lives of the prince and us all; but, being convinced of the error of that thought, i immediately got upon the leads of your house, at the same time that the thieves entered the chamber where the prince and schemselnihar were, and was soon after followed by that lady's two slaves. from lead to lead, we came at last to a house of very honest people, who received us with a great deal of civility, and with whom we lodged that night. next morning, after we had returned thanks to the master of the house for our good usage, we returned to schemselnihar's hotel, which we entered in great disorder, and the more so as we could not learn the fate of the two unfortunate lovers. the other women of schemselnihar were astonished to see me return without their lady. we told them we had left her at the house of a lady, one of her friends, and that she would send for us when she had a mind to come home; with which excuse they seemed well satisfied. for my part, i spent the day in great uneasiness; and when night came, opening a little back gate, i espied a boat driven along by the stream. calling to the waterman, i desired him to row up the river, to see if he could not meet a lady, and, if he found her, to bring her along with him. the two slaves and i waited impatiently for his return; and at length, about midnight, we saw the boat coming down with two men in it, and a woman lying along in the stern. when the boat came up, the two men helped the woman to rise; and then it was that i knew her to be schemselnihar. i rejoiced so greatly to see her, that i cannot sufficiently express myself. i gave my hand to schemselnihar to help her out of the boat. she had no small occasion for my assistance, for she could hardly stand. when she was ashore, she whispered me in the ear in an afflicted tone, bidding me go and take a purse of a thousand pieces of gold, and give to the soldiers who had waited on her. i obeyed, leaving her to be supported by the two slaves; and, having paid the waterman, shut the back door. i then followed my lady, who was hardly got to her chamber before i overtook her. we undressed her, and put her to bed, where she had not long been before she was ready to give up the ghost; in which condition she continued the remainder of the night. the day following, her other women expressed a great desire to see her; but i told them she had been much fatigued, and wanted rest to restore her. the other women and i, nevertheless, gave her all the assistance we possibly could. she persisted in swallowing nothing which we offered; and we must have despaired of her life, had i not persuaded her to take a spoonful or two of wine, which had a sensible effect on her. by mere importunity, we at length prevailed upon her to eat also. when she came to the use of her speech, for she had hitherto only mourned, groaned, and sighed, i begged her to tell me how she escaped out of the hands of the thieves. why should you require of me, said she, with a profound sigh, what will but renew my grief? would to god the thieves had taken away my life, rather than preserved it, as in that case my misfortunes would have had an end; whereas i now live but to increase my torment. madam, replied i, i beg you will not refuse me this favour. you cannot but know that unhappy people have a certain consolation in venting their misfortunes; and if you be pleased to relate yours, i doubt not that you will find some relief in so doing. why then, said she, lend your ear to a story the most afflicting that can be imagined. you must know, when i first saw the thieves entering with sword in hand, i believed it the last moment of my life: but dying did not then seem so shocking to me, since i thought i was to die with the prince of persia. however, instead of murdering, two of the thieves were ordered to take care of us, whilst their companions were busied in packing up the goods which they found in the house. when they had done, and had got their bundles upon their backs, they went away, carrying us along with them. as we went along one of those who had the charge of us demanded of me briskly who i was: i answered, i was a dancer. he put the same question to the prince, who replied that he was a shopkeeper. when they were come to the place whither they were going, i had new fears to alarm me; for they gathered about us, and, after considering well my habit, and the rich jewels i was adorned with, they seemed to think that i had disguised my quality. dancers, said they, do not use to be dressed as you are; pray tell us truly who you are. when they saw i answered nothing, they asked the prince once more who he was; for they told him they perceived he was not the person he pretended. he did not satisfy them any more than i had done; but only told them he came to see the jeweller, who was the owner of the house where they found us. i know this jeweller, said one of the rogues, who seemed to have some authority over the rest; i have some obligations to him, of which he yet knows nothing; and i take upon me to bring him hither to-morrow morning from another house he has; but you must not expect to stir till he come and tell us who you are; though, in the mean time, i promise there shall be no manner of injury offered to you. the jeweller was brought next morning, as he said; who, thinking to oblige us, as he really did, declared to the rogues the whole truth of the matter. the thieves no sooner knew who we were, but they came and asked my pardon; and i believe did the like to the prince, who was shut up in another room. they protested to me, they would not have broken open the jeweller's house, had they known whose it was. they soon after took us, (the prince, the jeweller, and myself), and carried us to the river-side, where, having put us on board the boat, they rowed us across the water; but we were no sooner landed, than a party of the horse-guards came up to us. the rogues fled. i took the commander aside, and told him my name, informing him withal, that the night before i had be seized by robbers who forced me along with them; but having been told who i was, they had re*aleased me, and the two persons he saw with me, on my account. he alighted and paid his respects to me; and expressing a great deal of joy for being able to oblige me, he caused two boats to be brought, putting me and two of his soldiers, whom you have seen, into one, and the prince, and jeweller, with two more, into the other. my guides have conducted me hither; but what is become of the prince and his friend, i cannot tell. i trust in heaven, added she, with a shower of tears, no harm has happened to them since our separation; and i do not doubt that the prince's concern is equal to mine. the jeweller, to whom we have been so much obliged, ought to be recompensed for the loss he has sustained on our account. do not you therefore fail, said she, speaking to the confident, to take two purses of a thousand pieces of gold each, and carry them to him to-morrow morning in my name; and, at the same time, be sure to inquire after the prince's welfare. when my good mistress had done speaking, i endeavoured, as to the last article of inquiring into the prince's welfare, to calm her mind, which was in some disorder, and to persuade her not to yield so much to love, since the danger she had so lately escaped would be soon renewed by such indulgence. she bid me hold my tongue, and do what she had commanded. i was forced to be silent, and am come hither to obey her commands without any further scruple. i have been at your house, and, not finding you at home, was about to have gone to wait on the prince of persia, but did not dare to attempt so great a journey. i have left the two purses with a particular friend of mine, and, if you have patience, i shall go and fetch them immediately. the confident returned quickly to the jeweller in the mosque, where she had left him. she gave him the two purses, and bid him accept them for her lady's sake. they are more than necessary, said the jeweller; and i can never be enough thankful for so great a present from so good and generous a lady: but i beseech you to acquaint her, on my behalf, that i shall preserve an eternal remembrance of her bounties. he then agreed with the confident, that she should find him at the place where she had first seen him whenever she had occasion to impart any commands from schemselnihar, or to know any thing of the prince of persia. the jeweller returned home very well satisfied, not only that he had got wherewithal plentifully to make up his losses, but also to think that no person in bagdad could possibly come to know of the prince and schemselnihar being in his other house when it was robbed. it is true, he had acquainted the thieves with it, but their secrecy he thought might very well be depended on, as he imagined they had not sufficient converse with the world to give him any disturbance. he therefore hugged himself in his good fortune, paid his debts, and furnished both his houses to a nicety. thus he forgot all his past danger, and next morning set out to wait on the prince of persia. the prince's domestics told the jeweller, on his arrival, that he came in very good time to make their lord speak, for they had not been able to get a word out of him ever since he was there. they introduced him softly into his chamber, where he found him in such a condition as raised his pity. he was lying in bed, with his eye-lids shut; but when the jeweller saluted him, and exhorted him to take courage, be faintly opened his eyes, and regarded him with such an aspect, as sufficiently declared the greatness of his affliction. he, however, took and grasped him by the hand, to testify his friendship, telling him, in a faint and weak tone, that he was extremely obliged to him for coming so far to seek one so exceedingly unhappy and miserable. my lord, replied the jeweller, mention not, i beseech you, any obligations you owe to me; i could wish, with all my soul, that the good offices i have endeavoured to do you had had a better effect. but, at present, let us discourse only of your health, which i fear you greatly injure by unreasonably abstaining from proper nourishment. the prince's servants, hearing the jeweller say this, took occasion to let him know that it was with the greatest difficulty they had prevailed on him to take even the smallest morsel and that for some time he had taken nothing. this obliged the jeweller to beg the prince to let his servants bring him something to eat, which favour he obtained with much intercession. after the prince had eaten more largely than he had hitherto, at the persuasion of the jeweller, he commanded the servants to quit the room, and leave him alone with his friend. when the room was clear, he said, in conjunction with my misfortune which distracts me, i have been exceedingly concerned to think of what you have suffered on my account; and as it is but reasonable that i should make you a recompence, i shall be sure to take the first opportunity; at present, however, begging only your pardon a thousand times, i must conjure you to tell me whether you have learnt any thing of schemselnihar since i had the misfortune to be parted from her. here the jeweller, upon the confident's information, related to him all that he knew of schemselnihar's arrival at her hotel, her state of health from the time he had left her, and how she had sent her confident to him to inquire after his highness's welfare. to all this the prince replied with sighs and tears only; then he made an effort to get up, and, being assisted by the jeweller, made shift to rise. being upon his legs, he called his servants, and made them open his wardrobe, whither he went in person, and having caused several bundles of rich goods and plate to be packed up, ordered them to be carried to the jeweller's house. the jeweller would fain have withstood this kind offer; but although he represented that schemselnihar had already made him more than sufficient amends for what he had lost, the prince would be obeyed. the jeweller thought himself obliged to make every possible acknowledgment, and protested how much he was confounded at his highness's liberality. he would then have taken his leave, but the prince would not let him; so they passed in discourse the greater part of the night. next morning the jeweller waited again on the prince before he went away, but he would not let him stir; he must first sit down, and hear what he had to say. you know, said he, there is an end proposed in all things. now, the end the lover proposes, is to enjoy the beloved object in spite of all opposition. if he loses that hope, he must not think to live. you also know that this is my hard case; for when i had been twice at the very point of fulfilling my desires, i was all of a sudden torn from her i loved in the most cruel manner imaginable: i had then no more to do, but to think of death; and i had certainly proved my own executioner, did not our holy laws forbid us to commit suicide. but there is no need of such violent means; death will soon do its own work by a sure though gentle method; i find myself in a manner gone, and that i have not long to wait the welcome blow. here he was silent, and vented the rest of his passion only in groans, sighs, and tears, which came from him in great abundance. the jeweller, who knew no better way of turning him from despair than by bringing schemselnihar into his mind, and giving him some hopes of enjoying her, told him, he feared the confident might be come from her lady, and therefore did not think it proper to stay any longer from home. i will let you go, said the prince; but conjure you, that if you see her, you recommend to her to assure schemselnihar, that if i die, as i expect to do every minute, i will love her to the last moment, and bless her with my last breath. the jeweller returned home in expectation of seeing the confident, who came some few hours after, but all in tears, and in great affliction. he asked, with great earnestness, what was the matter; she answered, that schemselnihar, the prince, herself, and he, were all ruined. he demanded how. hear the sad news, said she, as it was told me just upon my entering our hotel, after i had left you. schemselnihar had, it seems, for some fault, chastised one of the slaves you saw with her in your other house; the slave, enraged at the ill treatment, ran presently, and, finding the gate open, went forth; so that we have just reason to believe she has discovered all to an eunuch of the guard, who gave her protection, as we have since heard. this is not all. the other slave, her companion, is fled too, and has taken refuge in the caliph's palace, so that we may well fear she has acted her part in a discovery; for, just as i came away, the caliph had sent twenty of his eunuchs for schemselnihar, who carried her to the palace. i just found means to come and tell you this, yet i fear no good will come of it; but, above all, i recommend it to you as a secret. the confident added, that it was expedient he should go and acquaint the prince with the whole affair, that he might be ready on all occasions, and contribute what he was able to the common cause; upon which she departed in great haste, without speaking a word more, or waiting for an answer. what answer, however, could the jeweller have made, in the deplorable condition he was placed? he stood still as if thunderstruck, and had not a word to say. he was, however, sensible that the affair required expedition, and therefore went immediately to give the prince an account of it. he addressed himself to him with an air that sufficiently showed the bad news he brought. prince, said he to him, arm yourself with courage and patience, and prepare to receive the most terrible assault ever yet made on your nature. tell me, in few words, said the prince, what it is i must prepare to receive; for if it be death only, i am ready and willing to undergo it. then the jeweller told him all that he had learned from the confident. you see, continued he, that your destruction is inevitable, if you delay. rise, save yourself by flight, for the time is precious. you, of all men, must not expose yourself to the anger of the caliph, and should much less confess any thing in the midst of torments. at these words the prince was almost ready to expire with grief, affliction, and fear; he recovered, however, and demanded of the jeweller what resolution he would advise him to take in this unhappy conjuncture. the jeweller told him he thought nothing more proper than that he should immediately take horse, and haste away towards anbar, [footnote: anbar is a city on the tigris, twenty leagues below bagdad.] that he might get thither with all convenient speed. take what servants and horses you think necessary, continued he, and suffer me to escape with you. the prince, seeing nothing more advisable, immediately gave orders for such an equipage as would be least troublesome; so having put some money and jewels in his pocket, and taking leave of his mother, he departed in company with the jeweller, and with such servants as he had chosen. they travelled all that day and the day following without stopping, till at length, about the dusk of the evening, their horses and selves being greatly fatigued, they alighted at an inn to refresh themselves. they had hardly sat down, before they found themselves surrounded and assaulted by a gang of thieves. they defended their lives for some time courageously; but, at length, the prince's servants being all killed, both he and the jeweller were obliged to yield at discretion. the thieves, however, spared their lives; but, after they had seized their horses and baggage, they took away their clothes, and left them naked. in this condition, and after the thieves had left them, the prince said to the jeweller, what is to be done, my friend, in this conjuncture? had i not better, think you, have tarried in bagdad, and undergone any fate, rather than have been reduced to this extremity? my lord, replied the jeweller, it is the decree of heaven that we should thus suffer. it has pleased god to add affliction to affliction, and we must not murmur at it, but receive his chastisements with submission. let us stay no longer here, but go and look out for some place where we may be concealed and relieved. no, let me rather die, said the prince; for what signifies it whether i die here or elsewhere? for die i know i must very shortly. it may be, this very minute that we are talking, schemselnihar is no more! and why should i endeavour to live after she is dead? the jeweller at length prevailed on him to go; but they had not gone far before they came to a mosque, which, being open, they entered, and passed there the remainder of the night. at day-break a single man came into the mosque to his devotion. when he had ended his prayer, and was turning to go out, he perceived the prince and the jeweller, who were sitting in a corner to conceal themselves. he went up to them; and, saluting them with a great deal of civility, said, by what i perceive, gentlemen, you seem to be strangers. the jeweller answered, you are not deceived, sir. we have been robbed to-night in coming from bagdad, and retired hither for shelter. if you can relieve us in our necessities, we shall he very much obliged to you, for we know nobody here to whom to apply to. the man answered, if you think fit to come to my house, i shall do what i can for you. upon this obliging offer, the jeweller turned to the prince, and said in his ear, this man, as far as i can perceive, sir, does not know us; therefore we had better go with him, than stay here to be exposed to the sight of somebody that may. do as you please, said the prince; i am willing to be guided by your discretion. the man, observing the prince and jeweller consulting together, thought they made some difficulty to accept his proposition; wherefore he demanded of them if they were resolved what to do. the jeweller answered, we are ready to follow you whither you please; all that we make a difficulty about is to appear thus naked. let not that trouble you, said the man; we shall find wherewithal to clothe you, i warrant you. they were no sooner got to the house, than he brought forth a very handsome suit for each of them. next, as he thought they must be very hungry, and have a mind to go to bed, he had several plates of meat brought out to them by a slave; but they ate little, particularly the prince, who was so dejected and dispirited, as gave the jeweller cause to fear he would die. they went to bed, and their host left them to their repose; but they had no sooner lain down, than the jeweller was forced to call him again to assist at the death of the prince. he breathed short, and with difficulty; which gave him reason to fear he had but a few minutes to live. coming near him, the prince said, it is done; and i am glad you are by, to be witness of my last words. i quit this life with a great deal of satisfaction; but i need not tell you the reason, for you know it too well already. all the regret i have is, that i cannot die in the arms of my dearest mother, who has always loved me with a tenderness not to be expressed, and for whom i had a reciprocal affection. she will undoubtedly be not a little grieved that she could not close my eyes, and bury me with her own hands. but let her know how much i was concerned at this; and desire her, in my name, to have my corpse transported to bagdad, that she may have an opportunity to bedew my tomb with her tears, and assist my departed soul with her prayers. he then took notice of the master of the house, thanked him for the several favours he had received from him, and desired him to let his body be deposited with him till such time as it should be carried away to bagdad. having said this, he turned aside and expired. the day after the prince's death, the jeweller took the opportunity of a numerous caravan that was going to bagdad, and arrived there some time after in safety. he first went home to change his clothes, and then hastened to the prince's palace, where every body was surprised that their lord was not come with him. he desired them to acquaint the prince's mother that he must speak to her immediately; and it was not long before he was introduced to her. she was seated in a hall, with several of her women about her. madam, said he to her, with an air that sufficiently denoted his ill news, god preserve your highness, and shower down the choicest of his blessings upon you! you cannot be ignorant that it is he alone who disposes of us all at his pleasure. the princess would not give him leave to go on, but cried out, alas, you bring me the deplorable news of my son's death! at which words she and her women set up such a hideous outcry, as soon brought fresh tears into the jeweller's eyes. she thus tormented and grieved herself a long while before the unfortunate messenger was allowed to go on. at length, however, she gave a truce to her sighs and groans, and begged of him to continue the fatal relation, without concealing from her the least circumstance. he did as she commanded; and, when he had done, she further demanded of him, if her son the prince had not given him in charge something more particular. he assured her his last words were, that it was the greatest concern to him that he must die so far distant from his dear mother, and that he earnestly entreated she would be pleased to have his corpse transported to bagdad. accordingly, next morning at day-break, the princess set out, with her women and great part of her slaves, to bring her son's body to her own palace. the jeweller, having taken leave of her, returned home very sad and melancholy, to think he had lost so good a friend, and so accomplished a prince, in the flower of his age. as he came near his house, dejected and musing, on a sudden lifting up his eyes, he saw a woman in mourning and tears standing before him. he presently knew her to be the confident, who had stood there grieving for some time that she could not see him. at the sight of her, his tears began to flow afresh, but he said nothing to her; and, going into his own house, she followed him. they sat down, when the jeweller, beginning the dismal discourse, asked the confident, with a deep sigh, if she had heard nothing of the death of the prince of persia, or if it was on his account that she grieved? alas! answered she; what! is that charming prince then, dead? he has not lived long after his dear schemselnihar. beauteous souls! continued she, in whatsoever place ye now are, ye ought to be pleased that your loves will no more be interrupted. your bodies were before an obstacle to your wishes; but now, being delivered from them, you may unite as closely as you please. the jeweller, who had heard nothing of schemselnihar's death, and had not observed that the confident was in mourning, through the excessive grief that blinded him, was now afflicted anew. is schemselnihar then dead? cried he, in great astonishment. she is dead, replied the confident, weeping afresh; and it is for her that i wear these weeds. the circumstances of her death are extraordinary, continued she; therefore it is but requisite you should know them; but, before i give you an account of them, i beg you to let me know those of the prince of persia, whom, in conjunction with my dearest friend and mistress, i shall lament as long as i live. the jeweller then gave the confident the satisfaction she desired; and, after he had told her all, even to the departure of the prince's mother to bring her son's body to bagdad, she began, and said, you have not forgotten, i suppose, that i told you the caliph had sent for schemselnihar to his palace; and it is true, as we had all the reason in the world to believe, he had been informed of the amour between her and the prince by the two slaves, whom he had examined apart. now, you will be apt to imagine he must of necessity be exceedingly enraged at schemselnihar, and discover many tokens of jealousy and revenge against the prince; but i must tell you he had neither one nor the other, aud lamented only his dear mistress forsaking him, which he in some measure attributed to himself, in giving her so much freedom to walk about the city without his eunuchs. this was all the resentment he showed, as you will find by his carriage towards her. he received her with an open countenance; and when he observed the sadness she was under, which nevertheless did not lessen her beauty, with a goodness peculiar to himself, he said, schemselnihar, i cannot bear your appearing thus before me with an air of affliction. you must be sensible how much i have always loved you by the continual demonstrations i have given you; and i can never change my mind, for even now i love you more than ever. you have enemies, schemselnihar, proceeded he; and those enemies have done you all the wrong they can. for this purpose they have filled my ears with stories against you, which have not made the least impression upon me. shake off, then, this melancholy, continued he, and prepare to entertain your lord this night after your accustomed manner. he said many other obliging things to her, and then desired her to step into a magnificent apartment, and stay for him. the afflicted schemselnihar was very sensible of the kindness the caliph had for her; but the more she thought herself obliged to him, the more she was concerned that she was so far off from the prince, without whom she could not live, and yet was afraid she should never see him more. this interview between the caliph and schemselnihar, continued the confident, was whilst i came to speak with you; and i learned the particulars of it from my companions, who were present. but i had no sooner left you, proceeded she, than i went to my dear mistress again, and was an eye-witness to what happened afterwards. i found her in the apartment i told you of; and, as she thought i came from you, she came to me, and whispering in my ear, said, i am much obliged to you for the service you have been doing me, but fear it will be the last. i took no notice of her words, and she said no more to me; but if i had a mind to say any thing to comfort her, i was in a place by no means proper for disclosing my thoughts. the caliph was introduced at night with the sound of instruments upon which our women played, and the collation was immediately served up. he took his mistress by the hand, and made her sit down with him on the sofa; which she did with such regret, that she expired some few minutes after. in short, she was hardly sat down, when she fell backwards; which the caliph believed to be only a swoon, and so we all thought; but when we endeavoured to bring her to herself, we found she was quite gone, which you may imagine not a little afflicted us. the caliph did her the honour to weep over her, not being able to refrain from tears, and, before he left the room, ordered all the musical instruments to be broken, which was immediately executed. for my part, i staid with her corpse all night, and next morning bathed it with my tears, and dressed it for the funeral. the caliph had her interred soon after in a magnificent tomb he had erected for her in her lifetime, in a place she had desired to be buried in. now, since you tell me, said she, the prince of persia's body is to be brought to bagdad, i will use my best endeavours that he shall be interred in the same tomb, which may be at least some satisfaction to two such faithful lovers. the jeweller was somewhat surprised at this resolution of the confident's, and said, certainly you do not consider that this enterprise is in a manner impossible, for the caliph will never suffer it. do not you be concerned at that, replied she; for you will undoubtedly be of another opinion after i have told you that the caliph has given liberty to all her slaves in general, with a considerable pension to each for their subsistence; and as to me in particular, has honoured me with the charge of my mistress's tomb, and allotted me an annual income for my maintenance. moreover, you must think that the caliph, who was not ignorant of the amour betweeen schemselnihar and the prince, as i have already told you, will not be a whit concerned if now, after her death, he be buried with her. to all this the jeweller had not a word to say, yet earnestly entreated the confident to conduct him to her mistress's tomb, that he might say his prayers over her. when he came in sight of it, he was not a little surprised to find a vast number of people of both sexes, who were come thither from all parts of bagdad. as he could not come near the tomb, he said his prayers at a distance; and then going to the confident, who waited hard by, he said to her, i am altogether of a contrary opinion to what i was just now; for now i am so far from thinking that what you proposed cannot be put in execution, that you and i need only tell abroad what we know of the amour of this unfortunate couple, and how the prince died much about the same time with his mistress, and is now bringing up to be buried; the people will bring the thing about, and not suffer that two such faithful lovers should be separated when dead, whom nothing could divide in affection whilst they lived. as he said, so it came to pass; for as soon as it came to be known that the corpse was within a day's journey of the city, the inhabitants almost of all sorts went forth, met it above twenty miles off, and marched before it, till it came to the city gate; where the confident, waiting for that purpose, presented herself before the prince's mother, and begged her, in the name of the whole city, that she would be pleased to consent that the bodies of the two lovers, who had but one heart whilst they lived, especially during their amour, might be buried in the same tomb now they were dead. the princess immediately consented; and the corpse of the prince, instead of being deposited in his own burying-place, was laid by schemselnihar's side, after it had been carried in procession at the head of an infinite number of people, of all conditions and degrees: nay, from that very time, all the inhabitants of bagdad, and even strangers, from such parts of the world as honoured the mahometan religion, have had a mighty veneration for that tomb, and paid their devotion at it as often as opportunity would give them leave. this, sir, said scheherazade, who now perceived the day begin to approach, is what i had to relate to your majesty concerning the amour of the fair schemselnihar, mistress to the caliph haroun alraschid, and the worthy ali ebn becar, prince of persia. when dinarzade observed that her sister the sultaness had done speaking, she thanked her in the most obliging manner for her entertainment in a history so exceedingly agreeable. if the sultan will be pleased to let me live till to-morrow, said scheherazade, i will also relate that of prince camaralzaman [footnote: this word, in arabic, signifies the moon of the time, or the moon of the age.], which you will find yet more agreeable. here she stopped; and the sultan, who could not yet resolve on her death, permitted her to go on next night in the following manner. the story of the amours of camaralzaman, prince of the isles of the children of khaledan; and of badoura, princess of china. about twenty days sail on the coast of persia, there are islands in the main ocean, called the islands of the children of khaledan; these islands are divided into four great provinces, which have all of them very flourishing and populous cities, and which make together a most potent kingdom. it is governed by a king named schahzaman [footnote: that is to say, in persic, king of the time, or king of the age.], who has four lawful wives, all daughters of kings, and sixty concubines. schahzaman thought himself the most happy monarch of the world, as well on account of his peaceful as prosperous reign. one thing only disturbed his happiness, which was, that he was pretty old, and had no children, though he had so many wives. he knew not what to attribute this barrenness to; and what increased his affliction was, that he was likely to leave his kingdom without a successor. he dissembled his discontent a long while; and, what was yet more uneasy to him, he was constrained to dissemble. at length, however, he broke silence; and one day, after he had complained bitterly of his misfortune to his grand vizier, he demanded of him if he knew any remedy for it. that wise minister replied, if what your majesty requires of me had depended on the ordinary methods of human wisdom, you had soon had an answer to your satisfaction; but, as my experience and knowledge are not sufficient to content you, i must advise you to have recourse to the divine power alone, who, in the midst of our prosperities, which often tempt us to forget him, is pleased so to limit our discernment, that we may apply only to his omniscience for what we have occasion to know. your majesty has subjects, proceeded he, who make a profession of loving and honouring god, and suffering great hardships for his sake; to them i would advise you to have recourse, and engage them by alms to join their prayers with yours; it may be, some among them may be so just and agreeable to god as to obtain what they pray for. king schahzaman approved of this advice very much, and thanked his vizier for it: he immediately caused rich alms to be given to every monastery in his dominions; and having sent for the superiors, declared to them his intention, and desired them to acquaint their monks with it. the king, in short, obtained of heaven what he requested; for in nine months time he had a son born of one of his wives. in return for this favour, he sent new alms to the religious houses; and the prince's birth-day was celebrated throughout his dominions for a week together. the prince was brought to him as soon as born; and he found him so beautiful, that he gave him the name of camaralzaman; that is, the moon of the age. he was educated with all the care imaginable; and when he came to be old enough, his father appointed him a governor and able preceptors. these distinguished persons found him capable of receiving all the instructions that were proper to be given him, as well in relation to morals, as to other knowledge a prince ought to have. when he came to be somewhat older, he learned all his exercises; of which he acquitted himself with so much grace and wonderful address, that he charmed all who saw him, and particularly the sultan his father. having attained the age of fifteen years, the sultan, who loved him tenderly, thought of resigning his throne to him, and acquainted his grand vizier with his intentions. i am afraid, said he, lest my son should lose those advantages in youth which nature and education have given him; therefore, since i am somewhat advanced in age, and fit for a retreat, i have had thoughts of resigning the government to him, and passing the remainder of my days in the satisfaction of seeing him reign. i have undergone the fatigue of a crown a long while, and think it is now proper for me to retire. the grand vizier would not offer all the reasons he could have brought to dissuade the sultan from such a proceeding; on the contrary, he agreed with him in some measure. sir, replied he, the prince is yet but young; and it would not, in my humble opinion, be wholly advisable to burden him with the weight of a crown so soon. your majesty fears, with a great deal of reason, that his youth may be corrupted; but then, to remedy that, does not your majesty likewise think it would be proper to marry him, marriage being what would keep him within bounds, and confine his inclinations? moreover, your majesty might then admit him of your council, where he would learn by degrees the art of reigning, and consequently be fit to receive your power, whenever you shall think proper to bestow it on him. schahzaman found this advice of his prime minister highly reasonable, and therefore summoned the prince to appear before him, dismissing the grand vizier at the same time. the prince, who had been accustomed to see his father only at certain times, was a little startled at this irregular summons; therefore, when he came before him, he saluted him with great respect, and afterwards stood still, with his eyes fixed on the ground. the sultan, perceiving his surprise, said to him in a mild way, do you know, son, for what reason i have sent for you hither? no, may it please your majesty, answered the prince, modestly: god alone knows how to penetrate hearts. i should be glad to know of your majesty for what reason? why, i sent for you, said the sultan, to let you know that i design to marry you: what do you think of it? prince camaralzaman heard this with great uneasiness; it quite surprised him; he was all in a sweat, and knew not what answer to make. after a few moments, however, he replied, sir, i beseech your majesty to pardon me, if i seem surprised at the declaration you have made. i did not expect any such proposal to one so young as i am; and besides, i know not whether i could ever prevail on myself to marry, not only on account of the trouble wives bring a man, and which i am very sensible of, though unmarried, but also by reason of their many impostures, wickednesses, and treacheries, which i have read of in authors. it may be, i may not be always of the same mind; yet i cannot but think i ought to have time to conclude on what your majesty requires of me. prince camaralzaman's answer extremely afflicted his father; he was not a little grieved to see what an aversion he had to marriage, yet would not call his obedience in question, nor make use of his paternal authority: he contented himself with telling him that he would not force his inclinations, and gave him time to consider of what he had proposed to him; yet wished him to remember, that, as a prince designed to govern a great kingdom, he ought to take some care to leave behind him a successor. schahzaman said no more to the prince: he admitted him into his council, and gave him all the reason to be satisfied that could be desired. about a year after, he took him aside, and said to him, well, son, have you thoroughly considered of what i proposed to you last year about marrying? will you still refuse me the satisfaction i desire, and let me die without seeing myself revive in your posterity? the prince seemed less astonished than before; he now briskly answered his father as follows: sir, i have not neglected to consider of what you proposed, and, upon the whole matter, i am resolved to continue in the state i am, without concerning myself with marriage, in short, sir, the many evils i have read that women have caused in the world, and the continual mischiefs i still hear and observe they do, have been the occasion of my resolution to have nothing to do with them; so that, sir, i hope your majesty will pardon me if i acquaint you, that it will be to no purpose to solicit me any further about that affair. this said, and making a low reverence, he went out briskly, without staying to hear what the sultan would answer. now, any monarch but schahzaman would have been in a violent passion at such deportment of a son; but he took little notice of it, resolving to use all gentle methods before he proceeded to force. he communicated this new cause of discontent to his prime minister. i have followed your advice, said he, but camaralzaman is further off than ever from complying with my desires. he delivered his resolution in such arrogant terms, that i had all the occasion in the world for my reason and moderation to keep me from being in a passion. fathers who desire favours of their children, which they nevertheless can command, have themselves alone to blame if they are disobeyed. but tell me, i beseech you, how i shall reclaim this hardy young prince, who proves so rebellious to my pleasure. sir, answered the grand vizier, patience brings many things about which before seemed impracticable; but it may be that this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed in that way. however, in my judgment, your majesty would do well to give the prince another year to consider of the matter; and if, when this is expired, he still continues averse to your proposal, then your majesty may propose it to him in full council, as a thing that is highly necessary for the common good; it is not likely that he will refuse to comply with it before so grave an assembly, and on so necessary an account, whatever he has done before. the sultan, who passionately desired to see his son married, thought this long delay an age; however, though with much difficulty, he at length yielded to his grand vizier's reasons, which he could no way disapprove. after the grand vizier was gone, sultan schahzaman went to the apartment of the mother of prince camaralzaman, to whom he had often discovered what an ardent desire he had to marry the prince. when he had told her, with tears in his eyes, how his son had refused to comply a second time, and that nevertheless, through the advice of his grand vizer, he was induced to wait yet a longer time for his compliance, he said, madam, i know he will hearken more to you than me, therefore i desire you would take your time to speak to him seriously of the matter, and to let him know that, if he persists much longer in his obstinacy, he will oblige me to have recourse to extremities that may not be pleasing to him, and which may give him cause to repent of having disobeyed me. fatima, for so was the lady called, acquainted the prince, the first time she saw him, that she had been informed of his second refusal to be married, and how much chagrin he had occasioned his father on that account. madam, said the prince, i beseech you not to renew my grief upon that head; for, if you do, i have reason to fear, in the disquiet i am under, that something may escape me which may not altogether correspond with the respect i owe you. fatima knew, by this answer, that it was not then a proper time to speak to him; therefore deferred what she had to say till another opportunity. some considerable time after, fatima thought she had met with a more favourable occasion, which gave her hopes of being heard upon the subject; she therefore accosted him with all the eagerness imaginable: son, said she, i beg of you, if it be not very irksome to you, to tell me what reason you have for your so great aversion to marriage? if you have no other than the badness and wickedness of some women, there can be nothing less reasonable, or more weak. i will not undertake the defence of those who are bad, there are a great number of them undoubtedly; but it would be the greatest injustice imaginable to condemn all the sex for their sakes. alas, son! you have met with a great many bad women in your books, who have occasioned great disorders, and i will not excuse them; but you do not consider how many monarchs, sultans, and other princes, there have been in the world, whose tyrannies, barbarities, and cruelties, astonished those who read of them, and which i have myself. now, for one woman who is thus wicked, you will meet with a thousand of these tyrants and barbarians; and what torment, do you think, must a good woman undergo, for such there are, who is united to one of these wretches? madam, replied camaralzaman, i doubt not but there is a great number of wise, virtuous, good, affable, and generous women, in the world; and would to god they all resembled you! but what pierces me, is the doubtful choice a man is obliged to make; and oftentimes one has not even that liberty. let us suppose, then, madam, continued he, that i had a mind to marry, as the sultan my father so earnestly desires i should; what wife, think you, would he be likely to provide for me? probably a princess, whom he would demand of some neighbouring prince, and who would think it an honour done him to send her to him. fair or ugly, good or ill-humoured, she must be accepted; nay, suppose no other princess excelled her in beauty, yet who can be certain that her temper would be of equal goodness; that she would be affable, complaisant, entertaining, obliging, and the like; that her discourse would generally run on solid matters, and not on trifles, such as dress, adjustments, ornaments, and the like fooleries, which would disgust any man of sense? in a word, that she would not be haughty, proud, arrogant, impertinent, scornful, and waste a man's estate in frivolous expences, such as gaudy clothes, unnecessary jewels, toys, and the like long train of magnificent follies. thus you see, madam, continued he, how many reasons a man may have to be disgusted at marriage. well, but to go further: let this princess be ever so perfect, accomplished, and irreproachable, i have yet a great many more reasons not to desist from my sentiment, or depart from my resolution. what, son, replied fatima; have you then more reasons than those you have already advanced? i do not doubt but that i shall find wherewithal to answer them, and stop your mouth with a word. very well, madam, replied the prince; and perhaps i may find wherewithal to reply to your answer. i mean, son, said fatima, that it is easy for a prince, who has had the misfortune to marry such a wife as you describe, to get rid of her, and take such care that she may not prejudice his estate. ah, but, madam, replied the prince, you do not consider what a mortification it would be to a person of so great quality to be obliged to come to an extremity of that nature. would it not have been better, think you, and much more for his honour and quiet, that he had never run such a risk? but, son, said fatima once more, after the manner you understand things, i apprehend you have a mind to be the last king of your race, who have nevertheless reigned so long and gloriously in the isles of the children of khaledan. madam, replied the prince, for my part i do not desire to survive the king my father; and if i should die before him, it would be no great matter of wonder, since so many children have died before their parents. but as for my leaving no successor, i am of opinion it is much better to be the last of one's race, than father to a bad prince, or husband to a bad wife. from that time fatima had frequent conferences with her son the prince on the same subject, and omitted no opportunity or argument to endeavour rooting out his aversion to the fair sex; but he eluded all her reasonings by such as she could not well answer, and continued in the same mind. the year expired, and, to the great regret of the sultan, prince camaralzaman gave not the least proof of having changed his sentiments; so that one day, when there was a great council held, the prime vizier and other viziers, the principal officers of the crown, and the generals of the army, being present, the sultan spoke thus to the prince: son, it is now a long while since i have earnestly desired to see you married; and i imagined you would have had more complaisance for a father, who required nothing unreasonable of you, than to oppose him so long. but, after so great resistance on your part, which has almost worn out my patience, i have thought fit to propose the same thing once more to you in presence of my council. now i would have you to consider, that the favour i desire is not only to oblige me, but to comply with the earnest request of the estates of my dominions, who, for the common good of us all, in conjunction with me, require it of you. declare then, before these lords present, whether you will marry or not; that, according to your answer, i may proceed, and take those measures which i ought. the prince answered with so little temper, or rather with so much heat, that the sultan, enraged to see himself affronted in full council, cried out, how, unnatural son! have you the insolence to talk thus to your father and sultan? ho! guards, take him away! at these words he was seized by the eunuchs, and carried to an old tower that had been uninhabited a long while; where he was shut up, with only a bed, a few moveables, some books, and one slave only to attend him. camaralzaman, thus deprived of liberty, was nevertheless pleased that he had the freedom to converse with books, which made him look on his confinement with some indifference. in the evening he bathed, and said his prayers; and, after having read some chapters in the alcoran with the same tranquillity of mind as if he had been in the sultan's palace, undressed himself, and went to bed, leaving his lamp burning by him all the while he slept. in this tower was a well, which served for a retreat to a certain fairy named maimoune, daughter of damriel, king or head of a legion of genii. it was about midnight when this maimoune came forth silently, to wander about the world after her wonted custom. she was surprised to see a light in prince camaralzaman's chamber. she entered it; and, without stopping at the slave who lay at the door, approached the bed, whose magnificence, though very great, she did not so much wonder at, as that there should be a man in it. prince camaralzaman had but half covered his face with the bed-clothes, by which maimoune could perceive that he was the finest young man she had seen in all her rambles through the world. what beauty, or rather what prodigy of beauty, said she within herself, will this youth appear, when his so well formed eye-lids shall be open? what crime can he have committed, to deserve this rigorous treatment? she could not forbear admiring the prince, till at length, having kissed him gently on both cheeks, and in the middle of the forehead, without waking him, she laid the bed-clothes in the order they were in before, and took her flight into the air. as she mounted to the middle region, she heard a great clapping of wings, which induced her to fly towards that side; and, when she approached, she saw the genius that made the noise, but he was one of those who are rebellious to god. as for maimoune, she belonged to that class whom the great solomon forced to conform. this genius, whose name was danhasch, the son of schamhourasch, knew maimoune; but did not dare to take notice of her, being sensible how much power she had over him, by her submission to the almighty. he would have avoided her, but she was so near him, that he must either fight or yield. brave maimoune, said danhasch, in the tone of a supplicant, swear to me, in the name of the great power, that you will not hurt me; and i swear also, on my part, not to do you any harm? cursed genius! replied maimoune, what hurt canst thou do me? i fear thee not; but as thou hast desired this favour of me, i swear not to do thee any harm. tell me, then, wandering spirit, whence thou comest, what thou hast seen, and what mischief thou hast done this night? fair lady, answered danhasch, you meet me in a good time to hear something that is very wonderful. the history of the princess of china. i am come from the utmost limits of china, which look on the last islands of this hemisphere. but, charming maimoune, said danhasch, who trembled at the sight of this fairy, insomuch that he could hardly speak, promise me at least that you will forgive me, and let me go on in my way, after i have satisfied your demands. go on, go on, cursed spirit! replied maimoune, go on, and fear nothing. dost thou think i am as perfidious an elf as thyself, and that i am capable of breaking the serious oath i have made? no, you may depend on my promise: but be sure you tell nothing but what is true, or i shall clip your wings, and treat you as you deserve. danhasch, a little heartened at the words of maimoune, said, my dear lady, i will tell you nothing but what is true, if you will have but the goodness to hear me. you must know, then, the country of china, from whence i come, is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the earth, on which depend the utmost islands of this hemisphere, as i have already said. the king of this country is at present gaiour, who has a daughter the finest woman that ever the sun saw. neither you nor i, nor your class nor mine, nor all mankind together, have expressions lively enough to give a sufficient description of this bright lady. her hair is brown, and of so great a length, that it reaches far below her feet. her forehead is as smooth as the best polished mirror, and of admirable symmetry. her eyes are black, sparkling, and full of fire. her nose is neither too long nor too short, her mouth is small, and her lips are like vermilion. her teeth are like two rows of pearls, and surpass every thing in whiteness. when she moves her tongue, she forms a sweet and most agreeable voice, and expresses herself in such proper terms as sufficiently indicate the vavacity of her wit. the whitest marble or alabaster is not fairer than her neck. in a word, by this perfect sketch, you may guess there is no beauty like her in the world. any one that did not know the king, father of this incomparable princess, would be apt to imagine, from the great respect and kindness he shows her, that he was in love with his daughter. never did a lover do more for a mistress the most endearing, than he has been seen to do for her. in a word, jealousy never was more watchful over one than he is over her; and that her retreat, on which he has resolved, may not seem irksome, he has built seven palaces for her, the most magnificent and uncommon that ever were known. the first palace is of rock crystal, the second of brass, the third of fine steel, the fourth of another sort of brass more valuable than the foregoing, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of massy gold. he has furnished these palaces most sumptuously, and after a most unheard-of manner, with materials not unlike those they are built of. he has filled the gardens with parterres of glass and flowers, intermixed with all manner of water-works, such as jets-d'eau, canals, cascades, and the like; the eye is lost in prospect of large groves and trees where the sun never enters. king gaiour, in short, has made it appear that his paternal love exceeds that of any other kind whatever. now, on the fame of the beauty of this incomparable princess, the most powerful neighbouring kings sent embassadors to request her in marriage. the king of china received them all in the most obliging manner; but as he resolved not to marry his daughter without her consent, so as she did not like any of them, they returned after receiving great honours and civilities. sir, said the princess to the king her father, you have a mind to marry me, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall i find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as i have with your majesty? under your good pleasure i am unconstrained in all things, and receive the same honours that are paid to your own person. these are advantages i cannot expect to find any where else; men ever love to be masters; and i do not care to be commanded by a husband. after divers embassies on the same occasion, there came one from a more rich and potent king than any that had been hitherto sent. the king of china recommended this prince to his daughter, as a husband both advantageous and proper for her: yet she refused him for the same reasons as before, and begged her father to dispense with her on that account. he pressed her to hearken to him; but, instead of complying, she lost all respect and duty that was due to him. sir, said she, in a great rage, trouble me no more with any talk of marriage, unless you would have me bury this poniard in my bosom, to rid myself from your importunities! the king, being much enraged at this, said in a great passion, daughter, you are mad, and i must use you as such. in a word, he shut her up in a certain apartment of one of the seven palaces, allowing only ten old women to wait upon her, to keep her company, the chief of whom had been her nurse. and that the kings his neighbours, who had sent embassies to him on this account, might not think any more of her, he despatched envoys to them severally, to let them know how averse his daughter was to marriage; and as he did not doubt but she was really mad, he charged them to make it known in every court, that if there were any physician who would undertake to come and cure her, he should, if he succeeded, have her for his pains. fair maimoune, said danhasch, all is true that i have told you; and i, for my part, have not failed to go every day regularly to contemplate this incomparable beauty, whom i would be very far from doing any harm to, notwithstanding my natural propensity to mischief. i would have you go to see her, continued he; i will assure you it would be worth your while, and doubt not but you will think yourself obliged to me for the sight, when you find i am no liar: i am ready to wait on you as a guide, and you may command me as soon as you please. instead of answering danhasch, maimoune burst into a violent laughter, which lasted some time; and danhasch, not knowing what might be the occasion of it, was not a little astonished. when maimoune ceased laughing, she cried, good, good, very good; you would have me then believe all that you have told me: i thought you designed to entertain me with something surprising and extraordinary, and you have been talking all this while like a driveller! ah! fie, fie! what would you say, if you had seen the fine prince whom i am just come from, and whom i love with a passion equal to his desert? i am confident you will soon give up the bell, and not pretend to compare your choice with mine. agreeable maimoune, replied danhasch, may i presume to ask you what this prince is called? know, answered maimoune, an accident has happened to him much like that of your princess. the king his father would have married him against his will; but, after many importunities, he frankly told the old gentleman he would have nothing to do with a wife. this occasioned him to be put in a prison in an old tower, which i make my residence, and from whence i came but just now from admiring him. i will not absolutely contradict you, my pretty lady, replied danhasch; but you must give me leave to be of opinion, till i have seen the prince, that no mortal upon earth can equal the beauty of my princess. hold thy tongue, cursed spirit! replied maimoune: i tell thee, once more, that can never be. i will not contend with you, said danhasch; but the way to be convinced, is to accept of the proffer i make you to go and see my princess, and after that i will go with you to your prince. there is no need of taking so much pains, replied maimoune; there is another way to satisfy us both; and that is, for you to bring your princess, and place her at my prince's bed-side: by this means it will be easy for us to compare them together, and to see which is the most handsome. danhasch consented to what maimoune had proposed, and was resolved to set out immediately for china upon that errand: but maimoune, drawing him aside, told him, she must first show him the place whither he was to bring the princess. they flew together to the tower; and when maimoune had shown him the place, she cried, go now, fetch your princess: do it quickly, and you shall find me here. danhasch left maimoune, and flew towards china, whence he soon returned with incredible speed, bringing the fair princess along with him asleep. maimoune introduced him into the chamber of prince camaralzaman, and they placed the princess by the prince's side. when the prince and princess were thus laid together, all the while asleep, there rose a great contest between the genius and the fairy about the preference of beauty. they were some time admiring and comparing them; but at length danhasch broke silence, and said to maimoune, you see, and i have already told you, my princess was handsomer than your prince; now, i hope, you are convinced of it. how! convinced of it! replied maimoune; i am not convinced of it: and you must be blind, if you cannot see that my prince has the better of the comparison. the princess is fair, i do not deny it; but if you compare them together without prejudice, you will quickly see the difference. though i should compare them ever so often, said danhasch, i could never change my opinion. i saw what i now see at first sight, and time will not be able to make me see more; however, this shall not hinder my yielding to you, charming maimoune, if you desire it; but i would have you yield to me as a favour! i scorn it, said maimoune; and i would not receive a favour at such a wicked genius' hands: i refer the matter to an arbitrator; and if you will not consent, i shall get the better by your refusal. danhasch, who had ever a great deal of complaisance for maimoune, immediately consented, which he had no sooner done, but maimoune stamping with her foot, the earth opened, and out came a hideous, hump-backed, blind, and lame genius, with six horns on his head, and claws on his hands and feet. as soon as he was come out, and the earth had closed up, he, perceiving maimoune, cast himself at her feet, and then, rising upon one knee, asked what she would please to have with him. rise, cascheasch, said maimoune; i caused you to come hither to determine a difference between me and that cursed danhasch there. look on that bed, and tell me, without partiality, which is the handsomest of those two who lie there asleep, the young man or the young lady. cascheasch looked on the prince and princess with great attention, admiration, and surprise; and after he had considered them a good while, without being able to determine which was the handsomest, he turned to maimoune, and said, madam, i must needs confess i should deceive you, and betray myself, if i pretended to say one was a whit handsomer than the other: the more i examine them, the more it seems to me each possesses, in a sovereign degree, the beauty which is betwixt them; and if one has not the least defect, how can the other have any advantage? but if either has any thing amiss, it will be better discovered when they are awake, than now they are asleep. let them then be awaked one after another; and that person who shall express most love for the other by ardour, eagerness, and passion, shall be deemed to have least beauty. this proposal of cascheasch's pleased equally both maimoune and danhasch. maimoune then changed herself into a flea, and leaped on the prince's neck, where she stung him so smartly, that he awoke, and put up his hand to the place; but maimoune skipped away as soon as she had done, and resumed her pristine form; which, like those of the two genii, was invisible, the better to observe what he would do. in drawing back his hand, the prince chanced to let it fall on that of the princess of china. he opened his eyes, and was exceedingly surprised to find a lady lying by him; nay, a lady of the greatest beauty. he raised his head, and leaned on his elbow, the better to consider her. her blooming youth, and incomparable beauty, fired him in a moment; of which flame he had never yet been sensible, and from which he had even hitherto guarded himself with the greatest application. love seized on his heart in the most lively manner, insomuch that he could not help crying out, what beauty is this! what charms! o my heart! o my soul! in saying which, he kissed her forehead, both her cheeks, and her mouth, with so little caution, that she had certainly been awaked by it, had not she slept sounder than usual through the enchantment of danhasch. how, my pretty lady! said the prince, do you not awake at these testimonies of love given you by prince camaralzaman? whosoever you are, i would have you to know he is not unworthy of your affection. he was going to awake her at that instant, but refrained himself all of a sudden. is not this she, said he, whom the sultan my father would have had me marry? he was in the wrong not to let me see her sooner. had he done so, i should not have offended him by my disobedience, nor would he have had occasion to use me as he has done. the prince began to repent sincerely of the fault he had committed, and was once more upon the point of awaking the princess of china. it may be, said he within himself, the sultan my father has a mind to surprise me, and has sent this young lady to try if i had really that aversion to marriage which i pretended. who knows but, having thus laid her in my way, he is hid behind the hangings, to take an opportunity to appear, and make me ashamed of my dissimulation? this second crime would be yet much greater than the first. upon the whole matter, i will content myself with this ring, which will at any time create in me a remembrance of this dear lady. he then gently drew off a fine ring the princess had on her finger, and immediately put on one of his own in its place. after this he turned his back, and was not long before he fell into a profounder sleep than before, through the enchantment of the genii. as soon as prince camaralzaman was sound asleep, danhasch transformed himself into a flea likewise in his turn, and went and bit the princess so rudely on the lower lip, that she forthwith awoke, started, clapped herself upon her breech, and opening her eyes, was not a little surprised to see a man lying by her. from surprise she proceeded to admiration, and from admiration to real joy, which she conceived at finding him so beautiful and young. what! cried she, is it you the king my father has designed me for a husband? i am, indeed, most unfortunate at not knowing it before, for then i should not have put my lord and father in a rage, nor been so long deprived of a husband, whom i cannot forbear loving with all my heart. wake, then, wake, my dear love, proceeded she; for it does not sure become a man that is married, to sleep so soundly the first night of his nuptials. so saying, she took prince camaralzaman by the arm, and shook him so violently, as had been enough to have awaked the profoundest sleeper, had not maimoune at that instant increased his sleep, and augmented his enchantment. she renewed this shaking several times, and finding it did not awake him, she cried out, what is come to thee, my dear! what jealous rival, envying thy happiness and mine, has had recourse to magic, to throw thee into this profound and insurmountable drowsiness; from whence i think thou wilt never recover? then she snatched his hand, and kissing it eagerly, perceived he had a ring upon his finger which greatly resembled her's, and which she found to be her own. as soon as she saw that she had another on her finger instead of it, she could not comprehend how this exchange could be made; but yet she did not doubt but it was a certain token of their marriage. at length, being tired with her fruitless endeavours to awake the prince, yet well assured that he could not escape her when he awoke, she said, since i find it is not in my power to awake thee, i will not trouble myself any further about it, but bid thee good night, and then compose myself to rest. at these words, after having given him a hearty kiss on the cheeks and lips, she turned her back, and went again to sleep. when maimoune saw that she could speak without fear of awaking the princess, she cried to danhasch, ah, cursed genius! dost thou not now see what thy contest is come to? art thou not now convinced how much thy princess is inferior to my prince in charms? at this she turned to cascheasch; and having thanked him for his trouble, bid him, in conjunction with danhasch, take the princess, and convey her back again to her bed, from whence he had taken her. danhasch and cascheasch did as they were commanded, and maimoune retired to her well. prince caraaralzaman, waking next morning, looked to see if the lady was by him whom he had seen the night before. when he found she was gone, he cried out, i thought indeed that this was a trick the king my father designed to play me! i am much obliged to him for the favour, yet have fairly escaped his trap. then he awaked the slave, and bid him come and dress him, who accordingly brought him a basin of water; and washing himself, and saying his prayers, he took a book, and began to read. after those ordinary exercises, he called the slave, and said to him, come hither, and be careful that you do not tell me a lie. how came the lady hither who lay with me tonight, and who brought her? my lord, answered the slave with great astonishment, i know not what lady your highness speaks of. i speak, said the prince, of her who came hither, and lay with me tonight, or rather who was brought for that purpose. my lord, replied the slave, i know of no such lady; and if there was any such, how should she come in without my knowledge, since i lay at the door? are you in the contrivance, then, villain? replied the prince, slave, you lie! for there was a lady here. in saying these words, he gave him a box on the ear, pushed him along upon the ground, and then stamped upon him for some time; till at length, taking the well-rope, and tying it under his arms, he plunged him several times into the water. i will drown thee, wretch! cried he, if thou dost not speedily tell me who the lady was, and who introduced her'! the slave, half dead, said within himself, doubtless, my lord the prince must have lost his senses through grief, and i shall not know how to escape being murdered, if i do not tell him a lie. my lord, then cried he, in an humble and supplicant tone, i beseech your highness to spare my life, and i will tell you how the matter is. then the prince drew the slave up, and pressed him to begin. as soon as he was out of the well, my lord, said he, trembling, your highness may perceive it is not proper for me to relate any thing to you in this condition: i beg you to give me leave to go and change my clothes, and i will satisfy you all i am able. do it, then, quickly, said the prince; and be sure you conceal nothing; for if you do, you must expect the worst of usage. the slave, being at liberty, went out; and having locked the door upon the prince, ran to the palace in the pickle he was in. the king was at that time in discourse with his prime vizier, to whom he had just related the agonies he had undergone that night on account of his son's disobedience. the wise minister endeavoured to comfort his master, by telling him that he did not doubt but the prince would soon be reduced to obedience. sir, said he, your majesty need not repent of having used your son after this rate; i dare promise it will contribute towards reclaiming him. have but patience to let him continue a while in prison, and no doubt the heat of youth will abate, and he will submit entirely to your pleasure. the grand vizier had just made an end of speaking when the slave came in, and cast himself at king schahzaman's feet. my lord, said he, i am very sorry to be the messenger of ill news to your majesty, which i know must create your fresh affliction. my lord the prince is distracted; he fancies a fine lady has lain with him all night, and has used me thus ill for questioning it. then he proceeded to tell all the particulars of what prince camaralzaman had said to him. the king, who did not expect to hear any thing of this kind, said to the prime minister. now you see how much you are mistaken in the remedy of a prison! this is very different from what hopes you give me just now. run immediately, and see what is the matter, and come and give me a speedy account. the grand vizier obeyed; and going into the prince's chamber, found him sitting on his bed in good temper, and with a book in his hand, which he was reading. after mutual salutations, the vizier sat down by him, and said, my lord, i would willingly have a slave of yours punished, who has come to fright the king your father with news that has put him under great disturbance. what news is that, replied the prince, which could give my father so great uneasiness? i have much greater cause to complain of that slave. my lord, answered the vizier, god forbid that the news should be true which he has told your father concerning you, and which indeed myself find to be false, by the good temper i observe you in, and which i pray god to continue! it may be, replied the prince, he did not make himself well understood; but since you are come, who ought to know something of the matter, give me leave to ask you who that lady was that lay with me last night? the grand vizier was almost struck dumb at this demand; however, he recovered himself, and said, my lord, be not surprised at the confusion i was under upon your question. is it possible, think you, my lord, that any lady, or any other person in the world, should penetrate by night into this place without entering at the door, and walking over the belly of your slave? i beseech you, my lord, recollect yourself, and you will find this only a dream which has made this impression on you. i give no ear to what you say, said the prince, in an angry and high tone; i must know of you absolutely what is become of the lady; and if you scruple to obey me, i am in a place where i shall soon be able to force you to tell me. at these stern words the grand vizier began to be under greater confusion than before, and was thinking how he could in the best manner get away. he endeavoured to pacify the prince by good words; and begged of him, in the most humble manner, to tell him if he had seen this lady. yes, yes, answered the prince; i have seen her, and am very well satisfied that you sent her to tempt me. she played the part you had given her admirably well, for i could not get a word from her: she pretended to be asleep; but i was no sooner got into a slumber, than she rose and left me. you know all this, as well as myself; for i do not doubt but that she has gone to make her report of her dexterity. my lord, replied the vizier, i swear to your highness, that nothing of this has been acted which you seem to reproach me with! and i vow, by the head of our great prophet, that neither your father nor myself have sent the lady you speak of, if i may believe my royal master's protestations; and sure i am, i can answer for myself. i am confident that neither of us had ever any such thought: permit me, therefore, to certify your highness once more that this must needs have been a dream. how! do you come thus to affront and contradict me, said the prince in a great rage, and to tell me to my face that what i have told you is a dream. you are an unbelieving varlet! cried he; and at the same time took him by the beard, and loaded him with so many blows, that he was hardly able to stand under them. the poor grand vizier endured patiently all the brunt of his lord's indignation, and could not help saying within himself, now am i even in as bad a condition as the slave, and shall think myself happy if i can, like him, escape from any further danger. in the midst of the blows that were given him, he cried out but for a moment's audience; which the prince, after he had nearly tired himself with beating him, consented to give. i own, my lord, said the grand vizier, dissembling, that there is something in what your highness suspects; but you cannot be ignorant under what necessity a minister is to obey his royal master's orders; yet if your highness will but be pleased to set me at liberty, will go and tell him any thing on your part that you shall think fit to command. go, then, said the prince, and tell him from me, that, if he pleases, i will marry the lady he sent me, or rather that was brought me, last night. do this quickly, and bring me a speedy answer. the grand vizier made a profound reverence, and went away, not thinking himself altogether safe till he had got out of the tower, and shut the door upon the prince. he came and presented himself before the sultan schahzaman, with a countenance that sufficiently showed he had been ill used. well, said the king, in what condition did you find my son? sir, answered the vizier, what the slave reported to your majesty is but too true. he then related the interview he had had with camaralzaman; how he was in a passion upon his endeavouring to persuade him it was impossible that any lady should get in to him; how he had used him very scurvily, and by what means he made his escape. schahzaman was the more concerned, because he loved the prince with an exceeding tenderness, and resolved to find out the truth of this matter; he therefore proposed to go and see his son in the tower himself, accompanied by the grand vizier. prince camaralzaman received the king his father in the tower with great respect. the king sat down, and made the prince his son seat himself by him, putting several questions to him, which he answered with a great deal of good sense. as they were talking, the king every now and then cast his eyes on the grand vizier, thereby intimating to him, that he did not find his son had lost his senses, but rather thought he had lost his. the king at length spoke of the lady to his son. son, said he, i desire you to tell me what lady that was who lay with you last night, as i have been told? sir, answered camaralzaman, i beg your majesty not to give me any more disturbance on that head, but rather to oblige me so far as to let me have her in marriage: whatever aversion i may formerly have discovered for women, this young lady has charmed me to that degree, that i cannot help betraying my weakness. i am ready to receive her at your majesty's hands, with all the acknowledgments imaginable. king schahzaman was surprised at this answer of the prince's, so remote, as he thought, from the good sense he had found in him before; he therefore said to him, son, you put me under the greatest consternation imaginable, by what you now say to me: i swear to you, by my crown, which is to devolve upon you after me, that i know not one word of what you mention about the lady; and if there has any such come to you, it was altogether without my knowledge or privity. but how could she get into this tower without my consent? for whatever my grand vizier told you, it was only to appease you that he said it: it must therefore be nothing but a dream; and i beg of you not to believe any thing to the contrary. sir, replied the prince, i should be for ever unworthy of the good-will of your majesty, if i did not give entire credit to what you are pleased to say; but i humbly beseech you, at the same time, give ear to what i shall say to you, and then to judge whether what i have the honour to tell you be a dream or not. then prince camaralzaman related to the king his father after what manner he had been awaked, exaggerating the beauty and charms of the lady he found by his side, the love he had for her at first sight, and the pains he took to awake her with- out effect. he did not conceal what had obliged him to awake, arid fall asleep again, after he made the exchange of his ring with that of the lady. showing the king the ring, he added, sir, your majesty must needs know my ring very well, and you see i have it not on my finger, but another of a woman's in- stead of it. from this proof, therefore, i hope you will be pleased to be convinced that i have not lost my senses, as you have been almost made to believe. king schahzaman was so perfectly convinced of the truth of what his son had been telling him, that he had not a word to say, remaining astonished for some time, and not being able to utter a syllable. the prince took advantage of this opportunity, and said further, may it please your majesty, the passion i have conceived for this charming lady, whose precious image i bear continually on my mind, is so strong, that i cannot live unless your majesty procures me the happiness of enjoying her; which i know you can well do, as not being ignorant who she is. son, replied the king, after what i have just heard, and what i see by the ring on your finger, i cannot doubt but your passion is real for this lady; and would to god i knew who she was, i would make you happy from this moment. but what means have i to come at the knowledge of her? where shall i find her, and how seek for her? how could she get in here, and by what conveyance, without my consent? why did she come to sleep only, inflame you with her beauty, and then leave you while you was in a slumber? these things, i must confess, are past my finding out; and if heaven is not so favourable as to give some light into them, we, i fear, must both go down to the grave together. come, then, my son, continued he, let us go and afflict ourselves in conjunction; you for the hopes you have lost, and i for seeing you grieve, and not being in a capacity to remedy your affliction. king schahzaman then led his son out of the tower, and conveyed him to the palace; where he was no sooner arrived, than he fell sick, and took to his bed; which made the king shut himself up with him, and grieve so bitterly, that he was not in a condition to take any cognizance of the affairs of his kingdom. the prime minister, who was the only person that had admittance, came one day and told him the whole court, and even the people, began to murmur at their not seeing him, and that he did not administer justice every day as he was wont to do before this accident happened, on which account he knew not what disorders it might occasion. i humbly beg your majesty, therefore, proceeded he, to take some notice of what i now represent to you. i am sensible your majesty's company is a great comfort to the prince in his condition, and that his is no less assuaging to your grief; but then you must not run the risk of letting all be lost. i should think it were proper to be proposed to your majesty, that you would be pleased to suffer yourself to be transported to a castle which you have in a little island opposite the port, where you may give audience to your subjects twice a week; and where, during that function, the prince will be so agreeably amused with the beauty, prospect, and good air of the place, that he will be likely to bear your absence with the less concern. king schahzaman approved of this proposal; and when the castle, where he had not resided for some time, had been new furnished; he caused himself to be transported thither with the prince; where, excepting the times that he gave audience as aforesaid, he passed all his hours on his son's pillow; sometimes endeavouring to comfort him, but oftener afflicting himself with him. whilst matters passed thus in the capital of king schahzaman, the two genii, danhasch and cascheasch, had carried the princess of china back to the palace, where the king her father had shut her up, and laid her in her bed as before. when she awaked next morning, and found, by looking to the right and to the left, that prince camaralzaman was not by her, she cried out with such a voice to her old women, as soon made them come to know what she wanted. her nurse, who presented herself first, desired to be informed what her highness would be pleased to have, and what had happened to hot that occasioned her to call out so earnestly. tell me, said the princess, what is become of the young man that has lain with me to-night, and whom i love with all my soul? madam, replied the nurse, we know of no such person, and cannot pretend to understand your highness, unless you will be pleased to explain yourself. how do you mean explain myself! quoth the princess. why, i had a lovely and most amiable young man that slept with me last night; whom, though i caressed ever so much, i could not awake: i only ask you where he is? madam, answered the nurse, is it to jest and impose upon us that your highness asks these questions? i beseech your highness to be pleased to rise, and you shall be satisfied in all things that we are capable of satisfying you in. i am in earnest, then, said the princess; and i must know where this young man is. madam, insisted the nurse, you were alone when you went to bed last night; and how any man could come to you without our knowledge, i cannot imagine; for we all lay about the door of your chamber, which was locked, and i had the key in my pocket. at this the princess lost all patience; and, catching the nurse by the hair, and giving her two or three sound cuffs, cried, tell me where this young man is, you old sorceress, or i will beat out your brains. the nurse struggled all she could to get from her, and at last succeeded; when she went immediately, with tears in her eyes, and her face all bloody, to complain to the queen her mother, who was not a little surprised to see the old woman in such a condition. madam, began the nurse, you see what a condition the princess has put me in! she would certainly have murdered me, if i had not escaped out of her hands. but for what, good nurse? replied the queen: what occasion did you give my daughter for using you so ill? i gave none, madam, answered the nurse; and so began to tell the cause of all that passion and rage in the princess. the queen was mightily surprised to hear it, and could not guess how she came to be so infatuated as to take for a reality what could be no other than a dream. your majesty must conclude from all this, madam, continued the nurse, that my mistress the princess is out of her senses. i would beseech your majesty, therefore, to go and see her, and you will find what i say to be but too true. the great love the queen bore the princess readily made her comply with the nurse's proposal; so they went together immediately to the princess's palace. the queen of china sat down by her daughter's bed-side upon her arrival in her apartment, and, after informing herself about her health, began to ask what had made her so angry with her nurse as to treat her after the manner she had done, which great princesses had never condescended or attempted to do before. madam, replied the princess, i plainly perceive your majesty is come to mock me; but i declare i will never let you rest till you consent i shall marry the young man that lay with me last night. you must needs know where he is, and therefore i beg your majesty would let him come to me again. daughter, answered the queen, you surprise me; i know nothing of what you talk. then the princess lost all manner of respect for the queen, and replied, in a great passion, the king my father and you have all along persecuted me about marrying when i had no mind to it, and, now i have a mind, you would fain oppose me; but i must tell you, madam, i will have this young man i speak of for my husband, or i will kill myself! here the queen endeavoured to calm the princess by soft words. daughter, said she, you know well you was alone in this apartment; how then could any man come to you? this must be mere fancy or a dream; for--here the princess interrupted her, and was so far from hearkening to what she said, that she flew out into such extravagances as obliged the queen to leave her, and retire, in great affliction, to inform her lord in what condition their daughter was. the king, hearing it, had a mind likewise to be satisfied in person; and, therefore, coming to his daughter's apartment, demanded of her to say if what he had just heard was true. sir, replied the princess, let us talk no more of that; i only beseech your majesty to grant me the favour that i may marry the young cavalier i lay with last night. what! said the king, has any one lain with you last night? how, sir! replied the princess, without giving the king leave to go on; do you ask me if any one lay with me last night? your majesty knows that but too well. he was the finest and best made cavalier the sun ever saw: i desire him of you for my husband by all means, sir; and i beg you will not refuse me. but that your majesty may no longer doubt whether i have seen this cavalier, whether he has lain with me, whether i have caressed him, or whether i did my utmost to awake him without succeeding, see, if you please, this ring! she then reached forth her hand, and showed the king a man's ring upon her finger. the king did not know what to make of all this; but, as he had confined her as mad, so now he began to think her more so than ever. therefore, without saying any thing more, for fear she might do violence to herself or somebody else, had her chained, and shut up more closely than ever, allowing her only the nurse to wait on her, with a good guard at the door. the king, being exceedingly concerned at the indisposition of his daughter, sought all possible means to get her cured. he assembled his council, and, after having acquainted them with her condition, he proffered any one of them that would undertake her cure the succession to his kingdom after his death, if successful.. the desire of enjoying a young and beautiful princess, and the hope of governing one day so powerful a kingdom as that of china, had a strange effect on an old emir, already advanced in age, who was then present in council. as he was well skilled in magic, he offered the king to cure his daughter, and flattered himself with success. very well, said the king; but i forgot to tell you one thing; and that is, that if you do not succeed, you shall lose your head. it would not be reasonable that you should have so great a reward, and yet run no risk on your part. and what i say to you, continued the king, i say to all others that shall come after you, to let them consider be- forehand what they undertake. the emir, however, accepted the condition, and the king led him to the princess. she covered her face as soon as she saw them come in, and cried out, your majesty surprises me, in bringing a man along with you whom i do not know, and by whom my religion forbids me to allow myself to be seen. daughter, replied the king, you need not be scandalized; it is only one of my emirs that is come to demand you of me in marriage. it is not, i perceive, he that you have already given me, re- plied the princess; and your majesty may rest assured that i will never marry any other. now the emir expected the princess would have said or done some extravagant thing, and was not a little disappointed when he heard her talk so calmly and rationally; for he then knew her disease was nothing but a violent love passion, which he was by no means able to cure. he therefore threw himself at his majesty's feet, and said, after what i have heard and observed, sir, it will be to no purpose for me to think of curing the princess, since i have no remedies proper for her malady; for which reason i humbly submit my life to your majesty's pleasure. the king enraged at his incapacity, and the trouble he had given him, caused, him immediately to be beheaded. some few days after, his majesty, unwilling to have it said that he had neglected his daughter's cure, put forth a proclamation in his capital city, importing, that if any physician, astrologer, or magician, would undertake to restore the princess to her senses, he need only come, and he should be employed, provided he was willing to lose his head if he miscarried. he had the same thing published in the other principal cities and towns of his dominions, as likewise in those of the other neighbouring states. the first that presented himself was both an astrologer and magician, whom the king caused to be conducted to the princess's prison by an eunuch. the astrologer, upon seeing his patient, drew forth, out of a bag he carried in his arm an astrolabe, a small sphere, a chafing dish several sorts of drugs proper for fumigations, a brass pot, with many other things, and desired he might have a fire lighted. the princess demanded for what all these preparations were madam, answered the eunuch, they are to exorcise the evil spirit that possesses you, and afterwards to shut him up in this pot, and throw him into the sea. foolish astrologer! replied the princess, i have no occasion for any of your preparations, but am in my perfect senses, and it is you alone who are mad. if your art can bring him i love to me, i shall be obliged to you; otherwise you may go about your business, for i have nothing to do with you. madam, said the astrologer, if your case be so, i shall desist from all endeavours believing that the king your father can only remedy your disaster in this particular. so putting up his trinkets again, he marched away, very much concerned that he had so easily undertaken to cure an imaginary sick person. coming to give an account to the king of what he had done, he would not suffer the eunuch to speak for him, but began thus himself: according to what your majesty published in your proclamation, and what you were pleased to confirm to me yourself. i thought the princess was distracted and therefore had provided all i believed necessary to restore her to her senses, pursuant to the nostrums i have; but, to my great amazement, when i beheld her, i found she had no other disease than that of love, over which my art had no power. your majesty, then, may be pleased to consider, that you alone are the physician who can cure her, by giving her the person in marriage whom she desires. the king, upon hearing this, was very much enraged at the astrologer, and had his head cut off upon the spot. now, not to fatigue your majesty with long repetitions, proceeded scheherazade to the sultan, i will acquaint you, in few words, that so many astrologers, physicians, magicians, and the like, came upon this account, that they in all amounted to about fifty; who, nevertheless, all underwent the same fate, and their heads were set upon poles on every gate of the city. the story of marzavan, with the sequel of that of prince camaralzaman. the princess of china's nurse had a son whose name was marzavan, and who had been foster-brother to the princess. their friendship was so great during their childhood, that they called each other brother and sister, which even continued some time after their separation. this marzavan, among other studies, had from his youth been much addicted to judicial astrology, geomancy, and other secret arts, wherein he became exceedingly skilful. not content with what he had learned from masters, he travelled; and there was hardly a person of note in any science whom he did not know, so great was his thirst after knowledge. after several years absence in foreign parts on this account, he returned to the capital city of his native country, china; where, seeing so many heads on the gate by which he entered, he was exceedingly surprised, and, on coming to his lodging, demanded for what reason they had been placed there; but more especially informed himself of the condition of the princess his foster-sister, whom he had not forgotten. as he could not be made acquainted with one without having an account of the other, he for the present satisfied himself with what he had heard, till such time as he could learn more from his mother, the princess's nurse. although the nurse, mother of marzavan, was very much employed about the princess, yet she no sooner heard her dear son was returned, but she found time to come and embrace, and stay with him a little. having told him, with tears in her eyes, in what a sad condition the princess was, and for what reason the king her father had confined her, he desired to know of his mother, if she could not procure him the sight of her royal mistress, without the king's knowing any thing of it. after some pause, she told him she could say nothing to the matter for the present; but if he would meet her next day at the same hour, she would give him an answer. now the nurse, knowing that none could approach the princess but herself, without leave of the eunuch who commanded the guard at the gate, addressed herself to him, who, she believed, was ignorant of what had formerly passed at the court of china. you know, said she, i have brought up and suckled the princess, and may likewise have heard that i had a daughter whom i brought up along with her. now this daughter has since been married; yet the princess still does her the honour to remember her, and would fain see her, but would do so without any body perceiving her coming in or out. the nurse would have gone on, but the eunuch cried, say no more, it is sufficient; i will do any thing to oblige the princess: go and fetch your daughter, for send or her about midnight, and the gate shall be open to you. as soon as night came, the nurse went for her son marzavan; and, having dressed him so artfully in women's clothes, that nobody could perceive he was a man, she took him along with her; and the eunuch, believing it was a woman, admitted them without hesitation. the nurse, before she thought fit to present marzavan, went to the princess, and said, madam, this is not a woman i have brought to you; it is my son marzavan, lately arrived from his travels; he has a great desire to kiss your hand, and i hope your highness will admit him to that honour. what, my brother marzavan! said the princess, with a great deal of joy. come hither, my dear, cried she, and take off this veil; for surely it is not unreasonable that a brother and a sister should see each other without reserve. marzavan saluted her with profound respect, when she, without giving him leave to speak, cried out, i am rejoiced to see you returned in good health, after so many years' absence. madam, replied marzavan, i am infinitely obliged to your highness for your goodness in rejoicing at my health; i no sooner landed in my native country than i inquired after yours, and heard what, to my great affliction, i am now witness of. nevertheless, i cannot but rejoice that i am come seasonably to administer that remedy to you which so many others have attempted without success; and though i should not reap any other fruit of my long voyage, i shall think myself fully recompensed, for my great toil and hazard, by that one happiness. speaking these words, marzavan drew forth a book, and other things from his pocket, which he judged necessary to be used, according to the relation he had got from his mother of the princess's distemper. the princess, seeing him make all those preparations, cried out, what! brother, are you then one of those who believe me mad? undeceive yourself, and hearken to what i shall say to you. the princess then began to relate to marzavan all the particulars of her story, without omitting the least circumstance, even to the ring which was exchanged for hers, and which she showed him. i have not concealed the least matter from you, said she; yet it is true there is something that i cannot comprehend, and has given occasion for some persons to think me mad; but as for the rest, i assure you it is literally as i have related. after the princess had done speaking, marzavan, filled with wonder and astonishment, continued for some time with his eyes fixed on the ground, without speaking a word; but at length lifting his head, he said, if it be as your highness says, and which i do not in the least doubt, i hope to procure the satisfaction you desire; but i must first entreat your highness to arm yourself with patience till i return; for i am resolved to set out in quest of this person, and, at my return, you may expect to see the object of your love. so saying, marzavan took leave of the princess, and set out next morning on his intended tour. he travelled from city to city, from province to province, and from island to island; and, in every place through which he passed, he could hear of nothing but the princess badoura (the princess of china's name) and her history. about four months after, our traveller arrived at torf, a seaport town, both great and populous, where he no more heard of the princess badoura, all the talk being of prince camaralzaman, who was sick, and whose history was very similar to that of the princess. marzavan was extremely glad to hear this, and informed himself of the place where the prince was to be found, to which he might have gone either by land or sea, or by sea only; but the last was the shortest way. marzavan chose the latter, and, embarking on board a merchant ship, arrived safe in sight of king schahzaman's capital; but, on entering the port, his ship happened to strike upon a rock, when it foundered, and sunk in sight of prince camaralzaman's castle, where the king and his grand vizier were at that time. marzavan could swim very well; he therefore immediately cast himself into the sea on the ship's sinking, and got safe on shore under the castle, where he was soon relieved by the grand vizier's order. after changing his clothes, and being well treated, he was introduced to the grand vizier, who had sent for him. marzavan being a young man of good address, and of a good air, this minister was very civil to him, especially when he heard him give such just and pertinent answers to what was asked of him: he also perceived he was learned; therefore said to him, from what i can understand, you have travelled a great way, and must needs have acquired much knowledge: i would to god you had learned any secret for curing a certain malady, which has greatly afflicted this court for a long while! marzavan replied, if he knew what malady that was, he might perhaps find a remedy for it. then the grand vizier related to him the whole story of prince camaralzaman from its origin, and concealed nothing of his desired birth, his education, the great inclination the king his father had to see him early married, his aversion to marriage, his disobeying his father in full council, his imprisonment, and his pretended extravagances in prison, which, be said, were afterwards changed into a violent passion for a certain unknown lady, who he pretended had exchanged a ring with him, though, for his part, he verily believed there was no such person in the world. marzavan gave great attention to all that the grand vizier said, and was infinitely rejoiced to find that, by means of his shipwreck, he had so fortunately met with the person he was looking after. he saw no reason to doubt but that prince camaralzaman was the man the princess of china was in love with; therefore, without discovering any thing further to the vizier, he desired to see him, whereby, he said, he might be better able to judge of his distemper. follow me then, said the grand vizier, and you will find the king with him, who has already desired i should introduce you to him. the first thing that startled marzavan, at his entrance into the prince's chamber, was to find him upon his bed languishing, and with his eyes shut. although he saw him in that condition, and although the king his father was sitting by him, he could not help crying out, heavens! was there ever a greater resemblance than this! he meant in their faces; for it seems the princess and prince were much alike. these words of marzavan excited the prince's curiosity so far, that he vouchsafed to open his eyes, and look upon him. marzavan, who had a great deal of wit, laid hold of that opportunity, and made his compliment in verse extempore; which nevertheless he did in such a disguised manner, that neither the king nor grand vizier understood any thing of the matter. however, he represented so nicely what had happened to the princess of china, that the prince had no room to doubt but he knew the object of his love, and could give him tidings of her. this made him so joyful, that the effects of it plentifully showed themselves in his eyes and looks. after marzavan had finished his compliment in verse, which surprised prince camaralzaman so agreeably, his highness took the liberty to make a sign to the king his father to quit the place where he was, and let marzavan sit by him. the king, overjoyed at this alteration, which gave him hopes of his son's speedy recovery, quitted his place; and taking marzavan by the hand, led him to it, requesting him to be seated. then his majesty demanded of him who he was, and whence he came; and upon marzavan's answering he was a subject of china, and came from that kingdom, the king immediately cried out, heaven grant you may be able to withdraw my son from this profound melancholy! and i shall have eternal obligations to you, which i will do my utmost to gratify beyond what was ever done. having said this, he left the prince to entertain himself with the stranger, while he went and rejoiced with the grand vizier on this happy meeting. marzavan, leaning down to the prince, spoke low in his ear thus: my lord, said he, it is high time your highness should cease to grieve. i know the lady on whose account you lament so bitterly; it is the princess badoura, daughter of gaiour king of china. of this i can assure your highness, both on account of what she has told me of her adventure, and what i have learned of yours. you may also depend upon it that she has undergone no less on your account than you have done on hers. here he began to relate all that he knew of the princess, from the fatal time of their interview after so an extraordinary a manner. he omitted not to acquaint him how those had fared who had failed in their pretences to cure the princess of her indisposition. but your highness is the only person, added he, that can cure her effectually, and therefore it were no matter how soon you set about it. however, before you undertake so great a voyage, i would have you perfectly recovered, and then we will take such measures as are necessary. this discourse had a marvellous effect on the prince. he found so great a benefit by it, through the hopes he conceived of speedily fulfilling his desires, that he soon recovered strength sufficient to rise, and begged leave of his father to dress before him, with such an air as gave the old king incredible satisfaction. king schahzaman immediately embraced marzavan, without inquiring into the means that had wrought this wonderful effect, and soon after went out of the prince's chamber with the grand vizier, to publish this agreeable news to his people. on this occasion, he ordered public rejoicings for several days together, and moreover gave great largesses to his officers, alms to the poor, and caused the prisoners to be set at liberty throughout his kingdom. every city resounded with joy, and every corner of his dominions felt the effect of his bounty. prince camaralzaman thought he had been extremely weakened by almost continual watchings and abstinence, yet, contrary to all expectation, he soon recovered his wonted health. when he found himself in a condition to undertake the voyage, he took marzavan aside, and said, dear marzavan, it is now time to perform the promise you have made. i burn with impatience to see the charming princess; and if you do not speedily give me an opportunity of putting an end to her torments and my own, by setting out on your journey, i shall soon relapse into my former condition; and then, perhaps, you may not find it so easy to cure me as you have now done. but one thing still afflicts me, continued he; and that is, the difficulty i shall meet with in getting leave from my father to go. you see he scarcely ever leaves me; therefore, if you do not assist me in that particular, i am undone. at these words the prince fell a weeping, and would not be comforted till marzavan said, let not your highness be grieved at that, for i warrant i will get you your liberty, so that nothing shall stop us. my principal design in this voyage was to deliver the princess of china, my mistress, from grief; and i should fail in my duty to her, if i did not do my best endeavour to effect it. this is, then, the means i have contrived to obtain your liberty; you have not stirred abroad for some time, therefore let the king your father understand you have a mind to take the air, and, if he pleases, to go and hunt two or three days with me. no doubt he will grant your request; which when he has done, order two good horses to be got ready in a certain place, and leave the rest to me. next day prince camaralzaman did as he had been advised. he acquainted the king that he was very desirous to take the air, and, if he pleased, would go and hunt two or three days with marzavan. the king gave his consent, but bid him be sure not to be from home above one night, since too much exercise might impair his health, and too long absence create his majesty some uneasiness. he then ordered him the best horses in his stable, and took particular care that nothing should be wanting for his diversion. when all was ready, his majesty embraced the prince, and having recommended the care of him to marzavan, left them. prince camaralzaman and marzavan were soon mounted, when, to amuse the two grooms who led the fresh horses, they made as if they would hunt, and so got as far from the city and out of the road as was possible. night approaching, they alighted at a caravansera or inn, where they supped, and slept till about midnight; when marzavan awaked the prince without awaking the grooms, desiring his highness to let him have his suit, and take another for himself, which was brought in his sumpter. thus equipped, they mounted the fresh horses; and marzavan taking one of the groom's horses by the bridle, they set off at a good round pace. at day-break they got into a forest, where, coming to the meeting of four roads, marzavan went aside, and desired the prince to wait for him a little: he then cut the groom's horse's throat; and, tearing the prince's suit he had on, besmeared it with blood, and threw it in the highway. the prince demanded his reason for what he had done; he told his highness that he was sure the king his father would no sooner come to know that he was departed without the grooms, than he would suspect something, and immediately send in quest of them. now, said marzavan, to the end that, when they come to this place, they may stop and think you are devoured by wild beasts, i have done this; so that by this means we may have leisure to continue our journey without fear of pursuit. i must needs confess, continued marzavan, that this is a violent way of proceeding, to alarm an old father with the death of his son, whom he loved so passionately; but then, on the other hand, the news of your welfare, which he may soon have, will in a great measure alleviate his grief, and make amends for your absence. brave marzavan, replied the prince, i cannot sufficiently admire your conduct, and i have all the obligations in the world to you. the prince and marzavan, well provided with cash for their expenses, continued their journey both by land and sea, and found no other obstacle but the length of the way which they were forced to undergo: at length, however, they arrived at the capital of china, where marzavan, instead of going to his lodging carried the prince to a public inn. they tarried there incognito three days to rest themselves, during which time marzavan caused an astrologer's habit to be made for the prince. the three days being expired, they went together to the bagnio, the prince putting on his astrologer's habit; and from thence marzavan conducted him in sight of the king of china's palace, where he left him to acquaint his mother, the princess badoura's nurse, of his arrival, that she might give the like information to the princess her mistress. prince camaralzaman, instructed by marzavan what he was to do, and provided with all he wanted as an astrologer, came next morning to the gate of the king's palace, and cried aloud, i am an astrologer, and am come to effect a cure on the most beautiful princess badoura, daughter of the most high and mighty monarch gaiour king of china, on the conditions proposed by his majesty, to marry her if i succeed, or else to lose my life for my fruitless and presumptuous attempt! besides the guards and porters standing at the gate, this novelty drew together a great number of people about prince camaralzaman. there had no physician, astrologer, nor magician, appeared for a long time on this account, deterred by the many tragical examples of ill success that had occurred; it was therefore thought there were either no more of these professions in the world, or at least that there were no more so mad as those who had gone before them. the prince's good mien, noble air, and blooming youth, raised pity in every one who saw him. what do you mean, sir, said some who stood near him, to expose thus your life, which promises so much, to certain death? cannot the heads you see on all the gates of this city deter you from such an undertaking? in the name of god, consider what you do, and abandon the rash attempt! the prince continued firm, notwithstanding the remonstrances made to him; and, as he saw nobody come to introduce him, he repeated the same cry with so loud a voice as to make every body tremble. they all then cried, let him alone; he is resolved to die. god have mercy upon his soul! he then proceeded to cry out a third time in the same manner, when the grand vizier came in person, and introduced him to the king of china. as soon as the prince came into the king's presence, he bowed and kissed the floor. the king, who, of all that hitherto had exposed their lives on this occasion, had not before seen one worthy of his notice, had now a real compassion for prince camaralzaman, on account of the danger he was about to expose himself to; and perceiving in him something which merited deference and respect, he did him the more honour, and made him seat himself near him. young man, said he, i can hardly believe that you, at this age, can have acquired sufficient experience to enable you to cure my daughter. i will give her to you with all my heart on that account; nay, more willingly than i should have done to others who have before offered themselves; but then i declare to you, at the same time, with, a great deal of concern, that if you fail to succeed in your attempt, notwithstanding your noble appearance, and exceedingly beautiful person, you must lose your head. sir, replied the prince, i have infinite obligations to your majesty for the honour you design me, though a stranger; but i desire your majesty to consider that i would not have come from so remote a country, and which perhaps may be unknown in your dominions, if i had not been certain of the cure i propose. what might not be said of my inconstancy of temper, if, after the great fatigue and dangers i have undergone on this account, i should abandon the generous enterprise in which i had engaged? even your majesty would soon lose that respect you have done me the honour to show me, if i appeared so dastardly and mean-spirited. i beseech your majesty, therefore, no longer to delay the experiment i am certain of, but give me leave to display the utmost of my art, which i doubt not will be to your majesty's satisfaction, as well as my great happiness. then the king commanded the eunuch, who had the guard of the princess, to introduce prince camaralzaman into her apartment, but, before letting him go, was so kind as to remind him once more of the hazard he underwent; yet the prince seeming resolved, the king suffered him to follow the eunuch. when they came to a long gallery, at the end of which was the princess's apartment, the prince, through impatience once more to see the object of his vows, who had occasioned him so much grief, got before the eunuch, walking as fast as he could. the eunuch, redoubling his pace, with much difficulty got up with him, when, taking him by the arm, he cried, whither away so fast, sir? you cannot be admitted without me; and it i should seem that you have a great desire for death, who can. run to it so headlong! not one of the many astrologers and magicians whom i have before introduced, made such haste as yourself to a place whither, i fear, you will but too soon come. friend, replied the prince, continuing his pace, and looking earnestly on the eunuch, it was because none of your astrologers or magicians was ever so sure of their art as i am: they were certain, indeed, that they should die if they did not succeed; but they had no certainty, at the same time, of their success as i have. on this account they had reason to tremble at approaching the place whither i go, and where i am sure to find my happiness. he had just spoken these words as he was at the door. the eunuch opened it, and introduced him into a great hall, whence there was an entrance into the princess's chamber, divided only by a piece of tapestry. prince camaralzaman, speaking more softly to the eunuch, asked him, before he entered, whether he chose that he should cure the princess in his presence, or where he was, without going further; telling him, in the same tone, that nobody might hear him in the princess's chamber, he made him the frank offer, to show that it was not presumptuous caprice, nor the heat of youth, which put him upon the enterprise. the eunuch was very much amazed to hear the prince talk with such assurance; he left off insulting him, and said to him seriously, it is no matter whether you do it here or there, provided the business be done; cure her how you will, you will get immortal honour by it, not only in this court, but over all the world. the prince replied, it will be best, then, to make the cure without seeing her, that you may be witness of my skill: though i cannot, without impatience, put off seeing a princess of her rank, who is to be my wife, yet, out of respect to you, i will deprive myself of that pleasure for a little while. being furnished with every thing proper for an astrologer, and taking pen, ink, and paper, out of his pocket, wrote this billet to the princess. prince camaralzaman to the princess of china. adorable princess!--the love-sick prince camaralzaman will not trouble you with the pains that he has endured ever since the fatal night when your charms deprived him of that liberty which he resolved to preserve as long as he lived: he only tells you, that he devoted his heart to you in your charming slumbers; those slumbers which hindered him from beholding the brightness of your piercing eyes, in spite of all his endeavours to oblige you to open them. he presumed to present you with his ring as a token of his passion, and, in exchange, would be proud to receive yours, which he encloses in this billet. if you will condescend to return it as a reciprocal assurance of your love, he will reckon himself the happiest of all lovers: if not, the sentence of death, which your fatal refusal brings him, will be received with the more resignation, because he dies for love of you. he waits in your anti-chamber for your answer. when the prince had finished his billet, he made it up, and enclosed with it the ring in a little packet, without letting the eunuch see what he did. when he sealed it, he gave it to him: there, friend, said he, carry it to your mistress. if it does not cure her as soon as she reads it, and sees what is enclosed in it, i give you leave to tell every body that i am the most ignorant and impudent astrologer that ever was, is, or ever will be. the eunuch entering the princess of china's chamber, gave her the packet he received from prince camaralzaman. madam, said he, the boldest astrologer that ever lived, if i am not mistaken, is arrived here, and pretends that, on reading this letter, and seeing what is in it, you will be cured: i wish he may prove neither a liar nor an impostor. the princess badoura took the billet, and opened it with a great deal of indifference, but, on seeing the ring, she had not patience to read it through; she rose hastily, broke the chair; which held her down with struggling, and ran and opened the door. she knew the prince the moment she saw him, and he her; they presently embraced each other with all imaginable tenderness, and, without being able to say a word for excess of joy, they looked on one another, admiring how they met again after their first interview. the princess's nurse, who ran to the door with her, made them come into her chamber, where the princess badoura gave the prince her ring, saying, take it, i cannot fairly keep it without restoring yours, which i will never part with: neither yours nor mine can be in better hands. the eunuch went immediately to the king to tell him what had happened. sir, said he, all the astrologers and doctors who have hitherto pretended to cure the princess, were a company of fools in comparison of him who came last! he used neither schemes, conjurations, perfumes, nor any thing else; but cured her without seeing her! then he told the king how he did it, who was agreeably surprised at the news; and going presently to the princess's chamber, embraced her; after which he took camaralzaman's hand, and joined it to the princess's. happy stranger, said the king, i will keep my word, and give my daughter to be your wife; though, by what i see of you, it is impossible for me to believe that you are really what you appear in this assumed character, and would have me believe. prince camaralzaman thanked the king in the most humble expressions, that he might the better show his gratitude. as for my profession, said he, i must own i am not an astrologer, as your majesty very judiciously observed; i only put on the habit of one, that i might succeed more easily in my ambition to be allied to the most potent monarch in the world. i am born a prince, and the son of a king and queen; my name is camaralzaman; my father is schahzaman, who now reigns over the islands that are known by the name of the islands of the children of khaledan. he then told the adventures of his life, and the wonderful rise of his love; that the princess's was altogether as marvelous, and that both were confirmed by the exchange of two rings. when the prince had done speaking, the king said, this history is so extraordinary, that it deserves to be known to posterity; an account of it shall be taken; and the original being deposited in my royal archives, i will spread copies of it abroad, that my own kingdom, and the kingdoms around me, may know it. the marriage was solemnized the same day, and the rejoicings for it were universal all over the empire of china; nor was marzavan forgotten; the king immediately gave him an honourable post in his court, and a promise to advance him higher afterwards. prince camaralzaman and the princess badoura enjoyed the fulness pf their wishes in the sweets of marriage; and the king kept continual feastings for several months, to testify his joy on the occasion. in the midst of these pleasures, prince camaralzaman one night dreamed that he saw his father schahzaman on death-bed, ready to give up the ghost, and heard him speak thus to his attendants: my son, whom i so tenderly loved--my son, whom i bred with so much fondness, so much care, has abandoned me, and is the cause of my death! he awoke and sighed; which wakened the princess, who asked him the reason of it. alas, my love! cried the prince, perhaps the very moment that i am speaking of it, my father is no more! he then acquainted her with his melancholy dream, and why that sad thought came into his head. the princess, who studied to please him in every thing, presently contrived a way to do it; and, fearing that he would take less delight in her company if he was kept from seeing his father, went that very day to her father, whom she found alone. after kissing his hand, she thus addressed herself: sir, i have a favour to beg of your majesty, and beseech you not to deny me; but, that you may not believe i am put upon it by the prince my husband, i assure you beforehand that he knows nothing of my asking it of you; it is, that you will give me leave to go and see the king schahzaman, my father-in-law. the king replied, daughter, though i shall be very sorry to lose your company, and part with you for so long a time as a journey to a place so distant will take up, yet i cannot disapprove of your resolution; it is worthy of yourself: go, child, i give you leave, but on condition that you stay no longer than a year in king schahzaman's court. i hope the king will be willing to come to this agreement with me, that we, in our turn, may see him, his son, and daughter-in-law, and i my daughter and son-in-law. the princess communicated the king of china's consent to prince camaralzaman, who was transported to hear it, and gave her a thousand thanks for this new token of her love. the king of chiha commanded preparations to be made for the journey, and, when all things were ready, accompanied the prince and princess several leagues on their way. when they came to part, great was the weeping on all sides. the king embraced them, and desired the prince to be kind to his daughter, and to love her always with the same passion he then manifested towards her. so he left them to proceed on their journey, and, to divert himself, hunted all the way as he returned to his capital city. when prince camaralzaman and the princess badoura had dried up their tears, and given over mourning for parting with the king of china, they comforted themselves with thinking how glad king schahzaman would be to see them, and how they should rejoice to see him. they travelled about a month incessantly, and at last came to a large field, planted with tall trees at convenient distances, under whose shade they went on very pleasantly. the weather being that day much hotter than ordinary, camaralzaman thought it best to stay there during the heat, and proposed it to badoura, who, wishing for the same thing, readily consented. they alighted in the most agreeable place of the grove; a tent was presently set up, and the princess, rising from the shade under which she sat down, entered it. the prince ordered his servants to pitch their tent also while they staid there, and gave them directions himself how to do it. the princess, being weary with the fatigues of her journey, bid one of her women untie her girdle, which they laid down by her; and, falling asleep, her attendants left her by herself. prince caraaralzaman having seen all things in order, came to the tent where the princess was sleeping. he entered, and sat down without making any noise, intending to take a nap himself; but observing the princess's girdle lying by her, he took it up, and looked upon the diamonds and rubies one by one. in doing so, he saw a little purse hanging to it, tied fast with a riband; he felt it, and found there was something in it: being desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse, and took out a cornelian engraved with unknown characters and figures. this cornelian, said the prince to himself, must have something extraordinary in it, or my princess would not be at the trouble to carry it with her; and, indeed, it was badoura's talisman, or a scheme of her nativity drawn from the constellations of heaven, which the queen of china had given her daughter as a charm that would keep her from all harm as long as she had it about her. the prince, to see what the talisman was, took it out to the light, the tent being dark; and, while he was holding it up in his hand, a bird darted down from the air, and snatched it away. your majesty may easily conceive the concern and grief of prince camaralzaman, when he saw the bird fly away with the talisman*[footnote: there is an adventure like this in the romance of peter of provence and the fair maguelona, which was taken from the arabic.] . he was more troubled at it than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by which means he had lost a treasure that was so exceedingly precious, and so much valued by his dear princess. the bird, having got her prize, pitched upon the ground, not far off, with the talisman in her mouth. the prince drew near it, in hopes she would drop it; but, as he approached, the bird took wing, and pitched again on the ground further off. camaralzaman followed her; and the bird, having swallowed the talisman, took a small flight further off still. the prince, being very dexterous at a mark, thought to kill her with a stone, and still followed. the further she flew, the more eager he grew in pursuing, keeping her always in view. thus the bird drew him along from hill to valley, and from valley to hill, all day; every step leading him out of the way from the field where he left his camp and the princess badoura: and, instead of perching at night on a bush, where he might probably have taken her, she roosted on a high tree, safe from his pursuit. the prince vexed to the heart for taking so much pains to no purpose, thought of returning to the camp; but, alas! he thought of it too late. whither could he go? which way return? how could he find out the untracked way of the mountains, and the untrodden paths of the vallies? darkness spread over the heavens; and night, with the fatigues of the day's labour, would not suffer him to undertake so soon to return the way he came, were there any hopes of his finding it. ah! said the despairing lover, if i knew which way to return, how durst i appear before my princess without her talisman? overwhelmed with such afflicting thoughts, and tired with his pursuit of the bird, sleep came upon him, and he lay down under a tree, where he passed the night. he awoke next morning before the bird had left the tree, and, as soon as he saw her on the wing, followed her again the whole day, with no better success than the former, eating nothing but herbs and fruits all the way as he went. he did the same for ten days together, pursuing the bird, and keeping her in his eye from morning till night, lying always under the tree where she roosted. on the eleventh day, the bird still flying, camaralzaman observed that he came near a great city: the bird made towards it, flew over the walls, and the prince saw no more of her; so he despaired of ever recovering the princess of badoura's talisman. camaralzaman, whose grief was beyond expression, went to the city, which was built on the sea-side, and had a fine port. he walked up and down the streets, without knowing where he was, or where to stop. at last he came to the port, in as great uncertainty as ever what he should do. walking along the river-side, he perceived the gate of a garden open, and an old gardener at work in it. the good old man, looking up, saw he was a stranger and a mussulman; so he asked him to come in, and shut the door after him. camaralzaman entered, and, as the gardener bade him shut the door, demanded of him why he was so cautious. because, replied the old man, i see you are a stranger and a mussulman newly arrived; and this city, being inhabited for the most part by idolaters, has a mortal aversion to us mussulmen, and use the few of us who are here with a great deal of barbarity. i suppose you did not know this, and it is a miracle that you have escaped, considering how far you have come through them; these idolaters being very apt to fall upon the mussulmen who are strangers, or to draw them into a snare, unless those strangers are instructed how to deal with and beware of them. camaralzaman thanked the honest gardener for his advice, and the security he offered him in his house. he would have said more; but the good man interrupted him, saying, let us wave complimenting; you are weary, and want to refresh yourself. come in; eat what we have, and lie down to rest; you are very welcome. he conducted him into his little hut, which, though small, was clean, and well defended from the injuries of the weather. he ordered the best provisions he had to be brought forth, and entertained the prince so heartily, that he was charmed with it, and at his request told him how he came there. when he had ended his story, without hiding any part of it, he asked him which was the nearest way to his father's territories? for it is in vain, said he, to think of finding my princess where i left her, wandering, as i have been, eleven days from that place. ah, continued he, how do i know that she is alive! and, saying this, he burst out into tears that would have melted the most cruel and obdurate. the gardener replied, that there was no possibility of his going thither by land, the ways were so difficult, and the journey so long; besides, there was no manner of convenience for his subsisting; and if there was, he must necessarily pass through many barbarous nations; that he would never reach his father's; that the quickest passage would be to go to the isle of ebene, whence he might easily transport himself to the isles of the children of khaledan; that there was a ship which sailed from the port where he was every year to ebene, and he might take that opportunity of returning to those islands. the ship departed, said he, but a few nays ago, and it will be almost a year before it makes the voyage again: if you will accept of my house for your habitation so long, you will be as welcome to it as to your own. prince camaralzaman was glad he had met with such an asylum in a place where he had no knowledge of any man, nor any man of him, and where nobody could think it his interest to entertain or preserve him. he accepted the offer, and lived with the gardener till the time that the ship was to sail to the isle of ebene. he spent his time all day in working in the garden, and ail night in thinking of his dear princess badoura, in sighs, tears, and complaints. but we must leave him a while, and return to the princess, whom we left asleep in her tent. the story of the princess badoura, after her separation from prince camaralzaman. the princess slept a long time, and, when she awoke, wondered that prince camaralzaman was not with her. she called her women, and asked them if they knew where he was gone. they told her they saw him enter the tent, but did not see him go out again. while they were talking, she spied her girdle, saw it had been meddled with, and, on examination, found the little purse open, and the talisman gone. she did not doubt but camaralzaman had taken it in order to examine it, and that he would bring it back. she waited for him impatiently till night, and could not imagine what made him stay away so long. when it was quite dark, and she could hear nothing of him, she fell into a violent fit of grief: she cursed the talisman, and him that made it; and, had she not been restrained by duty, would have cursed her mother who gave it to her. she was the more troubled, because she could not imagine how her talisman should have caused the prince's separation from her. however, amidst all her sorrow, she retained her judgment, and came to a courageous resolution not common with persons of her sex. she and her women only knew of the prince's being gone; for his men were then asleep, or refreshing themselves in their tents. the princess, fearing they would betray her if they had any knowledge of it, first composed her mind a little, moderated her grief, and forbade her women to say or do any thing that might make them suspect the truth. then she undressed herself, and put on prince camaralzaman's suit; being so like him in it, that the next day, when she came abroad, his men took her for him. she commanded them to pack up their baggage and march forward; and when all things were ready, she ordered one of her women to go into her sedan; she herself on horseback, riding by her side. they travelled several months by land and sea; the princess continuing the journey under the name of camaralzaman. they took the island of ebene in their way to the isles of the children of khaledan. they went to the capital of the island, where reigned a king whose name was armanos. the persons who first landed giving out that they brought prince camaralzaman, who was returning from a long voyage towards his own country, and was forced to put in there by a storm, the news of his arrival was presently carried to court. king armanos, accompanied by most of his courtiers, went immediately to wait on the prince, and met the princess, just as she had landed, going to the lodgings that had been taken for her. he received her as the son of a king who was his friend, and with whom he had always kept a fair correspondence; and carried her to his palace, where an apartment was prepared for her and all her attendants; though she would fain have excused herself, and lodged in a private house. besides this, he was so courteous, that doing her common honours would not content him; he entertained her three days together with extraordinary magnificence and royal festivals. the days of feasting being over, and king armanos understanding that the princess, whom he still took for prince camaralzaman, talked of going aboard again to proceed on her voyage, he was so charmed with the air and qualities of such an accomplished prince, as he took her, that he watched his opportunity when she was alone, and spoke in the following manner: you see, prince, that i am old, and cannot hope to live long. it is my great trouble that i have not a son to whom i may leave my crown. heaven has only blessed me with one daughter, who cannot desire to be more happy than a prince of your virtues can make her, whose merit is equal with your birth. instead of going home, stay and take her from my hand: with her i will give you my kingdom, and retreat myself to a quiet life, free from the business and cares of the world, having long enough had the weight of the crown upon me; and nothing could be a greater pleasure in my retirement, than to consider what a worthy successor sits on my throne, and rules my happy people. the king of the isle of ebene's generous offer to bestow his only daughter in marriage on the princess badoura, who could not accept of it because she was a woman, gave her unexpected trouble, and she could not presently think of an expedient to extricate herself out of it. she thought it would not become a princess of her rank to deceive the king, and to own that she was not prince camaralzaman, but his wife, when she had assured him she was he himself, whose part she had hitherto acted so well, that her sex was not in the least suspected. she was also afraid to refuse him; seeing him so much bent upon the conclusion of the marriage, that there was reason to apprehend his kindness would turn to aversion and hatred, if the honour he offered her was rejected, and that he might attempt something even against her life. besides, she was not sure of finding prince camaralzaman in the court of king schahzaman, his father. these considerations, added to the prospect of obtaining a kingdom for the prince her husband, in case she found him again, made her resolve to do what king armanos would have her, to marry his daughter. so, after having stood silent some minutes, she, with blushes which the king took for a sign of modesty, answered, sir, i am infinitely obliged to your majesty for your good opinion, for the honour you do me, and the great favour you offer, which i cannot pretend to merit, and dare not refuse. but, sir, continued she, i cannot accept of this alliance, on any other condition, than that your majesty will assist me with your counsel, and that i do nothing without first having your approbation. the marriage treaty being thus concluded and agreed on, the ceremony was put off till next day. in the mean time the princess badoura gave notice to her officers, who still took her for prince camaralzaman, what she was about to do, that they might not be surprised at it, assuring them that the princess badoura consented to it. she talked also to her women, and charged them to keep the secret she had intrusted them with as they valued their lives. the king of the isle of ebene rejoiced that he had got a son-in-law so much to his satisfaction. the next morning he summoned his council, and acquainted them with his design of marrying his daughter to prince camaralzaman, whom he introduced to them, and made him sit down by them, taking the princess badoura for him; told them he resigned the crown to him, and required them to obey and swear fealty to him. having said this, he descended from his throne, and the princess badoura, by his order, mounted it. when she was placed, the lords of the court did her homage, and took an oath of allegiance. as soon as the council broke up, the new king was proclaimed through the city; several days of rejoicing were appointed, and couriers despached all over the kingdom, to see the same ceremonies observed with the like demonstrations of joy. at night there was an extraordinary feasting at the palace-royal; and the princess haiatalnefous* [footnote: this is an arabic word, which signifies life and soul.], dressed like a royal bride, was led to the princess badoura, whom every body took for a man. the wedding was solemnized with the utmost splendour; and the rites being performed, they were put to bed. in the morning the princess badoura went to receive the compliments of the nobility in a hail of audience, where they congratulated her on her marriage and accession to the throne. in the mean while, king armanos and the queen went to the apartment of the new queen their daughter, and asked how she had spent the night. instead of answering them, she held down her head, and by her looks they perceived that she was not contented. king armanos, to comfort the princess haiatalnefous, bid her not be troubled, as prince camaralzaman might be in haste to go to his father's court, and had not stopped at the isle of ebene, if it had not been in his way thither. though we have engaged him to stay by arguments with which he ought to be well satisfied, yet it is probable he grieves to be all at once deprived of the hopes of seeing either his father or any of his family. you must wait till those first emotions of tenderness are over, and his filial love wears off by degrees; he will then carry himself towards you as a good husband ought. the princess badoura, under the name and character of prince camaralzaman, not only received the congratulatory addresses of the courtiers and the nobility of the kingdom who were in and about the city, but reviewed the regular troops of her household, and entered on the administration of affairs as king with so much majesty and judgment as gained her the general applause of all who were witnesses of her conduct. it was evening before she returned to queen haiatalnefous's apartment, and perceived, by the reception she met with, that the bride was not at all pleased with the wedding-night. she endeavoured to make her easy by a long discourse, in which she employed all the wit she had (and that was as much as any woman was mistress of) to persuade her she loved her entirely; she then gave her time to go to bed; and while she undressed, herself she went to her devotions; but her prayers were so long, that queen haiatalnefous was asleep before they were ended. she then gave over, and lay down softly by the new queen, without waking her; and was as much afflicted at being obliged to act a part which did not belong to her, as in the loss of her dear camaralzaman, for whom she ceased not to sigh. she rose as soon as it was day, before haiatalnefous was awake; and, dressed in her royal rotes as king, went to council. king armanos, as he did the day before, came early to visit the queen his daughter, whom he found in sighs and tears; he wanted no more to be informed of the cause of her trouble; he began to resent the contempt, as he thought, which was put upon his daughter, and could not imagine the reason of it. daughter, said he, have patience for another night. i raised your husband to the throne, and can pull him down again; depend upon it, i will drive him thence with shame, unless he gives you the satisfaction that he ought to do. his usage of you has provoked me so much, i cannot tell to what my resentment may transport me; the affront is as much to me as to you. it was late again before the princess badoura came to queen haiatalnefous: she talked to her as she had done the night before, and in the same manner went to her devotions, desiring the queen to go to bed. but haiatalnefous would not be so served; she held her back, and obliged her to sit down again: what, said she, do you think to deal by me this night as you have done the two last? pray tell me, what can you dislike in a princess of my youth and beauty, who not only loves but adores you, and thinks herself the happiest of all princesses in having so amiable a prince for her husband? any body but me would revenge the slight, or rather the unpardonable affront that you have put upon me, and abandon you to your evil destiny; however, though i did not love you as well as i do, yet, out of pure good nature and humanity, which make me pity the misfortunes of persons for whom: i am no ways concerned, i could not forbear telling you that the king my father is enraged against you for your carriage towards me, and will to-morrow exert his fury in a manner i tremble to think of, if you still use me as you have hitherto done. do not therefore throw into a despair a princess, who, notwithstanding your ill usage, cannot help loving you. this discourse embarrassed the princess badoura more than any thing she had yet met with; she did not doubt the truth of what haiatalnefous had said. king armanos's coldness the day before had given her but too much reason to see that he was highly dissatisfied with her. the only way to justify her conduct was to communicate her sex to the princess haiatalnefous. she had foreseen she should be under a necessity of discovering it to her, yet, now she was about to make such a declaration, was afraid how she would receive it: but, considering that if camaralzaman was alive, he must necessarily touch at the isle of ebene in his way to king schahzaman his father's kingdom, that she ought to preserve herself for his sake; and as it was impossible to do it, if she did not let the princess haiatalnefous know who and what she was, she resolved to venture, and try to get off that way. the princess badoura stood as one struck dumb; and haiatalnefous, being impatient to hear what she could say, was about to speak to her again, when she stopped her by these words: lovely and too charming princess! i own i have been in the wrong, and i condemn myself for it; but i hope you will pardon me, and keep the secret i am going to reveal to you for my justification. she then opened her bosom, and, showing her naked breasts, proceeded thus: see, princess, if a woman, and a princesss like yourself, does not deserve to be forgiven; i believe you will be so good at least, when you know my story, and the terrible affliction that forced me to act the part you see. the princess badoura, having discovered herself entirely to the princess of the isle of ebene, again prayed her to keep the secret, and to accept her as a husband till prince camaralzaman's arrival, which she hoped would be in a little time. princess, replied haiatalnefous, your fortune is indeed strange that a marriage, so unhappy as yours was, should be rendered unhappy by so unaccountable an accident, your love being reciprocal, and full of wonders. pray heaven you may again meet with your husband as soon as you desire! and be assured i will keep the secret till he arrives. it will be the greatest pleasure to me in the world to be the only person in the vast kingdom of the isle of ebene who knows what and who your are, while you continue to govern the people as happily as you have begun: i only ask to be your friend; nothing could be more to my satisfaction. the two princesses tenderly embraced each other, and, after a thousand vows of mutual friendship, lay down to rest. according to the custom of the country, the token of the consummation of the marriage was to be produced and shown publicly. the two princesses concerted a method to get over that difficulty: queen haiatalnefous's women, though cunning and quick-sighted, were next morning deceived themselves, and king armanos, his queen, and the whole court, completely beguiled. from this time the princess badoura grew more and more in king armanos's esteem and affection, governing the kingdom to his and his people's content, peaceably and prosperously. while these things were transacting in the court of the isle of ebene, prince camaralzaman staid in the city of idolaters with the gardener, who had offered his house for a retreat till the ship should sail for that island. one morning, when the prince was up early, and, as he used to do, was preparing to work in the garden, the gardener prevented him, saying, this day is a great festival among the idolaters; and because they abstain from work themselves, spending their time in abominable mysteries and public rejoicings, they will not let mussulman work; who, to gain their favour, generally assist at their shows, which are worth seeing; wherefore have nothing to do to-day; i leave you here; and the time approaching in which the ship uses to sail for the isle of ebene, i will go to some of my friends, and know when it will depart, and secure you a passage in it. the gardener put on his best clothes, and went to the feast. when prince camaralzaman was alone, instead of going to take part in the public joy of the city, the solitude he was in brought to his mind, with more violence, the loss of his dear princess: he walked through the garden sighing and groaning, till the noise which two birds made on a neighbouring tree, tempted him to lift up his head, and stop to see what was the matter. camaralzaman was astonished at seeing these two birds fighting with their beaks, and that in a very little while one of them, fell down dead at the root of a tree; the bird that was victorious took wing again, and flew away. in an instant, two other large birds, that had seen the fight at a distance, came from the other side of the garden, and pitched on the ground, one at the feet, and the other at the head of the dead bird: they looked upon it some time, shaking their heads, as if they were grieved at the death of their departed friend; after which, digging a grave with their talons, they interred the defunct. when they filled up the grave with the earth which they had turned up to make it, they flew away, and returned in a few minutes, bringing with them the bird that had committed the murder, the one holding one of its wings in its beak, and the other one of its legs; the criminal all the while crying out in a doleful manner, and struggling to escape. they carried it to the grave of the bird which it had lately sacrificed to its rage, and there they made a sacrifice of it to the manes of the dead bird; and, striking it often with their beaks, at last they killed the murderer. they then opened its belly, tore out its entrails, left its body on the place unburied, and flew away. camaralzaman remained in great astonishment all the time he stood beholding this sight: he drew near the tree where this scene had been acted; and, casting his eyes on the scattered entrails of the bird that was last killed, he observed something red hanging out of its body; he took it up, and found it was his beloved princess badoura's talisman, which had cost him so much pains and sorrow, and so many sighs, since the bird snatched it out of his hand. ah, cruel! said he to himself, still looking on the bird, thou hadst delight in mischief; so i have the less reason to complain of what thou didst to me. it is impossible to express prince camaralzaman's joy. dear princess, continued he to himself, this happy minute, which restores a treasure that is so precious to thee, is, without doubt, a presage of our meeting again, and perhaps sooner than i think of! thank heaven, who sent me this good fortune, and gives me hopes of the greatest felicity that my heart can desire! saying this, he kissed the talisman, wrapped it up in a riband, and tied it carefully about his arm. till now he had been almost a stranger to rest, his troubles always keeping him awake; but the next night he slept soundly: he rose somewhat later next morning than he used to do, put on his working clothes, and went to the gardener for orders what he should go about. the good man bid him root up an old tree that stood in a place to which he directed him, and was decaying. camaralzaman took an axe, and began his work: cutting off a branch at the root, he found that his axe struck against something which resisted the blow, and made a noise; he turned up the earth, and discovered a broad plate of brass, under which was a stair-case of ten steps; he went down, and at the bottom observed a cave of above six yards square, with fifty brass urns placed in order around it, each urn having a cover. he opened them all, one after another; and there was not one of them which was not full of gold dust. he came out of the cave, rejoicing that he had found such a vast treasure: he replaced the brass plate on the stair-case, and next rooted up the tree, previous to the gardener's coming to see what he had done. the gardener had learned the day before that the ship which was bound for the isle of ebene would sail in a few days, though the certain time was not fixed. his friend promised to inform him the precise day, if he called on him to-morrow or the day after, and, while camaralzaman was rooting up the tree, he went to have his answer. he returned with a joyful countenance, by which the prince guessed he brought him good news. son, said the old man, (so he always called him on account of the difference between their ages,) be joyful, prepare to embark in three days; the ship will then certainly sail: i have taken a passage for you, and settled the price with the captain. in the condition i am at present, replied camaralzaman, you could not bring me more agreeable news, and in return i have also tidings that will be as welcome to you. come along with me, and you shall see what good fortune heaven has in store for you. the prince led the gardener to the place where he had rooted up the tree, showed him the way into the cave, and, when there, let him see what a treasure he had discovered; thanking providence for rewarding his virtue, and the pains he had been at for so many years. how, replied the gardener, do you imagine i will take these riches as mine which you found out? the property of them is yours; i have no right to them. for fourscore years, (so long my father has been dead) i have done nothing but dig in this garden, and could not discover this treasure, which is a sign that it was destined to you by fate, or heaven had revealed it to me. it agrees with your quality as a prince, and suits your age, too, better than mine: i am old, and have one foot in the grave, and cannot tell what to do with so much wealth. providence has bestowed it upon you at a time when you are returning to that country which will one day be your own, where you may make a good use of it for the advantage of yourself, and the people over whom you are to reign. prince camaralzaman would not be outdone in generosity by the gardener; they had a long dispute who should refuse it, for neither of them would have it from the other. at last the prince solemnly protested that he would have none of it, unless the gardener would divide it with him, and take half. the good man consented to please the prince; so they parted it between them, which amounted to twenty-five urns each. having divided it, son, said the gardener to the prince, it is not enough that you have got this treasure; we must now contrive to carry it so privately on board a ship, that nobody may know any thing of the matter, otherwise you will run the risk of losing it. there are no olives in the isle of ebene, and those which are exported hence are a good commodity there: you know i have plenty of them; take what you will; fill fifty pots, half with the gold dust, and half with olives; which being a common merchandise from this city to that island, none will mistrust that there is any thing but olives in the pots. the counsel was good, and camaralzaman followed it. the rest of the day was taken up by him and the old man in packing up the gold and the olives in the fifty pots; and the prince, fearing the talisman should come by any ill accident again, carefully put it up in one of the pots, distinguishing it front the others by a particular mark. [footnote: this incident is also much the same with one in the romance of peter of provence and the fair maguelona.] when they were all ready to be shipped, the prince retired into the gardener's hut with him; and discoursing together, related the battles of the birds, with the circumstance of the adventure in which he had found the princess badoura's talisman. the gardener was equally surprised and joyful to hear it, knowing what trouble the prince had been at for its loss. whether the old gardener was quite worn out with age, or had spent himself too much that day, he had a very bad night's rest: he grew worse next day; and on the third day, when the prince was to embark, was so bad, that it was evident he was near the point of death. as soon as day began to dawn, the captain of the ship came in person, with several seamen to the gardener's; and knocking at the garden-door, camaralzaman opened it, they asked him where the passenger was who was to go with them: the prince answered, i am he; the gardener, who agreed with you for my passage, is extremely ill, and cannot be spoken with. come in, and let your men carry these pots of olives, and a few other things, on board for me: i will only take leave of the gardener, and then follow you to the water-side. the seamen took up the pots and the baggage; and the captain desired the prince to make haste; the wind being fair, they staid for nothing but him. when the captain and his men were gone, camaralzaman went to the gardener to take leave of him, and thank him for all his good offices; but he found him in the agonies of death; and had scarcely time to bid him rehearse the articles of his faith, which all good mussulmen do before they die. the gardener made the best efforts he could towards it, and expired in his presence. the prince, being obliged to hasten his departure, was at a loss what to do; he was afraid he should lose his voyage if he staid, and was very unwilling to leave his dead benefactor without paying the last duties of a friend, according to their law. he washed him, buried him in his own garden, (for the mahometan's had no church-yard in the city of the idolaters, where they were only tolerated;) and though he did it as fast as he could, having nobody to assist him, it was almost night before he had put him in the ground. as soon as he had done so, he ran to the water-side, carrying with him the key of the garden; designing, if he had time, to give it to the landlord; otherwise to deposit it in some trusty person's hand before witnesses, that he might have it after he was gone. when he came to the port, he was told that the ship had sailed several hours before, and was already out of sight. it staid three hours for him; but, the wind being fair, the captain durst not wait longer. it is easy to imagine that prince camaralzaman was exceedingly concerned on being forced to stay in that country a year longer, where he neither had, nor was willing to have, any acquaintance. it was a sad thing to reflect how long he had to wait for the lost opportunity: but what gave him the greatest affliction was his missing the princess badoura's talisman, which he now concluded to be entirely lost. the only course that was left for him was to return to the garden from whence he came, to rent it of the landlord, and to go on with his gardening, that he might deplore his misery and misfortunes by himself. he hired a boy to help him to do some part of the drudgery; and, that he might not lose the other half of the treasure, which came to him by the death of the gardener, who died without heirs, he put the gold dust in fifty other pots of olives, to be ready against the time of the ship's return, and making the same voyage. while prince camaralzaman began another year of labour, sorrow, and impatience, the ship, having a fair wind, sailed to the isle of ebene, where in due time she arrived at the capital city. the palace-royal being by the sea-side, the new king, or rather the princess badoura, espying the ship as she was entering the port, asked what vessel it was: she was answered, that it came from the city of the idolaters, from whence it used to come every year about that time, and was generally richly laden. the princess, who always had prince camaralzaman in her mind, amidst the glories of her palace and power, imagined that the prince might be on board; on which thought, she resolved, since it might be so, to go on board the ship and meet him; not to discover herself to him, (for she questioned whether he would know her again), but to observe him, and take proper measures for their making themselves mutually known. her pretence was, to see what merchandise was aboard, to have the first sight of the goods, and to choose the most valuable for herself. she commanded a horse to be brought, which she mounted, and rode to the port, accompanied by several officers, who were in waiting at that time, and arrived at the port just as the captain came ashore. she ordered him to be brought before her, and asked whence he came, how long he had been on his voyages and what good or bad fortune he had met with; if he had no stranger of quality on board, and with what his ship was loaded. the captain gave a satisfactory answer to all her demands; and, as to passengers, assured her there were none but merchants in his ship, who came every year, and brought rich stuffs from several parts of the world to trade with; calicoes stained or unstained; diamonds, musk, ambergris, camphire, civet, spices, drugs, and olives. the princess badoura loved olives extremely: when she heard the captain speak of them, land them, said she; i will take them off your hands. as to the other goods, let the merchants bring them to me, and let me see them before they are disposed of, or show them to any one. the captain, taking her for the king of the isle of ebene, replied, sir, there are fifty great pots of olives; but they belong to a merchant whom i was forced to leave behind, i gave him notice that i staid for him; but he not coming, and the wind presenting, i was afraid of losing it, and so set sail. the princess answered, it is no matter: bring them ashore; we will drive a bargain for them, however. the captain sent his boat to the ship and in a little time returned with the pots of olives. the princess demanded how much the fifty pots might be worth in the isle of ebene. sir, said the captain, the merchant is very poor, and your majesty will not pay too dear if you give him a thousand pieces of silver. to satisfy him, replied the princess, and because you tell me he is poor, i will order you a thousand pieces of gold for him, which do you take care to give him. the money was accordingly paid, and the pots carried to the palace. night drawing on, the princess withdrew into the inner palace, and went to the princess haiatalnefous's apartment, ordering the olives to be brought thither. she opened one, to let the princess haiatalnefous taste them, and to taste them herself. great was her astonishment when she found the olives were mingled with gold dust. what can this mean? said she: it is wonderful beyond comprehension! her curiosity increasing by so extraordinary an adventure, she ordered haiatalnefous's women to open and empty all the pots in her presence; and her wonder was still greater when she saw that the olives in all of them were mixed with gold dust; but when she saw her talisman drop out of that in which the prince had put it, she was so surprised that she swooned away. the princess haiatalnefous and her women brought the princess badoura to life again by throwing cold water in her face. when her senses were restored, she took the talisman, and kissed it again and again; but not willing that the princess haiatalnefous's women should hear what passed, and it growing late, she dismissed them. princess, said she to haiatalnefous, as soon as they were gone, you, who have heard my story, must know that it was at the sight of the talisman that i swooned. this is the thing which was the fatal cause of my losing my dear husband, prince camaralzaman; but, as it caused our separation, so i foresee it will be the means of our sudden meeting. next day, as soon as it was light, she sent for the captain of the ship, and, when he came, spoke to him thus: i want to know something more of the merchant to whom the olives belong which i bought of you yesterday. i think you told me you left him behind in the city of the idolaters: can you tell me what he does there? yes, sir, replied the captain; i can speak on my own knowledge, and assure your majesty what i say is truth. i agreed for his passage with a gardener, a very old man, who told me i should find him in his garden, where he worked under him. he showed me the place, and i went thither to call him; where i found what the gardener had said to be true, and for that reason i told your majesty he was poor. i spoke to him myself, and cannot be mistaken. if what yeu say be true, replied the princess badoura, you must set sail this very day for the city of idolaters, and bring that gardener's man, who is my debtor; otherwise i will not only confiscate all the goods belonging to yourself and the merchants you have brought with you, but your and their lives shall answer for your refusal. i have ordered my seal to be put on the warehouses which contain your merchandise; nor shall it be taken off till that man is brought here. this is all i have to say; go, and do as i command you. the captain could make no reply to this order, though to obey it would be a great loss to him and his merchants. he acquainted them with it; and they all very wisely considering that to lose their goods and their lives would be a much greater, hastened him away as fast as they could. they set all hands to work to load the ship with provisions and fresh water for the voyage back, and were so diligent, that she was ready to sail before night. accordingly, the captain weighed anchor, and made for the city of the idolaters, where he arrived in a short time, the wind and weather favouring him during the whole of the voyage. when he was as near the city as he thought convenient, he would not cast anchor, but let the ship ride off-shore; and, going into his boat with as many hands as he wanted, he landed a little way off the port, whence he went directly to camaralzaman's garden. though it was about midnight when he arrived there, the prince was not asleep. his separation from the fair princess of china, his wife, afflicted him in the usual manner, and he lay awake bemoaning his ill fortune. he cursed the day in which his curiosity tempted him to touch the fatal girdle. thus did he pass those hours which are devoted to rest, and was in these mournful meditations when he heard somebody knock at the garden-door; he ran hastily to open it, half dressed as he was; and had no sooner done it, than the captain and his seaman took hold of him, and carried him by force to the boat, and so on ship-board; when they set sail immediately, and made the best of their way to the isle of ebene. hitherto camaralzaman, the captain, and his men, had not said a word to each other. at last the prince broke silence, and asked the captain, whom he knew again, why they had taken him away by force. the captain, in his turn, demanded of the prince whether he was not a debtor to the king of ebene? i the king of ebene's debtor! replied camaralzaman, in amazement; i do not know him; i never had anything to do with him in my life, and never set foot in his kingdom. the captain answered, you should know that better than me; you will soon talk to him yourself; till then, stay here and have patience. the captain was not long on his voyage back to the isle of ebene. though it was night when he cast anchor in the port, he landed immediately; and, taking prince camaralzaman with him, hastened to the palace, where he demanded to be introduced to the king. the princess badoura was withdrawn into the inner palace. however, as soon as she heard of the captain's return, and camaralzaman's arrival, she came forth to speak to him. as soon as she cast her eyes on the prince, she knew the man for whom so many tears had been shed, though he was still in his gardener's habit. as for the prince, who trembled in the presence of a king, as he thought her, to whom he was to answer for an imaginary debt, it did not enter his thoughts that the person, whom he so earnestly desired to see, stood before him. if the princess had followed the dictates of her inclination, she would have run to him, and, by embracing, discovered herself; but she put on herself a constraint, believing that it was for both their interests she should act the part of a king a little longer before making herself known. she contented herself for the present to put him into the hands of an officer who was then in waiting, charging him to take care of him, and use him well, till next day. when the princess badoura had provided for prince camaralaman's entertainment, she turned to the captain, whom she was now to gratify for the important service he had done. she commanded another officer to go immediately and take the seal off the warehouse where the goods belonging to him and the merchants were deposited, whom she discharged. she also gave the master of the vessel a jewel worth much more than the expense he had been at in both his voyages. she bade him, besides, keep the one thousand pieces of gold he had got for the pots of olives; telling him she would make up the account with the merchant he had brought with him. this done, she retired to the princess of the isle of ebene's apartment, to whom she communicated her joy, praying her still to keep the secret. she told her how she intended to manage their discovering themselves to each other, and to the kingdom; adding, that so vast was the distance between a gardener and a great prince, as he was, that it might be dangerous to raise him at once from the lowest condition of the people to the highest degree, though it was but justice it should be done. the princess of the isle of ebene was so far from betraying her, that she rejoiced, and entered into the design; assuring her she would contribute to it all that lay in her power, and do whatever she would desire to serve them. next morning the princess of china ordered prince camaralzaman to be conducted to the royal baths, and apparelled in the robes of an emir or governor of a province. she then went to the council, with the name, habit, and authority, of king of the island of ebene. she commanded camaralzaman to be introduced; and his fine mien and majestic air drew upon him the eyes of all the lords who were present. the princess badoura was charmed to see him again as lovely as she had often seen him, and that pleasure inspired her to speak the more warmly in his praise. when she addressed herself to the council, having ordered the prince to take his seat among the emirs, she spoke to them thus; my lords, camaralzaman, the man whom i have advanced to the same dignity with yourselves, is not unworthy of the honour that is done him. i have known enough of him in my travels to answer for him; and i can assure you he will make his merit known to all of you, as well by his valour, as by a thousand other shining qualities which distinguish him from the rest of mankind. camaralzaman was extremely amazed to hear the king of the isle of ebene, whom he was far from taking for a woman, much less for his dear princess, name him, and declare that he knew him, who, as he thought, was certain he had never seen him before. he was much more surprised to hear himself praised so excessively. however, those eulogiums, excessive as they were, did not confound him, though they came from the mouth of a king: he received them with sueh modesty as showed that he deserved them, and did not grow vain upon it. he porptrated himself before the throne of the king; and rising again, sir, said he, i want words to express ny gratitude to your majesty for the honour you have done me: i shall do all that lies in my power to render myself worthy of your royal favour. from the council-board the prince was conducted to a palace which the princess badoura ordered to be fitted up for him; where he found officers and domestics ready to receive and obey his commands, a stable full of fine horses, and every thing suitable to the quality of an emir. when he was in his closet, the steward of his household brought a chest full of gold for his expenses. the less he conceived how it came about that he met with so much good fortune, the more he wondered at it, never once imagining it was owing to the princess of china. two or three days after, the princess badoura made him lord-treasurer, which office was then vacant, that he might be nearer her person. he behaved himself in this new charge with much integrity, and was so obliging to every body, that he not only gained the friendship of the great, but also the affections of the people, by his uprightness and bounty. camaralzaman, being the reigning favourite of the king of the isle of ebene, and in the esteem of all his subjects, would have been the happiest man in the world, if he had had his princess with him. in the midst of his good fortune he never ceased lamenting her, and grieved that he could hear no tidings of her, especially in a country which she must necessarily have passed in her way to his father's court, and have arrived long before, if she had not met with some ill accident by the way: he would have doubted something, had the princess badoura still gone by the name of camaralzaman, which she took with his habit; but, on her accession to the throne, she changed it to that of armanos, in honour of the old king her father-in-law. there were very few courtiers who knew that she had ever been called camaralzaman, which she assumed when she arrived at the court of the isle of ebene; nor had camaralzaman so much acquaintance with any of them as yet to inform himself further of her history. the princess, fearing he might do it in time, and desirous he should owe the discovery to herself only, resolved to put an end to their mutual torments, for she had observed that, as often as she discoursed about the affairs of his office, he fetched such deep sighs as could be applied to nobody but her. she herself lived in such constraint, that she could endure it no longer. add to this the friendship of the emirs and courtiers, and the zeal and affection of the people; in a word, every thing contributed to her putting the crown of the isle of ebene on his head without any obstacle. the princess badoura consulted the princess haiatalnefous in this, as she had done in the other parts of the adventure; and both agreeing to have it done, she one day took prince camaralzaman aside, saying, i must talk with you about an affair, camaralzaman, in which i want your advice: it will not be so proper to do it by day-light, for our discourse may be long, and i would not be observed. come hither in the evening: do not let us wait for you; i will take care to provide you a bed. camaralzaman came punctually to the palace at the hour appointed by the princess: she took him into the inner apartment; and, having told the chief eunuch, who prepared to follow her, that she had no occasion for his service, but only keep the door shut, she carried him into a private apartment adjoining to the princess haiatalnefous, where she used to lie. when she entered the chamber, where was a bed, she shut the door; and, taking the talisman out of her pocket, gave it to camaralzaman, saying, it is not long since an astrologer presented me with this talisman: you being skilful in all things, pray tell me for what it is good. camaralzanrian took the talisman, and drew near a lamp to view it. as soon as he knew it to be the princess's, he was transported with pleasure, and she was no less pleased to see it. sir, said the prince, your majesty asked me what this talisman is good for. oh, king! it is only good to kill me with grief and despair, if i do not suddenly find the most charming and lovely princess in the world, to whom it belongs; whose loss i was the occasion of, and of a strange adventure to me, the very recital of which will move your majesty to pity such an unfortunate husband and lover, if you have patience to hear it. you shall tell me that another time, replied the princess; i am very glad i know something of it already. stay here a little, and i will return to you in a moment. at these words she went into her closet, put off her royal turban, and in a few minutes dressed herself like a woman; and, having the girdle round her which she had on the day of their separation, she entered the chamber. prince camaralzaman immediately knew his dear princess; he ran to her, and tenderly embraced her, crying out, ah! how much am i obliged to the king, who has so agreeably surprised me!--do not expect to see the king any more, replied the princess, with tears in her eyes: let us sit down, and i will explain the enigma. they sat down, and the princess told the prince her resolution, when in the field where they encamped the last time they were together, as soon as she perceived she waited for him to no purpose; how she went through with it, till she arrived at the isle of ebene, where she had been obliged to marry the princess haiatalnefous, and accept of the crown, which king armanos offered as one of the conditions of the marriage; how the princess, whose merit she highly extolled, took her declaration of her sex; how she found the talisman in the pots of olives mingled with the gold dust; and that her finding it was the cause of her sending for him to the city of the idolaters. when she had finished the relation of her adventure, she obliged the prince to tell his. he informed her how the talisman occasioned their separation, and the rest of the story relating to him, as already told. they then bemoaned one another's ill fortune, and rejoiced in their good: he complained of her with the kindest expressions love could invent, chiding her tenderly for making him languish so long without her; and she excused herself with the reasons already related. after which, it growing late, they went to bed. the princess badoura and prince camaralzaman rose next morning as soon as it was light; but the princess would no more put on her royal robes as king; she dressed herself in her natural dress, that of a woman, and then sent the chief eunuch to king armanos, her father-in-law, to desire he would take the trouble to come to her apartment. when the king entered the chamber, he was amazed to see a lady there who was unknown to him, and the lord-treasurer with her, to whom it was not permitted to come within the inner palace, nor to any of the lords of the court. he sat down, and asked where the king was. the princess answered, yesterday i was king, sir; but today i am only princess of china, wife to prince camaralzaman, the true son of king schahzaman. if your majesty will have patience to hear our histories, i hope you will not condemn me for putting an innocent deceit upon you. the king bade her go on, and heard her discourse from beginning to end, with astonishment. the princess finishing, said to him, sir, though our religion does not suffer men to have more wives than one, without some sort of scandal, and we women do not easily comply with the custom men have introduced to have several, yet if your majesty will consent to give your daughter, the princess haiatalnefous, in marriage to the prince camaralzaman, i will with all my heart yield up to her the rank and quality of queen which of right belongs to her, and content myself with the second place. if this precedence were not her due, i would, however, give it her, being obliged to her for keeping the secret so faithfully. if your majesty approves of it, i am sure she will, and will pass my word that she will obey you with joy. king armanos listened to the princess with admiration, and when she had done, turned about to prince, camaralzaman, saying, son, since the princess badoura, your wife, whom i have all along thought to be my son-in-law through a deceit of which i do not complain, assures me that she will divide your bed with my daughter, i have nothing more to do but to know if you are willing to marry her, and accept of the crown, which the princess badoura should deservedly wear as long as she lived, if she did not quit it out of love to you. sir, replied prince camaralzaman, though i desired nothing so earnestly as to see my father, yet the obligations i have to your majesty and the princess haiatalnefous are so weighty, that i cannot deny you any thing in my power. camaralzaman was proclaimed king, and married the same day with all possible demonstrations of joy; he being very well pleased with the princess haiatalnefous's beauty and love for him. the two queens lived together afterwards as friendly as they had done before, both being contented with king camaralzaman's equal carriage towards them; and they were alternately taken to his bed. next year each brought him a son, and the births of the two princes were celebrated with extraordinary feastings. the first, whom the princess badoura was delivered of, king camaralzaman named amgrad, most glorious; and the other, who was born of queen haiatalnefous, assad, most happy. the story of the princes amgrad and assad. the two princes were brought up with great care, and, when old enough, had the same governor, and the same master for the arts and sciences which king camaralzaman would have them learn; and they had the same master for each exercise. the friendship which from their infancy they entered into, occasioned an uniformity of manners and inclinations which increased with their years. when they were of age to keep a separate court, they loved one another so tenderly, that they begged king camaralzaman to let them live together. he consented to it; and they had the same officers, the same domestics, the same lodging, and the same table. king camaralzaman had so good an opinion of their capacity and justice, that he made no scruple of admitting them into his council at eighteen years old, and letting them by turns preside there, while he took the diversion of hunting, or recreated himself with his queens at his houses of pleasure. the two princes being equally handsome, both in infancy and when they were grown up, the two queens loved them with incredible tenderness; in such a manner, however, that the princess badoura had a greater kindness for prince assad, queen haiatalnefous' son, than her own; and queen haiatalnefous loved amgrad, princess badoura's son, better than her own son assad. the two queens thought at first that this inclination was nothing but a friendship that proceeded from an exeess of their own for each other, which they still preserved; but as the two princes advanced in years, that friendship turned to a secret love, when the graces that appeared in their youth blinded their reason. they knew the criminality of their passion, and did all they could to resist it; but their efforts proved vain. they were accustomed to be familiar with them, to admire, to praise, to kiss and caress them from their infancy, and could not desist when they grew up, which inflamed their desires to such a height that they could neither eat, drink, nor sleep. it was their and the princes' ill fortune, that the latter, being used to be so treated by them, had not the least suspicion of their infamous desires. the two queens had not discovered the secret of their passion, nor had either the boldness to mention the prince she loved, by word of mouth, or the guilty flame with which she burnt; they at last resolved to do it by billet, and made use of king camaralzaman's absence to execute their wicked design, when he was gone a hunting, which would take him up three or four days. prince amgrad presided at the council-table the day of king camaralzaman's departure, and heard causes till three or four o'clock in the afternoon. when he returned to the palace from the council-chamber, an eunuch took him aside, and gave him a billet from queen haiatalnefous, amgrad took it but read with horror. traitor! said he to the eunuch, as soon as he had read it through, is this the fidelity thou owest thy master and thy king? at these words he drew his sabre, and cut off his head. having done this, he ran in haste to the princess badoura his mother, bearing his resentment still in his looks, and showing her the billet, told her the contents of it, and from whom it came; but, instead of hearkening to him, she fell into a passion, and said, son, it is all a calumny and imposture: queen haiatalnefous is a very discreet princess, and you are very bold to talk after this rate. the prince was enraged at his mother, to hear her speak so of him. you are both bad alike, said he and had it not been for the respect i owe my father, this day should have been the last of haiatalnefous's life. queen badoura might have imagined, by the example of her son amgrad, that prince assad, who was as virtuous as the other, would not be pleased with such a declaration of love as had been made to his brother: yet that did not hinder her persisting in so abominable a design; she wrote him a billet the next day, which she trusted with an old woman belonging to the palace to convey to him. the old woman watched her opportunity to give it as he was coming from the council-chamber, where he presided that day in, his turn: the prince took it; and, reading it, fell into such a fury, that, without finishing it, he drew his sabre, and punished the old woman as she deserved. he ran presently to the apartment of his mother queen haiatalnefous with the billet in his hand; he would have shown it to her, but she did not give him time crying out, i know what you would have: you are as impertinent as your brother amgrad, begone! and never come into my presence again. assad stood as one thunderstruck at these words, of which he could not comprehend the meaning. when he recollected himself, he was so transported with rage, that he had like to have given very fatal demonstrations of his anger; but he contained himself, and withdrew without making any reply, fearing, if he staid, he might say something unworthy the greatness of his soul. amgrad had put the same constraint on himself; and, guessing by his mother's carriage that she was altogether as criminal as queen haiatalnefous, went to his brother, to chide him, for not communicating that hated secret to him, and to mingle his sorrow with assad's. the two queens grew desperate when they found so much virtue in the two princes; and, instead of reforming themselves, renounced all sentiments of mothers and of nature, and conspired together to destroy them: they made their women believe the two princes had attempted to ravish them: they counterfeited the matter to the life by tears, cries, and curses, and lay in the same bed, as if the resistance they had made had wasted them so much, that they were almost at death's door. when camaralzaman returned to the palace from hunting, he was very much surprised to find them in bed together in tears; and the part of desponding ladies was acted so well, that he was touched with compassion, and asked them, with earnestness, what had happened to them. at this question, the dissembling queens wept and groaned more bitterly than before; and, after pressing them again and again to tell him, queen badoura at last answered thus: sir, our grief is so extraordinary, and so just, that we ought not to see the light of the sun nor live a day, after the violence that has been offered us by the princes your sons. their brutality is such, that they entered into a horrid design in your absence, and had the boldness and insolence to make attempts upon our honour. your majesty will excuse us from saying more; you may guess the rest by our affliction. the king sent for the two princes, and would have killed them both with his own hand, if old king armanos, his father-in-law, who was present, had not held his arm. son, said he, what are you going to do? will you stain your hands and your palace with your own blood? there are other ways of punishing, if they are really guilty. he endeavoured thus to appease him, and desired him to examine the matter, and see whether they did indeed commit the crime of which they were accused. it was now a hard thing for camaralzaman to be so much master of himself as not to butcher his own children. he ordered them to be put under arrest, and sent for an emir called giendar, whom he commanded to carry them out of the city, and put them to death, as far off and in what place he pleased; but not to return unless he brought their clothes back, as a token of having executed his orders. giendar travelled with them all night, and early the next morning alighted, telling them, with tears in his eyes, the cruel commands he had received. believe me, princes, said he, it is next to death to obey your father, who chose me to execute what he ordered concerning you. would to heaven i could avoid it! the princes replied, do your duty; we know well you are not the cause of our deaths, and pardon you freely. then they embraced, and bid each other adieu with so much tenderness, that it was a long time before they could leave one another's arms. prince assad was the first who prepared himself for the fatal stroke. begin with me, giendar, said he, that i may not have the affliction to see my clear brother amgrad die. amgrad opposed him in this; and giendar could not, without, weeping more than before, be witness of this dispute between them, which showed how perfect and sincere their friendship was. they at last determined the contest by desiring giendar to tie them together, and put them in the most convenient posture to kill them at one blow. do not refuse two unfortunate brothers the poor comfort of dying together, said the generous princes; for all things, even our innocence, are common between us. giendar agreed to it, and, as they desired, tied them to each ether, breast to breast, close; and when he had placed them so as he thought he might strike the blow with the more surety to answer their request, and cut off their heads at once, he asked if they had any thing to command him before they died? we have only one thing to desire, replied the princes; which is, to assure our father, on your return, that we are innocent; but do not charge him with our deaths, knowing he is not well informed of the truth of the crime of which we are accused. giendar promised to do what they would have him, and drew his sabre. his horse, being tied to a tree just by, started at the sight of the sabre, which glittered against the sun, broke his bridle, and ran away with all speed into the country. giendar set a great price upon him, being a very good horse; besides, being richly harnessed, the emir could not well bear the loss. this accident so troubled him, that, instead of beheading the two princes, he threw down his sabre, and ran after his horse to catch him. the horse gallopped on before him, and led him several miles out of his way into a wood. giendar followed, and the horse's neighing roused a lion that was asleep not far off. the lion started up, and, instead of running after the horse, made directly towards giendar, who thought no more of his horse, but how to avoid the lion, and save his life. he ran into the thickest of the wood, the lion pursuing him. driven to this extremity, he said to himself, heaven had not punished me in this manner, but to show the innocence of the princes whom i was commanded to put to death; and now, to add to my misfortune, i have not my sabre to defend myself! while giendar was gone, the two princes were seized with a violent thirst, occasioned by the fear of death, notwithstanding their steadfast resolution to submit to the king their father's cruel order. prince amgrad showed his brother a fountain not far off. ah, brother! said assad, we have but a short time to live, and what need have we to quench our thirst? we can bear it a few minutes longer. amgrad, taking no notice of his brother's remonstrance, unbound himself, and his brother likewise, whether he would or not. they went to the fountain, and, having refreshed themselves, heard the roaring of a lion, who, in pursuit of his prey, had got to the end of the wood near where the princes were. they also heard giendar's dreadful cries; on which amgrad seized giendar's sabre, which lay on the ground, saying to assad, come, brother, let us go and help poor giendar; perhaps we may arrive soon enough to deliver him from the danger in which he now is. the two princes ran to the wood, and entered it just as the lion was going to fall upon giendar. the beast, seeing prince amgrad advancing towards him with a sabre in his hand, left his prey, and came against him with fury. the prince met him intrepidly, and gave him a blow so forcibly and dexterously, that it felled him to the ground. when giendar saw that the two princes were the men who saved his life, he threw himself at their feet, and thanked them for the great obligation he had to them, in words which sufficiently showed his gratitude. princes, said he, rising up and kissing their hands, with tears in his eyes, god forbid that ever i should attempt any thing against your lives, especially after having so humanely and bravely saved mine! it shall never be said that the emir giendar was guilty of such ingratitude. the service we have done, answered the princes, ought not to hinder you from executing the orders you have received. let us catch your horse, and then return to the place where you left us. they were at no great trouble to take the horse, whose mettle was come down a little with running. when they had restored him to giendar, and were near the fountain, they begged and argued with him to do as their father had commanded; but all to no purpose. i only take the liberty to desire you, said giendar, and i pray you not to deny me, that you will divide my clothes between you, and give me yours; and go so far, that the king your father may never hear of you more. the princes were forced to comply. each of them gave him his clothes, and covered themselves with what he could spare of his. he also gave them all the gold he had, and took his leave of them. when emir giendar parted from the princes, he passed through the wood where amgrad had killed the lion, in whose blood he dipped their clothes; which having done, he proceeded on his way to the capital city of the isle of ebene. on his arrival, king camaralzaman asked him if he had done what he ordered? giendar, replied, see, sir, the faithful witnesses of my obedience, giving him, at the same time, the clothes of the princes. how did they take the punishment i commanded to be executed on them? giendar answered, with wonderful constancy, sir, and a holy resignation to the decrees of heaven; which showed how sincerely they professed their religion. but, particularly, they behaved themselves with great respect towards your majesty, and an entire submission to the sentence of death. we die innocent, said they; however, we do not murmur; we take our death as from the hand of heaven, and forgive our father; for we know very well he has not been rightly informed of the truth. camaralzaman was sensibly touched at emir giendar's relation, and, putting his hand into prince amgrad's pocket, he found an open billet. he no sooner knew that queen haiatalnefous wrote it, as well by a lock of her hair which was in it, as by her handwriting, than he froze with horror. he then, trembling, put his hand into the pocket of assad, and, finding there likewise queen badoura's billet, his surprise was so great and so lively that he swooned away. never did man grieve like camaralzaman when he was recovered from swooning. barbarous father as thou art! cried he, what hast thou done? thou hast murdered thy own children, thy innocent children! did not their wisdom, their modesty, their obedience, their submission to thy will in all things, their virtue; did not these all plead in their behalf--blind and insensible father! dost thou deserve to live after the execrable crime which thou hast committed? i have brought this abomination on my own head, and heaven chastises me for not persevering in the aversion to women with which i was born. and, oh ye detestable wives! i will not--no, i will not, as ye deserve--wash off the guilt of your sins with your blood; ye are unworthy of my rage; but perdition seize me if ever i see you more! king camaralzaman was a man of too much religion to break his vow. he commanded the two queens to be lodged in separate apartments that very day, where they were kept under strong guards, and never afterwards saw them. while the king of the isle of ebene afflicted himself for the loss of the princes his sons, of which he thought he had been the author by too rashly condemning them, the royal youths wandered through deserts, endeavouring to avoid all places that were inhabited, and the sight of any human creature. they lived on herbs and wild fruits, and drank only stinking rainwater, which they found in the crevices of the rocks. they slept and watched by turns at night, for fear of wild beasts. when they had travelled about a month, they came to the foot of a high mountain inaccessible for its cragginess; the stones being black, and so rugged, that it was impossible to ascend over them to the summit of the hill. at last, they discovered a kind of path; but it was so narrow and difficult, they durst not venture up it. this obliged them to go along by the foot of the mountain, in hopes of finding a more easy way to reach the top. they went round it five days, but could see nothing like a path; so they were obliged to return to that which they had neglected. they still thought it would be in vain to attempt going up by it. they deliberated on what they should do for a long time; and at last, encouraging one another, resolved to ascend the hill. the more they advanced, they thought it was the higher and steeper, which made them think several times of giving up the enterprise. when one was weary, the other stopped, and both rested together. sometimes they were both so tired, that they wanted strength to go further; then, despairing of being able to reach the top, they thought they must lie down, and die of fatigue and weariness. when they found they had recovered a little strength, they would animate each other, and go on. notwithstanding all their endeavours and their courage, they could not get to the top that day. night came on, and prince assad was so much fatigued, that he stopped, and said to prince amgrad, i can go no further; i am ready to die. stay as long as you will, replied prince amgrad; let us rest ourselves, and have a good heart; it is but a little way to the top, and the moon befriends us. they rested about half an hour, when assad having attained more strength, proceeded on their way to the mountain's summit, where they at last arrived, and lay down. amgrad rose first, and, advancing, saw a tree at a little distance: he went to it, and found it was a pomegranate-tree, with large fruit upon it, and a fountain near the foot. he ran to his brother assad to tell him the good news, and conducted him to the tree which grew by the side of the fountain. they both refreshed themselves there by eating each a pomegranate; after which they fell asleep. next morning, when they awoke, come, brother, said amgrad to assad, let us go on; i see the mountain is easier to be travelled over on this side than the other; all our way now is down hill. but assad was so fatigued with the last day's journey, that he wanted three or four days' repose to recruit his strength. they spent them, as they had done many before, in discoursing on their mother's inordinate desires, and deploring their misfortunes. but, said they, since heaven has so visibly declared itself in our favour, we ought to bear them with patience, and comfort ourselves with hopes that we shall soon see an end of them. at the end of three days' rest, the two brothers continued their travels, and were five days in descending the hill before they came into the valley. then they discovered a great city, at which they were very joyful: brother, said amgrad to assad, are not you of my opinion, which is, that you should stay in some place out of the city, where i may come to you again, while i go to learn the language, and inform myself of the name of the city, and in what country we are? and when i come back, i will bring provisions with me. it is not convenient for us to go there together; there may be danger in it; and so much notice will not be taken of one stranger as of two. brother, replied assad, i approve of what you say; it is prudent; but if one of us must part from the other on that account, i cannot suffer that it shall be you; allow me to go; for what a trouble will it be to me if any ill accident should happen to you! ah! but, brother, answered amgrad, the same ill accident you fear for me, i am as much afraid of for you. pray let me go; and do you stay here with patience.--i will never yield to it, said assad: if any ill should happen to me, it will be some comfort to think that you are safe. amgrad was forced to submit; and assad, going towards the city, stopped in a grove at the foot of the mountain. prince assad took the purse of money which amgrad had in charge, and then proceeded towards the city. he had not gone far in the first street, before he met with a reverend old man with a cane in his hand: he was neatly dressed; and the prince taking him for a man of note in the place, who would not put a trick upon him, accosted him thus: pray, my lord, which is the way to the market-place? the old man looked on prince assad, smiling: child, said he, it is plain you are a stranger, or you would not have asked that question. yes, my lord, i am a stranger, replied assad. the old man answered, you are welcome then; our country will be honoured by the presence of so handsome a young man as you are: tell me what business you have at the market-place? my lord, replied assad, it is nearly two months since my brother and i left our own country, which is a great way from hence; we have not ceased travelling ever since, and we arrived here but to-day. my brother, fatigued with so long a journey, waits at the foot of the mountain; and for him and myself i am come to buy provisions. son, said the old man, you could not have come in a better time, and i am glad of it, both for your and your brother's sake. i made a feast to-day for some friends of mine, and a great deal of victuals is left untouched. come along with me; you may eat as much as you please; and, when that is done, i will give you enough to last your brother and you several days. do not spend your money when there is no occasion; travellers are always in want of it; while you are eating, i will give you an account of our city, which nobody can do better than myself, who have borne all the honourable offices in it. it is well for you that you happened to meet with me; for, i must tell you, all our citizens cannot so well help and inform you as i can. i can assure you that some of them are wicked. come along; you shall see the difference between a real honest man, as i am, and such as boast to be so, and are not. i am infinitely obliged to you, replied assad, for your good-will; i put myself entirely into your hands, and am ready to go with you wherever you please. the old man laughed in his sleeve to think that he had got the prince in his clutches: he walked by his side as close as he could; and, to preserve the favourable opinion which assad had conceived of him, he kept talking all the way with great civility and politeness. among other things, he said, it must be confessed it was your good fortune to meet with me, rather than with any other man; for which i thank god. when you come to my house, you will know the reason why i express so much satisfaction at meeting you. arriving at the old man's house, he introduced assad into a hall, where were forty such old fellows as himself, who formed a circle round a flaming fire, which they adored. the prince was not more seized with horror at the sight of so many men adoring the creature for the creator, than with the fear of finding himself betrayed, and in such an abominable place. while assad stood motionless with surprise, the old cheat saluted the forty grey-headed men round the fire: devout adorers of fire, said he, this is a happy day for us! where is gazban! call him. he spoke these words so loud, that a negro, who waited at the lower end of the hall, came immediately to him. this black was gazban, who, as soon as he saw the disconsolate assad, imagined for what purpose he had been called; he therefore instantly seized him, and with amazing nimbleness tied him hand and foot. when you have done, said the old man, carry him down, and bid my daughters, bostava and cavama, give him every day the bastinado, and allow him only a little bread morning and evening for his subsistence, sufficient just to keep him alive till the next ship departs for the blue sea and the fiery mountain, when he shall be offered up an agreeable sacrifice to our divinity. as soon as the old man gave the cruel order, gazban bore prince assad into a cellar underneath the hall, from whence they proceeded through several dark rooms, till they came to a dungeon, the descent to which was by twenty steps, where he left him bound in chains of prodigious weight and bigness. gazban then went to give notice of it to the old man's daughters; but he might have spared himself the trouble, their father having before sent for them, and given instructions himself how they were to proceed. daughters, said he, i have just now caused a young mussulman to be secured in the dungeon; therefore, as you well know how to do it, go instantly and give him the bastinado; and, as you cannot better show your zeal for our divinity, and the fire which you adore, than by your severity to him, do not be sparing in the punishment you are to inflict. bostava and cavama, who had been bred up in their hatred to mussulnien, received this order with joy: they descended immediately into the dungeon, stripped assad, and bastinadoed him so unmercifully, that the blood issued out of the wounds, and he was left almost dead. after this cruel execution, they put a piece of bread and a pot of water by him, and retired. it was some time before assad recovered from the state of insensibility in which they had left him; and, in reflecting on his melancholy condition, he burst into a flood of tears, bitterly deploring the misery with which he was surrounded. the pleasing reflection, however, that this misfortune had not happened to his brother amgrad, gave him some degree of comfort amidst his distress. prince amgrad waited for his brother till the evening with great impatience; but when it was two, three, and four of the clock in the morning, and assad not returned, his sorrow was so very violent, that he grew almost desperate. he spent the night in that dismal condition, and, as soon as it was day, went to the city, which, on entering, he was surprised to see but very few mussulmen. he accosted the first he met, and asked him the name of the place; who told him it was the city of the magicians, so called because of the great number of magicians therein who adored fire, and that there were but very few mussulmen. amgrad then demanded how far it was to the isle of ebene: he was answered, that it was four months' voyage by sea, and a year's journey by land. the man, having satisfied the prince as to these two questions, hastily left him, and went about his business. amgrad, who was about six weeks coming from the isle of ebene with his brother assad, could not comprehend how they came to this city in so short a time, unless the way across the mountain were much shortened, and not frequented because of the difficulty of the pass. proceeding further through the town, he stopped at a tailor's shop, whom he knew to be a mussulman by his habit, as he had likewise known the man with whom he had just before conversed. having saluted him, he sat down, and told him the occasion of troubling him. when prince amgrad had done speaking, the tailor replied, if your brother has fallen into the hands of some magician, depend upon it you will never more see him; he is irrecoverably lost: comfort yourself, therefore, as well as you can, and beware of falling into the same misfortune; to avoid which, i would advise you to stay for some time at my house, and i will acquaint you with all the tricks of these magicians, that, when you go from hence, you may take the more care of yourself by being guarded against them. amgrad, impressed with the deepest concern for the loss of his brother, accepted the tailor's offer, and returned him a thousand thanks for his kindness. the story of prince amgrad, and a lady of the city of the magicians. prince amgrad went not out of the tailor's house for a whole month, without his host accompanying him; at last, however, he ventured to go to the baths. returning home through a street in which there was nobody but himself and a lady, he was surprised at her approaching him unveiled. the lady, seeing a handsome young man just come out of the bath, asked him, with a smiling air, whither he was going? casting, at the same time, such amorous glances, that amgrad could not possibly resist her charms. madam, said he, i am going to my own house or yours, as you please. my lord, replied the lady, with an agreeable smile, ladies of my quality never take men to their own houses; they always go to the men's. at this unexpected answer of the lady, amgrad was very much confounded; he durst not venture to take her home to his landlord's, fearing that he would be so highly displeased with him as to withdraw his protection, of which, considering he was in a place where he must always be upon his guard, he stood in too much need. quite unacquainted with the city, he knew not where to carry her, and yet was unwilling to lose so happy an opportunity. in this uncertainty he resolved to leave it to chance, and therefore, without returning an answer, he went forwards, the lady following him. amgrad led her through so many streets, lanes, and alleys, that both grew weary with walking: at last, however, they came into a street, having a great gate at the end of it, which, being shut, prevented their going further. the gate, which had a seat on each side of it, belonged to a house fronting the street. amgrad sat himself down on one seat to take breath, and the lady, being also much fatigued, seated herself on the other. she then inquired of the prince, whether the house belonged to him. yes, madam, said amgrad. why, then, do not you enter? replied the lady. whom do you wait for? fair lady, answered the prince, i have not got the key of the gate; i left it with my slave, who, being sent on an errand, is not yet returned: besides, having been ordered to provide something good for dinner, i am afraid we shall be under the disagreeable necessity of waiting a long time for him. the prince met with so many difficulties in satisfying her passion, that he began to repent of having undertaken it; he therefore contrived this answer, in hopes that the lady, out of resentment, would have left him, and gone in pursuit of another lover; but he was mistaken. your slave is an impertinent fellow, said madam, to stay so long: when he comes back, i will chastise him myself as he deserves, if you refuse to do it. it is by no means decent to sit here alone with a man to whom i am an entire stranger. she then rose, and, taking up a stone, began to force open the lock of the gate, which being only made of wood, after the country manner, was very weak. amgrad did all he could to hinder her: what are you doing, madam? said the prince. for heaven's sake, stay a little! what are you afraid of? replied the lady; is it not your house? the breaking of the lock will be no great damage; a new one can be purchased at a trifling expense. she accordingly broke it open, and entered the house. amgrad, when he saw the door forced open, gave himself up as a lost man: he reflected whether it would be more advisable to go into the house, or to retreat as fast as he could, to avoid the danger which he believed inevitable, and was just going to have recourse to the latter, when the lady returned. seeing that he did not enter, why do not you come into your house? said she. fearing we have nothing ready, answered the prince, i am looking to see if my slave is coming. come in, come in, said madam; it will be more prudent to wait within doors than without. amgrad, though with great reluctance, followed her into the house. after passing through a spacious court, which had been newly paved, they ascended by several steps into piazzas, which led to a large, open, and well-furnished hall, where he and the lady saw a table ready spread with all sorts of delicate dishes, a side-board heaped with fruit, and a cistern full of bottles of wine. when amgrad saw everything in such order, he doubted not that he was undone, the quality of the owner appearing by the richness of the feast. poor amgrad! said he to himself, thou wilt soon follow thy dear brother assad! the lady, on the contrary, being transported at the sight, cried out, how, my lord, did you fear there was nothing ready? your slaves, you see, have done more than you expected. but, if i am not mistaken, these preparations were made for some other lady, and not for me. no matter; let her come; i promise you i will not be jealous: i only beg the favour of being permitted to wait on her and you. amgrad, though much concerned at this accident, could not help laughing at the lady's pleasantry. madam, said he, thinking of something else besides what perplexed him, there is nothing in what you fancy; this is my common dinner, and no exraordinary preparations, i assure you. he could not prevail on himself to sit at a table which was not prepared for him; he therefore took his seat on a sofa [footnote: a turkish bench on which mats and cushions are put.]; but the lady still kept teasing him with her importunities. come, sir, said she, you must certainly be hungry after bathing; let us eat and enjoy ourselves. amgrad, complying at last with her request, sat down to table. the lady, having eaten a bit, took a bottle and glass, and poured out some wine; then, having drunk to amgrad, filled another and presented it to him, who pledged her. the more the prince reflected on this adventure, the more he was anaazed that the master of the house did not appear, and that a house so elegant and well furnished should be left without a servant. it will be lucky, said he to himself, if the man of the house does not come till i am got clear of this intrigue. while he was indulging this and some other troublesome thoughts, the lady ate and drank heartily, obliging him to do the same; and they were almost come to the last course when the master of the house arrived. it happened to be bahader, master of the horse to the king of the magicians, to whom this house belonged; but, generally residing in another, he seldom visited it, unless to regale himself with two or three chosen friends. on such occasions he always sent provisions from his other house by some of his servants, who were just gone as the lady and amgrad entered. bahader, as usual, came in disguise, and without attendants, a little while before the time appointed for his friends coming, and was not a little surprised to see the door of his house broken open: he entered without making a noise; but hearing some persons talking and making merry in the hall, he crept along by the side of the wall, and put his head half way within the door to see who they were. perceiving a young gentleman and a young lady eating, at his table, the victuals which he had provided for his friends and himself, and that there was no great harm done, he resolved to make a jest of it. the lady, who sat with her back towards the dooi, did not see the master of the horse; but amgrad, who had the glass in his hand, and was just going to drink, observed him immediately: his countenance instantly changed at the sight of bahader, who made a sign not to say a word, but to come and speak with him. amgrad drank and rose: where are you going? said the lady. the prince answered, pray, madam, stay here a little; i shall return in a minute; a small affair obliges me to go out at present. bahader waited for him in the piazza, and led him into the court, to talk to him without being heard by the lady. when bahader and prince amgrad were in the court, bahader demanded of the prince, how the lady came into his house, and why they broke open his door? my lord, replied amgrad, you may very reasonably think me guilty of a very unwarrantable action; but if you will have patience to hear me, i hope my innocence will appear. he then told bahader, in few words, what had happened, without disguising any part of the truth; and, to convince him that he was not capable of being so criminal as he might think, he declared himself a prince, and related the reason of his coming to the city of the magicians. bahader, who naturally loved strangers, was transported with an opportunity of obliging one of amgrad's rank and quality; for by his air, his actions, his handsome discourse, and his noble look, he did not in the least doubt the truth of what he had said, prince, said bahader, i am very glad i can oblige you in so pleasant an adventure as this; and, so far from disturbing the feast, it will be a pleasure to me to contribute to your satisfaction in any thing. my name is bahader; i am master of the horse to the king of the magicians. i commonly dwell in another house, which i have in the city, but come here sometimes to have the more liberty with my friends, for i cannot be so free at home among my children and domestics. as you have made this lady believe that you have a slave, i will support your assertion by personating the character; and, to spare your excuses, i repeat that it shall positively be so; you will presently know my reason for it. go to your place, and continue to divert yourself: when i return, and come before you in a slave's habit, chide me for staying so long; do not be afraid even to strike me. i will wait upon you all the while you are at table till night: you shall sleep here, and so shall the lady; and tomorrow morning you may send her home with honour. i shall afterwards endeavour to do you more important services. go, and lose no time. amgrad would have made an excuse, but the master of the horse would not let him, forcing him to go to the lady. he had scarcely entered the hall before balmder's friends arrived. bahader called them to him, and apologized his not entertaining them that day, telling them they would approve of the reason when they knew it, which should be in due time. when they were gone, he also went forth, and dressed himself in a slave's habit. prince amgrad approached the lady in a much better humour than when he left her, on finding that the house belonged to a man of quality, who had received him so courteously. as he sat down to table again, he said, madam, i beg a thousand pardons for my rudeness; i was vexed that my slave should tarry so long: the rascal shall pay for it when he comes: i will teach him to use me so another time. let not that trouble you, said the lady, if he is guilty of any faults, let him pay for it; do not think of him; we can enjoy ourselves without him, i warrant. amgrad continued at the table with the more pleasure, being under no apprehensions at the consequence of the lady's indiscretion, who ought not to have broken open the door, had it even been amgrad's own house. they drank and laughed, and drank again, till bahader arrived, disguised as a slave. bahader entered like one who feared his master's displeasure for staying out when he had company with him: he fell down at his feet, and kissed the ground, to implore his clemency; and, when he had done, stood behind him with his hands across, in expectation of his commands. sirrah! said amgrad, with a fierce tone and a fiery look, is there such a slave as thou in all the world? where have you been? what have you been doing, that you came no sooner? my lord, replied bahader, i ask your pardon; i was endeavouring to do as you ordered me, and could not despatch it sooner: besides, i did not think you would come home so early. you are a rascal! said amgrad; and i shall bang your sides for you, to teach you to lie, and to fail me another time. he then rose up, took a stick, and gave him two or three blows, but so slightly, that he hardly felt it; after which he sat down to table again. the lady, not satisfied with the chastisement amgrad had bestowed on him, also rose, took the stick, and struck bahader so unmercifully, that the tears came into his eyes. amgrad, offended at such freedom, and knowing that the pretended slave was not a proper object of resentment, cried out, it is enough: but she continued her rude discipline, regardless of the prince's intercession: let me alone with him, said she; i will punish him severely, and i warrant that he will be more expeditious in future. but, repeating her blows, amgrad rose from the table, and forced the stick out of her hand; which, however, she did not give up without some difficulty. when she found that she could beat bahader no longer, she sat down, and railed at and cursed him. baliader wiped his eyes, and stood behind his fictitious master to fill out wine. when he saw they had done eating and drinking, he took away the cloth, and put every thing in its place; and, night coming on, lighted up the lamps. as often as he passed the lady, she muttered and threatened him, and gave him abusive language, to amgrad's great disliking, who would have hindered her, if he could. when it was time to retire, bahader prepared a bed for them, and withdrew into a chamber over against that where they were to lie, and laid himself down, and soon fell asleep, having been fatigued with his beating. amgrad and the lady entertained one another a good half hour afterwards; but the lady wanting to go forth before she went to bed, passed through the gallery that parted bahader's chamber from theirs; and hearing him snore, and seeing a sabre hanging up by him, she turned back again, and said to prince amgrad, pray, my lord, as you love me, do me one favour. in what can i serve you? replied the prince. the lady answered, oblige me so far as to take down your sabre, and cut off your slave's head. amgrad was astonished at such a proposal from a lady, and doubted not it was the wine she had drunk that instigated her. madam, said he, let my slave alone; he is not worthy of your notice. i have beaten him, and you have beaten him; it is sufficient: i am very well satisfied with him; he is seldom guilty of such faults. that shall not do! replied the lady in a violent fury; the rogue shall die, if not by your hands, by mine! saying this, she ran and took down the sabre from the place where it hung, drew it out of the scabbard, and was going to execute her wicked design. amgrad, to prevent her, took the sabre out of her hand, saying, you shall be satisfied; madam; the slave shall die, since you will have it so: but i shall be sorry that any one but myself should kill him. when she had given him the sabre, come, follow me, said he; make no noise, lest we wake him. they went into the chamber, where amgrad, instead of gratifying the lady's desire, struck at her with the weapon, and severing her head with the blow, it fell upon bahader. had not the noise of the blow which amgrad gave the lady, in cutting off her head, wakened bahader, her head falling upon him would have done it: he was amazed to see amgrad with a sabre covered with blood, and the body of the lady lying headless on the ground. the prince told him what had passed; and, ending his discourse, said, i had no other way to hinder her from killing you, she was so transported with fury against you. my lord, replied bahader, full of gratitude, persons of your rank, and so generous as you, are not capable of doing so wicked an action as she desired of you. you are my deliverer, and i cannot enough thank you. after embracing him, in order to show him what sense he had of his obligations, he said, we must carry this corpse out before it is quite day. leave it to me; i will do it. amgrad would not agree to that, saying that he would carry it away himself, since he had done the deed. bahader replied, you are a stranger in this city, and will not come off so well as one who is acquainted here: i must do it, if for no other reason than both our safeties, to prevent our being questioned for her death. stay you here; and if i do not come back before day, you may be sure the watch has taken me: and, for fear of the worst, i will by a writing give you this house and furniture for your habitation while you stay in this city. when he had written, signed, and delivered the paper to prince amgrad, he put the lady's body and head in a bag, took it on his shoulder, and went out with it from one street to another, taking the way to the sea-side; but he had not gone far before he was met by one of the judges of the city, going the rounds in person, as was usual for the chief magistrates to do there. bahader was stopped by the judge's followers, who, opening the bag, found the body of a murdered lady, bundled up with the head. the judge, who knew the master of the horse notwithstanding his disguise, took him home to his house; and, not daring to put him to death without telling the king, because of his quality, he conveyed him to court as soon as it was day. as soon as the king had heard from the judge what a foul action the master of the horse had been guilty of, as appeared by the circumstances of the matter, he upbraided him in these words: is it thus, then, that you rob and murder my subjects, and then would throw their dead bodies into the sea to hide your villany? let us rid the world of such a monster; go hang him up immediately! innocent as bahader was, he received his sentence of death with perfect resignation, and said not a word to justify himself. the judge escorted him to his house; and, while the gallows was preparing, sent a crier to publish throughout the city, that at noon the master of the horse was to be hanged for committing a murder. prince amgrad, who had in vain expected bahader's return, was in a terrible consternation when he heard the crier publish the approaching execution of the master of the horse. if, said he to himself, somebody must die for the death of such a wicked woman, it is i, and not bahader; i will never let an innocent man be punished for the guilty: and, without deliberating any more, hastened to the place of execution, whither the people were running from all parts. when amgrad saw the judge bringing bahader to the gibbet, he went up to him, and said, i am come to tell you, and to assure you, that the master of the horse, whom you are leading to execution, is wholly innocent of the lady's death: i am guilty of the crime, if it is one to have killed the most detestable of women, who would have murdered bahader. so he told him the affair as it had happened. the prince having informed the judge how he met her coming out of the bath; how she was the cause of going into the master of the horse's house of pleasure, and what had passed till the moment in which he was forced to cut off her head to save bahader's life; the judge ordered the execution to be stopped, and conducted amgrad to the king, taking the master of the horse with them. the king had a mind to hear the story from amgrad himself; and the prince, the better to prove his own and the master of the horse's innocence, embraced that opportunity to discover his quality, with all the accidents that had befallen him and his brother assad, before and after their departure from the capital city of the isle of ehene to that time. the prince having done speaking, the king said, i rejoice that i have by this means come to the knowledge of you. i not only give you your own and my master of the horse's life, whom i commend for his civility to you, but i restore him to his office: and as for you, prince, i declare you my grand vizier, to make amends for your father's unjust usage of you, though it is also excusable; and i permit you to employ all the authority i now give you to find out prince assad. prince amgrad having thanked the king of the city and country of magicians for the honour he had done him, and taken possession of his office of grand vizier, ordered the common crier to promise a great reward to any one who should bring forth prince assad, or tell any tidings of him. he sent men up and down the country to the same purpose; but, notwithstanding all his and their diligence, they could hear nothing. the sequel of the story of prince assad. assad, in the mean while, continued in the dungeon in chains; bostava and cavama, the cunning old conjurer's daughters, treating him daily with the same cruelty and inhumanity as at first. the solemn festival of the adorers of fire approached, and a ship was fitted out for the fiery mountain as usual. the captain's name was behram, a great bigot to that religion. he loaded it with proper merchandise; and, when it was ready to sail, he put assad in a chest, half full of goods, a few crevices being left open to admit air sufficient to keep him alive. the chest was stowed in the bottom of the hold for greater security. before the ship sailed, the grand vizier amgrad, assad's brother, who had been told that the adorers of fire usually sacrificed a mussulman every year on the fiery mountain, suspecting that assad might unhappily have fallen into their hands, and designed as a victim at that bloody sacrifice, resolved to search the ship in person. he ordered all the passengers and seamen to be brought upon deck, and commanded his men to search every part of the ship; which they did; and yet assad could not be found, being too artfully concealed. when the grand vizier had done searching the vessel, she sailed; and as soon as behram was got out to sea, he ordered prince assad to be taken out of the chest and fettered, to prevent him from throwing himself into the sea, since he knew he was going to be sacrificed. the wind was favourable for two or three days; after which it proved contrary, and there arose a furious storm, which drove the vessel so far out of her course, that neither behram nor his pilot knew where they were. they were afraid that the ship would be dashed against the rocks; for they discovered land and a dreadful shore before them. behram saw that he was driven into the port and capital of queen margiana, which was a great mortification to him. queen margiana was a very devout professor of the mahomedan religion, and a mortal enemy to the adorers of fire. she banished all of them out of her dominions, and would not let any of their ships touch at her ports. the tempest increasing, behram was forced to put into the port of the queen's capital city, or his ship would be dashed in pieces against the rocks that lay off the shore. in this extremity he held a council with his pilot and seamen. my lads, said he, you see to what a necessity we are reduced; we must choose one of two things; either resolve to be swallowed up by the waves, or put into queen margiana's port, whose hatred to all persons of our religion you know well. she will certainly seize our vessel, and put us to death without mercy. i see but one likely way to escape her; which is, to take the fetters off the mussulman we have on board, and dress him like a slave. when queen margiana commands me to come before her, and asks what trade i use, i will tell her that i deal in slaves: that i have sold all except one, whom i keep to be my clerk, because he can read and write. she will no doubt desire to see him, and being handsome, and of her own religion, will have pity on him; she will certainly then ask to buy him; and i refusing, will not let us stay in the port till the weather is fair. if i sell him, perhaps she will give us leave to tarry, and let us be well used. if any of you have any thing else to propose that may be more advantageous, i am ready to hearken to it. the pilot and seamen applauded his judgment, and agreed to follow his advice. behram commanded prince assad's chains to be taken off, and dressed him like a slave very neatly, as became one who was to pass for his clerk before the queen of the country. they had scarcely time to fit every thing for their purpose, before the ship drove into the port, and then dropped anchor. queen margiana's palace was so near the sea-side, that her garden extended down to the shore. she saw the ship sail by, and sent to the captain to come to her as soon as he had moored his vessel. she was walking in her garden, and gave him to understand that she waited for him. behram, who knew he would be sent for, landed with prince assad, whom he required to confirm what he had said of his being a slave, and his clerk. so he went to the palace garden, and was introduced to the queen. he threw himself at her feet, and informed her of the necessity he was under of putting into her port; that, he dealt in slaves, and had sold them all except one, who was assad there present, whom he kept for his clerk. the queen conceived an esteem for assad as soon as she saw him, and was extremely glad to hear that he was a slave, resolving to buy him on any terms. she asked assad what was his name. great queen, replied assad, with tears in his eyes, does your majesty ask what my name was formerly, or what it is now? the queen answered, have you two names then? it is but too true, said assad: i was once called assad, the most happy; and now my name is motar, devoted to be sacrificed. as his condition of a slave obliged him to use mysterious answers, margiana did not understand his meaning; she perceived, however, that he had a great deal of wit. since you are clerk to the captain, said she, no doubt you can write well; let me see your writing. behram had furnished assad with pen, ink, and paper, as a token of his office, that the queen might take him for what he designed she should. the prince stepped a little aside, and wrote as follows, suitable to his miserable circumstances. the blind man avoids the ditch into which the clear-sighted falls. fools advance themselves to honours by discourses which signify nothing; while men of sense and eloquence live in poverty and contempt. the mussulman, with all his riches, is miserable. the infidel triumphs, and we cannot hope things will be otherwise; the almighty has decreed it should be so, and his will is not to be altered. assad presented the paper to queen margiana, who admired alike the sententiousness of the thoughts, and the goodness of the writing. she needed no more to have her heart set on fire, and to feel a sincere concern for his misfortunes. she had no sooner read it, than she addressed herself to behram, saying, do which you will; either sell me this slave, or make a present of him to me: perhaps it will turn most to your account to do the latter. behram answered insolently, that he could neither give nor sell him; that he wanted his slave, and would keep him. queen margiana, provoked at his boldness, would not talk to him about it any more. she took the prince by the arm, and turned him before her into the palace; sending behram word, that if he staid a night in her port, she would confiscate his goods, and burn his ship. so he was forced to go back to his vessel, and prepare to put to sea again, notwithstanding the tempest was not yet subsided. queen margiana commanded supper to be got ready; and, while it was providing, she ordered assad to be brought into her apartment, where she bade him sit down. assad would have excused himself: it does not belong to a slave, said he, to presume to this honour. to a slave! replied the queen; you shall not be so long: henceforward you are no more a slave. sit down near me, and tell the story of your life; for, by what you wrote, and the insolence of that slave merchant, i guess there is something extraordinary in it. prince assad obeyed her; and, sitting down, began thus: mighty queen, your majesty is not mistaken in thinking there is something extraordinary in the story of my life; it is indeed more so than you can imagine. the ills, the incredible torments, i have suffered, and the death to which i was devoted, and from which i am delivered by your generosity, will show, when i have related them, that my obligation to you is infinite. but, before i enter into the particulars of my miseries, which will strike horror into the hearts of all who hear them related, to explain the occasion of them, i must trace the matter a little higher, and begin with the source of my misfortunes. this preamble increased queen margiana's curiosity. the prince then told her of his royal birth; of his brother amgrad, and their mutual friendship; of their mother's criminal passion, which in a night turned into inveterate hatred, the cause of all their sufferings; of the king's rage; how miraculously they saved their lives; how he lost his brother; how he had been imprisoned, tortured, and was only sent there to be sacrificed on the fiery mountain. when assad had finished his discourse, the queen was more than ever enraged at the adorers of fire. prince, said she, though i have always had an aversion to the adorers of fire, yet hitherto i have preserved some humanity for them; but, after their barbarous usage, and execrable design of sacrificing you, i will henceforth declare perpetual war against them. she would have said more, but supper being served up, hindered her. she made prince assad sit at table with her, being charmed with his beauty and eloquence, and touched with a most ardent passion, which she hoped soon to let him know. prince, said she, we must make you amends for so many fasts and wretched meals which the pitiless adorers of fire forced you to make; you will want to be nourished after such sufferings. with these and such like words supper began; and the queen plied the prince with wine to recover his spirits; of which he drank more than he could well bear. the cloth being taken away, assad wishing to go out, watched his time when the queen did not see him. he descended into a court, and, seeing the garden-door open, went in. being tempted by the pleasantness of the place, he walked there a while. at last he came to a fountain, where he washed his face and hands to refresh himself; and, lying down on some grass plots which surrounded the fountain, fell asleep. it was almost night, and behram, fearing the queen would do as she threatened, had weighed anchor, and was under sail, mightily troubled at the loss of assad, by which he was disappointed of a most acceptable sacrifice. he comforted himself as well as he could with the thoughts that the storm was over, and that a land-breeze favoured his getting off from that coast. he was towed out of the port, and, as he was hoisting more sail to hasten his course, he remembered he wanted some fresh water. my lads, said he to the seamen, we must put to shore again, and fill our water-casks. the sailors excused themselves, for they did not know where to get water. behram had observed, while he was talking to the queen in the garden, that there was a fountain at the end of it, near the port. go, said he, to such a place of the palace-garden. the wall is not above breast high; you may easily get over. there is a fountain, where you may fill all your barrels, and hand them on board without difficulty. the sailors accordingly went on shore to the place he directed them, leaped over the wall, filled their barrels, and easily enough heaved them over also, when they returned to their boat. as they were filling the casks, they perceived a man sleeping on the grass, and knew him to be assad. they immediately divided themselves; and, while some of the crew filled their barrels, others surrounded assad, and observed him, lest he should awake, and offer to run away. as soon as they had filled their casks, they handed them over the wall to others of their crew, who waited there to carry them on board. they afterwards seized assad, and bore him away asleep as he was. they got over the wall into their boat, and rowed to the ship. when they came near her, they cried out, captain, sound your trumpets, beat your drums; we bring your slave again! behram, who could not imagine how the seamen could find and take him again, and did not see assad in the boat, it being night, waited their coming on board with impatience, to ask what they meant by their shouts; but seeing it was true, and that they had really got him, he could not contain himself for joy. he commanded him to be chained again, not staying to inquire how they came at him; and having hauled the boat on board, set sail for the fiery mountain. in the mean while queen margiana was in a dreadful fright. she did not much concern herself at first when she found prince assad was gone out, because she did not doubt that he would soon return. when several minutes, and then an hour, were past, without hearing any thing, she began to be uneasy, and commanded her women to look for him. they searched all about without finding him; and, night coming, she ordered them to search again with torches, which they did, but to as little purpose. queen margiana was so impatient and frightened, that she went with lights all over the garden to seek him herself; and passing by the fountain, saw a slipper, which she took up, and knew to be prince assad's: her women also said that it was his; and the water being spilled about the cistern in which the fountain played, made her suspect that behram had again carried him off. she sent immediately to see if he was still in the port; and hearing that he had set sail a little before it was dark, and had stopped some time off the shore, while he sent his boat for water from the fountain, she doubted no longer of the prince's ill fortune. so she commanded the commodore of ten men of war, who lay ready in the port to sail as occasion required, to prepare to put to sea, for that she would embark herself next morning as soon as it was day. the commodore ordered the captains and subalterns, seamen and soldiers, on board, and was ready to sail at the time appointed. she embarked, as she had said; and, when the squadron was at sea, told the commodore her intention. make all the sail you can, said she, and give chase to the merchantman that sailed yesterday out of this port: i give it to you to be plundered, if you take it; if not, your life shall answer it. the ten ships chased behram's two entire days, and could not come near her; but on the third day they got up with her, and encompassed her so that she could not escape. as soon as cruel behram saw the ten men of war, he did not doubt but it was queen margiana's squadron in pursuit of him; and upon that ordered assad to be bastinadoed, which he did every day, and had not once missed treating him go barbarously since he left the port of the city of the magicians. on sight of these ships, he treated him more cruelly than before. he was very much puzzled what to do when he found he was encompassed. to keep assad was to declare himself guilty; to kill him was as dangerous, for he feared some token of it might be seen; he therefore commanded him to be unfettered, and brought from the bottom of the hold where he lay. when he came before him, it is thou, said he, who art the cause of my being pursued; and upon that he flung him in the sea. prince assad, knowing how to swim, got safe to shore. the first thing he did, after landing, was to thank heaven, who had delivered him from so great a danger, and once more rescued him out of the hands of the adorers of fire. he then stripped himself, and wringing the water out of his clothes, he spread them on a rock, where, by the heat of the sun and the rock together, they soon dried; after which, he lay down to rest, deploring his miserable condition, not knowing in what country he was, nor where to turn himself. he refreshed himself as well as he could with wild fruits and fair water, and then went on his way, keeping as near the sea-side as he could. at last he came to a sort of path, which he followed, and travelled ten days through a country not inhabited, still living on herbs, plants, and fruits. on the eleventh he approached near a city, which be knew to be that of the magicians, where he had been so ill used, and where his brother amgrad was grand vizier. he was very glad of it, resolving not to come near anyone of the adorers of fire, but only to converse with mussulmen; for he remembered having seen some the first time he entered the town. it being late, and seeing the shops were already shut, and few people in the streets, he resolved to stay in a churchyard near the city, where several tombs were built in the form of mausoleums. finding the door of one open, he entered it, with an intention to pass the night there. we must now return to behram's ship, which was soon surrounded on all sides by queen margiana's squadron, after throwing prince assad overboard. queen margiana's ship, in which she was in person, first boarded; and behram, being in no condition of defence against so many, lowered his sails as a token of yielding. the queen herself came on board him, and demanded where the clerk was whom he had the boldness to take away from her out of her very palace. behram replied, queen, i swear before your majesty, that he is not in my ship; you will, by searching it, see my innocence. margiana ordered the ship to be searched as narrowly as possible; but she could not find the man whom she so passionately longed to recover, as well out of love to him, as out of that generosity which was her distinguishing character. she was going to kill behram with her own hand, which she, however, did not; contenting herself with seizing his ship and cargo, and turning him and his men on shore. behram and his seamen arrived at the city of the magicians the same night that assad did, and stopped at the same church yard, the city gates being shut, intending to stay in some tomb till next day, when they were opened again. as assad's ill luck would have it, bahram lighted upon that in which the prince was sleeping, with his head wrapped up in his coat. assad awoke at the noise he made, and asked, who's there? behram knew him again presently. hah, hah, said he, thou art the man who hast been my ruin for ever; thou hast escaped being sacrificed this year; but, depend upon it, thou shalt not escape the next. saying this, he flew upon him, clapped his handkerchief in his mouth, to prevent his making noise, and by the help of his seamen bound him. next morning, as soon as the city sates were open, behram and his men easily carried assad to the old man's house where he had been so inhumanly treated. it was so early that they met nobody in the streets; and when he came to the old man's house, he was again thrown into the dungeon. behram acquainted the wizard with the sad occasion of his return, and the ill success of his voyage. the old rascal, upon this, commanded his two furies, bostava and cavama, to treat him, if possible, more cruelly than before. assad was in a terrible surprise to find himself in the hands of his old persecutors, from whom he had suffered so much, and hoped that he had been delivered; he lamented the rigour of his destiny, and trembled when he saw bostava enter with a cudgel, a loaf, and a pitcher of water; he was almost dead at the sight of that unmerciful wretch, and the thoughts of the daily sufferings he was to endure for another year, when he was to die the most horrible of deaths. bostava dealt not so inhumanly by prince assad as she had done the first time of his confinement; his cries, complaints, and most earnest prayers to her to spare him, joined with his tears, were so moving, that she could not help being melted by them, and to weep as bitterly as himself. my lord, said she, covering his shoulders, which were always bare while he was under the bastinado, i ask a thousand pardons for my inhuman treatment of you formerly, and for what you feel at this time. till now i was afraid of disobeying a father who is unjustly enraged against you, and resolved on your destruction; but at last i loathe and abhor this barbarity. be comforted; your bad days are over; i will endeavour to make amends for all my crimes, of the enormity of which, by my future behaviour, you will find i am convinced. you have hitherto looked upon me as an infidel; but having been converted by a slave who is a mussulman, you must henceforth believe me one of your own religion. i hope your lessons will finish my conversion. to show my good intentions, i first beg pardon of heaven for my sins in using you so cruelly; and i trust that it will soon be in my power to set you entirely a liberty. the prince was transported to hear her talk at this rate; he thanked the almighty for the change wrought upon her, and for touching the heart of so barbarous a creature; he also thanked her for her good disposition towards him, and omitted no arguments which he thought would have any effect to confirm her in her new religion. as a proof of the confidence he reposed in her, he gave her an account of his high birth, together with a relation of all his adventures to that period. when he began to believe she was in earnest, he asked how she could hinder her sister cavama's treating him so barbarously as she used to do. let not that trouble you, replied bostava; i know how to order matters so that she shall never come near you. according to promise, she every day prevented cavama going down to the dungeon, where she often visited the prince; and, instead of carrying bread and water, she brought him the best wine, and the choicest victuals she could get, which were provided by her mahometan slave. she often ate and drank with him herself, and did her utmost to render his confinement as easy as possible. a few days after, as bostava was standing at her father's door, she heard the common crier making proclamation, but, was at too great a distance to hear distinctly what it was. having finished his harangue, he came nearer to repeat it again, when she drew back; and, as she stood holding the door half open, perceived the crier marching before the grand vizier amgrad, brother to assad, who was accompanied by several officers, with attendants walking before and behind him. the crier, going a few steps from the house, repeated the proclamation with a loud voice as follows: the most excellent and illustrious lord the grand vizier is come in person to seek for his dear brother, from whom he was separated about a year ago; he is young and handsomely made. if any person has him in keeping, or knows where he is, his excellency commands that they bring him forth, or give notice where he shall find him, promising a great reward to the person who shall do so. if any one conceal him, and be found out, his excellency declares that he or they shall be punished with death, together with his or their children, and all who belong to the family, and his or their house or houses razed to the ground. bostava had no sooner heard this, than she instantly shut the door, and ran as fast as she could to the dungeon to inform assad of it. prince, said she with joy, your troubles are at an end! follow me; come immediately, and be free! she having taken off his fetters several days before, the prince followed her into the street, where, quite transported with what she had done, she cried, there! there! the grand vizier, who was not far from the house, hearing her clamours, returned. assad, knowing him to be his brother, ran to him, and embraced him; which amgrad, who presently found it to be his brother assad, returned with all possible tenderness; and, making him mount one of his officer's horses, who alighted for that purpose, conducted him to the palace, where he presented him to the king, by whom he was advanced to the post of a vizier. bostava would not return to her father's house, which was next day razed to the ground, but kept prince assad in sight; and she, for the friendly part she had acted towards him, was admitted into the queen's service. the old man her father, and behram, were brought before the king, who condemned them and all their families to be beheaded. they threw themselves at his feet, and implored his mercy. there is no mercy to expect, said the king, unless you renounce your adoring of fire, and profess the mahometan religion. they accepted the conditions, and were pardoned at the intercession of assad, in consideration of bostava's friendship; for whose sake cavama's life, and the lives of the rest of their families, were saved. amgrad, to reward behram for turning mussulman, and recompense him for his losses, made him one of his officers, and lodged him in his house. behram, being informed of amgrad and his brother assad's stories, proposed to his benefactor to fit him a vessel to convey them to their father king camaralzaman's court; for, said he, the king must certainly have heard of your innocence, and impatiently desire to see you ere this; otherwise we can easily inform ourselves of the truth before we land; and if he is still in the same mind, you can return hither. the two brothers liking the proposal, communicated it to the king of the city of the magicians, who approved of it, and commanded a ship to be equipped for that purpose, behram undertook the employment cheerfully; and, being master of the art of navigation and maritime affairs, he soon got in readiness to sail. the two princes, when they understood that the ship was ready, waited upon the king one morning to take their leave of him. while they were reciprocally passing compliments on the occasion, they were interrupted by a great noise and tumult in the city; and presently an officer came to give them notice that a numerous army was advancing against the city, nobody knowing who they were, or from whence they came. the king being mightily alarmed at the news, amgrad addressed himself thus to him: sir, though i am come to resign into your majesty's hands the dignity of your first minister, with which you were pleased to honour me, i am, however, ready to do you all the service that lies in my power: i desire, therefore, that you would be pleased to let me go and see who this enemy is that comes to attack you in your capital city, without having first declared war. the king praying him to do so, amgrad, with a very small retinue, parted from him immediately, to see what enemy approached, and to know the reason of their coming. it was not long before prince amgrad descried the army, which approaching nearer and nearer, the foremost received him favourably, and conducted him to their princess, who stopped herself, and commanded the army to halt, while she discoursed with the prince, who, bowing profoundly to her, demanded if she came as a friend or an enemy; if as an enemy, what cause of complaint she had against the king his master. i come as a friend, replied the princess, and have nothing to complain against the king of the city of the magicians; his territories and mine are so situate, that it is almost impossible for our subjects to quarrel with one another, or we ourselves to have any dispute. i only come to require a slave, named assad, to be delivered up to me: he was carried away by one behram, a captain of a ship, the most insolent man in the world. i hope your king will do me justice, especially when he knows that i am queen margiana. the prince answered, mighty queen! the slave you take so much pains to seek is my brother; i lost him, and have found him again. come, madam, i will deliver him up to you myself, and will do myself the honour to tell you the rest of the story as we go to the king my master's palace, who will rejoice to see you. the queen ordered her army to pitch their tents, and encamp where they were; she then accompanied prince amgrad to the city and palace-royal, where he presented her to the king, who received her as became his dignity and hers. assad, who was present, and knew her as soon as he saw her, also paid his duty to her; and she, at sight of him, showed all the marks of transporting joy. while thus busied, news came that an army, more powerful than the former, was approaching on another side of the city. the king of the magicians, understanding that the second army was more numerous than the first, was frightened to a greater degree than before; for the dust they made raised clouds in the air which almost obscured the face of heaven. amgrad, cried he, what shall we do? a new army comes to destroy us! amgrad, guessing what the king would have of him, instantly mounted his horse again, and gallopped towards the second army. he demanded of the advanced guards to speak with their general; they conducted him to their king, for such he perceived him to be by the crown he had on his head. when he drew near, he threw himself on the ground, and asked what he would have with the king his master. the monarch replied, i am gaiour, king of china. my desire to learn some tidings of a daughter whose name is badoura, whom i married to camaralzaman, you of schahzaman, king of the isles of the children of khaledan, obliged me to leave my dominions. i suffered that prince to go to see his father king schahzaman, on condition that he came back in a year with my daughter, but have impatiently waited ever since without hearing any thing of them. your king will lay an infinite obligation on an afflicted father, by telling him if he knows what is become of them. prince amgrad, perceiving by his discourse that the king was his grandfather, kissed his hand with tenderness, and answered him thus: i hope your majesty will pardon my freedom, when you know that i take it only to pay my duty to my grandfather! i am the son of camaralzaman, king of the isle of ebene, and of queen badoura, for whom you are thus troubled; and i doubt not that they are both in good health in their kingdom. the king of china, overjoyed to see his grandson, embraced him with extraordinary affection. such a meeting, so happy and unexpected, drew tears from both. the king inquiring on what occasion he came into a strange country, the prince told him all that had happened to him and his brother assad. when he had ended his relation, my son, replied the king of china, it is not just that such innocent princes as you are should be longer ill used. comfort yourself; i will carry you and your brother home, and make your peace. return, and acquaint your brother with my arrival. while the king of china encamped in the place where prince amgrad met him, that prince returned to let the king of the magicians, who waited for him impatiently, know how he had succeeded. the king was amazed that so mighty a monarch as the king of china should undertake such a long and troublesome journey from a desire to see his daughter; and, seeing that he was so near his capital, he gave orders to make things ready for his reception, and went forth to meet him. while these things were transacting, a great dust was seen from another quarter of the town, and suddenly news came of the arrival of a third army, which obliged the king to stop, and to desire prince amgrad once more to go and see who they were, and on what account they came. amgrad accordingly went, accompanied by prince assad. they found it was camaralzaman their father's army, with which he was coming to seek for them. he was so grieved for the loss of his sons, that emir giendar at last declared how he had saved their lives, and towards what country the two princes had travelled. the sad father embraced both with tears of joy, which put an end to those he had a long time shed for grief. the princes no sooner told him that the king of china, his father-in-law, was arrived, than he detached himself from the grand army, and with a small party, among whom were his own sons, rode to wait upon him in his camp. they had not gone far before they saw a fourth army advancing, which seemed to come from the persian side. camaralzaman bade the two princes go and see what army it was, and in the mean while he would stay for them. they departed immediately, and, coming up to it, were presented, to the king, of whom, after saluting him with due reverence, they demanded on what design he approached so near the king of the magicians' capital. the grand vizier, who was present, answered, in the name of the king his master, the monarch to whom you speak is schahzaman, king of the isles of the children of khaledan. he has a long time travelled, thus attended, to seek his son prince camaralzaman, who left his dominions many years ago. if you know any thing of him, you cannot oblige him more than to acquaint him with it. the princes only replied, that they would bring him an answer in a little time; and, gallopping back as fast as they could, told camaralzaman that it was king schahzaman's army, and that his father was with it in person. wonder, surprise, joy, and grief, at having left the king his father without taking leave of him, had such an effect on king camaralzaman, that he fell into a swoon as soon as he heard that he was so near. prince amgrad and prince assad used every possible means to recover him; which having at last effected, he hastened to his father's tent, and threw himself at his feet. never was there a more moving interview: schahzaman gently complained of camaralzaman's unkindness in so cruelly leaving him; and camaralzaman discovered a heart-felt sorrow for the fault he had committed. the three kings and queen margiana staid three days at the court of the king of the magicians, who treated them magnificently. these three days were rendered the more remarkable by prince assad's marriage with queen margiana, and prince amgrad's with bostava, for the service she had done his brother assad. at last the three kings, and queen margiana, with prince assad her husband, went to their several kingdoms. as for amgrad, the king of the magicians had such a love for him, that he would not part with him, but, being very old, resigned his crown to him. king amgrad, wben he had the supreme authority, did his utmost to exterminate the worship of fire, and to establish the mahometan religion throughout all his territories. the story of noureddin and the fair persian. balsora was many years the capital of a kingdom tributary to the caliphs of arabia. the king who governed it in the days of the caliph haroun alraschid, was named zinchi. they were cousins, the sons of two brothers. zinchi, not thinking it proper to commit the administration of his affairs to one vizier, made choice of two, khacan and saouy. khacan was of a sweet, generous, affable temper, and took a wonderful pride in obliging those, with whom he had any concern, to the utmost of his power, without the least hinderance or prejudice to justice, whenever it was demanded of him; so that he was universally respected at court, in the city, and throughout the whole kingdom; and every body's mouth was full of the praises he so highly deserved. saouy was of a quite different character: he was always sullen and morose, and treated every one in a disrespectful manner, without any regard to rank or quality. instead of making himself beloved and admired for his riches, he was so perfect a miser, that he denied himself the necessaries of life. in short, nobody could endure him; and if ever any thing was said to him, it was something of ill. but what increased the hatred of the people against him the more, was his implacable aversion to khacan; always interpreting in the worst sense the actions of that worthy minister, and endeavouring to do him all the ill offices imaginable with the king. one day, after council, the king of balsora diverted himself with his two viziers, and some other members of the council. they fell into discourse about the women-slaves, who with us are daily bought and sold, and are almost reckoned in the same rank with our wives. some were of opinion, that it was sufficient the slave were beautiful and well-shaped; others maintained, and amongst the rest khacan, that neither beauty, nor a thousand other charming perfections of the body, were the only things to be coveted in a mistress; but that she ought to possess, with a great deal of wit, prudence, modesty, and amenity of manners. the king was entirely of their opinion who spoke last, and quickly gave a demonstration of it, by ordering khacan to buy him a slave, one that was a perfect beauty, mistress of those qualifications they had just mentioned, and especially very witty. saouy, jealous of the honour the king had done khacan, and vexed at his being of a contrary opinion, said, sir, it will be very difficult to find a slave so accomplished as to answer your majesty's demand; and should they light upon such a one, as i scarcely believe they will, she will be a bargain at ten thousand pieces of gold. saouy, replied the king, i perceive plainly you think it too great a sum; it may be so for you, though not for me. then turning to the chief treasurer, he ordered him to send the ten thousand pieces of gold to the vizier's house. khacan, as soon as he came home, sent for all the courtiers who dealt in women-slaves, and strictly charged them, that if they met with a slave who answered the description he gave, they should acquaint him. the courtiers, partly to oblige the vizier, and partly for their own interest, promised to use their utmost endeavours to find one to his liking. accordingly, seldom a day passed but they brought him one, yet he always found some fault or other with her. one day, as khacan was getting on horseback, early in the morning, to go to court, a courtier came to him, and, with a great deal of eagerness, catching hold of the stirrup, told him there was a persian merchant arrived very late the day before, who had a slave to sell, so surprisingly beautiful, that she excelled all women that his eyes had ever beheld; and, as for parts and learning, added he, the merchant engages she shall cope with the finest wits and the most knowing persons of the age. khacan, overjoyed at this news, which made him hope for a favourable reception at court, ordered him to bring the slave to the palace against his coming back, and so pursued his journey. the courtier did not fail to be at the vizier's at the appointed hour; and khacan, finding the lovely slave so much beyond his expectation, immediately gave her the name of the fair persian. as he had an infinite deal of wit and learning, he soon perceived, by her conversation, that it was in vain to search any further for a slave that surpassed her in any of those qualifications required by the king, and therefore he asked the courtier at what rate the persian merchant valued her. sir, replied the courtier, he is a man of few words in bargaining, and tells me, that the very lowest price he seeks for her is ten thousand pieces of gold: he has also sworn to me, that, without reckoning his pains and trouble from the time of his first taking care of her, he has laid out pretty nearly that sum upon her education, in masters to instruct and teach her, besides clothes and maintenance; and as he always thought her fit for a king, so from her infancy, in which he bought her, he has not been sparing in any thing that might contribute towards advancing her to that high honour. she plays upon all sorts of instruments to perfection; she dances, sings, writes better than the most celebrated authors, understands poetry, and, in short, there are few books but what she has read: so that there never was a slave of so great capacity. the vizier khacan, who understood the merit of the fair persian better than the courtier, who only reported what he had heard from the merchant, was unwilling to put off the bargain till another time; and therefore he sent one of his servants to look after the merchant where the courtier told him he was to be found. as soon as the persian merchant came, it is not for myself, but for the king, said the vizier khacan, that i buy your slave; you must, however, let him have her at a more reasonable price than what you have already set upon her. sir, replied the merchant, i should do myself an unspeakable honour in offering her as a present to his majesty, were i able to make him one of so inestimable a value. i ask little more than what her education and maintenance have cost me; and all i have to say is, that i believe his majesty will be greatly pleased with the purchase. the vizier khacan would stand no longer bargaining with the merchant, but paid down the money immediately. sir, said he to the vizier, upon taking his leave, since the slave is designed for the king's use, give me leave to tell you, that, being extremely fatigued with our long journey, you see her at a great disadvantage; and though, as to beauty, she has not her equal in the world, yet if you please to keep her at your own house a fortnight, and strive a little to please and humour her, she will appear quite another creature: after that you may present her to the king with abundance of honour and credit, for which, i doubt not, you will think yourself much obliged to me. the sun, you see, has a little tarnished her complexion; but, after two or three times bathing and dressing her according to the fashion of your country, she will appear to your eyes infinitely more charming than at present. khacan was mightily pleased with the advice the merchant gave, and was resolved to follow it. accordingly the fair persian was lodged in a particular apartment near his lady, whom he desired to invite to an entertainment, and thenceforth to treat her as a mistress designed for the king: he also entreated his lady to get the richest clothes for her that could possibly be had, and especially those that became her best. before he took his leave of the fair persian, your happiness, madam, said he, cannot be greater than what i am about to procure for you, since it is for the king himself i have bought you; and i hope he will be better pleased with the enjoyment of you than i am in discharging the trust his majesty has laid upon me: however, i think it my duty to warn you of my son, who, though he has a tolerable share of wit, yet is a young, wanton, forward youth; and therefore have a care how you suffer him to come near you. the fair persian thanked him for his good advice; and, on her giving him an assurance of her intention to follow it, he withdrew. end of volume first.